hindustantimes.

com NEW DELHI/METRO

f @hindustantimes t @httweets i @hindustantimes l @hindustantimes
n VOL.
Wednesday, September 01, 2021
XCVII NO. 208
NEW DELHI/METRO
Wednesday, September 01, 2021
n VOL. XCVII NO. 208
No more US boots on
ground in Afghanistan
Yashwant Raj
letters@hindustantimes.com
WASHINGTON: The United States
has concluded its military mis-
sion in Afghanistan, ending its
longest war and bringing down
the curtain on a 20-year-old
sketchy campaign that ended
with a frantic last-minute rush of
evacuations and a suicide bomb-
ing that killed 13 Americans and
170 Afghans.
The last US military plane
took off from the Kabul airport
at 11.59pm local time on Monday,
said General Frank McKenzie,
commander of the US Central
Command. On the last C-17 out
was the chief US diplomat in
Afghanistan Ross Wilson.
The US has now left Afghani-
stan completely, barring an esti-
mated 200 Americans still trying
to leave, and scores of Afghans
who worked for it and want to
leave, fearing reprisal from the
Taliban. The American embassy
in Kabul was shut down a few
days ago and its diplomats were
operating from the Kabul airport
before the exit. The mission will
now conduct diplomatic opera-
tions with the Taliban govern-
ment and consular operations
out of Doha, Qatar.
“Our 20-year military pres-
ence in Afghanistan has ended,”
US President Joe Biden said in a
statement as he thanked military
personnel for completing the
continued on →13
{ VACCINATION } STILL A LONG WAY TO GO
August best month for India’s jab drive
Vax pace continues to rise
In August, India averaged 5.9mn shots administered every day - the highest ever
1.28mn
shots of the vaccine
administered across
India on Tuesday
1.6mn
234,928 357,075
January February March
Major General Chris Donahue, the last US Army soldier to leave
Kabul airport, steps aboard the final evacuation flight.
Indian ambassador to Qatar meets
Taliban leader for first formal talks
NEW DELHI: India raised the safe
return of its citizens still in
Afghanistan and concerns about
Afghan soil being used for anti-
India activities and terrorism
during its first officially
acknowledged contact with the
Taliban on Tuesday.
India’s ambassador to Qatar,
Deepak Mittal, flagged these
issues when he met Sher
Mohammed Abbas Stanekzai,
Average dose administration 5.92mn
3.98mn
4.35mn
3.02mn
1.97mn
April May June July August
REUTERS
head of the Taliban’s political
office in Doha. The meeting was
held at the Indian embassy in
Doha “on the request of the Tali-
ban side”, the external affairs
ministry said in a statement.
The meeting between Mittal,
who earlier headed the Pakistan-
Afghanistan-Iran desk in the
external affairs ministry, and
Stanekzai, who has issued sev-
eral messages seen as concilia-
Jamie Mullick
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: With over 12.8 mil-
lion shots of the vaccine admin-
istered across India on Tuesday,
according to data available at
11pm on the Co-WIN dashboard,
India’s Covid-19 vaccination
drive set yet another single-day
record for doses delivered, wrap-
ping up August as, by far, the
best month (yet) of India’s mass
inoculation programme.
The number of people across
India who have now received at
AL QAEDA NOW
SEEKS ‘LIBERATION’
OF KASHMIR
NEW DELHI: Al Qaeda on Tues-
day called for the “liberation”
of Kashmir and other so-called
Islamic lands from the “clutches
of the enemies of Islam” in
a message congratulating the
Taliban for its victory in Afghani-
stan. A statement issued by al
Qaeda hours after the Taliban
declared Afghanistan had gained
“full independence” after draw-
down of US forces referred to the
terror group’s long-standing calls
for the so-called liberation of
regions such as Palestine, the
Levant, Somalia and Yemen. →P8
tory towards India, came after
months of backchannel contacts
between the Indian side and the
Taliban that were first reported
by HT in June. “Discussions
focused on safety, security and
early return of Indian nationals
stranded in Afghanistan. The
travel of Afghan nationals, espe-
cially minorities, who wish to
visit to India also came up,” the
statement said. →P8
least one shot of the vaccine has
surpassed 500 million.
Tuesday’s record means that
in the month of August, the
country administered a total of
183.5 million doses, translating
to a daily average of 5.9 million
doses in the month. This average
administration is a jump of 1.6
million doses a day over the pre-
vious monthly best recorded in
July (average of 4.3 million jabs
a day). With more vaccine doses
(at least 250 million) available in
September, the number could
increase even more. →P11
FAROOQ, J&K LG
SPAR AT EVENT
IN SRINAGAR
SRINAGAR: The first-ever parlia-
mentary outreach programme
for Jammu and Kashmir pan-
chayat bodies on Tuesday saw a
face-off between National Con-
ference president Farooq Abdul-
lah and lieutenant governor
Manoj Sinha, with Abdullah say-
ing, “If we are with the country,
the country should also take care
of us.” Advising Sinha to work
“honestly”, Abdullah said, “...our
binding factor is the resolve that
we can come together to create
this country.” In his speech,
which was almost entirely a
response to Abdullah, Sinha rec-
ollected his battle with “legacy
issues” and said, “Under the new
dispensation, every penny is
accounted for.” →P9
SEVEN KILLED
IN HIGH-SPEED
ACCIDENT IN
BENGALURU
BENGALURU: Seven people,
including the son of a Tamil
Nadu lawmaker, were killed on
Tuesday after their “overspeed-
ing” vehicle slammed into road-
side structures in the Koraman-
gala area here, police said.
Six people died on the spot
and the seventh died on the way
to hospital, officials said, identi-
fying one of the victims as the
son of Hosur MLA Y Prakash.
According to joint commis-
sioner of police (traffic) B Ravi-
kanthe Gowda, the incident took
place at around 1.45 am. “The
Audi with seven occupants was
completely mangled in the acci-
dent. None of the passengers
were wearing seat belts, so the
airbags did not open,” Gowda
said. All of the victims were
between the age of 20 and 30 and
an investigation has been
opened to determine if it was a
case of drunken driving. →P9
 NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021

Number Theory
How did corporate India
perform in June quarter?
By Vineet Sachdev
India’s GDP grew at 20.1% in the quarter ending June, according to the first estimates issued by
the National Statistical Office (NSO) on August 31. This is 1.3 percentage points less than the RBI
estimate of 21.4%. Given the fact that India’s GDP contracted by 24.4% in the quarter ending
June 2020, this also means that output is still not back to pre-pandemic levels.
To be sure, any such conclusion must be seen in the context of economic disruption caused
by the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, which, in terms of seven-day average of daily new
cases, peaked on May 9, 2021.
In addition to the GDP numbers, another question is worth asking. How did the second wave
of Covid-19 affect corporate India? Quarterly results for 2,546 companies, which are now
available in the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s (CMIE) Prowess database, can be used
to answer this question. Here are the main takeaways from the June quarter corporate results.

1 Sequential contraction in sales and an annual

growth driven by base effect
A normal year-on-year comparison in
inflation-adjusted sales of
Growth in inflation-adjusted corporate sales
companies shows a healthy 36.6% Yearly growth Quaterly growth (YoY and QoQ)
40
growth. However, this needs to be
read with the 34% contraction in 35 36.6
sales in the quarter ending June 30
2020, which was a result of the
68-day-long national lockdown 25
imposed on March 25, 2020. 20
In absolute terms, inflation-adjusted 15
sales in the June quarter were lower
10
than June 2019 levels. To be sure, the
June quarter’s performance was 5 -0.3
affected by the second wave of 0
Covid-19 infections and therefore a
better question to ask is what -5
impact did the second wave had on -10 -3.4
the ongoing sequential economic
recovery. After having fallen by 27% -15 -9.2
in quarter-on-quarter terms in the -20
June 2020 quarter, corporate sales -25
increased in the three subsequent -27.3
quarters of 2020-21. This trend was -30
disrupted in the June quarter with a -35
-33.8
quarter-on-quarter fall of 9%. Sep 2016 Jun 2020 Jun 2021
Source: CMIE Prowess

2 Cost-cutting led to higher than pre-pandemic profits

Even though sales did not cross the June quarter 2019 levels in the quarter ending June , net profits of these 2,546 firms were higher than
those in pre-pandemic levels. Part of the reason for this could be the fact that the government announced a cut in corporate tax rates in
September 2019, which gave an exogenous boost to profits. However, an HT analysis of the Prowess database shows that cost-cutting by
firms has also played an important role in boosting profits. The numbers speak for themselves.
While income (sales) of selected firms contracted by 9.5% between the June quarter of 2019 and this June quarter, costs contracted by 9.3%
during this period. This played an important role in net profits increasing by 26%. Cost data is available only for 2,536 companies. A simple
year-on-year comparison of costs will be misleading because of the lockdown last year.

Two-year growth in sales, costs and net profits Sales Costs Net profit (in %)
80
Will rising inflation put pressure
70
60
79.8 on costs going forward? Experts
50 do not think so. Madan Sabnavis,
40 chief economist at Care ratings
30 25.8 said that there were no signs of
20
10
13.4 7.7 absorption of raw material cost
0 by the firms as prices across
-10 different industries have gone up
-20 with the rise in input costs. “It
-30
-40 looks like with pent up demand
-50 surfacing, consumers will pay
-60 higher prices and companies can
-70 -72.0 -77.4 pass on higher raw material
-80
Mar 2020 Jun 2020 Sep 2020 Dec 2020 Mar 2021 Jun 2021 costs”, he added.
Source: CMIE Prowess

3 Smaller sized firms continue to suffer more

Which category has borne the
maximum brunt during the current
pandemic?
An analysis by size, based on total
Sales growth by firm size
Sales in June 2021 (in %) SALES

sales, helps understand this. Sales by -70 < ₨10 crores

firm are divided into five categories:
less than ₨10 crore; ₨10-25 crores; -55 ₨10-25 crores
₨25-100 cores; ₨100-500 crores; and
above ₨500 crores. While the total
inflation-adjusted sales in the June
-29 ₨25-100 crores
quarter fell for all segments
compared to the June quarter of -16 ₨100-500 crores
2019, the biggest fall was seen in
small firms with sales less than ₨10 -8 >₨500 crores
crores. Total sales by small firms
contracted by 70% from that in the
June quarter of 2019 thereby -10 Overall
indicating the higher pressure they -80 -70 -60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0
are facing.
Source: CMIE Prowess

4 Non-financial sector suffers more even as

expenses fall across firms
Which sectors have performed well from their
pre-Covid period? An analysis by sectors
Sales and profits of various firms
shows that out of the three major ones, Sales Growth Profit Growth (in %)
200
non-financial, financial and diversified, only 177
companies involved in diversified businesses
have shown growth in total sales by 10%
150
compared to the June quarter of 2019. Within
the non-financial sector, firms belonging to
construction and real estate saw the biggest
contraction in total sales by 25% in the June 100
quarter compared to 2019, while others in
businesses such as manufacturing, mining and 50
services saw a double-digit decline in their 50 40 40
total sales.
10
Total inflation adjusted profits have also
0
grown only for firms in the diversified and -4
financial sectors in June from the correspond- -7 -10 -11 -7 -11
ing quarter of 2019 while non-financial sector -25
-50 -35
firms saw contraction by 18%. Expenses across -53
all sectors and sub-sectors in the June quarter
Diversified Financial Electricity Manufac- Mininig Non-finan- Construction
have fallen compared to 2019 with the sector Services turing cial services and Real
smallest fall seen in financial sector firms. Estate
Source: CMIE Prowess
hindustantimes.com NEW DELHI/METRO
f @hindustantimes t @httweets i @hindustantimes l @hindustantimes
n VOL.XCVII NO. 208 n PRICE ₹5.00/WITH HINDUSTAN ₹ 9.00 (₹ 7.50 IN FARIDABAD)/WITH MINT ₹ 9.50 n 22 PAGES + 6 PAGES OF HT CITY + 6
PAGES OF HT EDUCATION. AREA SPECIFIC PAGES EXTRA.
Wednesday, September 01, 2021

GDP growth 20.1% in
Q1 after Covid slump
Roshan Kishore
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: India’s GDP grew
at 20.1% in the quarter ending
June — in line with expecta-
tions — although the high num-
ber is the result, not of a
V-shaped recovery in the econ-
omy, but a favourable base
effect. Compared to the last
quarter of 2020-21, the coun-
try’s GDP actually contracted
by 16.9%, although this can be
attributed to the bruising sec-
 

 


ond wave of the pandemic in
April and May. And compared
to the first quarter of 2019-20, it
contracted 9.2%.




The growth was largely the
result of a 68-day long nation-
wide lockdown imposed on
March 25, 2020, that led to an
unprecedented contraction of
24.4% in GDP. Indeed, eco-
nomic activity did not regain
pre-pandemic levels (in the
June 2019 quarter) in the first
quarter of the current fiscal
year.
RBI’s Monetary Policy Com-
mittee (MPC) projected a
growth rate of 21.3% and a
Bloomberg poll of 45 econo-
mists, 21% for the quarter.
Gross Value Added (GVA),
which captures the actual pro-
duction (GDP numbers also
include taxes) grew at 18.8%,
again lower than a Bloomberg
{ SUPERTECH PROJECT } ‘UNHOLY NEXUS’
SC orders demolition
of Noida twin towers
Utkarsh Anand
letters@hindstantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
on Tuesday ordered demolition
of two 40-storey residential
towers of Supertech’s Emerald
Court project in Noida over
grave violation of building
norms, which, the court said,
was a result of “nefarious com-
plicity” between the Noida
authority and the real estate
developer.
A bench of justices Dhanan-
jaya Y Chandrachud and MR
Shah directed that Supertech
shall carry out the demolition at
its own expense and will com-
plete it within three months
History in the making
Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana administers the oath of office to justice BV Nagarathna, who
is in line to become the country’s first woman CJI in September 2027.
{ STARS SHINE BRIGHT } MORE SUCCESS IN SHOOTING, ATHLETICS
INDIA’S GDP GROWTH
20
15
20.1%
10
5.4%
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-24.4%
-25
Jun 19 Jun 20
forecast of 19.6%.
“The fact is that the latest
GDP numbers show a large
sequential contraction and,
when compared to June 2019
levels, show the enormity of the
economic challenge. Even these
numbers could see significant
downward revisions as there
might have been an overesti-
mation of informal sector activ-
ity in these estimates,” said
Himanshu, associate professor
of economics at Jawaharlal
Nehru University.
However, chief economic
continued on →16
The two towers facing demolition have 915 flats of which 633
were booked.
under the supervision of the
Noida authority and an expert
body such as the Central Build-
ing Research Institute.
Further, the court ordered
Putting GDP stats in context
While a simple year-on-year comparison shows a high growth in
GDP, a comparison with March 2021 quarter shows the impact of the
second wave on the economy. A comparison with June 2019 numbers
shows that there is no V-shaped recovery
% change in June 2021 numbers from
GDP
Pvt final consumption expenditure
Govt final consumption expenditure
Gross fixed capital formation
Net exports
GVA
Agriculture
Industry
Jun 21 Services
Sensex at new high,
Nifty zooms past 17k
NEW DELHI: Equity benchmarks
galloped to record highs for yet
another session on Tuesday,
with the Sensex closing above
57,000 for the first time while
the Nifty scaled the 17,000-mark
as investors remained in buying
mode amid growth optimism
and bullish global cues.
The blue chip index reached
SUNIL GHOSH /HT PHOTO
that Supertech will refund
money to all the existing home-
buyers in Emerald Court’s Apex
and Ceyane towers within two
continued on →16
HT PHOTO

Jun 20 Mar 21 Jun 19
20.1 -16.9 -9.2
19.3 -17.4 -11.9
-4.8 -7.6 7.4
55.3 -23.6 -17.1
-282.2 -52.9 -63.6
 
18.8 -13.3 -7.8
4.5 -10.7 8.2

46.1 -17.1 -6.2
11.4 -11.8 -12.5
Source: CMIE
an all-time intraday high of
57,625.26 on Tuesday, the last
trading session of August, a
month that has seen the stock
market making many new
records.
The 30-share index closed
with a gain of 662.63 points or
1.16 per cent at 57,552.39, its
record close. →P15
AMARINDER AT
ODDS WITH RAHUL
ON JALLIANWALA
BAGH MEMORIAL
NEW DELHI: The revamp of the
Jallianwala Bagh Smarak in
Amritsar, inaugurated by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi last
weekend, seems to have divided
the Congress with former party
president Rahul Gandhi con-
demning the government’s
project, even as Punjab chief
minister Amarinder Singh
backed the renovation.
“I am the son of a martyr — I
will not tolerate the insult of
martyrs at any cost,” Rahul Gan-
dhi tweeted in Hindi on Tuesday.
Hours later, the Punjab CM
said, “I don’t know what has INSTANT ACTION
been removed. To me it looks
very nice.” The apparent disa- AGAINST ILLNESS-CAUSING
greement comes amid a tussle
for control of the party in Punjab
GERMS & VIRUSES
between Singh and the state unit
chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. →P8
CHAOS ON THE
ROADS AS HEAVY
RAIN DROWNS
CAPITAL AGAIN
NEW DELHI: Delhi’s roads were
flooded yet again on Tuesday
when heavy morning rains
brought the city to a halt, with
commuters across the city
struggling as key stretches
were inundated, exposing the
pathetic drainage system, the
failure to prepare for the mon-
soon, and the lack of a compre-
hensive plan to rid the city of
the annual waterlogging
menace. According to the India
Meteorological Data (IMD),
Delhi on Tuesday received
84.1mm rain between 8.30am
and 2.30pm. Flooded roads led
to traffic snarls on several key
stretches such as ITO, Vikas
Marg, Ring Road near IP Estate
flyover and Dhaula Kuan. →P4

India’s path-breaking surge enters double digits              !   

TOKYO: The Indian juggernaut alympic performance. attempt. Kumar took the bronze
medalstally at the Paralympics showed no Shooter Singhraj Adana (10m
signs of slowing down as three air pistol SH1) produced a
with an effort of 1.83.
The third Indian in fray and
   ! 
  
COUNTRY more medals ensured that the bronze-winning effort in the 2016 Rio Paralympics bronze- # "  
   !  
! $   ₹

  


01. China 62 38 32 country hit the double morning before Mari- winner, Varun Singh Bhati
digit mark for the first yappan, who won a gold ended seventh out of nine com-
02. Great Britain
03. RPC
29
25
23
16
28
33 time ever with Mariyap- five years ago in Rio, petitors after he failed to clear   !       

 
04. USA 24 24 15 pan Thangavelu’s high and Sharad Kumar fin- the 1.77m mark.
05. Ukraine 15 33 19 jump silver being the ished with a silver and Early in the day, 39-year-old
high point on Tuesday. bronze respectively in Adana, who is afflicted with
06. Brazil 14 11 17
India’s medal count
Tokyo the T42 men’s high polio and was making his
07. Netherlands 14 9 9 Paralympics
08. Australia 13 21 20 stood at 10, including jump competition. Games debut, shot a total of
09. Italy 11 18 14 two gold, five silver and Mariyappan cleared 216.8 to finish the event in the
10. Azerbaijan 10 1 4 three bronze medals at the end 1.86m while American gold win- third place after qualifying for
30. INDIA 2 5 3 of day 7, continuing to better ner Sam Grewe succeeded in the eight-man final as the sixth
what is already its best ever Par- soaring above 1.88m in his third best shooter. →P16
02 NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021

Page One Plus

{ MY INDIA } 2022 EDITION { MY INDIA } ARMY TO FOLLOW { MY DELHI } JANTAR MANTAR PROTEST { MY INDIA } BAD LOANS { MY DELHI } COVETED ADMISSIONS

BCCI invites bids for Navy pact with BEL Pinky Chaudhary cedes to Focus on big fish, SC DU gets over 260k
two new IPL teams for anti-drone tech cops in hate slogans case tells bank on NPAs applications for UG

The next edition of the Indian Premier League
(2022) will feature 10 teams. Eight months after the
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gave its
approval to add two more teams to the league, bids
have been invited through a tender process on
Tuesday to kick-start the league’s expansion plans.
“The Governing Council of the IPL invites bids to
acquire the right to own and operate new teams
proposed to be introduced to take part from IPL 2022
season,” a BCCI statement said. The Invitation to
Tender has been made available for purchase till
October 5. Though the bidding regulations have not
been made public yet, it is learnt that the base price
for the new teams has been set at ₹2,000 crore. This
is a big jump from the ₹850 crore that Sunrisers
Hyderabad, the last team to join IPL via a tender
process, paid in 2012. The base amount reflects the
latest benchmark set by Rajasthan Royals. →P17
The Indian Navy on Tuesday signed a contract
with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for India’s first
locally made naval anti-drone system (NADS) with
both “hard kill” and “soft kill capabilities”, the
ministry of defence said in a statement. The deal
comes two months after small drones were used to
target the Jammu air force station on June 27. BEL will
sign similar contracts with the army and the Indian
Air Force, the statement said. The anti-drone system
will give the military both “soft kill” and “hard kill”
options to tackle the new and fast-emerging aerial
threat. The Defence Research and Development
Organisation said its counter-drone technology could
provide the forces with the capability to swiftly
detect, intercept and destroy small drones that pose
a security threat. →P8
The chief of Hindu Raksha Dal Bhupinder Tomar alias Pinky
Chaudhary surrendered before the Delhi Police on Tuesday in connection
with the Jantar Mantar hate sloganeering case, ending a 22-day manhunt
launched to nab him. Chaudhary has been evading arrest since a case of
promoting enmity between different groups and defying Covid-19
guidelines was registered on August 8, hours after videos of an event —
which organisers claimed was held that day near Jantar Mantar to push
for the abolition of “colonial-era laws” — showed people shouting anti-
Muslim slogans. The Delhi high court on August 27 and a sessions court
on August 21 rejected Chaudhary’s plea seeking interim protection from
arrest in the case. Chaudhary is the ninth person to be arrested in the
case. Chaudhary reached Mandir Marg police station around 2.30pm,
where over 100 of his supporters lifted him on their shoulders, and took
him inside the police station.chanting slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram”. →P5.
The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, said public
sector banks should focus their energy on recovering
loans from “big fish” and “big corporate debtors”
instead of running after those who have petty loans
of a few thousand rupees. “You should focus on
catching big fish. If you are really concerned about
rising NPAs (non-performing assets) of the public
sector banks, concentrate on big corporate
debtors...not on such small loanees,” a bench, headed
by Justice DY Chandrachud, told Canara Bank. The
bench was hearing an appeal by Canara Bank against
a judgment of the Madras high court that had
repelled an attempt by the public sector bank to hold
a social service society from Tiruchirapalli, Tamil
Nadu, liable for repaying an amount of ₹48.8 lakh,
which was given to 1,540 individuals as loans. →P15
Delhi University received 261,661 paid
applications till 7.30 pm om Tuesday as registrations
for merit-based admissions to over 70,000
undergraduate seats edged to a close. The university
officials expect the number to increase as the
registration portal will stay open till midnight.
University officials had earlier said that the first cut-
off will be released on October 1 and admissions to
UG courses will begin on October 4. Last year, the
university had received 351,974 paid applications in
the three-month registration window which was
100,000 more than the corresponding figure in 2019.
Till 7.30pm on Tuesday, the university recorded a total
of 438,696 registrations, a marked drop from the over
550,000 registrations on the admission portal last
year. Students appearing for compartment or
improvement exams will be allowed to upload their
documents after their results are declared. →P6.

{ TOP COURT } STRENGTH BOOSTED

2nd husband of
cyanide killer Nine new Supreme Court justices take oath
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Tuesday administered the
files for divorce oath of office to nine new judges. Three women judges, includ-
ing justice BV Nagarathna, who is in line to be the first woman 33/34
FIRST COLLEGIUM
CONSENSUS IN
21 MONTHS
HT Correspondent Kumar and K Manoj, a former Chief Justice of India (CJI) in September 2027, were sworn in SPOTS IN APEX The appointments come following
CPI(M) leader, who was expelled
letters@hindustantimes.com
from the party in 2019. COURT FILLED the first collegium in 21 months,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The
second husband of the alleged
The first victim was
Anamma Thomas, a retired
THE NEW APPOINTEES After their swearing-in,
the strength of the
when the five most senior judges
could arrive at a consensus in
forwarding names to the Union
serial killer Jolly Joseph, Shaju teacher in 2002. Then came her Three out of these nine — justice Vikram Nath, Supreme Court now goes
government for appointments in
Zacharia, on Monday filed husband Tom Thomas, also a up to 33, including the
divorce papers in a court in Koz- retired teacher, in 2008. Their justice BV Nagarathna and justice PS Narasimha — CJI, out of the sanctioned
the top court.
hikode (north Kerala) citing her son Roy Thomas (the first hus- are in line to become the Chief Justice of India strength of 34. This is the THE COLLEGIUM
most number of sitting
criminal past and mindless cru- band of Jolly) died in 2011 and
judges in the top court
CONSISTS OF:
elty. In the petition he said was another relative Mathew, the
not aware of her past and that he brother of Anamma, died in JUSTICE JUSTICE JUSTICE JK JUSTICE since November 2019
could no longer live with some- 2014. In 2016 Cily, Zacharia’s first AS OKA VIKRAM NATH MAHESHWARI HIMA when then CJI Ranjan CJI NV
one accused of murdering six wife and their one-year-old child Formerly: Chief Formerly: Chief Formerly: Chief KOHLI Gogoi retired RAMANA
justice, Karnataka justice, Gujarat high justice, Sikkim high Formerly:
people of her (and his) family, died under mysterious circum- Chief justice,
high court court court
including his first wife and child. stances. Zacharia was Roy In line to become Telangana
She is believed to killed them all Thomas’ cousin and Cily and CJI in February 2027 high court JUSTICE UDAY
over a span of 14 years by giving Jolly were close friends.
them food laced with cyanide. All deaths were believed to be
U LALIT
Jolly married Zacharia, her natural until 2018 when Roy
first husband’s cousin in 2017 Thomas’ brother Rojo Thomas
after allegedly killing his wife insisted on an investigation JUSTICE AM
and daughter. She is currently in based on the post mortem KHANWILKAR
jail and Zacharia, a school reports of Roy Thomas’ death (it
teacher, is the main witness in showed death by cyanide poi- JUSTICE BV JUSTICE CT JUSTICE MM JUSTICE BELA JUSTICE PS
two of the murders of which she soning) and documents provided NAGARATHNA RAVIKUMAR SUNDRESH M TRIVEDI NARASIMHA JUSTICE
Formerly: Judge, Formerly: Judge, Formerly: Judge, Formerly: Judge, Formerly: Senior
is accused. Two years ago Jolly, by Jolly to the revenue depart-
Karnataka high court Kerala high court Madras high court Gujarat high court advocate and former DHANANJAYA Y
49 slit her wrists in jail but this ment authorizing transfer of the CHANDRACHUD
was noticed by jail officials who family’s property in her name. In line to become additional solicitor
CJI in Sept 2027 general
rushed her to the hospital. The six bodies were exhumed
In line to become CJI
Jolly was arrested with three and traces of poison were recov-
in Oct 2027
JUSTICE L
others in 2019 for allegedly kill- ered two of them after an intense NAGESWARA
ing six of her family . The special forensic examination. RAO
investigation team (SIT) that Among the witnesses are her
probed the sensational case filed two children whose statements
charge sheets in six murder were recorded before a magis- FILLING UP THE
cases last year. trate. She was charged with VACANCIES
The SIT arrested her on char- murder, conspiracy, destroying Since the retirement of Justice Ranjan
ges of killings six members of the of evidence and forgery. Gogoi as the CJI in November 2019, the
Ponnamatam family in Koodat- collegium had not sent a single
hai (Kozhikkode district) in a

w BRIDGING The appointment of three women judges is a key l The nine new appointments include justice BV Nagarathna l The Supreme Court currently has recommendation for appointments in
span of 14 years. These killings step in bridging the gender gap in an institution from the Karnataka high court, could become the country’s only one woman judge, justice the top court, which meant the top
which took place between 2002
and 2016 were planned and car-
THE GENDER which has seen only eight women judges in 71 years.
With this, the apex court now has four sitting
first woman CJI in 2027. She is the daughter of former CJI
Engalaguppe Seetharamiah Venkataramiah, and will
Indira Banerjee (appointed in
August 2018), who is set to
court had 10 vacancies out of 34.
Out of these 10 vacancies, nine
Fourteen years,
ried out with clinical precision.
The other accused are her
six deaths, one DIFFERENCE women judges – the highest ever in its history become the CJI in September 2027 for little over a month. retire in September 2022 judges have now been appointed
suspect, and a trace of cyanide
accomplices M Mathew, Prachi

{ AFTER TALIBAN TAKEOVER }

Police identify two
more victims from Many Qs, few As in unclear future for Af
serial rapist’s phone Bloomberg number of Americans remain-
ing in the country totals in the
impose order within their own
ranks of young, often poorly-ed-
would depend on whether the
Taliban upheld international
letters@hindustantimes.com
Divya Chandrababu sub jail on Sunday. “low hundreds” and that the ucated fundamentalists. obligations and prevented ter-
An investigation officer, he departure of the last State Department would under- But there’s some incentive for rorist groups from taking hold.

letters@hindustantimes.com
CHENNAI: Police have identified
two more victims of an alleged
serial rapist of minors in Chen-
nai, officials said Tuesday, a day
after five other girls were res-
cued.
The two girls, aged 15 and 17,
were identified after an analysis
of the phone of the accused, A
Perumal, deputy commissioner
R Karthikeyan said.
“We have identified two more
children but we are yet to find
their location,” he said. “We sus-
pect that there are more victims.
We need to interrogate him
more to proceed further.”
The case unravelled on Satur-
day when the police, who raided
Perumal’s shop as part of a
crackdown on the sale of chew-
ing tobacco (gutka), seized his
phones for the details of his sup-
plier. The case, however, took a
horrific turn when they discov-
ered videos clips of the alleged
assaults of the minors girls and
other pornographic videos he
had downloaded from the inter-
net.
Perumal was arrested under
relevant sections of the Protec-
tion of Children from Sexual
Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, and
Section 378 (rape) of the Indian
Penal Code, and the Information
Technology Act and sent to judi-
cial custody at the Chengalpet
speaking on condition of ano-
nymity, said that the police are
now planning to seek Perumal’s
custody for further interroga-
tions. “We are also planning to
freeze his bank account,” the
officer said.
The five girls, aged 4, 9, 11, 13
and 15, rescued on Monday, are
now at a government-run home
for children in the city. “They
(the five girls) are doing fine for
now,” chairperson of Chennai’s
child welfare committee, Tamil-
selvi, said. According to officials,
mothers of two of the girls con-
nived with the accused and were
paid between ₹1,000 and ₹2,000
each time.
The two women, who have
also been arrested and are
lodged at the Puzhal prison in
the city, are seen in the videos on
Perumal’s phone engaging in
sexual acts with him. “The two
women had an affair with him
(accused) and later when he
demanded their daughters, they
brought them without any hesi-
tation... in exchange for money,”
the deputy commissioner said.
A forensic team is analysing
the phones of the accused to
check if he shared the videos of
the children he had filmed, offi-
cials said.
Police are yet to ascertain how
long Perumal has been carrying
on with his crimes
T
US military plane from
Afghanistan left the
region facing uncer-
tainty, with the Taliban seeking
to cement control of a nation
shattered by two decades of war
and an economy long dependent
on foreign aid and opium sales.
Now the US, its allies, and
adversaries including Russia and
China must all regroup and
assess how they’ll approach the
Taliban, which swept to power
with stunning speed as Ameri-
can and NATO troops withdrew
over the summer. The chaos of
the American withdrawal fol-
lowing the collapse of Ashraf
Ghani’s government only under-
scores the country’s fragility and
the daunting challenges that
await.
After evacuating some
120,000 people, the US says it
will look to help any Americans
who remain in the country. Less
certain is the fate of the tens of
thousands of Afghans -- civil
society workers, women and
girls, minorities -- who may still
want to flee but couldn’t make it
through the crush of people at
Kabul’s airport this month.
What Will Happen to
People Left Behind?
General Kenneth “Frank”
McKenzie, head of US Central
Command, said Monday that the
take a “diplomatic sequel” to the
military effort to evacuate U.S.
citizens.
“We will keep working to help
them,” secretary of state Antony
Blinken said Monday evening
after a Pentagon briefing.
The more complicated ques-
tion is the fate of those Afghans
who worked for the US govern-
ment and military and the coun-
try’s US-backed government, as
well as people who may be sub-
ject to oppression and reprisals
by the Taliban -- women and
girls, ethnic and religious minor-
ities, educators, employees of
charities and other non-govern-
ment organisations and others.
“I think the number of
Afghans who worked with us
and other coalition forces for the
last 20 years are going to be few
and far between getting out,”
former national security adviser
John Bolton said. As for the
remaining Americans, “I’m very
worried that they’re not coming
out,” he said.
The US and European allies
have said they will continue to
help facilitate evacuations from
Afghanistan, and on Sunday the
state department and 97 other
countries announced they had
reached an agreement with Tali-
ban leaders to allow them to
continue removing people from
the country after Monday’s with-
Taliban fighters arrive inside the Hamid Karzai International
Airport in Kabul on Tuesday.
drawal.
“The Taliban has made com-
mitments on safe passage and
the world will hold them to their
commitments,” President Joe
Biden said in a statement on
Monday.
A Taliban government
The decisions the Taliban make
in the days following the US
withdrawal will reverberate long
into Afghanistan’s future.
The militant group has
engaged in talks with Afghan
power brokers -- including
Hamid Karzai, the first president
after the US invasion, and Abdul-
lah Abdullah, No 2 in the ousted
administration -- on forming a
AP
new government.
In press conferences and
interviews with Western media,
Taliban representatives have
said their government will be
more inclusive to women,
offered amnesty to those who
fought against them, and vowed
to battle corruption.
Many in Kabul and most out-
side the country are sceptical,
suspecting a rapid return to the
brutality that defined Taliban
rule in the late 1990s that some
Afghans initially welcomed for
bringing order in the wake of a
bloody civil war. And with even
the Taliban surprised at how
quickly they seized power, it’s
unclear if the group’s leaders can
the Taliban to attempt a different
approach. Ethnic and religious
conflicts have defined politics in
Afghanistan, and a viable power-
sharing agreement has long
eluded the country’s rulers. To
avoid yet another civil war, the
largely Pashtun leaders in the
Taliban will need buy-in from
the ethnic Uzbeks, Tajiks and
Hazaras that wield regional
power.
That task becomes even taller
with the Taliban facing terrorist
threats of their own from a local
offshoot of Islamic State. And in
a digital age where mobile phone
cameras put atrocities in the full
view of the world, a reign of ter-
ror could again isolate Afghani-
stan from the world, destabilis-
ing the Taliban government.
Will the world recognize
the Taliban?
For the US and its allied part-
ners, a decision about how or if
to recognise the Taliban govern-
ment is a high-stakes diplomatic
quandary wrapped in political
dynamite. On Monday, a senior
state department official said US
recognition of a new govern-
ment wouldn’t come anytime
soon.
The White House so far has
largely sidestepped the issue.
Biden has said the legitimacy of
the government in Afghanistan
The first formal recognition of
the Taliban government by a
major power is likely to come
from China, which has previ-
ously welcomed Taliban repre-
sentatives to Beijing and hinted
at the possibility in recent public
statements.
Can Afghanistan’s
economy advance?
Afghanistan’s economy is on the
brink of collapse, and the biggest
challenge for the Taliban govern-
ment will be averting further
shocks that would result in spik-
ing prices and a humanitarian
crisis.
The US-led war left large
swaths of the Afghan economy
dependent on foreign aid and
financing. The economy has
been thrown into further peril
after the US froze nearly $9.5 bil-
lion in Afghanistan central bank
assets and stopped shipments of
cash to the nation.
Zahid Hamdard, the deputy
finance minister in the recently
deposed Afghan government,
urged the global community to
continue providing aid to the
country, saying it would help get
the new Taliban government
“addicted to aid”.
Navigating the short-term cri-
sis will be essential to the Tali-
ban’s hopes of profiting from
Afghanistan’s minerals wealth.
04 NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021

My Delhi

Rain nightmare for Delhi, once more

UPTICK IN DENGUE
OUTBREAK IN THE
CAPITAL, 97 CASES
REPORTED SO FAR
HT Correspondent ANAND PARBAT Anonna Dutt
htreporters@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s roads were

Heaviest spells of August Rainfall (in mm)
anonna.dutt@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: Delhi has reported

flooded yet again on Tuesday
when heavy morning rains
brought the city to a halt, with
commuters across the city strug-
gling as key stretches were inun-
dated, exposing the pathetic
drainage system, the failure to
prepare for the monsoon, and the
lack of a comprehensive plan to
rid the city of the annual water-
logging menace.
According to India Meteoro-
logical Department (IMD) data,
Delhi on Tuesday received
84.1mm rain between 8.30am and
2.30pm. According to officials of
the traffic police and the public
works department (PWD), heavy
waterlogging was reported under
the AIIMS flyover, ITO, Ring Road
near Hyatt Hotel, both sides of the
Savitri flyover, Maharani Bagh,
Dhaula Kuan to 11 Murti carriage-
way, Shahjahan Road, Lala Lajpat
Rai Marg, and Moolchand under-
pass, among others.
Waterlogging was also seen in
residential colonies such as Jang-
pura extension, Defence Colony,
Maharani Bagh, Malviya Nagar,
Garhi village, Sangam Vihar, Vig-
yan Lok, and Laxmi Nagar, they
said.
Flooded roads led to traffic
snarls on several key stretches
such as ITO, Vikas Marg, Ring
Road near IP Estate flyover, Meh-
rauli-Badarpur Road, Dhaula
Kuan, near Bhikaji Cama Place on
Ring Road, Narayana, Rohtak
Road, Peeragarhi and Nangloi,
among others, as commuters
uploaded videos of waterlogged
streets in different parts of the city
on social media.
PWD officials said around
30-40 waterlogging complaints
were received till Tuesday even-
ing. According to municipal offi-
cials, nearly 10 incidents of trees
falling were reported. A portion of
a wall also collapsed near Sainik
Farms.
“Getting stuck in a traffic jam is
a nightmare whether it is due to
waterlogging or poor roads. I was
stuck in a traffic jam for on Roh-
tak Road near Peeragarhi.
Authorities should do something
so that such level of waterlogging
doesn’t occur!” Ramesh Kush-
waha, a resident of Patel Nagar
said.
Uday Verma, a resident of Hari
Nagar who travels to Uttam
Nagar daily, said, “This has
become a recurring issue. When-
ever it rains, it becomes a head-
ache to step out of home. A lot of
promises are made by the agen-
cies every year, but it’s the same
story that is repeated after rains.”
A senior traffic police officer
said they diverted traffic on vari-
ous stretches due to heavy water-
logging.
Collective failure
The last drainage master plan
was drafted by the Delhi adminis-
tration in 1976. To be sure, Delhi
was administered by a metropoli-
tan council between 1966 and
1990. In 2016, the Delhi govern-
ment commissioned a study of
the city’s drainage system by IIT-
Delhi. Following the study, a
drainage master plan was com-
piled which pointed, among other
things, to the fact that the city has
no single agency to manage and
maintain drainage. However, the
plan was not implemented.
A multitude of agencies being
responsible for maintenance of
storm water drains that leads to a
blame game between the munici-
pal corporation and the Delhi
government over which drains
were not cleaned on time and
which were not cleared of silt.
The Delhi government has said
it has started work on fixing a
drainage plan for the city. Last
week, after chairing a review
meeting on the Delhi drainage
masterplan, chief minister Arvind
Kejriwal said the design of city
drains will be changed according
to the suggestions by an expert
team from IIT-Delhi to ensure
smooth flow of water during and
after heavy rains and resolve the
problem of waterlogging on roads
during monsoon.
According to a senior PWD
official, they have also cancelled
leaves across the department to
ensure everyone is on duty to
address issues during the mon-
soon. But, so far, it does not seem
to be working.
The scenes visible on Tuesday,
when Delhi got 84mm of rain in a
short span, were also visible on
August 21, when Delhi received
138.8mm rain -- the highest in a
single day in over 14 years.
PWD officials said pumps were
used to drain out water from heav-
ily waterlogged stretches. They
said 1,500 suction pumps and
CCTVs are being installed at vul-
nerable locations for timely action.
“We are keeping an eye on the
situation and ensuring that peo-
ple do not face much inconven-
ience due to waterlogging. We are
dealing with waterlogging com-
plaints on priority basis,” a senior
PWD official said.
A south Delhi municipal cor-
poration alleged much of the
waterlogging took place on roads
that are managed by PWD. “The
complaints received from resi-
dential areas were attended by
civic officials and water was
drained with pumps,” he said.
73.2
69.1
50.4
2.30am to 8.30am to 5.30am to 11.30am to 11.30am to 8.30am to 11.30am to 8.30am to 5.30pm to 11.30pm to
5.30am 11.30am 8.30am 2.30pm
21-Aug 31-Aug 21-Aug
Note: Rainfall data pertains to 3-hour time periods as recorded by IMD; shown here
A DTC bus pushes on through
a waterlogged road at Anand
Parbat, after heavy rainfall on
Tuesday. According to IMD,
the city received 84.1mm rain
in six hours. SANCHIT KHANNA/HT
Short, intense rain spell
IMD officials said that Delhi, for
the past few years, receives show-
ers in short and intense spells
rather than being uniformly
spread across the monsoon
months.
“The rainfall received on
August 21 was too intense for a
24-hour period. Even 100mm
rainfall within three hours is too
much. Ideally, this amount of rain
should be uniformly distributed
over the month. More than 100
mm rainfall must happen over a
period of a week to 15 days,” an
IMD scientist said.
IMD has forecast thunder-
showers and heavy rain at iso-
lated places on Wednesday.
The city recorded a maximum
temperature of 28.9 degrees Cel-
sius, five degrees below the nor-
mal for this time of the year, and a
minimum temperature of 25.4
degrees Celsius, one degree below
the normal. On Monday, the
maximum temperature was
recorded at 34.6 degrees Celsius.
an uptick in dengue cases with 97
of rainfall deficit of August (normal patients registered by the munici-
83% rainfall of 232.5mm) was covered in
just three of these three-hour rain
spells, according to IMD data
pal corporations so far. Of these,
45 cases were recorded in August,
officials said.
The city reported 78 cases dur-
ing the same period last year,
when Delhi was also witnessing a
surge in Covid cases. There were
92 cases reported in the same
15.0 14.0 period in 2019. No deaths due to
the infection have been reported
5.0 5.0 4.8 4.5 4.2 so far. Municipal officers have
been reporting uncontrolled
breeding of mosquitoes in several
areas with short and intense spells
2.30pm 11.30am 2.30pm 11.30am 8.30pm 2.30am of rain causing heavy waterlog-
31-Aug 08-Aug 20-Aug 20-Aug 07-Aug 21-Aug 21-Aug ging across the city.
“We have reported a lot of mos-
are 10 of the largest 3-hour recordings in the month of August quito breeding across the city. The
uncontrolled breeding means we
need to do fogging along with anti-
AIIMS larvals to prevent the adult mos-
quitoes from spreading the infec-
tion,” said a senior official from the
east Delhi municipal corporation.
He said the problem could be
compounded if there is a surge in
Covid-19 cases again. “All our
manpower gets deputed on vari-
ous Covid-19 related activities. If
there is a surge again, we will not
be able to carry out breeding con-
trol activities,” the official said.
City doctors have confirmed
receiving dengue patients. “We are
now seeing a few cases of dengue;
with good rains now it might go
up. Last year, we did not see many
dengue cases but that could also
ITO be because people weren’t going to
hospitals and getting tested. In
most cases, dengue can be man-
aged at home,” said Dr Surajit
Chatterjee, senior consultant of
internal medicine at Indraprastha
Apollo hospital.
Dr Rommel Tickoo, director of
internal medicine at Max hospital,
Saket, said, “We are now seeing
sporadic cases of dengue. Even
with the rains, hopefully there
wouldn’t be a surge. We are
already at the end of August, den-
gue usually peaks in September
and starts going down in October.
Flooded roads at AIIMS and ITO, two stretches which reported Even if we start seeing cases in the
heavy waterlogging on Tuesday. Various residential colonies in next two weeks, there wouldn’t be
the Capital also reported waterlogging. SANJEEV VERMA/HT too many cases.”

(Regd. Office: PSEB Head Office, The Mall, Patiala)

City
AVANILEKHARA: Corporate Identification Number (CIN): U40109PB2010SGC033813
Website: www.pspcl.in
THISMEDAL (Contact Number 9646123323)
PROVESNO Tender Inquiry No. PPR-07/2021 Dated: 27.08.2021
DISABILITYCAN Chief Engineer/PP&R Organization, Shed No. D-3, Shakti Vihar, PSPCL, Patiala invites
E-tender under three part bid system for supply of electrical energy from interstate/
STOPMEFROM intrastate sources viz. Generators, Traders having Valid Inter State Trading License
EXCELLING issued by CERC for interstate trading of energy, intrastate trading license issued by
CHECK PSERC for intrastate trading of energy, State Electricity Boards, State Electricity Utilities,
States, IPPs & CPPs from 16th Sep 2021 to 31st March 2022. The link for the e-Bidding
OUT portal is www.mstcecommerce.com and is also available on the website of Ministry
TODAY’S of Power (www.powermin.nic.in) and PFC Consultancy Limited (www.pfcindia.com).
EDITION For detailed NIT & tender specifications please refer to www.mstcecommerce.com and
official website of PSPCL i.e. www.pspcl.in from 28.08.2021 onwards.
Note:- Corrigendum and addendum, if any will be published online at
www.mstcecommerce.com
C320/21 7300

Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS)

(Defence Research and Development Organisation; DRDO)
Brig SK Mazumdar Marg, Timarpur, Delhi-110054
Online Interview for the Award of Research Associate (RA) and
Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)
Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Delhi, a premier Institute of Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO), invites applications from young and meritorious Indian nationals, who desire to pursue defence related
research as Research Associate (RA) and Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) Junior. Selection will be made on the basis of
Online-interview (through Video Conferencing) of shortlisted candidates only:
1. DRDO Research Associate (RA):
S Post Fellowship Vacancy Essential Qualification Stipend
N Code (Monthly)
1. RA-01 RA- Life 01 PhD* in Life Sciences/Biotechnology Rs. 54,000+
Sciences HRA as per
DRDO rules
2. RA-02 RA- 01 PhD* in Chemistry
Chemistry (Experience in organo-metallic chemistry/synthesis of metal organic frame
. works will be given preference)
3. RA-03 RA-Pharma 02 PhD* in Pharmacology/Regulatory Pharmacology/Pharmaceutical Sciences
(Experience in animal handling and pharmacokinetics will be given preference)
2. DRDO Junior Research Fellowship (JRF):
S Post Fellowship Vacancy Essential Qualification Stipend
N Code (Monthly)
1. JRF- JRF- 02 First Class M.Sc. in Chemistry with valid NET/GATE (JRF/LS) qualification Rs. 31,000+
01 Chemistry from any approved National agency HRA as per
2. JRF- JRF- 02 First Class M.Sc./B.Tech./M.Tech.* in Life Sciences/Biomedical Sciences/ DRDO rules
02 Life Biochemistry/Biotechnology with valid NET/GATE (JRF/LS) qualification
Sciences from any approved National agency
3. JRF- JRF- 01 First Class M.Pharma/M.Sc. in Pharma with valid NET/GPAT (JRF/LS)
03 Pharma qualification from any approved National agency
4. JRF- JRF- 01 First Class M.Sc. in Physics with valid NET/GATE (JRF/LS) qualification
04 Physics from any approved National agency M.P. ROAD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED
(*Only those candidates who have been awarded PhD degree/provisional certificate are eligible to apply. M.Tech. is exempted (M.P. State Highway Authority)
(Govt. of M.P. Undertaking)
from NET/GATE as per guidelines.)
45-A, Arera Hills, Bhopal–462011
General Instructions: Ph. : 0755-2597290/2765205, Fax : 0755-2572643
Website : www.mprdc.gov.in CIN : U45203MP2004SGC016758
1. Upper age limit: 35 years for RA & 28 years for JRF as on the date of interview. The upper age limit shall be relaxable to
No. 7450/MPRDC/317/HR/2021 Bhopal, Date : 31.08.2021
the candidates belonging to SC/ST (5 years) and OBC (3 years).
2. Tenure: Tenure of RA is maximum Two Years. Tenure of JRF is maximum Five Years. CORRIGENDUM
3. How to apply: Application form can be downloaded from ‘What’s New’ column at https://www.drdo.gov.in/whats-new M.P. Road Development Corporation Ltd. invited application
vide advertisement No. 644/MPRDC/377/HR/2021, Bhopal
and submitted along with copies of testimonials by email on inmasrf@gmail.com.
dated : 16.08.2021 for various posts on Contract, Deputation
4. The last date for receipt of duly filled application form through email only is 1700hrs, 24.09.2021. and through GATE-2021 qualified candidates.
5. For detailed advertisement with instructions and guidelines, you can refer our advertisement at DRDO official website at Due to administrative reason, advertisement for the post of
https://www.drdo.gov.in/whats-new Technical Advisor (Contract) and Asstt. General Manager
(F&A) on deputation basis are hereby cancelled. Advertisement
Head HRD for other posts are remain unchanged.
davp 10301/11/0048/2122 For Director M.P. Madhyam/101795/2021 CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER (ADMN.)
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 My Delhi 05

Twin towers: Buyers rejoice as Noida

authority vows action against officials
Ashni Dhaor Supreme Court with its plea.
For residents of Supertech
ashni.dhaor@hindustantimes.com

NOIDA: Soon after the Supreme
Court on Tuesday ordered the
demolition of two 40-storey resi-
dential towers of Supertech’s
Emerald Court in Noida over
gross violations of building
rules, the Noida authority said it
will act against its officials who
Demolition order
Emerald Court, the apex court’s
Tuesday ruling spelled the end of
a decade-long legal battle, one in
which they emerged victorious.
The Emerald Court Owner The Supreme Court says the two 40-storey
Resident Welfare Association each towers were built as a result of
(RWA) led the legal battle
against the twin towers and on
“nefarious complicity” between the Noida
Tuesday its members congratu- authority officials and Supertech

were found guilty of violating
rules to aid and abet the builder.
In a statement issued after the
verdict, the authority said it will
ensure full compliance of the
Supreme Court order to demol-
ish the two towers.
“After a detailed study of the
order... every point mentioned in
the said order will be followed by
the authority. Tower numbers
T-16 and T-17 will be demolished
under the supervision of expert
body within three months as
prescribed by Hon’ble Supreme
Court,” the authority said.
In its 140-page judgment, the
top court said the twin towers
were constructed as a result of
the “nefarious complicity”
between the Noida authority
officials and the developer.
In this regard, the authority
statement said, “Strict action will
be taken by the authority against
the builder and the then officers/
employees who were found
guilty, as per rules.”
Noida authority chief execu-
tive officer Ritu Maheshwari
said a few days ago, a depart-
ment inquiry was initiated
against an authority official “for
not informing senior officials
about the Emerald Court case”.
“This official was attending the
court hearings for seven years.
Department action has been ini-
tiated against the official after
the top court’s scathing com-
ments about the authority were
reported in the media,” she said.
Maheshwari was referring to
the court’s comments on August
4 when it said, “You (the author-
lated each other and distributed
sweets in celebration.
RWA president Rajesh Rana
said, “We are thankful to the
judiciary for passing the judge-
ment in favour of homeowners.
We plan to hold a social event in
the society soon to celebrate this
victory, while adhering to Covid
norms.” UBS Teotia, who was the
president of the RWA in 2014,
said homebuyers have won over
the builder’s malafide intentions.
“When we bought a flat here
from our life savings in 2009, we
were told that the complex will
have just 600 flats. However, the
builder’s malafide intention was
to make fools of us and fill the
complex with 1,500 flats,” said
Teotia, a retired government offi-
cial.
When asked about the impact
the judgement would have on
buyers who invested in the twin
towers, Apex and Cayene, Teotia
said, “It is a victory for them as
well as the builder has to refund
them the principal amount at
12% interest.”
SK Sharma, a flatowner and a
member of the legal team that
fought the case, said his faith in
the judiciary has been restored.
“It has been a tiresome fight
since 2012 but we have finally
emerged victorious. Many peo-
ple told us that we will lose to
such a big and strong builder.
However, we did not quit and
remained undeterred in our
fight,” said Sharma, who is also a
retired government official.
RK Arora, chairman of the
Supertech Group, said his group
14 held in police
FACTS ABOUT THE PROJECT
Two 40-storey towers: APEX AND CEYANE
LOCATION : Noida Sector 93A along Noida Expressway
APARTMENTS : 857, of which 627 sold crackdown on
TIMELINE
JUNE 2005: Original plan sought to build 14 towers
each with nine floors and 550 flats in total
APEX
TOWER
CEYANE
TOWER
cyber fraudsters
DECEMBER 2006: Plan modified to 15 towers with 11 HT Correspondent pital in west Delhi was duped of
floors each and 689 total flats. Supertech argued that these ₹10 lakh while searching online
htreporters@hindustantimes.com
plans were governed by Noida building byelaws of 1996 for the customer care of a private
NEW DELHI: In a crackdown bank. “She came across the fake
NOVEMBER 2009: Plan revised to include two more
against cyber frauds based in website of the bank created by
towers - Apex and Ceyane - with 24 floors. Construction
begins
Jharkhand’s Jamtara-Deoghar- the cyber criminals, who con-
Giridih-Jamui belt, Delhi Police’s vinced her to install a remote
MARCH 2012: Total floors increased to 40 in the cyber crime cell on Tuesday said access app, and subsequently
two towers. These were under 2010 Noida building they have arrested 14 people of a siphoned off ₹10 lakh from her
regulations, Supertech argued. cheating syndicate following account. Due to our prompt
DECEMBER 2012: Emerald Court Owners Residents multiple raids conducted in action, ₹8 lakh was blocked and
Welfare Association approaches Allahabad high court Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh returned to her immediately. A
claiming the towers violated UP Apartment Owners Act, between August 23 and 26. case was registered and investi-
2010 that required sanction of homebuyers for changes in Police said the suspects used gation was taken up,” said Roy.
plan. They said the towers came up over an area marked as different modus operandi to During the probe, Roy said,
a garden in brochure. SC was told the towers were built at dupe over 2,500 people from investigators found that the
less than the mandated 16m distance between them Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maha- fraudsters were operating from
APRIL 2014: High court ordered demolition of the rashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan, the Jamtara-Deoghar-Giridih-Ja-
towers, and refund to buyers with 14% interest. It Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana mui belt. During one of the sub-
observed that officials of Noida Authority colluded with and Delhi in the last two years. sequent raids, Ghulam and four
builder to construct the towers; towers sealed Among those arrested are Altaf associates was arrested from
Ansari, the kingpin of the syndi- Loni in Ghaziabad on August 23.
MAY 2014: Noida Authority and Supertech cate, and Ghulam Ansari. “Ghulam had jumped from
move Supreme Court claiming no norm was flouted.
Police said that the suspects the first floor of a building to
Homebuyers too move court seeking refund, regularisa-
allegedly created fake websites avoid arrest, but the police per-
tion of towers or order to shift them to another project
of popular e-commerce plat- sonnel chased him and eventu-
AUGUST 2021: Supreme Court slams Noida Authority forms and promoted them ally caught him and his associ-
for its "shocking" misuse of powers to sanction the two online using Google Ads and ates. Their interrogation led to
towers, upholds high court’s demolition order search engine optimisation. the arrest of nine others, includ-
They also allegedly imperson- ing Altaf Ansari, from the four
ated bank employees and districts of Jharkhand on August
SUPREME COURT'S DIRECTIONS The record of this case is replete with instances
induced people into download- 24 and 26,” said Roy.
Demolition Flat owners of which highlight the collusion between the officers ing remote access applications Police said the suspects also

₨2 crore
l l

ity) reek of corruption”.
In 2012, the Allahabad high
court ordered the demolition of
the twin towers on a petition by
residents, but in 2014, the
builder secured a stay on the
order and approached the
will file a review petition seeking
a reconsideration of the order to
demolish the two towers.
To this, Rana said, “We are not
aware of the builder’s intentions
to file a review petition. We are
sure that the truth will prevail.”
should be done the two towers of Noida with the appellant and its management. disguised as banking apps. The revealed that they duped preg-
in three months, to get refund The case has revealed a nefarious complicity of the victims were reportedly tricked nant and lactating women --
paid for by @ 12% interest to be paid to RWA planning authority in the violation by the developer into making UPI transactions in after getting their contact details
within a month of the provisions of law.. —SUPREME COURT the guise of welfare benefits. from anganwadi workers
Supertech in two months
Citing one such example, through fraudulent means -- by
Anyesh Roy, DCP (CyPAD), said a promising them ₹5,000 under a
doctor working at a private hos- government scheme.

