cmyk cmyk

THE LARGEST CIRCULATED ENGLISH DAILY IN SOUTH INDIA

CHENNAI I THURSDAY 2 I MARCH 2023

WEATHER WORLD | 8 SPORT | 11 TABLOID | 13

Max: 31 C O
Daily life hit after Lanka Aussies bowl India AR Rahman to perform
Min: 23OC live for a cause
Rainfall: Nill unions hold day-long stir out for 109
ASTROGUIDE deccanchronicle.com, facebook.com/deccannews, twitter.com/deccanchronicle, google.com/+deccanchronicle Vol. 18 No. 336 Established 1938 | 20 PAGES| `3.00

Unite to defeat BJP in LS poll,

Subakrithu: Masi 18
Tithi: Dasami
Star: Thiruvathirai
Rahukalam:
1.30 pm to 3 pm
Yamagandam:
6 am to 7.30 am
PRAYERS
Fajar: 5.14 am
Luhar: 12.27 am
Asar: 3.34 pm
Maghrib: 6.18 pm
Isha: 7.29 pm
Counting of votes
in Erode East,
3 states today
Chennai: All arrangements are in
place to count votes on March 2
for the bypoll held to Erode East
Assembly constituency. The vote
counting exercise is set to begin at
8 a.m. and expected to be com-
pleted before 5 p.m. Counting of
votes will also be taken up for the
election held to the state assem-
blies of Tripura, Meghalaya and
Nagaland on Thursday. (Agencies)
GST collection in
Feb 1.49 L crore
New Delhi: GST collections rose 12
per cent to over Rs 1.49 lakh crore
in February, the finance ministry
said on Wednesday. February
2023 witnessed the highest cess
collection of Rs 11,931 crore since
implementation of GST. The col-
lections are, however, lower than
the second highest Goods and
Services Tax (GST) mop-up
recorded in January at over Rs
1.57 lakh crore. The collection
reached an all-time high of Rs 1.68
lakh crore in April 2022. — PTI
Stalin tells opposition parties
■ Who should not win matters most, CM tells leaders on his b’day
G. BABU JAYAKUMAR,
D. SEKAR | DC
CHENNAI, MARCH 1
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin
gave a clarion call to all
opposition political par-
ties in the country to come
together on a single plat-
form along with the
Congress and defeat the
BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha
elections since the prime
concern of the nation at
the moment was not who
should win but who
should not win.
Making a spirited accep-
tance speech at a function
organised in Chennai on
the occasion of his 70th
birthday on Wednesday,
Mr Stalin made it clear
that there was no question
of having a post-poll
alliance and vehemently
disagreed with the sugges-
tion in some quarters that
the coalition against the
BJP should be formed
without the Congress, too.
Politically on the same
page with the leaders of
national parties who had
come down to felicitate
him from Jammu and
Kashmir, Delhi, Patna and
Lucknow, the DMK presi-
dent made it clear that it
(From left) RJD president and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, SP president
Akhilesh Yadav, DMK leader T.R. Baalu, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Tamil
Nadu water resources minister Duraimurugan, National Conference president Dr
Farooq Abdullah and Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian government in a
show of solidarity on the 70th birthday of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin (fifth from left) in
Chennai on Wednesday.
was not important as to
who would form the gov-
ernment after the polls
because the priority was
to defeat the BJP that had
divided an India that was
united once.
Pointing out how the
unity between the
Congress and the DMK
had helped them win a
series of elections consis-
tently, he told the leaders
on the stage at the YMCA
grounds in Nandanam to
take the message of unity
to the other political par-
ties and enable the forma-
tion of the coalition that
would help win the ideo-
logical battle.
As far as Tamil Nadu
was concerned, he urged
his supporters and cadre
from all over the state who
had gathered there in
large numbers to ensure
that all the 40 Lok Sabha
seats in the state and the
neighbouring Puducherry
put together were won by
their coalition in the same
fashion in which the DMK
had triumphed under the
leadership of M.
Karunanidhi in the 2004
Lok Sabha elections.
He said he was happy
— E.K. Sanjay
that his birthday celebra-
tions had turned into an
occasion marking the
starting point for the for-
mation of an alliance
mainly because all the
leaders who spoke ahead
of him – Congress presi-
dent Malkarjuna Kharge,
Jammu and Kashmir Nat-
ional Conference leader
Farooq Abdullah, Samajw-
adi president Ahiklesh
Yadav and Rashtriya
Janata Dal leader and
Bihar Deputy Chief
Minister Tejaswai Yadav –
had expressed the same
views. ■ P7
WHY NOT STALIN
AS NEXT PM, ASKS
DR ABDULLAH
G. BABU JAYAKUMAR,
P.A. JEBARAJ | DC
CHENNAI, MARCH 1
Why not M.K. Stalin as the
next prime minister? This
was what former Jammu
and Kashmir chief minis-
ter Farooq Abdullah said
when asked if the Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister had
an opportunity to become
the prime minister in the
event of the opposition par-
ties uniting and defeating
the BJP-led NDA in the
2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Dr Abdullah was replying
to questions from the
media at the Chennai air-
port on Wednesday as he
landed from Delhi to take
part in the 70th birthday
celebrations of Mr Stalin
that saw a few other lead-
ers of different political
parties also taking part in
it. He said the DMK bring-
ing a few opposition lead-
ers on a single stage was a
wonderful beginning. ■ P7
AMRIT KAAL PLAN
Planned cities will
decide future: PM
SHASHI BHUSHAN | DC
NEW DELHI, MARCH 1
Asserting that India’s
position in the world
would have been com-
pletely different if 75
planned cities had been
developed since
Independence, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
on Wednesday said that
well-planned cities will
determine the fate of the
country.
Addressing a webinar
on the subject of “urban
development with a focus
on planning", the sixth in
a series of 12 post-budget
webinars organised by the
government, the Prime
Minister lamented that
only one or two planned
cities have been devel-
oped in the country in the
75 years since India's
Independence. He noted
that India’s position in the
world would have been
completely different if 75
planned cities had been
developed in the 75 years
of its independence.
The Prime Minister reit-
erated that well-planned
cities are going to be the
need of the hour in the
fast-paced environment of
India in the 21st century.
Underscoring that the
development of new cities
and the modernisation of
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi addresses a post-
Budget webinar on ‘Urban
Planning, Development
and Sanitation’, in New
Delhi, Wednesday
services in the existing
cities are the two main
aspects of urban develop-
ment, the Prime Minister
highlighted the signifi-
cance of urban develop-
ment in every budget of
the country.
He informed the partici-
pants that an incentive of
Rs 15,000 crores has been
declared in this year’s
budget for the standards
of urban development and
expressed confidence that
it will provide impetus to
planned urbanisation.
The Prime Minister
mentioned that all state
governments and urban
local bodies can make
their contributions
towards a developed
nation only when they
develop planned urban
areas. ■ P5

SC panel on stock
markets today
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is
BBC must follow Indian RSS: SC to hear TN plea tomorrow
scheduled to pronounce on
Thursday its order on a batch of
PILs on the recent Adani Group
shares crash triggered by the
Hindenburg Research’s fraud alle-
laws, EAM tells UK min
SRIDHAR
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Wednesday agr-
eed to hear on March 3
Tamil Nadu government
plea against Madras high
ing a bench also compris-
ing Justice Pami dighan-
tam Sri Narasimha, upon a
mentioning by senior
advocate Mukul Rohatgi
permitting the RSS to take
out its route march in
Tamil Nadu on resched-
uled dates. Mr Rohatgi
apprised the court that the
out its route marches in
various

roads.
districts
across the state on public

The Tamil Nadu govern-

gations. A bench of Chief Justice
D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S
Narasimha and J B Pardiwala is
likely to deliver its verdict over
setting up of a panel of domain
experts for strengthening existing
regulatory measures for stock
markets. — PTI
Reconsider release
of prisoner, TN told
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has
directed the Tamil Nadu govern-
ment to reconsider the issue of
premature release of a Sri Lankan
convict, who has undergone nearly
35 years of incarceration. The top
court was hearing a plea filed by
petitioner Rajan who has chal-
lenged the state’s February 12,
2021 order rejecting his prayer for
grant of premature release in
terms of the February 1, 2018 poli-
cy. — PTI
COUNTER POINT
KUMARASWAMI | DC
NEW DELHI, MARCH 1
All entities operating in
India must fully comply
with relevant laws and
regulations, external
affairs minister S.
Jaishankar on Wednesday
“firmly” told his British
counterpart James
Cleverly after the visiting
foreign secretary raised
the issue of tax searches at
BBC’s offices.
Mr Cleverly, who is on a
visit to India to attend a
meeting of the G-20 foreign
ministers, raised the issue
during a bilateral meeting
with Mr Jaishankar.
Mr Cleverly “brought up
the BBC tax issue with the
EAM on Wednesday,''
sources said, adding, that
he (Mr Cleverly) was firm-
ly told that all entities
operating in India must
comply fully with relevant
laws and regulations.
Last month, the Income
Tax department conducted
survey operations at the
BBC’s offices in Delhi and
Mumbai as part of an
investigation into alleged
tax evasion. ■ P7
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with UK Foreign
Secretary James Cleverly during a meeting, in New
Delhi, Wednesday.
G-20 foreign mins’
meet to start today
SRIDHAR
KUMARASWAMI | DC
NEW DELHI, MARCH 1
The main meeting of the
G-20 foreign ministers’
will kick off on Thursday,
when Prime Minister Na-
rendra Modi is likely to
address the gathering.The
two sessions on Thursday
will be chaired by exter-
nal affairs minister S.
Jaishankar. India on
Wednesday, in response
— PTI
to media queries, said it
was up to Russia and Chi
na to answer whether tho
se two nations are no lon
ger accepting references
to Ukraine that they had
agreed to in the G-20 Bali
Summit Declaration in
November last year. New
Delhi signalled it would
stand firm on the consen-
sus adopted by all G-20
nations in Bali as far as
references to the Ukraine
conflict were concerned.
court’s order permitting seeking an urgent listing, route march is on March 5. ment has flagged Article
the Rashtriya Swayamse- said that it will hear the The court said it will take 19(2) to hold back permis-
vak Sangh (RSS) to take plea on March 3. it up on Friday. sion to RSS to take out its
out its route march in dif- The Tamil Nadu govern- On February 10, Madras route march saying that
ferent parts of the state. ment has approached the High Court directed Tamil reasonable restrictions
Chief Justice of India Supreme Court against the Nadu police to grant per- can be imposed for main-
D.Y. Chandrachud head- Madras high court order mission to the RSS to take taining public order.
STEEP HIKE IN
LPG PRICES FOR
COMMERCIAL,
HOME USERS
New Delhi, March 1:
Cooking gas LPG price on
Wednesday was hiked by
Rs 50 per cylinder — the
first increase in rates in
almost eight months —
that came within days of
end of polling in three
northeastern states and
was sharply criticised by
the opposition. A 14.2-kg
LPG cylinder in Chennai
now costs 1,118.50. It will
be Rs 1,102.50 in Mumbai,
Rs 1,129 in Kolkata and Rs
Rs 1,103 in Delhi.
State-owned Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC), Bharat
Petroleum Corporation
Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan

Bharadwaj, Atishi to replace Petroleum Corporation

Ltd (HPCL) said Rs 1,103
was the rate for a 14.2-kg
non-subsidised LPG cylin-

Sisodia, Jain in Delhi cabinet der. Oil firms also hiked

BHASKAR HARI SHARMA
NEW DELHI, MARCH 1
AAP legislators Saurabh
Bharadwaj and Atishi are
all set to become minis-
ters in the Delhi cabinet.
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal has forwarded
their names to the lieu-
tenant-governor for
appointment to the cabi-
net following the resigna-
tion of two key ministers -
- Manish Sisodia and
Satyendar Jain.
Mr Bhardwaj, who is
also the party's national
spokesperson, is current-
ly serving the Delhi Jal
Board as vice-chairman.
The legislator from
Greater Kailash was also
a minister during the first
stint of the AAP govern-
ment.
Ms Atishi, who repre-
sents the Kalkaji con-
stituency, has been a key
member of Mr Sisodia's
education team. She had
also contested the 2019
Lok Sabha polls from the
East Delhi constituency
and lost to the BJP's
Gautam Gambhir. ■ P5
the price of commercial
LPG, used in hotels and
restaurants, by `350.5 to
`2,119.5 per 19-kg cylinder.
Separately, aviation tur-
bine fuel price was cut by 4
per cent in line with soft-
ening international rates
of the fuel.The government
doesn’t pay any subsidy to
most non-Ujjwala users
and this is the rate that
they will have to pay for
buying cooking gas refills.

