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After a detailed internal con-sultations in a full generalbody meeting of SamyuktKisan Morcha, the protestingfarmer unions on Thursdayrejected the Government’s pro-posal to suspend the threecontentious farm laws for 18months and set up a jointcommittee to find an amicablesolution to end the deadlock.

This was announced by theSamyukt Kisan Morcha, anumbrella body of protestingunions leading protests at sev-eral Delhi border points.

“In a full general bodymeeting of Samyukt KisanMorcha today, the proposalput forth by the governmentyesterday was rejected. A fullrepeal of three laws and enact-ing legislation for remunerativeMSP for all farmers were reit-erated as the pending demandsof the movement,” the SamyuktKisan Morcha said in a state-ment.

“The SKM pays homage tothe 143 farmers who have beenmartyred in this movement sofar. These companions are sep-

arated from us while fightingthis mass movement. Theirsacrifice will not go in vain andwe will not go back without therepealing of these farm laws,”the statement said.

A full repeal of three cen-tral farm acts and enacting alegislation for remunerativeMSP for all farmers were reit-erated as the pending demandsof the movement, it added.

Meanwhile, the deadlockbetween the farmer bodies andthe Government continuedeven over the protestors’ deci-sion to hold a tractor rally onDelhi’s Outer Ring Road theoccasion of Republic Day.

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As many as five personsdied in a fire that brokeout at an under-constructionbuilding of India’s Covid-19vaccine producer SerumInstitute of India (SII’s) GopalPatti plant in Pune onThursday. Nine persons wereevacuated safely.

SII CEO Adar Poonawalla,however, said that it will nothamper the supply of theO x f o r d - A s t r a Z e n e c a“Covishield” vaccines, whichare being manufactured somedistance away from the spot ofthe fire.

The Manjari facility iswhere the Covishield vaccineused in the nationwide inoc-ulation drive against the pan-demic is made. The buildingwhere the fire broke out is partof the under-construction siteof the Serum facility and is onekm from the Covishield man-ufacturing unit, sources said.“Iwould like to reassure all gov-ernments & the public thatthere would be no loss of#COVISHIELD productiondue to multiple productionbuildings that I had kept inreserve to deal with such con-tingencies at@SerumInstIndia,” Poonawallatweeted. “We have justreceived some distressingupdates; upon further investi-gation we have learnt thatthere has unfortunately beensome loss of life at the inci-dent. We are deeply saddenedand offer our deepest condo-lences to the family membersof the departed,” Poonawalla

added. “Today is an extreme-ly sorrowful day for all of us atSII. We’re deeply saddened &offer our condolences to fam-ilies of the departed.

We’ll be offering com-pensation of �25 Lakh to eachfamily, in addition to man-dated amount as per thenorms,” said CyrusPoonawalla, Chairman andMD, SII. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi expressed hisgrief tweeting: Anguished bythe loss of lives due to anunfortunate fire at SerumInstitute of India. In this sadhour, my thoughts are with thefamilies of those who losttheir lives. I pray that the

injured recover at the earliest.President Ram Nath Kovindtermed the deaths “distressing”.Fire officials recovered thecharred bodies during aninspection, Mayor MurlidharMohol said. He added that thefive people who died were per-haps the workers at the under-construction building.

“The cause of the fire isyet to be ascertained but it isbeing speculated that welding,that was going on at the build-ing, caused the fire,” Moholsaid. Maharashtra DeputyChief Minister Ajit Pawar saidState Government has ordereda probe into blaze. The fire,which broke out at 2.45 pm on

fourth and fifth floors of SEZ3 building on SII premises, wasbrought under control in twohours, police said. DeputyCommissioner of PoliceNamrata Patil said that ninepeople were evacuated fromspot after fire broke out. ChiefFire Officer Prashant Ranpisesaid fifteen water tankers werepressed into action and firewas brought under controlaround 4.30 pm. “The exactcause of fire is yet to be ascer-tained.

Furniture, wiring, cabinswere gutted. No majormachinery or instrumentswere stored on floors wherefire broke out,” he said.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi, all Chief Ministers,MPs and MLAs above 50 willbe vaccinated in the secondphase of the Covid inoculationdrive launched last week.Currently, under the ongoingfirst phase of the mega vaccineprogramme healthcare workersand others at the frontline ofthe coronavirus fight are receiv-ing jabs of two vaccines —Serum Institute of India’sCovishield and Bharat Biotech’sCovaxin.

“Elected representativesabove 50 years of age are like-ly to be vaccinated againstCovid-19 in the second roundof the ongoing inoculationdrive after over three crorehealthcare and frontline work-ers are vaccinated in the firstround. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, most of hisCabinet Ministers, includingRajnath Singh, Amit Shah andNitin Gadkari, a majority ofChief Ministers and top-rungleaders of all political partiesbesides MPs and MLAs fall inthis category,” said sources inthe Union Health Ministry.

The Prime Minister in hisinteraction with ChiefMinisters before the nation-wide rollout of the vaccinationprogramme had asked politi-cians to not jump the queue asthe first round of inoculation ismeant only for healthcare andfrontline workers.

Modi had also said the turnof those over 50 years of agebesides those younger but liv-ing with comorbidities willcome after that.

Though the Government

has given no timeline, Modihad said on January 11 that 30crore people, including thoseabove 50 years of age, will bevaccinated in the next fewmonths. Chief Ministers ofStates like Haryana, Bihar andTelangana had reportedly sug-gested that MLAs, MPs andother public representativesshould be considered frontlineworkers and be vaccinated.

Many States are strugglingto meet targets due to hesitan-cy to take vaccines and the fearof side effects.

Meanwhile, to boost theconfidence among people of hisLok Sabha constituency,Varanasi, Modi will interactwith beneficiaries and vacci-nators of the Covid-19 inocu-lation drive in the holy city onFriday via video conferencing.

The participants in theinteraction will share their firsthand experience of vaccination,the Prime Minister’s Officesaid on Thursday.

“The world’s largest vacci-nation drive is underway inIndia. Our frontline warriorsare getting vaccinated acrossthe nation. At 1:15 pm tomor-row, January 22, I would inter-act with beneficiaries and vac-cinators of Covid vaccinationdrive in Varanasi, via videoconferencing,” Modi tweeted.

“This interaction wouldgive first hand opportunity tohear their experiences as wellas feedback. I would urge youall to watch tomorrow’s inter-action,” he added.

The interaction followsModi’s continuous dialogueand discussion with scientists,political leaders, and stake-holders.

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There might be still time forIndian vaccines —Covaxin and Covishield — togain the confidence of themasses here, but as many 92countries have approachedthe Modi Government forthe jabs. India is already send-ing its domestically devel-oped vaccines to severalneighbouring countries,including Nepal, Bangladesh,Myanmar.

In a letter to PM Modi onTuesday, Prime MinisterRoosevelt Skerrit of theDominican Republic has alsorequested for inoculation, sig-naling that the demand forIndian jabs has acquired atranscontinental appeal. “Aswe enter 2021 and perseverein our fight against Covid-19,Dominica’s population of

72,100 is in urgent need ofenough doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. I, there-fore, request, with greathumility and respect, thatyou assist us by donating thedoses we need to make ourpopulation safe (optimally70,000 first and seconddoses),” wrote Skerrit.

