Republic Day: India to invite Central Asian nations

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 12

India is holding a conference of Foreign Ministers from all five Central Asian countries this week, where External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to discuss the possibility of their heads of government attending next year's Republic Day celebrations.

South Block's earlier idea of inviting BIMSTEC countries failed to get traction. That would have meant Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing joining Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand and Sri Lanka for the Republic Day celebrations. This would not have gone down well with the international community, which is keeping him at an arm's distance.

This year's Republic Day parade resulted in a no-show as the chief guest, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, could not leave his country due to a surge in Covid cases.

India has frequently touched base with leaders of Central Asian countries, both in stand-alone mode as well as through the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

At a recent SCO meet, Jaishankar had outlined why these countries were important as India sought to develop a route into Afghanistan and beyond without transiting through Pakistan. India, he had said, was taking steps to operationalise the Chabahar port in Iran.

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HSEB for Class-8 exams in all schools, but minister says decision withdrawn

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12

When it comes to the Class VIII examination in Haryana, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing or so it seems.

While the Haryana School Education Board (HSEB) is readying to conduct Class VIII examinations in all schools in the state irrespective of their board affiliations from next year, Education Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar maintains that the decision has already been shelved.

Confusion prevails

• HSEB issues circular to bring all schools, irrespective of their board affiliations, under its ambit
• Education Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar, however, asserts the decision has been shelved

Meanwhile, under pressure from the HSEB to "fall in line" and provide student-related data, the owners of the schools affiliated to boards other than the HSEB are up in arms and ready to drag the state board to court for imposing "dual affiliation" on them.

Trouble began when the HSEB recently initiated the first step to bring all schools under its ambit. Through a circular to the schools on December 8, it asked them to upload student-related data on its portal. "We have, so far, only asked schools to provide data of students up to Class VIII. We haven't asked for any affiliation fee so far," said HSEB chairman Jagbir Singh.

Vice-chairman VP Yadav explained that the HSEB would affiliate these schools up to Class VIII and is well within its right to conduct the examinations since the other boards conduct examinations at the secondary level. "We have taken the Centre's clarification on this. Also, the rules clearly state that admissions up to Class VIII will be regulated by the governments where the school is located. We are preparing to hold the Class VIII exams for the students of all schools except Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas," he explains.

While the HSEB is working on a war footing to be ready to conduct examinations in March 2022, the minister, when contacted, categorically said the order had been withdrawn.

"The decision to hold Class VIII examinations was taken by the government last year. We reviewed it in the light of the new education policy which makes no mention of the Class VIII exam. Also, how can we conduct examinations for schools affiliated to other boards? That order has been withdrawn and Class VIII exams will not be held at all and certainly not for schools affiliated to other boards," Gujjar emphasised.

Progressive Private School Association president Anil Kaushik said: "We will approach the court since the HSEB is being unreasonable. It wants to mint money by forcing us to take affiliation, it will charge enrolment fee and then exam fee. The CBSE or any other board does not allow dual affiliation."

Sources in the Education Department said the decision to revoke the order on holding Class VIII examinations had been brought to the notice of the Chief Minister as well.

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Omicron tally 38, first case in Chd; take call on booster dose, say experts

Chandigarh/Bengaluru, Dec 12

Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh reported their first Omicron case on Sunday, while Maharashtra and Karnataka each recorded one more case of the Covid-19 variant, taking the tally in the country to 38. All five persons in the cases reported on Sunday had arrived from foreign countries.

According to state health officials, a 20-year-old fully vaccinated man, who arrived in Chandigarh from Italy to meet his relatives, and a 34-year-old foreign traveller, who came from Ireland to Mumbai and then to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, have tested positive for the variant. A man who arrived from South Africa became the third person to test positive for Omicron in Karnataka, while a 40-year-old man tested positive after returning to Nagpur in Maharashtra from a West African country. The patient in Kerala is a native of the state who recently came from the UK.

ICMR develops kit to detect Omicron in 2 hrs

The Indian Council of Medical Research has developed a kit that can detect Omicron variant within two hours

At present, a minimum of 36 hours is required for targeted sequencing and four to five days for whole-genome sequencing to detect the variant

Till now, Omicron has been detected in Maharashtra (18), Rajasthan (9), Karnataka (3), Karnataka (3), Delhi (2), Andhra Pradesh (1), Kerala (1) and Chandigarh (1).

Scientists, meanwhile, said a booster dose against Covid-19 raised the amount of circulating antibodies and was shown to increased protection from symptomatic infection with Omicron. They underlined that boosters could be the simplest step forward, especially for the vulnerable.

Reacting to the statement of UK Health Security Agency that booster dose of Covishield is effective against Omicron and a third booster dose provides 70-75 per cent protection against symptomatic infection, virologists and epidemiologists underlined that booster doses of any vaccine exponentially raised antibody level.

Eminent virologist Dr Shahid Jameel said it must be ensured that those who got only one dose of Covishield get the second dose in 8-12 weeks instead of 12-16 weeks.

"Make a policy on boosters. What vaccines to use? Who should get it? And when? Make a policy and start vaccinating children starting with adolescents," he said.

