JOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

A CORONA TESTAtanexamcentre inBengaluruforClass10examsonThursday.Over7.5 lakhstudentsappearedfor theKarnatakaboardexams,originallyscheduled inMarch,withthestateorderingonestudentperbenchand18-20studentsperclassroomtoensuresocialdistancing.Theexamswillgoontill July4. PTI

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

WORLD

AT36,880CASES,U.S.RECORDSHIGHESTSINGLE-DAYCOUNT

WEEK-LONGVOTEIN RUSSIA ONEXTENDINGPUTIN’STENUREPAGE15

THEEDITORIAL PAGE

ONOUROWNINNEIGHBOURHOODBY PRATAPBHANUMEHTAPAGE12

LARGEDEPLOYMENTSREMAIN:MEA

Delhi draws red line: Ifsituation continues,will vitiateBeijing tiesChineseAmbassadorurges India toavoidanyactionthatmaycomplicatesituationalongLineofActualControl

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JUNE25

ADAY after Indian and Chinesediplomatsagreedto“sincerelyim-plement the understanding ondisengagement and de-escala-tion” along the Line of ActualControl,NewDelhi drewthe redlineThursday, saying “continua-tionofthecurrentsituationwouldonly vitiate the atmosphere forthedevelopmentof therelation-ship”betweenthetwocountries.Amid reports of satellite im-

agesshowingChinesestructuresback at the site of the June 15clash in Galwan Valley andmassing of PLA troops in theDepsang plains, AnuragSrivastava,spokespersonfortheMinistryofExternalAffairs,said“both sides remain deployed inlarge numbers in the region” ofthe Galwan Valley “whilemili-taryanddiplomaticcontactsarecontinuing”.

In a strongly worded state-ment, Srivastava said “at theheart of thematter is that sinceearlyMay, the Chinese side hasbeen amassing a large contin-gent of troops and armamentsalong theLAC”.

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Remaining Board examsfor July cancelled, Class 12to have option of re-test

High positivity, fatality rates: Centre sendsteams to Gujarat, Maharashtra, TelanganaKAUNAINSHERIFF MNEWDELHI, JUNE25

WITHMORE than 16,000 freshcoronavirus cases reported onThursday in a new single-dayhigh, the Centre announced itwillbesendingateamofexpertsto Telangana,Maharashtra andGujarat—threestateswithhigh

positivity rates that are consid-eredcriticalintheeffortsagainstthepandemic.Sources said experts may

also be sent to Tamil Nadu andWestBengal,whicharealsoseenas requiring advice and assis-tance on clinical management.The Centre is already closelymonitoring the Covid-19 situa-tion in Delhi, the city with the

mostnumberof cases.Thegovernment issaidtobe

especially concerned aboutTelangana,wheretestinghasre-mained low and positivity ratehigh. Sources said the Centralteam, including specialists andepidemiologists led by JointSecretary (Health) LavAgarwal,will be stationed for two daysthere, against one each in

MaharashtraandGujarat.A senior HealthMinistry of-

ficialsaid,“Furtherhandholdingand assistance are required inthethreestates.Seniorepidemi-ologists from the DirectorateGeneral of Health Services andteam doctors will visit them.On Friday, the team willvisit Gujarat, followed by

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SOURAVROYBARMANNEWDELHI, JUNE25

DAYS AFTER LieutenantGovernor Anil Baijal made itmandatory for all positive pa-tients in Delhi to visit a CovidCare Centre for clinical assess-ment to determine if they canoptforhomeisolationornot,theorder was “modified” onThursday. The earlier system,

which allows assessment athome by a “home isolationteam”,hasbeenreinstated.The decisionwas taken at a

meeting of the Delhi DisasterManagementAuthoritychairedby Baijal. With 73,780 cases sofar, Delhi is theworst-hit city inthecountry.“Thepatientshallbeallowed

home isolation if, as per the as-sessment of home isolationteamsentbythedistrictsurveil-

lanceofficer, thepatient ismild/pre-symptomatic/ asympto-maticandhasaresidenceoftworoomsor a separate roomandaseparate toilet for the patient,”saidastatementreleasedbytheL-GSecretariat.The AAP government had

opposed the new protocol,which came into effect on June22, saying itwas“nearly impos-sible”toimplementit.BothChief

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Next semester to be fullyonline at IIT-Bombay,others likely to followABHAGORADIA&RITIKACHOPRAMUMBAI,NEWDELHI, JUNE25

THE INDIAN Institute ofTechnology (IIT) inMumbaihasbecome the first major educa-tional institution in the countryto scrapall face-to-face lecturesfor thenext semesterdue to theCovid-19pandemic.Thismeansitwillholdonlyonlineclassestilltheendof theyear.In an announcementmade

late Wednesday night, IIT-Bombay Director SubhasisChaudhuri said the institutewould teach the next semester“purely in the online mode sothat there is no compromise on

the safetyandwell-beingof thestudents”.“The Covid pandemic has

made us at IIT-Bombay rethinkthewayweimparteducationtoourstudents. Toensure thatourstudents begin the academicyear without further delay, weareplanningonextensiveonlineclasses, details of whichwill beinformed to all students in duecourse of time,” he said in aFacebook post shared close tomidnight.Thisisthefirsttimeinthein-

stitute's62-year-oldhistorythata newacademic yearwill beginwith no students on campus.TheotherIITsarelikelytofollowwithsimilarannouncementson

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Trade bodies say needtime to stop relianceon imports from ChinaPRABHARAGHAVAN&AANCHALMAGAZINENEWDELHI, JUNE25

ASSEVERALministriesmovetoblock imports and investmentsfromChinafollowingtherecentborderclashesalongtheborderwhere20armymenwerekilled,theindustryisconcernedaboutthe adverse impact on severalsectors.From pharmaceuticals to

telecommunications and auto-mobiles, industry associations

are of the view that “knee-jerk”offensiveagainsttheneighbour-ing country till alternative ven-dorsarefinalisedordomesticca-pacities are built will hurtcompaniesandtheeconomy.Federation of Indian Export

Organisation’s(FIEO’s)President,Sharad Kumar Saraf, andDirector General, Ajay Sahai,hintedonThursdaythata“blan-ketban”maynotbefeasible.TheIndia Cellular and ElectronicsAssociationandtheAutomotiveComponent Manufacturers

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SURBHIGUPTANEWDELHI, JUNE25

ALMOST FIVE decades after itpatentedthenameFair&Lovely,Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL),theIndianarmoftheglobalcon-glomerate,announcedThursdaythat it will move towards a"moreinclusivevisionofbeauty"— by dropping the word “Fair”andchanging thebrandname.Itwillalsoremovethewords

“fair/fairness”, “white/whiten-ing”,and“light/lightening”fromitsproducts’packsandcommu-nication.“We are fully committed to

having a global portfolio of skincare brands that is inclusive andcares for all skin tones, celebrat-inggreaterdiversityofbeauty.Werecognise that the use of thewords‘fair’,‘white’and‘light’sug-gestasingularidealofbeautythatwe don’t think is right, andwewanttoaddressthis,”saidSunnyJain,President,Beauty&PersonalCare,Unilever, inastatement.Jain said that after changing

theadvertising,communicationand packaging in South Asia,they are taking the next step ofchanging the brand name.According to a PTI report, thecompany approached theController General of Patent

Design and Trademark on June17 to get the name ‘Glow &Lovely’ registered.The conglomerate derives

$500million from the brand inIndia alone, and is popular incountries like Bangladesh,Pakistan, Indonesia andThailand, apart fromcatering totheAsiandiaspora in theWest.Themovecomesinthewake

of theBlack LivesMattermove-ment, andprotests in theUS af-ter the death of George Floyd,which has compelled compa-nies, globally, to reassess theirbusinesses and marketingstrategies for signs of racism,colourismanddiscrimination.

Therehavebeenanumberofonline petitions recently, de-manding that HUL take ac-countabilityforthebrandnamewhich, one of them said, is a“product of colourism”. In Asia,a number of cosmetics compa-nies, includingL’Oréal,ShiseidoandProcter&Gamble,havede-voted a huge part of their busi-nesses to fairness creams. And,prominentBollywoodactors, in-cluding Priyanka Chopra,KatrinaKaif,DeepikaPadukone,Sonam Kapoor, Yami Gautamand Shah Rukh Khan have atsome point in their careers en-dorsed fairness creams.Over the last few decades,

Fair& Lovely gainedmuchpop-ularity in India but in recentyears it has received flak forequating a fair skin tone withself-worth, beauty, confidenceandbettermaritalprospects.“It’s amilestone in our jour-

ney ending colourism in India.But what is sad is that it hastaken us 10 years.We didwritetomanycompaniesbutwewerealways ignored,” said KavithaEmmanuel,who startedDark isBeautiful,anadvocacycampaignagainst colourism, in2009.“Advertisements and prod-

uctsthatweputontheshelfplaya huge role in endorsing the

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PAGE1ANCHOR

Onashopshelf inAhmedabadonThursday.Reuters

Unfair & Lovely, Unilever admits, will change cream name

USNationalSecurityAdvisorRobertO’Brien,atapressmeetcalledonChina inPhoenix,Arizona,wherehesaidAmerica“will act tocheckthespreadofBeijing’sideology”.AP

First faceoffin Galwanwas in earlyMay, weeksbefore clashKRISHNKAUSHIK&SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JUNE25

INDIANANDChinesetroopshadtheir first faceoff in the GalwanValley in the first week of May,around the time they came toblows on the banks of thePangong Tso, andmore than amonthbeforetheJune15show-downinGalwanValleyinwhich20 IndianArmypersonnelwerekilled.This came to light Thursday

when theMinistry of ExternalAffairsmentioned it for the firsttime and the ChineseAmbassador to India, SunWeidong, detailed the incidentin an interview to PTI, a tran-script of which was posted bytheChineseembassy.TopsourcesintheArmycon-

firmed that scuffles similar toPangong Tso, though not as in-tenseorviolent,hadtakenplaceinGalwanValleynearPatrollingPoint14(PP-14)inthefirstweek

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RITIKACHOPRA&ANANTHAKRISHNANGNEWDELHI, JUNE25

WITH THE Covid graph risingsteadily,theremainingBoardex-ams for students of Classes 10and12inschoolsaffiliatedtotheCentral Board of SecondaryEducation(CBSE)andCouncilforIndian School CertificateExamination(CISCE)willnotbeheldas scheduled in July.Instead, the studentswill be

assessed on a special markingscheme. If they are not satisfiedwiththeresultsbasedonthissys-tem,theycanappearfortheexamwheneverit isscheduledlater.However,Class10studentsof

CBSE will not have the secondoption— for them, the remain-ingexamshavebeenscrapped.TheBoardandtheCouncilin-

formed the Supreme Court ofthis decision Thursday duringthe hearing on a plea seekingcancellationoftheremainingex-ams. The examinations, whichwerestalledinMarchduetothepandemic, had later beenrescheduledtobeheldbetweenJuly1and July15.ThependingexamsforClass

12 inCBSE-affiliated schools in-cluded 12 core subjects —Business Studies, Geography,Hindi (Core), Hindi (Elective),Home Science, Sociology,Computer Science (Old),

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BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

In talks withRBI to recastloans forcompanies:Sitharaman

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI, JUNE25

INWHATmay bring borrowersa huge relief, the government isin active discussion with theReserve Bank of India to offer aone-timeloanrestructuringplantocompaniesforthemtosurvivethe adverse impact of Covid-19pandemic, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman saidThursday. She also stressed ontheneedforbankstopassonthebenefits of repo rate cuts by re-ducinginterestrateaggressively,andindicatedthatthebenefitofemergencycreditlineguaranteescheme (ECLGS) would be ex-tended to individual borrowerssuchas truckowners.“In these pandemic times, it

has actually caused a lot of painand stress. We are talking toReserveBanktoseeifaone-timerestructuring can be offered sothat everyone comes out a bitmore honourably (out) of this(crisis),” she said inavideocon-ference interactionwith senior

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ALOANrestructuringscheme,especiallyatatimewhencompaniesareunderhugestresswillhelpcompaniesstrengthentheirbooksandbeeligibletoborrowagain.Thereisariskthatlargescaledefaultsmayforcepermanentclosureofmanyunits.

Bigrelief inCovidtimes

Visit to Covid centre not must, back to oldsystem in another Delhi protocol revision

AfamilyatLNJPHospital,Thursday. TashiTobgyal

115DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■Telangana■Delhi■TamilNadu■Haryana

7 DAYS EARLIER:

3.33NOW:

3.15

7 DAYS EARLIER:

7.57NOW:

6.26

DETECTED TODAY

16,922RECOVERED TODAY:

13,012

TOTALCASES1,42,90010,44470,39067,46812,010

DOUBLINGRATE**24.587.9112.1916.6816.04

SURGEIN24HOURS3,8908913,7882,865490

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*2.93%9.10%5.91%4.32%4.49%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:4,73,105TESTS: 75,60,782 | DOUBLING RATE: 19.48**

RECOVERED:2,71,696DEATHS: 14,874

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

BasedondailydatafromUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbers includedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive

CASE FATALITY RATIO

Deaths as a ratio ofpositive cases (in %);indicator of progressin averting deaths

Positives againstnumber tested (in%); indicator of thespread of disease

Becoming sick vsrecovering; more

recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak

POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUT

INSIDE

83DEAD INLIGHTNINGSTRIKES INBIHAR

NOREGULAR TRAINSERVICES TILLAUGUST 12PAGES8,6

New Delhi

divide. The funds raisedwouldgotowards assisting the institute inpurchasing laptops and internetdataplansforsuchstudentstoac-cess virtual classes, Chaudhurisaid.“We have estimated that we

needaboutRs5croretohelpthoseneedy students. Our alumni havecommittedagoodamountofsup-port, but that is not enough,” hesaid inhisFacebookpost.Accordingtosources, IIT-Delhi

is also going to announce a com-pletely online semester for inter-mediate year students. Studentswhodon't have access to a digitaldeviceor internetconnectionwillhavetheoptionofdroppingthese-mesterorreturningtothecampusandattendingonlineclasses fromtheirrooms.Lastweek,thePunjabEngineeringCollegeannounceditsdecisiontomoveitsnextsemestercompletelyonline.

Board exams

Computer Science (New),Information Practice (Old),Information Practice (New),Information Technology and Bio-Technology.TheCISCEhadeightpapersleft

forClass12andsixfortheClass10when the government asked allschoolboards topostponetheex-ams.TheCBSEwillannounceresults

based on themarking scheme byJuly 15 so that students can seekadmissiontohighereducationin-stitutionsontime.TheClass12stu-dentswill alsobeeligible tosit forthe optional exams to improvetheir performance, whichwill beconducted “as soon as the condi-tions are conducive”. However, ifthestudentchooses the latter, themarks secured in theoptional ex-amswill be treatedas final.According to sources, theHRD

Ministrywill soon holdmeetingswith Delhi University, to ensurethatCBSE'salternateschemedoesnot hurt students. DU may beasked to extend its deadline (July4) forapplications.Thegovernmentisalsoconsid-

ering asking all higher educationinstitutions to not close their ad-mission process till the students,whoappearfortheoptionalBoardexams,get their results.InthecaseofstudentsofCISCE,

SeniorAdvocateJaideepGupta,ap-pearingfortheCouncil,saidthere-mainingClass10and12examsareoptional thisyear.The CISCE students will be

evaluated on performance inschool assessment, andwill havethe opportunity to appear for theexam at a later date to improvetheirmarks --bothClasses10,12.TheCBSE’sdecisionwas taken

in consultation with the HRDMinistry. TheHomeMinistry alsoapproved theCBSE’s standbeforetheSupremeCourtThursday.TheBoard’s expert committee

cited letters written by the TamilNadu,DelhiandMaharashtragov-ernments seeking cancellation orpostponementof theexams.Hearing thematter, theBench

told Solicitor General Tushar

Mehta that the beginning of thenewacademicyearwouldhavetobe clarified by the Board. It willhave to start in September if theoptional exams are conducted inAugust, the court said. The courtalso directed the central govern-menttodevisea“pan-India”solu-tionfortheexamsatalaterdate. Italso directed the government tocomeupwitha“time frame”. Thenexthearing isonFriday.

Anti-China callsAssociationareamongothertradeand industry associations whichhaveechoedtheseviews.Saraf said the decision to boy-

cottnon-essentialproductsmadeinChinacanbe left to the individ-ual . "Banning the imports of rawmaterials from China withoutwhich products over here cannotbemadewill bedifficult. Itwouldbebettertomayberaisethedutieson cheaper rawmaterials insteadofgoinginforanyblanketban,"hesaid at a press briefing on India'scurrentand future tradescenario.“Whatcanhelpasmoothtran-

sition fromrelianceon imports toAtmaNirbharta are certain policymeasures by the government likeallowinggrandfatheringof dutiesonmodules and cells for projectswhichhavealreadybeenbidout,”said Sumant Sinha, CMD, ReNewPower.Over the last three months,

therehasbeenaconcertedpushtoreduce reliance on unnecessaryimports and potentially oppor-tunisticinvestmentscomingespe-cially from China. Clear signs ofsuch a move were first seen onApril18afterChina’s centralbankraiseditsshareholdingintheHDFCLtd,thelargestprivatesectorhous-ingfinancecompany.Atthattime,the Department for Promotion ofIndustryandInternalTrade(DPIIT)had said firms in neighbouringcountries wishing to invest inIndiancompanieswouldnowonlybe able todo so after governmentapproval—at a timewhenvalua-tions of companieswere low fol-

lowingtheCovid-19outbreakandsubsequent lockdown.“Thereisatargetwearepursu-

ing in line with ‘AtmaNirbharBharat’which is to reduce unnec-essaryimports,notcountry-specificimports,” said DPIIT SecretaryGuruprasadMohapatra.The Indian Express on June 23

hadreportedthatimportconsign-ments from China at ports likeChennaiandMumbaiwere learntto be facing hurdles over the lastfortnight, with clearances beingheld up by customs authorities.This may have inadvertently af-fected imports of crucial compo-nents and rawmaterials used inseveral industrieshere.Amongthoseimpactedarecer-

tain pharmaceutical firms, whichhave been unable to receive theirconsignmentsofessentialrawma-terials like active pharmaceuticalingredients(APIs)andkeystartingmaterials (KSMs) from theMumbai port. This happened de-spiteanyinstructionsfromtheau-thorities. “Some of our membercompanies have brought it to ournotice that consignments of APIsand KSMs only from China arestuck up at the port in Bombay,”Indian Pharmaceutical AllianceSecretary General Sudarshan JaintoldThe IndianExpress.In a letter to the Finance

Minister and the RevenueSecretary, Pankaj Mohindroo,Chairman, India Cellular andElectronicsAssociation,said:“Theindustry is already in very deepdistress having lost production ofoverRs40,000croreandhasonlyrecovered to less than40per centof normalcy. India is at averycru-cialmomentwiththelaunchofthePLI (production-linked incentive)schemeand twootherswhich re-quire ahigh level ofmotivation intheheadquartersof globalandlo-calcompanies.Theyneedtomovelargeamountofplantandmachin-ery,components,sub-assemblies,and in some cases, finishedprod-ucts,toIndia.Regardlessoftherea-sons,suchamove,especiallywith-

out anyprior notice, canbe coun-terproductive.”An Automotive Component

Manufacturers of India (ACMA)representativesaidthat,giventhatthe industry is emerging out of alockdown, a “knee jerk reaction”may disrupt the value chain andimpact the recoveryprocess.The issue, which has also im-

pacted as many as 50 Americanmanufacturing firms in Indiaacross sectors like telecom, auto-mobiles and fast-moving con-sumer goods, prompted the US-IndiaStrategicPartnershipForum(USISPF) to flag its concernswiththe commerce and financemin-istries thisweek.ButwithChina’s overt aggres-

sion,someleadersinIndianindus-try are also of the view that Indiacan over the next 4-5 years startproducingmanyoftheseproductsin India. While initially, SNSubrahmanyan, CEO andManaging Director, Larsen &Toubro,thecountry’s largestengi-neeringandconstructionfirm,saidinan interviewcautionedthat "totakea total view thatwecanboy-cott the Chinese goods" was notfeasible, thenextdayhesaidIndiacan “drastically reduce depend-enceonChineseproducts”.PowerMinister R K Sinha also

saidonThursdayhisministrywasplanningtoimposebasiccustomsduties (BCD) of around 15-25 percent on solar equipment startingAugust. This duty would subse-quentlyberaisedupto40percent,hesaid.TheDirectorateGeneralofTrade Remedies (DGTR) has beeninvestigating around 35 cases ofdumpingfromChinaacrossprod-ucts, including chemicals, steel,polyesteryarn,copperandvariousyarns.

Central teamsMaharashtraonSaturday.Itwillbein Telangana on Sunday andMonday.”Telangana’shighpositivityrate

has led to fears that a large num-berof casesmightbegoingunde-

tected.“Theconfirmationrateisashigh as 18%,” the source pointedout,nearlythreetimeshigherthanthenational averageof 6.3%.OnTelangana’stestingrate,the

official said, “While it has in-creased, tests permillion are stillvery low. Against the country av-erage of around 4,800 tests permillion,Telanganaisat1,200testspermillion.NeighbouringAndhraPradesh is testing 9,000 permil-lion and Tamil Nadu, 8,600 permillion. Even Uttar Pradesh is ataround1,900testspermillion.”Ofthe67,318samplestestedso

far, the state has found 10,444casesandseen225deaths.Thelastfivedayssincetestingwasrampedupalonehaveseen2,999cases.Ofthem, 2,053were asymptomaticwhile the remaining showedSevere Acute Respiratory Illnesssymptoms.“TheCentral teamwilldiscuss

howtoincrease Telangana’s test-ing. It has the physical capacity,bothinthepublicandprivatesec-tors.Theywillalsodiscusshowtooptimally utilise the capacity inboth central and state govern-ment facilities,” theseniorofficialsaid.InMaharashtra, sources said,

the concern is “clinical manage-mentofcases”,withthecasefatal-ityratioof4.7%higherthanthena-tional average of 3.2%, and “newareaswherecasesareincreasing”.Maharashtra has so far reported6,739deaths.The official added that while

thingswere “broadly stabilizing”intheMumbaimetropolitanarea,places like Thane, Pune, Palgharand Solapur continued to reportmorecases.RegardingGujarat, theCentral

team’sfocuswouldbethehighfa-tality rate, at 6%. Its Covid tollstandsat1,736deaths.Gujarat, at 8.5%, and

Maharashtraat17%alsohavehighpositivity rates.Both states, alongwith Delhi,

continue to report a fatality ratehigher than thenational average.

Unileverbias... The rebranding and drop-ping of products will definitelyhelpinendingcolourism,"saidtheChennai-basedfounderofWomenof Worth, a non-profit organisa-tion.HUL's announcement comes

after Johnson & Johnson (J&J) de-cided to stop the sale ofNeutrogena Fine Fairness cream,sold in Asia andMiddle East, andClean&Clear fairness cream, soldonly in India, earlier this month.Matrimonial site, shaadi.com,hasalsodecidedtodiscontinuetheop-tionthatalloweduserstofilterpo-tentialmatchesbyskin tone.In February, the Ministry of

Health had said that advertise-mentspromotingfairnesscreamscould soonbebanned and attracta jail term extending up to fiveyears.“Thecatwassetamongthepi-

geonsbyJ&J,whichhappenstobea small player in the Indianmar-ket.ThebiggestplayerisHULwithFair & Lovely, which has Rs 2,400crore in turnover. This is a signifi-cantmove,butthebigchallengeisthatafairnesscreamwillnowhaveto morph itself into a beautycream," said brand strategy spe-cialistHarishBijoor.Accordingtotherecentlypub-

lished report, "India FairnessCream&BleachMarketOverview,2018-2023", by Ireland-basedResearch and Markets, thewomen's fairness creamcategoryis anticipated to achievemarketrevenues of more than Rs 5,000croreby2023.TheHULmovehasbeenalong

timecoming,saidMumbai-basedPallavi Chakravarti, ExecutiveCreativeDirector,TaprootDentsu."Thisisaboldandwelcomemove,given thenumbers that thebranddoes in the country. Having saidthat,it'snotjustabouttherebrand-ingof the labelbuthowtheycrafttheirmarketingcommunications,"she said. “If they start (makingsuchchanges)now,wecanachievethis inpossiblyadecade.”

(WITHBENITAFERNANDO)

SitharamanmembersofChennaiInternationalCentre.BanksarguethattheRBIneeds

to give operational flexibility tobanks for a comprehensive re-structuring of the existing loansandalso amodificationof the90-day norm for asset classification.As of now, the June 7 circular onloanrestructuringisstringentandgives little flexibility to banks, in-dustrysources said.On the ECLGS scheme run by

the National Credit GuaranteeTrusteeCompanyLtd(NCGTC),thegovernment had approved fund-ing of upto Rs 3 lakh crore for theMSMEsector.Bankscouldextendan extra 20 per cent of outstand-ing loans to theirMSME borrow-erswithacleancredithistory.Thisschemecurrentlydoesnot

provideanybenefittoindividuals.A seniormember of the ChennaiInternational Centre pointed outtothefinanceministerthatnearlytwo-thirdof hisborrowersare in-dividuals including truck owners.Responding to these comments,Sitharaman said: “I thinkwe areveryclosetogivethatopportunityto include individuals too in thisNCGTCscheme.”The FinanceMinister denied

thatprivatebankswerehesitantindisbursing credit under theschemetoMSMEsandnoted that16 private banks were providingdata on disbursements regularly.While public sector banks havedisbursed Rs 22,197 crore underthe scheme, private sector bankshave given Rs 10,697 crore, shesaid. “Private sector banks willhave to definitely buck up a bitmorebecausemanyofMSMEsarewith them,” shesaid.She also said herministrywas

intenselyengagedwiththeReserveBank,alongwiththebanks, toun-derstandwhytransmissionofratecutswasnothappening.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

Continuation of situation will vitiate ties

First faceoff in Galwan Valley was early May

Underliningthatthisis“notinaccordance”with thepacts since1993, he said: “Obviously, theIndian side had to undertakecounterdeploymentsandthere-sultingtensionhasthereafterex-presseditself.”On June 20, the Prime

Minister’sOfficehadsaid“Chineseforces have come inmuch largerstrength to the LAC and that theIndian response is commensu-rate”.TheMEA also hit out at ob-

struction of Indian patrolling byChinese troops in “complete dis-regard” to all mutually agreednorms.“The deployment of a large

bodyoftroopsandchangesinbe-haviourhasalsobeenaggravatedby unjustified and untenableclaims. The recent shift in theChinese position on theGalwanValleyisoneexample,”Srivastavasaid,referringtoBeijing’sclaimtoGalwanValley.Describing theWednesday

meeting betweendiplomats un-der theWorkingMechanism forConsultation&Coordination onIndia-China Border Affairs(WMCC)asa“significantdevelop-ment”andreferringtotheagree-ments and understandingreached between the ForeignMinisters on June 17 and ArmyCommandersonJune6and22,hesaid,“WeexpecttheChinesesideto sincerely followuponthisun-derstandingandensuretheexpe-ditious restoration of peace andtranquility intheborderareas.”Responding to queries,

Srivastava, reading froma state-ment, said: “In early May, theChinese side had taken action tohinderIndia'snormal, traditionalpatrolling pattern in theGalwanValleyarea.Theresultingface-offwas addressed by the groundcommanders as per the provi-sions of the bilateral agreementsand protocols. Inmid-May, theChinesesidesoughttochangethestatus quo in other areas of the

WesternSector.”“Wehadregisteredourprotest

on the Chinese actions throughboththeDiplomaticandMilitarychannels, andmade it clear thatany such changewas unaccept-able to us. Subsequently, theSenior Commanders met on 6June2020andagreedonaprocessfor de-escalation anddisengage-mentalongtheLACthatinvolvedreciprocalactions.BothsideshadagreedtorespectandabidebytheLACandnotundertakeanyactiv-itytoalterthestatusquo,”hesaid.“As Imentioned inmy state-

ment on 20th June, the Chineseside departed from these under-standings inrespectof theLACintheGalwanValleyareaandsoughttoerect structures just across theLAC. When this attempt wasfoiled,Chinesetroopstookviolentactions on 15 June 2020 that di-rectly resulted in casualties.Thereafter,bothsidesremainde-ployedinlargenumbersinthere-gion, whilemilitary and diplo-

maticcontactsarecontinuing,”hesaid.Meanwhile, Chinese

Ambassador SunWeidong, in aninterview toPTI, saidhis countrywas ready toworkwith India toproperly deal with the borderstandoff. He said "suspicion andfriction"was awrong path thatgoesagainst thefundamentalas-pirations of people of the twocountries.Saying India and China are

abletoproperlymanagetheirdif-ferences, Sun called upon NewDelhi toavoid takingactions thatmay"complicate"thesituationineasternLadakh.Hewentontoaddthat at present, the overall situa-tionintheChina-Indiaborderar-eas is"stableandcontrollable.""We hope the Indian side

meets the Chinese side halfway,avoids taking actions thatmaycomplicate the border situation,and takes concrete actions tomaintainstabilityintheborderar-eas,"hesaid.

ofMaybetweenpatrollingunitsof the twosides. Itwasafter theclashes at these two sites thatthestandoff began,sourcessaid.Anurag Srivastava,

spokesperson for the Ministryof External Affairs, told re-porters: “In early May, theChinesesidehadtakenactiontohinder India's normal, tradi-tional patrolling pattern in theGalwanValley area. The result-ing face-off was addressed bythegroundcommandersasperthe provisions of the bilateralagreements and protocols.”AmbassadorSun,while reit-

erating Beijing’s position, said:

“On May 6, the Indian bordertroops crossed the LAC in theGalwanValleybynightandtres-passed into China’s territory.They resorted to violentmeanstocreateastandoff betweenthetwo sides and built infrastruc-tures in an attempt tomaintainapermanent presence.”The Chinese envoy said the

first faceoff in Galwan Valleywas on May 6. On May 5-6,Indian and Chinese troops hadclashed on the banks ofPangong Tso, triggering a face-off that led tomassingof troopsby both sides along the LAC.Referring to the June 15

clashes, theChineseenvoysaid:“First, the incidenthappenedonthe Chinese side of the Line ofActual Control (LAC), and theIndiansidecrossedtheLACfirst.TheGalwanValley is locatedonthe Chinese side of the LAC,where the ground situation ofcontrol and management isvery clear. The two sides basi-cally have kept peace fordecades.However, since thebe-ginning of this year, the Indianside has continuously built fa-cilities at or crossing the LAC inthe Galwan Valley, constantlychanging the status quo ofground control.”

On the way forward, Sunsaid, “Themeritsof this incidentis very clear. The onus is not onChina.”“The two sides agreed to

fairly address the serious situa-tioncausedbytheconflict intheGalwan Valley, jointly observethe consensus reached at thecommander-level meeting be-tweenthe twosides, cooldownthe situation on the ground assoon as possible, and maintainpeaceandtranquility inthebor-derarea inaccordancewith theagreementsalreadyreachedbe-tween the two countries,” hesaid.

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Delhi protocol revisionMinister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia had criticised themove and raised theissuewiththeCentre.Kejriwal,Sisodiaandotherseniorfunctionarieswere

presentatthemeetingtoday.Addressingawebcastafterthemeeting,Sisodiasaid:

“Wearehappythatourdemandtoreinstatetheprevioussystemhas been accepted. Themethodof home isola-tionhas beenhighly successful inDelhi,where at least30,000patientshaverecoveredwhilebeingathome.”According to the statement released by the L-G

Secretariat,patients foundfit forhomeisolationwillbeprovided a contact number formedical consultation,alongwith the phone number of CATS (CentralisedAccidentandTraumaServices)forcallinganambulanceincasethesymptomsworsen.“If thesaidpatienthasmoderate/ severesymptoms

with co-morbidities, he shall be transferred to the carecentres,healthcentresorhospitals.Incasehisresidenceis not found to be fit for home isolation by the surveil-lanceteam,thepatientwillbeadmittedtoaCovidCareCentre for isolationasper theUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfareguidelines,”saidthestatement.Meanwhile,theMinistryofHomeAffairs(MHA)said

thedecisionwastakenonJune21.“Today'sSDMAdeci-sion onhome isolation of Covid-19positive patients inDelhiisareaffirmationofthedecisiontakenatthemeet-ing held byUnionHomeMinister Shri@AmitShah on21stJuneandcommunicatedtoDelhiGovton22.06.20,”theMHAspokespersontweeted.AftertheJune21meeting,theMHAhadsaidinastate-

mentthatthe“HomeMinisteralsosaidthatallCovid-19positivecasesshouldbefirstreferredtoCovidcentresandthosewhohave adequate facilities at homeanddonotsuffer fromotherco-morbidities, canbeallowedtostayinhomeisolation.”Subsequently,theDelhiDirectorateGeneralofHealth

Services had said on June22 that for “mild/ pre-symp-tomatic(cases), thepatientwillbeshiftedtoCovidCareCentretoassesseligibility forhomeisolation”.Baijal'sofficetweetedthattoday'sdecisionwastaken

“inaccordancewiththeguidance”givenbyShah.

IIT-Bombay semesterholdingvirtual lectures for theAutumnsemester.Chaudhuri has also sought Maharashtra Chief

MinisterUddhavThackeray's permission to graduallybringbackseniorPhDscholarstothecampustoresumeresearchactivities.“Itwouldbeasmallgroup, (whichwillbeallowed)

afterappropriatequarantine,andwillmaintainallap-plicable social distancing norms. Once the first groupsettlesdown,then(wewill)tryforanothersmallgroupand so on,” he told The Indian Express in an email re-sponse.Lastweek, inavirtual interactionwith IIT-Bombay

alumni,Chaudhurihadsaidallresearchactivitieshavecometoahalt.While the institutehasbegunadmissions forpost-

graduate courses, it is considering deferring the join-ingof newPhDstudentsbyasemester.TheAutumnsemesterwasearlierscheduledtobe-

ginonJuly27.Sinceclasseswillnowbeheldremotely,the institute's Senate is reworking the curriculum, es-pecially for courses involving laboratoryactivities.GiventhatalargesectionofstudentsatIIT-Bombay

come from economically weak families, the directoralso appealed for donations to help bridge the digital

FROMPAGEONE

CBSEMARKINGSCHEME4scenarios forstudentsofClasses10and12:

■Completedtheirexams:basedonperformance inthesepapers.

■Appeared inmorethanthree:averagemarks in“best threeperformingsubjects” insubjects forwhichexamshavenotbeenconducted.

■Appeared inthree:averagemarks in“best twoperformingsubjects” insubjects forwhichexamshavenotbeenconducted.