Centre suspends FCRA licence of CPR

DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, MARCH 1
Union home ministry has
suspended the licence un-
der the Foreign Contribu-
tion Regulation Act (FCRA)
of prominent public think
tank Centre for Policy
Research (CPR) for six
months over alleged viola-
tion of laws. Suspension
was ordered following cer-
tain prime-facie evidence
that certain provisions of
the FCRA were not followed
by the CPR, the officials
privy to this development
said on Wednesday.
The CPR was under scruti-
ny after income-tax surveys
on it and also on Oxfam
India in September last year.
CPR, a non-governmental
organisation (NGO), in a
statement today, said that it
continues to cooperate fully
with authorities, is in com-
plete compliance with the
law and is routinely scruti-
nised and audited by gov-
ernment authorities, inclu-
ding the comptroller and
auditor general of India.
According to CPR's website,
its founder is Pai Pani-
ndiker and former mem-
bers of the governing board
include former prime min-
ister Manmohan Singh, for-
mer chief justice of India
the late Y.V. Chandrachud.
The FCRA licence of CPR
has been suspended over
alleged violation of laws,
the officials said while
Oxfam’s FCRA licence was
suspended in January last
year, after which the NGO
had filed a revision petition
with the home ministry.
With suspension of the said
licence under FCRA, the
CPR will not be able to rec-
eive funding from abroad.
 CITY
DECCAN CHRONICLE | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023 | CHENNAI
SHORT TAKES
EPFO dt outreach prog
held in Chengalpet,
Kanchi
Chennai: EPFO, Regional
Office, Tambaram, successful-
ly conducted the district out-
reach programme “NIDHI
AAPKE NIKAT 2.0” and
ESIC’s “SUVIDHA SAM-
AGHAM” meeting on
February 27 in the industrial
areas in Chengalpet and
Kancheepuram districts for
redressing the grievances of
PF subscribers, employers,
pensioners and insured per-
sons. Officials of EPFO, ESIC
and deputy inspector of
labour department, conducted
multiple sessions explaining
various provisions, benefits
and new initiatives of the con-
cerned departments.
Sri.Desikan, SS has explained
the theme of the month “with-
drawals’ under EPFO.
Regional PF Commissioner
Sumit Kumar Grover interact-
ed with the participants and
clarified their doubts and
redressed their grievances on
the spot. R.Hariharan,
EO/DNO and J.Pugazhendhi,
EO, organised the pro-
grammes, stated a press
release.
Complete shopping
experience at SOUQ
market
Chennai: The SOUQ Market,
Edition-4 a 10 days Arts,
Crafts & Handicraft exhibi-
tion, was held between
February 17 and 26 at the
CERC Exhibition Ground
Kalakshetra, Thiruvanmiyur
Chennai.
The exhibition displayed eth-
nic and contemporary arts and
crafts, clothing, handloom
sarees, jewellery, home décor,
furniture, and handicraft
products direct from the arti-
sans and craft persons from
across India. Also on display
were Lucknow chikankari,
Manipuri pottery, Jodhpuri
jutis, kalamkari prints and
wall hangings. With over 110
stalls, the SOUQ Market gave
complete shopping experience.
FAKE DOCTORATES:
ANNA VARSITY
FILES POLICE
COMPLAINT
Hindlehar released at HCAS College Day
Chennai, March 1:
College Day for the academic
The
year 2022-23 was held on HCAS
campus on Wednesday.
Principal Dr. S. Thirumagan,
welcomed the gathering and
put forward the laurels won in
academics, co-curricular and
extra-curricular activities by
students and faculty during
the academic year. Director Dr.
Susan Verghese, who presided
over the event, interacted with
the students and shared the
secret of happiness and
stressed on the need for being
social and establishing connec-
tions with people that last
throughout life.
College magazine Hindlehar
2022 was released by Director
Susan Verghese and the first
copy was presented to Deputy
Director (Academics) Dr V. J.
Philip.
Felicitation and certificates of
merit were presented in due
acknowledgement to the
longest serving principal of
HCAS Dr S. Thirumagan and
faculty member, who had com-
pleted 25 years of service at
HCAS, Dr S. Illanjiam and
Jayanthi Margaret having 20
years of service.
Besides, best outgoing stu-
dents in terms of academics
and sports, best NSS volun-
teers, best NCC cadet and best
academic performers in every
department were honoured.
Department of bio- technolo-
gy and department of manage-
ment were presented with tro-
phies for their stellar success
during Carnival 2k23.
An array of cultural pro-
grammes enthralled the audi-
ence. The principal along with
a few faculty members sang a
fantabulous song envisioning
the success of the upcoming
Ban on buses plying into
Kanchi may affect tourism
T.SUDHEESH | DC
CHENNAI, MARCH 1
Tourists are bearing the
brunt of the new traffic
regulations after the local
police banned tourist
buses from entering
Kanchipuram town. It has
been a week since the new
regulation came into
force. Vehicles like
tourists buses and tempo
travellers have to stop at
least two km away from
the town, forcing tourists
to walk down busy roads
under a scorching sun.
M. K. Ajit Kumar, South
India MICE Association
(SIMA) spokesperson said
that the new regulation
has triggered a serious
safety concern for
tourists. Famous temples
like those for Ekamb-
areswhar, Kailasanathar
and Kamakshi are not
within walking distance of
each other. The ban will
Why omit Thapalpetti
metro station, asks HC
T. SUDHEESH I DC
CHENNAI, MARCH 1
The residents of
Madhavaram have
approached the Madras
high court against the
Chennai Metro Railway
Limited (CMRL), seeking
inclusion of Thapalpetti
as a metro station in the
alignment for phase-II of
the project. Following the
case filed by the residents
of Palaniappa Nagar with
support from other neigh-
bouring associations, the
high court directed the
CMRL to file an affidavit
citing the reason for dele-
tion of Thapalpetti metro
station in phase-II.
The residents, in the
petition, said that
Thapalapetti was includ-
ed as a station in the
Detailed Project Report
(DPR) prepared by the
CMRL in December 2018
and later it was deleted
without giving a proper
reason or explanation.
S. Jayachandran, secre-
tary, Palaniappa Nagar
Civil Association, said
that the high court had
directed to issue notices to
all the concerned depart-
ments and officials before
DC CORRESPONDENT Corruption and Human
CHENNAI, MARCH 1 Rights Council, the issue of
fake universities and takers
After the Anna
University courted con-
of D. Litts, provided by fly-
by-night universities which
troversy following rent-
ing out its auditorium
are rampant in Tamil Nadu,
is back in focus once
for distribution of D. again.
Litts by
International
the
Anti-
The university auditori-
um was used by private par-
From left Dr. S. Illanjiam
(VP-Academics), Dr V. J. Philip
(Deputy Director -Academics),
Dr. Susan Verghese (Director)
and Dr. S. Thirumagan
(Principal) hold the college
magazine Hindlehar released
at the College Day event on
Wednesday.
(Right) Cultural programme
staged by students.
cultural fest and the college.
The Vice-Principal
(Academics& Research) and
convenor of the event Dr S
Illanjiam proposed vote of
thanks.
also affect coach tourism
activities, including sight-
seeing, lunch, and visits to
silk weaving centres.
The local administration
is aware of the new regu-
lation that the police are
enforcing. When we asked
about this, a police officer
countered by asking if a
person could walk 4 km in
Madurai, can’t do the
same in Kanchipuram
This mindset is not good
for Kanchipuram as a
tourist destination and for
development of tourism in
Tamil Nadu. It appears
there are vested financial
interests behind this rule,
and they are benefitting
from the same. If the ban
is implemented strictly in
the coming months, it may
force tour operators to
remove Kanchipuram as a
destination for coach
tours.
P. Asoka, president,
Approved Tour Guide’s
the next hearing of the
case is scheduled.
“The fight is for a gen-
uine cause and for the
future of youth. We
strongly believe that legal
route is the only option to
force the CMRL to return
to their original plan. The
Thapalpetti Metro station
will cater to thousands of
youth, who mostly work
in the IT corridor in the
southern part of
Chennai. We will keep
fighting until the CMRL
realises the importance of
having a station at
Thapalpetti and go back
on their existing plan of
omitting the proposed sta-
tion,” he said.
“The CMRL shocked us
with their latest plan of
shelving the earlier
approved DPR plan citing
less footfall and many
other unconvincing expla-
nations. Multiple requisi-
tions and representations
to stakeholders both to the
Central and state govern-
ments and to CMRL
through various channels
evoked no response. The
CMRL too was unconvinc-
ing with their less patron-
age explanation despite
Thapalpetti being the
ties on Monday to organise
an honorary doctorate dis-
tribution event in which a
music director was one
among the recipients.
After facing criticism
from various quarters,
Anna University Vice-
Chancellor R. Velraj sought
strict action against the
Association (ATGA), said
that most of the tourists
who come to
Kanchipuram want to
visit temples and silk
weaving centres. The new
traffic regulation would
disrupt free tourist flow.
The tourist comes spend-
ing a substantial amount
as travelling coach
expenses. If the police
don’t allow these vehicles
to enter the town, then
tourists must hire taxis or
autos, which will be an
additional burden for
them. They won’t choose
Kanchipuram as their
favourite destination. It
will affect the entire
tourism ecosystem in
Kanchipuram. The
authorities should consid-
er this matter seriously
and get this solved as early
as possible, Asoka said.
Senthan Amuthan, a
local tour operator, said it
would create inconven-
major hub of the area.’’
The case was heard on
February 27 by a Bench
led by Acting Chief
Justice T Raja and Justice
Bharat Chakravarthy.
Aruna Giri, a resident in
the area, said that CMRL
had given a reason that
they changed the plan as
part of cost cutting and
reducing the length of the
line.
“But we will be deprived
of water sources once the
project is done as it will
block the water stream.
We have been paying
water tax annually for
years. All of the residents
also pay property tax. We
do not want compensa-
tion, but CMRL needs to
go back to their original
plan,”he said.
He added that the CMRL
official came and marked
the places after they were
issued some notices. “We
don’t understand why
they changed the align-
ment? They had fixed the
alignment years ago and
based on this they had
compensated the project
affected residents. Now
they suddenly diverted
the plan to the residential
area,”he said.
organisers of the event.
‘’Even a reputed universi-
ty has now been cheated by
fake universities. The hon-
orary doctorates should be
given only by accredited
universities and not to pri-
vate organisations.
Anna University will not
let the hall to any individ-
ience to the tourists as
most of them come to
Kanchipuram not only to
visit temples but also take
in silk weaving centres.
Most of the travellers
want to buy the famous
Kanchipuram silk saree
as well. The new regula-
tions will affect these busi-
nesses. The authorities
must find solutions to
solve the tourists' prob-
lems due to the new regu-
lation, he said.
A police officer with the
office of Kanchipuram
District Police Chief said
that the new regulation
was brought due to heavy
traffic with heavy vehicles
creating traffic snarls
across town. The police
are unable to deal with the
traffic congestion. “We
can’t do anything for the
tourists when it comes to
traffic regulations.
Everybody must follow
the rules,” the officer said.
DANISH CROWN
PRINCE CALLS
ON GOVERNOR
Chennai: Denmark
Crown Prince Frederik
Andre Henrik Christian
and his wife Crown
Princess Mary called on
Tamil Nadu Governor R
N Ravi and first lady
Laxmi Ravi here, the Raj
Bhavan said on
Wednesday.
On a brief visit to the
city, the Crown Prince
discussed strengthening
bilateral ties between
Denmark and India.
"Crown Prince
Frederik and Crown
Princess Mary of
Denmark were received
by Governor Ravi and
the First Lady of Tamil
Nadu Laxmi Ravi at
Rajbhavan. They dis-
cussed enhancing coop-
eration between the two
countries," Raj Bhavan
said in a tweet.
Earlier, the Danish
emissaries led by Crown
Princess Mary along
with Danish Minister
for Foreign Affairs Lars
Lokke Rasmussen visit-
ed the office of
Grundfos, a leading
pump manufacturer
which celebrated 25
years of operations in
the country. — PTI
ual in the future. It is the
high time the University
Grants Commission (UGC)
brings new guidelines for
conferring honorary doc-
torates to individuals. We
have lodged a formal com-
plaint with the police for
strict action with regard to
the issue. The higher educa-
June 20, 1992, horror still makes
tribesfolk of Vachathi shudder
OP ARULN I DC
CHENNAI, MARCH 1
About three decades ago,
Vachathi, near Harur, in
Dharmapuri district, was
a nondescript village,
located on the scenic
Sitheri foothills. But on
the ill-fated day of June
20, 1992, the hamlet occu-
pied a place on the map of
ghastly mass crime by the
mindless acts of govern-
ment authorities, who
were supposed to guard
and protect people. Now,
even after three decades,
the tribal people are
unable to come out of the
shock of the nightmare.
Recently, the Madras
high court reserved orders
on a batch of appeals filed
by the convicts who were
officers/staff in the rev-
enue, police and forest
departments. These gov-
ernment servants were
convicted for raping 18
women, assaulting men,
killing cattle, and causing
damages to the properties
of people in the tribal vil-
lage. The officials, who
went berserk, raided the
village in the name of
investigating a sandal-
wood smuggling case.
Justice P Velmurugan,
who had reserved the
orders, noted that he
would travel to Vachathi
on March 4.
Earlier, the CBI which
investigated the case had
filed cases against 215 peo-
ple, including four IFS
IIT-M, Denmark to work on
climate change mitigation
DC CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI, MARCH 1
The Indian Institute of
Technology-Madras (IIT-
M) on Wednesday
announced four projects
to undertake various
researches in areas of cli-
mate change mitigation
and enabling green transi-
tion in collaboration with
the industry and acade-
mia in Denmark.
The agreement in this
regard was signed at an
event at IIT-M Research
Park (IIT-MRP) in the
presence of Crown Prince
of Denmark Lars
Aagaard, Denmark minis-
ter for climate, energy and
utilities, and Freddy
Svane, ambassador of
Denmark to India, among
other stakeholders.
The three projects are
on IIT-M Energy Consorti-
um’s vision of enabling
energy transition towards
a low-carbon future. The
study will focus on accel-
erating technology devel-
opment through industry-
a c a d e m i a - g ove r n m e n t
partnerships, and collabo-
rations with global part-
ners to develop technolo-
gy solutions.
Lars Aagaard said that
Denmark was paving the
way for investments in
new technologies. “We see
great potential in sharing
mutual knowledge with
India and its bright engi-
neers, which can help in
implementing these tech-
nologies. India has pro-
posed an ambitious plan
to establish 140 GW of
wind energy by 2030, of
which 30GW would be off-
shore and rest onshore.
Tamil Nadu has identified
15 offshore locations to
establish wind turbines.
Denmark is collaborating
on a plan to establish the
first wind farm offshore in
Tamil Nadu’, said Mr
Aagaard.
S. Krishnan, Additional
Chief Secretary, depart-
ment of industries, invest-
ment promotion and com-
merce, said that Tamil
Nadu continued to be the
leader in renewable ener-
gy. ‘’More than 50 per cent
of the installed capacity
in Tamil Nadu was from
renewable energy sources
with potential for expan-
sion in wind, solar and
green hydrogen. All of
this needs to come togeth-
er in a way that works for
the local economy of
Tamil Nadu, India and the
world in total, ‘’he said.
tion department is also
informed. The fake doctor-
ate award distribution func-
tion will also be a lesson for
other universities,” he said.
The university officials
said they allowed to con-
duct the function at the
auditorium after the organ-
isers produced a recom-
Recently, the Madras high court reserved
orders on a batch of appeals filed by the con-
victs who were officers/staff in the revenue,
police and forest departments. Justice P
Velmurugan, who had reserved the orders,
noted that he would travel to Vachathi on
March 4
officers. As many as 50
accused died during the
course of the investiga-
tion. The remaining were
sentenced to various types
of punishment ranging
from one year of simple
imprisonment to 10 years
of rigorous jail term. The
officials filed writ peti-
tions challenging their
convictions.
Thirty years ago, 2,000
villagers in Vachathi con-
sidered Perumal, then 50,
as the village president
even after completion of
his tenure. On June 20,
1992, 269 government offi-
cials, comprising 155 for-
est department officers,
108 policemen and six rev-
enue officials descended
on Vachathi. They began
searching for sandalwood
and the forest protection
squad, led by then assis-
tant conservator of forests
T Singaravelu, conducted
the raid in the morning to
recover “smuggled sandal-
wood” buried in
Vachathi’s fields, and
thrashed Chinnaperumal,
a farmer working in his
field, accusing him of
helping the smugglers. A
scuffle followed when the
villagers questioned the
pg 2
Crown Princess of Denmark Mary Elizabeth receives a
memento from WRD chief secretary Sandeep Saxena
during the anniversary celebrations of pump manufac-
turer Grundfos, in Chennai, on Wednesday. — DC
Danfoss, IIT-M
sign agreement
DC CORRESPONDENT, Henrik Christian on
CHENNAI, MARCH 1 Wednesday.
Purushothaman said
Danfoss, a world leader the industry-academia
in food, infrastructure, partnership was a true
climate and energy effi- embodiment of what the
cient technologies, has green strategic partner-
collaborated with the ship aims to achieve.
Indian Institute of “Through our associa-
Technology- Madras (IIT-
M) for promoting
tion with IIT-M, we aim
to prioritise research and
research in water and
energy sectors. The
appropriate technology
interventions with spe-
agreement was signed
between Ravichandran
cial focus on water and
energy sectors. It is para-
Purushothaman, presi- mount for us to establish
dent, Danfoss India, and strong partnerships with
Prof Manu Santhanam, world-class universities
Dean, IIT–M, in the pres- such as the IIT-M to meet
ence of Denmark Crown future expectations,’’ he
Prince Frederik André said.
DENMARK TEAM LAUDS METRO WATER
Chennai: Christian Vindahl Vind, Permanent
Secretary of State, Ministry of Environment,
Denmark, along with his team visited Tertiary
Treatment Reverse Osmosis Plant in Koyambedu on
Wednesday and discussed with Chennai Metropolitan
Water Supply and Sewerage Board. (CMWSSB) offi-
cials on how they provide safe drinking water to pub-
lic and how sewage water is treated. The Denmark
team appreciated their work. Board’s Executive
Director Rajagopal Sunkara, Chief Engineer M.Jaikar
Jesudas, Superintending Engineer A.Radhakrishnan
and other officials were present.
mendation letter from a for-
mer Madras high court
judge.
‘’We are also verifying the
authentication of the letter.
The organisers did not men-
tion that it was an award
function in their request
letter,” said the vice chan-
cellor.
lage, and alleged they
recovered 40 tonnes of
buried sandalwood and
looted huts and houses.
After two months, the vil-
lagers were released from
Salem Central Prison. On
July 14, 1992, the Tamil
Nadu Tribals Association
forest protection squad team comprising Basha
and one of the team mem- John, president of the
bers, forester R Selvaraj, association, P
was injured. He was given Shanmugam, general sec-
first aid, and was taken to retary, and M Annamalai,
a hospital on a bullock CPI(M) leader and twice
cart arranged by the vil- MLA from Harur con-
lagers. stituency, visited the area.
The officials abused the On July 18, 1992, A
villagers, calling the Nallasivam, CPM state
women sluts. Ransacking secretary and Rajya Sabha
the village, they raped member, submitted a
women, and made them memorandum to then
urinate in front of them. Chief Minister J.
The victims include chil- Jayalalithaa demanding a
dren of 13 or 14 years. The judicial inquiry and seek-
women and children were ing immediate relief for
abused and beaten and the the victims. About 18 rape
temple was vandalised, victims lodged a com-
huts razed, and cattle and plaint against the raiding
goats butchered. They party at the Harur police
dumped the carcasses in station. In 1995, the
the community wells. The Madras high court
officials also threw bicy- ordered a CBI investiga-
cles, pump sets, vessels, tion. In April, 1996, the
and grinding stones into CBI filed a chargesheet
the wells. holding all 269 members of
Around 6 pm, 120 vil- the raiding party as
lagers, mostly children accused and the
and gangraped women, Dharmapuri principal dis-
were taken under custody trict and sessions court
to Harur forest office. The convicted all the 215 sur-
women were forced to viving accused persons (54
thrash Perumal with a of the accused had already
broom and those who died).
refused to do so met with The judge imposed sen-
severe beating. tences ranging from one
The next day, the person- year to 10 years of rigor-
nel went back to the vil- ous imprisonment.
 STATE
DECCAN CHRONICLE | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023 | CHENNAI
pg 3

SHORT TAKES PM, leaders wish Stalin on his 70th b’day

Pet dog show, free vax
drive at Mathakottai on
March 11
DC CORRESPONDENT
THANJAVUR, MARCH 1
The Society for Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)
here will organise a pet dog
show at its sterilisation centre
for dogs at Mathakottai on
March 11, said Dinesh Ponraj
Oliver, Thanjavur collector, on
Wednesday.
Anti-rabies vaccination will
be done free of cost for the pet
dogs. Certificates and prizes
will be given. Dogs from other
districts also can take part in
the show. ‘’The idea is to pro-
tect country breeds of dogs,
create awareness about pre-
venting cruelty to animals and
love towards pets. An entrance
fee of Rs 250 has been fixed for
pets,’’ said the collector.
He inspected the sterilisation
done to pet dogs at SPCA.
Later, he planted palmyrah
seeds at the programme initi-
ated by the Clean Thanjavur
Movement (CTM). Narmada,
Dean of Government veteri-
nary college and research cen-
tre at Orathanadu,
K.Tamilselvan, Joint director
of animal husbandry, Edward
Chennai, March 1: DMK
president and
Minister M K Stalin
Chief
turned 70 on Wednesday
and his party and support-
ers are celebrating his
birthday across Tamil
Nadu with fervour and
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and a host of leaders
wished him on the occa-
sion.President Droupadi
Murmu and Vice
President Jagdeep Dhan-
kar wrote to Stalin, greet-
ing him on his birthday.
Stalin cut a cake in the
presence of party leaders
led by veteran
Duraimurugan and he
laid wreaths at the samad-
his of former Chief
Ministers M Karunanidhi
and CN Annadurai on the
Marina beachfront and
visited the reformist
leader Periyar E V
Ramasamy's memorial
here and offered floral
tributes.
The CM planted a sap-
ling and gifted saplings to
party workers and others
who visited him.
Prime Minister Modi,
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah and former
Congress chief Sonia
Gandhi spoke to Stalin
their birthday wishes to
him.
Modi and Rahul Gandhi
tweeted, extending their
means 'Dravidian hero'
and Dravida Perarasar
(great Dravidian emperor)
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin
planting a sapling on
Wednesday. — DC
Chief Minister' are among
the choice terms used by
DMK and Stalin's admir-
ers to hail him on his
birthday.
Gold rings to newborns,
saplings to farmers, blood
donation camps, hosting
community baby shower
events, assistance includ-
ing providing notebooks
to students, community
lunch, eye care service by
holding eye camps are
among the many dozens of
state-wide events that are
being organised by the
DMK to celebrate Stalin's
birthday.
Governors of Tamil
Nadu and Telangana R N
Ravi and Tamilisai Soun-
dararajan respectively
'Dravida Nayagan' which
and Chief Ministers of
Telangana
Chandrasekhar
(K
Rao),
Andhra Pradesh
Jagan Mohan Reddy)
(YS
Kejriwal) greeted Stalin.
CPI general secretary D
Raja, Tamil Nadu Cong-
ress Committee president
KS Alagiri, MDMK chief
Vaiko, CPI leaders includ-
ing State Secretary R
Mutharasan, CPI(M) State
Secretary K Balak-
rishnanIndian, Union
Muslim League leader KM
Khader Mohideen,
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal
Katchi president Thol
Thirumavalavan were
among a string of leaders
who called on Stalin here
to greet him.
Chairman emeritus,
TVS Motor Company,
Venu Srinivasan and
CMD of TAFE, Mallika
Srinivasan called on him.
CPI(M) top leader
Sitaram Yechury, Union
Minister of State L
Murugan, PMK founder
leader S Ramadoss,
Makkal Needhi Maiam
chief and actor Kamal
Haasan, superstar Rajini-
kanth spoke over phone
and conveyed their wish-
NH to be widened by
es.
Aadheenam
Kundrakudi
pontiff
Ponnambala Adigalar was
removing Wellington

Kerala (Pinarayi Vijayan)

Arogyaraj of SPCA, and Dr
Radhika Michael, president of
CTM, were present.
over phone and conveyed
among others who greeted
Stalin. #HBDMKStalin70
was trending on Twitter.
bazaar encroachments
greetings. and 'Dravidian model and Delhi (Arvind — PTI
B. RAVICHANDRAN I DC Sources said that
OOTY, MARCH 1 notices were issued to 52

Man held for cheating
` 400 cr by travels co
in Thanjavur
DC CORRESPONDENT
THANJAVUR, MARCH 1
The Tiruchy economic wing
police have arrested Vadivelu
(36), son of Palanimuthu, in
connection with cheating of
people by Rahat travels of
Thanjavur to the tune of `400
crore by way of collecting
deposits and promising divi-
dends.
A police team led by Lilly
Grace, DSP, arrested Vadivelu
at Thanthondrimalai in Karur
district on Wednesday.
Vadivelu was manager of
Harish coach bus body
builders ltd at
Thanthondrimalai of Rahat
travels.. He is said to be
involved in cheating people by
the travels. Nearly 6,300 com-
plaints have been received by
crime branch police. The case
BJP ups ante against naming
Nagercoil municipal HQ after MK
M. ARULOLI I DC
KANYAKUMARI, MARCH 1
The Kanyakumari dis-
trict BJP has accused
the DMK government of
trying to name the new
building for the
Nagercoil municipal
corporation after for-
mer chief minister M.
Karunanidhi, against
people's wish of naming
it after noted son of the
soil ‘Kalaivanar’ N.S.
Krishnan. The new
municipal corporation
building is expected to
be inaugurated by Chief
Plus-2 students appear for practical exams at a government school in Thoraipakkam Minister Stalin during
on Wednesday. — DC his visit to the district
this week. Former
Union minister and BJP
veteran Pon
DC IMPACT Radhakrishnan has
warned of a people's
movement if the build-
ing was not named after
‘Kalaivanar’.
Or the inauguration
function should be can-
celled,’’ said Mr
Radhakrishnan.
The over 50-year-old
auditorium named as
‘Kalaivanar kala-
iarangam’ on Balamore
Road at Vadasery in
Nagercoil was demol-
ished, despite public
protest for construction
of a new building for
the Nagercoil munici-
pal corporation.
The local DMK wants
the new building ready
for inauguration to be
named as ‘Kalaignar
Karunanidhi’ building.
The encroachments in
Wellington bazaar, near
here, along the Ooty-
Coimbatore NH will be
removed soon to widen the
NH to enable more traffic
with ease.
For a very long time, the
residents as well as the
motorists are suffering as
the encroachments and
extensions of buildings on
the highway at Wellington
bazaar narrowed the width
of the NH by over 100
meters, causing frequent
traffic snarls and conges-
tion. Though, during the
past several years, the high-
way administration took
efforts to remove the
encroachments on the NH
limits in Wellington bazaar,
nothing tangible happened
as the encroachers and
those who extended their
residential premises deep
into the NH limits failed to
respond.
Now, as the NH toughened
persons who have
encroached into the NH
boundary along the
Wellington bazaar. Once
the encroachments are
removed, the width of the
NH will be widened
its stance and issued notices
to the encroachers to
remove the encroachments
on their own or face action,
quite a few people have
begun to remove their
encroachments and disman-
tle the structures built on
both sides of the NH.
Sources said that notices
were issued to 52 persons
who have encroached into
the NH boundary along the
Wellington bazaar. Once the
encroachments are
removed, the width of the
NH will be widened further
with necessary strengthen-
ing and improvement works
in Wellington bazaar limits
to ensure hitch-free traffic
movement.

was shifted to the economic

offences wing, Tiruchy. The
police seized Omni buses oper-
ated by Rahat travels recently.
Vadivelu was produced
Conservation centre at Reconsider issue of premature
before court and remanded in
custody.

