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PRINTED AT . CHENNAI
IN BRIEF
Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande
is new Army chief
NEW DELHI
The Vice Chief of Army Staff,
Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande, has
been appointed the 29th
Chief of the Army Staff, a
Defence Ministry statement
said on Monday. He is the
first officer from the Corps
of Engineers and the first
from combat support arms to
head the 1.3-million Indian
Army.
NEWS } PAGE 10
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Amid surge, masks up
in Lucknow, NCR areas
LUCKNOW
With a rise in COVID-19 cases
in Uttar Pradesh, the State
government on Monday said
it had made it compulsory
for people to wear masks in
public places in the State
capital, Lucknow, and
districts in the NCR. Over
the past 24 hours, 65 positive
cases were recorded in
Gautam Buddha Nagar, 20 in
Ghaziabad and 10 in Lucknow.
NEWS } PAGE 12
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2 more held for
instigating violence in
Jahangirpuri
Organisers who took out procession without permission booked
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI
Two more persons were ar-
rested by Delhi Police in
con- nection with the
communal clashes that took
place in Ja- hangirpuri last
week, offic- ers said on
Monday.
Usha Rangnani, Deputy
Commissioner of Police
(North West), said the ac-
cused have been identified
as 36-year-old Sheikh Ha-
meed and Sonu, 28, of C-
Block.
The police said Mr. Ha-
meed is a scrap dealer, and
during interrogation, he al-
legedly said he had
supplied the bottles used
for throwing during the
incident.
Sonu, the DCP said, is the
person whose video — in
which he is seen wearing a
blue kurta and opening fire
during the violence — was
being circulated on April 17
on social media.
Earlier in the day, when
a police team of the North
West Delhi district visited
Sonu’s home on CD Park
Road to look for him and
question his family mem-
CM
YK
. COIMBATORE . BENGALURU . HYDERABAD . MADURAI
SC sets aside Ashish Mishra’s Wholesale price inflation
bail in Lakhimpur violence case climbs to 14.55% in March
Court says HC exceeded jurisdiction, directs Minister’s son to surrender in a
week
Krishnadas Rajagopal
NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on
Mon- day cancelled the bail
grant- ed by the Allahabad
High Court to Ashish
Mishra, prime accused in
the Lak- himpur Kheri
case and son of Union
Minister Ajay Mis- hra, in a
“tearing hurry” and without
giving the victims of the
crime an opportunity to be
heard.
A three-judge Bench of
Chief Justice of India N.V.
Ra- mana, Justices Surya
Kant and Hima Kohli also
direct- ed Ashish Mishra to
surren- der within a week.
‘Victims’ right denied’
The 24-page judgment,
authored by Justice Kant
for the Bench, said the
High Court exceeded its
jurisdic- tion and denied
the victims a chance to
participate in the bail
proceedings.
“Victims certainly
cannot be expected to be
sitting on the fence and
watching the proceedings
from afar, espe- cially when
they may have legitimate
grievances. It is the solemn
duty of a court to deliver
justice before the memory
of an injustice
bers, the latter allegedly
threw stones at the police
party.
‘One-off incident’
The DCP said one person
has been detained in con-
nection with the incident
and legal action is being ta-
ken. The police said media
reports of fresh stone
throw- ing were an
“exaggeration of facts”,
adding that “it was a minor,
one-off incident”.
The DCP also said that a
case under sections of the
Indian Penal Code (IPC) per-
taining to disobedience to
an order promulgated by a
pu- blic servant was lodged
on April 17 against the
organis- ers of the third
procession, which was
carried out on Sa- turday
evening in Jahangir- puri
without any permis- sion.
One of the accused persons
has “joined the
investigation”.
Sources said the case had
been lodged
organis- ers of Vishwa
against
Hindu Parish- ad (VHP),
Bajrang Dal Delhi Prant,
Mukherjee Nagar Zila,
Jhandewalan for carrying
. NOIDA . VIsAKHAPATNAM
eclipses,” Justice Kant ob-
served.
The court noted that the
Allahabad High Court was in
a “tearing hurry” to grant
bail. Justice Kant said the
apex court, taking all these
factors under consideration,
could “rightfully cancel the
bail”.
But the court neverthe-
less did not deny Mr.
Mishra his right to seek bail
again before the High
Court.
The High Court could
consider afresh his plea in a
fair manner.
“This court is tasked
with ensuring that neither
the right of an accused to
seek
out the procession without
permission. A senior police
officer said Prem Sharma,
Zi- la Sewa Pramukh of the
VHP, was interrogated but
not de- tained.
A revised statement is-
sued by the police did not
name the VHP and Bajrang
Dal. “The other two proces-
sions which were taken out
in the morning and after-
noon on April 16 in the
area of Jahangirpuri Police
Sta- tion had due
permission,” the DCP said.
The police had earlier
said 21 persons were arrest-
ed in connection with the
violence, 16 of them Mus-
lims, while two juveniles
were apprehended.
They were booked under
several sections of the IPC
pertaining to rioting and
cri- minal conspiracy. The
DCP had said three
firearms and five swords
had been reco-
vered from the possession
of the accused.
‘NO BID TO HOIST SAFFRON
FLAG AT MOSQUE’ } PAGE
10
MORE REPORTS PAGES 2 & 10
}
. THIRUvANANTHAPURAM
bail pending trial is expro-
priated, nor the ‘victim’ or
the State are denuded of
their right to oppose such a
prayer… We are also of the
considered view that ends
of justice would be
adequately met by remitting
this case to the High Court
for a fresh adjudication of
the bail ap- plication… The
High Court shall decide the
bail applica- tion afresh
expeditiously, and
preferably within a pe- riod
of three months,” the court
directed.
Senior advocate
Dushyant Dave, for the
victims, urged the Bench to
request the Al- lahabad
High Court Chief
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No ride in sight
Inconvenienced: Passengers hauling luggage head out of New Delhi railway station in search of transport on Monday, with
autorickshaw and taxi unions going on strike demanding a fare revision. SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR (REPORT ON PAGE 2)
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Centre asks Kerala to
provide
daily updates on COVID-19
Reporting backlog has skewed India’s indicators:
Ministry
Bindu Shajan Perappadan
C. Maya
NEW DELHI/ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
The Centre has asked
Kerala to provide updated
CO- VID-19 data daily,
saying the bulk back-
reporting after April 13 (a
. KOcHI . VIJAYAWADA . MANGALURU
Justice to list the bail plea,
if sought, before “another
judge” of the High Court.
“Let us leave it here,” the
Chief Justice told Mr.
Dave, after conferring with
the Bench. Justice Kant ob-
served orally that “We are
quite sure the judge would
not want to hear it now.”
Reading out the order,
Justice Kant observed that
the victims had a right to
be heard at every stage.
“Victims have unbridled
participatory rights from
the stage of investigation to
cul- mination of
proceedings... Victims have
been clearly denied an
opportunity to be heard at
the time of grant of bail to
the accused,” Justice Kant
observed.
The Bench said the High
Court went into “several ir-
relevant considerations”
and treated the FIR as an
“encyclopaedia of the
events”, and thus, the bail
order cannot be sustained.
The court’s decision was
based on pleas by the be-
reaved families of farmers
who were killed when a
veh- icle allegedly ran over
them.
CONTINUED ON } PAGE 10
Delhi’s TPR spike
continues
Delhi
CITY EDITION
16 pages • ₹ 12.00
. TIRUcHIRAPALLI . KOLKATA . HUBBALLI . MOHALI . MALAPPURAM . MUMBAI . TIRUPATI . LUcKNOW . c UTTAcK . PATNA
The broad-based inflation is led by fuel and power
Vikas Dhoot
NEW DELHI
InRation in India’s wholesale
prices hit a four-month
high of 14.55% in March,
from 13.11% in February,
driven by accelerating price
rise across all categories of
goods, with fuel and power
as well as primary articles
driving most of the gains.
This is the 12th month in
a row that wholesale
inRation has exceeded
10%. Fuel and power
inRation surged to a three-
month high of 34.5% in
March, from 31.5% in Fe-
bruary, while inRation in While retail inRation had ply chain caused by Russia-
primary articles accelerated hit a 17-month high of Ukraine conRict”, the Office
to 15.54% from 13.39%. 6.95% in March, largely of the Economic Adviser,
The month-on-month
due to higher food prices, De- partment for Promotion
rise in the fuel and power
the who- lesale food price of Industry and Internal
index was 5.68%, more
index in- ched up marginally Trade, said in a statement.
than dou- ble February’s
to 8.71%, from 8.47% in
2.7%. The rise in fuel and
February. “This was on the ‘Higher than expected’
power inRation was back of a sharper rise in the Terming the broad-based
triggered mainly by an prices of manufactured spike in wholesale inRation
uptick in electricity prices, food articles even as “higher than expected”,
Morgan Stanley economists primary food prices ICRA chief economist Aditi
Upasana Chachra and Bani remained stable,” Ms. Cha- Nayar said the jump in
Gambhir said in a note. chra and Ms. Gambhir said. crude oil prices was the
Wholesale price The high inRation was biggest contributor to the
inRation, which was at at- tributed “primarily to rise in in- Ration, followed
7.89% in March 2021, had rise in prices of crude by fuels and core items.
hit a record high of 14.9% in petroleum and natural gas,
November and was at 14.3% mineral oils, basic metals, CONTINUED ON } PAGE 10
in December. It had eased etc. owing to disruption in
below the 14% mark in global sup-
January and February.
J&K youth
held after post
on joining LeT
Special Correspondent
Sr INagar
In a swift action, a youth
from Bandipora, who an-
nounced on social media
on April 13 that he was
join- ing the Lashkar-e-
Taiba (LeT), was arrested
by the security forces, the
J&K police said on
Monday.
The militant was cap-
tured from an orchard in
Lawaypora, Bandipora, on
Sunday, the police said.
The arrest followed a
spec- ific input generated
about the missing youth,
identi- fied as Amir Tariq
Khan, son of Tariq Ahmad
Khan.
Four days ago, Khan’s
picture, with a pro-
Lashkar and anti-India
slogan, went viral on
social media.
The arrest was carried
out in a cordon–and–
■
search operation by the
police, the Army’s 14
Rash- triya RiRes and the
CRPF’s 3 Battalion.
ED attaches Amway
India’s ₹757-cr. assets
Firm accused of running pyramid scam
special correspondent
NEW
in India in 1996-97 and till
DELHI
2020-21, the company has
The Enforcement Directo- remitted a huge amount of
rate has attached assets
esti- mated at ₹757.77
₹2,859.1 crore in the name of
dividend, royalty and other
crore of
gap Staff
of Reporter with the test positivity rate the 5% mark on Saturday,
indicators,
NEW DELHI (TPR) going up to 7.72% on according to the Delhi
The upward trend in Monday, after it breached government.
COVID-19 cases in the Over the last 24 hours, the
national capital continued city reported 501 new cases,
A ND-NDE
taking the active caseload to 1,729. No new deaths were recorded.
deaths and the positivity
rate.
“It has been observed
that Kerala has reported its
State- level COVID-19 data
after a gap of five days
[since April 13]. This has
impacted and skewed the
status of India’s key
monitoring indicators such
Chilling events: The forensic team of Delhi Police collecting evidence at Jahangirpuri on as cases, deaths and
Monday in connection with the recent communal violence in the area. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
■
positivity. India has
reported a 90% increase in
new cases
CM
YK
Amway India level mar- keting scam. payments to their “pyra- mid fraud” under
Enterprises Private The 36 bank accounts investors and parent the guise of a direct-selling
Ltd., which has been identified so far had a entities,” it said in a multi-level marketing
accused by the agency cumulative balance of statement, adding that network.
of running a multi- ₹345.94 crore, the ED the company ran the “The prices of most of the
said.
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD The company had collect- products are exorbitant as
ed about ₹27,562 crore compared to the alternative
and 165% increase in help not only in tracking through its business opera- popular products of reput-
positiv- ity in a single day,” and monitoring but also in tions from 2002-03 to ed manufacturers... The
Lav Agar- wal, Joint defin- ing the strategies and 2021- 22, out of which it common gullible public is
Secretary, Health Ministry, plans at the Centre, State paid com- missions of induced to join as members
in a two-page and dis- trict levels. ₹7,588 crore to its and purchase products at
communication. The Centre has now distributors and mem- bers exorbitant prices and are
He said daily and asked Kerala to ensure in India and the U.S. from thus losing their hard
diligent reporting of data daily up- date of required 2002-03 to 2020-21, as earned money,” the ED
were criti- cal to arrive at a details. alleged by the agency. said.
meaningful understanding “Amway has brought
of the pan- demic situation CONTINUED ON } PAGE 10 ₹21.39 crore as share capital CONTINUED ON } PAGE 10
and would
A ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
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2 CITY DELHI

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022

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AAP hand in glove with Jahangirpuri accused, says Autos to resume rides,
BJP
BJP leaders demand action against ‘illegal immigrants’, seek L-G’s
intervention Plea to CJI for
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI Present accused before SC-monitored cabs to continue stir
investigation Monday protest
juvenile board: Delhi HC
The BJP on Monday accused
the Delhi government of
be- ing hand in glove with Legal Correspondent leaves commuters
New Delhi high and dry
Mo- hammad Ansar, the
prime accused in the
He’s a minor, illegally detained: A letter petition has been
Special Correspondent
Jahangirpuri communal counsel sent to Chief Justice of
India
violence case.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Staff Reporter 16-year-old brother-in-law N.V. Ramana to take suo New Delhi
Praveen Shankar Kapoor New Delhi was in unlawful detention motu cognisance of the Monday began on a distress-
Security personnel keeping
wrote to Chief Minister Ar- vigil at Jahangirpuri on The Delhi High Court on and one-day police custody Ja- hangirpuri communal ing note for most commuters
vind Kejriwal and senior Monday. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
■
Monday ordered the city without proper disclosure clash and institute an in Delhi-NCR as autorick-
leaders of the Aam Aadmi police to produce before of his age, which was in impartial, court-monitored shaws and taxis remained off
Party drawing their atten- that unfolded on Saturday. the Juvenile Justice Board complete contravention of investiga- tion headed by a the roads in protest against
tion to the picture of a man He also said action must be ( JJB) one of the accused the provisions of the Juve- sitting Su- preme Court the rising fuel prices and un- Autorickshaws at the Ramlila Maidan parking area during the
“highly resembling” Mo- taken against “Bangladeshi detained in connection nile Justice Act. The judge. changed fares. auto and taxi strike in Delhi on Monday. SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR■

hammad Ansar, wearing infiltrators” living in the with the Ja- hangirpuri lawyer claimed that the The letter written by ad- Many office-goers, who
violence. boy was vocate Amritpal Singh Khal-
AAP’s cap. area. The Bench gave the direc- “visibly injured” and sa said the “recent riots had a harrowing time finding mands,” he added. faced the maximum inconve-
“We demand that the CM Mr. Bidhuri requested tion while dealing with a ha- should be immediately which erupted in the Jahan- cabs on ride-hailing apps Unions such as the Delhi nience on Monday. Several
and his colleagues identify Lieutenant-Governor Anil beas corpus petition filed by produced before the High girpuri area are a scar on such as Ola and Uber, Taxi, Tourist Transporters’ passengers were seen walk-
the youth wearing the AAP Baijal to launch a campaign the sister-in-law of the ac- Court. the face of the Constitu- ended up either reaching Association, according to ing on the roads with their
cap and expel him from the to remove “illegal cused, who, she claimed, To support her claim of tion”. “This is the second late to of- fices or paying its president Sanjay Samrat, luggage in search of public
party,” he wrote. encroach- ments and was a minor. The High the accused’s age, the peti- time that riots have extra to driv- ers to make it were lending their transport.
Leader of the Opposition constructions” on Court directed that the boy tioner showed his birth cer- erupted in Delhi in two to their desti- nations on “outside” support to the The protesting drivers’ un-
in the Delhi Assembly government land in be pro- duced before the JJB tificate issued by the years...” the signed letter time. protesting drivers but they ions had last week given
Ram- vir Singh Bidhuri Jahangirpuri. for age verification. Munici- pal Corporation of said. Seven to eight Their ordeal may continue continued to work on the Union and Delhi
demanded a door-to-door Asked whether Mr. The petitioner, Delhi, taking note of policemen were in- jured on Tuesday too as drivers at- Monday for the sake of govern- ments an
campaign in Jahangirpuri to Ansar is a party worker or a represent- ed by advocate which, the Delhi police and “damage to priv- ate tached to ride-hailing plat- commuters. ultimatum de- manding a
trace “wea- pons” used in volun- teer, AAP did not Tara Narula, said that since told the court that it will property was fait ac- forms have decided to re- reduction in CNG, petrol
the violence offer a comment. April 16, her produce the ac- cused compli”, the letter added. main on strike till their Inflated rates and diesel prices and
before the JJB. demands are met. Unions re- Mayank Malhotra, a resident regulation of fares.
presenting autorickshaws of west Delhi’s Hari Nagar Rajender Soni, general se-

HC seeks report on and yellow-black

have, however, decided to
taxis employed in Gurugram,
complained that he had to
cretary, Delhi Autorickshaw
Sangh, said autos and

CNG, e-crematoriums
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
The Delhi High Court on
Monday called for a report
from the local authorities
on the status of electric and
CNG crematoriums and
whether they are function-
ing in the Capital.
A Bench of Acting Chief
Justice Vipin Sanghi and
Jus- tice Navin Chawla gave
the order while hearing peti-
resume work from Tuesday.
Kamaljeet Gill, president,
Sarvodaya Drivers’ Associa-
tions concerning the tion of Delhi, which repre-
crema- tion of bodies in the sents drivers attached to
wake of the overwhelming ride-hailing apps, said they
number of COVID deaths will continue their strike.
last year. “We will not only conti-
The court asked for steps nue our strike indefinitely
taken by the authorities to but also stage another prot-
increase the use of electric est at Jantar Mantar tomor-
and CNG crematoriums as a row [on Tuesday],” Mr.
substitute for wood. It Gill said. “The other unions
added that the objective have decided to call off their
behind the plea seeking an strike but we will not do so
increase in the number of till the government gives us
electric cre- matoriums was definite answers regarding
“laudable”. our de-
shell out almost twice the
regular fare for a drop to the
office. “Since I was not able
to book a cab through an
app like usual, I called a
local taxi operator who
arranged a cab for me. I was
charged ₹1,500 instead of
the regular fare of
₹700 to ₹800,” he said.
Another office-goer, Nim-
isha Chauhan, a resident of
Gurugram, said she was
forced to seek permission
to work from home after
wast- ing hours looking for a
cab.
Passengers alighting at
railway and bus stations
yellow- black taxis will
return to work from Tuesday.
“But this does not mean
that we have abandoned our
demands; we may go on
strike again and will take our
demands to the Centre for re-
dressal,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Delhi
Transport Minister Kailash
Gahlot had appealed to the
protesting unions to return
to work for the sake of the
ci- ty’s commuters with the
as- surance that a
committee had been formed
to look into their grievances.

CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
DELHI

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CM A ND-NDE
YK
 4 STATES DELHI THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
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Rajasthan first
‘PMO tried to save Ashish Mishra’ 3 held, Nawanshahr
Timings
DELHI

State to get
grenade attack case
TUESDAY, APR. 19

L-root server
RISE 05:52 SET 18:49
RISE 21:51 SET 07:35
From PMO to CMO to the IO, everyone defended Minister son’s bail, says AAP
solved, claim police
WEDNESDAY, APR. 20
RISE 05:51 SET 18:50
whole rally to claim his
Special Correspondent Staff Reporter inno- tired Haryana HC judge, who
RISE 23:01
THURSDAY, APR. 21
SET 08:24 JAIPUR New Delhi is heading the SIT, had asked
Rajasthan has become the The Aam Aadmi Party on cence,” he said.
RISE 05:51
RISE 00:00
SET 18:51
SET 09:21 first State in the country Monday alleged that the The senior AAP leader
the U.P. government to ap-
peal against the bail, but the
‘Pak.-based terror module busted’
to get the L-root server, Prime Minister’s Office BJP did not listen to him. Vikas Vasudeva
been identified as Manish
which will enable it to (PMO) and the Uttar Pradesh
provide CHANDIGARH
digital services and Chief Minister’s Office Teni should go: SKM Kumar alias Mani alias Baba,
enforce (CMO) Reacting to the Supreme Punjab Police on Monday resident of village Bains in
e-governance with seam- tried to save Ashish Mishra, Court setting aside the Alla- claimed to have solved the Nawanshahr; Ramandeep
less connectivity. the prime accused in the habad High Court’s case of a hand grenade at- Singh alias Jakhu of village
The new facility will Lakhimpur Kheri case and Ashish Mishra and another accused in the Lakhimpur decision to grant bail to tack at the Crime Atta in Goraya in
strengthen infrastructure the son of Union Minister Kheri violence case being produced in a court. FILE PHOTO ■
Ashish Mis- hra, the Investiga- tion Agency Jalandhar; and, Pardeep
and help improve security Ajay Mishra. Samyukt Kisan Mor- cha office in Nawan- shahr in Singh alias Bhatti of
of Internet-based opera- “The BJP government said, “There is no justifi- November last year village Sahlon in
tions. The new server has from the top to the bottom, that ‘if only I were in BJP, ployed his best men to de- cation left for Ajay Mishra by busting a Pakistan- S.B.S. Nagar. We have also
been installed at the Bha- from the PMO to CMO to the party would save me’. It fend the bail, pointing out Teni to continue in the Un- based terror module, recovered one live hand
mashah State Data Centre the investigating officer… [BJP] feels that standing with that ex-Solicitor General ion Cabinet.” allegedly run by Harvinder gre- nade,” Mr. Bhawra said.
here in association with eve- ryone defended the murderers and rapists is ac- Ranjit Kumar and BJP MP The Supreme Court on Singh, with the arrest of He added that after an
the Internet Corporation bail of a murderer, who tual patriotism,” Mr. Mahesh Jethmalani repre- Monday cancelled Ashish three of its operatives. in- vestigation, they
for Assigned Names and killed farm- ers. They Bharad- waj said. sented Ashish Mishra and Mishra’s bail in the Punjab Director-General arrested the three involved
Num- bers. Chief Minister conspired to save the He said rapists or the U.P. government Lakhim- pur Kheri violence of Police V.K. Bhawra said in the at- tack. “During
Ashok Gehlot said. murderer,” AAP chief murders should join the respectively. case and asked him to some unknown persons interrogation, Ramandeep
spokesperson Saurabh Bha- BJP, because the party will “Supreme Court repri- surrender with- in a week. had hurled a hand grenade confessed that and Manish
radwaj said while not just ho- nour them, but manded the U.P. govern- It said the victims were on the intervening night of had thrown the hand
addressing a press also take out a ‘Tiranga ment and the police by say- denied “a fair and ef- No- vember 7-8, 2021, at grenade at the CIA of- fice
conference in Delhi on yatra’ for them. “They did ing they are deliberately fective hearing” in the Alla- the CIA office with the on the directions of Har-
Monday. so in Kathua. In Hathras as putting hurdles in the inves- habad High Court which intention to kill police vinder Singh alias Rinda,”
Mr. Bharadwaj was well, the whole tigation to protect their Un- adopted a “myopic view of officers. Fortu- nately, said the DGP, adding that
react- ing to the Supreme administration came out to ion MoS & his son,” Mr. the evidence”. police officers pre- sent in Ramandeep had picked up
Court’s decision to set aside protect the rapists. When it Bha- radwaj added. When contacted, a BJP the CIA office at the time two hand grenades from
Mr. Mis- hra’s bail. came to Kuldeep Singh He also claimed that a re- spokesperson did not offer had escaped unhurt. Ludhiana-Ferozepur Road
“Today, every gunda, Sen- gar, the party took out a comment. “Those arrested have as guided by Rinda.
EDUCATIONAL murderer and rapist thinks a
SC stay on Will probe earlier govts. Governor not forwarding NEET Bill to
takeover of over financial mess: Mann
land of President an insult to T.N. citizens: CM
Jauhar Come clean on cost of AAP’s ads:
‘Bill is lying at Raj Bhavan without being given any attention’
university Akalis Special correspondent
Special Correspondent
chandigarh
Press Trust of India
New Delhi CHENNAI
Punjab Chief Minister Bhag-
The Supreme Court on want Mann on Monday Chief Minister M.K. Stalin
Monday stayed the blamed the previous go- on Monday said Governor
takeov- er of the land of vernments for pushing the R.N. Ravi not forwarding
Moham- mad Ali Jauhar State into a financial mess the NEET exemption Bill
University in Rampur, and announced a probe into to the President for his
initiated by the Uttar where the State’s assent, des- pite the State
Pradesh govern- ment, revenues had gone. Assembly hav- ing
for non-adherence to In a quick reaction, the unanimously passed the
certain conditions on Shiromani Akali Dal said Punjab Chief Minister Bill, was an insult to the peo-
which the land for the in- the probe should not be Bhagwant Mann speaks ple of Tamil Nadu and an Firm view: It is already 70 days since the Bill was passed by
stitution was granted to a used as an excuse to delay during a press conference. ■
af- front to the dignity of the Assembly for the second time, the CM noted. FILE PHOTO ■

trust run by Samajwadi fulfilling the poll promises FILE PHOTO the House.
Party leader Azam Khan made by Making a suo motu state-
in
2005. the Aam Aadmi Party. ment under Rule 110 in the against the dignity of the As- The Chief Minister said
A Bench of Justices Mr. Mann said Punjab is last one month in office, he Assembly, Mr. Stalin alleged sembly. The Governor not Mr. Ravi was a good person
Ajay Rastogi and C.T. reeling under a debt of ₹3 said. that the Bill, which was forwarding the Bill is not to interact with. “We do not
Raviku- mar issued notice lakh crore and the previous “We are all for a free passed for the second time an insult to me, but to the have any personal grudge
to the governments were and fair probe into the ₹3 in February after Mr. Ravi peo- ple of Tamil Nadu,” he against him. During our inte-
U.P. government and responsi- ble for the lakh crore debt re- turned it earlier, was said. ractions, he has praised our
oth- ers on the appeal financial mess. accumulated by the State lying at the Raj Bhavan The Chief Minister said work and has even praised
filed against the Allahabad He said an inquiry shall but this probe should not without be- ing given any that in his 50-year political the way we are working in
High Court order. be ordered to find out be used as an ex- cuse to attention. He said that life, he had faced many pains his public speeches,” he said.
The HC had in where this public money delay fulfilling the under such a scena- rio, and insults, but he was not According to him, Mr.
Septem- was spent. promises made to the peo- participating in the ‘At worried about that. “These Ravi accorded the utmost
ber last year dismissed the Shiromani Akali Dal ple,” said Mr. Cheema. Home’ ceremony at the Raj 50 years have taught me that respect to the DMK
petition filed by the Maula- lead- er Daljit Cheema The senior leader said Bhavan would have been I have to put aside all the government, and the DMK,
na Mohammad Ali Jauhar welcomed the Chief the previous Congress an insult to the people of pains, insults as well as too, showed the Governor
Trust seeking quashing of Minister’s decision to order govern- ment had used the Tamil Nadu [and hence he prais- es and just carry out respect. But the Governor
a report submitted by the a probe into the ₹3 lakh excuse of an empty and his Cabinet colleagues my work. I will always bear not forwarding the Bill to
Sub-Divisional Magistrate crore debt, adding that the treasury to renege on all boycot- ted the tea party all the insults and pains the President was an affront
in March 2020 on the con- inquiry should not be used promises made to the last week]. perso- nally if it benefits to the dignity of the House.
structions over the land as to divert attention from people. “Despite knowing “The Governor should Tamil Nadu and the people The government will keep
well as the order dated Ja- fulfilling the promises the reality of the financial respect the dignity of the of the State,” he said. raising the sentiments of the
nuary 16, 2021, by the made to the people of the position of the State before House and the sentiments Mr. Stalin said it had people of Tamil Nadu in all
Ad- ditional District State. The party also de- taking over the reins of the of the citizens of Tamil alrea- dy been 70 days since forums and establish their
Magistrate manded a probe into all ad- State, Mr. Bhagwant Mann Nadu, and send the NEET the Bill was passed by the rights, he said.
(Administration), Rampur, vertisements released by has now come up with an exemp- tion Bill to the Assembly again.
for vesting of the land in the AAP government in the excuse,” he said. President. Not sending it is
the State. not right. It is

