Skip to main content <#maincontent> We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us! Internet Archive logo A line drawing of the Internet Archive headquarters building façade. Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Upload icon An illustration of a horizontal line over an up pointing arrow. Upload User icon An illustration of a person's head and chest. Sign up | Log in Web icon An illustration of a computer application window Wayback Machine Texts icon An illustration of an open book. Books Video icon An illustration of two cells of a film strip. Video Audio icon An illustration of an audio speaker. Audio Software icon An illustration of a 3.5" floppy disk. Software Images icon An illustration of two photographs. Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses. More Hamburger icon An icon used to represent a menu that can be toggled by interacting with this icon. Internet Archive Audio Live Music Archive Librivox Free Audio Featured * All Audio * This Just In * Grateful Dead * Netlabels * Old Time Radio * 78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings Top * Audio Books & Poetry * Computers, Technology and Science * Music, Arts & Culture * News & Public Affairs * Spirituality & Religion * Podcasts * Radio News Archive Images Metropolitan Museum Cleveland Museum of Art Featured * All Images * This Just In * Flickr Commons * Occupy Wall Street Flickr * Cover Art * USGS Maps Top * NASA Images * Solar System Collection * Ames Research Center Software Internet Arcade Console Living Room Featured * All Software * This Just In * Old School Emulation * MS-DOS Games * Historical Software * Classic PC Games * Software Library Top * Kodi Archive and Support File * Vintage Software * APK * MS-DOS * CD-ROM Software * CD-ROM Software Library * Software Sites * Tucows Software Library * Shareware CD-ROMs * Software Capsules Compilation * CD-ROM Images * ZX Spectrum * DOOM Level CD Books Books to Borrow Open Library Featured * All Books * All Texts * This Just In * Smithsonian Libraries * FEDLINK (US) * Genealogy * Lincoln Collection Top * American Libraries * Canadian Libraries * Universal Library * Project Gutenberg * Children's Library * Biodiversity Heritage Library * Books by Language * Additional Collections Video TV News Understanding 9/11 Featured * All Video * This Just In * Prelinger Archives * Democracy Now! * Occupy Wall Street * TV NSA Clip Library Top * Animation & Cartoons * Arts & Music * Computers & Technology * Cultural & Academic Films * Ephemeral Films * Movies * News & Public Affairs * Spirituality & Religion * Sports Videos * Television * Videogame Videos * Vlogs * Youth Media Search the history of over 835 billion web pages on the Internet. Search the Wayback Machine Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Mobile Apps * Wayback Machine (iOS) * Wayback Machine (Android) Browser Extensions * Chrome * Firefox * Safari * Edge Archive-It Subscription * Explore the Collections * Learn More * Build Collections Save Page Now Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. Please enter a valid web address * About * Blog * Projects * Help * Donate * Contact * Jobs * Volunteer * People * Sign up for free * Log in Search metadata Search text contents Search TV news captions Search radio transcripts Search archived web sites Advanced Search * About * Blog * Projects * Help * Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape * Contact * Jobs * Volunteer * People Full text of "IE September 29 2023 " See other formats DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA $The IndianEXPRESS JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 28 PAGES SINCE 1932 77.00 (78 BIHAR & RAIPUR, #12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM EXT IAS BIG LEARNINGS MADE EASY Conducting NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP TEST THIS IS NOT JUST A SCHOLARSHIP TEST, Pu ITS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT CAN CUISE EA | RESHAPE YOUR FUTURE. *MAP NÖT TO SCALE h A : 2 et > Pu ST. _ SS aw ma e i TEST CENTRES : m | 55 CITIES ACROSS INDIA a =" @------------. a. aa os Sere SS PRE-CUM-MAIN | ; S FOUNDATION >: > COURSE 2025 . . Re | Scan to register T g è NST Test Centres La Note : Allotment of test centres will be on - y s : i NEXT IAS Centres F first-apply-first-allot' basis. Delhi Centre: Bhopal Centre: Jaipur Centre: Our Initiatives 27-B, Pusa Road, Metro Pillar No. 118, Plot No. 46, A-1, Lion's Colony, Sitabari, ®© www.nextias.com y Near Karol Bagh Metro Station, ZONE - 2, M.P. Nagar, Near The Theme Hotel, New Delhi - 110060 Bhopal - 462011 Tonk Road, Jaipur - 302018 24 info@nextias.com MADE EASY SCHOOL Ph : 8081300200 Ph : 8827664612 Ph : 8081300200 UPSC CSE CBSE K-12 School (Delhi& Gurugram) ESE & GATE epeper T ia ai ; bi ] | E nn H WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 pany PHD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY VOICE OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE | 1 Gel Baas, wel wages Amrit Kaal of Unprecedented Growth Friday, 29th September 2023 at 09:00 AM | Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi CHIEF GUEST Shri Amit Shah è) ‘ nen | i \ Jury presided over by z Hon'ble Home Minister & Minister of PE es Hon’ble Justice Shri Dipak Misra Cooperation, Government of India $ =G 555) 55 2023 Former Chief Justice of India Shri Hardeep Singh Puri REEE : | Hon'ble Union Minister of Petroleum General Manoj Pande } and Natural í Gas and Housing & = PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC ’ Urban Affairs, Government of India : Chief of the Army Staff (India) as Pant fe a TP Peer : Inspiring Women Leaders (02:30 pm - 03:30 pm) (03:30 pm - 04:30 pm) | (04:30 pm - 05:30 pm) Session Moderator: Session Moderator: Session Moderator: Mr Parikshit Luthra Mr Parikshit Luthra Ms Ritika Jhanji Jagtiani Bureau Chief (Editorial & Content) Bureau Chief (Editorial & Content) TV Anchor & Presenter CNBC-TV18 CNBC-TV18 p list p list Panelist: anēilšf: ranest: 2 a i , F Ms Ritu Dalmia Mr Rajeev Ju neja Mr Devansh Jain Celebrity Chef & Co-Owner Vice Chairman & Managing Director Executive Director, INOXGFL Group Diva Restaurant Mankind Pharma Ltd | ares Rete a Mr Deepak Jain Ms Ruchi Kalra Mr Abhishek Khaitan Chairman, Lumax Group Co-Founder, OfBusiness Managing Director Mr Push . ! np Jain haili ae Kiara LLA Deputy Managing Director, KLJ Plasticizers Ltd ms Sna opri Mr Sujeet Kumar Mr Riju Jhunjhunwala Gytree and Shethepeopletv Co-founder, Udaan Chairman & Managing Director, RSWM Ltd PHDCCI LEADERSHIP Mr. Saket Dalmia Mr. Sanjeev Agrawal Mr. Hemant Jain Dr. Pradeep Multani Dr. Ranjeet Mehta President, PHDCCI Sr. Vice President, PHDCCI Vice President, PHDCCI Immediate Former Executive Director, PHDCCI President, PHDCCI Premier Partner Industry Partners Supporting Partners a a i iT s ee ging Heed pot ite Fie APAN A Rie! haf = | SN. Aa) EPACK i namene D esm fection (aate "E lmia® -C1 E eee Scrysta, N masaa EN = aroma magic meee e os intemal Herbalife” Vfanvolution HEALTHCARE goa Erekrut A a JMBAXI f a =m aiea TESE Chai Bibi Diir ' l i rere Bineli ‘ i JAC GROUP - i ‘i Ws a Associate Partners Hinana RE Endaring Val LE ame Se e: NTeS sited N ga | aai 30n SAGE ‘ai VIRTUOSO Media Partner 4 ADENAUER + SBI Kajar la CLE Ea ROGERS vA mel” OL ete ee i va au. NETSOrT Ee tool SD am STIFTUNG ; ciiai Eidico Khitan Limited FE. ROGERS INDIA Distribution Redefined ae ie DIAMOND SPONSORS PLATINUM SPONSORS pi DLEA, no, X AVATA STEEL & POWER KLJ GROUP eae iV A VESTIGE enzy etree SAMSUNG MAN RSVP: Jaipal Chauhan - E-mail: jaipal.chaunan@phdcci.in Mobile No.: 8860472209 | Dinesh Kumar - E-mail: dinesh.kumar@phdcci.in Mobile No.: 9891028899 PHD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY : PHD HOUSE,4/2 SIRI INSTITUTIONAL AREA, AUGUST KRANTI MARG, NEW DELHI-110016 Gn | W ib | ve B Eg] B A FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 28 PAGES His evergreen revolution: Rise in productivity, but no ecological harm y | M S SWAMINATHAN 1925-2023 HARISH DAMODARAN NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 NORMAN BORLAUG may have been the Father of the Green Revolution, but its architect in India was undoubtedly Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan. The agricultural scientist, who passed away Thursday af- ter turning 98 on August 7, was hardly 30 in 1955 when he heard from Hitoshi Kihara, the well- known wheat geneticist from Japan, about Norin-10, a semi- dwarf variety bred at an experi- mental station in that country’s Iwate Prefecture. Swaminathan had, in late- 1954, joined the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) at New Delhi as an assis- tant cytogeneticist. This was af- ter a PhD from Cambridge University, UK and a two-year postdoctoral stint at Wisconsin, US, where he worked on potato THE WORLD z. STUDENT GUNMAN HELD AFTER KILLING TWO IN ROTTERDAM UNIVERSITY PAGE 19 GOVT & POLITICS COMMUNAL SLURS IN HOUSE: COMPLAINTS GO TO PRIVILEGES COMMITTEE PAGE12 EXPLAINED MALDIVES POLLS AND INDIA PAGE 20 BUSINESS AS USUAL By UNNY i genetics and breeding of frost- and disease-resistant varieties. At IARI’s Botany Division, which he was to later rename as Division of Genetics, Swaminathan’s focus shifted to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MORE REPORTS PAGE 16 Protect worship places, properties | DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, § The IndianEX JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SINCE 1932 NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA RESS 77.00 (78 BIHAR & RAIPUR, #12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM of displaced: SC panel to Manipur Direction in wake of vandalism; police say 386 religious places were targeted APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 WITH PLACES of worship being vandalised in the ethnic clashes that have roiled Manipur since May, a three-member commit- tee of former judges, constituted by the Supreme Court, has asked the state government to “imme- diately identify” all religious buildings in the state and protect them from damage, destruction and encroachment. The panel has also asked the state to ensure “the protection of the properties of the displaced persons as well as the properties which have been destroyed/ burnt in the violence and pre- vent their encroachment”. “The Government of Manipur should immediately identify all religious buildings in the State (which would include Churches; Hindu Temples; Sanamahi Temples; Mosques and any building of any other re- ligion) whether existing at pres- ent or vandalised/ damaged/ burnt in the violence which started on 03.05.2023,” the com- mittee recommended in its CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MOB BID TO STORM CM’S HOUSE FOILED PAGE 16 m Naorem Roshibina Devi won the silver in the women's 60-kg wushu on Thursday. PTI Wushu player from Manipur breaks down, dedicates silver medal to state 1 Fi T AT d m GAMES MIHIR VASAVDA HANGZHOU, SEPTEMBER 28 MINUTES AFTER winning a wushu (martial arts) silver, tears flowed down Naorem Roshibina Devi's face. These, however, weren't tears of joy. While in Hangzhou, her mind was on the ethnic violence back home in Manipur. In digital Bill, Govt may ban some new tech citing user harm, security SOUMYARENDRA BARIK NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 THE CENTRE is planning to reg- ulate the deployment of emerg- ing technologies and could cat- egorically prohibit some of these new age technologies where it sees a risk to the user, or a na- tional security risk, The Indian Express has learnt. “But, whatever the govern- ment decides, its reasons for bar- ring any technology will be recorded in writing,” a senior government official said, re- I On Govt radar EXPLAINED THE MOTIVATION is to preempt technologies that could have a “disrup- tive impact” on users. While the government is still considering the emerging technologies, solutions like blockchain and metaverse could be on its radar. questing anonymity since the draft of the Digital India Bill is yet to be finalised, and deliberations are private. The Digital India Bill, which is the imminent successor to the Information Technology Act, 2000, is a key part of a compre- hensive legal framework which encompasses various legislative measures such as the recently- notified Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, and a policy addressing the governance of non-personal data. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Punjab arrests Cong MLA, party tells MANOJCG & NAVJEEVAN GOPAL NEW DELHI, CHANDIGARH, SEPTEMBER 28 SUKHPAL SINGH Khaira, Congress MLA from Bholath in Punjab and chief of the All India Kisan Congress, was arrested Thursday morning from Chandigarh by Punjab Police in connection with a 2015 narcotics case. AAP: Not done, not within vf F Khaira was TE arrested in m age a2015 y e narcotics « ee case This drew an angry response from the Congress which told the AAP, the ruling party in Punjab, that constituents of the INDIA bloc should not be employing “the BJP’s tool” of “vendetta pol- INDIA bloc itics” against each other. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who was in Chhattisgarh for a state govern- ment event, told reporters: “A person who does injustice does not last. Aur koi anyay hamare upar karega, toh anyay sahan karne wale log bi hum nahin hai (And if someone is unjust to us, we are not the kind who will bear it quietly).” The Congress leadership, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Untold story of a rescue op: A transport aircraft, an unlit runway and 90 minutes PAGE 1 AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 THE LIGHTS of the C-130] Super Hercules transport aircraft twin- kled in the inky blackness of the night. Without navigational aids or guiding lights, the pilots were almost blindsided as the aircraft approached the narrow, dam- aged airstrip at Wadi Seidna in Sudan. The weather had deteri- orated too — the aircraft hit tur- bulence as it encountered severe icing. The risks were high. The The IAF Super Hercules engines were kept running, in case the aircraft had to take off at short notice. Indian Air Force epaper Ban Wia i .com wreckage of an aircraft lay off the airstrip. Had it been shot at? No one knew. Yet, for the pilots and Garud Commandos on board the C- 130], the call of duty — to rescue a group of stranded Indians — far outweighed any sense of risk. Hours after the grey turboprop craft touched down on the bumpy airstrip, the Indian Air Force had pulled off one of the most daring operations it has ever conducted — rescuing 121 Indians stuck in and around the Sudanese capital of Khartoum as part of Operation Kaveri in April this year. This is the story of that mis- sion. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Hailing from Bishnupur dis- trict, one of the epicentres of eth- nic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities that have kept the state on the boil for months now, Devi, a Meitei, said she’s spent sleepless nights wor- rying about her parents. “I dedicate this medal to Manipur,” she said, flashing the silver minutes after going down to China’s Wu Xiaowei in the fi- nal. “I want to dedicate this medal to those who have been protecting and fighting for us.” The silver was an improve- ment on the bronze she won five years ago in Jakarta. And when she stepped off the podium at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre, Devi spoke from the heart. She recounted how her father, Naorem Dhamu, has had to step out in the middle of the violence to “protect the village”; mother Romila Devi takes part in night vigils; and siblings have been con- fined to their room for months because they are too young. “There have been times when I have wondered if] will be able to talk to them again,” Devi said. “I don't know what will happen to us. Abhi pura dar ke baitha hua hai (We are living ina CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 — TEAM INDIA | p | E o] Hama Goo dsavaar! daCumh al ABs Aizawl ignores Delhi: Won't do biometrics of Myanmar refugees SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, SEPTEMBER 28 IN A significant decision, the Mizoram government has de- clared that it will not be collect- ing biometric data of Myanmar refugees in the state, ignoring a direction by the Centre. In April this year, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had di- rected the governments of both Mizoram and Manipur, which share borders with Myanmar, to capture the biometric and bio- graphic details of “illegal immi- grants” in their states. In June, it directed the states that the cam- paign be completed by the end of September and directed both to prepare a plan and initiate the process. The government of Mizoram, W unacademy Apolitical issue, Says Zoramthanga government which is headed for elections by the end of this year, has opened its doors to refugees fleeing the army crackdown in Myanmar and has earlier too ignored the Centre's orders to close the bor- der. The Chin people in Myanmar share a common ethnicity with the Mizos. Now, while the Zoramthanga-led Mizo National Front (MNF) government has said it won't be collecting the biometric data of refugees, the Manipur government too has CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HA 2024 IAS & Adal dl Ge Alcle Prayaas (Hinglish) 3g Lakshya (Hindi) Batches ® ale Get up to 50% off and a 12-month extension Start your preparation today, offer ends on Sept 30 Mrunal Patel Economy 1:1 Doubt Solving and Mentorship Pratik Nayak History Sudarshan Gurjar Geography Madhukar Kotawe CSAT Dr. Sidharth Arora Polity Prepare for the toughest exam in the world with the best Unlimited Access to Live and Recorded classes to Enroll 360° Coverage of Current Affairs 40+ Weekly Sectional and Full-Length Tests (Prelims and Mains) For more information: t 85 85 85 85 85 *T&C apply, as available on the platform. | | brisi | 7 oo) ge- beara Today's top news | | | n$ 4%" | Virat Kohli reclaims top position in IOC Test Batting Rankings | | indian opper piped Aiaia n Geese Sth once sgan fo rebem hack io fhe hn 1 pnmhen in the KIE | | Test Batting Rankings FROM PAGE ONE Lepress Stroam P Treh ai f F = F k a E r F | A wy i i | hh Bw a DOWNLOAD APP m VISUAL STORIES m DAILY BRIEFING = PODCASTS _ m CUSTOMIZABLE NEWS EXPERIENCE Indian Express kkk 4.6 SCAN THIS QR CODE TO DOWNLOAD THE APP SC panel on Manipur meeting with state government officials on September 8. It is learnt that a recommendation was also made to protect such buildings “from encroachment” and “damage/destruction.” In a statement earlier this month, the Manipur Police had stated that 386 religious struc- tures in the state had been van- dalised through arson during the course of the ongoing violence. Of these, police said, 254 were churches and 132 temples. These religious structures were among 5,132 recorded cases of arson. The Supreme Court had ap- pointed a three-member com- mittee headed by former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal to lookinto the humanitarian aspects of the vio- lence in Manipur. The commit- tee also comprises former Bombay High Court judge Shalini P Joshi and former Delhi High Court judge Asha Menon. It is learnt that the commit- tee looked into contents of a writ petition filed before the Supreme Court alleging that “that 240-247 churches stand vandalised, looted and burnt down in the violence which started on 03.05.2023 and church property including furni- ture, valuable and parish church register and title documents ei- IN MEMORY Col KE Patankar 1945-23023 Asoldies, a husband, a father and a friend, With cur hearts bull. of love and our minds full olmenaries. we fondly remember Col. EE. Patankar (etd). patriotic soldier of the 6/11 Gorkha Biles who taught wa bo love life, honour the call of duty always be reach to help salllesshi An ayid gotter he will bean the golf courres of heaven everyone. The Patenear Fandy | kenupat4ecgmallenm FGRSSaTo Ti ‘Classifieds DUCATION VDE Free Access to Library Online(Live) & Offline Batch Contact for Advt. Booking: M/s Friends Publicity Service (M): 9212665841, 9212008155 j— TEST SERES 0 STARTING OCT 22 t 6Sectional Tests +4 Comprehensive Tesis For Details visit www.vaidsics.com Or Youtube.coml@VaidsICSDebhi Ph: 9999946748 ther looted or deliberately burnt.” The writ petition was filed by Meitei Christian Churches Council, Manipur. In June, Dominic Lumon, the Archbishop of Imphal, had writ- ten a letter claiming that 249 churches belonging to Meitei Christians had been destroyed within 36 hours since the start of the violence. The Supreme Court commit- tee had also directed the state government to conduct a survey “of all properties in Manipur and those destroyed in the violence on 03.05.2023 and thereafter be separately identified.” “The Government of Manipur should ensure the protection of the properties of the displaced persons as well as the properties which have been destroyed/burnt in the violence and prevent their encroachment. In case any property has been en- croached, the encroachers be di- rected to forthwith remove their encroachment,” the committee told the state government. In its note to the Supreme Court, the committee recom- mended that the Court pass “or- ders to this effect”, “failing which the person concerned would be liable for contempt of court for non-compliance of the orders of the Supreme Court of India.” April 27. It had been days since India launched Operation Kaveri to evacuate its nationals stuck in Sudan, where a conflict had broken out be- tween the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), rival factions of the country's mili- tary government. The Indian gov- ernment pressed the IAF's transport aircraft, the C130J Super Hercules and the C17 Globemaster, and naval ships INS Sumedha and INS Tarkash into action. With the airfield at Khartoum not open for operations, those stranded were brought from various parts of the country to Port Sudan. Over 3,800 Indians were eventually brought back. But around 200-odd people, in- cluding the embassy staff, were still stuck in Khartoum and the journey to Port Sudan was too risky to beun- dertaken. That’s when WadiSeidna, a World War-II era military base IE ENTERTAINMENT 2 THE SECOND PAGE The IndianEXPRESS WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE ‘MISCHIEVIOUS’ GIRL WHO BECAME RELUCTANT ACTOR AFTER FATHER’S DEATH; REFUSED TO SING WITH MOHAMMED RAFI OVER ROYALTY ISSUES On Lata Mangeshkar’s 94th birth anniversary, we revisit her illustrious career and life. Lata started working at the age of 13 to take care of her family after her father’s sudden demise. She sang over 20,000 songs. ART & CULTURE FU WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM ‘PYAR, UMEED AUR ROSHNI’ Poet Ashish Bagrecha’s latest work is bound to enthral poetry lovers e Won't do biometrics of Myanmar refugees: Mizoram ignores Centre sought an extension. Manipur started the process on July 29, with assistance of offi- cials from the National Crime Records Bureau, but Chief Minister Biren Singh said last week that he would ask the Centre to extend the timeline by ayear, as the ongoing strife is de- laying the exercise. Mizoram Minister of Information and Public Relations Lalruatkima told The Indian Exress that the state has not col- lected the biometric data of any immigrant till date, and that they have decided not todo so on “hu- manitarian grounds”. He placed the number of refugees in the state from Myanmar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh at around 60,000. Like the Chin state in Myanmar - with which Mizoram has a 510-km border - the Chin- Kuki tribals in Chittagong Hill Tracts also share a common eth- nicity with the Mizos. Refugees have been entering Mizoram from Myanmar since the February 2021 military coup in the country. The Centre has re- peatedly told the state to stop the flow, pointing out that state gov- ernments do not have the power to grant “refugee” status to any “foreigner”. about 40 km north of Khartoum, emerged as an alternative evacua- tion point. Despite a 72-hour cease- fire between the warring Sudanese forces, the airbase had been report- ing sporadic firing and fighting. The final go-ahead for the Wadi Seidna mission came on the after- noon of April 27. The IAF team sta- tioned in Jeddah to coordinate the rescue operations moved to the air base, located an hour from their ho- tel. A detailed briefing was carried outin the minutes before the launch and team members were assigned specific tasks they were to under- take on landing. “We knew that the situation on the ground was tense and there were no resources. While the Sudanese army had access to the airstrip, the rival RSF fighters were on the fringes. So, there was always the riskofbeingcaughtin the cross- Referring to the ethnic bond with the refugees, Lalruatkima said the state government would not collect the biometric data as the Centre, “after taking it, will push themout”. “The people who have come from Myanmar are our relatives. When borders were drawn during the time of the British, some of our brothers and sisters got left on the other side. This is the condition of the Mizo. When the military coup hap- pened, they came to take shelter here,” he said. The minister admitted that the issue has been taken keeping into mind the coming Assembly elections, where it will play a role. “This is a political issue. We can- not make any move on this mat- ter till the elections are done,” he said. While the BJP is not a part of the MNF-led government in the 40-member Assembly, the MNF isa part of the NDAat the national level. In the last few years, Zoramthanga has cultivated the image of a leader of the Mizos, in- cluding of the broader Kuki-Chin people. Apart from Myanmar, his government has opened its doors to the Kukis fleeing the violence in Manipur, with their numbers estimated at more than 12,000. = anny a TF — een sources said, is miffed especially since the party went out of its way to support the AAP in Parliament over the Delhi serv- ices Bill brought by the Modi govern- ment, and raised its voice against the sus- pension of AAP MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha from Rajya Sabha. “It is an old case... It is nothing but vendetta politics. We have clearly told the AAP leadership it cannot be employing aBJP tool to target one of our leaders. We all have been attacking the BJP over vendetta politics. And if we end up doing the samein states ruled by us... then what is the difference between us and the BJP?” a Congress senior leader told The Indian Express. Apart from being an irritantin ties be- tween the AAP and Congress at the na- tional level, Khaira’s arrest will further rile the Punjab Congress leadership which has strongly opposed any electoral association with the AAP. Adelegation of the Punjab Congress, led by state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, submitted amemorandum to the Governor Thursday evening. The Punjab Congress accused the AAP government of “unleashing a political witch-hunt”. Khaira has been questioning the “Aam Aadmi” credentials of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party and its poll promise of bringing “badlaav” (change) in the state. His rivalry with Mann is not new. When Khaira was AAP MLA from Bholath, he was removed as Leader of the Opposition in 2018. He had led a dissident group seeking overhaul of the AAP in Punjab. Mann, who was the then MP from Sangrur, had called him an “e-Neta”, pointing to his presence on social media. Armed with videos and news reports, Khaira would take to social media to at- tack the AAP leadership, often calling them “farzi inquilaabi” (fake revolution- aries). This month, he targeted the AAP leadership over what he called the “ex- travagant and lavish” wedding of Raghav Chadha and actor Parineeti Chopra. Khaira said AAP leaders had earlier described the same FIR on the basis of which he had been arrested as “false”.He also hit out at the BJP, accusing it of bring- ing aPMLA case against him on the basis of the FIR “as I used to fight UAPA cases and participated in the farm agitation”. BJP national secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa said: “AAP is hell-bent to take Punjab to the dark times of 80s/90s.” The Punjab AAP hit back at both the Congress and BJP. AAP leader Malvinder Singh Kang said action against Khaira had been taken according to law. He said the arrest was made after a police SIT found new facts in the narcotics case. The case was registered in March 2015 at Jalalabad in Fazilka. Nine persons, including Gurdev Singh, who was al- legedly a close aide of Khaira, were booked and later convicted under the NDPS Act. Khaira’s name had come up during the police probe. In 2017, the Supreme Court stayed the trial court pro- ceedings against Khaira who had been summoned as an additional accused. He was arrested by the ED in 2021 on the charge of money laundering linked to the 2015 case but was granted bail in 2022. In February this year, the Supreme Court quashed the summon order against Khaira in the 2015 case. After his arrest Thursday, Khaira was produced in a Jalalabad court. While po- lice sought his custody for seven days, the court granted a two-day police remand. fire. And we knew the airfield was in bad shape - it was completely unlit with no navigational aids or radio contact - and that the weather wouldn't hold up,” one of the pilots who flew the C130] to Wadi Seidna told The Indian Express. Yet, the IAF team in Jeddah de- cided to stick to their plans. If they took offimmediately, they would be able to make it with about four hours left for the fragile ceasefire between the two Sudanese groups to end — a tiny window within which the evacuation had to be carried out. Around 8 pm, the C130] took off from Jeddah with two pilots, the standard crew — a navigator, a flight gunner, a flight engineer and two- three technical staff — and eight Garud Commandos, the IAF's crack team of special forces. On the two-hour flight from Jeddah to Wadi Seidna, the officers UPSC SPECIALS Scan the QR code and get ‘the express edge’ in your civil services preparation with our UPSC specials WW W.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 EXPRESSU GDP vs employment, athletes try to outrun dope testers, and September rains In 3 Things, we discuss the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs in state athletics, why an increase in GDP may not necessarily result in more jobs, and the impact of September rain on farming e Productivity without ecological harm: Evergreen revolution wheat. He was convinced of the need for breeding semi-dwarf va- rieties responsive to fertiliser ap- plication. Traditional wheat vari- eties were tall and slender. Their plants grew to 4.5-5 feet height with long and weak stems. When their ear-heads were heavy with well-filled grains, they “lodged” or bent over, even falling flat on the ground. Yields were low at 1-1.5 tonnes per hectare. Swaminathan had in mind new varieties whose plants were non-lodging and could “tolerate” higher fertiliser doses. Producing one tonne of wheat required 25 kg of nitrogen. If grain yields were to be raised to 4 tonnes per hectare, it was necessary to apply 100 kg of nitrogen, whereas the existing tall cultivars couldn’teven take 40-50 kg! He knew that the solution lay in changing the “architecture” of the wheat plants to enable them to absorb more nutrients and con- vert them to grain. The new vari- eties had to be semi-dwarf with strong stems that held the grain- bearing ear-heads or panicles up- right even when heavily fertilised. But the panicles themselves needed to be large enough to bear more grains. Swaminathan initially sought to develop semi-dwarf wheat va- rieties through mutagenesis — ex- posing plants to radiation to intro- duce desirable modifications in their DNA. The strategy didn’t work, as the lowering of plant height led to a simultaneous re- duction in the size of the panicles. Norin-10 wheat, Swaminathan was told by Kihara, had semi-dwarf plants of 2-2.5 feet height and also with large panicles. He further learnt that Samuel Cecil Salmon, an agrono- mist attached to the US occupy- ing forces under General Douglas MacArthur in Japan after World e Wushu player from Manipur state of fear),” she said. Her emotional breakdown was an outpouring of feelings that she had kept suppressed as she remained cut off from her family, while not letting her focus waver from her target: a second consec- utive Asian Games medal. Neither did she stop training, nor did she go home. With wushu national camps usually being held in Srinagar, one of the sport’s biggest hubs in India, Devi said she hasn't been able to visit her home in Kwasiphai Mayai Leikai village in nearly a year. First, because of her training schedule, and later, due to the vi- olence which broke out in May. She said she went to Imphal in May, but her parents advised her not to travel to her district. Instead, her father travelled to Imphal to meet her. She had to be content with speaking tothemon the phone - that too just on Sundays. “To make sure that she didn’t get distracted, her phone was with the coaches. That’s usually the policy we follow for all play- ers. They are given the phone only craft touc gers War-lI, had taken the seeds of Norin-10 with him in 1949 and given them to Orville Vogel. The latter, a US Department of Agriculture breeder at the Washington State University in Pullman, had in turn crossed Norin-10 with locally-grown US wheats. From those crosses, Vogel selected one variety in 1956; it yielded 25% more grain and was released as ‘Gaines’. Swaminathan wrote to Vogel, asking him for the seeds of ‘Gaines’. Vogel was willing, but told him that ‘Gaines’, being a win- ter wheat, may not flower in Indian conditions. He advised Swaminathan to approach Norman Borlaug, who was with the Rockefeller Foundation’s Mexico Agriculture Program. Vogel had shared the seeds of Norin-10 along with his original cross with Borlaug, who then crossed these with the spring wheats grown in Mexico. The re- sultant high-yielding varieties in- corporating the dwarfing genes of Norin-10 in a spring wheat back- ground - Sonara 63, Sonora 64, Mayo 64 and Lerma Rojo 64A - were better suited for cultivation in India. Swaminathan next wrote to Borlaug and also suggested to the then IARI director B P Pal to invite him to India. Borlaug had agreed to send the seeds of his newly- bred material, but only after studying the growing conditions here. The government machinery being what it was, the invitation requesting the Rockefeller Foundation for the services of Borlaug went only in 1962. Borlaug finally arrived in March 1963. After visiting major wheat-growing areas of North India, he sent about 100 kg of seeds of the four Mexican varieties in October 1963. These were sown in the 1963-64 rabi season at IARI on Sundays,” said wushu coach | Raghubir Singh. “We were regu- | larly keeping a tab on her family | but did not want her to worry | about anything.” “The coaches don'tlet me talk | tothem daily because it will cause ; me distress. So they take my : phone away. I talk to them on | Sundays for a short time. Even | then, they don't talk about the | problems there,” said Devi. The circumstances, she said, | helped her to persevere and strive | for a medal. i In Hangzhou, Devi, who com- | petes in the 60-kg weight class, ; first defeated Kazakhstan’s Aiman | Karshyga by a points gap, andthen | defeated Vietnam’s Thi Thu Thuy | Nguyen in the semi-finals. | Butin the final, the heightad- : vantage enjoyed by China’s | Xiaowei and the consequentlong ; reach gave Devinochanceofeven | mounting a challenge. After winning the silver, Devi | had just one plea: “I wish the sit- | uation goes back to normal... gets | better than what it was before. | Seeing everything burning down, | it doesn't feel good.” and also trial fields in Pantnagar and Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Ludhiana (Punjab) and Pusa (Bihar). Encouraged by the results, Swaminathan proposed that the performance of the high-yielding strains be tested in actual farm- ers’ fields. In November 1964, farmers of Jaunti village in Delhi planted Sonora 64 and Lerma Rojo 64A wheat. Most of them harvested 4 tonnes and some even 4.5 tonnes per hectare. The Green Revolution was truly seeded! As Borlaug was to ac- knowledge, “a great deal of credit must go (to Swaminathan) for first recognizing the potential value of the Mexican wheat dwarfs. Had this not occurred... there would not have been a Green Revolution in Asia”. The real Green Revolution happened following two consec- utive drought years in 1965-66 and 1966-67. As foodgrain pro- duction fell to 72-74 million tonnes (mt) during these two years, from an average of 83 mtin the previous five years, India had to rely on imports, mainly of wheat from the US under the lat- ter’s PL-480 programme. These imports peaked at 10.36 mt in 1966. The “ship to mouth” situation then forced a political decision by the governmenttoimport 18,000 tonnes of seeds of the Lerma Rojo 64A and Sonora 64. The rest was history. The planting of those seeds by farmers led to India’s foodgrain production surging to 95 mt in 1967-68 and 108.4 mt by 1970-71. Wheat output alone rose from 11.4mtin 1966-67 to 16.5 mt in 1967-68 and 23 mt in 1970-71. The Green Revolution didn’t end there: By the late sixties, Indian scientists had also bred their own Kalyansona and Sonalika wheat varieties through “Some emerging technologies may be prohibited if there is asig- nificant likelihood of harm to users which cannot be mitigated, | if the technology poses a risk to national security or public order, and if its deployment is likely to discriminate against people on grounds like their sexual orienta- tion or political leanings,” the offi- cial said. While the governmentis : still considering the emerging technologies that it wants to reg- ulate, solutions like blockchain ' and metaverse are understood to be on its radar. Some of the parameters the government could use as a yard- stick include the principal purpose for whichit is being developed, its : nature, design and operation, complexity and interconnected- ness, and promotion of innova- tion, research and development, among other things. The Bill, which is likely to pro- pose a regulator called the Digital India Authority, could empower the body to penalise developers of emerging technology if their de- ployment violates the proposed i principles. The regulator may also e Untold story of a rescue operation: A transport aircraft, an unlit runway and 1.5 hours selection of segregated lines from the Mexican lines. These pro- duced amber-coloured grain with better chapati-making quality than the imported red wheats. The planner and master strategist behind all this was, of course, Swaminathan. All through this, however, he wasn’t ignorant of the adverse side effects of the Green Revolution. As early as January 1968, addressing the Indian Science Congress at Varanasi, he spoke of the dangers of “the rapid replacement of nu- merous locally adapted varieties with one or two high yielding strains in large contiguous areas”, “intensive cultivation of land without conservation of soil fer- tility (that could)... lead ulti- mately to the springing up of deserts”, “indiscriminate use of pesticides, fungicides and herbi- cides” and “unscientific tapping of groundwater”. Nobody could have been more prophetic. It was the prelude to his sub- sequent focus on converting the Green Revolution into an “Evergreen Revolution”, which he defined as “improvement of pro- ductivity in perpetuity without ecological harm”. That same passion and con- cern about Indian agriculture has extended to Swaminathan’s championing the cause of crop producers. When the National Commission on Farmers that he headed in 2004-06 recom- mended that the minimum sup- port prices for crops be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted cost of production, it caught on the imagination. Most farmers in India today know of the “Swaminathan formula”, even if they may not know of the leg- endary agricultural scientist's stel- lar role in ushering in the Revolution that made the country self-sufficient in foodgrains. | e Govt may ban some new tech direct the Centre to block access to any software or application built by such developers. To foster innovation, the Central Government may estab- lish a regulatory sandbox to facil- itate the development, testing, validation or deployment of any emerging technology or business model before it is made available to the public. The Bill also plans to regulate the deployment of artifi- cial intelligence (AI) models by of- fering users of social media plat- forms and other companies the right to be informed of a signifi- cant technological decision through automated means. This means that the next time platforms like Instagram or Facebook decide to deploy anew algorithm-based news feed to their users, they would be re- quired to offer an explanation of the rationale behind the algo- rithm, along with the criteria and user characteristics processed by their automated decision-making process. Users will also be allowed an option to opt out if they do not want a platform to impose a ma- jor algorithm change on them. went over their SOPs. “Having prac- tised for such contingencies, it was just a question of adapting our pro- cedures to the situation,” said one of the Garud officers involved. Trouble began soon after the air- entered Sudanese airspace. The weather started deteriorating and the aircraft hit turbulence. Defence sources Said the approach to the airstrip was made using night vision equipment such as electro optical- infrared sensors, night-vision gog- gles and heads-up display cues. Around 10 pm, the aircraft finally hed down on the runway. While the Garud team leader and three commandos took control of the ground operations, the pilots and four Garud commandos stayed back in and around the aircraft to monitor communications, deal with possible threats and to help passen- with formalities required to board the aircraft. The unmarked ‘evacuation point’ was a few metres away from the airstrip. On their way there, the Garud commandos crossed two temporary checkpoints manned by the Sudanese army. “This checkpoint was about 600 metres away from the aircraft. We quickly scanned the crowd to see if we could spot any Indians,” the Garud officer recalled. Around 300 m ahead, there was another checkpoint, with over 1,200 people of different nationalities Waiting over a2-sq kmarea. “The sit- uation was chaotic, with hundreds jostling to be evacuated. We spotted the Indians here,” said the officer. The team got down to the labo- rious task of locating, authenticat- ing and frisking each of the evacuees. The process got streamlined once the Defence Attache to the Indian Mission in Sudan, Lt Col Gurpreet Singh, introduced himself. Among those waiting to be evacuated were two pregnant women, several chil- dren and senior citizens. The minutes kept ticking by. Though there was still some time left for the ceasefire to run out, the team had another worry. The engines of the C130] had to be kepton through- out the operation — a quick-re- sponse strategy in case the aircraft had to take off at short notice — which meant they had enough fuel for only an hour-and-a-half. The team was now ready to es- cort the evacuees to the aircraft. The passengers stood in a file, shuffling along as they moved towards the aircraft. Finally, the C130] took off around 11.45 pm, plunging the run- way into darkness. Minutes later, a Turkish plane that attempted to land at Wadi Seidna was shot at. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 3 THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 p° Ea Scan the OR code to a _ Download Toppers' 3 Answer Copies INSPIRING INNOVATION «& ce ONS 39 IN TOP 50 SELECTIONS IN CSE 2022 A` 7 UMA KRITIKA various programs of VISIONIAS em KISHORE LOHIA - HARATHIN oxy MISHRA PERSONALITY Devine sereia jomvoumamiy PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT miad Saaie Yy YADAV SURYABHAN a ALL INDIA vce envhaal CASE STUDIES 379 38 A NUP ~ ARIMA SRISAIASHRITH DA SHAKHAMURI Foundation Couse GENERAL STUDIES PRELIMS CUM MAINS 2025, 2026 & 2027 (lueludes 60 Pre area Classes) , READ BY ALL. RECOMMENDED BY ALL Up to date study material as Monthly Current Attoirs z- magazine, PT 545, Mains 545 and News Today o s PERSONAL GUIDANCE SIMPLIFIED One to One guidance on a regular basis for clearing doubts & + keeping you motivated P neri ALL INDIA TEST SERIES $ : PRE FOUNDATION CLASSES © Opted by avery 2 out of 3 successful candidates. Post test analysis, ai Ve Includes Pre Foundation classes (60 classes) for TL + corrective measures and continuous performance Improvement E , understanding of Key GS concepts & fundamentals. of NCERT; & Basie Books Pre-foundation classes are designed to provide a strong foundation in core UPSC CSE subjects, utilizing NCERTs and basic textbooks. They serve as the ‘initial step in the comprehensive preparation journey for the UPSC Civil Services Examination by providing conceptual clarity in core GS subjects such as History, Polity, Geography, Economy, and Environment. Further, Pre-Foundation Classes act as a transition plattorm toward the VisionlAS Regular Foundation Course Program, 2025. DELHI: 22 SEPT, 9 AM | 10 OCT, 1 PM | 27 OCT, 5 PM To know more, Register or for Free Counseling 3 z AHMEDABAD: 10 july | SIKAR: 4 September | PUNE: 3 july connect with our Expert DELHI: 15 SEPT | 30 SEPT CHANDIGARH: 7 August | BHOPAL: 17 August| LUCKNOW: 7 August = | HYDERABAD: 4 Sept | JODHPUR: 21 August & 11 September 9 AM 5 PM JAIPUR: 1 September PeT GM CARI AAAA 2025, 2025 & 2026 > IIS, Mediated he ad — a Open Session — — _ Monthly Current Affairs ALL INDIA PRELIMS & ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION MENTORING PROGRAMME 2024 : Revision 2024 MAINS TEST SERIES UPSC CIVIL SERVICES (A Strategic Revision, Practice, and Enrichment NEF e GENERAL STUDIES E Mentoring Programme for Mains Examination 2024) T ne * General Studies » CSAT E] Octo ber 1a MAINS 2023 PAPER Targeted Revision & Consolidation — i (PRELIMS + MAINS) ® Continuous Performance Assessment and Feedback i Detailed topic-wise up-to-date contextual $ Development of Advanced Answer Writing Skills z bated ‘ ~ ao GS PAPER 2: 29" SEP, 1 PM a , $ 2 understanding of all current issues Also hve ane n IAB You Tube nel, website o IOS Andro ed opp Pp ENGLISH ADMISSION i its site het DELHI: HEAD OFFICE: Apsara Arcade, Near Gate-7 Karol Bagh Metro Station, 1/8 b, Pusa Road | CONTACT: 8468022022, 9019066066 AHMEDABAD | BHOPAL | CHANDIGARH | GUWAHATI | HYDERABAD | JAIPUR | JODHPUR | LUCKNOW | PRAYAGRA] | PUNE | RANCHI | SIKAR ot | i jl DH E Ep E EE E 4 ‘THECITY BRIEFLY 2020 riots: Court orders charges against two New Delhi: A sessions court here has ordered framing of charges against two accused ina case of 2020 northeast Delhi communal riots. It, however, rapped the Delhi Police for "incom- plete investigation" of three additional com- plaints that were clubbed with the case, and re- ferred the matter to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) concerned to make an appraisal of the "moonshine investiga- tion" conducted by the Investigating Officer (IO). Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing a case against Firoz Khan and Mohammed Anwar, who were accused of being part of a riotous mob that committed vandalism and loot at a godown in Karawal Nagar on February 24, 2020. They were also accused of at- tempting to set the godown on fire. PTI Gurgaon: Driver robbed of car, wallet Gurgaon: A driver was robbed of a car, wallet, and phone at gunpoint and assaulted by four men in Gurgaon Sector 29 on Wednesday, police said. According to police, they received informa- tion on Thursday that a man, Sandeep Kumar, a Najafgarh resident, was robbed at gunpoint anda car was stolen. Based on his complaint, an FIR un- der various sections was registered at DLF SEC 29 police station. ENS Will you resign if nothing comes of CBI enquiry: EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI,SEPTEMBER 28 DAYS AFTER the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a Preliminary Enquiry into the al- leged irregularities in the con- struction and renovation of Arvind Kejriwal’s official resi- dence, the Delhi Chief Minister challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign if noth- ing came of the enquiry. “This is not the first time that something like this has happened. It shows that the PM is nervous,” Kejriwal said on the sidelines ofan event on Thursday. “Till date, they have started over 50 enquiries. They say there has been a liquor scam, a bus scam or a school or road scam. They have filed over 33 cases against me and conducted investigations over the last eight years since Ibe- came the Delhi Chief Minister. They have not found anything so far so they have started a new en- quiry now. We welcome this but they will not find anything, just like they didn’t find anything ear- Delhi CM said enquiry against him started as he was ‘not willing to bend in front of the BJP government.’ lier,” Kejriwal said. Kejriwal said that the enquiry against him was started because he was not willing to bend in front of the BJP government. “They want me to capitulate in front of them, they want to break me. That will not happen, Kejriwal will not bend. They are free to start as Many enquiries as they want,” he said. Issuing a challenge to the PM, he said, “If nothing comes of this CM to PM on house row enquiry, just like in the previous enquiries, will you resign?” Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Virendra Sachdeva said Kejriwal's “challenge” was symptom of his nervousness af- ter having understood that it was “his turn to go behind bars” after his former cabinet colleagues Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain. Terming the CM's statement as absurd, Sachdeva said, “Arvind Kejriwal feels that by speaking against the Prime Minister he will get public sympathy but he should note that every time he opens his mouth against the PM, he loses whatever little public support he had.” On Tuesday, a letter was sent to the Public Works Department (PWD) of Delhi government, ask- ing them to provide all the docu- ments showing that the existing structure at the CMs residence in Delhi is a load-bearing structure, besides the recommendation, ap- proval, and request from the client to execute “work of superior spec- ification” related with the con- struction and renovation. Only govt vends for now as excise policy is extended for 6 more months EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 THE DELHI government has ex- tended the existing Excise Policy for another six months. The de- partment will issue an official no- tification by Friday, asking the li- censees to renew their licenses on pro-rata basis, said an official. The proposal for extension of Excise policy was moved to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday and then sent to the Lieutenant Governor for further approval. Officials said that the LG approved the policy and wrote bd The old regime, currently in operation, will expire Sept 30 "seen" on the file. Now, as the policy has ex- tended, the private shops will not be allowed to open vends. Like earlier, only government vends will operate in Delhi under the = a ý PE — | pov ga ATH pa ahotsa WORLD HEART DAY 29th September, 2023 USE Y KNOW Y Let’s unleash the Power of Knowledge to stop the World’s Biggest Killer: Cardiovascular Disease & = four government corporations, DTTDC, DSIIDC, DCCWS, and DSCSC. After scrapping the new pol- icy, the government brought back the old policy, on the condition that only government vends would operate in the capital. The policy was initially implemented for six months, till the Excise de- partment prepared a new policy for 2023-24. The old regime, cur- rently in operation, will expire September 30. In the next six months, the excise department will work on the new Excise regime for the next fiscal. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 Uninterrupted footpaths, cycle tracks and table-top crossings: The new Mathura Road MAKING THE PATH PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY UPASIKA SINGHAL NEW DELHI, 28 SEPTEMBER UNINTERRUPTED FOOTPATHS, cycle tracks and table-top cross- ings — the Mathura Road be- tween ITO and Sundar Nagar will soon be safer for pedestrians in the city. While it has been smooth sailing for motorists since the 16- kilometre stretch was made sig- nal-free, concerns have been raised about the safety of those on foot. In the works are continuous footpaths along the stretch, table-top or raised crossings in place of intersections, and a con- tinuous cycle path along the road through dedicated cycle tracks, pop-up cycle tracks, and shared pathways. Table-top crossings are meant to ensure that cars slow down before approaching the crossing, making it easy for the elderly and differently-abled persons to use the pathway. Pop- up cycle lanes are temporary bike lanes often utilised as a pilot ITPO Complex Towards ITO 4 Bhagwandas Road _ Proposed pop-up cycle track ITPO Gate Proposed dedicated cycle track —— Bhairon Marg athura Road __ Purana Qila Road Purana Qila Proposed shared space for cyclists & Pedestrians Towards Nizamuddin -— — y La Shershah Road Existing cycle track The continuity of cycle tracks is maintained through the provision of dedicated cycle tracks, pop-up cycle tracks and shared pathways as per the site conditions or trial phase for testing new in- frastructure for cyclists. If the trial is successful, these interven- tions can be implemented per- manently. Shared pathways, on the other hand are designed pathways for pedestrians and cyclists. Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has granted approval for the walkability plan in the area that houses the Purana Qila, Pragati Maidan and Delhi Zoo. At meet in Amritsar, L-G highlights initiatives to ‘revive’ Delhi ambience EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 FROM GROWING bamboo plan- tations to desilting the Yamuna, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena showcased sev- eral initiatives being under- taken in the capital at the re- cently-concluded meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC). Held in Amritsar, Punjab, Saxena made a presentation on the good practices across vari- ous sectors at the 31st meeting of the NZC; these, L-G House of- ficials said, ranged from steps taken to alleviate pollution in the Yamuna to interventions at dumping sites for Municipal Solid Waste among others. Saxena, highlighted the practices conducted across var- ious sectors, ranging from steps taken to alleviate pollution in the Yamuna to interventions at dumping sites for municipal solid waste among others, L-G House officials said. According to officials, Saxena stated that about 3.15 lakh bam- boo trees — 2.9 lakh by the Forest Department and 25,000 by the DDA - had been planted across the city, including at ‘Baansera’ on the Yamuna Bank. Addressing the gathering Saxena Said that bamboo trees emit 30 percent more oxygen than other plants, consume less water, thereby raising the wa- ter table. The turning from Subramaniam Bharti Road -- leading from Khan Market and into Mathura Road will also be revamped. Two footover bridges (FOB) were suggested in the initial plans - one on Gate 7 and an- other on Gate 6 of the Bharat Mandapam. However, one at Gate 7 was scrapped due to se- curity concerns, officials from the LG office said. Another FOB was suggested near the Sher Shah Road junction. According to the LG office of- ficials, “Despite attaching esca- lators, people do not use foot over bridges. However, taking in- spiration from the FOB near the School of Planning and Architecture, the LG suggested raising the height of the me- dian’s railings so that people can- not cross the road and that rail- ings be made of sturdy material.” BJP-backed body wins DU teachers’ elections EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 BJP-BACKED NATIONAL Democratic Teacher’s Front (NDTF) candidate AK Bhagi was elected as Delhi University Teacher’s Association president on Thursday. Bhagi won by a margin of 395 votes. Nearly 85.5% of 9,500 voters participated in the election on Wednesday. The poll witnessed a straight fight between Bhagi and Aditya Narayan Misra, representing the Democratic United Teacher’s Alliance (D.U-T.A), a collection of teacher’s organisations, who have joined forces to take down the NDTE. As many as 4,182 votes were polled against Bhagi and 3,787 votes against Misra. “The polls were held in the MIST NH ATT S Bed GY AR AGT T Heal k aa | AK Bhagi(centre) won bya margin of 395 votes. Express middle ofa significant number of displacements like serving ad-hoc teachers, corruption and political cronyism influencing many inter- views for permanent teaching posts,” said elected Academic Council Member, Assistant Professor Maya John, part of the DUTAalliance. 1 Oat a ee © © © © © eC e@ ® Without Date Cheque in favour of “The Ballabgarh Coop. Milk Producers Union Ltd.” E oy a ule CE dh Rs. 5,000/- Rs. 25,000/- Rs. 10,000/- 7 =A PREVENTION jam : « Eat balanced diet including plenty of fruits, © Exercise regularly (30-60 minutes daily) Gre geda Wta ©5000 Bt geen TT STAT Bat UL TTA pE pepe peetepees test eeepeseeeseesesstteeeeeeees | Sener =» Maintaining proper body weight o Bratt Ra at draen & fore adaa Beet È OTF ; easy intake (not more than $ grams/ no © Regular health chackupe | o (ten tani. 82) tan she ht ot ara. a + ther è ma Reset chante zene oe ar at entree À a Poser ve ew fale gaa eer ere tan ene | © tera à der Ba aae anita eet Gl TE aa hen alll eet a Te aera D ‘Aten heel wt Reh eevee Bi aaa BLA A Aer È Be Br AHA Ar Beat B saver TË È gp qa a È Fes att anad are A Rreh aes, gara amr Raren, Ta-ra e sree ard ‘her alto grat aga fet TTA | * Avoid usage of Alcohol & Tobaccoin any form + Create stress-free home & work environment PEOPLE WITH HEART DISEASE Diabetic patients are twice at risk to develop CVD and must be followed-up for diabetes management and medical examination THE BALLABGARH COOP. MILK PRODUCERS' UNION LTD., BALLABGARH MILK PLANT, BALLABGARH, DISTT. FARIDABAD, HARYANA-121004 Phone No.:0129-2242376, 2244494, Fax No.:0129-2213899, E-mail: vitablb(a gmail.com sites aaae È fee gan farala aR A woe ade: - a aaa gan, uA (Raoa), Aes tre Acetate (A:- 9968604703) sit. asiria unm, aes tole aeeraste (At:- 7011102911) x ` [E] Please follow us on arty ai Habe haryana? () a abmhirs Please scan OR Code to visit us Health Department, Haryana | [eqn A fie oF | ¥ Information, Public Relations, Languages and Culture Department, Haryana © <-~0=yey0vin mene (EROOE mO @apmaryans | epaper ginjipneggp ss -con TH WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 OMRON Could you please provide a compre- hensive overview of OMRON's re- markable journey in the develop- ment of blood pressure monitoring devices? What milestones have characterised this incredible voy- age? OMRON's odyssey in the realm of blood pressure monitoring devices commenced with the unveiling of our inaugural prod- uct, back in 1973. As we commemorate our 50th anniversary in this field, it's es- sential to reflect upon how far we've come. Initially, blood pressure measure- ment was predominantly confined to hos- pitals and clinics. However, we had a vi- sion that extended beyond hospital walls - we saw the potential of enabling individu- als to monitor their blood pressure in the comfort of their homes. In the mid-1980s, we embarked on a pivotal journey in Japan. This study (Ohasama) was a significant turning point as it underscored the critical role of home blood pressure measurements in predicting strokes. The results illuminated the path toward a future where individu- als could proactively manage their car- diovascular health through regular moni- toring. Over the decades, we've witnessed a re- markable shift in awareness surrounding home blood pressure monitoring. Today, we proudly celebrate the achievement of surpassing 350 million units sold world- wide. This milestone signifies not only our success but also the growing recognition of ADVERTORIAL | An initiative yO Q O` . Read. Engage. Deliver. iT ADVERTORIAL mpowering India's Heart Health: Tetsuya Yamada on OMRON's 50-Year Journey creasing adoption of home blood pressure monitors in India, ulti- mately reaching 20% penetration by 2030? Our strategy to achieve this ambitious goal involves two primary directions. Firstly, we are dedicated to enhancing awareness, particularly among healthcare professionals and patients alike. To facili- tate this, we have conducted significant clinical studies within India, exemplified by the "Grand Study. "The objective of these studies is to recommend inclusion of home blood pressure monitoring in hy- pertension guidelines. By securing recog- nition and endorsement from the medical community, we aim to instil confidence in patients regarding the importance of reg- ular blood pressure monitoring at home. In essence, we want doctors to not only recognise but also recommend home blood pressure monitoring to their pa- tients. Secondly, expanding our coverage across the country is pivotal. While India boasts approximately 600,000 pharmacy retail shops, our current presence extends primarily within metropolitan areas and tier 1 cities. Recognising that accessibil- ity plays a critical role in adoption, we are actively working on expanding our reach in tier 2 ,3 cities and beyond in coming years. This expansion strategy ensures that our products are readily available to a broader population, including those re- siding in rural and remote regions. It's im- perative that individuals across the coun- try have easy access to the tools necessary for proactive cardiovascular health managementand achieve 20% penetration of home blood pressure mon- itoring." Our message is clear: home blood pressure monitoring is of paramount importance. While doctors play a vital role in healthcare, regular monitoring at home can empower individuals to take charge of their well-being. Recognizing changes in vital signs and understanding the significance of these changes is crucial. the importance of monitoring one's blood pressure at home. In India, where the current penetration of home blood pressure monitors stands at a modest 2%, we are ona mission. Our vision for 2030 is ambitious - to elevate awareness and increase adoption to an impressive 20%. This endeavour aligns with India's significant hypertensive pop- ulation, estimated at a staggering 220 million.And it also syncs perfectly with our vision of "Going for Zero" promoting home blood pressure monitoring as one of the key preventive healthcare practices to significantly reduce hypertension-led diseases such as stroke and heart failure. Our journey exemplifies our commit- ment to advancing cardiovascular health and preventive care. We envision a future where every individual, regardless of their location or access to healthcare facilities, can actively participate in safeguarding their heart health through home-based monitoring. How do you plan to achieve this goal of raising awareness and in- groper T a a What's the ratio between online and offline sales of your products, especially in the context of the In- dian market? In India, our current sales distribution from online channels is showing a rise. With the growing digital penetration, on- line channels are gaining prominence rapidly. As more and more Indian con- sumers embrace online shopping, we an- ticipate that the role of online channels will significantly expand in the future. The evolving consumer buying pattern and behaviours will also add to this rise. The buying patterns are changing regardless of the tier of the cities they belong to. This shift aligns with the government's "Digital India" initiative, which has ac- celerated digital adoption across the country. It's not just about urban areas; rural India, too, is witnessing increased internet accessibility. As we aim to make our healthcare solutions accessible to a broader Indian population, we are ac- tively adapting to this changing land- scape by expanding our online presence and distribution networks. Our goal is to OMRON Complete - the digital BP Monitor with ECG measuring feature In an exclusive interview, we sat down with Tetsuya Yamada, the Managing Director of OMRON Healthcare India, to delve into the transformative journey of OMRON in the realm of blood pressure monitoring devices. With the world celebrating the 50th anniversary of their first blood pressure monitor, Mr. Yamada sheds light on the company's remarkable evolution. OMRON's journey began with the launch of the blood pressure monitor in 197 3, marking half a century of dedication to improving cardiovascular health. This pioneering journey has had a profound impact on healthcare in India, as OMRON's innovative technologies have emerged as game-changers in preventive care. As we explore OMRON's contributions, Mr. Yamada discusses how these innovations are poised to reshape the landscape of cardiovascular health and preventive care in India. In India, where cardiovascular diseases are a significant health concern, OMRON has set its sights on a transformative goal: to raise awareness and significantly increase the adoption of home blood pressure monitors. Currently, with only 2% penetration, their ! mission is to elevate this figure to an Í ambitious 20% by 2030. ensure that OMRON products are readily available to consumers across India, whether they prefer the convenience of online shopping or the trust and accessi- bility of offline retail outlets. Can you share your insights into the future of home-based health monitoring technology, with a par- ticular focus on cardiovascular health, considering the unique de- velopments and challenges in the Indian context? Certainly, when discussing the future of home-based health monitoring technol- ogy, we must take into account India’s dis- tinct healthcare landscape. The potential for growth in this field within India is sub- stantial, and it holds the promise of trans- forming healthcare delivery, especially concerning cardiovascular health. India's ambitious "Digital India” initia- tives have significantly accelerated the adoption of digital technologies across the nation. This includes the widespread avail- ability of smartphones and increasing in- ternet penetration, even in remote areas. As a result, digital health solutions are be- coming more accessible to a broader pop- ulation. The key insight into the future lies in pre- ventive care. Home-based health monitor- ing empowers individuals to take charge of their well-being. Regular monitoring of vital signs, including blood pressure and ECG, provides valuable data that can de- tect anomalies early. This data can serve as a critical tool for preventive healthcare, helping individuals and their healthcare providers make informed decisions. At OMRON Healthcare India, we are ac- tively collaborating with innovative com- panies like Tricog. Tricog, a Bangalore- based startup, is at the forefront of digital health solutions. Its CEO, Dr. Charit Bhograj, himself a cardiac surgeon, recog- nised the need to extend medical exper- tise beyond urban centres. This aligns per- fectly with our mission to reach the farthest corners of India with our health- care solutions. Our investment in Tricog and partnership with them hold signifi- cant implications for cardiovascular health. Tricog specialises in remote ECG monitoring, and together, we are creat- ing services that can save lives, especially in areas where access to cardiologists and specialised care is limited. Atrial fibrillation (Afib)is a silent yet se- vere risk factor for strokesas many of them don't come to know that they have it because of lack of symptoms.Hyperten- sion patient have around 3.8 times higher OMRON Connected Digital BP Monitor (with Bluetooth)- HEM 7140T regardless of their medical background, to easily and regularly monitor their blood pressure in the comfort of their homes. Central to our mission is raising aware- ness about the importance of home-based health monitoring. In a country as diverse as India, where healthcare resources can be unevenly distributed, being proactive about one's health is not a luxury but a ne- cessity. Through our awareness campaigns and collaborations, we aim to educate both healthcare professionals and con- sumers about the life-saving potential of home blood pressure monitoring. What we often forget is that heart health is not just about heart attacks; it's about identifying and managing risk fac- tors early on. Many cardiovascular condi- tions, such as hypertension and atrial fib- rillation, can lurk silently, unnoticed until a catastrophic event occurs. Our products In India, there's significant potential for growth in home-based health monitoring. Monitoring vitals at home can provide valuable insights into one's health, facilitating preventive care. We're collaborating with companies like Tricog, focusing on remote patient monitoring to bridge the gap and save lives." risk, and Afib patients have 5 times higher risk of stroke. Hence,In India, where hy- pertension and Afib are prevalent, early detection is crucial. Our collaboration with Tricog aims to precisely address this issue. Our devices not only monitor blood pressure but also incorporate ECG monitoring. By using ECG data, we can detect AF with high sensitivity and specificity. This means that even asymptomatic individuals can be alerted to potential risks. Early detection allows for timely medical interventions that can save lives. Looking ahead, community healthcare workers, equipped with digital tools and training, will play a pivotal role in ex- panding the reach of home-based health monitoring. These workers can provide assistance to individuals in rural and un- derserved areas, facilitating regular check-ups and data collection. This data can then be remotely accessed by health- care professionals, enabling timely inter- ventions and reducing the burden on the healthcare system. What message would you like to convey to healthcare professionals and consumers about the impor- tance of your products in promot- ing heart health and well-being? Our message is crystal clear: home blood pressure monitoring is of para- mount importance in the pursuit of heart health and overall well-being. While healthcare professionals undoubtedly play a vital role in the medical ecosystem, we firmly believe that individuals themselves must become active participants in safe- guarding their health. This belief underpins our commitment to delivering innovative products that empower people to take charge of their well-being. Our suite of home blood pressure moni- toring devices serves as an invaluable tool for individuals and families. These devices are designed with user-friendliness and accuracy at their core. They enable anyone, f 000 ( READ. ENGAGE. DELIVER.) IS THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS TEAM OF THE INDIAN EXPRESS GROUP are designed to break this cycle of igno- rance. By regularly monitoring blood pres- sure, individuals can detect abnormal trends and patterns, even before they manifest as symptoms. Early detection is synonymous with early intervention. When individuals are armed with data showing irregular blood pressure or signs of atrial fibrillation, they can promptly consult healthcare profes- sionals for further evaluation and guid- ance. This proactive approach can lead to timely adjustments in medication, lifestyle changes, and other interventions that can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovas- cular events. Our message is simple yet profound: your heart health is in your hands. Our products are not mere devices; they are in- struments of empowerment. We urge healthcare professionals to champion the cause of home-based health monitoring and encourage their patients to take charge of their well-being. To consumers, we say this: invest in your health. Regu- larly monitor your blood pressure, detect anomalies early, and partner with your healthcare provider for a healthier heart and a brighter future. At OMRON Healthcare India, our com- mitment to heart health and well-being is unwavering. As we celebrate 50 years of pioneering blood pressure monitoring, we look forward to a future where every indi- vidual in India is not just a patient but an informed guardian of their own heart health. Together, we can build a heart-safe nation. Scan to know more about OMRON Complete Device THE INDIAN EXPRESS,FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 6 [HE CITY @ 0-50 Good EI 51-100 Satisfactory fa 101-200 Moderate Ei 201-300 Poor Bi 301-400 Very Poor Ei 401-500 Severe ANANDVIHAR Moderate 166 500 MANDIR MARG Moderate 119 E PM 10 500 CASES UNDER-REPORTED EARLIER, COVID LOCKDOWN HIT DETECTION From 6 to 543: What is behind surge in reported measles cases in Capital? YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW AN EXPRESS RTI APPLICATION ANKITAUPADHYAY NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 UNDER-REPORTING OF cases along with Covid lockdown in the last couple of years is the rea- son why the Capital is now wit- nessing a significant spike in the number of measles cases along with fatalities, an RTI query by The Indian Express has revealed. The response provided by the state health department has shown that 2022 witnessed a to- tal of 543 cases, a massive surge in the numbers compared to the last four years when they re- mained in single and double dig- its. Along with this, eight deaths were reported due to the viral in- fection. In 2019, a total of 25 cases were reported with zero fatality. In 2020, 15 cases were reported with two deaths. In 2021, six cases were reported with one death. According to an official from the Directorate of Family Welfare, which comes under the state health department, the surveil- Significant jump in reported cases 8 DEATHS IN 2022 | pe E Cases E Reported fatalities (0 fatalities in 2019) © 0 2019 2020 2021 2022 WHAT IS MEASLES? E It is a highly contagious viral infection that causes fever, cough and rashes, and complications such as encephalitis or swelling of lance for measles was strength- ened in 2022 before which, case detection took place only if a pa- tient reported fever, rashes and cough, coryza, and conjunctivi- tis. The official said that during Covid lockdown in 2020 and 2021, the infections were rising Two crocodiles sneak out of zoo enclosure, brought back by staff EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 WITHA breach in their enclosure, two crocodiles at the Delhi zoo made their way out on Wednesday and had to be brought back. The enclosure houses three crocodiles, two of which wandered out, according to zoo officials. Delhi zoo director Akanksha Mahajan said, “An agency was working through the Civil Construction Unit (CCU). They were laying down aline for water supply for gardening and other purposes. They dug a trench be- hind the crocodile enclosure and made a gap in the wall. They did this without informing us. If any work is being done in an enclo- sure, permission is usually taken from us. They should have told the zoo Officials and asked for permis- sion first.” She said that action will be taken against the agency that was involved. “The gap was enough for the crocodiles to get out...The keeper who was on rounds early in the morning found them missing, saw the tracks and realised they had gone out of the enclosure. They didn’t go far and were brought back. One was found in an adjacent area with trees. The second one had gone into a water channel and was brought back from there. The staff was equipped to quickly bring them back. The incident took place early in the morning,” Mahajan said. Gurgaon bans sale, use of firecrackers from Nov 1 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE GURGAON, SEPTEMBER 28 AHEAD OF the festival season, the Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner has imposed a banon the sale and use of firecrackers to control pol- lution. Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav issued or- ders on Thursday, adding that green firecrackers will be allowed only on specific occasions within a particular time period. According to the administra- tion, the ban is applicable to the manufacturing, sale, and use ofall types of firecrackers except green firecrackers. It will be in effect from November 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024, under Section 144 of the CrPC, Explosives Act 1884, and Explosives Rules 1884. Green firecrackers will be al- lowed on Diwali or other festivals from 8 pm to 10 pm. While on Christmas and New Year's Eve, these are allowed only from 11.55 pm to 12.30 am. The administra- tion officials added that E-com- merce companies such as Flipkart and Amazon will not accept or- ders for any type of fireworks. Moreover, regional authorities such as the Haryana State Pollution Control Board Gurgaon have been directed to regularly monitor air quality and upload data on the relevant websites as per the directions of the Supreme Court and the Central Pollution Control Board. An official said surveillance had weakened as the ‘entire machinery was busy in handling Covid pandemic.’ Archive the brain that can lead to death. E Measles is also linked with secondary infections like pneumonia and diarrhoea. internally and the surveillance had weakened as the “entire ma- chinery was busy in handling Covid pandemic.” However, in 2022, any patient reporting fever and rashes was being tested for measles which resulted in a high positivity rate, said the official. Earlier, only when five or Most cases reported from four Delhi districts ieee Northeast Shahdara East South east more cases were reported from an area, it was flagged as epi- demic-struck and officials would visit the spot. “Now we are investigating each and every case. Case-based surveillance has strengthened and by December, we have to eliminate measles...” the official RAHUL AT FURNITURE MARKET said. The measles campaign man- dated by the central government which runs in schools had halted due to a court case on informed consent from parents. However, with increasing cases in 2022, the health department opted to vac- cinate children only through its hospitals and dispensaries to cir- cumvent the issue of informed consent. According to Dr Jugal Kishore, Director Professor and Head of Community Medicine Department, Safdarjung Hospital, often parents forget or don’t want to vaccinate their chil- dren because of a lack of aware- ness. He said that “even the most elite people” sometimes refuse to get the vaccine for their chil- dren. “Possibility of the occur- rence decreases with the help of vaccines. But, we all know that vaccination is not 100 per cent and many people don't want to take it. Due to this, infections keep occurring and bouts of out- break take place in congested ar- eas,” said Dr Kishore. He said due to lack of avail- ability, Vitamin A, which is the first dose before the measles vac- cine, is not provided resulting in malnourishment. “Vitamin A and measles go hand in hand. Vitamin A is very crucial before the measles vaccine is provided to children,” he added. DTU | Moderate 130 "i AQI PM10 500 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM ITO SKYWATCH Moderate FORECAST: September 29 Partly cloudy sky. d CY Mist inthe morning. 14 AQI PM10 500 At 7pm MAX: 35 0.3°C above normal | MIN: 22 1.30 C below normal Turned into ‘canal’ ahead of G20, Bhairon Marg drain back to its old self Abefore (left) and after view of the drain. Saman Husain/Abhinav Saha SAMAN HUSAIN NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 BARELY A few weeks after it was revamped and given a “canal- like” appearance before the G20 summit, the Bhairon Marg drain near Pragati Maidan's Bharat Mandapam Convention Center has once again gone back to its old state, thanks to lack of regu- lar desilting and sanitation. Ahead of the G20 Summit, a 240-metre section of the drain, which had overflowed during the floods in Yamuna river this year, had gone through a com- plete transformation. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had cleared overgrowth, laid decorative rocks, dotted the sides of the drain with potted plants, and set up a selfie point. The drain had first been cleaned using machines over Congress MP Rahul Gandhi visited the Kirti Nagar furniture market Thursday and interacted with carpenters. “Today I went to Asia's largest furniture market located in Kirti Nagar, Delhi and met the carpenter brothers. Apart from being hard workers, they are also amazing artists — experts at carving durability and beauty,” Gandhi said in a post on X. Gandhi had met fruit and vegetable vendors in Azadpur Mandi in August and porters at the Anand Vihar station last week. PTI Mukherjee Nagar fire: MCD orders survey of PGs in all wards of Civil Lines Zone; case of negligence lodged EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 THE MUNICIPAL Corporation of Delhi on Thursday issued direc- tions to conduct a survey of all paying guest accommodations in Mukherjee Nagar, after a mas- sive fire broke out inside aPG on Wednesday night. The MCD has now issued di- ENROLS IN PSYCHOLOGY COURSE IN NORTH CAMPUS 52-yr-old trader all set to relive his college days, courtesy unique DU scheme VIDHEESHA KUNTAMALLA NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 IT WAS in 1999 that businessman Rakesh Kumar Jain last set foot in acollege asa student when he fin- ished a diploma course in Export Marketing from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT). Twenty-four years later, Jain, now 52, is all set to relive his college days, this time as a student of Psychology. Jain is the oldest student to have recently enrolled himself in Delhi University’s Competence Enhancement Scheme (CES). Launched this year as part of Delhi University's centennial year celebrations, and under the Institute of LifeLong Sciences (ILLL), the scheme is aimed at making “higher education more accessible, as envisaged under the New Education Policy 2020”. As per the university’s official website: “The Scheme shall pro- vide opportunities to people from all walks of life to enhance their knowledge/competence by regis- tering for any one or two courses offered in a semester in the College and Departments of the University. Such candidates shall get the flavour of studying in the S E ss. con rections for the Zonal building department to conduct a survey of PGs in all wards of the Civil Lines zone. Thirty-five girls who were trapped in the building were res- cued by fire officials. The MCD said that due to suffocation caused by fire, three girls includ- ing a two-year-old who were trapped, were rescued and hos- pitalised. All three girls are out of Scheme aimed at giving candidates “the flavour of studying in the University,” according to varsity website. Archive University along with the regular students of such courses without having to enroll for a Programme of study.” danger now. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said they have now registered a case in the matter. They have lodged a case of negligence against the building owner and the PG owner. The building is owned by a man named Kulbhushan, who rented it to an- other person, Amit Kumar, who ran the PG. Police said no arrests have A businessman dealing in ex- port of home textiles, Jain hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat and has been living in Delhi’s Anand Vihar for more than two decades now. Remembering his college years, Jain said, “I finished Bachelors in Science from Meerut University in 1991. There were not many options back then, so I chose to do BSc and then started work- ing at the very young age of 17.” On his decision to join the CES, he said, “There is no set age for ed- ucation. One is a student at all phases of life.” Speaking to The Indian Express, been made yet and the matter is under investigation. FIR has been lodged under IPC sections 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 337 (causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the per- sonal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act en- dangering life or personal safety of others). Professor Sanjoy Roy, Director of ILLL, said, “So far, three students have enrolled in this course. Students can choose the subject of their choice and pick two pa- pers to study, and get a certificate under this scheme at the time of their completion.” On his decision to choose Psychology, Jain said, “I have cho- sen Psychology so that it can help me deal with people in my work area better than before... Jam not here for a certificate or a qualifica- tion, I am only here to update my knowledge and am looking at this experience as a value addition to my life.” more than four days. After this, sanitation workers were hired to manually clear the drain of any silt residue in order to en- sure that water from Yamuna river which is connected to the drain flows through the struc- ture once again. Less than 20 days after the summit, the drain has stagnated once more because of silt buildup while several potted plants nearby have died as a re- sult of improper care. A security guard stationed nearby claimed, “The plants are only watered once every three days, causing them to be on the verge of dy- ing...Many other plants stand stolen by the residents of the area.” Currently, in addition to the silt accumulation, plastic pack- aging, bottles, and used rags can be seen thrown down the drain along with stray mosquito nets. Signs of vegetation can once again be seen around the drain with wild plants growing in be- tween the decorative rocks. Piles of G20 construction and demo- lition waste have also been dumped around the drain. Following the facelift, a number of fish could be seen in the drain but now, their num- bers have also significantly di- minished. Fisherman Shah Alam, who was seen catching fish next to the drain, claimed: “I used to catch fish at the Yamuna earlier, but after the drain was cleared, I started catching the fish that had trav- eled to the drain. In the last week, the number of fish com- ing to the drain has decreased.” MOD and the Delhi govern- ment did not respond to queries on the issue. On hunt for suspect, police team probing Jangpura jewellery heist lands in Bengal EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 DAYS AFTER the Capital wit- nessed its biggest heist at a jew- ellery shop in Southeast Delhi's Jangpura in which robbers de- camped with valuables worth Rs 25 crore, sources revealed that the Delhi Police is close to mak- ing its first detention/arrest in the case. A team of Delhi Police is said to be camping in West Bengal looking for their suspect -- an employee at the store. The unknown accused, at least 4 men, broke into the store on Sunday night and decamped with gold and diamond jew- ellery. Police said the biggest heist in Delhi was “well planned” and executed within five to six hours. The police is yet to iden- tify the vehicle which the ac- cused used to escape from the crime scene. The men allegedly drilled a hole in the strong room and entered the store. They managed to take at least 3,000 jewellery pieces, the police said. A Delhi Police source said, “We have sent a team to West Bengal. They are camping there...looking fora man who is called “Bangali”. This person works at the jewellery store and had taken a one-week leave prior to the heist. As his phone is not reachable, multiple teams have been sent to trace his loca- tion. Based on technical surveil- lance and his Aadhaar card, a team left for the state and is now close to nabbing this person. We don’t know if he is still there but are hoping to catch him.” Jain has been married for 23 years and has two sons, 21 and 17. While one of his sons is pursuing a degree in law and the other is preparing for Medicine, Jain's wife is ahomemaker. “My family has always priori- tised education...although my parents studied only till Class 10, they made sure all their children had a good education,” he said. Jain's firm deals with clients from countries like the USA, South Africa, and Germany. He also holds around 8-10 exhibitions of his textile manufacturing business across the world around the year. “This is exactly where I can use — = saN Si pimam n a r ee — — an "i iis i F Robbers had decamped with valuables worth Rs 25 crore. Express Another officer said the em- ployee, who’s now a'prime sus- pect’ in the case was hired a month back at the jewellery store. “He used to repair defec- tive jewellery pieces on the third floor,” said the officer. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said that more than 12 teams are working round the clock on the case. From CCTV, phone dump data, and manual surveillance, to checking records of old criminals on bail—the police are pushing all its staff to make an arrest and crack the case. The theft was carried out after apossible recce of several weeks so the police are now checking if any old/known criminals are in- volved in the case. Police has recorded statements from all six permanent staff members em- ployed at the 75-year-old jew- ellery shop. Their addresses, join- ing details, and shift timings have also been collected. the skills of Psychology, to stay up to date on how todeal with people in my field across the world,” he added. Jain said he would prefer us- ing the Delhi Metro for his com- mute from his Anand Vihar home to North Campus. “It is just a 30- minute commute,” he added. In his absence, Jain said his team would manage things at work. “It is only a matter of six months,” he added. Besides education, Jain is also looking forward to reliving his col- lege life. “I will go to the class, pull my chair and sit in front of the board and listen to teachers...” WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 he human heart, pumping 1.5 gal- lons of blood in a single minute and beating on an average 100,000 times per day, can be rightly deemed as the engine that powers our lives from the cradle to the grave, dri- ving focus on prioritizing heart health. The emphasis on taking care of heart health cannot be overstressed, espe- cially at a time when Cardiovascular dis- eases (CVDs) - disorders of the heart or blood vessels - have become the lead- ing cause of death globally. With CVDs claiming more than 20.5 million lives every year and affecting over 523 mil- lion people, which represents double the number of people who suffered from it two decades ago, the observance of World Heart Day (WHD) on September 29 every year assumes significance of epic proportions. UNITING GLOBAL EFFORTS TO BRING CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH TO THE FOREFRONT Since more people die from CVD world- wide than from any other cause, WHD - with its goal to stop the world's biggest killer - has been essaying a defining role in raising public awareness of cardio- vascular diseases as well as their im- pact, to ensure a steady reduction in the global burden of deaths and diseases stemming from cardiovascular issues. As aglobal campaign initiated by the Geneva-based non-governmental orga- nization, World Heart Federation (WHF), WHD, since being observed for the first time in the year 2000, has emerged as one of the biggest, most recognized and most effective awareness-raising plat- forms for CVDs. Mobilizing global action against car- diovascular diseases, WHD brings to- gether people from diverse backgrounds and from all over the world through par- l, Dian i Promoting heart health for everyone, everywhere World Heart Day serves as a crucial reminder to prioritize heart health and take proactive steps to reduce the risk of heart-related issues by leading a heart-healthy lifestyle. ticipation in a wide spectrum of activi- ties that underscore heart health and various measures for averting and con- trolling CVDs. Scores of World Heart Federation (WHF) member organiza- tions drive the multi-lingual campaign spanning six continents along with the cardiology community and various gov- ernmental and non-governmental orga- nizations by educating and uniting peo- ple in the global fight against cardiovascular diseases. Educational programs on heart health, public talks, podcasts, fund-raising and sporting events, poster-making competitions, concerts and free health check-ups alongside meetings of international car- diovascular research organizations and medical societies mark WHD's obser- vance every year. In a day and age where the dark side of modern-day life - sedentary lifestyle, un- healthy diets, and mounting stress levels - is spelling doom for heart health, the steadily growing and rapidly increasing reach of the WHD campaign, from 1.7 bil- lion in 2020 to 7.9 billion in 2021, bodes well for attaining WHF's vision of cardio- vascular health for everyone. KEEPING THE HEART HEALTHY BY MAKING HEALTHY LIFESTYLE CHOICES Against the backdrop of the hard-hitting reality that 80% of premature deaths re- sulting from CVD can be prevented and that over 75 % of CVD deaths occur in low and middle-income countries, which includes India, the road map for ensuring heart health entails having unhindered and unbiased access to accurate infor- mation, timely detection, care and treatment alongside a proactive ap- proach to heart health involving im- pactful healthy changes in overall lifestyle. In light of prevention being better than cure, the importance of having a balanced and healthy diet, maintaining an ideal weight and engaging in age- appropriate regular physical activity cannot be overemphasized for keeping the heart beating, stronger, healthier and for longer. Additionally, managing stress, avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption and keeping in check blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar play a key role in keeping CVD at bay and ascertaining heart health. Evidently, to reduce the risk of CVD significantly, it is imperative to make healthy lifestyle choices a habit. Pivotal to empowering people's indi- vidual choices concerning leading heart- healthy lifestyles is the support of the government and policymakers, wherein they facilitate access to ways that pro- mote and make it easier to live a healthy life. Bringing about health policies that not only create environments where embracing healthy choices is easily available and affordable plays a crucial part in encouraging people to lead and sustain healthier lifestyles. Year after year, the WHD campaign - engaging individuals, organizations and communities to increase awareness and espouse universal access to the preven- tion, detection and treatment of CVD - keeps on gaining momentum worldwide and continues to inspire and steer greater international involvement in promoting a lifestyle that is healthy for the heart. As a day dedicated to driving home the message of keeping the heart healthy by taking care of it and leading a lifestyle that fosters heart health while encouraging others to do the same, World Heart Day is empowering people in the global fight against cardiovascular disease and helping them champion heart health. T IS common these days to hear about the sudden death of young adults in their30s and 40s or even earlier. This is due to a sudden cardiac arrest, in persons who were otherwise ‘healthy’ and even athletic’. It spares no one, in- cludingcelebrities likethe popular singer- KK and TV actors- Sidharth Sukhla and Raju Shrivastav. Also,the former Miss Universe- Sushmita Sen, luckily survived a massive heart attack with about 95% blockage in one of her arter- ies. Incidentally, Cardio-Vascular Diseases (CVDs) or heart disease are the leading cause of mortality globally as well as in India, killing nearly 48 lakh people, about 28% of all deaths, in India every year. Compared to the western popula- tion, Indians are affected by CVDs a decade sooner and have poorer outcomes. Key risk factors for CVDs include hypertension or high blood pressure, diabetes, poor lipid profile, unhealthy lifestyle practices like smoking, alcohol abuse, obesity and sedentary lifestyle. Latest reports by WHO and ICMR reveal that 52% CVD deaths in India are caused by hypertension and an estimated 31 crore Indians suffer from hypertension, of which only 37% know of their diagnosis. Further, Diabetics are found to be twice more likely to get heart disease, and India is infamously known as ‘the Diabetic capital of the world’, having nearly 10 crore dia- betics and an additional 13 crore pre-dia- betics.Over 21 crore Indians have abnor- mal lipid profileand over 25 crore are obese. Like all Non-Communicable (NCDs) or Lifestyle Diseases,heart disease results from an interplay of genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors. However, the Euro- pean Society of Cardiology and several others have concluded that poor lifestyle ADVERTORIAL | An initiative YAQ OQO EART DAY. Controlling Heart Disease - the number one killer in India (Honorary) Brigadier Dr Arvind Lal Padma Shri Awardee, Executive Chairman, Dr Lal PathLabs Ltd, Chair, FICCI Swasth Bharat (Public Health) Task Force is a greater contributor to heart disease than genetics, especially in case of young people. Therefore, adopting a healthy lifestyle should be the first priority for re- ducing heart disease. The second most important aspect is ‘early diagnosis’. With advancements in modern medicine, especially in diagnostics, doctorscan comprehensively assess heart health, identify the risk of heart disease and accurately detect heart attacks.One of the most crucial tests for heart health is a'- CompleteLipid Profile'that includesTotal Cholesterol, Triglycerides, HDLCholesterol, LDLCholesterol, VLDL Cholesterol, Non- HDL Cholesterol, Apolipoprotein A1 and B, Lipoprotein(a), HSCRP and Homocysteine, which catches lipid and lipoprotein abnor- ADVERTORIAL malities. The good news is that nowadays a Non-Fasting Lipid Pro- file is possible wherein one need not fast for twelve hours, which was usually a deterrent for many people to get tested. The Lipid As- sociation of India (LAI) has opined that LDL Cholesterol should now be kept below 70 mg/dL, instead of the earlier level of 100 mg/dL. High Sensitive C-Reactive Protein (HsCRP) is also an important test for assessment of coronary arter- ies to identify changes due to plaque formation and inflamma- tion. Further, there are biomarkers that assist doctors in diagnosis, prognosis, and guiding therapy in different cardiovascular diseases. Biomarkers like Troponin can even detect a heart attack that may be missed in an ECG. High Sensi- tiveTroponin | (hsTrop |) is also rec- ommended for accurate cardiovas- cular risk assessment. If someone hasa family history of heart disease or high Cholesterol, or suffers from hypertension or dia- betes, they should start getting tested at the age of 20 years, with a ‘Complete Lipid Profile’. If the results are normal, the tests should be repeated every year. If the results are abnormal, seek ad- vice from a physician cardiologist and re- peat the tests every three months to moni- tor progress. For people with no family history of heart disease or no pre-existing medical conditions, a Complete Lipid Profile is recommended every year, starting at the age of 30 years. | appeal tothe Government of Indiato in- clude Total Cholesterol in addition to glu- cose, as a screening testunder the National Programme for control of NCDs. | must em- phasise here that our country's GDP can increase by about 2% if we are able to ar- rest the advent of NCDs, which account for nearly 65% of deaths in India. ADVERTORIAL Advancements in Cardiac Surgery: A Conversation with Dr. Sushant Srivastava Can you share your journey and expe- rience in the field of cardiac surgery, and what inspired you to specialise in this area? Two individuals played pivotal roles in shaping my journey in cardiac surgery. Firstly, my mother kindled my early aspirations by reading stories about the renowned cardiac surgeon, Doctor Den- ton Arthur Cooley, to me when | was just six or seven years old. These stories instilled dreams and inspired me to envision a future where I, too, could perform heart operations like him. Secondly, during my tenure at the All India In- stitute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi, | had the privilege of being guided by Doctor P Venu Gopal, the pioneer of cardiac surgery in India. He achieved a significant milestone by conducting the first successful heart transplant in India on Au- gust 4th, 1994, a day | was fortunate to be a part of. Doctor Venu Gopal's vision and leadership pro- pelled cardiac surgery from its rudimentary be- ginnings to the advanced state it has reached to- day. AIIMS played a crucial role in this transformative journey. In essence, these two individuals-my mother and Doctor Venu Gopal-stand as the most influ- ential figures in my pursuit of a career in cardiac surgery. My journey started in 1992 at the All India In- stitute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where | be- gan as a resident trainee. At AIIMS, | was exposed to the highest calibre of cardiac surgery in India. During my time there, | had the privilege of wit- nessing groundbreaking achievements in the field, including the first successful heart transplant and the implantation of the first mechanical heart in the country. In 1994, after completing my resi- dency, | joined the faculty at AIIMS as an assistant professor. This period allowed me to operate on thousands of patients and learn from pioneering seniors and teachers who were at the forefront of cardiac surgery. The experience at AIIMS trans- formed my thinking and provided the essential exposure needed to excel as a cardiac surgeon. Upon entering private practice, | encountered numerous rewarding experiences. One notable case involved performing bypass surgery on a 96- year-old gentleman in 2014, who miraculously survived. Remarkably, he lived until the age of 99 before succumbing to stomach cancer. Addition- ally, | had the privilege of conducting the first su- tureless, or stitchless, valve surgery in India. Throughout my career, | have undertaken com- plex surgeries, and met with successful outcomes. It has been an incredibly fulfilling journey, and my passion for cardiac surgery continues to drive me forward. What are some of the most common cardiac conditions or procedures you can't encounter in your practice, and how have treatments evolved over the years? Coronary artery bypass surgery, commonly known as bypass surgery, holds the distinction of being the most frequently performed cardiac op- eration worldwide. This prevalence is attributed to the high incidence of coronary artery disease, particularly in India, which has earned India the unfortunate title of "the world capital of coro- nary artery disease. " Shockingly, approximately one out of every ten adults in India suffers from this condition. The management of coronary artery disease varies, with some patients undergoing medical treatment, while others opt for angioplasty. How- ever, as the disease progresses, many individuals eventually reach a stage where bypass surgery becomes the only viable option. This scenario is not unique to India but resonates globally, making bypass surgery a ubiquitous procedure. eae AAR G IO acer Gi § ORE SPFPECIALITT IS FOU EHI iT Lal | Dr. Sushant Srivastava, Chairperson of Cardiac Surgery and Heart,Lung Transplant at Artemis Hospital, is a distinguished figure in the field of cardiac surgery. With an illustrious career marked by expertise and innovation, Dr. Srivastava has consistently pushed the boundaries of cardiac surgery. His journey is a testament to unwavering dedication and commitment to advancing heart surgery. In this exclusive interview, Dr. Srivastava shares insights into the *@@O [ READ. ENGAGE Eg E evolving landscape of cardiac surgery, the importance of heart health, and the strides made in ensuring patient safety. Join us as we delve into the world of cutting-edge cardiac care with a visionary leader. In developing countries like India, cardiac sur- geons are also confronted with heart valve dis- eases, often stemming from conditions like rheumatic fever, particularly affecting young pa- tients. Additionally, congenital heart defects in children necessitate surgical interventions. Sur- geons may also address issues related to major vessels, such as the aorta, which can develop con- ditions like aneurysms or dissections. Further- more, patients with heart muscle diseases may require procedures like heart transplants or me- chanical assist devices like LVADs to support failing hearts. The field of cardiac surgery has witnessed re- markable advancements over time. For instance, the introduction of beating heart surgery has re- duced the reliance on the heart-lung machine in specific procedures, facilitating faster recovery for patients. Despite the increasing complexity of cases due to patients presenting with multiple co- morbidities, continuous improvements in tech- niques and technology empower surgeons to ef- fectively manage these challenges. And what about the safety of these surgeries? Many people are concerned about the risks associated with them. What steps do you take to ensure the safety and well-being of your patients be- fore, during, and after surgery? Ensuring the safety of cardiac surgery is of ut- most importance, and | want to emphasise that the success rates are excellent. For routine bypass surgery, the mortality rate is typically below 2%, meaning a success rate of approximately 98- 99%. It's crucial to recognise that while all surg- eries carry some risks, including cardiac proce- dures, these risks are generally outweighed by the benefits of treating heart disease. However, it's worth noting that the presence of other health conditions can increase these risks, such as un- controlled diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, or a history of smoking. Nevertheless, even in patients with multiple health issues, the risks can be managed, and most individuals re- cover well and lead healthy lives. Age alone is not a significant risk factor, and cardiac surgery is rou- tinely performed on patients in their 70s and 80s as long as their overall health is good. What role does lifestyle play in heart health, and how can individuals make positive changes to reduce the risk of car- diac problems? . DELIVER.) IS THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS TEAM OF THE INDIAN EXPRESS GROUP Lifestyle is pivotal in maintaining heart health. Positive changes can significantly diminish the risks of cardiac issues. Here's how: m Diet: Prioritise a heart-healthy diet. Avoid fast food, fried items, and excess unhealthy fats. Em- brace fruits, veggies, whole grains, and low-fat dairy. m Exercise: Regular physical activity is crucial. Aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exer- cise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise weekly. m= Smoking: Quit smoking immediately if you do. [t's a major heart disease risk. m Alcohol: Limit alcohol intake. Excessive drink- ing can harm the heart. m Weight Management: Maintain a healthy weight through balanced eating and exercise. Obesity is a heart disease risk. m Stress Management: Manage stress with techniques like meditation or yoga. Chronic stress negatively affects heart health. m Regular Check-ups: See your healthcare provider for check-ups and screenings. Early de- tection of high blood pressure and high choles- terolis vital. m Medication Adherence: If prescribed med- ications for conditions like high blood pressure or high cholesterol, take them as directed. m Sleep: Ensure adequate, quality sleep. Poor sleep can contribute to heart problems. These changes reduce cardiac risks and en- hance overall well-being. Prevention and early in- tervention are keys to heart health. Thank you, doctor, for sharing that valuable information. Now, is there any- thing else you'd like to add or any final advice you have for our readers regard- ing heart health or cardiac surgery? Promote heart health through lifestyle changes: diet, exercise, stress management. Con- sult healthcare professionals for concerns/family history. Trust cardiac surgery when needed; bene- fits outweigh risks. Living The Best Life! Devices In The Heart Failure Ai K Dr Manish Kumar Sharma Consultant Cardiologist with experience of 12 years. Consultant Cardiologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi = m EART failure is a chronic (lifelong) con- dition that must be treated. It is a seri- ous condition which may limit physical activities of the person and also may be re- sponsible for reduced survival. However, with proper treatment, a person can feel better, may have reduced risk of going into or being readmitted to the hospital. A person can also live longer by taking care of the self. Thanks to recent advances in medical treatment, the symptoms of heart failure can be relieved and the progress of heart failure can be slowed, stopped, and in some cases even reversed. Still, the progress of heart fail- ure is different for each person, so it can be hard to predict what the future holds. Sometimes more help is needed to ad- dress some of the symptoms of heart failure. This is especially true when problems with the ways the heart beats (also known as ir- regular heartbeats, or arrhythmias) are an is- sue. In many such cases, an implanted surgical device may be the answer. Most common are: Implantable cardioverter defibrilla- tor (ICD): An ICD is like a pacemaker but is im- planted just under the skin of the chest. It has wires that connect through veins into the heart. ICDs can speed up the heart rate if it's beating too slow, and can correct dangerous heart rhythms by shocking the heart back to normal. ICDs are sometimes used along with pacemaker function to keep the heart beating as normally as possible. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT): This small device is implanted just below the collarbone. It helps the heart pump better by sending electrical signals to the heart's lower chambers, so they beat together the way they're supposed to. Heart Failure Clinics Dr Sumeet Sethi DM (Cardiology) Associate Director International Cardiology In Max Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi the heart failure clinic cares for people whose heart is not pumping blood around their body as effectively as it should be. The causes can be many like post vi- ral infection, heart arteries blockages and dis- ease of the heart valves etc. How does a person getsreferred to a heart failure clinic? If your GP suspects, you might have heart failure they will often do some blood tests to look for signs of weakness or strain on the heart. Following this, they will then refer you to the heart failure clinic manned by a Cardiol- ogist. What happens at the heart failure clinic? A thorough clinical examination is done and you will be sent for an ECG , blood tests and an echocardiogram . If required more tests may be needed. What tests will | have at my ap- pointment? Itis likely that you will require a number of other different tests which may include: mCT scan mMRI scan m Coronary angiogram m Holter monitoring Treatment modalities Based on test reports , a treatment plan is finalised and medical treatment started with advise for regular OPD followups. What care will I receive at home? Patients with heart failure often require treatment with a number of different med- ications. This will be supervised by specialist community teams with guidance from the hospital consultants. If your condition is stable, you will be cared for by your GP. However, you will con- tinue to have access to hospital and commu- nity teams if needed. Cardiac rehabilitation If you have heart failure, you will benefit from supervised exercise regimes and may require healthy lifestyle changes. Therefore, we might refer you to the cardiac rehabilita- tion teams for support. Additional treatment You might need more advanced cardiol- ogy treatments such as: mA pacemaker or implantable defibrillator mAngioplasty mAblation procedures for rhythm distur- bances mSurgery for heart valve problems. Your cardiologist will advise if they think any of these procedures are necessary or ap- propriate. What happens If I become unwell? If you become unwell with heart failure and need admission to hospital you will usu- ally be managed by the heart failure specialist team till fit enough for discharge. Long term prognosis With advanced treatment it is now possi- ble to manage heart failure effectively with long term beneficial results and good qual- ity of life. Heart Diseases. Myths and Facts à Dr Rajeeve Kumar Rajput Senior Consultant Cardiologist & Interventionist Coordinator Heart Failure Service, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Delhi Myth 1. Heart Diseases do not occur in young persons Fact 1. In our country more than one third of patients with heart attacks are less than 45 years of age and Heart at- tacks occur a decade earlier than the western population . Myth 2 Heart disease is common only in big cities and in affluent people . Fact 2 Heart diseases are equally common in rural/ urban and rich and poor Myth 3 Heart diseases can not be prevented Fact 3. By heathy life style and by controlling risk factors most of the heart epaper od p dianexpress.com attacks can be prevented Myth 4. Fat rich diet is not harmful Fact 4 High cholesterol is a strong risk factor for Heart attacks and the risk can be reduced by life style management and by drugs . Statins are very safe and very beneficial and prevent heart attacks . Myth 5 Angiography is very painful and risky Fact 5 Angiography is a very safe test , painless , usually done through hand and most of the patients can be sent home same day. Myth 6 Stents are temporary solution and always fail . Fact 6 Currently available Drug Ellut- ing Stents are very good and In more than 95 % cases stents provide long term re- lief . Myth 7. Bypass is end of life ; you can not do anything after bypass Fact 7 The technique and the results of bypass surgery have improved a lot and all patient can go back to their routine work within few weeks and lead a healthy and productive life . Myth 8. If you start high BP medica- tion your body will get used to it and u will have to take it life long Fact 8 . High BP is very important risk factor for brain stroke , heart failure , heart attack and kidney failure . You will tolerate BP medication only as long as they are needed . WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 THEINDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 Physical Activity In Heart Failure = ne of most important ways that people with heart failure can main- tain their sense of well-being is by keeping themselves active. Activity can help you feel better, may decrease your symp- toms, and may improve your heart's func- tion. Be sure to talk to your doctorbefore starting an exercise program. BECOMING MORE ACTIVE To become more active,always start with light exercise then slowly and gradually build it up.Pick a simple aerobic activity like walking, swimming or cycling. Walking is a good choice for many people because it is easy to start, does not require any special equipment, and can be done round the year anywhere. If you are going to start more vigorous n today's fast-paced world, where sedentary lifestyles have become the ` norm, it's crucial to recognize the ex- traordinary benefits of regular exercise in safeguarding our cardiac health. While cardiovascular diseases continue to claim countless lives worldwide, we possess the means to minimize this risk through in- formed action. Regular exercise is nothing short of a lifesaver for your heart. It elevates your cardiovascular fitness, fortifying your heart's capacity to pump blood efficiently. Simultaneously, it aids in weight manage- ment, shedding excess pounds and reduc- ing the stress placed on your heart, conse- quently lowering the risk of heart disease. Furthermore, exercise takes charge of blood pressure regulation, a pivotal factor in the prevention of hypertension. Despite concerns about exercise-re- Dr Y K Arora MD. DM Sr. Consultant Cardiology in NHI Hospital, Delhi exercise then talk to your health care provider,they would like to do some exer- cise test to see your effort tolerance before permitting you for such a programme. The goal of most of the people with heart failure is to do 30 minutes of activity every day (At least 5 days in a week). This does not mean that one has to exercise continuously for 30 minutes in one go,in case you are uncomfortable then you can do in 3 blocksof 10-minute each to get your goal of 30-minute. WHEN NOTTO DO EXERCISE mHaving shortness of breath at rest or more symptoms than usual. Feeling exhausted. mHaving fever or some other evidence of infection. mHaving chest pain. Be Active - Love Your Heart! A Dr Gaurav Minocha Director And Unit Head Of Cardiology, Max Superspeciality Hospital, Vaishali lated risks, it's imperative to emphasize that these risks are minimal, especially for Diet In Heart Failure Dr Devendra Kumar Agrawal Senior Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh = AKING positive lifestyle a/ changes is almost always -| necessary for people with heart failure. Eating a healthy diet is a vital part of the treatment plan. Health care provider will work with the per- son with heart failure to explain what is required to adopt a healthier diet. Following tips are often recom- mended: Eat less salt (sodium) Sodium retains water in the body. That can cause the heart to work harder and contribute to edema and shortness of breath. Sodium intake is often limited to 2,000 mg per day. Clinician will recommend to limit sodium intake. It's important to stick with that number. Be on lookout for "hidden" salt in processed and pre- pared foods, which often have salt added to them. Reading food labels can help. When eating out, ask for nu- tritional information of the dishes be- ing served. At home, herbs, lemon juice, and spices can add lots of flavour to recipes and help to limit salt. Limit alcohol and fluids if in- structed to do so. Alcohol can weaken heart muscles and increases the risk of heart rhythm problems. Attending physician will advise how much fluid should be taken each day. Eat lean meats and poultry. Avoid adding salt, saturated fat, or cholesterol to the recipe. Also, watch the portion sizes. Keep the (MSNo A Per Aa ees Lene serving at 4 to 6 ounces-about the size of the fist. Eat oily fish (salmon, trout, herring) at least twice a week. These types of fish contain omega- 3 fatty acids, which can help reduce the risk of coronary artery disease. Avoid processed and pre- pared foods. These can be high in sodium and tend to have saturated or trans fats in them. When dining out, request lit- tle or no salt be added to the dish. Choose baked or steamed dishes, when possible, over fried options. those who maintain a consistent exercise routine. Understanding the warning signs, including chest discomfort, unusual shortness of breath, dizziness, or irregu- lar heartbeats during exercise, is crucial. Consultation with a physician before em- barking on a new exercise regimen is ad- visable for individuals with a history of heart disease or multiple risk factors like diabetes high BP , high cholesterol and smokers . For newcomers to exercise, starting slowly with moderate activities like brisk walking is a prudent approach.Undue physical exercise can cause musculoskeletal injuries and even precipitate heart events So go slow and stop early in case of symptomms like chest discomfort or undue breathing problems Incorporating exercise into daily life is more achievable than one might think. mGoing through a major change in your medication regimen. mHaving persistent muscle aches & pains after exercising. AVOID OVER EXERTION Signs of overexertion include: mShortness of breath that prevents you from completing a sentence. m Shortness of breath that does not get bet- ter when you reduce or stop your activ- ity. mDizziness or light-headedness. mChest pain or tightness. Pain in your arms, shoulders, neck, or jaw. m Unusual fatigue or presence of palpita- tions. mPresence of Nausea, vomiting& profuse sweating. Strive for a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily, be it through brisk walking or a home workout routine. If time constraints are a concern, break your exercise into shorter, 10-minute ses- sions scattered throughout the day. Small changes such as opting for stairs over ele- vators and walking short distances in- stead of driving can contribute signifi- cantly to your overall physical activity. Remember that the key to reaping the rewards of regular exercise lies in taking the first step. By making physical activity an integral part of your daily routine and adhering to necessary precautions, you possess the power to significantly reduce your risk of heart disease. Prioritize your cardiac health today through regular exer- cise, and rest assured, your heart will thank you with a longer, healthier life in the years to come. Increase Physical Activity And Reducing Stress In Heart Failure Dr Nityanand Tripathi Director And HOD - Cardiology And Electrophysiology , Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Exercise is critical for people with heart failure. However, talk with the clinician about how often and when to exercise. Physician may recommend to avoid phys- ical activity on days when fluid has built up and a person is not feeling well. Clini- cian can help to make a plan for when and how often person should exercise. Pay at- tention to how you feel, and rest when you get tired. Most people should aim to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day, most days of the week. Try to exercise every day. Keep in mind that person don't have to get all 30 minutes at once. It is good to break exercise into 5- to 10- minute segments. Plus, there are other ways to add physical activity. Consider: m Going out for a walk. Invite friends and family members to join. m Walking instead of driving. Parking car farther from destination and taking a walk. m Getting off the bus or subway a stop or two earlier and walking rest of the way. REDUCING STRESS Dealing with too much stress can make many health conditions worse, in- cluding heart failure. But you can keep stress at bay by exercising and taking time to relax. Consider: m Enjoying your favourite hobbies m Spending time with friends or family m Doing deep-breathing exercises m Practicing yoga or tai chi m Taking a nap m Reading a book m Listening to music m Taking a warm bath There are many ways to relax-those listed above are just a few ideas. GETTING SUPPORT As heart failure progresses, it can be- come isolating for the person who has it. But it doesn't have to be. Doing everything you can to manage your health is impor- tant. Talk with healthcare provider about support options available to you. Managing Your Stress In Heart Failure æ tress is a normal part of life. Getting diagnosed with heart ee failure can cause a strain on your emotional health. It can cause more stress than usual at times. It is important to take positive steps to handle stress. Follow these tips and talk to your doctor if you need more ideas about how to handle stress. Don't turn to food and alco- hol to cope. Eating and drinking too much can actually lead to more stress. Drinking alcohol can cause heart failure and make the condition worse. It is ok to say "no" to people. Assert yourself and set limits for yourself. You do not have to meet the Dr Rameshwar Bishnoi Senior Consultant -Cardiac Science, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh demands and expectations of others. Practice standing up for yourself while being respectful of others. Don't smoke or use nicotine products. Nicotine is found in all to- bacco products including cigarettes, E-cigarettes, and "vaping" systems. Nicotine is an addictive drug. It causes more symptoms of stress and causes your heart to work harder than normal. In addition, smoking leads to many other problems, includ- ing cardiovascular disease. Get regular exercise. Regular exercise can help reduce stress. Choose an enjoyable activity and set reason- able goals. Talk to your doctor about an exercise program that is safe for you. Take action to reduce stress. Stressors are the things that cause us to feel stress. You can help eliminate stressors by practicing good time management and setting priorities and realistic goals and expectations. You cannot be 100% successful at everything all the time. Relax. Take time every day to re- lax. Help your body recover from the effects of stress. Take responsibility. You can- not control everything that happens in life. Control what you can and accept that you need to let some things go. Take a self-inventory. When you feel overwhelmed, take a few minutes to remind yourself of the things you do well. A healthy self-es- teem helps reduce your stress level. S WORLD HEAR 9 DAY- Adjusting Fluids In Heart Failure Roles Of The Caregiver Of Individuals With Heart Failure ROLE CATEGORIES Support with activities of daily living mPersonal Care - Assist with bathing, dressing, toileting, movements m Managing the home - Ensure rent/mort- gage and utilities are paid; cleaning, laundry mLogistical support - Transportation and planning of errands and activities Psychosocial support mg Emotional and mental support - Provide support through touching, listening, at- tention, humor, pragmatism, stoicism; as- sist with referral to mental health serv- ices. mSocial and spiritual support - Respect and support of spiritual needs; empathy m Coping with symptoms and medication side effects - Support to cope with fa- tigue, exercise intolerance, breathless- ness, anxiety, depression, anorexia. Dr Naveen Bhamri Senior Director And HOD, Cardiac Sciences, Cardiology, Cardiac Electrophysiology-Pacemaker, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh Improving and maintaining self- care mHealthy nutrition - Assist with planning, shopping, preparation, and cooking of heart-healthy meals; encourage ade- quate energy intake; monitor unexpected decline in body weight mPhysical activity - Encourage disease- stage—appropriate activities, including walking, balance and strengthening exer- cises Smoking cessation and tailored alcohol intake - Support and encourage smoking cessation and tailor alcohol advice to pathogenesis of heart failure; eg, absti- nence in alcoholic cardiomyopathy mManagement of medications - Obtain prescription medications from the phar- macy; prepare weekly tablet organizers; reminder of and management of refills Left ventricular assist device manage- ment- Left ventricular assist device drive- line dressing changes; ensure adequate power source; troubleshoot alarms m Monitor and treat heart failure symptoms - Weigh daily to monitor fluid retention; monitor for shortness of breath and fa- tigue; adjust diuretic dose; assist with de- cisions about the need for emergency care Navigating the healthcare sys- tem mCommunication - Communicate with healthcare providers about treatment plan; advocate for patient mHealth insurance and social services ben- efit management - Pay health insurance claims; apply for disability benefits m Coordination of appointments and visits - Manage schedule related to routine vis- its for heart failure and comorbidities; ac- company to healthcare visits m Transition of care between healthcare in- stitution and home - Organize care after hospital discharge; provide assurance of continuity of care mw End-of-life care - Advocate for patient; communicate patient preferences; pro- vide decision support for palliative and/or hospice care. Living the best life! Devices in the heart failure m 5 eart failure is a chronic (lifelong) condition that must be treated. It is a serious condition which may limit physical activities of the per- son and also may be responsible for re- duced survival. However, with proper treatment, a person can feel better, may have reduced risk of going into or being readmitted to the hospital. A person can also live longer by taking care of the self. Thanks to recent advances in med- ical treatment, the symptoms of heart failure can be relieved and the progress of heart failure can be slowed, stopped, and in some cases even reversed. Still, Warning Signs Of Heart Failure Dr Subroto Kumar Datta MD, DNB(Medicine) DM, DNB (Cardiology) Director Cardiology, Venkateshwar (e: Dr Santosh Kumar Agarwal Sr Interventional Cardiologist Kailash Hospital, Noida one week m Unusual swelling in the legs, feet, hands, or abdomen BA persistent cough or chest congestion (the cough may be dry or hacking) m Increasing fatigue or a sudden decrease in your ability to do nor- mal activities BA loss of appetite or nausea BA feeling of full- or stomach the progress of heart failure is different for each person, so it can be hard to predict what the future holds. Sometimes more help is needed to address some of the symptoms of heart failure. This is especially true when problems with the ways the heart beats (also known as irregular heartbeats, or arrhythmias) are an issue. In many such cases, an implanted surgical device may be the answer. Most common are: Implantable cardioverter de- fibrillator (ICD): An ICD is like a pacemaker but is implanted just under the skin of the chest. It has wires that connect through veins into the heart. ICDs can speed up the heart rate if it's beating too slow, and can correct dangerous heart rhythms by shocking the heart back to normal. ICDs are sometimes used along with pacemakers to keep the heart beating as normally as possible. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT): This small device is implanted just below the collarbone. It helps the heart pump better by sending electrical sig- nals to the heart's lower chambers, so they beat together the way they're sup- posed to. Understand Heart Failure: What Does It Means To Be At Risk 5 any people mistakenly believe that heart fail- ure means that the heart has stopped func- | | tioning. Heart failure simply means that the heart is not pumping enough blood to various organs/parts of the body. Common symptoms of heart failure: m Shortness of breath during daily activities m Having trouble breathing when lying down m Weight gain with swelling in the feet, legs, ankles, m Generally feeling tired or weak/bloating As the heart's pumping action weakens, blood backs up into blood vessels around the lungs and Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi nee apna ABEP ing in your age of fluid stomach into the What is heart failure? m Confusion or restlessness M S N 0 lungs. The Heart failure is different from These symptoms may be — fluid causes a heart attack. Heart failure isa early signs that fluid is build- — eatin dad lung con- malfunction in the heart thatpre- ing up and your heart failure gestion and vents the heart muscle from filling is getting worse. If you have M EI AERES AN makes it or pumping blood well enough these symptoms, let your hard to to keep the body working prop- erly.It is different from heart at- tack, which happens when blood flow is blocked in one of the ves- sels that supply to the heart itself. While some signs and symp- toms of heart failure may not be an emergency, they can worsen if you do not take action imme- diately. If you have any of the fol- lowing symptoms, call your doc- tor or healthcare provider and let them know: Em Shortness of breath m Feeling dizzy or lightheaded m Weight gain of three or more pounds in one day m Weight gain of five pounds in any people mistakenly believe -| that heart failure means that the heart has stopped or is about to stop. Heart failure simply means that the heart is not pumping blood through the body as well as it should. Common symptoms of heart fail- ure: m Shortness of breath during daily activities mHaving trouble breathing when lying down Weight gain with swelling in the feet, legs, ankles, or stomach m Generally feeling tired or weak As the heart's pumping action weakens, blood backs up into blood vessels around the lungs and causes seepage of fluid into the lungs. The fluid causes congestion and makes it hard to breathe. Many people with heart failure also have swollen legs and doctor or nurse know as quickly as possible. Take immediate action if following situation arises m Chest discomfort or pain that lasts more than 15 minutes (that is not relieved with rest or nitroglycerin) m Severe or persistent shortness of breath m Fainting or passing out m A fast or irregular heartbeat, palpitations or a racing heart that does not go away m A need to sleep sitting up on more pillows than usual m Frothy or pink tinged sputum when coughing management. ticularly when a patient lies down. Many people with heart failure also have swollen legs and feet. Medical conditions which increasesrisk of heart failure: m Coronary artery disease and heart attacks m Diabetes æ High blood pressure m Obesity æ Valvular Heart Disease m Chronic Kidney Disease Unhealthy behaviors can also increase risk of heart failure: m Using tobacco in any form m Eating foods high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium m Not getting enough physical activity m Excessive alcohol intake In most cases, heart failure can't be cured, but its symptoms can be brought under control with careful breathe, par- Dr Hemant Gandhi MBBS, MD(Medicine), DM (Cardiology) FESC (Europe), Associate Director - Cardiol- ogy, Max Healthcare Hospital, Gurgaon Careful management means a person with heart failure should: m Take all of the medicines as ordered by the doctor. m Control BP & Blood sugar levels. m Stop using tobacco/limitalcohol m Remain physically active, but avoid strenuous exer- tion. m Lose weight if obese. m Limit salt in diet (No Added Salt) m Eating balanced diet m Should also check every day for signs of worsening heart failure like sudden increase in body weight or sudden swelling in the body. Heart failure is a serious illness that can affect how long a person can survive. Some people may die sooner because of heart failure; but with proper medications in the right doses and careful management, a person with heart failure canfeel better and live longer. Moreover, with recent advances in the treatment of patient with heart failure, like newer drugs, device therapy & heart transplant, life expectancy of heart fail- ure patients has increased. Understand Heart Failure: ris Dr Rahul Ramteke Intervention Cardiologist NMH Hospital & Heart Centre What Does It Means To Be At Risk feet. Medical conditions which increas- esrisk of heart failure: m Coronary artery disease and heart attacks mDiabetes High blood pressure wObesity m Valvular Heart Disease Unhealthy behaviors can also in- crease risk of heart failure: m Using tobacco in form mEating foods high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium mNot getting enough physical activity mExcessive alcohol intake In most cases, heart failure can't be cured, but it can be brought under control with careful management. Careful management means a person with heart failure should: m Take all of the medicines ordered by your doctor or nurse. mFollow a low-sodium (salt) diet. mStop using tobacco mRemain physically active. mLose weight if you are overweight. mShould also check every day for signs of worsening heart failure like sudden in- crease in body weight or sudden swelling in the body. Heart failure is a serious illness that can affect how long a person can survive. Some people may die sooner because of heart failure; but with proper medications in the right doses and careful management, a per- son with heart failure canfeel better and live longer. Dr Nishant Tyagi Senior Consultant Cardiologist, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Patparganj, Delhi. ongestion, or fluid overload, is a clas- sic clinical feature of patients present- wing with heart failure and its presence is associated with adverse outcome. There- fore, controlling the intake of fluid is impor- tant in heart failure. Why is it important to control flu- ids? Water and salt retention leads to an in- creased amount of fluid in the blood. Heart has to work harder to push this increased amount of blood around the body. This ex- cess fluid may get accumulated into the lungs making it harder to breathe. Excess fluid can be also retained in the abdomen and in the legs. How can you control your fluids? You may be prescribed tablets such as diuretics to help you get rid of any extra fluid. However, you should take care not to replace this water through drinking extra fluids. Your doctor may recommend an amount that you should be drinking every day. Weigh yourself in the morning, before eating and after using the bathroom, and write down the amount. Sudden increase in body weight may indicate accumulation of fluid in the body. If you are advised to reduce the fluid in- take, here are some suggestions: Top tips for limiting the amount you drink: Muse small cups instead of mugs mitry to spread your daily allowance over the whole day mitry drinking very cold or hot fluids mif it is very hot or you have a fever or diar- thoea, you should drink an extra 100-300 ml. Top tips for when you are thirsty: msuck an ice cube mlimit caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea and fizzy drinks) milimit alcoholic drinks muse lemon and glycerine mouth swab sticks m chew gum or hard candies meat frozen fruits madd lemon juice to tea or mineral water mitry rinsing mouth with cold water and spitting it out Make Healthy Heart Your Goal Dr Vinayak Agrawal Director and Head of Clinical Cardiology and cardiac imaging Fortis Gurgaon yy any people mistakenly believe that heart failure means that the heart -| has stopped or is about to stop. Heart failure simply means that the heart is not pumping blood through the body as well as itshould. Heart related diseases also called as car- diovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death and disability in both devel- oped and developing countries. These dis- eases are also a reason for heart failure. Therefore, prevention is the key to keep our heart in healthy condition. 7 Strategies to Live a Heart- Healthy Lifestyle Healthy behaviors can lead to lower risk of heart disease. It also preventing other seri- ous chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes and some kinds of cancer. 1 Learn Your Health History Know your risks and talk to your family and doctor about your health history. 2 Eat a Healthy Diet Make healthy foodchoices like more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products. Eat less salt,saturated fat, and added sugar. 3 Move More, Sit Less Get at least 150 minutes of moderate-in- tensity aerobic activity every week, plus mus- cle-strengthening activities at least 2 days a week. 4 Quit Smoking Take the first step on your journey to healthy lifestyle. 5Take Medicines as Directed If you take medicine to treat high choles- terol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, follow your doctor's instructions carefully. Always ask questions if you don't understand some- thing. Never stop taking your medicine with- out talking to your doctor. 6 Choose Your Drinks Wisely Substitute water for sugary drinks to re- duce calories. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation by limiting consumption to no more than 1 drink a day for women (2 for men) on days that alcohol is consumed. 7 Monitor Your Blood Pressure at Home Self-measured blood pressure monitors are easy and safe to use, and your doctor can show you how to use one if you need help. What Causes Heart Failure? Dr Karan Chopra MBBS, MD, DM (Cardiology) Senior Consultant &unit head Cardiology, Venkateshwar Hospital, Delhi f you have heart failure, chances are you have (or had) one or more of the condi- tions listed below. Some of these can be present without your knowing it. Coronary artery disease When cholesterol and fatty deposits build up in the heart's arteries, less blood can reach the heart muscle. Coronary artery disease can also contribute to having high blood pressure, which may lead to heart failure over time. Heart Attack (myocardial infarc- tion) A heart attack occurs when an artery that supplies blood to the heart muscle gets blocked. The damaged heart tissue does not contract as well, which weakens the heart's ability to pump blood. High blood pressure (hyperten- sion) Uncontrolled HBP is a major risk factor for developing heart failure. Abnormal heart valves Heart valve problems can result from dis- ease, infection (endocarditis) or a defect pres- ent at birth. When the valves don't open or close completely during each heartbeat, the heart muscle has to pump harder to keep the blood moving. If the workload becomes too great, heart failure results. Heart muscle disease Any damage to the heart muscle - whether because of drug or alcohol use, vi- ral infections or unknown reasons - increases the risk of heart failure. Congenital heart disease If the heart and its chambers don't form correctly, the healthy parts have to work harder to compensate. Severe lung disease When the lungs don't work properly, the heart has to work harder to get available oxy- gen to the rest of the body. Diabetes Diabetes increases the risk for develop- ing heart failure. Obesity Obesity can cause the heart to work much harder than for a non-obese person. Sleep Apnea Pauses in breathing can contribute to se- vere fatigue during the day, increase your safety risks and make it difficult to perform tasks that require alertness. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 | ADVERTORIAL | An initiative SRI E) DY Read. Engage. Deliver. Know Your Heart To Save Your Heart most reliable test for early detection is CT CORONARY CALCIUM SCORINGAND CT CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY. Therefore we at SSB hospital have included CT cal- cium scoring in most of our preventive health checkup packages. ADVERTORIAL for coronary artery calcium scoring and coronary CT angiography which is a very safe and noninvasive OPD test. It should be done in all appropriate candidates. It can detect even mild to moderate heart disease which no other test including TMT, stress Echo or thallium or PET -CT can pick up. On CT Coronary angiography if mild to moderate disease is detected, statin group of medicine is required to control the progression of disease and as- pirin tablet is additionally required for moderate to significant disease is present on CT angio. Radial angiography should be done in patients with moderate, sig- nificant or critical disease detected on CT angiography to assess and treat the sig- nificant or critical block by timely angio- plasty and stenting along with required medicines. This is the surest way to pre- vent death from this silent killer. Screening of all individuals for the presence of major risk factors like high blood pressure, dia- betes mellitus and high cholesterol lev- els should start at the age of 20 years. Those who have family history of heart disease and high cholesterol level, lipid profile should be checked at the age of 13 years. All should be encouraged to quit smoking and adopt healthy life style which includes eating healthy food like fruit, vegetables, almonds, pulses, brown bread and rice. Avoid full cream dairy products, fried items, sweets, fast food, hydrogenated fats, excess salt and red meat. Consume right amount of calories and protein to maintain ideal body weight. Regular exercise for at least 30 minutes is essential for heart. Brisk walk- ing, Cycling, swimming, yoga or playing a game of badminton or tennis etc. de- pending upon your suitability and strength are all useful to maintain a healthy heart. On 29th September, we celebrate World Heart Day each year since 2000. It is a part of an international campaign to spread awareness about Heart disease. In 2012 leaders all over the World de- cided to decrease the disease by 25% by 2025 because 1.7 core people die of heart attack every year in the world out of which maximum deaths take place in India. This is happening all over the world despite the availability of advance diag- nostic and treatment modality in most parts of the world. This can be easily pre- vented by early detection and timely treatment of heart disease. People need to Á be educated about the importance of reg- bi- ular health checkups because of the silent nature of the disease and its risk factors. around lacs of deaths in India every year due to heart attack, 16 % die within 1 hour of heart attack even before victim of heart attack or his family members re- alize that he or she is having a heart at- tack. This happens sometimes even during sleep before the diagnosis of heart attack is made. Sudden death may be the first thing to happen without any symptoms. Cholesterol block builds up over years in human hearts silently till the block reaches 70% or more. In around 30 to 40% persons with heart disease espe- cially in those with diabetics, critical blocks of more than 90% also may not cause any symptoms or discomfort. How- ever heart attack can occur even with a 50% block which may get ruptured due to vigorous physical activity or sudden in- crease in exercise. That is why early de- tection by most reliable test is the key to prevent death from this silent killer. The Incidents of heart attack have increased in all age groups. At SSB Heart and Multispecialty, our youngest heart attack patient was a school going boy of just 19 year old and oldest patient was 107 year old. Both were saved by timely emergency angio- plasty and stenting. Though more com- mon in men but women are also not spared. It can happen at any age in women also. The best way to prevent sud- den death from this silent killer is to iden- tify the cholesterol deposition in heart ar- teries at early stage by doing heart screening on special CT scan machines Dr S S Bansal, Senior Heart Specialist, Cmd SSB Heart & Multispecialty Hospital Faridabad Sudden and Silent nature of Heart at- tacks and delay in diagnosis are the main reasons of death and sufferings. Out of In this illuminating conversation, we en- gage with the esteemed Dr. Rakesh Sapra, a distinguished figure in the field of cardiol- ogy. With over two decades of experience and a distinguished career at Marengo Asia Hospitals, Faridabad, Dr. Rakesh Sapra is at the forefront of cardiac care in the region. His extensive expertise spans various cardiac interventions, including coronary angioplas- ties, balloon valvotomy, peripheral angio- plasties, and congenital interventions. Ad- ditionally, he is well-versed in electrophysiology and radiofrequency abla- tions. Join us as Dr.Rakesh Sapra shares his pro- found insights into the evolving landscape of cardiac care and the critical role he plays in improving patients’ lives. Life-Saving Expertise Dr. Rakesh Sapra's Trailblazing Career in Cardiology at Marengo Asia Hospitals lation tends to develop heart disease at a younger age compared to their Western counterparts. The reasons behind this predisposition are twofold. Firstly, there's a genetic tendency among Indians and South Asians, reflected in our cholesterol profiles. Cholesterol pro- files encompass LDL (low-density lipopro- tein) cholesterol, often referred to as "bad" cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, considered "good" cholesterol, and triglycerides, which are less directly as- sociated with heart disease. It's been scien- tifically established that elevated LDL cho- lesterol is linked to heart disease and cholesterol deposits in blood vessels. Surprisingly, Indian populations with heart disease don't typically have high LDL choles- on social media, reinforcing these habits. All these detrimental practices collectively worsen our risk of heart disease. Dr. Sapra, could you elaborate on the steps individuals can take to miti- gate these risks? To address these risks, the most effective change must come through education. Peo- ple need to understand the advantages of healthy eating and living. This understand- ing should start from childhood. Trying to al- ter the habits of individuals who are already in their 30s or 40s is challenging because cholesterol deposition in arteries begins as early as the first decade of life. If we don't educate children about the importance of healthy lifestyles during their formative main largely consistent across age groups. However, disease presentation can differ. In younger patients, cholesterol deposits are typically softer and more prone to clot for- mation. In contrast, elderly patients may have harder, calcified blockages. This variation influences the techniques we use for treat- ment. For younger patients, we focus more on addressing clots, while in elderly patients, we may need special tools to break calcified deposits. Regarding healthcare systems, a shift in education is vital. We need to prepare the younger population to make healthier choices early in life. This includes school- based education on nutrition, physical activ- ity, and stress management. Preventive mea- sures should be the cornerstone of our terol levels, but they lack sufficient HDL cho- larerce ie years, we risk missing a critical window. healthcare system. Dr. Sapra, let's delve right into the lesterol, the protective kind. Thus, our genetic < Healthy eating, regular physical activity, interview. Can you elucidate the key makeup, particularly our lipid profile, predis- %. N i and stress management should be instilled Lastly, as we focus on India's factors contributing to the surge in poses us to heart disease more than West- » y from a young age. Physical activity, in partic- younger generation on World Heart heart attacks among younger gener- ations? How do these risk factors dif- fer from those traditionally associ- ated with older, sicker individuals? Indeed, there are several facets to this question. Firstly, it's crucial to acknowledge that our population is genetically predis- ern populations. Moreover, our lifestyle choices exacerbate this genetic predisposi- tion. Unhealthy dietary habits are rampant; we often consume unhealthy foods like piz- zas, burgers, and fried dishes like chole bha- ture with pride. We showcase these as mark- ers of affluence, prioritising them over Ay ular, has diminished significantly in our daily routines. We must reintegrate it into our lives. Education is the key to fostering these changes. Are there any recent medical ad- vancements or treatment ap- Day, what message would you like to convey? My message is clear: Health is genuine wealth. Instead of relentlessly pursuing fi- nancial success, which often leads to stress and unhealthy lifestyles, people should pri- oritise their well-being. Happiness and con- posed to heart disease. Research hasshown healthier options like salads and fruits. This Dr Rakesh Rai Sapra proaches tailored to addressing heart tentment are invaluable. Acquiring skills and that diseases like this manifest in the Indian choice of unhealthy foods and a lack of reg- Director and Head attacks in younger patients? Howcan leading healthier lives should be the goal, population, and more broadly, in the South ular physical activity worsens our predispo- Department of Cardiology healthcare systems better educate rather than striving to be number one in a Asian population, approximately a decade earlier than in Western populations. This ge- netic predisposition implies that our popu- sition to heart disease. We engage in unhealthy behaviours like public smoking, which we often glamorise Marengo Asia Hospital, Faridabad and prepare this changing demo- graphic of heart attack sufferers? Treatment methods for heart attacks re- high-stress environment. A balanced ap- proach to life can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease. Unlocking the Heart's Secrets Dr. Aditya Batra's Journey in Interventional Cardiology Meet Dr. Aditya Batra, a distinguished Chief Interventional Cardiologist renowned for his expertise and dedication in the field of cardiology. Dr. Batra serves as a beacon of hope for heart patients, specialising in interventional cardiology at the Holy Heart Advanced Cardiac Care & Research Centre in Rohtak. With a com- mitment to cardiac health and a wealth of knowledge, he has made remarkable strides in the realm of heart care. Let's delve into the world of cardiac ex- cellence with Dr. Aditya Batra. Dr. Batra, could you please share your journey and experience in the field of cardiology, particularly in- terventional cardiology, and what inspired you to specialise in this area? After my days of training in Medicine, | observed a lot of people suffering from heart diseases and especially the increas- ing number of young people also getting affected. | entered into this field of cardi- ology in 2008. My specialisation lies in the field of cardiology and interventional car- diology. To elucidate, cardiology involves the clinical examination of patients with cardiac concerns. It entails conducting di- O nex .con agnostic investigations such as electro- cardiography (ECG) to assess the heart's electrical activity, echocardiography for ultrasound imaging of the heart's struc- ture and function, and non-invasive pro- cedures like treadmill tests to evaluate coronary artery disease and rhythm ab- normalities. In cases where significant blockages are suspected, we perform coronary angiographies in the catheteri- zation laboratory, followed by interven- tional procedures like angioplasty and stent placement to address blockages. Moreover, cardiology encompasses congenital heart conditions, heart failure, and heart rhythm disorders, presenting a wide spectrum of cardiac issues that we encounter in our day-to-day practice. Dr. Batra, could you provide in- sights into key advancements and breakthroughs in cardiology, par- ticularly interventional cardiology, and how these have improved pa- tient outcomes? This is especially significant in a country like India where a substantial portion of the population grapples with heart-re- lated conditions. Absolutely, India faces a significant + 1 Dr Aditya Batra Director and Chief Interventional Cardiologist Holyheart Hospital, Rohtak burden of heart diseases, and it's unfor- tunate that we're predisposed to develop these conditions, often a decade earlier than Western populations. Several factors contribute to this predisposition, includ- ing our evolving genetics and detrimen- tal lifestyle choices such as unhealthy eat- ing habits, insufficient exercise, and heightened stress levels. These factors contribute to conditions like diabetes, hy- pertension, and obesity, all of which esca- late the risk of heart disease. Newer diagnostic and treatment modalities are evolving everyday in the field of interventional cardiology. Newer generation of stents, pacemakers, valves and other devices are helping more and more patients in a better way. Imagining modalities like IVUS and OCT are really helpful to get better outcomes during an- gioplasty. But remember that prevention is para- mount. Individuals should be aware of their family history, especially if there's a history of heart disease at a young age (below 50 years) among immediate family members. To reduce the risk of heart dis- ease, adopting a healthy lifestyle is cru- cial. This includes consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, staying hydrated, n 060 ( READ. ENGAGE. DELIVER.) IS THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS TEAM OF THE INDIAN EXPRESS GROUP reducing intake of fats and refined sug- ars, engaging in regular aerobic exercises such as brisk walking, cycling, jogging, or swimming, abstaining from smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, and man- aging stress through practices like yoga and meditation. Maintaining a healthy body and mind plays a pivotal role in averting heart-related ailments. What message would you like to convey to the global community, and specifically to Indians, on World Heart Day, which falls on September 29th? As we're working on a story for this occasion, your views would be invaluable. On World Heart Day, my message to everyone is straightforward: Health is true wealth. Rather than relentlessly pursuing financial success, which often leads to stress and unhealthy lifestyles, prioritise your well-being. Happiness and content- ment are invaluable. Focus on acquiring skills and leading a healthier life, instead of constantly striving to be number one ina high-stress environment. A balanced ap- proach to life can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and lead to a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling life. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 : Unveiling the World of Congenital Heart Defects with Dr. Bhushan Shah: Causes, Symptoms, and Intervention In an informative discussion with Dr. Bhushan Shah, Assistant Professor of Car- diology at AIIMS Bhopal, we explore the intricate realm of congenital heart prob- lems. Dr. Shah sheds light on the common types of congenital heart defects affecting individuals from infancy to adulthood, the vital signs and symptoms for early detec- tion, and the latest advancements in diag- nosis and treatment. Join us in unravelling the complexities of congenital heart issues and the impera- tive importance of early intervention for improved patient outcomes. Dr Bhushan, could you give us an overview of congenital heart prob- lems and the common types that af- fect patients from infants to adults? Congenital heart disease (CHD), also known as a birth defect, refers to one or more structural abnormalities in the heart that are present from birth. In India, an alarming statistic reveals that approxi- mately 9 out of every 1,000 infants are born with a heart defect. This equates to approximately 240,000 cases of birth de- fects annually, which poses a significant challenge to families, society, and the healthcare system as a whole. CHD com- prises a wide array of conditions, some- times occurring in combination with each other. COMMON TYPES OF CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS Atrial or Ventricular Septal Defect (ASD/VSD): This condition involves a hole between two of the heart's chambers. Coarctation: It refers to the narrow- ing of the main large artery (aorta) that carries blood from the heart to the body. Pulmonary Valve Stenosis: In this condition, the valve in the heart responsible for controlling blood flow from the lower right chamber to the lungs is narrower than normal. Transposition of Great Arteries: This anomaly entails the main arteries sup- plying blood to the body and the lungs be- ing in swapped positions. Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA): In Dr. Bhushan Shah Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal some cases, the main large artery supplying blood to the whole body (aorta) may be connected to the main artery supplying blood to the lungs (pulmonary artery) by a connection known as PDA. What are the key signs and symp- toms that parents should watch for identifying congenital heart issues, and how important is early diagno- sis and intervention? Congenital heart disease (CHD) can manifest a range of symptoms, primarily in infants and children, which parents should remain vigilant for. These symp- toms include a rapid heartbeat, acceler- ated breathing, a bluish tint to the skin or lips, pronounced fatigue and weakness in comparison to peers, swift breathing during feeding, inadequate weight gain, and swelling in the legs, abdomen, or around the eyes. Timely diagnosis, ideally during prenatal care or immediately after birth, plays a pivotal role in directing affected in- dividuals to specialised centres equipped to deliver prompt treatment. Such early in- tervention is critical to avert potential complications that can span from mild to severe disabilities, and in some cases, even loss of life. Could you discuss the latest ad- vancements in the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart prob- lems, including any minimally inva- sive procedures or surgical tech- niques that have emerged in recent years? Recent advancements have transformed the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart problems. Foetal echocardiography, conducted while the baby is in the mother's womb, enables early detection. For complex cases, cardiac CT with an- giography provides a comprehensive di- agnostic approach. Treatment options now Span minimally invasive techniques, in- cluding device closure of defects, stenting to address narrowed arteries, percuta- neous valve replacements, and intricate cardiac surgeries. These innovations offer improved outcomes with reduced inva- Siveness. How does the management of congenital heart problems differ for paediatric patients compared to adults, and what long-term care considerations should patients and their families be aware of as they navigate this condition? Managing congenital heart problems significantly differs between paediatric and adult patients. Paediatric cases are of- ten more complex, compounded by low birth weight, necessitating early surgical intervention for survival into adulthood. Conversely, adults newly diagnosed with congenital heart disease may have simpler defects or be inoperable cases. We are now seeing an emerging group of grown-up congenital heart disease patients who un- derwent corrective surgeries during child- hood. It's imperative for patient families to recognize that congenital heart issues require lifelong medical care and ongoing monitoring for optimal long-term out- comes. Use Heart for Every Heart World Heart Day on September 29, serves as the biggest awareness-raising platform for cardiovascular diseases he heart has taken centre stage in myriads of idioms and poetic ex- pressions since time immemorial, alluding to its vital role in human exis- tence as the first and the last sign of life. Roughly the size of a closed human fist, the heart, is known to pump 1.5 gallons of blood in a single minute and beats an average of 1,00,000 times per day. It works day in and day out until the un- welcome and stealthy arrival of the dreaded cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which, as per the findings of the World Health Organisation, “are the leading cause of death globally.” Cardiovascular diseases is a medical epeper bb A term used to indicate conditions and dis- orders that affect the human heart or blood vessels. CVDs can be detected as coronary heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, con- genital heart disease, peripheral arterial disease and in the form of other condi- tions of the heart and the blood vessels. As per the World Heart Federation (WHF), a Geneva-based NGO that cham- pions heart health and is the principal representative body of the global car- diovascular community, “CVD is the world’s number one killer, causing over 18.6 million deaths per year.” In light of the harsh reality that CVDs are accountable for nearly half of all deaths resulting from non-communica- ble diseases, the annual observance of World Heart Day on September 29, initi- ated by the WHF, serves as the biggest awareness-raising platform for cardio- vascular diseases by mobilising action to educate and unite people in the global fight against CVDs. The purpose of ob- serving World Heart Day is to inspire and drive global involvement aimed at pro- moting a heart-healthy lifestyle. Every year on September 29, people from different backgrounds around the world ac- tively engage in a range of public talks, ed- ucational programmes, podcasts, fund-rais- ing and sporting events, poster-making competitions and a variety of activities to raise public awareness of CVDs and their global impact. The day witnesses people, or- ganisations and governments highlighting the measures that are instrumental in avert- ing and controlling cardiovascular diseases. Free health check-ups are set up and leaflets containing vital information regarding the prevention of deaths and life-threatening conditions caused by CVDs are distributed. There is strong evidence that most cardiovascular diseases can be pre- vented by addressing behavioural risk factors — unhealthy diet, use of to- bacco, physical inactivity, obesity and the harmful use of alcohol. That is why early detection of CVDs, along with ac- cess to adequate information, proper medical assistance, counselling and af- tercare assume paramount importance in the global battle against CVDs. The theme of this year’s World Heart Day, decided by the WHF, is ‘Use Heart for Every Heart’. The message of WHF sums up the essence of World Heart Day — "Beating CVD is something that mat- ters to every beating heart.” IEART DA ADVERTORIAL | An initiative ORIEL DS Read. Engage. Deliver. ADVERTORIAL Unlocking Insights: Dr. Aviraj Choudhary on Preventing Young Cardiac Deaths Dr. Aviraj Choudhary, a renowned Cardiologist at Sarvodaya Multi-Spe- ciality Hospital in Hisar, specializes in complex coronary interventions and ad- vanced cardiac procedures. In this in- terview, we delve into the rare occur- rence of cardiac issues in young individuals, exploring common risk fac- tors and emphasizing the pivotal role of early detection and preventive cardiol- ogy in averting young cardiac deaths. Dr. Choudhary sheds light on ad- vanced techniques and treatments for young cardiac patients, highlighting their evolution over the years. Success stories illustrate the transformative im- pact of timely interventions, and valu- able insights are shared to guide young adults in prioritizing heart health and reducing the risk of premature cardiac issues. Can you explain why young in- dividuals sometimes experience cardiac issues and even deaths, and what are the common risk factors associated with these oc- currences? Young individuals experiencing car- diac issues and even deaths is uncom- mon but can be attributed to various risk factors. These factors encompass genetic predisposition, structural heart abnormalities, medical conditions like congenital heart disease or arrhyth- mias, drug abuse, and lifestyle choices such as poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, or excessive alcohol con- sumption. Psychological factors like chronic stress and anxiety may also contribute. Consulting a medical pro- fessional is essential for understanding individual risk factors. What role does early detection and preventive cardiology play in reducing the incidence of young cardiac deaths, and what warning signs should young people be aware of? sw? - Dr Aviraj Choudhary MBBS MD DM(Cardiology) Interventional Cardiologist, Sarvodya Multi Speciality Hospital, Hisar, Haryana Early detection and preventive cardi- ology play a pivotal role in reducing young cardiac deaths. Identifying risk factors and potential cardiac issues early allows for interventions and lifestyle modifications. Young people should be vigilant about warning signs, including chest discomfort, shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, fainting, and extreme fatigue. Regular check- ups, especially for those with a family history of cardiac issues, aid in early de- tection and preventive care. Embracing a healthy lifestyle with exercise, a bal- anced diet, avoidance of tobacco, lim- ited alcohol, stress management, and adequate sleep significantly reduce car- diac risk in young individuals. As a cardiology interventionist, what are some of the advanced techniques and treatments avail- able to address cardiac issues in young patients, and how have these interventions evolved over the years? Advanced techniques and treatments for young cardiac patients have seen significant progress. Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) opens nar- rowed arteries with balloons and stents. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Re- placement (TAVR) replaces aortic valves minimally invasively. Left Ventricular As- sist Devices (LVADs) aid severe heart failure patients. Electrophysiology Stud- ies and Ablation treat abnormal heart rhythms. These interventions have evolved with improved technology, safety, and efficacy, emphasizing mini- mally invasive procedures, advanced materials, imaging, and navigation tools. Research explores gene therapy, regenerative medicine, and Al, offering promising treatments. Could you share some success stories or cases where timely in- tervention made a significant dif- ference in the lives of young pa- tients facing cardiac challenges? Success stories underscore the im- portance of timely intervention. For ex- ample, a 26-year-old patient with acute myocardial infarction underwent pri- mary angioplasty within the “golden hour," preserving both heart muscles and life. In your experience, what are the most important steps individ- uals, especially young adults, can take to prioritize their heart health and reduce the risk of car- diac issues that could lead to pre- mature death? Prioritizing heart health and averting premature death involves regular phys- ical activity to maintain a healthy weight, reduce blood pressure, choles- terol, and blood sugar levels. A healthy lifestyle helps normalize these factors, reducing the risk of heart disease and heart attacks. ADVERTORIAL Why Testing is important in Heart Health ilagnostics play a pivotal role across the entire healthcare continuum from risk assessment, early detec- tion and prognosis to patient stratification and condition mon- itoring. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a leading global health concern, responsible for a signifi- cant portion of worldwide mor- tality. Indians are more prone to Heart Disease. The rate of heart disease in India (282 out of 100,000) is higher than the worldwide average (233 out of 100,000) Tata 1mg. Early detection and accurate diagnostics are paramount for ef- fective prevention and manage- ment of cardiovascular condi- tions. Fortunately, advancements in diagnostics testing have revo- lutionized cardiovascular health care, offering patients and health- care providers more precise tools for assessing heart health. Cardiovascular diseases encom- pass a wide range of conditions, in- cluding coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, and valvular dis- orders. Early detection and accurate assessment are crucial because they allow for timely interventions that can significantly improve a patient's prog- nosis and quality of life. RISK ASSESSMENT & EARLY DETECTION Diagnostics, including blood tests and imaging studies, help assess an indi- vidual's risk factors for heart disease. These risk factors may include high blood pressure, high cholesterol lev- els, diabetes, thyroid disorders, obe- sity, smoking, family history of heart disease, and more. Knowing these risk factors allows healthcare providers to create person- alized prevention plans. Hence, regu- lar testing & monitoring of blood r Dr Prashant Nag MBBS, MD (pathology) Vice President, Tata 1mg Labs sugar, glycosylated hemoglobin, thy- roid function & lipid profile is very im- portant. Screening for cholesterol levels, which is one of the important risk fac- tors, by lipid profile, should start from childhood. Once around 10 years of age & then again at 20 years of age is recommended for young individuals. Regular monitoring of Lipid profiles especially from younger age groups helps identify dyslipidaemia, which is a major risk factor of heart disease. After 35 years of age, it should be part of the annual cardiac checkup. Recent American Heart Association guidelines recommend both fasting and non-fasting lipid profile tests for detecting abnormally elevated choles- terol or fats (lipids) in the blood. This brings ease and convenience in lipid- profile testing, subsequently leading to a more compliant cardiovascular management and monitoring. Fasting lipid profile may be required $ 000 ( READ. ENGAGE. DELIVER.) IS THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS TEAM OF THE INDIAN EXPRESS GROUP in people with high triglyceride levels found on screening. Regular monitoring of Lipid profiles espe- cially from younger age groups helps identify dyslipidaemia, which is a major risk factor of heart disease. Based on a report released ear- lier this year by Tata 1mg Labs, over 66% of people in India have higher than normal levels of ho- mocysteine in their bloodstream. Elevated homocysteine levels can increase the risk of heart diseases such as blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. Therefore, including cardiac health markers as part of routine screenings is essential for monitoring and maintaining opti- mal heart health. Many heart conditions can be asymptomatic or present vague symptoms. Testing allows for the early detection and diagnosis of conditions such as coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, and heart valve disorders. Tests like electrocar- diograms (ECGs), stress tests, and echocardiograms are instrumental in diagnosing these conditions. Early detection provides a window of opportunity for timely intervention. MONITORING PROGRESS Assessing Treatment Efficacy & Pre- venting complications: For individuals already diagnosed with heart condi- tions, regular testing is essential to monitor the effectiveness of treat- ment. & pick early signs of deteriora- tion & complications. Blood tests, imaging, and other diagnostic tools help healthcare providers track changes in heart health and adjust treatment plans accordingly. By recognizing the significance of testing in heart health, we can collec- tively work towards reducing the bur- den of cardiovascular diseases and im- proving the quality of life for individuals worldwide. THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 PRESENCE ON RECORD THE SUPREME Court witnessed an interesting exchange dur- ing the hearing of a PIL that challenged the rules of Delhi mu- nicipal council elections. The bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud was not inclined to entertain it and asked the petitioner to approach the Delhi High Court. As the counsel for the ECI was present at the hearing, the CJI asked if it should record his presence in the order. In a lighter vein, the CJI added that he would then be able to charge his client. The ECI counsel said he had given word not to charge for an ineffec- tive hearing. The court appreciated the gesture and went on to record his presence, saying “we have been there too and know how important these things are”. CANNES AGAIN AFTER WALKING the red carpet at the Cannes film festival in May this year, MoS for Information and Broadcasting LMurugan will lead the Indian delegation to the Tashkent International Film Festival this weekend. The festival was started in 1968, and Indian film ‘Amrapali’ was screened in its opening edition. The minister had turned heads at Cannes when he walked the red carpet in the traditional ‘veshti’, with the national flag pinned on the left side and the G20 logo on the right. GUESSING GAME THE BUZZ in BJP circles is that Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is not sure whether he will be projected as the BJP's face for the Assembly polls. Sources in the party say that Chouhan’s team was taken aback after seeing seven MPs, in- cluding three Union ministers, being fielded by the party while his name did not figure in the list. Indians now make up over 10% per cent of US visa applicants 1 million visas issued this yr: Embassy DIVYAA NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 THEUS Embassy has issued over a million non-immigrant visas to Indian travellers so far this year, achieving ahead of time a target it set for this year after opening up weekend slots to clear the pandemic-related backlog. The millionth visa, the US Embassy said in a statement Thursday, was personally handed over by US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti to Ranju Singh, who is visiting the US along with her spouse to meet their son, a student. Non-immigrant visa cate- gories include those for business, travel, student visas and crew visas. Describing it as one of the most robust travel relationships in the world, the US Embassy said over 1.2 million Indians vis- ited the country last year. Indians now represent over 10 percent of all visa applicants worldwide, including 20 percent of all student visa applicants and 65 percent of all H&L-category (employment) visa applicants, the statement said. “Our partnership with India is among the most important bi- lateral relationships, and in fact, one of the most important rela- tionships in the world. The ties between our people are stronger than ever, and we will continue our record-setting volume of visa work in the coming months,” said Garcetti. Early next year, the US plans to implementa pilot programme that will allow domestic visa re- newal for qualified H&L-cate- gory employment visa appli- cants, the statement said. The move will significantly benefit Indian tech workers, who will be able to get their visas processed while being in the US, it said. Indians receive more than three quarters of the H-1B visas annually, while the L1 visa facil- ity is also used by a large chunk of Indian citizens. In January, the US embassy opened up special interview slots on Saturdays for faster pro- cessing of visas for first-time ap- plicants, in what it called a “multi-pronged initiative” to ad- dress the backlog in processing of visa applications due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Mission has also extended interview waiver eligibility to new visa categories. Love her, hate her, HAMZA KHAN JAIPUR, SEPTEMBER 28 IT IS amply clear that the BJP will not be declaring a chief minister face for the Assembly elections in Rajasthan later this year, and that it has no favourites either. If there were still any doubts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeated at a rally in Jaipur on Monday, “I want to tell every BJP worker that our identity and pride is only the lotus.” While women remained the highlight of the event — other than the PM himself — former CM Vasundhara Raje was con- spicuously not given an oppor- tunity to speak. Nor did the PM mention her government and contrast it with the incumbent Congress government of CM Ashok Gehlot even once during his half-an-hour address. Moreover, the anchoring of the event by BJP MP Diya Kumari and BJP National Secretary Alka Gurjar gave the impression that the party wants to bring in new leaders, and new women lead- ers at that. While there was speculation that the BJP might change course in Rajasthan following Karnataka, where the party's loss, for a large part, was blamed on its sidelining of state satraps, particularly former CMBS Yediyurappa, the party has again opted for the central leader- ship to lead the campaign in Rajasthan while sidelining ar- guably its biggest asset and the EXPLAINED 12 fai (3 POLITICS COMPLAINT AGAINST BIDHURI, BJP’S COUNTER AGAINST ALI Communal slurs row: Privileges panel to look into all complaints LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 ALL COMPLAINTS around BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s use of communal slurs against BSP MP Danish Ali, on the floor of Lok Sabha a week ago, have been re- ferred to the Privileges Committee. While Ali and other Opposition MPs had sought ac- tion against Bidhuri, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had asked Speaker Om Birla to constitute an inquiry committee to probe instances of “unsavoury re- marks” made by Opposition leaders. “The Privileges Committee will look into all the complaints regarding the incident,” a source inthe Lok Sabha Secretariat said. The 14-member Privileges Committee has eight members from the BJP, including its head Sunil Kumar Singh. The remarks by Bidhuri, ex- punged by the Speaker from the records, were made during a dis- cussion on the Chandrayaan-3 mission in the special session of Parliament last week. In his letter to the Speaker, Ali Gehlot slams Dhankhar trips to poll-bound Rajasthan HAMZA KHAN JAIPUR, SEPTEMBER 28 RAJASTHAN CHIEF Minister Ashok Gehlot has lashed out at Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar over his frequent vis- its to the poll-bound state. Gehlot has attacked Dhankhar on two occasions in the past two days. At a pro- gramme in Neemrana on Thursday, Gehlot said, “Politicians should come but please do not send the Vice President, it is a Constitutional post. We respect the President and the Vice President. Yesterday the Vice President came and vis- ited five districts. Kya tuk hai bhai (Is there any logic)? It is election season. If you come now it will send all kinds of message which is not good for democracy.” He said that there was atime when the Presidents and Vice Presidents used to enquire with the Chief Minister if a particular programme in their state suits the stature of their post. “Nowall that system has stopped,” he said. Earlier, addressing a pro- gramme in Jaipur on Wednesday, Gehlot had said, “The Vice President is doing up-down (be- tween Delhi and Rajasthan). Whether it is the Governor or the Vice President, we respect them... but elections are here. Main chahunga ki Up-rashtrapati Rashtrapati ban jaayein tabhi hum unkaswagat karenge. Kripa karke apni meherbani rakhein. Ab ye baar baar subah shaam aa rahe hain, daure kar rahe hain, koi tuk nahi hai. Kya tuk hai? (I wish the Vice President becomes the President and only then will we welcome him. Have some mercy. He visits and tours the state day and night, is there any logic?” “It is election season in Rajasthan. If you keep visiting re- peatedly what would people think of you?” he said. BJP’s Bidhuri (left) targeted BSP’s Danish Ali on the floor of the Lok Sabha last week said Bidhuri, BJP’s South Delhi MP, had called him “bhadwa" (pimp), “katwa” (circumcised one) and “Mullah aatankwadi" (Muslim terrorist). Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was present in Lok Sabha during the exchange, had apologised to the House for Bidhuri's remarks soon after. However, Dubey said Ali had “instigated” Bidhuri into making the communal slurs. The Opposition had closed ranks behind Ali, with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal visiting the BSP MP, and the party, the DMK, Trinamool Congress and NCP seeking a Privileges Committee probe into Bidhuri's remarks. The BJP had issued a show MLL mf cause notice to Bidhuri, seeking a reply within 10 days. Sources said BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were upset over Bidhuri’s remarks, particularly as the controversy threatened to overshadow the landmark women’s Bill passed during the session. But earlier this week, the BJP gave Bidhuri the charge of Tonk district in poll-bound Rajasthan, which covers four Assembly constituencies and has a sizeable Muslim population. Ali called this akin to “re- warding” hatred, and said the BJP’s true character had been “exposed”. Thanking the Speaker for “in- vestigation in the Danish Ali case”, Dubey posted on social media Thursday that this was due to the “majority” enjoyed by the BJP in the House. “It was pos- sible today because the BJP has the majority in the Lok Sabha... otherwise it would have been like... the RJD-Congress-JD(U) fight for mike and shoes in 2006, the assault by Sonia Gandhi in 2012 or the physical scuff over the issue of Telangana formation in 2014 in which MPs were in- jured -that neither a committee would have been formed nor would anyone get punished.” In his speech during the women's quota Bill debate too, Dubey had raised these inci- dents of violence in Parliament. The Parliament Privileges Committee makes recommen- dations “as it may deem fit” af- ter examining the cases referred to it. It can summon the people concerned as part of the exami- nation and look at records. There is no fixed timeline for its report. Recently, the Privileges Committee recommended the revocation of suspension of Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury over his remarks targeting Prime Minister Modi during the no-confidence mo- tion debate. x BRS LEADERS JOIN CONGRESS Telangana MLA Hanumanth Rao (2nd from left) with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as he joins the party along with former MLA leader Vemula Veeresham, in New Delhi on Thursday. The move comes as Congress seeks to dislodge Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao-led BRS in the coming Assembly polls. Anil Sharma Bengal Gov orders police removed from his residence: ‘Being tracked’ Writes to MHA and state for jammers, seeks de-bugging ENS & PTI KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 28 EXPRESSING FEAR that he was being “tapped and tracked”, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose in a letter to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the state government has re- quested enhanced security at the Raj Bhavan, including the instal- lation of jammers and de-bug- ging of the premises, and ordered an immediate removal of Kolkata Police personnel from his official residence. The city police personnel will be removed from all the floors of the residential and office sec- tions of the Governor’s House and replaced with his personal security guards drawn from the CRPF, officials said. The Governor wants the West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose Kolkata Police to guard only the entrance and exit points, gardens, and surrounding areas of the Raj Bhavan complex, they added. “Bose has also directed that there should be frequent shuf- fling of policemen posted at the Raj Bhavan. Kolkata Police per- sonnel were earlier during the last Governor's term confined only to the ground floor of Raj Bhavan," an official said. In January, Bose was ac- corded Z-plus security provided by the Union Home Ministry, which entitles him to personnel drawn from central forces. In the wake of the Governor's recommendation, the Kolkata Police held a joint security meet- ing with the CRPF and a decision was taken to deploy two of their officers outside the Governor's of- fice and library on the first floor of the building, a senior officer said. Currently, around 60 Kolkata Police personnel are deployed at the Raj Bhavan. The ruling TMC was quick to trainits guns on Bose over the lat- est move. “He is creating anewis- sue every now and then. Even his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar never made such recommenda- tions. If he is feeling so insecure, he should sit at the BJP office,” said TMC MP Santanu Sen. The BJP slammed the TMC for targeting Bose. “Governor is in his right to make such recommenda- tions," said BJP state spokesper- son Samik Bhattacharya. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Tobacco warnings on OTT: Amid pushback from platforms, Govt looking for a solution May relax rules for existing content and licensed foreign programmes DIVYAA NEW DELHI SEPTEMBER 28 FACING A strong pushback from streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney Hotstar, the Government is working to find “pragmatic solutions” to the OTT industry's concerns over the practicability of the order man- dating display of anti-tobacco warnings, The Indian Express has learnt. Under the new rules, which came into force September 1, OTT platforms are required to in- sert static health warnings dur- ing smoking scenes, besides dis- playing anti-tobacco disclaimers at the start and in the middle of programmes, much like those for theatres and TV. It sparked concerns in the OTT industry, with platforms ar- guing it would require millions of hours of existing content to be edited, diminish user experience and hamper creative freedom. The notification empowers the government to enforce compli- ance through legal means. Sources said the Government may grant the OTT platforms a relaxation in terms of existing content and licensed foreign content. As of now, the rules, no- tified in May, apply to all content hosted by OTT platforms, even retrospectively. Incorporating the warnings in the existing con- tent was something the OTT in- dustry flagged as a major issue, even as it was amenable to edit- ing new content. The Government's relook is in line with its commitment to OTT platforms, which had flagged “practical issues” in implement- ing the order, during a meeting on August 28, three days before the order came into effect. Chaired by Union Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant and co- chaired by Union I&B Secretary Apurva Chandra, the meeting, sources Said, was inconclusive and ended with the OTT plat- forms putting their foot down and the Government offering to find a solution. With the rules coming into force nonetheless, several OTT platforms such as JIO, Amazon, Voot and Netflix have since started to display anti-tobacco warnings on some of their con- tent, fearing legal repercussions. A senior representative of a major streaming firm, who was among those present during the talks with the Government, said the platforms are awaiting a word from the Government. “To date, there has been no further word on the final rules, whether a new notification will be issued, or if another meeting will be held,” the OTT represen- tative said. According to sources, after the meeting, the Health Ministry issued two versions of the min- utes of the meeting to the atten- dees. The initial version stated that OTT representatives “ac knowledged the devastating im- pact of tobacco depiction on TV, cinema and OTT and also com- mitted to supporting the cause by conducting workshops for creating greater awareness”. The revised version, which su- persedes the earlier one, added that “the participants... also com- mitted to supporting the cause by displaying a disclaimer at the be- ginning of the content, inclusion of tobacco in the content descrip- tors, no advertisement /market- ing/promotion of tobacco prod- ucts on OTT platforms, as well as conducting workshops for creat- ing greater awareness”. Both the versions recorded that the OTT industry “sup- ported the 2023 Rules in spirit and highlighted certain chal- lenges in implementing the same in letter”. Afghanistan embassy in New Delhi may shut down its operations SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 THE AFGHANISTAN embassy in New Delhi is learnt to be looking at shutting its operations, sources have told The Indian Express. Sources in the Indian govern- ment said that the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi has “pur- portedly issued a communica- tion on this issue”. A source said that the authenticity of the com- munication and its contents are “being examined”. “This is in the context of the Ambassador being out of India for the past many months, steady departure of diplomats to third countries reportedly after receiv- ing asylum, as well as reports of infighting amongst Embassy per- sonnel,” the source said. This comes months after a power struggle was underway at the Afghan embassy in Delhi as Ambassador Farid Mamundzay, appointed by the previous Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, was bat- tling to stay on in office in defi- ance of the Taliban-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul. The Taliban regime has taken control of at least 14 missions abroad where it has posted its own nominees, but Delhi is not yet one of them. Aware of the infighting at the embassy that erupted at the end of April, the MEA has not taken sides. Sources said it had con- veyed to both sides that it was an internal matter that they needed to settle by themselves. In June this year, the Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson had said in re- sponse to questions, “From our perspective, this is an internal matter of the Afghan embassy and we hope that they would re- solve it internally.” India had closed down its em- bassy after the Taliban took over the country, and the Ashraf Ghani government collapsed in August 2021. But, now it has a technical team to coordinate humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. but can’t ignore her: Raje in BJP’s Rajasthan conundrum only leader to have a following across the state, Vasundhara Raje. Almost as if by mutual agree- ment, the party has kept Raje at an arm’s length from its programmes, while she too has maintained her distance. The anti-Raje camp says that she should have contributed more to the party in the last four years and a half, while those close to her say she @ — wasneverinvited forthe programmes she is ac- cused of skipping. This applies to the nine by- polls, the Jan Aakrosh Yatra last year, and more recently, the Parivartan Sankalp Yatra, among others. Of the nine bypolls since 2018, the Congress won seven and the BJP one, while one was Almost as if by mutual agreement, the BJP has kept Raje at an arm’s length and she too has maintained distance. File bagged by the RLP backed by the BJP. Of these seats, the Congress wrested three and retained four, while the BJP and the RLP re- tained one each. Similarly, the Jan Aakrosh Yatra in December last year was led by then state president Satish Poonia. Eventually, BJP Rajasthan in-charge Arun Singh said the Yatra was being suspended “keeping in mind the Covid proto- col”, though one reason was be- lieved to be poor response. Raje was missing from this Yatra. More recently, the BJP's just concluded Parivartan Yatras did not receive the response the party was hoping for. While Raje had participated in the launch of the Yatra, from four places, she had maintained her distance thereafter. Those close to Raje refute that she is deliberately avoiding BJP events. According to a party leader, “If the state leadership doesn’t invite her or give her a schedule for an event, why would she join?” Another leader asked why she would lend her weight to such programmes. “If she does not campaign, it is ulti- mately the party's loss as is evi- dent through Jan Aakrosh yatras or the bypoll results.” Raje was earlier not named to the BJP's manifesto and poll Management committees, with the explanation floated that the panels didn't suit her “stature”. While Raje has never had very warm relations with the Modi- Shah leadership, and had run-ins with the Sangh during her tenure as CM, she had made changes to appeal to them, right from tem- ple runs to dropping aide Yunus Khan from her inner circle. However, the attempts to curry favour may have been for nought. In the last few years, the BJP has also expelled her loyalists, Rohitash Sharma and Devi Singh Bhati, and recently, suspended former Assembly Speaker Kailash Meghwal. Late on Thursday, Bhati was re-inducted into the party, almost 24 hours after Raje had a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda in Delhi. Calling the party divided “from top to bottom”, a bitter Meghwal says: "Vasundharaji’s supporters were singled out, re- moved and belittled... Now if she doesn’t agree and still at- tends meetings, what can I do?” The BJP, meanwhile, has been careful not to push her to the edge, and occasionally gives the illusion that things just might turn out right for her. A party leader said: “The leadership in- tentionally stretched the Vasundhara matter. So right now, she has no time left to play any moves, if at all...” FULLREPORT Wwww.indianexpress.com WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 CRPF constable killed, inspector injured in IED explosion in The injured CRPF inspector EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE RANCHI, SEPTEMBER 28 ACENTRAL Reserve Police Force (CRPF) constable was killed and an inspector sustained injuries in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand during a combing operation on Thursday. This is the third such incident and fourth casualty of a security personnel in less than one-and-a-half months. In Thursday’s incident, police identified the deceased as Constable Rajesh Kumar and the injured as Inspector Bhupendra Kumar — both from CRPF’s 209 Battalion. “In this sequence, a joint oper- ation was being conducted on September 28 in the border area of village § Sarjomburu, Tumbahaka under Tonto police station. Two IEDs dug in the road were detected and destroyed. However, around noon, three IEDs were detonated in the forest area due to which two personnel were injured,” said a press release. Constable Rajesh Kumar later died during treatment, it said. Two more incidents had oc- curred under the same police station: on August 14 two two Jharkhand Police personnel were killed during an encounter with members of the banned CPI (Maoist); and on August 11, Head Constable Sushanta Kumar Khuntia of CRPF’s 80th Battalion was killed in the same area. Jharkhand Police and CRPF are currently combing the area as the top CPI (Maoist) leader Misir Besra and other cadres are said to be ‘roaming’ in the area. ANAND MOHAN J BHOPAL, SEPTEMBER 28 THE UJJAIN police on Thursday arrested an autorickshaw driver for the rape of a minor girl, who was seen in CCTV footage going door to door seeking help from people three days ago. The ac- cused has been identified as Bharat Soni (24). After his arrest, Soni was taken to the crime spot when he “tried to flee, pelted stones at several police officers and fell into a pit while running away”, said Superintendent of Police, Ujjain, Sachin Sharma. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the state government will spare no effort in ensuring the strictest punishment for the ac- cused. “I have been constantly monitoring the situation. These kinds of criminals are not fit to live in society. He has injured the spirit of Madhya Pradesh. She is a daughter of Madhya Pradesh New Delhi: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Thursday issued an appeal to leaders of all political parties to “show sensitivity” and not crowd the hospital where the minor rape victim from Ujjain is undergoing treatment. The appeal comes in light of its member coming across a political party worker who was stationed at the hospital. “We had sent a member of and we will take care of her in every way possible,” said the CM. Police said they made the ar- rest based on a tip-off. According to the police, Soni, the sole accused in the case, is named in two previous criminal cases. The first case was regis- tered in 2019 under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a pub- lic way) and 337 (causing hurt by Show sensitivity: NCPCR to parties the commission for an inquiry into the incident. Even that per- son was not allowed to meet the victim. The attending doc- tor told the member that the victim was in severe trauma. At the time, the member found a representative from a political party sitting in the hospital, waiting to meet the victim, along with television person- nel. That is why we have made the appeal,”said NCPCR chair- person Priyank Kanoongo. ENS act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code at Madhav Nagar po- lice station. The second case was registered against Soni at Nanakhekda police station un- der sections 294 (obscene acts and songs), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (punishment for criminal intim- idation) and 34 (acts done by EXPRESS NETWORK 13 Cops crack Ujjain rape case: Auto driver Matter of great grabbed minor when she was out alone several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC. The police have also tracked the girl's family to Satna district and have contacted her grandfa- ther. According to the police, the girl, who is recuperating from her surgery, will be looked after by the MP police as a local police officer has volunteered to take care of her education and ex- penses. “The officer will adopt the girl. Her education and other liv- ing expenses will be taken care of...We will do character verifi- cation of all the autorickshaw and e-rickshaw drivers in Ujjain and create a database,” SP Sharma said. The police had formed a 28- member team to probe the case. They said they checked over a 1,000 CCTV footage of the city, questioned over 100 known criminals in the area, besides rickshaw pullers, e-rickshaw and autorickshaw drivers, bus oper- ators, and people at railway sta- tions and bus stands. According to the police, the girl was wandering alone in the area when Soni allegedly caught hold of her and sexually assaulted her. The police had detained at least five auto drivers. One of them was picked up after blood- stains were found at the back of his autorickshaw. It was later found that he saw the girl after she was raped and gave her a ride, but did not inform the police. He was booked for not reporting the incident, the police said. The police traced the girl's grandfather to Satna district. He had filed a missing persons re- port on September 25 at a local police station. He said his grand- daughter went missing on September 24 when he left home to graze the goats around 10 am. “I searched for her in the lo- cality and the relatives also did not see her,” the complainant said in the FIR, adding that his granddaughter was mentally challenged and could not even tell the name of her village. Nine-day Himalayan Challenge begins; rally to take participants to breathtaking lan EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, SEPTEMBER 28 HARYANA GOVERNOR Bandaru Dattatreya inaugurated the Himalayan Challenge on Wednesday, marking the begin- ning ofa thrilling nine-day expe- dition. Motorsports enthusiasts from various parts of the coun- try gathered in Chandigarh to embark on the journey. The Himalayan Challenge follows the route of the Himalayan Rally of 1982, taking participants to some of the most breathtaking landscapes — such as Leh and Pangong Tso lake — and culminating at the highest motorable road in the world, the Umling La pass which is located at an altitude of 19,300 feet. The participants will traverse at a a F |) | Shean “4h i ak During the flagging off of the rally through five high mountain passes, each presenting its own set of challenges. Among the notable passes on this scenic route are the Rohtang La (3,978 metres), BaraLacha La (4,850 me- tres), Tanglang La and Shunkula Pass, each offering a unique blend of adventure and beauty. The route will also cover places like Sonamarg and Kargil in Kashmir, apart from Hanle and return to Manali on October 4. The non-competitive expe- dition, organised by Firefox, is an opportunity for motorsport afi- cionados to come together for their shared passion for adven- ture and speed. Along with the thrill of driv- ing on challenging routes, partic- ipants will be treated to panoramic vistas. As the expedi- tion progresses, the participants are likely to face unpredictable weather conditions in the region. Temperatures drop as low as six degrees Celsius during nighttime with the average around 16 de- grees Celsius during the day. dscapes in Ladakh “This is the third Himalayan Challenge and it is being held on some of the most challenging routes in the Himalayas. While the first two editions were held on the route of the Himalayan Rally, this edition is being staged on the re- verse great Himalayan rally route,” said Rajan Syal, director of Team Firefox and a former rallyist. The rally is witnessing the participation of three classic cars manufactured between 1955 and 1996 and 61 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). “More than 180 persons, in- cluding rallyists and their fami- lies, are taking part in the chal- lenge. There are 55 women and 16 foreigners in the convoy. We will be ensuring that the health of all the participants is monitored every day and the cars too are in- spected every day,” said Syal. concern: Gujarat law panel flags custodial deaths PARIMAL DABHI GANDHINAGAR, SEPTEMBER 28 FLAGGING INCREASING inci- dents of custodial death in Gujarat as “a matter of great pub- lic concern”, the Gujarat State Law Commission (SLC) has recently submitted a report to the state government making several sug- gestions. It has also pointed out that not a single case registered against police personnel has re- sulted in conviction in 2021. Inthe report submitted tothe government in July, SLC chair- man, Justice (retired) M B Shah, has suggested the need for re- forms to sensitise the police to function within the constitutional framework, to promote trans- parency by installation of video- audio enabled CCTV cameras at police stations and prisons, to take strict legal action against po- lice personnel who misuse their official position, to conduct regu- lar health check-ups of prisoners and to have exclusive interroga- tion teams specialising in the process of gathering evidence from those detained. The report titled 'Suggestions to have proper control on the law enforcing agency for prevention of unwanted instances of custo- dial death’ was submitted to the state legislative and parliamen- tary affairs department. Justice Shah, a former Supreme Court judge, has headed acommission of inquiry to probe illegal mining in Goa and a special investigation team to probe black money. In February, the Rajya Sabha was informed by the Ministry of Home Affairs that between 2017 and 2022, Gujarat reported high- est cases — 80 — of custodial deaths across the country. In its report, the SLC cited re- ports of various publications, in- dicating increasing trend of cus- todial death in Gujarat. As per a report published by The Indian ADVERTORIAL | An initiative ORIEL DS Read. Engage. Deliver. IEART DAY Express, based on NCRB data — which has also been cited by the SLC in its report — Gujarat re- ported the highest number of custodial deaths, 23, for the sec- ond consecutive year in 2021. In 2020, it had recorded 15 such cases — a rise of 53 per cent. The SLC also cited the chap- ter on custodial crimes and complaints against police per- sonnel from the 'NCRB - Crimes in India: 2021' report. “ „Statistical data relating to deaths in police custody/lock-up (persons not on remand)... 22 people reportedly died in Gujarat in 2021 during police custody (though not on remand). In nine cases, magisterial inquiries were ordered, while judicial inquiries were ordered in 11 cases. Further, four cases were registered, of which chargesheet (was filed) in two... Moreover, 12 policemen were arrested and nine were chargesheeted,” the report said. It added that as per data re- lating to deaths in police cus- tody/lock-up among persons in remand, one person reportedly died in Gujarat in 2021 anda magisterial inquiry was ordered. The report said in all, 23 peo- ple reportedly died in Gujarat in police custody or lock-up in 2021. Citing the cases registered against police personnel, the SLC said that among the 209 cases lodged against state police per- sonnel in 2021, seven were quashed /stayed by courts, while the police filed chargesheet in 182 cases and in 878 cases, final report was submitted. The SLC said, “...it is a matter of great public concern that the incidences of custodial death are increasing day-by-day in Gujarat, which is quite atrocious.” “It... needs to be accepted that the doubts on the functioning of the police are raised rampantly because many of the policemen are trying their best to misuse their power...,” it said. orld Heart Day is observed every year on 29th September with the aim of increasing awareness re- garding cardiovascular disease. Healthy heart makes a healthy life, healthy life makes a Healthy Nation. It is important to take care of the health of our heart which beats around 72 times per minute through- out our lifetime. Neglecting the health of our heart may lead to cardiovascular disease, stroke and sudden heart attacks. Cardiovascular Disease is a class of disease that affects heart or blood vessels. Cardiovascular Disease is considered as the No.1 Killer in the World. Over 8.6 million deaths occur every year globally due to cardiovascular disease. Love your Heart Keep it strong RISK FACTORS E Family history H Smoking E Diabetes E High Cholesterol E Unhealthy diet E Physical inactivity E Excessive Alcohol E Obesity E Stress World Heart Day is observed annually on 29th September with the aim of increasing awareness of cardiovascular disease and how to control them. COMMON SYMPTOMS Cardiovascular disease is a silent killer. Most of the time it remains asymptomatic. The pa- tients may present with: E Pain or discomfort in the center of the wort D HEART 99 SEPTEMBER Diy chest seen. DISEASE day. age of 40. mind. E Pain or discomfort in left shoulder, left arm, back and neck E Difficulty in breathing Earlier, it was thought that cardiovascular disease is seen among elderly persons only. However, it is seen that even at the young age of 30 to 40 years., the disease can be the PREVENTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR H Modification of life style E Avoid smoking and tobacco consumption H Control diabetes and hypertension E Healthy Food habit: - eating fiber rich diet, fruits, vegetables and low calories diet. Love your Life Live for Long H Avoid fatty and carbohydrates rich diet H Regular exercises, preferably brisk walk- ing, 40 to 50 minutes per day E Proper continuous sleep - 6 to 8 hours per E Regular Cardiac check-up especially Blood Pressure and Blood sugar after the THEME OF THIS YEAR The World Heart Federation has adopted the following Theme for World Heart Day 2023: "USE HEART FOR EVERY HEART" This Theme has a philosophical meaning con- veying that one has to be empathetic, helpful and courteous towards others. Such behavior will provide a soothing effect to our heart and thereby reduce the stressful effect on our Greeting from Indian Medical Association on the occasion of World Heart Day. It is important to take care of our heart which takes care of us throughout our life. Healthy Heart enables us to lead a healthy and productive life. The World Heart Day is ob- served mainly to disseminate information among the general publicregarding health and disease of the heart. Heart Diseases are preventable to large ex- tent. Smoking, tobacco consumption, exces- sive alcoholconsumption, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, diabetes and obesity are the main risk factors. Healthy diet, modified lifestyle, regular physical activity and avoiding stressful envi- ronment will prevent the cardiovascular dis- eases. With this, | heartily wish all the readers happy, healthy and joyful life. Thanking you, With regards, DR. SAHAJANAND PRASAD SINGH Immediate Past President, IMA i 0060 ( READ. ENGAGE. DELIVER.) IS THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS TEAM OF THE INDIAN EXPRESS GROUP epaper pin gpnegP ==- <07 C> 14 j A FOUNDED BY @ $ THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 [HE EDITORIAL PAGE WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM WORDLY WISE IF AGRICULTURE GOES WRONG, NOTHING ELSE WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO GO RIGHT. — M S SWAMINATHAN TheIndianEXPRESS Man of science & humanity RAMNATH GOENKA EVERGREEN REVOLUTION Most fitting tribute to MS Swaminathan would be to restore centrality of science — and scientists — in agriculture S SWAMINATHAN MAY not have developed the high-yielding wheat va- rieties that ushered in India's Green Revolution during the mid- and late- Sixties. The varieties that farmers sowed were originally bred in Mexico by the legendary Norman Borlaug. Even the subsequent blockbuster vari- eties such as Kalyan Sona and Sonalika that produced amber-coloured grain with better chapati-making quality than the red Mexican wheats were bred by men -- the likes of VS Mathur, SP Kohli and DS Athwal — not as well known in the popular imagination. Swaminathan's key role was in recognising the potential of the new genetic strains or “plant type” responsive to increased fertiliser and water application, and devising a coherent strat- egy for their introduction and large-scale planting by farmers. He was a rare combination of someone who was abreast with the latest developments in agricultural sciences — includ- ing the deployment of the dwarf Norin-10 wheat genes by American researchers — and someone who could also work through the bureaucratic and political establishment for translating his strategic vision into farmers’ fields. Indian agriculture today lacks achampion pursuing strategic objectives for the sector with missionary zeal like Swaminathan. It equally lacks committed ministers and civil servants like C Subramaniam and B Sivaramakrishnan, who valued scientific opinion and could take bold decisions — such as importing 18,000 tonnes of seeds of Borlaug's Mexican wheats in 1966. Contrast that informed resoluteness with the current procrastination over genetic modification and new breeding technologies — a dawdling based not on science as much as unsubstantiated fears of the unknown. The most fitting tribute to Swaminathan would be to restore the centrality of science — and scientists — in agriculture and, like him, to trust the wisdom and ability of the Indian farmer to adopt and adapt to new technologies. The Borlaug-Swaminathan Green Revolution strategy basically relied on breeding va- rieties that would produce more grain with more fertiliser, especially nitrogen, and water application. That simple “more input, more output” strategy has probably run its course. Today, the challenge is breeding for climate change (short winters, temperature spikes, fewer rainy days and extreme precipitation were relatively unknown phenomena during Swaminathan’s time) and improving water and nutrient use efficiency. In other words, “less input, more output”. Swaminathan was right about the Green Revolution; it turned India from a “ship to mouth” importer to a country that became self-sufficient in foodgrains. He was equally right about aiming for an “Evergreen Revolution”, which, in his words, was an “improvement of productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm”. A PREVENTABLE TOLL Lancet report on cancer should lead to greater urgency in deploying gender-sensitive methods for screening, treatment NEW LANCET Commission report on gender inequity in cancer care lays out in stark numbers what has long been known anecdotally. While women have approximately the same burden of cancer as men, with 48 per cent of new cases and 44 per cent of deaths worldwide, the toll it takes on them is dis- proportionately higher. The authors of the “Women, Power and Cancer” commission’s re- port have examined how asymmetries of power in relation to cancer play out in terms of decision-making, knowledge and economics in 185 countries. The findings are dispiriting: Not only is cancer one of the top three leading causes of premature deaths among women worldwide, but women are less likely to find the care they need once diagnosed, due to a lack of knowledge and decision-making power. They are also more likely to experience “fi- nancial catastrophe” due to cancer. In India, nearly two-thirds of the cancer deaths in women, the authors found, were preventable and 37 per cent were treatable if only they had been caught in time and received optimal care. These findings show how gender dynamics play out when it comes to health: Globally, when women remain primarily valued for and defined by their reproductive role, women’s health too gets reduced to maternal and reproductive health. Combine this with the fact that, from lack of autonomy to little or limited access to education, employment and health- care, a range of factors ensures that women — especially from marginalised communities and in nations that rank low on the human development index — rarely go in for the tests and screenings that can help with early detection and treatment. These structural asymme- tries play out in other ways too. Consider, for example, the under-representation of women in the oncology workforce as leaders and decision-makers. It is no coincidence that even as the most common cancer among women around the world is breast cancer, very little is still understood aboutits causes and the occupational and environmental hazards that could lead to cancer in women are woefully under-researched. Given that a lack of understanding of how women are systematically disadvantaged when it comes to cancer care is at the root, measures that fill these gaps must be a priority, including the collection and updation of sociodemographic data in cancer healthand more research on risks that impact women. Also needed is greater sensitivity and responsive- ness to the challenges that lie at the intersections of power, status and identity by all stake- holders — right from institutions and policy — and decision-makers at the top to those who raise awareness and are involved in the treatment and care of the affected women. TASTE OF TOGETHERNESS IIT-Bombay’s call for food segregation is a let-down, shrinks spaces for spontaneous inclusivity ONTHS AFTER A canteen in