cmyk
THE ASIAN AGE NATION| 3
www.asianage.com
WINDOWS
Actor-comedian
Raju Srivastava,
58, dies in Delhi
New Delhi: Comedian and
actor Raju Srivastava
passed away at the AIIMS
Hospital on Wednesday,
after spending 42 days in
hospital following a heart
attack and subsequent
complications. His death
was announced by doctors
at the hospital. Colleagues
from the film and enter-
tainment fraternity paid
rich tributes to Raju. PM
Modi also paid tribute to
the popular comedian say-
ing he “brightened our
lives with laughter,
humour and positivity. He
leaves us too soon but he
will continue to live in the
hearts of countless people
thanks to his rich work
over the years.
Full report on Page 16
Ratan Tata, others join
as PM-Cares trustees
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has lauded
the people for contributing
wholeheartedly to the PM-
Cares fund as he chaired its
meeting which was also
attended by newly-nominat-
ed trustees Justice K.T.
Thomas, former deputy LS
Speaker Kariya Munda and
Ratan Tata, the PMO said on
Wednesday. The meeting
was also attended by home
minister Amit Shah and
Nirmala Sitharaman. — PTI
Full report on Page 3
ABG Shipyard founder
held for bank fraud
New Delhi: The CBI on
Wednesday arrested Rishi
Kamlesh Agarwal, the
founder of ABG Shipyard, in
connection with an alleged
bank fraud of more than
`22,842 crore.The CBI had
booked Agarwal, a former
chairman of the company,
the then executive director
Santhanam Muthaswamy,
and directors Ashwini
Kumar, Sushil Kumar
Agarwal and Ravi Vimal
Nevetia on February 7.
Full report on Page 4
COUNTERPOINT
WEATHER
Max: 28OC
Min: 25OC
RH: 86%
Rain: 70%
Forecast: Thunderstorm
ASTROGUIDE
Shubhakrut: Dakshinayana
Tithi: Bhadrapada Bahula
Dwadasi till 1.15 am
Star: Ashlesha till 2.01 am
Varjyam: 1.45 pm to 3.30 pm
Durmuhurtam: 10.08 am to
10.56 am
Rahukalam: 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm
SUNSET TODAY 6.18 PM
SUNRISE TOMORROW 6.10 AM
MOONRISE TOMORROW 3.29 AM
MOONSET TODAY 4.34 PM
I welcome any probe by
Maha govt against me in
Patra chawl case: Pawar
RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17
■ Insists he wants to stay CM ■ Sonia ‘neutral’ ■ Digvijaya in fray?
Gehlot talks to Sonia about
poll; will meet Rahul today
ASHHAR KHAN
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
Indicating that he would
like to continue as
Rajasthan chief minister
even if he becomes
Congress president, Mr
Ashok Gehlot on
Wednesday said “if a min-
ister in a state stands for
the Congress president’s
election, that person can
remain as a minister and
also contest the polls”.
Waiting in the wings to
take over from Mr Gehlot,
former Rajasthan deputy
CM Sachin Pilot joined
the Bharat Jodo Yatra in
Kerala on Wednesday and
walked along with senior
leader Rahul Gandhi. Mr
Gehlot further added:
“The party and the high
command have given me
everything. I have been in
posts for 40-50 years. For
me, no post is important, I
will fulfil any responsibil-
ity given to me.”
Mr Gehlot
Wednesday met Congress
on
president Sonia Gandhi to
discuss the contours of
the presidential elections
in the party and his posi-
tion with regard to the
political situation in
Rajasthan. He is expected
to reach Kochi on
Thursday and make a
last-ditch effort to con-
vince Rahul Gandhi to
take over the reins of the
party. He has been very
vocal that Mr Gandhi
Pilot walks with Rahul, talks AICC polls
GILVESTER ASSARY
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
SEPT. 21
Former Rajasthan deputy
chief minister Sachin
Pilot joined Rahul Gandhi
on his Ernakulam district
stretch of “Bharat Jodo
Yatra” on Wednesday and
reportedly requested him
to take up the party presi-
dent’s post considering
the widespread senti-
ments of party men across
the country.
50% SpiceJet curbs to
stay in force till Oct. 29
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
The Directorate-General
of Civil Aviation
(DGCA), in a fresh order
on Wednesday, has
asked the SpiceJet air-
line to continue with cur-
tailed operations of 50
per cent till October 29,
when the summer sched-
ule ends. Any increase in
the number of flights
beyond 50 per cent shall
be subject to SpiceJet
demonstrating that it has
A woman shouts slogans next to an Iranian flag during a protest against the death of
Iranian Mahsa Amini outside Iran’s consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday. Protests
have erupted across Iran in recent days after Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died while
being held by the morality police for violating the country’s strictly enforced Islamic
dress code. ■ 8 killed as Iran protests spread: Page 6
NEW DELHI THURSDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2022
Rajasthan chief minister and senior Congress leader
Ashok Gehlot with party leader Pawan Bansal leaves
after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi at 10
Janpath in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot and others
during the 14th day of party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in
Kochi, Kerala, on Wednesday.
should take over as the
party chief once again.
The Rajasthan Congress
was the first to pass a res-
olution demanding that
Mr Gandhi be made presi-
Mr Pilot, who walked
with Mr Gandhi for sever-
al kilometres on the way
to Kochi city, was seen
having animated discus-
sions with him even while
matching the pace of his
strides. Their discussion
broke occasionally when
Mr Gandhi had to wave at
people gathered in huge
numbers on either side of
the road.
Later, Mr Pilot told
mediapersons that he had
discussions on various
sufficient technical sup-
port and financial
resources to undertake
such enhanced capacity.
During this period, the
airline shall be subject to
“enhanced surveillance”
by the DGCA”, its order
reads. The DGCA had fol-
lowing a safety audit
review on July 27, 2022
through an interim order
imposed an eight-week
restriction on its flight
capacity after a series of
incidents.
■ More on Page 3
SPORT| 8
Federer eyes dream
farewell alongside
long-time rival Nadal
— PTI
— PTI
dent, after which several
other state units followed
suit. Insiders claim that if
Mr Rahul Gandhi does
not agree to file his nomi-
nation, then Mr Gehlot
topics during his walk
alongside Mr Gandhi. On
the impending elections
for Congress chief, he said
many Pradesh Congress
Committees have already
passed resolutions asking
Mr Gandhi to consider
running for the presi-
dent’s post.
“It is his decision. But
the sentiments of the
Congress leaders have
been conveyed to the
AICC. The final call will
be taken by the party
Regional panels on Assam-Mizo row
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
Assam chief minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma on
Wednesday met Mizoram
CM Zoramthanga to
resolve the long-pending
boundary issues here as
part of the efforts to
resolve the border dis-
pute between the two
states.
After the meeting con-
cluded at the Assa-
m House, Mr Sharma
said that both state gov-
ernments will set up
regional committees to
find solutions with mutu-
al understanding.
— AP
BJP: Gehlot or
Tharoor to be
Rahul ‘puppet’
New Delhi, Sept 21: The
BJP on Monday said
whosoever becomes
Congress president,
whether Ashok Gehlot or
Shashi Tharoor, will only
be a “puppet” in the
hands of Rahul Gandhi
who will be the “main
driver”. BJP national
spokesperson Tom
Vadakkan also dubbed
‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ as
“Corruption Jodo Yatra”,
saying it started with “2G
partners” of DMK.
“This ‘Bharat Jodo
Yatra’ should be called as
‘Corruption Jodo
Yatra’...It started with
blessings of 2G partners
of DMK in Kanyakumari.
Now it entered Kerala,
and Rahul Gandhi main-
tains deafening silence
on corrupt excise policy
of AAP in Delhi as it was
copied from the excise
policy of Congress-led
UDF government in
Kerala,” he said. — PTI
will file his nomination
next week. Lok Sabha MP
Shashi Tharoor is also
expected to file his nomi-
nation. He was at the
■ Turn to Page 4
leadership,” he said.
When asked about
reports regarding
Rajasthan chief minister
Ashok Gehlot contesting
for the president’s post,
he said September 24 is
when the nomination for
the post starts. “We will
have to wait and see who
all will the file nomina-
tions and what the elec-
tors decide. Congress is
the only party, which
holds elections in this
■ Turn to Page 4
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with
Mizoram CM Zoramthanga at Assam House in New
Delhi on Wednesday.
“We are in the process
of forming regional com-
mittees to discuss the
border problems and to
Putin calls 3L reservists, sees ‘plot’
by West to ‘divide, destroy’ Russia
Moscow, Sept. 21:
President Vladimir
Putin on Wednesday
ordered a partial mobili-
sation of some 300,000
reservists after
Russian military suf-
the
fered a series of setbacks
in the raging conflict
with Ukraine, saying the
move was essential to
protect Russia’s sover-
eignty as the “West is
seeking to weaken,
divide and finally
destroy this country.”
Mr Putin made the
announcement in a tele-
vised address to the
nation in which he also
said that Russia will use
all the means at its dis-
DELHI AGE| 11
Ed Sheeran says he
owes his success to
late Jamal Edwards
Vol. 29 No. 215 | 16
Truck kills 4 sleeping on road, driver held
Locals gather at the site after four people sleeping on a road divider were killed by a
speeding truck in Seemapuri on Wednesday. The driver of the offending vehicle has
been arrested from Shamli in UP by the police. ■ Report on Page 2
SC asks Centre Punjab governor
to control hate
speech on live cancels session,
TV, make laws
AAP left fuming
PARMOD KUMAR
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
Taking a stern view of
certain mainstream Kejri: Gov got call from higher-ups
TV news channels
projecting hate Chandigarh, Sept. 21:
speech in the course
of their live debates,
Punjab governor
Banwarilal Purohit on
the Supreme Court on
Wednesday batted for
Wednesday thwarted the
AAP government’s plan
a legal regime to deal to summon a special
with the situation Assembly session to
that is adversely bring a confidence
impacting the fabric motion. The governor
of the nation. The top withdrew an earlier order
court asked why the calling the special session
Central Government on Thursday, saying the
was “mute” to such governor’s office had
broadcasts and treat- sought legal opinion after
ed them as “trivial” the Congress and the BJP
matters. approached the Raj
Pointing at the Bhavan arguing that the
immense impact of House rules did not allow
the visual media, a it.
bench comprising The latest order from
Justices K.M. Joseph the Raj Bhavan said the
and Hrishikesh Roy Assembly rules did not
directed the Central
government to submit
allow summoning a ses-
sion just to pass a trust
its response based on
the feedback it has
vote in favour of the gov-
ernment.
received from 14 The AAP had alleged
states in pursuance to that the BJP was trying to
its July 21 order. bring down its govern-
Asking the Centre to ment in Punjab by poach-
shun treating the mat- ing its MLAs. It sought to
ter as an adversarial prove its majority
issue, the top court through a confidence
■ Turn to Page 4 motion.
The Opposition parties
The meeting took place
after Union home minis-
ter Amit Shah requested
the chief ministers of
both states to resolve the
boundary dispute amica-
bly.Recently, Mr Shah
chaired a meeting to
review the interstate
boundary dispute betw-
een Assam and
Arunachal Pradesh and
urged both the chief min-
isters to resolve the
boundary dispute with
— PTI mutual understanding in
order to fulfil Prime
find out ways to resolve it Minister Narendra Mo-
with mutual consulta- di’s vision of a peaceful
tions in this regard,” Mr and prosperous
Sarma said. ■ Turn to Page 4
isation immediately.
Since early September,
Ukraine forces have
swiftly recaptured large
swaths of land in
Ukraine’s Kharkiv
region that Russian
troops took over in early
weeks of the war which
began on February 24.
The stretched-out front-
line, the constant
shelling of Russian bor-
Vladimir Putin derline areas by the
posal to protect its terri- Ukrainian military and
tory, warning the West attacks on liberated
that “this is not a bluff”. regions required the call-
Ahead of his much- up of servicemen from
anticipated address, Mr the reserve, President
Putin had signed an Putin said in his address.
executive order for the — PTI
call-up to start the mobil- ■ More on Page 6
cmyk
PAGES | `5.00
— PTI
Banwarilal Bhagwant
Purohit Mann
— the BJP and the
Congress — had slammed
the AAP move, accusing
it of indulging in “the-
atrics” to divert people’s
attention from its “fail-
ures”. They asked why
the AAP needed to move a
trust vote when nobody
had claimed that it had
lost its majority in the
House.
The governor had given
permission on September
20 to summon the special
session on September 22.
His latest order with-
draws that permission.
“In absence of the spe-
cific rules regarding sum-
moning of the Assembly
for considering the ‘confi-
dence motion’ only called
by the Punjab govern-
ment on September 22,
■ Turn to Page 4
Fresh charges
filed against
Setalvad over
Guj riots case
Ahmedabad, Sept. 21: A
special investigation
team (SIT) on
Wednesday submitted a
chargesheet against
activist Teesta Setalvad,
retired director general
of police R.B. Sreekumar
and former IPS officer
Sanjiv Bhatt in a case of
alleged fabrication of
evidence in connection
with the 2002 Gujarat
riots cases.
Investigating officer
and assistant commis-
sioner of police B.V.
Solanki told PTI that the
chargesheet was filed in
the court of the chief
metropolitan magistrate
here. Former IPS officer-
turned-lawyer Rahul
Sharma has also been
made a witness in the
case, he added. The
accused have been
charged under sections
468 (forgery for purpose
of cheating), 194 (giving
or fabricating false evi-
dence with intent to pro-
cure conviction for capi-
tal offence) and 218 (pub-
lic servant framing
incorrect record or writ-
ing with intent to save
person from punish-
ment or property from
forfeiture) of the IPC,
among other provisions.
Setalvad, arrested in the
last week of June, was
released on interim bail
following a September 2
order of the SC. — PTI
 CITY
THE ASIAN AGE | THURSDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 2

■ 2 others injured, driver held from UP’s Shamli, video caught on CCTV
IN BRIEF
Kejriwal’s ‘Delhi
Delhi nurses threaten
to go on strike
Truck runs over sleeping people, 4 die model’ all about
New Delhi: The Delhi nurses AGE CORRESPONDENT
Victim’s family donates his eyes,
federation has threatened to
go on a strike to protest
against the city government
over its long-standing
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21

says he chose to sleep outside

demands of regularisation of
contractual nurses and regu-
lar promotions not being ful-
filled. In a letter to the Delhi
government’s health and
family welfare department,
the DNF has said the situa-
tion is so “pathetic” that an
employee, who is supposed
to get three promotions in
his career, is retiring without
a single promotion due to
the “negligence of the
department.” The letter,
written on September 19,
also claimed that the DNF
has given various represen-
tations to the government
over these issues but no
action has been taken. The
federation said it will carry
out a “two-hour non-cooper-
ation Movement” everyday
from November 2 to
November 4 to protest
against the government over
its long-standing demands
not being fulfilled. The DNF
will take out a march from
Samta Sthal to the Delhi
Secretariat on October 18 to
press for its demands.
Arm supplier held,
In a tragic incident four
people sleeping on a road
divider were killed and
two others injured in the
early hours of Wednesday
after they were run over
by a speeding truck in
northeast Delhi’s
Seemapuri area, police
said.
Two of the victims died
on the spot. CCTV footage
showed the incident to
have occurred at 1.51 am
on Wednesday, they said.
The footage, which did
rounds on the social
media, showed a truck
crossing the DTC depot
traffic signal and mowing
down people sleeping on
the road divider going
towards the DLF T-point.
The driver of the offend-
ing vehicle has been
arrested from Shamli in
UP by the police.
According to police, two
people died on the spot
and four were rushed to
GTB Hospital.
Out of the four injured,
one was declared brought
dead and another died
AAP MLAs rioting case: Court
publicity: Cong
Rugs and blankets belonging to the victims lie on a
road divider in New Delhi on Wednesday. — PTI
during treatment, the DCP The injured have been
said. identified as Manish (16)
The footage also showed from Sahibabad and
the truck, after it ran over Pradeep (30), a resident of
the people, hitting an elec- Tahirpur, they said.
tricity pole causing the Recounting the horrific
street light to go off. incident, Manish, a resi-
The deceased persons dent of Harsh Vihar in
have been identified as Sahibabad, who was
Kareem (52), Chotte Khan injured in hand said, “I
(25), Shah Alam (38), all came here around 8 pm
residents of New last night to sell scrap
Seemapuri, and Rahul items. It took some time
(45), a resident of and after having dinner, I
Shalimar Garden in Uttar slept on the divider. The
Pradesh’s Sahibabad, vehicle first ran over my
police said hand and threw me on the
New Delhi, Sept. 21:
Family of Chhote Khan,
who was mowed down by
a speeding truck early
Wednesday near
Seemapuri depot, has
decided to donate his
eyes.
Mumtiyaz Khan, the
elder brother of 25-year-
old Chhote Khan, said he
was informed about the
incident by a friend over
the phone.
other side of the
divider.
“It then ran over the
other people sleeping on
the divider, hit a pole, and
sped away,” Manish, who
was discharged from the
hospital, said.
The offending vehicle
has been identified, police
said.
A case has been regis-
tered in the matter and
efforts are being made to
arrest the accused, they
said.
Another victim
“Last night, I asked
Chhote to sleep inside the
house, but he chose to
sleep outside,” he said.
“I live at another place in
a nearby area. I was asleep
when I got a call from one
of my friends who
informed me about the
incident. I went to the spot
and found bodies of the
people on road,”
Mumtiyaz said.
— PTI
Pradeep, 30, crawled and
took shelter behind large
bags of scrap lying near
Seemapuri depot, police
said. A search was
launched for him. He had
suffered a fracture in his
leg when found, threafter
he was taken to a hospi-
tal.
According to police,
Pradeep, a resident of
Tahirpur in east Delhi,
was among the six people
“four of whom were
killed” who were run over
by the truck.
Ahmedabad, Sept. 21:
Congress leader Sandeep
Dikshit on Wednesday
said the so-called Delhi
development model,
being touted by chief
minister and AAP leader
Arvind Kejriwal during
campaigning in poll-
bound Gujarat is not sup-
ported by facts but aimed
to gain publicity. In a
scathing attack on Mr
Kejriwal, Mr Dikshit said Sandeep Dikshit
the so-called Delhi model
is not development-ori- He alleged the Kejriwal
ented. He challenged Aam government even failed to
Aadmi Party (AAP) lead- create employment con-
ers for a debate “based on trary to claims made by
facts and figures”. Kejriwal during cam-
Addressing reporters, paigning in Gujarat.
Dikshit wondered if the “We are surprised.
“revdi”- a reference to What model they (AAP
populist sops- promised leaders) are talking
by Kejriwal to various about? I would like to
communities will ensure warn our brothers and
development in another sisters in Gujarat that
five years. they will be worse off
The Congress than what they are today,
spokesperson cited fig- at least in the area of edu-
ures to claim that the pre- cation (if they buy into
vious Congress govern- Kejriwal's claims).
ment in Delhi had fared Whether it is Kejriwal,
much better than
Kejriwal in the fields of
(Manish) Sisodia, or
Raghav Chadha or any-