Jameel said in India, four vaccines could be used as boosters: Covaxin in people who got Covishield and vice versa, DNA vaccine ZyCov-D, Covovax protein vaccine from SII and Corbev ax-E protein vaccine from Biological E. — PTI

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In works, common electoral rolls for LS, Assembly polls

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 12

The government has informed a parliamentary panel that it was working on fixing four cut-off dates every year for people to enrol as voters by amending the electoral law and has contended that the move would eventually pave the way for a common list of voters for the Lok Sabha, Assembly and local body (both urban and rural) polls.

Arguing in favour of the move, the government contended that multiple dates in a year for enrolments in electoral rolls would also make more youngsters eligible to participate in the election process.

Why the proposal

• Having four cut-off dates instead of one will make more youth eligible for voting
• Currently, only an individual who turns 18 on cut-off date Jan 1 is eligible to vote for any poll that year
• The parliamentary panel has suggested four cut-off dates—Jan 1, April 1, July 1 and Oct 1

The Election Commission of India (ECI) had been pushing for multiple cut-off dates to allow more eligible people to register as voters. Currently, for an election to be held in a particular year, only an individual who has attained the age of 18 years as on January 1 of that year or before is considered eligible to get enrolled as a voter.

The ECI had told the government that the January 1 cut-off date set for the purpose deprived several youngsters from participating in the electoral exercise held in a particular year and they had to inordinately wait for the next year. The Ministry of Law amp; Justice has told the department-related Standing Committee headed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushil Kumar Modi said it had proposed to amend Section 14(b) of the Representation of the People Act "to insert four qualifying dates (or cut-off dates)—January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 of every year".

It said a comprehensive draft Cabinet note "containing this proposal (of four qualifying dates) as well as a few other important electoral reform proposals taken up by the Election Commission is under preparation". The committee had on Friday tabled its 109th report on "Action Taken on 107th report of the Committee on Demands for Grants (2021-22), pertaining to the Ministry of Law and Justice".

The parliamentary panel has also referred to its earlier observation where it had reiterated its recommendation for the implementation of a common electoral roll in the country and desired that "all-out efforts" should be made in this regard.

The committee also observed that multiple qualifying dates will encourage the states to use common electoral rolls "so as to avoid preparation of separate voters' list, which causes duplication of the task between two different agencies and unnecessary expenditure". The respective state election commissions (SECs) hold the local body (both urban and rural) elections in the states. The SECs are separate bodies and are not part or linked to the ECI.

The Election Commission of India is mandated to hold presidential, vice-presidential, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state Assembly and state legislative council polls.

The legislative department in the law ministry is the nodal agency to deal with issues related to the Election Commission of India.

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CBSE paper sparks row over 'gender stereotyping'

New Delhi, December 12

A comprehension passage in the CBSE Class 10 English question paper has sparked a controversy for allegedly promoting "gender stereotyping" and supporting "regressive notions", prompting the board to refer the matter to subject experts on Sunday.

In the Class 10 exam conducted on Saturday, the question paper carried a comprehension passage with sentences like "emancipation of women destroyed the parent's authority over the children" and "it was only by accepting her husband's way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones", among others. The excerpts went viral on social media. — PTI

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Farm laws repeal, private cryptocurrency ban top bills as winter session begins on Monday, Oppn wants law on MSP

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 28

Bills to repeal three controversial farm laws, ban private cryptocurrencies and extend the service tenures of CBI and Enforcement Directorate chiefs will top the government's legislative agenda in the winter session of Parliament starting on Monday.

In line with prime minister Narendra Modi's announcement to withdraw the agricultural reform legislations passed by both houses in September last year, the government has listed The Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021 for passage in the Lok Sabha on the very first day of the session tomorrow.

The bill may also be brought up in Rajya Sabha on Monday as supplementary agenda.

The joint opposition, in a meeting called by the government today to discuss the parliamentary discussion items, demanded that farm laws be repealed on priority and a law to guarantee minimum support price be also brought in the session.

Compensation for the families of 700 farmers who died during the course of the yearlong agitation triggered by farm laws was another demand of the united opposition at the government meeting chaired by defence minister and leader of Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh in the Parliament House Complex this morning.

"The meeting today was very constructive. Important issues were flagged by the opposition which raised the need for greater discussion in Parliament. We also want a healthy discussion in both houses," Rajnath Singh said after the meeting with parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi assuring that the government was ready to discuss any issue within rules and procedures.

"We sought opposition support for smooth functioning of Parliament," said Joshi after the monsoon session was washed out over a deadlock on the Pegasus snooping issue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend the meeting today with the opposition leaders voicing disappointment at the PM's absence.

The government however clarified that the PM had prior engagements which kept him away.

At the meeting attended by 30 parties, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge demanded discussion on Covid preparations, Rs 4 lakh compensation for each family that has lost a ward to Covid, debate on Chinese aggression, inflation and fuel prices rise, unemployment, Women's reservation bill and Pegasus snooping.

There was consensus among opposition leaders on priority repeal of farm laws and legal MSP apart from a discussion on inflation, joblessness, Covid management, Pegasus, with the TMC also flagging the issue or extended BSF jurisdiction in border states and the need for greater scrutiny of government bills.

