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CITY EDITION
18 Pages ₹ 12.00

Vol.12 앫 No.273

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CM J ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU Saturday, November 19, 2022
J2 Delhi

CM J ND-NDE
YK
 SATURDAY
November 19, 2022
DELHI
CITY EDITION
18 Pages ₹ 12.00
Printed at » Chennai » Coimbatore
BHIMA KOREGAON CASE
High Court grants bail
to Anand Teltumbde
NEWS » PAGE 10
SC refuses NIA
plea against
Navlakha’s
house arrest
Krishnadas Rajagopal
NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on Fri­
day refused National Inves­
tigation Agency’s (NIA)
plea to recall its November
10 order to shift activist
Gautam Navlakha from Ta­
loja Jail to house arrest in
Navi Mumbai, asking if
“the might of the state can­
not keep an eye on an ail­
ing, 70­year­old man”.
Appearing before a
Bench of Justices K.M. Jo­
seph and Hrishikesh Roy,
Solicitor General Tushar
Mehta and Additional Sol­
icitor General S.V. Raju
jointly urged that Mr. Nav­
lakha, charged under the
UAPA in the Bhima Kore­
gaon case, had “misled”
the court to understand
the house arrest premises
was a residential property
with a library occupying
the ground floor.
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 8
Impure air
Far from ideal: An aerial view of Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and its adjoining areas in New Delhi on
Friday. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the national capital’s 24­hour average air
quality index stood at 289, which falls in the ‘poor’ category. R.V. MOORTHY
Rahul’s remarks on Savarkar could affect MVA: Raut National Conference to see a churn
Shoumojit Banerjee
PUNE
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi’s latest attack on
Hindutva ideologue V.D.
Savarkar may have pushed
the Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) alliance in Maha­
rashtra to the brink.
Several leaders of the
Uddhav Thackeray­led
Shiv Sena faction have
questioned the need to
continue with an alliance
in which the Congress is a
constituent along with the
Nationalist Congress Party.
Thackeray loyalist San­
jay Raut on Friday cen­
sured Mr. Gandhi over his
remarks, which he termed
“embarrassing”, and said
they could have a possible
impact on the MVA.
Addressing a rally in the
State’s Washim district ear­
lier this week, Mr. Gandhi
CM
YK
» Bengaluru » Hyderabad » Madurai
BAMBOO BLOSSOMS
13­year study
deciphers rat
boom, famines
STATES » PAGE 5
Some countries support
terror as a policy: Modi
PM asks international organisations to address the problem of extremism, stating that proxy wars
are also dangerous and violent; China and Pakistan were absent at conference on terror financing
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
ertain countries
C support terrorism
as part of their fo­
reign policy, Prime Minis­
ter Narendra Modi said at
an international confe­
rence on terror financing
on Friday, noting that
“state support” is one of
the financial sources of ter­
ror groups.
In an indirect reference
to Pakistan and China, the
PM said certain countries
offer political, ideological
and financial support to
terror groups and some­
times, there are indirect ar­
guments made in support
of terrorism to block action
against terrorists. Pakistan
is not participating in the
conference; China did not
send a delegation.
said Savarkar had written
mercy petitions to the Brit­
ish and was a symbol of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) and the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh.
He said Savarkar had ta­
ken pension from the Brit­
ish, worked for them and
against the Congress. On
Thursday, Mr. Gandhi
stood by his remarks and
said Savarkar wrote the pe­
titions “out of fear”.
With the Thackeray fac­
tion reeling under the BJP’s
taunts of having forsaken
Sena founder Bal Thacke­
ray’s ‘Hindutva’ ideals, Mr.
Raut said the party would
not tolerate defamatory re­
marks against Savarkar.
“At a time when Rahul
Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra
has been getting an enthu­
siastic response, especially
in Maharashtra, there was
no need for him to rake up
» Noida » Visakhapatnam
Joint effort: Narendra Modi and Amit Shah at the third ‘No Money
for Terror’ ministerial conference in New Delhi. AFP
Exhorting international
organisations not to think
that the absence of war
means peace, Mr. Modi al­
so asked countries to joint­
ly address the problem of
radicalisation and extre­
mism, adding that anyone
who supports radicalisa­
tion should have no place
in any country. “Proxy
wars are also dangerous
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb
Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut.
this issue. It has come as a
jolt to us and Congress
leaders. His remarks have
proved embarrassing for
them,” he said, advising
Mr. Gandhi to stop “chew­
ing on the past” and focus
on creating a new history.
However, Congress
communication chief Jai­
ram Ramesh tried to play
down the controversy by
saying that the row merely
reflected the different per­
spectives of two ideologi­
cally opposed allies: the
www.thehindu.com
» Thiruvananthapuram » Kochi » Vijayawada
VIKRAM­S IN SPACE
India’s first private
rocket takes to the sky
STATES » PAGE 5
and violent. There must be
a cost imposed upon coun­
tries that support terro­
rism. Organisations and in­
dividuals that try to create
sympathy for terrorists
must also be isolated.
There can be no ifs and
buts entertained in such
matters. The world needs
to unite against all kinds of
overt and covert backing of
Draft digital data protection Bill tabled for comments
Yuthika Bhargava
NEW DELHI
The Centre’s significantly
shortened and revised
draft Bill on personal data
protection proposes a hef­
ty increase in penalty
amounts up to ₹500 crore,
while also easing rules on
cross­border data flows, in
a big relief for large tech
firms. The revised draft —
now called The Digital Per­
sonal Data Protection Bill,
2022 — comes just over
three months after its ear­
lier avatar was withdrawn
from Parliament by the
Central government.
The new draft Bill, on
which stakeholder com­
ments have been invited
till December 17, narrows
down the scope of the data
protection regime to per­
sonal data protection, leav­
ing out non­personal data
from its ambit — a move
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasa­
heb Thackeray) and the
Congress. Soon after Mr.
Raut’s made his com­
ments, Mr. Ramesh, speak­
ing at a press conference in
Buldhana district, said he
had a long chat with the Se­
na MP and he had refuted
suggestions that his re­
marks (on Mr. Gandhi)
would weaken the MVA.
‘Agreed to disagree’
“These [Savarkar and Ma­
hatma Gandhi] are histori­
cal personalities and there
are differences in perspec­
tive and opinions in mat­
ters of history… I had a
long talk with my friend
Mr. Raut, who has a com­
pletely different view on
Veer Savarkar. We agreed
to disagree. But Mr. Raut
has refuted the impression
that the issue will weaken
the MVA. It has nothing to
» Mangaluru » Tiruchirapalli
‘Al Qaeda, IS
major challenges’
NEW DELHI
The growing influence of Al
Qaeda and IS have emerged as
major security challenges after
2021, Home Minister Amit Shah
said at an international
conference on terror financing,
without mentioning the
Taliban takeover. » Page 8
terror,” Mr. Modi said.
Mr. Modi was speaking
at the inaugural session of
the third ‘No Money for
Terror’ conference, being
attended by around 450
delegates from 72 coun­
tries, as well as multilateral
bodies such as Interpol.
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 8
welcomed by the industry.
The Bill proposes to im­
pose a penalty of ₹10,000
on individuals providing
unverifiable or false infor­
mation while applying for
any document, service,
proof of identity or ad­
dress, or registering a false
or frivolous complaint with
a Data Fiduciary (who col­
lects and processes the da­
ta) or with the Board.
The government, which
is hopeful of introducing
the Bill in the Budget ses­
sion in February 2023, has
introduced the concept of
‘Consent Managers’ in the
Bill. Pointing out that it is
not always possible to keep
track of the instances in
which one has given con­
sent to the processing of
personal data, the govern­
ment said that a consent
manager platform will ena­
ble an individual to have a
comprehensive view of her
do with the MVA,” he said.
Taking a jibe at the BJP,
Mr. Ramesh said the Con­
gress, unlike the BJP, does
not believe in distorting
history. “The MVA was
formed only three years
ago and both the Shiv Sena
and the Congress were pol­
itical opponents before
that. We came together ov­
er a common minimum
programme and formed
the government,” he said.
Mr. Raut also targeted
the BJP, remarking that Sa­
varkar could never be an
ideal for “fake Hindutva­
wadis”.“Why hasn’t the
BJP awarded the Bharat
Ratna to Savarkar despite
being in power at the
Centre for so long? Is their
love for Savarkar a political
stunt?” he said.
SEE ALSO
» PAGE 4
» Kolkata » Hubballi » Mohali
TACKLING POLLUTION
Air bubbles in
Delhi's dystopia
Air purification systems
provide some respite,
but are no solution
GROUND ZERO » PAGE 7
Punjab govt. nod for
old pension scheme
The Hindu Bureau
CHANDIGARH
The Punjab Cabinet on Fri­
day gave the go­ahead to a
notification implementing
the old pension scheme
(OPS) for government em­
ployees. The decision was
taken in a meeting chaired
by Chief Minister Bhag­
want Mann here. The Pun­
jab government had an­
nounced last month about
its in­principle decision to
restore the old scheme.
The OPS was abolished
by the National Democratic
Alliance government at the
Centre in 2003 and the Na­
tional Pension Scheme
(NPS) came into force on
April 1, 2004. It was car­
ried forward by the Con­
gress­led United Progres­
sive Alliance governments.
While the Aam Aadmi
Party government in Pun­
jab moves forward on OPS
restoration, the issue has
held centre stage in recent
months with several Con­
gress­ruled States also an­
nouncing their decision to
interactions with Data Fi­
duciaries and the consent
given to them.
Consent of individual
The Bill requires the con­
sent of the individual to be
the basis for processing of
their personal data, except
in certain circumstances
where seeking the consent
of the Data Principal is “im­
practicable or inadvisable
due to pressing concerns”.
as Farooq Abdullah may step down
Peerzada Ashiq
SRINAGAR
The Kashmir valley on Fri­
day witnessed high politi­
cal drama over Farooq Ab­
dullah’s continuance as
president of the National
Conference (NC), a party
founded by his father late
Sheikh Abdullah.
A party spokesperson
on Friday morning issued a
statement saying that Dr.
Abdullah has informed col­
leagues of his decision to
step down as NC president.
“In spite of the best ef­
forts of senior colleagues
in the party, Dr. Sahib [Fa­
rooq] was adamant that he
wouldn’t review his deci­
sion. In light of this sudden
announcement, the party
general secretary has been
tasked with conducting the
» Malappuram » Mumbai » Tirupati
MUSK’S ULTIMATUM
Twitter locks staff out
of offices till Monday
BUSINESS » PAGE 12
roll it out. In May, the Ash­
ok Gehlot­led Rajasthan
government and the Bhu­
pesh Baghel­led Chhattis­
garh government chose to
reintroduce the OPS.
The party has promised
to restore the scheme in
Gujarat and Himachal Pra­
desh if elected, triggering a
debate within a section of
the party around the finan­
cial implications of imple­
menting the move.
1.75 lakh staff to benefit
An official statement, is­
sued on Friday after the
Cabinet meeting, said the
return to OPS will benefit
over 1.75 lakh government
employees currently co­
vered under the NPS.
“In addition to this, 1.26
lakh employees are already
covered under the existing
old pension scheme. The
scheme is expected to be­
nefit more than 4,100 em­
ployees in the next five
years alone,” it said.
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 8
Every request for con­
sent will need to be pre­
sented to the Data Princi­
pal in clear and plain
language, and an option to
access such a request for
consent in English or any
language specified in the
Eighth Schedule to the
Constitution of India.
The Data Principal shall
have the right to withdraw
her consent at any time,
the Bill stated.
election for party presi­
dent. It will be completed
on December 5; until that
time Dr. Sahib continues as
president of the party,” the
spokesperson said.
‘Party chief till poll’
In response, Dr. Abdullah
issued a statement saying
he is still the party chief
“till elections and till some­
one else is ready to take up
the responsibilities of this
post”, indicating that he is
unlikely to be the next NC
president and the party is
looking for a new face.
“The current president
resigns before the election
so that other party mem­
bers can file their nomina­
tion papers for the posi­
tion, which is part of the
NC electoral process. The
election will be held within
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Vol.12 앫 No.273
» Lucknow » Cuttack » Patna
IN BRIEF
쑽
Mehrauli murder:
evidence found in
Gurugram forest
NEW DELHI
Delhi Police on Friday
recovered “crucial leads”
from the forest area near
Gurugram’s DLF Phase 3
where murder accused Aftab
Poonawala used to work,
sources said. Acting on an
anonymous tip­off, a Delhi
Police team arrived at the
spot around 11 a.m. to search
the area for human remains
and bloodstains. The team
also visited Aftab’s office
and questioned the staff.
» Page 2
Data Fiduciaries collect­
ing personal data from in­
dividuals will need to pro­
vide “itemised notice” in
clear and plain language
containing a description of
personal data sought and
the purpose of processing
of such personal data.
The Bill also gives the
power to the government
to offer exemption from its
provisions “in the interests
of sovereignty and integri­
ty of India” and to main­
tain public order. While
the earlier version of the
draft Bill had recommend­
ed that a Data Protection
Authority be set up to pre­
vent misuse of personal in­
formation, the revised Bill
has proposed a Data Pro­
tection Board of India,
which will be notified by
the Central government.
RELATED REPORT
» PAGE 8
a month in which any par­
ty worker can be elected to
the post,” NC provincial
president Nasir Aslam Wa­
ni said.
Dr. Abdullah emerged
as one of the key faces to
oppose the Centre’s moves
in Jammu and Kashmir af­
ter the bifurcation of the
erstwhile State and with­
drawal of its special status
on August 5, 2019.
He is also the chairman
of the People’s Alliance for
Gupkar Declaration, an
amalgam of four J&K par­
ties, including the Meh­
booba Mufti­led Peoples
Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, NC general
secretary Ali Muhammad
Sagar issued a formal not­
ice and sought nomina­
tions for the presidential
election on December 5.
M ND-NDE

2 Saturday, November 19, 2022
Mehrauli murder: police recover
evidence from Gurugram forest
Forensic team to examine gadgets of Aftab and Shraddha; victim’s friend says he persuaded her to file police complaint
against Aftab after he assaulted her in 2020; Shraddha was admitted to hospital in 2020 for 4 days: Mumbai­based doctor
Arnabjit Sur
Samridhi Tewari
NEW DELHI
D
elhi Police on Fri­
day recovered
“crucial leads”
from the forest area near
Gurugram’s DLF Phase 3
where murder accused Af­
tab Poonawala used to
work, sources said.
Acting on an anony­
mous tip­off, a Delhi Police
team arrived at the spot
around 11 a.m. to search
the area for human re­
mains and bloodstains.
The team also visited Af­
tab’s office and questioned
the staff. A senior police of­
ficer confirmed that the
evidence was collected
from the forest area close
to the call centre where Af­
tab worked, from May­end
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
DEATH
ANNIVERSARIES
DEATH
CM
YK
A policeman carrying a bag recovered from Gurugram forest area on
Friday. PTI
till his arrest on November
12, but refused to divulge
information about the na­
ture of the evidence.
Sources said that the police
IN MEMORIAM
DEATH
are trying to recover delet­
ed data from the social me­
dia accounts of Aftab and
his live­in partner Shradd­
ha Walkar, adding that
MCD polls: AAP promises ‘acche
din’, ‘double engine’ development
Nikhil M Babu
NEW DELHI
Promises made in a public
meeting organised by AAP
MLA Somnath Bharti in
Safdarjung Development
Area’s C4 block on Friday
evening seeking support
for Sarita Phogat, AAP’s
Municipal Corporation of
Delhi (MCD) nominee from
the area, seemed to have
come straight from the
BJP’s playbook — “acche
din” and “double­engine”
development.
Mr. Bharti reminded the
gathering that this election
THE HINDU
City
their mobile phones and
other gadgets will be ana­
lysed by a forensic team.
Aftab is accused of kill­
ing Shraddha on May 18,
dismembering her body,
storing the pieces in a
fridge and throwing them
in the Chhatarpur forest
area over a period of three
months.
Pattern of abuse
Godwin Rodriguez, 34, re­
called the evening of No­
vember 23, 2020, when he
first met Shraddha, then
his brother’s colleague,
and saw bruises on her bo­
dy. “She told me that Aftab
had assaulted her; that he
had tried choking her sev­
eral times in the past as
well,” Mr. Rodriguez said,
adding that he persuaded
her to approach the police
AAP’s MCD candidate Sarita
Phogat. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
was not about Prime Minis­
ter Narendra Modi. He
asked the voters to bear
civic issues in mind while
and file an FIR.
Dr. S.P. Shinde of Mum­
bai’s Ozone Multispecialty
Hospital, who treated
Shraddha in December
2020, said she had ap­
proached him, along with
Aftab, with a complaint of
neck and back pain. He ad­
ded that Shraddha was ad­
mitted on December 3 and
discharged four days later.
Delhi Police on Friday
said multiple teams are
camping outstation to “re­
create the lives” of Aftab
and Shraddha, and that
search operations are be­
ing carried out to recover
the victim’s remains. DCP
(PRO) Suman Nalwa said,
“Several interdisciplinary
teams are working round­
the­clock” to verify and
piece together the se­
quence of events.
casting their ballots.
“Ye chunaav Modiji ka
chunav nahi hai [This elec­
tion is not about Modi].
This election is about your
streets, roads, dysfunction­
al public gyms and unclean
parks. So, don’t fall into
their [BJP’s] trap when
they come,” Mr. Bharti told
the audience of some 50­
odd people.
“From the MLA LAD
funds I’ll give the money
and she’ll get the work
done. There won’t be any
problem. We will work to­
gether,” he said, adding,
“Pakka hai ki teen saal
L­G to CM: remove Shah
as DDC vice­chairperson
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
Lieutenant­Governor Vinai
Kumar Saxena on Friday
asked Chief Minister Ar­
vind Kejriwal to remove
vice­chairperson of Dia­
logue and Development
Commission of Delhi
(DDC) Jasmine Shah for al­
legedly misusing his office
for “political purposes”.
A Raj Niwas source said
Mr. Shah’s office was
sealed late on Thursday by
the Sub­Divisional Magis­
trate, Civil Lines. The
source added that the L­G
directed the CM to “restrict
Jasmine Shah from dis­
charging his duties as the
vice­chairman of DDC and
from using any privilege
and facilities associated
with the office, with imme­
diate effect till a decision is
taken by the CM in this re­
gard”. The DDC is a think­
tank working with the Del­
hi government.
In response, Mr. Shah
apne acche din aa jayenge
[Surely, the next three
years will be our good
days].”
The former Delhi Minis­
ter also rooted for a What­
sApp­driven model for
solving civic issues.
“You keep posting your
complaints on the Mohalla
18 WhatsApp group and we
resolve many of them
though most are con­
cerned with the MCD.
Once the councillor is also
added to the WhatsApp
group, there won’t be any
problem left,” the AAP
MLA said.
Extension for St. Stephen’s
principal: DU writes to UGC
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI
Delhi University has
sought the intervention of
University Grants Commis­
sion (UGC) in the reap­
pointment of professor
John Varghese as the prin­
cipal of St. Stephen’s Col­
lege, alleging that his ex­
tension “ultra vires”
provisions of the UGC Act.
In a letter to the Secre­
tary of the UGC, the Assis­
tant Registrar of DU said
the university is “con­
strained” from recognising
Mr. Varghese as principal
ever since his five­year
term ended in February
Jasmine Shah
said the L­G’s action is
“without jurisdiction,
completely illegal and
unconstitutional”.
Referring to a Delhi High
court remark, he added
that the L­G’s order made
no mention of “any law or
rules being violated” in
case of public servants
with political affiliations. “I
have one question for the
L­G: Sambit Patra is a na­
tional spokesperson of the
BJP, also holding the office
of the Chairman of ITDC
(India Tourism Develop­
ment Corporation). If my
office is being sealed, why
not his? How can two laws
DU has alleged that
the extension to
professor John
Varghese is “ultra
vires” provisions of
the UGC Act
2021. "The intervention of
the UGC is very kindly soli­
cited to preclude any act of
defilement of UGC regula­
tions by the St. Stephen’s
College and other colleges
as well," the letter read.
On March 1, 2016, St.
Stephen’s College had ap­
pointed Mr. Varghese as
the principal for five years,
and the supreme council of
Delhi
operate in the same coun­
try, one for AAP and one
for the BJP?”
Asked about AAP’s
charges against Mr. Patra,
Delhi BJP spokesperson
Praveen Shankar Kapoor
said, “They [AAP] have al­
ready filed a complaint
with the Central Vigilance
Commission about this in
the past. They can either
wait for its inquiry or file a
fresh complaint.”
Show-cause notice
Last month, Mr. Shah was
issued a show­cause notice
by the Director of the Delhi
Planning Department for
misusing public resources.
The notice was based on
a complaint by BJP MP Par­
vesh Sahib Singh who al­
leged that Mr. Shah, while
being the DDC vice­chair­
person, acted as an official
spokesperson of AAP.
Reacting to the notice,
Mr. Shah had said the L­G
had no jurisdiction over
his office.
the college recently ap­
proved his extension. Mr.
Varghese and the universi­
ty have been at logger­
heads over the admission
policy for several months.
DU said the college has
been repeatedly justifying
the reappointment of Mr.
Varghese by citing resolu­
tions of its supreme coun­
cil. However, there is no
provision for such a body
in UGC regulations, it said.
In August, DU wrote to
St Stephen’s College go­
verning body chairman
Prem Chand Singh, declar­
ing the reappointment of
Mr. Varghese as principal
as “null and void”.
AAP leader
asked MCD
official for ₹1
cr., says BJP
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The BJP on Friday released
a purported sting opera­
tion video of Mukesh Goel,
AAP’s candidate from
Adarsh Nagar ward for the
civic polls, alleging he was
seen demanding “₹1 crore
from a junior MCD engi­
neer”. BJP spokesperson
Sambit Patra demanded
that AAP chief Arvind Kej­
riwal sack Mr. Goel.
Mr. Goel said he will file
a defamation suit against
Mr. Patra for “circulating
doctored videos”. The Hin-
du could not independent­
ly verify the video.
M ND-NDE
Saturday, November 19, 2022
THE HINDU
Delhi 3

CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
4 Saturday, November 19, 2022

States Delhi

‘I will contest from one seat’ Rahul desists from further remarks on Savarkar
Shoumojit Banerjee Mr. Gandhi instead tar­ The BJP is spreading plight of students “in face Their average debt burden
The Hindu Bureau known only after the an­ but won from Badami PUNE geted the BJP and Prime hate and fear, he of ratcheting ranges from ₹50,000 to ₹1
MYSURU nouncement of the elec­ against BJP candidate B. Sri­ Minister Narendra Modi, says during his unemployment”. lakh. Farmers tell me that
tions. However, the party ramulu. Varuna is now re­ After sparking a political claiming that the party had “In the last six months, the government cannot
address at Shegaon
Leader of the Opposition in high command will take a presented by Mr. Siddara­ controversy with his re­ spread “hatred and fear in how many farmers in Vi­ waive a debt burden of ₹1
the Karnatak Assembly and call on my constituency,” maiah’s son, Yathindra. marks against Hindutva every corner of the coun­ in Maharashtra darbha have taken their lakh, but can exempt eve­
former Chief Minister Sid­ he told reporters here. Responding to allegations ideologue V.D. Savarkar, try”. lives and why...? If you talk rything for India’s billio­
daramaiah on Friday said In the 2018 elections, Mr. that he was conducting a Congress leader Rahul “It is to counter the fear people and feel their pain,” to any farmer, they say naires,” he said.
he would contest the As­ Siddaramaiah contested survey to identify a “safe Gandhi refrained from and hatred being spread said Mr. Gandhi in his final they do not get the right Meanwhile, BJP leader
sembly polls next year only from Chamundeshwari in constituency” as he was making further comments by the BJP that we have be­ public address in the Mah­ rates… I am tired of hear­ and Maharashtra Deputy
from one of the three shor­ Mysuru and Badami consti­ fearing a defeat, the former against him during his ad­ gun the Bharat Jodo Yatra. arashtra chapter of his ing these words over and CM Devendra Fadnavis
tlisted constituencies — Ko­ tuencies. He lost to Janata Chief Minister asked, dress in Shegaon in Maha­ Its aim is not to impose any Yatra. over again. They do not get chastised Mr. Gandhi over
lar, Varuna, and Badami. Dal (S) candidate G.T. Deve “What is wrong in conduct­ rashtra’s Buldhana district ‘Mann ki Baat’, but to listen He touched upon the their insurance money his remarks against Savar­
“I’ll make my decision Gowda in Chamundeshwari ing a survey?” on Friday. to the voices of ordinary farmers’ woes and the despite paying premiums. kar.

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● ●

CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
Saturday, November 19, 2022 5
Delhi
States

INBRIEF
India’s first private rocket Khan slams Kerala 쑽

lifts off from ISRO spaceport govt. over political

The six­metre­tall launch vehicle Vikram­S is named after Vikram Sarabhai; the rocket is
developed by the Hyderabad­based start­up Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited
Sangeetha Kandavel
SRIHARIKOTA
t was a historic mo­
I ment when Vikram­S,
India’s first privately­
developed rocket, lifted off
precisely at 11.30 a.m. on
Friday from Indian Space
Research Organisation’s
(ISRO) launchpad in Sriha­
rikota.
Developed by Hydera­
bad­based start­up Skyroot
Aerospace Private Limited,
the six­metre­tall vehicle
hit a peak altitude of 89.5
km and then splashed into
the Bay of Bengal about
five minutes after the
launch. This mission was
titled Prarambh.
The rocket Vikram­S is a
single­stage solid fuelled,
Glorious moment: India's first private rocket Vikram­S lifts off from
ISRO’s launch pad in Sriharikota on Friday. PTI
sub­orbital rocket deve­
loped over two years by in­
corporating advanced
technologies including car­
bon composite structures
and 3D­printed compo­
nents.
Equipped with a gross
lift off mass of 545kg, and
payload mass of 80 kg, Vik­
ram­S carried with it three
customer payloads, which
will map the measurement
and validation of certain
flight parameters and pay­
load integration processes.
This was a technology
demonstration flight to
showcase the capabilities
of the company. The rocket
will help validate the tech­
nologies that will be used
in the subsequent Vikram­1
orbital vehicle of Skyroot
that is planned for launch
next year, subject to tech­
nical clearance by IN­
SPACe.
Founded by Pawan Ku­
mar Chandana and Naga
Bharath Daka in June 2018
Skyroot Aerospace is a
two­time national award­
winning space startup.
nominees’ pension
The Hindu Bureau
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Kerala Governor Arif Mo­
hammed Khan opened
another skirmish line in his
battle against the Left De­
mocratic Front govern­
ment.
In New Delhi, Mr. Khan
said he would nationally
spotlight the Kerala go­
vernment’s unlawful prac­
tice of extending lifelong
pensions to political ap­
pointees who serve a brief
period in the offices of
Communist Party of India
(Marxist) Ministers.
Mr. Khan said he did not
have the authority to stop
the fraud on the public ex­
chequer. However, civic­
minded citizens sworn to
uphold the Constitution
had legal avenues to halt
the theft of tax payer’s mo­
ney.
“It is a government for
the cadre, by the cadre and
of the cadre. Indian sol­
diers have to toil for 10 TMC not a party of ‘outsiders’
years in extreme condi­
tions to earn a lifelong pen­
sion. In contrast, these
in Meghalaya: Abhishek
johnnies (political appoin­ The Trinamool Congress on Friday said it was
tees) get the largesse for not a party of “outsiders” in poll­bound
free. I have written to the Meghalaya, pointing out that former Chief
Chief Secretary that only Minister Purno A. Sangma had contested an
government secretaries election in the State on its ticket. Rivals,
need to accompany Minis­ specifically the National People’s Party headed by
ters during Raj Bhavan vi­ Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, have been
sits. I will not allow any projecting the TMC as a West Bengal­based
political appointee to ac­ entity.
company Ministers to my
office,” he said.
Mr. Khan reiterated his
accusation that the CMO File review plea in 2012 gang
had bent UGC norms to ap­
point Priya Varghese as As­
rape, murder case: Baluni
sociate Professor in Kan­ BJP MP Anil Baluni has requested Delhi
nur University. Lieutenant­Governor V.K. Saxena to file a review
petition in the case of gang rape and murder of a
19­year­old woman in February 2012, following
the Supreme Court’s acquittal of three men

Sweet, not protein, in bamboo fruits triggers rat boom
SPECIAL canna baccifera and the
frenzied feeding and popu­
lation boom in rats during
Tiki Rajwi ‘Mautam’, the cyclical,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM mass bamboo flowering
that occurs once in 48
A study spanning 13 years years.
has shed interesting light Researchers observed
on flowering in Melocanna and listed a surprisingly
baccifera, a tropical bam­ large variety of animal visi­
boo species that has long tors/predators attracted by
fascinated researchers for the fruit and flowers of this
its association with the oc­ bamboo. They also report­
currence of ‘bamboo ed the highest­ever fruit
death,’ ‘rat floods’ and fa­ production in a bamboo
mines in northeast India. clump (456.67 kg).
Among other things, re­ The Jawaharlal Nehru
searchers detected a corre­ Tropical Botanic Garden
lation between the sugar and Research Institute
content in the fruit of Melo- ( JNTBGRI), Thiruvanan­
thapuram, conducted the
study between 2009 and
2022 at its Bambusetum
where the species was in­
troduced during 1988­
1996.
A paper on the findings
by K.C. Koshy, B. Gopaku­
mar, Antony Sebastian, Aji­
kumaran Nair S., Anil John
Johnson, Balaji Govindan,
and B. Sabulal has ap­
peared in the journal PLOS
One on November 16.
Called ‘Muli’ in north­
east India, Melocanna bac-
cifera is the largest fruit­
producing bamboo and is
native to the northeast In­
dia­Myanmar region. Dur­
Fruit of Melocanna baccifera.
ing its gregarious flower­
ing, the bamboo produces
large fruits which draw ani­
mal visitors/predators. Of
these, black rats greatly rel­
ish the fleshy, berry­like
fruit. During this period,
they also multiply rapidly,
a phenomenon dubbed as
‘rat flood.’ Once the fruits
are gone, they start de­
vouring standing crops,
causing famines that have
claimed thousands of hu­
man lives.
Earlier, it was presumed
that ‘high protein in fruits/
seeds’ was attracting the
rats. However, a JNTBGRI
study in 2016 found that
the fruit actually contains
very little protein. The pre­
dation is mainly due to the
high content of sugar.
“The fruit chemistry has
a significant role in the pre­
accused of the crime. Mr. Baluni met Mr. Saxena
along with the parents of the victim. The
Supreme Court’s acquittal of the three men, who
had been sentenced to death in a trial court, was
dation, as fruits are con­ based on the noting that the prosecution failed to
sumed by predators based provide leading, cogent, clinching and clear
on their taste preferences evidence against the accused.
to fruit sugars at various
growth stages,” the re­
searchers noted.
The flowering phenolo­ Free electricity is no
gy and fruit production dy­
namics revealed through electricity, says Haryana CM
this study are helpful to
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on Friday
foresters and people in­
said that Haryana has rejected the concept of free
volved in the conservation
electricity, which some States have executed, as
of this bamboo, the
‘free electricity is no electricity’. He was speaking
JNTBGRI said. Further, the
at the 83rd meeting of the Forum of Regulators,
study on fruit chemistry
organised by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory
and its links to predation
Commission. “This neither benefits the
and ‘rat flood’ could help
consumers nor the government. The people of
identify biomolecules use­
Haryana have also understood this and are fully
ful in medical research, it
supporting the government,” he said.
added.

‘Presence of
Maoists’ in
Munnar to be
investigated
The Hindu Bureau
IDUKKI
Intelligence agencies have
initiated a probe into the
suspected presence of
Maoists in Munnar.
A search operation is on
after a lorry driver report­
ed the suspicious presence
of four persons, including
a woman, on a forest
stretch at Anchammile on
the Neryamangalam­Adi­
mali route around 3.45
a.m. on Wednesday.
The driver told forest of­
ficials that they were carry­
ing guns and moved to a
stream on the roadside on
noticing the vehicle.
A Special Branch officer
said the agency and the In­
telligence wing were view­
ing the incident seriously
and a probe was initiated.
Safety check
Voter data ‘theft’:
details have great
potential for misuse
K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj
BENGALURU
While there is a political
storm over the alleged vo­
ter data ‘theft’ by Chilume
Educational Cultural and
Rural Development Trust,
impersonating as civic bo­
dy officials from August to
November in Bengaluru,
the larger question as to
how and whether the data
can be retrieved is crucial,
say experts.
Though the Bruhat Ben­
galuru Mahanagara Palike
(BBMP) revoked permis­
sion to Chilume to carry
out the Systematic Voters’
Education and Electoral
Participation (SVEEP) cam­
paign on November 2, till
Speed and security: The Indian Racing League’s first and final rounds around the Hussainsagar­Necklace Road in Hyderabad will be held in date, it has not initiated
real time for safety and readiness this weekend. Tyres are hauled to the race track to be used as a protective barrier. G. RAMAKRISHNA any steps to recover the da­
ta that has potential for
misuse.
Election­watchers say the data
collected gives political players
undue advantage. FILE PHOTO
run the accused Trust also
ran a political consultancy
firm, which the Opposition
has alleged is associated
with a member of the rul­
ing party. This throws up a
scary scenario. If there is
systemic collusion, there is
a potential for targeted vo­
ter suppression by deletion
of entries from electoral
TRS activists
vandalise
MP’s house
in Hyderabad
The Hindu Bureau
HYDERABAD
High tension prevailed at
the residence of Member
of Parliament Dharmapuri
Arvind at Banjara Hills in
Hyderabad on Friday as
several activists of the rul­
ing Telangana Rashtra Sa­
mithi (TRS) stormed the
house and vandalised
property.
Mr. Arvind was not pre­
sent at the house at the
time as he was attending a
meeting in Nizamabad. His
70­year­old mother D. Vi­
jayalaxmi, security person­
nel and domestic helpers
were witness to the inci­
dent.
According to a com­
plaint by Ms. Vijayalaxmi,
some 50 persons carrying
TRS party flags and raising
‘Arvind down down’ slo­
gans barged into the house
around 11.30 a.m., and us­

Short film on child victims of Lake encroachment: In electoral arena

Given that electioneering is
increasingly becoming
rolls, presently a big con­
cern in the U.S. Right now,
there is no evidence to sug­
ing sticks and stones dam­
aged several properties on
the premises.

road accidents to be released actor, three others to “professionalised”

consultancy firms and big
with
data playing a key role, the
gest it has happened. But
such an exercise has the
potential to enable it,
The petition also stated
that their security guard
and domestic help were in­

The Hindu Bureau rent roles, takes a poignant

KOCHI
‘Charity begins at home, so
does road safety’ — the Ker­
ala Motor Vehicles depart­
ment (MVD) communi­
cates through a short film
Vidarum Munpe that
would be released at
SCMS, Kalamassery, on
Sunday. This is in connec­
tion with the observance of
World Day of Remem­
brance for Road Traffic Vic­
tims.
The third Sunday of No­
vember is set apart for its
observance by the UN,
what with over 13 lakh peo­
ple dying each year due to
road accidents, of which
1.5 lakh are in India.
CM
YK
A poster of the short film
‘Vidarum Munpe’.
The 22­minute film that
portrays a real­life incident
in which MVD personnel
from the Perumbavoor
Sub­RTO Office play diffe­
insight into the trauma of a
young man after his care­
less driving results in his
daughter being run over by
the SUV he drives. The in­
cident occurred earlier this
year in the compound of a
man’s house, in the sub­
urbs of Ernakulam, before
the eyes of the child’s
mother and grandparents.
Vidarum Munpe (before
a flower blossoms) drives
home the message that pa­
rents must first inculcate
the habit of safe driving
themselves, since children
tend to emulate their pa­
rents or elders, said Deepu
N.K., Motor Vehicle Inspec­
tor, who readied the script
and dialogues of the film.
appear before court
The Hindu Bureau
KOCHI
The Muvattupuzha Vigi­
lance Court has issued
summons to all four ac­
cused, including actor
Jayasurya, who have been
chargesheeted by Vigi­
lance and Anti­Corruption
Bureau (VACB) in a case re­
lated to the alleged en­
croachment of Chilavan­
nur Lake at Kadavanthra in
Kerala.
They have been asked to
appear before the court on
December 29. K.P. Rama­
chandran Nair and P.G. Gi­
rija Devi, former Building
Inspector and Assistant Ex­
Jayasurya
ecutive Engineer at the zo­
nal office of the Kochi Cor­
poration are the first and
second accused. George,
architect of the house, is
the fourth accused. Jayasu­
rya is the third accused.
value of the information
said to have been collected
in the run­up to the As­
sembly polls is immense,
said a city MLA, who did
not wish to be named.
“Such data can allow us to
target our campaign better.
Spatial data, mapped at a
household level, removes
the hazy assumptions most
of us work with and gives
campaign an edge,” he
said.
Experts and election­
watchers say the data col­
lection in this manner not
only breaches privacy,
gives political players with
access to this data undue
advantage, but also has the
potential to enable voter
suppression.
“It is said that those who
which is why there needs
to be a thorough probe,”
said Harish Narasappa of
Karnataka Election Watch
and Association for Demo­
cratic Reforms.
Senior electoral rolls
analyst P.G. Bhat said while
a probe would act as deter­
rence, he was skeptical
about data recovery.
Agencies, now tasked
with the probe of the scan­
dal, said recovering the da­
ta was one of their priori­
ties. The police on Friday
broke open the offices of
the Trust in Malleswaram
and recovered electronic
devices from the premises.
A senior police official
said it was almost impossi­
ble to confiscate all copies
of the data.
jured in the attack.
According to reports,
the TRS activists were an­
gered over Mr. Arvind’s re­
marks against their leader,
former MP from Nizama­
bad and daughter of Chief
Minister K. Chandrasekhar
Rao, MLC Kalvakuntla Ka­
vitha.
The vandalism was in
reaction to Mr. Arvind dis­
closure to presspersons on
Thursday when he made
several claims and justified
that Ms. Kavitha was not
preferred in her own party.
Ms. Kavitha getting in
touch with Congress presi­
dent Mallikarjun Kharge
was a sure information
from a high source in the
Congress party, the MP
had said.
M ND-NDE

