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THE ASIAN AGE

NATION| 3
NEW DELHI TUESDAY 1 MARCH 2022

SPORT | 8 DELHI AGE| 1O

PM Modi: Dynasts dented Russia’s Daniil Medvedev Actress Rashmika Mandanna
nation’s self-confidence by officially becomes World upbeat about content
questioning Covid vaccine No. 1, surpassing Djokovic reaching wider audiences
www.asianage.com RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17 Vol. 29 No. 14 | 16 PAGES | `5.00

WINDOWS ■ Ukraine applies to join EU ■ Kyiv calm, blasts rock Kharkiv

India sends 4 ministers
Ukraine-Russia talks to continue;
Kyiv’s forces slow down invaders
to oversee evacuations
Delhi abstains in yet another vote, on special UNGA session
Kyiv (Ukraine), Feb. 28:
Russian and Ukrainian FIFA expels VINEETA PANDEY
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28

Russia from
officials met for talks in
Belarus on Monday amid The government said on
high hopes but low expec- Monday that it is rushing

People queue up to withdraw

US dollars and euros from an
ATM in St. Petersburg, Russia,
on Monday. Russians faced the
prospect of higher prices and
crimped foreign travel as
Western sanctions over the
invasion of Ukraine sent the
ruble plummeting. — AP
Growth slows to
5.4% in Q3 amid
tations for any diplomatic
breakthrough, after world soccer four ministers to oversee
the safety and return of
Moscow ran into unex- Geneva: Russian teams Indian nationals, mostly
pectedly stiff resistance have been suspended students, from war-struck
when it unleashed the from international soccer Ukraine. Union ministers
biggest land war in Europe after the country's inva- Hardeep Singh Puri,
since World War II. sion of Ukraine. Jyotiraditya Scindia, Gen
A top adviser to The decision came (Rtd) V.K. Singh and
Ukraine’s President said Monday from FIFA and Kiren Rijiju will be posi-
the first round of talks UEFA, saying Russia's tioned in Ukraine’s neigh-
with Russia had conclud- national teams and clubs bouring countries Hung-
ed, and more talks could were suspended “until ary, Romania-Maldova,
happen soon. The negotia-
tors from Ukraine and
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation
(2nd left) and Davyd Arakhamia, faction leader of the
further notice”.
“Football is fully united
Poland and Slovak
Republic, respectively, to
Indian nationals, evacuated from war-torn Ukraine, on
board a special Air India flight arrive at the Indira Gandhi
Russia will return to their
capital cities for consulta-
Servant of the People party in the Ukrainian
Parliament (3rd right) attend the peace talks in the
here and in full solidarity
with all the people affect-
coordinate and oversee
the evacuation of Indians. International Airport in New Delhi on Monday. — PTI

Omicron impact tions and plan fresh talks,

New Delhi: India’s economic
growth slowed to 5.4 per
cent in the Omicron-hit
October-December 2021
quarter from 8.5 per cent in
the previous quarter, but
was higher than the 0.7 per
cent gross domestic prod-
uct (GDP) expansion in the
year-ago quarter, the data
released by the ministry of
statistics and programme
implementation (Mospi)
showed on Monday. The
government also pegged
down the full-year growth
estimate to 8.9 per cent
from its January estimate of
9.2 per cent in view of ris-
ing risks from higher prices
of crude oil and commodi-
both sides announced
Monday after meeting for
their first talks since the
outbreak of the war last
week. “The delegations
are returning to their cap-
itals for consultations and
have discussed the possi-
bility of meeting for a sec-
ond round of negotiations
soon,” Ukrainian negotia-
tor Mikhailo Podolyak
said. “We agreed to keep
the negotiations going,”
Russian delegation head
Vladimir Medinsky said.
Ukraine’s President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
said on Monday that he
has signed an application
for Ukraine to join the
Gomel region of Belarus on Monday. The Russian and
Ukrainian delegations met for their first talks on
Monday, and more rounds of talks are planned. — AP
European Union, in a bid
to solidify his country’s
bond with the West. Mr
Zelenskyy posted photos
of himself signing the
application, and his office
said the paperwork was
on its way to Brussels,
where the 27-nation EU is
headquartered.
“History is being creat-
ed now,” the post said.
Meanwhile, the out-
gunned Ukrainian forces
managed to slow down the
Russian advance, and
Western sanctions began
to squeeze the Russian
economy, but the Kremlin
again raised the spectre of
nuclear war, reporting its
land, air and sea nuclear
forces were on high alert
following President Vladi-
mir Putin’s order. Stepp-
ing up his rhetoric, Pres-
ident Putin denounced
the US and its allies as an
“empire of lies”.
A tense calm reigned in
Kyiv, where people lined
up to buy food, water and
pet food after two nights
trapped inside by a strict
■ Turn to Page 4
■ More reports on Page 6
ed in Ukraine,” FIFA and
UEFA said. — AP
Russia bans 36
nations’ airlines
Moscow: Russia
announced on Monday
it was banning flights by
airlines from 36 coun-
tries, including Britain
and Germany, in respo-
nse to a slew of bans on
its planes. Moscow’s
statement came as
Russian airlines are now
unable to enter the air-
space of the vast major-
ity of European coun-
tries as well as Canada.
— AFP
Union ministers have
also been deployed to
◗ PRIME MINISTER
Modi on Monday held
of Indian students who
are still stranded in
Ukraine,” said India’s Pe-
receive them at Indian
airports.
This announcement
another meeting on the
Ukraine crisis. This was
rmanent Representative
to the United Nations T.S.
came after India once
again abstained at the
the third such meeting
in the last 24 hours.
Tirumurti during the
UNSC meeting even as
United Nations Security India welcomed the
Council during a vote to us. If Ukraine expects us announcement by Russia
convene a rare Emerg- to speak to Russians, then and Ukraine to hold talks
ency Session of the 193- at least we should try and at the Belarus border. He
member General Assem- be counted on the right added it was “regrettable
bly on the Russian mili- side of the issue,” he said that the Ukraine situation
tary action on Ukraine. even as his party quickly has worsened further
Congress MP Shashi said his views are person- since the Council last con-
Tharoor slammed the al and do not reflect the vened on this matter.”
government’s decision party’s opinion. “We reiterate our call
not to vote for Ukraine at “We continue to be for immediate cessation
the UN. “If the Chinese deeply concerned about of violence and an end to
march into our country the safety and security of all hostilities. There is no
we would want other the Indian nationals other choice but to return
countries to stand up for including a large number ■ Turn to Page 4

Manipur polls: 78% Bengal SEC

ties following Russia’s inva-
sion of Ukraine.
Full report on Page 7

Supertech towers’ razing

begins, to finish by May
New Delhi: The Noida auth-
ority on Monday informed
the Supreme Court that the
demolition of the twin 40-
storied towers of Super-
tech’s Emerald Housing pro-
ject has started and is likely
to be completed by May 22.
The meeting of all the
stakeholders, as directed by
it (the top court), was held
on February 9.
Full report on Page 2
4th Covid-19 wave likely
around June 22: IIT study
New Delhi: A study by
researchers at IIT-Kanpur
has suggested that the
fourth Covid-19 wave in
India may start around June
22 and peak from mid to
late August. Meanwhile,
India logged 8,013 fresh
Covid cases and 119 related
deaths in the last 24 hours.
Full report on Page 4
COUNTERPOINT
voting in Ph-1 amid for repoll in
sporadic violence two booths,
Fate of chief minister, deputy CM,
Speaker & state Cong chief sealed
MANOJ ANAND
GUWAHATI, FEB. 28
Amid reports of spo-
radic incidents of vio-
lence, more than 78 per
cent voters came out to
exercise their franchise
in the first phase of the
Assembly polls in
Manipur on Monday. A
Manipur Police person-
nel who was on poll
duty was killed in a sus-
pected case of acciden-
tal firing.
There were reports of
poll violence in Heing-
ang, the constituency of
chief minister N. Biren
Singh, where Congress
accused the ruling BJP
of resorting to rigging
the polls. The Congress
candidate complained
that his agents were not
allowed to participate
in the polling process.
Chief Electoral
Officer (CEO) Rajesh
Agarwal said that an
incident of poll disrup-
tion was also reported
in Keithelmanbi which
led to a delay in the
polling process. He said
that EVM machines
were broken in the
polling stations.
Mr Agarwal also told
reporters, “A Manipur
Police personnel, who
was on poll duty on
Monday, was killed in a
suspected case of acci-
dental firing from his
service rifle during the
first phase of assembly
elections to 38 seats in
the state.”
The incident took
place in Tipaimukh
assembly constituency
in Churachandpur dis-
trict. The police person-
nel was identified as
Naorem Ibochouba, a
resident of Kakching
district and his body
has been airlifted to
Imphal and sent to a
state-run hospital for
autopsy.
Security sources said
that voting began at 7
am in 1,721 polling sta-
tions in five districts
■ Turn to Page 4
Opp. furious
RAJIB CHOWDHURI
KOLKATA, FEB. 28
A day after the rampant
violence and electoral
malpractices, allegedly
by Trinamul Congress
workers, in the last
phase of the West Bengal
civic polls in 108 munici-
palities, the State Elec-
tion Commission decid-
ed to conduct a repoll in
only two booths among
nearly 11,280 on Tues-
day, leaving the Oppos-
ition parties furious.
These are booth no 7 in
ward no 25 of Serampore
municipality in Hooghly
and booth no 4 of ward
no 33 of South Dum Dum
municipality in Kolkata.
The decision was taken
after state election com-
missioner Saurabh Das
briefed governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar at
Raj Bhavan on Monday
after getting his sum-
mons over the violence.
At the meeting, Mr
Dhankhar “called upon
the SEC to take all steps
to ensure that the sancti-
ty of the poll process is
■ Turn to Page 4

‘Atlas of human suffering’ to get

WEATHER
Max: 26OC
Min: 13OC
RH: 46%
Rain: Nil
Forecast: Sunny
ASTROGUIDE
Plava: Uttarayana
Tithi: Magha Bahula
Chaturdasi till 1.01 am
Star: Dhanishta till 3.47 am
Varjyam: 9.03 am to 10.33 am
Durmuhurtam: 8.58 to 9.45
am; 11.14 pm to 12.03 am
Rahukalam: 3 pm to 4.30 pm
SUNSET TODAY 6.20 PM
SUNRISE TOMORROW 6.46 AM
MOONRISE TOMORROW 6.00 AM
MOONSET TODAY 4.56 PM
worse, bigger in next 18 yrs: UN
United Nations, Feb. 28:
Deadly with extreme
weather now, climate
change is about to get so
much worse. It is likely
going to make the world
sicker, hungrier, poorer,
gloomier and way more
dangerous in the next 18
years with an “unavoid-
able” increase in risks, a
new United Nations sci-
ence report says.
And after that watch
out.
The UN Intergovernm-
ental Panel on Climate
Change report said on
Monday if human-
caused global warming
isn’t limited to just
another couple tenths of
a degree, an Earth now
struck regularly by
◗ ALREADY AT least
3.3 billion people’s
daily lives ‘are highly
vulnerable to climate
change’ and 15 times
more likely to die
from extreme weather,
the IPCC report says
deadly heat, fires, floods
and drought in future
decades will degrade in
127 ways with some
being “potentially irre-
versible”.
“The cumulative scien-
tific evidence is unequi-
vocal: Climate change is
a threat to human well-
being and planetary
health,” says the major
report designed to guide
world leaders in their
efforts to curb climate
change. Delaying cuts in
heat-trapping carbon
emissions and waiting
on adapting to warm-
ing’s impacts, it warns,
“will miss a brief and
rapidly closing window
of opportunity to secure
a liveable and sustain-
able future for all”.
Today’s children who
may still be alive in the
year 2100 are going to
experience four times
more climate extremes
than they do now even
with only a few more
■ Turn to Page 4
■ IPCC report: If emissions
not cut, India could see
unsurvivable heat, food
and water scarcity: Page 4
 CITY
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 1 MARCH 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 2

SHORT TAKES ■ New circular line will have 4 Metro stations, separate from existing corridor Gurgaon: 3 CNG
‘24x7 water supply
soon as production 3-km Metro loop corridor to be pump employees
reaches new high’ hacked to death
New Delhi: The Delhi Jal
Board (DJB) on Monday
achieved its all-time high
water production mark of
956 million gallons per day,
built under Central Vista project
AGE CORRESPONDENT “While CPWD will carry
BHASKAR HARI SHARMA
GURGAON, FEB. 28

Three employees, includ-

◗ OTHER EMPLOYEES of
the CNG station told the
police that they do not
an official statement said.
The government said that
the impact of the commis-
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28

A new Metro loop corri-

sioning of new water filters
at the Chandrawal water
treatment plant was felt as it
surpassed its water produc-
tion mark of 100 million gal-
lons per day (MGD). Delhi
water minister Satyendar
Jain said DJB is rapidly mov-
ing towards its goal of pro-
viding 24x7 water supply to
Delhiites. “The DJB has
achieved its all-time high
water production mark of
956 MGD. With the commis-
sioning of new water filters,
Chandrawal water treatment
plant has crossed its water
production mark of 100
MGD. Usually, the average
daily water production in
Delhi remains about 940-
945 MGD,” Mr Jain said in a
statement. He said that there
has been a manifold jump in
Delhi’s water production and
the performance shows the
Kejriwal government’s com-
mitment to providing round-
the-clock water supply to
Delhiites. The statement said
that the new water produc-
tion feat was made possible
as all the nine water treat-
ment plants are working at
their peak capacity. They are
situated in Wazirabad,
Chandrawal, Bhagirathi,
Sonia Vihar, Haiderpur,
Nangloi, Dwarka, Bawana,
and Okhla. “Old and obso-
lete methods are now being
replaced with advanced
technologies to make the
dor, spanning about 3 km,
has been proposed in the
heart of the national capi-
tal to cater to people who
will be visiting the new
government buildings
coming up as part of the
Central Vista redevelop-
ment project. The new cir-
cular line will have four
metro stations and it will
be built separately from
the existing metro corri-
dors — Yellow Line and
Violet Line — passing
through the area.
The existing Central
Secretariat station is an
interchange facility
between the Yellow Line
and Violet Line. The foun-
dation stone of the
Central Vista project was
laid in December 2020.
The infrastructural
revamp envisages a new
triangular Parliament
building and a common
Central Secretariat. The
Central Vista redevelop-
ment project also seeks to
upgrade the boulevard
running from Vijay
Chowk to India Gate with
more amenities.
The Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation and the
Central Public Works
Department (CPWD) on
Monday “signed a memo-
randum of understanding,
as per which DMRC shall
Metro runs with full passenger
capacity as Covid curbs lifted
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28
Delhi Metro services with
full passenger capacity
resumed on Monday as
authorities lifted all curbs
following improvement in
the Covid situation in the
city.
The Delhi Disaster
Management Authority
(DDMA) had on Friday
decided to withdraw all
Covid restrictions from
Monday, reduce the fine
for not wearing masks
from `2,000 to `500 and
resume physical classes
in schools from April 1.
“Delhi Metro services
have resumed today with-
out any restrictions on
passenger occupancy
provide technical assis-
tance as well as execute
finishing and services
works for the construction
of a metro loop corridor”
to connect the existing
metro network with the
new central secretariat
buildings, which shall
come up as part of the
Central Vista redevelop-
ment project.
A Metro loop corridor,
connecting “four common
after a long time,” the
DMRC said in a state-
ment.
“DMRC expresses its
thanks and gratitude to
its passengers for follow-
ing the protocols during
the pandemic. Indeed,
without your coopera-
tion, we could not have
operated the Metro
despite the constraints
posed by the pandemic,”
it said.
In a tweet, the urban
transporter said that in
the days ahead, the Delhi
Metro shall continue to
try its best to provide a
safe and comfortable
journey.
“However, let us remem-
ber that Covid is not over
yet. In order to ensure a
Central Secretariat sta-
tions” with the existing
Central Secretariat metro
station is being proposed
to cater to the office-goers
who shall travel to these
offices using the metro.
Planning is being done
expecting a peak hour
demand of 20,000 passen-
gers per hour during the
morning and evening
peak hours. The entire
corridor shall be under-
safe journey, let us follow
all necessary protocols
such as wearing of
masks, adequate social
distancing and frequent
hand sanitisation,” it
tweeted.
The DMRC said it shall
also continue to maintain
the highest level of
hygiene and cleanliness
for passengers. Trains
and stations are being
frequently sanitised and
all guidelines shall be
stringently followed, it
added.
The DMRC network’
currently spans 392 km
with 286 stations, includ-
ing the Noida-Greater
Noida Metro Corridor
and the Rapid Metro in
Gurgaon.
ground.
As per the MoU, the
DMRC shall prepare the
detailed project report
apart from finalising the
horizontal and vertical
alignment of the tracks
and tunnels along with siz-
ing of facilities like plat-
forms, support services
and maintenance facili-
ties. DMRC shall also
appoint a detailed design
consultant for the project.
out the basic civil struc-
ture construction work,
DMRC shall execute all
other finishing and servic-
es works including design
and construction of con-
trol systems, signal sys-
tems, track work, rolling
stock, electrical and main-
tenance works etc.”.
Presently, DMRC is oper-
ating a metro network of
about 391 km with 286
metro stations. As part of
its fourth phase of expan-
sion, DMRC is engaged in
the construction of 65 km
of new lines across three
different corridors.
The MoU was signed at
Metro Bhawan between
DMRC’s director, business
development, Pramit
Kumar Garg and P S
Chauhan, additional
director general, CPWD in
the presence of DMRC’s
managing director, Mangu
Singh and other senior
officials.
The Central Vista rede-
velopment project, which
was announced in
September 2019, envisages
a new triangular
Parliament building, with
a seating capacity for 900
to 1,200 MPs, that is target-
ed to be constructed by
August, 2022, when the
country will be celebrat-
ing its 75th Independence
Day. The common Central
Secretariat is likely to be
built by 2024.
ing a manager of a CNG
station in sector 31 of
Gurgaon, were stabbed
to death by unknown
assailants in the early
hours of Monday. Police
said that they are scan-
ning CCTV cameras
installed in the area to
identify the accused and
to know the crime
sequence.
The deceased were
identified as
Pushpender, manager,
Bhupender, pump opera-
tor and Naresh Kumar
who worked as filler, all
residents of Uttar
Pradesh.
According to the police,
an unknown accused
used a sharp knife to kill
the three. The station is
located near the Jharsa
Chowk at Delhi-Gurgaon
Expressway.
“Three staff members
of a CNG pump were
found dead. No cash was
found missing.
Investigations are under-
way,” said a senior police
official.
Two bodies were found
in the room of the pump
station, while the third
was found outside, the
police said.
The bodies have been
sent for an autopsy and
the CCTV camera
footage of the area is
being scanned. Police
suspect that the killing
suspect anyone. A team of
forensic science lab (FSL)
and a dog squad has
reached the spot along
with police crime branch
teams. Commissioner of
Police Kala Ramachan-
dran also visited the site
of the incident. Based on a
complaint filed by the
owner of the CNG pump,
Prashant Gulati, an FIR
has been registered
against unidentified crimi-
nals at the Sector-40
police station.
was done with intent to
rob. However, other
angles are also being
probed.
Other employees OF
CNG station told the
police that they do not
suspect anyone.
A team of forensic sci-
ence lab (FSL) and a dog
squad has reached the
spot along with police
crime branch teams.
Commissioner of Police
Kala Ramachandran also
visited the site of the
incident.
Based on a complaint
filed by the owner of the
CNG pump, Prashant
Gulati, a first informa-
tion report (FIR) under
the relevant section of
the IPC has been regis-
tered against unidenti-
fied criminals at the
Sector-40 police station.

