Indian Abroad - Sept 1-15, 2021

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

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20 years, $2.3 trillion spent, 2,400 US troops Over 250 Afghan Sikhs, Hindus want safe passage killed: America's longest war, in numbers Photo Courtesy: The Independent

Spearheading a crusade against cancer and fortifying student community ties, meet Prerna Pahwa -Page 5

Afghanistan: Humanitarian Tragedy -Page 4

Indian Cooking with Lata Modi -Page 7

New York, Aug 31: As the last of America's C-17s flew into the night from Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport just before the clock struck midnight in Afghanistan Monday, the costs of

America's longest war began sinking in at home.

Thirteen fallen US service members, mostly in their 20s and born just around the time of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, returned 24 hours ago in the

last of the caskets from Afghanistan, draped in the US flag.

US President Joe Biden became the fourth commander in chief to stand in reverence, his head bowed, as the heroes came home. Over the last 20 years, more than 2,400 US service members have been killed in Afghanistan alone.

Here are some numbers from America's longest war. The data on casualties and costs (approximations) are sourced from the Costs of War Project at Brown University and covers the time period between October 2001 to April 2021. Other data are sourced from a combination of Pentagon, White House and US State Department briefings.

Number of people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, Washington, DC and Pennsylvania: Nearly 3,000 Date on which US Congress authorized use of US Armed Forces against those responsible for the September 11 attacks: September 18, 2001.

Continued on page 4

Nine new Supreme Court judges take oath of office Photo Courtesy: IANS

India Day Parade organised in Perth -Page 11

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya: a crusader with a pen -Page 27

New Delhi, Aug 31: Nine new judges took oath of office as Supreme Court judges on Tuesday. Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana administered the oath to the new judges.

After the judges were sworn-in,

there is only one vacancy in the Supreme Court now, which has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges.

On August 18, the Supreme Court published on its website names of nine persons it recommended

for appointment as judges to the top court. The decision was taken by the Supreme Court Collegium headed by chief justice Ramana and comprising four senior most judges of the top court. These names were subsequently approved by the central government on August 26.

The new nine judges are: justice A.S. Oka, justice Vikram Nath, justice J.K. Maheshwari, justice Hima Kohli, justice B.V. Nagarathna, justice C.T. Ravikumar, justice M.M. Sundresh, justice Bela Trivedi and senior advocate P.S. Narasimha.

Justice B.V. Nagarathna, is in line to become the first woman Chief Justice of India in September 2027.

Justice Nagarathna's father, Justice E.S. Venkataramiah, had been a CJI for a few months in 1989. Currently, Justice Indira Banerjee is the only serving woman judge in the apex court.

Are you a modern Indian bride?

-Page 31

M

ore than 250 Afghans belonging to a minority communities of Sikh and Hindu, who have connections in India, have been holed up in a Sikh shrine just seven km from the international airport in Kabul and are desperately awaiting their evacuation to a Western nation.

For them India is not the preferred destination as a refugee. The reason: they believe it took years and years to procure the Indian citizenship.

Also, there is too much red tapism while procuring government documents like a passport and an Aadhaar card.

They are praying to enter a Western

Photo Courtesy: The Statesman

nation as a refugee where they are hoping to live a dignified life. They comprise dozens of women and children.

"We understand their urgency at this point in time. Our volunteers are working with a team of ex-military contractors and the US State Department to help 250-270 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus find their way safely to the international airport in Kabul," US-based global humanitarian non-profit organization United Sikh's International Humanitarian Aid Director Gurvinder Singh told IANS over phone.

Continued on page 4

Despite pandemic, India’s direct selling industry records growth of 10 % in FY 21

R

ajat Banerji, the Vice President of Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) has stated that the direct selling industry witnessed nearly 5 percent more growth in the first six months of FY 21 as compared to the same period in 2019-20. He further said that even though official reports of the exact figures were still pending, it can be established with little doubt that the growth registered for the overall period would definitely be 10 percent or even more.

In the first quarter of 2020-21, the industry exhibited a growth of 0.90 percent, according to a survey by the industry body. Although this was an extremely minor growth, it

Photo Courtesy: The Indian Wire

should be lauded owing to the fact that during this period lockdowns of varied lengths were occurring all across the country.

As the second quarter began however, restrictions were relaxed to a considerable extent and the industrial and commercial activities once again picked up pace.

Sangam 2021: ISWA commemorates IFFM 2021: Manoj India's 75th Independence Day in Bajpayee and Samantha Perth win for The Family Man 2

Continued on page 18

I In celebration of divine mother’s homecoming -Page 27

to West, not India

n celebration of the 75th Independence Day of India, the Indian Society of Western Australia (ISWA) in collaboration with Indian associations organised Sangam 2021, A Tribute to India, at Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre in Perth on 15 August.

The event presented what it promised -- an evening full of Indian music with classical, folk and Bollywood dances. India is a diverse and multicultural nation and Perth's Indian community comprises multiple subgroups. This year’s programme also featured cultural performances showcasing India’s diversity while at the same time rejoicing in unity.

Continued on page 10

T

he Indian Film Festival of Melbourne’s award night was held on Aug 20, and the event was organised virtually, with several film industry giants in attendance.

Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni of The Family Man 2 were among the awardees. Suriya won the award for Best Male Performance in Soorarai Pottru, while Vidya Balan won the award for Best Female Performance in Sherni.

Raj and DK’s The Family Man 2 served as her digital debut. The Telugu actress played the antagonist opposite Manoj Bajpayee in the Amazon Prime Video show. She revealed that this was her first time

attending the event and that she was thrilled to receive Best Actress in a Series.

Continued on page 6

Ishita Dutta talks about portraying a simple and kind-hearted woman on-screen -Page 31 www.indianabroad.news

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Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

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Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

COVID IN INDIA SOPs issued for Delhi schools, colleges reopening from Sep 1 Photo Courtesy: IANS

New Delhi, Aug 30: Fifty per cent attendance and staggered lunch break are part of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Monday for schools, colleges as they are set to commence classes for students of 9-12 standards from September 1.

"All classes will function at 50 per cent capacity; all educational institutions will have mandatory quarantine centres; attendance will not be compulsory and online and offline classes will be conducted in

parallel," the DDMA's notification read.

Schools authorities have been asked to prepare timetables as per occupancy limit of each classroom.

In its fresh direction, the DDMA has directed that educational institutions need to comply with its direction to ensure the safety of students, teachers and other staff.

Further, the authority has directed schools to stagger lunch breaks to avoid crowding at the school premises. The DDMA has suggested that the lunch break should be held

only in open areas.

The schools and colleges have been asked to set up quarantine rooms for emergency use and discourage the routine guest visits.

The DDMA has also directed the schools to not allow students and teachers living in the Covid containment zones to come to educational institutions.

From September 1, all government schools will open for Classes 9 to 12, all private schools can also resume Classes for 9 to 12 standards.

Coaching centres can also start classes for students of 9 to 12 standards. No decision has been taken on reopening junior classes as yet.

Authorities decided to reopen the schools on account of a marked improvement in the Covid-19 situation in Delhi.

Schools in Delhi have been shut since March last year after the lockdown was announced when Covid-19 cases first started rising in the country. Classes resumed for a brief period in January and February this year, but were suspended in April as the second wave (fourth for Capital) of Covid-19 stretched the health care infrastructure to its limits.

TN aims for 5 lakh vaccinations per day Photo Courtesy: IANS

Chennai, Aug 30: With about 17 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines in stock, Tamil Nadu is aiming for 5 lakh vaccinations a day from Monday onwards.

According to health officials, the state on Sunday received 5.48 lakh doses of Covishield, giving the confidence for an increased vaccination drive.

The state health department administered 3.3 lakh doses of vaccine on

Sunday taking the number of people inoculated in the state to 2.94 crore.

It has also urged the Union government for a one time supply of 1 crore doses of vaccine and is expecting a positive response from the Centre, according to a senior official.

Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, while speaking to reporters on Sunday, said that the inoculation drive has attained momentum and around 150 villages

in the state are fully vaccinated.

He also said that the tourist spots like Tiruvannamalai, Velankanni, Nilgiris, and Nagoor will soon achieve 100 per cent vaccination.

The state has been promoting tourism and had given preference to all the tourist spots for vaccination drives.

It is testing more than 1.6 lakh samples every day and has recorded 1 per cent positivity rate, while the fatality rate for the past three weeks recorded an average of 1.3 per cent.

Tamil Nadu reported 1,538 fresh Covid-19 cases on Sunday.

Coimbatore district with 209 fresh cases on Sunday had the maximum number of infections in the state, with a positivity rate of 2 per cent.

The health department has joined hands with the state police and is strictly monitoring the borders of Kerala where the positivity rate was 19.68 per cent on Sunday with a total number of fresh Covid-19 cases touching 29,836.

Global Covid-19 caseload tops 216.3 mn Photo Courtesy: IANS

Washington, Aug 30: The global coronavirus caseload has topped 216.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.50 million and vaccinations soared to over 5.19 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Monday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload, death toll and vaccination tally stood at 216,356,046, 4,500,291 and 5,191,545,258

respectively.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 38,796,236 and 637,525, respectively, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in the second place with 32,695,030 cases.

The other worst countries with over 3 million cases are Brazil (20,741,815), France (6,827,146), Russia (6,785,465), the UK (6,762,904), Turkey (6,329,519), Argentina (5,173,531), Colombia (4,905,258), Iran (4,926,964), Spain (4,831,809), Italy (4,530,246), Indonesia (4,073,831), Germany (3,940,212) and Mexico (3,328,863), the CSSE figures showed.

In terms of deaths, Brazil comes second with 579,308 fatalities.

Nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are India (437,830), Mexico (257,906), Peru (198,115), Russia (178,457), the UK (132,760), Indonesia (131,923), Italy (129,093), Colombia (124,811), France (114,506), Argentina (111,383) and Iran (106,482).

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For 2nd year Covid mars Janmashtami fests in Maha, BJP protests

Photo Courtesy: The Indian Express

Mumbai, Aug 30 (IANS): Token festivities marked the birthday of Lord Krishna -- celebrated as 'Janmashtami' and 'Dahi-Handi' -- owing to rains in most parts of Maharashtra coupled with the Covid-19 restrictions recommended by the Centre, for the second consecutive year here on Monday.

Scores of Krishna Temples in Mumbai, including the ISKCON Temples at Girgaum and Juhu were decorated with bright lights, flowers, the deities sporting brand new attires, though there were no devotees present for the celebrations on account of the Covid-19 protocols.

However, most temples have organised live 'aartis', online 'darshan' and donations and other facilities for devotees to celebrate the festival from their homes safely, as the Corona 'third wave' could be lurking close.

Protesting the continuous closure of temples and other places of worship, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party launched a 'shankhnaad' agitation all over the state demanding reopening of the temples.

Many BJP activists in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Pune, Nashik, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and other districts, priests, women devotees and others slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, raising slogans, carrying black placards and posters, for deliberately trampling upon

peoples' religious sentiments by keeping temples and other worship places shut.

The BJP agitation came barely four days after the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan's missive to the Maharashtra government asking it to curb crowded festivities for the Dahi-Handi and Ganeshotsav festivals, both mega-crowd pullers in view of the potential threats from the Covid-19 'third wave'.

The state Health Minister Rajesh Tope has already warned that the third wave could be a possible 'Tsunami' over 6-million (60-Lakh) cases in the state, or triple the figures notched in the first wave in 2020, and higher than the figures

recorded in the first and second waves.

In view of the potential threats sounded by the Centre and the state, the Congress Spokesperson Sachin Sawant has attacked the BJP for once again "playing temple politics", and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar warned that even the 'Jan Ashirwad Yatras' could lead to a surge in Covid cases.

Some BJP activists alleged that while the shutters were downed on temples, other places of worship like mosques or churches were allowed to function as the MVA government wanted to appease minorities and threatened to forcibly enter temples.

6 Bengal districts record no Covid death in last one month Photo Courtesy: The Indian Express

Kolkata, Aug 30: When the effect of the third wave is explicitly prominent in several states of the country, West Bengal in the last four weeks has recorded only 262 deaths at an average of 9.3 deaths per day in the state with 6 of the total 23 districts recording no deaths and 4 other districts reporting less than five deaths since the beginning of this month.

According to the data released by the West Bengal Health Department there are six districts including Alipurduar, Coochbehar, South Dinajpur, Birbhum, Purulia and Jhargram where no Covid deaths have been recorded in the last four weeks. In addition to this there are four other districts including Malda, North Dinajpur, Bankura and West Burdwan where the death count due to Covid is less than five.

According to the state health department bulletin Malda and North districts recorded only one death whereas there were two deaths in Bankura district and four deaths in West Burdwan district. East Burdwan that is beside the West Burdwan district also recorded only seven deaths in the last four weeks.

In addition to this Kalimpong -- a small district in North Bengal recorded 10 deaths and four districts in South Bengal including West and East Midnapore, Howrah and South 24 Parganas have only 12 deaths per district in the past 28 days.

Murshidabad district recorded 13 deaths in the same period.

Interestingly enough the Southern part of the state has recorded more deaths than North Bengal. North 24 Parganas that falls in the southern tip of the state with 55 deaths in the last 28 days recorded the highest Covid death in the state. North 24 Parganas is closely followed by Nadia that recorded 40 deaths and Kolkata recorded 26 deaths in the same period. These three districts that have the highest death court in the state fall in the Southern part of the state. Hooghly, another district in South Bengal shows a high death court of 19 in this month.

The North-South divide so far as Covid deaths are concerned is also clearly visible. When the nine districts of North Bengal recorded 60 deaths with an average of 6.6 deaths per district, the rest of the 14 districts of South Bengal recorded 202 deaths during the same period with an average of 14.3 deaths per

district. Darjeeling with 20 deaths and Jalpaiguri with 16 deaths in the last 28 days might cause concern for the health department.