■Appeared inoneortwo:Boardperformanceand“internal/practicalprojectassessment”.

New Delhi

2020IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA

Notification No. 1771-RG Dated 23.06.2020Advertisement, bearing Notification no. 1679-RG dated 17th June,2020, inviting applications from eligible members from Bar for fillingup 06 (six) [but likely to vary subject to result of Civil Appeal No. 1867of 2006 (Malik Mazhar Sultan’s case now pending before the Hon’bleSupreme Court of India) in the post of District Judge (Entry Level)has been uploaded on the website of High Court, at Calcultta.Application for such posts must reach office of the undersignedbefore 4:30 PM on 09.07.2020.For details visit this Court’s website www.calcuttahighcourt.gov.in.

Sd/-Registrar General

Dated 23.06.2020 High Court, Calcultta

SOURAVROYBARMANNEWDELHI, JUNE25

OVERTWOmonths after a sim-ilarinitiativeloststeammidway,the capital’s second shot atscreening its entire populationtomap the spread of Covid-19startedThursday.Armedwithamobileappandnotebooks,two-memberteamsofASHA(accred-itedsocialhealthactivist)work-ers and ANMs (auxiliary nursemidwife) fanned out acrossmanypartsof thecity.Whilethescreeningprocess,

which has a deadline of July 6,has begun in sub-divisions un-der the Central district — hometo several densely populatedneighbourhoods — in districtssuch as South and West, theteams are likely to be deployedover thenext twodays.Around 9 am on Thursday,

teams led by SDM (Civil Lines)PradeepTayalhitthenarrowby-lanes of old Chandrawal area,where a slum cluster is located,and went around collating asmuch data as they could tillaround4pm.“We launched the screening

on Wednesday by coveringArunaNagarnearMajnukaTilla.

On Thursday, we tried to coverold Chandrawal, which has apopulationofaround2,500peo-ple,” Tayal told The IndianExpress. In other districts, apartfromASHAworkers andANMs,even MCD staffers have beenroped in for the task.At old Chandrawal, the team

carriedoutadoor-to-doorsurveywhile also interactingwith clus-tersofpeopleatcornershops.Thedatacollatedthroughthedaywas

sharedwithlocalmedicalofficers,whowould, based on their as-sessment,identifynamesthatre-quire immediatetesting.The teams are being de-

ployed at the poll booth level ineach sub-division, SDM (Saket)RakeshKumarsaid.Theteamstobe fielded in the South districtunderwent training onThursday, SDM (Hauz Khas)KapilChaudharysaid.Apartfrombasicdetailssuch

as name, age, address and con-tact, theworkersarefeedingthemobile app with informationsuch as the travel of every indi-vidualbeingscreened;whetherornottheyusetheAarogyaSetuapp; symptoms of flu;medicalconditions among other things.Thesameappwasbeingusedincarrying out screening at thecontainmentzones.On April 13, Chief Secretary

Vijay Dev had constituted

“Corona foot warriorsContainment and SurveillanceTeams”,whichalsohadtheman-datetoscreenDelhi’sentirepop-ulation, alert authorities aboutsuspected corona cases, trans-portpatientstomedicalfacilitiesandenforcesocialdistancing.The teams, whichwere also

taskedwith checking on everyresident aged 60 or above and“red-flagging”thosewithseriousmedicalconditions,weretohaveBLOs,onecivildefencevolunteer,ASHA/anganwadiworker,MCDsanitation worker and a DelhiPolicebeatconstable.“Manyof thesewerecreated,

however, they did not makemuchheadwayduetolackofse-riousness. Also, manyworkerscontracted the virus andhad toisolatethemselves.ManySDMsalso turned corona positive.Nowthatscreeningof theentirecity has beenmade part of theCovid response plan, the senseofurgencyismore.Wearetreat-ing it likeaCensus,albeitwithadifferent set of questions andobjectives. Apart from feedingthe app with requisite data,workersarebeingtrainedtoaskindirectquestionstotryandas-sess the situationbetter," said aseniorofficial.

AIMTOREACHALLHOMESBYJULY6

Second round of Asha for Delhi asdoor-to-door screening restarts

Two-memberteamsofAshaworkersandauxiliarynursemidwiveshave fannedoutacrossthecity. TashiTobgyal

Mostly relief, someapprehensions overno more Boards

16-year-oldcommitssuicide athome

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE25

STUDENTS,PARENTSandschoolprincipals expressed relief overthe CBSE’s decision to not con-duct the remaining Class X andXIIboardexaminationsbetweenJuly1and15.However, some apprehen-

sion remains as stakeholdersawait the finer details, such aswhichpreviouslyheldexamina-tions the students will now beevaluatedupon.“Ididn’twanttowritetheex-

ams on the dates which hadbeenreleased asthesituationinthe city is not alright, so that’sgood.ButI’mstillwaitingtofindout howmy results will be cal-culated and that’s makingmeanxious,” said Rahul Gupta, aClass XII student of MamtaModernSchool.Parents’associationshadalso

been pushing for the exams tonottakeplaceduringthisperiod,and it was parents who hadbrought this issue to thecourt.“In fact, this decision has

comemuch later than it shouldhave.Childrenhavebeeninadif-ficultposition formanymonthsnow, getting stressed out in

thesedifficulttimes.Forparents,this is a matter of relief,” saidSeema Tyagi, president of theGhaziabadParentsAssociation.“It is a good decision to not

holdexamsnowasitwouldhavebeenunsafe for children. I knowsomeparentswhowereplanningtonotallowtheirwardstoappearforexamsif theywereheld,evenifitmeantlosingayear,”saidDPSRohiniprincipalVibhaSingh.Springdales,PusaRoadprin-

cipal AmeetaMullaWattal saidthe information that has beenmade public till now served abalance between safety and as-piration. “The good thing is theuncertaintyisoverastherewereissuesofanxietyandstresscrop-ping up. The decision of lettingstudents improve by taking ex-ams later is also a balancedchoice,as it isaquestionof theircareersandadmissions.”

Man held in jewelleryshop firing caseEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE25

DELHI POLICEhas arrested aman who was allegedly in-volved in a firing incident attwo jewellery shops inNajafgarh, said officials onThursday. The accused,Harish, was allegedly in-volved in eight cases of vio-lence andmurder.The Special Cell of Delhi

Police arrested him fromDwarka onWednesday. Theaccused,alongwithhisasso-ciates, was involved in casesof carjacking,murderandex-tortion inHaryanaandDelhi.Policesaidtheaccusedal-

legedlycommittedtwomur-ders — of a man and awoman — in Jhajjar on June9oninstructions fromtwooftheirgang leaders.On June8,theaccusedfiredbulletsout-

sideSagunJewellers.OnJune23,Harishandhisassociatesfired outside PC Jewellersand Gahana Jewellers andleft threatening messages,demanding money. In an-other incident, thegangfiredtwo bullets outside a prop-erty dealer’s office inNawada.Police saidheworked for

‘Lawrence Bisnoi-AkshayPalda-Kala Jathedi’ gang.During interrogation,Harishtoldpolice thatheandhisas-sociatesworkedundercrim-inals namedSethi andKapil.Sanjeev Kumar Yadav,

DCP (Special Cell) said histeam had received informa-tion about the accused. “Hewas wanted in two murdercases along with carjacking,and one attempt to murdercase in Haryana. We caughthim from the Najafgarh-Dhansa road.”

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE 25

A16-YEAR-OLDgirl,whowasapopularTikTokcontentcreator,allegedlycommittedsuicideather home in Shahdara onWednesday night. Police saidthe minor was "discovered byher father in her room around9 pm, and police were in-formed around 9.15 pm aboutthe incident."DCP (Shahdara) Amit

Sharma said, "No suicide notehas been found yet. Inquestproceedings have been initi-ated in thematter.”Thegirl’spost-mortemwas

conducted Thursday, and thebody has been handed over tothe family.The girl has over a million

followers on TikTok and over alakh on Instagram. EarlyWednesday evening, she hadposted a short video onInstagram of her dancing to aPunjabi song.Police said the statementof

thegirl’s familyhasbeentaken.Apolice source said, “The fam-ily is gutted and have no ideawhat ledher totakesuchanex-treme step.”

Parents’associationshadbeenpushingfortheexamstonottakeplaceduringthisperiod.Theyhadevenbroughtthe issuetothecourt

New Delhi: Students of theSchoolofOpenLearning(SOL)have alleged that the SOLwebsitecrashedonThursdaywhentheyloggedintotryanddownload their admit cardsandquestionpapersforinter-nal assessment. This comesless thanaweekbeforeDelhi

University(DU)istoholdcen-tralisedonlineopenbookex-ams (OBE) for its final yearstudents.SOLofficeronspecialduty

(OSD) U S Pandey said therewassome“technicalissue”forsometimeinthemorningbutitwas fixed. ENS

THECITY3 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

Man shot dead while drivingafter argument with bikersMAHENDERSINGHMANRALNEWDELHI, JUNE25

A30-YEAR-OLDaccountantwasshotdeadinsideamovingcar inEastDelhi’sPreetVihar, inwhat,policesaid,appearstobeaninci-dent of road rage. His cousin,whowassittinginthepassengerseat, also sustained injuries asthebullethithis jaw.The incident took place on

Wednesdaynightwhenthevic-tim,SomeshChhabra,hiscousinRahul Sharma (29), and theirfriendShivamDua(24)wentoutfor a ride and were returninghometoShahdara.En route, theygot intoanar-

gument with fourmen on twoseparate two-wheelers nearPreet ViharMetro station overgivingway.An FIR has been registered

butnoarresthasbeenmadeyet.Police said they have foundfootage from CCTV cameraswhichshowstheattackers.

“The three were in an i20.They left around 8.30 pm andwent to Connaught Place.Someshwasdriving,andShivamwas sitting in the rear seat.Around 11.45 pm, they decidedto headbackhome,” said a sen-iorpoliceofficer.Shivam,inthecomplaint,told

policethattheyranintofourpeo-ple on two-wheelers near V3Small. “Somesh started honkingandaskedthemtogivethemway.Thebikershurledabusesandgot

into an argument. They then letthecarpassbutstartedfollowingit. They sooncamealongside thevehicle, and words were ex-changed between the twogroups…NearPreetViharMetrostation,oneofthebikerspulledoutapistolandfired.ThebulletfirsthitSomesh in the chest andpiercedRahul’sjaw,”saidtheofficer.Police said the bikers man-

aged to flee. “Somesh lost hiscontrolof thecar,whichhitadi-vider near Jagatpuri around 1am. The victims were taken tohospital where Somesh suc-cumbedtoinjuries,whileRahulis out of danger after an opera-tion.He is recuperating andpo-lice have recorded his friend’sstatement,” said theofficer.DCP (Shahdara) Amit

Sharmasaid,“Ourpoliceperson-nelwereatthespotwhenthecarhit thedivider.Wetook themtohospital and also launchedsearch operations. Themattercomes under the jurisdiction ofPreetViharpolicestationandthecasewas transferred to them.”

SOL site ‘crashes’ as studentstry to download admit cards

SomeshChhabra

New Delhi

ASTHASAXENANEWDELHI, JUNE25

VIMALA SHARMA, wife of for-mer President of India DrShankar Dayal Sharmawas dis-chargedfromAIIMStraumacen-treonThursdayevening,daysaf-ter she tested positive forCovid-19. The 93-year-old isamongtheoldest tohaverecov-eredfromthevirusinthecapital.According to her family, her

oxygenlevelsstarteddippingonJune5afterwhichshewastested,andherreportscamepositiveonJune6.“Toourhorror,herreportwas

positive and we immediatelyrushedhertoAIIMS. Itcameasashockasshedoesn'tgooutofthehouse at all. The first four days,her condition did deteriorate abit.Iknowsheis93butlosingher

to a viruswould have been theworst…,” her son AshutoshDayal Sharma told The IndianExpress.Whileadmittedforalmost18

days,shewasnotputonventila-torsupport.Herfamilydidn’tlosthopeandspoketohertwicedur-ing her entire stay. “The biggestchallenge is that you are cut offfromallknownfaces.Butitisim-portantnot topanic…,”hesaid.Fifteendays after theadmis-

sion, shewas tested again andher reports came out negative.“On Tuesday, we started plan-ning the discharge.Wewere intouch with Dr Neeraj Nischal,who was helping us with her

treatment. Thewhole family isextremelyhappythatwegotherhome.It'sstillalongroad…sheison nasal oxygen support of 2-3litresperhour,” saidAshutosh.Doctors said apart from an-

tibiotics, shewas on a high flownasal cannula – a techniquethroughwhichahighamountofoxygencanbedelivered. “If thatdoesn't work, thenwe put thepatient on a ventilator. Duringthis time, it is important for thefamily and patient not to losehope. All is not lost, even if youdevelopCovid.Peoplemusttakeprecautionsandseekhelpiftheirconditionworsens,”saidaseniordoctoratAIIMS.

SHIVAMPATELNEWDELHI, JUNE25

BEFORE THE coronavirus pan-demic gripped the country, 53-year-old Amir Ahmed used tomanufacture cloth slippers forbudget hotels in central Delhi’sKarol Bagh, selling them for Rs17 a pair. Nowhe is scramblingto put together enough food forhis family of four living in UP’sBulandshahr.Ahmed and his two sons,

whoworkasapainterandabar-ber,weremaderedundantinthe

coronavirus lockdown.Over thepast twomonths, the familyhassold their furniture and bor-rowed food fromneighbours tosurvive.“TimesaredifficultandIthinkfromnowonlymychildrenwillbeabletoearnsomemoney.I won’t be able to do field orlabourwork,evenif Iwantto.Nooneknowswhenhotelswillstartbusinessagain,”Ahmedsaid.The closure of budget hotels

in Delhi under the coronaviruslockdown has also putmany oftheir associated businesses andstaffoutofwork.KunalKanojiya(30) is the owner of a laundry

service inKarol Bagh,which re-ceivesbusinessfromseven-eighthotels inthearea.His familyhasbeen running the service since1972, andKanojiyahasbeen in-volved in it for 17 years. “I havenever seen business shuttingcompletely like this,”hesaid.Onamonthlybasis,heusedto

receive ordersworth aroundRs20,000fromeachhotelinthearea.Aftertheoutbreakbegan,notonlyhas henot receivedneworders,hehasnotbeenpaidbillsoverRs5lakhowedtohimbyhotels.“Isssaalhotelnahichalpaayega

(hotelswon’t run this year).We

usedtogetalotofbusinesswhentherewereexpos,exhibitionsandduring the timeof IPL.All of thatis nowover.My staff has left fortheir home towns and I am toothinkingof leaving,”hesaid.For hotel staff who are back

in theirhometowns, there’sun-certaintyonwhentoreturn,andif thejobstheyhadwouldstillbearound. Sanjay Naik (47) andSatyaranjanDas (40)wentbacktotheirnativevillages inOdishainMarch.Das, who came to Delhi in

1985, said heused toworkdou-ble time aswaiter and kitchen

staff at two hotels, for 18 or 20hours in a day, as hehad to sup-port his family of six: “I earnedaroundRs17,000intotalamonth,and I used to send it all home.Coronadoesn’tscaremeandIamready to return to work rightaway. I ammore scared of mychildrennothavingfoodtoeat.”With no clear sign of when

tourism would resume and aconsistent surge in Covid casesin the city, hotel owners toohave mounting expenses.SandeepKhandelwal,presidentof the Delhi Hotel andRestaurantOwnersAssociation,

said many are not able to payloan EMIs and rent for hotelbuildings. “We have a capacityofproviding50,000quarantineroomstothegovernment.Theycan take it on a fixed charge ofRs 4,000 or Rs 3,000 and thatwill slowly help us revive ourbusiness,” he said.Forafewowners,conversion

oftheirhotelsintoquarantinefa-cilitieshasresultedinsomeflowof cash, but they say they areonly able to pay current ex-penseswith it.Lovleen Anand’s Citi

InternationalHotelinKarolBagh

has been converted into a facil-ity for asymptomatic interna-tionalarrivalstoDelhi,whohaveto quarantine themselves for aminimumof seven days as percurrentrules.Thetariffsetbythegovernment fora single roomisRs1,850plus taxesandRs2,250plustaxesforadoubleroom.Hesaid, “Recovery from the lossessuffered in the lockdown is stillfar away, and for the next sixmonths therewouldbenobusi-ness... We don’t even knowwhether after the current batchofpeopleinquarantineleave,wewouldgetmoreguests.”

LOCKED DURING UN-LOCKDOWN

As hotels struggle amid slowdown, linked services share the pressure

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

THEOUTBREAK THECITY

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

4

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,JUNE25

PATIENTS ADMITTED at LokNayakwill be able to speak totheir familymembers throughvideoconferencingfacilitiesthatstartedatthegovernmenthospi-talonThursday.Familymembers of several

patients have been complainingthatoncethepatientisadmitted,it is hard to get in touch withthem.Theproblemisseenespe-ciallywith elderly patientswhodonothavesmartphones.Whilemanyprivatehospitals

areextendingvideocalling facil-ities to patients, in governmenthospitals, doctors and nurseshavebeentheonlylinkformany.Lok Nayak hospital, where

759 patients are admitted,wasthe first dedicated Covid facilityin the city. It is the biggest Covidhospitalandhas2,000beds.“Till now, the problemwas

thatifaCovidpatientwasadmit-tedtothehospital,relativeswereunable tomeet or talk to them...Now, tabletshavebeen installedin every ward of the hospital.Family members can visit thehospital and talk to the patientthroughvideoconferencing,”said

Kejriwal.Tablets have beenplaced in-

side thewards and at a counteroutsideaswell,forusebypatientsandtheirrelatives. Familymem-bershavebeengatheringoutsidethe hospital every day, askingdoctors about the condition ofthose admitted.Mostwould beturnedawayasdoctorsandnurs-ing staff are not immediatelyaware of the patient's conditionor inwhichwardtheyare.DeputyChiefMinisterManish

Sisodiasuggestedthatthetablets

beusedbydoctorsandadminis-trativestaffaswelltostayintouchwithpatientsandavoidenteringtheward unnecessarily and ex-posingthemselvestothevirus.TheCMalsospoketodoctors

aswell as twopatientsadmittedin the ICU – an elderly womanandanIITDelhiemployee.In ameetingwith thehospi-

talmedicaldirector,Kejriwalwastold that all beds in the hospitalareequippedwithoxygen.MD Dr Suresh Kumar said

that over 3,700 Covid patients

havebeenadmittedtothehospi-tal till date, out of which over2,700 have recovered and re-turnedhome.UnionHomeMinister Amit

Shahhadalsovisitedthehospitalon June 15 and had interactedwith thedoctors.Hewasnot ac-companiedbyanyDelhigovern-mentminister.In his interaction with the

doctors, Kejriwal thanked thedoctors and said he knew itwasdifficult toworkwhilewearingPPE.“Ithasbeenadifficult,tough,andarduousjourneyforallofyou.I have heard a lot of times aboutyouall,thatithasbeendayssinceyouhavenotvisitedyourhomesand notmet your familymem-bers. I knowthat it is not easy towearaPPEkitandsweatitoutfor

eighthoursdayafterday,”hesaidandasked themtonotpayheedto“negativestories” inmedia.Speaking to reporters as he

leftthehospital,Kejriwalsaidthatthe shortcomings should beblamed upon the governmentand not the doctors. “You havepointedoutsomeshortcomings.Thosearebecauseof theadmin-istrationandthegovernment,notthedoctors,”hesaid.The city saw 3,390 fresh

CovidcasesonThursday, takingthe total tally to 73,780. Thenumber of deaths in the cityreached 2,429 as 64more pa-tients died in the past 24 hours.Delhi’s fatalityrate is3.2%whiletherecoveryratetouched60.6%.Over15,000peoplearepresentlyinhome isolation.

SHIVAMPATELNEWDELHI, JUNE25

THEDELHIHotelandRestaurantOwnersAssociationonThursdayannouncedthatChinesenation-alswouldnolongerbeprovidedaccommodation in over 3,000hotels and guesthouses acrossthe city. The decisionwas takenalongthe linesof thecall toboy-cott Chinese products by theConfederationofAllIndiaTraders(CAIT) on Tuesday, hotel associ-ation president SandeepKhandelwalsaid.“The Chinese are not the

world, we can survivewithoutthem aswell.We are law-abid-ingcitizensandnoonewill takelawintheirhands,butthiswouldmake the Chinese worried…Warandtradecannothappenatthesametime,”hesaid.While a majority of hotels

have agreedwith the decision,he said no onewill be forced tofollow it. He added that the as-sociation would also try to getfive-starhotelsonboard.The association’s move

comes at a timewhen the hos-pitality industry is already reel-ing under heavy losses due tolack of tourism and closure ofhotels in thewakeof the coron-avirus shutdown.SandeepKhandelwaladmit-

tedthatseveralhotelownersareundergoing extreme stress asthey are unable to pay pendingbills, loansandrent, andthe lat-est decisionmight not prove tobe feasible in the long run: “Allthings depend upon govern-mentpolicyandtherelationbe-tweencountries.”

CAIT’s national secretarygeneral Praveen Khandelwalsaid the trade bodywouldwel-comeanyonewhowishestojoinitscampaigntoboycottChineseproducts. He also said CAITwillnow appeal to farmers, small-scaleindustries,hawkers,entre-preneurs and other sectors tojoin their campaign.Whilethedecisionis limited

toDelhiasofnow,thehotels’as-sociation would try to rope intheircounterpartsinotherstatesas well, added PraveenKhandelwal.Thursday's decision, how-

ever, has not gone down wellwith some hotel owners in thecity, who said the Central gov-ernmentshouldmake itspolicyclearon thematter.Hotels in the city have not

beenallowedtoreopensincethelockdown was imposed.KulwantSingh,ownerof ahotelin Karol Bagh, said the associa-tion's decision would have noimpactunlesstourismresumes.“The government should not

give visa and flight tickets toChinese nationals if we don'twant them to come here. Theyshouldmake their policy clear.Alreadybusiness is downand itdoesn’t look like it will pick upthisyear,”hesaid.NareshGarg, owner of a ho-

telinOldDelhi'sDaryaGanj,saidthe government had failed tosupport thehospitality industryand they arehaving to pay elec-tricitybills running into lakhsofrupeesevenwhenthehotelsareshut. “We can't say atithi devobhava(guestisgod)ononehandandthendenybookings,”hesaid.Amardeep Singh, a hotel

owner in Paharganj, said 60% to65% of bookings in his hotel aremade by international tourists,includingChinesenationals.Vinod Baweja, who also

owns two hotels in Paharganj,said, “We have not been givenpermission to open hotels rightnow.When theydo,we cande-cide about thematter. But thegovernment should make itsstanceclearon this.”

MONSOON & THE CITYNearRajpath,Thursday.The IMDThursdayannouncedthearrivalofmonsoonoverDelhi, twodaysbefore itsnormalonsetdate.This is the initial stageof themonsoonandheavyshowerscanbeexpectedbetweenJuly15andthe lastweekofAugust,saidKuldeepSrivastava,headof the IMD'sregionalweather forecastingcentre inDelhi. TashiTobgyal

TABLETS INSTALLED INEVERYWARD

Nohotelwillbeforcedtofollowtheguidelines,thegroupsaid

3,000 budget hotels to shutdoors on Chinese nationals

CM,SisodiaatLokNayak,Thursday

AmirAhmedathishomeinBulandshahr

VimalaSharma

Wife of former President recovers fromvirus at 93, discharged from AIIMS

CORONAVIRUS IN THECAPITAL

TOTAL CASES

73,780HOSPITAL BEDS

13,239VENTILATORS

741Dailycases Recoveries Deaths Tests

June24 3,788 2,124 64 19,059June25 3,390 3,328 64 17,305Total 26,586* 44,765 2,429 4,38,012

*Total active cases

At Lok Nayak, video conferencingto bring patient and family closer

PRITAMPALSINGHNEWDELHI, JUNE25

THEDELHIHighCourtThursdaysought toknowfromtheCentreits assessment of the prepared-nessoftheauthoritiesinDelhitodeal with the rising Covid-19cases now and in future, whenthenumbersareexpectedtorisefurther. A bench of Chief JusticeD N Patel and Justice PrateekJalan sought to knowwhetherthere is any shortage of testingkitsandaskedDelhigovernmenttoensurethatithasenoughtest-ingkits in thecomingdays.It asked the Delhi govern-

ment to look into the aspect ofreal-time updation of its web-sites and app and also to aug-ment its Covid related helplinenumbersbeforethenextdateofhearing on July 16. The direc-tions were issued during thehearing of a PIL, initiated on itsownon the basis of a video clipshowing a man struggling tofindahospitalbedforhisCovid-19positivemother.Delhi government’s Senior

Standing Counsel (Criminal)Rahul Mehra and advocateChaitanyaGosainsubmittedthatthey were at least 15-20 daysahead with regard to require-mentof testingkitsvis-a-visex-pectedrise incases.Additional Solicitor General

ManinderAcharya,appearingforthe Centre, submitted that hos-pitalsarestrictlyadheringtotheguidelines and testing each andeverypersonapproachingthem.

Test kits instock for atleast 15-20days: Govt

JIGNASASINHANEWDELHI, JUNE25

THE FAMILY of a 59-year-oldCovid patient admitted at LokNayak Hospital got him dis-chargedwithin 24hours of ad-mission, alleging that the hos-pital did not provide himadequate treatment. The pa-tient, RPSharma, is nowunderisolation at his Burari home.The hospital denied claims

of negligence. Dr Ritu Saxena,Lok Nayak deputy medical su-perintendent, said: “Our doc-tors helped the patient withmedication, thiswas alsowrit-ten in the discharge summary.Theydidn’t tellusaboutthepa-tient suffering from heart dis-ease.Weordinarily don’t allowpatients to leavebut if the fam-ily insists, we can’t stop them.Thedistrict surveillanceofficerwas also informed about thedischargeandhomequarantineof thepatient.”A hospital spokesperson

saidSharmawasdischargedon“personal request”.Accordingtotheprotocolset

by the government, patientswithco-morbidconditionsandthosewhorequireoxygensup-porthavetobeadmittedtohos-pital.According to the family,

Sharma, an accountant withCSIR, was admitted to the hos-pital on June10.His son Nitish Bharadwaj,

who works at a hotel inAndaman & Nicobar Islands,said his uncle had tested posi-tive on June 1. “We had to visit

five hospitals that day to gethimabedbeforeLokNayakad-mitted him. He died on June10,” he said.Sharma, a heart patient,

tested positive the same dayand the family rushed him toLok Nayak, where he was ad-mitted.“We thought he would be

treated and went back home.Soon, I received a call frommyfather saying he couldn’tbreathe and no doctor hadcome to see him. Worried, Ireached the hospital around 4pmand sent him fruits and dalchawal through the nurse,” al-legedBharadwaj.However, the familyalleged

Sharma’s condition worsenedand that hewasn’t providedanoxygen cylinder. They claimedtohavecalleddoctorsandotherstaffers but noonehelped.OnJune11,aftera longargu-

ment with authorities,Bharadwajgotthedischargepa-pers signed and took his fatherhome.“It was scary for us because

mymother is also old. I didn’twant to risk her life but I knewthatmy fatherwon’t be able tomanage in that hospital. Weboughtmasks and gloves froma nearby store and an oxygensupportsystemaswell,”hesaid.

Kin check out Covidpatient after row,hospital says hid info

Weordinarilydon’tallowpatients to leavebut if thefamily insists,wecan’t stopthem,saidaLokNayakofficial

AlarmsysteminstalledinCovidcoachesNewDelhi:TheNorthernRailwayshasinstalledanalarmsysteminits isola-tion coaches at ShakurBasti to alert doctors ofanyemergencysituationinvolving a patient, offi-cials said on Thursday.The Shakur Basti isola-tion coaches currentlyhave five patients withmild COVID-19 symp-toms,officials said.PTI

HCseeksactionplanonCovidtestingNew Delhi: The DelhiHighCourtThursdaydi-rectedtheDelhigovern-ment to give an actionplan on ramping up theCovid-19testing,observ-ing it was “imperative”asthecapital,onJune24,recorded the highestdaily increase in Covidcases inthecountry.Thebench also directed thegovernmentto fileanaf-fidavit containing a tab-ulated statement of thenumber of tests carriedoutundereachcategory.

TwoheldfordupingNewDelhi:A34-year-oldman from Dehradun,whowas on the run forthreeyears,wasarrestedalongwith awoman forallegedly duping over500 people on the pre-textofofferingthemjobsat reputed firms, policesaidonThursday.ENS

BRIEFLY

New Delhi

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

MASTERINGTHEVIRTUALWHILEPRIMEMinisterNarendraModiheldavirtualmeetingoftheCabinet inApril,when the lockdownwas at its strictest, itappearstheexperiencehasgivenwaytohybridmeetings.Thiscametothe fore inWednesday’sCabinetmeetingwhensomeministerswere surprised tohearHomeMinisterAmit Shah’svoicewhilehewasn’tphysicallypresent.After lookingaround,theyrealisedShahhadjoinedthemthroughvideo-conferencing.Shah,infact,seemstobeusingthismechanismquitewellwhilebeing inthenationalcapital.Hehadjoinedtheall-partymeet-ingonJune19aswellasthePM’sinteractionswithchiefminis-tersearlierinthesameweekfromhisofficeinthecapital.DefenceMinisterRajnathSingh, FinanceMinisterNirmala SitharamanandExternalAffairsMinisterSJaishankarwerepresentwiththePMintheall-partymeeting;Shahhadjoineditfromhisoffice.

TESTING TIMESHIMANTABISWASarma, the rulingparty’s troubleshooter intheNortheast,hadtakenabreakfromhisroleasAssam’sHealthMinisterforafewdaystosortoutthepoliticalcrisisinManipur,where allyNPPwithdrewsupport from theBJP government,leavingitonthevergeofcollapse.ResuminghistaskofbattlingwithCovid-19 inAssam, Sarma tweetedabout the state's “ag-gressivetesting”andsaid ithas,asof Thursday, tested3,51,753samples.His postwas liked, amongmanyothers, byManipurCMNBirenSingh,whosechairSarmaseemstohavesaved.

POSITIVE IN NEGATIVEHISLATESTcoronavirustestreporthavingcomenegative,for-mer Unionminister and veteran RJD leader RaghuvanshPrasadSinghisexpectedtobedischargedinthenextfewdaysfromAIIMS, Patna, where hewas admitted last week aftertestingpositive.Singhhadcreatedaflutterwhile inhospital:Heresignedasnationalvice-presidentofRJD.Singhisknownforhisplain-speak,andalleyesinRJDwillbeonwhathesaysandhowheactsafter leavinghospital.

5THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBHOPAL,NEWDELHI, JUNE25

THE RULING BJP targeted theCongress Thursdaybyquestion-ing a purported donation thatRajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF)had received,withBJPpresidentJPNaddasayingthatthefounda-tiontook$300,000fromPeople’sRepublicofChinaandtheChineseembassyin2005-06tocarryoutstudies thatwerenot innationalinterest.The Congress did not com-

ment on the specific allegation,butsaidtheBJPshouldnotlivein2005 and instead discuss thefreshChineseincursions.Naddasaid theCongresshas

nomoral right to talk about thecountry’s security after havingtakenmoneyfromChina.“TodayI was shocked to watch on TVthat in 2005-06 People’sRepublic of China and theChineseembassygaveafatsumto RGF. This is a secret relation-ship between Congress andChina. These people take fundsfrom China and then conductstudies that arenot in the inter-estof thecountry.Thesestudiescreatetheenvironmentforthat.The nation wants to know forwhat theywere paid andwhatstudy they conducted,” he said,addressingMadhyaPradeshJanSamvad, avirtual rally.ReferringtotheCongressrais-

ing questions over the govern-ment’s handling of the GalwanValley standoff, Nadda said, “Allpoliticalpartiessaidfortheinter-estofthenation,wearewithyouModi ji, youmove ahead. Onlyonefamily,anditsintentionsandpolicy,beganraisingquestions….today they are standing againstChinaasifthereisnosentinellikethem.Themistakesofonefamily

made us lose 43,000 sq km ofland.”Headded,“Youtake$300,000

donation and teachus national-ism.Haathi ke daant dikhanekeaurkhanekealaghotehain.”Telecom Minister Ravi

ShankarPrasad,too,echoedthis:“ThedonorslistofRGFannualre-port in 2005-06 clearly showsthat it received a donation fromtheEmbassyofPeople’sRepublicof China.Wewant to knowwhythisdonationwastaken.”The twoBJP leaderswere re-

ferringtoanaccountofdonationsmade to RGF in 2005-06 and itsannualreportoftheperiodwhenthe RGF carried out a study onfree trade agreement betweenIndiaandChinaandsuggested ittobebeneficial to India.The RGF annual report for

2005-06mentionstheEmbassyofThePeople’sRepublicofChina

as oneof the “partner organisa-tionsanddonors”.China’snamefigures in the list of donors forRajiv Gandhi Institute ofContemporary Studies (RGICS),apolicythinktankpromotedbyRGF.Among themanydonors for

RGICS are Government ofPeople’s Republic of China,European Commission,Government of Ireland andUnited Nations DevelopmentProgramme.Congress president Sonia

GandhiisthechairpersonofRGFand the trustees include formerPrimeMinisterManmohanSinghandMontek Singh Ahluwalia.Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi,Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and PChidambaram besides SumanDubeyaretrusteecumexecutivecommitteemembers.While the Congress skirted

questionsonthedonationandin-steadaccusedtheBJPoftryingtodivertattentionfromtheChineseincursions, Vijay Mahajan,SecretaryandCEOoftheRGF,didnot respond to telephone callsandtextmessages.The annual reportmentions

that economist Bibek Debroy—chairman of the EconomicAdvisory Council to the PM—was director of RGICS tillDecember 12, 2005. After hisexit,PDKaushiktookoverasact-ing director. When contacted,Debroy said, “I amaware of thisbut this happened after I hadleft.” Kaushik could not be con-tacted.The Congress hit back at the

BJP forwhat it calleda “disinfor-mation and sinister campaign”against the party and RahulGandhi. Senior leader AnandSharmaputout a list of theBJP’s

engagements with theCommunistPartyofChina.Congresscommunicationde-

partment head RandeepSurjewalasaid,“Pleasestoplivingin 2005 and start answeringquestionsin2020.”Hesaidtheissuetodayisthat

the “Chinese havemade freshtransgressions in the GalwanValley…Chinesearmyhasmadeserious build-up in theDepsangarea…Why is the governmentmumaboutfurtherChinesepres-enceintheeasternLadakharea?Inthenational interest…thena-tionwants to knowtheanswersfor thesequestions insteadofdi-versionarytacticsof theBJPgov-ernment.”Surjewala said Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, asChief Minister of Gujarat, hadvisitedChinafourtimes, thenasPM five times, and invitedChinese President Xi Jinping toIndia three times.Modiand theChinese President, Surjewalasaid,met18 times in the last sixyears. He claimed that the RSSheld consultations with theCommunist Party of China in2009 and a year earlier the BJPreceived a Chinese delegationand held confabulations withthem.“Is it also not correct that in

January2011, the thenBJPpres-identNitinGadkari took adele-gation of the BJP to China andheld detailed consultations.Were they anti-India consulta-tions? Is it not correct that in2014, theBJPsenta13-memberMP-MLAdelegationforstudyingthe Chinese political system…were those anti-India activi-ties… but today is not the timetodiscussallthose…todayistheday to discuss about freshChinese incursions… instead ofdiversions,”hesaid.