2.92 lakh cattle

vaccinated in Thanjai
DC CORRESPONDENT
THANJAVUR, MARCH 1
Around 2.92 lakh cattle were
vaccinated in Thanjavur dis-
trict against foot and mouth
disease from March 1 to March
21, said Dinesh Ponraj Oliver,
Thanjavur collector, on
Wednesday.
He inaugurated the vaccina-
tion drive against the disease
under the National Animal
Disease Control (NADCP)
third phase at Mathakottai
panchayat. He said that vacci-
nation will be done by veteri-
nary doctors and veterinary
assistants in all the villages
during the special camp. Four-
month-old calves of cows and
buffaloes and milch animals
will be vaccinated.
NADCP began in January
2021. The idea is to completely
eradicate the disease by 2030.
The programme is vaccination
in 10 phases at an interval of
six months from 2021 to 2025.
This is the third phase, said
the collector.
Longwood Shola soon release of SL national: SC to TN
B. RAVICHANDRAN I DC
OOTY, MARCH.1
In the wake of a report in
Deccan Chronicle on
February 28 about the
ecologists expressing con-
cern over proposed con-
structions in the
Longwood Shola reserve
forest at Kotagiri near
here, which was bestowed
the prestigious Queen’s
Commonwealth canopy
recognition for conserva-
tion, the forest depart-
ment affirmed that no
concrete structures will
come up in Longwood
Shola as the department is
taking steps only to estab-
lish a Shola Conservation
Centre there with an eco-
friendly wooden struc-
ture.
D. Venkatesh, conserva-
tor of forests in the
Nilgiris-cum-field direc-
tor of Mudumalai Tiger
Reserve, said that there is
a misconception among
environmentalists that
huge concrete structures
are going to come up in
Longwood Shola. But, it is
not the fact. Longwood
Shola is very pristine and
a symbol of shola forest
conservation in Kotagiri
limits in the Nilgiris.
There is
no proposal to deface its
existing nature. Shola
forests are very ancient in
origin and very unique to
the upper reaches of the
Western Ghats.
‘’The forest department
had already made efforts
in the past to collect shola
forest species in Kodaik-
anal and efforts are being
done to raise shola species
saplings in a nursery
there. Likewise, now, the
forest department is tak-
ing efforts to collect vari-
ous species of shola tree
species and assemble
them at Longwood Shola.
For which a Shola conser-
vation centre in a wooden
eco-friendly structure is
planned at Longwood
Shola forests. About 180
shola species varieties
were identified till date in
various parts of the state
along the Western Ghats.
Attempts will be made to
collect all those species
and display them in the
shola conservation centre
at the Longwood shola.
This will pave way for
raising saplings of these
rare shola varieties to be
planted in the jungles to
pep up shola forests
species diversity. This is
an attempt not only to con-
serve shola species vari-
eties in a single place but
also to help this place
become an education-ori-
ented eco-tourism spot to
enable the tourists and
other visitors to take les-
sons on the importance of
shola forests and their
contribution to bio-diver-
sity and mountain ecolo-
gy. This apart, an eco-
friendly watch-tower will
be erected in the
Longwood Shola to enable
the tourists to have a
panoramic view of the
Longwood Shola forests
from a single spot. Steps
will also be taken to
improve the waterways
that originate in the
Longwood Shola which
supply drinking water to
around 18 villages around
the shola,’’ Mr Venkatesh
explained.
New Delhi, March 1: The
Supreme Court has direct-
ed the Tamil Nadu govern-
ment to reconsider the
issue of premature release
of a Sri Lankan convict,
who has undergone nearly
35 years of incarceration.
The apex court, while not-
ing that the petitioner
intends to go back to Sri
Lanka as and when he is
released, directed that he
shall be shifted to an
appropriate transit camp
as may be decided by the
state.
A bench of Justices A S
Oka and Rajesh Bindal
noted it has been stated
before the court that the
state government has set
up transit camps where
foreigners who have over-
stayed in India and
refugees have been accom-
modated, and if a direc-
tion is issued to that effect
by the court, the petition-
er can be shifted there.
The top court was hear-
4 men held with
electronic detonators
ing a plea filed by petition-
er Rajan who has chal-
lenged the state's
February 12, 2021 order
rejecting his prayer for
grant of premature
release in terms of the
February 1, 2018 policy.
“We direct the State of
Tamil Nadu to reconsider
the issue of premature
release of the petitioner in
the light of what is
observed in this order
within a maximum period
of three weeks from
today,” the bench said in
its February 24 order.
It observed that the peti-
tioner has been convicted,
sentenced to life imprison-
ment and has undergone
approximately 35 years of
incarceration.
The bench noted that the
petitioner's prayer for pre-
mature release was con-
sidered and rejected by
the state on two grounds --
seriousness of the crime
committed by him and
that trials of the co- The bench said it is not
accused were separated
and his premature release
the case of the state or the
Centre that there are any
would be a hindrance to other offences committed
the conduct of fair trials. by the petitioner.
It said the apex court “Therefore, considering
order of March last year the overall factual sce-
ref ers to an affidavit filed nario and nationality of
by the state which records the petitioner, the case of
that the petitioner's con- the petitioner for prema-
duct in jail has been satis- ture release will have to be
factory. reconsidered by the state
The bench further noted government in the light of
that the counsel appearing the policy dated February
for the Centre has stated 1, 2018 or any other rele-
before it that on verifica- vant policy which is appli-
tion, it was found that the cable to the petitioner,” it
petitioner is a citizen of said.
Sri Lanka. “In the meanwhile, we
“From the orders which direct that the petitioner
are passed earlier, it is shall be shifted to appro-
crystal clear that as and priate transit camp as may
when there is an order be decided by the state
releasing the petitioner, government,” the bench
he intends to go back to said, while granting a
Sri Lanka. If he is shifted week time to state to shift
to a transit camp, the state him to an appropriate
government can ensure transit camp. The bench
that he does not move out, has posted the matter for
till he goes back to his own further hearing on March
country,” it said. 27. — PTI
TRADE CHAMBER SEEKS
HARDWARE TECH PARK IN KOVAI
Coimbatore, March 1: The Coimbatore chapter
of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(ICCI) on Wednesday appealed the Tamil Nadu

near Coimbatore government to take up with the Centre the possi-

Coimbatore, March 1:
Four people were arrested
on Wednesday morning for
allegedly carrying electronic
detonators with no valid doc-
uments in their possession
near here, police said.A team
of Coimbatore Rural Police
was carrying out vehicle
checks in Karamadai,
around 35 kilometres from
here, at 5 am when it noticed
the four men on two motor-
cycles discussing something
in a suspicious manner and
called them for questioning.
The police team spotted the
detonators kept illegally in
their possession in the vehi-
cles.
Preliminary inquiry
revealed that two persons
from Coimbatore purchased
the detonators from Salem
and regularly sold it to the
other two men, natives of
Kerala, at higher rates,
police further said.
DIG Muthusamy offers sunglasses, hats and butter milk to traffic cops to beat the summer heat in Vellore on Wednesday. Police seized the detona-
— K. Senthil Nathan
tors and two motorcycles
while a thorough inquiry
was underway to gather
details about the motive
behind purchasing such
explosives.
Meanwhile, a 36-year-old
man was arrested near
Coonoor in the hill district of
Nilgiris for possessing coun-
try-made bombs reportedly
used to hunt wild boars.
Based on information
about illegal possession of
country-made bombs, police
rushed to Prakasapuram
and arrested Kannan, who
had 10 such bombs in his
possession, police said.
A probe revealed that the
man was a member of a gang
which is involved in using
such bombs in the
Aruvankadu area for hunt-
ing, and five bisons had
recently died following
explosions near the animal's
habitat, they said.
— PTI
bility of setting up an electronic hardware tech-
nology park in the city.The technology park
would help encourage entrepreneurs in estab-
lishing manufacturing units of electronic hard-
ware equipments.
The entrepreneurs can also explore setting up
prospective hardware technology parks in other
parts of the country and export the produced
electronics goods, the trade chamber said.
This will also generate more employment
opportunities, ICCI said in a memorandum sub-
mitted to Additional Chief Secretary, TN
Industries Department, S Krishnan, here.
ICCI President B Sriramulu said the traders
face a lot of difficulties in getting trade licences
and the chamber suggested the government to
form a panel with representatives of trade and
industry organisations to reduce the problems
faced by them and ease the procedures.
The memorandum also wanted the government
to expedite the land acquisition process for the
expansion of the Coimbatore Airport.
— PTI
 NATION
DECCAN CHRONICLE | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023 | CHENNAI
pg 4
PM wants to stop all good
work being done
in Delhi: Kejriwal
New Delhi, March 1: Delhi
chief minister Arvind
Kejriwal on Wednesday said
Cong leaders
the entire country is proud
of former AAP ministers give memo to
Manish Sisodia
Satyendar Jain and alleged
they were arrested just to
and
L-G for probe
“stop the good work being
done” in the national capi-
against Sisodia
tal. Addressing reporters DC CORRESPONDENT
after a meeting with AAP NEW DELHI, MARCH 1
MLAs and councillors, the
chief minister challenged Former Congress MP
the BJP: “AAP is a storm. Sandeep Dikshit along with
We will be unstoppable Delhi’s former ministers
now and our time has Mangat Ram Singhal and
come.” Kiran Walia on Wednesday
He alleged that Mr gave a memorandum to lieu-
Sisodia’s arrest in the tenant-governor office to
excise policy case was just probe former deputy chief
an excuse, and asserted that minister Manish Sisodia in
new ministers would carry the snooping case under the
on the good work of the gov- Sedition Act.
ernment at double the The memorandum states,
speed. “To acquire a capacity to lis-
“Prime Minister Narendra ten to conversations, gather
Modi wants to stop the good intelligence and information
work being done in Delhi. and to ‘spy’ on people and
But I want to tell people that institutions in the National
the work will happen at dou- Capital territory that
ble the speed. Atishi and includes Government of
Saurabh Bhardwaj, who India, the Defence establish-
will soon join the Cabinet, ments.”
are educated people who
will carry on the good work
at double the speed,” Mr
Kejriwal said.
On whether there will be a
deputy chief minister, Delhi
CM said, “If the need arises,
we shall see.”
AAP leaders Mr Sisodia
and Jain, who resigned
from the Delhi Cabinet,
were key faces of the city
government and were
instrumental in steering the
national capital through the
Covid-19 crisis.
The AAP’s second-in-com-
mand, Mr Sisodia was
arrested by the Central
Bureau of Investigation on
Sunday in connection with
alleged irregularities in the
formulation and implemen-
tation of the Delhi excise
policy for 2021-22.
— PTI
 NATION
DECCAN CHRONICLE | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023 | CHENNAI
pg 5

SHORT TAKES
Planned cities will
decide future: PM
FROM PG 1
“Urban planning will deter-
mine the fate of our cities in
Amrit Kaal and it is only well-
planned cities that will deter-
mine the fate of India. Our
cities will become climate-
resilient and water secure
only with better planning," the
Prime Minister said.
Mr Modi urged the experts to
come up with innovative ideas
and highlighted the role that
they can play in areas such as
GIS-based master planning,
the development of different
types of planning tools, effi-
cient human resources and
capacity building.
The Prime Minister under-
lined that transport planning
is an important pillar of the
development of cities and that
the mobility of our cities
should be uninterrupted.
Talking about the metro con-
nectivity in the country before
2014, he pointed out that the
present government has
worked on metro rail in many
cities and overtaken several
countries in terms of metro
network connectivity.
He emphasised the need to
strengthen the metro network
and provide first-and-last-mile
connectivity. Mr Modi also
noted that the widening of
roads in cities, green mobility,
House of close aide of
Atiq Ahmed bulldozed
Prayagraj (UP), March
1: Authorities here on
Wednesday demolished
the house of an associate
of jailed former MP and
gangster Atiq Ahmed,
who has been booked in
the sensational Umesh Pal
murder case, for allegedly
carrying out illegal con-
struction.
Prayagraj Development
Authority secretary Ajit
Singh said the house
belonging to Zafar Ahmed
has been bulldozed and a
sword and two firearms
recovered from there have
been handed over to the
police. Other household
items have been kept at an
adjacent vacant plot,
where Atiq Ahmed had a
palatial house that was
razed after attachment in
a criminal case by author-
ities last year.
The action by Prayagraj
Development Authority
(PDA) came days after chief
minister Yogi Adityanath
had on the floor of the
Assembly vowed to destroy
Bharadwaj, Atishi to replace
Atiq fears will be killed
in encounter, moves SC
PARMOD KUMAR
NEW DELHI, MARCH 1
Samajvadi Party leader
Atiq Ahmed has
approached the Supreme
Court seeking direction to
the Centre to protect his
life and restraining from
being shifted from
Ahmedabad Central jail to
Prayagraj or any part of
Uttar Pradesh.
Atiq Ahmed — an
alleged history sheeter is
facing a number of crimi-
nal case.
The petitioner Atiq
the mafias in the state after
Umesh Pal, the prime wit-
ness in the 2005 murder
case of the then BSP MLA
Raju Pal, was shot dead
along with a security man
escorting him on a busy
road here.
Ahmed has said that he
and his entire family have
been roped in as accused
in Dhoomanganj in
Prayagraj in the murder
of one Umesh Pal.
The petition by Atique
Ahmed further says that
the “chief minister of the
State, without any investi-
gation merely on the basis
of suspicion, has made a
statement on the floor
of the state Assembly
that the Petitioner
(Atiq Ahmed ) will be
destroyed and eliminated
completely.”
As per Singh, the action
was taken on Wednesday
as the house was con-
structed without getting its
map (naksha) passed from
the authority and a notice
regarding the same was
issued in the past. — PTI
SC TO ORDER ON PANEL
OF EXPERTS IN ADANI,
HINDENBURG ROW TODAY
New Delhi, March 1: and Exchange Board of
The Supreme Court is
scheduled to pronounce
on Thursday its order
India (Sebi) are fully
equipped and are on
job, the central govern-
on a batch of PILs on
the recent Adani Group
shares crash triggered
ment had expressed
apprehension that any
unintentional message
by the Hindenburg to the investors that
Research’s fraud allega- regulatory bodies in
tions. India needed monitor-
A bench of Chief ing by a panel may have
Justice D.Y. some adverse impact on
Chandrachud and the flow of money into
Justices P.S. Narasimha the country.
and J B Pardiwala is The Centre had told
likely to deliver its ver- the bench that it wanted
dict over setting up of a to provide details such
panel of domain as names and the scope
experts for strengthen- of the panel's mandate
ing existing regulatory in a sealed cover .
measures for stock mar- Stock market regula-
kets. tor SEBI, in its note
While reserving its filed in the top court,
order, the top court on had indicated it is not
February 17 had in favour of banning
refused to accept in a short-selling or sale of
sealed cover the borrowed shares, and
Centre's suggestion on a said it is investigating
proposed panel of allegations made by a
experts. tiny short-seller against
Observing that it the Adani Group as well
wanted full transparen- as its share price move-
cy for protection of ments.
investors, the top court Till now, four PILs
had also ruled out the have been filed in the
possibility of any sit- top court on the issue
ting judge overseeing
the functioning of the
proposed panel.
by lawyers
Sharma, Vishal Tiwari,
Congress leader Jaya
M.L.

elevated roads, and junction

improvement have to be
included as part of transport
planning.
On the issue of waste man-
agement, the Prime Minister
pointed out that work is under-
way to free the cities from
heaps of garbage through
waste processing. He noted
that it will open a room full of
opportunities for recycling for
many industries.
Sisodia, Jain in Delhi cabinet
FROM PG 1
Mr Kejriwal, mean-
while, called a meeting
of AAP MLAs and coun-
cillors of the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi at
his residence to discuss
the party's strategies. He
asked the AAP leaders to
begin the door-to-door
campaign to inform the
Stressing that statuto-
ry bodies like market
regulator Securities
Thakur and Mukesh
Kumar, who claims to
be a social activist.
Bhardwaj are inducted stop the good work being
into the Cabinet, minis- done in Delhi. But I want
ters Raaj Kumar Anand to tell people that the
and Kailash Gahlot will work will happen at dou-
take care of the portfo- ble the speed. Ms Atishi
lios that have fallen and Mr Bhardwaj, who
vacant following Mr will soon join the
Sisodia's resignation. Cabinet, are educated
While Mr Gahlot has people who will carry on
been given the addition- the good work at double
al charge of finance, the speed," Mr Kejriwal
PWD, along with some said. On whether there

Girl jumps to public that Mr Sisodia

and Mr Jain were sent to
other departments, Mr
Anand, who is also the
will be a deputy chief
minister, he said, "If the

death after tiff

with classmate
AKSHAYA KUMAR SAHOO
BHUBANESWAR, MARCH 1
A girl student of Veer Surendra
Sai University of Technology
(VSSUT), Burla in Odisha’s
Sambalpur district died after
reportedly jumping off Power
Channel Bridge on Tuesday
night.
The deceased student was
identified as Chinm-
ayee Priyadarshini Sahoo of
Rampur Madanpur area. As
per the sources, Chinmayee was
a student of the information
technology department of the
varsity. She attended the univer-
sity’s convocation programme
on February 28 and received her
degree.
jail after the BJP-led
Union government
became “disturbed” by
the success of Delhi's
health and education
models. “If Mr Sisodia
and Mr Jain join the
BJP, they will walk free
tomorrow,” Mr Kejriwal
said.
Delhi L-G V.K. Saxena,
according to his office,
has received the resigna-
tion letters of Mr
Sisodia and Mr Jain and
forwarded them to
President Droupadi
Murmu. Mr Sisodia was
arrested by the CBI on
Sunday over alleged cor-
ruption in the formula-
tion and implementation
of the Delhi excise poli-
cy for 2021–22. Mr Jain is
currently in Tihar Jail
in a money laundering
case.
Till Ms Atishi and Mr
social welfare minister, need arises, we shall
will take care of educa- see."
tion, health and other Meanwhile, local BJP
departments. and Congress units in
Speaking to the media, Delhi took to the streets,
Mr Kejriwal said that demanding that Mr
the entire country is Kejriwal resign over
proud of Mr Sisodia and alleged corruption
Mr Jain. He alleged both charges against his min-
were arrested just to isters.
“stop the good work Delhi BJP working
being done” in the president Virendra
national capital. The Sachdeva asked if,
Chief Minister chal- according to Mr
lenged the BJP: “AAP is Kejriwal, his ministers
a storm. We will be were "innocent", why the
unstoppable now and Supreme Court did not
our time has come.” He give them any relief and
alleged that Mr Sisodia's their resignations were
arrest in the excise poli- accepted. "In the last
cy case was just an eight years, several min-
excuse, asserting that isters in the AAP gov-
the new ministers will ernment have resigned,
carry on the good work most of them on corrup-
of the government at tion charges. Mr
double the speed. Kejriwal should resign
"Prime Minister on moral grounds," he
Narendra Modi wants to claimed.

CAREER CHRONICLE
 EDIT
DECCAN CHRONICLE | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023 | CHENNAI
pg 6

Subhani

2 MARCH 2023

Threat to Punjab growing:

Centre needs to act swiftly
F
ears have been expressed for some time about the resurgence of ter-
rorism in Punjab. This followed from reports of weapons being
dropped from drones, the inference being that the source had to be
Pakistan, given the geography. Captain Amarinder Singh, when he
was Congress Party’s chief minister in the state, would frequently raise
this issue with the Centre. Since then, the situation appears to have got
worse.
On a continual basis in the state there have been incidents of masses of
men wielding firearms and other weapons going on the rampage. There
are said to be 70-odd armed gangs on the loose. When armed gangs roam
without fear of attracting penal action, the situation can turn alarming if
corrective steps are not taken at the earliest.
In a state where unemployment is high and the youth are in the grip of
the drug menace, the situation can lend itself to be harnessed by unwhole-
some causes. When religion is thrown into this volatile mix, and married
to strong nativist ideas suggestive of secession, the situation is apt to raise
red flags in a state that was swept by a decade of insurgency and intense
terrorism in the 1980s. Worries on these
When governments counts appear to have intensified since the
show resolve, it may arrival of the AAP government on the scene
last year.
be expected that The most recent incident of violence was
Sikh religious witnessed on February 23 when a young Sikh
institutions such as man, Amritpal Singh Sandhu, accompanied
the Akal Takht and by hundreds of armed followers, stormed the
What Congress must do LETTERS
SAVE NATIONAL BIRD
Mere slogan shouting would

if it is to lead Opp. front

not serve the purpose. One
police station at Ajnala in Amritsar district to wishes there were more
the SGPC may secure the release of one of his men who had
summon the been taken in on kidnapping charges. The examples of rescue and
restoration work carried out
resources to firmly police caved in although a handful of them at Radhapuram, Tirunelveli
propagate were injured in the fighting. The arrested man district as on Feb. 20. The
moderation was released. The excuse for inaction was that Some regional parties That is the lesson to be
the attackers had brought with them the Guru taken from the experi- veterinary treatment given
are fighting the BJP ence of parties in the in time to the wounded pea-
Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, and police
action might have caused desecration of the scripture. As a consequence,
the marauders have walked away scot free. No criminal cases have been
Anand K. Sahay politically. The
Congress’ combat is
inter-war period
Europe when the fight
in cock at Radhapuram and his
being released soon after-
registered. The state government hopes there will be no further incidents ideological. That is was fiercest against fas- wards into the forest is a
cism, with fascism win-
Far & Near
of this kind. the difference, and good example. I am afraid,
This is a ridiculous expectation. Amritpal, returned from Dubai barely ning. The anti-fascist
six months ago, has proclaimed himself the head of a secessionist outfit the BJP understands parties bickered. particularly at Lord
called Waris Punjab De (The Inheritors of Punjab) on the basis of Sikh this only too well and It was not understood Subramania festival time,
communalism, exactly the element that had stoked ambitions in an unlet- will fashion strategies that only that party can such as on Skandasashti and

T
tered cleric called Bhindrawale in the ’80s and caused a chain of events he tumultuous
leading to Army action inside the much revered Golden Temple in welcome the
Amritsar and the subsequent reprisal assassination of then Prime Bharat Jodo
Minister Indira Gandhi. What’s also egregious is that Amritpal Singh Yatra received
made a public declaration that the Union home minister would meet the right through
same fate as the former PM. its five months sprang
It is evident that the state government finds itself at sea in this situation. from its needle-sharp
The state police had been demoralised even before the AAP government focus on the issues of
came into being. Since the end of 2021, Punjab has had four directors-gen- opposing communal poli-
eral of police. A demoralised force can be inspired to step up when given tics and the need to deal
adequate backing by the political authority. effectively with the crisis
When governments show resolve, it may be expected that Sikh religious caused by unemploy-
institutions such as the Akal Takht and the SGPC may summon the ment and high prices in
resources to firmly propagate moderation. We cannot countenance a ordinary people’s lives.
destabilised situation in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, both bordering And yet, generally speak-
regions, especially when Chinese soldiers are already sitting inside our
ing, the non-Congress
territories in Ladakh. parties, mostly caste-
based regional outfits,
Ensure growth benefits all sections were left cold by BJY,
even if some gain by
keeping the BJP at bay.
nist Opposition parties
merged to form the
Janata Party. In one
stroke, the many parties
of the Opposition gave up
their personalities and
programmes, so that in
every constituency, espe-
cially in northern and
western India, there was
a single Opposition can-
didate to challenge the
Congress, and there was
no splitting of the
Opposition vote.
This is the much-
talked-about “one
against one” principle.
The Congress was routed
in the 1977 election as a
result, and the Janata
accordingly to win
over the less sturdy...
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar,
though many regional
leaders have also lately
amplified on the charms
of Opposition unity in
one form or another.
Mr Kumar noted the
BJY had been “quite suc-
cessful” but it was time
for the Congress to take
“appropriate decisions”,
and if these were taken
the BJP’s tally in the 2024
Lok Sabha election could
be driven down to less
than 100.
be leader which works
the hardest in shaping a
popular front or a united
front. The situation at
present is indeed dire,
and the following quota-
tion from George
Orwell’s famous book
1984 serves to illuminate
the situation: “Every
record has been
destroyed or falsified,
every book rewritten,
every picture has been
repainted, every statue
and street building has
been renamed, every
date has been altered.
And the process is con-
tinuing day by day and
minute by minute…”
Taipusam, numerous pea-
cock quills are sold by ven-
dors in and around
Subramania and Siva tem-
ples in Kochi, Chennai, and
Madurai.
When questioned as to how
they procured such an
abundance of feather, the
sellers replied, "Moulting" as
the source. But I suspect
peacocks are ruthlessly shot
using muzzle-loaders. Here,
as responsible citizens, we
ought to remember, some
people may be acting hand
in glove with poachers.
P.R. Krishna Narayanan,
Chennai