Though Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly said that there has been 75 per cent to 80 per cent vaccination in the urban areas but surprisingly enough the highest deaths have been recorded from Kolkata and the urban areas of North 24 Parganas.

"There is an influx of outside people in the urban areas and that resulted in a high infection rate and as usual the death rate is also higher in these areas. We are taking ample measures to control the entry of people from outside states but it is impossible to plug 100 per cent. So, we are putting stress on vaccination so that the people get immune against the disease," a senior health department official said.

Ban on international passenger flights extended till Sep 30 New Delhi, Aug 29: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has extended the ban on scheduled international commercial passenger flights to and from India till September 30.

The ban was previously extended till the end of August.

In a circular on Sunday, the civil aviation regulator said: "The competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the subject cited above regarding Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of September 30, 2021."

It added that this restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights approved by the DGCA. However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the regulator on a case-tocase basis.

Scheduled international passenger flights were suspended in India in

/IndianAbroadNews

Photo Courtesy: IANS

March last year due to the Covid pandemic.

While domestic flights resumed

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in May 2020 and were gradually increased, international travel remained suspended with consecutive extension of the ban.

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Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

AFGHANISTAN: HUMANITARIAN TRAGEDY ISI-linked Pakistani Aslam Farooqui is the mastermind behind Kabul airport attack

Photo Courtesy: IANS

New Delhi, Aug 28: As the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed the responsibility for the Kabul airport attacks which left more than 100 people including 13 US marines dead, and 200 persons injured, the name of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) chief Maulavi Abdullah aka Aslam Farooqui, a Pakistani national, also in the news.

Aslam is the mastermind of many attacks in Kabul including the massacres at a Sikh Gurudwara

and a hospital last year. The ISKP had cited "revenge" for the Muslims of Kashmir' as their motive while claiming responsibility for the 25 March Kabul Gurdwara attack in which several Afghan Sikhs and one Indian national were killed.

ISKP cadres have been carrying out attacks in Kabul with the Haqqani Network. Both outfits are closely linked with Pakistan's notorious agency ISI. According to experts the ISI has been using the ISKP and the Haqqani network to keep a close watch on the activities of the Taliban leadership.

Aslam Farooqui was arrested by the Afghan security forces in April last year but when the Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, they released all the militants from Bagram prison including him.

While in the custody of Afghan security forces, Aslam Farooqi had confessed his ties with the ISI and that is why Pakistan was desperate for his extradition which was refused by the then Afghan government.

Now it is believed, the mastermind

of the Kabul airport attack was Aslam Farooqi, the chief of ISKP. The Taliban claims that ISKP is its sworn enemy but interestingly the Taliban freed him from the Bagram prison.

A week back, ISKP's propaganda video clip accused the Taliban of being puppets of the United States and not preaching the true 'sharia'. In that same message, ISIS promised a "new phase of jihad" in Afghanistan, heralding a wave of attacks. This Thursday, they lived up to that promise.

Quoting the IS's official Amaq news agency, the Guardian reports that ISKP has released the picture of one of the suicide bombers "Abdul Rahman al-Lowgari who carried out the martyrdom operation near Kabul Airport."

The statement by the IS further said: "The attacker was able to reach a distance of no less than five metres from the American forces, who were supervising the procedures for collecting documents from hundreds of translators and contractors in preparation for their evacuation

from the country."

According to the intelligence experts, though ISKP is "weaker" than its rival the Taliban, it draws immense support from the Haqqani Network (HQN) and its leader Sirajuddin Haqqani. In what is a rather complex link, Haqqani also happens to be a deputy leader of the Taliban and a member of the Taliban's peace negotiating team.

The Islamic State officially announced the formation of its Afghan affiliate in January 2015, under the name of the Khorasan Province (a historical region of the Persian empire that encompasses parts of Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan) or ISIS-K or ISKP. Pakistani national Maulavi Abdullah aka Aslam Farooqi, who was earlier associated with the Pakistan based terror groups, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), and then Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) terror group, replaced Mawlawi Zia-ul-Haq aka Abu Omar Khorasani as ISKP chief in April 2019. Farooqi belongs to Mamozai tribe and from Orakzai agency area on Pak-Afghan border.

After Taliban takeover, Qureshi visits Turkmenistan, tries to revive TAPI gas pipeline project Photo Courtesy: IANS

New Delhi, Aug 28: Buoyed by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Pakistan has made a fresh bid to revive the TurkmenistanAfghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.

During his visit to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan's capital, on Thursday, Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi sought revival of the dormant project. Qureshi said that TAPI was

beneficial for the entire region and Afghanistan alone would get $1 billion in transit fee and royalty after completion of the project, Paksitani daily Dawn reported.

Talking to the media following his meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the foreign minister said the project was expected to create 2,000 jobs.

With a total length of approximately

1814 km - 214 km of which falls in Turkmenistan, 774 km through Afghanistan, and 826 km in the territory of Pakistan before reaching Fazilka in India's Punjab - the mega gas pipeline project would connect Turkmenistan, one of the largest energy suppliers in the world, with the South Asian countries.

Active since the TAPI Summit was held in the Turkmenistan capital in December 2010, the project has already seen more lows than highs with an uncertain future in store now after the removal of Ashraf Ghani government. A desperate Pakistan is also worried about the future of the construction of a high-voltage power transmission line along the TurkmenistanAfghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) route.

Long before it took control of Kabul, the Taliban had assured that it will not harm projects like TAPI which would contribute to the development of the Afghan economy.

On February 6 this year, during talks held with Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov in Ashgabat, a Taliban delegation had acknowledged that Turkmenistan had been providing significant support to the Afghan people for many years, primarily in areas like energy, transport and communications.

The delegation of the 'political office of the Taliban movement' was led by a certain Abdul Ghani Baradar, the outfit's de facto leader right now who held a secret meeting with the CIA Director William Burns in Kabul, earlier this week.

After the "constructive negotiations"

with Baradar, the Turkmenistan foreign ministry had said that the Taliban delegation had expressed "full support" for the implementation of the infrastructure projects aimed at ensuring the well-being and prosperity of the Afghan people.

Besides the TAPI pipeline and power transmission lines along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan route, it also included the railways project connecting Turkmenistan with Afghanistan.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Suhail Shaheen, a spokesperson and member of the Taliban negotiation team, had declared "full support" for the implementation and security of the TAPI project and other infrastructure projects.

"There is no doubt that the early start of construction of projects such as TAPI, TAP and railways from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan will contribute to the achievement of peace and economic development in Afghanistan. At a time when, on the one hand, there is a struggle for the independence of our country, we, in turn, ensuring the protection of all national projects implemented in our country, are trying to make the necessary contribution to the well-being of our people and the development of the state," Shaheen had said then.

Playing a crucial role in Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, the Imran Khan government is making all efforts - including Qureshi's 'billion dollar' statement - to ensure that the new regime sticks to the promise made in Ashgabat.

20 years, $2.3 trillion spent, 2,400 US troops killed: America's longest war, in numbers Photo Courtesy: Newsd.in

Continued from page 1 Time at which the last US planes took off from Kabul airport on August 30, 2021: 3:29 pm in

www.indianabroad.news

Washington, DC. Number of days between Taliban takeover and total US withdrawal: 15.

Number of people killed in a suicide attack three days before the US left Afghanistan: 13 US service members and 169 Afghans.

Total number killed in Afghanistan alone, last 20 years: 171,000-174,000 America's total expenditure on operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan: $2.313 trillion.

American military members killed in Afghanistan: 2,461.

US contractors killed in Afghanistan: 3,846.

National (Afghan) military and police deaths: 66,000.

Afghan civilian deaths: 47,245.

Number of Americans who remain in Afghanistan, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken:

"under 200, likely closer to 100".

Number of "hard core" Islamic State terrorists who remain in Afghanistan: At least 2,000.

US vehicles and systems disabled before withdrawal: 27 Humvees and 73 aircraft.

The last task US troops completed before catching the final plane: They disabled the C-RAMS (Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar System).

The last people to board the final US plane out of Kabul: Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and acting US ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson. Donahue coordinated the final evacuation effort for the US.

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'Qatar to play important role in Afghanistan crisis & protecting India's interests' New Delhi, Aug 26: Amid the rapidly changing situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power on August 15, experts feel that Qatar can play a vital role in the ongoing crisis and it can also be instrumental in protecting India's interests in the war-torn nation.

The experts also said that the way the US has deferred its planned exit from Afghanistan with an August 31 deadline, the diplomats of Qatar have been active to persuade the Afghan militia to consider the American forces' plea who wanted to stay there till the evacuation of its last citizen.

Former diplomat Gautam Mukhopadhya agrees that Qatar has been playing a vital role in resolving the crisis and they have convinced stakeholders for negotiations.

"Qatar is playing an important role in the present crisis in Afghanistan but the results of their efforts are yet to be seen," he said.

West Asia expert and senior journalist Qamar Agha also said that Qatar has a lot of influence on the Taliban and it also played an important role during the negotiations between the insurgents and Americans, with the then Afghan government without interfering in the internal affairs in the war-ravaged country.

"Qatar has also helped the Palestinians, solving their problems with Israel and tried to mediate with the Hamas in the Palestinian territory. So Qatar has played an important role in negotiating Afghan militia for evacuating the Indians and other countries' citizens who were working in NATO forces in Afghanistan recently," Agha said.

He also said that the Qatari diplomats have achieved a certain level of diplomatic practices which had helped certain issues in the Arab World and in Afghanistan too.

"Now, after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Qatar can really play a very important role. Secondly, India has a very good relation with this country and can sort out many of our problems, if needed," he added.

Agha also hoped that not only

Photo Courtesy: Shutterstocks

in evacuating the Indians from Afghanistan, Qatar can be helpful in protecting India's interests too.

It can also counter Pakistan if they try to interfere in Afghanistan and contain any nefarious activities against India.

"India also has good relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the two Gulf nations that can also help us protect our interests in the war torn country," he added.

However, another foreign affairs expert Sushant Sareen does not hope much from Qatar in resolving the Afghan crisis.

"Qatar has been doing this in all hot spots in the world especially in the Middle East and it has outsized its diplomacy by using money with different groups who have issues with the other confronting sections and mediated among them. It's true that it has taken the position of that what Saudi Arabia or the UAE used to have, but nothing substantial has come up after its diplomatic intervention," Sareen observed.

"They (Qatar) have a dubious role as they have an US Base in their country but they also host a Taliban office too. They were also funding the Islamic State ultras despite being on the US' side. It has also good relations with the Taliban and had played a very critical role even in Afghanistan; they have a close connection with Pakistan which hugely depends on its gas requirement. So that also gives Qatar a degree of influence in the whole crisis," he commented.

Which of the peace process have resulted positive, not even one?

Sareen said: "Yes, it can influence the Taliban leadership in protecting India's interest in that country, at least they can persuade them to keep on Indian projects going on."

Over 250 Afghan Sikhs, Hindus want safe passage to West, not India Continued from page 1 He said many of them took refuge in the Karte Parwan gurdwara after the country fell into the hands of the Taliban.

"Most of them belong to middle-class families and they were doing small-time business in Kabul.

Even the Taliban assured them that they won't be harmed and they will play a crucial role in the recovery of war-torn Afghanistan," he said.

"But all of them were desperately awaiting their evacuation from the country well ahead of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan (on August 31). After that there might be potential attacks by Islamic State terror group," he said.

"We are providing them emergency humanitarian aid, besides international protection and intervention for the families. This is vital for their secure and permanent resettlement.

We are on the job to evacuate them

by August 31," said an optimistic Gurvinder Singh, 38, who is based in Texas.

"They can be evacuated either to Canada or the US or the UK or Australia or New Zealand. We are in constant touch with all these countries. Our first priority is to ensure safe passage to them from the gurdwara to the airport that is just seven km away," he said.

A day before "martyrdom attack" near Kabul's international airport killing 13 US service members and dozens of Afghans on August 27, he said all the Sikh and Hindu families were boarded in nine minivans and were on the way to the north gate of the airport which is under the control of the American forces.

Their vehicles were attacked by some terror groups ahead of the airport and they narrowly escaped.

For 18-long hours they remained stranded in the vehicles and failed

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to enter the airport.

He said their teams still remain in constant contact with the community in Kabul as another attempt is made before the August 31 deadline for evacuation flights from Afghanistan.

Gurvinder Singh said they have set up an Afghan Helpdesk in New Delhi to reach out the displaced.

Since the terror attack on March 25, 2020 in Gurdwara Har Rai in Kabul, the United Sikhs' ongoing relief work for Afghan Sikhs was enhanced and moved forward with urgency.

For decades, the Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan have been victims of discrimination, terror, violence, and persecution at the hands of extremists. The proof is in the mass exodus of a proud community that once numbered over 100,000 to now being dwindled to less than 700, said the humanitarian organization.

Any Afghan citizen wishing to escape persecution must obtain a passport. To facilitate this resettlement, the United Sikhs has been requested by those on the ground as well as by multiple Afghan Sikh advocates to undertake the responsibility of passports for 356 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in 2020.

In 2018 after the Jalalabad bombing that left 12 Sikh leaders dead, the global advocacy presented before the 39th session of the Human Rights Council the plight of the Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan.

In 2019, the Permanent Missions to the UN were urged to address the continuing threats to the safety of the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.

Later in 2019 a petition was filed in the Canadian Parliament seeking safe passage.

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DESI ACHIEVERS

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

PRERNA PAHWA

Spearheading a crusade against cancer and fortifying student community ties A

By Deepika Banerjee

good Samaritan driven by the selfless passion to offer much-needed succour to fellow community members, Prerna Pahwa, an Australian-Indian who began her journey in Australia a little less than two decades ago, has made a lot of difference to the Australian community. Moving to Australia as an impressionable and young international student, she studied at the Swinburne University of Melbourne undertaking a Master’s Degree in IT. It is in this niche sector where she remains to this day having worked for such stand-out organisations as Domino’s Pizza Enterprises, Melbourne IT, & currently for the Queensland Government. Having a deep-seated empathy for international students who face various challenges and predicaments, she offers them assistance every step of the way.