BJPpresident JPNaddaaddresses theMadhyaPradesh JanSamvadvirtual rally fromthepartyheadquarters inNewDelhi. PTI

BJP questions China donation to RGF,Congress says talk about incursionsNaddasaysfundstakenforstudiesthatwerenotinnational interest;oppnpartyslams‘diversionarytactics’

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JUNE25

DAYS AFTER US PresidentDonaldTrumpsignedanexecu-tive order extending the banonimmigrant and non-immigrantworkervisasuntiltheendofthisyear, IndiaonThursday said themove would likely affect themovementofskilledIndianpro-fessionals working lawfully intheUS.Ministry of External Affairs

spokespersonAnuragSrivastavasaid on Thursday that high-skilledIndianprofessionalsbringimportantskillsets,bridgetech-nological gaps and impart a“competitive edge to the USeconomy” and are a “criticalcomponentof theworkforce”.“The US has always wel-

comed talent andwe hope our

professionalswillcontinuetobewelcomedinUSAinthe future,”Srivastavasaid,whilerespondingtoquestionsat theweeklybrief-ing.“We have seen the

ProclamationissuedbyPresidentTrump on June 22 temporarilysuspendingentryof certain cat-egories of non-immigrant visa-holders& their familymemberstillDecember31,2020“Thisis likelytoaffectmove-

ment of Indian skilled profes-sionalswho avail of these non-immigrant visa programmes towork lawfully in theUS.We are

assessingtheimpactoftheorderonIndiannationalsandindustryin consultationwith stakehold-ers,”hesaid.OnApril22,PresidentTrump

had signed an executive orderbanningtheentryofworkersonnon-immigrantvisasforaperiodof60days.Earlier this week, Trump

signed an executive order, ex-tendingthe60-daybanonimmi-gration and non-immigrantworkervisastill theendof2020,including the coveted H1B andH2Bvisas,aswellascertainothercategoriesofH4, J, andLvisas.In a statement, the White

Housesaid thatmanyAmericanworkers had been hurt by thecoronaviruspandemic,and“theyshould not remain on the side-lines while being replaced bynewforeign labour”.Barring exceptions, “we

should not permit large num-bers of foreignworkers to entertheUnitedStatesatatimewhensomany Americans are out ofwork”, thestatement said.Thebanon theentryof non-

immigrant workers with H1Bvisas is likely tohave thebiggestimpactglobally,andespeciallyonIndian IT firmsandworkers.The order also replaced the

currentsystemofawardingH1Bvisas by lottery with a systemthat privileges applicants whoarepaidmorethanothers.Manymajor global technol-

ogy companies outsource theirbackend database updation,service,andmaintenancejobstoIT companies based in India.However, skilled employeesfrom these organisations traveltotheUSonclientsitevisits,andtoworkonmore specialised re-quirements.

Week on,NPP back infold, rejoinsBJP govt inManipur

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,JUNE25

TheUttarPradeshgovernmentonFridaywill takeup its ambi-tious target of providing em-ployment to one crore peoplein a single day. The same day,PrimeMinisterNarendraModiwill interactwithbeneficiariesof the Garib Kalyan RojgarAbhiyan Yojna from six dis-tricts.The state government

meanwhile claimed thatFriday’s drive to provide em-ployment to one crore undervarious schemes would be thebiggest such effort seen so farin the country.Themaximumemployment

generation would be throughMGNREGA,which,sourcessaid,reached about 57 lakh a daythismonth, then about 40 lakhin the different industries in-cluding MSME and remainingin the government projectssuchashighways, roadprojectsas well as self-help groups andthrough government schemesof self-employment.

NewDelhi: Calling the fightagainstEmergency“thesec-ondfreedomstruggle”,Vice-PresidentMVenkaiahNaidurecalled his days as a cam-paigner and “undergroundcourier”at that time.In a Facebook post, he

contrastedthesituationwiththeCovid-19lockdown,say-ing,“Itwasexactly3monthsback thatwevolunteered toconfine ourselves to homesto ward off the loomingthreat of coronavirus. Wepreferred tomask ourselvesand restrict ourmovementsfor the good of all… This le-gitimate confinement is asharpcontrasttotheonethatthe nationwas subjected tothisday45yearsback...”He urged the people of

the country “to uphold thedignityof lifefoundedontheindividualfreedomsguaran-teed by the Constitution,based on the learning fromthatdarkera”. ENS

SECOND FREEDOMSTRUGGLE: VENKAIAHON EMERGENCY

TrumphadsuspendedH-1Bvisasuntil theendof2020

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE25

EIGHT DAYS after they with-drew support to the BJP gov-ernment in Manipur, puttingthesaffronparty's firstgovern-ment in the Northeast on thevergeof collapse, the four legis-lators of NDA ally NationalPeople’s Party (NPP) metGovernor Najma Heptullah atthe Raj Bhavan in Imphal onThursdayandpresentedawrit-tendeclarationontheircontin-ued support to the N BirenSingh government.The four MLAs, including

Deputy Chief Minister YJoykumar Singh, arrived inImphal alongwith party presi-dentandMeghalayaCMConradSangmaandAssamministerandBJP leader Himanta BiswaSarma.The legislators had been

broughtbacktotheNDAfoldaf-terameetingwithUnionHomeMinisterAmitShahandBJPpres-ident JPNaddaonWednesday.On Thursday, Sangma said

NaddaandShahhadassuredtheNPPthatallgrievanceswouldbeaddressed.Hesaid,“Inourmeetingyes-

terday,we expressed our griev-ances and concerns thatwe arehaving in this political alliance.They understood the problemand assured us that the issueswill be addressed and that theywill personally look into them.We have decided to withdrawour resignations. The NPPwillcontinuetosupportthisgovern-ment.”HesaidNPPleaderswillcon-

tinue as ministers, althoughthere may be changes in theirportfolios.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE25

THEBJPonThursdayattackedtheCongressonthe45thanniversaryof theEmergency,payingtributeto those leaderswhohad strug-gled against the government ofthe then PrimeMinister IndiraGandhi.Prime Minister Narendra

Modi tweeted:“Exactly45yearsago, Emergency had been im-posedonthecountry.Ibowtothepeoplewho struggled and suf-fered to protect India’s democ-racy.Thenationwillneverforgettheirsacrifice.”Attached to the tweetwas a

videomessagecontainingvisualsoftheEmergency,inwhichModisaid, “If ever therewas an occa-sion in theworldwhere peoplekept aside their interests andrightsandvotedonlyfortheideaofdemocracy,itwastheelectionsof1977,”hesaid.In a statement released on

twitter, BJP president J P Naddasaid,“In1975,onthisday, forpo-liticalself interest,thoseopposedto the governmentwereput be-hind bars after declaration ofEmergency.People’s fundamen-

talrightsweresnatchedawayandnewspaper officeswere locked.OnthisanniversaryofCongress-imposedEmergency, Ibowtoallthosepatriotswhodespitesuffer-inggreatinjusticeandtorturedidnot kneel down to those whomurdereddemocracy...”Theofficial Twitterhandleof

thepartyalsoposteda2018blogontheEmergencywrittenbythelateArunJaitley.Meanwhile, HomeMinister

Amit Shah took potshots at theCongress based on reports ofbickering during a recentmeet-ingof itstopleaders.“Onthisday,45yearsago,one

family’sgreedforpowerledtotheimposition of the Emergency.Overnightthenationwasturnedinto a prison... This sorry state ofaffairsthrivesintoday’sCongresstoo!”Shahsaidinatweet.Referring tomedia reportsof

a recent Congress WorkingCommitteemeetingwherelead-ers differed on how to attackModi politically, Shah said, “Asoneof India’soppositionparties,Congressneedstoaskitself:WhydoestheEmergencymindsetre-main?Whyareleaderswhodon’tbelong to 1 dynasty unable tospeakup?...

BJP targets Congress on 45thanniversary of Emergency

Suspension of work visas by US will affectmovement of Indian professionals: MEA

UP plans to giveemployment to1 crore peoplein single day

New Delhi

6THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

THEOUTBREAKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

KARISHMAMEHROTRANEWDELHI, JUNE25

WITHFATALITIESfromthenovelcoronavirus infection doublingevery 14-16 days in India,morethan half the country’s districts(407 out of 720) have nowseenat leastoneCovid-19death.However, around7outof 10

Coviddeathsinthecountryhavebeen concentrated in only ahandfulof districts.Sowhile the number of dis-

trictsthathavebeentouchedbyatleastoneCoviddeathhasrisenfrom 272 a month ago to 348two weeks ago to the currentnumber,the10districtswiththemostdeathshaveaccountedforabout 70 per cent of fatalitiesthroughout thisperiod.Districts that are not in this

top 10 list but have recorded

more than10deaths each, havecontributedroughly20percentof totaldeaths.Butthenumberofdistrictsin

this category has gone fromabout30amonthago to50 twoweeks ago to 80 now— also anindication of the increasing

spreadof thedisease.Thereisasetof50districtsthat

hadseenat leastonedeathmorethan amonth ago, but have nothadanysincethen.Butthereisan-othersetof 145districts thathadnodeathsatthebeginningofthisperiod,buthaveatleastonenow.Whilethetop10listremains

largelystatic,someMaharashtracities such as Aurangabad,Solapur, and Nashik are begin-ning to see a faster increase indeaths than larger cities suchasKolkata, Indore, and Jaipur.These cities inMaharashtra

alsohaveanunusuallyhighcasefatality rate of between 6 and 9percent.Gurgaon,Faridabad,andGhaziabad too, are have shownan abnormally high deathgrowthover thepastmonth.Delhi has been counted as

one “district” in this analysis.The data is not perfect because

bulletinsof somestates, includ-ing Telangana and Assam, donotgiveconsistentdistrict-wisedata.Alsodatamatchingexercises

have seen death toll surges inMumbaiandDelhi,andscrutinybystatedeathauditcommitteesmay lead to varying definitionsof aCoviddeath.India’s overall fatality rate

has increased from2.8per centtwo weeks ago to 3.2 per centnow, according to HealthMinistry data. But the recoveryrate too, has increased from 47per cent to 57 per cent. Activecases have doubled in the pastthreeweeks.Deaths in Haryana, Tamil

Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka,Uttarakhand,Assam,andPunjabhavemore than doubled in thelast two weeks, according toHealthMinistrydata.

DIPANKARGHOSENATHNAGAR(BHAGALPUR),JUNE25

THE LARGE first-floor roomhasnever been so full: silk clotheverywhere, someof itwithoutwrappingpaper, others in card-boardboxesreadyfortransport.ForZiaUrRahman, thepromisethattheroomwouldbeemptiedevaporated long ago. Instead,whathasbeenemptyingquicklyover the last five months inNathnagar,hometoBhagalpur’sfamous silk industry, are bankbalances, savings accounts —andhope.

Bhagalpur is amicrocosmofBiharthesedays,withreturningmigrants, a rising Covid graph,and an economy showing signsof deep distress. The district isalso the focus of amonth-longassignmentbyTheIndianExpresstotrackhowlivesandlivelihoodsin smalltown India are copingwith theunlockdown.Bhagalpur’s story is inextri-

cably linked to its silk industry,spanninggenerations.Trafficsig-nals have “Silk City”written onthem, the district administra-tions website says “Silk City ofBihar”. The past 30 years hasseen considerable decline, duetopolitical apathy,mismanage-mentandthecommunaltensionof1989.Buttoday,afterthelock-down, it's teeteringontheedge.Zia Ur Rahman runs one of

the largest weaving units inNathnagar,6kmfromtownand

home to 6,000weaver families.He estimates that the industrywasonceworthRs500crore,be-fore sliding to around Rs 100crore.“Myunitproduced10,000sqmof silk a day, earned Rs 30lakh a month and employed3,000 people. Now, sinceFebruary,nothing...morethan95per cent of business has col-lapsed,”hesays.“Silk is an expensive cloth

product, and in today’smarket,nobody wants to spend thatmoney. Our demand camemostlyfromcompaniesbasedinEurope or America. But now,withlogisticsaproblem,andthecompanies struggling, therearenoorders,”Rahmansays.It isn’t just that new orders

aren’tcomingin,hesays,theoldonesarebeingcancelled.For in-stance,theclothstackedinboxeswas for an order from England

worth Rs 40 lakh. “There is noword from them. OrdersworthRs 80 lakh from Europe andAmerica have been cancelledsince February,” says Rahman,signallingthepandemic'sglobal

trajectory. “On top of that, em-broideryandprintinghappeninDelhi, Bengaluru, Surat orVaranasi, and theyareall shut.”In the lanes of Nathnagar,

barelywide enough for one ve-

hicletopass,MohammadShoaibAnsari's small storeroom forcloth is now a grocery shop.“Earlier, I earned Rs 500-600 aday. There was no work so Iopenedthissmallshop.Isitherefrom 6 am to 8 pm, and earnabout Rs 100 a day...nowherenearfulfillingourneeds,”hesays.Yet,despitethedeepdistress,

the romance of Bhagalpuri silkmeans it is always part of con-versation.OnMay25,BiharChiefMinister Nitish Kumar arguedfor industries to set up shop inthestateandassuredhelpforre-turningmigrants. His exampleof an avenue filledwith oppor-tunity?Bhagalpur silk.Asked if the administration

hadanyplansforrevivalandres-cue, District Magistrate PranavKumar says they are “definitelylooking at this sector”. “In thelong term, we are looking at

identifying two-three placeswherewewillplanttreesforco-coonssothat there is rawmate-rial. In the short term, we haverequestedthosewhohavesmallfactories to increase work, buttherearelimitations.Eventhosethatproduce,theyonlymakethecloth, stitching and brandinghappen outside.Wewill createa brand, do some stitching andthensee.Wewilldevelopaclus-ter for thosewhowant towork,and then create forward andbackward linkages,”hesays.Rahman acknowledges that

the administration has reachedout. “But they want us to putmoney in. The question is whowill buy the product? The solu-tion, if any, is that they help usmonetarily and buy the silkweproduce,”hesays.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAIPUR, JUNE25

THE RAJASTHAN HealthDepartmenthassentanotice toNIMSUniversity over the clini-cal trials that were reportedlyconductedonCovid-19patientsby a joint research team ofPatanjali Research Institute andNational Institute of MedicalSciences and Research, NIMSUniversity, Jaipur, officials said.According to senior officials

of the stateHealthDepartment,theuniversityhasbeenaskedtoclarify its position and replywithin threedays.“In the notice, we have said

thatwelearntfromnewspapersthat theyhave violated thepro-tocol by conducting clinical tri-als. NIMSwas acquired by thegovernment and designated byit as a Covid care institute andasymptomaticpatients are senttherewhoaretreatedaccordingtotheguidelinesof thestateandcentral government. We haveasked foranexplanationwithinthreedays,otherwiseactionwillbe taken,” said Dr NarottamSharma, Chief Medical andHealthOfficer, Jaipur.He said the notice was sent

onWednesdaynighttotheman-agementofNIMSUniversity.Following the launch of an

ayurvedic ‘Corona Kit’ byRamdev’sPatanjaliAyurvedLtd,claiming it cured Covid-19, theRajasthangovernmenthad saidthat they were not informedabout the clinical trials whichwere conducted and that dueprocesseswere not followedbythemakersof thesaidmedicine.

During the launch onTuesday, Ramdev had claimedthatthemedicine,manufacturedby Haridwar-based DivyaPharmacyandPatanjaliAyurvedLtd,istheresultofajointresearchof Patanjali Research InstituteandNationalInstituteofMedicalSciences and Research, NIMSUniversity, Jaipur.Rajasthan Health Minister

Raghu Sharma had said thatstrict actionwill be taken if anyattemptismadetosell thisdrugas a potential medicine forCovid-19 inRajasthan.TheIndianExpresshadearlier

reported that during the trial,whenmildly symptomatic pa-tientsdevelopedfever,theywereadministered allopathicmedi-cines.Thetrialswereconductedonly on asymptomatic andmildly symptomatic patients,whileseverelysymptomaticpa-tients and thosewith acute res-piratorydistresssyndromewereexcluded forenrolment.The Rajasthan Health

Department had said that onlyasymptomatic patients werekeptatNIMS.“We have not received any

such letter ornotice so far,” saidDr Sandeep Tripathi, Registrar,NIMSUniversity.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,RAJKOT,JUNE25

THREESENIORCongress leadersfromGujarat, includinga legisla-tor,havetestedpositiveforCovid-19 in the last24hours, daysaftertheparty’sRajyaSabhacandidateBharatsinhSolankiwas found tobe infected with the novelcoronavirus.Meanwhile,thestatebrokeits

recent trend of discharging asmanypeopleasthosetestingpos-itive—ormoreonsomedays—asThursdaysaw410patientsbeingdischarged against the 577whotestedpositive.According to officials of

Gujarat Pradesh CongressCommittee (GPCC),MLAChiragKalariya, former AhmedabadCongresspresidentChetanPRavalandGujaratCongressvice-presi-dent from Vadodara, MaulinVaishnav,havetestedpositiveforCovid-19.SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,

GPCC spokesperson JairajsinhParmarsaid,“Theresultsof three

of our senior leaders have comeout positive and they are all in astable condition.Ourother lead-ers such as Himmatsinh Patel,ShaktisinhGohil,LakhaBharwadandCJChavdahavebeenputun-derquarantine.ThetestreportofourGPCCpresidentAmitChavdahascomeoutnegative.”On June 22, three days after

the Rajya Sabha elections in thestate,Congresscandidateandfor-merUnionminister BharatsinhSolankihad testedpositive.Afterhis results, asmany as a dozenleaderswhohadcomeincontactwith him during the electionswereputunderquarantine,espe-ciallyRavalandVaishnavwhohadaccompanied him toGandhinagar.Chavdatweeted , “Threesen-

ior leaders of Gujarat Congresshave testedpositive forCovid-19andIprayfortheirearlyrecovery.”WhileMLAKalariyahasbeen

hospitalised in Rajkot, MaulinVaishnav has been admitted toBanker’s Hospital in Vadodara.Raval, being asymptomatic, hasbeenputunderhomequarantine.SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,

Vaishnavsaid,“Igotmyselfadmit-ted in Banker’s Hospital onTuesdayandmyreportscameoutyesterday. Iamstablenow.”ChiragKalariyaisthefirstMLA

fromSaurashtraregiontotestpos-itiveforCovid-19.Dr Mitesh Bhanderi, Chief

District HealthOfficer of Rajkot,confirmed that the 42-year-oldMLAfromJamjodhpurAssemblyconstituencyinJamnagardistricthad tested positive onWednesdaynight.Kalariyasaidthathehadcome

inclosecontactwithSolankidur-ing the Rajya Sabha elections inGandhinagarlastweek.“After the Rajya Sabha elec-

tion, IhadstayedinGandhinagarfortwodays.OnWednesday,IfeltIhadatemperature.So,insteadofreturning to my home inJamjodhpur, I directlywent to ahospitalandmysamplesreturnedpositive... However, the feverhassince gone and I am feelingnor-malnow,”KalariyatoldTheIndianExpress on Thursday evening,addinghehadgothimselfadmit-tedtoaprivatehospital inMavdiareaofRajkot.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU, JUNE25

THE KARNATAKA governmenton Thursday ruled out the pos-sibilityof reimpositionofalock-down in Bengaluru amid risingCovid-19 cases and growingpressure on healthcare, but an-nounced await andwatch pol-icy to take a final call on forcedsocialdistancing in thecity.“People need to cooperate.

Whenyoudon'tmaintain socialdistancing,thediseasespreadsindensely populated areas likeslums. If you don't wantBengaluru to be sealed downagain thenpeoplemust cooper-ate andmaintain social distanc-ing,'' Chief Minister B SYediyurappasaidonthesidelinesofameetingofministersandof-ficials todiscuss thesituation.Following the meeting,

RevenueMinisterRAshokasaid,“There will be no lockdown inBengaluru. It is clear, no lock-downinBengaluru.”Thereweregrowingmurmurs

in the state government on thepossibilityofanotherlockdowninthe wake of a rise in Covid-19casesinthecitysinceJune1.“Bengaluru has been an ex-

ample for the whole country,andcomparedtoothercitiesthe

incidence in Bengaluru has notgone out of control. Still, Covid-19caseshavebeengoingupoverand we will take all action tocontrolit.Wewillhavemeetingsfor two days to draw up plans,”Yediyurappasaid. “Wehavenotgoneinforafulllockdown.Someareashavebeen lockeddown. Itwill continue.”

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI, JUNE25

THEOWNERof the IruttuKadaiHalwa store, an iconic sweetshop in Tirunelveli, committedsuicide on Thursdaymorning.Police said Hari Singh, 75, wasfound hanging at a private hos-pitalanhourafterhetestedpos-itive forCovid-19.In 1940, Singh’s family had

migratedfromRajasthanandsetup shop in Tirunelveli, and forthree generations over the next80years,hisfamilyranthestore.

A Saravanan, DeputyCommissioner of Police inTirunelveli town, said Singh’sdeath was a huge loss forTirunelveli. “It was an iconicshopneartheNellaippartemple.Herepresentedthethirdgener-ationof his family.Apolicecon-stableusedtobeoftendeployedtomanage the huge crowd andtraffic before his small shop.Heused to open it only between5pmand8pm,andrantheshopunder a single zerowatt bulb,”Saravanansaid.Veteran Tamil writer Cho

Dharman, who won the 2019

Sahitya Akademi Award for hisnovel Sool, said he knew Singhpersonally.“TheremaybebetterhalwashopsinTirunelvelibut itwas his business model thatmade his halwas tastier andworld famous... Hewould openthe shop at 5pm and shut at8pm. If youreachaminuteafter8pm and even offer him Rs 1crore, he wouldn’t serveyou...”Dharmansaid.“During Sabarimala season,

he used to have a huge crowd, Iusedtoteasehimsayingthathehas more devotees thanSabarimalaAyyappa.”

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIARAMANATHAPURAM(TN),JUNE25

OVER 30 personnel attached toNaval Air Station INS Parunduhere have tested positive forcoronavirus,districtofficialssaidonThursday,buttheforwardop-erating basewas ‘operational’,DefencesourcesinChennaisaid.Whilethedistrictauthorities

putthenumberof infectedat33,Defence sources said “some” ofthe sailors, mostlywho had ar-rived here recently on postings,have been affected with thevirus.Theysaidthatasperstan-dard protocol, such personnelare quarantined and tested forthe contagion inwhich “some”of themhave testedpositive.“INS Parundu is verymuch

operational.Entryofcivilianstaffworking there has been re-stricted,”theyadded.Districtau-thoritiesaresettotakeupdisin-fectionprocedures later.The INSParundu inUchipuli

isprimarilyusedasareconnais-sance station to monitor theSouth East Bay of Bengal.According to the Navy, INSParundu provides search andrescue coverage and conductsoperationalsortiesoverthePalkBayareaonaregularbasis.

ASADISTRICTUNLOCKS

ANEXPRESS SERIES

In Bhagalpur silk hub, looms tell a story: ‘95% collapse’

MohammadShoaibAnsariathisgroceryshop.DipankarGhose

Mumbai/Pune:TheMaharashtragovernment on Thursday de-cided to open salons, barbershopsandbeautyparloursfromJune28toofferonlyselectserv-icessuchashaircuts,waxingandthreading,prohibitingafewsuchasshaving.“Wewill observe the situa-

tionforafewdaysandthentakeadecisionregardingfull-fledgedopening of salons,” TransportMinister Anil Parab said after aCabinetmeeting inMumbai onThursday.In anotification, thegovern-

mentsaidthatbarbershops,sa-lonsandbeautyparlourswouldbeallowed to remainopenonlyif they provide select serviceswithdistancingnorms.ENS

Ramdev ‘corona kit’:Rajasthan sendsnotice to NIMSover clinical trials

Covid deaths now across half thedists, but 70% fatality still in top 10

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE25

THE GOVERNMENT onThursdaydecided tokeepregu-lar train services suspended tillAugust12.Sourcessaidthatthedecision

was taken keeping inmind theincreasing number of coron-avirus cases in the country. Allspecialtrains—12pairsrunningontheRajdhaniroutessinceMay12and100pairsoperatingsinceJune1—willcontinue,theysaid.Thelimitedspecialsuburban

serviceswhichbeganrecentlyinMumbai to ferry essential serv-ices personnel identified by thelocal authorities will also con-tinue to run,officials said.“All tickets booked for the

regular time-tabled trains forjourney date from 01.07.20 to12.08.20 also stand cancelled.Full refundwill be generated,”theRailwayBoardorder stated.

Train servicessuspended tillAugust 12

Owner of TN sweet shop killsself after testing positive

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA, JUNE25

THE BIHAR health departmenthas decided to allow home iso-lationfacilityonlytodoctorsandhealthprofessionals.The decision came after a

Covid profile study in the staterevealed that two per cent ofthosewho tested positivewerehealthprofessionals,sixpercentwere students and five per centhomemakers. Seventy per centof the cases were detectedamong labourers.Of the 1,81,737 samples

tested so far, 8,381 people havetested positive, and 6,480 havebeen discharged. Last week,seven doctors of the PatnaMedical College and Hospitalhad testedpositive.The health department has

notspecifiedanyspecificreasonfor allowing home isolation fa-cility to doctors andhealth pro-fessionals.A June 23 order issued by

Bihar Principal HealthSecretary Umesh Kumawat toall districtmagistrates, princi-palsof allmedical collegesandhospitals, andcivil surgeonsofalldistrict sadarhospitals, said:“...It has been decided thatasymptomatic Covid positive

doctors andhealthprofession-als, including frontline work-ers, should be given home iso-lation facility. This facilitywould be subject to availabil-ityof home isolationandquar-antine of family contacts.These doctors and health pro-fessionals would have to sub-mit daily self-monitoring re-port and be ready to getthemselves checked at nearbyprimary health centres.”Theywould have to go for a

Covid testafter14daysof homeisolation, stated the circular,addingallsuchpatientswillhaveto sign a written undertakingstatingcomplianceofhomeiso-lationconditions.As per the revised

Governmentof Indiaguidelineson April 7, 2020, eligibility ofhome isolationmeant that “theperson should be clinically as-signed as a verymild case/ pre-symptomatic case by the treat-ingmedical officer”. They state“acommunicationlinkbetweenthe caregiver and hospital is aprerequisite for theentiredura-tionof home isolation”.Anofficial intheBiharhealth

department said: “The generalgovernment of India guidelinesdo notmention any preferencetodoctorsandhealthprofession-als.”

Over 30 testpositive atNaval AirStation in TN

BSYediyurappa

As cases rise inBengaluru, freshlockdown ruled out

Bengaluru: TheSecondary SchoolLeavingCertificate(SSLC)exams began inKarnataka on Thursdayamid tight security andrigid precautions. TheKarnataka SecondaryEducation ExaminationBoardonthedirectionsofthestategovernmentde-cidedtoconducttheSSLCor 10th standard boardexams amid Covid-19fears. ENS

Exams begin

Amedicmarksasample forrapidantigentestatKadipurCommunityCentre, inGurgaononThursday.PTI

RaghuSharma,Ramdev

RETURNCHECK:Migrantworkersat theLokmanyaTilakTerminus inMumbaionThursday.Theyhad leftMaharashtraduringthe lockdownbutarenowreturningtothestateasindustries resumeoperations.PradipDas

After Solanki, 3 more GujaratCong leaders test positive

Maharashtrasalons, parloursopen on June 28,with conditions

Home isolationfor doctors withCovid in Bihar

New Delhi

New Delhi

8THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

AMITABHSINHAPUNE, JUNE25

ALLMISSIONS,includingthetestflight for sending humans intospace, planned by the IndianSpace Research Organisationover thenext twoyears facede-lay because of the disruptioncaused by COVID19 pandemic,ISRO chairman K Sivan has toldThe IndianExpress.A rescheduled timeline has

notbeenworkedoutbecauseofcontinuinguncertainty,hesaid.“Inourwork strategy,many

of thedesignanddevelopmentactivities happen in theprivate

sector. Because of this pan-demic, these industries havenotbeenabletooperateat theiroptimumlevel.Asaresult, theyare not in a position to supplytherequiredsubsystemsforthemissionsbyISRO.Sothiswillaf-fect all our targeted missionsover the next few months,”Sivan said.“Inaddition,therehavebeen

travelrestrictionsinmanystatesbecauseofwhichouremployeeshave not been able to movearound.Ithas,naturally,affectedourwork,”hesaid.The missions that would

have be rescheduled includeChandrayaan-3,plannedforthis

year end, and the unmannedtest flightforGaganyaan, India’sfirstattemptatsendinghumansintospace.ThemainGaganyaanmission is slated for 2022, and

that could also be delayed, al-thoughSivansaidtherewasstillsome scope for making up onlost time.“Our in-housedevelopment

activities, and research and de-velopment has been going on.These have not stopped thoughthey too have been affected abit,”hesaid.Sivansaidtheongoingtrain-

ingoftheselectedastronautsfortheGaganyaanmissioninRussia,which had been disrupted dueto the pandemic, had resumedand was going on “with fullsteam”.ISRO had planned 36mis-

sions in the financial year 2020-

21,accordingtoagovernmentre-ply to a Parliament question inMarch. These included thelaunchesof10earth-observationsatellites, three communicationsatellites, and two navigationsatellites, besides Chandrayaan-3andGaganyaanunmannedtestflight.“Wehavenotyetworkedout

the new timelines for all thesemissions.Thereisnopointinde-ciding now. There is still a lot ofuncertainty. Sowe have towaitfor the situation to normalise.Only then we will be able tomake a correct assessment anddecideonrealistictimelines,”hesaid.

Pandemic hits spacemannedmission,all other projects, says ISRO chief

Sivan: Training inRussiaofastronautsbackontrack.

ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,JUNE25

IN AN unusual case for Jammuand Kashmir Police, it has re-ceivedacomplaintfromaseniorIPS officer against the UnionTerritory’s top cop, DGP DilbagSingh,overanalleged threat.In a written complaint ad-

dressed to the SHO of GandhiNagarPoliceStationinJammudis-trict, InspectorGeneral-rank IPSofficerBasantRathonWednesdayurged theofficer to “takenoteofmyapprehensionsaboutmylife,libertyandbaldhead”.The “reason”, Rathwrote, is

“certainactivitiesof Sh.DilbaghSingh, IPS,1987batch,currentlyDGP,UTof J andK”.Rath marked a copy of the

writtencomplainttoDGPSingh.Making clear that that he is

doing this “as a private citizen”—inhis“personalcapacity”,andnot as a civil servantor apolice-man—Rathwrote,“Iamnotask-ing you to lodge an FIR againstthepersonmentioned. Iamjustasking you tomake this letter apartofthedailydiaryinyourpo-lice station. Today.Now.”Hewrote,“Incasesomething

bad happens tome, you shouldknow whose number youshoulddial...”Pointing out that he expects

theSHOtoacknowledgehis let-ter, Rath wrote that the officercan send hima screen shot of it

onWhatsApp or a direct mes-sageonhisTwitterhandle.HealsoappreciatedtheSHO

and his team's “brilliant job inthese testing times”. Hewrote,“MayAllahprotectyouandyouryour brilliant team and yourfamilymembers. Stay safe andkeepthepeopleof J andKsafe.”Rath,presentlypostedasIGP,

HomeGuard, in J&K, refused tosayanythingonthematter.DGPSingh did not respond to re-peatedphonecalls.Promoted as IGP in 2018,

Rathbecamepopularamongthepeople for his effective regula-tionof traffic in J&K.But despite themassive fan

following,especiallyamongtheyouth,hisstintasIGP-Trafficwasshort-lived.While discipliningtraffic andmaking roads in J&Ksaferforpedestrians,heissaidtohavehadrun-inswithsomesen-iorandpowerfulpoliticians,bu-reaucratsandpoliceofficials.Rathwas shifted tohispres-

ent posting following a run-inwith the mayor of SrinagarMunicipal Corporation, JunaidAzimMattu, lastyear.

TORAAGARWALAGUWAHATI, JUNE25

TheNationalGreenTribunal(NGT)onThursdaydirectedgov-ernment-owned Oil IndiaLimited (OIL) to deposit an ini-tial amount of Rs 25 crorewithAssam’sTinsukiadistrictadmin-istration,afterhearingtwopeti-tions in connection with theBaghjannaturalgasblowoutandsubsequent fire.The ecological disaster at

Baghjan in Tinsukia districtwasprecipitatedbyablowoutatwellnumber5,reportedonMay27.OnJune9, thewell—locatedclose tothe Dibru-Saikhowa nationalpark—caught fire, leading to thedeaths of two OIL firefighters.

