Pioneer Dehradun-english-edition-2021-01-31

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Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Saturday affirmed
that his Government’s propos-
al to suspend implementation
of the farm laws for 18 months
still stands as negotiations with
agitating farmers to resolve
the deadlock continue.
In the all-party meet that
he chaired before the presen-
tation of the Union Finance
Budget on Monday, the Prime
Minister reiterated Agriculture
Minister Narendra Singh
Tomar’s comment that “he is a
phone call away for the talks.”
Even as the Government
has offered to put the new laws
in abeyance for 18 months, a
dominant section of protesting
farmers and Opposition parties
are adamant on their repeal.
The nine rounds of talks
have failed to provide a break-
through in the ongoing 56-days
farmers’ protest on the outskirts
of Delhi. The Budget Session
may have heated discussion on
farm laws, military face-off with
China on the Line of Actual
Control in Ladakh and eco-
nomic situation post-Covid-19.
On the “unfortunate vio-
lence” in the national Capital
on January 26, Modi was quot-
ed by Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Pralhad Joshi that
“law will take its own course”.
As the Government held
out the offer, a number of
Opposition parties demanded
more discussion on the laws.
Joshi also said the
Government is ready for dis-
cussions on a range of issues
that the Opposition wants. He
said discussion will be taken up
in the second half of the Budget
Session.
“During the all-party meet,
PM Narendra Modi assured
that GoI (Government of
India) is approaching the farm-
ers’ issue with an open mind.
The PM said GoI’s stand is
same as it was on January 22 -
the proposal by the Agriculture
Minister still stands,” the
Parliamentary Minister said
after the meeting.
“He (the Prime Minister)
reiterated what (Agriculture
Minister Narendra Singh)
Tomarji said — that he (the
Agriculture Minister) is a
phone call away for talks,”
Joshi added. The meeting took
place a day after 20 Opposition
parties underlined their sup-
port of the protesting farmers
— by boycotting the President’s
address to a joint sitting of
Parliament — and included a
discussion on the Republic
Day violence and, in particular,
the incident at the Red Fort.
Opposition parties con-
demned the violence but also
demanded an investigation into
how“outsideelements”hadinfil-
trated the farmers’ movement.
Joshi said the Prime Minister
reaffirmed the importance of
smooth functioning of
Parliament and comprehensive
debatesontheflooroftheHouse.
He added that “frequent
disruptions mean smaller par-
ties suffer as they can’t express
themselves adequately.”
Modi said that it is for the
bigger parties to ensure
Parliament functions smooth-
ly, there are no disruptions and
thus, the smaller parties are
able to voice their views in
Parliament. He highlighted the
role India can play to further
global good in a many sectors
and referred to the skills and
prowess of “our people, which
can be a force multiplier to
global prosperity,” said Joshi.
A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78
While agitating farmers’
unions boycotted talks
with the Supreme Court-
appointed committee, as many
as 17 farmers’ organisations
from 11 States and Union
Territories participated in the
deliberations over the farm
laws and the minimum support
price. These groups are not the
part of the ongoing protests by
41 unions at Delhi borders.
This was the second round of
deliberations between farm-
ers’ organisations and the com-
mittee members.
The organisations from
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,
Jammu Kashmir, Karnataka,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Odisha, Tamil Nadu,
Telangana, Uttarakhand and
Uttar Pradesh gave their frank
views and detailed suggestions
on the farm laws.
According to the commit-
tee, the farmers’ unions par-
ticipated in the deliberations,
given suggestions in details
and expressed their viewpoints
over the three laws. The third
round of deliberations with
farmers’ organisations will be
held on February 3. The com-
mittee has also invited com-
ments, views and suggestions
from the public and all stake-
holders engaged in the agri-
culture activities including
dairying and fisheries on the
three laws by February 20.
The committee comprises
agricultural economists Ashok
Gulati and Dr Pramod Joshi,
and Shethkari Sangathana pres-
ident Anil Ghanwat. Another
member BS Mann had recused
from the committee following
the pressure of farmers unions
in Punjab.
The Supreme Court had on
January 12 set up the commit-
tee to give a report to the court
on the farm laws following con-
sultations with all stakeholders.
The Supreme Court had also
stayed the implementation of
three farm laws.
The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha
continues to protest at Delhi’s
borders — Tikri, Singhu, and
Ghazipur.
Noida: Peeved over develop-
ments at the Ghazipur border
site of farmers’ protest, the
Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lok
Shakti)onFridayre-launchedits
stir over the new farm laws, just
a day after it had announced
withdrawingitsprotestinNoida.
BKU (Lok Shakti) chief
Thakur Sheoraj Singh Bhati
called on the union’s support-
ers, who were camping at the
Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida, to
now reach Ghazipur border,
where BKU members are stay-
ing put. PTI
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Farmersprotestingatthethree
sites on Delhi borders held a
day-longfast,between9amand
5 pm, as they observed
“Sadbhavna Divas” to mark the
death anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi. Meanwhile, hundreds
of farmers stayed put at the
Ghazipur Border on Saturday
morning, as more supporters
poured in at the protest site on
the Delhi-Meerut Expressway
in Ghaziabad following which
Delhi Police shut down NH-24
highway and all roads leading
to Ghazipur border.
Union Home Ministry
?C8Q 03DA08
BJP national president JP
Nadda on Saturday said
his party’s alliance with the
AIADMK would continue for
the Assembly elections, due in
Tamil Nadu in a few months.
Both parties would face the
polls together, he said, address-
ing a public meeting, his first
in the run up to the Assembly
elections expected in April or
early May. He said Prime
Minister Narendra Modi facil-
itated projects like the defence
corridor for Tamil Nadu while
the state was “ignored” during
the Congress-led
United Progressive Alliance
regime.
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temporarily suspended internet
services in Singhu, Ghazipur,
Tikri borders and their adjoin-
ing areas from 11 pm of 29
January to 11 pm of 31 January
to “maintain public safety and
averting public emergency”
amid the farmers’ protest.
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A
ll movies that are based on real life are
fascinating to watch. There is
something about such films or for that
matter books that pull you. The characters
take you on their as it happened. The Dig
directed by Simon Stone tells you the truth
whether Anglo-Saxons were barbaric or
civilised who were more than just about
fighting and plundering.
Set in May 1939, as Europe lurched
towards war, amateur excavator/archaeologist
Basil Brown, hired to dig up the huge mounds
on Edith Pretty’s property in Suffolk, struck
gold (literally). First, the movie tell you how he
came across the skeleton of an 88-foot ship
dating to the Anglo-Saxon period. The next
phase was discovering the burial chamber
within the ship, filled with a treasure trove of
almost perfectly-preserved artifacts, made
from gold and garnet: a stunning helmet,
shoulder clasps, a golden belt buckle. Pretty
later, donated them to the British museum.
What makes this film brilliant is the
performance by Ralph Fiennes. It is almost
difficult to imagine that he is the same person
who played Voldermort or for that matter
Christopher Marshall. Playing a British
excavator of 1930s, his transformation is
amazing. He plays this role to perfection. He
gives an impressive that he perfectly
understated what was expected of him and
delivers on it. It is his expressions of hat give
your imagination wings into how history
unfolded back then.
The other starcast do their bit. Another
actor who is almost unrecognisable is Lily
Jamres. After playing the lead in Cinderella, as
a fellow excavator on site, she is good. Though
her role may not be something to rave about
her contribution as an actor fits the film.
Over all, The Dig is well-played, is visually
appealing with a treasure hunt at the centre of
it all.
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P
eople in India will find it difficult to find a connection here if
you don’t know anything about Hawaiian way of life. Still Finding
Ohana is interesting to watch since the locales are beautiful and
it is about treasure hunt even though it is of a different kind — not
about money but about what the Hawaiian culture, values, tradition
and folklore is about. Those who love to know about different cultures,
this one is right up alley even though it is told from the perspective
of kids and teenagers.
Given that our world us shrinking, knowing and being aware of
other folklore besides our own is good. The fact that they have used a
quest for long lost and buried treasure keeps one interest once you start
watching it.
For those wanting to know what Ohana means — it means family.
There is plenty of fun with a mix of adventure, comedy, heartwarming
family moments, and a bit of teen romance. It is a movie about how
family sticks together whatever the odds even if it means to shift from
one city to another. °BWP[X]XBPZbT]P
Q How did you come on board for
Prem Bandhan?