6 Saturday, November 19, 2022
Malady and remedy
Holding back names is not the right
response to flaws in collegium system
T
he collegium system of making appoint­
ments to the higher judiciary has come
under focus, largely due to critical re­
marks made by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.
A lawyer has now formally approached the Su­
preme Court for reconsideration of its 2015 judg­
ment striking down the Constitution amendment
and the law creating a National Judicial Appoint­
ments Commission (NJAC). While the petition
will be “listed in due course”, there is another as­
pect that flags the tension between the Govern­
ment and the judiciary over judicial appoint­
ments. A Bench of the Court voiced its
displeasure over the Government delaying its re­
commendations for appointment, as well as ig­
noring names that had been reiterated twice or
even thrice. The result was that lawyers whose
names had been recommended for appointment
had withdrawn their consent to be judges. The
Bench was forced to observe that keeping the re­
commendations on hold was “some sort of a dev­
ice to compel these persons to withdraw their
names”. The Government’s keenness to wrest
back the power to make judicial appointments
from the judiciary is clear. However, it is doubtful
whether this can be achieved by a review peti­
tion. The 4:1 verdict can only be reviewed by a
Bench of equal strength, and the Government
has not sought a review all these years. Mr. Rijiju
did say, as part of his series of comments critical
of the collegium system, that the Government
had accepted the decision, but added that it
could not be silent forever over the opaqueness
and lack of accountability in the system.
Much of the criticism heaped upon the collegi­
um system is not unfounded. It is opaque, it does
limit the zone of consideration to those known to
its members and judges who are consulted on ap­
pointments, and there is no indication that it is
conducive to attracting the best legal talent.
Some maladies it was supposed to remedy —
mainly, the perception about the executive’s in­
fluence over the judiciary — persist. Even the
judgment that struck down the 99th Constitution
Amendment and the NJAC Act accepted that
there were flaws, but the majority chose to retain
the collegium system until it was improved. The
exercise to improve it was also abandoned soon.
However, if the Government is really keen to
bring about a change, the petulant response of
stalling appointments is not the way. It has to
work towards an alternative mechanism, one
that does not have the perceived infirmities that
led to the invalidation of the earlier law. The NJAC
mechanism enabled the outnumbering of judi­
cial members by executive nominees. A better
system than the present one should avoid such
pitfalls in the name of executive primacy in judi­
cial appointments.
All eyes on Qatar
Despite controversy over the venue, the
world is ready for the football spectacle
E
ven in this era of round­the­clock sporting
activity, the football World Cup holds spe­
cial allure. Very few competitions kindle
such worldwide interest and stir passion quite
like the showpiece event of the most popular
sport. For footballing nerds, it is the biggest stage
to look out for the latest tactical trends while for
the romantics, it is an opportunity to reconnect
with their favourite yesteryear stars’ teams, such
as Diego Maradona’s Argentina, Pele’s Brazil and
Johan Cruyff’s Netherlands. It will be no different
when host Qatar and Ecuador set the ball rolling
in the opening match of the 2022 edition this Sun­
day. What has changed however is the timing,
with the World Cup moving away from the tradi­
tional summer slot to escape the West Asian
country’s searing heat. It will thus be held right in
the middle of various club seasons, cutting short
the time for practice and coaching lessons. But
unlike at a tournament that comes at the fag end
of the season, player fatigue is not expected to be
a defining factor. Another point has been Qatar’s
record in upholding universal human rights and
its worthiness as a host. But the debate will linger
until such time as sports organisations realign
their moral compass and break the nexus with
big capital and authoritarian governments.
But once the action begins, the World Cup is
expected to be a joyous celebration of the sport.
The triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronal­
do and Neymar will attract most attention. For
Messi, 35, and Ronaldo, 37, Qatar represents the
last chance to secure the coveted title, and a gol­
den swansong will be high in the minds of the Ar­
gentine and Portuguese fans. Neymar’s Brazil
boasts of an incredibly talented team and seems
best­placed to end a 20­year trophy drought
while defending champion France will look to
draw on its squad depth to overcome the loss of
key personnel in Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.
Former champion Spain, 2018 finalist Croatia
and plucky Uruguay all have capable rosters. His­
toric underperformer England — the run to the
Euro 2020 final notwithstanding — and the more
recent underachiever Germany will look to turn
over a new leaf. Senegal will anchor the African
nations’ charge, but without talisman Sadio Mane
it will be an uphill task. Asian countries South Ko­
rea and Japan will be out to prove, once again,
that they are no pushovers. The return of the
Netherlands to the World Cup fold is welcome
news, while the absence of Italy, the reigning Eu­
ropean champion, for a second successive edi­
tion is nothing short of an apocalypse.
CM
YK
Editorial
The Governor is under the Constitution, not above it
I
n recent years, there has been a grave
erosion of constitutional provisions,
constitutional morality, and constitutional
ethos being witnessed among various
constitutional bodies. If the manner of
functioning by institutions such as the Election
Commission of India and the Comptroller and
Auditor General of India has left much to be
desired, the conduct of the Governors of some
States (especially where there are non­Bharatiya
Janata Party governments) has made a complete
mockery of the Constitution and its limitations.
Article 153 provides a Governor for each State,
and by virtue of Article 154, the executive power
of the State shall be vested in the Governor
(“Shall be exercised by him directly or through
officers subordinate to him in accordance with
this Constitution”). However, Article 154(2)(a)
prohibits the Governor from exercising any
function “conferred by existing law on any other
Authority”. Article 163 categorically provides that
“there shall be a council of ministers with the
Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the
Governor... except in so far as he is by or under
this Constitution required to exercise his function
or any of them in his discretion”.
Acting in harmony
The Supreme Court, in Shamsher Singh vs State of
Punjab and Anr., decided on this issue in 1974:
The Governor exercises “all his powers and
functions” by making rules for the convenient
transactions of the business of the government of
the State in accordance with Article 166 of the
Constitution. These are called Rules of Business.
The Court however amplified that “wherever the
constitution requires satisfaction of the President
or the Governor for the exercise of any power or
function by the President or the Governor, as the
case may be, as for example in Articles 123, 213,
311(2) proviso (c), 317, 352(1), 356 and 360. The
satisfaction required by the Constitution .... is the
satisfaction of the President or of the Governor in
the Constitutional sense under the Cabinet
system of the Government”. The Court went on
to hold that “the discretion conferred on the
Governor means that as the Constitutional or the
formal head of the State, the power is vested in
him” and that it is only in the exercise of the
power under Article 356 that the Governor will be
justified in exercising his discretion even against
the aid and advice of his council of ministers as
per his discretionary power but, in all other
matters where the Governor acts in his
discretion, he will act in harmony with his
Council of Ministers. The Constitution does not
aim at providing a parallel administration....” The
Yes, the Indian Air Force needs a new doctrine
T
here is a deafening crescendo around the
pitch for aatmanirbharta in the field of
the defence inventory and not a day
passes without the media featuring stories on
some breakthrough or the other about
indigenisation. Things have improved vastly but
what is debatable is whether these events are
being guided by some long­term institutionalised
thinking and planning — another term for which
is doctrinal guidance.
A layman’s definition of doctrine is that it is
‘the best way of doing a thing’. It is developed
with many inputs, the important ones being ideas
influenced by past experience, present capability
and capacity of technological research and
development and manufacturing, human
resource availability and an organisational
environment that encourages free thinking and a
deliberation of fresh ideas. An aatmanirbharta
campaign that is not based on a foundation of
doctrinal thought is on a shaky wicket. And as we
debate (unfortunately) whether air power is a
support force (an abominable thought), some
recent writings have tended to downplay its vital
importance in any future conflict.
It is time that the doctrine of the Indian Air
Force (IAF) — it is of 2012 vintage — is reviewed
and made public to guide the future development
and application of India’s air power. Doctrine
drives technology and given the ongoing
advancements, the IAF doctrine would have to
spell out the following to meet the challenges of
the mid­century.
Technology has progressed exponentially.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are
being refined to mimic human cognitive abilities
and intuition. Their incorporation, despite
monies remaining elusive for another decade or
so, would be a challenge that needs doctrinal
analysis.
The domain of space
The roles and missions of the IAF would have to
be re­assessed since space will be a major, if not a
central, player in future conflicts. The
weaponisation of space must be accepted, the
Outer Space Treaty notwithstanding. Conflicts
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Release and review the point is that this is a
The Centre seeking a review case with a difference. What
of the Supreme Court order is the purpose of spending
to free the convicts in the crores of rupees on the
Rajiv Gandhi assassination criminal justice system, if
case is welcome. This merciless killers are freed
involves the murder of the for some weak reason?
Prime Minister with the What about addressing the
assassins belonging to a pain of the families of those
terror organisation. The who were killed?
convicts may have observed Manoharan Muthuswamy,
“good conduct” in jail, but Chennai
THE HINDU
basic philosophy is that in a democracy, the
elected Ministers must accept responsibility for
every executive act and that the Council of
Ministers alone represents a responsible form of
government in the States.
Dushyant Dave Debates in the past
The Constituent Assembly debates are a clear
is Senior Advocate,
Supreme Court of pointer. In 1949, Prof. K.T. Shah debating Article
India, and former 130 (now Article 154) said: “… the Constitution
President, Supreme should make it imperative upon the Governor to
Court Bar Association use its power in accordance with the Constitution
of India and the Law, that is to say, on the advice of his
Ministers as provided for in the subsequent
clauses and in other parts of the Constitution.” It
was hotly debated whether the Governor should
be appointed by the President of India or should
be elected. Fearing that this would create a
parallel State leadership, the Assembly instead
adopted appointment by the President. B.G. Kher
said: “... a Governor can do a great deal of good if
he is a good Governor and he can do a great deal
of mischief, if he is a bad Governor, in spite of the
very little power given to him under the
Constitution.....” P.K. Sen said, “... The question is
whether by interfering, the Governor would be
upholding the democratic idea or subverting it. It
would really be a surrender of democracy... We
have decided that the Governor should be a
constitutional head... he would be the person
really to lubricate the machinery and to see to it
that all the wheels are going well by reason not of
his interference, but his friendly intervention.”
Vishwanath Das said, “I have my bitter
experiences in this regard. I was the Prime
Minister of a province and I know how the
Governor of my province was out to break my
With Governors party... You cannot have democracy and
especially in
autocracy functioning together.” K.M. Munshi
Opposition­ said, “... All things considered, it would be better
ruled States to have a Governor nominated by the Centre,
drifting away who is free from the passions and jealousies of
from the local party politics.”
Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar said, “The Drafting Committee
felt as everybody in this House knows, that the
the focus must Governor is not to have any kind of functions — to
be on the
use a familiar phraseology, no functions which he
Constituent is required to discharge either in his discretion or
Assembly in his individual judgment. ... According to the
debates of the principles of the New Constitution, he is required
20th century, to follow the advice of his ministry in all matters…
which shed Therefore... the real issue before the House is not
nomination or election, but what powers you
light on the propose to give to your Governor. If the Governor
gubernatorial
is a purely constitutional Governor with no more
role, powers, powers than what we contemplate expressly to
and duties give him in the Act... I personally do not see any
down centuries have shown the advantage that
accrues to the force that occupies the ‘high
ground.’ Hence, an emphasis on unmanned
platforms and space assets, including a capability
for satellites on call would be necessary. That this
Air Vice Marshal
would be an inter­ministerial endeavour is indeed
true, but this has to be institutionalised through a
Manmohan published doctrine. The loss of air superiority
Bahadur VM has, and will, spell doom for a nation that
(retired) chooses to neglect it; the IAF’s doctrine must
expound on this aspect as an imperative despite
is former Additional
Director General, the high financial commitment required.
Centre for Air Power A call on how air power, with its niche strike,
Studies, New Delhi Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and
Reconnaissance (ISR) and precision attack
capabilities would be merged in the drive towards
jointness would be an imperative. While the
Department of Military Affairs and institution of
the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) are new, the IAF’s
future ‘flight plan’ would need a doctrinal
foundation; this should not be confused with the
ongoing clamour for theaterisation.
Given the two­front threat (China and
Pakistan) that India faces, would we be forced
into a coalition? While this would be a political
call, ‘joint operations with friendly nations’ could
certainly be addressed, including commitments
in partnerships such as the Quad.
It is a fact of history that when a nation’s
economy improves, it has to look for raw
materials beyond its borders to fuel its
Faced with a advancement, putting it in an adversarial mode
challenging against other powers which would be doing the
same. This means that a doctrinal alignment for
security
expeditionary movements must find a place in
environment, the document.
the advent of
new New technology, stress and human resource
technologies The world has already graduated to multi­domain
and the issue of operations where cyber, space, electromagnetic
scarce finance, spectrum, influence operations et al. have been
activated together or in stages to get a whole of
the IAF needs a
government approach towards meeting national
revised guiding objectives. The IAF will be just one, albeit an
document to important, cog in the multi­domain power
help it navigate synchronisation for which doctrinal guidance
ahead smoothly would be a must.
It is in the fitness of things reasons are unconvincing. possibility that its plea for a
that the Centre has sought Sensing the sensitivity of review will fail.
a review. It will also be the matter and the political V. Lakshmanan,
interesting to know what ramifications, the Tirupur, Tamil Nadu
prompted the then Government seems to have
Government of Tamil Nadu intentionally kept quiet, U.S. poll results, politics
to recommend the release hoping that the plea for The U.S. mid­term election
earlier. early release would be results were a kind of
K. Nehru Patnaik, negatived. It should have ‘November surprise’ for the
Visakhapatnam anticipated this outcome Democrats. While it may
once A.G. Perarivalan was have saved President Biden,
The Centre’s assigned released. There is every it is time the Republicans
Delhi
very fundamental objection to the principle of
nomination.”
While debating Article 143 (now Article 163) on
June 1, 1949, Prof. K.T. Shah said, “Whatever may
be the procedure or convention within the
Cabinet itself, however, the decisions of the
Cabinet may be taken, so far as the Governor is
concerned, I take it that the responsibility would
be of the Chief Minister who will advise also
about the appointment of his colleagues or their
removal if it should be necessary.” Defending the
discretionary power given to the Governor under
this Article, B.R. Ambedkar amply clarified the
position by saying, “The clause is a very limited
clause. It says: ‘except in so far as he is by or
under this Constitution’. Therefore, Article 143
will have to be read in conjunction with such
other articles which specifically reserve the
power to the Governor. It is not a general clause
giving the Governor power to disregard the
advice of his ministers in any matter in which he
finds he ought to disregard.”
Repealing the doubts of a Member on the
powers of the Governor (Article 147, now Article
167) B.R. Ambedkar said, “I cannot see what sort
of interference that would constitute in the
administration of the affairs of the Government...
All that the Article does is to place the Governor
in a position to enable him to perform what I say
... but the duties which every good Governor
ought to discharge.” T.T. Krishnamachari, the
member of the drafting Committee said, “... If my
honourable friend understands that the Governor
cannot act on his own, he can only act on the
advice of the Ministry, then the whole picture will
fall clearly in its proper place before him…”
The reality today
These debates give us sufficient indication of the
role, the powers, and the duties of the Governor.
Certainly, the Governor has no powers to
interfere with the administration in day­to­day
affairs including to refuse assent to Bills passed by
the Assembly. But what is happening today,
especially in Opposition­ruled States is a shocking
disregard by Governors for the Constitution.
Surprisingly, the Governors in BJP­ruled States
are singularly silent on any issues demanding the
discharge of their duties. While it is perhaps
understandable why the Central Bureau of
Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate and
other investigative agencies are functioning the
way they do, it is difficult to understand at all how
some Governors are functioning as they are now.
One can only hope and trust that the situation
will be remedied by the judiciary at the earliest. It
is only then that the rot can be stemmed.
For acceleration of fresh thought, personnel
have to feel secure — they have to have the
psychological high ground in order to be vocal
with their ideas. The IAF’s new doctrine must
accept this, even as it acknowledges that new
technology would result in an information
overload which actually accentuates stress in
human resource.
Keep out the political prism
America’s nuclear asymmetry, post the Second
World War was lost when the USSR was on a par.
To counter this, the U.S. brought in the
Revolution in Military Affairs, seen so vividly in
the 1990­91 Gulf War. This turnaround took
dedicated research teams under programmes
that had continuity from 1965, and political
backing under different Presidential
administrations. The IAF doctrine must
underscore that ‘national defence’ is a national
endeavour and should not be filtered through a
prism of the political dispensation at the helm.
This is vital.
An air force is not about fighter aircraft alone.
Combat enablers such as aerial refuellers,
Airborne Warning and Control System, transport
and helicopter fleets, radars, communication
systems, etc. are vital in operations. Their
obsolescence in the coming years would land
them in the same state as the fighter aircraft
inventory now (30 squadrons). With India trying
to cement its place as a regional power of
reckoning, these combat support assets are also
vital for humanitarian assistance and disaster
relief that are important cogs in military
diplomacy and foreign policy. Neglecting them
would be to India’s disadvantage, more so
because they are critical too in sustaining kinetic
power. The new IAF doctrine must cater to these
aspects for the guidance of policymakers.
Indian air power is at the crossroads.
Considering the challenging security
environment and the issue of scarce finance, the
IAF needs a revised doctrine to help it navigate
ahead.
The views expressed are personal
consider former President
Donald Trump a liability.
C.G. Kuriakose,
Kothamangalam, Kerala
Letters emailed to
letters@thehindu.
co.in must carry the full postal
address.
M ND-NDE