As one of the founding members of the ‘Help Ujwal Campaign’ it should be clear to anyone who knows Prerna that her passion in life is helping others. The campaign also drew her attention towards the dearth of awareness surrounding bone marrow transplants and even cancer itself. The campaign raised funds and besides saving a life, it successfully united diverse communities against cancer and broadened the horizons for the humanitarian community, sharing the same vision. Following the campaign’s success, she established her dream organisation “Simply Human”. Let us hear her story in her own words.

What inspired you to come to Australia?

As a curious kid, I grew up wondering how life’s like on the other side of the world. I took baby steps to explore beyond my little world in my hometown, starting from tier two to tier one cities within India for my schooling. New places and diverse cultures always intrigued me. I believe one does become the most educated with travelling and exploring the world. Back in those days, when I was pursuing my undergraduate course in Hyderabad, seeking universities for my master’s degree, I knew there’s my golden opportunity. Upon researching, I discovered Australia was the most welcoming of immigrants and undoubtedly still is one of the best multicultural countries. I fell in love with this country right away; it felt like a warm hug. I was at home instantly and now call this beautiful land my karmbhoomi (plane of actions).

You are one of the founding members of Help Ujwal Campaign and also at the helm of Simply Human Inc. Could you throw some light on both of these initiatives?

I was passionate for the causes that hit home to me after a loss in a family due to leukaemia, so I began volunteering for many service organisations like Red Cross Australia, Leukaemia Foundation Queensland and community projects like organising fundraising, multicultural events and many more.

The Help Ujwal Campaign was meant to be for me. I believe Ujwal and I were destined to connect with each other at that point in our lives. It became a blessing not only for Ujwal but for me as well. The campaign raised funds and besides saving lives, it successfully united diverse communities against cancer and broadened the horizons for the humanitarian community, sharing the same vision.

The success of the campaign drove me to cement my dream organisation i.e Simply Human Inc. - Superheroes Without Capes.

We raise awareness for what is possibly humanity’s biggest forms of illnesses – cancer and depression.

Run by extremely passionate people, our slogan “Superheroes without capes” aims to bring together people from all walks of life, willing to help create change and support

www.indianabroad.news

those in need. A big part of the organization provides care for international students as well. Since inception, we have been working tirelessly with the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community, supporting people and their families fighting cancer/ leukaemia and depression. We have also been raising awareness about bone marrow transplant and mental well-being.

With the help of our benevolent community and collaborative efforts of like-minded organizations, we have raised over a couple of hundred thousand dollars till date to support cancer patients and their families. We have also successfully registered hundreds of new donors through our Annual Bone Marrow Donor drive.

I feel immense pride that our organisation is growing and being impactful every day with kind-hearted volunteers and team members.

What challenges do overseas students face when they come to Australia? How do you help them?

The challenges faced by an overseas student are very different today compared to a decade or more ago.

For example, when I first came to Australia 17 years ago, it was not easy to make an overseas phone call every day. Today, you can call your loved ones from anywhere and whenever you feel like. Thanks to social media that keeps us all connected now. We are finding that the youth of today who come from overseas do not have a true picture of the lifestyle here. Not to mention the cultural differences between the countries. In Australia, we are taught to be self-sufficient from a very young age which I admire the most. When students come here, they are so excited and enthusiastic about life, full of zeal. However, mental wellbeing is something that no one focuses on. They have scored academically well to be in this country, however, missed on the skill to emotionally balance themselves from being away from home. Sometimes, this really hits hard and some of them go through trauma and meltdown. I had my own share of challenges when I first came to Australia and no one was there to guide me. Learning from my own experiences, this is where Simply Human is trying to help the students to emotionally connect to people around and help them accept, understand, and motivate them to fulfill their purpose. Simply Human firstly recognises what is asked for. We pose the question to the new/existing overseas students to see what we can help them with.

We organize various sessions at educational facilities to facilitate information about Australian culture, respect, immigration policies, their rights and understand the country that has so much to offer. We help them navigate their way into the society here. We also facilitate mental well-being sessions along with our partnered mental health organisations.

Were you always driven to help others or was it some turning point in your life which galvanized you into serving the community?

I like to believe that I have always found contentment in helping people in any way possible. Although, it is heartbreaking but an unfortunate truth for me that it took a loss in my family due to cancer in late 2009 to realise that lack of resources could be disastrous for a family. I became familiar with the feeling of helplessness, and it shook me to the core. I was witnessing my cousin fight the battle and the family running from pillar to post, to get her the right treatment, while resources drained fast. Not sure what it was but deep within, something changed in me, and I grew restless from causes and issues that required provision of various resources including

Prerna Pahwa receiving Lord Mayor Australia Day Achievement Award

emotional support. Although I lost a loved one, this incident led me to my calling; the bigger purpose that I had been looking for. I believe serving the world with our gifts is the worthiest pursuit of human life.

I then turned passionately towards serving the community, feeling abundant and have not looked back since.

What do you regard as the biggest achievement of your life?

I am grateful for my efforts being recognized with accolades and awards. However, these were never the driving factors for me. After a stressful period of every campaign to help cancer patients, juggling between my full time work, fundraiser activities, counselling sessions, when I witness any cancer fighter making it through on the other side after all the treatment/transplant; it feels like an achievement to me.

I feel there’s a lot for me to achieve.

The lesson I learnt from early days was that living life doing your “Dharma” (purpose) is an achievement in itself.

You were the first ever Australian of Indian origin and in fact, the youngest ever recipient of Brisbane’s Lord Mayor’s Australia Day Achievement Award. How has this prestigious award influenced you?

I am ecstatic to be one of the recipients of the Lord Mayor’s Australia Day Achievement Awards Brisbane for 2019 for my contribution to the community.

Being the very first Australian of Indian Origin to have won this prestigious award, this feels extremely special. As an immigrant from India, starting from scratch as an international student, making it to a platform so big and being decorated with such an esteemed award was a life- changing moment for me. They say, it is not the destination, it’s the journey that matters, this was a surreal sight during my journey. I am exceptionally humbled and honored to be appreciated & recognized alongside so many incredible heroes. My reach as a community worker has amplified, I get to network with like-minded visionaries and inspiring leaders doing outstanding work and get motivated from their beautiful journeys.

Local Legends Award 2020 - With Parents & Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP

Women in Business Awards 2019 - Rising Star Community Dedication & Social Justice Award

This recognition has instilled in me a profound assurance that I have been going in the right direction and will continue to walk this path filled with love, joy, and kindness.

As Aristotle said, “we live in deeds not years”; I believe I have a long journey ahead, there’s a lot for me to yet achieve and this is just the beginning.

/IndianAbroadNews

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5

COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

IFFM 2021: Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha win for The Family Man 2 Photo Courtesy: India Tv News

Continued from page 1 Manoj Bajpayee has already walked away with two awards from the ceremony. He previously won the Best Actor of the Year award in 2018 for Gali Guleiyan.

Suriya's Soorarai Pottru was also announced as the winner of the Best Feature award. Suriya was in attendance at the presentation, taking time out of his tight schedule to collect the awards on his and his film's behalf.

Pankaj Tripathi has been bestowed the Diversity in Cinema Award.

Tripathi was awarded a plaque honouring his accomplishments

by Anurag Kashyap. Kashyap, the director of Gangs of Wasseypur, who was credited with introducing Tripathi to the industry.

Among the presenters and jurors were Shoojit Sircar, Anurag

Kashyap, Sriram Raghavan, and Guneet Mongra.

The complete list of IFFM 2021 awardees is shown below.

• Best Feature Film – Soorarai Pottru • Best Performance Male (Feature) – Suriya Sivakumar (Soorarai Pottru) • Best Performance Female (Feature) – Vidya Balan (Sherni) • Honourable mention to Nimisha Sajayan (The Great Indian Kitchen) • Best Director – Anurag Basu (Ludo) & Honorary Mention Prithvi Konanur (Pinki Elli?)

• Best Series – Mirzapur Season 2 • Best Actress in a Series – Samantha Akkineni (The Family Man 2) • Best Actor in a Series – Manoj

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Bajpayee (The Family Man 2) Equality in Cinema (Short Film) – Sheer Qorma Equality in Cinema Award

MAWA hosts Onam festival in Perth

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he Malayalee Association of Western Australia (MAWA) organised Onam in Perth on August 20.

Ms Dantu Charandasi, the Indian Consul General, and MLA Dr Jags and Dr Tony Butt were distinguished visitors, and they turned the lights on to begin the festivities. Then the children presented the distinguished guests a garland, with the entire cast and the show’s presenters dressed in traditional attire.

Onam is an annual harvest celebration observed in Kerala, India.

Each year, Keralites celebrate this day as a significant yearly event.

Onam is also held in remembrance

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of King Mahabali, who is seen as a cultural hero and a righteous ruler in popular culture. He even opted to resign from his kingdom and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect his people.

Malayalee Association of Western Australia (MAWA) was formed to offer a platform for Malayalees residents in Western Australia to communicate, care for, and maintain the essence of their culture and customs.

MAWA also aids and supports Malayali community members who are reconnecting and celebrating in a distant country. Onam, X’Mas, Mother’s Day, and other holidays

allow families to reconnect while showcasing children’s and adults’ artistic abilities and talents, while also helping the Malayali community to maintain their ties to Kerala.

MAWA also works on a larger scale to promote sports and games.

Every Sunday, the Bluegum community centre is open for Shuttle Badminton and Volleyball practice sessions. MAWA also conducts competitions throughout the year for both junior and senior divisions in a variety of sports. The organisers recognise and reward the winners at the Onam festival.

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(Feature Film) – The Great Indian Kitchen Best Indie Film – Fire in the Mountains

• •

Diversity in Cinema Award – Pankaj Tripathi Disruptor Award – Sanal Kumar

•

Sasidharan Best Documentary Film – Shut Up Sona

Srinivasa Aaradhana held in Perth

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he JET Australia Foundation Perth Chapter hosted Srinivasa Aradhana in Mandala Hall on August 21. Also, the Samuhika Sri Lakshmi Hayagriva Puja for children was held at Royal Park Hall, 180 Charles Street, in West Perth, WA. Lord Hayagriva and the knowledge-giver Jayanthi were also honoured.

Children performed puja for Lord Hayagriva under the guidance of Acharya as part of the JET tradition, which dates back to the program's inception in 1997.

As a continuation, Samuhika Sri MahaLakshmi Kumkuma Archana will be performed from 07:30 pm to 09:00 pm on 3 September, and Maha Prasadam will be served at the Royal Park Hall, 180 Charles Street, West Perth.

Please visit https://www.jaf.com.au/ events/lp.html for more information and to register.

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6

FOOD & CUISINE

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Indian Cooking with Lata Modi ALOO GOBHI KI SOOKHI SABZI & GOBHI MATAR ALOO GOBHI KI SOOKHI SABZI

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amaste all, today we are cooking two simple vegetarian curries. These dishes are quick. And also, easy to follow and don’t need a lot of ingredients.

First is a dry curry made with fresh cauliflower and potatoes.

AALOO GOBHI KI SOOKHI SUBZI (a potato and cauliflower dry curry) INGREDIENTS For 4-6 people • one full cauliflower cut into florets The green leaves from cauliflower also to be chopped • Three medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut in to bite size pieces • Small piece of ginger finely chopped • Two fresh tomatoes chopped • Two fresh green chillies chopped (optional) • Two table spoon oil - Salt to taste One tea spoon cumin seeds

MRS. LATA MODI

• • •

One tea spoon turmeric powder Two tea spoon coriander powder Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing.

METHOD • In a big wok or Deep-frying pan heat oil.

• sizzle cumin seeds in it.

• now add chopped tomatoes, ginger and green chillies, stir for few seconds.

• Now add potatoes, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt.

• Now add cauliflower and the green leaves.

• Give it a good stir.

• Lower the heat, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

• Stir again.

• Do not covet now, let it cook on medium heat until tender.

• Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and enjoy.

N

amaste everyone There is a saying that “you can take an Indian out of India, but you cannot take India, out of an Indian. I have a very interesting story to share, about how we crave to meet our own people, especially when we move to a new country.

So, in 1995 when we moved to Gold Coast, Queensland, I really wanted to meet people from India, but unfortunately, I was not sure how to go about it. Gold Coast is big tourist place. Whenever I saw some lady wearing a sari, I will approach her, but every time they happened to be a tourist, so I was very disappointed and lonely here. One fine morning I got hold of the Phone Book, and started looking for Indian popular sir names.

I found a few of them and rang them, told them how I was new here and I wanted to meet more families from India. It was a very heart-warming experience. Most people were very receptive and invited us to their homes. We met families with kids and it all started from there.

Here we are today with hundreds of Indian families living and working in Gold Coast.

It feels good to be part of our beautiful community, where we feel very proud of our heritage. Hope you enjoyed my experience.

GOBHI MATAR Cauliflower and peas curry INGREDIENTS (for 4-6 people) • One medium cauliflower cut into florets • One cup frozen peas small piece of ginger grated • Two fresh chillies (optional) • Two table spoon virgin oil • One teaspoon turmeric powder • Two tea spoon coriander powder • One tea spoon cumin seeds One tea • spoon red chilli powder Salt and red chilli powder to taste METHOD • Heat oil in a big wok or deep-frying pan.

• Put cumin seeds and let it sizzle • Add turmeric powder • Now add cauliflower and peas

GOBHI MATAR

and fresh chillies chopped Add spices and salt Cover and cook for 5 minutes • Take the lid off, lower the heat to medium.

• Stir well • Cook until tender Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and enjoy it with chapati.

Isn’t it the easiest recipe ever?

