1) The daily Covid-19 infections crossed 25,000 in Maharashtra for the second consecutive day, prompting Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to say lockdown was an option but would not be imposed immediately. 2) The Centre rejected Delhi government's doorstep ration delivery scheme, saying subsidized foodgrains under the National Food Security Act cannot be used for state-specific schemes. 3) The Defence Ministry signed a deal worth Rs. 1,188 crore with Bharat Dynamics Ltd to procure 4,960 anti-tank guided missiles for the Indian Army to enhance operational preparedness.

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As the daily Covid-19 infec-
tions crossed a staggering
25,000 mark in Maharashtra
for the second consecutive day
on Friday, Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray said that re-
imposition was an option
before his Government to
check the rapid increase in the
number of cases in the State in
the recent days, but hastened to
add that he would not impose
lockdown immediately.
On a day when the State
imposed a fresh 50 per cent
restriction on attendance in
private offices across the State,
Uddhav said: “The Covid-19
threat is looming large in the
State. We reached a peak in
terms of Covid-19 cases in
September last year. But, now
we have crossed those figures.
This is a serious cause for con-
cern. Under the circumstances,
lockdown is an option for us.
But we will not exercise this
option immediately”.
“It is a good thing that peo-
ple have started wearing masks.
But, I expect full cooperation
from the people. If we are to do
without lockdown, then the
people will have to exercise self-
discipline and following Covid-
19 protocols strictly,” he told
mediapersons after a visit to a
rural nutrition and rehabilita-
tion centre-cum-vaccination
outlet at Molgi village in the
tribal-dominated Nandurbar
district in north
Maharashtra.
“All of a sudden we are wit-
nessing a rapid increase in the
number of cases. Sometime
back, we had discovered a new
Covid-19 strain that emanated
from abroad. But, we had suc-
ceeded in arresting the spread
of the new strain.
A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78
The Centre and the Delhi
Government are at logger-
heads over the Mukhya Mantri
Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana to
provide “doorstep delivery of
ration” using subsidised food-
grains provided under the
National Food Security Act
(NFSA) as the former turned
down the move saying sub-
sidised foodgrains under the
NFSA cannot be used for State
specific scheme.
However, the Centre will
have no objection if the Delhi
Government comes out with a
separate scheme without mix-
ing the elements of the NFSA.
In a letter to Padmini
Singla, Secretary-cum-
Commissioner Food and
Supplies Department of the
Delhi Government, S
Jagannathan, Joint Secretary,
Department of Consumer
Affairs, said that the use of new
nomenclature / scheme name
for distribution of NFSA food-
grains by the Government of
National Territory Delhi
(NCTD) is not permissible but
this department will have no
objection if a separate scheme
is made by the State
Government without mixing
the elements of the NFSA
foodgrains.
“...therefore requested that
the GNCTD may follow the
norms and provisions of the
NFSA in rightful spirit and
manner for the distribution of
NFSA foodgrains to the eligi-
ble beneficiaries under the
Act”, the letter read. Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal was
scheduled to launch the scheme
with doorstep delivery of ration
to 100 households in
Seemapuri area on March 25.
The letter further states:
“Upon examination of the
Delhi Government’s notifica-
tion dated February 20, on
‘Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar
Ration Yojna’, for door to door
delivery of packaged wheat,
flour, rice and sugar, it is clar-
ified that the subsidised food-
grains being allocated by this
department of distribution
under the NFSA cannot be
used for the operationalisation
of any State specific/ other
scheme under a different
name/ nomenclature other
than NFSA, as the same is not
permissible under the
Act.
?=BQ =4F34;78
In a boost to operational pre-
paredness of the Armed
forces, the Defence Ministry on
Friday inked a deal with the
public sector unit Bharat
Dynamics Ltd (BDL) to acquire
4,960 anti-tank guided missiles
at a cost of C1,188 crore for the
Indian Army.
The missiles, having a
range of 1,850 metres, can be
fired from the ground as well
as vehicle-based launchers and
their induction is planned to be
completed in three years, the
Ministry said.
In the last few months, the
Ministry finalised a range of
procurement projects for the
three forces to enhance their
overall combat capabilities.
The acquisition wing of the
Ministry of Defence signed a
contract with defence public
sector undertaking Bharat
Dynamics Limited (BDL) for
the supply of 4,960 MILAN-2T
anti-tank guided missiles to
Indian
Army at a cost of C1,188
crore, it said. The missiles are
being produced by BDL under
license from French defence
major MBDA Missile Systems.
Officials also said it is a
repeat order of contract which
was signed with the BDL in
March, 2016. The deal with fur-
ther enhance the ‘Make in
India’ initiative of the
Government.
This project is a big oppor-
tunity for the defence industry
to showcase its capability and
will be a step in the direction
of achieving the goal of
‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ in the
defence sector.
The Ministry last year
banned the import of more
than 100 items including
weapons and ammunition in
order to give a fillip to the local
industry. Plans are afoot to
increase this list in the coming
months.
?C8 Q =4F34;78
Air travel will now become
a little expensive as the
government has decided to
increase the lower limit on air-
fares by five per cent amid ris-
ing aviation turbine fuel (ATF)
prices, Civil Aviation Minister
Hardeep Singh
Puri on Friday.
The upper
limit on airfares
will remain as it
is for now. Just a
month back, the
Centre had
increased the
lower and upper
limits on domestic airfares by
10-30 per cent due to rising
ATF prices.
While announcing
resumption of scheduled
domestic flights in May last
year, the Aviation Ministry
had placed limits on airfares
through seven bands classified
on the basis of flight duration.
The first band consists of
flights having less than 40-
minute duration and its lower
limit has been increased to Rs
2,310 on Friday. The lower limit
for the highest band of flights
having duration of 180-210
minutes was further hiked to
C7,560.
“There has been a contin-
uous rise in price of ATF so it
has been decided to increase
the lower fare band by 5%
keeping the upper
fare band
unchanged,” Puri
tweeted. “We may
open the sector for
100% operations
when daily passen-
ger traffic crosses
3.5 lakhs on 3 occa-
sions in a month.”
Currently, the airlines are
permitted to operate not more
than 80 per cent of their per-
Covid domestic
flights.
“Last few days have seen a
decline in the number of air
passengers largely due to
restrictions imposition of
compulsory RT-PCR test by
various states. Due to this we
have decided to retain the per-
missible limit to 80% of sched-
ule,” Puri added.
B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0
In what the Trinamool
Congress called an “electoral
game plan of the BJP” to use
Central agencies against its
leaders and honest officers to
arm-twist them into submis-
sion, at least three IAS officers
and equal number of IPS offi-
cers — all either retired or on
extension — have been issued
notices by the Enforcement
Directorate and the CBI,
sources said,
According to ED sources
notices for appearance have
been issued to Gautam Sanyal,
a retired IAS officer and former
Principal Secretary to Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee,
and BP Gopalika, a former sec-
retary with the Animal
Resources Department.
The notices have been
issued to explain the sale of
Government owned Metro-
Dairy to a private
company.
The sale of shares alleged-
ly took place reducing the
company’s worth to a bare 84
crore, sources said. The notices
come at a time when the elec-
toral atmosphere in West
Bengal is charged with rhetoric
and counter-rhetoric issued by
leaders of the TMC and the BJP.
The ED apart, notices were
also sent by the CBI to former
Director General of Police
Surajit Karpurakayastha, cur-
rently functioning as Security
Advisor to the Chief Minister,
and former ADG Rajat
Majumdar.
The CBI notices pertain to
multi-crore Sharada chit fund
scam. Karpurakayastha is like-
ly to be asked the reason why
he advised the Government to
make security arrangements
for Sharada kingpin and jailed
accused Sudipto Sen.
Karpurakayastha is also likely
to be asked to explain his pres-
ence in Jangalmahal when the
Sharada companydistributed
ambulances in these areas.
According to reports these
ambulances were used to ferry
ill-gotten cash raised from the
chit fund. The two ex-officials
considered close to the Chief
Minister havebeen asked to
appear before the Central
agency on March 25.
Apart from this senior IPS
officer and former Asansol
Commissioner of Police LM
Meena and IAS Arun Prasad
have also been asked by the
CBI to appear before it to
answer some queries regarding
coal scam.
Meanwhile, TMC candi-
date --- in the upcoming
Assembly elections --- Madan
Mitra was on Friday grilled by
the CBI in relation to the chit
fund scam. Another candidate
Vivek Gupta too has been
asked to appear before the
agency, sources said.
?C8 Q =4F34;78
The Centre on Friday urged
the Delhi High Court to
restrain Facebook-owned
WhatsApp from implementing
its new privacy policy and
terms of service which are to
take effect from May 15.
The Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology
made the statement in its affi-
davit filed in response to a peti-
tion challenging the new pri-
vacy policy of social network-
ing platform WhatsApp.
The petitioners, Seema
Singh, Meghan and Vikram
Singh, have contended that
the new privacy policy indi-
cates the “fissures” in Indian
data protection and privacy
laws.