Saturday, November 19, 2022
Delhi
An air purification system installed at The Ardee School in New Delhi. SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Air bubbles in
Delhi’s dystopia
With air pollution a seasonal occurrence in north India every winter, particularly in the National Capital Region,
those who can afford to install ever more sophisticated air filtration systems are doing so in homes, office spaces,
schools, gyms and hotels. Nikhil M. Babu and Jacob Koshy report on the technologies which provide a
temporary respite for a few and the class stratification that is becoming all the more evident
n a chilly November morning, four­
O year­old Tejaswini Singh got down
from her father’s scooter and walked
towards the metal gate of the govern­
ment school in Aliganj where she studies. Singh,
who was wearing a grey skirt and pink shirt but
no mask, stopped to wave goodbye before she
disappeared behind the gate. “Now the air qual­
ity is better,” said her father, Bimal Kumar, while
explaining why his daughter was not wearing a
mask despite the air quality being ‘very poor’ in
Delhi. “But I was relieved when the school closed
earlier this week due to severe air pollution.”
When asked if there were solutions for clean air
at school, Kumar, 59, shook his head.
About 9 km away, a grey Audi pulled up out­
side Gate 1 of The Ardee School, a private educa­
tional institution. In the central courtyard of the
school, past the many security guards and the re­
ception with glass doors, is a 12­foot­high screen
displaying the indoor and outdoor Air Quality In­
dex (AQI): 13 and 139, respectively. “We use an ad­
vanced air purification system, which is installed
on the terrace of the building. It pumps in puri­
fied air through a metal duct (from the dome of
the building) to each floor of the school,” a spo­
kesperson of the school said. The system was in­
stalled in 2021.
Vardan Chitkara, a Class 12 student of the
school, said his 10­year­old brother, who is asth­
matic, studies in the same school. He said the fa­
mily has one air purifier at home, but it was noth­
ing compared to the system in school. “On highly
polluted days, my brother finds it easier to
breathe in school than at home,” Chitkara said.
Like The Ardee School, many private schools
in Delhi use different forms of air purification sys­
tems to shield students from the toxic air outside.
In these schools, the annual tuition fee for a Class
10 student is somewhere between ₹7 lakh and ₹13
lakh or more. On hearing that private schools
have centralised air purification systems or indi­
vidual air purifiers while government schools,
such as the one Singh attends, have no such sys­
tems, Kumar said it is naturally a problem. “But
what can we do? This is how it will always be.”
Paying a premium for clean air
Many such centralised clean air solutions have
come up across the National Capital Region
(NCR), where, every year, like clockwork, pollu­
tion spikes with the onset of winter. Over the
years, increasing public concern over the air pol­
lution crisis has pushed the Centre and the States
surrounding Delhi to initiate a spate of legislative
and policy measures. One of them is a Supreme
Court­mandated Graded Response Action Plan,
which classifies air quality, via an index, into four
categories of toxicity: moderate to poor (201­
300); very poor (301­400); severe (401­450), sev­
ere+ or emergency (450+). When the level of pol­
lution worsens, government actions tend to be­
come more stringent. These range from
restrictions on movements of transport trucks to
stopping construction activity, closing schools
and placing curbs on passenger vehicles.
However, given that the sources of pollution
are varied, the causes of bad air are not easily
controlled. With the remedial measures failing to
CM
YK
THE HINDU
GROUND ZERO
deliver a measurable improvement in air quality,
The air
quality we
offer is our
some people in the city are attempting to insu­
late themselves from the pollution. While most
people continue to breathe the foul air, those
who have the resources have started to withdraw
into ‘air bubbles’. Sanitised bubbles, promising
biggest high quality air quality, are created by air­filtra­
tion systems installed in schools, clubs, gyms, of­
selling point. fice spaces, farmhouses, and flats. These systems
That is why cost anywhere between ₹1 and ₹1.6 lakh a room,
we have are thus accessible only to the “super­rich”.
named the Companies which install these systems are see­
hotel AIR. ing a steady growth in business.
JAIDEEP
Earlier this year, Ahuja Residency, a promi­
AHUJA nent builder in the NCR, launched a four­star
MD and CEO, boutique hotel in Gurugram that ticks every box
Ahuja Residency
of what constitutes a ‘green building’. The hotel
has a charging station for vehicles, a 33kVA solar
photovoltaic and solar water heating system,
energy­efficient lighting, a food waste compost­
ing machine installed for zero solid waste dis­
charge, and rainwater harvesting. Large, flat­
screen panels, displaying the levels of a range of
pollutants, have been mounted on the sleek
walls of the lobby. According to the display, the
particulate matter and chemical concentrations
are lower than the outside air at the nearby Ara­
vali Biodiversity Park.
“We wanted to provide the best quality of air
that we possibly could in this area,” Jaideep Ahu­
ja, MD and CEO, is heard saying in a promotional
video. In the NCR, people are willing to pay a pre­
mium for clean air, said Ahuja. “In fact, the air
quality we offer is our biggest selling point. That
is why we have named the hotel AIR.”
‘Not exactly a mass solution’
Air filtration systems weave the ultimate bubble
by sealing people off from the outside air and de­
livering a constant supply of oxygenated air. As
opening windows — the traditional, free facilita­
tors of fresh air — isn’t always an option, compa­
nies such as BreatheEasy draw outside air via
ducts by drilling a hole in the wall. This air is
scrubbed clean of particulate matter, chemical
reactants in the air, ozone, and several other
chemicals via a filtration system. However, what
still remains is carbon dioxide, from the people
in the room. “Air that is brought in and cleaned
by the system exerts a positive pressure and forc­
es out stale air from under the doorways or other
openings,” said Barun Aggarwal, MD and CEO,
BreatheEasy. “Most air purifiers only focus on
particulate matter, but concentrations of carbon
A practice session at BoulderBox, New Delhi. SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
dioxide over 1,000 ppm (parts per million) are al­
so harmful for health. In 10 years, I’ve only sold a
few thousand systems. So, this is not exactly a
mass solution,” he said.
There are other problems too. Aggarwal re­
counted an experience with an installation at the
residence of an industrialist. The AQI reading,
which generally showed single digits, suddenly
started to display unusually high readings one
day. Aggarwal’s technicians scanned every nook
and corner and sat in the house for hours with
sensors in every room. A few days later, they
found the source: an insecticide which was being
sprayed around the house to kill mosquitoes.
No home­filtration system can trap the chemi­
cals in insecticides rapidly enough. There are fil­
ters to trap a wide variety of chemicals, but these
increase costs and need to be replaced frequently
and maintained, said Aggarwal. “We addressed
the problem by changing the chemical spray. But
even if you stay in the greenest localities, outside
air is still bad.”
On November 3, when the air quality of Delhi
was ‘severe’, an Instagram post by BoulderBox,
an indoor rock­climbing gym in south Delhi,
asked cheekily: “Is Delhi taking your breath
away?” This post was juxtaposed with a picture
of a reading from an AQI monitor inside the gym,
displaying an ‘89’, even as the rest of Delhi tried
to battle a ‘378’. This gym, too, boasts of a central­
ised filtration system. “We organise several birth­
day parties for children here. Clean air inside the
gym is one of our selling points, particularly dur­
ing winters,” an employee said.
For Sudhir Pawar, 39, who has been climbing
There is research that shows that air
pollution is more in places in Delhi where the
population density is higher and where
mostly people from lower economic strata
live.
DIVYA VAID
Assistant Professor, JNU
for more than five years, having an indoor gym
with clean air helps. “Earlier I used to climb at
IMF (Indian Mountaineering Foundation), an out­
door facility. But here, the facilities are better.
Since there is air conditioning and clean air, I can
climb for six hours while I used to be completely
exhausted in just three hours at the IMF,” he said.
By his estimate, 20­30 fellow climbers at the IMF
have moved to BoulderBox.
Yaduraj Bhageria, co­founder of BoulderBox,
said the centre has tie­ups with two embassy
schools. Many students whose parents work in
embassies use this gym. “In India, polluted air
has been normalised to a great extent. But for pe­
ople who work in embassies, it is a big issue. So,
clean air is a selling point with them,” he said.
Business has been rising 40% to 50% annually
for Jai Dhar Gupta, founder of Nirvana Being,
which installed the system at The Ardee School.
Gupta’s company uses electronic air cleaners,
each of which has a life of about 10 years, longer
than the HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air)
filters used in home air purifiers. As they cannot
be cleaned and must be replaced every few years,
home air purifiers have shorter shelf lives. Many
of Gupta’s clients have children or older relatives
with respiratory illnesses. “The business has
grown as awareness about health and well­being
has increased,” he said.
But experts say that creating air bubbles will
not solve the problem. “You cannot stay in such
bubbles,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, Execu­
tive Director of Research and Advocacy at the
Centre for Science and Environment. “Also, only
the rich can afford it. The solution has to be
equitable, inclusive, and for everyone.”
The most common shield
While air filtration systems may be the apex insu­
lators, their prohibitive costs make them afforda­
ble only to a fraction of the people. The more
7
common shield that Delhiites, and generally resi­
dents in cities across north India, use are air pur­
ifiers. These are compact, stand­alone boxes
which contain stacks of filters that trap particu­
late matter and, depending on their cost, more
chemical toxins, in the room where they are
placed. Air purifiers can suck in particulate mat­
ter within a room, but they don’t insulate people
against the air that comes in from outside. This is
why the air in the room isn’t “fresh” and leads to
rising levels of carbon dioxide, said Aggarwal.
Starting at ₹10,000, air purifiers can cost up to
₹80,000 depending on the brand and the pollu­
tants they can capture. Though cheaper than fil­
tration systems, air purifiers are not also afforda­
ble to the vast majority.
On grey, windless days when the air quality is
‘very poor’ or ‘severe’, air purifiers offer comfort­
ing double­digit readings and a temporary re­
prieve from the outside. These purifiers are sup­
plied by a growing list of consumer electronic
goods companies. As per a 2021 estimate by Blue­
Weave Consulting, the India air purifier market
was worth $74.8 million in 2020 and is projected
to reach $565.7 million by 2027. BlueWeave Con­
sulting attributes this to the “increasing preva­
lence of respiratory issues, surging disposable in­
come, and growing urban population.”
However, experts say this solution is quixotic
and the problem can be fixed only through con­
sistent public action addressing the sources of
pollution. “Some, who have vulnerable people at
home, have spent lakhs cleaning up a large in­
door space. Few people are doing it scientifically
and following through on the significant engi­
neering demands this entails. The average per­
son is just plonking a purifier and saying, ‘This is
done,’” said Karthik Ganesan of the Council on
Energy, Environment and Water.
Whether purifiers are successful in fully de­
contaminating spaces is debatable. And even if
they are, they offer limited reprieve. “Even if you
install these sophisticated systems, you can stay
indoors for 8­10 hours a day. But what if you have
children who need to play? Whichever way you
slice and dice the data on the steps taken to cut
pollution at source, the last few years suggest that
air quality improvement is, at best, stagnant,” Ga­
nesan said.
Air purifiers have now made their way even in­
to cars. Automobile makers such as Hyundai, MG
and Kia provide factory­fitted air purification sys­
tems in their vehicles, thus integrating com­
mutes, a major source of exposure to polluted air,
into the air bubble experience. And to ensure
that children are not deprived of the benefits of
playing outside, some private schools also have
play areas for children with a dedicated purifica­
tion system.
While relatively inexpensive water filters can
insulate large sections of the population from im­
pure water, bad air affects people across class.
“Look at the hospital emergency rooms in winter
and the profile of the people complaining about
asthma and respiratory diseases,” said Aarti
Khosla, Director, Climate Trends. Khosla de­
scribed a research experiment undertaken some
years ago in Delhi where two schoolchildren —
one rich and the other middle class — carried an
air quality monitor to gauge their levels of aver­
age exposure through the day. “Overall, there
wasn’t a significant difference.”
However, Divya Vaid, Assistant Professor at
the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawa­
harlal Nehru University, New Delhi, warned that
this fight for clean air, which has become a re­
source, will accentuate the class divide. “There is
research that shows that air pollution is more in
places in Delhi where the population density is
higher and where mostly people from lower eco­
nomic strata live. The same goes for water. A
slum won’t have clean water. These air bubbles
will deepen this class divide.”
Vaid’s home has air purifiers, her child’s
school has air purifiers, but her office does not.
“So, you could say I don’t have a ‘full bubble’. But
some people do have a ‘full bubble’. It is dysto­
pian, isn’t it?”
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
8 Saturday, November 19, 2022

News Delhi

From Page One ‘Al Qaeda, IS emerged as major Draft data

protection Bill
uses ‘she’, ‘her’
Some countries support
terror as a policy: Modi challenges post regime change’ to refer to all
“It is significant that this conference is happening Without naming Afghanistan or its rulers, Amit Shah flags new equations in South Asia and the growing influence
individuals
in India. Our country faced the horrors of terror of terrorist organisations in the region; he also warns that financing of terror weakens the economy of countries
long before the world took serious note of it. Over Yuthika Bhargava
the decades, terrorism in different names and NEW DELHI
forms tried to hurt India. We lost thousands of Vijaita Singh the participating countries economic losses caused by
precious lives, but we have fought terrorism NEW DELHI and the organisations terrorism. In a first, the draft Digital
bravely,” Mr. Modi said. should not take a selective Personal Data Protection
He stated that India considers that “even a sin­ he growing in­ or complacent perspective Dynamite to Metaverse Bill, 2022, released on Fri­
gle attack is one too many and even a single life
lost is one too many”, adding that “we will not rest
till terrorism is uprooted.”
T fluence of Al Qaeda
and the Islamic
State has emerged as major
of the challenges of this re­
gion,” he added.
Mr. Shah said that the fi­
Terrorist groups under­
stand the nuances of mod­
ern weapons and informa­
day, has used the pro­
nouns ‘she’ and ‘her’ to ref­
er to all individuals, as
“Sometimes, there are indirect arguments security challenge after the nancing of terrorism is tion technology, and the against the use of ‘he’,
made in support of terrorism to block action regime change in South more dangerous than ter­ dynamics of the cyber and ‘him’ and ‘his’.
against terrorists. There is no place for an ambig­ Asia in 2021, Home Minis­ rorism itself, because the financial space very well, In line with the “philo­
uous approach while dealing with a global threat. ter Amit Shah said at an in­ “means and methods” of and use them, said the sophy of women’s empo­
It is an attack on humanity, freedom and civilisa­ ternational conference on terrorism are nurtured Home Minister. He said werment that Prime Minis­
tion. It knows no boundaries. Only a uniform, un­ terror financing on Friday, from such funding. Fur­ that this transformation of ter Narendra Modi’s
ified and zero­tolerance approach can defeat ter­ without specifically men­ thermore, the financing of terrorism from “dynamite government works, [we
rorism,” he said. tioning the Taliban takeov­ terrorism weakens the eco­ to Metaverse” and “AK­47 have attempted] to use the
“A terrorist is an individual. But the act of terro­ er of Afghanistan. nomy of countries. to virtual assets” is defi­ words she and her in the
rism is about a network of individuals and terro­ Highlighting another as­ Productive talks: Amit Shah with Home Minister of Bangladesh “India condemns terro­ nitely a matter of concern entire Bill, instead of he,
rist organisations. Uprooting terrorism needs a pect of security challenges Asaduzzaman Khan during a meeting in New Delhi on Friday. PTI rism in all its forms and for the countries, and a him and his. So this is an
larger proactive response. If we want our citizens in the region, Mr. Shah met manifestations and we be­ common strategy is re­ innovative thing which has
to be safe, then we cannot wait until terror comes his Bangladeshi counter­ tries and multilateral the horrific attack of 9/11. lieve that no reason can quired to fight it. been attempted in the Bill,”
to our homes. We must pursue terrorists, break part on the sidelines of the bodies. In this background, last justify an act, such as tak­ Mr. Shah said that alth­ Minister of Electronics and
their support networks and hit their finances,” he conference and raised the year’s changes in South ing innocent lives,” the ough significant progress IT Ashiwini Vaishnaw said.
said. One of the sources of terror funding is that issue of attacks on temples ‘No link to religion’ Asian region are a matter Home Minister said. has been made to confront More than three months
organised crime and the gangs often have deep and Hindu minority com­ Addressing the confe­ of concern for all of us. Reiterating Prime Minis­ terrorism by fortifying the after the personal data pro­
links with terrorist outfits, said the Prime Minister, munity in that country, ac­ rence, Mr. Shah empha­ Along with Al Qaeda, or­ ter Narendra Modi’s state­ security architecture, legal tection Bill was withdrawn
adding that the money made in gun­running, cording to a government sised that the threat of ter­ ganisations in South Asia ment earlier in the day, Mr. and financial systems, “ter­ from Parliament, the go­
drugs and smuggling is pumped into terrorism. official. rorism cannot and should like Lashkar­e­Taiba and Shah said that India has rorists are finding new vernment released the re­
In its official statement not be linked to any reli­ Jaish­e­Mohammed conti­ been, for several decades, ways to carry out violence, vised draft Bill for stakehol­
on Mr. Shah’s meeting with gion, nationality, or group. nue to spread terror,” he a victim of terrorism spon­ radicalise youth and raise der consultation on Friday.
Punjab govt. nod for Bangladeshi Home Minis­
ter Asaduzzaman Khan,
The Home Minister said
that after August 2021, the
said.
Mr. Shah said that terro­
sored from across the bor­
der.
financial resources.”
The emerging trends of ‘Language kept simple’
old pension scheme the Ministry of Home Af­
fairs (MHA) said that “both
situation in the South
Asian region has changed.
rists’ safe havens or their
resources should never be
The Minister said that
India has strengthened the
the illegal trade of narcot­
ics and the challenge of
The government also said
that to enable all citizens to
sides had productive ex­ Without naming Afghanis­ ignored and double­speak fight against terrorism and narco­terror have given a understand the provisions,
The statement said the scheme is aimed at safe­ changes on border man­ tan or its new rulers, Mr. of such elements who its financing by amending new dimension to terror fi­ the Bill had been drafted in
guarding the future of government employees agement and common se­ Shah identified the regime sponsor and support them the Unlawful Activities nancing, he said. a plain and simple
and recognising their immense contribution to curity­related issues.” Mr. change and the growing in­ should be exposed. “Un­ (Prevention) Act (UAPA), In view of this, there is a language.
the State. “In order to ensure that the scheme be­ Shah also met Ministers fluence of terrorist organi­ fortunately, there are strengthening the National need for close cooperation This is the second such
ing introduced is financially sustainable for the ex­ from Ethiopia and Mal­ sations as major challenges countries that seek to un­ Investigation Agency among all nations, he said, attempt after the draft In­
chequer in future also, the State government will dives on the sidelines of in the region, adding that dermine, or even hinder (NIA), and giving a new di­ pointing out that virtual as­ dian Telecommunication
be contributing proactively towards the creation the conference. these new equations have our collective resolve to rection to financial intelli­ sets are being used by ter­ Act 2022, released in Sep­
of a pension corpus which will service the pension At the third “No Money made the problem of ter­ fight terrorism. We have gence. rorists for financial tran­ tember this year, to draft a
in future to the beneficiaries of the scheme,” it for Terror” conference, Mr. ror financing more serious. seen that some countries He stated that it is the re­ sactions. To crack down on Bill in a manner so that
added. Shah chaired the session “Three decades ago, the protect terrorists. Protect­ sult of such continuous ef­ the use of virtual asset “any citizen is able to un­
Under the OPS, the entire pension amount was on “Global Trends in Ter­ whole world has had to ing a terrorist is equivalent forts that terrorist inci­ channels, funding infras­ derstand its provisions”.
given by the government, whereas the NPS is a rorist Financing and Terro­ bear the serious conse­ to promoting terrorism,” dents in India have come tructure and the dark net, The explanatory note
participatory scheme where employees contri­ rism”, attended by Minis­ quences of one such re­ said Mr. Shah. down drastically, which in a “robust and efficient op­ states that “Comprehensi­
bute to the pension corpus from their salaries, ters from 20 countries and gime change, the result of “Therefore, it is impor­ turn, has also resulted in a erational system” is re­ bility of law for citizens is a
with matching contributions from the govern­ representatives of 72 coun­ which we all have seen in tant that this conference, drastic reduction in the quired, he added. desirable goal”.
ment, and is market­linked.
“This contribution towards the pension corpus
will be ₹1,000 crore per annum initially and will
gradually increase in the future. In addition to
this, the current accumulated corpus with NPS is
₹16,746 crore for which the State government will
CMA National Online SC rejects petition to INBRIEF
쑽
request the Pension Fund Regulatory and Deve­
lopment Authority, Government of India to re­
fund this amount for effective utilisation at its
Business Quiz all set create independent
end,” said the statement.
to be held tomorrow environment service
SC refuses plea against The Hindu Bureau The Hindu Bureau petition should be viewed
Navlakha’s house arrest CHENNAI NEW DELHI in light of the larger issue
of curbing environmental
The finals of the CMA Na­ The Supreme Court on Fri­ degradation. He submitted
Instead, they said, the building was an “office” of tional Online Business day refused to intervene that even the National
the Communist Party. They said that a recce by the
NIA revealed a “kitchen door” leading outside and
Quiz conducted by The In­
stitute of Cost Accountants
and direct the government
to create an independent
Green Tribunal (NGT) had
suggested the formation of
‘Overwhelmed by people’s
a collapsible grill door. They even revealed that ka­ of India in association with Indian Environment Ser­ a specialised all­India happiness in changed J&K’
rate classes were held on the terrace where “fit pe­ The Hindu will be held on vice within the All India service.
ople” attend and could pose a security threat to November 20, Sunday at Service cadre. Perusing government Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said he
the police guard. They also said a CCTV camera 10.30 a.m. A Bench led by Justice records, the court pointed was overwhelmed by people’s happiness in a
was not put up in one of the entrances to the The online quiz wit­ To watch the grand finale Sanjay Kishan Kaul de­ out that the Centre has al­ changed Jammu and Kashmir during his ongoing
house arrest premises. nessed participation from live, visit bit.ly/ICAITHG or clined a petition by advo­ ready responded that it visit, as he announced the setting up of special
The court said the kitchen door should be over 2,600 students in the scan the QR code. This is an cate Samar Vijay Singh for would not be taking any fast track courts for trial of heinous crimes
locked and sealed. The NIA could also lock the grill preliminary round; of this, initiative of the Directorate a specialised environment steps forward in this re­ against women and children in the Union
exit and keep the key with it. The Solicitor General 183 were chosen for the se­ of Studies and service along the lines of gard. At one point, the Territory (UT). The Minister attended a legal
said though all were to be treated equal under Arti­ cond qualifying round. the Board of one recommended in the court said that “political services camp organised for the Schedule Tribes
cle 14, “some were more equal”. He said there In the finals, eight per­ Advanced Stu­ T.S.R. Subramanian Com­ activity” should be done (STs) and other weaker sections of society at
were other inmates in Taloja of Mr. Navlakha’s age sons from across the coun­ dies and Re­ mittee report in 2014. outside the courtroom and Hardu Kichroo Village in Anantnag district. The
and ailments, and they were treated by the jail. try will participate. search. The petitioner said the not inside. Minister said under the guidance of PM Modi, the
UT was on a rapid path of development.