In other parts of LatinAmerica, Brazil, which hasthe second highest number ofcoronavirus cases in the worldnext only to the United States,has sent a special plane to pickup Indian vaccines fromPune. A Brazilian plane isexpected to fly the first 2 mil-lion doses of a Covid-19 vac-cine purchased by theGovernment’s Fiocruz bio-medical institute. TheBolivian Government hadsigned a contract with SII for5 million vaccine doses.

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The Supreme Court-appointed committee onThursday virtually met withfarmers’ unions and associa-tions from eight States andsought their viewpoints on allthe three farm legislations.These associations are notpart of the protesting unions.

This was the first meeting ofthe committee after its for-mation.

“We had sent the invita-tion to 18 but 15 accepted. Ofthis 15, five could not attendthe meeting. We are expectingthat they will be joining in thenext meeting which is sched-uled for January 27,” said acommittee member. Only one

farmer’s organisation came inperson to join the meetingwhile the rest of them joinedvirtually. During discussions,these unions not only gavetheir frank views about thefarm laws but also gave sug-gestions to improve the imple-mentation of the laws.

“Some expressed reserva-tions over the farm laws while

some have supported,” said thefarmer organisation whichattended the meeting virtual-ly. The committee will talk toall stakeholders, includingdairies, fisheries, arthiyas andfarmers cooperatives. Thewebsite will be ready by earlynext week and it will have aquestionnaire for farmers onthe three laws.

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China’s development and con-struction activities “within itsown territory” is “normal” andbeyond reproach, ChineseForeign Ministry said here onThursday, reacting to a reportabout China building a new vil-lage in Arunachal Pradesh.“China’s position on the Zangnanregion (South Tibet) is consistentand clear. We never recognisedso-called Arunachal Pradesh,”Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesperson Hua Chunyingtold a media briefing whileresponding to a question.

Hua said China’s develop-ment and construction activities“within our own territory isnormal.” “This is beyondreproach as it is in our territory,”Hua added. In a report, NDTVnews channel showed two

images of area in ArunachalPradesh where it said a new vil-lage has been set up by Chinaand it consisted of about 101homes. According to channel,the first image dated August 26,2019, did not show any humanhabitation but second one ofNovember 2020 shows a row ofstructures.

In a cautious reaction toreport, India on Monday said itkeeps a constant watch on alldevelopments having a bearingon country’s security, and takesnecessary measures to safeguardits sovereignty and territorialintegrity.

The Ministry of ExternalAffairs in New Delhi said Indiahas stepped up construction ofborder infrastructure, includ-ing roads and bridges forimprovement of livelihood of itscitizens.

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The Sun Temple and itsperiphery at Konark wouldundergo a major makeover.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikon Thursday gave green signalto the draft of the KonarkHeritage Area DevelopmentPlan. The purpose of the pro-ject is stated to ensure safety andsecurity of the temple, attractmore tourists and the econom-ic development of the localsdependent on tourism. All theroads leading to temple wouldbe developed into six-lane, espe-

cially 3.5-km-long outer ringroad of Konark. The 30 acres ofland in front of temple would beleft open for landscaping.Besides, a special stretch of roadwould also be constructed forpedestrians. An entry plaza forvisitors and a renovated open air

theatre are going to be somemajor attractions for tourists.The Chief Minister invited sug-gestions from citizens regardingdraft plan within 21 days. As perreports, project would be devel-oped under State Government’s5T initiative.

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The State Government iscontemplating to for-mulate an ‘Odisha ArtisanGrade Stone Policy-2021’for the benefit of artisans.Such a policy is a much feltneed in the larger interestof the stone craft in theState in which more than25,000 artisans areengaged.

D e v e l o p m e n tCommissioner PradeepJena recently chaired ameeting to discuss theissues relating to the pro-posed policy framework aspresented in the DraftPolicy.

Jena emphasised onidentification of artisangrade stone sources with

involvement of geologists.He advised that OMCManaging Director toexamine assignment ofmining right, particularlyof all sources irrespectiveof size as in the DraftPolicy framework.

The proposed policywould look into a demand-supply estimation and gapanalysis, identification ofthe sources through amechanism with involve-ment of artisans, settle-ment of mining rights infavour of the OMC,modalities of the miningoperation, supply of stoneby the OMC throughUtkalika to artisans’ indi-vidual/ groups/ coopera-tives, safe-guard againstsmuggling, etc.

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The State recorded 143 newCovid-19 cases in 23 dis-tricts and from the State poolon Thursday, with which thetotal tally surged to 3,33,866.Ofthe new cases, 84 were report-ed from quarantine centreswhile 59 were local contactcases. Puri district recorded theday’s highest 23 cases followedby Sundargarh with 17 andSambalpur 16.

Besides, one case wasreported from the State pool.The total active cases in theState stood at 1,589 and thecumulative tests were74,77,757. Meanwhile, 224more patients recovered onthe day, taking the total recov-eries to 3,30,545.

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Holding the AmazonDevelopment Centre India“negligent in providing serviceand being involved in unfair tradepractice,” the Odisha StateConsumer Disputes RedressalForum has directed the globalonline retailer to pay Rs 45,000 toa Ganjam-based law student ascompensation as well as punitivedamage and for the cost of litiga-tion.

Forum President Justice Dr DPChoudhury has directed theAmazon to pay Rs 30,000 towardscompensation, Rs 10,000 towardspunitive damage and Rs 5,000towards the cost of litigation with-in 30 days to Supriyo RanjanMahapatra for giving him mentalagony. “Failing which, all the pay-ments will carry interest at the rate

of 12 per cent per annum,” theorder of the commission said. Thecase inter alia dates back to 2014when Supriyo as a law student ofthe Tamil Nadu National Schoolhad stumbled upon an advertise-ment floated by the Amazon offer-ing a laptop for Rs 190 only. Buthours after confirmation of theorder placed by Supriyo, hereceived a phone call from theAmazon’s customer care servicedepartment informing him that hisorder was cancelled due to someprice recession issue.

Raising objection to this,Supriyo approached the GanjamDistrict Consumer RedressalForum seeking compensation of Rs50,000 for the mental torture hesuffered. The district forum direct-ed the Amazon to pay compensa-tion of Rs 10,000 and Rs 2,000towards cost of litigation.

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Naveen Patnaik, who hasbeen adjudged as the mostpopular Chief Minister of Indiaby a survey recently, surpassedthree million followers on hisofficial Twitter handle onThursday. Expressing pleasure,Patnaik took to the micro-blogging site and thanked allhis followers for their love andsupport. “Humbled by the loveand affection received duringthis wonderful digital journeyon Twitter. Thank you all,”Patnaik tweeted. Soon after,best wishes started pouring infor the Chief Minister.

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Having failed to get theirpending dues underMGNREGS, several povertystricken people of Keshpurgram panchayat underKendrapada block onWednesday knocked at thedoor of the district Collector bybringing to his notice theirsorry plight. They alleged thatthe local Sarpanch had not

cleared their dues despite thefact that they had worked for anMGNREGS project which wascompleted seven months back.They also alleged that therewere several fake entries in themuster roll in whose namesmoney was sent.The mattercame to the fore recentlythrough RTI reports.