PUBLIC NOTICE

Noted Odia
singer Prafulla
Kar passes away
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 SatYasundar Barik Born on February 16, 1939, in Puri, Kar Utkal University, he
BHUBANESWAR had an early exposure to the world of music. started learning from
Popular Odia singer and music director Prafulla His elder brother Khetramohan Kar was an legendary musicians and
Kar passed away following breathing accomplished tabla player and hence gurus such as Markendiya
difficulties here late on Sunday night. musicians and singers used to come to his Mohapatra,
He was 83 and is sur- vived by wife and two home frequently. K. Aditya Narayan and
sons. Kar’s songs enriched more than 70 Odia From childhood, he was attracted to J.V.S. Rao.
films over six decades. music and singing. After completing his His songs have become
education from SCS College, Puri, and immortal among Odias.

Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).
Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 12 No. 92
● ● ● ●

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THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
DELHI
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IN BRIEF
E.P. Jayarajan may
become LDF convener
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
There was speculation on
Monday that the CPI(M)
Kerala secretariat had
suggested E.P. Jayarajan as
the next Left Democratic
Front convener. The
rumour is rife since
incumbent
A. Vijayaraghavan has been
elevated to the Polit
Bureau.
KPCC demands action
against Thomas, Kurien
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
A meeting of the Political
Affairs Committee (PAC) of
the Kerala Pradesh Congress
Committee at Indira Bhavan
here on Monday
recommended disciplinary
action against Congress
leaders K.V. Thomas for
attending CPI(M) seminar
and
P.J. Kurien for criticising the
party’s national leadership.
Five dead, three injured in
Mangaluru fish processing
unit
Special Correspondent
MANGALURU
Five workers were killed and
three were injured in an ac-
cident at a fish processing
unit under the jurisdiction
of the Mangaluru Special
Economic Zone on Sunday,
according to Police Commis-
sioner N. Shashi Kumar.
He said that the accident
occurred at Ulka LLP Fish
Processing Unit at Thokur
on Sunday. One of the
work- ers fell into a 20-ft-
deep un-
derground waste collection
tank while cleaning it and
became unconscious. While
attempting to rescue him,
seven of his colleagues also
fell into the tank which
con- tained knee-deep fish
waste.
C
Nadda to hold meet on
Karnataka Cabinet rejig
Basavaraj Bommai to visit Delhi for further consultations
Special Correspondent
Bengaluru
Karnataka Chief Minister
Ba- savaraj Bommai on
Monday said that BJP
national presi- dent J.P.
Nadda, who partici- pated in
the party State exec- utive
in Hospet, has informed
him that he would be
holding a meeting in New
Delhi on issues related to
the proposed expansion of
the Karnataka Ministry.
“Mr. Nadda said that
first he would hold such a
meet- ing in Delhi. He has
asked me to visit Delhi after
the meet- ing for further
consulta- tions,” Mr.
Bommai told presspersons
in Bengaluru.
Answering queries, he
said, “Whether it would be
a Cabinet expansion or
reshuf- Re, it would be
decided there.” This is
being seen in State political
circles as shift-
Grave tragedy: Ulka LLP Fish Processing Unit at Thokur in
Mangaluru where the incident occurred. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Of them, five were killed
while three were injured.
The injured are undergoing
treatment at a private
hospi- tal and said to be out
of dan- ger. Doctors said
that they found fish waste
inside the
STATES 5
HC nod for Bochahan bypoll result
throws Bihar’s political
regulating cattle
transportation
Special Correspondent
Bengaluru
tion 5 till framing of the
rules on restrictions to tran-
equations in disarray
The Karnataka High Court sport cattle. RJD’s cross-caste support rattles BJP
on Monday permitted the The Karnataka govern-
tion is on and the leaders State government to imple- ment had also assured the
be- hind it will face legal ment Section 5 of the Karna- court that it would seek
action.” taka Prevention of Slaughter prior approval from the
and Preservation of Cattle court to implement Section
Exam scam (KPSPC) Act 2020, which 5 even after framing the
On irregularities in the pol- imposes restriction on tran- rules.
ice sub-inspectors’ sportation of cattle. On Monday, the govern-
selection exam, Mr.
However, the court ment informed the court
Bommai said: “The Home made it clear that the that it had in May 2021
Minister has or- dered a CID implementa- tion of the noti- fied the KPSPC
probe into the is- sue. A provisions of the KPSPC (Transporta- tion of Cattle) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav being garlanded by supporters in
comprehensive inves- Act, legality of which has Rules, 2021, while seeking Patna after the party’s victory in Bochahan bypoll FILE PHOTO ■
tigation has been ordered to been challenged in a batch the court’s permission to
find out whether the irregu- of petitions, would be implement
larities had happened only
at particular centres or on a subject to final order to be Section 5 of the KPSPC Act, Amarnath Tewary discontent among the sizea-
larger scale. If it were to be passed by the court in these which stated that no person patna ble upper caste Bhumihars
a government of some other petitions. shall transport or offer for The unexpected result of over being sidelined in the
J.P. Nadda political party they would A Division Bench com- transport or cause to be the Bochahan Assembly by- 2020 Assembly polls as well
have tried to cover it up. prising Chief Justice Ritu transported by whatever poll result has upset politi- as the more recent State
ing the focus on demand for But we have given a free Raj Awasthi and Justice means any cattle from any cal equations in Bihar. The Council elections. The pre-
a Ministry expansion to hand to the CID. We will S.R. Krishna Kumar place within the State to coming together of the oth- sence of Bhumihar BJP
Del- hi. take action against those granted the permission by any other place within the erwise polarised Other Mi- nisters and MLAs
Replying to queries on involved.” modifying the January 20, State for slaughter except Backward Class Yadavs and during the campaign failed
the violence in Hubballi, he On the demand from can- 2021, inte- rim order, in in the manner prescribed upper caste Bhumihars to woo the over 50,000
said: “All those alleged to didates for re-exam, Mr. which the go- vernment by the government for with the support of voters of the community.
be in- volved in the incident Bommai said, “It will be had undertook before the bona fide agricultural or Extremely Backward
have been arrested. The de- cided after getting the court not to take coercive animal hus- bandry Sahanis/ mallahs ‘Not bonded to vote BJP’
investiga- com- prehensive probe steps under Sec- purpose. (fishermen) voters has “Bhumihar is not a captive
report.” posed a challenge to the community of any political
electoral surge of BJP in
the
Peace meeting in Palakkad calls
State.
The BJP had no reason
party. We’re not bonded to
always vote for the BJP
to foresee the result, more and we’ve shown this in
for rejection of communal plots
so after it became the Bocha- han Assembly
single largest party with 77 bypoll,” said youth leader
MLAs in the Assembly Ashutosh Ku- mar who had
after all three MLAs of the campaigned extensively,
Mukesh requesting his
BJP walks out, Three more apprehended
in Subair murder case
The meeting pointed out Sahani-led Vikasshil Insaan community members to
alleges that govt. PALAKKAD
that the police had en-
hanced their intelligence
Party (VIP) switched over
recently. But the party’s
support the Opposition
RJD candidate Amar
supports killers The police rounded up three measures to prevent recur- de- cision thereafter to Paswan.
more Rashtriya Swayamsevak rence of any retributive ac- request that Mr. Sahani be Mr. Paswan secured
Staff Reporter
Sangh (RSS) workers in tions in the district. dropped from Chief 48.52% or 82,562 votes to
PALAKKAD
connection with the murder Mr. Krishnankutty said Minister Nitish Kumar’s defeat Baby Kumari who got
A multi-party peace meeting of Social Democratic Party of
convened under the leader- that both the murders were Cabinet proved a costly 26.98% (45,904 votes).
India (SDPI) worker A. Subair
ship of Kerala Minister for of extremist character and mistake. The VIP candidate Geeta
at Elappully in Palakkad
Power K. Krishnankutty the police would make The BJP apparently failed Kumari received 17.21% or
district. Subair was hacked to
here on Monday called death by a gang while he was
strong and decisive inter- to gauge the impact that an 29,279 votes.
upon the people to stand returning home with his ventions to avoid their offended Mr. Sahani could “The Opposition RJD can-
united for peace and to father after Juma prayers on recurrence. have on the crucial 35,000 didate even got more votes
■
reject the overtures of April 15. The BJP walked out of the Sahani/ mallah votes in than the combined votes of
communal meeting, saying that it was Bo- chahan. Despite BJP and VIP candidates. It is
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
a having 35 party MLAs and clear that a large number of
several Mi-
nose and mouth of the de- groups trying to create di- Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) farce. It alleged that the go- nisters covering the consti- upper caste Bhumihars
ceased. vide in society. workers on Friday and Sa- vernment was supporting tuency in an intense cam- have voted for the RJD
Thse police have taken in- The meeting, convened in turday in Palakkad, decided the killers. The BJP said paign, down to the block candidate, giving a warning
to custody four administra- the wake of two back-to- to initiate dialogues that all the accused were level, the BJP’s Baby to the BJP. It is definitely a
tive staff of the unit and back murders of Social De- between the district not ar- rested even five Kumari lost by over 36,000 new political equation seen
have registered a case mocratic Party of India administration and months af- ter the murder votes. emerging in Bochahan,”
against the unit owned by (SDPI) and Rashtriya religious organisations to of RSS work- er A. Sanjit. The other factor in Bo- said political analyst Ajay
Raju. ease the tension. chahan was the simmering Kumar.
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6 EDITORIAL
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
India can criticise Russia’s Ukraine invasion
It is possible for the Government to express its criticism while maintaining an independent stand on unilateral sanctions
Suhasini Haidar
ust four years ago, in June
2018, then United States Presi-
dent Donald Trump sent his
Ambassador to the United Na-
tions, Nikki Haley, on a sensitive
mission to New Delhi. Ms. Haley,
who was to meet Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to convince the
Government to drop its oil imports
from Iran or face U.S. sanctions,
and said that India must “rethink
its ties”, was probably chosen be-
cause she was a diplomat and also
an Indian-American which had a
certain appeal in India. A day later,
India’s petroleum ministry asked
refiners to cut imports from Iran.
Within a few months, when the
American deadline expired, the
Government announced that it
had “zeroed out” its imports of oil
from Iran, once India’s preferred
choice and its third biggest sup-
plier of crude.
‘Appeals’ and India’s reaction
Now, in 2022, the U.S. pressure on
India to cut its oil imports from
Russia has been much less subtle.
The appeal to “zero out” oil
pur- chases from Russia, and not
accel- erate them, has come
from the highest quarters:
these include
U.S. President Joe Biden to Mr.
Mo- di during a virtual
summit;U.S. Se- cretary of State
Antony Blinken during the “2+2”
ministerial meet- ing in
Washington last week, and from
another Indian-American emissary,
Deputy National Securi- ty
Adviser for International Eco-
nomics Daleep Singh, who, while
he was on a visit to Delhi, spoke of
“consequences” for creating pay-
ment mechanisms around sanc-
tions against Russia.
The pressure is likely to in-
crease in the coming weeks, with
more engagements planned by
Mr. Modi with European leaders
— the British Prime Minister Boris
John- son will arrive in India this
week, and Mr. Modi is expected
to travel to Germany and France
for bilater- al meetings and to
Denmark for a
summit with Nordic countries.
Thus far, nearly two months
in- to Russia’s war with Ukraine,
New Delhi’s position has been to
push back: External Affairs
Minister S. Jaishankar said in
February that
Cryptos and a CBDC are not the same thing
The central bank must note that a Central Bank Digital Currency can only be a fiat currency and not a crypto
Arun Kumar
C
ryptocurrency will be dis-
couraged via taxation and
capital gains provisions.
This was the message from the
Fi- nance Minister during the
Budget discussion in Parliament.
Will this slow the growing use of
cryptos in India? Russian
kleptocrats have been using
cryptos to escape sanc- tions.
Ukraine has been a centre for
cryptos trading due to its lax
rules and is using them to raise
funds for its war with Russia.
The Governor of the Reserve
Bank of India, in February, high-
lighted two things. First, “private
cryptocurrencies are a big threat
to our financial and macroeco-
nomic stability”. Second, “these
cryptocurrencies have no
underly- ing (asset)... not even a
tulip”. Soon thereafter, a Deputy
Gover- nor of the RBI called
cryptos worse than a Ponzi
scheme and ar- gued against
“legitimizing” them. Yet, the RBI
announced that it will Roat a
Central Bank Digital Curren- cy
(CBDC). How do we understand
all this? The Supreme Court of
In- dia has also asked the
Government whether or not
cryptos are legal.
The Governor calling cryptos as
cryptocurrency has unintentional-
ly identified them as a currency.
Clearly, statements from the RBI
indicate a growing worry since
the
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India does not recognise
unilateral sanctions (only the
ones mandat- ed by the United
Nations), fol- lowed by some
tough talking in Washington last
week. This in- cludes the fact
that after 12 occa- sions of votes
at the UN, India con- tinues to
abstain on resolutions critical of
A
Russia’s invasion and the daily
bombardment of civilians.
Despite talks with leaders from
the U.S., Japan and Australia,
each of whom criticised Russia
in their summit remarks, India’s
Ministry of External Affairs has
not allowed any direct mention of
Russia in the respective joint
statements. In March and April,
India has bought more Russian
oil, at a discount, than it did in all
of 2021, and is now accelerating
coal imports as well. While
deliveries of the Russian S-400
missile defence system may be
delayed by the war, New Delhi is
not putting its defence deals with
Moscow on hold. Russian bank
officials have held meetings with
the Reserve Bank of India in
Mumbai for technical talks on
the rupee-rouble payment
mechan- ism to be used for
purchases that circumvent
sanctions.
Sustainability of stand
So what explains the Govern-
ment’s refusal to bow to
combined western pressure on
the issue of India’s Russian
engagement so far, when it gave
in to far less pressure on dealing
with Iran? And can New Delhi’s
position be sustained much
longer? While most analysis of
India’s stance deals with its past
relationship with Russia, (this in-
cludes the Soviet Union), the
truth may lie in the Modi
government’s perceptions of its
future challeng- es: from its
defence and energy procurements
to global economic trends, to its
continental border challenges,
especially with China, and the
growing focus by western
countries on human rights issues
in India. For example, India’s de-
fence hardware dependency on
Russia ranges around 60%, while
dependency on spare parts is
close to 85%. These could be
offset with more purchases from
the U.S. and the procurement of
spares from the Commonwealth
of Inde- pendent State countries
that pro- duced Soviet weapons.
What will be harder to replace
are defence purchases involving
the transfer of technology, and
export capabili- ties such as the
BrahMos missile (short for
Brahmaputra-Moskva), as the
Government seeks more
domestic production.
proliferation of cryptos threatens
the RBI’s place in the economy’s
fi- nancial system. This threat
emerg- es from the decentralised
charac- ter of cryptos based on
blockchain technology which
central banks cannot regulate and
which ena- bles enterprising
private entities (such as Satoshi
Nakamoto who in- itiated Bitcoins
in 2009) to Roat cryptos which
GETTY
can function as as- sets and
money.
Cryptos which operate via the
net can be banned only if all na-
tions come together. Even then,
tax havens may allow cryptos to
function, defying the global
agree- ment. They have been
facilitating the Right of capital and
illegality in spite of pressures
from powerful nations. The genie
is out of the bottle. The total
valuation of cryp- tos recently
was upward of $2 tril- lion —
more than the value of gold held
globally.
Cryptos as currency
A CBDC will not solve the RBI’s
problem since it can only be a
fiat currency and not a crypto.
Howev- er, cryptos can function
as money. This difference needs
to be understood.
A currency is a token used in
market transactions. Historically,
commodities (such as copper
coins) have been used as tokens
since they themselves are valua-
ble. But paper currency is useless
till the government declares it to
be a fiat currency. It is only then
that everyone accepts it at the va-
lue printed on it.
So, paper currency derives its
value from state backing.
Cryptos
Similarly, while India’s energy
dependence on Russia has been
pegged at less than 2%, and it is
unlikely to substantially increase
its intake on the “heavy” Ural va-
riety due to its high sulphur con-
tent, it is worth remembering that
Indian oil public sector units
have invested $16 billion in
Russian oil and gas fields in
eastern Russia, with stakes in
Sakhalin-1, Vankor and Taas-
Yuryakh . In 2017, Russia fulfilled
a long-held dream dating back to
Tsarist times to buy a warm
water port, when Rosneft
acquired a stake in the Vadinar
re- finery situated strategically
on the Gujarat coast as part of a
deal for a 49% stake in Essar Oil
(this was a deal that Mr. Modi
and Russian President Vladimir
Putin had themselves promoted
at a sum- mit). In renewable
energy too, while India has
signed civil nu- clear deals with a
number of coun- tries, including
the U.S. and France, the only
foreign nuclear power plants that
actually exist are those built by
Russia (Kudan- kulam in Tamil
Nadu).
Above all, any serious future
analysis of the conRict would
question the long-term sustaina-
bility of the sanctions imposed
by the western bloc, their effect
on the Russian economy, and
wheth- er a sizeable number of
important global economies will
join the sanctions regime. If only
about 30 to 40 countries have
joined the sanctions trail, while
India, China and much of South
America and Africa stay out (as
is the situation now), then it
stands to reason that India does
not benefit by restrict- ing itself
to only one side of the “dollar vs
non-dollar” economic system,
and will seek to straddle both.
Comfort in groupings
India’s strategic future is also inex-
tricably linked with Russia. The
Napoleonic adage, “If you know
a country’s geography, you can
un- derstand and predict its
foreign policy”, could not hold
truer for India’s continental
predicament with its primary
threats on its northern frontier
from China and
are a string of numbers in a com-
puter programme and are even
more worthless. And, there is no
state backing. So, how do they
be- come acceptable as tokens for
ex- change? Their acceptability
to the well-off enables them to act
as mo- ney. Paintings with little
use value have high valuations
because the rich agree to it. It is
similar for cryptos.
Bitcoin, the most prominent
crypto, has been designed to be-
come expensive. Its total number
is limited to 21 million and pro-
gressively requires more and
more computer power and energy
to produce (called mining, like
for gold). As the cost of producing
bit- coin has risen, its price has
also in- creased. This has led to
specula- tive investment which
drives the price higher and
attracts more in- vestors. So,
since 2009, in spite of wildly
Ructuating prices, they have
yielded high returns making
speculation successful.
Unlike the tulip mania
The RBI Governor’s statement that
cryptos have no underlying asset,
not even a tulip, refers to the time
when tulip prices rose
dramatical-
Pakistan, and a resultant need to
have Russia onside.
In the past two years, as Chi-
nese troops have transgressed
and occupied Indian territory, it
is Moscow that has stepped in to
pro- vide venues and facilitate
talks that have resulted in partial
disen- gagement. Russian Foreign
Minis- ter Sergei Lavrov’s visit to
Delhi this month — he arrived
directly from China, and one that
closely followed the trip by
Chinese Fo- reign Minister Wang
Yi to India (and also where both
officials stressed the importance
of region- al cooperation) on the
one hand and last week’s meeting
of the Bra- zil-Russia-India-China-
South Afri- ca Sherpas on the
other, are poin- ters. They
indicate that the Modi
government still finds comfort in
groupings such as BRICS, RIC
(Rus- sia-India-China) and
Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO), despite all
the developments so far.
As has been oft-repeated, Rus-
sia’s consistent support as a P-5
member of the UN Security Coun-
cil is important, albeit not irre-
placeable, but its support at other
multilateral institutions such as
the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) and the Nuclear
Suppliers Group makes it that
much more valuable. These
factors are rein- forced by the
Modi-Putin bonho- mie. Apart
from visits to Brussels to meet
Mr. Biden and Beijing to meet
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Mr.
Putin has made an exception only
for Delhi, meeting Mr. Modi last
December. The two leaders are in
regular telephonic contact, and
unlike the West, Mr. Putin has
not (even once) raised concerns
over the “backsliding of
democra- cy” or “human rights
violations” in the manner the
European Un- ion and the U.S.
have — these in- clude the
Citizenship (Amend- ment) Act,
the Jammu and Kashmir
reorganisation, or the treatment
of minorities, the media and
non-governmental
organisations.
If these are the “pull factors”
that keep New Delhi firmly an-
chored to Moscow, the absence
of any “push factors” is another
rea- son for this situation. While
in 2017, Mr. Trump may have
seemed irrational enough to
sanction a strategic partner such
as India ov- er Iran, a Biden
administration as well as
European countries seem far less
likely to do so. As a result, South
Block’s expectation is that riding
out this current period will
ly before they collapsed. But, tu-
lips cannot be used as tokens
while cryptos can be used via the
Internet. Also, the supply of
tulips can expand rapidly as their
price goes up while the number
of Bit- coins is limited.
So, cryptos acquire value and
can be transacted via the net.
This enables them to function as
mo- ney. True, Bitcoins are
difficult to use, but there are
other simpler cryptos that are
available.
The different degrees of
difficul- ties underlying cryptos
relate to the problem of ‘double
spending’. Fiat currency has the
property that once spent, it
cannot be spent again except
through forgery, be- cause it is
no more with the spen- der. But,
software on a computer can be
used repeatedly.
Blockchain and encryption
have solved the problem by devis-
ing protocols such as ‘proof of
work’ and ‘proof of stake’. They
enable the use of cryptos for tran-
sactions. While the first protocol is
difficult, the second is simpler but
prone to hacking and fraud. To-
day, thousands of different kinds
of cryptos exist; Bitcoin like cryp-
tos, Alt coins and Stable coins.
CBDC, unlike cryptos
Blockchain enables decentralisa-
tion. That is, everyone on the
crypto platform has a say. But,
central banks would not want
that. Further, they would want
a fiat currency to be exclusively
issued and controlled by them.
But, theo- retically everyone can
‘mine’ and create crypto. So, for
the CBDC to be in central
control, solving the
DELHI THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
be easier, apart from a few awk-
ward conversations at the leader-
ship levels.
In refusing to entertain western
sanctions, and even building pay-
ment structures to circumvent
them, the Government has in-
voked India’s firmly-held princi-
ples of non-alignment and
strateg- ic autonomy. They mirror
decisions of the past like when
the
A.B. Vajpayee government
decid- ed to conduct nuclear tests
and face sanctions in 1998, and
the Manmohan Singh
government re- fused to bend to
U.S. pressure on Iran oil
sanctions, despite a visit by the
U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary
Clinton, in 2012.
Expression without fear
What the Government fails to ex-
plain, however, is why any of
these reasons prevent it from
criticising Russia for what is quite
obviously a brutal invasion by one
country on another. In 2003,
despite a grow- ing partnership
with the U.S. that was finally
turning a corner after the nuclear
tests, the Indian go- vernment
brought a resolution to
Parliament that “deplored” the
ac- tions of the coalition led by
the
U.S. for its war on a sovereign
Iraq, calling the invasion
“unaccepta- ble”. But then
External Affairs Mi- nister
Yashwant Sinha stood up to
speak during the debate on the re-
solution passed unanimously, and
noted that despite India’s diffe-
rences with the U.S. on the war,
the Government would continue
to develop bilateral relations.
It should have been possible
for the government of the day to
ex- press its opposition to
Russian ac- tions in Ukraine
similarly, while maintaining an
independent posi- tion on
unilateral sanctions. The
Government could look no
further at the explanation on
neutrality that Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru gave during a
speech in the
U.S. in 1949, a few years before
the Bandung Conference that led
In- dia to the Non-aligned
Movement
— “We are neither blind to
reality nor do we propose to
acquiesce in any challenge to
man’s freedom from whatever
quarter it may come. Where
freedom is menaced or justice
threatened or where ag- gression
takes place, we cannot and shall
not be neutral.” The as-
sertion of strategic autonomy can-
not carry credibility, unless it is ex-
pressed without fear or favour of
the consequences.
suhasini.h@thehindu.co.in
‘double spending’ problem and
being a crypto (not just a digital
version of currency) seems
impossible.
A centralised CBDC will require
the RBI to validate each transac-
tion — something it does not do
presently. Once a currency note is
issued, the RBI does not keep
track of its use in transactions.
Keeping track will be horrendous-
ly complex which could make a
crypto such as the CBDC unusable
unless new secure protocols are
designed. No wonder, Kristalina
Georgieva, International Mone-
tary Fund Managing Director, said
earlier this year: “All told, around
100 countries are exploring
CBDCs at one level or another.
Some researching, some testing,
and a few already distributing
CBDC to the public... As you
might expect, the IMF is deeply
involved in this issue, including
through providing technical
assistance to many members.”
So, CBDCs at present cannot be
a substitute for cryptos that will
soon begin to be used as money.
This will impact the functioning of
central banks and commercial
banks. Further, a ban on cryptos
requires global coordination,
which seems unlikely. Ms. Geor-
gieva has said, “The history of mo-
ney is entering a new chapter”.
The RBI needs to heed this caution
and not be defensive.
Arun Kumar is Malcolm Adiseshiah Chair
Professor, Institute of Social Sciences and
the author of ‘Indian Economy’s Greatest
Crisis: Impact of the Coronavirus and the
Road Ahead’, 2020
 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
To read more letters
Quell the tensions the term can be used. We religious frenzy. The tension is created and in SC may affect efforts to online, scan the QR code