T
he key economic numbers are finally out. The Indian economy, These parties mostly Party was grandly victo- The Congress’ 85th ple- Some regional parties
according to data of the Union ministry of statistics and programme seem in a hurry to go rious. But the JP govern- nary session in Raipur are fighting the BJP
implementation, has expanded by 4.4 per cent in the October- back to business as ment collapsed in no under its new president politically. The Cong-
December quarter of the current financial year 2022-23 over the year-ago usual. Their leaders time. The many deep Mallikarjun Kharge was
just days away when the
ress’ combat is ideologi-
cal and simultaneously
GRANT TO WOMEN
period. seem to regard the BJY contradictions among
In absolute numbers, the gross domestic product or GDP at constant as an unremarkable JP’s several constituents Bihar CM spoke. We now political. That is the dif- CM MK Stalin has stated during
prices in Q3 2022-23 was `40.19 lakh crores during October-December 2022, event and look to get couldn’t remain hidden have the Congress’ resp- ference, and the BJP his election campaign at Erode
as against `38.51 lakh crores in the same period in 2021. The economic back soonest into the for long. Switch back to onse from Raipur: that understands this only that his poll promise of giving
activity during the July-September 2022 was `38.80 lakh crores. rhythm of “jod-tod ki today. It is amply clear the party will work for too well and will fashion Rs.1,000 every month to women
Compared to the July-September quarter, the economic activity in the rajniti” — the politics of that the “one against the unity of secular strategies accordingly to family heads of ration cardholders
October-December 2022 quarter grew only by 3.58 per cent. The exception- alliances and alignments one” principle just can’t forces just as it had done win over the less sturdy could not be fulfilled till now as the
ally small difference in the economic activity of the second quarter and the against the BJP, state- be worked. In fact, in var- to bring about the on the secular side. previous AIADMK government
third quarter is worrisome because the October-December period is con- wise. This is done in the ious states the regional Congress-led UPA secu- For the Congress to sig- had "looted" the treasury and left it
sidered to be the festive season, when people intend to splurge in India. name of “Opposition parties have mostly lar government in 2004- nal seriousness of enter- “empty". He promised that the
Considering the muted growth in economic activity in the festive season, unity”, which is elevated grown at the Congress’ 14 (that had important prise, it must prepare a same would be fulfilled in March
the economic recovery appears to be not evenly spread out in all segments to the level of high demo- expense, not the BJP’s. positive contributions to concrete blueprint of 2023 as this was a promise by none
of population in the country. cratic principle, suppos- Until three decades ago its name, which have action on the ideological, other than the son of Muthuvel
The festive season wasn’t so joyous for many sections of people, if one edly to ward off the the Congress was a hege- almost wholly been lost political, social and eco- Karunanidhi. Has a miracle
goes by the Reserve Bank of India’s quarterly report. According to the cen- aggressive advance of monic presence across now, including the aver- nomic fronts. It is not occurred that the treasury of the
tral bank, banks had seen only a 16.8 per cent growth in the loan off-take the communal agenda. India, and the regional age rate of growth of enough to make declara- government were filled just before
in the October-December quarter — the festive season — compared to the However, life has parties combined happi- around seven per cent tory statements or emo- the Erode elections.
17.2 per cent growth witnessed in the July-September quarter. shown that the Index of ly with the BJP and its per annum in a 10-year tive appeals, as during M.C. Vijai Shanker, Chennai
Domestic two-wheeler sales stood at 39 lakh in the October-December Opposition Unity (IOU) earlier Jan Sangh to oust period — a record for a the BJY or at the Raipur
2022 quarter compared to 42.18 lakh in the pre-Covid October-December
2019 quarter. These data points suggest uneven recovery from the Covid-
in elections that psephol-
ogists exalt doesn’t hold
the Congress from its
perch, despite the saffron
country with a democrat-
ic form of government).
plenary. It can work
wonders to lead by TALL LEADER
induced economic upheaval in the country, in spite of the contact flow of as a theorem in a country party’s Hindutva credo. The meaning is clear example. Chief Minister M.K.Stalin rose to
inspiring news on the economic front. The government should also remain like India, as behind Basically, this means if enough. The Congress is If the Congress can the top by dint of hard work. He
vigilant to protect economically-weaker sections of the society from the each voter lurks a socio- the Congress does well in in no mood to cede the actually implement some filled M.Karunanidhi’s shoes
after-effects of the pandemic. logical factor, such as states where the local leadership of any anti- ideas of its action blue- admirably and he endeared him-
caste. In a Uttar Pradesh parties are entrenched, it BJP government to a print in the three states self to the people of Tamil Nadu by
DECCAN CHRONICLE Assembly election not will be at the expense of regional party, though that it governs, the his leadership qualities. His
long ago the Congress the regional party. The that may well be the aspi- results will carry convic- schemes for school children,
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR and Samajwadi Party regional parties are like- ration of leaders of sever- tion with ordinary women and people living on the
Editor Printer & Publisher
R. MOHAN both suffered when they ly to be as wary of the al “secular” parties, not Indians. If the key margins of society have cast him in
Resident Editor struck a deal, and each Congress as of the BJP, excluding Mr Kumar. It’s Opposition party can the mould of great leaders like
DECCAN CHRONICLE offices are located at: fared worse than in the no matter what they say. also reasonably certain announce that it will Kamaraj, Anna and Karunanidhi.
Chennai: SP 3 Developed Plot, Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai 600032. Phones: (044) 22254750, previous election when The DMK in Tamil Nadu that no leader of a region- endeavour to have a dalit His ‘Dravidian model of gover-
22254751
Coimbatore: No. 2/22 Sengalipalayam Road, N.G.G.O. Colony Post, Kurudampalayam Village, they had not joined for- is somewhat of an excep- al party can be Prime Prime Minister, the nance’ aims at not just making peo-
Coimbatore-641022. Phone: (0422) 2231255, 2231256 ces. This is because the tion, and it’s no surprise Minister without the hopes of many sections of ple materially better off, but also
Hyderabad: 36, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad 500 003. Phone: (040) 27803930-4. Fax: (040) social bases of the two it had given the BJY and backing of either the BJP the hard-working but ensuring social justice and social
27805256. parties remained incom- Rahul Gandhi an enthu- or the Congress. deprived people can be harmony and explains his growth
Visakhapatnam: Survey No. 1/3A Beach Road, Near Kailasagiri Ropeway, Sector-9 MVP Colony,
Visakhapatnam - 530 017. Phones: (0891) 2552333/2552334, Fax (0891) 2755285 patible, and dashed the siastic response. All this is on paper, of ignited. It is not so much in stature. If there is one thing he
Vijayawada: No. C 3 & 4, Patamata, Industrial Estate, Auto Nagar, Vijayawada (A.P.). Phones: (0866) hopes of their leaders. The current outlook of course. It has to be clear- the unity of parties as the is passionately opposed to, it is the
2555284/ 2555287, Fax (0866) 2555234 In India, the IOU prin- the “secular” Opposition ly understood that it is unity of various forces in use of religion to polarize people
Rajahmundry: Vemagiri, Dhawleswaram Rd, Rajahmundry 533125. Phones: (0883) 2417208, 2417618 ciple works well only in parties, whose influence irrelevant for any party society that will eventu- for political ends. He keeps the
Anantapur: Thapovan Colony, Bangalore Bye-Pass Road, Anantapur 515004. Phones: (08554) 276903,
Fax: 08554-276904 exceptional circum- is largely confined to to declare that it will be ally matter. Hard cam- DMK a bulwark against commu-
Nellore: Survey No. 527/2, Burranpur Village, Venkatachalam (M), Chemudugunta Panchayat, Nellore. stances, like the time their respective states, is the leader of one or paigns and struggles to nalism. Beneath his soft exterior,
Phone: (0861) 2348581/ 82, Telefax (0861) 2348580 after the Emergency perhaps best exemplified another front. Leader- keep hopes alive will be Stalin has a strong will.
Karimnagar: H .No. 1-21-12/1, Cheralabhutkur Road, Mugudhumpur Village, Karim Nagar - 505186 when the non-commu- by the recent remarks of ship has to be earned. the key. G.David Milton, Maruthancode
Phone : 9121181123

I
n Punjab, the Ajnala episode, the re-
emergence of the dreaded ‘K’-word and
the rise of another radical ideologue have
raked up memories of a past best forgot-
Central deputation. triated Rajesh Khullar. While some believe ment to the country’s farmers. The agricul-
For the unversed, it is important for every that Mr Iyer had wanted to relocate to the US, ture ministry has ensured that
IAS officer to go on a Central deputation for others say that the Haryana government was the scheme, which was launched in February
at least two years so that there is no hin- keen to utilise Mr Khullar’s services in the 2019 but is being implemented since

Dilip Cherian ten. The situation is fluid and it does not help
that the administration has been shown up as
meek and submissive. Further, the senior
Dilli Ka Babu babus in the state, be they IAS or IPS officers,
are not sending encouraging signals to the
public — at a time when the Bhagwant Mann
government needs to show that it is still in
charge.
Sources have informed DKB that there is a
drance in the upcoming promotions. Some
officers also prefer to go on a Central deputa-
tion at a time when they are not on good
terms with the serving state government. Is
that the reason for this current stampede to
the exit door?
ON NITI AND SOME ABRUPT CHANGES
The announcement to replace Niti Aayog
state. Make of that what you will.
Meanwhile, for B.R.V. the Centre’s decision
is a clear sign that he has not fallen out of
favour as presumed by many babu watchers
after he had turned down the chair of the
India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO)
when he was about to retire last year.
The entire episode, however, underlines the
view that in the Modi Sarkar, a favourite
December 2018, was able to transfer benefits
to more than three crore beneficiaries, even
during the worst moments of the coronavirus
pandemic.
Sources say that babus in the ministry, par-
ticularly agriculture secretary Manoj Ahuja,
have largely been successful in providing sig-
nificant benefits to farmers to boost their
incomes and contribute to agricultural

Exodus of babus sort of stampede among senior IAS and IPS

officers to leave Punjab and move to the
Centre on deputation. Reportedly, at least
seven IAS officers have applied for central
CEO Parmeshwaran Iyer with former com-
merce secretary B.V.R. Subramanyam came
as a surprise to many babu observers. Mr
Iyer was appointed to the post in July of last
babu will always remain a favourite,
and the government will do whatever it
deems necessary to place the right
person in the right place. And quite likely we
growth. Of particular significance is the cre-
ation of a farmer-centric digital infrastruc-
ture that has ensured the benefits of the
scheme reach all the farmers, primarily

from Punjab amid deputation, whereas five-six officers have

already left the state and gone on deputation.
These include Sibin C. (2005 batch), and
year, so his abrupt removal after a mere eight
months is difficult to decode. But there are
those who claim to have read the coffee
will see similar moves in the days and weeks
to come.
small and marginal farmers, across the coun-
try without any involvement of the middle-
men. While the Modi Sarkar will inevitably

‘Khalistan’ uproar Kumar Saurabh and B. Srinivasan, both from

the 2011 batch.
Among the IPS officers already on Central
deputation are Dinkar Gupta (NIA head),
grounds. Some believe that there was some
degree of unease inside Niti Aayog after the
completion of Amitabh Kant’s tenure.
Whatever, there has to be a compelling rea-
AGRI BABUS ENSURE SUCCESS
OF PM’S KISAN INITIATIVE
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi
released the 13th instalment of financial ben-
laud its own policy for its positive benefits for
farmers, the babus in the agriculture min-
istry deserve credit for its success.