As it works for the others, I had to
audition for the role. For me, to get this
project was tough. It was not easy for me
to get into Balaji Productions even though
I have done so many shows before. One
doesn’t know where your audition will go.
Will it get into the correct hands? But I
am lucky that my creative reached the
right place since during the lockdown, one
had to give the audition from home and
send it. I got short-listed and was called
for a mock shoot. I came on board. It has
been a dream come true.
Q How is it to work with Ekta Kapoor?
When I was finally offered this role,
I was very excited to be part of the
production house. I was looking
forward to working with the team
and Ekta (Kapoor) ma’am. At the
same time, I was nervous. I had
heard so much about this
production house. There was
pressure on me to give it my best.
But once I joined, I found that
the atmosphere is so relaxed.
The team is so good. I just want
people to know that there is
nothing to be scared of if one
wants to work with them. I am
blessed to be part of the
team.
Q What is the best part of
playing Janki Singh?
The show is set in
Darbhanga, Bihar. I too am
from Patna. I can find a
connection with the role.
There are way too many
similarities between
Janki and Chhavi. Take
for example, the way
parents raise their kids
in small towns –
teaching relationships
values, how to
compromise and
sacrifice for others.
To be able to
identify with Janki
was not difficult
and I could relate
with her. I love
playing her.
Q How did you
get into acting?
I actually
wanted to be a
singer and
came to
Mumbai to
pursue a
career in
this field.
But as we know, fate had something else
in store for me. It all started with a reality
show that I was part of — India’s Got
Talent Season 1 with my sister. At that
time, Sonali Bendre told me that since I
had a nice face, why didn’t I try acting.
This stuck with me. I thought to myself
that if I managed to make a mark in
acting, I could make a career as a singer
later. But I kept getting back-to-back
shows as a lead. Slowly, I took to acting
and now love playing different characters.
Q Is there a role that you loved playing?
It was that of Tara in Ek Boond Ishq
on Life OK. Here, I played a tom boy and
I loved it. Then there was one more
character, that of Prarthna Kashyap in
Ladies Special that aired on Sony
Entertainment Television. I loved doing
this as well.
Q How did you get your first break?
My first break was for Ek Boond Ishq.
It was co-produced by Saba Mumtaz. It
was well-received and my lead character
was appreciated.
Q What are your future plans?
I would like to be part of web shows.
The OTT platforms are the future. As an
actor one wants to grow. While I do get
to play diverse roles, but if you get stuck
here, it becomes tough to break the
mould. I would love to do films as well. I
am hoping that I get the right roles to play
here. One doesn’t know; maybe Balaji may
give me an opportunity if they like my
work. But let’s see what the future holds.
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3. 347A03D=kBD=30H k90=D0AH !! RP_XcP[
The times have never been
better than now for the
fisheries, seafood processing
and aquaculture sector in India.
It’s less than an year after the
Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman announced a finan-
cial package of C20,000 crore
under the Pradhan Mantri
Matsya Sampada Yojana
(PMMSY), to help address the
critical gaps in the fisheries
value chain and for the inte-
grated, sustainable, inclusive
development of the marine
and inland fisheries and aqua-
culture sector- both develop-
ment initiatives of wide impact
and significance.
Of the total allotment, the
minister explained that Rs
11,000 crore will be exclusive-
ly for activities in the marine,
inland fisheries and aquacul-
ture and C9,000 crore for devel-
opment of infrastructure of
fishing harbours, cold chain
and markets etc.
What was strikingly dif-
ferent about this relief measure
was that the funds set aside for
aquaculture industry were esti-
mated based on the sector’s
long-standing needs: new tech-
nology and research-based pro-
duction, higher quality breed-
ing stock, modernisation of the
infrastructure and related
development aspects.
Finally, someone did stop
to hear the cries that arose from
the hearts of the thousands of
marine and inland aquaculture
farmers, investors and their
large workforce of hardworking
labourers, who were together
seeking and praying for a lis-
tening ear of the powers-that-
be at the Centre for quite some
time. Not surprisingly, the
measures were received as a big
relief by the stakeholders who
were struggling to survive after
the devastating effect of Covid-
19 pandemic which had rav-
aged the country for nearly the
whole of 2019, with consider-
able unemployment and reces-
sion.
The special PMMSY funds
flow has since been hailed as a
major boost for the industry
which is now fast-gearing up
for a quantum leap into capac-
ity expansion, diversified
growth and for creating a larg-
er footprint in the export mar-
kets of the world with its range
of processed sea foods and
freshwater aquaculture spe-
cialities.
As an indicator of the
importance that the
Government is extending to
this sector, Sitharaman also
announced in her speech the
formation of a separate
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal
Husbandry and Dairying head-
ed by a Minister of Cabinet
rank, and backed by a special
budget of C3,737 crore for its
formation. With this Ministry
in operation, under the able
leadership of Giriraj Singh,
there’s a huge potential for
growth coming in the fisheries
and allied industries and the
Government’s target of dou-
bling the farmers’ income by
2022 would move closer to
reality, given favourable cir-
cumstances to follow.
Singh is perfect for heading
the ministry considering his in
depth knowledge of the field
and also his past performance
in this sector as a minister in
Bihar.
As one leading manage-
ment expert on industry point-
ed out, “Bringing allied sectors
such as fisheries in focus can
help the development of fish-
ing communities and fisheries
as an occupation.” Indeed, it’s
not business as usual that’s
happening, here. Quite truly,
the flagship development
model of the Modi govern-
ment- Atmanirbhar Bharat
Abhiyan, is acting as a power-
ful catalyst to the country’s Blue
Revolution, which continues to
be a national agenda.
India ranks second in the
world in fish production with
a capacity of about 9.6 million
tonnes per annum. This
amounts to over 10% of the
global fish diversity and much
of it’s credited to the country’s
inland fisheries and aquacul-
ture infrastructure.
With an employment base
of 145 million individuals the
fisheries industry contributes
1.07% of the nation’s GDP,
generating an equivalent of
C334.41 billion in export earn-
ings. It is estimated that the
present production capacity in
the industry of 9.6 million
metric tonnes per annum
(FY20) would attract a quan-
tum leap over the next two
years to meet the estimated
demand of nearly 11.80 mil-
lion metric tonnes by FY21.
Of the total fish produc-
tion in India, the share of
freshwater aquaculture is at
55% and the major contribu-
tor to this segment is the
smallholder inland fish farm-
ers, supported by the culture
fisheries institutions.
The announcements made
by the Minister for Fisheries
and Animal husbandry high-
lights the Centre’s recogni-
tion of the several concerns
faced by the industry, espe-
cially over the multiple chal-
lenges of the biodiversity and
geographical conditions that
affect the industry. It is esti-
mated that only 10 to 15 per-
cent of Indian freshwater fish
have been brought under feed-
based farming and the major-
ity of freshwater aquaculture
still has scope for converting
to this system, which if prop-
erly addressed will contribute
more to resource savings and
at the same time increase fish
production in the country.
Modernisation also means
adequate improvements in the
cold chain and distribution
system in the country and this
has been recognised as a pri-
ority area for investment, and
attracted new budget alloca-
tion.
Considering reasonable
time for the relief package to
trickle down to the grassroots
an enhanced production of 70
lakh metric tonnes of farm-
fresh fish can be estimated
within the next five years.
The expansion in fisheries
industry would attract direct
and indirect employment in
the region of 55 lakh job
opportunities while the export
potential would touch C1.0
lakh crore by the end of the
coming half decade, say indus-
try analysts.
There is no reason to
doubt that our seafood and
freshwater fish farm industry
can usher in revolutionary
transformations in growth and
content performance in the
coming decade considering
the major improvements
which the country has already
achieved in the fields of infra-
structure, technology, man-
power quality and with the
opening up of the world mar-
kets as the gateways for addi-
tional performance.
It is estimated that only
about 10% of the 2.36 million
hectares of available land with
its water bodies suitable for
aquaculture is being actually
put to good freshwater aqua-
culture farming, matching
industry standards.
The land offers immense
potential for growth in this
industry which is highly prof-
itable if managed well and with
prudence.
Digital is the new frontier
in the fisheries sector. Much
has been discussed about the
arrival of digital technology in
the agro-farming industries
and fisheries development.
