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JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES SINCE 1932 `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
 2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023

GOVERNMENT OF RAJASTHAN
OFFICE OF THE GENERAL MANAGER, RAJASTHAN BHAWAN
Plot No. 21-22, Sector 30A, Vashi, Navi Mumbai-400703
SALUTE THE SOLDIER ADDITIONAL CHIEF ENGINEER, PHED NCR
REGION ALWAR
Manu Marg ALWAR (RAJ.) E-Mail- ace.alw.phed@rajasthan.gov.in
Tel. No. 022-27811790/27811194/27811195, Email: rbvashi@rajasthan.gov.in SASHASTRA SEEMA BAL No. 8039-8048 Date- 01.03.2023
No.: RBV/2023/NIB/ 100 Date: 02.03.2023 20th March, 2019 NOTICE INVITING BID (NIB No. 56/2022-23)
Notice inviting Bid-04
Bids for Providing following Services at Rajasthan Bhawan, Vashi are invited from Sashastra Seema Bal fondly remembers and Bids for Annual rate contract for work of construction and commissioning of
interested Bidders up to 06.00 PM Date 24.03.2023. Other particulars of the Bid may be cherishes the valiant act of its braveheart 150 mm diameter tube well including supplying and installation for energy
viewed on the procurement portal (http://eproc.rajasthan.gov.in and efficient three star or better rating of BEE submersible pump sets ISI marked
http://sppp.raj.nic.in) of the state.
CT/GD Rayaz Ahmad Gojar Khatana, who and commissioning of tube wells under the jurisdiction of Executive Engineer
Sr. No Bid Detail Portal UBN No./ E-Proc Bid ID No made supreme sacrifice of his life on this day PHED Division Alwar, District Alwar with two years defect liability period are
1 Facility Operation E-Proc 2023_GAD_321888_1 in the year 2019. He attained martyrdom due invited from interested bidders upto 05:00 PM on Date 05.04.2023. Other
Services Other particulars of the Bid may be visited on the procurement portal
SPPP GAD2223SLOB00063 CT/GD to heavy cross border shelling from Pakistan (http://eproc.rajasthan.gov.in, http://sppp.raj.nic.in) of the state and
2 Security Services E-Proc 2023_GAD_322620_1 RAYAZ AHMAD in Distt- Baramulla (J&K). https://phedwater.rajasthan.gov.in departmental website.
SPPP GAD2223SLOB00064
GOJAR KHATANA We salute the valor and supreme sacrifice of UBN No.: PHE2223WSRC14204
Sd/-
Dy. General Manager our brave soldier. Sd/-
DIPR/C/3755/2023 Rajasthan Bhawan, Vashi, Navi Mumbai DIPR/C/3761/2023 Additional Chief Engineer

IYf¹ffÊ»f¹f Ad²fVff¿fe Ad·f¹f³°ff, Àffqd³fqdUq J¯OX, A³fc´f¦fP

IYf¹ffÊ»f¹f A²feÃf¯f Ad·f¹f³°ff, Àffqd³fqdUq UÈ°f WX³fb¸ff³f¦fPXÞ
IiY¸ffaIY:- 3942-49 dQ³ffÔIY 10.3.23
IiY¸ffÔIY-2333-44
BÊ-d³fdUQf Àfc¨f³ff ÀfÔ£¹ff 26 U¿fÊ 2022-23
(Àffd³fdU J¯OX A³fc´f¦fPÞX IZY A²fe³f ·fU³f d³f¸ffʯf IYf IYf¹fÊ )
dQ³ffÔIY: 03/03/23
Classifieds
A»´fIYf»fe³f BÊ-d³fdUQf Àfc¨f³ff ÀfÔ£¹ff 08 / 2022-23
Superintending Engineer B¨LbI d³fdUQfQf°ffAûÔ ÀfZ dþ»ff W³fb¸ff³f¦fPÞ ¸fZÔ EI ·fU³f d³f¸ffʯf I f¹fÊ (¸f¹f ´ffh¨f U¿fÊ IZ Qû¿f d³fUfS¯f U Àfb²ffS NIB Code:- PWD2223A4499
Bulandshahr Circle, P.W.D., Bulandshahr AUd²f) A³fb¸ffd³f°f »ff¦f°f SfdVf ø 0 216.00 »ffJ WZ°fb Afg³f »ffBʳf d³fdUQf Af¸fd³Âf°f I e þf°fe W`Ü I f¹fÊ IZ d³fdUQf SfþÀ±ff³f IZ Sfª¹f´ff»f ¸fWûQ¹f I e AûS ÀfZ Àffd³fdU J¯O A³fc´f¦fPÞ IZ A²fe³f ·fU³f d³f¸ffʯf I f I f¹fÊ IZ d»fE PERSONAL
´fi´fÂf dQ³ffÔI 24.03.2023 (VfbIi UfS ÀffÔ¹f 6.00 ¶fþZ °fI Afg³f»ffBʳf A´f»fûO I S³ff AfUV¹fI Wû¦ffÜ Cö d³fdUQf ÀffUÊþd³fI d³f¸ffʯf dU·ff¦f SfþÀ±ff³f ¸fZÔ C´f¹fbö ßfZ¯fe ¸fZÔ ´fÔþeIÈ °f ÀfÔUZQI ûÔ ÀfZ d³f²ffÊdS°f ´fi´fÂf ¸fZÔ BÊ-MZ³OdSÔ¦f ´fidIi ¹ff
E-Procurement Inviting Tenders I,Anita Kumari W/O Radhey
ÀfZ Àf¸¶fd³²f°f dUUS¯f Sfª¹f ÀfSI fS IZ ´fiû¢¹fûS¸fZÔM ´fûMÊ»f http://sppp.rajasthan.gov.in, õfSf Afg³f »ffBʳf d³fdUQf¹fZÔ Af¸fd³Âf°f I e þf°fe W`Ü d³fdUQf ¸fZÔ I f¹fÊ I e ÀfÔ£¹ff 1 W` EUÔ I f¹fÊ I e A³fb¸ffd³f°f
No. 2420/96M/E-Tender/BSR CIRCLE/2022-23 Dated:- 14.03.2023 Shyam,R/O B-4/74 C,Keshav
http://eproc.rajasthan.gov.in U dU·ff¦fe¹f UZ¶fÀffBÊM http://pwd.rajasthan.gov.in ´fS QZJZ þf »ff¦f°f 207.70 »ffJ W`Ü I f¹fÊ I f Qû¿f d³fUfS¯f EUÔ C³fIZ Àfb²ffS (dORZ ¢M »ffBÊd¶fd»fMe ´fedS¹fO) I f
On behalf of Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Superintending Engineer Bulandshahr Circle, U.P.P.W.D., Puram,Delhi-110035,have
ÀfI °fZ W`Ü CØfSQfd¹f°U I f¹fÊ ´fc¯fÊ°ff IZ ´f›f°f 5 U¿fÊ SWZ¦ffÜ Cö d³fdUQf ¸fZÔ AfS.´fe.O¶»¹fb.E. 100 EUÔ AfSMe´fe´fe d³f¹f¸f
Bulandshahr invites following percentage rate bids online through http://etender.up.nic.in from IYf¹fÊ IYf E³f.AfBÊ.¶fe.³fÔ. PWD2223A4602
Changed my name to Anita for
the eligible and approved Contractors registered with P.W.D. class as per column no. 10 below WXÀ°ff./- 2013 I e Vf°fZÊ »ff¦fc Wû¦feÜ d³fdUQf ÀfZ Àf¸¶fd³²f°f dUUS¯f UZ¶fÀffBÊM http://dipronline.org" EUÔ dU·ff¦fe¹f all Purposes.
¹fc¶feE³f ³fÔ - PWD2223WSOB18234 UZ¶fÀffBÊM http://eproc.rajaasthan.gov.in http://sppp.raj.nic.in EUÔ
Road Work Category as applied from Date 29.03.2023 to 06.04.2023 upto 12:00 Noon as per the A²feÃf¯f Ad·f¹f³°ff 0040659959-1
prescribed T-2 of Govt. of U.P. The technical bids will be opened online on dated 06.04.2023 at Àff.d³f.dU UÈ°f WX³fb¸ff³f¦fPXÞ http://www.pwd.rajasthan.gov.in ´fS QZJf þf ÀfI °ff W`Ü Cö I f¹fÊ IZ d³fdUQf ´fi´fÂf d³fdUQf
DIPR/c/4023/2023 I Harish S/O, Ramesh Chand R/o
02:00 P.M. If the office happens to be closed on the date of opening of the bids as specified, the AfUZQ³f OfC³f»fûO I S³fZ I e dQ³ffÔI 14 ¸ff¨fÊ 2003 ´fif°f: 930 ¶fþZ ÀfZ 24 ¸ff¨fÊ 2023 ÀffÔ¹f 06.00 ¶fþZ °fI
bids will be opened online on the next working day, at the same time any validity of bid will be SWZ¦ffÜ d³fdUQf IZ UBN No.PWD2223WSOB17844 W`Ü 523 Krishna Colony Palwal
WXÀ°ff./- Haryana 121102 have changed
considered from the original date. The date and time of opening of the financial bid shall be notified
on the website.
dk;kZy; v/kh{k.k vfHk;Urk lgkjuiqj o`Rr] yks0fu0fo0] lgkjuiqj (WX³fb¸ff³f SX°f³f) my name to Harish Kumar for
all purposes.
Sl. Name of Work Estimated Bid Time of Tender Address of Address of Address of Category i=kad 1893@24,e0,l0&,l0¼eq0uxj½@2023 fnukad % 14-03-2023 Ad²fVff¿fe Ad·f¹f³°ff
No cost (Rs.in Security Completion document Executive Superintending Chief Àffd³fd½f J¯OX A³fc´f¦fPÞX 0040659936-1
Lakh) (Rs.in work fee Engineer Engineer Engineer vYi dkyhu bZ&fufonk lwpuk ¼izFke vkae=.k½ DIPR/C/3729/2023
Lakh) including including executing I Kripashankar Yadava S/O Sh.
rainy GST (In the work egkefge jkT;iky] mÙkj izns'k dh vksj ls fuEu dk;Z gsrq vkWu ykbZu fufonk;sa http://etender.up.nic.in ds
Udayraj Yadav R/o Village & PO:
season Rs.) ek/;e ls mRrj izns”k yksd fuekZ.k foHkkx esa jftLVªMZ Js.kh&,] ch ¼tSlk ykxw gks½ ¼dkWye&8 ds vuqlkj½ ekxZ dk;Z
Gairwah (Harnawal), Dist:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 gsrq vgZ ,oa vuqeksfnr Bsdsnkjksa ls bZ&VS.Mfjax ds ek/;e ls Vh0&2 }kjk izfr’kr nj ij vk/kkfjr fcM uhps n’kkZ;s indianexpress.com Jaunpur UP-223103 have changed
Under Re-Construction Year 2022-23 x;s dk;Z gsrq vkeaf=r dh tkrh gSA fufonknkrk fcM ls lEcfU/kr vfHkys[k ¼tSls& dkWUVªsDV MkVk] izi=ksa] dkWUVªsDV my name from Kripashankar
1 Re-construction work of 100.00 7.00 04 Months Tender Executive Superintending Chief A, B dh 'krsZ] rduhdh fof’kf"V;k¡ ,oa fcM dh la”kksf/kr@ifjf”k"V 'krsZ bR;kfn½ dh Hkyh Hkkafr tk¡p dj ysaA Yadava to Kripa Shankar Yadav
Kutchesar to Barkatpur Cost Rs. Enginner Engineer Engineer (Road
link road. 300+2000+ Provincial Bulandshahar Meerut work) vide Affidavit IN-
18% Division, Circle, P.W.D., Zone, DL77420482306518V dated
G.S.T.Rs. P.W.D., Bulandshahar P.W.D.,
18/03/2023 before Dwarka Sector
2 Re-construction work of 55.00 4.75 04 Months Tender Executive Superintending Chief A, B,C 10 Court .
Shekhpur to Mohanpur Cost Rs. Enginner Engineer Engineer (Road
link road. 300+2000+ Provincial Bulandshahar Meerut work) 0050215506-1
18% Division, Circle, P.W.D., Zone,
G.S.T.Rs. P.W.D., Bulandshahar P.W.D., I,Vinay Singh,S/o Digvijay Singh
1. Time allowed for completion of Whole work is mention in col. No. 5 with including rainy season. Chauhan,residing
2. The Tender Document fee must be deposited through Internet Banking only. at,H.No.28,New Defence-
3. All registered contractors have to upload Turnover certified by C.A. of last 5 years and details of Colony, Harjinder-
maximum cost of work satisfactorily completed in last 5 years on Chanakya Software before Nagar,Kanpur-208007,have
changed my name,from Vinay
submission of tender.

fcy vkWQ DokfUVVh esa yxk;h x;h njsa lHkh djksa dks tksMrs gq, rFkk th0,l0Vh0 dks NksMrs gq, yxk;h Singh to Vinay Singh
Details of e-tender uploaded on http://etender.up.nic.in shall also be uploaded on UP PWD
x;h gSA Chauhan,vide-affidavit dated-
Chanakya software, before last date & time of submission of bid.
17-Mar-23 at New-Delhi.
4. Terms & other conditions related to bid are available on http://etender.up.nic.in
fufonk esa ekaxh x;h fufonk /kjksgj /kujkf”k ,oa fufonk izi= ewY; ¼dkWye ua0 5 ,oa 7 ds vuqlkj½ vkWu
5. During execution of work contractor should ensure the all safety Measures for COVID-19 issued ykbZu dsoy usV cSafdax }kjk Hkqxrku ds i”pkr~ ;w0Vh0vkj0 izkfIr jlhn ds :i esa gh ekU; gksxkA 0040659959-7
by the Uttar Pradesh government.
dksfoM&19 ekgekjh ls jksdus ls lEcfU/kr lHkh mik; viukrs gq, leLr dk;Z lEikfnr djk;s tkus I,Ex-No- 9089332K,NB/Sub Abdul
6. In PWD technical evaluation of tenders is to be done by Prahari Software URL for Prahari is vfuok;Z gksxsaA Munir Sheikh,S/O- Abdul
http://wms.uppwd.gov.in/Prahari/. (S.K. Gautam)
”kklukns”k la[;k 14@2020@879@rsbZl&7&2020&176¼lk½@06] fnukad 25-08-2020 ds vuqlkj Rashid Sheikh,R/O- Ghar Kota

Executive Engineer UPID-187679 Dt. 16.03.2023

Superintending Engineer
Bulandshahar circle, PWD
fufonk,a izgjh ,Iyhds”ku ds ek/;e ls izkIr dh tk;sxhA

fufonk vkWu ykbZu fnukad 23-03-2023 dks izkr% 11%00 cts ls MkmuyksM dh tk ldrh gS ,oa fnukad
I look at every side Baramulla Kashmir.In my
service records the name of my
P.D., PWD, Bulandshahar www.up.gov.nic.in Bulandshahar
29-03-2023 dh lk;a 05%00 cts rd viyksM dh tk ldrh gSA mDr fufonk dh rduhdh fcM fnukad before taking a side. son has been wrongly
mentioned as M. Tohied
30-03-2023 dks izkr% 11%00 cts [kksyh tk;sxhA vgZ fufonknkrkvksa dh foRrh; fcMs dk;kZy;
vkns”kkuqlkj fu/kkZfjr le;] fnukad ,oa LFkku ij [kksyh tk;saxhA instead of Mohammad Toheed
Inform your opinion with
Office of the Superintending Engineer,
'kklukns'k la[;k 1@2018@3070@78&2&2018@42 vkbZ0Vh0@2017 .22. fnukad 03-01-2018 esa fufgr
O;oLFkkuqlkj fufonk dh rduhdh ,oa foRrh; fcM [kksys tkus ds mijkUr fufonknkrk }kjk ewy vfHkys[k insightful perspectives.
as in school certificates and
Aadheer card.It needs

Bulandshahr Circle, P.W.D.,

correction. Objections be filled
O;fDrxr :Ik ls foHkkx@dk;kZy; esa izLrqr fd;s tkus gSA fufonknkrk }kjk ewy vfHkys[k izLrqr u fd;s to 9th JAKLI within seven days.
tkus dh n'kk esa 'kklukns'k esa fufgr izkfo/kkuksa ds vuq:Ik dk;Zokgh dh tk;sxhA
Bulandshahr
/kjksgj /kujkf'k 'kklukns'k la[;k 622@23&12&2012&2 vkfMV@08 Vh0lh0&2 fnukad 08&06&2012
,oa dk;kZy; izeq[k vfHk;Urk yks0fu0fo0 y[kuA ds i=kad 01@ch0Mh0Mh0&,u0,p0@40 I,JETENDER PAL
0020455060-1

No. 2334 /96M-BSR CIRCLE/2022-23 Dated.- 10.03.2023

,e0Vh0&11@14 fnukad 01-01-15 }kjk fn;s x;s funsZ'kksa ds vuqlkj gh yh tk;sxhA SINGH,S/O.SARNAGAT
Short Term E-Procurement Tender Notice
lHkh dk;Z foHkkxh; gkWV feDl IykaV ls lEikfnr djk;s tk;saxsA SINGH,ADD-B-7/25,NEAR

fufonk ls lEcfU/kr fu;e@”krsZ rFkk fooj.k http://etender.up.nic.in ij miyC/k gSA RAGHUNATH MANDIR KRISHNA
1- On behalf of Honble Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Superintending Engineer, Bulandshahar Circle, NAGAR SHAHDARA DELHI-
U.P. P.W.D Bulandshahar invites following Item rate bid online through http://etender.up.ni.in the vf/k”kklh vfHk;Urk vf/k”kklh vfHk;Urk The Indian Express. 110051,Changed my name to
eligible and approved Contractors registered with UPPWD, from dated 21.03.2023 to 26.03.2023 izkUrh; [k.M] yks0fo0fo0] eqt¶Qjuxj UPID-187828 Dt. 18/03/2023 lgkjuiqj o`Rr] yks0fu0fo0] lgkjuiqj
Upto 12.00 PM. Technical bids will be open online on date 26.03.2023 at 12.30 PM. If the office pdpwdmzn@gmail.com www.up.gov.nic.in sesrepwd@gmail.com For the Indian Intelligent. JITANDER PAL SINGH,FOR
ALL,FUTURE PURPOSES.
happens to be closed on the date of opening of the bids as specified, the bids will be opened online
on the next working day respectively, at the same time and validity of bid will be considered from 0040659959-2
the orginal date. The date and time of opening of the financial bid shall be notified on the website. I, Shelja Rajawat alias Shailja
Sl. Name of Work Estimated Bid Time of Cost of Bid Class of Rajawat W/o Shri Manu
No cost (Rs. in Security Completion Documents Contractor Rajawat, R/o A-31, Opp. Assisi
Lac) (Rs. in GST Convent School, Sector-33,
Lacs) Noida, Distt. G.B. Nagar, U.P.-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 201301, have changed my name
1 Widening and Strengthening 1530.00 30.00 12 Months 2000+ 300+ UP PWD to Shailja Singh Rajawat for all
Work of Farrukhnagar to (including 18% GST= Class A future purposes.
Sirora road (ODR) under rainy season) 2714.00
Rajya Sadak Nidhi. 0040659949-1
2 Widening and Strengthening 1735.00 30.00 12 Months - do - UP PWD I, Gaura W/o Rupesh Kant R/o-
of Banthla Dhikauli Road (including Class A G12, Tower-B, Himalaya
(ODR) Km. 8 to Behta rainy season) Tanishq, Rajnagar Ext.,
Hajipur (ODR) Road under
Ghaziabad have changed my
Rajya Sadak Nidhi.
name to Gaura Verma.
1- The Bid Security and Tender Document Fee must be deposited By the Contractor/Firm through 0070833282-1
Online Banking./NEFT/RTGS
2- All registered contractors have to upload Turnover certified by C.A. of last 5 year and details of I Pradeep Bisht S/O, Gyan Singh
maximum cost work satisfactorily completed in last 5 years on Chanakya Software before Bisht R/o B-571/b Gali No. 4
Submission of tender. Baba Colony Burari Delhi
3- The e-tender, which will be uploaded on http://etender.up.nic.in. It will be mandatory to upload 110084 have changed my name
the details on Chanakya software of Public Works Department, Uttar Pradesh before the last date to Pradeep Singh Bisht for all
and time of tendering. purposes.
4- Contractor should Quote their rates without GST which shall be paid extra as per applicable at 0040659937-1
the time of payment
5- Terms & conditions related to bids are available on website http://etender.up.nic.in
6- The Contractor shall submit FORM-11/FORM-J in original before payment otherwise an amount
equal to five time of the royalty in addition to royalty shall be recovered from the bill of the LOST & FOUND
contractor as G.O. No. 3385/86-2015-292/2015, Dt. 15.10.15 & E.N.C., U.P.P.W.D (Bhawan)
Lucknow. Letter No. 1849/5 B.P. wing/2015 Dt. 18.11.15 I,Yog Darshan Malik,S/o-Late
Mrs Kaushalya Devi,R/o-F-
(Ram Raja) (S.K. Gautam)
Executive Engineer Superintending Engineer 75,DGS CGHS
C.D.-2, PWD, UPID-187800 Dt. 18/03/2023 Bulandshahr circle, PWD Ltd.,Plot.No.6,Sector-
Ghaziabad www.up.gov.nic.in Bulandshahr 22,Dwarka,New Delhi,have lost
one of my Property
Papers,Share-Certificate
membership no.587 of above
IYf¹ffÊ»f¹f A²feÃf¯f Ad·f¹f³°ff address,issued by DGS
¸fZSXNX UÈØf, »fû0d³fqdUq, ¸fZSXNX CGHS,Finder
contact.9650387422.
BÊ-´fiû¢¹fûSX¸fZ³MX d³fdUQf Àfc¨f³ff 0040659959-8
´fÂffÔIY 1067 / 11 I`YdVf¹fSX - ¸fZqUÈq (´fifq Jq ¶ff¦f´f°f) dQ³ffÔIY :- 15.03.2023 I Shivender Mathur , R/O flat 301
block29, Eastend, Mayur Vihar 1,
1. Sfª¹f´ff»f ¸fWûQ¹f, CØfS ´fiQZVf I e AûS ÀfZ A²feÃf¯f Ad·f¹f³°ff, ¸fZS N UÈ°f, »fûqd³fqdUq, ¸fZS N õfSf ´fid°fVf°f QS ´fS CØfS ´fiQZVf Delhi 96 , lost original Builder
»fûI d³f¸ffʯf dU·ff¦f ¸fZÔ '¸ff¦fÊ' I f¹fûÊÔ WZ°fb ÀffS¯fe IZ I fg»f¸f 11 IZ A³fbÀffS Ii ¸f ÀfÔ0-1 ´fS E EUÔ ¶fe0 SdþÀMOÊ ßfZ¯fe IZ AWÊ Buyer Agmnt document of T1903,
EUÔ A³fb¸fûdQ°f NZIZ QfSûÔ ÀfZ BÊ-MZ³OdSÔ¦f IZ ¸ff²¹f¸f ÀfZ d³fdUQf ¸ffÔ¦fe þf°fe W`Ü d³fdUQfQf°ff dI Àfe ·fe A±fUf Àf·fe I f¹fûÊ IZ d»fE parsvanath platinum,
d³fdUQf QZ ÀfI °fZ W`Ü d³fdUQfQf°ff I û Àf»ffW Qe þf°fe W` dI UW ³¹fc³f°f¸f AWÊ°ff IZ Àf¸¶f³²f ¸fZÔ d³fdUQfQf°ff d³fQZÊVf ´fbdÀ°fI f ¸fZÔ greaternoida vide FIR No:
Ud¯fÊ°f NZI f ´fif~ I S³fZ d³f¹f¸fûÔ ÀfZ AU¦f°f Wû »fZÔ Ü 249045/2023. contact 9810880559
.
2.
0050215500-1