"The government listened to us and said the business advisory committee of the two houses will prioritise the agenda. We had expected the PM to be present but he did not come. The opposition raised 15 to 20 demands, with farm law repeal and legal MSP our joint priority," Kharge said.

The Aam Aadmi Party walked out of the meeting with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh saying the government did not allow him to speak.

"I wanted to raise the issue of MSP law and compensation for families of 700 farmers who have died but I was not allowed to speak," Singh said.

Thirty parties present in the meeting besides the BJP were INC, DMK, AITC, YSRCP, JD(U), BJD, BSP, TRS, SS, LJSP, NCP, SP, CPI(M), IUML, TDP, Apna Dal, CPI, NPF, SAD, AAP, AIADMK, KC(M), MNF, RSP, RPI(A), RJD, NPP, MDMK, JKNC, TMC( M).

The day saw a series of meetings of NDA floor leaders followed by a meeting of house leaders called by Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and another called by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

The government has for its part listed 36 bills for the session.

These include bills replacing the following three ordinances promulgated during inter-session period — the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, and The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021. These ordinances are required to be enacted as Acts of Parliament within a period of six weeks from the reassembly of Parliament.

Among major bills on the agenda are — The Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021; The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021; The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021; The Dam Safety Bill, 2019 as passed by Lok Sabha; The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill. 2019 as passed by Lok Sabha; The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020.

The cryptocurrency bill seeks to ban private crypto currencies and create a framework for the issuance of official digital currency by the RBI. The bill will however provide some exceptions to promote the underlying cryptocurrency technology and its uses.

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Tomato prices may stay high for another 2 months: Crisil

New Delhi, November 28

Prices of staple vegetable tomato are likely to stay elevated for two more months, CRISIL said.

Tomatoes account for 10 per cent of the total vegetable production in India.

"With standing crops damaged by excess rains in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, which are key suppliers of tomato during October-December, supply is down materially," the rating agency said.

Ground surveys indicate that the situation is so grim in Karnataka that tomatoes are being sent from Maharashtra's Nashik, it added.

"Not surprisingly, prices of tomatoes have increased 142 per cent on-year as on November 25 and are expected to remain elevated for the next 45-50 days till the harvest from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan reach markets across the country beginning January." In addition, prices of onion are expected to decline in the next 10-15 days when newly harvested produce reaches markets in northern India, it added.

"Transplanting was delayed in the key growing regions of Maharashtra because of deficit rains in August. That delayed arrivals in October, leading to a 65 per cent increase in onion prices compared with September," the agency said.

On the contrary, potato prices are likely to rise in the next couple of months as heavy rains may affect sowing and subsequently the yield, the agency said.

Tomato, onion, and potato are the three major vegetables consumed in the country. IANS

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Omicron reportedly has 30+ mutations in spike protein region, may bypass vaccines: AIIMS chief

New Delhi, November 27

The new Omicron variant of coronavirus has reportedly got over 30 mutations in the spike protein region giving it the potential to develop a immunoescape mechanism, and thus the efficacy of vaccines against it needs to be evaluated critically, AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guelria has said.

The presence of spike protein facilitates a virus' entry into the host cell and is responsible for making it transmissible and causing infection.

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Read also:

Govt to review decision on restarting international flights, SOP for incoming passengers amid Omicron concerns

'Increase testing, monitor hotspots': Centre alerts states over new Covid variant

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"The new variant of coronavirus reportedly has got more than 30 mutations in the spike protein region and therefore has the potential of developing immunoescape mechanisms. As most vaccines (work by) forming antibodies against the spike protein, so many mutations at the spike protein region may lead to a decreased efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines," AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guelria told PTI.

In such a scenario, the efficacy of vaccines, including those in use in India, needs to be evaluated "critically", he said.

The future course of action will depend on what more data on its transmissibility, virulence and immunoescpae shows, he said.

The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia INSACOG is closely tracking the new variant of COVID-19 called B.1.1.529 and its presence has not been detected yet in the country, officials have said.

Dr Guleria emphasised the need to be very vigilant and having aggressive surveillance both for international travellers and in the region where there is a sudden increase in the number of cases.

"Also, we must ask everyone to religiously follow Coivd-appropriate behaviour and not let their guards down. Also, it has to be ensured that people get both the doses of vaccine and those who have not yet taken the jab are encouraged to come forward to take it," he said.

The new, and potentially more contagious variant, was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa on November 24. It has since been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel among other countries.

On Friday, it was designated a 'Variant of Concern' by the WHO, which named it Omicron. A 'Variant of Concern' is the WHO's top category of worrying Covid-19 strain.

The Centre on Thursday asked all states and union territories to conduct rigorous screening and testing of all international travellers coming from or transiting through South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana.

In a letter to the additional chief secretary/principal secretary/secretary (Health) of all states and union territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan asked them to ensure that samples of travellers turning positive are sent to the designated genome sequencing laboratories promptly. PTI

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ED summons Amazon, Future Group executives in FEMA probe

New Delhi, November 28

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned senior executives of Amazon India, including its country head Amit Agarwal, and that of the Future Group for questioning in a foreign exchange violation probe linked to the disputed deal between the two conglomerates, official sources said on Sunday.