Today, the time is ripe to shift
gears and move into mod-
ernisation of the farms with
the hi-tech. Smart technology-
related software including
Artificial Intelligence, Internet
of Things and Big Data are
heavily being researched upon
in this sector, and as reports
last came in, the day is not far
when even the small holder
fish farm worker shall be
equipped with infrastructure
facilities and training to utilise
the research benefits as a way
of life. Organic farming is the
third platform for develop-
ment of the sector.
This technique is also fast
taking over as part of good
farming practices. So much
work has already gone into this
area, with awareness of climate
change, pollution and effects
of water-table contamination
that right from the fish feeds
to maintaining the water qual-
ity and soil preservation has
taken precedence in the indus-
try. Many progressive aqua-
culture projects have switched
to organic feeds and farming
inputs which again has opened
avenues for biofertiliser as a
by-product out of fish waste
which is direct boost for farms
to multiply their organic veg-
etables and crop production.
The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) has
now projected an impressive
11.5 per cent growth rate for
India in 2021, making the
country the only major econ-
omy of the world to register a
double-digit growth this year
amidst the Covid pandemic.
While this projection is for
the entire economy of the
country, it is safe to assume
that the marine and freshwa-
ter aquaculture sector shall
also receive reasonable buoy-
ancy with the rising of the
overall verticals.
With the latest projec-
tions, India regains the tag of
the fastest developing
economies of the world. “What
we see is that transition, com-
bined with policy support,
seems to have worked well,”
according to the IMF chief
who has assessed that India is
“almost where we were before
Covid …meaning that eco-
nomic activities have been
revitalised quite significantly”.
With all this and more hap-
pening, the starry-eyed hope-
fuls of the seafood and the
inland aquaculture domain
are watching and waiting - for,
it’s curtain-raiser time to begin
a whole new colourful perfor-
mance in production capaci-
ties and financial revival - à la
the fishing industry!
Aquaculture industry today
is at the same growth stage
where IT industry was 20
years ago. The industry is
waiting with bated breath for
the new budget where a slew
of measures are expected to
give further momentum to
the growth to fulfill its true
potential. As a sign-off, the
much-favoured slogan of the
entertainment world comes
to memory- let the show
begin!
(The writer is the chairman
managing director of Kings
Infra Ventures Ltd, Kerala)
BWPYX1PQh9^W]
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Physical school classes for
classes VI to XII will begin
in the state from February 8.
The standard operating proce-
dures for this will be released
by the education department.
In addition to this the regula-
tions for the ban on polythene
bags and polystyrene dispos-
ables have also been made in
the State. These and other
decisions were taken in the
meeting of the cabinet presided
over by the chief minister
Trivendra Singh Rawat on
Saturday.
Informing the media about
the cabinet decisions, cabinet
minister and state government
spokesman Madan Kaushik
informed that the cabinet dis-
cussed 17 points in its meeting.
Regarding the plastic ban,
he said that single use plastic is
already prohibited in
Uttarakhand but now the reg-
ulations have been made. All
types of plastic carry bags irre-
spective of their dimensions
will be prohibited in the state.
Disposable crockery made
from polystyrene (thermocol)
and plastic cutlery will also be
banned.
If the banned items are
found to be used in single use
food products packaging con-
tainers, the manufacturer can
be penalised C 5 lakh, while C
2 lakh penalty will be levied on
the transporter, C1 lakh on the
vendor and C100 on the con-
sumer.
In another important deci-
sion, the cabinet gave its
approval to provide 50 addi-
tional work days to MNREGA
job card holders who complete
100 days.
There are about 20,000
such families which have com-
pleted 100 work days. The
state will presently incur an
expenditure of C18.09 crore
expenditure on providing 50
additional work days to these
families and the expenditure is
expected to rise in a few
months. Kaushik further
informed that the cyber crisis
management plan (CCMP) for
countering cyber attacks and
cyber terrorism in Uttarakhand
2020, is also being implement-
ed in the state.
The CCMP was basically
prepared by the Government of
India and is now being imple-
mented in the state, he added.
The cabinet also approved
amendment in the excise pol-
icy following which allotment
of licensed liquor shops for two
years will be done through e-
tendering and the application
fee has been raised from
C40,000 to C50,000.
Further, the sale of beer
will also be allowed in country
liquor shops. The Cabinet also
took a decision regarding pro-
viding the amount for benefi-
ciaries under the girl child
education incentive (free cycle)
scheme through direct benefit
transfer (DBT).
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Interest free loans of upto C3
lakh each to 25,000 farmers
and upto C5 lakh each to
groups will be distributed from
February 6 in the State under
the Pandit Deen Dayal
Upadhyay cooperative farmer
welfare scheme. To be under-
taken at the district and devel-
opment block levels, this loan
distribution will be launched by
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh
Rawat in Dehradun.
The final shape was given
to this programme at a meet-
ing chaired by Rawat here on
Saturday. Reiterating that the
welfare of farmers is topmost
for the State, he said that vari-
ous steps have been taken by
the Government for this.
Interest free loan of upto C3
lakh to farmers will definitely
benefit them and strengthen
their economic condition.
Similarly, providing interest
free loans of upto C5 lakh to
farmers’ groups will encourage
agriculture, said Rawat. The
programme should be held on
an elaborate scale to maximise
the number of beneficiaries, he
said.
State minister for
Cooperatives, Dhan Singh
Rawat informed that the CM
will inaugurate the programme
by presenting cheques for inter-
est free loans to 250 farmers of
Dehradun district on the
ground near Kisan Bhawan.
Cheques will be presented to
beneficiaries at the district HQ
and block levels by MPs, local
MLAs and office bearers.
Secretaries RK Sudhanshu, R
Meenakshi Sundaram, Radhika
Jha, ITDA director Amit Sinha,
information director general
Meharban Singh Bisht and
additional secretary Vandana
were also present in the meet-
ing.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
The Head of Department of
School of Management
(SOM) in Doon University, H C
Purohit has said that to give a
boost to the economy of a state
like Uttarakhand where more
than 80 percent of agriculturists
belong to the category of small
and marginal farmers, the gov-
ernment should link the social
security scheme Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural
EmploymentGuaranteeScheme
(MNREGS) with farming.
Talking to the Pioneer he
said that the Union finance
minister Nirmala Sitharaman
should include this aspect in the
union budget as it involves no
additional allocation. “If the
rural folks get money from
MNREGS for farming their
own land then they would read-
ily accept farming. It would
removereluctancethathassetin
a state like Uttarakhand and
bring back the farmers to their
fields. It would also reduce the
migration as it result in aug-
menting the income of the
farmers.
This can be done in north
eastern states and mountainous
state like Uttarakhand,’’ he
opined. Purohit added that in
respect to a state like
Uttarakhand, the budget should
focus on promoting aromatic,
medicinal plants and herbs. He
saidthatthepandemicofCovid-
19 has underlined the impor-
tance of Ayurveda and by for-
mulating policies and making
budgetary allocations, the
opportunities in the sector can
be capitalised.
He said that the water man-
agement techniques should be
promoted in a state like
Uttarakhand and drip and
sprinkler systems should be
installed formodernmethodsof
irrigation. Purohit said that the
focus of the budget should be on
infrastructure development so
that industrial demand is cre-
ated and new jobs are generat-
ed.
He opined that the econo-
my hit by pandemic would get
a boost if appropriate measures
to control inflation and revenue
generation are adopted in a bud-
get which is primarily growth
centric. The prices of the petro-
leum should be controlled by
bringing down the tax as it
would control prices. Purohit
added that focus on construc-
tion of roads, air strips, bridges
and train route which the pre-
sent government is doing in
Uttarakhand should continue as
it would result in tourism devel-
opment and creation of new
jobs in the State.
5^aQ^^bcX]VD´ZWP]STR^]^h[X]Zb^RXP[
bTRdaXchbRWTTfXcWUPaX]V)72?da^WXc
?=BQ 347A03D=
The recently inducted Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) leader
Ravindra Jugran has said that
the BJP is behind the conspir-
acy to defame the farmers'
protest.
Addressing media persons
here on Saturday, Jugran who
left BJP to join AAP on Friday
said that people associated
with BJP have infiltrated the
ranks of farmers with a motive
to put the agitation to disrepute.
Showing photographs, the AAP
leader claimed that people hav-
ing affiliation with BJP are
clearly visible in these pictures
taken at Lal Qila and Ghazipur
border.