Amul hikes
system efficient and robust,”
Mr Jain said in the state-
ment. To increase water Dial, IIT-Delhi Excise dept orders No RT-PCR test for evacuated
availability in all households,
to work for milk prices by
city liquor shops Indians arriving from Ukraine
DJB has installed new

`2 per litre
prefabricated sand
filters that have high
flow rates. operational
1 held for harassing excellence to stop discounts SANJAY KAW
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28
New Delhi, Feb. 28:
Cooperative GCMMF,
which markets milk and

woman by creating
AGE CORRESPONDENT AGE CORRESPONDENT some licencees in the Indians being evacuated milk products under the
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28 NEW DELHI, FEB. 28 capital. from Ukraine have been Amul brand, has

fake Facebook ID
New Delhi: A man has been
arrested for allegedly harass-
ing and stalking his col-
league by creating her fake
social media accounts and
sending defamatory mes-
sages to her relatives and
friends, the police said on
Monday. The accused have
been identified as Sourav
Thakur (47), a resident of
Naraina village, they said.
The police further said that
on 9 February complainant
Gurpreet Kaur lodged a com-
plaint at cyber police station
wherein she alleged that
someone was harassing her
by stalking and sending
defamatory messages to her
relatives and friends through
fake Facebook ID under her
name repeatedly. She also
alleged that the accused per-
son was circulating vulgar
remarks against her through
social media. Various social
media accounts of suspected
persons were put on surveil-
Delhi International
Airport Limited (Dial),
a GMR Infrastructure
Ltd.-led consortium, on
Monday announced
that it has signed an
agreement with the
Indian Institute of
Technology Delhi to
enhance passenger
experience and opera-
tional excellence by
leveraging AI-based
predictive analytics.
The agreement has
been inked for a period
of five years. Dial CEO
Videh Kumar Jaipuriar
and dean of corporate
relations in IIT Delhi,
Professor Anurag
Rathore signed the
agreement on February
21.
A team from IIT Delhi,
through the Institute’s
industrial interface
body - Foundation for
Innovation and
Technology Transfer
(FITT), will carry out
The Delhi government
on Monday decided to
discontinue discounts
on the maximum retail
price (MRP) of liquor at
stores. The decision
comes at a time when
several stores in the
national capital wit-
nessed a huge rush as
liquor retailers started
offering massive dis-
counts to increase sales
It has been brought to
the notice of the depart-
ment that as a result of
the discounts being
offered by the licences
through their retail
vends, there are
instances reported of
large crowds gathering
outside the liquor
stores leading to law
and order problem and
causing inconvenience
to local population of
an area,” an order from
the excise department
read.
“It is also to be kept in
Meanwhile city BJP
Spokesperson Praveen
Shankar Kapoor said
that there was wide-
spread public resent-
ment against liquor
promotion schemes
being given by liquor
vendors in Delhi and
BJP was vocally raising
protest.
“Two days ago I had
myself written a protest
letter demanding ban
on such promotional
schemes of liquor to the
chief minister Arvind
Kejriwal,” Mr Kapoor
said adding that, “today
Delhi Government has
succumbed to public
resentment and BJP
protest and banned all
liquor promotion
schemes which is a big
victory of people.”
Licensees are seen
indulging in various
promotional activities
through social media Bizman held for
and banners/hoardings
being placed outside duping home
exempted from pre-board-
ing RT-PCR test, providing
Covid-19 vaccination certifi-
cates and uploading those
on the Air Suvidha portal.
The health ministry said
the International Travel
Guidelines have been
revised and some exemp-
tions allowed on humani-
tarian grounds for those
arriving from Ukraine.
As of February 28, five
flights carrying 1,156
Indians from Ukraine have
arrived in the country and
none of them has been kept
in isolation so far. Of the
five flights, one arrived in
Mumbai and the rest in
Delhi.
The health ministry said
it was in close collabora-
tion with the ministries of
external affairs, civil avia-
tion and home affairs is
Govt school students to present
100 start-up ideas to investors
Social organisations take out a candlelight march against
Russia-Ukraine war in New Delhi on Monday. — G.N. JHA
lending all support possible
in evacuating Indians from
Ukraine.
The ministry said Indians
not fulfilling either of the
mandatory requirements —
pre-boarding negative RT-
PCR test report or fully vac-
cinated certificate — as laid
down in the ‘Guidelines for
International Arrivals’
have been exempted from
uploading these documents
on Air-Suvidha Portal
before departure to India.
Individuals, who have
completed their Covid-19
vaccination, have been
allowed to leave the arrival
airport with the advice to
self-monitor their health for
the next 14 days.
increased milk prices by
`2 per litre with effect
from Tuesday due to rise
in input cost. In a state-
ment, Gujarat
Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation
(GCMMF) said it has
decided to increase milk
prices by `2 per litre in
all India markets.
“The increase of `2 per
litre translates into 4 per
cent increase in MRP
which is much lower
than average food infla-
tion,” it added.
This price hike is
being done due to rise in
costs of energy, packag-
ing, logistics and cattle
feed that has led to an
increase in the overall
cost of operation and
milk production.
— PTI

lance. During the course of
investigation, the IP address
of a fake Facebook profile
was obtained. The obtained
IP address was found
matched with the actual
Facebook ID of one of the
suspects. Both the IDs were
thoroughly analysed and it
came into notice that the
suspect was using the same
IPs for operating his own
Facebook ID as well as fake
Facebook ID. On enquiry, the
accused person identified as
Sourav Thakur was arrested
from his residence. On inter-
rogation, the accused dis-
closed that he was in a rela-
tionship with the victim for
more than 10 years. They
were working in an advertis-
ing company Vermillion
Communication where he
met with the complainant.
AI-based predictive
analytics on identified
areas of improvement
and come up with next-
level innovative solu-
tions.
This engagement shall
benefit Dial in impro-
vised allocation/utilisa-
tion of its operational
resources on a dynamic
basis in response to var-
ied passenger load and
requirements through-
out daily and periodic
fluctuations.
Complete demolition of Supertech
twin towers by May 22, SC told
mind that the Covid sit-
uation is not yet over
and the danger of
Covid-19 still persists
and therefore the huge
crowds is likely to
aggravate the rise in
cases in Delhi,” it
added.
The Delhi government
further said such dis-
counting was leading to
“unhealthy market
practices deployed
purely for short term
business gains” by
buyers, hunt
the stores which is a
non-permissible activi-
ty under the Delhi
on for partner
Excise Act, 2009 and
Delhi Excise Rules,
2010,” the excise depart- AGE CORRESPONDENT
ment said, adding this NEW DELHI, FEB. 28
was not the intent while
allowing discounts A 64-year-old business-
under the new excise man was arrested for
regime. allegedly duping several
Liquor stores in sever- people, including gov-
al parts of the city were ernment employees, by
seen offering discounts promising them delivery
up to 35 per cent on cer- of residential flats with-
tain IMFL brands. in two years of issuance
of allotment letters,
police said on Monday.
Diwakar Sharma, who
was apprehended by the
Delhi Police’s Economic
Offences Wing (EOW), is
a director of a company
established by him along
with his accomplice
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28
Delhi deputy chief minister
Manish Sisodia on Monday
said that the government
will organise its Business
Blasters’ investment sum-
mit at the Thyagaraj
Stadium on March 5, dur-
ing which over 100 top busi-
ness ideas from govern-
ment school students will
be presented to the
investors.
He said about 500 to 700
students behind these ideas
will be given direct admis-
sion to BBA programmes in
state universities and col-
leges such as Delhi
Technological University,
Guru Gobind Singh
Indraprastha University
and Netaji Subhas
University of Technology
among others.
Sisodia, who also holds
the Education portfolio,
said 51,000 start-up ideas
were submitted by the stu-
dents in the Business
Blasters’ initiative, out of
which 1,000 were shortlist-
ed for the second round of
the programme.
Out of these 1,000 ideas,
100 plus student-led top
business ideas have been
selected. We will organise a
Business Blasters invest-
ment summit on March 5 at
Thyagaraj Stadium. These
top business ideas will be
put forth before the
investors. I want all the
investors of the country,
who want to invest in new
business ideas, to attend
the summit, Sisodia said.
Business Blasters is the
Delhi government’s school
start-up programme where
students of Classes 11 and
12 propose business ideas
and the government helps
them in giving these pitch-
es a shape.
The shortlisted students
have been given the train-
ing to answer all business-
related queries, Sisodia
said.

After some time the victim PARMOD KUMAR has commenced, the executive officer of Piyush Tiwari, they
started to avoid him. NEW DELHI, FEB. 28 court in its order said, Noida authority to con- said.
“All concerned, includ- vene within three days a Police said Sharma,

Cops launch 3 The Noida authority, on

Monday, informed the
ing Noida and Supertech
Limited as well as other
meeting—at which the
representative of all
who graduated from the
Delhi University, worked

digital initiatives
Supreme Court that the authorities, shall strict- agencies will be pres- in the Ministry of
demolition of the twin ly comply with the dem- ent—to chalk out the Agriculture and then