As per RTI reports, sever-al fake beneficiaries, who wereaffluent and established per-sons in the gram panchayat,have managed to get the MGN-REGS money in their bankaccounts whereas the genuinebeneficiaries were yet to gettheir dues. Earlier, these labour-ers had brought the matter tothe notice of BDO, but in vain.

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Tragedy struck a family ofBoudh district when threeof its members were killed andanother was seriously injuredin a deadly road accident nearGopalmal Chhak on theManmunda-Kantamal road ataround 9 on Thursday morn-ing. A woman and her twochildren, including a minor,were travelling towardsManamunda by an auto-rick-shaw when a pitch-laden hyvatruck coming from the oppo-site direction hit the vehicle andlater overturned. The woman’shusband was driving the auto-rickshaw. While the woman

and her two kids died on thespot, her husband sustainedcritical injuries and was rushedto a hospital at Sonepur fortreatment. The collisionbetween the two vehicles wasso intense that body parts of thevictims were severed followingthe mishap. Receiving infor-mation, a police team reachedthe spot and initiated aninquiry into the incident.However, the truck driver fledfrom the spot.

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Enforcement Directorate(ED) personnel raided themines and two offices of M/SKN Ram, a mines owner ofBarbil on Wednesday. Sourcesrevealed that the raid is to con-tinue till Thursday.

This is the third consecu-tive ED raid on the minesowners under Joda mining cir-cle. Before this, there was a raidon KJS Alluwalia mines andthen Kanshvi International ofDebabrata Behera who hasbagged the Siljora - Kalimatiiron block at a highest premi-um of 154 per cent.Sourcesclose to ED revealed that somemines owners were alleged to

be involved in bungling theirstock in the mines with figureof the book. There are also alle-gations that some of themwere obtaining goods permitpass from the mining office fordespatch of low grade materi-als but actually, they were dis-patching high grade materialscausing huge loss to theGovernment.After this raid,there is a sense of fear in themining sector of Joda andBarbil.

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Arehabilitation package withhuman touch for the pro-posed displaced people of theLower Suktel Irrigation Projectis likely to be declared soon toexpedite the project work, saidChairman of the WesternOdisha Development Council(WODC) Asit Tripathy aftertaking a review of differentongoing projects of the WODChere on Wednesday.

Stating that theGovernment is giving impor-tance to the Lower Suktel

Irrigation Project, Tripathy saidthat the project work is beingreviewed on a regular basis.After completion of the project,it would provide irrigationfacilities in 51,000 hectaresthrough underground system,Tripathy informed. To groomlocal entrepreneurs in westernOdisha, investors’ meetingswould be held at Sambalpurand Balangir.

Moreover, all the projectsundertaken with WODC fundswould be completed in a time-bound manner, said Tripathyfurther.

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Western OdishaDevelopment Council(WODC) Chairman AsitTripathy visited Bargarh andreviewed the progress of devel-opmental works in the districton Thursday.

He directed the districtadministration to focus ondevelopment of agro enter-prises. He said, “There ispromising scope for develop-ment of agro enterprise in thesectors of vegetable cultivation,horticulture, agriculture pro-duce processing, inland fish-ing, mushroom and sweetcorn cultivation in the district.These enterprises, while

attracting the youths, will alsocreate new employmentopportunities and willenhance per capita income inthe district." Tripathy alsodirected concerned districtofficers to identify the criticalgaps in infrastructure layingand service delivery. They

were asked to formulate essen-tial projects as per the identi-fied gaps and put those to theGovernment for financingunder the WODC funds. Atthe outset, Collector JyotiRanjan Pradhan outlined theissues and presented theupdates for the discussion.

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Apreparatory meeting forcelebration of the upcom-ing 72nd Republic Day at thedistrict level was held at theCollectorate at Chhatrapur onMonday. Ganjam CollectorVijaya Amrute Kulangepresided and discussed guide-lines for the event.

The meeting, among otherthings, emphasized on the useof face mask, adhering tosocial distancing, sanitisation,

and following SoP whileobserving the Republic Day indifferent places of the district.Kulange said that as per theguidelines issued by the StateHome Department, all exam-inations for general knowledgeand essay competitions amongthe students shall be held inonline mode.

Similarly, on behalf of theInformation and PublicRelations Department“Ramdhun” will be chantedthrough mike in the morning;the national flag will be hoist-ed in all private andGovernment institutions at7.15 am in the morning; andthe chief guest will unfurl thenational flag officially at 8.30am on the Police ground andtake salute and thereafter will

address the Corona warriorsand a limited audience.Due toCorona restrictions, the salutewill be taken by the policeforces only.

All the educational insti-tutions will follow the sameCovid guidelines and SoPwhile observing the 72ndRepublic Day in the same waythey did last year, Kulangepointed out. Kulange furthersaid that each educationalinstitution will sing nationalanthem at the time of unfurl-ing the tricolor.

Apart from the head of theinstitution, the teachers andonly three students will remainpresent. Similarly, Covid war-riors will be felicitated at theirrespective block levels, headded.

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Police busted a sex racketoperating at two abandonedquarters of the Rourkela SteelPlant (RSP) in Sector-13 andarrested two persons, includingthe woman kingpin, besidesrescuing two women of West

Bengal engaged in the fleshtrade on Tuesday night. Thearrested were identified asManas Ranjan Mohanty (28) ofKoel Nagar here and kingpinBharti Patra (40) of Sector-17in the city.

Police sources said Bhartihad earlier been arrested forher alleged involvement inflesh trade and later released.Thereafter, she came in contactwith Manas and engaged himin the racket. Residents of thelocality had informed policeabout the matter.

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State Planning Board DeputyChairman Sanjay Dasburmavisited Phulbani and held areview meeting there regardingwater supply, harvest collectionand employment programme.

As per information of CSOBhagaban Prasad Das,Kandhamal achieved 100 percent in food security. DasBurma asked whether thetokens were given to the farm-ers properly for the purchase ofpaddy.Kandhamal CollectorDr Brunda D said almost alllabourers had been included inthe Food Security Act but theinternal system was disturbing

the food distribution system.Regarding water supply, it wasinformed that Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik had given adirection to complete all pro-jects by 2022 and had sanc-tioned Rs 11,000 crore in theBudget. It was informed thatproject worth Rs 8,000 crorehad already been tendered.

Das Burma advised to fin-ish the tender process of fourother mega projects tillFebruary and send it to theCabinet for approval.In thereview meeting Youth WelfareBoard working president BijayaKumar Nayak was present,besides officials and local rep-resentatives.

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The ICSI, BhubaneswarChapter on Wednesdayelected Rajendra Kumar Karas its new chairman for 2021.

Also, JyotirmoyMishra,was elected vice-chair-man, Ajaya Kumar Majh sec-retary and Bimal PrasadPattanaik treasurer of thechapter.The new office-bear-ers would look after the devel-opment of CompanySecretaries in the State.

The committee would alsofocus on student members’development and coordinatewith different educationalinstitutions in the State forawareness amongst the stu-dents about the career

prospects of a CompanySecretary. The institute is pro-viding classroom teaching,reading rooms, library facili-ties to the students pursuingCompany Secretary course.

The institute has also organ-ising various academic andprofessional development pro-grammes for its members andstudents and other stake-holders.

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Even as fake food materialsmanufacturing units inCuttack and the Bhubaneswaroutskirts have raised seriouspublic concerns, now theBrahmapur police on Thursdaybusted an adulterated spicemaking factory at BadabazaarPandav Nagar in the city.