He said that to crush the
agitation the BJP cut off the
supplies of water and electric-
ity at Ghazipur border but
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal ensured that the farm-
ers don’t face any problem by
making arrangements for
drinking water.
19?QTWX]S
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?=BQ 347A03D=
Adelegation of the Tehri dam
displaced people met
Irrigation minister Satpal
Maharaj and thanked him for
proactively pursuing their issues
with the Central government
following which it had been
decided that issues related to
rehabilitation of 415 remaining
dam displaced families will be
resolved within two months.
Maharaj said that recently
in a meeting he had with the
Union minister of State for
Power, Rajkumar Singh in the
presence of other public repre-
sentatives, it had been decided
that the issues in question will
be resolved in two months. The
Power secretary, Government
of India and Uttarakhand
Irrigation secretary will jointly
address the issue of land valu-
ation.
Further, the doubt regard-
ing the THDC India Limited
HQ had also been dispelled in
the meeting as it had been clar-
ified that the HQ will remain in
Rishikesh. The minister
informed the delegation of the
Tehri dam displaced about the
various other decisions taken in
the meeting.
Heading the delegation,
the Tehri dam affected rehabil-
itation public joint committee
vice chairman Vijay Singh Bisht
said that for the first time had
the issues of the dam displaced
been resolved under the lead-
ership of the state’s irrigation
minister. He credited the efforts
of the minister for enabling
redressal of the issues outside
the purview of the court.
CTWaXSPSXb_[PRTS
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?=BQ 347A03D=
The leaders of Uttarakhand
Congress paid rich trib-
utes to father of nation
Mahatma Gandhi on martyrs
day on Saturday by observing
a fast.
The Pradesh Congress
Committee (PCC) president
Pritam Singh led the party
leaders in offering floral trib-
utes to the father of the nation
at Gandhi Park on the day.
Speaking on the occasion,
Singh said that the country
needs to move ahead on the
path shown by Gandhi ji.
He said that Gandhi ji is
more relevant today as the
people who murdered him are
out to murder his ideas as
well.
The PCC president said
that the basic rights of the
people in the BJP ruled states
are being denied. He said that
the Congress party would not
allow the BJP to defame the
farmers' protest on the three
draconian farm bills.
The Vice President of
Uttarakhand Congress Surya
Kant Dhasmana, former
Minister Hira Singh Bisht,
former MLA Rajkumar,
Aryendra Sharma, Rajendra
Shah, Garima Dassauni,
Rajendra Shah and others
were present on the occasion.
D´ZWP]S2^]VaTbb
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?=BQ 347A03D=
In a big relief for the morning
walkers and tourists, Forest
Research Institute has decided
to open its campus for visitors,
tourist and morning walkers
from 1 st February onwards fol-
lowing the
Covid-19 guidelines issued
by the Central and state
Government.
Initially, campus will be
opened for 150 visitors each
day and for total 100 morning
walkers. Depending upon the
situation, number of visitors
may be increased further. The
campus will be opened from 9
am to 5 pm for tourists and vis-
itors and for morning walks
from 6 am to 8 am and only the
entry of online registered vis-
itors is allowed. All visitors and
morning walkers can register
themselves in the websites
fri.icfre.gov.in and after that
print out may be submitted at
the Trevor Road Gate and a fee
may be deposited there.
5A8]^f^_T]U^a^a]X]VfP[ZTab
?=BQ 347A03D=
Atotal of 2,973 people were
vaccinated in 43 vaccine
sessions held in different parts
of the state on Saturday. The
chief operations officer (COO)
of state Covid-19 control room,
Dr Abhishek Tripathi said that
28791 people so far have been
vaccinated in 451 vaccine ses-
sions in the state. In Dehradun
18 vaccine sessions were held
on the day in which 95 people
were vaccinated. In Haridwar
59 people received vaccines
while in Nainital 55 people
were vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the number of
patients of Covid-19 increased
96068 in the state on Saturday
with the state health depart-
ment reporting 82 fresh cases
of the disease.
The department also
reported the death of one
patient from the disease which
increased the death toll to
1643 in the State. The author-
ities discharged 167 patients
from different hospitals of the
state following their recovery
on Saturday.
A total of 91,880 patients
have recovered from the dis-
ease in the State and the recov-
ery percentage is now at 95.64
while the sample positivity rate
is 4.52 percent. One patient of
Covid-19 was reported dead at
Himalayan hospital Jollygrant
on the day.
The health department
reported 37 new patients from
Dehradun, 17 from Nainital
and 11 each from Haridwar
and Udham Singh Nagar on
Saturday. In Almora,
Bageshwar, Chamoli,
Champawat and Tehri no new
patients were reported on the
day. The state now has only
1202 active patients of the dis-
ease. Dehradun district has
242, Nainital 224, Haridwar
169, Bageshwar 125, Udham
Singh Nagar 108, Almora 99,
Pithoragarh 69, Tehri 64, Pauri
30, Uttarkashi 25, Rudraprayag
23, Chamoli 15 and
Champawat nine active cases of
the disease.
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4. 347A03D=kBD=30H k90=D0AH !! ]PcX^]#
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Terming the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) leader Tarun
Chugh remarks on his “Army
background” as reprehensible,
Punjab Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh on Saturday
quipped, “what does the BJP or
its leadership know of Army
honour or the grace of the
national flag, in which the
bodies of our Punjabi brothers
come wrapped from the bor-
ders every second day?”
“We in Punjab know the
pain of seeing the bodies of our
sons and brothers, wrapped in
the national flag, come home
every second day,” he said,
adding the BJP clearly has no
empathy or sensitivity towards
the soldiers losing their lives to
protect India’s honour and
integrity. Neither Chugh nor
his party could relate to the
anguish of those very soldiers
on seeing their farmer fathers
and brothers being beaten up
and tear gassed while fighting
for their rights, said the
Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister
slammed Chugh for deliber-
ately spreading lies on an issue
relating to the honour of the
brave Indian soldiers fighting
for the safety and security of the
nation at the borders.
Lambasting the BJP national
general secretary over his
remarks on the ‘Republic Day
grace’, he said the BJP, which
had systematically ripped the
Constitutional fabric apart over
the past 6 years and most
notably over the draconian
Farm Laws, had lost all moral
and ethical right to talk of the
honour of the R-day.
“What was wrong in my
statement that “maligning the
farmers (for the Red Fort vio-
lence) could cause the morale
of the armed forces, 20% of
which is from Punjab, to go
down? How does that amount
to insulting the Republic Day
grace and my own Army back-
ground?” asked Capt
Amarinder, hitting out at
Chugh for misleading the peo-
ple with baseless allegations.
“What happened to the
grace of the R-day when the
Central Government, which
the BJP leads, trampled over
the federal and Constitutional
rights of the states to unilater-
ally bring in the Farm
Ordinances without consulting
anyone? Where is the grace in
letting the poor farmers, who
are feeding you along with the
billion plus people of India
every day, shiver out in the cold
on the roads, with many of
them dying out there?”, Capt
Amarinder asked.
Reacting to Chugh’s
unfounded accusations that he
had backed those who had
insulted the tricolour at the Red
Fort, Capt Amarinder pointed
out that far from supporting
anyone involved in the Red
Fort violence in any way, “I was
among the first to outright
condemn the violence and the
dishonour to the symbol of
independent India.”
Reiterating, however, that
he did not believe it was the
farmers who created the trou-
ble, the Chief Minister point-
ed out that it was miscreants,
including BJP’s own supporters,
who were seen inciting the
trouble at the historic Red Fort
in the national Capital on the
Republic Day. He reiterated his
demand for a thorough probe
into the incident to expose the
conspiracy and unveil the role,
if any, of any political party or
any third country.
Terming Chugh’s unfound-
ed allegations as a clear attempt
to cover up his own party’s role
in the incident, and also in the
subsequent developments,
including yesterday’s attack on
peacefully protesting farmers at
the Singhu border, the Chief
Minister said the BJP, in its des-
peration to divert public atten-
tion from the genuine plight
and struggle of the farmers, was
resorting to all kinds of the-
atrics and lies.
