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P r i n t e d at . Ch e n n a i . Co i m b ato r e . Be n g a lu ru . Hy d e r a b a d . M a d u r a i . No i da . V i s a k h a pat n a m . Th i ru va n a n t h a p u r a m . Ko c h i . V i j ayawa da . M a n g a lu ru . Ti ru c h i r a pa l l i . Ko l k ata . Hu b b a l l i . M o h a l i . M a l a p p u r a m . M u m b a i . Ti ru pat i . lu c k n ow . c u t tac k . pat n a

CM J ND-NDE
YK
J2 DELHI

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

THE HINDU
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CM J ND-NDE
YK
follow us: thursday, september 30, 2021 Delhi
City Edition
thehindu.com 16 pages O ₹10.00
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instagram.com/the_hindu

Noon meal programme Taliban request DGCA After winning ruling India takes on
to be renamed PM to allow Afghan carriers party poll, Fumio Kishida Australia in pink ball
POSHAN scheme to resume flights to be next Japan PM Test from today
page 8 page 8 page 12 page 13

P r i n t e d at . Ch e n n a i . Co i m b ato r e . Be n g a lu ru . Hy d e r a b a d . M a d u r a i . No i da . V i s a k h a pat n a m . Th i ru va n a n t h a p u r a m . Ko c h i . V i j ayawa da . M a n g a lu ru . Ti ru c h i r a pa l l i . Ko l k ata . Hu b b a l l i . M o h a l i . M a l a p p u r a m . M u m b a i . Ti ru pat i . lu c k n ow . c u t tac k . pat n a

IN BRIEF
Kejriwal throws 5-point
challenge at Punjab govt.
CHANDIGARH
Aam Aadmi Party chief and
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal, who is on a two­day
visit to Punjab, threw a
five­point challenge at the
ruling Congress government
on Wednesday, asking it to
fulfil its 2017 poll promises.
NEWS A PAGE 9
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Firecracker ban dampens
Ramlila celebrations
NEW DELHI
The biggest, oldest and most
popular Ramlila events that
the Capital has been hosting
for decades are likely to be
cancelled this year. The
organisers, who had agreed
to keep the celebrations
low­key last year in the wake
of the COVID­19 pandemic,
seem determined to call off
the events, blaming the
authorities for not issuing
guidelines in time and
imposing a total ban on the
bursting of firecrackers of
all makes and varieties,
including ‘green crackers’.
CITY A PAGE 2
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Turmoil in Punjab snowballs
into major crisis for Congress
Kapil Sibal, Ghulam Nabi Azad openly challenge leadership of the Gandhis
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi
The turmoil in the Punjab
unit snowballed into a major
crisis for the Congress on
Wednesday with a group of
senior leaders openly chal­
lenging the leadership of the
Gandhi family, and the form­
er Punjab Chief Minister,
Capt. (retd.) Amarinder
Singh, exploring an arrange­
ment with the BJP.
Capt. Singh, who was re­
moved as the Chief Minister
by the party at the instance
of Rahul Gandhi and Priyan­
ka Gandhi Vadra, met Union
Home Minister Amit Shah.
Later, Capt. Singh tweet­
ed, “Met Union Home Minis­
ter @AmitShah ji in Delhi.
Discussed the prolonged
farmers agitation against
#FarmLaws & urged him to
resolve the crisis urgently
with repeal of the laws &
guarantee MSP, besides sup­
porting Punjab in crop di­
versification. #NoFarmers­
NoFood.”
Former Union Minister
Kapil Sibal, part of a group
that is demanding elections
and reforms in the Con­
gress, told a press confe­
rence, “In our party, at the
moment, there is no presi­
dent and one doesn’t know
who is taking these
decisions.”
His colleague, Ghulam
Nabi Azad, who is part of the
group of 23 letter writers —
the ‘G­23’, which is seeking
internal reforms, wrote a
fresh letter to Congress pre­
sident Sonia Gandhi to con­
vene a meeting of the Con­
gress Working Committee
for a debate on the state of
affairs in the party, includ­
ing the Punjab turmoil and
desertions from the party.
Congress workers from
Chandni Chowk, the consti­
tuency that Mr. Sibal has re­
presented in the Lok Sabha
in the past, protested out­
side his residence, holding
placards with “Get well
soon” messages, though
there was no direct response
from the party to the press
conference.
Late in the evening, Con­
gress’ chief spokesperson
Randeep Surjewala sent out
a cryptic tweet that “those
in power are troubled that a
Dalit has been made a Chief
Minister in Punjab and Amit
Shah’s residence has be­
come a centre for anti­Dalit
activities”.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Si­
bal had questioned the deci­
sion­making process with,
“We know yet we don’t
know.”
While Ms. Sonia Gandhi is
the acting president of the
party, many believe that
most decisions are being ta­
ken by her children.
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
Probe shows use of toxic
material in firecrackers: SC
‘Why shouldn’t manufacturers face contempt action?’
Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on Wed­
nesday said a preliminary
enquiry by the CBI into the
firecracker industry, includ­
ing in Tamil Nadu, revealed
rampant violation of its ban
on use of toxic ingredients
like barium and its salts.
In March 2020, the court
ordered the CBI Joint Direc­
tor in Chennai to conduct a
“detailed” probe into allega­
tions of violation of the court
ban in 2018. The CBI had
filed a report in a sealed cov­
er in the court.
A Bench led by Justice
M.R. Shah, referring to the
report, observed that a
Sidhu vows  chemical analysis of the
samples of finished and se­
to stick to  mi­finished firecrackers and
raw materials taken from the
his stance manufacturers showed bari­
um content. The court said
posted the case for further
hearing on October 6.
cance with the onset of the
wedding season and festiv­
loose quantities of barium On Tuesday, the Supreme als like Dussehra and Deepa­
The chaos in the were purchased from the Court prima facie brushed wali.
Congress’s Punjab unit market. Firecracker covers aside the manufacturers’ “Every day, there is a vio­
refused to show any sign did not show the manufac­ contention that thousands lation in this regard... in reli­
of settling on Wednesday, ture or expiry dates. of employees earned their li­ gious processions, political
as Navjot Singh Sidhu, who The court discussed why velihood in the industry. rallies,” Justice Shah, accom­
resigned as its chief on the manufacturers should Justice Shah retorted: panied by Justice A.S. Bopan­
Tuesday, said he would not be asked to show cause “We have to balance bet­ na on the Bench, pointed
firmly stick to his stance why contempt action should ween employment, unem­ out. He noted that the court
and continue the fight not be taken against them. ployment and the right to had to fix liability on the
even if it meant losing “Every day there is a cele­ life and health of citizens. authorities in charge.
everything. Chief Minister bration, but you should also We cannot sacrifice the lives “Sometimes, we have to
Charanjit Singh Channi be mindful of the people liv­ of many for a few. Our prime fix liability. If the police com­
urged Mr. Sidhu to resolve ing around you... people focus is the right to life of in­ missioner is sedate about lia­
his grouse by holding who have asthma,” Justice nocent people.” bility, only then all this will
talks. A page 9 Shah remarked. The court The case gained signifi­ happen,” he said.

Nipah antibodies found in bat samples in Kerala

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Thiruvananthapuram
Nipah virus antibodies (IgG
antibodies) were detected in
bat samples collected by the
National Institute of Virology
(NIV), Pune, from Kodiyath­
oor and Thamarassery in
Kozhikode district near the
panchayat where a Nipah in­
fection was confirmed last
month.
The samples were collect­
ed by the NIV as part of the
Nipah outbreak investiga­
tion. A sample belonging to
the Pteropus species, col­
lected from Thamarassery,
was found to have Nipah an­
tibodies, while the same was
detected in another sample
from the Rousettus species
collected from Kodiyathoor.
The results of over 50 bat
samples collected as part of
the outbreak investigation
were still awaited, Kerala
Health Minister Veena Ge­
orge said on Wednesday.
Given the current evi­
dence, it would be logical to
conclude that the Nipah out­
break in Kozhikode did origi­
nate from bats, even though
the authorities are still in the
dark as to the route of virus
transmission from bats to
humans, Ms. George said.
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8

Bid amounts
for PM’s
mementoes fall
damini nath
NEW DELHI

Bids on Olympians’ gear, in­

cluding Neeraj Chopra’s ja­
velin and P.V. Sindhu’s bad­
minton racket, reduced
from highs of ₹9 crore­₹11
crore in the first week of the
e­auction of mementoes
gifted to Prime Minister Na­
rendra Modi to near the
base prices of ₹80 lakh to ₹1
crore as on Wednesday.
The auction, the pro­
ceeds of which are sup­
posed to go to the Namami
Gange Mission, started on
September 17, Prime Minis­
ter Narendra Modi’s birth­
day. A total of 1,330 memen­
toes gifted to him were put
on auction through the
website pmmementos.go­
v.in till October 7.
The equipment used by
Olympic and Paralympic
athletes and medal­winners
had received bids of around
₹10 crore on day two of the
auction. However, the
amounts had been reduced
after the Ministry disquali­
fied bids that were found
not to be genuine, a Culture
Ministry official said.
On Wednesday, gold me­
dallist Neeraj Chopra’s jave­
lin was going for ₹5 crore,
while it had received a bid
of over ₹10 crore in the first
week of the auction. Simi­
larly, the badminton racket
and bag of Ms. Sindhu, a
bronze medal winner, had a
price of ₹1.1 crore on Wed­
nesday, down from ₹9 crore
on September 18.

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
CM M ND-NDE
YK
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2 CITY
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IN BRIEF
Mangu Singh’s tenure as
DMRC MD extended
NEW DELHI
The Delhi government on
Wednesday extended the
tenure of Mangu Singh as the
Managing Director of the
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
(DMRC) till March 31, 2022.
Mr. Singh has been the MD of
DMRC since January 1 2013,
taking over from E.
Sreedharan.
Eatery that denied entry
to woman in saree shut
NEW DELHI
A restaurant that allegedly
denied entry to a saree-clad
woman here was issued a
closure notice by the South
Delhi Municipal Corporation
for operating without a
proper trade licence,
following which the owner
said he has shut operations.
SDMC officials said that a
closure notice was issued to
the Aquila Restaurant located
at Ansal Plaza in Andrews
Ganj for operating without a
licence. PTI
Women who fled critical
care centre rescued
NEW DELHI
Nearly five months after two
women had escaped from a
critical care centre here, the
Delhi Police’s anti-human
trafficking unit of the Crime
Branch rescued them from a
red-light area in Pune, police
said on Wednesday.
CM
YK
Ban on firecrackers takes the
bang out of Ramlila celebrations COVID­19 rules; manager held
Biggest events likely to be cancelled as authorities yet to communicate guidelines
Jatin Anand
New Delhi
The biggest, oldest and most
popular Ramlila events that
the Capital has been hosting
for decades, in some cases
for centuries, are likely to be
cancelled entirely this year.
The organisers, who had
agreed to keep the celebra­
tions low­key last year in the
wake on the COVID­19 pan­
demic, seem determined to
call off the events, blaming
the authorities for “not issu­
ing guidelines in time and im­
posing a total ban on the
bursting of firecrackers of all
makes and varieties, includ­
ing ‘green crackers’”.
The “mismanagement”,
said the organisers, has left
them with limited to non­ex­
istent alternatives for Ramlila
celebrations, which are sup­
posed to start from October
6. A handful of them, howev­
er, are hopeful of pulling off
smaller, single­day events for
the sake of continuity.
According to the organis­
ers, an estimated 700 events
are planned across the city
every year at varying scales,
of which around a hundred
are the biggest and among
the oldest in the country.
The over 170­year­old
Plea in HC seeks removal of verdict from Net
Court issues notices to Centre, Google on petition citing ‘right to be forgotten’
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
The Delhi High Court on
Wednesday sought replies
from the Centre, Google and
India Kanoon on a plea seek­
ing removal of a judgment
and an order in connection
with a seven­year­old FIR un­
der ‘Right to be Forgotten’,
and asked how far this rule
can be stretched.
FIR against eatery for flouting
Up in smoke: File photo of Ramlila celebrations at the Red Fort
ground. Such display not possible this year, say organisers.
Ramlila organised by the Shri
Ramlila Committee (SRC) in
central Delhi, with its origins
in Mughal Emperor Bahadur
Shah Zafar’s decision to pa­
tronise the event during his
reign, is among those likely to
be cancelled, along with oth­
er big and popular events.
“On the one hand, there
isn’t enough time to make the
arrangements since the gui­
delines are yet to be com­
municated to the organisers;
on the other, given the ban
on firecrackers, a quality dis­
play during the Ramlila is not
possible,” said Rajesh Khan­
na, general secretary, SRC.
“They (authorities) have
Justice Rekha Palli issued
notices asking them to res­
pond to the petition while
listing the matter for further
proceedings on December 1,
when several similar peti­
tions are also fixed for
hearing.
The court orally observed
that the ‘right to be forgotten’
depends on how far it has to
be stretched. “Tomorrow, pe­
Resolve technical issues,
grievances related to
Faceless Services: Gahlot
33 services are part of programme
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
Transport Minister Kailash
Gahlot on Wednesday con­
vened a review meeting to
assess the implementation
of the department’s ‘Face­
less Services’ initiative.
Transport Commission­
er Ashish Kundra, senior
officials from NIC and oth­
er officers the department
were also present at the
meeting, where the Minis­
ter issued instructions to
expedite the process of re­
solving technical issues,
pendencies and grievances
related to Faceless
Services.
Approval rate
Since the phased launch of
the initiative in February,
the department has re­
ceived 2,16,835 applica­
tions for vehicle­related
services and 2,08,224 on
driving licence­related ser­
vices till September 27, the
government stated. Out of
these, 92% and 79.9% of all
applications under driving
licence and vehicle­related
services, respectively, got
Workshop conducted
to link FBOs with NGOs
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
On International Day of
Awareness of Food Loss
and Waste, the Delhi go­
vernment organised a
workshop to connect food
business operators (FBO)
such as restaurants and
hotels with NGOs distribut­
ing food to the needy.
The government is also
helping NGOs to get regis­
tered with it to carry out
food donation and ensure
quality food is distributed
made it impossible for us to
organise the Ramlila. It feels
like this is precisely what
they wanted in the first place;
had that not been the case,
they would have spoken to us
well in advance,” he said.
‘Not enough time’
Satish Aggarwal from East
Delhi’s Shri Balaji Ramlila
Committee said there was
neither enough time to col­
lect contributions for the
event nor a way to tide over
the prohibition on the use of
firecrackers.
“We were able to pull off
the celebrations last year on a
relatively smaller but still
ople who defraud the banks
will come and say ‘please re­
move the judgment’. We have
to balance the rights,” it said.
The court was hearing a
petition by one Sukhmeet
Singh Anand seeking removal
of a judgment and an order
passed in 2015 and 2018 in
connection with an FIR regis­
tered against him in 2014 by
the Economic Offences Wing.
Kailash Gahlot * Begumpur Masjid is the se­
approved, according to go­
vernment statistics.
The number of applica­
tions for learner’s licences
from August 7 to Septem­
ber 28 was 57,755, of which
78.7% of candidates suc­
cessfully received their
learner’s licences and
12,260 applicants have yet
to attempt their tests.
The ‘Faceless Services’
initiative envisions provid­
ing contact­less, queue­
less, hassle­free services to
the applicants with tran­
sparent service delivery as
its prime focus, the govern­
ment said. At the moment,
33 transport­related servic­
es are part of the pro­
gramme, except for the
driving tests and fitness
tests for vehicles.
to the needy, said govern­
ment authorities.
“The registration is very
simple and the process is
online. Today [Wednes­
day] we registered six
NGOs,” an official said. The
FBOs are already regis­
tered with the
government.
The aim is to ensure that
the food donated to the
needy is fresh and both the
NGOs and the FBOs stick to
protocol prepared by the
government.
adequate scale. That doesn’t
seem possible at all this year.
In a way, it [cancelling
events] seems to be the right
thing to do; not many have
the heart to seek contribu­
tions from homes which have
lost one member or more to
COVID,” he said.
Ashok Goel Devraha, gen­
eral secretary of Delhi Dhar­
mik Sangh, an umbrella body
of Ramlila organisers in the
city, said events would be or­
ganised for the sake of conti­
nuity, no matter the scale.
“Whether we organise
them at home or with just the
families of committee mem­
bers in attendance, we will
organise the event in honour
of Lord Ram. In Pitampura,
for instance, we will organise
a single­day Sampoorna
(complete) Ramlila and use
electronic effects to simulate
fireworks,” said Mr. Goel,
who is also the president of
Shri Keshav Ramlila organ­
ised at Netaji Subhash Place.
Anil Sharma of the R.K.
Puram Ramlila Religious
Committee said its members
would meet on Thursday to
take a final call. “No matter
how small the celebration is,
we will do something to mark
the occasion,” he said.
The FIR was registered
against the petitioner and
other persons in 2014 pur­
suant to a complaint by Sam­
sung Gulf Electronic FZE, Du­
bai.
The plea, filed through ad­
vocate Tarun Rana, said
merely by typing Mr. Singh’s
name on Google, the web
page takes visitors directly to
the links of the orders.
Call of the mosque
One of the most abiding monuments in the city, the Begumpur Masjid holds
many tales in its tapering turrets and multidomed roofs
Rana Safvi
Even though prayers are
no longer held here, the
cond largest mosque of
Delhi and has been in the
news lately due to its rapid­
ly deteriorating condition.
In the 14th century, Delhi
got its fourth city, grandly
named Jahanpanah or the
‘Refuge of the World’. It
was built by Sultan Mu­
hammad bin Tughlaq, who
is notorious for his eccen­
tric decisions including the
shifting of his capital from
Delhi to Daulatabad in the
Deccan. This meant that
the city was not destined to
flourish, even though he
returned to it soon after.
It was left to his succes­
sor, Sultan Firuz Shah
Tughlaq, to give Delhi its
most abiding monument.
An ardent builder and
antiquarian, Sultan Firuz
Shah repaired many of the
old monuments such as the
Surajkund in modern­day
Faridabad and the Qutub
Minar. He built baolis (step­
wells), schools, hospitals,
hospices, hunting lodges
and the fifth city of Delhi,
named Firozabad, while
his minister Khan­i Jahan
Jauna Khan built seven
mosques spread out over a
vast area. Out of these, the
largest was in the heart of
Licensing Unit of Delhi Police issues closure order
Hemani Bhandari
NEW DELHI
Delhi Police has registered
an FIR against a restaurant­
cum­bar in Connaught Place
for flouting COVID­19 norms.
The manager of the res­
taurant, House of Commons,
has been arrested and the
Delhi Police Licensing De­
partment has issued closure
order to the eatery.
A senior police officer said
a team checking the area on
Monday night found the res­
taurant packed with people,
none of whom were wearing
masks or following social dis­
tancing norms.
Hookah on menu
“People were dancing and
hookah [which is prohibited
in Delhi] was being served,”
the officer said.
The officers approached a
person sitting behind the
counter who identified him­
18,000 samples collected so far
for sixth serological survey
Govt. plans to collect 28K samples; results to be out by Oct. 15
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
About 18,000 random blood
samples have been collected
so far as part of the sixth ser­
ological survey and the exer­
cise is expected to be com­
pleted by Tuesday. The result
of the survey is likely to be an­
nounced by October 15, offi­
cials said.
Last week, the Delhi go­
vernment had started the
sixth serological survey to as­
sess the percentage of popu­
lation having antibodies
against COVID­19, either
through natural infection or
vaccination.
The government aims to
Jahanpanah.
It was built in 1387 in the
village of Begumpur from
which it gets its name. Its
boldly projecting gateway,
double­pillars, tapering
turrets, multidomed roofs
mark it as a Firuz Shah
Tughlaq­era mosque.
Its entrance is hidden in
the narrow lanes of Malvi­
ya Nagar. It could once be
accessed from three sides,
but though domed gate­
ways in the north and
south remain, they are no
longer in use as the steps
leading up to them have
been destroyed.
Walking up the 15 stone
steps and passing under
the domed entrance gate­
way into the massive cour­
tyard, one feels a sense of
continuity with those who
would have come here ear­
lier and a sense of anguish
at its dilapidated state.
The 247­foot­long by
223­foot­broad courtyard
has been a witness to histo­
ry. The arched cloisters on
the three sides and three­
aisle deep prayer hall in
the west would have once
rung out with the sound of
azan and the prayers of the
faithful. Today, it is over­
grown with grass and
weeds.
The main prayer hall on
the west has an imposing
entrance gateway with a
tall arched pylon in the
central frontage and taper­
ing turrets at each of its
corners. Clearly inspired
by Iranian design, it is the
earliest example of a ‘four­
iwan (vaulted rectangular
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
<
> The restaurant was
packed with
customers, none of
whom were
wearing masks
Senior police officer
self as Pankaj Rai, the manag­
er of the restaurant. When
asked about the violations,
“Pankaj could not give a sa­
tisfactory response”, the pol­
ice said, adding that Pankaj
has shared the name of the
restaurant owner.
A case has been lodged
under Sections 188 (Disobe­
dience to order duly promul­
gated by public servant), 269
(Unlawfully doing an act
which may spread infection),
270 (Malignantly doing an
act which may spread infec­
tion) of the Indian Penal
Code; and relevant sections
of the Epidemic Diseases
Act, 1897, and the Cigarettes
Vaccination drive under way
in the city on Wednesday.
*
SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
collect 28,000 random blood
samples from all the 272
wards for the survey. “In
most districts, sample collec­
tion will be completed by Sa­
turday. In one or two districts
All that remains: The
crumbling domes of
Begumpur Masjid have
been crying out for help.
hall)’ mosque in India and,
in turn, it inspired later
mosques such as those in
Jaunpur built by the Sharqi
sultans.
Since Sultan Firuz Shah
had built a new city near
the Yamuna and under the
Lodi dynasty the capital
was shifted to Agra, Jahan­
panah was once again
neglected.
Except for a brief period
of time under Sher Shah
Sur and Humayun, Agra re­
mained the capital till
1648. When it did shift back
to Delhi under Shah Jahan,
it was to the new city of
Shahjahanabad.
Sometime during this
period, the 64 domes of
the Begumpur mosque be­
came home to villagers. Ac­
cording to H.C. Fanshawe
(in Delhi, Past and Present,
published in 1902) the ar­
cades of the ‘Refuge of the
World’ were also used to
give refuge to some English
DELHI
THE HINDU
and Other Tobacco Products
Act, 2003.
Many restaurants and bars
in the national capital are re­
portedly not following CO­
VID­19 safety guidelines.
Although law enforcement
agencies are taking action in
certain markets, most viola­
tions are going unreported.
In August, the police regis­
tered an FIR against ‘Key
Nightclub’ in Hotel Samrat
for violating COVID­19
norms.
Since April 19, Delhi Police
has issued 2,65,258 challans
for mask violations, 29,982
challans for flouting of social
distancing rules, and 1,463
challans for ignoring norms
on public gatherings.
Police teams periodically
visit markets, malls, hospi­
tals, schools and residential
areas to ensure people are
wearing masks and following
social distancing norms.
it will take till Tuesday. It will
take about two weeks more
after it for results to be out,”
an official said.
41 fresh cases
Meanwhile, the city reported
no new COVID­19 deaths over
24 hours and the toll stood at
25,087, according to the
health bulletin released by
the Delhi government. Forty­
one new cases were reported
over 24 hours, taking the tally
to 14,38,821. A total of 71,983
tests were conducted, with a
test positivity rate of 0.06%.
Of the total cases, 14,13,342
have recovered, leaving only
392 active cases.
in 1857.
The villagers, along with
their animals, lived in it till
the beginning of the 20th
century when the Archaeo­
logical Survey of India relo­
cated them.
These years were not
kind to the monument. In
fact, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan,
who has devoted reams to
the monuments of Delhi
(Asar-us Sanadid, pu­
blished 1847) , dismisses it
with the words, “Near Bijai
Mandal lies Begumpur
where Khan­e­Jahan Khan­
e­Firoz Shahi has con­
structed a mosque. It is ve­
ry similar to the Khirki
mosque. I didn’t find the
building attractive enough
to sketch, so have left it
out.”
He must have seen it at a
time when it was occupied
by the villagers and their
cattle. Today, shorn of peo­
ple, its grandeur is stark,
its sheer size majestic and
its upkeep appalling.
A portion of the arcade
domes had collapsed ear­
lier and the ones that sur­
vived are now crying out
for help and hoping that its
plea doesn’t go unheard.
Hogi iss dher imaarat ki
kahaani kuchh tau
Dhundh alfaz ke malbe
mein maa’ini kuchh tau
(Surely a story hides be­
hind these ruins, somewh­
ere
Search the debris of
words, the meaning is
there, somewhere)
— Shehpar Rasool
(The author is a historian who
writes on heritage and culture)
M ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
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Junior classes can resume after
festive season ends, says Baijal
Though pandemic situation is under control, we cannot let down our guard: L­G
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
Junior classes will be allowed
to resume only after the up­
coming festival season con­
cludes, Lieutenant­Governor
Anil Baijal said on Wednes­
day following a Delhi Disas­
ter Management Authority
(DDMA) meeting. Only stu­
dents of Classes IX­XII are
currently attending school.
It was also decided that
festive gatherings will be al­
lowed, subject to observance
of COVID­19 protocol.
The L­G said that though
the pandemic situation in
the city is under control, we
cannot let down our guard.
According to sources pre­
sent in the meeting, the
Health Department made a
presentation on the current
COVID­19 situation in the ci­
ty and the preparedness in
Woman found
dead inside
public toilet
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI
A 38­year­old woman was
found dead inside a public
toilet in South East Delhi’s
Sarita Vihar on Wednes­
day.
DCP (South­East) Esha
Pandey said that a call was
received around 9 a.m. re­
garding a body found in­
side washroom. When the
police reached the spot,
they found the woman in
the differently abled sec­
tion of the toilet in Rajas­
thani Camp. The woman
had been reported missing
by her children on
Tuesday.
The body has been shift­
ed to AIIMS for post­mor­
tem, the police said.
INTERVIEW | DEEPA MALIK
‘We’ve made place in the hearts of people’
The way India has celebrated para sports marks a new era for the Games: PCI chief
Ashok Kumar
Gurugram
Major Dhyan Chand Khel
Ratna awardee Deepa Ma­
lik, the first woman from In­
dia to win a medal in the Pa­
ralympic Games and the
president of the Paralympic
Committee of India, speaks
to The Hindu on the state of
affairs for para sports in the
country, society’s growing
interest in the Games and the
way forward. Excerpts:
India jumped from 43rd spot
in Rio to 24th in Tokyo
Paralympics with 19 medals.
We had won just four medals
at Rio in 2016. Was the Tokyo
Games just a one­off good
tournament or things have
changed fundamentally for
para sports in the country
over these five years?
■ Definitely things have
changed fundamentally,
that’s why this change has
happened. The Rio Paralym­
pics brought in a revolution
which was taken forward.
The medals haul in 2016
proved that there is a lot of
potential in para sports. The
attention of the government
shifted to para sports, accept­
ing it as mainstream sports.
Para sports were included in
all the mainstream­funding
programmes of the govern­
ment and the awareness
Snake found
at Rashtrapati
Bhavan
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
A two­feet­long wolf snake
was found in a restroom of
Rashtrapati Bhavan and
was rescued by the animal
rescue NGO Wildlife SOS.
The NGO said it is under
observation at its transit fa­
cility before being released
into its natural habitat.
CM
YK
Government school students return after attending classes in
Delhi on Wednesday. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA*
terms of hospital infrastruc­
ture and availability of oxy­
gen and medicines. The de­
partment also shared
information regarding re­
sumption of Classes IX­XII.
“Even as the experts ex­
pressed satisfaction at the
prevailing situation, it was
strongly reiterated that
guard cannot be let down in
Police officers pose as municipal
employees, arrest four for burglary
Accused had run off with jewellery from a house in Kalkaji
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI
Delhi Police officers, posing
as municipal employees, ar­
rested four men for their al­
leged involvement in a case
of burglary.
Deputy Commissioner of
Police (South East) Esha Pan­
dey said Nitin, 25, Anoop,
24, Irfan, 26 and Ashu, 24,
allegedly committed a bur­
glary on September 18 in
Kalkaji. Bidesh Haldhar (28),
a Mehrauli­based jeweller,
has been arrested for buying
stolen gold and silver orna­
ments from the accused.
A burglary case was
lodged on September 18 af­
ter a Kalkaji resident filed a
spread. The media took not­
ice, so did social media. The
working of the federation be­
came more streamlined.
There was a deliberate at­
tempt to conduct proper se­
lection trials and introduce
sciences in sports. Talent
pool was identified and nur­
tured, aiming at future events
such as the Tokyo Paralym­
pics. The coaches have un­
derstood after Rio that me­
dals can be won when sports
sciences are introduced.
You said funding for the
Games has improved. Please
elaborate.
■ Under the Target Olympic
Podium Scheme, more than
₹17 crore were sanctioned to
the athletes for preparation.
The State governments too
came forward and funded
preparations. We also re­
ceived funding from private
companies under the Corpo­
rate Social Responsibility
(CSR) scheme, but they came
in a bit late. Government
funding comes after the team
is formed and the talent has
been identified, but these
athletes need to be continu­
ously trained. We do need
more funding, there is no
doubt about it.
What is the state of affairs of
para sports in India in terms
0
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this newspaper.
terms of COVID­appropriate
behaviour and there can be
no laxity in enforcing the
norms, especially in light of
the forthcoming festive sea­
son,” a source said.
It was further decided
that all remaining classes
would be allowed to resume
after the festive season ends,
the source added.
<
> The disguised
officers checked
houses in
Ambedkar Nagar to
nab the accused
Esha Pandey
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East)
complaint alleging that she
and her husband found the
front door of their house
open when they returned
from work, and all the jewel­
lery was missing.
Autorickshaw driver
During investigation, CCTV
footage of the crime scene
showed four men carrying a
bag on the day of the inci­
dent. Footage from other
of the interest it generates
among the masses?
■ The way India has celebrat­
ed para sports, it definitely
marks a new era for the
Games. It jumped started
with Rio and now with To­
kyo, there is not just more
awareness but we have made
place in the hearts of the peo­
ple. People have begun to fol­
low the Games. Now, they
make enquiries on social me­
dia as to when they are going
to see the para­athletes in ac­
tion again. As a president, I
made deliberate efforts to re­
vive our social media han­
dles. We were applauded by
the International Paralympic
Committee for the maximum
engagement from India.
I think the shift has taken
place. We are feeling wel­
comed everywhere.
Still, para­athletes don’t get
contracts for endorsements
on a par with able­bodied
athletes. Your views.
CITY 3
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Showing the way
The L­G also directed the
police and district adminis­
tration to enforce COVID­19
rules at public gatherings
during the festive season,
and strictly ensure separate
entry and exit points, no
standing crowds and appro­
priate social distancing for
seating. No activities such as
fairs, stalls and giant wheels
that attract crowds in viola­
tion of social distancing will
be allowed. The onus is on
the organisers to ensure CO­
VID­19 rules are followed,
the source said.
A mural encouraging education for the girl child adorns a wall of ISBT Flyover. The artwork has been done under a project by
Cover all groups the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in partnership with Delhi Street Art. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA *
The Lieutenant­Governor, CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
according to the source, also
noted that while vaccination
Delhi govt. has power to 3 STPs yet
had increased, a change in
strategy was needed to man­
datorily cover all groups that
have high public interface. to reinstall
float new excise policy: HC new systems
Court refuses to stay closure of vends with L7 licences
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
cise Act.
“The government ought
of the petitioner... Even if L7
licences are brought to an
The Delhi Pollution Con­
trol Committee (DPCC) has
written to the Delhi Jal
The Delhi government has to be given free movement end with effect from Sep­ Board (DJB) to instal moni­
the power and jurisdiction in the joints. It ought to be tember 30, there is no prima toring systems in at least
to float the New Excise Poli­ kept in mind that change is facie case in favour of the pe­ three Sewage Treatment
cameras in the area showed cy 2021, the Delhi High inevitable and excise policy titioner because there is no Plants (STPs), after they
the accused taking an autor­ Court observed on Wednes­ is no exception. New experi­ discrimination,” the court were stolen.
ickshaw from Ravidas Marg. day and refused to stay the ments are always being per­ said. The DJB runs the STPs in
The autorickshaw driver closure of retail vends hav­ mitted in matters of policy. the city to clean the sewage
told the police that the ac­ ing L7 licences for the sale of Prima facie, we do not want ‘Public won’t suffer’ before it flows into the Ya­
cused got off in Mehrauli. La­ Indian liquor in private sec­ to prejudice the resultant ef­ The court stated that the pu­ muna. Currently, the river
ter, based on information tor under the old policy with fect of the policy,” said the blic at large was not going to is polluted and not even fit
from sources, the police effect from September 30. Bench which also comprised suffer on account of the clo­ for bathing in the Delhi
found that the men had A Bench headed by Chief Justice Jyoti Singh. sure as other categories of stretch, except for Palla,
shifted to Ambedkar Colony. Justice D.N. Patel, dealing The court further stated vends would continue to the point where the river
“To trace and nab the sus­ with an application by one that to withdraw from the operate. enters Delhi, as per govern­
pects, a team from Kalkaji such licence holder — Rattan sale and distribution, in a “There are different types ment data. “It is learnt that
police station then posed as Singh — for stay on the clo­ phased manner, of liquor of licences for different pur­ OCEMS (Online Continu­
municipal employees and sure, said that prima facie, was a policy decision of the poses, from L1 to L35... Pu­ ous Effluent Monitoring
checked suspected houses the new mechanism did not Delhi government under the blic at large is not going to Systems) earlier installed at
in the densely populated co­ violate any of his rights. new regime, which has its suffer. Other licences would Yamuna Vihar Ph­II, Coro­
lony of Ambedkar Nagar and The application was part own benefits. continue. Public will have to nation Pillar Ph­I &II and
managed to arrest Nitin,” of the plea seeking to extend “Prima facie, the mechan­ move out of their comfort Kondli Ph­IV have been sto­
Ms. Pandey said, adding that the licence in parity with ism which is going to be zone. Everything will not be len & new OCEMS are yet
the other accused were sub­ other categories under the adopted under the new poli­ at the doorstep when there to be installed at these
sequently arrested. provisions of the Delhi Ex­ cy does not violate any right is transformation,” it said. STPs,” the letter said.
■ It is happening slowly. I
have also been pushing it in­
dividually. My crusade is that
why we (para­athletes) are
used only for inspirational or
CSR activities; we should also
be involved in mainstream
promotions. But for this to
happen the responsibility al­
so lies with individual ath­
letes. They need to augment
their digital media presence.
What could be the
short­term and long­term
measures to promote para
sports?
■ The short­term measure is
definitely to nurture our pool
of excellence. For long­term,
a lot of work needs to be
done. As an apex body, we
can work to a certain extent
but the State bodies need to
take more responsibility,
pushing the policies at State­
level.
Given the present condition
of the infrastructure and the
policies, what could be a
realistic goal for India for the
next Paralympics?
■ If we don’t face the CO­
VID­19 problems and get reg­
ular participation at interna­
tional levels, I think the 19
medals can be easily convert­
ed into 30­odd with more
gold medal­winning perfor­
mances.
M ND-NDE
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4 STATES DELHI