117k new streetlights CYCLOTHON TO

installed in two years
Sweta Goswami
sweta.goswami@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi govern-
ment has installed over half of
the intended 210,000 LED street-
lights across the city under the
“Mukhyamantri Street Light”
scheme announced by chief
minister Arvind Kejriwal in Sep-
tember, 2019, as part of the gov-
ernment’s larger plan to address
concerns regarding the safety of
women in the Capital.
Data submitted by the state
power department to the Delhi
assembly showed that until last
month 117,314 streetlights were
installed under the scheme. The
Delhi government has out-
sourced the task to the three pri-
vate power distribution compa-
nies in the city, each of which are
supposed to set up at least
70,000 streetlights in the areas
under their jurisdiction.
In 2019, a survey commis-
sioned by the Delhi government
found that Delhi had at least
2,000 dark spots, mostly in
unauthorised colonies, regular-
ised colonies, villages, slum clus-
ters and markets. No fresh sur-
vey has been conducted since
then to ascertain if the number
of such spots has been reduced
as a result of new streetlights.
Reports showed that north
and northwest Delhi areas got
the highest number of street-
lights, where Tata Power Delhi
Distribution Limited (TPDDL)
installed 68,121 streetlights. “We
have nearly completed our tar-
get of setting up and energising
70,000 streetlights. With this,
areas under TPDDL, primarily
north and parts of west Delhi,
have the least dark spots, ensur-
ing a safe travel experience for
pedestrians and motorists,” said
a TPDDL spokesperson.
BSES Rajdhani Power Limited
(BRPL), which provides power to
south and west Delhi, installed
30,080 streetlights, and BSES
Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL)
managed to set up only 19,113
street lights so far. BYPL supplies
power to east and central Delhi.
When asked about the slower
pace of installation in these
areas, the power department, in
its written reply to the assembly,
stated that the urban develop-
ment department is yet to
release the remaining funds to
the discoms for the scheme
because of which the work is
currently not being expedited.
“So far, the department has
approved ₹45 crore for street-
lights due to which around
117,000 of them could be
installed. More funds are in the
process of being approved,” said
a senior official of the state
urban development department.
Under the project, each of
Delhi’s 70 assembly constituen-
cies is supposed to get 3,000
such streetlights. An official
from the power department said
the remaining LED lights will be
installed by the end of this year.
“At least 90,000 more LED
streetlights will be installed by
the end of this year, ensuring
that each assembly constituency
gets 3,000 of them. Lights ran-
ging between 20 and 40 watts
are installed as part of this pro-
gramme. These lights have sen-
sors and turn off automatically
in daylight. They usually come
with a five-year guarantee,” the
official said.
The 210,000 streetlights are
over and above the 700,000-odd
street lights set up on electric
poles that are currently func-
tional in the city. Under the
scheme, lights are installed out-
side residences and on the
periphery walls of neighbour-
hoods. The power bills of the
LED streetlights are to be borne
by households, which the gov-
ernment then reimburses in
their monthly power bills, the
official added.
SPREAD MESSAGE
OF FIRE SAFETY
NEW DELHI: As part of the Azadi
ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations
-- a nationwide campaign to cele-
brate the 75th year of India’s
Independence -- the Delhi Fire
Services (DFS) on Monday orga-
nised a seven-kilometre-long
cyclothon in central Delhi to
spread awareness on fire safety
measures among the public.
Led by the DFS chief Atul
Garg, nearly 150 fire department
officials and fire fighters cycled
to Gol Dak Khana from their
headquarters in Connaught
Place and returned.
Addressing the participants,
Garg said, “Many departments
were formed in independent
India and each of them was
assigned various responsibili-
ties. The fire service department
was given the best responsibility
– to save lives and property of
citizens from fire and other
emergencies.” Garg said that it
was a matter of pride that all the
brave fire officials are tirelessly
working to uphold the motto --
“We serve to save”. HTC
DFS chief Atul Garg flagged off
the cyclothon. SOURCED

Suspect in hate slogan case surrenders

Karn Pratap Singh
karn.singh@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The chief of Hindu
Raksha Dal Bhupinder Tomar
alias Pinky Chaudhary surren-
dered on Tuesday afternoon
before the Delhi Police in connec-
tion with the Jantar Mantar hate
sloganeering case, ending a 22
day-long manhunt that the city
police launched to nab him.
Chaudhary has been evading
arrest ever since a case of promot-
ing enmity between different
groups and defying Covid-19
guidelines was registered on
August 8, hours after videos of an
event — which organisers
claimed was held that day near
Jantar Mantar to push for the
abolition of “colonial-era laws” —
showed people shouting anti-
Muslim slogans. The Delhi high
court, on August 27, and a ses-
sions court, on August 21, rejected
Chaudhary’s plea seeking interim
protection from arrest in the case.
Chaudhary is the ninth person
to be arrested in the case. The oth-
ers are BJP leader Ashwini Upad-
hyay, Uttam Malik, Preet Singh,
Deepak Singh, Deepak Kumar,
Vinod Sharma, Vinit Bajpai and
Sushil Tiwari. Upadhyay has been
released on bail.
Chaudhary reached Mandir
Marg police station around
2:30pm on Tuesday, where over
100 of his supporters lifted him
on their shoulders, and took him
inside the police station. The sup-
porters stay put outside the sta-
tion for around half an hour and
chanted slogans, such “ Jai Shri
Ram”, and “Pinki Bhaiya tum
sangharsh karo, hum tumhare
sath hain.” Some also recited the
‘Hanuman Chalisa’ before leaving
the place
After Chaudhary released a
video on Monday claiming to sur-
render at the Connaught Place
police station around Tuesday
noon, several police personnel
were sent to his home and office
in Ghaziabad to arrest him. Police
personnel in uniform and in civ-
vies were deployed outside the
police station and all routes lead-
ing to the station to foil Chaud-
hary’s surrender plan.
The teams checked every four
wheeler halting near the police
station.
However, Chaudhary reached
the Mandir Marg police station
riding pillion on a bike.
“We left with Pinky Bhai in a
Scorpio car from our Ghaziabad
office and stopped near the Regal
building in Connaught Place,
where our supporters were wait-
ing on a bike. Pinky Bhai rode pil-
lion and went to the Mandir Marg
police station. It was all part of
our strategy to ensure the police
did not arrest him while he was
on his way to the station,” said
Amit Prajapati, an office bearer of
the Hindu Raksha Dal.
The Hindu Raksha Dal is a
right-wing organisation which
had claimed responsibility for the
violence on JNU campus in Janu-
ary 2020.
A senior police officer, who did
not want to be named, said,
“Chaudhary came outside the
Mandir Marg police station with
his supporters. He was appre-
hended and taken to the special
staff’s office in the station prem-
ises. Chaudhary was arrested and
later shifted to the Connaught
Place police station.”
Police said they will produce
Chaudhary before the court on
Wednesday and seek his custody
for further investigation.
06 My Delhi
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021

Top Delhi University body’s final NHAI PROPOSES

seal of approval for FYUP’s return
Kainat Sarfaraz
kainat.sarfaraz@htlive.com
NEW DELHI: Delhi University’s
executive council (EC), the var-
sity’s highest decision-making
body, on Tuesday passed a slew
of academic reforms (AC) rati-
fied by the academic council last
week, including reintroducing
the four-year undergraduate
programme (FYUP), which was
scrapped in 2014 amid protests
by teachers and students, and
moves to implement the 2020
National Education Policy
(NEP) from next year.
Further, the university will
also scrap MPhil from next year
-- as per the NEP 2020 provisions
-- and offer one- and two-year PG
programmes from next year.
“The one-year PG programme
will be for students who have
opted for four-year UG course.
Students with three-year UG
programme can opt for a two-
year postgraduate programme
from next academic session,”
said EC member VS Negi.
Three of the 20 members in
the EC disagreed with the pro-
posals on implementing NEP-
based reforms on Tuesday.
“NEP is blueprint for privati-
sation and commercialisation of
education, its implementation in
DU will lead to destruction of
FACTORY WORKER
HELD FOR SEXUAL
ASSAULT ON MINOR
NEW DELHI: A four-year-old girl
was sexually assaulted, alleg-
edly by a 28-year-old factory
worker in central Delhi’s Bapa
Nagar near Prasad Nagar, on
Thursday. The girl’s family
caught the alleged accused and
beat him before handing him
over to the police. He was
arrested on Friday and sent to
jail, police said on Tuesday.
A police officer said that the
arrested man, identified as
Dipesh, worked in a jeans man-
ufacturing factory in Baba
Nagar. The minor girl lives with
her family close to the factory.
Dipesh was known to the girl’s
family, the officer said. HTC
FYUP was first introduced in 2013 but following stiff opposition
from teachers and students, it was rolled back in 2014.
leading public funded universi-
ties of India… It will adversely
affect the workload of teachers
leading to further contractuali-
sation and retrenchment of
teaching faculties,” said the dis-
sent note issued by the three
members.
Advocate Ashok Agarwal, one
of the EC members who dis-
sented, said it was “unfortunate”
that a major restructuring was
passed without responding to
important issues raised by the
members. “The merits of FYUP
are not clear. Why should stu-
dents pay for an additional year
if the in-depth study of a disci-
260k register for admissions at DU
HT Correspondent
htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Delhi University
received 261,661 paid applica-
tions till 7.30pm as registra-
tions for merit-based admis-
sions to over 70,000 under-
graduate seats edged to a close
on Tuesday. The university offi-
cials expect the number to
increase as the registration
portal will stay open till Tues-
day midnight.
University officials had ear-
lier said that the first cut-off
will be released on October 1
and admissions to UG courses
will begin on October 4.
Last year, the university had
HT PHOTO
pline in a four-year UG course
remains what it is today in a
three-year undergraduate hon-
ours course,” he said.
However, Negi, who is a mem-
ber of the right-wing teachers’
group National Teachers’ Demo-
cratic Front, pointed out that the
NEP was “passed by the AC and
accepted by the EC”.
“It is an avenue for expansion
of higher education, aiming at an
increase in gross enrolment
ratio by introducing flexibility in
the curriculum. The university
has enough time for preparation
and implementation of the NEP-
based provisions. Workload,
received 351,974 paid applica-
tions in the three-month regis-
tration window which was
100,000 more than the corre-
sponding figure in 2019
(258,388). Till 7.30pm on Tues-
day, the university recorded a
total of 438,696 registrations, a
drop from the over 550,000
registrations on the admission
portal last year.
“Last year, due to multiple
reasons, the registration portal
was open for more than two
months. In comparison, regis-
trations were open for a
shorter duration this time --
from August 2-31 -- because the
dates for DU entrance tests
have also been announced... DU
funding and expansion issues
are there and the university
should be vigilant in implement-
ing NEP in such a way that the
number of teaching positions
and funding is safe ,” he said.
In 2013, the university had
introduced FYUP but following
stiff opposition and protest from
students and teachers, it was
eventually rolled back in 2014.
On August 24, the university’s
academic council passed -- amid
dissent from 16 elected repre-
sentatives -- the agenda to start
FYUP along with multiple entry-
exit scheme (MEES) and aca-
demic bank of credits (ABC)
from the next academic session.
Under the FYUP programme,
interested applicants will be
allowed to choose from three UG
options next year: a three-year
honours programme, a four-year
honours in a discipline or a four-
year honours in a discipline with
research. The MEES-ABC combi-
nation will allow students to exit
the course at the end of any aca-
demic year with credits in their
“academic bank account” and
later redeem those credits to
pursue the course at any other
university which comes under
the ambit of the ABC system.
According to the policy docu-
ment placed in the statutory
bodies in DU, an entrance test
aspirants had around a month
to register for UG courses so we
are hoping that the interested
candidates applied during this
period,” said a senior DU offi-
cial requesting anonymity.
Officials also noted that of
the 438,696 registrations,
around 261,661 were paid appli-
cations because of various fac-
tors, including duplicate regis-
trations by the same candidate.
Online registrations for the
postgraduate, MPhil, and PhD
courses took place between
July 26 to August 21, with the
university receiving over
183,815 applications for 20,000
PG seats and 30,019 registra-
tions for MPhil/PhD.
will be conducted for lateral
entry of students from other uni-
versities registered under the
ABC system, whereas re-entry
will be allowed for students of
DU and its own colleges. The
entry will be subject to the avail-
ability of infrastructural capacity
in the institute.
Calling for a wider consulta-
tion process with stakeholders,
DU teachers’ association (DUTA)
president Rajib Ray also said,
“The FYUP structure with MEES
will increase expenditure
towards the undergraduate pro-
gramme. Students leaving the
system without finishing the
programme will always be
treated as dropouts by the job
markets. MEES will only
increase attrition rate giving a
false sense of a degree.”
During the zero hour on Tues-
day, the EC members held dis-
cussion on various matters
including the delay in the release
of grants in 12 Delhi govern-
ment-funded colleges and the
subsequent problems in disbur-
sal of salaries, absorption of
ad-hoc and temporary teachers,
and demand for health card for
all the teachers.
Meanwhile, DUTA held an
online demonstration to protest
against the e-learning promoted
through these reforms.
Though UG registrations
ended on Tuesday, students
appearing for their compart-
ment or improvement exams --
the exams will continue till
September 16 -- will be allowed
to upload their documents like
marksheets and certificates
after their results are declared.
With around 220,000 stu-
dents scoring 90% and above
marks in CBSE Class 12 results
this year, and around 70,000 of
them scoring 95% or more, the
undergraduate cut-offs are
likely to soar this year as well.
Every year, DU receives around
80% of applications from stu-
dents graduating from CBSE
affiliated schools.
₹140 TOLL TAX FOR
FULL 60KM RIDE
ON DELHI-MEERUT
EXPRESSWAY
Peeyush Khandelwal
peeyush.khandelwal@htlive.com
GHAZIABAD: The National High-
ways Authority of India (NHAI)
on Tuesday rolled out tentative
toll rates for the Delhi Meerut
Expressway (DME) between
Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi and
Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, and
invited bids from interested
agencies to serve as toll collec-
tor. The DME was opened for
commuters in April but no toll
is levied currently.
As per the tentative rates, a
car travelling the full 60km
length of the DME will have to
pay ₹140 as toll fee.
“The NHAI has invited bids
for toll operators and proposed
the toll rates. The Union Minis-
try of Road Transport and High-
ways will finalise the toll and
then issue a notification to this
effect,” said Mudit Garg, project
director from NHAI. “The notifi-
cation process may take a fort-
night. Once the rates are
approved, we will move forward
to select the agency. For some
routes, we are yet to decide on
the toll and that will be rolled
out later.”
The toll, he said, will be
charged as per the distance
travelled and will be deducted
from the FASTag system linked
to the vehicle. In case of non-
FASTag vehicle, the authority
will recover double the toll at
the exit point and the driver will
also be penalised, he added.
For the purpose of calculat-
ing the distance travelled, the
NHAI has installed the auto-
matic number-plate readers at
all entry and exit points.
According to NHAI, the
annual toll collection potential
on the Expressway is estimated
to be about ₹111.39 crore with
cars/jeeps/light motor vehicles
accounting for about 82% of the
traffic and buses,trucks and
other heavy vehicles accounting
for 14%.
The 59.77km 14-lane DME
has three phases — phase 1 links
Sarai Kale Khan and UP Gate,
phase 2 connects UP Gate and
Dasna, and phase 4 connects
Dasna and Meerut. Phase 3,
which is a six-lane 32-km
access-controlled alignment
between Dasna and Hapur, does
not come under DME.
Kitty Kumaramangalam was killed during a robbery at her house
in Vasant Vihar in July.
Cops ready charge
sheet in murder of
ex-minister’s wife
Prawesh Lama
prawesh.lama@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police
have prepared the charge sheet
in the murder of Kitty Kumara-
mangalam, 70, against the three
prime suspects who are in jail,
and may submit it to a city court
next week, a senior police officer
privy to the details said
Kitty, a resident of Vasant
Vihar, was the wife of former
Union minister PR Kumaraman-
galam and lived alone in her sec-
ond floor apartment in A-block.
She was found murdered inside
her house on the evening of July
7, the police said.
The police said the colony’s
laundry man Raju Lakhan Kano-
jia, 24, and his accomplices
Rakesh Raj,34, and Suraj, 24,
murdered Kitty before robbing
valuables from her house.
As one of the most important
pieces of evidence against the
three men, police have attached
the statement of Kitty’s help,
Mithila Devi,33, who was also
assaulted by during the robbery.
One of the three suspects stran-
gled Mithila and left her for dead
after she fell unconscious. She
woke up about an hour later and
informed the police.
Police said Mithila is the sole
eyewitness and also a victim in
the case. About 10 days ago,
Mithila identified the three men
in a test identification parade
inside Delhi’s Tihar jail.
In her statement, Mithila said
around 8.30pm on July 7, the
doorbell rang. When she opened
the door, Raju Kanojia along
with two men forcibly entered
the house.
The police added that the jew-
SANCHIT KHANNA/HT
ellery that the suspects robbed
from Kitty and Mithila, and
which was recovered from their
possession, is also a key evidence
against them. “The three
accused snatched Mithila’s neck-
lace, nose ring and earrings,
which we have seized from
them. The recovery of stolen
property is admissible as evi-
dence under the Indian Evidence
Act. Mithila had also mentioned
in the FIR that the three men fled
with her three pieces of gold jew-
ellery. She has also identified the
three stolen items,” said an offi-
cer, who asked not to be named.
According to the first officer,
police have attributed the mur-
der to robbery, and named laun-
dryman Raju Lakhan Kanojia as
the main accused. In the charge
sheet, police have said that Kan-
ojia was lured by a small detach-
able locker that he often saw
inside Kitty’s almirah in the bed-
room. “That mini locker has also
been retrieved. We also have
CCTV footage of the three men
entering the building where
Kitty lived. They also drank
liquor at a roadside vend in PVR
Priya. The CCTV camera from
near the vend shows their faces.
They did not have helmets,” the
officer quoted above said.
A second officer aware of the
charge sheet details said, “The
suspects planned the murder
outside the PVR Priya market
just hours before they commit-
ted it. All three of them were
drunk. Raju confessed that he
did not know Mithila too would
be in the house. Mithila started
working for Kitty 4-5 days before
the incident. They were confi-
dent that Kitty would be alone
and did not carry a weapon.”

Unforgettable
Homage
´Fbd»FÀF ¸Fb£¹FF»F¹F, ¸F²¹F´FiQZVF, ·Fû´FF»F
Ii ¸FFaI ´Fb.¸Fb./2-¨F¹F³F/ÀF-1/ /2021 ·Fû´FF»F, dQ³FFaI : / /2021
d½FÄFd´°F
15th Death Anniversary ´Fbd»FÀF ¸Fb£¹FF»F¹F ¦FÈW (´Fbd»FÀF) d½F·FF¦F, ¸F²¹F´FiQZVF VFFÀF³F IZ Aa°F¦FÊ°F ¸F²¹F ´FiQZVF ´Fbd»FÀF (C°IÈ ¿M
SHRI O.P. RANDEV d£F»FFdOÞ ¹FûÔ I e d³F¹Fbd¢°F) d³F¹F¸F-2021 IZ Aa°F¦FÊ°F ¸F²¹F´FiQZVF ´Fbd»FÀF ¸FZÔ C´F d³FSeÃFI /AFSÃFI -
20.11.1929 - 01.09.2006
d½FÀF¶F»F WZ °Fb ·F°FeÊ ½F¿FÊ-2021 ¸FZÔ 10 C´F d³FSeÃFI E½Fa 50 AFSÃFI ´FQûÔ WZ °Fb d½FÄFF´F³F E½Fa AF½FZQ³F
A simple noble soul, whoselife ´FÂF ¸F.´Fi. ´Fbd»FÀF I e ½FZ¶FÀFFBÊ M www.mppolice.gov.in A±F½FF recruitment.mppolice.gov.in
was full of compassion, sincer- ´FS ªFFSe dI ¹FF ¦F¹FF W` Ü
ity, determination, honesty &
intergrity. A loving and a doting
AFG³F»FFBÊ ³F AF½FZQ³F ·FS³FZ I e ´FiFS¸·F dQ³FFaI 27.08.2021 E½Fa AFG³F»FFBÊ ³F AF½FZQ³F ·FS³FZ I e
father. I pray to almighty to give Aad°F¸F dQ³FFaI 27.09.2021 W` Ü AF½FZQ³F ¸FZÔ ÀFaVFû²F³F I S³FZ I e ´FiFS¸·F dQ³FFaI 27.09.2021
his soul eternal peace. Deeply E½Fa AF½FZQ³F ¸FZÔ ÀFaVFû²F³F I S³FZ I e Aad°F¸F d°Fd±F 04.10.2021 W` Ü Helpline-desk cell no.
missed & remembered by: Puneet Randev 9811188896
9424417934 (Timing : 9.30 am To 5:30 pm), mail-help.sports@mppolice.gov.in
(ÀFaªFe½F VF¸Fe, ·FF.´Fb.ÀFZ.)
ªFe-16257/21 Ad°FdS¢°F ´Fbd»FÀF ¸FWFd³FQZVFI (¨F¹F³F/·F°FeÊ)
MeI F IZ Qû Oû¬F ´Fc¯FÊ, I ûd½FO ÀFZ ÀFbSÃFF ÀF¸´Fc¯FÊ ´Fbd»FÀF ¸Fb£¹FF»F¹F, ·Fû´FF»F

We are with you in

your difficult times.

To place an obituary or remembrance ad

with call on:

NORTH DELHI: Vishal: 9910249013

EAST DELHI: Sumit: 9899268321
WEST DELHI: Amit: 9811865689, Raj: 9891984320
SOUTH DELHI: Abhishek: 9899865804, Rohit: 9910207577
CENTRAL DELHI: Prayag: 9999084347
We are here for you
GURGAON/FARIDABAD: Ranjeet: 9911819105
NOIDA/GHAZIABAD: Gaurav: 8630242501
To place an obituary or
HT HOUSE: 011-66561389 / 1245 | Tele Booking: 1800-103-1800
remembrance advertisement with
Publications Rates per sq.cms.
HT Delhi (Metro Run) ` 785/-
HT Delhi (Full Run) ` 900/-
HH Delhi (Full Run) ` 265/-
HT (Metro Run) + HH - Delhi (Full Run) ` 880/-
HT + HH - Delhi (Full Run) ` 970/- Scan the code:
Mint Delhi ` 250/-
HT (Metro Run) + Mint Delhi ` 800/-
You can also call on:
HT (Full Run) + Mint Delhi ` 915/-
1800-103-1800 (9 AM to 9 PM everyday)
*HT - Hindustan Times, HH - Hindustan Hindi *GST as applicable
or
The above rates are applicable for advertisement sizes of up to 320 sq. cm.
Placement of these advertisements will be on specified pages only. Width of Email at: counterclassifieds@hindustantimes.com
obituary ad will be 4 cm. or in multiples of 1 cm. thereof.*
Conditions Apply*GST as applicable
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 My Delhi 07
DDA getting approvals for
Delhiwale Mayank
Austen Soofi

walk plans at six key areas EXPERIENCE YOUR CITY LIKE NEVER BEFORE

HT Correspondent
htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Develop-
ment Authority (DDA) is in the
process of taking approvals from
various stakeholders for the
implementation of its six walk
plans that were drafted as part of
the walkability policy approved in
2019.
The six walk plans — for ITO
junction, INA Market and Metro
station, Hauz Khas-IIT-Delhi,
Delhi university’s north and south
campuses, Lajpat Nagar, and
Kamla Nagar market — were
given in-principle approval last
month by the Unified Traffic and
Transportation Infrastructure
(Planning and Engineering) Cen-
tre (UTTIPEC).
A senior DDA official said: “We
have asked the consultant to
incorporate the changes sug-
gested by UTTIPEC, take the nec-
essary approvals from various
stakeholders, and prepare the
drawings. This will be submitted
to UTTIPEC again for final
movement of high-speed traffic,
especially at ITO junction, on
Aurobindo Marg near INA, Ring
Road and Outer Ring Road.
As part of its walk plans, DDA
has proposed traffic-calming
measures, wide pedestrian path-
ways, and cycling lanes in a radius
of 500m around Metro stations.
At INA Market and the Metro
station, DDA has proposed con-
struction of a subway near the
Barapullah flyover or a crossing to
ensure smooth pedestrian move-
ment between the Metro station
and the Kidwai Nagar complex.
According to a senior DDA offi-
cial, a proposal in this regard is
being processed by the National
Capital Region Transport Corpo-
ration (NCRTC) — INA Market is
one of the main transit hubs
planned by NCRTC for its Delhi-
Alwar RRTS corridor.
The NCRTC spokesperson said,
“Multimodal integration is central
to the planning and implementa-
tion of RRTS. The INA RRTS sta-
tion is one of the significant sta-
tions on the Delhi-Gurugram-SNB
shall be provided ensuring seam-
less, safe and secure pedestrian
movement from one mode to the
other.”
The subway or a pedestrian
crossing is proposed near the
junction of Aurobindo Marg and
Pandit Bhagwan Sahay Vats Marg.
“The plan will be finalised after
we get all the necessary approv-
als,” the spokesperson said.
DDA officials said the pedes-
trian footfall is very high at ITO
due to offices and other institu-
tions. It is also well-connected
with Metro, railway, and other
modes of public transport.
A large number of people,
mostly living in nearby towns, use
the suburban railway service for
daily commute, and for them,
Tilak Bridge near ITO is an impor-
tant station. UTTIPEC has
approved the plan to connect the
ITO skywalk, which was made
operational in 2018, with the foot
overbridge at Tilak Bridge railway
station.
A senior UTTIPEC official said,
“This will provide thousands of
division at CSIR-Central Road
Research Institute, said, “Pedestri-
an-friendly infrastructure around
mass transit is the need of the
hour. There is a need to connect
all the modes of public transit to
provide seamless connectivity.
The proposal to connect the sky-
walk with the foot overbridge will
benefit pedestrians a lot, as it will
connect two modes of transport.
There should be a provision for
travelators on skywalks.”
The walk plans have proposed
a pavement width of 1.8m to 2m in
all the six areas. Areas such as
Delhi university campuses (south
and north), ITO , and popular
markets such as Lajpat Nagar and
Kamla Nagar have very high
pedestrian footfall. DDA officials
said that there are problems due
to encroachment in Lajpat Nagar
and Rao Tula Ram Marg and
Benito Juarez Marg in South Cam-
pus area.
At Lajpat Nagar, DDA has pro-
posed a separate hawking zone to
address the issue of encroach-
ment. “The consultant will

Here lies Akbar’s foster brother

approval and shared with execut-
ing agencies. The process to final-
ise the drawings will take around
two months.”
DDA officials said the six areas
taken up in the first phase have
high pedestrian volume and
safety is a serious concern due to
corridor. It will be integrated with
the existing INA metro station,
which caters to two Metro lines
through an underground subway.
The scheme of integration is being
planned taking all stakeholders
on board. Like other RRTS sta-
tions, here also the integration
people hassle-free access to ITO
and Pragati Maidan Metro station.
The consultant (roped in by DDA)
will take all the necessary approv-
als and submit the final draw-
ings.”
S Velmurugan, chief scientist,
traffic engineering and road safety
address all the issues in the final
drawings,” said an official.
DDA officials said walk plans
are being prepared for 21 more
locations such as Nehru Place, A little -known and yet very visible On climbing the steps, and reaching up to the
Bhikaji Cama, all ISBTs and the tomb, the visitor lands amid the quiet charms of
Karol Bagh market, among oth- monument in Mehrauli street life. Idle boys snooze against the pillars, old
ers. men talk politics atop the boundary wall, giggling
You want to lose yourself? Okay, come couples playfully hide from each other, and stray

HC to hear petitions against COURT MAY ADMIT { PUBLIC

Asthana’s appointment today
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court
on Wednesday will hear a plea
challenging the appointment of
Rakesh Asthana as the commis-
sioner of Delhi Police along with
an intervention application filed
in the matter by an NGO.
“We are keeping the matter for
hearing tomorrow (Wednesday).
Intervention application (by the
NGO) will be listed tomorrow
along with the writ petition,” a
bench of chief justice DN Patel
and justice Jyoti Singh said.
The intervention application
was filed by NGO Centre for Pub-
lic Interest Litigation (CPIL)
through advocate Prashant
Bhushan after the Supreme
Court, on August 25, asked the
high court to take a decision on
the plea challenging Asthana’s
appointment within two weeks.
The apex court also permitted the
CPIL to move the high court with
its challenge.
Appearing for the NGO,
Bhushan argued that the earlier
petition filed by Sadre Alam in the
high court was a “copy-paste” of
his plea before the SC. He said
that even the punctuations have
been placed at the same places, as
his petition.
“We have filed an intervention
on behalf of CPIL. Something
extraordinary has happened in
the matter. The petition is a total
copy-paste... The court may list it
tomorrow or whenever...,” said
Bhushan.
Appearing for Sadre Alam, the
petitioner in the high court, BS
Bagga opposed the submissions
and said this petition was his hard
work and that such insinuations
should not be made.
Additional solicitor general
Chetan Sharma said the present
instance was a case of competitive
PIL.
INTEREST } here then.
This is Delhi’s only known Bhool
Bhullaiya, a knotty labyrinth where one
may easily get lost, as its thick walls
CHARGE SHEET IN enclose a maze of passageways — indeed a perfect
place to play hide and seek. Curiously, it isn’t very
RAPE-MURDER
CASE TODAY
well known, although perched on the top of an
easily visible, and accessible, hillock in south
Delhi’s Mehrauli. Officially, this monument is a
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court is tomb, and is believed to be the resting place of
likely to take cognisance of a Adam Khan. Mughal-era aficionados might recall
charge sheet filed by the city this quarrelsome “doodh-shareek bhai” (milk-
police in the alleged gang rape sharing foster-brother) of Akbar who was exe-
and murder of a nine-year-old cuted by the emperor by having him hurled twice
Dalit girl at a crematorium in
Delhi Cantonment area, on
Wednesday.
The matter was to be taken
from a parapet in Agra — you may watch a recrea-
tion of that death in all its blood-curdling details
in the 2008 film Jodhaa Akbar.
Today, the memorial feels bleached of its past,
up on Tuesday but it was not totally distanced from the compromised figure it
heard because of some proce- commemorates. The stones are permeated in
dural formalities. serene quietude even though surrounded by the
Earlier, on Saturday, the city chaos. The octagonal monument, circa 1562,
police filed a charge sheet nam- resembles Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock. It looks
ing four accused, including a onto a bazaar and a bus terminal, the parts of the
priest, for the sexual assault historic district of Mehrauli that seems least his-
and subsequent murder of the toric.
minor. HTC
dogs prowl in the corridor. In the evening, fami-
lies from the neighbourhood gather to enjoy the
breeze. Many play ludo on the mobile phone.
The monument offers a panoramic view of the
Qutub Minar. In rainy afternoons, the centuries-
old stone tower looks like the last soldier alive in
the battlefield.
The two mithai shops (Siya Ram Sweets and
Aggarwal Sweets), down the stairs, add their con-
tribution to the Adam Khan experience. The
cooks are always busy churning out fresh rounds
of deep-fried jalebis in sooty black cauldrons. Con-
sume the crispy sweets inside the tomb for full
effect. The edifice is also special for being one of
Delhi’s few Akbar-era monuments (another note-
worthy souvenir from that time is the Athpula
stone bridge that runs over the duck pond in
Lodhi Gardens). The dome is crowned by a red
w
READ:
For more
sandstone finial. Eight arched entrances opens
into the dark chamber. This cloudy afternoon the stories by
stone floor is littered with bird feathers. Adam Mayank
Khan lies in the centre, his grave absurdly narrow. Austen
It is said that his mother — Akbar’s chief wet Soofi,
nurse Maham Anga — was also buried here; she scan the
died shortly after her son’s gory end. Her grave is QR code
missing.

Advertisement No. 51/2021

Government of India Tender/RFP for Services like AMC, Housekeeping etc.
Public Enterprises Selection Board Government of Punjab
invites applications for the post of Tender Reference No. 13 of 2021
DIRECTOR (CONSUMER MOBILITY) The Department of Punjab Water Supply & Sewerage Board invites
online bids for:-
in
Sr. Name of the Work
BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED No.
Last date of receipt of applications in PESB is 1. Construction, Supply, Installation & Commissioning of STP of
by 15.00 hours on 01st November, 2021. 4.00 MLD capacity based on Conventional Extended Aeration
For details login to website technology at Bhogpur Town Distt. Jalandhar and all other works
contingent thereto including 5 years O&M after successful
http://www.pesb.gov.in
completion of work.
2. Construction of MPS & Rising Main at Bhogpur Town Distt.
Jalandhar
Const. of MPS & Rising Main of 300mm i/d DI K-9 pipe, 500mm i/d
DI K-7 pipe & all other works contingent thereto.
Important dates are as under:-
i) Last date and time for on-line : 23.09.2021 upto 1630 hrs.
submission of bid for tenders
ii) Date and time of opening of : 24.09.2021 at 1400 hrs.
Technical Bid for tenders
Note:- Other terms and conditions refer to website https://eproc.
punjab.gov.in. Corrigendum, if any, will be issued on website
only.
Sd/- Executive Engineer
Pb. W/S & Sew. Divn. No. 1, Jalandhar
7329 e-mail id:- eej1.pwssb@punjab.gov.in