for better service

New Delhi: Focusing towards
the new dimension in digiti-
sation and modernisation of
Delhi police, Delhi police
commissioner Rakesh
Asthana on Monday launched
three digital initiatives,
‘Anubhuti-QR Code based
feedback system, more
informative Delhi Police web-
site and e-Chittha portal, at
police headquarters in the
national capital. Speaking on
the occasion, the CP said
that the maximum utilisation
of technology with the objec-
tive to improve service deliv-
ery system and ensuring
safety and security of people
is essential in the present
environment.
40-storied towers—Apex
and Ceyane—of
Supertech’s Emerald
Housing project has
started and is likely to be
completed by May 22,
2022.
Senior lawyer
Ravindra Kumar,
appearing for the Noida
authority, told a bench
comprising Justice D.Y.
Chandrachud and
Justice Surya Kant that
all the debris of the
demolished structures
will be removed by
August 22.
The meeting of all the
stakeholders, as directed
by it (the top court), was
held on February 9.
Noting that the demoli-
tion of the twin-towers
olition schedule, as indi-
cated in the status
report, for completing
the work of demolition.”
Fixing further hearing
in the matter on May 17,
the top court noted the
Noida authority’s affi-
davit informing the
court that “all authori-
ties shall strictly comply
with the timeline given
to them.”
Mr Kumar informed
the bench that the orders
of the court are being
complied with and sub-
mitted photographs in
support of its steps
taken in pursuance to
the top court’s orders.
The top court by its
February 7, 2022, order
had directed the chief
plan for the demolition
of the twin-towers and
the demolition work
would commence within
two weeks.
The top court had, on
August 31, 2021, ordered
the razing of the two
towers, Apex and
Ceyane, in Supertech’s
Emerald Court project
holding that they were
illegally constructed in
connivance with the offi-
cers of Noida authority.
A bench comprising
Justice D.Y.
Chandrachud and
Justice M.R. Shah, by its
August 31 judgment, had
directed Supertech to
carry out the demolition
work within three
months.
joined the Ministry of
Science of Technology
as a section officer. He
left the job from the post
of under secretary, they
said.
The duo after taking
money from people mis-
appropriated it by
diverting it to various
group companies and
projects, police said. The
arrest was made on a
case registered on the
complaint of Gulshan
Sethi in 2016 against
S h u b h k a m a n a
Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. and
its directors Tiwari and
Sharma, they said.
Tiwari is absconding
and a non-bailable war-
rant has been issued
against him, police said.
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 1 MARCH 2022 | NEW DELHI
SHORT TAKES
UP: 7 booked over
‘pro-Pak slogan’
Prayagraj (UP): The police
have lodged an FIR against
seven people for allegedly
raising “Pakistan Zindabad”
slogans during a public
meeting at the Handia
assembly constituency here,
officials said on Monday. The
police said prima facie, it
appeared to be a public
meeting of the Samajwadi
Party. However, the party
candidate is not visible in
the video, they said. Taking
cognizance of a video of a
public meeting in which
some people were seen
shouting such slogans, the
police identified them men
and lodged an FIR, Handia’s
circle officer Dr Bhim Kumar
Gautam. The people who
have been identified could
not be arrested as voting
was underway on Sunday.
They will be arrested soon,
he said. SP candidate from
Handia assembly seat, Hakim
Lal Bind, alleged that the
video has been released
after “being dubbed by the
people from the BJP” with a
motive of make the election
“Hindu vs Muslim”. — PTI
UP polls: Raja Bhaiya,
17 others booked
Pratapgarh: A case has been
registered against
Independent candidate and
former Uttar Pradesh minister
Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias
Raja Bhaiya, and 17 others on
the charges of assaulting a
polling agent of the
Samajwadi Party, a police offi-
cer said on Monday. The case
was registered at Kunda
police station under various
sections of the IPC and the
Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention
of Atrocities) Act.
Superintendent of Police
Satpal Antil said, “On the vot-
ing day (on February 27),
Rakesh Kumar Pasi, a polling
agent of Samajwadi Party
candidate Gulshan
Yadav...complained that Tinku
Singh, a polling agent of the
Jansatta Dal Loktantrik,
phoned him and told him to
leave the booth (in
Raiyyapur), otherwise booth
capturing could not be done.”
— PTI
One polls,
4 Akhilesh
Yadavs in
UP fray
Lucknow, Feb. 28:
What’s in a name? For
three candidates in this
Uttar Pradesh Assembly
election, being called
Akhilesh Yadav might
have helped them a bit
in their fight.
Besides the Samajwadi
Party (SP) president, the
Congress nominee from
Bikapur, an independent
from Gunnaur and the
SP candidate from
Mubarakpur also have
the name Akhilesh
Yadav.
“I am getting good sup-
port in my constituency.
People feel sympathetic
towards me. I had lost
the 2017 polls by a very
thin margin. But now,
they want Akhilesh
Yadav to win.
People say as (SP chief)
Akhilesh Yadav will be
chief minister, Akhilesh
Yadav should also be
Mubarakpur’s MLA,”
the Samajwadi Party
candidate said.
The announcement of
a candidate by the name
Akhilesh Yadav for
Mubarakpur had creat-
ed a flutter, with
rumours spreading that
the SP chief was fight-
ing the polls from two
constituencies.
The Mubarakpur can-
didate said his father
named him Akhilesh
because the name his
three brothers ended
with “esh” — Awadhesh
Yadav, Umesh Yadav and
Amaresh Yadav.
The SP president
fought the polls in the
third of the seven phase
polls from Karhal, and
his fate is sealed in elec-
tronic voting machines,
with counting on March
10.
Mubarakpur in
Azamgarh district goes
to polls in the seventh
phase on March 7 and in
2017, the SP nominee
had lost to Bahujan
Samaj Party’s Shah
Alam by 688 votes. — PTI
pg 3
■ Says strong India needed given current world challenges NCP Maha mantri faces ED heat
PM blasts Opp. over dynasty politics New Delhi, Feb. 28: The ED
on Monday attached over 94
acres of land belonging to
in connection with its
money laundering probe
into the alleged scam in the
AGE CORRESPONDENT
with agency inputs
affecting every citizen of
the world. He said that
Maharashtra minister
Prajakt Tanpure and others
Maharashtra State
Cooperative Bank . — PTI
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28
Lashing out at the BJP’s
being a big state, Uttar
Pradesh has a great
responsibility in mak-
main opponent in Uttar ing India powerful.
Pradesh, Samajwadi PM Modi said the
Party (SP), Prime Centre has launched a
Minister Narendra “vibrant village”
Modi, on Monday, said scheme to speed up the
the “ghor pariwarvadi economic development
(staunch dynasts)” can in the country’s border-
never make India capa- ing areas.
ble nor can they make Talking about the
the state empowered as Union government’s
he cited how the opposi- new initiative in the bor-
tion “spared no effort to dering areas, he said a
hurt India’s self-confi- network of roads is
dence by talking nega- Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a post-budg- being laid at the Nepal
tive about indigenous et webinar on PM Gati Shakti in New Delhi. — PTI border and the main
Covid-19 vaccines.” roads are being convert-
Maintaining that the that “vehicle of UP is no on March 3. ed into four-lane roads
state has “rejected” longer going to get stuck Earlier, addressing a and highways.
dynasty politics in the in the streets of caste as rally in Maharajganj, After the construction
five phases of polling in it has gained momentum the PM stressed that of an international air-
the state, the PM, while on the highway of devel- India must be made port in Kushinagar, the
addressing a public rally opment.” strong in view of the number of tourists visit-
in Balia, said voters The sixth phase of emerging international ing here has increased,
have given a message polling will take place challenges that are he said.
CM Yogi says BSP’s UP list BJP plotting to
abolish quota,
resembles ‘Muslim league’ claims Akhilesh
Ambedkarnagar (UP),
Gorakhpur/Deoria (UP),
Feb. 28: Uttar Pradesh
Feb. 28: Samajwadi
Party chief Akhilesh
chief minister Yogi Yadav on Monday
Adityanath on Monday claimed the BJP is
accused the opposition hatching a conspiracy to
of playing politics of end reservation and
‘appeasement’ and hence, is selling govern-
alleged that the Bahujan ment organisations to
Samaj Party’s list of the private sector.
candidates for the state Addressing an election
polls resembled a meeting in the Jalalpur
“Muslim league”. Assembly constituency,
Addressing a series of Yadav said his party will
meetings in the poll- win all the seats of
bound state, he said the Ambedkarnagar as well
opposition parties are as of neighbouring
spreading hatred among Azamgarh district in the
communities to increase UP CM Yogi Adityanath flashes victory sign during a Uttar Pradesh Assembly
their votebank. roadshow for the ongoing UP Assembly polls in polls. “The BJP is hatch-
“While the Samajwadi Gorakhpur on Monday. — PTI ing a conspiracy to end
Party’s (SP) candidate reservation, and hence it
list gives a clear mes- said during public meet- the occasions of Id- is selling government
sage that the party is not ings at Pathardeva, Bakrid, while there were organisations to the pri-
ready to leave criminals, Salempur and Rudrapur power cuts during Holi vate sector,” he said.
goons and rioters, the assembly constituencies and Deepawali in the Ambedkarnagar has
Bahujan Samaj Party’s in Deoria. state. five assembly seats and
(BSP) list of candidates Targeting the alleged “For the first time, gov- will vote on March 3 in
resembles a ‘Muslim appeasement policy of ernment schemes are the sixth phase.
league’. This proves that the Samajwadi Party, reaching every individ- Azamgarh, with 10
they will not give equal Adityanath said under ual in the state under assembly seats, will vote
representation to all sec- the earlier regime, elec- the BJP government,” on March 7 in the last
tions and regions,” he tricity was provided on he said. — PTI phase. — PTI
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 1 MARCH 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 4

SHORT TAKES
30 teeth removed
from Indore boy
Indore: Thirty deformed
teeth of a 10-year-old who
was suffering from a rare
and complex Odontoma con-
dition were removed in
Madhya Pradesh's Indore, a
doctor said on Monday.The
boy had complained of
chronic swelling and pain in
the teeth and an examina-
tion revealed he had 50
teeth in his mouth due to
Odontoma, said Sachin
Thakur of private Modern
Dental College and Research
Centre. "Just one or two
such cases are found in a
population of one lakh. The
problem can become com-
plex if not addressed on
time. A three-member team
removed 30 teeth of the boy
in a surgery carried out over
two-and-half hours. He will
regain 30 teeth by the age
of 18," he said. — PTI
Ukraine-Russia
talks to continue
■ Continued from Page 1
curfew, but social media video
from Ukraine’s second-largest
city, Kharkiv, showed residen-
tial areas being shelled, with
apartment buildings shaken
by repeated, powerful blasts.
The authorities in Kharkiv
said at least seven people had
been killed and dozens
injured. They warned that
casualties could be far higher.
“They wanted to have a
blitzkrieg, but it failed, so they
act this way,” said 83-year-old
Valentin Petrovich, who
described watching the
shelling from his downtown
apartment.
The Russian military has
denied targeting residential
areas despite abundant evi-
dence of shelling of homes,
schools and hospitals.
Across the country, terrified
families huddled overnight in
shelters, basements or corri-
dors. “I sit and pray for these
negotiations to end successful-
ly, so that they reach an agree-
ment to end the slaughter, and
so there is no more war,” said
Alexandra Mikhailova, weep-
ing as she clutched her cat in a
makeshift shelter in the strate-
gic port city of Mariupol.
Around her, parents sought to
console children and keep
them warm.
The UN human rights chief
said at least 102 civilians have
been killed and hundreds
wounded in more than four
days of fighting -- warning that
the figure was probably a vast
undercount -- and Ukraine's
President said at least 16 chil-
dren were among the dead.
More than a half-million people
have fled the country since the
invasion, another UN official
said, with many going to
Poland, Romania and Hungary.
Millions have left their homes.
Still, a sliver of hope
emerged as the first face-to-
face talks between Ukrainian
and Russian officials since the
war began opened on Monday.
The delegations met at a long
table with the blue-and-yellow
Ukrainian flag on one side and
the Russian tricolour on the
other. — AP, AFP
■ If emissions not cut, India could see unsurvivable heat, food and water crisis, warns study
IPCC report warns India on emissions
New Delhi, Feb. 28: From
heat passing the limits of
human survivability, food
and water scarcity, higher
sea levels to severe eco-
nomic damage, India will
be seriously harmed if
emissions are not cut, the
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC)
warned in its latest report
released on Monday.
The second instalment of
the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) Working Group II
report on “Climate
Change 2022: Impacts,
Adaptation and
Vulnerability” said that
globally, heat and humidi-
ty will create conditions
beyond human tolerance if
emissions are not rapidly
eliminated and that India
is among the places that
will experience these
intolerable conditions.
The report cautioned
that climate-related risks
Edu & agri
gets focus in
Bihar outlay
of `2.37L cr
NAYEAR AZAD
PATNA, FEB. 28
The Bihar government
on Monday presented
the state budget for the
financial year 2022-23.
Bihar deputy chief
minister Tarkishore
Prasad who also holds
the finance portfolio pre-
sented a budget of `2.37
lakh crore. Industrial
growth, health, educa-
tion, agriculture and
urban-rural infrastruc-
ture will be the main
focus of the state gov-
ernment during the cur-
rent financial year.
According to Mr
Prasad, education with
`39,900 crores allocation
is the priority of the
state government fol-
lowed by `29,000 crores
for agriculture, `13,000
crores for social welfare
and `16,000 for the
health sector.
Among other things,
the state government
will also be spending
`700 crore on the student
credit card, `1,100 crore
on Har Ghar Nal ka Jal
scheme and `225 crore
for the skilled youth pro-
gram.
The government hopes
to see a growth rate of
7.9 per cent in the finan-
cial year 2022 -23.
The finance minister
further said that despite
huge financial hurdles
due to the covid pandem-
ic in the previous years,
the state has registered
good growth as com-
pared to other states. He
said that “interest-free
loan in 2022-23 would be
interest-free”.
to agriculture and food
systems in Asia will pro-
gressively escalate with
the changing climate, with
differentiated impacts
across the region.
“In India, rice produc-
tion can decrease from 10
to 30 per cent whereas
maize production can
decrease from 25 to 70 per
cent assuming a range of
temperature increase
from 1 degrees celsius to 4
degrees celsius,” it said.
Referring to wet-bulb
temperatures, a measure
that combines heat and
humidity, the report
warned that if emissions
continue to rise, wet-bulb
temperatures will
approach or exceed the
unsurvivable limit of 35
degrees celsius over much
of India, with the majority
of the country reaching
wet-bulb temperatures of
31 degrees celsius or more.
A wet-bulb temperature
RTI activist beaten in MP PK meets KCR amid
and forced to drink urine rumours of a tie-up
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
BHOPAL, FEB 28
A Right to Information
(RTI) activist in a
Madhya Pradesh district
was thrashed and then
forced to drink urine by
assailants for seeking
information on a local
village panchayat, police
said on Monday.
Although the incident
took place on February
23, it came to light on
Monday when the victim,
Shashikant Jatav, was
shifted from a local hospi-
tal to All India Institute
of Medical Science,
Delhi, for treatment.
Ukraine crisis: Students walk 33 km to Poland border
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
BHOPAL, FEB. 28
Students from
Chhattisgarh and Madhya
Pradesh trapped in differ-
ent areas in Ukraine have
been battling all kinds of
hardships to escape from
the war-torn country.
A student from Janjgir in
Chhattisgarh, Bhupendra
Singh Rathore, who is
studying medicine at Lviv
National Medical
University, has sent a
video to his father narrat-
ing his plight while trying
to flee the country.
“I along with some of my
friends walked 33 km to
reach the Polish border.
We are currently stranded
at the Poland border and
Indian embassy officials
◗ THE REPORT warned
that if emissions continue
to rise, wet-bulb tempera-
tures will approach or
exceed the unsurvivable
limit of 35°C over much of
India, with the majority of
the country reaching wet-
bulb temperatures of 31°C
or more.
◗ A WET-BULB tempera-
ture of 31°C is extremely
dangerous for humans
while a value of 35°C is
unsurvivable for more
than about 6 hours
of 31 degrees celsius is
extremely dangerous for
humans, while a value of
35 degrees celsius is
unsurvivable for more
than about six hours, even
for fit and healthy adults
resting in the shade.
“Currently, wet-bulb tem-
peratures in India rarely
exceed 31 degrees celsius,
The incident took place
in Bari panchayat in
Gwalior district.
Two people were arrest-
ed in connection with the
incident, police said.
According to Gwalior
district additional super-
intendent of police
Jayraj Kuber, Shashikant
incurred the wrath of
some local people for fil-
ing an RTI application
seeking information on
Bari panchayat .
On February 23, he was
called to the panchayat
office allegedly by the
husband of a local
sarpanch, panchayat sec-
retary and others.
He was confined in a
deployed at the place are
trying to bring us to the
side of Poland”, he was
heard saying in the video.
Rashmi Firdausi of
Chhattisgarh’s Bhilai,
who is a first-year student
of Odessa National
Medical University,
Ukraine, landed in Delhi
by Air India flight Sunday
and returned to her home
on Monday morning.
Rashmi said she was
lucky to get out of the war-
torn country, but her
friends were now stranded
in Kharkiv and Kyiv cities
where they had gone to
study medicine in local
medical universities.
“My friend Aditi of
Bhiali is among a dozen
students from India who
are holed up in a bunker in
Kyiv. She was narrating
with most of the country
experiencing maximum
wet-bulb temperatures of
25-30 degrees celsius," said
the IPCC report.
The report said that both
climatic and non-climatic
drivers such as socio-eco-
nomic changes have creat-
ed water stress conditions
in both water supply and
demand in all sub-regions
of Asia.
“By mid-21st Century, the
international transbound-
ary river basins of Amu
Darya, Indus, Ganges and
inter-state Sabarmati-
river basin in India could
face severe water scarcity
challenges with climate
change acting as a stress
multiplier. Due to global
warming Asian countries
could experience an
increase of drought condi-
tions (5-20 per cent) by the
end of this century,” it
said.
According to the report,
room in the panchayat
office where he was beat-
en by the accused.
He was later allegedly
forced to drink urine
from a shoe by the
accused, a complaint
filed by the victim said.
He was admitted in
Jayarogya Medical
College and Hospital in
Gwalior. However, he was
shifted to AIIMS, Delhi,
when his condition wors-
ened.
Total seven people were
booked for murder,
abduction and Scheduled
Caster and Scheduled
Tribe (atrocities) Act in
connection with the inci-
dent, police said.
their misery as to how
they are running out of
food and money. They are
now forced to share one
plate among them to take
food by turn,” she said.
Rashmi reached
Hungary border by bus
along with some Indian
students. After they were
through the Hungary bor-
der, they were taken to
Budapest from where they
were flown to Delhi.
Six students from
Chhattisgarh who had
gone to Ukraine to study
medicine returned home
by Monday morning.
The Chhattisgarh gov-
ernment has so far com-
piled a list of 150 students
from the state who have
gone to Ukraine to pursue
MBBS courses.
Chhattisgarh chief min-
temperature, relative
humidity, and rainfall
variables are significantly
and positively associated
with increased dengue
cases or transmission
rates globally, including in
India.
It said that increased
exposure to carcinogenic
toxins via multiple path-
ways is also a concern.
“Aflatoxin (carcinogen)
exposure, for example, is
expected to increase in
Europe, India, Africa and
North America. Other car-
cinogenic toxins originate
from cyanobacteria blooms
which are projected to
increase in frequency and
distribution with climate
change,” the report said.
In India, projected sce-
narios for the 2030s indi-
cate changes in the spatial
distribution of malaria,
with new foci and poten-
tial outbreaks in the
Himalayan region, south-
Hyderabad, Feb. 28:
Political strategist
Prashant Kishor's meet-
ing with chief minister K.
Chandrasekhar Rao here
has assumed political sig-
nificance ahead of next
year's Assembly elections
in the state, even as the
TRS supremo is making
efforts to stitch up an
anti-BJP bloc of various
regional leaders, includ-
ing Mamata Banerjee and
Uddhav Thackeray.
Mr Kishor, who is cred-
ited with successfully
handling the campaigns
of several political par-
ties in Assembly elections
in different states, includ-
ing the DMK and TMC in
Tamil Nadu and West
Bengal last year, has met
Mr Rao, during the last
ister Bhupesh Baghel on
Monday announced that
his government would
bear all expenses of stu-
dents from the state to
bring them to their homes
when they arrive in Delhi
and Mumbai from
Ukraine.
Arya Srivastav who is
doing a physiotherapy
course in Danipro state
medical university in
Danipro in Ukraine told
her kin in Bhopal that
around 500 students from
India have holed up in
their hostels and bunkers
for the last one week.
She said the students
have enough money with
them now since they have
with them the fee for
March which they have yet
to deposit in their univer-
sities.
ern and eastern states, and
an overall increase in
months suitable for trans-
mission overall, with some
other areas experiencing a
reduction in transmission
months, the report said.
Warning about the sea
level rise, the report said
that India is one of the
most vulnerable countries
globally in terms of the
population that will be
affected by sea-level rise.
“By the middle of the
century, around 35 million
people in India could face
annual coastal flooding,
with 45-50 million at risk
by the end of the century if
emissions are high, with
far fewer at risk if emis-
sions are lower,” it said.
According to the report,
high levels of warming
could cause a global GDP
decline of 10-23 per cent by
the end of the century,
compared to a world with-
out warming. — PTI
couple of
days, TRS
sources said
on Monday.
Though
Kishor has
been in
touch with
Prashant
TRS, no
Kishor a r r a n g e -
ment between him and the
TRS has been crystalised
yet and talks were still on,
they claimed. There has
been no official word on
Kishor's meeting with
Rao, also known as KCR.
Mr Rao and Mr Kishor
are understood to have
discussed the ongoing
efforts to bring together
non-BJP parties, the pres-
ent round of Assembly
polls and other political
developments. — PTI
PM Modi stresses importance of
respecting sovereignty of nations
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi Monday stressed the
importance of respecting
the sovereignty and terri-
torial integrity of nations,
as he spoke to his counter-
parts from the Slovak
Republic and Romania to
seek their continued assis-
tance in the evacuation of
Indian citizens from
Ukraine, which has been
attacked by Russia.
During his conversation
with both leaders, the PM
sought continued assis-
tance in the next few days.
Mr Modi particularly
4th wave of
Covid-19 in
India from
June: Study
SANJAY KAW
NEW DELHI, FEB.28
A study by researchers
at the Indian Institute of
Technology-Kanpur has
suggested that the
fourth Covid-19 wave in
India may start around
June 22 and peak from
mid to late August. The
yet-to-be peer-reviewed
study, recently posted on
the preprint repository
MedRxiv, used a statisti-
cal model to make the
prediction, finding that
the possible new wave
will last for four months.
The study has come at
a time when the coun-
try’s daily count of coro-
navirus infections has
gone below 10,000 after
two months. India
logged 8,013 fresh Covid-
19 cases and 119 related
deaths in the last 24
hours. The total tally of
Covid-19 infections and
related fatalities have
gone up to 4,29,24,130
and 5,13,843 respectively.
The active cases have
declined to 1,02,601.
Daily positivity has been
recorded at 1.11 per cent.
The IIT-Kanpur study
shows that the severity of
the fourth wave will
depend on the emergence
of a possible new coron-
avirus variant and vacci-
nation status across
country. The study, led by
Sabara Parshad
Rajeshbhai, Subhra
Sankar Dhar, and
Shalabh of IIT Kanpur's
department of mathe-
matics and statistics,
indicates that the fourth
wave in India will arrive
after 936 days from the
initial data availability
date, which is January
30, 2020.” “Therefore, the
fourth wave starts from
June 22, 2022, reaching
its peak on August 23,
2022, and ends on
October 24, 2022.”
appreciated Romania’s ges-
ture in allowing Indian cit-
izens to enter Romania
without visas, and for per-
mitting special evacuation
flights from India. He
thanked the two leaders for
their countries' assistance
in the evacuation of Indian
citizens from Ukraine over
the last few days, it said.
"The Prime Minister also
expressed his anguish at
the ongoing violence and
humanitarian crisis in
Ukraine, and reiterated
India’s consistent appeal
for cessation of hostilities
and a return to dialogue,”
the ministry of external
affairs said in a statement.