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

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THE HINDU

EDUCATIONAL SITUATION VACANT SITUATION VACANT

Jail for former
GENERAL
GENERAL T.N. minister, Gurjars, Rajputs stake
husband
R. Sivaraman
claim to Mihir Bhoj
CHENNAI
EDUCATIONAL The issue may have political consequences in U.P.
Former Social Welfare Mi­
nister R. Indira Kumari and Anuj Kumar
her husband A. Babu have Ghaziabad
been convicted and sen­ Over the past week, Samrat Mihir
tenced by a special court to Bhoj emerged from the pages of his­
five­year rigorous impri­ tory books to make headlines in the
sonment for siphoning off vernacular newspapers of western
₹15.45 lakh from a govern­ Uttar Pradesh as Gurjars and Rajputs
ment department and staked their claim to the 9th century The recently inaugurated statue of
parking the sum in two ruler of the Gurjara­Pratihara Mihir Bhoj. ANUJ KUMAR
*

trusts run by him under dynasty.

the pretext of running While Gurjars claim the king be­ gion swore by Congress leader Ra­
schools for children with longed to their caste, the Rajputs say jesh Pilot but today both have sitting
disabilities. ‘Gurjara’ referred to a place, not a BJP MLAs. Local sources say it’s in­
P. Shanmugam, former caste, and that Mihir Bhoj was a Raj­ ternal politics that put Mr. Aditya­
Director of Rehabilitation put king. nath on a sticky wicket.
of the Disabled, has been In poll­bound U.P., observers say,
sentenced to three­year ri­ the issue will have political conse­ ‘Distorting history’
gorous imprisonment. The quences, particularly in west U.P., The Opposition leaders — Samajwadi
court also imposed a fine of where the Gurjar vote could prove Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, BSP’s Maya­
₹10,000 on each of them. decisive in at least a dozen wati and Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Jayant
R. Venkatakrishnan, a per­ constituencies. Chaudhary — took the BJP govern­
sonal assistant to Indira Ku­ The issue surfaced days before CM ment to task for distorting history
mari, was acquitted. Yogi Adityanath unveiled a 12­foot and playing caste politics.
Ms. Indira Kumari held high statute of Mihir Bhoj in Dadri On September 26, Gurjars held a
the portfolio of Social Wel­ town of Gautam Buddh Nagar in a massive mahapanchayat in a Dadri
fare in the AIADMK govern­ college named after the ruler on Sep­ village, demanding the word Gurjar
PUBLIC NOTICE ment. She joined the DMK tember 22. The plaque referred to to be restored. For young Gurjars, it
in 2006, and has been the the ruler as Gurjar Pratihar Samrat. has become an emotive issue. “The
State secretary of the par­ It offended the Rajputs. Just before new narrative has come to us as a
ty’s literary wing. the event, the word Gurjar was re­ shock,” said Dr. Veerpal Singh, a pro­
moved. In his speech, Mr. Aditya­ fessor in Chaudhary Charan Singh
Timings
nath tried to placate both the com­ University who hails from the Gurjar
DELHI
munities. community.
THURSDAY, SEP. 30
However, it didn’t cut much ice Reacting to this, Prince Arunoday
RISE 06:14 SET 18:09
with the Gurjars, who have formida­ Singh Parihar, who claims to be a di­
RISE 00:00 SET 14:20
ble numbers in Dadri and the neigh­ rect descendant of Bhoj, wrote to the
PUBLIC NOTICE FRIDAY, OCT. 01
bouring Jewar constituency. There PM to stop “distortion of Rajput
RISE 06:14 SET 18:07
was a time when Gurjars of the re­ history”.
RISE 00:45 SET 15:06
PERSONAL
After Surat success, AAP
SATURDAY, OCT. 02
RISE 06:15 SET 18:06
CHANGE OF NAME RISE 01:44 SET 15:49

I, MARIANNE Mathew d/o Daniel N

Mathew & W/o Arun V Thomas R/o
#1333 2G Cross Ramaiah Lyt Bengalu-
takes aim at Gandhinagar
ru 84 KA have changed my name to Special Correspondent asked the people of Gandhinagar to
Marianne Thomas vide affidavit dat- AHMEDABAD give his party a chance to change the
ed 28 Sept 2021
After tasting success in the Surat face of the State capital.
municipal elections, the Aam Aadmi He addressed a well attended
FOR SALE Party (AAP) has now set its eyes on town hall meeting and also held a
the upcoming civic body polls in roadshow appealing the citizens,
ORIENT WEB OFFSET FOR SALE (2 Ma- Gandhinagar where the voting will mostly government employees, to
chine Running) Cut Off − 546mm ,
Speed −30000 CPH, 2009 Model, 20 take place on October 3. vote for AAP. Addressing a press
Page Configuration with 6 Page The entry of AAP in the civic polls conference, Mr. Sisodia alleged that
Colour with Balloon Former for Sup- here has made the contest tripartite, even as the voters had given a
plement Folding with brushmist
dampening and pneumatic in perfect giving jitters to the BJP and the Con­ chance to the Congress in the past,
running condition. Please Contact gress. the party betrayed the people’s man­
− 9447005986
On Wednesday, AAP leader and date and helped the BJP capture the
Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia municipal body.

OBITUARY &
REMEMBRANCE

DEATH ANNIVERSARIES

Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Group Editorial Officer: Krishna Prasad. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).
Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 11 No. 232
● ● ● ●

CM M ND-NDE
YK
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THE HINDU DELHI
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
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Kannur University approves
revised syllabus following row
Committee looked into issue after controversy over Golwalkar, Savarkar texts
Staff Reporter
KANNUR
Kannur University has decid­
ed to approve the revised syl­
labus prepared by the Board
of Studies in Political Science
for the third semester M.A.
Governance and Politics
course.
An external expert com­
mittee looked into the sylla­
bus after it stirred a contro­
versy over the inclusion of
texts by Rashtriya Swayam­
sevak Sangh ideologue M.S.
Golwalkar, V.D. Savarkar,
Balraj Madhok, and Deen­
dayal Upadhyay.
The committee had stu­
died the syllabus and recom­
mended revisions, and its re­
port had been sent to the
Board of Studies in Political
Science for consideration.
The Academic Council,
which met on Wednesday,
resolved to approve the re­
No legal bar on minor being
initiated into sanyasa: HC
It rejects plea against appointment of Shiroor Mutt seer
Special Correspondent
Bengaluru
The High Court of Karnataka
on Wednesday rejected a pe­
tition against the anoint­
ment of a minor boy as the
31st seer of Udupi Shiroor
Mutt while holding that
there is no statutory or con­
stitutional bar on a person
aged below 18 being initiated
into sanyasa.
“The petition has not
been able to make out viola­
tion of any statutory provi­
sions or any violation of con­
stitutional rights guaranteed
to respondent Aniruddha
HC rejects plea to commute death penalty Police begin interrogation of Monson
It extends stay on serial killer’s execution for 6 weeks to enable him to move SC
Special Correspondent
Bengaluru
The High Court of Karnataka
on Wednesday rejected the
plea of B.A. Umesh, alias
Umesh Reddy, who was sen­
tenced to death in a rape and
murder case, for commuta­
tion of the death penalty to
life imprisonment, claiming
“compelling supervening
circumstances”.
However, the High Court
extended for six weeks the
stay granted against his exe­
cution on October 20, 2016,
on a plea by his advocate
seeking time to file an appeal
before the Supreme Court
challenging Wednesday’s
order.
A Division Bench, com­
prising Justices Aravind Ku­
mar and Pradeep Singh Ye­
rur, passed the order while
dismissing Reddy’s plea filed
in 2016. He filed the petition
on October 17, 2016, when
the prison authorities were
preparing for the execution
Fraudsters back in business
Whiff of antiseptic to make way for bibliosmia
with job offers in U.K., Canada In a first, Kollam district panchayat proposes to set up libraries in hospitals for patients and caregivers
Letters forged to target young graduates, skilled workers
Mithosh Joseph
KOZHIKODE
With several largescale em­
ployers bouncing back to the
usual pace of international
recruitments, fraudsters
who flourished in illegal re­
cruitment through fake job
offers are back.
Forging appointment let­
ters from professional re­
cruiters offering attractive
pay packages and liberal
terms, they target young
graduates and skilled work­
ers keen on working in the
United Kingdom.
The low­cost technical
procedures and minimal ser­
vice charges are the biggest
lure for aspirants. There is
also the promise of easy mi­
gration and appointment
CM
YK
A file photo of Kannur University in Kerala.
vised syllabus prepared by
the Board of Studies, and
this will be taught in the
third semester.
‘Not comprehensive’
The experts concluded that
the M.A. Governance and
Politics syllabus was not
comprehensive.
The committee, it is
learnt, suggested that the
texts of Deendayal Upadhyay
Saralathaya [now named Ve­
davardhana Tirtha] as the
peetadhipathi of the Shiroor
Mutt. The essential religious
practice has been going on
since last 800 years,” the
court said.
A Division Bench, com­
prising acting Chief Justice
Satish Chandra Sharma and
Justice Sachin Shnkar Maga­
dum, delivered the verdict
while dismissing the petition
filed by P. Lathavya Acharya,
secretary and managing
trustee of Sri Shiroor Mutt
Bhaktha Samiti, Udupi,
along with three other of­
A file photo of serial killer
Umesh Reddy being brought
to the Karnataka High Court.
of the death sentence and
were awaiting orders from
the jurisdictional court as
the Supreme Court on Oc­
tober 3, 2016, had rejected
his review plea against its or­
der confirming the death pe­
nalty.
without clearing mandatory
language proficiency tests,
like IELTS or OET. Noticing
the trend, professionals in
the U.K. are warning aspi­
rants through social media.
“I was shocked to see a
fraudulent appointment let­
ter received by a friend re­
cently. Those who respond
to such offers without prop­
er verification are sure to
lose their money,” said Nir­
ish Antony, who recently se­
cured placement as a psy­
chiatric social worker in
London. The spurt in job
openings after the pandemic
has turned out to be an op­
portunity for fraudsters.
A few who identified fake
appointment letters said
fraudsters who secured bio­
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
*
and Balraj Madhok be omit­
ted from the syllabus. Les­
sons on Savarkar and Gol­
walkar will continue in the
syllabus.
However, it has been pro­
posed to combine the books
of both and teach them only
in connection with the idea
of Hindutva.
The committee further re­
commended the inclusion of
Islamic, Dravidian, Socialist
fice­bearers of the samiti. All
the petitioners are close rela­
tives of Lakshmivara Tirtha
swamiji, former seer of the
Shiroor Mutt, who passed
away in July 2018 without ap­
pointing a successor.
“The courts are certainly
not meant to write the reli­
gious text; however, they are
under an obligation to fol­
low the religious text in reli­
gious disputes and to follow
the old practices which are
prevalent in religion so long
as they do not violate consti­
tutional rights of an indivi­
dual,” the Bench said.
It was claimed in Reddy’s
petition that the death sen­
tence had become “non­ex­
ecutable” due to delay of ov­
er two years in disposal of
the mercy petition filed by
his mother before the Presi­
dent, resulting in his con­
finement to solitary impri­
sonment for 10 years.
‘Mental illness’
Reddy had suffered mental
illness due to prolonged soli­
tary imprisonment, and all
these circumstances fall un­
der the “compelling super­
vening circumstances” de­
fined by the top court for
commuting death penalty to
life imprisonment, it was
stated in the petition.
It was argued on behalf of
Reddy that he filed this peti­
tion “not as an accused” but
as a “victim of violation of
fundamental rights” for the
injustice caused to him due
to the delay in the disposal of
his mercy petition.
data and email addresses
from various sources be­
haved professionally and de­
manded a meagre amount
initially. Many a time, the
tendency among aspirants
to bypass standard proce­
dures for convenience lands
them in traps, they said.
“For qualified profession­
als, there is no shortcut to
reach the U.K. Also, no big
expenses are involved in se­
curing a job in the proper
way,” said M. Manoj, a regis­
tered nurse from Kannur
who works for the National
Health Service, U.K.
Ajith Kolassery, general
manager, NoRKA Roots, said
several candidates had got
fake offers from Canada and
East European countries.
STATES 5
Afghan students hit Weather Watch
Rainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday
as ICCR stipends end
SYED MOHAMMED
HYDERABAD
is on his own now. “We sent
a list of about 70 students, of
Students from Afghanistan which 10 or 15 had financed
who recently graduated are their education themselves,
facing a dilemma as the In­ to the ICCR. We requested
dian Council for Cultural Re­ the government if they can
lations (ICCR) scholarships, extend our scholarship. It
of which they were benefici­ seems they have not decid­
aries, have come to an end. ed anything yet. The pro­
This, they say, has given rise blem is that we are on stu­
to financial concerns. And dent visas and cannot work
what has compounded the here. We are waiting for the
problem is the fact that their scholarships to be extended
student visas do not permit so that we can pursue a
them to work. Ph.D. If they grant us per­
ICCR’s special scholar­ mission to get a job here, we
ship scheme for Afghan na­ will work,” he says.
Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)
tionals provides for stipends Yousaf Khanmirzai, who
Forecast for Thursday: Heavy/very heavy rainfall likely at isol­
and Gandhian ideas in the of up to ₹25,000, and house has been living in the city
ated places over Saurashtra & Kutch, Uttarakhand, Bihar,
syllabus. It was also decided rent allowance of up to for three years, shares a si­ Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, north Konkan, Tamil Nadu,
to include the ideas of lead­ ₹6,500 per student per milar story. Puducherry and Karaikal. Thunderstorm with lightning likely at
ers such as Maulana Abul Ka­ month to those pursuing After completing his BBA isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Ra­
lam Azad, Muhammad Ali undergraduate degrees and from Nizam College, his jasthan, Madhya Pradesh, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Jinnah and Periyar. post­doctoral fellows. scholarship of ₹24,500 per city rain max min city rain max min
The Academic Council de­ Khanullah Behrooz is one month ended. His family, he Agartala................ 3....32.6....24.9 Kozhikode.................. 12....32.0....24.2
Ahmedabad ........ 0.8....29.0....26.6 Kurnool ....................... —....33.8....24.7
cided to constitute a review such student. Upon comple­ shares, is not in a position to Aizawl................ 8.6....27.6....18.9 Lucknow...................... —....34.1....26.5
committee with the Pro Vice­ tion of his MBA from Osma­ support him at this junc­ Allahabad.............. —....34.5....26.0 Madurai ....................... —....37.2....25.0
Chancellor as chairman to nia University recently, he ture. “The situation is criti­ Bengaluru .......... 9.1....28.0....19.4 Mangaluru ................ 2.8....29.9....23.6
Bhopal ............... 3.8....30.5....23.4 Mumbai ................... 100....30.7....24.5
have more clarity on recog­ received the last of this ICCR cal. And it is difficult to go Bhubaneswar...... 0.2....31.0....24.7 Mysuru ........................ —....30.0....21.6
nising various faculties and stipend instalment — back [to Afghanistan],” he Chandigarh ........... —....39.9....27.9 New Delhi ................... —....35.0....26.7
schools of the university. ₹26,500 — in September. He says. Chennai ................ —....34.2....27.2 Patna ....................... 0.6....32.8....25.6
Coimbatore ........... —....33.3....22.8 Port Blair..................... 1....31.1....24.1
Dehradun ........... 0.2....31.9....23.6 Puducherry .................. —....35.2....22.6
Gangtok ............. 1.1....19.6....16.4 Pune............................ 4....29.4....21.4
Goa..................... 45....30.0....23.6 Raipur ......................... —....32.0....23.6
Huge difference in how BJP­RSS, Guwahati .............. —....31.9....25.0
Hubballi ................ —....27.0....21.0
Hyderabad ......... 0.2....30.0....21.4
Imphal .................. —....30.1....20.7
Ranchi ......................... —....26.6....22.2
Shillong.................... 0.9....21.4....17.1
Shimla.................... 12.6....22.6....14.6
Srinagar....................... —....30.4....15.6
Congress view India, says Rahul Jaipur ................... —....33.0....25.6
Kochi .................. 11....31.0....22.4
Kohima ................. —....28.6....18.4
Kolkata ............... 47....27.0....24.5
Thiruvananthapuram......... 9....31.1....22.6
Tiruchi......................... —....36.3....25.0
Vijayawada ................ 10....33.8....23.8
Visakhapatnam ............. 7....32.4....23.8
Staff Reporter (Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)
MALAPPURAM/KOZHIKODE Pollutants in the air you are breathing
CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE
Yesterday
The Bharatiya Janata Party Ahmedabad..... ..4 .35 111 ....18 ...32 ....*
and the Rashtriya Swayam­ Bengaluru ....... ..5 .11 .28 ..181 .136 ....* In observation made at
4.00 p.m., Yamunanagar,
sevak Sangh view India as a Chennai .......... ..9 .33 .61 ....52 ...84 ....* Haryana recorded an overall
Delhi .............. 12 .35 .73 ....67 .106 ....* air quality index (AQI) score
geographical territory or a Hyderabad ...... ..4 .64 .17 ....21 ...22 ....* of 167 indicating a
map but the Congress views Kolkata ........... 10 .22 .66 ....20 ...21 ....* moderate level of pollution.
In contrast, Gadag,
the country as the people Lucknow ......... ..7 .29 .51 ....72 .104 ....* Karnataka recorded a
Mumbai .......... 21 .10 ...— ....63 .103 ....* healthy AQI score of 17
here and the relationships Pune............... 35 .23 .73 ....32 ...26 ....*
they have with others here Visakhapatnam 10 .63 .37 ....63 ...88 ....*
and globally, Congress MP Friendly talk: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi having tea with Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)
Rahul Gandhi said on autorickshaw drivers at Wandoor on Wednesday. SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,
making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air
Wednesday. particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues
“Some people view India with others,” he said. inauguration of a recreation and monuments.
as a map. They see it as the “We carry India inside us, centre for senior citizens in NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by
reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.
space bordered by lines. and it evolves every day. Kozhikode district. CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to
That is the vision of the BJP. That is the difference bet­ Mr. Gandhi surprised au­ critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause
Our [the Congress’s] vision ween how the RSS and the torickshaw drivers of Wan­ dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.
PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,
is different. Our vision of In­ BJP view India and how the door when he accepted their nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced
dia is the people here and Congress views India,” he on­the­spot invitation for tea lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature
the relationships they have said. He was speaking at the and snacks with them. death in people with heart or lung disease
Four petitioners in cheating case give statements to investigation team
Umesh, a former reserve
CPI(M) is targeting me: Sudhakaran
Staff Reporter
police constable, was in­ KOCHI
volved in a series of rape and The Kerala Crime Branch
murder cases in Karnataka police on Wednesday began
and other States. The police interrogation of Monson Ma­ Special Correspondent conference here on investigating the links
Kozhikode
described him as a “psycho­ vunkal, the self­styled an­ Wednesday, Mr. Sudhakaran between him and officials?”
path serial killer” who raped tique dealer and confidence Reiterating that he had no admitted that he had met Mr. Sudhakaran asked.
women before killing them trickster, even as his houses financial dealings with Monson and had sought He said no evidence
and sexually abused victims at Kaloor and Cherthala alleged fake antique dealer treatment at his house. It would be obtained against
even after murdering them. were searched again. Monson Mavunkal, Kerala was a five­day treatment, he him. “I visited a place where
Though he was convicted The four petitioners in the Pradesh Congress said, adding he had no deal a lot of people went. None
in several cases, the case in case, who alleged that they Committee (KPCC) with Anoop, one of the has a problem when
which the stage was set for were duped by Monson, also president and MP K. complainants in the Ministers and officials go
his execution in 2016 was re­ arrived to give their Sudhakaran has said he multi­crore fraud case. He there,” Mr. Sudhakaran said.
lated to the 1998 incident of statements. would initiate legal action alleged that Monson was a He accused the CPI(M)
rape and murder of a widow The Crime Branch was gi­ against the “fraudster” if he “government­protected leadership of trying to
at her house in Peenya in ven three­day custody of is propagating such lies. fraud”. “Why is the frame him by linking him to
Bengaluru. Monson, allowing it to inter­ Addressing a news government not Monson.
The trial court in 2006 rogate and confront him DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
had sentenced him to death with the petitioners who had
and it was confirmed by the raised allegations against would be handed over to the complainant, alleged that connections. The investiga­
High Court in February him. investigation team. Monson had strong connec­ tion team, however, is yet to
2009. The top court on Fe­ M.T. Shameer, one of the tions with senior police offic­ confirm it.
bruary 1, 2011, upheld the Digital evidence petitioners, said email ex­ ers and had even organised Anoop, one of the six who
death penalty imposed on On their way to depose be­ changes in which Monson meetings to substantiate his petitioned the Chief Minister
him, and his mother, Gow­ fore the police, the petition­ claimed about his frozen claims and convince them. and who was among the first
ramma, filed a mercy peti­ ers told the media that digi­ funds in a private bank and He said an analysis of the to be duped, and Rajeev,
tion before the President, tal evidence pertaining to documents attached there­ accused’s phone calls would who was duped in connec­
who rejected the plea in May the scam and information re­ with would be given to the expose the transaction de­ tion with a land deal, also ap­
2013. ceived from similar victims police. Yakoob, another tails, money trail, and his peared before the police.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
NAVAMY SUDHISH outpatients. Apart from periodicals and dailies.
KOLLAM providing an extra facility, Books of all major
Hospital libraries with their we want to promote reading publishers will be available
wide range of biomedical among the visitors,” says K. in the library. The current
literature usually cater to Prasad, district panchayat stock includes many
healthcare professionals. secretary. recently released titles and
But now, inpatients and While the library at the nearly 15 periodicals.
caregivers at the Victoria Hospital will be “Some staff members
Government Victoria inaugurated by writer K.R. have offered to sponsor
Hospital, Kollam, will have Meera on Friday, the next dailies and periodicals while
access to a spectrum of one will be opened at the books from all streams will
recreational reading District Hospital in a couple be made available. You will
material following an of weeks. find many titles of
initiative of the Kollam renowned authors such as
district panchayat. To provide infra O.V. Vijayan and
Perhaps the “After identifying a suitable Madhavikutty, while latest
first­of­its­kind initiative space for the library, the books such as K.R. Meera’s
started by a local body, the Novel initiative: A library set up by the district panchayat at district panchayat will Ghatakan are also part of
project will be extended to the Government Victoria Hospital, Kollam. C. SURESHKUMAR *
provide the infrastructure the collection,” says P.K.
more government hospitals and the books required. The Gopal, health­education
in the future. Hospital, and Homoeo them before or on the day of project cost for each unit is standing committee
“In the initial phase, we Hospital. Inpatients and discharge. We are also ₹2.5 lakh,” Mr. Prasad said. chairman. Since the hospital
will be setting up libraries in their caregivers can grab planning to arrange The library at the Victoria has COVID­19 patients too,
Victoria Hospital, District books from the library ‘Pushthakakoodu’ for other Hospital has books worth all protocols will be followed
Hospital, District Ayurveda during their stay and return visitors, including ₹1.5 lakh, along with while issuing books.
M ND-NDE
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6 EDITORIAL DELHI