Under the new policy,
users can either accept it or exit
the app, but they cannot opt not
to share their data with other
Facebook-owned or third party
apps.
A bench of Chief Justice D
N Patel and Justice Jasmeet
Singh listed the matter for fur-
ther hearing on April
20.
The Centre, in its affidavit,
said, “It is humbly prayed that
in view of the above submis-
sions, the Respondent No. 2
(WhatsApp) may be restrained
from implementing its new
privacy policy and terms of ser-
vice dated January 4, 2021
from February 8, 2021 or any
subsequent date pending adju-
dication by this court.”
The affidavit further said
that the IT Rules impose a host
of obligations on a company in
relation to the security of the
data collected by it in the
course of its business.
“Notably, the Rules require
a body corporate who collects,
stores or otherwise deals with
data to issue a privacy policy
providing for certain safe-
guards, in addition to impos-
ing various other
obligations.
The impugned Privacy pol-
icy violates the 2011 Rules..,” it
said.
The Centre said that the
Supreme Court has placed a
responsibility on the Centre to
introduce a regime on data pro-
tection and privacy.
“The Union has discharged
this obligation by introducing
the Personal Data Protection
Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha.
Upon enactment, this law will
provide a robust regime on data
protection which will limit the
ability of entities such as
Respondent No. 2 issuing pri-
vacy policies which do not
align with appropriate stan-
dards of security and data pro-
tection,” the affidavit, filed
through advocate Kirtiman
Singh, said.
It also said that pending the
passage of this Bill, the
Information Technology Act,
2000 and the Rules made there-
under form the extant regime
on data protection, any priva-
cy policy issued by a ‘body cor-
porate’ such as WhatsApp must
comply with the requirements
specified in the Act and the
a c c o m p a n y i n g
Rules.
The high court had on
February 3 issued notice to the
Centre and WhatsApp and
sought their replies on the
petition challenging the social
networking platform’s new pri-
vacy policy.
Another petition, filed in
January, challenging the new
privacy policy of WhatsApp on
the ground that it violates users
right to privacy under the
Constitution is pending before
another bench of the high
court.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) on
Friday carried out preventive
surprise checks at about 100
locations in over 15 States to
identify Central Government
offices where corrupt prac-
tices could be taking
place.
Officials said the opera-
tion is going on at the offices
of Railways and Income Tax
Department among others in
the national Capital, Uttar
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil
Nadu and other
States.
For the detailed multi-city
operation, the agency has
coordinated with the vigi-
lance teams of various depart-
ments to carry out the checks
and collect evidence of cor-
rupt practices, they
said.
Meanwhile, the agency
has filed a case against Indian
Technometal Company Ltd
and its directors for alleged
fraud of C555.65 crore to a
consortium of banks led by
erstwhile Corporation
Bank.
The action followed a
complaint from Union Bank
of India (erstwhile
Corporation Bank) alleging
that the private company,
through its directors, in con-
spiracy with others defraud-
ed the consortium of banks by
misrepresentations, conceal-
ment of facts and submitting
false documents and infor-
mation to avail credit facili-
ties.
The default on payments
caused a loss to the tune of
C555.65 crore to the consor-
tium which also included
State Bank of Hyderabad
(now State Bank of India),
Punjab National Bank, Punjab
Sindh Bank, UCO Bank,
Syndicate Bank, Central Bank
of India, Karur Vysya Bank
and JM Financial ARC, the
CBI said.
“Searches on the premis-
es of the accused/firm were
conducted at Kangra
(Himachal Pradesh), which
led to the recovery of incrim-
inating documents,” the
agency said in a
statement.
Besides the accused firm
Indian Technometal
Company Limited, the agency
has also named directors of
the company Rakesh Kumar
Sharma and Vinay Kumar
Sharma as accused in the
case.
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At 39,726 coronavirus cases
in the last 24 hours, India
witnessed the sharpest surge in
Covid-19 infections since
November last year, taking the
total tally to 1,15,14,331.
Meanwhile, total 4 crore peo-
ple have been vaccinated
against corona as on Friday.
A single-day spike of
41,810 new infections were
recorded on November 28 last
year. The country has regis-
tered an increase in the cases
for the ninth consecutive day.
Maharashtra, Kerala, and
Punjab are recording the high-
est daily cases, while the death
toll is at 1,59,370 with 154
more people dying in the last
24 hours.
The fatality has reached
1,59,370 in India. The active
caseload has mounted to
2,71,282.
With the discharge of
20,654 patients in a day, a total
of 1,10,83,679 have been dis-
charged so far. A total of
10,57,383 tests were done on
Thursday.
Total 3.9 crore doses of
corona vaccine have been
administered in the country
since the drive began on
January 16 after approval for
‘Covishield’ and ‘Covaxin’, said
a senior official from the
Union Health Ministry earlier.
More than 17.83 lakh
doses were administered on a
single day on Thursday. States
like Maharashtra, Punjab,
Karnataka, Gujarat and
Chhattisgarh continue to
report a surge in the daily
Covid-19 cases, accounting
for over 80 per cent of the new
infections, he said.
The Ministry also said that
India’s total active caseload
has increased to 2,71,282 and
comprises 2.82 per cent of the
total infections.
A net rise of 18,918 cases
have been recorded in the
total active caseload in a span
of 24 hours.
Maharashtra continues to
report the highest daily new
cases at 25,833 which is 65 per
cent of daily cases. It is followed
by Punjab with 2,369 while
Kerala reported 1,899 new
cases, the official said. A total
of 39,726 new daily cases were
reported in a span of 24
hours.
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In the 11 worst-hit districts, a
complete ban has been
ordered on all social gatherings
and related functions, except
for funerals, cremations or
weddings, which will be
allowed with only 20 persons in
attendance. This will be
enforced from Sunday,
Punjab Chief Minister
Capt Amarinder Singh
announced on Friday.
In these districts —
Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala,
Mohali, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur,
Kapurthala, SBS Nagar,
Fatehgarh Sahib, Ropar and
Moga — which will remain
under night curfew from 9 pm
to 5 am, the Chief Minister has
ordered cinemas, multiplexes,
restaurants, malls etc to remain
closed on Sundays, though
home deliveries will be allowed
subject to night curfew.
Industries and essential
services shall be allowed to
function, but barring these, all
restrictions shall be strictly
enforced, the Chief Minister
directed the top civic and police
officials in these districts.
In these 11 worst-affected
districts, the Chief Minister
ordered restrictions on in-per-
son public dealings in govern-
ment offices, with citizens to be
encouraged to visit offices only
for essential services.
PUNJAB TO OBSERVE
ONE-HOUR SILENCE FOR
THOSE WHO DIED
OF COVID
Also, starting next week,
one hour of silence will be
observed across the state every
Saturday, from 11 am to 12
noon, in memory of those
who lost their lives to COVID,
with no vehicle to ply at this
time. The Chief Minister asked
the District Administration to
involve the general public,
along with market committees,
Sarpanches etc, in this initia-
tive, which will, however,
remain voluntary for them.
RAMP UP TESTING
TO 35K/DAY
Directing the health officials to
ramp up testing per day to
35,000, the Chief Minister said
that special focus should be on
super spreaders, and govern-
ment employees, teachers in
educational institutions, etc
must be tested routinely. Rapid
Antigen testing (RAT) should
be stepped up along with RT-
PCR testing, he ordered, while
directing contact tracing and
contact testing to be taken up
to 30 per positive person. The
CPTOs must personally mon-
itor this task, he said.
HOSPITALS ASKED TO
RESTORE COVID
BEDS, POSTPONE
ELECTIVE SURGERIES
Capt Amarinder said that
well-functioning hospitals,
where serious cases are best
handled, have been advised to
restore the COVID beds and
postpone elective surgeries.
The names of COVID
Monitors, who are appointed at
every establishment and office,
should be available with the
District Administration, along
with their numbers, said the
Chief Minister. They shall be
responsible for ensuring fol-
lowing of COVID Appropriate
Behaviour at their organiza-
tions, he said, adding that the
Departments of Labour, Excise
and Taxation, among others,
must assist the Deputy
Commissioners to enforce
these instructions.
WHEAT PROCUREMENT
PUT OFF BY 10 DAYS
The wheat procurement
in Punjab will start from April
10, instead of April 1, in view
of the surge in the COVID-19
cases. The decision was taken
at a meeting of the state
COVID task force chaired by
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder
Singh.
ALL PVT, GOVT
HOSPITALS ASKED TO
VACCINATE 7 DAYS A
WEEK, 8 HOURS DAILY,
TILL MARCH 31
All the private and gov-
ernment hospitals and health
facilities have been asked to
offer hassle-free vaccination
services for at least eight hours
daily, seven days a week, till
March 31. “There should be no
requirement of a separate cer-
tificate if an eligible 45-plus-
year person brings the medical
record regarding co-morbidi-
ties, he directed.