OFFICE OF THE ENGINEER IN CHIEF

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT,
NAVA RAIPUR, ATAL NAGAR
(CENTRAL TENDER CELL)
E-Procurement Tender Notice
Main Portal : https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in
Tenders are invited for the Following works :-
S. System PAC
N Tender Amount
Name of Work
o No./ (Rupees
Date in lacs)
1 81940 Upgradation and Renewal of Rajnandgaon 2032.47
(First Call) Arjunda Gunderdehi Road (SH-23) in Km.
19.08.2021 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 36, 37, 38/2-
4=9.40 Km, Sikosa Arjunda Road (MDR)
in Km. 1 to 9, 10/2 to 12/8=11.75 Km,
Durg- Gunderdehi - Balod Road (SH-07) in
Km-16, 19, 20, 23-26, 30, 43, 52-54 = 12.00
km And Gunderdehi Dhamata-Road (SH-
23) in Km. 4, 7, 10, 13, 14, 16, 19, 20, 23,
24, 27, 28 & 29/2 = 13.20 Km Total Length
25.20 K.M. (Group Tender). CGRIDCL
2 81954 Construction of Chilfi To Khamhariya 689.94
(First Call) Road (1.500 k.m.) & Khapri to Singhanpuri
19.08.2021 Road (3.250 Km) Total Length- (4.750 m.),
i/c Bridge and Culverts Distt.-Bemetara.
(Group Tender). CGRIDCL
3 81946 Construction of Kodwa - Saja - Silhati 533.87
(First Call) (6.50 Km) & Tendubhata To Mohtara
19.08.2021 Road (3.20 Km) Total Length - (9.700 Km)
i/c Bridges & Culverts Distt.- Bemetara
(Group Tender). CGRIDCL
4 82030 Upgradation and Renewal work of Durg- 903.24
(First Call) Dhamdha-Bemetara Road 8.00 K.M.
23.08.2021 District Durg. CGRIDCL
Last Date of Tender Downloading For Dt. 13.09.2021. For more
details on the Tender and Bidding Process please visit the above
mentioned portal.
Chief Engineer
(Central Tender Cell)
Office Of Engineer In Chief
G-63210/3 P.W.D., Nava Raipur, Atal Nagar
08
Safe return of Indians, terror in Af soil mustn’t be used
focus at 1st India,Taliban meet to attack nations: UNSC
Rezaul H Laskar
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: India raised the safe
return of its citizens still in
Afghanistan and concerns about
Afghan soil being used for anti-
India activities and terrorism
during its first officially
acknowledged contact with the
Taliban on Tuesday.
India’s ambassador to Qatar,
Deepak Mittal, flagged these
issues when he met Sher
Mohammed Abbas Stanekzai,
head of the Taliban’s political
office in Doha. The meeting was
held at the Indian embassy in
Doha “on the request of the Tali-
ban side”, the external affairs
ministry said in a brief state-
ment.
The meeting between Mittal,
who earlier headed the Pakistan-
Afghanistan-Iran desk in the
external affairs ministry, and
Stanekzai, who has issued sev-
eral messages seen as concilia-
tory towards India, came after
months of backchannel contacts
between the Indian side and the
Taliban that were first reported
by HT in June.
“Discussions focused on
safety, security and early return
of Indian nationals stranded in
Afghanistan. The travel of
Afghan nationals, especially
minorities, who wish to visit to
India also came up,” the state-
ment said. Mittal “raised India’s
concern that Afghanistan’s soil
should not be used for anti-In-
dian activities and terrorism in
any manner,” it added.
“The Taliban representative
{ CONGRATULATES TALIBAN }
Al-Qaeda calls for
Amarinder, Rahul differ on Rawat meets Sidhu
Jallianwala Bagh revamp
Kashmir ‘liberation’
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Al-Qaeda on Tuesday
called for the “liberation” of Kash-
mir and other so-called Islamic
lands from the “clutches of the
enemies of Islam” in a message
congratulating the Taliban for its
victory in Afghanistan.
A detailed statement issued by
al-Qaeda hours after the Taliban
declared Afghanistan had gained
“full independence” following the
drawdown of US forces referred
to the terror group’s long-stand-
ing calls for the so-called libera-
tion of regions such as Palestine,
the Levant, Somalia and Yemen.
“0’ Allah! Liberate the Levant,
Somalia, Yemen, Kashmir and the
rest of the Islamic lands from the
clutches of the enemies of Islam.
0’ Allah! Grant freedom to Mus-
lim prisoners across the world,”
said the message titled “Congratu-
lations to the Islamic Ummah on
the victory granted by Allah in
Afghanistan!”.
Following the Taliban takeover
of Afghanistan on August 15, one
of the greatest concerns of
regional analysts and security
officials has been the victory ener-
gising terror groups active across
South Asia.
One of the conditions of the
peace deal signed by the Taliban
and the US in February 2020 was
‘Fortified rice not enough for malnutrition’ Navy, BEL ink contract for 1st
Zia Haq
zia.haq@htlive.com
NEW DELHI: India wants to for-
tify all rice with iron and vita-
mins distributed under various
subsidised food-security
schemes, but experts are divided
on whether the move will solve
the country’s notoriously long-
standing malnutrition problem
among women and children.
The government currently
runs a pilot programme to dis-
tribute nutrient-enriched rice,
covering a period of three years
beginning 2019-2020 with a bud-
get of ₹174.6 crore.
On August 15, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, during his Inde-
pendence Day speech,
announced a major expansion of
the programme. “Will give rice
fortified with nutrients to the
poor. Be it the rice available at
the ration shop, the rice pro-
vided to the children in the mid-
day meal, or the rice available
through every scheme, all of it
shall be fortified by 2024,” Modi
had said.
India ranks 94th among 107
nations on the Global Hunger
Index, which classifies the coun-
assured the ambassador that
these issues would be positively
addressed,” the statement said,
without giving details.
Tuesday’s meeting was the
first time that India officially
acknowledged any sort of con-
tact with the Taliban since the
group was formed in the 1990s.
Experts said it was significant
the meeting was sought by the
Taliban’s political leadership just
about a fortnight after the group
assumed power in Kabul on
August 15, following the collapse
of the Ashraf Ghani government.
Ahead of the meeting in Doha,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
directed a high-level group,
which includes external affairs
minister S Jaishankar and
National Security Adviser Ajit
Doval, to focus on India’s imme-
diate priorities against the back-
drop of the rapidly evolving situ-
ation in Afghanistan.
Among these priorities are the
safe return of Indians stranded
in Afghanistan, travel of Afghan
nationals, especially minorities
such as Sikhs and Hindus, to
India, and assuring that Afghan
territory is not used in any man-
ner for terrorism directed
against India, people familiar
with developments said on con-
dition of anonymity.
The group, which has been
meeting regularly over the past
few days, includes senior offi-
cials from key ministries and
security and intelligence organi-
sations.
The group is monitoring the
ground situation in Afghanistan,
where the US completed the
drawdown of its troops on Mon-
amid Punjab tussle
that the Afghan militant group
should sever its ties with all terror
groups, particularly al-Qaeda.
However, reports issued by the
UNSC’s sanctions monitoring
team in recent months have
stated that there is no evidence
the Taliban has cut or reduced its
links with al-Qaeda.
“We praise the Almighty, the
Omnipotent, who humiliated and
defeated America, the head of dis-
belief. We praise Him for break-
ing America’s back, tarnishing its
global reputation and expelling it,
disgraced and humiliated, from
the Islamic land of Afghanistan,”
the al-Qaeda message said.
“Afghanistan is undoubtedly a
graveyard of empires and an
impregnable fortress of Islam.
With the defeat of the Americans,
this is the third time that the
Afghan nation, within a span of
less than two centuries, has suc-
cessfully defeated and expelled an
invading imperialist power.”
The defeat of the “American
Empire of Evil” is a “tremendous
source of inspiration for the
oppressed of the world”, the state-
ment said, and offered al-Qaeda’s
congratulations to the Taliban
leadership, especially its chief
Haibatullah Akhundzada.
“These events prove that the
Way of Jihad is the only way that
leads to victory and empower-
ment,” the message said.
indigenous anti-drone system
Children have mid-day meal at a government school in Jaipur. HT PHOTO
try as having a “serious” level of
hunger. According to the 2016
National Family Health Sur-
vey-4, which provides the latest
data on health and nutrition,
38.4% of children in the country
were stunted (low height for age)
and 21% were wasted (low
weight for height).
The survey showed that the
prevalence of anaemia among
Indian women had seen only a
small decline from 55% in
2005-06 to 53% in 2015-16.
The government’s rice fortifi-
cation push is important given
that targets under the National
Taliban fighters take out a rally celebrating the US withdrawal of troops, in Kabul on Tuesday.
day, and international reactions
to the latest developments, such
as the resolution passed by the
UN Security Council on Tuesday.
In the resolution adopted at the
end of India’s presidency of the
UN Security Council for the
month of August, the body
demanded that Afghan soil
shouldn’t be used to attack any
country or to shelter terrorists.
The external affairs ministry
acknowledged at a briefing last
week that at least 20 Indian
nationals had missed a military
evacuation flight from Kabul on
August 25 but didn’t give an
exact number for Indians who
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The revamp of the
Jallianwala Bagh Smarak in
Amritsar, inaugurated by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi last
weekend, seems to have divided
the Congress. While former
party president Rahul Gandhi
condemned the government’s
project, Punjab chief minister
Amarinder Singh backed the
renovation.
“Such an insult to the martyrs
of Jallianwala Bagh can only be
done by those who do not know
the meaning of martyrdom. I am
the son of a martyr — I will not
tolerate the insult of martyrs at
any cost,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted
in Hindi on Tuesday. “We are
against this indecent cruelty.”
But hours after Gandhi’s
remark, the Punjab CM called
the revamp “very nice”. “I don’t
know what has been removed.
To me it looks very nice,” Singh
said. The apparent disagreement
comes amid a tussle for control
of the party in Punjab between
Singh and the state unit chief
Navjot Singh Sidhu.
On Saturday, at the launch of
the memorial through video-
conferencing by the PM in which
Singh was also present, he had
said it must serve as a reminder
for future generations about the
right of people to peaceful, dem-
Nutrition Mission are yet to be
achieved. Since its launch, the
mission aims to reduce stunting
and wasting by 6% by 2022 (2%
per year) among children, and
anaemia by 9% (3% per year)
among children, teenage girls
and pregnant women.
“An emphasis on fortification
alone may do little to improve
anaemia because from a nutri-
tion point of view, absorption of
iron depends on the availability
of other nutrients that can come
only from a diversified diet,” said
Veena Shatrugna, former deputy
director at the National Institute
My India
are still in Afghanistan. Another
140-odd Afghan Sikhs and Hin-
dus were also barred by the Tali-
ban from entering Kabul airport
to take a military evacuation
flight on August 25 and efforts
are underway to get them out.
On the security front, India’s
greatest concern is the reported
presence in Afghanistan of up to
10,000 fighters from Pakistan-
based terror groups such as
Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mo-
hammed and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
There are also concerns about
the Haqqani Network, a key fac-
tion of the Taliban that has tar-
geted Indian interests in the past
Rahul Gandhi, Amarinder Singh
ocratic protest.
But as images of the
revamped passage to the memo-
rial were circulated on social
media on Monday, there was
outrage about alterations done
to it. Several other Congress
leaders, including the party’s
deputy leader in the Lok Sabha,
Gaurav Gogoi, and spokesperson
Jaiveer Shergill, also tweeted on
the issue.
Shergill alleged that the Bhar-
atiya Janata Party (BJP)-led cen-
tral government’s renovation of
the passage “is not to preserve
but erase the marks of atrocities
committed by General Dyer dur-
ing British rule”. “Call me a tra-
ditional Indian but I am not a fan
of installing disco lights on insti-
tutions of importance and dig-
nity,” Gogoi said. The outrage
was also shared by other opposi-
tion political parties. Shiv Sena
leader Priyanka Chaturvedi
of Nutrition, Hyderabad.
Officials, however, say the
government’s pilot programmes
have shown promising results.
In Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli,
rice fortified with iron had
shown a reduction in anaemia
prevalence by 10% and improved
average cognitive scores by 11.3
points, official provisional data
reviewed by HT showed.
A meta-analysis by World
Health Organization showed rice
fortified with vitamins and min-
erals, including iron, reduces the
risk of iron deficiency by 35% (16
studies having 14,267 partici-
pants).
According to Arun Kumar, a
nutritionist and a medical doctor
who works on health ethics and
conflict of interest, the govern-
ment ought to take into account
the latest recommended dietary
intake of various micronutrients,
which have lowered the daily
intake quantity of nutrients,
such as iron. “This means a sim-
ple diverse diet is still the best
option.”
Locally prepared, hot cooked
meals are still the preferred
option to boost the nutrition sta-
tus of malnourished children.
AFP
and has close ties to Pakistan’s
security establishment.
India for the first time opened
channels of communication
with several Afghan Taliban fac-
tions and leaders, including Mul-
lah Abdul Ghani Baradar, last
year. Stanekzai, seen as the
number two in the Taliban’s
negotiating team, has apparently
taken on a key role in foreign
relations, including the Taliban’s
outreach to regional countries.
In a video posted on social
media platforms on Saturday,
Stanekzai said, “India is very
important for this subconti-
nent.”
slammed the government for the
renovation and said it was dam-
aging “our collective history”.
Hitting out at Gandhi, BJP
general secretary Tarun Chugh
said “The Congress leader
should explain as to what his
party did for the famous memo-
rial... during its rule. When the
memorial is now being
expanded and modernised, then
the Congress is rattled.”
The revamp has also been
criticised by historians, who
have accused the government of
“Disneyfying” a sombre memo-
rial to the hundreds who fell to
British bullets at Jallianwala
Bagh on April 13, 1919. Indian
historian Syed Irfan Habib called
it an example of “corporatisa-
tion” of monuments and asked
the government to look after
them without meddling with the
“flavours of the periods these
memorials represent”.
Rahul Singh
rahul.singh@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy
on Tuesday signed a contract
with Bharat Electronics Lim-
ited (BEL) for India’s first
locally made naval anti-drone
system (NADS) with both “hard
kill” and “soft kill capabilities”,
the ministry of defence said in a
statement. The deal comes two
months after small drones
were used to target the Jammu
air force station on June 27, the
first-ever offensive use of
drones to target an Indian mili-
tary facility.
BEL will sign similar con-
tracts with the army and the
Indian Air Force, the statement
said.
The anti-drone system will
give the military both “soft kill”
and “hard kill” options to tackle
the new and fast-emerging aer-
ial threat. The first refers to
jamming the hostile drone,
while the second involves a
laser-based kill system. The
indigenous anti-drone system
{ CITES TALIBAN STATEMENT } LET, JEM NEED TO BE CALLED OUT: SHRINGLA
Rezaul H Laskar
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI : The United Nations
Security Council asserted on
Tuesday that Afghanistan’s soil
shouldn’t be used to attack any
country or to shelter terrorists,
even as foreign secretary Harsh
Shringla highlighted the impor-
tance of combating UN-desig-
nated terror groups such as
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-
e-Mohammed (JeM).
In a strongly worded resolu-
tion adopted at the close of
India’s presidency of the Security
Council for the month of August,
the UN’s highest body pointed to
the Taliban’s commitments
regarding combating terrorism
and allowing the safe and
orderly departure of Afghan and
foreign nationals. The UN Secu-
rity Council resolution 2593,
tabled by permanent members
France, the UK and the US, was
backed by 13 of the 15 council
members. Permanent members
China and Russia abstained.
The resolution demanded
“that Afghan territory not be
used to threaten or attack any
country or to shelter or train ter-
rorists, or to plan or to finance
terrorist acts”, and reiterated the
“importance of combating ter-
rorism in Afghanistan, including
those individuals and entities
designated pursuant to resolu-
tion 1267 (1999), and notes the
Taliban’s relevant commit-
ments”.
The Security Council pointed
to a Taliban statement of August
27, in which the group made a
commitment that Afghans will
be able to travel abroad, and
Gurpreet Singh Nibber
letters@hindustantimes.co
CHANDIGARH: Congress general
secretary Harish Rawat met the
party’s Punjab unit chief Navjot
Singh Sidhu in Chandigarh on
Tuesday to resolve a bitter tussle
between the latter and chief min-
ister Amarinder Singh for con-
trol of the party.
During the roughly three-
hour-long meeting, Sidhu
offered to quit his post if he was
given “no say in party affairs”,
said people privy to details of the
meeting. The closed-door event
was also attended by Sidhu’s
associate, Jalandhar Cantt MLA
Pargat Singh and two of the four
co-presidents of the party in the
state, Kuljit Singh Nagra and
Pawan Goel.
The people quoted above said
Sidhu conveyed his displeasure
to Rawat and said fulfilling poll
promises was key to winning the
2022 assembly elections. Sidhu
has been alleging that Singh’s
government failed in keeping
key manifesto pledges.
Rawat asked Sidhu and other
leaders to maintain party disci-
pline and not take issues into the
public arena, the people quoted
in the first instance said.
“If there is an issue, it will be
resolved. I’m in Chandigarh for
few days. Those who want to
meet me, are welcome,” Rawat
told reporters after the meeting.
THE ANTI-DRONE
SYSTEM WILL GIVE
THE MILITARY
BOTH ‘SOFT KILL’
AND ’HARD KILL’
OPTIONS TO DEAL
WITH THE FAST-
EMERGING THREAT
has been developed by the
Defence Research and Develop-
ment Organisation (DRDO) and
manufactured by BEL. The
DRDO said its counter-drone
technology could provide the
armed forces with the capabil-
ity to swiftly detect, intercept
and destroy small drones that
pose a security threat.
“The NADS can instantly
detect and jam micro drones
and use a laser-based kill
mechanism to terminate tar-
gets. It will be an effective, all-
encompassing counter to the
increased drone threat to stra-
tegic naval installations,” the
Harsh Shringla
leave the country at any time
they want via any border cross-
ing “with no one preventing
them from travelling”, and said it
expects the Taliban “will adhere
to these and all other commit-
ments, including regarding the
safe, secure, and orderly depar-
ture from Afghanistan of
Afghans and all foreign nation-
als”.
Shringla, who presided over
the Security Council meeting
that passed the resolution, told
the media that the UN and the
international community had
sent out a “strong signal” on its
expectations regarding Afghani-
stan.
Referring to the resolution
underlining the importance of
combating terrorism, he said:
“In that context, I may mention
that the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the
Jaish-e-Mohammed are UN
Security Council-proscribed ter-
ror entities that need to be called
out and condemned in the
strongest possible terms.”
The reference to terrorist indi-
viduals and entities designated
by Security Council resolution
1267 is of “direct importance to
India”, he added.
Shringla noted that the reso-
lution also recognises the impor-
Harish Rawat and
Navjot Singh Sidhu
He is likely to meet Singh on
Wednesday.
Rawat’s visit is aimed at
restoring the fragile peace in the
state unit that was shattered last
week with the chief minister
holding a show of strength and
Sidhu delivering an ultimatum
to the party leadership after a
key adviser was forced to quit
over controversial comments.
Bitter rivals Sidhu and Singh
have vied for control of the party
since May; the Congress leader-
ship brokered a truce in June
and appointed Sidhu as the state
unit chief in July, overriding the
CM’s objections.But neither
leader backed down.
On Tuesday, Sidhu tweeted
alleging that state government
had failed to nab drug traffick-
ers. Later in the day, Singh said
that 90% of the poll promises
made in 2017 were already ful-
filled and the rest would be done
soon.
statement said.
The Jammu drone attack
was a watershed in asymmetric
warfare and underlined the
need for the armed forces to
build capabilities to counter
the aerial threat, experts previ-
ously said.
The system was deployed for
VVIP protection duties during
Republic Day 2020, the visit of
US President Donald Trump to
Motera stadium in Ahmeda-
bad, Independence Day 2020,
Republic Day 2021 and Inde-
pendence Day 2021. DRDO
demonstrated its counter-
drone technology to different
security agencies at the Hindon
air force station in January
2020 and at the National Secu-
rity Guard (NSG) campus in
Manesar in August 2020 and
January 2021.
Both the static and mobile
versions of NADS will be sup-
plied to the navy shortly.
DRDO is also ready to trans-
fer technology to private com-
panies to produce the anti-
drone system.
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
tance of upholding human
rights, especially of Afghan
women, children and minorities,
an inclusive negotiated settle-
ment and humanitarian assist-
ance to Afghanistan.
“Over the last two decades, we
have extended over $3 billion of
assistance to Afghanistan in
infrastructure development,
capacity-building, education,
agriculture – areas that are
important for the people of
Afghanistan,” he said.
Shringla didn’t comment on
the abstentions by China and
Russia, saying only that the
Security Council had been une-
quivocal and the resolution
reflected the views of council
members.
People familiar with develop-
ments said on condition of ano-
nymity that China abstained
after it failed to have a reference
to the East Turkestan Islamic
Movement (ETIM) included in
the text of the resolution. China
also wasn’t keen on the resolu-
tion being passed while India
held the rotating presidency of
the Security Council for August,
the people said.
The Russian side, which has
been working closely with China
on Afghanistan, abstained on
similar lines, the people added.
The resolution was discussed
by external affairs minister S
Jaishankar with his US counter-
part Antony Blinken and there
were high-level contacts with
other Security Council members.
The resolution also addresses
India’s key concerns pertaining
to Afghanistan, such as facilitat-
ing travel from Kabul airport,
the people said.
PUNE WOMAN
TORTURED BY
IN-LAWS FOR SON,
2 ARRESTED: COPS
Shalaka Shinde
letters@hindustantimes.com
PUNE : Two people were
arrested after a 31-year-old
woman was allegedly stripped
and smeared with ashes by her
husband and mother-in-law in
order to get her to give birth to a
son after the birth to two daugh-
ters in Pune’s Pimpri Chinch-
wad, police said.
“We arrested the mother-in-
law and the godman identified
as Baban Dagdu Pawar (55) on
Saturday from a remote village
near Kamshet near Lonavala.
The husband is absconding,”
said inspector Dashrath Wagh-
mode of Mahalunge police out-
post on Tuesday.
On August 21, woman’s hus-
band and her mother-in-law
took her to a godman in Kha-
lumbre village in Khed Taluka
of Pune on August 21, according
to the complainant. “They took
me to meet a godman who
handed me some ashes and
asked me to eat,” read the com-
plaint. The godman also gave
some ashes to her mother in
law to be smeared on the
woman’s body, it read.
The woman has also submit-
ted that she found pictures offer
husband during a wedding cere-
mony with another woman.
The accused have been
booked under relevant sections
of the IPC along with section 3
of Maharashtra Prevention and
Eradication of Human Sacrifice
and other Inhuman, Evil and
Aghori Practices and Black
Magic Act, 2013.
ANOTHER BJP
MLA JOINS TMC
IN WEST BENGAL
KOLKATA: In a fresh setback to
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
in West Bengal, Biswajit Das,
the party’s MLA from Bagda
constituency in North 24 Parga-
nas, joined the ruling Trinamool
Congress (TMC) on Tuesday.
Das is the second BJP legisla-
tor to have switched sides in
two days and the third since the
Mamata Banerjee-led party
returned to power for a third
consecutive time in May this
year, after a sweeping victory in
the assembly elections.
A former TMC legislator
from Bongaon in North 24 Par-
ganas, Das had sided with the
BJP in June 2019, a month after
the party had won 18 of Bengal’s
42 Lok Sabha seats.
“There was some miscom-
munication which had led to
change. It shouldn’t have hap-
pened. I have come back,” he
told reporters at the TMC head-
quarters here. HTC
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 My India 09
{ BENGALURU } DRINK-DRIVING UNDER SCANNER

Farooq, LG spar MLA’s son, 6 others die in car crash

at J&K meeting HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com

BENGALURU: Seven people,

so we were uncertain. We soon
decided to pour water on the car
and pull the bodies out,” he said.
Adugodi traffic police have
filed a case under section 279
Pranab Mukherjee

Saubhadra Chatterji
letters@hindustantimes.com
SRINAGAR: The first-ever par-
liamentary outreach pro-
gramme for Jammu & Kashmir
panchayat bodies on Tuesday
saw a face-off between former
chief minister and National
Conference (NC) president
Farooq Abdullah and lieuten-
ant governor (LG) Manoj Sinha.
In the course of his com-
ments, Abdullah, who spoke
before Sinha, said: “If we are
with the country, the country
should also take care of us.”
The NC chief was referring
to terrorist attacks on pancha-
yat officials and demanded
security for them. He also
advised Sinha to do his work
“honestly” and cautioned that if
India can’t protect its diversity,
it can’t prosper. “Srinagar and
Chennai are so different. But
our binding factor is the
resolve that we can come
together to create this country.”
LG Sinha’s speech was
almost entirely a rebuttal. The
J&K LG recollected how he had
to battle “legacy issues” and
said “now, under the new dis-
pensation, every penny is
accounted for. No one can
usurp public funds like they did
earlier,” in an apparent refer-
ence to the tenure of earlier
J&K governments when devel-
opment funds allegedly didn’t
reach the people.
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla,
who convened the programme,
urged all democratic institu-
tions to “work together” to
“improve people’s lives. “If Pan-
chayati Raj is strong, we can
improve our governance and
delivery systems and create
atma-nirbhar (self-sufficient)
villages,” he said.
While Abdullah underlined
that during National Confer-
ence’s tenure, elections could
be held with great difficulty in
two tiers of the three-tier pan-
chayat system, Sinha hailed the
implementation of the entire
three-tier system under the
Narendra Modi government.
The LG also claimed that the
recent District Development
Council elections were “impar-
tial” and “without any vio-
War of words
“If we are with
the country, the
country should also
take care of us.”
-FAROOQ
ABDULLAH,
National
Conference
chief
Birla asks House panels to visit
far-flung areas of J&K, Ladakh
SRINAGAR : Lok Sabha
speaker Om Birla on Tuesday
announced that parliamen-
tary panels will be “encour-
aged” to visit far-flung areas
of Jammu & Kashmir,
Ladakh and northeastern
states in their study tours for
better outreach and under-
standing of grievances of
local people.
At the end of his week-
long tour of J&K and Ladakh,
Birla said: “I will ask the 16
House panels under the jur-
isdiction of Lok Sabha to fre-
quently visit these far-flung
areas and interact with local
people and grass-root level
bodies and administration.”
“The aim of these visits
would be to understand the
ground realities and suggest
possible solutions for miti-
lence”, trying to draw a parallel
between the earlier elections
and the recent ones.
Abdullah also “regretted”
that NC didn’t participate in the
grassroots-level elections — the
panchayat elections in 2018 and
the block development council
polls in 2019.
Both Sinha and Abdullah
agreed with Birla’s vision of the
key role of panchayat leaders in
J&K. Sinha also announced
that J&K has received business
proposals worth ₹25,600 crore,
and in the coming years, at
least ₹50,000 crore worth of
investments will come into the
Union Territory.
Birla maintained that J&K is
“Now, under the new
dispensation, every
penny is accounted
for. No one can usurp
public funds like
they did earlier.”
-MANOJ SINHA,
J&K lieutenant
governor
Om Birla
gating grievances of the local
people,” he added.
Birla, who planned the
parliamentary outreach pro-
gramme for J&K panchayat
bodies, urged all democratic
institutions to “work
together” to “improve peo-
ple’s lives.
“If the panchayati raj is
strong, we can improve our
governance and delivery sys-
tem and create atma-nirbhar
(self-reliant) villages,” he
said. HTC
now on the path of peace and
prosperity and said that while
India has a lot of diversity, it is
democracy that holds the coun-
try together. “If democratic
institutions are strong, we can
reach out to the last person,” he
said.
“Tourists want to explore the
lesser-known places in J&K. To
find national or international
markets for J&K produce, the
panchayat institution must
perform,” he added.
“If grassroots-level institu-
tions are not strong, we can’t
make a strong India. People
want to work. They want their
areas, villages to be at the top,”
he said.
including the son of a Tamil
Nadu lawmaker, were killed in
the early hours of Tuesday after
their “speeding” vehicle
slammed into roadside struc-
tures at the Koramangala area,
police said.
Six people died on the spot
and the seventh died on the way
to hospital, officials said, identi-
fying one of the victims as the
son of Hosur MLA Y Prakash. All
of the victims were between the
ages of 20 and 30 and an investi-
gation has been opened to deter-
mine if it was a case of drink-
driving.
According to joint commis-
sioner of police (traffic) B Ravi-
kanthe Gowda, the incident took
place at around 1.45am. “The
Audi with seven occupants was
completely mangled in the acci-
dent. None of the passengers was
wearing seat belts, so the airbags
did not open,” Gowda said. The
SIXTH ACCUSED IN
MYSURU RAPE
CASE HELD: POLICE
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
MYSURU: The sixth accused
allegedly involved in the gang
rape of a medical student in
Mysuru has been arrested from
Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, police
said on Tuesday.
According to the police, Vijay-
akumar (26) was arrested from
his relative’s residence in Ala-
thur near Avinashi following a
tip-off late on Monday.
The Karnataka Police have
already arrested Murugesan,
Joseph, Aravind, a 17-year-old
boy, and Boopathi for allegedly
raping the 22-year-old woman
near Mysuru and assaulting her
friend on August 24. Police offi-
cials said that a search operation
has been launched to nab one
more accused in the case.
According to the FIR, the
accused have been booked under
sections 376D (gang-rape) and
397 (robbery or dacoity with
attempt to cause death or griev-
ous hurt) of Indian Penal Code.
The wreckage of the Audi Q3 car which crashed at Koramangala
in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
group consisted of four men and
three women.
An officer from Adugodi traf-
fic police station said the group
was on their way from Sony sig-
nal junction towards Forum
Mall when their vehicle crashed.
“CCTV footage from a nearby
building showed the car passing
through in a fraction of a second.
Looking at the footage, we sus-
pect the car was going over
Digital media’s reach wider, can
threaten democratic rights: Govt
Richa Banka
richa.banka@htlive.com
NEW DELHI: The government has
said that digital media content is
“public communication” that
can be rapidly shared with sev-
eral people, is more permanent
in nature compared to TV news,
with an ability to spread disin-
formation that can pose a threat
to democratic rights, defending
in court new rules that expanded
its ability to regulate the domain.
The government made the
stand in an affidavit filed in the
Delhi high court on Monday,
opposing a bunch of pleas by a
number of digital media plat-
forms challenging the Informa-
tion Technology Rules 2021. The
petitioners have called the new
rules unconstitutional and said
they amount to an overreach by
the executive.
In an affidavit filed before a
bench of Chief Justice DN Patel
and justice Jyoti Singh, the gov-
ernment said while communica-
PTI
150km per hour,” the officer said,
asking not to be named.
A resident in the area, Vish-
wanath, said he rushed out after
he heard a loud noise. “When I
came out, there were some
autorickshaw drivers who were
standing around the spot. There
was a lot of smoke coming from
the vehicle and even though we
wanted to check on them, some-
one said the car could explode,
CENTRE SAYS
DIGITAL MEDIA
CONTENT ‘PUBLIC
COMMUNICATION’
AND CAN BE
USED TO SHARE
MISINFORMATION
tions such as emails are private
communications, publishing
content on social media, digital
news portals and OTT (over-the-
top, such as streaming services)
platforms is essentially a “public
communication”.
And due to “transcontinental
nature of digital news”, the par-
ticular media can be used as a
tool for information campaigns
by state and non-state actors to
influence opinion, it said.
“Therefore, it is submitted
that an argument which claims
that the scope of the IT Act
includes content published by
ordinary users, but does not
include content published by
(rash driving on a public way)
and section 304 (causing death
by negligence) of the Indian
Penal Code. “As per preliminary
investigation, this is a case of
over-speeding and negligent
driving. We will know if the
driver was under the influence of
alcohol after the post-mortem
analysis,” Gowda said.
The deceased were identified
as Karuna Sagar, Prakash’s son,
Karuna’s fiance Bindu, Ishita,
Dhanush, Akshay Goyal, Utsav
and Rohit.
Tamil Nadu chief minister
and DMK president MK Stalin
condoled the death of his party
legislator’s son in the accident.
The MLA was in Chennai
when he learnt about the acci-
dent and left for Hosur, news
agency PTI reported. His elder
brother Chandrappa arrived at
St John’s Hospital here to receive
the body after the autopsy.
well-organised commercially
oriented news publishers or OTT
platforms may not be legally ten-
able,” the document read.
It said digital media was “for-
mat agnostic” and its reach was
wider than traditional media as
it can be accessed “both by the
literate and illiterate”.
Citizens, the government
added, cannot be treated as pas-
sive consumers without partici-
pation in the accountability
process.
The petitions say the IT Rules
impose government with “vague
conditions as good taste, decency
and prohibition of half-truths” in
regulating news media.
The petitions contend that the
rules will lead to over-regulation
due to onerous obligation to
respond to complaints, which
will also require diversion of
resources. The need for pub-
lisher to defend themselves
before multiple levels would also
lead to self-censoring and a chill-
ing effect on free speech, the
petitioners said.
PM, MANMOHAN
PAY TRIBUTES TO
EX-PRESIDENT ON
1ST DEATH ANNIV
HTC and Agencies
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Hailing Pranab
Mukherjee as a visionary and
statesman, Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi has said that during
the former president’s outstand-
ing public life, his administra-
tive skills and acumen always
shone through various respon-
sibilities that he shouldered.
In a message that was read
out at the first Pranab Mukher-
jee Memorial Lecture on Tues-
day to mark the first death anni-
versary of the former president,
Modi said that blessed with
unparalleled intellectual capa-
bilities, Mukherjee, who was
conferred the Bharat Ratna,
made remarkable contributions
to the nation’s progress.
“A distinguished parliamenta-
rian, his speeches and interven-
tions were of the finest quality,
reflecting his grasp over a range
of diverse issues,” the Prime
Minister said in his message.
Former prime minister Man-
mohan Singh, who also spoke at
the event, said he depended a
great deal on Mukherjee’ saga-
cious advice and guidance on
various issues. Singh said Muk-
herjee had a long and illustrious
political career spanning over
five decades during which he
held several important portfo-
lios in several ministries of the
central government.
“To all positions he occupied
he brought his immense wis-
dom, deep knowledge, extensive
experience of life and leader-
ship skills spearheading critical
decisions of the government on
a wide range of issues,” Singh
said.
“Pranab da was a key partici-
pant for over 50 years in the
74-year journey of independent
India… From remote ‘Mirati’ vil-
lage in Bengal… an Upper Divi-
sion Clerk in the Posts and Tele-
graph Office, he rose to become
the President of India,” Vice-
President Venkaiah Naidu said.

³¹FF¹FF»F¹F °FWXÀFe»FQFSX E½Fa ÀFWXF¹FIY ¢»F`IYMXSX dõX°Fe¹F

ßFZ¯Fe RYøY£F³F¦FSX °FWXÀFe»F RYøY£F³F¦FSX, dªF»FF- ¦FbøY¦FiF¸F
ÀF½FÊÀFF²FFSX¯F IYû ÀFcd¨F°F dIY¹FF ªFF°FF W`X dIY CX´FF¹Fb¢°F ¸FWXûQ¹F ¦FbøY¦FiF¸F ½F CX´F¸F¯OX»F
Ad²FIYFSXe (³FF0) ´FMXüQe IZY AFQZVF A³FbÀFFSX ¦FiF¸F ÀF`Q´FbSX ¸FûWX¸¸FQ´FbSX IYe ³FªFc»F
·Fcd¸F 4 EIYOÞX 5 IY³FF»F 11 ¸FSX»FF °F±FF BÊXIY¶FF»F´FbSX IYe ³FªFc»F ·Fcd¸F 7 IY³FF»F
4 ¸FSX»FF IYû ½F¿FÊ 2021-22 IZY d»FE dQ³FFaIY 31.08.2021 IYû ´FiF°F: 11.00
¶FªFZ ´F˜ZX ´FSX LXûOÞXF ªFF³FF W`XÜ ªFû ·Fe BX¨LbXIY ½¹Fd¢°F ¶Fû»Fe QZ³FF ¨FFWZX ½FWX ¸FüIYF
´FSX WXFdªFSX AFIYSX ¶Fû»Fe QZ ÀFIY°FF W`XÜ
°FWXÀFe»FQFSX
4477-7 RYøY£F³F¦FSX DELHI JAL BOARD, GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI
OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER(SW)-I
OVER HEAD TANK, OPP. BHARTI COLLEGE, JANAKPURI, NEW DELHI-58
e-mail: eesw1janakpuri@gmail.com
“STOP CORONA; Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene”
PRESS N.I.T. No. 28 SW-I (2021-22)
S. Name of Work Estimated Date of release of Last date/time of receipt
No. Cost tender in e- of tender through
(in Rs.) procurement solution e-procurement solution
1. Improvement of water supply by Replacement and 45,67,994/- 2021_DJB_207719_1 16.09.2021
Providing Laying 100 mm dia and 150 mm dia 28.08.2021 UP TO 3.00 PM
water line in Dashrath Puri A-Block (Gali No. 1, 2,
3) and main connecting lanes in Dwarka Assembly
Constituency AC-33 under EE(SW)-I
Further details in this regard may be seen at (https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in)
ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) (Munish Kumar)
Advt. No. J.S.V. 345 (2021-22) EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SW)-I

I F¹FFÊ»F¹F ¸Fb£¹F Ad·F¹Fa°FF

»FûI À½FFÀ±¹F ¹FFadÂFI e d½F·FF¦F
SF¹F´FbS ´FdSÃûÂF, SF¹F´FbS
BÊ-´FiFZ¢¹FûS¸FZÔM d³Fd½FQF ÀFc¨F³FF
EI eIÈ °F ´FaªFe¹F³F ´Fi¯FF»Fe Aa°F¦FÊ°F ÀFÃF¸F ßFZ¯Fe ¸FZÔ ´FaªFeIÈ °F NZ IZ QFSûÔ
ÀFZ ´Fi´FÂF kkEll ¸FZÔ ´Fid°FVF°F QS ´FS A³Fb¶Fa²F WZ °Fb d³F¸³Fd»Fd£F°F d³F¸FFʯF I F¹FÊ
WZ °Fb AFG³F »FFBÊ ³F d³Fd½FQF AF¸FadÂF°F I e ªFF°Fe W` :- NIT No. 62 / Date 27-
08-2021 / System Tender No. 82352 Name of Work- Design, Drawing,
Construction, Testing, Commissioning of Intake well 6m dia height
19.22m, 2.5 HP Raw water pumps and motors with 16 M Head of
50% standbye, 1 MLD Unconventional type Water Treatment Plant,
5.5 HP Clear water pumps and motors with 41 m Head of 50%
Stand Bye, Providing, laying, jointing and testing & commissioning
of 150 mm Dia 604 m Raw water & 10089 m Clear water pumping
main DI K-9, 100 mm Dia to 150 mm Dia with all required valves
& specials, all allied civil works including boundary wall around
WTP campus, CC road to faciliated for movement of goods and
materials, Providing and fixing Bulk flow meters including trial run
of Entire scheme for 6 month after completion of all components
of the scheme including chemicals, staff, O & M of entire scheme
for 5 years with defect liabilities period of 1 year under Kharway
Multi Village Water Supply Scheme of Block Kasdol, District
Baloudabazar-Bhatapara (C.G.) Under Jal Jeevan Mission, Probable
amount of contract Rs. 574.55 Lacs, Class of contractor Class
“B” & above under Unified Registration System, E-Registration.
1st Call. Schedule of Date- Bid Start Date - 03.09.2021, Pre Bid date-
16.09.2021, Bid Due Date- 24.09.2021, PHY Sub Date- 29.09.2021,
Open Date- 29.09.2021.
³FûM :- C´FSû¢°F d³F¸FFʯF I F¹FûË I e d³Fd½FQF I e ÀFF¸FF³¹F VF°FFZË, ²FSûWS
SFdVF, d½FÀ°FÈ°F d³Fd½FQF d½FÄFd´°F, d³Fd½FQF QÀ°FF½FZªF ½F A³¹F ªFF³FI FSe BÊ -
´Fiû¢¹FûS¸FZÔM ½FZ¶F ´FûMÊ »F https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in A±F½FF d½F·FF¦Fe¹F
½FZ¶FÀFFBÊ M https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in ¸FZÔ dQ³FFaI 03.09.2021 ÀFZZ
QZ£Fe ªFF ÀFI °Fe W`Ô Ü ¸Fb£¹F Ad·F¹Fa°FF
»FûI À½FFÀ±¹F ¹FFadÂFI e d½F·FF¦F
G-63234/5 SF¹F´FbS ´FdSÃûÂF, SF¹F´FbS
 10 My India
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021

MEET THE 12 PILGRIMS FROM

NEW HEART
MP KILLED IN RAJ
ROAD ACCIDENT COVID TRACKER
OF YOUR CITY JAIPUR: Twelve pilgrims were
killed and six others were
injured in a collision between a
32,810,678
TOTAL COVID CASES
651,214,767 11,312,945
jeep and a truck on Tuesday in TOTAL DOSES ADMINISTERED ON TUESDAY
The all-new HT city aims at bringing the
best in entertainment and lifestyle straight Nagaur district of Rajasthan,
to your doorstep and fingertips. police said. Rajasthan chief
minister Ashok Gehlot also 43,015 NEW CASES ON
TUESDAY 350,593,091 People who have
got one dose 150,310,838 People who have
got both doses
Punjab Government Initiative under Ghar Ghar Rozgar offered condolences to the fami-
lies of the deceased.
FEATURES
& PROMOTIONAL

i@HTCITY y
ENTERTAINMENT
/USER/HT.

f@HTCITY t
@HTCITY
n 6 PAGES.

TOTAL COVID CASES (New cases on Tuesday) TOTAL DOSES ADMINISTERED (Doses administered on Tuesday)
2021 I want to
Thursday, April08
,
surprise
myself andmy

smovies
KritiSanonwishe theatres
wouldgetbackto
audience. I’ve
never slotted
myself into any
category. I’ve
chosen very
different roles.
The incident occurred near
Sri Balaji temple on Bikaner-
RITUPARNA
Tuesday, April13 SENGUPTA, Actor

‘HOPE City , 2021

THINGS
UT Ladakh Chandigarh Himachal Sikkim
Anthony
Hopkins
n 8 PAGES.
f @HTCITY t @HTCITY
PHOTO: i @HTCITY y /USER/HT.

ARE
ENTERTAINMENT
Delhi ALEXANDRE
MENEGHINI/AP
HAPPY
& PROMOTIONAL
FEATURES

Jodhpur highway. According to

BAISAKHI TO

NORMAL
ALL OUR
READERS
STOP PRESS

PUNJAB STATE TRANSMISSION CORPORATION LIMITED

ILLUSTRATION:
SHUTTERSTOCK

SOON,
Pradesh
Frances
McDormand

FILMS
WAITING SE’
PHOTO:JOE
SCARNICI/AFP

ed
Priyanka
ChopraJonas
andNickJonas
City GuruRandhawa

police, the victims, all residents 20,555(+4) 65,105(+6) 29,878 (+37)

needemo
Delhi
BAF
PHOTO: ALBERTO

TO RELEA
George

(Regd. Office: PSEB Head Office, The Mall, Patiala-147001, Punjab, India)
I’mTA’s
PEZZALI/AP

Maybetributes
lia
ClooneyandJu ket
tion
ai now: a al
of Ujjain district in Madhya Pra- 213,548(+207)
,Tic
Roberts’movie easein

in MuandmbRishentoguIrrfa
295,668(+2,960)
llrel
ToParadise,wi ember.
pt n INMYVILLAG
1,115,455(+7,612) 673,738 (+1,080)
Daler

UStheatresnextSept le
Mehndi

rnaS i Kapoor
Rishabh Suri
orcedcoup
Theyplaya div eir

Ritupa E
m
rishabh.suri@htlive.co
shooting
tryingtostopth ting

S
hooting, travelling,andlife is all about
Sanon’s
again — Kriti such as

Corporate Identity Number: U40109PB2010SGC033814

daughterfromrepea
hostof biggies and
that. With a

D
Titas Chowdhury

desh, were returning after offer-

Bhediya irector ChloeZhao’s
Bachchan Pandey, kitty, she is of
their mistake. has emerged Nomadland ustantimes.com
feel
Ganpath inher also recently mind now.I

7,242,029(+35,570)
as titas.chowdhury@hind
this year’s thebig winner at
And it was a more open churned out GuruRandhawa
I
2021, baggingfourBAFTA Film Awards want to keep
course excited. will join Prabhas

Scan the code

being
including Best majortrophies,that the kind of content todayis revolu-
announced thatshein Adipurush.
and Saif Ali
Khan
in Covid cases
and Actress awardwas Film. Eventhe
Best the Hindi film
wonby itsactor,in
industry
Rituparna Sengupta.
The ismissing thejoy
tionary,” says is all set to

feels
Frances McDormand,whil
Despite the rise reimposed, e Zhaoher- Award-winning actor with Bansuri: ofcelebrating
Pulkit Samrat
Juhi Chakraborty
self walked
several restrictions theatres, away National virus on a daily
The Father withBest Director. film industry
won theBest return to the Hindi awaiting the
juhi.chakraborty@htlive
safe and follow basis, be
including shuttingof withit, she is
Baisakhi with
H
theat-
.com
award forAnthony
would prefer Actor
The Flute. Along of other films, one of
them ment protocol,” govern-
Sanon says she all her films. gory inwhich Hopkins, a cate- e wanted to
cele- adds the
Gourav was Indian actor Aadarsh release of a couple ShabanaAzmi. brate Baisakhiin singer known

n
rical releasesforan actoryou want the

and subscribe to
familyin Punjab; big way this a such asLahore, songs
for

the lockdow e
“Obviously,
as
the OTT
also
in TheWhite nominated for hiswith veteran actor in the Bengali film indus- year Gabru High
beyondjust great Tiger. role for with his andPatola. Rated

ing prayers at Ramdevra temple

duced by Priyanka The filmwas pro-A prominentname Gurdaspur, family in

Public Notice
film to reach inBollywood
DalerMehndiwill

UT J&K
course, theyare Chopra
try, she is best
remembered Woh (2005). Punjab, but He maynot
audience. Of everyone ishooked on
was alsoin
attendanceat Jonas, who Patni Aur meatier singer GuruRandhawa beable to
have thecelebration
and as oneof its her role in Main,Meri
theceremony and

made him valu

in the OTT space
platforms, great presenters, understands wanted, he
time to
platforms have
to it and the an actor you want it
as
husband, singerNick alongwith
Father alsowon Jonas. The
With the boom she believes nowis the in
for women, projects. “Back
beattheVaishno done.
that
pandemic, little given the fond butRandhawa has
can be memoriesof
ing the festival celebrat-
content. But don’t play BAFTA. theadapted screen-roles varied roles in Hindi
theones who to concen-
Devishrine “Since thepandemic “Baisakhi is as a child.
to reach even platforms,” says explore So, I decided

Hindustan Times now

these The mostemotional I was too busy. also doing films in started, most celebrated asa
harvest festival,
really go on whose filmMimi, in evening sawtributes momentof thethe day,

work more
of us have
films.I was

I’M NOT MIS

want to been celebratingfestiva farmers cuttheirwhen

Delhi
the 30-year-old, mother, Indian actorsIrrfan being paid to latetrate on Bangla ButI would A lot home. Considering ls at And onthis crops.
a surrogate who passedaway and Rishi Kapoor,Bangladesh
andKerala. career now.
which sheplays a release. on my Hindifilmbeing made. rent situation, the cur- ind SinghlaiddayGuru Gob-
for inApril 2020,
is alsowaiting time since the film was I’ll mostlyspendthis year too tion of

BIG BAI SING

BAFTA’s memoriam in concentrate is the founda-
segment, along- of unconventional content she says. the
It’s been some been shot. Askwhat’s with actors
in Mumbai now,” at homeand Baisakhi kids, PanthKhalsa. As

Assam
Sean
wick Boseman. Connery and Chad- Maybe, Iam needed says she always wants visit we’d enjoy spending
announced andhasfront, and Sanonsays wara, ifpossible,” the gurd- time withfamily

near Pokhran when their jeep

that superstar myself he says,
happening on on the last The latter’sfilm The Bengali “I wantto surprise into adding, “Unfortunately, the gurdwarato andgo to
wrapped upwork Bottom was Ma Rainey’s
Black to do something new:

CELEBRATISAKHI
myself do seva.
she recently a film needsto reach the named
costume design awinner in the I’ve never slotted very differ-
in Delhi and
will
I’m We’d
also
as my audience. miss being definitely the village.go tothe mela in
scene. “Mimi on surrogacy, it’s a categories. and make-upand hair and category. I’ve
chosen in
during this the village It’s

Uttarakhand
based
masses. Itis and made in a very enter-
Riz Ahmed, any particular rolesfor myself.” that brings afestival

325,419(+166)
whoalong time.
Boseman, hadbeen
and challenging for Sengupta? “For every day, I’m But like ness.” a lotof happi-
unique subject is something thatwill nominated with ent (Above)Rishi
Actor aswell, for Best option remember Godgoing to
taining manner.Itmake you cry, laugh,
and his film Sounddidn’t bag theaward, but Kapoorand So, is OTT an opportunity to reach a global Him forfulfillingand thank vest festival,
Since Baisakhiis

ON
good direct-to- ahar-
touch your heart, BAFTAs inthe of Metal baggedtwo actors, it’sa

THISYEAR:S
It should
PHOTO:TEJAS (right)Irrfan demanding my the
food for thought. are wishes.” a special messagesingerhas

Regarding refund of Application Fees of candidates who had applied against

editingand
leave you with gories. audience. Audiencesare arereleas-
NERURKAR
who sound cate- PHOTOS:TWITTER/
more people now. Producerstoo The 29-year-old “May God bless forthem.
be watchedby where OTT isn’t watched,” digital releases digital platforms as they’re urges thefarmers
BAFTA
everyone to as we eat
on be
ing their films mightturn staleif not protocols and safe,follow May this becauseof them.
HTC
rooted inareas not indulge year bringgrowth
worried theirfilmsOTT platforms are turningoff.
dates until
P
she says. in grand Baisakhi and prosperity,”he
raining release pandemic to reach time. tions involving celebra- adding,
In fact, it was released on forall,” she signs

collided head-on with a truck.

says,
whenthe
you want a film
“May Waheguru
many film out tobe quiteprofitable erings. “Covid huge gath- bless
recently in Bollywood,

MEHNDI
againand forced“We are As an actor OTT audience.... reach everything, has impacted and prosperity. growth
everyonewith

589,426(+570)
reared its head the notjust
postponed again.
beyond just who don’t really go on
tival. We need this fes- sakhi Happy
releases to be Mimi to release. The times to fightthis to everyone. Bai-

1,437,764(+28)
for and happy!” Staysafe
that
very excited
we are in, it’simportant
fora film like
are normal even the ones “Hit aur flop
mein

342,976(+28)
I hopethings hit and flop. hai. Agar hit deke
to get a release. so many films waiting to these platforms.

CRA-07/2021 (ALM) & CRA-09/2021 (ASSA)

marking the

8,092,224(+127,819)
are kuch nahi rakha lockdown mein time
vestof winter of har- betterment,
soon. There does too, soon,
Sugandha
par
bhi main ghar main kya hi ukhad crops.
Rawal andthe
hopingMimi feelallfestivals “I others.Apneliye will to help
release. I am mid 2021. I don’t know KRITI SANON,
Actor togetherfor
toh sugandha.rawal@hindus
parties in future,” sense ofhopeandcouraggive us a
baitha hoon, observes, before karta hai,lekin to haraadmi
sometime around aredeciding. It should

M
tantimes.com adds. he sakhimotivates
raha hun,” Samrat his definition of eetingfriendsand e. Bai- doosron kimadad
producers Thisyear, the us,and keliyekhadahona
what the says Sanon. singer will cele- honsladetihaijeen humko
going on to explain ilytocelebrate—t fam- brate thefestivalattheV arethingsetchedi chahiye. These
get what it deserves,” theessenceofBaishat’s Devishrine whoyouare—afa e ka,nomatter
withmemories n my mind,

Eight people died on the spot,

happiness. is about aishno
of the day, it
rmer, or
However,singer akhi. luckythatI’llbeathisfamily. “I feel farmer.Wealllive and a non- Mehndi,knownof langar,” recalls
with
“At the end and not attaching Mehndi isn’ Daler MataVaishno the holy the supportofthesup yearn for forhitssuchas
you being happy,to a condition ki yeh t missingitthisyear
Heassertsthatsoc
cave of power,”explainsth reme BoloTa Ra Ra,TunakTunakT

to curb Covid
. Devi. I have
that happiness khush ho jaunga, ya the needof ial distancing formanceat the pilgrimage aper- Dardi RabRab,
Growing up, e 53-year-old. Balle,andNaNa Ho JayegiBalle
un,
Sugandha Rawal is firstdayofNavratr

17,542,007 (+254,906)
the hour,

Night curfew ing plans

on he
hoga toh main udas ho jaunga. ondwaveofCovid with the sec- onBaisakhi,”hesa i, whichstartsthe parentsparticipatewatched his Na
Hefeelsthebest NaNa Re.

13,518,513
main
nahi hua toh if you have a good
ustantimes.com
-19here. gurdwarasforBais in kirtans at
“Beingcautiousto Thefestivalisespeys. brate Baisakhiis place to cele-
sugandha.rawal@hind
of 2021, thefestivalhasalw akhi. Forhim,
ce the beginningbeen shoot- You areblessed
daywill at home. “I think
every morn- ensurewe get tantfor farmers, ciallyimpor- ays been about (if we follow alltheprotocols
Scan the code has you wake up gerofhope as it is aharbin-
being gratefulforeveryth
ulkit Samrat projects, be family, all the people you know properly)2021-end

surge hits wedd

and prosperity whatheplans ing.It’s

Public Notice regarding cancellation of recruitment against above said advertisements has
toreadmore for his ing, and actor, ondoing thisyear kibeemariko takCovid naam

8,514,708
well,” says the
ng nonstop or Agra. The while
about how aswell.“It’sall bhool
umbai, Delhi new are alive and for the third about hope, saysthesinger,wh jayenge log,”
has found a
couples and love, outwith orecently
is prepping
r says work emic. who ment of the Fukrey franchise. hissingle,Ragda. came
Plagiarism row:
T
wedding

Why IsabelleKaif
PHOTO:ARVINDYADAV/H
television

and four others succumbed on

vendors are rat made his in the pop-

feel insignificantItmade me
trying tofind as Lakshya ViraniBhi Kabhi
Saas
how, Kyunki went on to
a wayoutin
STOPPRESS
thecrisis
is nowused to 2006. He
Ba u Thi, in Bittoo Boss (2012),
such as
powerless, says and
PHOTO:VIRALBHAYANI

(+135,863)
w do films Bangistan (2015),

been issued by Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited on dated 05.04.2021. Online
Fukrey (2013), and Fukrey

being compared Sanam Re (2016),

Sudhanshu

Punjab
Returns (2017). as a
soon be seen

(+94,887)
Next, he will from Delhi” in

to sister Katrina
guy
“happy go lucky Khushaama-
the film, Suswagatam roles
are other diverse
deed. “There he adds.

the way to the hospital, police

he considers the pipeline,”
n fact, now, of in
from the concept
’
ade ago
o be detached

Portal for fees refund for the posts advertised against CRA-07/2020 (ALM) & CRA-09/2021
Rishabh Suri play on me too much
more. Aboutexpectation any-

P
like a dec
Covid took
off some of s,
rishabh.suri@htlive.com

Meghalaya
that pressurefrom

S y seems
he’s the sister my
Thedate is so
of one of Bolly- first film,as
wood’s biggeststars, thecircum-
stances are

h birthda
yet she auditioned Katrina Kaif, so
It has allowed different. might
near and venues Scan the code
film. Isabelle
Kaif
for her first
acting debutwith recentlymade her enjoy themoment as
meto just
chats.Hopefully,n
extbirthday,I
n, I’llensure
to
‘My 30t
for his wedding to read more
say they need job inPoland
avenue inSuraj- on Saqib “I had auditionedTimeTo Dance. Kavitaunfolds,” Awaasthisays the
actor.
it have a partyandeventhe ccine certif-
everyone getstheirCovidvaactor.
and booked for a few
check availability Sanchita Kalra anges willbe Saleem’s and this one
camethrough. films,

said.
theRangbaaz from

(ASSA) has been prepared for refund of fees for which last date for filling of bank details is
.com
kund,Haryana,ch dancer as a The bestpiece icates,”quips
nochance of to Mumbai

600,614(+38)
om kid, I was a kavita.awaasthi@htlive of and
for day timings. tough. “There’s birthday plans is a big partof and dancing,of course, advice Isabellehas birthdays Saleem,whocame he has
sanchita.kalra@htlive.c
to tie the everSaleemloves
receivedwas artieson hisspe- Delhi 10 years ago, admitsDelhiboy who

S
It’s apassion aqib
evenswitching for me. So IthoughtBollywood.
ouplesplanning rein a postponingor ill be diffi-

C lenging and it would be oftenthrowsbigp

given to her
byher will be my
second “Iwasa typical rodemycar
AKHIL NARANG, knotthismontha o- to dayfunctions.Itw who willattend fun,” chal- elderday.“Butthis 9,” changed. SudhanshuSariaa
cult forguests the way from The 30-year-old,shetells us. cial sister. “[She
spoiledbyCovid-1and lovedto getinto Sugandha
fightsand
I came to
bind followingtheimp who just advised] in atorow c.But since his2015film nd(farleft)poster
Businessman
few from wedding all up theshoot
forher second wrapped birthday 33 today
Rawal
ActorDeepika
P
just been softheupcoming
sitionofnightcur 8pm the Noida,”hesays. focus on my who turns that he withblaringmusih ometimeback Delhi boy has I’ve webshowand(left
says theactor,
S
NOTETO Suswagatam film, .
inDelhiand Delhi or
10pm to5am i, to stem but Khushaamadeed, keepmylittleheartbroken
work,heisa Mumbai,thebraslearningeverydayI was money to hirethem, ) Padukoneon
P
AK HILNA R NG

monthsof
READERS:Some that Bollywoodhas admits admits country thatIexist, told bymy wantto.Yousimpl
replaced byone hto
I am a bitirritated head down. meet friends.
Plannersfeel been a butyou don’t
to7aminMumba the ofthecoverage ence in her
growingup big influ- won’tbeableto are strength,beitmy when ywant to canni- tweetedastatemen
have gonedownAanchal thatappearson theNationalFilmA At I got balise other’swork.That Monday

75,836(+101)
Covid-19in bothcities.decidedto efforts at the ing led to acting.I years.“Danc- Anyone whohas hatparties a gonefromstrengt as aperson,” “My
he says.ward. theincident.“The t apologising for
We’ve received sed
also looking don’t “Ihaveforgottenw
inthe film day party seems
orweekslater,oneof Two

20.09.2021.
’s not
Whilesomehaveagain,others drain.Mumbai-ba
ourpagesis
Soul, paidforbythe growing up, watched been
and I’vehad Hindi films like.My30thbirth
actingability peoplehismind
to takeany 33, is marriageon in myindustry I
themostsenior okay,”heasserts.
at all? blance andsimilarity uncanny resem- announced she
Bagaria,of TheWedding choosing afavourite. ahard time industry givesButsimi- Idon’t want
queries from
OnApril9,Sariato
postponethedate solu-
alternate three-day affairs concerned larger picture.I (2007). Lagaan I love Jab We decadeago.
lar advice,” birthday
rahethetoh aur me, so she mum asksmeabout
nothingIdo shaadi everyday.
mattersthis
pretendsas
avoid andques-
if to expresshisanguis ok to Twitter writtenoffas amere
cannot be
coincidence... hasresigned
being whohad in April says, “Now it’s brands.No as

“Twelve persons were killed

Zindasays ble andaysto I’m invisi- Forthiswe
couples for a
areweighing Met insignificant,”
want to takeany toh many timesas (2001), I’vewatched so actor, risks. adding, thatthemakers h, claiming apologise...We’ve
tions,with dayweddings it planned to be wrapped up in sponsored ateenager,” ishere with
“I’m just amfindingneww SudhanshuSaria
never saynever.
Hope-
ruesdirector
copiedtheposterof theweb series
deletedthe
poster from thechairperson
“The moment What about she shares. starting
honge.Mymum
now,there mmybiryani.We he feltwhen reflecting on what allour
brunch and toutedas one. e received a all going withalunch.” But he found “ridiculously dently,bothprojecofhismovie.Inci- platforms,”the statementread.
tion.Oneshould
risks. Zindarahe

13,541,779(+257,506)
son withher the inevitable compari- sowillmakesomeyu many types are heconcludes. ofMAMIMumbai
offilmscelebration at home
contentdoesor
obvious”similariti
to wasannounced,w to move the oneevent unjabi, shallappearin
honge. sister?Is
pressure ofexpectationsshefeeling the I want
fullysometime,” esbetweenthe jectof same-sex tstacklethesub- However,Saria, currently
they’re trying
to do. I’d love
willhaveaquiet posterof
call fromthe
venue
it Mumbai’sVishalPding Filmer, anypartofHT aur birthday know it. People already?
have been doing “I
do an action
withthenewnorm ora
to alof videocallsand anupcomingweb
HisStoryy, backed show,
iswonderingif relationships. Saria
lifted some themakersalso
recuperatingfrom
unconvincedbyth Covid-19, is FilmFestival
function totheday,but Sau- founder,TheWed slikethis period film.It’s Katrina
owingtoherwork
keep gatherings
withoutitbeing
Actor years, and I’ve
got used toit. it for the beginning, just Kaif andhis2015filmL byEktaKapoor, scenesfrom wishestheplatformestatement.He
says,“Whenthing us to value declaredassuch SAQIB SALEEM, which exploresthe his film,
might bedifficult,”says It doesn’t “I’mnotlooking oev. “acknowl-
edged the authorsofthepost
s getting happen, theyteach
toourvalued everything there’s PHOTO:VIRAL sexualrape.“Thos issue of homo- commitments.
intimate. rabhAswal,whoi25. have. Awedding readers. leftto do.” moneyfrom
them,
to recover
blywereshownare actorsproba-
andclaimedthat er”
married on AprilPateria, who whatwe tobe a bigparty.” justwant them or sue them. I “...this was a
Padukonehad
BHAYANI
, Creative to know topose.So,everyb eferenceimage decision, not an accident”.More-
SHIVAN GUPTA For Abhishek ff from his doesn’thave niceand not that it’s not over,Sariawants

For more information visit PSTCL website www.pstcl.org

NOTETOREADERS:So
odyknewthat

director, AmaaraFarms
1,334,740(+4,589)
okay,” theywere plagiarising,”
tooktwomonthso
sponsoredcontentdo meofthecoverageth
pointed Saria. saysa disap-
says the accountableforthpeopletobeheld replaced
esorshallappearinanatappearsonourpag director, who
tureare we “Whatkindof acul- like I’madding eiractions. “I feel Scanthecode
ypartofHTwithouti esispaidforbytheco in whereyou FilmAward won theNational to the chain. filmmakerKiran

and six others were injured in

tbeingdeclaredassu ncernedbrands.No marketingmeeting canhave a for next time someoneGoogles
directionin best non-feature The to readmore
bodyelse’sidea?Y andtakesome- Raotobecome
chtoourvaluedreade
March thisyear, willcome up. it, this onwhy
rs.
ouhave the film, KnockKnockKno forhis becomeharder And eventually,it
Soonafter hispost, ck. will Sudhanshu
ALTBalaji themto pretendand harder for
as if it’s not
Sariawas thechairperson
thing,”he concludes. a anguished by
theincident ofthefestival
in2019.