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

THE HINDU
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A fund without a care for the RTI

The Government’s claim that the PM CARES Fund is not a public authority is unacceptable
der immediate relief to families of The third claim is: “This Trust is declare it as a public authority.
those killed in natural calamities... neither intended to be or is in fact The Prime Minister and the Minis­

A scheme before its time and to the victims of the major ac­ owned, controlled or substantially ters do not take decisions in their

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
cidents and riots. Assistance from financed by any Central Govern­ personal capacity. They have to
A digital health mission needs to get all the the PMNRF is also rendered, to ment or State Government or any work to implement the objectives
partially defray the expenses for instrumentality of the any Govern­ of the trust.
fundamentals of the ecosystem right M. Sridhar Acharyulu medical treatment ... The fund is ment. In other words, there is no

P
rime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the recognised as a Trust under the In­ control of either the Central Go­ Funding avenues
National Digital Health Mission, the most salient come­Tax Act and the same is vernment or any State Govern­ The mere grant of certain tax ex­

I
aspect of which is that all citizens will have the t may not be an exaggeration to
say that when it comes to seek­
option of voluntarily opting for a Health ID, a 14­digit
ing answers and information
health identification number that will uniquely identify under the Right to Information
every citizen and will be a repository of their medical (RTI) Act, the Prime Minister’s Of­
history. Illustratively, it will contain details of every test, fice (PMO) is consistent in putting
every disease, the doctors visited, the medicines taken up a screen. The manner in which
and the diagnosis. The portability this offers implies a the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assis­
person will, in theory, never have to haul around their tance and Relief in Emergency Sit­
reports. The doctor who is examining the patient can uations (PM CARES) Fund was set
up — with its acronym created to
give more well­informed advice because it is possible
publicise the point that the Prime
that patients may not consider aspects of their medical Minister cares for people — shows
history relevant to share with a doctor, or sometimes a bypassing of the statutory obliga­
may forget about them, but which may be valuable for a tions of a public authority.
better diagnosis. This id can be created by using a per­
son’s basic details and mobile number or Aadhaar num­ The other funds
ber, and there will presumably be an app acting as a A statutorily constituted National
Disaster Response Fund (NDRF),
convenient interface.
which was established under the
As snazzy as all of this sounds, a digital health id right Disaster Management (DM) Act of
now is really a solution looking for a problem. There is 2005, is deliberately ignored while
no clear justification that the immobility of medical re­ a new, controversial, unanswera­
cords is an insurmountable obstacle to the provision of ble, and ‘non­accountable’ vehicle
affordable, high­quality health care in India. The chal­ is created; its character is not spelt
lenge of health care in India, as decades of research and out till today. The NDRF is mandat­
ed to be accountable, and answer­
the experience with the novel coronavirus pandemic
able under the RTI Act, being a pu­
have shown, can be expressed quite simply. There are blic authority, and auditable by
too few hospitals with trained staff to cater to all In­ the Comptroller and Auditor Gen­
dians. But expanding the health­care system will not be eral of India. The Government
easy. India’s federal structure, the size of its population seems to consider statutory provi­
— and a large rural one at that — the cost of researching, sions for enquiry and information
finding and buying appropriate drugs and treatment, seeking to be embarrassing obsta­
cles. The DM Act provided for a
competing systems of medicine and the very challeng­
Disaster Response Fund — state
ing nature of health itself, mean that the issues are ma­ and district level funds (besides
nifold. The graver problem is that the technocratic the national level) and also to col­
sheen of a digital health id hides a mammoth store of lect and use the donations at the
personal data, which in the absence of a privacy law local level, with mandatory tran­
and little public awareness and control over their data, sparency and audit provisions.
could be open to misuse. There is the danger that any The PM CARES Fund centralises
the collection of donations and its
large private insurance company could use sophisticat­
utility, which is not only against
ed algorithms across the health and other databases to the federal character but also
construct risk­profiles for people and make access to af­ practically inconvenient.
fordable insurance difficult. Also, data mining can There is the Prime Minister’s
prioritise certain rich demographics for their services National Relief Fund operative
and direct public and private resources to people who since the days of Jawaharlal Neh­
can afford a high premium for their services rather than ru. The website says (https://
to those who need them but cannot pay as much. For a bit.ly/39PlqdI): “In pursuance of
an appeal by the then Prime Minis­
digital health ecosystem to work, it is important that
ter, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in Janu­
the fundamentals be fixed from the ground up. ary 1948, the Prime Minister’s Na­
tional Relief Fund (PMNRF) was
managed by [the] Prime Minister ment/s, either direct or indirect, in emptions with regard to the volun­
or multiple delegates for national functioning of the Trust in any tary donations made to a public
causes.” The fact is that there is RTI Act, and all RTI queries an­ manner whatsoever”. The Prime trust is not a determinative factor
substantial money also left in the swered truthfully. Minister is the ex­officio Chairman for the purpose of Section 2(h) of
PMNRF. But the Narendra Modi Going back to the affidavit and three cabinet Ministers (for the RTI Act. An ordinance was pro­
government does not want to use about the PM CARES Fund, the Defence, Home and Finance) are mulgated to amend Income Tax
it. The PMNRF has the President of Under Secretary’s response re­ ex­officio members. A Govern­ Act, 1961 and declare that the do­
India and the Leader of Opposi­ flects the adamance to not be tran­ ment advertisement for the PM nations to the PM CARES Fund
tion also as trustees. The Centre sparent and is a stand in defiance CARES Fund says: “PM announces “would qualify for 80G benefits
now considers it as another obsta­ of the RTI Act. The issue arose af­ new fund for people to donate to­ for 100% exemption”. The official
cle and has created a new trust ter a petitioner/lawyer, Samyak wards Govt. fight against Coranavi­ website and the Press Information
with the Prime Minister and his Gangwal, filed a petition seeking rus”. Another advertisement Bureau (https://bit.ly/3D2cFcR) al­
Ministers only. that the PM­CARES fund to be de­ makes the claim, “MY Govt or Meri so declared that donations to the
While both funds, the NDRF clared as the “State” under Article SARKAR”. It is interesting that the PM CARES Fund “would qualify
and the PMNRF, have been relegat­ 12 of the Constitution. In another Prime Minister is the Chairperson for 80G benefits for 100% exemp­
ed to the back burner, the PM plea, he had sought for the fund to of the Board of Trustees (https:// tion under the Income Tax Act,
CARES Fund is in the limelight. It be designated as a “public author­ bit.ly/3um6Of6), when the claim is 1961. Donations to PM CARES
has been created not by law, not ity” under Section 2(h) of the RTI that it is not connected with the Fund will also qualify to be count­
by notification, but by the mere Act (https://bit.ly/3uqiFJk). The Government. If the PM CARES ed as Corporate Social Responsi­
creation of a webpage, and set up point is that the PMO operates the Fund is unconnected with the Go­ bility (CSR) expenditure under the
last year in March to raise funds Fund, but says it cannot supply vernment, then the Fund could Companies Act, 2013... PM CARES
for those affected by the COVID­19 any information about the PM become an office of profit. And Fund has also got exemption un­
pandemic. The page lists its struc­ CARES Fund because it is not a pu­ that could disqualify him and the der the FCRA [Foreign Contribu­
ture, functions and duties in an ar­ blic authority. The PMO complete­ three Ministers from holding those tion Regulation Act] and a sepa­
bitrary manner. The official ap­ ly glosses over the fact that the constitutional offices. rate account for receiving foreign
peals for funds are made under PMO is a public authority and has The composition of the board of donations has been opened”. All
the emblem of the Saranath lions to give us answers about the fund trustees can never be a determina­ this amounts to substantive
and ‘Satyameva Jayathe’, which under the RTI. tive factor to ascertain whether funding.
means “Truth Alone Triumphs”. the respondent is a “public auth­ Section 19 of the Indian Trusts
Therefore, the recent affidavit, More questions and gaps ority” or not; the Prime Minister Act mandates the trustees to pre­
where the Delhi High Court was in­ Some of the claims made in the af­ as chairman and three Cabinet Mi­ sent full and accurate information
formed that “the PM CARES Fund fidavit are: The PM CARES Fund nisters as members, in their offi­ of the amount and state of the
is not a Government of India fund was neither created by the Consti­ cial capacity, determines it to be a trust property to the beneficiaries.
and that the amount collected by it tution of India nor by any statute. public authority. This board de­ Because of this statutory access,
does not go to the Consolidated If that is the case, under what cides how to spend the funds col­ all information about the PM
Fund of India”, is strange. The affi­ authority does it use the designa­ lected, which is the prime func­ CARES Fund should be accessible
davit was filed by an Under Secre­ tion of the Prime Minister, desig­ tion. The Prime Minister’s Office as per Section 2(f ) of RTI Act; “in­
tary at the Prime Minister’s Office nated symbols of the nation, the administers the activities. This is formation” here means any mate­
(PMO), who added that the trust tricolour and the official (gov.in) ‘substantial control’ which is the rial in any form, including records,
functions with transparency. The website of the PMO, and grant tax test to determine its character as a documents, memos, e­mails, opi­
most significant lie of this sworn concessions through an ordi­ public authority under the RTI Act nions, advices, press releases, cir­
statement is that the Government nance? Why does the Prime Minis­ as highlighted in the landmark culars, orders, logbooks, con­
has no control over the Fund. ter make appeals for contributions judgment of the Supreme Court of tracts, reports, papers, samples,
to this fund saying it will help the India in Thalappalam Service Coop. models, data material held in any
Query and response Government fight COVID­19? The Bank Ltd. vs State of Kerala. electronic form and information
After initial denials, the Govern­ link, “About PM CARES Fund” The point that some Govern­ relating to any private body which
ment has conceded it to be a pu­ (https://bit.ly/2Wm8Lvw), makes ment officer provides ex gratia ser­ can be accessed by a public auth­
blic charitable trust, but still main­ it clear. vices to the public trust is of no re­ ority under any other law for the
tains that it is not a ‘public The amount received by the levance; a Government officer time being in force” (this enables
authority’. In his public speeches, Fund does not go to the Consoli­ providing secretarial assistance on access to information of trust even
the Prime Minister often makes as­ dated Fund of India. If it goes to an honorary basis while discharg­ if it is private, through the Indian
surances of transparency. The the CFI, it could have been audited ing his official duties can never be Trusts Act). The claim that the PM
Bharatiya Janata Party also says it by the CAG. Because this Fund is a relevant consideration for de­ CARES Fund is not a public auth­
is committed to its promise made not audited by CAG, the Govern­ claring a body to be a public auth­ ority is absurd to say the least.
in its election manifesto — of there ment has to ensure that it is an­ ority. By agreeing that it is a public

Change of guard established with public contribu­

tions to assist displaced persons
from Pakistan. The resources ...
As Japan’s new PM, Kishida will need to
are now utilised primarily to ren­
address its economic woes and inequalities
being zero tolerance for corrup­
tion. If these are true, then the PM
swerable and foreclose any possi­
bility of corruption. It should be
trust managed by the Prime Minis­
ter and three Ministers in their ex­
M. Sridhar Acharyulu is Former Central
Information Commissioner. He is
CARES Fund should be declared transparent when it comes to its officio capacity, the Government presently the Dean, School of Law,
as ‘a Public Authority’ under the sources and fund disbursement. cannot say that it was irrelevant to Mahindra University, Hyderabad

T The scorching rays of Assamese nationalism

he election of Fumio Kishida as the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP) leader opens a new
chapter in Japan’s otherwise status­quoist polit­
ics at a time when its geopolitical prominence is grow­
ing amid China’s rapid rise and the United States’ pivot The Darrang incident is not a lone wolf act but leads back to robust and embedded anti-Muslim sentiments
to the region. Mr. Kishida, a former Foreign Minister, is most. Assamese society never any potential empathy towards is also the reason that connects
certain to be elected the next Prime Minister when Par­ opened its doors to them. Assa­ the minority is hopelessly out of Nellie to Darrang. Ashis Nandy re­
liament convenes next week, as the LDP controls the le­ mese nationalists are wont to say, reach. Everywhere they look, and minds us that the perpetrator re­
GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

gislature. Japan was thrown into a leadership contest af­ ‘become us’ by speaking our lan­ in everything they listen, they see mains permanently afraid that
guage, but do keep your religion their mutilated identity being pro­ whom they have oppressed will
ter the unpopular Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga,
and culture private, or you may jected with disturbing barbarity. strike back, nurturing ideas of re­
announced his resignation earlier this month amid live like nobody. The language Every social interaction they have venge. So, they attack again. Was
Suraj Gogoi
mounting public anger over his government’s handling riots and the Nellie massacre with the majority in Assam is filled Darrang such an unfolding? I hope
of the COVID­19 pandemic and the associated economic (1983) drew definitive measure­ with dehumanisation and vio­ I am wrong.

T
woes. The traditionally conservative, pro­business LDP, he Darrang killings, in As­
which has dominated Japan’s post­war politics, was ap­ sam, wherein there were ca­
parently not confident of going to the parliamentary sualties in police firing dur­
ing an eviction drive, have
polls in November under the leadership of Mr. Suga; his
unmasked an evil social character
approval rating had plunged from 60% in January to be­ of Assamese nationalism and its
low 30% in August. In the initial round of the voting on further descent into darkness. The
Wednesday among four candidates to lead the party, event was so macabre and grotes­
Mr. Kishida was neck­and­neck with Taro Kono, a serv­ que that I will still call it an act of
ing Minister in the Suga government, who enjoyed high­ political sadism. How else can one
er popularity among the party’s rank and file. But in the characterise the emotional matrix
run­off, most legislators supported Mr. Kishida, who of a group of people who defile a
body after a person is shot right
had the backing of the LDP establishment.
before their eyes and even go on to
Mr. Kishida’s most immediate big task is leading the celebrate that act of humiliation?
party to the parliamentary elections within weeks. Erich Fromm, social psychologist,
With the COVID situation easing, the LDP appears to be psychoanalyst, sociologist, has re­
confident of victory under the new leadership. But win­ minded us that the only way to un­
ning elections would only be the first of a host of key derstand the spirit of culture and
challenges awaiting Mr. Kishida. He needs to come up social character is to pay keen at­
tention to the ‘emotional matrix’.
with a programme to lift the world’s third largest econo­
Assamese nationalism should be
my out of its sluggishness. Even when the U.S. and Chi­ evaluated and diagnosed, among
na had surged back to growth after COVID lockdowns, others, for its emotional matrix
Japan’s economy continued to falter under the long na­ and how it makes its followers turn
tional emergency declared to fight the virus. Despite to it, like flowers to the sun.
the LDP’s conservative past, Mr. Kishida had taken a
centre­left position on the economy during the cam­ Us versus them
The minority in Assam has been
paign. He promised increased spending to revive the
visited by violence so often that it
economy and asked corporations to distribute more of has become part of their everyday
their profits to middle­class workers. What is to be seen life, although it is the tribals who
is whether these were instances of mere election­time are the historical subjects of evic­
rhetoric or if Mr. Kishida would turn them into policies tions. Among the various minori­
to address Japan’s economic woes and widening in­ ties in the State, it is the Muslim
equality. A tougher challenge would be in the realm of minorities who are victimised the
ments of the horror and destiny of lence.
“Bangladeshi” bodies. The Nation­ The reactions to the Darrang The connecting thread
al Register of Citizens (NRC) is not Brahmaputra. They did not have brutality expressed by journalists, The Darrang incident was neither
the last nail in their coffin either. any community but their own. politicians, and the foot soldiers of an act of a lone wolf nor a discon­
It was declared much before In­ Everything they did was declared Assamese nationalism reveal how nected event. The singular event
dependence that the Pakistanis, to cause decay to the Assamese hatred has crystallised into the reflects something larger than
Communists and Bengalis were and their existence, a danger to caste Assamese social structure, him. The action of the perpetra­
enemies of the Assamese. There is Assam. To echo Walter Benjamin, and how benumbed they are. tors is also connected to the past —
a convergence in how the Assa­ philosopher, critic and essayist, Their narcissism will not stop even to Nellie, Kherbari and the Assam
mese and the Hindu nationalists the minorities in Assam are prohi­ when political sadism is in such Movement. The singular event
think of their enemy in the Muslim bited from investigating (or even naked display. They are so con­ takes us to the rightful owners of
or “Bangladeshi” figure in Assam. dreaming) about the future. They sumed with their self­image that the sentiments — Assamese nation­
Somewhere, they both harbour are, as the poet once said, “forever they fail to see any other reality. alism, with its distinct figure of the
the fantasies of the collective elim­ a silent sob”. And like a psychotic, there is no enemy. How do we erect psycho­
ination of this figure. However, In the Constituent Assembly de­ reality but of what they see in and logical defences to such robust
they have different histories and bates on minority rights, Begum about themselves. sentiments of hate for the Muslim
methods by which they arrived at Aizaz Rasul rightly qualified that distributed so evenly in Assamese
this similar sentiment. While the denying a child an opportunity to A silence and its import society?
latter flaunts its enemy and their learn in their mother tongue is What can you say about the si­ I am reminded of a Zapatista
desires publicly, a section of the militant. The minority in Assam lence of the victims despite lakhs slogan that said that we need to
former tries to hide behind the lat­ face such militancy in primary of them being declared stateless, learn to host the otherness of the
ter. To say that communalism in education and in all walks of their kept in detention camps, hun­ other, not the sameness. Perhaps,
Assam and violence against the life. Everything to do with the Mus­ dreds of deaths by suicide and sev­ there is a lesson there and a need
minority is only due to the Bharati­ lim is screened. Clothes, children, ere impoverishment? Imagine to cultivate such a social character
ya Janata Party and the Rashtriya family, museum, poetry, food, how deep a social and political leg­ of hosting the otherness and the
Swayamsevak Sangh is either a dwelling; everything is ques­ itimacy the NRC process enjoys enemy. This is a possible way to
prayer or a fantasy — a beautiful tioned, hated, and profiled. Popu­ wherein the victim, who loses eve­ come out of the psychosis and nar­
camouflage. lar songs, newspaper cartoons, rything, will not even protest. Al­ cissism that plagues Assamese na­
wall graffiti, bureaucratic docu­ ternatively, should they protest, tionalists. As for Assamese politi­
A marginalisation ments, gossip in the streets, class­ they know the consequences that cal sadism, the only exit of it is to
Even with such clamour of hatred room interactions, vernacular will visit their bodies, family and annihilate language and culture in
and enmity surrounding them, prose and poetry, cricket practice life too well. This absence speaks its current form and interest.
they have continued with their camps, or even films, vilify and hu­ volumes about the degree of un­
life, minding their own business miliate the “Bangladeshi”. The freedom the minority has and the Suraj Gogoi is a PhD candidate in
and engaged in deep conversation poignancy of hate is so profound, brutality with which they are Sociology at the National University of
with the soil and the water of the commonplace and recurrent, that forced to live. Perhaps this silence Singapore

foreign policy. After announcing the AUKUS alliance

with the U.K. and Australia, under which Australia LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
would be supplied nuclear submarines, the U.S. has
To read more letters
made it clear that the Indo­Pacific is the new theatre of The Punjab mess chances of retaining power personality­oriented politics to be in the grip of a death the mess in the Congress in online, scan the QR code

great power rivalry. Japan, an American ally in the Pac­ The Indian National
ific with deep economic ties with China, would find it Congress has asked for it
(Page 1, “Sidhu quits Cong.
difficult to sit on the fence for long. Mr. Kishida, who
post, Punjab crisis
called Taiwan “a frontline in the struggle by democra­
deepens”, September 29).
cies against authoritarianism” and supported building
Navjot Singh Sidhu’s antics
Japan’s missile­strike capability, has already indicated have only shown that the
which direction he would be taking on China. If he Gandhi siblings are naive
walks the talk, tensions are going to rise in East Asia. and lack political acumen.
The Congress party’s
are sure to have been promoted by the high wish — to vanish. Punjab is an indication, one
dented now. command and where people Manohar Alembath, wonders where she will lead schemes” (Chennai,
S. Sanjeevi Rao, are selected for key positions Kannur, Kerala the party to. The hype September 29), is heartening
Puducherry mainly based on loyalty to around her is unwarranted. as there are days when the
the Gandhi family. Without ■ Ms. Priyanka Gandhi S. Venkataraman, northeast monsoon causes
■ Mr. Sidhu has turned out to an alternative ideology and Vadra, who according to Chennai the city much grief. We hope
be a raging bull in a china intra­party democracy, the media reports, is responsible the advance planning makes
shop in Indian politics. The Congress party cannot for Mr. Sidhu’s elevation, has Getting monsoon ready things work.
crisis in Punjab is the remain relevant for long. often been called the The report, “CM reviews Hafsa Sirajudeen,
manifestation of Currently the party appears Congress’s ‘Brahmastra’. If status of flood prevention Chennai