Around11,000 people from thesurrounding villages are now inreliefcampssetupbytheadmin-istration. Both the Central andstategovernmentshaveinstitutedinquiriestoprobetheincident.On Thursday, a principal

benchof theNGT—comprisingJustice S PWangdi and expertmemberSiddhantaDas—heardtwoseparatepetitionsviavideo-conference: one by Kolkata-based environmentalist BananiKakkarandtheotherbyWildLifeand Environment ConservationOrganisation, whichworks forconservation awareness inUpperAssamdistricts.The petitioners alleged that

OIL had failed to prevent theblowout at Baghjan 5, resultingin “a massive fire causing ir-

reparable loss to the entire bio-diversity of the region and lossof livesandproperty”.The NGT order stated, “In

view of the prima facie casemadeoutagainstOILon theex-tentofdamagecausedtotheen-vironment and biodiversity,damage to both human andwildlife, public health and, hav-ingregardtothefinancialworthof the Company and the extentof damage, we direct the OIL todeposit an initial amount of Rs25 crores with the DistrictMagistrate, Tinsukia District,Assamandshallabidebyfurtherordersof theTribunal.”The bench also constituted

aneight-memberCommitteeofExperts — to be chaired by for-mer Gauhati High Court judge

Justice(retd)BPKatakey—toin-vestigatethematterandsubmit

itspreliminaryreportwithin30days. The committee also in-

cludes Member Secretaries ofboth the Central and StatePollutionControlBoard,aseniorexpert from the Council ofScientific and IndustrialResearch (CSIR), DistrictMagistrateofTinsukiadistrict,aswell as Dr Sarbeswar Kalita,Professor and Head of theDepartment of EnvironmentScience, Gauhati University,Abhay Kumar Johari, formermember of Biodiversity BoardandiAjitHazarika,Ex-Chairman,OilandNaturalGasCorporationLtd (ONGCL).The Committee of Experts

hastospecificallyinvestigatethecause of leak; extent of loss anddamage caused to human life,wildlifeandenvironment;dam-ageandhealthhazardcausedto

the public;whether therewereanymitigationmeasures put inplace by OIL to offset the inci-dents, amongothers.“While dealing with the

abovequestions,theCommitteemay also dwell on the actiontaken thus far either by theGovernment or by theOIL or byanyotheragencyandtheexpen-diture incurredtowardsmitiga-tion. Opportunity may also beprovidedto theRespondentOILto give its views and submis-sions” said theorder.OIL spokesperson Tridiv

Hazarikasaid that thecompany“respectsandwelcomestheNGTorder”.TheNGTorderstatedthatthe

matter will be heard again onJuly29.

Assam gas leak and fire: NGT directs OIL to deposit Rs 25 cr

Workersat thesiteof thegasblowoutandfire inAssam’sTinsukia.Operationstocontrol ithavehitaroadblockduetotorrential rains.Courtesy:OIL

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPATNA, JUNE25

LIGHTNING STRIKES killed asmanyas83people, including26children,onThursdayinBihar—itsworst such single-day toll inrecentyears.Confirmingthetoll, theBihar

DisasterManagementAuthoritysaidthesedeathstookplace ina12-hourperiod.The deaths were spread

across 23 districts in Bihar.Gopalganj was the worst-hitwith 13 casualties, followed byNawada and Madhubani hitwitheightdeathseach.In most cases, people were

hitbylightningwhentheywereout of their homes. Bhagalpurand Siwan reported six deathseach. East Champaran, Bankaand Darbhanga reported fivedeaths each, followed by twodeaths each in Khagaria andAurangabad.Gopalganj sub-divisional of-

ficerUpendraPalsaidthe13peo-

plewhodiedinthedistrictwerestruck by lightningwhilework-ing in the fields. In Gopalganj,

BarauliandUchkagaonreportedfourdeathseach.Bihar Chief Minister Nitish

KumarannouncedRs4lakheachfor thenextof kinof avictim.Prime Minister Narendra

Modi tweeted condoling thelightningdeaths inBihar andaswell as Uttar Pradesh—wherethree people died. The PrimeMinister said that both stateshave immediately begun reliefwork.

Small locust groupenters Bihar's RohtasA small swarm of about

2,500 desert locusts enteredKochasareaofBihar'sRohtasdis-trict on Wednesday eveningfrom Prayagraj. Rohtas agricul-ture officer Radha Raman toldTheIndianExpress:“It isasmallgroup.Generally, it isaswarmof1 lakh plus locusts but it was astray case. They did not attackany crop but some trees. Wehave started chemical sprays todrive them away. There is noneedtopanicasof now.”

KAMALDEEPSINGHBRARAMRITSAR, JUNE25

FOUR MEMBERS of a familyalong with their driver werekilled at village Kairon ofPunjab’s Tarn Taran district onWednesdaynight.Head of the family Brij Lal

(60), his son Bunty (25), twodaughters-in-law AmandeepKaur(24)andJaspreetKaur(28),andfamilydriverGursahibSingh(35)werefoundmurderedinthehouse.Thethroatsofall fivevic-timswere slit while theyweresleeping inseparate rooms.However, four children

sleeping in the housewere notharmed. A seven-year-old girlfromthefamilyinformedneigh-bours about the blood-soakedbodiesof herkin.BrijLalandhisfoursonswere

booked in at least 49 cases un-der the Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances Act,1985.Theywereall outonbail.It isnotclear ifGursahib, the

driver,wasbooked inanycase.“At least 49 cases of drug

smuggling were registeredagainstBrijLalandhisfoursons.Itseemstheyallwereoutonbail.Wehavebeen checking recordsto see if any of themwas con-victed in any case.We have ze-roedinonsomepersons.Wewillsoonarrestthemurderers,”saidDSPPattiKuljinderSingh.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, JUNE25

MUMBAIPOLICEispreparingtotakewithinamonththecustodyofgangsterRaviPujari,whowasextraditedtoIndiafromSenegalearlierthisyear.Currently,Pujariis in the custody of the CentralCrime Branch of the Bengalurupolice in connection with the2017murder of builder SubbaRao.Further,MumbaiPolicewillonlybecharginghimin19ofthe49cases registeredagainsthim.Senior officers in the

Mumbai Police Crime Branchsaid that of the remaining 30cases, while a few are being in-vestigatedbytheCBI,othershadtaken place decades ago and itwouldbedifficulttofindanyev-idenceagainsthim.Aseniorofficersaid,“Wehad

written to the government ofSenegal with details of ninecases against Pujari, for whichwe want to charge him inMumbai. This is in addition tothedetailsofthe10caseswehadsent immediately after his de-tention inSenegal.”The officer added that as per

extraditionlaws,onecanonlytryapersonforthecasesmentionedin the plea seeking extradition.SinceMumbaiPolicehadsentde-tailsofonly10casesintheextra-ditionplea, theyhad to intimatetheSenegalauthoritiesaboutthenineother casesbefore they for-mallychargePujariinthosecases.Theofficerfurthersaidittook

the police all this time— PujariwasarrestedinFebruary2019 —

as it had to translate thechargesheets fromMarathi toFrench, the official language ofSenegal. “It had to be sent in aparticularformat... Itwasacum-bersome process. Finally, lastweek,wesentdetailsof theninecases and have decided not tochargehimfor the rest.”“In a few of these 30 cases,

Pujariisaco-accusedwithgang-sterChhotaRajanandhence,theCBIwillbeinvestigatingthem.Insome cases, while the co-ac-cusedhavealreadybeenacquit-ted, inothers, thecall recordsorothersuchevidenceisnotavail-able.Wehavejustgonebycaseswherewehavestrongevidencelike audio or video clippings onrecord...,” theofficer said.Pujari, whowas on the run

foralmost15years,wasarrestedin South Africa and later de-ported to Senegal. Later, hewasextradited to India and broughtto Bengaluru on February 23.Prior to2017, theBengalurupo-lice had filed two chargesheetsagainstPujari–theShabnamde-velopers double murder caseandanextortioncase.

New Delhi: The IndianNewspaper Society’s president,ShaileshGupta,hascondoledthedeath of VishwaBandhuGupta,whowas chairman and editor-in-chiefofTej-BandhuGroup,onbehalf of the Society. VishwaBandhuGupta,aformerMemberof Parliament famously knownastheBalloonMan,passedawayonJune21.Hewas93.GuptastatedVishwaBandhu

Guptawas a former INS presi-dent, and the Society had im-menselybenefitedfromhisvisionand leadership. His demise is anirreparablelosstotheentireprintmediaindustry,hestated. ENS

ADILAKHZERSRINAGAR, JUNE25

TWO LASHKAR-E-TAIBA (LeT)militants were killed in a jointoperationbysecurityforcesandthe police in North Kashmir’sSoporeonThursday,authoritiessaid.AnotherencounterwasoninSouthKashmir’sTral.Officials said the first gun-

fightbrokeout inHardshivavil-lage area of Baramulla districtearly on Thursday after the po-licereceivedaninputonthemil-itants’ presence there.“Duringthesearchoperation,

as the presence of terrorists gotascertained,theyweregiventheopportunity to surrender.However, they fired indiscrimi-nately upon the joint searchparty,whichwasretaliated,lead-ing to an encounter,” said a po-licespokesperson.“Theidentifi-cationandaffiliationofthekilledterrorists is being ascertained.However,aspercrediblesources,the killed terrorists belonged toproscribedLeT terroristoutfit.”

This is the latest of severalbloodyencountersthathaveun-folded in the Valley this year, inwhich 110militants have beenkilledso far.The J&KPolicesaidtheother

gunfight started at Chewa Ulararea of Awantipora. “Police andsecurity forces are on the job.Furtherdetailsshallfollow,”reada tweetbyKashmirPoliceZone.

Terrormodule bustedThe J&K Police said it had

busteda“terrormodule” linkedtotheLeTandarrestingfivemil-itant associates in Budgamdis-trict of Central Kashmir. “On acredible input, Budgam policealongwith02RRhavearrested5terrorist associates fromNarbalarea,”apolicestatementsaid.Accordingtothepolice, they

have recovered “28 AK-47rounds, 1 AK-47magazine and20 posters of LeT”. “As per thepolice records, they were in-volvedinprovidinglogisticsup-portandsheltertotheactiveter-rorists of LeT operating in thearea,” thepolice said.

ABHISHEKSAHAGUWAHATI, JUNE25

THREEPEOPLE,includingatwo-year-oldgirl,werekilledinland-slides and floods in Assam andArunachalPradeshaslargepartsofbothstatesonThursdayreeledunderheavyrainsandrisingwa-ters thataffected lakhs.Twoof thedeaths, including

that of the minor, were fromArunachal Pradesh. Thebodyofawomanwho had drowned in

the swollen Lagun river inNaharlagun town a day earlierwas recovered on Thursdaymorning,officials said.The two-year-old girl, an

Itanagar resident, died after herhouse collapsed under a land-slideonThursday.Herbodywasdug out of the debris and shewas declared brought dead at ahospital. Chief Minister PemaKhandu has announced Rs 4lakh tohernextof kin.InAssam,apersonwaskilled

in Dhemaji district, where 383

peoplewere lodged in three re-liefcampsonThursday.Thedeathtook this year’s flood toll in thestateto13.Earlier thismonth,21

peoplewerekilled ina landslidein the Barak Valley region ofAssam. The RegionalMeteorological Centre inGuwahati has predicted heavyrainfall formajorpartsofAssam,ArunachalPradesh,NagalandandManipuronFridayandSaturday.The day’s bulletin from the

Assam State DisasterManagement Authority saidnearlytwolakhpeoplewere“af-fected” by the floods, while11,500-oddpersons are in reliefcamps.Ninedistricts—Dhemaji,

Lakhimpur, Biswanath,Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli,Sivasagar,Dibrugarh,Tinsukia—were on Thursday impacted bythe floodwaters.Meanwhile, neighbouring

Bhutan releasedwater from itsKuricchu dam from 5am onThursday, rampingup thewaterlevelinriversflowingthroughthebordering districts of Chirang,BaksaandBarpeta.TheKurichhuHydropowerPlant—arun-of-the-river project—is located on theriverbythesamenameinBhutan.

Relativesof avictimkilled in lightningstrikes inBihar’sGopalganjonThursday.Gopalganjdistrict reportedthemostdeaths—13—followedbyeight inNawadaandMadhubani. PTI

Mumbai Police setto get Ravi Pujari’scustody in a month

RaviPujariwillbechargedin19cases. File

GARGIVERMARAIPUR, JUNE25

THE CHHATTISGARH govern-ment will now buy cow dungfrom livestockowners and con-vert it to fertiliser, amove it saidwould help prevent open graz-ing and make cattle-rearingprofitable.The initiative is part of the

'Godhan Nyay Yojana', an-nounced by Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel at an onlinepressconferenceonThursday. Itwill commence from 20 July,when 'Hareli', a local festival, iscelebrated.Baghel said the scheme had

multipleobjectives,includingin-come generation and environ-ment conservation.“Chhattisgarhhashadthetradi-tion of cattle grazing in open,whichharmsboththecattleandthe crops of farmers. Stray ani-malsonroadsof citiesareama-jorcauseofroadaccidents.Oftencow owners leave the cowsastray after milking, whichcauses various problems. Thiswillchangeaftertheimplemen-tation of Godhan Nyay Yojana.Livestock owners will provideproperfodderandwatertotheircattle and keep then tied up.”Baghel said.Thecowdungthuscollected

canbeconvertedtofertiliserand

sold for additional profit, headded.BaghelalsosaidtheCongress

government in the state willutilisecowsheds,setupinthou-sands of villages under a differ-ent scheme, as a source of ver-micompost. This fertiliser willthenbesoldtofarmersaswellasothergovernmentdepartments.Afive-memberpanelofmin-

isters is expected to fix a pro-curement rate for themanure,besides working out othermodalities associatedwith thescheme.Thiscommitteewillde-liberate upon suggestions fromfarmers, livestock owners,cowshed operators and“intellectuals”.

Lightning kills 83 in Bihar

Banda/Lalitpur (UP):Threepeopleincludinga12-year-old girl were killed inlightning strikes in Bandaand Lalitpur districts, policesaidonThursday.RajNarayan,38,afarmer,

was killed when he wasstruck by lightning whileworkinginhisfieldinBandaonWednesdayevening.The12-year-old girl died and awoman received seriousburns after being struck bylightning in Chakora villageof Lalitpurdistrict.In another lightning

strike in Lalitpur, a 37-year-old farmerwas killedwhileworking inhis field.PTI

UP: Lightningkills three

Four of Punjabfamily ‘involvedin drug trade’murdered intheir sleep

Money for cow dung: Chhattisgarhlaunches scheme for livestock owners

INS condolesdeath ofTej-BandhuGroup chief

Floods in Assam, Arunachal: 3 killed, lakhs affectedAssamStateDisasterManagementAuthoritysaid11,500-oddpersonsare inreliefcamps,and9districtswere impacted

Two LeT men killedin Sopore gunbattle

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAPANAJI, JUNE24

GOA ARCHBISHOP Filipe NeriFerraohas said that churches inthe state will be allowed to re-openwithstrictconditionssuchas social distancing. Those incontainment or buffer zonesidentified by the state adminis-tration will not be allowed toopen.The state's churches, closed

for public worship since thelockdown, will have to obtainpermissionfromthearchbishopbeforeopeningup.TheGoagov-ernmenthadallowedreopeningof religiousplacesonJune8,butmany such places, includingchurches,werereluctanttodosofearing a spike in coronaviruscases.

Goa Archbishop:Churches canopen with strictconditions

J&KDGPDilbagSinghandIGPHomeGuardBasantRath

‘APPREHENSIONSABOUTLIFE, LIBERTY’

In IPS vs IPS,complaint filedagainst J&K DGP

New Delhi

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK10 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION KINDLY VISIT: www.haryanaeprocurement.gov.in or www.etenders.hry.nic.in

TENDER NOTICE

81450/HRY.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION KINDLY VISIT: www.haryanaeprocurement.gov.in or www.etenders.hry.nic.in

CORRIGENDUM NOTICE

81451/HRY.

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ENVIRONMENT IMPACTASSESSMENTDRAFT

Officials propose 60-day extensionfor responses, get only 20 daysJAYMAZOOMDAARNEWDELHI, JUNE 25

CITING THOUSANDS of publicrepresentationsseekingexten-sion of the mandatory 60-daynotice period to the draftEnvironment ImpactAssessment (EIA) 2020 notifi-cation published during theCovid-19 lockdown,officials intheEnvironmentMinistrypro-posed that the deadline for re-ceivingobjections and sugges-tions to the draft be extendedby another two months toAugust 10.On May 5, however,

EnvironmentMinisterPrakashJavadekar set June 30 as thenewdeadline—anorder to thiseffectwas issued onMay 7.The Minister’s office was

unavailable for comment.Official records show that

Ministryofficialsproposedthatthe60-daypublicnoticeperiodbeextendedbyanother60daysto August 10. The draft EIA no-tification, sent to the govern-ment press on March 23, waspublished only onApril 11 dueto “shortage of manpower inlight of the lockdown”.Under Rule 5 (3) of the

Environment (Protection)Rules, 1986, the 60-day public

noticeperiodcomes intoeffect“fromthedateonwhichcopiesof the Gazette containing thisnotificationaremadeavailableto the public.”Since the draft was pub-

lished on April 11, the manda-tory 60-day public notice pe-riod would end on June 10. Bysetting June 30 as the newdeadline, Javadekar settled foran extension of 20 days.File notings show that

Ministry officials received sev-eral representations, “majorityofwhich are inter alia suggest-ing that the draft EIANotification 2020 needs to bewithheld.”

Until April 20, an officialwrote, 1,190 mails were re-ceived intheemail specified forthe feedback. Of these, 46 of-feredsuggestionsand1,144re-questedextensionof thedead-line due to the pandemic.“Numerousrepresentations

(over 4,000) have been re-ceivedbytheundersignedalso.Since the EIA Notification andany change thereto is of greatsignificance to the manage-ment of environment in thecountry as a whole and to thematters of access and utilisa-tionof natural resources, thereis somemerit in the request toreconsider the time limit… in

viewof theCoronapandemic,”stated the April 23 noting of aJoint Secretary, proposing ex-tension of the notice period.On May 4, file notings

recorded the EnvironmentSecretary’s instruction to ex-tend the notice period by 60days.Accordingly, adraftorderwith the new deadline ofAugust 10 was put up for ap-proval thesamedaybytheJointSecretary concerned.On May 5, the file reached

theMinister throughtheofficesof theAdditionalSecretaryandSecretary. Javadekarwrote June30 as the extended deadlineand signed the file.

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI, JUNE25

THECBI has initiated apreliminary enquiry against un-knownofficialsoftheDirectorateofAdvertisingandVisualPublicity (DAVP) and twoprivate persons for allegedlyplacingadsinnewspapersthatarenowoutofcirculation.According to CBI sources, it is alleged that certain

DAVPofficials, in connivancewith theowners of somenewspapers, which now exist only in governmentrecords as they have either stopped printing or printbareminimumcopies,placedgovernmentadsinthesenewspapers and released payments, leading to a lossto theexchequer.“Irregularitieshavebeen found inplacementof ads

in these newspapers between 2016 and 2019... Thesearesuchnewspaperswhichhavefalselyclaimedtohaveacirculationmakingthemeligible forgovernmentads.They either are not printing anymore or printing justabout100copieswhicharesent togovernmentofficestomakethemappearas if theyarestill incirculation.Apreliminaryenquiryhasbeenstarted.If furtherevidenceis found,aregularcase intheformofanFIRwillbereg-istered,” aCBIofficer said.Theofficeraddedthatthetotalquantumoffraudhas

beencalculated tobearoundRs65 lakh.Thecaseisaresultofnationwidesearchescarriedout

bytheCBIinAugust2019tocrackdownoncorruptioningovernment departments. OnAugust 30, 2019, the CBIhad carried out surprise checks across 41 cities andtowns, involvingmorethan150searchesatofficesof27different government departments. These raidswereconductedinajointoperationwithVigilanceOfficersofconcerned government departments. Among the vari-ousdepartmentsraidedat that timewasalsoDAVP.The agency had then claimed that the checkswere

beingconducted“atsuchpointsandplacesofcorruptionwhere commoncitizens or small businesspersons feelmaximumpinchofcorruptioningovernmentmachin-ery”. It had said the raids “strive to identify and high-lightpointsandplacesvulnerable tocorruption”.AccordingtoCBI,thedepartmentswherethesejoint

surprisecheckswereconductedincludedRailways,coalminesandcoalfields,medicalandhealthcareorganisa-tions, Customs and Food Corporation of India, power,municipal corporations, ESIC, transport, CPWD,DirectorateofEstates,FireServices,sub-registraroffices,GSTdepartments,PortTrust,DAVP,AirportAuthorityofIndiaandpublic sectoroil companies.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEHYDERABAD, JUNE25

THE ANDHRA Pradesh HighCourtThursdaygaveconditionalpermission to three employeesof LG Chemicals, who had ar-rivedinVisakhapatnamonMay13 to probe the cause of thestyrenemonomerleakattheLGPolymers factory, to return toSouthKorea.ThethreeSouthKoreanshad

movedthecourtonJune22say-ingthepolicewerenotallowingthem to leave the country. Intheir petitions, they said theywereemployeesofLGChemicalswhich is theparent companyofLG Polymers. They further saidtheyhaveconcludedtheirprobebut there is delay in recordingtheir statementsby thepolice.However, Advocate General

S Sairam told the court that thepolice did not prevent themfrom leaving the country buthad asked them to be presentfor further inquiries by the in-vestigationcommitteesetupbythe state government. The AGfurthersubmittedthatthepeti-tioners be required to file affi-davitsstatingthattheywouldbewilling to come to India andpresent themselves before thepolice if required during thecourseof investigation.A bench of Chief Justice J K

Maheshwari and Justice KLalithaKumarionThursdaysaidthe three should present them-selves if required during the in-vestigation by the committee.However, it observed that thethreeSouthKoreanshavenolia-bility as theywere neither em-ployees of LG Polymers nor di-rectorsof thecompany.

ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,JUNE25

THE CBI has filed a preliminaryenquiry to look into allegationsof landgrabbingandcorruptionbyaneducationaltrustbeingrunby former J&K ministerChoudharyLalSingh.Singhhadquit theBJPalong

with party leader ChanderPrakash Ganga after the twowere made to resign from thethen PDP-BJP coalition cabinetin the wake of a controversyover theirpublic support to thedemandforaCBIprobebyrela-tives of the accused, whowerearrested by the police oncharges of gang rape andmur-der of an eight-year-Bakarwalgirl in the forestsof Kathuadis-trict in 2018.Singh did not respond to

multipleattemptsbyThe IndianExpress to reach him forcomment.Thepreliminaryenquiryac-

cuses the trust of being in pos-sessionofhuge tractsof land ingross violation of the ceilingprescribed under the JammuandKashmirAgrarianReformsAct, 1976.It has further been alleged

that false certificates were is-sued—toclaimthat the land isunder the exempted categoryunder the Act — to enable theRBEducationalTrust inKathuato purchase agricultural landfor non-agricultural purposes,according to sources.In a public interest litigation

in the High Court in 2015, S KBhalla, a retired professor, hadsought directions to the stategovernment to retrieve landwhichwas in excess to the ceil-ing prescribed under Section2(1) readwithSection14of J&KAgrarianReformsAct, 1976.

HC allows LG Chemicalsteam to return to S Korea

CBI to probeland grab, graftcharges againsttrust run byJ&K ex-minister

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, JUNE25

COOPERATIVE DAIRIES acrossthecountryhavedemandedthewithdrawalof thenotificationoftariff rate quota (TRQ) scheme,which allows the import of10,000tonnesof skimmedmilkpowder(SMP)ataconcessionalduty of 15 per cent during thecurrent financial year.“We request the

Government of India to with-draw it immediately,” said R SSodhi, managing director,Gujarat Cooperative Milk

Marketing Federation Limited(GCMMF), which markets itsproductsunderthebrandAmul.“Asyouknow,wehaveunsold

stocks of SMP andwhite butterfor which the Government ofIndiaisgivinginterestsubvention.This importwill crash the SMPmarket, resulting in decline inmilkpricebyRs7-8perlitretothemilkproducers,”Sodhisaid.The latest decisions reverse

theUnionBudgetmove,inwhichthegovernmenthadwithdrawnthe concessional duty of 15 percentapplicableon importsof upto10,000tonnesofSMPduringafiscalundertheTRQscheme.

NewDelhi: After a key group ofthe Organisation of IslamicCooperation (OIC) rejected theIndiangovernment’sdecisiontoscrap special status of Jammuand Kashmir onMonday, IndiaThursday once again said OIChad“nolocusstandi”andshouldrefrain from making unwar-rantedreferencesagainst India.“Ourposition is consistenton

thismatterandhasnoambiguity.OIChasnolocusstandiinmattersstrictlyinternaltoIndia,includingthat of the Union Territory ofJammuandKashmir.Wehave inthepast also reiterated thatOICshould refrain frommakingun-warranted references on India,”MEAofficialspokespersonAnuragSrivastavasaidonThursday.Avirtualmeetingof theOIC’s

contactgrouponKashmiralsoex-pressedconcernoverceasefirevi-olations along LoCand calledonIndiato“rescinditsunilateralandillegalactions,andallowKashmiripeopletofreelyexercisetheirrightto self-determination through aUN-supervisedplebiscite”.ENS

CBI opens inquiryagainst DAVPofficials over ads inout-of-circulationnewspapers

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JUNE25

INDIA ON Thursday said thatPakistan’s continuation on thegrey list of the Financial ActionTask Force “vindicates” NewDelhi’sstandthatIslamabadhas“not taken concrete action” toaddress international concernsregardingfinancingof terrorismandsafehavens in thecountry.Thegovernment alsohit out

atPakistanovertheabductionofan Indian national inAfghanistanasitblamed“exter-nalactors”forthekidnappingofNedan Singh. The governmentcondemned the abduction andsaid that it is in touchwith theAfghan government to secureSingh’s safeandearly release.New Delhi also criticised

Islamabad for levelling “ficti-tious charges” against othersafter Pakistan’s proposal tolist an Indian national as aglobal terrorist.

MEA official spokespersonAnurag Srivastava said,“Pakistan continues to be onthe FATF grey list, and it is yetto show action and showprogresson13of the27points,under the action plan. This isdespite all the deadlines forcompleting the action expireda long timeago. The continuedgreylisting of Pakistan by FATFvindicates our position thatPakistanhasnot takenconcreteaction to address internationalconcerns regarding terrorist fi-nancingandsafehavenswhichexist in the country.”Pakistanwill remain on the

FATF grey list for failing to com-ply with the global terrorist fi-nancingwatchdog’sdeadline toprosecuteandpenalise terroristfinancing in thecountry.The decision was taken at

the third and final plenarymeeting onWednesday underthe Chinese Presidency ofXiangmin Liu but hasn’t beenannounced yet.

MEA: OIC has nolocus standi oninternal matters,including J&K

FATF greylistingvindicates India standon Pak, says MEA

Withdraw concession on skimmedmilk import: Co-op dairies to Centre

New Delhi

11 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

Tenders are invited by the undersigned on behalf of ManagingDirector, VJNL, Bangalore, from eligible contractor for the Work“Extension of Holalkere Tank Filling Scheme to fill up 06 nos. oftanks including construction of one impounding reservoir alongwith one additional tank filling (Kereyagalahalli) in Talya hobaliunder Upper Bhadra Project in Holalkere Taluk of ChitradurgaDistrict with operation and maintenance for 05 years aftersuccessful completion of work” (INDENT No: VJNL/2019-20/IW/WORK_INDENT1363” Amount put to tender is Rs. 5653.36 Lakhs,the contractors can submit the tenders in Two cover system throughwww.eproc.karnataka.gov.in from 25.06.2020 to 10.07.2020 till16:00, The Pre-bid Meeting is Scheduled on 07.07.2020, 11.00 AMin the office of Chief engineer, VJNL UBP Zone, Chitradurga. Lastdate for queries up to 06.07.2020, 5:00 PM, Opening of Technicalbid is on 11.07.2020, 16:30 onwards in the office of ExecutiveEngineer, VJNL, UBP Division No.05, Chitradurga. Financial bid willbe opened after the approval of technical Bid.

(Only through E-prOcurEmEnt pOrtAL)SHOrt tErm E-tEnDEr nOtIFIcAtIOn

Sd/- Executive Engineer

VISVESVArAYA JALA nIGAmA LImItED

No:EE/UBP/VJNL/Div-5/CTA/TALYA/2020-21/229 Dt: 23.06.2020

(Government of Karnataka Enterprises)Uppar Bhadra Project, Div. No.5, Chitradurga.

Ph/Fax: 08194-230102 E-Mail: eeubp.d5cta@gmail.com

rO no. 182: DIpr/ctA/mcA/2020-21

GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF DELHI(DEPARTMENT OF LAW, JUSTICE & LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS)8TH LEVEL, C-WING, DELHI SECRETARIAT, NEW DELHI-110002

No. F.5(501)/Lit./LJ&LA/19/Pt-I Dated:-Tender Id:- 2020_LAWJA_192084_I 2020_LAWJA_192084_I

NOTICE INVITING TENDERE-Tenders are invited from the eligible Insurance companies registered with InsuranceRegulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) having adequate financial resources andhealthy track record in handling business of large magnitude for providing Group (Term)insurance for approximately 28774 practicing advocates providing life cover of Rs. 10,00,000/-(Rupees Ten Lakhs only per advocate ) who are enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi and arealso in the voters’ list of Delhi.The tender document with complete details, specifications and other terms and condition canbe downloaded from the website www.law.delhigovt.nic.in and the same is available onGovernment of NCT of Delhi e-procurement system https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in/nicgep/app

Please check regularly the above mentioned websites for any further amendments/corrigendum/ Addendum (if any) to the tender.Tender document completed in all respect should be submitted only on the Delhi Governmente-procurement system https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in/nicgep/app

Principal Secretary (Law, Justice & LA)DIP/Shabdarth/0110/2021

S.INo.

Particulars Date Time

1. Date and time of availability of e-tender 25.06.2020 6:00 PM

2. Last date & time for submission of tender 10.07.2020 01:00 PM

3. Pre-bid meeting and place 03.07.2020 in Conference room of PrSecretary (Law, Justice & LA),Department of Law, Justice & LA,Government of NCT of Delhi, 8th Level,C-Wing, Delhi Secretariat, Delhi-110002

05:00 PM

4. Date & Time of opening of Technical Bids 10.07.2020 05:00 PM

5. Date & Time of opening of Financial Bids Will be intimated to the technically qualificationbidders at a later date.

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TRIPURA HOUSING & CONSTRUCTION BOARD(Constituted under Tripura Act-2 of 1979)

Agartala, Tripura (West)

Press NI-e-RFP No: 02/DEO(PD-II)/THCB/2020-21dated : 25/06/2020

Notice Inviting e-Request for proposalSubject: Construction of Ownership flat at New CapitalComplex (near new Secretariat Complex), Agartala,Tripura / Construction of (B+G+14) storied singleapartment tower, accommodating tentatively 140 (onehundred forty) no's (112 nos 3 BHK flats and 28 nos 2BHK) flats on Design & Build Basis.

DNI-e-RFP NO:- 01/THCB/PD-II/2020-21Tender ID: 2020_THCB_10856_1

1. Tripura Housing and Construction Board, invites e-Request For Proposal (RFP) in Two Bid System fromexperienced EPC firms / construction organizationswho have adequate experience in preparing DetailedArchitectural Drawings, Detailed Structural Drawingsusing latest software’s, simultaneously holding requisitecredentials for construction of high rise buildings,following all relevant BIS Codes on Design & BuildBasis.

1. The details of RFP can be seen in:http://www.tripura.nic.in, http://www.tenders.gov.in,Interested bidder can participate & bid in the onlywebsite https://tripuratenders.gov.in

SD/-Chief Executive Officer

Tripura Housing and Construction Board

HIMACHAL PRADESH PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTPhone No. 01905- 222172 E-Mail: ee-elem-hp@nic.in

INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)

The Executive Engineer, Electrical Division, HP.PWD, Mandi HP on behalf of Governor of H.P invites the item rate bids, inelectronic tendering system for the following works from the OEM/ Authorised agency of OEM of VRV System and Audio Systemrespectively as detailed in the table.

The bidders are advised to note other details of tenders and Technical Qualification Criteria from the department web-site www.hptenders.gov.in

Executive EngineerElectrical Division,

HP-PWD, Mandi HP 1750011177/HP

Sr.No

1

2

Name of Work

Construction of Sanskriti Sadan at Motipur,District Mandi HP (SH: Providing VRVSystem therein)

Construction of Sanskriti Sadan at Motipur,District Mandi HP (SH: Providing AudioSystem in Auditorium therein)

Estimated Cost

Rs. 19982113/-Rs. 6025807/-

Starting date fordownloading bid

09.07.2020 at10.00 A.M

09.07.2020 at10.00 A.M

EarnestMoney

Rs. 232350/-

Rs. 92800/-

Deadline for sub-mission of bid

18.07.2020 at06.00 P.M

18.07.2020 at06.00 P.M

GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF DELHI(DEPARTMENT OF LAW, JUSTICE & LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS)8TH LEVEL, C-WING, DELHI SECRETARIAT, NEW DELHI-110002

No. F.5(501)/Lit./LJ&LA/19/Pt-I Dated:-Tender Id:- 2020_LAWJA_192094_I 2020_LAWJA_192094_I

NOTICE INVITING TENDERE-Tenders are invited from the eligible Insurance companies registered with InsuranceRegulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) having adequate financial resources andhealthy track record in handling business of large magnitude for providing Group Medi-claimcoverage for approximately 29077 practicing advocates enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhiand are also in the voters’ list of Delhi, their spouse and two dependent children up to the ageof 25 years, for a family floater sum insured of Rs. 5,00,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs only).

The tender document with complete details and other terms and condition can be downloadedfrom the website www.law.delhigovt.nic.in and the same is available on Government of NCTof Delhi e-procurement system https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in/nicgep/app

Please check regularly the above mentioned websites for any further amendments/corrigendum/ Addendum (if any) to the tender.

Tender document completed in all respect should be submitted only on the Delhi Governmente-procurement system https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in/nicgep/app

DIP/Shabdarth/0109/20-21 Principal Secretary (Law, Justice & LA)

Sl.No.

Particulars Date Time

1. Date and time ofavailability of e-tender

25.06.2020 6:00 PM

2. Last date & time forsubmission of tender

10.07.2020 01:00 PM

3. Pre-bid meeting andplace

03.07.2020 in the Conference room of Pr.Secretar (Law, Justice & LA), Department ofLaw, Justice & LA, Government of NCT ofDelhi, 8th Level, C-Wing, Delhi Secretariat,Delhi-110002

4. Date & Time of openingof Technical Bids

10.07.2020 3:00 PM

5. Date & Time of openingof Financial Bids

Will be intimated to the technically qualified bidders at alater date.

Tenders are invited for Design, Supply, Installation,

Testing and Commissioning with 5 years Comprehensive

Maintenance of Solar Powered Lights and Fans for 1027

nos. of Anganawadi Centers of “Department of Women

and Child Development (DWCD)” throughout the State

of Karnataka through e-procurement portal under two cover

system. Intending bidders can download the tender

documents from the e-procurement website:

www.eproc.karnataka.gov.in on or after 26.06.2020.

Sd/- Assistant General Manager

Solar Off Grid-1, KREDL

Karnataka Renewable Energy

Development Limited

(A Government of Karnataka Undertaking)# 39, "Shanthigruha", Bharath Scouts & Guides, Palace Road,

Bengaluru-560 001. Karnataka.