Dated: 31.08.2021 Sd/- Chief Engineer/HIS & D the accident. All are residents of
HTcity htcity www.hindustantimes.com 7318 PSTCL, Patiala
Ujjain, MP,” Nagaur superin- Haryana
770,486(+20) Uttar Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh
tendent of police (SP) Abhijeet 1,709,288(+19)
Singh said. 16,376,355 53,031(+71)
The Centre has approved an (+160,008) 73,086,557 969,288 (+7,296)
(+1,569,766)
ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each from
the Prime Minister’s National Rajasthan Nagaland
Bihar
Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the 954,095(+2) 725,708(+8) 30,083(+80)
next of kin of those who lost 44,779,186 37,768,718 856,923(+6,697)
their lives in the accident. HTC (+870,245) (+2,229,343)

Gujarat
ANOTHER MAN 825,422
(+12)
BEATEN TO DEATH 46,360,447
IN BIHAR DISTRICT (+849,267)
Manipur
113,933(+382)
PATNA: A 40-year-old man was Dadra and 1,532,050(+7,606)
beaten to death by a mob, alleg- Nagar Haveli Mizoram
edly over a relationship with a 59,119(+1,157)
10,663(+0)
married woman in Bihar’s Jamui 907,747(+2,178)
district late on Monday, police
758,329(+2,301)
Jharkhand
said on Tuesday. 347,855 NA Tripura
Maharashtra
I F¹FFÊ»F¹F, ³F¦FS ´FFd»FI d³F¦F¸F, ·Fû´FF»F This was the third incident of
mob lynching within 72 hours in 6,464,876(+4,196)
12,940,481
(+189,861)
82,859(+50)
3,346,051(+7,201)
¹FFadÂFI d½F·FF¦F (¸Fb£¹FF»F¹F) ¦Fûd½FaQ´FbSF (¶Fe.E¨F.BÊ.E»F.) the state. A case under Section 59,050,133(+853,247)
302 (murder) of the Indian Penal West Bengal
Ii . 134/¹FFa.d½F./2021 d³Fd½FQF AF¸FaÂF¯F §Fû¿F¯FF-´FÂF ·Fû´FF»F, dQ³FFaI 27/08/2021 Code has been registered against 1,548,604(+546)
d³F¸³Fd»Fd£F°F d³F¸FFʯF I F¹FÊ WZ °Fb Qû d»FR FR F ´Fðd°F IZ A³FbÀFFS ¸F.´Fi »FûI d³F¸FFʯF d½F·FF¦F ¸FZÔ IZ ³ýieIÈ °F ½¹F½FÀ±FF IZ Aa°F¦FÊ°F ´FaªFeIÈ °F 20 people, but no arrest has been
Goa
173,955(+105) Madhya Pradesh 41,055,031 (+1,221,361)
NZ IZ QFS ´FSÀFZ³MZ ªF ¸FûWS ¶FaQ d³Fd½FQF¹FZÔ d³F²FFÊdS°F ´Fi´FÂF ´FS AF³F»FFBÊ ³F AF¸FadÂF°F I e ªFF°Fe W` Ü made so far, police added.
According to Amit Kumar, 1,586,566(+9,715) 792,175 (+10)
S. Tender Work Probable Earnest Money Completion Odisha
No. No. Amount Deposit (EMD) Period SHO of Gidhdhaur police station, 46,499,322
(In lakhs) (In Rs.) (Months) Manoj Pandit was brutally
Karnataka (+938,671) 1,007,750(+638)
thrashed after his hands and legs 2,949,445 (+1,217) 22,299,858(+288,305)
2021_ CONSTRUCTION OF NALLA RETAINING WALL 12 Months
1 UAD_ FROM BASKHEDI SHAMSHAN GHAT TO 80 FEET Rs. 938.31 Rs. 938312/- including were tied by nearly two dozen 42,398,721(+646,471) Puducherry Chhattisgarh
157204_1 CULVERT WARD NO. 83 ZONE NO. 18 rainy season men at Nichli-Seva village. 123,572(+115) Andaman and
1,004,451(+31) Nicobar
1. Interested Bidders can view the NIT on website https://mptenders.gov.in “Villagers alleged that the vic- Lakshadweep 825,478
13,245,844 (+61,707)
2. The Bid Document can be purchased only Online from 28.08.2021 10:30 Hrs A.M. to 28.09.2021 05:30 Hrs. P.M. tim, who was a medical practi- 10,347(+2) (+4,065) 7,565(+1)
3. The Pre-Bid Meeting shall be held in the office of the I/c Chief Engineer (Civil), Near Tatpar Petrol Pump, Smart City tioner, entered into relationships 76,315 (+424) 363,166(+2,385)
Campus, Govindpura BHEL Bhopal (M.P.) at 11:30 A.M. (Time) on 13.09.2021 (Date) to answer question of intending with some of his patients,” the
bidders, if any. The I/c Chief Engineer (Civil) reserves the right not to answer a question raised by a bidder. SHO said.
4. Amendment to NIT, if any, would be published on website only, and not in newspaper. Kerala Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh Telangana
The victim’s family rushed
The initial period of 3(Three) year after completion shall be treated as Defect Liability Period (DLP). 4,057,233(+30,203) 2,614,872(+1,512) 2,014,116(+1,115) 658,054(+338)
him to a nearby community
IN. CHIEF ENGINEER 29,089,339(+454,457) 32,609,417(+507,865) 30,534,164(+1,208,572) 17,998,318(+117,780)
T.N. 532/021/022 MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, BHOPAL
health centre, where he was
declared “brought dead”. HTC

{Wednesday}
EDUCATION/ ADMISSIONS
PEST CONTROL
PUBLIC NOTICES AUCTION NOTICES

ADMISSIONS PUBLIC NOTICE

CHANGE OF NAME
I, RAHUL Verma R/o Flat No. F-131,
2nd Floor, Nar Vihar-II, Sector-34,
CHANGE OF NAME Noida, UP have change my son's
name Kavya Verma to Kabir Verma
for all future purposes.
I KM Priya D/O, Om Prakash R/o
H.no -108, Gram And Post Dehari,
Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh - 223103 I, AHTESHAM S/o Manzoorul
have changed my name to Priya
Hasan R/o H.No.D-98, St.No-4 South
Maurya for all purposes. Anarkali, Delhi-51 have changed my
name from Ahtesham to Mohammad
I PARVEEN Kumar s/o Shri Ram Ahtesham for all future purposes
Kishan R/O B-17/18, Gali no 22, Old
Gobind Pura, Krishna Nagar Delhi-51,
so I hereby assume the name of
Mohammad Ahtesham in all records,
Hereby declare that Parveen Kumar deeds,documents & writings and in
And Parveen Gogia is the same all proceedings.
Person. I shall be known As Parveen
Kumar for all future purposes.
I, NEHA Bajaj W/o Sunil Bajaj R/o
6/72, First Floor, Old Rajinder
I, KRISHAN Pal Singh S/o Subhash
Chand R/o H.No. 84, SF, Sector-17, Nagar, New Delhi - 110060, declare
Faridabad have changed my minor that in my Passport No. T5290342
daughter name Bhumika Singh to my father and mother's names have
Tiya Singh for all purposes. been wrongly written as Narender
Behl and Kailash Behl whereas their
correct names are Narinder Kumar
I, DINESH S/o Sh. Shri Pal Gupta Bahl and Kamlesh Bahl respectively.
R/o 29-B, Pocket-L, Dilshad Garden,
Delhi- 110095 have changed my
name to Dinesh Gupta for all future I, SANJAY S/o. Shri Rajinder
purposes.
Prasad, R/o 8614, Rattan Nagar,
Gaushala Marg, Karol Bagh, New
I, PRAVEEN Vashistha S/o. Late Delhi - 5 have changed my name to
Sh. Murli Dhar Sharma, R/o. 2202, Sanjay Srivastava for all purposes.
Block C-2, 21st Floor, Cleo County,
Sector -121, Noida, Gautam Buddha
Nagar, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 have
changed my name to Praveen
I, MOHAMMAD Rashid
Mohammad Amiruddin S/O
Vashisth for all purposes. Amiruddin born on 12-07-1992
residing at Union Tola Ward No 4
I VIJAY Kumar S/O, Bias Dev R/o Jayanagar Madhubani (Bihar),
House No-91, Block C6, Sector-31, have changed my name to
Noida, U. P. 201301 have changed Mohammad Rashid Amir vide
my name to Vijay Kumar Dogra for affidavit No(AC 826390)dated (14
all purposes. Aug, 2021) at (Jayanagar, Bihar)
I, AIWIN Chacko Abraham S/o.
K.C.Abraham R/o 91-D Block A3, I, R. R. Mathur S/o Late Shri Babu Ram
Jagriti Appartment, Sector -71, Mathur R/o I-76, Nanakpura, ND-21
Noida UP-201301 have changed my
name to Aiwin Abraham & both are
hereby declare that both name R. R.
Mathur & Radha Raman Mathur
one and same person. pertains to one and the same person
I MANOJ Shah S/o. Shri Ram
Bahadur Shah R/o. Plot No.37, I HAVE changed my name from
A-1 Block, Om Vihar. PH-V, Uttam Jitin Kumar to Jatin Kumar, R/o
Nagar, New Delhi-110059 have 36U/G/F, Gyan Park, Krishna Nagar,
changed my name to Manoj Kumar East Delhi-110051, for all future
for all future purposes. purposes.
Entire Freehold Property
The U.S. Embassy
No.D-429, Defence Colony, E-Auction sale
New Delhi-110024, E-Auction of York Millennium
Measuring 397.22 Sq. Yds. E- Auctionchillers
centrifugal forms withare 465Tonnage
invited for
Be it known to all that Mr. Avinash Disposal
capacity of 2 Cyclone
Nos. and Water theAffected
cooling
Kirpal and Mr. Arun Kirpal, both 9973.37
towers make Kgs BALTIMORE
of Cotton Hank AIRYarnCOIL- &
sons of Late Maj. Gen. P.N. Combed
USA, model & Semi Combed Cotton
# VT1-415-R with a
Kirpal, representing themselves Hosiery
capacity of Yarn
415on “As Is2Nos.
Tonnage Where will Is”
be
to be the absolute & lawful basis,
held onbelonging
Monday, theto13th M/s.Gulabroy
September-
2021 at 02:3056,
Mahadeo, P.M.,Strand
Inspection Road,can
owner/s and in exclusive
only be done
Kolkata with pre-registration
-6 Inspection can be done on
possession of the Subject
A u c t i o n e e r s Contact:
till:29/06/2020 w e b s i t eMr.t i lAyush
l 3rd
Property, have agreed to sell the September. Inspection Will only be
Subject Property to my Client, Poddar Mobile No.
allowed to Pre-Registered
9831003000.Date bidders on
of E auction is
free from all encumbrances, 9th & 10thfromSeptember-2021
charges, lien, mortgages etc., 30/06/2020 2 pm onwards. at
EAmerican
auctionEmbassy,
Forms GateNo.7,
with Earnest Main
vide written Agreement To Sell Building, Deposit
Chanakyapuri NewtoDelhi,
Money (EMD) be
and have also received from 10:00 latestto 1:00byhrs. Pre-E.M.Dup of
submitted 29/06/2020
substantial advance money from Rs. 2,00,000/- is required to
to 5 PM at the auctioneer's address
my Client. It is also to inform that participate
OR at seller'sin E-Auction Should reach
address.E-Auction P
the original/s Relinquishment well before the auction, through NEFT
Deed executed by Mrs. Anjana inAuctioneer'sAccount.
Kirpal, regd. as Document Terms: Full payment within 3 working
No.3016, on 05.05.1998 and days, GST will be charged extra. In
CHANGE OF NAME also the Relinquishment Deed case of Non-Payment, security will be
executed by Mrs. Meena forfeited. Bid validity is of bid is 30
Carippa, regd. as Document No. days, and material will have to be
I, KARTHIK Sundar, S/o 1121, on 03.11.1998, both removed within 10 working days after
S. Padmanabhan, R/o C-24, First registered in the office of the the payment and invoice. E-waybill be
Floor, Gulmohar Park, New Delhi- Sub-Registrar, New Delhi, in responsibility of the buyer. The Items
110049, have changed my name respect of the subject property, are sold on “As is Where is” basis. The
from 'Padmanabhan Karthik Sundar' are misplaced/lost and are not highest bidder will take his own
/ 'P. Karthik Sundar' to 'Karthik
traceable and a report in this arrangement to lift the material and
Sundar' as per affidavit dated take proper precaution not to harm
17.06.2021 for all future purposes. regard has also been lodged with
the PS Crime Branch, Delhi, SO building structure and repair the site
No. 430/2014, LR No. 586961, from where the material removed. The
on 17.08.2021. highest bids will be subject to
LOST & FOUND Any person(s), Association, approval.
Company, Firm, Bank, Financial Govt. Auctioneers:
LOST ORIGINAL Mutation/ Institution and any Legal Entity Accurate Auctioneers
having any sort of right, claim,
Transfer Letter issued by DDA in
respect of MIG Flat No. 188, 3rd Flr, title or interest in the Subject
9868215515, 8076863359
Block C-7, Safdarjung Development Property under or on the basis of
www.accurateauctioneers.in
Area, N.D. in favour of Mrs. Neena the said lost/misplaced original
Sood & Mrs. Manju Bahl, vide Letter misplaced documents or
No. M/6(70) 71/Gen./SG/1126, dated
24.10.2016. Finder please contact
otherwise, may put forth his/
7827996796 her/its claim to the undersigned
with supporting documentary
proof, within 15 (fifteen) days
I, JITIN Choudhary, S/o Tule Ram, from the publication of this
H.No-20, Kondli Delhi-110096,
have Lost C.B.S.E (10th) & (12th)
notice, failing which it shall be
Marksheet (Roll no- 6112356 & presumed that the Subject
5666701) In Delhi. If Found Please Property is free from all sorts of
encumbrances, charges, lien
Call at : 9540889999.
etc. and my client shall proceed
I, GANENDRA Kishor Sarkar S/o to complete the transaction, free
from all encumbrances as
Late Girindra Chandra Sarkar R/o
I-1806 F/F, CR Park New Delhi -19. bonafide purchaser and further
Have Lost original Lease Deed any such claim raised thereafter
26.04.1991, ATS dated 01.08.1993 shall not be binding upon my
Death certificate of Girindra Chandra client in any manner whatsoever.
Sarkar of Property No. 125 F/F, Pocket
AMIT V. AWASTHI
K-1, Kalkaji CR Park New Delhi-19
Finder may Contact 9810069818 Advocate, Supreme Court of India
R-296-A (Basement), G.K.-1,
New Delhi-110048.
I, BALVEER Singh S/o Jagat Singh Ph. 45532238, 9891317238
R/o RZJ-229 Street No-2, Back Side
Raj Nagar-1 Palam Colony Delhi-45,
Have lost my Passport No-M-8044903
Somebody found call 8826949096
PERSONAL
I, RAVINDER Singh S/o Sh. Tara
Chand R/o Vill. Maheshwari, Distt.
Rewari (HR) declare that my wife's
correct name is Babita Sahrawat &
my daughter's correct name is Priya
Sharawat (DOB- 29.04.2007)
for all future purposes.
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 My India 11
Record 12mn vaccines Govt suggests district-level
panels to vaccinate teachers
administered in a day Fareeha Iftikhar
fareeha.iftikhar@htdigital.in
THE MOVE COMES
AS MOST STATES
September and those who have
already received the first dose
should be followed up rigor-
Rajnath Singh

Jamie Mullick
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: With over 12.8 mil-
lion shots of the vaccine admin-
istered across India on Tuesday,
according to data available at
12000000
11pm on the Co-WIN dashboard,
India’s Covid-19 vaccination
drive set yet another single-day
record for doses delivered, wrap-
NEW DELHI: The Union govern-
Daily vaccination rate continues to rise ment on Tuesday asked states
and Union Territories (UTs) to
Tuesday’s record single-day jabs mean that in the month of August, the country create a district-level action
administered an average of 5.9 million doses every day – the highest ever plan to speed up the vaccination
of schoolteachers and ensure
that all teaching and non-teach-
9000000
12,869,300 shots administered till 11pm on
Tuesday, according to data from the
health ministry’s Co-WIN dashboard
ing staff employed across
schools receive at least the first
dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in
the month of September, people
ARE PARTIALLY ously for the second dose,” a RAJNATH PRAISES
REOPENING THEIR
senior ministry official said on
condition of anonymity. CM ADITYANATH,
SCHOOLS FOR The meeting was held in the
PHYSICAL CLASSES backdrop of the Union govern- LAUNCHES 180
AS THE SECOND
ment’s decision to provide at
least 20 million additional Cov-
PROJECTS IN U.P.
COVID-19 WAVE
CONTINUES TO EBB
id-19 vaccine doses to states and
UTs to vaccinate teaching and
non-teaching staff employed in
schools (both government and
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com

LUCKNOW: Praising the “tough

ping up August as, by far, the
best month (yet) of India’s mass
inoculation programme.
The total number of people
across India who have now
received at least one shot of the
vaccine has surpassed 500 mil-
lion, data shows.
Tuesday’s record single-day
jabs means that in August, the
country administered a total of
183.5 million doses, translating
to a daily average of 5.9 million
doses throughout the month.
This average administration is a
jump of 1.6 million doses a day
over the previous monthly best
recorded in July (average of 4.3
million jabs a day). At its lowest
since the drive was thrown open
to all adults, this pace had
dropped to under 2 million doses
a day through May, data shows.
With more vaccine doses (at
least 250 million) available in
September, the number could
increase even more.
Tuesday marked the third
time in the past 15 days that the
country has set a new record for
Daily doses
Monthly average
6000000
3000000
1,632,317
234,928 357,075
0 and UTs on Tuesday, Anita Kar-
January February
single-day dose administration.
A total of 12,869,300 doses had
been administered till 11pm on
Tuesday, according to data from
the Union health ministry’s
Co-WIN dashboard, bettering
the previous high of 10,064,376
doses set on Friday. On August
16, 8.82 million jabs were admin-
istered across the country.
Buoyed by these daily records,
the country’s pace of vaccina-
tion, which was patchy for
months, appears to have finally
settled into high gear. In the past
week, an average of 8.3 million
3,979,893 4,349,331
3,016,511
1,966,595
March April May
daily doses has been adminis-
tered across India – the highest
pace ever recorded in the coun-
try, as per to HT’s dashboard.
The recent jump in pace
comes less than a week after
India touched the milestone of
covering half the country’s adult
population with at least one
shot. Till Tuesday night, a total of
651.2 million doses of Covid-19
vaccine have been administered
across the country to 500 million
people with 350 million people
partially vaccinated and 150 mil-
lion people having received both
5,919,641
June July August
doses of the vaccine. When seen
alongside the country’s projec-
ted adult population of 940 mil-
lion (according to the Census of
India’s National Commission on
Population), this means 53.3% of
people above 18 years of age have
received vaccine – 37.3% have
been partially vaccinated and
16% have received both doses.
While the pace of the drive
has seen progress, data shows
there is still a long way to go if
India wants to achieve its stated
target of vaccinating its entire
adult population by 2021 end.
aware of the development said.
The move comes as most
states are partially reopening
their schools for physical
classes as the second wave of
the pandemic continues to ebb
and the country’s vaccine drive
gathers momentum.
During a virtual meeting with
education secretaries of states
wal, secretary, school education
and literacy, asked them to
update the ministry about the
vaccination status of teachers
twice a week through an online
PANKAJ KR SINGH,
SANJAY ARORA ARE
BSF, ITBP CHIEFS
NEW DELHI: Pankaj Kumar
Singh, a 1988-batch IPS officer,
on Tuesday took over as the new
director general (DG) of the Bor-
der Security Force while his
batchmate Sanjay Arora
assumed charge of the Indo-Ti-
betan Border Police (ITBP).
tracker.
“During the meeting, educa-
tion secretary Anita Karwal dis-
cussed the plans of teachers
vaccination with the states and
UTs. She advised all state/UT
education secretaries to work
with their health secretaries
and design a roadmap at district
level for vaccination of all teach-
ing and non-teaching staff
engaged across their schools.
She has asked the officials to
ensure that all teachers should
at least receive the first dose of
vaccine during the month of
Ramacharyulu named
RS secretary general
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha chair-
man M Venkaiah Naidu on
Tuesday appointed Dr Para-
saram Pattabhi Kesava Rama-
charyulu as the new secretary
private) on priority.
The announcement came
ahead of Teachers’ Day on Sep-
tember 5.
India has fully vaccinated 150
million people and partially vac-
cinated another 350 million till
the end of August.
Several states and UTs such
as Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Haryana,
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and
Assam, among others have
either reopened schools or are
reopening them from Septem-
ber 1.
stand” taken by Uttar Pradesh
chief minister Yogi Adityanath
on law and order in the state,
defence minister Rajnath Singh
on Tuesday said: “The heartbeat
of criminals stops when they
hear the name Yogi.”
Singh, along with the UP chief
minister, laid the foundation
stones for 180 projects that will
come up at an estimated cost of
₹1,710 crore, in a programme at
Jyotiba Phule Park in Lucknow.
They also inaugurated the
Victoria Street-Charak Flyover.
Singh, who is also the Lok
Sabha MP from Lucknow, said:
“Had Yogi Aditynath not been
the chief minister, then I would
not have been able to work so
much for Lucknow.”
“If we want to ensure good
governance in the state, it is not
possible without better law and
order. Development is also not
possible without it. He should be
appreciated for the strict action
taken by him,” Singh said.
Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh
had changed and the state was in
second place in the ease of doing
business rankings. “That’s why it
has attracted investment of

Another tourist found dead in Goa, 3rd in a month
HT Correspondent respond to calls and messages,
police said.
letters@hindustantimes.com
The room in which the body
PANAJI: A 66-year-old Irish was found was also locked from
woman was found dead in her inside, they added. The police
rented flat in North Goa on believe the woman may have
August 30, the third death of a been dead for several days
foreign national in the state in before her body was discovered
one month, police said. but are awaiting the post-mor-
Mary Gertrude McNamara tem exam report.
was found dead in her flat in “We will carry out further
Candolim, where she lived alone. investigation as per the autopsy
Her body was discovered by her report and statement of her
friends who broke open the door friends,” North Goa superintend-
of the flat after she did not ent of police Shobit Saksena said.
As is the practice, the police
are required to contact the
respective consulate before pro-
ceeding with post-mortem exam-
ination, should the consulate
choose to depute a representative
to be present during the same.
The incident comes nearly
two weeks after two Russian
women, including an actor, were
found dead, in separate inci-
dents, in their apartment in
North Goa.
On August 19, actor Alexan-
dra Djavi was found hanging in
her rented apartment in Siolim
while Ekaterina Titova was
found dead in her flat in the
same area.
While the police initially said
there was no evidence of foul
play, Titova’s death was later
attributed to murder after the
post-mortem report revealed she
was smothered to death. Her
friend, Denis Kruichkoy, was
arrested in the case.
The cause of Djavi’s death is
yet to be ascertained pending
examination of the viscera.
Singh, from the Rajasthan
cadre of the IPS, has been serv-
ing as the special DG of the coun-
try’s largest border guarding
force that mans over 6,300 km of
Indian boundary with Pakistan
and Bangladesh and has about
265,000 personnel.
IPS officer from the Tamil
Nadu cadre, Arora, took charge
of the 90,000 personnel strong
ITBP that guards the 3,488-km
Line of Actual Control (LAC)
with China.
Singh is considered an archi-
tect of police reforms in the
country. After his 1996 petition
in the Supreme Court, the gov-
ernment started giving a fixed
two-year tenure to the chief of
IB, CBI, and R&AW. PTI
general of the Upper House of
Parliament.
Ramacharyulu has been
working as secretary in the
Rajya Sabha Secretariat since
2018 and succeeds Desh Dipak
Verma, who demitted office
after serving for four years.
As per the Rajya Sabha Secre-
tariat, Ramacharyulu is the first
ever Upper House employee to
have risen to the secretary gen-
eral’s post. Nine employees have
become the secretary general of
Lok Sabha so far.
Born in 1958, Ramacharyulu
has about 40 years of experi-
ence of handling various
aspects of the functioning of
Parliament.
“He joined the secretariat in
Dr Parasaram Pattabhi Kesava
Ramacharyulu
1983 after serving in the Lok
Sabha Secretariat for a year ear-
lier. He served as Special Secre-
tary, Andhra Pradesh Legisla-
ture in 2017,” a statement issued
by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat
said.
A Bachelor of Laws and Mas-
ter of Arts (Political Science)
degree holder, Ramacharyulu
was awarded Doctor of Philoso-
phy (Ph.D) by the Jawaharlal
Nehru University for his work
on ‘Committee Systems of
Indian Parliament and the US
Congress: A Comparative Study’
in 2005.
₹65,000 crore during the corona
period. From 2003 to 2017, the
state governments ensured a
steep fall in economy, law and
order, but today everything is
looking up,” he added.
Describing the Victoria Street
flyover “a historic work”, Singh
said it earlier took an hour to
cover the 4km distance, but now
commuters would be able to
cross the stretch in 3 minutes.
He appreciated the CM for
providing over 250 acres on
lease of ₹1 for a facility to manu-
facture Brahmos missiles in Luc-
know under the defence corridor
project.
He added, “Every household
in Lucknow will get piped natu-
ral gas (PNG) connection...”

UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

PROGRAMME OF EXAMINATIONS/RECRUITMENT TESTS (RTs) - 2022
No. 22/3/2021-E.I(B) - The Commission’s Programme of Examinations and Recruitment Tests (RTs) for the year 2022 is
given below for the information of candidates.The annual calendar has also been placed on the Commission’s website
(www.upsc.gov.in). Aspirants and candidates are advised to retain this advertisement for use as a ready reckoner for
applying for the Commission’s Examinations in 2022.
S. Name of Examination Date of Last Date for Date of Duration of
No. Notification receipt of commencement Exam
Applications of Exam
1. Engineering Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2022 22.09.2021 12.10.2021 20.02.2022 1 DAY
2. Combined Geo-Scientist (Preliminary) Examination, (SUNDAY)
2022
3. Reserved for UPSC RT/Examination 16.01.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
4. Reserved for UPSC RT/Examination 20.02.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
5. CISF AC(EXE) LDCE-2022 01.12.2021 21.12.2021 13.03.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
6. Reserved for UPSC RT/Examination 13.03.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
7. N.D.A. & N.A. Examination (I), 2022 22.12.2021 11.01.2022 10.04.2022 1 DAY
8. C.D.S. Examination (I), 2022 (SUNDAY)
9. Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2022 02.02.2022 22.02.2022 05.06.2022 1 DAY
10. Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination, 2022 (SUNDAY)
through CS(P) Examination 2022
11. I.E.S./I.S.S. Examination, 2022 06.04.2022 26.04.2022 24.06.2022 3 DAYS
(FRIDAY)
12. Combined Geo-Scientist (Main) Examination, 2022 25.06.2022 2 DAYS
(SATURDAY)
13. Engineering Services (Main) Examination, 2022 26.06.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
14. Reserved for UPSC RT/Examination 03.07.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
15. Combined Medical Services Examination, 2022 06.04.2022 26.04.2022 17.07.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
16. Central Armed Police Forces (ACs) Examination, 2022 20.04.2022 10.05.2022 07.08.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
17. Reserved for UPSC RT/Examination 21.08.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
18. N.D.A. & N.A. Examination (II), 2022 18.05.2022 14.06.2022 04.09.2022 1 DAY
19. C.D.S. Examination (II), 2022 (SUNDAY)
20. Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2022 16.09.2022 5 DAYS
(FRIDAY)
21. Reserved for UPSC RT/Examination 09.10.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
22. Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination, 2022 20.11.2022 10 DAYS
(SUNDAY)
23. S.O./Steno (GD-R/GD-I) LDCE 13.09.2022 04.10.2022 10.12.2022 2 DAYS
(SATURDAY)
24. Reserved for UPSC RT/Examination 18.12.2022 1 DAY
(SUNDAY)
Note 1: The dates of notification, commencement and duration of Examinations/RTs are liable to alteration, if the
circumstances so warrant.
Note 2: Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2021 will be conducted on 7, 8, 9, 15 & 16 January, 2022.
Note 3: Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination, 2021 to commence on 27.02.2022 and will continue for 10 days till
08.03.2022.
Candidates are advised to visit the Commission’s website regularly for updates, detailed information, and frequently
asked questions regarding the Commission’s Examinations and Recruitments, as well as for making online
applications and downloading e-admit cards and e-summon letters.
Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to
apply.
davp 55101/14/0001/2122
12 NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021

Opinion

{ OUR TAKE }
E STA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 24
Why Hindutva is
The battle Hindu modernity
over reforms Hindutva emerged as a
response to imperialism,
a powerful polity and State. While and changing social and economic
India had been invaded and colonised structures favoured them.
in the past, the challenge posed by The tantra movement in the medie- It is striking that all segments of the Hindu polity, from the Left to the Right,
Farm protests are set to intensify. The re-imagined the past and British colonialism was unique. We val period and the Bhakti movement argued for a modern nation despite rooting their positions in the
often discount the traumatic and ter- in the early modern period infused civilisational antiquity of India REUTERS
State’s high-handed attitude isn’t helping dreamt of a modern rifying experience of the non-western Hindu society with the ideas of social
democratic State world in its encounter with western and gender equality. From the Nath looking towards the West or the gas? The coming together of various
colonialism, which was backed by Sampradaya and Vachana Sahitya to Soviet Union, the other was looking pagan traditions under the umbrella

W
ith the Haryana government deploying

W
ith the rise of a
force to crack down on farm protests in medieval Taliban
Karnal on Saturday, a movement that regime, some lib-
was alive but relatively passive has assu- erals have argued
that the return of
med a new lease of life. As this newspaper reported the Islamic Emir-
on Tuesday, farm unions plan to hold a mahapan- ate to Afghanistan is somewhat akin
chayat at Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh to the rise of Hindutva in India. This is
a mischievous and illiterate compari-
(UP) on September 5 to broaden their agenda. From son. Unlike the undemocratic and vio-
opposing the new farm laws, these unions will lent Taliban, Hindutva envisages a
now oppose the government’s economic policies, democratic society based on equality
and universal rights. Hindutva
including the recently unveiled asset monetisation dreams of a modern future, the Tali-
programme. There is politics, economics and geog- ban dreams of a regressive past. Hin-
raphy enmeshed in the new round of farm activism. dutva works within a constitutional
framework, while even the Taliban,
First, the politics. A simple rule in dealing with a unlike its apologists, won’t describe
mass movement — and there is no doubt that the itself as constitutionalists.
farm agitation is a mass movement — is not to do But fundamentally, the comparison
is based on ignorance of the roots,
anything to aggravate it. The Centre has been clear evolution, and values of Hindutva.
that it would not revoke the farm laws, but it has also One of the most important develop-
been careful in not using force even when farm ments of the last century is what Giri-
lal Jain termed as “The Hindu Phe-
protesters choked Delhi’s entry points or a segment nomenon”. It was a widely held belief
turned violent on Republic Day. This is because in a that the destiny of the Hindus was to
volatile situation, there is always possibility of exces- fade away in the modern era and their
homeland absorbed within the
sive force; this alienates protesting groups, adds to Islamic and Christian world. Yet,
anger, and makes a resolution harder. Given the despite repeated attempts at ethnic
fusion of class and identity (Sikhs and Jats are at the cleansing over recent centuries, Hin-
dus not only survived, but also created
forefront of the protests), using force is also an
invitation to social turmoil. That is why the video of a
Haryana bureaucrat (Karnal sub-divisional
magistrate Ayush Sinha) telling policemen to “break
the heads” of protesters — an uncceptable As states roll out NEP,
modern industry, a new economic Ravidas and Kabir, Hindu society towards Japan and Korea to create a of Hinduism is a centuries-old proc-
structure of capitalism, and a new already had what could be called pro- modern Hindu nation. ess. But Hindutva consolidated it by
political structure of nations and to-modernity. Popular and highly Hindutva was the Hindu response welding Hindus into a political com-
nation-States. Coupled symbolic oral epics such to western colonialism and resurgent munity and as a nation by emphasis-
with emerging modern as Manteswamy Kavya Islamic imperialism in the Indian sub- ing the commonalities of a highly
academia, it also posed a even argued how technol- continent, and emerged under the diverse Hindu society.
formidable intellectual ogy must ultimately be lib- new economic order based on indus- Hindutva is both a product of the
challenge. erated from its hereditary try and capitalism. Hindutva inher- modern world and an argument for
Hindu response to west- practitioners, i.e the prac- ited the legacy of the Hindu proto- Hindu modernity. It sees itself as the
ern imperialism emerged tice of a birth-based caste modernity and contemporary social protector of India’s religious and cul-
Abhinav
in the 19th century in the system determining occu- and religious reform movements to tural diversity, which has been deci-
form of social and reli- Prakash Singh pation needed to go for the imagine a modern-industrial Hindu mated in areas no longer part of India.
gious reform movements progress of civilisation. nation. It sought to dismantle the Economic transformation dilutes
and political mobilisation In the absence of corre- caste system, and create a democratic caste and regional lines. Industrialisa-
seeking to draw inspiration from sponding social and economic condi- State with individual rights, freedom tion and urbanisation are the precur-
antiquity and Hindu philosophy. But tions, these ideas remained largely of expression and religion. Hindutva sors of modernity. And since Hin-
reformers were not only imagining confined to the respective Hindu argued for a modern Hindu nation dutva embodies the modern values
the future but also re-imagining the sects. But under colonial rule, with with primacy to science and technol- and modern vision of Hindu society,
past. They argued that modern values changing socio-economic structures ogy. It imagined a centralised State the appeal and legitimacy of Hindutva
such as social equality, political and the import of newly emerging with strong defence capabilities, yet have been increasing as India
democracy, liberty, and the idea of the western, modern ideas, such views part of the world commonwealth in becomes more industrial and urban-
nation are all rooted in Hindu tradi- entered the mainstream of Hindu pursuit of stability and peace. Hin- ised. The rise of a “Hindu Rashtra”
tion and philosophy. Hence, Hindu political thought. dutva always confined itself to the aim and an industrial-urban developed
society and polity are naturally at It is striking that all segments of the of a Hindu Rashtra (nation), and, at no India are two sides of the same coin.
home in the modern era. Hindu polity, from the Left to the point, did it argue for a Hindu Rajya And this phenomenon is the opposite
These views were propagated by Right, argued for a modern nation (State). Even the Hindu Mahasabha of what the new rulers of Afghanistan
Hindu thinkers, writers, poets, reli- despite rooting their positions in the proposed a secular State based on the have envisioned for their Emirate.
gious leaders, and social and political civilisational antiquity of India. None principle of one-man, one-vote.
leaders throughout the Indian sub- of them wanted a return to the past, The main intellectual challenge for Abhinav Prakash Singh is assistant
continent. The fact that these views unlike their counterparts in the Mus- Hindus was to justify their existence professor of economics at SRCC
found rapid and widespread accept- lim polity, but wanted to learn from as a society. Who were they? Tamil, and national vice-president, Bharatiya
ance demonstrate that these ideas the values of a past and reinterpret it Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Jat, Brah- Janata Yuva Morcha
were not alien to the Hindu society in a modern image. If one side was mins, Ahirs, Pasi, Rajputs, Vokkali- The views expressed are personal
{ HARSH VARDHAN SHRINGLA } FOREIGN SECRETARY

instruction by any standard — has become an P

instrument of further mobilisation.
This moment then has got enmeshed with address its twin deficits Each of our initiatives [during the
geography and electoral calculations. The expansion
s states begin rolling out the 2020 Nagaland and Andhra Pradesh have either
UNSC presidency] were designed
of the farm movement from Punjab to Haryana and
then to west UP, and from primarily Sikh farmers to
Jat farmers, lent it more weight. Now, in the run-up
to UP elections, expect an anti-government offensive
A National Education Policy (NEP), begun, or will soon start, teaching all subjects
they need to engage with two impor- in English. Other states are selectively expand-
tant issues that NEP did not address. ing such English-medium government
One, Muslims, India’s most educationally dis- schools. Now more than 20% of all Indian stu-
advantaged group, were not mentioned in the dents, which comes to roughly 50 million stu-
to produce .... consensus-based
substantive .... outcomes. This is a
testimony to the constructive role
in west UP in a bid to mobilise farmers in general, 2020 NEP. Two, the use of English merited dents, are attending low-cost private and gov-
... that India attempted to play

A
and Jats in particular. But beyond the political only a few lines of scant attention, despite the ernment English-medium schools.
calculus, there is an underlying political economy
massive bottom-up demand for English skills. The tragic irony is that several studies,
Muslims comprise about 15% of India’s including an NCERT report, indicate that the
during its presidency.
battle developing in India now. The government is population, and are among the most econom- vast majority of students, mostly from poor-
committed to economic reforms — agricultural laws, ically, socially and politically disadvantaged and lower-middle class families, acquire very
groups in India. What makes their omission limited English skills in these schools. This is
privatisation and asset monetisation are examples of even more striking in the 2020 NEP is that principally because their teachers’ own
this push. And while this newspaper believes that
CAA is flawed. Devise a
their education participation rates in schools knowledge of English was significantly sub-
these are sound ideas, it is but natural that they will and colleges are the lowest in India, more so standard too. The standards of teaching and
than even Scheduled Castes and Scheduled learning in regional-medium government
invite a backlash from those stakeholders who feel Tribes. However, while Dalits and tribals were schools, where English is taught as a subject
they will lose out as a result of the reforms. The farm
groups are attempting to weave a wider narrative to
collaborate with the Opposition, trade unions, and
highlighted in the 2020 NEP as requiring spe- in most states from Class 1 onwards, are
cial attention, as indeed they should be, Mus- equally depressing.
lims were not.
Among other reasons, this omis-
Nearly all schools in countries
where English is not the main lan-
new refugee policy, set
others. All of this makes it even more important for
the government to stay the course on reforms, but
with sensitivity, not high-handedness.
sion does not bode well for achiev-
ing one of the main goals of the 2020
NEP — that all Indian students
should receive 15 years of quality
guage teach in their own languages.
Similarly, reinforcing previous policy
recommendations, the 2020 NEP
correctly advocated the teaching of
up a national panel
school education. Without special John all school subjects in the mother ecent developments in Afghanistan, HISTORICALLY, THE

Covid: Lessons from

attention to vulnerable groups, espe-
cially Muslims, achieving this goal
even by the end of this century will
be impossible.
Kurrien
tongue and regional language. What
it failed to highlight was that if
regional-medium government
schools had to survive, let alone
In the case of English, the 2020 NEP flourish, the teaching of English as a subject
R with the withdrawal of American
troops and rise of the Taliban, have PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN
led to a grave humanitarian crisis. HAVE ENJOYED A GOOD
This has serious implications for India. True RELATIONSHIP WITH INDIA.
to its ancient maxim of Vasudhaiva Kutum-
avoided discussing the English-medium had to be improved significantly. The alterna- bakam (the world is one family), India’s soil SEVERAL STUDENTS ARE
has historically been a home away from home ENROLLED IN UNIVERSITIES
Kerala’s experience schooling tsunami in India, where both gov- tive is the continued precipitous decline in
ernment and private schools are increasingly government school enrolment and the recent
teaching all school subjects in English. More spectacular rise of private schools, as high-
for persecuted minorities. But India does not HERE. THEY MUST BE
have a singular policy for dealing with refu-
TREATED WITH DIGNITY
importantly, it failed to address why improv- lighted in the recent Central Square Founda- gees and crises of this nature.
any held Kerala up as a national and global

M
ing the teaching and learning of English as a tion report on private schooling. The June 2021 factsheet of the United
example on how to manage Covid-19 during subject in government regional-medium Therefore, in the rollout of the 2020 NEP by Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHCR)
the first wave of the pandemic. But, as a schools needs to be prioritised, and did not states, an important focus of educational states that 2,08,065 refugees reside in Indian try, it is necessary that we draft a refugee pol-
articulate what pedagogical initiatives are reforms should be the teaching of English as territory. Of these, 95,829 Sri Lankan refugees icy inspired by the best practices included in
Covid-19 column this newspaper ran for a little over required. a subject in regional-medium government and 73,404 Tibetan refugees are registered those laws. As a first step towards drafting
a year pointed out, this was more smart PR than With new employment opportunities that schools, still attended by the majority of and assisted by the Government of India. India’s refugee policy, I recommend that the
anything else. Now, Kerala accounts for 68% of reward English skills, the importance of Indian students. The top priority should be to Meanwhile, refugees and asylum-seekers Union government set up a national commis-
English-medium education has increased sig- ensure that their English teachers have a basic from Myanmar (22,459), Afghanistan (15,217) sion for refugees at the earliest. This commis-
cases (in terms of the seven-day daily case average nificantly in the last three decades. Earlier command over English and know how to and other areas (3,639) are registered with sion should draft an inclusive policy on refu-
on August 30). There are multiple theories about restricted to upper and middle classes, poor teach it. UNHCR India. The agency plays a significant gees with respect for the rule of law. It should
what’s happening in the state with the best social and disadvantaged groups have been at the A sustainable solution to declining enrol- part in verification, registration and grant refugees legal protection and
forefront of the new and unprecedented ment in regional-medium government resettlement of refugees in India. should be based on the principles of
development indicators in India. Based on demand for English-medium schooling. This schools is improving their quality of teaching The Citizenship Amendment Act non-refoulement and non-discrimi-
statistical and scientific evidence, it can be safely resulted in low-fee, English-medium private and learning in all subjects in general, and the of 2019 is the closest that India has nation. The policy should also
surmised that Kerala’s crisis is caused by a mutant schools mushrooming in India’s villages and standards of English in particular, and not come to enacting a policy on refu- account for physical protection such
towns. expanding English-medium instruction, as is gees and illegal immigrants. But the as secure accommodation and
strain of the original virus, and an extremely poor To stem the unabated migration of the poor currently practised by all states. It may be Act is highly inadequate for refugees access to food and sanitation, and
Gaurav
containment and home quarantine policy. from regional-medium government schools desirable to curtail English-medium school- and is severely flawed. It neither
Gogoi ensure that family unity among refu-
As evident from Delhi’s experience during the to private low-cost English-medium alterna- ing, but politically unfeasible given the enor- offers a definition for who is a refu- gees is prioritised. Provisions for
tives, all government schools in Kashmir, mous public demand. gee nor applies universally to refu- durable solutions for refugees such
peak of the country’s second wave, a localised However, states such as Uttar Pradesh gees from all countries. In addition as voluntary repatriation, local inte-
lockdown, stringent restrictions, and an effective should, at the very least, reverse their retro- to being discriminatory on the basis of reli- gration, or resettlement in a third country
containment policy are all that are needed to grade decision to convert existing government gion and country of origin, CAA also has a must be incorporated into the policy.
preschool centres, teaching in local languages cut-off date of December 31, 2014. It offers no The people of Afghanistan have historically
sharply reduce the number of cases. If Kerala is and Hindi, to kindergarten classes conducted guidelines on how to deal with future refugee enjoyed a good relationship with India. Sev-
unable to do so, it is because the state doesn’t have in English. The guaranteed outcome of such or immigration issues. The Act is also in clear eral Afghan students are enrolled in universi-
adequate restrictions; it is ineffective at monitoring an early start is not better English, but the sti- violation of the right to equality and the right ties here. At a time of crisis, they must be
fling of children’s language skills, founda- against discrimination, enshrined in articles treated with dignity. They shouldn’t have to
even what restrictions are in place; and people are tional development and creativity. 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution. wait at the mercy of an ad hoc policy that dis-
not self-isolating when they test positive. As India States must, thus, comprehensively address Meanwhile, India is not party to interna- criminates on the basis of religion. The Gov-
opens up even more, and as many states reopen both the glaring omissions of NEP — pay spe- tional best practices either. It is not a signa- ernment of India should come up with a refu-
cial attention to provide all Muslim students tory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its gee law that supports the people of Afghani-
schools, it is important that everyone learn from with 15 years of quality school education and 1967 protocol. Even though there are no offi- stan and promotes India’s reputation as a
Kerala’s experience. If there is a silver lining, it’s strengthen the standards of English in region- cial explanations as to why India has not champion of human rights. A policy that
Kerala’s case fatality rate, which stands at 0.5% in al-medium schools. Both are critical to any signed the Convention, the country’s porous addresses Indian concerns and, at the same
agenda for transformational educational borders and resultant security concerns are time, offers respite to refugees is, without
comparison to the country’s 1.3%. Clearly, the state’s reform. cited as a major reason. There is also the con- doubt, the need of the hour.
superior quality of public health care has helped — ventional logic that India’s reputation of being
another lesson for other states. A good public Pay special attention to provide Muslim open towards refugees negates the need for
students with 15 years of quality education John Kurrien has been working in the field of educa- signing any formal international agreement. Gaurav Gogoi is deputy leader of the
health care system can lessen the impact of even an and strengthen the standards of English in tion for disadvantaged groups for four decades If existing international refugee laws do Congress in the Lok Sabha
enduring wave of infections. regional-medium schools P KUMAR/HT PHOTO The views expressed are personal not cater to the particular needs of our coun- The views expressed are personal

R. N. I. No. 503/1957 ● Postal Reg. No. DL(ND)-11/6058/2018-19-20 ‘Licensed to post without prepayment’ LICENCE No. U(C)-113/2006-08, Air surcharge: Raipur and beyond by Rail or Road - Re 5/-, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Chennai, Cochin, Goa, Hyderabad, Khajuraho, Mumbai, Trivandrum, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and beyond by Rail or Road - Rs. 10/-;

Printed & Published by DINESH MITTAL for and on behalf of HT Media Ltd. 18-20, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi-110001 and printed at HT Media Ltd. Presses at Plot No.-8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida, Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar. (UP). Pin-201306,
Board: (011)23361234 ● Editorial: (011)66561234 Extn. 1254, 1268 ● Circulation: (011)66561111 ● Advertising: (011)66561389 ● Fax: (011)66561270.