‘Atlas of human suffering’ to get worse India sends 4 ministers to oversee evacuations
■ Continued from Page 1
tenths of a degree of warm-
ing over today’s heat. But if
temperatures increase nearly
2 more degrees Celsius from
now (3.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
they would feel five times the
floods, storms, drought and
heat waves, according to the
collection of scientists at the
IPCC.
Already at least 3.3 billion
people's daily lives “are high-
ly vulnerable to climate
change” and 15 times more
likely to die from extreme
weather, the report says.
Large numbers of people are
being displaced by worsening
weather extremes. And the
world's poor are being hit by
far the hardest, it says.
More people are going to die
each year from heat waves,
diseases, extreme weather,
air pollution and starvation
because of global warming,
the report says.
Just how many people die
depends on how much heat-
trapping gas from the burn-
ing of coal, oil and natural
gas gets spewed into the air
and how the world adapts to
an ever-hotter world, scien-
tists say. “Climate change is
killing people,” said co-
author Helen Adams of
King’s College London. “Yes,
things are bad, but actually
the future depends on us, not
the climate.”
With every tenth of a degree
of warming, many more peo-
ple die from heat stress, heart
and lung problems from heat
and air pollution, infectious
diseases, illnesses from mos-
quitoes and starvation, the
authors say.
The report lists mounting
dangers to people, plants, ani-
mals, ecosystems and
economies, with people at
risk in the millions and bil-
lions and potential damages
in the trillions of dollars.
The report highlights peo-
ple being displaced from
homes, places becoming
uninhabitable, the number of
species dwindling, coral dis-
appearing, ice shrinking and
rising and increasingly oxy-
gen-depleted and acidic
oceans. Some of these risks
can still be prevented or less-
ened with prompt action.
“Today’s IPCC report is an
atlas of human suffering and
a damning indictment of
failed climate leadership,”
United Nations Secretary-
General Antonio Guterres
said in a statement. “With
fact upon fact, this report
reveals how people and the
planet are getting clobbered
by climate change.”
The panel of more than 200
scientists puts out a series of
these massive reports every
five to seven years, with this
one, the second of the series,
devoted to how climate
change affects people and the
planet. Last August the sci-
ence panel published a report
on the latest climate science
and projections for future
warming, branded “code red”
by the United Nations.
Climate scientist Katharine
Hayhoe of the Nature
Conservancy, who wasn’t part
of the latest report, calls it
the “Your House is on Fire”
report.
“There’s real existential
threats,” report co-chair
Debra Roberts of South
Africa told the Associated
Press.
Since the last version of
this impacts panel’s report in
2014, “all the risks are coming
at us faster than we thought
before”, said report co-author
Maarten van Aalst, a climate
scientist for the International
Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies, men-
tioning floods, droughts and
storms. “More of it will get
really bad much sooner than
we thought before.”
“Every bit of warming mat-
ters. The longer you wait...
the more you will pay later,”
said report co-chair Hans-
Otto Poertner of Germany
told the AP in an interview.
By 2050, a billion people will
face coastal flooding risk
from rising seas, the report
says. More people will be
forced out of their homes
from weather disasters, espe-
cially flooding, sea level rise
and tropical cyclones.
If warming exceeds a few
more tenths of a degree, it
could lead to some areas
becoming uninhabitable,
including some small islands,
said report co-author Adelle
Thomas of the University of
Bahamas and Climate
Analytics. And eventually in
some places it will become
too hot for people to work out-
door, which will be a problem
for raising crops, said report
co-author Rachel Bezner Kerr
of Cornell University.
Monday’s 36-page summary,
condensed from more than
1,000 pages of analysis, was
written by scientists and then
edited line-by-line by govern-
ments and scientists with that
final summary approved by
consensus Saturday during a
two-week virtual conference
that occurred while Russia
invaded Ukraine. — AP
■ Continued from Page 1
back to the path of diplo-
macy and dialogue. Our
Prime Minister has advo-
cated this strongly in his
conversations with the
Russian Federation and
Ukraine,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday held
another meeting on the
Ukraine crisis. This was
the third such meeting in
the last 24 hours.
Foreign secretary Harsh
V. Shringla said the Indian
government will be send-
ing humanitarian aid to
Ukraine and that it is in
touch with the
International Committee of
Red Cross in Geneva for the
needs of citizens stranded
in Ukraine. MEA officials
said the aid will include
medicines among other
things as sought by the
Ukrainian government.
More flights carrying
Indian students are land-
ing in various cities. In
Manipur polls: 78% voting in Ph-1 Bengal: Repoll in 2 booths
■ Continued from Page 1
amid tight security and
strict adherence to Covid-
19 protocols. At least one
person was injured in a
clash between two parties
in Churachandpur dis-
trict. Allegedly Congress
workers vandalised a BJP
polling booth in Kakwa
area in Langthabal con-
stituency in Imphal West
district, while a vehicle of
an NPP candidate was
damaged by supporters of
Delhi, the sixth evacua-
tion flight from Hungary’s
capital city Budapest car-
rying 240 Indian nationals
was welcomed by Union
minister Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi. Air India Express
has also joined Operation
Ganga operating flights
between Mumbai and
Bucharest. Poland ambas-
sador to India Adam
Burakowski said already
more than 2 lakh people
have crossed the border
into Poland, including
Indian students. “The bor-
der points are overcrowd-
ed but we are receiving
everyone with a warm
heart… There will be spe-
cial flights for Indian stu-
dents. Poland is cooperat-
ing and will also help
India's High-level delega-
tion in the evacuation
process. Indian nationals
can cross into the Poland
border without any visa,”
Mr Burakowski added.
With the weekend curfew
a rival group in Keirao
seat, although nobody was
injured in the incident.
Polling was stalled at a
polling station in Saitu
constituency Monday
morning after a clash
broke out between two
groups, police said. This
is the first of the two-part
election in the insur-
gency-hit state.
The key candidates
whose fates were sealed
on Monday include chief
lifted in Kyiv, the Indian
embassy in Ukraine asked
all students to make their
way to the railway station
for onward journey to the
country's western parts.
Ukraine Railways is oper-
ating special trains for
evacuation. “Indian stu-
dents from Odessa who are
in shelters in Moldova set
up by Moldovan govern-
ment are requested to
remain in the shelters.
Embassy officials are in
Chisinau and will go to the
shelters to facilitate evac-
uation,” Indian embassy
said. It added, “It has been
brought to our notice that
some people are charging
money to transfer Indian
students from the
Romanian border to
Bucharest. Please note
that all services provided
by the embassy are free,
including transport to
Bucharest. Please do not
pay money to anyone.”
Ministry of external
minister N. Biren Singh,
who is contesting from
Heingang, Speaker Y.
Khemchand Singh from
Singjamei, deputy chief
minister Yumnam
Joykumar Singh from
Uripok and state Congress
chief N. Lokesh Singh
from Nambol.
The second phase of
polling for the remaining
22 seats will be held on
March 5, and the votes will
be counted on March 10.
affairs (MEA) spokesper-
son Arindam Bagchi said
over 8,000 Indians left
Ukraine since they issued
initial advisories and six
evacuation flights — four
from Bucharest two from
Budapest — have brought
1,396 Indian students.
Mixed stories of struggle
to cross borders keep com-
ing from Ukraine. Some
lucky ones managed to be
evacuated early while
many had to tread miles
yet remained stuck at bor-
ders in freezing weather.
“Our focus is of course
on land borders to get them
on the bordering countries
of Ukraine. There have
been some difficulties on
Poland's borders and it is
pretty crowded. Though
there are still difficulties
but situation has
improved. Our embassy
has managed to take out
some students but more
are there. Food and shelter
has been arranged for
■ Continued from Page 1
maintained”. He added:
“The SEC was in specific
terms indicated that
where there have been
issues with respect to
CCTVs being destroyed,
washed out or screens
broken, a call needs to be
taken. SEC needs to take
steps to bolster confi-
dence of the people in the
poll process, which as per
inputs has been severely
compromised by violence,
them till they board flights.
At the border with
Romania and Hungary we
have managed to bring out
more people even as large
crowds still remain in all
border points. We have
opened new route through
Moldova to bring out peo-
ple from Southern Ukraine
like Odessa etc,” he said
When asked about the
mistreatment and beating
of Indian students at
Ukraine-Poland border by
the Ukraine security
allegedly after India
abstained in UNSC voting,
Ukrainian ambassador in
India Igor Polikha said
Ukraine is doing every-
thing possible in challeng-
ing circumstances to facil-
itate the exit of Indian
nationals, especially stu-
dents, adding “though
Russian President
Vladimir Putin alone can
give assurances for their
safety” even as he brushed
aside these reports.
lawlessness and partisan
officialdom.” SEC sources
said there were reports of
damage to two dozen
EVMs, but the poll data
remained intact.
Meanwhile, the BJP,
which called a 12-hour
bandh from 6 am, looked a
divided house as senior
leader Suvendu Adhikari
directed his party cadres
to call off the bandh by 12
noon so that common peo-
ple did not suffer.
 EDIT
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 1 MARCH 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 5

Subhani

1 MARCH 2022

Putin has crossed a line

with his nuclear threat
R
ussian President Vladimir Putin has by invoking a nuclear threat
after ordering his nuclear forces to be a state of high alert, even if
by no means a declaration of intent to actually use nuclear
weapons, even as his forced plundering of Ukraine is hostile to the
entire post-World War II global order.
Coming back to back after his affront in challenging and desecrating all
civilised notions of conduct of international affairs through a rule-based
template, it has now, directly or indirectly, upped the threat from one
country to the entire world.
There can be absolutely no possible rationalisation for the supreme
leader of any global superpower, armed with a nuclear arsenal, invoking
through words or action a nuclear threat when not faced with an impend-
ing peril or a direct risk to one's own country or its sovereignty.
This abominable facade continues unchallenged by a world order caught
on the wrong foot, even as the world is yet to fully recover and emerge
from the global humanitarian crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic.
There is hope for the world, though. The very first has been the intrepid
courage in the leadership of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
who has turned down an American offer to evacuate him, saying his coun-

Anti-defection law and LETTERS

try needs arms and ammunition, not a ride.
Heads of all Such rectitude in actions of unprecedented and
inspirational nature tends to not only give the peo-
major states are ple of an otherwise out-armed and outflanked
wondering and nation hope and courage, but also wakes an indif- NOBODY’S MARTYR
trying to guessti- ferently dozing global conscience in deep stupor. When the former USSR
mate — how far The European Union, noting the enormity of dan-
will Putin dare to gers created by this extraordinary situation has, in
a welcome first of a move, announced its decision
go? History has finance purchase and delivery of weapons to
answers. Hitler Ukraine besides augmenting the sanctions against
did not stop at Russia, and its ally, Belarus.
inner-party democracy That the Election period, say six months. To
broke up in 1991, its bor-
dering nations to the
northwest were weaned
away by the West into
Then, there is public opinion. Even as fierce com- deny a ministership to a Nato, which had taken in
Czechoslovakia. bats Commission recog-
and gunfights escalate on the streets and mis-
siles and destructive air power unleash fury against Mohan nises these parties
“defecting” member is
silly as it implies that a its fold a swathe of coun-
the backdrop of tearful skies of Ukrainian cities, death and destruction
hovering all about, there are protests of people marching against the war. Guruswamy and recognises their
leaders' authority is
ministership is somehow a
reward to enjoy, and not a
tries. Belarus and Ukraine
were the exceptions and
Even an authoritarian despot can ignore public opinion only to an call to service or recogni-
extent, especially if extremely vocal and fiery protests start to engulf one’s
a matter of shame tion of ability. Not all min- served as a geographical
own backyard. Protests have erupted even in Russia, besides most Euro- and evidence of its isters are corrupt. Also, all buffer for Russia. While
pean capitals, with thousands of anti-war marchers taking to the streets. utter helplessness, this hair-splitting about
Belarus was pliant,

T
After a vote at the Security Council of the United Nations, the General he debate on elec-
Assembly, the supposed collective political will of humanity, the custodi- toral reforms foc-
an of world order, will voice and debate that action of Putin's Russia, even uses almost entire-
as heads of all major states are wondering and trying to guesstimate — ly on the funding of
how far will Putin dare to go? History has answers. Hitler did not stop at political parties and
Czechoslovakia and did eventually invade Poland. expenses incurred in cam-
Megalomaniacal autocrats have pushed the world to a precipice of anar- paigning as if just taking
chy without allowing normal constructs like humanity, morality or rea- care of these will ensure
son deter them. They grew and succeeded as long as they were appeased. the cleaning up of the
Putin has dared the entire world with his nuclear threat. Will the world nation’s polity. We are as
respond to it in the only way it should? Time will play the game out. usual barking up the
wrong tree. Funding is a
problem, but it’s the lesser
Positive signals by Team India of the problems. The ques-
tion of inner party democ-
racy and the constitution-
India’s Constitution does-
n’t recognise the institu-
tion of political parties. It’s
the same in other serious
and major democracies.
The term “political party”
doesn’t appear even once
in any of them. Political
parties are therefore extra
or non-constitutional arr-
angements to organise
people on the basis of sha-
red ideas, interests or phi-
losophies. Members of
Parliament or legislatures
are the people’s represen-
indifference or igno-
rance, or all these
basic issues.
most other parties are
very poor examples of
democracy at work. We
know how the Congress
conducts its “elections” or
takes decisions by defer-
ring them to the “high
command”. “Leaders” like
the Badals, Thackeray,
Lalu Yadav, KCR, Stalin,
what percentage consti-
tutes a defection is equally
silly.
That the Election Com-
mission recognises these
parties and recognises
their leaders’ authority is
a matter of shame and evi-
dence of its utter helpless-
ness, indifference or igno-
rance, or all these basic
issues. To give the anti-
defection laws even the
thinnest veneer of political
and philosophical legiti-
macy, it is first essential
Ukraine was not. Vladimir
Putin is forestalling any
further attrition in his
western region. It’s a pity
that an agri-rich nation
like Ukraine, which is a
granary for Europe, is
turning into a sacrificial
lamb for the machinations
of the West. Ukraine could
easily be rendered a mar-