Acting on a tipoff, thepolice conducted a raid on thefood processing unit and seizedhuge cache of adulterated spicesand raw material processingmachines. The unit’s owner

Lingaraj Patra was operatingthe manufacturing unit for thelast two months. He used toprocure turmeric and chillipowder from outside and mixrice powder in them.

Later, he sold the items inthe local market. He procuredthe packets and labels of brand-ed companies from Raipur.Earlier on Wednesday, a jointsquad of the Commissioneratepolice and Food Safety officialsbusted an adulterated sauce andpickle manufacturing unit atPahala on the outskirtsBhubaneswar.

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Puri BJP MLA Jayant KumarSarangi has hit out at theState Government for demol-ishing the Emar Mutt. He toldthat it was unlawful to raze acenturies old heritage of thecountry, which, had saved peo-ple from hunger duringdraught, famine and flood inthe State.

Joining as chief guest in aseminar on ‘A prospective togrowth of Jagannath Dham’organised by ‘Mouthpiece', atabloid, Sarangi denounceddemolition saying no lawallows it as it is a protected her-itage under the rules. “I hadasked in Assembly as to under

which laws, the Governmentundertook the demolition ofEmar Mutt. But theGovernment replies were notsatisfactory," said Sarangi.Taking on the local adminis-tration, he told that the peo-ple have to pay bribes in officesfor works which is common inthe city. Presiding over theevent, E-24 Hospital MD ErRajesh Kumar Mishra said as anative of Puri, he did not locateany developmental change inthe town compared to what itwas two decades back.

He told that despite spend-ing of thousands of crores ofrupees, people ultimately foundno benefits today due to aim-less expenditures. He stressedthe need for a pressure groupto check the corruption andmonopoly in offices.Vidyabhushan Dr SantanuSenapati, Er Suresh Behera,

headmaster Mohan Sahu andsocial activist Prativa Tripathyspoke. Organization secretarySaroj Kiumar Mishra in wel-come address briefed the aimof the topic. JournalistLaxminarayan Patanaik coor-dinated the seminar with voteof thanks given by tabloid’sAssociate Editor SudiptaMishra.Among others jour-nalist Biswajit Pattnaik, BijayMishra, Papu Nayak, JupitorDas and Pathani Jena sharedtheir views.As many as 25schoolmates of Bhargabi HighSchool of 1981 matriculationbatch were special invitees.

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Vigilance sleuths conduct-ed raids at the houses ofa Gram Rozgar Sevak (GRS)on Thursday in connectionwith a disproportionate assetscase.Hemanu Bagh of Singsarigram panchayat inNabarangpur district has

allegedly accumulated assetsworth crores of rupeesbeyond known sources of hisincome.

Acting of a tipoff, fourVigi lance teams ofNabarangpur, Jeypore,Malkangiri and Nuapada haveconducted the raids on hishouses at Canal Street ofUmarkote.

During the raids, the offi-cials recovered cash of Rs17,83,000 in a bag. Further,alleged disproportionateproperties worth crores informs of buildings, plots,

vehicles, jewellery, insuranceand bank deposits and cashwere reportedly detected.

In another case,Batakrishna Kata,Horticulture Overseer,Daringbadi, Kandhamal dis-trict, was caught red-handedby the Vigilance police whiledemanding and accepting abribe of Rs 10,000 from onePure Pradhan of vil lageMalebadi, Daringbadi, inorder to process bills formango plantation under theMGNREGA scheme in favourof Pradhan.

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RN Mohanty, CEO ofSightsavers India (RoyalCommonwealth Society forthe Blind), has received theprestigious Prof BiswambharRajguru Oration Award-2020by the Odisha StateOphthalmological Society,which is one of the oldestmedical professionals’ associa-tions in the country.

The award is given everyyear to a reputed person forhis/her outstanding contribu-tion and leadership in the pub-lic health domain of ophthal-mology.The StateOphthalmological Societyselects individuals from Odishawho make outstanding contri-

bution in and outside of theState in the advancement ofophthalmology in the fightagainst blindness.

Mohanty said, “The dis-tinguished award once againbrings me more responsibilityand reinforces my commit-ment towards the cause of theorganisation.

Sightsavers India works insome of the most impoverishedrural districts along with 20cities that witness huge floatingpopulations from the ruralparts of the country.”

In last five years, theSightsavers India has con-tributed to more than 1 millioncataract surgeries in its eightprimary States, includingOdisha.

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The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) Bargarh led by itsconvenor Bhabani Sahuopposed the decision of themunicipality to increase hold-ing tax here.

The municipality hasimposed a higher tax burdenon the people. Under theMunicipality Act such a deci-sion is a reprehensible step con-sidering the urban tax payers'financial woes, said Sahu.

Holding taxes, street light-ing taxes, water taxes, andlatrine taxes are all included inthe service. But in many partsof the town, the services arebelow par, the AAP alleged.Water tax has been collected

without supplying water to thepeople. Similarly taxes arebeing levied in the city withouttoilets, the AAP charged anddubbed the hike in holding taxas unreasonable and unjust.The AAP demanded a meetingof the denizens to discuss theholding tax hike and a reason-able tax fixation for the people.

Among others, State sec-retary AAP Amitabh Patra,Swarup Bhoi, Mamata Behera,Mariyam Barla and KahirodBag were present.

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Bodies of an elderly couplewere found under mysteri-ous circumstances near a pondin Chaka Phulbani villageunder the Bhograi police sta-tion in Baleswar district onThursday morning.

The deceased couple wereidentified as Kahnu Mandal(78) and Shanti Mandal (70) ofthe village. While the cause oftheir death was yet to be ascer-tained, it was suspected thatthey committed suicide byconsuming poison.Police sentthe bodies for postmortemand began investigation intothe incident.

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The brigade which is spear-heading an agitationagainst the establishment oftwo mega multi crore projectssuch as the Subarnarekha portas well as a petrochemical uniton Wednesday vowed not toleave even an inch of land forthe projects.

Several speakers, includingrights activist and formerMinister Panchanan Kanungo,Prafulla Samantra, senior jour-

nalist Rabi Das, former MLAKishor Das, Chitta Sarangiand Tapas Praharaj echoedtheir voices against the projectsin a meeting held under theleadership of local leader ArunJena at Balibila Hatapadia herewhich was attended by hun-dreds of villagers under sixGPs of the block which aregoing to be affected by the pro-jects.

They said that during theinitial commission of Paradipport while around 15,000 peo-ple were working, currently,after 30 years the workersstrength had declined to about3,000 as the port had adoptedmechanised processes. Withthe increase of machineriesactivities the manpower hadreduced drastically. After theport in Baliapal, the minerals

of high value would be export-ed to other countries and bigcompanies and corporatewould earn huge profit but onthe contrary, a fertile patch ofland used for versatile cropsincluding paddy, coconut, betelvine and cashew nut would bedestroyed forever. This wouldlead to loss of livelihood ofhundreds.

More so, there is no officialannouncement regarding jobfor the land losers, they main-tained. Most of speakersrecalled the ‘Ghati Andalon’which was held in eightiesagainst establishment ofNational Test Range (NTR)and how villagers could suc-ceeded in not allowing projectthrough agitations. They said asimilar agitation would be heldto oppose projects.