•

Ghee to stay fit

Photo Courtesy: TOI

By Lakshita Jain August 24, 2021 (IANSlife) Ghee is a pure clarified fat made from milk and milk products. Ghee is essential in some cultures, especially in the Indian diet. It is known as ‘samna’ as in Egypt, ‘Samn’ as in the Middle East, ‘Rogan’ in Iran, ‘ Samuli’ in Uganda.

Ghee Nutrition Profile: Calories/5gm 44.8kcal Ghee Protein/5gm 0g Ghee Carbs/5gm 0g Ghee Fats/5gm 4.9g Ghee Ghee is rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins- minerals such as Vitamin A, E, K2, D, calcium, CLA and Omega-3. www.indianabroad.news

There are 3 types of ghee: Regular ghee: Ghee is made by melting regular butter from cow or buffalo.

A2 ghee: Made from desi Indian cows like Gir cow and red Sindhi Bilona Ghee: The most traditional way to make ghee. It is the purest ghee made from desi’s cow milk.

Benefits of ghee: A spoon of Ghee with a glass of milk and turmeric with black pepper cleanses the digestive system of its toxins. This helps with constipation and gives a much-needed boost to your immune system.

One of the most significant ayurvedic benefits of ghee is it helps in

improving metabolism. This will greatly improve your mood while also adding to your energy levels and helping you lose weight.

Ghee is a rich source of butyric acid.

It works as probiotic food for the bacteria in the gut.

Ghee has Vitamin K2, which helps the bones in absorbing the calcium and helps in joint pain.

Ghee with turmeric and black pepper reduces inflammation as well as stress- which may help in better sound sleep Ghee is unctuous in nature and brings glow on the skin CLA in ghee reduces tumours, lower cholesterol and stabilizes blood sugars. It also helps in stimulating appetite.

Health Cautious: 1 spoon or 5gm of ghee is high in calories and fat. Cooking food in ghee is one of the best methods of cooking curries, sabzi, dals etc. But few people with health conditions such as Diabetes, Obesity, high cholesterol, heart patients and PCOS should be cautious about the quantity of ghee.

How much to add: 3-4 spoons a day of ghee can be added with individuals who lead a healthy active sedentary lifestyle.

With increased daily calories, you can increase the ghee intake accordingly.

(Lakshita Jain, Certified Clinical Dietician, Lecturer, Diabetes Educator, Meat Technologist, and Founder of NUTR)

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Sangam 2021: ISWA commemorates India's 75th Independence Day in Perth National Anthems by Paathshala

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indi Samaj of WA runs Hindi Paathshala classes for children at various centres in Perth, and children from these centres performed the Australian national anthem and the Indian national anthem.

Performers: Shruti Arun, Anika Gupta , Anvika Shrivastav , Devanand Das, Diya Gautam, Kiva Shah , Mishka Banker , Parinika Pathak , Subhnand Das , Taniya Mann, Preksha Saraf, Hansithasri Allunandakumar , Ahaan Kamdar , Rishika Narula , Meha Pareekh , Anaya Tulsani , Mritunjay Allunandakumar , Anand Sundaram , Sidharth Narayanan, Anika Jain, Aarav Mehta , veronika Sharma , Avni Bansal , Neel Sagar Bunsy , Rishan Pereira , Ansh Taneja , Pari Taneja , Aarya Khalate , Anushka Khalate , Vansh Ghaghda , Koena Sajhnani, Maya Desai , Gouri Agarwal , Shriya Agarwal , Garima Varshney, Shlok Awasthi, Aarna Jain

Shadakshara Gauthuvam

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hadakshara Gauthuvam is an invocatory item in praise of the Tamil God Lord Murugan, who is affectionately known in the Northern parts of India as the six faces Lord Karthikeya. The dancers rejoice and dance about a charming child who blossomed with six faces in lotus, a handsome young Karthikeya who sought the hand of Valli in marriage, and a hero who

killed the demon Asura to save the Devas in Heaven.

This piece is set to Raga Shanmukapriya, choreographed with intricate footwork to bring immense pleasure to the audience

by Smt Shobana Gobu Iyerm director of Narthanalaya School of Indian Classical Dance.

Choreographer: Smt Shobana Gobu Iyer

Performers: Vinodaarshini Vigneswaran, Lakshana Parameswari Thanigaiarasu, Bairavee Gunah, Ahgelandeswari Selvarajah, Malini Tanabalan, Mahalakshmi Saikumar, Nishi Vasant, Sreya Aremanda, Monika Kataragadda, Resma Jose, Aileen James, Aishwarya Arun, Kritthik Puganeswaran Kurukkal

M

alayalee Association of Western Australia (MAWA) and Kairali Cultural Club jointly organised this dance.

Performance details: Kerala treasures it’s rich cultural heritage.

Inspired by the monsoon rains and natural beauty, its art and dance forms capture the sway of the life in this evergreen and resplendent

Timeless Rhythms of Kerala coastal gem.

Choreographer: Lekha Siraz Classical dancers costume and make up assistance: Sheela Perinchery & Farishta Siraz Choreographer: Vijaysre Sundaram from Kriya Artistry Choreographer: Jeena Saju from the School of Bollywood Dance N Beats

Chandrika Nair, Geeta Nair, Sudha Nair, Deepa Venugopal, Lekha Siraz

Performers: Riya Susan Punnen, Sumitra Warrier, Smitha Nirmala Devi, Lakshmi Harindran, Priya Pillai, Aaradhya Janardhanan, Priya Chowalloor, Preet Rajesh, Anjali Praju, Nisha Biju

Jeena Saju, Janee Jamal, Sudha Hedge, Mithila Moosa, Milana Poly, Hannah Jose, Ormilla Kothandabani, Nilofar Shamsuddin, Niya Anish, Sana Hafees, Elanor Thomas, Rabisha Shahulhameed, Theresa Joji, Fiona Mathews, Jaimol Siby, Aleena Mathew, Christy Bibin, Azaniya Paul, Anali Pyanan, Kanegi Pyanan., Ashen Saju, Adhvay Praju, Aloy Shibu, Aisle Varghese, Riyan George, Arif Sunil, Alan Babu, Kevin James, John Sebastian, Nevil Benny

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Invocation Dance by Bhairavi Dance School

Performers: Karthika, Pracidhi, Nidhi, Teresa, Amrutha, Tintu, Monita, Jolene, Arthana, Anjana, Palak, Elizabeth, Devita, Sandra, Varshi, Poornitha, Sini, Beena, Bindu, Smitha, Rashmi, Poonam, Ranjini, Taruniya, Manju, saranya, Triveni, Neethu, Nitha, Joji and Bisha

A

n invocation dance with the aim of glorification of the Divine.

This performance had three

segments: The Wake - Starts with praising to the almighty and invoking the divine energy

The Offering - Moves to a samarpan to the divine with gestures and movements The Finale - The amalgamation

of all energies as each one makes connection to their spiritual self The performance did not focus on any particular religion or God

although there could be elements of it portrayed in some instances. The invocation dance is mostly focused on divine energy and oneness of

God, Bramha Vishnu Mahesh.

Choreographer: Sindhu Nair

Sindh Dance

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estern Australia Sindhi Association (WASA Inc) presented a cultural dance showcasing traditions from Sindh, which has been carried through generations into modern India. The Sindhis in India lost their statehood, home and livelihood when India got independence in 1947 but have retained their culture which has roots in the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation.

Co-ordinator: Sanjay Bhatia Choreographer: Hitasha Jeswani

Performers: Sanjay Bhatia, Geeta Bhatia, Rupesh Bajaj, Poonam Bajaj, Deepak Jeswani , Hitasha Jeswani, Vikram Vasandani, Deepa Vasandani, Raj Sajnani, Sonu Sajnani, Ritesh Hingorani, Karuna Hingorani, Mahesh Mehta, Rohan Amlani, Priyal Jeswani

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he performance comprised of combination of traditional dances music and martial arts traditional dance performed in Tamil Nadu, India. The audience

Tamil Nadu Dance witnessed the various forms of Tamil traditional cultures since the inception of the Tamil language 1000s of years ago. The name and short brief of the performances

were “kummy”, which is to thank farmers, “karakam", which is to honor and praise the rain goodness, “Oyilattam”, a graceful dance performance, “Silambam”, martial

art which showcases and displays the courage of the martial art fighters, and “Parai", which is the ancient music played with a single instrument but with various beats.

In short, the audience were taken to a virtual reality of a typical village function in Tamil Nadu.

Choreographer: Rajitha Padmanabhan

Coordinator: Rajitha Padmanabhan And Baalu Velusam

Performers: Rajitha Padmanabhan , Mala Roslin Kuppusamy , Naveena Sathyan , Kanthy Nadesan , Jayashree Dilip Kumar , Radha GaneshPrabhu , Valsalakumary Krishnan , Chandra Pathmarajah , Ramani Perumal , Maheswary Loganathan , 11 Anandi Siritharan , Nithya Arunkumar , Manimalar Munusamy , Saraswathi Alagappan , Annie Irlapati , Shorppana Durairaju (Sofi) , Srivathani Selvanayakam , Pothini Nagulan , Subasree Veluswamy , Monisha Balaji , Sruthika Saravanan , Iniyaa Jayaprakaash , Tanya Bejoy , Janani Krishnamurthi , Baalu Veluswamy , Sanjay Padmanabhan , Boopathi Ponnusamy , Aksh Handa , Durga Anbumani , Kavi Raj Thirumalai Vijayan , Harnishrethick Boopathi , Tharrini Venkatesan , Rudhra Prabhanya Vengur Prabhakar , Siddharth Sankara Subbaiyan , Devaki Sooriyakumaran , Nilakshan Swarnarajah , Thirumalai Vijayan Rajamanickam , Shankar Mani , Umamaheswari Shankar , Jayanthi Anbumani , Sanjay Suresh Kumar , Viduran Prathees , Athvaidha Senthil Kumar

Rajasthani Kalbeliya Dance

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ajasthan is popular for its rich culture, colours, costumes, forts, and palaces. Rajathan has two popular tribes. Kalbeliya is one and the other one being Bopa. Kalbeliya tribe trace their ancestry from Kanlipar, the 12th disciple of Guru Gorakhnath. The largest number of the population of Kalbelias is in Pali district, then Ajmer, Chittorgarh and Udaipur district. They live a nomadic life and live-in makeshift houses called dera. Kalbelia men carried cobras in cane baskets from door to door in villages while their women sang and danced and begged for alms.

They revere the cobra and advocate the non-killing of the reptile. In the villages, if a snake inadvertently entered a home, a Kalbelia would be summoned to catch the serpent and take it away without killing it. This was a traditional way of earning a livelihood. Since the capture of snakes was prohibited in 1972, Kalbeliya women substitute for the snakes when accompanying the male Kalbeliya musicians.

Kalbeliya dance is the up-tempo dance with fast turning movements and acrobatic steps performed by young Kalbeliya girls wearing heavily decorated black dresses that has made this community so

www.indianabroad.news

famous on the international stage.

This dance form has swept the market as one of the most popular Indian folk dances, with the result that it has already been recognized

by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage (2010). After the “discovery” of Gulābī Saperā, the first Kalbeliya girl to perform this genre onstage in the United States (1986), numerous projects seeking to unite gypsy artists from all over the world began to adapt Kalbeliya dancing into their initiatives. Kalbeliya dancing was transformed into “the dance of the snake charmers” from the 2000s onward. Kalbeliya dancing is currently presented as an “emblem of national identity in tourism.”

If you ever have the chance to attend any traditional heritage function or event in Rajasthan, this is the most popular and exciting performance there.

Choreographer: Rajni Bansal

Performers: Rajni Bansal, Neeru Garg, Rashmi Sharma, Seema Panesar Bansal, Shruti puri, Priyanka Toshniwal, Deepthi Sanapala, Manpreet Nancy Kaur

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

ICGC’s Kite Festival held in Gold Coast T he ICGC hosted their first Independence Day of India celebration, which featured kite flying, food stalls, a cultural performance, and a live giant kite demonstration at the Big Lawn in Broadwater Parklands, Southport on Aug 15.

The event also supported Queensland Kites Organization’s Gold Coast Kite Festival. Thousands of kites flew in the sky and over 2000 people gathered on the ground, making it one of the biggest India Independence Day celebrations ever held on the Gold Coast.

The splendid event, which was free and open to the public, began at 9 in the morning and went on till post lunch.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

India Day Parade organised in Perth C

elebrating India’s Independence Day, India Day Parade was held on 15 August in Perth.

Various Indian community organisations participated in the parade, including Indian Society of WA (ISWA), Mawa Perth, Rajasthani Kutumb, Western Australia Sindhi Association, Isha Foundation, VTCS-Vedic Training and Cultural Services, Kashmiri Pandits in Perth, Wata Telugu Badi Perth, VTCS-Vedic Training and Cultural Services, Hindi Samaj HSWA, Maharashtra Mandal Perth, Tamil Association of Western Australia Inc, Vishva Hindu Parishad, Perth-WA, Sanskriti Seniors, Ambedkarite Buddhist Community, Odisha – OSWA, AIMA WA, Australian Indian Medical Association WA, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Perth, Basava Samithi Perth.

Army veterans and representatives from ORIOZ Western Australia were also present on this memorable day.

AIMA WA - Australian Indian Medical Association WA

Ambedkarite Buddhist Community

Basava Samithi Perth

Hindi Samaj HSWA

Odisha - OSWA

Isha Foundation

Indian Society of WA (ISWA)

Mawa Perth

Sanskriti Seniors

Rajasthani Kutumb

VTCS-Vedic Training and Cultural Services 2

Vishva Hindu Parishad, Perth, WA

Ex-Army Veterans

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Perth

Maharashtra Mandal Perth

Kashmiri Pandits in Perth

Wata TeluguBadi Perth

Western Australia Sindhi Association

Tamil Association of Western Australia Inc

ORIOZ WA

Basava Samithi Perth

Ambedkarite Buddhist Community

VTCS-Vedic Training and Cultural Services

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/IndianAbroadNews

/indianabroadnews

11

INDIA

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

CJI voices concern over poor state 'India must adapt to changed maritime orientation precepts in Indo-Pacific' of affairs in Indian parliament NV Ramana, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) expressed his disappointment with the functioning of the parliament on 15th August, highlighting the lack of rigorous yet healthy discussions on laws.