Mobile:9449817158/9620945670

Website: www.kredlinfo.in, e-Mail:kredlmd@gmail.com,

agm.sogkredl@gmail.com

No. KREDL/07/SOG-1/366/2019-20/ Call-2 Date: 25.06.2020

SHORT-TERM TENDER NOTIFICATIONSolar Power Pack for Anganawadi Centers

(Through e-procurement platform)

SOUTHERNPOWERDISTRIBUTIONCOMPANYOFTELANGANALTD.

TSSPDCL intends to float tenders for procurement of a) 55 sq.mm AAAConductor, b) New Transformer Oil, C) 3-PH 315 KVA DTR with BIS EELevel-3, d) 11KV 220V Fed VCB,CTs,CR Pnl& IED Relays, e) 11KV CTs900-450/1-1-0.577A, 0.2S Class, f) 33KV Lightning Arrestors (Line Type),g) 24V 40AH BatteryCharger (Conventional type) and h) 11KV, 3Cx185+70Sq.mm XLPE AB Cable on e-procurement platform. For furtherdetails,please visit www.tssouthernpower.com and www.tender.telangana.gov.in. Phone: 040-23431360, 1034DIPR R.O. No. : 680-PP/CL-AGENCY/ADVT/1/2020-21

Sd/- CHIEF GENERALMANAGER (P&MM)

e-Procurement Tender Notice

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA,“e”-PROCUREMENT NOTICE

WORKS DEPARTMENTE-mail- ceworldbankprojects@gmail.com

Bid Identification No. CE-W.B.P. (O) - 06/2020-211. The Chief Engineer (World Bank Project), Odisha on behalf

of Governor of Odisha invites percentage rate bid in doublecover system in ONLINE MODE from eligible contractors forconstruction of Bridge works as detailed below:

8. The Bidders have to participate in ONLINE bidding only.Futher details can be seen from the website:https:tenderodisha.gov.in. Any addendum/ corrigendum/cancellation of tender can also be seen in the said website.

Chief EngineerWorld Bank Project, Odisha

OIPR-34003/11/0008/2021

B-110

2. Nature of work : Bridge works

3. No. of work : 01 Nos.

4. Tender cost : Rs. 10,000.00 (on-line)

5. Class of Contractor : Super / Special Class Contractor

6. Available of biddocument in thewebsite

: From 10.00 A.M. of 30.06.2020 to05.00 PM of 16.07.2020.

7. Date of opening of Bid : Dt. 17.07.2020 at 11.30 AM

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHAOFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER,

JEYPORE (R&B) CIRCLE, JEYPOREINVITATIONS FOR BIDS (IFB)

Bid Identification No. S.E.J.C. (R&B)- 08/2020-21No. 2493 Date. 22.06.2020

Further details can be seen from the e-procurement portalhttps://tendersodisha.gov.inAny addendum / corrigendum / cancellation of tender can alsobe seen in the said website only.

Sd/-Superintending Engineer

Jeypore (R&B) Circle, JeyporeOIPR-34108/11/0006/2021

B-111

1. Name of the Work : ROAD & BUILDING WORKS2. Total No. of Works : 02 (Two) Nos.

3. Estimated cost : Rs. 128.52 Lakhs to 738.00 Lakhs4. Period of completion 09 Months to 10 (Ten) Months5. Bid Cost : Rs. 10,000/- (Each)6. Class of Contractor : “B”, “A”, “Special” & “Super” Class7. Date & time of availability of

bid document in the portal: From 10.00 hours of 30.06.2020

to 17.00 hours of 15.07.20208. Last date/ Time for receipt of

bids in the Portal: 17.00 hours of 15.07.2020

9. Opening date of Bid : 10.00 hours of 16.07.2020

10. Name and address of theOfficer Inviting Bid

: Superintending EngineerJeypore (R&B) Circle, Jeypore

Government of Uttarakhand “e” procurement Notice

Bid Identification no :- 1268 / Nivida/Garhwal/ 207 Dated : 25.06.2020

Bid Identification no :- 1270 / Nivida/Garhwal/ 209 Dated : 25.06.2020

Bid Identification no :- 1269 / Nivida/Garhwal/ 208 Dated : 25.06.2020

Name of works Estimated Cost Period of Completion

960.00 Lakh

545.00 Lakh

18 months

18 months

26/06/2020 -14.00 Hrs.

29/06/2020 -11.00 Hrs.

09/07/2020 -17.00 Hrs.

Details of subsequent addendum/corrigendum/cancellation etc. may be obtained from the website.

Further details can be seen from the e-procurement portal "https://www.uktenders.gov.in"

S.N.

1.

2.

3.

4.5.6.

mÙkjk[k.M is;ty lalk/ku fodkl ,oa fuekZ.k fuxedk;kZy; eq[; egkizcU/kd] fuekZ.k foax

mRrjk[k.M ljdkj dk midze403@1 bfUnjk uxj] nsgjknwu&248001 nwjHkk"k@QSDl% 0135&2764075

General Manager (Garhwal)

E-mail:- cgmnirmanwing@yahoo.com, gmnirmanwing@gmail.com

Construction of Govt. Polytechnic (Phase-II) at

Jassowala, Vikas Nagar Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Construction of Science Block at Govt.(PG)

College, Dakpather Dehradun,Uttarakhand.

Name and Address of officer inviting the Bid:-

Pre Bid Meeting

Last Date/Time for receipt of bids in the portal:-

Chief General Manager, Construction Wing,

Uttrakhand Pey jal Nigam , 403/1

Indira Nagar, Dehradun

Date and Time Availability of bid documents in the portal:-

New Delhi

12WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

UNMAKING IN INDIAIdentifyingcountryoforiginofproductsisanideawhosetimeshouldnevercome—servesnoeconomicpurpose,willhave costs

ONWEDNESDAY,THEDepartmentforPromotionofIndustryandInternalTrade (DPIIT) reportedly directed e-commerce companies such asAmazon,FlipkartandPaytmtofigureoutamechanismthatwillallowconsumers to identify thecountryoforigin forall theproductssoldontheirplatforms.Thelatestdirectivecomesamidagrowingclamourfor

theboycottofChineseproducts, intheaftermathoftheclashbetweenIndianandChinesesoldiers on the LAC. This is a troublingdevelopment. It signals awillingness on thepartof thegovernmenttoallowthediscrimination,possiblytheshunning,ofproductsonthebasis of their place of origin. Coupledwith the government’s push for “atmanirbharta”orself-reliance,markedbymorezealthanprudence,andreportsof itcontemplatingtheraisingof tariffs on imports,moves suchas theseappear to showcaseanopportunepo-litical optics at ahigheconomic cost— it couldendupundoing thebenefits and revers-ingthegainsoverthelastfewdecadesof freetrade. Itcouldpresageamisguidedshiftto-wardsprotectionism, sliding into the failedpolicyof import substitution.The idea of specifying the country of origin in products in today’s integratedworld

serves no rational economic purpose. The difficulties in executing it only underline itsabsurdity. At the crux of thematter is defining the “country of origin”.While productsmaybeassembledinonecountry,therawmaterialsorcomponentsareoftensourcedfromseveral other countries. Thismakes it challenging to identifywho “manufactures” theproduct.Adistinctionthushastobemadebetween“assembling”and“manufacturing”,and the extent of value added at each stage has to be estimated. Take, for instance, theiPhone.Itscomponents,suchasthetouchscreendisplay,memorychipsandmicroproces-sorscomefromamixofUS, Japanese,KoreanandTaiwanesecompanies,notallof themmanufactured in China. These individual components are shipped to China,where it isassembled,andthenshippedacrosstheworld.SowillaniPhonesoldonane-commercewebsite in India identify China as the country of origin? Evenproducts that are assem-bledinIndiahavecomponentsfromseveralcountries.Howwill thecountryoforiginbeworkedout?Will itbebasedonvalueadded?Whowillberesponsible forprovidingac-curate informationabout theproduct—theplatformor theseller?Seenalongsiderecentdevelopments, this latestdirectiveraisesconcernsoverthein-

creasingprotectionist impulsesandinwardlookingsignalsemanatingfromthegovern-ment.Suchpoliciesopenthedoorfor further lobbying,andfacilitaterent-seeking.Fromtheexcessivelywiderhetoricofself-reliancetoreportsofthegovernmentconsideringrais-ing tariffs to boost domesticmanufacturing, India seems to have forgotten the lessonslearnt fromitspastmistakes.

TALL CLAIMSRamdev’s so-calledcure forCOVIDfloutsmedicalandbusinessdueprocess,whilediscreditingAyurveda

WITH THE COUNTRY’S COVID graph surging past the 4.5 lakhmarkandnearly15,000peoplesuccumbingtothedisease,anyclaimofa“100percentcure”isboundtogeneratehope.Butinsuch difficult times, it’s also important to regulate and guardagainstthepropagationofafalsesenseofsecurity.TheMinistry

ofAYUSHhas,therefore,donewelltoaskBabaRamdev’sPatanjaliAyurvedtostopadver-tising that ithas foundacure for thecontagion,until it examines thematter.Asa reportinthispaperhasbroughttolight,thecompanydidnotfollowdueprocessesbeforelaunch-ing the “Corona Kit”, which it advertised as a panacea for COVID-19. The UttarakhandgovernmenthassaiditslicensingauthoritydidnotgrantapprovaltotheHaridwar-basedDivya Pharmacy, Patanjali’s medicine unit, tomanufacture the “Corona Kit”. And, theRajasthangovernmenthasdisclaimedanyknowledgeof clinical trialsof thedrugat theNationalInstituteofMedicalSciencesandResearchinJaipur.ThelitanyofPatanjali’sun-ethical practicesdoesn’t endhere.Whenmildly symptomaticpatients developed feverduring the trials, theywereadministeredallopathicmedicines.TheadvertisingofAyurvedicdrugs isgovernedbya lawthatdatesback to1954—the

Drugs andMagic Remedies (ObjectionableAdvertisements) Act. TheAct does talk about“falseclaims”and“directlyor indirectlygivinga false impressionregarding the truechar-acterof thedrug”.But seriousdiseases suchasAIDSorencephalitis,whichhaveemergedinthepast40years,arenot listedunderthelaw. InFebruary, theUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfarereleasedadraftofanamendmenttothe1954Acttocorrectsuchshort-comings.But thenthecountrywasovertakenbyCOVIDandtheCentrehasusedthe1954ActtoscrutinisePatanjali'stallclaims—theAYUSHministry’snoticetoBabaRamdev’sout-fitwasservedunderthis law.Perhapsthegovernmenthasto findwaysto includeCOVID-19under its purview. Its use of the ordinance route to amend the 123-year old EpidemicDiseasesAct, tocurbviolenceagainstdoctors,couldbeinstructiveforthepurpose.This isnottounderminetheroleofAyurvedicremediesforpeople’shealthandwell-

being,especiallyduringthepandemic.Someherbsareknowntobeimmunityboosters.In fact, Patanjali, reportedly, sought regulatoryapproval for individualmedicines, that itlater included in the “Corona Kit”, as “immunity boosters” and as remedies for “coughandbreathlessness”. InclaimingthatthesemedicinescureCOVID,Ramdev’scompanyisguiltyof floutingmedical—andbusiness—ethics,whilealsodiscreditingAyurveda.

DJOKOVIC AND COVIDSportand itsprimadonnasarehavinganespeciallyhardtime

resting itout in theshadows

WORLDNO1tennisplayerNovakDjokovicwillhaveafortnightofisolation tomullover thehavoc thatcanbewreakedonthehu-manbodyshouldaviruslatchontoitsrespiratoryairways.ItwasDjokovic's casualness that sawhimmake light of a global pan-demic,resultinginfourtopplayers,hiswifeJelenaandsomeoth-

ers, test positive for the virus. But this isn't just aboutDjokovic inviting top tennis play-ers foranexhibition tournamentandthumbinghisnoseat social-distancingprotocols.Sportanditsprimadonnashavebeenfinding itdifficult torest itout in theshadows.

Allacrosstheworld,thecallsforsporttoresume,frombusinessinterests,growsbecauseabunchof supremelyfit superstarscannot fathomthatthehumanbodycancaveunderan infection, at amere sneeze or a cough. Sequestered in their bubbleswheremillionsadorethemforfeatstheirbodiescanperform,sportspersonsrefusetoacknowledgethatsomethingthat'snotpaintedinglory, likewar,canhalttheirathleticexuberance.So,golfgoesoninAmericabeforeabunchisfelledbyCOVID-19.AndfootballispullingoutallstopsacrossEurope tocomplete theirbigdollar leagues.Mercifully theOlympics got postponed, but global superstars, all super fit, just can't

wrap their brains around a body that can beweakened by a flu. This bull-headednessworkswell for theheavily-investedofficials,broadcastersandsponsorswhoare indan-gerofgoingbankrupt if livesportsdon't resumequickly.Weretheplayersmorecircum-spect about taking to the field, the resumption of sports would be much later andsmoother.Djokovicjustwentandgotinfected, insteadofwaitingforsciencetodoitsjob.

Pratap BhanuMehta

Howdid India, inquest forglobalprestige,manageto lose itsneighbourhood?Answers lieathome

property,regulation,agriculture, labourmo-bility, the very areaswhere freedom is vitalfor India’s economy?Will aUShell-bentonbringingmanufacturingjobsbacktotheUS,easilygelwithan“atmanirbhar”Bharat?Toseewhat is at stake,we just need to look attheway inwhich friction over thedevelop-mentparadigmisdrivingtensionsontrade,taxationand regulatory issuesbetween theUSandEU.There is sometimes a complaint in the

US that India is invited but refuses to cometothetablewithenthusiasm.Thereissometruth to this, despite the salutary culturaland political momentum in this relation-ship.But thedriversof thishaveoftenbeenlegitimatedifferencesoverdevelopment, in-cludingclimatechange. Ithasalsobeenthat,at various points, that ask was antitheticalto India’s other strategic commitments.Indiawaswisetostayoutof thewar in Iraq,itwaswisenottospurnRussiaentirely,andit iswisenot to throwitsweightbehindtheUS’s Iran policy. There is morematurity inthe US to understand India’s position. Butthereisasectionof India’sstrategiccommu-nitythatseesIndia’sreluctancetogoinwiththeUS,hooklineandsinker,asakindof ide-ological wimpishness, not a sign of moredeeply thought out realism, which it hasbeen.It is an odd moment in global affairs,

where there is recognition of a commonchallenge emanating from China, but noglobal appetite to take concertedaction.Aninterestingexamplemightbe theglobal re-sponsetotheBRI.Manycountriesarestrug-gling to meet their BRI debt obligations.Many Chinese loans have become amill-stonearoundthedebtorcountries’necks.Butitisdifficulttoseetherestoftheinternationalcommunity helping all these countries toweantheir regimesawayfromdependenceonChinese finance.Similarly, therearenowgreatconcernsoverfrontierareasofconflictlikecybersecurityandspace. It isdifficult toimagine concerted global action to createrules in these area, partly because GreatPowers like the US and Russia will alwayswant tomaintain their exceptionalism. Sowe are in a paradoxical world where the

strategicnecessityof therestof theworldtocome together on China has never beenhigher;yettheappetiteforconcertedactionhasneverbeenweaker.Fundamentally, fewcountriesaregoingtoputtheirmoneywheretheirmouth is.The value of global alliances andpublic

opinioninsettlingour localconflictshasal-waysbeenlimitedfortworeasons.First, theinternationalcommunityhasnotbeenveryeffective inneutralising lowcostasymmet-ric optionsexercisedbysomepowers. Thisis thetacticPakistanhasused.Second,whatmilitaryoptions India canexercise, fortify-ing defences, gaining strategic leverage inareaswherewe can, is formilitary expertsto decide. But don’t count on the fact thattheworldwill supportan Indianescalationbeyond a point. The efforts of the interna-tionalcommunity, in the finalanalysis,willbe to try and throwcoldwater on the con-flict; no one has a serious stake in the fateof theterrain IndiaandChinaaredisputing.At the end of the day, India has tomanageChina andPakistan largely on its own.Thelogicof theChineseopeningsomany

fronts together is baffling. Reassuringly, itcouldmeanChinaisoverreaching.Lessreas-suringly, itcouldmeanthatratherthandis-playing strategic coherence, China is nowaregime that, like so many authoritarianregimesof thepast, iswilling todamage it-self andtheworld.Suchregimesarealwaysharder to handle because it is not straight-forwardlyinterestthatdrivesthem.Evenaswe deal with themilitary situation on theborder, the test of India’s resolvewill be itsabilitytoreturntosomefirstprinciplethink-ingabout itsownpower.Howdoesitcreatethe space for accelerating its development— in the long run, theonly cornerstoneof adefence policy?Howdoes it stay true to itsgreatest strength, its political identity as aliberal, pluralistic democracy? How didIndia, in its quest for global prestige, man-agetoloseitsownneighbourhood?Ourma-jorvulnerabilitiesareallathome,andsoarethe solutions.

Thewriter is contributingeditor,The IndianExpress

The value of global alliancesand public opinion insettling our local conflictshas always been limited fortwo reasons. First, theinternational communityhas not been very effective inneutralising low costasymmetric optionsexercised by some powers.This is the tactic Pakistanhas used. Second, whatmilitary options India canexercise, fortifying defences,gaining strategic leverage inareas where we can, is formilitary experts to decide.But don’t count on the factthat the world will supportan Indian escalation beyonda point. The efforts of theinternational community, inthe final analysis, will be totry and throw cold water onthe conflict; no one has aserious stake in the fate ofthe terrain India and Chinaare disputing.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020 WORDLYWISEQuacks pretendtocureother

men's disorders, but fail to findaremedyfortheirown. — MARCUS TULLIUS CICEROTHEEDITORIALPAGE

Daksh Panwar

THE DEATH OF A MAGAZINE‘CricketSamrat’wasawindowtothesport intheHindheartlandbeforeTV, internet

LIKETHEELDERLY, theCOVID-19pandemichas ravaged old media. Earlier this week,CricketSamrat,aonce-influentialandwildlypopularHindimagazinebutonethatwasonlifesupportforsometime,announceditwasshuttingdownafter42years.Gen Z and non-Hindi readersmight not

haveheardof it,butforacricket-lovingkidintheBIMARU regionof the ’80s and ’90s, theimportanceofCricketSamratcan’tbeencap-sulated. But I will attempt here. It was likeESPNCricinfo,SportsIllustratedandStarSportsinonepackage.LikeCricinfo, itwouldcontaindetailedre-

ports, in-depthanalyses,statisticsandscore-cards of domestic and international cricket—contentthatinthepre-interneterawouldotherwise have been inaccessible. CricketSamratwasalsoSportsIllustrated inthesensethat themagazine’s pull-out posterswouldadornourwalls. For this reason,manynon-Hindi readers also avidly collected CricketSamrat’s issues.And in an erawhen TV setswere a lux-

uryinmofussil IndiaandcableTVhadn’tar-rived, it was our Star Sports in that its vividprose in a language that we lived andbreathedwould help us “see” thematchesthatwecouldn’twatch.Thewritingofmanyof its contributorswas a breath of fresh airfrom the stoic style prevalent amongHindinewspapersof the time.Cricket Samratwasall thatandmore.FromitshumblebeginningsinWestDelhi

in 1978, it rode on cricket’s expanding foot-printinthecountry.BetweenLord’s1983andBombay1987,itgrewexponentiallyasIndiancrickethit itsapogee. Itwasasymbiotic rela-tionship,withIndiancricketalsogainingfromCricket Samrat. It acted as a forcemultiplier,democratising the game by taking it to theblind spots—blind swathes, in fact— in thenorth.The seeds of the small-town revolution

that would hit Indian cricket in the 2000swereperhapssowedbyCricketSamrat. It fu-elled the dreams of young kids hungry tomake their name in the game. ItwasNorthIndia’s very ownWisden — the globallyreveredBibleof Cricket.Cricket Samrat used to be a rage at the

SportsHostelsofKanpurandLucknowthatthrew up international cricket stars likeMohammad Kaif, R P Singh and SureshRaina. The centrefolds would be found inmost rooms where budding cricketerswould spend restless nights dreamingabout theheroeswhowatched them fromthewalls.Mumbai Ranji cricketer Iqbal Abdulla

learned the basics of the game throughCricket Samrat, quite literally.Growingup inAzamgarh,UP,Abdulladidn’thaveaccess toTV. This couldhave limitedhisunderstand-ing of cricket, but he had an alternative inCricket Samrat. If it put young cricketers onthe right path, it also showed theway for-wardtofailedones.Inmycase,atleast,when

it becameevident that I didn’t have it inmetobeacricketer,themagazineinspiredmetobecomeasportswriter.At its peak, it was the top-selling sports

magazineinIndia,butits importancebegantodiminishwith the advent of the internet.Themonthly news cycle became outdatedandcricketwebsites suchasCricinfo,whichprovided real-time updates, cornered themarket.Till2013,themagazinehadanaver-age issue readership of over amillion, buthardly any advertisements. Its one-timestrengths—Hindiandniche—wereturningagainst it.For some reason, Cricket Samrat never

made the transition to the digitalmedium,eventhoughitcanbearguedthat therewas— and perhaps still is — an audience for aquality cricketwebsite inHindi.Cricket Samrat’s biggest service to Indian

cricketwascoveringthedomesticgameassid-uously.AtatimewhentherewaslittleTVcov-erage,itgavetheplayersamuch-neededplat-form.Youdidn’tneedCricketSamrat toknowaKapilDev,butwithoutit,youwouldn’thaveunderstoodwhatanAshishWinstonZaidioranAmarjitKaypeeoranAtulBedademeanttoIndian cricket. Itwas coincidental but fitting,then,thattwodaysafterthedeathofRajinderGoel, arguably the tallest among domesticcricket stalwarts,Cricket Samrat alsodrew itsfinalbreath.

daksh.panwar@expressindia.com

From its humble beginningsin West Delhi in 1978, it rodeon cricket’s expandingfootprint in the country.Between Lord’s 1983 andBombay 1987, it grewexponentially as Indiancricket hit its apogee. It was asymbiotic relationship, withIndian cricket also gainingfrom Cricket Samrat. It actedas a force multiplier,democratising the game bytaking it to the blind spots —blind swathes, in fact — inthe north.

ASSAM BANDHTHESPONSOROFtheAssammovementap-peared to be in for a confrontationwith thegovernmentwhichdecidedtomaintainnor-malfunctioningoftheadministrationinfaceof theagitators’plantoparalyse it througha24-hour state-wide bandh tomorrow. Thegovernmenthaswarneditsemployeeswithpaycutsandotherdisciplinaryactionforab-senceof dutybecauseof thebandhthatbe-gins at 6 am. It was taking steps to preventpicketing in front of offices and to providetransportwitharmedescorttohelptheem-ployees attendwork. All air and train serv-ices from Assam have been cancelled be-causeof thebandh.Meanwhile the firstday

of the48-hourLakhimpurbandhpassedoffpeacefully.Allvehiculartrafficwasoff fortheday.

CARTER’S PROPOSALSTHEUSPRESIDENTJimmyCarterproposeda transnational arrangement for governingAfghanistan to prevent amass slaughter ofpro-Soviet elements if Soviet troops arewithdrawn. He said that assurances that aslaughter would be prevented, and astaunchanti-Sovietgovernmentwouldnotemergemight be the necessary conditionforaSovietwithdrawal. InitsfirstreactiontoCarter’s proposals, Moscow has termedthemvague.

AFTER SANJAYTWO-DAYS AFTER Sanjay Gandhi’s death,Congress Imembersof Parliamenthavebe-gun discussing inwhatways the function-ing of the ruling partywill changewith itsmost important decision-maker becomingthevictimof anunfortunate air crash.Mostpartymembers are of the opinion that thecrucialdecisionswillhavetobetakenbyMrsGandhi herself, and grief stricken as she is,the PrimeMinister will have to find sometime to unfold hermind on some of the is-sues. There is a view that is emerging thatMrs Gandhi should draft Sanjay Gandhi’swife,Maneka,orRajivGandhi,whoisanAirIndiapilot intopolitics.

JUNE 26, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

ASTHEBORDERstand-offwithChinadeep-ens, India will have to think of all possiblestrategic options that give it leverage in thiscrisis. One element often discussed in thiscontext isnewarrangementswithavarietyof powers. Many strategic experts are sali-vating at the prospect of an even closer al-liancewith the US. This is a propitiousmo-ment tomobilise international opinion onChina. The degree of global alienationwiththeXi Jinping regime isunprecedented.Butcan this be translated into concerted globalactiontoexertrealpressureonChina?Indiashould pursue all possible avenues. Butweshouldalsohaveaclear-eyedviewofthelim-itations of what new alliances or arrange-mentscando for India.It is important to remember that inter-

national relationsare formed in thecontextofacountry’sdevelopmentparadigm.India’sprimaryaimshouldbetopreservethemax-imumspace for itsdevelopmentmodel, if itcan actually formulate one. India is notuniqueinthisrespect.TheUS-Chinarelation-shipmayhavehaditsoriginsinthestrategicattempt to create aSino-Soviet split. But fordecades,thisrelationshipwassustainednotbyastrategiclogic,butbythelogicof thepo-litical economyof development in both theUS and China, where they reciprocally de-pended on each other. What has changedprofoundly in the US is the view that thisarrangementlargelybenefittedbigbusinessinAmericaattheexpenseof itsowndomes-ticmanufacturingbase.The political legitimacy of the develop-

mentmodel waned, and it is this fact thatwill largelybethedriverof theUS-Chinare-lationship. The question for India is not justwhether theUShas a stake in India’s devel-opment, which itmight. But it is, rather, toaskwhetherIndia’sdevelopmentneedswillfit into theemergingUSdevelopmentpara-digm.Will thevery samepolitical economyforces that create a disengagement withChina also come in thewayof a closer rela-tionship with India? Some sections ofAmerican big businessmight bat for India;but the underlying political economy dy-namics are less propitious.Will the US giveIndiatheroomitneedsontrade, intellectual

On our own

New Delhi

13THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

“Regardlessof the grandstanding of hawkish Indian elements, Pakistanshould respond maturely to New Delhi’s provocations. The government hasmade clear that adventurism will not be tolerated, and extremist Indianhawks would do well not to beat the war drums.” — DAWNTHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Xi has acquired more powerthan Mao ever could. Thereis an unprecedentedconcentration of power atthe top. Like any otherdictator, he believes inconfrontational tactics anduses both muscle and moneyas tools of geopoliticalstrategy and to furtherhegemonic ambitions.

Understanding Xi’s China First, easeof living

COVID-19HAScausedahealthcarecrisisinIndia. Consequently, concerns about theethicsofthemedicalprofessionhavearisen,withquestionsaboutthepriceschargedbyhospitals for treatments, and by pharma-ceuticalcompanies formedicines.Thefundamentalquestionseemstobe,

howmuchqualifiesassufficientprivategainwhileprovidingapublicservice?Thisques-tionwill arisewhenever any industry be-comes attractive for investors, whowanttheir investees to run their enterprise as a“business”ratherthanasapublicservice.Doctorswhoprescribe tests andmed-

icinesthatpatientsdonotreallyneedtoin-crease the revenues of hospitals and salesof pharmaceutical companies (and im-prove their own bonuses) are placing theneeds of business owners above those ofthepublic they serve. The sameapplies toother industries: Professional journalistsbecome less professional when the newsmedia becomes a business, and they arepressed by the owners of the business toproducewhatsells—toattracteyeballsandincrease TRPs and advertising revenues.They lose sight of the purpose of profes-sional journalism,whichrequires thedili-gentuncoveringof truths.Threeeminentsocialpsychologistssaw

the crises in professions brewing in the1990s with the accelerating advance ofbusinessesintothedomainofpublicgoods.Intheirbook,GoodWork—WhenExcellenceand EthicsMeet, Howard Gardner,MihalyCsikszentmihalyi andWilliam Damon,write: “We have no fundamental quarrelwith the operations of themarket in eco-nomic spheres;we recognise the positiverole thatmarkets can play, for example incompetition amongpublications orphar-maceutical companies… But not allspheres of life are best run on amarketmodel.Manyprofessionalspheres—med-icine, science, education, art — ought nottooperate inthesamewayascommercialenterprisesdo,inthewaysuggestedbytheAdam Smith-Friedrich vonHayek-MiltonFriedman view of the marketplace.Medicinerequires financialprudence,butthe purpose of the profession should notbe toachieve thegreatestprofit for share-holdersofahealthmaintenanceorganisa-tion. Nor should legal protection, educa-tionalopportunities,andothervitalhumanneedsandprivilegessimplybeallocatedtothe highest bidder. In the words of theFrench primeminister, Lionel Jospin, ‘Wearenotagainstmarket-basedeconomy,butmarket-basedsociety’”.TheCOVID-19crisishasrevealedmany

weaknesses in economies and societies.Healthcaresystemsinmostcountrieshavenot been able to copewith the pandemic:The crisis was too large and too sudden.However, countrieswith stronger publichealthsystems,suchasVietnam,forexam-ple, seemed to havemanaged far better

than those with large, and very well-equipped, private health systems, such asthe USA. Countries with universal socialsafetynets,liketheScandinaviancountries,Japan, SouthKorea andGermany, seem tobemanaging the effects of the economicbreakdownonthepoorer sectionsof theirpopulationsmuchbetterthanthecountrieswithoutuniversalsocialsecurity,likeIndia.COVID-19 has revealed the deep fis-

sures ineconomics,betweentheschoolofeconomicsthathasdominatedpublicpol-icyacross theworld since the1980s—the“freemarket” school that the authors ofGoodWork refer to— and another schoolwhichsaidthattheneedsofhumanbeingsmust trump theneeds of business in eco-nomic policy, and not the other wayaround.Theprofessionofeconomicsmustbe reoriented. Societal (and environmen-tal) well-beingmust be the goal of eco-nomic policies, not the size of the GDP.Citizens’ “ease of living” must becomemore important than “ease of doingbusi-ness”. No doubt, the health of businessesand the economy is good for thehealth ofa society. However, the growth of busi-nesses and the economymust not be al-lowed to harm societal and environmen-talwell-being.All professional institutions including

businesses,arebuiltonthreefundamentalstructures,accordingtotheauthorsofGoodWork—mission, standards, and identity.Missionisthepurposeof theinstitutioninsociety.Ahealthcare institution’spurposeisto improvethehealthofallcitizens;andanewsinstitution’spurposeistorevealthetruth to society. In contrast, a business in-stitution’spurposecanbeaveryselfishone,ofproducingwealthforitsinvestors,espe-cially when it is run on the principle that“the business of business must be onlybusiness”, which has become the domi-nantviewsince the1990s.Professionalsareexpectedtomaintain

high standards in their work and in theirconduct,suchastheHippocraticOaththatall themedicalprofessionalsswearto.Thestandards can be voluntarily determinedand applied by the professionals them-selves,asaccountingfirmsdo—oraresup-posedto.Otherwise,theymustbeimposedon themby the public they claim to servethroughgovernment regulations.Identity, according to these psycholo-

gists, comprises of a person’s own valuesand traits, addingup to “aperson’sdeeplyfeltconvictionsaboutwhosheis,andwhatmattersmost toherexistenceasaworker,citizen, andahumanbeing”.The lockdowns following COVID-19

have causedmany people to introspectabout the purposes of their lives, and thepurposes of the enterprises they serve. Ithas also provided an opportunity to resetthe course of economies. Business associ-ations, and thosewho lead them, shouldusethiscrisistodeterminehowtheymustreform their associations to not merelylobby for the ease of doing business, andhowtheywillregulatetheconductof theirmembers.Orelse,businesswillhavetoberegulatedmore firmlyby thegovernmentfor increasingcitizens’ easeof living.

Maira, formermemberof thePlanningCommission, isauthorofReforming

Capitalism: ImprovingtheWorld forEveryone

Beijing todayusesmuscle,moneyandsoftpower to further itshegemonicambitions.IndiaunderModihasnodelusionsabout thenewChina

FORMER PRIME MINISTER ManmohanSingh’s letter to PrimeMinister NarendraModi on the recent stand-off between thearmiesof IndiaandChinadeservesattentionformore than one reason. It represents theviews of the Congress and it follows the al-legationsmade by both Sonia Gandhi andRahulGandhi that Indiahas lost someof itsterritory to China and the governmentwashiding this fact.The Indian Army and the government

havedeniedthattherehavebeenChinesein-cursions on Indian territory. The IndianArmy’s integrityandapoliticalcharacterarebeyonddoubt.Political regimeschange,butthe armed forces largely remainunaffectedby it. The army has safeguarded itself fromvices such as casteism, communalism, re-gionalism etc, which have inflictedmost ofIndia’sinstitutions.Thenarmychief,GeneralJ J Singh, showedgreat resilience in the faceofpressurefromtheUPAgovernmenttopro-videcommunity-wisestatisticsofthearmy’scomposition to the Sachar Committee in2008.Hecategoricallystatedthatpatriotismwas theonly religionof thearmy.Anydiscoursewhichunreasonablydrags

the armed forces into political controversydamages its reputationanddemoralises it.Being a former prime minister,

Manmohan Singh is expected to know thisbetter than any of his party colleagues. Thethreat perception fromChinaneedsno evi-dence; it has beenmore than obvious. Butrestatingitexposespre-Modigovernments,particularly the ones that were headed bytheCongress.The1962warthat led India tolose 38,000 sqkmof strategic territorywasthe result of self-betrayal by the Nehru ad-ministration.Warnings from the socialists,RSS, and prominent faces in his own partywere ignored. Congress governments, in-cludingtheUPAunderManmohanSingh,left3,800kmof India-Chinaborder openwith-out adequate infrastructure. The Chinesemilitaryhasengagedinterritorialadventur-ismeverysingleyearsince1962.Thepaceofconstruction of roads, rail bridges and air-ports on the Indian side of the border hasbeenslowcompared to thesituationontheChinese side. Then defence minister, A KAntony, admitted asmuch in Parliament in2013. The speed at which infrastructure isbuiltonthe Indiansideof theborderhas in-creased since theModi government tookcharge. Therefore, theCongress lacksmoralgroundtotutortheModigovernmentonde-fencepreparedness.We should not allow domestic political

concerns to influence the public discourseon China. In 1959, the Jana Sangh leaderDeendayalUpadhyaydescribedtheChinesecreed as “cartographic aggression”. Thosewho denigrate it as “jingoism” not only failtounderstandnationalismbutarealsoguiltyof condoning China’s strategy of perpetualexpansionism. India cannot neutraliseChina’s territorial ambitions by chantingpeace; it candosoonlybyacquiringpower.Hollow idealism cannot protect nationalboundariesandsovereignty.