15 pistols siezed education, infrastructure, one else, I challenge them

New Delhi: A 32-year-old

alleged arms supplier was
arrested with 15 high-quality
semi-automatic pistols and
45 live cartridges, meant to
be supplied to gangsters in
Delhi and UP, the police said
on Wednesday. The accused
Dilshad hails from a village
in Baghpat district of UP,
and was reportedly involved
in illegal procurement and
selling of firearms, they said.
According to the police an
information was received on
Monday that an interstate
seeks report on aid to victims
New Delhi, Sept. 21: A
Delhi court on
Wednesday sought a
report from the Delhi
legal services authority
(DLSA) on loss and com-
pensation to victims in a
case of rioting in 2015 in
which Aam Aadmi Party
MLAs Akhilesh Pati
Tripathi and Sanjiv Jha
were recently
convicted.
Additional chief metro-
politan magistrate
healthcare etc.
“The Delhi model is all
about publicity. It lacks
to sit with me for a debate
based on figures,” he
said.
victims. substance. The AAP gov- Dikshit said the so-
The incident, that took ernment in Delhi failed to called “Delhi model” is
place in Burari Police build upon what was not development-oriented
station of Delhi in achieved by the Sheila but is touted to attract
February 2015 had main- Dikshit government over votes.
ly police personnel as 15 years. Compared to the “Will the 'revadi' prom-
victims. 15-year rule of Congress ised by him (Kejriwal) to
DLSA will submit its in Delhi under the late various communities
report on assessment of Sheila Dikshit, the AAP help achieve development
loss to victims for com- government has done lit- in another five years?
pensation to them. tle to improve education Will it help build roads
Thereafter the court will and health facilities,” and bridges, and increase
decide the amount of said Dikshit, son of the power production?” he
compensation. late Sheila Dikshit. asked. — PTI
During the hearing, the

Amanatullah aide held in

illegal firearms supplier will (ACMM) Vaibhav Mehta court also took on record
be passing from Naraina via directed the DLSA the affidavits filed by the
Ring Road from Dhaula Kuan authorities to file their MLAs mentioning their

T’gana under Arms Act

with a large consignment of
illegal firearms to sell to
some unknown buyer. At
about 5:40 pm when Dilshad
came to the spot, he was
immediately overpowered by
the police. On interrogation
it was revealed that the
accused used to procure
firearms from local manufac-
turers Kairana of UP and
used to sell the same
Baghpat and Shamli, the
police said.
Training scheme for
14K youth launched
New Delhi: “Trained youth vol-
unteers of NYKS will play piv-
otal role in realising the Panch
Pran (five resolve) about
which Prime Minister spoke
during his Independence Day
Speech” remarked union min-
ister, youth affairs and sports
and information and broad-
casting, Anurag Singh Thakur,
while formally launching the
online capacity building train-
ing programme of 14,000
youth volunteers of NYKS
across the country on
Wednesday at Shastri
Bhawan, Delhi. As a part of
implementation of the online
training, CBC, UNITAR in con-
sultation with NYKS prepared
the training
DELHI COPS SEIZE
module.
report by October 15,
after which the court will
hear arguments on quan-
tum of sentence to be
awarded to the politi-
cians, and decide the fine
amount to be imposed on
them and the compensa-
tion to be awarded to the
Centre directs states to curb stubble burning
New Delhi, Sept. 21: To
curb air pollution in the
national capital during
winter due to stubble
burning, the Centre on
Wednesday directed
Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh and Delhi govern-
ments to chalk out a com-
prehensive micro-level
plan and promote use of
bio-decomposer.
In a review meeting
with the state govern-
ment officials and offi-
cials of agri-research
body ICAR, union agri-
culture minister
Narendra Singh Tomar
Singhvi sets Decide on transferring Jain’s
up `2 crore case, SC tells sessions court
income and
property.
The court had on Sep 12
convicted the MLAs for
being part of a mob that
attacked policemen at
Burari police station in
2015.
— PTI
pointed out that the states
have not fully spent the
`600 crore given to them
for this fiscal.
“`600 crore was already
provided to the states this
financial year and they
have the unspent amount
of `300 crore, which
should be utilised proper-
ly,” an official statement
quoted Mr Tomar as hav-
ing said in the meeting.
The Centre and con-
cerned states should joint-
ly evolve a long-term plan
and must undertake multi-
pronged activities to
achieve the target of zero
Vehicles ply on a road amid heavy rains in Noida on Wednesday.
◗ STATES HAVE been
asked to establish a
mechanism to ensure
effective utilisation of
machines, promote use
of bio-decomposer in a
complimentary mode
with CRM machines, pro-
mote ex-situ utilisation
of straw.
stubble burning within a
specified time-frame, he
said.
The minister reviewed
the actions taken so far to
check stubble burning and
discussed proposed
actions to be taken by the
neighbouring states.
For effective control of
paddy stubble burning
during the ensuing sea-
son, Tomar said the states
should chalk out a com-
prehensive action plan at
the micro level.
The states have been
asked to establish a mech-
anism to ensure effective
utilisation of machines,
promote use of bio-decom-
poser in a complimentary
mode with CRM
machines, promote ex-situ
utilisation of straw by
way of mapping demand
Accused denied bail in
— PTI
from industries like bio-
mass-based power plants,
bio-ethanol plants, etc, the
statement said.
The states have also been
asked to run an intensive
campaign to create mass
awareness among farmers
through media, social
media, kisaan melas, sem-
inars and advisories.
“If all the actions are
taken at the state level in a
holistic manner, the stub-
ble burning can be effec-
tively controlled during
the coming season,” the
minister said.
— PTI
New Delhi, Sept. 21: The
Delhi police on
Wednesday nabbed AAP
MLA Amanatullah Khan's
close aide Kaushar Imam
Siddique from Telangana,
officials said. Mr Kaushar
Imam Siddique alias
Laddan, 47, a resident of
Jogabai Extension, was
wanted in a case of Arms
Act registered against
him after a country-made
pistol and three live
rounds were found in his
premises, they said.
“We have apprehended
Laddan from Telangana
in connection with an FIR
registered against him
under the Arms Act,” a
senior police officer said.
The development comes
days after the Anti
Corruption Branch (ACB)
arrested Khan following
raids at four places in
connection with alleged
irregularities in the
recruitment to the Delhi
Over 500 vandalism
cases registered in
Waqf Board, including
that of its chairman.
Police had last Friday
registered three FIRs
after the ACB raid.
One of them was against
Hamid Ali, 54, another of
Khan's aide, after an unli-
censed weapon and some
cartridges were recovered
from him. He has been
arrested in this case, said
the officer.
The second case was
registered against
Siddique, after a country-
made pistol and three live
rounds were seized from
his place, the officer said.
The ACB seized `24 lakh
in cash and two unlicensed
weapons in these raids.
Earlier, the ACB had
summoned Khan in a case
pertaining to alleged
financial misappropria-
tion and other irregulari-
ties in the functioning of
the Delhi Waqf Board.
— PTI

Jindal univ PARMOD KUMAR

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
tion would be dependent
on the decision of the
coal mining scam in WB anti-CAA protests
endowment
principal district and ses- AGE CORRESPONDENT judge said that consid- to release the accused AGE CORRESPONDENT

300 KG HEROINE The Supreme Court on

Wednesday directed the
principal district and
sions judge in the trans-
fer application.
Having said this, the top
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21

A Delhi court has

ering the parameters
defined in PMLA, “I
find no reasonable
on bail on the medical
ground, saying a simi-
lar plea was rejected
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21

The city police on Wednesday

WORTH `1,725CR
New Delhi: In a biggest
haul this year, the Delhi
police’s special cell has
seized more than 300 kilo-
grams of heroin soaked in
20 tonnes of ‘licorice roots’
consignment stored in a
container at Jawahar Lal
Nehru port trust (JNPT) in
Mumbai. Police said that
the value of the heroin
seized is `1,725 crores in
the international market.
This seizure of heroin
comes after special cell of
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI. SEPT. 21
Eminent jurist and
Supreme Court senior
advocate Abhishek M.
Singhvi, who is also a
senior Congress leader,
has set up the Singhvi
Endowment at the O.P.
Jindal Global University
(JGU), based in Sonipat,
Haryana.
Mr Singhvi signed an
agreement with the uni-
versity for the establish-
ment of the “Singhvi
sessions judge, to hear
and decide on September
22 an application by the
ED seeking transfer of
case relating to Delhi
health minister
Satyendar Jain in a
money laundering case
to another judge.
A bench of Justice D.Y.
Chandrachud, Justice
Hima Kohli and Justice
Pamidighantam Sri
Narasimha said that the
appropriate forum to
decide the bail applica-
court said that it is open
for the party aggrieved by
the order of the Principal
District and Sessions
Judge to seek appropriate
remedies in law.
“The transfer applica-
tion to be taken up on
September 22, 2022. We
direct the Principal
District and Judge Rouse
Avenue to take up the
transfer application
tomorrow and consider
and dispose it off,” the
court said in its order.
denied bail to an
accused in connection
with a money launder-
ing case linked to an
alleged coal mining
scam in West Bengal.
Special judge Anurag
Sain denied bail to
Gurupada Maji, who
was taken into custody
by the ED in May, on the
allegations that the
accused was a partner
of a prime accused or
“kingpin” in the
case–Anup Majee. The
ground for believing
that accused Gurupada
last month and there
has been no fresh
Maji is not guilty of the change in the circum-
alleged offences.” stances regarding his
In Tuesday’s order, health condition.
the judge said : “From a Special public prose-
prima facie view of the cutor Nitesh Rana,
material placed on appearing for the ED,
record and in light of told the court while
the gravity of the opposing the bail appli-
alleged offences, it can- cation that the accused
not be said either that “delivered either to
the accused is not likely himself or to his
to commit any such nephew Tapas Maji the
offence while on bail.” proceeds of crime to the
The judge also refused tune of `89.4 crore.”
informed the Delhi high court
that it has registered over 500
cases concerning damage caused
to public and private properties
during the protests against the
Citizens (Amendment) Act
(CAA) in 2019 and 2020 and has
initiated appropriate legal action
against those involved in it.
A two-judge bench of Chief
Justice Satish Chandra Sharma
and Justice Subramonium
Prasad listed the matter for fur-
ther hearing on January 21, 2023,
as the affidavit was not on
record.

■ A month after, DTC’s women drivers say they’ve seen it all

the Delhi police has arrest-
ed two Afghanistan nation-
als identified as Mustafa
Stanikzai and Rahimullah
Rahimi and seized 312.5 kg
of the narcotic drug
methamphetamine and 10
kg of high-purity heroin
valued at `1,250 crore from
their possession. “In the
efforts to break the entire
syndicate, the accused per-
sons were put to interroga-
tion which further led to an
information about a con-
signment of licorice roots
which was stored at JNPT
Mumbai said HGS Dhaliwal,
the special commissioner of
police, special cell. The
accused also revealed that
17 bags containing Licorice
roots soaked with heroin,
350 to 400 gm per kg have
been concealed among
other bags, said Mr
Dhaliwal.
Endowment” at Jindal
Global Law School to the
tune of `2 crores. The stu-
dents of JGLS will be the
main beneficiaries of this
philanthropic initiative.
JGU vice-chancellor C.
Raj Kumar said: “This is
a historic occasion for
JGU and JGLS to have
become the recipient of
the distinguished
endowment by Abhishek
M. Singhvi. This endow-
ment has been estab-
lished at JGU for perpe-
tuity and several initia-
tives will be part of the
endowment benefiting
the faculty and students
of JGU and JGLS.”
Mr Singhvi said: “I am
most excited to announce
the establishment of the
Singhvi Endowment at
O.P. Jindal Global
University.”
‘Treated as celebrities, viewed with suspicion’
New Delhi, Sept. 21: It
has been almost a month
since they hit the roads
and Delhi’s 11 women
bus drivers say they have
seen it all–right from
being viewed with suspi-
cion to being treated as
celebrities.
Komal (23), one of the
11 women bus drivers of
the Delhi Transport
Corporation (DTC) who
were handed appoint-
ment letters last month,
said she is treated like a
celebrity.
“When people board the
bus, they do not realise
that a woman is behind
the wheels. But when
they are about to get off,
they come up to me and
say, 'Oh, we did not
realise that a woman was
driving such a huge bus!'
They also take selfies and
videos with me. I feel like
a celebrity,” she aid.
Komal, who uses only
her first name, said the
on-road experience of
driving a bus is entirely
different from what they
had experienced during
the training period.
“While we were being
trained, we did not have
to stop at the bus stops or
navigate through diffi-
cult roads carrying pas- route,” she said.
sengers. It is a different “It has happened that if
experience altogether,” the bus shook while navi-
she said. gating a difficult turn,
Santosh Kumari, a 40- people said, ‘This is hap-
year-old mother of a pening because a woman
Class-12 student, said is driving!’ while there
apart from riding a bicy- have also been some who
cle as a child, she had said they had an extreme-
never driven a ly smooth ride,” she said.
vehicle. Santosh Kumari said
“Now, I am riding a bus. during the training
From people viewing us period, they were not
with suspicion to some required to drive for
appreciating my driving long durations but now
skills, I have seen it all that they are on the road
from the day I started for long hours, finding
driving on Delhi roads. I public facilities
have been driving on the becomes difficult on cer-
Karnal Bypass bus tain routes. — PTI
In last 10 days, city records
358 cases of lumpy disease
New Delhi, Sept. 21: Delhi
has logged 358 cases of
lumpy skin disease in the
last 10 days though no cattle
in the capital has died due
to the infection so far, offi-
cials said on Wednesday.
The authorities reported
173 cases of lumpy skin dis-
ease in the capital on
September 11. The first case
was detected at the end of
August.
“The city has recorded a
total of 531 cases; 206 cattle
have recovered from the
infection and the number of
active cases stands at 325,”
an official from the animal
husbandry department
said.
He said the government
has procured 25,000 doses of
goat pox vaccine to inocu-
late healthy cattle in the
capital to prevent the
spread of the disease.
“The vaccination drive will
start in three to four days.
More doses are expected to
arrive soon. These doses will
be administered free of
cost,” he said. Delhi has a
cattle population of 80,000.
The government will
adopt the ring vaccination
strategy in which healthy
cattle in a 5-km radius of
the affected areas will be
given goat pox vaccine with
the Uttarkashi strain of the
virus, he said. — PTI
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | THURSDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 3

SHORT TAKES ‘Sonia, Rahul approval not ■ Cash-strapped airline struggling to stay afloat, pay salaries
needed to fight Cong polls’ 50% SpiceJet curbs to stay till Oct. 29
Soren aide controls
illegal mining: ED AGE CORRESPONDENT “enhanced surveillance” indicated there is an to the satisfaction of the