''IMPORTANT''
Whilst care is taken prior to
acceptance of advertising
copy,itisnotpossibletoverify
its contents. The Indian
3. d¶f»f AfgR ¢½ffd³MMe ¸fZÔ »f¦ffBÊ ¦f¹fe QSZÔ Àf·fe I SûÔ I û þûOÞ °fZ Wb¹fZ °f±ff þeqEÀfqMeq I SûÔ I û LûOÞ °fZ Wb¹fZ »f¦ffBÊ ¦f¹fe W`Ü
4. d³fdUQf ¸fZÔ ¸ffÔ¦fe ¦f¹fe ²fSûWS ²f³fSfdVf EUÔ d³fdUQf Vfb»I ´fif~ (I fg»f¸f ³fÔ0 5 EUÔ 6 IZ A³fbÀffS) Afg³f»ffB³f IZ ¸ff²¹f¸f ÀfZ ·fb¦f°ff³f We ¸ff³¹f Express (P) Limited cannot be
Wû¦ff Ü ²fSûWS ²f³fSfdVf IZ U»f BÊ-MZ¯OS ´fûMÊ»f ÀffBÊMX http://etender.up.nic.in ´fS C´f»f¶²f ¦fZM UZ IZ ¸ff²¹f¸f ÀfZ ³fZM ¶f`ÔdIÔ ¦f /
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MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES
WORLD
2 DAYS AFTER ICC
WARRANT, PUTIN
MAKES SURPRISE
TRIP TO MARIUPOL
PAK: TERROR CASE
AGAINST IMRAN
OVER COURT CHAOS
PAGE 14
Fears of ripple
effect, UBS
closer to Credit
Suisse deal
STEFANIA SPEZZATI,
OLIVER HIRT
& JOHN O’DONNELL
MARCH 19
UBSISclosetofinalisingadealto
buy rival Swiss bank Credit
Suisse,asourcefamiliarwiththe
matter said on Sunday.
The deal is valued at more
than $2 billion, after UBS in-
creased its offer, the Financial
Timesearlierreported.TheCredit
Suissechairdeclinedtocomment
when reached on his cell phone.
The Swiss National Bank
agreed to offer a $100 billion liq-
uidityline toCreditSuisse,the FT
said. UBS will pay more than
0.50 francs ($0.5401) a share in
its own stock, far below Credit
Suisse’s closing price of 1.86
francs on Friday, it reported, cit-
ing sources.
Officials have been racing to
rescue the 167-year-old bank,
amongtheworld'slargestwealth
managers, after a brutal week
saw the second- and third-
largestUSbankfailuresinhistory.
Asoneof 30globalbanksseenas
systemicallyimportant,adealfor
Credit Suisse could ripple
throughglobalfinancialmarkets.
At least two major banks in
Europe are examining scenarios
of contagion possibly spreading
in the region's banking sector
and looking to the Federal
Reserve and the European
Central Bank to step in with
stronger signals of support, two
senior executives with knowl-
edge of the discussions said.
Theweekendnegotiationsfol-
low efforts in Europe and the
UnitedStatestosupportthesector
since the collapse of US lenders
SiliconValleyBankandSignature
Bank. US President Joe Biden's
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
‘I would very much like
to see the 21st century
as an Indian century.
It’s better than being a
Chinese century’
TONY ABBOTT
FORMER AUSTRALIAN
PRIME MINISTER
PAGE 16
When a lit fest comes to a small Jharkhand town
From mobile library to 2-day national
fest, tracing Dumka’s literary journey
PAGE 1
ANCHOR
ABHISHEK ANGAD
DUMKA, MARCH 19
NEARLY 60 years ago, a
'BhramansheelPustakalay'(mo-
bile library) delivered books and
newspapers in rural Santhal
Pargana. But this only came to
light recently, when the district
administrationdecidedtofixthe
dilapidated public library in
Dumka, Jharkhand, in 2021.
As the administration, led
by Deputy Commissioner R S
Shukla, began digitising and
cataloguing the books gather-
HC NOTICE TO STATE TO PRODUCE AMRITPAL ON HABEAS CORPUS PETITION
Amritpal still on the run, four close
aides arrested, flown to Dibrugarh
District police chiefs carry out flag
marches, internet remains suspended
ANJU AGNIHOTRI CHABA
& KAMALDEEP S BRAR
JALANDHAR, AMRITSAR,
MARCH 19
A 27-MEMBER Punjab police
team flew four close aides of
Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal
Singh to Dibrugarh in Assam on
Sunday morning. Among the
four lodged in the Dibrugarh
Central Jail now is Daljit Singh
Kalsi, who is learnt to be
Amritpal’s close aide and finan-
cier of Waris Punjab De. The
other three are Bhagwant Singh,
Gurmeet Singh and
Arrested aide got Rs 35 cr from abroad,
phone records show calls to Pak: Probe
VARINDER BHATIA
CHANDIGARH, MARCH 19
A CREDIT of at least Rs 35 crore
from foreign countries over the
last two years was found in the
bank account of Daljit Singh
Kalsi, a close aide of Waris
Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh
arrested from Gurugram, ac-
cording to investigating agen-
cies. Under scrutiny are also
Share of pvt refiners in fuel exports
to Europe almost 95% in Apr-Feb
SUKALP SHARMA
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
AS EUROPE shuns Russian crude
oil and petroleum fuels, India’s
privatesectorrefiners—Reliance
Industries and Nayara Energy —
have emerged as major benefi-
ciaries,withadisproportionately
high share in India’s fuel exports
to the European continent de-
spite accounting for just around
a third of India’s refining capac-
ity, as per an analysis of data
shared by energy cargo tracker
Vortexa.
Giventheprevailinggeo-pol-
itics,thetwoprivatesectorrefin-
4 months, 50 rallies in Maharashtra, one theme:
‘Love jihad’, ‘land jihad’ and economic boycott
NAYONIKA BOSE,
ZEESHAN SHAIKH
& ALOK DESHPANDE
MUMBAI, MARCH 19
STARTING NOVEMBER last year,
at least 50 'Hindu Jan Aakrosh
Morcha' rallies have been held
acrossMaharashtra,inalmostall
of the state's 36 districts. Each of
these events has followed a set
pattern: a brief march through
the heart of the city, amid a sea
of saffron flags and caps, fol-
lowed by a short rally, where
ing dust in the public library
and improving resources, they
stumbled upon the forgotten
van which served as the mobile
library. This then inspired them
to hold their own literary event,
the Dumka State Library
Literature Festival, in April
2022.
Thedistricthasheldthreelit-
erary events since then, includ-
ing the second edition of the
two-day Dumka literature festi-
val that ended on Sunday and a
memorial lecture on Norwegian
missionary Paul Olaf Bodding,
who came to India and wrote
about Santhali culture, folk tales
and grammar.
“The library had books like
economist Ashok Mitra's A
DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA
Pradhanmantri Bajeka.
The team headed by
Amritsar(Rural)Superintendent
of Police Tejbir Singh Hundal
flewtoAssamfromAmritsarina
special IAF flight. Authorities in
Punjab refused to confirm if the
fourhadbeenchargedunderthe
National Security Act.
While Punjab police said
Amritpal Singh, a declared fugi-
tive, continued to be on the run
after giving them the slip
Saturday, Waris Punjab De al-
leged he had been illegally de-
tained and filed a habeas corpus
petition on Sunday to produce
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
about two dozen mobile phone
numbers from Pakistan from
which calls were made or re-
ceived on Kalsi’s phone.
Amritpal and his close aides
were in the process of constitut-
ing an independent force of
armed supporters in the name
of Anandpur Khalsa Force (AKF),
a senior official in an investigat-
ing agency, who did not wish to
be identified, told The Indian
Express.
E
E X P L A I NE D
Why pvt
oil cos sell
● abroad
PRIVATE refiners did not
see sense in selling petrol
and diesel in the domes-
tic market since they
could not match prices of
state-owned oil compa-
nies which have kept re-
tail prices unchanged
since April last despite
incurring losses. Hence
they prioritised fuel ex-
ports for better margins.
At a 'Hindu Jan Aakrosh
Morcha' rally in Vashi, Navi
Mumbai, in February.
Express file
At the Dumka State Library Literature Festival. Abhishek Angad
Prattler's Tale and poet Nazeer
Akbarabadi's Banjara Nama. I
wanted to do justice to these re-
sources... Then, Deputy
Development Commissioner
Karn Satyarthi [a 2016 batch IAS
JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
SINCE 1932
Punjab Police personnel at the Central Jail in Dibrugarh,
Assam, on Sunday. PTI
Sources in the agencies said
they have found certain videos
in which Amritpal’s close aides
travelling in his cavalcade were
seen carrying weapons bearing
the AKF logo. Many were wear-
ing stoles bearing AKF logos.
Theywereseensayingtheywere
not bothered about criminal
cases that could be slapped on
them by the police, the sources
said.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
ers are seemingly playing an in-
creasingly prominent role in the
global crude oil and fuels supply
map.
Boththepublicsector,aswell
as the private sector refiners in
India ramped up imports of dis-
counted Russian crude in the
wake of Moscow’s invasion of
Ukraine. However,data suggests
that while public sector refiners
have remained focussed on sup-
plying fuel to the domestic mar-
ket, private sector players have
stepped up exports to Europe in
a bid to partly bridge the fuel
supply gap for the region.
According to analysts and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
speakers on a makeshift dais at-
tack minorities, invoke “love ji-
had”, “land jihad”, “forced con-
versions”, and call for the
economic boycott of the Muslim
community.
For the record, the BJP dis-
tances itself from these rallies,
saying they are by the Sakal
Hindu Samaj, an umbrella body
of Hindutva and Sangh organi-
sations, but almost all of these
events have had the presence of
partyleaders,includingthe local
BJP MLA and MP. The speeches,
however,arelargelydeliveredby
officer] helped us make this fes-
tivalareality,”saidShukla,a2012
batch IAS officer.
A prominent member of
Shukla's team is Odisha-based
writer and poet Akshaya
`7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
India flag taken
down in UK, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Sagar Preet
British dy high Hooda outside Rahul Gandhi’s residence. Abhinav Saha
commissioner
summoned Delhi Police at Rahul
SHUBHAJIT ROY
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
door, Cong calls it
HOURS AFTER a group of people
chanting pro-Khalistan slogans
‘vendetta... ploy to
distract from Adani’
took down the Indian flag at the
HighCommissioninLondon,the
Indian government on Sunday
summoned the “senior-most”
RELATEDREPORT,PAGE10 UKdiplomatandlodgedastrong Sexual assault remarks: Rahul sends
protest.
The British High preliminary reply to police notice
Commissioner to India, Alex
BUSINESS AS USUAL
Ellis, condemned the actions of
the pro-Khalistan group. “I con- SOURAV ROY BARMAN
ersandsupportersgatheredout-
side in protest. The police team
demn the disgraceful acts today & JIGNASA SINHA was finally granted entry about
BY UNNY against the people and premises NEW DELHI, MARCH 19 two hours later.
of the @HCI_London -- totally “We couldn’t question him
unacceptable,” he tweeted. DAYS AFTER issuing notice to today. We met him and will
“Thesenior-mostUKdiplomat senior Congress leader Rahul record his statement later. He
inNewDelhiwassummonedlate Gandhi, seeking information on wasn’t ready today,” said Hooda.
evening today to convey India’s thesexualassaultvictimsthathe Police sources said Rahul asked
strongprotestattheactionstaken mentioned during his Bharat for 8-10 days' time, saying he
by separatist and extremist ele- Jodo Yatra in Kashmir in January, wanted to compile all the infor-
ments against the Indian High a Delhi Police team met him at mation before sending it.
Commission in London earlier in his residence here on Sunday. Laterintheevening,hesenta
the day,” the Ministry of External Amid high drama, the team, preliminary reply to the police
Affairs said in a statement. led by Special Commissioner of notice. Citing sources, a PTI re-
“An explanation was de- Police (Law and Order) Sagar port said Rahul, in his 10-point
manded for the complete Preet Hooda and DCP (New reply, has not repliedon the sub-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Delhi) Pranav Tayal reached stance but on the process and
Rahul’s residence at about 10 procedure adopted by the police
am, following which party lead- CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
EXPRESS NETWORK Srinagar to get mega-mall, IT tower as
UAE’s Emaar marks J&K’s first FDI
a day Srinagar hosted an India-
BASHAARAT MASOOD UAE investors’ meet similar to
SRINAGAR, MARCH 19 the one held in March last year.
KISHIDA ARRIVES The J&K government said
ALMOST A year after CEOs from Emaar’s projects mark the first
TODAY: INDO-PACIFIC several Gulf countries visited the foreign direct investment (FDI)
PLAN, DEFENCE TIES Valley to explore investment op- in the Union Territory.
ON AGENDA portunities,theUAE-basedEmaar J&K Lieutenant Governor
PAGE 8 Group, the developer of the Burj Manoj Sinha performed the
Khalifa,markeditsentryintoJ&K ‘BhumiPujan’(prayerceremony)’
by announcing a shopping mall J&K L-G Manoj Sinha at the forthe10-lakhsq.footmega-mall
and an IT tower in Srinagar. mall’s bhumi pujan. PTI — “Mall of Srinagar” — and an IT
EXPLAINED The announcement came on CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
ECONOMICS
A SWEETEXPORT
STORY
PAGE 11
right-wing hardliners, including
suspended BJP leader and
Telangana MLA T Raja Singh,
Kalicharan Maharaj and Kajal
Hindustani — at least two of
them (Singh and Maharaj) face
hate speech cases both in the
state and elsewhere.
While Singh was suspended
by the BJP in August last year for
his remarks on Islam and
Prophet Mohammed, he is a fa-
miliar face at such rallies in
Maharashtra. Kalicharan
Maharaj, aka Abhijit Dhananjay
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Bahibala. The co-founder of
Walking BookFairs, a mobile li-
brary that has travelled across
India, Bahibala first found the
Bhramansheel Pustakalay van
and helped refurbish it.
"Afterwerefurbishedthevan
— although it is not mobile now
— we started holding small liter-
ary events at the library. We
brought in writers from across
the country. Each session last
year was full, which showed
people's appetite for such
events," said Bahibala, who was
instrumental in getting person-
alities like novelist and travel
writer Chandrahas Choudhury,
and publishers Ravi Singh of
Speaking Tiger and Naveen
Kishore of Seagull Books to at-
tend the event this year.
Choudhury said: “Akshaya
wasrestoringthatvan[themobile
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
 4 EXPRESS NETWORK
FROM PAGE ONE
Amritpal still on the run, 4 aides held, flown to Assam
him before the Punjab and
Haryana High Court. A bench
headed by Justice NS Shekhawat
issued a notice to the Punjab gov-
ernmentandthepolicetorespond
byMarch21.
Amritpal’s uncle Harjit Singh,
whoclaimedtobewithhimwhen
the police were chasing them
Saturday, said he thought the po-
licewantedtostopthemfromun-
dertaking Khalsa Vaheer — a reli-
gious procession that promotes
baptism — in Muktsar. He said he
steppedoutofthecartotalktothe
police, and when he returned,
Amritpal and his two security
guardswerenotpresentinthecar.
“I have seen some videos and be-
lievehehasbeenarrested,”hesaid.
Whencontacted,HarjitSingh,
told The Indian Express just past
Srinagar to get mega-mall
toweratSemporaontheoutskirts
of Srinagar. He said an IT tower
will also come up in Jammu.
“An IT tower of Rs 150 crore
willbesetupinJammu.Landhas
been given for it. Its ground-
breaking ceremony will be held
next month,” Sinha said, adding
the Emaar projects in Srinagar
and Jammu will boost employ-
ment avenues.
“Overall, it’s an investment of
Rs 500 crore. I think the long
standing dream of people of
Jammu and Kashmir especially
Srinagarandsurroundingswillbe
fulfilled... I think Jammu and
Kashmir is moving towards in-
dustrial progress,” he added
Emaar Properties CEO Amit
Jain said “Mall of Srinagar” will
have 500 shops, many of which
are expected to be run by UAE-
based companies.
Emaar was part of a group of
around 36 CEOs from Gulf
CooperationCouncil(GCC)coun-
tries,includingSaudiArabia,that
visited Kashmir last year to ex-
plore investment opportunities.
EXPRESS EDUCATION
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midnight Sunday, “I have been in
touchwiththepolice.”Heclaimed
hemaybepickedupsoon.
AnofficerinaCentralsecurity
establishment said Punjab police
was advised to send Amritpal’s
close associates to jails in north-
eastern and southern states to
avoidanyuntowardincidentslike
the one in Ajnala. Amritpal and
hundreds of his supporters had
stormed the police station in
Ajnala and clashed with person-
nel in February to secure the re-
leaseof anassociate.
“In a meeting held in the
MinistryofHomeAffairsrecently,
it was suggested to Punjab police
to keep them in jails in states
which are far off, have less Sikh
population, and have a strong
leadership,”saidtheofficer.
The government said it had
invited the CEOs, most of them
from the real estate, hospitality,
development, food processing
and agriculture sectors,to allay
their concerns over the situation
in J&K by offering them a “first-
hand” experience.
LG Sinha called Sunday’s
India-UAESummita“unique”op-
portunity for a “free and frank”
exchangeofviewsoninvestment
opportunities in J&K. “Today is a
historic day,” Sinha told the for-
eign investors.
“With the Bhoomi Pujan of
10-lakh sq. foot Mall of Srinagar
by Emaar, the first FDI in Jammu
andKashmirhastakenshape,”he
said as he invited business lead-
ers from the UAE to invest in J&K
and become “partners in J&K’s
development”.
Sunday’s foreign investors’
meetwasalsoattendedbymem-
bers of the UAE-India Business
Council (UIBC), the official joint
businesschamber setupforpro-
moting economic synergy be-
tween India and the UAE.
EXCLUSIVE
WEB
ENTERTAINMENT
Meanwhile, as the hunt for
Amritpalcontinuedforthesecond
day, district police chiefs carried
out flag marches in major towns
in Punjab and the state govern-
mentextendedthesuspensionof
theinternettillMonday.
The Punjab police booked
Amritpal and seven of his associ-
ates under the Arms Act Sunday
after they claimed to have recov-
eredsix12-boreriflesand196car-
tridges. Amritsar (Rural) SSP
SatinderSinghsaidover100illegal
cartridgeswereseizedfromanas-
sociateofAmritpal.Later,theseven
persons arrested from Amritpal’s
cavalcade were remanded to po-
licecustodytillMarch23.
As several videos of Amritpal
andhisaideswerebeingsharedin
public,InspectorGeneralofPolice,
● Arrested aide got Rs 35 cr
Daljit Singh Kalsi, said to be the
main financier of Amritpal and
Waris Punjab De, according to in-
vestigators,hadstartedacompany
named Sterling India in early
2000s. A multi-level marketing
company located in Delhi, he is
learnt to have used the unregu-
lated direct selling route to run
ponzischemes.Hewasalsoonthe
Board of Directors of Tirumalla
Tirupati Multi State Cooperative
CreditSocietyunderapseudonym
Sarabjeet Singh, as on April 21,
2018. Theinvestigatorshavenow
found that Tirumalla Tirupati
Multi State Cooperative Credit
Society is also involved in multi-
level marketing and is located in
Mumbai.Oneofitsdirectorsisalso
being investigated by Crime
Branch, Goa, for alleged involve-
ment in a drug racket and for us-
ing credit cooperative society for
moneylaundering,asourcesaid.
Kalsi, they found, was also on
board of directors of Icons
InfrapropPrivateLimitedandwas
disqualified under Section 164(2)
(a) of Companies Act, 2013 for fi-
nancial years 2014 to 2016 for not
filingIncomeTaxreturnsforthree
consecutiveyears.
The investigating agencies
have learnt Amritpal Singh has
been using an Audi car registered
● 4 months, 50 rallies in Maharashtra, one theme: ‘Love jihad’, ‘land jihad’, economic boycott
Sarang, is from Akola in
Maharashtra. A proponent of a
'Hindu Rashtra', he was arrested
in December 2021 for his speech
at a dharam sansad in Raipur,
where he allegedly hailed
Nathuram Godse. Kajal
Hindustani,akaKajalShingala,isa
Gujarat-based Hindutva activist.
At one such rally, at Mumbai's
MiraRoadonMarch12,speeches
were made against “Islamic ag-
gression”,“lovejihad”and“landji-
had”, with some of the speakers
callingforaneconomicboycottof
Muslims. “There are three major
aspectsofIslamicaggression.First
islovejihad,secondcomeslandji-
had and finally there is the prob-
lem of conversion… For
these...thereisaRam-ledsolution
– one where you will not be
stopped by political leaders, the
SupremeCourtoreventhemedia.
That solution is their economic
boycott,”saidKajalHindustani.
A 2-km march that preceded
the speeches was flagged off by
Geeta Jain, independent MLA
fromMiraBhayandarwhoissup-
porting the government. The
event was attended by BJP MLA
Nitesh Rane along with local BJP
leaders and members of outfits
such as the VHP and Bajrang Dal.
WhileMaharashtraPoliceper-
sonnel were seen at most of the
ralliesrecordingthespeeches,no
case has been filed against any of
the speakers so far. T Raja Singh
has been booked twice by the
Maharashtra Police for hate
speeches in Latur (February) and
Ahmednagar (March), but those
were at rallies not held under the
bannerof the'HinduJanAakrosh
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ASHLEY JOHNSON:
‘CAN’T TALK ABOUT IT
WITHOUT CRYING…’
brutal birth and death
scene in ‘The Last of Us’
Headquarters, Sukhchain Singh
Gill, issued a video statement
SundayeveningthatAmritpalwas
still absconding and efforts were
on to nab him. The Punjab police
is acting within the ambit of law,
hesaid.
Inarelateddevelopment,Akal
Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet
Singh issued a statement appeal-
ingforpeaceandharmony.Urging
the authorities to not perpetuate
an atmosphere of fear by unduly
picking up youth, he called upon
youngsters to avoid the path of
confrontation. Earlier, Jalandhar
Police Commissioner Kuldeep
Singh Chahal told mediapersons
thatAmritpal’svehiclewaschased
foraround25kmsonSaturdaybut
his driver managed to escape
through the narrow lanes of
inthenameofaPuneresident,and
partnerof KalsiinSterlingIndia.
Amritpal was last seen near
Hawk dhaba on Khadoor Sahib-
Harike road. A heavy police con-
tingent was waiting to intercept
him near Harike. Sources said
Amritpalhada “flagcar” thatwas
moving approximately 2-3 kms
aheadof hisvehicleandthisvehi-
cle was the one that first spotted
theheavypolicedeploymentand
alerted Amritpal. Amritpal, the
sourcessaid,quicklytookaU-turn,
abandoned the Mercedes SUV in
which he was travelling earlier,
changed his route and escaped in
the same “flag car”. Investigating
agenciesbelievetherewereatleast
five persons including him, his
driver Harpreet, and uncle Harjit
Singhduringthattime.
Thesevenpersonsarrestedby
the Punjab police include:
AmandeepSingh,22;Harminder
Singh, resident of village Raja Tal,
Amritsar;BaljinderSingh,resident
of Barnala,amongtheseventrav-
ellingwithAmritpalbeforehees-
caped;andGurbirSingh,resident
ofMehrowalvillageofHoshiarpur
district. These accused have been
named as co-accused with
Amritpal in the FIR registered
against him on February 24 with
respecttotheAjnalaincident.
Morcha'.
“As per Supreme Court’s
guidelines, we are video record-
ingeverythingthatisbeingsaidat
these rallies. We then listen to
them thoroughly, seek legal ad-
vicefromappropriateindividuals
andaccordinglylegalactionisbe-
ing taken,” said a senior
Maharashtra Police officer.
DespiteaFebruary3directive
by the Supreme Court that the
HinduJanAakroshMorchawould
onlybeallowedifthereis“nohate
speech”,thespeechesattheseral-
lieshavecalledMuslims“unpatri-
otic”,whose“primeaimistoveer
Hindu girls away from their reli-
gion by converting them to Islam
through marriage”.
Consider these:
■November20,2022:Atthefirst
Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha in
Parbhani,heldinthebackground
of theoutrageoverthemurderof
Shraddha Walkar by her partner
AaftabPoonawala,theorganisers
saidtherallywastocreateaware-
ness in Hindu society about the
dangers of 'love jihad'. Local BJP
functionaries and Shiv Sena
UddhavBalasahebThackerayfac-
tionMLARahulPatilwereamong
those present.
■ January 29, 2023: At a rally in
Mumbai, open threats were is-
suedtoMuslimsonissuessuchas
thepresenceof mosques,alleged
panderingofthestatetotheWaqf
Board,andhalalmeat.Addressing
the crowd at Kamgar Maidan,
wheretherallyended,Telangana
MLA T Raja Singh, while urging
Hindus to boycott goods from
shops run by members of the
Muslim community, said: “It is
PUZZLES AND GAMES
Malsian town in Jalandhar by hit-
ting a police vehicle on the road.
Amritpal was travelling with four
personsincludinghisuncle.
DIG Jalandhar Range Swapan
Sharma said the Mercedes in
whichAmritpaltravelswasgifted
to him by drug smuggler Ravel
Singh. He also said his links with
Pakistani Agency ISI were being
probed. Thepolicehadplannedto
arrest Amritpal at Mehatpur on
the Jalandhar-Moga Road on
Saturday.He,however,evadedthe
police and sources said he left his
vehicle and mobile phone near
Nakodar. In a state-wide crack-
down, the police had arrested 78
of hisassociatesonSaturday.
(WITHINPUTSFROM
MAHENDERSINGH
MANRALINNEWDELHI)
● Lit fest
library], when he invited me to
Dumka.Lastyear,weputthefesti-
val together in three weeks. Many
writers enjoyed coming here be-
causetheymetthekindofreaders
theydon'tusuallymeet.Everybody
wasdelightedtohearthehistoryof
Dumka, the library and the van,
which is why I suggested that we
should call it the Dumka State
Library Literature Festival. Some
people even returned for the sec-
ondeditionthisyear.”
CuttoSaturday,DayOneofthe
festival. At a session on ‘How I
Came to Writing’, International
Booker Prize winner Geetanjali
Shree called the Dumka event
"very important". "It is like find-
ing my own centre… It would
have been a loss for me had I not
come here and understood how
muchthereisthatIdonotknow,"
Shree said.
Among the panellists at the
session were publishers Singh,
Kishore and Neeta Gupta. During
a session with publishers, Ajay
Modi, a second-year history stu-
dent, asked, "How does a person
from a village who struggles to
make ends meet and gets a bit of
informationfromtelevisionreach
publishers?” Gupta responded:
“Youhavealreadystartedbycom-
ing for the event.”
time the Hindu community
standsupagainstthedomination
by these people. There's anger in
the hearts and minds of people...
Our sisters and daughters are
falling prey to the systematic de-
signs of the other community.”
BJP MLAs Ashish Shelar and
Pravin Darekar and MPs Gopal
ShettyandManojKotakattended
the rally.
■February 27: At a rally in Vashi,
NaviMumbai,moreanti-Muslim
rhetoricwasraised.“OhAbdul,lis-
ten to us, these Hindu brothers
havedecidedtoboycottyoustart-
ing today,” Kajal Hindustani said.
BJP MLA Ganesh Naik was pres-
ent at the rally.
■ March 12: At a rally in Mira
Road, Kajal Hindustani claimed
Muslimvendorslacedvegetables
and fruits with toxins. "Today, al-
most all the vendors in Shanti
Nagar,PoonamGarden,JesalPark
havebeenoccupiedbyjihadiven-
dors. Spend a little extra money
and stop buying from them.
Ensure the money goes to a
Hindu’s house.” Bhayander
IndependentMLAGeetaJainand
BJP MLA Nitesh Rane were pres-
ent at the rally.
Askedabouttheparticipation
of BJP leaders and ministers at
these protests, Maharashtra
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra
Fadnavis had said in January: “In
somerallies,ourpartyworkersor
leaders have been present be-
cause they are also Hindus. If a
rally is being organised on the
problemsfacedbyHindus,thenit
is natural that these leaders may
participate. But this is not an
agenda of (the BJP).”
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
ENJOY DAILY
CROSSWORDS AND
SUDOKU FROM THE
INDIAN EXPRESS
● Fuel exports
industry insiders, Reliance
Industries and Nayara Energy
have emerged as significant
gainers from the West’s punitive
actionagainsttheRussianenergy
sector. This is because they are
able to purchase Russian oil at a
discount on the one hand, and
earn robust margins on product
supplies to Europe on the other.
In April-February, Indian re-
finersexportedcloseto2,24,900
barrels per day (bpd) of petro-
leum fuels to Europe, with pri-
vate sector refiners accounting
for a staggering 95 per cent, or
over 2,13,300 bpd, Vortexa data
showed. Public sector refiners
likeIndianOil,BharatPetroleum,
and Hindustan Petroleum ex-
portedjustover11,500bpdof fu-
els to Europe.
In fact, in the four months
leading up to the February 5
EuropeanUnionbanonimportof
refined products from Russia,
Indian public sector refiners did
notexportfuelstoEuropeatallin
two months – November 2022
andJanuarythisyear.Inthesame
four-monthperiod,privatesector
refiners supplied an average of
around 2,45,500 bpd of petro-
leum fuels to Europe, around 22
percenthigherthantheiraverage
● UBS closer to Credit Suisse deal
administration moved to back-
stopconsumerdepositswhilethe
Swisscentralbanklentbillionsto
Credit Suisse to stabilise its bal-
ance sheet.
The fallout from the crisis of
confidence in Credit Suisse and
the failure of the two US banks
could ripple through the finan-
cial system next week, the two
executives separately told
Reuters on Sunday.
A person with knowledge of
the talks earlier told Reuters that
UBS sought $6 billion from the
Swiss government as part of a
purchase. The guaranteeswould
cover the cost of winding down
parts of Credit Suisseand poten-
tiallitigationcharges.Onesource
previously said 10,000 jobs may
have to be cut if the two banks
combined.
Credit Suisse shares lost a
quarter of their value last week.
The bank was forced to tap $54
billionincentralbankfundingas
Speaking on condition of
anonymityabouttherallies,asen-
ior BJP leader pointed to the
changedcircumstancessince the
party joined hands with the
Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv
Senatocometopowerinthestate
in June last year.
"Hindutva was cited as the
mainreasonbyEknathShindefor
overthrowing the Uddhav
Thackeray-led government. A
message needed to be sent out
thatthenewgovernmentwillgive
justice to Hindus, that it listens to
Hindus and works for Hindus,
evenmorethanthepreviousone,"
hesaid,addingthat'lovejihad'is-
sues connect with a large section
of women.
"He (Uddhav) will always
have the advantage of being
Balasaheb Thackeray's son, but
the dilemma for him will be that
hisleaderscanneitherparticipate
in these rallies nor condemn
them,"hesaid,whilepointingout
thattheBJPhasbeenraisingthese
issues in every state. "Love jihad
is a common thread across the
country. What Maharashtra is
witnessingnowisanexperiment
tocheckwhetherthesemobilisa-
tions will reflect in votes."
Asked about the hate
speechesatthesegatherings,BJP's
Kankavli MLA Nitesh Rane, who
was present at the Mira Road
eventonMarch12,toldTheIndian
Express that he agreed with the
call for economic boycott of
Muslims. “All that money is used
by them against the Hindu com-
munity. If that money is used for
theprosperityof thecommunity,
no one would have an issue. But
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Less than 500 days away,
how is India preparing
for the Olympics?
NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY
Mihir Vasavda and Amit Kamath of
the Indian Express discuss what
Indian athletes need in the lead up
to the Olympics
export volumes to the continent
in the preceding six months, the
data shows.
During April-February, India
imported a little over 9,40,600
bpdofcrudeoilfromRussia,with
privatesectorrefinersaccounting
for about 45 per cent share, even
though their cumulative refining
capacity of around 88 million
tonnes per annum (mtpa) ac-
counts for just 35 per cent of the
country’s overall refining capac-
ity of around 251 mtpa. This
means that Reliance Industries
and Nayara Energy together im-
portedmoreRussianoilpermtpa
of refining capacity than their ri-
vals in the public sector.
In view of super-normal ex-
ports by private sector refiners,
the government had imposed
windfallgainstaxonfuelexports
from July. “It is important to un-
derstand that for OMCs (public
sectoroilmarketingcompanies),
thetoppriorityistokeepthedo-
mestic market well-supplied.
That is not the case when it
comes to private refiners. So, it
makes sense for private refiners
to prioritise fuel exports to earn
higher margins,” a senior execu-
tive with a public sector refiner
told The Indian Express.
it tries to recover from scandals
thathaveunderminedtheconfi-
dence of investors and clients.
Swiss authorities are exam-
ining imposing losses on Credit
Suisse bondholders as part of a
rescue of the bank, two sources
with knowledge of the matter
said on Sunday.
However, European regula-
torsareapprehensiveaboutsuch
a move for fear that it could hit
investor confidence elsewhere
in Europe's financial sector, the
sources said, speaking on the
condition of anonymity.
US authorities are working
with their Swiss counterparts to
help broker a deal, Bloomberg
reported, while Sky News said
the Bank of England has indi-
cated to international counter-
parts and to UBS that it would
back the proposed takeover of
Credit Suisse, which counts
Britain as a key market.
REUTERS
they use money in the name of
terrorism, love jihad and a lot of
other things against Hindus. So
obviously, we had to call out to
stop their economic prosperity,”
Rane said.
BJP MLA Pravin Darekar, who,
too,wasseenatmanyoftheseral-
lies, said: “Hindu girls are being
luredandconverted...thisistaking
place in large numbers. There are
landmafiafromaparticularcom-
munity who grab land and make
religiousplaces.Hindusocietyhas
cometogetheragainstallthis.”
Besides the Morcha rallies,
there have been similar rallies
acrossMaharashtra,includingthe
'HinduRashtraJagrutiSabhas'or-
ganised by the Hindu Janjagriti
Samiti, a Goa-based organisation
with a stated aim of establishing
a"Hindunation".Theseralliestoo
witness inflammatory speeches.
Though the organisers of the
two gatherings are different, the
speakers who get called are the
same – T Raja Singh, Kalicharan
Maharaj and Kajal Hindustani,
among others.
The main Opposition parties
inthestatehavelargelychosento
keep quiet on the Hindu Jan
Aakrosh Morcha rallies. “These
rallies are being organised to di-
vert people's attention from the
real issues of inflation, price rise
andunemployment.Whyshould
we engage on the agenda set by
right-wing forces? We have cho-
sentonotreacttotheseralliesbe-
causewedonotwanttodivertat-
tention from economy-related
issues," said a senior Congress
leader, who asked not to be
named.
● Rahul
in the case. He termed the police
action “unprecedented” and
asked whether this had anything
todowithhispositiontakenboth
inside and outside Parliament on
the Adani issue, the report said.
“Hehassentapreliminaryre-
ply asking for more time. A de-
tailedreplywillbesenttothepo-
lice soon. We have questioned
why the police took 45 days to
send this notice? Are they doing
thisbecauseoftheremarksmade
againstAdani?Wewillhelpthem
withtheinvestigationinanycase,”
a Congress spokesperson said.
Earlier, after the police team
reached Rahul’s doorstep, senior
party leaders Jairam Ramesh,
Abhishek Singhvi, Pawan Khera
and Rajasthan Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot addressed a press
conference.Thepartysaidtheat-
tempt to “intimidate” Rahul
“smacksofpoliticalvendetta”and
alleged a “ploy to distract” atten-
tion from the Adani issue.
Singhvi said the police, in its
notice on March 16, had sought
details about women who had
complained to Rahul about do-
mesticviolence, molestation and
harassment. “On March 16, the
police team went back satisfied,
after being told that such details
will take a minimum of seven to
10days...Andtherewasnoprotest
onthattimeperiod.Therefore,we
wereevenmoreastonishedwhen
two days later, the same police
team, with some additional per-
sons, landed up again with simi-
lar questions and similar ques-
tionnaire,”hesaid.Gehlotalleged
thatthepolicewasworkingatthe
behest of the top BJP leadership,
“withasignalfrom(UnionHome
Minister) Amit Shah”.
In his speech, Rahul had said:
“When I was walking, there were
many women who were
crying...There were many among
themwhotoldmetheyhavebeen
raped, molested. Few said they
were molested by their relatives.
WhenI asked themif Ishouldtell
the police, they told me not to.
They said they wanted me to
know... not to tell the police. They
saidtheywillfacemoreproblems.
Thisisourcountry'sreality.”
The BJP said the Delhi Police
was only discharging its lawful
duty. “Rahul Gandhi had claimed
thathemetwomen,whotoldhim
that they were raped and mo-
lested,butdidn'tgetjustice.Delhi
Police has been asking for details
butRahulwouldn'ttell.Assuming
hedidn'tliethen,itshowshisfee-
ble commitment towards ensur-
ingjustice,”tweetedAmitMalviya,
theparty'sITdepartmenthead.
Meanwhile, Hooda said: “A
part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was
also in Delhi. I was part of the se-
curityforcespresent.SinceRahul
mentionedrapeandmolestation,
we thought we should take legal
action and help the victims. We
conductedapreliminaryenquiry
butnothingcameup.Thatwasthe
timehewasintheUK.Wewaited
for him to return and then ap-
proached him twice to help us
withthematter.Todayisthethird
time we contacted him but we
have not got any response yet.
Today, he said he needs time. We
justdon’twanttoloseevidencein
thiscase…don’twantthevictims
to undergo further abuse”.
● India flag
absence of British security thatal-
lowedtheseelementstoenterthe
High Commission premises. She
[Deputy High Commissioner
Christina Scott] was reminded in
thisregardof thebasicobligations
of the UK Government under the
ViennaConvention,”itsaid.
“India finds unacceptable the
indifferenceoftheUKGovernment
tothesecurityofIndiandiplomatic
premisesandpersonnelintheUK,”
the MEA said, adding, “It is ex-
pected that the UK Government
would take immediate steps to
identify,arrestandprosecuteeach
oneofthoseinvolvedintoday’sin-
cident, and put in place stringent
measures to prevent the recur-
renceof suchincidents”.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023 5

Olympus Medical Systems India

FUMIO KISHIDA
Hon’ble Prime Minister of Japan
Private Limited welcomes
Fumio Kishida
Hon’ble Prime Minister
of Japan to India

MR NAOSHI KIKUMOTO, Managing Director

Olympus Medical Systems India Pvt Ltd.

Olympus Medical Systems India Pvt Ltd is honored to

extend a warm welcome to Prime Minister of Japan,
His Excellency Mr Fumio Kishida on his visit to India
for the bilateral summit.
We have seen that the India-Japan relationship has its
own driving forces in terms of robust economic ties
and shared values. Indo-Japan association has been
very strong traditionally and culturally and share a
strong commitment to the ideals of democracy and
tolerance. We are happy to see that the association
has charted new inroads of collaboration in the recent
years with active engagement among both
governments in various forums like communication,
electronics, health etc. Making the invisible visible
Olympus Corp is one of Japan's leading Medical Device to see and treat disease
Company with more 100 years history, It started its
Indian operation by setting up an entity 14 years back True to Life sits at the heart of Our
and has been working in the Indian Medical Device Purpose of "Making people's lives
Sector, delivering quality products and services in the healthier, safer and more fulfilling."
field of endoscopy and surgery. We have actively For over 100 years Olympus has been
supported various training initiatives in conjunction
pioneering innovative technologies
with medical societies which has helped in upskilling
the practitioners in learning basic to advanced and solutions that made the previously
treatment procedures, Thus uplifting the quality of invisible visible and we have a long
healthcare and treatment facilities in India. We have legacy of delivering minimally invasive
also actively engaged in skill enhancement of the "see and treat" therapies that help
technicians, ensuring availability of skilled manpower
detect, prevent and treat diseases.
for futuristic medical technologies.
In our commitment to making “peoples live healthier
safer and more fulfilling”, Olympus has always
strived to play a pivotal role in delivering quality in all
spheres of life with our CSR initiatives of “Doing Well
by Doing Good”.We have had various programs
through our WASH Project- Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene in various Govt Primary Schools, also we are
conducting medical camp in schools under our
initiative named “Olympus Arogya Bachpan
Program”.
We are proud to say that the Indo-Japanese
relationship has seen new heights in the recent years,
and we are happy to play a small part in this journey
with our activities in India. We are hopeful that this
association will grow by leaps and bounds in the
coming years and this visit will be the stepping stone
in that journey. This will provide the necessary boost
to the co-operative development in health sector in
particular and other sectors in coming years.