Samant Goel (R&AW chief) and Harpreet son behind this move. efits worth `16,800 crores to over eight crore Love them, hate them ignore them at national
Sidhu, who was earlier the head of STF. Mr Iyer now moves to Washington, DC, as eligible farmers under the PM-Kisan scheme peril, is the babu guarantee and Dilip’s belief.
Apart from these, ex-DGP V.K. Bhawra and executive director, World Bank, for a period earlier this week, it continues what is seen as Share significant babu escapades dilipcher-
some other IPS officers have also applied for of three years, replacing a prematurely repa- a major shift in direct support by the govern- ian@hotmail.com.
 NATION
DECCAN CHRONICLE | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023 | CHENNAI
BBC must follow Indian laws: EAM UNITE TO DEFEAT BJP IN LS POLL, STALIN TELLS OPPN PARTIES
FROM PG 1
Meanwhile, in a statement,
the British high commission
said Mr Cle verly would “call
Russia out at the G-20” for-
eign ministers’ meeting on
Thursday and discuss the
“impact of Russian aggres-
sion on Ukraine”.
“On Thursday the foreign
secretary will attend the G-20
foreign ministers meeting to
work with partners to
advance global efforts on food
and energy security, climate
change and development. He
will also continue to call
Russia out at the G20 and
work with partners to miti-
gate the global impacts of
Russian aggression in
Ukraine. If the war were to
end today, the effects of the
exacerbated food insecurity
would still run into 2027,” the
high commission said. Mr
Cleverly discussed “progress
on the UK-India 2030 Road
map, which aims to bolster
the two countries’ ties in def
ence and security, trade and
investment” in the meeting
with Mr Jaishankar, it said.
Meanwhile, during a visit to
IIT Delhi on Wednesday, Mr.
Cleverly marked the “open-
ing of the Young
Professionals Scheme, an
ambitious new partnership
between the UK and India
which allows up 3,000 British
and 3,000 Indians a year the
right to live and work in the
other country for up to two
years”. He also announced
the “creation of the UK’s first
Tech Envoy to the Indo-
Pacific region, who will boost
ties with India as a priority”.
On the “creation of the UK’s
first Tech Envoy to the Indo-
Pacific region,” the BHC said,
“This envoy is the second of
its kind to be announced by
the UK (after the appoint-
ment of a Tech Envoy to the
US in late 2020) and demon-
strates our commitment to
the region and tech-diploma-
cy. The new Tech Envoy role
will boost the UK’s status as a
science and tech superpower.
The envoy will work with our
partners in the region on
areas of shared interest.
FROM PG 1
Dr Addullah gave a ‘wake
up’ call to the political par-
ties as they had a lot more
to do for realising the
desire to live together
once again with dignity
and peace, referring to the
secular spirit of the coun-
try where people of all
faiths lived without any
differences. Making a
swipe at the BJP govern-
ment for trifurcating
Jammu and Kashmir, he
said he had never heard of
states being made into
Union territories for the
normal practice was to
upgrade Union territories
into states.
Making a mention of
Rahul Gandhi’s recent
Bharat Joda Yatra that
concluded in Kashmir, he
said that it gave hope to
the youth. “We all belong
to each other and we
would get back our dignity
by fighting together,” he
said and stressed that the
people formed the country
and not the armed forces.
He also called upon Mr
Stalin to serve the nation
as a whole and not just the
state.
Dr Abdullah said that
the country was in a diffi-
cult situation and that
there was need for saving
the 140 crore people from
the crisis that had befallen
WHY NOT STALIN AS NEXT PM, ASKS DR ABDULLAH
FRO PG 1
Aimed at saving the
unity of the nation that
was known for its unity in
diversity. That was why
they were trying to unite
the country from Kashmir
to Kanyakumari, Dr
the country.
Mr Kharge mentioned
the rising unemployment
among the youth, 23 crore
people being pushed to
poverty and soaring infla-
tion affecting the common
people as some of the indi-
cations of the country fac-
ing difficult times. He
Abdullah said.
Asked about the prime
ministerial candidate, he
said “when we all unite
and win the election, it
will be at that time they
will decide who is the best
man to lead this nation
accused the BJP of not
addressing the problems
but polarising the society
and also referred to the
trend of governors
appointed in various
states behaving like
spokespersons for the
BJP.
The BJP wanted to
pg 7
and unite the nation
together.” It was then the
question was asked what
were the chances for Mr
Stalin and the Kashmiri
leader said ‘Why can’t we
come to that. What is
wrong with that?’
destroy all institutions, he
said and asked all like-
minded parties to unite
first and fight and win the
elections in the name of
secularism, liberalism
and freedom of expression
and then think about the
prime ministerial candi-
date.
 WORLD
DECCAN CHRONICLE | CHENNAI | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023
SHORT
INDIAN FIRM
TAKES
SOLD BARRELS
TO MYANMAR
Bangkok, March 1: An Indian
state-owned arms manufactur-
er has shipped artillery barrels
to military-ruled Myanmar, an
activist group said on
Wednesday, warning they cou-
ld be used by the junta in its
crackdown on dissent.
Myanmar has been in turmoil
since the generals toppled
Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian
government two years ago, end-
ing a brief democratic experi-
ment.
TIT FOR TAT: IRAN
OUSTS 2 GERMAN
DIPLOMATS
Dubai, March 1: Iran on
Wednesday declared two Germ-
an diplomats as personae non
gratae and ordered them to le-
ave the country, accusing Ber-
lin of interfering in Tehran’s
judicial affairs.
The move came after Germa-
ny expelled two employees of
the Iranian embassy in Berlin
last week in response to Iran
sentencing a German national
to death.
“The two German diplomats
are being expelled due to
Germany’s irresponsible inter-
ference in Iran’s internal and
judicial affairs,” state media
quoted Iranian foreign min-
istry spokesman Nasser Kana-
ani as saying.
TURKEY POLLS TO
BE HELD IN MAY,
SAYS ERDOGAN
Ankara, March. 1: President
Tayyip Erdogan indicated on
Wednesday that elections will
be held on May 14, sticking to
his previous plan for the vote
with a date just over three mo-
nths after a devastating earth-
quake killed more than 45,000
people in Turkey.
“This nation will do what is
necessary on May 14, God will-
ing,” Erdogan said in a speech
to lawmakers from his ruling
AK Party in parliament, in an
apparent reference to elections
seen as representing his bigge-
st ever political challenge.
There had been conflicting
signals over the likely timing of
the presidential and parliamen-
tary elections.
ISRAELIS STEP UP
PROTESTS OVER
LEGAL OVERHAUL
Tel Aviv, March 1: Israelis pr-
otesting a contentious govern-
ment plan to overhaul the judi-
cial system were set to step up
their opposition on Wednesday,
with large demonstrations and
road closures expected in what
protest leaders have dubbed a
“national day of disruption.”
A parliamentary committee
is moving forward on a bill that
would weaken the SC. The Kne-
sset is set to cast a preliminary
vote on a separate proposal to
protect PM Benjamin Netanya-
hu from being removed from
his post over calls that he can-
not serve as premier while on
trial for graft. Protesters bloc-
ked the main highway between
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
AIRLINE WEBSITES
SWAMPED FOR HK
TICKET GIVEAWAY
Hong Kong, March 1: People
hoping to take advantage of a
Hong Kong scheme to give
away half a million free airline
tickets faced hours-long online
queues on Wednesday, as the
Asian financial hub bids to woo
tourists back.
The city government last
month launched a campaign to
reboot its reputation as “Asia’s
world city”, after years of strict
pandemic-related travel restri-
ctions and a crackdown on
political dissent.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong
became one of the last places in
the world to drop its outdoor
mask mandate, which city
leader John Lee said was a sign
it was “resuming normalcy”.
JAPAN: SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE BAN
NOT PREJUDICE
Tokyo, March 1: Japanese
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
said the country’s ban on same-
sex marriage is not discrimina-
tory, insisting that constituti-
onal freedom of marriage only
envisions heterosexual unions,
a comment that triggered criti-
cism he is backtracking despite
his recent apology and meeting
with LGBTQ people.
Kishida’s Liberal Democratic
Party, known for its conservati-
ve family values and reluctan-
ce to promote gender equality
and sexual diversity, opposes
legalisation of same-sex mar-
riage and other measures of
equality for LGBTQ people.
Sri Lankan port workers protesting against the newly increased income tax block
traffic outside the entrance to the port in Colombo, on Wednesday.
Daily life hit after Lanka
unions hold day-long stir
Colombo, March 1: The
one-day token strike orga-
nised by Sri Lanka’s trade
unions on Wednesday to
protest the government's
massive tax and utility
rate hikes has brought da-
ily life in the crisis-hit is-
land nation to a grinding
halt and disrupted servic-
es in key sectors like air-
ports, ports and banking.
The trade unions belong-
ing to various sectors cal-
led the strike after defying
an essential services ord-
er issued by President Ra-
nil Wickremesinghe and
urged his government to
withdraw its tax hikes. In
25 CHINESE
PLANES, 3 SHIPS
SENT TOWARD
ISLAND: TAIWAN
Taipei, March 1: China
sent 25 warplanes and
three warships toward
Taiwan on Wednesday,
the island’s defence min-
istry said, as tensions re-
main high between Bei-
jing and Taipei’s main
backer Washington.
The ministry said 19 of
those planes crossed
into Taiwan’s air defen-
ce identification zone
while the ships were
continuing to operate in
the Taiwan Strait. It said
Taiwan responded by
scrambling fighters, dis-
patching ships and activ-
ating coastal missile de-
fence systems to “closely
monitor and respond.”
China stages such
incursions on a near-
daily basis, part of what
are termed “gray zone"
tactics. — AP
Ukraine fiercely resisting
Russia’s Bakhmut assault
Moscow, March 1: Ukrai-
nian forces are fiercely
resisting a Russian attem-
pt to seize the small city of
Bakhmut and are throwi-
ng massive extra reserves
into the bloody battle, Ye-
vgeny Prigozhin, founder
of Russia’s Wagner merc-
enary force, said on Wedn-
esday.
Prigozhin’s men have
spearheaded the assault
in eastern Ukraine for mo-
nths with Moscow regard-
ing Bakhmut, which it ca-
lls by its Soviet-era name
of Artyomovsk, as a usef-
ul stepping stone to seize
bigger cities like Krama-
torsk and Sloviansk.
Ukrainian commanders
have warned in recent
days that the situation on
the ground is getting
much harder as Russia st-
eps ups its attempts to en-
circle Bakhmut to claim
NEW | RESEARCH
Daily 11-minute walk can reduce early death risk
London, March 1: Just 11
minutes, or 75 minutes a
week, of moderate-intensi-
ty physical activity such
as a brisk walk would be
sufficient to lower the risk
of diseases such as heart
disease, stroke and a num-
ber of cancers, a new
University of Cambridge
led research has found.
In a study published on
Tuesday in the British
Journal of Sports Medici-
ne, researchers conclude
that one in 10 early deaths
SIRISENA’S PLEA TO FREE HIM FROM
’19 EASTER ATTACK CASES REJECTED
Colombo, March 1: A Sri
Lankan court on Wednes-
day rejected former presi-
dent Maithripala Sirisen-
a’s plea to free him from
all cases related to the
2019 Easter Sunday attack
that killed 270 people.
January, Wickremesing-
he, also the finance minis-
ter, hiked corporate taxes
to 30 per cent from 24 per
cent, after raising VAT to
Nepal Cabinet
rejig deferred
Kathmandu, March 1:
With the crucial presiden-
tial election in Nepal just
nine days away, Prime Mi-
nister Pushpa Kamal Da-
hal Prachanda will seek a
vote of confidence and
reshuffle his Cabinet only
after the polls, a media re-
port on Wednesday quot-
ed officials as saying.
Prachanda is preparing
to reshuffle his Cabinet to
fill as many as 16 ministr-
ies, which fell vacant aft-
er three political parties
pulled out of his govern-
ment, as part of his effor-
ts to keep the fragile
coalition together.
Government spokesper-
son Rekha Sharma said
Prachanda will seek a
vote of confidence and
reshuffle his Cabinet only
after the presidential pol-
ls on March 9, the Kathm-
andu Post newspaper
Military medics work on a Ukrainian soldier, wounded
on the front line, at a medical stabilisation point in the
Donetsk region.
its first major prize for
more than half a year
after some of the bloodiest
fighting of the war.
“The Ukrainian army is
throwing extra reserves
into Artyomovsk and try-
ing to hold the town with
all their strength,” Prigo-
Cardiovascular diseases accounted for 17.9 million deaths all over the world in ’19
could be prevented if eve-
ryone managed at least
half the recommended lev-
el of physical activity by
the UK’s National Health
Service (NHS).
Physical activity, partic-
ularly when it is moderate-
intensity, is known to red-
uce the risk of cardiovasc-
ular disease and cancer,
and the NHS recommends
that adults do at least 150
minutes of moderate-inte-
nsity activity or 75 minut-
es of vigorous-intensity
— AP/PTI
In January, the Supreme
Court ordered Sirisena to
pay SLRs 100 million as
compensation to victims
of the attack. He was giv-
en six months’ time to pay
or face contempt of court
charges. — PTI
15 per cent last year.
Tax hikes are widely
believed to be on demand
by the International Mon-
etary Fund. — PTI
reported. “The constitu-
tional and legal provision
for the Prime Minister to
seek a vote of confidence
will be followed within
the given timeframe,”
Sharma said.
“But we are currently
focused on the presidenti-
al elections.” With the El-
ection Commission issui-
ng an election code of co-
nduct with effect from
Wednesday until March
19, the Cabinet can only
be reshuffled after that.
Nepal’s second largest
party in Parliament —
CPN-UML — on Monday
withdrew its support to
the “Prachanda”-led gov-
ernment following a rift
over backing the Nepali
Congress’ candidate for
the presidential poll, plu-
nging the Himalayan nat-
ion to another spell of po-
litical instability. — PTI
— AFP
zhin said in a short audio
message released by his
press service.
“Tens of thousands of
Ukrainian army fighters
are putting up furious
resistance. The bloodiness
of the battles is growing
by the day.” — Reuters
activity a week.
If you are someone who
finds the idea of 150 minu-
tes of moderate-intensity
physical activity a week a
bit daunting, then our fin-
dings should be good news,
said Dr Soren Brage from
the Medical Research Co-
uncil (MRC) Epidemiology
Unit at the University of
Cambridge.
Doing some physical act-
ivity is better than doing
none. This is also a good
starting position if you
Polls in Pak Punjab, KP
within 90 days, says SC
PTI dissolved assemblies in Jan. to press for early elections
Islamabad, March 1:
Pakistan’s Supreme Court
on Wednesday ordered the
election commission to
hold elections in the Pun-
jab and Khyber Pakhtunk-
hwa provinces within the
90-day period as mandated
by the Constitution.
The Punjab and Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa assemblies
were dissolved on January
14 and 18, respectively by
the Imran Khan-led Pakis-
tan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
party as part of its bid to
force early general elec-
tions in the country.
The court launched suo
motu proceedings last
week regarding the delay
in the announcement of a
date for elections in the
two provinces. A five-me-
mber bench headed by
chief justice Umar Ata
Bandial issued the split
decision, passed by a maj-
ority of three, with two
judges expressing reserva-
tions over the admissibili-
ty of suo motu action by
the top court.
The decision paved the
way for elections in the
two provinces, currently
run by interim governme-
nts. The respective gover-
nors, empowered to set the
election dates, have demu-
rred, apparently due to
political reasons.
The court also ruled that
President Arif Alvi’s orde-
rs to hold elections on
April 9 will be binding on
the Punjab assembly but
not on the Khyber Pakht-
unkhwa Assembly, as the
latter was dissolved by the
governor, while the for-
mer was not.
“If the governor has dis-
solved the assembly, then
it is the governor who will
announce the election
date,” ruled the apex
court. — PTI
China poses ‘existential’
threat, say US lawmakers
Washington, March 1:
Top American lawmakers
have described China as
an “existential” threat to
the US during a first hear-
ing on China by the Repu-
blican-majority House of
Representatives. They
also called for an all-out
effort within the country
and in coordination with
its allies to successfully
address the challenge pos-
ed by the Communist Pa-
rty-led China.
The US has routinely
and historically described
Chinese behaviour as agg-
ressive. The name of the
newly constituted commi-
ttee is House Select Com-
mittee on the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP).
“This is not a polite ten-
nis match. This is an exis-
tential struggle over what
life will look like in the
21st century — and the
most fundamental freedo-
ms are at stake,” Congre-
ssman Mike Gallagher,
Tinubu wins Nigeria prez vote
Abuja, March 1: Ruling
party candidate Bola Tin-
ubu was declared winner
of Nigeria’s presidential
election early on Wednes-
day, with the two leading
opposition candidates alr-
eady demanding a revote
in Africa’s most populous
nation.
Election officials’ overn-
ight announcement was
likely to lead to a court
challenge by his main op-
ponents Atiku Abubakar
● PHYSICAL ACTIVITY,
particularly when it is
moderate-intensity, is
known to reduce the
risk of cardiovascular
disease and cancer.
find that 75 minutes a
week is manageable, then
you could try stepping it
up gradually to the full
recommended amount, he
said.
An official from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics uses a digital device to collect infor-
mation from a resident during the first ever door-to-door digital national census in
Lahore, on Wednesday.
Security up for
1st digital census
Lahore, March 1: Paki-
stan launched its first-
ever digital population
and housing census on
Wednesday in an effort to
securely gather demogra-
phic data on every indivi-
dual ahead of the parlia-
mentary elections this
year, officials said.
The digital count will
provide data for policy
decisions, which now are
based on the 2017 census,
which counted the popul-
ation at 207 million peop-
le. It’s also meant to beef
up security and avoid an-
other morass like the one
that beset the 2021 census.
SIRHAN SIRHAN BEFORE BOARD
BLINKEN WRAPS UP
CENTRAL ASIA TOUR
● US secretary of state
Antony Blinken is wrap-
ping up a brief tour of
Central Asia in Uzbeki-
stan. He met Uzbek of-
ficials a day after war-
ning all five Central
Asian nations about the
dangers posed by Russ-
ia’s invasion of Ukraine.
US secretary of state Antony
Blinken said he will not meet the
Russian or Chinese foreign minis-
ters at this week’s G20 meeting.
chairman of the House
Select Committee on the
Chinese Communist Par-
ty (CCP), told his fellow
Congressional colleagues
in his opening remarks on
Tuesday. “We must act
Bola Tinubu
and Peter Obi. Abubakar
also finished second in the
last vote in 2019, then ap-
pealed those results before
Cardiovascular diseases,
such as heart disease and
stroke, are the leading ca-
use of death globally, res-
ponsible for 17.9 million
deaths per year in 2019,
while cancers were respo-
nsible for 9.6 million dea-
ths in 2017.
Seventy-five minutes per
week of moderate activity
was found to be enough to
reduce the risk of develop-
ing cardiovascular disease
by 17 per cent and cancer
by 7 per cent.
The results of that count,
which was done manual-
ly, were never announced
over complaints about
errors and exclusion.
The digital census resul-
ts will be announced next
month, according to Paki-
stan’s Bureau of Statisti-
cs which is conducting it
amid tight security. On
Wednesday, census work-
ers fanned out across Pa-
kistan to collect the data.
In addition to policy deci-
sions on such matters as
education and health, the
information also will be
used for the next parliam-
entary elections. — AP
RFK ASSASSIN RETURNS
TO PAROLE HEARING
● Two years ago, a Califo-
rnia parole board voted to
free Robert F. Kennedy’s
assassin, but the governor
overturned it. Sirhan Sirh-
an will once again appear
before the board at a hear-
ing in a San Diego County
prison to ask
to be let out.
with a sense of urgency.
Our policy over the next
ten years will set the stage
for the next hundred,”
Gallagher, a former
Marine and intelligence
official said. — PTI
his lawsuit ultimately was
dismissed.
On Tuesday, the two lead-
ing opposition parties had
demanded a revote, saying
that delays in uploading
election results had made
room for irregularities.
The ruling All Progressiv-
es Congress party urged
the opposition to accept
defeat and not cause trou-
ble. Tinubu received 37%
of the vote, or nearly 8.8
million, while main oppos-
For some specific cance-
rs, the reduction in risk
was greater — head and
neck, myeloid leukaemia,
myeloma, and gastric car-
dia cancers were between
14-26 per cent lower risk.
For other cancers, such as
lung, liver, endometrial,
colon, and breast cancer, a
3-11 per cent lower risk
was observed.
Professor James Woodco-
ck from the MRC Epidem-
iology Unit said: “We
know that physical activi-
pg 8
— AFP
IMRAN PARTY
SUSPENDS ‘JAIL
BHARO TEHREEK’
Lahore, March 1: Imran
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-
e-Insaf (PTI) party on We-
dnesday suspended its
“Jail Bharo Tehreek” (co-
urt arrest movement) aft-
er the Supreme Court ord-
ered the election commis-
sion to hold polls in Punj-
ab and Khyber Pakhtunk-
hwa provinces within 90
days of the dissolution of
the assemblies as stipulat-
ed by the Constitution.
The Punjab and Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa assemblies
were dissolved on Janua-
ry 14 and 18, respectively,
by PTI as part of its bid to
force early general electi-
ons in the country. — PTI
GREECE TRAIN
CRASH KILLS 36,
MINISTER QUITS
Tempe, March 1: Gree-
ce’s transport minister
Kostas Karamanlis has
resigned after a train
crash that killed at least
36 people.
A passenger train car-
rying hundreds of peo-
ple, including many uni-
versity students return-
ing home from holiday,
collided at high speed
with an oncoming freig-
ht train in a fiery wreck
in northern Greece, that
injured another 85, offi-
cials said on Wednesday.
Multiple cars derailed
and at least three burst
into flames after the col-
lision just before midni-
ght on Tuesday near the
town of Tempe as the pa-
ssenger train was emer-
ging from a highway
underpass.
Rescue crews illumina-
ted the scene with flood-
lights before dawn on
Wednesday as they sear-
ched frantically through
the wreckage for sur-
vivors. — AP
ition candidate Abubakar
won 29% with almost 7 mi-
llion. Third-place finisher
Obi took 25% with about
6.1 million, according to
the results announced on
live television by the Ind-
ependent National Electo-
ral Commission.
Tinubu “having satisfied
the requirements of the
law, is hereby declared the
winner and is returned el-
ected, said election chief
Mahmood Yakubu. — AP
ty, such as walking or
cycling, is good for you,
especially if you feel it
raises your heart rate. But
what we’ve found is there
are substantial benefits to
heart health and reducing
your risk of cancer even if
you can only manage 10
minutes every day.”
“Moderate-intensity
physical activity is that
which raises the heart rate
and makes us breathe fast-
er but still able to speak
during the activity.” — PTI
 SPECIAL
DECCAN CHRONICLE | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023 | CHENNAI
pg 9

Metaverse in focus Father of cellphone

MARTIN COOPER ALSO HAS HOPE IN NEW TECH
OTHER STORY

at MWC tech fair sees dark side of it

‘Secure Our City’ to
start India campaign
from city
Chennai: Secure Cam IT
Solutions, a UAE-based securi-
ty solutions provider, has
launched the India leg of
‘Secure Our City’, a campaign
to equip cities with free CCTV
camera systems from Chennai.
The campaign was launched by
Mr. M K Narayanan, former
Governor of West Bengal.
“Security is a major concern
for most people today. The gov-
ernment and the police are
actively involved in improving
security for citizens. However,
there is also a need for citizens
to do their part in protecting
themselves and their families.
This campaign will go a long
way in achieving the same,”
says Narayanan who was
India's National Security
Advisor from 2005 to 2010.
Ahead of the launch, Secure
Cam India also opened its new
office at the Courtyard by
Marriott in Chennai. “We are
finally ready for India. We
believe that India is on track to
become the third largest econo-
my by 2027, surpassing Japan
and Germany and a GDP sur-
passing US$7 trillion by the
end of this decade. A safe and
secure society is imperative to
achieve this growth, and we
want to be very much a part of
this growth journey,” says
Ahmad Al Marar, the compa-
ny’s partner in Abu Dhabi and
MD, Secure Cam IT Solutions.
Secure Our City campaign
will also be expanded to other
cities in India in a phased man-
ner. “Chennai is considered
one of the safest cities in India.
With more public awareness
and participation we are sure
the city can move to the top
spot in safety ranking, says
Rijoy Thomas, CEO of Secure
Cam India.
Secure Cam plans to install
its CCTV cameras for the
Secure Our City campaign.
“The registration process and
the camera installation is
expected to kick start from
April 2023,” says Emil Jose,
COO, Secure Cam India.
Barcelona (Spain): I
climbed into the front seat
of the air taxi, buckled the
seat belt and braced as the
aircraft lifted off. The
futuristic cityscape of Bu-
san, South Korea, dropped
away, and a digital avatar
popped up on the wind-
screen with a message.
I couldn't answer as a
wave of motion sickness
hit me. The virtual reality
goggles combined with
motion-simulating seats
pitching back and forth
and side to side made it
feel like I was actually
hovering and manoeu-
vring in the air. They also
made me so nauseous I
had to close my eyes for
the rest of the three-
minute journey.
Welcome to the meta-
verse — sort of.
South Korean company
SK Telecom's air taxi
mockup was one of the
eye-catching demonstra-
tions at MWC , or Mobile
World Congress, the
world's biggest telecom
industry trade show . Tech
companies and wireless
carriers at this week's
expo in Barcelona dis-
played advancements to
connect people and busi-
nesses online, increasing-
ly in new virtual reality
worlds dubbed the meta-
verse.
Visitor Mark Varahona
also felt woozy after trying
the flight experience but is
still considering buying a
virtual reality headset,
the hardware needed to
enter any immersive digi-
tal universe. “I was think-
ing to buy it before coming
here. And maybe now I
will buy them," he said.
“They look quite nice.”
The metaverse exploded
in popularity after
Facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg in late 2021
pronounced it the next big
thing for the internet,
renaming his social media
empire and socking tens
of billions into the idea.
He portrayed it as 3D
community where people
An ATM for buying SIM cards is pictured at the stand of French multinational compa-
ny Thales at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annu-
al gathering, in Barcelona on Wednesday.
can meet, work and play — The definition of the
doing everything from try- metaverse has been hard
ing on digital clothes, to pin down, adding to the
holding a virtual meeting scepticism. It is not the
or taking a trip online. same as virtual reality
But doubts about the via- and its cousin, augmented
bility of the metaverse reality, said Tuong
have been creeping in as Nguyen, a Gartner analyst
the initial hype wears off. specializing in emerging
Sales of virtual reality technologies.
headsets in the U.S. “So AR and VR very
slipped 2% by December closely related to the meta-
from the previous year, verse in the same way that
according to NPD computers are related to
Research. Reality Labs, the Internet,” he said.
which makes Meta Quest "Think of it instead as
headsets, posted an oper- evolution of the Internet,
ating loss of $13.7 billion which changes the way
in 2022. that we interact with the
Meta has said it plans to world."
hire 10,000 engineers in So how should SK
Europe to work on the Telecom's flight simulator
metaverse. When asked be defined? “Technically,
for an update, the compa- it's not metaverse, but
ny said, “Our expansion kind of metaverse,” said
in Europe was always a Ken Wohn, a company
long-term one planned manager.
over several years. We South Korea's biggest
remain committed to telecom provider teamed
Europe." up last year with
The “metaverse has not California’s Joby Aviation
gone away,” said Ben to develop an electric air
Wood, principal analyst at taxi service to the country.
CCS Insight. “But I think One day the air taxis
there’s a lot more scepti- might operate
cism about what role it’s autonomously, using high-
going to play, particularly speed 5G wireless connec-
in the consumer domain tions, Wohn said.
beyond the obvious areas It was a different experi-
of things like gaming.” ence at French wireless
— AFP
company Orange's meta-
verse demonstration ,
where users were trans-
ported to a futuristic
neon-hued technoscape
with lightning bolts, giant
robots and a falcon carry-
ing a green orb in its
talons.
A dancing figure
appeared, representing
the movements of a real-
life dancer wearing
motion-capture gear. It
was a dazzling display,
though what consumer
purpose it had was not
immediately clear.
Miguel Angel
Almonacid, Orange’s net-
work strategy director for
Spain, said it demon-
strates how new 5G net-
works will eliminate lag
for metaverse users watch-
ing something happening
far away.
The metaverse might be
more suited to practical
purposes in the work-
place, analysts said.
“That’s where we’ll see
traction first because the
barriers aren’t as high,”
said Gartner's Nguyen.
For example, a worker
could use augmented real-
ity glasses to pull up diag-
nostics or an instruction
manual. — AFP
Barcelona (Spain): The
man credited with invent-
ing the cellphone 50 years
ago had only one concern
then about the brick-sized
device with a long anten-
na: Would it work?
These days Martin
Cooper frets like every-
body else about his inven-
tion’s impacts on society
— from the loss of privacy
to the risk of internet
addiction to the rapid
spread of harmful con-
tent, especially among
kids.
“My most negative opin-
ion is we don’t have any
privacy anymore because
everything about us is
now recorded someplace
and accessible to some-
body who has enough
intense desire to get it,”
said Cooper, who spoke
with AP at the telecom
industry’s biggest trade
show in Barcelona, where
he was receiving a life-
time award.
Yet the 94-year-old self-
described dreamer also
marvels at how far cell-
phone design and capabil-
ities have advanced, and
he believes the technolo-
gy’s best days may still be
ahead of it in areas such
as education and health
care.
“Between the cellphone
and medical technology
and the Internet, we are
going to conquer disease,”
he said Monday at MWC,
or Mobile World Congress.
Cooper, whose invention
was inspired by Dick
Tracy’s radio wristwatch,
said he also envisions a
future in which cell-
phones are charged by
human bodies. It’s a long
way from where he start-
ed.
Cooper made the first
public call from a hand-
held portable telephone
on a New York City street
on April 3, 1973, using a
prototype that his team at
Motorola had started
designing only five
months earlier.
To needle the competi-
tion, Cooper used the
Dyna-TAC prototype —
which weighed 2.5 pounds
and was 11 inches long —
to call to his rival at Bell
Labs, owned by AT&T.
“The only thing that I was
worried about: ‘Is this
thing going to work?’ And
it did,” he said.
The call helped kick-
start the cellphone revolu-
tion, but looking back on
that day Cooper acknowl-
edges, “we had no way of
knowing this was the his-
toric moment.”
He spent the better part
of the next decade work-
ing to bring a commercial
version of the device to
market, helping to launch
the wireless communica-
tions industry and, with
it, a global revolution in
how we communicate,
shop and learn about the
world.
Still, Cooper said he’s
“not crazy” about the
shape of modern smart-
phones, blocks of plastic,
metal and glass. He thinks
phones will evolve so that
they will be “distributed
on your body,” perhaps as
sensors “measuring your
health at all times.”
Batteries could even be
replaced by human ener-
gy. “You ingest food, you
create energy. Why not
have this receiver for your
ear embedded under your
skin, powered by your
body?” he imagined.
While he dreams about
what the future might
look like, Cooper is
attuned to the industry’s
current challenges, par-
ticularly around privacy.
In Europe, where there
are strict data privacy
rules, regulators are con-
cerned about apps and
digital ads that track user
activity, allowing technol-
ogy and other companies
to build up rich profiles of
users.
“It’s going to get
resolved, but not easily,”
Cooper said. “There are
people now that can justi-
fy measuring where you
are, where you’re making
your phone calls, who
you’re calling, what you
access on the Internet.”
Smartphone use by chil-
dren is another area that
needs limits, Cooper said.
One idea is to have “vari-
ous internets curated for
different audiences.”
Five-year-olds should be
able to use the internet to
help them learn, but “we
don’t want them to have
access to pornography
and to things that they
don’t understand,” he
said.
As for his own phone
use, Cooper says he
checks email and does
online searches for infor-
mation to settle dinner
table arguments. However,
“there are many things
that I have not yet
learned,” he said. “I still
don’t know what TikTok
is.”
— AP