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana

C

ommenting on the lack of clarity of laws, he said that it seemed as though no one was aware of the purpose of laws which stems from the apparent paucity of lawyers and intellectuals in the houses (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha). He further said that this implied a huge loss for the public.

He went on to call the prevailing situation as a “sorry state of affairs” and emphasized on the dearth of debates on laws.

He also implored the legal community to increase participation in the public services and help in reviving the good old days of the past when the parliament had ample number of legal voices.

At an event commemorating the Independence Day, he remarked that many of the freedom fighters, who had played an instrumental role in freeing India from the colonial shackles, also belonged to the legal community. He further pointed out the stark differences between the constructive debates back then and the ones in current times which are either invariably characterized by maelstrom and chaos or barely

allow proper deliberations. He even commented that the role of the legislature, which was crystal clear in the past, seems to have become extremely murky.

A day before the CJI’s statement, President of India Ram Nath Kovind also made a tangential reference to the situation in the parliament and said, “Our parliament is the temple of our democracy which provides us highest forum where we discuss, debate and decide issues for the well-being of our people”.

Following the CJI’s observations, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju seconded his concerns in a tweet but laid the entire blame at the feet of the Opposition.

“I can understand the deep concern of the Honourable Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramanna about the lack of quality debate in Parliament. When I first entered Parliament, I learnt a lot from the seniors. Now, young MPs are being told to stop Parliament debate!,” tweeted the Union Minister.

“What’s more shocking is that there is chest-thumping by opposition MPs who openly boasted that they had blocked & stopped Parliament

Session. They behaved very rudely, resorted to physical force and used unparliamentary language, degrading the status of ‘Temple of Democracy’.”

“And it depicts the mentality of the leadership. Some people think that they only have the divine authority & dynastic right to rule India. But people of India are wise. Now, those people will be authorized to serve India whose purpose in life is service to the nation & mankind.”

“While the monsoon session of parliament started amid furore over the Pegasus spyware scam, the government had decided to push through several bills despite the disruptions. The opposition, which had been demanding a discussion on the allegations of spyware use on politicians, journalists and others, pointed out that the bills were passed without any discussion.”

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brian said that the government’s tendency of devoting approximately seven minutes to each bill was akin to “making papri chaat”. This added to the already brewing acrimony between the two sides.

“No bills passed in first week of monsoon session. Then Modi-Shah bulldozed 22 bills in 8 days at an average time of UNDER 10 MINUTES per Bill. Modiji, challenge these new numbers as I enjoy another plate of PAPRI CHAAT!” Mr O’Brien’s tweet read.

“The government accused the opposition of “maligning the dignity of parliament” and conspiring to stop its functioning. The opposition parties accused the government of crushing their voice in parliament, “murdering” democracy and bringing “outsiders” as marshals to beat up MPs.”

New Delhi, Aug 27: Basic precepts of maritime orientation are challenged in the Indo-Pacific, and India needs to compete in the evolving paradigm, Indian Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh said on Friday.

He said against this backdrop, competition in the region is also becoming more diverse, involving levers of diplomacy, commerce, ideology, values, science and technology - apart from the military.

Speaking on "Transforming the Indian Navy to be a key maritime force in the Indo-Pacific" at the United Service Institution of India (USI), he stressed that the most important element of the IndoPacific is an idea whose time has come -- a region that is the centre of gravity of global interactions.

"Indo-Pacific, by contrast, is maritime by its very nature. And, as the saying goes, seas unite, they don't divide. Given a predominant maritime orientation, there is a natural tendency for nations to engage, to collaborate," he said.

He said that with seas as the lifelines of global trade and prosperity, and nearly 50 per cent of global trade passing through the Indo-Pacific, most nations within - and beyond the Indo-Pacific have a core interest in keeping the region free for commerce.

Which is also why concepts such as like-minded partners, free and open and inclusive seas, have gained greater currency, concurrent with the growing relevance of the idea of Indo-Pacific, Admiral Singh pointed out.

He said that India is fortunate to be blessed with an excellent maritime geography, one that is well-suited to harness the overall maritime orientation of the Indo-Pacific. "But let us remember that, maritime orientation, of and by itself, does not assure global conciliation and consensus," he said, citing some of the most intense conflicts in history from Athens and Sparta, to

Britain and France and the Pacific campaigns of WWII. "So we have to be aware of the evolving nature of competition and contestation in the region," he noted.

The Navy chief said that what India is seeing today is some states applying a land- centric approach and territorial mindset to the basic idea of the global commons, attempting to seek greater domination and control.

"And, therefore, the increasing challenge to international rules, regulations and reinterpretation of conventions, which is turning the global commons into contested seas - Hugo Grotius' Mare Liberum to Mare Clausum," he said.

"And when we talk of the jostling, it has taken the form of a complex competition continuum that shapes the Indo-Pacific today."

In this, three elements stand out, he said. "First we are transitioning to a period of busy peace, where the binaries of peace and conflict are becoming less relevant."

"We were, earlier used to the idea of war or peace, but this is more diffuse now, with actors using diverse playbook of actions and counter-actions within this continuum on a day-to-day basis, whilst mostly remaining below the threshold of the conflict."

Secondly there is no linear escalation ladder within this continuum, he said. "Instead, we have an inter-woven spider's web of escalation, where actions in one domain may be responded by an action in another domain."

"Thirdly, we must face the fact that autocratic powers enjoy a natural advantage within this competition continuum, applying all the leverages in focussed manner; something we can call 'Sharp Power' to undermine and weaken the very sources of power of a democracy - attacking free media, social media, election processes, financial institutions, etc ... turning strengths of democratic

Photo Courtesy: IANS

nations into weaknesses. Work from Inside Out rather than Outside In," he said.

In sum, Indo-Pacific brings with it attendant and evolving challenges where the rules of the game are changing, he noted, adding: "We need to exist and compete in this evolving paradigm."

The Navy chief said that Indo-Pacific offers us that prospect, a canvas, on which we can sketch our future progress.

"To my mind, therefore, the IndoPacific really is India's theatre of opportunity that we need to harness," he said.

About the Navy's role to protect and further India's interests in the Indo-Pacific, he said the first line of effort is to collaborate and cooperate with like-minded nations for comprehensive maritime security.

The second is for the force's readiness to operate in the competition continuum and 'win the peace' on day-to-day basis, the third is building maritime domain awareness and understanding, the fourth line of effort is coordinating efforts across government stakeholders, so that we are ready across multiple levers and domains and the fifth is effective long-term perspective planning, which is extremely crucial in a resource constrained environment to develop options across the spectrum of competition and conflict

Mysuru University 'bans' movement T'gana releases Rs 500 crore of girl students after 6.30 p.m. more for 'Dalit Bandhu' scheme

Photo Courtesy: IANS

Bengaluru, Aug 27: In a bizarre development, the Mysuru University banned the movement of girl students in the campus after 6.30 p.m. from Friday.

As the order issued by the Registrar, coming against the backdrop of gang rape incident in the city, evoked outrage, Vice Chancellor, Prof G. Hemantha Kumar, assured to rectify the order by Saturday.

The order said that the movement

of girl students on the campus has been banned after 6.30 pm. They are also banned from sitting anywhere in the campus after the stipulated time.

The direction has been issued after oral instructions of the police against the backdrop of the Mysuru gang rape.

The order also states that the entry of public to the famous Kukkarahalli lake premises, located adjacent to

the varsity campus and frequented by nature lovers, will also be barred after 6.30 p.m.

The university has also given directions to enhance patrolling and security systems in the campus.

Asked about the order, the Vice Chancellor said: "The order has been issued after the police department raised concern over the safety of girl students in the campus which has lonely places. The guideline has been issued in the interests of the security of girl students.

"The intention of the order is to prevent the movement of girl students at lonely places in the campus. Kukkarahalli lake region almost resembles a forest due to thick vegetation. So the entry is banned after lateevening to prevent any such crimes," he said.

"In the campus, we wanted to convey to girl students that instead of going alone by themselves, they should go along with their friend.

The message's wordings have gone wrong from the side of the Registrar.

I will get it rectified," he said.

Photo Courtesy: telugustop

Hyderabad, Aug 23 (IANS): The Telangana government on Monday released the second instalment of Rs 500 crore for implementation of its ambitious 'Telangana Dalit Bandhu' scheme on pilot basis in Huzurabad Assembly constituency, where by-elections are due to be held.

A week after launch of the welfare scheme by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, also known as KCR, at a public meeting in the constituency, the state government issued orders releasing the funds.

Rao has directed the officials to release Rs 2,000 crore for the pilot project in the constituency. While the first instalment of Rs 500 crore was released on August 6, another Rs 500 crore was released on Monday.

According to Chief Minister's Office (CMO), another Rs 1,000 crore will be released for the pilot project of the scheme in next one week.

Under 'Dalit Bandhu' scheme which is a creation of the Telangana Chief Minister, every Dalit family will get Rs 10 lakh as grant and will be free to choose their profession, self-employment or businesses for utilising

the funds.

Addressing a public meeting at Shalapaly in Huzurabad constituency to launch the scheme, KCR had announced that his government will disburse more than Rs 2,000 crore to 21,000 Dalit families in Huzurabad in next two months.

He said the scheme will be implemented for all Scheduled Caste (SC) families in a saturation mode.

Earlier on August 5, the Telangana government had released Rs 7.60 crore to extend the financial assistance to 76 Dalit families in Vasalamarri, a village adopted by the Chief Minister in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district.

While addressing the public meeting in Huzurabad, Rao declared that all 17 lakh Dalit families will be benefited from the scheme. The total population of Dalits in the state is 75 lakh.

KCR said if 'Dalit Bandhu' scheme is implemented for all 17 lakh SC families in the state, it will cost the state government Rs 1.7 lakh crore.

The state government will allocate Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 40,000 crore in the budget every year for three to

four years, KCR added.

He said the most deprived among the SC families will receive the financial assistance.

However, the launch of the pilot project from Huzurabad constituency has come under criticism from the opposition parties and some NGOs, who alleged that the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is trying to lure Dalit voters.

Huzurabad seat fell vacant following the resignation of former Minister Eatala Rajender, who was dropped from the state cabinet by KCR. Rajender joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and is preparing to contest the Huzurabad bypoll as the saffron party candidate.

Saharanpur University renamed as Maa Shakumbhari University Govt introduces new registration mark Photo Courtesy: Jhalak

Lucknow, Aug 20: The Uttar Pradesh government has renamed the Saharanpur State University as Maa Shakumbhari University.

The Uttar Pradesh State Universities (Amendment) Bill 2021 that

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provides for renaming the university was 'passed' in the state Assembly on Thursday.

Later Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, issued a statement saying that, "The ancient temple of Goddess

Shakumbhari Devi is situated in Saharanpur district, which is one of the famous Shakti Peeths of India.

The general public has an unwavering reverence for Maa Shakumbhari Devi. Dedicating the Saharanpur State University, established by the state government, to Maa Shakumbhari Devi, it was decided to name the said university after her name in accordance with the sentiments of the general public."

The Bill, when it becomes law, would replace the Uttar Pradesh State Universities (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 that Governor Anandiben Patel promulgated on August 3, 2021.

It is noteworthy that the media was not allowed to cover the Monsoon Session of the state assembly citing Corona protocols and only a partial proceedings were digitally streamed.

under BH-series for new vehicles

Photo Courtesy: IANS

New Delhi, Aug 28: With an aim for a seamless transfer of registration of passenger vehicle from one state to another, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has introduced a new registration mark under the Bharat series (BH series).

A vehicle bearing this registration mark shall not require assignment of a new registration mark when the owner of the vehicle shifts from one state to another.

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Under the new scheme, the vehicle registration facility will be available on a voluntary basis to the Defence personnel, employees of the Central government, State government, Central/ State Public Sector Undertakings and private sector companies or organisations, which have their offices in four or more states or union territories.

The motor vehicle tax will be levied for two years or in multiple of two.

This scheme will facilitate free movement of personal vehicles across States/UTs of India upon relocation to a new State/UT. After completion of the 14th year, the motor vehicle tax shall be levied annually which shall be half of the amount which was charged earlier for that vehicle.

Till now, under section 47 of the

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Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a person was allowed to keep the vehicle for not more than 12 months in any state other than the state where the vehicle was registered, but a new registration with the new state- registering authority has to be made within the stipulated time of 12 months.

For re-registration of the vehicle from one state to another, the owner has to take 'No Objection Certificate' from the parent state for assignment of a new registration mark in another state and after the new registration the road tax on pro rata basis is paid in the new state.

Application for refund of the road tax in the parent state on a pro rata basis is a very cumbersome process and varies from one state to another.

12

AUSTRALIA

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

'Aus cannot hold back from reopening when majority of adults fully vaccinated' Photo Courtesy: IANS

Canberra, Aug 23: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday that the country "cannot hold back" from reopening when a majority of adults are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

He warned the state and territory leaders that they cannot be afraid of coronavirus case numbers rising after 70 per cent of adults have received two vaccine doses, reports Xinhua news agency.

The National Cabinet, which is made up of the Prime Minister and state and territory leaders, in July, signed off on a four-phase pathway out

of the pandemic that will see lockdowns used more sparingly when 70 per cent of adults are inoculated.

"Once you get to 70 per cent of your country that is eligible for the vaccine and 80 percent, the plan sets out that we have to move forward, we cannot hold back," he told reporters in Canberra.