Punjab, T’gana units also want

New Delhi: Pankaj Mishra,
arrested by the ED in a
money laundering case,
enjoys “political clout” as he
is the political representative
of Jharkhand chief minister
Hemant Soren and “controls”
illegal mining business in Mr
Soren’s Assembly con-
stituency through his accom-
plices, the Central agency
claimed on Wednesday. This
was stated in a statement by
the Enforcement Directorate,
which filed a chargesheet
against Mr Mishra and his
two aides and local muscle-
men — Bachhu Yadav and
Prem Prakash — on
September 16 before a spe-
cial Prevention of Money
Laundering Act (PMLA)
court in the state capital,
Ranchi. The statement said
Kochi, Sept. 21: The
Congress on Wednesday
said no one requires the
permission of its presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi or its
leader Rahul Gandhi to
contest in its presidential
polls which is likely to be
held next month if there
is no consensus on who
should be at the helm of
the grand old party.
AICC general secretary
in-charge communica-
tions Jairam Ramesh,
speaking to the media
during the break between
the first and second leg of
the days’ Bharat Jodo
Yatra, said, “Anybody is
free and welcome to con-
test in the election if they
have the backing of 10
PCC delegates.”
Rahul as chief, pass resolutions
New Delhi/Chandigarh/
Hyderabad, Sept. 21: The
Congress’ state units in
Punjab and Telangana on
Wednesday passed a reso-
lution backing Rahul
Gandhi for the post of the
party president.
Around a dozen Pradesh
Congress Committees
have so far come out in
support of Mr Gandhi,
even as it appears that
after over two decades,
believes in selection of
the party president based
on consensus as per the
the Congress is likely to
see a contest for the post
of party chief.
Former Union minister
and Kerala MP Shashi
Tharoor is looking set to
enter the fray and
Rajasthan chief minister
Ashok Gehlot has indicat-
ed that he could throw his
hat in the ring if Rahul
Gandhi does not agree to
take on the party’s reins.
— PTI
desirable. We are not run-
ning away from holding
elections,” he said.
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
The Directorate-General
of Civil Aviation (DGCA),
in a fresh order on
Wednesday, has asked the
cash-strapped SpiceJet
airline to continue with
curtailed operations of 50
per cent till October 29,
when the summer sched-
ule ends. Any increase in
the number of flights
beyond 50 per cent shall be
subject to SpiceJet demon-
strating that it has suffi-
cient technical support
and financial resources to
undertake such enhanced
capacity.
During this period, the
airline shall be subject to
by the DGCA”, its order
reads.
The DGCA had following
a safety audit review on
July 27, 2022 through an
interim order imposed an
eight-week restriction on
its flight capacity after a
series of incidents related
to flight safety.
The DGCA had recently
conducted a review of the
safety performance of
SpiceJet. The cash-
strapped airline is strug-
gling to stay afloat and has
even sent 80 pilots on leave
without pay for three
months. The airline is also
struggling to pay salaries
on time.
“Whereas the review has
appreciable reduction in
the number of safety inci-
dents, as a matter of abun-
dant caution, the compe-
tent authority has decided
that the restriction as
imposed on July 27 this
year shall continue to be
in force till the end of the
summer schedule on
October 29, in accordance
with the powers conferred
under Rule 19A of the
Aircraft Rules 1937,” the
DGCA order read.
The aviation watchdog
further said that any
increase in the number of
departures beyond 50 per
cent approved during this
period shall be subject to
the airline demonstrating
DGCA that it has suffi-
cient technical support
and financial resources to
safely and efficiently
undertake such enhanced
capacity. During this peri-
od, the airline shall be
subject to “enhanced sur-
veillance” by the DGCA,
the order reads.
The DGCA had earlier in
July conducted a review of
the reported incidents
related to SpiceJet from
April 1 to July 5, 2022, and
it was observed that on a
number of occasions, the
aircraft either turned
back to its originating sta-
tion or continued landing
to the destination with
degraded safety margins.

the court took cognisance of
the chargesheet or prosecu-
tion complaint on
September 20. Mr Soren is
an MLA from Barhait
Assembly seat in Sahibganj
district. — PTI
7-yr jail for Ansari
“No one requires the
permission of Congress
president or Rahul
Gandhi to file nomina-
tion. The elections will be
fair and transparent. No
other political party in the
country holds elections to
select their party chief.”
Mr Ramesh, at the same
Kamraj model.
He invoked the “view” of
legendary Congress
leader K. Kamaraj, which
according to him, was
“talk to everybody and
find a suitable consensus
choice” for leading the
party.
“If consensus is not pos-
Pawar: I welcome
On who would be throw-
ing their hats in the ring,
Mr Ramesh said he does
not know who all will con-
test, but he certainly will
not.
He also said that he does
any probe against
not know
Rajasthan CM Ashok
whether

Gehlot will file his nomi- me in chawl case

over threat to jailer time, also said that he sible, then elections are nation. — PTI
SONU SHRIVASTAVA Bhatkha-
Lucknow: The Lucknow MUMBAI, SEPT. 21 lkar on

Ratan Tata & others join as

bench of Allahabad high
court on Wednesday sen-
tenced former MLA Mukhtar
Ansari to seven years in
prison for threatening a jailer
and pointing a pistol at him.
Justice DK Singh passed the
order while allowing an
appeal by the Uttar Pradesh
government. The court fou-
nd him guilty under Sections
353 (assault or criminal force
to deter public servant from
discharge of duty), 504
(intentional insult with intent
to provoke breach of the
peace), and 506 (criminal
intimidation) of the Indian
Penal Code (IPC). Ansari was
also fined `37,000. The for-
mer MLA was sentenced to
two years of rigorous impris-
onment and fined `10,000
for offences under Section
353 and two years and a fine
of `2,000 for offences under
Section 504. — PTI
No criminality found
trustees of PM-Cares Fund
Modi lauds people for contributing wholeheartedly
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has lauded the peo-
ple for contributing
wholeheartedly to the PM-
Cares Fund as he chaired
its meeting which was
also attended by newly-
nominated trustees —
Justice K.T. Thomas, for-
mer deputy Lok Sabha
speaker Kariya Munda
and Ratan Tata, the PMO
said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the PMO
on Wednesday said that a
meeting of the board of
trustees of the PM-Cares
was made on the various
initiatives undertaken
with the help of PM-Cares
Fund, including the PM-
Cares for children scheme
which is supporting 4,345
children.
“The trustees appreciat-
ed the role played by the
fund at a crucial time for
the country. Prime
Minister Modi appreciat-
ed the people of the coun-
try for contributing
wholeheartedly to the PM-
Cares Fund,” the state-
ment.
It was discussed that
PM-Cares has a larger
vision on effectively
not only through relief
assistance, but also taking
mitigation measures and
capacity building.
The PMO said that the
Prime Minister welcomed
the trustees for becoming
an integral part of the
PM-Cares Fund.
The meeting was also
attended by the other
trustees — Union home
minister Amit Shah and
finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman.
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said that
the participation of new
trustees and advisers will
provide wider perspec-
Tuesday
After his name appear- demanded
ed in the charge sheet an inquiry
filed by the Enforce- over the
ment Directorate in the
Patra chawl case, NCP
president Sharad Pa-
war on Wednesday said
mention of
Pawar in the Patra
chawl case, in which
the ED has arrested
that he would welcome
any inquiry against
him. Responding to BJP
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay
Raut. The chargesheet
said that Mr Pawar, as
leader Atul Bhatkh- Union agriculture min-
alkar’s demand for a ister, had held a meet-
probe into Mr Pawar’s ing on the redevelop-
alleged role, the NCP ment of the chawl.
chief said that if noth- A prime witness in
ing comes out of the the case has told the ED
inquiry, those making that during 2008-09
allegations should face some residents of the
action. area had approached
“We are not opposing Pawar through local
any inquiry. It should be politicians for the rede-
conducted and complet- velopment of the chawl
ed as soon as possible. (tenement). After vari-
But once the allegations ous meetings, Sanjay
are found to be untrue, Raut and Pravin Raut,
we expect the state gov- along with Rakesh
ernment to take action Wadhawan, of HDIL
against those who are (Housing Development
making these baseless
allegations against us,”
Infrastructure
were asked to handle
Ltd)

in Radia tapes: CBI Fund was held on Tuesday

New Delhi: The Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
on Wednesday told the
Supreme Court that it found
no criminality in 5,800 tapes
of phone conversations of
corporate lobbyist Niira
Radia in 14 preliminary
inquiries it conducted on the
top court’s 2013 order. The
CBI told a bench comprising
Justices D.Y. Chandrachud,
Hima Kohli and Pamidigha-
ntam Sri Narasimha that in
2005 it had submitted a
report to the court in a
sealed cover wherein it had
stated that no criminality
was found in the conversa-
tion that were intercepted in
2008-09 at the instance of
income-tax department.
Additional solicitor-general
Aishwarya Bhati, appearing
for the CBI, told the bench,
“I must inform you that the
CBI was directed by this
court to investigate all these
conversations.”
in which a presentation
Clarify reports
Jagan made
life-time prez,
EC tells YSRCP
New Delhi, Sept. 21:
Against the backdrop of
media reports that Y.S.
Jagan Mohan Reddy has
been appointed the per-
manent president of
YSRCP, the Election
Commission on Wednes-
day directed the party to
make a “clear and cate-
gorical public announce-
ment” contradicting the
reports as the matter
has the potential to cre-
ate “confusion” in other
political organisati-ons.
The EC order came after
the Yuvajana Sramika
Rythu Congress Party
responding to emergency
and distress situations,
tives to the functioning of
the PM-Cares Fund.
Mr Pawar said.
BJP MLA Atul
the project, the witness
said.
Decisive victory
by forces against
LWE: CRPF D-G
AMRESH SRIVASTAVA Operation Chakraban-
NEW DELHI,SEPT. 21 dha by the joint opera-
tions of the CRPF and
CRPF director-general state police forces, he
Kuldeep Singh on Wed- informed that seven
nesday said that the Maoists were killed
security forces have and 436 arrested or sur-
achieved a decisive rendered in Chhattis-
victory in the ongoing garh, four Maoists
operations against killed in Jharkhand
Left Wing Extremism and 120 arrested/sur-
(LWE) across the rendered while 36
nation. Maoists arrested/sur-
Briefing the media, rendered in Bihar.
Mr Singh also said that Similarly, in MP,
Bihar can be dubbed as three Maoists have
Naxal-free, while Jha- been killed by security
rkhand’s Budhapahad forces. This success

UNTHINKABLE
(YSRCP) initially
informed the poll panel
about the “unanimous”
GRAFT IN BENGAL election of Mr Reddy as
president of the party on
has been freed from becomes even more
Maoist control. important because
“Areas under Chhatt- many of these Maoists
isgarh and Jharkha-
nd’s Budhapahad bor-
killed had bounties of
lakhs and crores of

SCAM: CBI TO HC
RAJIB CHOWDHURI
KOLKATA, SEPT. 21
The CBI apprised the Calcu-
tta high court on Wednesday
of an “unimaginable corrup-
tion” in the Teacher
Eligibility Test (TET) for pri-
mary education under the
Trinamul Congress rule in
West Bengal. It underlined in
a status report submitted to
Justice Abhijit
Gangopadhyay of the HC
that the graft was “so big”
that it would leave the com-
mon people “shaken”.
According to the CBI, there
are evidence which show
that those who got jobs
through the primary TET did
not appear in the examina-
tion even. During the hear-
ing, the judge also
expressed his “surprise” at
the depth of the crime that
emerged in the CBI’s find-
ings. The CBI also mentioned
in the report that it’s probe
has been on the right track
and has entered the final
stage, sources revealed.
Meanwhile, former state
education minister Partha
Chatterjee, arrested by the
Enforcement Directorate in
the School Service
Commi-ssion jobs scam and
was sent to CBI custody
recently, was remanded by
the Alipore court in jail
custody till October 5. He
was produced before a CBI
judge with the end of his
CBI remand.
July 8 and 9 this year,
but did not categorically
admit or deny the specif-
ic allegation forwarded
by EC regarding he
being made permanent
president for life.
The EC had sought a
reply from the parry fol-
lowing media reports.
The YSRCP had later
confirmed to the EC that
the issue was reported
in the media and that the
party has launched an
internal enquiry in this
regard. — PTI
All Constitution Bench hearings
to be live-streamed from Sept. 27
PARMOD KUMAR
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
The Supreme Court will
commence the live-
streaming of the hear-
ing of the matters listed
before the Constitution
benches from Septe-
mber 27, as decided by a
meeting of full court on
Tuesday.
The Constitution benc-
hes sit only for three
days a week from Tues-
day, Wednesday and
Thursday as Monday
and Friday are for the
hearing of fresh mat-
ters, including some of
the after notice matters.
All judges in a full
der and the extremely rupees on their heads,
inaccessible areas of like Mithilesh Mahto
Bihar’s Chakrabandha had a reward of `1
and Bhimabandh were crore, he added.
strongholds of top Noting that there has
Maoists and a huge been a steady decline
quantity of arms, in both the incidence
ammunition, foreign of violence and its geo-
grenades, Aero Bombs graphical spread, Mr
and IEDs were recov- Singh also said that
ered by the security there has been a 39 per
forces at these places,” cent reduction in
the CRPF D-G said. LWE-related violence
Describing it as unp- and 26 per cent reduc-
recedented success in tion in the number of
Operation Octopus, sacrifices made by the
Operation Double Bull, security forces.
court meeting agreed for the live-streaming of
for the live-streaming of the top cort proceedings
the Constitution Bench with several riders.
hearing, for the time The live-streaming is
being, on YouTube, till likely to cover the cases
the SC puts its own live of the EWS quota, com-
streaming system in pensation to the victims
place. The process for of the 1984 Bhopal gas
the live-streaming of tragedy, ex-communica-
the top court proceed- tion in the Dawoodi
ings is on for quite some Bohra community and
time as was earlier indi- the top court’s powers to
cated by former Chief dissolve the marriages
Justice N.V. Ramana in on the ground of irre-
the course of a hearing. trievable breakdown.
The exercise started In 2018, the SC had
on an application by ruled that live telecast
senior advocate Indira of court proceedings
Jaising, who had are part of the right to
referred to the Supreme access justice under
Court’s 2018 judgment Article 21 of the
that had given its nod Constitution.
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | THURSDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 4

■ Fight for Article 370 to continue: National Conference chief

SHORT TAKES
Student ends life at
varisty in Phagwara
Phagwara, Punjab: A first-
year student of a private
university in Punjab's
Phagwara allegedly died by
suicide, triggering a protest
by other students on the
campus. The 22-year-old stu-
dent, who was from Kerala
and was studying Bachelor
of Design at Lovely
Professional University
(LPU), took the extreme step
on September 20, police
said on Wednesday.
Civil hospital authorities said
the student was brought
dead. According to a suicide
note left by the student, he
was facing some personal
issues, said Deputy SP,
Phagwara, Jaspreet Singh.
deputy inspector general of
Police (Jalandhar range) S
Bhoopati said an investiga-
tion in the matter is under-
way.He said police will verify
the facts when the student's
parents reach here. The
police said, “We have
informed the family student
in Kerala. We will initiate fur-
ther action after we record
their statement.” As the
news of the student’s suicide
broke, other students held a
protest on the campus late
on Tuesday night. —PTI
Train ops hit as stir
by Kurmis continues
Kolkata: Train services of the
south eastern railway (SER)
remained partially affected
on Wednesday as Kurmis
continued blocking tracks at
two stations in West Bengal
for more than 24 hours to
press for their demand for
scheduled tribe status.
The blockades at Khemasuli
in Paschim Medinipur district
and Kustaur in Purulia dis-
trict, which began at 4 AM
on Tuesday, continued on
Wednesday. Agitators lifted
blockades at other railway
stations. Besides the ST tag,
the agitators are also
demanding the inclusion of
Kurmali language in the
We’re not ready to accept India regulating pvt madrasas
is communal: Farooq Abdullah So far, nothing has been done, but we are looking into it: Mantri
Ramban/Jammu, Sept 21:
While chairing a day-long
convention of the party's
block workers, office-bear-
ers and functionaries at
Batote in Ramban district
on Tuesday, Jammu and
Kashmir former chief
minister and National Co-
nference president Farooq
Abdullah expressed hope
that Supreme Court will
soon hear the petitions
challenging the abroga-
tion of Article 370, and
also vowed to continue
politically the fight to
restore the special status.
“We are in the Supreme
Court and are hopeful that
it will hear the petitions
soon and we will get relief
from this difficult situa-
tion,” the former chief
minister said.
He said the next assem-
bly polls will provide the
first opportunity to fight
the battle politically for
Wife raped in
front of man,
2 juveniles
among 6 held
AKSHAYA KUMAR
SAHOO
BHUBANESWAR, SEPT. 21
The Odisha police on
Wednesday claims to
have arrested four men
and detained two juve-
niles over their alleged
involvement in gang-
raping a woman in front
of her husband at
Sahadevkhunta in
Odisha’s Balasore dis-
trict.
As per the police
report, the accused way-
laid the victim and her
Assam mulls prospect of
Buddhists (of Jammu and MANOJ ANND ◗ THE PROPOSAL is Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta
We are having a political fight without Kashmir). They had only GUWAHATI, SEPT. 21 had earlier this month
asking people to throw bricks, making rounds in the
option to migrate and our stated that there are about
grenades or use guns. Our fight fight was against it. Today, Under non-government wake of the arrests of 3,000 registered and
is a political fight and we are going the same fight continues. educational institutions several madrassa teach- unregistered private
to fight it politically. The more we We are not ready to accept (regulation and manage- ers for alleged connec- madrasas across Assam
win, the more we will be able to that India is communal. ment) act, 2006, the Assam tions with terror outfits that are run by four main
India has been secular and education minister Ranoj Muslim organisations.
take forward this in the Assembly it will remain secular,” Pegu on Wednesday said Clarifying that no con- From April 1, 2021, all
— Farooq Abdullah, Abdullah said. that his government may crete step has been taken the 610 state-run
National Conference chief He also sought to down- regulate all the private in this direction a of now, madrasas in Assam were
play the recent controversy madrassas in the state. he said “The government converted into upper pri-
over school staff making The proposal is making is gradually taking steps mary, high and higher sec-
the special status of J&K take forward this in the students recite the famous rounds in the wake of the to bring all the non-gov- ondary schools with no
under the provisions of Assembly.” Referring to bhajan “Raghupati Raghav arrests of several madras- ernmental educational change of status, pay,
constitution. “We are not the independence strug- Raja Ram... in a classroom sa teachers for their institutions under this allowances and service
only dependent on the gle, he said the National in Kashmir, saying nobody alleged links with terror existing Act for their reg- conditions of the teaching
apex court,” he told them. Conference never aban- loses their faith by singing outfits. ulation and monitoring.” and non-teaching staff.
“We are having a political doned the flag of secular- bhajans or visiting a Mr Pegu told reporters, The minister said, Altogether at least 42
fight without asking peo- ism. Muslim or Hindu shrine. “There is a law brought “Whether these private people, many of them
ple to throw bricks, “In 1947, the Muslim “I used to sing Bhajans,” out in 2006 which has pro- madrassas will fall under teachers of madrasas,
grenades or use guns. Our majority Jammu and he said, asking, “by visions for the regulation that category or not, we have been arrested across
fight is a political fight Kashmir heard the chants singing Bhajan, have I of non-government insti- will examine in consulta- Assam since March this
and we are going to fight it of Allah-u-Akbar (God is become a Hindu? If a tutions. We will examine tion with the Law year for their alleged
politically. Obviously, the great) but we never accept- Hindu is visiting the if private madrasas can Department. So far, noth- links with terror outfits
first chance we have got is ed the two nation theory. Ajmer Sharif Dargah or be brought under this Act. ing has been done, but we Al-Qaeda in Indian
the (next) Assembly elec- Had we gone there, what the Nizamuddin Auliya Presently, all non-govern- are looking into it.” Subcontinent (AQIS) and
tion. The more we win, the would have happened to shrine, does he become a ment schools are not cov- It is significant that Ansarullah Bangla Team
more we will be able to Hindus, Sikhs and Muslim?” — PTI ered under this Act.” Director General of Police (ABT).
Bank fraud: CBI arrests 101 cattle die
ABG shipyard founder due to lumpy
AGE CORRESPONDENT The central probe
disease; MP to
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21 agency had registered the
case on a complaint from
the State Bank of India
give free jabs
In connection with an
alleged bank fraud of for the alleged offenses of RABINDRA NATH
over `22,842 crore, the criminal conspiracy, CHOUDHURY
Central Bureau of cheating, criminal breach BHOPAL, SEPT. 21
Investigation on of trust, and abuse of
Wednesday arrested official position under the A total of 7,686 cattle
Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal Indian Penal Code have been infected and
the founder of ABG (IPC) and the Prevention 101 have been killed by
Shipyard Limited, probe of Corruption Act. the lumpy skin disease
agency officials said. The State Bank of India in Madhya Pradesh so
As per the officials, with an exposure of Rs far, as per the official
Agarwal was called for 2,468.51 crore was part of data.
questioning at the CBI a consortium of 28 banks The official data was
headquarters during and financial instit shared at the high-level
which he was evasive in utions led by ICICI meeting called by chief
his responses following Bank. minister Shivraj Singh
Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia tries to spin the “charkha” at Sabarmati
which he was arre The ABG Shipyard Chouhan to take stock of
Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. —PTI sted. being a major player in the situation in the wake
The Central Bureau of Indian ship building of the disease spreading