Hardly a day goes by
without reports of hate
speeches and acts of
communal violence in
some part or other of our
country. We cannot
afford to become
immune to ‘interreligious
have to repudiate it and
remedy the situation
before it breaks social
bonds. The country should
not be torn apart by civil
strife.
When religious processions
are taken out, it is sane to
purpose of religious
processions should be to
celebrate them and spread
the message of love rather
than to provoke other
religious communities.
It is observable that an
atmosphere of communal
exacerbated by those
who mix religion with
politics.
G. David MiltOn,
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Judicial retirements
The contents of the news
scale down pendency”
(Page 1, April 18), are
serious. Naturally, the effect
would be detrimental to the
people too in seeking
redress of their grievances.
As is the wont of the Prime
Minister to take
out-of-the-box decisions,
this is a fit case to do so. He
should try and ensure the
postings of Supreme Court
judges in earnest.
K. Nehru Patnaik,
Visakhapatnam

violence’, if keep them free from report, “Retirement spree

Small solace
Bypolls provide a glimmer of hope
to the BJP’s adversaries

G
leaning insights from by-elections, unless they
are held at the fag end of a regime’s tenure, is

three of fraught with risksconstituencies

the four Assembly of over-interpretation.
and in the In
lone Lok Sabha seat for which by-elections were held, the ruling party in the State won, except in Bihar, where the RJD managed to wrest a seat. Ordinarily, the expec- tation is for ruling parties to fare better in by-elections. There are reasons for this — there is little incentive for
In West Bengal, turncoat candidate Babul Supriyo, once a Union Minister in the BJP government at the Centre, won comfortably from Ballygunge as a Trina- mool Congress candidate, with the BJP relegated to the third position behind the CPI(M). Actor Shatrughan Sin- ha had a

The right price

TRAI might need to revisit its
recommendations to ensure viability of telcos

T
he Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s latest
recommendations on the auction of airwaves

of spectrum,identified for 5G disappointment

have triggered services, particularly
withinthe
thepricing
industry. While TRAI has proposed cuts of about 35- 40% on the reserve prices at which the relevant fre- quency bands of spectrum could be auctioned, telecom services providers contend that the recommendations run counter to the spirit behind the relief-cum-reforms package unvei
1.5 times the reduced reserve price for a 30-year tenure on spectrum thereby virtually negating the proposed cut and undermining the Government’s aim of making spectrum affordable enough to encourage greater parti- cipation in the auctions. Ironically, TRAI’s recommen- dations c
A look at some of the countries that have so far suc- cessfully rolled out 5G networks shows that Japan and South Korea avoided auctions and instead adopted the discretionary approach to spectrum allotment. True, this approach was abandoned by India after the Su- preme Court in 20

C
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
DELHI
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Sri Lankan lessons for India
India must step up domestic production from oilseeds to renewable energy and defence equipment
Pulapre Balakrishnan
Sri Lanka has been in the news so
much of late that its current woes
are the stuff of popular knowledge.
Eve- ryone can see the extreme
depriva- tion caused to its people
due to the absence of their staple
food at an af- fordable price in the
market and the shortage of petrol at
the pump. Those with even a
modicum of know- ledge of
economics can trace it back
to the dwindling foreign exchange
re- serves which are needed not
only to import food but also to
service exter- nal debt. They would
even compre- hend the default on
this debt that has now taken place.
But Sri Lanka’s fo- reign exchange
crisis is only the symptom of a
larger malaise which needs to be
understood. How is it that a country
fails to produce suffi- ciently even
the most basic of food- stuff, such
as rice and milk powder? That is
less easy to comprehend.
Since the end of colonial rule, Sri
Lanka’s political arrangements
have been an amalgam of
nationalism in politics and
welfarism in economics. Ethno-
nationalism was stoked to forge a
nation state in terms of a Sin- hala
identity, the beginnings of which
had emerged in the fifties. It is
recognisable in the official “Sinhala
Only” language policy introduced
at the time. Though this may have
been diluted subsequently, it
empowered ethnic chauvinism and
left the size- ble Tamil-speaking
population inse- cure.
Linguistic disenfranchisement
The origins of the linguistic disen-
franchisement of the Tamils owed
partly to the appeasement of the
Buddhist clergy, which is almost
ex- clusively Sinhala. It not only
caused the alienation of the Tamil-
speaking population but led to the
formation of the Tamil Tigers, a
terrorist organ- isation, and a civil
war. The Tamil Tigers were finally
vanquished, but it took over two-and-
a-half decades for the Sri Lankan
state to achieve this. In the
meanwhile, there was an exo- dus
of Tamils, the better-off leaving for
the West and, those who could es-
cape, heading for Tamil Nadu.
STATE OF PLAY
Should the RINL be sold?
Steel plant comes under scanner after good sales
Sumit Bhattacharjee
In the financial year 2021-22,
Rashtri- ya Ispat Nigam Limited
(RINL), the corporate entity of
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP),
registered the best ever performance
since its inception. It recorded a
sales turnover of
₹28,008 crore, which is almost 56
percent above the sales of its corres-
ponding previous year. It also regis-
tered ₹835 crore as profit before
tax, after a gap of six years.
This has pepped up the mood of
the employees and trade union lead-
ers who have been agitating since Fe-
bruary last year against the
proposed 100 percent strategic sale
of the plant by the Union
Government. The Fi- nance
Minister in January, 2021 had said
that the VSP was up for 100 per-
cent strategic sale as it is a ‘loss
making PSU’. The employees
strongly countered
this point and said
the plant has the
potential to become
one of the premier
steel plants in the
country.
Since inception, the pro- duc-
tion capacity has already gone up
from 3 million tonnes to 7.3 million
tonnes per annum (MTPA) and
there are ample opportunities to
scale it up to a 20 mtpa plant in the
future. The production began in
1990-91 and till 2001-02, it
suffered losses. But from 2002-03
to 2014-15, it made profits. But
again from 2015-16 to 2017-18, it
made losses. In 2018-19, there was
again a turnaround and it made pro-
fits, but again due to COVID-19, it suf-
fered losses in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
The VSP was never a loss-
making unit. If it did, it was due to
some pol- icy decisions and neglect
of the Un- ion Government, said Ch
Narasinga Rao, one of the chairmen
of Visakha Ukku Parirakshana
C
Protesters shout slogans demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s
resignation over the country's crippling economic crisis. AFP
With the Tamils having had a
sig- nificant presence in the
professions, the country
experienced a loss of ex- pertise in
almost all spheres. The im- pact of
a loss of technical expertise for an
economy is slow and often in-
discernible but sure to affect it adver-
sely, which we see happening in In-
dia. The civil war is also likely to
have held back investment. While
all un- certainty stalls investment,
private investors would be
particularly re- luctant to commit
their money in a time of near
anarchy. A state pursu- ing a civil
war can hardly make up for this
through public investment, as it is
bound to be severely fund-con-
strained due to its military opera-
tions. Nor would it have had much
time to address stress points that ar-
ise from time to time in any market
economy, let alone plan for
econom- ic development. In diverse
ways, then, social strife can hamper
the de- velopment of the productive
forces of a country and its
economic growth gets affected.
So here we have the first
caution- ary tale from Sri Lanka for
India. Sri Lanka’s woes are
economic on the surface but stem
from social strife that have been
exacerbated by ma- joritarian
identity politics fanned by the State.
Identity politics between social
groups is a recipe for econom- ic
disaster. It would not be off the
mark to suggest that the Modi go-
vernment’s inability to even restore,
let alone raise, the investment rate
in India is partly related to the
socio- political tension that has
come in its wake. The strife
between the Centre and the States
and antagonism bet- ween religious
communities are sure ways to deter
investment even if there is some
improvement in the
Porata Commit- tee (VUPPC),
which is an umbrella or-
ganisation under which the em-
ployees have been agitating.
After going into production in
1991, till around 2000 it had
accumu- lated losses of about
₹4,000 crore. The members of
Steel Executive As- sociation
(SEA) say that the initial losses
were due to no fault of the plant.
The original estimate for the
ical hustings. It would serve as
smart advice not only for the three
Sri Lan- kan economists now
tasked to take their country out of
the crisis but al- so to the political
class of India. As In-
dia’s economy has grown, many of
the States have stepped up their wel-
fare spending. Some have distribut-
ed bicycles for girls and others televi-
sion sets to families. While no form
of welfare need be precluded in
prin- ciple, the public finances are
subject to an accounting constraint.
When revenues are limited, free
bicycles and televisions sets crowd
out spend- ing on measures that
■
increase an economy’s productive
capacity, which includes
endowment of
ease of doing business. The exit of schools, hospitals and the
some high-net-worth Indians from infrastruc- ture needed for
the country and the outRow of fo- production. There is also an ethical
reign direct investment are issue to be faced. When welfarism
examples of this. InRow of foreign is financed by bor- rowing rather
direct invest- ment to India has been than taxes, future gen- erations pay
high since 2014 but has been unable for our consumption.
to make up for the depressed A third lesson from Sri Lanka is
domestic private investment. to not treat openness to the world
eco- nomy as a panacea. In the
Political, economic lessons 1970s, in a switch from avowedly
If the first lesson from Lanka is about socialist eco- nomic policies, Sri
how politics can affect the Lanka liberalised trade and capital
economy, the second is about how Rows. It is a moot question how
Rawed eco- nomic policy can affect this policy reorienta- tion may have
an econo- my’s prospects. The worked had a civil war lasting
country first came into the world’s decades not intervened but the
reckoning in the 1950s when its reliance on world markets that it led
economic policy was lauded for to has not helped the country. A
welfare programmes that included celebrated theorem in economics,
subsidised rice. But not everyone the theory of comparative advan-
was impressed at the time. In his tage, encourages a country to spe-
autobiography Home and the cialise in its production and to rely
World, Amartya Sen narrates how on foreign trade for goods that it
the Cambridge economist Joan Ro- does not produce. This assumes that
binson had described this as a case there will be a continuing demand
of “wanting to taste the fruit before for the country’s product. Sri Lanka’s
growing it”. Mr. Sen implies that he case shows us why it can be damag-
was not convinced by this view but ing for a country to rely on trade for
his supervisor appears to have been its essential consumption goods. By
endowed with some remarkable fo- comparison, the States of India that
resight. Now, the grande dame of face deficit of food are saved by
economics in her time, could hardly being part of the Indian Union.
have been against the idea of Unlike Sri Lanka, they need not
welfare per se living as she was in earn foreign ex- change to receive
the U.K., the world’s pre-eminent food from the na- tional granary,
welfare state. She was very likely Kerala being the prime example of
decrying welfarism, which make this arrangement. Sri Lanka’s first
the distribu- tion of consumer task would be to ur- gently revive
goods the centre- piece of its food producing sec- tor. As for
economic policy. In any case, she India it must learn from its
has been proved right. neighbour’s misfortunes and step
In Sri Lanka, distributism seems up domestic production across
to have run ahead of what could sectors, from oilseeds to renewable
be guaranteed from domestic energy and defence equipment.
sources. This newspaper has
previously re- ported on the Pulapre Balakrishnan teaches at Ashoka
University, Sonipat
slogan “Produce or perish” from
the country’s past polit-
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DATA POINT
OPED 7
Consensus key for education
Fulfilling local needs will make policy more meaningful
Education being in the concurrent list
since 1976, is a joint and shared responsibili-
ty of the Union and the State governments.
Coordination and maintenance of standards
may vest in the Union government, but it
ap- plies to higher education only.
Education
Furqan Qamar & Meeta Sengupta policy, on the other hand, deals with all le-
vels of education.
Tamil Nadu constituting a committee to
draft Alarming changes
its own State education policy may be con- Many a change in the education system,
strued as a challenge to the national educa- par- ticularly in higher education,
tion policy, though it may actually do good introduced be- fore and after the policy
for States to draft their education policy. It may have alarmed the States. The given
may guide them to give effect to the impression that the common university
national educational policy in a considered, entrance test (CUET) is the first step
well thought out manner. towards a ‘one nation, one ex- amination’
State, district, block and even village level system as envisaged by the policy even
its policies could enable a more meaningful though the text of the policy clearly de-
im- plementation of the national policy as it clared that it should be up to the individual
may
lead to a policy stack that serves the goals universities to use CUET scores or not, is the
of national growth grounded in the local latest example.
con- texts. The aspirational districts Making the undergraduate national eligi-
programmes show the possibilities of local bility test (NEET UG) mandatory for admis-
meshing with the whole. sion to all medical colleges is yet another ex-
What is disquieting here is the intention ample. States like Tamil Nadu feel that the
to evolve a counter education policy for centralised admission test caused monetary
the State. The concerns raised by the burden and inconvenience for students.
States, of- ten strident, could be many: Data lends credence to their concerns
insistence on a third language, elitist tilt that the national level tests favour students
devoid of concerns for the weaker and com- ing from the Central Board of
downtrodden sections, imposed by the Secondary Education (CBSE). In 2021, the
Centre sans regard to their needs and percentage of students qualifying the UG
misgivings. NEET was as high as 73.9 percent for
Even though the NEP 2020 is claimed to CBSE students, whereas only 33.2, 37.1,
be a culmination of the largest public 44.8, 44.4 and 47.5 percen- tage from M.P.,
consul- tation in policy history, the process U.P., Bihar, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
of con- sultation and curating the mass Boards respectively could quali- fy.
contribu- tions, being new, lacked clear So has been the case with the IIT JEE ex-
articulation of outcomes and evolution of ams. Close to 59% of the shortlisted students
the policy. were from CBSE Board alone.
The grouse became graver because the These statistics are often used to berate
fi- nal draft of the policy wasn’t discussed them for the poor quality of their school
and deliberated in the Central Advisory education. A closer look, however,
Board of Education (CABE). Chaired by suggests that this may be due to the
the Union Education Minister and with differences in the syllabus and examination
Ministers of Education of all the States and methods of the State boards and the CBSE.
educationists as its members, it provides an Indeed no one could argue that the State
effective way for the key stakeholders to boards must make their syllabus
express their views, particularly if the need completely compatible with the CBSE, for it
is to evolve a national education policy would tanta- mount to suggesting that there
rather than that of the central government should only be a single school board for the
alone. whole coun- try, ‘one nation one school
CABE consultation has been deemed es- examination’.
sential to building purpose and context-led Policy engagement is an essential part of
policies, and deeper policy engagement, its implementation. It may be wise to miti-
and thus ensure alignment along the policy gate the trust deficit, made evident by
pile from the grassroots to the idealists. recent statements, between the Union and
the States on key areas such as education.
Supplementing each other If some States feel they are falling
There will inevitably be differences behind, this is an opportunity to move
between the education policies devised for forward for better quality education.
the na- tion, for a State, for a district and
that of a school since each level has a Furqan Qamar is Professor at Jamia Millia Islamia
and a former Adviser (Education) in the Planning
distinct pur- pose. There will always be
Commission. Meeta Sengupta is a writer, speaker and
regional priorities and constraints adviser on education and skills
compelling the States to serve education in
a different way. This only means that the
national and State policies need to
supplement each other.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
FIFTY YEARS AGO APRIL 19, 1972
A college without students
plant was ₹1,900 crore, but by the time it had gone
into production, due to delay in construction for
about 25 years, the cost had gone past ₹8,000 crore.
The government had given on- ly ₹4,986 crore and
the rest was raised from the open financial mar- ket
by VSP at a high interest rate. The VSP has so far paid
interest on loans to the tune of about ₹18,000 crore.
It has accumulated losses of ₹12, 973 crore and
profits of ₹18,069 crore.
Captive mines
The Union Government had never sanctioned the
plant a captive iron ore mine, despite its project
consul- tant M. N. Dastur recom-
mending the
lease of captive mines in the
Baila- dila blocks for its
healthy survival, way back in the early
1970s. Due to
lack of captive mines, VSP has been incurring an
additional expen- diture of about ₹4,000 to 6,000 per
tonne for raw material. Rubbing salt into the wound,
the Central govern- ment has cancelled the coal
mines lease to VSP at Rabodih in Jharkhand. The
reason for cancellation is not clear to the employees
of the plant.
Setting up of the plant had turned into a political
movement after 32 pe- ople died in police firing on
Novem- ber 1, 1966 across the State, which in- cludes
12 in Visakhapatnam. The slogan ‘Visakha Ukku
Andhrula Hak- ku’ had reverberated not only across
the State, but also in New Delhi, forc- ing the then
Congress Government to set up the plant here.
Over 22,000 acres were taken by the government,
displacing close to 16,800 families from 68 villages.
As per the records, jobs are yet to be provided for
about 7,000 Rehabilita- tion card holders even after
four de- cades. It is also the only shore-based
integrated steel plant with huge ex- pansion capacity
in the country. While the then government in 2013
had valued the plant's net worth at around ₹4,898
crore, factoring land cost, it is over ₹2 lakh crore,
say the VUPPC members.
sumit.b@thehindu.co.in
 Lucknow, April 18: A
college in Haldwani
(Nainital district) had no
student on its roll as on April
15 last year, but only staff
consist- ing of the principal,
a teacher, clerks and others.
This was stated by the
Minister for Community
Development, Mr. Baldeo
Singh Arya, while replying
to questions in the council
yesterday on the “People’s
College”. The Minister of
State for Community Deve-
lopment, Mr Gopinath
Dikshit said the Col- lege
had received financial
assistance during the years
1961 to 1968 from the Asia
Founda- tion (USA), West
Germany and Sweden. He
denied that funds had been
received from the Central
Intelligence Agency (of U.S.).
The College, established in
1960-61, was taken over by
the State Government on
April 17, 1971, as the
managing committee of the
col- lege could not meet the
expenses. The Coun- cil
Chairman, Dr. Virendra
Swarup, directed the
Government to make a
statement on the affairs of
the College, with particular
refe- rences to its financial
position at the time of take-
over.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO APRIL 19,

1922

Militarisation of Labour
The following is taken from
the “Times” :- Already in
June, 1920, Trotsky was
describ- ing Russia as “a
starving country” which was
“suffering from terrible
collapse of transport and the
food administration.” “Russia
has fallen into a state of
economic dis-solution which
has, we think, few parallels in
histo- ry,” the Emmott
Committee report a few
months later. “We know of
no similar col- lapse so
complete, so sudden, and so
far- reaching.” The death-
rate, they were told, was 6
per cent of the population.
They state
:- We doubt whether so much
human misery as had existed
in Russia during the last three
years has ever been the lot of
any people within so short a
time in the history of the
modern world. While we are
prepared to ad- mit that the
European War, the events fol-
lowing the first revolution,
the civil war and intervention
are contributing factors in
causing this misery, it is
impossible to disso- ciate the
Soviet Government from a
large measure of
responsibility for the recent
suf- ferings of the Russian
people. The recent re- port by
Sir Benjamin Robertson, the
Indian famine expert, shows
that millions are now exposed
to death.