The executives have been summoned along with documents for the coming week under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), they said.

Amazon India head Agarwal, some other senior officials of the company and those of the Future Group have been called, the sources said.

The investigation is being conducted under various sections of the FEMA after the federal agency received a communication from the Commerce Ministry early this year seeking "necessary action" against e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart pertaining to certain multi-brand retail businesses and an observation made by the Delhi High Court in relation to Amazon.

The HC had said that the attempt made by the US-based firm to control Future Retail through a conflation of agreements it has with an unlisted unit of the Indian company will be considered as violative of the FEMA and foreign direct investment (FDI) rules.

The executives have been asked to join so that investigation can be taken forward. The agency has gathered details from the documents submitted by the companies earlier and other sources over the last few months, agency sources said.

An Amazon spokesperson said they were examining the ED summons.

"We are in receipt of summons issued by the ED in connection with the Future Group. As we have just received the summons, we are examining it and will respond within the given time frame," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The Kishore Biyani-led Future Group did not respond to the queries over the development.

Amazon and Future Group have been battling it out in courts after the Kishore Biyani-led group in August last year agreed to sell its assets to billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail on a slump sale basis for Rs 24,500 crore.

Amazon is objecting to the sell-off plans, accusing Future Group of breaching its 2019 investment pact. Future Coupons was founded in 2008 and is engaged in the business of marketing and distribution of gift cards, loyalty cards, and other rewards programmes to corporate customers. The US-based company had approached the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) as well as in Indian courts.

Earlier this month, a promoter entity of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) had been asked by the ED to provide documents pertaining to the 2019 deal with Amazon. FRL had noted that it has not received any direction to provide any document.

The independent directors of FRL have approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI), urging it to revoke the approval it had given to the Amazon-FCPL deal in 2019, alleging the e-commerce major of making false statements before it.

Amazon has also written to the independent directors of FRL, alleging "significant financial irregularities", and said this warrants a "thorough and independent examination" of relevant facts and related party transactions between FRL and other Future Group entities.

It has also reached out to CCI, requesting it to "act in aid of the binding injunctions operating against FRL, FCPL and the Biyanis, in terms of the EA (emergency arbitrator) Order and the Order on Vacate Application and recall the Observation Letters forthwith". PTI

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Rakesh Tikait demands law to guarantee MSP to farmers

Mumbai, November 28

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday demanded that the Centre bring a law to guarantee Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops to protect the interest of farmers in the country.

In Mumbai to participate in the 'kisan mahapanchayat (farmers' mega conclave) at the Azad Maidan under the Samyukta Shetkari Kamgar Morcha (SSKM) banner, Tikait said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a supporter of the MSP when he was the chief minister of Gujarat and wanted a nationwide law to ensure farmers' interests were guaranteed.

He accused the Modi-led central government of running away from a debate over the issue.

"The Centre should bring a law to guarantee MSP to farmers. There are several issues related to the agriculture and labour sectors that need attention and we will travel all over the country to highlight them," he said.

Tikait also demanded that financial aid be given to the kin of farmers who died in the year-long protest against the Centre's three agri marketing laws.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government's decision to repeal the three farm laws, which were at the centre of protests by farmers.

Many farmers were encamped at Delhi's borders since November 2020 with a demand that the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law enacted to guarantee the MSP on crops.

The Centre, which held several rounds of talks with the protesting farmers, had maintained that the laws were pro-farmer, while the protesters claimed they would be left at the mercy of corporations because of the legislations. — PTI

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UPTET cancelled after paper leak, 26 arrested, Yogi says will invoke NSA against culprits

Lucknow, November 28

The UPTET scheduled to be held on Sunday was cancelled after a question paper for the exam was leaked, an officer here announced shortly before the exam was to begin.

In a statement issued here, the UP government said that more than 26 persons have been arrested in this connection.

"So far as many as 26 persons have been arrested from different districts of the state. Of this, 16 arrests were made in Prayagraj," it said.

Those arrested in Prayagraj include Satya Prakash Singh, an assistant teacher at a primary school in the city's Shankargarh area.

When searched, he was found to have the solved question paper in his WhatsApp.

Rajendra Patel — the alleged mastermind of the whole operation — and Chaturbhuj Singh, one of the key players, were also among those arrested from Prayagraj, according to the statement.

Besides them, police arrested other members of the gang, including one Sunny Singh, who was instrumental in sourcing solvers from Bihar, the statement said.

Four persons were arrested from Lucknow district, and one each from Kaushambi, Ayodhya, and Ambedkarnagar district.

Three persons were arrested from Shamli district. These three had procured 10 copies of the question paper for Rs 5 lakh, and had taken Rs 50,000 from 50-60 candidates each to give them access to the papers for reading and memorising.

Search is on for the rest of the members of the gang, the government said.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the culprits will be booked under the National Security Act and Gangster Act.

He also ordered reconvening of the exam within a month.

"A question paper was leaked. I issued an order to cancel the examination and arrest the entire racket. Instructions were also given to conduct the exam within a month, and that no candidate should be charged additional fee," he said addressing a function in Deoria district on Sunday.

He said orders were given to transport the students back to their home towns in UPSRTC buses free of cost on the basis of their admit cards.