Editor: KUNAL PRADHAN

NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
Afghanistan braces for Taliban 2.0
20 YEARS OF OCCUPATION
Counting the costs in numbers
US planes have airlifted the last US service members and diplomats from Kabul airport, ending
America's longest war. Here’s looking back at the US-led 2001-2021 occupation of Afghanistan
Oct 7, 2001 Date on which US military, with British support, began a bombing
campaign against Taliban forces in response to the 9/11 terror attacks
47,200+ 66,000+ 2,461
Total number of Afghan national
Afghan civilian military and police
fatalities personnel deaths
‘DEMILITARISED’
The US military
disabled aircraft,
armoured vehicles
and a high-tech
rocket defence
system at Kabul
airport before it left
on Monday. The
demilitarised
equipment
comprised:
73
aircraft
at airport
27 Humvee
vehicles
70
MRAP
armoured
vehicles
1
C-RAM rocket
defence
system
{ ANGER, DESPAIR } 10 CIVILIANS KILLED
US strike wiped
out my family,
rues Kabul man
Agence France-Presse
letters@hindustantimes.com
KABUL: When Ezmarai Ahmadi
returned home from work on
Sunday evening in Kabul, the
usual gaggle of squealing chil-
dren were waiting to greet him -
his sons and daughters, and a
slew of nieces and nephews.
His brother, Aimal Ahmadi,
said Ezmarai pulled his white
sedan into the driveway of a
modest house in Kwaja Burga, a
densely populated neighbour-
hood in the northwest of the
Afghan capital, and handed the
keys to his eldest son to park.
Youngsters piled into the vehi-
cle - pretending the parking rou-
tine was an adventure - while
Ezmarai watched from the side,
his brother told AFP.
Then, according to Aimal, a
missile came screeching down -
striking the car with a terrible
force and obliterating the lives of
10 people in an instant.
The US said on Sunday it had
destroyed an explosive-laden
vehicle in an airstrike, thwarting
a bid by the Islamic State to deto-
nate a car bomb at Kabul airport.
On Monday, Aimal said he lost
10 members of his family in the
strike, including his own daugh-
ter and five other children.
“The rocket came and hit the
4 LET TERRORISTS
HELD OVER J&K
GRENADE BLAST
SRINAGAR: Four terrorist associ-
ated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) were arrested for their
alleged involvement in a grenade
attack on a sarpanch’s residence
in Baramulla district, police said
on Tuesday.
During the investigation into
the attack on sarpanch Narinder
Kaur’s residence, the police
found that two men, Moham-
mad Saleem Khan and Sajad
Ahmad Mir, were involved, a
police spokesperson said.
He said they were arrested
and questioned. “Both the
accused persons confessed that
they were working as terrorist
associates for the proscribed ter-
ror outfit, LeT, on the behest of a
Pakistan-based handler namely
Ali Bhai. PTI
American service
members killed
in Afghanistan
800,000 $2 trillion 123,000 2,000+
Number of troops Estimated amount
deployed to Afghani- of direct cost of the
stan across 20 years of wars in Afghanistan
combat, many of them and Iraq as of 2020,
more than once, as per the Costs of
according to CNN
War Project
18mn Number of people in the country
requiring urgent aid, as per UN
A destroyed vehicle is seen
inside a house after a US drone
strike in Kabul. AP
car full of kids inside our house,”
he said. “It killed all of them.”
AFP was unable to independ-
ently verify Aimal’s account. The
US government said it was inves-
tigating media reports of civilian
casualties as a result of that air-
strike.
Aimal said he cannot believe
his brother could be mistaken
for an IS group sympathiser, let
alone an operative planning a
deadly car bomb attack.
Ezmarai, his brother said, was
an engineer working with a non-
governmental organisation.
Rashid Noori, who told AFP
he was Aimal’s neighbour, said
he too had rushed to the scene of
the strike. “Do they all think our
children are terrorists?”
HC seeks detailed affidavit
from govt on surveillance
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high
court on Tuesday asked the Cen-
tre to file a detailed affidavit on a
plea by an NGO challenging the
use generalised surveillance sys-
tems by the authorities while
also seeking details of procedure
in relation to the monitoring and
interception of phones.
A bench of Chief Justice DN
Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh
granted time to the Centre to file
its reply while hearing a plea by
two societies-- Centre for Public
Interest Litigation (CPIL) and
Software Freedom Law Centre
(SFLC)—contending that citi-
zens’ right to privacy was being
“endangered” by surveillance
programmes like the Centralised
51,100+
Number of Taliban
and other opposition
fighters who died
Number of civilians
evacuated by US
and coalition
aircraft, according
to Al Jazeera
40%
U.S. POLICY OF
INTERVENTION IS
DOOMED TO FAIL,
SAYS SENIOR
CHINESE OFFICIAL
Sutirtho Patranobis
letters@hindustantimes.com
BEIJING : The US policy in
Afghanistan is “unworkable”
and doomed to fail, China said
on Tuesday, hours after the last
American troops left the war-
torn country.
“The US withdrawal shows
that the policy of arbitrary mili-
tary intervention and imposition
of one’s values and social sys-
tems on other countries is
doomed to fail,” Chinese foreign
ministry spokesperson, Wang
Wenbin, said.
“Afghanistan has gotten rid of
foreign military occupation. The
Afghan people have ushered in a
new starting point for national
peace and reconstruction. The
history of Afghanistan has
opened a new page,” Wang said.
Wang did not directly answer
a question on whether China will
recognise the Taliban govern-
ment following US withdrawal
from Afghanistan. He said China
hopes Afghanistan will form a
widely representative govern-
ment and pursue a moderate
domestic and foreign policy.
Wang added that China will
continue to maintain close com-
munication with all parties in
Afghanistan, saying Beijing will
“provide support and assistance
within its capacity in order to
restore peace, rebuild the econ-
omy, combat all terrorist organi-
sations... and integrate into the
international community”.
Monitoring System, Network
Traffic Analysis and National
Intelligence Grid.
“Time to file detailed affidavit
granted to Union of India. Point
out in detail the law and proce-
dure followed by the Union of
India for monitoring and inter-
ception of phones,” the bench
said posting the matter for Sep-
tember 30.
Appearing for the NGOs,
advocate Prashant Bhushan
urged the court to constitute a
committee under a retired judge
of the HC or the Supreme Court
to “find out what the govern-
ment was doing” and that the
government reply in the present
case was “bald”. “They filed an
affidavit saying everything is in
accordance with law. Govern-
ment’s reply is a bald reply.”
World
“[Taliban's
victory]
is a lesson for
other invaders,”
- Zabihullah
Mujahid, Taliban
spokesperson
A US Marine near
Forward Operating
Base Edi in Helmand
on June 9, 2011. AP
Estimated
number of
IS-affiliated
fighters currently
in Afghanistan
Share of Afghanistan’s GDP
in 2020 that came from aid
Britain ‘ready’ to attack
Islamic State terrorists
Agencies
letters@hindustantimes.com
LONDON/KABUL: The UK has
said that it is “ready” to launch
strikes at the Islamic State-Khor-
asan (IS-K) terror network in
Afghanistan after the Pentagon
revealed that there are at least
2,000 fighters of the outfit in the
war-torn country.
The Islamic State’s Afghani-
stan affiliate had claimed
responsibility for a deadly blast
at the Hamid Karzai Interna-
tional Airport in Kabul in which
nearly 200 people were killed on
Thursday.
Britain’s Chief of the Air Staff,
Mike Wigston, told The Daily
Telegraph newspaper on Mon-
day that the UK government
could be involved in strikes
against IS-K. He was speaking
after the UK and the US troops
completed their withdrawal
from Afghanistan after the Tali-
ban takeover.
“The UK stands united with
our coalition partners in mourn-
ing those killed by Daesh’s (IS)
horrific attack at Kabul airport
and in our unwavering collective
resolve to combat Daesh net-
works by all means available,
wherever they operate.
“If there’s an opportunity for
us to contribute, I am in no
doubt that we will be ready to.
That will be anywhere where
violent extremism raises its head
and is a direct or indirect threat
AFGHANISTAN
“execution of the dangerous ret-
rograde from Afghanistan as
scheduled”.
Hours before Biden’s Tuesday
deadline for shutting down a
final airlift, air force transport
planes carried a remaining con-
tingent of troops from Kabul air-
port late on Monday. Thousands
of troops spent two weeks pro-
tecting the airlift of tens of thou-
sands of Afghans, Americans
and others seeking to escape a
country once again ruled by the
Taliban.
An image from the Pentagon
taken with night-vision optics
showed the last US soldier to
step aboard the final evacuation
flight out of Kabul – Major Gen-
eral Chris Donahue, commander
of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Secretary of State Antony
Blinken put number of Ameri-
cans still in Afghanistan at under
Afghans woke up
to a new reality on
Tuesday as Taliban
leaders walked across
the runway in Kabul,
marking their victory
over foreign forces
Agencies
letters@hindustantimes.com
KABUL: The Taliban group were
in full control of Kabul’s interna-
tional airport on Tuesday, after
the last US plane left its runway,
marking the end of America’s
longest war.
Vehicles carrying the Taliban
raced back and forth along the
Hamid Karzai International Air-
port’s runway on the military
side of the airfield. Before dawn
broke, heavily armed Taliban
fighters walked through han-
gars, passing some of the seven
CH-46 helicopters that the US
state department used in its
evacuations before rendering
them unusable.
Taliban leaders later symboli-
cally walked across the runway,
marking their victory while
flanked by fighters of the
regime’s “Badri” special forces
unit. The elite Taliban unit later
posed for pictures as journalists
documented their arrival.
“Afghanistan is finally free,”
Hekmatullah Wasiq, a top Tali-
ban official, told The Associated
Press. “The military and civilian
side are with us and in control.
Hopefully, we will be announc-
ing our cabinet. Everything is
peaceful. Everything is safe.”
Wasiq urged people to return
to work and reiterated the Tali-
ban pledge offering a general
amnesty. “People have to be
patient,” he said. “Slowly we will
get everything back to normal. It
will take time.”
Taliban fighters sit in the cockpit of an Afghan Air Force aircraft at the airport in Kabul on Tuesday. AFP
to the UK and our allies. Afghan-
istan is probably one of the most
inaccessible parts of the world,
and we’re able to operate there,”
said Wigston.
Several Taliban members
killed in Panjshir clashes
Taliban forces clashed with mili-
tia fighters in the Panjshir valley
north of the Afghan capital
Kabul on Monday night, with
several killed, two members of
the main anti-Taliban opposition
group said on Tuesday.
200, “likely closer to 100,” and
said the State Department would
keep working to get them out.
The closing hours of the evac-
uation were marked by extraor-
dinary drama. American troops
faced the daunting task of get-
ting final evacuees onto planes
while getting themselves and
some of their equipment out.
McKenzie said 73 aircraft
were “demilitarised”, or ren-
dered useless, before American
troops wrapped up the evacua-
tion. He said the Pentagon,
which built up a force of nearly
6,000 troops to occupy and oper-
ate Kabul’s airport when the air-
lift began on August 14, left
behind around 70 MRAP
armoured tactical vehicles –
which can cost up to $1 million a
piece – that it disabled before
leaving, and 27 Humvees.
Before the last US troops left,
they disabled scores of aircraft
{ SHAH MAHMOOD QURESHI }
PAKISTAN’S FOREIGN MINISTER
P
We expect that a
consensus govt will
be formed in the
coming days in
Afghanistan.
A
Taliban spokesman Zabihul-
lah Mujahid addressed the gath-
ered members of the Badri unit.
“I hope you be very cautious in
dealing with the nation,” he said.
“Our nation has suffered war
and invasion and the people do
not have more tolerance.”
Taliban members draped
their white flags over barriers at
the airport as others guarded the
civilian side of the airfield. Inside
the terminal, several dozen suit-
cases and pieces of luggage were
left strewn across the floor,
apparently left behind in the
chaos. Clothes and shoes also
were scattered.
On Tuesday, after a night that
saw the Taliban fire trium-
phantly into the air, guards
blearily on duty kept out the
curious and those somehow
hoping to catch a flight out.
New Kabul mayor brings
Sharia law, claims report
The ANI news agency reported
on Tuesday that Hamdullah
Nomani, the newly-appointed
mayor of Kabul city who is also
the head of the Taliban’s munici-
pality commission, has enforced
Sharia law in the capital.
In an interview with Pajhwok
Afghan News, Nomani report-
edly said contractual companies
Since the fall of Kabul on
August 15, Panjshir has been the
only province to hold out against
the Taliban, although there has
been fighting in neighbouring
Baghlan province between Tali-
ban and local militia forces.
Fahim Dashti, a spokesman
for the National Resistance For-
ces (NRF), a group loyal to local
leader Ahmad Massoud, said the
fighting occurred on the western
entrance to the valley where he
Taliban attacked NRF positions.
He said the attack, which may
{ }
and armoured vehicles – as well
as a high-tech rocket defence
system – at the airport, a US gen-
eral said. Cockpit windows were
shattered, instrument panels
smashed, and aircraft tyres shot.
The US left behind but disa-
bled the C-RAM system – coun-
ter rocket, artillery, and mortar –
that was used to protect the air-
port from rocket attacks. The
system helped fend off a five-
rocket barrage from the jihadist
Islamic State group on Monday.
The US President said, in
defence of his decision to end the
mission on schedule, that it was
“the unanimous recommenda-
tion” of the military leadership
on the ground to end our airlift
mission as planned. “Their view
was that ending our military
mission was the best way to pro-
tect the lives of our troops, and
secure the prospects of civilian
departures for those who want
will be paid their dues, roadside
vendors will be relocated, and
corrupt elements in the city will
be dealt with in accordance with
Sharia law. The Taliban have
been projecting a less orthodox
picture from its previous rule,
between 1996-2001.
When the Taliban last ruled
the country, from 1996 to 2001,
they banned television, music
and even photography, but
there’s no sign of that yet. TV sta-
tions are still operating normally
and the Taliban fighters them-
selves can be seen taking selfies
around Kabul.
Person filmed dangling
from helicopter: Report
A shocking video has been circu-
lating on social media reportedly
originating in Afghanistan’s
Kandahar in which an American
Black Hawk chopper is seen fly-
ing with what seems to be a body
dangling from it.
A week earlier, media reports
had claimed that the Taliban had
captured the US military’s bio-
metric devices compromising
crucial data of the US military
and local Afghans who played
crucial roles during the war. The
White House has said that it
believes the Taliban won’t return
US weapons it has captured.
have been a probe to test the val-
ley’s defences, was repulsed with
eight Taliban killed and a similar
number wounded, while two
members of the NRF forces were
wounded.
w
READ: We will
not forget them:
Nato chief on Afghans left behind
to leave Afghanistan in the
weeks and months ahead.”
Taliban spokesperson Zabi-
hullah Mujahid celebrated the
completion of the US pull-out.
“The last American occupier
withdrew from (Kabul Airport)
at 12 o’clock, and our country
gained its full independence,” he
wrote in a tweet. “Praise and
gratitude be to God.”
Hours after the final foreign
forces flew out of Afghanistan, a
group of Taliban leaders walked
victorious through the airport,
flanked by their elite “Badri 313”
guards, to inspect what had been
left behind. Mujahid – tipped to
be minister of information when
a new government is named –
led a group of officials onto the
runway. The special forces unit
posed for pictures, brandishing
US M-16 rifles and flying the Tali-
ban’s white flag.
Blinken said: “The military
13
70% OF ADULTS
IN E.U. FULLY
VACCINATED
AGAINST COVID
BRUSSELS: European Commis-
sion president Ursula von der
Leyen said on Tuesday that 70%
of adults in the European Union
were now fully vaccinated
against Covid-19, hitting an end-
of-summer target that the bloc
set for itself in January.
“Today, we reached an impor-
tant milestone in our vaccina-
tion campaign. Seventy percent
of adults in the EU are now fully
vaccinated and that means 250
million people are fully immu-
nised,” Von der Leyen said in a
video posted online.
Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine
generated more than double the
antibodies of a similar shot
made by Pfizer and BioNTech in
research directly comparing
immune responses to the anti-
Covid inoculations.
A study of almost 2,500 work-
ers at a major Belgian hospital
system found antibody levels
among individuals who hadn’t
been infected with the coronavi-
rus before getting two doses of
the Moderna vaccine averaged
2,881 units per milliliter, com-
pared with 1,108 units/mL in an
equivalent group who got two
jabs of the Pfizer shot. The
results were published in a letter
to the Journal of the American
Medical Association.
Israel recorded 10,947 new
cases on Monday, the highest for
a single day since the start of the
pandemic. The country began a
booster drive at the beginning of
the month, and eligibility has
been gradually expanded to
include the entire population
aged 12 and over. AGENCIES
A
l
South Korea bans
Big Tech’s grip on
payment systems
SEOUL: South Korea’s
National Assembly on
Tuesday approved a law
that bans app store
operators such as
Google and Apple from
forcing developers to
use their in-app
payment systems. South
Korea is reportedly the
first country in the
world to pass such a bill,
which becomes law
when it is signed by the
president. AP
Bank robbers dash
off with hostages
after heist; 3 die
RIO DE JANEIRO: Bank
robbers armed with
explosives and high-
powered rifles plunged
a city in Sao Paulo
state’s interior into
terror early on Monday,
taking civilians hostage
and even putting some
on their cars while
making their escape. At
least three people were
killed in the clash with
police, two of whom
were civilians. AP
Sri Lanka declares
food emergency
due to forex crisis
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on
Tuesday declared a state
of emergency over food
shortages as private
banks ran out of foreign
exchange to finance
imports. With the
worsening economic
crisis, President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
said he ordered
emergency regulations
to counter the hoarding
of sugar, rice and other
essential foods. AFP
mission is over, a new diplo-
matic mission has begun.” He
went on to unveil a seven-point
plan for the relationship with
Afghanistan that was predicated
chiefly on the Taliban govern-
ment’s ability to deliver on an
entire range of assurance they
have given the Americans pri-
vately and publicly such as not
allowing Afghanistan to be used
by terrorists to attack the US or
its allies, respecting rights of
girls and women to study and
work, and allowing every Afghan
who has the paperwork to leave
the country if they so want.
The final pull-out fulfilled
Biden’s pledge to end what he
called a “forever war” that began
in response to the attacks of Sep-
tember 11, 2001, that killed nearly
3,000 people in New York, Wash-
ington and rural Pennsylvania.
(With inputs from agencies)
14 corporate buzz
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021

buzz President visits Ayodhya, travelling on Minister of Tribal Affairs reviews

Insurgent surrenders in Changlang,
Arunachal
Inputs related to extortion activi-
ties of Limtu Kelym Mossang SS
PVT of NSCN/R (Later defected
to ENNG) were being received
from CRPF intelligence sources.
Based on inputs, close surveillance
was being kept by troops of 171
Battalion CRPF, Changlang police.
Several counter insurgency joint
operations were conducted, due to
which, on August 26 Miao Limtu
Mossang S/O Chanlon Mossang
surrendered at Miao PS in pres-
ence of troops of 171 Bn CRPF,
District Police Changlang (ACP)
and troops of Rajput Regiment.
ESIC’s Bhavina Patel shocks World
No.2 at Tokyo Paralympics
special train from Lucknow projects in Chhattisgarh
President Ram Nath Kovind visit-
ed revered town of Ayodhya trav-
elling from Lucknow by a special
train. The Presidential entourage
after spending the day at Ayodhya
took the train back to Lucknow
in the evening. The Presidential
Train commenced its journey from
the historic Charbagh station of
Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar
Pradesh in the morning to reach Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal began with a meeting with a re-
Ayodhya station at 11.27 am. At Affairs, accompanied by Pravir view meeting in Raipur to review
the Charbagh station the President Jardosh, Dy CM of UP and other President was received by Chief Krishna, MD, TRIFED and other the progress of implementation of
was welcomed by Governor of senior officials of state adminis- Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi senior officials, embarked upon tribal development programmes
Uttar Pradesh, Anandiben Patel, tration and Railways. On reach- Adityanath and senior officials of a two-day visit of Chhattisgarh (MFP, VDSHGs and TRIFOOD
MoS Railways, Darshana Vikram ing Ayodhya railway station, the Northern Railway. on August 27. The two-day visit projects) in the state.
NIOS organises two day national NTPC recruits first Sashastra Seema Bal Delhi Power Minister visits
all-Female EETs batch organises cycle rally Tata Power DDL’s BESS
workshop on NEP 2020

Bhavina Patel shocked world No.2

Borislav Rankovic Peric 11-5, 11-
6, 11-7 to assure herself a medal
after reaching semifinals of Tokyo
Paralympics Table Tennis event.
Bhavina Patel of ESIC, qualified
for quarters, after losing 1st match
against top seeded Chinese player.
DVC organises Power Supply
Connection Mela
National Institute of Open School-
ing in collaboration with Shiksha
Sanskriti Utthan Nyas, New Delhi
organised a National Level work-
shop for two days (August 26-27)
on National Education Policy
2020 focusing on teacher educa-
tion. The Minister of Education
for State Annpurna Devi inau-
gurated the workshop. Atul Bhai
Kothari, Secy Shiksha Sanskrit
Utthan Nyas, chaired the session.
On Women’s Equality Day, NTPC
Ltd recruited its first all-Female
Engineering Executive Trainees
(EETs) batch to reaffirm its stand
on diversity and inclusion. Out
of 50 offers sent by NTPC, 30
Female Executive Trainees (ETs)
have already joined the company
between July 31 and August 6.
Prof Jagdish Mukhi, Governor,
Assam flagged off SSB’s Cycle
Rally from Raj Bhawan, Guwa-
hati on August 28 in presence
of Kumar Rajesh Chandra, IPS,
DG, Sashastra Seema Bal. The
cycle rally is being organised by
Sashastra Seema Bal as a part of
‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
To understand capability of Tata
Power-DDL’s BESS set up in part-
nership with AES and Mitsubishi
and to discuss the way forward
to scale up usage for different ap-
plications, Satyendar Jain, Power
Minister, Govt of NCT of Delhi,
visited South Asia’s Largest Grid-
Scale BESS in Rohini, New Delhi.

DVC organised Power Supply

Connection Mela for new con-
sumers at Barhi Sub-Station on
August 17 and at Ramgarh Sub-
Station on August 18. Prospective
consumers reponsed positively
and interacted with DVC execu-
 Tata Power DDL inaugurated 2 RO plants at Delhi Government Schools, Government Girls Senior  THDC India Ltd issued Secured Corporate Bonds Series-V with a base size of Rs 400 crore with green
tives to get their queries clarified. Secondary School, F- Block, Indepruri and Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, C-Block, Naraina, respec- shoe option of Rs 800 crore with total issue size amounting to Rs 1200 crore having a tenor of 10 years.
tively. The plants were inaugurated by Raghav Chadha, MLA, Rajinder Nagar in presence of Ganesh The bond proceeds shall be used to partly meet debt requirement of ongoing and under construction
Defence Minister dedicates Vigraha Srinivasan, CEO, Tata Power-DDL, and Amit Kumar Garg, CEO, Tata Power Trading Company Ltd. projects. The bidding for the above issue was done on August 23 at THDCIL’s Ghaziabad office.
ship to the nation

Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh

dedicated to nation, indigenously
built Coast Guard Ship ‘Vigraha.’
Calling it one of the important steps
towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat, he  IREDA opened 4th branch office in the country in Bhubaneswar, Odisha for facilitation of its customer, bor-  Satish Upadhyay took oath as Member and Vice-Chairman of NDMC in a special meeting for oath tak-
said, newly commissioned vessel rowers, and other stakeholders. Pradip Kumar Das, CMD, IREDA inaugurated the new office in presence ing held at NDCC Convention Centre, New Delhi. Meenakashi Lekhi, MoS for External Affairs and Cul-
is indigenous from its design con- of Chintan Shah, Director (Technical), IREDA; MD, GRIDCO; Director (Finance), GRIDCO; Director (Fi- ture, Govt of India, MP (New Delhi) and Member NDMC as Presiding Officer of Council Meeting admin-
nance) OPTCL; State Head of REC & HUDCO, IREDA’s borrowers & stakeholders and other senior officials. istered the oath to Satish Upadhyay as Member and Vice Chairman along with other three members.
ception to development.

Get the best local

Delhi news
coverage and updates with

Scan the code for LIVE updates on Delhi news.

From Politics & Crime to education & real estate.

hindustantimes htTweets www.hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 15
Business
Powered by

Fiscal deficit limited to 21.3% till now PayU to acquire

Data showed that
the revenue deficit at
the end of the period
stood at ₹2 lakh crore
Gireesh Chandra Prasad
gireesh.p@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: Aided by a healthy
growth in revenues, India’s fis-
cal deficit or gap between
receipts and spending met
through borrowing stood at a
modest ₹3.2 lakh crore at the
end of July, accounting for
21.3% of the full-year target
In the corresponding period
last year, the fiscal deficit had
scaled ₹8.2 lakh crore, exceed-
ing the target. Official data
released by the Controller Gen-
eral of Accounts (CGA) on
Tuesday showed that the Cen-
tre’s revenue deficit at the end
of the period stood at ₹2 lakh
crore or about 18% of the bud-
get estimate. This was around
₹7.1 lakh crore or 117% in the
same time a year ago.
In the first four months of
this fiscal, Centre’s gross tax
revenue stood at ₹6.9 lakh
crore, aided by healthy income
tax and goods and services tax
(GST) collections.
CGA data also showed that
capital spending remained at
₹1.28 lakh crore in the first four
months of this fiscal, compared
to ₹1.11 lakh crore in the year
The deficit figures appear much better than the previous financial year, when it soared to 103.1% of
the estimate, mainly on account of a jump in expenditure to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
ago period.
Experts pointed out that the
government could meet the full
year tax collection target but
meeting disinvestment target
was a challenge.
“With low receipts of ₹8,371
crore so far, it is likely that the
disinvestment target of ₹1.75
lakh crore will be missed by a
considerable margin, causing
the government of India’s fiscal
deficit to overshoot the FY22
budget estimate,” said Aditi
Nayar, chief economist, Icra.
Sensex hits 57,000; Nifty crosses 17,000
India’s equity markets
extended gains for the sev-
enth straight session with the
benchmark 30-share Sensex
index surpassing the 57,000
mark while the 50-share
Nifty index touched 17,000
for the first time on Tuesday.
At closing, the Sensex rose
1.16% to a fresh record high of
57,552.39 points while Nifty
hit a new high of 17,132.20
points, up 1.19%. Both indices
took 19 trading sessions for
the latest 1,000 points rally.
Both Sensex and Nifty rose
for the fourth straight month
climbing 9.5% and 8.7%,
respectively in August, the
best monthly gains for the
indices since November
2020. RAVINDRA SONAVANE
BillDesk in
Core sector output $4.7 billion deal
grows 9.4% in July
Gireesh Chandra Prasad
gireesh.p@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: The output of eight
core sectors grew 9.4% in July
due to strong growth in refin-
ery throughput, electricity gen-
eration, and steel and cement
production, official data
showed on Tuesday.
This is the fifth consecutive
month of growth in the core
sector.
Core sector had seen a 9.3%
increase in June.
In July, cement production
grew 21.8% annually, while
steel output went up by 9.3%
and coal output by 18.7%, data
released by the commerce and
industry ministry showed.
Refinery products and electric-
ity grew at 6.7% and 9% respec-
tively in July, showed the data.
The figures indicate a strong
output recovery although a
part of it is due to the statistical
effect of a contraction seen in
the same month a year ago.
The production levels of five
core sector segments—crude
oil, natural gas, fertilizer, steel
and electricity—are now higher
than the pre-Covid levels (Feb-
ruary 2020), said Devendra
Course correction
This is the fifth consecutive
month of core sector growth.
CORE SECTOR
(Year-on-year change in %)
60
40
9.4
20
2.2
0 that will handle a total transac-
-20
-40
Jan 2020 Jul 2021
Source: NSO
Kumar Pant, chief economist at
India Ratings & Research.
“The recovery post the sec-
ond Covid wave has been
swifter than the first wave. This
implies that the core segment
which, carries a weight of
40.27% in the Index of Indus-
trial Production, will also pro-
vide cushion to the industrial
sector recovery,” said Pant.
He also said that given the
uncertainty around a third
wave, it was still early days in
calling out a meaningful recov-
ery, from the latest numbers.
Tarush Bhalla
taush.b@livemint.com
BENGALURU: Prosus NV, the
Dutch unit of Naspers Ltd, has
acquired Indian payment servi-
ces provider BillDesk for $4.7
billion in cash in its largest
acquisition.
The Amsterdam-based com-
pany’s PayU unit agreed to buy
BillDesk to create a company
tion volume (TPV) of $147 bil-
lion in India. The acquisition
will also give PayU access to
BillDesk’s large customer base
of small merchants in India.
On completing the transac-
tion, Prosus’s cumulative
investment in India will nearly
double to more than $10 billion.
The deal is the second-larg-
est inbound acquisition in the
tech space after Walmart Inc.’s
acquisition of Flipkart for $16
billion in 2018. It’s also the larg-
est acquisition in India’s fin-
tech sector.
Prosus has been strengthen-
ing its position in India’s pay-
ments industry through PayU
India. BillDesk marks PayU’s
fourth acquisition in the last
five years after it snapped up
payments technology company
CitrusPay in 2016 for $160 mil-
lion.
It then acquired digital
Bob van Dijk, chief executive
officer, Prosus.
approval from the Competition
Commission of India (CCI), is
expected to close by the first
half of 2022.
BillDesk, founded in 2000 by
M.N. Srinivasu, Ajay Kaushal
and Karthik Ganapathy, has
raised more than $240 million
to date and was last valued at
$1.8 billion in 2018.
BillDesk founders will con-
tinue with the firm.
The BillDesk acquisition will
make PayU one of the largest
players in India’s fintech pay-
ment ecosystem.
In addition, it will provide
PayU access to BillDesk’s large
merchant base, as the former
looks to cross-sell products,
including business lending.
Prosus has invested close to

Go after big fish if concerned about NPAs: SC to PSBs

Utkarsh Anand
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court,
on Tuesday, said public sector
banks should focus their energy
on recovering loans from “big
fish” and “big corporate debtors”
instead of running after those
who have petty loans of a few
thousand rupees.
“You should focus on catching
big fish. If you are really con-
cerned about rising NPAs (non-
performing assets) of the public
sector banks, concentrate on big
corporate debtors...not on such
small loanees,” a bench, headed
by Justice Dhananjaya Y Chan-
drachud, told Canara Bank.
Loans are deemed non-per-
forming once they are left
unpaid for at least 90 days
beyond the due date and bor-
rowers are likely to default on
these debts.
The bench, which also
included justices MR Shah and
Hima Kohli, was hearing an
appeal by Canara Bank against a
judgment of the Madras high
court in March this year.
The high court had repelled
an attempt by the public sector
bank to hold a social service
society from Tiruchirapalli,
Tamil Nadu, liable for repaying
an amount of Rs 48.8 lakh,
which was given to 1,540 individ-
uals as loans in 1994-95. The
high court had held that Canara
Bank cannot recover its out-
standing loan from the society’s
fixed deposit since there was no
formal contract or express
agreement of recovery from the
society in case of failure by the
borrowers to repay the loans.
Representing the bank, senior
advocate Dhruv Mehta argued
before the top court that the
Tiruchirapalli Multipurpose
Social Service Society gave let-
ters of guarantee that they will
assure repayment of loans from
the borrowers and that it was
only on this assurance, the
amounts were released.
But the bench noted that the
loan was given by the bank
under the DIR (what is this?)
scheme to financially assist low-
income groups. “These amounts
were given to those involved in
small farming, poultry, dairy, or
to tradesmen and artisans.
These are marginalised sec-
tions...some of them cannot even
pay ₹10 for their photos on these
forms. And the society, admit-
tedly, helped you to identify
these people. Why are you now
going after the society?” the
bench asked Mehta.
The bench added: “Giving
loans to certain sections of soci-
ety is also a social function. It is
not only an economic function.
You should also bear a moral
responsibility.”
At this, Mehta replied that the
banks were already suffering
from the problem of NPAs and
that recoveries had to be made to
tide over it.
The court, however, retorted:
“These are not the people to go
after. You should go after the big
fish. Canara Bank should not
come in appeal against a society
such as this.”
Mehta said that the bank has
come in an appeal since a peti-
tion under Article 136 (special
leave petition with wide discre-
tionary power) is a ‘Brahmastra’.
“The Constitution has
entrusted us with this Brahmas-
tra only to make sure we use this
only in suitable cases. And this is
not the one,” said the bench,
rejecting Canara Bank’s appeal.
It also upheld the high court
order, stating that the bank
should desist from contesting a
matter like this and should
instead channelise its energy
and resources on better cases.
credit platform Paysense in
2020 for $185 million, which
now powers its consumer lend-
ing aspirations in India.
“The acquisition cements
our position as the leading pay-
ments provider in India and is
the strong example of the eco-
system we are building to serve
various communities,” Bob van
Dijk, group chief executive offi-
cer of Prosus, said in a confer-
ence call with reporters on
Tuesday.
Prosus’s latest investment is
expected to give exits to
founders who own 30.84% in
BillDesk along with key inves-
tors, including General Atlan-
tic, TA Associates, Temasek
and Clearstone.
The transaction, subject to
$6 billion in India and backed
several companies, including
online classifieds platform
OLX, online tutoring company
Byju’s, food delivery service
provider Swiggy, and e-com-
merce giant Flipkart.
While PayU largely powers
online payments for e-com-
merce companies, BillDesk’s
strength lies in the bill pay-
ments and small merchant eco-
system.
Together, the two expect to
create a financial ecosystem
handling four billion transac-
tions annually, four times what
PayU processes in India.
Payments for domestic and
cross border transactions is
one of the major revenue units
for PayU globally.

{ THE CROSSWORDS }
{ SHAKTIKANTA DAS } GOVERNOR, RBI
NAVI MF SET TO
BRING VANGUARD NCLT orders freeze CRYPTIC CLUES PUZZLE 16015 © Gemini Crosswords 2018 All rights reserved

P
on accounts, assets
ACROSS
FUNDS TO INDIA 1Succession of command (5)

It is important to Neil Borate

8
9
Trifling, perhaps, with one’s affections? (8)
Legally prevent poets being translated (5)
appreciate role of
G-sec market in overall
neil.b@livemint.com

MUMBAI: Flipkart co-founder

Sachin Bansal’s Navi Mutual
macro interest rate Fund (MF) has filed papers with
the markets regulator seeking
environment of approval for a ‘Total US Stock
Market’ fund-of-funds (FoF).
economy.
A
The proposed scheme will
feed into Vanguard Total Stock
Market Index Fund ETF. Van-
guard, founded by John Bogle, is
a pioneer in passive investing in
the US and the second-largest
of Videocon group
Gopika Gopakumar
gopika.g@livemint.com
MUMBAI: The Mumbai bench of
the National Company Law Tri-
bunal (NCLT) on Tuesday
ordered the Videocon group’s
bank accounts frozen and prop-
erties attached following a peti-
Videocon Industries Ltd under
Section 241 and 242 of the Com-
panies Act that deals with
oppression and mismanagement
in the company.
The court noted that the
reserves and surpluses of Video-
con Industries, as declared in the
financial statements in 2014,
stood at ₹10,028.09 crore and for
10
11
12
Office location (8)
A boring couple (5)
To sum up briefly a religious scholar (3)
16 Fitting task for a puzzle addict? (6)
17 Subjected to decreasing pressure? (6)
18 Left with a thousand to beat (3)
23 Tito’s upset the Italian singing-master (5)
24 Scratch game (8)
25 Untrue statement about an essential part of
one’s diet (5)
26 Tales of the Camerons in trouble (8)
27 A word in one’s ear from aides (5)
DOWN

Swiggy looks to expand money manager after Blackrock.

basket with Dunzo buy
Ranjani Raghavan and
Tarush Bhalla
ranjani.raghavan@livemint.com
BENGALURU: Food ordering plat-
form Swiggy is in initial talks to
acquire hyperlocal delivery ser-
vices startup Dunzo even as it is
in separate discussions with
investors to raise a fairly large
sum that will double its valua-
tion from about $5.5 billion to
$10-12 billion, two people famil-
the bourses at a valuation of
around $13 billion.
“Swiggy is in preliminary
talks, but there is no definitive
agreement signed as yet,” one of
the two people said on condition
of anonymity. The firm is rais-
ing a large round, which is
expected to take its valuation to
$10-12 billion, the second person
said, also requesting anonymity.
In a written response, Dunzo
founder Kabeer Biswas said that
Vanguard Total Stock Market
Index Fund has an expense ratio
of just 0.03% and has delivered
annual average returns of
44.33%, 18.75% and 14.7% CAGR
over the past 1, 3 and 10 years in
dollar terms.
Under the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi)
rules, the expense ratio of the
Indian fund house cannot be
more than twice the underlying
fund. This would cap the
expense ratio of the Navi Total
US Stock Market FoF to just
0.09%.
Bansal’s Navi Mutual Fund
also focuses on passive invest-
tion by the ministry of corporate
affairs.
In an order issued late in the
evening, the tribunal has asked
the promoter, Venugopal Dhoot,
to disclose the moveable and
immovable properties and bank
accounts belonging to the group
in India and abroad. The court
has also directed the Central
Depository Services Ltd (CSDL),
National Securities Depository
Ltd (NSDL), Central Board of
Direct Taxes (CBDT), Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) and Indian
Banks’ Association (IBA) among
others to name the Videocon
assets under their watch and for
them to be frozen with immedi-
fiscal year 2019 at ₹2,972.73
crore, showing a steep fall in just
five years. During the same
2
3
4
Check the others before wet weather (8)
He acts in a dispiriting way (8)
Old man chopped down tree (6) QUICK CLUES
period secured loans rose from
₹20,149.23 crore to ₹28,586.87
crore.
5
6
7
Something growing in the wood (5)
One of five who understand it (5)
Get involved with an intermediary (5)
ACROSS
1 Stylish (5)
DOWN
2 Cooked thoroughly (4-4)
8 Legendary baseball player (4,4) 3 Italian island (8)
“The Bench is surprised with 12 It helps a cobbler break the law (3)
9 Renown (5) 4 African hunting trip (6)
the manner in which the finan- 13 Ten cents is pointlessly stupid (3) 10 West Indian island (8) 5 Cope (3,2)
14 Unimportant persons, found after 11 Perform without preparation (2-3) 6 Cash resources (5)
cial institution has come for- well-planned murders (8) 12 Offer at auction (3) 7 Pursuit (5)
ward to grant loans to a sinking 15 Shakespearean clown, blushing, was
16 Violet-blue dye (6) 12 Sound of disapproval (3)
ship and again come forward to 17 Illusory (6) 13 Firework that fails to go off (3)
rotten (8)
18 Strange (3) 14 Island country in South Asia (3,5)
file a petition under Section 7 of 19 They fight with one another (6) 23 Good-naturedly frank (5) 15 Widely scattered (3-5)
the IBC and again supports this 20 Appropriate (5) 24 For the whole time (3,5) 19 Utterly exhausted (4,2)
petition. This certainly raises the 25 Excessive (5) 20 Quick (5)
21 An act that violates an act (5)
26 Smallest state of Australia (8) 21 Conflict (5)
eyebrows of the common man in 22 Timber re-ordered by one (5) 27 Latin American dance (5) 22 Offering little or no hope (5)
the public,” read the order.
The order said that transac-
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS (16014)
tion audit reports also reveal { SUDOKU } DIFFICULTY LEVEL
fraudulent transactions by the
CRYPTIC

iar with the deal said.
If the deal goes through, it will
help Swiggy expand its delivery
basket to offer non-food services
and help it compete with rival
Zomato, which recently listed on
his company does not respond to
hearsay and that his focus con-
tinues to be on the fast growth of
the business. An email sent to
Swiggy went unanswered at the
time of going to press.
ing. Alongside its Total US Stock
Market filing, the fund house
also filed for a NASDAQ 100 FoF.
However, this scheme will invest
in other asset managers in the
US.
ate effect in order to be used for
recovery of dues.
The ministry had approached
the Mumbai bench against Ven-
ugopal Dhoot and other former
directors and senior officials of
promoters.
The latest order by the NCLT
has put further roadblocks on
the potential transaction
between Anil Agarwal-backed
Twin Star Technologies and VIL.