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RDC Niranjan Sahoo discussed with OTPCLMarichakana Nuagaonbila Displaced TradeUnion leader Er Debashisha Hota in presenceof Dhenkanal Collector Bhumesh ChandraBehera on the various demands of the displacedpeople.

The villagers were holding a peaceful dhar-na in front of the Dhenkanal Collectorate onWednesday when the union leader was calledfor the meeting.RDC Sahoo assured to fulfill alldemands of the displaced during the 20-minutediscussion with Er Hota just before the 2ndRPDAC meeting in Dhenkanal.The demands ofthe union included publication of a fresh list ofdisplaced people considering all as majorsincluding girls; permanent job agreement withall displaced before their dislocation; mainte-

nance of all displaced till their permanentengagement; supply of certified copies of alldesigns, drawings, estimates, quality control andagreements of construction of displaced colony;construction of a concrete wall surrounding thecolony with well furnished inter-connectedroads, electric and drinking water facilities withKalyan Mandap, school and other amenities etc."I hope the OTPCL company authorities will ful-fill all demands as today’s discussion with theRDC was positive," Er Hota said.

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On January 23, Indiabegins year-long cele-brations of the 125thbirth anniversary ofNetaji Subhas Chandra Bose, anillustrious embodiment of courageand commitment. Bose rose as acolossus during the freedom strug-gle. He was with the CongressParty during 1921-1940, endear-ing himself to the young and oldalike, and was elected its presidenttwice. A brilliant student, he qual-ified in the ICS examination in1921 but resigned to serve themotherland. When he met MKGandhi for the first time inBombay’s Mani Bhavan, the differ-ence of approach was evident.Before this meeting, Gandhiji haddeclared that India should getswaraj within a year, and to getswaraj his stipulation was that 20lakh spinning wheels should startworking! The young and enthusi-astic Bose also wanted this to hap-pen but was not convinced thatspinning wheels was the way.Afterwards, Bose metDeshbandhu Chittaranjan Das,who was to become his politicalguru. Bose was, right from thebeginning, for total independence;no dominion status, no prolongeddelays. When the resolution forcivil disobedience and the launchof salt satyagrah was being passedin the Lahore session, only oneperson — who else but Bose —proposed an amendment: Itshould not be civil disobediencebut a parallel government.Narayan Desai puts it in thesewords: “The greatness of Subhasbabu is that though he had pro-posed the amendment, when thesalt satyagrah was launched, hesaid it was very good. We shouldput all our strength into it.” Thisindicates the greatness of his per-sona, and also how much respecthe had for Gandhiji and the partydiscipline. There were differencesthat eventually led to what couldbe termed parting of ways.However, the political maturityand single-minded focus of bothon the “target” erased any possi-ble bitterness.

After a couple of years, Boseand Vithalbhai Patel issued a jointstatement from Geneva assertingthat our country had progressed alot using non-violence but now ithad stopped; hence “a change ofleadership is required”! The hintwas obvious; it was aimed atGandhiji. At Gandhiji’s suggestion,Bose was elected the president ofthe Congress at the Vithal Nagarsession.

However, the working com-

mittee did not allow him to alterthe path. Next year, things werestrategically arranged againsthim but he won the election,defeating Pattabhi Sitaramayya.It was a sad moment in the free-dom struggle when Gandhijiwrote that “Pattabhi’s defeat ismy defeat”. Bose relinquishedthe post of the Congress Partypresident.

The story of differences inapproach and attitudes betweenthe stalwarts has certain otherdimensions that emerged afterBose’s great escape from housearrest to Afghanistan, Russia,Germany, and then to Japan. Heraised the Indian National Army(INA) after successfully ignitingthe patriotic fervour amongIndians in the South-East Asia.He founded the Government ofIndia-in-exile. As Commander-in-Chief of the INA, he enteredIndia from the Burmese border.It was for the independence ofIndia and against the might notonly of the British but the alliedpowers! Of the 60,000 INApersonnel, 26,000 — as per theofficial history — were killed.Maulana Azad, in his book‘India Wins Freedom’, writesabout how Netaji ’s great escapeand organisational acumen hadimpacted Gandhiji, who haddifferent views on Bose:“Gandhiji did not express anyopinion about the outcome ofthe war but, during the discus-sions with him, I felt that he wasbecoming doubtful about theAllied victory. I saw that SubhasBose’s escape to Germany hadmade a great impression onGandhiji. He had not formallyapproved many of his actions,but now I found a change in his

outlook. Many of his remarksconvinced me that he admiredthe courage and resourcefulnessSubhas Bose had displayed inescaping from India. His admi-ration for Subhas Bose uncon-sciously coloured his view aboutthe war situation.” MaulanaAzad also mentions how areport (which was later foundfalse) about Bose’s death deeplymoved Gandhiji along with theentire country: “He sent a con-dolence message to SubhasBose’s mother in which hespoke of Subhas in glowingterms.” Sir Stafford Cripps com-plained to Maulana Azad thathe had “not expected a man likeGandhi to speak in such termsabout Subhas Bose”. But Indiaendorsed this tribute as cultur-ally and ethically appropriatefrom a person of Gandhiji’sstature. India had fallen in lovewith Bose, had full faith in him,his strategy and the deep wis-dom behind alliances, his coun-trymen endorsed his “neeti”and “niyati” without hesitation.Gandhiji’s message to Bose’smother was picked up by themedia, both nationally andinternationally, for the obviousreasons. Louis Fisher, who wroteGandhiji’s much-acclaimedbiography, told him that “allover the world, you have creat-ed the impression of being aperson on the side of theJapanese”. Gandhiji’s answermust have shocked some of hisnear and dear ones as well: “Canyou show me a greater patriotthan him?”

What a great example ofmutual affection; one calls himthe “Father of the Nation”, theother says “show me a greater

patriot”! Is there another suchexample in contemporary his-tory? Today’s leaders could learna great lesson from this: Youmay differ but don’t go againsteach other. It is indeed necessaryto understand the chemistrybetween the two top heroes ofthe freedom struggle who haddiametrically opposite viewsand approaches, but each knewhow valuable the other was forthe nation. There was no let-upin the display of greatness fromeither side. When Bose was inexile and someone close to himwas to come to India, he advisedthe visitor: “If you have anyproblem or are confused aboutsomething, I have just one pieceof advice and that is you shouldgo and meet Gandhiji.” Bosehad referred to Gandhiji as“Unhi aamader jater janak”; heis the father of our country.

Recently, India celebrated150th birth anniversary ofGandhiji; India now prepares tocelebrate the 125th birthanniversary of Subhas ChandraBose. It is time to seriously pon-der over the contribution of Boseand the INA in the freedomstruggle. Those who claim themantle of Gandhian legacy andcame to power afterIndependence were, obviously,not as magnanimous asGandhiji. The way the history ofour freedom struggle has beenpresented to the young and theold could only be cited as “one-sided” and ideologically con-strained. Everyone knows whathappened to history writingduring the past five decades.Now that the official docu-ments exchanged between top-level British officers serving in

India are easily verifiable, sever-al new facts and details areemerging which have the poten-tial to put the roles of Bose andthe INA in the right perspective.