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THE GIST
■
The Rwanda deal is the
operationalisation of a key
objective in the the U.K.
Nationality and Borders Bill,
2021, which is to “deter
illegal entry into the United
Kingdom, thereby breaking
the business model of
people smuggling
networks...”
■
Under this deal, Rwanda
will function as the holding
centre where asylum
applicants will wait while
the Rwandan government
makes decisions about
their asylum and
resettlement petitions
within Rwanda.
■
According to the U.K.
government, this is to
combat “people smugglers”,
who often charge exorbitant
prices from vulnerable
migrants to put them on
unseaworthy boats from
France to England that
often lead to mass
drownings. The U.K. will pay
Rwanda £120 million, bear
all operational costs and
provide a stipulated amount
for each migrant.
EXPLAINER
Understanding the additional airbags mandate for vehicles
Will installing extra airbags increase the price of vehicles? What are the international precedents for such a move?
Saptaparno Ghosh
The story so far: The government of
India has proposed the installation of six
airbags in all passenger vehicles to
enhance safety for vehicle occupants.
The proposal was made public on
January 14 this year, seeking comments
and objections from all stakeholders
within a period of 30 days.
What does the proposal say?
The general statutory rules (GSR)
notification states that all vehicles in the
M1 category manufactured after October 1
this year must come fitted with two side
torso air bags in the front row at the
outboard seating positions. The Ministry
of Road Transport and Highways
explained that it would be deployed to
the seats or on the sides at the stipulated
position inside the vehicle. It added that
the deployment of the inRatable airbag in
the mentioned position would help
mitigate injuries in the torso region or
ejection of the occupant from the vehicle.
Further, the notification asks for
deploying curtain or tube air bags to
cushion the entire outboard sides of the
vehicle. In the event of a rollover or a
C
DELHI
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
Context
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2 1.2 2 69.2 4
Extension granted SAI funds wrestlers Losing jobs in Moscow Wheat procured Chinese offenders
Months, the extension given by In ₹ crore, the amount In lakh, the number of employees In lakh tonnes, the The number of Chinese
Pakistan to India for the sanctioned by the of foreign companies in Moscow amount of wheat people booked by the
transportation of 50,000 metric Sports Authority of to lose their jobs due to sanctions procured by the economic offences wing
tonnes (MTs) of wheat and India (SAI) for the over Russia’s military campaign government in the (EOW) of the Mumbai
life-saving medicines to war-torn participation of 30 in Ukraine, according to Moscow Rabi marketing Police for allegedly
Afghanistan via the Attari-Wagah wrestlers, including Olympic Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. He said season so far at the minimum support violating laws
border crossing, according to Pakistan medallists Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang authorities had last week approved a price for nearly ₹14,000 crore. regarding the registration of new
Foreign officer. The officer informed Punia, at the Senior Asian $41-million programme to support “Wheat procurement has recently companies and for fraudulently
that the time period granted had Championship beginning in Mongolia employment in the Russian capital. commenced in Rabi Marketing Season becoming directors of Indian
expired on March 21, but accepting on Tuesday. 20 wrestlers from the The programme is aimed at supporting 2022-23 in the States of Madhya companies, a police official said on
the request made by the Government men’s team and 10 from the women’s employees of foreign companies that Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Monday. The EOW registered a total of
of India the time has been extended. team will participate in the event, have temporarily suspended their Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Chandigarh, 34 FIRs against 150 people, out of
Pakistan, in November 2021, had which is an exposure competition operations or decided to leave Russia. Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and which 60 were foreigners. The FIRs
approved the transportation of ahead of the Commonwealth Games Hundreds of western companies had Rajasthan,” an official statement said. were registered between April 1 to 15.
humanitarian assistance from India to and the Asian Games. Both teams announced their departure after the Punjab contributed 32,16,668 tonnes The rest of the accused foreigners are
Afghanistan via the Wagah border. PTI have been training in SAI regional invasion of Ukraine on February 24. AFP and Haryana 27,76,496 tonnes. PTI from Singapore, U.K., Taiwan, U.S.,
centres. PTI Cyprus, UAE, and South Korea. PTI
COMPILED BY THE HINDU DATA TEAM
EXPLAINER
The U.K.-Rwanda asylum plan
What is the U.K. and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership and what does it mean for refugees and asylum seekers?
Vasundhara Sirnate have a criminal record. A migrant in the U.K.
will be given five days’ notice to pursue an
The story so far: Since 2018, there has appeals process, failing which they will be
been a marked rise in the number of given a one-way ticket to Rwanda and will
refugees and asylum seekers that undertake become the responsibility of the Rwandan
dangerous crossings between Calais in government. The deal is “uncapped”, i.e.,
France and Dover in England. The number there is no upper limit to how many
of such persons rose from 297 in 2018, to migrants will be sent to Rwanda for the five
28,431 in 2021. Most such migrants and years that the deal will remain in place. The
asylum seekers hail from war-torn countries MoU also does not have any specific
like Sudan, Afghanistan, and Yemen, or language that outlines the economic right to
developing countries like Iran and Iraq. For work, access to healthcare or any financial
the Conservative Party government in support provided by the Rwandan
Britain that has adopted a hardline stance government to relocated persons.
on illegal immigration, these crossings
constitute an immigration crisis. The What will the scheme cost the U.K.?
Nationality and Borders Bill, 2021, which is The U.K. will pay Rwanda £120 million as
still under consideration in the U.K., allows part of an “economic transformation and
the British government to strip anyone’s integration fund” and will also bear the
citizenship without notice under operational costs along with an, as yet
“exceptional circumstances”. The Rwanda undetermined, amount for each migrant.
deal is the operationalisation of one Currently, the U.K. pays £4.7 million per day
objective in the Bill which is to “deter illegal to accommodate approximately 25,000
entry into the United Kingdom, thereby asylum seekers. At the end of 2021, this
breaking the business model of people amounted to £430 million annually with a
smuggling networks and protecting the lives projected increase of £100 million in 2022.
of those they endanger.” The Rwanda Deal is predicted to reduce
these costs by outsourcing the hosting of
What is the Rwanda Deal? such migrants to a third country.
The U.K. and Rwanda Migration and CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Economic Development Partnership or the No-way home: British
Rwanda Deal is a Memorandum of Under this deal, Rwanda will commit Home Secretary Priti Patel
experiences indicates that such policies do Rwanda also has a less than remarkable
Understanding (MoU) signed between the to taking in asylum seekers who and Rwandan Minister of
not fully combat “people smuggling”. human rights record. Government critics
governments of the U.K. and Rwanda in April arrive in the U.K. on or after January Instead, they create a parallel problem. have been silenced or sentenced to prison. Foreign Affairs and
2022. Under this deal, Rwanda will commit 1, 2022, using “illegally facilitated Australia had inked a similar off-shore Further, Rwanda’s offshoring deal with Israel International Cooperation
to taking in asylum seekers who arrive in and unlawful cross border Vincent Biruta, shake hands
processing deal with Papua New Guinea was scrapped in 2019. Israel deported a
the migration.” after signing the
that was challenged through a class-action reported 4,000 people from Eritrea and
U.K. on or after January 1, 2022, using agreement at Kigali,
lawsuit. In 2017, the Papua New Guinea Sudan who arrived in Rwanda and left the Rwanda on April 14. AFP
“illegally facilitated and unlawful cross Opposition critics disagree with these
■
Supreme Court ruled that the processing country shortly after, sometimes being
border migration.” Rwanda will function as initial figures. Shadow Home Secretary centre on Manus Island was “illegal and encouraged to do so. Many attempted to
the holding centre where asylum applicants Yvette Cooper from the Labour Party has unconstitutional” and ordered that Australia make dangerous crossings back into
will wait while the Rwandan government stated that Australia paid 10 billion pay 70 million Australian dollars as Europe. Those who stayed behind had
makes decisions about their asylum and Australian dollars over time to offshore 3,127 compensation to the 2,000 people detained difficulty finding employment. The Rwanda
resettlement petitions in Rwanda. migrants and the burden of such costs will at this centre. Australia has a similar deal Deal is an instrument that will certainly
The rationale for the deal, according to eventually fall on the British taxpayer. with Nauru, which today remains its only generate revenue for the Rwandan
the U.K. government, is to combat “people processing station. However, the Nauru government.
smugglers”, who often charge exorbitant Will the Rwanda Deal solve the Regional Processing Centre witnessed a riot However, it also unloads a British issue onto
prices from vulnerable migrants to put them problem of illegal immigration? in 2013, where allegations of sexual abuse a less developed nation in an attempt to
on unseaworthy boats from France to This deal will be implemented in a matter against women and children and self-harm pander to the anti-immigrant sentiments in
England that often lead to mass drownings. of weeks unless it is challenged and stayed was reported amongst the inmates. In short, the U.K..
The U.K. contends that this solution to the by British courts. While Boris Johnson’s people who were already vulnerable when Vasundhara Sirnate is a political scientist
migrant issue is humane and meant to target government is undoubtedly bracing for they attempted dangerous sea-crossings, and journalist. She is the creator of the
the gangs that run these illegal crossings. such legal challenges, it remains unclear if became more exposed and vulnerable under India Violence Archive, a citizen’s data
Rwanda will, on its part, accommodate the Rwanda Deal will solve the problem of detention. initiative aimed at recording collective public
anyone who is not a minor and does unlawful crossings. Evidence from similar violence in India.
not
crash, this would help mitigate head considering “side and curtain bags are
injury. The notification informs the on the front seat of the vehicle, next to not mandated anywhere else in the recently-concluded budget
the driver, for vehicles manufactured world”. session of the Lok Sabha that the
after April 1 last year. However, owing to Mr. Gadkari had said in the automobile industry was upset
verified in compliance to AIS-099
standards that deals with protection of the COVID-19 pandemic, the timeline for with the announcement
occupants in a vehicle in the event of a its implementation was extended to citing increase in the price of
lateral collision. December 31, 2021. vehicles. “...if a poor man dies let
Union Minister for Road Trasport and “This has been mandated as an him die and save the rich man, is
Highways Nitin Gadkari replying to the important safety feature, and is also it?” he said, adding, “So, from
motion in Rajya Sabha had said, “This based on suggestions of the Supreme now on, any economic model...the
has been notified to enhance safety for Court Committee on Road Safety,” the smallest of the smallest, even
the vehicle occupants. In the event of Minister of State for Heavy Industries Nano model, every car will have
requirement for such airbags would be Krishan Pal Gurjar stated in the Lok six airbags is being made
lateral collision, the side/torso airbags
act as a cushion between the vehicle Sabha in December last year. mandatory so that people’s lives
body and occupants and absorbs energy are saved.”
of impact.” He added the move would How will the prices of vehicles be He stated that the fixed cost of
ultimately ensure the safety of affected? an air bag would be determined
passengers across all segments, Automobile market analyst JATO by market forces and volume of
irrespective of cost/variant of the Dynamics told Reuters that installing four production. The Union Minister
vehicle. additional airbags in vehicles would said the approximate variable cost
increase its cost by ₹17,600. “In some of four airbags (two side air bags
What are the previous legislation on cases, the cost could be higher as and two curtain air bags) may
air bags? companies will need to make vary between ₹5,600 and ₹7,000.
The ministry had previously mandated engineering changes to the car’s
deployment of airbags for the structure to accommodate the additional Will the move ensure safety
passenger airbags,” president of JATO Dynamics in case of a collision?
India told Reuters. Further, the news According to the U.S. National
agency reported that the Society of Highway Traffic Safety
Indian Automobile Manufacturers Administration (NHTSA), frontal
(SIAM) has asked the ministry to air bags saved 50,457 lives
“review and reconsider” the rules between 1987 and 2017 — enough
to fill a major league baseball stadium. It
added airbags to prevent the passenger’s
upper body or head from hitting the
vehicle’s interior during a crash. The
transport regulatory body says passengers
must also ensure fastening their seat belts
on roads. Mr. Gadkari stated in the
recently-concluded parliamentary
C
session that 8,598 lives in 2020 could
have been saved in head-on collision with
the use of airbags. “Similarly, side
collisions cost 14,271 lives and 31% of
those or 4,424 lives could have been
saved with the use of side airbags”, he
said
The Minister had apprised the Lower
House in March about the government
adopting a multi-pronged strategy to
address issues pertaining to road safety
based on education, engineering (both
roads and vehicles), enforcement and
emergency care. With respect to
vehicular engineering, Mr. Gadkari
informed the house that with respect to
airbags, anti-braking systems (ABS),
tyres, crash tests, speed limiting devices
and compliance with fire alarms and
protection systems, safety standards for
automobiles have been improved.
Additionally, he reminded the House
about the February 15 notification
prescribing norms for safety of children
below four years of age, riding or being
carried on motorcycle. It specified the
use of a safety harness, crash helmet
and restricting the upper speed limit to
40 kmph. He also referred to the Motor
Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 that
stipulated strict penalties to deter
violation of traffic rules and ensure
strict enforcement.
THE GIST
■
The government has proposed
the installation of six airbags in all
passenger vehicles (M1 category)
to enhance safety for vehicle
occupants.
■
The Ministry of Road Transport
and Highways explained that these
airbags would be deployed to the
seats or on the sides at the
stipulated position inside the
vehicle. The deployment of the
inflatable airbag in the mentioned
position would help mitigate
injuries in the torso region or
ejection of the occupant from the
vehicle.
■
Automobile market analyst
JATO Dynamics stated that
installing four additional airbags
in vehicles would increase its
cost by ₹17,600.
 &Context
DELHI

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022

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ABSTRACT

The process of
cartelisation
How entry of competitors
affect a cartel
Prashanth Perumal

Amanda Starc and Thomas G. Wollmann,

“Does Entry Remedy Collusion? Evidence
from the Generic Prescription Drug Cartel,”
March 2022, NBER Working Paper No.
29886, JEL No. L11,L41,L65
Festival of blood: A scene at Jahangirpuri where a clash took place, during the Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra between two communities, in New Delhi. ■
SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Cartels, which involve a group of business-
es colluding to keep prices high, have been
FROM THE ARCHIVES viewed by economists as a significant threat

Making sense of Hindutva

to the market economy. When businesses
cooperate with each other rather than com-
pete against each other, there could be many
adverse consequences to consumers. For
one, consumers will have to pay higher
prices for goods and services. It should be
noted that the way cartels keep prices high is
by lim- iting the supply of their output.
The present political moment requires a renewed look at nationalism, communalism and Further, in the absence of any threat from
majoritarianism competition, cartels also have very little
reason to innovate
or cater to consumers in better ways. In other

THE GIST
Ajay Gudavarthy democracy? The complexity of the current lack of mobility. The moral legitimacy of Hindutva words, they essentially act like a monopoly.
moment in Indian politics is precisely this lies in this silent change or subversion they are The Organization of the Petroleum
In the light of violent clashes at Jahangirpuri, overlap between marginalised cultural groups bringing about. Exporting Countries (OPEC) is the most well-
this piece written by Ajay Gudavarthy on June 6, that are asserting their identity but through It needs to be added that this change cannot known in- ternational cartel that inRuences
2019, talks about how communalism and conservative social ideology. but be illiberal and is not necessarily the price of oil globally through coordinated
■
The complexity of the majoritarianism together offers spaces for The BJP-RSS combine, especially after the anti-democratic as it might hold the promise of efforts to li- mit supply.
current moment in Indian cultural subalterns, which are at the same time neoliberal reforms, has succeeded in combining representing the majority. This change therefore
politics is the overlap inclusive and polarised. They provide mobility aggressive pragmatism with regressive idealism. It cannot be captured in traditional or conventional Can cartels sustain?
between marginalised yet reinstate traditional hierarchies. is simultaneously inclusive and polarised; it caste and class categories; it goes beyond and The usual recommendation to deal with the
cultural groups that are We are witnessing epoch-making changes to provides mobility yet reinstates traditional cuts across the categories creating new divisions threat of cartelisation these days is to enact
asserting their identity hierarchies. Unless we unpack the irony of how and social constituencies. strict anti-trust laws and create a powerful
how democracy is working itself in India. It is
through conservative social
ideology.
often lamented as the new rise of cultural contradictory processes are getting combined While communalism offers a sense of inclusion, an- ti-trust body that actively goes after
nationalism, majoritarianism and into a seamless process, a mere moral critique of majoritarianism offers a sense of mobility and cartels. In a sense, cartelisation is seen as a
communalism. Earlier, historians had differed the process would be inadequate, if not the muscularity necessary to wedge open natural phe- nomenon in a market economy
■
This political project of on how nationalism relates to communalism. irrelevant. opportunities that otherwise looked closed; that needs to be tackled through active
the Right, has subverted the
Some felt nationalism itself was the product of Unpacking is a possible way to avoid the elitism of nationalism then offers a necessary moral government inter- vention. Some
binary distinction B.R.
Ambedkar made between colonialism and thereby the source of narrow the liberal-secular critique of the current upsurge antidote to exclusion and violence that are economists, however, believe that cartel
revolution and identities. of cultural nationalism. The secular-liberal ingrained in the processes of communalism and arrangements are naturally prone to
counter-revolution. Therefore, one could not productively make critique, in fact, further justifies the cultural majoritarianism. collapse. They argue that while a certain
Ambedkar said that a distinction between communalism and nationalist project, enabling it to take on more Nationalism is therefore not merely about group of businesses might prefer to collude
Buddhism is the revolution ‘ethno-nationalism’. Others argued that majoritarian proportions. an exalted sense of the nation, it also plays a to keep prices high, there is always the
that privileged the Shudras nationalism was different from communalism: In one sense, the political project of the significant and a deeper role of providing incentive for other businesses outside the
and provided them with the first was about the ‘making of a nation’ and Right, has subverted the binary distinction B.R. moral-emotional succour to the narrow- cartel to un- dercut the cartel’s efforts. After
equality, while the
inclusive, while the second was divisive and Ambedkar made between revolution and violent all, when a cartel keeps the price of a
counter-revolution was
forged by Brahminism to
caste-Hindu in its character. counter-revolution. He had observed that in sensibility that is understood to be indispensable product high, the returns that a potential
subjugate the Shudras. What Indian history, Buddhism was a revolution that to set right ‘historical injury’/communalism entrant into the in- dustry could earn is also
we are witnessing today is a Pointer to deeper changes privileged the shudras and provided them with (against Muslims) and achieve high. This entices fresh entrants into the
counter-revolution that has Today, for all effective purposes, this distinction dignity and equality, while a counter-revolution mobility/majoritarianism (against the traditional industry and helps un- dermine the cartel.
the promise of being a has collapsed with the emergence and was forged by Brahminism and Vedic Hindu elites). Violence (found in mob lynching), The only requirement for this to happen,
revolution. consolidation of majoritarianism. However, the rituals to subjugate and marginalise the mediocrity (in seeking quick mobility — for however, is that there should be no entry
framing of the recent changes and electoral Shudras. instance as found in the recent recruitments to barriers that prevent competitors from
■
The wide gap that was outcomes cannot be fully captured through these What we are witnessing today is a universities), and even crime and criminality (for entering the industry. If there are bar- riers
created between tiny liberal categories as they now refer to a new counter-revolution that has the promise of being instance, alleged accusations against Pragya to the entry of new businesses, cartels can
elites and swathes of sociological reality. a revolution. It has managed to bring Thakur) can compromise the moral legitimacy of continue to exist for a long time and work
cultural subalterns due to The unprecedented rise of the Bharatiya under-privileged castes and social groups to the project. against the interest of consumers. It should
the failure of the Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (BJP- challenge the hegemony of caste Hindus/liberal also be noted that members of a cartel are
Moral legitimacy of any political project is to be
developmental state is
RSS) combine since the 1990s, and the elites over liberal, democratic institutions. found in notions of justice and universality, and prone to cheat on their agreement. A cartel
being subverted by
muscular inclusion of the simultaneous and gradual decline of the nationalism works as a conduit that precisely fills member, for instance, may want to earn
groups that lay at the Congress cannot be understood merely as the Inclusion of the marginalised this space. Nationalism allows the self-belief that grea- ter profits by investing more capital to
margins. The moral rise of communalism or majoritarianism; even as The wide gap that was created between tiny Hindutva is not about narrow interests, or not just boost output.
legitimacy of Hindutva lies it carries these tendencies, it has become a viable liberal elites and swathes of cultural subalterns about ‘Hindus’ but about restoring the glory of a In “Does entry remedy collusion? Evi-
in this silent change or project and a part of popular politics because of due to the failure of the developmental state is ‘lost civilization’. It includes everyone who resides dence from the generic prescription drug
subversion they are deeper changes in questions of identity, being short-changed and subverted by muscular in ‘Bharat’. This higher purpose offsets guilt and car- tel,” economists Amanda Starc and
bringing about. emotions and representation. A relevant question inclusion of the groups that lay at the margins. Thomas
inconvenient pressures of conscience.
to ask is whether the majoritarian-Hindutva The resurgence of the ‘Hindu’ identity is not Nationalism serves the purpose of providing G. Wollmann study the effect of entry of
politics is also essentially about cultural merely about communalism or majoritarianism ‘mobility with dignity’. com- petitors on a cartel. They try to
subalterns who include both traditionally but also about identities that had little hope of Unless one makes sense of the ‘positive’ and understand how effective the entry of
dominant castes as well as the subordinate moving up the ladder within the limits of affirming aspect of right-wing politics, one cannot competitors is in tackling the pricing power
castes, and classes. Would it not be right to constitutionalism. get a full sense of the surge in cultural nationalist of cartel arrange- ments. In particular, they
argue that the upsurge of Hindu nationalism has The BJP-RSS in this sense represent the cultural politics. study the cartelisa- tion of generic
paved the way for the mainstreaming of a ‘way of subalterns that cut across caste and class Ajay Gudavarthy is Associate Professor, Centre prescription drugs led by Teva
life’ and modes of thinking that lay at the hierarchies. They are bringing with them social for Political Studies, JNU Pharmaceuticals in 2013 which is
margins of liberal groups that suffered from routine inferiority and considered to be “the largest price fixing case
in U.S. his- tory.” They found that following
cartelisation the cost of individual generic
drugs in the U.S. rose and the overall health
expenditure of go- vernments and
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individuals also rose by bil- lions of dollars.
Generic drugs, which basically copy the
THE DAILY QUIZ formulation of branded drugs after the
expiry of patents, have been found to help
April 18 marks Albert Einstein’s death anniversary. A quiz on one of the greatest physicists of all time reduce the cost of essential medicine. In
fact, it is said that the entry of generic
versions of a drug formulation helps reduce
its price by as
This term is a Latin phrase that means The Einstein-Rosen bridge (named after Einstein and Nathan Rosen) is a speculative s e
14
"marvelous year" or "amazing year". It has
been used to refer to years during which events Compiled by: Ranjani Srinivasan
t
r
poi
nts
of major importance are remembered, notably u in
1666, for Isaac Newton’s discoveries, and 1905, c spa
the year Einstein published his discoveries t ceti
related to the photoelectric effect, Brownian u me,
motion, the theory of relativity, and the famous r and
E = mc2 equation. Identify the term. e is
, bas
This Indian mathematician and physicist is ed
2
best known for his work on quantum
mechanics in the early 1920s, and for l
on
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collaborating with Einstein. Together, they i spe
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On Einstein's 72nd birthday, United Press Ein
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c from a famous franchise first appeared on E Einstein is known to have had public debates on much as 80% in just a short period of time.
a screen in 1980. quantum mechanics with this Danish physicist In the case of the cartelisation of generic
n According to make-up artist Stuart Freeborn, (pictured on the left), who also made foundational
part of the inspiration behind the character’s
drugs led by Teva Pharmaceuticals, the
contributions to understanding atomic structure and
appearance was derived from Einstein, quantum theory. Name this physicist. economists noted that cartelisation attracted
b new en- trants and that there was a drop in
particularly his wrinkled eyes. Who is this iconic
e
fictional character best known for his distinct prices as the new entrants undercut the
speech pattern? Please send in your answers to the cartel. It should be noted, however, that the
v dailyquiz@thehindu.co.in entry of generic drugs may be subject to
i Chaim Weizmann, a Russian-born Zionist
s
u
6 leader, was the first person to occupy this
mostly-ceremonial position. He was elected to Questions (abridged) and Answers to the previous
significant delays and regulatory costs.
Starc and Woll- mann found that regulatory
a the position in 1949, and served until his death day’s daily quiz: 1. This Archaeological Park contains approvals delay the entry of most
l in 1952. Upon Weizmann’s death, the position the remains of the different capitals of the Khmer competitors by about two to four years and
i was offered to Einstein. Identify this role that
Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. Ans: Angkor, also that the process of en- try involves
s Einstein eventually declined.
Cambodia significant costs linked to regula- tory
e
d Einstein’s aversion to war led him to 2. The form of art, the Cathedral of Notre compliance. They estimate that reducing
7 befriend many iconic personalities from
different professions and backgrounds. One of
Dame predominantly represents. Ans: Gothic
art/architecture
regulatory delays alone, could save consum-
ers anything from $597 million to $1.52
a them was an English comic actor and filmmaker
s 3. The ruins of Copán in Honduras is an important site billion when it comes to their medical bills.
known for his work on silent films, who also
disavowed war. His works include City Lights of this ancient civilisation. Ans: Maya civilisation The quicker entry of generic drugs could
a and Modern Times. Identify the actor. 4. This ancient city in the southern centre of the save ma- ny lives that would otherwise be
Harappan civilisation is known for its lost due to unaffordable medical bills.
sophisticated water management system. Ans:
t
Dholavira
u
n 5. This country is home to the largest number of For feedback and suggestions for Text & Context
n UNESCO world heritage sites (58). Ans: Italy
e Visual: The UNESCO heritage site is Lumbini, Nepal
l
Early Birds: Abhishek Saurav| Gowhar Mehraj|
w Himabindu| Sudhi Agarwal| Sangam Ekka
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10 NEWS DELHI THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