IIT-Bombay exhibited posters declaring por- tions of the communal eating space off-bounds for non-vegetarian stu- dents, an email from the mess council has formalised its legitimacy: Six ta- bles of a total of 80-100 will now only accommodate vegetarian diners. Of course, with the preponderance of savarnas among those who make it to these institutions, the vegetarian hegemony is not a new or unusual phenomenon across IITs. As early as 2014, the HRD ministry had sought proposals from the IITs and IIMs on having separate canteens for vegetarian and non-vegetarians students. In 2018, an IIT Madras canteen had designated different entrances wash basins and utensils for the two groups, which was later rescinded. Informal segregation has existed in other campuses of the premier institute. The myth of India as a vegetarian nation has gained momentum since 2014, gathering heft with each vegetarian banquet that the central government hosts for visiting dignitaries and with the more vigilante enforcements that rear up ahead of festivals such as Navratri. But data tells a different story. The NFHS-5 showed that more people are eating non-vege- tarian food than ever before. And yet, calls for food segregation at educational institutions persist, toeing imaginations of caste purity. In essence, academic institutions are meant to be level playing fields, a world that of- fers a first glimpse of who people can be when they are not circumscribed by families or com- munities. It allows them the liberty to be bewildered — at the diversities that exist in food and customs, rituals and sensibilities, clothes and ideas. A meal ata community table is a les- son in shearing off layers of prejudice. Lifetimes of friendship have been forged over wilful ignorance of what has gone into the delicious pulao in a friend's tiffin or the momo on the canteen menu that one was told to give a wide berth to. Perhaps, the gatekeepers of IIT- Bombay would do well to remember the unexpected joys of true inclusivity. Challenge is to honour M S Swaminathan’s legacy, improve farmers’ profitability in times of climate crisis ASHOK GULATI M S SWAMINATHAN is no more. But his legacy remains with every student and scien- tist of agriculture. He is most widely known for working with Norman Borlaug to usher in the Green Revolution in India in the mid- 1960s when India was facing back-to-back droughts. Millions would have died of star- vation if the country had not experienced the Green Revolution. India was already termed as a “ship to mouth” economy, as the coun- try was importing 10 million tonnes from the US under P.L.480 scheme. And India had no foreign exchange to pay for it. I can recall the days when the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had given a call to the nation to “skip a meal in a week”, and how wheat products, including wheat chapatis, would not be served at wedding parties. It was at that time that Swaminathan worked hard to convince our political lead- ership to import 18,000 tonnes of seeds of high-yielding dwarf wheat varieties, Lerma Rojo and Sonora-64, from Mexico. This was the biggest seed shipment in history at that time. The seeds had to be indigenised to lo- cal conditions. With Kalyan Sona and Sonalika, the new indigenised wheat vari- eties, India changed its agriculture paradigm under Swaminathan’s leadership. It was so inspiring that many people in the country, including me, named their children after these wheat varieties. His contribution had a far-reaching im- pact. India experienced a wheat and rice rev- olution. This gave the country much-needed respite and confidence to turn the tables on food security in a short time. Who could be- lieve that one day India will emerge as a sig- nificant exporter of cereals. In the last three years, 2020-21 to 2022-23, India exported 85 million tonnes of cereals contributing to global food security. Forty per cent of global His contribution had a far- reaching impact. India experienced a wheat and rice revolution. This gave the country much-needed respite and confidence to turn the tables on food security in a short time. Who could believe that one day India will emerge as a significant exporter of cereals. In the last three years, 2020-21 to 2022-23, India exported 85 million tonnes of cereals contributing to global food security. Forty per cent of global exports come from India. The seeds of this transformation were sown by Swaminathan and his team of Indian agri- scientists, working closely with Norman Borlaug. They deserve all the credit and our gratitude. exports come from India. The seeds of this transformation were sown by Swaminathan and his team of Indian agri-scientists, work- ing closely with Borlaug. They deserve all the credit and our gratitude. Itis well known that Swaminathan was a geneticist as well as an administrator. He headed the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and later became the Director General of the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. He was rightly awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987, which incidentally was set up by Norman Borlaug, who had received the Nobel Peace Prize, as there is no Nobel Prize for Agriculture. Borlaug then set up an insti- tution to recognise contributions to agricul- ture - the World Food Prize is a product of his endeavours. No wonder Swaminathan, who worked with him most closely, was the first recipient of the World Food Prize. Swaminathan was also conferred the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan for his outstanding contributions. He also re- ceived several other awards like the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award and the Indira Gandhi Prize. Listing them all here in this obituary is simply not possible. I had the privilege of visiting him at his home and sharing the dais with him on sev- eral occasions. One thing was clear: Even in his late 80s, Swaminathan was brimming with energy and inspired students and sci- entists alike. Most of them would surround him for selfies! And, he was always gener- ous and smiling. The last time I saw him was perhaps in Pune, when he was wheelchair- bound and giving a power-point presenta- tion to Sharad Pawar and Venkaiah Naidu. One could see the fire in his belly and his pas- sion for agriculture. He was a hero who could bring science and humanity together. With his demise, an era has come to an end. I would be amiss if I didn’t mention the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) which he chaired and submitted five reports from. His efforts to improve productivity and profitability in agriculture went beyond tech- nology. One of NCF's key recommendations was to have minimum support prices (MSP) for farmers based on the cost of production plus 50 per cent return. The right cost later became a matter with different govern- ments. One view was interpreting it as the comprehensive cost, which includes not only out-of-pocket expenses of farmers (Cost A2) but also imputed wages of family labour (FL), imputed rent on owned land and imputed interest on owned capital. The UPA govern- ment did not accept that. The NDA govern- ment went halfway and accepted at least a 50 per cent return over Cost A2+FL. But we still hear that market prices do go below even that in many parts of the country at harvest time. The government does not have the wherewithal to ensure that all those com- modities get MSP. But it's also debatable to what extent the policy of restricting markets (export controls, stocking limit) for farmers is justified. So, some dreams of Swaminathan remain unfulfilled - as with many of us. I am sure the younger generation would conduct more re- search not just in technologies to raise pro- ductivity but also on pricing policies to im- prove farmers’ profitability. The challenge is bigger with climate change and depleting natural resources. May Swaminathan’s in- spiration guide us all. The writer is Distinguished Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations -e 7 A | AOS HA URI RISH K P EARLY IN HIS life, Bhagat Singh seemed to have been fascinated by the imagination of vasudhaiva kutumbakam, dreaming of the world as one family, bound by love and mu- tual respect. In an essay, ‘Vishwa Prem', in the Hindi weekly Matwala in November 1924, he reflected upon the social and polit- ical challenges in the realisation of the dream. The theme of India’s G20 presidency — vasudhaiva kutumbakam — makes it rel- evant to look into Bhagat Singh’s thoughts on the subject on his birth anniversary, which was on Thursday. The success in achieving a consensus in G20’s joint declaration was hailed as the mo- ment of India’s rise on the world stage. It was also a moment of glory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reiterated that India’s vision was “not just a slogan, but a compre- hensive philosophy, derived from our cul- tural ethos.” “The world is already taking note of India’s human-centric model of develop- ment, an inclusive development, which guided the government’s outlook within India and towards the world too,” PM Modi said. Given the country's complex social and political realities, one cannot help but ask if the PM was really honest about such an egal- itarian transformation in the outlook and politics of his government and party. Bhagat Singh raised such a question in ‘Vishwa Prem’. He asked: “Looking at the existing conditions, could anyone believe that such an imagined time will come.” In several articles, he grappled with the prob- lems of communalism, hatred and violence, oppression, poverty, untouchability and casteism. The reality, as he stated, was that “merely to belong to a religion is now con- sidered enough reason to be the enemy of another religion.” There should be no divi- HIS VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM Bhagat Singh’s message of universalism is more relevant today We are witness to an uninhibited demonisation of the ‘other’. The use of terms like ‘termites’ for migrants, the inflammatory messages at a Dharam Sansad of sadhus and sants and the impunity enjoyed by them raise doubts about the sincerity of our resolve towards ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’. Do we realise that the weaponisation of nationalism and the project of making India a Hindu Rashtra goes against the grand theme of G20? sion such as we have between touchable and untouchable, “but the Sanatan Dharma is in favour of this discrimination,” Bhagat Singh said. Does this ring a bell? Bhagat Singh elucidated his rational and critical approach in the essay, ‘Why I aman Atheist’. He suspected, rightly, that several so-called social reformers took a superficial political position. He ridiculed stalwarts like Madan Mohan Malviya for not being honest about removing untouchability and asked: “Vey log jo ‘vishavbandhuta’ ka ghor naad kiya karte hain, kya vastav mein usey laaney ke ichhuk hain? (Do those who are beating the drums of universal brotherhood, really want to bring about such an order?)” Today as we remember the great mar- tyr, can we ignore the harsh reality that the Indian society is riven by communal and caste hatred, fear and violence? The corpo- rate capitalist path of economic develop- ment has created more inequality in addi- tion to the deeply entrenched inequality of caste. We have not paid heed to the sharp warning delivered by Babasaheb Ambedkar on November 25, 1949 — a day before the Constitution was adopted. The fault lines in our country are deep. A vitriolic and provocative attack on Sanatan Dharma (not the Hindus) was made by a Tamil leader. A call was then given by the Prime Minister to prepare “to fight” such “forces” “who are pushing the country into a thousand years of slavery.” These two ac- tions point towards a condition of civil strife. So do the references by highly-placed lead- ers to “tukde tukde gangs” and calls like “desh ke gaddaron ko”. We are witness to an uninhibited demonisation of the “other”. The use of terms like “termites” for mi- grants, the inflammatory messages at a Dharam Sansad of sadhus and sants and the impunity enjoyed by them raise doubts about the sincerity of our resolve towards vasudhaiva kutumbakam. Do we realise that the weaponisation of nationalism and the project of making India a Hindu Rashtra goes against the grand theme of G20? To win over the hearts and minds of peo- ple who have diverse and conflicting inter- ests, we need Gandhian dedication towards love, compassion and non-violence. The G20 declaration “deplored all acts of reli- gious hatred” and asserted “it was time to end trust deficit and herald an era of coop- eration”. It’s time to align lofty thoughts with practice on the ground. Denouncing hypocrisy, Bhagat Singh wrote; “Aye vishvbandhuta, vishvabandhuta, chillanewale! Kya tum uskey liye tayyar ho? Yadi nahin to aaj sey is dhong ko chhor do! (O’ you who shout cries of world brother- hood! are you really determined to strive for that? If not, then stop this hypocrisy)”. Hypocrisy is said to be a tribute that vice pays to virtue. After entering the new Parliament building on September 19, PM Modi de- clared: “We are starting a new chapter, we should forget all past bitterness.” He said, “Sirf dil chahiye, desh ke liye chahiye (we should dedicate our hearts to the country)”. If that could lead our government, leaders and the people to be honest and sincere, shedding hypocrisy and making a begin- ning towards vasudhaiva kutumbakam, it may be the most appropriate tribute to Bhagat Singh. The writer is retired professor of political science and head, B R Ambedkar Chair, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar EF INDIAN EXPRESS jf win pired: iip dirmi ri ATTEMTIOS. | FOUNDAY MEM | SEPTEMBER 29, 1983, FORTY YEARS AGO PLEA To DISARM PRIME MINISTER INDIRA Gandhi made anim- passioned plea for complete disarmament and urged the creation of an “international order, where power is tempered with compassion, knowledge and capability are at the service of all humanity.” She warned that the global sit- uation had reached unprecedented crisis,with major powers stockpiling nuclear arms. DISMAL IMF TERMS INDIA LASHED OUT against “retrograde” steps like scaling down access to IMF facilities, which, its delegation leader Manmohan Singh said, would only strengthen “contractionary impulses” in the world economy. Singh told the IMF and World Bank that India could not endorse the proposal for scaling down of pres- ent access limits because developing coun- tries were already in a dismal situation. THE DOGRA TREASURE THERE IS A lot of mystery behind the disclo- sure of the treasure in the basement of the Kashmir government treasury. The treasure, a property of the Dogra rulers, is believed to be valued at Rs 1,000 crore and includes priceless jewellery, rubies, emeralds and gold. It belongs to the toshkhana, which till 1948, was a personal department of the late Maharaja Hari Singh. INDO-PAK TEST A STUBBORN BUT chancy unbeaten 121 by opener Anshuman Gaekwad and his unbro- ken 70-run stand for the fifth wicket with Ravi Shastri (batting 21) failed to redeem a dull fourth day’s play in the second Test between India and Pakistan. Replying to Pakistan’s first Innings score of 337, India had crawled to 201 for four at the end of the day’s play. | | THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 [9 THE IDEAS PAGE WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM WHAT THE OTHERS SAY “Will a Saudi-Israeli deal promise a viable Palestinian state, with a guaranteed right of return, no more settlements and East Jerusalem as its capital? If the Saudis can pull it off, hats off to them. But history points to a darker reality — that the Palestinian nightmare will likely continue...” — DAWN, PAKISTAN Parliament to workplace Increased political representation of women can help loosen supply-side constraints to women’s labour force participation Wi FARZANA AFRIDI JUXTAPOSE TWO FACTS: First, India is among the countries in the world where women’s representation in politics is the lowest. According to the Election Commission of India, women accounted for only 10.5 per cent of all members of Parliament in 2021, lower than in sub- Saharan Africa (26 per cent), and our neigh- bours such as Nepal (34 per cent) and Pakistan (20 per cent). Second, Indian women’s engagementin the labour market (the labour force participation rate) is abysmally low at about 25 per cent, relative to the global average of almost 50 per cent (as per World Bank estimates). Only 11 countries such as Yemen, Iran and Iraq show lower female labour force participation rates than India. The recent landmark legislation mandating the reservation of a third of par- liamentary and assembly seats for women is potentially a game changer for attaining gender equity in political voices in the coun- try. But, does increased political represen- tation of women also have implications for women’s labour force participation? What are the channels through which women’s participation in the political arena can trans- late into their economic empowerment? As a first step, let’s lay out the factors that have kept women’s economic engage- ment low in India. The gendered division of labour within the household, which places a disproportionately high burden of domes- tic work on women; the social norms that emphasise marriage rather than careers for women; the lack of safety and perceived high risk of sexual violence compounded by an absence of reliable and safe public transport infrastructure that restricts women’s physical mobility — have been highlighted as some of the more salient fac- tors constraining women from supplying their labour. On the other hand, recent re- search points out that the ongoing struc- tural shifts away from agriculture and changes in agricultural technology have pushed women out of farms — a sector that has historically accounted for the largest share of women’s labour. The absence of al- ternative opportunities in the non-farm sector implies that these women drop out of the labour market entirely. Increased political representation of women has some immediate implications for loosening the supply-side constraints to women’s labour force participation in India — both directly and indirectly. Political reser- vation of women has a direct effect on mak- ing political and administrative careers for women more viable in the longer term. More women are likely to enter the politi- cal fray — potentially rising from engaging with local issues to a seat in the state and na- tional legislature. Evidence from the reser- vation for women sarpanches in Gram Panchayats indicates that women political decision-makers are more likely to empha- sise and prioritise issues that align with the preferences and concerns of the electorate — sanitation, education (anganwadis) and health. The resulting increased emphasis on the provision of such essential public serv- ices can potentially reduce women’s time in the drudgery of daily domestic work (for ex- ample, collecting water, firewood, and child Y j Ny 5 n SRI SRI RAVI SHAN THECENTRE OF every culture is love; the very core of humanity is love. Harmony in sound is music. Harmony in movement is dance. Harmony in mind is meditation. Harmony in life isa celebration! And, culture through art, music, dance, food, and dress is the thread that can weave harmony in a community. Our knowledge and communication are growing, while our world is shrinking. We have no other choice than to honour diver- sity. It is now a necessity, not an option. Ina world with rapid advancements in science and technology, a bigger spotlight must be thrown on culture. Every culture is a part of the world heritage and we have to preserve and protect all of them, if we want humanity to survive. This alone can bring a well-bal- anced development in the world. We need to water our cultural roots and broaden our vision to include one and all. The polarisation and mistrust in the world today call for a humanistic approach, one that includes the well-being of all. This can only happen when every child knows a little about the wisdom from different cul- tures. Then the world would bea happier and more peaceful place. A sign of evolution is when we feel that all cultures, all civilisations, and all the different schools of philosophy, truly belong to us. Nowis the time to expand our vision, and care) enabling them to take up productive work opportunities from within or outside the home. Similarly, ifwomen political lead- ers vocalise concerns related to public safety and law and order, besides emphasising policies that bring a gender lens to urban in- frastructure and transportation planning, it can potentially improve women’s physical mobility and thereby access to work oppor- tunities further away from their homes. Women’s reservation in Parliament and state legislatures is also likely to have indi- rect impacts on increasing women’s labour supply in the longer term. Evidence from gender quotas in panchayats suggests that exposure to women political leaders weak- ens traditional gender stereotypes of their role in society and within the home. Greater public visibility of women creates a role model effect for younger women, raising their aspirations. They too can enter and be successful in male-dominated fields; and be decision-makers, and it is not just ac- ceptable but also possible for women to have visibility outside the home. Quotas for women in assemblies and Parliament can amplify the visibility of women political leaders as policymakers, potentially raising the intrinsic value of having a girl child and thereby parental investments in their hu- man capital — education, skills and health. An entirely new generation of women with not just higher aspirations but also the req- uisite credentials could then enter India’s labour market. Can increased political representation of women also influence the demand for women’s labour in our economy, increasing the opportunities for “decent” work for women in the formal, non-farm sector? ‘Women’s reservation in Parliament and state legislatures is also likely to have indirect impacts on increasing women’s labour supply in the longer term. Evidence from gender quotas in panchayats suggests that exposure to women political leaders weakens traditional gender stereotypes of their role in society and within the home. Greater public visibility of women creates a role model effect for younger women, raising their aspirations. A larger we It is time that we bring down the walls between cultures and civilisations our sense of purpose and connect to some- thing bigger. Now is the time to recognise the universality of human values across cultures. Now is also the time to acknowledge what is unique to each culture and country. It is time to celebrate the differences. You love to have food from every part of the world. You listen to music from all over the world. You don’t need to be a person of Chinese origin in order to eat Chinese food. You don’t need to be an Italian to go toa pizzeria and eat pizzas, nor a Danish to eat Danish cookies. One doesn’t have to be an Indian to listen to bhajans or sitar music. Similarly, we need to learn to accept knowl- edge and wisdom from every part, and this is what has been lacking in the world. We have to preserve our ability to assimilate all the cultures. Unfortunately, prejudice stemming from limited understanding has been the greatest impediment to embracing diversity. The problem is one of limited and fragmented identification that has led to the prolifera- tion of hatred, violence and war. Many are willing to go to extreme lengths to protect this identity, at the cost of humanity. We need to bring about an understanding in all people that they are, firstly, part of the universal spirit, and, secondly, human. Fanaticism fails to recognise that the di- vine loves variety and diversity; and that many different schools of thought can coex- ist in this world. The only way to get rid of fa- naticism in the world is through spiritual ed- ucation that is broad-based, multicultural and multireligious: that which creates a rev- erence for diversity in nature. It is when a child grows up considering other religions or cultures as bad or with the notion that my idea of God is the only idea of God, that he or she is ready to give up his or her life for that cause; but when a child grows up learning a little bit about all other religions, cultures and customs, then there is a sense of belonging with everybody. I feel that when every child in the world learns a little bit about every other religion or culture, the child will not have inhibitions or hatred towards other religions or cultures. You have to communicate and embrace people from all communities and diverse cultures and religions as your own and cel- ebrating each other’s cultures and practices is a beautiful way to make that communication happen. Spirituality has always united people of all cultures and religions - it helps one tran- scend the differences to find common ground. It is the quality of the spirit that makes you more alive and beautiful: when the spirit gets uplifted, the body becomes CR Sasikumar There is much less empirical evidence avail- able to provide a convincing answer to this question. However, extrapolating from what we know from quotas in Panchayats, women political leaders may be more amenable to introducing legislation that en- forces gender parity in pay and work con- ditions in the formal sector, besides stress- ing policies that expand work opportunities for women in the manufacturing sector. An anecdote from a senior woman bu- reaucrat summarises this issue well. She re- called that as a District Collector posted in central India in 1982, she would have weekly meetings at the district headquarters with the panchayat leaders (invariably men) on local issues facing them. On one of her occa- sional visits to a panchayat, she noticed that the village handpump had not been working for several months. This is a rather serious matter since this was the only source of drinking water, but one that concerned only the village women who trudged miles daily to collect water. The men who did not have to do this chore were oblivious to the issue and did not mention the breakdown of the handpump at all in their weekly interactions with the collector. Needless to say, if women’s political representation engenders heightened sen- sitivity and brings a gender perspective to everyday decision-making by policy-mak- ers, it has the potential to transform not just the social but also the economic lives of India’s women. The writer is Professor of Economics at the Indian Statistical Institute (Delhi) and Head, Digital Labor and Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme stronger and free from disease; the mind is more focused and energised; the intellect is free from prejudice; and love blossoms in every heart. When the mind is open and the heart is free, hate cannot exist there. When people come together in an at- mosphere of togetherness and love, preju- dices disappear. It is the starting point for any powerful transformation to take place in society. From regional consciousness to national and then to universal conscious- ness, this is the growth that the human race is looking for. Today itis said “Sanghe Shakti Kaliyuge”— the power in this age lies in coming together. When many bristles are put together to make a broom, they are far more effective in sweeping a large hall than they would have been individually. If we move together, we can do something big. Itis time that we bring down the walls be- tween cultures and civilisations across the world and recognise that we are a one-world family and come together in a spirit of cele- bration, spirit of love, compassion, and serving. The writer is a spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation, which is holding a three-day World Culture Festival at the National Mall in Washington DC from September 29 to October 1 Shrinking the safety net Cuts in MNREGA budget, refusal to acknowledge problems with Aadhaar-based payment system, risk pushing rural workers into extreme poverty ZERO HOUR BY DEREK O'BRIEN “My political instincts tell me that MNREGA should not be discontinued because it is a liv- ing memorial to your (Congress ) failures. After so many years in power, all you were able to deliver is for a poor man to dig ditches a few days a month.” — Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha, February 2015. THE PM BAD-MOUTHED previous govern- ments on the floor of Parliament. But, now, even he has to acknowledge that MNREGA, with 26 crore workers on its rolls, is a key driver of alleviating poverty in rural India. In Parliament, the Union government was questioned on the reduction in the budget estimate of MNREGA from Rs 98,000 crore in FY 2022 to Rs 60,000 crore in 2023. The government answered that MNREGA is a demand-driven employment scheme and the ministry seeks additional funds only when it is required to meet the demand for work on the ground. Is the Union Government suggesting there is a lack of de- mand for MNREGA in the country? MNREGA as a Safety net: The job mar- ket is facing a major crisis, with the unem- ployment rate hovering around 8 per cent. MNREGA has been pivotal in providing em- ployment opportunities to rural house- holds, especially landless labourers, minori- ties and women, working as a shield against a life of penury. The Situation Assessment Survey of Farmers reveals that 40 per cent of Indian farmers do not consider farming to be their principal source of income and stated that they dislike farming as a profession. Farmers are more likely to transition from farming to rural non-farm (RNF) jobs to mitigate the risks associated with agriculture. Decline in real wages: According to NSSO, RNF employment can be classified into manufacturing, construction, whole- sale and retail trade, and other services. Studies reveal that it is the construction sector which is acting as one of the major drivers of RNF employment since 2011-12. The latest data from the Centre for Labour Research and Action reveals that the growth rate of real wages in the construc- tion sector between 2014-15 and 2021-22 was less than 1 per cent per year (even neg- ative in some years) which raises concerns about the type of employment generated within the RNF sector. NSSO further defines the type of em- ployment that the RNF generates under three broad categories such as self-employ- ment, regular salaried employment and ca- sual wage employment. In India there has been a decline in self-employment and a gradual shift towards casual wage employ- ment which is non-agricultural wage labour driven by the construction sector. The tran- sition from agricultural to non-agricultural employmentaligns with the latest findings in the RBI's Handbook of Statistics of Indian States. The gradual shift in employment from wage labour in the agricultural sector to non-agricultural wage labour in rural ar- eas is explained by the significant decline in real agricultural wages. Institutional barriers: Ascheme such as MNREGA, which provides regular salaried employment to rural households, is a choice between starvation and work stability for landless people. Currently, problems relat- ing to the number of workdays going down from 100 to 31 days, along with poor ad- ministrative rationing of jobs among job seekers, and delays in wage payments act as institutional barriers for the rural poor. Decisions such as using the National Monitoring System App to monitor atten- dance and Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS), when nearly 11 crore (40 per cent) workers do not possess Aadhaar-linked bank accounts, have further pushed the ru- ral poor into extreme vulnerability. However, the Union government does not even acknowledge the problem associated with ABPS. In reply to a question in Parliament, the government stated that no workers have been denied wage payment due to ABPS and it is neither open to technical glitches nor prone to misuse. The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey report states that agriculture continues to remain the largest employer of the rural workforce. This implies that the mobility of the workforce from the rural agrarian sec- tor to the RNF sector has failed. Rural house- holds often consider the RNF casual wage employment as a last resort for their sur- vival. That is why itis essential to strengthen MGNREGA and end the perpetual cycle of casual wage employment and extreme poverty faced by workers. Economic blockade of states: One of the key schemes which relies on Union-state synergy is MNREGA. States run by non-BJP governments have been penalised by the Union government, which creates an economic blockade. In the 2021-22 fiscal, West Bengal topped the list of states in terms of the number of people employed under the scheme (over one crore) and in terms of person days generated (36 crore). However, funds to the state have been stopped by the Union government under extended impo- sition of Section 27 of MNREGA since December 2021. This, in spite of all compliances being met. The Union government owes Bengal a whopping Rs 7,000 crore under MNREGA. Data tabled in Parliament reveals the dras- tic fall in employment since the embargo of funds; the number of person days gen- erated has shrunk to three crore, one- twelfth of what it was. Unfairly stopping wages leads to victimisation of workers and may push them to the brink of starva- tion. The state government has been fund- ing the scheme from its own budget for the rural poor. Persons with job cards have also been subsumed into work under state government schemes. The Union government has also with- held over Rs 8,000 crore owed to Bengal un- der the PM Awas Yojana (Grameen); over one million people have been deprived of housing benefits. After letters and countless reminders have failed, a contingent of MPs and other ministers from the state will be in Delhi on Gandhi Jayanti. A satyagraha at Raj Ghat and other demonstrations have been lined up. Rightful wages under MNREGA have been denied to 1.4 crore workers in Bengal. Is anybody listening? The writer is Member of Parliament and Leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party (Rajya Sabha). Additional research by Mallika Bhowmick LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CREATE BETTER JOBS THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘The em- ployment puzzle’ (IE, September 28). GDP growth is important for economic development, but it is not the only fac- tor. India has the world’s largest youth population, and this demographic divi- dend presents an opportunity for signif- icant economic growth. However, the government must develop the formal sector to create suitable jobs for educated youth. Proper implementation of the NEP 2020 can equip young people with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in today’s technologically ad- vanced economy. The government should also support entrepreneurial pro- grams and foster self-resilience and growth among youth. Zaid Wazi, Varanasi NO CREDIBLE REASON THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Who's afraid of elections?’ (IE, September 28). Is the Modi government pushing its One Nation, One Election agenda justified? The former election commissioner has meticulously explained that in the ab- sence of credible data for issues like ex- penditure, diversion of staff and disrup- tion of developmental work, which are raised for justifying simultaneous elec- tions, the ONOE idea lacks credence. In the last nine years, it has neither shown any inclination nor taken any measures towards reducing election expenditure by candidates or parties. On the contrary, the BJP has acquired more funds and spent more on elections than its rivals. LRMurmu, New Delhi INEQUALITY PERSISTS THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Numbers that matter, and don’t’ (IE, September 28). The genuine progress of a country’s economy should be reflected in the qual- ity of life enjoyed by its average citizens, rather than the aggregate value of its GDP. Even if we congratulate ourselves on being the fifth largest economy in the world, when it comes to per capita in- come and Human Development Index (HDI), we rank 128th and 132nd respec- tively. Moreover, what real benefit would arise in GDP bring to common people if the increase in their income is not pro- portional to inflation? The fact that our government still provides free monthly rations to over 80 crore individuals speaks volumes about our economy. Kamal Laddha, Bengaluru THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 EX NETWORK WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM =i & a am ae =j : TEINA FAVOUR Girgaon Chowpatti swarmed by devotees on the last day of Ganesh Chaturthi, in Mumbai on Thursday. Amit Chakravarty 2 Odisha MLAs throw ‘dal’ at Speaker podium, suspended SUJIT BISOYI BHUBANESWAR, SEPT 28 THE ODISHA Assembly on Thursday suspended two BJP MLAs—Mohan Charan Majhi (Keonjhar) and Mukesh Mahaling (Loisingha)—for the rest of the monsoon session after they al- legedly threw ‘dal’ towards the Speaker’s podium. The two legislators, however, denied that they threw ‘dal’ atthe Speaker Pramila Mallik’s podium. Mahaling said they presented ‘dal’ to the Speaker and didn’t throwit. On what was the rationale be- hind “presenting” ‘dal’ to the Speaker, Mahaling said Mallik had resigned as the women and child development minister in 2011 in the wake of a Rs 700-crore scam in the purchase of pulses for mid- day-meal scheme. Farmers start 3-day rail roko across Punjab to press for their demands RAAKHI JAGGA LUDHIANA, SEPTEMBER 28 FARMERS DEMANDING a finan- cial package for losses caused by recent floods and a legal guaran- tee for MSP among others began a three-day rail blockade Thursday at 12 locations in Punjab. The rail roko is being organ- ised by 19 farmer unions from six North Indian states to seek the im- plementation of their demands. Out of the six farmers’ unions from Punjab, the main organisa- tion is the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), which has received support from the unions of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Among their main demands are a Rs 50,000 crore flood relief package for flood victims in af- fected North Indian states, an MSP guarantee law, 300 days of em- ployment under MGNREGA, and control of drug addiction, espe- cially in Punjab. According to Satnam Singh Pannu, president, KMSC, they are blocking trains at Moga, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, and Batala railway stations in Gurdaspur, Jalandhar Cantonment in Jalandhar, Tarn Taran railway sta- tion in Tarn Taran, Sunam in Sangrur, Nabha in Patiala, Basti Tankwali and Mallanwala in Firozpur, Rampura in Bathinda, and Devidaspura in Amritsar. From the 16 farmer unions from six states, their number has risen to 19, said Sarwan Singh Pandher, who is from KMSC and is the convener of the 19 farmers unions. Pandher was at Devidaspura in Amritsar where farmers are squatting on the tracks until September 30. Farmers from Haryana, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh are also marching towards Punjab to sit on tracks along with their counterparts in the state. Suresh Koth, president, Kisan Mazdoor Union of Haryana, said, “We were to start the protest on August 22 in Chandigarh but much before that the Punjab Police arrested over 400 farm union leaders from Punjab and Haryana to prevent us from reach- ing Chandigarh. Not only this, one farmer Pritam Singh had also been crushed under the tyres ofa tractor in the Longowal area of Sangrur district of Punjab when farmers were on their way to atoll plaza to protest”. Koth was referring to the scuf- fle between protesting farmers and the police on August 21 in Longowal when Pritam Singh was killed. Koth said, “We are warning the Punjab government not to mess with us again, they need to remember that Punjab farmers are not alone but their Haryana brothers are with them”. Mob of ‘500-600 tries to storm = Manipur CM's private residence SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, SEPTEMBER 28 AMID HEIGHTENED tensions in Manipur’s valley areas, a group of people attempted to storm Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s personal residence at Heingang in Imphal East on Thursday night. The CM and his family were not there at the time. By around 10.30 pm, the at- tempt was foiled by security per- sonnel. A security official said the crowd initially numbered “around 500-600”, and added that RAF personnel present at the site de- ployed retaliatory force. The crowd was dispersed before it could enter the premises. Heingang, where Singh's personal residence is lo- cated, is the Assembly con- stituency that he represents. The state’s Meitei-dominated valley areas have been on edge, and have seen intense, wide- spread protests since Tuesday. The protests came after two pho- tographs were circulated that seemed to show two Meitei youngsters — Hijam Linthoingami (17) and Phijam Hemjit (20) - who had been missing since July 6, were killed by militants. On Wednesday, protesting students tried to march towards the CM Bungalow and Raj Bhavan. Security personnel had resorted to heavy tear gas shelling to dis- perse them, but representatives of the students were allowed to meet the Governor and the Chief Minister. Later that afternoon, a mob torched the BJP Khongjom Mandal office in Thoubal district. Meanwhile, the Centre has or- dered the repatriation of Manipur-cadre officer Rakesh Balwal currently serving as Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar. The 2012-batch officer was on deputation in J&K under the AG- MUT cadre. Ka inte ie ita RN mi ahi ia | bi Students protest against the killing of two youngsters, in Imphal on Thursday. PTI As protesting students end up in hospitals, security forces face heat SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, SEPTEMBER 28 FROM 60 foreign particles lodged in a 17-year-old’s shoul- der to eye damage that could lead to another teenager losing his vision — these are among in- juries sustained in the last few days by those protesting against the killing of two Meitei stu- dents. The nature of wounds has led to allegations of use of exces- sive force by security personnel against protesters, largely stu- dents, in Manipur’s capital Imphal and valley areas. In response, Manipur DGP Rajiv Singh Thursday constituted a two-member committee headed by IGP (Adm) K Jayanta Singh to look into such com- plaints and allegations and sub- mit a report. The state’s Meitei-dominated valley areas have been on edge since Tuesday, after two photo- graphs surfaced indicating that two youngsters — Hijam Linthoingami (17) and Phijam Hemjit (20) — who had gone missing since July 6 have been killed. Their last phone location was traced to Churachandpur. Schools were shut and mobile internet services suspended once again as hundreds of students hit the streets in protest, while the police and CAPF, including RAF and Assam Rifles, were called in to control the situation. The face-off has left many in- jured. Among them is 17-year-old LKishan - on Wednesday, photos had emerged showing the top of his right shoulder torn off. “Doctors operated on him and removed 60 small particles of foreign body from the injured area. A forensic examination can reveal the nature of these, we cannot comment on it as of now,” said an official from Imphal’s Shija Hospital. Another patient at the same hospital is another Johnson, also 17. “He may lose vision in his right eye. It is grievously injured - whether by splinter, rubber bullet, or something else, we cannot ascertain... We have not operated on his eye... We are waiting for a neurosurgeon’s consent to proceed with the sur- gery,” said the hospital official. On Thursday afternoon, an- other youth who had been injured, Uttam Soibam (17), underwent surgery at Raj Medicity. X-ray im- ages showed dozens of “foreign particles” lodged in his skull. An official at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, said they had received 14 patients with in- juries. “Of these, four had injuries with pellets lodged near the eye or the chest,.. None of them were very major injuries and all have been discharged,” he said. The injuries sustained by mi- nors also prompted the Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights to issue an appeal that the strategies used to con- trol young protests should differ from those applied to adults. FROM PUNJAB TO KERALA, M S SWAMINATHAN’S GROUNDBREAKING WORK TRANSFORMED LIVES OF MILLIONS, ENSURED INDIA’S FOOD SECURITY Kerala’s Mankombu - a farming village inextricably linked to M S Swaminathan by name and familial ties Swaminathan’s indelible mark in Odisha SUJIT BISOYI BHUBANESWAR, SEPT 28 AGRICULTURAL SCIENTIST M S Swaminathan, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 98, hada strong association with Odisha — over the past two decades, his or- ganisation, the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), has actively worked in Koraput dis- trict’s Jeypore region. After com- pleting his PhD from Cambridge University, Swaminathan had joined the Cuttack-based Central Rice Research Centre, a unit of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. MSSRF’s regional centre, the Biju Patnaik Tribal Agrobiodiversity Centre at Jeypore, helps tribal farmers protect their intellectual property rights. “Professor's (as Swaminathanis re- ferred to) guidance and values will always remain our guiding light. Koraput had a special place in his heart. Wherever he went, he men- tioned Koraput and its rich biodi- versity,” Prasant Kumar Parida, di- rector, BPTADC, told The Indian Express. Swaminathan had last vis- ited BPTAbC in 2011. Swaminathan also worked in mangrove restoration and preser- vation of coastal land in Kendrapara district of Odisha for around 12 years beginning 1994. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also recalled his association with Odisha, saying that Dr Swaminathan started his early days of research in the state and was always available to help its farmers in every possible manner. “His foundation is closely associ- ated in improving farming activi- ties in tribal areas of Odisha. His death has created a huge void in the field of agricultural science,” said Patnaik. Jeypore was once known tobe the home of the largest number of rice varieties in India, which were vanishing fast. Concerned about this, the MSSRF undertook re- searchin 1998 to improve the con- dition of farmers while revitalising the vanishing rice varieties. The MSSRF has also been working on conservation of biodi- versity, promotion of sustainable livelihoods through micro-level in- terventions, and establishment of community-managed gene, seed, grain and water banks. SHAJU PHILIP THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPTEMBER 28 AS RENOWNED agricultural sci- entist Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan came to be re- garded as the father of India’s Green Revolution, a small village in Kerala saw its name gaining wide recognition. Swaminathan, who died in Chennai on Thursday at the age of 98, carried Mankombu village in his name. His father M K Sambasivan lyer was born in this village, where a few members of their family, known as the Kottaram family, continue to live. The village is in Alappuzha dis- trict and is part of the Kuttanad re- gion, knownas Kerala’s rice bowl. Before Swaminathan’s birth in 1925, his father left the village of paddy fields to go to Kumbakonam, in what was then the Madras Presidency, to workas ageneral medical practitioner. He was the first doctor from his fam- ily, which belonged to the Tamil Brahmin community. The Kottaram family was originally from Kumbakonam, before they settled down in Mankombu and took up farming. “Inthose days, we were farm- ers with large tracts of land, in- cluding paddy fields. After Sambasivan obtained his medical degree, he wanted to move out. He had five other siblings, and each one then looked for their own professional turf,” recalled M K Parameswaran, a member of the Kottaram family. In Kumbakonam, Sambasivan led a mosquito eradication mis- sion, and went on to become the city’s first municipal chairman. Swaminathan was born in Kumbakonam, but when he was just 11 years old, he lost his father. He was then brought up by his fa- MSSwaminathan’s father M K Sambasivan Iyer was born in Mankombu. A few members of the family still live here. Express ther’s youngest brother M K Narayanaswami, who had also moved to Kumbakonam after studying radiology. Swaminathan maintained a strong relationship with Mankombu village, and retained close ties with his relatives who lived there. The house where his father was born, a traditional nalukettu Jaunti, where seed of Green Revolution was sown, remembers agriculture icon ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 FAR FROM Chennai, where M S Swaminathan passed away on Thursday, Northwest Delhi's Jaunti village remembers the agricultural scientist for having brought the ‘Green Revolution’ to it first. High-yielding varieties of wheat were first planted in 1964 on around 70 acres in the village, which lies close to the national capital’s border with Haryana. “He was a gentle, hardworking man, who did good for us and for the world,” said Hukum Singh Chhikara, who was among the farmers on whose land the wheat was first sown. On Thursday, he had not heard yet of Swaminathan’s death. Rammehar Singh, 93, whose father Chaudhary Bhoop Singh, was also among the first farmers from Jaunti to have the high-yield- ing variety sown in his field, said, “Gehun se bhar diya desh ko. And he chose our village to begin with. Farmers from other places would come here to buy seeds, and a lot was sold at that time.” The seed processing centre is now a Delhi government dispensary. Express In 1965, the Jawahar Jounti Seed Cooperative Society was set up and the farmers who were a part of it sold wheat seeds. Swaminathan having got Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to the village in 1967 to inaugurate a seed-processing centre of the co- operative society is also a matter of pride, said Master Radh Singh, 73. “He would visit the village al- most every year,” said Singh. The seed-processing centre is now a Delhi government dispensary, a fading board marking its history. For Om Prakash Chhikara, the grandson of Chaudhary Bhoop Singh, Swaminathan felt like fam- ily. “He has given a lot to the vil- lage. With the new varieties, the yield shot up and so did prosper- ity,” said Om Prakash, a retired school teacher whose family owns 16 acres of land. Arya Kuldeep, 60, who owns around 14 acres of land, said, “Our village is known because of Dr Swaminathan. The 'Green Revolution’ began here and his work is still a matter of discussion among those of my generation and those who are older.” In the years since, much has changed. Amarjeet Chhikara, 52, the son of Khazan Singh who was also among the first farmers to have the wheat grown onhis land, said, “A canal used to bring water to irrigate the fields then and the area was very fertile. The canal has stopped bringing water, and groundwater levels here are low. People here are now moving to- wards jobs, taking the focus away from agriculture. Since the admin- istration doesn't focus much on agriculture, we don't get much in terms of subsidies or implements.” structure, still stands in the village. The family still has a stake in paddy cultivation in the region, and Swaminanthan too had a share in his ancestral property.On his visits to Mankombu, he lived with his relatives. His family’s legacy in the vil- lage also includes a temple that was later handed over to the Devaswom Board, and a school that was given over to the state government. The school, now known as the Avittam Thirunal Government Higher Secondary School, celebrated its platinum ju- bilee in 2012 and invited Swaminathan as the chief guest. “Swaminathan was then a member of the Rajya Sabha. At the platinum jubilee celebration, he announced Rs 50 lakh from his MPLocal Area Development fund for the school,” the school’s then PTA president Jayan Chambakulam recalled. Swaminathan and his re- search foundation had also been actively involved in attempts to re- vive the Kuttanad region, where his forefathers had toiled over generations. He was behind the preparation of the Rs 1,840-crore Kuttanad package, a Union gov- ernment scheme for the revival of the wetland system of the region and for ensuring sustainable liveli- hood for people there. An undated photo of Nobel laureate Norman Ernest Borlaug and M S Swaminathan. Photo credit MSSRF Since the sculpture was installed in 2019, thousands of farmers have visited it, said Manjit Singh Gill. Express He was everything for us, Says farmer who erected the scientist’s sculpture in his field DIVYA GOYAL GOPAL LUDHIANA, SEPTEMBER 28 IN 2019, farmer and sculptor Manjit Singh Gill erected a sculp- ture in his field at Ghal Kala village in Punjab’s Moga district. Since then, thousands of farmers from different parts of the state have visited the field to see and take selfies with itin a mark of respect for the sculpture’s subject - Dr M S Swaminathan. The legendary agricultural sci- entist, known as the father of India’s Green Revolution, died on Thursday atthe age of 98. Gill (48) remembered Swaminathan, whom he never met, as someone who “actually thought about us more than anyone did. He gave away his entire life thinking how the life of farmers can be im- proved, how they can be given what they deserve”. “For us farmers, he was our everything. Though farmers in Punjab knew him by name since his report (widely known as Swaminathan report) is always cited in every matter related to farming and agriculture... Hence, I have paid this unique tribute to him by installing his statue in my village,” Gill said, adding, “Since the sculpture was installed, thou- sands of farmers have visited it.” The sculpture depicted Swaminathan as a farmer’s true friend, standing next to a Sikh farmer with one hand placed gen- tly on his