Was it all only ahimsa, civildisobedience and satyagrah?Was the role of revolutionaries,the young martyrs and the INAinsignificant? People have madeattempts to demand that histo-ry writing be freed from ideolog-ical constraints; it must re-examine facts that have beensubverted and take note ofdetails available throughresearch, new technology andofficial documents being madepublic. An example of howimportant, relevant and neces-sary this change is could be com-prehended by an incident citedin the book ‘Bose: An IndianSamurai’ by Maj Gen (Retd) GDBakshi. The final decision-maker on the withdrawal of theBritish rule from India was UKPrime Minister Clement Attlee.After demitting office, Attlee vis-ited India in 1956 and was theguest of Justice PB Chakraborty,the then Governor of WestBengal. Justice Chakrabortyasked Attlee that since the QuitIndia Movement had fizzledout by 1944, why did the Britishleave India after the war? Attleereplied that it was “because ofBose’s INA and the mutinies ittriggered in the British Indianarmed forces”. On what was therole of the Quit India Movementthen, “Attlee’s face twisted in asarcastic smile and he said‘Minimal’!” Does one need to saymore to prove how pivotal wasthe contribution of Bose and thevolunteers and martyrs of INAin expediting the attainment ofIndependence for India!

In a historic gesture, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi isgoing to inaugurate a nationalmuseum devoted to Netaji andthe INA in Kolkata. It would bea proud moment for all of us.The Netaji Subhas Bose-INATrust — a leading nationalorganisation devoted to spread-ing the message, commitmentand courage of Netaji amongthe future generations — hasgrand plans to celebrate theanniversary. Its illustrious chair-person, Brig (Retd) RSChhikara, repeatedly poses aquery: “Why don’t we have asuitable memorial for Netajiand the INA at a prominentplace in New Delhi where visi-tors from India and other coun-tries could pay their respects tothis great son of India and thebrave men who laid down theirlives at his call?” I have noanswer. Could we strive to getone?

(The author works in education and social cohesion. The views expressed arepersonal.)

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Ever since the World Trade Organisation(WTO) was founded in 1995, trade as a pro-portion of the world Gross Domestic Product(GDP) has risen by about 50 per cent. But India’sshare in the global merchandise trade is less thantwo per cent and in services trade it is less than fourper cent. The WTO conducted India’s seventh TradePolicy Review (TPR) between January 6-8. Sincethe last TPR in 2015, India has implemented sev-eral measures to facilitate trade, simplified proce-dures and fast-tracked customs clearances forimports and exports. This earned us a substantialjump in global rankings in the World Bank’s (WB’s)Ease of Doing Business Index.

India has sought a permanent solution on pub-lic stockholding for food security purposes andoffered to share its public stockpile of foodgrain tohelp poor countries. Big parts of the developingworld will rely on Indian manufacturers to supplyeasy to administer, affordably priced Coronavirusvaccines in large quantities. In order to ensure equi-table and affordable access to vaccines andCOVID-treatment for all, India has asked for ashort-term package of effective measures by theWTO, including a temporary waiver of certainTrade-Related Aspects of Intellectual PropertyRights (TRIPS) provisions to increase manufactur-ing capacity and ensure timely and affordable avail-ability of new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccinesfor the virus. India has also sought a multilateralinitiative to provide easier cross-border movementof healthcare professionals. Globalisation — liber-al trade flows across national borders — has beena defining feature of the global economy after WorldWar-II.

In the pre-World War-I era, Globalisation 1.0was characterised by rather unrestricted immigra-tion and cross-border capital and trade flows. Thenthe world became more interdependent and reg-ulated in the 19th Century (Globalisation 2.0). Thishas been both, the cause and effect of booming eco-nomic activity and unprecedented increase in theglobal population.

Globalisation 3.0 is the phase from the late1990s, characterised by the advent of the internetand the establishment of the WTO. Major advancesin information and communications technologydrastically altered the trade and investment world,solving some problems and creating new ones; cre-ating new risks of fraud, manipulation, data pri-vacy and security. Trade and capital liberalisation— particularly through regional free trade agree-ments and bilateral investment treaties — broughtthe integration of markets and cross-border expan-sion of global value chains, creating critical inter-dependencies.

Trade has been steadily growing since the early’70s with two major setbacks, one in 2008-09 as afallout of the global financial crisis and the secondin 2018-19 due to trade tensions and the econom-ic slowdown, now exacerbated by the COVID-19pandemic. Needless to say, travel and hospitalityindustries have been the hardest hit, among othersectors of the economy.

The United Nations Conference on Trade andDevelopment (UNCTAD) 2019 report highlightsthat international trade in physical goods hasincreased from about $10 trillion in 2005 to morethan $18.5 trillion in 2014. It fell in 2015/2016before rebounding to $19.4 trillion in 2018. Tradein services increased between 2005 and 2018 fromabout $2.5 trillion to $5.5 trillion.

The relative importance of developed countries

as suppliers in international markets isdeclining but they still account for abouthalf of the value of exports of goods andabout two-thirds of exports of services.In 2018, the export of goods from devel-oped countries was almost $10 trillion,while that of services added up to about$3.7 trillion. In 2018, developing coun-tries’ exports touched almost $9.5 trillionin goods and about $2 trillion in services.Of these, BRICS exported about one-third, $3.8 trillion in goods and about$600 billion in services.

Roughly, in 2018 the global GDP wasabout $80 trillion and global trade wasabout $25 trillion. India’s GDP of about$2.5 trillion and exports of about $0.5 tril-lion (around $300 billion goods exportsand $200 billion services exports) is asmall fraction of the global GDP andexports. The period of Globalisation 4.0is marked by disruption in the idea of thewhole world as a single market due tobreach of trust and allegations of manip-ulative trade. This trust deficit is causingeven regional groupings to unravel orfreeze. Terror, immigration, data priva-cy and security, political/security impli-cations of economic decisions on tradeand investments and automation’s impacton the future of work are some of themajor concerns.

The last 20 years have seen turbu-lence in international relations caused bypersisting concerns on terror and manip-ulative trade and investment under-mining fair practices and trust. Last yearsaw great disruption in global trade andcommerce and the COVID-19 pan-demic has accentuated fault lines. Thebelief that every country will play by therules of the game has been seriously dent-ed. During the pandemic, India emergedas a globally responsible nation and pro-vided critical medical supplies to around150 countries as the “pharmacy of theworld”, enhancing its credibility as a reli-

able supplier. Multiple hurdles in accessto medicines at affordable prices creat-ed by lopsided WTO rules for protect-ing intellectual property need to beremoved. The TRIPS Agreement did notenvisage a pandemic where demand forvaccines/medicines would surge.Intellectual Property Rights should notblock access to critical medicines andother devices required for the treatmentof the virus. These should be declared aspublic goods and made affordable withfair compensation to inventors.

The WTO is facing grave challengesin the form of unilateral measures andcountermeasures, deadlocks in key nego-tiations and impasse. Preserving theWTO’s fundamental principles andobjectives is crucial to ensuring thecredibility of the multilateral rules-basedtrading system. The WTO needs reformsto restore trust, fairness and responsibil-ity in international trade.

Global economic partnerships mustkeep in mind the different size and pop-ulation of each country, unequal levels ofeconomic and human development anddifferent political systems. India hasplaced humanity at the centre of its glob-al engagement policy. Our democraticcredentials, rule-based polity and asteadfast track record in sincerely meet-ing commitments under all treaties andconventions are appreciated by the world.