DISTRICT ADMIN ASKED
TO ACT TOUGH AGAINST
891 PVT FACILITIES
WHERE NOT A SINGLE
DOSE ADMINISTERED
Taking note of the low
vaccination numbers in the
state, Capt Amarinder direct-
ed the concerned District
Administration to come down
heavily on 891 private facilities
where not a single dose was
administered.
The directions came dur-
ing the COVID review meeting
chaired by the Chief Minister,
who pointed out with concern
that of the 1291 registered pri-
vate facilities, 891 have
reportedly not administered a
single dose.
PUNJAB POSTPONES
SCHOOL EXAMS
TILL MAR 31
Punjab School Education
Minister Vijay Inder Singla on
Friday said that as the Chief
Minister Capt Amarinder Singh
announced closure of educa-
tional institutionsin the State till
March 31, the School Education
Department has also decided to
postpone exams of all classes till
month end. “The Congress
Government is committed to
ensure the safety of the school
students and every possible step
will be taken to curb the
COVID-19 contamination,” he
said adding that the Education
Department would release fresh
schedule or datesheet of exams
before March 31 and mode of
examination could also be
reviewed as per the situation.
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Punjab on Friday logged as
many as 2,490 new Covid-
19 cases and 38 deaths in the
last 24 hours taking the total
number of cases to 2,07,888
and the death toll to 6,242.
Friday’s positivity rate was
recorded at 12.47 percent as
the state conducted just
19,968 tests against the daily
capacity of 30,000.
Currently, the number of
active cases stands at 15,459
— which have increased to
7.44 percent of the total pos-
itive cases.
With the state’s case fatal-
ity rate continued to hover
above three percent, maxi-
mum 10 out of the total
deaths on Friday were report-
ed from Hoshiarpur, followed
by seven from Jalandhar, five
from SBS Nagar
(Nawanshahr) four from
Ludhiana, three from
Gurdaspur, two from
Kapurthala, and one each
from Amritsar, Fazilka,
Ferozepur, Fatehgarh Sahib,
Muktsar, Patiala, and Tarn
Taran.
Of the total new infec-
tions, whopping 416 were
reported from Hoshiarpur,
followed by 292 from
Ludhiana, 287 from Patiala,
258 from SAS Nagar
(Mohali), 253 from Jalandhar,
181 from Amritsar, 158 from
Gurdaspur, 151 from
Kapurthala, 119 from
Nawanshahr, among others.
The state also recorded
1,339 discharges taking the
total number of recoveries to
1,86,187, at the recovery rate
of 89.56 percent — which has
come down from 93.98 per-
cent at the beginning of the
March.
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The Chandigarh Excise and
Taxation Department on
Friday earned a whopping rev-
enue of C398.04 crore from the
auction of 80 liquor vends out
of total 96. The highest ever bid
of C 11.55 crore in the city was
received for a liquor vend in
Dhanas village against a reserve
price of C 7.95 cr. The second
highest bid of C10.25 crore
against a reserve price of C4.85
crore was received for a liquor
vend in village Mauli near
nurseries Chandigarh.
The third highest bid of C
10.05 crore was received for a
liquor vend in Sector 61 mar-
ket against a reserve price of C
5.10 crore. All top three bids
were won by licensee Kier
Wines.
Earlier in 2019-20, a liquor
vend in Dhanas village had
received the highest ever bid of
C10.78 crore, 65 per cent more
than the reserve price of C6.5
crore. In 2020-21, the highest
bid of C7.56 crores was received
for a liquor vend at Sector 9
internal market against a
reserve price of C4.12 crore.
Meanwhile, in the first opening
of e-tenders after operational-
ization of the new excise poli-
cy for period 2021-22 at Hotel
Parkview here, the UT Excise
and Taxation Department had
received a total of 162 tenders
against 80 liquor vends having
a reserve price of C317.31 crore.
“A total revenue of Rs
398.04 crores in the shape of
licence fees, registering an
increase of approximately 25.44
percent over the reserve price
was generated and we
received Rs 5.67 crores
in shape of participa-
tion fee,” said a senior
officer of UT Excise
and Taxation
Department. 0
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Punjab Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh on Friday
announced that the state
Congress unit will not hold any
political gatherings for the next
two weeks in view of the spike
in Covid cases in the State.
At the same time, Capt
Amarinder also appealed to
other political parties and their
leaders to keep their gatherings
within the prescribed numbers,
that is 50 per cent of capacity,
subject to maximum of 100 in
closed and 200 in open spaces.
No political gatherings should
take place in the most affected
districts, he said.
Already, the Shiromani
Akali Dal (SAD) has
announced to postpone its ral-
lies in the wake of party pres-
ident Sukhbir Singh Badal test-
ing positive for the novel coro-
navirus.
Besides, the Ropar District
Administration had announced
to implement strict guidelines
for those attending the six-day
Hola Mohalla festival, which
begins from March 24 at
Kiratpur Sahib and Sri
Anandpur Sahib.
Ropar Deputy
Commissioner Sonali Giri has
also made it mandatory for the
sangat arriving at Hola Mohalla
to get their COVID-19 test
done 72 hours prior to arrival.
As per orders, all visitors to the
Hola Mohalla will be screened
at entry points and it will be
ensured that everyone wore a
face mask all the time.
The RT-PCR test would be
mandatory for those who put
up at hotels, serais and tent city
during the festival, while the
mobile testing teams would be
deployed for the purpose.
However, the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP), which is sched-
uled to hold its much-talked-
about Kisan Maha Sammelan,
has refused to cancel it. Delhi
chief minister and AAP’s
national convener Arvind
Kejriwal is scheduled to address
the mega event.
“The party would go as per
their plan and conduct the
Kisan Maha Sammelan to be
held at Bagha Purana on March
21.
We would follow all the
necessary COVID guidelines
that are being prescribed by the
administration.
The AAP will go ahead
with their plan to strengthen
the voices of the farmers and
will do their Maha Sammelan,”
said the party’s official state-
ment.
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Haryana Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar on
Friday said that due to the sud-
den surge in Covid-19 cases,
the number of procurement
centres is likely to be increased
to ensure hassle free procure-
ment from April 1.
During this year’s pro-
curement process, the State
Government has decided to
ensure 100 per cent transfer of
direct online payments in the
accounts of the
farmers.
Last year, the State had
transferred more than 50 per
cent of the payments directly
to the accounts of the farmers
and the rest of the payments
were made through Arhtiyas,
Khattar said. He said that the
officers concerned should hold
t i m e l y
talks with the Arhtiyas regard-
ing the same.
Presiding over a review
meeting regarding COVID-
19, vaccination, procurement
and other issues with
Administrative Secretaries,
Deputy Commissioners,
Senior Superintendent of
Police, Municipal
Commissioners, Senior and
Chief Medical Officers,
District and State Chapter of
Indian Medical Association
(IMA) through video confer-
encing here, the Chief Minister
said as the harvesting season is
also nearing therefore ade-
quate arrangements should be
made to ensure hassle free
procurement.
“In view of the increasing
COVID-19 cases, health safe-
ty arrangements as earlier
should be made to minimize
health risk to those engaged in
p r o c u r e m e n t
operations.
The Deputy
Commissioners should ensure
that COVID-19 Safety
Protocols are strictly followed
at each procurement Centre,”
directed Khattar.
He also directed the offi-
cers to strengthen the Mandi
system along with making
timely arrangements for the
availability of labourers, ensure
adequate number of weighing
scales, gunny bags, sewing
machines, etc. in the
Mandis.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Dehradun chief
development officer
(CDO) Nitika Khandelwal
instructed the officials and
the members of the advi-
sory committee that work
under the Pre-Conception
and Pre-Natal Diagnostic
Techniques (PCPNDT) Act
to take action against the
ultrasound centres and
machines operating illegal-
ly in the district. In a meet-
ing held here on Friday,
Khandelwal said that to
ensure the on-time regis-
tration of ultrasound cen-
tres and the clinics with
ultrasound machines, the
operators must apply for
renewal of registration
before its expiration date.
Those operators who fail to
apply for renewal of regis-
tration on time will be
served a show-cause notice,
she said. The CDO direct-
ed the members of the
committee to go for sur-
prise visits in hospitals and
ultrasound centres to
ensure that the law is not
being violated in such
places.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The students and facul-
ty members of the
Doon University organ-
ised a cleanliness drive in
the Deepnagar slum on
Friday. The drive was part
of the ‘Sanitation fortnight’
organised under the aegis
of the Namami Gange pro-
ject. In the drive the team
of the Doon University
highlighted the importance
of cleanliness and
informed them how this
little act of responsibility
will lead to a safe and
healthy environment. They
established a community
dialogue with the youth
and local residents and
told them the conse-
quences of filthy areas
which could be the locus of
hazardous diseases. The
university also distributed
dustbins in the area. The
coordinator of the pro-
gramme Reena Singh,
Suneet Naithani, Vipin
Saini, Prachi Pathak, Nitin
Kumar and others partic-
ipated in the drive.