shoulder and the other holding a copy of the National Commission on Farmers report — better known as the Swaminathan Report - released in 2006. Behind the sculpture is a board that details the main rec- ommendations of the report. “During election time, all political parties talk about implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, but nobody actually does. Do you know what the Swaminathan Report really is? And how can farmers benefit from it?” it asks readers. “Ask any farmer, he will tell you about the Swaminathan Report without knowing what it really is. All they knowis that it put forward the suggestion for the minimum support prices of crops to be at least 50 per cent more than the cost of production...,” Gill said. On the reason behind his deci- sion to erect the sculpture, Gill said, “I decided to do this after seeing my 70-year-old father, who has spent his lifetime tilling the fields, not being able to recognise the per- son whose report and work as a scientist has made such a differ- ence to our lives. My father did not even know what Swaminathan saab looked like. Many people here thought he was a turbaned man who wears a dhoti,” Gill added. Responding to Gill’s tribute, Swaminathan had told The Indian Express in 2019: “Please convey my best wishes to this Punjab farmer.” He also gave some advice: “The groundwater situation in the state isn’t good. Free electricity should be avoided, as it promotes exces- sive pumping of water.” THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 17 SPOR Tovo INDIA SQUAD Pocket of tricks, Axar injury help Ashwin break into team VENKATA KRISHNA B SEPTEMBER 28 RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN has replaced Axar Patel in India’s World Cup squad as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sent its updated list of players to the International Cricket Council on Thursday. The Indian Express understands that Axar, who suffered a quadriceps injury during the Asia Cup, will take another couple of weeks before he resumes bowling and following discussions with the team management, the selectors decided to include Ashwin, who alongside Virat Kohli, will play his second World Cup on home soil and third overall. Although the injury to Axar has made the switch easy, India have been keeping their tabs open on Ashwin. Even when the selec- tors met the team management that includes skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid before naming the squads for Asia Cup and World Cup, Ashwin’s name was dis- cussed at length as they felt an off-spinner will be needed in home conditions. When Ashwin was included for the three ODIs against Australia, it was evident that India were looking to bring him into the squad, more so because all the three spinners they picked were left-armers. “Ashwin has the class, he's got experience of playing the sport and handling the pres- sure. It's just that he hasn't played ODIs for a year or so. But you cannot take away the class and the experience that the individual has over the years,” Rohit said in Rajkot. “In the last couple of games (against Australia), we saw how well he bowled. He's got a lot of vari- ations up his sleeves,” he added. It is understood that even as early as July, the Indian team management was in touch with Ashwin, who featured in the Tamil Nadu Premier League and First Division matches in Chennai. By the time the Asia Cup com- menced, an SOS was sent to Ashwin to report at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, where the trained for a few weeks to get into the white-ball grove. Although Ashwin has played only seven ODIs since the 2017 Champions Trophy final, a period where India shifted their allegiance towards wrist-spinners in limited-overs format, he has featured in each of the last two white-ball ICC events for India in the T20 World Cups in the UAE and Australia. While Axar is unfortunate to miss out, as his batting would be badly missed, there were always question marks around his place in the squad especially with Ravindra Jadeja around. With Kuldeep Yadav being their lead spinner in the format, in case India decide to play three spinners, accommodat- ing both Jadeja and Axar would have ren- dered the attack one-dimensional. In a for- mat where teams seek edge in every department, fielding two left-arm spinners could a handicap in limited-overs. AUSTRALIA SQUAD Labuschagne, injured Head make the cut Melbourne:Marnus Labuschagne broke into the 15-member squad at the last possible moment on the back of his strong recent form while injured opener Travis Head was also included. Labuschagne had been left out of the provisional squad but strong displays in South Africa and India forced his recall. Head is set to miss early matches after breaking his hand in SA but was included in place of left-arm spinner Ashton Agar. REUTERS Squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa As the World Cup caravan is set to roll, a question arises: Could Virat Kohli have been the same player were he bor to Kuldeep Yadav had he been from Colaba in Mumbai? We find out over = next re ee WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Illustration: Suvajit Dey Kanpur’s chalaak Chinaman Like the sharp-tongued and quick-witted vibe of his city, Kuldeep Yadav embodies the smarts and con of Kanpur. His targeting of a batsman in company of his teammates has the guile and humour of his home town’s favourite pastime - Chikayi SANDEEP DWIVEDI WELL-KNOWN political cartoonist Manjul is in the business of unpeeling complex na- tional issues to their basic core with subtle and cutting humour. He left the place of his birth, Kanpur, in the 1990s. But despite the parting, distance and the decades, the chaotic city with an unfair share of comics and wry one-liners continues to in- fluence his work. Manjul likes to talk about his city and its char- acter that is true to the re- gion’s rail route - it’s be- tween Delhi and Lucknow. “We are not overly polite like Lucknow, nor as brash as Delhi. Kanpur’s humour has humility. It isn’t too di- rect or toxic, itis...” he trails off, searching for the right English word. Eventually, itis Kanpur’s lovingly-preserved lexicon that comes handy. “Our favourite pastime is something called Chikayi, it sums up our self-deprecating city of closed mills, load-shedding and traffic jams where humour helps one to survive,” he says. Chikayiisn’t bullying. It broadly means ‘leg- pulling’ but even that doesn’t capture the nu- ance of the banter and repartee heard at Kanpur’s many gumtis — small kiosks lining a marketplace — where every evening some poor pre-decided target faces the sarcastic barbs of many. The bakra of the day cornered MANJUL STATE ATHLETICS MEET FIASCO Why Delhi athletes dope: Govt jobs, college admissions, Rs 16 lakh ‘assistance’ ANDREW AMSAN NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 A CHANCE to get an annual “financial assis- tance” of up to Rs 16 lakh, college admissions and job opportunities — these are the incen- tives on offer at the Delhi State Athletics Championship. However, if a beneficiary fails a dope test, he/she will have to return the funds received from the Delhi government in the past. This explains the hide-and-seek between athletes and National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) officials at the state meet at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium earlier this week. As reported by The Indian Express, the sud- den appearance of anti-doping officials on Tuesday, the final day of the event, resulted in mass withdrawal of athletes - only one sprinter turned up for the men's 100 metres final; the Under-20 boys’ 100m final saw just three finalists; and the Under-16 boys’ ham- mer throw event too had just one participant. Asteeplechaser kept running after cross- ing the finish line, trying to scoot out of the stadium before being caught by a dope-test- ing official, and many of the winners didn't even show up for the medal ceremony. A doping athlete at a Delhi meet has the chance of qualifying for the national level, where if one finishes among the top eight, they become eligible for the big financial as- sistance and chance for admissions in Delhi colleges and government jobs. In the case of junior athletes, the financial assistance to- wards their food and nutrition, sports equip- ment and kits, and travel within the country could go up to Rs 2 lakh for those up to 14 years of age, and Rs 3 lakh for those up to 17. Misuse of incentives The Delhi government has two major schemes — “Play and Progress” and “Mission Excellence” — to provide support to promis- ing athletes. “A sportsperson will be sup- ported for his needs related to food/ nutrition, sports equipment, sports kits, training and Our favourite pastime is something called Chikayi, it sums up our self-deprecating city of closed mills, load- shedding and traffic jams where humour helps one to survive” CARTOONIST BORN IN KANPUR at an adda. The other day during the Asia Cup, the pitch in Colombo had the feel of a Kanpur gumti with the boy - Kuldeep Yadav - from the city leading the Chikayi. He had for com- pany wicketkeeper KL Rahul, close-in field- ers Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubhman Gill and Ishan Kishan. Their target that evening were the Lankan batsmen. Kuldeep is a rarest of rare bowler. Left- arm spinners mostly use their fingers. They are called orthodox. A few, like Kuldeep, use their wrists. His repertoire is exten- sive, each of his stock balls has many versions and variations. He mixes his } balls, plays with the mind of the batsmen. Like the sharp- tongued and quick-witted people from his home- town, ‘Kuldeep the bowler’ can be trusted to come up with a stinging retort. If a batsman plays a boom- ing drive through extra-cover, the counter would be a mean turner, disguised as a loopy delivery pitched outside the right- hander’s off-stump that would shut him up for the day. At the Asia Cup game against Sri Lanka, India needed a win to confirm a place in the final. At the crease was the dangerous Sadeera Samarawickrama. When Kuldeep came on to bowl, some- thing seemed to be cooking. Rahul put his arm around the left-arm spinner. They seemed to be hatching a conspiracy. In the next over, Kuldeep, bowling from over the wicket, would amble close to the stumps. Inside his cocked wrist, hard-wired to his ever-ticking brain, he hid the ball. He unleashed his takia kalaam, his catchline - the well-flighted ball outside off that was pregnant with possibilities. The previous ball, Samarawickrama, while rooted to the crease, had looked shaky while defend- ing a turning ball. Kuldeep knew the batsman would dance down the track. He did. It is a folly. By the time he re- “For the ulti, |would use my wrist, not my finger. Does Kuldeep have the same chalaaki? “Bilkul, bilkul”. Does his bowling have a bit of Kanpur in him? “Bilkul, bilkul, Strikingly blonde hair, larger-than-life persona; with Warne you knew danger was always lurking around. Kuldeep doesn’t hype his skills, he doesn’t come with a forewarn- ing. That’s again a Kanpur trait. Arguments here are won by subtle and smart turns of phrase and a sly sally. Over the years, Kanpur, in its obsession with one-upmanship, has ended up glorify- ing the cunning and the con. The city’s most famous sweet shop goes by the name of Thaggu ke Laddu and prides itself on cheat- ing even their relatives. Aisa koi sagaa nahi, jisko humne thagaa nahi, is their tagline. National award-winning film Katiyabaazis about the country’s load-shedding capital’s hack of stealing alises it, it’s too late. bilkul, bilkul ... electricity. Bollywood’s hat Kuldeephascutdown GOPALSHARMA tip to the city was Bunty aur the pace and dropped the FORMER INDIA INTERNATIONAL Babli, a movie about a con ball short. Rahul stumps Samarawickrama, the field- ers cackle. This was leg- pulling of the cricketing type, this was Chikai. Kuldeep had that trademark naughty grin on his face. This World Cup, India would join the adda, they are hoping to cackle when Kuldeep smiles. Subtle art Kanpur’s Chinaman is expressive but temperamentally very different from his role model - the great Shane Warne. They used to call the late Aussie legend Hollywood, he loved drama. Lalit Kumar, the only sprinter, at the start line of the men’s 100 metre final. travel, boarding and lodging (within the country as well as outside) and medical needs. The quantum of support shall be de- mand-linked and not exceeding Rs 16 lakh,” says a Delhi government circular. Both the schemes carry a clause that pe- nalises those who fail the dope test. “If at any stage, a sportsperson receiving assistance couple directed by local boy Shaad Ali. Much before Kuldeep, Kanpur had Gopal Sharma, the OG. A cricketer of the 1980s, he played over 100 first-class games, but just five Tests. In his hometown, he is a living leg- end. When Sharma played Tests, cartoonist Manjul was a young man. He recalls the off- spinner’s popularity. “He was a local hero. People would say, ‘Look, the shop, that’s where Gopal Sharma gets his milk from’,” says Manjul. from the government is found guilty of age fraud or indulging in doping or getting assis- tance from any other state/ UT, the assistance will be stopped with immediate effect. Recoveries will also be made of the assistance already provided,” it says. It specifies that assistance will be provided “initially for a period of two years”, after which “the continuation will be extended on yearly basis”, based on an annual review of the athlete's performance. Dinesh Rawat, former international ath- lete and Delhi state coach, linked the athletes’ behaviour to the financial incentives. “This is the reason why they didn’t turn up for the fi- nals. Itreally hurts me to see the state of affairs right now. These people take shortcuts to get financial assistance, and deserving athletes miss out,” he said. Although a Delhi state medal doesn’t make an athlete eligible for a government or PSU (public sector unit) job, Rawat said that it is the first step. “This is the first stage. Selections for the nationals happen on the ba- Sharma, 63 now, is in the habit of saying ‘Bilkul, bikul’ whenever he wholeheartedly agrees with anyone. Did Kanpur influence your game? Is it because of the city you were known as a chalaak spinner? “Bilkul, Bilkul,” he answers promptly. Sharma’s ‘chalaaki’ was seen in his varia- tion, the ball that went away. This was much before the word ‘doosra’ was coined. “Back in the day, it was called ‘leg-cutter’, in Uttar Pradesh we would call it ‘ulti’. It would be bowled with the same action like an off-spin- ner but would go away from the right-han- der,” he says. He gives a short precise explanation of his special ball. “For the ulti, [would use my wrist, not my finger. The spinning finger would not be used at all but the wrist would give a tweak and the ball would float and go the other way,” he says. Does Kuldeep have the same cha- laaki? “Bilkul, bilkul”. Does his bowling have a bit of Kanpur in him? “Bilkul, bilkul, bilkul, bilkul...” They say it is the city that makes a man, Manjul says it’s more localised. He shares a couplet by late Pramod Tiwari, a reputed Kanpur poet, to make his point. “Mere ghar ke aage jo mod hai, meri zindagi ka nichod hai, use hai pata mai kidhar gaya, mai jidhar gaya woh wahan gaya,” he says. Paraphrasing Tiwari, it would translate to: It’s the immediate surroundings, the turn that takes you home, that define one’s core char- acter. Life’s journey can take one places but the turn never leaves you. Kanpur’s serpen- tine lanes and sharp turns foster cleverness and one-upmanship. Cricket keeps Kuldeep far away from home but his turn gives him company, it reflects in his skill and spin. sis of state performances. If they don’t per- form well here, how will they reach the na- tionals, and try to win a medal there and se- cure ajob? The state meet opens the first door for an athlete,” said Rawat, who represented India at the 1998 Asian Games. But a state medal does help in securing admission in Delhi University. “You get points for each podium finish certificate at state meets. At one point, for a sports quota college admission, the ratio was 50:50 -- half for the certificate, and half for college selection tri- als,” said Sandeep Mehta, Delhi State Athletics Association Secretary and an associate pro- fessor at Dyal Singh College. Aleading voice in sports medicine in India talks about the perils of short-term benefits. “The incentives in sports are huge - jobs, prize money, scholarships. Many athletes take to doping to avail these benefits even at the cost of harming their health. They feel re- wards are waiting for them,” said Dr PSM Chandran, a senior member of NADA’s ap- peals panel. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 1 China | 2 Republicof Korea 86 3 Japan 78 4 Uzbekistan 31 5 India 25 6 Thailand 18 7 Hong Kong 32 INDIA’S DAY 5 HAUL: 1GOLD SHOOTING 10m Air Pistol (Men’s Team): Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Singh Cheema, Shiva Narwal 1SILVER WUSHU Women’s 60kg: Roshibina Devi 1 BRONZE EQUESTRIAN Individual Dressage: Anush Agarwalla ASIAD CAPSULE Hockey: India beat defending champs Japan Young striker Abhishek fired two goals as India beat defending champions Japan 4-2 to register their third consecutive victory and take a giant step towards semi- final of the men's hockey competition. Abhishek (13th, 48th minutes) scored two field goals, while Mandeep Singh (24th) and Amit Rohidas (34th) were the other scorers. Swimming: Women’s relay team ends 8th, men 6th The young Indian women's 4x200m freestyle relay rewrote the 'Best Indian Time' twice as it finished eighth. Teenagers Dhinidhi Desinghu (13), Vritti Agarwal (17), Hashika Ramachandra (15) and 20- year-old Shivangi Sarma first obliterated the ‘Best Indian time' by swimming the heats in 8:39.64s. The quartet then rewrote the record by clocking 8:37.58s for a last-place finish in the final. The Indian men's 4x100m team comprising Srihari Nataraj, Tanish, George Mathew and Vishal Grewal clocked 3:21.46 to finish a sixth in the final. Tennis: Ramkumar-Saketh inmen’s doubles final Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni reached the men's doubles gold medal round and the mixed doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale assuring itself of a medal. The second-seeded team of Ramkumar and Myneni downed the Korean pair of Seongchan Hong and Soonwoo Kwon 6-1 6-7(8) 10-0. Squash: Men’s, women’s teams assured of medals Indian men's and women's teams assured themselves of medals at the Asian Games after progressing to the semifinals of the squash events on Thursday. While the men's team blanked Nepal 3-0 in its final pool tie, the women were handed a 0-3 loss by Malaysia in their last pool B fixture. Football: India lose to Saudi Arabia 2-0 and bow out Saudi Arabia warded off a gutsy challenge from India winning their pre-quarterfinal match 2-0 in the men's football competition here on Thursday. There was no doubt about Saudi Arabia's supremacy as forward Mohammed Khalil Marran's opportunistic twin strikes in the 51st and 57th minute ended India's campaign. AGENCIES BOXING: NIKHAT ONE STEP CLOSER TO PODIUM Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen has been in fine form so far and is one step away from reaching the semifinals, which would assure her a medal. She’d want more, of course. NIKHAT ZAREEN (QF, 4:45 PM), PARVEEN HOODA (R16, 12:00 PM), LAKSHYA CHAHAR (R16, 1:45 PM) Se ne rt al E nii ASIAN GAMES 18 Anush and his horse sense The individual bronze winner in dressage moved to an Olympic champ’s training facility in Germany ” = ag India’s Anush Agarwalla, who was astride Etro, is congratulated by a team member after TTE a bronzea in the individual dressage event on Taed PTI EXPRESS AT ASIAN GAMES MIHIR VASAVDA HANGZHOU, SEPTEMBER 28 ONE HAS an elegant walk, an expressive trot and an easy canter. The other is creative, compassionate and supple. One, a horse of great pedigree. The other, a rookie rider with a family history in the business of warehousing. Bay Stallion Etro and Anush Agarwalla met at an Olympic champion’s barn a year ago. Since then, they’ve been inseparable. “They have a connection,” declares Doris Schmidt, the wife of former Olympic cham- pion Hubertus, who trains Anush. The German horse and the Indian rider scripted more history in China on Thursday. Two days after Agarwalla, astride Etro, won the team dressage gold medal at the Donglu Equestrian Park, the 23-year-old galloped to an individual bronze to mark another first for Indian equestrian at the Asian Games. “It feels unreal,” Agarwalla says. “I knew I had a good partnership with my horse. Today, my horse was amazing.” Agarwalla and Etro showed immaculate grace and harmony to deliver an impressive test and posted 73.030%, a culmination of scores across a series of movements that are marked out of 10. Agarwalla was judged on the coordina- tion with his horse and harmony, the two as- pects he spectacularly failed at six years ago. When he left the comforts of his home in Kolkata and moved to a sparsely-populated municipality in Germany, Borchen, to be- come an elite rider, Agarwalla couldn’t even get on the back of a horse properly. “He was bouncing a bit and that isn’t good either for the rider or for the horse’s back,” Doris, who trails Agarwalla along with Athens Olympics gold medallist Hubertus, says. The Schmidts have been running a renowned riding school in a remote corner of Borchen for decades. Agarwalla hadn’t seen anything like that before. He was introduced to riding by his parents at the age of 3, when they took him to the Tollygunge Riding Club every Sunday. “He de- veloped animmediate interest,” says Anush’s mother Priti. “By the time he was 10, Anush was travelling to Delhi every weekend.” That’s the first time he moved his base - to Delhi. Agarwalla, who was riding only ponies, soon realised he needed better coaches, horses, shows and infrastructure to raise his level. And that wasn’t going to hap- pen by staying put in India. He contacted Schmidt, after being rejected by many train- ers, and the German invited him for trials. “He was 17 at the time and since then, he’s been based in Germany,” Priti says. Moving to Borchen turned out to be alife- altering decision for Agarwalla. Back then, it didn’t feel like that. “It’s not acommon thing to do,” Priti says. “(But) The most important decision was to take our son out of school when he was in Class 12 and send him abroad.” Out of his comfort zone Fleyenhof, the facility Schmidt owns, is located in an area so remote that when the Agarwallas first went there, they couldn’t even find it. The decades-old farm is cosy and comfortable, and home to champion riders. But the lifestyle was more mundane than glamorous. “It sounds fancy that you are liv- ing in Europe butit’s a village,” Priti says. “The total population would be like a thousand people and he has to do everything alone.” Agarwalla now speaks fluent German and is completing a degree in business ad- ministration. But when he landed in Germany, he lived in a tiny room at the sta- ble, where he cooked, slept, studied and took care of the horses. Occasionally, he had to fly back home to appear in exams to complete his open schooling. “It was a huge struggle but he was determined to carry on. But it was definitely not easy,” Priti says. The struggle wasn’t limited to adopting anew lifestyle. After riding ponies for years, Agarwalla wasn’t even able to get on a horse. “So we trained him to sit a bit heavier in the seat and to get more involved in the European style of riding,” Doris says, refer- ring to a style that demands more control and the horse is ridden in a shorter, upright frame. “I taught him to not bounce, keep the legs long, whip (the horse) in the hip and to follow the steps of the horse.” During his early years, Agarwalla - ‘a quick learner’ - rode different horses and HOW DOES A HORSE TRAVEL? How does ahorse travel from one country to another? They fly. E Horse board stalls, which then get loaded into cargo holds of large cargo airplanes. The stalls are equipped with hay or haylage and water so that the steed is well nourished. @ The horses fly two per pallet (a flying stable) which is the equivalent of business class. In fact, while humans may not be able to eat their in-flight meals during the entire duration of their flight, the four-legged passengers can chomp on their meal all through flights. E While the riders don’t fly in the same planes as the horses,they are accompanied by grooms, whose job it is to take care of horses, and veterinarians, in case they get sick mid flight. E As for passports, horses do have passports, but theirs has details of markings and where the horse was born among other things. The passport also has to list the vaccines the horse has taken, from flu vaccines, to tetanus shots. ENS GLOSSARY What does trot, gallop and canter really mean in dressage. TROT: An active, two-beat gait. CANTER: A controlled, three-beat gait. GALLOP: A fast, four-beat gait. WALK: A gentle, four-beat gait. struggled on a few of them. Then, he decided to purchase Etro, who is a ‘really good mover’ and ‘fit him perfectly because he isn’t tall’, Doris adds. “The father of this horse competed up to the Grand Prix level and also international shows. He was in the German team too,” Doris says about the horse’s pedigree. “We know the father and know this horse as well. They are good in the head, not spooky or running around; they have good movement and char- acter, which is what you need for dressage.” Doris and Agarwalla both talk about their horses just like they would talk about a hu- man partner. The fate, after all, of the rider and the horse are intertwined. They both have to exhibit a series of predetermined movements, like in gymnastics. The horse has to walk, trot, gallop and canter to the mu- sic that plays in the background. And the rider has to ensure obedience, precision and camaraderie. No wonder that after he collected his sec- ond medal in three days, Agarwalla credited his horse while reflecting on his journey. “My horse was amazing. This is what I have al- ways wanted and visualised,” he says. “It’s not come overnight. It’s been a long, long journey and alot of times, I thought I was not good enough. But holding this medal today, it’s all worth it.” Brothers win two gold: Shiva in Hangzhou, Manish in Lima SHASHANK NAIR NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 DILBAUGH SINGH Narwal has not been able to sleep through the night. At first it was because two of his sons were participating in major shooting competitions on opposite sides of the globe. Then the actual competitions be- gan and the nervousness of watching both his children attempt to win medals for India swept through him. As both sons won gold medals, Dilbaugh heaved a sigh of relief. On Thursday, his son Manish, 21 won gold at the P1-Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1 at the Para Shooting World Championships in Lima. And Shiva, 17, at the Hangzhou Asian Games, along with Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Singh Cheema in the men’s 10m air pistol team event. “I might not be satisfied with Shiva’s per- formance but if we look at it from our coun- try’s point of view, then India got another gold medal and that is very good,” Dilbaugh told the Indian Express. Manish's consistency had resulted in high standards within the Narwal family. He has a habit of winning medals at every event that BADMINTON: TEAM MEDALS AT STAKE Indian shuttlers will be hoping to assure a place on the podium but have tasks of differ- ing difficulties in front of them. TEAM QUARTERFINALS: MEN VS NEPAL (2:30 PM) & WOMEN VS THAILAND (6:30 AM) SHOOTING: MORE PISTOL ACTION In 10m air pistol, Esha Singh will be back in action after her sliver in the 25m event. Four more medal events in shooting on Friday. Women’s 10m air pistol (Individual & Team) - Divya TS, Esha Singh, Palak; Men’s 50m rifle 3-position (Individual & Team) - Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale, Akhil Sheoran 6:30 AM, FOLLOWED BY MEDAL EVENTS TENNIS: MEN’S DOUBLES FINAL R Ramkumar and Saketh Myneni vs Chinese Taipei. TIME: 7:30 AM Gold medal-winning Indian men’s 10m air pistol team of (Lto R) Shiva Narwal, Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Singh Cheema in Hangzhou. (Right) Manish. he has gone to. Manish also earned a Paris Paralympics quota spot in Lima. “The way Shiva’s practice was before the Asian Games, by those standards this hasn’t TODAY'S SCHEDULE been his best showing. The problem also is that Manish has got us parents into the habit of seeing him win gold at every tournament, and that too individual medals. For Shiva, INDIA WATCH FOR DAY 6 that first card of 92 was not good. Even a 99 card later in the qualification couldn’t cover that bad start.” Shiva has already gone to two ISSF World Championships for India and has recently won the mixed team gold at the Worlds - an Olympic event. He didn’t have the best of performances individually at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Center Shooting Range. The team event is not an Olympic medal winning cate- gory but has medals at the ISSF level and at the Asian Games this time onwards as well. “They were in good spirits be- fore the match but I think Shiva was at a big platform and some- times that can mean pressure. Even we parents don’t have any peace when the match is going on," Dilbaugh said about Shiva's performance. “Manish did well because his score was good by para shooting standards and then had a good final as well. Now I’m hoping Shiva can also get his Olympic quota at the Asian Championship.” Prior to these Asian Games, Shiva was at the World Championships where he was not CHESS TEAM EVENTS BEGIN Here’s a look at the other main Indian events to track on Friday at the Hangzhou Asian Games TABLE TENNIS: SINGLES AND DOUBLES FURTHER ROUNDS 8:15 AM ONWARDS ESPORTS: DOTA GROUP MATCHES VS KGZ AND PHI 11:30 AM ONWARDS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: INDIAVS MONGOLIA 5:30 PM WOMEN’S HANDBALL: INDIAVS CHINA 3:30 PM MEN’S 3X3 BASKETBALL: INDIA VS CHINA 5:20 PM Srihari Nataraj. File SWIMMING (ROUND 1 TO FINALS): SRIHARI NATARAJ, ARYAN NEHRA, KUSHAGRA RAWAT, NINA VENKATESH, VRITTI AGARWAL, ADVAIT PAGE, SAJAN PRAKASH, ANEESH GOWDA, 4X100 WOMEN’S MEDLEY (7:30 AM ONWARDS) GOLF (ROUND 2): ADITI ASHOK, AVANI PRASHANTH, PRANAVI URS (4:00 AM ONWARDS), ANIRBAN LAHIRI, SHUBHANKAR SHARMA, SHIV CHAWRASIA, KHALIN JOSHI (4:00 AM ONWARDS) CHESS: MEN’S AND WOMEN'S TEAM EVENTS BEGIN (ROUND 1 FROM 12:30 PM) at his best after contracting conjunctivitis a week before his competition. “Days before he was supposed to fly to Baku for the Worlds, he got eye flu and it was so bad both his eyes were bloodshot. He couldn’t practice and then when the camp started, he got unwell again and was recu- perating at the hostel. He was struggling to stand and shoot for 30 minutes the way he is used to,” Dilbaugh said. Overcoming tragedy Back then he was also mak- ing a comeback after his eldest brother died in an accident near their home in Faridabad. Dilbaugh had told this paper then, “A water tanker hit him while he was driving. All three of them (including sister Shikha) were in their camps at the Dr Karni Singh range. I didn’t tell them the en- tire day. The next day I called an official from India’s Paralympics team and told them to bring the children with him back home. Shikha and Manish cried for days when they found out. But Shiva was angry and inter- nalised it." SQUASH: MEDALS ASSURED Saurav Ghosal and Co, Joshna Chinappa and Co will be both be in semi- finals action, already assured medals by having reached this far. A spot in the final at stake. SQUASH (SEMIFINALS): WOMEN’S TEAM SEMIFINAL (8:30 AM ONWARDS), MEN'S TEAM SEMIFINALS (4 PM ONWARDS) Vol XCI- 276 Regd.No. DL-21046/03-05 R.N.I. No.506/1957 Printed and Published by R.C.Malhotra on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Limited and Printed at The Indian Express (P) Limited Press, A-8, Sector-7, Noida -201301 and Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd., Mauza-Daryapur, Police Station-Shahpur, Danapur District- Patna, Bihar-801503 and Published at The Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9 &10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002. Editorial office: The Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9810, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi- 110002. Phone: 0120-6651500. Advertising office: The Indian Express (P) Ltd.,Express Building, B1/B, Ramnath Goenka Marg, Sector 10, Noida-201301. Phone:01206651291. Chairman of the Board: Viveck Goenka, Chief Editor: Raj Kamal Jha, Editor: Unni Rajen Shanker, Editor (Delhi): Rakesh Sinha ** ** Responsible for selection of News under the PRB Act. Copyright: The Indian Express (P) Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. The Indian Express® epaper ARAB Neos con © THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 = TOPOFTHE _ WORLD Li Shangfu has been missing from public eye since August 29. CHINA Notaware, says Defence ministry amonth after Li went missing Beijing: AChinese Defence Ministry spokesperson said Thursday that he was “not aware of the situa- tion” in the ministry's first public comments on the disappearance of the de- fence minister from public about a month ago. Wu Qian, the director of min- istry's information office, said it was “not aware of the situation” when asked whether Li Shangfu is un- der probe and if he is still the defence minister. Li hasn’t been seen since giving a speech on August 29. He is the second sen- ior official to disappear this year. AP NORTH KOREA Constitution amended on nuclear policy Seoul: North Korea has adopted a constitutional amendment to enshrine its policy on nuclear force, state media reported Thursday, as its leader vowed to accelerate pro- duction of nuclear weapons to deter what he called US provocations. The The Supreme People's Assembly unanimously adopted the revision that states North Korea “devel- ops nuclear weapons to ensure” its “rights to exis- tence” and to “deter war”, state agency KCNA re- ported, after the conclusion Wednesday of a two day- meet of North’s rubber- stamp House. REUTERS FRANCE State faces action for police racial profiling Paris: France's highest ad- ministrative court will Friday consider its first class action against the state, alleging racial pro- filing by police. Six human rights organisations argue that the police systemati- cally discriminate, espe- cially against young Arab and Black men, when de- ciding who to stop on rou- tine patrols. If successful, they could open the way for similar broad legal challenges in a country where activism has tradi- tionally taken the form of direct protest, and where class actions only became possible in 2014 and re- main rare. REUTERS THAILAND Cops seize meth, heroin worth over $8 million Bangkok: Police in Thailand said Thursday they made one of coun- try’s biggest ever seizures of illicit drugs, a haul in- cluding methampheta- mine, crystal meth and heroin, with a total esti- mated value of about 300 million baht ($8.2 million). They were seized during a night raid on a house in Nakhon Pathom, west of Bangkok, in which four men were arrested for possession of illegal drugs. The seized drugs included 15 million methampheta- mine tablets, 443 wrapped packages of heroin, 420 kilograms of crystal meth. AP 19 THE WORLD At a sidewalk, near the medical center, after Dutch police arrested the suspect in Rotterdam. Reuters Student goes on a shooting spree in Rotterdam, kills two, arrested Gunman opened fire in university hospital, also set a house on fire after attack PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW THE HAGUE, SEPTEMBER 28 DUTCH POLICE said a gunman killed a teacher and a local woman after opening fire in a classroom at a university hospi- tal campus in Rotterdam and a nearby house on Thursday. The 32-year-old suspect, a university student, fatally shot a 39-year-old woman living in his neighbourhood and seriously in- jured her 14-year-old daughter, police said in a televised news conference. After setting the woman's house on fire, the gunman went to the Rotterdam Medical Centre university hospital, where he en- tered a classroom and fatally shot a 46-year-old teacher. The man was arrested near the hospital, where he also set a fire. His motive was unknown. "We have been shocked by a horrible incident. Shots were fired in two different places in the city. Many people witnessed it," Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said. "Emotions in the city are very high. My condo- lences go out to the victims." U.S. FDA RECEIVED 265 CASES Weight-loss drugs face scrutiny after reports of suicidal thoughts emerge ROBIN RESPAUT & CHAD TERHUNE SEPTEMBER 28 DAWN HEIDLEBAUGH felt trapped in a disturbing pattern while taking Ozempic, the popu- lar drug for diabetes and obesity. Each Sunday for more than a year, the 53-year-old Ohio real es- tate agent took her weekly injec- tion to help control her blood sugar. Then every Tuesday, she felt lethargic, depressed and some- times suicidal, thinking her hus- band and four children might be better off without her. These feel- ings would last a few days, and the cycle repeated every week — ex- cept when she skipped a dose. “I knew it was the drug,” said Heidlebaugh, who said she had not previously suffered from de- pression. Heidlebaugh is one of four US patients who told Reuters about experiencing suicidal thoughts while taking Novo Nordisk’s popular Ozempic drug, ap- proved to treat type 2 diabetes, or Wegovy, another Novo top- seller approved for weight loss. A fifth patient said he experi- enced depression and suicidal thoughts after taking Mounjaro, asimilar diabetes medicine from Eli Lilly, which is used for weight loss. All three drugs are GLP-1 re- ceptor agonists, which slow di- gestion and reduce hunger. The US Food and Drug Administration has received 265 reports of suicidal thoughts or be- havior in patients taking these or similar medicines since 2010, Reuters found in an examination of the agency's adverse-event database. Thirty-six of these re- ports describe a death by suicide or suspected suicide. Accounts of suicidal thoughts linked to this class of drugs are drawing scrutiny, including an investigation by European regu- lators announced in July. In astatement to Reuters, the FDA said it is evaluating such re- ports and will decide on what ac- tion to take after a review. Many beneficial drugs have rare and sometimes dangerous side effects that have to be care- fully assessed by regulators and managed by physicians, making clear warnings essential in such cases, said Thomas J. Moore, fac- ulty associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who has studied the incidence of rare psychiatric side effects. REUTERS Apolice personnel secures the area near medical center after the attack in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Reuters "The suspect was known to law enforcement and in 2021 he was prosecuted and convicted for animal abuse,” said Hugo Hillenaar, Rotterdam's chief prosecutor. Videos posted online showed police instructing students, some wearing medical gowns, to run outside as heavily armed ar- rest teams arrived at the scene. One video showed a man in handcuffs wearing what ap- peared to be camouflage pants. Police said there were no in- dications of a second shooter. REUTERS DEADLINE JUST HOURS AWAY WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM COURT HEARS PLEAS AGAINST LAW LIMITING REMOVAL NETANYAHU FACES A CHALLENGE Israel Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday against a law limit- ing conditions for removal of PM Benjamin Netanyahu from office, in latest crisis among government branches to grip the nation. REUTERS US Senate, House to MOIRA WARBURTON WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 28 THE US Senate and House on Thursday were due to push ahead with conflicting government funding plans, raising the chances of the fourth partial shutdown of federal government in a decade beginning in just three days. The Senate planned a proce- dural vote on a stopgap funding bill that has broad bipartisan support in the chamber, while the House of Representatives is set for late-night votes on four partisan appropriations bills that have no chance of becoming law and would not alone prevent a shutdown even if they did. Congress must pass legisla- tion that Democratic President Joe Biden can sign into law by midnight Saturday (0400 GMT on Sunday) to avoid furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and halting a wide range of services, from economic data releases to nutrition benefits, for the fourth time in the last decade. House Republicans, led by a faction of hardline conservatives inchamber they control by a221- 212 margin, have rejected spend- ing levels for year 2024 set ina deal Speaker Kevin McCarthy ne- gotiated with Biden in May. The agreement included $1.59 trillion in discretionary spending in fiscal 2024. House Republicans are demanding an- other $120 billion in cuts, plus tougher legislation that would stop the flow of immigrants at the US southern border with Mexico. Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh will cease to exist from January 1 FELIX LIGHT GORIS, SEPTEMBER 28 ETHNIC ARMENIANS in Nagorno- Karabakh said on Thursday they were dissolving the breakaway statelet they had defended for three decades, where more than half the population has fled since Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive last week. Ina statement, they said their self-declared Republic of Artsakh would "cease to exist" by January 1, in what amounted to a formal Ethnic Armenians flee 69,036 people had crossed into Armenia by Thursday morning, authorities said. capitulation to Azerbaijan. For Azerbaijan and its presi- dent, Ilham Aliyev, the outcome is a triumphant restoration of sov- ereignty over an area that is inter- nationally recognised as part ofits territory but whose ethnic Armenian majority won de facto independence in a war in 1990s. For Armenians, it is a defeat and a national tragedy. Armenia said that by Thursday morning, 65,036 people had crossed into its territory, out of an estimated population of 120,000. "Analysis of the situation shows that in the coming days there will be no Armenians leftin Nagorno-Karabakh," Interfax quoted Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan as saying. REUTERS Trudeau apologises after Canada House speaker hails Nazi veteran DAVID LJUNGGREN OTTAWA, SEPTEMBER 28 CANADIAN PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday formally apologised after the speaker of the House of Commons praised a Nazi veteran in the chamber while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was present. Trudeau also said Ottawa had already reached out to Kyiv and Zelenskyy through diplomatic channels to apologise. "On be- half of all of us in this House, I Reached out to Kyiv via diplomatic channels to apologise: Canada PM 4 would like to present unreserved apologies for what took place on Friday and to President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation for the position they were put in,” Trudeau told the House. Anthony Rota, who acknowl- edged veteran Yaroslav Hunka in the House last Friday and called him a hero, quit as speaker Tuesday and said he bore sole re- sponsibility. Hunka, 98, was a Ukrainian who served in one of Adolf Hitler's Waffen SS units during World War Two. "For all of us who were pres- ent to have unknowingly recog- nized this individual was a terri- ble mistake and a violation of the memory of those who suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime.” The Kremlin said the whole Canadian parliament should pub- licly condemn Nazism. REUTERS McCarthy is facing intense pressure from his caucus to achieve their goals. Reuters What is the stopgap @ measure? EXPLAINED THE SENATE'S stopgap funding measure would extend federal spending until Nov. 17, and author- izes roughly $6 billion each for domestic disas- ter response funding and aid to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia. The funding fight focuses ona small slice of the $6.4 trillion US budget for this fiscal year. Lawmakers are not considering cuts to popular benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare. McCarthy is facing pressure from his caucus to achieve goals. Several hardliners have threat- ened to oust McCarthy from lead- ership role ifhe passes a spending bill that requires any Democratic votes to pass. REUTERS hold procedural votes as shutdown looms E Republican US House opens its first Biden impeachment inquiry hearing MAKINI BRICE WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 28 The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives held its first hear- ing on Thursday in its impeach- ment inquiry against Democratic President Joe Biden, less than three days before the government will partially shut down without congressional action. The hearing is not expected to reveal new information about Biden's financial ties to his trou- bled son Hunter Biden, 53, who pursued international business ventures while struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. As the hearing got underway, Republicans leading the probe al- leged that Joe Biden had lied about family members’ business deal- ings and had not taken steps to wall them off from his duties when he served as vice president between 2009 and 2017. Republicans have yet to un- cover evidence after months of probe that have produced thou- sands of pages of financial records. Lawmakers were due to hear from a forensic accountant, a for- mer US Justice Department offi- cial and two professors. REUTERS At the launch event of Narwhal, Taiwan’s first domestically built submarine, in Kaohsiung on Thursday. Reuters Taiwan reveals its first locally built submarine as China threat grows WALID BERRAZEG & SARAH WU KAOHSIUNG, SEPTEMBER 28 TAIWAN UNVEILED its first do- mestically developed submarine on Thursday, a major step ina project aimed at strengthening the island's defence and deter- rence against the Chinese navy, though it won't enter service for another two years. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous submarine pro- gramme a key part of an ambi- tious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages al- most daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty. President Tsai Ing-wen, who initiated the plan when she took office in 2016, showed off the first of eight new submarines on Thursday in city of Kaohsiung. Tsai said the Narwhal will en- ter service in 2025, joining two existing submarines purchased from Netherlands in the 1980s. China's defence ministry, re- sponding at amonthly press brief- ing about the submarine and how it could prevent China surround- ingisland, said Taiwan was “over- rating itself and attempting some- thing impossible”. The indigenous programme has drawn on expertise and tech- nology from several countries — a breakthrough for diplomati- cally isolated Taiwan. REUTERS FROM THEATRE TO BIG SCREEN, HE DONNED MANY HATS; KNIGHTED IN 1998, HE CALLED IT A ‘NICE LITTLE PRESENT’ Michael Gambon, Harry Potter’s Dumbledore No. 2, dies at 82 REUTERS LONDON, SEPTEMBER 28 BRITISH-IRISH actor Michael Gambon, best known to global audiences for playing the wise professor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movie franchise and whose career was launched by his mentor Laurence Olivier, died aged 82 on Thursday. He died peacefully in hospi- tal, PA Media reported citing a family statement. Gambon began his acting on the stage in the early 1960s and later moved into TV and film. Notable film roles include a psy- PSS. COM chotic mob leader in Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover in 1989 and the elderly King George V in Tom Hooper's The King's Speech in 2010. But his best-known role was as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter franchise, a role he took over from the third instalment in the eight- movie series after he replaced the late Richard Harris in 2004. Gambon played down the praise for his performance and said he simply played himself "with a stuck-on beard and a long robe”. Michael John Gambon was born on October 19, 1940, in Dublin to a seamstress mother and an engineer father. The family a! ry i Yi j Jae! K why A ei bt os i a te we ee nt 4, a p! ` T 3 Ay i: iil r =| Q VA | —_ ot | Gambon retired from stage in 2015 after suffering memory problems but continued to act onscreen until 2019. File moved to Camden Town in London when Gambon was six as his family sought work. Gambon left school aged 15 to begin an engineering apprentice- ship and by 21 he was fully quali- fied. However, he was also a mem- ber of an amateur theatre group and always knew he would act, he told The Herald newspaper in 2004. He was inspired by American actors Marlon Brando and James Dean, who he believed reflected angst of teenage boys. In 1962 he auditioned for the great Shakespearean actor Olivier who made him one of the found- ing members of the National Theatre at the Old Vic, alongside young emerging greats like Derek Jacobi and Maggie Smith. Gambon built his reputation on the stage over the following years, making his name in partic- ular with 1980 portrayal of Galileo in John Dexter's Life of Galileo. The 1980s brought attention with the lead role in 1986 TV show The Singing Detective, in which he played a writer suffering from a skin condition whose imagination provided the only escape from his pain. The performance won him one of his four BAFTAs. Gambon was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1992 and knighted for services to drama in 1998, something he called "a nice little present”, al- though he did not use the title. Amischievous personality, he often made up stories. For years he showed fellow actors a signed photograph of Robert De Niro which he had inscribed himself before ever meeting the actor. He revealed in an episode of The Late Late Show in Ireland that he convinced his mother he was friends with the pope. Gambon retired from stage in 2015 after suffering memory problems but continued to act on- screen until 2019. He told an in- terviewer in 2002 that his work made him feel "the luckiest man in the world". REUTERS 20 E. INDIA'S HIGHEST FILM HONOUR, FOR A LEGEND OF BOLLYWOOD In Mumbai in December 2022, (from left) Asha Parekh, director Ramesh Sippy, Saira Banu, and Waheeda Rehman. PTI ARUSHIBHASKAR NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 VETERAN BOLLYWOOD actress Waheeda Rehman, 85, has been conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2021. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X (Twitter), “Her journey in Indian cin- ema has left an indelible mark. A beacon of talent, dedication and grace, she em- bodies the best of our cinematic heritage.” The Phalke award India’s highest recognition in the field of cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is given for “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema” by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (I&B) Directorate of Film Festivals. The award is named after Dhundiraj Govind Phalke( 1870-1944), affectionately called Dadasaheb. Phalke was a producer- director-screenwriter who has been re- ferred to as “the Father of Indian cinema”. His debut film Raja Harishchandra (1913) was India’s first full-length feature film. The award was instituted in 1969, with actress Devika Rani being the first recipient. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh. The winner of 2021 Born on February 3, 1938, Waheeda Rehman has been part of the Indian film industry since 1955, when she made her debut as a dancer in the Telugu social drama Rojulu Marayi. It is during the cel- ebrations of the film’s success that she met the legendary Guru Dutt, and subse- quently travelled to Bombay. She was cast in Raj Khosla’s CID(1956), in which she played the role of a “vamp” against matinee idol Dev Anand. The film became the highest-grosser of that year. Her next film Pyaasa (1957), directed by Guru Dutt and with him in the lead role, won her critical acclaim in her role as a courtesan. She would go on to become one of the most sought-after leading ladies of the 1950s and 60s, a period often referred to as the golden age of Hindi cinema. In 1971, she won the National Award for Best Actress for Reshma Aur Shera, di- rected by and co-starring Sunil Dutt. She won Filmfare Awards for Guide (1965) and Neel Kamal (1968). Among her other films are: Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Teesri Kasam (1966), Ram Aur Shyam (1967), Khamoshi (1969), and Kabhi Kabhie (1976). Past winners Some of India’s tallest film personal- ities have won the Phalke, including Prithviraj Kapoor (1971), Satyajit Ray (1984), Raj Kapoor (1987), Lata Mangeshkar (1989), Bhupen Hazarika (1992), Majrooh Sultanpuri (1993), Shivaji Ganesan (1996), Dev Anand (1992), K Balachander (2010), Amitabh Bachchan (2018), and Rajinikanth (2019). Asha Parekh won the award for 2020. ed BN D] CLIMATE MELTDOWN: SWISS GLACIERS LOST 10% OF VOLUME IN WORST 2 YEARS SWITZERLAND'S GLACIERS suffered their second worst melt rate this year after record 2022 losses, shrinking their over- all volume by 10 per cent in the last two years — as much ice in two years asin the three decades before 1990 — monitoring body GLAMOS said on Thursday. “This year was very problematic for glaciers because there was really little snow in winter, and the summer was very warm,” Matthias Huss, who leads Glacier Monitoring Switzerland (GLAMOS), told Reuters. More than half of the glaciers in the Alps YOUR GO-TO INSTITUTE FOR GENERAL STUDIES PREPARATION Prelims cum Mains 10 Months JAN 2024 Prelims cum Mains 2 Years Ath NOV 2023 are in Switzerland, where temperatures are rising by around twice the global average due to climate change. This year, low win- ter snowfall combined witha longer sum- mer melt season dealt heavy losses. In the peak melt month of August, the Swiss weather service said the elevation at which precipitation freezes hit a new record overnight high, measured at 5,289 meters (17,350 ft), an altitude higher than Mont Blanc’s summit. Swiss records go back to at least 1960 and as far back as 1914 for some glaciers. REUTERS (72) VAJIRAM & RAVI Institute for IAS Examination Optionals 5 Months OCTOBER 2023 4%, 080-6220-6330 www.vajiramandravi.com THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 EXPLAINED @ieExplained #ExpressExplained WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that you would like explained, please write to explained@indianexpress.com Maldives elections and India As President Solih, seen as friendly to India, faces a tough re-election and the pro-China Opposition fuels an ‘India-Out’ campaign, New Delhi is watching the strategically important Indian Ocean country closely SHUBHAJIT ROY MALDIVES GOES to runoff polls this Saturday, after no candidate secured more than 50% of votes in the first round on September 9. The electoral system of the Maldives is sim- ilar to France's, where the winner has to secure more than 50% of votes. If no one crosses the mark in the first round, in the second round, the top two candidates go head to head. In the first round, President Ibrahim Moh- amed Solih of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) got 39% of the vote; the Opposition al- liance candidate Mohamed Muizzu got 46%. The first round had eight candidates — the highest so far. Maldives has a population of only 5.2 lakh, with 2.8 lakh eligible voters, ac- cording to the Election Commission. History, from Naseer to Solih Maldives has followed a system of Exe- cutive Presidency since 1968. It had a single- party system till 2008, and the President was elected for five years through a referendum. The first executive President, Ibrahim Na- seer, was in power from 1968 to 1978. After protests erupted in 1978, he did not contest for a third term, and Parliament chose Maumoon Abdul Gayoom President. Gayoom ruled for 30 years till 2008, famously defeating a coup attempt with India’s help in 1988. Amid protests by various groups, Gayoom undertook political reforms in 2004. Political parties were registered in 2005 and a new Constitution adopted in 2008. That charted the path towards Presidential elections every five years with a multi-party system. Since 2008, no incumbent President has been re-elected. In the last elections in 2018, Solih defeated the incumbent Abdulla Yameen. Maldives’ Presidents and India India’s experience with Maldives politics has been a mixed bag, with Solih’s govern- ment being the most favourable so far. India worked with Abdul Gayoom closely for three decades. When Mohamed Nasheed came to power in 2008, then Vice President Hamid Ansari attended his oath-taking cere- mony, signalling New Delhi's support. While initially there was bonhomie be- tween India and Nasheed, he soon began courting China. The Maldives government cancelled the GMR contract for the Maldives airport in 2012, a major setback to ties. After Yameen came to power in 2013, he courted China much more aggressively. Under him, Maldives joined President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. When India and Western lenders were un- willing to offer loans to Yameen’s administra- tion due to allegations of human rights viola- tions, Beijing offered him money without conditions. So, when Solih won the 2018 elections, New Delhi heaved a sigh of relief. Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Maldives to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Over the past five years, the relationship has strengthened, and India has reached out to Maldives on various occasions — from pro- viding vaccines to building infrastructure to helping with debt relief assistance. Aid, trade, and pushback According to Indian officials, India’s swift dispatch of 30,000 doses of measles vaccine in January 2020, and the rapid and compre- hensive assistance during the Covid-19 pan- demic, has reinforced India’s credentials of being Maldives’ “first responder”. In the past, India was the first to assist Maldives during the 2004 tsunami as well as the water crisis in Malé in December 2014. India’s recent projects in Maldives include water and sanitation on 34 islands, roads and land reclamation under the Addu develop- Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2022. Tashi Tobgyal (Above) Muizzu, the challenger. X/@MMuizzu ment project, a cancer hospital, a port proj- ect, a cricket stadium, two airport develop- ment projects, the Greater Malé connectivity project with bridges, causeways and roads, social housing projects, renovation of a mosque, building the national college for po- lice, among others. Estimates suggest that be- tween 2018 to 2022, Indian aid was over Rs 1,100 crore, more than double the previous five year-term (about Rs 500 crore). Trade between the two countries was about Rs 50 crore last year, of which India exported commodities worth Rs 49.5 crore — from daily essentials including rice, spices, fruits, vegeta- bles and poultry produce to medicines and ce- ment. India imports primarily scrap metals, and is exploring seafood products. Maldives’ proximity to the west coast of India and its position at the hub of commercial sea lanes running through the Indian Ocean imbues it with strategic importance for India. As aconsequence, the defence ties between India and Maldives have grown, especially since the 26/11 attacks, for coastal surveillance and maritime cooperation. India has trained over 1,500 Maldivian defence and security per- sonnelin the last 10 years, meeting around 70% of their defence training requirements. India has also gifted two helicopters in 2010 and 2013 and one small aircraft in 2020. This has led to claims of Indian military per- sonnel being stationed in Maldives to oper- ate and maintain the aircraft, though Delhi has said the planes are for search and rescue missions and medical evacuations. “While India’s role as a development part- ner has been appreciated by many, a large section of Maldivians, particularly the youth, are getting attracted to the ‘India Out’ move- ment propagated by the [Opposition] Progressive Alliance. As a result, India is an agenda in this year’s election campaign,” Gulbin Sultana of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, wrote earlier this month. How this election stands The current political landscape has Solih facing a challenger in the Progressive Allia- nce’s candidate Mohamed Muizzu. Muizzu, who was the Mayor of Malé, emerged as a consensus candidate of the coalition after for- mer president Abdulla Yameen was barred from contesting elections following his con- viction in a money laundering case. But Solih’s other challenge has been de- sertions from the ruling alliance — most prominently of former president Nasheed, who fell out with Solih. Muizzu is being seen as a proxy of Yameen. And his statements have given India plenty of reasons to worry. He has threatened to terminate agreements with foreign coun- tries and expel foreign companies if they are not beneficial to Maldives and its people — all thinly-veiled references to India. He has said the withdrawal of Indian troops from Maldives will begin from the first day of his government, through the “beauti- ful principles of diplomacy”. He has hailed Yameen for the Chinese- funded projects. “President Yameen’s govern- ment maintained very close relations with China. That is in the best interest of this coun- try. That country did not cross our boundaries. They did not meddle with our freedom,” Muizzu has said. Solih, although he won praise for his han- dling of Covid-19, is battling anti-incum- bency. His campaign has focussed on the achievements of his government. One of the concerns about this election in Maldives has been the low turnout — 79% in the first round, “the least since its democratic transition in 2008, when previous elections in 2008, 2013, and 2018 had a turnout of 86%, 87%, and 89 % respectively,” Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy, Associate Fellow with ORF’s Strategic Studies Programme, said. New Delhi is watching the polls with keen interest as Solih trails in the first round. Much will depend on whom the smaller parties support, including Nasheed’s The Democrats. Interestingly, in the first round, Nasheed’s party got 7% — the gap between Solih and Muizzu was seven points. Jewar is DXN: How do airports get codes? ARJUN SENGUPTA NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 THE UPCOMING Noida International Airport (NIA) in Jewar has been awarded the unique international code ‘DXN’ by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). NIA CEO Christoph Schnellmann said ‘DXN’ signifies Delhi-Noida and its connectiv- ity tothe world through this airport. “The D in DXN signifies Delhi, and N stands for Noida, which shows our presence in the Western UP area. X, we think, signifies connectivity within India and the world,” he said on Wednesday. Phase 1 of the airport, 65 km from Botanical Garden, Noida, is proposed to open by the end of 2024 with one terminal and a 3.9-km-long North Runway. The airport will initially havea capacity of 12 million passengers annually. What are airport codes? Anairport code is a unique identifier that is assigned to each airport. While most people are familiar only with the codes assigned by b ar Mihi Binanon dept #NiAunveiilsDXN Noida International Airport CEO Schnellmann and COO Jain in Greater Noida on Wednesday. PTI IATA, a Montreal-based international aviation trade association, each airport actually has two unique codes — the other is assigned by In- ternational Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an arm of the UN. Both are used to accurately identify airports, but in different contexts. The three-digit IATA codes are used for pas- senger facing operations — on tickets, boarding passes, signages, etc. The four-digit codes as- signed by the ICAO are used by industry profes- sionals such as pilots, air traffic controllers, planners, etc. For instance, for Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, the IATA code is DEL whereas the ICAO code is VIDP. Airport coding began in the 1930s, in the very early days of commercial aviation. At the time, airlines and pilots typically chose their own two letter codes to identify destinations. However, by the 1940s, as the number of air- ports grew exponentially, a system of three letter codes was devised (allowing for a far higher number of combinations) and even- tually standardised in the 1960s by the IATA. “This is one of our major milestones as an airport operator, the identity of our airport. The code is for infinity, it’s not going to change (as long as the airport remains),” said Kiran Jain, Chief Operating Officer, NIA. How does IATA assign airport codes? While many airport codes intuitively make sense (like DEL for Delhi or BOM for Mumbai, previously Bombay), others seem to be more random (like [XR for Ranchi). This is what de- termines the IATA code for any airport: E How the airport wishes to identify itself. Airport authorities lobby for a code that they deem meaningful in some way. City names, airport names, and location names are some common bases for codes. E Availability of said code. The codes are meaningful only because they are unique; no two airports can have the same IATA code. This is one of the reasons why Ranchi airport is not RAN (taken by Ravenna, Italy). E Certain common conventions, which de- pend on the country. The other reason why Ranchi airport is IXR is a convention followed in India where military airports extended for civilian traffic are assigned codes beginning with ‘IX’. So, Agartala airportis IXA, Chandigarh airport is IXC, and Leh airport is IXL. Similarly, in Canada, all airport codes be- gin with ‘Y’ — Toronto has YYZ, Vancouver YVR, and so on. In the US, all codes starting with N are reserved for the US Navy. The assignment of these codes is gov- erned by IATA Resolution 763 and are pub- lished twice each year in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. India in JP Morgan bond index, economy set to get dollar inflow boost (GEORGE MATHEW 6 HITESH VYAS JPMORGAN Chase & Colast week became the first global index provider to include Indian government bonds in its emerging markets index (GBI-EM), setting the stage for billions of dollars ofinflows into the Indian economy. Other global investment majors are said to be ina watch-and-wait mode to bring India into their investment index baskets. Views are divided on when the expected dollar inflows might start. However, there is unanimity that a surge in flows will bol- ster India’s fiscal and balance of payments dynamics. Higher inflows could also help keep the rupee strong, but could have an impact on retail inflation. How will India’s local bonds be included in the JP Morgan debt index? The inclusion of eligible bonds in the index will be staggered over a 10-month period from June 28, 2024 through March 31, 2025. Global investors allocate funds to vari- ous countries depending on their weigh- tage in leading indices. JP Morgan GBI-EM is a widely tracked debt index — and analysts estimate this inclusion could result in in- flows of around $25-30 billion into the gov- ernment securities market. In a note, Goldman Sachs said foreign funds may start flowing into the country “immediately”. “Given that several EM (emerging market) dedicated funds are al- ready set up on India, we think the flows will be front-loaded, beginning immediately, as investors pre-position for inclusion next year,” the note said. Are more index inclusions on the way? “With the exclusion of Russia and the troubles in China, global debt investors now have fewer options. Hopefully rating agen- cies will respect investors’ viewpoint, and give up their moody and poor standards,” Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, said. FTSE Russell, another major index provider, has Indian bonds on index watch for inclusion in its emerging market gauge. The FTSE Emerging Markets Government Bond Index-Capped (EM GBI- Capped) oversaw total funds (AUM) of $1,477 billion at the end of August, making it more than six times bigger than JP Morgan Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets Global Diversified (JPM GBI-EM GD). Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Econo- mic Adviser, State Bank of India, said choosing JPM GBI-EM could be a “deliberate move on the part of the government and RBI to ensure future developments have a natural progres- sion, evolving and maturing organically to mitigate possible points of friction”. In a note, IDFC First Bank said India’s chances of inclusion in the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index has risen after the inclusion in the JP Morgan EM bond index. “In case India is included in the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index, it could result in inflows of $15 billion to $ 20 billion with India’s weight ranging from 0.6 per cent to 0.8 per cent,” the note said. What will be the impact of this development? INTEREST RATES: E X P L A l N E D Analysts say high inflows could "MONEY put downward pressure onin- terest rates. The foreign de- mand for government bonds will push down yields, which in turn, will ease pressure on interest rates in the financial sys- tem. This will happen much earlier than June 2024. CORPORATES & MARKETS: Most cor- porate bond yields are benchmarked to yields on government bonds. “Therefore, yields will decline pan India, across indus- tries. The decline in the cost of capital will translate into higher profits for the corpo- rate sector, which in turn, will boost stock DBE E prices...” V KVijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said. RUPEE: Higher inflows will likely keep the rupee strong, but put pressure on retail inflation. However, the RBI has various in- struments to keep the rupee stable and maintain the liquidity position at a comfort- able level. Strong inflows have the potential to push up retail inflation. MACRO: Foreign exchange reserves are expected to get a boost in 2024 and 2025. Positive sentiments around the JP Morgan index inclusion could lead to some inflows in the remainder of FY23 as well. With cur- rent account deficit (CAD) expected in the range of 1.5-1.6% of GDP, these flows will help to augment India’s balance of payments (BoP) surplus. This is important because India’s CAD in FY25 is expected to reach 2% of GDP amidst a pickup in global and domes- tic growth, and higher commodity prices, according to a Bank of Baroda report. Are there any major concerns? A heavy flow of foreign debt comes with its macro-prudential risks. There is a risk of retail inflation rising; besides, foreign port- folio investment flows tend to be volatile and highly dependent on exogenous fac- tors. “In the case of any adverse external shock, investors tend to move away from riskier markets like India, which can lead to acapital flight. This will leave India’s finan- cial markets prone to heightened volatility. Both bond markets and the domestic cur- rency will be impacted,” the BoB report cau- tioned. The sudden exit of foreign investors can also impact the stock markets, leading to losses for investors. Historically, there have been a few in- stances wherein capital outflows have re- sulted in a rapid depreciation of the rupee. In short, inclusion in such indices makes the country susceptible to higher financial sector volatility. This would require robust monitoring and intervention by the RBI and government. As such, RBI will have its task cut out to ensure stability in the financial markets and prevent spillovers from finan- cial markets in the real economy, the BoB report said. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 EXPRESS NETWORK 2} External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, Thursday. AP Jaishankar meets US NSA, talks progress in bilateral relations LALIT K JHA WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 28 EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and US Trade Representative Katherine Tie and discussed the progress in bi- lateral relations, including the trade and economic cooperation and ways to take it forward. Jaishankar, who arrived here from New York on Wednesday after addressing the 78th General Assembly session of the United Nations on Tuesday, will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken later in the day. "Began my Washington DC visit with a meeting with NSA @JakeSullivan46. Recognised the tremendous progress in our bi- lateral relationship this year and discussed taking it forward," Jaishankar said in a post on X. The White House was not immediately available for com- ments on the meeting. Jaishankar also met the US Trade Representative Tie and discussed the growing economic ties between Washington and New Delhi. The minister also engaged with think tanks here and held an "open and productive" con- versation, discussing India's ex- panding role in the global world. "An open and productive conversation with Think Tanks in Washington DC this morning. Discussed transformations un- derway around the world and India's growing role," he said. Jaishankar will meet Blinken at the Foggy Bottom headquar- ters of the State Department later in the day. This is the highest-level meeting between the two coun- tries after the recently concluded G-20 summit in New Delhi and amidst the India-Canada diplo- matic row. PTI RE-EMPLOYMENT, ARREAR TO STAFF SC allows SpiceJet to seek modification in HC order INVESTORS SUMMIT Uttarakhand inks deals worth Rs 3,000 crore Dehradun: Investment MoUs worth Rs 3,000 crore were 20-yr-old dies by suicide in Kota Jaipur: A 20-year-old student al- legedly died by suicide in Kota on Wednesday. The exact reason behind his action is not yet clear, said officials on Thursday. According to the police, the student's body was discovered tified as Mohammad Tanveer Khan. He is a native of Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj and was livingin Kota with his father and sister...The student was upset at this as the family is facing finan- cial difficulties,” sub-inspector EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 THE SUPREME Court has allowed SpiceJet to approach the Bombay High Court to seek modification in the HCorder asking it to provide employment/wages to workers whose services it allegedly termi- nated, after the airline reasoned that its operations had been sig- nificantly affected by the Covid- 19 pandemic. The airline’s stand is that these employees were on “fixed-term contracts” and their employment came to an end on expiry of the contract period. A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and K V Viswanathan, which heard the appeal filed by SpiceJet challeng- ing the May 3, 2023 order of the HC, noted that the documents re- lating to the period of service put in by the employees and the ones on reduction in number of flight operations, be brought to the no- tice of the HC. “,..atthe first instance, it is im- perative on petitioners to bring all those documents to the notice of the High Court and seek modifi- cation of the order impugned. In view of above facts, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners seeks permission to withdraw this Special Leave Petition with liberty to approach the High Court seeking modifica- tion of the order impugned,” the bench said in September 22 order. By its order dated January 10, 2022, the Central Government Industrial Tribunal-2 (CGIT-2), Mumbai, had directed SpiceJet to WEST BENGAL SCHOOL JOBS CASE ED summons TMC MP Abhishek, his parents || SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 28 THEENFORCEMENT Directorate (ED) has summoned Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and his par- ents — Amit Banerjee and Lata Banerjee — for questioning in connection with its probe into the school jobs scam in West Bengal. Abhishek, the Diamond Harbour MP, said that he had been asked to appear by the cen- tral agency on October 3, the day he was scheduled to participate inthe TMC's protest in New Delhi Ina first, Kerala Cabinet led by CM on month-long yatra to talk of govt schemes SHAJU PHILIP THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPTEMBER 28 THE KERALA Cabinet led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is about to take aleaf out of the playbook of non-Communist parties and launch a yatra across Kerala, to spread the word on the Left gov- ernment's developmental initia- tives, interacting with a cross-sec- tion of society and personalities. The month-long tour, named “Nava Kerala Sadas (New Kerala Assembly)”, organised by the state government, will begin from the state's north on November 18. While parties are known to undertake such state-wide tours in Kerala, itis the first time an en- tire Cabinet is slated to move from one Assembly constituency to another over the period of a month. The official tour, which will include party conventions, is aimed at gathering feedback from the people on the progress in key areas the CPI(M)-led LDF Governor nod to Gujarat Common varsities Bill EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, SEPTEMBER 28 GOVERNOR ACHARYA Devvrat Thursday assented to the Gujarat Public Universities Bill 2023, which was passed by the Assembly amid opposition from the Congress on September 16. Sources in the government re- vealed that the Governor has signed the Bill on Thursday and the same has been communi- cated to the education depart- ment. However, the department is yet to receive the file. The Opposition Congress had opposed the Bill both inside and outside the Assembly citing curb- ing of autonomy of the 11 state universities that have been brought under the common Act along with an attempt of "sarkarikaran" (governmentalisa- tion) of education in the state. From the oldest Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in Vadodara and Gujarat University Ahmedabad to recent Bhakt Kavi Narsinh Mehta University Junagadh and Shri Govind Guru University Godhra formed in 2015, the Act brings under its purview 11 universities. A major bone of contention has been the replacement of all elected bodies with a board of management at the universities. The board will become the prin- cipal executive and final decision- making of the universities. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan government has made over the last seven years, plus popularis- ing its representatives. Addressing the media on Wednesday, CM Vijayan said the government has made several strides towards creating a new Kerala. Slamming the programme, senior Congress legislator and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) V D Satheesan called Nava Kerala Sadas a government-sponsored poll campaign. “The LDF should conduct the election campaign at its own cost. The CPI(M) has no right to squander taxpayers’ money on a poll campaign. This is meant for an overhaul of the state government. The UDF will boycott the programme,” he said. Earlier this year, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan had car- ried outa similar Kerala yatra, the “Janakeeya Prathirodha Jatha (People’s Defence Journey)”, cov- ering all 140 Assembly con- stituencies in the state. Govindan’s yatra was geared at sensitising people against central policies of the BJP government that are "detrimental" to the state, besides exposing the Sangh Parivar's "communal agenda”. As a precursor to the Cabinet's state tour, the CM is conducting a regional review of all projects and flagship schemes. The first such review was done in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday; the second will be held in Thrissur on Friday. In addition, the government will showcase its achievements in a seven-day- long extravaganza titled, “Keraleeyam 23”, in the first week of November at Thiruvananthapuram. Abhishek Banerjee against the BJP governmentat the Centre over alleged non-transfer of central funds to the state. This is the first time that his parents Amit Banerjee and Lata Banerjee, directors in Leaps and Bounds, the company which is under the ED’s scanner in the re- cruitment case, have been sum- moned in the case. provide employment to over 350 of these former employees. The HC modified this and di- rected the airline to provide em- ployment or back wages to 60 employees as undertaken by the operator earlier and work and back wages to those of the re- maining who had not yet resigned and were willing to work. The SLP filed against this through Advocate Nupur Kumar said the courts below had “erro- neously failed to consider that the case of all the employees seeking permanence of employment can- not be similarly placed. . .as all em- ployees...had not putin an equal number of years of service”. The plea pointed out that of the total 371 employees, only 26 had put in service of five years or more while 120 had resigned. The agency, which is probing the money-laundering angle in the alleged irregularities in the appointment of staff in govern- ment schools, had questioned Abhishek at its Kolkata office for nearly nine hours on September 13, the day the TMCleader was to attend the coordination meeting of the Opposition's INDIA bloc al- liance in the national capital. Hitting out at the BJP govern- ment at the Centre over the lat- est summons, the MP wrote on X, “Earlier the ED summoned me on a day coinciding with an important coordinating meet- ing of #INDIA in Delhi. I dutifully X SUSPENDS ACCOUNT Bengaluru doctor barred from posting messages against ‘Himalaya Wellness’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE BENGALURU, SEPTEMBER 28 ACIVIL court in Bengaluru issued a temporary injunction against a Bengaluru-based doctor and ra- tionalist Cyriac Aby Philips, bar- ring him from communicating messages on his social media han- dle or publishing against products of Himalaya Wellness Company. The court ordered social media service X Corp (formerly Twitter) to block the handle of Dr Phillips. The civil court passed the or- der on September 23 after the Himalaya Wellness Company ap- proached the court stating that posts and messages by Dr Philips onalternative medicine products by the company were damaging sales and benefiting competitors. “In the facts and circum- stances issue ad interim ex parte temporary injunction order re- straining Defendant No.1 from tweeting, making or publishing, re-tweeting and re-publishing defamatory remarks against the plaintiff company and /or the products of the plaintiff company till next date of hearing,” the civil court said while posting the case for hearing on January 5, 2024. X Corp has suspended the ac- count of Dr Philips since the September 23 order. The Himalaya Wellness Company has accused Dr Philips of "posting derogatory statements and materials against the prod- ucts" of the company leading to the substantial reduction of busi- ness. It has alleged that the social media messages of the doctor are intended to push products of pharma firms Cipla and Alchem. The courtruled that an urgent injunction has to be issued in the matter without serving notices to the defendants to state their case. KUVEMPU UNIVERSITY State University Recognised by UGC, Accredited by NAAC with 'A' Grade Ranked 86 by NIRF, ‘3rd Rank’ in KSURF Ranking-2020 DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION Jnana Sahyadri, Shankaraghatta-577 451, Shivamogga Dist., Karnataka Ph: 08282-256450, Email: admissions.kuolp@gmail.com No. KU/DDE-PS/2023-24/ Admission Notification for Online Education PG & UG Programmes (Courses) These Programmes are UGC entitled Programmes as per provision 3(B)(a) of UGC (Open and Distance Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations, 2020. UGC Notification No.F.No. 39-2/2023 (DEB-I), 7th July 2023 M.A. (04 Semesters) M.Com. (04 Semesters ) Date: 22-09-2023 e Kannada e English e Economics e Political Science e Sociology « History and Archeology M.Sc. Mathematics (04 Semesters) | UG Programmes (3 years duration / 06 Semesters) | B.A. (in 9 combinations of 3 optionals each), B.Com., B.B.A. Last date for Admissions : 30-09-2023 All admission registrations are through online only Visit Website Click the link-DDE Online Program July-2023 Session at www.kuvempu.ac.in OR www.kuvempu.ac.in/eng/DistanceWeb/index.php e Perspective Learners (Candidates) across the Country and Abroad can take admission to Kuvempu University Online Programmes. è Programmes listed above will be offered subject to the minimum admissions requirement - 50 students per Programme. In case a course is cancelled, candidates can consider any other programme for which they are eligible; otherwise their fee will be refunded. For more details logon to website: www.kuvempu.ac.in Sd/- REGISTRAR Navalkishor Sharma on Thursday. ENS signed with two companies on Thursday, the third day of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s visit to Britain, during a meeting organised for the Global Investors Summit in London. Dhami is in the UK to attract investments for the in- vestors summit scheduled in Uttarakhand in December. on Wednesday afternoon. “The student has been iden- qera ara aari Reor eq aides amaa (mfe) ma fem. ear were, aaa vee eer geri eee 4 sh eal While meetings continued] | 773 Pashemaa, mama + ma ye mi m fain aie effec go e i ay era with several global investors ,| | ai= $g ws @firtwa shifty @efefeer Shi wart tq antes siR fea ort 2) gags an MoU worth Rs 2,000 crore} | gef fete saoo à Pate 11102009 qat ao wA ae well wes ier ee, was signed with Agar Technology and another qari eee 6 fees (betes) ete anbea we aad 2) feat wie 21 SH 7 worth Rs 1,000 crore with Fira Barcelona. Agar Technology has agreed to invest in lithium battery plants in Uttarakhand. Fira Barcelona is a presti- gious group in Europe that deals in convention center and events management. ENS ated & art 4 aa are fier — afer eh ag E i oo | ds mame | ode |) ee ao] die) | l epee wrt a aa iff wedi FPA ao uiia sey + a) lza ale mimea dyn ad} ome if rear, wall et) šan avi ae Uf BETO TAT? ma deaa ahii Se (e m) iadi cami Hyaa g uima al 3 Hee asa a) wha sel wear wee sere ser aera Ft feo ails Stee oe A mire wy ape E j Bree aie m et gl Tay ga a] Wl a arpa ina aiia y agan wa w in af appeared and complied with the summons...today yet again they have served me another summon to appear...when the agitation for West Bengal's rightful dues is scheduled in Delhi on 3rd Oct...” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also criticised the BJP for allegedly targeting Banerjee. Reacting to the TMC's allega- tions, BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “He (Abhishek) wouldn't have reacted this way if he had nothing to hide. Every time he is called... he moves the court..There is something wrong here.” Regional Office Samastipur : Panchvati Complex, Mohanpur Road, Samastipur (Bihar)-848101 afaterat das (fJ) Union Bank | POSSESSION NOTICE pit he i m fy jee eed ah a arene Ga Gem eee, eh eee el a wed Fi tel fire uel a sper an Pa 11 aiaa ce in ae often an oe ell mle | Git) ot gif a wean et amt 4 eee a al ow ite @ oe oF ei nee Woo mi aaa ooo wd ee a e ee, ee eee Spee ol Haale le eel anion ml el eee oe) plein (ale ie, all sie were, awe el, ee ee oe ey oe gearing) @ eae ep oe ae ble) Awa ey alge i hd on ee rine a ee Ue eee el, ea ae ss a pe oe ahd ef wien a ad at aed a fea mer eaten gre we oo ae fe arent | Viele ape a me of oat) eo an ag var enor 2) ali Geel at fen viene ia mi yl ape qe apt | wemrerreyyel weet vitem eee 21482/HAY war, ere of indit (For immovable property) | Whereas: |The undersigned belng the authorised officer of Union Bank of India, under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of (Financial Assets and Enforcement Security Interest Act, 2002 and in exercise of powers conferred under Section 13(12) read with rule 3 of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002 issued a demand notice calling upon the following borrowers and guarantors to repay the amount mentioned in the notice and as stated below, The borrower/quarantor having failed to repay the amount, notice is hereby given to the Borrowenguarantor and the public in general that the [undersigned has taken possession of the property described herein below in exercise of powers conferred on himlher lunder Section 13/4) ofthe said Act read with rule dof the said rules, The borrower guarantor Im particular and the public in general is hereby cautioned not to deal with the property and lany dealings with the property will be subject to the charge of the Union Bank of India, for an amount mentioned as stated below and interest thereon. The borrowers attention is invited to provisions of sub-section (3) of section 13 of the Act, in respect of time available, ta redeem the secured assets | Name of the Borrower Name of the Mortgagor Guarantor 1.Borrower: Mis Sriman Srimatl (Jhanjharpur RS), Propoetor- Sanjay Kumar Ray, Situated at Jhanjharpur RS Bazar Near ICICI Bank Bahat, Jhanjharpur, Madhubani, Bihar-&47403 2. Borrower: Sanjay Kumar Ray, Sia Mahadev Prasad Ray, (Prop of Mis Sriman Srimati (Jhanjharpur RSJ) Rio-Ward No. 6, Pathrahi Tol Behat,Jhanjharpur RS , Madhubani, Bihar- B47d03 3.Guarantor Manoj Kumar , Sio- Baidyanath Yadav, Rio-Ward No. 4 vill Motanjay Post Thengaha, Darbhanga, Bihar-847405 | Place : Madhubani ngs 1. Amount of Demand Description of Notice the Secured Assets 2. Date of Demand Land & building inthe name of Mr|_ Notice Sanjay Kumar S/o-Late Mahadev 2- Date of Possession Prasad situated at Mauza Behati 1, Rs. 11,13,302.3T I- Parathi Tola Thana-Lakhnaur, Jhanjharpur, District- Madhubani, = saa Bihar bearing land detail as under:-L— : Thana No. 238, Tauzi Mo. 6424, Khata No, 283, Khesra No.- 4429 4430 (old) 9569 9570 (New), Area 12 Dhur. Boundry: N- Yadubir and Uday, $- Subendra Jha, Sebak, E- Anil Singh, W-Fulendra Jha | Branch Hame Jhanjharpur Branch Authorised officer Ear to SE: a Atal Medical & Research University, H.P. E (A State Govt. University) (SLBS Govt. Medical College & Hospital Campus, Ner Chowk, Mandi, H.P.) www.amruhp.ac.in, WhatsApp No.94591-39364, Phone No. 01905-243967 Admission Notice Counselling and Admission for MD/MS Ayurved courses for Academic Year 2023-2024 Online applications are invited from interested candidates who have qualified AIAPGET 2023, for counseling and admission in MD/MS Ayurved courses for academic year 2023-24, of Govt./private Ayurved colleges situated in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Interested candidates can apply online through https://erpamruhp.in/ from 29th September 2023 (Friday) to 4th October 2023. For details, please visit Atal Medical & Research University, HP website www.amruhp.ac.in and for enquiry contact on WhatsApp No. 9459139364 and Email Id amruhelpdesk.ayush@gmail.com aa Controller of Examinations GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER, PWD (ROADS) ASSAM, CHANDMARI, GUWAHATI-3 No-CE/STBR/MMPNA/08/2022-23/1 PRESS NOTICE INVITING TENDER The Chief Engineer, PWD, (Roads), Assam, Chandmari, Ghy-3 on behalf of the Governor of Assa invites Bids online for Roads & Bridge projects in Tamulpur, Borkhola, Katigorah, Lakhipur, Silchar, Sonai, Udarbond, Sonari, Mangoldoi, Dhubri, Gauripur, Golokgonj, Goalpara West, Jaleswar, Khumtai, Algapur, Hailakandi, Katlicherra, Jamunamukh, Jorhat, Boko, Dispur, Ratabari, Jagiroad, Lahorighat, Batadrava, Nagaon, Borchola, Patacharkuchi, Barama, Baghbor, Abhayapuri South, Bijni, Sidli, Sipajhar, Bilasipara West, Nahorkatia, Haflong, Kamalpur, West Guwahati, Bokajan, Badarpur, Karimganj West, Karimganj South, Patharkandi & Nazira LACS of Assam from eligible registered Contractors for 117 (one hundred seventeen) Nos. of Repair/Rehabilitation of Steel BUG Bridges unde Mukhya Mantrir Path Nabikaran Achani (MMPNA) for 2023-24 for an amount of Rs. 2714.39 Lakhs (approx). Details may be seen at website http://assamtenders.gov.in and also at the office of the undersigned (State Bridge Design Branch) during office hours. Note: 1. The Scheme is not yet being sanctioned from competent authority. In the event of non-sanction of the Scheme, the bids may be cancelled and no claim what so ever on this account shall be entertained fro the bidders. 2. The approximate N.I.T. Value is inclusive of GST, L.C. etc. Chief Engineer, PWD (Roads) Assam, Chandmari, Guwahati-3. Janasanyog/CF/2883/23/29-SEP-23 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 22, CALENDAR OEE (ORD aE DAY TODAY BY PETER VIDAL —— - j ITKNOW! AD SPIDERS ARE IT'S MY 5 HOW DO Y A f WEIRD, EIGHT LEGS... BIOLOGICAL i THINK, 7 Tat ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23) THEY SEW OUT GF THEIR IMPERATIVE! f MAKES M Although financial There will indeed be BUTTS... THEIR FAVORITE i IT’S NOT YOU, i FEEL? schemes may seem some pressure to MEAL IS THEIR MATE... Af | i, | F ee to stagnate, today’s make positive nl HD i A APPARENTLY... stars are relatively career changes, but BUTIM NI i AUNGR YE lively andtheendoftheweek you'll be able to rely on y DI ANYTHING RIGHT! WE Go TO ALL You CANT TRUST A GIRL To Do THIS. TRQVELE To WRE SUSIE INTO Mey eur atterson AS SOON AS I FIND OUT WHERE SHE iS, (LL GET HOBBES AND THE WATER iF SHE WONT COME | T THE AMBVSH, WELL BRING THE FIVE... Four... | TIREE.. TWO. j} brings a steadily increasing pace. Friends and partners may put demands on your time, and everyone will potential, are becoming ever more complex. Busy times lie ahead and routine chores will therefore mount up. Social introductions should be interesting, and you may fall powerful planetary influences to push you in the right direction. Status may be more important than monetary benefit from a touch of your rewards right now. ; distinctive humour. Ai SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 23) ae TAURUS (Apr 21 - May 21) As a Scorpio you are Your business and by nature deeply financial activities, motivated by your | whether real or beliefs. Partners will be impressed if you share your profound insights and ideas, and keep them up to date with your plans for the future. The weekend’s arguments could focus on money - and who owes whom what. acho DOWN PA TRAP, AND SHE DOESNT SHOW UP? BNI me on LET {| AMBUSH To HER. under someone’s spell. SAcervAinits (Nev 34 Dee 2) f at i i! ARIUS (Nov 24 - Dec ee AUBIN Temun otoicaia) GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Even though it may , 2 Why anote goes astray Romantic affairs be out of character, 4 Interrupt one’s rest (5) in transit (2,3,3) still figure strongly plotting ways to 7 As far as could be from the 3 Lie in an open sort of in your calculations, earn more money Mount of Olives (4) way (6) although today’s has become one of your 8 He has a burning desire to destroy (8) 4 Kind of loaf some prefer to make toast? (5,5) influences in this respect may catch you by surprise. Unfortunately, partners who favourite activities, even if your ideas seldom move beyond the planning stage. 10 A blow thatis 5 It’s a bad thing to be l ; . 3 envy your success may be in If you’re spending cash sustained (6,4) overthrown (4) i a fault-finding mood. You today, gadgets to help with 12 Disgraced bogus 6 Cut the top off drawings of may have to play the martyr, a healthier lifestyle could journalist (6) boats (7) just to placate them. be a good buy. 13 First impressions of a 9 Groundless rumour that photographer (6) there’s unemployment? (4,6) y lOmaAr mstron g CANCER (June 22 - July 23) | CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) , Partners who are in Even if you're ina 15 One match should last hima 11 Command a slave to serve an argumentative secretive mood lifetime (10) one first (8) mood will be out today, as | y, as long as 18 Pedestrian way of choosing 12 Meetings that raise the STOP TRYING TO MAKE ` of step today. If the Moonis candidates (8) spirits (7) FETCH HAPPEN. IT’S NOT anyone in your vicinity is aligned with romantic and 19 A travel pass is required in 14 Make a spring comeback (6 H upset then be quick to cheer creative sectors, social and Virginia (a) 16 see ee ichas (6) : = | : GOING TO HAPPE N them up, settling disputes romantic opportunities 20 Fight to getrid of been adapted (5) i f į E if and freeing the way for abound and you'll appreciate something (5) i [3 RE J | everyone to move on to considerate and loving 8 17 Othello was said i i more constructive avenues. behaviour from partners. 21 They transmit power in to be so securein | Once you are sure of your Take the lead and show how genes perhaps (7) Venice (4) | j next step, please seek support generous you can be now 3 from partners. that you’re so much Solutions Crossword 5168 Across: 1 Good weather, 9 Outpost, 10 Ariel, 11 Pine, 12 i more experienced. Riparian, 14 Ringer, 16 Athene, 18 Mainland, 19 Bent, 22 Noose, 23 Tension, 24 Fell f LEO (July 24 - Aug 23) . through Down: 2 Often, 3 Drop, 4 Entail, 5 Tea party, 6 Edifice, 7 Compartment, 8 F Professional issues AQUARIUS (Jan 21- Feb 19) Clandestine, 13 Well well, 15 Noisome, 17 Snatch, 20 Eking, 21 Undo g are brought into Mercury’s N) focus by a series of relationship with planets aligned the foundation of with your tenth and sixth solar your horoscope houses, especially if you are in means that changes in the J U M B LE D W e) R DS the habit of overworking and home may require more Difficulty Level 1s tiring yourself out. Take iteasy thought, although you'll Instructions if you want to make the most probably be impatient with Given below are four jumbled words. Solve the jumbles to make proper words and move them to To solve a Sudoku puzzle, . : . the respective squares below. Select the letters in the shaded squares and jumble them to get igi of posve and daring anybody who stands in P PA AM q J g Te) every digit from 1 to 9 romantic trends. your way. the answer for the given quip. ree) must appear in each of the The day whichwe___is but the birthday of eternity. - Lucius Annaeus aa nine vertical columns, in VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23) PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20) SOPTA LEENA Ww each of the nine horizontal ae e A epee k GALEA ANULST a = Baa O aene he O) relationship with (X) enjoyable day and i i x nine boxes. Venus and Jupiter you will be tempted = in suitably ambitious sectors by diversions and distractions. of your solar chart creates The time for improvements WAORR EEFFSU =) Difficulty Level brilliant and idealistic to your home environment is Hmmm EE | V) 1s = Very easy; 2s = Easy; possibilities today. It is up still with you, so press on 3s = Medium; 4s = Hard: to you to set the pace and regardless. In love, give 5s = Very Hard: turn events to your own partners the first choice, and do edauas snaeuUY snpn]- b- Caie unique advantage. your best to fulfil their wishes. ‘AMUI Jo Aepyy.tiq əy} Mq S1 JS] INO se ILIZ ƏM YPYM Aep ƏY L -lamsuy ISNA ‘NVIINS ‘MONAY “AVOTV :NOILNTOS MoU— ONGC AWARD - GOA SHIPYARD LTD ONGC inked MoU with NTPC Green Energy Ltd. to realize its NM Wagh, PRO, Renewable energy objectives towards energy transition on 27 Sept. GSL honoured with 2023. The MoU will primarily explore the feasibility & setting up of Renewable Energy Projects in various domains. The MoU envisages collaboration of the two mega entities in Renewable Power Projects in India & Overseas through offshore wind projects. PRCI "Promising PR Person of the Year" Award during the Chanakya Award Ceremony at Public Relation Council of India's 17th Global Communication Conclave: “Building Trust Digitally” at Delhi. Jual Oram, MP & Chairman, of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence & Vinod Zutshi, Former Secy. of Tourism, E2 YA os | presented the award in the presence of of MB Jayaram, PRCI Chief ati a f as Mentor & Chairman Emeritus, Ms Geetha Shankar, National President, eT PRCI, & Dr T Vinay Kumar, Secy., GC, PRCI, Rajesh Sahgal, Conclave Chairman, PRCI & a large number of PR, Corporate Communication & ANNUAL GENERAL BODY MEETING —NAFED a Media Professionals. A very seasoned PR Professional Nikhil Wagh The 66th Annual General Body Meeting of the NAFED took place in New Delhi at the NCUI Auditorium, Hauz has completed Master of Arts in Mass Communication & Journalism, Khas. Approximately 558 delegates representing various Member societies and state federations, such as Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication & Journalism. RAJFED, MARKFED-Punjab, BISCOMAUN- Bihar, BUNKUS, Delhi State Co-op Federation, & Ahilya Co- os operative Society Federation, graced the event with their presence. In his welcome address, Dr Bijender Singh, Chairman NAFED thanked PM Modi, Union Minister for Home & Cooperation, Amit Shah, Union Minister of Agriculture, Narendra Singh Tomar, & senior officers of the Ministry of Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Department of Consumer Affairs for their continued guidance & support to NAFED over the yrs & also for the faith & trust placed in the abilities of the Federation. CSR— INDIANOIL Ms. Sukla Mistry, Director (Refineries), IndianOil, presented a water canon-fitted vehicle for rescue operations to National Zoological Park, New Delhi under CSR as part of the World Rhino Day celebrations observed on Sept. 22, 2023. The vehicle shall play a crucial role in rescue-related functions within the premises & help avoid any man- animal conflict in a manner which is safefor animals. FOUNDATION DAY—RAILTEL RailTel commemorated its 24th Foundation Day at the Airforce Audi- torium,New Delhi. Smt. Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairman & CEO of the Railway Board, Shobhan Chaudhary, GM/NRs, Arun Saxena, Advisor to M/o Railways, Sanjai Kumar CMD, V. Rama Manohara Rao, Dir. Manoj Tandon, Dir. POM, YS Tomar, Dir. NPM, Dr. Chandramani Sharma, CVO & other senior officials from RailTel, Railways, different Ministries were present on the occasion. pe Gut mie he | ANNUAL REPORT—THDCIL THDCIL presented its Annual Report for the FY 22-23, marking a yr of exceptional success & transformative progress. RK Vishnoi CMD, THDCIL while addressing informed that, during the FY 22-23, we achieved a { cumulative energy generation of 4,935.48 (MU),marking Fa 3 the highest level of output in the past nine financial yrs. VISIT — DMRC kai Pa A bunch of youngsters who bravely fought Cancer visited the Delhi Metro l tnan Museum. As part of the Childhood Cancer Awareness month in Sept., these enterprising boys & girls enacted a play at the Metro Museum to raise awareness about the disease. DMRC in association with the NGO Cankids. Kidscan organised the event. DMRC's MD, Dr. Vikas Kumar kindly graced the occasion & interacted with these 'warriors'. The event was aptly named ‘Udaan' to symbolise their unwavering fight to stand against the odds. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING- IRFC The 36th AGM of the Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd. was held under the chairmanship of Smt. Shelly Verma, CMD (Additional Charge) & Director (Finance) of the company. While addressing the AGM, Smt. | Shelly Verma said: “IRFC reported a strong financial performance during | the yr under review, with all-time high revenue & profits. The net profit of IRFC for FY23 stood at Rs.6,337.01 cr, an increase of 4.06% against Rs.6,089.84 cr inthe last fiscal.” Smt. Verma further informed that the total revenue from operations grew by 17.70%, year-on-year, amounting to Rs. 23,891.28 cr against Rs.20,298.27 cr in the last fiscal year. EVENT — NBCC CM of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik inaugurated NBCC built Ra- venshaw Uiversity in Cuttak . The event was also attended by Bhartruhari Mahtab, MP Cuttak, Ranendra Pratap Swain MLA, Athagarh, Souvic Biswal, MLA, Chandra Sarathi Behera, MLA, Sadarother, MLA & senior officers of District Administration, Raneshaw University & NBCC were also present. ye le | mn ‘Lia a INDIA TAKES THE HELM: G20 2023 PRESIDENCY STEERS TOWARD A GLOBAL FUTURE OF PROGRESS—TIA MATHUR As India assumed the presidency of the G20 in 2023 — the eighteenth meeting of the Group of Twenty — the world looked to the most populous democracy, an emerging economic powerhouse & a potential global superpower, with high expectations, hope and anticipation. The significance of India’s leadership in this global forum cannot be overstated, as it is not only the first G20 summit to be held in India but also came at a critical juncture in history when the world is grappling with multifaceted challenges spanning climate change to escalating geopolitical tensions. Chaired by the visionary leader of the most populous nation, the Indian PM, Narendra Modi & centered on the motto, “Vasudhaiva Kut- umbakam”, India’s presidency began on 1 December 2022 and will continue until 30 November 2023; wherein India’s leadership in the G20 reflects the country’s growing economic and geopolitical influence on the world stage. With a population of over 1.3 billion and a thriving economy, India has become a key player in the global arena. Its presidency provides an opportunity to shape global policies through a human-centric development approach, foster economic growth with a focus on women-led development, and address pressing issues such as climate change, debt restructuring, and regulation of global cryptocurrencies. Amidst the pressing challenges facing the world, India’s G20 presidency holds immense significance due to the country’s economic stature and global influence, placing it in a leadership position to drive positive change and foster international cooperation for making meaningful strides toward a more equitable and sustainable future. In this digital age of evolving connectivity and global awareness, the assumption of India’s presidency in the G20 for the year 2023 not only marks a pivotal moment for the world but resonates profoundly with the millennial generation. As the younger demographic of India Spreads its wings, aspirations soar, and pride for the nation amplifies, the impact of this momentous responsibility cannot be underestimated. The influence of India’s G20 leadership on the collective dreams & ambitions of young teenagers carries a promise of shaping a future where global cooperation and sustainable growth take centre stage, inspiring a generation to dream bigger & reach higher. For Indian millennials, the recent G20 summit hosted by India holds notable implications. Despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, India orchestrated a successful G20 summit, enhancing its global standing. The extensive negotiations and diverse discussions over the two-day event showcased India’s diplomatic prowess. On the global stage, the G20 declaration tactfully balanced interests. IRCTC On its 24 th Foundation Day on 27 th September which was also coinciding with the World Tourism Day, IRCTC is offering a slew of attractive offers to the customers to book air tickets with it. Customers can avail this offer by booking their tickets through IRCTC’s air ticketing portal www.irctc.co.in as well as IRCTC Air mobile app. Along with Zero Convenience Fees, IRCTC has also launched other offers on this occasion with discounts up to Rs. 2000/- on air tickets on card transactions of different banks. With the festive season shortly beginning from October onwards, customers can now avail these special offers from IRCTC by booking their air tickets for their planned vacations and the New Year which is less than 100 ca ave AGREEMENT — ONGC wy. SEE sah 7 TF ONGC has inked the Crude Oil Sales Agreement with : : Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. which is the largest single-location PSU refinery in the country. The agreement has been signed by the two entities for the sale and purchase of crude oil. ED Marketing ONGC S Kumar & Chandermani GGM (Impex and Shipping) MRPL signed the agreement. MoU — REC REC signed an MoU with PNB on Tuesday to jointly explore the possibility to fund the Power Sector & Infrastructure & Logistics Sector projects under the consortium arrangement. T.S.C Bosh, ED (Infra & Logistics), REC & Rajeeva, CGM (Corp. Credit Division), PNB signed the MoU in the presence of Ajoy Cho- udhary, Dir., REC; VK Singh, Director, Projects, REC. PFCw would like to share the new hte from the Asia Transition Finance Study Group, where PFC has been a core member since July, 2023. The ATF Study Group, a private-led initiative whose core participants are Financial Institutions with operations in Asia, has published a report to help Asian economies achieve a just and orderly transition toward a more sustainable future. The ATF Study Group was set up in 2021 in recognition of the important role that transition finance (TF) will play in helping Asian economies move toward net-zero emissions and the challenges they will face. In 2022, the ATF Study Group published the ATF Guidelines to provide TF practitioners with practical guides to assess transition projects and the ATF SG Activity Report to share the challenges and suggested support measures to accelerate TF in Asia. These outcomes were introduced at Asian Green Growth Partnership Ministerial Meetings (AGGPM) in Sept. 2022. CONCLAVE— PRSI The 17th Global Communication Conclave, organized by the Public Relations Council of India, in association with the Public Relations Society Delhi, successfully unfolded recently. The inaugural ceremony witnessed an illustrious gathering of industry leaders & dignitaries, including Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, former Minister of Minority Affairs, & KC Tyagi, Ex-Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. epaper gi gipnegp == con THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 23 ECONOMY SENSEX: 65,508.32 W 610.37 (0.26%) NIFTY: 19,523.55 ‘W 192.90 (0.98%) NIKKEI: 31,872.52 W 499.38 HANG SENG: 17,373.03 V 238.84 FTSE: 7,601.85 A 8.63 DAX: 15,323.50 A 106.05 Ready to bring 28% GST on e-gaming from Oct 1, says Centre; all states yet to pass laws AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 WITH ALL states yet to pass legal amendments for the 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on face value at entry level for on- line gaming, casinos and horse racing, a senior government offi- cial Thursday said the Union government is fully prepared to implement the amended legal provisions from October 1. Asked if the move could get delayed given that not all states have passed the required amendments, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal declined to comment. On recent show-cause no- tices being sent to the online gaming companies, he said those are being sent as per legal provisions. He declined to put a number on the tax amount for which notices could be sent to the companies, which some es- timates have pegged to be E GST Council on July 11 decided on 28% tax on full face value for online gaming, casinos and horse racing. E After some states and industry raised concerns, the council decided to levy the tax on face value at entry level. around Rs 1 lakh crore. On GST, Agarwal said: “We are fully prepared to bring it into effect from October 1. As per the decision in the last meeting of the GST Council, related notifi- cations are under process. It is necessary for all states to pass the (required) law or bring out an ordinance. Every state needs to give approval because all states’ laws will need to bring in the required provisions... those (states) who are left will have to Tackling tax evasion & counterfeiting key to safeguarding economic stability: CBIC chief AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 STATING THAT the challenge of il- licit trade looms larger than before, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) chief Sanjay Kumar Agarwal Thursday said tacklingissues such as counterfeit products, smuggling and tax eva- sion is fundamental to safeguard- ing India’s economic stability. At the release of a report by industry body FICCI — ‘Hidden Streams: Linkages Between Illicit Markets, Financial Flows, Organised Crime and Terrorism’ — Agarwal said these issues have “socioeconomic implications and undermine national security”. “The recent decisions in suc- cessive GST Council meetings to make suitable changes in return filing are in that direction only so that the menace of fake ITC (in- put tax credit) can be cut. This will meet the long standing de- mand of trade and industry, es- pecially sectors like iron, steel, which are impacted by fake ITC to a large extent,” he said. Agarwal said the solution to deal with fake ITC generation is complex and the department has received various suggestions regarding rates. “It is being dis- Drugs Non-renewable resource crimes Flora and faunacrimes Arms trafficking Human trafficking/smuggling Overall illegal economy Organised Crime Index 2021 INDIA’S ILLEGAL ECONOMY Global avg score lM India score Source: FICCI report ‘Hidden streams: Linkages between illicit markets, financial flows, organized crime and terrorism’, TARI Research; Global cussed. It’s not just iron and steel but other sectors also,” he said, adding that the GST Council's re- cent decision on the return filing and registration process would help in solving the problem of fake ITC and fake businesses. Thereport by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce &Industry) estimated the score of illegal economy in India at 6.3, which is higher than the average score of 5 of other 122 countries. The report stated that although there are fewer criminal actors, they are widespread and engage in a variety of unlawful activities, including drug and human traf- ficking and the illegal trade in wildlife products, mainly due to the efficacy of criminal networks in India, which has enabled them to generate substantial illicit finan- cial flows despite small numbers. The presence of significant il- legal markets in India increases the country's vulnerability to ter- rorism and criminal activities, it said. “The relationship between the profits generated from the drug trade and the establish- ment of assets within Punjab serves as a reminder of the finan- cial motivation driving such il- licit enterprises,” it said. FULL REPORT ON Wwww.indianexpress.com STATES KEY TO IMPLENTING DECISION E With the new provisions supposed to be implemented from Oct 1, states are required to give their approval by passing amendments or ordinances. E So far, around a dozen states are learnt to have passed these amendments. complete the exercise,” he said. The GST Council is slated to meet on October 7. It is expected to take an update on the rollout of the online gaming provisions across States, along with likely rate proposals for milled health drinks and insurance products. On the recent tax notices, Agarwal said: “Showcause no- tices are going as per legal provi- sion. ..the government has taken a uniform stand in terms of in- terpretation of law and accord- ingly notices have been issued.” On the tax amount overdue, he said: “It is difficult to say as there are many companies and in that case data is being col- lected. Wherever data has been received, the department has is- sued showcause notice.” Agarwal, who was speaking on the sidelines of an event by in- dustry body FICCI, said any re- quired notification for the rollout of the last meeting’s decision for GST on online gaming would be fulfilled. “This decision was taken inthe GST council meeting thatit will come into effect from October 1. So if there's any re- quirement for it (notifications and rules), all those will be fulfilled,” he said, adding that a review will be taken six months after imple- mentation and the difficulties will be looked at that time. The GST Councilin its meeting on July 11 had decided to levy a uniform 28 per cent tax on full face value for online gaming, casi- nos and horse racing. However, af- ter concerns raised by some states, the Council in its 51st meeting on August 2 had decided to levy 28 per cent tax at face value at entry level. The Council gave some re- lief by deciding not to impose the tax levy on the amount entered into games/bets out of winnings of previous games/bets in online money gaming or on total value of each bet placed, as would be the case in casinos. Last month, the Centre passed the required legal amendments in the Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) laws in the Parliament to give effect to the Council’s deci- sion. States are also required to make the corresponding legal changes in their State GST laws to bring it into effect. So far, close to a dozen states are learnt to have passed the required amendments or ordinances. Some states, like Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, have passed ordinances. Karnataka is reported to have deferred its de- cision to approve the ordinance to the next Cabinet meeting Housing sales in seven cities touch a record Robust demand and a stable mortgage rate drove a 66% rise in quarterly housing sales across seven major cities to arecord high, as per realty consultant Anar 11% ~~! Annual increase in housing prices Of total sales were from Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune UNITS SOLD (JUL-SEPT) 2022 2023 88,230 1,20,280 (66% rise) HOUSING SALES IN MAJORCITIES Delhi-NCR 2022 pee 15,865 2023 ga 14970 (6% rise) Mumbai Metropolitan Region 2022 pees 26,400 2023 Gees 38,500 (46% rise) Bengaluru 2022 oo 12,690 (29% rise) E Jul-Sept2022 E Jul-Sept 2023 Hyderabad 2022 pee 11,650 2023 m 16,375 (41%rise) Chennai 2022 5 3,490 2023 5m aA (42% rise) Pune 2022 mem 14,080 2023 cz | 22,885 (63% rise) Kolkata 2022 we 4,950 2023m © 5,320 (7% rise) @ Sales momentum is at least partially attributable to the repo rate pause maintained by the RBI in the 2 recent monetary policies, said Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri @ This has kept home loan interest rates stable, keeping housing purchase sentiment high, he said. CAD in QI narrows from last year but widens sequentially ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 28 INDIA’S CURRENT account deficit (CAD) narrowed to $9.2 billion (1.1 per cent of GDP) in the first quarter (April-June) of 2023-24 from $17.9 billion (2.1 per cent of GDP) in the same pe- riod last year. But it was higher than the $1.3 billion (0.2 per cent of GDP) in the preceding quarter. A deficit in the current ac- count indicates that a country’s imports (including goods, serv- ices and investments) are greater than its is exports. The widening of CAD ona quarter-on-quarter basis was primarily on account of higher trade deficit coupled with a lower surplus in net services and decline in private transfer re- Ministry finalising policy on civic waste use in road building: Gadkari PRESS TRUST OF INDIA NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 UNION ROAD Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said his ministry is fi- nalising a policy on the use of mu- nicipal waste in road construction. Addressing a press confer- ence, Gadkari further said the government is considering offer- ing incentives to construction equipment manufacturers for not using fossil fuels. "We are finalising the policy for using municipal waste in road construction,” he said. Gadkari said his ministry has formulated a draft policy that will promote use of alternative fuel in construction equipment to reduce cost and dependence on fossil fuels. The road ministry is in talks Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari with MoS V K Singh in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI with the finance ministry for ap- proval, he said. "Incentives like interest sub- vention scheme can be worked out so that concessionaires or contractors can invest in con- struction equipment running on alternate fuels instead of fossil fuels,” the minister said. Gadkari said his ministry has taken several initiatives to decar- bonise the transport sector. EXTERNAL DEBT AT $629.1 BILLION Mumbai: India’s external debt was placed at $629.1 bil- lion as of June 2023, record- ing an increase of $4.7 billion over its level at end-March 2023. The external debt to GDP ratio declined to 18.6 per cent at end-June 2023 from 18.8 per cent at end- March 2023, RBI said. ENS ceipts, the Reserve Bank of India said Thursday. “Current account deficit is expected to rise on-quarter in the first quarter of FY24 as mer- chandise trade deficit has widened again and the services trade surplus has moderated a tad,” said Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist, CRISIL Ltd. Madhavi Arora, Lead Economist at Emkay Global Financial Services, said the sec- ond quarter of FY24 will see a substantial widening of CAD led by sequential worsening of trade balance, led by higher oil and core imports, and slowing serv- ices exports. All of this will im- ply that the Q2 CAD/GDP ratio could be more than double of Q1 FY24, ranging from 2.4-2.6 per cent, Arora said. The central bank said net services receipts decreased se- quentially, primarily owing to a decline in exports of computer, travel and business services. But these receipts remained higher on a year-on-year (y-0-y) basis, RBI said. FULL REPORT ON www.indianexpress.com © %8950 a USD RATE A ł83.19 Ana LD W OIL © $93.17 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM © 3100 Note: Gold, silver rates at Delhi spot market, gold per 10g, silver per 1 kg; Crude oil (Indian basket) as of September 26 NOMURA REPORT OMCs incurring under-recoveries of over ł7/litre on petrol, diesel sales SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 THE RISE in international crude oil prices and petrol and diesel margins over the past few weeks has pushed into the red the mar- keting margins of public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs), which are estimated to be incurring under-recoveries of Rs 7.4 per litre on sales of the two fuels, according to a recent re- port by Nomura. According to industry insid- ers, high under-recoveries, in ef- fect, dash the hopes of a cut in petrol and diesel prices, at least for the time being. Under-recoveries refer to the difference between the retail price and the international price of the fuel. As per the pricing methodology followed by the OMCs, petrol and diesel prices should be revised every day based on the 15-day rolling aver- age of international benchmark prices. However, the companies have not revised prices since early April of last year, when global crude oil and fuel prices had surged in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Blended marketing margins declined to -INR 4.7/litre in the week ended 24 September 2023 from -INR 2.9/litre in the previ- ous week, with the OMCs now recording under-recoveries of INR 7.4/litre on the sale of auto fuels. Blended marketing mar- gins have now declined sharply 80% q-q (quarter-on-quarter) to below normative levels of INR 2/litre in 2Q FY24-TD (July- September quarter till date), as crude prices and products spreads increased, while retail product prices remained un- changed,” Nomura said in a re- port earlier this week. After incurring heavy under- recoveries for much of last year, the OMCs were trying to recoup their accumulated losses from 2022-23 (FY23) in the current fi- nancial year. There were indica- tions from the government and the OMCs that they could revert to daily price revisions soon as most of their last year’s accumu- lated losses had been recouped. Till a few weeks back, there was anticipation that petrol and diesel prices could soon see acut. However, with international oil prices and fuel spreads, or margins, having risen substan- tially leading to under-recover- ies again, the resumption of daily price revisions in line with global rates and reduction in fuel prices may only be a distant possibility. Insucha scenario, a fuel price cut can only be achieved if the gov- ernment cuts taxes on the petrol and diesel, like it did on two occa- sions over the past couple of years, or the OMCs — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) — decide to bear deeper losses at the gov- ernment’s behest. Itis worth noting that the re- cent Rs 200-per-cylinder cut in cooking gas prices is, at least for now, being absorbed by the OMCs. The government has so far not said in clear terms if at all it plans to foot the bill for the cook- ing gas price cut by compensat- ing the OMCs at a later date. FULL REPORT ON Www.indianexpress.com International market data till 1900 IST Oil spoils market mood; VIX rises 11% ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 28 BENCHMARK INDICES ended lower on Thursday as rising crude oil prices and weaker global cues dampened the mar- ket mood. The market was dragged down by declines in IT, technology, fast moving con- sumer goods, consumer durables and automobile stocks. The BSE declined over 610 points, about 0.92%, to close at 65,508.32, while the NSE fell about 193 points, about 0.98%, to end the day at 19,523.55. S&P BSE Information Technology index fell 1.84% fol- lowed by S&P BSE FMCG index, which fell 1.74%. S&P BSE Teck, S&P BSE Consumer Durables and S&P BSE Auto indices declined 1.49%, 1.29% and 1.24%, respec- tively on Thursday. The fall resulted in investor wealth declining by %2.95 trillion to%316.7 trillion during the session. Ambareesh Baliga, independ- ent market analyst, said that along with higher oil prices and weak global cues, the hawkish stance of US Federal Reserve, where there are fears of a rate hike at the end of 2023, contin- ues to worry investors. This will have a negative impact as more institutional money will flow out. “Nifty has good support at 19,500-19,600. If the market cracks from there, then one will see a sharper correction of about 750-1,000 points on the Nifty,” said Baliga, adding that this band is being closely watched. The fall in Sensex was largely due to fall in IT stocks. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty 50 Volatility Index (VIX), which is a gauge of expected volatility over the course of the next 30 days, rose 11% — the most since March 13, according to Bloomberg. FE Brent hits $97 amid supply worries REUTERS HOUSTON, SEPTEMBER 28 OIL PRICES surged 3% on Wednesday to the highest settle- ment in 2023, after a steep drop in US crude stocks compounded worries of tight global supplies. Brent crude futures closed up $2.59, or 2.8%, at $96.55. It breached $97 a barrel during the session. Ashwin Dani, ex-Asian -— BRIEFLY Paints chairman, dies ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 28 ASHWIN DANI, the former chair- man and non-executive director of Asian Paints, has died, the com- pany said Thursday. He was 79. Associated with the com- pany since 1968, Dani was a strong force in driving it to tech- nological excellence. Dani joined the company’s board in 1970. He was its vice-chairman and man- aging director from 1998 to 2009. After 2009, he was non- executive director and vice chair- man. Between 2018 and 2021, US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) climbed $3.29, or 3.6%, to $93.68. The ses- sion high was over $94. US crude stocks fell by 2.2 million barrels last week to 416.3 million barrels, government data showed, far exceeding the 320,000-barrel drop analysts ex- pected in a Reuters poll. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub, delivery point for US crude futures, fell by Ashwin Danii. File he held the position of chairman. “.Ashwin Dani, Non- Executive Director of the com- pany, left for heavenly abode to- day, on account of brief illness,” the company said. PE, VC firms cash in on market rally Offers for sale by firms in last five years much higher than fresh issuances ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28 OFFERS FOR sale by private eq- uity (PE) and venture capital (VC) firms have been significantly higher than fresh issuances of capital between 2018 and 2023. Sales by PEs and VCs amounted to around $26 billion compared with about $10.4 billion worth of capital issuances, according to an analysis by Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE). In 2023 so far, PEs and VCs have sold stock worth more than %25,000 crore. Moreover, sales of their hold- ings by promoters at 787,000 crore or about $10 bn, has been the highest in the past six years. Ofthis the promoters of the Adani Group sold shares worth 737,000 crore or about 40% of the total promoter selling in 2023. Among the sectors that have seen the 499 317 2018 2019 (*calender year to date) 2020 bulkof the selling so far in the cur- rent year are automobiles and components, capital goods, elec- tric utilities, IT services and trans- portation. Companies in the in- surance and IT services sectors accounted for a large portion of promoter selling over 2018-23. “The sell-down is quite con- centrated in the case of pro- moter sales but broad-based across sectors in the case of PE | $10 BN OF STAKE SOLD Promoter stake sale in NSE-500 stocks (in $ bn) 874 (calender year-ends, 2018-23) Source: Prime Database, Kotak Institutional Equities *2023 2021 2022 investors,” the analysts wrote in anote. They observed that while the selling by promoters largely reflects strategic compulsions such as debt management, the selling by PE players reflects tac- tical or price considerations. PE and VC players have made exits via the initial public offer- ing (IPO) route and also sold share in block deals in the sec- ondary market. The exits have accelerated in the current year, thanks to a strong rally in the markets. A good appetite from both foreign and domestic insti- tutional investors as also retail investors has helped them sell stake or pare holdings. “Domestic investors have ab- sorbed the bulk of the sell- downs,” the analysts said. As a result of promoter sell- downs, the promoter holding in the BSE-200 Index has fallen to 48.8% in the June quarter (for which the data is available) from 50.3% in the December, 2022 quarter. The combined holding of domestic investors has increased by 90 basis points to 23.5% at the end of the June quarter. The hold- ing of foreign portfolio investors has increased by a modest 26 bps to 21.7% over the same period, while the holding of others (AIFs, PMS fall under this category) has increased 31 bps to 6%. FE 943,000 barrels in the week to just under 22 million barrels, the low- est since July 2022, data showed. “The market is being led up by storage numbers as we are getting to the minimum opera- tional inventories at Cushing,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. Stockpiles at Cushing have been falling closer to historic low levels due to strong refining and export demand. ICICI Lombard gets %1,/28 cr GST notice Mumbai: The Directorate General of GST Intelligence has served a 1,728 crore notice on ICICI Lombard General Insurance for non-pay- ment of tax in certain supplies between July 2017 and March 2022. The insurance sector is pushing for a reduction in GST on health policies to bring more people under the insurance umbrella. There’s speculation that the GST Council is likely to reduce the GST on health policies from 18 per cent. The company said the no- tice refers to matters re- lating to industry-wide is- sues, adding that it will file an appropriate re- sponse within the pre- scribed timelines. ENS Mubadala in talks for stake in Manipal Mumbai: Mubadala is in talks to acquire less than 10% in Manipal Hospitals, in what could be the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund’s first investment in Indian healthcare. It is holding talks with Temasek, which spent $2 billion in April to raise its stake in Manipal to 59% from 18% in the biggest hospital deal in India. The talks are at the same April valuation of $5 billion. REUTERS ———— WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 24 CLASSIFIEDS & TENDERS Classifieds Itis for general information that |,Basruddin Khan,S/o Sattar Ahmed, residing at,H.No. C- 20,Defence Colony, Bhopura, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad,U.P.- 201005,declare that name of mine has been Wrongly written as Bashruddin in my sonnamely Vakil Khan in his Marksheet.The actual name of mineis Basruddin Khan,which may be amended accordingly. 0040691331-10 Singh,R/o H.No.113,Block No.- K5,Mohan Garden, Uttam- Nagar,Delhi,inform that Butta given name Singh Surname, for all Purposes. 0040691331-6 | Arun Kumar Jha,S/o-Navkant Jha R/o-Plot No.11, Gali No.12A,Janta Enclave, Prem Nagar-3, Kirari,Shivam Model Public School,Delhi-110086 inform that my name Wrongly- Written in My-Son(Shivam Kumar) School-Record as Arun Kumar instead of Arun Kumar Jha. 0040691283-1 Narender Kumar Madan R/o C- 88, First Floor, Shakti Nagar Extension, Near Kali Mandir, Ashok Vihar Phase-3, Delhi- 110052 have changed my name from Meenakshi to Meenakshi Madan for all purposes. 0040691280-1 Pugthala,Pogthala(124) Sonipat,Haryana-131102 have changed my name to Nishu Sharma and shall hereafter known as Nishu Sharma 0040691338-1 tami sto Shrict Bhan R/o, A-38/2, Yadav Nagar Samaypur, Delhi-110042, have changed my daughter’s name from Akeera to Arshi for all future purposes 0040691293-1 I], Ankit Sumitkumar Shrivastava S/o Shri Sumit Kumar Virenderkumar Shrivastava R/o 466, Sector-3, Shakti Nagar, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh-462024 declare that Ankit Sumitkumar Shrivastava and Ankit Shrivastava are both names of one and same person. That, | shall be known as Ankit Sumitkumar Shrivastava for all future purposes. 0040691292-1 1, Devender Kumar @ Devender Arora S/o Jagdish Chand R/o- 12/44, Subhash Nagar, Delhi- 110027 have changed my name to Devender 0040691371-1 Singh R/o-403/5, Govindpuri, Kalkaji,New Delhi-110019, Confirm that in my Daughter School Record her name has been wrongly written-as Pari Solanki instead of Kiara Solanki. Correct name of my Daughter in Kiara Solanki. 0040691310-2 I, Kamal Kumar Sharma S/o MF. S.M.Sharma R/o House No-G 181, Gamma-2 Greater Noida G.B.nagar Have Changed my Name From Kamal Sharma to Kamal Kumar Sharma for all future purposes. 0040691310-3 l, Karan Kumar S/o Raj Kumar R/o- House No.219, 3rd Floor, Sainik Vihar, Pitampura, Delhi- 110034 have changed my name Karan Kumar to Karan Arora for all purposes. 0040691281-1 Thithertoknownas = SUDESH,W/O Late RADHE SHYAM BATRA,R/O.WZ-3182, Mahindra-Park Rani-Bagh delhi- 110034,Have changed my name and shall hereafter be known as DAYA RANI. 0040691362-6 T,hitherto known as KANWAL > RAJ GORYAN alias KANWAL RAJ,S/O RAM CHANDER,R/O HOUSE.NO-1743/31,CIRCULAR- ROAD, NEAR-JHAJJAR CHUNGI CHOWK KAMLA NAGAR,ROHTAK,HARYANA- 124001,have changed my name and shall hereafter be known as KANWAL RAJ. 0040691331-8 TYashica D/o Sh. Raj Kumar R/o B-370, Jwala Puri, Camp No.4, Sunder Vihar, Delhi-87 have changed my name to Yashica Mahendru for all purposes. 0040691280-2 |,Sanjay Mittal,S/O Om Parkash,R/O.H.No-667,Urban- Estate Near-Mangal Bazar, Sector-5,KARNAL(Haryana)- 132001,Have Changed my Name to Sanjay Gupta. 0040691349-2 1,Saarthak Subbiah Ravi,S/o Subbiah Ravi R/o.T4-1101, Satya The Hermitage,Sector - 103, Daulatabad (53),Gurgaon (Haryana) - 122006,have changed my name to Saarthak Ravi,for all Purposes. 0040691331-7 1,SANYA SINGH SETHI W/o Sh.Ishpreet Singh Sethi,R/o.J- 5/122, 1st-Floor,Rajouri Garden,New Delhi-110027, have changed my name to Sanya Singh. 0040691331-5 1,Punam Agarwal alias Poonam W/o Madhav Sharan Agrawal,R/o H-75,Garhwali Mohalla Laxmi-nagar,Delhi- 110092,have changed my name to PUNAM AGRAWAL. 0040691331-1 1,Pradumn,S/o Rajeev Sharma,R/o 23/72, Gali.No.4 Mahabir Park Bahadurgarh Distt.Jhajjar,Haryana,changed my name to Pradumn Sharma. 0040691331-2 I,Kiran D/o,IsShwar Singh,R/O,Shamnagar 168 Kosli,Rewari,Haryana- 123302,have changed my name to Kiran Yadav,for all,future purposes. 0040691349-6 ],KANAN JAIN,D/O-AMIT JAIN,R/O-A-4/328,Sunrise Apartment,Sector - 13,Rohini,Delhi-110085,have changed my name to AAMNA JAIN. 0040691371-3 1, JASPAL SINGH,S/O-UMRAV SINGH,R/O H.NO.D-242,3RD- FLOOR,GALI.NO.6, SHANKAR MARG,MANDAWALI,SHAKAR PUR BARAMAD, SHAKARPUR,EAST-DELHI, DELHI-110092,have changed the name of my-minor son YASHVI SAINI aged 08 years and he shall hereafter be known as YASHASVI SAINI. 0040691349-3 |,Harpreet Kaur @ Har Preet Kaur,D/o-Surinder Singh,W/o- Manjeet Singh,R/o-A-8,Lehri Colony,near Hedgewar hospital,East Arjun Nagar,Shahdara,North East Delhi-110032,declare that both names are mine and same person and hereafter be known as Harpreet Kaur. 0040691371-6 |,Harish S/o Prabhu Dayal R/o,F- 77, First-Floor,West Jawahar- Park, Laxmi-Nagar, Shakarpur,East Delhi-110092, have changed my name to Harish Malhotra. 0040691362-2 1,Girish Chandra Sharma,S/o- Sada Nand Sharma, R/o:D-204, Bindapur,Uttam Nagar,New Delhi- 110059, Have Changed My Name to Girish Chandra,for all Purposes. 0040691331-4 |,Indra Kumari,W/o Deepak Sharma,R/o 587, Baba Farid Puri,New Delhi-8,have changed my name to Indu Sharma. 0040691362-1 „Blessing Ezinwanneamaka Kamalu,D/o Kamalu Kingsley Chinedu,R/o Flat.No-4, H.No- 75/E,Maidan Garhi,Delhi- 110068,Have Changed My Name To Blessing Kamalu. 0040691349-5 1,Ajeet Singh,R/O-C-142, Beta- 1,Greater Noida, District Gautam Buddha Nagar,U.P.,have changed my son’s name Aadvik Singh to Vaidik Singh for all future purposes. 0040691371-4 l, Santosh Kumari W/o Devender Arora R/o-12/44, Subhash Nagar, Delhi-110027 have changed my name to Santosh Arora. 0040691371-2 l, Puja Kumari W/o Sh. Shailander Singh R/o Flat No.202, Plot No.1C-Block, Hari Vihar, Dwarka, New Delhi- 110078 do hereby solemnly inform thatin my daughter’s birth record her name is written as Pratigya instead of Pratigya Singh. l Methie ig he tët & gwan on behal ef ws Aka Gupte to genera public that the Sime Original Sale Deeds dated 24.081555, 020111988 and 04.05.2004 which was regitternd in SA |, New Dehi, related to the Property bearing Municipal fo, S683, area measuring 85 sq. yis., situated at Ward Wi, in the area of Vilage Kucha Khan Chand, Mai Sarak, Deihi. T0006" have been lost misntaced Pubbe is bang warned notion deal with the documents, Any person dealing with the aforesaid documants would do-so at their gan isk and resporaibilty, Owner shall not ba liable in any manner whalsoawer Tor any ines marred by such persons, I anybody found these documents OR noice ary mise of these documents, Concemed Person is required f communicate al the addness. piver rho Notice i5 henehy green ta public al pat my chant Kotak Mahindra Bank Lid, Finer, Ambarees Baiting, K.G. Miara, “Heal Dehi 110001 chat Original Sale Deed dated 2706-7006 eemail ir M da oan Singa | m favour of Mr. dasinder Singh Berk i Document Mo. 15837, Baok Na Vol. Na | TODAS, Po 25490 SR W, Ghanabad | Regi on 2305.2006 with respect te) Second Floor having covered arma of B1) Sqais. buit on property feel Na 416] Shakti Khand indir sich | ULP. wem depasibwid with ING Wasa Barth] far are Home Losn. The OG Vysss bank pol am ated woth Kaak Maindra Bank in Yeer Ajid. After closure of the lo document & not tna Bank. FLA. i further revised online F.LA, has bean igos aN S309 vide LA Bs. 433141120 3] Arry persnon|s} Hinis the above mentioned daumen is requested to aendaubanii at Kotak Mahindra Bank Lid, 2nd Floor, Aebadeen Buldi, K.G. Marg, New Delhi 110001 or in the office ef the Pier ew fy personsiiinstiutn|s) missin raid document ii any manner shall be atid for lagal action as par relewant penan of the Law of ihe tand. ahd Khairul Hussain (Advecatel) AES. kalash Colusy, iat a fala Hew Celt, Mob-2R10A9 TBF? PUBLIC NOTICE Ra: Entira Third Floor, with racë righis, buailt on Property beanng Mo, 97-90, admeasuring 125.65 sq.ynds. siluaied at Double Storey New Rajinder Megar,| New Delhi = 110060; ħereinalles rafertad as “said property. Balice is hereby gien fo the genera public including Banks, Financial) Inefitutians, ébe, that, 24 informed by gur Chenl, Mir. Kuddeap Kalana Sia Mr viari Kumar Katara, he is the sale and akague maner ol he sad property VEL Sale Deed execuled by Mrs. Manmea Keur Arora (601 share), Mra. Vijata Arora (0, sarei and Mrs. Smiri irora (20% shara) in his favour in respect o the Said property, The said gale deed isi registered as Document No S036, in| Additional Book No.l, Volume Mo.) 19964, pages 155-167, on 24.05.2024 (SRON, In this eenedion, aur clienti haz further indomed us that property Noo? was Owned by Mr Ramesh Gehan vide Sale Died registered am Doc Modd? on 2TMAN2: property Ba, 98 was ganed Er Mr Go, Gehan vide) Sale Dead regetaned as Doo No. 247 on 2TOQ20 and Terrace rights off Propet MoS OER wene geed bey Birs. | Ishwari Dewi Gehani vide Sale Dead) registered as Gocument Mo. 241 an E ORZ Alber fer Gealh, het Terrace Rights of property no. 97-98 were inherited by her legal heirs namely Mr, Ramesh Gehani and Mir. G.Gehani, Later on, Mr G Gahani sold property Mo. to Mr. Amber Raj Chenvdhry & Mrs, Sangeeta Chowdbry vide sale deed registered ae Doc No 3165 on 030M 208; Mr. Remeshi Gehanl sald the propery No.97 io Mis. Sangeata Ghowdhry vida Sale Deed registered as Doc Mo. 3164 an 05042018; and Mr G Gehaniand Mr) Ramesh Gahani sold the Second foor urit ion the terrace) with roof rights to Mr. Anand Sagar Ghosdhre wide Saky Deed registered as Doc Mo.3513 an 13.14.2048, Thereatier, Mrs. Sangeeta Chovwdhry, Mr: Amber Ray Chowdhry and Mr. Anand Segar sold their 60% Share to Mrs, Mariel Kaur vide salg dead meqetered as Doo No.Ba09 ony 1662019, 20% share to Mrs. Wijeta Arora vije Sale heed regislenid ás doe Mo. 5304 on 16.09.2019 and 20% share to Smii Arora vide Sale Deed registered ae doc ne eS on 16.092013. Finally, Mrs- Manmeet Kaur, Mrs. Vijeta Arora and Mrs, Seat] Arora aoid the entire Third Fiag wih roof ighis on property Ho. 97- GE (sand property) to Mr- Kuldeep Kalane: (aur chant) as aforesaid, Thus, aur chant became fhe sole and abectuie owner of the seid property. Mow our cient iniancs| [es (rea ngage Pie sa ki graperty with Baa Finance Lid., for availing loan facility: | If any person, society, bank, financial) institution or other institutions hawa any] chjection against ihe ownershie all out Chent on the said property asdi subsequently rightiul mortgage. of thel sald property in tavour of Bajaj Finance Lid.: Oy cur chen, may rase hisiherthain chyection/s, in writing, by Registered AD pasi, lo the undersigned, wilhim OF tays, on addrass mentionad bedoe,| Othenise after expiry of UT daya from lhe cabe of publication: of is nolre, me said property shall ba mortgaged bry ou chent in fawour of Bajaj Finance Lid., ard no oteechon shall Ge accapiable against such mortgage. Amit Kumar Khurana, Advocate, For M's intellective Law Offices. A-74, Lower Ground Floor, Defence Colony, Mew Delhi-110024 | MoU- AMITY It was a historic moment for Amity Education Group as Amity University PUBLIC NOTICE Rukna KG, Mar ‘that Orignal SO dated 2306, 2008 re ea si Document No. Ta Book 7049, PG 457-490, SRO. Charishad, 114. After closure of the Inan above mentioned property document is ned iracéable al Kotak Mahina Bant. Ff in respect of Lest documents (SD NoASO) 2014 Det Pobee) was lodged onkne vide LA Wo. 9106912023 dated 20.08.2023 and turer revised online FLR. has been bdr on 25.00.2023 vide LA Mo. S929, ahi. Any ftsr sored s || Farah: [he abimi miiia document is requested te send|eubmit ai Kotak Mahinda Bank Lid, 2rd Fleer, Ambadeep Building. KG. Mang, Mew Dehi 11O001 oria the office of the ma gr Any eal ps mesuang De seid Document in any manner ahak be! inbi tor legal action as per relevant provisions af the Lew of the land. Mohd Hiairal Hussain |Adhoceta} 4-38, Kailash Colany, thaitan À khavtae New Delish, Monde iiaii REVOCATION OF SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN TO ALL PERSONS, that |, Gaurav Berry, S/o Late Sh. Ripon Berry, aged about 47 years, residing at Otl Aicher Allee 1, 89075 Ulm, Germany, the undersigned Principal, had executed a Special Power of Attorney dated 01.07.2022 in favour of Mr. Vikram Kalra, S/o Rajesh Kalra, R/o J-66, Reserve Bank Colony, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi - 110063 (‘Attorney’) whereby | had appointed the Attorney to act on my behalf in civil suit bearing CS(OS) No. 355 of 2022 titled Meera Berry vs. Shashi Berry & Ors. filed before the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi at New Delhi. LET IT BE KNOWN THAT | do hereby REVOKE IN ITS ENTIRETY, the Special Power of Attorney dated 01.07.2022 executed in favour of Mr. Vikram Kalra, S/o Rajesh Kalra, R/o J-66, Reserve Bank Colony, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi - 110063. | hereby PUBLIC NOTICE Citi Fue Go HERD? INPORMUD TAT MY SELPECTABLE CLENTS WAMILT BIG COL Lb PLA, LATE aH CHET AA AND DA SUPR WiO: RETO. DO Li ALAA DOTH AAO OA THRE, WU CARER, SOHTAR, ooh PL A 1 DEAL THOM A DO AT pes LAY THA ar CONT, AME ANO DON MOUIANC OT AND MY CHONTA SAAL WOT Bi SCRIBE POA Te ATE AA ANSE A BARAN À AECL ADVOCATE ERPIN Desis Coent Cammies Sethi: Ti that my client Himanshu Sharma W/o; Rajeev Kumar Sharma or Himanshu Dutta D/o Sh. K.R Dutta R/o C-7/113 Yamuna Vihar, Delhi- 53 (Aadhar card No. 4570 7640 3807), wants to change) her name to Himanshi Sharmaa and in future she shall be known by the name of Himanshi Sharmaa in all aspects. It is further declared that Himanshu Sharma, Himanshu Dutta and Himanshi Sharmaa are one and same person. ARUN RAGHAV (ADVOCATE) DELHI HIGH COURT Ch. No. G-220, Karkardooma Court, Delhi PUBLIC NOTICE [Lost Original Conveyance Deed] executed by Land and Development Office, Delhi regarding Bunglaw Plot No, 40, NH-IV, Pockel-1, Lajpal Nagar, New Deli in favour of Sh. Ravi Inder Singh and 5h. 4.P Singh, registered as Document No. 667, ‘Book No. 1, Volume No. 3199, on Pages 45-47 dated 25.01.2003. The said property is being mortgaged with Bank of Baroda, Ram Nagar, Pahar Ganj, Delhi by the purchaser Sh. Biswa Ehusan Dash and Mrs. Reeta Mahey, If anyone fas an objector found the Same, plaase contact Bank of Baroda, Ram Magar, Pahar Ganj, Delhi and Vandana mo910553262 within 7 days, failing which no claim shall be entertained, Vandana Sharma and Associates It is hereby:informed:to-publieatlarge-tratmy clien S. KULWANT SINGH SON OF LATE SARDUI SINGH RESIDENT OF FLAT NO. 303, BLOC AND POCKET-B-9, SECTOR-3, ROHINI DELHI-110085 who is the sole and absolute ownel of FLAT NO. 303, BLOCK AND POCKET-B-9) SECTOR-3, ROHINI, DELHI-110085. has lost al the original documents with regard to allotment ol the said property viz Demand Letter, Allotmen Letter, Site Possession Slip, Payment Slip Payment Slips/Challan and NOC and to avoid an misuse of the said title documents my client hag lodged an NCR vide LR No 901107/2023 PS-Crime Branch. dated 18/09/2023 If any one finds the above said original documents then please contac the undersigned at the address given and ma‘ contact on Mobile No 9582689631 and return the same It is further cautioned that anybody trying td make use of such lost title documents will entai liabilities under the laws of the land and hence dg so at his own pencil . VINOD WADHWA (Advocate, Enrl.No.D/769/2005 PUBLIE NOTICE fly chent Shri. Brij Mohan So Laie Shri Ram Gopal Rio Kh. Mo. 283, Gal nga Glock F, Keshav Nagar tdobarred him namai Manah Kumar and tial daugier-in-taw namely Ashu dit Asha, from an his movable anyone = dealing with them ie.) Manish and Ashu @) Asha will do that at thoir van msk, cesi ane cleni shall mot ‘or any of their Jij. Vira Vihar, Vest Enciave,| Pitampura, Delhii iiki LOST THE ORIGINAL DEED LOST THE ORIGINAL SUB- LEASE DEED NO 1471 DTD 24.02.2011 OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY, FLAT NO 101 GROUND FLOOR, ‘ORIENTAL APARTMENT’ AT PLOT NG, C-58/26, SECTOR: z, NOIDA, DISTT. GAUTAM BUDH NAGAR (UP) REGISTERED IN FAVOUR OF SH ASHOK KUMAR S/O LATE JAI KISHAN AT SR. NO. 1471 DTD 24.02.2011, BY DY. REGISTRAR (lst) NOIDA. IF ANYONE FINDS/HAS ANY CONCERN, PLEASE CONTACT NIKHIL KUMAR OM 0818143481 WITHIN 15 DAYS OF PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. LOST ARTICLE INFORMATION REPORT HAS BEEN REGISTERED AT ¢-THANA OF UP POLICE VIDE L.A.R. NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY Kea 1° CORRIGENDUM Tender Notice No. NVWR-SC-BKN- 11-2023-24 dated 19.09.2023. In the above mentioned tender notice, tender no may please be read as NWR-SC-BKN-11-2023-24 instead of NWR-SC-BKN-O0- 2022-23. All other particulars mentioned in original tender notice will remain unchanged, 1iar-PR2Z3 Dy. Chief Engineer/Const = :— ace. E A com NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY REZA“: NOTICE OF INVITATION E-TENDER Divisional Railway Manager, MW Rly. Bikaner for and on behalf of President] of India invites sealed open tender for | ihe following works on the date shown] as below. Tender No.: S&7/EKN! ET] 262R, Name of Work with its| Location: “Annual Maintenance Contract at 02 stations of Electronic Interlocking System of Medha make at Satrod À Laigarh station for 02 years over Bikaner Divisian.”, Approx. Cost} of Work: T2503176.32, Bid Security: | £707100.00, Date & Time for} submission of Tender & opening of| tender: Up to 15.00 Hrs. of| 18.10.2025, Website from Which complete Tender details canbe seen | & download: www reps. goin Folow os 5 et El oa IN Rael ways: | MWR ways tla aa. 0141-270270¢ WAH :- WA. B-2/2023-24/8607-36 3 aferet ear WRIA p WITT Hela Bl sk A Work for Rate Contract of Designing systems with tubewell under PHED Region-II Jaipur. (With 7 Yrs of O&M)" Sq OM ERA aR A ud Usa Ga es WG oh apa Wedel fait ame Ud Gea fazed gen À SAA Ao F dipa Hiari a fA goa À i-e vlna ert ffae anata at ont 21 foega Aaa ud Afaa Www.sppp.rajasthan.gov.in Ud www.eproc.rajasthan.gov.in W SIE ẹ | GOVERNMENT OP HARYANA EXCISE & TAXATION DEPARTMENT NOTICE FOR INVITTNG e-TENDERS FROM GENERAL PUBLIC absolutely and completely revoke all powers or authority thereby and thereunder given under the Special Power of Attorney dated 01.07.2022 executed in favour of Mr. Vikram Kalra, S/o Rajesh Kalra, R/o J-66, Reserve Bank Colony, Paschim Vihar,New Delhi -110063 either expressly or impliedly, to all intents and purposes. This Revocation of Special Power of Attorney is executed on this 28th day of September 2023 at New Delhi. Mr. Gaurav Berry Abhinav Sharma, Advocate Flat No. 4 24 Feroze Gandhi Road Authority's official website: PUBLIC NOTICE "It is hereby informed to the public at large that my client Shri Ankit Gupta, S/o Shri Bansi Lal Gupta, R/o E-64, Aravali Kunj Apartment, Sector-13. Rohini, Delhi- 110085, has purchased a plot of 100 sq. yds. measuring 16' x 56', in East-Road 15’, in West-Other constructed plots, in North-Other's plots, in South-200 sq. yds. plot of Sh.Bansi Lal Gupta, situated in Khasra No.17/22, A- Block, Gali No.4, Indraprastha Colony, Amrit Vihar, Burari, Delhi from Sh. Onkar Singh Tyagi S/o Shri Mangu Singh Tyagi, (this plot was purchased from Smt. Sheela Devi W/o Shri Rattan Lal, R/o G-82, Vishwas Park, Near Dwarka, Sector- 3, New Delhi on 11.05.2010) R/o.B- 221, Amrit Vihar, Burari, Delhi, on 24.09.2011 for the consideration of Rs.2,30,000/- and the above said seller has executed sale/title documents i.e. Agreement To Sell, GPA, Affidavit, Receipt, Will, Possession Letter, Indemnity Bond and handed over certified copy of site plan issued by SDM (Revenue), Civil Lines, Delhi and all the documents executed and exhibited before SDM (Revenue), Civil Lines, Delhi in complaint No.36/SDM/C.L/2010 filed under Section 145 Cr.P.C. and a Civil Suit No.563/2022, titled as Ankit Gupta Vs. Simmi is pending before the Court of Shri Deepak Dabas, A.D.J., North-West, Rohini, Delhi, which is listed on 05.10.2023 and at the time of selling handed over the vacant and peaceful possession of the above said plot to my client alongwith the previous chain of the 11.00 AM. documents of the sold plot (B) mentioned above. The public at large is warned that nobody should purchase the above said property/plot of my client from above named Sh. Onkar Singh Tyagi or deal in respect of the above said property/plot with him, in any way & manner. If any person deals with Onkar Singh Tyagi in respect of the above said plot/property, he/she/they will/shall do so at his/her/their own risks, cost, and responsibilities and my client will not be responsible for the same in any manner. (ASHOK KUMAR ARYA) ADVOCATE Seat No.63, Central Hall, Tis Hazari Court,Delhi. M.9810989682" Sectors) Noida (Sector-17, Cost: Rs.26.54 Lacs | Coast: Rs. 79.66 Lacs. Cost: Rs.36.97 Lacs Noida. Cost: Rs. 46.77 Lacs 11.00 AM. Office Sector-5 SEMINAR- RAU’S IAS A seminar titled Civil Services: A Promising Career Choice for Students was held at DU. The event, organized by Abhishek Gupta, CEO of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, aimed to guide students on preparing for Civil Services Exam. During the three-hour workshop attended by more than 800 students, Vaibhav Mishra from Rau’s Academy explained various aspects of the IAS exam to them. New Okhla Industrial Development Authority Administrative Building, Sector-6, Noida-201307 (U.P) Website : www.noldaa uthorityonline.i in -= E-TENDER NOTICE E-Tender are invited from firms/contractors registered with UPLC Lucknow for the following jobs against which bids can be uploaded | and same shall be opened/downloaded as per schedule mentioned. 1. The details and conditions of all tenders are available on NOIDA www.noidaauthorityonline.in & http: /etender.up.nic.in. Please ensure to see these websites for New Delhi ene any changes! amendments &comgenumste Date: 28.09.2023 M: 981038209 (A) 09/S.M.(JAL)-VE.T./2023-24, Mio Sewerage (Two Year Annual Repairing and Cleaning of Manholes and Changing the Damaged Sewer Lines at Different Locations in different 16, 19, 27 and Village-Atta, Sector-104, 105, 108 and Village-Hazipur) Noida. 10/5.M.(JAL)-VE.T./2023-24, Wo Water Supply (Two Years Annual Repairing of Bowl Assly. & Tube Shaft Set of Network- T4, 78, 112, 113, 115, 118 & Village-Sorkha) Noida. 11/35.M.(JAL)-VE.T./2023-24, Mio Wis (Two Years Annual Repairing of PVC, AGOI Water Lines, Repairing of Sluice Valves and Reflex Valves, C/o Chambers & Replacement of Old Chocked Water Lines at Different Locations in Network Sector-66, 67 and 68, 74, 78, 112, 113, 115, 118 and Village- Sorkha), Noida. Cost: Rs. 73.72 Lacs 12/5.M.(JAL)AVE.T./2023-24, Water Chlorination (Two Years Annual Repairing, Operation and Maintenance of | Chlorination Plants at UGR-78 and 105) Noida, 10/5.M.(JAL)-IWE.T/2023-24, various WAY Compound (Repair and maintenance work of | CGR-31 in Sector-31) Noida. Cost: Rs. 54.14 Lacs Which can be uploaded by date 12.10.2023 upto 5.00 PM. Pre- qualification shall be opened/downloaded on date 13.10.2023 at Internal Development of . | 02/S.M.(JAL)4WE.T./2023-24, Strengthening of Wis (P/F Non Clog Water Pump and pannel at Uderpass Sector-71), Which can be uploaded by date 05.10.2023 upto 5.00 PM. Pre- gualification shall be opened/downloaded on date 06.10.2023 at CLEAN, GREEN, SAFE & SECURE NOIDA NO. 20230000544980. FOR REALLOTMENT OF ONE ZONE OF RETAIL LIQUOR VENDS OF DISTRICT JHAJJAR IN THE STATE OF HARYANA FORTHE REMAINING PERIOD OF THE EXCISE POLICY YEAR 2023.2024. 1. Itis notified for the information of general public that e-tenders fo re-allotment of one zone of retail liquor vends of Country Liquor and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (L-2/L-14A) of district Jhajjar in the State of Haryana, as mentioned below, are hereby invited for the remaining period of excise policy year 2023-24. Zone Code ZJHA22 2. The schedule for submission of e-bids for this zone and evalua tion thereof shall be as under. Starting date and time for placing e-tenders Sr. No.| Name of District Jhajjar From 3rd October, 2023 (9.00 AM) | Till 3rd October, 2023 (04.00 PM) | 3rd October, 2023 (5.00 PM) | Closing date and time for placing e-tenders ~ Evaluation of e-tenders 3. The reserve price of this zone for the purpose of e-tendering ha been decided as per the provisions of clause 2.17 and other relevant provisions of the Haryana Excise Policy 2023-24. The reserve price and quota of this zone shall be displayed in the excise arrangement. 4. The e-tenders for this zone can be submitted online through the official website of the department i.e. www.haryanatax.gov.in. The remaining terms and conditions of e-tenders and allotment of zone shall be same, as informed vide the Public Notice, published in lead ing newspapers on 13th May, 2023, for inviting e-tenders for allotment of retail liquor zones of all districts in the State of Haryana. The cop of Public Notice dated 13th May, 2023 is also available on the official website of department i.e. www.haryanatax.gov.in. The detailed pro cedure of registration for participation in the allotment process and submission of e-tenders is also available on the official website. 5. The excise arrangement of this zone containing number of vends, liquor quota, location of vends, command area as applicable and reserve price thereof, as well as the venue for evaluation of e-tender: shall be conspicuously displayed in the office of DETC (Excise) and DETC (ST) of the district concerned. These details shall also be avail able on the official website i.e. www.haryanatax.gov.in. 6. The re-allotment of this zone shall be done at the risk and cost of original allottee. The original allottee shall be liable to make up an deficiency incurred by the state as a result of the re-allotment of thi zone. 7. The allotment and grant of licence shall be subject to the provi sions of the Haryana Excise Act, 1914, the rules framed thereunder, orders/instructions issued by the competent authority and the Excise Policy for the year 2023-24. Any clarification regarding the procedure may be obtained from the office of DETCs (Excise) in any of the dis tricts. The copy of Haryana Excise Policy for the year 2023-24 is avail able on official website of the department. 7. The allotment shall be subject to the approval of the Excise and Taxation Commissioner (FC), Haryana. He may reject, without assigning any reason, any allotment in public interest as the case may be, within 10 days of the date of allotment. Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Haryana. Dy. General Manager (Jal) 21486/HRY CORPORATE BRIEFS EDUCA TION EVENT- AMITY LAW SCHOOL Amity Law School, Amity University, Noida campus, organized “Srijan 2023”, a two-day Youth parliament recently, with the aim to throw light on the operations and functioning of a state government and international organisations and to make students aware of the functioning of the Indian Parliament. signed an MoU with Sekisho Corporation Japan, marking the beginning of a new relationship between the two organizations, bearing testimony to the philosophy of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam”. The MoU was signed 0040691333-1 Anurag Thakur, Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Ministry of IB addressed the law students of alts [,Virendera Rustagi,S/o Late Shri Ramavtar Rustagi,R/o- House No-47, Sector- 13Vasundhara Ghaziabad,U.P- 201012,have changed my name to Virendra Rustagi. 0040691331-3 [Vijay Kumar Madan,S/o Satish Kumar Madaan R/o- Tower.No.12.Flat,No.601, Sunshine,County Sector- 63,Badhkhalsa (41)Sonipat Haryana-131029,changed my name to Vijay Kumar Madaan, permanently. 0040691331-9 1,Suresh,W/o Bhim Singh,R/o.H.No-35 Masih-Garh New Friends-Colony Delhi- 110025,Have Changed My Name To Suresh Devi. 0040691349-4 | Sanjeev Duggal Father of Nitya R/O 6-B Pocket A-11 Surya Apartment DDA flats Kalkaji Extension New Delhi -110019 have changed my minor Daughter's (DOB- 14/08/2009) Name from Nitya to Nitya Duggal permanently 0040690939-4 LOST & FOUND |,Deepak Kumar S/o Sawan Ram have lost my property original,papers file of property plot,factory Khasra.No-49 Madanpur, Dabas,Lal Dora,Kanjhawala Delhi- 110081.File containing,Original GPA, Sale of Agreement.Lal dora certificate and complete chain of documents Finder with an aim to establish the Japan Desk at Amity University, which would enable the students to get placements in Japanese companies. EVENT- AMITY Amity University, Noida campus, organized the 19th Symposium on the theme “Smart Tourism and Green Investment”, in collaboration with Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC), to commemorate World CONVOCATION — JAMIA HAMDARD Jamia Hamdard organized its 14th Convocation recently at its Campus at , Hamdard Nagar. LG of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena was the Chief Guest at the “= Convocation and delivered his speech. The Convocation was presided over by Janab Hammad Ahmed, the esteemed Chancellor of Jamia Hamdard. Prof. (Dr.) M. Afshar Alam, VC of Jamia Hamdard, provided exceptional leadership, setting the tone for an inspiring and impactful ceremony. CONFERENCE. T ; DENTAL COLLEGE I.T.S Dental College organized the 20th Annual National Conference in association with Indian Association of Forensic a’ Odontology under the aegis of Dept. of Oral Pathology & Gi | Forensic Odontology. The conference aimed at compreh- ensive understanding of forensic odontology and its ap- plications. The commencement of the conference was thr- ough conduction of two preconference hands on workshops. FUNCTION — AKGEC Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College Ghaziabad established in 1998, celebrated the Silver Jubilee function marking 25 yrs of unwavering commitment to excellence in education recently. As a tribute to all who have contributed the growth of the college, like Ex Tourism Day. The Guest of Honour, H.E. Ambassador H. Dillum, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of Mauritius in India, Embassy of Mauritius, addressed the gathering. VC’s, Management Members, Ex-Directors, Professors, Industry may call upon the no. Given ieee personnel and alumni were invited. below-98100-79949. 0040691362-5 |,SivaKama Sundari,D/O Venkatraman Ramanathan,R/O 1219,B-1,Vasant-Kunj, New- Delhi-110070,Have Changed my Name to Ramanathan Sivakama Sundari. SCHOLARSHIP — UPES Shreshth Sinha, a fourth-yrs Industrial Product Design student from UPES, Dehradun, has received prestigious Charpak Scholarship for a Semester Exchange Program at LÉcole de Design Nantes Atlantique, France. With a keen interest in model making, material handling, prototyping, core-product concept building and product research, he is all setto join the autumn session this month, atthe renowned Lecole De Design Nantes Atlantique, France. Shreshth said, “Being selected for the Charpak Scholarship & Semester Exchange is a dream come =- "IMPORTANT" | Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy, it is not possible to verify 0040691349-1_ its contents. The Indian l, Sourav Kumar S/o Ashok Rod foe ones foe cack Kumar R/o H. No. -F- 9, Shatabdi contents, nor for any loss or