EWS quota is upto 10%, may

Constitution. The stir caused husband when they Investigation had booked industry operated from to 26 out of 52 districts
cancellation of short-termi- were returning home at Agarwal, a former chair- its shipyards located at in the state during
nation of some trains, a Godhibasa village on man of the ABG compa- Dahej and Surat in which he also ordered to
south eastern railway official Tuesday evening from ny, the then executive Gujarat with cap start vaccination of cat-

vary in states, Centre tells SC

said. The trains that were
cancelled are Howrah-
Titlagarh Express, Howrah-
Barbil-Howrah Express and
Dhanbad-Jhargram
Express, he said. — PTI
Balasore railway sta-
tion.
They attacked the hus-
band of the victim with
a sharp weapon while
three of them raped the
woman in front of him.
The wrongdoers also
PARMOD KUMAR
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
Reservation for the eco-
cational institutions and
public employment.
He said that reservation
for SC/ST has entered its
Attorney General said
that such a situation
would have breached the
ceiling of 50 per cent
director Santhanam
Muthaswamy, and direc-
tors Ashwini Kumar,
Sushil Kumar Agarwal
and Ravi Vimal Nevetia
in the case on February 7.
acity to build vessels up
to 18,000 dead weight ton-
nage (DWT) at Surat ship-
yard and 1,20,000 dead
weight tonnage (DWT) at
Dahej shipyard.
tle in the state for free of
cost.
Mr Chouhan directed
the departments con-
cerned to treat the dis-
ease at par with Covid-19
and take measures such
as isolating the infected

Regional panels on 4,510 new Covid cases,

looted `10,000 from the nomically weaker sections eighth decade, and the reservation for SC/ST & cattle, particularly in
couple. (EWS) among the forward EWS reservation would the OBCs introduced by the cattle shelters, to

Assam-Mizo row
“The victim had lodged classes is upto 10 per cent fade away with the the nine-judge bench of prevent the disease from

■ Continued from Page 1

a complaint with us on
Tuesday. We immediate-
ly swung into action and
Northeast. Mr Shah also rounded up the accused.
assured both the chief minis- The accused are identi-
ters of the maximum possible fied as Debendra Singh,
assistance from the Central Kanaka Singh, Karik
government in this regard, the Sahu and Salkha
ministry officials said. Murmu,” Subhranshu
Mizoram shares a 164.6-km- Sekhar Nayak, inspector
long border with of Sahadevkhunta
Assam. The border dispute police station, said.
betwe-en Assam and Mizoram Medical examinations
dates back to the pre- of the accused were con-
Independence era. ducted at the District
Last year in July, the police Headquarters Hospital,
forces of the two states Balasore, on Wednesday
exchanged fire along the dis- afternoon. The state-
puted border that left six ment of the victim has
policemen and a civilian from also been recorded
Assam dead. today under section 164
However, the tension was Criminal Procedure
resolved after the Centre’s Code (CrPC), said the
intervention. inspector.
and may differ from state
to state depending on their
economic condition, the
Centre on Wednesday told
the apex court.
Defending the Constitut-
ion’s 103 amendment that
provided for the EWS
reservation, attorney gen-
eral K.K.Venugopal told a
five-judge constitution
bench comprising CJI
Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice
Dinesh Maheshwari,
Justice S. Ravindra Bhat,
Justice Bela M. Trivedi
and Justice J.B. Pardiwala
that EWS reservation is
to address the financial
woes that prevent 18.2
crores of poor people in
the general category pop-
ulation from accessing
education in higher edu-
improvement in the stan-
dards of living of the peo-
ple in the lower strata of
the general category with
economic growth, thereby
suggesting that EWS
reservation is not going to
be perennial.
Meeting the argument
that 10 per cent EWS
reservation should have
also encompassed the
EWS sections among SC,
ST, and the OBCs, Mr
Venugopal said such rea-
soning would have led to a
situation where each of
the four segments of pop-
ulation – SC, ST, OBCs,
and economically weaker
section among general
category — getting 2.5 per
cent of the 10 per cent
EWS reservation. The
the top court in 1992 in
Indra
ment.
Sawhney judg
Arguing that unequal
cannot be treated as
equal, the attorney gener-
al referred to the enor-
mous benefits that the
SC/ST drive as he pointed
to their reservation in the
elected bodies from pan-
chayat, local bodies, State
legislatures and the Lok
Sabha.
Similarly the attorney-
general referred to the
National Commission for
Backward Castes — which
has now been incorporat-
ed under Article 338B of
the Constitution — that
keeps monitoring the im-
plementation of the OBC
reservation.
33 fatalities in 24 hours
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
With a dip in active cases
of 46,216, India records
4,510 fresh coronavirus
cases in 24 hours which
takes the tally to
4,45,47,599.
The death toll increased
to 5,28,403 with 33 new
fatalities, including 19
deaths reconciled by
Kerala, being reported in
the last 24 hours. Of the
14 fresh fatalities, three
were reported from
Rajasthan and two each
from Karnataka and
Maharashtra. The active
cases comprise 0.10 per
cent of the total infec-
tions, while the national
Covid-19 recovery rate
increased to 98.71 per
cent.
There has been a decline
of 1,163 cases has been
recorded in the active
Covid-19 caseload in a
span of 24 hours. The
daily positivity rate was
recorded at 1.33 per cent
and the weekly positivity
at 1.80 per cent.
The number of people
who have recuperated
from the disease
increased to 4,39,72,980,
while the case fatality
rate was recorded at 1.19
per cent.
spreading in particular
areas.
He directed the district
administrations not to
grant permission for
holding fairs in the rural
areas where cattle were
traded. As many as
77,534 cattle have been
vaccinated against the
disease in the state so
far. MP is among eight
states in the country
where lumpy skin dis-
ease broke out. The
country has far recorded
the death of 57,000 cattle
due to the disease.
India, the world’s
largest milk producer,
had a cattle population
of 192.5 million in 2019,
as per the 19th livestock
census.

Pilot walks with Rahul, Punjab gov rescinds

Top court asks Centre to control
hate speech on live TV, make laws
■ Continued from Page 1
also directed the Central gov-
ernment to spell out its stand
on the recommendation of
the Law Commission of
India’s report on “hate
speech” and whether it is con-
templating bringing a law to
deal with the issue.
The court asked senior advo-
cate Sanjay Hegde to assist it
in the hearing of the matter.
The court indicated that in
the absence of any legal regi-
men to curb the hate speech,
it will embark on framing
guidelines like the one
framed by the top court on
August 13, 1997 that came to
be known as the Vishaka
guidelines to protect women
from sexual harassment at
work places.
“Unless there is an institu-
tional mechanism to deal
with all this, the situation
cannot be addressed,” Justice
Joseph said, adding, “What
comes to our mind is Vishaka
guidelines” until Law
Commission recommenda-
tions are acted upon by the
government. The court noted
that there was an inadequacy
of the law in preventing the
phenomenon of hate speech
in a “meaningful way”.
Taking exception to certain
news anchors’ attempts to
grab “the lion’s share” of the
debate time, not restraining
the participants from engag-
ing in fringe utterances and
running down or being rude
to those who wants to express
counter view, Justice Joseph
referred to discussions on
BBC where every guest is
given sufficient time to say
what he wants to say and is
not run down by the anchor.
Observing that a news
anchor has an important role
in conducting a live debate,
the court said that an anchor
has his own view and the edi-
torial policy of the organisa-
tion he is working with, but
he must know “where to draw
a line” and mute a participant
indulging in hate utterances
and be courteous to others
holding different views and
treat them properly.
Justice Joseph said that
freedom of the media is for
the viewers and any news
anchor playing foul should be
dealt with “firmly”.
“The problem is such (news)
anchors are not dealt with
firmly,” Justice Joseph said
adding that “all this is going
on in the name of the freedom
of speech which in fact is not
freedom of press” as “free-
dom of press is for the listen-
er.” After giving two weeks to
the Centre to file its response
and giving another two weeks
to the petitioners and other
parties to respond to the
Centre’s reply, the court post-
ed the matter for its next
hearing on November 23.
The Supreme Court is hear-
ing a number of petitions,
including one by advocate
Ashwini Upadhaya and oth-
ers seeking action against
those engaging in hate speech
and rumour mongering.
Mr Upadhyay has sought
directions to the Centre to
examine the international
laws relating to hate speech
and rumour mongering and
to take effective and stringent
steps to control hate speech
and rumour mongering.
talks party prez elections
■ Continued from Page 1
manner,” he said. To a
question about whether it
will be Mr Ghelot or
Shashi Tharoor, Mr Pilot
said, “We will have to see
and wait for two or three
days. As Jairam Ramesh
(Congress general secre-
tary in-charge communi-
cations) has said that any-
body who is keen to con-
test elections is free to file
nominations. It’s a very
open and transparent
process, so let’s wait for a
few days to see who all
actually files the nomina-
tions,” he added. Mr Pilot
said ‘Bharat Jodi Yatra’ is
historic in many ways. It
has received huge sup-
port not only in Kerala
and TN but also across
the entire country.
“People are anxiously
waiting for the yatra to
arrive in their respective
states,” he said.
The discussions
between Mr Pilot and Mr
Gandhi assume signifi-
cance in the backdrop of
political developments
taking place in Rajasthan.
Mr Gehlot has reportedly
told the high command
that he is not in favour of
Mr Pilot succeeding him.
Meanwhile, at a press
conference on the side-
lines of the Bharat Jodo
Yatra, Mr Ramesh said he
has no idea what will hap-
pen in the Rajasthan
Congress. “The Congress
has systems for dealing
with such situations. So
let’s see what happens.
Who are the candidates? I
cannot tell you now
whether Mr Gehlot is
going to file or what hap-
pens in Rajasthan if Mr
Gehlot files the nomina-
tion. These are questions,
which we will see only in
the next few days.”
trust vote spl session
■ Continued from Page 1
through special session of
16th Punjab Vidhan Sab-
ha, I Banwarilal Purohit,
governor of Punjab, here-
by withdraw my orders
dated September 20,
regarding summoning the
16th Vidhan Sabha of the
state of Punjab to meet for
its third (special) session
at 11 am on Thursday,” the
latest order read.
AAP national convener
Arvind Kejriwal hit out at
the governor for the deci-
sion. “How can the gover-
nor refuse a session called
by the Cabinet? Then
democracy is over,” the
Delhi CM tweeted in
Hindi. The Delhi CM also
alleged that the governor
withdrew his earlier order
after he received a call
from his “higher-ups”.
“When Operation Lotus
started failing and the
numbers (of MLAs) did
Mann tweeted in Punjabi
on Wednesday, “The gov-
ernor not allowing the
Assembly to run raises
serious concerns about
the country’s democracy.”
The governor’s decision
came after Congress lead-
ers Partap Singh Bajwa
and Sukhpal Singh Kha-
ira and Punjab BJP chief
Ashwani Sharma appro-
ached the Raj Bhavan,
arguing that there was no
legal provision to convene
a special session just to
move a “confidence
motion” in favour of the
state government.
In a letter to the gover-
nor, Mr Khaira had stated
that there is provision
only for a no-confidence
motion under the Rules of
Procedure and Conduct of
Business in Chapter XII
Para 58(1) but not for any
motion of confidence.
BJP leader Mr Sharma

Gehlot talks to Sonia about poll; will meet Rahul today
■ Continued from Page 1
AICC headquarters to
peruse the voters’ list and
met Congress election chief
Madhusudan Mistry.
Meanwhile, a senior party
leader said that Mrs Sonia
Gandhi had clearly indicat-
ed that the election and the
process will be neutral. He
further added that the high
command will not endorse
any candidate. Earlier, AICC
communications in-charge
Jairam Ramesh had said:
“Anybody who wants to con-
test is free and welcome to
do so. This has been the con-
sistent position of the
Congress president and Shri
Rahul Gandhi. This is an
open, democratic and trans-
parent process. Nobody
needs anybody’s nod to con-
test.”
Former Madhya Pradesh
chief minister Digvijaya
Singh bowled a googly on
Wednesday by claiming that
he should not be ruled out
for the presidential election.
Some reports indicate even
Karnataka PCC president
D.K. Shivakumar may also
contest. Interestingly, if Mr
Rahul Gandhi does not con-
test, then many leaders may
be in the electoral fray. Mr
Rahul Gandhi will be in New
Delhi on Friday, September
23, taking a break from the
Bharat Jodo Yatra, but when
asked he will be filing his
nomination, a party
spokesman noted that the fil-
ing of nominations will start
from September 24, when Mr
Gandhi will not be present.
The process of filing nomi-
nations for the election will
be held from September 24 to
September 30. The date for
scrutiny of nomination
papers will be October 1,
while the last date for with-
drawal of nominations will
be October 8. The election is
due to be held on October 17,
and the results will be
declared on October 19.
not add up, a call came
from the higher-ups ask-
ing to withdraw the per-
mission. Today, there is
the Constitution on one
side and Operation Lotus
on the other in the coun-
try,” Mr Kejriwal said.
In response to the gover-
nor’s decision to with-
draw his earlier order
summoning the special
session of the Punjab
Assembly, CM Bhagwant
had said Assembly ses-
sions were meant to raise
issues concerning the
people of the state but the
AAP was just indulging in
drama.
In his order withdraw-
ing permission for the
special session, the gover-
nor said he took the deci-
sion after seeking legal
advice from additional
solicitor general of India
Satya Pal Jain. — PTI
 EDIT
THE ASIAN AGE | THURSDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 5

Subhani

22 SEPTEMBER 2022

SC move to set guidelines

on death penalty welcome
T
he decision of the Supreme Court to set up a Constitution Bench to
lay down guidelines for the courts on providing a convict a real and
meaningful hearing before deciding on a death penalty is a refresh-
ing step that will further civilise the criminal justice delivery sys-
tem in our country.
The only protection a person can have against incarceration or death
penalty in India is Article 21 of the Constitution which insists that “no per-
son shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to pro-
cedure by law”. There is very little explanation of the umbrella provision
in the Constitution or in the law. The only guideline as of now is a 1980
judgment of the Supreme Court which mandates that a person should be
given the death penalty only in rarest of rare cases; even if it left the term
undefined.
The Supreme Court has found there are flaws in the “procedure by law”
while deciding on depriving a person of his life. While the courts will hear
and record the aggravating circumstances of a case, which could force a
court to resort to a punishment which, once, implemented, cannot be
revoked, they have very little legal compulsion to investigate the mitigat-
ing circumstances or allow the convict to pre-

Cheetahs back: Will it take

The Supreme Court sent his case in a meaningful manner.
has found there are In a rare gesture in which it sees the entire LETTERS
flaws in the episode from the point of view of an accused, a
‘procedure by law’ Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice
of India U.U. Lalit, has suggested that this
IRRESPONSIBLE TV
while deciding on places the convict “at a hopeless disadvantage,
depriving a person tilting the scales heavily against him”. Hence,
of his life. Courts the court held, it is imperative to have clarity
have little legal in the matter to ensure a uniform approach on
the question of granting real and meaningful
compulsion to opportunity, as opposed to a formal hearing, to
investigate mitigat- the convict on the issue of sentence.
India into happier future? Over time, the rural past the milking age. The
Anurag Thakur's allegation
that mainstream channels
were purveyors of fake
news is well taken, even if
ing circumstances... Different benches of the court have opined best defence — a poor most of the times it
population will
differently on the subject and hence the deci-
sion to let a five-member Constitution Bench to give finality to the vexed
Sanjeev reduce as jobs and
one nevertheless — is
that India is a land of
favours the BJP. The main-
issue. There must be “valuable safeguards” while deciding on death sen- Ahluwalia better public extreme duality and we
have learnt to live within
stream news channels have
lost all credibility because
tence in the rarest of rare cases, the court ruled. facilities draw
A democracy has the duty not only to punish wrongdoers but also to our own karma.
ensure that the mechanism for it is flawless to the extent possible.
families into urban At a more general level,
of their bias in reporting.
Constant revision of laws and procedures is an essential part of the areas... As humans the preservation of Information is missing and
process, which must take into account new information and knowledge vacate villages, they wildlife is closely associ- instead we have percep-
about the criminal justice system, especially in the award of capital will make space for ated with the preserva-
tions and opinions in place