34?TYbUSdcQSdY_^QWQY^cd
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?=BQ 270=3860A7
Chandigarh Literary Society
(CLS) is organising a two-
days of virtual Spring LitFest on
March 20 and 21.
Sumita Misra, Chairperson
of CLS and author said that the
Spring LitFest is a new initia-
tive of the CLS in its 10th
anniversary year, since all the
literary fests tend to be clus-
tered in the months of
November to January, and this
is the most beautiful time of the
year to celebrate the beauty of
literature, of love and youth-
fulness.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
The Pradesh Congress
Committee (PCC) presi-
dent Pritam Singh has said that
the ripped jeans remark of
chief minister Tirath Singh
Rawat underlies the mentality
of the BJP towards women.
Talking to the media persons at
the state headquarter of the
party on Friday, he said, “He
had also compared Prime
Minister Modi with Lord Ram,
I would pray to the god that
better sense should prevail on
him.’’
Terming the BJP govern-
ment in the state as a complete
failure, the PCC president said
that the BJP and the govern-
ment could not muster the
courage to highlight the
achievement of four years of
rule. Only former CM
Trivendra Singh Rawat patted
his own back, he said. Singh
reminded that the former CM
Trivendra Singh Rawat in his
first press conference had
promised to build Kandi road
to connect Garhwal and
Kumaon region but the
promise has remained unful-
filled. He said that on his sec-
ond PC on November 3, 2017
the CM had vowed to have
‘zero tolerance on corruption’
and promised that Lokayukt
would be brought within 100
days. The PCC president that
the CM had also announced on
the floor of the assembly that
CBI inquiry would be con-
ducted in the NH-74 scam but
all these promises were never
fulfilled. “The zero tolerance
on corruption rhetoric was
exposed when the HC ordered
a CBI inquiry on charges of
corruption on CM himself. A
central minister had com-
plained about corruption in
Kumbh works, the irrigation
minister complained about
irregularities in Suryadhar
lake,’’ he said.
The PCC president said
that in the run up to the assem-
bly elections of 2017 the BJP
had promised that it would
waive off the loans of the farm-
ers but conveniently forgot the
promise. In last four years 17
farmers have committed sui-
cide.
?=BQ 347A03D=
In protest against the ‘ ripped
jeans’ remark by the chief
minister Tirath Singh Rawat,
the Uttarakhand Congress
organised a secretariat march
on Friday. Large number of
women workers of the party
took part in the protest. The
Congress workers raised slo-
gans against the CM and
demanded his immediate res-
ignation. To highlight their
point some of the women lead-
ers like Shilpi Arora and
Pratima were seen wearing
ripped jeans during the protest.
The march started at the
Rajiv Bhawan and was stopped
near Astley hall by the police.
Here the Congress workers
and the police entered into a
minor scuffle. The Pradesh
Congress Committee (PCC)
president Pritam Singh and
other leaders were detained by
the police. They were taken to
the police lines at Race Course
where they were later released.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Bharatiya Janata Party
state president Madan
Kaushik said that the opposi-
tion is distorting the statement
of chief minister Tirath Singh
Rawat and trying to rouse
public sentiment. However,
it will not succeed in its
attempt. Kaushik said that
the BJP government is prop-
erly discharging the responsi-
bility handed to it by the
public, adding that the party
has to answer to the public.
Responding to the ques-
tions raised by the Congress,
Kaushik said that during its
four years in office so far, the
state government had pro-
vided employment to seven
lakh people through various
means. Not one but various
schemes for every section of
society are being conducted
by the government. The gov-
ernment has not merely pro-
vided employment but has
also worked in the direction of
making the people self reliant
through self employment, he
said.
The BJP state president
further said that the State
government and the Central
government under Prime
Minister Narendra Modi are
committed to doubling the
income of farmers by 2022.
The farm laws enacted by the
centre in the interest of farm-
ers will bring about revolu-
tionary change in the coming
times while also increasing the
income of farmers manifolds.
In Uttarakhand, the income of
farmers has definitely
increased due to the
Deendayal Upadhyaya coop-
erative farmers welfare agri-
culture loan scheme under
which upto Rs three lakh loan
is being provided to
farmers.
Kaushik said, “The gov-
ernment wants to increase
the income of farmers and
make them self reliant. For
this, loans were distributed to
25,000 beneficiaries at pro-
grammes held in 95 develop-
ment blocks and five other
places for various agricultur-
al and related activities. The
state government is under-
taking various efforts to
improve the economic condi-
tion of farmers,” said the BJP
state president. Kaushik fur-
ther said that growth centres
are being made to boost the
income of local people and so
far a total of 107 growth cen-
tres have been
approved.
At present, these growth
centres are proving effective in
enhancing the livelihoods of
the locals. These growth cen-
tres will be extended to all the
Nyay Panchayats in the state.
Apart from this, the co-own-
ership right accorded to
women in the ancestral prop-
erty of their husbands and the
Ghasyari scheme will prove to
be milestones in efforts aimed
at ensuring the welfare of
women, he added.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Uttarakhand govern-
ment will work in accor-
dance with public sentiments.
The government will do what
the public desires. Chief min-
ister Tirath Singh Rawat said
this after reaching Delhi for the
first time after being made the
chief minister. He received a
rousing welcome on his arrival
at the Uttarakhand Sadan on
Friday. A large number of
natives of Uttarakhand had
gathered to welcome Rawat on
the occasion.
The CM said that all round
development of Uttarakhand
will be achieved under the
guidance of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. He said that
due to the special affection the
PM has for Uttarakhand, var-
ious projects including the
Char Dham all weather road,
Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail pro-
ject and reconstruction of
Kedarnath and Badrinath
among others are underway.
Rawat said, “It has been
about a week since I
became the chief min-
ister. During this peri-
od, various decisions
have been taken in
accordance with public
sentiment. Firstly, the
cases lodged against
4,500 persons under
the Epidemic Disease
Act during the Covid-
19 lockdown have been
withdrawn by the gov-
ernment. Majority of
these cases had been
lodged against those
persons who were help-
ing the needy during
the pandemic. The
people in mountainous regions
were hassled due to the arbi-
trary ways of development
authorities. Without any delay,
our government discontinued
the functioning of develop-
ment authorities in the moun-
tain districts. Devotees from
across the nation and abroad
have been invited to Haridwar
for the Kumbh Mela. The
Covid guidelines of the Central
government will be consid-
ered in the Kumbh Mela but
there will not be any unneces-
sary restrictions,” said the CM.
Rawat further said that the
natives who had returned to
Uttarakhand due to the impact
of the Covid pandemic are
being provided opportunities
for employment. Interest free
loans are being provided to
such people for starting self
employment. The government
will resolve all problems faced
by the returnees, he said. The
CM also exhorted all the
natives of Uttarakhand to con-
tribute their bit in the devel-
opment of the state and welfare
of its people. MP Ajay Tamta,
cabinet minister Arvind
Pandey and former MP Balraj
Pasi were also present on the
occasion.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Two days after it reported
110 new patients of the
Covid-19 after two months, the
state health department report-
ed 99 new cases of the disease
on Friday. The state now has a
cumulative tally of 98,228
patients of the disease. The
authorities discharged 69
patients of the disease from dif-
ferent hospitals on the day fol-
lowing their recovery from
the disease. A total of 94,380
patients have so far recovered
from the disease in the state.
The recovery percentage from
the disease now stands at 96.08
and the sample positivity rate
is 3.79 percent. Death of no
patient was reported to the
health department on the day.
In the state 1,704 patients have
succumbed to the
disease.
The health department
reported 29 new patients of the
disease in Dehradun, 28 from
Nainital, 23 from Haridwar, 10
from Udham Singh Nagar,
three from Pauri, two each
from Rudraprayag and
Uttarkashi and one each from
Almora and Chamoli districts
on Friday. No new patients
were reported from Bageshwar,
Champawat and Tehri on the
day. The state now has 728
active patients of Covid-19
with Haridwar at top of the
table with 248 cases. Dehradun
has 178, Nainital 109, Udham
Singh Nagar 68, Pauri 36,
Almora 23, Champawat 16,
Tehri 15, Uttarkashi 12,
Rudraprayag nine, Bageshwar
six and Chamoli and
Pithoragarh four each active
cases of the disease. Meanwhile
30435 people were vaccinated
in 470 vaccine sessions on
Friday. A total of 107364 peo-
ple have so far fully vaccinat-
ed in the state while 187985
senior citizens (age 60 and
above) have received the first
shot of the vaccine. In the state
10,733 persons of age 45 to 69
years with co morbidity have
got the first dose of the vaccine.