FROM PAGE ONE

SC sets aside Ashish’s
bail in Lakhimpur case
The farmers were protest-
ing the controversial farm
laws at the time of the
incident.
State inaction
One of the key questions
which the apex court
posed during the hearings
was why the State of
Uttar Pra- desh did not
appeal the bail in the apex
court. In fact, it had come
out during the hearings
that the Supreme Court-
appointed Special In-
vestigation Team and the
retired High court judge
monitoring the probe had
recommended that the
State file an appeal
against the bail order of
the High Court under the
apprehen- sion that Mr.
Mishra was in- Ruential
and could tamper the
evidence or “inRuence
witnesses” while out.
“The question is why did
you (Uttar Pradesh) not
challenge the bail? You
knew the circumstances
under which we formed
the SIT and requested a
retired judge of the Punjab
and Ha-
Can’t use loudspeakers without Those guilty will be held
accountable: Delhi police
permission, says Nashik Police ‘No bid to hoist saffron flag at mosque’
SaMRIDHI TEWaRI organisers of the event.
ryana High Court to moni- Ahead of MNS deadline, playing of Hanuman Chalisa near mosques also barred New Delhi Addressing a press confe-
tor the investigation... You Delhi Police Commissioner rence, the Commissioner
yourself admitted the of- SHouMojIt BanERjEE vocating a hard-line Hindut- Rakesh Asthana said on said before the third
No one should
<> attempt to
fence is very serious. You Pune va agenda and acting as the Monday that no attempt proces- sion, two
say you vehemently op- With the May 3 deadline ‘B-team’ of the Bharatiya Ja- was made to hoist a saffron processions for which
posed the bail application set by Maharashtra
heighten nata Party (BJP) with the aim permission was given were
Rag at a mosque during the
of the accused in the High Navnirman Sena (MNS) communal of eating into the votes of the Ha- numan Jayanti taken out peacefully.
Court... So we expected chief Raj Thacke- ray for the tensions in the ruling Shiv Sena. The Sena procession on Saturday The third procession,
you to have acted on the Maha Vikas Agha- di State. Any person has accused the MNS of de- evening at Ja- hangirpuri in which did not have permis-
suggestion of the SIT and (MVA) government to re- or outfit liberately stoking communal northwest Delhi. He said sion, instigated the vio-
the monitoring judge to ap- move loudspeakers from deliberately tensions to facilitate the the alterca- tion began over lence, following which
peal against the bail... You mosques drawing near, attempting to do so BJP’s wish of imposing an innocu- ous issue. stones were thrown, he ad-
did not...,” Chief Justice Nashik Police on Monday will be sternly Presi- dent’s rule in Responding to allegations ded.
Ra- mana had addressed banned its use without per- dealt with Maharashtra. on social media that Delhi “Delhi Police was present
the State, represented by mission at religious places. Loudspeakers atop a DiliP Walse-PaTil police’s investigation and at the procession,” he said.
se- nior advocate Mahesh The police also mosque. Maharashtra Home Minister Former stronghold ar- rests were one-sided “The Sub-Inspector and
Jethmalani. prohibited the playing of ■
PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATION It is notable that the first when accused from both their team separated both
Mr. Jethmalani had Hanuman Chalisa or mosque, temple, gurdwara, ‘blow’ struck by the MVA the sides were involved in the sides and tried to pacify
agreed the offence alleged, bhajans over loudspeakers would be issued in a couple church and other religious against Mr. Thackeray has the clash- es, Mr. Asthana them.” Nine people were
the crushing to death of 15 minutes be- fore and of days. Mr. Walse-Patil establishment should seek come from Nashik, a said FIRs were filed in- jured, of whom eight
farmers and a journalist, after azan, and within a said, “No one should Nashik Commissioner of former stronghold of the against 23 per- sons that were policemen or police
was indeed “grave”. But he 100-metre radius of attempt to heighten Pol- ice Deepak Pandey’s MNS. In 2012, when Mr. include “people from both offic- ers, he said.
argued that the State had mosques in the city. communal ten- sions in the permis- sion for “installation Thackeray was considered the sides”. Out of the 23, Mr. Asthana denied that
al- ready addressed this State. Any per- son or outfit of loud- speakers/sound a potent force in eight had previous cases the Rag hoisting at Jama
appre- hension by ‘New rules to be framed’ deliberately at- tempting to transmitting devices” before Maharashtra polit- ics, the against them. Masjid in Jahangirpuri was
providing wit- nesses with In tandem with Nashik Polic- do so will be sternly dealt May 3. party emerged on top in the “Whoever is involved in the cause of the clashes.
“extensive security”. He e’s order, Maharashtra with.” “Legal action will be Nashik civic body polls, the clashes will be held ac- “No weapon has been
said there had been no Home Minister Dilip MNS general secretary taken against those found winning 40 of the 122 seats. countable, based on seized from the side of the
“untoward incidents”. Walse-Patil said the State Sandeep Deshpande said violating the order after May Though the MNS started investi- gation, irrespective Hindu community; howev-
But Mr. Dave and Director Gen- eral of Police the party remained firm on 3. All ille- gal loudspeakers several public work of their class, creed, er, people will be identified
advo- cate Prashant and the Mum- bai Police Mr. Thackeray’s ultimatum will be con- fiscated,” Mr. projects in the city, the community, and religion,” based on video evidence,
Bhushan, for the families, Commissioner have been and would study the Pandey said. party fell into disarray five said Mr. As- thana in and further investigations
had countered the claim. directed to pre- pare notification to be issued by The MVA leadership has years later with the response to ques- tion will follow,” said the Com-
guidelines on the use of the State. been accusing the MNS of defection of a number of whether action was be- ing missioner.
loudspeakers. He said a The Nashik City Police playing divisive politics, ad- local leaders. taken against the
noti- fication for the entire Commissionerate said
State every
IN BRIEF

Wholesale price inflation
climbs to 14.55% in
March
“We expect the inRation
measured by the Wholesale
Price Index (WPI) to remain
in the range of 13.5% to
15%
in April, partly depending
on where crude oil prices
settle in the rest of April
2022 and how much petrol
and diesel prices are
revised further,” she said.
Even core inRation har-
dened by a sharp 2.2% in
March over February 2022
to hit 10.9%.
“Only four of the 21 sub-
Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande Brinda Karat slams Delhi
is new Army chief Police for ‘one-sided’ probe
groups of the core index
es-
He will assume charge on April 30
caped a month-on-month
rise in March 2022, namely DInakaR PERI
She asks why rally was allowed to stop in front of mosque
beverages, other transport
equipment, wearing appa- NEW DELHI SpEcIal CoRREsponDEnt whereas the course of RPF jawan killed in
New Delhi Pulwama militant attack
rel and pharmaceutical pro- The Vice Chief of Army events shows that the main
SRINAGAR
ducts,” Ms. Nayar pointed Staff, Lt. Gen. Manoj Did the police give permis- provo- cations and planning
One Railway Protection Force
out. Pande, has been appointed sion to participants of the was done by an
(RPF) man was killed and
Manufactured products the 29th Chief of the Army Hanuman Shobha Yatra organisation which is an another injured in a militant
inRation moved up from Staff, a Defence Ministry held in Jahangirpuri in affiliate of the Bajrang Dal, attack in south Kashmir’s
9.84% to 10.71%. However, statement said on Monday. northeast Delhi on Saturday as stated by the police,” Ms. Pulwama on Monday. A
the month-on-month He is the first officer to carry firearms and Karat wrote. police spokesperson said
change in the index for ma- from the Corps of Engineers swords, CPI(M) Polit Bureau Citing the videos aired terrorists fired upon the RPF
nufactured goods was shar- and also the first from member Brinda Karat asked Brinda Karat on several television personnel at Kakapora,
per at 2.31%. combat support arms — the Delhi Police Commissioner channels along with Pulwama. The area was
combat arms being infantry, Rakesh Asthana to explain. in front of the mosque, trig- eyewitness re- ports, the cordoned off.
artil- lery and armoured — Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande In a letter, Ms. Karat also gering the riots. CPI(M) leader said these Officials said the personnel
to clearly showed that the were attacked, when they
procession taken out by
par-

ED attaches Amway’s head the 1.3-million Indian

Army.
He will take over on April
Commandant of the Bom-
bay Sappers.
criticised the Delhi Police for
carrying out a “one-sided”
investigation where only
“You have stated that
peo- ple from
communities have been
both
ty members included naked
swords, lathis and firearms.
The CPI(M) leader de-
were off duty, from a
close range near a shop.

₹757-crore assets 30 when the incumbent,

In a statement, Amway In-
dia on Monday said, “The
action of the authorities is
with regards to the investi-
General Manoj Naravane, is
Once he takes over as
Chief, all the three Service
those belonging to one
com- munity were being
arrested. We stand for the
arrest and pun- ishment of
manded a judicial enquiry
into the incident and
Govt. slaps ‘terrorist’ tag
on JeM commander
set to retire. Chiefs will be from the 61st arrested for the riots. The all those guilty. However, punish- ment to the police NEW DELHI
Delhi Police the overwhelming officers
a major role in promoting Appointment is still Course at the National De- should explain why the pro- majority of arrests are from for failing to prevent the The Ministry of Home Affairs
the pyramid scheme of awaited for the post of Chief fence Academy (NDA). Lt. cession was allowed to stop the minority community riots. (MHA) on Monday designated
Am- way by conducting of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Pande is a graduate of Ashiq Ahmed Nengroo —
seminars for joining which has fallen vacant Staff College, Camberley alleged commander of the

Victim has a legally vested

gation dating back to 2011 members on the pretext of following the untimely (United Kingdom), and at- proscribed Jaish-e-
and since then we have sale of goods by enrolment demise of the country’s first tended the Higher Com- Mohammed (JeM) outfit — a
been cooperating with the of members in a chain CDS, Gen. Bi- pin Rawat, in mand Course at Army War ‘terrorist’ under the Unlawful

right to be heard, says SC

department and have system. The promo- ters a chopper crash in College, Mhow and National Activities (Prevention) Act
shared all the information held mega conventions, December. Gen. Na- ravane Defence College (NDC) at [UAPA]. Nengroo, who is from
as sought for from time to Raunted a lavish lifestyle is at present the se- nior- Delhi. Pulwama in Jammu and
time since 2011. We will and used social media to most and front runner for the Kashmir, has been accused of
continue to cooperate with lure gullible investors, said post. UN Mission ‘Criminal trials are not just between accused and the State’ being responsible for various
the rele- vant government the agency. The Service chiefs can He was posted as Chief terror-related activities in the
authori- ties and the law In its statement, Amway continue in office till 62 Engi- neer at the United Union Territory.
officials to- India said, “The recent in- years of age or for three Nations
wards a fair, legal, and clusion of direct selling have years, whichever is earlier, Mission in Ethiopia and KRIsHnaDas Rajagopal persona of the victim. The who wrote the judgment for
logical conclusion of the brought in the much-need- while the age limit for the Eritrea. NEW DELHI ‘victim’ or the de facto suf- the Bench also comprising India will become Hindu
outstanding issues...” ed legal and regulatory CDS is 65 with no fixed te- The General Officer has Victims of crimes are no lon- ferer of the crime is an Justice Hima Kohli, said. Rashtra: Rithambara
It alleged that Britt clar- ity for the industry, nure defined. commanded 117 Engineer ger mute spectators who inde- pendent persona with “The victim has a legally KANPUR
World- wide India Private while confirming Amway Lt. Gen. Pande was Regiment during Operation can be made to sit outside an equal if not a greater vested right to be heard at Hindutva leader Sadhvi
Limited and Network India’s compliance with all com- missioned in PARAKRAM in Pallanwala cour- trooms while the right to participate in the every step post the occur- Rithambara has urged every
Twenty One Private laws and regulations in December 1982 into the Sector of Jammu and Kash- State took over and won or quest for justice. The rence of an offence. Such a Hindu couple to produce four
Limited also played India.” Corps of Engi- neers (The mir, along the Line of Con- lost their cases in court, the victim has to be heard by ‘victim’ has unbridled children and dedicate two of
Bombay Sap- pers). trolHe
(LoC). Supreme Court held on the courts at every stage — parti- cipatory rights them to the nation, and said
commanded an Engi-
Monday in a judgment right from investiga- tion to India will soon become a
from ofthe
stage investigation till the

Centre asks Kerala to give

endorsing the the end of the judicial
Top responsibilities neer Regiment along the Hindu Rashtra. Referring to
right of the kin of farmers trial, and especially during culmination of the proceed-
Saturday’s communal
He took over as Vice Chief LoC, an Engineer Brigade as murdered in Lakhimpur bail hearings of the accused. ings,” Justice Kant observed.

daily COVID-19 updates

Emphasising the need for a
regular reporting mechan-
ism of State-wise cases and
deaths on a daily basis, the
letter stated that since the
start of the pandemic, the
government had been re-
ceiving relevant data daily
which had helped in proac-
that was being stopped. At
a From June 1 to January 31
meeting of the State Rapid
Response Team, it was
mooted that the State may
adopt a system of publish-
ing a fortnightly report.
Retaining transparency
However, public health ex-
on February 1 and prior to
that was the General Officer
Commanding-in-Chief, East-
ern Command.
he served as the 15th Com-
manding-in-Chief of the An-
daman & Nicobar Com-
mand (CINCAN).
He is also the Colonel
part of the Strike Corps, an
Infantry Brigade along the
LoC, a Mountain Division in
high altitude area of western
Ladakh and a Corps de-
ployed along the Line of Ac-
tual Control (LAC) as also
in counter insurgency
opera- tions area in the
Northeast region.
Kheri to independently ap-
peal Ashish Mishra’s bail
when the State of Uttar Pra-
desh did not.
A three-Judge Bench led
by Chief Justice N.V.
Ramana said criminal trials
are not just between the
accused and the State any
more. The State does not
take on the
The right of a victim to be
heard is another facet of hu-
man rights. The right of a
victim to participate is “to-
tally independent, incom-
parable and not accessory
or auxiliary to those of the
State”. The voice of the State
is not that of the victim
ne- cessarily, Justice Surya
Kant,
violence in Delhi’s
The court referred to the
Jahangirpuri, she said those
Code of Criminal Procedure who “attacked” the Hanuman
(Amendment) Act, 2008, Jayanti shobha yatra
which recognised various [procession] are jealous of
rights of victims at the progress made by the
different stages of trial. The country. “Those who are
accused had challenged the trying to divide Hindu
right of the farmers’ families society through political
to inde- pendently challenge terrorism will be razed to
his bail in the Supreme dust,” she said. PTI
Court.

N. Sankar: a born leader who took problems head-on

tive analysis and strategy
building at the national le-
vel.
Mr. Agarwal said report-
ing of data was critical to ar-
rive at a meaningful under-
standing of pandemic and
ensure that any anomalies,
surge or emerging trends
could be captured.
Update stopped
Kerala, after issuing daily
bulletins for a period of
800 days, stopped the daily
data update on April 11.
The brief note issued by
the office of the Health
C
perts had at the time
point- ed out that the State
had to maintain
transparency in COVID
reporting and that the data He brought the same thoroughness to all areas of interest, and he had a bewildering array of them
had to be made available
in the public
Mi- nister had stated that collected and monitored as domain. that the Health Ministry was V. SRIRaM extended world spoke of ahead of what the others in the
COVID transmission in usual and that it was only Reacting to the Centre’s obliged to give a report to him, would often have a group were thinking. He
the State had reached a the daily bulletin letter to the Principal Secre- the World Health Organisa- Everything about him scale or a long ruler in his invariably expected his
level wherein it was not tary (Health) chiding Kerala tion (WHO) as well. spelt dynamism. He hand while he conducted listeners to
unmanageable and was that daily and diligent re- Gaps in daily reporting of personified the meetings.
no different from the porting of data were critical data by Kerala, one of the industrialist that P.G. Wo- He was restless in
transmission rates of for a meaningful under- States which had been re- dehouse wrote about — discus- sion —
other infectious standing of the pandemic, porting the highest number the kind that thumped the continuously doodling and
diseases. an expert said that in taking of daily COVID cases, will table and demanded shading but was in reali-
The department the arbitrary decision to thus result in artificial spikes results. As though to aid ty all attention to what
main- tained that stop daily reporting, Kerala in cases and affect data in this, NS, as most was going on. Too often,
COVID data would be seemed to have forgotten sanctity, he pointed out. people in Sanmar and his he was at least five steps
keep pace, which is why he
was staccato during discus-
sions — a few key words and
you needed to build the rest in
your mind.
He was ahead in everyth-
ing — be it technology (he
held forth on 3D printing
around a decade back at a
meeting I attended), environ-
ment (his companies be- came
zero leakage entities long
before others thought of it),
sport, business, and news in
general. Heaven knew when
he read, but read he did.
In keeping with his perso-
nality, Sankar was a speed
reader and if you gave him a
document that you thought he
would keep for day, it came
back within an hour complete
with errors noticed
C
N. Sankar
and marked. The scrutiny
and speed doubled when fi-
nancial papers were being
presented and discussed.
And he never forgot — not a
single figure ever escaped
his memory. And he had a
for- midable eye for detail.
The same thoroughness
he brought to all areas of
in- terest, and he had a
bewil-
dering array of them —
sports, periodicals and art. His
personal library was per-
fectly catalogued. And as for
Sanmar, it had a digital ar-
chive of photographs right
from its inauguration!
He was boundless in his
generosity by way of time
and resources towards de-
serving charities. The man
was incapable of thinking
small. Any institution he be-
came involved with had to be
strengthened and made long-
lasting. And they all
Rourished.
Sankar joined business on a
date that delighted his
mathematical senses — 4/5/
67, the day Chemplast was
inaugurated. He could have
remained content with run-
ning that operation but early
in life he decided he had to
found something on his own
— that was when he got
into engineering — visiting
the United States in the
1960s to convince
companies to go in- to a joint
venture with him, investing
in a country that few knew
and in a city that most
Americans had never heard
of. His favourite story was
of how, on the verge of a
tie-up, the United States
partner threatened to back
off — he had heard of
Sheikh Mujib’s assassination
in Dha- ka and assumed it
was part of India, one large
lawless country!
Under Sankar, Sanmar
ex-
panded into many
areas — many were
hugely success- ful,
others not so but all
bore his stamp —
perfect systems and
the right people. He
did not suffer fools
and could smell them
from miles away. And
he loved challenges
— the man was a
TRIBUTE
born fighter who took
problems head-on.
When I worked on the
Sanmar history, I
noticed it was a series
of seemingly in-
surmountable obstacles
it overcame. He was
delighted with the title
I suggested — Grit
and Determination. It
symbolised him! But
we set- tled on another
that too re- presented
him — Integrity
and Excellence.
(The writer is a
Chennai- based
historian, writer
and
entrepreneur)
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
DELHI NEWS 11
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Prashant Kishor briefs top Cong. BJP bets on women

leaders power to retain Tripura
Party seniors discuss strategy for the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat, Himachal and Karnataka
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI

Election strategist Prashant

It’s up to Kishor: Nitish It sees the Left Front and not the Trinamool as contender
Kishor on Monday briefed special correspondent where he wants to go. It’s his
top Congress leaders for the Patna decision. I cannot make any Special Correspondent self-help groups (SHGs) have
second time in two days at Amid the buzz that comment on this. I have NEW DELHI
been set up. The number of
the official residence of party Prashant Kishor could join personal relations with him The BJP in Tripura is still SHGs has gone up from
president Sonia Gandhi. the Congress, Bihar Chief [Mr. Kishor] and the last looking at the upcoming 44,000 under the Left Front
While the Congress has Minister Nitish Kumar on time we met, he enquired As- sembly election next government to 3.25 lakh un-
asked Mr. Kishor to formally Monday said it was a about my health and we year as a contest between der the current government.
join the party, Ms. Gandhi personal choice for had a chat,” Mr. Kumar told itself and largely the Left Improvements in police
asked a panel of leaders to “anyone to go where he mediapersons. “Earlier, he Front, des- pite the stations and hiring women
study his proposals and rev- wants to go”. was with the BJP, then with aggressive moves made by police personnel for stations
ert to her within a week. “It’s a person’s choice us and then worked with the Trinamool Con- gress in have also been proposed
Among those present at where he wants to go. Trinamool, DMK and other the State. and some have been carried
the meeting were former Brainstorming session: Jairam Ramesh leaving from the Politically, everyone has a parties,” Mr. Kumar said. “There is hardly any Op- out.
Un- choice and he can decide position in Tripura.
Whatev-
ion Ministers P. Chidamba- residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday. ■ DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD er remains of the Opposi- The party is also prepar-
ram, Jairam Ramesh, PTI tion, it is still largely the Tripura Chief Minister ing for bypolls in at least
Mukul
Wasnik and Ambika Soni, 10 Janpath residence claim- The series of meetings Once finalised by the lier. Last Saturday, Mr. CPI(M),” Chief Minister Bi- Biplab Deb. three Assembly seats, neces-
and party general ed that there were separate shows the sense of urgency Con- Kishor is said to have sug- plab Deb said. sitated by defections of its
secretaries Priyanka Gandhi meetings and party leaders in the Congress after the gress Working Committee, gested that the Congress men in March and has MLAs to the Congress and
Vadra, K.C. Venugopal and had met to discuss the up- par- ty was decimated in the the party will debate its re- should focus on contesting 33% reservation come out with other the Trinamool Congress.
Randeep Sur- jewala. coming polls in Gujarat, Hi- re- cent Assembly elections. vival at a chintan shivir (in- 370 seats and have As has been the BJP’s priori- programmes targeted at The Election Commission
Former party chief Rahul machal Pradesh and Karna- Last Saturday, Mr. strospection camp) in coalitions with like-minded ty in the past few Assembly women. For ex- ample, a is yet to announce the dates
Gandhi was not pre- sent as taka, among others. Kishor made a detailed Rajas- than, likely to be parties in some key States. elections, the party’s State 3% interest subven- tion on for the bypolls, but the BJP
he is reported to have gone But the leader could not presenta- tion for the 2024 held between May 14 and While the party should go it unit has identified women loans for girl stu- dents is preparing for what will be
abroad, while a few in- explain the “exact coinci- Lok Sabha election and for 16. alone in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar voters as a catchment area. who qualify for admission a grudge match between
vitees could not make it due dence” of Mr. Kishor leaving the party’s revival plan, Though Mr. Kishor and and Od- isha, it should form The State government to Institutes of National Chief Minister Deb and the
to the short notice. 10 Janpath soon after other including the upcoming the Congress have been in alliances in Tamil Nadu, an- nounced a 33% Importance (INI) has been former dissenters who left
However, one of the leaders had left. Assembly elec- tions. touch since last year, inter- West Bengal and reservation in government announced and more than the party after differences
lead- ers who was at Ms. nal resistance over his pro- Maharashtra. jobs for wo- 3.25 lakh women with him.
Gandhi’s posals stalled his entry ear-

Blame game,
resignations in Mehbooba calls on Sonia in ‘Opposition playing vote bank politics’
Bengal BJP Delhi in first meet since 2016 Embrace ‘politics
of development’,
justified the killing of thou-
sands of Sikhs in the wake of
PM Indira Gandhi’s death.”
views are not palatable to one
political party and their al-
lies”. He referred to political
Special correspondent Nadda tells parties “Gujarat in 1969, Morada- violence in West Bengal and
KoLkata
It is seen as Cong. bid to reach out to regional players special correspondent bad 1980, Bhiwandi 1984, the fact that two Ministers of
Blame game and resigna- NEW DELHI Meerut 1987, various incidents the Maharashtra government
tions have once again sha- PeerZada Ashiq
BJP president J.P. Nadda on against Hindus in the Kashmir were now behind bars.
SrINagar
ken the West Bengal unit Valley throughout the 1980s, “The reason for the shame-
A meeting between Con- Monday responded sharply
of the BJP after a string of Bhagalpur 1989, Hubballi ful conduct by a select group
gress president Sonia to the joint statement by
de- feats in the recent 1994…. the list of communal of political parties lies in the
Gandhi and Peoples De- some Opposition parties on
bypolls. violence during Congress rule above list of incidents,” he
mocratic Party (PDP) the stu- died “silence” by the J.P. Nadda
Over the past two days, is long. Under which govern- said, adding that “dyed in the
pre- sident Mehbooba National Democratic
three party functionaries under the previous Congress ment did the Muzzaffarnagar wool proponents of vote
Mufti at the former’s Alliance govern- ment on the
have announced their re- and non-BJP-led governments riots happen in 2013 and in bank politics that they are,
official resi- dence in recent incidents of communal
signations, complaining in the past. As- sam in 2012?” he said in these parties are fearing that
violence, by stat- ing that his
that the leadership was New Delhi on Monday In November 1966, then his statement. He deemed the their shenanigans are being
party’s govern- ments at the
not taking their views into bridged a gap bet- ween Prime Minister Indira Gandhi Na- tional Advisory Council- finally exposed”. He said that
Centre and in va- rious States
ac- count. PartyMLA the two leaders and hinted ordered firing on Hindu sad- pro- posed communal violence the re- cent results of the
were being “bitterly resisted”
Gouri Shankar Ghosh at the Congress’s ef- forts hus sitting outside Parliament Bill of the United Progressive Assembly polls should be an
by “reject- ed and dejected
tendered his resignation to build an ideologi- cal who had marched towards Al- liance government as “a “eye-open- er” for such
parties which
from the post of State alliance with regional new parties and that
committee se-
cretary on Sunday. players. Breaking the ice: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti leaves were once again taking Delhi with the demand of ban- low”. the youth of India wanted
State party working The former Jammu and after meeting Cong. president Sonia Gandhi on Monday. refuge in vote bank politics”. ning cow slaughter in India, He also mentioned the re- “op- portunities and not
committee members Bani Kashmir Chief Minister ■
PTI In an open letter to the he wrote, adding, “Who can cent “castigation” of obsta- cles”, urging the
“citi- musician Opposition to
Ganguly and Dipankar reached Ms. Gandhi’s resi- the two leaders have not polarisation” across the zens of India”, Mr. Nadda list- forget Rajiv Gandhi’s infa- Ilaiyaraja by “elements embrace the “politics of
Choudhury too have re- dence around 5.30 p.m. met since 2016, especially country. ed various incidents of com- mous words, ‘When a big aligned to the ruling party” in deve- lopment” rather than
signed. for a one-to-one meeting, after the PDP-BJP alliance They said the PDP lea- munal riots and violence tree falls, the earth shakes’, Tamil Nadu “just because his vote bank politics.
Leaders from Murshida- which lasted for nearly in J&K. dership has been in praise that
bad and districts such as half an hour. The death of Congress of Ms. Gandhi’s recent
Nadia and Jalpiagurui have Ms. Mufti downplayed veteran Ahmed Patel, a newspaper write-up, whe-
blamed the State leader- the meeting, calling it an permanent link between rein she sought to put up
ship for the bypoll debacle. “apolitical meet” and a the two, in 2020 further an ideological battle
Two senior leaders, “courtesy call”. Sources widened the gulf between against the BJP and its
Bishnupur Lok Sabha said Ms. Mufti enquired Ms. Gandhi and Ms. top leadership.
member Saumitra Khan about the health of Ms. Mufti. Sources said Ms. The meeting on Mon-
and party’s national secre- Gandhi, who has been Mufti did share her day is being seen as the
tary Anupam Hazra, unwell. concern over the Congress’s bid to reach out
called for introspection by However, the meeting “unending disempo- to regional players for an
the State leadership. assumed significance as werment of people of ideological alliance.
J&K” and the “rising
communal