T
punishment. he import of
The processes of democracy are inevitably slow; but they are mostly sus- cheetahs from
tainable. Several countries across the world have taken the death sentence Namibia to
off their law books; India has not reached that stage. Nevertheless, one diversify the
must hope that the Supreme Court bench will review the process thor- fauna in our
oughly and come up with a better one. It will hopefully make it more national parks, seven
humane if just to convince the recipient of the punishment that the judi- decades since the chee-
cial system has explored every option before deciding on it. The conviction tah became extinct in
of the accused, too, is an important criterion that must be met by the judi- India in 1952, is a tiny
cial process in a democracy. reminder of the many
benefits of linking ever
closer with Africa — the
last frontier of abundant
natural resources with
Communalism comes to Leicester the highest potential for
future growth.
This is not the first
T
he perspicacious George Orwell, who foresaw what the world would time that the introduc-
become, did not think of sport in romantic terms. He famously tion of big cats — of
dubbed sport as “war minus the shooting” because he believed seri- which the feline cheetah
ous sport has nothing to do with fair play and that “it is bound up with is the smallest and the
hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure fastest — has been
in witnessing violence”. attempted in this region.
India-Pakistan cricket does not necessarily fit Orwell’s description even In colonial times, the
if it rouses a certain frisson that has been hyped up considerably to mar- erstwhile Maharajah of
ket these games as gladiatorial contests. It is a pity then that the passions Gwalior, within whose
flowing out of high-pressure matches between the great Asian rivals in lands the Kuno area lies,
Dubai should generate such tensions as to lead to communalism striking tried to inject lions from
Leicester in England where the communities have been living in peace, if Junagadh — a principali-
not total harmony, for decades. ty in Gujarat ruled by the
The 18 per cent Muslim population and 13 per cent Hindu population then Nawab. But then, as
seem to have ruffled the peace of the other two-thirds of the people. The vil- indeed now, the rulers of
lain of the piece as communal tensions rocked the central England city Gujarat were disinclined
were the usual suspects in the form of the social media that spread to export their lions to
rumours faster than Asia’s quick bowlers. Fuelled by false posts of other Indian states, pos-
mosques overrun by hordes, a temple was vandalised and official India sibly believing in the
had to register its protest with the British foreign office. sound economic dictum
The UK police seem to have handled the simmering situation with tact that any artificial scarci-
since the troubles began after India beat Pakistan in a close game on ty leads to higher prices.
August 28 in the Asia Cup, before Pakistan returned the compliment by The British were much
beating India in the Super league. Neither team is a world beater that they more generous, albeit
may have been in past years, but the players participated without any ran- with other people’s pos-
cour in the two encounters. sessions. They produced
The arrests of almost 50 troublemakers from both communities in a win-win proposition.
Leicester suggests an even-handed management of the situation. Cricket They persuaded the
might have been the trigger but not quite the culprit here. The fear is what Emperor of Ethiopia,
the canker of communalism can do to a diverse society in which the com- who clearly had more
mon grouse of migrants had so far had more to do with the racism they lions than he needed —
encounter. Religious differences usually bring the worst out of the men on accompanied as he was
either side of the divide and the right thinking always pray that the com- on his perambulations
batants see reason. around the palace by
lions and surrounded by
them whilst he sat on his
throne in Addis Ababa —
to gift some to the dis-
traught Maharajah of
Gwalior. Sadly, and pos-
sibly because the
Maharajah liked what he
THE ASIAN AGE saw on their arrival, the
lions never reached
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR Kuno and were released
Editor Printer & Publisher
into the forests around
THE ASIAN AGE office is located at: leafy Shivpuri, 120 km
New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: west of Kuno, where they
(011) 23211124. were poached and exter-
Published and Printed on behalf of and for minated over time.
◗ Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New
Kuno’s scarcity of big
Delhi 110 002 at BFL Infotech Ltd., C-9, Sector-III, Noida -201301.
◗ London: Quickmarsh Ltd, 8th Floor, Block 2, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NQ. cats is now expected to
RNI Registration number: 57290/94 end with injection of the
African Cheetah. It is
anyone’s guess whether
the intercontinental
transplant will succeed.
Consider that Namibia,
where the cheetahs are
coming from, has a
human population densi-
ty of 3 per sq km.
Sheopur, the district in
which Kuno lies, has a
population density of 104
per sq km and is growing
faster than the national
average. Even South
Africa, from where addi-
tional consignments of
cheetahs are expected,
has a population density
of 49 per sq km. Are we
setting the cheetahs up
for a second extinction
by squeezing them into
high population density
India?
Not necessarily. Kuno
has an 782 sq km area
free of human habita-
tion, within which small,
fenced areas totalling 7
sq km have been pre-
pared for acclimatising
the cheetahs to Indian
conditions, with a dish is not the best alter-
sequenced release into
the wilds once they are
considered ready.
Compared to the free-
range type of nature
reserves in India, exam-
ples abound globally of
curated and managed
transplants of wildlife
into less-than-ideal habi-
tats. In South Africa, big
cats are often best
viewed in completely
enclosed and gated pri-
vate parks for a fee. This
is one way out to manage
the pressure on land for
human habitation and
yet preserve wilderness
close by. The Nairobi
National Park in Kenya
has existed since 1945. A
compact 117 sq km of
nature preserve,
squashed between the
city and its airport, but
teaming with wildlife.
This columnist has
been privileged to watch
a cheetah chase and
knock the back legs out
from under a gazelle,
minutes into a late after-
noon game drive. Of
course, there are finan-
cial costs to making
the true inheritors
of the wilds.
nature so accessible. The
entire park is bounded
on three sides by an elec-
tric fence and on the
fourth by a river which
affords the only access
point to animals beyond
the park area and hence
can be regulated closely.
For those who may pre-
fer to term such innova-
tive attempts to preserve
nature in close proximity
to humans as artificial as
an open zoo, think how
artificial our own life has
become. We cannot do
without an air- condi-
tioner to sleep soundly,
snuggled under a cover-
let at the height of sum-
mer, eat apples in sum-
mer or fish in months
with no “R” in it or work
through the night and
sleep during the day.
Admittedly, keeping wild
habitats alive in a petri
native. But it does pro-
vide a way of navigating
the man versus animal
conflict that have under-
mined such nature
preserves.
Reportedly, the locals
are excited at the pros-
pect of wildlife tourism
picking up in sleepy
Kuno. If the high-profile
cheetahs can generate
decent jobs and result in
the national park
rivalling the facilities
and the wildlife diversity
offered internationally
and better preserve the
existing fauna, it would
be worth the effort.
Unfavourable compar-
isons will be drawn
between the high-cost,
soft-landing being pre-
pared for the imported
cheetahs, versus the
plight of India’s poorest,
the miserable conditions
in which indigent, recent
immigrants to large
cities scrape together an
existence by squatting on
public land devoid of
public services or the
state of cattle abandoned
by their owners once
tion of carbon absorbing
flora. Both are part of the
ecosystem designed by
nature to survive. Till
recently it was thought
that humans with their
extra-powerful brain
capacity have acquired
the physical and finan-
cial capacity to live inde-
pendent of nature. The
ravages of climate
change, a direct outcome
of a human induced
imbalance in nature,
now illustrate that the
consequences of declar-
ing independence from
nature are extremely
dire.
More fundamentally,
we must reinvent our
world to live sustainably.
Human habitats should
spread vertically, not
horizontally. Horizontal
spread should be
reserved for natural
habitats — forests, grass
lands, river systems with
their natural flood
plains, ponds and lakes,
plantations, and farms.
Today our rural areas
are overpopulated
because urban jobs are
unavailable and the sur-
plus workforce — partic-
ularly educated and
smart women — are
wasted in low-skill
housekeeping, childcare,
basic livelihoods, or
intermittent agricultural
work.
Over time, the rural
population will reduce as
productive jobs and bet-
ter public facilities draw
families into urban
areas. Already, the share
of the population living
in urban areas and per
capita income is highly
correlated across Indian
states. As humans vacate
villages, they will make
space for the true inheri-
tors of the wilds. The
need to decarbonise the
economy will also push
us to restore the wilds
and reduce our footprint
on nature. The cheetahs
are just one step towards
those happy times.
The writer is adviser,
Observer Research
Foundation
of news. There is a marked
difference in the manner in
which crime is reported
from BJP-ruled and non-
BJP-ruled states. The term
jungle raj is never used for
law and order in UP but is
freely used to describe law
and order in neighbouring
Bihar. There is also a stark
difference in reporting
attacks on sadhus in
Maharashtra under Uddhav
Thackeray vis-a-vis under
the present government.
Anthony Henriques
Mumbai
‘WAYWARD’ HEADS
IN A PARLIAMENTARY democra-
cy, the head of state is but titular
who enacts a role circumscribed by
the Constitution. Yet an exercise of
that role’s discretionary power
could easily be controversial.
Britain does not have a written
Constitution, yet for seven long
decades the Queen always spoke
and acted on the advice of ministers.
We have a written Constitution and
yet many a state governor has trans-
gressed it far too often. If this trend
is not righted, the slide to random
and whimsical governance will
make us no different from many of
our ill-fated neighbours.
R. Narayanan
Navi Mumbai
WORRYING TREND
INDIA’S PERFORMANCE across
global development indices contin-
ues to be abysmal. The Human
Development Report 2021/2022 has
put India in the 132nd position out of
191 countries. India ranked 130
among 189 countries in 2020.
Worryingly, it also registered a
steady decline in its HDI score — a
composite index that measures the
average achievements of a country
across such parameters as life
expectancy, expected and mean
years of schooling, gross and per
capita income for over two consecu-
tive years.
Sankar Paul
Chakdaha, West Bengal

A
fter a decade of witnessing declining
civil service examination (CSE)
vacancies, the Union Public Service
Commission (UPSC) has notified more
Dilip Cherian than 1,000 vacancies in the CSE this year.
Some observers link this jump in UPSC
total number of vacancies, is something the
government will need to address. The slight
increase in numbers due to the addition of
new jobs in the railways is clearly not enough.
But it’s a start.
close to the Assembly elections, reeks of awk-
wardness after a long-in-place Gujarat gov-
ernment. Whether it is triggered by new wor-
ries or whether it was long in the works is
unclear. But with this major reshuffle coming
barely a couple of months before the elections,
Among the issues is the non-payment of
salaries to temporary staff involved in anti-
poaching activities and delays in filling
vacant positions in the upper echelons of the
department. Though forest department secre-
tary Supriya Sahu claims that these issues are

Dilli Ka Babu vacancies to jobs added in the newly created
Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS)
through the UPSC exam. Instead of 861 CSE
vacancies, the recent recruitment circular
issued by UPSC notifies hiring on 1,011 posts.
With IRMS now a part of the group A central
GUJARAT TRANSFERS HAVE AN EYE ON
IMPENDING ASSEMBLY POLLS
The Gujarat government has transferred 20
IPS officers, including the additional director
general of police (ADGP) R.B. Brahmbhatt.
The 1995-batch Gujarat cadre officer has been
the Bhupendrabhai Patel government is clear-
ly moving to close gaps and fortify the admin-
istration before facing the electorate.
TN FOREST DEPT HELD BACK BY
UNRESOLVED OLD ISSUES
being addressed, no one has a convincing
response to the delays. While temp staff have
not been paid for months, and some have even
been asked to leave, even biologists who have
been working at the department for more than
two decades have not been promoted. Neither

Jump in UPSC civil service cadre, nearly 150 personnel will

be recruited to the service. The government
recently created a new and separate IRMS
named the new ADGP of state CID (crime and
railways), relieving DGP Ashish Bhatia of the
additional charge of CID.
Meanwhile, away from a nation and media
celebrating the reintroduction of cheetahs, in
Tamil Nadu, the state environment and forest
has the department recruited permanent biol-
ogists on a fixed pay scale.
Some officials say that the department has

vacancies due to cadre in the wake of the metro expansion, con-

nectivity plan and bullet train projects.
According to the minister of state, depart-
R.T. Susara, an IPS officer from the 2011
batch, has been appointed as the deputy com-
missioner of police for Zone 1 in Surat while
department is struggling with internal issues
which threaten to subsume the many success-
es of the recent past.
always been treated as less significant when
compared to other departments led by IAS and
UPS officers. Apparently, IFS officers of the

new management ment of administrative reforms and public

grievances, Jitendra Singh, there were 1,472
vacancies in the IAS and 864 vacancies in the
Usha Rada, an IPS officer from the 2013 batch,
has been appointed as DCP, Zone-3, Surat city.
Ajit Rajian, the superintendent of police for
Sources have informed DKB that the problem
in the state forest department is not a dearth of
officials or talent, rather it is administrative
1990 batch are still trying to get their cadre
upgraded. Clearly, the issues haunting the
department require top-level attention from

cadre in Railways IPS at the start of the year. Every year, some
150-200 vacancies for IAS rank and close to 250
vacancies for IPS are undertaken, we are told.
Anand, has been appointed as the DCP for
cyber crime in Ahmedabad. He will be
replaced by Praveen Kumar, a 2016 batch offi-
delays. While the department has won acco-
lades for the declaration of the Agasthyamalai
as an elephant reserve, the lack of attention to
the DMK government.

Love them or hate them, ignore

But there is an asymmetry in terms of recruit- cer who is currently serving as DCP, Zone-1, professional training, research and upgrade of them at national peril is the babu
ment of shortlisted candidates joining the ser- Rajkot. posts is beginning to affect its otherwise laud- guarantee and Dilip’s belief. Share babu
vice. That, and the overall decrease in the To many observers, this jerky movement, so able conservation efforts. escapades at dilipcherian@gmail.com.
 WORLD
THE ASIAN AGE | THURSDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 6

SHORT

ABE FUNERAL:
TAKES
MAN SETS
HIMSELF ON FIRE
Tokyo, Sept. 21: A man set him-
self on fire near the Japanese
prime minister’s office on
Wednesday after expressing
opposition to a state funeral for
assassinated ex-premier Shi-
nzo Abe, local media reported.
Police declined to confirm the
incident, but the government
said an individual with burns
had been found near govern-
ment property.
Putin sets partial military call Taiwan slams
up, says won’t bluff on nukes pledge of China ‘reunification’
Ukraine says West must ‘double down’ on support after Putin’s threats Taipei/Beijing, Sept. 21:
Moscow, Sept.
President Vladimir Putin
21:
PUTIN'S NUCLEAR THREATS
Taiwan will never allow
China to “meddle” in its
U.S. CANADIAN
called up Russian military
reservists on Wednesday,
future, the government
said on Wednesday, after a SHIPS TRANSIT
saying his promise to use
all military means in
Ukraine was “no bluff,”
UKRAINE Chinese government
spokesperson said Beijing
was willing to make the
TAIWAN STRAIT
and hinting that Moscow utmost effort to strive for Taipei, Sept. 21: A US