CM M ND-NDE
YK
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THE HINDU DELHI
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
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A lesson from China on gig workers’ rights
The swell of public opinion in China has enabled government regulation and change in company policy
Sowmiya Ashok
On September 20, 2021, the Indian
Federation of App­based Transport
Workers, on behalf of gig workers,
filed a public interest litigation in the
Supreme Court demanding that the
Union government provide succour
to workers affected by the pandemic.
The petition has asked for ‘gig work­
ers’ and ‘platform workers’ to be de­
clared as ‘unorganised workers’ so
they come under the purview of the
Unorganised Workers Social Security
Act, 2008. In short, the petition de­
mands social security benefits from
food delivery platforms such as Zo­
mato and Swiggy and taxi aggregator
apps such as Ola and Uber.
That same week, China strode
ahead in this regard. Owing to public
pressure, two of its food delivery
platforms, Meituan and Ele.me, com­
mitted to end the practice of forcing
workers to register as ‘independent
businesses’, which has long helped
these platforms evade responsibili­
ties as employers. Both platforms
run a duopoly in the sector, captur­
ing over 90% of the market share,
and employ millions of gig workers.
In a notice to labour aggregator
partners, Meituan said it prohibited
signing on delivery workers “through
deceptive or coercive means”.
‘Invisible’ to ‘frontline’
The one major factor that the pan­
demic has helped change is the erst­
while ‘invisibility’ of delivery work­
ers. Through 2020, a trend that
spanned China, India, the U.S. and
Europe saw ‘invisible workers’ being
propelled to ‘frontline workers’. In
China, this was especially the case in
Wuhan, the pandemic’s epicentre,
where there was a clear transition of
social discourse in favour of delivery
workers. People’s Daily, the largest
state­affiliated daily in China, res­
ponded to public sentiment by rank­
ing delivery work among the top 10
occupations.
The media aided this transforma­
tion. In the fall of 2020, Renwu, a
monthly Chinese magazine, took an
exhaustive look at the plight of deliv­
From riots to reconciliation
The farmers’ movement has disrupted the
Hindutva narrative in western Uttar Pradesh
Shaikh Mujibur Rehman
The beauty of liberal democracy is
that it offers space to sociopolitical
movements that contribute to politi­
cal discourses in a manner that polit­
ical parties often fail to do. India’s an­
ti­Citizenship (Amendment) Act
protests and the ongoing farmers’
movement have been able to subvert
Hindutva narratives in their own
ways and have renewed the appeal
for secular politics.
Since the 2013 Muzaffarnagar
riots, Hindutva politics has become
hegemonic, particularly in western
Uttar Pradesh, and religious polarisa­
tion has become the only game in
town. However, farmer leader Ra­
kesh Tikait’s slogan, “Allahu Akbar,
Har Har Mahadev”, at a recent maha­
panchayat in Muzaffarnagar has sent
a message of Hindu­Muslim unity in
that riot­torn city. One mahapan­
chayat certainly cannot repair the
enormous damage that Hindutva pol­
itics has inflicted on the secular social
fabric of western Uttar Pradesh or
the rest of India. But what is comfort­
ing is that at least an attempt is being
made to turn the page.
Birth of an iconic slogan
This slogan has a long history, which
can be traced to the early days of the
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), led by
Mahendra Singh Tikait. During its
early days in the late 1980s, the BKU
organised a major protest over farm­
ers’ issues. Two farmers — Akbar Ali,
a Muslim, and Jai Pal, a Hindu — were
killed in police firing during that
protest. Keeping their bodies on the
main road, the BKU continued the
protest. The iconic slogan was born
there to celebrate and symbolise the
BKU’s secular structure.
One of Tikait’s comrade­in­arms
was Ghulam Mohammad Jola. After
Mahendra Singh Tikait’s death in May
2011, his sons, particularly Rakesh Ti­
kait, began to speak the language of
the Hindu Right thus threatening the
secular nature of the movement. Pro­
voked by the Tikait sons’ behaviour
and the 2013 riots, Mr. Jola broke
away from the BKU and formed his
own farmers’ union, the Bharatiya
Kisan Mazdoor Manch (BKMM). This
outfit had a new slogan: “Ek Ho, Nek
Ho (Come together, Be Pious)”. In a
CM
YK
R. RAGU
ery workers across the two food de­
livery platforms. Titled ‘Delivery Rid­
ers, Trapped in the System’, the
article was shared over 200 million
times on the Chinese internet indi­
cating how deeply Chinese social me­
dia users connected with the issue.
One indicator of how seriously an is­
sue is taken by the public is its virali­
ty on the Chinese web. In 2015, for in­
stance, a TED­style talk on China’s
pollution crisis got 100 million views
across major video streaming sites
within 48 hours of its release, result­
ing in policy change.
The Renwu piece highlighted how
delivery workers were trapped in a
“sophisticated labour control sys­
tem” that they had unwittingly
downloaded onto their phones.
Simply put, the algorithm that is put
in place by platforms is designed to
create animosity between app users
and workers, where the platform in­
herently shifts the pressure of receiv­
ing orders and maintaining smooth
flow of deliveries onto the workers.
But it is important to note that the
pushback against influential plat­
forms had begun long before CO­
VID­19. Over the years, strikes in dif­
ferent parts of China have reflected
this growing backlash. As food deliv­
ery platforms expanded through the
pandemic period, growing massively
in revenue and scale, strikes in­
creased in numerous Chinese cities
and have continued despite various
barriers to collective action. In early
2021, in successive strikes spanning
over two months, delivery workers
protested against poor working con­
ditions. In cities such as Shenzhen,
Tongxiang and Linyi, delivery work­
ers protested against new company
policies that slashed their pay per de­
livery. A protest in Taizhou saw a de­
livery worker set himself on fire de­
recent interview to this author, Mr.
Jola, an octogenarian, described Ma­
hendra Singh Tikait as a quintessen­
tial secular leader. With great enthu­
siasm, he recalled how the senior
Tikait had once urged him and a cou­
ple of Muslim farmers to offer Friday
namaz on the premises of Har Ki Pau­
ri in Hardwar during a protest since
the nearest mosque was located
more than 8 km away. When people
complained, the senior Tikait appa­
rently assuaged them by saying, “He
was offering namaz and namaz is not
an abuse.” The region that once dis­
played such understanding of reli­
gious harmony is now the hotbed of
religious polarisation.
New attempt at polarisation
Although the 2013 riots took place
during the tenure of Akhilesh Yadav,
it was the BJP that drew enormous
electoral capital from it. Some even
consider the 2013 riots to have creat­
ed the background for the Modi wave
that swept north India. Some evi­
dence of the ebbing of religious po­
larisation is visible now, but there are
also attempts being made to polarise
Uttar Pradesh around the conversion
issue. A prominent cleric of Muzaffar­
nagar, Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, was
recently arrested for allegedly run­
ning the “biggest conversion syndi­
cate”. That Muslims of all rank and
file are busy preaching Islam and are
converting Hindus to Muslims in ev­
ery nook and corner of the country
with the sole objective of turning In­
dia into a Muslim land has been one
of the Hindu Right’s most favourite
campaigns. The attempts by Uttar
Pradesh’s governing regime to wea­
ponise this campaign using state
might are likely to dominate political
conversations over the forthcoming
Assembly elections. One is not too
sure how far this polarisation can
help the incumbent regime’s electo­
ral ambitions. But the farmers’ move­
ment has clearly disrupted the Hin­
dutva narrative and has ignited the
need for Hindu­Muslim reconcilia­
tion, at least in western Uttar
Pradesh.
Shaikh Mujibur Rehman teaches at Jamia
Millia Islamia Central University and is the
author of the forthcoming book, Shikwa-e-
Hind: The Political Future of Indian Muslims
OPED 7
An unsteady ship and no Captain
The Gandhis have opened up one more battlefront in Punjab
even as the Congress struggles to hold on to other States
the experience left him feeling humi­
liated. In July, seven government reviewed objectively and diligently. The
agencies jointly passed guidelines di­ complaints of his colleagues could have been
recting online food delivery plat­ conveyed to him in confidence. He could
forms that they should not set eval­ have been warned of stern action if he didn’t
uation criteria based on optimisation mend his ways. Due process should have
algorithms, must respect the rights been followed to remove him. He deserved
of delivery workers and ensure that G.R. Gopinath to be treated with dignity and grace given his
they earn at least a minimum wage age, stature, long service in the Congress,
with social insurance. Many of these and the esteemed chair he occupied.
government initiatives have been pu­ The unceremonious dethroning of Chief Mi­ The Gandhi high command is no different
blic­driven. It was in the govern­ nister Amarinder Singh in Punjab was a ha­ from other high commands. No party in In­
ment’s interest to intervene when it rebrained idea of the Gandhi siblings. Mr. dia, either national or regional, has inner
realised that there was growing dis­ Singh — war veteran, scion of the Patiala party democracy. They are all controlled by
content not only among the delivery royal family, and a Congress war horse who an individual or a family. “Difference of opi­
workers but also the public about led the party to victory — was ignominiously nion is the one crime Kings don’t forgive,”
manding unpaid wages. their plight. booted out by the Congress high command said Ralph Waldo Emerson. That is the bane
In 2018, an Associate Professor of despite being credited with stopping in Pun­ of Indian democracy.
Sociology at Harvard University, Ya­ The Indian context jab the saffron wave of the Bharatiya Janata
Wen Lei, documented strikes in The situation is vastly different in In­ Party (BJP) that swept the nation after Naren­ Still finding their feet
Chongqing, a municipality in south­ dia. Any reform in this sector is led dra Modi rode to power at the Centre. But Mr. Gandhi and Ms. Vadra would be de­
west China. She found that workers wholly by delivery workers, not the The sacking of Mr. Singh was a supreme lusional in comparing themselves to Mr. Mo­
had mobilised through social media public. For 27 days in 2020, close to irony. The legitimately elected leader was di or Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool
and offline meetings. They united to 3,000 delivery workers from Swiggy ousted by the Congress high command com­ Congress or K. Chandrashekar Rao of the Te­
protest against “decreasing piece went on strike in Hyderabad to prot­ prising Sonia Gandhi, an interim ad hoc pre­ langana Rashtra Samithi or M.K. Stalin of the
rates” and “unilateral change of con­ est the slash in remuneration from sident of the party; Rahul Gandhi, who Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The others are
tract terms or platform rules”. At the ₹35 to ₹15 per order. The strikes dis­ abruptly resigned as president without put­ unquestioned leaders of their parties while
time of her fieldwork, the Chinese banded only after the Joint Commis­ ting in place any succession plan but conti­ the Gandhi siblings are yet to find their feet;
state had not intervened in the mar­ sioner of the Labour Department nues to be de facto president intervening they are not hammered and shaped well in
ket to restrain the monopoly powers called a hearing with the platform’s and interfering at will; and Priyanka Gandhi the furnace of politics. They lack the tenacity
of platforms or initiate antitrust in­ operations manager and the work­ Vadra, who was for long fluttering in the and grit of other party supremos. They for­
vestigations. This provided platforms ers’ union. It was the first time in In­ wings but has been anointed as in­charge in get that their writ in the party does not run.
with unrestricted powers to exercise dia that such a negotiation was taking Uttar Pradesh to oversee the elections. Twenty­three senior Congress leaders have
technological control. place, that too on the street. This openly challenged them. Many Congress
But the pandemic was curious in year, in the lead up to Zomato’s July A foolish idea leaders have migrated to the BJP. The party
this regard. It began with the Chinese IPO, several anonymous Twitter ac­ A good leader who is secure and does not is facing a crisis in Rajasthan and Chhattis­
state indicating that platforms counts set up by delivery workers hanker after praise will not encourage dissi­ garh. It is in a shambles in Karnataka and
should help soak up the devastating called customers’ attention to what dence that destabilises his own State govern­ Madhya Pradesh. This was not the right mo­
effects of the pandemic on the work­ they deem as “exploitative practices” ment. It is well known that Mr. Singh is not ment to draw Mr. Singh into battle, especial­
force. And it ended with the state as­ employed by platforms. The PIL in given to fawning and has a mind of his own. ly since he still has a large following among
serting “increased control” over ma­ the Supreme Court is another major On the other hand, Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Sikhs. He declared that he will keep his
jor tech companies, including step in this regard. his greatest critic, is temperamental and un­ political options open and met the Union
Meituan for allegedly abusing its do­ The biggest lesson from China is predictable. He deserted the BJP and flirted Home Minister on Wednesday. The Sidhu sa­
minant market position, via the new the swell of public opinion that has with the idea of joining the Aam Aadmi Par­ ga is the chronicle of a farce foretold. Mr.
anti­monopolistic guidelines. partly led to government regulation ty. He joined the Congress just prior to the Singh’s characterisation of him as being “un­
In China, where the government is and change in company policy. In the last election and became a Minister under stable” has proved to be true and was fore­
now focused on “common prosperi­ U.S., a gig workers collective has pressure from the high command. He had to seen by many. The volatile president re­
ty”, which seeks to narrow a widen­ urged customers to delete the Insta­ step down soon after, as he openly and fre­ signed from his post after wreaking havoc.
ing wealth gap that threatens the cart app as a show of solidarity until quently crossed swords with Captain. Ap­ The best politicians and generals choose
country’s economic rise, the govern­ demands for better working condi­ pointing Mr. Sidhu as Congress president of their battles wisely. But the Gandhis have
ment’s scrutiny over food delivery tions are met. Indians could make an Punjab and unleashing him to undermine opened up one more battlefront in Punjab
platforms has increased. The author­ effort to be better informed about Mr. Singh because of his streak of indepen­ with the formidable Mr. Singh when their
itarian context, a weak civil society the way platforms work by seeking dence was a foolish idea of the Gandhis. party has a shaky hold on other States and is
and the absence of independent la­ out delivery workers and asking This is not an attempt to give a clean chit in danger of disintegrating. A certain victory
bour unions leaves gig workers in about their work conditions and the to Mr. Singh on his record of governance. He in the Assembly elections in Punjab, where
China with very little option but to go pressures they face. We will then be had many faults and had made many ene­ the BJP is weak and the Akali Dal is in disar­
on strike or protest, despite the risks, aware of the price that a person, who mies. He may have been incompetent as an ray, now seems a sure defeat for the Con­
to affect change. In April, Caixin re­ we only see as a miniature bike on administrator, he may have failed to deliver gress. May wisdom dawn on the Gandhis to
ported that a government official dis­ our apps, pays for our convenience. on the election promises of the party, and he save the Grand Old Party from extinction. In­
guised himself as a Meituan driver may have been inaccessible to his MLAs with dia, now more than ever, needs a robust and
and worked a 12­hour shift barely Sowmiya Ashok, an independent journalist his imperious ways, but the method adopted vibrant Opposition that fashions itself after
making RMB 41 ($6.32) for a day’s based in Chennai, was part of the 2020-21 by the Congress high command to under­ Jawaharlal Nehru and not Indira Gandhi.
work. He was featured in a television China-India Visiting Scholars Fellowship at mine him was imprudent and self­damaging.
programme in Beijing and stated that Ashoka University Mr. Singh’s performance should have been Captain G.R. Gopinath is founder of Air Deccan
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DATA POINT
FROM THE ARCHIVES
FIFTY YEARS AGO FROM THE SEPT. 29, 1971
EDITION AS THERE WAS NO EDITION ON SEPT.
30
The many deaths of Mao
In all the years of battle of his revolutionary
youth, Mao Tsetung suffered not so much as
a scratch, and during the long march in 1930
the only affliction to lay him low was a bout
of malaria. But in the last three years, the
Chinese Chairman has been killed no less
than five times by the world press tuned in
to Hong Kong. The best publicised story yet
was during the early stages of the Cultural
Revolution. One then­renowned China­
watcher persisted in reporting that Mao had
long been dead and that the man taking the
review of the million Red Guards at Tienan­
mun was a “double”. The “watcher” has
now ceased to pursue this trade. During the
more turbulent years of the Cultural Revolu­
tion, there was no let­up on the monitoring
of communist Chinese news and broadcasts.
On one occasion, the failure of Chairman
Mao to appear at an army function — it
turned out later that he had a bad cold —
sparked a rumour which in Hong Kong soon
became a “report” that he was dead or dy­
ing. A subsequent rally of high­ranking army
officers pledging allegiance to the Chairman
was televised by the Chinese and monitored
in Hong Kong. The blurred images showed
Mao in a bad light, and as he appeared to be
supported on one arm by a nurse, the “re­
port” went out from Hong Kong that he was
seriously ill. Two weeks later, at another ral­
ly, only Madame Mao showed up. This
prompted the “news” that the Chairman
was succumbing to Parkinson’s Disease.
A HUNDRED YEARS AGO SEPT. 30, 1921
Greater India
(From an Editorial)
Rabindranath Tagore is not only a poet but
also a prophet and a politician. But his polit­
ics are not of the ordinary hum­drum type of
the professional agitator, marked by dry
controversy and abuse, but of an entirely dif­
ferent and exalted order characterised by an
elevating tone, lofty idealism and intimate
knowledge of human nature. Endowed with
a poet’s imagination and emotional nature
and having in himself also the intuitive in­
sight of a prophet’s vision he concentrates in
his study of the national problem on the fun­
damental issues involved and searches for
the root causes that underlie our present de­
gradation and misery. The fruits of such an
earnest and intuitive study of our national
ills are contained in a recent publication of
the poet entitled “Greater India”.
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8 NEWS
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FROM PAGE ONE
Punjab turmoil snowballs
into crisis for Congress
The Gandhi siblings had
backed Navjot Singh Sidhu,
who campaigned for Capt.
Singh’s removal but re­
signed as State unit presi­
dent on Tuesday, plunging
the party into a crisis. Quot­
ing Mahatma Gandhi that
“no school of thought can
claim a monopoly of right
judgment”, Mr. Sibal argued
that no monopolies can be
created in the power struc­
tures of the party, and as­
serted that the “G­23 is cer­
tainly not ji huzoor 23”, an
idiomatic expression ref
ring to a yes­man.
The former Law Minister
also confirmed that one of
his senior colleagues had
written a letter to Ms. Gand­
hi but didn’t name Mr. Azad.
“Some things we cannot
say in public. At least a dia­
logue can take place in the
CWC as to why we are in this
state. We are the ones who
can fight the BJP, and let me
assure you that we are not
one of those who is going to
leave the ideology of the
party,” Mr. Sibal said, ad­
ding, “Ironically, people
close to them [the Gandhis]
are leaving the party.”
The reformists or ‘the
G­23’, who had written to
Ms. Gandhi seeking internal
party reforms in August
2020, reiterated their de­
mand for an elected CWC,
Central Election Commit­
tee, and a full­time elected
president.
“If somebody has an is­
sue, that is to be discussed.
Consultations must take
place from the seniormost
members of the party and
the organisational structure
of the party has to be streng­
thened ... We need an open
dialogue, conversations,
and need to understand
each other’s point of view,”
Mr. Sibal said.
The former Minister re­
fused to answer whether or
not appointing Mr. Sidhu as
the Pradesh Congress Com­
mittee (PCC) chief, and re­
moving Capt. Singh as the
Chief Minister were the
right decisions.
“I don’t want to talk
about Punjab but a border
State, and if this is happen­
ing to the Congress, [it]
means it is [an] advantage to
the ISI [Inter­Services Intel­
ligence] and Pakistan. We
know the history of Punjab
and the rise of extremism
there and how forces across
the border try to take advan­
tage of the situation,” he
said.
Reacting to Mr. Sibal, In­
Nipah antibodies found
in bat samples in Kerala
More bat surveillance and
epidemiological studies
need to be conducted be­
fore more conclusions can
be drawn, Ms. George
added.
Meanwhile, the State is
past the 21­day incubation
period since the lone case of
Nipah was reported at Koz­
hikode on September 4,
during which time there
were no fresh cases. Ms. Ge­
orge said that it was the sys­
tematic and proactive man­
ner in which the Health
Department took up disease
surveillance and control
measures as soon as the first
case was detected which en­
sured that the virus did not
spread to generate more
cases.
If no more cases of Nipah
surface in another 21 days’
time (42 days in all after the
last case), it would be safe to
declare that the outbreak
Bid amount for PM’s
mementoes fall
The boxing gloves of bronze
medallist Lovlina Boroghain
were going for ₹80,00,100,
or ₹100 over the base price
of ₹80 lakh, on Wednesday,
while it received a bid of ₹10
crore as on September 18.
With eight days to go for
the auction to end, Culture
Minister G. Kishan Reddy
called on the public to parti­
CM
YK
We are the ones who can
fight the BJP, former Union
Minister Kapil Sibal said.
dian Youth Congress presi­
dent B.V. Srinivas tweeted:
“Listen Ji Huzoor. The par­
ty’s president and leader is
the same who always sent
you to Parliament, made
you a minister when the
p[a]rty had better days. In
the Opposition, made you a
member of the Rajya Sabha.
Always gave you responsibil­
ity during good and bad
times. Now, when the time
has come for struggle, then
...”
After Mr. Sidhu’s latest
antics in quitting his post as
PCC chief, the Gandhis have
come under severe criticism
as they had overruled a
three­member committee
led by Mallikarjun Kharge to
appoint him.
In its report to Ms. Gand­
hi, the panel had recom­
mended that the cricketer­
turned­politician be made
the chief of the Congress
Campaign Committee for
the next year’s Assembly
polls and accommodated as
a Minister in the Amarinder
Singh government.
Soon after Mr. Sibal’s out­
burst, Congress general se­
cretary Ajay Maken hit back
on Wednesday.
Mr. Maken said it was Ms.
Sonia Gandhi who had
made Mr. Sibal a Union Mi­
nister though he “did not
have any organisational
background and expe­
rience”. “My appeal to Mr.
Sibal and others like him is
that they should not deni­
grate the organisation
which has given them politi­
cal identity by rushing to the
media every then and now,”
Mr. Maken told the PTI.
“Such remarks by leaders
like Mr. Sibal, who have got
everything from the organi­
sation and the leadership,
demoralise the party cadres
and ordinary workers who
continue to stand with the
Congress ideology and are
fighting the fundamental
and fascist forces on the
streets,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
has been completely
brought under control. Till
then, the State will continue
to be on vigil against Nipah,
Ms. George said. Since Sep­
tember 4, extensive surveil­
lance and control measures
were taken up in Kozhikode
district around the pan­
chayat where the outbreak
was detected. As part of the
house­to­house surveillance
taken up by the Health De­
partment with the help of
panchayat authorities,
16,732 houses and 76,074
persons were surveyed. The
samples collected and ana­
lysed from 50 persons were
negative for Nipah.
Ms. George said that the
State would be coming out
with a comprehensive list of
COVID­19 deaths by includ­
ing all those deaths which
occurred in the State within
30 days of an individual test­
ing positive for COVID­19.
cipate. “Come forward to be
a part of a national cause…,”
he said in a tweet.
The Culture Ministry, too,
shared several tweets from
all its Twitter accounts pro­
moting the e­auction. In a
statement, the Ministry said
₹15.13 crore had been re­
ceived from a similar auc­
tion in 2019.
Court rejects
Vaze’s plea for
house arrest
Special Correspondent
Mumbai
A National Investigation
Agency (NIA) court on
Wednesday refused to
grant house arrest to dis­
missed assistant police in­
spector Sachin Vaze, ac­
cused in the Antilia bomb
scare case.
Mr. Vaze sought house
arrest for three months af­
ter undergoing an open
heart surgery on Septem­
ber 13.
Special Judge A.T. Wank­
hede said Mr. Vaze can be
in the jail’s special hospital
cell and is allowed home
food. The court recorded
that Mr. Vaze can be taken
to the State­run J.J. Hospi­
tal for check­up when
needed.
Mr. Vaze was on March
13 for his “role and involve­
ment in placing explosives
laden vehicle near Carmi­
chael Road”.
Abducted man released in Kabul
Arendeh, a pharmaceutical trader, has family members living in Delhi
Kallol Bhattacherjee
NEW DELHI
A Hindu resident of Kabul,
who was kidnapped on Sep­
tember 14, was released by
his abductors earlier on
Tuesday. A non­government
organisation working with
Sikhs and Hindus in Afghan­
istan said Bansri Lal Aren­
deh was released after a fort­
night of negotiation.
“Bansri lal Arendeh, aged
around 50, who was abduct­
ed on September 14 at gun­
point in Kabul was released
earlier today and is currently
with his elder brother Ashok
Lal,” said Puneet Singh
Chandhok, president of In­
dian World Forum.
On September 15, the Tali­
ban ordered an investigation
into the kidnapping, but de­
Meet on ‘USA Education
Loan Festival’ on Oct. 2
Webinar will discuss education loans
Staff Reporter
CHENNAI
A webinar on the ‘USA Edu­
cation Loan Festival 2022’,
presented by WeMakeScho­
lars along with The Hindu
EducationPlus, will be held
on October 2 at 5 p.m.
WeMakeScholars is an or­
ganisation funded and sup­
ported by the IT Ministry,
Government of India, with a
sole motive of assisting stu­
dy abroad aspirants with
funding, free of cost.
The webinar will be a cur­
tain­raiser for the USA Edu­
cation Loan Festival 2022,
which is a 15­day event for
students aspiring to study in
the United States and will be
useful for both parents and
aspirants. The panellists will
discuss all possible options
included in collateral and
non­collateral education
loans and the webinar will
have a question­and­answer
session for the
audience.
Participating
applicants will
be offered dis­
counts on bank
processing fee,
interest rates,
Two killed as heavy rain
continues in Kolkata
Several parts of the city waterlogged
Special correspondent
Kolkata
Two persons, including a
child, were killed when a di­
lapidated two­storeyed
house collapsed in north
Kolkata on Wednesday.
The city and other areas
of gangetic West Bengal had
been receiving heavy rain­
fall since Tuesday because
of a low pressure area.
Several parts of the city,
including Bhabanipur
where polling is scheduled
on Thursday, were water­
Army to get 25 advanced light
helicopters at ₹3,850 crore
Defence Acquisition Council approves acquisition proposals for ₹13,165 crore
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Defence Acquisition
Council (DAC), chaired by
Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh, on Wednesday ac­
corded approval to capital
acquisition proposals of the
three Services estimated at
approximately ₹13,165 crore.
The key proposals include
helicopters, guided muni­
tions and rocket
ammunition.
Of these, procurements
for ₹11,486 crore were from
domestic sources, the De­
fence Ministry said.
“Looking into the need of
the Indian Army for an Ad­
vanced Light Helicopter
(ALH) squadron, to improve
its integral lift capability en­
suring its operational prepa­
redness, the DAC accorded
Lingering hope: Afghans outside the Iranian Embassy in Kabul
to request travel visas on Wednesday. AP
tails of the probe and the kid­
nappers’ identity are not yet
known. Mr. Arendeh is one
of the largest pharmaceuti­
and various other conces­
sions. Those opting for un­
secured education loans will
get their loans sanctioned
within four working days if
all the required documents
are submitted immediately.
Damini, Co­founder and
CEO, WeMakeScholars; Ar­
jun, Co­founder and CMO,
WeMakeScholars; Vijay,
Manager, EliteScholars (Un­
secured loans); and Archit
Siddoju, Country Head, Pu­
blic Banks (secured loans),
will speak at the webinar.
The discussion will be mod­
erated by Pankaja
Srinivasan, free­
lance writer.
To register, vi­
sit https://
bit.ly/3CW7bjN or
scan the QR code
given.
logged. Disaster Response
Force personnel rescued
several persons from a
house in Ahirlitola street in
north Kolkata. The two­
year­old girl and an elderly
woman were declared dead
later in the afternoon.
Kolkata recorded nearly
100 mm of rainfall in the
past 24 hours, while Dia­
mond Harbour and Sagar in
South 24 Parganas recorded
150 mm and Haldia in Purba
Medinipur 220 mm in the
past 24 hours.
Adding muscle: The DAC accorded acceptance of necessity for
procurement of 25 ALH­Mark III helicopters from HAL.
acceptance of necessity
(AoN) for procurement of 25
advanced light helicopters
(ALH)­Mark III helicopters
from Hindustan Aeronautics
*
cal traders in Kabul. He has
been running his business
despite the political distur­
bances. The Ministry of Ex­
No discrimination in U.P.: Adityanath
‘Dewa Sharif and Mahadeva temple will have to be developed together’
Omar Rashid
LUCKNOW
If the Dewa Sharif, a famous
shrine in Barabanki, has to
be developed, then even the
Mahadeva, a well­known Shi­
va temple, would have to be
developed, Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi Aditya­
nath said on Wednesday as
he stressed that “one­sided
development” would not
work in the State.
Mr. Adityanath, who is
touring districts and launch­
ing projects ahead of the
2022 Assembly poll, said
there was no discrimination
under his government even
as he alleged that under the
previous governments res­
trictions were put on the ce­
lebration of Hindu festivals.
“The government doesn’t
discriminate now. Dewa
Sharif ka vikas hona hain
24 lakh pre­primary students to get meals
Centre rebrands scheme as PM POSHAN; no progress on plan for breakfast
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Centre has rebranded
the 26­year­old national mid­
day meal scheme to give a
hot cooked meal to 11.8 crore
government school students
from Classes I to VIII, with
the Cabinet approving a pro­
posal to rename it as the PM
POSHAN (Poshan Shakti Nir­
man) scheme on Wednes­
day.
From the next financial
year, it will also cover the 24
lakh children studying in bal­
vatikas, the pre­primary sec­
tion of government schools,
Education Ministry officials
said.
Although this year’s bud­
get for mid­day meals re­
mains unchanged, an addi­
tional ₹266 crore is expected
to be added as the Central
government’s share to cater
to balvatika students from
2022­23, Education Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan told
Limited (HAL) under Buy In­
dian­IDDM at an approxi­
mate cost of ₹3,850 crore,” a
Ministry statement stated.
To give a boost to indige­
ternal Affairs did not confirm
the citizenship status of Mr.
Arendeh though it is known
that he has family members
living in the National Capital
Region here.
Since the arrival of the Ta­
liban on August 15, the secur­
ity situation in Kabul has
seen several ups and downs.
The control of the police in
Kabul was initially given to
the Haqqani Network of the
Taliban, but it was taken ov­
er by Mullah Baradar last
week. He appointed new of­
ficials in defence and intelli­
gence wings of the outfit.
In the meantime, a large
number of kidnappings and
robberies were reported
from major cities of Afghan­
istan and the Taliban has
blamed criminal gangs.
On tour: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Sitapur on
Wednesday. He is touring districts ahead of the election.
toh Mahadeva ka bhi vikas
hona hain. Ek tarfa vikas
nahi chalega,” Mr. Aditya­
nath said.
Speaking in Barabanki dis­
trict, which he described as
the “gateway to Ram Rajya,”
as it connects Lucknow to
Ayodhya, Mr. Adityanath
said under the previous go­
Helping hand: The extension of mid­day meals to pre­primary
students was a key recommendation of the NEP, 2020. PTI
journalists after the Cabinet
decision.
The extension of mid­day
meals to pre­primary stu­
dents, who are to be incor­
porated into the formal edu­
cation system, was a key
recommendation of the Na­
tional Education Policy
(NEP), 2020 and the popula­
tion of balvatikas — which
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
nous design and develop­
ment of ammunition, the
DAC approved the procure­
ment of terminally guided
munition (TGM) and rocket
ammunition under buy (In­
dian­IDDM) category at an
approximate cost of ₹4,962
crore from domestic sourc­
es, the statement noted.
Other proposals worth
₹4,353 crore were also ac­
corded acceptance of neces­
sity by the DAC.
The DAC also approved a
few amendments to the De­
fence Acquisition Procedure
(DAP), 2020, as part of busi­
ness process re­engineering
to ensure further ease of do­
ing business for the industry
as well as measures to en­
hance procurement efficien­
cy and reduce the timelines,
the statement added.
Taliban urge DGCA to
resume Afghan flights
Call for smooth passenger movement
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI
The Taliban government in
Afghanistan has written to
India’s DGCA (Directorate
General of Civil Aviation),
requesting the resumption
of commercial flights bet­
ween the two countries, ac­
cording to a senior govern­
ment official.
The letter from the Islam­
ic Emirate of Afghanistan
was addressed to the DGCA
Director­General on Sep­
tember 7, 2021.
“The intention of this let­
ter is to keep the smooth
passenger movements bet­
ween two countries based
on the signed MoU and our
national carriers (Ariana Af­
ghan Airline and Kam Air)
* PTI
vernments of SP and BSP,
Kanwariyas who would play
music during their Kanwar
yatra had to face police
lathicharge.
“Government property
would be grabbed, but nobo­
dy was there to question.
The immersion of idols
[murti visarjan] would not
*
offer one year of pre­school
classes — is expected to rise
from the existing 24 lakh as
the policy is implemented.
However, there has been
no progress on the NEP’s
other recommendation to
start offering breakfasts to
school students as well. Mr.
Pradhan declined to com­
ment on the issue, but Minis­
DELHI
THE HINDU
NEET­UG
aspirants seek
fresh exam
Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Several NEET­UG aspirants
have moved the Supreme
Court seeking the cancella­
tion of the exam held on
September 12 for alleged
cheating, malpractice, im­
personation and paper
leak.
The petitioners sought a
stay on the declaration of
the results during penden­
cy, a fresh exam and a di­
rection to the CBI and the
Rajasthan and Uttar Pra­
desh police chiefs to file
fact­finding reports in a
week.
The petitioners asked
the court to direct the go­
vernment, the National
Testing Agency and the Na­
tional Medical Commission
to enhance the standard of
security protocols. This
would include biometric
verification of the candi­
dates and use of jammers.
aimed to commence their
scheduled flights (sic). The­
refore, Afghanisation Civil
Aviation Authority requests
you to facilitate their com­
mercial flights,” Aljah Ha­
meedullah Akhunzada, Act­
ing Minister, Afghanistan
Civil Aviation Authority, said
in the letter.
The Indian official, on the
condition of anonymity,
said, “The matter is being
reviewed by the Ministry of
Civil Aviation.” The letter
followed the resumption of
operations at the Kabul air­
port on September 4 with
the help of a technical team
from Qatar. It was closed
due to the damage to its in­
frastructure following a
frenzied evacuation.
be held in a peaceful man­
ner,” said Mr. Adityanath.
In contrast, he said, under
the BJP government, the ad­
ministration provided an
“atmosphere of security” to
the Kanwar pilgrims who set
out for the darshan of Lo­
deshwar Maharaj Mandir, in
groups, dancing, singing
bhajans and playing music.
According to the Baraban­
ki district website, people
flock to the temple, situated
on the banks of the Ghagra,
in lakhs in the month of
Phalgun every year on the
occasion of Mahashivratri to
worship and offer water to
the famous shivling.
Mr. Adityanath sought pe­
ople’s support for his go­
vernment and said in return
he would ensure them secur­
ity, respect and develop­
ment.
try officials have previously
told The Hindu that the Fi­
nance Ministry vetoed the
proposal for this year, which
would involve an additional
budgetary allocation of
₹4,000 crore, due to a severe
funding crunch. In fact, the
School Education Depart­
ment’s budget for this year
has been cut by almost
₹5,000 crore.
The PM POSHAN scheme
has been approved for the
next five­year period until
2025­26, with a collective
outlay of ₹1.31 lakh crore, in­
cluding ₹31,733 crore as the
share to be borne by the
State governments. It will
“improve nutritional status,
encourage education and
learning and increase enrol­
ments in government
schools”, Mr. Pradhan said.
The rebranded scheme
aims to focus on “holistic nu­
trition” goals, Ministry offi­
cials said.
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THE HINDU DELHI
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
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3 ex­Afghan
women MPs
fly out of India
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Three women Afghan polit­
ical leaders, who had taken
refuge in India after the fall
of Kabul, left for Europe on
Wednesday. The Hindu
was urged not to reveal the
identity of the three former
MPs who were known for
their fierce criticism of the
Taliban.
The three former MPs
were being assisted by Vital
Voices, an international
group also known for as­
sisting Nobel Peace Prize
winner Malala Yousafzai.
The MPs travelled via
Dubai where they boarded
a flight to a European coun­
try. “Once we are settled in
the west, we will restart
our political campaign for
freeing Afghanistan,” said
one of the MPs who point­
ed to the heightened risk
that their families continue
to face under the Taliban
rule. She said there are a
handful of former women
MPs who are eager to leave
the country.
Sidhu vows to stick to principles
CM Channi urges the former PPCC chief to resolve his grouse by holding talks
SANDEEP PHUKAN
VIKAS VASUDEVA
NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH
The chaos in the Congress’s
Punjab unit refused to show
any sign of settling, as Navjot
Singh Sidhu, who resigned
as its chief on Tuesday, har­
dened his stand on Wednes­
day and Chief Minister Cha­
ranjit Singh Channi urged
him to resolve his grouses by
holding talks.
Mr. Sidhu observed that
he would firmly stick to his
stance and continue the fight
even if it meant losing eve­
rything.
Mr. Channi categorically
said the party is supreme
and the government pur­
sued its ideology. “Party pre­
sident is the head of the ‘fa­
mily’. I have spoken to Mr.
Sidhu and conveyed that the
party’s ideology is supreme,
and that the government fol­
lows it. I have urged him to
talk and resolve the matter.
We will resolve the issue,” he
stated .
Party insiders said the
central leadership was not
amused by Mr. Sidhu’s
abrupt move and the man­
Nitish swears by Bihar’s
special category status
special correspondent
Patna
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar on Wednesday clari­
fied that his party had not
dropped the demand for
special category status to Bi­
har but it was up to the
Centre to take a decision on
it.
Earlier, senior Cabinet
colleague Bijendra Prasad
Yadav had said the Nitish go­
vernment was tired of de­
manding special category
status and was no longer in­
AAP throws 5­point
challenge at Congress
government in Punjab
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
CHANDIGARH
Aam Aadmi Party’s supremo and Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is on a two­
day visit to Punjab on Wednesday, threw a
five point challenge at the ruling Congress,
asking it to fulfil its 2017 election promises.
“I have a message for our new CM Channi
sahab,” he said.
“First, there are allegations that he (Chan­
ni) inducted tainted Ministers and tainted of­
ficers. They need to be removed. Also, peo­
ple are upset over the Bargari (sacrilege)
case. The masterminds of the caseshould be
punished,” he said.
Mr. Kejriwal said that the Congress had
promised employment or an unemploy­
ment allowance and that needs to be imme­
diately given within a week. “Fourth, former
Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh had
promised to waive the loans of the farmers.
Lastly, the Congress is saying they know how
the power purchase agreements can be can­
celled, so they should do the same.”
CM
YK
States’ fears over GST regime
have come true: T.N. Minister
GST discussions, decisions ought to be data­driven, says Palanivel Thiaga Rajan
Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister
Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on
Wednesday said the States’
fears of losing autonomy
with the Goods and Services
Tax regime have come true.
“One thing that is very
clear to me is the fears of loss
of autonomy have been fully
realised. The States have
now very little indepen­
dence in any matters of taxa­
tion now,” he said, stressing
on how many problems can
be resolved to the satisfac­
tion of the States and indus­
try if the GST decisions are
data­driven.
“Given it is the law of the
land, our job now is to make
it as robust, as dependable,
as high utility as possible.
Within the constraints of the
GST, I see lot of upside in
terms of systems improve­
ment, data­driven assess­
ment and decision making,
High ground: Navjot Singh Sidhu said he would continue the
fight even if it meant losing everything. PTI
ner of his quitting by display­
ing his resignation on a pu­
blic platform. By not rushing
Harish Rawat, party’s Pun­
jab affairs in charge, to deal
with the crises, the party
high command is believed to
have given an indication that
it is in no mood to placate
Mr. Sidhu by going the ‘extra
mile’.
All India Congress Com­
mittee appointed observer
Harish Chaudhary, however,
has reached Punjab to take
stock of the situation. The
party has tasked the Chief
Minister to resolve the
emerging crises and he has
terested in pursuing the de­
mand but would now de­
mand for a special package
to the State.
But the senior JD(U) lead­
er’s comment created a flut­
ter among alliance BJP lead­
ers. “What special package
is he [Mr. Yadav] talking
about? The Prime Minister
has given ₹1.25 lakh crore to
the State as special package
and had also announced to
stand by the State in its hour
of need”, said BJP leader
Prem Ranjan Patel.
No relief: The issue of including petroleum products in the
GST regime has been hanging fire for some time. FILE PHOTO
plugging of loopholes, im­
provement of uniform enfor­
cement...” he told the South
India GST Conclave organ­
ised virtually by the Federa­
tion of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry
(FICCI).
Echoing his remarks, Ker­
ala Finance Minister K.N. Ba­
lagopal recalled how he had
moved a dissent note, as a
Member of the Rajya Sabha
* a difference. Taking a princi­
assigned Pargat Singh and
Amarinder Singh Raja War­
ring, both Ministers and
close associates of Mr. Sidhu,
to talk to him.
Acceptance dilemma
It is learnt that the party is
apparently in a fix over ac­
cepting Mr. Sidhu’s resigna­
tion, as the acceptance could
exemplify him in the electo­
ral battle as a ‘martyr’ who
has chosen emotional and
sensitive issues surrounding
the Bargari sacrilege and the
inclusion of ‘tainted’ leaders
in the government as the ba­
sis of his quitting.
* the Prime Minister, the Un­
in a parliamentary panel,
stating the GST is very much
against the principles of fed­
eralism. “What we appre­
hended about the legislation
[then] is practically happen­
ing,” he said, adding that the
State governments were fac­
ing financial crisis because
of the GST. From July 2022,
they would also not be com­
pensated by the Centre for
the loss of revenue.
While Mr. Sidhu’s close as­
sociates met him to pursue
him to take back his decision
and deliberate on the issues,
there were other senior par­
ty leaders who hit out at
him. They accused him of
harming the party.
On Wednesday, Mr. Sidhu
remarked that during his 17
years of political journey, he
had been working with a
purpose to improve the life
of the State people and make
pled stand on issue­based
politics and sticking to it had
been the core of his political
journey, he asserted.
“My fight has always been
on issues and Punjab fa­
voured agenda; it has never
been personal. There’s not
going to be any compromise
surrounding my struggle on
Punjab’s rights... In my fight,
positions have never been
relevant,” he emphasised.
Launching an attack on
the government without
naming anyone, he said the
issues for which he had ta­
ken a committed stand be­
fore people were being com­
promised.
Blaming the Centre’s poli­
cy and attitude towards the
States as the problem, he un­
derscored the need for busi­
nesses and government to
work together for a strong
economy.
Karnataka Industries Mi­
nister Murgesh Nirani said
while there were a few press­
ing issues to be resolved, the
GST had brought out a his­
toric transformation to the
tax structure. He thanked
ion Finance Minister and
members of the GST Council
for the major tax reform.
FICCI Telangana chair­
man T. Muralidharan said
the conclave was an attempt
by FICCI to act as a bridge
between the States and the
Centre on the GST. He said
the southern States were the
biggest losers in the tax­shar­
ing formula. FICCI will be
submitting a report to the
Centre.
Mamata is
BJP’s Trojan
Horse: Adhir
Press Trust of India
Kolkata
West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee was the
Trojan Horse of the BJP
and should be kept out of
all efforts to cobble up an
opposition platform ahead
of the 2024 Lok Sabha elec­
tion, senior Congress lead­
er and State president Ad­
hir Ranjan Chowdhury said
on Wednesday.
Mr. Chowdhury said the
Trinamool Congress chief
was an “untrustworthy al­
ly”, trying to grow nation­
ally at the cost of the
Congress.
Amarinder meets Shah,
sparking off rumours
Former Punjab CM’s next political destination could be BJP
Nistula Hebbar
NEW DELHI
The turmoil within the Con­
gress in Punjab washed up at
the doorstep of Union Home
Minister Amit Shah on Wed­
nesday with former Chief
Minister of the State Capt.
Amarinder Singh (retd.)
meeting Mr. Shah at his resi­
dence, setting off specula­
tion that his next political
destination could well be the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The meeting between Mr.
Shah and Mr. Singh lasted
45­50 minutes, with the lat­
ter stating via his media ad­
viser Raveen Thukral that he
had “met with Union Home
Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.
Discussed prolonged farm­
ers’ agitation against the
farm laws and urged him to
repeal of the laws and gua­
rantee MSP (minimum sup­
port price), besides support­
ing Punjab in crop
diversification”.
The statement did not
Faleiro says he will work to
consolidate Congress family
Special correspondent
Kolkata
The Congress family is now
fragmented and I will work
towards bringing the family
together, said former Goa
Chief Minister Luizinho Fa­
leiro, who joined the Trina­
mool Congress on Wednes­
day.
Mr. Falerio, who had re­
signed as a Congress MLA
earlier this week, joined the
Trinamool Congress in Kol­
kata with nine others, in­
cluding a few Congress
leaders.
“Today, the Congress fa­
mily is fragmented into the
Surprise meet: The farmers’ protest was discussed during the
meeting between Amit Shah and Amarinder Singh. FILE PHOTO
mention any political arran­
gements that may have been
discussed but does point to
the sticking point in terms of
any such arrangement bet­
ween Mr. Singh and the BJP.
The three farm laws have
been the subject of protests
for the past 11 months, with
Mr. Singh being one of the
first Chief Ministers to fully
back the agitation by farm­
ers’ groups.
For him to come to a polit­
ical arrangement with the
BJP without some middle
ground on how to tackle the
Trinamool Congress, the
YSR Congress, the Sharad
Pawar Congress [Nationalist
Congress Party] and the In­
dira [Gandhi] Congress. I
will try to ensure that the
Congress family is once
again consolidated,” Mr. Fa­
lerio said moments after offi­
cially joining the Trinamool
Congress.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Fa­
lerio and others met Trina­
mool chairperson and West
Bengal Chief Minister Mama­
ta Banerjee at the State Se­
cretariat.
The entry of former Con­
gress leaders from Goa into
NEWS 9
*
issue is difficult, and sources
say that the BJP, which is
quite keen on Mr. Singh join­
ing its fold, is mindful of the
same.
Therefore, Mr. Singh’s re­
signation as Chief Minister of
Punjab has come at a good
time for the BJP.
While firm on not with­
drawing the laws, sources
told The Hindu, many other
means, including further
amendments or the setting
up of a more expanded com­
mittee to sort out the issue,
may be looked at.
the Trinamool comes as a
major shot in the arm for
West Bengal’s ruling party,
which is trying to expand its
footprints beyond the State.
Senior Trinamool leaders,
including party general se­
cretary Abhishek Banerjee,
MP Saugata Roy and Minis­
ter Subrata Mukherjee, were
present at the press confe­
rence where leaders from
Goa joined the party. Mr.
Roy described the develop­
ment as a “major milestone
in Trinamool’s journey”.
The party would contest
alone in Goa, added Mr.
Banerjee.
M ND-NDE
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10 NEWS DELHI