6 THE CITY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND &
PAVNEET SINGH CHADHA
SONIPAT, MARCH 19
THE YAMUNA, where it runs
through Memarpur and Tikola
villagesinHaryana’sSonipatdis-
trict, is only a trickle from a dis-
tance, the riverbed entirely dry
along some stretches. Not far
from it, large mounds of river
sand, recently mined, lie along-
side the farmland.
Earlier this month, Delhi’s
newly sworn-in water minister
Saurabh Bharadwaj had linked
the “unprecedented” drying up
of the river even before summer
with mining in Haryana. This, he
alleged, is resulting in low levels
of water in the river at
Wazirabad in Delhi, conse-
quently hitting supply to the na-
tional capital.
Bharadwaj had also referred
to Google Earth images of
bridges or bunds built across the
river near these mining sites
downstream of Tajewala — with
one such site being in
Memarpur — and said the flow
of the river has been blocked by
these structures.
While water from Haryana
reaches Delhi mainly through
two channels — the Carrier Line
Channel and the Delhi Sub-
Branch — some of it, around 120
cusecs or 60 MGD (million gal-
lons per day), reaches Delhi
throughtheriveraswell,accord-
ing to Delhi Jal Board officials.
To understand the reality on
the ground, The Indian Express
visitedthetwovillageslastweek.
At Tikola, officials had re-
cently stopped mining activity
byoneof thecompaniesthatop-
erate along the stretch. When
The Indian Express visited the
spot Friday, some of the com-
pany’s workers, however, were
still around, close to the rented,
heavy machinery that is now
idling. A large pile of sand lies
close to where the workers sit,
having been mined from the
riverbed and adjoining land, and
is stocked for sale.
As it flows, the river brings
sediments with it — a veritable
goldmine for mining companies
in the area which sell the miner-
als for construction purposes.
The sand is coarse, and the
coarser it is, the better it is for
construction, one of theworkers
said. The sand leaves the area for
construction sites in Delhi,
Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar
Pradesh. While it is sold here at
around Rs 10 per cubric foot, the
price rises as it is transported.
One of the workers said the
river has no water coming from
further upstream, and that the
water that is visible in the river
isdirty,sinceitismostlypolluted
water coming from Panipat.
The environment clearance
grantedtothecompanyinTikola
in 2016 specified an annual pro-
duction capacity of 14 lakh
tonnesof sandon40.85hectares
of land, with the mine lease area
City sees 72 Covid cases, docs Body parts found
point to more tests owing to flu near RRTS station
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
COVID CASES continued to in-
crease in the city, with 72 re-
ported on Sunday. The positivity
rate increased to 3.95%. On
Saturday, 58 cases were
recorded at a positivity rate of
3.52%.
At present, there are 209 ac-
tive Covid cases in the city and
the rate of hospitalisation is low.
Of the 7,984 beds set aside for
Covid patients, 14 are occupied.
One patient is on the ventilator,
two on oxygen support and four
in the ICU.
According to doctors, the
uptick in cases is because testing
has increased owing to an in-
crease in the number of people
reporting symptoms of in-
fluenza.
In a meeting of the Delhi
DisasterManagementAuthority
Saturday, reinforcing practices
such as masking, physical dis-
Disquiet flows the Yamuna
Amid water shortage in parts of Delhi, minister Saurabh Bharadwaj recently blamed ‘illegal sand
mining in Haryana’ for the Yamuna running dry. The Indian Express visits two villages at the
centre of the political debate to better understand the ground reality
(Clockwise from above) Piles of sand stocked near farmlands in Tikola and Murthal villages; a mostly dry riverbed at Sonipat; a JCB idling at Tikola after officials had recently stopped mining
activity by one of the companies that operate along the stretch; a bridge across the river in Tikola made of sand with cement bags to buttress it. Abhinaya Harigovind & Pavneet Singh Chadha
lyingpartlyoutsideandpartlyon
the riverbed. The clearance also
mentions thatmining is not per-
mitted in the monsoon months,
from July 1 to September 15.
Bridges of sand
Notfarfromwherethework-
ers sit, a bridge of sorts has been
built across the river, connecting
Uttar Pradesh on one side with
Haryanaontheother,andallow-
ing a resident of Adarsh Nangla
village in UP to cross the river on
a two-wheeler to the other side.
The bridge, made of sand
with cement bags to buttress it,
was built around two months
ago and is a temporary one for
mining, the resident said. It has
large pipes that run beneath it,
and water flows fromone side of
the structure to the other
through these pipes.
The UP resident and the
workersatoneof thecompanies
also said the river remains more
or less dry till the monsoon,
when the water levels rise.
In a statement issued after
Bharadwaj’s allegations, the
Haryana government had men-
tioned these pipes. Sand mining
is done legally in the Yamuna
and temporary pipe crossings
are provided so that there is no
obstruction to the flow of the
river,thegovernment’sresponse
had said.
CASES OVER THE WEEK
75
60
42
45
26
30
13
15
0 partsfromadraininSector8ear-
Mar 13 Mar 15
tancing, hand hygiene and sani-
tation were discussed.
Preparedness at hospitals was
also discussed.
The Delhi government has
also issued instructions to the
districtsurveillanceunits,health
facilities and all government
hospitals to closely monitor
cases of H3N2 virus and Covid.
“At present, not many cases
of influenza have been reported
in government hospitals of
Delhi,sowedonotneedtopanic
and worry. We just have to be
careful and responsible. Patients
Thequestionof thesetempo-
rary bridges is still being consid-
ered in the National Green
Tribunal (NGT), though the
Tribunalhasrecentlyorderedthat
nofurtherpermissionsshouldbe
granted for such bridges.
Sonipat resident Vikas
Kumar had sent a petition letter
to the NGT last year alleging that
a mining company is involved in
illegal mining on the riverbed
and has “diverted the course of
the river by constructing an ille-
gal bridge on river Yamuna”.
Based on this, the NGT consti-
tuted a joint committee in
September last year to verify the
situation.
In November, an NGT order
in the case raised the question of
permissibility of construction of
such temporary bridges across
the river and their environmen-
tal impact on riverine ecology
and obstruction or diversion of
the river’s natural flow. The
Tribunal had then asked for a
copy of the policy framed by the
Haryanagovernmentontheper-
missibility of constructing such
temporary bridges.
In an order issued on
February 23, the NGT said the
presence of the Ministry of
Environment,ForestandClimate
Change (MoEFCC) and the
Ministry of Jal Shakti is essential
for a proper decision on the
72
58
48
32
Mar 17 Mar 19
with flu-like symptoms, aged
above 65 and patients with se-
vere respiratory complaints are
advised to be more careful and
will be monitored in the OPD
and IPD of hospitals in all dis-
tricts of Delhi to ensure early
screening,” newly appointed
Health Minister Saurabh
Bharadwaj earlier said.
The Centre had issued a
Covid advisory in six states —
Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala
andKarnataka—afterasmallin-
crease in Covid cases.
ANANDVIHAR
Poor
218
AQI
0 PM 10
0-50 Good
HARDLOOK
DEMAND AND SUPPLY
1,380MGD
Estimated Haryana
demand
990MGD
Normalproduction
■ WaterfromHaryana
reachesDelhimainly
throughtwochannels—
CarrierLineChanneland
DelhiSub-Branch
■ Someofit,around120
cusecsor60MGD(million
gallonsperday)reachesDelhi
throughtheriveraswell
■ UpstreamofconfluencewithHindon(Yamunaupper)
■ ConfluencewithChambaltoconfluencewithHindon(Yamunamiddle)
■ ConfluencewithGangatoconfluencewithChambal(Yamunalower)
CURRENT STATUS
Production(at10am)
atWazirabadWTP
134.5 MGD
93 MGD
AMMONIAINRIVER: 3.0 PPM
questions involved in the case,
and had asked for the two min-
istries to be impleaded as re-
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
A DAY after Delhi Police found
dismembered body parts in
Sunlight Colony, investigators
have contacted Noida Police,
who recovered severed body
lier this week, in connection
with their probe.
While the Delhi Police found
a human skull, wrist bones and
hair, their counterpart in Noida
recoveredseveredarmsandlegs,
said officers.
DCP (Southeast) Rajesh Deo
earlier said they had received in-
formation at 11.56 am Saturday
regarding the body parts found
near Sarai Kale Khan ISBT, under
a Regional Rapid Transit System
(RRTS) station construction site.
“The body parts were in various
stages of decomposition. We are
notsureof thegenderoridentity
yet...WehavesentthepartstoAI-
IMSandamedicalboardwillcon-
SHADIPUR
Moderate
199
AQI
500 0 PM 2.5
51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate
Himachal
Pradesh
UP
YAMUNA
BASIN
■ Sunday ■ Normal
Wazirabadpondlevel
674.5 ft
671.3 ft
spondents.
Applying the precautionary
principle, the Tribunal then or-
duct an autopsy,” the DCP said.
A police source said: “The
parts were lying near the RRTS
area.Itisacrowdedspacebecause
of traffic... there are no CCTVs on
thestretch.Thesuspectmusthave
dumped the parts two-days ago.
Primafacie...itseemsthemurder
wascommittedatleast7-14days
back... it appears the victim was
hit on the head.”
Senior officers said they sus-
pect the accused must have
dumpedthebodypartsatdiffer-
ent places to evade arrest. “It
looks like the body parts (found
in Noida) are four-five days old.
They were dumped in a 3-4 foot
deep drain. Noida Police had
conducted an autopsy and sus-
pect the parts belong to a
woman,” said an officer.
“It is yet to be ascertained if
the bones recovered from Delhi
match with those found in
Noida. A forensic examination
willbeconductedalongwiththe
autopsy. We will then come to a
conclusion,” said police.
AYANAGAR
Moderate
116
AQI
500 0 PM 10 500
201-300 Poor 301-400 Very Poor
deredthatnofurtherpermission
be granted for construction of
any temporary bridge across the
Yamuna for facilitating sand
mining and allied activities. The
case has been listed for consid-
eration next week.
In January, the Haryana
Irrigation and Water Resources
Department submitted a report
before the NGT which said that
it had issued a policy in October
2021 which mentions mining
agencies must apply to the de-
partment for these structures,
and that these are to be disman-
tled by June 30. Three such ap-
provals were sanctioned in
Sonipat. A meeting chaired by
the Haryana Chief Minister was
held in August 2020, where it
was decided that mining on the
riverbed requires crossing over
the river channel and that the
Irrigation Department may un-
dertake construction of struc-
tures required for crossing, the
submission stated.
The Haryana government’s
response after Bharadwaj’s alle-
gationsalsosaid:“Haryanaisde-
livering 1,050 cusecs of water to
DelhithroughCLCandDelhiSub
Branch canals... pollution-free
water is provided to Delhi. This
canal water is taken from CLC
through twin pipelines, directly
to sumps in Wazirabad WTP for
treatment... Sand mining is done
Woman assaulted, pushed
into cab on busy road traced
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
HOURS AFTER a video went vi-
ral showing a woman being as-
saulted and forced to sit inside a
cab by a man in the middle of a
busy road in Mangolpuri, Delhi
Policesaid theyhave tracedboth
the man and the woman as well
as the vehicle and driver.
Police said the statements of
the woman, an accountant, and
the man have been recorded.
The incident took place
Saturday night. The purported
video shows the man grabbing
the woman by her clothes and
dragging her towards the car. He
then pushes her inside the vehi-
cleevenassheresists.Aftermak-
inghersitinsidethecar,theman
and a friend who was also with
them are seen getting in.
DCP (Outer) Harendra Singh
said the cab was traced to
Gurgaon’s Ratan Vihar and a
DTU S K Y WA T C H
Moderate
126
AQI
0 PM 10 500
MAX: 26
401-500 Severe 4.6°C below normal
legally in river Yamuna as per
Haryana government mining
policyonlyinnon-monsoonsea-
son... Haryana is not obstructing
any natural river flow and is pro-
viding pollution-free canal wa-
ter to Delhi more than its legiti-
mate entitlement.”
A sandy track leads from
Tikola to Memarpur, where an-
otherminingcompanyoperates,
trucks carrying sand from it.
Unlike the one in Tikola, where
mining was from the riverbed,
the one in Memarpur mines
sand mostly from land, measur-
ingaround142acres,aroundthe
river,accordingto thosewhoco-
own the land.
In 2015, the company partic-
ipated in the auction for obtain-
ing a mining contract for nine
years. With the clearances re-
quired, they began mining a lit-
tle later, they said. The stock is
kept in the area and is sold to
buyers at around Rs 10 to Rs 12
per cubic foot. District officials
keep track of what is sold
through a pass that the buyer’s
truck carries, specifying how
much has been sold. It is mined
and sold as is, though it is often
mixed with Badarpur sand later
when it reaches Delhi for con-
struction, those associated with
the company said.
Virender Punia, Sonipat
Regional Officer, Haryana State
A video which went
viral shows a man
grabbing the woman
by her clothes and
dragging her towards
the car. He then pushes
her inside the vehicle
even as she resists
team was sent to find the driver.
“The car had been sold six
times to different people. We
managed to get booking details
from the (cab aggregator’s) app
and traced the driver who told
us the woman and her two
friends were coming home from
a party. However, the woman
and one of the men got into a
fight and she got out. He also got
out and pushed her into the car,”
he said.
“The driver led us to the
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
FORECAST: March 20
Generally cloudy sky.
Thunderstorm with light rain
with gusty winds speed and
hail at isolated places.
MIN: 16
0.5°C belownormal
PollutionControlBoard(HSPCB),
said three companies are cur-
rently functioning in Sonipat.
One of the companies at Tikola
had stopped operations on the
orders of officials in the mining
department. For the bridges
across the river, the companies
seek permission from the
Irrigation Department, he said.
The HSPCB checks for
whether the companies are
complying with the conditions
of their environment clearance,
he said, adding that it is up to the
mining department to ensure
that the companies only extract
sand from specified areas and
only at a certain depth.
The HSPCB issued a closure
order to a unit operating in the
Ganaur tehsil of Sonipat on
Friday for failing to comply with
conditionsof environmentclear-
ance and for violations of the Air
(Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act, and Water
(Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act.
Going by the environment
clearances granted for riverbed
mining in the Yamuna, work is
permissibleonlyuptoadepthof
three metres. Those associated
with the company in Memarpur
saiddigging beyond10or12feet
on the riverbed can result in wa-
ter rising to the surface.
Himanshu Thakkar of the
South Asia Network on Dams,
Rivers and People said, “The ba-
sic issue when it comes to
riverbed mining is governance.
It should be legal mining, which
means that only what is permit-
ted should happen and there
should be a credible mechanism
to ensure that. The stakeholder
who can ensure legal mining is
the local community.”
On whether riverbed mining
can have an impact on water
downstream in Delhi, he said, “It
can have an impact. To what ex-
tent it can be affected at differ-
ent locations needs to be stud-
ied.Thesandintheriverplaysan
important role in sustaining the
river’s flow and its biodiversity,
ensuringgroundwaterrecharge.
When you remove that unsus-
tainably and disturb the stream
by creating bridges or embank-
ments, the ecosystem will get
destroyed. The MoEFCC guide-
lines say that miners cannot dis-
turb the flowing stream.”
With a deficit in rainfall in
February and so far in March as
well across Northwest India, the
river at Wazirabad remained at
a level of 671.3 ft, lower than the
normal of 674.5 ft, on Saturday,
hitting production at the
Wazirabad treatment plant for
nearly three weeks now.
At 10 am on Sunday, the
Wazirabad water treatment
plant was producing 93 MGD
(million gallons per day), below
its capacity of 134.5 MGD. As
temperatures rise and water
shortage is felt in parts of the na-
tionalcapital,theYamunaseems
set to, once again, be at the cen-
tre of a fierce political debate.
woman and her friend. Her
statement has been recorded.
Accordingly, legal action will be
initiated against the man,” he
added.
A police officer added: “The
driver dropped them off near a
CNG pump as they were creat-
ing a ruckus. The woman and
the friend went back to their
homes. They are being ques-
tioned.”
Police said an FIR was lodged
under IPC section 365 (kidnap-
ping)initiallybutthechargewas
dropped. Police are mulling
adding fresh charges.
The woman’s statement has
also been recorded with a coun-
sellor and medical assistance
provided, DCP Singh said.
Meanwhile, the DCW sent a
notice to police demanding ac-
tion. DCW chief Swati Maliwal
tweeted: “... I am issuing a notice
to Delhi Police. The commission
will ensure strict action against
these people.”
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
BRIEFLY
Mantiesdog
tobikeand
dragsitonthe
road,arrested
Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad
police arrested a man on
Sundayafteravideowent
viral on social media,
showing a dog tied to his
bike and being dragged
on the road. The incident
took place in Vijaynagar
policestationareaaround
11 am. The dog was re-
covered from the Food
Forest Hotel, where peo-
ple had caught the man
andinformedpolice.“We
received a video, where a
person was seen drag-
ging a dog behind his
bike. The accused has
been arrested and a case
againsthimhasbeenreg-
istered. Further legal ac-
tion is being taken,” said
Anshu Jain, ACP Kotwali,
Ghaziabad.
Noidacops
stopsuicide
bidbyman
Noida: Quick interven-
tion by Gautam Budh
Nagar police helped save
the life of a 20-year-old
man, who had posted a
picture on social media
hinting at suicide. “The
district’s media cell took
quick action and traced
the location of his mobile
number... We immedi-
ately contacted the
Dankaur SHO and out-
post concerned... Mandi
Shyam Nagar in-charge
Yogendra Kumar was
sent to the spot,” said an
official. Officials said he
was counselled. “He ad-
mitted he had an argu-
ment with his wife last
night, due to which he
was mentally disturbed,”
said an official. ENS
NGTforms
paneltoverify
claimofair
pollution
aroundAIIMS
New Delhi: The National
Green Tribunal has
formed a panel to verify
allegations of severe air
pollution in and around
AIIMS.TheNGTwashear-
ing a plea which claimed
that air pollution was
jeopardisingthehealthof
the indoor as well as OPD
patients, doctors and
other staffers of AIIMS-
Delhi. The petition
claimedstatutoryandad-
ministrative authorities
failed to control air pollu-
tion around AIIMS. PTI
indianexpress.com
I choose substance
over sensation.
Inform your opinion
with credible journalism.
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Those wishing to have their names added to the email list may please email
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Occasional Papers:
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Video Links of Lectures:
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OWNER BOOKED FOR NEGLIGENCE
DU student drowns
in pool at farmhouse
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
GURGAON, MARCH 19
AN 18-YEAR-OLD Delhi
University student drowned in
a swimming pool at a farm-
house in Gurgaon Saturday.
According to police, he was at a
birthday party with more than
30 friends, mostly DU students,
when the incident took place.
Police said his body was found
in the pool and he was rushed to
a hospital where he was de-
clared dead.
Police said a case has been
registered against the farm-
house owner on a complaint by
the student’s father, who alleged
negligence. The owner denied
the claims.
The deceased, Ishan
Aggarwal, was a B.Com student
at Sri Guru Gobind Singh College
of Commerce. He lived with his
family in Delhi’s Anand Vihar.
His father Anil Aggarwal, an
advocate, told police that his son
went for a get-together with 30-
40 friends at Green Orchid
OVERCAST
Rain and hailstorm lashed parts of Delhi, Sunday, with temperatures dropping below
normal. More rain is on the cards on Monday. The maximum temperature was recorded as
28°C and the minimum was 15.4°C. IMD officials said hailstorms were reported from Palam,
Ayanagar and several parts of Gurgaon. Amit Mehra
Bouncers beat up businessman
outside five-star hotel’s club
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
A 29-YEAR-OLD businessman
and his friend were allegedly
thrashed by bouncers outside a
club at a five-star hotel in New
Delhi’s Janpath area.
The men allegedly got into a
heated argument with the
bouncersoverentryintotheclub.
Apurportedvideooftheincident
showsthebouncers(inuniform)
approachingagroupof men.The
CBC 09142/12/0061/2223
Police said he was at a
birthday party with
over 30 other friends
when the incident took
place at the Gurgaon
farmhouse Saturday
Farms in Gurgaon’s Sector 67.
“My wife received a phone call
from one of his friends that they
were at Medanta Hospital and I
immediately rushed there... I
met the duty doctor in the
emergency ward and he told me
my son had been brought dead
by his friend and others...,” he al-
leged, as per the FIR.
“There was no swimming
coach or lifesaving equipment.
(His friend) said they found
Ishan missing and started look-
ing for him... They found him in
the swimming pool and pulled
him out. He was unconscious
and they tried to give him first
aid... before rushing him to the
hospital,” the FIR alleged.
twopartiesgetintoafistfightand
the bouncers are seen allegedly
thrashingthemenandpunching
and kicking the victim.
The man, Gagan Deep Singh,
whohasabusinessof watercool-
ers, lives in Paschim Vihar with
hisfamily.OnMarch8,heandhis
wife, along with their friends,
wenttothehotelforaHoliparty.
Singh told police he was outside
withhisfriendwhilehiswifewas
inside the club. Around 7-8 pm,
hewastryingtogainentrytothe
clubwhenhewasstopped.Heal-
Police said they have lodged
a case against the farmhouse
owner under section 304A
(causing death by negligence)
and are investigating the matter.
They have asked the farmhouse
owner and management to pro-
duce relevant documents and
join the probe.
Responding to the allega-
tions, Sandeep Singh, owner of
Orchid Green Farms, claimed,
“We are all saddened because
of the incident but there was no
negligence from our side. The
students had only booked a
small ground area and were not
allowed to use the pool... On
Saturday, when they came, it
was raining and the pool was
closed. We have instructors and
inflatable boards and rings.
They (students) were escorted
inside... but a few of them man-
aged to get into the pool. When
the boy was drowning, the
other students should have in-
formed us. Staff was inside but
the students didn’t tell anyone
and rushed their friend to the
hospital...”
leged bouncers did not allow
them as ‘stag’ entry wasn’t al-
lowed and hurled abuses before
hewasbeatenupwithsticksand
rods. Hesaid,“Icalledpolicewho
then took me to the hospital. I
sustained injuries all over my
face... and legs.”
Policeregisteredacaseunder
IPC sections 323 (voluntarily
causing hurt) and 341 (wrongful
restraint) against unknown per-
sons. Senior officers refused to
commentonthecaseandsaidle-
gal action has been taken.
Delhi Budget: Health and education
set to get lion’s share this year too
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
ALTHOUGH THE focus of the
Delhi government’s budget this
year will be on improvement of
infrastructure, education and
health sectors will continue to
get the lion's share, like previous
years, said officials. The two sec-
tors have been a key domain of
the AAP-led government ever
since it came to power in Delhi.
On the education front, the
government is planning to in-
crease the number of Dr
Ambedkar Schools of
SpecialisedExcellence(SoSEs)to
accommodate 10,000 children.
There is also a proposal to
provide new tablets to all Delhi
CM message from Kejriwal meets
Sisodia to kids: ‘Take traders on solution
care of your studies’ for sealing of shops
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
INAUGURATING A School of
Specialised Excellence (SoSE) in
Rohini Sunday, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal said former
Education Minister Manish
Sisodiahassentamessagetothe
city’s students. “Manish uncle
hassentamessagetoyou—heis
fine, he wants you to take care of
your studies and health... God
keepstestingthosewhofightfor
the truth, Manish Sisodia will
come out with full marks out of
this fight,” he said.
Sisodia, the former Deputy
CM, was arrested by the CBI on
February 26 in a case related to
allegedirregularitiesinthenow-
scrapped liquor policy. He re-
signed from the Cabinet a few of
days later.
Kejriwal was accompanied
by newly appointed Education
Minister Atishi. Addressing stu-
dents, parents and teachers, he
said, “This school is going to be
oneofthebestinthecountry.The
facilitiesandinfrastructureavail-
ableinourSchoolsof Specialised
Excellence are better than the
biggest private schools of Delhi.”
He also said while entering
theschool,hefacedprotestsfrom
The CM, along with education minister Atishi, inaugurated a
School of Specialised Excellence in Rohini. Amit Mehra
LAST YEAR’S SHARE
`75,800cr
Delhi govt’s budget
for 2022-23
Education Health
`16,728cr `9,769cr
Others
government school teachers, in-
cluding regular, guest and con-
tractual teachers, vice principals
some people at the gate. “People
havetherighttoprotest,butwhy
do it in front of a school?... the
schoolwillbeopentoallchildren
and their parents could be from
any political background.”
Atishi said, “I went to a very
big private school in Delhi... but
when I took a look at the new
SoSEs, I believe they are far bet-
ter...Weareproudthatinthelast
eight years, our government has
workedtoprovideopportunities
for a better future for children.”
The SoSE, in Sector 18, will of-
fer two specialisations — STEM
and High-End 21st Century Skills
—from2023-24session.Atotalof
400 students would be enrolled
in the courses. The school is built
on a 8,631 sq m plot and has 50
classrooms, 10 labs, two libraries,
a multi-purpose hall, 15 staff
rooms,30toilets,andalift.“There
are 37 SoSEs in Delhi; 92,000 ap-
plications have been received for
admission to 4,400 seats for next
session,” Kejriwal said.
Meanwhile,DelhiBJPstageda
protest outside the school. BJP
MLA Vijender Gupta alleged the
AAPadministration“changedthe
name” of the government school
thatwasconstructedbytheBJPin
Sector 18 and stopped admitting
local children below grade 9.
(With PTI inputs)
THE CITY 7
and principals, said sources.
They also said the AAP-led
government, which has won the
MCDpolls,willfocusonupgrad-
ing corporation schools.
“To strengthen the base of
children at the primary level,
Delhi government schools will
work closely with their feeder
schools in MCD to improve chil-
dren’s foundational skills," said
officials.
In the health sector, the gov-
ernment is planning to increase
freetestfacilitiesatmohallaclin-
ics from 250 to 450 tests. Four of
nine new hospitals, which are
currently under construction,
will be inaugurated next year.
Extension of 15 existing hospi-
tals, including Chacha Nehru Bal
Chikitsalaya, and GTB, will also
A sealing drive at Defence Colony in 2018. Archive
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
NEWDELHI,MARCH19
TRADERSOFshopsinlocalshop-
ping centres (LSC) that were
sealed for non-payment of con-
versionandparkingfeesoverthe
past five years may soon get re-
lief. In a meeting with traders of
nearly 500 shops Sunday, Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal said a
solution will soon be provided
for the problems they are facing
due to sealing of shops.
He said in a tweet, “For the
lastseveralyears,morethan500
shops of all these traders have
beensealed;IhaveinstructedUD
(Urban Development) Minister
Saurabh Bharadwaj and MCD
Mayor Shelly Oberoi to solve the
problemsof thesetradersassoon
as possible.” He said a solution
willbefoundforongoingsealing
of marketsinduetime,anditwill
be ensured their shops can ob-
tain legal status by paying rea-
sonable prices.
Conversion charges are paid
by property owners if the status
of the area on which it is located
changesfromresidentialtocom-
mercial.
In response to the CM’s direc-
tions,Bharadwajtweeted,“Gotdi-
rectionsfromCMArvindKejriwal
toresolveissueof sealinginLocal
Shopping Centres like Def Col
be taken up on a mission mode,
said officials.
“A massive expansion plan is
underway to increase the num-
ber of beds available for patients
in Delhi government hospitals
from 14,200 to 30,000,” said of-
ficials.
The budget will also focus on
increasingthecity’stotalsewage
treatment capacity from 632
MGD(milliongallonsperday)to
890 MGD — a significant in-
crease of 40% in a single year.
Thebudgetisscheduledtobe
presented on March 21. In the
2022-23 budget, around Rs
2,000 crore was allocated for
construction of roads and
bridges.
Delhi’sbudgetwasRs75,800
crore last year.
Mkt,GK1&2Mkt,SouthEx,Green
Park,VasantLokPriya,KirtiNagar,
Meharchand Mkt. Soon we will
startworkingonde-sealing500+
shops in LSCs.”
According to Bharadwaj, the
MCD started serving notices to
shops in markets for conversion
andparkingchargesoverthepast
few years, which amounted to
lakhs of rupees. “It was not easy
for any shopkeeper to give such a
substantial amount of money...
and MCD sealed the shops... ille-
gally. Even today, most shops in
Defence Colony are sealed.
Around 500 shops have been
sealed by MCD,” he said.
The Local Shopping Centre
Federation president Rajesh
Goyal and general secretary
Vishal Ohri, who represented
106 market associations during
the meeting at the CM’s resi-
dence, highlighted that sealing
has resulted in a loss of Rs 5,000
crore to traders.
“Thisdecisionwillbringrelief
to traders of LSC in Delhi, who
have suffered a significant finan-
cial loss due to sealing of their
shops. The government is com-
mitted to resolving this issue at
theearliest,andtraderswillbeno-
tifiedof thesolutionsoon,”reada
statement issued by the CMO.
TheAAPiscurrentlyinpower
intheMCD,following15yearsof
the BJP being in power.
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

8 GOVT & POLITICS

THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023

BJP making Rahul

Like Cong, BJP too will be finished for INDO-PACIFIC PLAN, DEFENCE TIES ON AGENDA
hero of Opp
camp: Mamata misusing central agencies: Akhilesh Japanese PM arrives
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
BAHARAMPUR, NEW DELHI,
MARCH 19

WEST BENGAL Chief Minister

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
KOLKATA, MARCH 19

SAMAJWADI PARTY (SP) presi-

Mamata Banerjee on Sunday ac-
cused the BJP of trying to make
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a
hero of the Opposition camp to
divert attention from the burn-
ing issues by stalling proceed-
ings in Parliament over his re-
cent remarks in the UK.
Addressing party workers
overthephone, Mamata alleged
that the Congress has failed to
fight the BJP and has a tacit un-
derstanding with the saffron
camp in West Bengal, a senior
TMC leader quoted Banerjee as
saying.
Meanwhile, in an interview
with PTI, senior Congress leader
Jairam Ramesh has said that No
Opposition front to take on the
BJP is possible without the
Congress and if a coalition is
formed for the 2024 general
elections, the party will have a
central role in it.
dent Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday
claimed that the BJP, just like the
Congress, will be finished polit-
ically in the days to come for al-
legedly misusing central agen-
cies against leaders of the
Opposition parties, drawing a
parallelbetweenthefunctioning
of the two biggest national par-
ties when in power.
“Earlier, the Congress used to
misuse the central agencies and
now the BJP is doing it. The
Congressisfinishednow.TheBJP,
too, will meet a similar fate. They
are only sending agencies after
thosepartieswhoarefightingthe
BJP,” the SP chief said during a
pressconferenceafterhisparty's
two-day national executive that
started in Kolkata on Saturday.
Batting for the formation of a
non-Congress front to fight the
BJP, Yadav said, "Uttar Pradesh is
theonlystatewhichcanstopthe
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav with party leaders on the last day of
the national executive meet in Kolkata on Sunday. Partha Paul
BJP as it has the largest number
of seats.WewilldefeattheBJPin
UP. The entire country is looking
up to the SP. The BJP has told
many lies, be it prices of diesel,
petrol or LPG or price rise.”
The BJP,healleged,isworking
for big corporate houses.
Whether the “misuse” of the
central agencies will increase as
the 2024 Lok Sabha election ap-
proaches, the former UP chief
minister said, “It might be the
case but it won’t help the saffron
camp as preparations for the
parliamentary polls would start
in the next few months”.
Aboutthepoliticalresolution
adopted in the two-day national
executive, Yadav said the party
would leave no stone unturned
to ensurethat the BJP is defeated
inUPandthecountryintheelec-
tion next year. He also criticised
the Congress over its role in UP
politics.
As what are the plans of the
proposedoppositionfrontahead
of thegeneralelections,Akhilesh
said,“ThegoalistodefeattheBJP.
Presently efforts are on to forge
an opposition front. Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar, West
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee and Telangana Chief
Minister K Chandrashekar Rao
are making efforts.”
Akhilesh hinted at his party
contesting from the Amethi and
Raebareli parliamentary seats,
traditionally considered the
Congressstrongholdswhere the
SP has not fielded any candidate
since 1996. In 2019, Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi lost from
Amethi even as Sonia Gandhi
won from Raebareli. “Our party
helpstheCongresswinelections
in these two seats but when
there is injustice against SP
workers, the Congress doesn’t
utter a word,” he said.
today for bilateral talks
SHUBHAJIT ROY
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
EXACTLY A year after Japanese
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
came to India in the backdrop of
the Russia-Ukraine war, he will
be in Delhi on Monday for bilat-
eral talks with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
Sourcessaidthatdefence,se-
curity, economicties,skill devel-
opment and clean energy part-
nershipareamongthetopissues
on the agenda.
“Thismeetingisbeingheldat
asignificanttimewhenIndiaand
Japan are holding the presiden-
cies of the G20 and G7, respec-
tively. This visit, therefore, gives
us an opportunity to cooperate
anddiscusshowG20andG7can
worktogetheronconvergingour
prioritiesoncriticalglobalissues
including food and health secu-
PM Kishida
to invite PM
Modi to G7
meet in
Hiroshima
free and open Indo-Pacific.
Kishida’s plan is expected to
includetheprovisionof non-mil-
itary equipment and infrastruc-
ture support for countries in the
region that have been facing
threatsfromBeijing’sbelligerence,
including the military buildup in
the South China Sea. By choosing
Delhitomakehisannouncement,
heissignallingIndia'simportance
in the new plan.
Accordingto sources, thekey
themes on the agenda during
the visit will be:
Defence and security
Officials said defence and secu-
progress. In November last year,
India took part in the
International Fleet Review in
Japan and the Malabar exercise
off the coast of Japan. This was
preceded by the JIMEX (Japan
India Maritime Exercise) in
September.
Commercial and
economic ties
“Our bilateral trade stood at USD
20.75billionlastyear,whichwas
the largest ever,” saidthe source.
India and Japan have had a
Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
since 2011. The agreement cov-
ers not only trade in goods but
also services, movement of nat-
ural persons, investments, intel-
lectual property rights, custom
procedures and other trade re-
lated issues.
Clean energy
partnership

Ayodhya will be world’s most

rity, energy transitions and eco- rity cooperation has emerged as
nomic security,” said a source. one of the most important pil- Launched during the annual
Modi is likely to travel to lars of the India-Japan partner- summit last year, this aims to
Hiroshima for the G7 leaders' ship and an important factor in promote energy cooperation

beautiful city in 1 year: UP CM summit in May as a guest coun-

DELHI CONFIDENTIAL
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
LUCKNOW, MARCH 19
AFTERINSPECTINGconstruction
sites of different infrastructure
projects in Ayodhya on Sunday,
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
saidthatAyodhyawouldbeready
as “the world’s most beautiful
city” in the next one year.
Thechiefministeralsovisited
the Ram temple, where he was
toldthat70percentofthetemple
construction work was com-
pleted. Addressing the media af-
ter inspecting the under-con-
ONE PLUS ONE
VICE-PRESIDENT Jagdeep Dhankhar and his predecessor
struction international airport in
Ayodhya,theCMsaidthathecar-
ried out physical verification of
M Venkaiah Naidu ended up sharing the stage at a book re- various development projects
lease event on Sunday due to a series of events. Former launched by the central and the
Tamil Nadu Governor and retired IPS office P S Ramamohan state governments in Ayodhya
Rao, whose memoir Dhankhar and Naidu released, said he
took so long to write the book and then get it released that
and also had a review meeting
with officials on the progress of
Naidu, who had agreed to release it when it was completed these projects.
in 2018, had left office. It was Naidu who then got Dhankhar Adityanathsaidtheconstruc-
on board. The delays ended up being a “blessing in disguise” tionofagrandRamtempleatShri
as two Vice-Presidents graced the occasion instead of one, Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth
the author said. Kshetra was going on at a war
footing and it would be com-
pletedwithinthestipulatedtime.
FOUNDATION DAY The chief minister said the
central and the state govern-
THE INDIRA Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) ments were spending Rs 32,000
celebrated its foundation day on Sunday for the first time. crore on several projects for the
Earlier, it was being celebrated on November 19, the birth- overalldevelopmentof Ayodhya.
day of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who inaugu- “I can say with confidence
rated it on that day in 1985. One of its senior officials said: that the pace at which all devel-
“On November 19, only one division of IGNCA was founded, opment projects are moving
whereas its trust deed is dated March 19.” So, on November ahead,asperthevisionandguid-
19, the foundation day of a division was being celebrated ance of Prime Minister Narendra
every year but now for the first time the foundation day of Modi, Ayodhya will be the most
IGNCA is being organised. beautiful city in the country and
the world within the next one
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reviews the Ram Temple
construction work in Ayodhya on Sunday. PTI
year,” said Adityanath. The chief
minister directed officials to ex-
pedite the construction work for
the next 2-3 months by increas-
ingmanpowerandstartworking
inthreeshiftsonspecificprojects
to finish them even before rain
begins creating hurdles.
Stating that an international
airport is being built in Ayodhya
for which 791 acres have been
provided and work is in progress
toprovidetheremaininglandre-
quiredfortheproject,theCMsaid
theairportwouldbereadybyJuly.
TheTrustsetupbytheCentre
to build the Ram temple has set
a target of completing the con-
struction of 'garbhagriha' (sanc-
tum sanctorum) of the temple
by October, and opening it for
devoteesbetweenDecember 21,
2023 and January 14, 2024.
UP POWER STRIKE
CALLED OFF
Lucknow: The strike called
by the Uttar Pradesh Power
Department employees on
Thursday 10 pm against al-
leged discrepancies in pro-
motion, pension and salary
was called off on Sunday af-
ternoon, hours ahead of its
72-hour deadline. The
breakthrough came after
several rounds of talks be-
tween the leaders of Vidyut
Karamchari Sanyukta
Sangharsh Samiti and gov-
ernment officials, led by
Energy Minister AK
Sharma. ENS
try, and Kishida is expected to
extend a formal invitation dur-
ing his visit. The Russia-Ukraine
war and its impact on geopoli-
tics will be an important area of
discussion, since there arediver-
gences in approach between
Delhi and Tokyo. Tokyo is firmly
withtheWesternbloc,ledbythe
US, on this issue. But his head-
line speech in Delhi will be the
unveiling of his new plan for a
Rijiju draws flak for
remark: ‘Does it suit
a Law Minister to
threaten judiciary?’
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
UNIONLAWMinisterKirenRijiju’s
remark about “some retired
judges” being “part of the anti-
Indiagang”hasreceivedflakfrom
various Opposition leaders who
havetakentheministertotaskfor
“talking like an outlaw” and
“propagating injustice”.
ShivSena(UddhavBalasaheb
Thackeray)leaderSanjayRautal-
leged it was an attempt to pres-
sure the judiciary. “What kind of
democracy is this? Does it suit a
LawMinistertothreatenthejudi-
ciary? It is a threat to judges who
refusetobowdowntothegovern-
mentanditisanattempttopres-
sure the judiciary,” he told re-
porters in Mumbai on Sunday.
ensuring peace and stability in
theIndo-Pacificregion.“Thesuc-
cessful conduct of the first
fighter jet exercise 'Veer
Guardian' in Japan in January
2023betweenourtwocountries
wasasignificantmilestone,”said
the source. This was followed by
the fourth 'Dharma Guardian'
Army exercise, which was con-
ducted for the first time in Japan.
Maritime security coopera-
tion too has seen significant
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju
Kerala finance minister Thomas
Isaacsaid,“KirenRijiju,ontheroll
—nowhethreatensjudges:‘Some
retired judges part of anti-India
gang; anyone against nation will
havetopay’.Isheministerforlaw
or lawlessness?”
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan
said,“Afellowwhoisunfittobea
munsif is threatening judges.”
Rijiju also criticised the
through diverse and realistic en-
ergy transitions utilising all en-
ergysourcesandtechnologiesto
ensure energy security, carbon
neutralityandeconomicgrowth.
Following his arrival on
Monday morning, Kishida will
paytributeatRajghat,holdbilat-
eral talks with Modi, give a
speech and visit the Buddha
Jayanti Park where there is a 'Bal
Bodhi Tree'. He will leave on
Tuesday morning.
Amid protests,
Centre allows
‘mixed’ payment
route for NREGS
till March 31
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
AMID PROTESTS against a
mandatory Aadhaar-based wage
payment system for the rural job
guaranteescheme,theUniongov-
ernmentSundaydecidedtogofor
a “mixed model” payment route
till March 31. Under this route,
workersunderMahatmaGandhi
National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS)
can be paid through the Aadhar
BasedPaymentSystem(ABPS)as
well as the National Automated
Clearing House (NACH).
The NACH is a fund clearing
platform set up by National
Payments Corporation of India
anditelectronicallyfacilitatesre-
curring interbank transactions.
While the ABPS uses the
Aadhaar number for identifica-
tion of beneficiaries for fund
transfer, the NACH uses bank ac-

Why Manipur pulled out of Kuki pact: ‘Migrant Lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP
KapilSibalsaid,“Afewpoliticians
in government are part of ‘the
SupremeCourtCollegium’sdeci-
siontomakepublicitsreasonsfor
reiterating the names recom-
count details.
The Centre had decided to
maketheuseoftheABPSmanda-

influx, drug trade, protests against eviction drive’
the state government have said.
ESHA ROY An umbrella organisation of the
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19 Kukioutfitsdismissedthecharges.
Earlier this week, Chief
THEMANIPURgovernment’sde- MinisterNBirenSinghmetUnion
cision to withdraw from a HomeMinisterAmitShahinNew
Suspension of Operation (SoO) Delhi and, according to sources,
agreementwiththreeKuki-Zomi urgedhimtoclarifytheprovisions
insurgent groups on March 10 oftheSoOagreementandensure
was based on its assessment that the regulations are strictly fol-
these outfits are supporting the lowed on the ground.
influx of Myanmarese immi- A delegation led by Manipur
grantsfromacrosstheborder,en- Chief Secretary Dr Rajesh Kumar
couraging poppy cultivation and also met Union Home Secretary
the drug trade, and are behind AjayBhallaandtheCentre'speace
protestsagainstevictiondrivesin talksinterlocutorAKMishra.The
Kuki villages that exist on “en- Union government has so far not
croached forest land”, sources in commented on the latest devel-
CM Biren
Singh met
Union
Home
Minister
last week
opments.
The state government’s deci-
sion to withdraw from the pact
with the Kuki National Army
(KNA), the Kuki Revolutionary
Army (KRA), and the Zomi
Revolutionary Army (ZRA) came
ontheheelsofprotestsagainstthe
eviction drives. The government
believes the insurgents threw
their weight behind the protests
organised by the Indigenous
Tribal Leaders’ Forum.
Sources in the government
said the issue was far more com-
plex than encroachment and the
evictionsweremoreaboutthein-
flux of immigrants from
Myanmar. “ Webelievethatifthis
influx continues, then there is a
realpossibilityofthedemography
of Manipur being changed en-
tirely,” said a source in the state
government.Severalstudentout-
fits, that agree with the govern-
ment’s position, including the
AMSU and MSF, organised
protestsonSaturday inDelhiand
inManipurtodemandtheimple-
mentation of a National Register
of Citizens (NRC) in the state.
Thestategovernmenthasalso
accused the insurgent groups of
supporting the cultivation of
poppy in areas they dominate.
AnofficialoftheKukiNational
Organisation(KNO)dismissedthe
allegations as baseless.
The KNO official said more
refugees were indeed coming
from across the border but
nowhere near what the govern-
ment is projecting.
FULL REPORT ON
www.indianexpress.com
know not what they say gang’.”
HoursafterRijiju’scomments
at the India Today conclave on
Saturday,Congressgeneralsecre-
tary Jairam Ramesh, in charge of
theparty’scommunicationsteam,
tweeted, “A Law Minister talking
like an Outlaw. A Minister of
Justice propagating Injustice. If
thisisnotathreattofreedomAF-
TER speech what is?”
Trinamool Congress (TMC)
RajyaSabhaMPJawharSircarsaid,
“A ministercan’t makethis state-
ment and get away. Give proof.
Don’tthreaten.‘(judges)willhave
to pay a price’. RSS didn’t partici-
pate in Freedom Struggle. and
Hindu Mahasabha supported
British. Don’t give us pro-India,
anti-India gyan!”
CPI(M) leader and former
mended for the appointment of
judges and the government’s ob-
jections to some of them.
Chief Justice of India D Y
Chandrachud, who was at the
sameevent,latersaid:“He(Rijiju)
has a perception. I have a percep-
tion. And what’s wrong about
havingadifferentialperception…
We have to deal with differences
inperceptionsevenwithintheju-
diciary. And I am sure he has a
great deal of respect for ours as
well. The reason why we put this
on the website is in pursuance of
the desire of the present col-
legium,tomeetthecriticismthat
we lack transparency, and the
genuine belief that opening up
our processes will foster confi-
dence in our citizens about the
work which we do.””
toryforpaymentof NREGSwage
with effect from February 1.
Activists from the NREGA
Sangharsh Morcha have been
protesting against this move.
The Ministry of Rural
Developmentsaidinastatement
on Sunday: “For wage payment
under the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the
Government has decided, on the
request of States, to have a mixed
model for payment route up to
31stMarch,2023.Thepaymentof
wagestoeverybeneficiaryunder
MGNREGS is being done using
Aadhaar Based Payment System
(ABPS) as well as National
Automated Clearing House
(NACH)dependingupontheABPS
status of the beneficiary.”