Don’t act against those With no consensus yet, SC judge recuses himself from
hearing plea on ED director
who convert without prior COP­27 extended by a day Supreme Court judge, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul,

info to DM, says M.P. HC

The Hindu Bureau
RAIPUR
The Madhya Pradesh High
Court has restrained the
State government from tak­
ing coercive action against
individuals who change
their religion without prior
information to the District
Magistrate.
“The constitutional
right to the freedom of reli­
gion under Article 25 has
implicit within it the ability
to choose a faith and the
freedom to express or not
express those choices to
the world,” the High Court
said as it ordered the State
government to not invoke
Section 10 of the Madhya
Pradesh Freedom of Reli­
gion Act, 2021 until further
orders.
CM
YK
It further directed the
State to not prosecute the
adult citizens “if they so­
lemnise the marriage of
their own volition”.
Section 10 of the Act
makes it obligatory for so­
meone desiring conversion
to give a declaration in this
regard to the District
Magistrate.
The contravention of
Section 10 and its various
sub­Sections can attract
imprisonment up to five
years, says the order is­
sued on November 14.
This, a Division Bench
of Justices Sujoy Paul and
Prakash Chandra Gupta
said was ‘ex facie
unconstitutional’.
The Madhya Pradesh
Freedom of Religion Act,
2021 came into force on Ja­
nuary 9, 2021 and has
drawn criticism for its al­
leged misuse, particularly
in cases of inter­faith
marriages.
In the present case, the
court was hearing a bunch
of pleas challenging the
constitutionality of the law.
In one such petition, a
specific prayer was made
to strike down several oth­
er provisions apart from
Section 10.
‘Violation of right’
Senior advocate Manoj
Sharma, who represented
a petitioner along with ad­
vocate Quazi Fakhruddin,
argued that the require­
ment of prior information
before conversion violated
the fundamental right of a
citizen.
Jacob Koshy
NEW DELHI
With countries unable to
arrive at a consensus, the
27th edition of the United
Nations Conference of Par­
ties (COP) in Sharm el­
Sheikh, which was sche­
duled to end on Friday, has
been extended by a day.
“The COP was supposed
to wrap up its work today
but has been extended by a
day to attempt to take the
ongoing negotiations to a
logical end. Consensus is
key on several issues and
the extension is an attempt
towards achieving it,” Un­
ion Environment Minister
Bhupender Yadav said in a
blog late on Friday. It isn’t
unusual for COP meetings
to be extended by a day or
more. As of Friday evening
India time, three and a half
hours ahead of Sharm el­
The 10­page
document reaffirmed
a commitment to
ensure that the rise
in temperature does
not go beyond
2 degree Celsius
Sheikh, Egypt, members
were still deliberating on a
draft agreement that was
uploaded to the official
COP­27 website on Friday
afternoon (IST).
The 10­page document
reaffirmed a commitment
to the Paris Agreement of
2015, to ensure that the
rise in temperatures does
not exceed 2 degree Celsi­
us, and as far as possible,
stayed within a 1.5 degree
Celsius increase. Achieving
this, the document said,
required “immediate,
deep and sustained reduc­
tions in global greenhouse
gas emissions” as well as
“accelerated financial sup­
port for developing coun­
tries from developed
countries.”
The draft text calls on
countries to accelerate
clean energy transitions,
phase down “unabated”
coal use, and phase out
“inefficient fuel subsidies.”
In 2021, India fought to en­
sure that the text adopted
at the last COP in Glasgow
altered ‘phase out’ to
‘phase down’ with regard
to the use of coal.
The draft also calls for a
“roadmap” to double
adaptation finance by 2025
to $40 billion. This refers
to money made available
to developing countries
and those most vulnerable
to climate vagaries to build
defences against future cli­
mate threats.
on Friday recused himself from hearing a series
of petitions challenging the “piecemeal” one­year
extension in service the government is granting
Directorate of Enforcement (ED) Director Sanjay
Kumar Mishra. The case was referred back to the
Chief Justice of India for listing it before another
Bench of the court. The case had come up before
a Bench of Justices Kaul and A.S. Oka, a day after
the Centre had given the 1984­batch Indian
Revenue Service officer his third extension. He is
expected to continue till November 18, 2023.
SC rejects plea for preparing
‘population explosion’ report
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to
entertain a plea to direct the Law Commission of
India to prepare a report on population
“explosion” and the feasibility of having a
population control law. A Bench led by Justice
Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the subject lay solely
within the domain of the government and noted
“there is a declining population”. The court said
there were several issues to consider and the
court could not get into it. In its reply, the
government said it could not coerce couples into
having a “certain number of children”.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Saturday, November 19, 2022 9
Delhi
News

INBRIEF
쑽
Dynasty rules on both sides of Sale of first set
of poll bonds
illegal, says
Gujarat politics in ticket choice RTI activist
The Hindu Bureau
Despite the PM’s strictures against nepotism, his party in his native State has imported dynasts from the Opposition NEW DELHI
Congress to field them in the upcoming Assembly election; about 50 candidates across parties have family connections
The recent amendment to
the Electoral Bond
Mahesh Langa from his Talala seat. Mr. are also making way for Scheme, 2018, was con­
EC relieves U.P. IAS officer AHMEDABAD Barad comes from a politi­
cal family and his late
each other. In the Gondal
seat, sitting legislator Gita­
ceived nearly 20 months
ago in March 2021 and the
from poll observer duty epotism and dynas­ brother was a Congress ba Jadeja is the wife of sale of the first tranche of

Taking “a very serious view” of what it termed a

“publicity stunt”, the Election Commission of
N ty are thriving in
Gujarat, with both
the ruling BJP and the Op­
India (EC) on Friday directed the Gujarat Chief position Congress party
Electoral Officer (CEO) to immediately relieve an liberally fielding candi­
Uttar Pradesh­cadre IAS officer from the post of dates related to political
General Observer for the upcoming Assembly functionaries and leaders
elections. Abhishek Singh, a 2011­batch officer, in the upcoming State As­
was relieved for posting multiple pictures where sembly polls.
he can be seen posing in front of an official In over 50 out of the 182
vehicle bearing a plaque declaring his status as constituencies, candidates
General Observer on his Instagram account. Mr. who have political leaders
Singh was directed to “immediately” leave the in their immediate family
poll­bound State and report to his parent cadre. are on the ballot.
This comes just months
after PM Narendra Modi
slammed the prevalence of
AIMIM fields 14 candidates for dynasties and nepotism in
politics in his Indepen­
Gujarat Assembly polls dence Day speech from the
ramparts of Red Fort.
The All India Majlis­e­Ittehadul Muslimeen Warning that it shackled
(AIMIM) on Friday announced the names of 14 not only politics but also
candidates for the Gujarat Assembly election, other institutions and
which is scheduled next month. AIMIM Gujarat spheres, he exhorted peo­
unit president Sabir Kabliwala tweeted the ple to defeat the menace of
names of the candidates. Mr. Kabliwala, a former nepotism that also breeds
MLA, expressed confidence that the party’s corruption.
candidates would win with a “good margin”. In Gujarat, there are sev­
Meanwhile, a team of AIMIM corporators, eral cases where the ruling
including Mohammed Naseeruddin and Fahad BJP has even imported dy­
bin Abdul Samad Abdaat, from Hyderabad nasts from the Opposition
reached Gujarat and interacted with party party to take on the Con­
workers and candidates there. gress in certain strong
Poll fervour: Gujarat is seeing hectic campaigning by all parties as
the date for the first phase of election draws closer. VIJAY SONEJI
pockets held by the
Congress.
For example, the ruling
BJP has fielded Yogendra­
sinh Parmar, son of former
Congress MLA Ramsinh
Parmar from Thasra in
central Gujarat. A veteran
leader in the cooperative
sector, the senior Mr. Par­
mar was a multiple term
Congress MLA who had de­
fected to the BJP in 2017
and lost.
In the Chhota Udepur
seat reserved for Sche­
duled Tribe communities,
the BJP has fielded Rajen­
drasinh Rathwa, whose
father Mohansinh Rathwa,
Gujarat’s senior­most legis­
lator, recently defected to
the ruling party after being
miffed with Congress for
not agreeing to field his
son. Interestingly, the Con­
gress candidate from the
seat is Sangramsinh Rath­
wa, whose father is sitting
Rajya Sabha member and
former Union Minister Na­
ran Rathwa.
In Saurashtra, the BJP
has recently inducted sit­
ting Congress MLA Bhaga
Barad and fielded him
veteran, who was a Minis­
ter and MP from Junagadh.
Talala’s neighbouring seat
is Veraval, from where the
party has fielded Mansinh
Parmar, nephew of Govind
Parmar, former MLA and a
senior player in the coop­
erative sector in the State.
Another seat in the same
region is Manavadar where
the BJP candidate is Jawa­
har Chavda, another Con­
gress veteran who had
jumped to the ruling party
in 2019. His father Pethalji
Chavda was a known polit­
ical figure apart from being
a mining baron in the
region.
The Deesa seat in Banas­
kantha is also witnessing a
contest between two dy­
nasts. Congress candidate
Sanjay Desai or Rabari is
the son of former three­
time MLA Govabhai Desai.
The BJP candidate is Pravin
Mali, whose father was also
a legislator and Minister in
the Gujarat government.
Another interesting fea­
ture about the flourishing
nepotism is that spouses
former legislator Jayrajsinh
Jadeja. He was implicated
in a murder case so the
party fielded his wife in
2017 and has repeated her
this time. In the Bhavnagar
East seat, the BJP fielded
Sejalben Pandya, whose
husband Rajiv Pandya is
the Bhavnagar city BJP pre­
sident. Leaders of both
parties contend that the
candidate selection is
based on several factors
with winnability being the
main factor. “It is easy to
criticise any XYZ candidate
as a dynast but we all have
to remember that they are
also elected by the peo­
ple,” a BJP leader said. A
former Congress legislator
said that a number of fac­
tors played a role in selec­
tion of the candidates.
Earlier, the Congress
party in Gujarat was ac­
cused of promoting dynas­
ty as its top leaders such as
Bharatsinh Solanki, Sidd­
harth Patel, Shaktisinh Go­
hil or Tushar Chaudhary
all hailed from political fa­
milies.
electoral bonds was “ille­
gal”, according to the Right
to Information (RTI) re­
plies on the matter re­
ceived by transparency ac­
tivist Commodore (retired)
Lokesh Batra.
On the basis of RTI re­
plies received by him from
the Ministry of Finance,
among others, Commo­
dore Batra contended that
the sale of the first tranche
of electoral bonds from
March 1 to 10, 2018, was in
violation of the scheme as
notified on January 2 that
year. Introducing the
scheme as a means ‘to
cleanse the system of polit­
ical funding in the coun­
try’, the Finance Ministry
had stated that electoral
bonds would be available
for a period of 10 days each
in January, April, July and
October, as per specifica­
tion by the Central govern­
ment. An additional period
of 30 days, however, could
be specified by the Centre
in years of general elec­
tions to the House of Peo­
ple or the Lok Sabha.

Aadhaar norms for prisoners simplified; Gujarat election: 788 in fray for first phase
Home Ministry calls for camps at all Press Trust of India
AHMEDABAD
scrutiny of nomination
papers and withdrawal of
While the BJP and the
Congress have fielded their
on November 15, and
dipped further to 788 on

prisons for enrolment or update

S. Vijay Kumar
CHENNAI
To cover prison inmates
across the country, the Un­
ique Identification Author­
ity of India (UIDAI) has
agreed to accept the Pri­
soner Induction Document
as a valid document for
Aadhaar enrolment or up­
date.
Though the campaign to
extend Aadhaar to prison­
ers was launched in 2017,
the process did not pro­
ceed on expected lines,
since the enrolment re­
quired valid documents
prescribed by the UIDAI.
To simplify the process
and make Aadhaar availa­
ble to all prisoners, the UI­
DAI decided to accept the
Prisoner Induction Docu­
ment, generated from the
‘ePrison’ module and certi­
fied by the authorised pri­
son officer, police sources
said on Friday.
As of December 31,
2021, the National Crime
Records Bureau has report­
ed that there were 1,319
UIDAI has agreed to accept the Prisoner Induction Document as a
valid document for Aadhaar enrolment or update.
prisons in the country, in­
cluding 148 central jails,
424 district jails, 564 sub­
jails, 32 women jails and 10
borstal schools, with a to­
tal of about 5.5 lakh
inmates.
Section 57 of The Aad­
haar (Targeted Delivery of
Financial and Other Subsi­
dies, Benefits and Services)
Act, 2016, allows the use of
Aadhaar number for esta­
blishing the identity of an
individual for any purpose,
if the use of the number is
subject to the procedure
and obligations under Sec­
tion 8 and Chapter VI of
the Act.
Ministry rolls out SOP
In a note to the heads of
the prisons in all States and
Union Territories on
Thursday, the Ministry of
Home Affairs called for
making use of the dispen­
sation made available by
the UIDAI and facilitating
the enrolment/update of
Aadhaar through special
camps. The Aadhaar satu­
ration level in the country
candidature, officials said candidates on all the 89 November 17, which was
A total of 788 candidates, on Friday. These include seats, the AAP will fight on the last date to withdraw
including 70 women, re­ candidates from 39 parties 88 seats and the Bahujan nominations. The Election
main in the fray for the first and 339 independents, a Samaj Party on 57. Commission has received
phase of the Gujarat As­ release from the office of In all 1,362 candidates 1,515 nomination papers
As of December 31, sembly polls for 89 seats the Chief Electoral Officer had filed their papers for for the 93 seats that will go
2021, the National on December 1 after the (CEO) for Gujarat the 89 seats, which went to polls in the second
Crime Records culmination of process of informed. down to 999 after scrutiny phase on December 5.
Bureau has reported
that there were 1,319
prisons in the
country
has crossed 93%, and it is
nearly 100% among the
adult population. Continu­
ing with the measures to
enrol all eligible residents,
it was decided to conduct
regular enrolment camps
at the jails in co­ordination
with the State govern­
ments, the Ministry said,
and rolled out a standard
operating procedure.
The use of Aadhaar
could help to regulate the
day­to­day prison adminis­
tration work, such as pro­
duction of inmates in court
and their return to prison,
transport, health facilities,
shifting of inmates to hos­
pitals outside prisons, in­
terviews, free legal aid, pa­
role, temporary release
and education/vocational
training, the Ministry said.

Police plaint
filed against
Rahul Gandhi
The Hindu Bureau
MUMBAI

A police complaint has

been filed against Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi for al­
legedly making derogatory
remarks against right wing
ideologue V.D. Savarkar
during the Bharat Jodo Ya­
tra.
A non­cognisable of­
fence has been registered
against Mr. Gandhi under
Section 500 (defamation)
and 501 (printing or en­
graving matter knowing it
to be defamatory) of the In­
dian Penal Code, after a
complaint was filed by a
member of Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena,
Vandana Dongre.
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
10 Saturday, November 19, 2022

News Delhi

Anand Teltumbde Sangamam a

INBRIEF
쑽

gets bail in Bhima

Modi to inaugurate celebration of
philosophical
Koregaon case Kashi-Tamil meet unity: Minister

The Hindu Bureau

MUMBAI
in Varanasi today Jagriti Chandra
NEW DELHI

Education Minister Dhar­

The Bombay High Court on
Mumbai court grants bail to Friday granted bail to Prof.
Anand Teltumbde, an ac­
Sachin Vaze in PMLA case cused in the Bhima Kore­
gaon caste violence case of
A special court in Mumbai on Friday granted bail 2018.
to dismissed Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze A Bench of Justices A.S.
in a money laundering case against former Home Gadkari and Milind Jadhav
Minister of Maharashtra Anil Deshmukh. A
special judge for PMLA cases, R.N. Rokade,
granted him bail. However, Mr. Vaze will not be
granted bail on the execu­
tion of a bond worth ₹1
lakh and two sureties of ₹2
walking out of the Taloja Central jail as he is an lakh. The Bench, however,
accused in the bomb scare case near stayed its order for a week
businessman Mukesh Ambani’s residence and after the National Investi­
the subsequent murder of businessman Mansukh gation Agency (NIA) urged
Hiran. The court had allowed his second bail the court to do so in order
petition on the grounds that he was never to appeal against the ver­
arrested in the case under PMLA and that Mr. dict before the Supreme
Deshmukh had also been granted bail by the Court.
Bombay High Court on October 4. The court noted, “Pri-
ma facie, the only case
made out against him re­
lates to alleged association
Benches to finish pending bail with a terror outfit and
support given to it, for
pleas before Christmas: CJI which the maximum pun­
ishment is 10 years in jail
Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Friday and he has already spent
pressed the accelerator on hearing and disposing more than two years in
off pending pleas for bail and transfer petitions in prison.”
the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice said that The court observed,
every one of the 13 Benches of the court would “Offences under section 13
hear 10 cases each of bail and transfer petitions (punishment for unlawful
first thing every morning and finish off their activities), section 16 (pun­
pendency before Christmas holidays start in ishment for terrorist act)
December. “There are around 3,000 transfer and section 18 (punish­
petitions pending here. Every one of the 13 ment for conspiracy) were
Benches will take up 10 transfer petitions not made out and only of­
everyday. They will deal with 650 petitions every fences under section 38
week. In five weeks, all the transfer petitions will and 39 (relating to the
be over,” the CJI said.
Anand Teltumbde
membership and support
of a terrorist organisation)
were made out under the
Unlawful Activities (Pre­
vention) Act [UAPA].”
Dr. Teltumbde had sur­
rendered before the NIA
office in Mumbai on April
14, 2020, after the Su­
preme Court denied him
relief.
He is now lodged at the
Taloja Central Jail and fac­
es charges under several
sections of the Indian Pe­
nal Code and UAPA.
Dr. Teltumbde and 15
others were booked by
Pune Police and an offence
was registered on January
8, 2018, alleging that they
spread hatred through pro­
vocative songs, plays and
speeches at Shaniwar Wa­
da on December 31, 2017,
which led to violence the
next day ( January 1, 2018)
at Bhima­Koregaon.
The 30­day event will give a glimpse of Dravidian culture and the cuisine
and music of Tamil Nadu to the people of Uttar Pradesh
Mayank Kumar
LUCKNOW
rime Minister Na­
P rendra Modi will
formally inaugu­
rate the month­long Kashi­
Tamil Sangamam in Vara­
nasi on Saturday. The 30­
day event aimed at redisco­
vering centuries­old bond
of knowledge and ancient
civilisational linkage bet­
ween the country’s north
and south will give a
glimpse of the Dravidian
culture and the cuisine and
music of Tamil Nadu to the
people of Uttar Pradesh.
After the inauguration,
around 2,500 to 3,000 pe­
ople from Tamil Nadu are
expected to reach Varanasi
in 12 different groups. Dur­
ing their eight­day itiner­
ary, including two days of
travel from Tamil Nadu to
Varanasi, each group will
stay in Varanasi for two
days and visit Hanuman
Ghat, which is famous for
Ganga Snan; Subrahmanya
Bharti’s residence; Kashi
Vishwanath Temple; Sar­
nath Archaeological site
and museum; Ganga Aarti;
Celebration of cultures: A Ganga Aarti being performed with 1,001
lamps donated by Kashi­Tamil Sangamam, in Varanasi on Friday. PTI
and also take a boat tour of
the 84 ghats. A trip to
Prayagraj and Ayodhya is
also proposed.
The stays of the groups
in Varanasi have been
scheduled. The group of
students will stay on No­
vember 19 and 20, the han­
dicraftsmen’s group on
22nd and 23rd, the littera­
teurs on 23rd and 24th, pe­
ople associated with spiri­
tuality on 26th and 27th,
businessmen on Novem­
ber 30 and December 1,
those associated with the
field of education on De­
cember 2 and 3, those as­
sociated with heritage on
4th and 5th, new entrepre­
neurs on 7th and 8th, and
professionals on 8th and
9th. Besides, a team of
temple priests and ma-
hants will join the Sanga­
mam on December 10 and
11, and will be followed by
rural farmers on Decem­
ber 13 and 14 and cultural
workers on 15th and 16th.
Apart from this, 75 stalls
showcasing the cultural di­
versity of Tamil Nadu are
being put out at BHU. The
stalls will display the pro­
ducts, handicrafts and
handlooms of Tamil Nadu.
mendra Pradhan met Ta­
mil poet Subramania Bha­
rathi’s family in Varanasi
ahead of the 30­day Kashi­
Tamil Sangamam to be
launched on Saturday.
Mr. Pradhan met the 96­
year­old nephew of the le­
gendary poet, K.V. Krish­
nan, along with his family.
“Subramania Bharathi­
yar’s ideals on social jus­
tice and women empower­
ment is more relevant now
than ever. Kashi had a pro­
found influence on shap­
ing Bharathiyar’s personal­
ity. Kashi­Tamil Sangamam
celebrates the philosophi­
cal unity and commonality
between our two great cul­
tures. A phenomenon, Ma­
hakavi will forever be an
inspiration for next genera­
tions,” the Minister said in
a series of tweets.
The Minister also held
meetings with Minister of
Railways, Governor of Ta­
mil Nadu and other key sta­
keholders ahead of the
launch.
The Kashi­Tamil Sanga­
mam is being organised by
the Ministry of Education
in collaboration with other
various Ministries, includ­
ing Culture Ministry, Tex­
tile Ministry, Railways,
Tourism.