"We must adjust our mindset. Cases will not be the issue... Dealing with serious illness, hospitalisation, ICU capabilities, our ability to respond in those circumstances, that will be our goal."

He also said that the lockdowns "are taking an extremely heavy toll", in both the aspects of the mental and physical health of Australians and on the economic success.

Australia on Monday morning reported 905 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19, the second highest since the onset of the pandemic.

As many as 818 of the new cases were in New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state with Sydney as the capital city.

Victoria, the second-most populous state with Melbourne as the capital city, reported a further 71 new cases and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) recorded another 16 where the nation's capital Canberra had entered its second week of lockdown.

So far, about half the Australian population in NSW, Victoria, and ACT was still in lockdown.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr on Monday announced a plan to fast-track vaccinations in Canberra, inviting Canberrans aged 16-29 to register for vaccinations.

"This is a race, and we do need more people to come forward," he said.

With the latest increases, Australia has so far reported 44,028 confirmed cases of Covid-19, while the death toll stood at 918.

NSW to give more freedom to fully vaccinated residents

Photo Courtesy: The Gaurdian

Sydney, Aug 26: From next month, Australia's most populous state of New South Wales will give more freedom to residents who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, despite an unabated increase in daily confirmed cases.

The NSW government said in a statement on Thursday that the decision was taken after the state hit the target of 6 million jabs, which is also the first step out of the Covid roadmap, reports Xinhua news agency.

Additional freedoms will follow for those who have had the jab when the state hits new vaccination targets of 70 per cent and 80 per cent.

From September 13, for those who live outside the 12 local government areas of concern, outdoor gatherings of up to five people (including children and adults fully vaccinated) will be allowed in a person's local government area or within 5 km of their homes.

For those who live in the 12 local government areas of concern, households with all adults vaccinated will be able to gather outdoors for recreation including picnics within the existing rules, in addition to the one hour allowed for exercise.

The authorities flagged that with 70 per cent full vaccination, a range of family, industry, community and economic restrictions will be lifted.

With 80 per cent full vaccination, there will be further easing of restrictions on the industry, community and economy.

The NSW government is also investigating trials of certain industries in coming months, as a proof-ofconcept measure to prepare the businesses to open up and operate in a Covid-safe way.

NSW is currently the epicentre of Australia's latest outbreak triggered by highly infectious Delta variant.

It recorded 1,029 new locally acquired cases on Thursday, with three fatalities.

The lockdown in regional NSW that was due to end this weekend has been extended until September 10.

Australian travel bans lowered Covid cases by 88%: Study Photo Courtesy: DTNext

Canberra, Aug 25: Australia's national science agency has developed a tool capable of forecasting the number of coronavirus infections on each international flight to the country.

The model, which was developed by

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the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), uses the number of incoming travellers and the rate of Covid-19 infection in their country of origin to estimate case numbers aboard a flight, reports Xinhua news agency.

Jess Liebig, a CSIRO research scientist, said it would act as another tool to aid government decisions on travel restrictions and opening borders.

"The model is a flexible framework that can be used to quantify the effects of travel restrictions and to evaluate proposed relaxations," she said in a statement on Wednesday.

"It also enables us to pinpoint the groups of travellers most likely to be carrying the virus, so authorities can more efficiently direct healthcare and bio-security control strategies."

In a study published on Wednesday, Liebig's team applied the model to two different scenarios; one with open international borders and one with actual travel restrictions imposed by the federal government between January and June 2020.

They found that the restrictions reduced the number of Covid-19 cases brought into Australia by 88 per cent.

"Our modelling shows that without travel restrictions, over 48,000 Covid-19 cases were likely to have been imported to Australia from January to May 2020," Liebig said.

Qantas posts significant loss due to Covid Canberra, Aug 26 (IANS): Australia's flag carrier, Qantas, is continuing to pay a huge price as the Covid-19 pandemic drags into the second half of 2021, but the airline is holding out hopes that some international flights will resume before the all-important Christmas period.

The airline, in its yearly trading update on Thursday, announced a A$2.35 billion ($1.71 billion) loss for the financial year, reports Xinhua news agency.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce emphasised that the devastating results were due to the virus which had left many of the "flying kangaroos" on the ground for months on end.

"This loss shows the impact that a full year of closed international

borders and more than 330 days of domestic travel restrictions had on the national carrier," Joyce said.

"The trading conditions have frankly been diabolical."

He said that combined with the massive losses of 2020, Covid-19 could end up costing the company more than A$20 billion by the end of the calendar year.

The airline boss was, however, keen to note optimistic signs on the horizon.

"Despite the uncertainty that is still in front of us, we are in a far better position to manage it than this time last year," Joyce said.

"We are a leaner and more efficient organisation. And our requirement

for all employees to be vaccinated will create a safer environment for our people and customers.

"When Australia reaches those critical vaccination targets later this year and the likelihood of future lockdowns and border closures reduce, we expect to see a surge in domestic travel demand and a gradual return of international travel," he said.

"It is obviously up to the government exactly how and when our international borders are reopened but with Australia on track to meet the 80 per cent trigger agreed by the national cabinet by the end of the year, we need to plan ahead for what is a complex restart process."

Australians warned of Covid disaster payment scams Photo Courtesy: Jhalak

Canberra, Aug 23: The Australian government on Monday warned of scams targeting people relying on Covid-19 disaster payments.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently revealed that along with major banks, it has identified a slew of scams related to coronavirus support payments, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the ACCC, 69 scams have been reported and in four cases more than A$37,000 ($26,401) were stolen.

Linda Reynolds, the Minister for Government Services, described scammers targeting vulnerable Australians amid widespread outbreaks of Covid-19 as a "low act".

"The agency is acutely aware of the unfortunate risk of scams and provides secure ways of claiming online," she was quoted as saying by The Canberra Times on Monday.

"Services Australia will never contact customers about a new claim for payment if they have not applied first online, over the phone or in a service centre."

The federal Covid-19 disaster payment is worth about A$750 per week for full-time employees who are

unable to work due to lockdowns.

Some of the reported scams involved criminals purporting to be from the government and asking for a victim's financial details.

Recently, about half the Australian population in New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory(ACT) are in lockdown as the country continues to battle the third wave of Covid-19 infections.

Ben Young, head of fraud at Westpac

bank, said isolation made people more prone to scams.

"Being separated from others while in lockdown, experiencing changes to your employment and spending more time transacting online can make us more vulnerable to scammers," he said.

"Our research shows that in the last year, self-employed Australians and those who were looking for work were twice as likely to have been scammed."

Aus govt approves plans for rocket launch despite concerns Canberra, Aug 26: The Australian government has granted approval for rockets to be launched from the state of South Australia (SA) despite local opposition.

Christian Porter, the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, announced regulatory approval for a commercial rocket launch, which will take place later this year at the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex operated by Southern Launch, reports Xinhua news agency.

The decision has paved the way for commercial launches from the site. The Whalers Way launch site will initially support a test launch campaign for up to three suborbital rockets.

Lloyd Damp, the CEO of Southern Launch, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Thursday that the final government approval was a welcome step.

"This is an exciting development on our journey to establish the first site in Australia capable of launching commercial satellites into orbit, enabling South Australia to start capturing part of the A$5.5 billion global space-launch market," he told ABC News.

Southern Launch announced plans to build the complex at Whalers

Photo Courtesy: Pexels

Way, which sits at the tip of the Eyre Peninsula west of Adelaide, the capital city of SA, in 2018.

However, locals in Whalers Way and the surrounding area remain opposed to the launch site.

Southern Launch representatives recently held community information meetings with locals seeking further details about the project's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Penelope Taylor, whose property neighbours Whalers Way, told the

ABC there were alarming details in the 3,000-page document.

"They're going to be trucking millions of litres of water and, at this stage, there's no consideration on how that's going to affect Port Lincoln's water source," she said.

"The days of thinking, 'Let's just go out to Whalers Way', who wants to go see it when you're seeing fuel tankers, barbed wire fences, security guards coming and going all the time? It changes the whole ambience of the place."

Australia evacuates 300 people from Kabul: PM Canberra, Aug 22: Australia has evacuated more than 300 people from Afghanistan, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Sunday.

Morrison said that the Australian Defense Force (ADF) evacuated the people on four flights overnight, reports Xinhua news agency.

Passengers on board the flights included Australian citizens and Afghan visa holders for Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK. It has brought to approximately 550 the total number of people evacuated by the Australian government

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from Kabul since the city fell to the Taliban on August 15.

Morrison said the ADF was trying to get as many people out as possible but could not promise every Australian citizen would be evacuated.

"We continue to get as many people through as we possibly can in the time we have available, as safely as we can," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"I can't guarantee the situation in Afghanistan. Australia is not in that situation. The US is in a very different situation to Australia. We

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have to work in the environment as we know it and we have to do the best we possibly can."

Australia joined the US in withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in June this year after 20 years in the country.

Morrison said there had been "many discussions" with the US about the conflict, but would not say if he agreed with the decision to withdraw.

"Australia's presence in Afghanistan is entirely conditional on the US presence in Afghanistan, that's just a realistic fact," he said.

13

WORLD

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

21 dead, 20 missing after Australia-India Navy signed Joint-Guidance severe floods hit Tennessee Photo Courtesy: IANS

A

‘Joint Guidance for the Australia-India Navy to Navy Relationship’ document was signed between the Indian Navy and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on 18 August 2021.

The signing ceremony was held between Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Indian Navy and Vice Admiral Michael J Noonan, AO, Chief of Navy, Australian Navy. The document is aligned to the ‘2020 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ agreed by the Prime Ministers and aims to ensure shared approaches to regional and global security challenges.

The Joint Guidance would serve as

a guideline document to showcase the intent of both the Navies to work together bi and multilaterally.

The broad scope of the guidance is focussed on developing mutual understanding, cooperation for regional security, collaborate in mutually beneficial activities and to develop interoperability.

The highlights of document include close cooperation in regional and multilateral fora, including Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Expert Working Groups subordinate to the (ASEAN) Defence Ministers'

Meeting Plus framework. Bilateral defence relations between India and Australia have strengthened over the years.

‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’, Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, conduct of the trilateral Maritime Security Workshop and RAN participation in Exercise MALABAR are significant milestones which underline the role played by both Navies in bolstering this relationship in recent times.

The document would be pivotal in consolidating the shared commitment to promote peace, security, stability and prosperity in the Indo Pacific Region.

Caldor Fire in California scorches over 100,000 acres Photo Courtesy: The Weather Channel

San Francisco, Aug 23 (IANS): The Caldor Fire raging in California's El Dorado County has spread to 104,309 acres, with only 5 per cent containment, authorities have said, adding that more homes and businesses were threatened since the fire jumped Highway 50.

The currently most active fire in California cut a 64.3 km stretch of the Highway 50 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains area, said the Inciweb, an interstate incident information system, in an update on Sunday.

As a transcontinental road in the US, the California portion of Highway 50 is a busy route linking the state's capital city and Lake Tahoe, one of the most famous tourist attractions in the country, reports Xinhua news agency.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said in a Sunday briefing that they do not anticipate reopening Highway 50 in the near future as the blaze still posed a threat to the communities along the road and

those travelling on that road.

As of Sunday, Cal Fire said 328 structures had been confirmed destroyed, and 13,114 structures remain threatened.

A video from the local KCRA 3 news channel showed that Grizzly Flats, a once wooded area which roughly 1,200 people called home, was hardly recognizable now after being burned through by the fire last Tuesday.

Many of its neighbourhoods and businesses were torched down, leaving mostly debris.

Deputies with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the Grizzly Flats and nearby areas to patrol after receiving several reports of looting, the report said.

In total, 1,618 firefighters are battling the fire, which started on August 14, and two people were seriously injured, Cal Fire said.

Cal Fire on Sunday said that containment remained low for the fire, which was intentional because the crews' main focus had been reducing the active threat to structures in the path of the fire's spread.

Washington, Aug 23: At least 21 people died and 20 others were reported missing after severe floods hit Humphreys County in the US state of Tennessee on August 21, authorities said.

"Today, we are trying to get a good evaluation picture," County Sheriff Chris Davis said on Sunday.

"The ones we have missing are mainly from the area of the greatest impact of the watcher when it first came up," Davis said, adding that "from children to elderly is what our deceased is ranging from".

In an interview earlier on Sunday, Davis told CNN that at least five of the missing are children; on Saturday he said that two toddlers were among the dead, reports Xinhua news agency.

Waverly Department of Public Safety Director Grant Gillespie said the number of missing went down from at least 40 to at least 20 after posting

Beijing cleared of medium, high risk areas for Covid

Photo Courtesy: IANS

a list of names on social media.

Humphreys County Schools announced classes would be cancelled this week because of the flooding.

More than 17 inches of rain was

measured in McEwen on Saturday, possibly setting a new state record for 24-hour rainfall, according to the National Weather Service in Nashville.

Japan to send Self-Defense Forces planes to Afghanistan Photo Courtesy: IANS

Tokyo, Aug 23: Japan will send three Self-Defense Forces (SDF) planes to Afghanistan to evacuate Japanese nationals and local staff who worked for the country's embassy and other organisations, the top government spokesperson said on Monday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu

Kato said the government will first send one C-2 transport aircraft on Monday and two C-130s on Tuesday to Afghanistan for the evacuation mission, reports Xinhua news agency.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party had criticised the decision to evacuate Japanese embassy staff via a British military airplane last week.

After the closure of the Japanese embassy in Afghanistan on August 15, the country's diplomats were evacuated to Dubai on August 16.

However, some Japanese nationals working for international organisations were still in the war-torn country.

Heavy rainstorms lash China Photo Courtesy: IANS

Beijing, Aug 23: Beijing has been cleared of medium and high-risk areas for Covid-19 with the last medium-risk area being downgraded to low-risk on Monday.

The Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said in an announcement that a residential community at Yancun Township in the district of Fangshan was downgraded to a low-risk area, reports Xinhua news agency.