Kerala church ready to back BJP but on one condition: Support for rubber farmers

E
ised by the All Kerala Catholic farmers at Rs 300 per kg, what- same, we don’t have any un- wordsshowedtheChurch'strust andtryingtojoinhandswiththe
SHAJU PHILIP CongressinKannur,theChurch’s ever your party, we are ready to touchabilitytowardstheBJP.The in the Narendra Modi govern- BJP would not work in Kerala.”
E X P L A I NE D

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
MARCH 19
THE KERALA BJP’s bid to make
Tinroadsintothestate’sChristian
community has received a big
boost, with the Syro-Malabar
Catholic Church, a numerically
and politically dominant
Christian segment in the state,
sayingthatitwillsupporttheBJP
if the Central government takes
stepstoimprovetheconditionof
rubber cultivators.
At a farmers' meeting organ-
Archbishop Joseph Pamplany
said on Saturday, “We farmers
are not against any government.
Farmers want to live and the
rulers have the responsibility to
ensure a situation in which
farmers can survive. If the
Central government is willing,
theycanensurethepricesof nat-
ural rubber at Rs 250 per kg. We
shouldunderstandthataprotest
becomes valuable in democracy
only when it turns into a vote.
We can tell the central govern-
ment…(if)youbuyrubberfrom
vote for you … The settler farm-
ers will solve your (BJP’s) grouse
that you don’t have an MP in
Kerala. We don’t have politics.”
The meeting was held in
Alakode, a farming belt in the
district,inprotestagainstdeclin-
ing prices of agricultural prod-
ucts,includingrubber,andtode-
mandstepstoeasetheattacksof
wild animals on farmers.
On Sunday, the Archbishop
said, “I stated that the farmers
would stand with the party that
helps them (farmers). At the
Eye on
Lok Sabha
● elections
AHEADOFnextyear’sgen-
eral elections, the BJP has a
lot riding on the Christian
vote bank in Kerala. It is
aiming to take a chunk of
Christianvotes,particularly
the numerically strong
Archbishop Joseph Catholics, to prove that the
Pamplany. Wikimedia Commons state is not unbreachable.
Church does not keep a distance
from the party that rules the
country. Many things have been
discussed with the BJP in the
past. At the same, my speech
should not be construed in such
a manner that the Church is go-
ing to make an alliance with the
BJP.”
While the BJP welcomed the
statement, the CPI(M) and the
Congressspoke of attackson mi-
noritiesby“SanghParivaroutfits”.
BJP state president K
Surendran said the Archbishop’s
ment.
“The Bishop reflected the
sentiments of farmers. The
Congress has cheated the farm-
ers. Christians are happy with
the Modi government,” he said.
CPI(M) state secretary M V
Govindan said, “Rubber price is
nottheonlyissue.TheBJP’scom-
munal engineering is not going
to work in Kerala.Lastmonth, 78
Christian organisations held a
march in Delhi to protest against
theviolenceagainstthecommu-
nity. Disregarding this situation
Congress legislator and
OppositionLeaderVDSatheesan
saidtheArchbishop's“emotional
statement” stemmed from the
crisis farmers are facing. “But on
the ground of rubber prices, the
Union government cannot be
supported. In the last four years,
500-odd churches have been at-
tackedinIndia.TheModigovern-
ment jailed Stan Swami. The
biggest issue being faced by
Christians in the country are the
attacks from Sangh Parivar out-
fits.”
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
Beware of anti-India forces spreading pernicious narratives: V-P
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
VICE-PRESIDENT Jagdeep
Dhankhar on Sunday raised con-
cern over what he termed were
“incubators and distributors” of
anti-Indiaforcesthatwerespread-
ing “pernicious narratives” at a
timethecountrywasontherise.
Dhankhar, speaking at the re-
lease of former Tamil Nadu gov-
ernor P S Ramamohan Rao’s
memoir'GovernorpettoGovernor's
House; A Hick's Odyssey’ in Delhi’,
echoedhispredecessorVenkaiah
Naidu, who spoke before him at
the event.
GOVT & POLITICS 9
“As pointed out by Sh. equality under law, he said: “In a asanIPSofficerbeforehisstintas
VenkaiahNaidu-ji,Indiaisonrise democracy, all are similarly ac- governor,Dhankharsaidtherela-
as never before…This rise is with countabletolaw.Noonecanhave tionship between the bureau-
challengesfromwithinandwith- privileged consideration by law, cracy and the political executive
out.Itisherethattheintelligentsia else democracy will cease to ex- was becoming challenging.
andpeoplefrommediacomeinto ist... Some people unfortunately “The steel frame, the bureau-
picture. We all need to be cog- think they are different or are to cracy has come to be so ingrati-
nisantofemergenceofincubators be dealt with differently. Ours is ated with the political masters
and distributors of anti-India the most vibrant and functional that the 1968 Rules that govern
forces orchestrating pernicious democracy.Equalityissomething yourconductaremoreoftenthan
narratives to downsize our which we can never negotiate. not in complete breach,” he said.
growth trajectory and taint our Adherence to law is not optional. Earlier, Naidu said the world
functionaldemocracyandconsti- Some people have to realise it.” waslookingtoIndiaandcautioned
tutionalinstitutions,”theV-Psaid. Dhankhar’s comments come against saying anything that un-
He called on everyone to be- at a time the BJP has been attack- dermines its interest. “Insulting
lieve in the nation and national- ingCongressleaderRahulGandhi ourdemocracyamountstodisre-
ism and neutralise “such misad- Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar with his predecessor forhisstatementsduringarecent specting our rich civilisation and
ventures”. M Venkaiah Naidu at the book release in Delhi, Sunday. PTI trip to the United Kingdom. traditionsmanifestingoverthelast
Stressing the importance of Citingtheauthor’sexperience 75years,”hesaid.

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KOLKATA, MARCH 19 CHANDIGARH, MARCH 19 SharmaonSaturdaynighttoraise download online from 10:00 AM on date 21.03.2023 to 5:00 PM on dated
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Superintending Engineer
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tody or in jail, it doesn't matter. I further alleged that “attempts secretaryandformerpresidentof Date 18/03/2023
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of the court on Sunday. BJP work- underdifferentcharges,including Haryana during the past few
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12:00 Hours. Bids must be submitted online only at e-tendering portal of
AfUZQ³f WXZ°fb ´fiføY´f: http://etender.up.nic.in on or before 12:00 Hours on 28.03.2023 Technical fcy vkWQ DokfUVVh esa yxkbZ x;h njsa lHkh djks dks tksM+rs gq;s rFkk th0,l0Vh0 djksa dks NksM+rs gq;s yxkbZ x;h gSA
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¸fb£¹f d¨fdI °Àff Ad²fI fSe, C³³ffU ¸fZÔ Àf¸´f³³f I Sf¹ff þf¹fZ¦ffÜ 3) Bid Security of Column No. 5 and Cost of Bid Documents as per column 2- fufonk ls lEcfU?kr foLr`r fooj.k ,oa 'krsZ osclkbV http://etender.up.nic.in ij vkWuykbZu miyC/k gSA
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UPID-187849 Date 18/03/2023 UPID-187801 Date 18/03/2023

www.upgov.nic.in www.upgov.nic.in

10 EXPRESS NETWORK
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
Chhattisgarh
padyatra ends,
saints demand
‘Hindu Rashtra’
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
RAIPUR, MARCH 19
THE MONTH-LONG padyatra
(footmarch) of Akhil Bhartiya
Sant Samiti across Chhattisgarh
ended on Sunday at a ground in
Raipur city with a demand for
“HinduRashtra”(Hinducountry).
The padyatra, supported by
the BJP and right wing groups
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)
and Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS), is seen as a move to
polarise and consolidate Hindu
votes in the state ahead of the
Assembly elections.
Addressing a gathering from
thestage,SwamiAvdheshanand
Giri said: “The day Hindus be-
come kattar (hardcore), the
doorsof peaceandreconciliation
will open.”
Rajiv Lochan, another saint,
from Chitrakoot said: “Hindu
Rashtra will begin from
Chhattisgarh and spread in the
entireworld.”Attheevent,some
persons were converted back to
Hinduism, which they termed
“ghar wapsi” (returning home).
“During the month-long
padyatra, around 200 sant and
sadhus(saints)visitedvillagesin
alldistrictsof Chhattisgarhalong
the main roads and spread the
message of Hindu pride. They
talked about the importance of
Hindu Rashtra and said we all
are Hindus first and its above all
castes. We must unite to fight
against conversion," said
AcharyaRakesh,32,deputypres-
ident of Chhattisgarh Sant
Samiti. He said though they or-
ganised the event with help of
VHP, they were independent of
any political party.
FIR against Bishnoi, Goldy
Brar over email threat to
Salman: Mumbai police
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, MARCH 19
THEMUMBAIPoliceonSaturday
filed an FIR against gangsters
Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy
Brarforallegedlythreateningac-
torSalmanKhaninanemail.The
complaint was made by artist
manager Prashant Gunjalkar, a
close friend of the actor, police
said. The threat, according to po-
lice, referred to a recent inter-
view that Bishnoi gave from
Delhi's Tihar jail where he
claimed that the goal of his life
was "to kill the actor".
As per the FIR registered by
the Bandra police, the incident
in question took place on
Saturdayafternoonwhentheac-
tor'sofficereceivedanemail.The
sender of the email - identified
as Mohit Garg - has also been
named in the complaint.
Goldy Brar – a Canada-based
gangster and a close associate of
Bishnoi – "wanted to speak with
the actor", the email allegedly
read. It referred to the interview
given by Bishnoi. "If the actor
Madras HC allows AIADMK Will quit rather than
to hold poll for gen secy post being part of corrupt
Orders party to not name winner till original suit settled
ARUN JANARDHANAN
CHENNAI, MARCH 19
The Madras High Court on
Sunday permitted the AIADMK
togoaheadwithitselectionplan
for party general secretary post
butorderedittowithholdthere-
sult announcement till the court
order in the original lawsuit.
Theinterimorderwaspassed
after Justice K Kumaresh Babu
heard arguments of both sides —
formerchiefministerandinterim
general secretary Edappadi K
Palaniswami (EPS) and former
DeputyCM,whowasoustedfrom
theparty,OPanneerselvam(OPS)
— in a special sitting following an
urgent plea moved by OPS' aides.
Justice Kumaresh Babu will
hear the original lawsuit against
the party's July 11, 2022 general
councildecisionsandinterimap-
plicationsonMarch22anddeliver
theordertwodayslater,onMarch
24. The court decision allows the
pollingprocesstocontinuebutthe
EPS faction cannot announce the
winner until March 24.
Ahead of crackdown, the worry for Centre:
Amritpal’s Punjab campaign, private army
DEEPTIMAN TIWARY &
MAHENDER SINGH
MANRAL
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
A FORNIGHT before the crack-
down on Amritpal Singh on
Saturday, concerns were raised
about the Waris De Punjab
leader’s statewide Khalsa Vaheer
campaign, which was scheduled
tobelaunchedonSunday,andhis
alleged private army, Anandpur
Khalsa Force (AKF), at a meeting
called by the Ministry of Home
Affairs with intelligence agencies
and Punjab Police officers.
Sources said Amritpal’s in-
flammatory speeches – in which
heaccusedthegovernmentofdis-
arming Sikh youth and inciting
fear that this was being done to
targetthecommunityeventually
– at gatherings to garner support
for the Khalsa Vaheer campaign
and a strengthening AKF had be-
come a cause for alarm for the
Centre, which had been closely
watching his rise.
It was at this meeting that a
detailedplanwaspreparedtoclip
Amritpal’s wings and arrest him.
Toavoidpossiblelawandorderis-
sues,theCentreaskedthePunjab
Police to take his aides after their
arrest to jails in either Northeast
states or southern states.
“It was suggested by intelli-
genceagenciestoshiftallhisaides
to jails in the Northeast and
Southern states to avoid any un-
toward situation like the Ajnala
police station incident in which
Amritpal and his supporters
stormed the police station to se-
curethereleaseof anarrestedas-
Salman
Khan
received the
email on
Saturday
wantedtoclosethematter",itfur-
ther added,heshould talktoBrar
“face to face”. The sender also al-
legedlywarnedof consequences.
As Gunjalkar, who was at the
actor’s Bandra home when the
email was sent, approached the
police,anFIRwasfiledoncharges
ofcriminalintimidationandcom-
mon intention. “Based on these
threats, the government also re-
cently increased the security of
theactor.Hehasbeenontheradar
of the Bishnoi gang in the past as
well. We are investigating the
matter," a police officer said.
Last year, in June, a threat let-
ter was recovered that allegedly
claimed Salman Khan would
meet the same fate as Punjab
singer-politician Sidhu
Moosewala.AnFIRwasalsofiled
at the time.
Edappadi K Palaniswami is
interim general secretary of
AIADMK, which ousted O
Panneerselvam (right)
Thoughtheelectionissched-
uled for March 26, and the last
date for filing nominations is
March19(Sundayevening),only
EPS has submitted his papers so
far. The court's interim order has
put a temporary brake on EPS's
plan to announce the result on
Sunday itself, after the nomina-
tion deadline ends, and poten-
tiallyascendtothegeneralsecre-
tary position. He will now have
to wait for the court's final order.
The AIADMK general secre-
tary position, the top post with
centralisedpowers,wasabolished
afterthedeathofpartysupremoJ
Jayalalithaa in December 2016.
Police personnel conduct flag march amid crackdown on Waris Punjab De leader Amritpal
Singh and his aides in Amritsar on Sunday. Rana Simranjit Singh
sociate.Theysaidallthesejailsare
far from Punjab, and there is less
Sikh population,” an officer said.
Sources said Khalsa Vaheer
was meant to be a religious pro-
cession to be launched from the
Akal Takht Sahib in Amritsar. It
was supposed to cover entire
Punjaboverthenextfewmonths
withanaimtobaptizeyouthinto
devout Sikhs. The procession,
which was to cover 20 km a day,
was set to make halts at Jandiala
Guru,BabaBakalaSahib,Khadoor
Sahib,GoindwalSahib,Sultanpur
Lodhi, Kapurthala, Kartarpur,
Jalandhar, Phagwara, Bahiram,
Nawa Shahar, Balachaur, Ropar
and reach Anandpur Sahib.
“Inrealitythismarchwassup-
posed to include supporters
sportingautomaticweaponsand
At Moosewala’s barsi gathering,
parents target Punjab AAP govt
DIVYA GOYAL GOPAL
MANSA, MARCH 19
IN A double attack on Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) government
in Punjab while paying tributes
to the memory of their son, the
parents of slain singer
Shubhdeep Singh alias Sidhu
Moosewala targeted Bhagwant
Mann-led AAP government in
Punjab for “letting dreaded
gangsters such as Lawrence
Bishnoi have a free run in the
state” and at the same time, they
questioned the timing of police
crackdown on self-styled radical
preacher Amritpal Singh, alleg-
ing that it was deliberately done
a day ahead of their son's barsi
gathering “to stop masses from
reaching the venue and to sup-
presstheirvoicesseekingjustice
for Moosewala.”
Addressing the gathering at
the first death anniversary gath-
ering of Sidhu Moosewala held
at Grain Market in Mansa,
Sunday, his father Balkaur Singh
while referring to recent inter-
views of gangster Bishnoi aired
from the jail, said while the gov-
ernment had suspended the in-
Last year, the AIADMK general
council expelled OPS and ap-
pointedEPS,whoenjoysunques-
tionableauthorityintheAIADMK,
as the interim general secretary.
The move was validated by the
Supreme Court in a recent order,
pavingthewayforthepartytoan-
nounce the election date for the
general secretary post.
Though hearing on the com-
plaints filed by OPS supporters,
who challenged the resolutions
passed by the AIADMK general
councilonJuly11,2022,waspost-
poned to April 11, the petitioners
were permitted to approach the
court if any urgency arose.
InthewakeoftheEPSfaction’s
movetoformalisethegeneralsec-
retarypositiononFriday,OPSsup-
porters moved petitions on
Saturdayandrequestedahearing
before the nomination deadline
ended.JusticeBabuheardtheOPS
faction’s argument that reviving
the general secretary post would
“contradictthewishes”ofthe“1.5
crore”primarymemberswhohad
chosentoacceptJayalalithaaasthe
“permanent”generalsecretary.
ammunition and spread
Amritpal’sideasofKhalistan,”said
a Punjab Police officer.
“Amritpal has objected to the
stategovernment’sdecisiontore-
view firearm licences, claiming
that all five takhts of Sikhism en-
couraged arms and asserted that
this would target Sikhs and leave
themwithoutarms.Hesaidsame
wasdonebyHilterwithJews.First,
they were stripped of arms then
theirgenocidewasexecuted,”the
officer said, adding that this was
discussed at the MHA meeting.
A central security establish-
ment officer said the advent of
AKFwasworrisomeinitsownself
as it was nothing but a private
militiabeingusedtothreatenpeo-
ple.Butof late,its“intoleranceto-
wardsmigrantnon-Sikhworkers
Sidhu Moosewala’s parents Balkaur Singh and Charan Kaur
at the late singer’s barsi in Mansa on Sunday. Gurmeet Singh
ternet services for peace-loving
citizens, gangsters in jail con-
tinue to enjoy it. “Criminals and
gangsters sitting inside jails are
having internet access and they
are giving TV interviews
whereas the government has
shut down internet for the com-
mon people. This has been done
deliberately to suppress our
voices seeking justice for our
son… When Bishnoi’s face ap-
peared on television, I felt like
my son had died again.”
Raising slogans against the
AAP government, Balkaur asked
“why no courtswere nowtaking
suo motu cognizance of
politics: TN BJP chief
ARUN JANARDHANAN
CHENNAI, MARCH 19
WECANNOTclaimcleanpolitics
after bribing voters, said BJP’s
Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai
Sunday as he called for a change
in the state’s political landscape
and declared he would rather
quitpoliticsthanbepartof acor-
rupt set-up.
OnFriday,Annamalaihadsaid
during a party meeting that he is
againstatie-upwiththeAIADMK
for the general election of 2024.
Hehadalsoofferedtoworkasan
“ordinary cadre” if the party did
notagreewithhim.Thisstirreda
debate within the BJP as leaders
opposedhisaggressiveapproach.
Speaking to reporters on
Sunday, Annamalai, 38, said the
people of Tamil Nadu arewaiting
for a significant shift in the politi-
callandscape.“The2024elections
asanopportunityforthischange,”
saidtheformerpoliceofficerwho
left his job to join the BJP.
In Tamil Nadu, it is common
for political parties to bribe vot-
ers during elections, with the
fromUPandBiharinPunjab”had
beentakennoteofwithconsider-
able concern.
Atthemeeting,intelligenceof-
ficialsalsoinformedthatAmritpal
hadgonetoDubaiin2012towork
as a truck driver in his family
transport business. Around the
time, he came in contact with
Jaswant Singh Rode, brother of
Pakistan-based proscribed
KhalistanioperativeLakhbirSingh
Rode,andmilitantParamjitSingh
Pamma. It is suspected that they
put him through to the ISI, which
offered him money to revive
Khalistan sentiments in Punjab.
“Avtar Singh Khanda (UK
basedSAD/Aactivistandcloseas-
sociate of Khalistani terrorist
JagtarSinghTara)isthemainhan-
dlerofAmritpalandbrainbehind
Bishnoi’s interviews from jail
even as he has openly threat-
ened to kill actor Salman Khan”.
Questioning action against
Amritpal Singh, Moosewala’s
mother Charan Kaur said that it
was unfortunate that the gov-
ernment was taking action
against people who were steer-
ing youths towards Sikhi while
turning a blind eye to the gang-
sters who continue to be active
even from behind the bars.
Moosewala’s family ob-
served his first pre-poned death
anniversary (barsi) on Sunday.
ThesingerwasshotdeadonMay
29 last year.
rulingpartypayingmoreandthe
opposition paying slightly less,
he said. “In Tamil Nadu, it is like
we cannot face an electionwith-
out bribing voters.”
The BJP state chief candidly
revealedthefinancialstrainelec-
tions have on candidates, shar-
ing how he spent his entire sav-
ings from nine years of police
service during his first election
campaign at Aravakurichi. He
saidheisnowindebt. According
to him, it costs between Rs 80 to
120 crore to participate in a Lok
Sabha election in Tamil Nadu.
Hedeclaredhiscommitment
to politics but made it clear that
he refuses to compromise his
values. “If I canbe in politicsonly
by changing myself and sacrific-
ing my values, I don't want to be
in that politics,” he said.
Annamalai said these were
his personal views, but his pub-
lic stand against corruption is
unusual. Top sources in BJP said
if Annamalai stands by his latest
statements, the central leader-
ship will either have to convince
him to change his aggressive po-
sition or relieve him before July.
his meteoric rise. Khanda is also
close to Pamma and known for
holding theoretical radical train-
ingclassesforSikhyouth,”asecu-
rity establishment official said.
Accordingtoacentraldossier,
“They have been trying to make
improvisedexplosivedevicesus-
ing common chemicals by giving
live demonstration in
Birmingham and Glasgow.”
Following his induction,
Amritpal was allegedly sent to
Georgia for training. It is unclear
why Georgia was chosen.
Central agencies also found
links between Waris Punjab De
and some funders from Pakistan.
Theyfoundthatpartoffundscol-
lected for Khalsa Vaheer and
Amritpan were being used by
Amritpal’s family for personal
purposes. “Amritpal himself, his
uncle Harjit Singh and brother
Harpreet Singh are involved.
Earlier, treasurer Basant Singh
Daulatpura had known Pakistani
links and intelligence agencies
have established trail of money
fromPakistantoWarisPunjabDe.
Hemaintainsalargeconvoyofex-
pensive vehicles without giving
any account of the expenditure
and source of money,” a Punjab
police officer claimed.
SourcessaidAmritpalusedde-
addiction centres started by him
toraiseamilitia,andstockpileille-
gally sourced weapons from
Pakistan there. “Waris Punjab De
associatestrytoinculcatearadical
violent way of thinking in the in-
mates of the drug de-addiction
centres. If the inmates do not
agree,theyarebeatenupuntilthey
starttowingtheline,”acentralse-
curityestablishmentofficersaid.
Accused agent’s fake offer
letter led to blacklisting of
students in Punjab for 5 yrs
ANJU AGNIHOTRI CHABA
JALANDHAR MARCH 19
AT A time when hundreds of
Indianstudentsarefacingdepor-
tation in Canada because of fake
offer letters provided to them by
travel agent Brijesh Mishra and
hispartners,afewotherstudents
have been blacklisted for five
years in Punjab by the Canadian
governmentforthesamereason
– submitting fake offer letter in
the Canadian Embassy provided
by the same agent.
After one such case came to
light, Jalandharpoliceregistered
a case against Brijesh Mishra, a
resident of Thalwada,
Darbhanga, Bihar, his accom-
plice Gurnam Singh, resident of
Cheema Nagar Extension and
Rahul Bhargava, a resident of
Kabir Avenue (Laddewali).
Mishra was sending students
to Canada on study visa using his
registered and licensed consul-
tancy namely ‘Education
Migration Services’ in Jalandhar.
He, however, came into limelight
afterstudents,whohehadsentto
Bond between
Gujarat and TN
is centuries old,
says Mandaviya
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
RAJKOT, MARCH 19
UNION HEALTH Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday
said that the bond between
Tamil Nadu and Gujarat is cen-
turies old and that the people of
the southern state “embraced
with warmth” those who mi-
grated from Saurashtra.
Speaking while inaugurating
the Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam
(STM), a cultural exchange pro-
gramme between Tamil Nadu
(TN) and Gujarat, in Chennai,
Mandaviyasaidthat initiativewill
carryforwardtheage-oldcultural
inclusiveness of the country.
Mandaviya also unveiled the
logo of the STM and also
launched the STM portal in the
presenceof hiscabinetcolleague
L Muruguan and Kunvarji
Bavaliya and Jagdish Panchal, re-
spectivelyGujarat’sMinistersfor
Water Resources and Protocol.
STM is the second exchange
programme facilitated by the
Centre under its “Ek Bharat,
Shreshtha Bharat” initiative.
Out jogging, CEO of
tech firm killed after
being hit by SUV
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, MARCH 19
RAJALAKSHMI RAMKRISHNAN,
a 58-year-old CEO of a tech firm
andanavidrunner,waskilledon
Sunday after a speeding SUV hit
her when she was out jogging
near the Worli Sea Face.
Rajalakshmi, also called Raji
byherfriends,hadrecentlycom-
pleted the Tata Mumbai
Marathon. The accused, Sumer
Merchant (23), who was driving
a white Tata Nexon, has been ar-
rested and will be produced in
court on Monday.
Police said the incident hap-
pened around 6.30 am when
Rajalakshmi, a Dadar resident,
was out for a run. Merchant, a
Tardeo resident, was going to-
wards Dadar. Three others, in-
cluding two women colleagues
who had attended a party at his
residence on Saturday night,
were in the vehicle. Merchant
was going to drop them home,
the police said.
“It appears the accused was
going at a high speed and lost
control of the vehicle. The four-
wheeler hit a divider near the
Worli Parsi dairy and hit
Rajalakshmi from behind,” DCP
(zone III) Akbar Pathan said.
Rajalakshmi was flung off the
ground.Shefellwithherfacehit-
ting the ground and sustained
serious injuries to her head.
Bystanders rushed her to
Poddar hospital while others
overpowered Merchant, who
toosustainedinjuriesintheacci-
dent. Locals called the Worli po-
Canada 2018 onwards received
deportation letters.
The police said more such
victims could emerge as the in-
vestigation progresses. A case
has been registered in police di-
vision-6undersections465,467,
468, 471 and 120B of the IPC
against Mishra and his accom-
plices and the investigation has
been handed over to the Anti-
Human Trafficking Unit.
According to complainant
Jagraj Singh of Ferozpur district,
after completing BSc, his daugh-
ter wished to go to Canada for
further studies and they con-
tacted the consultancy in 2018
and met Mishra.
Aftercheckingthegirl’sdocu-
ments, Mishra promised to send
her to Canada and a deal was fi-
nalised for Rs 17 lakh. “…on
March18,2019,[thegirl]gotamail
from Mishra’s office that her visa
hadarrivedandaskedthemtoget
the payment ready,” the father
said in the FIR. However, after
scrutiny,theofferletterwasfound
to be fake and the embassy not
only cancelled her visa but also
blacklisted the girl for five years.
Aspiring to be a teacher,
Chhattisgarh teen writes
Class 12 exams with foot
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
RAIPUR, MARCH 19
BORNWITHdeformedarmsand
legs, 17-year-old Mahesh Singh
never let his physical disability
become an obstruction in inch-
ing closer to his dream of be-
coming a teacher.
A resident of Ambikapur in
Chhattisgarh, he just finished
taking his Class 12 exams with
his left foot. “The papers went
well and I hope to score around
70%. My leg starts paining if I
write continuously but still, I am
able to complete my exam
within the stipulated time. My
handwriting,too,isclearenough
forreading,”Mahesh,anartsstu-
dent, told The Indian Express.
Suffering from a rare defor-
mity called Phocomelia (malfor-
mationof humanarmsandlegs),
his father died when he was just
10yearsold.Henowliveswithhis
mother and both his sisters are
married.Apartfromstudying,he
helps his mother in farming.
Aspiring to be a Hindi school
teacher, Mahesh says his cousin
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
The car that hit Rajalakshmi
Ramkrishnan (above) in
Mumbai, Sunday. File, Express
lice and handed him over to
them.Atthepolicestation,anFIR
wasregisteredagainstMerchant
followingwhichhewasarrested.
The FIR was registered under
Section 304 of the IPC (culpable
homicide not amounting to
murder) and Section 184 of the
Motor Vehicles Act (driving at a
speed dangerous to the public)
among others. The police said
theaccusedwillbeproducedbe-
fore court on Monday. The vehi-
cle will be handed over to the
Regional Transport Office (RTO)
for inspection.
“We have taken blood sam-
ples of the accused to find out if
hewasundertheinfluence of al-
cohol,” Pathan said.
Merchant told the police he
worked for a company involved
intalenthuntforBollywoodfilms.
Out on bail, rape
accused throws
‘acid’ on Dalit
victim; arrested
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
LUCKNOW, MARCH 19
A26-YEAR-OLDrapeaccused,out
on bail, was arrested on Sunday
for allegedly attacking the 19-
year-old Dalit victim with “acid”
outside her residence in Sant
Kabir Nagar district, police said.
According to the police, the
woman alleged that when she
steppedoutofherhouseforsome
workonFriday,theaccused—an
upper-caste farmer — attacked
her with acid, and when she
raised an alarm he fled the spot
onamotorcycle.Thewomanwas
rushedtoahospitalwithburnin-
juries on her shoulder and the
back, said police, adding that her
condition is stable.
Based on her family’s com-
plaint, the accused was booked
under relevant sections. The mo-
tive behind the attack is yet to be
ascertained,saidanofficer.
“The medical report did not
specify that acid was used in the
crime. It states that the injuries
werecausedby‘hotliquid’.Weare
recording statements of several
people,” the officer added.
Mahesh
Singh suffers
from a rare
deformity
brothersarehisbiggestsourceof
inspiration. “There are many
people who have inspired me
but my brothers working in the
farms have inspired me the
most. Looking at them, I feel
even I should do something in
my life,” he says.
Takingabouthisfutureplans,
he says: “I want to be a Hindi
school teacher as soon as possi-
ble. I wish to study further. My
mother is over 60 years and I
want to help her financially. I
hope the government helps me
fulfil my dream.”
Asha Kujur, Principal of
Bhagwanpur Higher Secondary
School,saysMaheshisnotonlyan
inspiration for his schoolmates,
butfortheentirecountry.“Heisa
little shy and does not speak
much. The school is helping him
ineverywaypossible.Hehasbeen
aninspirationforall,”Kujuradds.
 E EXPLAINED
11
THIS WORD MEANS
RACCOON DOG
New research has linked this animal to the pandemic
ScientistsonThursdayunveilednewdata
on the possible origins of the Covid-19
pandemic, which put a strange, squat
creature squarely in the spotlight.
The raccoon dog earns its name from
its black facial markings, which give the
animalamaskedappearanceandamore-
than-passing resemblance to raccoons.
The animals were at least occasion-
ally sold at the Huanan Seafood
Wholesale Market, where many virolo-
gistssuspectthattheCovid-19pandemic
may have started. (The United States
Department of Energy and the FBI now
believe that the virus most likely leaked
from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and
did not emerge organically.)
Scientists had previously announced
that swabs from the market had tested
positive for the coronavirus that causes
Covid. The new data reveal that some of
thesesameswabsalsocontainedsubstan-
tial genetic material from raccoon dogs.
The findings do not prove that rac-
coon dogs were infected with the virus
or that they had passed it on to humans.
But they are consistent with the possibil-
ity that wild animals at the market may
have set off the pandemic.
Animal in the news
Despite their name, raccoon dogs
(Nyctereutes procyonoides) are not close
relatives of raccoons. They are members
of the canid family, a group that also in-
cludes domestic dogs, and are most
closely related to foxes.
Raccoondogsareomnivores,diningon
food sources such as rodents and berries.
They appear svelte in the summer and
packonthepoundsforwinter,whentheir
furalsobecomesthicker.Theyaretheonly
canidspeciesknowntohibernateandare
monogamous, often living in pairs.
Native to East Asia
Raccoon dogs are native to East Asia,
includingpartsof China,Korea,andJapan,
where they are known as tanuki.
They have also become widespread
in parts of Europe, where they are con-
sidered an invasive species.
TELLING NUMBERS
20 yrs of Iraq War: Not worth
fighting, think Americans
TWENTY YEARS ago, on March 19,
2003, the United States invaded Iraq,
its second war against that country in
a little more than a decade. In the
eight-year conflict that followed,
more than 4,000 US servicemembers
and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis
died. The war that began with an
overwhelming show of American
“shock and awe” ended up deeply di-
viding Americans and alienating key
US allies. In a poll conducted four
yearsago,62%of Americansandama-
jorityof militaryveteranshaddecided
it had not been a war worth fighting.
PEW RESEARCH CENTRE
FAST TRACK YOUR PREPARATION FOR
PRELIMS 2023
What does the ICC’s arrest warrant mean for Vladimir Putin?
KHADIJA KHAN
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
ON MARCH 17, the International Criminal
Court (ICC) issued “warrants of arrest for
two individuals in the context of the situa-
tion in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich
Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-
Belova”.Lvova-Belovaisthe“Commissioner
for Children’s Rights in the Office of the
President of the Russian Federation”.
Why have the warrants
been issued?
EXPLAINED
According to a press re- GLOBAL
lease issued by the ICC,
President Putin, 70, and Lvova-Belova, 38,
are“allegedly responsibleforthewar crime
of unlawful deportation...and unlawful
transfer” of children from occupied areas of
Ukraine to the Russian Federation”, for
which they have been charged under
“Articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the
Rome Statute”.
The first provision relates to “unlawful
deportationortransferorunlawfulconfine-
ment”; the second deals with “the transfer,
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
Raccoon dogs in Tokyo zoo. AP File
Farmed for their fur
Raccoon dogs have long been farmed
fortheirfur.Chinaisaleadingproducerof
raccoon dog pelts; in 2014, the country
producedmorethan14millionpelts,100
times as many as Europe, according to
one report.
They are also sold for their meat in
live-animal markets (such as Wuhan's
Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market).
Pandemic source?
Not necessarily. Laboratory experi-
ments have shown that raccoon dogs are
susceptible to, and capable of transmit-
ting, the novel coronavirus. But that does
not mean that they are the natural reser-
voir for the virus. Even if raccoon dogs at
the market were infected, they might
have been an intermediate host, picking
up the virus from batsor another species.
Raccoon dogs and bats were both
common on and around some of the
farmsthatsuppliedthemarket,scientists
have noted. A similar scenario may have
unfolded two decades ago, after the
emergence of SARS, which is also caused
by a coronavirus.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
COSTS VS BENEFITS,
THE IRAQ WAR WAS...
■ Not worth it ■ Worth it
ALL US ADULTS
62% 32%
ALL VETERANS
64% 33%
IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN VETERANS
59% 37%
STARTS 16TH FEB'23
STARTS 20TH FEB'23
STARTS 16TH FEB'23
directly or indirectly, by the Occupying
Power of parts of its own civilian popula-
tion into the territory it occupies, or the de-
portation or transfer of all or parts of the
population of the occupied territory within
or outside this territory”.
TheRomeStatute,adoptedin1998,isthe
internationaltreatythatestablishedtheICC.
According to the ICC, “the crimes were
allegedlycommittedinUkrainianoccupied
territory at least from 24 February 2022”,
the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
“There are reasonable
groundstobelievethat...Putin
bears individual criminal re-
sponsibility...for the crimes,
(i) for having committed the
acts directly, jointly with others and/ or
through others..., and (ii) for his failure to
exercise control properly over civilian and
military subordinates who committed the
acts, or allowed for their commission, and
who were under his effective authority and
control...,” it said.
What is the ICC?
The ICC, which is headquartered in The
Hague, Netherlands, is an independent ju-
A sweet export story
By pivoting to raw sugar exports, India has gone from being a marginal player five years ago to No. 2 in the
world currently, behind only Brazil. Specific advantages of Indian raw sugar have helped Indian exports
Harish Damodaran
BUILDING EXPORT markets takes effort.
Overseas buyers need to beconvinced about
the price competitiveness, product quality,
and reliability of supplies from the export-
ing country.
One not-so-talked-about success story in
recent years is of sugar exports from India.
Between 2017-18 and 2021-22, these have
soaredfrom$810.9millionto$4.6billion,and
couldcross$5.5billion—orRs45,000crore—
in the fiscal year ending March 31 (Chart 1).
The increase is even more significant in
quantity terms. During the 2016-17 and
2017-18 sugar years (Oct-Sept), India’s ship-
ments were a mere 0.46 lakh tonnes (lt) and
6.2 lt respectively. They had zoomed to 110
lt by 2021-22. What explains the surge?
Grades of sugar
Chart 2 shows India’s exports of both raw
and white sugar.
Rawsugariswhatmillsproduceafterthe
first crystallisation of juice obtained from
crushing of cane. This sugar is rough and
brownishin colour, with anICUMSA value of
600-1,200 or higher. ICUMSA, short for the
International Commission for Uniform
Methods of Sugar Analysis, is a measure of
thepurityof sugarbasedoncolour.Thelower
the value, the more the whiteness.
Raw sugar is processed in refineries for
removal of impurities and de-colourisation.
The end product is refined white cane sugar
having a standard ICUMSA value of 45. The
sugarusedbyindustriessuchaspharmaceu-
ticals has ICUMSA of less than 20.
Till 2017-18, India hardly exported any
rawsugar.Itmainlyshippedplantationwhite
sugar with 100-150 ICUMSA value. This was
referred to as low-quality whites or LQW in
international markets.
From refined to raw
Around mid-2018, a team of officials led
by the joint secretary (sugar) in the Ministry
of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public
Distribution, Suresh Kumar Vashishth, and
industry representatives visited Indonesia,
Malaysia,SouthKorea,ChinaandBangladesh.
Rush to study abroad: what the numbers say
DIVYA A
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
SOME 700 Indian students are facing depor-
tation from Canada after “admission offer
letters” provided by a Jalandhar-based im-
migration agency were established as fake.
AsmoreandmoreIndianstudentsareopting
to study abroad, many are falling prey to un-
scrupulous agents.
A six-year high
Indians now study in 240 countries
around the world, the Ministry of External
Affairs informed Rajya Sabha last month.
Canada,Australia, the UK, andthe US remain
the top choices, but sizable numbers are also
travelling to Uzbekistan, Philippines, Russia,
Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
Thenumbershaveonlyrisenafterthepan-
dicial bodythat beganfunctioningonJuly1,
2002, when its founding and governing
document, the Rome Statute, came into
force. It was established to prosecute the
most heinous offences where a country’s
own legal machinery failed to act — like in
Rwanda and erstwhile Yugoslavia.
Unlike the International Court of Justice
(ICJ), which deals with countries and inter-
statedisputes,theICCprosecutesindividuals
—it“investigatesand,wherewarranted,tries
individualschargedwiththegravestcrimes
of concern to the international community:
genocide, war crimes, crimes against hu-
manity and the crime of aggression”.
Does the ICC have the authority to
prosecute President Putin?
The ICC’s jurisdiction is limited to of-
fences that occurred after it came into exis-
tence on July 1, 2002, and were committed
either in a country that has ratified the
agreement,orbyanationalof acountrythat
has ratified the agreement.
Russiaisnotoneof the123StatesParties
to the Rome Statute that recognise the au-
thority of the ICC. The United States does-
n’t either — it has over the years repeatedly
EXPLAINED ECONOMICS
CHART 1
INDIA’S SUGAR EXPORTS IN VALUE
■ $ Million
■ ` Crore
9,523.14
5,225.6
1,966.44
1,360.29
810.9
2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2021-22* 2022-23*
CHART 2
INDIA’S SUGAR EXPORTS IN LAKH TONNES
Sugar Year Raw Sugar
2016-17 0 0.46
2017-18 0.47
2018-19 13.13
2019-20 17.84
2020-21 28.16
2021-22 56.29
2022-23** 19.13
Note: Sugar Year is from Oct-Sept
Their mission: to promote exports of raw
sugar from India. This was especially in view
of the production glut at home, with closing
stocks of sugar, at 105 lt in 2017-18, equiva-
lenttofivemonthsof domesticconsumption.
Much of the world sugar trade is in ‘raws’
thataretransportedinbulkvesselsof40,000-
70,000tonnescapacity.‘Whites’,ontheother
hand, are usually packed in 50-kg polypropy-
lenebagsandshippedin12,500-27,000-tonne
container cargoes over shorter distances.
Raw sugar requires no bagging or con-
tainerisation and can be loaded in bulk; the
buyerhereistherefiner,nottheend-consumer.
“The refineries in those countries mostly
importedrawsfromBrazil.Brazilianmillsop-
erate from April to November, whereas our
crushingisfromOctobertoApril.Wetoldthem
thattheycouldsourceourrawsduringBrazil’s
off-season. The voyage time from Kandla,
MundraorJNPTtoCiwandanPortofIndonesia
is 13-15 days, compared to 43-45 days from
Brazil’sPortofSantos,”saidanofficialwhowas
part of the 2018 Indian delegation.
India’s raw advantage
Apart from the time window and freight
cost savings, the delegation highlighted two
demic,thedatasuggest.Indiansgoingabroad
for higher education touched a six-year high
in2022atover7.5lakh,theEducationMinistry
told Parliament last month. India surpassed
China to become the country with the most
international students in the US in 2022.
Rising steadily
Infact,thenumberof Indianschoosingto
studyabroadrosefrom4.5lakhin2017to5.2
lakh in 2018 to around 5.86 lakh in 2019, as
pergovernmentdata.Thepandemicresulted
in this number crashing to 2.6 lakh in 2020.
Countries of choice
THEUK:Britaingranted1.4lakhsponsored
studyvisastoIndiansin2022,amajorincrease
from the 34,261 visas in 2019, as per statistics
available on the UK government website. The
second largest group to be given sponsored
study visas by the UK in 2022 were Chinese.
In this photo taken from video
released by the Kremlin on Sunday,
Vladimir Putin listens to Deputy PM
Marat Khusnullin in Mariupol. AP
and aggressively denounced the ICC — and
neither do China and India.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has
rejected the ICC’s warrants as “outrageous
and unacceptable”, and said that any deci-
sion by the court would be “null and void”
because Russia is not a signatory, Reuters
reported.ThereportquotedRussianForeign
Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying ICC deci-
@ieExplained
#ExpressExplained
If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that you would like
explained, please write to explained@indianexpress.com
34,344.69
13,981.56
26,545.76
4,602.65
3,570.34
20,668.57
2,789.91
White Sugar*** Total
0.46
5.73 6.2
24.87 38
41.56 59.4
43.74
53.71
30.91 50.04
**As on March 15; ***Includes refined sugar
specific advantages of Indian raw sugar.
First, it is free of dextran, a bacterial com-
pound formed when sugarcane stays in the
sun for too long after harvesting. “Our raw
sugar has no dextran, as it is produced from
fresh cane crushed within 12-24 hours of
harvesting.Thecut-to-crushtimeis48hours
or more in Brazil,” the official said.
Second, Indian mills could supply raws
with very high polarisation of 98.5-99.5%.
Polarisation is the percentage of sucrose
present in a raw sugar mass. The more the
polarisation — it is only 96-98.5% in raws
fromBrazil,ThailandandAustralia—theeas-
ier and cheaper it is to refine.
“We created awareness about the quality
of Indian raw sugar. So much so that our raws
today fetch a 4% premium over the global
benchmark(NewYorkNo.11futurescontract)
price. This is in contrast to white sugar. There,
ourso-calledLQWsellsata$40/tonnediscount
to the world price (London No. 5 futures) for
45 ICUMSA whites,” the official noted.
The efforts to push exports of raws got a
further boost when Indonesia, in December
2019, agreed to tweak its ICUMSA norms to
enable imports from India. The Southeast
Asian nation previously imported only raw
In September 2019, the UK announced a
post-study work visa called the “graduate
route”,whichallowedinternationalstudents,
includingthosefromIndia,towork,orlookfor
work, in any career or position for two years
after successfully completing their studies.
CANADA: As of 2019, there were over 2.2
lakh Indian study permit holders in Canada,
constituting 34 per cent of Canada's foreign
student population. In 2021, as Canada
placed a travel ban owing to the pandemic,
many Indian students, especially from
Punjab, sought to travel to the country
through Russia, Serbia, Qatar, and Dubai.
The fact that Australia and New Zealand
closedtheirborderstointernationalstudents
in 2021 also contributed to the surge in
Indian student migration to Canada, experts
in the immigration business said.
UKRAINE, CHINA: The Russian invasion
plunged the future of some 18,000 Indian
sions “have no meaning for our country, in-
cluding from a legal point of view”.
Even Ukraine is not a State Party to the
Rome Statute.
However, in 2014, it “lodged a declara-
tion under Article 12(3) of the Rome
Statute...accepting the jurisdiction of the
Court over alleged crimes committed on its
territory from 21 November 2013 to 22
February 2014 (the “Maidan events”)”, ac-
cording to the ICC website. Then, in 2015, it
“lodged a second declaration under Article
12(3)...accepting theexercise of jurisdiction
of the ICC in relationto alleged crimescom-
mitted on its territory from 20 February
2014 onwards, with no end date”.
Article 12(3) allows a non-Party state to
accept the ICC’s jurisdiction for a particular
crime by means of a declaration.
What is the upshot of this situation,
then?
A Reuters analysis concluded that while
“Putin may notsee the inside of a cell in The
Hague any time soon”, the arrest warrant
“could hurt his ability to travel freely and
meetotherworldleaders,whomayfeelless
inclined to speak to a wanted man”.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
sugar of 1,200 ICUMSA or more, largely from
Thailand. Those levels were brought down
to 600-1,200 to allow its refiners to process
higher purity raws from India.
“Given how much palm oil we buy from
37,397.86
Indonesia, it was like a return favour. They
even reduced their import duty on our raws
from 15% to 5%,” the official said.
4,689.97
The end result
Out of India’s total 110 lt sugar exports in
2021-22,rawsaloneaccountedfor56.29lt.The
biggest importers of Indian raw sugar were
Indonesia(16.73lt),Bangladesh(12.10lt),Saudi
Arabia(6.83lt),Iraq(4.78lt)andMalaysia(4.15
*April to January lt).Thecountryalsoexported53.71ltofwhite/
refined sugar, the leading destinations for
whichincludedAfghanistan(7.54lt),Somalia
(5.17 lt), Djibouti (4.90 lt), Sri Lanka (4.27 lt),
China (2.58 lt), and Sudan (1.08 lt).
To put this in context, from being a mar-
ginal exporter until five years ago, India has
becometheworld’sNo.2,withitsshipments
of 110.58 lt in 2021-22 (according to the
International Sugar Organization) next only
to Brazil (255.40 lt) and way ahead of
71.9
Thailand (79.86 lt) and Australia (25.67 lt).
110 The highest decline in exports has been reg-
istered by the European Union (which pro-
ducessugarfrombeet,unlikeIndiaandBrazil
that only crush cane): from 39.74 lt in 2017-
18 to 8.02 lt in 2021-22.
The exports cap
Year-endstocksof sugarwithIndianmills
peakedat143ltin2018-19.Theconcertedex-
port drive, coupled with diversion of sugar-
cane juice to produce ethanol for blending
withpetrol,helpedbringdownclosingstocks
to about 70 lt by 2021-22. In other words,
from being enough for 6-7 months to just
over 3 months of domestic consumption.
However,lowerstocksandproductiondip-
ping to an estimated 334 lt (from 359.25 lt in
2021-22)hasledthegovernmenttocapIndia’s
exportsinthecurrentsugaryearto61lt.Outof
that, over 50 lt have already been dispatched.
Mills in Maharashtra are now realising
around Rs 32 for every kg of sugar sold in the
domestic market. As against this, London
white sugar prices are ruling at $585 per
tonne. Even after factoring in the $40/tonne
LQW discount and deducting Rs 2,500-
3,000/tonne of internal transport and port
expenses, the ex-mill realisations from ex-
portsworkoutmuchhigher,atRs42-42.5/kg.
“The government may be concerned
about domestic availability and food infla-
tion. But overseas markets lost aren’t easy to
regain,” the industry official said.
medicalstudentsinUkraineincrisis.Around
23,000 Indian medical students reportedly
studying in China could not go back to that
countryafterthepandemicstruck.However,
with China opening up student visas in
August 2022, around 6,200 of them are said
to have obtained visas.
OTHER COUNTRIES: Several countries
are now making specific efforts to liberalise
student visas for Indians.
In 2019, there were 10,000 Indian stu-
dents in France; the country aims to attract
20,000 Indian students by2025.In July2021,
France announced that fully vaccinated
Indian students could travel to the country
without restrictions.
Greece plans to increase its outreach to
Indianacademicinstitutionsthroughtheoffi-
cial“StudyinGreece”platform.Thetwocoun-
tries have signed a Cultural and Educational
Exchange Programme for 2022-2026.
According to Western pundits, the warrant
will “deepen his isolation”.
State Parties to the ICC are under obliga-
tiontoarrestPutinif hetravelstotheirjuris-
dictions. But it seems unlikely that he will
give them that opportunity.
Russia is part of G20, whose leaders will
meet in New Delhi this September. India
does not recognise the authority of the ICC.
This is the first time that the ICC has is-
sued an arrest warrant against the head of
one of the five permanent members of the
UN Security Council. Sudan’s former
President Omar al-Bashir and Libya’s
Muammar Gaddafi are the only other lead-
ers to have been indicted by the ICC while
servingasheadofstate,aReutersreportsaid.
The charges against Gaddafi were
droppedafterhewasoverthrownandkilled
in2011.Bashir,whowasindictedin2009,re-
mainedPresidentuntil2019andtravelledto
manyICCMemberStatesduringthisperiod.
Outofpower,hehasbeentriedinSudan,but
he has not been handed over to the ICC.
The ICC charged Kenya’s William Ruto
and Uhuru Kenyatta before they became
Presidentof theircountry,butsubsequently
dropped the charges.