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

THE HINDU
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INTERVIEW | ARJAN DE WAGT

‘High levels of maternal, child undernutrition continue to plague India’

COVID­19 has heightened risk of increasing malnutrition; parts of progress made in the past may get undone, says head of nutrition, UNICEF India
Bindu Shajan Perappadan interventions in India? cheap food with low nutri­ health workers were divert­ shocks on families and com­ innovations in the service de­
New Delhi tive value, causing long­term ed from nutrition pro­ munities. livery mechanism.
Arjan De Wagt, head of nutrition, UNICEF (United Nations ■ Broadly, we know that the adverse impact on the cogni­ grammes. Fourthly, adequate financ­
Children’s Fund) India speaks on how high levels of maternal impact of COVID­19 has ad­ tive development of Fourth and most impor­ As COVID­19 affects ing is needed to ensure deliv­
and child undernutrition continue to plague the country. He versely affected access to li­ children. tantly, COVID­19 related resources and priorities, ery of high­impact interven­
notes that for the future of children in India, controlling CO- velihoods. The containment Third, health and social priorities could threaten de­ how should the government tions, and additional
VID-19 and ending malnutrition are equally important and measures to prevent the services, such as anganwadi livery and financing of nutri­ address nutrition­related financing will be required for
urgent. spread of the virus threa­ centres, nutrition rehabilita­ tion and nutrition security challenges? ensuring food and nutrition­
tened livelihoods, resulted in tion centres, and village responses. al security, especially for the
How has India fared on child are nutritionally wasted; ma­ price hikes due to reduced health sanitation and nutri­ ■ Six areas need immediate vulnerable population
and maternal nutrition in ny of these children suffer production of goods and ser­ tion days (VHSND), were dis­ Given that the threat of attention. First and fore­ groups.
recent times? from multiple anthropomet­ vices, and in the disruption rupted. As schools remained subsequent COVID­19 waves most, strong leadership at all Multisectoral interven­
ric deficits. The CNNS also of supply chains for many closed for a large part of looms, what do you foresee levels — from national to dis­ tions that directly or indi­
■ Overall, India has made highlights the emerging pro­ families. <
> For the future of
children in India, 2020 and well into 2021, we as the biggest challenge in trict — is essential to bring rectly impact nutrition like
impressive gains in econom­ blems of overweight, obesity Global research in 2020 stopping COVID-19 also noticed that distribution the nutrition space? back focus to address food, health, nutrition and social
ic and human development and micro­nutrient on the effect of COVID­19 es­ and stopping of iron and folic acid tablets income and nutritional protection schemes need to
in recent decades. However, deficiencies. timated about 14.3% increase to children in schools was ■ We fear double threats security. be delivered effectively to
malnutrition are
high levels of maternal and The launch of the Poshan in wasting globally. No spec­ significantly reduced, and here. On the one hand, pan­ Second, uninterrupted, the same household, same
child undernutrition conti­ Abhiyan in March 2018 refo­ ific data are available yet on equally important awareness campaigns in demic response services, universal, timely and high­ woman, same child. Migrant
nue to plague the country. cused the national develop­ the impact of COVID­19 on schools on nutrition were such as COVID­19 vaccina­ quality coverage of essential labourers and urban poor
Large­scale surveys, like the ment agenda on nutrition. the nutritional status of the On completion of six suspended. It was not until tion, will need to be priori­ evidence­based nutritional need special focus.
Comprehensive National Nu­ However, with the spectre of Indian population. First of months, children need nu­ early 2021 that more and tised. This puts a tremen­ services must be ensured, Finally, nutrition needs to
trition Survey (CNNS) and COVID­19, there is a height­ all, like other infections, the trient dense complementary more States started opening dous strain on systems, with special focus on chil­ be retained as a key indicator
National Family Health Sur­ ened risk of increasing mal­ COVID­19 infection negative­ foods in addition to breast anganwadi centres again, capacity and resources ear­ dren below two years of age, for development. For the fu­
vey­4 (NFHS), show that nutrition, and parts of pro­ ly affects the nutritional sta­ milk to adequately fuel the but centre­based activities lier dedicated to deliver rou­ pregnant women and adoles­ ture of children in India,
about one­third of children gress made in the past may tus of a child. growth of their growing bo­ soon were suspended due to tine health, nutrition, and cent girls, which are critical stopping COVID­19 and stop­
under five years of age in In­ get undone. Second, as the period of dies and brain. the second wave of social protection interven­ development periods. ping malnutrition are equal­
dia are stunted, a third of pandemic prolongs, food in­ Food insecurity arising COVID­19. tions. Thirdly, the pandemic ly important and urgent.
them are underweight, and How is COVID­19 likely to securities and nutritional out of the pandemic may As COVID­19 demanded On the other hand, CO­ calls for strategies adapting Full interview at https://
almost two out of 10 children affect nutritional challenges will intensify too. cause families to shift to extraordinary attention, VID­19 may inflict repeated to COVID­19 guidelines and bit.ly/DeWagt.