T
eam India's world record-equaling streak of 12 T20I wins is not to be al functioning of political tatives. That they are or Akhilesh Yadav and that inner-party workings
scoffed at as they share the record with Afghanistan and Romania. parties almost never fig- aren’t members of a politi- Mayawati consider these conform to the letter and tyr to nobody's cause.
Half the victories may have come in comforting home conditions ures in any discussion. We cal party is only inciden- niceties to be sheer spirit of democracy. Par- R. Narayanan
against international sides like the West Indies and Sri Lanka, who are not never seem to consider tal. The elected members hypocrisy, and don’t have ties have shown they are
top notch at the moment, and yet no wins are to be dismissed in white ball whether many of our par- are meant to represent and even a single-page consti- incapable of doing this by
Navi Mumbai
cricket that makes a nearly level playing field for the minnows and the ties are in fact political protect the interests those tution to legitimise the themselves. The EC had
underdogs, giving them opportunities to upset the applecarts.
What makes the recent wins somewhat special is the fact that half a
parties or just disorgan-
ised assemblies driven by
who elect them and not th-
at of a handful of leaders.
workings of their outfits.
Yet these “fuhrers” have
earlier made some noises
in this regard. But adding THANK YOU, STALIN
dozen have come on the reel under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, who is primitive impulses. It follows that if a repre- the authority and legitima- to the cacophony isn't WHILE THE students caught in
now full-time Team India captain across formats and who took over after When Rajiv Gandhi sentative defies a party cy to issue diktats or enough. It must speak out death traps in Ukraine, their par-
the Virat Kohli fiasco in the T20 World Cup and subsequent captaincy con- introduced the “anti-defec- whip, the most the party whips to suit their private loudly and insist Parlia- ents complained against the Indian
troversies that dogged Kohli. Rohit may be proving the old adage that a tion” bill in Parliament must be allowed to do is interests and whims. ment empowers it to over- government for issuing their advi-
general has not only to be good but also lucky. His settling into the job soon after his huge 1984 remove the member from Remember how a nomi- see regular party elections sories quite late. It is encouraging
without glitches engenders optimism that the electoral victory, Madhu the party. Expulsion of the nated Congress president, and their compliance with to see Tamil Nadu chief minister
A refurbished team may be on the right track towards the T20 Dandavate welcomed it, member from the House Sitaram Kesri, issued a the provisions of their con- M.K. Stalin acting quickly to com-
Indian side, World Cup coming up later this year in Australia. exclaiming in the Lok can only be the right of the directive to the CPP’s stitutions. That’s why Na- fort the students and offer them
which has shed A number of positives have come Team India’s Sabha that he felt he was House or the people. Each elected leader, P.V. Nara- rendra Modi has placed some relief. He ordered the setting
“hearing the voice of time that power is invoked simha Rao, ordering him flunkies there.
some experi- way since the tumble against Pakistan and New
Zealand in the T20World Cup. Younger fast Jawaharlal Nehru again”! it must be for a specific to send his resignation State funding of parties
up of a special cell, spoke to them
over the phone and assured all help
enced players, bowlers are beginning to prove their worth and a He soon realised the bill reason, such as receiving a within 24 hours. Consider has often been discussed from the state government. He also
seems to be few top order batsmen have enhanced their repu- was only meant to keep the bribe, that may be seen as the implications. A leader as another solution. But promised that their flight expenses
recapturing the tation, especially Shreyas Iyer, man of the series party under the jackboots unbecoming of a member, chosen by elected repre- can we allow the State to will be borne by the state govern-
of a coterie. It prompted or bringing disrespect to sentatives is dismissed by fund all these parties,
idea of perform- against Sri Lanka and the Mumbai Indians’ duo of
Ishan Kishan and Surya Kumar Yadav. The spin him to append his name to the institution. In India, a handpicked courtier’s which don’t have any
ment. Mr Stalin has once again set
an example for other states.
ing together to attack had to fall back to the seasoned pros a petition challenging the we don’t give people the coup? inner-party democracy or
win consistently. Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav while a law. His switch provoked right of recall, possibly as There are other implica- democratic structures, Tharcius S. Fernando
few utility players also displayed their potential. many to acidly comment it's not practical. Even if a tions to consider as well. most with husband-and- Chennai
Of course, too much must not be read into the half dozen wins, considering the poor man thought he mechanism and a set of What if a member of a wife “high commands”, if
the quality of the opposition.
Team India’s greatest failure lay in an inability to stand up to the pres-
was hearing Nehru’s voice
when in fact it was that of
conditionalities is codified
to set the process of recall
party promising people
the nationalisation of all
not father-son or mother-
son “high commands”? No DARK DAYS AHEAD
sure of knockout cricket in Cup events, which is exacerbated by height- Indira Gandhi! into action, who among property is directed to vote Indian party has anything THE UKRAINE crisis will have a
ened expectations of fans who see ICC (International Cricket Committe) He justified it by saying the present crop of MPs for a rich man’s dream like fair and free inner- long-term impact on global geopoli-
trophies as true symbols of supremacy. A refurbished Indian side, which it was not the right time to would be willing to legis- budget? Suppose the mem- party elections. Giving tics. It will reorient defence postures
has shed some experienced players who were offering diminishing oppose the bill then as pub- late this? ber was to vote as per the them state funding will and energy policies for Nato and for
returns, seems to be recapturing the idea of performing together to win lic sentiment was in The argument that most party’s commitment to the only enable public money the European Union s perhaps in
consistently. There is a long way to go to the summit of Cup events again favour. Only Chandra She- members are elected people and not as per the to serve private purposes. ways that will only corner the
but Team India may have crossed a corner since the depths of the United khar and Madhu Limaye because of the party has convenience of its leaders? With our democracy now Russians further. There is bound to be
Arab Emirates. had the vision and courage some validity, but only if Who is more important? preferring cobbled-up a sustained push for energy indepen-
to attack the bill for what it’s a properly constituted The people who elect them coalitions to single-party dence in Europe and a realignment of
it was — an attempt to and functioning party. If or the people who select dominance, the issue of Nato forces in the east. It is possible
institutionalise the illegiti- the political party is to be them for party tickets? defections will always that Finland and Sweden will now
mate power of undemocra- incorporated in our The argument that if mem- loom large. But will any- join Nato. The long-term responses
tically installed party lead- Constitution as a constitu- bers aren’t restrained by one now speak up? Of are going to be more important than
THE ASIAN AGE erships over the people’s tional institution, it must law, anarchy will prevail, course not. Kissa kursi ka the decisions being made today in the
elected representatives. first be so legislated. may have some validity to hai! form of Western sanctions.
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR The original bill was then Besides a few parties like it. This can be met by
Editor Printer & Publisher
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THE ASIAN AGE office is located at: tinguish between a split which have a somewhat restricted to confidence lyst studying economic Chakdaha, West Bengal
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I
ndia has abstained on the vote in the United
Nations Security Council (where we are a
non-permanent member) condemning Rus-
sia for its invasion of Ukraine. India said that
it was deeply disturbed, called for an end to vio-
Aakar Patel lence and for respect for sovereignty and territo-
rial integrity, and then said that “for these rea-
sons” it chose to abstain. This may seem puzzling
as India is repeating the world’s case against
Russia’s war, and then refusing to condemn it.
But the reality is that India faces a difficult peri-
od in diplomacy. Russia provides more than half
of India’s military materiel. For instance, 96 per
the condemnation would fail. However, it was an
opportunity for the world to come together aga-
inst aggression and the largest democracy chose
not to side with the invaded country. Interes-
tingly, China also abstained along with us.
India’s foreign policy under the current gov-
ernment has not been able to find its rhythm
because it doesn’t have a theme. Throughout our
history as an independent nation, India has pre-
sented itself abroad as an ancient land with secu-
lar and inclusive traditions. This changed after
2014 but without an official shift in doctrine, mea-
ning there was no written policy that proclaimed
This was accompanied by an Internet blockade
on all Kashmiris for 17 months. Kashmiri chil-
dren had no access to online education for all of
2020. In the US House of Representatives (their
Lok Sabha), a resolution was moved to condemn
India’s actions against Kashmiris. The resolu-
tion could not progress far because the Repu-bli-
cans were in charge and President Donald
Trump was our friend. Only days after Joe
Biden’s administration was sworn in, India lifted
the 17-month blockade, and one reason was the
pressure it felt was sure to come now that Mr
Trump was out.
also coming after the change in Article 370: the
Chinese incursion in Ladakh. We must defy
China, but also be friendly with Russia (which is
aligned with China against the West). We want to
get closer to the United States militarily and have
signed a series of agreements after 2014, but we
do not know how close to get. The Quad alliance
was meant to be a naval partnership, but that
role has now been given to something called
AUKUS, of which we are not part of, while the
Quad is dealing with Covid-19 vaccines.
Our external affairs minister Subrahmanyam
Jaishankar says the world is multipolar and so

Vote to abstain cent of our main battle tanks are Russian, our
only aircraft-carrier and only nuclear-powered
submarine are Russian, 71 per cent of our fighter
Hindutva was India’s ruling ideology. Recent
studies show that the government has begun
instructing diplomats to focus on events abroad
Weeks after the Article 370 move, a confident
BJP passed the Citizenship Amendment Act. The
world was again alarmed. In the European Par-
India must be opportunistic and discard what he
calls the “hesitancies of the past”. However, what
is being exposed is that we have no real doctrine

at UN will hurt jets and all six of the air tankers are Russian.
This is not classified information: these numbers
come from the US Congressional Research
Service. War and even training in these extreme-
which showcased India’s Hindu traditions. This
made some diplomats uncomfortable, but the
change was accompanied by recruiting more
diplomats who were aligned to the BJP’s ideolo-
liament, a resolution was moved condemning In-
dia. It was reported here that it would likely pass.
India’s diplomacy managed to stave off the vote
but the quid pro quo was that we would not im-
and no idea how to deal with the world. It is hard
not to conclude that our standing in the world
has reduced because of what we have chosen to
do internally. On the other hand, we have gained

India as it fails to ly high-performance machines requires constant

spare parts and servicing, and for this reason
India must remain connected to Russian suppli-
gy. For the first five years of this government, the
change did not matter because the ideology did
not show itself within India to any large extent.
plement the CAA (which has not been enforced).
These are the sort of things that India’s diplomats
have not had to deal with in the past with those
no new friends or allies by going down the road
that we have.
Fortunately, we don’t have to debate this or

live up to ideals ers. Additionally, experts see Russia as the peace-

maker between us and China on the issue of
Ladakh. So, we cannot afford to displease Mr
Putin. India’s vote did not really matter in the
After 2019, our diplomats have been kept busy
in a defensive posture because the ideology bared
its fangs against our minorities. After the second
win of 2019 came a series of internal strokes that
who are supposed to be our friends. The contra-
diction — portraying ourselves as secular and
pluralistic abroad while acting in the opposite
fashion at home — has not been easy to resolve.
even recognise this debacle. Our global stature is
less important than opposing namaz, beef and the
hijab, and we will remain focused on that.

end, because Russia as a permanent UNSC mem- had external repercussions. The first was the To add to this issue which we have brought on The writer is the chair of
ber has a veto, which it used, and it was known decision to undo Article 370 of the Constitution. ourselves is the problem of the neighbourhood, Amnesty International India
 WORLD
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 1 MARCH 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 6

SHORT
VIRUS-HIT HONG
KONG CONSIDERS
TAKES
LOCKDOWN
Hong Kong, Feb. 28: Hong
Kong may impose a China-style
hard lockdown that confines
people to their homes, authori-
ties signalled on Monday, with
the city’s zero-Covid strategy
in tatters and bodies piling up
in hospitals.
Two years of strict zero-
Covid policies kept the coron-
avirus largely bay but a break-
through of the highly trans-
missible Omicron variant
exposed how little authorities
had done to prepare for a mass
outbreak.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam
previously ruled out a citywide
lockdown and instead has
ordered all 7.4 million resi-
dents to be tested in March.
But in a U-turn, health secre-
tary Sophia Chan confirmed on
Monday that it was still an
option. Asked by a presenter at
Commercial Radio whether a
lockdown was still ruled out
she replied: “No. We are still
discussing.””
US sanctions Russian central bank
Suspends operations at its embassy in Belarus, authorises voluntary departure of staff from Moscow
Washington, Feb. 28: The
United States and Canada
on Monday banned all
transactions with Russia’s
central bank, effective
immediately, in an un-
precedented sanction me-
ant to punish the country
for its invasion of Ukraine.
The moves, on top of
penalties imposed earlier
and those taken by allies
in Europe, will make it
harder for the Russian
central bank to use its vast
stockpile of hard currency
to protect the ruble, the
value of which collapsed
against the dollar and
euro.
Transactions to support
the ruble, “will no longer
be possible and fortress
Russia will be exposed,” a
senior US administration
official told reporters.
Canadian Finance
Minister Chrystia
Freeland said the ban is
UKRAINIANS CAN
‘FREELY’ LEAVE
KYIV: RUSSIA
Kyiv, Feb. 28: The Russian
army said Monday that
Ukrainian civilians could
“freely” leave the coun-
try’s capital Kyiv and
claimed its airforce domi-
nated Ukraine’s skies as
its invasion entered a fifth
day. “All civilians in the
city can freely leave the
Ukrainian capital along
the Kyiv-Vasylkiv high-
way. This direction is open
and safe,” Russian defence
ministry spokesman Igor
Konashenkov said in tele-
vised remarks.
Servicemen of Ukrainian military forces walk in the small town of Severodonetsk in A view of the cars which were destroyed by recent Vasylkiv is located to the
the Donetsk region to the east on Monday. — AFP shelling on the outskirts of Kyiv on Monday. — AFP southwest of Kyiv.
Konashenkov hinted
that Russia was preparing
RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE

RESPECT NEPAL’S
meant “to ensure that
Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine will be a strategic
Russia will ride out ‘LET US JOIN EU’: ZELENSKYY
to target civilian areas of
Kyiv, accusing Ukrainian
troops of using civilians