TLM kits for kids with AS SHE TRIES TO AVOID PRISON

disabilities
DC CORRESPONDENT
Elizabeth Holmes of Kobe Bryant family settles its LA
CHENNAI, MAR. 1

The National Institute for Per-

sons with Multiple Disabilities
(NIEPMD), Chennai, collabo-
rated with MOBIS India
Foundation to distribute
Teaching Learning Material
(TLM) kits worth Rs 4.14 crores
to 10,000 children with intellec-
tual disabilities across the
three states of Tamil Nadu,
Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
As part of this pan India ini-
tiative, the 150 TLM kits were
distributed at Special school in
Gandhi Nagar, Ahmedabad
and 3000 kits are allotted for
Gujarat. The TLM kits act as
efficient teaching tools for spe-
cial educators and foster a ger-
minating ground for different-
ly-abled children to be able to
grasp theoretical concepts
with ease.
NIEPMD established in 2005,
under the Government of
India, Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment,
Department of Empowerment
of Persons with Disabilities,
continues to excel with com-
mitment to achieve the objec-
tives set by the Government of
India touching the lives of
thousands of families.
S. M. Abinaya, handling
CSR at NIEPMD, has facilitat-
ed this pan India CSR project
with an aim to nurture inclu-
siveness and learning and
development of children with
special needs.
Theranos has 2nd child county photo lawsuit for $28.5 mn
San Jose (US): Disgraced
Theranos CEO Elizabeth
Holmes is citing her
recently born child as
another reason she should
be allowed to delay the
start of a more than 11-
year prison sentence
while her lawyers appeal
her conviction for duping
investors about the capa-
bilities of her failed com-
pany’s blood-testing tech-
nology.
The birth of Holmes’
second child was con-
firmed in court docu-
ments filed last week in
advance of a March 17
hearing about her bid to
remain free during an
appeals process that could
take years to complete.
The filing didn’t disclose
the date of the birth or the
child’s gender, but the
news isn’t a surprise.
Holmes, 38, was pregnant
at the time of her Nov. 18
sentencing in the same
San Jose, California,
courtroom where a jury
convicted her on four
felony counts of fraud and
Los Angeles (US): The
family of the late Kobe
Bryant has agreed to a
$28.5 million settlement
with Los Angeles County
to resolve the remaining
claims in a lawsuit over
deputies and firefighters
sharing grisly photos of
the NBA star, his 13-year-
old daughter and other
victims killed in a 2020
helicopter crash, attor-
neys and court filings said
Tuesday.
Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes, centre, The figure includes a
walks into federal court in California in 2022. — AP file newly agreed upon pay-
ment from the county of
conspiracy. District Judge Edward $13.5 million along with
The start of that trial Davila to delay the start of the $15 million a federal
had been delayed so his nearly 13-year prison jury awarded Bryant’s
Holmes could give birth to sentence. A hearing on his widow, Vanessa Bryant, at
her first child, a son. request was held earlier a trial in August.
Holmes had both children this month, but Davila The agreement resolves
with her current partner, hasn’t issued a ruling yet. any future claims by
William “Billy” Evans. Holmes isn’t citing her Bryant’s three surviving
She met Evans after her two children as the only daughters, related issues
2016 break-up with her reason she should be pending in state court,
former lover and business allowed to stay out of and other costs. A pro-
partner, Ramesh “Sunny” prison during her appeal. posed settlement order,
Balwani, who was convict- Her lawyers contend that which a judge must
ed on 12 counts of fraud an array of mistakes and approve, was filed
and conspiracy in a sepa- abuses made during her Tuesday in federal court.
rate trial. trial make it likely her “Today marks the suc-
Balwani, 57, is also try- conviction will be over- cessful culmination of
ing to convince US turned. — AP Mrs. Bryant’s courageous
when the helicopter they
were aboard crashed into
hills in Calabasas west of
Los Angeles on Jan. 26,
2020.
Deputies and firefighters
responding to the crash
scene shot phone photos of
the bodies and the wreck-
age, which Hashmall
argued at trial were an
essential part of assessing
the situation. But the pic-
Vanessa Bryant, centre, Kobe Bryant's widow, leaves a tures were shared, mostly
federal courthouse with her daughter Natalia, centre between employees of the
left, soccer player Sydney Leroux, centre right, in Los county sheriff ’s and fire
Angeles, in Aug. 2022. The family of the late Kobe departments, including by
Bryant has agreed to a $28.5 million settlement with some who were playing
Los Angeles County to resolve the remaining claims in video games and attend-
a lawsuit over deputies and firefighters sharing grisly ing an awards banquet.
photos of the NBA star, his 13-year-old daughter and They were also seen by
other victims killed in a 2020 helicopter crash. AP file some of their spouses and
in one case by a bartender
battle to hold accountable County, called the state- at a bar where a deputy
those who engaged in this ment “fair and reason- was drinking.
grotesque conduct,” able” adding, “We hope Li told jurors that the
Bryant’s attorney Luis Li Ms. Bryant and her chil- close-up photos had no
said in a statement. “She dren continue to heal from official or investigative
fought for her husband, their loss.” purpose, and were mere
her daughter, and all those Kobe Bryant, the former “visual gossip” shared out
in the community whose Lakers star, five-time NBA of a gruesome curiosity.
deceased family were champion and member of Hashmall argued that the
treated with similar disre- the Basketball Hall of sheriff acted swiftly and
spect.” Fame, was traveling with appropriately when he
Mira Hashmall, the Gianna and seven others ordered the photos delet-
attorney representing LA to a youth basketball game ed. — AP

English cricket confronts

racism scandal
Yorkshire (UK): A long-awaited
hearing examining racism alle-
gations which brought shame
on English cricket’s most suc-
cessful county team started
Wednesday, with past and pres-
ent internationals set to give
evidence to a disciplinary
panel over the next week. It is
the next stage of a scandal that
erupted when Azeem Rafiq, a
former player at Yorkshire,
went public alleging he had
been the victim of racial hara
ssment and bullying across two
spells at the club between 2008-
18. Rafiq’s complaints reached
the British Parliament — cryptic teaser, the publisher
where he testified through
tears to legislators and called
English cricket “institutionally
racist” — and led to Yorkshire
losing sponsors and briefly the
right to stage international
matches at its home,
Headingley Stadium, over its
response to the scandal. —AFP
Murakami’s 1st novel in 6 years to hit stores in April
Tokyo (Japan): A new Haruki
Murakami novel will be pub-
lished in April and the publish-
er is saying little about it
except that the Japanese manu-
script is around 1,200 pages and
the plot involves “a story that
had long been sealed.”
“The City and Its Uncertain
Walls” will be released on April
13 in both print and digital for-
mats, Shinchosha Publishing
Co. said in a statement on
Wednesday. The availability of
an English translation is not
yet known.
In a brief promotional and
said: “Must go to the city. No
matter what happens. A locked
up ‘story’ starts to move quietly
as if ‘old dreams’ are woken up
and unravelled in a secluded
archive.” It added that the book
is a “soul-stirring, 100% pure
Murakami world.”
Staff at the publisher said
details about the plot are being
withheld because many
Murakami fans say they prefer
to start reading his books with-
out knowing what they are
about.
It is unknown if the new
novel is related to Murakami’s
1980 story with the same title
that was published in a literary
magazine but never released as
a book.
The novel is Murakami’s first
since “Kishidancho Goroshi,”
or “Killing Commendatore,”
was released in February 2017.
A perennial candidate for the
Nobel Prize in Literature,
Murakami, 74, published his
debut book, “Hear the Wind
Sing,” in 1979 while running a
jazz bar in Tokyo. His 1987
romance “Norwegian Wood”
became his first bestseller,
establishing him as a young lit-
erary star. Known for his magi-
cal realism, Murakami has also
penned bestsellers such as “A
Wild Sheep Chase,” “The Wind-
up Bird Chronicle” and “1Q84.”
His latest, “Killing
Commendatore,” sold more The front
than a million copies. cover of
A library devoted to Haruki
Murakami’s writings, scrap- Murakami’s
books and record collection new novel
opened in 2021 at his alma “The City
mater, Waseda University, in and Its
Tokyo as a venue for literary Uncertain
research and cultural exchange Walls.”— AP
and a gathering spot for his
fans.
Murakami is an avid music
collector who appreciates gen-
res ranging from classical to
jazz and rock, and music serves
as an important motif in many
of his stories. Since 2018,
Murakami has hosted a
“Murakami Radio” show on
Tokyo FM in which he plays
some of his favorite music and
provides occasionally humor-
ous commentary and music
trivia. He has also sometimes
spoken out against political
leaders.
 THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023 | CHENNAI
quick `1.4L-cr GST collection
BITES becomes new normal
INDICATORS % MADHUSUDAN SAHOO
Sensex 59,411.08 0.76
Nifty 50 17,450.90 0.85
S&P 500* 3,958.26 -0.30
Dollar (`) 82.50 0.19
Pound Sterling (`) 99.36 0.45
Euro (`) 87.40 0.31
Gold (10gm)* (`) 55,875▲119 0.21
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 83.71 0.31
IN 10-Yr bond yield 7.419 -0.038
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 3.93 0.016
* As of 8:30 PM IST
Bill Gates praises
India’s digital
connectivity
Bill Gates on Wednesday said
India has “great” digital net-
work and high levels of smart-
phone usage with “very good”
connectivity and added this
will be the cheapest 5G mar-
ket. Gates appreciated India’s
competitive private market,
reliable and low-cost connec-
tivity, and went on to say this
will be the cheapest 5G mar-
ket. “India has great digital
network and high percentage
of people using smartphones.”
CIL production
rises 14% during
Apr-Feb period
State-owned Coal India Ltd
produced 619.7 million tonnes
(MT) in the April-February
period of the current fiscal,
registering a year-on-year
growth of 14.3 per cent. The
maharatna firm had produced
542 MT of coal in the year-ago
period. “With a quantum gain
of 77.3 MT CIL is well on its
way to breach the production
target of 700 MT of FY’23,”
Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a
statement.
ONGC board gets
new director for
production
ONGC now has a director for
production after two director-
ships were merged as part of a
larger board revamp. The post
of director (production) has
been created after merging
director (onshore), who is in
charge of all oil and gas fields
located on land, and director
(offshore) who looks after all
offshore assets. Pankaj Kumar,
director (offshore), will be the
first director (production),
ONGC said in a statement.
EU’s carbon tax
to impact India’s
metal exports
The carbon border adjustment
mechanism being implemented
by the European Union will
have an adverse impact on
India’s exports of metals such
as iron, steel and aluminium
products to the EU, the GTRI
said. The EU is introducing the
carbon border adjustment
mechanism (CBAM) from
October 1 this year. CBAM will
translate into a 20-35 per cent
tax on select imports into the
EU starting January 1, 2026.
Printed & Published by
K Sudhakar on behalf of Deccan
Chronicle Holdings Limited. Printed &
Published at Deccan Chronicle Presses
situated at SP-3 Developed Plot,
Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai.
Editor: Kaushik Mitter, RNI Reg. No.
TNENG/2008/25473 Air surcharge Re 1.
© All rights reserved. Reproduction in
whole or in part without written per-
mission of The Editor, Financial
Chronicle ® is prohibited.
GST kitty in Feb stands at `1.5L cr, stays over `1.4L cr for 1 yr
with agency inputs
NEW DELHI, MARCH 1
The Centre has collected
about `1.5 lakh crore
gross goods and services
tax (GST) in February
2023, which is 12 per cent
more than the tax collect-
ed in same month last
year. The monthly GST
revenues collected by the
government is more than
`1.4 lakh crore for 12
straight months in a row,
the finance ministry state-
ment said on Wednesday.
As per the statement, the
gross GST revenue collect-
ed in the month of Febru-
ary 2023 is `1,49,577 crore
of which CGST is `27,662
crore, SGST is `34,915
crore, IGST is `75,069
crore (including `35,689
crore collected on import
of goods) and Cess is
`11,931 crore (including
`792 crore collected on
Manufacturing posts robust growth
MADHUSUDAN SAHOO
NEW DELHI, MARCH 1
India’s manufacturing in-
dustry sustained a robust
growth in output and new
orders in February, acco-
rding to a monthly survey.
The companies contin-
ued to scale up input pur-
chases, while job numbers
expanded only fractional-
ly amid a general lack of
pressure on operating
capacities, the survey
showed on Wednesday.
As per the survey, the
Super rich’s wealth
shrinks 10% in 2022
RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
MUMBAI, MARCH 1
Total wealth held by ultra
high net worth individu-
als or UHNWIs shrank by
10 per cent globally in US
dollar terms during 2022, a
drop of some $10.1 trillion,
this could shift investor
strategies in 2023 towards
real estate and debt funds,
said Knight Frank’s
Wealth Report for 2022.
Although four in ten
UHNWIs saw their wealth
increase in 2022, the
report said the overwhel-
ming trend was negative.
“The fall in wealth is
unsurprising given the
dramatic pivot in mone-
tary policy that culminat-
ed in the worst perform-
ance for the traditional
blended portfolio since the
1930s,” the report added.
Exchange rates had a sig-
nificant impact as the
strength of the dollar was
unrivalled, driven by the
US Fed’s one of the fastest
cycles of rate hikes in his-
tory and as very few cur-
rencies saw appreciation
against the US dollar.
“Optimism for wealth
creation in 2023 is high
despite the turbulence and
aggregate decrease seen in
2022,” the report said
adding, “while HNWIs
across Asia-Pacific are
looking for growth, preser-
vation is the number one
goal in Europe and
America – perhaps unsur-
prising, given the econom-
TAKE | OFF India needs many 20-seater aircraft to connect smaller cities in hinterland
Canadian firm eyes India’s small aircraft demand
Toronto, March 1: De
Havilland Aircraft of
Canada, a leading manu-
facturer of turboprop
planes, is aiming to win 80
per cent of India’s small-
plane market as the coun-
try seeks to bolster con-
nectivity in far-flung cor-
ners and over rugged ter-
rain.
The company is expect-
ing India to have as many
as 120 small aircraft that
seat less than 20 passen-
gers in the next 10 years,
Yogesh Garg, the manu-
facturer’s Asia Pacific
sales director, said in an
import of goods).
KPMG in India Partner,
Indirect Tax, Abhishek
Jain said this indicates a
growing self-reliance
within the domestic mar-
ket and is a positive sign
for the Indian economy.
According to the finance
ministry statement, “The
government has settled
`34,770 crore to CGST and
`29,054 crore to SGST
from IGST as regular set-
tlement. The total revenue
of Centre and the states
after regular settlements
seasonally-adjusted S&P
Global India Manufac-tur-
ing Purchasing Managers’
Index or PMI was at 55.3 in
February, almost similar
figure of 55.4 in January,
which signalled a strong
improvement in the
health of the sector. The
headline figure was also
above its long-run average
of 53.7.
The survey also said that
input cost inflation accel-
erated to a four-month
high but there was a softer
upturn in selling charges
Optimism for
wealth creation in
2023 is high despite the
turbulence and aggre-
gate decrease seen in
2022... There is an over-
arching drive towards
investing in debt rather
than equity because it
represents better value
— KNIGHT FRANK
WEALTH REPORT
ic slowdown under way
across Europe and the
anticipated downturn in
the United States as high-
er interest rates take their
toll.”
“In the year ahead, 19
per cent of UHNWIs inte-
nd to invest directly into
income-producing proper-
ty, with 13 per cent set to
take the indirect route. In
terms of sectors in dema-
nd, healthcare leads,fol-
lowed by logistics, offices
and residential,” said
Liam Bailey, global head of
research, Knight Frank.
“Prime residential has
been the best performing
sector. HNWIs have sought
out mixed-use single
owned towers or com-
pounds of villas which
can be broken up to sell
individually.”
There is an overarching
drive towards investing in
debt rather than equity
because it represents bet-
ter value, the report
added.
interview in New Delhi on
Tuesday on the sidelines
of the Airline Economics
Growth Frontiers India
conference.
Small planes are key for
India, the world’s fastest-
growing aviation market,
to connect tiny towns,
hilly areas and islands
that have a budding popu-
lation of first-time flyers.
Airbus SE estimates India
will need 2,210 aircraft by
2040, with most of them
being smaller jets.
De Havilland will face
competition from the 19-
seater Dornier 228 air-
● GST COLLECTION in
February indicates a
growing self-reliance
within the domestic
market and is a posi-
tive sign for the Indian
economy, observed
Abhishek Jain, KPMG
in India Partner,
Indirect Tax.
in the month of February
2023 is `62,432 crore for
CGST and `63,969 crore
for the SGST.”
The cess collection of
`11,931 crore was the high-
est since implementation
of GST.
AMRG & Associates sen-
ior partner Rajat Mohan
said enforcement action
by tax authorities against
pan masala and tobacco
manufacturers in the past
few months could have led
to higher collection of
taxes and thus con-
and it also continued to
accelerate with firms
mentioning higher prices
for electronic compo-
nents, energy, foodstuff,
metals and textiles.
However, it stayed below
MARKETS END
LOSING STREAK
AFTER 8 DAYS
RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
MUMBAI, MARCH 1
Indian stock market
ended the eight-day losing
streak on Wednesday on
positive global cues, high
GST collection at `1.5
lakh crore and robust
growth in manufacturing
sector in February.
The Sensex gained 0.76
per cent or 448.96 points to
close at 59,411.08 while
Nifty-50 closed at 17,450.90
up 146.95 points or 0.85
per cent.
Broader market outper-
formed the benchmarks
by a big margin with BSE
Mid-cap index up 1.35 per
cent and BSE Small-cap
index up 1.38 per cent.
Market gained on the
back of domestic institu-
tional investors buying
equities worth `1,498.66
crore while foreign port-
folio investors sold a sma-
ller quantity of shares
worth `424.88 crore.
“Nifty-50 snapped an
eight-day fall helped by
positive Asian cues,” said
Deepak Jasani, head of
retail research, HDFC
Securities.
craft. Hindustan Aerona-
utics Ltd. made-in-India
plane is used by the armed
forces, while Alliance Air
has one. Another rival is
Textron Aviation Inc.,
with IndiaOne Air using
its nine-seater Cessna
Grand Caravan EX.
Better access to regional
travel could help revive
tourism and air traffic in
India after the pandemic
gutted travel. The govern-
ment has allocated `4500
crore under a regional
connectivity programme
to develop 100 inadequate-
ly served airports, heli-
tributed to the cess pool.
“Indian automakers
reported solid domestic
sales for vehicles which
also fuelled collection of
compensation cess during
February,” Mohan said.
ICRA chief economist
Aditi Nayar said the
sequential dip in the GST
collections in February
2023 is partly on account
of the boost to the
January figure from the
quarter-ending inflows for
the month of December,
which were remitted in
the following month.
N.A. Shah Associates
Parag Mehta said the
GSTN portal gives a lot of
data and information to
the authorities to cross
verify and detect suspi-
cious transactions. “Even
the spending by the con-
sumers have increased
substantially leading to
increase in collections on
ongoing basis,” he said.
the long-run average.
“After slipping to a 26-
month low last November,
input cost inflation surged
in every month since. The
latest rise was historically
subdued, however, and
among the weakest in aro-
und two years. The survey
showed some reluctance
among manufacturers to
pass on cost increases to
clients, with output char-
ge inflation easing since
January,” said Pollyanna
De Lima of S&P Global
Market Intelligence.
Axis buys Citi’s consumer
biz in India for `11,603 cr
FALAKNAAZ SYED
MUMBAI, MARCH 1
Private lender Axis Bank
on Wednesday said that it
has completed the deal to
buy Citibank India’s con-
sumer businesses for a
final cash consideration at
`11,603 crore ($1.41 bil-
lion). The deal was worth
`12,325 crore when it was
announced in March 2022,
but the valuation dropped
due to Citi’s customer
attrition and a fall in
deposit base.
The transaction com-
prises the sale of the con-
sumer businesses of
Citibank India, which inc-
ludes loans, credit cards,
wealth management and
retail banking operations.
The deal also includes
the sale of the consumer
business of Citi’s non-
banking financial compa-
Irdai seeks policy for mentally-ill
FC BANKING BUREAU
MUMBAI, MARCH 1
The Insurance Regulatory
and Development Author-
ity of India (Irdai) has
made it mandatory for all
non-life insurers and
health insurers to launch
health insurance policies
that can provide coverage
to people with mental ill-
ness and or those afflicted
with HIV/AIDS, or dis-
ports and water aero-
dromes, in addition to
opening 1,000 new routes
by next year. It is also giv-
ing subsidies to airlines to
offer passengers cheaper
fares on regional routes.
SpiceJet is in talk with
De Havilland for five Twin
Otter seaplanes, typically
found in the Maldives shu-
ttling tourists to resorts.
SpiceJet could deploy the
seaplanes to reach remote
parts lacking runways
and ground transport like
Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, Garg said.
— Bloomberg
Car sales stay
on growth
trajectory
in February
MICHAEL GONSALVES
PUNE, MARCH 1
Car sales in February
continued to grow at a
healthy note with auto
majors such as market
leaders Maruti Suzuki
and Hyundai leading the
show, along with others
such as Tata Motors,
M&M, Kia, Toyota Kirlos-
kar reporting growth
sales volume last month.
However, Honda Cars
and MG Motor saw
decline in their sales dur-
ing the same period.
Maruti Suzuki said its
passenger vehicle sales in
the domestic market grew
10.1 per cent on a year-on-
year basis to 1,47,467
units, up from 1,33,948
units it sold last year. It
also said that it took all
possible measure to min-
imise the impact of a
shortage of electronic
parts.
Sales of its archrival
Hyundai jumped seven
per cent at 47,001 units
against 44,050 units sold
in the previous year. “The
overall sales numbers are
showing a positive trend
across segments,” Tarun
Garg, COO at Hyundai
Motor India, said.
Sales at Tata Motors
jumped 7 per cent at
43,140 units, including
electric cars last month,
up from 40,181 units it
sold last year.
Sales at Mahindra and
Mahindra grew 10 per
cent at 30,358 units last
month, up from 27,663
units it sold last year.
Sales at Kia soared by 35.8
per cent with total sales of
24,600 units last month
against 18,121 units dur-
ing the yearago period.
ny, Citicorp Finance
(India) Ltd, comprising
asset-backed financing
business, which includes
commercial vehicle and
construction equipment
loans, as well as the per-
sonal loans portfolio.
With the closing of the
sale, Citibank would be
exiting from its credit
card and retail businesses
in the country. It will,
however, continue to focus
in India on institutional
banking business besides
continuing to focus on off-
abilities. These groups are
often excluded from obtai-
ning health insurance
leaving them vulnerable
to financial and health
risks, making it difficult
for them to access essen-
tial healthcare services.
The regulator has asked
insurance companies to
come up with a model pol-
icy, setting out the mini-
mum scope and parame-
ters for product design.
AVIATION TO TURN PROFITABLE
● Domestic airlines industry is expected to fly
back into profitability next fiscal, for the first time
since the outbreak of Covid, according to Crisil.
● The industry may pare its net loss by as much
as 75-80 per cent year-on-year to `4,500 crore this
fiscal, compared with `17,500 crore last fiscal.
● Strong recovery in passenger traffic and easing
cost pressures are supporting this turnaround in
operating performance of airlines.
● The projections are based on analysis of three
airlines that account for 75 per cent of domestic
air traffic.
India IT sector
revenue to hit
$245b in FY23
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, MARCH 1
Indian technology indu-
stry’s revenue is set to
touch $245 billion in the
financial year 2022-23
with an incremental net
revenue addition esti-
mated at $19 billion dur-
ing the year, said indus-
try body Nasscom, add-
ing that the industry
revenue will touch $500
billion by 2030.
Despite the global
headwinds, the technol-
ogy industry in India is
set to witness steady
growth in FY2023 to $245
billion with a cross-cur-
rency impact of two per
cent. This reflects an
incremental net revenue
addition estimated at $19
billion. The growth has
been across segments of
IT services, BPM, soft-
ware products, ER&D
and domestic market.
Revenue from Indian
service exports too is
expected to touch $194
billion in reported cur-
rency, a growth of 9.4
per cent compared to
FY22. Growth in exports
is seen across all the
major markets — the US
growing at 10.4 per cent
and APAC at 10.1 per
cent.
“Despite global head-
winds and some modera-
tion in demand, the
industry value proposi-
tion of resilience, agility
and a transformation
partner for global enter-
prises, enabled the
industry to strengthen
its leadership in core
and emerging areas,”
shoring or global business
support rendered from
centres in Mumbai, Pune,
Bengaluru, Chennai and
Gurugram.
In April 2021, American
banking major Citigroup
announced its plan to exit
from the consumer bank-
ing business in India as
part of its global strategy.
“Axis Bank will not need
to raise any fresh capital
to fund the deal. Our capi-
tal adequacy remains
strong,” said its MD and
CEO Amitabh Chaudhry.
In other words, insurers
may widen the scope of
this product, but in no
case can the scope of the
product be narrowed
down. “The insurers are
directed to put in place a
Board approved under-
writing policy that ensu-
res that no proposal from
these categories of popu-
lation is denied for reason
of these disabilities or ill-
ness,” it said.
pg 10
● WITH CONTINUED
investments by the
government and
enterprises in emerg-
ing technologies,
India’s domestic sec-
tor emerged as the
great propeller.
Krishnan Ramanujam,
chairperson, Nasscom
said.
India’s massive digital
infrastructure played a
key role in driving
India’s domestic tech
adoption. With contin-
ued investments by the
government and enter-
prises in emerging tech-
nologies, India’s domes-
tic sector emerged as the
great propeller.
Domestic revenue is
growing 13 per cent from
FY22 in rupee terms.
The industry employs
over 5.4 million work-
force, creating 2,90,000
new jobs in FY23. With a
36 per cent digitally
skilled workforce, the
industry remains on the
top in terms of AI skills
penetration, the second
largest in terms of
Artificial Intelligence,
Machine Learning, Big
Data Analytics talent
pool globally.
Need to shift to
profit model via
R&D: Mandaviya
New Delhi, March 1:
There is a need to shift to
a profit model through
enhancing research and
development capabilities
in the pharmaceutical
sector, chemicals and fer-
tilisers minister Mans-
ukh Mandaviya said on
Wednesday.
The minister, who chai-
red the first ever govern-
ing council meeting of
the National Institutes of
Pharmaceutical Educat-
ion and Research, empha-
sised on the importance
of research and innova-
tion for the growth of the
pharma industry.
“Research and innova-
tion are necessary for the
sustained growth of the
pharmaceuticals sector.
Our focus must shift from
self-sustenance model to
profit model through
expanding research base,
creating industry connect
and ramping up infra-
structure,” he said in an
official statement.
The expertise of human
resources must be
utilised along with imple-
mentation of best prac-
tices from other institu-
tions, he said. — PTI
Adani secures
$3-b loan from
sovereign fund
Hong Kong, March 1:
Adani Group has told
creditors it has secured a
$3 billion loan from a sov-
ereign wealth fund, two
sources with knowledge
of the matter said, as the
embattled conglomerate
seeks to ease debt con-
cerns after a short-seller
attack.
The credit line from the
sovereign wealth fund
could be increased to $5
billion, the sources said,
citing a memo that was
circulated to participants
as highlights of a three-
day investor roadshow
that ended on Wednesday.
The identity of the sov-
ereign wealth fund was
not disclosed in the
memo. A third person
said Adani’s management
told investors it was from
the Middle East region.
— Bloomberg
 GAMES
DECCAN CHRONICLE | CHENNAI | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023
pg 11