C
12 NEWS DELHI THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
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Air India
cancels flights
to Hong Kong
PM to open a slew of projects in Gujarat Amid surge, masks up
in Lucknow, NCR areas
Mauritius PM, WHO chief will also attend event to lay stone for Global Centre for Traditional
Medicine
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Special Correspondent
AHMEDABAD
On Tuesday, Mr. Modi will also be attending the Currently, State has 675 active cases
will first visit Banaskantha event. They both arrived in
special correspondent
Air India has cancelled its Prime Minister Narendra to in- augurate a new dairy Gujarat on Monday LUCKNOW
Rights to and from Hong Modi on Monday arrived on com- plex of Banas dairy at afternoon.
Kong following restrictions a three-day visit to his Deo- dar, a potato On Wednesday, Mr. With an increase in CO-
imposed by the local go- home State Gujarat where processing unit and a Modi will inaugurate the VID-19 cases in Uttar Pra-
vernment after three of its he will launch projects community radio sta- tion Global Ayush Investment desh, the State government
passengers tested positive estimated at of Banas dairy. and Inno- vation on Monday said it had
on arrival. ₹20,000 crore and lay the summit in made it compulsory for
“Due to restrictions im- foundation stone for an in- First of its kind Gandhinagar. people to wear masks in
posed by the Hong Kong ternational centre of tradi- He will also lay the founda- The event aims to public places in the State
authorities and limited de- tional medicine in Jamnagar. tion stone for other projects increase investments and capital, Luck- now, and
mand on the sector, our After landing at the Ahme- of the dairy in the district showcase innovations in the districts in the Na- tional
dabad airport, Mr. Modi be- fore moving to field of traditional Capital Region (NCR).
Jamnagar, medicine. “It is a
Rights to Hong Kong and drove to the new command where a new centre of the unique attempt to foster Chief Minister Yogi Adi- Masks are compulsory in
back of April 19 and 23 and control centre of the World Health Organization long-lasting partnerships, tyanath directed officials to public places in Lucknow
stand cancelled,” it said. State Education Department (WHO) for traditional boost exports and nurture make it compulsory for and districts in the NCR.
Hong Kong banned Air set up as part of reforms the Decked up: Arrangements made for a roadshow of Prime medi- cine is being set up. a sustainable ecosystem,” a peo- ple to wear masks in
India Rights from New State government had Minister Modi on Airport Road in Ahmedabad. VIJAY SONEJI ■
The WHO Global Centre for go- vernment release said. Gau- tam Buddha Nagar, Nagar, 20 in Ghaziabad
Del- hi and Kolkata till initiat- ed to improve Tra- ditional Medicine, the Later the Prime Minister Ghazia- bad, Hapur, and 10 in Lucknow, the
April 24 quality of edu- first of Meerut, govern-
after three passengers on cation in primary schools. schools. The Prime Minis- ty. Recently, Delhi Deputy its kind in the world, aims will visit tribal district Dahod Bulandshahr, Baghpat and ment said. Genome screen-
Air India’s AI 316 Delhi- ter’s visit to the centre as- Chief Minister and Educa- to channel the potential of to address a tribal conven- Lucknow. Those left out in ing of the samples of the
Kol- kata-Hong Kong Right AAP’s challenge sumes significance since tion Minister Manish Sisodia tra- ditional medicine, by tion and launch an irrigation the vaccination drive positive cases in NCR con-
on April 16 tested positive At the centre, the Prime Mi- the Aam Aadmi Party had visited a few schools in inte- grating it with project. should be identified and firmed the Omicron
for COVID-19 post arrival. nister interacted with top target- ed the Gujarat Guja- rat and challenged the technological advancements Ahead of the Assembly given shots, Mr. variant, it added.
Passengers from India of- ficials and teachers government over the State Education Minister Jitu and evidence- based election in the State, Mr. Mo- Adityanath furth- er told There are 695 active cas-
headed to Hong Kong about the new measures the standard of educa- tion in Vagh- ani to have a public research. di’s visits have increased. officials in a review es in the State and of the
need to have COVID-19 govern- ment had launched the State ahead of the debate with him over the Prime Minister of Mauriti- In March also, he came to meeting. 83,864 samples tested over
negative report from a test to im- prove the standard of Assembly election in which quality of education in the us Pravind Jugnauth and the Guja- rat on a two-day visit Over the past 24 hours, the past 24 hours, 115 were
done 48 hours prior to the educa- tion across the AAP is trying to become State-run schools in Delhi Director-General of the and held roadshows. 65 positive cases were re- found to be positive.
journey. government a third player in Gujarat’s and Gujarat. WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus, corded in Gautam Buddha
poli-

Guru Tegh Bahadur’s birth Respond to

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On the draw queries on

anniversary fete at Red Fort RERA rules: SC
Legal Correspondent
PM to address the nation; stamp and coin to be released NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on

Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The government will cele-
brate the 400th birth anni-
versary of Guru Tegh
Baha- dur with a two-day
event at the Red Fort
starting Wed- nesday and
the release of a was being held on the birth
commemorative postage
stamp and coin, Union Cul-
ture Minister G. Kishan Red-
dy said on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi would address the
gathering and the nation
from the Red Fort on
Thurs- day, Mr. Reddy said
at a press conference. A
“shabad kirtan” would be
held on
Wednesday and an exhibi-
tion on the “life and sacrif-
ice” of Guru Tegh Bahadur
would be inaugurated by Un-
ion Home Minister Amit
Shah, a statement said.
Mr. Reddy said this was
the first time such an event
anniversary of the ninth
Sikh guru. He added that
the go- vernment had been
organis- ing events to
honour all those “who had
fought for their religion and
India’s In- dependence” as
a part of the Azadi ka
Amrit Mahotsav
programme.
Asked about the signifi-
cance of holding the event
at the Red Fort, Culture
Minis- try secretary Govind
Mohan said the orders to
execute Guru Tegh
Bahadur were is- sued from
the same site by the
Mughals. He said a mes-
sage of harmony and broth-
erhood would go out from
the ramparts of the Red
Fort, from where Prime Mi-
nisters address the nation
on Independence Day.
The programme will be
organised by the Ministry
of Culture in collaboration
with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwa-
ra Management Committee.
(With PTI inputs)
Monday asked the Chief
Se- cretaries of the States
to respond to queries
raised by the Centre on
imple- mentation of rules
framed under the Real
Estate (Reg- ulation and
Development) (RERA)
Act, 2016 in their
respective jurisdictions.
A Bench said that in
March, the Centre had
written to the States and
Union Territories for
infor- mation about the
agree- ment of sales rules
notified under the RERA
Act. Ho- wever, only five
States had responded so
far.
“In order to facilitate
the exercise carried out by
the Union of India, we
direct

Adhir Ranjan urges Meghalaya council opposes border deal

all the Chief Secretaries to
respond to the queries
raised with RERA rules on

Centre
or before May 15,” it said.
Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council says State has no right over private land
Status report

to implement Naga pacts Special Correspondent

<
The government Council’s chief executive visited. The deal remains to It asked Additional Solici-
GUWAHATI
will be required to member. be ratified by Parliament and tor-General Aishwarya
A tribal council in The Khasi Hills Autono- the Assemblies of the two Bhati and amicus curiae
He writes to Amit Shah ‘to resolve the Nagaland issue’ Meghalaya take the council’s
mous District Council is one States concerned before the Devashish Bharuka to also
has joined the list of indivi- consent according to of three tribal councils in boundary is redrawn. file a status report after re-
duals and organisations in
Special Correspondent Section 41 of the Right to
New Delhi
Muivah, General Secretary opposing the State govern- Meghalaya created under ceiving the relevant infor-
of the NSCN [National Social- ment’s deal with Assam to Fair Compensation and the Sixth Schedule of the Fear of losing rights mation from the States.
There are two agreements ist Council of Nagaland] resolve a 50-year-old boun- Land Acquisition and Constitution. Each of them The residents of two border The court posted the mat-
that the Centre has signed (IM), and the agreed points dary dispute. Rehabilitation and function as a government villages – Malchapara and ter for third week of July.
with various Naga groups signed between R.N. Ravi The Assam and Megha- Resettlement Act, 2013 within a specified territory. Salbari – have said they will On February 14, the
and the government should and the working committee laya governments had on TiTossTarwell Chyne Apart from the Khasi Hills not give up without a fight. court had directed the
implement them, Leader of of six factions of Naga March 29 finalised the pact Chief executive member, KHADC Autonomous District Coun- They fear they will lose the Centre to examine
the Congress in the Lok Sab- Nation Political Groups to divide 36.79 sq. km of dis- cil, some traditional institu- tribal rights if they are sepa- whether the rules framed
ha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (NNPGs) on November 17, puted areas. The two go- authority nor the right to tions such as Hima (a Khasi rated from Meghalaya. by various States under the
said in a letter to Union 2017,” he said. “I request you vernments had taken up six hand them over to Assam. state) and villagers not keen “We are consulting legal RERA Act were in
Home Minister Amit Shah to kindly implement the of 12 disputed sectors in the “The government will be on being tagged with experts for taking the conformity with the
on Monday. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury above men- tioned first phase of discussions. required to take the Assam have threatened to matter to court, if the interests of home buyers.
Mr. Chowdhury said the agreements so that the council’s consent according go to court if the government does not listen It had given three months
late Rajiv Gandhi had made ween the Central govern- Nagaland issue is re- ‘No authority’ to Section 41 of the Right Meghalaya go- vernment to our voices of protest,” to the Centre to ex- amine
an offer to hold uncondition- ment and Naga insurgents — solved,” he added. The Khasi Hills Autonomous to Fair Com- pensation and cannot review the boundary Malchapara lead- er Jewash if there were devia- tions
al talks with Naga insurgents the framework agreement Even though a District Council (KHADC) Land Acquisi- tion and deal. Sangma said. in the rules framed by the
in 1991 but the actual nego- signed at the residence of framework agreement claimed that the disputed Rehabilitation and The Meghalaya govern- The disgruntled people States to the rules framed
tiations could start only in the Prime Minister on Au- between the NSCN-(IM) areas belong to private par- Resettlement Act, 2013, be- ment has said the agree- of these and other such by the Union go-
1997. “At present, we have gust 3, 2015 between R.N. and the Centre had been ties and the Meghalaya go- fore any handover,” said ment, based on a list of dis- border villages have been vernment in 2016 and to
two official agreements Ravi, interlocutor, and Th. signed, a final re- solution vernment has neither the Ti- tosstarwell Chyne, the puted sectors submitted to carrying out rallies against place the report by the
bet- of the peace talks is Khasi Hills Autonomous Assam in 2011, cannot be re- the boun- dary deal for a first week of May 2022.
pending. District month now.

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SCAN TO PLAY SUDOKU FAITH

+ 13534
Display keystrokes of genius.

Mahishasuramardhini
Type your answers in our online grids.
@ https://qrgo.page.link/jjpTn
(set by Arden)

C

■ ACROSS
1 Church furniture laid flat on ground after naming (9,4)
10 Place of birth is in South Africa (5)
11 Setter has drinks and weed (9)
12 All the way through, went with a complaint (4,5)
13 Obnoxious fellows come back and stalk (5)
14 One came up shaped like a needle (7)
C
16 Bar over activity, a cruel thing (7)
18 After changing partners the rich sauntered on (7)
20 Leans every second, leans and comes on board (7)
22 Image — come to terms with some mirror image (5)
24 Most sinful deeds, oddly inside the gate (9)
26 Sale in parts, say briefly, is of no consequence (5,4)
27 Rabid racialism, losing arms and bone (5)
28 Assure after break up, one’s competent — can find out (13)
■ DOWN
2 It’s able to make false goat’s beard (7)
3 Stand from top to bottom, a politician finds it hard to believe (4,5)
4 Musical passage caught up in congestion... (5)
5 ... a sound issue came up once (2,3,4)
6 Capital’s entertainment destinations are empty (5)
7 No way booze could be a cure-all (7)
8 How to make three to get there? (13)
9 Get mad, know obstacles are to be shifted (4,4,5)
15 Close to women — nothing left to resolve inheritance (9)
17 Typeface changing, teach live (9)
19 Starting at seven, like to drink gin with governors (7)
21 I go through different places that are unique (7)
23 General support, note the disturbance (5)
25 Ignorance about Anne and her dog (5)
Because of our punyas and papas, we take repeated births.
Manickavachagar speaks of the many types of births one
takes. One could even be born as a blade of grass or a
worm. Abirami Bhattar prays to Goddess Abirami for
liberation. Bhattar cries out that he is like the churning rod
in a pot of curd, said M.A. Manickavelu in a discourse.
The rope that holds the churning rod is symbolic of the
merits and sins responsible for repeated births.
Manickavachagar in his Thi- ruvachagam also uses the
churning rod analogy.
In verse eight of Abirami Andadi, Bhattar refers to the
Goddess as Sundari, the beautiful One. She severed the
head of Mahishasura, who was born to an asura called
Rambha. He had the head of a buffalo, and hence was
called Mahish- asura. One must understand the symbolism
behind the slay- ing of Mahishasura by Ambal. The buffalo
head indicates ig- norance. Mahishasuramardhini idols in
temples portray the buffalo head at Her feet. This shows
that if we seek Her feet, our ignorance is destroyed. The
Solution to puzzle 13533 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku Goddess who killed this as- ura is known as Durga or
Chamundi. Silappadikaram de- scribes Her as standing on
a buffalo head, and as wearing the skin of an elephant as a
cloak and the skin of a tiger as Her garment. The Goddess
who killed Mahishasura is blue in colour, and is none
other than Kali. Silappadikaram refers to Her as Neeli.
Bhattar says this Universal Mother, however, is an
eternal virgin. Thayumanavar also refers to this aspect.
Brahma’s pride was crushed by Siva who plucked off one of
Brahma’s heads. Ambal too is seen with Brahma’s skull in
Her hand. All the deeds of Siva described in Siva
Puranam may be ta- ken to be the Goddess's deeds.
Mahishasura was killed on Ashtami thithi. It is on this day
Durgaashtami is celebrated.
 THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
DELHI
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New Cabinet in Sri Lanka amid protests Russian air strikes kill seven
Gotabaya, Mahinda retain their posts; a total of 17 members, including former Ministers, inducted
Meera Srinivasan
COLOMBO
Sri Lankan President Gota-
baya Rajapaksa on Monday
appointed a new Cabinet,
even as seaside protests de-
manding his resignation
con- tinue for over 10 days.
A total of 17 members, in-
cluding many former Cabi-
net ministers, were sworn in,
authorities said. The “new
Cabinet” did not include the
two Rajapaksa brothers —
Chamal and Basil Rajapaksa
— and Namal Rajapaksa,
their nephew, who earlier
held key portfolios. They
re- signed with their
Cabinet colleagues on April
3, amid
surging public anger against
the ruling clan. Twenty-
four new State Ministers
were al- so sworn in.
Despite massive demon-
strations demanding their
resignation, President Gota-
baya Rajapaksa and Prime
Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa
remain in power.
For the first time admit-
ting to “mistakes” made by
his administration, Mr. Gota-
Gaza rockets
intercepted,
claims Israel
Agence France-Presse
Jerusalem
A rocket was fired into Is-
rael on Monday from the
Palestinian enclave of Gaza
and was shot down by
anti- rocket defences, the
Israeli army said.
There were no imme-
diate reports of casualties.
The incident, the first
of its kind since January,
comes after a weekend of
violence in and around Je-
rusalem's Rashpoint Al-Aq-
sa mosque compound that
wounded over 170 people,
mostly Palestinian
demonstrators.
ELSEWHERE
Iran blames U.S. for
delay in nuclear deal
TEHRAN
Iran on Monday said an
agreement with world
powers to revive the 2015
nuclear deal was still not in
sight, blaming the United
States for the delay. "More
than one issue is still pending
between Iran and the United
States," Iranian Foreign
Ministry spokesman Saeed
Khatibzadeh said. AFP
Turkey launches new
offensive in northern
Iraq
ANKARA
Turkey has launched a new
ground and air cross-border
offensive against Kurdish
militants in northern Iraq,
that has left at least 19
suspected Kurdish rebels
dead and has wounded at
least four Turkish soldiers.
Turkish jets and artillery
struck suspected targets of
the Kurdistan Workers’
Party and commando
troops. AP
Sweden witnesses anti-Muslim unrest
More than 20 arrested, dozens injured in protests sparked by right-wing group
Agence France-Presse
Stockholm
Several days of unrest in
Sweden, sparked by a far-
right group’s plans to burn
Korans, have injured
several dozen people, the
police said on Monday,
calling for more resources
to deal with the violence.
Protests have turned vio-
lent in several cities since
Thursday, leaving 26 police
officers and 14 civilians in-
C
Protesters demanding the President’s resignation during a
demonstration near his office in Colombo on Monday. AFP
baya said: “I believe that
we should have gone for a
pro- gramme with the
Interna- tional Monetary
Fund ear- lier. Also, I think
the decision not to provide
chemical fer- tilisers to
farmers was an er- ror. We
have taken steps to revive
that practice,” accord- ing to
a statement issued by his
office on Monday. His May
2021 policy decision to
switch abruptly to organic
Six sentenced to death in Pak.
for lynching Sri Lankan
national
Court awards two-year punishment to 67 other suspects
Press Trust of India
Lahore
An anti-terrorism court in
Pakistan’s Punjab province
on Monday sentenced six
persons to death and seven
others to life imprisonment
for their involvement in the
lynching of a Sri Lankan
na- tional over alleged
blasphemy.
The Anti-Terrorism Court
Lahore also handed down
two-year sentence each to
remaining 67 other
suspects.
N. Korea urged to return
to talks after missile tests
U.S., S. Korea call for ‘strong response’
Associated Press
SEOUL
The U.S. special envoy for
North Korea said on Mon-
day that Washington and Se-
oul agreed on the need for
a strong response to North
Korea’s recent spate of
mis- sile tests, though they
re- main open to dialogue
with the country.
Sung Kim Rew to South
Korea on Monday for talks
two days after North Korea
conducted a new type of
missile test in its 13th
round of weapons firing
this year.
Weapons tested include
nuclear-capable missiles
able to target both the U.S.
mainland and its allies such
as South Korea and Japan.
“We agreed on the need
for a strong response to the
destabilising behaviour we
have seen” from North Ko-
rea, Mr. Kim told reporters
after meeting with his
South Korean counterpart.
South Korean nuclear
en-
jured, the police said at a press conference on
■ paksas to quit.
farming is expected to re-
duce the country’s annual
yield by half. It sparked na-
tionwide farmers’ protests
last year that were the first
sure sign of the Rajapaksas’
popularity falling, even
among supporters.
Further, the President
told the newly appointed
Mi- nisters on Monday:
“The present crisis is a
good op- portunity to
make the sys-
Judge Natasha Nasim,
who held the trial proceed-
ings in-camera inside the
high-security Kot Lakhpat
Jail in Lahore, on a day-to-
day basis, announced the
verdict in the presence of
the suspects.
The judge, however, did
not announce the verdict of
nine juvenile suspects,
whose trial is yet to be
completed.
A mob of over 800 men
including supporters of har-
dline Islamist party Tehreek-
Sung Kim, left, with
Noh Kyu-duk at a
meeting in Seoul on
Monday. AP ■
voy Noh Kyu-duk said he
and Mr. Kim shared con-
cerns that North Korea will
likely continue to engage
in acts that raise regional
ten- sions. He urged North
Korea to return to talks.
Mr. Kim said the allies
have “no hostile intent” to-
ward the country. He re-
peated his earlier statement
that the U.S. is ready to
meet North Korea
“anywhere, without any
conditions.”
tem change that the people
have demanded.”
But the move may not
ap- pease demonstrators,
who have been gathering
outside the Presidential
Secretariat, braving the
scorching sun,
thunderstorms, and
fatigue. Apparently
responding to the
installation of a “new Ca-
binet”, a poster put up at the
venue on Monday said: “No
new Cabinet with previous
jokers.” For weeks now,
youth, professional groups,
artistes, and citizens from
varied backgrounds are de-
monstrating, asking the Raja-
On Monday, Sri Lankan
journalists joined the ongo-
ing ‘Occupy Galle Face’
movement near Colombo’s
seafront, expressing solidari-
ty with the protesters and
demanding justice for their
colleagues who were forcibly
disappeared or killed.
The developments come
as Sri Lanka’s economic
cri- sis intensifies, with
citizens struggling to get
essentials, including food
items, cook-
e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) al-
legedly attacked a garment
factory and lynched its gen-
eral manager Priyantha
Kumara, 47, and burned his
body over allegations of
blas- phemy on December
3, in Sialkot district, some
100 km from provincial
capital Lahore.
The incident saw wides-
pread outrage across Pakis-
tan with politicians and
civil society members
calling for swift
punishment to be met- ed
out to the perpetrators.
Shanghai
reports ‘first
COVID deaths’
Agence France-Presse
Shanghai
Shanghai on Monday said
three persons had died
from COVID-19, the first of-
ficial announcement of
deaths from an outbreak
which has plunged the
me- gacity into a weeks-
long lockdown, sparking
wides- pread anger and
rare protests.
Since March, a patch-
work of restrictions has
kept most of the city’s 25
million residents confined
to their homes or com-
pounds, with daily case-
loads regularly edging
over 25,000.
On Monday city officials
revealed the first deaths —
all elderly people with un-
derlying conditions.
They “deteriorated into
severe cases after going
in- to hospital, and died
after all efforts to revive
them proved ineffective,”
the ci- ty said on an
official social media
account.
WORLD 13
ing gas, and fuel. On Sunday
in Lviv, forces amass in east
night, Indian Oil Corporation Moscow says it hit 16 military targets across Ukraine
subsidiary Lanka IOC, which
accounts for a third of the Agence France-Presse
Lviv
lo- cal market, announced
yet another steep hike in Air strikes killed at least se-
fuel costs. ven persons in Ukraine’s
It increased the price of western city of Lviv on Mon-
petrol by 35 Sri Lankan ru- day, as Russia pounded tar-
pees a litre, and diesel by gets across the country and
75 Sri Lankan rupees, as the amassed forces for an ex-
lo- cal currency continues pected all-out assault in the
to de- preciate, and global east.
oil pric- es soar. The current The air strikes in Lviv
prices of Petrol are LKR 338 came just hours after Ukrai-
(roughly ₹ 79) per litre in nian President Volodymyr
case of 92 Oc- tane, and Zelensky accused Moscow
LKR 367 (₹86) per of
litre for the 95 Octane wanting to “destroy” the Pummelled to dust: Firefighters battling a blaze after a
varie- ty. en- tire eastern region of building in Lviv was hit by a missile on Monday. GETTY IMAGES ■
Last week, Colombo an- Don- bas bordering Russia.
nounced its decision to de- Russia’s Defence Ministry Medvedchuk calling for his and destroy Donbas,” Mr.
fault on its $50 billion said it had hit 16 military tar- exchange in return for an Zelensky said.
foreign debt, and this week, gets at various locations evacuation of civilians and Lugansk governor Sergiy
a dele- gation led by Finance across Ukraine. troops from Mariupol. Gaiday said the coming
Minis- ter Ali Sabry will Following the attack on “I want to ask Russian week would be “difficult”.
hold talks with the Lviv, black smoke billowed President Vladimir Putin
International Mone- tary from the gutted roof of a and Ukrainian President Shelling in Kharkiv
Fund in Washington DC. car repair shop in the Vo- lodymyr Zelensky to Heavy bouts of shelling also
The Parliament is scheduled northwest of the city as air ex- change me for resumed in the country’s se-
to convene on Tuesday. The raid sirens wailed. Ukrainian de- fenders and cond city of Kharkiv on
Opposition has indicated “Fires were set off as a re- residents of Mariupol,” he Mon- day morning,
that it may table a No sult of the strikes. They are said in the vi- deo according to an AFP
Confi- dence Motion still being put out. The facili- published by Kyiv’s se- reporter on the ground.
against the go- vernment. ties were severely dam- curity services, wearing The shelling comes a day
aged,” Lviv regional gover- black clothes and looking di- after at least five persons
rectly into the camera.
PTI member nor Maksym Kozytsky said Mariupol has become a were killed and 20
on social media. symbol of Ukraine’s unex- wounded during a string of
becomes new In the south, Russia
conti- nued its push to
pectedly fierce resistance
since Russian troops invad-
strikes in the city just 21
kilometres from the
PoK ‘premier’ capture the besieged port
city of Mariu- pol where
the last remaining Ukranian
ed the former Soviet state
on February 24.
While several large cities
Russian border on Sunday.
More than 4.9 million Uk-
rainians have Red their
Press Trust of India
forces prepared for a final were under siege, country, the United Nations
IslamaBad
stand. according to Prime said on Monday warning of
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Minister Denys Shmyhal, the risks of women and
Captured ‘Britons’ not one — with the child
regional president Sardar Russian state TV on Monday exception of Kherson in the refugees being exploited.
Tanveer Ilyas was on Mon- broadcast a video of what it south — had fallen, and Ukraine officials also said
day elected as new “pre- described as “Britons” cap- more than 900 towns and on Monday they were halt-
mier” of Pakistan-occupied tured fighting for Ukraine cities had been re-captured. ing the evacuation of civi-
Kashmir (PoK) in an elec- and demanding that Prime In the east, Ukrainian lians from frontline towns
tion boycotted by the Minister Boris Johnson authorities urged people in and cities in the east for a
Opposition. nego- tiate their release. Donbas to move west to es- se- cond day, accusing
Imran Khan nominated The two haggard-looking cape a large-scale Russian Russian forces of blocking
Mr. Ilyas as the party’s men asked to be exchanged of- fensive to capture its and shell- ing escape routes.
can- didate after his hand- for Viktor Medvedchuk, a compo- site regions of But Lugansk governor Mr.
picked “premier” Sardar Ukrainian tycoon close to Donetsk and Lugansk. Gaiday announced that he
Abdul Qayyum Niazi re- President Vladimir Putin, “Russian troops are pre- had proceeded with evacua-
signed on Thursday. The who was recently arrested paring for an offensive oper- tions. “At our own peril and
Opposition had boycotted in the pro-Western country. ation in the east of our coun- risk, we took out several
the session for the Ukraine then aired its try in the near future. They do- zen people anyway, but
election of the Prime own video featuring Mr. want to literally finish off it’s already dangerous,” he
Minister. said.
Stoking hate: Cars set on fire ring prot- ests against the
after Koran burnings caused h
group since Thursday
riots in Swedish towns over the a
evening, starting in the cities
Easter weekend. REUTERS v
■
of Linkoping and
e
Norrkoping.
They spread to the city of
e
Malmo, where a school was
r
set alight during a second
u
night of unrest
p
Saturday-Sunday.
t
As protesters burned cars
e
and lobbed rocks at the pol-
d
ice in Sunday clashes, the of-
ficers responded, head of
d
police special forces Jonas
u
Hysing said.
Monday. ahead of September “tour” of Sweden, visiting ci- Eight persons were
The unrest has been elections. ties and towns with large arrest- ed in the city of
sparked by the leader of the Mr. Paludan — who in- Muslim populations with Norrkoping and 18 people
anti-immigration and anti-Is- tends to stand in the the intent of burning copies were detained in the
lam group Hard Line, the Septem- ber poll but does of the Muslim holy book neighbouring city of
Danish-Swedish politician not yet have the necessary Koran as the faithful mark Linkoping.
Rasmus Paludan who is aim- signa- tures to secure his the holy month of On Sunday, clashes
ing to drum up support candidacy Ramadan. erupt- ed in both cities for
— has gone on a declared Clashes with the police the se- cond time in four
days.