SOVEREIGNTY:
CHINA ASKS U.S.
Beijing, Feb. 28: Peeved over
the Nepalese Parliament’s
approval of the US-funded $500
million grant agreement
despite its persistent opposi-
tion, a concerned China said on
Monday that Washington
should not undermine the sov-
ereignty of other countries
through “coercive diplomacy”.
Much to the surprise of
Beijing, Nepal’s Parliament on
Sunday ratified the con-
tentious US-funded $500 mil-
lion Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC) compact
along with an Interpretive
Declaration a day ahead of the
February 28 deadline set by
Washington, ending months of
debates, protests and polarisa-
tion in the Himalayan nation.
“We noted the decision and
the declaration by the Nepalese
parliament”, Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesman Wang
Wenbin said in response to
questions from the official
media about the Interpretive
Declaration, which was passed
along with the US aid high-
lighting Nepal’s sovereignty.
CHINA DEMANDS
U.S. ACTION TO
failure.” “Canada is firmly
on the side of the heroic
resistance of the people of
Ukraine and we will con-
tinue to take further
action to ensure President
(Vladimir) Putin does not
succeed,” she said in a
statement.
The United States also
sanctioned Russia's
finance ministry and
another sovereign wealth
fund, but continues to
exempt “certain energy-
related transactions” from
the bans targeting the cen-
tral bank, Treasury said.
The US official said the
package of coordinated
sanctions will create a
“vicious feedback loop,”
and Moscow “will be
forced to deplete their
domestic rainy day fund
far more quickly, experi-
ence a weakening of their
currency, making funding
their war of choice much
more expensive.” Inflation
is very likely to spike.
Purchasing power is likely
to plummet. Investment is
likely to plummet,” the
official said.
The United States also
said on Monday it is sus-
pending operations at its
embassy in Belarus and
allowing the departure of
non-emergency staff from
the American embassy in
sanctions: Kremlin
Moscow, Feb. 28: A defiant
Russia said on Monday it
could ride out Western
sanctions over its inva-
sion of neighbouring
Ukraine as President
Vladimir Putin huddled
with officials to discuss
the economic turmoil of
the five-day-old war.
“The Western sanctions
on Russia are hard, but
our country has the neces-
sary potential to compen-
sate the damage,” Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov
told journalists.
He added that “today
Putin will be working on
economic questions” and
meeting key ministers.
“The economic reality
has significantly changed,
let's put it this way,” he
said, adding that Russia
had taken steps to prepare
for it.
“Russia has been system-
atically preparing for
quite a long time for possi-
ble sanctions, including
the heaviest sanctions
that we are now facing,”
he said.
The severe financial
punishment imposed by
the West has sent the
ruble into a tailspin, with
the Russian currency
down 20 percent against
the dollar in midday trad-
ing.
The Russian central
bank more than doubled
its main interest rate to 20
percent to try prop it up.
Moscow’s stock market
remained closed for the
day, meanwhile.
The sanctions targeting
the Russian financial sec-
tor are intended to change
the Kremlin's calculus,
but on the ground the
roughly 1,00,000 Russian
troops thought to be inside
Ukraine continued their
assault from the north,
east and south.
Russia invaded Ukraine
on Thursday, sending
shockwaves around the
world.
Ukraine forces, backed
by Western arms, are con-
tinuing to resist the
Russian offensive, a day
after Putin ordered the
country’s nuclear forces
onto high alert. — AFP
Ukraine’s President Volodymr
Zelenskyy appeals to the EU to grant
his country “immediate” membership,
as Russia’s assault against the pro-
Western country enters its fifth day.
KYIV ATTACKS REBUFFED
Ukraine’s army says it fought off sev-
eral attempts by Russian forces to
storm the outskirts of Kyiv overnight
with the capital also hit by three mis-
sile strikes.
NUCLEAR OPTION
The West slams Russian President
Vladimir Putin for putting his nuclear
forces on alert, with Germany saying it
was because his invasion “has
been halted” by fierce Ukrainian resist-
ance.
RUSSIANS ‘SLOWED’
Ukraine claims it has inflicted 4,300
casualties and that Russia’s offensive
has “slowed”. Washington says Russia
has yet to establish air superiority, but
Russia insists it controls the skies over
Ukraine.
‘LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS’
Zelenskyy urges Russian soldiers to
desert. “Get out of here. Don't believe
your commanders. Don’t believe your
propagandists. Just save your lives.”
MOSCOW GAINS IN SOUTH
However, the Russian forces are mak-
ing headway in the south with Kyiv
acknowledged for the first time that it
has suffered losses.
HALF A MILLION REFUGEES
More than half a million people have
fled Ukraine in the last five days, says
the UN's refugee arm, UNHCR, with
tens of thousands more displaced
inside the country.
7 MN COULD BE HIT
The European Union warns that up to
seven million people could be uprooted
if the war drags on. “We are witness-
ing what could become the largest
humanitarian crisis on our European
continent in many, many years,” EU
commissioner for crisis management
Janez Lenarcic says.
EU SENDS ARMS AND JETS
EU countries will give fighter jets to
Ukraine, foreign policy chief Josep
Borrell says as the bloc agrees to
transport weapons worth 450 million
as human shields.
He citing Ukraine’s
advice to Kyiv’s citizens to
stay at home and observe a
nighttime curfew as proof
of his claim that civilians
were being used to shield
“nationalists, who have
placed artillery detach-
ments and military equip-
ment in residential
areas”.
He added that Kyiv had
been overrun by “bands of
looters, robbers and natio-
nalists who have received
weapons” from the author-
ities. Listing Moscow’s
military advances, Konas-
henkov claimed that Rus-
sia’s aviation has superior
air power over the “entire
territory of Ukraine”.
In Ukraine’s southeast,
Russian troops have taken
control of the port city of
Berdyansk and the city of
Energodar, which has a
large nuclear power plant,
Konashenkov said.
Russian troops are gu-
arding the Zaporizhzhia
nuclear power station, wh-
ich is continuing to opera-
te and the radiation levels
are normal, the military
spokesman said. — AFP
RUSSIA BANS

IMPROVE TIES
Beijing, Feb. 28: China’s top
diplomat called on the US on
Monday to take steps to
improve ties, as tensions sim-
mer over Taiwan, trade and
other issues.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi's
remarks Monday were deliv-
ered virtually to a forum mark-
ing the 50th anniversary of the
Shanghai Communique signed
during the icebreaking 1972
visit to China by President
Richard Nixon.
That trip led seven years later
to the US and China establish-
ing diplomatic relations, upon
which the US cut formal ties
with Taiwan, which China
claims as its own territory to
be brought under its control by
force if necessary.
Wang urged Washington to re-
instate a reasonable and prag-
matic China policy and work
with China to put their relati-
ons on track. He reiterated Ch-
ina’s complaints that the US
was not upholding its commit-
ments but didn’t mention any
specific steps China would take.
MAJOR FLOODS
SWAMP AUS,
CLAIMING 8 LIVES
Brisbane, Feb. 28: Parts of
Australia’s third-most popu-
lous city Brisbane were under
water on Monday after heavy
rain brought record flooding to
some east coast areas and
killed eight people.
The flooding in Brisbane and
its surrounds is the worst since
2011 when the city of 2.6 mil-
lion people was inundated by
what was described as a once-
in-a-century event.
Moscow.
“We took these steps due
to security and safety
issues stemming from the
unprovoked and unjusti-
fied attack by Russian mil-
itary forces in Ukraine,”
Secretary of State Antony
Blinken said in a state-
ment. Belarus is a Russia
ally that allowed its terri-
tory to be used as a staging
ground for the attack on
Ukraine.
In a referendum held
Sunday, Belarusians voted
to allow the country to
host nuclear weapons and
Russian forces permanent-
ly, results showed Monday.
This was part of a package
of constitutional reforms
that also extended the rule
of leader Alexander Luka-
shenko. “We ultimately
have no higher priority
than the safety and securi-
ty of US citizens, and that
includes our US govern-
ment personnel and their
dependents serving
around the world,”
Blinken’s statement said.
The United States
already closed its embassy
in Kyiv as Russia prepared
the invasion and has been
calling for weeks for
American citizens in
Ukraine to get out. — AFP
CANADIAN CABLE
GIANTS PULL RT
NETWORK
Ottawa, Feb. 28: Major
Canadian TV providers
have pulled Russian state
television network RT
from their output, they
announced separately.
China slams US, EU
sanctions on Russia
Beijing, Feb. 28: China, a
close ally of Russia, said
on Monday that it was
opposed to illegal unilater-
al sanctions and will con-
tinue to carry out normal
trade cooperation with
Moscow, as the US, EU and
their allies stepped up
punitive measures against
Russia, including the
interbank messaging sys-
tem SWIFT.
Asked about what some
have described as the
“financial nuclear option”
at a regular press briefing
in Beijing, Foreign
Ministry spokesman
Wang Wenbin said China
opposes the use of sanc-
tions to solve problems
and is even more opposed
to unilateral sanctions
that have no basis in inter-
national law.
“China and Russia will
continue to carry out nor-
mal trade cooperation in
the spirit of mutual re-
spect, equality and mutual
benefit,” Wang said. The
US is joined by some Eu-
ropean nations and Ca-
nada to remove certain
Russian banks from SW-
IFT, the payment system
used for most internation-
al financial transactions.
The move is “unprece-
dentedly severe,” but is
unlikely to deal a fatal
blow against Russia, not
only because of the latter's
HUMANITARIAN | CRISIS
● “CHINA AND RUSSIA
will continue to carry out
normal trade cooperation
in the spirit of mutual
respect, equality and
mutual benefit,” Wang
said.
long preparation but also
its hard-to-replace eco-
nomic value to the West,
particularly Europe,
China’s state-run Global
Times reported.
China has repeatedly
expressed opposition to
the use of economic sanc-
tions.
On Monday, Wang said
that it has long been
proved that sanctions, far
from solving problems,
only create new ones,
while warning the US
against undermining
China's and others' inter-
ests in dealing with the
Ukraine situation.
“We also demand that
the US side should not
harm the legitimate rights
and interests of China and
other parties when han-
dling the Ukraine issue
and its relations with Ru-
ssia,” Wang said at a press
conference when asked
whether Chinese compa-
nies such as Huawei and
Xiaomi would comply
with US sanctions on
Russia and stop supplies
to the country. — AFP
UK PM said Britain will not turn our backs in Ukraine’s hour of need
admitting that the Black Sea city of
Berdyansk had fallen with Kherson on
the other side of Crimea also besieged.
Moscow has now almost forged a
corridor along the Black Sea linking
Crimea with separatist-held
Donetsk.
‘352 CIVILIANS KILLED’
Kyiv says 352 civilians have been
killed, including 14 children, since the
invasion began last Thursday. The UN
counts at least 102 dead civilians,
including seven children. Russia has
A large Ukrainian flag is carried through the streets of Toronto as a large crowd gath-
ers to show their support for the people of Ukraine following an invasion by Russia, in
Toronto.
euros to Kyiv.
LONDON’S ‘DIRTY MONEY’
Britain is to crack down on “dirty
money” and corrupt elites in its finan-
cial and property markets after years
of criticism over Russian assets held
and handled there.
ENERGY GIANTS PULL OUT
Norway’s state-owned energy giant
Equinor is pulling out of Russia after
Britain’s BP said it was ending its 19.8-
percent stake in oil and gas conglom-
erate Rosneft.
— PTI
AIRLINES FROM
36 COUNTRIES
Moscow, Feb. 28: Russia
announced on Monday it
was banning flights by air-
lines from 36 countries
including Britain and
Germany in response to a
slew of bans on its planes.
Moscow’s statement
came as Russian airlines
are now unable to enter
the airspace of the vast
majority of European
countries as well as
Canada.
Its list includes Jersey,
which is a dependency of
the UK, and Gibraltar, a
British overseas territory.
Russia's civil aviation
authority said it was
bringing in the restric-
tions “as a retaliatory
measure for the ban by
European states on flights
by civil aviation operated
by Russian airlines or reg-
istered in Russia”.
Airlines will only be able
to enter Russian airspace
with a special permit.
Last week Russia banned
UK airlines after Britain
barred Aeroflot, the coun-
try's flagship carrier, as
well as private jets.
The European Union
announced on Sunday that
it was closing its airspace
to Russian aircraft,
including private jets.
These measures will
mean airlines have to
make long detours on
some routes, potentially
raising the cost of tickets.
— AFP