SHORT TAKES
Allrounder Jadeja
achieves rare feat
Indore: Star allrounder Ravindra
Jadeja on Wednesday entered
the record books, becoming
only the second Indian player
after Kapil Dev to take 500
wickets and amass 5,000 runs
in international cricket. The 34-
year-old achieved the rare feat
on the opening day of the third
Test between India and
Australia when he trapped
opener Travis Head leg-before
for his 260th wicket in Test
cricket, which took his overall
tally to 500 wickets across the
three formats.
Jadeja has so far claimed 189
wickets in 171 ODIs at an aver-
age of 37.36 and in the shortest
format the left-arm spinner has
51 dismissals to his name in 64
appearances.
As a valuable batter who has
bailed India out from tough sit-
uations both at home and away,
Jadeja’s stocks have been on a
constant rise in Test cricket. He
has scored 2,619 runs in the
longest format at an average of
36.88, with two of his three
tons — including the career-
best of 175 not out — coming
over the last 12 months. — PTI
Harman to lead
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai: India skipper
Harmanpreet Kaur was on
Wednesday officially
announced as the captain of
the Mumbai Indians team ahead
of the inaugural edition of the
Women’s Premier League
starting here on Saturday.
Harmanpreet, who recently
became the first female player
ever to complete 150 T20I dur-
ing the ICC T20 World Cup
2023 in South Africa, was
bought for ‘1.8 crore by Mumbai
Indians at the auction last
month. WPL will be held this
month in Mumbai across two
venues — DY Patil Stadium and
Brabourne Stadium. “We are
thrilled to have Harmanpreet as
the captain of Mumbai Indians’
first-ever women’s cricket
team,” said team’s owner Nita
Ambani. Mumbai Indians will be
coached by former England
captain Charlotte Edwards and
the legendary Indian fast
bowler Jhulan Goswami will be
the team’s bowling coach and
mentor. Former India player
Devieka Palshikar will be the
batting coach, while England’s
Lydia Greenway will be the
fielding coach. — PTI
IN SPIN WEB
Kuhnemann’s five-wicket haul puts India in trouble
Indore, March 1:
Indian batters’ long-
standing struggles
against spin were thor-
oughly exposed before
Australia applied them-
selves on a rank turner
to take control of the
third Test on a frantic
opening day of the
match here on
Wednesday.
Left-arm spinner
Matthew Kuhnemman
(5/16) picked up his
maiden five-wicket haul
as Australia skittled
India out for a paltry 109
shortly after lunch on
day one. Virat Kohli top-
scored for India with 22
off 52 balls.
Trailing 0-2 in the
series, Australia came
out with a strong resolve
and purpose to end the
day at 156 for four, taking
a 47-run lead.
Ravindra Jadeja (4/63)
took all four wickets for
India including that of
stand-in captain Steve
Smith (26 off 38) before
close of play.
Usman Khawaja (60 off
147) was the standout
performer for Australia
as he tackled the skill-
full Jadeja and R
Ashwin with a straight
bat and soft hands.
Marnus Labuschagne
(31 off 91 balls), who was
bowled off a no ball
early in his innings,
rode on his luck to share
a 96-run stand with
Khawaja, the highest
partnership of the
series for the visitors.
Though the usually
accurate Indian spin-
ners were not relentless
with their lines and
lengths, Khawaja and
Labuschagne rectified
the “sweeping” mistakes
they made in Delhi by
playing straight and
trusting their defense.
When India were bat-
ting, the pitch seemed
unplayable but Khawaja
and Co. showed the way
to the home team.
FA CUP | FIFTH ROUND
City in quarters,
Foxes bite dust
London, March 1: Phil
Foden struck twice as
Manchester City eased
into the FA Cup quarterfi-
nals with a 3-0 win
against Bristol City, while
2021 winners Leicester
suffered a shock 2-1 defeat
against second tier
Blackburn on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola’s side
were never in danger of a
giant-killing in the fifth
round tie at Ashton Gate
thanks to Foden’s brace
and a late strike from
Kevin De Bruyne.
Guardiola saluted the
impact of England for-
ward Foden, who is start-
ing to recapture his peak
form after an inconsis-
tent season.
“His career was always
up, up, up. This season he
struggled a bit and was a
bit down. But now he’s
back for the best bit of the
season,” Guardiola said.
“His impact has been
amazing. Football pays off
when you work like he
does.”
City will hope for anoth-
er boost on Wednesday
when Premier League
leaders Arsenal, two
points ahead of the cham-
pions, face Everton in
their game in hand.
“We’re still alive in
three competitions. We’ll
see what happens in the
future,” Guardiola said.
City took a seventh
minute lead when Riyad
Mahrez crossed to the far
post, where Foden fired
into the roof of the net.
Foden doubled City’s
lead after 74 minutes as
Julian Alvarez flicked
towards Foden, who pro-
Australia’s Matthew Kuhnemann (second from left) celebrates with his teammates the dismissal of India captain
Rohit Sharma on the first day of the third Test in Indore on Wednesday. — AP
THE RESULTS
Bristol City 0
Manchester City 3
(Foden 7, 74, Kevin De
Bruyne 81)
Stoke 0
Brighton 1
(Ferguson 30)
Leicester 1
(Iheanacho 67)
Blackburn 2
(Dolan 33, Szmodics 52)
Fulham 2
(Palhinha 21,
Solomon 56)
Leeds 0
duced another clinical
finish past Max O’Leary.
De Bruyne got the visi-
tors’ third from long-
range in the 81st minute
to ensure the smoothest
of nights for the six-time
FA Cup winners.
Leicester were booed off
after Blackburn ended
the Foxes’ bid to reach a
second FA Cup final in
three seasons.
Brendan Rodgers led
Leicester to the club’s
first ever FA Cup triumph
in 2021, but Rovers pun-
ished woeful defending
from the Premier League
side to shatter their hopes
of emulating that run.
With Leicester 14th in
the top-flight, just three
points above the relega-
tion zone, Rodgers made
six changes to the side
beaten by Arsenal at the
weekend and paid the
price for his gamble.
— AFP

AIFF bans player

Khawaja’s gritty knock
also had a couple of
drives on the off-side. He
was also not shy of play-
Pitch offered more turn ASHWIN NOW
WORLD NO. 1
than we expected: Coach
ing the reverse sweep
for age fraud but mostly played

New Delhi: All India Football

Federation (AIFF) disciplinary
committee has imposed a four-
year ban on Tripura player Ayuk
Jamatia for age fraud, forgery
and falsification. The AIFF dis-
ciplinary committee met on
February 23 and unanimously
decided to invoke Article 62 of
the AIFF Disciplinary Code in
the matter of Jamatia, Player of
the Friends Union Club, Tripura
“for age fraud and the offence
of forgery and falsification, thus
punishable under the article.”
“In view of Article 62 of the
code, the committee has decid-
ed to suspend the player from
taking part in football matches
for a period of four (4) years
from the date of the order,” a
statement in AIFF website said.
straight.
The southpaw hardly
put a foot wrong in his
crafty knock but when
he did, he had to pay for
it. In the 43rd over of the
innings, Khawaja went
for the sweep from
around the off-stump off
Jadeja and ended up giv-
ing a catch at deep mid-
wicket. Like Nagpur and
Delhi, the game is set for
another three-day finish
and a 100-run lead on
this surface will be
worth gold.
India were also guilty
of bowling four no-balls.
Earlier, having lost
seven of the batters by
the end of the opening
session, India could add
only 25 more runs to
Indore, March 1: The
Indian team didn’t factor
in excessive turn on offer
as it was a bad day in
office despite playing spin
being one of its strengths,
batting coach Vikram
Rathour claimed on
Wednesday.
The ball turning square
in the first hour of play,
attracted a lot of attention
with many criticising the
nature of the surface.
However, Rathour main-
tained that playing on
turners at home remains
the team’s strength.
“It is a challenging wick-
et for sure. More turn
than what we expected.
TEST BOWLER
Dubai, March 1:
SCORECARD Veteran Indian off-spin-
ner Ravichandran
India 1st Innings: Rohit Sharma st Carey b Kuhnemann 12, Ashwin on Wednesday
Shubman Gill c Smith b Kuhnemann 21, Cheteshwar Pujara b Lyon jumped to the top of the
1, Virat Kohli lbw b Murphy 22, Ravindra Jadeja c Kuhnemann b
Lyon 4, Shreyas Iyer b Kuhnemann 0, Srikar Bharat lbw b Lyon 17, latest ICC men’s Test
Axar Patel not out 12, Ravichandran Ashwin c Carey b bowling rankings,
Kuhnemann 3, Umesh Yadav lbw b Kuhnemann 17, Mohammed replacing England pacer
Siraj run out (Head/Lyon) 0. Extras: 0. Total (in 33.2 overs) 109. James Anderson.
FoW: 1-27, 2-34, 3-36, 4-44, 5-45, 6-70, 7-82, 8-88, 9-108. Ashwin gained two
places after taking six
Bowling: Mitchell Starc 5-0-21-0, Cameron Green 2-0-14-0, wickets in India’s
Matthew Kuhneman 9-2-16 -5, Nathan Lyon 11.2-2-35-3, Todd emphatic victory over
Murphy 6-1-23-1.
Australia in the second
Australia 1st Innings: Travis Head lbw b Ravindra Jadeja 9, Usman Test in New Delhi. Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (right) celebrates
Khawaja c Shubman Gill b Ravindra Jadeja 60, Marnus Anderson dropped to with Phil Foden after scoring against Bristol City dur-
Labuschagne b Ravindra Jadeja 31, Steven Smith c Srikar Bharat second place after
b Ravindra Jadeja 26, Peter Handscomb batting 7, Cameron ing their English FA Cup fifth round match at Ashton
England’s stunning loss
Green batting 6. Extras (b-9, lb-4, nb-4) 17. Total (for 4 wkts, in Gate Stadium in Bristol on Tuesday. — AP
54 overs) 156. to New Zealand in the
Wellington Test.
FoW: 12-1, 108-2, 125-3, 146-4. The 36-year-old

“The player has been directed
to deposit a fine of `2,50,000
(Rupees two lakh fifty thousand
only). The player has been
given the right to file an appeal
against the present order in
terms of Article 117 of the code.
“The AIFF Player status and
registration department is
directed to cancel the player’s
registration in CRS (Centralised
Registration System).” — PTI
Record scorer
Fontaine dies
Paris: Just Fontaine, the French
soccer great who scored a
record 13 goals at the 1958
World Cup, has died.
their total with
Kuhnemann ending
with career-best figures
in first-class cricket.
If it wasn’t for Umesh
Yadav’s 17 off 13 balls,
India would have strug-
gled to get past the 100-
run mark. The only
wicket that came India’s
way in the afternoon ses-
sion was of Travis Head
(9), who missed a
straight ball from Jadeja
to be trapped lbw. — PTI
INDIA’S TOP TRIPLE-JUMPER
AISHWARYA GETS 4-YR BAN
May be because of the
moisture, the ball turned
sharply in the morning.
We could have made more
runs for sure but I don’t
think anyone played poor
or rash cricket. We just
had an off day as a batting
unit,” Rathour said.
When asked about the
risk of playing on turn-
ers, Rathour said they
could be at the receiving
end at times but remains
the team’s strength.
Bowler: Ravichandran Ashwin 16-2-40-0, Ravindra Jadeja 24-6-
63-4, Axar Patel 9-0-29-0, Umesh Yadav 2-0-4-0, Mohammed
Siraj 3-0-7-0.
“Of course you can get
out as a batting unit at
times but we do prefer to
play on turning tracks.
That is our strength, that
is where we are really
good as a unit. To be fair
this is a one off wicket.
“I don’t think the earlier
two wickets were bad
wickets. It is may be drier
Jaiswal’s brilliant double
than we expected and we
saw that.
“To be fair to curators.
They hardly got time to
prepare the wicket. They
had a Ranji season here
and it is pretty late it that
was decide the game will
be shifted from
Dharamsala. They did not
get enough time.” — PTI
Juventus fight to
Ashwin first claimed the
top honour among Test
bowlers in 2015, and has
returned to the top spot
on several occasions
since then.
Ashwin bagged big
wickets in India’s win in
win Turin derby
Dehli, removing Marnus Paris, March 1: Paul
Labuschagne and Steve Pogba made his first THE RESULTS
Smith in the same over appearance of the season
of the first innings as Juventus twice came Juventus 4
before returning to pick from behind to win the (Cuadrado 16, Danilo
up Alex Carey for a
duck. — PTI
Turin derby 4-2 on
Tuesday.
45+1, Bremer 71,
Rabiot 81)
Earlier in the evening,
Cremonese, who had not
Torino
(Karamoh 2,
2
won all season, upset
Roma 2-1 as
Mourinho received a red
card, and the visitors
Jose
Sanabria 43)

Cremonese
(Tsadjout 17,
2

hundred props up ROI

He was 89. Fontaine’s former
club Reims announced his
death on Wednesday. Fontaine
took six games to achieve his
feat at the 1958 World Cup in
Sweden, when he was a last-
minute inclusion on the French
squad.
Entering the tournament, the
Moroccan-born Fontaine was a
little-known forward outside of
the French league. Yet he tor-
mented opponents with his
speed and finishing touch —
and even with someone else’s
boots. He had to borrow a pair
of cleats after damaging his
own boots in practice.
Fontaine scored four goals in
the third-place game against
West Germany, but could have
had five if he had taken the
penalty kick.
The highest scorer at the World
Cup is now acknowledged with
the Golden Boot. Fontaine set
the record when FIFA did not
present a specific award for the
tournament’s top scorer.
— AP
New Delhi, March 1: India’s top triple-jumper
Aishwarya Babu has been banned by the National
Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) disciplinary panel
for four years for using a prohibited anabolic Gwalior, March 1:
steroid. The 25-year-athlete was dropped from the Yashasvi Jaiswal reaf-
Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, along firmed his status as the
with sprinter S Dhanalakshmi after testing positive next big thing coming out
for the steroid, which is on the World Anti-Doping of Mumbai’s famed bat-
Agency’s (WADA) prohibited list. ting stable as his superla-
Aishwarya has time till March 6 to file an appeal tive double hundred pro-
against the ban after receiving the ban notice from pelled Rest of India to a
NADA’s Appeal Panel on February 13. commanding 381 for 3
The athlete, who had tested positive for Ostarine against Madhya Pradesh
— a drug that falls in the category of selective on the opening day of
androgen receptor modulator (SRAM) — was tested Irani Cup, here on
during the National Inter-State Championships on Wednesday.
June 13 and 14, last year in Chennai. Jaiswal’s 213 off 259
Aishwarya had won the triple jump gold in the balls was well comple-
championships with a national record-breaking mented by opener
lunge of 14.14 metres. Abhimanyu Easwaran’s
Having been provisionally suspended in July last 154 (240 balls) after skip-
year, Aishwarya has already served six months of per Mayank Agarwal
her four-year ban. missed out on a run-feast
NADA said the substance Aishwarya used was an on a batting belter.
“anabolic steroid” listed under WADA’s 2022 prohib- The duo added a whop-
ited. It added that the athlete had not taken a thera- ping 371 runs for the sec-
peutic use exemption (TUE) for it. — PTI ond wicket before both
were dismissed in quick
● Jaiswal's 213 off 259
balls was well
complemented by
opener Abhimanyu
Easwaran’s 154 (240
balls) after skipper
Mayank Agarwal
missed out on a run-
feast on a batting
belter.
succession during the fag
end of the day.
While Easwaran reached
century way before
Jaiswal, the Bengal right-
hander paled in compari-
son to Mumbai south-
paw’s regal shot selection
and the manner in which
he dominated the two MP
spinners — off-break
bowler Saransh Jain
(0/103 in 24 overs) and left-
arm spinner Kumar
Kartikeya (0/90 in 20
overs).
Both spinners failed to
hit the right length
throughout the day and
were short on most occa-
sions. Since they failed to
stop the scoreboard from
ticking, there was no pres-
sure on batters with as
many as 47 boundaries
and five sixes being hit on
the day.
MP bowlers toiled hard
but stand-in skipper
Himanshu Mantri had no
answer to Jaiswal. — PTI
BRIEF SCORES
Rest of India 381/3 in 87 overs
(Yashasvi Jaiswal 213,
Abhimanyu Easwaran 154,
Avesh Khan 2/51) vs Madhya
Pradesh.
missed a chance to finish
the 24th round inside the
Serie A top three.
Pogba played for the
first time since returning
to Juventus last summer
when he came on as a
68th-minute substitute
against Torino.
Another Frenchman,
Yann Karamoh, gave vis-
iting Torino the lead after
a first-minute corner.
Juan Cuadrado levelled
with the help of a deflec-
tion after 16 minutes.
Antonio Sanabria
restored the Torino lead
after 41 minutes when he
met a cross with a sharp
first-time shot that sur-
prised Wojciech Szczesny
at the near post.
Danilo levelled in added
time, his powerful header
from a corner bouncing
across the line off the
post.
Pogba replaced Enzo
Barrenechea with 22 min-
Ciofani 83-pen)
Roma 1
(Spinazzola 71)
utes left. Three minutes
later, Bremer gave
Juventus the lead for the
first time with another
header from a set piece.
French midfielder
Adrien Rabiot completed
the scoring with 10 min-
utes left.
Pogba’s last competitive
appearance was for
Manchester United in the
Premier League in April.
He went off injured early
in the first half of a 4-0
loss to Liverpool and did
not play again last sea-
son. He rejoined Juventus
in the summer but
injured his right knee in
July. The return of Pogba
last summer generated
great enthusiasm among
Juventus supporters.
— AFP
 GAMES
DECCAN CHRONICLE | CHENNAI | THURSDAY | 2 MARCH 2023
pg 12

DJOK & ROLL!