In Haridwar district 134 vac-
cine sessions were held on
Friday in which 2012 senior
citizens (60 year and above),
390 persons with co-morbid-
ity, 446 health care workers and
1,680 frontline workers were
vaccinated. In Dehradun 4,873
senior citizens, 145 persons
with co-morbidity, 742 health
care workers and 1188 front-
line workers were vaccinated in
95 vaccine sessions on the
day.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Uttarakhand Congress is
ready for the Salt by- elec-
tion and the party is on a very
strong wicket there. The
Pradesh Congress Committee
(PCC) president Pritam Singh
informed this while interacting
with The Pioneer on Friday at
Rajiv Bhawan. He said that the
party would announce the
name of its candidate at a suit-
able time. The names of Ganga
Pancholi and Block Pramukh
of Salt Vikram Rawat are said
to be in the race for the
Congress party ticket in Salt.
The PCC president was
handed over the report pre-
pared by the observers for the
Salt by election. The report was
presented by the vice president
of the Uttarakhand Congress
Aryendra Sharma. The party
had appointed Sharma and
the deputy leader of party in
state assembly Karan Mahra as
observers for Salt. The by elec-
tion for the Salt assembly con-
stituency would be held on
April 17. The last date for the
submission of nomination for
the by-election is March 30
while the candidates can with-
draw their names on or before
April 3. The counting of the
votes would be on May 2 and
the results are expected on the
day. The by-election is neces-
sitated due to the death of the
BJP MLA Surendra Singh
Jeena.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Municipal Corporation
of Dehradun (MCD) is
leading in the citizen’s feedback
category of Swachh Survekshan
2021 in the state this year as it
has already garnered over 3.44
lakh feedbacks. Last year, the
corporation had received only
about 78,000 feedbacks under
this category but this number
more than quadrupled in this
Swachh Survekshan. The two
municipal corporations that
follow the MCD in this race as
per the statistics provided by
the officials are the Municipal
Corporation of Roorkee
(MCR) with over one lakh cit-
izen’s feedback and the
Municipal Corporation of
Haldwani (MCH) with about
70,000 citizen’s feedback.
Considering the considerable
difference among the feed-
backs of these corporations, it
is highly unlikely that any
other urban local body (ULB)
will touch this
number by
March 31.
According to the
chief municipal
health officer of
MCD, Dr Kailash
Joshi, the public
interaction with
the municipal
c o r p o r a t i o n
increased this
year through
Swachhata-MoHUA app where
about 300 local residents reg-
ister complaints about various
sanitation issues on a daily
basis. This public interaction
has made the citizens aware of
the Swachh Survekshan which
possibly encouraged many to
register their feedback,
informed Joshi. He said that cit-
izen’s feedback constitutes 30
per cent of the total marks in
which the citizens are general-
ly asked questions regarding
cleanliness in their nearby area,
commercial places and public
toilets. He stated that under this
category, the citizens are also
asked about how much they are
aware of the ongoing as well as
the last Swachh Survekshan in
order to check the level of
awareness among the citizens
of a city. Joshi added that the
MCD is doing good in the said
category and the chances are
strong that the city will retain
the status of ODF ++ this year
too which would contribute
considerably to get Dehradun
city in the top 100 cleanest
cities of the country.
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Dehradun: Taking a dig at the
BJP for changing the chief
minister at the fag end of its
tenure in Uttarakhand, the
PCC president Pritam Singh
compared the new CM with a
batsman who is sent to the
pitch after the end of the
innings. He said that the BJP
changed the CM after the last
budget of its government was
presented in the assembly. Had
he been made CM before the
budget session, Tirath Singh
Rawat would have incorporat-
ed his roadmap in the budget.
But now he has got nothing in
his hands,’’ he quipped. PNS
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The recently sworn in chief
minister Tirath Singh
Rawat appears to have received
disproportionately more pub-
licity in recent days than he did
even on the day his name was
finalised for the post of
Uttarakhand’s tenth CM. The
example he had cited of a
woman wearing ripped jeans is
now so talked about that there
doesn’t seem any sense in
repeating it. However, there are
other aspects that are either
being ignored or not known.
Ripped jeans or the rips
originally signified rebellion.
They originated when punks in
the early times of the punk sub-
culture started to tear apart
consumer goods to express
their anger towards society
with denim ending up being a
major part of this political
statement. Now, the majority of
those who purchase ripped
jeans may not know of the
punk subculture which origi-
nated in the mid-1970s. The
posers may also be unaware of
punk rock while trying to
appear like a disappointing
version of punk rockers. Apart
from the rips made trendy by
punks, the other version is the
ones which naturally tear fol-
lowing long use. Both the ver-
sions are drastically different in
character and the guiding men-
tality than the pseudo ready-
made rips purchased by those
wanting to ape a trend without
knowing much about its origin.
Irrespective of this, the CM’s
statement elicited what
appeared to be outrage at the
national level with ‘celebrities’
and some noted personalities
expressing anger at the way in
which women were being
viewed. The political parties as
usual did their best to exploit
the situation. However, similar
reactions were missing and
the progressive voices seemed
restrained if not silent earlier in
this year when two separate
developments took place.
A vital arm of the estab-
lishment had held earlier this
year that a girl from a particu-
lar religion who is aged less
than 18 years and has attained
puberty is at liberty to marry
anyone as per the personal law
for followers of that religion.
Evidently, various aspects were
considered by the learned pub-
lic servant who arrived at this
conclusion.
More recently, a Khap
Panchayat in Muzaffarnagar
district of Uttar Pradesh pro-
hibited women from wearing
jeans and men from wearing
shorts. Those who took this
decision stated that the dress-
es banned were part of western
culture, adding that people
should wear traditional Indian
clothes. Those who violated the
ban would be punished and
boycotted, the Khap Panchayat
had declared.
Compare these two exam-
ples with the statement made
by the CM. One is not inter-
ested in defending the CM or
any politician- they are capable
enough of doing that or facing
the political consequences.
However, what Rawat said was
his opinion- which many say
was twisted out of context to
stir up a controversy. He has
also apologised for the remark
if it hurt anybody’s sentiments.
Whether one agrees with his
opinion or not, it was just
that- an opinion and not an
order. In the other two exam-
ples- both were orders which
actually direct certain actions
which would otherwise have
elicited greater criticism and
questions than the comments
of the CM. One thinks that the
CM should have gone beyond
stereotypes and also pointed
out at the majority of males
who wear western apparel
instead of traditional clothes.
However, that doesn’t really
matter so much. Mind you,
clothes are more than a cover-
ing or fashion statement but
let’s leave those aspects for
another time. What is impor-
tant to realise is that there are
much more significantly
important issues to address
and topics to debate than the
statement made by Rawat. The
Covid pandemic, health ser-
vices, the state of the environ-
ment, the economy, livelihoods
of the people and the continued
trend of dishonesty dominating
mainstream politics are just
some of the incomparably
more important issues which
need the attention of the pub-
lic. Amidst all this, it is only
logical to comprehend the real
meaning of diversity. It doesn’t
mean only differences in lan-
guage, clothes, customs and
other aspects but also includes
differences in opinion and cul-
tural beliefs. Obviously, there
can be differences in opinions
and some beliefs though the
basics must remain the same.
You may support any political
party but in the end you will
want the nation and the people
to prosper. It is just that many
of those who accuse others of
facism blatantly express their
opposition to different opinions
which is self-contradictory to
say the least. Soon there will be
some other petty issue or state-
ment which will be built up and
hotly debated. The focus of the
public will be diverted. One
only hopes that the people
learn and work towards meet-
ing the real priorities which
affect us.
C74C74AB834
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The execution of Kedarnath
reconstruction project and
the development of Badrinath
into a smart spiritual hill town
should be done according to
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s vision with top priori-
ty being accorded to the inter-
ests of the locals. Chief minis-
ter Tirath Singh Rawat said this
while reviewing these two pro-
jects via video conferencing at
the Uttarakhand Sadan in
Delhi. The CM directed that
the sum of Rs 120 crore for
development works in
Kedarnath and Rs 245 crore for
development works in
Badrinath, collected through
CSR should be used as direct-
ed and in a timely manner. He
said that top priority should be
accorded to the welfare of local
priests and stakeholders. The
option of relocation should be
minimised and if unavoidable,
resettlement of the affected
locals should be accorded top
priority after talking to them
and securing their approval. He
stressed that forceful acquisi-
tion will not be undertaken for
the projects. The CM also
directed the officials to under-
taken proactive measures for
the Kedarnath ropeway so that
inconvenience to pilgrims is
minimised during the Yatra
season. He also sought detailed
information from the officials
about the rehabilitation of the
people affected in the 2013 dis-
aster.
The tourism secretary,
Dilip Jawalkar made a presen-
tation on the works in
Kedarnath and Badrinath.
Chief secretary Om Prakash
and district magistrates of
Rudraprayag and Chamoli
were also present through
video conferencing among oth-
ers.
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India and the US will on
Saturday discuss the entire
gamut of bilateral defence ties in
the talks between visiting US
Defence Secretary Llyod J
Austin and Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh here. They are
also likely to review the situation
in the wake of growing Chinese
assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific
region.