SPAIN FINES
DELIVERY APP FOR
LABOUR VIOLATION
Madrid, Sept. 21: Spain has
fined food delivery firm Glovo
nearly 79 million euros and
forced it to give labour con-
tracts to over 10,000 riders in
the country, the government
said on Wednesday.
Labour Minister Yolanda
Diaz said Glovo had violated a
2021 law requiring riders for
food delivery platforms be
employees signed to formal
labour contracts, not free-
lancers.
“The full weight of the law
will fall on the company,” Diaz
said as she announced the
sanctions against Glovo.
NEPAL PRESIDENT
BHANDARI REJECTS
CITIZENSHIP ACT
Kathmandu, Sept. 21: Nepal
President Bidya Devi Bhandari
has refused to sign within the
stipulated deadline a key bill to
amend the Nepal Citizenship
Act, which was endorsed twice
by both the houses of Parli-
ament, a move described by
constitutional experts as a seri-
ous blow to the Constitution.
A senior official at the
President’s Office Bhesh Raj
Adhikari said that the bill was
not signed as of midnight on
Tuesday — the deadline to
authenticate the bill re-
endorsed by both the House of
Representatives and the
was prepared to use
nuclear weapons.
His mobilisation call
comes as Moscow-held
regions of Ukraine pre-
pare to hold annexation
referendums this week,
dramatically upping the
stakes in the seven-month
conflict by allowing
Moscow to accuse Ukraine
of attacking Russian terri-
tory.
A senior US official said
Washington was taking
Putin’s “irresponsible”
veiled threat to use
nuclear weapons “serious-
ly” and warned it could
alter its “strategic pos-
ture” if need be.
Four Russian-occupied
regions of Ukraine —
Donetsk and Lugansk in
the east and Kherson and
Zaporizhzhia in the south
— said on Tuesday that
they would hold the votes
over five days beginning
Friday.
In a pre-recorded
address to the nation early
on Wednesday, Putin
accused the West of trying
to “destroy” his country
through its backing of
Kyiv. Russia needed to
support those in Ukraine
who wanted to “determine
their own future”, he said.
The Russian leader
announced a partial mili-
tary mobilisation, with
Defence Minister Sergei
Shoigu telling state televi-
sion that some 3,00,000
reservists would be called
up.
Meanwhile, large num-
bers of Russians rushed to
a peaceful “reunification” destroyer and a Canadian
with the island. frigate sailed through the
WHY NOW?
China claims democrati- Taiwan Strait on Tuesday
Russian forces entered cally-governed Taiwan as in the latest joint opera-
its own territory. Taiw- tion aimed at reinforcing
Ukraine on February 24
and made gains early on. an’s government rejects
China’s sovereignty
the route’s status as an
international waterway.
Even though they have claims. Beijing views as its own
since suffered battlefield China has been carry- both democratic Taiwan
losses, the Kremlin main- ing out military drills and the narrow body of
tains that “everything is near Taiwan since early water separating the
going according to plan”. last month, after US island from mainland
They abandoned efforts House Speaker Nancy China — one of the
to take the capital Kyiv Pelosi visited Taipei, world’s busiest shipping
in the first months and including firing missiles channels.
into waters near the isl- The United States has
instead decided to focus and, though the activities long used “freedom of na-
on capturing the eastern have since scaled vigation” passages thro-
Donbas region. Police experts examine the location of a missile strike at a freight railway station in back. ugh the Taiwan Strait to
But earlier this month, Kharkiv on Wednesday, amid Russia’s military invasion on Ukraine. — AFP Ma Xiaoguang, a spok- push back against Chin-
Ukraine’s forces esperson for China’s ese claims and Western
launched a counter- OVER 200 DETAINED Taiwan Affairs Office, allies have increasingly
offensive in the east and More than 200 people have been arrested at demonstra-
said ahead of next joined these operations.
south, retaking hundreds month’s once-in-five- The USS Higgins, an
tions across Russia against President Vladimir years Communist Party Arleigh Burke-class destr-
of towns and villages. Putin’s announcement earlier of a partial mobilisation of
congress that China was oyer, in cooperation with
Now, Putin’s allies are civilians to fight in Ukraine, a police monitoring group willing to make the great- the Royal Canadian
beginning to show signs said on Wednesday.
est efforts to achieve Navy’s Halifax-class frig-
of impatience. peaceful “reunification”. ate HMCS Vancouver “co-
“The motherland must nducted a routine Taiwan
ANNEXATION AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS
With Ukraine retaking swathes of the east, Russia-held territories
MOBILISATION
Defence Minster
be reunified and will
inevitably be reunified,”
Strait transit September
20 in accordance with
Ma said. — Reuters international law”, the US
made surprise announcements they would hold votes this week Sergei Shoigu said Navy said. — AFP
on integration with Russia. The referenda — reminiscent of a 2014 the “partial” mobilisa-
vote that led to Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine — tion will call up
will be held over five days starting Friday and have already been
denounced in the West. Russia’s annexation of the four territories
would allow Moscow to accuse Ukrainian forces of attacking
Russian territory and give it a pretext to use nuclear weapons.
300,000 reser-
vists, mainly
those with com-
bat experience.
Biden unveils
Putin ‘shamelessly violated’ UN U.S. ASTRONAUT, global food aid
United Nations, United
RUSSIANS BLAST States, Sept. 21: US
charter with Ukraine, says Biden OFF TO ISS
Baikonur, Kazakhstan,
President Joe
announced Wednesday
Biden

another $2.9 billion for a

National Assembly — after the
President earlier sent it back
noting that the Parliament
required to reconsider the bill
as per the Constitution.
book one-way tickets out
of the country while they
still could on Wednesday
after Russian President
Vladimir Putin
United Nations, United
States, Sept. 21: US
President Joe Biden tore
into Vladimir Putin on
Wednesday as he
Biden said as he addressed
the UN General Assembly,
warning that “a nuclear
war cannot be won and
must never be fought.”
fund aimed at helping to
Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sept. 21: A US astronaut resolve global food inse-
Wednesday condemned and two Russian cosmo- curity caused in part by
President Vladimir nauts blasted off to the Russia’s invasion of
Putin's order for a partial International Space Sta- grain-producing Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of
military mobilisation to tion (ISS) on Wednesday Biden will make the Ukraine.” The turmoil

TOSS IRANIAN
FROZEN ASSETS
CASE, URGES U.S
The Hague, Sept. 21: The
United States on Wednesday
urged the International Court
of Justice to throw out a case
brought by Iran seeking to claw
back around $2 billion worth of
frozen Iranian assets that the
US Supreme Court awarded to
victims of a 1983 bombing in
Lebanon and other attacks
linked to Tehran.
The leader of the US legal
team, Richard Visek, told the
UN court that it should invoke,
for the first time, a legal princi-
ple known as unclean hands,
under which a nation can't
bring a case because of its own
criminal actions linked to the
case.
U.S. COVID RELIEF
announced a partial mobi-
lization of military
reservists for the war in
Ukraine.
Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said
that he does not believe
Russia will use nuclear
weapons, after President
Vladimir Putin said Mos-
cow would use all means
to protect its territory.
China called for a “cea-
sefire through dialogue”
and for all countries' “ter-
ritorial integrity” to be
respected following Russ-
ian President Vladimir
Putin’s address on
Ukraine. — PTI
addressed the United
Nations just hours after
the Russian leader dra-
matically escalated his
seven-month war in
Ukraine by calling up his
country’s military
reservists.
Biden accused Putin of
“shamelessly” violating
the UN Charter and casti-
gated him over a veiled
threat to use nuclear
weapons — after Putin
said his promise to use all
military means in Ukraine
was “no bluff.” “Russia
has shamelessly violated
the core tenets of the
United Nations Charter,”
Iran protests spread, 8 killed
Paris, Sept. 21: At least
eight people have been
Russian forces have
attacked Ukrainian
schools, railway stations
and hospitals during a war
that Biden said was aimed
at “extinguishing
Ukraine’s right to exist as
a state.” John Kirby,
spokesman for the White
House’s National Security
Council, had said ahead of
Biden’s address that
Washington was taking
Putin's “irresponsible”
apparent threat to use
nuclear weapons “serious-
ly” and warned it could
alter its “strategic pos-
ture” if need be.
Meanwhile, German
support Russia’s war in
Ukraine and hold annexa-
tion referendums as an
“act of desperation”.
Nato Secretary General
Jens Stoltenberg accused
President Vladimir Putin
of “dangerous” rhetoric
after Russia’s leader hint-
ed Moscow could use
nuclear weapons over the
war in Ukraine.
French President
Emmanuel Macron on
Wednesday urged the
world to ramp up pressure
on Vladimir Putin after
the Russian leader called
up reservists for the war
on Ukraine. — AFP
reported on Wednesday
on a Russian-operated announcement in his
flight, in a rare instance speech to the UN General
of cooperation between Assembly, the White
Moscow and Washington.
The Russian space
House said. The money
“builds on the $6.9 billion
agency Roscosmos and
Nasa both distributed
in US government assis-
tance to support global
live footage of the launch food security already
from Kazakhstan and committed this year,” a
commentators speaking statement said.
over the feed said it was The White House said
stable and that “the crew food supplies are being
is feeling well”. Nasa’s dangerously disrupted by
Frank Rubio and Rus- “the compounding
sia’s Sergey Prokopyev impacts of the pandemic,
and Dmitry Petelin make the deepening climate cri-
up the crew that laun- sis, rising energy and fer-
ched from the Russia- tilizer costs, and protract-
leased Baikonur cosmod- ed conflicts — including
rome. — AFP
EU panel ‘worried’
over Polish spyware
Iranian state media
Warsaw, Sept. 21: A
has “disrupted global sup-
ply chains and dramati-
cally increased global
food prices.”In particular,
long-term drought has
left parts of Somalia at
risk of famine, the White
House said.
“This new announce-
ment of $2.9 billion will
save lives through emer-
gency interventions and
invest in medium to long
term food security assis-
tance in order to protect
the world's most vulnera-
ble populations from the
escalating global food
security crisis.” — AFP
been dismantled to enable

SCAM: 48 HELD
killed by Wednesday in a that, in a fifth night of European Parliament del- targeting individuals that
crackdown on protests in street rallies that had egation on Wednesday are deemed opponents of

FOR ROBBERY
Minneapolis (US), Sept. 21: The
United States authorities
charged 48 people in Minnesota
with conspiracy and other
counts in what they said was
the largest pandemic-related
fraud scheme yet, stealing $250
million from a federal pro-
gramme that provides meals to
low-income children.
Federal prosecutors on
Tuesday said the defendants
created companies that
claimed to be offering food to
tens of thousands of children
across Minnesota, then sought
reimbursement for those meals
through the US Department of
Agriculture’s food nutrition
programmes.
NY ATTORNEY
GENERAL SUES
TRUMP, HIS KIDS
FOR FRAUD
New York, Sept. 21: New
York’s attorney general
sued former President
Donald Trump and his
company on Wednesday,
alleging business fraud
involving some of their
most prized assets,
including properties in
Manhattan, Chicago and
Iran over the death of Ma-
hsa Amini after the young
woman was arrested by
morality police, according
to a combined toll.
Public anger has flared
in the Islamic republic
since authorities on Fri-
day announced the death
of 22-year-old Amini, who
had been held for alleged-
ly wearing a hijab headsc-
arf in an “improper” way.
Activists said the
woman, whose Kurdish
first name is Jhina, had
suffered a fatal blow to the
head, a claim denied by
officials who have annou-
nced an investigation.
Some women demonstra-
tors have defiantly taken
off their hijabs and bu-
Nasibe Samsaei, an Iranian woman living in Turkey,
holds up her ponytail after cutting it off with scissors,
during a protest outside the Iranian consulate in
Istanbul on Wednesday.
rned them in bonfires or
symbolically cut their
hair before cheering cro-
wds, video footage spread
virally on social media
has shown. “No to the
headscarf, no to the tur-
— AFP
ban, yes to freedom and
equality!” protesters in
Tehran were heard chanti-
ng in a rally that has been
echoed by solidarity
protests abroad, including
in New York and Istanbul.
spread to 15 cities, police
used tear gas and made
arrests to disperse crowds
of up to 1,000 people.
London-based rights
group Article 19 said it
was “deeply concerned by
reports of the unlawful
use of force by Iranian
police and security forces”
including the use of live
ammunition.
Demonstrators hurled
stones at security forces,
set fire to police vehicles
and garbage bins and
chanted anti-government
slogans, the official IRNA
news agency said, adding
that rallies were held in
cities including Mashhad,
Tabriz, Isfahan and
Shiraz. — AFP
voiced concern over the
Polish government’s use
of Pegasus spyware, say-
ing that instead of pro-
tecting citizens it had tar-
geted democratic actors.
The MEPs, on a visit to
Warsaw this week, are
part of a special inquiry
committee set up to probe
instances of abuse of sur-
veillance software in the
bloc. “The exchanges we
had I think shed new light
on the illegal use of intru-
sive spyware in Poland
against democratic
actors,” delegation head
Jeroen Lenaers told
reporters.
“We see that the system
of legal and institutional
checks and balances has
the government,” the
Dutch politician added.
“As a result, crucial
democratic standards and
citizens’ rights enshrined
in Polish and European
law are grossly violat-
ed.”The Pegasus mal-
ware, created by Israeli
technology firm NSO
Group, was engulfed in
controversy last year
after a media investiga-
tion reported that govern-
ments around the world
had used it to spy on crit-
ics and opponents.
Poland's powerful ruling
party leader admitted the
country bought the spy-
ware, but dismissed
claims it was used against
the opposition. — AFP

TURKISH COURT
Washington, DC.
Attorney General

DELAYS TRIAL OF
Letitia James’ lawsuit,
filed in state court in W.H.O. | WARNS Tobacco use alone is responsible for more than eight million deaths each year
ISTANBUL MAYOR
New York, is the culmi-