C
14 BUSINESS DELHI THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
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market watch
18-04-2022
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 57,167 ddddddddddddd-2.01
US Dollar dddddddddddddddddddd 76.29 ddddddddddddd-0.13
% CHANGE
Sensex slumps 2% as investors China Q1 GDP tops
forecast, expands 4.8%
Outages in
Libya spur

dump bank, technology crude prices

Goldddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 53,461 ddddddddddddddd0.98
Brent oil dddddddddddddddddd 113.35 ddddddddddddddddddddd —
March weakness raises outlook risks
NIFTY 50 Reuters Reuters

stocks
PRICE CHANGE BEIJING NEW YORK
Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 842.70..........2.20
China’s economy slowed in Oil rose on Monday in
Apollo Hosp. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 4554.50. .. -189.95
Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 3021.55. ..... -59.10 choppy trade, with Brent

‘Volatility to persist on rising interest rates globally, and high inflation’

Axis Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 798.85...........5.80 Special Correspondent equity markets, especially March as consumption, crude topping $113 a bar-
Bajaj Auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 3714.60........17.30
Bajaj Finserv. ........... 15827.25. .. -262.80
MumBai in the first half of the year real estate and exports rel, as outages in Libya
Bajaj Finance. .......... ... 7261.45. ..... -67.00 Key benchmark indices fell with rising interest rates were hit hard, taking the dee- pened concern over
Bharti Airtel . ........... ..... 729.50. ..... -11.15 sharply on Monday follow- globally and high inRation, shine off faster-than- tight global supply amid the
BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 371.75. . . . . . . . -7.25
Britannia Ind . .......... ... 3343.90. . . . . . . . -5.75 ing selling pressure in bank- which is expected to expected, first- quarter Uk- raine crisis, offsetting
Cipla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 1027.85 11.25 ing and IT stocks. The S&P persist,” Naveen Kulkarni, growth numbers and wor- ries over slowing
Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 189.45..........2.85 BSE Sensex slid Chinese demand.
chief investment officer, worsening an outlook
Divis Lab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 4524.90........25.65
Dr Reddys Lab. ........ ... 4284.95. ..... -14.25 1,172.19 points, or 2.01%, to Axis Securities, said. already weakened by CO- Adding to supply pres-
Eicher Motors. ......... ... 2511.00.........19.55 57,166.74. VID-19 curbs and the Uk- sures from sanctions on
Grasim Ind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 1741.30. ..... -24.65 The top losers included ‘Debt funds to equity’ Russia, Libya’s National Oil
raine war. the first quarter from a year
HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 1101.75. ..... -23.35
HDFC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 2263.50. .. -115.00 Infosys, which fell 7.27%, “In this scenario, we expect The biggest near-term earlier, data from the Na- Corp on Monday warned
HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 1395.45. ..... -69.50 HDFC (4.81%), HDFC Bank money to move from long- challenge for Beijing is the tional Bureau of Statistics that “a painful wave of
HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 574.30..........9.45 (4.74%), Tech Mahindra duration debt funds to equi- clo- sures” had begun
Weight loss: Weaker-than-expected results at heavyweights tough new coronavirus showed, beating analysts’
Hero MotoCorp . ...... ... 2285.40.........11.00
Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 545.35. . . . . . . . -1.40 (4.69%) and Wipro (3.67%). hit sentiment, says Religare’s Mishra. FILE PHOTO
■ ty funds in the second half rules at a time of expectations for a 4.4% hitting its facilities.
Hind Unilever. ......... ... 2177.65.........25.50 Similarly, the NSE Nifty in- of the year, which should heightened geopolitical gain and picking up from “With global supplies
bode well for equities,” he risks, which have 4% in
said. intensified supply and
ICICI Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 757.80........ -4.45 dex fell 302 points, or the fourth quarter.
IndusInd Bank . ........ ..... 977.45. . . . . . . . -5.95
trend was seen among the volatility in the coming ses- “We continue to remain commodity cost pressures, now so tight, even the
Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 1621.40. .. -127.15 1.73%, sectoral indices wherein IT sions. Hence, we would re- positive on... metals, hospi- leaving Chinese authorities Analysts said April data most minor disruption is
ITC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 270.10...........0.55 to 17,173.65 points. and banking were the top main cautious on the mar- tals, hospitality, oil walking a tight rope as would likely be worse, likely to have an outsized
JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 767.85..........1.50 “Lower-than-expected re-
Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 1750.40. ..... -29.20
laggards while auto, FMCG kets and suggest traders to refining, capital goods. they try to stimulate growth with lockdowns in impact on prices,” said
L&T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 1738.35. ..... -22.45 sults from heavyweights and energy were the gainers. keep their position hedged,” Some under- performing with- out endangering commercial centre Jeffrey Hal- ley, analyst at
M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 874.10...........8.00 like Infosys and HDFC Bank “We believe global cues as Mr. Mishra added. sectors might in- clude price stability. Shanghai and el- sewhere brokerage OANDA. Brent
Maruti Suzuki. ......... ... 7573.50........104.00
im- pacted sentiments,” said well as the outcome of Q4 “We expect FY23 to wit- discretionary con- Gross domestic product dragging on, prompting crude rose
Nestle India Ltd. . .... 18561.50......179.10
NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 163.20..........9.25 Ajit Mishra, VP, research, earnings will continue to add ness continued volatility in sumption, IT, NBFCs,” Mr. (GDP) expanded by 4.8% in some to warn of rising $1.24 to $112.94 a barrel by
ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 175.80..........1.55 Reli- gare Broking Ltd. Kulkarni added. recession risks. 1519 GMT.
PowerGrid Corp . ..... ..... 231.10...........1.60
Reliance Ind . ........... ... 2543.85. . . . . . . . -7.80 “Mixed

Life insurers’ first-year SAT admits Ramkrishna’s Govt. proposes law to

SBI Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 1173.40........26.50
State Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 509.50. . . . . . . . -8.20
Shree Cement . ........ 25435.35..........71.80

aid lessors repossess

Sun Pharma. . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 927.50. . . . . . . . -9.25

premium rose 13% in FY22 plea against regulator’s order

Tata Consumer
Products Ltd. . ......... ..... 822.30............4.70

aircraft
Tata Motors. . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 433.80..........2.75
Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 1339.10.......19.60
TCS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 3528.05. .. -133.90
Tech Mahindra . ....... ... 1344.55. ..... -65.90
Private firms’ share continued to rise
Ministry seeks stakeholder comments
Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 2493.45........32.10
UltraTech Cement. .. ... 6639.60. ..... -90.45 Special Correspondent < First-year premium SEBI asked to submit reply in 4 weeks; hearing on June 30 Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD NEW DELHI
UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 805.15. ..... -13.50 of private life
Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 538.60...... -20.60 Life insurance companies’ Press Trust of India ₹1.54 crore and the deferred The Ministry of Civil Avia-
insurance firms
reported first-year premium increased 22.7% to
N EW DE lhi bonus of ₹2.83 crore of tion has proposed a new
EXCHANGE RATES rose almost 13% to more The Securities Appellate Tri- Ms. Ramkrishna in the law that will help
Indicative direct rates in rupees a ₹1.15 lakh crore
unit except yen at 4 p.m. on April 18
than ₹3.14 lakh crore for the bunal (SAT) has admitted Investor Protection Fund international aircraft
CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL fiscal ended March 31. India (IRDAI). In terms of former NSE chief Chitra Trust. leasing companies to
US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76.06.......76.38 The first-year premium of market share, private Ramkrishna’s plea against a Passing a four-page repossess and transfer
Euro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.14........82.49 market leader and IPO- players continued to gain SEBI order in relation to go- order dated April 11, the planes out of India in case
British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.07......99.49
Japanese Yen (100). .. . 60.07......60.32
bound Life Insurance Cor- ground. vernance lapses at the tribunal said various of a financial dispute with
Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.95.......12.00 poration of India (LIC) LIC’s market share was bourse and directed her to questions that had been an Indian airline at a time
Swiss Franc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80.71.......81.05 stood at ₹1,98,759.85 crore 63.3% (66.2%), while the 22 deposit an amount of ₹2 raised would be considered ma- ny regional airlines
Singapore Dollar . ....... . 55.90.........56.14
Canadian Dollar. ......... . 60.16........60.43
or 7.92% higher than FY21. functional private insurers crore. at the time of hearing. It have been refused planes in 2001. India acceded to
Malaysian Ringitt. ...... . 17.86.......17.96 It was an improved show increased their share to The appellate tribunal al- also directed SE- BI to on rent. the two instruments in
Australian Dollar. ....... . 56.02.......56.31 com- pared with the 3.48% 36.7% (33.8%). so directed NSE to deposit Chitra Ramkrishna submit its reply within four The Ministry has sought 2008. These provide
Source:Indian Bank growth seen in the previous The first-year premium of more than ₹4 crore towards weeks, while listing the stakeholders’ comments on default remedies for the
year. private life insurance com- leave encashment and de- Ramkrishna for alleged go- case for hearing on June 30. the draft Protection and creditor and create a legal
Providing a boost to LIC panies increased 22.74% to ferred bonus of Ramkrishna vernance lapses in a case “However... to balance En- forcement of Interests regime for disputes.
was a 50.57% increase in ₹1,15,503.15 crore, with in an escrow account as re- lated to the appointment the equities as well as ba- in Aircraft Objects Bill, In its explanatory note,
IN BRIEF first-year premium for only two of them reporting against SEBI’s direction of Anand Subramanian as lance of convenience, we 2022. the Ministry says the draft
March to ₹42,319.22 crore, a de- cline in new business where the amount was to be the Group Operating Officer di- rect NSE... to deposit The Bill will implement legislation is necessary be-
according to the new busi- during the year, which in parked in the Investor Pro- and Advisor when she was ₹4.73 crore towards leave the provisions of the Con- cause several Indian laws
ness statement of life insur- parts was hampered by the tection Fund Trust. MD and CEO of the NSE. encash- ment and deferred vention on International In- such as the Companies Act,
ers released by the Insu- pandemic and challenges In an order dated Febru- Besides, the watchdog bonus of the appellant in terests in Mobile 2013 are in conRict with
rance Regulatory and on the re-in- surance front ary 11, SEBI had slapped a had asked NSE to deposit the an escrow account of Equipment and Protocol on the Cape Town Convention
Development Authority of for some companies. penalty of ₹3 crore on excess leave encashment of instead of depos- iting it in Matters Specific to Aircraft and Protocol.
Ms. the Investor Pro- tection Equip- ment which was
Lexus India opens sixth
Fund Trust,” the tri- adopted at a conference in
guest experience centre
bunal said. Cape Town
CHENNAI
Luxury car maker Lexus India SBI raises States must cut freebies, PV exports in Ashok Leyland enters Mindtree Q4
on Monday announced the
$500 mn via FY22 rise 43%, net profit
opening of a guest
experience centre at
Ambattur Industrial Estate IFSC Gift City rejig spending: SBI report Maruti leads used CV business jumps 49%
here, the sixth such centre in
the country. Lexus said it Special Correspondent
‘Revenue must determine spending’ PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
MFCWL pact to aid vehicle exchange Special Correspondent
was
MumBai Press Trust of India been spending on “econom- NEW DELHI to streamline the used-vehi- BENgaluRu
also planning to open a few Special Correspondent
more of these centres. State Bank of India (SBI), MumBai ically unsustainable” free- Passenger vehicle (PV) ex- CHENNAI cle market by leveraging Larsen & Toubro-owned
has raised $500 million Several States are spending bies, Soumya Kanti Ghosh, ports from India increased Commercial vehicle manu- its digital ecosystem, Mindtree reported a
Lupin gets U.S. FDA nod through its IFSC Gift City high amounts on populist group chief economic advis- 43% in FY22, with Maruti facturer Ashok Leyland Ltd. channel partners and conso- lidated net profit of
for anti-hepatitis B drug branch, the bank said in a schemes such as farm loan er at State Bank of India, Suzuki India leading the (ALL) signed a pact with Ma- advanced technologies. ₹473.1 crore for the
NEW DELHI
statement. waivers, and with the GST said in the report. segment with dispatches hindra First Choice Wheels “We are glad to associate quarter ended March 2022,
Lupin said it has received The facility is for $400 compensation from the “States seem to be cur- of more than 2.3 lakh Ltd. (MFCWL) to unveil an with MFCWL in this new a year-on-year growth of
approval from the U.S. health
million plus $100 million Centre ending in June, they rently living beyond their units, as per the latest data exclusive hybrid ecosystem in- itiative of providing 49%.
regulator to market Tenofovir
as green shoe option. It’s need to re-prioritise expen- means and it is imperative by in- dustry association for its used commercial veh- greater value to the The company had post-
Alafenamide tablets, used to
strong presence in interna- diture in accordance with that [they] rationalise their SIAM. icle (CV) business. customer as one-step ed a profit after tax (PAT)
treat chronic hepatitis B virus
infection, in the U.S. market.
tional markets helped it to the revenue receipts, ac- spending priorities in Total PV exports stood The ‘phygital platform’ solution be it dis- posal, of
The product is the generic get a ‘very tight pricing,’ cording to a report by State accor- dance with revenue at 5,77,875 units in FY22 would facilitate exchange, exchange or hybrid (mixture ₹317.3 crore during the
equivalent of Gilead Sciences' SBI said. Bank of India. re- ceipts,” Mr. Ghosh fis- cal, as compared with proper disposal and pur- of both),” said Ka- cor- responding year-
Vemlidy tablets, it said. As This is the first offshore In some instances, the pointed out. 4,04,397 units in FY21. chase of old commercial lyankumar Sidram Hatti, earlier period.
per IQVIA MAT December USD SOFR (Secured Over- Goods and Services Tax It may be noted that Ma- ruti Suzuki India led vehicles, ALL said. head — UV Business, ALL. In the fourth quarter,
2021, Tenofovir Alafenamide night Financing Rate) (GST) revenue from the some States had been the vertical last fiscal, ALL said the tie-up the company’s revenues
tablets had an estimated linked syndicated loan Centre forms more than a demanding an extension of followed by Hyundai Streamlining market would create an were at ₹2,897.4 crore, re-
annual sales of ₹484.2 raised by SBI through Gift fifth of a State’s tax the GST compensation Motor India and Kia India With the entry into this opportunity for it to reach gistering a growth of 37%
million in the U.S. PTI City branch, it added. revenue, while they scheme for five more at second and third seg- ment, Ashok Leyland out to as many Reet and from ₹2,109.3 crore record-
themselves had years. positions, respectively. aims single-truck owners across ed a year earlier, the com-
India as possible. pany said in a release.

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SPOR
Spate of draws
Sports Bureau
Substitutes Noufal, Jesin do it for Kerala Indian girls cruise to victory
uite a few draws Score in the side’s 2-0 win against Bengal; Meghalaya pips Rajasthan in thriller TENNIS
Qmarked the opening
day of the MPL 31st Nation-
SANTOSH TROPHY counter-attack on the right
Rank through the left-
Kamesh Srinivasan
NEW DELHI
footed
al under-18 Open and Special Correspondent long-ranger from Figo Syn- The Indian team warmed
girls chess championship MANJERI dai, who struck again with up with 3-0 victory over
at the Dr. MCET campus six minutes remaining in Singa- pore in the inaugural
in Polla- chi on Monday. Another full house, another the first half to put his side match of the Asia-Oceania
Important results (first win. Host Kerala’s campaign in front. World Junior Tennis event
round): at the Santosh Trophy Na- Syndai converted the at the DLTA Complex on
Open: Bharath tional football short pass from Shano Tar- Monday.
Subramani- yam (TN) 1 bt R. championship is looking in iang on the right wing. With captain Namita Bal
Kavin Oviyan (Ker) 0; Chehal good shape.
Nikhil (Pun) 0 lost to L.R. Imran Khan scored off a lending admirable support,
Kerala posted its second Well begun is...Sohini got India off to a great start.
Srihari (TN) 1; S. Harshad rebound from the Megha- Sohini Mohanty and Aish-
victory in as many matches,
(TN) 1 bt Bharanidh- aran laya goalkeeper Frolicson warya Jadhav won their ■
KAMESH SRINIVASAN
beating Bengal 2-0 here on
Nedunchezhian (TN) 0; Dkhar to make it 2-2 for sin- gles matches in
Vibhakar Venkatesh (TN) 0.5 Monday night.
Ra- contrasting style. Sohini
beat Saina Vai-
drew with Manish Anto Chris- (TN) 0.5; Rakshith Srinivasan bt minute for the first goal.
tiano (TN) 0.5; A.R. Ilampar- (Kar) The breakthrough
It was substitute P.N. Rising high: Kerala’s Muhammed
thi (TN) 1 bt K. Kannish Var- 0.5 drew with P. Naveen Ku- It was a hard-fought
Nou- fal who slotted the ball Saheef attempting a header against
maa (Pud) 0; K. Iniyan (TN) mar (TN) 0.5 victory, though, as it had
home after receiving a Bengal. SAKEER HUSSAIN
■

0.5 drew with B. Vignesh Girls: L. Jyothsna (TN) 1 to wait till the 85th
superb
C
jasthan. Eight minutes later,
however, Hardy Cliff Nong-
bri scored from the spot for
Meghalaya.
The results:
Serah Jo Sam (Ker) 0; S. Su-
girtha (TN) 0 lost to Bha-
gyashree Patil (Mah) 1; A.
Na- fila (TN) 0 lost to V.
Rindhiya (TN) 1; Shrestha
Surai (WB)
0.5 drew with S. Shanmathi
Shree (TN) 0.5.
C
Kerala 2 (P.N. Noufal 85, T.K.
Jesin 90+3) bt Bengal 0.
Meghalaya 3 (Figo Syndai 25
& 39, Hardy Cliff Nongbri 64) bt
short pass from skipper Jijo
Joseph inside the box.
In injury-time, T.K.
Jesin, another substitute,
scored off a fine assist
from Mu- hammed Saheef.
dya 6-2, 6-4, while Aish- warya blanked Chanya K Ning four teams would qualify the cut from the zone for the season. Malay- sia 3-0.
for The results: Group-C: India bt Singapore
Ng. un- der-16 boys and girls
the World Group from the Group-A: Sri Lanka 3-0 (Sohini Mohanty bt Saina
In doubles, Sai Janvi served smart and combined well events over the last fortnight.
Asia-Oceania zone. It was bt Leba- non 2-1. Vaidya 6-2, 6-4; Aishwarya
with Sohini to beat the Singapore pair for the loss of only three teams making The top two teams from Group-B: Thailand bt
three games.
India will next play Hong Jadhav bt Chanya Kai Ning Ng
Earlier, Meghalaya cond minute. Trilok Rajasthan 2 (Youraj Singh 2, each of the four groups will
6-0, 6-0; Sohini & Sai Janvi bt
opened its campaign with a Lohar’s Im- Kong which was beaten 3-0 qualify for the
Sophie Chua & Saina Vaidya
3-2 victory over a fighting Ra- throw-in from near the right ran Khan 56). by the fourth seed Korea. quarterfinals, and entering 6-2, 6-1); Korea bt Hong Kong
jasthan at Malappuram. corner Rag into the six-yard Today’s matches: The International Tennis semifinals would ensure 3-0.
It was Rajasthan which box was headed in by Services vs Gujarat (Malap- Federation (ITF) clarified entry for World Group Group-D: Uzbekistan bt Iran
took the lead in just the se- Youraj Singh. puram) 4 p.m.; Manipur vs to referee Puneet Gupta competition scheduled 2-1; Kazakhstan bt Nepal 3-0.
Meghalaya equalised off a Od- isha (Manjeri) 8 p.m. that later in the
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
DELHI SPORT 15
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Buttler’s dashing willow and Chahal’s golden arm seal it for Royals
The Englishman’s second century this season and the India leg-spinner’s hat-trick ensure Rajasthan clinches a humdinger over Knight Riders despite Shreyas’ efforts
IPL 2022
S. DIPaK RaGaV
MUMBAI

Fourteen years to the day

since the first IPL match
was played in 2008, Jos
Buttler, Yuzvendra Chahal
and Shreyas Iyer marked
the oc- casion with top-class
perfor- mances as Rajasthan
Royals prevailed over
Kolkata Knight Riders by
seven runs at the Brabourne
Stadium on Monday.
The humdinger of a
match started with Buttler’s
sensa- tional hundred (103,
61b, 9x4, 5x6), his second
of the season, that powered
Royals to 217 for five after
being put in to bat.