HC defers hearing on plea for

Agnipath
scheme: HC to
inspection of 1978 DU records
The Delhi High Court will hear a plea related to
hear pleas on
disclosure of details of Delhi University’s records
of the students who had passed the Bachelor of
December 12
Arts course in 1978, when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi had also cleared the exam, under The Hindu Bureau
the RTI Act for May 3, 2023. Justice Yashwant NEW DELHI
Varma, in the order passed on November 15, said
that no one appeared for DU and adjourned the The Delhi High Court on
hearing. The High Court was hearing a petition Friday said it will first hear
by the DU, challenging a Central Information the petitions challenging
Commission (CIC) December 21, 2016 order the Centre’s Agnipath
allowing RTI activist Neeraj to inspect records of scheme and then decide
those who had passed Bachelor of Arts in 1978. the remaining plea con­
cerning the recruitment
processes for the armed
forces under previous ad­
12 killed as vehicle falls into vertisements. A Bench of
Chief Justice Satish Chan­
gorge in Uttarakhand dra Sharma and Justice
Subramonium Prasad post­
Twelve people, including two women, were ed the hearing on the pleas
killed and three injured as an SUV fell into a deep challenging the scheme on
gorge in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on December 12.
Friday, the State Disaster Response Force said. “We will first hear the
The vehicle carrying 17 passengers fell into the Agniveer matter. The core
gorge at around 4 pm. The passengers were on issue here is Agniveer... If
their way to Palla Jakhol village from Joshimath this issue is decided this
when the accident occurred, Chamoli SP way or that way, it will have
Pramendra Dobhal said. The SDRF has recovered some bearing on other cas­
all the 12 bodies. The vehicle is said to have been es,” the Bench said. It said
overloaded with some occupants also sitting on the Centre’s reply is res­
its roof. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami tricted only to the scheme
expressed announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh each and does not deal with oth­
to the next of those killed. PTI er pleas.
India and Russia agree to
deepen cooperation on
counter­terrorism at UN
Suhasini Haidar
NEW DELHI
Ahead of India’s presiden­
cy of the UN Security
Council in December, India
and Russia agreed to “dee­
pen cooperation” on coun­
ter­terrorism issues and
“enhance bilateral coordi­
nation” at the United Na­
tions, statements issued by
the Ministry of External Af­
fairs (MEA) and the Rus­
sian Ministry of Foreign Af­
fairs said.
The statements fol­
lowed talks between Rus­
sian Deputy Foreign Minis­
ter Sergey Vershinin and
Secretary (West) Sanjay
Verma in New Delhi, and
come four days after India
abstained from yet another
vote at the UN General As­
sembly that called for repa­
rations to be paid by Russia
for the war in Ukraine.
The consultations
reaffirmed mutual
commitment to further
strengthen bilateral
coordination
STATEMENT ISSUED
IN MOSCOW
“The consultations reaf­
firmed mutual commit­
ment to further strengthen
bilateral coordination and
constructive cooperation
at the UN platform on the
basis of its Charter and in
line with the special and
privileged strategic part­
nership between Moscow
and New Delhi,” a state­
ment issued in Moscow
said after the talks, adding
that they had discussed the
situation in Ukraine, Af­
ghanistan, Syria, Myan­
mar, and conflict on the Ar­
menia­Azerbaijan border.
The two sides also dis­
cussed India’s presidency
of the UNSC in the month
of December, which will be
India’s last month in the
UNSC. Among other
events, India plans to chair
a special briefing on chal­
lenges to the global coun­
ter­terrorism architecture
on December 15, and Mr.
Verma briefed Mr. Vershi­
nin on India’s “priorities”
during the month, the
MEA said.
“Both sides held wide­
ranging discussions on is­
sues on the UN Security
Council agenda and recent
developments. They
agreed to deepen coopera­
tion on counter­terrorism
at UN and other multilater­
al platforms,” the MEA
statement added.
Girls being forced
into prostitution in
Rajasthan, says NCW
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The National Commission
for Women (NCW) on Fri­
day said that young girls
were being forced into
prostitution in numerous
districts of Rajasthan like
Bhilwara and Bharatpur
and asked the Centre to
constitute a Special Investi­
gative Team (SIT) to inves­
tigate the matter.
Rajasthan had emerged
both as a source and a des­
tination for the trafficking
of women and girls for sex­
ual exploitation and prosti­
tution, the NCW said in a
report submitted by a two­
member fact­finding com­
mittee. The commission
had taken cognisance of a
media report that in Bhil­
wara, conflicts over loan
repayments were resolved
by auctioning off young
women on stamp papers.
The NCW report
says the district
administration and
police have failed to
address the issue
The NCW report said
that a visit to the commun­
ities provides further evi­
dence that child marriages
are still common in the
State. “The district admi­
nistration and police are
totally in denial and have
failed to address the issue,”
the report added. “It was
observed that every family
had six to nine minor girls
living under one roof and
these girls were unable to
tell their relationship with
others in the family. In or­
der to establish the rela­
tionship, DNA tests on
young girls and their res­
pective families must be
performed,” it said.

To solve this puzzle online,

SCAN TO PLAY
(set by Afterdark)
+ 13715 get across to our crossword site.
@ https://qrgo.page.link/jjpTn
13 Didn't wish Newton? Bad reporter (6)
14 Can a king's enemy pitilessly appropriate nation's leaders and
vessel (7)
17 Censure auditor having a cocktail & some enchiladas and a
dish (7)
20 Almost decides to heat and unfreeze (2­4)
22 Attempt to follow a right individual with special skill (8)
25 Idiot of a Greek character with power; has treasure (6)
26 Surpass in workout classically (8)
27 Re­ad medical officer's note again (4,4)
28 Reach old canopy (6)
Down
1 Strangers kidnap canine and are returning with the rest (2,6)
2 Track has little opening leading into the wood (6)
3 Disappear with daughter taking comedian's bird (6)
4 Set out to cycle on surface (7)
5 Say, country's excellent in retort, has no thought for others (8)
6 Pharmaceutical formulation to relieve trauma related to the
head (8)
7 Adapt a leading Tamil song (6)
Across 15 Encrypt epic with new hero sacrificing nothing strangely (8)
8 Say, speaker's measure is inadequate concerning opposition 16 Hearing out and performing with two individuals (8)
leader (6)
18 Keen about buying flower and fuel... (8)
9 Sort of give ten takas primarily for the drawing (8)
19 ...gutted angry girlfriend outside on a break (7)
10 Armed ships' crew replaced for a woman (3­2­3)
21 'Dancing Queen'? It primarily would relate to a horse (6)
11 Mother's away to invite Hindu leader, a tamer (6)
12 Condition for returning assistance; accept English soldiers by 23 Laugh at losing weight in social media platform (6)
end of August (8) 24 Bow? Instrument only has small arc at the top in the front (6)
CM
YK
SUDOKU
쑽 쑽
Solution to previous puzzle
Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku
FAITH
Dhvaya mantra, the gem
Kooratazhvan’s eyesight was lost due to the fanaticism of a
king. The person responsible for provoking the king to
commit this heinous act was Naalooraan. Ramanuja­
charya, the preceptor of Kooratazhvan, wanted him to
sing in praise of Lord Varadaraja of Kanchi. Ramanuja’s
hope was that Kooratazhvan would ask for his sight to be
restored. Kooratazhvan sang Varadaraja Stava in praise of
Lord Varadaraja, said Kazhiyur B. Devarajan, in a dis­
course. But instead of asking for restoration of his eye­
sight, Kooratazhvan prayed that his eyes should see noth­
ing but the Lord and his Acharya.
Three mantras are important for Sri Vaishnavas — ash­
takshara, dhvaya and charama sloka. Of these three,
dhvaya mantra is considered the gem, and Vedanta Desika
says that nothing can give more welfare to a person than
the recitation of dhvaya mantra. So significant is the
dhvaya mantra that even the asktakshara mantra and cha­
rama sloka are explained in terms of dhvaya mantra. Thi­
ruvaimozhi is said to be an elaboration of dhvaya. Dhvaya
mantra has 10 segments. Thiruvaimozhi has 10 divisions,
each of which is an explanation of a segment of dhvaya.
Stotra Ratna of Alavandar and Saranagati Gadya of Rama­
nuja are also elaborations of dhvaya mantra. Dhvaya man­
tra is the crux of Visishtadvaita philosophy. Kooratazhvan
composed Varadaraja Stava to convey the meaning of
dhvaya. In the very first verse of Varadaraja Stava, Koora­
tazhvan celebrates both the Lord and His Consort. A good
poetic work will have in the first verse a salutation to God
and benefits that will come to those who read the work.
Varadaraja Stava has both these elements in the first verse.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Saturday, November 19, 2022 11
Delhi
World
ISTANBUL SULAIMANIYAH GAZA CITY MOSCOW
Turkey jails 17 suspects, including 15 persons killed in Iraq after gas Fire kills 21 people belonging to Russian dissident Alexei Navalny
Syrian woman, over Istanbul attack tank blast causes building collapse a family during birthday party decry harsher detention norms

X X X X
A Turkish court on Friday ordered the detention of 17 suspects, Fifteen persons died and around a dozen were injured in northern A fire that tore through a top­floor apartment in the Gaza Strip Jailed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny says he has been moved to
including a Syrian woman, for alleged links to a bombing that killed Iraq when a fuel tank exploded, causing a building to collapse on during a birthday party killed twenty­one people belonging to a a small, isolated cell and deprived of family visits. Under the new
six persons in central Istanbul. The government has accused the Friday. “Most of the victims are women and children,” an official family, two of their relatives said on Friday. Thursday night’s blaze in detention conditions, he is only allowed two books and deprived of
outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), designated as a terror said. He added that the three­story building collapsed after a leak a three­story residential building in the Jabaliya refugee camp was long­stay family visits. Mr. Navalny said he had been placed in a
group by Ankara and its Western allies, for last Sunday’s attack. AP from an LPG tank, used for heating, triggered a blast. AFP apparently fuelled by stored gasoline. AFP “cramped cell” used for prisoners accused of bad behaviour. AFP

N. Korea’s ICBM, with range to strike U.S. says Saudi Arabia Crown
entire U.S., lands near Japan’s waters Prince MBS has immunity
The U.S. condemned the launch of the missile, which analysts say is designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads, and
in Khashoggi killing lawsuit
vowed to take ‘all necessary measures’ to guarantee the safety of its territory and its allies, South Korea and Japan
Reuters to do with the merits of the
WASHINGTON case.” The spokesperson
Associated Press Indo­Pacific alliances,” Ms. the launch did not threaten referred further questions
SEOUL Harris said at the start of the U.S. “As concerning as The Biden administration to the State and Justice
the meeting. “Together the this launch was, we did not ruled on Thursday that Departments.
Saudi Arabian Crown In a document filed in

N
orth Korea fired an
Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile that
landed near Japanese wa­
ters on Friday in its second
major weapons test this
month that showed a po­
tential ability to launch nu­
clear strikes on all of the
U.S. mainland.
While it’s unclear
whether North Korea pos­
sesses functioning nuclear­
armed missiles, some ex­
perts say Friday’s launch
involved its longest­range
missile, which is still under
development and is de­
signed to carry multiple
nuclear warheads to over­
come U.S. missile defence
systems.
North Korea’s recent
weapons tests aims to ad­
vance its nuclear arsenal
and win greater conces­
sions in future diplomacy.
It comes as China and Rus­
countries represented
here will continue to urge
North Korea to commit to
serious and sustained di­
plomacy.” South Korea’s
Joint Chiefs of Staff said it
detected the ICBM launch
from North Korea’s capital
region around 10:15 a.m.
Japan said it appeared to
fly on a high trajectory and
land west of its island of
Hokkaido. According to
Retaliatory action: A squadron of four South Korean and four U.S. South Korean and Japa­
fighter jets fly over South Korea during a joint air drill on Friday. AP nese estimates, the missile
flew 6,000 km — 6,100 km
sia have opposed U.S. with the leaders of those at a maximum altitude of
moves to toughen UN sanc­ countries and of Australia, 1,000 km.
tions aimed at curbing the Canada and New Zealand Japanese Defence Minis­
North’s nuclear pro­ who are attending a region­ ter Yasukazu Hamada said
gramme. al forum in Bangkok to dis­ that depending on the
The U.S. condemned cuss the launch. weight of a potential war­
the launch and vowed to “We again call for North head, the missile had a
take “all measures” to gua­ Korea to stop further un­ range exceeding 15,000
rantee the safety of its ter­ lawful, destabilising acts. km, “in which case it could
ritory and its allies South On behalf of the United cover the entire mainland
Korea and Japan. Vice Pre­ States, I reaffirm our iron­ United States.” However,
sident Kamala Harris met clad commitment to our the White House said that
deem it a threat to home­
land,” White House nation­
al security spokesman
John Kirby said.
Kwon Yong Soo, a form­
er professor at Korea Na­
tional Defense University
in South Korea, said he be­
lieves North Korea tested a
developmental Hwa­
song­17 missile, which he
said can carry three to five
nuclear warheads and fly
as far as 15,000 km.
North Korea has two
other ICBMs and their test
launches in 2017 showed
they could potentially
reach parts or all of the
U.S. homeland, respective­
ly. But Mr. Kwon said North
Korea needs a longer­range
missile like the Hwasong­17
capable of flying a leng­
thier route to the American
mainland to evade current
U.S. missile defence
systems.
Prince Mohammed bin Sal­
man has immunity from a
lawsuit over the murder of
Jamal Khashoggi, drawing
immediate condemnation
from the slain journalist’s
former fiancee. Mr. Khash­
oggi was killed and dis­
membered in October
2018 by Saudi agents in the
Saudi consulate in Istan­
bul, an operation which
U.S. intelligence believed
was ordered by Prince Mo­
hammed, who has been
the kingdom’s de facto rul­
er for several years.
“Jamal died again to­
day,” Khashoggi’s ex­fian­
cée, Hatice Cengiz, said on
Twitter minutes after the
news became public. She
added later: “We thought
maybe there would be a
light to justice from #USA
But again, money came
first. This is a world that Ja­
Mohammed bin Salman
mal doesn’t know about
and me..!” A spokesperson
for the Saudi consulate in
Washington could not be
reached for comment on
Thursday evening, after
business hours.
‘Long-standing law’
“This is a legal determina­
tion made by the State De­
partment under longstand­
ing and well­established
principles of customary in­
ternational law,” a spokes­
person for the White
House National Security
Council said in a written
statement. “It has nothing
U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia, Jus­
tice Department attorneys
wrote that “the doctrine of
head of state immunity is
well established in custom­
ary international law”.
Justice Department la­
wyers said the executive
branch of U.S. govern­
ment, referring to the Bi­
den Administration, had
“determined that defen­
dant bin Salman, as the sit­
ting head of a foreign go­
vernment, enjoys head of
state immunity from the
jurisdiction of U.S. courts
as a result of that office”.
In late September, Saudi
King Salman named Prince
Mohammed Prime Minis­
ter in a royal decree which
a Saudi official said was in
line with responsibilities
that the Crown Prince was
already exercising.

Moscow accuses Kyiv Khomeini’s ancestral home set on fire ‘Traces of explosives
of executing PoWs
Agence France-Presse
MOSCOW
Russia on Friday accused
Kyiv of executing several
surrendering soldiers in
what Moscow said consti­
tuted a “war crime,” the
latest allegation of abuse
after months of fighting in
Ukraine.
Moscow’s claims come
after the UN this week pu­
blished a report saying pri­
soners of war on both sides
had been subjected to tor­
near Nord stream’
ture and ill­treatment.
Russia’s Defence Minis­
try quoted videos circulat­
ing on social media that
purport to show the bodies
of Russian servicemen who
had surrendered to Ukrai­
nian troops and were then
killed.
Russia’s Human Rights
Council said the alleged ex­
ecutions took place in Ma­
kiivka, a village in the east­
ern Lugansk region, which
the Ukrainian Army said it
recaptured this week.
Agence France-Presse
PARIS
Protesters in Iran have set
on fire the ancestral home
of the Islamic republic’s
founder Ayatollah Ruhol­
lah Khomeini two months
into the anti­regime prot­
est movement, images
showed on Friday.
The house in the city of
Khomein in the western
Markazi province was
shown ablaze on Thursday
with crowds of jubilant
protesters marching past,
according to images posted
on social media.
turned into a museum
commemorating Khomei­
ni. It was not immediately
clear what damaged it sus­
tained.
The protests sparked by
the death of Mahsa Amini,
who had been arrested by
the morality police, pose
the biggest challenge from
Mouting resentment: Protesters start a fire at the family home of the street to Iran’s leaders
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Khomein in Iran on Thursday. AFP since the 1979 revolution.
They were fuelled by anger
Khomeini is said to have 1989 but remains the sub­ over the obligatory head­
been born at the house in ject of adulation by the scarf for women imposed
the town of Khomein — clerical leadership under by Khomeini but have
from where his surname successor Ayatollah Ali turned into a movement
derives — at the turn of the Khamenei. calling for an end to the Is­
century. Khomeini died in The house was later lamic republic itself.
Associated Press
HELSINKI
Investigators found traces
of explosives at the Baltic
Sea site where two natural
gas pipelines were dam­
aged in an act of “gross sa­
botage,” the prosecutor
leading Sweden’s prelimin­
ary investigation said on
Friday.
The lawyer said the in­
vestigators carefully docu­
mented the area where the
Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipe­
lines ruptured in Septem­
ber. The parallel undersea
pipelines run from Russia
to Germany.
The prosecution author­
ity said the preliminary in­
vestigation was “compre­
hensive” and further
scrutiny would show
whether anyone could be
charged “with suspicion of
crime.”
Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov said it was
“very important to find
those responsible.”

On Israel’s border with Gaza, an uneasy calm amid worries of the next spark
Stanly Johny
KEREM SHALOM
“This is one of the longest
cross­border tunnels Ha­
mas has built,” said a un­
iformed Israeli Defence
Forces (IDF) officer, open­
ing the iron door of a con­
crete structure in the mid­
dle of barren lands on the
Israeli­Gaza border. The
door opens to concrete
steps that disappear un­
derground. The officer
asked journalists to turn on
the flash lights.
The IDF has built the
steps for easy access to the
opening of the tunnel,
which is roughly 50m un­
derground. The steps were
muddy and slippery. The
northwestern Negev re­
gion gets rains only a few
days a year. It was one of
them. “Rains lash the mud
in the tunnel on to the
steps, which makes the go­
ing tough,” said the officer,
CM
YK
stepping into darkness.
The 2.5­km long tunnel,
of which 900m is inside Is­
raeli territory, is roughly a
10­minute drive from Tel
Gama, the mound in south­
ern Israel that saw Austra­
lian and New Zealand
troops, under the British
command, mount a suc­
cessful cavalry charge
against the Ottomans in
the First World War. The
IDF detected and des­
troyed the tunnel in 2016.
Tunnel networks
“Hamas has an elaborate
network of tunnels, for va­
rious purposes. Narrow
tunnels like these are most­
ly built for infiltration and
to launch attacks inside Is­
rael. On Gaza’s Egyptian
border, Hamas and the Is­
lamic Jihad have built wid­
er, more sophisticated tun­
nels and they get
everything they want
smuggled through these
tunnels. This includes wea­
pons, contraband, ciga­
rettes, fuel and clothes,”
said Lt. Col. Jonathan Con­
ricus, a former spokesper­
son of the IDF.
The IDF claims that they
have destroyed dozens of
tunnels from Gaza in re­
cent years. “We have deve­
loped a technology to de­
tect tunnels at the early
stages of digging. And we
wait for the right time to at­
tack and destroy them,”
the IDF officer said.
The Gaza­Israel border
has always remained a
flashpoint. In 2005, Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon un­
ilaterally withdrew Israeli
troops and Jewish settlers
from Gaza as part of his
“disengagement plan”. But
that didn’t bring peace.
From 2007 onwards, Israel
has imposed an illegal
blockade on this tiny Medi­
terranean strip of 2.5 mil­
lion people. Israel controls
Netiv HaAsara, an Israeli
Moshav commune just
300m from the Gaza bor­
der, corroborated what Mr.
Shaked said. “Once the
alarm goes off, we get 15 se­
conds to move into the
bomb shelter. I have been
living under the threat of
constant rocket attacks for
more than 20 years.”
Several Gaza wars
Hamas, the Islamist move­
Brief lull: Over the past years, Gaza has witnessed several conflicts, ment that rules Gaza, says
from rocket attacks by Hamas to retaliatory airstrikes by Israel. AFP it possesses the right to
fight Israel as long as its oc­
Gaza’s maritime borders, tion but the Islamic solu­ cupation of the Palestinian
air space and most of its tion. They think we don’t territories continues. Over
land crossings. It justifies have the right to live here,” the past years, Gaza has
the blockade saying such Mr. Shaked said. Kerem witnessed several con­
measures are needed to Shalom has been hit sever­ flicts, with rocket attacks
fight terror from Gaza. al times by mortars and by Hamas and the Islamic
At Kerem Shalom, a key rockets from Gaza. “There Jihad and retaliatory air­
crossing between Israel are Israeli communities liv­ strikes by Israel.
and Gaza, Ami Shaked, its ing in this region. They live And both sides suffer. In
director, said that, for Is­ under constant fear and the past, both Hamas and
rael, there’s no difference trauma of rocket attacks the IDF were accused of
between Hamas and ISIS. from Gaza.” war crimes by UN­commis­
“They don’t want any solu­ Hila Fenlon, a farmer at sioned inquiries. In the
2021 Gaza war, 14 Israeli ci­
vilians were killed, includ­
ing two children, while on
the Palestinian side, the ci­
vilian toll was 256, includ­
ing 66 children.
Since then, the border
region has remained large­
ly calm, with occasional
flare­ups, even though vio­
lence continued in the oc­
cupied West Bank. But Ga­
za has been like this since
2005. A spell of tense calm
can be broken any time
with a spark. And then a
full­scale war will come.
From Tel Gama and Kerem
Shalom, one can see the
border fence that sepa­
rates Israel from Gaza.
There are not many sol­
diers in the vicinity, but Is­
rael’s observation posts are
visible from a long dis­
tance. “The IDF has some
very sophisticated surveil­
lance tech so that we can
keep monitoring Hamas
through those posts,” Mr.
Conricus said, pointing to
the tall towers on the
border.
The IDF has built
barbed wires over land and
a deep concrete fence un­
derground. How deep is
the fence? “That’s confi­
dential information. But I
can tell you that it is deep­
er than the deepest tunnel
Hamas has built,” Mr. Con­
ricus said. With tunnel­de­
tecting technology, under­
ground fences and the Iron
Dome anti­missile defence
system, the IDF hopes to
put an end to Hamas’s tun­
nel and rocket threats.
“Hamas and the Islamic Ji­
had are getting support
from other countries. They
have amassed thousands
of rockets. But we have
equipped ourselves better
to deal with those threats,”
Mr. Conricus said.
(The writer was in Israel
on an invitation from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
12 Saturday, November 19, 2022