Boris offers UK visas to Ukrainian relatives

The latest fatality was a man
in his 50s who drowned on
Monday after driving his car
into floodwater before dawn at
Gold Coast city, south of
Brisbane, Queensland state
police said.
The bodies of the man and his
dog were retrieved hours later
from a submerged car which
had been washed from
the road, a police statement
said.
Queensland emergency serv-
ices warned life-threatening
flash flooding was occurring in
parts of Gold Coast.
Emergency crews made more
than 130 swift-water rescues in
24 hours, officials said.
All eight flood deaths have
been in Queensland state, of
which Brisbane is the capital.
The move to take the sta-
tion off the airwaves came
days after Russia invaded
Ukraine, sparking the
biggest security crisis in
Europe since the Cold War
ended.
Regularly accused of
contributing to disinfor-
mation, RT is in the
crosshairs of several
Western nations, which
accuse it of being a
Kremlin mouthpiece.
A spokeswoman for Bell,
one of Canada’s biggest
TV providers, said: “Since
February 27, RT is no
longer available on Bell
channels.” Canadian
Heritage Minister Pablo
Rodriguez, welcomed the
decision. — AFP
London, Feb. 28: British
Prime Minister Boris
Johnson has announced
that Ukrainians fleeing
the Russian invasion can
come to the UK if they
already have members of
their immediate family
settled in the country.
As part of a new GBP 40
million humanitarian
package for the supply of
basic necessities and med-
ical supplies such as medi-
cines, syringes, dressings
and wound care pack,
Johnson confirmed that
any person settled in the
UK will be able to bring
their Ukrainian immedi-
ate family members to join
them here.
Downing Street said this
would benefit many thou-
sands of people who at
this moment are making
desperate choices about
their future.
“The UK will not turn
our backs in Ukraine’s
hour of need. We are pro-
viding all the economic
and military support we
can to help those
Ukrainians risking every-
thing to protect their coun-
try, Johnson said.
“In the last days the
world has witnessed awe-
inspiring displays of brav-
ery and heroism from the
Ukrainian people in
response to those who seek
to obliterate their freedom
by force, he said.
More details of the new
Ukrainian visa policy is
set to be announced in
Parliament this week.
“We want to be as gener-
ous as we possibly can,
and certainly we want peo-
ple who have relatives in
Ukraine to be able to bring
them over as fast as possi-
ble. We want to make sure
that we have routes for
people fleeing disaster,
war, persecution in
Ukraine to come here,”
Johnson told reporters.
UK government humani-
tarian experts have also
deployed to the region to
support those fleeing the
violence in Ukraine.
Downing Street said the
weekend assistance pack-
age brings the total
amount of UK govern-
ment aid pledged to
Ukraine this year to GBP
140 million.
Last week, Prime Min-
ister Johnson also anno-
unced the UK would guar-
antee up to $500 million of
loans to Ukraine through
Multilateral Development
Banks and the UK said it
continues to supply defen-
sive military equipment to
the Ukrainian military to
bolster their resistance
against invading Russian
forces.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz
Truss said: Putin's regime
has undertaken an illegal
and violent assault against
the people of Ukraine.
The UK will provide GBP
40 million in aid to help
our Ukrainian friends,
more funding to tackle
what is becoming a hum-
anitarian crisis. We stand
with Ukraine, shoulder to
shoulder, in its hour of
need. During a visit to the
Ukrainian Catholic
Cathedral in London on
Sunday evening, Johnson
delivered a similar mes-
sage of support saying
that the UK would fulfil its
neighbourly duty to
Ukraine. — PTI
 TUESDAY | 1 MARCH 2022 | NEW DELHI
quick Q3 GDP growth
BITES slows to 5.4%
INDICATORS % MADHUSUDAN SAHOO
Sensex 56247.28 0.70
Nifty 50 16793.90 0.81
S&P 500* 4,382.39 -0.05
Dollar (`) 75.34- 0.05
Pound Sterling (`) 100.79 -0.09
Euro (`) 84.23 0.05
Gold (10gm)* (`) 50,577▲429 0.84
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 100.82 2.95
IN 10-Yr bond yield 6.770 0.00
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 1.875 -0.109
* As of 8:30 PM IST
Rouble plunges
as Western
sanctions bite
Ordinary Russians faced the
prospect of higher prices and
crimped foreign travel as
Western sanctions over the
invasion of Ukraine sent the
rouble plummeting, leading
uneasy people to line up at
banks and ATMs. The Russian
currency plunged about 30 per
cent against the dollar on
Monday. The exchange rate
later recovered ground after
swift action by Russia's
central bank.
Amul fresh milk
prices go up
by `2 per litre
Amul brand of fresh milk will
become costlier by Rs 2 per
litre across the country from
March 1, the Gujarat
Cooperative Milk Marketing
Federation said. The increase of
Rs 2 per litre translates into a 4
per cent rise in MRPs, which is
much lower than the average
food inflation, the GCMMF said.
With the Rs 2 hike, full cream
milk in Delhi NCR, Kolkata and
Mumbai metro markets will be
Rs 60 per litre.
Ex-secy Adhia
renominated as
BoB chairman
Former finance secretary
Hasmukh Adhia has been re-
nominated as the chairman of
Bank of Baroda. The Appoint-
ments Committee of the Cabinet
has approved the proposal of
the Department of Financial
Services for re-nomination of
Adhia for two years from March
1. Adhia retired as revenue-cum-
finance secretary in Nov. 2018. It
was during his tenure that the
decision to split the CMD post of
PSBs was taken.
Tech Mahindra
unveils
TechMVerse
IT company Tech Mahindra
announced the launch of
TechMVerse, its Metaverse
practice, to deliver interactive
and immersive experiences in
the Metaverse for its cus-
tomers. With an aim to trans-
form customer experience and
deliver real business outcomes,
Tech Mahindra will leverage its
network and infrastructure
capabilities to build B2B use
cases across sectors, the com-
pany said.
Printed & Published by
K. Sudhakar on behalf of
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited.
Printed at BFL Infotech Ltd, C-9 Sector
3, Noida-201301. Published at 219, N D
Tiwari Bhawan, Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Marg, New Delhi-110002.
Editor: Kaushik Mitter, RNI
Registration number 30074/09,
Air surcharge Re 1. © All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or
in part without written permission of
The Editor,
Financial Chronicle ® is prohibited.
„Annual growth estimate pared to 8.9%
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28
India's economic growth
slowed to 5.4 per cent in the
omicron-hit October-
December 2021 quarter
from 8.5 per cent in the pre-
vious quarter, but was
higher than the 0.7 per cent
gross domestic product
(GDP) expansion in the
year-ago quarter, the data
released by the Ministry of
Statistics and Programme
Implementation showed on
Monday. The government
also pegged down the full-
year growth estimate to 8.9
per cent from its January
estimate of 9.2 per cent in
view of rising risks from
higher prices of crude oil
and commodities following
Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.
The loss of momentum in
GDP growth in the third
quarter was mainly due to
the waning of the
favourable base effect.
Growth in consumer
spending slowed to 7 per
cent from 10.2 per cent
quarter-on-quarter and
manufacturing growth
slowed to 0.2 per cent from
5.6 per cent. The construc-
tion sector contracted 2.8
per cent from 8.2 per cent.
In a separate data, the
Controller General of
Accounts also showed that
the Centre's fiscal deficit
rose to 58.9 per cent of the
FY22 target during April
2021-January 2022. In
April-December 2021, the
fiscal deficit had amounted
to 50.4 per cent of the full-
year target. However, the
latest numbers on the gov-
ernment's finances come
after the 2022 Budget said
SKODA DRIVES IN
ALL-NEW SLAVIA
AT `10.69 LAKH
MICHAEL GONSALVES
PANAJI, GOA, FEB. 28
Skoda, the Czech carmak-
er, on Monday launched an
all-new Skoda Slavia sedan
priced between Rs 10.69
lakh and Rs 15.39 lakh at
pan-India showroom.
This is the first sedan
made by Skoda in India
specifically for the fiercely
price-conscious car mar-
ket dominated by Maruti
and Hyundai.
The Skoda Slavia com-
petes with the Maruti
Suzuki Ciaz, Honda City
and the Hyundai Verna.
The carmaker had
launched a refreshed
Kodiaq SUV in January,
the first of six launches
planned for this calendar.
It has indicated that the
Kushaq and Slavia could
sell 2,500-3,000 units each,
thereby making the two
models its biggest contrib-
utors at 60,000 units in this
calendar.
The company, which
clocked sales of 23,858
vehicles in 2021, has set a
target of selling over
71,000 units this year.
VALUES | VS WEALTH
Norway wealth fund to exit Russia
RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
MUMBAI, FEB.28
The world's largest sovereign wealth
fund, Norway's Government
Pension Fund Global, also known as
Petroleum Fund, managed by
Norges Bank with assets of $1.35
trillion will exit its Russian invest-
ments over Russian invasion of
Ukraine.
"Norges Bank has been instructed
to freeze the investments of the
Government Pension Fund Global
in Russia. This is part of selling
down and withdrawing completely
from the Russian market," Norway's
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store
was quoted saying in a report.
"The Petroleum Fund has values of
just over NOK 27 billion ($3.04 bil-
lion) in Russia," the report said.
CORE SECTOR RISES 3.7% IN JAN.
FC BUREAU
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28
Production of eight core
sectors rose by 3.7 per
cent in January 2022
against 1.3 per cent in the
same month last year.
Barring crude oil and fer-
tilisers, all the sectors
recorded positive growth
in January. The output of
these sectors had expand-
ed by 4.1 per cent in
OIL SOARS
BOZORGMEHR
SHARAFEDIN
LONDON, FEB. 28
Oil prices jumped on
Monday as Western
allies imposed more
sanctions on Russia and
blocked some Russian
banks from the SWIFT
global payments system,
which could cause
severe disruption to its
oil exports.
Brent crude rose $2.32,
or 2.4 cent, to $100.25 by
1436 GMT after touching
a high of $105.07 a barrel
in early trade. US West
Texas Inter-mediate
(WTI) crude was up
$3.09, or 3.4 per cent, at
$94.68 after hitting $99.10
in early trade. —Reuters
the Centre would exceed its
fiscal deficit target of 6.8
per cent of the GDP by 10
basis points.
RIL eyes Central, Brand Factory Collateral gain: India
ADITYA KALRA
India's
COURT BLOCKS FUTURE FROM to ship record wheat
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28
top retailer,
Reliance, will add 250 more
Future Retail stores to its
portfolio after the company
failed to make lease pay-
ments for the outlets to
Reliance, two people with
direct knowledge of the
matter told Reuters on
Monday.
The plans—which
sources said will be execut-
ed within weeks—come
after Reliance took posses-
sion of and started
rebranding about 200 of
Future's Big Bazaar super-
markets over the weekend,
and is set to further hollow
out Future, which has been
at the centre of a pitched
battle between Reliance
and Amazon.com Inc.
The move over the week-
end led to suspension in
online and offline super-
market operations for
Future, the second largest
brick-and-mortar retailer.
Reliance's move assumes
significance as it follows
failed efforts since 2020 to
close a $3.4 billion deal to
acquire the retail assets of
Future.
Amazon is likely to chal-
lenge Future's move of
store transfers in Indian
courts, a third source said.
Over the months,
Reliance had transferred
leases of some stores of the
debt-laden Future to its
name and sublet them to
Future. It is now taking
possession of the stores as
To freeze investments worth $3.04 bn
OIL GIANT TO EXIT JVs
Feb. 28: Equinor ASA will start
withdrawing from its joint ven-
tures in Russia in response to the
invasion of Ukraine. Norway's
biggest energy company, which is
67 per cent state-owned, had $1.2
billion in non-current assets in
Russia at the end of 2021 and
expects the decision to impact the
book value of its assets in the
country and lead to impairments,
Equinor said.
The Government Pension Fund
Global holds 1.4 per cent of all of the
world's listed companies, making it
the largest sovereign wealth fund.
"The Russian attack on Ukraine
December 2021, the data
released by the Ministry
of Commerce & Industry
showed on Monday.
The growth rate of the
eight infrastructure sec-
tors—coal, crude oil, nat-
ural gas, refinery prod-
ucts, fertilisers, steel,
cement and electricity—
comprise 40.27 per cent of
the weight of items
included in the Index of
Industrial Production.
As per the ministry's
data, the GDP at constant
(2011-12) prices in Q3 of
2021-22 is estimated at Rs
38.22 lakh crore against Rs
36.26 lakh crore in Q3 of
2020-21, showing a growth
of 5.4 per cent. However, it
suggested that the nominal
GDP or GDP at current
prices in the year 2021-22 is
estimated to attain a level
of Rs 236.44 lakh crore
against Rs 198 lakh crore in
2020-21, showing a growth
rate of 19.4 per cent.
Several economists had
projected about 6 per cent
year-on-year growth dur-
ing the three months to
end-December 2021, slower
than the previous two
quarters, with rising fears
over geopolitical tensions.
Even the RBI, in its latest
monetary policy, pegged
the country's GDP growth
rate for this fiscal at 9.2 per
cent, and 7.8 per cent for
the following year. RBI gov-
ernor Shaktikanta Das
said there was some loss of
economic momentum due
to the third Covid wave.
SELLING GENERALI STAKE
ADITYA KALRA &
ABHIRUP ROY
NEW DELHI, FEB. 28
A court has blocked
Future Enterprises from
selling its stake in its gen-
eral insurance joint ven-
ture business with Italy's
Generali, following a
legal challenge by a group
representing bondhold-
ers, two sources familiar
with the matter told
Reuters.
The court's order is
another setback for
Future, which is facing a
mountain of debt and is
in dire need of funds.
Future Enterprises said
in January that it had
decided to sell its 25 per
cent stake in Future
Generali India Insurance
Company to Generali for
Future did not make lease
payments, sources have
told Reuters.
After taking control of
200 of Future's flagship Big
Bazaar stores, Reliance
now has plans to take over
another 250 stores in com-
ing weeks and rebrand
them as Reliance outlets,
said the sources, who
declined to be named as the
plan is not public.
One of the sources said
LNG BUYERS HALT BUYS
Feb. 28: Several LNG buyers have
paused further purchases from
Russia due to the quickly evolving
wave of sanctions from the West,
adding to worries over tight glob-
al supplies. Some importers from
Asia to South America have
decided to temporarily halt buy-
ing spot LNG shipments from
Russia as they wait for more clar-
ity on restrictions against banks
—Bloomberg and companies.
has put the safety of Europe under
threat...This challenges our values,
norms, and principles, upon which
democratic societies are based,"
Store said.
Sebi gets its first woman chair
FC BANKING BUREAU
MUMBAI, FEB. 28
The government on
Monday appointed
Madhabi Puri Buch, a for-
mer whole-time member
of the Securities and
Exchange Board of India
(Sebi) as its chairperson.
This is the first time that
the regulatory body,
which oversees the secu-
rities and commodity
markets, will be led by a
woman.
With her appointment,
Buch also became the
first person from the pri-
vate sector to head Sebi.
The Appointments
Committee of Cabinet
approved her appoint-
ment for a period of three
years, the Department of
Personnel and Training
(DoPT) said in a notifica-
tion.
Buch will assume
charge on March 1. She
HOUSE PRICE INDEX
RISES 3.1% IN Q3
Mumbai, Feb. 28: The All-
India House Price Index
(HPI) rose 3.1 per cent in
the third quarter of the fis-
cal on an annual basis,
data released by the
Reserve Bank of India
showed. The RBI releases
its quarterly index (base:
2010-11) based on transac-
tion-level data received
from housing registration
authorities in ten major
cities, namely, Ahmeda-
bad, Bengaluru, Chennai,
Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur,
Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow,
and Mumbai.
HPI growth varied wide-
ly across the cities— rang-
ing from an increase of
19.8 per cent (Kochi) to a
decline of 4.1 per cent
(Chennai). — PTI
Rs 1,252 crore.
IDBI Trusteeship went
to court representing for-
eign bondholders who
subscribed to Future
Enterprises companies
that had defaulted. The
bondholders had rights
mandating Future
Enterprises not to dilute
its Future Generali stake,
one of the sources said.
After hearing IDBI, a
Mumbai city civil court
ordered Future Enter-
prises to hold off from
selling the stake until the
next hearing on March 10.
A court order dated Feb.
25 showed IDBI had
shared its concerns with
Future before filing the
suit, but received no resp-
onse. The court said it
was imposing a "restrain"
on Future. — Reuters
this could include Future's
apparel outlets "Central"
and "Brand Factory".
With the latest move,
Reliance will effectively
take over operations of
roughly a third of Future's
1,500 outlets in India.
Despite the store trans-
fers, Reliance has told
Future, it will not change
the terms of their 2020 pro-
posed deal, said one of the
sources. —Reuters
—Bloomberg
has nearly three decades
of experience in the
financial market. She has
been the whole-time mem-
ber of the Sebi from April
5, 2017 to October 4, 2021.
She handled portfolios
like collective investment
schemes, surveillance
and investment manage-
ment during her term at
the watchdog. After her
tenure ended in Sebi,
Buch became a part of a
seven-member technolo-
gy committee formed to
help Sebi design in-house
technological systems.
The maximum term for
a Sebi chief is five years
or the age of 65. Buch will
replace Ajay Tyagi whose
term ended on February
28. Tyagi, a 1984 batch
IAS officer of Himachal
Pradesh cadre, was
appointed as Sebi chair-
person on March 1, 2017,
for three years and subse-
quently, was given a six-
Biocon to buy Vitaris’ biosimilar biz for $3.3 bn
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, FEB. 28
Biocon Biologics, a sub-
sidiary of Biocon, will be
acquiring the biosimilar
business of its partner US-
based Vitaris for $3.33 bil-
lion (about Rs 24,990 crore)
in a cash and stock deal.
Biocon's shares fell 12 per
cent following the deal
announcement on Monday.
Biocon Biologics has a
portfolio of commer-
cialised insulins, oncology
and immunology biosimi-
lars as well as other
biosimilar assets currently
under development. With
this deal, it aims to be a
fully integrated global
biosimilars company.
"We are ready to advance
our biosimilar journey to
PRATIK PARIJA
FEB. 28
India is set to benefit from
the shifts in global wheat
trade as Russia's invasion
of Ukraine leaves a vital
source of supply hanging
in balance.
The uncertainty caused
by the war means that
importing nations will be
looking to buy wheat from
elsewhere. India's exports
could exceed a record 7
million tons in 2021-22 if
the conflict drags on,
according to Vijay Iyengar,
chairman and MD of
Singapore-based Agrocorp
International Pte.
"Everyone in the market
is working to find out how
much would be the incre-
mental demand for Indian
wheat," said Iyengar,
whose firm trades about 12
million tonnes of grains
annually. He expects the
demand to come mainly
from Asian countries.
Asia markets are well
supplied for the April-May
period but from July and
August onward, the cover-
age is very low, Iyengar
said.
Indonesia, one of the
biggest buyers of Ukraine
wheat, is starting to seek
alternatives and eying
supplies from Argentina,
Brazil, India and other
European countries,
according to an industry
Madhabi Puri Buch
month extension and
another extension of 18
months in August 2020.
Buch did her gradua-
tion in mathematics from
St Stephen’s College, New
Delhi, before earning an
MBA degree from the
Indian Institute of
Management (IIM) in
Ahmedabad. She then
joined the ICICI Group
where she had a 17-year-
long career, reaching the
post of an executive
director at ICICI Bank in
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
the next level. This acquisi-
tion of Viatris' biosimilar
business is an important
step to create a leading
fully integrated global
biosimilars company, set-
ting us up for the next
decade of value creation
for all our shareholders.
We expect to have an IPO of
Biocon Biologics with this
new structure within the
WHEAT, CORN
PRICES SURGE
JASMINE NG
FEB. 28
Wheat and corn soared
after Western nations
imposed tougher sanc-
tions on Russia, upend-
ing global commodities
markets and threaten-
ing further increases in
food inflation.
Wheat futures rose as
much as 8.7 per cent in
Chicago to $9.34 3/4 a
bushel. Corn advanced
as much as 5 per cent
while soy climbed 3.9
per cent. — Bloomberg
group official.
Iyengar's view echoes a
forecast from the US
Department of Agricul-
ture for India to ship 7
million tonnes in 2021-22,
more than double the
prior season and will rank
the nation as the world's
ninth-largest shipper.
— Bloomberg
pg 7
a 12-year stint and lead-
ing ICICI Securities as
MD and CEO for over two
years from February 2009
to May 2011. She has also
had stints with ICICI Web
Trade Ltd and ICICI HFC
Ltd.
She then joined Greater
Pacific Capital LLP as
head of the country in
Singapore in 2011, before
going on to be founder-
director of Agora
Advisory Pvt Ltd, and
also worked with
Shanghai’s New
Development Bank for
three years. She also held
non-executive director
roles in major firms—
Idea Cellular (2011 to
2017), Max Healthcare,
Zansar Technologies,
Innoven Capital, and
Gabelhorn Investments.
Buch was among several
people holed up in a hotel
during the Mumbai ter-
ror attack.
next two years," said Kiran
Mazumdar-Shaw, executive
chairperson, Biocon
Biologics.
Viatris will receive up to
$3.33 billion, including
cash of $2.33 billion and
compulsorily convertible
preference shares (CCPS)
in Biocon Biologics worth
$1 billion.
Viatris will receive $2 bil-
lion in cash on closing the
transaction and up to $335
million as additional pay-
ments, expected to be paid
in 2024. Upon closing of the
transaction, BBL will issue
$1 billion of CCPS to
Viatris equivalent to an
equity stake of at least 12.9
per cent in the company.
Biocon's stock fell to Rs
348.95 on the BSE, a drop of
11.8 per cent.
STOCKS RECOVER AS
RUSSIA, UKRAINE
AGREE TO MEET
RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
MUMBAI, FEB. 28
In the backdrop of Russia's
invasion of Ukraine and
fresh threats of nuclear
weapons mobilisation, the
market stayed volatile as
the Sensex recovered more
than 900 points to 54,833 in
the early trade to close
with gains of 388.76 points
or 0.70 per cent at 56,247.28
The Nifty-50 gained 135
points or 0.81 per cent to
close at 16,793.90.
The broader market also
closed with similar gains
as BSE Mid-cap Index
gained 0.83 per cent and
Small-cap gained 0.80 per
cent.
Meeting between Ukrai-
ne and Russian officials in
process and fresh Covid
cases in India dropping to
less than 10,000 were some
positive developments that
seem to have led to recov-
ery later towards the close.
After Western nations
announced more sanc-
tions against Russia dur-
ing the weekend it led to a
sharp drop after the mar-
ket opened as Russia retal-
iated with nuke weapons
mobilisation.
The market witnessed
buying by the domestic
institutions of equities
worth Rs 4,142.82 crore
while the foreign portfolio
investors were net sellers
by Rs 3,948.47 crore.
 GAMES
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 1 MARCH 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 8