12
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
THE EDITORIAL PAGE
FOUNDED BY
No case for discretion
§
§
RAMNATH GOENKA
Institutional safeguards are needed to ensure governors
BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL
TOKYO OUTREACH S Y Quraishi
PM Kishida’s Delhi visit could turn out to be an inflection point IN THE ONGOING disqualification proceed-
ings against Maharashtra MLAs in the
in bilateral relations, mark new phase in Indo-Pacific geopolitics Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India D Y
H
Chandrachud, heading the five-judge
E WILL BE in the Indian capital for barely 24 hours; but the Japanese Prime Constitution bench, dropped a bombshell
Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Delhi on Monday could turn out to be an with his hard-hitting remarks about the role
inflection point in bilateral relations. It will also mark a new phase in the and powers of a governor.
evolution of Indo-Pacific geopolitics. Kishida will give a major speech at In the course of the arguments, the CJI se-
the Capital’s Sapru House and seek India’s cooperation in implementing Japan’s new verely criticised the Maharashtra governor’s
actions and raised questions about the legiti-
Indo-Pacificambitions.ThereisnodoubtthatKishidahasdeliberately chosenDelhiasthe
macy and limits of a governor’s role in this
venueforthearticulationof anewIndo-Pacificstrategy.Delhi,afterall,iswhereJapan first case, though as obiter dicta. The CJI observed
articulated its Indo-Pacific vision nearly 15 years ago. In August 2007, Prime Minister thatthe“governorshouldnotenterthepolit-
Shinzo Abe outlined two big new ideas about Asia in his address to the Indian Parliament. icalarena”,addingthatagovernor“cannoten-
Abeunderlinedtheessential unityof theIndianandPacificOceansbypointingtoa strate- ter into any area by which his action would
gic“confluenceof thetwoseas”.HisothercasewasfordeepercooperationbetweenAsia’s precipitate the fall of a government” and that
democracies — what would eventually become the Quadrilateral Forum — to secure the unless this principle is maintained, it would
be “very, very serious for our democracy”.
region’s maritime future. It took enormous persistence over an extended period from
The crucial issue at hand is regarding the
Abe and the Japanese establishment to rally sceptical partners behind the concept of the procedural and constitutional powers con-
Indo-Pacific geography and the Quad that promotes strategic cooperation between ferred on a governor. A governor who is ex-
Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. pected to be non-partisan cannot function in
Kishida’s planned update to that Indo-Pacific vision is a response to fundamental awaythatprecipitatesacrisisandleadstothe
changes in the regional and global security environment. Beijing’s new alliance with toppling of a duly elected government.
Furthermore, being an executive appointee,
Moscow launched just before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 shocked Japan.
the governor has no role in legislative issues,
Kishida was quick to see the implications of the Ukraine war for Asia — the potential em- and if at all he does, we need to delineate the
powerment of China to seize the territories of its neighbours by force. The horrible con- circumstantialconstraintsandexceptionsthat
sequences of the Ukraine war have compelled Japan to decisively act to strengthen de- will legitimately allow his interference.
terrent capabilities against China. Over the last few months, Kishida has announced a Whiletheargumentativeandcircumstan-
dramatic plan to double Tokyo’s defence expenditure over the next five years and build tialnuancesspecifictotheparticularcasecon-
cerning the Maharashtra crisis are sub judice,
a massive counter-strike capability to dampen China’s expansionism. Besides strength-
we can not lose sight of the highly significant
ening national capabilities, Japan is eager to boost regional partnerships and offer eco- underlying issue — the role and scope of the
nomic, infrastructure, and military assistance to smaller countries in the region. Kishida
office of governor.
is eager to explore greater collaboration with India in this enterprise. Delhi will be all ears. In India in recent years, there have been a
It wants to know how far Kishida might go in opening up to bilateral defence industrial spateof controversiesaboutgovernorsacross
collaboration with India and develop joint initiatives for regional capacity building. thecountryfromJharkhandandWestBengal
Delhi is also eager to get a first hand account of Kishida’s new interest in joining hands to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. This issue has got-
tentosuchaworryinglevelthatmanygover-
withIndiainaddressingtheconcernsof theGlobalSouth.KishidawantstoworkwithIndia
nors are being called “agent provocateur of
to promote greater coordination between G20, which Delhi is chairing this year, and the theCentre”.Weonlyhavetotaketheveryre-
G7 forum of leading industrial democracies that Tokyo is leading in 2023. As they dis- cent case of R N Ravi, the Tamil Nadu gover-
cuss an exciting new bilateral, regional, and global agenda, Kishida and Prime Minister nor.Exceedinghispowers,heskippedcertain
Narendra Modi will need to finessetheir differences on how to deal with Russia’s Ukraine parts of his speech, omitting words such as
secularism,PeriyarandBRAmbedkar.Hefur-
aggression.
ther made denigrating remarks stating that
theDravidianmodelisregressivepolitics,and
in a gathering of civil aspirants, he advised
DIM OUTLOOK them that in matters of dispute between
Centre and State, they should always un-
doubtedlytakethesideoftheCentre.Hewent
Trade data points to slowing momentum in economy. Sluggish
exports, tight monetary policy may drag down growth further
T
RADE DATA RELEASED by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry last week
showed that India’s merchandise exports and imports continued to contract
in February,pointingtowardsslowingmomentumacrossboththeglobaland
domestic economies.Especiallyworrying is thedeepeningof thepaceof con-
traction in both exports and imports. Merchandiseexportsfell by 8.8 percentin February,
after declining by 6.6 per cent in January and 3.1 per cent in December, while imports
declined by 8.2 per cent in February, after falling by 3.6 per cent in January. On the flip
side, a consequenceof this deepeningcontractionisthat thecountry’s merchandise trade
deficit narrowed further to $17.4 billion in February. Fumio Kishida
Thedisaggregateddatashowsthatcore-exports,whichexcludeexportsof oil,goldand
gems and jewellery, have continued to contract. In fact, 16 of the 30 main export seg- TODAY, AS I embark on my second visit to
ments actually fell in February, with even labour intensive segments such as leather and India as Prime Minister of Japan, it gives me
textileswitnessingdeepcontraction.AsperareportbyNomura,asof January,thesharpest immensepleasuretoreturntothelandwhere
the dynamics of the world — the Pacific and
declines have been observed in the country’s exports to the US, China, Japan and the rest
the Indian Oceans — converge. One year ago,
of Asia. While higher export growth in the first half of the financial year has pushed over- the foundation of order in the international
all growth for the year so far (April-February) to 7.55 per cent, non-oil non-gems and jew- community was shaken by Russia’s aggres-
ellery exports are almost at the same level as last year. This is a worrying sign. On the im- sionagainstUkraine.Againstsuchabackdrop,
ports side too, a similar scenario exists. Core imports, which exclude oil, gold and gems on March 19, 2022, during my visit to India,
and jewellery, have continued to contract. The data points towards a softening of imports PrimeMinisterNarendraModiandIaffirmed
that any attempt to unilaterally change the
of consumer and investment goods, indicative of weakening domestic demand.
status quo by force is unacceptable not only
The outlook for exports remains subdued. According to a report by Crisil, India’s mer- in the Indo-Pacific but also in any region, and
chandise export growth is likely to moderate to 2-4 per cent in the coming fiscal year as a peaceful resolution based on international
two of the country’s biggest destinations for exports — the US and EU — are expected to lawneedstobesought.Weaffirmedthatthe
slow down sharply. As per the International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic current situation makes it more relevant to
expedite efforts towards the realisation of a
Outlook, the US economic growth is expected to slow down from 2 per cent in 2022 to
“FreeandOpenIndo-Pacific(FOIP)”.Iamcon-
1.4 per cent in 2023, while the Euro region is expected to moderate from 3.5 per cent to
0.7percentoverthesameperiod.Thisassessmentimpliesthatexportsareunlikelytopro-
vincedthattheunwaveringtrustandtheclose
coordination between India and Japan as
vide a fillip to growth. The overall economic momentum will be further weighed down
leading democracies of Asia are the corner-
as the full impact of the RBI’s tighter monetary policy will be felt across the country. stones of peace and prosperity in the region.
Today, the international community is at
ahistoricturningpoint.Itsimpact,suchasthe
foodcrisisandsoaringfertiliserprices,arealso
Freeze Frame E P Unny being felt here in the Indo-Pacific region. In
order to respond effectively to the various
challengesthattheinternationalcommunity
is currently facing, cooperation between the
G7andtheG20hasgreatersignificance.Such
pressingchallengesincludefoodsecurity,cli-
mate and energy, fair and transparent devel-
opment finance. As Japan and India assume
do not cross the lines drawn by the Constitution
History has shown that
constitutional morality and
values are too serious to be
left to the discretion of
governors. We must design
institutional safeguards to
ensure that the governors do
not cross the Lakshman
Rekha. The Sarkaria and
Punchhi commissions have
dealt with the subject at
length. For strengthening
our democracy and its
federal structure, we need to
act. And, urgently.
RENEWING A PLEDGE
India-Japan ties are pivotal to peace, progress in the Indo-Pacific
Supported by the long-
standing exchanges between
the people of our two
countries, Japan-India
relations have advanced in
various fields. It is
particularly pleasing to see
steady progress in the high-
speed railway project, which
is our flagship project, and
efforts towards realising the
target of JPY 5 trillion of
public and private
investment and financing
from Japan to India in
the next five years as
announced by our two
governments last year.
MARCH 20, 1983, FORTY YEARS AGO
VIOLENCE IN ASSAM
AT LEAST SIX people, including two women
and two boys were killed, 26 houses set
ablazeandeightbombsexplodedindifferent
parts of the trouble-torn Assam during the
last 24 hours. Official reports in Gauhati said
that a college student of oil town Digboi in
Dibrugarh district was stabbed to death
while he was returning from the market.
Two women and their two minors were
killed and their houses were set on fire.
UN POPULATION AWARD
PRIME MINISTER INDIRA Gandhi and
Chinese Family Planning Minister Qian
WORDLY WISE
Diplomacy and defence are not substitutes
for one another. Either alone would fail.
— John F Kennedy
ontoshowtheimpertinenceof changingthe
name of the state of Tamil Nadu itself!
Likewise, former Jharkhand governor
(now Maharashtra governor) Ramesh Bais
withheld the opinion of the Election
CommissioninHemantSoren’sofficeofprofit
case and did not act on it, thereby causing
chaos and destabilising the House. In fact, by
keeping the EC’s verdict a secret, despite re-
peatedrequestsbybothChief MinisterSoren
andtherulingUPA,heviolatedArticle192(2)
of the Constitution, which says that he “shall
act” according to such opinion. Thereafter, in
a move that casts serious aspersions on his
bonafides, Bais claimed that his delay in re-
vealingtheEC’sreportwasduetohistakinga
“secondopinion”.Secondopinion?Evenbya
charitableinterpretation,itwasnotonlyface-
tious but betrayed his utter ignorance of the
Constitution. The “opinion” in this case is a
quasi judicial order of the Election
Commission, where a governor (or even the
President in the case of MPs) cannot change
evenacommaandhastoimplementitintoto.
The Constitution has mandated the word of
EC to be final in the matter of disqualification
in an office of profit case.
Theactof thegovernorkeepingtohimself
the “opinion” of the EC is a mystery. If the EC
found Soren guilty of holding an “office of
profit”,thegovernorshouldhavelostnotime
in sacking him. If the EC’s verdict was “not
guilty”, he should have made it public to re-
move the uncertainty hanging over the gov-
ernment. Thesuspensewasenoughforanex-
odus to start from the government, which is
presumably what the governor intended.
Soren’sactofseekingavoteofconfidencepre-
emptedthatbutevenheprobablydidn’tknow
thelaw.IftheEChadfoundhimguilty,novote
of confidencecouldhavesavedhim.Thevote
was irrelevant. All this political drama would
have been avoided if the governor had not
kept EC’s opinion close to his chest. It was not
hispersonalpropertytositover.Article192(2)
clearly says that the governor “shall act” ac-
cording to the opinion. By not acting, he was
clearly in violation of the Constitution.
As an unelected appointee of the Centre,
the governor is expected to not get involved
in political controversies or ideological rifts.
Hemustdisplaynon-partisanstatesmanship,
thePresidenciesoftheG7andtheG20respec-
tively this year, I look forward to engaging in
candiddiscussionswithPrimeMinisterModi
on the roles that the G7 and the G20 should
play in overcoming such challenges.
I would also like to take this opportunity
todeepenthemulti-layeredbilateralrelation-
ship between our two countries, which is
basedonsharedvaluesandprinciplesoffree-
dom,democracy,humanrightsandtheruleof
law. Supported by the long-standing ex-
changesbetweenthepeopleofourtwocoun-
tries, Japan-India relations have advanced in
various fields. It is particularly pleasing to see
steady progress in the high-speed railway
project, which is our flagship project, and ef-
forts towards realising the target of JPY 5 tril-
lion of public and private investment and fi-
nancing from Japan to India in the next five
yearsasannouncedbyourtwogovernments
last year. In addition, smart city projects by
India,whichhaveanedgeinthedigitalsphere,
share high compatibility with Japan’s Vision
for a Digital Garden City Nation Realisation,
andIwouldliketoforgefurtherbilateralcoop-
erationinsuchfields.Intermsof cooperation
in development of the north-eastern region
of India, we can realise its full potential by in-
creasing connectivity with the surrounding
regions. In addition, we will further promote
cooperation in the security field and people-
to-peopleexchangesbetweenthetwocoun-
tries, now that the Covid-19 pandemic ap-
Xinzhong are the joint winners of the UN
Population Award, it was announced. The
award committee chief, Anwar-ul-Karim
Chowdhury of Bangladesh called it “an in-
ternational recognition of their efforts to
tackle the complex problems of two of the
world’s largest populations.” Each of them
will receive a diploma, a gold medal and
$12,500 (roughly Rs 1,25,000).
KARACHI RIOTS
THE DEATH TOLL after a second day of riot-
ing in Karachi between the Shia and Sunni
sects rose to eight with over 50 injured, ac-
cording to unofficial eyewitness accounts.
Government authorities clamped a 24-hour
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
notturnconfrontationalandmeddlesomein
legislative matters. It is also necessary to re-
strict the discretionary powers of the gover-
nor because a politically-active and partisan
governor would be usurping the power of
elected representatives.
The question mark on the role of gover-
nors is not new. Demands have been raised
ranging from restricting their discretionary
powers to even abolishing the post. Their
questionableroleinthewakeof anelectionto
invite a leader to form the government has
often been observed. A hung mandate be-
comes a fertile ground for some governors
who are happy to play the puppet in the
handsof anoverbearingCentre.Layingdown
aclearprocedureincasesof ahungmandate
would do great good to Indian democracy.
TheJusticeSarkariaCommission,setupin
1983toexaminetherelationshipandbalance
of power between state and central govern-
ments, had recommended the following or-
der to be followed by a governor in cases of a
hungassembly:One,anallianceofpartiesthat
was formed prior to the elections; two, the
singlelargestpartystakingaclaimtoformthe
government with the support of others, in-
cludingindependents;three,apost-electoral
coalitionofparties,withallthepartnersinthe
coalitionjoiningthegovernment;four,apost-
electoral alliance of parties, with some of the
parties in the alliance forming a government
and the remaining parties, including inde-
pendents, supporting the government from
outside. Two decades later, Justice Punchhi
Committee(2007)reiteratedtherecommen-
dations,butsuccessivegovernmentshavenot
bothered to take it seriously.
History has shown that constitutional
moralityandvaluesaretooserioustobeleftto
the discretion of governors. We must design
institutionalsafeguardstoensurethatgover-
nors do not cross the Lakshman Rekha. The
SarkariaandPunchhicommissionshavedealt
with the subject at length. To strengthen our
democracyanditsfederalstructure,weneed
to act. And, urgently.
Quraishi is former Chief Election
Commissioner of India and the author of An
Undocumented Wonder: The Making of the
Great Indian Election
pears to be receding at last.
During my visit, I will be delivering re-
marks on FOIP at a lecture organised by the
ICWA. FOIP is a vision shared by Japan and
India that has gained support and endorse-
mentoftheinternationalcommunityandled
tothemainstreamingof the“Indo-Pacific”.At
thisturningpointinhistory,FOIPisevenmore
relevantatatimewhenJapanandIndiastrive
topursuethesharedgoalof leadingtheinter-
national community towards cooperation
rather than division and confrontation.
Indeed,itwasinIndiawherethevisionofFOIP
was born. I look forward to discussing the fu-
ture of the “Indo-Pacific” with the people of
India on this occasion of my visit.
In 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and
PrimeMinisterModitogetherannouncedthe
elevation of Japan-India relationship to a
“SpecialStrategicGlobalPartnership”.Thetwo
leaderspledgedtounleashthepotentialofthe
bilateralrelationshiptothefullestextentpos-
sible so as to promote peace, stability and
prosperityinAsiaandtheworld.AsJapanand
India assume the Presidencies of the G7 and
the G20 respectively, together with Prime
Minister Modi, I am resolved to renew the
pledge and do utmost to lead this region and
the world.
I look forward to meeting the people of
India again following my visit last year.
The writer is Prime Minister of Japan
curfewinKarachi’sLiaquatabaddistrictwith
orders to police to shoot anybody trying to
damage any public property.
HEROIN PROBLEM
HEROIN IS AS easily available for the addict
todayasatoyorapairof socks.Theone-time
preserve of a few is now ensuring rapidly
growing numbers. The market is concen-
trated on the main street in Pahar Ganj.
Individualcontactsaremergingintoamush-
rooming market. Exclusive contacts can no
longercontaintheheroinboom;ithasfound
aregularmarket.“I’veneverbeenonanother
dope for years,” says an Indian addict. “But
heroin has really taken over now.”