The pandemic has shown that theglobal economy needed to focus andbrace itself against external supply shocks.Global economic resilience can beachieved by stronger domestic econom-ic capacities, restoring the health of thefinancial system and diversification ofinternational trade.

The pandemic has provided a win-dow of opportunity for building capac-ities, expanding manufacturing as well asplugging critical gaps and vulnerabilitiesin global value chains. India has tradition-

ally enjoyed global goodwill and respectas a healthcare and technology servicesprovider and holds immense promise toboost services export. With ‘Make inIndia’ and ‘Assemble in India’, a call hasbeen given to global businesses to con-sider the country as an alternative man-ufacturing hub, producing not just for thelarge and growing domestic market butalso for exports. Production-linkedincentives have been rolled out acrossseveral sectors. India has a centuries old,rich tradition of international trade.The terms of global trade became seri-ously adverse during colonial rule. Indiawas so scarred by colonial exploitation,started by a trading company thatbecame a political power, that post-Independence India almost opted todevelop as a closed economy.

The process of opening up the econ-omy started in the ’90s but despite sev-eral reforms, business is still heavily bur-dened and hassled. The regulatory andtaxation regime continues to be burden-some, costly, dilatory and arbitrary.Unfettered discretionary powers fuelcorruption and harassment. Although insome areas technological innovations likerandomised risk-based selection of casesfor scrutiny and inspections to detectnon-compliance have been introduced,a lot more remains to be done. We haveto change the cutting edge of adminis-tration, mired in inefficiency and corrup-tion down the multi-layer structure ofgovernance, up to the lowest level. Thisaffects business and entrepreneurship. Toenhance our share in global trade, wehave to address issues that plague ourindustry and business. Even though theefforts are on to do this, they need steadyacceleration.

(The writer is former SpecialSecretary, Ministry of Commerce and

Industry. The views expressed are personal.)

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Beijing: China on Thursdayannounced its backing forUnited Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres whois seeking a second five-yearterm as the chief of the worldbody.

Guterres, 71, whose currentterm ends on December 31, ina letter to General AssemblyPresident Volkan Bozkir hasexpressed his wish to continuefor another five years, Chineseofficial media here reported.

“I am available to serve asecond term as the Secretary-General of the United Nations,if that will be the will of mem-ber states,” Guterres said in a let-ter to Bozkir. Chinese ForeignMinistry spokesperson HuaChunying told a media briefinghere that since Guterres took

office as the Secretary-General,he has led the UN to play anactive role in maintaining worldpeace and security, promotingsustainable development andpushing forward internationalcooperation in combating thepandemic, asserting that Chinahighly appreciates it.

“China believes thatGuterres is a suitable candidatefor the next secretary-general.We are ready to work with theinternational community tocontinue to support the work ofthe United Nations andGuterres, to jointly promote thecause of world peace and devel-opment and to build a com-munity with a shared future formankind,” she added.

Guterres, the ninthSecretary-General of the UnitedNations, took office on January1, 2017. Prior to his appoint-ment as Secretary-General,Guterres served as UnitedNations High Commissioner

for Refugees (UNHCR) fromJune 2005 to December 2015,heading one of the world’s fore-most humanitarian organisa-tions during some of the mostserious displacement crises indecades. PTI

Baghdad: Twin suicide bomb-ings ripped through a busymarket in the Iraqi capitalThursday, killing at least 32 peo-ple and wounding dozens, offi-cials said.

The rare suicide bombingattack hit the Bab al-Sharqicommercial area in centralBaghdad amid heightened polit-ical tensions over planned earlyelections and a severe econom-ic crisis. Blood smeared thefloors of the busy market amidpiles of clothes and shoes as sur-vivors took stock of the disarrayin the aftermath.

No one immediately tookresponsibility for the attack,but Iraqi military officials saidit was the work of the IslamicState group.

Iraq’s health ministerHassan Mohammed al-Tamimisaid at least 32 people werekilled and 110 others werewounded in the attack. He saidsome of the wounded were inserious condition. Iraq’s militarypreviously put the number ofdead at 28.

The Health Ministry

announced that all of its hospi-tals in the capital were mobilizedto treat the wounded.

Maj. Gen. Tahsin al-Khafaji,spokesman for the JointOperations Command, whichincludes an array of Iraqi forces,said the first suicide bombercried out loudly that he was illin the middle of the bustlingmarket, prompting a crowd to

gather around him — and that’swhen he detonated his explosivebelt. The second detonated hisbelt shortly after, he said.

“This is a terrorist act per-petrated by a sleeper cell of theIslamic State,” al-Khafaji said. Hesaid IS “wanted to prove its exis-tence” after suffering manyblows in military operations toroot out the militants. AP

Manila: A powerful earthquakeshook parts of the southernPhilippines on Thursday night,but authorities said it was toodeep to cause major damage andno tsunami warning was issued.

The quake measured a pre-liminary 7.0 magnitude andwas located 95.8 kilometers (60miles) below the sea and about210 kilometers (130 miles)southeast of Pondaguitan inDavao Occidental province, theUS Geological Survey said.

The earthquake was felt innearby cities and provinces inthe region, the PhilippineInstitute of Volcanology andSeismology said.

The USGS said there was alow likelihood of casualties ordamage. The US TsunamiWarning System said there wasno tsunami threat. Deep earth-quakes generally cause less dam-age on the Earth’s surface. Thesouthern Davao region has beenbattered by powerful earth-quakes set off by local fault linesin recent years. AP

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Washington: President JoeBiden on Wednesday revoked arecent Trump administrationreport that aimed to promote“patriotic education” in schoolsbut that historians mocked andrejected as political propaganda.

In an executive order signedin his first day in office, Bidendisband Donald Trump’s presi-dential 1776 Commission andwithdrew a report it releasedMonday.

Trump established thegroup in September to rallysupport from white voters andas a response to The New YorkTimes’ “1619 Project,” whichhighlights the lasting conse-

quences of slavery in America.In its report, which Trump

hoped would be used in class-rooms across the nation, thecommission glorifies the coun-try’s founders, plays downAmerica’s role in slavery, con-demns the rise of progressivepolitics and argues that the civilrights movement ran afoul of the“lofty ideals” espoused by theFounding Fathers.

The panel, which includedno professional historians ofthe United States, complained of“false and fashionable ideolo-gies” that depict the country’sstory as one of “oppression andvictimhood.” AP

Washington: World leaderssaid they were looking forwardto working with Joe Biden, asthey welcomed the 46thPresident of the United Stateswith praise and took partingshots at his predecessor DonaldTrump.

Biden on Wednesdayvowed to repair America’salliances and engage with theworld once again.

In his inaugural speechafter being sworn in as thePresident in a historic butscaled down ceremony, the 78-year-old veteran Democraticleader said: “We’ll be a strongand trusted partner for peace,progress and security”.

“America has been testedand we’ve come out stronger forit. We will repair our alliancesand engage with the worldonce again, not to meet yes-terday’s challenges but today’sand tomorrow’s challenges. Wewill lead not merely by theexample of our power, by thepower of our example. We’ll bea strong and trusted partner forpeace, progress, and security,”Biden said.

Here is how the worldleaders reacted to the inaugu-ration of Biden and KamalaHarris as the Vice President:

“Once again, after fourlong years, Europe has a friendin the White House,” EuropeanCommission President Ursulavon der Leyen said.