Spearheading the chase
Shreyas Iyer (85, 51b, 7x4,
4x6) led the chase expertly in
the company of Aaron Finch
(58, 28b, 9x4, 2x6), the duo
combining for a 107-run se-
cond-wicket partnership off
just 57 balls.
Knight Riders was in com-
plete control at 178 for four
after 16 overs. But the wily
Chahal scalped four
wickets, including a hat-
trick, to re- duce the two-
time champion to 180 for
eight.
Off the first delivery,
Ven- katesh Iyer was
stumped by a googly before
Shreyas was trapped leg-
before off the fourth ball.
Shivam Mavi was caught at
long-on and Pat Cummins
edged a leg-break
to wicketkeeper Sanju Sam-
son to give Chahal his hat-
trick.
Umesh Yadav kept the
Kol- kata side in the game,
smash- ing 20 runs off Trent
Boult in the 18th over. With
18 to get off the last two
over, Prasidh
Ruling the night: Chahal spun it Royals’ way with a magical over after Buttler had piloted the team to the highest total of the season. ■
SPORTZPICS/IPL
was Knight Riders’ match. Buttler targeted the
The skipper often targetted straight boundaries as much SCOREBOARD
the short side of the boun- as possible and avoided go-
dary by moving across and ing across to hit the pacers, RAJASTHAN ROYALS Umesh 4-0-44-0, Mavi 4-0- 2x6), Varun Chakravarthy (not
Jos Buttler c Varun b Cummins 34-1, Varun 2-0-30-0, Cummins out) 1 (1b); Extras (w-13): 13;
hitting through the off-side; something that has often got
103 (61b, 9x4, 5x6), Devdutt 4-0-50-1, Narine 4-0-21-2, Total (in 19.4 overs): 210.
he was unafraid to take on him into trouble. Padikkal b Narine 24 (18b, 3x4, Russell 2-0-29-1. FALL OF WICKETS
Chahal and Ashwin, and On a batting beauty with 1x6), Sanju Samson c Mavi b KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS 1-0 (Narine, 0.1 overs), 2-107
looked determined to take little or no assistance to the Russell 38 (19b, 3x4, 2x6), Aaron Finch c Karun b (Finch, 8.6), 3-148 (Rana, 12.6),
his side home before bowlers, even a small Shimron Hetmyer (not out) 26 Prasidh 58 (28b, 9x4, 2x6), 4-149 (Russell, 13.4), 5-178
Chahal produced a magical margin of error in length (13b, 2x4, 2x6), Riyan Parag c Sunil Narine run out 0 (0b), (Venkatesh, 16.1), 6-180
Krishna and debutant Obed spell. was enough for Buttler to Mavi b Narine 5 (3b, 1x4), Shreyas Iyer lbw b Chahal 85 (Shreyas, 16.4), 7-180 (Mavi,
McCoy held their nerve. make the most of. Karun Nair c Cummins b Mavi 3 (51b, 7x4, 4x6), Nitish Rana c 16.5), 8-180 (Cummins, 16.6),
Sheldon Jackson and In cruise mode (5b), R. Ashwin (not out) 2 Buttler b Chahal 18 (11b, 1x4,
The Englishman reached 9-209 (Jackson, 19.2).
(2b); Extras (b-3, lb-6, w-6, nb 1x6), Andre Russell b R.
Umesh were dismissed by Earlier, Buttler began by his second century of IPL-15, ROYALS BOWLING
1): 16; Total (for five wkts. in Ashwin 0 (1b), Venkatesh Iyer
McCoy in the last over as hit- ting Umesh down the slamming a juicy full toss 20 overs): 217. Boult 4-0-48-0, Prasidh 4-
st. Sam- son b Chahal 6 (7b),
Royals suc- cessfully ground for a four and a six from Cummins over long-on. FALL OF WICKETS 0-43-1, McCoy 3.4-0-41-2, R.
Sheldon Jackson c Prasidh b
defended a score for the in the third over. He then It would have been a pity if 1-97 (Padikkal, 9.4 overs), 2- McCoy 8 (8b), Shivam Mavi c Ashwin 4-0-38-1, Chahal
fourth time this season. went af- ter Varun Buttler had not finished on 164 Parag b Chahal 0 (1b), Pat 4-0-40-5.
Until Shreyas was in the Chakaravarthy, striking the the winning side. Chahal en- (Samson, 15.2), 3-183 (Buttler, Cummins c Samson b Chahal 0 Toss: KKR; MoM: Chahal.
middle, it had seemed like it spinner for a six and a four sured he and Royals did. 16.4), 4-189 (Parag, 17.1), 5- (1b), Umesh Yadav b McCoy 21 Royals won by seven runs.
through the off- side, both 198 (9b, 1x4,
off the back foot. (Karun, 18.5).
KNIGHT RIDERS BOWLING

LSG, RCB look to consolidate spot in top Marsh hospitalised after contracting COVID-19
A few more members from the Capitals bio-bubble return positive tests as well
four
Their teams’ fortunes will once again hinge on Rahul and Karthik’s
performances
DhruVa Prasad
Rahul and Quinton de Amol KarhadKar test, the Capitals’ scheduled While the Capitals state-
NAVI MUMBAI
Kock, who share three MUMBAI travel to Pune for its next ment mentioned all the oth-
Tied on eight points from six
fifties and a hundred All-rounder Mitchell Marsh two games was put on hold. er squad members are
matches, Lucknow Super
between them, while has been hospitalised after The Capitals are set to face isolat- ed in their rooms, The
Giants and Royal
Deepak Hooda and Ay- ush being diagnosed with CO- Punjab Kings and Hindu understands that the
Challengers Bangalore will
Badoni have played their VID-19 on Monday. Marsh, Rajasthan Royals in Pune re- maining squad members
look to conso- lidate their
part lower down the order. thus, becomes the first on Wednes- day and Friday will undergo another round
position in the top four
Marcus Stoinis, who al- cricketer to contract the vi- respectively. of testing on Monday night.
when they lock horns at the
most sealed a tense chase rus during the IPL’s 2022 According to IPL 2022 ru- Depending on the results
DY Patil Stadi-
with an unbeaten 17-ball 38 edition. lebook, in case of a COVID- of the tests, expected by
um here on Tuesday.
on his debut for LSG A statement by Delhi Cap- 19 outbreak, a team can field
While Super Giants rode Tuesday afternoon, the Cap-
against Rajasthan Royals, itals on Monday night con- a team if 12 players,
on captain K.L. Rahul’s cen- itals’ departure plan for
has bol- stered Super firmed that Marsh “has including at least seven
tury to prevail over Pune will be decided.
Giants’ potent arsenal of been admitted to a Indians, are available for a
Mumbai Indians by 18 runs
all-rounders. hospital”. game.
in their last match, Dinesh
“The Delhi Capitals medi-
Karthik’s 34-ball 66 helped
Restrictive bowling cal team is closely monitor-
Royal Chal- lengers upstage
Both teams were successful ing Marsh’s condition.
Delhi Capi- tals. Karthik Marsh. SPORTZPICS/ IPL
in defending totals in their
■

“A few more members

has been instru- mental in
previous outings and much from the Delhi Capitals bio- on Friday), three others in
three of RCB’s four wins,
of that was owed to restric- bubble, including support the Capitals contingent
averaging 197 while
tive bowling in the middle staff members, have re- have contracted the virus.
overs. While leg-spinner Ra- turned positive tests as They include a team
vi Bishnoi and Krunal Pan- well. Though they are all massuer, team doctor Dr.
Star player Maxwell’s presence has strengthened the dya have excelled for LSG asymp- tomatic, their Abhijeet Sal- vi and a
RCB middle-order. SPORTZPICS/ IPL
■ during this phase, RCB has condition is being closely member of the me- dia
banked on Hasaranga and monitored by the team.
Harshal Patel’s slower varia- franchise,” added the Three staffers of the hotel
tions to put the squeeze on statement.
striking at a staggering Glenn Maxwell, who struck the opposition. While the franchise did in south Mumbai, who were
209.57 and has a 34-ball 55 against With both sides packed not specify, The Hindu un- in a biosecure environment,
compensated for slow starts Capitals, has strengthened with explosive middle- derstands that besides have also been confirmed to
and lack of consistent runs the middle-order. order batters, this sub-plot Marsh and physiotherapist be COVID-19 positive.
at the top of the order. The LSG has relied on openers could be decisive. Patrick Farhart (diagnosed Following Marsh’s positive
presence of

PSPB teams
cruise to Vishwa’s teammates devastated Group e4 makes a promising move
financial assistance. The
victories Others injured in the mishap to return home soon CHESS fund-raising programme was
initiated by Satya
SPorts Bureau Prabhakar,
K. KeerthIVasan while Viswanathan Anand
K. KeerthIVasan Babu, who attended to the ome of India’s finest
SHILLONG

The leaders of all the

SHILLONG

The entire Tamizhaga Table

formalities at the hospital
here, was shocked beyond S pros- pects in chess
received a boost the other
chose the players.
Anand’s wife
manag- er Aruna was one
and
eight groups had it easy in Tennis Association words. “I was his coach on day when they were gifted
of the coordinators.
the women’s first two contingent was travelling in his first international ₹2 lakh and a laptop each.
“We are all happy that
rounds of matches in their three separate cars on assignment — the Hopes Group e4, a group of 107 we could raise such a big
respec- tive groups on the Sunday for the senior International — in Qatar and families from 35 cities, amount in a short span of
opening day of the 83rd Nationals and inter-State I was here on his last day collected ₹25 lakh in just time,” she said.
Senior Na- tionals and table tennis championships signing forms at the five days to make it “We hope to raise more
Inter-State ta- ble tennis here on the fateful day D. hospital. This is possible.
funds for deserving players,
championships here on Vishwa, one of the State’s unimaginable grief,” he R. Praggnanandhaa, D. Big boost: Vaishali, seen with her father, was one of the
of whom there are so many
Monday. most promising players, said. Gukesh and R. Vaishali players chosen by Anand for financial aid.
in India.”
Petroleum Sports Pro- died in a road accident. Ramesh said the three were among the recipients
motion Board (PSPB), M. Nithyashree said on other paddlers — R. Santosh of the
Rail- way Sports
Promotion

Gukesh clinches title

Board (RSPB), Bengal-A, Monday: “The TTTA Kumar, D. Kishore Kumar,
Haryana, Maharashtra A,
Tamizhaga Table Tennis
Association (TTTA), Maha-
team left Guwahati
airport on Sunday at
around
S. Abhinash Prasannaji —
who were travelling with
Vishwa have no major SPorts Bureau
Ronaldo’s newborn
rashtra-B and Karnataka
scored facile victories over
12.30-12.45 p.m. in three
different cars. When our
injury concerns but would
take no further part in the he country’s youngest baby boy passes away
their opponents. However, car reached the spot [Umily
check point] we saw our
Nationals and would return
to their
T Grandmaster D. Gukesh,

a tough battle is expected 3-0 wins over Goa and Jharkhand with minute silence was coach Jai Prabhu Ram and No injury signs his eyes, but there was no Selena Deepthi was equally
among teams who would Maharashtra-B respectively identical 3-0 margins in observed for the Tamil a few locals involved in “There were no injury response. Then a medical devastated. “Vishwa is my
occupy the second spot in in Group-A, its women’s Group-D. Na- du paddler D. rescue work at the accident signs on Vishwa. We student/doctor even tried mixed doubles partner. We
their groups. side brushed aside the Before the Vishwa, who died in a spot. screamed his name CPR.”
While PSPB men scored challenge of TNTTA and inauguration, a two- road accident on hoping he would open Another paddler
C

Vishwa with the u-19 trophy
won in Dehradun in 2021.
■
FILE PHOTO
trained together in the camp
and were eager to do better
here as we had reached the
pre-quarterfinals in the 2019
Hyderabad Nationals. He was
generally a bit reserved, but
would shed all that once you
became his friend,” she said.
TTTA coach Ramesh
Sunday.
C
homes soon with their 15, improved upon his
guardians. two runner-up finishes
in March with a holding
Well-loved person resounding title-tri-
Vishwa’s coach for 12 years, umph in the 48th La
R. Ramnath Prasad [and Jai Roda International Open
Prabhu Ram] said: “On the chess tournament in
table, Vishwa was very Castile-La Mancha, in
aggressive and off it very Spain.
humble. He was loved by In the ninth and final
everyone,” he said. Ramanath round, joint overnight
said Vishwa was being lead- er Gukesh stopped
mentored by India’s top Israel’s Victor
paddler Sharath Kamal for the Mikhalevski in 26
last two years and that they moves to finish with
were expecting a few upsets in eight points.
Shillong. Earlier, R.
Praggnanand- haa did AssocIated Press Ronaldo loss,” the post added.
Gukesh a favour by MANCHESTER announced last “Our baby boy, you are
the other Cristiano Ronaldo took to year that the our angel. We will always
overnight leader social media on Monday couple was love you.”
Armenia’s Haik Mar- to announce that one of expecting twins. Ronaldo already has
his newborn twins passed “Only the birth four children.
away. of our baby girl
“It is with our deepest gives us the
Gukesh. ■
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT sadness we have to strength to live
announce that our baby this moment with
Martisroyan (7.5 points) boy has passed away,” some hope and
finished runner-up and the Manchester United happiness," he
Praggnanandhaa topped a striker wrote in a post wrote on the
five-way tie for third place at also signed by his social-media
seven points. Raunak Sadh- partner, Georgina post.
wani was part of those at se- Rodriguez. “It is the “We are all
ven points and took the greatest pain that any devastated at this
parents can feel.”
tirosyan in 37 moves. fourth spot.
16 SPORT
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TV PICKS
NBA: Sports 18, Vh1, Voot
Select, MTV & Jio TV, 7.30
a.m.
Real Madrid pulls off a stunning win
IPL: Star Sports 1 (SD & HD)
& Hotstar, 7.30 p.m. Benzema’s late strike helps team fight from two goals down to defeat Sevilla
La Liga: MTV & Voot Select,
10.30 p.m. EURO LEAGUES
Reuters
IN BRIEF SEVILLA
Real Madrid’s Karim Benze-
ma struck an added time
winner as the visitors reco-
vered from two goals down
to beat title rivals Sevilla 3-
2 in a thrilling LaLiga clash
on Sunday that took Carlo
An- celotti’s side a step
Tatum’s buzzer-beater closer to winning the title.
lifts Celtics over Nets
MIAMI
15-point lead
Jayson Tatum (31 points)
The victory means Real
spun in for a buzzer-beating
now has a 15-point lead at
lay-up to give Boston Celtics
the top over second-placed
a thrilling 115-114 victory
over Brooklyn Nets on Barce- lona, which has two
Sunday in the first game of games in hand, and Sevilla
their NBA Eastern in third with six rounds of
Conference playoff series. matches remaining.
The results: Eastern Benzema fired home two
Conference: Miami 115 bt minutes into added time
Atlanta 91; Boston 115 bt
af- ter Rodrygo and Nacho
Brooklyn 114; Milwaukee
Fer- nandez had pulled
93 bt Chicago 86; Western
Conference: Phoenix 110 bt
Real le- vel to cancel out
Sevilla’s
New Orleans 99. AFP 2-0 halftime lead through
goals from Ivan Rakitic and
Erik Lamela at a packed
Ra-
Leading names headline
Tsitsipas downs Fokina,
Delhi-NCR Open
keeps Monte Carlo
title
GOLF
MONTE CARLO
Stefanos Tsitsipas RAKESH RAO
successfully defended NOIDA
his Monte Carlo Masters Olympian Udayan Mane, in-
title with a hard-fought
form Yuvraj Singh Sandhu,
6-3,
Rashid Khan and Khalin
7-6(3) victory over Spain’s
Joshi are among the leading
Alejandro Davidovich
Fokina in Sunday’s final.
names set to tee-off in the
₹40-lakh Delhi-NCR Open
The
golf championship at the
third-seeded 23,-year-old
Noida Golf Club course on
Greek hammered 21 winners
and made only 11 unforced Tuesday.
errors to win in his eighth ATP Mane, the defending
title and first in 11 months.
AFP
champion and Sandhu,
win-
ner of three titles on the
PGTI Tour in the last five
months, will have to be
wa- ry of some serious
challen- gers.
Rashid and Joshi are
win- ners of international
Tour titles besides another
form-
Jepchirchir, Chebet win
Boston Marathon
BOSTON
Olympic champion Peres
Kiran and Priyanshu continue
their good form
Jepchirchir won a thrilling
sprint to the line to claim
the Boston Marathon
women’s title on Monday,
as fellow Kenyan Evans
Chebet dominated a stellar
BAI TRIALS
field to
take the men’s race. REUTERS Rakesh Rao
NEW DELHI
Kiran George and
Priyanshu Rajawat
remained on course to
decide the men’s singles
winner in the BAI National
selection trials at the Indira
Gandhi Stadium here on
Monday.
In the four-man group
where Sameer Verma
pulled out without playing a
match, Kiran defeated Ravi
Spieth beats Cantlay in 21-9, 21-
playoff; Lahiri T-66
15. Priyanshu Rajawat, the
WASHINGTON
other player, will now have
Three-time Major winner
to beat Ravi to challenge Ki-
Jordan Spieth defeated
Patrick Cantlay on the first ran for the top spot.
playoff hole to win the US In the women’s section,
PGA Heritage title on Aakarshi Kashyap and Ash-
Sunday. The Americans had mita Chaliha won as expect-
finished on 13-under 271. ed in the four-player pool.
Anirban Lahiri produced a Aakarshi defeated Aditi
disappointing performance in Bhatt 21-15, 21-13 and
the final round to finish T-66 Ashmi-
with a one-over total. AFP ta posted a 21-13, 21-16 victo-
ry over Unnati Hooda.
In the second stage of
Bruno Fernandes
involved in car Anish on top in 25m
crash
MANCHESTER
rapid fire pistol
Manchester United midfielder
Bruno Fernandes was
SHOOTING
involved in a car crash on
Monday. Nobody involved in
the incident has sustained
serious injuries, Britain’s brainchild of Department of
PA news agency reported. Youth Empowerment and
AP Sports (DYES) and hosts Jain
deemed-to-be University,
Mobile app for the unique ‘Khelo India Uni
Khelo India University
Games 2021’ mobile app
Games launched
promises to be a one-stop
BENGALURU
shop for all information
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, regarding the prestigious
the second edition of Khelo event scheduled to begin on
India University Games to be April 24, an official press
held in tech capital Bengaluru statement said.
will have its own mobile PTI
application which is available
free for download on Play
Store and App Store. A
C
DELHI THE HINDU
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022
Gokulam Kerala
secures top spot
Tuesday.
appeared after the break in I-LEAGUE
a match that was marked by
Sporting remained se-
several controversial deci- Special Correspondent cond with 26 points from 12
sions by referee Guillermo KOLKATA matches while Neroca tal-
Cuadra. lied 18 points to move into
He declined to show Mohammedan Sporting the fifth spot ahead of
Real’s Eduardo Camavinga Club finished the first-phase Chur- chill Brothers (17),
a second yellow card for a campaign of I-League by which has played a match
foul from behind on Antony playing out a 1-1 draw less.
Martial after 37 minutes. against NEROCA FC at the
The referee also disal- Kalyani Stadium on Mon- Rajasthan makes it
lowed Vinicius Jr’s equaliser day. In another match played at
for Real for a marginal Marcus Joseph got the the Naihati Stadium, Rajas-
lead for Sporting with a nice
handball decision in the than United FC secured a
78th minute, sticking by his header in the second mi- ticket to the championship
call after being sent to the nute of the action before leg by playing a goalless
pitchside monitor by VAR. Sergio Mendigutxia levelled draw against Sreenidhi Dec-
The results: the issue with an opportu- can FC.
LaLiga: Athletic Bilbao 0 lost to nistic goal in the 13th
Rajasthan United ended
Celta Vigo 2 (Aspas 11, Beltran minute.
its first leg campaign with
37). The rest of the match 16 points, which gave it the
Sevilla 2 (Rakitic 21, Lamela saw both sides earning a
25) lost to Real Madrid 3 (Ro- se- venth spot ahead of Real
lot of scoring opportunities Kashmir FC (12 from 11).
drygo 50, Nacho Fernandez 82,
but all the efforts proved Sreenidhi Deccan finished
Benzema 90+2).
futile. fourth with 21 points.
Bundesliga: Union Berlin 2
(Awoniyi 17, Proemel 21) bt The draw meant that de- The result: At Kalyani: NERO-
Hero! Benzema is the toast of his teammates after netting Real’s winner REUTERS Ein- fending champion Gokulam CA FC 1 (Sergio Mendigutxia
■
tracht Frankfurt 0 Kerala FC (27 points from 13) drew with Mohammedan
Hoffenheim 0 drew with 11 matches) was confirmed Sporting 1 (Marcus Joseph 2).
as
mon Sanchez Pizjuan stadi- ly in a single league cam- son when scored 24. It was Greuther Fuerth 0; Bayer Le- the topper of the first phase At Naihati: Sreenidhi Deccan
um. It was Benzema’s 25th paign in his Real career — a verkusen 0 lost to RB Leipzig 1 even before its final round- FC 0 drew with Rajasthan Unit-
tale of two halves as Sevilla (Szoboszlai 70). robin match scheduled on ed FC 0.
goal this season, his best surpassing the 2015-16 sea-
dominated the first but dis-
tal-
Vijay and Ramesh recall their long friendship with Sankar
S. Dinakar
Chennai
Sankar was more connected
to his father, the great
er champion Honey Bai-
soya. The prospects of Asian
N. Sankar was suave, pos- Rama- nathan Krishnan,
sessed a wealth of know- and his grandfather,
Ramesh said, “I
Tour regulars like Aman Raj, ledge, and was articulate. played with him at the club
Karandeep Kochhar, Manu He cared for sports and not level. He had a very neat
Gandas and Abhijit Singh sur- prisingly earned the style, clean game.”
Chadha cannot be Ramesh remembered the
respect of top Right
discounted. ₹1 million clay court tourna-
sportspersons, including
The overseas challenge
tennis aces Vijay Amritraj ment at Chennai’s Gymkha-
comes from Sri Lankans
and Ramesh Krishnan. na Club in 1993.
Mithun Perera, N. Thangara- Hearing the news of San- “Sankar was the driving
ja, Anura Rohana and Ban- kar’s demise, Tamil Nadu force behind that event. All
gladesh’s six-member team Tennis Association president the big players came. I de-
that includes Mohammad Amritraj said, “Incredibly N. Sankar with Vijay Amritraj. ■
FILE PHOTO: R. RAGU Ramesh Krishnan. ■
FILE PHOTO feated K.G. Ramesh in the fi-
Zamal Hossain Mollah, Ba- saddened to hear of the nal.”
pass-
dal Hossain and Mohammad ing of our dear friend N. San- Chennai. He was a wonder- as president of TNTA.” ly for generations. In the Talking about Sankar’s
ful player, great in business, late
Akbar Hossain. kar.” The entire tennis fraterni- qualities, Ramesh said, “He
and an amazing lover and 50s, he used to play a lot
The event is presented ty in the State would dearly with my grandfather, T.K. was sharp, very good
by Prometheus School Wonderful player supporter of tennis.” miss him, he said. He compa- ny, and had a great
Ramanathan.”
that continues to be a PGTI He added, “My relationship Amritraj said, “I always added, “I will miss him. sense of humour.
Tour partner and boasts of with him started over 50 enjoyed my time with him Heartfelt condolences to his To the Krishnans, Sankar “What set him apart was
facili- ties for shooting, years ago watching and well after my career. He entire family.” was a family friend. “He is that he could organise
swim- ming, table tennis, then playing against Sankar was a true gift to Tamil Nadu Ramesh told The Hindu, very prominent in my fath- things. He was passionate
among others. and Kumar on the clay ten- nis before and after his “Sankar has known our fami- er’s wedding photos,” re- about sports.”
courts of stint vealed Ramesh. Although
Sikki Reddy advanced to the
final stage.
Other three combinations
in the group of top-four are,
Sumeeth Reddy-Ashwini
Ponnappa, Ishan Bhatnagar-
Tanisha Crasto and Pratik
Ranade-Akshaya Warang.
In men’s doubles, the
pairs of M. R. Arjun-Dhruv
Kapila, Ishan Bhatnagar-Sai
Pratheek, Manu Attri-Su-
meeth Reddy and Krishna
Kiran George. ■
FILE PHOTO
Prasad-Vishnuvarshan Goud
made it to the final league
mixed doubles, the pair of phase.
Dhruv Kapila and Gayathri In women’s doubles,
Gopichand gave a walkover Gayathri and Treesa Jolly
to focus on their matches in were very lucky to beat Meh-
men’s doubles and reen Riza and Shailja Shukla
women’s doubles, 16-21, 21-18, 26-24 and top
respectively. their group for a place in
After winning the first the top-four.
match, Kapila and Gayathri Other three qualifiers
trailed 4-11 against Edwin Joy are, Sikki Reddy-Ashwini
and Shruti Mishra before Pon- nappa, Simran Singhi-
giv- ing up. When all the Ritika Thaker and Tanisha
matches were decided in the Crasto- Shruti Mishra.
group, the pair of K. Sai
Pratheek-
Women’s
softball team
Chaudhary placed third, gets wild-card
one point behind.
Special Correspondent medal positions.
NEW DELHI In the junior section, Vi- jayveer prevailed over Anish 33-31, while Adarsh Singh jumped up to the third place, after a below par 565 in qualification.
Anish Bhanwala topped In men’s 50-metre free pistol, Gaurav Rana finished on top after shooting 553, the same score as Om Pra- kash Mitharval. Saurabh
the men’s 25-metre rapid
fire pistol event, by
beating Vi- jayveer Sidhu
31-29 in the National
shooting selection trials
here on Monday.
Anish had qualified
with a score of 583,
before assert- ing himself
in the two stages of the
knockouts when the top
eight get filtered for the
 Saurabh topped the ju- nior e
ASIAN GAMES
tee meeting on February
event. Press Trust of India v 23.
Varsha Singh won the ju- New Delhi e The Asian Games parti-
nior women’s rapid fire pis- tol n cipation has already been
T
with a score of 542. t approved by the Indian
h
The results: , Olympic Association.
e
25m rapid fire pistol: Men: 1. Softball was part of the
Anish Bhanwala 31 (14) 583; 2. t
I Tokyo Olympics and will
Viayveer Sidhu 29 (12) 579; 3. h
n al- so feature at the 2028
Ankur Goel 18 (11) 579; 4. Ani- e
rudh Singh Rana 5 (14) 574.
d Los Angeles Games.
i
Juniors: 1. Vijayveer Sidhu 33 S
a
(11) 579; 2. Anish Bhanwala 31 o
n
(16) 583; 3. Adarsh Singh 23 f
(14) 565; 4. Udhayveer Sidhu 9 t
(15) 573. w
-
50m free pistol: Men: 1. Gau- o
rav Rana 553; 2. Om Prakash m
b
Mitharval 553; 3. Saurabh e
a
Chaudhary 552. n
l
Juniors: 1. Saurabh Chaudhary ’
l
552; 2. Arjun Singh Cheema s
551; 3. Ihsaan Jadhav 547.
A
Junior women: 1. Varsha Singh s
s
542; 2. Tanu Rawal 539; 3. o
Khushi Kapoor 530.
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