SC dismisses
appeal filed Foreign Secretary to visit Colombo soon Define exemptions from
data protection law: panel
by Adani Gas Shringla likely to meeting in New York, the Sri single issue,” the statement
inaugurate key Lankan Foreign Ministry said, adding that Mr. Jaishan­ It finds middle ground on clause
Legal Correspondent said in a statement that Mr. kar emphasised the need for
NEW DELHI bilateral projects Peiris briefed Mr. Jaishankar “for a practical conclusion of Sobhana K. Nair
The Supreme Court has about “the pragmatic and the number of projects New Delhi

dismissed an appeal filed
by Adani Gas against the
authorisation given by the
Petroleum and Natural Gas
Regulatory Board (PNGRB)
to state­run Gujarat Gas to
lay and maintain a gas dis­
tribution network in rural
Ahmedabad.
Gujarat Gas had suc­
ceeded in securing the
authorisation for setting up
the network in Sanand,
Bavla and Dholka in an auc­
tion held by the board. A
three­judge Bench of Justic­
es U.U. Lalit, S. Ravindra
Bhat and Hrishikesh Roy,
in a judgment pronounced
on Tuesday, directed Adani
to bear the costs of ₹10
lakh, payable to the Union
of India.
“Adani’s claim is pre­
cluded by the principle of
approbate­reprobate, as it
accepted authorisation
granted by PNGRB [includ­
ing exclusion of disputed
Meera Srinivasan
Foreign Secretary Harsh
Vardhan Shringla is sche­
duled to visit Colombo bet­
ween October 2 and 5, offi­
cial sources in New Delhi
told The Hindu, as India and
Sri Lanka seek to engage at
high levels amid a perceived
strain in ties.
The scheduled visit comes
10 days after External Affairs
Minister S. Jaishankar and
his Sri Lankan counterpart,
G.L. Peiris, met on the side­
lines of the United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA)
session in New York.
While official sources in
New Delhi and Colombo in­
dicated that Mr. Shringla
Cabinet clears 2 railway
line doubling projects
Bilateral talks: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with Sri
Lanka’s Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris in New York last week. PTI
would likely inaugurate key united Sri Lanka — were ful­
bilateral projects between filled. However, Tamil and
October 2 and 5, the thrust of Muslim minorities point to
his visit was yet to be known. continuing harassment by
The high­level visit follows authorities, especially
Mr. Jaishankar’s in January, around memorialisation and
when he told the leadership threats to land owned by ci­
in Colombo that it was in “Sri vilians, in addition to the Ta­
Lanka’s own interest” that mil leadership consistently
the expectations of the Tamil highlighting the long­pend­
people — for equality, justice, ing political solution.
peace and dignity within a On the recent bilateral
India, Australia sign ‘Terms of
Reference’ for navy to navy talks
tangible action” taken by the
government to resolve “resi­
dual matters after the end of
the conflict in May 2009”, re­
ferring apparently to conten­
tious issues around truth, ac­
countability and justice that
the island nation’s civil war­
*
affected Tamils have been
demanding for over a de­
cade.
According to the Sri Lan­
kan Foreign Ministry’s state­
ment, Mr. Jaishankar indicat­
ed the need for a “fair and
just resolution of residual is­
sues in the aftermath of the
ethnic issues is in the interest
of both countries”. “The In­
dian Foreign Minister indi­
cated that our relations
should not be limited to a
pending implementation, in­ The Joint Parliamentary
dicating that it would give Committee on Data Protec­
more confidence to New Del­ tion has found a middle
hi to move forward in en­ ground on the contentious
hancing relations”. clause which in the name of
New Delhi’s concerns over “sovereignty”, “friendly re­
the “slow pace” of India­ lations with foreign states”
backed projects in the island and “security of the state”,
nation and the emergence of allows any agency under the
China as a crucial player in Union government exemp­ Jairam Ramesh
its economy and infrastruc­ tion from all or any provi­
ture are well known. sions of the law. to the Union government to
The visit is Mr. Shringla’s More than 10 MPs in the suspend all or any of the
first to Sri Lanka as Foreign panel had earlier objected provisions of the Act for go­
Secretary. He has worked to the clause, saying that it vernment agencies.
closely on issues pertaining made the entire Act Sources said the commit­
to Indo­Lanka relations in infructuous. tee had largely agreed that
his capacity as Joint Secre­ In past deliberations, the clause needed to be ap­
tary in New Delhi years ago, Congress MPs Jairam Ra­ propriately amended. The
overseeing Bangladesh, Sri mesh, Manish Tewari and members demanded that
Lanka, Myanmar and the Gaurav Gogoi; Trinamool the conditions for making
Maldives. Congress MPs Derek O’ the exemptions be clearly
Brien and Mahua Moitra; Bi­ laid down without leaving
ju Janata Dal (BJD) MPs scope for interpretation.
Bhartruhari Mahtab and
Amar Patnaik; Bahujan Sa­
maj Party (BSP) MP Ritesh
No other details on how it
would be worded to avoid
possible abuse was forth­
Pandey; Shiv Sena MP Shri­
kant Eknath Shinde; and BJP
coming.

areas], furnished the per­ MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar Close to 55 clauses

formance bond and even
participated in the auction
for the excluded areas, and
only thereafter challenged
authorisation when its bid
was unsuccessful,” Justice
Bhat, who authored the 79­
page judgment, observed.
This judgment comes
days after the Supreme
Court issued notice in a cu­
rative petition in a case
filed by Gujarat Urja Vikas
Limited (GUVL) against a
July 2019 judgment of the
apex court upholding the
termination of a power
purchase agreement (PPA)
by Adani Power (Mundra)
Limited.
It will cost over ₹1,000 crore each
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs on Wed­
nesday approved the dou­
bling of the Nimach­Ratlam
(Madhya Pradesh) railway
line as well as of the Rajkot­
Kanalus (Gujarat) railway
line, with an estimated pro­
ject cost of over ₹1,000
crore each.
The total length of dou­
bling of the line for the Ni­
mach­Ratlam line is 132.92
km, with an estimated pro­
ject cost of ₹1,095.88 crore,
and the estimated length for
the Rajkot­Kanalus line is
111.2 km, with an estimated
cost of ₹1,080.58 crore. Both
projects are targeted for
completion by 2024­25.
The Railways said: “The
line capacity utilisation of
Nimach­Ratlam section is
up to 145.6% with mainte­
nance blocks. Project route
section has become oversat­
urated well above optimum
capacity even without a
maintenance block.”
The Rajkot­Kanalus sec­
tion is a part of the busy
Mumbai­Ahmedabad­Vi­
ramgam­Okha section.
First such document signed by Indian Navy with a country
Dinakar Peri
NEW DELHI
The Indian Navy and the
Australian Navy on Wednes­
day signed the ‘Terms of Re­
ference’ (ToR) for the con­
duct of the navy to navy
talks under the framework
of the ‘Joint Guidance for the
India­Australia Navy to Navy
Relationship’ document,
signed by the two Navy
Chiefs in August. This is the
first such document signed
by the Indian Navy with any
country.
The document set the na­
vy to navy talks as the princi­
pal medium for guiding the
bilateral cooperation, the In­
dian Navy said in a state­
ment. “The document
would be pivotal in consoli­
dating the shared commit­
ment to promoting peace,
security, stability and pros­
perity in the Indo­Pacific re­
gion,” it stated.
The ToR detailed the mo­
dalities for engagement at
various levels between the
two navies and streamlined
the process, an official
source said.
The document provided
flexibility for the implemen­
tation of separate agree­
ments based on the specific
outcomes of the talks. The
highlights of the document
included close cooperation
in regional and multilateral
fora, including Indian Ocean
Naval Symposium (IONS),
Western Pacific Naval Sym­
posium (WPNS) and Indian
Ocean Rim Association
(IORA).
had moved amendments to
the contentious Clause 35 of
the legislation.
Since then, Mr. Chandra­
sekhar had been promoted
to Minister of State and was
no longer a member of the
committee.
‘Subject to abuse’
Mr. Shinde had argued for
deleting the clause entirely
since it could be “subject to
abuse”.
Invoking “sovereignty
and integrity of India”, “pu­
blic order”, “friendly rela­
tions with foreign states”
and “security of the state”,
the legislation gives powers
In a day­long meeting on
Wednesday, the committee
deliberated on close to 55
clauses and was nearly half­
way through the Bill.
The report on the Bill is
long overdue. The Bill that
seeks to provide protection
of personal data of indivi­
duals was introduced in the
Lok Sabha in December
2019 and referred to the
Joint Parliamentary Com­
mittee soon after.
It got its fifth extension
during the monsoon session
of Parliament in July this
year and has now been
asked to submit the report
by the winter session.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
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Display keystrokes of genius.

SCAN TO PLAY SUDOKU FAITH

(set by WrdPlougher)
+ 13365 Type your answers in our online grids:
@ https://qrgo.page.link/jjpTn Antecedents of Narada
14 Head of department lops everyone’s heads after new HOD provides no Generally most of us have momentary glimpses of divine ex­
kind of resolution (6) perience which makes a deep impact with a longing to pur­
16 Other wise elders organised no doctor (4) sue it further. To attain fullness of this experience a true de­
17 Perhaps vegetable’s regurgitated before shedding its kernel (5) votee and a jnani may have to pass through many births,
18 Offer leeway (4) says Krishna in the Gita. The sadana and the process may be
19 Deviously entrap, make headway? (6) long drawn but the Lord’s grace works in mysterious ways as
21 Make use of return ticket to take model out, tour around Spain without is exemplified in the case of Narada, pointed out Sri B. Sun­
any escort (8) darkumar in a discourse.
23 Cut joke after second cut (5,3)
In the Bhagavata purana, Narada himself explains to Vya­
26 Greek island has an effect (6)
sa his spiritual journey through three successive births. In
27 Best car hut invented since sliced bread? (10)
his first birth he was a Gandharva and then in his next birth
28 Gets on with wise elder, top to bottom (4)
in an earlier kalpa, he had been born as a son of servant
■ DOWN maid who used to serve in hermitages. So, even as a boy, he
1 Common cure not available in any form — contained in deformed larva got the chance to be associated with the sadhus. He too used
lacking blood type (10) to serve them and by listening to the Lord’s glories from
2 Break free suddenly, pretend you’re captured (8) them, he was able to develop love and devotion to the Lord.
3 French goods with artificial intelligence? Japanese shoot! (6) After his mother’s death, he wandered through dense for­
4 Second season will be in France (4) ests and mountains and tried to meditate on the Lord as in­
5 Coming out is nuanced — no doubts to begin with; left out in society (8) structed by the sages. Once when in intense dyana, the Lord
6 Choosy about love, rejecting first prospect, to head out to lunch (6) Solution to puzzle 13364 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku chose to reveal Himself in his inner being. The overwhelm­
7 In the middle of a bid, I’m asked to return cover (4)
ing experience was momentary and when the vision disap­
13 Doctor Murthy finally ends drinking liqour, to start like a teetotaller (5)
peared, he was very distraught. But soon he heard the
15 Jackpot! Almost winning five elections — a third promise (4,6)
■ ACROSS Lord’s divine voice in the skies.
17 Excited man finds love, losing independence — rich year for his
8 Antlered hybrid shrugs off insect — lady’s animal (4) single­man regime? (8)
The Lord said that He had revealed His form briefly so
9 Omissions excepted, writes down exactly, like, what Ali Baba 18 Boy, girl running back­to­back laps regularly near sports department — that it will instil intense longing and devotion to Him. He ad­
declared (4,6) in full throttle (3,5) ded that after this life all his prarabdha karma responsible
10 Passes letter bills (6) 20 Term right in the middle of term (6) for birth would be exhausted and he will gain Suddha satva
11 Air­conditioned housing as unreservedly packed as a musical 22 Uncle almost had an hour out in the nude (6) sarira meant for the dedicated service of the Lord. During
performance that goes swimmingly? (8) 24 Rope around hole (4) the next creative cycle he was born as the divine sage Narada
12 Held firm, overturning award — that’s a little drastic (8) 25 Snack chewed with drug (4) and was blessed by the Lord to propagate bhakti. Narada
continues to inspire posterity till date.
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
DELHI

BUSINESS 11
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Cabinet approves ECGC listing,

market watch
29-09-2021 CHANGE
Goyal urges Piramal acquires DHFL,
U.S. firms to
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 59,413 ddd -0.43

pays ₹14,700 cr. in cash

US Dollar ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 74.14 ddd -0.11
Gold dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 45,123 dddd 0.10

push for FTA

₹6,000 crore for export cover
Brent oil dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 79.09 dddd 0.00

Special Correspondent
Creditors get ₹38,000 cr. in resolution
NIFTY 50
PRICE CHANGE New Delhi Special Correspondent
Adani Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 742.00. . . . . . . . . 3.30
Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3323.05. . . . . . -56.65 Decisions will spur exports, create additional 62 lakh jobs: Commerce Ministry Commerce Minister Piyush Mumbai

Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 782.15. . . . . . . . -7.05 Goyal on Wednesday ex­ Piramal Enterprises Ltd.
Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3899.25. . . . . . . . -9.45 Special Correspondent billion [in 2021­22]. This is horted U.S. businesses to (PEL) on Wednesday said it
Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . .. 17433.75. . . -116.60
Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7515.40. . . . . . -27.90
NEW DELHI the highest in India’s history convince Washington of had acquired the bankrupt
Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 694.10. . . . . . . . -2.05 The Cabinet on Wednesday in the first six months of a fi­ the need for a trade pact Dewan Housing Finance
BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 436.90. . . . . . . . . 7.30 approved an infusion of nancial year and 10 days are that could help target $1 Corp. Ltd. (DHFL) by mak­
Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3972.75. . . . . . -30.90
Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 987.60. . . . . . . 16.60 more than ₹6,000 crore into still remaining,” said Com­ trillion in bilateral flow of ing a cash payment of
Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 185.70. . . . . . . 11.15 entities providing export in­ merce, Industry and Textiles goods and services over ₹14,700 crore to creditors as online press conference.
Divis Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 4806.45. . . . . . . 22.40 surance cover to facilitate Minister Piyush Goyal. the next 10 years. per the resolution plan. “This accelerates our
Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 4881.00. . . . . . . 47.85
Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. . . . 2843.25. . . . . . -39.80 additional exports worth in “The Cabinet has decided “We already have an PEL’s acquisition of DHFL plans to become a leading
Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1669.90. . . . . . . 21.15 excess of ₹5.6 lakh crore over to give the ECGC ₹4,400 FTA with Japan; we are for a total consideration of digitally oriented, diversi­
HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1281.20. . . . . . . 12.20
the next five years. It also ap­ crore as capital, which will working on an early har­ ₹34,250 crore, which in­ fied financial services con­
HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2746.45. . . . . . -58.50
HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1593.85. . . . . . -21.20 proved the listing of state­ On a high: Exports stood at $185 bn by Sept. 21, the highest enable it to provide insu­ vest FTA with Australia,” cludes ₹19,550 crore of 10­ glomerate,” he added.
HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 734.75. . . . . . . . . 8.95 run Export Credit Guarantee ever for the first six months of a fiscal, says Goyal. K.R. DEEPAK
* rance policies worth Mr. Goyal said at the U.S. year NCDs (at 6.75% p.a.), Creditors also received
Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 2886.15. . . . . . -34.40
Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 494.15. . . . . . . 16.00
Corporation (ECGC) on the ₹88,000 crore,” he said, ad­ India Strategic Partnership marked the first successful the ₹3,800 crore in funds
Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2685.30. . . . . . -38.55 stock exchanges. so create close to 62 lakh after the Cabinet meeting. ding that 97% of ECGC benef­ Forum. “I would urge you IBC resolution in the finan­ that was with DHFL when
ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 709.50. . . . . . . . -7.65 Apart from spurring ex­ more jobs, the Commerce “By September 21, India’s iciaries were micro, small to take it up with your ad­ cial services sector, chair­ the administrator took it ov­
IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1123.20. . . . . . -11.55
Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1692.25. . . . . . . . . 5.15
ports, these decisions will al­ Ministry said in a statement exports had touched $185 and medium enterprises. ministration as well.” man Ajay Piramal said in an er for resolution.
Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 127.45. . . . . . . . . 4.50
ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 238.10. . . . . . . . . 0.35
JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 679.80. . . . . . . 18.95
Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2030.45. . . . . . -37.75
L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1721.00. . . . . . -16.15
M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 812.10. . . . . . . . . 6.05
Expect more than 7% growth Standard Life
sells 5% stake
Govt. extends emergency CIL to ramp up
fuel supply to
Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7384.05. . . . . . -39.80
Nestle India Ltd. . . . .. 19506.75. . . . . . -38.00
NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 140.65. . . . . . . . . 8.70
ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 144.75. . . . . . . . . 2.55 for India this decade: CEA in HDFC AMC credit scheme till March power plants
PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 195.05. . . . . . . 11.10
Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2527.85. . . . . . -20.20
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Over ₹2.86 lakh cr. sanctioned so far PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
SBI Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1205.95. . . . . . . . -4.35
State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 460.00. . . . . . . 15.10
Shree Cement . . . . . . . .. 29382.40. . . . . 139.45
‘Double­digit rise in FY22 may moderate to 6.5­7% next year’ NEW DELHI Special Correspondent tioned under ECLGS have NEW DELHI

Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 811.30. . . . . . . 36.20 Promoter Standard Life In­ NEW DELHI crossed ₹2.86 lakh crore, State­owned CIL on Wed­
Tata Consumer PRESS TRUST OF India The Economic Survey side measures that we’ve ta­ vestments on Wednesday The government has ex­ with about 95% of the gua­ nesday said it would aug­
Products Ltd. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 823.45. . . . . . . . . 0.75 NEW DELHI 2020­21, released in January, ken will enable strong divested a 5% stake in tended the ₹4.5 lakh crore rantees issued for loans ment fuel supply to power
Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 330.25. . . . . . . . . 0.95
Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1295.55. . . . . . . 14.60 Chief Economic Adviser K.V. had projected GDP growth growth not only this year but HDFC AMC for a little more Emergency Credit Line Gua­ sanctioned to MSMEs. utilities of the country to
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3791.90. . . . . . . 12.75 Subramanian on Wednesday of 11% for the current year going forward as well,” he than ₹3,060 crore through rantee Scheme (ECLGS) till “With a view to support va­ address the decline in coal
Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . 1395.35. . . . . . -18.70 said India would clock more ending March 2022. said. Growth will be aided by an open market March 31, 2022, to help busi­ rious businesses impacted stocks and build them up
Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2147.50. . . . . . . 18.20
UltraTech Cement . .. . . . 7464.55. . . -123.75 than 7% annual growth dur­ “When you look at the da­ various structural reforms, transaction. nesses cope with the pan­ by the second wave, it has to adequate levels.
UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 717.15. . . . . . . . . 0.35 ing this decade on the back ta... the V­shaped recovery including labour and farm According to bulk deal demic’s adverse effects. been decided to extend the For the past three days,
Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 640.75. . . . . . . . . 1.15
of strong economic funda­ and quarterly growth pat­ laws, undertaken by the go­ data available with the The ECLGS was due to ex­ timeline till 31.03.2022 or till the public sector company
mentals. During the current terns actually established vernment, he said. BSE, the promoter sold a pire on September 30 and guarantees for an amount of had pushed up its supply to
EXCHANGE RATES fiscal, he said, growth would that the fundamentals of the He was addressing a vir­ total of 1,06,50,000 has helped 1.15 crore micro, ₹4.5 lakh crore are issued power plants to 1.4 million
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit be in double­digits and it economy are strong... the tual event organised by the shares, representing a 5% small and medium enter­ under the scheme, whichev­ tonnes (MT) per day, Coal
except yen at 4 p.m. on September 29
CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL could moderate to 6.5­7% in kind of reforms that we’ve U.S.­India Strategic Partner­ stake of the asset manage­ prises (MSMEs) so far. As on er is earlier,” the finance mi­ India Ltd. (CIL) said in a
US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 73.95. . . . . . . 74.27 the next financial year. done on it, and the supply­ ship Forum. ment company. September 24, loans sanc­ nistry said. statement.
Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 86.20. . . . . . . 86.58
British Pound . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 99.97. . . . 100.40
Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 66.40. . . . . . . 66.71
Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 11.44. . . . . . . 11.49
Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 79.62. . . . . . . 79.97
Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 54.47. . . . . . . 54.72
RBI lifts PCA ‘H­1B will exist till talent
Canadian Dollar . . . . . . . . .. . 58.29. . . . . . . 58.55
curbs on IOB
Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 17.67. . . . . . . 17.75
Source:Indian Bank
post review
issue is tackled globally’
Visa denials decline: Nasscom’s Singh
Special Correspondent
MUMBAI Yuthika Bhargava
IN BRIEF Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) NEW DELHI