Tesla moves a step closer to making India debut

QUICK

Malyaban Ghosh
malyaban.g@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: Electric cars from
Tesla Inc. may soon be on Indian
roads, with the Union transport
ministry approving four of its
models for introduction in the
country. The ministry’s Vahan
portal, however, did not identify
the models that received the nod.
All automobile manufactur-
ers, both Indian and foreign,
need to get their vehicles locally
certified before a formal launch.
Tesla last year set up its Indian
unit, Tesla India Motors and
Energy Pvt. Ltd, marking its
intention for an entry into its
potential growth market for
electric cars. The California-
based company has also started query on Twitter. Earlier, he also
hiring senior executives to pre- said high taxes on imported elec-
pare the ground before a possi- tric vehicles in India is hindering
ble launch. Tesla’s plan to sell its products
“Tesla has completed homolo- here.
gation and received approval for India levies import duty as Fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and
4 of its vehicle variants in India. high as 100% on completely built each of the 9X9 squares contains all the digits from 1 to 9.
While we don’t have any confor- vehicles. Those assembled from
mation on names as yet, these imported knocked-down kits
are probably Model 3 and Model attract a lower tax. Global auto-
4 variants,” Tesla Fan Club India makers such as Tesla and Hyun- { WEATHER } ALMANAC TEMPERATURE IN
tweeted. dai have been urging the govern- TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW Today is FOUR METROS
1st September 2021
A Tesla spokesperson did not ment to reduce the import duty l 22 Muharram 1443
Delhi
respond to emailed queries. to create a thriving market for l Bhadrapada, Krishna 30°c I 24°c
Paksha, 10
The approval does not neces- electric vehicles. l Samvat 2078
Mumbai
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY 30°c I 25°c
sarily imply an immediate The Elon Musk-led company has been asking India for a cut in Meanwhile, premium vehicle Generally cloudy Generally cloudy Generally cloudy
Sunset: Wednesday
at 06:42 p.m.
launch. The Elon Musk-led com- import duty on electric vehicles and related parts. makers such as Mercedes Benz sky with moderate sky with light rain sky with light rain Sunrise: Thursday Kolkata
pany has been asking India for a and Audi have already launched rain at 05:59 a.m. 32°c I 27°c
Moonrise: Thursday
cut in import duty on electric vehicles as fully built units. that the company will enter their electric vehicles in India by at 01:07 a.m. Chennai
Moonset: Thursday 34°c I 25°c
vehicles and related parts as it is Tesla co-founder and chief India in 2021. “Next year for importing them as fully built 30°c I 24°c 32°c I 25°c 34°c I 26°c at 03:39 p.m.
expected to initially import its executive Musk said last year sure,” he said, while replying to a units.
16
Singhraj bronze stops
Chinese clean sweep
Avishek Roy
avishek.roy@htlive.com
NEW DELHI : A quirk of fate
made Adhana Singhraj a
shooter. Singhraj, who won
bronze in the men’s 10m air
pistol event in the Paralympics
on Tuesday, had taken his chil-
dren and nephews for admis-
sion in a sports complex in Far-
idabad. His children enrolled in
swimming and the nephews
joined shooting. It meant Sing-
hraj, then 35, would spend
three to four hours at the com-
plex.
“My kids asked me, ‘why
don’t you learn how to swim?”.
I thought it was a good idea
instead of wasting my time. But
even to take off my clothes it
took me three days because it
used to be in my mind, what
would people think,” said Sing-
hraj, who had polio when he
was one but has learnt to walk
unaided.
The swimming coach told
Singhraj to come in the evening
when there are fewer people. “I
went one evening and finally
took a dip and I was not able to
pick myself up even in two feet
water. I thought swimming
could be dangerous for me,” he
said.
It was then that he decided
to try the sport of his nephews’
choice. “They asked me… I
went in the range and saw the
coach instructing the kids. It
looked easy to me and I
laughed. The coach told me
why I was laughing, ‘you try if
you think it’s so
easy. I picked up the
pistol and out of five
shots I hit four 10s.
They were very
impressed and
asked him to try
para shooting.” Tokyo
That’s how it Paralympics
began for Singhraj
and soon after he
got to know about Paralympics.
He shoots from a sitting posi-
tion learning first from coach
Om Prakash before honing
skills under JP Nautiyal and
national coach Subhash Rana.
Singhraj, who is also a social
activist and has worked in edu-
cation sector and for rights of
the differently-abled, said it
was an opportunity for him to
do something for the country.
That dream was fulfilled on
Tuesday.
He battled hard in the quali-
fication and made the eight-
shooter final in sixth position
with a score of 569. “The quali-
fication did not go well but I
GDP GROWTH
advisor Krishnamurthy V Sub-
ramanian chose to focus only
on the growth (and not the base
effect) and said strong fiscal
measures announced in the
past year-and-half, and the
pace of India’s vaccination
drive have helped faster eco-
nomic recovery. The growth
number “reaffirms the govern-
ment’s prediction of an immi-
nent V-shaped recovery made
last year in August,” he said.
Central government spend-
ing numbers from the Control-
ler General of Accounts (CGA),
which works under the minis-
try of finance, show that capital
expenditure of the government
was ₹1.11 lakh crore in the quar-
ter ending June compared to
₹88,273 crores in the same
period last year. The capex
momentum seems to have
slowed down in the month of
July (the latest available num-
bers), with the government
spending ₹16,932 crore in July
compared to ₹23,576 crore in
July 2020.
The latest GDP numbers
support the argument that the
pandemic, especially its second
wave has damaged household
balance sheets and therefore
their purchasing power.
Private final consumption
expenditure (PFCE) contracted
by 17.4%, more than the overall
GDP number on a quarter-on-
quarter basis in the June quar-
ter. Even the year-on-year
numbers show that private
consumption has a bigger defi-
cit with pre-pandemic levels.
PFCE grew only 19.3% in the
quarter against a 26.2% con-
traction in the quarter ending
June 2020.
Other high frequency indica-
tors for the month of July sug-
gest that private consumption
might not have revived even
after the second wave of Cov-
id-19 infections. The Consumer
Confidence Survey of RBI did
not show any significant
improvement in consumer sen-
timent between the May and
July 2021 rounds. Indirect tax
Adhana Singhraj during the 10m air pistol event.
fought through and I was
aware of what was going
wrong, I discussed with the
coaches, did some meditation
and left it behind. I just fol-
lowed the process in the final,”
Singhraj said in a conversation
with Eurosport.
In the final, fighting three
Chinese for a medal, Singhraj
was fourth at one point. “I
could not have made a bad shot
from there. My coaches have
taught me: one shot, perfect
shot. I kissed my gun and
aimed for a perfect shot, and it
went well,” he said.
Singhraj kept his calm in the
last couple of shots and totalled
216.8 in the final, edging Xia-
long Lou to fourth. China’s
Yang Chao (237.9)
and Huang Xing
(237.5) won gold and
silver respectively in
P1 men’s air pistol
final of the SH1 cate-
gory. In this category,
an athlete has impair-
ment in an arm and/
or the legs. P1 is a
classification for the
men’s 10 air pistol competition.
Shooters can compete in seated
or standing position.
The other Indian in fray,
young Manish Narwal, a world
championship medallist
and strong podium contender,
had topped the qualification
(575 points) but couldn’t
recover from a poor first series
in the final and finished sev-
enth.
“Manish was a medal con-
tender. He is so good he is
always on top in international
competitions. After he was
eliminated, I felt sad. The pres-
sure was on me. But immedi-
ately I got my focus back. It was
collections for the month of
July suggest economic transac-
tions did not pick up. The Cen-
tre’s GST collections in July
2021 were ₹51,952 crore, lower
than the ₹57,725 crores col-
lected in July 2019. Even union
excise duty collections, prima-
rily from sale of petroleum
products, in July were lower
than the July 2020 figures.
The other big drag on the
GDP numbers was the net
exports category, which con-
tracted by a massive 282% even
on a year-on-year basis, thanks
a rise in imports (even though
exports increased) as economic
activity picked up momentum
compared the low levels during
last year’s lockdown. And the
government’s consumption
expenditure, measured by Gov-
ernment Final Consumption
Expenditure (GFCE) contracted
by 4.8% on a year-on-year basis
and 7.6% on a quarter-on-quar-
ter basis.
While GFCE measures gov-
ernment’s consumption
expenditure, public spending
seems to have played a role in
giving some boost to invest-
ment spending in the June
quarter. Gross Fixed Capital
Formation (GFCF), which
measures investment spending
in the economy, grew at 55.3%
in the June 2021 quarter,
against a 46.6% contraction in
the June 2020 quarter.
“The main disappointment
comes from the contribution of
the government sector, both
from the demand and output
side,” said DK Srivastava, chief
policy advisor at EY India. “On
the demand side, GFCE con-
tracted by 4.8%, the only
demand segment that con-
tracted. On the output side,
public administration, defence,
etc showed a growth of 5.8%
over the first quarter of
2020-21, but a contraction of 5%
over the first quarter of
2019-20.”
Given the contact intensive
nature of most service sector
activities, they have suffered
the biggest damage during the
PCI
not the time to get disap-
pointed but to fight it out,” said
Singhraj.
In 2018, Singhraj won bronze
from the 2018 Para Asian
Games and silver and team
gold at Chateauroux World Cup
in France. He won bronze in
the P4 team event at Sydney
World Championships in 2019,
but his training was hampered
in 2020 because ranges were
closed during the first lock-
down.
So, Singhraj built his own
range at home.
“I was not getting sleep
thinking about how I will start
my training for the Tokyo Para-
lympics. That’s when I got the
idea from my coach and over-
night I made a plan and
designed a layout and told my
family.
“At first, my family did not
approve. They said it would
cost lakhs and in the lockdown
people have no jobs. (But) My
family knows that I am ‘ziddi’
(stubborn). My mother only
told me to make sure that we
don’t get into a financial crisis.”
Singhraj made a 10m and
50m range at his home and
trained there. “I wanted to
make a good range so that I can
train even in future for the
Paris Paralympics,” he said.
After a childhood and more
of depending on crutches, at
39, Singhraj is living his dream.
“A para-athlete has a tough life.
I had polio when I was one year
old and learnt to walk with
crutches. My mother used to
tell me, ‘if you have to stand up
and walk on your legs, you
have to have confidence in
yourself. You will be good,’” he
said. Singhraj said he discarded
crutches when he was 15.
pandemic. This is borne out by
sector-wise GVA numbers in
the latest GDP statistics. Nei-
ther industry, nor service sec-
tor GVA managed to cross pre-
pandemic (June 2019 quarter)
levels in the June quarter . But
services (12.5%) have a much
larger deficit vis-a-vis the June
2019 numbers than industry
(6.2%). Within services, the
trade, hotel and restaurants
sub-sector, which is among the
largest sources of employment
outside agriculture, saw the
biggest deficit (30.2%) when
compared to June 2019 quarter
GVA numbers.
Agricultural GVA grew at
4.5% in the June quarter, an
improvement over the 3.5%
growth in June 2020. A quar-
ter-on-quarter comparison of
GVA numbers shows that the
second wave affected all sec-
tors. The respective contrac-
tion in agriculture, industry
and services was 10.7%, 17.1%
and 11.8%.
What was the impact of sec-
ond wave of Covid-19 on the
economy?
The best way to answer this
question is to look at the quar-
ter-on-quarter rather than
year-on-year trend in the GDP
numbers. There was a 16.9%
contraction in the June 2021
quarter GDP numbers com-
pared to March 2021 quarter.
While this was much lower
than the 29.7% quarter on
quarter contraction in June
2020, when the lockdown was
far more crippling than during
the second wave, it was not
insignificant by any means. The
June 2021 quarter GDP num-
bers were also lower than the
September 2020 quarter num-
bers, which is when the first
wave of Covid-19 peaked in
India.
SC ORDERS
DEMOLITION OF
NOIDA TWIN TOWERS
months, along with an interest
of 12% per annum from the date
of their deposits. Besides, the
developer shall shell out ₹2
Sport
Mariyappan, Sharad brave
rain, pain to clinch medals
Rain spoils Rio 2016
champ Mariyappan’s
quest for gold; painful
knee restricts Sharad
in high jump event
Rutvick Mehta
rutvick.mehta@htlive.com
MUMBAI: Just when the men’s
high jump T63 final of the 2020
Paralympics kicked off under
lights at the Tokyo Olympic Sta-
dium, it began to drizzle. As the
bar kept rising, so did the down-
pour. Sharad Kumar, who
injured his meniscus the day
before the event, wasn’t sure if he
would be fit enough to jump in
the first place. Mariyappan
Thangavelu, the defending cham-
pion with a leap of 1.89m at the
2016 Rio Paralympics, wasn’t
sure if his target of 1.90m was
quite as achievable anymore.
“Every jump felt like war,”
Kumar said.
Against this far-from-ideal
conditions that tested their men-
tal resolve as well as physical
skills, the Indians delivered two
medals, a silver and bronze, from
one eventful final on Tuesday.
The two medals also pushed
India’s overall tally into double
figures at the Paralympics for the
first time ever. After a record
haul of five medals on Monday
that swelled the tally to seven,
Indians backed it up with three
more on Tuesday with shooter
Adhana Singhraj opening the
honours with a bronze in men’s
10mair pistol SH1 (lower body
impairment) before Mariyappan
and Kumar took over.
The T63 classification is for
athletes with a leg deficiency, leg
length difference, impaired mus-
cle power or impaired passive
range of movement in the legs.
The athletes compete in a stand-
ing position.
Kumar won bronze with a
jump of 1.83m in his first attempt
before failing to clear 1.86m. Mar-
iyappan did clear 1.86m, in his
third and final attempt, lifting his
right arm and glancing towards
the Indian contingent cheering
on. The medal was in, but the
fight for gold was still on.
Joining him in that battle was
American Sam Grewe, who had
finished behind Mariyappan in
2016 with a silver-winning 1.86m
jump. After also having cleared
{ }
crore to the Emerald Court
Owner Resident Welfare Associ-
ation (RWA), which had led the
legal battle against erection of
the twin towers on a green area
and in breach of the minimum
distance norms.
The Supreme Court has also
ordered prosecution of officials
of Supertech and the Noida
authority under the Uttar Pra-
desh Urban Development Act
for flouting the laws and acting
in collusion with each other.
The two towers facing demo-
lition have 915 flats of which
633 were booked. Of them, 252
flat buyers still remain as 133
homebuyers have reinvested in
other Supertech projects while
248 have taken a refund.
Welcoming the court’s deci-
sion, RWA president Rajesh
Rana said, “We are thankful to
the Indian judiciary for passing
the judgment in favour of the
homeowners.”
RK Arora, chairman of the
Supertech Group, told HT that
the developer will file a review
petition, asking for a reconsid-
eration of the judgment to
demolish the two towers.
In its 140-page judgment, the
top court was emphatic that the
construction of twin towers
flouted various building regula-
tions and that they were
allowed to be raised due to
Noida authority’s complicity
with the developer.
The bench pointed out that
the authority cleared sanction
plans for the towers in 2009 and
2012 in breach of the regula-
tions which mandates a mini-
mum distance of 16 metres
between two buildings whereas
it was only 9 metres in the
present case. Since the height of
the towers were allowed to
increase from 24 floors to 40
floors (121 metres) in 2012, the
court said, the minimum dis-
tance between two buildings
had to be 20.45 metres under
the national building code but
the authority did not ensure
such compliance.
“The sanction for the con-
struction of Tower-16 and Tow-
Mariyappan Thangavelu on way to winning silver in T63 high jump at the Tokyo Paralympics on Tuesday.
1.86m in his third attempt on
Tuesday, both went for 1.88m.
Mariyappan had already been
there in Rio, Grewe hadn’t. In
Tokyo, the tables turned. Mari-
yappan touched the bar in all his
three tries, Grewe leapt over it
with his final shot. Grewe, who
was diagnosed with osteosar-
coma, a type of bone cancer that
led to his leg being amputated,
then tried to better his own world
record, 1.90m, but could not clear
the bar set at 1.91m.
Mariyappan couldn’t defend
his title, but he backed up his
2016 gold with a silver medal in
his second Paralympics. The
26-year-old has not returned
from the Paralympics without a
medal to show in his young and
already illustrious career, deliver-
ing on the biggest stage in sun-
kissed Rio as well as rain-
drenched Tokyo. “I was confident
of clearing 1.90m if the conditions
P his goal: a medal in Tokyo.
I said to myself, ‘whatever has
to happen in life will happen. I
have no control over it’. That’s
how I approached it today
SHARAD KUMAR, high jumper
er-17 were given by NOIDA
(New Okhla Industrial Develop-
ment Authority) in contraven-
tion of the minimum distance
requirement provided by the
building regulations... the
record of this case is replete
with instances which highlight
the collusion between the offi-
cers of NOIDA with the appel-
lant and its management. The
case has revealed a nefarious
complicity of the planning
authority in the violation by the
developer of the provisions of
law,” it held.
The Noida authority said it
will abide with the Supreme
Court judgment, adding that it
will take strong action against
the builder and the officers
involved. According to author-
ity’s press release, it has already
initiated action against the offi-
cers of the planning department
for not apprising the senior offi-
cials of complete facts during
the court proceedings.
Affirming the judgment of
the Allahabad high court of
April 2014, the court ruled that
the construction was also in vio-
lation of the Uttar Pradesh
Apartment Act since the con-
sent of the flat owners was not
sought before modifying the
plan promised to them.
The bench maintained that
the construction also breached
fire safety norms while depriv-
ing residents of ventilation, light
and air, and thus their quality of
life.
The court’s verdict came on a
clutch of petitions moved by
homebuyers for and against the
2014 verdict of the high court.
On April 11, 2014, the Allahabad
high court had ordered demoli-
tion of the two buildings and
refund of money to apartment
buyers. The high court had also
ordered prosecution of Noida
officers concerned for collusion
with the developer. In May 2014,
the top court stayed the demoli-
tion after the reality firm and
the Noida authority moved an
appeal.
The authority blamed the
home buyers for complaining
were better. I had started well
before the rain picked up,” Mari-
yappan said in a press confer-
ence, adding his socks started get-
ting wet which hampered his
take-off after the impressive start
where he cleared four attempts
including 1.83m without needing
a second invitation.
Drama followed him in Tokyo.
He was chosen as India’s flag-
bearer for the opening ceremony
before being replaced at the last
minute after being identified as a
close contact of a Covid positive
person on his flight. He was made
to isolate and train separately. “It
was an upsetting moment for me.
But I somehow wanted to win a
medal for India,” he said.
Mariyappan was five when,
while on his way to school, he
was run over by a vehicle in his
village in Salem,
Tamil Nadu. It
crushed his
too late and not raising grievan-
ces when Supertech was
increasing flats and floors in
this project with each succes-
sive building plan. Supertech’s
original building plan of June
2005 provided 550 flats and 14
towers. This was increased to
689 flats in the revised plan in
December 2006. The Apex and
Ceyane towers with 24 floors
came in the third revised plan of
November 2009. And in the
final plan of March 2012, these
two towers were increased from
24 to 40 floors. The authority
also said that regulations do not
prescribe the minimum dis-
tance between two towers but
only to the distance between
building blocks.
Representing Supertech, sen-
ior advocate Vikas Singh cited
other housing projects in Noida
which had a distance of six to
nine metres between towers. He
added that it is the discretion of
the builder to create a building
block by keeping the buildings
adjacent to each other or sepa-
rate so long as the FAR (floor
area ratio) permits. Singh sub-
mitted that Towers 16 and 17
were part of Tower 1 and had to
be treated as a singular block,
not requiring to follow the mini-
mum distance criteria.
Supertech further contended
that there was no question of
seeking consent of the flat own-
ers in 2009 when the sanction
plan was approved since the
RWA was formed only in 2013.
But the bench shot down all
these contentions, holding that
the arguments by Supertech
and the authority were an “aft-
erthought” to subvert the
requirements of minimum dis-
tance, fire safety and prior con-
sent of the residents.
“A breach by the planning
authority of its obligation to
ensure compliance with build-
ing regulations is actionable at
the instance of residents whose
rights are infringed by the viola-
tion of law. Their quality of life
is directly affected by the failure
of the planning authority to
enforce compliance,” held the
right leg. Despite his mother
being the sole earner of the fam-
ily after his father had abandoned
them, Mariyappan wanted to
complete his schooling. It was
there that his PE teacher insisted
he try high jump. The teacher’s
hunch proved to be right as Mari-
yappan finished second in his
first competition that also had
able-bodied kids. With national
coach Satyanarayana spotting
him in 2013 and taking him under
his wings at SAI Bengaluru from
2015, the Rajinikanth fan’s stellar
run on the international stage
took off: gold in 2016 Paralym-
pics, bronze in 2018 Asian Para
Games, bronze in 2019 Worlds.
At the same World Champion-
ships in Dubai, Kumar had won
silver. It came a year after the
gold at the 2018 Asiad, but a spot
at the podium had eluded him in
Rio, where he was sixth. Shifting
his training base to Ukraine
under foreign coach Nikitin
Yevhen thereafter, Kumar reset
Things seemed well on track
until Monday, when Kumar
had a tear in his meniscus after
landing on his knee during a
training session. “I was in a
lot of pain,” Kumar
said over the
phone. “I had
to manage
court, asserting the RWA’s right
to maintain the case.
It noted that illegal construc-
tions were carried out under
“the collusion between NOIDA
and the appellant (Supertech) to
avoid complying with the provi-
sions of the applicable statutes
and regulations for monetary
gain, at the cost of the rights of
the flat purchasers”.
One of the homeowners, SK
Sharma, who was an office
bearer in the RWA when the
case was filed, said that his faith
in the Indian judiciary has been
restored. “It has been a tiresome
fight since 2012 but we have
finally emerged victorious.
Many people told us that we will
lose in front of a such a big
builder. But we did not quit and
were undeterred in our fight.”
On August 4, the top court
had reserved its verdict on the
batch of pleas while observing
that the conduct of the Noida
authority “reeks of corruption
from the eyes, ears and nose”. It
pointed out that when the home
buyers asked for the plan, the
authority wrote to the developer
on whether to share it and
refused to give the plan to them
at the developer’s behest. The
court had said that it was only
after the high court expressly
directed the authority to give
the plan that it did so.
Amit Modi, secretary of con-
federation of real estate devel-
opers association of India for
Western UP, said, “We can only
comment on this judgement
once SC’s written order is avail-
able. But as it seems it is unfor-
tunate.”
A CREDAI official, requesting
anonymity, said, “If penalty had
been imposed it would have
been better for realty market for
Noida because demolition is a
national loss.”
Thousands of homebuyers
have been left in the lurch with
their life savings stuck as sev-
eral prominent builders such as
Amrapali, Jaypee Infratech and
Unitech have failed to finish
hundreds of residential projects
across Noida and Greater Noida.
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
REUTERS
the pain, and the rain. It was one
crazy ride. I cried the whole of
last night. I had lost all hope of
competing. But I I just said to
myself, ‘whatever has to happen
in life will happen. I have no con-
trol over it’. And that’s how I
entered the track today.”
Kumar’s entry into high jump
was thanks to his brother. The
boy from Motipur in Bihar was
infected with polio at the age of
two that paralysed his left leg, but
that didn’t stop his father from
enrolling him in the same board-
ing school as his brother—St.
Paul’s School in Darjeeling.
Kumar’s brother shone in
pretty much everything, from
academics to cricket to athletics.
“He would return home with so
many certificates, while I would
have a story book,” he laughs.
He wanted to change that.
Kumar thought of emulating his
brother by taking up high jump,
where he did well. His first
encounter with the sport was in
the 4th standard. Three years
later, during a lunch break, when
no one was looking, Kumar ran
and sailed over the bar. “I was
like, ‘wow, I can do this’. A week
later in our intra-school competi-
tion, I broke the house record and
won a medal,” he recalled.
Years later, that medal was a
Paralympic bronze.
Asaram
SC JUNKS ASARAM
PLEA TO SUSPEND
HIS PRISON TERM
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
on Tuesday declined to suspend
the jail term of self-styled god-
man Asaram for undergoing
ayurvedic treatment, observing
that the crime for which he was
convicted and sentenced to life
term is “no ordinary crime at
all”.
A bench, headed by justice
Indira Banerjee, dismissed Asa-
ram’s petition seeking suspen-
sion of his sentence for six weeks
to pursue suitable ayurvedic and
alternative therapy outside
Jodhpur jail where he is cur-
rently lodged. “Taking an overall
view, this is not an ordinary
crime at all. You will get all your
ayurvedic treatment in the jail
itself,” the bench said.
Asaram is serving varying jail
terms, including life sentences in
two sexual assault cases.
The self-styled godman had
challenged in the top court a
Rajasthan HC order wherein his
plea seeking temporary suspen-
sion of sentences to pursue med-
ical treatment in Uttarakhand
was dismissed. His counsel and
senior advocate R Basant told
the bench that an interim bail for
a period of two months can be
considered for allowing the
former to get the treatment.
Senior Advocate Manish
Singhvi, representing the state,
said the convict has been getting
the best possible treatment in jail
and urged dismissal of the plea.
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
Vinesh Phogat. AFP
VINESH PULLS
OUT MIDWAY
INTO TRIALS FOR
WORLD C’SHIPS
Press Trust of India
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: There was no end to
Vinesh Phogat’s woes as the
wrestler withdrew midway from
the World Championship trials
even as her cousin Sangeeta
(62kg) made a stupendous come-
back after three years by sealing
her spot in the Indian team, here
on Tuesday.
All eyes were on Vinesh, who
was suspended by WFI earlier
this month for indiscipline
before being let off with a warn-
ing, but she looked vulnerable
from the beginning. Vinesh, one
of the most successful woman
wrestlers in India, was far from
her dominant self in her 10-5 win
in the opening bout against Anju
in the 55kg category and did not
take mat against Pinki, who
eventually sealed her place for
the Championships, scheduled
to be held from Oct 2-10.
Anju employed the same
head-lock technique that Bela-
rus’s Vanesa had applied against
Vinesh in the Tokyo Olympics,
never allowing the Asian cham-
pion play her game. Much to
everyone’s surprise, Vinesh did
not take mat in the next round. “I
don’t know what happened to
me. It’s not injury. I felt dizzy,”
Vinesh said, sitting in the prac-
tice arena. Vinesh had said she
went blank in her Olympic quar-
terfinal and even struggled to
complete a take down move. She
was still smiling but could not
hide her disappointment.
“My body is not the same. I am
consulting a doctor for this.
Maybe the Covid infection has
affected my body,” she said.
Sangeeta returned to the mat
after two knee surgeries and sur-
prised herself with confident vic-
tories. She beat junior world
championship silver medallist
Sanju Devi by technical superi-
ority and then overcame Man-
isha 9-5 in the 62kg final.
The trials opened with confu-
sion when WFI president Brij-
bhushan Sharan Singh
announced that only those who
submit a copy of their contracts
with private sponsors will be
allowed to compete. Soon, it was
announced that wrestlers who
did not have a copy of their con-
tracts can give an undertaking
that they will submit it later.
{ CRICKETWALLAH }
Ayaz Memon
England series could shape
Kohli’s legacy as captain
irat Kohli faces the most
V challenging fortnight of
his career when the last
two Tests of this tanta-
lizing series are played out. He
will be put through a searching
examination in multiple aspects.
After low-to-modest run-scor-
ing over a protracted period,
Kohli needs to reinvigorate his
reputation as one of the most
dazzling batsmen in contempo-
rary cricket. But even more than
runs, he needs to show tactical
nous and sharp leadership skills
to quell a resurgent England side
that had looked so weak and
easy to overcome in the absence
of star players like Ben Stokes
and Joffra Archer when the rub-
ber began.
If India win the series from
here, Kohli’s standing in the
game will see a massive uptick.
He will have created a magnifi-
cent legacy: of shaping not just
the best team ever in Indian
cricket, but possibly among the
finest in Test history.
It’s almost six years since he
became captain. Statistically —
and I am restricting this to just
Tests — Kohli is India’s most suc-
cessful captain. He’s not lost a
single home series. But when
you think of legacy, overseas
wins carry greater weight. For
India, it is winning in Australia
and England. This has been the
team goal and has led to some
flip-flop selections, some diaboli-
cal tactics and some spectacular
cricket: Initially by Kohli him-
self, then the likes of Cheteshwar
Pujara, Ishant Sharma, Moham-
med Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
With Indian cricket throwing
up skillful, wicket-taking fast
bowlers in big numbers, Kohli
had the arsenal to compete
aggressively away from home—
often to be let down by the bat-
Oval’s history, Root’s form
call for Ashwin in playing XI
Kohli and Shastri will
have to change their
tactics of picking four
pacers to include the
spinner in line-up
Sanjjeev K Samyal
sanjjeev.samyal@htlive.com
MUMBAI: The Oval, venue of
India’s fourth Test against
England, has seen some highs
by spinners. Shane Warne took
32 wickets in four Tests; in his
only Test there, Muttiah Murali-
tharan captured 16 wickets. Of
the top four wicket-takers at the
venue, two are spinners—
England left-arm Derek Under-
wood (45 wkts, 10 Tests) and off-
spinner Jim Laker (40, 8). For
Indian fans, leg-spinner BS
Chandrasekhar took eight wick-
ets to bowl India to a historic
win in 1971.
If the pitch curator sticks to
tradition, spin will be a factor in
the game starting on Thursday
with the team tied 1-1.
It remains to be seen if Virat
Kohli and Ravi Shastri deviate
from their tactics of picking
four pacers till now in the series
tied 1-1. Cricket logic suggests
off-spinner R Ashwin should get
his first game. Even if Ravindra
Jadeja retains his place as the
spin-bowling all-rounder,
there’s a good chance India will
select two spinners.
It is not just the venue that
could make India alter their
playing eleven. Despite taking
20 wickets in the first two Tests,
their bowlers have not found a
way to check Joe Root’s prolific
scoring.
The bowling strategy found
success at Trent Bridge—drawn
after the last day was aban-
doned due to rain—and Lord’s—
India won by 151 runs—though
the England skipper has made
the difference, scoring a hun-
dred in each Test.
Kohli has pointed to pitch
conditions to justify keeping out
Ashwin. The off-spinner though
is in form. His record in
England is average but experi-
enced bowler is on a high after
correcting his record in Austra-
lia on the 2020-21 tour.
In seven Tests in England,
Ashwin has 18 wickets at an
average of 28.11. In the only
innings in which he bowled at
the Oval, in 2014, he took 3/72 in
21.3 overs.
His last competitive match
was at The Oval, when he
played a County game for Sur-
AFTER TWO HORRID
COLLAPSES AT
LEEDS WHICH
ALLOWED ENGLAND
TO DRAW LEVEL IN
THE SERIES, THE
PORTENTS HAVE
TURNED OMINOUS.
ting. This had kept the win-loss
equation overseas in the deficit,
till that dramatic tour of Austra-
lia in 2018 and an even more
explosive tour last season. From
never having won a series in
Australia in 70 years, India had
two successive victorious tours.
The second one so remarkable—
after being bowled out for 36 and
losing the first Test—it had the
cricket world agog. Whether this
was the best Indian team ever
went from question to truism.
Well, almost.
This tour of England was to
determine what new heights
Indian cricket could scale. There
was the World Test Champion-
ship final, and a five Test series
against England. Only thrice ear-
lier (1971, 1986 and 2007) had
India won in England, so this
was a stellar opportunity to leave
an impact for the ages.
The WTC final was a setback
where a hardier and better pre-
pared New Zealand got the bet-
ter of India in an agonizingly
close match.
There was recompense to be
had from the series against
England. But after two horrid
collapses at Leeds which allowed
England to draw level, the por-
tents have turned ominous.
From a neutral position, the
unpredictable contest has been
great advertisement for Test
cricket. However, there’s no
In his last match at the Oval, Ashwin took six wickets in the 2nd inning to help Surrey win.
rey to get game before this
series. He took six wickets in the
second innings to bowl Surrey
to victory.
In the past, to adapt to
English conditions, he has
played for Worcestershire and
Nottinghamshire. His ability to
adapt to typical English condi-
tions showed in the World Test
Championship final against
New Zealand at Southampton in
June when he took two wickets
in each innings.
Former India left-arm spin-
denying that India start at Oval
on the back foot. Why the situa-
tion should be so shaky is of the
crux.
There is no dearth of experi-
ence, often touted as reason for
struggle in England. Of the 11
that played at Leeds, Ishant is on
his fourth tour, Kohli, Pujara,
Ajinkya Rahane, Shami and
Ravindra Jadeja on their third,
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ris-
habh Pant and Bumrah on their
second. This is Mohammed
Siraj’s first Test series, but he has
been to England with the India A
team.
Fluctuating performances—
especially in the batting, where
top-order players have been los-
ing their wickets in the same
fashion repeatedly—throw up
issues about preparations before
and during the tour. Lack of a
genuine swing bowler in the
squad provokes a query about
selection strategy. Above all, the
absence of R Ashwin, India’s
most valuable player in the pre-
ceding 10 months, was flummox-
ing even if conditions were
loaded heavily in favour of fast
bowlers.
This seemingly grim situation
can still be turned on its head if
India play to potential in the
remaining Tests. It will need
introspection, resolve, some
tweaking of tactics as well as the
playing XI. This team has some
great wins to its credit. Yet, Kohli
would know that truly great
teams can’t be mercurial and
inconsistent so frequently.
w
READ: Time for
Rishabh Pant to
trust his defence more
ners, Maninder Singh and Ven-
katapathy Raju feel Ashwin will
be a handy addition to the bowl-
ing at the Oval as well as Old
Trafford, the final Test venue.
“Ideally, I would now go in
with a 3-2 pace-spin combina-
tion. The first three pitches
helped the fast bowlers, so I can
understand the team going in
with four fast bowlers. Now the
pitches that are there are better
for batting; you might as well
have two spinners because your
fast bowlers won’t get that
BCCI calls bids for 2 new IPL teams
Rasesh Mandani
rasesh.mandani@htlive.com
MUMBAI: The next edition of the
Indian Premier League (2022)
will feature 10 teams. Eight
months after the Board of Con-
trol for Cricket in India (BCCI)
gave its approval to add two
more teams to the league, bids
have been invited through a ten-
der process on Tuesday to kick-
start the league’s expansion
plans.
“The Governing Council of the
IPL invites bids to acquire the
right to own and operate new
teams proposed to be introduced
to take part from IPL 2022 sea-
son,” a BCCI statement said.
The Invitation to Tender has
been made available for pur-
chase till October 5.
Though the bidding regula-
tions have not been made public
yet, it is learnt that the base price
for the new teams has been set at
₹2,000 crore. This is a big jump
from the ₹850 crore that Sunris-
ers Hyderabad, the last team to
join IPL via a tender process,
paid in 2012. The base amount
reflects the latest benchmark set
by Rajasthan Royals, who are
Tsitsipas survives Murray onslaught, Kyrgios out
Agencies
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
NEW YORK: Defending champion
Naomi Osaka stretched her
Grand Slam win streak to 16
matches on Monday at the US
Open while Greek third seed Ste-
fanos Tsitsipas struggled past
Andy Murray in five sets.
Osaka defeated Czech Marie
Bouzkova 6-4, 6-1 to book a sec-
ond-round matchup with Ser-
bian qualifier Olga Danilovic.
Tsitsipas outlasted Britain’s
Murray 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 3-6, 6-3,
6-4 after four hours and 49 min-
utes. Murray, ranked 112th, lost
for the first time in 15 first-round
US Open matches. “It didn’t
Sport
AP
much support. Ashwin was my
first choice spinner anyway; if I
had to play one spinner, I would
go with Ashwin,” said Manin-
der.
Raju felt Ashwin will like the
bounce at the Oval. “It’s a big
ground, different soil with
decent bounce and Ashwin has
the ammunition. Basically, you
need to look for a guy who can
pick wickets. You don’t have to
take five wickets, he can give
crucial breakthroughs. He is a
decent bat too,” the former
Eligibility conditions
PRICE AT WHICH TEAMS
~3,000cr
WERE BOUGHT
Companies
with an annual IN 2010 EXPANSION
FOR 10 YEARS
turnover upwards
of ₨3,000cr will be
~1,700cr
allowed
3 Consortiums
of not more
than 3 business
houses
Sahara Warriors
~1,500cr ~2,000cr
Kochi Tuskers
known to be valued at ₹1,850
crore after adding new inves-
tors—US-based RedBird Capital
Partners, a couple of months
back. While the Royals don’t
generate as much revenue as
some of the more successful
teams, a former IPL official who
did not wish to be named said
that the notional value of leading
teams like Mumbai Indians,
Chennai Super Kings and Kolk-
ata Knight Riders would all be
upwards of ₹2,500 crore.
“We are expecting bids above
₹3,000 crore for each team,” a
BCCI official who did not wish to
be named said. “IPL is ripe for
come easy,” Tsitsipas said. Tsitsi-
pas, this year’s French Open run-
ner-up, took a long break before
the final set, frustrating Murray,
who surrendered a break in the
opening game. Delay tactics
brought a frosty reception at the
net after the match. “I have zero
time for that stuff at all and I lost
respect for him,” Murray said.
“It’s nonsense. And he knows it.”
Tsitsipas, who plays French-
man Adrian Mannarino next,
said he followed ATP rules on
breaks and medical timeouts,
even as Murray questioned the
length and timing. “I’m playing
by the rules and sticking to what
the ATP says is fair,” said Tsitsi-
pas. “Then the rest is fine.”
national selector said.
If Ashwin gets in, his battle
with Root will be keenly
watched. In Australia, the ace
spinner won the battle against
Steve Smith. In 2018, he got Ala-
stair Cook cheaply in both
innings of the first Test at Edg-
baston, where batting was a let-
down in India’s narrow loss.
Root though will be a tougher
challenge.
“Ashwin likes his challenges,
he’s got those variations,
enough ammunition and he’s
done that before. The spin
option should be the guy who
can give you breakthroughs and
pick up wickets. They tried a
combination for three games, it
is time he got a chance,” said
Raju.
Ashwin’s challenge will be
shaking off the rust, the 34-year-
old having warmed the bench
till now. Getting into rhythm
straightaway won’t be easy.
That is also why he had the Sur-
rey game in the build-up to this
series.
Root though is at his best,
having aggregated 507 runs at
an average of 126.75. The off-
spinner will have to bring in all
his guile to win this battle.
Former England skipper Alec
Stewart, Surrey’s long-serving
director of cricket, told The
Guardian that unlike the Surrey
game Ashwin played on, the
pitch for the Test won’t offer
much spin. England opener Joe
Burns was Ashwin’s captain in
that game.
“That was seven weeks ago,”
Stewart said. “Whatever he did
then will have no bearing on
now, though if Burns gets a Test
hundred after a long time
watching him bowl in the field,
I might get a pat on the back.”
Root was asked the Ashwin
question in Tuesday’s pre-Test
media conference.
“His record speaks for itself,”
he said. “He is a world class
player, we have seen him score
runs and take wickets against
us. We will certainly make sure
we are prepared for the challen-
ges he poses coming into this
Test along with the other possi-
ble combinations India might
throw at us. Ultimately, you can
get wrapped up and end up
playing the player, but it is
really important to play the situ-
ation and play the delivery.”
Time is running out for Ash-
win in more than one sense. In
two weeks he will turn 35.
These could be the final two
Tests to set the record straight
in England.
IN 2012 FOR 5 YEARS
~425cr
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Base price in 2021
expansion. We have carefully
built the brand over the years.
Just the way the existing fran-
chises have moved to profit mak-
ing, so will the new teams. IPL is
a property to stay invested in.”
More matches
For BCCI, expanding its most
profitable property signals wind-
fall gains. More teams also trans-
late into more matches and
more media rights revenue. As
reported in this space earlier,
next year’s IPL will be a
74-match tournament instead of
the usual 60. The additional
matches at current media and
Roberto Bautista Agut made it
a short stay for Nick Kyrgios,
who had enough time to fit in
plenty of complaining in three
sets. Bautista Agut, the No. 18
seed from Spain, won 6-3, 6-4,
6-0. Kyrgios fell into a foul mood
early, bickering with the chair
umpire about having to walk his
towel to the corners of the court
instead of throwing it where he
wanted. He also muttered about
having to be on the court so late
at night and Bautista Agut’s
bathroom break after the second
set. Kyrgios was penalized a first
serve midway through the third
set for a repeated time violation
but by then it was clear he wasn’t
coming back.
Root mantra: Let
Shami, Bumrah
go, milk the rest
Sanjjeev K Samyal
sanjjeev.samyal@htlive.com
MUMBAI: England skipper Joe
Root has stamped his authority
in the ongoing series against
India with two Tests still left.
Three successive hundreds in
three Tests and 507 runs at an
average of 126.75 make for stun-
ning returns. He single-hand-
edly kept England in the game
in the first two Tests before the
top-order rallied around him to
win the third Test, levelling the
series 1-1.
As the Indian think tank pre-
pares its strategy for the fourth
Test starting on Thursday, find-
ing a way to stop Root will dom-
inate the bowlers’ meeting. His
record at the Oval against India
is intimidating—two hundreds
in two Tests—149* in 2014 and
125 in 2018. In the other five
Tests, and 10 innings, he has
only managed three fifties.
On Tuesday, Root attributed
his fine run to clear thinking.
“My decision making probably
(is the key), I feel like I have
managed the innings pretty well
throughout the course of this
series… I feel like I have a nice
balance between attack and
defence. I am picking the length
pretty well. These things pretty
stand out. Hopefully I can carry
out these for the rest of this
series and beyond,” he said.
Simple tactics
According to CricViz Analyst,
Root has been cautious against
strike bowlers Jasprit Bumrah
and Mohammed Shami and
successfully targeted the others.
Of the four times he has been
dismissed in this series, Bumrah
has got him thrice but early only
once—for 33 in the Lord’s sec-
ond innings.
“He’s generally not looked to
attack Bumrah or Shami as
much as the change bowlers,
and has been particularly suc-
cessful against Ishant
(Sharma),” says the analyst.
In other words, India’s strat-
egy to field five bowlers has
worked against the others but
sponsorship rights adds up to
over ₹800 crore of extra reve-
nue. “74 matches are what we
are promising at the moment.
When the new rights cycle kicks
in 2023, we will try to expand to
94 matches a season, after con-
sulting with other cricket boards
regarding an expanded playing
window,” the BCCI official
quoted earlier said.
Eligibility rules
BCCI has made the Invitation to
Tender more stringent this time.
It is learnt that only companies
with an annual turnover
upwards of ₹3,000 crore will be
allowed to bid. Another condi-
tion that has been added to the
bid document is a limit on not
more than three businesses to
come together to form a consor-
tium.
In 2010, Sahara Warriors and
Kochi Tuskers were added to the
IPL fold for a massive ₹1,700 and
₹1,500 crore, respectively. While
Sahara withdrew after a year cit-
ing bank guarantee disputes
with BCCI, the little-known
Kochi consortium of seven sepa-
rate investors remained neck
deep in controversy. This team
{ ANDY MURRAY } WORLD NO 112
P
I have zero time for
that stuff at all and I
lost respect for him.
It’s nonsense. And he
knows it, as well.
after his first-round loss to Greek third seed
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who took a long break
A
before the fifth and final set
17
not Root. The England No 4 has
scored freely against India’s
third and fourth pacers as well
as spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
It is why India need to change
the bowling combination, to
apply sustained pressure on
Root when Bumrah and Shami
take a breather.
His attack percentage (Att%)
against Bumrah is 17.5 (99 runs
off 171 balls) and Shami is 23.7
(86 runs off 139 balls). (Att% is
not runs scored against balls
faced off a bowler but the
attacking shots played).
While India skipper Virat
Kohli has looked to attack Root
with Mohammed Siraj’s incom-
ing balls, the batsman has con-
tinued to attack the bowler (142
runs off 203 balls –Att% 28). He
has especially targeted Sharma
with an Att% of 39 (62 runs off
82 balls). A fine player of spin,
his Att% against Jadeja is 27.8
(88 runs off 169 balls).
Kiwi planning
India can learn from how New
Zealand stopped Root while
winning the two-Test series in
England before their World Test
Championship final success
over India. The Kiwis restricted
Root to a top score of 42 in four
innings.
Root’s percentage of attack-
ing strokes against Tim Southee
(5.8) and Kyle Jamieson (12.1)
shows how he was tied down.
There was no respite against the
others too.
His Att% was 18.1 against
Colin de Grandhomme, 19.4
against Neil Wagner, 22.7
against Matt Henry and 27.2
against left-arm spinner Ajaz
Patel. Only against the other
left-arm spinner Mitchell Sant-
ner did he bat freely in the
Lord’s Test (Att% 61.7).
“He attacked Patel roughly
the same as Jadeja, but was
unable to score against him,”
CricViz says while underlining
how Root picks the bowlers to
attack. The onus thus will be on
India’s back-up bowlers to stop
Root from running away with
the series.
too lasted one season after their
contract was terminated by the
BCCI, which was then legally
challenged.
An arbitration award has
gone against the board. The new
teams are expected to be
announced soon after scrutiny,
well in time for the mega auction
that is likely to be held in Decem-
ber.
The Ahmedabad-based Adani
Group, who lost out in the 2010
bidding war, are favourites to
bid again. The RP Sanjiv Goenka
group who owned the Rising
Pune Supergiants franchise in
2016-17 also want to make a
re-entry. The newly refurbished
Narendra Modi cricket stadium
in Ahmedabad and the Atal
Bihari Vajpayee Ekana stadium
in Lucknow are favourites to
become home bases of the two
new teams.
The BCCI has a set list of
cities from where the winning
bidders get to pick one they want
to call home. Apart from
Ahmedabad and Lucknow that
list includes Pune, Visakhapat-
nam, Guwahati and Cuttack
among others. The full list of cit-
ies is not known.
www.facebook.com/htedu NEW DELHI/METRO
www.hindustantimes.com
Wednesday, September 01, 2021