13 THE IDEAS PAGE
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
Not with a rate hike
RBI should resist further interest rate hikes. Instead, it should advise the government to use buffer stocking,
trade and agro-processing policies to bring down food inflation
FROM PLATE TO PLOUGH
by Ashok Gulati
AS THE FINANCIAL year 2022-23 draws to a
close, India can feel proud that it will be
clocking the highest economic growth rate
amongstG20countries.TheGDPgrowthrate
may be between 6.8 to 7 per cent as pre-
dicted bythe RBI andMinistry of Finance, re-
spectively.That’salmostdoubletheso-called
“Hindu rate of growth” of 3.5 per cent that
RaghuramRajan,formerGovernorof RBI,re-
cently quipped about saying that “India was
dangerously close to Hindu rate of growth”.
The term “Hindu rate of growth” was coined
bymyteacherRajKrishnaattheDelhiSchool
of Economics, indicating that the Indian
economy moved at its own pace of about 3.5
per cent during 1947 to 1980 or so, no mat-
ter which government ruled. But this trajec-
tory has changed since the beginning of eco-
nomic reforms in 1991. Over the last two
decades, India registered a robust growth of
more than 6.5 per cent, and chances are that
it will continue to grow roughly at that pace
for another decade or so.
However, on the inflation front, India is
stillnotoutof thewoods.Theconsumerprice
index (CPI) inflation in February was at 6.44
per cent, a notch higher than the upper end
of RBI’stoleranceband.Itisworthnotingthat
inflationisnowwidelyspreadoutacrossvar-
ious commodity groups, with fuel and light-
ing (energy) leading at 9.9 per cent, followed
by clothing and footwear at 8.8 per cent, pre-
pared meals at 8 per cent and food and bev-
erages at 6.3 per cent. But, since food and
beverages carry the highest weight of 45.9
percentinoverallCPI,itisimportanttotame
it as it hurts the poor most.
While monetary policy specialists are
betting on whether RBI will raise the repo
rate by 25 bps or not, my take is that India
needs to navigate the inflation and growth
puzzlecarefully.Muchof ourfoodinflationis
a supply-side phenomenon and tightening
monetary policy further may not succeed in
taming inflation.
Let us look at food inflation carefully.
Cereal inflation is at 16.7 per cent and within
this wheat/atta (non-PDS) inflation is 25.4
per cent. While this is worrying, having in-
sulated more than 800 million people
through free cereals (5kg per person per
month)throughPDSsupplies,itisnotacause
for alarm. In any case, raising the repo rate
willnothaveanyimpactonthis.Itisbetterto
usebufferstockingandtradepoliciestotame
food inflation. In the case of wheat, the Food
Corporation of India (FCI) has already un-
loaded roughly three million metric tonnes
(MMT) of wheat to beat mandi prices down
from about Rs 2,700-2,800 per quintal two
months ago to roughly Rs 2,200-2,300 per
quintal today. It is only a matter of a month
or two when retail price inflation in wheat
will also drastically drop. The coming crop is
robust, and the government expects it to be
a record crop of 112 MMT. FCI hopes to pro-
cure 34 MMT with Punjab, Madhya Pradesh,
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh likely to con-
tribute most of it. Even if the situation turns
out to be contrary to what the government
expects, it always has an option to import as
global prices of wheat have come below
$300/tonne. Remember, in FY23, despite a
ban on wheat exports, India exported about
5 MMT of wheat. As far as rice is concerned,
Shah Alam Khan
ON THE MORNING of March 16th, historian,
writer and biographer Patrick French
breathed his last at a hospital in London.
It is a known dictum that as a doctor you
are not supposed to get emotionally en-
gaged with your patients. Of the many falla-
cies which we are taught as part of our med-
ical training, this one is not only absurd but
very inhumane. How can one not get emo-
tionally connected with someone one is
meeting regularly? I met Patrick French
through cancer. For me, who had read his
works, it was strange to know someone as
genial as Patrick through such a corrosive
disease as cancer. When you come to know
a person, you become acquainted with his
or her shortcomings. But at times, familiar-
ity brings with it the regret of not having
known a person longer.
IknewPatrickFrenchforfouryears.Iwish
I had known him much longer. For someone
fighting cancer, I do not remember a single
instance when Patrick had a whining face. I
was always greeted by a naughty, cheeky
smile.Evenduringtimesof intenseanti-can-
cer therapy, which tends to kill every living
cell of the body, Patrick was not only res-
FCI has ample stocks in excess of buffer
norms that it can load at any time and beat
down rice inflation (non-PDS) from 11.2 per
centtolessthan5percent.Theprocurement
season for rice is over and FCI can do open
market operations of rice at any time. In
short, RBI can wait and watch for another
month or two. But, I feel cereal inflation will
be down.
However, I am worried about milk infla-
tion, which is raging at 9.6 per cent and has
a high weight in CPI. Remember that India is
the largest producer of milk with 221 MMT
in FY22. The value of milk is more than the
value of rice, wheat, all pulses, and sugar-
cane, put together. Although some people
in the milk business feel that the govern-
ment’s production data of milk is not very
reliable, as they also felt for wheat produc-
tion last year, yet from an inflation point, I
feel the preferred course of action should be
through trade policy rather than monetary
policy. The basic import duty on skimmed
milk powder (SMP) is 60 per cent plus a 10
per cent cess for agriculture infrastructure
development. Indian SMP prices are way
above global SMP prices. Bringing down the
basic import duty from 60 per cent to say 15
per cent in a calibrated manner can augment
the supplies of milk in the country and keep
a lid on consumer prices of milk. Action to-
day will save the government from milk
My patient, my friend
PatrickFrench’switshonethroughintensecancertherapy
olutely ready for the battle but astonishingly
cheerful. In Illness as Metaphor, Susan Sontag
writes that fatal illness has always been
viewed as a test of moral character. Patrick
passed the test with flying colours.
There is a consensus among friends that
Patrick was one of the kindest human beings
you could come across. Only in his writings
washeauthoritative.Heshallberemembered
as one of the most influential biographers of
our times. The clarity of narrative, the beauty
of prose and the ability to decipher informa-
tionthroughanon-judgemental,multi-prism
lens shone through his writings.
InhisbookIndia-AnIntimateBiographyof
1.2 Billion People, Patrick has analysed infor-
mationthroughthreeprisms—political,eco-
nomic and social. It’s a book with a large and
colourful canvas that extends from the thin
air of Ladakh to the Khasi tribals of
Meghalaya; from the music of A R Rahman
to Harpreet Singh Pappu of Bhatinda, who
shottofamefordriving19,000kminreverse
gear.Patrick’sphilosophicalabilitytoexplain
“democratic diffusion” in India is the power
of thebook.Heexplainedthemostdifficultof
Indian idiosyncrasies with the sweetest of
While monetary policy
specialists are betting on
whether RBI will raise the
repo rate by 25 bps or not,
my take is that India needs
to navigate the inflation and
growth puzzle carefully.
Much of our food inflation is
a supply-side phenomenon
and tightening monetary
policy further may not
succeed in taming inflation.
words. The World is What It Is: The Authorised
Biography of V S Naipaul stands like a colos-
sus in biographical literature.
We live in times when rewards are cov-
eted. But in 2003, Patrick turned down the
Orderof theBritishEmpire(OBE).Hefeltthat
itwasessentialtosaynototherewardsof the
state to guard his independence as a writer.
Hesaidthatawriterisafreeagent.Oneof his
earliestworks,Tibet,Tibet:APersonalHistory
of a Lost Land is an outstanding testimony to
his love for freedom. He writes about Tibet:
“The place was ruled not by terror, as it had
been once, but by constant mental supervi-
sion;theabsenceof freedom”.Patrickdidnot
define the “absence of freedom”. But from
ourinteractions,Iknewheabhorredthe“ab-
senceof freedom”,whereverithappenedand
whoever was the culprit.
His sense of humour (I detest calling it
British)hadadistinctacademictinge.Hewas
being administered a medicine called
Daratumumab. Once I sent him a message
asking: “How is Dara behaving?” I immedi-
ately realised that he might not understand
what I was asking, so sent another message
with the complete name of the medicine.
C R Sasikumar
woes in the summer months.
Spices are another group where inflation
is surging at 20 per cent, with jeera at 39 per
cent and dry chillies at 33 per cent. The so-
lution again will be to use trade policy and
lower import duties to about 15 per cent,
which today hover between 30 to 60 per
cent.
RBI must also heave a sigh of relief that
none of the TOP vegetables (tomatoes,
onions and potatoes) is giving any trouble.
Their inflation is in the negative zone. In fact,
onion farmers are up in arms protesting
against the abnormal drop in onion prices. I
wish the government was as active in sup-
porting farmers from dampened prices as it
is to put a lid on higher prices. In the case of
onions, the solution is to help onion farmer
organisations set up dehydration units, so
thatintimesof glutlargequantitiesof onions
are dehydrated and supplied to bulk con-
sumers like armed forces, hospitals, hostels,
hotels and restaurants.
Ina nutshell,itistime for theRBItopause
andthink,andresistfurtherhikesintherepo
rate. Instead, advise the government to use
buffer stocking, trade and agro-processing
policies to keep food inflation within the tol-
erance band.
Gulati is Distinguished Professor at ICRIER.
Views are personal
Prompt came the reply: “Don’t worry I also
call it Dara, Dara Shako.” (The medicine had
presumably given him some shivering.
Hence, he called it Shako)
I once asked him to sign a book of his for
me. He wrote: “To dear Shah, who is often in
my thoughts”. Now, you shall cloud my
thoughts forever, Patrick.
Dear Patrick, even as you fly away with
the angels and leave us with our profound
grief, let me remind you of a statement you
made while undergoing treatment. You had
said that cancer treatment was like going
through hell and back, but the mind and the
bodyhaveawayof quicklyforgettingtheaw-
fulness and resurrecting. I wish your resur-
rection.Iwishyourmindandbodywouldfor-
get the awfulness. This evil world needs
writers,healers,andfriendslikeyou.Yourun-
timely departure reveals the immorality of
death, that can only be redeemed by resur-
rection. Till that happens, may you rest in
peace, my friend.
The writer is professor, Department of
Orthopaedics, All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, Delhi
WHAT THE OTHERS SAY
“Treating a major political leader, that too a principal rival [Imran Khan], like an
outlaw is short-sighted and reeks of desperation — much like Ms Nawaz’s
demand to ban the PTI.”
Past and future,
with stone
Karnataka’sstatue-buildingspreeisloadedwith
thesegmentedpoliticsof caste
Janaki Nair
THE MONOLITHIC STATUE of
Gomateswara at Sravanbelagola, which
stands 57 feet high, is among the great
tourist attractions of Karnataka. Today, it is
increasingly dwarfed by the competitive
zeal with which new statues are being in-
stalled by the Karnataka government. To
be fair, the installation of colossi has not
been the preoccupation of the BJP alone.
Many had previously recognised the im-
portance of the politics of gigantism, both
to commemorate historical heroes and to
eclipse, quite literally, other claimants to
the region’s memory.
But perhaps it is only in Karnataka that
statues have been imbued with such im-
portance and weight — once again literally
— as a means of winning the hearts and
mindsof communitieswithwhichthepet-
rified figures are linked. A 108-foot bronze
and steel statue of the legendary founder
of Bengaluru, Kempegowda, now graces
the sweeping drive up to the city’s airport
at Devanahalli. To posthumously extend
the Vokkaliga chieftain’s principality, soil
was ostentatiously brought from different
historical locations of present-day
Karnataka for consecration at his feet. He
will further be honoured with a 23-acre
theme park, perhaps for those who, being
outside the charmed circle of frequent
fliers, may not otherwise chance upon the
city’s founder.
The Kempegowda statue successfully
snuffs out the memory of Tipu Sultan, the
18th-century ruler whose birthplace was
Devanahalli, the site of Bengaluru’s air-
port. But Kempegowda, like his Lingayat
predecessor, Basaveshwara, is simultane-
ously being cohered to another post-16th
century history, that of the linguistic
state’s formation as part of the federal
democratic Indian union. Chief Minister
Basavaraj Bommai has promised his inclu-
sion in the clutch of statues that surround
the state legislature, Vidhana Soudha. This
is not just a rewrite of the “history of
democracy” — with which mythology his
political masters in Delhi are currently
preoccupied — but an acknowledgement
of the “second coming” of the dominant
castes to the centre of Karnataka’s poli-
tics. That is why (the Lingayat)
Basaveshwara too has been promised a
home on the lawns of Vidhana Soudha.
If onlythepoliticalbalanceof powerre-
mained as simple as installing a few stat-
ues. Basaveshwara has already taken top
place with a 108-foot statue at
Basavakalyan, the region associated with
the origin and rise of the Lingayat move-
ment. He is promised another 218-foot
presence in the environs of the beautiful,
serene, 18th-century Chitradurga matha,
although its mathadisha now languishes
in jail on sexual harassment charges. The
Chief Minister promises yet another 108-
foot one in Belagavi, while a 58-foot con-
cretestatuetoAkkaMahadeviinUduthadi,
Shikaripur, honours the lineage of 12th
century women poets.
But it is not enough to secure the past
in stone; politiciansmust gesture to the fu-
ture as well. In Karnataka today, temples
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
POLITICAL REFORM
THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Loss of
balance’ (IE, March 18). Designing and
employing tactics only with the aim of
being elected is not an issue exclusive
to the BJP. It rings just as true for all
other political parties in India. The ad-
herencetoideologyandpoliticalethics
has taken a backseat. The distribution
of tickets generates dissent among
those left out. Overall decline in politi-
cal norms and standards hasledto cor-
ruption, malpractices, and frequent
horsetrading. Unless strict rules and
regulations are framed via urgent re-
forms, the decline in the democratic
process will continue.
Subhash Vaid, New Delhi
STATESMAN XI
THIS REFERS TO the report, ‘Xi in
MoscownextweekfortalkswithPutin
on Ukraine, strengthen ties’ (IE, March
18). Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit
toRussiacouldhavebroadimplications
for Moscow’s war in Ukraine and the
troubled relationship between Beijing
and Washington. This will be Mr Xi’s
first visit to Russia since the beginning
of the country’s ongoing conflict with
Ukraine. Perhaps Xi has sought to bur-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
— DAWN, PAKISTAN
and statues are being heralded as the har-
bingers of “good times ahead”. The CM
made just such a promise when announc-
ing the building of a grand Hanuman tem-
ple (and statue) at Anjanadri, near Hampi,
the world heritage UNESCO site. This has
beenaboneof contentionwithneighbour-
ing Andhra Pradesh, which also lays claim
to Anjaneya’s janmabhoomi. So AP sent its
“scholars” and “Sanskritists” into a deep
dive to establish the Tirupati Thirumala
Devasthana as the “historical” birthplace
of Rama’s “eternal devotee” Hanuman.
Thusly, a luxuriant folk memory that asso-
ciates Hanuman with multiple sites and
roles in southern Indian history and pop-
ular religion will now be anchored at
Anjanadri in official stone: But will it set a
cross-border dispute at rest?
The BJP’s constant mantra, invoked
with manic fervour as elections draw
nearer, is of the virtues of a “double en-
gine” Sarkar. For most of its benighted cit-
izens, this has only meant a “doubling” of
the burdens of petty and large-scale cor-
ruption, which has periodically been
brought to public notice, while the BJP
head honchos maintain their stony silence.
The long-suffering Karnataka people must
find solace in the innumerable farces gen-
erated by the colossi or more “human-
scale” rivalry. Take the example of the
Maratha warrior king Shivaji, which the
BJP in Karnataka is enjoined to worship
given the Hindu nationalist engine to
which it is yoked in Delhi. So a 50-foot sta-
tue was unveiled in Belagavi district’s Raja-
hamsgad Yellur fort by the CM Bommai on
March 1 just at the time when its neighbo-
ur Maharashtra is braying for a renegotia-
tion of shared borders. Congress’ Lakshmi
Hebbalkar, miffed at having been sidelined
in this “premature” consecration, decided
to “reinaugurate” the statue on March 5.
Now the Maharashtra Ekikarana Samiti,
determined not to allow such brazen poa-
ching of its linguistic capital, has decided to
conduct “shudhikarana” at the site.
Similar quarrels between the Kannada
and Marathi speakers of Peeranwadi, a
town in Belagavi district have led to inno-
vative spatial resolutions. How can the
valiant Sangolli Rayanna, from the early
19th century, now the property of the
Kurubas (next only to the Vokkaligas and
Lingayats in numerical and political dom-
inance) be accommodated on a road de-
spite objections from Marathi speakers?
By allowing his statue to adjoin the nearby
circle to be named after Shivaji.
A 33-foot statue of Parushurama at
Karkala (to placate the Brahmins), a 108-
foot statue of Mahadeshwara statue at
MahadeshwaraBetta(thesacredgroveand
God commemorated in song and worship
by Dalits) and the promise of statues to
Koti-Chennaya (the Tulunadu twins wor-
shipped by the Bilavas) — all these and
more absorb much attention of the party
in power. But one must not mistake this
new horizon of heroes as mere symbols
that lack substance. The colossi are
twinned by the equal fervour with which
caste-based corporations are being touted
as “Special Purpose Vehicles” for the distri-
bution of state largesse. Thus, the “New
Karnataka” that is daily being promised
rests firmly on segmented caste “banks”,
whose efficacy has long been doubted by
political scientists. But it lays to rest
Karnataka’s more secular, democratic, cit-
izenship, which was once rooted in an in-
novative developmentalism.
The writer taught history at JNU
nish his image as a global statesman,
most notably with the announcement
last week that Beijing had brokered a
surprise deal to restore diplomatic re-
lations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Hence, his visit will be watched closely
by the US and Europe.
Khokan Das, Kolkata
IDEA OF A NATION
THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘A union
and a nation’ (IE, March 18). The arti-
cle revealed that, unlike the concept
of nation, applicable to Europe,
Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas of nation-
building in India were innovative be-
cause they were for a people with
multiple religions and languages. This
is an antithesis to the idea of Hindu
Rashtra propagated by Savarkar’s ide-
ology of Hindutva that conflates India
with Hindu religious identity. Also,
this identity is imbued with birth-
based caste hierarchies. B R
Ambedkar’s words come to mind:
“The castes are anti-national in the
first place because they bring about
separation in social life. They are anti-
national also because they generate
jealousy and antipathy between caste
and caste.”
L R Murmu, New Delhi

14 THE WORLD
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
TOPOFTHE
WORLD
A woman in Ecuador’s
Machala recovers her
belongings. AP
Strongquake
kills1inPeru,
14inEcuador
Quito: A strong earth-
quake shook southern
Ecuador and northern
Peru on Saturday, killing
at least 15 people, trap-
ping others under rubble,
andsendingrescueteams
out into streets littered
with debris and fallen
power lines. The US
Geological Survey re-
ported a quake with a
magnitudeof 6.8thatwas
centered about 80 km
south of Guayaquil,
Ecuador's second-largest
city. One of the victims
diedinPeru,while14oth-
ers died in Ecuador,
whereauthoritiesalsore-
ported that at least 126
people were injured. AP
CHINA
Taiwanex-Prez
Masettomake
landmarkvisit
Taipei: Former Taiwan
President Ma Ying-jeou
will visit China this
month, his office said on
Sunday, the first time a
former or current
Taiwanese leader has vis-
ited since the defeated
Republicof Chinagovern-
ment fled to the island in
1949. The trip will be at a
time of heightened ten-
sions between Beijing
and Taipei as China keeps
up its military and politi-
cal pressure to try and get
democratically-elected
Taiwan to accept Chinese
sovereignty. Ma's office
said that he would visit
China from March 27 to
REUTERS
April 7.
EUROPE
Serbia,Kosovo
agreeondealto
normaliseties
KOSOVOANDSerbiahave
reachedanagreementon
implementing a level of anger at Macron's gov-
European Union-backed
deal to normalise ties, EU
foreign policy chief Josep
Borrell said late on
Saturday, though the two
leaders said disagree-
ments remain. Kosovo
and Serbia have been in
EU-backedtalksfornearly
10 years since Kosovo de-
clared independence in
2008, almost a decade af-
ter war ended Serbian
rule. But Serbia still re-
gards Kosovo as a break-
away province and flare-
ups between the Balkan
neighbours have stoked
fearsof conflict. REUTERS
KAZAKHSTAN
Rulingparty
settosweep
elections
Almaty: Kazakhstanvotes
in a snap parliamentary
election Sunday widely
expected to cement
PresidentKassym-Jomart
Tokayev's grip on power
and complete a reshuffle
of the ruling elite that be-
gan after he fully as-
sumed leadership last
year. A stronger mandate
will help Tokayev navi-
gate through turmoil
caused by Russia's inva-
sionof Ukraine.Although
heformallybecamepres-
identin2019,Tokayev,69,
had remained in the
shadow of predecessor
Nursultan Nazarbayev
until January 2022, when
thetwofellout. REUTERS
AFTER VISIT TO CRIMEA IN WAKE OF ARREST WARRANT
Defiant Putin visits Mariupol
in tour of occupied Ukraine
THE NEW YORK TIMES
MARCH 19
PRESIDENT VLADIMIR Putin of
Russiamadehisfirsttriptoterri-
tory captured by his forces since
they invaded Ukrainemore than
a year ago, traveling to the rav-
aged city of Mariupol late
Saturday in what appeared to be
a defiant gesture just a day after
an international court issued a
warrant for his arrest for war
crimes.
Mariupol became a symbol
of Ukraine’sagonywhenRussian
forces laid waste to it with ar-
tillery starting soon after the in-
vasion.Itlaterevolvedintoabea-
con of Ukrainian resistance as,
for weeks, the city’s last defend-
ers endured a bitter siege at a
steel plant.
An adviser to President
VolodymyrZelenskyyof Ukraine
said Sunday that Putin’s visit
showed a lack of remorse. “The
criminal always returns to the
crime scene,” the adviser,
Mykhailo Podolyak, wrote on
Twitter.
The Kremlin said that Putin
had flown by helicopter to the
airport in Mariupol and toured
several neighborhoods, spoke
with residents and inspected re-
constructionsites.Russia’sbom-
bardment reduced much of the
city to rubble and some rebuild-
ing is now underway. Images re-
leased by Russian television
showed Putin touring sites in
darkness.
As pension protests continue,
Macron faces parliament test
REUTERS
PARIS, MARCH 19
PRESIDENT EMANUEL Macron
faces a critical moment on
Monday when the French
National Assembly is due to vote
on no-confidence motions filed
after his government bypassed
parliament on Thursday to push
through an unpopular rise in the
state pension age.
The move, which followed
weeks of protests against the
pension overhaul, triggered
three nights of unrest and
demonstrations in Paris and
throughout the country, with
hundreds of people arrested,
reminiscent of the Yellow Vest
proteststhateruptedinlate2018
over high fuel prices.
However, while Monday's
votes may put on display the
ernment, they are unlikely to
bring it down.
Opposition lawmakers filed
twomotionsof no-confidencein
N Korea launches missile into sea amid US-S Korea drills
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, MARCH 19
NORTHKOREAlaunchedashort-
rangeballisticmissiletowardthe
seaonSunday,itsneighborssaid,
ramping up testing activities in
response to ongoing U.S.-South
Korean military drills that it
views as an invasion rehearsal.
The North's continuation of
missile tests showed its determi-
nation not to back down, despite
the US-South Korea exercises,
whicharethebiggestoftheirkind
FISH DEATHS LIKELY CAUSED BY LOW OXYGEN LEVELS AS FLOODS RECEDE, AUTHORITIES SAY
Millions of dead fish wash up amid heat wave in Australia
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CANBERRA (AUSTRALIA)
MARCH 19
MILLIONSOFfishhavewashedup
dead in southeastern Australia in
a die-off that authorities and sci-
entists say is caused by depleted
oxygenlevelsintheriverafterre-
cent floods and hot weather.
Residents of the Outback
townof Menindee in New South
Wales state complained of a ter-
rible smell from the dead fish.
“The stink was terrible. I nearly
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) with Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin at
Mariupol in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region of Ukraine. AP
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin
spokesperson, described the
visitasa“full-scaleworkingtrip”
and stressed that many aspects
of itwerenotplanned.Therewas
“no motorcade as such,” he said,
adding that Putin drove himself
through the city.
The battle for Mariupol, a
port city with a prewar popula-
tion of around 400,000 people,
was marked by wanton destruc-
tion by Russian forces, who
bombed a maternity hospital
and at times opened fire on
apartment buildings with tanks
from close range. It also featured
the deadliest single assault on
civilians during the war, when
Russian forcesbombedatheater
During a protest in Paris on Saturday. AP
parliament on Friday.
But even though Macron's
partylostitsabsolutemajorityin
the lower house after elections
last year, there was little chance
the multi-party motion would
go through- unless a surpriseal-
liance of lawmakers from all
sides is formed from the far-left
to the far-right.
In the southern city of Nice,
inyears.Butmanyexpertssaythe
testsarealsopartofNorthKorea's
bigger objective to expand its
weapons arsenal, win interna-
tionalrecognitionasanuclearstate
andgetsanctionslifted.
Themissilelaunchedfromthe
North's northwestern
Tongchangri area flew across the
country before it landed in the
waters off its east coast, accord-
ingtoSouthKoreanandJapanese
assessments. They said the mis-
sile traveled a distance of about
800km,arangethatsuggeststhe
weaponcouldtargetSouthKorea.
had to put a mask on,” said local
nature photographer Geoff
Looney.“Iwasworriedaboutmy
own health. That water right in
the top comes down to our
pumping station for the town.
People north of Menindee say
there’s cod and perch floating
down the river everywhere,” he
said.TheDepartmentof Primary
Industries said the fish deaths
were likely caused by low oxy-
gen levels as floods recede, a sit-
uationmadeworsebyfishneed-
ing more oxygen because of the
warmer weather.
where residents had taken shel-
ter. The United Nations said that
at least 1,300 died in the battle
for the city but that the true toll
was likely to have been thou-
sands higher.
ThevisittoMariupolbyPutin
— who now stands accused by
the International Criminal Court
of presiding over the abduction
of Ukrainian children — was his
second unannounced trip of the
weekendtopartsof Ukrainethat
Russianforceshaveoccupied.On
Saturday, he went to Crimea in a
visit timed to coincide with the
ninth anniversary of the penin-
sula’s annexation by Russia.
But Mariupol was the closest
Putin hascometo thefrontlines.
the political office of Eric Ciotti,
leader of Les Republicains, was
ransacked overnight and tags
were left threatening riots if the
motion was not supported.
Even if the government sur-
vives Monday’s no confidence
vote, a broad alliance of France's
main unions has said it would
continue to mobilise to try to
force a U-turn on the changes.
US and South Korean planes during a drill on Sunday. AP
E
E X P L A I NE D
The message
● in the timing
THE TIMING of Putin’s
trip to Mariupol could be
interpreted as an affront
to the ICC, which on
Friday issued the warrant
for his arrest. The war-
rant claims that Putin
bears individual criminal
responsibility for the de-
portation of thousands of
Ukrainian children to
Russia since last year’s
invasion.
Assad in UAE
to mark thaw
in relations
REUTERS
DUBAI, MARCH 19
SYRIAN PRESIDENT Bashar al
Assad arrived in the United Arab
Emirates on Sunday for an offi-
cial visit at a time more Arab
stateshavesignalledopennessto
easingtheisolationof Damascus.
The visit was marked with
more ceremony than his trip to
theUAElastyear,whichhadbeen
hisfirsttoanArabstate sincethe
Syrian civil war began in 2011,
where Gulf states backed rebels
fought to overthrow Assad.
State media said he was met
by President Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed al-
Nahyan on arrival in Abu Dhabi
and received a canon salute as
his convoy entered the royal
palace. Assad's plane was
greeted by Emirati fighter jets.
The UAE, a US ally, has led a shift
intheMiddleEasttowardsreviv-
ing ties with Assad, who held
talks in Oman last month and
visited Russia this month.
Imran faces terrorism case
over violence in Islamabad
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ISLAMABAD, MARCH 19
POLICE IN the Pakistani capital
filed charges Sunday against for-
mer Prime Minister Imran Khan,
17 of his aides and scores of sup-
porters, accusing them of terror-
ismandseveralotheroffensesaf-
tertheoustedpremier'sfollowers
clashed with security forces in
Islamabad the previous day.
ForhoursonSaturday,Khan's
followers clashed with police
outsideacourtwheretheformer
prime minister was to appear in
a graft case. Riot police wielded
batons and fired tear gas while
Khan's supporters threw fire
bombs and hurled rocks at the
officers. More than 50 officers
were injured and a police check-
point, several cars and motorcy-
cles were torched. Police said 59
of Khan's supporters were ar-
rested during the violence.
Khanneveractuallyappeared
insidethecourttofacechargesthat
he had sold state gifts received
while in office and concealed as-
sets. Besides Khan, the case filed
Sunday also accuses former and
current lawmakers, former min-
isters,aformerNationalAssembly
speakerandscoresof Khan'ssup-
porters. The charges include ter-
rorism,obstructingpoliceofficers
People in Tel Aviv protest the government’s judicial overhaul plan on Saturday. Reuters
JUDICIAL OVERHAUL PLAN
Hundreds of officers
join stir, Israel PM tells
military chief to step in
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEL AVIV, MARCH 19
ISRAELI PRIME Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu urged the
military'schief of staff onSunday
tocontainawaveof protestfrom
within the ranks over a con-
tentious government plan to
overhaul the judiciary.
Netanyahu'sremarkscomeas
Israel is embroiled in a major cri-
sisthathassenttensofthousands
of peopleintothestreetsprotest-
ing every week for the last two
months. The divide over
Netanyahu's plans to change the
legal system has not spared the
country'smilitary,itsmosttrusted
institution,wheremanyreservists
have pledged not to show up for
duty under what they see as im-
pending regime change.
Starting Sunday, more than
700 elite officers from the Air
Force,specialforces,andMossad
said they would stop volunteer-
ing for duty.
The typically taboo talk of re-
Police have established an
emergency operations centre in
Menindee to coordinate a mas-
sive cleanup this week.
State Emergency Operations
ControllerPeterThurtellsaidthe
immediate focus was to provide
acleanwatersupplytoresidents.
“Thereisnoneedforcommunity
Dead fish float on the
Darling-Baaka River near
the New South Wales state
town of Menindee in
Australia on Saturday. AP
PTI workers in Islamabad on
Saturday. Reuters
incarryingouttheirtasks,attacks
on police, wounding officers and
threateningtheirlives.
On Sunday, Khan vowed to
take legal action against the se-
curity officials involved in the
raidonhisZamanParkresidence
in Lahore. Policeclaimed to have
seized weapons and petrol
bombs from Khan's house.
“The assault on my house to-
day was first of all a contempt of
court,” Khan said, adding that
police raided his house without
a search warrant. “We had
agreedthatanSPwithoneof our
people would implement a
search warrant because we
knew otherwise they would
plant stuff on their own, which
they did,” he claimed in a series
of tweets. WITHPTIINPUTS
fusal to serve in a military that is
compulsory for most Jews and is
highly respected by the Jewish
majority underlines how the
overhaul plan has divided Israel.
“I expect from the military
chief of staff andtheheadsof the
branchesof the security services
to aggressively combat the re-
fusal to serve. There's no place
for refusal to serve in the public
discourse,” he said.
“A state that wishes to exist
can't tolerate such phenomena
andwewillnottolerateitaswell.”
The protest from within the mil-
itary comes as Israel is mired in a
year-long round of fighting with
the Palestinians, and as Israel’s
archenemyIranracesaheadwith
its nuclear programme.
His government says the
overhaul is meant to correct an
imbalance that has given the
courts too much power and pre-
vented lawmakers from carry-
ing out the voting public's will.
Critics say it will upend
Israel'sdelicate system of checks
and balances.
concernastheinitialassessment
has determined multiple viable
solutionstomaintainwatersup-
ply to the Menindee township
and surrounds,” he said.
State agencies also started to
release higher-quality water
where possible to boost dis-
solved oxygen levels in the
area.“We’vejustsortof startedto
clean up, and then this has hap-
pened, and that’s sort of you’re
walking around in a dried-up
mess and then you’re smelling
this putrid smell. It’s a terrible
smellandhorribletoseeallthose
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Govt wants ban
on PTI, plans to
consult experts
SAJJAD HUSSAIN
ISLAMABAD, MARCH 19
PAKISTAN INTERIOR Minister
Rana Sanuallah has said that the
governmentplans to consult ex-
perts on declaring Imran Khan’s
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
party a “proscribed” outfit.
“Terrorists were hiding in
Zaman Park. Weapons, petrol
bombs, etc have been recovered
from the residence of Imran
Khan which is enough evidence
to file a case against the PTI for
being a militant organisation,”
Sanaullahsaid.Theministersaid:
“Primarily it is a judicial process
to declare any party proscribed.
However, we will consult our le-
gal team on the issue.”
PM Shehbaz Sharif appeared
toagreewiththeassertionbyhis
niece, PMN-L leader Maryam
Nawaz, that Khan's party is a
“militant organisation”. “If any-
one had any doubt, Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf chairmanImran
Niazi's antics of the last few days
laid bare his fascist and militant
tendencies," he tweeted. PTI
Shooting in
West Bank amid
pre-Ramadan
push for calm
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO, MARCH 19
APALESTINIANgunmanopened
fire at an Israeli vehiclein the oc-
cupied West Bank on Sunday,
woundingtwo people,Israeliof-
ficials said. The attack cast a
shadow over Egyptian-medi-
ated efforts to lower tensions
ahead of a sensitive holiday pe-
riod beginning this week.
The shooting came as Israeli
and Palestinian officials were
meeting in the Egyptian resort
townof Sharm el-Sheikh in abid
to rein in a spiral of violence as
the Muslim holy of month of
Ramadan begins this week. The
shooting raised questions about
the prospects for the new talks.
The meeting was the second
attempt by the sides, shep-
herded by regional allies Egypt
and Jordan as well as the United
States, to end a year-long spasm
of violence that has seen more
than 200 Palestinians killed by
Israeli fire and more than 40
Israelis or foreigners killed in
Palestinian attacks.
dead fish,” said Jan Dening, a
Menindee resident. Mass fish
kills have been reported on the
Darling-Baaka River in recent
weeks. Tens of thousands of fish
were found at the same spot in
late February, while there have
been several reports of dead fish
downstream toward Pooncarie,
near the borders of South
Australia and Victoria states.
Enormous fish kills occurred
on the river at Menindee during
severedroughtconditionsinlate
2018 and early 2019, with locals
estimating millions of deaths.