"Those who have committed this act should listen that cases will be registered against them under the Gangster Act and the National Security Act," he said.

Later in a tweet in Hindi, the CM said properties will be seized by the government of those involved in the leak.

Close to 20 lakh candidates were to appear for the Uttar Pradesh Teachers Eligibility Test (UPTET) on Sunday.

Additional Director General (ADG) Law and Order Prashant Kumar earlier in the day said the matter will be probed by the UP STF, and people or organisations involved in the leak will not be spared.

The situation at centres was under control and announcements were made there to urge the candidates to go back to their homes, added the officer.

Adityanath in a tweet said, "The state government is standing with the candidates of UPTET, and a re-exam will be held in a transparent manner within one month."

"Those who have played with the future of our young brothers and sisters will not be spared. People who have caused inconvenience to you will definitely be punished. Your government is committed to conduct the exams in a fair and transparent manner," he said in another tweet.

UP's Basic Education minister Satish Dwivedi said the exam — in both shifts—was cancelled immediately after the leak came to surface and promised strict action against the culprits.

Leader from the opposition parties criticised the BJP government for the paper leak and accused it of abetting corruption in the state.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said such incidents have become a norm under its rule.

"Cancellation of the UPTET examination due to the leak of the question paper is like playing with the future of nearly 20 lakh aspirants. Paper leaks, cancellation of the examination is common in the BJP government," he said in a Hindi tweet.

"Corruption in education in UP is at an all-time high. The unemployed will usher in a revolution, and there will be a change in 2022," he said.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too alleged that corruption in education and recruitment has become common under the BJP.

BSP chief Mayawati in a tweet in Hindi criticised the BJP and also the previous SP government for such incidents and asked for a high-level probe in the matter from the current government.

"The UP Government must take this incident very seriously, get a high-level probe done, ensure that the guilty are punished, and make concrete arrangement to reconduct this examination. This is the demand of the BSP," she said.

The Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Board (UPBEB) will conduct the UPTET exam again after one month. The government will bear the entire expenditure on the re-examination, said additional chief secretary Basic Education department, Deepak Kumar.

The UPBEB has further notified that candidates will not have to pay any fees again for the exam. The exact date of the UPTET exam will be notified in due course of time, the UP government said.

The UPTET 2021 exam was scheduled to be conducted at several exam centres across 75 districts of UP.

The exam was to be held in two shifts—from 10 am to 12.30 pm for the primary level and from 2.30 pm to 5 pm for the junior level. —PTI

हमारे नौजवान बहनों-भाइयों के भविष्य के साथ खिलवाड़ करने वालों को किसी भी कीमत पर बख्शा नहीं जायेगा।

आप सबको हुई असुविधा के लिए जिम्मेदार लोगों को सजा जरूर मिलेगी।

आपकी सरकार शुचितापूर्वक एवं पारदर्शी तरीके से परीक्षा सम्पन्न कराने के लिए कृतसंकल्पित है।

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) November 28, 2021

UPTET के अभ्यर्थियों के साथ प्रदेश सरकार खड़ी है।

01 माह के अंदर पारदर्शी तरीके से पुनः परीक्षा आयोजित होगी।

किसी भी अभ्यर्थी से कोई अतिरिक्त शुल्क नहीं लिया जाएगा।

परीक्षा देने वाले अभ्यर्थियों को आने-जाने हेतु @UPSRTCHQ की बसों में निःशुल्क यात्रा की सुविधा दी जाएगी।

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) November 28, 2021

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India’s growth story being disrupted by forces with colonial mindset: PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi, November 26

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India's growth story is being disrupted by forces with a colonial mindset, including in the name of freedom of expression.

Addressing a Constitution Day event organised by the Supreme Court, he said a colonial mindset still exists, years after the end to colonialism, and these forces are putting obstacles in the path of growth of the developing nations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a function to commemorate the 'Samvidhan Divas', at Parliament in New Delhi on Friday. PTI photo

"We are the only country that is in the process of achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement ahead of time and yet, in the name of environment, various pressures are being created on India. All this is the result of a colonial mindset," the prime minister said.

"But the unfortunate thing is that in our country too, due to such a mindset, obstacles are being put in the path of development, sometimes in the name of freedom of expression and sometimes with the help of something else," he added.

The Constitution is the greatest strength to remove the obstacles being created by a colonial mindset, Modi said.

He said both the government and the judiciary are born out of the Constitution and hence, they are twins.

The government and the judiciary have come into existence only because of the Constitution, the prime minister said, adding that the two complement each other even while being different.

He said "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas" is a powerful manifestation of the Constitution's spirit.

Modi said a government dedicated to the Constitution does not discriminate when it comes to development and "we have shown that". — PTI

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Gurugram sees Namaz disruptions again

Sanjay Yadav
Gurugram, November 26

Disruptions to public Namaz offerings continued on Friday when over 100 people raised Hindu slogans, conducted a prayer of their own, and chanted the Hanuman Chalisa a few metres from where some Muslims were offering their Friday prayers.