China’s speedingeconomicgrowthcan-not—and shouldnot—be the only param-eter to judge its character. It is devoid ofdemocracyandabhorsliberalism,bothhall-marksof themodernworld.Xi’sphilosophyis to convince Europe, theUSand India thatits political system and ideology of gover-nanceare superior to theirs. A report by theGlobalPublicPolicyInstitute(‘AuthoritarianAdvance’, February 2018) says the Chineseleadership“aimstopresentitspoliticalcon-ceptsasacompetitive,andultimatelysupe-rior,political andeconomicmodel”.Xi has acquiredmore power thanMao

ever could. There is an unprecedented con-centrationofpoweratthetop.Likeanyotherdictator,hebelievesinconfrontationaltacticsanduses bothmuscle andmoneyas tools ofgeopoliticalstrategyandtofurtherhegemonicambitions.TheUSCongressrealisedthisbackin 2005, when it overwhelmingly votedagainst Chinese state oil company, CNOOC,makingan$18.5-billionbid forUnocal.Sincethe outbreak of COVID-19, countries such asAustraliaandJapan,waryofChinesedomina-tion,havestartedsafeguardingtheireconomicsovereignty.Theresurrectionof aneraofna-tionalself-relianceandnon-hegemonicrela-tionships in economic and tradematters iscausingpaintoChina.Ximade another tactical shift to further

hisagendaincountriessuchasIndia.Thepre-Xi regimesusedcommunistparties to servetheirinterestsandimageunderthefacadeof“ideological fraternity”. Xi realised the limi-tationsofthisstrategyandtooktwostepsfor-ward,surprisingnon-communistforces.TheChinese Communist Party (CCP) unhesitat-inglymingleswithnon-Leftpartiesandtriestocultivatepro-Chinesesentimentsusingsoftpower.At the19thpartycongressof theCCPinOctober2017,Xiunravelledanewideolog-ical roadmap for China in unambiguousterms. It proposed to export “Chinesewis-domand a Chinese approach to solving theproblemsfacedbymankind”and“contribut-ing Chinesewisdomand strength to globalgovernance”. This is the advocacy of illiber-alismandarejectionofopensociety.Chinesepolitical interest in India isnota

newphenomenon. Earlier, itwasguidedbyideology and closely linked to Indian com-munists. The conflict between the formerSoviet Union and China cast its shadow onthe Communist Party of India (CPI) and the1962warbecameareasonfortheCPItosplit.The32membersof theCPINationalCouncil

whoprotestedtheparty’sresolutionthatde-claredChinaanaggressorformedtheCPI(M).The CCP engineered another split in theCPI(M), leading to the formationof CPI(ML)in 1967. Peking Radio and Chinese mediaopenly encouraged the rebellions in theCPI(M).ThingshavenowchangedunderXi.NotallareinthesameboatbutallroadsleadtoRome.Systematically, Chinese influence in-

creased inthemedia, academia,opinion in-dustry,NGOsandevensocial-culturalorgan-isations,notonly inIndiabutalsoinEurope.Theyusedproxylobbiestoreachouttothosewhoseemed inaccessible to them.Thepactbetween the Congress and the CCP and theinvitations extended to ideological adver-sariesareapartof thisoutreachstrategy.Thehospitalityextendedtothemandthefacadeofcollaborationsinart,culture,scholarships,etchelpBeijing trivialisenarratives that ex-pose authoritarianism, restrictions on indi-vidual liberties, distortion ofMarxism, and,above all, the human rights violations inChina.Beijing’s role in Taiwan andHong Kong

caused no consternation among the Indianpeople. This is a reversal of Indian people’sconsciousness against Chinese expansion-isminthe1950sand1960s.Leaders, includ-ing Rammanohar Lohia, JayaprakashNarayan, Deendayal Upadhyay and J BKripalani, openly professed the independ-ence of Tibet and sovereignty of Taiwan.Raghu Vira, a member of the ConstituentAssemblywho left the Congress in opposi-tiontoNehru’sChinapolicyin1961,saidtheoverwhelmingsupporttoNehru’sChinapol-icyinbothHousesofParliament“constitutesa picture of fatuity and fickleness, whichthoughdevoidof guile isnotdevoidof guilt,for it has prepared the ground for unleash-ing upon the Asianworld horrors andmis-eriesunknownto thehistory”.Modi’s unambiguous policy towards

ChinaisreflectedinNewDelhi’sdefencepre-parednessandpragmatisminworldpolitics.China’sdispleasureshowsthelegacyofpas-sivityandinactionthatModiinheritedfromhis predecessors has been buried. It is alsoclear that India has comeout of the self-in-flicteddelusionthatChinaunderXidoesnotcarry the legacyofMaoZedong’sdeceptionand lies.

Thewriter isaRajyaSabhaMPandmemberof theBJP

Rakesh Sinha

BJP’S GLASSHOUSE

THIS REFERS TO the article, 'Whendemocracywasshackled' (IE, June25).The writer, while patronising dis-senters, is also deftlywarning themofconsequences. FromNehru to IndiraandSanjayGandhi, theBJPlookstothepast for examples to outshine its ownactions and inactions.With a chunkofthemainstreammediasingingpaeanstothegovernment,the“gag”wasneverfurther in thannow. Freedom is an in-alienableright;itisnotforademocraticgovernment to “give”, let alone beproudof “giving”.

YusufGhazali,Patna

THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Whendemocracywas shackled’ (IE, June 25).Thewriter shouldkeep inmind, beforecastingstones, the irrational invocationof theUAPA, NSA, sedition lawand re-cently,theDisasterManagementActandEpidemicsDiseases Act by BJP govern-ments.

SuchakDPatel,Ahmedabad

WATCH OUTTHIS REFERS TO the article, 'Disengagebutverify'(IE,June25).Evenaftertakinga stand on the “mutual consensus” formilitarydisengagementbetweenChinaand India, it would be too perilous forIndia to disband the assembled troopspresentatthelineofconfrontationafterthe breakdown of June 6 agreement.

Besides, only Indian sources have pub-liclyconfirmedthejointideasofthemu-tual consensuswhereas China has notannounceditasacommonobjectiveyet.

ParulSrivastava,Prayagraj

VIRTUAL ASYMMETRYTHISREFERSTOthearticle, 'Anurturingplace’(IE,June25).Amajorlacunainvir-tual learning lies in the top-downteacher-student communication path-way it offers. School education, as thebedrockofpersonalitydevelopment,de-mandsinteractiveengagementtobringout the best in students. Improving theteacher-studentratiobyropinginbrightgraduatesisanoptiontobridgethegap.AnjaliBhavana,Thiruvananthapuram

LETTER TO THEEDITOR

THEPUBLICDistributionSystemhasplayedanimportantroleinprovidingrelief topeopleintheaftermathofthenationallockdown.WithCOVID-19 cases increasing and theeconomycontinuingtobeinadownturn,somecorrec-tivemeasuresneedtobeputinplacetoensurethat there arenoexclusions and that this ba-sic support of subsidised foodgrains reacheseverybodypreventinglarge-scalehungerandstarvation.Despitegaps, thePDSisoneof themosteffectiveinstrumentstoreachpeopleinthe current situation. The COVID-19 surveyconducted by the Azim Premji Universityfound that during the lockdown, 89per centof ruraland69percentofurbanrespondentsreportedthattheywereabletogetfoodgrainsfromagovernment rationshopcompared toonly30percentofhouseholdssayingthattheyreceivedtheJanDhantransfer.Under the National Food Security Act

(NFSA),about60percentof thecurrentpop-ulationhaspriority ration cardswhile somestatessuchasTamilNadu,AndhraPradeshandTelangana have additional coveragewhichthey support through their own budgets.Providinganadditional5kgoffoodgrainsand1 kg of pulses for free under the PradhanMantriGaribKalyanAnnaYojana(PM-GKAY)wasonly for the81crore individualswhoarecurrentlycoveredbytheNFSA,andlateraspartof theAtmanirbharpackage, another 8 croremigrantshavebeenincluded.However,there

arestillmanywhoareleftoutofthefoodsecu-ritynet.JusttofulfiltheNFSArequirementof67percent,theupdatedpopulationestimatesof2020mustbeusedinplaceofthecurrent2011numbers.Moreover,inthepresentcrisiswheremanyhave lost their livelihoods, the require-mentwouldbemuchmore.Unfortunately,thegovernmenthasnotmadethePDSuniversal.There is no announcement of extending thereliefmeasures from July onwards, ignoringthecontinuingdespairinruralandurbanareas.What isdisturbing is that inthemiddleof

the current crisis someare nowcalling for amassivedownsizingof thePDSanda shift tocash transfers inplaceof foodgrains. Thisde-batehasbeengoingonforsometime,andsuchapolicy directionhas also been reiterated inthe Economic Survey2019-20 to reduce thefiscalburdenposedbythefoodsubsidy.Itistocontainthe fiscaldeficit that thegovernmentis reluctant to expand the PDS despite bur-geoning stocks. Cash transfers are an impor-tant form of welfare provision, especiallythroughschemessuchasoldage,widowanddisability pensions andmaternity entitle-ments.Theamountsgivenunderthesetrans-fersarewoefully inadequate.But toargue forthePDStobereplacedbycashtransferswouldbe erroneous andmisplaced in the currentcontext.First, theFCIfinancesareindeedinamess

with anoutstanding loanof overRs 2.5 lakh

crore from theNational Small Savings Fund(NSSF).Butthisisentirelyaresultofmisman-agement and off-budget accounting by thegovernmenttoshowalowerfiscaldeficit.Thiscomes at the cost of the sustainability of theFCI,whichhasalreadypaidforthegrainithasprocured. In fact, a perusal of thedata showsthattheactualfoodsubsidyandtheNSSFloancombinedstillaccountsforlessthan1percentof the GDP per annum. Excluding the off-budgetborrowings,thefoodsubsidyinthelastthreeyears isbetween0.53and0.59percentofGDP,muchlessthanwhatitwasintheyearsprecedingNFSAwhenitwasbetween0.8-0.85per cent. Therefore, it is not entirely true thatthefoodsubsidy is increasingatanexponen-tialpace.Second, there are several issueswith re-

placingPDSwithcashtransfers.Cashtransferscannotbeasubstitutefortheprovisionofsub-sidisedfoodgrains.Thereareahighernumberof fairpriceshopsthanbankbranchesandal-thoughmostpeoplenowhaveabankaccount,manyof theseaccountsaredormantandthetransactioncostsofwithdrawingthecasharehigh. Going by the experience of other cashtransferschemesinIndia, itcanbesafelysaidthat thesewill not be inflation-indexed andthus their real valuewill keep decreasing,whichisnotthecasewithfoodtransfers.Thereare also fears that if there is no distributionmechanisminplace,thentheamountoffood-

grains procuredwill also be reduced,whichwouldmeanthatfewerfarmerswouldbeabletoaccessminimumsupportprices.WithdrawingthePDSisalsonotfavoured

bystategovernments.SincetheNDAcametopower,ithastriedrepeatedlytopressurestatestoshifttocashtransfers.Thefactthatnostatewasforthcoming,andthecentralgovernmentfinallymanagedtoinitiateDBTinPDSonlyinChandigarh,DamanandDiuandPuducherrysays something. In Puducherry, following lo-cal protests, its share in PDSwas convertedbacktoanin-kindtransferinafewmonths.These debates can continue, but it is ab-

solutelyunethicaltohavestockslyinginpub-lic godownswhile people are goinghungry.Currently, there aremore than 100milliontonnesintheFCIgodowns,morethanenoughtomeet thepresentNFSArequirements for ayear. With the next kharif harvest in fivemonths,thegovernmentisrunningoutofstor-agespace.The last timethereweresuchhighstocksinthegodowns, in2001-02,theyweregiven away at BPL prices to exporterswhilemanypartsofthecountrywerefacinghungerandstarvation.Weareyet again facedwithasituation of excess stocks andpeople in dis-tress.Unfortunately,itseemslikewewillonceagainmakethesamemistakes.

ThewriterteachesatAmbedkarUniversityDelhi

Thatfoodgrainstockslie inpublicgodownswhilepeoplearegoinghungryisascandal

A time to universalise PDSDipa Sinha

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●WHENDEMOCRACYWASCHALLENGED:GAURAVBHATIA

●●LESSONFROMAMERICA:BINOYVISWAM

www.indianexpress.com

ArunMaira

CR Sasikumar

Inpost-Covidworld,growthofbusinessmustnotbeatexpenseof societalwell-being

New Delhi

TOP 10STATES

INDIA COUNT: 4,73,105 (14,894 DEATHS)

1,42,900Maharashtra

67,468Tamil Nadu

16,009Rajasthan

12,448MP

19,557 UP

70,390 Delhi

28,943Gujarat

15,173West Bengal

12,010Haryana

Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak andwhat you should/should not do?

Write to explained@indianexpress.com

10,444Telangana

UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof11pm,June25.Somestatesmayhavereportedhighernumbers.Onlystates/UTswithatleastonecaselistedabove.2,71,697PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN35STATESANDUNIONTERRITORIES

RESTOFINDIAAndamanandNicobarIslands 56AndhraPradesh 10331ArunachalPradesh 158Assam 6198Bihar 8209Chandigarh 420Chhattisgarh 2419DadraandNagarHaveli 120Goa 951HimachalPradesh 806JammuandKashmir 6422Jharkhand 2207Karnataka 10118Kerala 3603Ladakh 941Manipur 970Meghalaya 46Mizoram 142Nagaland 347Odisha 5752Puducherry 461Punjab 4627Sikkim 84Tripura 1259Uttarakhand 2623

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

A TEAM of engineersandphysicianshasde-veloped a low-cost,easy-to-use emer-gency ventilator forCovid-19patients.Theyworkisdescribedinanupcoming issue of thejournalMedicalDevicesand Sensors, accordingtoastatementreleasedby University ofCalifornia-San Diego.TheteamwillbeseekingapprovalforthedevicefromtheUSFoodandDrugAdministration, it said.Thedeviceisbuiltaroundaventila-

tor bag usually found in ambulances.The teambuilt an automated systemaroundthebag.Itscomponentscanbe

easily fabricated andtheventilatorcanbeas-sembledinjust15min-utes, according to UCSanDiego.Itsaidthede-vice’s electronics andsensorsrelyonarobustsupplychainfromfieldsthat are not related tohealthcare, and hencethey are unlikely to beaffectedbyshortages.The cost of a venti-

latorwouldbejust$500perunit.IthasbeennamedUCSDMADVentMarkV.It offers pressure-controlled ventila-tion equippedwith alarms to signalthatpressure is too lowortoohigh.

Source:UniversityofCalifornia-SanDiego

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

A low-cost, easy-to-use Covidemergency ventilator

AMITABHSINHAPUNE, JUNE25

THE GOVERNMENT on Wednesday ap-provedthecreationofaneworganisationtoensuregreaterprivateparticipationinIndia’sspaceactivities,adecisionwhichitdescribedas “historic”, and which Indian SpaceResearch Organisation (ISRO) chairman KSivansaidwaspartofanimportantsetof re-formstoopenupthespacesectorandmakespace-basedapplicationsandservicesmorewidelyaccessible toeveryone.The new Indian National Space

Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), which is expected to be functionalwithinsixmonths,willassesstheneedsanddemands of private players, including edu-cational and research institutions, and, ex-ploreways to accommodate these require-ments in consultationwith ISRO. ExistingISROinfrastructure,bothground-andspace-based,scientificandtechnicalresources,andevendataareplannedtobemadeaccessibleto interestedpartiestoenablethemtocarryout their space-relatedactivities.

Whyprivate participantsItisnotthatthereisnoprivateindustryin-

volvement in India’s space sector. In fact, alargepartofmanufacturingandfabricationofrocketsandsatellitesnowhappensinthepri-vate sector. There is an increasing participa-tion of research institutions aswell. But asSivantoldthisnewspaperonThursday,Indianindustryhadabarelythreepercentshareinarapidlygrowingglobalspaceeconomywhichwasalreadyworthat least $360billion.Onlytwopercentofthismarketwasforrocketandsatellite launch services,which require fairlylarge infrastructure and heavy investment.Theremaining95percentrelatedtosatellite-basedservices,andground-basedsystems.Indian industry, however, is unable to

compete, because till now its role has beenmainlythatof suppliersof componentsandsub-systems. Indian industries do not havetheresourcesorthetechnologytoundertakeindependent spaceprojectsof thekindthatUScompaniessuchasSpaceXhavebeendo-ing,orprovidespace-basedservices.Additionally,thedemandforspace-based

applications and services is growing evenwithin India, and ISRO is unable to cater tothis.Theneedforsatellitedata,imageriesand

space technology now cuts across sectors,fromweather to agriculture to transport tourbandevelopment,andmore.AsSivantoldthis newspaper, ISROwould have to be ex-panded10timesthecurrentleveltomeetallthedemandthat is arising.At the same time, there were several

Indian companies waiting formake use oftheseopportunities. Sivansaid therewereafew companies that were in the process ofdeveloping their own launch vehicles, therockets like ISRO’sPSLV that carry the satel-litesandotherpayloadsintospace,andISROwould like tohelp themdo that. Right now,all launchesfromIndiahappenonISROrock-ets, thedifferent versionsof PSLVandGSLV.Sivan said ISROwas ready to provide all itsfacilities to private players whose projectshad been approved by IN-SPACe. Privatecompanies, if theywanted,couldevenbuild

theirownlaunchpadwithin theSriharikotalaunch station, and ISROwouldprovide thenecessary land for that,hesaid.IN-SPACe is supposed to be a facilitator,

andalsoaregulator. ItwillactasaninterfacebetweenISROandprivateparties,andassesshow best to utilise India’s space resourcesand increasespace-basedactivities.

How ISRO gainsThere are two main reasons why en-

hancedprivateinvolvementinthespacesec-torseemsimportant.Oneiscommercial,andthe other strategic. Of course, there is needforgreaterdisseminationofspacetechnolo-gies,betterutilisationofspaceresources,andincreasedrequirementofspace-basedserv-ices. And ISRO seems unable to satisfy thisneedon itsown.TheprivateindustrywillalsofreeupISRO

to concentrate on science, research andde-velopment, interplanetary exploration andstrategic launches. Right now, toomuch ofISRO’sresourcesisconsumedbyroutineac-tivities that delay its more strategic objec-tives. There is no reason why ISRO aloneshould be launchingweather or communi-cationsatellites. Theworldover, an increas-ingnumberofprivateplayersaretakingoverthis activity for commercial benefits. ISRO,like NASA, is essentially a scientific organi-sationwhosemain objective is explorationofspaceandcarryingoutscientificmissions.Thereareanumberofambitiousspacemis-sionslinedupinthecomingyears, includingamissiontoobservetheSun,amissiontotheMoon, a human spaceflight, and then, pos-sibly, ahuman landingontheMoon.Anditisnotthatprivateplayerswillwean

away the revenues that ISRO gets throughcommercial launches. As Sivan said, thespace-based economy is expected to “ex-plode” in the next few years, even in India,and therewould bemore than enough forall. In addition, ISRO can earn somemoneybymaking its facilities anddata available toprivateplayers.

Beyond IN-SPACeIN-SPACe is the second space organisa-

tion created by the government in the lasttwo years. In the 2019 Budget, the govern-menthadannouncedthesettingupofaNewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a public sectorcompany that would serve as amarketingarm of ISRO. Itsmain purpose is tomarketthe technologies developed by ISRO andbring itmore clients that need space-basedservices.Thatrole, incidentally,wasalreadybeing

performed by Antrix Corporation, anotherPSU working under the Department ofSpace,andwhichstillexists. It isstillnotveryclearwhy therewas a need for another or-ganisationwithoverlapping function.OnWednesday, however, the govern-

mentsaiditwasredefiningtheroleofNSILsothat it would have a demand-driven ap-proachratherthanthecurrentsupply-drivenstrategy.Essentially,whatthatmeansisthatinstead of justmarketingwhat ISRO has tooffer, NSILwould listen to the needs of theclients and ask ISRO to fulfil those. ThischangeinNSIL’srole,Sivansaid,wasalsopartof thereformsthathavebeeninitiatedinthespacesector.

14WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GEORGEMATHEWMUMBAI, JUNE25

ON JUNE 23, a UK court ruled in favour ofSrichandHinduja,chairmanoftheHindujagroup,andhisdaughterVinooontheissueof control ofHindujaBank,headquarteredin Switzerland, against the wishes of histhreeyoungerbrothers.TheHindujagroup,onceconsideredaclose-knitbusinessfam-ily, isfacingabigchallengeoverthedivisionof assets. Three Hinduja brothers —Gopichand,PrakashandAshok—hadcon-testedtheclaimofSrichandandhisdaugh-ter,saying“everythingbelongstoeveryoneandnothingbelongs toanyone.”

What’s thetussleabout?On July 2, 2014, the four brothers pur-

portedly signed an agreement that assetsheld by one brotherwill belong to all, andeachbrotherwillappointtheothersastheirexecutors. Srichand and Vinoo went tocourtstatingthelettershouldhavenolegaleffect. Justice Falk of the High Court ofJustice, Business and Property Courts ofEngland andWales said the three otherbrothers tried touse the letter to takecon-

trol of Hinduja Bank which was inSrichand’s sole name. The court saidSrichandhadinsistedin2015thattheletter“doesn’treflecthiswishesandthatthefam-ily’sassetsshouldbeseparated”.ThethreeyoungerbrotherssaidSrichandwassuffer-ing fromaformofdementia.

Whatwasthecourt’sdecision?“VinooisappointedasSrichand’slitiga-

tionfriend.Stepstakeninthelitigationpriortothatappointmentwillhaveeffect,asper-mittedunderCPR21.3(4),” JusticeFalksaid.CPR21.3(4)providesthatanysteptakenbe-foreaprotectedpartyhasalitigationfriend“hasnoeffectunlessthecourtordersother-wise”.Thethreeyoungerbrothershadusedthe July 2014 letter to take control ofHindujaBank.This isnotvalidnow.

Whatarethethreebrotherssaying?They claim that the litigationwill not

haveanyimpactonthefamily’sglobalbusi-nesses, whichwill continue to function asthey have been. They say it will be appar-entfromthejudgmentof theHighCourtinEnglandthatSrichand'shealthhasbeende-teriorating for a number of years sufferingfromLewybodydisease,whichisaformof

dementia.“Vinoo,his youngerdaughter, actingas

his Litigation Friend is bringing these pro-ceedings on his behalf. It is very unfortu-natethattheseproceedingsaretakingplaceas they go against our founder’s and fam-ily’s values and principles that have stoodformanydecades,especially,everythingbe-longs to everyone and nothing belongs toanyone,” theysaid.“Weintendtodefendtheclaimtouphold

thesedearlyheldfamilyvalues,”theysaidina statement, hinting that the legal fight islikelytocontinue.Observersdon’truleoutadivisionintheempireinthefuture.

WillSrichand’sassetspassontohisdaughter?The three brothers noted that if the

claim succeeds, all assets in SP’s namewould pass to Vinoo and her immediatefamily on SP’s death, including the entireshareholdinginHindujaBank,accordingtothe judgment. Theymaintain that a num-berof thecomplaintsaboutthe2014letterrelate to its impact on Vinoo personallyrather than Srichand. They also contendthat Vinoo has shown disregard forSrichand’s best interests in bringing the

claim,anditwasnotinhisbestinterestsforthe proceedings to continue. Srichand hastwodaughters, ShanuandVinoo.

What’satstake intheHindujaempire?TheBloombergBillionairesIndexvalues

thefamilyfortuneat$11.2billion.The$50-billionHindujaGroup, controlled fromtheUK,isactiveinoldeconomysectorssuchasbanking& finance, transport, automobilesandenergyaswellastheneweconomysec-torsliketechnology,mediaandrenewables.It’snowaninternationalconglomeratewitha footprint across 38 countries and a150,000-plus strong team.Ashok Leyland,flagshipof theHindujagroupinIndia, isthesecond largestmanufacturer of commer-cial vehicles in India. DheerajHinduja, sonof Gopichand, is on the board of AshokLeyland. IndusInd Bank, a leading privatesector bank, is also controlled by theHindujas. Gulf Oil controlled by the grouphassales in100countries.PDHinduja, fatherof thefourbrothers,

whoiscreditedwithestablishingtradelinksbetween India and Persia set up the busi-nessin1914.Twoofhismajorphilanthropicprojects are Hinduja Hospital inMumbaiandHindujaFoundation.

In space, growing private roleSIMPLYPUT

Governmenthasannouncedaneworganisation, IN-SPACe,partof reformstoincreaseprivateparticipationinthespacesector.Alookatitsobjectives,andwhatitmeanstothefutureofspaceexploration

PRABHARAGHAVAN&AANCHALMAGAZINENEWDELHI, JUNE25

AGROUPrepresentingsomeAmericancom-panies that havemanufacturingoperationsin India haswritten to the Department forPromotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT), saying they are experiencing diffi-cultiesinaccessingcrucialcomponentsfromtheir facilities inChina.

The issueImport consignments from China are

learnttobefacinghurdlesatsomeports, in-cludingChennaiandMumbai.Itislearntthatover the last fortnight, Customs authoritieshave indicated to importers that therewillbedelaysinclearingChineseshipments,buthavenotcitedanyreasons.Therehasnotbeenanywrittenorverbal

instructionsfromtheCustomsauthoritiesorthe Central Board of Indirect Taxes and

Customs(CBIC)either, the importers say.Several importers in Chennai said

Customs officials have been advised not toclear any container that has arrived fromChina, even if anOutof Charge (OOC)orderfor clearancehasbeen issued.

Ladakh link?SomeChennaiCustomszoneofficialssaid

that checkswere being carried out on theconsignmentsbasedonspecificintelligence-based inputs. Importers and industry, how-ever, see itasanudgetochangetheir importpattern, especially of non-essential goods,amid calls for reducing the consumption ofChinesegoods inthewakeof thetensionsatthe Line of Actual Control in Ladakhwhere20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in a deadlyclashwiththeChineseArmyonJune15.

The concernTheUS-IndiaStrategicPartnershipForum

(USISPF), a group representing someAmerican firms involved inmanufacturing

activities in India, said theywere “increas-inglyconcerned”thatcomponentpartsandother inputs “necessary” to theirmanufac-turingoperationswerebeingdetainedattheports.The forumhas sought the restoration of

portoperationsor,“ataminimum”,thatthegovernmentpublishanychangeinportpol-icy“toprovidethebusinesscommunitywiththevisibility theyneedto function.”Consignments of around 50 US firms

with manufacturing operations in Indiaacross sectors suchas telecommunications,automobiles, medical equipment, and fastmoving consumer goods (FMGC) are learnttobeamongthoseaffected.The government has issued “no formal

orders” or provided a “specific” reason fornot clearing their consignments, the grouphassaid,andexpressedconcernthattheab-sence of transparency “threatens” the con-tinuity of their businesses. The “unantici-pated” embargo on imports of goods fromneighbouring countrieswill have repercus-

sions on supply chains andmanufacturingin India, andwill send a “chilling” signal toforeign investors, who look for predictabil-ityandtransparency,theUSISPFhasargued.

The China tradePossible curbs on imports fromChina in

theformoftariffornon-tariffbarriersarebe-ingdiscussedwithinthegovernment,whichis understood tobe considering a list of im-ported items for imposition of various re-strictivemeasures.BetweenApril 2019 and February 2020,

China accounted for around 14% of India’simports; themain itemsbeingcomponentsfor smartphones and automobiles, telecomequipment, plastic andmetallic goods, ac-tive pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), andotherchemicals.Inpharmaceuticalsparticularly, Indiade-

pends heavily on China for crucial ingredi-ents.In2018-19,around68percentof India's$3.56billionworthof bulkdrugsorAPI im-portswere fromChina.

China shipments stuck: why business is concerned

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.comE EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

Hinduja brothers: what property dispute is about, howmuch is at stakeT H E F O U R B R O T H E R S

SRICHANDHINDUJA,84,current headof thefamilyandChairmanofHindujaGroupandcharitablefoundations.After joiningthe

familybusiness in1952,hestrategised itsdiversification.

PRAKASHHINDUJA,Chairmanof theHindujaGroupinEurope.Since2008,hehasbeenbasedinMonaco.Having initially

joined the familybusiness inTehran,he latermoved toGeneva in2008 toMonaco.

GOPICHANDHINDUJA,Co-ChairmanofHindujaGroup.Oneof thearchitectsof itstransformationfromanIndo-MiddleEast

tradingoperationintoamulti-billion-dollartransnationalconglomerate.

ASHOKHINDUJA,based inMumbai,isChairman,HindujaGroupofCompanies(India).Hsbeendrivingthegroup's

diversificationsince it re-enteredIndia inthemid-1980s.HeadsseveralGroupcompanies.

473,105India

239,410Italy

215,096Iran

308,337United Kingdom

254,416Chile

247,486Spain

2,388,865US

1,188,631Brazil

264,689Peru

TOTAL CONFIRMED:9,478,266 DEATHCOUNT:483,613Source: JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonJune25. JHU’sIndiatallyandHealth

Ministry’stally(below)maynotmatchastheseareaccountedatdifferenttimes.

THEWORLD613,148Russia

Rocketprototypesat theentranceof ISRO'sSriharikota launchrange.AmitabhSinha

New Delhi

15THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

USA

NASAnamesHQafterMaryJacksonNew York: NASA an-nounced onWednesdaythat it would name itsWashington, D.C., head-quarters after MaryJackson, the organisa-tion’s first black femaleengineer and a pivotalplayer in helping US as-tronauts reachspace. JimBridenstine,theadminis-trator of NASA, said theagencywouldcontinuetohonour thosewhosehis-tories have long beenoverlooked. “It appropri-ately sits on ‘HiddenFiguresWay,’ a reminderthatMary isoneofmanyincredible and talentedprofessionals in NASA’shistorywho contributedto this agency’s success,”hesaid.

Mary Jackson.NASA

TOPOFTHEWORLD

FRANCE

EiffelTowerreopensafter104daysParis: Marking anothermilestone in France's re-covery from the lock-down,theEiffelTowerre-opened to visitorsThursdayafteritslongest-everclosureinpeacetime:104days.Touriststricklingback to Paris were de-lighted to find it openwhen someother attrac-tionsintheFrenchcapitalremainclosed.TheLouvreMuseum isn't reopeninguntilJuly6.Of thetower'sthreedecks,onlythefirsttwo reopened. Thosewho made the climbThursdaywererewardedwith far-awayviews anda light breeze in scorch-ing summerweather.

PAKISTAN

PIAgrounds150pilotswith‘dubiouslicences’Islamabad: PakistanInternational Airlines onThursdayannounced thatithasgrounded150pilotswith "dubious licences", aday after thepreliminaryprobereportoftheKarachiplanecrashblamedthepi-lotsandtheair trafficcon-trol for the tragedy thatkilled 97 people.“GroundingsomanypilotswillaffectthePIAflightop-eration,”thespokespersonforthenationalcarriersaid,adding that theyhave al-readydismissed sixpilotswith fake degrees. Thosepilots who get their li-cences verifiedwill be al-lowedback onduty, GeoNews quoted the PIAspokespersonassaying.

‘YOU THINK ALL BLACK MEN LOOK ALIKE?’

Wrongfully accused by algorithm, US man’s arrest highlights tech biasKASHMIRHILLNEWYORK, JUNE25

ON A Thursday afternoon inJanuary, Robert Julian-BorchakWilliamswas in his office at anautomotive supply companywhen he got a call from theDetroit Police Departmenttellinghimtocometothestationtobearrested.Hethoughtatfirstthat itwasaprank.An hour later, when he

pulled into his driveway in aquietsubdivisioninFarmingtonHills, Michigan, a police carpulled up behind, blocking himin. Two officers got out and

handcuffedWilliamsonhisfrontlawn,infrontofhiswifeandtwoyoungdaughters,whoweredis-traught.Thepolicewouldn’tsaywhyhewasbeingarrested,onlyshowing him a piece of paperwith his photo and the words“felonywarrant”and“larceny.”Hiswife,Melissa,askedwhere

hewas being taken. “Google it,”sherecallsanofficerreplying.The police drove Williams

to a detention centre. He hadhis mug shot, fingerprints andDNA taken, and was heldovernight. Around noon onFriday, twodetectives tookhimto an interrogation room andplaced threepiecesof paperon

the table, face down.“When’s the last time you

went to aShinola store?”oneofthe detectives asked, inWilliams’s recollection. Shinolais anupscaleboutique that sellswatches, bicycles and leathergoods in the trendy Midtownneighbourhood of Detroit.Williams said he and his wifehad checked it out when thestore firstopened in2014.Thedetectiveturnedoverthe

first piece of paper. It was a stillimagefromasurveillancevideo,showing a heavyset man,dressed in black andwearing aredStLouisCardinalscap,stand-ing in front of a watch display.

Five timepieces, worth $3,800,were shoplifted. “Is this you?”asked thedetective.The second piece of paper

was a close-up. The photowasblurry, but it was clearly notWilliams. He picked up the im-ageandheld itnext tohis face.“No,thisisnotme,”Williams

said. “You think all black menlookalike?”Williams knew that he had

not committed the crime inquestion. What he could nothave known, as he sat in the in-terrogationroom,isthathiscasemaybe the first knownaccountofanAmericanbeingwrongfullyarrested based on a flawedmatch from a facial recognitionalgorithm, according to expertson technologyandthe law.A nationwide debate is rag-

ingaboutracisminlawenforce-ment.Millionsareprotestingnotjust theactionsof individual of-ficers, but bias in the systemsusedtosurveilcommunitiesandidentifypeople forprosecution.This month, Amazon,

Microsoft and IBM announcedtheywould stop or pause theirfacial recognition offerings forlaw enforcement. The gestureswerelargelysymbolic,giventhatthe companies arenot big play-ers in the industry.Clare Garvie, a lawyer at

GeorgetownUniversity’sCenteron Privacy and Technology, haswrittenaboutproblemswiththegovernment’suseof facialrecog-

nition.Shearguesthatlow-qual-itysearchimages—suchasastillimagefromagrainysurveillancevideo— should be banned, andthatthesystemscurrentlyinuseshould be tested rigorously foraccuracy and bias. “There aremediocre algorithms and therearegoodones, and lawenforce-ment should only buy the goodones,”Garvie said.AboutWilliams’sexperience

in Michigan, she added: “Istrongly suspect this is not thefirstcasetomisidentifysomeoneto arrest them for a crime theydidn’t commit. This is just thefirst timeweknowabout it.”Williams and his wife have

not talked to their neighboursabout what happened. Theywonder whether they need toputtheirdaughtersintotherapy.“My mother doesn’t know

about it. It’s not something I’mproud of,” Williams said. “It’shumiliating.”Hehassincefiguredoutwhat

he was doing the evening theshopliftingoccurred.Hewasdriv-ing home fromwork, and hadposted a video to his privateInstagrambecauseasonghelovedcameon—1983’s “WeAreOne,”byMazeandFrankieBeverly.He had an alibi, had

the Detroit police checked forone.NYT

ASSOCIATEDPRESSMOSCOW,JUNE25

POLLS OPENED in Russia onThursday for a week-long voteon constitutional changes thatwouldallowPresidentVladimirPutintostayinpoweruntil2036.Thevoteona slewof consti-

tutionalamendments,proposedbyPutin in January,was initiallyscheduled for April 22, butwaspostponedbecause of the coro-navirus pandemic. It was laterrescheduled for July 1, withpollingstationsopeningaweekearlier and staying open forseven days in an effort to avoidcrowdsonthemainvotingday.The proposed amendments

includeachange in theconstitu-tionthatwouldallowthe67-year-oldPutin,whohasruledRussiaforover twodecades, to run for twomoresix-yeartermsafterhiscur-rent one expires in 2024. Otheramendments talkabout improv-ingsocialbenefits,definemarriageas a union of a man and and awomanandredistributeexecutivepowerswithin the government,strengtheningthepresidency.The changes have already

beenapprovedbybothhousesofparliament, the country's

Constitutional Court andweresigned into lawby Putin. He in-sisted that they be put to a vote,even though it is not legally re-quired,inwhatmanyseeasanef-forttoputaveneerofdemocracyonthecontroversialchanges.Russia is still reporting over

7,000newvirus cases daily andhas 606,000 confirmed infec-tionsinall, thethird-worstcase-load in theworld.The Kremlin has repeatedly

dismissed these concerns, say-ing that Russiawas able to slowdowntheepidemicandassuringpeople that all necessarymeas-ures have been to ensure thesafetyof thevoters.The country's dividedoppo-

sition,meanwhile, has failed tomobilisea significantprotest.