With the adjustment, the whole of Beijing is in the low-risk category for Covid-19.

Beijing saw a resurgence of Covid-19 on July 28, as one confirmed locally transmitted case of was reported.

The city has not reported any new locally transmitted cases since August 11.

SL faces 4 mutations of Delta variant

Beijing, Aug 23: Heavy rainstorms have lashed China's Chongqing Municipality and Guizhou province since Sunday, said local authorities on Monday.

From 8 a.m. Sunday to 8 a.m.

Monday, rainstorms hit 26 districts and counties in Chongqing with precipitation up to 188 mm, said Chongqing hydrological monitoring

station.

The water levels in 33 local rivers rose by one to four meters, Xinhua news agency quoted the station as saying.

A total of seven counties in Guizhou province experienced rainstorms with precipitation up to 145.5 mm from 7 a.m. Sunday to 7 a.m.

Monday, according to Guizhou meteorological bureau.

The bureau launched a level-IV emergency response to rainstorms and issued an alert for flash floods with the provincial water resources department.

Meanwhile, the flood control and drought relief headquarters of Chongqing also issued warning and launched an emergency response to the floods, since rainstorms were forecast to continue in the municipality from Monday to Tuesday.

NZ completes Kabul evacuation Photo Courtesy: IANS

Photo Courtesy: IANS

Colombo, Aug 23 (IANS): Sri Lanka's medical experts on Monday said the Delta variant of the Covid-19 which is spreading across the country has acquired four mutations due to the high transmission rate but did not have any effect on vaccine efficacy.

Head of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Sciences of the Sri Jayawardenapura University, Professor Neelika Malavige said while the four mutations were found following gene sequencing, there was no urge to panic until the implications of the mutations were established, reports Xinhua news agency.

"One of the Delta mutations (A-222V) is seen in many countries, another (A-1078S) is found in Sri Lanka and Malaysia, while the other two (A-701S and R-24C) are only found in Sri Lanka. These are just mutations in the virus and that does not make these viruses new variants," Malavige was quoted by a local newspaper as saying.

"We had identified many other

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mutations in the previous Alpha variant and in our variant of the Sri Lankan lineage (responsible for the second wave), which were of no significance. Therefore, although some of the Delta variant viruses seen in Sri Lanka might have certain unique mutations, there is no reason to be alarmed," Malavige added.

Malavige said that these mutations were highly unlikely to have any effect on vaccine efficacy and requested people to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Sri Lanka is presently facing a rising wave of Covid-19 infections, suspected to be caused by the Delta variant with authorities declaring a nationwide quarantine curfew since August 20 which will be lifted on August 30.

Hospitals are exhausted with rising admissions while oxygen dependency has also risen among the patients.

The country has recorded over 7,000 deaths and 390,000 Covid-19 infections.

/IndianAbroadNews

Wellington, Aug 27 (IANS): The last flight by a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) C-130 Hercules aircraft evacuating people from Afghanistan's capital Kabul has in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a briefing on Friday.

Ardern said that that no NZDF personnel were in Kabul at the time of the explosions which occurred at the airport on Thursday as they had all safely departed on the final flight, reports Xinhua news agency.

NZDF have confirmed that no New Zealand evacuees were left within the Kabul airport.

So far, 276 New Zealand nationals and permanent residents, their families, and other visa holders have been evacuated from Kabul.

Of these, 228 have already departed

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the UAE for New Zealand, Ardern said.

She added that a further group of 100 people, including New Zealanders and Australians, were taken out on NZDF's last flight out of Kabul.

Over the course of the mission, the NZDF aircraft was able to undertake three flights out of Kabul and had brought out hundreds of evacuees who are destined for both New Zealand and Australia, said Defence Minister Peeni Henare.

He added that Australia also brought out a number of those destined for New Zealand.

It was not yet clear when the deployed NZDF personnel and the C-130 aircraft will arrive in New Zealand.

14

WORLD

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Air New Zealand reports loss due to Covid Photo Courtesy: IANS

Wellington, Aug 26: Air New Zealand on Thursday announced that it suffered an NZ$87 million loss for the 2020 financial year due to the travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The flag carrier said that the ongoing border restrictions saw operating revenue decline 48 per cent to NZ$2.5 billion as international flights were significantly reduced, with capacity down 55 per cent on the prior year, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the cargo flying revenue grew by 71 per cent compared to the prior year thanks to airfreight support schemes.

The airline's domestic business performed strongly, led by strong leisure demand as well as corporate customers flying at close to preCovid levels.

Chair Therese Walsh said the 2021 financial result reflected the reality of a year in which the airline was unable to fly two-thirds of its passenger network.

"In a severely constrained environment, Air New Zealand maintained cost discipline, focusing on delivering with excellence in the areas in its control.

"The return of a strong domestic business and growth in the cargo services that underpin our key export markets was a reminder of the airline's crucial role in New Zealand's infrastructure," she said.

Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said the 2021 financial year was one in which the airline played the hand it was dealt, kept planes flying every day and took some important steps in the delivery of its refreshed strategy.

'Greece won't become gateway to Europe for irregular migration flows' Athens, Aug 28: Greece will not become a gateway to Europe for irregular migration flows, like it happened in the 2015-2019 period,the country's Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarachi told Parliament, pointing to recent developments in Afghanistan.

Mitarachi's remarks on Friday come as the Taliban takeover of most of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US forces has sparked deep concerns in Greece, as well as across Europe, over a possible replay of mass migration flows and the humanitarian crisis of recent years, reports Xinhua news agency.

Since 2015, over one million people have reached Greece fleeing warzones and extreme poverty, and most continued their journey to other European countries until the borders along the Balkan route to Central Europe were sealed off.

Currently, Greece is on alert and bolstering security along the borders with Turkey, officials in Athens have said.

The erection of a fence along the Turkish border in the north was completed a few days ago, the government said.

The 27-km-long and five-meter-high steel fence was added to an existing 12.5-km-long wall, which was reinforced.

A new electronic border surveillance system had also been installed.

The project that cost nearly 63

Photo Courtesy: IANS

million euros ($74 million), started last year following the increased pressure on this part of the borders by thousands of asylum seekers in March 2020.

"The Afghan crisis is creating new data in the geopolitical sphere and at the same time is creating possibilities for migration flows. We have to prepare ourselves for the possible consequences," Minister of Civil

Protection Michalis Chrisochoidis told Greek national broadcaster ERT during a recent visit to the area.

The Greek government is in talks with the European Union (EU) for financing the extension of the border fence, local news site "in.gr" has reported.

The country has also called for prompt and close cooperation

between EU member states and with third countries to cope with the arising new challenges.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan jointly urged the international community last week to provide more support to countries closer to Afghanistan to handle the crisis.

was the only attack that happened Thursday, correcting earlier reports that a second attack was launched at the adjacent Baron Hotel.

"I can confirm for you that we do not believe that there was a second explosion at or near the Baron Hotel; that it was one suicide bomber,"

Taylor said.

It was not clear the individual killed in the US airstrike was specifically involved in Thursday's bombing.

The US reprisal came after President Joe Biden promised to strike those responsible for the suicide bombing.

7 terrorists killed in US says drone strike kills IS-K planner Balochistan Photo Courtesy: IANS

Islamabad, Aug 26: Seven terrorists belonging to a banned outfit were killed during a raid at their hideout in Pakistan's Balochistan province, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of police said on Thursday.

The CTD personnel conducted the operation late Wednesday in the Kohar Dam area of Loralai district during which the terrorists opened fire on the police party, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Department as saying.

An exchange of fire between

militants and police, killed seven terrorists on the spot, the CTD said, adding that three of their accomplices managed to escape.

Police said that a search operation has been kicked off in the surrounding areas to arrest on-the-run terrorists.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition, including explosives, hand grenades and assault rifles were also recovered from the hideout during the operation.

Japan's ruling party to hold leadership polls on Sep 29 Photo Courtesy: IANS

Tokyo, Aug 26: Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Thursday formalised the decision to hold an election to choose its new President on September 29, with the campaigning slated to start on September 17.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, whose term as LDP President is to expire on September 30, has said he will run in the leadership race, reports Xinhua news agency.

Being re-elected ruling party chief would possibly make sure he remains as Prime Minister.

Earlier in the week, LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai and LDP Diet affairs chief Hiroshi Moriyama www.indianabroad.news

expressed that they will back the re-election of Suga as the party president.

This year's election will be held with voters expanded to include rank-and-file members of the LDP and allied groups, lifting uncertainty about whether Suga will secure a second term.

In addition to the party's presidential election, the timing of a general election has received attention as the four-year terms of House of Representatives lawmakers expire on October 21 and the Prime Minister has the power to dissolve the lower house for a snap election.

New Delhi/Washington, Aug 28 (IANS): The US military said it believes it has killed a planner for the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (IS) terror group in a drone strike in the east of the country, the media reported.

"The US military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an IS-K planner," US Central Command spokesman Bill Urban said in a statement on Friday night.

"The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangahar Province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties," the statement added.

Urban described the drone attack as an "over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation", the BBC reported.

Most of IS-K's several thousand extremists are believed to be in hiding in Nangarhar province.

The IS-K claimed responsibility for the deadly attack outside Kabul

airport on Thursday that may have killed as many as 170 people, including 13 US service members.

Officials in Washington have warned of heightened terror threats to American troops in the aftermath of what was one of the deadliest attacks in the 20-year US-led invasion in Afghanistan, Xinhua news agency reported.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told a news conference Friday that "specific credible threats" are believed to exist, "and we want to make sure we're prepared for those" threats.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki echoed the concern over those security threats, saying in a press briefing that American officials believe "another terror attack in Kabul is likely".

Also on Friday, Major General Hank Taylor, deputy director of the Joint Staff For Regional Operations, clarified to reporters that the blast at the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport involving a sole suicide bomber

Florida judge rules school districts may issue mask mandates Miami, Aug 28: A judge in the US state of Florida ruled that school districts in the may issue mask mandates for students, dealing a blow to the effort by Governor Ron DeSantis and other officials to block such orders.

In his ruling on Friday, Judge John Cooper of the Second Judicial Circuit sided with parents in six Florida counties who sued the DeSantis administration, arguing that the Governor's order infringes on classroom safety guaranteed by the state's constitution, reports Xinhua news agency.

DeSantis' administration has insisted on leaving decisions over whether to let children wear masks to their parents and had threatened to withhold funding for the first two school districts defying his executive order banning mask mandates.

The judge announced his ruling in a lengthy livestream video that lasted for nearly two hours, as the state is struggling to cope with its worst-ever outbreak.

He said DeSantis' order "is without legal authority", adding that although the state law cited by the governor in opposing the mask mandate does give parents the ultimate right to make health-related decisions for their kids, it meanwhile exempts government actions that are needed

to protect public health, and that a school district's decision to require student to wear masks during a pandemic is within that exemption.

"I'm a parent - parents' rights are very important," Cooper said.

"But they're not without some reasonable limitation, depending upon safety, reasonableness and a compelling state need."

DeSantis struck a defiant tone in his response to the ruling, saying the judge's decision was against parents' rights and their ability to make the best educational and medical decisions for their family.

He said his administration will continue to defend the law and parents' rights in Florida, and will immediately appeal the ruling.

In a statement, Florida's Department of Education, which along with the Department of Health was directed

by DeSantis to implement the ban on mask mandates, said it would appeal.

"We are immensely disappointed that the ruling issued today by the Second Judicial Circuit discards the rule of law," said Jared Ochs, a spokesman for the Education Department.

"This decision conflicts with basic and established rights of parents to make private health care and

/IndianAbroadNews

Photo Courtesy: IANS

education decisions for children."

A brutal summer surge of the pandemic fuelled by the spread of the Delta variant has led to record number of positive cases, hospitalisations and deaths than at any point during the pandemic before.

The reopening of schools over the past few weeks has coincided with

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the worsening virus conditions, prompting 10 of Florida's 67 countywide school districts, covering a majority of the state's 2.8 million public school students, to defy DeSantis' anti-mask executive order and require students to mask up in class unless they are excused for medical reasons.

15

POLITICS

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Cong G-23 leader Manish Tewari Goa CM cautions govt job seekers upset over party’s silence on Sidhu against prowling fake agents Photo Courtesy: IANS

New Delhi, Aug 28: Prominent leader of the G-23 group in the Congress, Manish Tewari is upset over the party’s silence on Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has used threatening language against the party.

Sources close to Tewari said that last year in August when the group of leaders wrote a letter for the betterment of the party, they were called traitors, but now no action was being taken against Sidhu.

Tewari tweeted the video of Sidhu

on Saturday, who is saying that if not allowed he will destroy it “eent se eent baja denge”.

Tewari, a former Union minister, says that if they utter a word they are being named. He used a Urdu couplet to describe the situation, “hum aah bhi bharte hai tau, ho jaate ha badnaam, wo qatal bhi karte hain tau charcha nahi hote.”

Last year on August 23, leaders including Tewari wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi for a ‘visible and effective leadership and elections

for th block to CWC level which were still pending.

Sidhu speaking at a party function in Amritsar city on Friday, said, “If he is allowed to work according to his own policy of hope and faith, he will ensure the Congress rule in the state for 20 years”.

“But if you don’t allow me to make decisions, then I can’t help anything,” Sidhu said without mincing words.

Speaking about the Punjab model, Sidhu said, “Punjab model means people make policies for trade, industry and power. Giving power of people back to the people.”

The power struggle between Sidhu and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh continues.

Meanwhile, even Amarinder Singh’s confidante and Cabinet minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi hosted a dinner at his residence on Thursday.

A total of 58 MLAs and eight MPs attended the dinner and expressed their confidence that the party would win the 2022 polls under the leadership of Amarinder Singh.

“The journey has started today,” Sodhi informed in a tweet.

After Sidhu’s threat, Harish Rawat General Secretary in-charge of Punjab met Sonia Gandhi on Friday and apprised her of the issues.