Muslims offer namaz at an open ground while Hindus perform havan at the same place nearby in Gurugram on Friday. PTI file photo

The protest site this time was near the Sector 37 police station. People flocked to the prayer site from Mohammadpur Jharsa, Khandsa, Narsinghpur, and Khatola villages and held a havan they proclaimed was for the "martyrs of 26/11" on the 13th anniversary of the Mumbai attacks.

The group also chanted "Jai Shri Ram"—a slogan that several fringe Hindu organisations are seen using increasingly as a weapon of intimidation—even as police stood nearby in large numbers to prevent escalation.

The prayer site is one of several designated by the Gurugram administration for Muslims to offer the "jumma" prayers. Public protests led the Gurugram administration to withdraw eight sites from their list of 37 sanctioned for Friday prayers.

Meanwhile, some Sikhs protested the gurdwara committee's decision to offer Gurudwara Singh Sabha, located near the sabzi mandi, for namaz.

"Gurudwara is meant only for Gurbani and is not a rental place for mass religious gatherings," said Sardar Ravi Ranjan of Gurmat Prachar Jatha Panth Khalsa. "We're surprised that how the head of the gurudwara committee offered it to Muslims for Namaz. It goes completely against our Gur-Maryada."

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SC issues notice to Centre on PIL against Rakesh Asthana’s appointment as Delhi Police Chief

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 26

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre and senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana on an NGO's petition challenging a Delhi High Court verdict upholding his appointment as Delhi Police Commissioner.

A Bench of Justice DY Chandrachud asked the Centre and Asthana to respond to the petition filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation after advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the NGO, said it had filed an appeal as directed by the top court on November 18.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Centre and Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Asthana said that they would file their replies in two weeks.

The Delhi High Court had on October 12 dismissed a PIL challenging the appointment of Gujarat Cadre IPS officer Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner saying there was no irregularity, illegality, or infirmity in his appointment.

Pointing out that eight Police Commissioners in Delhi had been appointed by the Centre since 2006 before Asthana's appointment by following the same procedure, a Bench led by Chief Justice DN Patel had said, "There has never been any objection to the said appointments...either by UPSC or any other party."

A 1984-batch IPS officer from the Gujarat cadre, Asthana was the Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF) before being appointed as Delhi Police Commissioner. Four days before his superannuation on July 31, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet appointed him as Delhi Police commissioner. He will have one-year tenure as Delhi Police chief.

His appointment as Delhi Police Commissioner was challenged mainly on the ground that it went against the top court's ruling on such appointments in Prakash Singh's case (2006) on police reforms.

However, the high court had said the Supreme Court's decision in the Prakash Singh case, which mandated a minimum tenure for certain police officials and the constitution of a UPSC panel before selection, was not applicable to the appointment of Police Commissioner for Delhi as the directions were "intended to apply only to the appointment of a State DGP".

The HC had said: "It ought to be kept in mind that Delhi, being the Capital of India, has a unique, special, and specific requirement. It has witnessed several untoward incidents and extremely challenging law and order situations/riots/ crimes, which have an international implication, which in the wisdom of the Central Government necessitated the appointment of an experienced officer possessing diverse and multifarious experience of heading a large Para-Military Security Force apart from other factors".

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Covishield 63.1% effective against delta strain: Study

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 26

Covishield, the primary component of India's Covid-19 vaccine drive, has been found to be highly effective against the Sars-Cov2 infection caused by the virulent delta strain that devastated the country at the height of the second wave.

A collaboration of Indian scientists published the real world data on Covishield effectiveness on Friday, and concluded that the Serum Institute manufactured shot was 63.1 per cent effective against the delta strain.

This is more than the real world effectiveness of Covaxin against delta, which has been found to be 50 per cent.

In the study, published in journal Elsevier on Friday, the authors report a real-world effectiveness of 63.1 per cent for complete vaccination with the Covishield against laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during the recent surge of Covid-19 cases caused by the delta variant in India.

Studies from England and Scotland earlier reported the effectiveness of 60-67 per cent for the vaccine against infection by the delta variant.

The delta variant has been shown to be 97 per cent more transmissible than wild-type SAR-CoV-2 and has emerged as the dominant Variant of Concern (VOC) across the world.

Breakthrough infections due to the delta variant have been reported after vaccination with mRNA vaccines.

"Our primary outcome to determine real-world vaccine effectiveness of two doses of Covishield vaccine against laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and secondary outcome was vaccine effectiveness of a single dose of the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccine effectiveness of a single dose and complete vaccination against moderate-to-severe disease among individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2," scientists said in a research published on Friday.

Scientists from the Biotechnology department's Translational Health Science and Technology Institute Faridabad were part of the study.

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IFFI 2021 opens with star-studded ceremony; Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh perform

Panaji, November 20

The 52nd edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) started on a high note here on Saturday with electrifying performances by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh and Shraddha Kapoor.

The star-studded opening ceremony of the movie gala, which took place at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, was hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and Maniesh Paul.

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Governor of Goa P S Sreedharan Pillai along with film personalities like Prasoon Joshi, Madhur Bhandarkar, Mouni Roy, Resul Pookutty and Parineeti Chopra attended the event.

Thakur said the government aims to make India a powerhouse of content creation, especially regional cinema by scaling up regional film festivals.