Austin, who arrived here on
Friday is also likely to meet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
National Security
Advisor(NSA)Ajit Doval and
External Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar during his three-
day visit. This is the first high-
level visit by a US Minister since
Joe Biden became US President.
Moreover, the talks on
Saturday come after heads of
State of India, US, Australia and
Japan last week held the first
ever virtual summit under the
aegis of the Quad. The leaders
in a veiled reference to China
called for freedom of navigation
and trade in the Indo-Pacific.
China has all along objected to
the formation of Quad claiming
it will lead to militarisation.
India is the third stop of
Austin’s three-nation first over-
seas tour, and the visit is seen as
a strong commitment of the Joe
Biden administration to its close
allies and partners in the region.
Ways to further accelerate
India-US strategic ties, boosting
cooperation in the Indo-Pacific,
China’s aggressive behaviour in
eastern Ladakh, challenges
posed by terrorism and the
Afghan peace process are
expected to be focus of the talks
between the two sides, sources
said. The two sides will issue a
joint statement after the talks on
Saturday.
Sources said India’s plan to
procure around 30 multi-mis-
sion armed
Predator drones from the
US for the three services at an
estimated cost of over USD 3
billion is also expected to figure
in the talks. The medium-alti-
tude long-endurance (MALE)
Predator-B drones, manufac-
tured by US defence major
General Atomics, are capable of
remaining airborne for around
35 hours and can hunt down
targets at land and sea, they
said.
However, no deals are like-
ly to be inked, they said.
Incidentally, the US in the last
one decade has sold weapons
worth over 15 billion dollars to
India.
The US Defence Secretary
visited Japan and South Korea
before arriving in India. The
visit to all the countries during
his ongoing tour is perceived as
a bid by the new US
Government to have a united
front against China. Austin
described it as the “pacing
threat”.
“China … presents the
most significant threat going
forward because China is
ascending,” Austin told the
Senate confirmation hearing
back in January, underlining
that in contrast to Beijing, the
threat from Moscow “is in
decline”.
Austin, former US Central
Command chief, is well aware
of the threat to world security
from radicalization and terror-
ism after seeing the rise of the
so-called Islamic State in Iraq
and Syria.
He also has first-hand expe-
rience of the threat posed by
terrorist groups in Pakistan to
India.
Though no deals or agree-
ments are likely to be signed
during the visit, India and US
may prepare a detailed plan to
further strengthen defence
cooperation and intelligence
sharing in the Indo-Pacific.
This will be done through
interoperability exercises and
joint training designed to make
them the first responders in the
vast ocean while the navies of
the two other Quad members,
Japan and Australia, hold the
other fringes.
The Quad navies plus
France are scheduled to exercise
in the Bay of Bengal from April
4-7 under the La Perouse ban-
ner.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Issues ranging from providing
facilities to patients of
Thalassemia to moving to BS
VI norms and electric vehicles
to apprehensions on Covid-19
vaccinations to shifting people
living in land-slide prone zones
to safer areas figured in the Lok
Sabha on Friday.
In the question hour,
Congress MP Ravneet Bittu
asked if COVID-19 vaccines
affect the DNA of future gen-
erations and pointed to lot of
apprehensions.
Replying to the query,
Union Health Minister Dr
Harsh Vardhan said, “When a
vaccine is given the final go
ahead, a lot of trials are done
and data is analysed not just
in the country but also at the
level of the WHO. 0.000432
per cent of side effects are
seen for COVID-19 vaccine.
The data needs to be believed.
I want to tell the citizens,
don’t have any apprehen-
sions.”
NCP MP Supriya Sule
asked as to when would the
Government allow universal
vaccination. The Minister said
that every vaccine doesn’t
require universalisation.
“The National Expert
Group for Vaccination
Administration decides, on
scientific basis, whether it is
necessary that each and every
person should be given the
vaccine”, he said
BJP MP Maneka Gandhi
said Thalassemia has been
recognised as a disability and
sought the Minister about
specific steps taken in terms
of free blood bank etc., for
Thalassemic patients.
The Minister replied that
screening of such patients,
counseling at the stage of
conception, and bone marrow
transplants are ongoing. He
said since bone marrow trans-
plant is expensive, the Centre
suggests that State govern-
ments should bear half the
cost while the Centre will bear
the other half.
Dr. Vardhan also spoke
about corporates pitching in
for bone marrow transplants.
But Maneka suggested
bringing Thalassemic patients
under the Atal Amrit
Abhiyan. She said there is no
point in talking about corpo-
rates as “they do nothing”.
The Minister replied that
thalassemic patients are pro-
vided free blood. He also
sought specific suggestions
from her.
Union Environment
Minister Prakash Javadekar
spoke about steps like efforts
to move to BS VI emissions
norms and the move to elec-
tric vehicles. “3,000 industries
switched to piped natural gas;
3,000 brick kilns were fitted
with Zig Zag technology,” he
says.
The Minister said,
“Compared with previous
years, the emission norms
have come down.”
Replying to a question
on landslides, Union Earth
Sciences Minister Harsh
Vardhan, spoke about map-
ping 4.25 lakh square kms of
land saying 50% of the job is
done.
On the question of shift-
ing people who are vulnera-
ble to landslides, the Minister
said the information collect-
ed by the Geological Survey of
India is passed on to the
State Governments.
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Allaying apprehensions of
the Elders, the
Government on Friday said
railways infrastructure will
never be privatised. However,
plans are there to monetise the
assets of the railways to gener-
ate funds to fast track growth.
Giving this assurance in
the Rajya Sabha, Railway
Minister Piyush Goyal said
passenger train operations
taken up through Public
Private Partnership (PPP) are
targeted to bring a total invest-
ment of about C30,000 crore.
Fielding questions on
reported privatization, he said
the railways plans to monetise
assets including through
Eastern and Western
Dedicated Freight Corridors
after commissioning, induction
of 150 modern rakes through
PPP, station redevelopment
through PPP, railway land
parcels, multi-functional com-
plexes (MFC), railway colonies,
hill railways and stadia.
When Jairam
Ramesh(Congress)said assets
monetisation was another form
of privatisation, Goyal said
the Congress leader was not
able to understand the differ-
ence between privatisation and
monetisation.
“When you privatise, you
sell off the assets permanently
and it no more remains a part
of the government ownership.
In the railways, the plan to is
monetise in terms of how it will
generate resources, further
investment and growth. The
infrastructure of Indian
Railways will never be priva-
tised,” Goyal said.
Elaborating upon the ded-
icated freight corridors project,
he said they are a separate cor-
porate entity and the railways
are supporting them. He clar-
ified that the railways are sup-
porting but is not the owner of
tracks that the freight corridor
is laying. “If we raise funds by
leasing them, giving them out
to private sector to use in the
interim period we are doing a
service to the nation,” the min-
ister said.
He also said assets mon-
etisation involves various trans-
action processes, and the
investment expected depends
on the outcome of bidding
process open to public and pri-
vate sectors. Therefore, the
actual investment expected
from private and public sectors
cannot be ascertained as of
now, Goyal added.
Replying to a supplemen-
tary raised by the leader of the
opposition
Mallikarjun Kharge about
a proposal to merge three divi-
sions of Gulbarga in Karnataka,
Goyal said the Railways Board
did not find it feasible.
In a reply to another sup-
plementary, Goyal said for
seven routes dedicated to semi-
high speed passenger corridors,
the Government is talking to
State Governments and added
that there has been good
response from the Uttar
Pradesh government which is
cooperating on the Delhi-
Varanasi route, mostly elevat-
ed along the highways.
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At least 30 kids die every day
in road accidents across the
country. Alarmingly, a major-
ity of 11,168 children who
died in road mishaps in 2019
could have been saved had
their parents or caretakers
made them wear good quality
helmets while pillion-riding, Dr
Rajendra Prasad, senior
Consultant Neuro and Spine
Surgeon from Indraprastha
Apollo Hospitals, Delhi said on
the eve of the World Head
Injury Day on Saturday.
Unofficial death estimates are
much higher.
Unfortunately, laments Dr
Prasad, while parents are yet to
take the issue serious and pre-
vent their kids from getting
serious injuries to brains, there
are not good quality head-
gears available in the market.
An injury to the brain can alter
their kids life forever, warned
the doctor.
He knows better. The
Indian Head Injury Foundation
of which Dr Prasad is a Medical
Director, is engaged in distrib-
uting helmets to the school
children across the country, as
a part of its awareness cam-
paign on how essential head-
gear are to keep children’s
developing brains safe.
In the last five years since
2015, the Foundation has doled
out atleast 30,000 helmets to
the school kids free of cost.
However, Dr Prasad shared
that they had to place orders to
the helmet manufacturing
companies to specially manu-
facture helmets as either there
were not enough in the market
while those existing did not
meet standards.