has been taken out of
Prompt Corrective Action
(PCA) restrictions subject
to certain conditions and
continuous monitoring,
the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) said on Wednesday.
“The performance of
Overseas borrowings of
the Indian Overseas Bank,
firms jump to $2.84 bn
MUMBAI
currently under the
Indian companies’ external Prompt Corrective Action
commercial borrowings Framework (PCAF) of RBI,
surged manifold to more was reviewed by the Board
than $2.84 billion in August for Financial Supervision,”
2021, RBI data showed. The the RBI said in a statement.
domestic firms had raised “The bank has provided
$145.74 million from overseas a written commitment that
markets in August 2020. Of it would comply with the
the total funds raised during norms of minimum regula­
the month under review, tory capital, net NPA and
$2.25 billion was through the leverage ratio on an ongo­
automatic route of ECBs. PTI ing basis,” the regulator
said. Taking the above into
Indian Bank unveils
consideration, it has been
loan ‘Utsav Dhamaka’
decided to remove the res­
CHENNAI
Indian Bank has unveiled a trictions, the RBI added.
‘Utsav Dhamaka’ campaign in
a bid to further boost retail
sector loan growth. The
campaign, which will be on Invesco moves NCLT
till year end, will provide
special offers on home loan,
vehicle loan and non­priority as ZEEL ‘fails’ to call EGM
jewel loan products for retail
customers, the lender said. Fund wanted MD Goenka’s removal
NSDL shareholders ratify PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Chunduru as MD & CEO NEW DELHI
CHENNAI
Invesco Developing Markets
Former Indian Bank MD and
Fund, along with OFI Global
CEO Padmaja Chunduru has
China Fund, has moved the
been appointed as MD & CEO
of National Securities
National Company Law Tri­
Depository Ltd. (NSDL). bunal against media major
The appointment was ratified Zee Entertainment Enter­
by the shareholders on prises Ltd. (ZEEL) for not
Wednesday, NSDL said. calling an extraordinary
She has about 37 years of general meeting (EGM) of
experience in banking. the company.
Invesco Developing Mar­
CredAvenue closes first kets Fund (formerly Invesco
round of $90mn funding
Oppenheimer Developing
BENGALURU
Markets Fund) along with
CredAvenue, a debt platform
for enterprises, announced
OFI Global China Fund LLC ­
the closure of its first which together hold 17.88%
funding round of $90 million in ZEEL, had earlier called
led by Sequoia Capital India for an EGM of shareholders
and co­led by Lightspeed, seeking the removal of Ma­
TVS Capital Funds and naging Director Punit
Lightrock. The firm said it Goenka.
would double its headcount ZEEL, which had last
to 700 by end of FY22. week announced its merger
CM
YK
The need for H­1B visas will
exist till the ‘talent chal­
lenge’ is tackled globally,
even though the informa­
tion technology industry
has successfully adopted the
work­from­home model
amid pandemic­related tra­
vel restrictions, said Shiven­
dra Singh, vice president
and head of Global Trade
Development at Nasscom.
The H­1B visa programme
allows employers in the U.S.
to temporarily employ fo­
reign workers in positions
needing specialised know­
ledge. “During the pandem­
ic, the role of the technology
sector has become even
more critical... all new tech­
nologies, whether it is artifi­
cial intelligence, robotics,
machine learning, cyberse­
curity, cloud... have been
growing at nearly 30%,” Mr.
with rival Sony Picture Net­
works India to create the lar­
gest media firm in the coun­
try, termed the steps by its
minority shareholders “im­
pulsive or premature”.
The matter is listed be­
fore the Mumbai Bench of
the NCLT for hearing on
Thursday, industry insiders
said. ZEEL declined to com­
ment on the development
and said it remained com­
mitted to acting within the
framework of the law.
Singh told The Hindu. “That
has accentuated the chal­
lenge in terms of availability
of skills,” he said, adding
that access to high­skill ta­
lent was critical to growth.
He said there had been a
significant drop in H­1B visa
denials. “The denial rates
had gone up to nearly
28.6%, and have come down
to nearly 7% in October
2020­March 2021,” he said.
“The H­1B exists purely
because the skills are not
available in that country...
obviously, it will take time,
but till that time H­1B will be
required,” he said.
AIL case: NCLT
allows Valli to
withdraw plea
Sanjay Vijayakumar
Chennai
The National Company
Law Tribunal (NCLT) Chen­
nai on Wednesday allowed
Valli Arunachalam and her
family to withdraw the ear­
lier waiver petition in the
case against Ambadi In­
vestments Ltd. (AIL), the
holding company of Muru­
gappa Group and its family
members.
Ms. Arunachalam had
sought to file a fresh waiver
plea to rectify the errors
and withdraw the previous
one, a move strongly op­
posed by Ambadi and the
other family members.
The earlier waiver appli­
cation was dismissed as
withdrawn and the plea on
the second waiver applica­
tion would be heard next
month, the NCLT said.
M ND-NDE
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12 WORLD
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Kishida set to be next Japan PM
after winning ruling party poll
He will be confirmed as the new premier in a vote in Parliament on October 4
Agence France-Presse
Tokyo
Japan’s ruling party elected
former Foreign Minister Fu­
mio Kishida its new leader
on Wednesday, setting him
on course to become the
next Prime Minister of the
world’s third­largest econo­
my.
The soft­spoken centrist
defeated popular vaccine
chief Taro Kono in an un­
usually close race to succeed
Prime Minister Yoshihide Su­
ga, who is stepping down af­
ter just a year in office.
Mr. Kishida, 64, will be
confirmed as the new pre­
mier in a vote in Parliament
on October 4 and will then
lead the Liberal Democratic
Party (LDP) into general
elections that must happen
by November.
Speaking after his win, he
called on members to “show
the public that the LDP has
ELSEWHERE
BRIEF
100 killed in clashes
for Yemen’s Marib
DUBAI
At least 100 Yemeni rebels
and pro-government troops
have been killed in the past
48 hours as fighting inten-
sifies for the key city of
Marib, sources said on
Wednesday. A string of air
strikes from the Saudi-led
coalition targeted the Iran-
backed Houthi rebels, who
have stepped up their assault
on Marib, the government’s
last northern stronghold. AFP
North Korea says it tested
hypersonic missile
SEOUL
North Korea successfully
tested a new hypersonic
gliding missile, state media
reported on Wednesday, in
what would be the nation's
latest advance in weapons
technology. Tuesday's launch
was of "great strategic
significance", the Korean
Central News Agency said, as
the North seeks to increase
its defence capabilities a
"thousand-fold". AFP
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SPORT
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JK Tyre’s
Regularity
Run in 17 cities
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI
JK Tyre has launched the JK
Tyre FMSCI National Regu­
larity Run Championship,
hoping to provide a plat­
form for professional rally­
ing.
The Run will be held
across 17 cities in the coun­
try with the biggest geo­
graphical spread, accord­
ing to a release from JK
Tyre.
“We hope to nurture the
new generation of rally en­
thusiasts to get into profes­
sional rallying. We will con­
tinue our commitment
towards building more pro­
fessional rally drivers,” said
Sanjay Sharma, Head­Mo­
torsport, JK Tyre.
New TOPS
core group list
in October
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI
A new core group of the
Target Olympic Podium
Scheme (TOPS) for the
next Olympic cycle will be
drawn up next month after
the earlier one was dis­
solved at the end of Tokyo
Games, the Sports Authori­
ty of India (SAI) said on
Wednesday.
CM
YK
Celebration time: Fumio Kishida, right, with outgoing Prime
Minister Yoshihide Suga in Tokyo on Wednesday. AP
been reborn, and appeal for
their support”.
The scion of a political fa­
mily from Hiroshima, Mr.
Kishida has long targeted the
Prime Minister’s office and
ran unsuccessfully for party
leader last year, losing out to
Mr. Suga. He became the first
candidate to step into the
race this time around and
ran on a platform of pan­
demic stimulus while carry­
Najla Bouden named as
Tunisia’s first woman PM
President Saied asks her to form govt.
Agence France-Presse
Tunis
Tunisia’s President on Wed­
nesday named geologist Naj­
la Bouden as the country’s
first ever woman Prime Mi­
nister­designate, to form a
government with limited ex­
ecutive clout after the Presi­
dent seized wide­ranging
powers two months ago.
The university lecturer
from the city of Kairouan, a
political unknown, will take
office after Kais Saied on Ju­
ly 25 sacked the government
of Hichem Mechichi, sus­
pended Parliament, lifted
MPs’ immunity and took ov­
er the judiciary.
His moves followed
months of political dea­
dlock in the face of a press­
ing economic crisis and
mounting coronavirus
deaths. While some Tuni­
sians have supported his de­
cisions against a reviled pol­
itical class, he has faced
repeated calls to name a
government.
Last week he extended
the suspension of Parlia­
Gailey jolts Praveen in triple jump FC Goa makes the summit clash
Double for sprinter Taranjeet and distance runner Komal
ATHLETICS
SpECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI
Gailey Venister Devasa­
hayam, a former high jum­
per, shocked National Open
champion Praveen Chithra­
vel and won the triple jump
with a personal best 16.20m
in the National under­23 ath­
letics championships here
on Wednesday.
While Praveen, who hit a
personal best 16.88m at the
National Open, had a foul­
ridden series with just one
legal jump, Gailey was in his
best form with all his four le­
gal jumps going over his pre­
vious best of 15.55m.
“I didn’t come thinking
that I should beat somebody,
I just wanted to do someth­
ing like 16.30m and came
close to that,” said the 21­
year­old Gailey from Tiru­
chi, who is coached by form­
er national high jump re­
cord­holder N. Annavi, his
wife Suganthi and son Mothi
Arun.
Later, sprinter Taranjeet
Kaur and distance runner
Komal Jagdale completed a
double each.
The results:
Men, 200m: 1. Ragul Kumar
(TN) 21.25s; 2. Abhin Devadiga
21.29; 3. V.A. Shashikanth
21.42. 800m: 1. Somnath Chau-
han (Har) 1:53.75; 2. Abhishek
Thakur 1:53.86; 3. Devender
Kumar 1:53.87. 10,000m: 1.
Kartik Kumar (UP) 30:41.66s; 2.
Adesh Yadav 30:43.22; 3. Gur-
* his government’s approval
ing a suggestion box to
events to receive proposals
from citizens. “My skill is to
really listen to people,” he
said after his win on Wednes­
day, promising to work for “a
bright future for Japan”.
Tight race
The race was a tight one,
with Mr. Kishida edging Mr.
Kono by just a single vote in
the first round before taking
Najla Bouden
ment and moved to rule by
decree, suspending parts of
the country’s post­revolu­
tion Constitution. Mr.
Saied’s office on Wednesday
published a video of him
meeting Ms. Bouden in his
office and charging her with
presenting a Cabinet “in the
coming hours or days”.
He repeatedly empha­
sised the “historic” nature
of the nomination of a wo­
man, calling it “an honour
for Tunisia and a homage to
Tunisian women”. He said
Ms. Bouden’s main mission
would be to “put an end to
the corruption and chaos
that have spread throughout
many state institutions”.
The perfect one: Gailey Venister who won the men’s triple
jump gold with a personal best 16.20m. AFI
preet 30:51.74. 3,000m stee-
plechase: 1. Atul Poonia (Raj)
8:49.13; 2. Sunil Jinabhai
8:53.48; 3. Sumit Kumar
9:05.96. 400m hurdles: 1.
Dhaval Utekar (Guj) 51.05s; 2.
Surendar Selvamani 51.53; 3.
Ruchit Mori 51.86. High jump:
1. Kausthubha Jaiswal (MP)
2.11m; 2. Deva Karthick 2.11; 3.
Swadhin Kumar 2.08. Long
jump: 1. Jeswin Aldrin (TN)
7.81m; 2. Nirmal Sabu 7.79; 3.
Asadullah 7.59. Triple Jump: 1.
Gailey Venister (TN) 16.20m; 2.
Praveen Chithravel 16.03; 3. E.
Aravinth 15.98. Hammer: 1.
Damneet Singh (Pun) 64.20m;
2. Praveen Kumar 61.81; 3. Ravi
61.68.
Women, 200m: 1. Taranjeet
Kaur (Del) 23.57s; 2. A.T. Da-
neshwari 23.73; 3. Ancy Sojan
the second with 257 votes to
Mr. Kono’s 170.
Two other candidates,
hawkish right­winger Sanae
Takaichi and feminist former
Gender Equality Minister
Seiko Noda, did not advance
beyond the first­round vote.
A former LDP policy chief,
Mr. Kishida sought to capital­
ise on public discontent over
Mr. Suga’s response to the
pandemic, which has seen
ratings slump to record lows.
“We need to keep serious­
ly pursuing coronavirus
measures by all means. I
need to create an atmosph­
ere in which we can address
the crisis together,” he said.
On foreign policy, he
pledged to “protect basic va­
lues led by democracy” and
“show our presence by con­
tributing to global challeng­
es, led by the environment
issue”.
Adani Group to firm up
Colombo Port deal today
The company will develop the West Container Terminal
Meera Srinivasan
Firming up a strategic deal at
the Colombo Port in Sri Lan­
ka, the Adani Group will on
Thursday sign a build­oper­
ate­transfer (BOT) agree­
ment with its local partner
John Keells Holdings and the
Sri Lanka Port Authority
(SLPA), to jointly develop its
West Container Terminal
(WCT).
While the Adani Group
has been in talks with John
Keells, one of the largest
conglomerates in Sri Lanka,
on aspects of design and a
probable timeline for execu­
tion, Thursday’s agreement
among all three stakehol­
ders will bear details of the
execution of the project, offi­
cials in Colombo, who are fa­
miliar with the negotiations,
told The Hindu. The signing
event is to be held virtually.
Earlier this year, Presi­
dent Gotabaya Rajapaksa an­
nounced the involvement of
the Adani Group in the WCT,
*
24.32. 800m: 1. K.M. Chanda
(Del) 2:03.40s; 2. K.M.
Deeksha 2:04.62; 3. Radha
Chaudhary 2:06.00. 10,000m:
1. Sonika (Har) 35:42.36; 2.
Kavita Yadav 36:25.19; 3. Cha-
tru Gumnaram 37:20.79.
3,000m steeplechase: 1. Ko-
mal Jagdale (Mah) 9:51.76s; 2.
Kajal Sharma 10:47.18; 3. Rebi
Pal 10:50.42.
400m hurdles: 1. Nanhi
(Har) 59.58s; 2. Sinchal
1:00.04; 3. Gurdeep Kaur
1:00.31. Triple jump: 1. Sandra
Babu (Ker) 13.11m; 2. Sharvari
Parulekar 12.88; 3. R. Aish-
warya 12.74. Hammer: 1. Shital
(Har) 54.21m; 2. Sneha Jadhav
52.02; 3. Kashish Singh 51.79.
Heptathlon: 1. Sonu Kumari
(Har) 4,889 points; 2. Kajal
4686; 3. Pooja 4618.
Moscow warns YouTube for
blocking German RT channels
Unprecedented act of media aggression: Foreign Ministry
Agence France-Presse
Moscow
Russia on Wednesday threa­
tened to block YouTube and
take other retaliatory mea­
sures, after the U.S. video­
sharing platform blocked
the German­language chan­
nels of state broadcaster RT.
Moscow has recently
been ramping up pressure
on foreign tech giants as it
seeks greater control over
content available online to
its domestic audience.
At the same time, it has
launched a series of efforts
to broaden its influence
abroad, especially with RT —
formerly known as Russia
Today — which operates
broadcasters and websites in
multiple languages.
YouTube on Tuesday told
German media that it had is­
sued a warning to RT for vio­
lating its coronavirus disin­
formation guidelines, and
then shuttered two channels
The Adani Group will sign a
build-operate-transfer deal.
after controversially ejecting
India and Japan out of the
East Container Terminal
(ECT) project, following re­
sistance from trade unions
and sections of Buddhist
monks who objected to “fo­
reign involvement” in na­
tional assets. The cancella­
tion of the tripartite agree­
ment on the ECT project was
a major cause of strain in bi­
lateral ties, with New Delhi
voicing concern over Colom­
bo reneging on a commit­
ment made in 2019. Tokyo
too expressed displeasure.
Colombo pitched the
Edges out Bengaluru FC in the sudden­death
DURAND CUP
Amitabha Das Sharma
KOLKATA
FC Goa sealed a spot in the fi­
nal of the Durand Cup after
beating Bengaluru FC 7­6 in
sudden­death in the second
semifinal at the Salt Lake Sta­
dium on Wednesday. The
teams were locked 2­2 after
regulation time and tied 4­4
after the tie breakers.
After both sides saw one
of their attempts saved dur­
ing the first five attempts in
Legendary Manny Pacquiao hangs up his gloves
Registered 62 wins in 72 bouts in his 26­year career, won 12 World crowns
BOXING
Press Trust of India
Manila
Boxing legend Manny Pac­
quiao is officially hanging up
his gloves.
The eight­division world
champion and the Philip­
pines senator announced his
retirement from the ring on
Wednesday.
“As I hang up my boxing
gloves, I would like to thank
the whole world, especially
the Filipino people for sup­
porting Manny Pacquiao.
Goodbye boxing,” the 42­
year old said in a 14­minute
video posted on his Face­
book page.
for breaching user terms.
On Wednesday, Russia’s
Foreign Ministry accused
YouTube of an “unprece­
dented act of media aggres­
sion”, which it said was like­
ly aided by German
authorities. But Berlin de­
nied that it had anything to
do with the move.
The Russian Ministry said
the adoption of retaliatory
measures against German
media “seems not only ap­
propriate but also neces­
sary”.
“We believe these mea­
sures are the only possible
way to stimulate our partn­
ers’ interest in a constructive
and meaningful dialogue
around this unacceptable
situation,” it said.
German Chancellor Ange­
la Merkel’s spokesman, Stef­
fen Seibert, responded by
saying the German govern­
ment had “nothing to do
with” YouTube’s move and
WCT project as a “compro­
mise”, while the Indian role
in the WCT project, through
investment from Adani
Group, is said to be “strictly
private sector”, unlike the
proposed ECT that entailed
governmental involvement.
Confirming the project in
a tweet in March 2021, Adani
Group chairman Gautam
Adani had said: “Grateful to
the leaders of GoI, GoSL,
SLPA & John Keells for the
opportunity to build WCT,
Colombo. This partnership
is a symbol of the deep stra­
tegic relations between cou­
ntries with great intertwined
history. It will launch de­
cades of container growth.”
In addition to the obvious
strategic significance of the
Colombo Port in the Indian
Ocean, the popular argu­
ment from the Indian side
for investing in it has been
that over 70% of the tran­
shipment business at the Co­
lombo Port is linked to the
Indian market.
penalty shoot­outs, the dea­
dlock was broken when Goa
goalkeeper Naveen Kumar
stopped Damaitphang Lyng­
doh’s shot after midfielder
Christy Davis had made it 7­6
for Goa in the sudden­death.
Quick strike
Bengaluru took charge early
and altered the score­line in
the very first minute of the
action (42 seconds) when N.
Sivasakthi checkmated Na­
veen Kumar with a clever in­
terception. The Bengaluru
forward quickly read a back­
Adieu, champion: Pacquiao has decided to leave the ring to
pursue his political ambition. AFP
“It is difficult for me to ac­
cept that my time as a boxer
is over. Today I am announc­
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
warned Moscow against po­
tential retaliation against
German media in Russia.
Russian media watchdog
Roskomnadzor, for its part,
threatened to restrict access
to YouTube in Russia, accus­
ing the company of “censor­
ship”.
Roskomnadzor said it had
sent a letter to YouTube’s
owner Google “demanding
that all restrictions be lifted”
from the two channels — RT
DE and Der Fehlende Part —
“as soon as possible”.
The regulator said You­
Tube could be issued with a
warning, and “the law pro­
vides for measures of full or
partial restriction of access”
if such warnings are ignored.
Kremlin spokesman Dmi­
try Peskov later accused
YouTube of “censorship”,
and said Russian laws had
been “grossly violated”.
“There must be zero tole­
rance for such violations.”
Putin, Erdogan hail
bilateral relations
Leaders met at Putin’s Sochi residence
Agence France-Presse
Moscow
President Vladimir Putin on
Wednesday hailed Moscow
and Ankara’s ability to find
“compromises” as he host­
ed Turkish leader Recep
Tayyip Erdogan for talks.
Russia and Turkey have
historically had complex re­
lations, balancing regional
rivalries with finding com­
mon ground on economic
and strategic interests.
In recent years, the two
powers have clashed in par­
ticular in Syria, where Mos­
cow and Ankara support op­
posing camps in the civil
war.
They also found them­
selves on different sides in
last year’s conflict between
Armenia and Azerbaijan in
the breakaway region of Na­
gorno­Karabakh.
“Negotiations are some­
times difficult — but with a fi­
nal positive result,” Mr. Pu­
tin said at his residence in
the Black Sea resort city of
Sochi. He added that the
two countries “have learned
pass from Goa defender Pa­
puia and charged up to Na­
veen to block his forward
pass and send the ball rolling
into the net.
Goa, which fielded three
Spanish players including
captain Edu Bedia, was
stirred by the setback and re­
grouped to find the equaliser
in the eighth minute. Deven­
dra Murgaokar nodded
home as Muhammed Nemil
reached him unmarked with
a nice cross following a cor­
ner.
Goa went into the lead in
*
ing my retirement.”
Pacquiao finished his 26­
year, 72­fight career with 62
DELHI
THE HINDU
Taliban tell
U.S. to stop
using drones
Reuters
The Taliban on Wednesday
warned of consequences if
the United States did not
stop flying drones over Af­
ghan airspace.
“The U.S. has violated all
international rights and
laws as well as its commit­
ments made to the Taliban
in Doha, Qatar, with the
operation of these drones
in Afghanistan,” the Tali­
ban said in a statement on
Twitter. “We call on all
countries, especially Unit­
ed States, to treat Afghanis­
tan in light of international
rights, laws and commit­
ments ... in order to pre­
vent any negative conse­
quences.”
U.S. officials were not
immediately available to
comment.
The Islamist militia
swept back into power in
Afghanistan last month af­
ter most U.S. and other
Western troops left the
country.
to find compromises favour­
able to both parties”.
Great benefits
Mr. Erdogan said he believes
there are great benefits in
“Turkey and Russia keeping
stronger relations each pass­
ing day”.
In Syria, the two coun­
tries last year sponsored a
ceasefire deal in the Idlib re­
gion, home to the last major
jihadist and rebel strong­
hold in northwest Syria.
“The steps we have taken
with Russia related to Syria
are of utmost importance,”
Mr. Erdogan told Mr. Putin.
“The peace there depends
on Turkey­Russia relations.”
Despite their clashes, the
two countries have grown
closer in recent years thanks
to tensions between Mos­
cow and the West and Anka­
ra’s increasingly delicate re­
lations with its NATO allies.
In 2019, Turkey agreed to
the purchase of the Russian­
made S­400 air defence sys­
tem that led to U.S. sanc­
tions last year.
the 72nd minute when Re­
deem, who came in as a se­
cond half substitute, scored
with a nice angular shot.
The Bengaluru boys were
not ready to give up and
found the equaliser in the
83rd minute when Sivasakthi
showed his finishing skill
again as he jumped above
the Goa defenders to nod
home a Namgyal Bhutia
cross.
The result: FC Goa 2 (Deven-
dra Murgaokar 8, Redeem
Tlang 72) bt B FC 2 (N. Sivasak-
thi 1, 83) 7-6 in sudden-death.
wins, eight losses and two
draws. Of those 62 wins, 39
were by knockout and 23 by
decision. He won 12 World
titles.
His retirement from box­
ing followed a disheartening
defeat to Yordenis Ugas in
Paradise, Nevada, USA on
August 21.
Pacquaio had hinted at re­
tirement recently. It was also
expected because he is set­
ting his sights on a bigger
political battlefield.
Pacquiao’s rags­to­riches
life story and legendary ca­
reer — he is the only fighter
in history to win titles in
eight different weight classes
— has brought honor to his
country.
M ND-NDE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU DELHI

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 SPORT 13

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

India confident of doing well in maiden Day­Night Test: Mithali

It will be the visiting side’s first experience of playing on a drop­in pitch
INDIA IN AUS
P.K. Ajith Kumar
T est matches are rare in
women’s cricket. Day­
Night Tests are rarer.
The Indian women’s team
is all set to play its first ever
game with a pink ball. At a
virtual press conference on
ity to the seamers, the spin­
ners and the batters,” the
skipper said.
This is also going to be the
first­ever experience of play­
ing on a dropped­in pitch for
the Indian women’s team.
“There is a fair amount of
grass on the wicket,” Mithali
said. “Everybody would
want to go with a lot of
India in a Test would be
exciting.
“Hopefully it’s not just a
one­off,” the Australian cap­
tain said. “(We hope) we can
go and play a Test match in
India over the next few
years.”
The teams (from):
India: Mithali Raj (Capt.), Smriti
Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pu­
Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh
Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia
McGrath, Sophie Molineux,
Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Ge­
orgia Redmayne, Molly Strano,
Annabel Sutherland, Tayla
Vlaeminck, and Georgia
Wareham.
Match starts at 10 a.m. IST.
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

the eve of the one­off Test
against Australia at Carrara,
captain Mithali Raj said her
team was in a confident
frame of mind after the ODI
series.
Though India lost the
three­match series 1­2, it end­
ed Australia’s streak of 26
ODI wins. “I am confident,
the girls are confident,” Mith­
ali said.
“The bowlers seem to be
very confident because they
did a very good job in the
ODI series.”
She admitted the Test
match was a different matter.
“But it gives equal opportun­
seamers.” nam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, B This will be the second
She is happy with the way Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yas­ day­night women’s Test
the Indian seamers have per­ tika Bhatia, Taniya Bhatia (wk),
B The only other Pink ball
Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswa­
formed on the tour. Test was played between
mi, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vas­
“This should be one of the trakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad,
Australia and England in
best fast bowling attacks In­ Sydney in 2017
Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh,
dia has (had),” she said, refer­ and Ekta Bisht. B Australia’s Ellyse Perry
ring to the experienced Jhu­ Australia: Meg Lanning (Capt.), scored a double hundred
lan Goswami and youngsters Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, in the drawn match
Meghna Singh and Pooja Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Vastrakar.
No Harmanpreet <
> Itoamseequite curious
around that <
> It’s really exciting,
India obviously is a
She confirmed that the in­
jured batter Harmanpreet period (twilight) great cricketing nation,
Kaur wasn’t available for when they say that they love their cricket
selection. it’s going to be a and to have them playing
Mithali’s counterpart Meg little difficult a Test match is exciting History calling: Both skippers, Meg Lanning and Mithali Raj, will be keen to make the landmark Test a memorable one.
Lanning said playing against Mithali Lanning * GETTY IMAGES

RCB punishes wasteful RR, notches up seventh win Super Kings will be keen to
Chahal, Shahbaz, Harshal profit as Rajasthan fritters away great start; Bharat, Maxwell ace the chase
keep the winning run going
IPL 2021 SCOREBOARD Sports Bureau CSK, though, will be seek­
ing runs from skipper M.S.
Sports Bureau RAJASTHAN ROYALS

R oyal Challengers Banga­

lore made short work of
Evin Lewis c Bharat b Garton 58
(37b, 5x4, 3x6), Yashasvi Jais­ T hursday’s IPL clash will
feature teams that sit on
the extreme ends of the
Dhoni who appears out of
touch since he plays virtual­
ly no cricket outside of IPL.
wal c Siraj b Christian 31 (22b,
Rajasthan Royals, recording 3x4, 2x6), Sanju Samson c Pa­ points table. Table­topper And left­arm seaming all­
a seven­wicket victory at Du­ dikkal b Shahbaz 19 (15b, 2x6), Chennai Super Kings takes rounder Sam Curran is leak­
bai on Wednesday. Mahipal Lomror st. Bharat b on the bottom­placed Sun­ ing runs. The sooner the
Set a target of 150, RCB Chahal 3 (4b), Liam Livingstone risers Hyderabad. canny Dwayne Bravo, reco­
romped home with 17 deliv­ c de Villiers b Chahal 6 (9b), Ra­ CSK has form on its side vering from niggles, returns,
eries to spare. hul Tewatia c Padikkal b Shah­ and would like to maintain the better it will be for CSK.
baz 2 (3b), Riyan Parag c Kohli b
Skipper Virat Kohli (25, its winning momentum go­
Harshal 9 (16b), Chris Morris c
20b, 4x4) and Devdutt Padik­ Padikkal b Harshal 14 (11b, 2x4),
ing into the playoff stage. Roy impressive
kal (22, 17b, 4x4) put the Chetan Sakariya c de Villiers b For Sunrisers, aggressive
chase on the right track, with Harshal 2 (2b), Kartik Tyagi (not Sequence broken opener Jason Roy, replacing
a 48­run opening stand. K.S. out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb­1, w­3): 4; SRH, which finally managed platforms. out­of­form David Warner,
Bharat (44, 35b, 3x4, 1x6) Total (for nine wkts. in 20 ov­ to break the sequence of de­ Moeen Ali is a free­strok­ impressed against RR and
and Glenn Maxwell (50 n.o., ers): 149. feats by overcoming Rajas­ ing batter at No. 3 and both paceman Siddharth Kaul
30b, 6x4, 1x6) then built a FALL OF WICKETS than Royals, will want to put Ambati Rayudu and south­ bowled with verve at the
69­run third­wicket stand to 1­77 (Jaiswal, 8.2 overs), 2­100 the missing pieces together paw Suresh Raina can sizzle death.
shut RR out of the contest. (Lewis, 11.1), 3­113 (Lomror, even if it is rather late in the in the middle­order. The contest will be a
Maxwell notched up his se­ 12.5), 4­113 (Samson, 13.1), 5­ day. Then you have left­arm match­up between two wily
cond consecutive fifty. 117 (Tewatia, 13.6), 6­127 (Li­ CSK’s opening pair of the spinning all­rounder Ravin­ captains, Dhoni and Kane
Earlier, RR frittered away vingstone, 16.2), 7­146 (Parag, fleet­footed Ruturaj Gaikwad dra Jadeja, who not only Williamson. And Sunrisers’
a great start and finished 19.2), 8­146 (Morris, 19.3), 9­ and the innovative Faf du contains and strikes, but can gifted leg­spinner Rashid
149 (Sakariya, 19.6).
with a sub­par total. Plessis have provided blaz­ swing games with the willow Khan might have an influen­
RCB BOWLING ing starts, built solid too. tial role to play.
Lewis, Jaiswal shine Garton 3­0­30­1, Siraj 3­0­
RR openers Evin Lewis and 18­0, Maxwell 2­0­17­0, Har­
shal 4­0­34­3, Christian 2­0­
Yashasvi Jaiswal gave the
side a rollicking start. Lewis
threw the kitchen sink at
21­1, Chahal 4­0­18­2, Shahbaz
2­0­10­2. World Cup is irrelevant: Pollard
anything in his arc, making a ROYAL CHALLENGERS
Virat Kohli run out 25 (20b,
rapid 37­ball 58 (5x4, 3x6).
4x4), Devdutt Padikkal b Mus­
‘At this point of time, we are playing in the IPL’
Jaiswal was less adventurous tafizur 22 (17b, 4x4), K.S. Bha­
in his 22­ball 31 (3x4, 2x6), rat c sub (Rawat) b Mustafizur
Amol Karhadkar of­form middle­order, which Cup squad. “It’s just a matter
but thoroughly effective. 44 (35b, 3x4, 1x6), Glenn Max­ includes Ishan Kishan and of giving the guys the confi­
The pair put on 77 runs in
8.1 overs, before Jaiswal mis­
timed a slower ball from Dan
Pulling strings: Chahal teased and tormented the Royals batters.

his stay. Samson (19, 15b, and nearly recorded his se­
*
SPORTZPICS/IPL

et­taker of the tournament,

well (not out) 50 (30b, 6x4,
1x6), A.B. de Villiers (not out) 4
(1b, 1x4); Extras (lb­2, w­6): 8;
K ieron Pollard has con­
tradicted MI bowling
coach Shane Bond, stressing
Suryakumar Yadav who are
a part of India’s T20 World
dence that they’ve done it
before and can do it again.”