Education
EXPANDING YOUR HORIZONS
www.facebook.com/htedu
www.hindustantimes.com
6 PAGES
Govt directs central
institutions to fill up
vacant posts by Sep ’22
Prashant K Nanda
prashant.n@htlive.com
In a letter to varsities, IITs,
Indian Institutes of Manage-
ment and National Institutes of
Technology, higher education
secretary Amit Khare said insti-
tutions must strictly comply
with the Centre’s decision. The
higher education secretary will
be monitoring the appoint-
ments every month to ensure
the target is achieved within 12
months beginning September
2021.
“I’m writing in connection
with faculty position that are
lying vacant, especially for
scheduled caste (SC), scheduled
tribe (ST), other backward
classes (OBC) and EWS category
in central higher education
institutions, functioning under
the administrative control of the
ministry of education. In order
to clear the backlog, it has been
decided that all central institu-
tions should fill these vacancies
in a mission mode within a
period of one year starting 5
September 2021 to 4 September
2022,” Khare said.
The ministry has also asked
UGC asks colleges to boost cybersecurity
Prashant K Nanda
prashant.n@htlive.com
With online education becom-
ing a new normal, India’s apex
higher education regulator Uni-
versity Grants Commission
(UGC) has asked colleges, insti-
tutions and universities to
strengthen the cybersecurity
mechanism and put in place a
cybersecurity ecosystem.
This comes as India battles a
surge in cybersecurity incidents
post the pandemic as several
services, including education,
have shifted online.
Education is a key target for
cyber frauds as it deals with a
huge amount of data on demo-
graphic and professional
records of students, staff and
allied education sector. It is also
a big user of online financial
transactions, becoming an easy
target for cybercriminals.
The education regulator has
Govt unveils virtual school to
resolve access-related issues
Prashant K Nanda
prashant.n@htlive.com
The Union government on
Tuesday formally launched the
virtual school concept that will
allow millions of eligible stu-
dents outside the school system
to complete their studies with-
out physically attending a brick-
and-mortar school.
This will be implemented
through the National Institute
of Open Schooling (NIOS) but
will be entirely digital in nature,
said education minister Dhar-
mendra Pradhan.
The availability of digital
schooling will benefit those who
are out of the existing system,
the minister said.
The move underscores the
government’s push towards
increasing adoption of technol-
ogy in the education sector.
“This school is a new model
of learning and is an example
how leveraging technology and
innovation can facilitate greater
inclusion in education,” Prad-
han said. “The school is the
first-of-its-kind initiative in
India, which will provide
advanced digital learning plat-
forms via virtual live class-
rooms and labs, etc.”
School education secretary
Anita Karwal said students’
assessments and examinations
will also happen via remote
proctoring under this initiative.
She said that students in Classes
9 to 12 will have options to join a
virtual school. In such schools,
classes will be conducted virtu-
ally but will be activity based,
textbook based and experiential
in nature, she said, adding that
FIlling up vacant seats will be a beneficial move for all
heads of central institutions to
send a “monthly report to the
higher education secretary
starting September apprising
the status of action taken”.
Khare asked institutions to
include “a separate chapter in
their annual report starting
2021-22, depicting the status of
filling up of backlog vacancies
in a tabular format”. Besides,
institutes must have an agenda
item for every meeting of the
finance committee, board of
governors and board of man-
agement, “giving status and fil-
also asked higher educational
institutions, numbering over
50,000, to be on the guard and
report cybersecurity incidents.
UGC, in a letter to institu-
tions, told them its effort is to
draw their attention and action
“to strengthen cybersecurity
and to tackle the unforeseen
challenges of cybercrime and
develop an ecosystem for cyber
security in HEIs (higher educa-
tion institutions)”. HT Mint has
seen a copy of the letter.
The education regulator said
institutions must sensitize staff
and students to the Indian
Cyber Crime Coordination Cen-
tre and initiatives take by the
home ministry to prevent cyber-
crimes.
The regulator’s directive may
work as a template for the over-
all education sector at a time
usage and integration of tech-
nology in education is going to
increase and the education min-
The government is pushing for digital adoption in learning
the results will also be declared
digitally.
According to NIOS, the vir-
tual school is like an online plat-
form “with a mission to enable
access to affordable, world-class
education to enhance learning
outcomes”.
Students will “attend live
interactive classes, watch
recorded sessions, submit tutor
marked assignments (TMAs),
assessments and exams”.
The virtual or digital school
will also offer certifications to
enhance student employability
and may be offered access to job
boards and job portals for
career-related issues.
Pradhan also unveiled an
alternative academic calendar
developed by the National
Council of Educational
Research and Training (NCERT)
to “facilitate teachers and par-
ents to assess the progress in
the learning of children. This
initiative contains week-wise
plan of “challenging activities,
with reference to learning out-
Education
FILE/HT
ing the backlog vacancies”.
HT Mint has reviewed a copy of
the letter.
Out of the 8,000 vacancies,
6,500 posts of professors were
vacant in central universities. Of
these, at least 60% were for
reserved categories, including
1,684 for OBCs and 1,084 SCs.
“Filling up vacant seats at
universities and institutions will
be good for reserved category
candidates, the community and
higher educational institutes,
which are facing a sizable short-
age of faculty,” said Shashank
istry itself is speaking about the
value of technology in educa-
tion to increase access and bet-
ter use of resources.
Cybersecurity incidents have
been rising of late.
Barracuda Networks, a
cybersecurity firm, found more
than 1,000 spear-phishing
attacks targeting educational
institutions in India between
July and September 2020, Mint
reported in November.
The lack of awareness, tight
budgets and limited resources
make institutions and schools
easy targets for cyberattacks
and “unfortunately, make
attacks more effective”, Murali
Urs, country manager, India, of
Barracuda Networks, said at the
time.
A government official, who
did not want to be named, said
while data relating to the educa-
tion sector is not readily availa-
ble, growing incidents of cyber-
FILE/HT
comes, themes and chapters
taken from syllabus or text-
book”.
He said the National Educa-
tion Policy has suggested the
adoption of digital and physical
modes of education and his
ministry is trying to build the
required infrastructure and
enabling environment to offer
education in all three modes—
physical, digital and hybrid.
The pandemic has led to a
surge in the adoption of tech-
nology in delivering education.
To be sure, just 24% of Indian
households have internet con-
nections to access e-education,
and there is a large rural-urban
and gender divide that is likely
to widen the learning gap across
high, middle and low-income
families, as per a Unicef report
released in August 2020.
The education ministry also
unveiled an initiative to boost
early childhood learning from
preschool to Class 5 to improve
literacy and numeracy skills
among early graders.
Ratnoo, an expert on OBC
issues, and a lawyer.
On 23 August, members of
All-India OBC Students Associa-
tion, and a few experts met edu-
cation minister Dharmendra
Pradhan, and he assured to look
after the welfare of the OBC
community.
In July the government had
said that it was planning to raise
the annual income ceiling for
the so-called creamy layer
among OBCs from the existing
₹8 lakh, and expanding the ben-
efits of reservations in jobs and
education to more individuals.
Currently, 27% of government
jobs and seats in educational
institutions are reserved for
OBCs, but those with an annual
family income of above ₹8 lakh
are considered the ‘creamy
layer’ and excluded from the
benefits.
The income is supposed to be
raised every three years. During
the last revision, in 2017, the
threshold was raised from ₹6
lakh to ₹8 lakh. Demand for a
caste census to finalize on the
extent of reservation for OBCs
beyond the 27% has been on the
rise.
crimes point to an increasing
risk across the board and more
so in three sectors—education,
health and finance.
India saw a surge in cyberat-
tacks amid a rapid adoption of
digital services across the coun-
try following the lockdown
imposed in the wake of covid-19.
About 1.16 million cases of
cyberattacks were reported in
2020, a nearly three-fold jump
from 2019.
On average, 3,137 cybersecu-
rity-related issues were
reported every day during 2020,
the Union government told Par-
liament in March.
In July, the Centre told Parlia-
ment that “Indian Computer
Emergency Response Team
(CERT-In)... has reported that a
total number of 394,499,
1,158,208 and 607,220 cyberse-
curity incidents are observed
during the year 2019, 2020 and
2021 (up to June) respectively”.
How can hospitality education respond to new challenges
Mariana Palmeiro
letters@hindustantimes.com
The global wellness economy,
valued at $4.5 trillion, is rapidly
outpacing the growth of the
global economy, with ever-in-
creasing demand attributed to
several contributory factors.
Ageing populations, fast-paced
lives and high-pressure jobs are
resulting in an increase in
chronic conditions, stress,
depression and sleep problems.
People are also generally more
conscious than ever of their
mental and physical well-being,
and are increasingly open to an
expanding range of available
treatments provided outside of
standard healthcare systems.
Add in the impact of covid on
our health, freedom and access
to the people and things we
love, and our personal well-be-
ing has never been more central
to our behaviour as consumers.
Wellness tourism is one of
the leading revenue growth
areas in the wellness economy.
Consumers travelling for both
work and leisure purposes want
to access well-being services
when they stay in hotels, and for
a growing percentage of travel-
lers, it’s the primary reason for
their trip. The Global Wellness
Institute defines these individu-
als as primary wellness tourists
and they make up 11% of the
wellness tourism market.
“The impact of the pandemic,
combined with the increasing
appetite for improved wellness,
presents a substantial opportu-
nity for hoteliers to benefit
from, and broaden, their well-
being offer.”
Prior to COVID-19, health-
conscious travellers already
spent up to 130% more on hotel
Centre to supply more
doses to vaccinate teachers
Prashant K Nanda
prashant.n@htlive.com
The Centre seeks to vaccinate all
teachers before Teachers’ Day
on 5 September and will supply
20 million more doses in addi-
tion to the states’ quota for
August, as schools in most parts
of India have resumed physical
classes for secondary and senior
secondary students.
Officials from the health and
education ministries said the
move will facilitate smooth
operation of physical schools,
by providing a safe environment
for both teachers and students.
States are gradually allowing
schools to open for Classes IX to
XII. Education minister Dhar-
mendra Pradhan said the vacci-
nation drive for teachers will
help the sector, which was
severely impacted since mid-
March 2020, to recover.
“Besides the scheme of pro-
viding vaccines to every state
this month, over 20 million
additional doses of vaccine are
being made available. We have
requested all states to try to get
all school teachers vaccinated
on priority by 5 September–
Teachers’ Day,” health minister
Mansukh Mandaviya said on
India’s first indigenous motorized wheelchair
vehicle for all terrains developed at IIT Madras
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes,com
The Indian Institute of Technol-
ogy Madras has developed
India’s first indigenous motor-
ized wheelchair vehicle that can
be used not only on roads but
even on uneven terrains.
Called ‘NeoBolt’, it has a max-
imum speed of 25 kmph and
travels up to 25 km per charge.
It empowers wheelchair users
with a convenient, safe and low-
cost mode of outdoor mobility
when compared to cars, auto
rickshaws or modified scooters.
NeoBolt is powered by a Lithi-
um-Ion Battery that will give 25
Kms for every charge.
Throughout the development
process, the IIT-M Researchers
collaborated extensively with
organizations and hospitals
working among people with
locomotor disability and built
the products factoring in their
experiences and making con-
stant design adjustments.
NeoBolt was developed by a
team led by Prof. Sujatha Sriniv-
asan, department of mechanical
The pandemic facilitated the transition of the hospitality industry to digitization
amenities than other guests,
and that’s only going to rise in
the ‘new normal’.
In a 2020 consumer survey by
the World Tourism Association,
a quarter of respondents said
they will focus their first post-
pandemic trip on wellness, with
78% indicating that they already
include wellness activities when
travelling.
The impact of the pandemic,
combined with the increasing
appetite for improved wellness,
presents a substantial opportu-
nity for hoteliers to benefit
from, and broaden, their well-
being offer. More than a consid-
eration, wellness should now be
a theme that pervades every
department, from F&B and
guest services, to room design
and even the hiring of new staff
with additional fitness/well-be-
ing skillsets. As customer
expectations of a hotel experi-
ence rapidly evolve, a greater
emphasis should be being
EXPANDING YOUR HORIZONS
Unesco urges countries to prioritize teachers for jabbing
Wednesday.
While India has over 9.5 mil-
lion teachers in schools and few
millions more in higher educa-
tional institutes, a majority was
reported to have already been
vaccinated. Though the Centre
did not declare teachers as
frontline workers, some states
immunized teachers on a prior-
ity considering their role in
resuming physical classes.
Even Unesco urged countries
engineering, IIT Madras, and
has been commercialized
through a startup called ‘Neo-
Motion.’ The Startup has been
co-founded by Prof. Sujatha
Srinivasan and an IIT Madras
alumnus Swostik Sourav Dash,
who is the CEO of NeoMotion.
Highlighting the vision
behind developing these prod-
ucts, Srinivasan who is also fac-
ulty head, TTK Center for Reha-
bilitation Research and Device
Development (R2D2), IIT
Madras, said, “Our centre’s
vision is to transform the disa-
bility landscape in India by cre-
ating functional and affordable
assistive devices. How often do
you see a wheelchair user at a
school, an office, a shop or a
theatre? Wheelchair users are
typically restricted to the four
walls of their home, which
affects their community partici-
pation and their ability to con-
tribute to the economy.”
Further, Srinivasan said,
“NeoMotion, the start-up from
R2D2 incubated at IIT Madras,
is here to transform the land-
scape through game-changing
placed on relaxation, fitness and
rejuvenation by all department
managers.
Integrating wellness
into new hotel design
Hotel developers need to ensure
that wellness-focused environ-
ments and experiences are pri-
oritised in their designs. When
booking, guests are making pro-
active choices to align their stay
with their lifestyle habits, hotels
should be seizing this opportu-
nity to support their guests’
wellbeing, to both improve the
customer experience and build
stronger relationships.
Whilst traditionally we may
have viewed the spa as a hotel’s
wellness facility, wellness is
becoming integrated into other
areas of the guest stay, and this
will continue to progress in a
post COVID-19 world.
The future of hospitality
education
Wednesday, September 01, 2021
FILE/HT
to prioritize teachers in their
inoculation drive. “While the
protection of teachers is essen-
tial for schools to reopen safely,
just 21 out of 197 countries—
accounting for 18 million pri-
mary and secondary teachers—
prioritized teachers in the first
phase of vaccination efforts.
Another 37 countries included
teachers as a priority group for
the second phase of vaccina-
tions,” the UN body had said
and world-class wheelchair
products designed and made in
India – for India and the world.”
The start-up has also devel-
oped and commercially
launched ‘NeoFly,’ a personal-
ized wheelchair designed to
enhance health and lifestyle. As
much as 18 customizations
ensure a perfect fit to the user’s
requirements.
“NeoFly is the first Indian
Wheelchair that is customised
to the user. It is built to provide
comfort, efficient propulsion,
higher manoeuvrability and
superior ergonomics. The
motor-powered attachment,
NeoBolt converts NeoFly into a
safe, road-worthy vehicle that
can navigate any kind of terrain
that we may normally encoun-
ter - drive through unpaved
streets or climb a steep gradi-
ent. And do this comfortably as
it has suspensions to absorb the
shocks,” added Srinivasan.
Elaborating on the current
status, Swostik Sourav Dash,
co-founder and CEO of NeoMo-
tion, said, “NeoFly and NeoBolt
are presently being used by over
FILE/HT
As the world begins its recovery
from the pandemic, the demand
for wellness tourism will con-
tinue to increase, supporting
people’s quests to live longer
and healthier lives. Hotels and
spas have the infrastructure and
service culture to help guests
find these wellness solutions
and maintain their new habits
when they travel. The recovery
of many hotels will derive from
embracing these new guest
needs and demands, or simply
by capturing a more active,
wellness-driven market seg-
ment.
Most general hospitality
brands will begin to provide tai-
lored services for this new mar-
ket, bringing the offer into hotel
rooms and focusing on the
holistic customer experience.
Other more niche operations
and destinations will introduce
wellness therapies with doctors
on hand, offering medical tests
and examinations to collect
NEW DELHI/METRO
earlier this year.
Schools and colleges were
allowed to reopen in phases by
several states including Karna-
taka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat and
Punjab. An expert committee
has also submitted its report to
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kej-
riwal advising him to reopen
schools in the national capital.
Though immunizing teachers
has been considered a priority,
non-availability of vaccines for
students have been a concern.
However, once covid-19 vacci-
nes are available for those
above 12 years by the end of Sep-
tember, the drive is expected to
pick up pace. The plan to open
schools for students below 12
years is yet to be considered as a
vaccine for them is not yet avail-
able.
Schools in India were closed
from 15 March 2020 following
the outbreak of the pandemic.
Subsequently, most schools
started delivering lessons via
online classes, but the digital
divide, especially in rural India,
led to many students falling off
the grid, leading to loss in aca-
demic outcomes for those who
did not have access to digital
devices or the internet.
600 users across 28 States in
India. The feedback has been
positive. The demo units are
available in 15 dealer outlets and
four rehabilitation centres in
major cities, pan India. With
our unique NeoFit system, the
entire customization is done
remotely, so that a well-fitting
NeoFly lands at the user’s door-
step.”
Further, Dash said, “Along
with product warranty, we pro-
vide spare parts and after-sales
service so that our users can use
the products hassle-free. Our
immediate focus is to ramp up
production and make NeoFly
and NeoBolt available to users
across India. NeoFly personal-
ized wheelchair is available at
Rs. 39,900 and NeoBolt motor-
ized add-on is available at Rs.
55,000. We offer convenient
EMI options. Users can pre-
book their orders with us for
just Rs. 1,000 by registering on
our website.”
It is estimated that around
three lakh wheelchairs are sold
annually in India, of which 2.5
lakh are imported.
health-related data from guests,
and a more science-driven
approach, alongside input from
alternative medicine practition-
ers. This will see the birth of a
new breed of wellness-focused
hospitality brand, and we can
expect companies outside the
hospitality industry, such as
ecological fitness organisations
and tech-driven start-ups, to
jump on the bandwagon.
Meanwhile, an online well-
ness offer will remain, even
after we can confidently step
foot in a hotel gym or spa with-
out concerns. They will become
customer-centric and more tar-
geted, offering support to clients
before, during and after their
hotel stays to ensure a seamless
and rounded offer, and serve as
a reminder to return.
The Covid-19 pandemic facili-
tated the adoption of digitiza-
tion in the hospitality industry
and has opened multiple
employment opportunities for
the newly graduates. The global
crisis has also given the tradi-
tional hospitality industry a
chance to innovate reinvent and
transform itself. This means
institutes offering hospitality
degrees must adapt to the
changing times and offer aca-
demic knowledge along with
training in hard and soft skills.
Guidance and training given at
graduation level, paired with
the industry’s evolving require-
ments, prepare today’s youth to
be tomorrow’s leaders.
The author leads the consultancy
and advisory company Well Culture
and is also the co-founder of Field, a
brain-driven wellness company. She
is also a visiting lecturer at both
Glion Institute of Higher Education
and Les Roches
02
What have we learnt about neuro- Two-week preparation strategy to ace the NEET 2021
diversity during the pandemic
Reena Gupta
letters@hindustantimes.com
Neurodiversity has gained a lot
of attention recently. More voi-
ces, better representation,
increased social media plat-
forms have moved the lens
towards neurodiverse learners –
amongst students and profes-
sionals, alike. Tesla CEO Elon
Musk’s recent revelation of hav-
ing Asperger’s Syndrome fueled
the dialogue around the topic.
In fact, to write this article is
also one of the live examples of
it being an area of increased
interest.
But why now? What has
changed? Did the ongoing pan-
demic situation trigger it?
March 2020! The world of
education came to a halt! With a
crisis like situation, it was
quickly established that tech-
nology could be the only lifeline
for students – neurotypical and
neurodiverse alike - some of
whom were at a critical junc-
ture of their college and career
choices. While that period
surely gave a business boost to
many ideas lost in the hum-
drum of daily work and ‘work-
ing-on-it’ priority status, the
need for quick revival of learn-
ing at educational institutions
led to innovations far beyond.
Millions of learners across the
world were left in lurch when
the pandemic had started. Sens-
ing a huge need and market, the
technology providers reignited
their ‘under-construction’ ideas
at full throttle and revived the
learning in schools and colleges.
As it turns out, many of these
‘under-construction’ ideas had
an origin in accessibility for stu-
dents with disabilities. Some of
these firms were already work-
ing on educational technology
products to make learning eas-
ier for neurodiverse learners.
Within a few weeks into lock-
down, the complete social cut-
off led the technological prod-
ucts to be elevated into ‘immedi-
ate’ priority.
Following this, various tech-
nological products were further
designed, detailed out for neu-
rotypical learners too and
released in the market. Students
were back into their classes and
the ‘new normal’ of online edu-
cation was invented.
To quote Haben Girma, disa-
bility rights lawyer and activist,
“Disability is an opportunity for
innovation.”
EDUCATION/ ADMISSIONS
Students with disabilities need to feel empowered
Interestingly enough, some
students with disabilities and
neurodiverse needs have
thrived on online learning.
At-home learning proved to be
superior to its “physical classes”
counterpart for these learners.
Flexibility of schedules, no
direct peer pressure along with
the emotional comforts of home
environment worked for them.
It became easier for them to
reach out to their teachers and
professors, who were willingly
spending extra hours learning
new technological aids to make
every teaching session count for
each student, with or without
learning differences. Moreover,
with the fact that neurodiverse
people tend to be more techno-
logically inclined and detail ori-
ented, some of them experi-
enced the situation as a blessing
in disguise.
On the other hand, it’s been a
heavy lift for others who must
manage through their learning
challenges without the struc-
tured approach they had learnt
all these years.
Many of them had to sud-
denly work much harder to
adapt to new situations and
stressors with the constraints of
available resources. Not every-
one’s home environment is con-
ducive to learning and the para-
phernalia required to be able to
access online classes is not
available to all. Using advanced
technological tools also needed
training.
Many educational institu-
tions went ahead with online
classes without paying any heed
to their specific needs. School
teachers and college professors
didn’t know what to do when it
came to address a specific learn-
ing challenge of a student in the
online mode. Students didn’t
know what to ask for, whom to
approach for training, where to
SHUTTERSTOCK
look for resources.
Bottomline
Many students with disabilities
and neurodiverse needs were
not equipped with tools to inde-
pendently address their own
learning needs, in an unfamiliar
situation. Not that the other stu-
dents were prepared; but since
students with specific learning
needs are uniquely vulnerable
to stress and anxiety, the dis-
ruption in daily structure spe-
cifically exacerbated their abil-
ity to focus and continue to
learn without direct interven-
tion and support facilities.
This brings us to two impor-
tant questions – do we think of
preparing our students with dis-
abilities to be independent and
be future-ready? Do these stu-
dents have a platform to advo-
cate for themselves?
Students with disabilities
need to feel empowered and
parents more energized to self-
advocate and to communicate
confidently about their needs.
Moreover, it was realized that
training in technological solu-
tions during and post pandemic
is a necessity for effective life-
long learning. Students can then
use their distinctive strengths to
create a niche for themselves
and not always try to ‘fit-in’.
With the world beginning to
re-open, the shift to a somewhat
familiar, yet another kind of
uncertainty and unpredictabil-
ity is set to pose a new kind of
challenge to the neurodiverse
community. However, this time
hopefully, the unnecessary bar-
riers to learning, literally and
metaphorically, will be
removed. Let neurodiversity
prevail, in its positive avatar!
The author is Educational Thera-
pist, Director, Office of Learning
Support, Ashoka University
MD/ MS MBBS NEET-UG/PG Coaching
Guidance Admission Pvt/Govt College
NRI Foreign Mgnt Quota Ind/Abroad
/SAARC Country. Call:Shrijee Studies
& Consulting Center Ph: 7827251689
EMPLOYMENT
ACCOUNTS/FINANCE
REQUIRED FRESHER Article
Audit Asstt/ A/C Asstt 12th Pass/
Doing B.Com. Contact :-9899065713.
Email :- admin@skaandco.com
SALES & MARKETING
URGENTLY REQUIRED field
executives for Real estate company
age-20-40yrs salary 12k to 15k +
office at Rohini Contact Mr.
Dushyant Goyal 9810027832.
WORK FROM HOME
EXCELLENT OPPRTUNITY Work
From Home,if you have a good Hand
Writing then U can Earn 50,000/- to
1,00,000/-per month. Call Now #
9599178317, 9811730307 (Ltd. Seats)
Saurabh Kumar
letters@hindustantimes.com
After the confirmation of the
National Testing Agency (NTA)
and central Government’s deci-
sion to conduct the NEET UG
examinations on 12 September,
aspirants are already ramped
up for a cut-throat competition.
It is evident from past years that
around 16 lakh applicants enter
for the pragmatic race for
admissions into 1.5 lakh seats
across various medical colleges
in India.
With hardly a month left, the
medial aspirants are already on
the verge of top-notch prepara-
tion strategies. Aspirants
expecting a tougher competi-
tion this year are at a forefront
in preparing a smart work plan
towards success by covering the
entire syllabus on time. Pro-
vided the high stakes nature of
the exam amid the pandemic,
radar of nervousness and anxi-
ety has clouded over the minds
of the aspirants. Beating out
stress is one of the best possible
ways to focus efficiently on the
revision plan.
What’s new this year
It is known by now that the
Podcasting is the future of knowledge delivery in youth
Dushyantt Kohli
letters@hindustantimes.com
In the ancient times, audio was
the only means by which people
learned and passed on learning.
In fact, even before the TV was
invented, wireless radio com-
munication was a part of every-
day life to communicate and
share information.
Cut to today.
Can audio still playing a vital
role in literacy? Will listening to
audio or podcasts help students
become better readers? Or will
it simply be a more passive way
to consume content. Currently,
research highlights that a grow-
ing number of young minds are
choosing to listen to audio sto-
ries or content, when traveling
or in their leisure time, instead
of reading books.
Having said that, now the
question that arises here is, can
audio learning become the
future of knowledge delivery for
these young and growing
minds?
At present, the population of
NTA’s amendments towards
this year’s exam, the pen &
paper (offline) mode of the
exam will consist of four sec-
tions (physics, chemistry, bot-
any and zoology). Each subject
will consist of 2 sections A & B
with compulsory 35 questions
in section A to attempt, section
B in all the subjects will have an
option to attempt any 10 ques-
tions out of 5, providing some
sigh of relief. This make the
exam a total of 180 questions
combined, which need to be
completed within 3 hours, the
total marks being unchanged
(720).
Comparatively, many aspi-
rants last year suggested that
the overall difficulty level was
moderate with physics being
LEARN & REVISE
FORMULAS
CONSISTENTLY AS
THE PHYSICS
SECTION TENDS TO
HAVE MORE
NUMERICAL AND
MATHEMATICAL
QUESTIONS
India is 1.4 billion, and 1.1 billion
have mobile devices or smart-
phones. Out of 1.1 billion people,
622 million are active internet
users. That makes 43% of the
population. All these people
using the internet can listen to
audio as all it requires is a basic
mobile handset and minimal
internet bandwidth. Consider-
ing the convenience of minimal
infrastructural need to be able
to consume audio content and
fast-growing internet penetra-
tion in tier 3 and 4 markets of
India, one can appreciate that
the potential of content con-
sumption through audio is bet-
ter. Therefore, the opportunity
and possibility of audio-led digi-
tal education in our country are
immense.
Let’s take a look at another
aspect; 850 million people are
below 35 years old and 70% of
them live in rural India. If we
talk about educating this lot,
digital mediums with a focus on
audio platforms are the way for-
ward.
Rising demand for audio
content
At present, India is witnessing a
rapid digital revolution. A large
part of our country’s population
is getting accustomed to the use
of several digital platforms.
Access to smartphones and
affordable mobile data has
acted as a catalyst in this proc-
ess. It has flooded online plat-
Basic online certifications can help one
acquire diverse skills to boost their profile
P C Chhabra
letters@hindustantimes.com
The new era of digital space has
changed the environment to
think and work, getting gradua-
tion certificates from university
is not sufficient nowadays to get
employable in today’s competi-
tive market. Enhancement in
skills with a new set of online
certificate courses as per the
choice will give your career a
power booster whether you are
a fresher start-up or looking to
advance your next level for pro-
motion.
There is a huge demand for
technical certificate courses like
IT certifications. This adds up
your value while approaching
any company which demon-
strates dedication, motivation
towards your chosen work.
Nowadays, there is a queue in
front of companies for getting
hired for specific positions
therefore having some unique
qualities in your resume will
make you compete against
other candidates.
Due to the COVID situation,
many companies have faced
financial issues which turn out
to shut down companies perma-
nently.
This situation gave birth to
scarcity of employment and
race to get worthy employment.
The situation of uncertainty
arises in the market but getting
settled is the most important
priority in everyone’s life, there-
fore, making oneself a deserving
candidate for securing a job in
the company needs little extra
effort to work on your skills.
Some online certification
courses to boost your career are
New advanced executive programme in cybersecurity
Simplilearn, a global digital
skills training provider,
announced its partnership with
IIIT Bangalore and National
Payments Corporation of India
to offer an advanced executive
program in cybersecurity. The
the toughest of all sections for
them with plenty of numerical
and concept-based questions. In
biology, zoology was found to
be easier than the botany sec-
tion. Even though highly com-
petitive scoring is necessary to
get the college of choice, it is
important to be prepared right
from today and understand
what and how to study within
the given time.
Physics: A potential
nightmare for many
Having a wide range of mathe-
matical problems and theoreti-
cal questions, physics is still a
nightmare for many NEET aspi-
rants and find it hard to clear
this section.
When one opts for biology in
class XI, the learning approach
is of better assistance for the
aspirants with the botany and
zoology section but devoid of
mathematics as a subject,
understanding the application
of concepts in problem solving
and lack of practical edge
towards the preparation plan
may pull you back to success-
fully solve physics section. It is
thus of very much importance
to devote more time for this sec-
tion while preparing and have a
forms with a variety of content.
Moreover, with the fast adapta-
tion of digital content consump-
tion and impressive growth of
OTT platforms in the past two
years, people got habitual of
consuming content on their
personal devices at the time of
their choice.
At the same time, knowing
the ill effects of increasing
screen time, people are now
turning to audio content espe-
cially for gaining knowledge
and fulfilling their learning
need through podcasts, audio-
books, etc. In fact, India’s pod-
cast market is growing at 34.5%
CAGR and will continue to grow
at the same rate till 2023 as per
a KPMG report.
Moreover, the demand for
audio content in Indian regional
languages has increased consid-
erably in the last few years. The
pandemic-induced lockdown
has been a driving factor. Now
more people are opting for pod-
casts that offer relevant content
in regional languages for
e-learning and entertainment
purposes.
Further, considering the big-
ger challenge of infrastructure
and limited availability of
resources to the rural popula-
tion of India, audio is becoming
the most convenient way of con-
suming content for any pur-
pose. Similarly, for education,
audio has the potential to pro-
vide maximum coverage, con-
Pursuing a certification course gives an added advantage
as follows:
Digital marketing
The most demanding certifica-
tion course in the market is digi-
tal marketing which is prefera-
ble to lead online business
growth with the right marketing
strategies. Every company
wants to acquire a brand pres-
ence digitally for generating
additional revenues and secur-
ing a good financial position in
the market. This is the course
where one gets too familiar with
digital tools of traffic increasing
and sales on webpage. There is
high demand in the market for
digital marketing job profiles in
almost all sectors of the econ-
omy. So utilizing this skillful
certification course(s) will lead
to good opportunities and
growth in the career.
Advanced Excel
Microsoft Excel is well known
to everyone but this may not
work if you are looking for an
Analyst or Business profile role.
program has been designed to
meet the skills requirement of
mid-level management profes-
sionals working in banking,
cybersecurity, and finance
domains who come with prior
technical knowledge on the
clear concept base.
Go for NCERT text books
Choosing the best and simple
study material will assist in
strengthening the concepts and
NCERT text books are always
the first priority instead of refer-
ring to too many books.
Since NEET syllabus for
physics section has almost
equal weightage from both
Class XI and XII, in order to
enhance the preparation out-
comes, focus wisely to cover all
the topics. Though mechanics
seems to be a low soring topic
(suggested by various experts)
but carries almost a major 35%
share in terms of marks alloca-
tion, and thus is a must topic.
Other scoring topics include
electricity & Magnetism, Optics
helping in betterment of the
overall scores without any diffi-
culty.
Learn & revise formulas con-
sistently as the physics section
involves more of mathematical
and numerical questions, the
best trick is to learn the formu-
las on regular basis by making
short hand notes.
This will help the aspirants
with an upper edge will
attempting concept-based ques-
sidering the 19,500 different lan-
guages/dialects prevalent in our
country. It is because audio con-
tent is faster to create and can
be accessed in a low-bandwidth
area even on a basic mobile
phone, unlike other mediums
where the screen plays an
important role.
Benefits of podcasts/
audio content
So, the podcast-based platforms
or audio content are addressing
the digital learning need-gap
with their innovation-driven
approach. These are bringing
about the desired change, cater-
ing to a large number of
learners, especially from the
rural parts of India, who are
only acquainted with vernacu-
lar languages. On the other
hand, it is also true that people
enjoy listening to the news and
stories in their regional langua-
ges. Thus, audio content pro-
vides that benefit and can be
easily tapped via various digital
devices which is an added
advantage.
There is also a wide range of
options available to choose
from according to the listening
interests and needs of people
like educational, inspirational,
news, stories, entertainment,
and so on. All these are enough
to provide the required expo-
sure that anyone might need.
It is not just eliminating the
language barrier, but further
FILE/HT
Pursuing a certification course
with an advanced excel course
will give you a good chance to
get the desired job profile. This
course will lead you to grab the
knowledge in Excel as well as
other Microsoft office knowl-
edge.
Google Analytics
The course given by Google is
always a good career opportu-
nity where a degree or experi-
ence is not required much as
this certified training course is
provided by Google itself. The
USP of pursuing this course is
getting the opportunity to learn
new things from Google
employees who are masters in
data analytics. Data analytics
certification course comprises
collection, transformation, and
structuring the data for predict-
ing or giving the conclusion for
any decision-making work; the
duration of the course is less
than 6 months. If you complete
and pass this course, you can
directly apply to work in com-
basics of cybersecurity. With
90+ hours of learning, the pro-
gram consists of a comprehen-
sive curriculum co-created by
IIIT Bangalore and Simplilearn
that focuses on industry-rele-
vant skills in cybersecurity.
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
tions in quick time.
General tips
Having a shorter span of time,
aspirants need to quickly ana-
lyse their preparedness and
focus for the Go for the upcom-
ing NEET exam. The following
aspects will assist them towards
the betterment of their competi-
tiveness during the D-day.
Consistent revision - Consist-
ent revision is the key as of now,
that will play a major role in
deciding the performance. It is
advised that aspirants must
revise all the topics and chap-
ters that they have already stud-
ied in order to remember them
for a longer time. Weekly revi-
sion of all the subjects enhances
the conceptual clarity thereby
aiding them for a better per-
formance and ranking.
Speed up on accuracy – Tak-
ing regular mock tests will help
in betterment of completing the
sections well within the stipu-
lated time duration. After revis-
ing the topics aspirants must
take up as many mock tests as
possible in order to better up
their speed.
The author is Academics Director,
Vidyamandir Classes
empowering students from
even the remotest parts of India
to receive a quality education.
When it comes to passive learn-
ing, audio has its peculiar bene-
fits ensuring that students get a
holistic understanding and
more time for learning. Audio
contents can also be easily
understood by anyone; includ-
ing children.
For ages, listening has been a
key element in the learning
process. But when compared to
conventional formats such as
radio, interactivity has also
become a significant feature of
this digital advancement. Audio
content is mostly engaging and
has the potential to increase the
concentration power of the stu-
dents. Overall, it has made
learning an easy and joyful
experience. The cost-effective-
ness of podcasts is also an
added advantage.
Therefore, the large-scale
adoption of audio content can
be the ‘revolution in education’
in India. And so, we must
rethink education and develop
more innovative ways of learn-
ing with audio in mind. This
format is already showing its
potential to cater to the needs of
digital learning. It has paved its
way in delivering knowledge for
India’s diverse, young and
growing brains.
The author is co-founder & Chief
Operating Officer, Khabri
panies like Google, as well as
other US companies. It will also
lead you to a hike in your posi-
tion or new job opportunity.
Foreign language
Everyone looks for a hike and
good opportunity in their career
which may lead you to a hand-
some amount as per your
desire, therefore this can be
achieved if you get some new
language in your resume. There
are many multinational compa-
nies where they hire candidates
having their command over
preferred foreign language; this
can be beneficial to those who
are having certified courses in a
different language. This makes
your profile different from other
candidates as well as makes you
confident about your career
growth.
Graphic designing
The graphic design course can
secure your jobs in the company
where digital or production
work is done such as video pro-
duction company, Media Com-
pany, film production, etc. This
course will help you to under-
stand the basics of designing
tools like image-maker, color
shaping, GIF, technical tools,
typography, etc. The main thing
which makes anyone a graphic
designer is understanding basic
principles of shapes, color, and
pattern which can be under-
stood during the courses. So if
you want to make a career in
this field, you can learn the new
techniques and basic things
during this certification course.
The author is Executive Director,
Sanskriti University
Learners will also be offered a
virtual internship with NPCI
along with 3-4 mentoring ses-
sions by NPCI experts. Upon
completion, learners will
receive a completion certificate
from IIIT Bangalore. HTC
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
Higher education in regional
languages may not be easy
Parul Gupta
letters@hindustantimes.com
A quick search on YouTube,
home to several educational
channels, reveals a high viewer-
ship count for content explain-
ing math and science concepts
in Hindi and other Indian lan-
guages. This indicates substan-
tial demand for vernacular-lan-
guage educational material.
Several edtech startups have
also tapped this market.
In this year’s Independence
Day speech, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi highlighted pro-
posed reforms under The
National Education Policy (NEP)
and emphasized the use of
regional languages for instruc-
tion at the primary and higher
education levels. This focus has
led to the launch of technical
courses in five Indian languages
by 14 engineering colleges for
the new academic year. While
imparting primary education in
native languages has docu-
mented benefits, it is yet to be
seen whether it is practical to
precipitate a regional-medium
shift in higher education, espe-
cially in the face of a largely dys-
functional public education sys-
tem.
Several studies in India and
other Asian countries suggest a
positive impact on learning out-
comes for students at schools
using a regional medium, com-
pared to their English medium
counterparts. Performance in
The class divide that threatens to thwart our growth goals
Anurag Behar
letters@hindustantimes.com
Which class do you go to? I
asked him. I don’t go to school,
he said. Why? Why should I go,
I like to play. Before the pan-
demic, you were going to
school? Yes, class 3; now the
school is shut any way. But
today they have opened, so why
won’t you go? I will not go. With
that, he lost patience, riding his
cycle recklessly fast in the mon-
soon slush of clean mud just
outside the school compound. I
went in.
On that first day of school
after a 16-month hiatus, 50%
children had been called from a
few batches, with classes held in
an open corridor. The state had
let panchayats decide whether
or not to open local schools; this
one had decided to re-begin. I
sat with class 9.
When did you last come to
school? I asked. March 2020.
What class were you in then?
Class 7. What do you remember
from class 7? Squeals of laugh-
ter ricocheted across the group,
with two boys at the back actu-
ally rolling on the ground. The
serious types, right in front,
tried to comfort me: Thoda to
yaad hai, sir, we do remember a
bit.
In the past 15 days, I have had
20 similar conversations with
children in schools which have
started, if only partially, across
several states. The ‘learning
loss’ from school closures of the
past 17 months is obvious with-
out even talking to children, but
if you do, you cannot but be
astounded by the absence of any
Reopening schools as children
remain unvaccinated may not be safe women from upskilling
Sanjay Tyagi
letters@hindustantimes.com
Although COVID cases have
started declining government
should not hurry to reopen edu-
cational institutions as the
move is ladened with several
implications for students and
parents. Going by the experi-
ence of the past, the impact of
the third wave could be disas-
trous . Hence it is better to wait
and watch how COVID-19 pan-
demic eventuate. We should not
take risk till all youngsters are
vaccinated. The government
cannot afford to take risks when
students’ lives are at stake. Med-
ical experts are of the opinion
that the third COVID wave is
imminent so there is no room
for complacency and illusions.
Till the conditions become con-
ducive to restore physical
classes, online lectures should
continue. The fact that children
are not vaccinated increases the
risk of contracting COVID .
Teachers will have a challeng-
ing task trying to balance teach-
ing with maintenance of COVID
appropriate behaviour.
The prolonged closure of
THE PROLONGED
CLOSURE OF
SCHOOLS HAS
TAKEN A TOLL ON
STUDENTS AS WELL
Small children quickly grasp new languages
science and math, in particular,
has been found to be better
among students studying in
their native language compared
to English, other things being
equal. Further, educational psy-
chology literature reports addi-
tional benefits of instruction in
the native language, including
higher attendance and motiva-
tion among students and
improved parental involvement
and support in studies, possibly
because of familiarity with the
mother tongue. This is espe-
cially relevant for disadvan-
taged students such as first-gen-
eration learners, who may feel
intimidated by unfamiliar con-
cepts in an alien language.
The arguments above do not
preclude the teaching of English
as a language. In the words of
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu,
we need to move from a
Indian education is ablaze with a pandemic-induced crisis
systemic effort to recover this
lost learning. This learning loss
is the product of two factors:
what should have been taught
and learnt in the past 17 months
and what children knew in
March 2020 but have forgotten
because of an extended school
break.
This learning loss in all its
severity was anticipatable and is
apparent now. Even if you
observe children cursorily, you
can see it. The phenomenon is
much written about and
researched, but the point needs
to be made clear. If children
don’t go to school for 17 months,
they will not learn what they
should have learnt in that
period and will also forget
much of what they knew earlier.
Why is it then that most
states are preparing to start or
are starting schools as though
this learning loss did not hap-
Lack of time prevents
schools has taken a toll on
learning capability of children.
Though online teaching is intro-
duced it has its limitations.
Schools are not only places of
learning and teaching but a cen-
tre for socialising too. Students
caged indoors for so long time
must be excited to get back to
their normal routine . Opening
the schools after such a long
social isolation will encourage
students to socialise more with
their peers and it will be diffi-
cult for them to follow all
COVID protocols. Students will
then be the transmission agent.
Nothing should be taken casu-
ally when danger is crouched
around. If Covid-19 cases are
actually showing declining
trend with low fatality, the
opening of the educational insti-
tutions for senior classes can be
experimented on a trial basis.
But again amidst fears of an
impending third wave it will be
a wise decision on the part of
the government to wait for
some more time as the matter is
concerned with students’ health
and well-being.
Parents strongly feel that
they cannot afford to take chan-
ces with children given the risks
and unknowns to Covid-19.
They feel the spread will
increase if the schools reopen.
In early May, Israel became the
first country to restart schools
and within few days hundreds
teachers and students got
GETTY IMAGES/VETTA
“mother tongue versus English”
paradigm towards a “mother
tongue plus English” approach.
Research in cognitive psychol-
ogy has shown that small chil-
dren quickly grasp new langua-
ges, given their neuroplasticity
in early years; hence this is an
appropriate age to be exposed
to a foreign language as a
means of communication.
As for higher education,
while the launch of engineering
courses in regional languages
can narrow the divide in access
to higher education between the
marginalized and the privi-
leged, this path is paved with
practical concerns. These chal-
lenges may explain Indian Insti-
tutes of Technology (IITs) shy-
ing away from it. The foremost
challenge is the availability of
study material such as text-
books and scholarly literature.
PTI
pen? Even the few states that
are trying to address this matter
are doing so in a grossly inade-
quate manner. Not recovering
this lost learning undermines
all future education of our chil-
dren. Do we need any fancy rea-
soning or research to under-
stand that if a child has not
learnt the class 6 syllabus and
forgotten much of what she
knew in class 5, she cannot
learn the class 7 syllabus; the
loss will get compounded with
each year beyond. Why then
this travesty with the future of
over 200 million children?
The education ministers of
two states and administrative
leaders of a few more, of the 15
that I have some feedback from,
are acutely conscious of this cri-
sis and are far from apathetic.
But, as of now, even they have
not been able to act with the
comprehensiveness that is
infected.
Moreover serological studies
have shown that the exposure of
children to COVID-19 has been
similar to adults. More intense
contact and mixing among the
children and adolescents in
schools increase susceptibility.
Transmission in school set-
tings is conspicuous when pre-
ventive strategies are not imple-
mented or followed.
The complete set of layered
prevention strategies include
promoting vaccination, consist-
ent and correct use of masks,
physical distancing, screening
testing for early identification of
cases, improved ventilation,
hand washing, respiratory eti-
quette , staying home when sick
and getting tested, and contact
tracing etc. Several elements
need to shape COVID related
safety in schools. This in turn
requires significant strengthen-
ing of school level infrastruc-
ture and resources.
No doubt all decisions will
have implications on children,
parents and teachers and other
staff So the policy makers, edu-
cators will have a tough job
before them.
Even if all palliation strate-
gies are in place and well imple-
mented it is not possible to
eliminate the risk of COVID-19
in schools.
The author is Chairman, St. Froebel
School
For this purpose, the All India
Council of Technical Education
(AICTE) has launched an artifi-
cial intelligence-powered tool to
translate books, academic jour-
nals and videos. However, qual-
ity control of these translations
will be of utmost importance to
keep semantic irregularities at
bay. We need further efforts in
linguistics and machine learn-
ing to serve the cause.
Also, industry placements of
graduates trained in regional
languages might remain a ques-
tion mark. Many public sector
units accept Graduate Aptitude
Test in Engineering (GATE, con-
ducted in English) scores for
entry-level positions. Given the
already lamentable employabil-
ity of college-educated individu-
als, studying in a regional lan-
guage could further inhibit job
opportunities, sharpening
India’s language divide and
going against the envisioned
goal of instilling confidence in
students from disadvantaged
backgrounds.
Another bottleneck may be
the availability of faculty for
regional-medium courses.
Given the English-medium leg-
acy of higher education in India,
attracting and retaining quality
teachers who are willing and
able to teach in regional langua-
ges would be a challenge. The
AICTE, for example, has
approved regional language
teaching for disciplines such as
computer science and informa-
required. I hope that at least
these people will get their act
together before schools open.
But what is going on?
The inflexibility and poor
coordination of our system is
stalling the alignment of all ele-
ments needed for the recovery
of lost learning as top priority.
Such a sudden, all-encompass-
ing crisis has never confronted
our system ever before. Both
these are part explanations. As
is the poor grasp of many lead-
ers of the scale and depth of this
emergency, fed by their discon-
nection from ground reality
along with an unwillingness to
listen to those on the real front-
line.
But, with Indian education
ablaze with a crisis which even
the deaf can hear, blind can see,
and the heat of which would
awaken the dead, how can the
country be this delusional?
The answer is not compli-
cated. Our actions and inac-
tions, and narratives, are under-
girded by a class divide.
Of India’s 250 million school
children, perhaps 20-30 million
children have continued with a
semblance of education in these
17 months. Online education is
ineffective for children because
of the nature of education and
how they learn; nevertheless,
THIS LEARNING
LOSS IN ALL ITS
SEVERITY WAS
ANTICIPATABLE
AND IS APPARENT
NOW
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
It’s a no-brainer that organiza-
tions that are providing their
employees the knowledge of
tech-savvy skills today, are
likely to thrive and attract
promising talent. For firms,
upskilling is one of the signifi-
cant ways to build a future-
ready workforce; and for profes-
sionals, it is a way to keep them-
selves and their skills updated
in alignment with the industry
and market demand. Unfortu-
nately, women all across the
globe face varied challenges and
issues in upskilling themselves,
especially when it comes to
emerging and new-age technol-
ogies. Wiley’s innovative bridge
learning solution, WileyNXT
surveyed women professionals
to understand the scope, inter-
est, and challenges in regard
with women upskilling in
emerging technologies. The sur-
vey also aims to find out how
new-age technology courses are
helping women professionals to
carve their own career trajecto-
ries.
Here are the important high-
lights of the report — Women
Empowerment Through Upskil-
ling. Approximately 79% of
female respondents have shown
interest in emerging tech
courses and 21.43% feel that
there are not enough options
available to upskill themselves.
tion technology; however, cod-
ing, which primarily uses
English syntax, would require
faculty training for the satisfac-
tory delivery of regional-lan-
guage instruction. There are
also globalization trends to con-
sider. The NEP encourages the
internationalization of educa-
tion by facilitating the move-
ment of faculty across borders,
but regional-medium students
may be unable to reap the bene-
fits of knowledge transfers on
account of a language barrier.
Finally, delivering technical
courses in regional languages
may prevent students from
competing in global labour and
education markets, where flu-
ency in English yields a distinct
edge. A lack of opportunities for
Indian students at the interna-
tional level may prove counter-
productive to the policy aim of
bridging the gap between elites
and the rest. As mentioned
above, this also goes against the
vision of promoting the interna-
tionalization of education.
The language policy of the
NEP has attracted bouquets as
well as brickbats, and the intro-
duction of higher education
courses in regional languages is
a particularly contentious issue.
A holistic approach is war-
ranted and the implications of
native-language instruction in
an increasingly globalized
world need deep deliberation
for India to achieve its equity
objectives.
middle-class homes (especially
upper) have better access to dig-
ital tools, which are augmented
by personal tutoring and other
learning resources. Critically,
these students also have the
support of family members. So,
their loss of learning has been
less. Even more importantly,
these children go to schools that
are well resourced; parents
expect these schools to ensure
that a substantial part of the
loss is recovered with the extra
efforts that their resources ena-
ble once they reopen.
India’s top 10% are not
engulfed by this crisis as far as
they understand. So, most of
them either don’t notice or are
apathetic to the ravaging of the
educational future of 210-220
million children. Many are pro-
active in countering actions
towards the most fundamental
requirement for any solution in
this situation—that after
schools open, many months or
perhaps the entire year must be
spent on recovering lost learn-
ing. They raise the bogey of a
‘lost year’. In this cruelly ironic
equation, the lost future of 210-
220 million children becomes a
non-issue.
The catastrophic deepening
and hardening of every aspect
of inequity and injustice in our
country because of the pan-
demic is for all to see. Not doing
everything to recover this lost
learning for 210-220 million
children will be an outrageous
exacerbation of this tragedy.
And we will all be complicit.
The author is CEO, Azim Premji
Foundation
When it comes to upskilling
courses, the majority of women
i.e., 64.29% and 60.71% have
demonstrated interest in opting
for courses in artificial intelli-
gence & machine learning, and
data analytics respectively.
These interest areas were fol-
lowed by product management
i.e., 46.43%, full stack develop-
ment (35.71%), cloud computing
(25%), cybersecurity (21.43%),
fintech (17.86%), and blockchain
technology (14.29%). When
asked about what holds back
women from taking up tech
courses, surprisingly, ‘lack of
interest’ was not the reason for
any of the women professionals.
The real challenge, as high-
lighted by approximately 36% of
women is the lack of time.
Almost 47.83% said that the
absence of flexible workplace
policies acts as a hurdle, 18%
chose lack of opportunities,
14.29% selected lack of resour-
ces and lack of support from the
employer, whereas 7.14%
expressed their inability to
upskill themselves as they are
not the decision-maker for their
investment or career choices.
Almost 75% of women pro-
fessionals said that the motiva-
tion to take up upskilling
courses is driven by their desire
to get better opportunities out-
side the organization and to get
better raise within as well as
outside their current compa-
nies.
The pandemic has yielded
more than a learning crisis
Rohan Sandhu
letters@hindustantimes.com
A plethora of recent articles
have called for reopening
schools and addressing the
learning crisis, particularly in
developing countries. These
recommendations share several
common elements—most nota-
bly, the need to prioritize early-
grade learning or foundational
skills. Economist Karthik
Muralidharan writes, “A large
body of evidence highlights the
importance of early years in the
formation of human capital and
our school opening priorities
should reflect this.” Mary
Goretti Nakabugo, writing on
behalf of the RISE Community
of Practice, reinforces this,
while also emphasizing the
“urgent need to measure chil-
dren’s learning levels.” It is hard
to dispute the technical correct-
ness of these directives.
Research previously found that
there exists a ‘100-year gap’ in
the education attainment of
developed versus developing
countries. School closures over
the past 18 months have likely
widened this gap. However,
from an implementation point
of view, we must put these rec-
ommendations in perspective.
We are faced with more than
a ‘learning’ crisis. A recent sur-
vey commissioned by the
Lemann Foundation in Brazil
finds that school closures have
had adverse effects on chil-
dren’s sociability, psychology,
and health.
Children have gained weight,
become sadder, lonelier, more
afraid, and at least a third have
lost interest in school. Other
research points to a web of
socioeconomic and emotional
turmoil generated by the pan-
demic: job losses, economic
instability, fear of the virus,
domestic violence and social
isolation.
Even in normal times,
schools represent much more
than their pedagogic function,
especially in high-deprivation
contexts. A teacher from a gov-
ernment school in Delhi once
told me how she thought of her-
self as a “social worker”. Given
her students’ socioeconomic
backgrounds, her role was to
New strides in quantum computing
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
The Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology
(MeitY), Government of India,
has launched the country’s first
‘Quantum Computer Simulator
(QSim) Toolkit’ on August 27.
Quantum computing is a rap-
idly emerging computational
paradigm which can perform a
variety of tasks with greater
speed and efficiency than
present day digital computers
by harnessing the power of
quantum mechanics. In areas
such as cryptography, computa-
tional chemistry and machine
learning, Quantum computing
promises exponential growth in
computing power. QSim is a
first-of-its-kind toolkit to be
indigenously developed and is
intended to be a vital tool in
learning and understanding the
practical aspects of program-
ming using quantum computers
and thus herald a new era of
Quantum computing research
“provide them five hours of pos-
itive energy.” This aspect of her
job will only become more
important post the pandemic.
Much of the recent commen-
tary also seems to take teachers
for granted, expecting them to
seamlessly transition to new
pedagogies and practices as
schools reopen. It’s problematic
to ignore, however, that teach-
ers have inhabited the same
universe these past 18 months
while also having to acquire
new skills to perform their day-
to-day jobs. Even in the US, Eliz-
abeth Steiner and Ashley Woo
find that teachers reported
more frequent job-related stress
and symptoms of depression
than the general adult popula-
tion. The primary stress points
included modes of instruction
and health. Research from Chile
similarly concludes that teach-
ers’ perception of their quality
of life has reduced since the
pandemic, owing to work over-
load, loneliness and covid-re-
lated fears.
Now, from an administrative
perspective, imagine how pro-
posals to make foundational
learning a priority might play
out. My recent research on
project management units in
education departments in
Indian states offers some
insight.
Well-meaning foundations
and consulting firms will get
involved and reinforce the top-
down structure of bureaucra-
cies, create new assessment sys-
tems, impose new remediation
requirements and implement
management information sys-
tems and accountability mecha-
nisms to ensure that frontline
officials comply. In bureau-
cratic systems steeped in the
language of compliance, even
well-intentioned formative
assessments end up taking the
form of high-stakes exams
among teachers, students and
officials.
It is critical to be mindful of
the norms and cultures of exist-
ing systems before trying to
superimpose new requirements
on them. Top-down, control-
driven systems are rarely suc-
cessful in inducing perform-
ance, as economist Dan Honig’s
work on mission-driven
in India.
Besides, the QSim toolkit is in
alignment with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s vision for
transforming India into a self-
reliant nation by 2022, which is
part of the central government’s
flagship programme called
Aatma Nirbhar Bharat. It is a
proud moment for the entire
QSim Toolkit team, who have
worked relentlessly on the initi-
ative to enable a toolkit for
advancing Quantum Computing
research in India.
It is the country’s first collab-
orative initiative in this field,
brought together by IISc Banga-
lore, IIT Roorkee and C-DAC to
address the common challenge
of advancing the Quantum
Computing research frontiers in
India. It will enable researchers
and students to research Quan-
tum Computing in a cost-effec-
tive manner.
The project was conceptual-
ised through a multi-institu-
tional approach by IISc Benga-
luru, IIT Roorkee and C-DAC as
03
bureaucracy finds. Instead,
Honig finds motivation-driven
reforms to be more effective:
empowering agents and spark-
ing internal motivation through
supportive practices like giving
employees autonomy.
While the word ‘re-imagine’
has often been used for educa-
tion, the first step is to trans-
form governance. Covid may
have sparked some bright spots.
The pandemic has invigorated
what Hannon et al call “local
learning ecosystems”, with
stronger partnerships among
local stakeholders (students,
teachers and others). As Emili-
ana Vegas and Rebecca Win-
throp write, “Schools at the cen-
ter of a community ecosystem
of learning and support is an
idea whose time has come.”
Appropriately, Pratham Educa-
tion Foundation’s Rukmini
Banerji and the Centre for Pol-
icy Research’s Yamini Aiyar
highlight the role of local inno-
vations and call for decentrali-
zation—greater financial
resources, expenditure discre-
tion and autonomy to make
decisions at the school level.
Our learning crisis is undeni-
ably real. But the language we
use to implement reforms is
crucial. If reopening schools is
framed just in terms of a learn-
ing crisis, we are likely to ignore
the massive social and emo-
tional crises students and teach-
ers face. Poorly designed gov-
ernance structures focusing on
thin metrics will only exacer-
bate this.
As schools reopen, the imme-
diate focus should be to ensure
access, both to get students back
in class and prevent drop-outs,
as the pandemic’s effects con-
tinue to play out. School sys-
tems must prioritize addressing
the social, emotional and
health-related challenges of
covid. Simultaneously, we must
recalibrate structures of govern-
ance by empowering frontline
agents and local stakeholders.
This will foster the culture
needed to facilitate a solution to
the learning crisis..
The author is former associate
director at the International Inno-
vation Corps and currently at the
Harvard Kennedy School
participating agencies. It was
supported & funded by MeitY.
QSim allows researchers and
students to write and debug
Quantum Code that is essential
for developing quantum algo-
rithms. QSim equips research-
ers to explore quantum algo-
rithms under idealised condi-
tions and assists them in
making necessary arrange-
ments for experiments to run
on actual quantum hardware.
QSim can serve as an essential
educational/research tool pro-
viding an excellent way to
attract students/researchers to
the field of quantum technol-
ogy. The toolkit creates a plat-
form that helps students and
users acquire the skills of ‘pro-
gramming’ and ‘designing’ real
quantum hardware. The team
from IIT Roorkee helped the
teams from the Indian Institute
of Science, CDAC-Bangalore,
CDAC-Hyderabad, in providing
the required expertise in quan-
tum computing and developing
programs to be tested.
04 NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021

Meet the professors doubling up as entrepreneurs

Prashant K Nanda
prashant.n@livemint.com
Sitting at his workstation on a
Friday evening, A. Thillai Rajan
was scheduling his weekend. It
was packed—a video conference
with his chief executive officer,
the head of business develop-
ment and the chief technology
officer. Also, a separate confer-
ence call with a group of inves-
tors.
Rajan is an entrepreneur.
Nonetheless, he is not the typi-
cal startup entrepreneur— often
characterized as a ‘young’, mar-
ket-driven individual with a sin-
gular focus on product or ser-
vice. Rajan’s loyalties are sort of
divided. He is also a professor at
the Indian Institute of Technol-
ogy (IIT), Madras, where he
teaches financial management.
His research work is focused on
venture capital, startups, infra-
structure, finance, and public
private partnerships. In short,
Rajan is a ‘professor entrepre-
neur’.
His startup, YNOS Venture, is
a business intelligence plat-
form, a search engine that
throws up information on about
76,000 startups, 5,100 angel
investors and 1,080 incubators
among several sliced and
nuanced information nuggets.
“I could have written few more
research papers on the startup
ecosystem as an academician,”
Rajan, calm and articulate, said.
But then, creating a product
was more satisfying for him. “It
will aid the young startup
founders in finding a match
with investors and mentors
while giving them a better
understanding of the funding
ecosystem, which is a tough
task,” he added.
He has raised two rounds of
investments and runs a team of
11 professionals.
Like Rajan, his colleague
Krishnan Balasubramanian is
the co-founder of at least nine
start-ups including an underwa-
ter robots company that can
help in ocean exploration.
Rajan and Krishnan are no
longer isolated case studies in
the Indian academic world.
They are part of a growing trend
of professors turning entrepre-
neurs.
The incubation cells of
India’s top tech institutes,
where young minds once hur-
dled to write codes in small cab-
ins, have evolved to accommo-
date teachers with experience
and ideas.
Professors at the IITs and
other top institutions have
started ventures ranging from
deep tech and robotics to com-
panies that map brain neurons
and dabble in biomedicine.
“Some of India’s top institu-
tions like the IITs have reached
a stage where they must pro-
mote creation of a larger entre-
preneurship ecosystem in the
country. Faculties are best
placed to do so because they
understand the market need,
and also know that their
research and development
(R&D) work can be converted to
companies,” Narayanan Ramas-
wamy, national leader (educa-
tion practice) at consulting firm
KPMG India, said. “The best
part is that there is almost no
entry barrier. They have the
labs and a young pool of tal-
ented professionals to rope in as
co-workers, co-founders and
growth drivers,” he added.
The trend of professors turn-
ing entrepreneurs might be rel-
atively recent in India but is an
established practice in the US,
where academics and busi-
nesses often feed off each other.
“The entrepreneurship eco-
system in the US is primarily a
university and institutionled
ecosystem where industries,
professors, scholars, research-
ers and students work to create
a huge success story,” Ramas-
wamy said. “It aids their econ-
omy, solves problem, betters the
institutions’ global standing
while positively influencing the
creation of an entrepreneurial
pipeline.”
WHAT ARE THEY
BUILDING?
Similar to the diversity of India’s
startup ecosystem, the profes-
sors are working on a wide
range of products and solutions
with technology as the clear
driver.
One such startup at IIT Roor-
kee maps the seismic impact on
Uttarakhand and seeks to put in
place an early warning system
for earthquakes in the Himala-
yan state.
IIT Guwahati professor Mihir
Purkait, who co-founded the
startup—RD Grow Green India
Pvt. Ltd—is working on mem-
brane technology. He is building
water treatment plants to pro-
vide arsenic-free water, besides
aiding firms such a s N T P C L t
As professors turn entrepreneurs, institutions such as the various IITs have stepped up support
d and ONGC (Oil and Natural
Gas Corp. Ltd) to deal with
effluent-related problems at
their operation sites.
At the Indian Institute of Sci-
ence Education and Research
(IISER), Bhopal, professor Vis-
hal Rai’s biomedical startup Pla-
beltech is working to help medi-
cal research and targeted drug
delivery.
Electronic vehicles (EVs) are
the flavour of the season and
academicians don’t want to be
left behind. Nishanth Dongari,
an associate professor at IIT
Hyderabad, has co-founded
‘Pure EV’ an electric two-
wheeler firm that also produces
lithium batteries. Another
startup, The ePlane Company,
co-founded by a professor-stu-
dent duo of Satya Chakravarthy
(a professor of aerospace engi-
neering) and Pranjal Mehta (a
graduate from IIT Madras in
2019) is working on electric fly-
ing taxis to cut down urban
commute time by 10 times.
These taxis will have seats for
two, a payload capacity of
200kg, and operate in a hybrid
configuration involving both
fixed wings and rotors. The
entire vehicle would be pow-
ered by a battery pack and fly at
an altitude of 1,500 feet from the
ground level at a maximum
speed of 150-200km an hour.
Of course, there is the famil-
iar sprinkling of deep-tech start-
ups. A company co-founded by
IIT Delhi professor Manan Suri
is using technology to map
brain neurons for building ener-
gy-efficient artificial intelli-
gence (AI) system. The team led
by Suri has invented a new spik-
ing neuron model named
DEXAT or double exponential
adaptive threshold neuron.
According to IIT Delhi’s official
website, the invention will help
build “accurate, fast and energy-
efficient neuromorphic artificial
intelligence (AI) systems for
real world applications like
speech recognition”.
SUPPORT AGENTS
As professors turn entrepre-
neurs, institutions such as the
IITs at Mumbai, Delhi, Madras,
Roorkee, Kanpur and Guwahati
have stepped up support. They
are offering seed funds, helping
them bag projects from the gov-
ernment as well as the private
sector. The institutes are also
connecting them with private
equity funds.
Some of them, like IIT Delhi,
have a vision to convert 10 to
15% of their faculties into entre-
preneurs.
This could potentially boost
research and industry collabo-
rations, besides making a signif-
icant contribution towards
development of marketable
products instead of lab proto-
types. At IIT Madras, the num-
ber of faculty-led and faculty-
mentored startups today num-
ber around 70.
“Research and development,
patent, commercialization and
startups are all part of the eco-
system at our IIT. If we can
solve a problem for (the) soci-
ety, create a product and ser-
vice, it will have a larger impact.
And our faculty scientists are
increasingly doing that,” said
Anil Wali, managing director of
the Foundation of Innovation
and Technology Transfer, the
entrepreneurship wing of IIT
Delhi.
“Deep technology is a big
area. Biotechnology, clean tech
are all shaping up. Faculty sci-
entists having years of expertise
and experience, have the advan-
tage of converting them to ven-
tures,” Wali added.
Krishnan Balasubramanian
of IIT Madras concurred. “Most
of my startups have originated
from research work,” he said,
emphasizing that an ecosystem
is brewing at the IITs. Many pro-
fessors with exposure to the US
entrepreneurial ecosystem,
directly or indirectly, are at the
forefront of this change.
“I came back to India (from
the US) in February 2000. The
US went through a similar
metamorphosis—in early to
mid1980s,” Balasubramanian
said. Back then, entrepreneur-
ship in an academic environ-
ment was not something that
was liked or appreciated much,
even in the US. It changed by the
early 1990s and around 2000,
many of the top universities
used entrepreneurship as a met-
ric for measuring success, he
explained.
The ‘Small Business Innova-
tion Research Program’ of the
US aided this shift and “became
a big phenomenon in the world
of academia and small business
environment” said Balasubra-
manian while adding that Qual-
comm was a good example of
this trend.
Rajat Agarwal, a professor at
IIT Roorkee, who also heads the
incubation and entrepreneur-
ship initiative of the institute,
said that the entrepreneurship
ecosystem has gained momen-
tum over the past few years.
“There is a growing acceptance
among institutions like the IITs,
in the industry and among peo-
ple that faculties can establish
firms and solve problems along
with their academic responsi-
bilities.
Nearly 18 to 20 of our facul-
ties have established 11 startups
individually and collectively,
and this is not (the) same as the
student-run startups. Things
are changing for the better and
governments across states as
well as the Centre are now more
supportive,” he said.
Several ministries and even
public sector undertakings
(PSUs) are now supporting aca-
demic R&D and deep research
work at institutional startups.
But an initial thrust came as
early as 2009, when India’s
startup culture was still rela-
tively young—Flipkart started in
October 2007. The department
of science and technology, in
2009, for the first time pro-
moted the idea of supporting
innovation by faculties and aca-
demicians at top scientific insti-
tutions, which took off over a
period of time.
Now, the Union ministry of
electronics and information
technology (MeitY) has a Tech-
nology Incubation and Develop-
ment of Entrepreneurs (TIDE
2.0) scheme for strengthening
startups that use emerging tech-
nologies such as the internet of
things (IoT), AI, blockchain and
robotics. This scheme, imple-
mented through 51 incubators,
aims to “handhold close to
2,000 tech start-ups over a
period of five years”.
Similarly, the Biotechnology
Industry Research Assistance
Council (BIRAC) initiative of the
Union department of biotech-
nology works as an industry-ac-
ademia interface to “empower
the emerging biotech enter-
prises to undertake strategic
research and innovation,
addressing nationally relevant
product development needs”.
IITs that already have a sizea-
ble number of professor entre-
preneurs are now inspiring
other institutes.
“Four to six professors at IIT
Gandhinagar are exploring
opportunities to set up ventures.
Gradually the entrepreneurship
pipeline is getting strength-
ened,” said Anand Pandey,
assistant manager (commercial-
ization) at IIT Gandhinagar
Innovation and Entrepreneur-
ship Centre. Similarly, Prashant
Bhalla, president of Manav
Rachna International University
in Haryana, has also observed a
growing trend in campus entre-
preneurship.
THE CHALLENGES
The growth of the ecosystem is
no doubt encouraging. How-
ever, there are multiple challen-
ges these professor entrepre-
neurs will have to face.
One, such entrepreneurs still
have to be a professor first—
while working with a startup or
starting a company, they cannot
forgo teaching, research and
other student-related responsi-
bilities.
This implies they are a
divided lot and have to juggle
between academic work and
entrepreneurship. Second,
entrepreneurship efforts do not,
in general, work as a catalyst in
their academic promotion. Not
as yet.
An innovation guideline
issued by the Union education
ministry in 2019 actually does
not encourage faculty members
to take up entrepreneurship full
time. “Institutes should work on
developing a policy on ‘conflict
of interests’ to ensure that the
regular duties of the faculty
don’t suffer owing to his/her
involvement in startup activi-
ties. Faculty must clearly sepa-
rate and distinguish on-going
research at the institute from
the work conducted at the
startup/company,” the faculty
startup norms of the education
ministry state.
Many argue that the dual
workload is counterproductive
when it comes to accelerating
growth. “The problem begins
after 4-5 years, when the ven-
ture reaches a stage of growth
and has certain products in the
shelf. That’s when you need
funds, more time and more
manpower to fuel its next
phase,” said Purkait of IIT Guw-
ahati.
Besides, small firms started
by professors are not eligible to
participate in government tend-
ers due to their size of revenue,
age and other factors.
“You can hit a roadblock. If
one cannot manufacture prod-
ucts in large numbers, the mar-
ket price cannot come down
and the competitiveness gets
impacted. This is where you
need support from authorities,”
he said.
A senior administrator at an
IIT felt that startup ventures
should be considered as a crite-
rion for promotion and those
who are working in developing
products and solutions should
be given some respite from their
regular teaching and adminis-
tration responsibilities. “The
aim shouldn’t be to create
dwarfs, but large, mass impact
firms. Here, faculties should get
a certain degree of freedom,”
the official said. Overcoming
these hurdles can help Indian
educational institutes produce
more technocrat-entrepreneurs,
and by extension, benefit the
economy.