The Chief Minister also
came down heavily on the BJP
leader over his remarks on the
law and order situation in the
state. For months, the farmers
agitated peacefully in Punjab,
where some of them are even
now sitting in protest, without
any trouble, he pointed out,
adding that the BJP wanted to
see trouble in the state with an
eye on next year’s Assembly
elections. “Why else would
they try to undermine the
growing Pakistan and China
threats, and the increasing
number of incidents of
weapons being smuggled into
Punjab through drones,” he
asked, warning the ruling party
against compromising the
nation’s safety and security for
its own petty political gains.
SAD DEMANDS CENTRE
LAUNCH CRIMINAL
CASES AGAINST POLICE
OFFICIALS AND
BJP GOONS WHO
ATTACKED FARMER
CAMP AT SINGHU
The Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD) on Saturday demanded
the Central Government
launch criminal proceedings
against Delhi Police officials as
well as BJP goons who indulged
in State terrorism by attacking
the farmer camp at the Singhu
border in Delhi besides beating
up Sikh youth mercilessly and
insulting their articles of faith.
Addressing a press confer-
ence here, party senior leader
Bikram Singh Majithia also
demanded that since the Delhi
Police and BJP goons accom-
panying them had committed
human rights violations, chief
minister Capt Amarinder
Singh should also register
appropriate cases against them
and take follow up action. He
said the SAD would submit a
formal complaint in this regard
to the chief minister and that
in case the latter still did not
take appropriate action in the
matter it would be clear that he
was hand in glove with the BJP.
Majithia also announced a
three member committee of
lawyers, including AS Dharni,
DS Sobti and Harry Bajwa
would assist farmers whose
human rights violations had
been violated and also released
three telephone numbers —
98150 00026, 99145 91011 and
78144 00060 to contact the
lawyers for needed assistance
free of cost. He also announced
that senior leader Jathedar Tota
Singh had visited families of
twelve youth missing from
Dharamkot and that
Jeetmohinder Singh Sidhu and
Parambans Romana had visit-
ed families of eight youth miss-
ing from Talwandi Sabo. “We
will render all needed assis-
tance to these families also
besides opening legal services
cells at Singhu and Tikri bor-
ders”, he added.
Majithia also pointed out
that no action had been taken
against Deep Sidhu and Lakha
Sadana besides a Kisan leader
who had jointly played into the
hands of the central govern-
ment on Republic Day. The
Akali leader asserted that farm-
ers were following democratic
traditions to exercise their con-
stitutional right to hold a
peaceful agitation against the
three hated Agricultural laws.
He said it was unfortunate
that the central government
could not stomach this agita-
tion and tried to defame it by
calling farmers’ naxals, terror-
ists, China and Pakistan spon-
sored elements and now final-
ly had started supporting phys-
ical attacks on them. He said
farmers would not be intimi-
dated by such tactics and that
the Kisan Andolan would
emerge even stronger in the
coming days.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Congress MP in the Rajya
Sabha, Partap Singh Bajwa
on Saturday urged Punjab
Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh to use all
available sources to trace over
100 farmers who have been
“missing” since the January 26
tractor rally in Delhi.
Citing some media reports,
Bajwa wrote to Capt
Amarinder, saying “over 100
farmers from the state have
been missing since the incidents
that occurred on January 26 in
Delhi”.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Reacting to the BJP attempts
of suppressing the ongoing
farmers’ movement with the
help of their aides and ‘goons’,
the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
taking a serious note of the mat-
ter has demanded from the
Punjab government to provide
police security to the struggling
farmers, who had been facing
the heat of the BJP Government.
Addressing the media,
AAP’s national spokesperson
and Punjab unit co-incharge
Raghav Chadha said that the
BJP ‘goons’ had been continu-
ously attacking the farmers of
the country from last few days
in a bid to intimidate them to
vacate the protest sites. He said
that earlier the miscreants
backed by BJP had threatened
and attacked the farmers with
sticks at Ghazipur border and
yesterday also, the BJP-RSS
goons, including several local
BJP leaders, attacked the farm-
ers, who had been protesting
peacefully from over last two
months and pelted stones on
them at Singhu border in broad
daylight.
He said that through some
of the photographs and videos
that had gone viral, the people
involved in these incidents came
out to be office-bearers, coun-
cillors, local leaders and MLAs
of the BJP, who along with
their associates and goons had
attacked the peacefully protest-
ing farmers, which was intoler-
able and unjustifiable. “The
continuous attacks on our
‘annadatas’ from the last few
days and the unfortunate inci-
dent that occurred at the Red
Fort on January 26 has estab-
lished the role of the BJP of sup-
pressing the farmers’ move-
ment. It has also proved the
intention of the BJP, that they
will attack the farmers, intimi-
date them and create distur-
bance in the farmers’ move-
ment.
=8B7D07090=Q
270=3860A7 With Himachal’s Pong wet-
land witnessing a sharp
decline in mortality rate of
birds due to outbreak of avian
influenza-H5N1, State’s Forest
Department has decided to go
ahead with the two-day long
annual waterfowl count starting
February 1 at the water body.
As many as 4,986 migra-
tory birds have fallen victim to
the deadly virus till now at
Pong wetland in Kangra dis-
trict. A large number of native
birds like crows and pigeons
have also died.
Following the detection of
bird flu at Pong Dam on
January 4, all kinds of human
and livestock activities were
banned in one km area around
the Pong lake which is declared
as alert zone (red zone) while
the next nine km area was
declared a surveillance zone.
Earlier it was decided to
suspend the annual waterfowl
count for this year at Pong
Dam but the Department will
now undertake the two-day
census exercise with the help of
its own field staff on February
1 and 2.
Notably, the bird flu has
been reported for the first
time at Pong Lake, which hosts
more than one lakh winged
guests every winter season.
The migratory birds from
Central Asia and Siberian
reach Pong Dam every year by
October for their winter
sojourn and stay till March.
“The daily fatality report-
ed at Pong Lake due to the bird
flu is three-four birds now. The
situation is under control but
considering the bird flu alert,
the Wildlife division of the
Forest Department has decid-
ed to conduct the annual water-
fowl count through its own
staff this year. The wildlife
experts from the state or out-
side will not be involved in the
two-day exercise,” said Rahul
Rohane, Deputy Conservator
of Forests, Wildlife Division,
Hamirpur while talking to The
Pioneer.
He said that the area of wet-
land is divided in 26 sections for
the census exercise and differ-
ent teams would be deputed.
The field staff would take all the
precautions. Earlier in mid-
December, around 56000
migratory birds of more than 50
species were counted by the
field staff at the Pong Lake.”
Giving details of fatalities
due to bird flu at Pong, Rohane
said that the total fatalities in
38 species of migratory birds
stood at 4986. Of them, 90 per-
cent deaths have been report-
ed among Bar-Headed Goose,
he added.
According to the census
exercise conducted in January
2020, as many as 1,15,701
birds of 114 species were
recorded at the Pong Dam
Lake. The figure included
1,04,032 migratory waterfowls
of 60 species, 10,377 resident
water birds of 30 species and
1,292 birds of 24 other local
species.
50A4AB´?AC4BC
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Haryana Government on
Saturday said that the
internet services, except voice
calls will remain suspended in
17 districts till 5 pm on Sunday.
The Government official
spokesperson said that internet
services will remain suspend-
ed in Ambala, Yamunanagar,
Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal,
Panipat, Hisar, Jind, Rohtak,
Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri,
Fatehabad, Rewari, Sonepat,
Palwal, Sirsa and Jhajjar till 5
pm on January 31.
Earlier, the State govern-
ment had suspended mobile
internet services
(2G/3G/4G/CDMA/ GPRS),
all SMS services (excluding
banking and mobile recharge)
and all dongle services provid-
ed on mobile networks, except
the voice calls, in 14 districts till
5 pm on January 30. The sus-
pension has been extended by
24 hours till 5 pm on Saturday.
The spokesperson said this
order is issued to prevent any
disturbance of peace and pub-
lic order in the jurisdiction of
these districts of Haryana and
shall be in force with immedi-
ate effect. Any person who will
be found guilty of violation of
aforesaid order will be liable for
legal action under relevant
provisions.
The suspension has been
ordered under Rule 2 of
Temporary Suspension of
Telecom Services (Public
Emergency or Public Safety)
Rules, 2017. All telecom service
providers of Haryana including
the Head of BSNL (Haryana
jurisdiction) are hereby direct-
ed to ensure the compliance of
this order.