SHORT
Medvedev is new
world number one
TAKES

Paris: Daniil Medvedev succeed-

ed Novak Djokovic as world
number one on Monday,
becoming the first man since
2004 outside the game’s “Big
Four” of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal,
Roger Federer and Andy
Murray to occupy the top spot.
US Open champion Medvedev
is the third Russian man after
Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat
Safin, and 27th player overall,
to rise to the top of the ATP
rankings. The 26-year-old
Medvedev, beaten by Nadal in
the Acapulco semi-finals last
week, was guaranteed to move
above Djokovic after the Serb’s
quarter-final loss in Dubai.
Djokovic, who has spent a
record 361 weeks as the world
number one, was competing in
his first tournament of the sea-
son following his deportation
from Australia in January.
Alexander Zverev stayed in
third despite being thrown out
of the Acapulco event after
smashing his racket on the
umpire’s chair several times
during a doubles match.
Nadal rose one place to fourth
after claiming his third title of
the season and 91st of his
career. — AFP
Marsh ‘critical’,
in induced coma
Sydney: Australian cricket great
Rod Marsh was “in the fight of
his life” Monday after being
placed in an induced coma fol-
lowing a major heart attack last
week, his family said.
The 74-year-old wicketkeeper,
who played 96 Tests and was
later a long-time national selec-
tor, was hospitalised after col-
lapsing at a charity event in
Queensland state.
His son Paul said his condition
was “critical”.
“He is currently in the fight of
his life and remains in an
induced coma,” he said in a
statement released late Sunday.
“At the moment this is a wait-
ing game and we are unlikely to
have any certainty for some
time.
“We know there is a lot of
interest in dad’s condition and
our family has been over-
whelmed by the messages of
love and support from all
around the world,” he added.
Marsh remains one of the finest
wicketkeepers to have ever
played international cricket,
collecting what was then a
world-record 355 Test dis-
missals. — AFP
WI spin legend
Ramadhin dead
Port of Spain: Legendary West
Indies spinner Sonny Ramadhin,
who was a part of the side that
won its first away series in
England in 1950, has died at the
age of 92, the country’s cricket
board said. Having had made
his Test deb zut against
England at Old Trafford in 1950,
Ramadhin ended up playing 43
NUMBERS GAME
Gill could bat at No. 3, Pant at No. 5 as India ready for new combo
New Delhi, Feb. 28: Rohit
Sharma’s first Test as
captain will also usher in
a new era for India’s mid-
dle-order with Shubman
Gill and Hanuma Vihari
all set to become long-
term replacements of vet-
erans Cheteshwar Pujara
and Ajinkya Rahane.
It is now clear that
Rahane and Pujara won’t
be called for the three
Tests this season (two
against Sri Lanka and
one away game against
England) where Vihari
and Gill, along with
Shreyas Iyer as back-up,
will be the options.
There are two vacant
spots from the last Test
that India played in Cape
Town and as Virat Kohli
plays his 100th Test at
Mohali, the three young-
sters will be preparing for
a long haul in the spots
vacated by the two veter-
ans after having made
those their own for a
decade.
But the bigger question
is who will be the one left
out if all three are fit
going into the first Test
starting March 4?
Since Gill is raring to
go, head coach Rahul
Dravid will perhaps like
to use him as a middle-
order batter, who can also
be an enforcer if the situ-
ation demands.
There is a distinct possi-
bility that Gill might be
used at number three
behind Rohit Sharma and
Mayank Agarwal.
“I believe Shubman is
India’s best bet at number
three. Yes, he has opened
but Mayank is there
alongside Rohit and
Shubman has the game to
bat at that number,” for-
mer national selector and
Test opener Devang
Gandhi said.
Gandhi, who was the
national selector till
January 2021, also said
that Gill was initially
being prepared for a mid-
dle-order role before he
made his Test debut as an
opener in Australia.
“Why I feel the team
management might be
inclined to try him at No.3
is because when we fast-
tracked him into India A
system, he had a double
hundred in the middle-
order against West Indies
A in West Indies.
“Also having already
opened in Tests, as No.3
he can also play the new
ball well and start moving
the game with his reper-
toire of strokes. You don’t
want to get bogged down
and with Gill, he can start
pushing the envelope,”
Gandhi explained.
While Rahane was pri-
marily a number five bat-
might be inclined to use
Vihari at No.6 and send
the dangerous Rishabh
Pant at No.5 for variation.
“If you see our top-
order, Mayank, Rohit,
Shubman and Virat are
all right handers. It’s bet-
ter if at No.5 we have a
left-hander to get the left-
right combination going
followed by Vihari at No.6
and Ravindra Jadeja,
again a left-hander at
No.7. It could be the way
forward,” Gandhi feels.
So where does it leave
Iyer, who scored a hun-
dred on debut.
Perhaps he would need
to wait. — PTI
Likely team combination:
Rohit Sharma (captain),
Mayank Agarwal, Shubman
Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant
(wk), Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra
Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin
(fitness)/Jayant Yadav, Jasprit
Bumrah, Mohammed Shami,
The best place for me to
bat is No. 3, says Shreyas
Dharamsala, Feb. 28:
Shreyas Iyer relishes fin-
ishing off games, but, on
the back of his excellent
run in the T20Is against
Sri Lanka, he has
expressed his desire to
bat at No.3, the place
which is normally
reserved for Virat Kohli.
Shreyas, who got a
chance in the side after
Kohli was given a bio-bub-
ble rest following the sec-
ond T20I against the West
Indies, cracked three
fifties against Sri Lanka
to ensure a 3-0 sweep for
the hosts.
“I’m not keeping any
Shreyas Iyer plays
a shot against Sri
Lanka during their
3rd T20 in
Dharamshala on
Sunday. — PTI
es because if you see the need to start going from
competition in our team, ball one.
it’s immense. “So yeah, if I had to say
“Personally I want to the best number to bat for
enjoy each and every me personally, it’s obvi-
moment and opportunity, ously No. 3,” he said.
which I’ve been provided
with. I like to finish off
He is not loosing sleep
over keeping his place in
the games and that’s like
my mindset whenever I go
what is shaping up to be a
formidable middle-order,
onto the pitch,” he said. instead preferring to
Given a choice however, “cherish” his good form
Shreyas added that he in the run-up to the T20
would prefer batting at World Cup.
No. 3. The man, who has just
“Obviously in this for- won the Player-of-the-
mat, top-three is the only Series Award following
place where you can pace the whitewash of Sri
your innings pretty well. Lanka in the T20I rubber,
Otherwise if you bat is aware of the cut-throat
Ban Russia from
world sport: IOC
Geneva, Feb. 28: In a
sweeping move to isolate
and condemn Russia after
invading Ukraine, the
International Olympic
Committee urged sports
bodies on Monday to
exclude the country’s ath-
letes and officials from
international events.
The IOC said it was need-
ed to “protect the integrity
of global sports competi-
tions and for the safety of
all the participants.”
The decision opened the
way for FIFA, the govern-
ing body of soccer, to
exclude Russia from a
World Cup qualifying play-
off match on March 24.
Poland has refused to play
the scheduled game
against Russia.
The Olympic body’s call
also applied to athletes and
official from Belarus,
which has abetted Russia’s
invasion by allowing its
territory to be used to sta-
tion troops and launch mil-
itary attacks.
The IOC said it acted
“with a heavy heart” but
the impact of war on
Ukrainian sports out-
weighed the potential dam-
age done to athletes from
Russia and Belarus.
It was not a total blanket
ban by the IOC. Where
exclusion was “not possi-
ble on short notice for
organisational or legal rea-
sons,” then teams from
Russia and Belarus should
compete as neutral ath-
LEAGUE | CUP
Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson (left) and goalkeeper
Caoimhin Kelleher pose with the trophy after winning the
English League Cup in London on Sunday. Liverpool won
a penalty shootout 11-10 after the match ended 0-0. — AP
● The IOC also
withdrew the
Olympic Order it
gave Vladimir Putin
in 2001, and other
Russian officials
since.
letes with no national flag,
anthem or symbols, includ-
ing at the upcoming Winter
Paralympics in Beijing.
The IOC also withdrew
the Olympic Order it gave
Vladimir Putin in 2001,
and other Russian officials
since.
Sports bodies across
Europe had already moved
against Russia on Monday
by refusing to host or play
against teams from the
country. Finland wants the
Russian hockey team to be
banned from the men’s
world championships it
will host in May, the Swiss
soccer federation said its
women’s team will not play
Russia in July at the
European Championship,
and German soccer club
Schalke said it had decided
to end its longstanding
partnership with Russian
state-owned energy giant
Gazprom.
FIFA declined to ban
Russia from the World Cup
over the weekend. Instead,
the soccer body said the
country’s national team
will have to compete as
Football Union of Russia
as punishment. — AP

Tests and taking 158 wickets at
an average of 28.98. “On behalf
of CWI I want to express our
deepest sympathy to the family
and friends of Sonny Ramadhin,
one of the great pioneers of
West Indies cricket,” Cricket
West Indies President Ricky
Skerritt said on Sunday. — PTI
Arjun, Gukesh in
lead at Nationals
Kanpur: Young Grandmasters
Arjun Erigaisi of Telangana and
D. Gukesh of Tamil Nadu
grabbed the joint lead with 5.5
points at the end of the sixth
round in the MPL 58th Senior
National Chess Championship
here on Monday. Arjun outwit-
ted Commonwealth champion
Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta of
PSPB in 46 moves while Gukesh
halted the impressive run of
International Master Koustav
Chatterjee in 61 moves.
Chatterjee held top-seed B
Adhiban to a draw in the third
round and defeated GM
Karthikeyan Murali in the fifth
round. In other key matches in
the sixth round, top seed B.
Adhiban of PSPB split the point
with former champion and
teammate M.R. Lalith Babu,
ter, there is a possibility
that Dravid and Rohit
Smriti stable, under observation
Rangiora (New
Zealand), Feb. 28: Star
India opener Smriti
Mandhana was on
Monday declared “sta-
ble” but under observa-
tion due to a “mild soft
tissue injury” to her
left earlobe.
Mandhana was forced
to retire hurt after tak-
ing a blow to her head
during the team’s first
Women’s World Cup
warm-up fixture
against South Africa
here on Sunday, which
India won by two runs.
The batter was hit by
a Shabnim Ismail
bouncer.
According to an ICC
report, the 25-year-old
Mandhana was
assessed by the team
doctor following the
incident and was origi-
nally declared fit to
continue, only to retire
hurt an over and a half
Mohammed Siraj.
tor who expected a
delayed concussion,”
Shah stated in a
release.
“After further assess-
ment, Smriti was diag-
nosed with a mild soft
tissue injury to her left
earlobe which caused
discomfort while bat-
ting and therefore she
had to leave the field
retired hurt,” he updat-
ed.
Taking Mandhana off
the field was more of a
precautionary meas-
ure, the release stated.
“As a safety precau-
tion, she was rested for
the rest of the match
and is currently under
observation. Presently,
the opening batter is
doing fine and her con-
dition is stable,” Shah
said.
“Her progress will be
monitored by the med-
ical team and a deci-
expectations from myself
nor from the team coach-
India’s Smriti Mandhana (centre) gets medical assistance
during first Women’s World Cup warm-up match against
South Africa on Sunday.
NO STRICT BUBBLE FOR
down the order you can’t competition in the team.
give yourself time you — PTI
DESPITE LOSING Goalkeeper scores penalty
FATHER, SOLANKI as Liverpool shoot Chelsea
TO PLAY RANJI
Vadodara, Feb. 28: A
bereaved Vishnu Solanki
has decided to stay on
with the team and play
the third Ranji Trophy
game for Baroda despite
suffering twin tragedies.
The last few weeks has
been extremely difficult
for Solanki as close on the
heels of losing his new-
born daughter, he also
lost his ailing father on
Sunday.
“He (Vishnu) will be
playing the last match. He
is not coming back. He is
playing the third match.
He is staying with the
team,” Baroda Cricket
— BCCI Association secretary
Ajit Lele said on Monday.
The 29-year-old had
become a father on
February 10 but the very
next day his baby girl
KELLEHERO!
● Jurgen Klopp’s
London, Feb. 28: Liverpool
won the League Cup final
in dramatic fashion as
Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa
Arrizabalaga missed the
decisive penalty to give the
Reds an 11-10 shoot-out vic-
tory after a pulsating 0-0
draw at Wembley on
Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side
clinched their first domes-
tic knockout prize since
the 2012 League Cup when
Kepa blazed his spot-kick
high over the bar.
It was the only miss in
the nerve-jangling shoot-
out, which saw Liverpool
keeper Caoimhin Kelleher
score his penalty just
before Kepa failed.
Ironically, Kepa was sent
on at the end of extra-time
to replace Edouard Mendy
given his reputation as a
penalty saving specialist,
but the Spaniard was
side clinched their
first domestic
knockout prize since
the 2012 League
Cup after the final
was decided on the
22nd penalty kick.
vious defeats as a boss
there.
“There should be space
for some sentiment.
Caoimhin Kelleher is a
young boy, plays in all the
competition. I cannot tell
him he can’t play the
final,” Klopp said.
“I’m a manager and a
human being and the
human being won. He
deserves it.
“I’m happy for the people
in dark times to celebrate
something like
Chelsea are incredibly
this.

while defending champion

Aravindh Chithamabaram got
the better off International
Master Aronyak Ghosh and GM
Aryan Chopra of Delhi beat IM
Ravi Teja of Railways.
Aryan Chopra, Lalith Babu,
Aravindh Chithambaram,
Mitrabha Guha of West Bengal
and P Iniyan of Tamil Nadu are
in joint second spot with 5
points. — PTI
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behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings
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Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Marg, New Delhi 110 002. and Printed by
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later after another con-
sultation.
The report further
stated that the left-han-
der felt no concussion
symptoms according to
the medical staff at the
time, nor experienced
delayed effects from the
incident.
However, BCCI secre-
tary Jay Shah issued a
fresh update on
Mandhana’s current
status.
“Smriti Mandhana
sustained a blow to her
left ear and lower tem-
ple while batting in the
warm-up game against
South Africa in
Rangiora. Smriti was
immediately assessed
by the match-day doc-
sion on her participa-
tion in the next match
will be taken according-
ly,” he concluded.
The stylish batter
looked in fine fettle
while scoring her 20th
half-century in her pre-
vious One-Day
International against
New Zealand before the
upcoming 50-over
showpiece.
Mandhana has so far
scored 2461 runs in 64
ODIs, including four
centuries.
India are scheduled to
play another warm-up,
against the West Indies,
before beginning their
World Cup campaign
against Pakistan on
March 6. — PTI
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP died.
However, Solanki
showed nerves of steel as
Dubai, Feb. 28: The ICC will not confine teams in strict he returned to play for
bio-bubbles during the month-long women’s World Baroda and struck 104
Cup starting in New Zealand from March 4, CEO Geoff against Chandigarh only
Allardice said on Monday, calling on players to be “sen- to get the news of his
sible” in the “managed environment” so that the tour- father’s death on the final
nament passes off without a Covid outbreak. Allardice day.
also made it clear that there will be RT-PCR tests but “When his daughter
not very “frequent” like earlier times as they expect passed away, he came
the players to stay away from possible transmission back but he missed the
zones. first match, because
The strict nature of hard quarantine and bio-bubbles again he had to undergo a
have already been causing mental health issues across three-day quarantine. But
sports and ICC is well aware of the pressing issues. now he stayed back,”
“I think the approach is around having a managed added another senior
environment around the tournament,” Allardice said BCA official.
during a media interaction. Baroda will take on
“Testing will be infrequent; it won’t be daily testing. Hyderabad in their last
It’s really about players taking responsibility knowing Elite Group B game at the
they are in the country for a month and living away for Vikash cricket ground in
that period not locked into a very tight bubble.” — PTI Bhubaneswar on March 3.
— PTI
unable to repel any of
Liverpool’s kicks.
Kepa had already
endured penalty misery in
the 2019 League Cup final
when he petulantly refused
to be substituted before a
shoot-out defeat against
Manchester City.
Liverpool saw Joel
Matip’s second-half goal
controversially disallowed
for a marginal offside
against Virgil van Dijk,
while Chelsea had three
goals ruled out for offside
later in the match.
The Reds have lifted the
League Cup a record nine
times, while Klopp is the
first German manager to
win the tournament after
finally tasting Wembley
success following two pre-
strong, we matched each
other. We needed to have
luck.”
Liverpool remain in con-
tention for an unprecedent-
ed quadruple after closing
the gap on Premier League
leaders Manchester City to
six points with a game in
hand.
They are on course for
the Champions League
quarter-finals after a last
16 first-leg win at Inter
Milan and host Norwich in
the FA Cup fifth round on
Wednesday.
While the match was
memorable, there was a
sombre beginning as both
teams united in a show of
support for war-torn
Ukraine before kick-off.
— AFP