15 ECONOMY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
IMPACT OF WEST'S BANKING CRISIS ON INDIA “MANAGEABLE”
FY23fiscaldeficittargetof6.4%
withinreach,saysDEASecretary
PRASANTASAHU
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
THECENTREwillreininthefiscal
deficitatthetargetted6.4percent
of the gross domestic product in
thecurrentfinancialyeardespite
somelikelyvariationsinrevenues
and expenditures from the re-
spective revised estimates, eco-
nomic affairs secretary Ajay Seth
told FE.
Seth said a 6.5 per cent eco-
nomic growth next year appears
to be likely and ‘reasonable’ and
any adverse impact of the bank-
ing crisis in the advanced
economiesinIndiabywayofcap-
ital outflows would be manage-
able thanks to strong forex re-
serves.
On the apprehension of a
modest slippage from the fiscal
deficittargetforthecurrentfiscal
duetoalikelyshortfallintaxrev-
enues, the official said given the
largebudgetwithseveralspend-
ingandrevenuecollectionheads,
there will always be some varia-
tions under some heads. The re-
visedcapextargetofRs7.3trillion
Finance min invites
application for RBI
deputy governor post
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
MUMBAI, MARCH 19
THE FINANCE Ministry has in-
vited applications for the post of
a new Deputy Governor in place
of Mahesh Kumar Jain, whose
tenure is set to end in June this
year.
In a public notice, the finance
ministry said that the candidate
must have atleast 15yearsof ex-
perience in banking and finan-
cial market operations. The can-
didates should have strong
competencies working with fi-
nancial performance data, in-
cluding interpreting, summaris-
ing and communicating
high-level output.
The age of the candidate
should not be more than 60
years as on June 22, 2023. The
Reliance re-auctions gas in line Google may get antitrust case remanded back to CCI
with new govt marketing rules
PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA
NEWDELHI,MARCH19
RELIANCEINDUSTRIESLtdandits
partner bp plc have re-launched
an auction for sale of natural gas
fromtheireasternoffshoreKG-D6
blockafterincorporatingthegov-
ernment'snewmarketingrulesto
give CNG-selling city gas compa-
nies first priority over supplies.
Reliance and its partner BP
Exploration (Alpha) Ltd (BPEAL)
will sell 6 million standard cubic
metersperdayof gasinane-auc-
tion planned for April 3, a tender
noticesaid.Thepriceisindexedto
BRIEFLY
GSTdeptto
scrutiniseI-T,
MCAdata
New Delhi: The GST depart-
ment will soon begin
analysing ITRs filed by busi-
nesses and professionals
and also MCA filings to as-
certainif theentitiesaread-
equately discharging their
GST liability and widening
the taxpayer base. PTI
FPIsinvestsRs
11,500crore
NewDelhi:Foreigninvestors
have put in Rs 11,500 crore
in the Indian equities so far
this month, mainly driven
bybulkinvestmentfromthe
GQG Partners in the Adani
Groupcompanies.FPIsmay
takeacautiousstanceahead,
say experts. PTI
would, however, be met in FY23,
he said.
“Given the pluses and mi-
nuses,wearefairlyconfidentthat
the6.4percentfiscaldeficittarget
will be met,” Seth said, adding
thatthere'sabsolutelynorestric-
tion on any ministry when it
comes to spending up to the re-
vised estimate (RE) level.
“Thereafter, it is up to the spend-
ingcapacitiesof eachministry as
to how much they are actually
able to spend. We do see that
moreorlessministrieswillreach
the RE levels.”
TheCentre’sexpenditurewas
increased by Rs 2.42 trillion or
6.14percenttoRs41.87trillionin
the RE from the budget estimate
(BE)ofRs39.44trillion,tocaterto
higher revenue expenditure on
subsidies including that on food
and fertilisers. In FY23RE, the net
taxrevenuetargetwasraisedby8
percenttoRs20.87trillion,81per
cent of which was achieved till
January. With the Second
Supplementary Demands for
Grants for FY23 placed before
Parliament on March 13 seeking
nodtospendanadditionalRs1.48
post carries the pay scale of Rs
2.25 lakh, read the advertise-
ment.
The appointment will be for
a period of three years and the
person will be eligible for reap-
pointment.
Jain was appointed as one of
the deputy governors of the RBI
in June 2018 for a three-year pe-
riod. His term was extended for
another two years in June 2021
and the present tenure will end
in June 2023. Before being ap-
pointedastheDeputyGovernor,
Jain was the Managing Director
and CEO of IDBI Bank.
Generally, the RBI appoints
one of the Deputy Governors
from the public sector banks.
Currently, the other three
Deputy Governors of the RBI are
Michael D Patra, T Rabi Sankar
and Rajeshwar Rao.
CONCERNING
the global LNG marker, JKM but
willbesubjecttothegovernment-
notifiedceilingprice.Thepartners
hadoriginallyplannedtheauction
inJanuarybutdaysbeforethatthe
MinistryofPetroleumandNatural
Gas,onJanuary13,publishednew
rules forthe saleand resaleof gas
produced from discoveries in
deep sea, ultra-deep water and
high-pressure-high temperature
areas.
This led to the auction being
suspended and is now being re-
launched after incorporating
changes.
Gas produced from wells
drilled below seabed is used to
Adani Group suspends `34,900 crore SVB crisis: India’s banking sector
Mundra petrochemical project work mutual funds lost 6% in a week
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
ADANI GROUP has suspended
work on a Rs 34,900 crore petro-
chemical project at Mundra in
Gujaratasitfocusesonresources
to consolidate operations and
address investor concerns fol-
lowing a damning report by a
US-based short seller, sources
said.
The group's flagship Adani
EnterprisesLtd(AEL)hadin2021
incorporated a wholly-owned
subsidiary, Mundra Petrochem
Ltd for setting up a greenfield
coal-to-PVC plant at Adani Ports
and Special Economic Zone
(APSEZ) land in Kutch district of
Gujarat.
But after Hindenburg
Research's January 24 report al-
leging accounting fraud, stock
The net tax revenue target
was raised by 8%. File
trillion on a net basis, analysts
suggested a modest deviation
maybethereinfiscaldeficitfrom
the RE level of Rs 17.55 trillion.
Whilemostofthespendinginthe
supplementary was captured in
the FY23RE, an extra Rs 29,656
crore on fertiliser subsidy was
provided over and above the RE.
FEhadreportedthattillMarch
5, the Centre had released Rs 3.1
trillion to states, or about 70 per
cent of the centrally sponsored
schemes(CSS)outlayforFY23.Of
‘India should target $350 bn
e-comm exports by 2030’
The govt needs to address pain points of e-commerce
sector, as per GTRI report
$800bnto$8trn
E-commerce
exportstogrow
by2030
The report added that payment reconciliation is a major roadblock for third-
party e-commerce exporters and the RBI guidelines for B2B exports need
changes to accommodate B2C exports
produceelectricity,makefertiliser
or turned into CNG for powering
automobiles or piped to house-
hold kitchens for cooking as well
as in industries.
Thenewgovernmentrulesre-
quire bidders to state upfront if
they were purchasing the gas
through the auction for 'own use
as end consumers (including for
use of their group entities) or as a
trader. While end consumers
wereallowedtoresaleanyuncon-
sumed gas, traders participating
intheauctionwereallowedtore-
sell subject to a maximum trad-
ingmarginofRs200perthousand
cubic meters.
The comeback strategy is based on addressing investor
concerns around debt by repaying some loans. Reuters
manipulations and other corpo-
rate governance lapses chopped
off about $140 billion from the
market value of Gautam Adani's
empire, the apples-to-airport
group is hopingto clawback and
calm jittery investors and
lenders through a comeback
strategy. The comeback strategy
is based on addressing investor
E
E X P L A I NE D
Govt’s
● expense
THE CENTRE’S expendi-
ture was increased by Rs
2.42 trillion or 6.14 per
cent to Rs 41.87 trillion in
the RE from the budget
estimate (BE) of Rs 39.44
trillion, to cater to higher
revenue expenditure on
subsidies including that
on food and fertilisers
theRs3.1trillionreleased,Rs1.75
trillion or more than 56 per cent
was still lying with the Single
Nodal Agencies (SNAs) of states.
Additionally, about Rs 40,000
crore is lying idle with the state
treasuriesfrompreviousyearre-
leases of the Centre for such
schemes(pre-FY23releases).The
Centrewillunlikelyreleasemore
CSS funds to states in March un-
less they spend the balance lying
with SNAs or their treasuries.
Saving on CSSs could offset any
$2bn
Currentexports,less
than0.5%oftotal
goodsbasket
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
THERE ARE concerns within
certain quarters of the Union
Government that Google might
try to get its ongoing antitrust
case at the National Company
Law Appellate Tribunal
(NCLAT) remanded back to the
competition regulator, a senior
government official said.
The concern stems from the
fact that this could delay the
enforcement of the original or-
der passed by the Competition
Commission of India (CCI),
which could significantly alter
the way Google offers its serv-
ices to other developers and
concerns around debt by repay-
ing some loans, consolidating
operations, and fighting off alle-
gations.Thegrouphasdeniedall
allegations levelled by
Hindenburg.
As part of this, projects are
being re-evaluated based on
cashflow and finance available.
Andof theprojectsthegrouphas
revenue shortfall in FY23.
On economic growth, Seth
said this year it is expected to be
close to 7 per cent. “Next year, it
is likely to moderate to some ex-
tent.
The Economic Survey pro-
videsforarangeof6-6.8percent,
butnextyeararound6.5percent
appears to be reasonable,” he
said. Few favourable things are
happening,forexample,crudeoil
pricesarecomingdownandthat
is good for the economy, he
added.
The Brent crude fell 2.1 per
cent to $73.11 a barrel on Friday,
down over 11 per cent in a week
amid concerns that the ongoing
banking crisis in US and Europe
may impact the wider economy.
Being a major importer of
crude, natural gas and fertiliser,
India could benefit from lower
globalcommoditypricesonmul-
tiple fronts such as in inflation
management,lowersubsidybills
and reduced cost for industry.
However, a further global slow-
down could hit India’s exports
andeconomicgrowthaswell,an-
alysts reckon. FE
`5 lakh to `25 lakh:
GTRI recommendation
to raise the value cap
for exports
Over100,000:
Indiansellersarealready
exportingthroughe-commerce
Reportrecommendation:
■ Thecurrente-commerce
exportprovisionsinIndiaare
apatchworkovertherules
framedforregularB2B
exporters
■ E-commexportshave
thepotentialtogrowata
fasterpacethanitsITexports
didintheearly2000s
■ Thegovernmentshould
issueaseparatee-commerce
exportpolicy
Source:
GTRI/PTI
Google logo. File
original equipment manufac-
turers (OEMs).
“Google is trying hard to de-
lay the implementation of the
CCI order, which the Supreme
decided not to pursue for the
time being is the 1 million tonne
per annum Green PVC project,
two sources with knowledge of
the matter said. The group has
shot off mails to vendors and
suppliers to “suspend all activi-
ties” on immediate basis.
In the mails, seen by PTI, the
group has asked them to “sus-
pend all activities of the scope of
work and performance of all ob-
ligations”forMundraPetrochem
Ltd's Green PVC project “till fur-
ther notice.” This is the follow-
ing “unforeseen scenario”.
The management, it said,
was “re-evaluating various proj-
ect/s being implemented at
group level in different business
verticals. Based on future cash-
flow and finance, some of the
project/s are being re-evaluated
for its continuation and revision
in timeline.”
Market Watch
M-CAP ERODED BY OVER `2.09L-CR
New Delhi: Market capitalisation of the top-10 most valued
companies eroded by over Rs 2.09 lakh crore last week, with
Reliance Industries and TCS taking the biggest hit amid an overall
weak trend in equities. PTI
Sebi, investment bankers
turn cautious as IPO
market faces uncertainty
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
MUMBAI, MARCH 19
THE INITIALpublicoffering(IPO)
market is facing uncertainties
with market regulator Sebi re-
turning several IPO documents
and investment bankers and
companies treading cautiously
as the stock market has fallen
8.79 per cent since December
2022.
The regulator has returned
the offer documents of Oravel
Stays, the parent company of
travel-tech firm OYO and Go
Digit General Insurance, a firm
backed by Canada-based Fairfax
Group owned by Prem Vatsa. It
alsoreturnedofferdocumentsof
Pune-based integrated facilities
management company BVG
India,paymentservicesprovider
PaymateIndiaandFincareSmall
Finance Bank, which had refiled
itsdraftprospectuswiththereg-
ulatorinAugustlastyear.Several
others which were planning to
file the IPO papers have decided
to hold back their plans, said an
investment banker.
Thoughtheregulator has not
made public any reason for re-
‘Surveillance actions on stocks
driven by non-discretionary rules’
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
MUMBAI,MARCH19
THE NATIONAL STOCK Exchange
(NSE)onSundaysaidtheprocess
of inclusion or exclusion of any
stocks in indices is transparent
andisdrivenbynon-discretionary
rules.
Theclarificationcomesasop-
positionpartieshaveraisedques-
tions over the recent decision of
the exchange to remove some of
theAdaniGroupcompaniesfrom
short-term Additional
Surveillance Measures (ASM).
“NSE’ssurveillanceactionson
eligible stocks are applicable as
pertransparentrules.Theserules
are non-discretionary, pre-an-
nouncedandautomaticallyappli-
cable,” NSE said in a statement.
Some of the Adani Group stocks
were kept under surveillance af-
ter their share prices came under
heavy selling following a January
GOVERNMENT
■ This could delay the
enforcement of the
original order passed
by the Competition
Commission of India,
which could alter the
way Google offers its
services to other
developers and OEMs
Court had also declined to in-
tervene in. They want to
achieve this by somehow get-
ting NCLAT to remand the case
back to the CCI, effectively nul-
PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA
NEWDELHI,MARCH19
BANKING MUTUAL funds have
lost up to 6 per cent in the last
week following the collapse of
SiliconValleyBankandSignature
Bankthatdentedinvestors'senti-
mentinthebankingandfinancial
services space.
The failure of the two US-
based banks sent shockwaves
acrosstheglobalfinancialsystem
and weakened the sentiments in
the banking sector in India too,
whereinsharestookabeatingand
declined in the range of 3-13 per
cent in the week under review.
However,expertsbelievethatthe
directimpactontheIndianbank-
ing sector was negligible to low.
The incessant selling in the
bank stocks is clearly reflected in
the bankingsectormutual funds,
as evident from the short-term
turning the IPO documents,
bankers said it could be due to
the poor performance of many
new age companies on the stock
markets after listing in 2021 and
2022.
With the stock markets
highly volatile in the wake of the
global turmoil, investment
bankers are also pessimistic
about a smooth listing of shares.
“While the reasons for returning
the offer documents may be
company-specific, Sebi wants
the documents to be fully com-
pliantatthetimeof filing.Ingen-
eral, any material update or
change hasto be incorporatedin
the draft red herring prospectus
and refiled,” said a banker.
What has upset the plans of
the IPO aspirants is the 5,493-
point fall in the Sensex (from
63,583.07) since December 1,
2022 to 57,989.90 by Friday
(March 17).
With the global banking tur-
moil and inflation worries still
playing out, investment bankers
are not expecting a smooth sail-
ing for IPOs.
Even the promoters and
companieshaveturnedcautious
as many high-profile IPOs of
Some of Adani Group
stocks were kept under
surveillance after their
share prices came
under heavy selling
24,2023reportbyUS-basedshort
seller Hindenburg Research
which had alleged the conglom-
erate of stock manipulation and
accounting fraud.The Group has
deniedalltheallegationsmadeby
the report.
ThreeAdaniGroupcompanies
-AdaniEnterprises,AdaniWilmar
Ltd and Adani Power were re-
movedfromtheshort-termASM
framework with effect from
March17.Earlier,AdaniPortsand
Special Economic Zone Ltd
(APSEZ) and Ambuja Cements
came out of the ASM framework
with effect from February 13.
NSE said the inclusion or ex-
lifying the order and buying 1-
2 years’ time for the CCI to go
through a fresh investigation,”
the official said.
To be sure, Google is well
within its legal rights to argue
for the case to be remanded
back to the CCI. In a submission
earlier this year Google had al-
leged that the competition
watchdog “copied” parts of an
EU ruling in its order to fine the
firm.
Google did not respond to a
request for comment.
The CCI’s order, which also
imposed a penalty of around Rs
1,338 crore, requires Google to
not deny access to its Play
Services plugins to “disadvan-
taged” OEMs, and the licencing
performance returns of the 16
schemes under the category.
Of the 16 banking sector mu-
tual funds, all of them have given
negativereturnstoinvestorsinthe
range of 1.6 per cent to 6 per cent
in the week ended March 17, ac-
cordingtoananalysisofdatacom-
piled by ACE MF Nxt.
So far this year, these funds
havegivennegativereturnsrang-
ingfrom8percentto10percent,
the data showed.
The funds which have lost
morethanfivepercentinthelast
week are Aditya Birla Sun Life
Banking and Financial Services
Fund, Tata Banking and Financial
ServicesFund,HDFCBankingand
Financial Services Fund, LIC MF
Banking and Financial Services
Fund, and Nippon India Banking
and Financial Services Fund.
However, on nine-month and 1-
year time frames, the returns are
positive,infact,allthebankingand
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
2021 like Paytm, FSN E-com-
merce (Nykaa), Nazara
Technologies, PB Fintech,
CarTrade Tech, Easy Trip
Planners, Aditya Birla Sun Life
AMC and Fino Payments disap-
pointed investors with their
share prices falling steeply be-
low their IPO prices. Share price
of LIC, which came out with an
IPOatRs949pershare,hasfallen
by 39 per cent to Rs 579.90 on
the exchanges.
Within a year of listing, new
age firms like Zomato, Paytm,
Delhivery, Policybazaar and
Nykaahaveseentheirvaluations
crash by over 60 per cent.
While theSebi was earlierle-
nient in clearing the IPOs, it is re-
turning the documents to
bankers instead of letting them
remain in the processing stage
for an indefinite period of time.
Companies themselves earlier
choseto withdrawtheofferdoc-
ument if a significant time
elapsed after filing.
Several new-age companies
which filed the offer documents
are not meeting Sebi’s require-
ments on disclosures and valua-
tions. FULLREPORTON
www.indianexpress.com
clusionofstocksunderAdditional
Surveillance Measures and other
trading activity based on specific
rules like price bands, trade for
trade (T2T), etc, are based on pa-
rameters which consider price
volatility, volumes, market capi-
talisation, client concentration,
and liquidity parameters.
“Once the index criteria have
been crystallised, NSE Indices or
it’s committees exercise no hu-
man discretion in deciding on in-
clusion or exclusion of stocks in
anyofitsindices,”itsaid.Basedon
the well-defined index criteria
available on NSE and NSE Indices
website, market participants are
able to predict the changes in in-
dexconstituentsinvariousindices
in the upcoming index review.
NSEsaidtheentireframework
has been time tested and any
changes to the said rules are also
pre announced before any future
action on the basis of new rules
becomes applicable.
of Play Store to OEMs should
not be linked to the require-
ment of pre-installing Google
search, Chrome browser,
YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail
or any other Google applica-
tion. Google, for its part, has ar-
gued that if it were to abide by
CCI’s order, which calls for al-
lowing different versions of
Android (commonly known as
‘Forks’), then the ecosystem
will be harmed.
“Devices built on incompat-
ible ‘forks’ would prevent
Google from securing those de-
vices, as these versions will not
support the security and user
safety features that Google pro-
vides,” Google had said in a blog
post earlier.
financialservicesfundshavegiven
returnsofupto20percentandup
to 12 per cent, respectively, data
showed.
Thereasonsforthefallinthese
thematicmutualfundscanbeat-
tributedtothevolatilestockmar-
ket conditions and the rising in-
terest rates. Ever since the rate
hike cycle commenced, the ex-
pectations of lower net interest
margins,highercostof fundsand
impact on credit growth abound,
Gopal Kavalireddi, Head of
Research at FYERS, said. With
banksincreasingthedepositrates
with a lag, compared to the Repo
rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI), the impact was de-
layed but inevitable, he added.
Moreover, Foreign Portfolio
Investors (FPIs) have been on a
selling spree since October 2021,
paring down their investment
holdings in many banks and fi-
nancial sector entities.

16 IDEA EXCHANGE
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
‘
ShubhajitRoy:YoujustsaidtheIndia-
hostedconferenceongeopolitics,
RaisinaDialogue,isbetterthanthe
WorldEconomicForumatDavos…
It’s much less pretentious and there is
much less group think. The problem with
Davos at the moment is virtue-signalling.
Here there was a remarkably impressive
and eclectic group of people. They had
General James Norman Mattis, the former
US Defence Secretary. That particular dis-
cussion with Angus Campbell, General
MattisandtheIndianChiefofDefenceStaff
(CDS)GeneralAnilChauhanwasveryhigh-
quality. External Affairs Minister S.
Jaishankar obviously takes a close interest
and it lifted the whole conversation.
ShubhajitRoy:TheIndia-Australia
relationshiphasundergonea
transformationinthelastdecadeorso.
Whenyoutookoverin2013,therewas
stillhesitancyabouthowmuchto
moveforward.Howdoyouseethearc?
IspentthreemonthsinIndiain1981be-
foreheadingofftoOxfordforstudies.From
Bombay, I travelled through Rajasthan,
wentuptoDelhiandKashmir.Ispentabout
twomonthsattheAustralianJesuitMission
in Bihar and worked as a teacher’s aide in
various schools. So, I have a very strong af-
fection for India. Both nations have shared
history,loveforsportsandEnglish-speaking
people.Indiacouldhavegoneaverydiffer-
ent way in 1947. But what impressed me
wasthatitchosetobeaverystrongdemoc-
racy,witharobustlyindependentjudiciary
andafreeanddiversePress.WhenIbecame
Prime Minister in September 2013, I was
‘ ‘
determined to revitalise a relationship
whichhad beentakenfor
granted,probablyonboth
sides, for too long. Australia is big
Iwasalsoconsciousof
thefactthatChinawasan enough to be useful
emerging challenger to
theUS.Ifiguredthatthere
wasalottobesaidforhav-
ing another democratic
superpower that was ac-
tive in the world as op-
posed to biding its time
quietly in the sub-conti-
nent.Iremembermeeting
then Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh at the
but not so big as to be
intimidating or
be not just a member
of the Quad, but
perhaps a leading
difficult. If India is to
East Asia Summit in late member, Australia can
2013. A very impressive help that happen
man, he was obviously at
the end of his political ca-
reer. When Narendra
Modi became the new Prime Minister, I
thought this was a chance to make things
happen. An irritant in our relationship at
that time was about Indian cultural arte-
facts that our national gallery had bought
from some dodgy dealer. The Indian gov-
ernmentwasanxioustogetthembackand
Ithought,whatbetterwaytokickoffthere-
lationship than by doing so.
From then on, Modi was quite sympa-
thetic,thoughnotcommitted,totheideaof
Quad,whichwasbroughttolifein2007by
formerJapanesePrimeMinisterShinzoAbe.
HemadeahugeeffortwithModi.Thethird
man was Chinese President Xi Jinping,
whosebelligerenceonIndiahelpeditmove
awayfromstrategicdetachmentandtiltto-
wards other democracies.
I was very keen to get a trade deal with
India and now that it has, within six years,
there will be zero tariffs, zero quotas on
IndianexportstoAustraliaandzerotariffsor
quotasfor90percentofAustralianexports
to India. Modi appreciated that a deal with
Australia would be a sign of trust and soli-
darity. Australia is perhaps the easiest of
WesterncountriestopartnerwithIndiabe-
causewedon’thavethedifficulthistorythat
theUKortheUShaswithIndia.Australiais
big enough to be useful but not so big as to
be intimidating or difficult. If India is to be
notjustamemberoftheQuad,butperhaps
a leading member, Australia can help that
happen. We can tell the Americans, look,
thisQuadisnotallaboutyou,it’saboutfour
countries. India is actually the biggest of
them. Part of my long-term championing
ofIndiaisthis—justasthe19thcenturywas
a British century, the 20th century was
Amercia’s,Iwouldverymuchliketoseethe
21st century as an Indian century. That’s a
lot better than it being a Chinese century.
There’sstillalongwaytogo,particularly
on the economic front. But the sky’s the
limit, particularly given that there are
100,000IndianstudentsinAustralia. Close
to a million Australians of Indian back-
groundareobviouslygoingtoturbocharge
the people-to-people relationship.
ShubhajitRoy:Whatwasthe
conversationyouhadwithModi
vis-a-visChina’sassertiveness?
Modihadaverystrongideaaboutwhat
he wanted to do with India. He wanted to
feel rightly proud of its civilisational status Pakistan almost certainly already had nu-
and its vast potential. He wanted India to
adoptaninternationalrolecommensurate
withitsfundamentalunderlyingstrengths.
That’sexactlywhathe’sdonewithoutbeing
arrogantordifficult.Heverydeftlyhandled
Russian President Vladimir Putin at
Tashkentlastyear,sayingthattherewasno
placeforwarinthemodernworld.Thatwas
anabsolutelyunambiguousandunmistak-
able message, which was a huge rebuke to
Putin. But there was nothing obnoxious
about it, he was being morally obvious.
IcaughtupwithModiinlate2019after
that ugly incident on the border in Ladakh.
HewasveryalivetothedifficultiesofChina.
TheChineseareagoodpeoplebutthecom-
munist regime in Beijing is different. For a
long time, under Deng Xiaoping’s bide-
your-timeandhide-your-strengthdictum,
it looked to be liberalising. We now know
thatwasalwaysabitofarusetostrengthen
Chinaforitsgeopoliticaldominance.Itisab-
solutelydeterminedtobetheworld’snum-
I would very much like to see the 21st
century as an Indian century. It’s better
than being a Chinese century
FormerAustralianPrimeMinisterTonyAbbottonwhyAustraliacanbeIndia’s trustedpartner,
Adani,tradedealsandcounteringChina.Thesessionwasmoderatedby
ShubhajitRoy,DeputyChief of NationalBureau
‘
ber one country by mid-century. In the
meantime,Chinahasgottoavengethecen-
tury of humiliation by not just crushing
HongKong,whichithasdone,butbytaking
Taiwanbyforceifnecessary.Thisisthescari-
est bit. Any attempt by Beijing to take
Taiwan would be several orders of magni-
tude more disruptive and dangerous than
what we’re seeing right now.
ShubhajitRoy:TheMoUoncivilnuclear
cooperationwassignedduringyour
visittoIndia.ButAustraliahad
criticisedthePokhrannucleartests of
1998.Whatchanged?
Whenever anything new happens, it
tends to shock people. But given that
clear weapons, it’s understandable that
Indiawantedtoacquirethem.There’snever
beentheslightestsuggestionthatIndiawas
going to use these things in an aggressive
way. That’s the remarkable thing about
Indianforeignandstrategicpolicysincein-
dependence.EventhoughIndiaisbyfarthe
dominantsub-continental power,ithasn’t
sought to throw its weight around at all in
an aggressive way. Obviously, it has re-
spondedtoattacksfromPakistan.Butithas
beenalmosthumanitarianinthewayitap-
proachesBangladeshorSriLanka.Sogiven
India’s long history as a very benign actor, I
think it was only right and proper that the
John Howard government decided to at
least be prepared to have uranium sales to
India.Itwasshort-sightedoftheKevinRudd
government to not proceed. By the time
JuliaGillardwasPrimeMinister,theLabour
Party accepted that it had made a mistake.
SandeepSingh:Whatisthescope of the
TONY ABBOTT
FORMER AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER
WHY TONY ABBOTT
Former Australian PM Tony Abbott has been an old India
hand and a key player in furthering bilateral ties and pushing
trade agreements between both nations. A Centre-Right
politician, he is known for his open and strong views on
climate change and abortion, and is not hesitant to call a
spade a spade. He even challenged Russian President
Vladimir Putin over Russia’s actions in Ukraine
India-Australiatradeagreement?
Just in the last couple of years, the two-
way trade has gone up from $25 billion a
year to about $40 billion. It’s still nothing
likethetradethatwedowithChina,which
is in excess of $200 billion, even with the
boycottsthatChinahasrecentlyappliedto
someofourproductsbecausewecalledfor
an independent investigation into the
Wuhanvirus.There’salotofpotential.India
has 1.4 billion people. Let’s assume, across
the world, one in 100 is a genuinely entre-
preneurial person. That’s 14 million gen-
uinely entrepreneurial Indians. There are
only 250,000 genuinely entrepreneurial
Australiansandthreeandahalfmilliongen-
uinely entrepreneurial Americans. India is
already a startup hub, so Idon’t see why, in
a few decades, it won’t be economically as
successful as China. India has the potential
manufacturingbasetodoallthethingsthat
Newsmakers in the Newsroom
China does without the downside of the
government suddenly weaponising trade
against you.
SandeepSingh:NowthatChinais
openinguppostpandemic,doesthe
“Chinaplusone”concepthold?
When you are a dictatorship, deter-
mined that everything must be subject to
the party, you don’t care if you do yourself
some significant damage. Hong Kong was
testimony to other Chinese people that it
didn’t have to be like the rest of China. This
is why Taiwan is such aproblem. It is living
proofthatthere’snototalitariangeneinthe
Chinese DNA. The Taiwanese are both a lot
richer and vastly freer than the Chinese.
ShubhajitRoy:Duringyourprime
ministership,theAdanigroupbegan
investinginAustralia.Hasthe
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
‘ AnantGoenka:Canyoutalkabout
whichmorethan50percentoftheworld’s
seabornetradegoes,willbecompletelydis-
rupted.Tradewillhaltinstantly.Taiwanisa
vastly more important economic player
than Ukraine. Almost certainly, the heavi-
est sanctions will be applied to China. And
that will be massively disruptive too.
climatechangebecauseIndiaisabig
partof thisbattle.
Let’strytogetemissionsdownasfarand
as fast as we can. But if we have to choose
between reducing emissions and either
keepingthelightsoninAustraliaorgetting
the lights on in India, I’d keep the lights on.
I regard myself as an environmentalist but
don’t think we should be obsessive about
emissions.Thefundamentalproblemwith
theclimatepushisthatwemovefromfos-
sil fuels to renewables. For that we need
power24/7andneitherthewindblows,nor
the sun shines 24/7. This is where some-
thing like what Dr Prateek Kanakia,
Chairman and Founder, The Green Billions
Limited,isdoing—turningmunicipalwaste
into power — is vastly more useful than
overdoingtherenewablethingtooquickly.
IknowgreenhydrogenistheHolyGrail
here. If it is possible to overcome the mas-
sive technical difficulties of doing this at
scale,great.Butwe’realongwayfromthat.
In the meantime, turning the non-recycla-
ble municipal waste into energy, with the
best possible means of incineration, deal-
ing with any toxicity, upgrading our coal
plantssothattheyareleast-emittingasop-
posedtomost-emittingandusingmoregas
aresensiblewaystogo.Theonlytechnolog-
icallyprovenwayof producing zero-emis-
sionsbaseloadpowerisnu-
clear. Indian-American
All Australian coal scientist Vivek Lall, who
runs General Atomic, pro-
comes without tariff duces nuclear reactors for
now, not just Adani’s modularreactorshavebeen
Indian government
saying you’ve got to
look after Adani.
‘
USsubmarines.Thesesmall
coal. I don’t recall any operatingsafelyonnuclear
shipsfor60or70yearsnow,
senior person in the whynotstartputtingthem
on land as well?
If climate policies are
goingtomassivelyincrease
theexpenseandreducethe
reliability of power, people
are going to be unhappy. I
There has been no think one of the real prob-
favouritism lemsfortheBritishgovern-
ment, in recent times, has
been the spiking power
prices because of over-re-
liance on renewables.
AnantGoenka:InJapan,thetsunami
derailednuclearadoption,right?
It did but there were no definite deaths
from the Fukushima plant and there were
25,000 definite deaths from the tsunami.
We learnt some lessons about further
strengthening the integrity of the plants.
Illustration: Suvajit Dey
ShubhajitRoy:EspeciallyaftertheCold
Warera,theLefthasgivenwaytoRight-
winggovernmentsacrosstheworld.Do
youseethattrend aswellinyour
countryandglobally?
I think it all depends on your perspec-
tive. If you regard the BJP government as
Right-wing, I think it is Centre-right. But in
Australia,we’vecertainlynotseentheriseof
the Right. If anything, over the last decade,
the so-called Centre-right party has gone
moreandmoreLeft-wingandtheso-called
Centre-left party has gone more and more
Left-wing. Look at the US. While its
PresidentJoeBidenhasbeenstrongerthan
many people thought he would be on de-
fence and security matters, domestically,
hisisthemostLeft-wingAmericangovern-
ment in anyone’s lifetime.
If you look at the British Conservatives,
they’re not exactly hardline Tories. This is
effectively a Labour-light government. In
Britain, Rishi Sunak surprised us all. There
hasbeennomovetotheRightatallbutpo-
litical polarisation and fragmentation. If
anything,intheEnglish-speakingcountries,
therehasbeenadrifttotheLeftasopposed
totheRight.BrexitandTrump,Ithink,area
Hindenburgreportallegingthegroup’s reaction to that rather than proof that the
irregularitiesaffectedthisprocess? wholepolityisbecomingmoreRight-wing.
It’seasytomakeallegations.Theimpor-
tantthingisthepresumptionofinnocence. ShubhajitRoy:HowdoyouseeIndia’s
Let the regulators look into what has been positionontheRussia-Ukrainewar
allegedbutGautamAdanimadeaverylarge becauseIndiahasnotexplicitly
investmenttoopenanewcoalmineincen- condemnedandcriticisedRussialike
tral Queensland. He was blocked at every Australia?
turn, sometimes by the government, at The Quad foreign ministers did put out
othertimesbyactivistgroupsexploitingle- a strong statement which Jaishankar very
gal processes. He persevered. I want to much subscribed to. So, India has moved a
thank him for the faith he showed in little bit. Modi also made a statement to
Australia. Even though the mine is a little Putin at the Tashkent meeting. One of the
smaller than it was originally intended, it’s really interesting things at Raisina was
stillverybigforjobs.Thecoalthatcomesto when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Indiaisgoingtohelpmorethanthemillions Lavrov gave that blustering, mendacious
without 24/7 power to get the power they speech; he was open to mockery from the
need for modern life. As things stand, I’m audience. I haven’t met a single person in
extremely grateful. India who doesn’t think what Putin is do-
ing is wrong and even evil.
SandeepSingh:Thecoalcomes I can understand why the Indian gov-
withouttariffs.Wasthisclausetailor- ernmentisalittlebitcarefulaboutwhatit
madeforAdani? says because, in the old days, the Soviet
Not really because all Australian coal Unionwasafriendof India.Evennow,alot
comes without tariffs now. It’s not just of Indian armament requires Russian
Adani’s coal. The clauses were tailor-made spare parts. I’m not going to be too critical
forAustraliancoalexportersandforIndian of India because in the end, we all have to
consumers, which ultimately mean cheap berealists.Israel,likewise,hasavoidedex-
reliable power. I have not the slightest rec- plicit condemnation of Russia because it
ollectionof anyseniorpersonintheIndian needstohaveaworkingrelationshipwith
governmentsayingyou’vegottolookafter Russia in Syria.
Adani. There has been no favouritism.
AnantGoenka:Doyouthinkthatwe
VaidehiThakkar:Whydoyouthink wouldbeonestepfurtherbehindnow
ChinainvadingTaiwanwillbemore fromgettingapermanentseatatthe
disruptivethanRussia’sinterventionin SecurityCouncilafterthis?
Ukraine? Attheveryleast,IndiaandJapanshould
That’s becausethe Taiwanesewillfight be permanent members of the Security
and there will be massive destruction. Council. The trouble with changing any-
Taiwanproduces70percentoftheworld’s thing is that the Russians and the Chinese
microchips. The South China Sea, through can veto it.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023 SPORT/CALENDAR 17
SHIVANI NAIK
MARCH 19