Non-communicable diseases cause 74% of deaths

Istanbul, Sept. 21: A Turkish
court on Wednesday delayed
until November a highly con-
troversial trial that could see
Istanbul’s popular mayor
banned from politics over a
remark he made after beating
President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s ally in 2019 polls.
Ekrem Imamoglu’s fate is
being watched closely for signs
of judicial independence nine
months before a general elec-
tion in which Erdogan will
struggle to extend his two-
decade rule.
The 52-year-old mayor is the
most internationally recog-
nised of the opposition leaders
who might run against Erd-
ogan. But a court could keep
him from seeking higher office
— and possibly force him to give
up his post — as punishment.
nation of the Democrat’s
three-year civil investi-
gation of Trump and the
Trump Organisation.
Trump’s three eldest
children, Donald Jr,
Ivanka and Eric Trump,
were also named as
defendants, along with
two longtime company
executives, Allen
Weisselberg and Jeffrey
McConney.
The lawsuit seeks to
strike at the core of
what made Trump fam-
ous, taking a blacklight
to the image of wealth
and opulence he’s embr-
aced throughout his
career first as a real
estate developer, then as
a reality TV host on The
Apprentice and Celeb-
rity Apprentice, and
later as president. — AP
Geneva, Sept. 21: Non-com-
municable diseases like
heart disease, cancer and
diabetes are responsible
for 74 percent of deaths
globally and cracking
down on risk factors could
save millions of lives, the
WHO said on
Wednesday.
A report from the UN
health agency shows that
so-called NCDs, which are
often preventable and
caused by an unhealthy
lifestyle or living condi-
tions, kill 41 million peo-
ple every year, including
17 million under the age of
70.
Heart disease, cancer,
diabetes and respiratory
disease now outnumber
infectious diseases as the
top killers globally, said
the report, titled “Invisible
Numbers”.
“Every two seconds,
someone under the age of
70 is dying from an NCD,”
Bente Mikkelsen, head of
the World Health Organis-
ation’s division that over-
sees such diseases, told
reporters in Geneva.
“And yet a mini-
mal amount of domestic
and international financ-
ing is spent on NCDs. This
is truly a tragedy.”
NCDs are not only the
world’s biggest killers, but
they also have serious
impacts on how people
weather infectious dis-
eases, as the Covid-19
pandemic demonstrated.
People living with NCDs
like obesity or diabetes
were at greater risk of
becoming seriously ill and
dying from the virus, the
report said.
“The data paint a clear
picture. The problem is
that the world isn’t look-
ing at it,” the report
warned.
Contrary to popular
belief, these “lifestyle” dis-
eases are not mainly a
problem of wealthy coun-
tries. — AFP
KEY FACTS ON NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
● 41 mn people gets 74% of all 17.9 mn people die annually
killed each year
deaths globally. due to Cardiovascular diseases
● 17 mn people 86% of these pre- 9.3 mn Cancers 2.0 mn
die from a NCD mature deaths occur diabetes
4.1 mn chronic including
before age 70 in low- and middle- respiratory
each year income countries. kidney disease
diseases deaths
● 77% are in low- and middle-income ● These four groups account for over
countries. 80% of all premature NCD deaths.
● Tobacco use, physical ● Detection, screening
inactivity, the harmful and treatment of
use of alcohol and NCDs, as well as pal-
unhealthy diets all
liative care, are key
increase the risk of components of the
dying from an NCD. response to NCDs.
 THURSDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER 2022 | NEW DELHI
quick Zero brokerage biz
BITES model faces threat
INDICATORS % FALAKNAAZ SYED
Sensex 59456.78 -0.44
Nifty 50 17718.30 -0.55
S&P 500* 3,879.72 0.62
Dollar (`) 79.98 -0.28
Pound Sterling (`) 90.87 0.22
Euro (`) 79.56 0.31
Gold (10gm)* (`) 49,871▲152 0.30
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 90.08 -0.60
IN 10-Yr bond yield 7.260 -0.47
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 3.536 -0.037
* As of 8:30 PM IST
Draft rules for
rear seat belt
alarms issued
The road transport ministry has
issued draft rules to make it
mandatory for car makers to
install an alarm system for rear
seat belts just like ones for
seats in front. The rules seek to
replace the norm for "driver
and co-driver safety belt
reminder" with "driver and all
other front facing seat occu-
pants safety belt reminder."
Public comments have been
sought on the draft rules by
October 5.
Germany
nationalises gas
importer Uniper
Germany said it has agreed to
nationalise the country's
biggest gas importer, Uniper,
expanding state intervention in
the industry to prevent an
energy shortage resulting from
Russia's war in Ukraine. The
deal with Uniper builds on a
rescue package agreed in July
and features a capital increase
of 8 billion euros ($8 bn) that
the government will finance.
The government will gain a 99
per cent stake in Uniper.
State Bank raises
`4,000 crore via
7.57% bonds
State Bank of India said it has
raised Rs 4,000 crore by issuing
bonds at a coupon rate of 7.57
per cent. The fund has been
raised by issuing Basel III com-
pliant tier II bonds. SBI said the
bond issue witnessed an over-
whelming response from
investors, attracting bids worth
Rs 9,647 crore, which was over-
subscribed by about 5 times
against the base issue size of Rs
2,000 crore. SBI has decided to
accept bids for Rs 4,000 crore.
Volkswagen to
hike prices by up
to 2% from Oct.
Volkswagen Passenger Cars
India said it will increase prices
of its entire product range by
up to 2 per cent from October
1 in order to offset the impact
of rising input costs. The
automaker sells models like
Virtus, Taigun and Tiguan in
the domestic market. "Effective
October 1, 2022, Volkswagen
Passenger Cars India will be
increasing prices by up to 2
per cent across its product
portfolio,” aspokesperson 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.
„Sebi mulls Asba-like system for trading
MUMBAI, SEPT. 21
In a move that could
change the revenue model
of brokers and exchanges,
the Securities and
Exchsange Board of India
(Sebi) chairperson
Madhabi Puri Buch on
Wednesday said that the
markets regulator is work-
ing on an Asba-like facility
for secondary market
transactions. Experts
pointed out that the pri-
mary revenue for brokers
and exchanges has been
the float money lying with
them and implementing
any Asba-like structure
could force them to start
charging brokerage again.
In the Application
Supported by Blocked
Amount (Asba) system,
money from a primary
market applicant's account
is deducted on allocation of
shares in an IPO.
Speaking at the Global
Fintech Fest here, Buch
said in an initial public
offering (IPO), the Asba
system helps ensure that
money from an investor
gets moved only when an
allotment happens.
“We are now actively
engaged in looking at
Asba-like (facility) for the
secondary market. So if
that can be done for the pri-
mary market, why can't it
be done for the secondary
market?” Buch windered.
Such an instrument for
the secondary market will
remove structural vulnera-
bilities, said Buch.
“If your business model
is such that it is going to
increase concentration
risk or structural vulnera-
ADB LOWERS
INDIA’S FY23
GROWTH TO 7%
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, SEPT. 21
The Asian Development
Bank on Wednesday low-
ered its growth forecast
for India for 2022-23 to 7
per cent from 7.2 per cent
estimated earlier, as infla-
tion is expected to
adversely impact domes-
tic consumption while
sluggish global demand
and elevated oil prices are
likely to be a drag on
exports. ADB also low-
ered India's growth esti-
mate for FY24 to 7.2 per
cent from 7.8 per cent.
The economy grew
strongly in the quarter
ending March, 21 2022.
But the forecasts for GDP
growth for both FY23 and
FY24 are revised down
from earlier projections
in April due to global eco-
nomic headwinds.
Inflation has turned out
to be more persistent than
expected, and led to a
sharp tightening in mone-
tary policy.
Headline inflation has
continued to breached the
monetary policy target of
2–6 per cent on food price
increases and pressures
from rising global oil and
commodity prices follow-
ing the Russian invasion
of Ukraine. ADB expects
inflation in India to be
higher than earlier fore-
cast, averaging 6.7 per
cent in FY23 and moderat-
ing to 5.8 per cent in FY24
as demand pressures
from strengthening eco-
nomic activity are tamped
down by easing supply
bottlenecks.
Given the elevated infla-
tion rate, rising global
financial pressures due to
monetary tightening in
the US, and heightened
global uncertainty, the
RBI terminated its accom-
modative monetary policy
stance in May. This was
accompanied by an
increase in the policy rate
by 140 basis points over 4
months to contain infla-
tionary expectations.
The slowdown in global
growth and high oil
prices will hurt India’s
export prospects in FY23.
Imports grew by 47.9 per
cent in the first 4 months
of 2022, outpacing
exports, up by 18.5 per
cent. Rising global oil
prices and the depreciat-
ing rupee increased the
value of imports.
bility, chances are that
sooner or later the regula-
tor will move to eliminate,”
she said.
Dhirendra Kumar,
founder and CEO of Value
Research, a mutual fund
and other investment
research firm, said, "Many
brokers have run away
with investors money in
the recent past. If investors
do not have to pay money
till they get the shares,
then buying shares will
become safer. This has the
potential to change the bro-
kerage industry complete-
ly. Maybe brokers will have
to start charging broker-
age again."
Calls and text messages
to discount brokerages
Zerodha and ICICI Direct
remained unanswered.
J.N. Gupta, former execu-
tive director, Sebi, said,
"Any measure for protect-
ing investors is always a
good move. However we
will have to wait till the
contours are known."
Referring to algo trading,
Buch said that any busi-
ness model that relies on a
black box not open to sun-
light, where its offering or
claims cannot be audited
or validated, will not be
Govt ‘in no hurry’ Kharif rice output pegged down by 6%
on inflation target
AFTAB AHMED
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
The government is in no
hurry to push inflation—
now hovering near 7 per
cent and eight-year
highs—back to the cen-
tral bank's 4 per cent
medium-term target, for
fear that aggressive rate
hikes could hurt econom-
ic growth, two sources
with direct knowledge of
the matter said.
Surging prices are
poised to trigger for the
first time a legally man-
dated central bank report
to the government on
anti-inflation policy
responses, but the
sources said the govern-
ment would be comfort-
able if the central bank
took two years or even
longer to get inflation
down to 4 per cent.
They added that, after
rate rises of 140 basis
points over the past four
months by the Reserve
Bank of India, to 5.4 per
cent, inflation was now
getting under control
and is expected to head
back towards the top of
its target band at 6 per
cent, which could be
UK unveils $45-bn scheme Wipro fires 300
to help biz with energy bills for moonlighting
TODD GILLESPIE &
KITTY DONALDSON
SEPT. 21
The British government
unveiled a multibillion-
pound bailout to help
companies with their
energy bills this winter
amid soaring prices that
threaten to put many out
of business.
Under the estimated £40
billion ($45 billion) plan,
announced on Wednesday
in a statement, the gov-
ernment will cap the
wholesale energy prices
that feed into gas and
power contracts for busi-
nesses for six months.
Thereafter, a review will
decide whether support is
needed for specific sec-
tors.
The cap for businesses is
set at 21.1 pence per kilo-
Madhabi Puri Buch
permitted. "Sebi is not
against algo trading, but
certain principles must be
followed to makes the
process transparent," she
said. “If algos claim they
can deliver 350 per cent
return, they must be able
to simulate it in an inde-
pendent arrangement so
that Sebi can validate. It
cannot be a black box not
open to sunlight to sanitise
it."
Elaborating on how the
Sebi is working to narrow
down the regulatory gap,
Buch shared principles
that could help fintech
entities get the regulatory
go-ahead. First of all, she
said, financial technology
companies (fintech) must
not play on anonymity nor
they build barriers for
investors or customers.
Sounding tough, she also
said since data is a public
infrastructure or a public
good, any attempt by any
private party to own it or
monetise it, will not be per-
mitted.
Startups, she said, should
build themselves on public
infrastructure like
Aadhaar and make best
use of them to build busi-
ness models.
reached within three to
six months.
"We are in no hurry to
get inflation to 4 per cent.
Growth and inflation
have to be balanced," said
one of the sources, who
asked not to be named.
"New Delhi would be
comfortable with infla-
tion coming below 6 per
cent in the next three to
six months," the source
added. "Our inflation is
under control especially
after a series of measures
from the government and
the RBI."
The finance ministry
did not reply to an email
and a message.
Inflation data for
September, due on Oct.
12, is nearly certain to
keep India's consumer
price growth above 6 per
cent for a third quarter in
a row, triggering the
reporting requirement.
For four years the RBI's
monetary policy main-
tained an accommodative
stance with a growth
bias, but it changed
course in May, just before
the release of April's
"shocker" retail inflation
reading of 7.79 per cent.
— Reuters
watt-hour for electricity
and 7.5 pence for gas, the
government said. That
would impose a discount
of roughly 50 per cent on
the current wholesale
prices this winter, but the
markets remain volatile,
and the exact discount for
each business depends on
when it signed a contract.
TRIVENI ENGG.
SELLS ENTIRE STAKE
IN TURBINES FOR
`1,600 CRORE
New Delhi, Sept. 21:
Sugar firm Triveni
Engineering & Indus-
tries Ltd on Wednesday
said the company has
sold its entire 21.85 per
cent stake in Triveni
Turbines for about Rs
1,609 crore.
The shares have been
sold to Rati Sawhney,
one of the promoters of
Triveni Turbine, and a
few institutional inves-
tors, including sover-
eign wealth funds of
Singapore and Abu
Dhabi as also domestic
mutual funds.
As per the sharehold-
ing pattern of June,
Triveni Engineering
had 21.85 per cent stake
in Triveni Turbine
while Rati Sawhney had
1.81 per cent stake.
This will further
enable the long-term
succession planning
and facilitate focused
management for the
company, Triveni
Engineering said.
—PTI
Govt clears `19,500-cr PLI scheme for solar PV modules
MADHUSUDAN SAHOO
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21
The government on
Wednesday approved a Rs
19,500-crore production
linked incentive (PLI)
scheme for manufacturing
solar photovoltaic (PV)
modules in order to
attract investment in the
solar space in the country.
The scheme is expected to
achieve manufacturing
capacity of giga watt (GW)
scale in high efficiency
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, SEPT. 21
The food grain production
under the kharif crop this
year is expected to be 4 per
cent less than last year
and 8 per cent below the
target production.
Kharif (summer) grain
production in FY23, as per
the first advance estimate
released by the govern-
ment on Wednesday, will
be 149.92 million tonnes.
This is 4 per cent lower
than 156.04 million tonnes
of grain production pre-
dicted by the fourth
advance estimate for FY22.
Banks see NPAs falling to 4% in FY24
Mumbai, Sept. 21: Indian
banks are likely to see a 90
basis points fall in gross
non-performing assets
(NPAs) to 5 per cent in this
fiscal year to March and
further improve to 4 per
cent by end of March 2024,
rating agency Crisil said
on Wednesday.
The key indicator of
banks' asset quality is like-
ly to improve, "riding on
post-pandemic economic
recovery and higher credit
growth," the agency said in
a statement.
Loans of Indian banks
The government is try-
ing to shield companies
from the worst effects of
energy prices that have
soared since Russia
squeezed pipeline flows to
Europe after being sanc-
tioned over its invasion of
Ukraine. The current
package is separate from
a £130 billion plan to help
households with their
energy bills.
"There's a very real dan-
ger, before we put in place
our business scheme, that
cafes, pubs and shops
could go out of business,
and we simply couldn't
allow that to happen,"
Prime Minister Liz Truss
told reporters on Tuesday
during a trip to New York.
All businesses, regard-
less of size, will be eligi-
ble for the subsidy.
—Bloomberg
PFC may be asked to sell
REC stake to Power Grid
RAJESH KUMAR SINGH
& ANNA KITANAKA
SEPT. 21
India may unwind a four-
year-old decision to com-
bine two state-run
lenders as it seeks to side-
step local rules that
restrict them from fund-
ing power projects in one
of the world's fastest-
growing energy markets.
The government is dis-
cussing a plan for state-
run Power Finance
Corporation to sell its
controlling stake in REC
Ltd to transmission utili-
ty Power Grid
Corporation, which is
flush with cash, Raj
Kumar Singh, the
nation's power minister,
said in an interview in
New Delhi. PFC and REC
will enjoy their different
exposure limits as sepa-
rate companies, poten-
tially resulting in greater
project funding, he said.
The nation, the world's
third biggest emitter of
greenhouse gases, is
looking to add a record
capacity of clean energy
solar PV modules.
Besides, the government
also approved modifica-
tions in the scheme for
semiconductors and dis-
play manufacturing eco-
system, with uniform fis-
cal support of 50 per cent
of project cost for all tech-
nology nodes under the
ambitious programme.
Announcing the deci-
sions after the Cabinet
meeting, information and
broadcasting minister
Anurag Thakur said, "The
The target kharif grain
production for FY23 was
163.15 million tonnes, 8
per cent higher than the
first advance estimate.
Rice, which is the main
food grain of the kharif
crop, is estimated to be 6
per cent lower at 104.99
million tonnes in 2022-23
against 111.76 million
tonnes last year. The tar-
get rice production was
112 million tonnes.
Maize during 2022-23 is
estimated at 23.10 million
tonnes. Total kharif pulses
production is expected to
be stagnant at 8.37 million
tonnes against a target of
jumped 15.5 per cent in the
two weeks to August 26
from a year earlier, while
deposits rose 9.5 per cent,
latest Reserve Bank of
India data showed.
The asset quality of the
banking sector will also
benefit from the proposed
sale of NPAs to the
National Asset Recon-
struction Company Ltd,
the agency said.
"The steady improve-
ment in corporate asset
quality is clearly reflected
in leading indicators such
as the credit quality of
New Delhi, Sept 21: Wipro
Ltd has sacked some 300
employees for 'moonlight-
ing' as the IT services firm
toughens its stand against
staffers taking a second
job after work hours.
Its chairman Rishad
Premji, who has been a
vocal critic of moonlight-
ing, said the company has
no place for any employee
who chooses to work
directly with rivals while
being on Wipro payrolls.
Moonlighting is a "com-
plete violation of integri-
ty in its deepest form," he
said speaking at an event.
"The reality is that there
are people today working
for Wipro and working
directly for one of our
competitors and we have
actually discovered 300
people in the last few
months who are doing
Raj Kumar Singh
to reduce its dependence
on fossil fuels. However,
the central bank's rules
to cap lenders' exposure
to a business group limit
both financiers' ability to
fund such projects, as
they are treated as one
entity under the current
ownership structure.
India aims to triple its
clean power generation
capacity to as much as 500
gigawatts by 2030 and
plans to build a robust dis-
tribution system to take
that electricity to con-
sumers. The government
is seeking to ensure funds
for the transition that
could cost $2.5 trillion
through the end of the
decade, according to the
country's climate pledges
submitted in 2015.
Union cabinet today
approved a Rs 19,500-crore
PLI scheme on a national
programme on high effi-
ciency solar PV modules
with an aim to attract Rs
94,000 crore investment in
the sector. It is likely to
generate employment
opportunities for nearly
1,95,000 people directly
and 7,80,000 people indi-
rectly."
Besides, the cabinet also
tweaked the Rs 76,000 crore
incentive scheme for semi-
10 million tonnes. Tur pro-
duction is likely to be 3.89
million tonnes, urad 1.84
million tonnes, groundnut
8.37 million tonnes and
soyabean 12.89 million
tonnes. Tur and urad pro-
duction are below the
fourth estimate of last
year. Total oilseed output
is expected to be 23.57 mil-
lion tonnes against 22.24
million tonne in FY22.
Cotton production is
estimated to be 34.19 mil-
lion bales (of 170 kg each)
against 31.2 million bales
of FY22. The target has
been 37 million for the
kharif crop.
bank exposures," said
Krishnan Sitaraman, sen-
ior direct and deputy chief
ratings officer at Crisil
Ratings.
A study of large expo-
sures of banks, constitut-
ing more than half of cor-
porate advances, showed
the share of high-safety
exposures has increased to
77 per cent as on March
2022 from 59 per cent in
March 2017, while those to
sub-investment grade com-
panies more than halved to
7 per cent versus 17per
cent, it said. —Reuters
Rishad
Premji
exactly that," Premji said.
Later when quizzed
about action taken against
the 300 employees, he said
services have been termi-
nated in those specific
instances of violation.
IT firms are worried
that employees taking up
secondary job after regu-
lar work hours will affect
productivity, lead to con-
flicts of interest and pos-
sible data breaches.
Premji has been a vocal
critic of it and has in the
recent past equated it to
"cheating". —PTI
pg 7
"It won't be a fruitful use
of Power Grid's cash,"
said Rupesh Sankhe, vice
president at Elara Capital
India Pvt Ltd in Mumbai.
"There is no synergy
between the transmission
company and REC, and
an acquisition will
unnecessarily expose
Power Grid to bad loans
on the lender's books."
Power Grid declined as
much as 2.6 per cent in
Mumbai trading, outpac-
ing losses in the Sensex.
PFC had acquired the
central government's
stake in REC in 2018, in a
dramatic turnaround of
an earlier proposal where
REC was to buy a control-
ling stake in PFC. The
deal would result in bet-
ter synergies and create
economy of scale, Singh
had said then.
Representatives for
PFC, Power Grid and
REC didn't immediately
respond to request for
comment.
"The demand for
finance is huge,” Singh
said on Tuesday.
—Bloomberg
conductors and display
manufacturing units, offer-
ing to give 50 per cent of
the project cost across all
categories of factories as it
looks to woo global players.
The cabinet also gave a
go-ahead for National
Logistics Policy, which
aims at reducing trans-
portation cost and promot-
ing seamless movement of
goods in the country.
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi had unveiled the
policy last week .
AXIS CHIEF: GOVT
NORMS ENSURE NO
ONE MAKES MONEY
IN PAYMENTS SPACE
Mumbai, Sept. 21: Private
sector lender Axis Bank
on Wednesday said gov-
ernment mandates on the
payments space ensure
that no one can make
money in the segment.
The bank's CEO & MD
Amitabh Chaudhry
feared that smaller enti-
ties will not be able to sur-
vive amidst such diktats.
The comments from
Axis Bank, which also
runs the payments com-
pany Freecharge, come
amid a debate on whether
merchant discount rate
(MDR) should be levied
on the popular UPI plat-
form. The government,
which wants to popu-
larise digital payments,
has been insisting that no
charges should be levied.
"What the government
is doing is that they're
taking out the entire P&L
(profit and loss) opportu-
nity for us. So if you look
at the payments space, no
one can make any money
in the country at all. You
have to use payments as a
platform to make money
somewhere else,"
Chaudhry said at the
Global Fintech Fest here.
—PTI
PLEA TO INCREASE
NURSING SEATS
New Delhi, Sept. 21: The
government should look at
increasing the number of
nursing seats in the coun-
try in order to enhance
healthcare access, Apollo
Hospitals joint managing
director Sangita Reddy
said on Wednesday.
Speaking to PTI on the
sidelines of a Ficci event
here, she noted that the
number of medical col-
leges has already been
enhanced and increase in
the nursing seats would
lead to further strengthen-
ing of the country's
healthcare system.
"We are very apprecia-
tive of the steps the gov-
ernment is taking in the
field of healthcare. Our
one pending big request is
nursing. We need nurse
practitioners and we
should look at doubling
the input in every nursing
college," Reddy said.
— PTI
 GAMES
THE ASIAN AGE | THURSDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER 2022 | NEW DELHI
pg 8