Business Delhi

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INBRIEF
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sans pay, cuts salary for 30% in financial

statements:
FRIDAY
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 61,663 ddddddddddddddddddddddd ­0.14
US Dollar ddddddddddddddddddddddddd 81.74 ddddddddddddddddddddddd ­0.12
Goldddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 53,220ddddddddddddddddddddddd ­0.02
%CHANGE

Brent oilddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 86.56 ddddddddddddddddddddddd ­5.28

Stalemate extends between lenders, new promoters over payment of provident fund, gratuity; Sitharaman
winning bidder blames loss­making carrier’s financial creditors for delay in handover of airline
NIFTY 50
The Hindu Bureau PRICE CHANGE
Jagriti Chandra difficult but necessary NEW DELHI Adani Enter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4019.80. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.65
NEW DELHI near­term decisions to Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 888.90. . . . . . . . . . ­1.95
Apollo Hosp. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4399.15. . . . . . . . . . ­1.15
manage our cash flows to Finance and Corporate Af­ Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3095.50. . . . . . . . . . 23.90

Aurobindo’s fungal infection

J
et Airways has sent
about 10% of its em­
drug copy gets U.S. FDA nod ployees on leave
without pay and cut pay
Aurobindo Pharma subsidiary Eugia Pharma for another 30%, accord­
Specialities has received final approval from the ing to CEO Sanjeev Kapoor.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a generic The action follows a sta­
version of Amphotericin B Liposome for lemate between promoters
Injection, 50 mg. Bioequivalent and Jalan­Kalrock Consortium
therapeutically equivalent to AmBisome ( JKC) and lenders to the
Liposome for Injection of Astellas Pharma U.S., it airline, which has delayed
is expected to be unveiled in Q4 of FY23. the carrier’s relaunch.
Earlier this week, JKC
approached the NCLAT
pleading that gratuity dues
tuity and provident fund to
the airline’s employees till
the date of insolvency com­
the insolvency process, as
well as those employed by
the promoter consortium.
secure the future while the
airline is still not in our
possession,” JKC said in a
statement.
The consortium blamed
lenders for the delay in the
handover of the airline and
said it had deposited the
first tranche of ₹150 crore
with the lenders as per the
order of the NCLT in June
2021. The clarification was
in response to reports cit­
ing bank sources, saying
that the consortium had
fairs Minister Nirmala Sith­
araman on Friday urged
accountants to ensure they
adhere to fair and transpa­
rent practices and remain
independent in their func­
tioning to engender trust
in the integrity of financial
statements that they vet.
Terming accounts that
ensure ‘transparency, clar­
ity and accountability in a
company’s financial af­
fairs’ a ‘fundamental requi­
site’ for corporate gover­
Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 859.20. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.00
Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3632.95. . . . . . . . ­61.20
Bajaj Finserv . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1654.40. . . . . . . . ­10.20
Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 6791.50. . . . . . ­103.55
Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 837.30. . . . . . . . . . ­8.85
BPCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 304.10. . . . . . . . . . ­1.10
Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4106.05. . . . . . . . ­19.15
Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1102.40. . . . . . . . ­17.10
Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 229.55. . . . . . . . . . ­2.85
Divis Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3287.35. . . . . . . . . . ­2.65
Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4409.05. . . . . . . . ­12.25
Eicher Motors . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3390.25. . . . . . . . ­51.60
Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1708.85. . . . . . . . . . ­1.80
HCL Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1103.15. . . . . . . . . . 10.60
HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2667.05. . . . . . . . . . . . 7.80
HDFC Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1613.90. . . . . . . . . . ­4.25
HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 531.55. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.35
Hero MotoCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2723.15. . . . . . . . ­20.85
Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 438.60. . . . . . . . . . ­1.85
Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2483.70. . . . . . . . . . 23.70
ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 920.35. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.55

FDA approves Sun Pharma

IndusInd Bank. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1128.65. . . . . . . . ­17.85
of Jet employees should be mencement in June 2019. “While we await the delayed payments. nance, she emphasised Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1593.40. . . . . . . . . . . . 6.00
paid from Jet’s existing The total claim is about handover of the company “It is apparent that the that accountants’ responsi­ ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 341.05. . . . . . . . . . ­2.65

product for neonatal seizures cash balance and lenders’ ₹275 crore. There are a to­ as per the NCLT process, NCLT plan” did not factor bility was not just limited JSW Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 708.20. . . . . . . . . . ­0.40
Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1959.55. . . . . . . . . . . . 9.00
funds. In October, the tal of 230 employees, in­ the longer­than­expected in the statutory dues, said to shareholders in the busi­ L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2024.45. . . . . . . . . . ­5.10
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Friday said the NCLAT had directed cluding those who have time being taken for the Narayan Hariharan, form­ nesses they worked for. M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1227.15. . . . . . . . ­32.20
Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 8848.05. . . . . . ­138.40
U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved the consortium to pay gra­ been on the rolls through same may result in some er senior VP, Jet. “Statutory filings and NestleIndia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 19925.10. . . . . . . . ­65.90
Sezaby (phenobarbital sodium powder for audit reports are public NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 165.85. . . . . . . . . . ­2.45
injection) for the treatment of neonatal seizures. documents and they are ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 141.75. . . . . . . . . . ­1.45
PowerGrid Corp . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 218.35. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05
A benzyl alcohol­free and propylene relied on by various stake­ Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2597.65. . . . . . . . . . ­1.40
glycol­free formulation, the product was granted
‘Economy resilient, Boost investments in
holders, including finan­ SBI Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1242.75. . . . . . . . ­11.60
State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 602.70. . . . . . . . . . . . 3.65
orphan drug designation by the regulator for cial institutions, govern­ Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1009.60. . . . . . . . . . ­3.75
treatment of neonatal seizures. With the ments, and common retail TataConsumerPro­
approval, it becomes the first and only product
specifically indicated in the U.S. for treatment of on road to 7% growth’ smart tech, AIIB urged investors,” Ms. Sitharaman
said in a keynote address
duct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 775.70. . . . . . . . ­10.30
Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 423.80. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.65
Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 105.50. . . . . . . . . . ­0.35
neonatal seizures in term and preterm infants. to the World Congress of TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3343.45. . . . . . . . . . ­5.55
Tech Mahindra . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1060.85. . . . . . . . . . . . 2.30
Accountants in Mumbai. Titan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2565.80. . . . . . . . ­16.20
Press Trust of India the outlook for the global Press Trust of India Urging accounting busi­ UltraTech Cement . . . .. . . . . . . 6814.45. . . . . . . . ­57.40
UPL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 765.95. . . . . . . . . . ­5.50
MUMBAI economy remained cloud­ NEW DELHI ness leaders to look at Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 393.85. . . . . . . . . . ­2.90

Govt. raises maximum tenure With headline inflation be­

of PSU bank CEOs to 10 years ginning to show signs of
easing, the domestic ma­
The maximum tenure of CEO and MD of public croeconomic outlook ap­
sector banks has been increased to 10 years, a pears to be resilient and on
ed with downside risks.
Global financial conditions
had been tightening and
deteriorating liquidity was
amplifying financial price
movements, they added.
Finance Minister Nirmala
building trust among sta­
keholders, she said ethical
Sitharaman on Friday conduct by accountants
asked the Asian Infrastruc­ could benefit multiple sta­ EXCHANGE RATES
ture Investment Bank (AI­ keholders. She welcomed Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4
IB) to scale up investment the formation of the Inter­ p.m. on November 18

move that is expected to help the government course for about 7% GDP Markets are now pricing in renewal energy and national Sustainability CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

retain the best talent in the banking sector. growth in the current fis­ in moderate increases in smart technologies and al­ Standards Board by the US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 81.49. . . . . . . . . . 81.81
Euro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 84.46. . . . . . . . . . 84.80
According to a government notification dated cal, though India is still policy rates and risk­on ap­ so urged the multilateral IFRS Foundation to move British Pound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 97.08. . . . . . . . . . 97.47
November 17, 2022, the term for the appointment sensitive to global head­ petite has returned. In In­ agency to set up a regional Nirmala Sitharaman towards a single set of glo­ Japanese Yen (100). . . . . . .. . . . . 58.25. . . . . . . . . . 58.48
Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 11.44. . . . . . . . . . 11.49
has been extended to 10 years, from the earlier 5 winds, RBI officials wrote dia, supply responses in office in India. bal reporting norms. Swiss Franc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 85.66. . . . . . . . . . 86.00
years, subject to superannuation age of 60 years. in an article in the bulletin. the economy are gaining AIIB President Jin Liqun relevance to the bank. In­ The profession must see Singapore Dollar . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 59.37. . . . . . . . . . 59.61
Canadian Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 61.14. . . . . . . . . . 61.39
The amendment would be called Nationalised The authors, led by RBI strength, the authors not­ had called upon the fi­ dia is a founding member how technologies such as Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 17.87. . . . . . . . . . 17.98
Banks (Management and Miscellaneous Deputy Governor Michael ed in the article published nance minister here and of AIIB with the second­ blockchain could make a Australian Dollar . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 54.72. . . . . . . . . . 54.94
Provisions) Amendment Scheme, 2022. PTI Debabrata Patra, also said in the latest RBI Bulletin. discussed various issues of highest voting share. ‘difference’, she suggested. Source:Indian Bank

Sundram
Fasteners says
‘no cut in
capex plan’
The Hindu Bureau
CHENNAI
Sundram Fasteners on Fri­
day clarified there has
been no cut in its capex
plan for the current fiscal
year as reported in the No­
vember 17 edition of The
Hindu ‘Sundram Fasteners
to cut capex by ₹100 cr.’.
“We deny that the com­
pany has either postponed
or cancelled any of its ca­
pex programme,” CFO R.
Dilip Kumar wrote in an e­
mail. “During our recent
investors call too, there
was no announcement re­
garding the cut,” he added.
‘Data bill may need
multiple iterations’
Yuthika Bhargava
NEW DELHI
The draft Digital Personal
Data Protection Bill, 2022,
released on Friday has
more misses than hits, and
would need multiple itera­
tions before becoming
practical, experts said.
A majority of digital
rights activists said the Bill
did not seem to work to­
wards protecting people,
but ensured the govern­
ment retained power with­
out any checks or balances
— an issue that was raised
when the first draft of the
bill was released in 2018.
“Some problem areas
[in the revised Bill] have
existed since the first draft
came out, but there is no
improvement,” Namrata
Maheshwari, Asia Pacific
Policy Counsel at digital
rights organisation Access
Now, told The Hindu. She
said the government has
been given the power to ex­
empt not only government
agencies, but any entity
collecting user data, from
having to comply with the
provisions.
Technology Lawyer Mis­
hi Choudhary said the Bill
should be called “As May
Be Prescribed By Govt Bill”
as a lot is left to the rules.
“The Data Protection
Board is toothless,” Ms.
Choudhary said.
More Twitter workers flee after
Musk’s ‘hardcore’ ultimatum
Associated Press
Twitter continued to bleed
engineers and other work­
ers after Elon Musk gave
them a choice to pledge to
“hardcore” work or resign
with severance pay.
Hundreds of employees
signaled they were leaving
ahead of a Thursday dea­
dline set by Mr. Musk, post­
ing a salute emoji or other
symbols familiar to Twitter
workers on the company’s
Slack messaging board.
However, it was not al­
ways possible to tell if they
were doing so because
they were leaving or out of
solidarity with departing
colleagues, according to a
Elon Musk
current employee who also
spoke on condition of ano­
nymity for fear of retalia­
tion, and also a former em­
ployee who spoke on
condition of anonymity be­
cause of the confidentiality
required to get the seve­
rance pay.
Some took to Twitter to
announce they were sign­
ing off after the deadline.
A number of employees
took to a private forum out­
side of the company’s mes­
saging board to discuss
their planned departure,
asking questions about
how it might jeopardize
their U.S. visas or if they
would get the promised
severance pay, according
to an employee fired ear­
lier this week.
Twitter leadership sent
an unsigned email after the
deadline announcing that
offices would be closed
and employee badge ac­
cess disabled until Mon­
day. No reason was given,
according to an employee.
Chemplast Sanmar
expedites expansion
N. Anand
CHENNAI
Chemplast Sanmar Ltd.
said it is expediting the ex­
pansion of a custom manu­
facturing chemical division
near Hosur in Tamilnadu
to cater to additional vol­
ume requirements.
“With greater visibility
on new products, especial­
ly with the order win in
this half year, we plan to in­
crease the capacity in
Phase­I itself to provide for
incremental volumes,” MD
Ramkumar Shankar said
on an earnings call.
“Therefore, we plan to
advance some of the ca­
pacity planned in Phase­II
in Phase­I itself, which will
lead to the project cost for
Phase­I moving up from
₹260 crore to ₹310 crore,”
he added.
Chemplast Sanmar is a
leading supplier of inter­
mediates for global agro­
chemical, pharmaceutical
and fine chemical innova­
tors, and has a 1,068 mtpa
installed capacity at Beri­
gai, near Hosur.
According to Mr. Shan­
kar, Phase­I of the multi­
purpose custom manufac­
turing block is slated to be
completed by Q2 of FY24.
The specialty chemicals
company intends to com­
plete the civil work for the
entire project in this phase.

Manika Batra
moves into
the semifinals,
makes history
Sports Bureau
India’s Manika Batra oust­
ed Chen Szu­Yu of Taipei,
seeded eighth, 6­11, 11­6,
11­5, 11­7, 8­11, 9­11, 11­9 to
enter the semifinals of the
ITTF­ATTU Asian Cup table
tennis championships in
Bangkok on Friday.
This is the first time an
Indian has performed this
well in the 39 years of the
tournament.
She will take on Mima
Ito of Japan, the second
seed, in the last­four clash
on Saturday.
Mima drubbed Jeon Ji­
hee of Korea 11­8, 11­5, 12­
10, 15­13 in the second
quarterfinal.
CM
YK
Taylor Fritz advances
to the last four
Victory cry: Fritz broke twice in the final three games. GETTY IMAGES
Associated Press
TURIN
Taylor Fritz advanced to
the final four of the ATP Fi­
nals by beating Felix Auger­
Aliassime 7­6 (4), 6­7 (5),
6­2 on Thursday.
Fritz will face five­time
champion Novak Djokovic
in the semifinals. The Serb
outlasted Daniil Medvedev
6­3, 6­7(5), 7­6(2) in a Red
Group match on Friday.
The results: Green Group:
Taylor Fritz bt Felix Auger
Aliassime 7­6(4), 6­7(5), 6­2.
Red Group: Novak Djokovic bt
Daniil Medvedev 6­3, 6­7(5),
7­6(2).
Sport
Odisha makes a stunning comeback
Y.B. Sarangi
KOLKATA
Substitute Pedro Martin
starred with a brace as Od­
isha FC pumped in four se­
cond­half goals to register a
sensational fightback and
beat East Bengal 4­2 in the
Indian Super League at the
Salt Lake Stadium here on
Friday.
The hosts seized the in­
itiative when they backed
their build­ups with solid
work in the final third. A
superb pass from the
centre found an advancing
V. Suhair, who moved for­
ward and passed the ball to
Semboi who completed the
formalities.
The red­and­gold bri­
gade widened the lead 12
minutes later when Suhair,
who had moved to the left,
Hanging tough: Despite trailing 0­2, Odisha and Pedro never lost
sight of their goal. FOCUS SPORTS/ISL
pounced on a loose ball
and crossed to Mahesh
Singh, who made no
mistake.
Odisha showed better
coordination and Pedro
struck twice — in the 47th
and 48th minutes — to si­
lence the 17,000­plus East
Bengal fans. On both occa­
sions, he was ably assisted
by Diego Mauricio.
The visitors narrowed
the margin when Pedro
shot home a diagonal right­
footer. In the very next mi­
nute, Mauricio headed
down a ball in the goal­
mouth and Pedro headed
home the equaliser as the
East Bengal defence stood
exposed.
There was more trouble
for East Bengal as Chara­
lambos Kyriacou had to be
stretchered off with a head
injury. Another Odisha
substitute, Mahwiming­
thanga Jerry, cashed in on a
precise cross from the left
to score off a spectacular
header in the 66th minute.
Nandha Kumar’s strike
10 minutes later made it a
special evening for Odisha
and a forgettable one for
East Bengal.
The result: East Bengal 2
(Semboi 23, Mahesh 35) lost to
Odisha FC 4 (Pedro 47 & 48, Jerry
66, Nandha Kumar 76).
Inamdar does
it for Paltan;
Maninder and
Bharat shine
Sports Bureau
Puneri Paltan continued its
superb form in Season 9 of
the Pro Kabaddi League,
defeating Haryana Steelers
41­28 in Hyderabad on Fri­
day. Aslam Inamdar was
Pune’s star of the night,
scoring 10 points.
Captain Maninder Singh
(12) was in his element as
Bengal Warriors recorded
a 36­28 victory over Telugu
Titans in the second match
of the day.
Raider Bharat was in top
form, rattling up 18 points,
as Bengaluru Bulls eased to
a 45­38 win over Gujarat
Giants in the day’s final
contest.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Saturday, November 19, 2022 13
Delhi
Weekend Sport

CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
14 Saturday, November 19, 2022