Christian to Mohammed Si­
raj at mid­off. Lewis persist­
ed with his attacking ap­
proach, until English
left­arm pacer George Gar­
ton — playing his first IPL
match — got rid of the left­
hander from Trinidad.
Poor shot selection
RR captain Sanju Samson, in
great form, started well with
a couple of sixes. Poor shot
selection, however, cut short
2x6) made room to loft left­
arm spinner Shahbaz
Ahmed, but despite making
good contact, found Padik­
kal at sweeper cover.
RR could not recover from
this blow, as Shahbaz dismis­
sed Rahul Tewatia cheaply in
the same over. Leg­spinner
Yuzvendra Chahal got rid of
Liam Livingstone to leave RR
reeling at 127 for six in 16.2
overs. Fast bowler Harshal
Patel then entered the attack
cond consecutive hat­trick of
the tournament. He prised
out Riyan Parag and Chris
Morris, before a cautious
Kartik Tyagi averted the hat­
trick bid.
Harshal, the leading wick­
once again had a good out­
ing, with figures of three for
34. Chahal and Shahbaz fin­
ished with two scalps each.
Total (for three wkts. in 17.1 ov­
ers): 153.
FALL OF WICKETS
1­48 (Padikkal, 5.2), 2­58 (Koh­
li, 6.5), 3­127 (Bharat, 15.6).
ROYALS BOWLING
Morris 4­0­50­0, Tyagi 2­0­
23­0, Sakariya 3­0­18­0, Mus­
tafizur 3­0­20­2, Tewatia 3­0­
23­0, Lomror 2­0­13­0, Parag
0.1­0­4­0.
Toss: RCB; MoM: Chahal.
RCB won by seven wickets
with 17 balls to spare.
that the T20 World Cup is ir­
relevant for those featuring
in the IPL.
“To be honest, the World
Cup is irrelevant. At this
point of time, we are playing
the IPL tournament. When
you are in a tournament as
an individual, you look to
think about the present and
not look too far ahead,” Pol­
lard said after MI defeated
PBKS on Tuesday, in res­
ponse to a query on its out­

India eases
past France
Sports Bureau
SITGES (Spain)
India scored a 3­1 victory
over lower­ranked France
to finish second in Group A
in the league phase of the
FIDE World women’s team
chess championship on
Wednesday.
In Thursday’s two­set
quarterfinals, India will
take on Kazakhstan, which
finished third in Group B.
The results: Fifth round:
Group A: India bt France 3­1
(D. Harika drew with Marie
Sebag; Tania Sachdev drew
with Andreea Navrotescu;
Bhakti Kulkarni bt Natacha
Benmesbah; Mary Ann Gomes
bt Silvia Alexieva); Armenia
lost to Russia 1­3; Azerbaijan
bt Spain 3.5­0.5.
Fourth round: Group A: Rus­
sia bt India 3­1 (Aleksandra
Goryachkina drew with Hari­
ka; Alexandra Kosteniuk bt R.
Vaishali; Kateryna Lagno bt
Tania Sachdev; Polina Shuva­
lova drew with Mary Ann
Gomes); France lost to Azer­
baijan 0.5­3.5; Spain lost to
Armenia 0.5­3.5.
Quarterfinal line­up: India­
Kazakhstan; Russia­FIDE
Americas; Georgia­Azerbai­
jan; Ukraine­Armenia.
CM
YK
TV PICKS
Australia Women vs India Women: Only Test, day 1, Sony Ten
Messi strikes as PSG gets the better of City India men
in last four
3 & Sony Six (SD & HD), 10 a.m.
Badminton: Sudirman Cup, Star Sports 3, 12.30 p.m. & 7 p.m. Sheriff stuns Real; Liverpool routs Porto; Atletico edges AC Milan
IPL 2021: Star Sports 1 & SS Select 1 (SD & HD), 7.30 p.m. Sports Bureau
Archery WC final: Sony Six (SD & HD), 8.30 p.m. DOHA
Europa League: Sony Ten 1 & 2 (SD & HD), 10.15 p.m. & 12.30 scored twice as Liverpool
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE hammered Porto 5­1 and The Indian men entered
a.m. (Friday)
Agence France-Presse Luis Suarez claimed a 97th­ the semifinals of the 25th
PARIS minute winner as Atletico ITTF­ATTU Asian table ten­
QUICK SINGLES Lionel Messi opened his Pa­ Madrid edged AC Milan 2­1. nis championships with a
Harmanpreet, Jemimah ris Saint­Germain account as American Jesse Marsch 3­1 win over Iran on Wed­
for Renegades the French side beat Man­ lost his fifth game in nine nesday. India will meet Ko­
MELBOURNE chester City while new boys matches in charge of RB rea, which beat Hong Kong
Harmanpreet Kaur and Sheriff Tiraspol shocked Real Leipzig in the 2­1 home de­ 3­1.
Jemimah Rodrigues will play Madrid in the Champions feat to Club Brugge. The Indian women, ho­
for Melbourne Renegades in League on Wednesday. The results: Group A: PSG 2 wever, went down fighting
the Women's Big Bash League, Messi’s top­corner finish (Gueye 8, Messi 74) bt Man­ to top seed Japan 1­3 in the
the organisers announced on added to Idrissa Gueye’s first chester City 0; RB Leipzig 1 quarterfinals.
Wednesday. PTI half goal as PSG moved top (Nkunku 5) lost to Club Brugge
The results: Championship
of Group A with the 2­0 win 2 (Vanaken 22, Rits 41).
Anargya wins title Division (quarterfinals):
BELGRADE
over last year’s runners up. Group B: Porto 1 (Taremi 75) Men: India bt Iran 3­1 (Sha­
lost to Liverpool 5 (Salah 18,
Anargya Manjunath defeated Pep Guardiola’s side hit rath Kamal bt Nima Alamian
60, Mane 45, Firmino 77, 88);
Hungary’s Dorottya Tolgyes the bar twice in the first half 11­9, 6­11, 11­9, 11­5; G. Sathi­
Kuldeep undergoes with Portugal playmaker Hit­men: Lionel Messi, who netted his first goal in PSG AC Milan 1 (Leao 20) lost to At­ yan bt Noshad Alamiyan 11­7,
11­6, 7­11, 11­4, 8­11, 11­6 to
successful knee surgery colours, celebrates with fellow­scorer Idrissa Gueye. AFP letico Madrid 2 (Griezmann 84,
win the under­17 girls’ title in Bernardo Silva failing to *
11­6, 6­11, 11­6; Harmeet De­
MUMBAI Suarez 90+7­pen). sai lost to Amir Hossein Ho­
the WTT Youth contender on score two metres out with
India’s left­arm wrist spinner Group C: Borussia Dortmund 1 daei 8­11, 7­11, 11­8, 14­12, 7­
Wednesday. In the last­four PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi half hour mark as Karim Luxembourg attacking mid­
Kuldeep Yadav underwent (Malen 37) bt Sporting Lisbon 11; Sharath bt Noshad 11­8,
stage, the Karnataka paddler Donnarumma helplessly on Benzema equalised after 65 fielder Sebastien Thill. The 0.
knee surgery on Wednesday 11­8, 8­11, 11­9).
beat Swede Nomin Baasan the ground. minutes to score for a 17th 27­year­old Thill fired home
for the injury he sustained Group D: Real Madrid 1 (Benze­ Women: Japan bt India 3­1
11­4, 11­7, 12­10. In Group D, Sheriff, play­ different season in the com­ a sublime half volley with 62
during the IPL in the UAE. ma 65­pen) lost to Sheriff Ti­ (Hitomi Sato bt Sreeja Akula
“Surgery was a success and the ing in just its second ever petition, a feat only also seconds of regular time re­ raspol 2 (Yakhshiboev 25, Thill
11­5, 11­3, 11­3; Saki Shibata
road to recovery has just game in the group stage of achieved by Messi. maining at the Santiago Ber­ 90) 2
bt Archana Kamath 10­12,
begun. The focus is to the competition, upset re­ nabeu two week after Sheriff Group F: Atalanta 1 (Pessina
11­7, 11­4, 10­12, 11­9; Miyu
complete my rehab well and cord 13­time winner Real Ma­ Thill thrills had beaten Shakhtar Do­ 68) bt Young Boys 0. Nagasaki lost to Sutirtha
be back on the pitch doing drid 2­1 in the Spanish capi­ But the hero for Sheriff, who netsk earlier in the month in Group H: Zenit St Petersburg 4 Mukherjee 7­11, 8­11, 11­5,
what I love as soon as tal. Uzbekistan winger Jasur are based in the region of its opening group game. (Claudinho 9, Kuzyaev 49, Su­ 11­7, 8­11; Saki Shibata bt
possible,” tweeted the Jakhshibaev put the Moldo­ Transnistria on the Moldo­ In Group B, Mohamed Sa­ tormin 80, Wendel 90+4) bt Sreeja Akula 8­11, 10­12, 11­2,
26­year­old Kuldeep. PTI vans in the lead before the van­Ukrainian border, was lah and Roberto Firmino Malmo 0. 11­9, 11­8).
M ND-NDE
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14 SPORT
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All eyes on Deepika and Das in WC final
The couple will look to regroup and make amends for its Tokyo Olympic flop show
ARCHERY
Press Trust of India
Yankton (USA)
Star Indian archery couple —
Deepika Kumari and Atanu
Das — will look to start afresh
after their Tokyo Olympics
debacle when it competes in
the World Cup Final, starting
here on Thursday.
The two­day showpiece
competition will also mark
the return of the duo that
failed to make the cut to the
Indian senior team for the
just­concluded World Cham­
pionships at the same venue.
After being sidelined from
the Indian team, the duo
competed on its own at SAI,
Kolkata and the two would
look to make amends for
their medal­less outing in To­
kyo Olympics.
Elusive medal
An Olympic medal remained
elusive for the Indian archers
despite their impressive
build­up to the Games.
Competing as World No. 1,
Deepika Kumari, who was
the lone Indian woman arch­
er in fray, made a quarterfi­
nal exit with a tame loss to
Korean sensation An San.
Wasim resigns
as PCB’s chief
executive
Agence France-Presse
Karachi
Pakistan’s cricket board
said on Wednesday its
chief executive had re­
signed, two weeks after
New Zealand and England
abandoned tours in the
country over security
concerns.
The PCB gave no reason
for Wasim Khan’s resigna­
tion, but said it would meet
later on Wednesday to
“consider the matter”.
“(The) Pakistan Cricket
Board today confirmed
Wasim Khan has tendered
his resignation as chief ex­
ecutive,” said in a state­
ment.
Khan had made huge ef­
forts to revive international
cricket after a 2009 terror
attack on the Sri Lankan
team sent Pakistan into iso­
lation for years.
Hired on a three­year
contract in 2019, he had or­
ganised Pakistan’s tours of
England and then New Zea­
land amid severe COVID­19
restrictions last year.
IN BRIEF
Raducanu gets wild card
into BNP Paribas Open
INDIAN WELLS
U.S. Open champion Emma
Raducanu has received a wild
card into the BNP Paribas
Open next month.
The 18-year-old Brit stunned
the tennis world earlier this
month by becoming the first
qualifier in the professional
era to win a Grand Slam
singles title. Raducanu made
her WTA Tour debut in June
and soon reached the fourth
round at Wimbledon. AP
Ballon d’Or to be
awarded in November
Paris
Football’s prestigious Ballon
d’Or will be awarded on
November 29 in Paris, event
organiser France Football
magazine announced on
Wednesday. The nominees for
the awards, which include
men’s and women’s player of
the year, best young player
and best goalkeeper, will be
announced on October 8. Last
year’s event was cancelled
because of the coronavirus
pandemic. AFP
CM
YK
Time to refocus: Deepika will be eager to put the Tokyo performance behind her.
Das was the best among
the Indian men but he also
bowed out in the pre­quar­
terfinal, while they lost to
Korea in both men’s team
and mixed pair sections.
With the losses still fresh
in their minds, the duo
would look to start afresh in
the two­day World Cup
Final.
Financial crisis leads to
Barca’s salary reduction
Associated Press
MADRID
Barcelona’s salary cap has
been significantly reduced
because of its financial strug­
gles, becoming more than
seven times smaller than
that of rival Real Madrid, the
Spanish league said on
Wednesday.
The league said Barcelo­
na’s spending limit on salar­
ies for the 2021­22 season
has been set at €97 million
($113 million), about €285
million ($334 million) less
than a year ago.
The reduction was part of
the reason the Catalan club
failed to give Lionel Messi a
new contract and led to him
joining Paris Saint­Germain.
Messi reportedly earned
nearly €140 million ($163
million) per season, alth­
ough he said he had agreed
to cut his salary in half so he
could stay with the club.
Series of factors
Each club has a different sal­
ary cap calculated based on
a series of factors that in­
Gorsa to train Indian
shooters and coaches
Partnership: Petar Gorsa with Dr. Amit Bhalla of Manav
Rachna Educational Institutions. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Kamesh Srinivasan
FARIDABAD
World Championship silver
medallist and Tokyo Olym­
pics finalist, Petar Gorsa of
Croatia,will train talented
Indian shooters and groom
the coaches, in collabora­
tion with the Manav Rachna
Educational Institutions
(MREI).
The 33­year­old, a versa­
tile shooter in air rifle and
50­metre rifle events, has
entered into an agreement
with MREI to help Indian
shooters emerge as Olympic
champions.
“Petar was here for two
days. He wanted to see our
facilities. We have a shoot­
ing school in Noida and he
visited that. Apart from
training our shooters, he
can also study here if he
wants, as we have many in­
Deepika, who has slipped
to World No. 2, has four sil­
ver and a bronze medal from
seven appearances at the
World Cup Final, and it re­
mains to be seen whether
she is able to match the feat
of Dola Banerjee.
Dola is the only Indian to
have won a gold at the pre­
mier competition, in 2007.
Messi. *
FILE PHOTO
clude revenues, costs and
debts. It is proportional to
roughly 70% of a club’s reve­
nues.
The adjustments are part
of the Spanish league’s long­
standing financial control
measures to reduce clubs’
debts and keep them finan­
cially healthy.
Barcelona’s struggles had
already forced the league to
slash the club’s cap from a
league­high €670 million
(now $785 million) in 2019­
20 to €385 million ($450 mil­
lion) last season.
In addition to losing Mes­
*
teresting courses,” said the
vice­president of the Manav
Rachna Institutions, Dr.
Amit Bhalla.
“We will scout talent
which is immense in our
country and bring them on
a competitive platform” ad­
ded Dr. Bhalla.
As part of its drive to­
wards sporting excellence,
Manav Rachna has, over the
years, brought champions
like three­time Olympic gold
medallist Ralf Schumann of
Germany, World champion
Daniele Di Spigno of Italy,
World and Olympic Cham­
pion Russell Mark of Austra­
lia, two­time Olympic me­
dallist Munkhbayar
Dorjsuren of Germany, and
London Games gold medal­
list Peter Wilson of Britain,
to guide the Indian talent.
*
FILE PHOTO
Deepika will start against
23­year­old Russian Svetlana
Gomboeva, fresh from her
team silver at the Tokyo
Olympics.
For Das, this will be his
first World Cup Final appea­
rance and he has an easy
draw against Germany’s
Maximilian Weckmueller,
who won a silver at stage two
Griezmann. *
FILE PHOTO
si, Barcelona also sent An­
toine Griezmann on loan to
Atlético Madrid, and its only
signings this offseason were
free agents.
Six other clubs now have
bigger spending limits than
Barcelona’s.
Madrid’s cap is the high­
est, going from €470 million
($550 million) to €739 mil­
lion ($863 million), which is
€642 million ($750 million)
more than Barcelona’s. Ma­
drid benefited from better
management and especially
from not making big signings
in recent transfer windows.
Lahiri all set for new season
Among his immediate goals is winning a PGA Tour title
Press Trust of India
Jackson (USA)
Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri
is all set to open his 2021
campaign at the Country
Club in Jackson with the San­
derson Farms Champion­
ship on Thursday, with a
PGA Tour among his imme­
diate goals.
In a last­gasp effort, Lahiri
managed to make the
Top­125 to qualify for the Fe­
dExCup and also keep his
Tour card. Lahiri plays his
first two rounds with Russell
Knox and J J Spain.
Lahiri said, “I skipped last
week (Fortinet Champion­
ship) and then came the
Ryder Cup. Now leading up
to next week (Sanderson)
with all the preparations and
time off I am hoping I can hit
the ground running.”
He added, “Yeah I mean I
have lots of objectives, lots
of targets in the coming sea­
son. I need to start checking
off my list of things that I
need to achieve that have
kind of got piled up now ov­
er the last few years so time
to get some of those things
checked off the list.”
One of his immediate
goals is winning his first PGA
Tour title despite having
been on it since 2015. He has
even been runner­up and, in
the just­concluded season,
he was T­3 at Barbasol. So,
he just needs to get that final
step done.
Lahiri has checked in for
the first two events — San­
derson Farms and Shriners
of the World Cup in Lau­
sanne, Switzerland.
The best eight archers
from four stages of the World
Cup qualify for the World
Cup Final, which will see a
total of 32 competitors
across men’s and women’s
recurve and compound
sections.
Lone qualifier
This time India would have a
participation in the com­
pound section, where Abh­
ishek Verma is the lone qual­
ifier, after winning a gold at
the third stage of the World
Cup in Paris.
The 2014 Asian Games
gold medallist Verma will
face World No. 4 Braden Gel­
lenthien of the USA in his
quarterfinal fixture later in
the day.
Verma has two individual
medals — one silver (2015)
and a bronze (2018) — at the
World Cup Final and he also
has a silver in the mixed pair
event with Jyothi Surekha
Vennam in 2018.
Verma will look for his
first gold medal in three ap­
pearances at the World Cup
Final.
Klopp expects goal spree to end
Feels it would be difficult to run riot against Man City
Agence France-Presse
London
Jurgen Klopp admits he fears
Liverpool’s goal spree will
come to an end in Sunday’s
Premier League showdown
with Manchester City.
It was the sixth successive
match that Liverpool had
scored three or more goals,
only the third time in the
club’s history the feat has
been achieved.
It has scored 20 times in
17 days and have 26 goals in
its first nine fixtures to equal
a club record for a top­flight
campaign set in 1922 and re­
plicated only one other time
in the 2016­2017 season.
But Reds boss Klopp
knows it will not be so easy
to run riot when Pep Guar­
diola’s Premier League
champion visits Anfield this
weekend.
“We play against Man Ci­
ty, I don’t think now it makes
too much sense to think too
much about how many goals
we can score against them,”
Klopp said.
“We need a complex and
complete performance
Positive swing: Lahiri hopes that he can hit the ground
running leading up to the upcoming events. FILE PHOTO
Hospital. He is unlikely to get
into the limited field event,
the CJ Cup and Zozo Cham­
pionship, but will surely play
as many events early in the
season to get set when 2022
starts.
Lahiri has admitted that
keeping his card was at the
back of his mind even as he
prepared for the Olympics
after finishing T­3 at the Bar­
basol Championship.
Element of risk
With the Tour still having a
tournament after the Olym­
pics and Lahiri missing an
event due to the Olympics,
there was always an element
of risk, but the Indian
survived.
“Sure keeping the card is
a goal for every player,” said
Lahiri, who had come
through the Korn Ferry Tour
final series route before the
pandemic.
He said, “Frankly, there
was a lot on my plate and I
Rutuja and Webley­Smith
lose in pre­quarterfinal
INDIANS ABROAD
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Rutuja Bhosale and Emily
Webley­Smith of Britain
were beaten 2­6, 6­4, [1­10]
in the doubles pre­quarterfi­
nals by the Belarusian duo
of Vera Lapko and Lidziya
Marozava in the $235,238
WTA tournament in Nur­
Sultan, Kazakhstan.
In the men’s Challenger
in Murcia (Spain), Sriram
Balaji and Ramkumar Rama­
nathan reached the doubles
semifinals with a 7­6(5), 6­3
victory over Davide Galoppi­
ni and Francesco Passaro of
Italy.
In the ITF women’s event
in Monastir (Tunisia), Jennif­
er Luikham shocked top
seed Ipek Soylu of Turkey
6­4, 6­2 in the first round.
Other results First round:
€44,820 Challenger, Lisbon,
Portugal: Jeevan Nedunchez-
hiyan & Purav Raja bt Tiago Ca-
cao & Goncalo Falcao (Por) 6-3,
6-2.
€44,820 Challenger, Murcia,
Spain: Miljan Zekic (Srb) bt
Ramkumar Ramanathan 3-6,
6-4, 6-3.
$15,000 ITF men, Lubbock,
USA: Charles Broom (GBR) &
Chad Kissell (USA) bt Parth Ag-
Big test: Klopp knows that Liverpool will not have it easy
against Guardiola’s Manchester City. AFP
against them to have a
chance only and that’s it.
“But I’m really looking
forward to it. I’m looking
forward to playing at home
again after a while.
“We have two days more
(than the three Liverpool
had between Brentford and
Porto) to the City game,
which will be helpful, and
then we will be fresh again
*
think I am quite pleased
with the way I handled the
pressure with covid situa­
tion, And you know how
challenging it can be for not
fully exempt players, not
knowing till the week if you
are into the tournament or
not.
“So, I am glad I was able
to do that and I had to dig
deep. I am proud of how I
managed that.” He also said,
“I was totally spent every
which way and all this hap­
pened within 3­4 months of
having Covid.”
Leading the Asian chal­
lenger is Korea’s K.H. Lee
who takes his bow in the
PGA TOUR’s 2021­22 season
at this week’s Sanderson
Farms Championship with
three clear goals in his mind
— secure a second TOUR vic­
tory, break into the world’s
top­50 and qualify for the In­
ternational Team to com­
pete in the 2022 Presidents
Cup against the USA.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
garwal & Suraj Prabodh 6-3,
6-2.
$15,000 ITF men, Cancun,
Mexico: Michael Zhu (USA) bt
Siddhant Banthia 6-4, 6-3.
$15,000 ITF men, Cairo,
Egypt: Luciano Darderi (Ita) bt
Rishab Agarwal 6-0, 6-0; Lo-
renzo Gagliardo (Arg) bt Nitin
Kumar Sinha 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
$15,000 ITF men, Monastir,
Tunisia: Singles: Christoph Ne-
gritu (Ger) bt Abhinav Sanjeev
Shanmugam 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
Doubles: Credit Chaiyarin (Tha)
& Youssef Labbene (Tun) bt
Ajeet Rai (Nzl) & Niki Poonacha
7-6(7), 3-6, [10-4].
Women: Doubles: Shrivalli
Bhamidipaty & Smriti Bhasin bt
Greta Medeghini & Lara Pfeifer
(Ita) 6-0, 3-6, [10-6]; Sharma-
da Balu & Sravya Shivani bt
Ferdaous Bahri & Ginerva Pa-
rentini (Ita) 7-6(5), 6-3; Giner-
va Peiretti (Ita) & Jennifer Luik-
ham bt Anouk Koevermans
(Ned) & Snehal Mane 7-6(2),
5-7, [10-7]; Chompoothip Jun-
dakate (Tha) & Niditra Rajmo-
han bt Margaux Komano (Fra)
& Elena Milovanovic (Srb) 1-6,
6-3, [10-6]
$25,000 ITF women, Lisbon,
Portugal: Mariana Drazic (Cro)
& Sara Lanca (Por) bt Ana Filipa
Santos (Por) & Sathwika Sama
6-2, 6-3; Francisca Jorge & Ma-
tilde Jorge (Por) bt Lara Salden
(Bel) & Prarthana Thombare
6-4, 7-6(7).
*
and then give it a go.”
But Liverpool is on an 18­
match unbeaten run and
Brazil midfielder Fabinho
believes the win over Porto
was just the confidence
boost it needed before fac­
ing City.
“A performance like this
just gives us more confi­
dence for the future,” Fabin­
ho said.
League brings DGC's
iconic golfers together
RAKESH RAO
NEW DELHI
Delhi Golf Club has a legacy
of producing international
champions and some of its
illustrious names will be
part of the inaugural Delhi
Golf Club League to be
played from October 14 to
31.
A quality field of 18 fran­
chisees — with 18 players
each, a coach and a mentor
— will clash in a league­cum­
knockout format.
Each match will involve
seven pairs from two teams.
The event will follow the
four­ball­better­ball Match­
play format.
The high­point of the
league is the list of illus­
trious mentors like Gaurav
Ghei, the first Indian to
qualify to the British Open
in 1997, four Arjuna Awar­
dees — Shiv Kapur, two­time
Indian Open winner Ali
Sher, Amit Luthra and Non­
ita Lall Qureshi — and Asian
Tour regulars Chiragh Ku­
mar and Naman Dawar.
Other mentors include
country’s leading coaches
Amandeep Johl, Brandon
D’Souza, Jasjit Singh and
Ajai Gupta, professionals
from the Ladies Tour Meher
Atwal and Ayesha Kapur be­
sides leading amateur Gauri
Monga. Each team owner
paid ₹5 lakh to the DGC in
an event that does not offer
any prize­money.
Sharing the details at a
press conference on Wed­
nesday, chairman of the
DELHI THE HINDU
Women’s Natl.
boxing from
Oct. 21
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA
The National women’s box­
ing championships will be
staged in Hisar from Octob­
er 21 to 27 after more than a
year due to the pandemic.
The tournament, to be
held on the campus of the
St. Joseph’s International
School, will have competi­
tions in 12 categories —
48kg, 50kg, 52kg, 54kg,
57kg, 60kg, 63kg, 66kg,
70kg, 75kg, 81kg and +81kg
— following a revamp in
weight divisions by the In­
ternational Boxing Associa­
tion (AIBA).
According to a Boxing
Federation of India (BFI)
release on Wednesday, per­
formances in the event will
be considered for the selec­
tion of the Indian squad for
the World women’s cham­
pionships to be held later
this year.
The last date of registra­
tion by number is Oct. 8
and by name Oct. 13.
Entries can be sent to
ewnboxing2021@gmail.com
along with info@boxingfed-
eration.in and suhail@box-
ingfederation.in.
Full capacity
for LaLiga
games
Associated Press
Madrid
Spanish football stadiums
can be at full capacity
again starting this wee­
kend, authorities said
Wednesday.
Spain had only allowed
60% of seats to be filled at
the start of the season but
health officials said pan­
demic conditions have con­
tinued to improve across
the country in recent
weeks.
Local regions still have
the final decision on how
many fans will be allowed
in stadiums, and Catalonia
will keep the restrictions at
60% for now, meaning
there won't be immediate
changes for matches host­
ed by Barcelona.
Defending Spanish
league champion Atlético
Madrid is expected to fill
the Wanda Metropolitano
Stadium for its match
against Barcelona on Satur­
day. Authorities said they
will reevaluate the health
conditions in a month.
Ghei. *
THE HINDU ARCHIVES
Tournament Committee
Balbir Singh Sandhu said,
“The upper limit for handi­
cap is 24 for male golfers
and 30 for ladies. From a to­
tal of 324 players, 38 players
have handicaps of five or un­
der while 105 have single­di­
git handicaps. Overall, 71
percent of the golfers have
handicaps of under 18.
“For the purpose of scor­
ing, 75 percent of the origi­
nal handicap will be consi­
dered. Each team should
have a lady golfer and a gol­
fer over the age of 70. Each
team can have a maximum
of one golfer from the un­
der­20 category.”
Ghei, the best known
player from the DGC, said,
“This provides a great op­
portunity for the members
and mentors, across teams,
not only to test their prepa­
redness on the course but
also exchange quality know­
ledge in a very healthy
environment.”
M ND-NDE