The doctor is now hopeful
that the new Vehicle Act mak-
ing it mandatory for the parents
to ensure kids wear seatbelts in
the car will also sensitise them
to make their children wear
helmets when ferrying them in
two-wheelers or letting them
bike. He said, “It is necessary to
make the public aware about
causes and prevention of head
Injuries. The majority of head
Injuries in India are caused due
to road traffic accidents. “
Over 1,50,000 deaths every
year from road traffic accidents
(RTA). Five times as many are
left with severe disabilities. As
per a report by the Union
Ministry of Road Transport
and Highways, around 11,168
children lost their lives in road
accidents in 2019.
Major cause for mortality
on roads were not wearing
helmets and seat belts,
untrained first responders,
poor pre-hospital care and lack
of neuro-rehabilitation facili-
ties, he pointed out.
The Indian Head Injury
Foundation (IHIF) in 2007
aims to build a comprehensive
system for prevention, diag-
nosis and treatment of trau-
matic brain injury and provide
neuro-rehabilitation to such
patients in the country.
0A270=09HC8Q =4F34;78
Experts have urged the
Government to step up the
genomic surveillance of SARS-
CoV-2 to detect cases of
Coronavirus variants which
are more contagious and lethal.
Presently, 400 cases of
Coronavirus patients in India
have been found to be affect-
ed with three mutant variants
first detected in the United
Kingdom, South Africa and
Brazil.
Presently, the Government
is sequencing just five percent
of all positive samples from
each State in order to identi-
fy potential outbreaks and
related strains as part of con-
tinuous surveillance.
Public Health expert and
neurologist (HoD of the
Neurology Department) of
the Lady Hardinge Medical
College (LHMC) Dr RK
Dhamija said: “There is no
reason to scale down RT PCR
testing as we have seen lately
in many states and that can be
disastrous especially with new
mutant variants of the virus
making entry into our cities.
These variants will be seen in
India as it is difficult to stop
the transmission in view of
relaxation of movements and
in the era of necessary inter-
national travel.
“More genomic sequencing
would help us for early detec-
tion of these new variants
arriving in the country and
within the country,” said Dr
Dhamija.
In fact, Minister of State for
Health Ashwini Choubey had
on Thursday told the Rajya
Sabha, citing findings from
the World Health
Organization, that the three
variants are believed to be
more contagious or easier to
catch.
“These three mutated vari-
ants also have the potential to
re-infect people who have been
previously infected with SARS-
CoV-2,” he had said.
As of March 10, 2021, a
total of 19,092 RT-PCR positive
samples for SARS CoV-2 have
been received from various
states/UTs, in which 4869 sam-
ples have been processed.
Among the processed sam-
ples, 284 samples have been
detected to be positive for the
‘UK strain’ and 11 samples
positive for the ‘South African
strain’ and 1 sample positive for
the ‘Brazil strain’, as on March
10, the Government told the
Parliament on Friday.
The Government has
formed genomic surveillance
consortium INSACOG to
detect the presence of different
strains of coronavirus in India,
involving ten regional
genome sequencing laborato-
ries (RGSLs) namely NIBMG
Kalyani, ILS Bhubaneswar,
ICMR-NIV Pune, NCCS Pune,
CSIR-CCMB Hyderabad,
CDFD Hyderabad,
InStem/NCBS Bengaluru,
NIMHANS Bengaluru, CSIR-
IGIB Delhi, and NCDC
Delhi.
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Taking note of a surge in the
number of corona positive
cases in some parts of the
country, Rajya Sabha Chairman
M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday
urged all the MPs to observe all
precautions and remain extra
careful.
Making this observation
in the Rajya Sabha, he also
asked the Elders to follow all the
guidelines issued by the health
ministry. While the severity has
come down, reports are com-
ing from certain states that the
pandemic is spreading, Naidu
said.
“...All the members of
Parliament, who are here, who
are there in their respective
fields, to be extra careful. I
know that you are all public
representatives, you can’t live in
isolation. But at the same time,
while dealing with people,
meeting them, or going to the
constituencies or areas, be care-
ful, follow strictly the advice
given by the Health Ministry
and Home Ministry, central
government, as well as the
guidelines issued by the state
governments concerned from
time to time and see to it that
they are implemented,” he said.
Naidu further said the MPs
should take interest to see that
common people too are guid-
ed properly. “One of the rea-
sons, as we are seeing, though
the severity has come down,
but the cases are spreading here
and there, is that people in
those respective areas are not
following the amount of disci-
pline,” he said, and added “we
should not allow the situation
to deteriorate”. The Chairman
also urged MPs and their fam-
ily members, who are eligible,
to get themselves vaccinated.
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?=BQ =4F34;78
Lok Sabha on Friday passed
the Bill to amend the Mines
and Minerals (Development
and Regulation) Act to bring
reforms in the sector. Replying
the debate, Union Minister
Prahald Joshi said that the
amendments will bring trans-
parency in the mining sector
and asserted that that even if the
Centre auctions a mine, all the
revenue will go to States con-
cerned.
TheMinesMinistersaidthe
proposed changes in the
MMDR Act will help create
employment opportunities and
also allow participation of pri-
vate sector players in mining
activities with enhanced tech-
nology. “The entire revenues
will go to state governments
even if the central government
auctions the mines... All rev-
enues will go to states alone...
(we are) only making good,
transparent policy,” he said.
Joshi said India produces 95
minerals and has the same
potential like South Africa and
Australia but still imports min-
erals like gold and coal.
Currently, he noted that
the mining sector contributes
1.75 per cent to the country’s
GDP and through the reforms
proposed in the bill, the contri-
bution will rise to 2.5 per cent
and strengthen the economy.
“The reform in the mining sec-
tor would generate 55 lakh
direct and indirect employ-
ment. To enhance mining activ-
ity, we will allow private sector
with enhanced technology in
mineral exploration,” he said.
On provisions pertaining to
District Mineral Foundation
(DMF), the minister said the
government is only asking states
to include Members of
Parliament in a committee while
deciding on spending the
money from it. “We are only
sending broader guidelines,” he
pointed out. The bill to amend
the Mines and Minerals
(Development and Regulation)
Act, 1957, would bring in mega
reforms in the sector with res-
olution in legacy issues, there-
by making a large number of
mines available for auctions. It
will also help strengthen the
auction-only regime and boost
transparency in the system.
The Bill also seeks to
remove the distinction between
captive and non-captive mines
as well as introduce an index-
based mechanism by develop-
ing a National Mineral Index
(NMI) for various statutory
payments. In order to boost
exploration, there will be a
review of functioning of the
National Mineral Exploration
Trust (NMET), which will also
be made an autonomous body.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Government has flagged
its concerns with German
organisation Welthungerhilfe
on “appropriateness, accuracy
and representativeness of data”
used to calculate the level of
hunger in India. Responding to
Aam Aadmi party (AAP) MP
Sanjay Singh’s comment in the
Rajya Sabha on India’s poor
rank in the Global Hunger
Index 2020, Union Minister of
State for Agriculture Parshottam
Rupala on Friday said the
Government has already writ-
ten to NGO Welthungerhilfe,
which compiled the report,
expressing concerns about their
methodology and accuracy of
data, and is yet to hear from
them.
The Global Hunger Index
(GHI) Report 2020 — pub-
lished jointly by Concern
Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe
—has given a score of 27.2 for
India and ranked the country at
94 out of 107. Whereas in the
GHI Report 2019, India had
scored 30.3 and was ranked 102
out of 117. “Some NGO in the
world has done the survey. We
have already asked them on
what basis have you reached this
conclusion? They have not
replied yet. But this is a separate
matter,” the minister said. He
said that the GHI score has
reduced from 30.3 to 27.2 dur-
ing the period 2019 to 2020.
Rupala mentioned that the
Comprehensive National
Nutrition Survey (CNNS) con-
ducted in 2017-28 showed an
improvement in indicators —
wasting, stunting and under-
nutrition — when compared to
data enumerated from National
Family Survey 4 (NFHS-4) in
2015-16.
These three indicators are
usedatthenationallevelformea-
surement of the prevalence of
undernourishment, he added.
;B_PbbTb1X[[c^
PT]SX]Tb0Rc
NewDelhi:ABilltomodifythe
list of Scheduled Castes in
Tamil Nadu by grouping of
seven castes which presently
exist as separate castes, was
passed by the Lok Sabha on
Friday. According to the
Constitution(ScheduledCastes)
Order(Amendment)Bill,2021,
theTamilNadugovernmenthas
proposed certain modifications
in the list of Scheduled Castes
by way of grouping of seven
castes which presently exist as
separate castes. The Registrar
General of India has conveyed
concurrence to the proposed
modifications, the bill said. To
give effect to the changes, it is
necessary to amend the
Constitution(ScheduledCastes)
Order, 1950 by Parliament.
6^ecaPXbTbR^]RTa]fXcW
6TaP]=6^eTaPRRdaPRh
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?=BQ =4F34;78
Amid a spike in political
violence in poll-bound
West Bengal, a delegation of
Trinamool Congress MPs met
the Election Commission on
Friday to register their protest
against the poll panel’s report-
ed decision to not permit State
police personnel within 100
metres of polling stations.