"We aim to make India the post-production hub of the world by leveraging the immense talent of our youth. We aim to make India a hub of world cinema, a destination for film festivals and a most favoured place for filmmakers. After all, India is a land of storytellers, rich in resources. Today the world wants to hear the story of India.

"The film and entertainment industry has a huge employment opportunity as we leapfrog into the digital era of content, filmmaking and not to forget, film archiving for the future generation," he said.

The union minister asserted that the media and entertainment sector builds on three unique propositions that India offers -- abundant and competent labour, ever growing consumption expenditure and a diverse culture and linguistic heritage.

"We have these powered by the extensive footprint of mobile, internet and industrialisation. With this unique combination of connectivity, culture and commerce, India is poised to be at the epicentre of the cinematic ecosystem," he added.

Sawant said the coastal state is working towards providing single window clearance for film shooting in Goa.

"This will allow Goa to become a hub of shooting for filmmakers," he added.

He also announced that Goa will soon become the first state to have its entire population fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The CM revealed that the state is discussing with the centre to make a film city in Goa.

"We are making efforts to establish a film city and a film institute here so that there is a talent pool, whether in film editing, photography, cinematography or direction, available for movies," he said.

The ceremony saw veteran actor-politician Hema Malini getting the Indian Personality of the Year award. She was felicitated by Thakur, Sawant and Minister of State Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan.

"So much good work is happening here for our film industry. It is amazing to see young talented filmmakers get involved with IFFI. I believe this should continue," Malini said.

Whereas globally renowned filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Istvan Szabo were honoured with the first-ever Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement award.

"I am honoured to receive such an award named after one of the truly great filmmakers of all time and my inspiration, Satyajit Ray," Scorsese said in a pre-recorded video message.

The multiple Academy Award-winning filmmaker, best known for his films like "Goodfellas", "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull", "The Departed" and "Shutter Island", said he has returned to Ray's cinema time and again and every time it has been a "new experience".

"Watching 'Pather Panchali' was a revelatory experience for me and it opened a whole new world for me," he added.

Szabo, the Hungarian auteur known for making 1981 feature film "Mephisto" that won the best foreign language film Oscar, recalled the "profound" discussion he had with Ray many years ago.

"I met Mr Ray many years ago in Madras. He invited my wife and me for dinner, which was very excellent. We had a fantastic discussion about his films and about our profession -- filmmaking. It was a profound discussion which I will never forget. And I can never forget his charismatic face and his spirit," the 83-year-old director said.

The hosts also welcomed 75 youngsters who were selected for the festival's 75 Creative Minds initiative.

"For the first time ever, we are recognising and mentoring 75 young creative minds of tomorrow as we mark 75 years of Independence. They have been chosen by the grand jury after a meticulous screening process. They are seated among us and will be attending masterclasses by the cinema icons," Thakur said.

Adding some Bollywood glamour to the cinema gala, Ranveer performed on the hit Hindi tracks from the last five decades like "Ye Desh Hai Vir Jawano Ka", "Zindagi Ek Safar", "Pyaar Hume Kis Mod Par Le Aaya" and many others.

Shraddha showcased the power of Indian women with her performance on motivational songs like "Kar Har Maidan Fateh" and "Badal pe paon hain".

Her performance was followed by an act by star-couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza, who promoted regional cinema by performing on Marathi songs.

Salman's high-octane act on his hit songs from movies "Dabangg", "Sultan", "Bharat" and "Tiger Zinda Hai" brought an end to the opening ceremony.

IFFI, which will run till November 28, will feature 148 films from about 73 countries in the International Section. The festival will have about 12 world premieres, about seven international premieres, 26 Asia premieres and about 64 India premieres.

An array of world-renowned filmmakers, actors, technicians, critics, academicians and film enthusiasts will come together to celebrate cinema and the art of filmmaking through various film screenings, presentations, masterclasses, panel discussions and seminars.

Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura's "The King of All the World" is the opening film for the 52nd edition, while Asghar Farhadi's "A Hero", which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, will close the festival. PTI

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India resumes quarantine-free entry of foreign travellers from 99 countries

New Delhi, November 15

India on Monday resumed quarantine-free entry for foreign travellers from 99 countries, which have agreed to a mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates with it, almost 20 months after restrictions were imposed due to COVID-19.

Travellers from these 99 countries, including the US, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands and Russia, which have been listed under "Category A", have to submit a self-declaration form on the Air Suvidha portal (newdelhiairport.in) before the scheduled travel, apart from uploading a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report, according to the revised Guidelines for International Arrivals released by the Union health ministry on November 11.

The RT-PCR test should be conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey.

Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution, if found otherwise.

There are countries that have agreements with India on a mutual recognition of vaccination certificates of nationally-recognised or World Health Organization-recognised vaccines.

Similarly, there are countries that do not have such an agreement with India, but they exempt the Indian citizens who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with nationally-recognised or WHO-recognised vaccines, the guidelines stated.

On the basis of reciprocity, the travellers from all such countries that provide quarantine-free entry to Indians ("Category A" countries) are allowed certain relaxations on arrival, the guidelines read.

Some of the countries currently considered to be "at risk" by India, which means the travellers from where would need to follow additional measures on arrival including testing, are the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and Singapore.