Some Moscow politiciansand journalists launched a“No!” campaign against theamendments, but the viruslockdown prohibited rallies,and authorities have detainedeven single pickets.

ESHAROYNEWDELHI, JUNE25

THE FINANCIAL Action TaskForce(FATF),anindependentin-ter-governmentalbodythatde-velopsandpromotespolicies toprotect the global financial sys-tem againstmoney laundering,terrorist financing and the fi-nancing of proliferation ofweapons of mass destruction,has released its first ever reporton illegalwildlife trade (IWT).The report, released on

Thursday, comes amid increas-ing international concern thatthe crime could lead to morezoonotic diseases in the future.

Estimating theproceedsof IWTat between $7 and $23 billionper year globally, the FATF hassuggestedtoallmembergovern-ments that the financial aspectof wildlife trade needs to belooked at more carefully, andthat money laundering laws

should be applied to wildlifetrade, since theproceedsentersthe global market throughmoney laundering."The illegal wildlife trade is

devastatingourwildlifeandput-tingtheglobalecosystematrisk.Time is running out. To ensurethe survival of endangeredspecies,weneedtobuildstrongpublic private partnerships toprevent, detect and disrupt thisactivity following the moneythat fuels it and the organisedcrime gangs, poachers and traf-fickersbehindit,"saidFATFpres-identXiangminLiu."The illegal wildlife trade

(IWT)isamajortransnationalor-ganisedcrimethat fuelscorrup-

tion,threatsbiodiversity,andcanhavesignificantpublichealthim-pacts. Inparticular, thespreadinrecentyearsofzoonoticdiseasesunderlinestheimportanceofen-suringthatwildlife is tradedinalegal, safe and sustainableman-ner, and that countries removethe profitability of illegal mar-kets,''says thereport.Initsreport,theFATFpointed

outthatfollowingthemoneyal-lowscountriestoidentifyawidernetworkofsyndicateleadersandfinanciersinvolvedandtoreducethe profitability of the crime. Italso stated that syndicates in-volved in the crime are usuallyengaged in other illegal enter-prises,andthattacklingIWTwill

helpdismantlesuchnetworks."Combating criminal organ-

isations through their financialflowsisasignificantlegalandin-vestigative tool to preventwildlife trafficking and the po-tential proliferation of zoonoticdiseases," it stated, suggestingtheuseofmoneylaunderingof-fencessincetheycarrymorese-verepenaltiesinmanycountries.While the exact connection

between the trading of pan-golins and pangolin scaleswiththe Covid-19 outbreak is yet tobeestablished,researchersinter-nationally are looking into pos-sibleconnections.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Robert Julian-BorchakWilliamshadanalibi.NYT

BRITAIN’S DAY OUTThousandsdefiedcoronavirussocialdistancingrulesandgatheredatabeachinBournemouth,England,onThursday—thehottest dayof theyearso far.A ‘major incident’hasbeendeclared intheareatoallowauthorities to takeemergencymeasures inresponsetothebreachof rules. AP

SAJJADHUSSAINISLAMABAD, JUNE25

PAKISTANPRIMEMinisterImranKhanonThursdaycalledslainalQaeda chief and 9/11 master-mind Osama bin Laden a "sha-heed" (martyr) and said thatIslamabad faced "embarrass-ment" by taking part inAmerica'swaron terror.Speaking inparliamentdur-

ingthebudgetsession,Khansaidthe American forces enteredPakistan and killed Ladenwith-out informing Islamabad afterwhich everyone started abusinghiscountry. "Idon't thinkthere'sa countrywhich supported thewaronterrorandhadtofaceem-barrassment for it. PakistanwasalsoopenlyblamedforUS'failureinAfghanistan,"Khansaid."For Pakistanis across the

globe, it was an embarrassingmoment when the Americanscame and killed Osama binLaden at Abottabad...martyredhim. The whole world startedabusing us after that. Our allycame inside our country andkilledsomeonewithoutinform-

ing us. And, 70,000 Pakistanisdied because of US' war on ter-ror,"hesaid.Khan's remarks drew criti-

cism from the Opposition."Osamabin Ladenwas a terror-istandourPMcalledhimamar-tyr. Hewas behindmassacre ofthousands,"saidKhawajaAsifofPakistanMuslimLeague-Nawaz.Pakistan on Thursday ex-

pressed its disappointment overtheUSStateDepartment'sreportwhichdescribedthecountryasa"safe harbour" for regionally-fo-cusedterroristgroups."...Pakistanwillnotallowanygrouporentityto use its territory against anycountry," the ForeignOffice said,commentingonthereport.PTI

VladimirPutin

ImranKhan.Reuters/File

Imran Khan callsOsama ‘martyr’ in PakParliament, faces flak

Illegal wildlife trade putting global ecosystem at risk: FATF

FATFpresidentXiangminLiu

THENEWYORKTIMESNEWYORK,JUNE25

THE UNITED States reported36,880newcoronaviruscasesonWednesday,thelargestone-daytotal since the start of the pan-demic and more than twomonthsafter theprevioushigh.Thenumber of infections in-

dicated that the countrywasnotonly failing to contain the virus,but also that the caseloadwasworsening—apathatoddswithmanyothernationsthathaveseensteady declines after an earlierpeak. Cases in theUnited Stateshadbeenonadownward trajec-tory after the previous high of36,739casesonApril24,buttheyhaveroaredbackinrecentweeks.The resurgence is concen-

trated largely in the South andWest. Florida,Oklahoma,SouthCarolina and Texas reportedtheir highest single-day totalsonWednesday, but case num-bers have been rising in morethan 20 states.The tallyof newcases, based

on aNew York Times database,showed that the outbreakwasstronger thanever. Theelevatednumbersarea resultofworsen-ingconditionsacrossmuchofthecountry,aswellasincreasedtest-ing—but testing alonedoesnotexplain the surge. Increases inhospitalisations also signal thevirus’s spread.Some states, includingNew

York,whichatonepointhad themost daily virus cases, havebroughttheirnumbersundercon-trol. Hoping to keep it thatway,

New York — along withConnecticutandNewJersey—saiditwouldinstituteaquarantineforsomeout-of-statetravelers.AsofWednesday,morethan

2.3millionAmericanshavebeeninfectedandabout122,000havedied. Governor Gavin Newsomof California said that his statehad recordedmore than 7,000newcasesoverthepreviousday.The WHO warned

Wednesdaythatif theAmericaswerenotable tostopthespreadof thevirus,theremaybeaneedtoimpose—orreimpose—gen-eral lockdowns.

NATECOHNNEWYORK,JUNE25

PRESIDENTDONALDTrumphaslostsignificantgroundinthesixbattlegroundstatesthatclinchedhis Electoral College victory in2016, according to New YorkTimes/Siena College surveys,with Joseph R Biden Jr openingdouble-digit leads inMichigan,PennsylvaniaandWisconsin.Trump’s once-commanding

advantage amongwhite votershas nearly vanished, a develop-mentthatwouldallbutprecludethepresident’sre-election.Bidennowhas a21-point leadamongwhitecollegegraduates,andthepresidentislosingamongwhitevotersinthethreeNorthernbat-tlegroundstates.Four years ago,Mr. Trump’s

strength in the disproportion-ately white working-class bat-tlegroundstatesallowedhimtowin the Electoral Collegewhilelosingthepopularvote.Thesur-veys indicate that the presidentcontinues to farebetter in theserelatively white battlegroundstates thanhedoesnationwide.AseparateTimes/Sienasurvey

released onWednesday found

Bidenleadingby14pointsnation-wide, 50 percent to 36 percent.Bidenwouldwinthepresidencywithat least333electoralvotes,farmorethanthe270needed, ifhewon all six of the states sur-veyed and held those won byHillaryClinton fouryearsago.With a littlemore than four

months to go until the election,there is still time for the presi-dent’s political standing to re-cover,justasitdidonsomanyoc-casions four years ago. Hemaintains a substantial advan-tage on the economy, whichcouldbecomeanevenmorecen-tral issue in what has alreadybeenavolatileelectioncycle.Andmanyof theundecidedvoters inthesestatesleanRepublican,andmay end up returning to theirparty’snominee. NYT

RACE FORTHEWHITE

HOUSE

Trump loses groundin key states: Survey

SPIKE INOVER20STATES

At 36,880,US recordshighest 1-dayspike so far

Sydney:Australia’s secondmost populous state de-ployed ambulances andmobile test centres in atestingblitzasthecountryrecorded the biggest dailyriseincasesintwomonths.Victoria state said 33

peopletestedpositiveinthepast24hours,markingninedays of double digit newcases in the state. It hasaround 200 current casesoutofacountrytotalof270.Victoria state Premier

DanielAndrewssaidauthor-itiesarestartingwiththe10most affected suburbs.Hesaidabout100,000testswillbeconductedover thenext10days.REUTERS

AUSTRALIAREPORTSBIGGEST24-HRRISEINCASES IN2MONTHS

UNEARTHS TWO OF LARGEST TANZANITE GEMSTONES

MINERTURNSMILLIONAIREOVERNIGHTA small-scale miner in Tanzania has become an overnight millionaire afterunearthing two of the biggest rough tanzanite gemstones ever found. Tanzania'sgovernment bought the book-sized stones weighing 20 pounds (9 kg) and 11pounds (5 kg) from miner Saniniu Laizer for $3.4 million

E●EXPLAINED

ATA timewhenRussia isstill strugglingwith thepandemic,pollorganisersreportedlyfacedifficultyinensuring a good turnout.There are also concernsthatmeasuresputinplacedue to the outbreak, likestretching the poll over aweektoavoidlongqueues,leave room for potentialfraud.Forexample,asperareport, it isuncertainhowballot boxeswill be sur-veilled during sanitising,when everyone mustleavethevenue.

Concernovervirus,turnout

Russia opens polls for week-longvote on extending Putin’s tenure

New Delhi

I,Manipal S/OBhagwanDasSinghR/oH.No. 315, Toor MafiKothi , KidmatpurAmrohaU.P.-244501 have changedmynamefromManipal Singh toMahipalSingh for Future. 0040539961-6

I, Sushila Singh w/oMahipalSingh r/oH.No.315, Toor MafiKothi Kidmatpur, Amroha, U.P.-244501, have changedmynamefromSushila Singh toSushilafor Future. 0040539961-7

II,, SweetyPatwari D/oRajkumarPatwariW/oPrassanGoyalR/o-C-128, Pundrik-Vihar,Pitampura, Delhi-110034,havechangedmyname toShringarGoyal. 0040540317-12

II,, SapanaD/oPuranBahadurR/o.H.No.E-18, Ist-Floor,Rajapuri, UttamNagar, Delhi-110059.have changedmynametoSapnapermanently.

0040540317-9

II,, SandeepSinghSehgal S/oShri. Surender Pal Singh R/o1/124, PratapSinghBuilding,Janpath Lane, Delhi havechangedmysonname fromOjas Sehgal toOJASSINGHSEHGAL for all futurepurposes.

0040540259-2

II,, SandeepSinghSehgal S/oShri. Surender Pal Singh R/o1/124 , PratapSinghBuilding,Janpath lane, Delhi havechangedmysonname fromJapeshSehgal to JAPESHSINGHSEHGAL for all futurepurposes. 0040540259-1

II,, RituChabraW/oVinayChhabra, R/o- C-5/50B,LawrenceRoad, Keshavpuram,NewDelhi-110035havechangedmyname toRituChhabra 0070707324-1

II,, RAJESHAGGARWAL, S/O-DEVINDERGUPTAR/O-L-2/1SHASTRI-NAGARASHOKVIHARDELHI-110052. changedmyname toRAJESHGUPTA.

0040540312-5

II,, Pankaj Kumar S/oKailashPatiRanjanSahayR/o-190,1st-Floor,Pratap-NagarMayur-Vihar Phase-1,Delhi-110091.have changedmyname toPankaj Sahay,for all,purposes.

0040540312-10

II,, NO-6939978M HAVAJIT SINGHS/O-AMILALR/O-VILL-NANGALMUNDI,PO-MUNDI,DISTT&TEH-REWARI, HARYANA-123401,have changedmyminor son’sname,fromANMOL toANMOLYADAV,for all,futurepurposes.

0040540317-7

II,, NAZARULHASAN, S/O-HAMIDHASANR/O-G-73GROUND-FLOORNIZAMUDDINWESTDELHI-110013, changedmyname toNAZARHASAN.

0040540312-3

II,,MohammadAsif S/o-MohammadShafiqR/o-B-62, G-Floor,DDA-Colony,NewZafrabadDelhi-32,havechanged thenameofmyson,FromAmaan toMohdAmaan. 0040540312-9

II,,MehrunisaW/oSaeedAhmedUmarR/o-E-21 F.F, NawadaHousing-ComplexVipin-GardenDwarka-MoreDelhi-110059, Changedmyname toMehrunnishaKhan.

0040540317-2

II,,Mahipal S/oRamChanderR/o14/9, U.G.F., SubhashNagar,NewDelhi-110027.havechangedmyname toMahipalSinghpermanently.

0040540317-8

II,, Khushal S/oHarbans Lal R/o-CA-17A, DDAFlatsMayaPuriDelhi-110064 have changedmyname toKhushalGakhar.

0040540317-1

II,, Jyoti JohnW/o-VijayPahilajaniR/o-32, AI-Block, Birla-Farm,Chhattarpur-Extn., NewDelhi-110074. have changedmynametoVinnyPahilajani.

0040540317-3

II,, JanendraGulati S/o SurendraKumarGulati R/oD-2/24, GoldCroft Apartment, DwarkaSector-11, Delhi-110075, havechangedmyminor son’s namefromAyyanGulati aged 1 yeartoAyaanGulati forever

0070707325-1

II,, RITUW/O-RAJESHGUPTAR/O-L-2/1 SHASTRINAGARASHOKVIHARDELHI-110052, changedmyname toRITUGUPTA.

0040540312-4

II,, Chirag verma S/o-AjayVerma,Add-892/Ahousingboardcolony faridabad sector-29,Haryana-121008,Have changedmyname toShubhamVerma.

0040540312-8

II,, Babita Jasjit JainW/o-Mr.A.K.JainR/o-A3-701,UniworldCity,Sector-30, Gurgram,Haryana, have changedmyname toBabita Jain,forall,futurepurpose.

0040540317-11

II,, BADURLHASAN S/ONAZARHASANR/O-G-73GROUNDFLOORNIZAMUDDINWESTDELHI-110013, Changedmyname toBADRULHASAN.

0040540312-2

II,, AshimaShankerD/oSureshKumarGuptaW/oVinayShankerR/o-C-101,Pushpanjali, Shakarpur,Delhi-110092.have changedmynametoAshimmaShanker.

0040540317-10

II,, ChahatD/oAnil RanaR/o-H.No.469, Bharthal-Road,Bijwasan,New-Delhi, havechangedmyname toChahatRana. 0040540312-6

PPEERRSSOONNAALL

GGRREEEETTIINNGGSS

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

Classifieds

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it known to all concerned that my clientSh. Anil Kumar Vaid S/o late Sh. C.P. Vaidand Smt. Urmil Vaid W/o Shri Anil KumarVaid both r/o WZ-6 B/2, ground floor,Krishna Park, Street no. 8, Tilak Nagar,New Delhi- 110018 have disowned theirson Shri Ankit Vaid R/o WZ-6 B/2, secondfloor, Krishna Park, Street no. 8, TilakNagar, New Delhi- 110018. My clients havedebarred him from all their movable andimmovable properties which exist or mayexist in future in name of my clients. Myclients sever all relations/connections withtheir son. That my client(s) shall not beliable or responsible for any acts(s) and / oromission(s), any claim, loss, interest and/or otherwise to anyone in any manner onthe part of above person/relations henceforthwith.

Sd/-MANISH GARD & ASSOCIATES

(ADVOCATES)Chamber AT: C-92, C.L. JOSEPH

BLOCK, TIS HAZARI, DELHIOFFICE: 011-23936573 9213415030

PUBLIC NOTICEGeneral Public is hereby inform thatmy Clients Sanjay Palanwal S/o LateShri Inder Singh Palanwal R/o1/1952, Plot no- 32, Gali no- 22A,Near Durga Mandir, East RamNagar, Shahdara, North East Delhi-110032 have Disowned his SonAakash Palanwal from all movableand immovable Properties due to hismisbehavior and drinking liquor. AsSuch, whosoever deals with themshall deal on their own risk and myClients will not be responsible.

RITU VERMA (ADVOCATE)Enrl No:- D/1126/92

Off. No. B-25, Gupta PalaceA-2/42, Rajouri Garden

N. Delhi-110027

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it Known to the public at large that Myclients Sh. Prabhu dayal and Smt.Santosh Rani (Both Husband and Wife)Residing at House No. 7028-7029 MataRameshwari Nehru Nagar Tank RoadKarol Bagh New Delhi has disowned anddebarred their respective Sons anddaughter in laws 1. Gulshan Kumar @Bunty and his wife Rekha 2. Lalit Kumar@ Labbo and his wife Ranjeeta 3. NitinKumar @ Sunty and his wife Manisha 4.Jitender Kumar @ Arun and his wife Priya@ Golu and their sons and daughter’sfrom their movable and immovableproperties/assets and severe all relationwith them, due to their Misbehavior andcriminal conduct. My clients shall not beresponsible for their any act or conduct.Whoever deals with them deals at theirown cost and consequences.

Sd/-D.C. AKARNIYA (ADVOCATES)

B-22, BGS Block, Tis Hazari Courts,Delhi-110054

II Tejbir Alias Tejbir Rapria S/oRamKishanR/oHouseNo-324,Village-Sheikhpura, Tehsil-Gannaur, Sonipat, Haryana-131101, have changedmyname toTejbir Rapria

0070707352-1

II,, VijayKumarPahilajani S/o-VasudevPahilajani, 109-A,D.D.A, Flats-ShahpurJat,NewDelhi-110049.havechangedmyname toVijayPahilajani. 0040540317-4

II SumanAgarwalaW/OSandipAgarwal R/O-BG-6/223A,Paschim-Vihar, NewDelhi-110063. HaveChangedmyName toSumanDevi.

0040540317-6

II SheikhMohammadSikandarHeyat S/o.IbrarAhmadR/o-Property-No.M-60 Fourth-FoorAbul Fazal, Enclave-1, Jamia-NagarOkhla, Delhi-110025,have changedmyname toSikandarHeyatPermanently 0040540258-2

II SandipKRAgarwala S/OJagadeshPrasadAgarwalR/O-BG-6/223A, Paschim-Vihar,NewDelhi-110063. HaveChangedmyName toSandipAgarwal. 0040540317-5

II SandeepNagar S/oGirrajNagarR/oVillage-Tigaon, PO-Tigaon, Faridabad,Haryana-121101, have changedmyname toSandeepNaagar

0070707340-1

II RavanKumar S/oSreeRamlalR/oChakDiyalla Kathua,JammuandKashmir-184144,have changedmyname toRamanKumar 0070707333-1

II PardeepKumar S/O, Sh. ChetRamR/oRzg-253RajNagar-iiPalamColonyNewDelhi110045have changedmynametoPradeepKumar for allpurposes. 0040540296-1

II Nivi GuptaW/oKushpinderSinghMatharooR/oHouseNo-1931, StreetNo-4, CircuitHouseRoad,Maharaj Nagar,POBharatNagar, Ludhiana,Punjab-141001, have changedmyname toNavreet KaurMatharoo 0070707338-1

II NishaW/oRahul RayR/o-A-502Neelpadam-kunj, Sector-1Vaishali, Ghaziabad-201010haveChangedmyName toNishaRay for all futurepurposes 0040540258-1

II KantaW/OKamalNainR/O-QTRNo-136,S.J. Hospital Staff-Qtr., SafdarjungEnclave, NewDelhi-110029HaveChangedmyName toKantaDevi.

0040540312-1

II KanikaD/oTejbir RapriaR/oHouseNo-324, Village-Sheikhpura, Tehsil-Gannaur,Sonipat, Haryana-131101, havechangedmyname toKanikaRapria. 0070707359-1

II Kamal BhatiaAliasKoteraPonnappaAccammaD/oKotera SomaiahPonnappaandW/oAjayBhatia R/o 403,ChikkanappaLayout, Byrathi,Hennur, BangaloreNorth,Bangalore, Karnataka-560077,have changedmyname toKoteraPonnappaAccamma

0070707341-1

II JonathanGordonSamuelAliasJonathanGordonSamuelNongrumS/oGodley SamuelR/oB-608, ShauryaApartment,Sector-62, Noida, GautamBuddhaNagar, UP-201301,have changedmyname toJonathanGordon

0070707336-1

II Inder Preet SinghS/oSh.Kanwar Inder Pal SinghR/oC-10/3,Model Town-III, Delhi-110009have changedmynameto Inderpal Singh for allpurposes. 0040540252-2

II Harjeet KaurW/oRupinderSinghR/oB-1/2081,MohallaAhluwaliaWala, OldRajpura,Patiala, Punjab-140401, havechangedmyname toJaswinderKaur.

0070707361-1

II DishaVarmaW/oManishDiwanR/o FlatNo-301,DhanshreeApartment,PremisesNo-2, C-78, Sector-2,LohiaNagar, VikasNagar,Lucknow,UP-226022, havechangedmyname toDishhaVerma 0070707339-1

II Biswajit GhoshAliasBiswajeetGhoshS/oBijonShekherGhoshR/oQRNo-D/2, NABM,Prasar Bharati Colony,Mancheswar, bhubneswar,MancheswarRailwayColony,Khorda, odisha-751017, havechangedmyname toBiswajitGhosh 0070707332-1

II BalaDeviW/oBansrajBhardwaj R/o 316, Gali No-04,Ambedkar Statue,Shibbanpura, Ghaziabad, UP-201001, have changedmyname toShanti Devi

0070707344-1

II AryanSunil Kumar SinghS/oSunil Kumar SinghR/o 22/4,RailwayBoardTransit Flat,ChanakyaPuri,Delhi is alsoknownasAryanSingh. Bothnamesareof oneand thesameperson. 0040540252-1

II,, YOGESHKANSALS/OSURAJBHANR/OPKTD-10,FLATNO.13, SECTOR-7, ROHINI,DELHI-110085. CHANGEDMYNAMETOYOGESHKUMARKANSAL. 0040540312-7

II,, VinayChabraS/oVinodChhabra, R/o- C-5/50B,LawrenceRoad, KeshavPuram, NewDelhi-110035havechangedmyname toVinayChhabra.

0070707318-1

HHaallaakk Pandya, a veryHappy22ndbirthday to you fromyourfriends! Lots of Love!

0050165851-1

Ref. No.: 11/PIU(Health), UDRP-AF Date: 25/06/2020NOTICE FOR NATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING

NAME OF PROJECT: Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project - AdditionalFinancing (UDRP AF) Loan No. - 89210-INThe Government of India has received financing from the World Bank towards thecost of the UDRP-Additional Financing and intends to apply part of the proceeds forfollowing packages of Machines & Ambulance Hence National Competitive Biddingsare invited for the following Machines & Ambulances and the bid document of whichcan be downloaded from the website https://uktenders.gov.in Bids must besubmitted online on the website https://uktenders.gov.in on or before 11:00 AM,17 July, 2020 A complete set of bidding documents in English may be downloadedby interested eligible bidders from the website https://uktenders.gov.in which willbe available on the website from 01/07/2020 to 17/07/2020. Bids will be opened on17 July, 2020 at 3:00 PM

Note- 1. The corrigendum for the above works will be uploaded on website www.uktendersgov.in & www.ukdisasterrecovery.in

2. Email id piu.health.udrpaf@gmail.com may be contacted for anyinformation or complaint related to the works under PIU (Scope, Bridge &Irrigation), UDRP-AF or the complaint/grievance may also be uploaded onthe website www.uk disasterrecovery.in

Sd/-Program Manager

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION UNIT-HEALTHUttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project-Additional Financing (UDRP-AF)

4TH Floor, DDPM Tower, Haridwar Bypass Road, Ajabpur Khurd, DEHRADUNPh. No. 8126148268; Email id: piu.health.udrpaf@gmail.com;

Website: www.ukdisasterrecovery.in

SI.No

Package No. Name of Work BidSecurity(In INR)

Cost of BidDocument

(In INR)1 2 3 5 71. 01/PIU-Health/CERC/

UDRP-AF/2020Supply & installation of CT Scan Machinesin 4 Tertiary Care Hospitals of Uttarakhand

INR 40.00Lakh

5000+GST

2. 02/PIU-Health/CERC/UDRP-AF/2020

Supply of Ambulances (100 Basic LifeSupport-BLS & 40 Advance Life Support-ALS) for Health Department, Uttarakhand

INR 68.34Lakh

5000+GST

d³fd½fQf d½fdVf¿MeI S¯f Àfa£¹ff ´fd½fd½fd³fd»f/ ¸fZ/ ¸fb./ 02/ Swift Dzire/ Tours/ Tata Tigor/ 2020-21 IZJb»f³fZ I e d°fd±f dQ³ffaI 25.06.2020 ±fe dªfÀfI û A´fdSWf¹fÊ I fS¯fûÔ ÀfZ dQ³ffaI 02.07.2020 °fI d½fÀ°ffdS°f dI ¹ffªff°ff W`Ü d³fd½fQf I e d³f¹f¸f ½f Vf°fZË ¹f±ff½f°f SWZÔ¦feÜ WXÀ°ff./- A²feÃf¯f Ad·f¹fa°ff (¸fb.) IÈY°fZ ´fi¶f³²f d³fQZVfIY,SXfáÑXdWX°f ¸fZÔ d¶fªf»fe ¶f¨ffEa kkd¶fªf»fe ¨fûSXe IYe Àfc f³ff WZX»´f»ffBʳf ³f¸¶fSX ´fSX QZÔ: 1800-180-3002 (¸fZSXNX)1800-180-8752 (»fJ³fDY)ll ´fÂffaIY 5098 dQ³ffaIY: 25.6.2020

IYf¹ffÊ»f¹f ´fi¶f³²f d³fQZVfIY´fdV¨f¸ffa¨f»f d½fôb°f d½f°fSX¯f d³f¦f¸f d»f.

d½f¢MXûdSX¹ff ´ffIÊY, ¸fZSXNXBÊX-d³fd½fQf d½fÀ°ffSX Àfc¨f³ff

EXTENSION NOTICEDue to poor response to e-NIT No. 11 of 2020 dated: 18.05.2020 for

the Rate contract for execution of various works involving Lifting of mate-rials from Division Store Doda, Transportation, Erection of Poles,Conductor, Guys and other allied line materials as and when required forrepair and Maintenance of existing 33 KV Transmission lines whereverrequired in District Doda, the last date of submission of bid is extendedupto 01.07.2020 and date of opening is 03.07.2020.

All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.Sd/- Executive Engineer,

Sub Transmission Division, Doda.No. STD/Doda/486-89 Dated: 24.06.2020

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER SUB TRANSMISSION DIVISION, DODA(E-mail: xenstddoda@gmail.com, Tel. Fax: 01996-233076)

CIN No. U40300JK2013SGC003898

DIP/J-1705/20

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PRESS NOTICEINVITING PERCENTAGE RATE e-TENDERExecutive Engineer (C), Postal Civil Division, New Delhiinvites on behalf of The President of India, onlinepercentage rate (CPWD-7) e-tenders for the following work:N.I.T. No.: NIT/EEPCND/2020-21/18Name of Work: Miscellaneous civil repair works for the year2019-20 in MMS, Naraina, New Delhi-110028.Estimated Cost: ` 59,98,873/-Earnest Money: ` 1,19,977/-,Period of completion- 04 Months.Last time and date of submission of bid: 06.07.2020upto 15.00 Hrs.The bid forms and other details can be obtained from thewebsite www.dopcivil.euniwizarde.com.

*NOTICE INVITING TENDER* (e-Tendering Mode Only)(“A State Govt. Undertaking”)

HIMACHAL PRADESH STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD LIMITED

Online bids in two part bidding system are hereby invited on behalf ofHPSEB Ltd. by the Superintending Engineer (Designs), Power HouseElectrical , HPSEB.Ltd., Sunder Nagar, Distt. Mandi (H.P)-175019 forsupply, erection, testing and commissioning of Dehydration plant4500LPH capacity for Bassi HEP (4X16.5MW) under Bassi PowerHouse Division, HPSEBL., Jogindernagar, District Mandi (H.P.) frommanufacturers who regularly manufacture the equipment of the typespecified and have adequate technical knowledge and experience inrespect of all items covered under scope of Supply and services in BidSpecification No. HPSEBL/PHE/Bassi Dehydration Plant/2020-1 as perthe following :

Save Energy for the Benefit of Self and Nation

The detailed tender notification can be viewed / downloaded free of costfrom website https://www.tenderwizard.com/HPSEB and tenderdocument can be had after making prescribed payment.Any clarification /amendment shall be uploaded on the abovewebsite.

Request for online bid documents :

Issue of online bid documents (bid :sheets)Date of pre bid meeting :Last date of submission of online :bidDate of opening of Techno- Comm :ercial bid (Part-1)Cost of Bid Specification Document :(Non-refundable including GST@18%)Earnest Money Deposit

From 30.06.2020 (10.00Hrs)to 16.07.2020 (12.30 Hrs)From 30.06.2020 (10.00Hrs)to 16.07.2020 (12.30 Hrs)18.07.2020 (11.00Hrs)Up to 21.07.2020 (11.00Hrs)

21.07.2020 (15.00Hrs)

(Rs. 2000/- +18% GST) =Rs 2360/-

: Rs 21000/-

(Partap Thakur)Superintending Engineer (Designs).

Power House Electrical, HPSEB Ltd.. Sundernagar.Distt. Mandi (HP)-175019. Tel/Fax: 01907-262596

Email: /sedphel@gmail.comsmallhydel@rediffmail.com

II ShyamAggarwalDirector ofTyroConsultants PrivateLimitedhaving its Regd.Officeat B-132, AnandVihar, Delhi-110092 hereby report that Ihave lostOriginal Re-allotment letter no.HSIIDC/Residential 1504dated12-06-2014 related toPlot no.181, Sector-1,Manesar,GurgaonHaryana. In case it isfoundplease return it to itsRegd.Office. 0040540264-1

16 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020CLASSIFIEDS&TENDERS

New Delhi

17SENSEX: 34,842.10 ▼ 26.88 NIFTY: 10,288.90 ▼ 16.40 NIKKEI: 22,259.79 ▼ 274.53 HANG SENG: 24,781.58 ▼ 125.76 FTSE: 6,110.60 ▼ 13.09 DAX: 12,124.09 ▲ 30.15

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOLD`49,072

RUPEE`75.65

OIL$41.25

SILVER`48,705

Note:Gold, silverratesatspotmarket inDelhi;goldper10g, silverper1kg;Brentcrudeasof2330IST

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

Regd. Office.: PSEB Head Office, The Mall, Patiala,CIN: U40109PB2010SGC033813;

O/o The Chief Engineer/TS, B-1, Shakti Vihar, PatialaTel/Fax: 0175-2303093; e-mail: ce-ts@pspcl.in : setransdesign@gmail.com

TENDER ENQUIRY NO. TSQ-1109/PSPCL/TD-II

Tender are invited through e-Tendering under three part bid system for specification formanufacture, testing, supply & delivery of 220 MT hot dip galvanised nuts, bolts and 15MT electro-galvanised spring washers.

IMPORTANT DATES:

1) Start date for downloading of tenders: From the date of publication2) Last date of downloading of tender: 27.07.2020 upto 11.00 A.M.3) Last date & time for bid submission: 27.07.2020 upto 11.00 A.M.4) Date & time of opening of bid: 29.07.2020 at 11.30 A.M.Note:-

1. It is informed that in case tender process is not completed due to any rea-son, no corrigendum will be published in newspapers. Details regardingcorrigendum may be seen on Punjab Government e-tendering website(https://eproc.punjab.gov.in (GePNIC Portal)

2. Detailed NIT and Specification can be downloaded from Punjab Governmente-tendering website (https://eproc.punjab.gov.in (GePNIC Portal)

Sd/-Dy. CE/TL (D).

PSPCL, Patiala.C 206/202040343/PB

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JUNE25

LACKOFadequatepolicysupportfromthegovernmentishamper-ingresearchanddevelopment,aswell innovation in the clean en-ergy sector,which is in turn im-pactingthegrowthofstartupsandsmall andmediumenterprises,theWWFIndiasaidinarelease.“While almost 140 govern-

mentinterventionsfocusdirectlyor/andindirectlyoncleanenergyand startups and SMEs, only 38policiesactuallytargetSMEsinthecleanenergyecosystem,makingit

difficultforSMEstoreaptheben-efitsoftheprovisions,”areportbyWWFIndiasaid.In its report,WWF India has

identified six segments, solarrooftop, electricmobility, energyefficiency, smart energy,waste-to-energy,andenergyaccess,thatit believes could have consider-able impact across industries,buildingsandtransportation.Apartfromlackofpolicysup-

port, the is also verydifficult forstart-ups and SMEs in the cleanenergy techspace to findandre-tain trained anddedicated staffover longerperiodsof times, thereportsaid.