Charles Michel, presidentof the European Council,tweeted congratulations toBiden and Harris, adding: “It’stime to bring back conviction& common sense and rejuve-nate our EU-US relationship.”

NATO’s Secretary GeneralJens Stoltenberg called Biden’sinauguration “the start of a newchapter for the transatlanticAlliance.”

“NATO Allies need tostand together to address thesecurity consequences of therise of China, the threat of ter-rorism, including inAfghanistan and Iraq, and amore assertive Russia,” he said.

“At a time when the gravecrises facing our human fam-ily call for far-sighted andunited responses, I pray thatyour decisions will be guidedby a concern for building asociety marked by authenticjustice and freedom,” PopeFrancis said.

Prime Narendra Modi

tweeted: “My warmest con-gratulations to Joe Biden on hisassumption of office asPresident of the United Statesof America. I look forward toworking with him to strength-en India-US strategic partner-ship.”

German ChancellorAngela Merkel also offered her“warmest congratulations,”adding that she looks forwardto a “new chapter” inGermany’s relationship with

the US, according to a tweetfrom her spokesman SteffenSeibert.

French PresidentEmmanuel Macron markedthe day with a tweet welcom-ing the US back into the Parisclimate agreement. “We aretogether. We will be stronger toface the challenges of our time.Stronger to build our future.Stronger to protect our planet.Welcome back to the ParisAgreement,” Macron said. PTI

Geneva: President Joe Biden’stop medical adviser on Covid-19, Dr Anthony Fauci, onThursday announced renewedUS support for the WorldHealth Organisation after itfaced blistering criticism fromthe Trump administration, lay-ing out new commitments totackle the coronavirus and otherglobal health issues.

Fauci, speaking by video-conference from pre-dawnUnited States to WHO’s execu-tive board, said the US will jointhe UN health agency’s effortsto bring vaccines, therapeuticsand diagnostics to people in

need, whether in rich or poorcountries. He said the US willalso resume full funding andstaffing support for WHO.

Fauci’s quick commitmentto WHO — whose response tothe coronavirus outbreak wasrepeatedly berated by theTrump administration —marks a dramatic and vocalshift toward a multilateralapproach to fighting the pan-demic.

“I am honoured toannounce that the United Stateswill remain a member of theWorld Health Organisation,”Fauci said. AP

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Washington: US PresidentJoe Biden’s powerful inaugur-al speech, penned by VinayReddy, has received glowingtributes for its meticulouscrafting and emphasis on theimportance of democracy,unity and hope in the midst ofchallenging times.

Reddy — an Indian-American from Telanganawho wrote the speech that out-lined Biden’s goals for hisadministration, focusing onhealing from the current state

of division in national politics— has been praised for his“calming” and “inspiring”words.

Here is a quote fromBiden’s speech:

“This is America’s day, thisis democracy’s day, the day ofhistory and hope. Today we cel-ebrate a triumph, not of a can-didate, but of a cause. We havelearned again that democracy isprecious, democracy is fragile.At this hour my friends,Democracy has prevailed.” PTI

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Delhi: Shivalik Small Finance Bank (SSFB) announced the receiptof a licence from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to carry on bank-ing business as a Small Finance Bank (SFB) in India. This marksthe successful completion of the last major step in the transitionof Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank (SMCB) to a SFB.SMCB is the first Urban Cooperative Bank (UCB) in India totransition to a Small Finance Bank under the voluntarytransi-tion scheme.

New Delhi: Society ofIndian AutomobileManufacturers (SIAM)marked the beginning ofNational Road Safetymonth with the inaugura-tion of first ever VirtualRoad Safety EducativeGallery. Shri Rajnath Singh,Honorable Defense Minister and Shri Nitin Gadkari,Honorable Minister of Ministry of Road Transport &Highways inaugurated the virtual gallery. The inauguralevent was also graced by Dr V K Singh, MP, Lok Sabha; MrAmitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog and other senior leadersfrom Ministry and other eminent dignitaries.

The safety gallery is based on guidelines of UnitedNations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, whichis divided under five sectors capturing different aspects ofroad safety. The gallery showcases the projects and aware-ness drives led by SIAM members, industry stakeholdersand multiple other national and international organisations.Road Safety education gallery is intended to help millionsof common citizens of all age groups from across Indiaaccess information related to road safety with click of a but-ton sitting at place of convenience or home 24×7.The pri-mary objective of the virtual gallery is to educate individ-uals about the safety and drive behavioral changes by incul-cating best practices across age groups, thus making Indianroads safer.

New Delhi: Traders' bodyCAIT on Thursday said theongoing farmers' agitation inDelhi-NCR has caused a busi-ness loss of nearly �50,000crore.

Confederation of All IndiaTraders (CAIT) Secretary-General Praveen Khandelwalsaid the government's freshproposal to keep farm laws inabeyance for one-and-a-halfyear and constitute a jointcommittee with farmer leaders“is quite justified and reason-able which indicates its will-ingness to resolve the crisis”.

Khandelwal said that there-fore, now, the farmers should

accept this proposal in thelarger interest of farming com-munity and those engaged inagriculture trade, and call offtheir agitation.

If farmers still do notaccept the proposal of the gov-ernment, it will be construedthat they are not interested insolution but certain divisiveforces are more willing to cre-

ate problems, he added.Khandelwal appealed to

the government that tradersshould also be given represen-tation in proposed joint com-mittee.

“If any agreement isachieved without taking thetraders into confidence, thefarm (law) issue will remain incontroversy and all exercise ofthe government may prove tobe futile.

“We look for a compre-hensive solution of the con-tentious issue, and legitimateinterest of all stakeholdersneeds to be protected,” he said. PTI

��&���4��������������������56,������ ����7�����%1� New Delhi: The Commerce Ministryhas recommended imposition of anti-

dumping duty on a Chinese chemicalused in dye and pharma industries forfive years to guard domestic playersfrom cheap imports.

Directorate General of TradeRemedies (DGTR) has recommend-ed the duty after concluding in itsprobe that 'Aniline' from China hasbeen exported at dumped prices intoIndia, which impacted the domesticindustry.

“Definitive anti-dumping duty isrecommended to be imposed for fiveyears...,” the directorate has said in anotification.

DGTR had conducted the probefollowing a complaint from a domes-tic player. Gujarat Narmada ValleyFertilizers and Chemicals Ltd had filedan application for anti-dumping inves-

tigation on imports of Aniline origi-nating in or exported from China.

The recommended duty is USD36.9 per tonne and USD 121.79 pertonne. The finance ministry takes thefinal decision to impose duty.

“The authority is of the view thatimposition of anti-dumping isrequired to offset dumping and injury.Therefore, authority recommendsimposition of anti-dumping duty onimports,” the notification said.

Aniline is also known as AnilineOil. It is essential for industries suchas drugs, pharmaceuticals, dyes anddye intermediates.

In a separate notification, DGTRhas suggested the continuation of theduty on imports of 'MethyleneChloride' from China for five moreyears. This chemical is also used in thepharmaceuticals industry. PTI

New Delhi: The Government could lookat providing deductions for expensesincurred by salaried employees whileworking from home in the upcomingBudget as it looks to boost demand, con-sulting firm PwC India said on Thursday.

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