"As India opened its doors to fully-vaccinated international tourists from all over the world beginning Monday, India tourism Mumbai accorded a warm welcome to the first set of international tourists who landed at Mumbai International Airport by Air France flight AF218," the Union Ministry of Tourism said in a tweet.

According to the guidelines, if fully-vaccinated travellers are coming from a country with which India has reciprocal arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines, they shall be allowed to leave the airport and need not undergo home quarantine.

They shall self-monitor their health for 14 days post arrival.

If partially or not vaccinated, the travellers need to undertake measures, including submission of samples for post-arrival Covid test at the point of arrival, after which they will be allowed to leave the airport, home quarantined for seven days, a re-test would be conducted on the eighth day of arrival and if the results are negative, they have to further self-monitor their health for seven days.

"Fifteen days must have elapsed since completion of COVID-19 vaccination schedule," the guidelines said.

Travellers from countries excluding those "at risk" will be allowed to leave the airport and they shall self-monitor their health for 14 days post arrival. This is applicable to travellers from all countries, including those with which reciprocal arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO-approved vaccines exist. PTI

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Sheel Vardhan Singh appointed CISF chief, Atul Karwal to head NDRF

New Delhi, November 9

Senior IPS officers Sheel Vardhan Singh and Atul Karwal were on Tuesday appointed as chiefs of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), respectively.

Singh, a 1986 batch Indian Police Service officer of Bihar cadre, is currently Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau.

He has been appointed as the Director General, CISF up to 31.08.2023, the date of his superannuation, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

Karwal, a 1988 batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, has been appointed as the Director General of NDRF by temporarily upgrading the post to the level of DG for a period of two years, it said.

He is presently working as Director, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad. —PTI

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R Hari Kumar is next Navy Chief

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 9

The Government on Tuesday night announced that it has appointed Vice Admiral R. Hari Kumar, the Western Naval Commander as the next Chief of the Indian Navy.

He will take over with effect from the afternoon of November 30 when the present Chief of the Indian Navy Admiral Karambir Singh retires from service.

Born on April 12, 2962 Vice Admiral R. Hari Kumar was commissioned to the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy in January 1983.

He has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.

Vice Admiral R. Hari Kumar's Sea Command includes INS Nishank, Missile Corvette, INS Kora and Guided Missile Destroyer INS Ranvir. He also commanded Indian Navy's Aircraft Carrier INS Viraat.

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On eve of regional NSAs’ conference, Ajit Doval meets Uzbek, Tajik counterparts

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 9

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Tuesday met his counterparts from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on the eve of the first-ever conference of regional NSAs being organised by India to deliberate on the situation in Afghanistan.

The meet, to be attended by eight NSAs, is an attempt to find common ground on five issues on Afghanistan which, if left unattended, will adversely impact all its neighbours. The five problems on which they will try to find common ground are: terrorism, radicalisation, cross-border movement, drug trafficking and vast amount of military weapons left behind by the western forces.

Doval's meeting with the Tajik NSA Nasrullo Mahmudzoda was significant for people of his ethnicity account for over a quarter of the population.

The Tajik majority areas in Afghanistan include the restive Panjshir province whose rebel leaders Amrullah Saleh and Ahmed Masood had tried to put up a fight against the Taliban.

"There was detailed exchange of views on Afghanistan, with significant convergence of assessments. Concerns were expressed on the sharp increase in terrorist threats from. Tajik side highlighted gravity of situation in Afghanistan," sources said about the meeting.

On the bilateral side, discussions took place on deepening cooperation in areas like defence, border management and border infrastructure development.

Doval also met the Uzbek NSA Victor Makhmudov to especially discuss the problem of extremism. Uzbeks account for nine per cent of Afghan population and anti-Taliban leaders such as Abdul Rashid Dostum and Rasul Pahlawan are from this stock.

"Both sides emphasised the need for neighbours to ensure unhindered access of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan. They felt that the legitimacy of any Afghan government within Afghanistan was important before the issue of its international recognition," said the sources.

Pakistan had cried off from the meeting when the idea was initially broached, the Chinese said "scheduling reasons made it inconvenient" for its representative to attend the 'Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan'.

This means that the Dialogue, to be chaired by NSA Doval, will be attended by top security officials of Russia, Iran and all five Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. All the NSAs are slated to call on PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday before sitting down for the meeting that will have simultaneous translation in Russian and Persian.

Incidentally, around the same time, Taliban Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will be in Islamabad to reciprocate Shah Mehmood Qureshi's visit to Kabul last month. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has also met Taliban Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Baradar twice though not in Kabul.

New US Afghan envoy to visit India

The new US Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West will visit India, Russia and Pakistan to discuss the way forward on Afghanistan. West is currently in Brussels discussing the issue with NATO and EU leaders and said he would be in Pakistan "later this week".

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price indicated the agenda when he said at a briefing, "Together with our partners, he will continue to make clear the expectations that we have of the Taliban and of any future Afghanistan government."

The US, as is India, wants the government in Kabul to include other ethnicities such as Uzbeks, Tajiks, Hazaras and Turkmen; make firm promises to check trans-national radicalism and give due place to women in society. "The international community must act together to be effective," West said before leaving for the tour.

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