SHORT TAKES
Khanna quits as
IOA acting prez
New Delhi: Senior sports
administrator Anil Khanna on
Wednesday quit as acting pres-
ident of the Indian Olympic
Association (IOA), almost two
weeks after IOC refused to
recognise any “acting/interim
president”. The International
Olympic Committee (IOC) had,
on September 8, issued a sus-
pension threat, saying the IOA
must hold elections by
December this year. Khanna
took charge of IOA after a
court ruling ended Narinder
Batra’s reign as chief of the
apex sports body in the coun-
try. Khanna, who is senior IOA
vice president, said he
“respects” the view of the IOC
but at the same time asked the
world’s umbrella sports body as
to who will have the final
authority to “decide and inter-
pret the ‘Law of the Land’ and
the Constitution of an NOC. In a
September 8 letter, the IOC
said it will not recognise any
“acting/interim president” after
Batra’s ouster as IOA chief and
said it will deal with secretary
general Rajeev Mehta as the
main point of contact. — PTI
The Oval, Lord’s to
host WTC Finals
NEED A BOOM!
LAVER | CUP
Federer set for
dream farewell
Hardik defends Bumrah’s absence after India lost 1st T20
Mohali, Sept. 21: Star all- London, Sept. 21: Roger
rounder Hardik Pandya
said the team will not put
WADE HAPPY Federer wants to bring the
curtain down on his glit-
too much pressure on
Jasprit Bumrah and give
him ample time to make
TO PUT AWAY tering career by teaming
up with long-time rival
Rafael Nadal at the Laver
his comeback from an
injury after the pacer
was not included in
EVEN YORKERS Cup in London on Friday.
The 20-time Grand Slam
winner announced last
India’s playing XI for the Mohali, Sept. 21: The week he intended to retire
first T20I against Indian conditions allow after the three-day tourna-
Australia here. batters to put even good ment at London’s 02 arena,
Bumrah was missed balls away for bound- which starts on Friday.
badly in the series open- aries and that played a Federer, whose most
er against Australia on part in Australia’s suc- recent competitive match
Tuesday as the visitors cessful chase of 209 in was a loss to Hubert
chased down 209 rather the first T20I, feels Hurkacz in last year’s
comfortably to register a Matthew Wade. Wimbledon quarter-finals,
four-wicket win and take The experienced wick- has been struggling with a
the lead in the three- etkeeper batter smashed knee problem.
match series. Barring an unbeaten 45 off 21 The Swiss great con-
Axar Patel, all Indian balls after Cameron firmed on Wednesday that
bowlers leaked more Green’s 61 off 30 balls as the final match of his long
than 11 runs per over. the visitors made short and illustrious career will
Bumrah, who did not work of a daunting tar- be in the doubles on
play the Asia Cup due to get on Tuesday night. Friday evening.
a back injury, has been As many as 55 runs Italian Matteo
named in the T20 World were needed off the last Berrettini, the first alter- Roger Federer attends a
Cup squad and the pre- four overs but Wade nate for the tournament training session ahead of
ceding series against found boundaries at will that pits Team Europe
Australia and South
Africa.
to avoid a tense finish.
Talking about his role
against Team World, will
then take Federer’s place
the Laver Cup tournament
at the O2 in London on
“We all know what he
brings to the table and
as a finisher, the 34-year-
old Wade said experience
over the weekend.
The Swiss great does not
Wednesday.
beyond,” he said.
— AP

Dubai: The Oval and the iconic
Lord’s will host the World Test
Championship (WTC) Final in
2023 and 2025 respectively, the
game’s governing body ICC
said on Wednesday. England
were identified as the hosts for
the next two WTC Finals during
the ICC Annual General Meeting
in Birmingham in July.
“We are delighted to be hosting
next year’s ICC World Test
Championship Final at The Oval
which has such a rich legacy
and an amazing atmosphere,
which is ideal for such an
important fixture on the calen-
dar,” ICC chief executive Geoff
Allardice said in a statement.
“Following that we will then
take the 2025 Final to Lord’s
which will provide a fitting
backdrop to the ultimate Test.
“Last year’s final between New
Zealand and India in
Southampton was an engross-
ing encounter and I am sure
fans the world over would be
looking forward to the next
WTC final at The Oval.”
While the venues have been
announced, the dates for both
the 2023 and 2025 ICC World
Test Championship Finals has
not been confirmed yet. — PTI
how important he is for
us. There will be con-
cerns here and there
(about bowling) which is
fine. We got to trust our
boys. These are the best
15 in the country and
that is why they are there
in the squad,” Hardik
said.
“Jasprit not being there
obviously makes a big
difference. He is coming
back after an injury, it is
important for him to get
enough time to kind of
come back and may be
not put a lot of pressure
on himself.”
Hardik smashed 71 not
out off 30 balls to take
India past 200. He has
been the team’s stand out
player ever since his
comeback post the IPL.
Talking about his per-
formances of late, he
said: “I have gotten a lot
of success recently but
for me, what is more
important is that even on
my good days how can I
get better? The kind of
career graph I have had, I
don’t make a big deal
Gavaskar says Bhuvi’s death
has made him a lot wiser
and he doesn’t rush into
playing attacking
strokes.
“The run rate dictates
way you have to play.
Grounds like we play in
India, you hit the ball in
the ground and you can
still find the boundaries
that puts a lot of pres-
sure on the bowlers,”
Bhuvneshwar said Wade in the post-
Kumar. match press conference.
“They bowled me some
yorkers and I managed to
put them away. That
keeps you calm, in the
middle.”
With the way the wicket
played, Wade said they
backed themselves to
win the game.
“The way that we struc-
tured up today and the
way that we drove the
game early gave us every
opportunity at the back
end to win the game.
Everybody that stepped
out had really good
intent; even
Inglis’s was a small
(Josh)
yet know whether he will
be able to link up with
Nadal but said it would be
the dream scenario.
“Of course, no doubt,”
he told a packed press con-
ference at the O2. “I mean,
I think it could be quite a
unique situation, you
know, that if it were to
happen.”
Federer said he and
Nadal, 36, had always
maintained a respect for
each other even as they
vied for the biggest tro-
phies in the sport.
“For us as well to go
through a career that we
both have had and to come
out on the other side and
being able to have a nice
relationship I think is
maybe a great message as
well to not just tennis but
sports and maybe even
RAHANE, IYER FLOP ON
“For that reason I think
it would be great. I don’t
know if it’s going to hap-
pen, but I think it could be
obviously a special
moment.”
Nadal, who holds the
record for Grand Slam
titles in men’s tennis with
22, Novak Djokovic, who
has won 21, and three-time
major winner Andy
Murray are all part of the
six-man Team Europe,
captained by Bjorn Borg.
Their opponents, Team
World, skippered by John
McEnroe, include Taylor
Fritz, Felix Auger-
Aliassime and Diego
Schwartzman.
Federer said he was
happy to step away from
tennis at the age of 41 but
admitted it was a “bitter-
sweet decision”. — AFP

innings but it keeps the

Surya leapfrogs
Babar to 3rd spot
Dubai: India’s Suryakumar
Yadav has replaced Pakistan
captain Babar Azam to occupy
the third spot in the T20I bat-
ter’s list in the latest ICC Men’s
Player Rankings issued on
Wednesday. Yadav impressed
with a classy 46 during India’s
four-wicket loss to Australia in
the opening match of their
three-game series at Mohali on
Tuesday. The knock helped him
to close in on Pakistan opener
Mohammad Rizwan at the top
of the T20I batter’s chart.
The right-hander dethroned
Babar from the third spot, with
Rizwan now just 45 rating
points ahead of of him. — PTI
about my performances
whether success or fail-
ure.
“I had a good game
today (Tuesday night).
They could target me in
the next game and I need
to be one step ahead.”
Australia went hammer
and tongs in the run
chase, making a mockery
of the Indian attack.
Hardik gave credit to
the opposition batters.
“There was no dew. You
have to give credit to
them the way they bat-
ted. They played good
cricket. We could not exe-
cute our plans with the
ball, with our deliveries.
“You can’t pin point
why we lost. It is a game.
It is a bilateral series. We
over bowling is real concern
New Delhi, Sept. 21: The
legendary Sunil Gavaskar
feels senior pacer
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s
poor show at the death
overs is a “real concern”
for India, going into next
month’s T20 World Cup.
Bhuvneshwar has leaked
quite a lot of runs at the
death in the last few
matches. His 16-run 19th
over allowed Australia to
pull off a record chase of
209 in the first T20I in
Mohali on Tuesday night.
“I don’t think there was
too much dew. We didn’t
see the fielders or bowlers
trying to use the towel to
ple, that 19th over... that’s a
real concern,” Gavaskar
said on ‘Sports Today’.
“Somebody like
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is
going for runs every single
time, when he is expected.
In 18 deliveries he has
bowled in three matches
against Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, and now Australia,
he has given away 49 runs.
“It is almost three runs
per ball. Somebody with
his experience and calibre,
you expect he will give 35-
36 runs in those 18 deliver-
ies. That really is an area
of concern.”
The former skipper said
Bumrah’s return will
strengthen the bowling
department.
a Former head coach Ravi
Shastri also came down
heavily on India for their
“sloppy standard of field-
ing” in the first T20I.
Defending 208, Indian
fielders dropped as many
as three catches, including
that of Cameron Green (61
off 30 balls) and Matthew
Wade (45 not out off 21
balls). “If you look at all
the top Indian teams over
the years, there is youth
and experience. I find the
youth missing here and
hence the fielding,”
momentum of the
innings rolling.
“At seven and eight,
through that period, kind
of puts a lot pressure on
down to the back end as
you need 15 an over. So as
a team and myself and
Tim, I thought we really
found a way to drive the
game tonight, which was
nice.” — PTI
The run rate
dictates way you
have to play. Grounds
like we play in India,
you hit the ball in the
ground and you can
still find the
boundaries that puts a
lot of pressure on the
bowlers.
DAY 1 OF DULEEP FINAL
Coimbatore, Sept. 21: West Zone’s sought-after bat-
ting stars, including former India captain Ajinkya
Rahane and KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer, flattered to
deceive as South Zone restricted them to 250 for 8 on
the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final here on
Wednesday.
It was young Gujarat wicketkeeper Het Patel (96
batting) and his 83-run stand for the ninth wicket
with Saurashtra veteran Jaydev Unadkat (39 batting)
that helped West recover from a precarious 167 for 8
to a safer 250/8 by the end of 90 overs.
But, much was expected of an incredibly strong
West’s batting line-up that boasts of Rahane (8), Iyer
(37), Sarfaraz Khan (34), Yashasvi Jaiswal (1) and
current India A captain Priyank Panchal (7).
For South Zone, pacers Basil Thampi (2/42 in 15
overs) and C.V. Stephen (2/39 in 10 overs) blew away
the West top-order within first half an hour. — PTI
Brief Scores: West Zone 250/8 in 90 overs (Het Patel 96 n.o.,
Jaydev Unadkat 39 n.o., R. Sai Kishore 3/80, Basil Thampi 2/42,
CB Stephen 2/39) vs South Zone.

Sala’s pilot said

got two more matches
and we will try to per-
form better.” — PTI
try and dry their fingers.
That’s not an excuse. We
didn’t bowl well. For exam-
India have not been able to
defend good totals but
hoped a fit-again Jasprit
Shastri, who was in the
commentary box, said.
— PTI
MATTHEW WADE,
AUSTRALIA PLAYER Maiden MotoGP
plane was ‘dodgy’
London: The pilot flying the
JULIUS BAER | CHESS CUP in India next year
plane that came down in the
English Channel, killing
Argentinian footballer Emiliano
Sala, previously complained
Arjun in 2nd spot, DEEPIKA DAS
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21

The expansive track at the

that the aircraft was “dodgy”,
according to audio obtained by
the BBC. Sala, 28, and pilot
David Ibbotson, 59, died when
the single-engined Piper Malibu
plane they were travelling in
came down en route from
Nantes, France, to Cardiff in
2019. The footballer inhaled
toxic levels of carbon monoxide
from the aircraft’s faulty
exhaust system during the unli-
censed flight, a coroner’s
inquest ruled in March. In a
Praggu slips to 4th
New York, Sept. 21: India’s
teenaged Grandmasters
Arjun Erigaisi and R.
Praggnanandhaa are
placed second and joint
fourth respectively after
12 rounds in the prelimi-
nary phase of Julius Baer
Generation Cup online
● World champion
Magnus Carlsen is on
top of the standings
with 25 points, one
ahead of Indian GM
Arjun Erigiasi after 12
rounds
Adhiban, he had to share
Buddh International
Circuit (BIC) in Greater
Noida will soon reverber-
ate with the roar of super-
bike engines and the cheer
of jam-packed galleries.
MotoGP commercial
rights owner Dorna and
Noida-based race promot-
ers Fairstreet Sports (FSS)
announced on Wednesday
The West Bengal women’s team pose for a selfie after their win on Wednesday. that the world-class two-
wheeler racing event will
● India’s maiden
edition of the MotoGP
World Championship,
labelled as ‘Grand Prix
of Bharat,’ could be the
biggest motor sporting
event that country will
host in the near future
after the now defunct
India Grand Prix
Formula One event.
met them before the
announcement.
“We have learnt from the
mistakes that India did

Gujarat men, West Bengal

phone message to another
pilot, Ibbotson said “they’ve
entrusted me to pick him (Sala)
up in a dodgy Mirage,” accord-
ing to the BBC. “Normally I’d
have my life jacket in between
the seats, tomorrow we’re
wearing the life jacket, that’s
for sure.” The forward had
signed for Cardiff City, who
were then in the Premier
League, for a club record £15m
from Nantes. Ibbotson said in
the message that he had heard
a bang when previously flying
the plane, and that its left brake
pedal wasn’t working. — AFP
Published by K. Sudhakar for and on
behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings
Limited at Jawaharlal Nehru National
Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Marg, New Delhi 110 002. and Printed by
him at BFL Infotech Limited, C – 9,
Sector – III, Noida – 201301.
Editor – Kaushik Mitter,
RNI Registration number 57290/94,
Price in Nepal - Nep.Rs. 20.00 per copy.
rapid chess tournament
here.
World champion Magnus
Carlsen is on top of the
standings with 25 points,
one ahead of Erigiasi,
while Quang Liem Le
(China) is third on 20
points.
The 19-year-old Erigaisi
started day three with a
win over veteran
Ukrainian Vasyl
Ivanchuk. However, he
suffered a reversal against
Poland’s Jan-Krzystof
Duda in round 10. After a
draw against Boris
Gelfand (Israel) in the 11th
round, he ended the day
with a victory over teenag-
er Christopher Yoo (USA).
The 17-year-old
Praggnanandhaa, who
started very well on day
one with three wins, could
only manage four draws
on the third day.
Beginning with a draw
against compatriot B
points with Quang Liem
Li, David Navara (Czech
Republic) and Hans
Niemann (USA) in rounds
10, 11 and 12 respectively.
Carlsen won three of his
four matches on the day to
move one point clear of
the field. He beat Ivan
Saric, Duda and Gelfand
to underline his suprema-
cy. Adhiban won his first
match of the tournament,
beating Saric but contin-
ues to languish in 15th
place with eight points.
Three more rounds
remain to be played in the
preliminary phase after
which the top eight will
battle it out in the knock-
out quarter-finals.
The event features 16
players spanning three
generations and is being
held on a round-robin-
cum-knockout format.
— PTI
women emerge winners
Surat, Sept 21: Favourites
Gujarat men’s table tennis
team gave their fans much
to cheer about as they
clinched gold against
Delhi while West Bengal
beat Maharashtra in the
women’s final of the 36th
National Games here on
Wednesday.
These were the first gold
medal matches in the
National Games being
held after seven years.
Maharashtra and West
Bengal took the men’s
bronze medals after their
semifinal losses while
Tamil Nadu and
Telangana claimed the
women’s bronze medals.
THE RESULTS
Men’s final: Gujarat beat Delhi 3-0
(Manav Thakkar bt Sudhanshu
Grover 11-3, 13-11, 14-12; Harmeet
Desai bt Payas Jain 11-7, 11-3, 12-10;
Manush Shah bt Yashansh Malik 11-4,
11-9, 11-4).
Women’s final: West Bengal beat
Maharashtra 3-1 (Ayhika Mukherjee
bt Swastika Ghosh 11-3, 11-5, 11-3;
Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to
Reethrishya Tennison 9-11, 11-13, 9-11;
Mouma Das bt Diya Chitale 6-11, 16-
14, 10-12, 14-12, 11-6; Sutirtha
Mukherjee bt Swastika Ghosh 11-4,
11-13, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6).
Gujarat, the top seed in
the men’s tournament,
was in roaring form since
the start of the competi-
tion and the only question
was if Delhi could at least
put up a fight. The home
team’s domination was so
absolute that they did not
drop a single rubber
through the competition
as they surged to open’s
Gujarat’s account on the
medal’s table.
Earlier, in the women’s
final, the experience of
Mouma Das and Sutirtha
Mukherjee helped West
Bengal get the better of
Maharashtra’s young guns
3-1. Maharashtra made a
slight change to their line-
up from their previous out-
ings, getting Diya Chitale
to play the third singles
and pushing Swastika
Ghosh to take the top spot.
be held in India next year.
India’s maiden edition of
the MotoGP World
Championship, labelled as
‘Grand Prix of Bharat,’
could be the biggest motor
sporting event that coun-
try will host in the near
future after the now
defunct India Grand Prix
Formula One event.
Though the dates were
kept under wraps,
MotoGP commercial
rights owner Dorna and
FSS signed a Asked if they expect some
Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) on
Wednesday to host the pre-
mier two-wheel racing
event in India for the next
seven years.
Dorna will announce the
2023 calendar soon. Sports
Minister Anurag Thakur
and Uttar Pradesh chief
minister Yogi Adityanath
have extended their sup-
port regarding hosting the
event when the FSS team
while hosting the Formula
One race and will try not
to repeat them. Be it taxa-
tion, customs or trans-
portation of vehicles… we
will definitely do our
homework on each and
every aspect before host-
ing the MotoGP event,”
FSS COO Pushkar Nath
said.
FSS will reportedly pay
Dorna millions of euros
per year to host the race.
financial support from the
government to ensure the
event’s long future, pro-
moter Nath added: “We
are self sufficient to host
the event. The govern-
ment has been very sup-
portive.”
Once the stakeholders
decide the dates, the rack
track will be inspected by
the world governing body
FIM 90 days before the
race.