Weekend Sport Delhi

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Saturday, November 19, 2022
Delhi
LAID LOW
Senegal star Sadio Mane ruled out
of World Cup after surgery
X X
Senegal star Sadio Mane has been ruled out of the World Cup after
undergoing surgery for his leg injury, Bayern Munich and the
Senegalese football federation said. The 30­year­old had an
operation in Innsbruck (Austria) for an injury he sustained while
playing for Bayern against Werder Bremen on November 8.
Fan favourite Brazil expected to
be runaway topper of Group G
The actual race will be for second place and the resulting knockout spot, likely between Serbia and Switzerland
FIFA WC COUNTDOWN
Ashwin Achal
n an odd coincidence,
I this group is almost
identical to Group E
from the 2018 World Cup.
Brazil, Switzerland and Ser­
bia are once again bunched
together, while Cameroon
is the fourth team, instead
of Costa Rica.
In the previous edition,
Brazil and Switzerland pro­
gressed to the knockouts.
Fan favourite Brazil should
have little trouble negotiat­
ing its way to the top of this
group. Its title­run in the
2002 World Cup was the
last time a non­European
side won the mega event.
Brazil enters the tourna­
ment with the best record,
enjoying a 17­match unbea­
ten run in the CONMEBOL
(South American Football
Confederation) qualifica­
tion round. With Brazil the
standout side, the true race
lies in capturing second
place and the resulting
knockout spot.
BRAZIL
Brazil, coached by Tite,
boasts of a squad packed
with talent. Brazil has relied
heavily on Neymar, but this
time, Vinicius Jr. is around
to provide world­class sup­
port in attack. Richarlison
and Gabriel Jesus are also
available if reinforcements
are needed.
In midfield, Liverpool’s
Fabinho and the Manches­
ter United duo of Casemiro
and Antony will call the
All eyes on Portugal in a group of ‘revenge matches’
Abhishek Saini
Group H is expected to be
closely tracked, partly be­
cause it has some mouth­
watering fixtures to offer
and mostly because Cris­
tiano Ronaldo’s Portugal is
part of it. Portugal is the
highest­ranked team in the
group, and firm favourite
to win it.
The biggest match with­
out doubt will be Uruguay
vs Portugal — a repeat of
the 2018 Round­of­16
match where the former
prevailed 2­1.
Another ‘rematch’ will
be Uruguay vs Ghana. In
2010, Luis Suarez handled
the ball to prevent Ghana
from scoring in the quar­
terfinals. Asamoah Gyan
missed the subsequent pe­
nalty to help La Celeste
advance.
PORTUGAL
For a team enjoying the
riches of its golden genera­
tion, the build­up to the
World Cup campaign has
been surprisingly quiet for
Portugal.
One reason could be the
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shots. Thiago Silva and Mar­
quinhos form the core of
the defence. Moreover,
Alisson Becker and Man­
chester City’s Ederson are
among the best custodians.
SERBIA
As an independent nation,
Serbia has played in the
World Cup twice (2010 and
2018) — failing to progress
beyond the group stage.
Serbia counts on the attack­
ing prowess of Dusan Tad­
ic, Aleksandar Mitrovic and
Luka Jovic. Dusan Vlahovic,
who did well in Serbia’s
complications the team
created for itself on the
path to Qatar.
Having lost to Serbia in
its last qualifier, Portugal
had to take the longer
route, via the playoffs.
There is still plenty to look
forward to for Portugal,
which carries a new look
from the side that was
eliminated in the Round­
of­16 in Russia four years
ago.
A solid run would be a
fitting farewell for Cristia­
no Ronaldo, and an oppor­
tunity to hand over the ba­
ton to the likes of Joao
Felix, Bruno Fernandes
and Ruben Dias.
These players form the
core of the team, most hav­
ing tasted success with the
Nations League triumph in
2019.
URUGUAY
One of the eight nations to
have lifted the coveted tro­
phy, Uruguay, however, is
a shadow of the team it
once was.
Uruguay finished third
in 2010, and was eliminat­
ed in the Round­of­16 and
DOUBLE BLOW
Injured Gonzalez and Correa
out of Qatar World Cup
Argentina strikers Nicolas Gonzalez, in pic, and Joaquin Correa have
been ruled out of the World Cup with injuries. Gonzalez, who plays
for Fiorentina, injured a muscle during a training session on
Thursday. Joaquin Correa was removed from the 26­man squad
with an unspecified injury.
qualifying campaign, is also
expected to shine.
The defence, which kept
just one clean sheet in the
qualifiers, is a weakness.
Manager Dragan Stojkovic
helmed an otherwise fine
European qualification
run, where the side fin­
ished on top of Group A
ahead of Portugal.
SWITZERLAND
Captain Granit Xhaka and
vice­captain Xherdan Sha­
qiri are the big names ex­
pected to do big things.
Nottingham Forest’s Remo
quarterfinals in 2014 and
2018. It won’t be any easier
to go one step better this
THE HINDU
Sport
Freuler can cover for Xhaka
when the latter surges for­
ward. Also, Murat Yakin has
built a reputation as an at­
tack­minded manager.
Borussia Monchenglad­
bach’s Yann Sommer has
emerged as one of the best
goalkeepers in the Bundes­
liga. Switzerland’s last best
showing came in 1954,
when, as host, it made a
quarterfinal run.
CAMEROON
Cameroon sticks out as the
weakest team in the group.
After an inspiring quarterfi­
year, but the team’s young
guns — Nunez, Fede Val­
verde and Jose Gimenez —
DOWNER
Beer sales banned around
World Cup stadiums
X X
FIFA and Qatar on Friday banned beer sales around the eight World
Cup stadiums in a stunning policy U­turn just two days before the
start of the tournament. Football’s world governing body said the
decision was taken following “discussions” with the World Cup host,
an Islamic state which severely restricts alcohol consumption.
nal finish in 1990, the team
has barely made a mark.
The African nation is adept
in attack. Midfielder Andre­
Frank Zambo Anguissa has
come good for Napoli this
season, while Eric Maxim
Choupo­Moting and Vin­
cent Aboubakar form a
good striking partnership.
The defence is brittle,
save for experienced Inter
goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Manager Rigobert Song,
who took the job in Febru­
ary, will have to inspire his
players to punch above
their weight.
will hope to make it a
memorable campaign. Un­
der new manager Diego
Figo believes Portugal has
a chance to go the distance
Former captain expects fireworks from Ronaldo who will be itching to
make his last appearance in the showpiece a memorable one
INTERVIEW
Luis Figo
L
uis Figo was the cap­
tain Cristiano Ronal­
do played under
when he made his debut for
Portugal. Figo is expecting
fireworks from Ronaldo in
his last World Cup in Qatar.
Can Portugal reach a
first World Cup final in
Qatar?
Why not? We have a good
squad. All the boys have
been playing well for clubs
in Europe. Above all, we
have Cristiano Ronaldo who
will be eager to make his
last World Cup a memora­
ble one. So, there is every
possibility we will go the
distance.
A super computer has
predicted a final
between Argentina and
Portugal, a
Messi­Ronaldo final!
If that happens, the football
world will clearly be divid­
ed again. I can only say both
of them deserve a great fa­
rewell. With the help of
their teammates, they can
fulfil their own as well as
their country’s dreams.
Will there be more
pressure on Cristiano,
given that Portugal has
never won?
When you are on the field,
you don’t remember what
Alonso, Uruguay has en­
joyed a decent run of
form.
A WASH OUT
India­NZ series opener fails to
take off due to incessant rain
The first T20I of the three­match series between India and New
Zealand was called off without a ball being bowled as incessant rain
made the ground unplayable in Wellington on Friday. The match
was ultimately called off at 8.52 p.m. local time. The second T20I
will be played in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.
No holding him back! Ronaldo is expected to do all in his power
to bring glory to Portugal. AFP
happened in the past. Your
only intention is winning.
History comes to mind only
after the match.
You led the 2006 team...
Yes, fond memories! We
lost to France, led by my ve­
ry good friend Zinedine Zi­
dane. As a team, we tried
our best, but could not win
that day.
Your impression of
Ronaldo who made his
WC debut that year
His first competition for
Portugal was not the World
Cup but the Euro in 2004,
we were the hosts. He was
already signed by Sir Alex
Ferguson for Manchester
United a year before and
that was big news for all of
us. We watched him grow
into one of the best in the
history of the game.
But his current form
with Manchester
United…
SOUTH KOREA
Tell a South Korean that
Portugal and Uruguay are
the favourites in Group H
and you’ll be reminded of
2018 when the Asian giant
knocked out Germany in
the group stage. However,
it’s been a nervous few
days in South Korea as an
entire nation waits with
bated breath to know Son
Heung­Min’s fate. Son
picked up a facial injury
during in a Champions
League game and though
he has travelled to Qatar,
it’s not clear if he will play.
South Korea has quite a
few who ply their trade in
Europe, but coach Paulo
Bento will be a worried
man nonetheless.
GHANA
Ghana is ranked 61st, the
lowest among the 32 final­
ists. Under new manager
Otto Addo, it will look to at
least emulate results from
2010 and 2014 when it pro­
gressed to the knockout
phase. The addition of In­
aki Williams and Tariq
Lamptey should aid that
cause.
15
He will be leading Portugal
in his last World Cup and I
am sure he will do everyth­
ing to bring us glory.
With Uruguay, Ghana
and South Korea, it’s a
strong group for
Portugal
That will help you concen­
trate from the very begin­
ning. We lost to Uruguay in
Russia. Ghana is physically
strong, while the South Ko­
reans play a speedy game
that can surprise any team.
Coach Fernando Santos is
experienced enough to
counter them.
Your favourites, other
than Portugal, in the
tournament
France, Brazil, Germany,
England, Argentina, Spain
and yes, Belgium. I think I
have picked all! Cannot say
which team will win, but
there is little chance of any
team other than one of
these eight taking the Cup!
BCCI invites
applications
for selectors’
posts
Amol Karhadkar
MUMBAI
The BCCI has invited appli­
cations for each of the five
members in the men’s se­
nior national selection
committee. The Board is­
sued an advisory on Fri­
day, asking eligible former
cricketers to submit appli­
cations by November 28.
The eligibility criteria is the
same as the last time the
BCCI invited applications,
in January 2020.
Besides having retired
from First Class cricket at
least five years earlier, the
applicant should have
played seven Tests or 30
First Class games or 10
ODIs and 20 First Class
games. No person who has
served five years in Cricket
Committees of the BCCI
will be considered.
The Hindu understands
that the yet­to­be reconsti­
tuted Cricket Advisory
Committee will be asked to
appoint the new panel.
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16
Rhythm-Vijayveer
INBRIEF
쑽 쑽
combine on target
Manu and Samrat take the honours in junior category as India signs
off with 25 gold medals in the Asian Airgun championship
Sports Bureau
hythm Sangwan
R
Harinder Pal stuns Lam, and Vijayveer Sid­
hu won the mixed
makes the last eight air pistol gold, by outclass­
ing Irina Yunusmetova and
Former World No. 47 Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu Valeriy Rakhimzhan of Ka­
defeated sixth seed Harley Lam of Hong Kong zakhstan 17­3, in the 15th
11­3, 11­8, 11­6 in the pre­quarterfinals of the Asian Airgun champion­
fourth HCL PSA Challenger squash tournament ship which concluded in
in Jodhpur on Friday. Velavan Senthilkumar was Daegu, Korea, on Friday.
the other Indian to make the quarterfinals in the With Manu Bhaker and
men’s event as he cruised past seventh seed Hafiz Samrat Rana winning the
Zhafri of Malaysia in straight games. junior mixed air pistol
The results (pre­quarterfinals):
Men: Velavan Senthilkumar bt Hafiz Zhafri (Mas) 11­3, 11­5,
gold, with an identical win
over Nigina Saidkulova and
11­3; Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu bt Harley Lam (Hkg) 11­3,
11­8, 11­6; Abhay Singh bt Wae Ming Hock (Mas) 11­5, 11­6,
11­7. Women: Aira Azman (Mas) bt Nour Wageeh (Egy) 10­12,
Mukhammad Kamalov of
Uzbekistan, India’s domi­
nation of the competition
11­3, 11­7, 11­7; Ching Hei Fung (Hkg) bt Urwashi Joshi 11­8,
was complete.
11­6, 11­8; Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Salma El Alfy (Egy) 11­8, 11­2,
11­8; Akanksha Salunkhe bt Lam Po Ying (Hkg) 11­8, 11­5, Rich haul
7­11, 11­6; Tanvi Khanna bt Wong Po Yu Kirstie (Hkg) 11­5,
India won 25 of the 28 gold
11­4, 11­5; Amina Orfi (Egy) bt Sunita Patel 11­5, 11­2, 11­1;
Cheng Nga Ching (Hkg) bt Rathika Seelan 11­8, 11­4, 11­3. medals, losing only the wo­
men’s air pistol team,
youth women’s air pistol
and men’s air rifle gold me­
dals to host Korea.
Fletcher’s strike helps India had skipped the
NEROCA beat Sudeva Delhi last championship in
NEROCA FC defeated Sudeva Delhi FC 1­0 in the
I­League in Imphal. Jourdain Fletcher’s
long­range shot in the 62nd minute proved to be
the difference.
DELHI ROUND-UP
쑽 6­7(5), 6­4. Doubles
Other result: At Aizawl: Aizawl FC 0 lost to Gokulam Kerala 1
(Zaman 87).
Mehra and Bisht excel
Friends Club defeated
Noida Wonders by 119
LIVE TELECAST runs in the first Yashpal
Sharma memorial cricket
쑽 (quarterfinals): Sriram Balaji &
tournament at the Mohan
Australia vs England: 2nd ODI, Sony Sports 5 (SD & HD) &
LIV, 8.50 a.m. Meakin’s ground at
Ghaziabad.
IRL: First Qualifying, Star Sports 2 (SD & HD) & Hotstar, 3 p.m.,
The scores: Friends Club 289/7
Sprint Race 1, Star Sports 2 (SD & HD) & Hotstar, 4.30 p.m.
in 40 overs (Prince Mehra 122
ISL: Star Sports 1 (SD & HD), Star Sports 3 & Hotstar, 5.30 & n.o., Rajender Bisht 45, Eshaan
7.30 p.m. Arora 45) bt Noida Wonders 170
ATP Finals: Sports 18­1 (SD & HD) & Voot Select, 6.30 p.m. in 35.4 overs (Arjun Dagar 83,
PKL: Star Sports 2 (SD & HD) & Hotstar, 7.30 p.m. Rajender Bisht 3/22).
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THE HINDU
Sport
Crack shots: Rhythm and Vijayveer acknowledge their success.
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Shymkent (Kazakhstan)
and when it competed the
last time in 2019 at Chinese
Taipei, it had won 14 of the
18 gold medals.
The results: Air pistol: Mixed
team: 1. India­2 (Rhythm
Sangwan, Vijayveer Sidhu) 17
(579), 2. Kazakhstan 3 (577), 3.
Amigo clinches title
Gourav Tomas (79 n.o. and
2/12) guided Amigo Team
to a 17­run victory over
Sethi Sports to win the
sixth all­India B.R. Sharma
Trophy.
The scores:
Amigo Team 296/4 in 40 overs
(Gourav Tomar 79 n.o., Badal
Singh 88 n.o., Kapil Dagar 58) bt
Sethi Sports 279/7 in 40 overs
(Dhruv Singh 74, Sumit Chikara
63 n.o., Ankit Dabas 59).
Korea 16 (573).
4. India (Shiva Narwal, Yuvika
Tomar).
Junior mixed team: 1. India
(Manu Bhaker, Samrat Rana) 17
(578), 2. Uzbekistan 3 (579), 3.
Korea (Yang Jiin, Lee Seungjun)
16 (566).
4. India­2 (Sagar Dangi, Esha
Singh) 14 (576).
Akshat sizzles
An all­round performance
by man­of­the­match
Akshat Jain (38 and 4/22)
and Ashok Kumar’s 66 n.o.
helped JSA Advocates beat
Indus Law by 109 runs in
the Turf Silf league.
The scores:
JSA Advocates 220/5 in 20 overs
(Ashok Kumar 66 n.o., Akshat
Jain 38, Ganesh 3/26) bt Indus
Law 111 in 20 overs (Akshat Jain
4/22).
SATURDAY’S HAZARE
TROPHY SCHEDULE
Group A (Delhi): Hyderabad vs.
Manipur; Himachal Pradesh vs.
Saurashtra; Chandigarh vs. Uttar
Pradesh; Gujarat vs. Tripura.
Group B (Kolkata): Rajasthan
vs. Vidarbha; Assam vs.
Karnataka; Jharkhand vs.
Meghalaya; Delhi vs. Sikkim.
Group C (Bengaluru): Andhra
vs. Kerala; Haryana vs. Tamil
Nadu; Bihar vs. Chhattisgarh;
Arunachal Pradesh vs. Goa.
Group D (Mumbai): Nagaland
vs. Uttarakhand; Madhya
Pradesh vs. Punjab; Jammu &
Kashmir vs. Odisha.
Group E (Ranchi): Maharashtra
vs. Services; Bengal vs. Railways;
Mizoram vs. Mumbai.
Adhiraj claims
the title
Sports Bureau
Second seed Adhiraj Tha­
kur defeated top seed Mo­
hammad Asim 6­2, 6­1 in
the boys final of the AITA
Super series under­16 ten­
nis tournament in Jaland­
har on Friday.
Kriish to meet
Hanu in final
Sports Bureau
Kriish Tyagi beat Aayush
Bhat to set up a final
against Hanu Patel in the
ITF junior tournament in
Guwahati on Friday.
The results: Boys: Semifinals:
Hanu Patel bt Luc Wieland 6­3,
7­5; Kriish Tyagi bt Aayush Bhat
2­6, 6­2, 6­4. Doubles (final):
Aayush & Aman bt Daskalovic &
Wieland 4­6, 6­3, [10­5].
Girls: Semifinals: Sonal Patil bt
Maya Boonyaaroonnet 6­2, 6­0;
Margot Phanthalabt Prisha
Shinde 6­0, 6­3. Doubles (final):
Sreenidhi & Charmi bt Margot &
Sonal 6­3, 5­7, [10­7].
Arjun eases past
Mamedyarov
CHESS
Sports Bureau
After three losses, Arjun
Erigaisi opened his ac­
count with twin wins over
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
for a 3­1 victory but R.
Praggnanandhaa paid de­
cisively for his one­move
blunder against Wesley So
in the fourth round of the
$210,000 Meltwater Cham­
pions Chess Tour Finals on
Thursday. Arjun won the
Ramkumar exits in
the quarterfinals
INDIANS ABROAD
Sports Bureau
Yosuke Watanuki of Japan
beat Ramkumar Rama­
nathan 7­5, 6­1 in the quar­
terfinals of the $53,120
Challenger tennis in Kobe,
Japan, on Friday.
In the $25,000 ITF wo­
men’s tournament in Tra­
ralgon, top seed Ankita
Raina lost in quarterfinals.
The results: €67,960
Challenger, Helsinki: Doubles
(quarterfinals): Purav Raja &
Divij Sharan bt Eero Vasa & Otto
Virtanen (Fin) 3­6, 6­4, [10­6].
$53,120 Challenger,
Champaign, USA: Doubles
Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt Adam
Walton (Aus) & Anirudh
Chandrasekar 7­6(8), 2­6, [10­4].
$53,120 Challenger, Kobe,
Japan: Singles (quarterfinals):
Yosuke Watanuki (Jpn) bt
Ramkumar Ramanathan 7­5, 6­1.
$25,000 ITF women, Traralgon
: Singles (quarterfinals):
Saturday, November 19, 2022
Delhi
even­numbered games
with white pieces and
drew with black. Praggna­
nandhaa’s error on the
32nd move of the third
game led to the only deci­
sive game of the four­game
match.
The standings (after four
rounds): 1. Magnus Carlsen (Nor,
12 match points), 2. Jan­Krzysztof
Duda (Pol, 9), 3. Liem Le Quang
(Vie, 7), 4. Wesley So (USA, 6), 5­6.
Anish Giri (Ned, 4), R.
Praggnanandhaa (4), 7­8. Arjun
Erigaisi (3) and Shakhriyar
Mamedyarov (Aze, 3).
Destanee Aiava (Aus) bt Ankita
Raina 6­4, 6­0.
Doubles (quarterfinals): Talia
Gibson & Petra Hule (Aus) bt
Michika Ozeki (Jpn) & Sahaja
Yamalapalli 6­3, 6­1.
$15,000 ITF women, Nules,
Spain: Doubles (semifinals):
Laura Boehner (Ger) & Mihaela
Djakovic (Srb) bt Ines Murta (Por)
& Vasanti Shinde 6­4, 6­4.
$15,000 ITF women, Nairobi:
Quarterfinals: Sharmada Balu
bt Sabastiani Leon (USA) 6­4, 6­4;
Pre­quarterfinals: Sharmada bt
Roselida Asumwa (Ken) 6­3,
(quarterfinals): Angella Okutoyi
(Ken) & Smriti Bhasin bt Emma
Tothova (Svk) & Sharmada Balu
6­4, 6­2. Pre­quarterfinals:
Angella Okutoyi (Ken) & Smriti
Bhasin bt Caroline Romeo (Fra) &
Sevil Yuldasheva (Uzb) 6­7(4),
6­2,[10­8]; Deline Simunyu (Irl) &
Sravya Shivani bt Nicole Pratt
(Aus) & Prisha Vyas (USA) 6­1, 6­0;
Mahrukh Kokni & Sharanya Shetty
bt Akua Hansen (Ger) & Laalitya
Kalluri 6­4, 6­3.
$25,000 UTR Pro women,
Dubai: Group­C: Borislava
Botusharova (Bul) bt Sai
Samhitha 7­5, 6­4.
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