The spokesman said that
the State Government has
decided to impose this sus-
pension of internet services in
order to stop the spread of dis-
information and rumours
through various social media
platforms, such as WhatsApp,
Facebook Twitter, etc on
mobile phones and SMS, for
facilitation and mobilisation of
mobs of agitators and demon-
strators who can cause serious
loss of life and damage to pub-
lic and private properties by
indulging in arson or
vandalism and other types of
violent activities.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
The Chandigarh Press Club on Saturday con-
demned the filing of multiple FIRs against
journalists including Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep
Sardesai, Zafar Agha, Caravan group editors and
publishers, besides others. FIRs on various crim-
inal grounds, including sedition, were lodged by
MP Police, UP Police and in Delhi.
In a statement, Secretary General Saurabh
Duggal said FIRs are based on the coverage and
comments the journalists made in respect of the
farmers protest rally in the capital on January
26. The events that took place around the farm-
ers rally on Republic Day were chaotic and infor-
mation was not easily available.
The statement said there was clear intelli-
gence lapse on the part of the various Central
agencies.
In these circumstances, to pin blame on the
journalists for being responsible for the violence
and disruption, is reprehensible.
Worse still is the attempt of the Police to stick
sedition charges on the journalists using archa-
ic laws. Various journalist unions, Editors
Guild of India and various press clubs across the
country, including Press Club of India and
Mumbai Press Club, have also condemned fill-
ing of FIRs against the journalists.
The statement said Chandigarh Press Club
demands the immediate withdrawal of these
FIRs against the six journalists.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Farmer leader Balbir Singh
Rajewal on Saturday alleged
there was a “conspiracy” by the
GovernmentandtheBJPbehind
the stone-pelting incident at the
Singhu border, but said the
farmerswouldnotindulgeinany
violence despite “provocation”.
He said he expects a record
gathering by February 2 at the
border points of Delhi, where
farmers are protesting against
the three recent agriculture laws
of the Centre, with a large
number of people from various
states turning up. “We have
been holding a peaceful agita-
tion at Delhi’s borders. The
agitation is peaceful today as
well,” Rajewal, the president of
the Bharatiya Kisan Union
(Rajewal), told reporters here.
Hecondemnedtheviolence
in Delhi on Republic Day and
termed it unfortunate. “People
in large numbers from Punjab,
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are
reaching the protest sites,”
Rajewal said. “Possibly by
February 2, there will again be a
recordgatheringofpeopleatthe
protestsites,”hesaid,addingthe
agitationwouldremainpeaceful.
Claiming that “local people”
were with the farmers, Rajewal
alleged those behind the Singhu
border incident were “BJP and
RSS people”. “The government
is trying to provoke us for vio-
lence. We will not indulge in any
violence. We are alert to prevent
any violence,” he further stated.
Police had fired tear gas and
resorted to baton charge Friday
to break up a clash between
farmers and a large group of
men claiming to be local resi-
dents who hurled stones at
each other at the Singhu border,
one of the main protest sites
against farm laws.
Talking about the violence
during the farmers’ tractor
parade on January 26, he said
everybody was “shocked” after
the Red Fort incident. “We all
were shocked because we never
thought of it. The Red Fort is the
country’s pride,” he said, adding
they never had any plan to head
towards the monument.
Rajewal said that they withdrew
the tractor march which other-
wise was to go on for 72 hours.
He also condemned the
Haryana government for sus-
pending internet services. The
Haryana government had sus-
pended mobile internet ser-
vices in 17 more districts in the
stateuntil5pmofJanuary30“to
preventanydisturbanceofpeace
and public order”. The BKU
leader also accused the govern-
ment of trying to mislead peo-
ple through false propaganda in
ordertodefametheongoingagi-
tation. Rajewal also appealed to
people who are joining the agi-
tation at the Delhi border to
keeptheprotestpeacefulandnot
to get provoked. He also
appealed to the Centre to shun
its “stubborn attitude” and with-
draw the three new farm laws.
On the next meeting with the
Centre over the issue of farm
laws, Rajewal said they will cer-
tainly go if called.
Af_[RS4]RdYVdRe3;A¶d4YfXY
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?=BQ 347A03D=
In a major achievement, Satluj
Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited
(SJVN) has been allotted 679
MW Lower Arun Hydro
Electric Project in Nepal after
a competitive bidding. The
Investment Board of Nepal in
its meeting on 29 January
chaired by Prime Minister of
Nepal, K P Sharma Oli award-
ed the Project to SJVN.
Nand Lal Sharma,
Chairman Managing
Director, SJVN met the Prime
Minister of Nepal, K P Sharma
Oli, in Kathmandu. In his inter-
action with Nepalese PM,
Sharma expressed his deepest
gratitude to the Prime Minister
for awarding the Lower Arun
Hydro Electric Project to SJVN
and assured the Prime Minister
that project will be completed
in a time bound manner.
SJVN CMD informed that
SJVN has obtained the Project
through International
Competitive Bidding, after
competing with various inter-
national companies including
from China. Sharma further
stated that the Projects being
developed by SJVN in Nepal
would result in overall devel-
opment and boost mutual eco-
nomic growth in India Nepal.
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The National Thermal
Power Corporation
(NTPC) will provide Rs 25
crore under corporate social
responsibility for various
reconstruction works and
development of facilities in
Kedarnath. A memorandum
of understanding to this effect
was signed in New Delhi
between the state’s tourism
secretary Dilip Jawalkar and
NTPC CSR executive director
MSD Bhattamishra.
It should be mentioned
here that MoUs worth more
than C100 crore have been
signed in the past between
leading public centre enter-
prises and the Shri Kedarnath
Dham Charitable Trust.
Jawalkar informed that
the C25 crore to be contributed
by NTPC to the charitable
trust will be used on con-
structin of Astha Path along
the Mandakini river, queue
management, constructin of
seating arrangements and rain
shelters for pilgrims, con-
struction of water ATM near
Saraswati river and construc-
tion of a rain shelter at the
temple plaza among other
works.
The corporation will pro-
vide the money to the trust in
installments.
So far MoUs have been
signed for Indian Oil
Corporation providing C27.96
crore, ONGC providing Rs
26 crore, Rural Electrification
Corporation providing C 23.52
crore and Power Finance
Corporation providing C25.6
crore under CSR to the char-
itable trust for reconstruction
works in Kedarnath.
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The University of Petroleum
and Energy Studies (UPES)
announced the appointment of
Nalin Mehta as School of
Modern Media dean,
Gurvinder Singh Virk as
School of Engineering dean
and professor Priyadarsan
Patra as School of Computer
Sciences dean. In their new
roles they will be responsible
for driving academic excel-
lence, faculty development and
engagement, industry outreach,
among others.
Welcoming the new deans,
the UPES vice chancellor Sunil
Rai said,“We are delighted to
have Nalin Mehta, Gurvinder
Singh Virk and professor
Priyadarsan Patra joining us in
our journey towards holistic
development of our students,
overhaul of pedagogy, leading
to academic excellence. Their
extensive experience and pas-
sion for their respective indus-
tries will benefit the students
immensely by way of on-cam-
pus and off-campus experi-
ences, future-oriented cur-
riculums, and meaningful
industry outreach.”
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Motherhood Ayurvedic
Medical College
(MAMC) organised a two day
Elocution and Poster Making
Competition, which concluded
on Saturday.
MAMC student Diksha
Sharma and Mahima Pant
stood first in the Elocution
Competition whereas
MAMCstudent Shivanshu
Saini stood first in the Poster
Making Competition. Director
General Prof Narendra Sharma
handed over the prizes to the
winners.
Director of the
Motherhood Ayurvedic
Medical College Dr Jitendra
Singh and Principal Dr Ashok
Sharma were also present. A
book fair was also held on the
occasion.
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The Centre is going to table
a Bill in the Budget Session
of Parliament banning all pri-
vate cryptocurrencies such as
Bitcoin in India and to deal
with the creation of a legislative
framework for an official dig-
ital currency. The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) is exploring the
option of issuing a digital ver-
sion of the rupee, which could
serve as the Central Bank
Digital Currency (CBDC).
The Bill, ‘The
Cryptocurrency and
Regulation of Official Digital
Currency Bill, 2021’ is to be
tabled in the Lok Sabha Session
as per the papers placed before
the Parliament bulletins.