NewDelhi:CommerceandIndus-tryMinister PiyushGoyal Thurs-daysaidhewillbetalkingtoUSTRRobertLighthizer inthenext fewdays to “quicklywrap” up initialaspectsoftheproposedtradedeal.IndiaandtheUSarenegotiat-

ingatradedeal to ironoutdiffer-ences and promote two-waycommerce.Goyalsaidheisinreg-ulardialoguewithUSTradeRepr-esentative(USTR)andUSComm-erce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “IthinkMrWilburRossandIwillbemeetingwith businessmen ofboth countries sometime in themiddleof July.” PTI

Goyal: To talk toLighthizer onproposed tradedeal in few days

BRIEFLYTrai’s‘channelselectorapp’NewDelhi:TheTelecomRe-gulatoryAuthority of India(Trai) Thursday launched a‘channel selector app’, thatenables users to select andpay only for channels theywishtoseeinsteadofreceiv-ingall channels inaspecificbouquetandpayingforit.

NewproductbyKarnatakaBankNewDelhi:KarnatakaBankhaslaunchedanewproduct,KBLMicroMitra,togivefina-ncial assistanceup toRs10lakhcantomicromanufact-uringandserviceenterpris-eseitherforworkingcapitalorforinvestmentpurposes.

PFC:FY20netprofitof`6.8KcrNewDelhi: Power FinanceCorporation(PFC)ThursdaysaiditregisterednetprofitofRs 6,788 crore for FY20, asagainst Rs 6,953 crore inFY19, excluding one-timeimpactofDTAduetochangeincorporatetaxrate.

CanaraBankQ4netlosswidensNewDelhi:CanaraBankpos-tedwidening of its stand-alonenetlosstoRs3,259.33crore for thequarter endedMarch2020.Ithadreportedanet lossof Rs551.53croreintheyear-agoperiod. ENS

SANDEEPSINGH&AANCHALMAGAZINENEWDELHI,JUNE25

MONEY PARKED by Indians inSwiss Banks fell for the secondstraight year— this timebyCHF55million,or5.8percent, toCHF899million (Rs 7,100 crore)— in2019.While the figurewas at itshighestatCHF6.46billionin2006,it stood at CHF 1.81 billion (Rs14,400crore) in2014whenNDAgovernmentcametopower,andithas comedown in linewith theCentre’s steps over the last fewyears to curbblackmoney in theeconomyand following the set-tingupofnewframeworkin2016that allowed exchange of infor-mationbetweenSwitzerlandandIndia to help check the blackmoneymenace.Whileoveralltotalforeignde-

posits roseby3.1percent toCHF1.44trillionfromCHF1.39trillionin 2018, China sawamajor 13.1per cent jump inmoneyparkedbyitsresidents,fromCHF13.5bil-lionin2018toCHF15.3billion.India’s neighbour Pakistan

witnessed a sharpdecline in themoneyparkedby its residents inSwitzerlandlastyearasitdeclinedby45percentfromCHF745mil-lionin2018toCHF410million.The latest data fromZurich-

basedSwissNationalBank(SNB)

releasedfortheyear2019showsasharpriseindepositsbyAmericanresidentsinSwissbanksasitroseby CHF 17.8 billion, or 12.5 percent,toCHF160billion.Even as some nations wit-

nesseda jump in2019, therehasbeenanoveralldeclineinmoneyparkedbyresidentsacrosscoun-triesinSwissbankssincetheyearoftheglobalfinancialcrisis.Whiletotal foreign deposit in Swissbankshitanall-timehighofCHF2.43trillionin2007,theyhavede-clined since then.While overallforeigndepositshavefallen41percentsince2007,thatforIndiahasdeclined by 79 per cent since2007.ForIndia,thetotalliabilitiesof Swiss banks stood highest in2006atCHF6.46billion.TheSNBdatacomesafter the

firstsetofdetailsofbankaccountsheld by Indian nationals were

sharedunderthenewframeworkfor automatic exchangeof infor-mationbetweenSwitzerlandandIndia to help check the blackmoneymenace last September.WhileSwitzerlandbegansharingforeignclientdetailsonevidenceofwrongdoingprovidedbyIndiaand someother countries, it hasagreedtofurtherexpanditscoop-eration on India’s fight againstblackmoneywith thenewpactfor automatic exchangeof infor-mation(AEOI).IndiaandSwitzerlandhad,for

automaticsharingoffinancialac-count information, signeda JointDeclaration on November 22,2016 foractivationofAEOI in taxmattersbetweenthetwonations.Theuse anddisclosureof the in-formationreceivedisgovernedbythe confidentiality provisions oftheIndia-Switzerlandtaxtreaty.

TOLEVERAGEbenefitsofe-retail,sellershavemadeabeelinetogetonboarde-commerceplatforms.Amazon India’s vice-president—seller servicesGOPALPILLAI toldPRANAVMUKUL that theonlinemarketplacehasconsistentlyseen50per cent rise in seller registra-tion post-lockdown, as againstpre-lockdownnumbers.He alsospoke about the government’splan tomandate ‘country of ori-gin’tagonproductsandifitcouldplayaroleincustomer’spurchas-ingchoice.Editedexcerpts:

AmazonIndiaishavingitsSmallBusinessDayonJune27.Traditionalretailerssaythatsales,schemes,etcmaynotpushdemand.Whatmakesyouhopefulthisprogrammecoulddrivedemand?Wewant to give anopportu-

nitytoMSMEstoshowcaseuniq-ue products becausewe’ve no-ticed that Indian entrepreneursare coming upwith innovativeproducts during this tough time.Forexample, I foundasellerwhomanufacturedmatchingmaskstoshirts.Therearealsopeoplecom-ing outwith products that havedemand in the COVID world.Theseareworkfromhomegoods,cleaningproducts,appliances,etcforwhichthereisalotofdemandanywayandthisgivestheoppor-tunity to small businesses to

showcasetheirofferings.

HasAmazonIndiarecoveredfromthelockdownslumpintermsofordervolumes?Wehaveseenaspikefromthe

pre-COVIDnumbersconsistentlyfor the last onemonth sinceweopenedup.Forthelastfourweeks,wehaven’t seenanydrop in thatspike.Secondly,newsellersarere-alising that e-commerce andmoderndigital commerce givesthemanadditional opportunitytosellthroughadifferentchannelandwehaveseen50percentplusin search terms like ‘sell online’,‘sellonAmazon’,etcandwehaveseen a 50 per cent rise in newsellerregistrationcomparedwithpre-COVID. This shows that e-commerceprovidesdualpurposebenefits:one,helpingcustomersgettheirproductswhilemaintain-ing social distancing ... two, this

canhelpsmallbusinessesatscale.

Howdoyourespondtothegovernment’splanonmandating‘countryoforigin’tagforproductsone-commerceplatform?Wecontinueto look forways

tooffermostrelevantandrobustdetailpagesasprovidedbysellersand search capabilities to offerseamless customer experience.Sellersareresponsibleforprovid-ingallrequiredinformationabouttheproducttheylistandtherefore,we continue to educate themabouttheneedfordisplayingac-curate, complete informationabouttheirproducts.Ourfocusisto be absolutely compliantwithall Indianlawsandregulations.

Hascountryoforiginforaproductbecomeamajordecision-makingfactorforcustomerspurchasingproductsonline?Acustomer looks for various

informationpoints ...what theirfriends and family thinkabout it... reviews.Therewasastudythatsaid therewere over 20 eventsanddecision-making attributesthat peopleuse to findproducts.Every customer has their ownwayof findingaproductbecausetheylookforcertaininformation.

Full interviewonwww.indianexpress.com

India China US Total foreign2019 0.9 15.3 160.6 1,440.92018 1.0 13.5 142.7 1,398.02017 1.0 16.1 166.6 1,463.22016 0.7 9.6 177.0 1,420.42015 1.2 7.4 196.5 1,418.52014 1.8 8.2 244.9 1,476.6All Figures inCHFBillion, Source: SwissNationalBank

DEPOSITS IN SWISS BANKBYCOUNTRIES

2019: Indian money in Swiss banksfalls 5.8%; total foreign deposits up 3.1%

GopalPillai,AmazonIndiavice-president—sellerservices. File

‘Amazon India has seen a 50% rise innew seller registration post-lockdown’

‘Limited policy supporthampering research,innovation in clean energy’

ASSOCIATEDPRESSWASHINGTON,JUNE25

THEUS economy shrank 5 percent in the first quarter with amuchworsedeclineexpected in

the current three-month eco-nomic period,whichwill showwhat happenedwhen the pan-demicbeganspreadacrosstheUS.TheCommerceDepartment

reportedThursdaythatthedeclineinthegrossdomesticproduct,the

totaloutputofgoodsandservices,intheJanuary-Marchquarterwasunchanged from the estimatemadeamonthago.The 5 per cent dropwas the

sharpestquarterlydeclinesincean8.4percentfallinthefourthquar-

ter of 2008during thedepths oftheworstfinancialcrisissincetheGreatDepression.The first quarter period cap-

turedjusttwoweeksof theshut-downs thatbegan inmanypartsofthecountryinmid-March.

US GDP contracts 5% in Q1; worse likely on the way

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,JUNE25

THEBOARDof theSecuritiesandExchangeBoardofIndia(Sebi)hasmade it easier for listed compa-niestoraisemoneybytemporar-ilyrelaxingpricingnormsforpref-erentialallotmentofshares.Italsotweaked its takeover regulationsto ensure that shareholders re-ceiveinterestifopenoffersarede-layed.The boardhas allowed com-

panies to use the higher of vol-ume-weightedaverageofpreced-ing twoweeksor 12weeks for apreferentialallotment.Currently,companies have to necessarilyprice such issues at the volume-weightedaveragepriceofthepre-ceding26weeks(6months).This pricing option “shall be

availableforthepreferentialissues

made between July 1, 2020, ordateofnotificationofamendmentto theRegulations,whichever islater, andDecember 31, 2020,”saidastatementfromtheregula-tor. The securities allottedon thebasisofthispricingwillbelocked-inforthreeyears, itadded.Relaxingthepricingnormwill

allow companies to price theirpreferentialissueslowerbecauseshare prices have come down

since COVID-19has struck. Thiswillmake itmore attractive forpromoters, who are the typicalbuyersofpreferentialshares,toin-vestmorecapitalintheircompa-nies and stave off hostiletakeovers. It is also particularlyusefulforlistedcompaniestoraisecapital at a timewhenbanks areriskaverseandunwillingtolend.In a relief for shareholders of

companieswhich are being ac-quired,theregulatorhasimposeda10percentpenaltyonopenof-ferswhichgetdelayedbytheac-quirer owing to reasons such asvaluationdisputes,investorcom-plaints, litigationandsoon.Separately, the regulator also

said the acquirer shoulddeposit100 per cent of the open offeramount payable into an escrowaccount for indirect acquisitions.Currently,sucharuleisapplicableonlyfordirectacquisitions.Inadi-

rectacquisition,theacquirertakescontrolofalistedtargetcompanybybuyingitsshares;inanindirectacquisition, control is gained bybuying thesharesof aholdingorparentcompanyofthetargetfirm.TheSebiboardalsosought to

strengthen regulations for pre-venting insider trading. It ap-provedmaintaininga structureddigital databasewhichwill con-tain the nature of unpublishedprice sensitive information andthe names of the personswhosharedtheinformation.It alsopermitted automating

the process of filing stockexchangedisclosures and liftingrestrictions on the tradingwin-dow for transactions prescribedbySebi.The regulator has also

tweaked its settlement regula-tions to streamline the processandmakeitfaster.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JUNE25

COALINDIALtd(CIL)hasnoplanstogiveupanycoalblocksforcom-mercial mining, CIL ChairmanPramodAgrawalsaidonThursday,noting that the PSUwould con-tinuetobeviable inthecompeti-tiveeraofcoalmining.TheCentrehadannouncedthecommerciali-sation of coal as part of theAtmanirbharBharat plan. PrimeMinisterNarendraModihadan-nounced the first auctionof coalblocks for commercial use lastweek. Earlier, only end-users ofcoalsuchaspowerandsteelcom-panieswerepermitted tobid forcoalblocks.“There is noproposal to give

awayanyCILblock for commer-cialmining,sothereisnocauseforconcern,”saidAgrawal,addingthecompany had sufficient blockswithabundant resourcecapacitytocontinueasacommerciallyvi-

able entity in the “competitionera.” CIL is theholderof 463coalblockswithacombinedestimatedminingcapacityofcloseto170bil-liontonnes.“...takingintoaccounttheprojectedgrowthintheensu-ingyears, CILwill be able topro-duceandfuel theexpandingcoaldemandof the country to a con-siderableextentintheforeseeablefuture,” saida releaseby thePSU,addingthatithastargetedannualproductionof 1billion tonnesofcoalby2023-24.ACILreleasesaid itsexpertise

inexploration,mineplanning,in-frastructureengineering,andenvi-ronmentalmanagementgaveitanedgeoverpotentialcompetitors.

REGULATORALSOSEEKSTOTIGHTENRULESONINSIDERTRADING

REUTERSBRUSSELS,JUNE25

ALPHABET’S GOOGLE onThursdaytookasteptoresolv-ing its spatwith publishers,sayingitwouldpaysomeme-diagroups inAustralia, BrazilandGermanyforhigh-qualitycontent and expects to domoredealswithothers.TheUS internetgianthas

for years tried to fendoff de-mands for payment fromnewspublishersworldwideinreturnforusingtheircontent,withEuropeanmediagroupsamongtheirfiercestcritics.“Today,weareannouncing

alicensingprogrammetopay

publishers for high-qualitycontentforanewsexperiencelaunchinglaterthisyear,”BradBender, Google’s vice-presi-dent for news, said. “Wewillstartwithpublishersinanum-berofcountries,withmoretocomesoon,”hesaid.Theprod-uctwillbeavailableonGoogleNews andDiscover. He saidGooglewouldalsooffertopayforfreeaccessforuserstoreadpaywalled articles on apub-lisher’ssitewhereavailable.Publishersthatwillbepaid

for their content includeGermany’s Der Spiegel,FrankfurterAllgemeineZeitung,Australian groups SchwartzMedia, TheConversationandBrazil’sDiariosAssociados.

MEDIAWATCHONLINENEWS

Google to pay somepublishers in Brazil,Australia, Germany

CIL: No plan to giveup any blocks forcommercial mining

KARUNJITSINGHNEWDELHI,JUNE25

OF THE 41 blocks that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi an-nouncedwouldbeauctionedforcommercialcoalmining,33werepreviouslyallottedtopublicsec-tor or private sector companiesbutlatersurrendered.Previously,coalblockswereonlyallottedtoindustries, such as power andsteel industry,whichuse coal asan input.Experts noted that the

surrenderoftheseblocksdidnotindicateanyissueswiththemin-ing potential of these blocks asmanyweresurrenderedaftertheallottees did not develop theblocksforproductioninlinewithtimelinesagreedupon.“Someoftheseblockshadnot

beendevelopedaspertheirminedevelopment plans and (the al-lottees) had to give year on yearupdates on their status. SomeoftheblocksallocatedtoPSUswerenot developed and thereweresomequeries raised by industrythat these had not been devel-oped as per themining plans,”saidSreyaMajumder,deputydi-rectorand lead forenergypolicyat industry body Confederation

of IndianIndustry.Only eight of the 41 blocks

set to be auctioned have notbeen allotted previously andhaveatargetminingcapacityof24.1million tonnes per year, asagainst the total target miningcapacity of around 223milliontonnesperyear.Majumdersaidalotoftherm-

al power plants thatwere set tousecoalfromsuchblocksdidnotcome up as state governmentsmoved towards renewable en-ergy. She noted thatmany suchplantscurrentlyoperationalwerealso operating at only 30-40percentof theirplant loadfactor.Ofthe41blocks,30havebeen

classifiedas“explored”,withan-otherfourcoalblocksclassifiedas“explored in detail”. The auctionof these blocks reduces the per-ceivedrisk forbiddersaccordingto Vipul Tuli, chairman of FICCIPowerCommittee.

Most blocks already allotted &surrendered as allottees ‘failedto develop within deadline’

COMMERCIALCOALMININGOF41BLOCKS

E●EXPLAINED

THErelaxation inpricingnormswillbeparticularlyuseful forlistedcompanies toraisecapitalata timewhenbanksareriskaverse.

Willhelpinraisingcapital

Sebi relaxespreferentialpricingnorms, tweakstakeovercode

MSIL sees end of road for diesel vehiclesafter its price overtakes petrol in Delhi

SMALLERCARSEGMENT

Coal India is theholderof463coalblockswithacombinedestimatedminingcapacityofcloseto170bntonnes

Expertsnotedthat thesurrenderof the33blocksdidnot indicateanyissueswiththeminingpotentialoftheseblocks

SANDEEPSINGHNEWDELHI,JUNE25

ASTHEperlitrepriceofdieselhasovertaken that of petrol inDelhiand the gap has narrowed inmanystates,MarutiSuzuki IndiaLimited(MSIL) feels itwillbe theend of road for diesel cars — atleast in the smaller car segment.Having stopped production ofdieselcarsbeginningApril1,2020andbettingbigonCNGasthefu-turefuel,MSILplanstointroduceCNGvehiclesacrossallmodelsgo-ingforwardandithasalreadyin-troduceditacrosseightmodels.Astheshareofdieselcarsales

inthepassengervehiclesegment

has comedown fromaround60percentin2012-13to 28percentin 2019-20 (17per cent share inQ4 FY20), Shashank Srivastava,ED, sales andmarketing atMSIL,said ownership of diesel cars donot make much of economicsense.“IntheBS-VIregime,theac-quisitioncostofdieselcarishigher

by anywhere between Rs 1.25lakh and Rs 2.05 lakh over thepetrol variant and if the runningcostofdieselcarisnotlower(asitwasbefore), itdoesn’tmakeeco-nomicsensetobuyadieselcar.”While the average price gap

between per litre of petrol anddiesel stood at a highof Rs 31 in2011-12,itcamedowntoaroundRs 7 per litre in 2019-20 and isdowntoRs5onanaverageacrossthe country. There has been asharp rise inprices of diesel andpetroloverthelastthreeweekstoaboutRs80perlitreinDelhi.Withthe price of diesel overtakingpetrolinDelhi,therunningcostofadieselvehicleisashighasthatofpetrolcarnow.

New Delhi: Petrol price inDelhiwashiked toRs79.92perlitrefromRs79.76,whiledieselrateswereincreasedtoRs80.02alitrefromRs79.88,as per anotificationof stateoilmarketingfirms.PTI

Diesel crosses `80

New Delhi

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY, JUNE26,2020

SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

VolLXXXVIIINo.196Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.Malhotraonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LimitedandPrintedatThe IndianExpress (P) LimitedPress,A-8, Sector-7,Noida -201301andPublishedatThe IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding,9&10,

BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002.Editorial office: The IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002.Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice: The IndianExpress (P) Limited,B1/B, Sector -10,Noida -201301.Phone:0120-6651291.Chairmanof theBoard:ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor:RajKamal Jha, Editor:UnniRajenShanker, Editor (Delhi):RakeshSinha** **Responsible for selectionofNewsunder thePRBAct.Copyright: The IndianExpress (P) Limited.All rights re-

served.Reproduction inanymanner, electronicorotherwise, inwholeor inpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermission isprohibited. The IndianExpress®

MovecomesafterDelhiHighCourt issuesorder relatedtogovernance issues;ministry to fileapplication

Sports federations lose recognitionMIHIRVASAVDA&PRITAMPALSINGHNEWDELHI,JUNE25

INANunprecedenteddevelopment,thesportsministrywithdrewtheannual recognitionofall National Sports Federations (NSFs) onThursday followingaDelhiHighCourtdiktatonthematter.Thedecisioncomesonthebackofadecade-longcourtcaseinrelationtogov-ernanceissueswithinthefederations.Earlierthismonth,thesportsministryhad

extended the federations’ recognition untilSeptember 30, 2020. However, theywereforcedtoreversetheorder. Ina letter toall54federations, sportsministrydeputysecretarySPS Tomarwrote: “… in compliance of theOrderdated24.06.2020passedbytheHon’bleDelhiHighCourt…,theDepartment’sletterofevennumberdated02.06.2020grantingpro-visionalannualrecognitionof54NSFsstandswithdrawn.”The decisionmeans the suspension of

threefederations—IndianGolfUnion,SchoolGames Federations of India and RowingFederationof India --will continue. A sportsministry official said theywill file a fresh ap-plicationbeforethebenchand‘sortoutthecri-sisattheearliest.’The annual recognition is granted to the

federationsinJanuaryeachyear.Accordingtothoseintheknow,theprocesstooklongerthanusualthisyearbecauseofsomedetailssoughtbytheministryfromthefederations.Beforeitcouldbeconcluded,thepandemicstruckanda lockdownwas imposed. “Tomake sure theoperationsremainedsmooth,theministryex-tended the provisional recognition tillSeptember,”asourcesaid.Theprocess to grant provisional recogni-

tion, according to lawyer and activist RahulMehra,was‘inviolationofsportscode’.Heal-leged that “the IndianOlympic Association(IOA)wastryingtoderecognisealotof sportsfederationsandsimultaneouslycreateparallelbodieswhilethesportsministryplayedball.”“TheIOA’smodusoperandiistheywritea

letter to the international federationof apar-ticular sport, bring up certain disputes andpiggy-backingonthat,theycallforthecreationofanewbody,”Mehrasaid,addingtherewerearound five instanceswhere this sequenceocurred.Heaccused IOAoffice-bearersof in-

dulginginthis“tocreateasuitablevotebank”.“Theministrywasnotstoppingthem.WhenIbrought this to thenotice of the court, anor-derwaspassed inwhichonepara said if theministryandIOAseektotakeanydecisionwithregard toNSFs, theywill file thematerial be-forethecourtandsubsequentlytakethedeci-sion,”Mehrasaid.Theministrywas forcedtowithdrawtherecognitionbecauseithaddonesowithoutinformingthecourtinadvance.IOApresidentNarinderBatra,meanwhile,

deniedtherewasanywrongdoingontheIOA’spart. “I amall for goodgovernance. The gov-ernmentdoesnotgiveanyfederationasinglepaisa.Allthefundingisdirectlycreditedintheaccountsofconcernedparties.Pleaseshowuswherearegovernanceissues,”Batrasaid.TheDelhiHighCourt’sordercouldhavefar-

rangingimpactonthewayIndiansportisrun.Innormaltimes,thedecisiontowithdraw

recognitionofallfederationswouldhavecre-ated a highly complex scenario for India’sOlympicsportsandathletes.Thegovernmentissupposedtograntfundingandpermissionsfornational campsand international tourna-mentsonlytosportsbodiesitrecognises.Owingtothepandemic,therearenotrain-

ing camps currently underway apart fromweightliftingandathleticswhileparticipationininternationaltournamentsisoutoftheques-tionuntilglobalsport,andtravel,resumes.A federation official, however, expressed

concern that Thursday’s development coulddelay the resumptionof their activities. “Wehadsharedwith thesportsministryourplanto resume thenational camps inphases Julyonwards.However,wedonotknowifwewillbeeligibleforfundingforthesame,”theofficialsaid.ThegovernmentandtheIndianOlympicAssociationarealsoperplexedwiththecourt’sorder that theywill first have to inform thebenchaboutanydecisiontaken inrelationtotheNSFsbeforeimplementingit.TheIOAisconcernedthatthiscouldbecon-

strued as ‘interference’ by the InternationalOlympicCommittee(IOC),whichwouldbeaviolationofitscharter.“Wewillacceptandho-nour the court’s order. Butmy only fear iswhether this leads to a suspension from theIOC. If youhave to takepermission forevery-thing, then the autonomygoes away,” Batrasaid.“In2012,whentheIOCsuspendedIndia,one of the reasonswas interference in IOA’sfunctioning.”

Hockey India isoneof the54NationalSportsFederationswhichhave lost theirrecognitionfollowingacourtorder. File

FORMER SLMINISTER BACKTRACKSAfter asserting that the 2011 World Cup final was “sold” by"certain parties" in Sri Lanka to India, the island nation's formersports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has now called hisclaim a "suspicion" that he wants investigated.

CROSSWORD4154

ACROSS1 Safeanchorages foundonenteringNigerianport (7)

5 Goback inpublic transportintendedtotake inothers(5)

8 AmbitiousRuth isworriedbyasharppain (9)

9 Analternative toakeyring (3)10 Theytakeoneoverwaterorroundapoint (4)

12 Youhavetoputupwithhim(4-4)

14 Chewsasortof nut (6)15 Betooclever forone-butnotin intelligence?(6)

17 Strives tostudyminds (8)18 Meansof transport,sometimessprung(4)

21 It is charged foraportionwithoutwine(3)

22 HarrydoesworryaboutDobbin (9)

24 Asteponthestairs (5)25 Steeped inthemostintensifiedway(7)

DOWN1 Thegameis to followone’sdestiny(5)

2 Itmaybecaught ina fishingarea (3)

3 Toturnus inor turnusout?(4)

4 Soagin ismixedwitholdport(6)

5 Suchunionsaren’t recognised(8)

6 Therewouldbeuniversalhostility if it came(6,3)

7 Subordinate theme(7)11 Soundvibrationonascreenperhaps (9)

13 Playedback?(8)14 He’ll getnowhereunlesshepusheshimself forward(7)

16 Kingof fittedwardrobes(6)

19 Petal shapedfold (5)20 The lastworker’sproject? (4)23 Regretexpressed intheFrenchway(3)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Youmay feelexploited or takenfor granted, but thisis not really the

point. The fact is that this is apositivemoment forputting yourself out onbehalfof others, even if you thinktheydon't deserve it.Get things into perspective—andput your feelings intheir place.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)All artistic andcreative types arefavouredby today'scompassionate

Moon. If youdon't thinkthat you fall into this bracket,you can still do your bestto be spontaneous anddevelop thoseunique andwonderful gifts that youhavealways ignored.

GEMINI (May22- June21)It's timetogobacktofirstprinciplesandstart fromscratch.Thisdoesmean

dealingwith left-over familyquestions,aswell asall thoselingeringpracticaldomesticchores.But it'salso important tohaveavisionof the future, justtoputeverything intocontext.

CANCER(June22- July23)Youhavedoneextremelywell inmany respects, butthere is still some

way further to go. Over thenext fewdays, youmaygatherfresh information, discussyour plans and re-arrangesomeof your long-heldopinions aboutwhat is rightandwhat iswrong.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Thereseemstobesomesortof powerstrugglegoingon,andsuperficial

causesofdisagreement, suchasmoney, couldbenothingmorethanadistraction. If yourpersonalplansand ideasbecomethecentreof attention,youmayconcedethatyoumight justbewrongforachange.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)There's awonderfulworldwaiting justaround the corner -inyourdreams.

Today's bold lunar alignmentsencourage flights of fancy.If you're ready, thenyoumay set your imagination free,leavedaily concerns to takecareof themselves, and focusonwhat couldbe, insteadofbeingweigheddownbywhat is.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)Forgetallpettyconcernsandtrivialdetails. If youcanseebeyondsurface

appearances,you'll glimpsethetimeless realityconcealedbehindthedaily facade.Youshould listentoyourimaginationandfollowyourdreams.Youdon'tknowwherethey'll lead,butyou'llnever findoutunlessyou look.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Social lifecouldbetakingaturn for thebetter, andyourromantichopes

shouldbehigh.Dobeaware,though,of therisksof over-committingyourself financially,andonlymakepromisesyouknowyoucanfulfil.Giveyourself awayoutuntilyou'reabsolutelysure.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)Youshould findthatotherpeoplearemuchbetterable totakecareof

themselves,whichmeans thatyoucanconcentrateon long-termambitions. It's timetoshapeuptonewresponsibilities,particularlyif youhavesomefavourstoreturn.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Today's superstarsholdoutsuperbprospects forallCapricornsplanning

tostartanewcourseof study,fighta legalbattleor traveloverseas. Inallmatters it isnecessary toseize themoralhighground.Plus, there'sachancethatwhat isgoodforyoumaybeevenbetterforothers.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Thetimelooksrightfor takingatreasuredrelationshipone

stagedeeper, enteringanewlevelof intensity. It alsohappens tobean idealmomentformakingextraordinarilyprofitable investments,sokeepa look-out forpassingopportunities.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Youreallymustshapeuptothe truthinrelationships,suchas it is. The

problemlies indistinguishingthewaypeople reallyare fromthewayyouwould like themtobe. In themeantime, takeyourpleasureswhereyoucan,andappreciatepeople's strengthsinsteadofdrawingattentiontotheirweaknesses.

SUDOKU4151

DifficultyLevel3sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4150

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Thesearenotbooks, lumpsoflifelesspaper,but___aliveonthe___.-GilbertHighet(5,.,7)

SOLUTION:SEIZE,LASSO,MONIED,BEHAVEAnswer:Thesearenotbooks,lumpsoflifelesspaper,butmindsaliveontheshelves.-GilbertHighet

SZEEI EIODMN

SOLAS ABEEHV

SolutionsCrossword4153:Across: :1Hospital,5Arms,9Rimed,10Exhibit,13Larder,14Spread,17Horsesoldier,20Bifocal,21Stock,22Tory,23Prospect.Down:1Hardandfastrules,2Seminar,3Indifference,4Averse,6Rebel,7Setaside,8Chiropodists,12Alphabet,15Eyesore,16Cooler,18Refer,19Skit.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

Whatdoesthisdecisionmean?GRANTINGRECOGNITIONtosportsfederationsisanannualritualthatmakesthemeligibleforgovernmentfundsaswellasassistancefortrainingandcompetition.Intheabsenceofrecognition,theprocessdoesnotnecessarilycometoahaltbutratherbecomesalotmorecumbersome.TheDelhiHighCourt,

however,hassaidIOAandministrycannottakeanydecisionsinrelationto

theunrecognisedsportsfederationswithoutitspriorconsent.

However,withtheongoingpandemicforcingsportinglockdownofsorts,theimpactofthecourtdecisionwillbeminimal.ButoncethesportsresumeandpreparationoftheOlympicsgetsunderway,thepresentstand-offcoulddelayadministrative

decisionsandthatinturncanhamperthetrainingofathletes.

ASSOCIATEDPRESSLIVERPOOL, JUNE25

LIVERPOOL ISon thevergeof ending its 30-year league title drought after cruising to a4-0 victory over Crystal Palacewith an at-tackingdisplaythatexemplifiedadominantcampaign. Jurgen Klopp's team can evenclinch thePremierLeague titleonThursdaywithout playing if Manchester City fails tobeat Chelsea. It thenplays City, the second-placeddefendingchampion,nextThursday."I'llwatchthegametomorrownightnot

toprepareacelebration, I'llwatchthegamebecausewe play against City aweek later,"Klopp said. "Whatever happens tomorrownightwehave no influence on it, so I'mnottoomuch interested tobehonest."All thatmatterstoKloppiscollectingthe

maximum twomore points from seven re-maining games to clinch the trophy. Afterstuttering in a 0-0 drawwith Everton aftertherestartonSunday,Liverpoolwasauthor-itatively rampant again against Palace onWednesday.Trent Alexander-Arnold curled in a free

kick to start the rout against Palace andMohamedSalahsweptinthesecondbeforehalf timefromFabinho'sdinkedball.Fabinhopowered in the third from distance in the55th minute and Sadio Mane raced ontoSalah's throughball to complete a counter-attack in the 69th tomake it 16wins in 16homegames in the league this season."Itwas thebestcounterpressingbehind

closeddoorsever,"Kloppquipped."Theatti-tude we showed tonight, the passion weshowed, was exceptional and we playedsomeoutstanding football."The victorymoved Liverpool 23 points

ahead of Citywith seven games remainingofacampaignthatwillendwithoutanyfansin the stadium to celebrate the Reds' firstchampionship triumphsince1990."We've waited a long time for this and

we'veworkedhard for thisover the last fewyearsasateam,"Salahsaid. "Asaclubthis iswhatwe'vedreamedof andwe're inagoodposition, so hopefullywe'll be able to get itacross the lineverysoon."

Liverpoolthrash Palace,inch closer toEPL title

ENS/PTINEWDELHI, JUNE25

THEWRESTLING Federation of India (WFI)has said theywill sackwomen’s team for-eigncoachAndrewCookbecause,accordingtoaseniorfederationofficial,he‘worksonlyforsalaryandisnotpassionateaboutIndianwrestling’. TheWFI has alleged that theAmerican coach refused to take part in aSports Authority of India (SAI) webinar fornon-payment of salary. Cook, who termedWFI’s decision as ‘shocking’, argued that heonlyaskedforachangeinsubjectof theses-sion, which SAI ‘declined, makingme lookdefiant I guess.’Cook, who left for home in Seattle after

thenationalcampwassuspended inMarchafter the outbreak of the pandemic, hadclaimedhehadnotbeenpaidforthemonthsofMarch, April andMay despite several re-minders.Recently,SAIgotintouchwithCooktoattendoneof itsonlinesessions.However,theWFItoldthePressTrustof IndiathatCookrespondedbysayingthat ‘unlesshereceiveshis pending salary, hewon’t attend them’.Cookhas refuted theallegations.“Thisbehaviourisnotacceptable.Itshows

thatCookworksonlyforsalaryandisnotpas-sionate about Indianwrestling. TheSAI offi-cialsshowedusthescreenshotsofhisrefusalmessages,"WFI assistant secretary VinodTomarwasquotedassayingbyPTI.“AfterthatwetoldCooktoattendsessionsandassuredhimthathissalarywillbecleared.Hedidpar-ticipate in a fewsessionsbutwedidnot likehisbehaviour.Weaskedourwrestlersif theyreallyneedhim.Thewrestlerstoldusthatheis not indispensable, sowe have decided toterminatehisservices.”Cook, whose contract was till August

2020 at a salary of $4,500 permonth, saidSAI andWFI ‘wanted him out’ because hespokeupabouthissalaryissues. “Iattendedthe classes they required. They askedme tospeak on athletes’ selection in the USA,” hetold The Indian Express. “I only asked tochange (the) topic becausewe don't selectathletes (in USA). They attend school andworkthroughthatsystem. Theydeclinedtochange,makingme lookdefiant.”

18Coach set tolose job afterspat overwebinar topic

New Delhi