The TMC parliamentary
delegation comprising Saugata
Roy, Yashwant Sinha, Md
Nadimul Haque, Pratima
Mondal and Mahua Moitra,
described the EC’s approach as
partisan and biased. It is becom-
ing increasingly clear that free,
fair and transparent elections in
the State of West Bengal is
becoming a distant reality. This
is evident from the partisan and
biased approach taken by the
Election Commission of India
(ECI) in respect of the ongoing
elections in the State, a memo-
randum submitted to the apex
poll panel said.
On the first count, it has
been reported in media that the
ECI has decided to not permit
presence of State police within
100 m of polling stations and
only deploy Central Forces in
such arena. If true, this decision
is unprecedented and casts
severe aspersions on the repu-
tation of the police administra-
tion in the State of West Bengal,”
it added.
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6. Producers Group, formed by
the women of Bundelkhand,
hasachievedaturnoverofC46
crore and a profit of C2 crore
despite the pandemic, is truly
inspiring. Many such innova-
tive efforts by the State’s youth
and women are becoming the
foundation for realising the
dream of a “self-reliant UP”.
As UP takes rapid strides
towards self-sufficiency, it is
noteworthy that 40 lakh fam-
ilies got houses and 1.38 crore
got electricity connections in
just four years. Besides, work
on the optical fibre network in
the countryside is taking place
on a war-footing. The basis of
our rapid progress is our solid
effort to establish world-class
connectivity. Also, zero toler-
anceoncorruption,atranspar-
ent work culture and robust
law and order have created a
conducive environment for
business and development.
The result is that UP is the first
choice for the investors today.
Within four years, the State
has risen to number two in the
national ranking of “Ease of
Doing Business”. The per capi-
ta income in 2015-16 was
just C47,116, which has risen
up to C94,495 now. On the
basis of GSDP, UP has
emerged as the second largest
economy of the country.
Four years ago, our
Government’s journey of pub-
lic welfare started with the
waiving of farmer loans.
Today, our growers are mov-
ing towards agricultural diver-
sification by connecting with
advanced technology. We are
leaving no stone unturned to
reduce their costs and double
their income. The State
Government has completed
several irrigation projects that
had been pending for decades.
We have made a record pay-
ment of C1.27 lakh crore to
the sugarcane farmers to date.
The prosperity of farmers is
one of our top priorities.
Our policies are clear in
terms of both faith and econ-
omy. In our policies, both
expressions have a parallel
movement. Today, I am glad
to report that cultural nation-
alism illuminates the heart of
every believer in UP. The
‘Ganga Yatra’ helped fulfill the
objectives of both faith and
economy. Similarly, the much-
awaited laying of the founda-
tion stone for the grand Ram
temple in Ayodhya took place
in 2020. Our Government’s
vision is to present Ayodhya
as the meeting point of the
Vedic and modern cultures on
the global stage.
The Prime Minister has
shown us the path of “Sabka
saath, sabka vikas, sabka vish-
was”. As our Government
completes four years in office,
I am happy that we are reli-
giously following this path.
Our political opponents also
believe that there has not
been a single case of discrim-
inationinthelastfouryearson
the basis of caste or religion.
Some time ago, when we
called UP a State of possibili-
ties, some people mocked us
sayingthatnothingcouldhap-
pen here. But today, the
dreams of the State are com-
ing true due to our determina-
tion to do the larger good. The
last four years have witnessed
the emergence of “New India’s
New UP”. Four years ago, the
State, which was known as a
BIMARUStatebothwithinthe
country and abroad, is setting
examples of progress for oth-
ers to emulate. The State is the
same, the resources and the
workers are also the same, but
the work culture has changed.
This committed, trans-
parent work culture with
dedicated spirit is the hall-
mark of this new UP. No
matter how big the chal-
lenges are, no matter how dif-
ficult the road may be, this
eternal journey in the larger
interest of the people will
continue.
(The writer is the Chief
Minister of Uttar Pradesh.)
:
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C
ompleting four years of
our solemn pledge to
meet the aspirations
of the 24 crore people
of Uttar Pradesh (UP), I feel that
our services for the well-being
of the State and its people have
encouraged us to continue
doing good work. It’s my firm
belief today that it is not diffi-
cult to achieve your goals by
working with dedication, hon-
esty and purity of intention.
A year of intense struggle
with the COVID-19 pandemic
has passed. It has been a great
learning experience. I remember
the day of the “Janata curfew”
whenthePresidentandtheVice-
President spoke to me on the
phone and collected information
about the State’s preparedness in
the midst of the deepening cri-
sis. They were concerned about
how UP would cope with the
global pandemic with its weak
health infrastructure, dense pop-
ulation and geographical diver-
sity. Nevertheless, I assured them
that UP would do its best to con-
tain the virus and we eventually
did. Strictly following Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s “test-
ing and tracing” mantra, we
moved on with a well-defined
strategyonthegroundtocontain
the virus on the one hand and
save lives and livelihoods on the
other. Both the residents and
migrants have been taken care of
during this crisis. We were sen-
sitivetowardstheproblemsfaced
by our migrant workers in the
metros and tried to help them as
much as we could. We also tried
to help the workers from other
States while fulfilling the needs
of UP’s residents. It gives me
immense satisfaction to say that
every section of society united-
ly fought the epidemic. The
COVID management by UP
was appreciated globally. And it
won’t be an exaggeration to say
that the pandemic has seen the
emergence of a new, vibrant UP
on the national platform.
Uttar Pradesh is committed
to contributing substantially
towards the Prime Minister’s
visionofmakingthecountrya$5
trillion economy through self-
reliance.Inthiscontext,theman-
ner in which the Balinee Milk
SOUNDBITE
C8B9;9745=?3B1D93C@135C
Sir — The induced, if not forced, resigna-
tion of Pratap Bhanu Mehta from the
Ashoka University has come as a worrying
development.We aredisheartenedthat this
has happened in a prestigious institution
that is held in great esteem for its intellec-
tual exertions and output.
Economist Arvind Subramanian, who
quittheuniversityinsolidaritywithhisillus-
trious colleague, has described Ashoka’s
inability to provide a space for academic
freedom and expression to the faculty as
ominously disturbing. What good is a uni-
versity if it is unable to protect its autono-
my and academic freedom and keep its
integrity intact to do what it is supposed to
do?
That the private university could not
accommodate such a gem of a professor as
Mehta says a lot about the times we live in.
A university is a centre for critical thinking,
creativity and originality and not an arm of
theGovernmentoftheday.Assuch,therea-
soncitedforthehigh-profileexit—Mehta’s
intellectual interventions do not suit the
“current political environment” — is an
encroachment on academic freedom.
A pre-eminent political theorist and
commentator who has a mind of his own,
thecourageofhisconvictionsandisn’tafraid
to say what he thinks, Mehta cannot be
expectedtosingfromthehymnbookinthe
ruling dispensation’s hands. He has shown
great strength of character and spoken the
truthtopower.Theshrinkingspaceforpub-
licintellectualsabortswidediversityofopin-
ionandrendersdemocracypoorer.Itistime
we wake up to the seriousness of the situ-
ation and guard against the threats to our
hard-won rights and freedom.
G David Milton | Tamil Nadu
D9=5D?@B?D53DD85C@1BB?G
Sir — The World Sparrow Day is the day
to redeem our pledge to save this beautiful
bird from getting extinct. There are many
kinds of sparrows but the house sparrow is
the most common. They are famous for
greeting us with their musical notes early
in the morning. We must raise awareness
and protect the common house sparrows,
which are not so commonly seen now.
The house sparrow is believed to be
declining for various reasons, ranging from
the destruction of its habitat to lack of food
for the young and even the increasing wave
pollution from mobile phone towers. On
this day, we must undertake sparrow mon-
itoring in and around our homes. We must
spendatleast15minutesobservingthebird
from a location in our house, neighbour-
hoodgardenorterraceandcountthenum-
ber of sparrows. We must also rope in kids
and ask them to keep a bowl of water and
grains for the sparrows to feed on.
Jubel D’Cruz | Mumbai
G1B1719CD3?F949C?DI5D?F5B
Sir — The recent surge in the number of
COVID-19 cases in some parts of India,
particularly in Maharashtra, clearly
points towards a grim situation and pos-
sibly the beginning of a second wave.
Needless to say, the crisis is far from
over, and the road ahead is long and dif-
ficult. The war against the pandemic is
nowhere its end and needs to be carried
forward more vigorously by way of
increasing testing, vaccination on war
footing and strictly adhering to standard
safety protocols for COVID.
Also, we must take all necessary pre-
cautions to keep infection at bay and must
wear face masks and sanitise our hands. We
must also maintain proper social distanc-
ing and avoid crowding public spaces.
Remember, masks work best when every-
one wears one.
Ramesh G Jethwani | Bengaluru
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