“To create a facilitative
framework for creation of the-
official digital currency to be
issued by the Reserve Bank of
India. The Bill also seeks to
prohibit all private cryptocur-
rencies in India, however, it
allows for certain exceptions to
promote the underlying tech-
nology of crytptocurrency and
its uses, said the purpose of the
Bill in the papers placed before
the bulletins.
For the past six-seven
years, including India many
countries were looking for the
introduction of the digital cur-
rencies, when Bitcoin like cryp-
to currencies started flooding
in the World and their trades
became proffered in many sec-
tors. The Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) is also exploring the
option of issuing a digital ver-
sion of the rupee, which could
serve as the Central Bank
Digital Currency.
The proposed bill will pro-
vide the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) with the necessary legal
powers to develop a central
bank-backed digital currency
(CBDC), according to
Parliament Bulletin on the new
Bills to be placed before Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The Government wants to
promote the use of blockchain
across various use-cases, this
bill is expected India’s entry the
global race of digital currencies
or CBDCs while at the same
time banning “private” crypto-
currencies like Bitcoin and
Ethereum among others.
Recently China also banned
private operators in this field by
regularising the government
operation on digital or crypto
currency.
The Government’s deci-
sion to introduce The
Cryptocurrency and
Regulation of Official Digital
Currency Bill, 2021 comes a
week after the RBI said it had
begun exploring the possibili-
ty of issuing and developing a
digital currency or digital
Rupee.
This is a reversal of the
RBI’s position. Back in
December 2019, RBI Governor
Shaktikanta Das said that it was
very early to speak on CBDCs.
“Some discussions are going
on. Technology has yet not fully
evolved. It is still in very incip-
ient stage of discussions and the
RBI we have examined it inter-
nally,” Das said. Indian crypto
founders are taken aback by
this news, but still hope that the
Government will work with the
industry to ensure that there is
some legality to their opera-
tions going forward.
0A270=09HC8Q =4F34;78
Agroup of women weavers
from Tharu tribe in the
northern buffer of Dudhwa
Tiger Reserve in the Terai
region of Uttar Pradesh are
weaving their dreams on looms
to churn out magnificent
colourful carpets (cotton dur-
ries) and an array of grass-
woven products.
Under the banner of Tharu
Hath Karga Gharelu Udyog –
a Self Help Group (SHG) of
these tribal women from
Lakhimpur Khiri district in
Uttar Pradesh have recorded a
significant increase in revenues
from sale of cotton carpets and
handmade wares made of
locally available Munj grass
such as baskets for chapati,
planters, fruit baskets, jew-
ellery containers, table mat,
paper weight, coasters, etc.
In 2019-20, they recorded
a sale of Rs 2.08 lakhs with a net
profit of 80,000. However, this
was not possible till a few
years ago when these women
were struggling with the tradi-
tional looms which due to
excess moisture caused by
flooding of the area during
monsoons affected their output
and quality.
Timely technological inter-
vention and funding support
from the Science for Equity,
Empowerment and
Development (SEED) Division
of the Central Department of
Science Technology (DST)
under the Union Science and
Technology Ministry has come
as a boon for the SHG, scaling
up the production and ensure
quality.
The World Wide Fund
(WWF) implemented the tech-
nology, reducing the inconve-
nience caused to the women
and also increased the effi-
ciency of operations with qual-
ity production through a num-
ber of ways.
It has also set up a centre
for production in terms of
technological interventions,
modification, and improvisa-
tion.
WWF provided financial
aid, implementing the tech-
nology, fixing the base of the
looms. It also added a second
set of pedals in them, making
them operable by two weavers,
thereby reducing the produc-
tion time of the durries and
weaving complex designs.
Wooden shuttles used tra-
ditionally were replaced with
fiberglass shuttles, which are
lighter and more efficient.
Two pulley based designs -
Garrari system and Rope roller
system were designed to avoid
disruption of work continuity
while adjusting the thread
roller and durrie roller of the
loom for getting a blank thread
panel to weave, said an official
from the Ministry.
Arti Rana, President of
the Tharu Hath Karga Gharelu
Udyog at Gabroula village,
said “We used to work in a
makeshift structure earlier and
were never able to work dur-
ing the rains.
Now with the production
centre in place, the number of
working days and our pro-
ductivity has increased.”
As earnings had been
good, strength of the group has
swollen from a meagre ten to
present 2,600 women, major-
ity of them hailing from near-
by villages such as Goubrolla,
M a n g a l p u r v a ,
Chandanchowki, Balera,
Bendari and Dhusia in the
Lakhimpur Khiri district in UP
among 42 villages inside the
tiger reserve.
They had been tradition-
ally engaged in these handi-
craft work which has now
been channelised commer-
cially, augmenting their liveli-
hood.
Though Carona induced
lockdown adversely impacted
the income, things have start-
ed looking up again with mer-
chandise worth of Rs 42,000
already sold from November
2020 to January 2021. Arti (42)
said that TRIFED, a depart-
ment of the Union Tribal
Affairs Ministry is their regu-
lar buyer.
For its part, the
Government has recognised
their work. The SHG was felic-
itated by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in 2016 and
was awarded the Rani
Laxmibai Veerta Purankar of
the State Government.
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The CBI on Saturday arrest-
ed a Deputy Director of
Employees’ State Insurance
Corporation (ESIC) for
demanding and accepting a
bribe of C50,000 from the com-
plainant.
The arrest came after the
CBI laid a trap against Darbara
Singh, Deputy Director (In-
charge Regional Director),
ESIC Regional Office, Jammu
for demanding and accepting a
bribe of Rs 50,000 from the
complainant in the matter.
A case was registered on a
complaint against the arrested
Deputy Director.
The complainant, an
employee of a private firm has
alleged that his firm provides
security services to different
private institutions. It was fur-
ther alleged that the com-
plainant came to know in the
month of December 2020 that
a Notice has been issued to the
firm by ESIC, Regional Office,
Shastri Nagar, Jammu. Knowing
this, the complainant and the
owner, both visited the office of
ESIC to meet the said Deputy
Director. During the meeting,
the accused official of the ESIC
allegedly told the complainant
that their papers were not prop-
er and ESIC would impose a
penalty of C23,90,850 on them
if they would pay him a bribe
of C2 lakh, he can reduce the
penalty amount. After negoti-
ation, it was told to pay the
bribe in four instalments of
C50,000 each.
“The CBI laid a trap and
caught the accused red-handed
while demanding and accepting
a bribe of C50,000 (as part of
total bribe of C2 lakh). Searches
were conducted at the premis-
es of accused in Chandigarh,
Mohali and Jammu which led
to recovery of cash of about C7
lakh and documents related to
properties,” the CBI said in a
statement.
The accused is being pro-
duced before the Court of
Special Judge for CBI Cases,
Jammu for further action, it
added.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Congress on Saturday
launched a campaign titled
the ‘Naukri Do Ya Degree
Wapas Lo’ (Give employment
or take back degrees) to sensi-
tise the Central Government
over the rising unemployment
across the country.
The campaign will be taken
across the country by the grand
old party’s students’ wing
National Students Union of
India (NSUI). Congress has
been raking up the unemploy-
ment issue continuously and
has claimed as per government
statistics the unemployment
rate in the country is at the
highest in 45 years.
NSUI national President
Neeraj Kundan said that the
main motive behind this cam-
paign is to point out the reali-
ty to a government that has no
interest in giving jobs to the
youth.
“We would be collecting
five lakh degrees of unem-
ployed students. By this, abun-
dant evidence will be provided
to the Government which will
bring out the
reality of the Central
Government for hiding the
actual data of unemployed
people from the youth of this
country,” Kundan said address-
ing the media at Congress
headquarters.
NSUI General Secretary
Nagesh Kariyappa also said
that youth empowerment and
employment-generation should
be the foremost duty of gov-
ernment.
“Considering the facts, a
big challenge in India is the
absence of decent work in the
organised sector for the gener-
ation of youth.
As whatever the
Government is presenting in
front of the public is not the
truth, there is an indispensable
need to look into the fallen
characteristics of youth
employment,” he said.
At the launch, NSUI also
highlighted that in 2014, the
BJP had promised to generate
more than two crore
employment opportunities
every year and now, this sums
up to 12 crores and failed to
provide the same.