INDIAN WELLS & | MIAMI MASTERS
SHORT TAKES
Windies hit back
against Proteas Nadal withdraws
Centurion: The West Indies col-
lapsed, then hit back dramati-
cally before the close on the
second day of the first Test Djokovic finds ‘another gear’ to down Machac in Dubai opener
due to hip injury
against South Africa at Los Angeles, March 1:
SuperSport Park in Centurion Dubai, March 1: Novak Rafael Nadal will miss the
on Wednesday. Fast bowler
Anrich Nortje took four wickets
Djokovic was made to
work in his first match
ALCARAZ, NORRIE ATP 1000 events at Indian
Wells and Miami, the 22-
inside four overs as the West
Indies collapsed to 212 all out,
giving South Africa a first
since winning
Australian Open last
month, needing three
the
WITHDRAW FROM time Grand Slam champi-
on confirmed on social
media on Tuesday.
innings lead of 130. But the
West Indies bowlers grabbed
close sets to move past
world No.130 Tomas
ACAPULCO OPEN “I am sad that I won’t be
able to compete at Indian
four South African wickets Machac in Dubai on Acapulco (Mexico), Wells nor Miami,” Nadal
before the close, leaving the Tuesday. March 1: Top-seeded said in a tweet which
hosts reeling at 49 for four, an Undefeated so far in Carlos Alcaraz withdrew came after Indian Wells
overall lead of 179. West Indies 2023, and carrying a 17- from the ATP 500 tourna- officials announced he
were looking reasonably solid match winning streak ment in Acapulco on had withdrawn from the
at 169 for three 40 minutes coming into the UAE, dat- Tuesday with a right tournament in the
after tea with top-scorer ing back to last year’s ATP hamstring strain as fifth- California desert that
Raymon Reifer and Roston Finals, Djokovic showed seeded Cameron Norrie starts next week.
Chase building a patient part- signs of rustiness in his 6- pulled out citing fatigue, “Very sad not to be
nership. But both batsmen were 3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/1) win over organizers said. there. I’ll miss all my US
out off consecutive balls. Reifer the Czech qualifier. Both had been on the fans but I hope to see
fell for 63 when he was caught Djokovic, who this week order of play for Tuesday, them later this year dur-
behind off the last ball of a has broken Steffi Graf ’s just three days after ing the summer swing.”
Marco Jansen over. Chase all-time record of 377 Britain’s Norrie rallied to The news comes after
edged the first ball of Kagiso weeks at world number beat an ailing Alcaraz 5-6, the Spaniard said in late
Rabada’s next over to first slip one, recently recovered 6-4, 7-5 in the Rio Open January he expected to
and was out for 22. Then Nortje from a muscle tear in his final. miss six to eight weeks
took over. He had earlier ended left hamstring, which he That result had left with the hip flexor injury
a stubborn partnership between sustained in Australia on world number two he sustained at the
Reifer and Jermaine Blackwood his way to a record- Alcaraz with fresh fitness Australian Open.
and he steamed in to take four equalling 22nd Grand concerns after he was “We wish Rafa contin- Rafael Nadal
more wickets, finishing with five Slam title. repeatedly seen by the ued healing, and hope to
for 36. It was his fourth five- It was an impressive per- physio. see him back at the BNP matches.
wicket haul. West Indies lost formance from Machac, “I have a grade 1 strain Paribas Open next year,” He said in Melbourne he
their last seven wickets for 43 who was facing a top-10 in my right hamstring Indian Wells tournament had had the problem for
runs. First innings century- opponent for just the that will keep me out for director Tommy Haas “a couple of days” but at
maker Aiden Markram got fourth time in his career. several days, according to said in a statement. that point had not
South Africa’s second innings The two players hit a the tests we did this Nadal, who said on received a diagnosis.
off to a fast start as 31 runs combined 78 winners dur- morning,” Alcaraz said in January 26 that tests had Nadal, whose stellar
were scored in the first four ing the two-hour 27- a tweet. “I’m really sad I confirmed a moderate career has been marked
overs. — AFP minute affair. But it was can’t compete here, but muscle tear in his left hip, by injuries, was adamant
Djokovic’s 28 unforced now it’s time to think posted video on Twitter that he would continue

Pogba returns as
errors that at times about recovering and showing him training in playing.
proved costly. being ready as soon as the gym. Last year Nadal was

Juventus win
“Tomas definitely didn’t
play like 130 in the world
today,” said the 35-year-
Paris: Paul Pogba made his first old Djokovic.
appearance of the season as “He was giving me all
Juventus twice came from kinds of trouble, but I
behind to win the Turin derby guess when it mattered, I
4-2 on Tuesday. Earlier in the found another gear.
evening, Cremonese, who had “Physically, you can
not won all season, upset Roma always be better. I did
2-1 as Jose Mourinho received a struggle with injury for
red card, and the visitors several weeks and it took
missed a chance to finish the me a bit of time to get
24th round inside the Serie A used to holding the rac-
top three. Pogba played for the quet. I haven’t played
first time since returning to much tennis coming into
Juventus last summer when he Dubai, so I’m hoping as
came on as a 68th-minute sub- the tournament progress-
stitute against Torino. Another es, I can raise my level of
Frenchman, Yann Karamoh, tennis.”
gave visiting Torino the lead Djokovic and Machac
after a first-minute corner. Juan traded breaks in games
Cuadrado levelled with the help four and five before the
of a deflection after 16 minutes.
Antonio Sanabria restored the
top seed struck again and
consolidated his advan-
Torino lead after 41 minutes tage for a 5-2 lead. It was
when he met a cross with a
sharp first-time shot that sur-
prised Wojciech Szczesny at the
near post. Danilo levelled in
all the Serb needed to
wrap up the opening set in
37 minutes.
That didn’t deter
added time, his powerful head- Machac, who outlasted
er from a corner bouncing Djokovic in a lengthy
across the line off the post. exchange to break early in
Pogba replaced Enzo the second set to open up a
Barrenechea with 22 minutes 3-0 gap.
left. Three minutes later, Bremer The 22-year-old qualifier
gave Juventus the lead for the valiantly covered all cor-
ners of the court and ben-
first time with another header
from a set piece. French mid- efitted from 16 unforced
fielder Adrien Rabiot completed errors off the Djokovic
the scoring with 10 minutes left. racquet to force a decider
Pogba’s last competitive against the five-time
appearance was for Manchester Dubai champion.
United in the Premier League in A smooth volley winner
April. — AFP from Machac gave the
Czech an early look at the
Morant, Grizzlies
Djokovic serve but the
world number one sur-
maul Lakers
Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a shot against Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac
during the Dubai Duty free tennis championship in Dubai.
vived the scare and held.
Machac received treat-
ment for a right wrist
problem mid-game at 0-1,
deuce, in the final set,
before successfully hold-
ing serve, but soon fell
behind 1-4 to an oppor-
tunistic Djokovic.
Back-to-back errors off
both wings from Djokovic
helped Machac narrow
his deficit and they were
soon on level terms at 4-
all.
The match fittingly went
to a deciding tiebreak,
which Djokovic comfort-
ably secured to set up a
second-round meeting
with Dutchman Tallon
Griekspoor.
Earlier, third seed Daniil
Medvedev extended his
winning streak to 10 con-
secutive matches as he
began his quest for a third
title in as many weeks
with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over
Italian lucky loser Matteo
— AFP
Arnaldi.
Medvedev, competing in
Dubai for the first time
since 2019, picked up tro-
phies in Rotterdam and
Doha coming into the
tournament.
The Russian former
world number one had
voiced his concerns over
the Dunlop ball in use at
tournaments like the
Australian Open, Doha
and Dubai this year.
“Last two games before
possible. I hope to see you
all soon!”
The 19-year-old had
returned to competition
with a victory in Buenos
Aires a week earlier, end-
ing a four-month injury
layoff.
He needed heavy strap-
ping on his right thigh
midway through the sec-
ond set of the final in Rio,
when he collapsed from a
3-0 lead as Norrie stormed
back.
Norrie, who had fallen
to Alcaraz in the Buenos
Aires final, claimed the
biggest clay-court title of
his career in Rio.
The left-hander leads
the ATP Tour in match
wins this season with 18,
compared to three
defeats. “Unfortunately I
have to withdraw from
Acapulco,” Norrie said on
Instagram. “It’s one of
my favourite tourna-
ments, so it’s really tough
for me to withdraw.”
— AFP
they change the balls, the
balls are like apples,” said
Medvedev.
“They are so, so big.
You’re kind of playing
like padel. You hit the
ball. Whoever hits it with
angle... You don’t feel like
you’re controlling the
game anymore.”
Medvedev will next take
on Kazakhstan’s
Alexander Bublik in the
second round.
— AFP
“Took my time off, start-
ed rehab, gym and physio-
therapy as instructed by
the doctors,” he said.
“Getting ready to come
back the in the best condi-
tions.”
That likely means for
the clay-court season that
starts in mid-April and
leads into Roland Garros,
where he would be chas-
ing a 15th French Open
title in May.
Nadal, who made histo-
ry as the first man to win
21 Grand Slam singles
titles at the 2022
Australian Open, hobbled
out of this year’s edition
in January after just two
ITF WOMEN’S | OPEN
Ankita, Kaur lead
Indian challenge
Bengaluru, March 1:
The 15-year-old Brenda
Fruhvirtova, who quali-
fied for the Australian
Open main draw and is
the youngest player in the
top-250, will be the star
attraction along with
home favourites Ankita
Raina and Karman Kaur
Thandi when the ITF
Women’s Open begins
here on March 6.
Fruhvirtova had
become the fifth-youngest
qualifier in the
undefeated heading into
Indian Wells, having post-
ed victories in an
Australian Open tune-up
in Melbourne before ral-
lying from two sets down
to beat Daniil Medvedev
in the Australian Open
final.
He won the ATP tourna-
ment in Acapulco and
reached the final at
Indian Wells, where he
was stunned by American
Taylor Fritz in the final
as he battled a rib injury.
He returned to win his
22nd Grand Slam title at
Roland Garros, a record
that Novak Djokovic has
since matched. — AFP
● The 15-year-old
Brenda Fruhvirtova,
who qualified for the
Australian Open main
draw and is the
youngest player in the
top-250.
● Fruhvirtova had
become the fifth-
youngest qualifier in
the Australian Open
history. The Czech
player is the younger
sister of world number

TN’S SAVITHA MOVES INTO QUARTERFINALS

Australian Open history.
Los Angeles: Ja Morant pro- The Czech player is the 54 Linda.
duced a second-half scoring younger sister of world
spree as the Memphis Grizzlies number 54 Linda. destinations in the coun-
exploited the absence of Raina (ranked 241) and try,” said KSLTA secre-
LeBron James to beat the Los DC CORRESPONDENT quarterfinals): Boys: [S1] (KA) bt Vignesh 4 (Retd.); [S2] Lukshitha Vijayakumar (TN)/Arya Thandi (ranked 267) will tary Maheshwar Rao.
Angeles Lakers 121-109 on CHENNAI, MARCH 1 Rudra Batham (MP) bt Kumaraguru (TN) 6-2, 6- Gopinath (TN) bt Thirumurthi (TN) 6-4, 6-4. lead the Indian challenge Former world No. 30
Tuesday. After being restricted Veer Mahajan (MH) 5-7, 1. Girls: [S1] Savitha Gaddam Geethika (AP) Girls: Lukshitha Gopinath at the KSLTA Stadium. Misaki Doi of Japan,
to six points as the Lakers took Top seed Savitha 6-1, 6-2; Niyanth Bhuvaneswaran (TN) bt 6-1, 6-2. ( T N ) / S a v i t h a “It was a great time for France’s Amandine Hesse
a 49-46 lead into the break, Bhuvaneswaran of Tamil Melavidayal (TN) bt [S8] Aylin Miriam (KA) 6-2, 6- Doubles (Quarterfinals): Bhuvaneswaran (TN) bt tennis fans during the and Valentini
Grizzlies star Morant erupted Nadu had it easy against Krishank Joshi (MH) 6-1, 0; [S5] Aahiya Singh Boys: Athray Rajaprakash Sai Sanjana Reddy (ATP) Bengaluru Open Grammatikopoulou of
with 28 points in the third quar- Karnataka’s Aylin 6-3; [S3] Hruthik (KA) bt Adya Chaurasia (TN)/Rithik Jeyanth (TN) (AP)/Jahnvi Tammineedi and we are ready to bring Greece are among the
ter to tip the contest decisively Miriam 6-2, 6-0 and Katakam (TS) bt Raghav (KA) 6-4, 6-2; Deepti bt Tanish Vepanapalli (AP) 6-0, 6-0; Aahida another week full of other international play-
in Memphis’ favor. The Memphis advanced into the girls’ Sarode (MH) 6-2, 6-0; Venkatesan (TN) bt Goli (KA)/Mohith Reddy (KA) S i n g h ( K A ) /A a d i y a exciting tennis action ers participating in the
win snapped the Lakers’ three- quarterfinals of the Navin Sundaram (TN) bt Joshita (AP) 6-1, 6-1; 2-6, 6-4, 10-7; Rudra Ritesh(KA) bt Jemima with KPB Trust ITF event. The main draw will
game winning streak and put YMCA-TNTA AITA Shounak Rajratna Suva Karthika Padmakumar Batham (MP)/Navin Rebecca (TN)/Banu Women’s Open. This begin from March 7 while
another dent in the team’s national under-14 tennis (MH) 6-2, 7-6(2); [S5] (KA) bt Deepshika Sundaram (TN) bt Kishore Aswin(TN) 6-2, 6-4; Adya underlines the status of the qualifying matches
recent resurgence following the series on Wednesday. Fazal Ali Meer (TN) bt Vinayagamurthi (TN) 6- Sriram (TN)/Darsh C h a u ra s i a ( KA ) / P o o j a Bengaluru and KSLTA as will be played on March 5
injury to James on Sunday. In the boys’ Round of 32 Daksh Deepak Patil (MH) 4, 7-5; Swarna Shree Das Khedeka (MH) 6-1, 6-1; Nagaraj (KA) bt Aylin one of the premier tennis and 6. — PTI
James, who is reportedly facing match, Tamil Nadu’s 6-0, 6-2; [S4] Anurag (WB) bt V. Heera (TN) 6- Krishank Joshi Miriam (KA)/Yahana Arora
multiple weeks on the sidelines Niyanth Melavidayal Shourya Agarwal (MH) 2, 3-6, 7-5; [S3] Shravya (MH)/Daksh Patel (MH) bt (KA) 7-6(5), 6-4; Karthika
after injuring his right foot in a
Lakers victory over Dallas, was
thrashed Krishank Joshi
of Maharashtra 6-1, 6-3 to
bt Kishore Sriram (TN) 6-
1, 6-0; Mannan Ashok
Soundarya (TN)
Akshara Senthilnathan
bt Abel Joe Manoj
(KL)/Bryan Moses (KA) 6-
Padmakumar(KA)/Shravy
a Soundarya (TN) bt ALL-INDIA INTER-UNIVERSITY | CHESS
seen wearing a protective boot progress to the next Agarwal (MH) bt Arya (TN) 6-1, 4-0, (Retd.); 0, 6-2; Mannan Agarwal Swarna Shree Das
on the sidelines as his depleted round. Thirumurthi (TN) 6-7(9), Pooja Nagaraj (KA) bt (MH)/Shounak Rajratna (WB)/Ritisha Choudhary
team-mates slipped to defeat. Results: Singles (Pre- 6-2, 6-2; [S2] Diganth Vasundra Balajee (TN) 5- (MH) bt Varun (KA) 6-0, 6-0.
The Lakers were also without
the injured D’Angelo Russell,
and the absence of the team’s

BISMAH STEPS DOWN Dhoni one of the best

two most assured ball-handlers
was keenly felt, with the Lakers
coughing up 26 turnovers for 41
points. Morant received scoring
support from Xavier Tillman
with 18 points, while Jaren
Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane
added 16 points apiece for the
home side. Morant said he had
AS PAKISTAN SKIPPER
Lahore, March 1: competitive 149 in the T20 tacticians: Du Plessis
been determined to produce a Bismah Maroof has World Cup, remaining
big second half after a wayward stepped down as Pakistan unbeaten at 68 runs. But Bengaluru, March 1: realised he was not going being you, then people
first-half shooting performance. women’s cricket team India overhauled the tar- Former South Africa cap- to be a leader like former will see through it, maybe
Anthony Davis led the Lakers captain, ending a nearly get with six balls to spare tain Faf du Plessis Proteas skipper Graeme not when you’re doing
scoring with 28 points while six-year stint of leading to win by seven wickets. believes Mahendra Singh Smith or Dhoni, he decid- well but definitely when SRM IST, winners of the all-India inter-zone
Lonnie Walker IV added 21 off the side. The veteran batter has Dhoni, among others, ed to just be himself. you are under pressure, or inter-university chess tournament held at Manipal
the bench. — AFP Maroof ’s last assign- played 124 WODIs and 132 helped him mature as a “I think what was really under-performing, the Academy of Higher Education.
ment as captain was the WT20I so far, of which she leader, adding that the for- good for me to go through real you will reveal itself.”
Regd. No. TNENG/2010/35692 ICC Women’s T20 World led the team in 34 ODIs (16 mer India skipper is tacti- (during his career) was Du Plessis said during

Printed & Published by K. Sudhakar on

behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited
and Printed at Deccan Chronicle Presses
situated at SP 3, Developed Plot,
Industrial Estate,
Guindy, Chennai - 600 032.
RNI Registration No: TN ENG/2005/14987
Ph Nos: 22254747, 22254748, 22254750,
22254751
Editor: KAUSHIK MITTER
Cup in South Africa
where the team failed to
make it to the semi-final,
losing three of the four
group games, including a
thriller against arch-
rivals India.
The 31-year-old had
played a pivotal role in
guiding Pakistan to a
wins) and 62 T20Is (27
wins). Bismah will, how-
ever, remain available for
selection as a player, the
Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) said in a statement
on Wednesday.
Her replacement will be
announced in due course,
said the PCB. — PTI
cally one of the best in the
business.
Du Plessis had two long
stints with IPL side
Chennai Super Kings —
2011-2015 and 2018-2021 —
before he moved to Royal
Challengers Bangalore as
captain last season.
Du Plessis said when he
the conviction that I am
not going to be Graeme
Smith as a captain, I’m
not going to be Stephen
Fleming as a captain, I’m
not going to be MS Dhoni
as a captain. In order for
me to be true to who I am
as a person, I need to be
me. Because if you’re not
his debut season with
CSK, he used to spend a
lot of time with former
SRM WIN INTER-ZONE CHESS
New Zealand captain and DC CORRESPONDENT Manipal Academy of
Chennai coach Stephen CHENNAI, MARCH 1 Higher Education,
Fleming, just picking his Karnataka.
brains on captaincy and SRM IST emerged win- Adamas University and
trying to imbibe the ners of the all-India inter- University of Madras fin-
nuances of leadership. zone inter-university ished second and third
— PTI chess tournament held at respectively.