YOU NEED to have stayed away from home

Playing shuttle with The parents also had to choose
between the two daughters to
allow Treesa to go ahead with
Tabuena’s
finishing kick

fire in the belly

andparents,gonethroughdifficultiesof get-
ting food after missing hostel mess dead-
linesandfeltdeliriouslygratefulwhensome
kindly lady offered to pack a tiffin for you
sensing your struggle, to understand where
Treesa Jolly’s appetite for a fighting win
comes from.
We asked her about the metaphorical
hunger to win, what fuels that tremendous
energy when she stomps about the court
and guides the shuttle with terrific angles
across the net. Her reply blends her strug-
gles on the court and many more off it.
“ImovedfrommyvillagetoKannurcity’s
Mundayad to train at the University indoor
courts at age 12. Alone. For badminton.
Obviously, I missed my family, and fixing
dinner every day after practice sessions was
a struggle. But I had that fighting spirit in-
side me. I had to do this. I knew this was my
long journey. If I lose, I have to come back
andbeatthem,”sherecallsof thethreeyears
after leaving her home in Pulingome village
and before moving to Hyderabad at the age
of around 15.
She had to move because her village had
no indoor court to train on. Dr Anil
Ramanathan, director of the Kannur
University, would offer to let her train with-
out coaching charges, but that meant mov-
ingoutandstayingawayfromhome.It’sthe
three years in Kannur that Treesa says
shaped her personality, and it’s a struggle
memoriesof whichshedipsinto–totellher-
self that being on a badminton court facing
aTop-10opponentisnothingincomparison.
“I rented a flat with 3-4 other players at
Kannur because I couldn’t afford otherwise.
I had to wash my own clothes in the begin-
ning. Getting food used to be difficult. The
university mess would give first access to
theirownphysicaleducationstudents.If we
missedthatshortwindow,gettingfoodany-
where else would become a problem in the
evening. Staying out, not getting food, is one
of the toughest experiences that have made
me strong,” she says.
AyoungTreesa–inherearlyteens–also
taught herself to ignore undercurrents of
envy that can make hostel life hellish. “The
othergirlswereseniors.Iwasplayingbetter
thanmostof themthere,andtheywouldget
jealous. At that age, it was difficult because
if I needed some help, I had to approach my
seniors only. I told myself I don’t care, I’m so
strong,” she recalls of the tricky days.
Sacrifices by family
Besides, Kannur city had a wondrous
wooden court, on which she had always
dreamt of playing, as a child.
Treesa remembers her father making
her and her sister an outdoor court to play
on. He was a physical education teacher,
who himself played badminton, volleyball
and ran marathons.Both her parentstaught
in an unaided school, from where getting
leave to travel with her for tournaments
would become difficult, and her father
Stayingawayfromfamily,missingmealstoughenedAllEngland
semifinalistTreesaJollyandpreparedhertotakeonallproblemsheadon
The other girls were seniors. I
was playing better than most
of them there, and they would
get jealous. At that age, it
was difficult because if I
needed some help, I had to
approach my seniors only. I
told myself I don’t care, I’m so
strong”
TREESA JOLLY
ALL ENGLAND
DOUBLES SEMIFINALIST
TreesaJollyhad tocomeup thehardwayand herfamilymade severalsacrificesforher topursueabadmintoncareer.
would resign. “Because in the rainy season,
it would become a mess, my dad made the
first tarpaulin court so we wouldn’t miss a
single session,” she says.
In her first state tournament, Treesa
would win a singles silver. “That was the
first time I saw a wooden court. I couldn’t
even think of playing on a court like that, it
was so shiny,” she recalls her wonder. “And
then all these people came with hi-fi kits.
But I won the doubles gold with my sister,
Maria Jolly.”
Tournaments were the only time Treesa
would play with feather shuttles. “I couldn’t
afford them so it was plastic shuttles. I told
myself anyway I need to win, plastic or
feather shuttle, doesn’t matter. It couldn’t
be an excuse.”
The parents also had to choose between
the two daughters to allow Treesa to go
ahead with sport, because they could only
affordoneperson’sequipmentandcoaching
expenses, so Maria was asked to step back,
though she continued playing badminton
as a hobby. “My father watched badminton
and taught us variations and how to mix
strokes. I had the natural talent for doubles
andgotresultsthere,soIdecidedif Ifocuson
that I can be the world’s best player,” she
says with clarity.
While doubles as a serious pursuit has
taken off in India only in recent years after
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty
started logging in regular international vic-
tories, it was the Kerala environment which
has always nurtured the discipline. “Kerala
has had so many players – Aparna Balan, V
Diju,Sanave(Thomas),Rupesh(Kumar).But
more importantly, there are so many local
tournaments where just doubles is played.
Noonewillconductsinglesmeets.Iremem-
ber before going for state tournaments, we
would travel half an hour to play tourna-
ments with these uncles in the age-bracket
of 22-40. Me and my sister grew up com-
sport, because they could only
afford one person’s equipment
and coaching expenses, so Maria
was asked to step back...
peting against them, that’s how my game
got its style,” she says. “We just love doubles
in Kerala.”
Sheloveditenoughtomoveoutof home
toKannurCity, and then latermake the shift
to Hyderabad.
Rising through the ranks
Picked for the national camp, Treesa’s
earlier partners had been her sister Maria,
then Mehereen Reeza, and later during the
Dutch-GermanOpenswingof tournaments,
V S Varshini. Coaches at the national camp
would pair her up with Gayatri Gopichand,
astheirgamesimmediatelycomplemented
each other, and the pandemic lockdown
would give her further clarity. “During the
lockdown, we had Zoom sessions morning
andevening.After6-7months,theacademy
opened and I realised I love playing doubles
and I was enjoying the practice sessions,”
she recalls.
Runners-up at the Syed Modi
International,theunexpectedmarchintothe
AllEnglandsemisin 2022,beatingtwo Top-
20pairingsontheway,theUberCuplastsea-
son, and then the Commonwealth Games,
were followed by stunning wins against
Malaysian, Hong Kong and Chinese pairs at
the Mixed Team Asian meet this year.
It helped that former doubles player
Arun Vishnu had risen in the ranks to be-
comeanationallevelcoach.“Especiallywith
the language. I call him Chetaa, and I could
directly tell him anything that was on my
mind.Duringmatcheshekeepssaying‘adiki
adi’ – I’m damn sure you will win’.”
Being a livewire on court also means she
holds her resting hours precious. “No hob-
bies, after sessions I love to sleep,” she says.
Playing the Nationals in Pune, the pairing
wouldplaytwomatchesaday.“Restismore
important during tournaments,” she adds.
Treesa loves her movies and TV series
and K-Pop though. “Alice in Borderland, it’s
like Squid Games. That’s my latest favourite.
But I like K-dramas – Crash Landing on You,
It’s Ok to not be OK. Blackpink are my
favourite K-Pop band, and I end up watch-
ing 2-3 movies after every tournament.
Kaapa in Malayalam was the latest.”
Wereturntotheoriginalquestionduring
the interaction: what fuels her energy? “It’s
not so much about Kerala food, I like many
types of food. But my mother’s tapioca
biryani and beef. And kappa biryani. But
staying out when you are not getting food,
andyoustrugglelikeIdidinKannur,yoube-
come grateful for any food you get when
hungry.”
You also get strong-willed and resilient
like the 19-year-old youngster Treesa Jolly.
ends in DGC
Open title
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MARCH 19
FILIPINO MIGUEL Tabuena saved his
bestforlastasafinal-round65tookhim
to his third Asian Tour title at the DGC
Open on Sunday. Tied sixth at the start
of the day, six shots behind leader
Rashid Khan, his seven birdies in a bo-
gey-freeroundwereenoughtoupstage
the local favourite, who had a three-
shotleadgoingintothefinalroundbut
sufferedanuncooperativeputtertofin-
ish a shot behind the eventual winner.
Tabuenamadethreebirdiesonthe
front nine and added four more on his
way home to put the pressure on
Rashid with an aggregate of 12-under.
It was the Filipino's first Asian Tour ti-
tle in five years. The win will come as a
bigreliefforTabuena,whohadtowork
hard to keep his Tour card last year.
“Nerveless was the last thing I was
outtheretoday,”hesaidatthepost-vic-
torymediainteraction,“TheDGCisone
of the toughest courses we get to play
on the Asian Tour. I’ve played it many
times before and it is still a test every
time, plus Rashid is the kind of player
you can never relax about. I know him
verywell,heisveryaggressive.Soover-
all, I’m very glad with this result.”
“IwasveryproudofthewayIstayed
patient this whole week. I just stuck to
mygameplanandcameoutverylucky
at the end. I played less than 10 events
last year and it was very hard to keep
my card for this year. I was lucky
enoughtoplaywellinthelatterpartof
the year,” the winner reflected.
ItwasonlywhenRashidmadeabo-
gey on the 17th hole, his second of the
day, that Tabuena took firm control of
the golf tournament.
TheIndianthenneededaneagleon
thefinalholetoforceaplayoff,butman-
aged only a birdie to card a final round
of even-par 72.
“I gaveitmybestshot,” Rashidsaid
later. “There was nothing more I could
havedonetoday.Finishingsecondisnot
thatbadaresultandI’mquitehappyto
take that away from here. I just didn't
hole my putts today, that's it.”
Itwasagoodtournamentoverallfor
theIndiancontingentasthreeof them
finished in the top five, with S
Chikkarangappa (72) and SSP
Chawrasia(68)endingfourthandfifth
respectively.ChapchaiNiratofThailand
(68) finished third.

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry & T Lewis

CROSSWORD 5004 DAY TODAY
ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20)
Spend as much
time as necessary
dealing with
domestic and family
affairs. Even if you’re at work,
your concentration will be
distracted by thoughts of what
must be done at home. Your
romantic confidence should
improve, so you might be ready
to approach someone you’re
rather fond of.
TAURUS (Apr 21 - May 21)
The important
task now is to
talk about your
CALVIN & HOBBES by Bill Watterson feelings. Nothing
else will do. It may also be
necessary to take a few short
journeys, probably in pursuit
of outstanding family business.
It could be a relief to resolve a
lingering problem. Your social
stars look bright by the way,
ACROSS DOWN so don’t be shy.
1 Charmone’s way 1 Novel girlfriend of
in(8) Nelson (4) GEMINI (May 22 - June 21)
5 Anoutstanding partof the 2 Dull fashion dies out (7) You really must
make an early
country(4) 3 Initial repetition is only
start if you want
9 Shewillshowadress repetition after all (12) to get the most
pattern (5) 4 My care goes into out of the day. You should
10 Afeelingnoonebook making rich and smooth realise, however, that the
reflects(7) concoction (6) determining factor will be the
11 Debasesactionsmeant 6 Be way out about amount of money you have in
otherwise(12) a point (5) your pocket, not to mention
13 Confirmit’sjustlikebeing 7 Left with the threat of the cost of those items which
certain(6) evil (8) MARVIN by Tom Armstrong are necessary to your plans.
14 Avarietyof breadto 8 Flawless defence yet CANCER (June 22 - July 23)
grind(6) speedily broken (5,7) You may be
17 Spiritedrelations (5,7) 12 Sea passages (8) slightly unsure of
20 Shocking inrespect to 15 The usual hailstorm (7) yourself, but that’s
certainindividuals (7) 16 Doing nothing right in an nderstandable. This
is probably no bad thing, for a
21 Rodent thatisabout to examination (2,4)
little self-doubt will encourage
becomeangry(5) 18 Misguided voter that’s you to question your
22 Tiesforposition(4) obvious (5) preconceptions and hence to
23 Fishinturn goes 19 Intend to be penny- do a great deal better next
bad (8) pinching on average (4) time around. There’s room for
improvement, as you know.
SolutionsCrossword5004:Across:1Touchdown,8Uvula,9Account,10Limpet,11
Drills,12Appetite,15Palmtree,18Atonce,20Lean-to,21Barbara,22Ensue,23 LEO (July 24 - Aug 23)
Rotterdam.Down:2Oscar,3Coolly,4Dinosaur,5Nubile,6Pumpkin,7Saltpetre,11 You may be inclined
Dispelled,13Pleasant,14Cleanse,16Totter,17Robber,19Circa. to spend more time
by yourself, away
from troublesome
human company. Whether this
is possible or not is another
JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel3s
matter. After all, you can’t just
abandon all your commitments
SOLUTION SUDOKU 5141
BY PETER VIDAL
LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23)
The professional
picture looks
fairly positive,
and you may be
required to take on new
responsibilities - and accept
authority over other people.
In all matters you should be
prepared to play a maternal
and compassionate role.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 23)
You have to do
the right thing.
Lingering legal
questions should
be answered as soon as
possible, and moral issues
should be faced head-on.
Also, take the chance to get
in touch with family
members overseas, especially
people you haven’t seen
for some time.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 - Dec 22)
Business and
financial plans
require more
attention, especially
if you’ve taken a risk or got
involved in a possibly awkward
joint enterprise. Take an
inventive approach and realise
that old solutions may no
longer be the best. And that
goes for romantic affairs as well.
CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 20)
You will have
to listen to
other people -
and take their
very good advice. More
important, though, is the
necessity of understanding
their feelings and making a
much greater effort to
sympathise with their
point of view. A generous
spirit should win the day.
AQUARIUS (Jan 21- Feb 19)
Work must
take the first
priority today,
even if social
concerns constitute the
major long-term question.
You should recognise that
there may be no decision
concerning one important

Instructions with the wave of a hand. And, if emotional tie for a little
Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, someone entrusts you with a while longer. Please
therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 secret, you must respect be patient.
SUDOKU 5142

theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe their confidence.

Insurrectionofthoughtalwaysprecedesinsurrectionofarms.-WendellPhillips PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20)
nineverticalcolumns,in VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23) Love is the
eachoftheninehorizontal Your social stars most important
JMAOR CMYHMU rowsandineachofthe are strong - and thing at the
nineboxes. you’ll do well if moment, but it
you link up with is by no means certain that
like-minded people. That way, there is any one relationship
TILTS NRUYGH DifficultyLevel
even the most controversial that pre-occupies you. It is
ideas could succeed. At work, your friends who can benefit
1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; you will do best if you take the from your new mood, so
3s=Medium;4s=Hard; long-range point of view and make a point of spreading
- Wendell Phillips 5s=VeryHard; avoid being bogged down in any goodwill as widely
Answer: Insurrection of thought always precedes insurrection of arms. 6s=Genius short-term details. as you can.
SOLUTION:MAJOR, STILT, CHUMMY, HUNGRY

18 SPORT
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
BRIEFLY
SriLankatrailNZby
303afterfollowingon
Wellington: Sri Lanka trailed New
Zealand by 303 runs with eight second
innings wickets left after following on
Sunday on the third day of the second
cricket test at the Basin Reserve. After
declaring at 580-4 on the second day,
New Zealand bowled out Sri Lanka for
164 in its first innings and was able to
enforce the follow-on at the same
groundonwhichitbeatEnglandbyone
run after following on last month. At
stumps,SriLankawas113-2withKusal
Mendis50notoutandAngeloMathews
on one. AP
BRIEFSCORES:NewZealand 580vsSri
Lanka 164 all out in 66, 5 overs
(Karunaratne 89, Chandimal 37;
M Henry 3-44, Bracewell 3-50) & (f/o)
113-2 in 43 overs (Karunaratne 51,
Mendis 50*)
AllEnglandOpen:Li,
Youngtriumph
Birmingham: Li Shi Feng defeated fel-
low Chinese shuttler Shi Yu Qi to win
themen'ssinglestitleattheAllEngland
Open badminton championships on
Sunday, while South Korea's An Se
Young smashed her way to the
women's title. The all-Chinese men's
final ended 26-24 21-5, beginning
neck-and-neck in the first game and
endinginadecisivevictoryfor23-year-
oldLiinthesecond.Inthewomen'ssin-
gles, to the thunderous roar of her
name, South Korea's An beat Tokyo
2020 Olympics gold medallist Chen Yu
Fei of China 21-17 10-21 21-19. An beat
25-year-old Chen in a fierce battle in
the women's final that at times had
Chen on her knees and An skidding
across the court on her stomach more
than once to make a shot. REUTERS
JuniorIndianarchers
win10medals
New Delhi: The junior Indian archers
reaped a rich harvest in the Asia Cup
Stage 1 World Ranking Tournament in
Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei, emerging the
top-rankedcontingentwith10medals,
including five gold. The Indian contin-
gent also won four silver and a bronze
in a field of 156 archers from 13 coun-
tries.Ontheconcludingdayof thetour-
nament on Sunday, the compound
women's team of Pragati, Aishwarya
SharmaandParneetKaurclinchedgold
defeating Kazakastan 227-215. PTI
Vikash,Paramjeet
qualifyforParisGames
Nomi (Japan): India's 20km race walk-
ers Vikash Singh and Paramjeet Singh
Bisht on Sunday qualified for the 2024
Paris Olympics as well as 2023 World
Championships during the Asian
Championships here. Vikash and
Paramjeet finished second and third in
the open category men's section of the
Asian 20km Race Walking
Championships, clocking 1:20:05sec
and 1:20:08sec respectively, behind
Qian Haifeng (1:19:09) of China. The
qualifying mark for both the 2024 Paris
Olympics and 2023 World Athletics
Championships in August in Budapest,
Hungary is 1:20:10, which the two
Indians breached by a small margin.
AkshdeepSingh,whohasalreadyqual-
ifiedforthe2024ParisOlympics bywin-
ning the National Championships last
month,clinchedgoldintheofficialentry
category,clocking1:20:57,andfinished
fifth overall. PTI
Women’s Boxing C’ships: Nikhat lands a solid punch, from a distance
SHASHANK NAIR
NEW DELHI, MARCH 19
NIKHAT ZAREEN took it personally. A new
weight class led to the inexplicable lack of
seeding for her in the 50 kg weight category
at the Women’s World Boxing
Championship in New Delhi. It meant that
just in her second bout of these
Championships, she was pitted against the
No 1 seed of her category. Lessons would
have to be taught and her standing among
the judges would have to be rectified. But
most importantly, an important win would
have to be earned.
Zareengaveherselfthefirsttensecondsof
the bout for observation. She later admitted
she wanted to see how Boualam Roumaysa,
the2022AfricanChampionshipgoldmedallist
andthede-factobestseededboxerof hercat-
egory, would approach their fight. Roumaysa
had a similar idea and it finally took Zareen to
startthefightandherAlgerianopponent’splan
came to the fore quickly.
When Zareen was on the up in boxing,
her education in the sport took its own path,
unlike other Indian boxers in her age cate-
gories. When other boxers learnt to clinch
and rough up their opponents to make it
tougher on the judges to officiate a fight,
Zareen was cocooned at the Inspire Institute
Vol XCI- 110 Regd.No. DL-21046/03-05 R.N.I. No.506/1957 Printed and Published by R.C.Malhotra on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Limited and Printed at The Indian Express (P) Limited Press, A-8, Sector-7, Noida -201301 and Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd., Mauza-Daryapur, Police Station-Shahpur, Danapur
District-Patna, Bihar-801503 and Published at The Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9 &10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002. Editorial office: The Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9&10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: 0120-
6651500. Advertising office: The Indian Express (P) Ltd.,Express Building, B1/B, Ramnath Goenka Marg, Sector 10, Noida-201301. Phone:01206651291. Chairman of the Board: Viveck Goenka, Chief Editor: Raj Kamal Jha, Editor: Unni Rajen Shanker, Editor (Delhi): Rakesh Sinha ** ** Responsible for selection of News un-
der the PRB Act. Copyright: The Indian Express (P) Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. The Indian Express®
IPL franchises need to be told to rest India players: Shastri
DEVENDRA PANDEY
DOHA, MARCH 19
WITH THE World Test Championship just a
week after the IPL and India already reeling
with a few injury concerns, the former India
coach Ravi Shastri believes the Indian board
needs to talk to the IPL franchises to allow
players a much-needed break.
“Even during the IPL the board has to tell
thefranchise,listenweneedhim,Indianeeds
him, so for India’s sake, if he doesn’t play
those games it will be good,” Shastri told The
IndianExpressonthesidelinesof theLegends
League Cricket (LLC) in Doha.
Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and
Shreyas Iyer are undergoing rehabilitation
for their injuries. With India playing the
World Test Championship final just a week
after IPL, the challenge for the board is to
make sure a fit Indian team will board a
flight to the UK. The ODI world cup too is
just seven months away.
“Thevolumeof crickethasincreased.Rest
period is getting decreased, this is where es-
tablishment and players have to sit across
Old nemesis returns to haunt India
StarcscalpsfiveasRohit&Cocontinuetostruggleagainstleft-armseam;Australiathrashhostsby10wicketstolevel3-matchODIseries
VENKATA KRISHNA B
VISAKHAPATNAM, MARCH 19
AS MITCHELL Marsh and Travis Head were
handing India a defeat that they would want
to bury from their head when they land in
Chennai for the decider, Rahul Dravid sat in
the corner of the dressing room balcony bit-
ing his nails. For the second match in a row,
Australia exposed India top-order’s vulnera-
bility against seamers – especially the left-
armers – as they were bowled out for 117.
When Visakhapatnam woke up to heavy
rainonSundaymorning,allthingspointedto
arain-curtailedcontestattheYSRajasekhara
Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. With
forecasts of rain till sunset, the capacity
crowd had come from different parts of
Andhra hoping they would get at least a 20-
over contest. In the end the second ODI did-
n’t even last 40 overs or wait for sunset.
Thanksto MitchellStarc’s fiery opening spell
and a five-wicket haul (5/53), Australia blew
away India for 117 in 26 overs, and their
openers chased down the target in 11 overs
to hand Rohit & Co their biggest defeat in
ODIs in terms of balls remaining.
It is the sort of defeat that should defi-
nitelyopenoldwoundsforIndia,wheretheir
batting unit’s struggles against left-arm pac-
ers continued. Speaking later, Rohit – at least
in public -- refused to read too much into it,
instead saying “right-armers have troubled
us too, but nobody talks about it” to play
down the struggles. But, there is definitely a
pattern that is emerging which might have
left Dravid engrossed in the thought, partic-
ularly when they will face similar bowlers at
the World Cup later this year.
It is not something that is not lost among
oppositionteams.Since2019,sixpacershave
taken 5-wicket haul against India and out of
these four are left-armers – Reece Topley,
Trent Boult, Mustafizur Rahman and Starc.
At the World Cup, apart from the four, India
will also encounter Shaheen Shah Afridi and
Marco Jansen, both having troubled them.
Almost all teams barring Sri Lanka and West
Indies have a left-arm pacer that can move
the new ball.
Simple plan
On a pitch that had been under covers for
24 hours because of persistent rain, there
was enough moisture in it for Steve Smith to
win the toss and bowl first. Australia's
Nikhat Zareen (left) beat top seed Boualam Roumaysa of Algeria.
with American coach Ron Simms. A more
refined way of boxing was learnt but the
one thing that she never really got around to
the table. They need to be told that you need
that much break and give them so many
games to play,” Shastri said. In his playing
days, Shastri said, the players used to play at
least eight to ten years of cricket with ease.
RahulshouldreplaceBharatforWTCfinal
Shastri feels KL Rahul should keep wick-
etsinsteadof KSBharatduringtheWTCfinal
against Australia to be played in June. Rahul
kept wickets during the first ODI between
India and Australia at Wankhede Stadium
and he also does the wicket-keeper role for
the IPL franchise.
“KL Rahul should keep behind the wick-
Australia’s Mitchell Starc returned with figures of 5-53 against India in the second ODI on Sunday. Sportzpics/BCCI
bowler's plan was simple: Keep it full and let
the ball move. And from the moment Starc
removed Shubman Gill in the first over to a
loose shot, driving airily, India’s slide began.
In the brief moment that Rohit and Virat
Kohi were together – adding 29 crisp runs in
4 overs – it looked as if the capacity crowd
would be treated to a run feast. It was the
brief period Starc and Cameron Green were
a bit wayward. But once Starc found his
rhythm, he had Rohit edge to first slip with
one that moved away. Off the next ball, he
hadSuryakumarYadavLBWagainwithaone
that curled back in after pitching in the mid-
dleandoff-stumpline.Bythetimehemoved
KL Rahul with a carbon copy dismissal of
BFI
learning was to the rough side of boxing.
Even at the state and national levels, Zareen
would routinely feel that the difference in
Rest period is getting decreased,
this is where establishment and
players have to sit across the
table. They need to be told that
you need that much break and give
them so many games to play.”
-RAVI SHASTRI
FORMER INDIA COACH
ets in the WTC, as Rishabh Pant is not there.
In England seamers will bowl more, so the
keeper will be standing behind most of the
time. He will strengthen the batting at num-
bers 5-6 and he did well in the ODI game in
Mumbai. KS Bharat is a newcomer, it is not
the case that we have to play him. Bharat
will learn with exposure. And in these big
games, one has to weigh all the options,”
Shastri added.
The Indian team has two big tourna-
ments coming this year: the WTC final and
the ODI world cup. India haven’t won any
multi-nation title in the last ten years de-
spite having a formidable side. Shastri be-
Suryakumar, India were 48/4 in 8.4 overs. At
the end of the first powerplay, the score read
49/5 after Smith pulled off a stunning one-
handed full-stretch catch to dismiss Hardik
Pandya off Sean Abbott’s bowling.
It was as if India chose to replay what un-
folded at the Wankhede Stadium. Just like
how everyone during the T20 World Cup
opener in Dubai were expecting Afridi to
send down a yorker to Rohit first-up, here at
Vizag on Sunday, you knew what Starc was
going to do. “I have been doing the same
thing for 14 years now,” he would chuckle.
Coincidentally,Starcwasthemostexpensive
bowlertoo,butAustraliawouldnotmind.He
has been given the licenceto attack and with
Lovlina set to
face ‘Bellatrix’
New Delhi: Lovlina Borgohain is set to
make her 2023 Women’s World
Boxing
Championship
debut on
Monday in the
75kgweightcat-
egory. The Tokyo
Olympicsbronze
medallist will go
upagainstMexicanboxerCitalliOrtiz.
Ortiz was the 2017 Youth World
Champion and goes by the nickname
of Bellatrix.
This is Borgohain’s first real test in
the 75 kg category.
Her original category was
scrapped from the Paris Olympics
programme and the Assamese boxer
chose a six-kilogram gain in weight
rather than be a part of the 66 kg cat-
egory.
technique was being hidden by this rough
way of boxing.
Yesterday though, Zareen showed just
ARSENAL GO 8 POINTS CLEAR
London: Arsenal will head into the international break eight
points clear in the Premier League title race after Bukayo Saka
scored twice in a 4-1 home defeat of Crystal Palace on Sunday.
With chasers Manchester City otherwise engaged this weekend in
the FA Cup, Arsenal took full advantage with Gabriel Martinelli
opening the scoring and Granit Xhaka also on target. AP
lieves a bit of luck is needed to win big tour-
naments but thinks India is due for some
big triumphs.
“I think India is due, we have been con-
sistent. We have reached semis and finals on
a regular basis. You look at Sachin Tendulkar,
he has to play six World Cups to win the ICC
World Cup Trophy. He achieved it in his last
World Cup. Look at Messi, a classic example.
When he started to win, he won the Copa
America and then the World Cup and he
scored also.
“Sowait, itwillrain,” he explained,point-
ing out the record of other teams as well.
“Look at England, they won the title after 40
years, when it came it came in bulk.”
CanKohlimatchSachin’shundred100s?
WithKohlihittinghundredsinwhite-ball
cricket and also in Test, at Ahmedabad, spec-
ulation have once again begun if he can
match Tendulkar’s hundred 100’s record.
ShastrisaysKohlihas5-6yearsof playingca-
reer in him.
“He has got a lot of cricket to play, he is a
fit man and can play cricket. When a player
isinsuchaclasswhentheirmeterstarts,they
his stock delivery to get wickets being the
fuller-one, the margin of error is too small,
and is bound to give batters easy runs
through a flick or a drive. But when he gets it
right, Starc knows he would see the back of
most batsmen.
Inflexible thinking
India should have known by now. It was
not a case of their batting unit being undone
by an extraordinary spell. It was more a case
of India notrespecting the conditions as well
as a pacer with the skillset to exploit it. Rohit
impliedasmuch:“Wedidn'tapplyourselves,
you know, even when you lose a couple of
wickets early, it's important to create that
how much of an improvement the finer
parts of her game have undergone through
the past few years. Roumaysa routinely
looked to clinch and make it into a dogfight
but when the bout went away from that
zone, Zareen’s punches landed clearer.
“She is a fighter and she gets aggressive if
one goes in close range with her. My strategy
wastoplayfromadistance.Butyestherewas
someclinchingfromtimetotime.Nevermind,
cause in the end I won so I am happy,” said
Zareen after the bout in the mixed zone.
The second round would be the closest
point between both boxers. Zareen edged
through 3-2 on the judge’s scorecard on that
roundbutinhindsighttheroundshouldhave
ideallygonetheAlgerian’sway.Sherecognised
her Indian counterpart’s forward leg move-
mentandhadarightcrosswaitingeverytime
Zareen moved ahead to punch and would
miss. The third round was far more in favour
of Zareen who turned the counterpunching
tablesonheropponent.Sheevensloweddown
slightly after the first couple of rounds were
awarded in her favour.
“I didn't get the seeding so I wanted to
defeat the top seed so that I can make a good
impression on the judges. So that's why my
overall strategy was to dominate from the
first round,” said Zareen. She will next face
Mexican boxer Herrera Alvarez Fatima, an
opponent she had defeated last year at the
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
hitrunsquickly.Liketheywillgetsevenhun-
dreds in 15 games. He has still 5-6 years of
cricket left under him. It’s not easy to thing
(to reach 100,100’s) but it's a big thing. The
volume of cricket is too much. When I was a
coach we were playing multiple formats si-
multaneously.Youhavetoseewhat’simpor-
tant and choose formats accordingly,” he
points out.
Reduce ODIs to 40-over games
Shastri reckons ICC should try to make
ODIs a 40-over game, keeping in mind the
attentionspansthesedays.“They(fans)want
action, they want short and sweet. If a 40
overs game happens, one will see all three
formats of the game surviving,” he says.
Play more domestic cricket
ShastrialsowantstheBCCItoputaclause
in the players contract that they have to play
a specified number of domestic matches
every year.
“Be it anyone. Batsmen can get better in
playing spin, as Dal-Chawal (main staple) in
domestic cricket are our spinners. The more
one plays the better they will be.”
SCORECARD
INDIA VS AUSTRALIA
VISAKHAPATNAM
Toss: Australia won, chose to field
INDIA
RSharmacSmithbStarc 13(15b,2x4)
SGill cLabuschagnebStarc 0(2b)
V Kohli lbwbEllis 31(35b,4x4)
SYadavlbwbStarc 0(1b)
KLRahullbwbStarc
HPandyacSmithbAbbott
9(12b,1x4)
1(3b)
RJadejacCareybEllis
AxarPatel notout
16(39b,1x4)
29(29b,1x4,2x6)
KYadav cHeadbAbbott 4(17b)
MShamicCareybAbbott 0(1b)
MSirajbStarc 0(3b)
■ Extras(lb2,nb1,w11) 14
■ Total26Ov(RR:4.50) 117
■ FoW:1-3(ShubmanGill,0.3ov),2-32(Rohit
Sharma,4.4ov),3-32(SuryakumarYadav,4.5
ov),4-48(KLRahul,8.4ov),5-49(Hardik
Pandya,9.2ov),6-71(ViratKohli,15.2ov),7-91
(RavindraJadeja,19.3ov),8-103(KuldeepYadav,
24.4ov),9-103(MohammedShami,24.5ov),
10-117(MohammedSiraj,25.6ov)
■ Bowling:MitchellStarc8-1-53-5,Cameron
Green5-0-20-0,SeanAbbott6-0-23-3,
NathanEllis5-0-13-2,AdamZampa2-0-6-0
AUSTRALIA
THead notout 51(30b,10x4)
MMarsh notout 66(36b,6x4,6x6)
■ Extras (w4) 4
■ Total11Ov(RR:11) 121
■ Bowling:MohammedShami3-0-29-0,
MohammedSiraj3-0-37-0,AxarPatel3-0-25-
0,HardikPandya1-0-18-0,KuldeepYadav1-0-
12-00
partnership so that you can get back into the
game.”
Speaking of failures, it is also pertinent to
raise how rigid they are when the situation
demands them to be flexible. With Starc go-
ing full throttle, they could have sent either
Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel to disrupt the
rhythm of Australia's bowlers. In the previ-
ous match, after India were reduced to 83/5
while chasing 189, Rahul spoke about how
Jadeja’sarrivalhelpedthembreaktheshack-
les. The situation presented itself again, but
they did not implement their lessons. And
this time Australia were not in a mood to let
the match slip away from their hands.
Istanbul Women’s World Boxing
Championships in a unanimous decision.
Maun starts strong
India’s other boxer of the day Manisha
Maun, won her 57 kg weight category
opener against Australia’s Tina Rahimi in a
5-0 unanimous decision as well. Enjoying
a sizable reach advantage, Maun dominated
their exchanges.
Shechosetouseherlength,stayontheout-
sideanduseherrighthookstogreatmeasure.
InRahimi’scornerwasformerIndianhighper-
formance director Santiago Nieva, now the
coach of the Australian team. At the 2018
Women’s World Boxing Championships in
New Delhi, Nieva was instrumental in Maun
being the Indian representative of the 57 kg
category. At that event, she narrowly missed
out on a bronze medal, but has since won a
Worlds bronze last year.
“Aapne score karna hai aur baahar
nikalna hai (You have to score a point
against her and then move out of range),”
said Indian boxing coach Bhaskar Bhatt on
what Manisha’s game plan was ahead of
her bout. He then added, “We knew the
Australian boxer has open glove punches in
her arsenal so we wanted Manisha to play
a long-range game.” Maun will next face Elif
Nur Turhan in the next round of the 57 kg
category.
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THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023