“They betrayed the youth
of the nation. According to the
report of the National Sample
Survey Office, the rate of
unemployment rose to 6.1 per
cent in 2017-18, which was 2.2
per cent in 2011-12,” the NSUI
chief added.
Congress said that the
party, besides raising the ongo-
ing farmers’ protest and falling
economy in the Parliament, will
also raise the growing resent-
ment within youths due to no
jobs in the country.
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Consumer rights are “impor-
tant rights” and non-man-
ning of posts and inadequate
infrastructure in district and
state consumer commissions
across the country would
deprive the citizens of redres-
sal of their grievances, the
Supreme Court has said.
The apex court said this
while hearing a plea that has
raised the issue of alleged inac-
tion by governments in
appointing the president, mem-
bers and staff in the district and
state consumer disputes redres-
sal commissions and the lack of
adequate infrastructure to run
these fora.
A bench of justices Sanjay
Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh
Roy said the issue raised in the
plea is important but the peti-
tioner, a law student, has filed
a “very sketchy petition” and it
does not show proper ground
work.
“We have given a thought
to the matter and consider it
too important an issue to be
thrown out because of the lax-
ity in collection of material and
placing the same before us
and thus, consider it appropri-
ate that the same should be
converted into a suo motu
proceeding to enquire into the
issue placed before us,” the
bench said.
The top court appointed
senior advocate Gopal
Shankaranarayan and lawyer
Aaditya Narain as amicus curi-
ae to assist it in the matter.
“We expect them to obtain
the requisite material, analyse
the same and facilitate the
data to be placed before us and
thus, consider it appropriate to
issue notices to all the respon-
dents before us, who would be
able to show as to how many
posts are occupied, how many
are vacant and what is the
nature of infrastructure which
has been made available as
consumer rights are important
rights and non-manning of
posts and inadequate infra-
structure would deprive citi-
zens of a redressal of the griev-
ances,” the bench said in its
order passed earlier this week.
The apex court has posted
the matter for hearing on
February 22.
The plea filed before the
top court has sought directions
to the Centre, states and Union
territories to fill up the vacant
posts of presidents and mem-
bers in the consumer com-
missions, saying the “inac-
tion” in making the appoint-
ments is causing pendency of
cases and has led to violation
of the right to a speedy disposal
of cases.
The petition, while alleg-
ing that directions passed by
various high courts regarding
filling up of vacancies in dis-
trict and state consumer com-
missions have been “ignored”
by the authorities concerned,
has said there is a lack of prop-
er infrastructure to run these
commissions smoothly.
It has also sought a direc-
tion to the authorities con-
cerned to provide proper infra-
structure and staff to the con-
sumer commissions and file a
detailed report regarding this
before the top court.
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The chairman of the
Central Administrative
Tribunal (CAT), which adju-
dicates service-related matters
of Government employees,
has recused himself from
hearing a plea filed by IFS offi-
cer Sanjiv Chaturvedi chal-
lenging the civil servants’
empanelment process.
Chaturvedi, who is work-
ing as the Chief Conservator
of Forest at Haldwani,
Uttarakhand, had in February
last year filed a case before the
tribunal’s Nainital bench, chal-
lenging the Centre’s 360-
degree appraisal system for
officers of the level of joint
secretary and above and the
recruitment of private sector
specialists to government
posts through lateral entry.
“Post the matter before
court number 2 on February
1,” a bench comprising CAT
Chairman L Narasimha
Reddy and Member
(Administration) Mohd
Jamshed said in its order
dated January 22.
The CAT chief had last
month allowed a petition by
the Centre seeking transfer of
Chaturvedi’s case from the tri-
bunal’s Nainital bench to
Delhi, saying “the matters of
this nature have their own
impact on the very function-
ing of the central govern-
ment”.
Commenting on the
order, Chaturvedi’s counsel
and senior advocate
Sudershan Goel said the CAT
chief ought not to have passed
the order of transfer when he
is in one-to-one litigation
with the applicant.
“Now, CAT Chairman L
Narasimha Reddy has recused
himself from hearing this
matter and transferred this
case to another court -- court
number 2,” he added.
In March 2019, the CAT
chief had recused himself
from hearing Chaturvedi’s
three other petitions citing
some “unfortunate develop-
ments” and other reasons.
The Uttarakhand High
Court had last month issued
notices to the Centre, the
CAT chairman and the Union
Public Service Commission
(UPSC), among others, seek-
ing their responses on
Chaturvedi’s plea.
Chaturvedi, a 2002-batch
Indian Forest Service (IFS)
officer of the Uttarakhand
cadre, in his plea, mentioned
excerpts of an August 2017
report by a parliamentary
committee that found flaws in
the 360-degree appraisal sys-
tem, also known as the multi-
source feedback system, for
civil servants.
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India needs to take special
measures to ensure econom-
ic security for people with lep-
rosy as situations like the ongo-
ing Covid-19 pandemic have
jolted the ostracised communi-
ty, making them rely merely on
handouts to survive, WHO
goodwill ambassador against
the disease Yohei Sasakawa has
said.
Like always, people with
leprosy have been ignored dur-
ing these trying times and not
many have come forward to
check on their well-being, said
Sasakawa, who was awarded
the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2019
for his fight against leprosy,
especially in India.
“People affected by leprosy
in India and many other coun-
tries are often economically vul-
nerable.Manyareincreasinglyin
need after having lost their
source of income because of
lockdowns or restrictions on
movement associated with the
spread of coronavirus. India
needstotakespecialmeasuresto
deal with this,” Sasakawa told
PTI.
Stating that India may have
intensifieditsvigilagainstleprosy
butitseffortstotracecasesinthe
hinterland,particularlypeoplein
the mountain areas, are not suf-
ficient, Sasakawa has rhetorical-
ly stressed that the government
should bring leprosy-affected
people into the mainstream and
get them treated.
“It is important to do more
to raise social awareness so that
everyone, whether they live in
hard-to-reach areas or are not
partofmainstreamsociety,have
access to diagnosis and proper
treatment,” he said.
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In their first telephonic con-
versation, External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar and US
Secretary of State Antony
Blinken on Friday resolved to
consolidate and expand the
India-US strategic partnership
and reaffirmed commitment to
peace and security in the Indo-
Pacific region.
In a tweet, Jaishankar said it
wasagreedtobuildonthesolid
foundation of bilateral ties.
The Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA) said Jaishankar
and Blinken appreciated the
robust defence and security ties,
growingeconomicengagement,
productive healthcare collabo-
ration and strong people-to-
peoplelinkagesbetweenthetwo
nations.
In a tweet, Blinken said he
was delighted to speak to
Jaishankar and that they dis-
cussedwaystoseizenewoppor-
tunities and combat
shared challenges in the
Indo-Pacific and beyond.
I was delighted to speak
today with my good friend
@DrSJaishankar to discuss US-
India priorities, he said.
We reaffirmed the impor-
tance of the U.S.-India relation-
ship and discussed ways we can
better seize new opportunities
andcombatsharedchallengesin
theIndo-Pacificandbeyond,he
said.
The MEA said Jaishankar
and Blinken agreed to work
togethertoaddressglobalissues,
including safe and affordable
vaccinesupplywhilerecognising
the challenges of a post-Covid
world.
The external affairs minis-
ter and Secretary Blinken
expressed their commitment to
consolidate and expand the
multi-faceted strategic partner-
ship, it said.
Theyappreciatedtherobust
defence and security ties, grow-
ing economic engagement, pro-
ductive healthcarecollaboration
and strong people-to-people
linkagesasitsimportantpillars,
the MEA said in a statement.
It said Jaishankar and
Blinken also reiterated their
commitment to peace and secu-
rity, especially in the Indo-
Pacific region.
The US Secretary of State
has already indicated that
Washington will stand with the
South Asian countries in the
face of China's growing
assertiveness in the South China
Sea region.
Warm conversation with
Secretary of State @SecBlinken.
Congratulated him on his
appointment. Look forward to
working with him again. Agreed
that we could build further
on the solid foundation of our
partnership.
Also discussed our efforts at
combating the COVID-19 pan-
demic, Jaishankar tweeted.
The Joe Biden administra-
tion began formal engagement
with top Indian leaders on
Wednesday with Defence
Secretary Lloyd Austin and
National Security Advisor Jake
Sullivan holding telephonic con-
versation with their Indian
counterparts, Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh and NSA Ajit
Doval.
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