How has the pandemic reshaped

education and related sectors
Alicia Procello
letters@hindustantimes.com
The unprecedented situation
due to Covid 19 has resulted in
large scale disruptions in the
education system. The impact
on education sector has been
significant given the shift from
traditional classroom learning
to virtual learning. From dis-
ruption of academic schedules
to evaluation, the role of tech-
nology and human interface are
all being re-imagined.
Educational institutes are
continuously exploring ways to
keep students engaged virtually
even if they are confined to their
homes.
The pandemic has acceler-
ated the adoption of technology
in education sector and online
learning has enabled students
to work through the learning
material at their own pace and
time. It has also demonstrated
that people can be educated
anywhere regardless of their
geographies and infrastructural
challenges. Virtual classrooms
and various online tools are
helping to continue and
enhance the engagement
between the teachers and stu-
dents.
Moving forward, digital edu-
cation has a bright future ahead
and will continue to play deci-
sive role in education. And the
new normal will be that signifi-
cant number of students will
attend classes from home.
However, there are few limi-
tations of online education.
Firstly, there is less social inter-
action since in the traditional
classroom, some students find
comfort in group studies, lively
group discussions, and easy
access to teachers. However,
this is not possible in online
education. Also, the teachers
could hardly tell how well the
students comprehend and
understand the concepts of the
subjects as they themselves are
teaching from behind a screen.
Secondly, there are few tech-
nical difficulties which might
arise during online education as
these are largely dependent on
proper internet connectivity.
And, in smaller cities and
towns, a consistent connection
is a problem. Without a consist-
ent internet connection, there
can be lack of continuity in
learning for the students. This is
detrimental to the education
process.
Thirdly, online learning
requires teachers to have a
basic understanding of using
digital forms of learning. How-
ever, it is not always possible
that every teacher has the basic
understanding of technology.
Some might don’t have the nec-
essary resources and tools to
conduct online classes. In order
to overcome this, it is important
for schools to equip teachers
with latest technology updates
so that they are able to conduct
their online classes seamlessly.
Also teachers have to be crea-
tive in how they tech and
engage with students to gain the
attention of their students. The
traditional role of teachers has
been disrupted and there is a
need for teacher training in ped-
agogy as well as in the use of
modern tools and aids to make
teaching more effective and
engaging.
Moreover, few educational
institutes in smaller towns have
not been able to adopt this
mode of teaching due to infra-
structural challenges and large
number of students are suffer-
ing due to this. Therefore, steps
must be taken to make remote
learning more accessible to
ensure that every student bene-
fit from this mode.
The pandemic has made us
think about the skills students
need in this uncertain environ-
ment such as creative problem
solving, active decision making
and most importantly adapta-
bility. Therefore, resilience
must be integrated into the edu-
cational system in order to
ensure that these skills continue
to be a priority for all students.
The author is Vice President, Cor-
porate Social Responsibility & Presi-
dent, Avery Dennison Foundation

DST grant for III-T Delhi project

HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
HUB Anubhuti at IIIT-Delhi has
been funded by the Department
of Science and Technology, Gov-
ernment of India, to the tune of
about INR 100 crore for a period
of 5 years. Formed under Sec-
tion 8, the company has been
created under National Mission
on Interdisciplinary Cyber-
Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) of
the GOI. “The National Mission
on Interdisciplinary Cyber-
Physical Systems (NM-ICPS)
being implemented by the
Department of science & tech-
nology (DST) is creating a seam-
less ecosystem for CPS technol-
ogies including basic and
applied knowledge generation,
human resources, technologies,
startups and industry connect.
iHUB Anubhuti at IIIT-Delhi
will build a strong tripartite col-
laboration between industries,
academia and government
agencies and become both an
aggregator as well as a custo-
dian of the roadmap in its areas
of cognitive computing & social
sensing.” said Prof. Ashutosh
Sharma, secretary, Department
of Science and Technology
(DST). TiH has been set up to
create a collaboration between
industries, academic institu-
tions and government agencies
to innovate and develop data-
driven cognitive computing
solutions. It aims to provide
these solutions to four main
sectors viz. health, law enforce-
ment & security, education and
environmental sustainability.
“IIIT-Delhi has always
believed in creating and nurtur-
ing the spirit of innovation
among its faculty and students,
and playing a leadership role in
the region. The Institute has set
up iHub Anubhuti, a Technol-
ogy Innovation Hub (TiH),
under the National Mission on
Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical
Systems supported by DST. The
TiH intends to establish itself as
a hub of research, innovation,
and entrepreneurship in the
area of Cognitive Computing
and Social Sensing and also
build a nationwide shared facil-
ity for public research and com-
mercialization.”, said Prof. Ran-
jan Bose, Director IIIT-Delhi
and Principal Investigator at
iHub Anubhuti-IIITD Founda-
tion. The hub will also nurture
start-ups that were born out of
TIH projects for furthering their
entrepreneurial efforts. The
project courage entrepreneur-
ship and in turn yield results on
a national scale.
Wednesday, September 01, 2021
PHOTO: ISSEI KATO/REUTERS
‘THIS MEDAL
PROVES NO
DISABILITY CAN
STOP ME FROM
EXCELLING’
Avani Lekhara’s feat comes after numerous sacrifices,
and she hopes that this will inspire generations to come
Aprajita Sharad
aprajita.sharad@hindustantimes.com
A
ll eyes were glued to the
television, as 19-year-
old para shooter
Avani Lekhara scripted
history on Monday by
becoming the first Indian woman
to win a gold medal at the
Paralympics. A delighted Lekhara
says, “I want people to look at me
and feel that if Avani can do it,
then why can’t we? No one should
feel sad about their disability.
This medal proves that no
disability can stop me from
excelling in what I want to do.”
A student of BA LLB, Lekhara
juggled sports and academics to
reach where she’s today. “I’ve
been training for the past six
years. Amid the pandemic, I built
a target set-up at home. I’ve not
Rishabh Suri
rishabh.suri@htlive.com
inger Leslee Lewis grew up
S with Bollywood around
him, as he likes to put
it, but he admits he always
wanted to dabble in western
music, too. Recently, he came
out with an English song,
Entourage, in collaboration
with rapper-singer Omar
Gooding.
Leslee feels that a large
section of people in India didn’t
embrace western music back
in the day. “Nobody got it in the
’80s, when I did it here. People
said, ‘English mein samajh
nahi aata, do lines ke aage kya
gaa rahe ho, kya bol rahe ho’,”
he recounts, adding, “I would
listen to English and Hindi,
both. My dad (late PL Raj) was
NOTE TO READERS: Some of the coverage that appears on our pages is paid for by the concerned brands. No
sponsored content does or shall appear in any part of HT without it being declared as such to our valued readers.
City
attended my college because of
my training. To put aside my
studies and focus completely on
the sport has been the hardest
sacrifice. I’ve missed my friends’
reunions, birthdays and other
parties. But it was my parents and
brother who were my biggest
support system throughout all
this,” she adds.
She’s received a lot of
congratulatory calls and
messages on her win. But the
“most special congratulatory call
came from our Prime Minister”.
She adds, “(Narendra) Modi ji
congratulated me and wished me
luck for the future. It felt like a
moment of a lifetime,” shares
the 19-year-old rifle shooter
from Jaipur, adding that her
inspiration on the field has
been Olympian Abhinav Bindra.
“He is my inspiration. I’ve always
P debut album, Colonial Cousins,
People weren’t
getting western
music in 1980s,
so I had to
simplify it.
LESLEE LEWIS, Singer
a popular choreographer; he
had worked in films such as
Sholay (1975) and Don (1978). I
grew up with Helen aunty and
Laxmikant-Pyarelal. I wanted
to do other things. People
weren’t getting western music
in 80s, so I had to simplify it.”
The 61-year-old, known for
Delhi
P
I have missed
my friends’
reunions,
birthdays and
other parties
because I was
practising all
the time.
AVANI LEKHARA, para
shooter
wanted to win a gold medal just
like him,” she adds.
Lekhara says when she took the
winning shot, she “wasn’t
thinking about the medal”. “I was
just focusing on my shot. But to
win gold on my debut in the
Games feels special,” she says.
The gold medallist feels glad
to be put on an equal pedestal
as other athletes. She says,
“The treatment to Paralympians
has been on a par with other
athletes. We are treated equally
in terms of getting endorsements,
ads sponsorships and financial
aids.”
Ask her about the first thing
she wants to do upon reaching
India, and she replies, “I’ll take
rest, meet my friends and family
and give my college exams. I want
to have my favourite kadhi
chawal when I reach home.”
PHOTO: FACEBOOK/LESLEELEWISOFFICIAL
Indians need
mithaas in
music, rock is
distortion
for them, says
Leslee Lewis
for my birthday.
PHOTO: INST
STOP PRES
S Teachers in a fix as Delhi schools gear
the hit number Yaaron and his
with Hariharan, believes
that people in India prefer
sweetness in music. “Indians
need mithaas. Rock, for them,
is distortion, something
abrasive. By the time I got
down to Aapki Dua in my
album Pal, it was a sweet rock
kind of thing,” says Lewis.
Talking about Entourage, he
On
says that he is “probably the Monday, actor
only Indian” singing in
Hollywood, in English. Lewis is Jacqueline Fernandez was
happy that his music is being
embraced across the world.
questioned by the
“I have started my own label, Enforcement Directorate (ED) as
which is all about global
music in Hindi. I released a a witness in a ₹200-crore money
song in June called Chhoda laundering case. Bollywood
Tune, which did well. It made
to three playlists in India, Hungama reported that she
Brazil and Argentina,” he says.
recorded her statement for
over five hours.
n6 PAGES. f @HTCITY t @HTCITY i @HTCITY y /USER/HT. ENTERTAINMENT & PROMOTIONAL FEATURES
Akshay Kumar’s
BellBottom has
spelled cheer, say
cinema hall owners
Sugandha Rawal hope that the momentum built
by the fantastic response to
sugandha.rawal@hindustantimes.com
BellBottom would mark the
onsidering the theatres onset of our revival,” asserts
C are still running in
limited capacity, or even
Rajender Singh Jyala, chief
programming officer, INOX
shut in some places, the Leisure Ltd.
release of Akshay Kumar’s Co-starring Vaani Kapoor,
BellBottom was a huge risk. Lara Dutta Bhupathi and
However, the gamble has paid Huma S Qureshi, the Ranjit
off well, with the film spinning M Tewari directorial, produced
the box-office wheel in the by Pooja Entertainment,
right direction, paving the path released on August 19.
for big screen revival. BellBottom is inching close
As the first big Hindi film to ₹30 crore in India, with
to release theatrically after business growing overseas
the pandemic slump, it has as well, especially in the UK
brought hope and confidence and North America.
among theatre owners. “This Trade expert Joginder Tuteja
step by Akshay Kumar, hails the team for their
(producers) Vashu and Jackky decision to look at the larger
Bhagnani will be seen as a
groundbreaking one. It
helped revive the cinema
THEATRE EMPLOYEES REJOICE
exhibition business. The Alongside cinema owners,
film is holding strong in the even the employees are happy
second week,” shares Kamal
Gianchandani, CEO of PVR
with the positivity that
BellBottom has brought
Pictures and president of
the Multiplex Association of
about. Galib Khan, ticket
counter official, JP Cinemas,
India (MAI). Madhya Pradesh, says, “Kaam
Theatre owners were ki bahut shortage chal rahi thi.
eagerly waiting for the magic Now, with BellBottom
of the big screen to be back. reviving business, we can
“We’re glad that Akshay kicked expect regular income.”
off this recovery process. We
One should celebrate
life
and not just certain o
Gautami
Kapoor with
Ram Kapoor ccasions
P
At my age, we
don’t do
anything really
RAM KAPOOR,
Actor
AGRAM/JACQ
UELINEF143
up to reopen
Anjuri Nayar Singh
anjuri.singh@hindustantimes.com
A
ll schools were asked to shut
down when the pandemic hit
last year, and most of them
have stayed shut. With Covid-19
cases being on an all-time low, the
Delhi government has allowed
schools to reopen in a phased
manner, from today, alongside
providing a long list of SOPs. This
has made parents wonder whether
or not to send their children to
school right away. And school
teachers are in a bigger dilemma, as
they need to make arrangements at
home, before gearing up for work.
“I need to start hunting for a house
help, who can assist my mother-in-
law in taking care of my two-year-old
and help with other chores. It’s great
that schools are reopening, because
children were having a difficult time,
but for teachers, this means more
hurdles,” says Manisha Verma, a
teacher from Model Town.
Neha Mathur, a teacher from
Akshay Kumar plays a RAW officer in
the espionage thriller
picture of course correction,
instead of profits. “The film
comes with a potential to cross
₹150 crore, and the producers
knew that they wouldn’t be able
to reach that mark with all the
restrictions. Yet, they took the
risk,” he says.
BellBottom’s growing
collections are likely to
encourage other production
houses and exhibitors as well.
“When good content comes to a
cinema hall, collections follow.
The film’s second Sunday
collection was the same as
the first Sunday. It instills
confidence in the exhibition
sector,” says Devang Sampat,
CEO, Cinepolis.
The success of the film is also
Satish Gole, cinema manager
at a single-screen theatre in
Delhi, says, that it’s because of
the efforts of the film’s team
that people aren’t hesitant to
step out of their home to
watch a film on the big screen
now. “It’s a good sign for the
theatres and company, which
helps us, the employees, as
well,” he says.
Kavita Awaasthi
kavita.awaasthi@htlive.com
am Kapoor will be
R pulling all-nighters
shooting, including
his birthday. For the actor,
who turns 48 today, birthdays
are no big deal.
“At my age, we don’t
do anything really for my
birthday. My dad believed this
and so do I that one should
celebrate life and not just
certain dates or occasions,” he
says. His father passed away
four months ago and Kapoor
admits that he remembers
him often.
The actor had a packed
schedule this year, with
four projects to shoot for.
He wrapped up one, but
after the second lockdown,
had to juggle his dates for
the rest.
He explains, “Now, I am
working on three projects
at the same time. It has
been challenging, as I am
running from one to the
other. No actor wants to
take on so much at the
PHOTO: PTI (FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY)
Dhaula Kuan, also sees some
difficulty on the way. “We are asked
to take online and offline classes
together, which is tough. We ensure
that students follow social distancing
in school, but what about the time
when they go out of the building?
Last time, when schools reopened,
teachers were put on duties even on
the road outside the school to ensure
social distancing was maintained.
This becomes taxing after a day-long
work shift,” she says.
The work load will certainly
increase, opine teachers about
PHOTO: HTCS
trickling down to single
screens, too. Raj Kumar
Mehrotra, general manager at
Delhi’s Delite Cinema, shares,
“The film had packed shows
this weekend. All the safety
precautions are being
followed.” Officials from
Rajmandir Cinema,
Jaipur, thanked the team
on Twitter for choosing a
big-screen release.
In South India, trade guru
Sreedhar Pillai from Chennai
tells us, “The film had houseful
shows in the first week itself.
Akshay Kumar ne bahut
confidence se apni film
theatres ko di. It’s a great
beginning.”
Now, theatre owners in
Maharashtra are waiting for
the green signal to bring
life back into cinema halls.
“Looking at this success story,
we want theatres to open in
our state as well,” says Arvind
Chaphalkar from Pune’s City
Pride multiplexes. Manoj
Desai, executive director of
Mumbai’s G7 Multiplex (Gaiety
Galaxy) and Maratha Mandir
Cinema, adds, “Hum bol bol ke
thak chuke hain. We hope
we’re allowed to open with
50% capacity.”
same time. The roles and
projects are wonderful
and I’m happy with the work
that I am doing.”
Kapoor has finished
shooting for Vipul Shah’s
web show, Human, and is
shooting for Vikramaditya
Motwane’s Stardust, Masaba
Masaba season 2 and another
web show.
With releases like A Suitable
Boy, Abhay season 2 and Big
Bull on OTT, Kapoor is
delighted that he has been
getting a variety of roles on
the digital platform.
“OTT is one of the best
things to have happened to
our industry. Films and TV
will always have their place,
but OTT is the future. This is
one of the most enjoyable
times of my career. And not
just me, whoever is doing
interesting work on OTT is
getting to experiment and
grow. I know of a lot of actors
from TV, who are desperately
trying to get good work in
OTT, but are not really
managing,” says Kapoor.
having to physically go to the school.
Ruchika Bagai, a teacher from
Shalimar Bagh, adds, “Besides
teaching, we will have to resume
other duties. To follow precautions,
school buses won’t ply, so if all
parents come to drop off and pick up
their kids in private vehicles, there
will be a major traffic jam.”
Some teachers feel that parents
have a huge role to play in this case.
“Parents need to have discussions
with their children, especially the
younger ones, about being Covid-19-
compliant in school,” says Verma.
02
Shankar Mahadevan:
Never thought my
life’s story could be
shown on screen
Soumya Vajpayee
soumya.vajpayee@hindustantimes.com
omposer-singer Shankar
C Mahadevan has many hit
soundtracks to his credit over
the years. But now, the musician
finds himself associated with laurels
of a different kind. A documentary
on his life, titled Decoding Shankar,
has won two awards at the Cannes
World Film Festival. Directed by
Deepti Pillay Sivan, it won in the
Best Indian Film and Best
Biographical Film categories.
Asked if he saw this coming, he
says, “We did not think it will make
such a massive impact on audiences
and critics alike. I never thought my
life’s story could be captured in a
book or on the screen.”
When the director reached out to
Mahadevan with the idea, he wasn’t
sure how it would shape up. “But as
the film started taking shape, I knew
it would be one of the greatest
experiences of my life,” he says.
While he had to play himself in
the project, he is open to more
acting offers. “I’m used to being in
front of the camera. Years of music
videos, reality TV shows, and
cameos have taught me that. I’ve
acted in a Marathi film, Katyar
Kaljat Ghusali (2015),” he shares.
It took Sivan two-and-a-half years
Why Darshan
to
Kumar is ready
take up projects
en in Covid tim es
v
e drastic.”
Deepika Padukone to
return to Hollywood,
the cross-cultural way
ctor Deepika Padukone is set to
A return to Hollywood, with a
cross-cultural romantic comedy,
which she will also co-produce.
“My production banner was founded
with the aim to develop and produce
purposeful content with global appeal.
I’m thrilled to partner with STXfilms
and Temple Hill Productions, who
share Ka’s ambition and creative vision
and look forward to bringing impactful
and dynamic cross-cultural stories to
the world,” says Padukone, who turned
producer with Chhapaak (2020).
Deepti Pillay Sivan
to complete the film, which has won
at nine festivals so far. “It’s every
filmmaker’s dream to win at
Cannes, Berlin or Oscars,” she says.
Besides Mahadevan and his
family, the film also sees actors
Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir
Khan, former cricketer Sachin
Tendulkar, writer-lyricists Javed
Akhtar and Gulzar, actor-filmmaker
Farhan Akhtar, and musicians Zakir
Hussain and Louis Banks speak
about their association with him. “I
am grateful to them,” Mahadevan
adds.
P locations. And that’s
ction
Produ and
s
house e taking
ors ar
direct ngs very
thi sly.
seriou
MAR,
A R S H AN KU
D Actor
PHOTO: PTI
STXfilms is also in talks with Temple
Hill Productions’ Wyck Godfrey and
Marty Bowen, of the Twilight franchise
and The Fault in Our Stars fame, to
develop the project, reports
deadline.com.
Padukone made her English-
language film debut as the female lead
in xXx: The Return of Xander Cage,
co-starring with Vin Diesel. She will
next be seen in ’83 and the Indian
remake of The Intern, and is also
working on untitled films by Shakun
Batra and Siddharth Anand. HTC
time out
PHOTO: PRAMOD THAKUR/HT
UT
‘W IT H O
C OL O U RE D
E S,
A R T IST
WE’D HAVE
NO SCOPE’
andanap u feels that now,
Avantika V
more doors have o
P Juhi Chakraborty
When she (Deepti juhi.chakraborty@htlive.com
Pillay Sivan)
I
ndian-origin American
narrated her idea, I actor Avantika
Vandanapu is all praise
was amused. But, for the work that many
when I thought actors of colour have
done in the West, as she feels
about her idea, that it has opened up a
intention, belief number of opportunities for
people like her.
and research on “With movies such as
me, the project Sound of Metal (2019) and
shows such as Never Have I
began to make Ever, we are seeing an
improvement in the way
sense. South Asian stories are being
SHANKAR MAHADEVAN, told,” she shares.
Musician However, the 16-year-old,
Rishabh Suri All praise for the efforts
rishabh.suri@htlive.com
being taken by the producers,
Kumar, 34, goes on to add,
andemic or not, actor “They’re very sensible
P Darshan Kumar has
faith in safety measures
being taken on shoot
people, they’ll plan things
extremely carefully. Hence,
I’m only focusing on good
subjects and good web shows
why he’ll not let and not giving up work
the fear of Covid because of any such fear.”
prevent him And his choices are
from taking up certainly paying off. The
any kind of second season of The Family
work. Man worked very well and
“Production fetched him good reviews. He
houses and played the antagonist, Major
directors are Sameer, but people began
taking things very thinking he’s from Pakistan.
seriously, choosing He tells us, “The audience
locations according to has been divided into two
the situation. That’s what parts. One loved my attitude
happened with The Family and personality on the show
Man 2 and Aashram,” says — my social media was filled
the actor. with messages saying they
Recalling an incident he loved my work. The other
says, “On April 4, Prakash ji side thought I’m an ISI agent.
(Jha, director) took the They started abusing me,
decision that we’re not going saying ‘Hindustan ki taraf
into the shoot of the next dekhoge toh cheer denge’. I
season. We loved it and said, take that as a compliment.
‘Thank God we cancelled at Getting appreciation, people
that time’. Otherwise there loving your work, be it in a
would’ve been something film or web series, that’s
what an actor wants.”
PHOTO: JITU SAVLANI
It’s Russia
calling for
Ajay Devgn
ctor-director Ajay
A
Devgn has turned all
his attention to his
aviation thriller Mayday,
and is in Russia to plan
the shoot’s final leg.
A Mid-day report
said Devgn headed to
Moscow with cinema-
tographer Aseem Bajaj,
line producer Vikrant
Sharma, first assistant
director Sameer Sad-
wani and director’s
assistant Daanish Gan-
dhi over the weekend,
for a recce. He will be in
the Russian capital for a
week with the team.
“After they finalise the
locations, they will take
about 45 days to prep for
the schedule. Post that,
Ajay, Rakul Preet, Boman
Irani, writer Sandeep Kewl-
P
ani and the core unit will fly
to Moscow in mid-October
for the eight-day shoot. Some
crucial airport scenes will
The film’s
core unit will fly
be canned at one of the
five airports in the city,”
reveals a trade source.
to Moscow in The film is inspired by
mid-October.
A SOURCE
a real-life incident in
2015, when a flight from a
Middle Eastern country
had a close shave due to
poor visibility and had to be
diverted to Thiruvananthapu-
ram. Most of the portion of project has
been shot in Hyderabad.
The team will shoot in Russia in a bio-bub-
ble. “Only the fully vaccinated have travelled to
Russia as Ajay is strict about following safety
measures,” adds the source.
HTC
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
p en ed for actors of colour
who has been a part
of television series
Diary of a Future
President (2020) and
animated children’s “Absolutely, without the
television series Mira, Royal work and activism of so has evolved, especially with
Detective (2020), admits many BIPOC (Black and the rise in digital content and
there’s still a long way to go. Indigenous People Of Colour) OTT platforms.
“We are still at a point and coloured artistes, we “Bollywood’s definition of
where we can count the would have no opportunities cinema has taken a turn, and
number of times South
Asians have been positively
in this industry. All of that
hard work is beginning to
for the better. Hindi films
and content have begun to
showcased in Hollywood, on come to fruition. Though we highlight marginalised
our fingers. Hopefully, these
projects will pave the way for
still have a long way to go, it’s
equally important to
communities and placed
women in more challenging,
many more to come,” she acknowledge the doors that humanised roles. There is
expresses. have opened for us now.” still a lot of room for
Asked if portrayal of Not just the West, improvement, but I think the
Indian characters has Vandanapu feels even industry is on the right
changed, Vandanapu says, content in Bollywood films track,” she concludes.
{ DAILY HOROSCOPE }
Wednesday, September 01, 2021
Dr Prem Kumar Sharma (Astrologer and Vaastu expert) can be contacted at: Delhi: 011-47033152, 40532026 (Sat
to Mon); Panchkula: 91-172-2562832, 2572874 (Tues to Thurs); Mumbai: 09716145644 (Last week of every month)
ARIES LEO
SAGITTARIUS
MAR 21-APR 20 JUL 23-AUG 23
NOV 23-DEC 21
A L
The month opens on a You are likely to achieve
s
positive note. Prospects something you have only You may receive news that
look bright for those dreamt of on the career will elate you. Students
searching for a suitable front. A miraculous recov- are likely to perform well.
job. Prospects on the property front ery is indicated for those down with a Your straightforwardness
are set to brighten. Those ailing may serious ailment. A phone call is set to may impress an influential like-
show signs of improvement. revive an old friendship. minded person.
LOVE FOCUS: Your romantic endeav- LOVE FOCUS: Try and not get on the LOVE FOCUS: Take all steps that make
ours are likely to bear fruit. wrong side of partner today. your partner happy.
LUCKY NUMBER: 6 LUCKY NUMBER: 9 LUCKY NUMBER: 6
LUCKY COLOUR: Peach LUCKY COLOUR: Parrot Green LUCKY COLOUR: White
TAURUS VIRGO CAPRICORN
APR 21-MAY 20 AUG 24-SEP 23 DEC 22-JAN 21
T I c
A pat on the back is You are likely to get pam- An excellent day for pro-
expected at work for pered by someone special. fessionals, as bagging new
something you have Travelling with loved ones projects is a distinct possi-
achieved. Those sitting for is indicated. Investing in bility. Students will find
an exam or facing an interview will new venture is indicated. Don’t be too the day specially rewarding. A seri-
find the day fruitful. Don’t take things
lying down,
LOVE FOCUS: Raising a sensitive issue
trusting of people.
LOVE FOCUS: Partner seems all lovey-
dovey today, so make the most of
ously ill family member is likely to
show marked improvement.
LOVE FOCUS: Take care not to offend
with partner can lead to a big fight.
LUCKY NUMBER: 9
what the opportunity offers!
LUCKY NUMBER: 7
your partner and vitiate the day.
LUCKY NUMBER: 2
LUCKY COLOUR: Magenta LUCKY COLOUR: White LUCKY COLOUR: Indigo
GEMINI LIBRA AQUARIUS
MAY 21-JUN 21
SEP 24-OCT 23 JAN 22-FEB 19
G
Financial gains are indi-
l a
cated for those in the Someone’s insistence on It is best to face the truth
share market and trading doing a thing you don’t and not remain in denial.
business. Someone you approve of now, may turn This will not only save you
had given loan to is likely to return it into a blessing in disguise the blushes, but also make
with interest. Those under the for you at a later date. you think realistically. A child may
weather may show quick recovery. LOVE FOCUS: Suspicion ruins mental need your guidance, so be available.
LOVE FOCUS: The day is promising for peace, so discuss any apprehensions LOVE FOCUS: Your marital life is likely
those romantically involved. you have, with your lover. to hit choppy waters today.
LUCKY NUMBER: 3 LUCKY NUMBER: 18 LUCKY NUMBER: 8
LUCKY COLOUR: Red LUCKY COLOUR: Yellow LUCKY COLOUR: Electric Blue
CANCER SCORPIO PISCES
JUN 22-JUL 22 OCT 24-NOV 22 FEB 20-MAR 20
C S P
A property you have been Your headstrong ways Months of planning finally
eyeing for long may finally may not go down well comes to fruition, but
come within your reach. A with your co-workers, so apprehensions remain.
long-standing marital dis- be open to ideas. An Professionals are likely to
pute is likely to have a happy ending. investment that seems lucrative now enter something new and carve out
You may go on a short vacation and may not be so, so vet it thoroughly their own niche.
enjoy every bit of it.
LOVE FOCUS: The day augurs well for
those looking for a life partner.
before parting with your money.
LOVE FOCUS: Romance is in the air, so
make the most of it.
LOVE FOCUS: A chance meeting with
an ex-flame may come as a pleasant
surprise.
LUCKY NUMBER: 4
LUCKY COLOUR: Blue
LUCKY NUMBER: 11
LUCKY COLOUR: Pink
LUCKY NUMBER: 3
LUCKY COLOUR: Purple
{ CALVIN AND HOBBES I BILL WATTERSON }
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
lifestyle 03
{ SPOTTED }
#instastyle From the
Aditi
paparazzi
Shirwaiker
Malik with son
Ekbir Malik diaries
PHOTOS:
YOGEN SHAH

ng th e u ntir in g
Saluti
t o f fi re -fig h te rs ◄

spiri
.

Harshdeep
Kaur with Janhvi
son Hunar Kapoor
Singh starts
shooting
Stars celebrated Janmashtami with soon for
their newborns and old friends. Mili
Actor Aditi Shirwaikar Malik and
musician Harshdeep Kaur extended
wishes with their little ones dressed Neha
as Krishna. Karanvir Bohra attended hutterbugs captured stars Dhupia
Krishna darshan with kids, wife
Teejay Sidhu and friends Puja
Banerjee and Kunal Verma. Kajal
S going about their day in
style. Neha Dhupia was
spotted at a Mumbai studio in
will be
seen in A
Thursday
Aggarwal posed in an ethnic outfit. a summery maternity wear. next,
And, Mouni Roy shared a pic and Janhvi Kapoor was spotted playing
Fire-fighters at the cyclothon wrote, “Just the perfect day to start outside her gym. Saif Ali a cop
reading Srimad Bhagvatam.” Khan kept it casual for a film
promotion. And Rashmika
Mandanna was in an emerald
o honour duties and Fire Control Room. pant suit. HTC

T responsibilities of
fire-fighters, Delhi Fire
Services came together for a
cyclothon at Connaught
Place as part of Azadi ka
“It is a matter of pride that
the fire-fighters and control
room officials are working
shoulder-to-shoulder to
uphold the motto ‘We Serve ▲ (L-R) Teejay Sidhu with Vienna, Karanvir
.

Amrit Mahotsav. The event to Save’, said Atul Garg, Bohra with Bella, Kunal Verma with Gia
saw participation from fire- director, Delhi Fire Service. Vanessa Snow and Puja Banerjee
fighters and officials of the HTC Kajal Aggarwal

{ KIRTI KULHARI } ACTOR

P
Saif Ali
Let go of myths and fears Khan
will be
surrounding the vaccine... seen in
Mouni Roy Rashmika
go and take one if you PHOTOS: Mandanna
Bhoot
Police
haven’t yet... INSTAGRAM recently
wrapped
next

A
up Mission
On vaccination being the need of Majnu
the hour to fight Covid-19
04
TRAVEL AND LOVE:
BLENDING ROMANCE
WITH RELAXATION
Nothing keeps the sparks flying quite like travelling together. So rekindle your
post-vaccination travel to these amazing destinations that are perfect for the
Swati Chaturvedi
swati.chaturvedi@hindustantimes.com
F
rom the past one and half year,
travel plans have largely eluded
us. But as the world slowly
opens up again, travellers are
looking to quench their wan-
derlust. Indeed for couples searching
for the perfect travel destination, a
romantic getaway can be the right
option to unwind, relax and make
memories together.
There is something very special —
and beautiful — about travelling with
someone you’re head over heels in love
with. From a beach excursion to a city
that twinkles under the glow of stars,
there are many charming spots to con-
sider for couples, who love to explore
through rose-coloured glasses.
“As travel sentiment continues to
revive, we believe spontaneous, experi-
ential but relaxed trips will be favoured
by couples who are seeking to not only
spend quality time together but to also
rejuvenate and shrug off the pandemic
fatigue,” says Ashish Dhruva, senior
vice president – marketing and
Hill, holiday and romance
are a match made in
heaven, as the green
valleys and aromatic
ambiance will set the
mood just right!
With grand palaces and picturesque locations, Udaipur
has its unique romantic ambiance PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK
#theburningquestion
How to pack
smart for travel
during monsoon?
With the second wave of the pandemic behind us, this is
an opportune time for wanderlust to recoup and travel.
Unfortunately, with it being the monsoon season in most
parts of India, and international travel almost ruled out,
the only way forward is to make peace with moist air,
interrupted movement and muddy puddles.
So when your travel plans coincide with monsoon,
make sure to carry a solid pair of boots and hiking sneaker
as backup. Your backpack must have high quality rain
cover and should be full of synthetic clothes. Waterproof
phone case and a slick rain jacket with hoodie are other
basic necessities. And top it all with a colourful, but sturdy
one or two-litre water flask.
If you’re travelling by own car,
make sure your car tyres’ tread is
preserved for better gripping
power. Do inspect windshield
wipers too.
Jobs fill your pocket, but
adventures fill your soul. Well,
most of us haven’t really loosened
those pockets for last 18
months, so go have some
revenge monsoon
travel!
Disclaimer: The view
expressed here are
author’ personal.
Mohit Goyal
Author
romance with
monsoon season
customer engagement, InterMiles.
Travelling with the person you love is
the best way to rediscover your passion.
India is full of such choices, but what
matters most is to know what brings a
magical smile to your partner’s face.
“Right from isolated Andaman beaches
to temple sculptures in Khajuraho, the
options are enormous. If you are a
beach lover, you can surely add
romance in the air by sipping together
your favourite margarita, with white
sand beneath your feet at the beautiful
huts in South Goa. Or experience living
like a royal in a luxury houseboat at
Kumarakom backwaters in Kerala,”
says Saurabh Tuteja, travel influencer
and general secretary of enterprising
travel agents association (North India).
With its pink-hued palaces overlook-
ing a series of placid lakes, Udaipur in
Rajasthan is one of India’s most roman-
tic cities. Sparkling serene lakes, hills
and the vibrant markets add a certain
aura and magic to the royal city. “Udai-
pur is a place of majestic beauty. I love
that you are seated in the centre of his-
tory, where battles were fought, vows
were made, and love stories founded.
It’s this fabric of life that makes our
existence romantic. The grandeur of the
palaces is captivating and you find
yourself lost in a fantasy world,” says
Shivali Bhammer, contemporary
devotional singer and travel enthusiast.
If tremendous landscapes set your
heart aflutter, there isn’t a better way to
celebrate your love than exploring the
high altitudes. “Manali and Shimla have
the pahadi cozy vibe. Experiences such
as the small dhabas and the markets are
so much fun,” says Sheelaa M Bajaj, life
coach and relationship expert.
Tuteja feels when it comes to
romantic destinations, one can’t ignore
the charm of Jammu and Kashmir,
“Enjoying a steaming hot Kahwah with
someone you love in snowing Gulmarg
is an experience of lifetime,” he adds.
So pick your choice as its time to seek
a getaway built for two, and finally put
that ‘do not disturb’ sign to use.
Choose the
destination
wisely
As we all have different choices,
it mighty be a bit difficult to find
a location that work beautifully
for both partners. However, a
little creativity and flexibility
would help to find the sweet
spot. So consider all factors
before planning your travel.
#inbrief
UAE eases travel restrictions
United Arab Emirates has eased
restrictions and announced it will
issue visa to all fully vaccinated
tourists, who have got any Covid
vaccine approved by the World
Health Organisation, at least 14
days before travel. The vaccines
that are recognised include
P going on a couple’s
If you are a beach lover,
you can add romance in
the air by sipping together
your favourite margarita,
with soft white sand
beneath your feet at the
huts in South Goa.
SAURABH TUTEJA, Travel influencer
Don’t let work Explore and
kill the vibe innovate
Never bring work to a couple Infuse new experiences in the
holiday. Switch off those office trip to make it memorable.
emails and make time to Try new cuisines, tandem
connect with each other. “The biking, paragliding together,
most romantic getaways are off or just take long walks.
beat locations with limited “Wake up to the sight of a
access to technology which beachside sunrise or unwind
gives you time to unwind and in snow covered mountains,
reconnect with partner,” says thus creating memories to
Jubie Jain , travel influencer.. cherish forever,” adds Jain.
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/GAUAHARKHAN
A lesson from
the ocean
Gauahar Khan is enjoying her
holiday in Maldives and as the
ocean brings her both joy and
calmness, the actor also seems to
be reflecting on different aspects
of life. Recently, she took to
Instagram to share a picture amid
the blue waters of Maldives and
through her caption expressed
how the vast ocean makes us feel
really small. “The ocean makes
you feel so small , imagine how
small a part u are in this entire
universe created by the
Almighty! Yet we keep pride and
arrogance for our existence!” she
wrote.
AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Uttarakhand
Moderna etc. Covishield, which is
the Indian brand of AstraZeneca, to develop an
produced under licence in the
country, will also be accepted. Astro Village
However, those who have taken
Covaxin or Sputnik V are not yet With a close view of stars,
eligible for travel to the UAE. planets, and astronomical
events, Benital in Uttarakhand,
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK at an altitude of 2,600 metres
above sea level, will be
developed as an astro-village.
According to reports, a team
headed by district magistrate
Himanshu Khurana visited
Benital to explore the area and
finalise details of the upcoming
project. Large telescopes and a
night-vision dome, cottages,
pathways, and parking lots will
be built as part of facilities.
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
NEW DELHI
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
TRAVEL
on Wednesday
Scan here
to visit
HTTravel
Amp up your romance by
getaway to destinations
that offer comfort,
intimacy and a plethora
of delightful experiences
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK (FOR
REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY)
Admire the blue water and take a
walk hand in hand on miles of
pristine beaches in Goa or
Andaman and Nicobar islands
PHOTO: PTI
For the perfect
scenic beauty
In order to boost tourism, Indian
Railways (Northeast Frontier
Railway) will soon start trains
with vistadome coaches running
through the lush green Dooars in
North Bengal. These special
coaches will be operation atleast
for the three days, Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, according
to reports. The 360-degree
viewing system of vistadome
coaches gives best views of the
surroundings. Large windows and
transparent plexiglass roofs will
enable passengers to see the
scenic beauty of Dooars, which is
famed for its rich flora and fauna.
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
Air bubble to
enable India,
Bangladesh
flights
India and Bangladesh will resume
flights under air bubble
arrangement from September 3.
“Passengers travelling from
Bangladesh to India shall be
mandatorily subjected to self-
paid confirmatory molecular tests
on arrival at the Indian airports,”
said the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
HTC
NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021
my city 05

Extending a helping ‘KAVITAYEIN

hand to the vulnerable,
one drive at a time
Naina Arora
ne might think that since the
O number of Covid-19 cases
have declined in the Capital,
the work of pandemic
heroes would have eased. But that’s
just an assumption. Take for
instance, Delhi-based educationist
Manisha Bhatia, whose work goes
beyond the lockdown phase. Her
consistent efforts are aimed at
making women and young girls
aware about the significance of
sanitation and hygiene.
During one of the recent drives in
the Capital, she, along with some
volunteers, educated sex workers
about hygiene, and distributed
sanitary napkins among them.
Bhatia, founder of Abhinandan, an
educational and welfare society,
says, “Our target is to reach
young girls who are about to
experience menstruation. We
try to inform them about how to
maintain hygiene and the
correct way to dispose used
sanitary napkins. Illiteracy plays a
major negative role in their minds,
making it a difficult phase for them
P We were ready financially, with
We mark areas
where we’ve to work
for welfare, in vocation,
education or financial
help. Our primary work is
in education, but welfare
means one has to be
available all times.
JAMA HOTI
GAYIN, I
VENTURED
INTO PLAYS’
Manav Kaul
talks about
his love for
poetry and
the evolving
reading,
Manisha Bhatia (centre)
distributes sanitary napkins at writing
one of the recent drives in the
Capital habits in the
about the taboos, and educate them
age of social
in the right language.”
Bhatia’s organisation also runs a
media
school at GRP Police Station, Hazrat
Nizamuddin Railway Station. When
the first lockdown jolted the city,
Bhatia swung into action to provide
meals to children and their families.
“The first lockdown was very
difficult as we lost touch with some
of the kids. But we managed to
connect with most of them, to fulfil
their basic needs. The children who
study in this school are like family to Naina Arora entries and do small write-
P
us... In the second lockdown, we naina.arora@htdigital.in
ups about the books I’ve I called up my
were better equipped to deal with it. read, or the experience I was
mother and
ar writer pehle having. Woh aisa hua ki woh
medical supplies, and had made a
WhatsApp group for distress calls,”
she recalls, adding that they are now
getting back to conducting classes
again.
Bhatia’s team has also been
H kavitayein likhna
shuru karta hai,”
says actor-author
Manav Kaul, who
has recently come up with
his seventh book, but this is
kavitayein ek folder mein
jama hoti gayin. I ventured
into plays and short stories,
but poetry was a constant. It
was very close to me... Kuch
logon ko sunata tha,”
said, ‘I will be
naked on the
cover...’ She
said, ‘Prakriti
urging people to get vaccinated
against Covid-19. She adds, “We
his first published collection
of poems. Titled Karta Ne
reminisces Kaul, who is
inspired by the works of toh naked hai.
don’t want to restrict our work to Karm Se, the poetry Hindi writers Vasant Dev Hum hi kapde
just a few camps. We mark areas collection has left him and Vinod Kumar Shukla.
where we have to work for thrilled. Kaul says, “I’m very Ask him about the pehente hain’.
welfare, in education, vocation or happy ki ek kavita agar 1999 thought-provoking cover for
MANAV KAUL,
financial help. Our primary work is ki hai, toh kuch kavitayein the book, and he shares how
in education, but welfare means that 2021 ki hain. Ek bada the idea of being naked on
Actor-author

to accept that menstruation is a
natural phenomenon. We even bring
in young doctors to speak to them
MANISHA BHATIA, one has to be available all times, so spectrum hai.”
Educationist that people get the confidence to The actor, who was seen
reach out to us.” playing a strict coach in
Saina, a biopic on ace
shuttler Saina Nehwal,
recalls how he started
the cover stemmed in his
mind. He explains, “All my
writings — plays, poetry,
short stories and memoir —
have been brutally honest,
almost like a conversation
and said, ‘This is my idea, I fact has only picked up more
will be naked on the cover, during the lockdowns, Kaul
toh kya aap woh kitaab says, “Mujhe lagta tha youth
loge?’ Maa ne jawab diya, doesn’t read that much these

A 200-year-old
writing poetry in 1998-99, for
himself. “I also started out as
a poet, putting this word and
that word together and
thinking, ‘Oh it’s poetry’. Jab
with the reader. Mujhe lagta
hai there is a nakedness in
my writing. I also felt we
should do something
interestingly artistic and
‘Prakriti toh naked hai. Hum
hi kapde pehente hain’. So
it’s the way you use it... I’m
surprised that not a single
comment, mail or anything
days. We don’t see them
carrying books, they are
always on their phones. But
yeh idea galat tha... Meri
writing youth padhta hai.

art form comes aap Mumbai aate ho and you

start doing theatre, reading
literature, you think about
putting words here and
different with Hindi books.
And I had a good designer,
Varun Chawla. Mere
publisher thoda darr gaye
that has negative
connotations has come.
People have loved it!”
Happy to see that the habit
Social media has also pushed
it as people are writing on
Facebook, Twitter... People
are also appreciating each

alive in Delhi
there. I used to write diary the. So I called up my mother of reading hasn’t died, and in other’s writings.”

#gramit

evolution of Balucharis makes a fascinating

story, an amazing repository of social history
PHOTO: MONEY SHARMA / AFP
intermingling with aspects of art, economy,
politics, culture and fashion,” adds Dhamija.
The Baluchari weave has come a long Painting the town red!
way since its first era, featuring life of the
nawabs, women smoking hookahs, and Look, another Red Fort coming up in the city! Well yes, but only as a street art on one of the
even officers of the East India Company. city’s boundary walls. Spotted here are street artists, painting a Red Fort in one part of the
Now, the designs include glimpses city, whereas in Old Delhi, the stretch in front of the fort has witnessed a complete revamp.
from epics such as the Ramayana,
Mahabharata, and even Odisha folk
art. Tagore says, “Textiles are coming
up in a big way now. Interestingly, the { BHAVINA PATEL }
present generation is looking into PARALYMPIAN
textile art where Baluchari figures

Naina Arora
here’s no denying that a saree is a
T piece of art. And Baluchari sarees —
made from the finest, locally cultivated
mulberry silk — are some of the most
unforgettable ones. Bringing this experience
alive is an ongoing exhibition in the Capital,
prominently.”
Curated by Puneet Kaushik and P
Gaurav Kumar, the exhibition displays
India’s textile history. Kaushik adds, “Our I have learnt to see
country is one of the richest in its textile
heritage and craft traditions. If we don’t
create an awareness among youth, we’ll lose
my problems in a
them forever. That would be tragic, because positive light. It
the woven art and crafts are a matter of
gives me the

A
titled The Woven Art of Baluchar. national pride.”
The show features rare Baluchari sarees
from Murshidabad, Varanasi and Gujarat, courage to
collected by gallerist Siddhartha Tagore. The CATCH IT LIVE
exhibition is dedicated to textile art What: The Woven Art of Baluchar work
historian, Jasleen Dhamija, whose favourites
include the Balucharis from Murshidabad,
Where: Art Konsult, A/22, Hauz Khas Village
On till: September 18 harder.
especially the ones featuring the Kalkas Time: 11am to 6.30pm On overcoming

A
(paisleys) — an intricate embossed interplay Nearest Metro Station: Hauz Khas on challenges
in shades of pink and purple, set off with Yellow and Magenta Lines
natural malda shining like dull gold. “The
06 showstopper NEW DELHI
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 01, 2021

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Jungle Cruise

CELEBS AND MONIKERS
Stars of Hollywood love reinventing themselves. From lifestyles
to names — no change is too big. As Kanye West begins legal
proceedings to change his name, we look at some such celebs.
Kanye West
Back in 2018, rapper Kanye West announced that he’d be
changing his stage name to Ye, after the release of his
album titled Ye. Three years later, the 44-year-old has
begun the legal proceedings to change his official name
from Kanye Omari West to Ye, according to People.
Snoop Dogg
When it comes to stage names, rapper
Snoop Dogg, 49, has a long list. Back in
2012, he changed his name to Snoop Lion.
One year later, ahead of an album with
Dam-Funk, he took up the name Snoopzilla.
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK, AP, REUTERS
sequel reunites
Dwayne, Emily
Jungle Cruise sequel is already in the
A works. And actors Dwayne Johnson
and Emily Blunt are set to return for
the second instalment of the adventure
movie based on the theme park ride.
As per Variety, Johnson and Blunt will
reprise their roles as the pun-obsessed
riverboat captain Frank Wolff and the
brave explorer Dr Lily Houghton,
respectively. Director Jaume Collet-Serra is
expected to return, too.
Michael Green, who co-wrote Jungle
Cruise with Glenn Ficarra and John Requa,
will write the second instalment. After a
simultaneous OTT and big screen release,
the film had collected $34.2 million in
ticket sales from theatres and $30 million
from web views, on its opening weekend.
At the worldwide box office, its total was
$187 million, reportedly.
The first instalment, which was in
development for more than 15 years before
finally making its way to the screen, is
based on a popular amusement park ride.
The story follows a researcher (Blunt) as
she travels down the Amazon in search of
a powerful ancient tree with the help of a
skipper (Johnson). ANI

Sean ‘Diddy’
Combs
Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Puffy,
and Diddy — after a series of
stage name changes, the 51-
year-old rapper officially has a
new name, which he
announced earlier this year.
He changed his middle name
from John to Love, and posted
a photo of his new driver’s
license on the gram. “Look
what I just got in the mail. IT’S
OFFICIAL!!! WELCOME TO THE
LOVE ERA,” he captioned the
photo of the Florida ID.
Text by: Juhi Chakraborty
Bridget Regan to
Jonathan Cheban
Entrepreneur Jonathan Cheban, who
play Poison Ivy in
frequently appears on Keeping Up
with the Kardashians with his best
friend, Kim Kardashian West, has
Batwoman series
legally changed his name to Foodgod,
according to TMZ. The documents ctor Bridget Regan The star who was
were filed by Cheban, 45, in 2019.
A has joined the cast of
Batwoman for its
upcoming third season.
previously seen on The Last
Ship, Jane the Virgin, and
White Collar, shared the
As per Variety, Regan will news on her Instagram
essay the role of Pamela account with a caption,
Drake Bell Isley, also known as Poison
Ivy, in the superhero series.
“this is going to be fun”.
The 39-year-old is the
In an attempt to rebrand himself The recurring character latest actor to essay a
in November 2019, the actor- has been described as a live-action version of Poison
singer tweeted that moving “brilliant and passionate Ivy. Earlier actor Uma
forward, his social media pages scientist with a mind for Thurman had portrayed the
would only be in Spanish. And his changing the world for the character in the 1997 film
surname was changed to better”. But her plans shift Batman and Robin while
Campana — the Spanish word for when she was injected with several actors played her in
Bell. The 35-year-old posted a various plant toxins by her the small-screen adaptaion
photo on Instagram of his ID card colleague, which turned her Gotham, which ran for five
where the name change was into the infamous villain of seasons.
visible, according to Insider. Gotham city. ANI
If You Want to get these Newspapers Daily at earliest

English Newspapers»»
Indian Express, Financial Express, The Hindu, Business Line, The Times of India, The Economic Times,
Hindustan Times, Business Standard, First India, Mint, Greater Kashmir, Greater Jammu, The Himalayan,
The Tribune, Brill Express, The Sikh Times, Avenue Mail, Western Times, Millennium Post, The Statesman,
State Times, The Pioneer, Hans India, Free Press, Orissa Post, Mumbai Mirror, Mid-Day, Deccan Chronicle,
Deccan Herald, Telangana Today, Financial Times, The Asian Age, The Telegraph, Oheraldo, Gulf of Times,
The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal,
The Guardian, The Times

Hindi Newspapers»»
दै निक जागरण, राजस्थाि पत्रिका, दै निक भास्कर, ह द
िं स्
ु ताि, िवभारत टाइम्स, त्रिज़िस स्टैंडडड, अमर उजाला,पिंजाि
केसरी, उत्तम ह न्द,ू जिसत्ता, लोकसत्ता, ररभूमम, द पायिीयर,जागरूक टाइम्स, राष्ट्रीय स ारा, दै निक हरब्यूि, युवा
गोरव, भारतीय स ारा, स्विंतिंि वाताड, सीमा सिंदेश, दै निक सवेरा,एक्शि इिंडडया, मदरलैंड वॉइस, दे शििंध,ु ह माचल दस्तक,

Others»» Hindi & English Editorial, Employment News, Malayalam Newspapers

Type in Search box of Telegram And you click join

will find a Channel named @English_epaper_Backup join
receive daily editions of all popular epapers at the earliest
Or
you can clickon this link

https://t.me/English_epaper_Backup