Gujarat CM, businessmen come together to lay foundation stone for bright future Photo Courtesy: The Indian Express

Surat, Aug 23: Shree Swaminarayan Vadtal Temple Committee, the temple shrine located in Gujarat, on Monday announced its commitment to education with the foundation stone-laying ceremony. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijaybhai Rupani and notable businessmen were part of the ceremony.

The temple committee is still seeking donors for funds. The money will be used to build a state-of-theart hostel at Vallabhavidyanagar, close to Anand. One thousand students will be provided free accommodation and meals in the hostel once the construction is complete. Needy students of any

caste, faith or culture can avail the services.

Swaminarayan Temple Vadtal comes with a historical heritage in the field of education. The organization aims to take this very experience and expand it to formal education.

It is working towards the vision of helping the youth of Gujarat to acquire world class knowledge.

Acharya Maharaj Shri Rakesh Prasadji, Head Priest, Vadtaladham Swaminarayan said, "Shree Swaminarayan Vadtal Temple Committee is humbled to have received generous donations and urge others to similarly come forward and donate for a greater

cause. With the establishment of the hostel and institution, we hope to instill education and values in the students, and help them become true citizens of the country."

Shri Arjanbhai Laljibhai Dholakia - Director, Shree Ramakrishna Exports Pvt Ltd (SRK) said, "We are thrilled to support Shree Swaminarayan Vadtal Temple Committee financially and hope to extend this through man hours of service. We believe that this is the start of something powerful and are proud to be making a difference in the lives of so many young students.

We request every Indian to contribute in their own possible way."

On this occasion, President of Satsang Mahasabha Shastri Nautam Prakash Dasji, Chairman of Vadtal Temple Committee Dev Prakash Swami, Shri Sant Vallabh Swami, Parshad Lalji Bhagat of Gyan Bagh, MP Shri Miteshbhai Patel, Chief Dandak Shri Pankajbhai Desai, Former MP Shri Dilipbhai Patel, Maheshbhai Patel, President of Charutar Vidya Mandal Shri Bhikhubhai Patel, office bearers, Collector Shri Manoj Dakshini, District Development Officer Shri BG Prajapati, Haribhaktas were present.

BJP holds pan-India events to mark Sikander Bakht’s birth anniversary

New Delhi, Aug 24: For the first time the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has organised programmes across the country to mark the birth anniversary of former Union Minister and Kerala Governor, late Sikander Bakht on Tuesday.

The BJP's Minority Wing organised events at the district and block level across the country to tell its workers about the role and stature of Bakht in the party. At the main

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programme, the BJP Minority Wing National President, Jamal Siddiqui along with party workers will pay homage to Bakht at Mehndiyan Kabristan in New Delhi on Tuesday afternoon.

The BJP's Minority Wing has for the first time organised programmes to mark Bakht's birth anniversary on such a large scale. "Bakth saab stays in the heart of the party workers and we always remember him.

Yes, it is true that for the first time programmes will be held across the country to pay tribute to Sikander Bakht," Siddiqui said.

"The new generation did not know about Bakht or other leaders' role and contribution to the party. Bakht saab was the founding BJP National General Secretary. He was one of the prominent party members from the Muslim community," Siddiqui added.

He said a lot of misconception has been created about the number of Muslims in the BJP by the opposition parties which needs to be cleared. "Muslims were and are a key part of the BJP and leaders from the minority community played an important role in the growth and expansion of the party," he added.

Bakht died on February 23, 2004, in Thiruvananthapuram while serving as the Kerala Governor. He was the BJP's prominent Muslim face after being associated with the Congress for a long time before joining the BJP. In 1980-82, he was the BJP's founding General Secretary and from 1982 to 1993 the party's Vice-President.

Panaji, Aug 23: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday cautioned government job seekers against falling prey to the guile of fake agents, who promise government employment, adding that his government was investigating "eight to 10" such cases of fraud.

"By mistake if someone has been asked to shell out money for these jobs, please complain to our personnel department. I am saying this on purpose. Many rumours are being spread about various jobs.

The government is offering even general (category) jobs clear cut on merit basis," Sawant told a function at the State Secretariat organised to handover offer letters to candidates who have been selected for jobs on compassionate grounds.

"I am saying this on purpose because people have filed complaints (against) eight to 10 agents. There is an enquiry going on. There are people who are trying to snare people looking for jobs. I have heard about such things happening with

Photo Courtesy: The Statesman

these (compassionate grounds) vacancies too. The jobs will be given according to seniority list," Sawant said, urging people to not fall prey to fake agents.

"The procedure to apply for these jobs will be transparent and based on merit," Sawant also said.

While 92 offer letters for jobs on

compassionate grounds were issued on Monday, 454 more such vacancies are expected to be filled up, Sawant also said.

The Sawant-led administration has promised 10,000 jobs to local youth ahead of the 2022 state assembly polls.

Nitish Kumar leads all-party delegation to meet PM on caste census New Delhi, Aug 23: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with a 10-member all-party delegation from the state on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press the demand for a caste-based census.

Leader of opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav, former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, ministers in the Bihar government Janak Ram, Mukesh Sahani and Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Leader of Congress Legislature Party Ajit Sharma, Suryakant Paswan of the CPI, Mahboob Alam (CPI-ML), Akhtarul Imam (AIMIM), and Ajay Kumar (CPI-M) were part of the delegation led by Nitish Kumar.

It is learnt that during the meeting both Kumar and Yadav strongly pressed for the caste-based census.

After the meeting, Nitish Kumar said that the Prime Minister listened to the points of every leader.

"I was the one who addressed the Prime Minister first. I said that the proposal regarding caste-based census came from the leader of opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav and we all agreed on it. The Prime Minister listened to the points of every member of the delegation. We are expecting a positive outcome from the Prime Minister," Kumar said.

When asked about the Prime Minister's stand on the issue, Kumar said, "He (Modi) did not deny it (caste census) and heard everyone

patiently. A caste-based census will help in formulating various development plans effectively."

Tejashwi Yadav was the second leader who addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the meeting.

While interacting with the media, he said: "We are hopeful that the Prime Minister will allow conducting a caste-based census.

"Caste-based census should happen not only in Bihar, but in the entire nation. It will help proper diversion of resources. It is inevitable. It will be a historic measure in helping the poor. If animals and trees can be counted, then why not people on castes. When the government has no scientific data on the population, how can it make welfare policies,"

said Yadav.

When reporters asked Tejashwi whether the Prime Minister would turn down their call, CM Nitish Kumar intervened and said, "It is too early to come to a conclusion. Let's wait for the decision of the Prime Minister."

The issue of a caste-based census has been a longstanding demand of the political parties in Bihar.

The Bihar legislature had twice unanimously passed resolutions for the caste-based census in 2019 and 2020. On both the occasions, all BJP MLAs had also voted in support of a caste based census.

Caste-based Census other than for SCs and STs has not been undertaken in the country after 1931.

Yogi govt to compensate animal loss, tool loss Lucknow, Aug 24: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh will provide financial assistance up to Rs 30,000 to animal owners, who have faced losses in natural calamities like floods.

The state government will also provide Rs 4,100 to craftsmen as a compensation in case of loss of tools.

According to a government spokesman, if any animal dies in a disaster, the government will provide financial assistance to the cattle-owners at the rate of up to Rs 30,000 per animal.

An amount of Rs 3,000 will be given to the animal owner on the death of small milch animals (goat, sheep or pig), Rs 25,000 for non-milk animals (camel, horse, bull) and Rs 16,000 for animals like cows and buffaloes.

Poultry has also been included in this provision. Poultry farmers will be provided assistance of Rs 50 per poultry.

These provisions are not only for floods but also for calamities including cloudbursts, fire, drought, cyclones, unseasonal heavy rain, thunderstorm, lightning strike, etc.

If the tools of any artisan are damaged in the disaster, then the government will be giving the financial assistance to buy the tools again. In case of loss of tools, an amount of Rs 4,100 per craftsman will be provided.

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17

BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Net debt of listed developers declines 37% amid Covid Photo Courtesy: The Statesman

New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS): The net debt levels of listed real estate developers have declined 37 per cent since the first wave of Covid-19.

An ICICI Securities report noted that the decline in debt levels has been achieved through a combination of reduction in cost of debt by 80-160 basis points (bps), reduction in

corporate overheads by 20-40 per cent from pre-Covid levels, operating cash surpluses, asset sales and equity capital raise either through the QIP route or through dilution at the SPV level.

"On an aggregate basis, listed developers in our coverage universe (ex-REITs) have been able to bring

down their consolidated net debt levels by 37 per cent to Rs 274 billion (ex-DCCDL) between Q4FY20Q1FY22 (March 20 to June 21)," it said.

While the overall real estate sector in India, especially the unlisted space, continues to grapple with high cost and quantum of debt, listed developers' balance sheets have become leaner which puts them in a strong position to invest for growth in the medium term and is likely to accelerate the pace of consolidation in the sector.

The report noted that developers have used a mix of organic and inorganic routes to reduce debt.

The report noted that listed developers will invest in growth once Covid impact fades away. As per the stated intent of majority of developers in our coverage universe, while they have protected their balance sheets through the tough Covid impacted period, they will again begin to invest in new land parcels in a judicious manner to grow their business over the next three to four years, it said.

Flybig launches commercial flight services between Guwahati and Arunachal Photo Courtesy: IANS

Guwahati/Itanagar, Aug 19 (IANS): With private airline Flybig launching its operations on the new route connecting Assam's Guwahati with Arunachal Pradeshs Tezu on Thursday, air connectivity powered by the Regional Connectivity Scheme -- UDAN -- expanded further in the hilly northeastern region, officials said.

According to Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials, Flybig on Thursday started direct flight services from Guwahati's Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport to Tezu in eastern Arunachal Pradesh's Lohit district.

A water cannon salute was accorded to the first flight at the newly developed Tezu airport, where a new terminal building spread across an area measuring 4,200 sq mt, a runway and a new Air Traffic Control tower are being developed at a cost of Rs 140 crore.

India's scheduled commuter airline Flybig operates flights to Indore, Bhopal, Raipur, Kolkata and five airports in northeast India -- Guwahati, Rupsi, Dibrugrah,

Pasighat and Agartala -- along with the newly-added Tezu. It also offers charter services from Delhi to Shillong.

Thursday's flagging off function was attended by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, the state's Aviation and Tourism Minister Nakap Nalo, and AAI's Regional Executive Director Ravi Kant, among others.

Ravi Kant said that the AAI has always been pivotal in connecting the remote and small places through air transportation, and the expansion of air connectivity in the northeastern states would boost tourism and trade in the region.

The ATR-72 type aircraft of the FlyBig would operate on the Guwahati-Tezu-Guwahati route every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

A FlyBig statement said that commemorating India's 75th Independence Day, the airline is offering a special fare of Rs 75 for Army officers, their immediate family members and senior citizens, honouring their exemplary service

to the nation.

"In order to reinforce its network, the airline is adding two new aircraft to its fleet in September and another two in October. The new planes would be stationed at Guwahati and Indore hub," the statement said.

An AAI official said that the RCSUDAN scheme would offer flight fares lower than the normal rates.

The scheme was launched by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry in October 2016 to stimulate regional air connectivity and make air travel affordable to the common people.

Currently there are 15 airports in the northeast region -- Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Lilalabari and Rupsi (Assam), Tezu and Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh), Agartala (Tripura), Imphal (Manipur), Shillong (Meghalaya), Dimapur (Nagaland), Lengpui (Mizoram) and Pakyong (Sikkim).

The AAI at a cost of Rs 650 crore is also developing the Hollongi airport near Arunachal capital Itanagar, to boost air connectivity in the mountainous areas.

HDFC Bank aims to regain credit card market share in 3-4 Qtrs Photo Courtesy: fresherslive

Mumbai, Aug 23: India’s largest credit card issuer HDFC Bank on Monday said it aims to add five lakh new credit cards to its portfolio every month beginning February 2022.

Accordingly, the new additions will enable the bank to regain market share in the credit card issuing business in the next 9 to 12 months.

The bank’s new target comes after the Reserve Bank relaxed the www.indianabroad.news

restrictions on HDFC Bank and allowed the lender to issue new credit cards.

However, the restrictions on all new launches of the digital business generating activities planned under ‘Digital 2.0’ will continue till further review by RBI. In December 2020, RBI directed asked HDFC Bank to temporarily stop all launches of the ‘Digital Business generating activities and

sourcing of new credit card customers on certain incidents of outages in the Internet banking, mobile banking and payment utilities of the bank over the past two years.

According to HDFC Bank, it has over 20 initiatives which will hit the market in the next 6 to 9 months to drive this growth.

These initiatives, the bank pointed out includes the launch of new co-branded cards with the who’s who of Corporate India spanning pharma, travel, FMCG, hospitality, telecom and fintech.

“The last few months have been spent in readying ourselves for the future. When the restrictions from the regulator were in place, we utilised the time to chalk out a new strategy,” said Parag Rao, Group Head - Payments, Consumer Finance, Digital Banking & IT, HDFC Bank.

Despite pandemic, India’s direct selling industry records growth of 10 % in FY 21 Industry stakeholders have claimed that India’s direct consumer goods industry has grown by around 10 percent in FY 2020-21 notwithstanding the effect of the Covid pandemic.

Continued from page 1 Consequently, a growth of 9.25 percent in the Q2 of FY 2020-21 was recorded which was higher than the corresponding period in 2019-20.

Banerji also pointed that this growth in the industry was predominantly attributable to the increase in the turnover of wellness and personal care products.

Aseem Sood who is the Managing Director of Proveda Marketing India stated that currently the total value of the products being sold by the direct selling industry is approximately Rs 16,000 crores which is slated to soar to more than Rs 64,000 crores by the year 2025.

He gives credit for this estimated growth to the digital channels which proved very crucial as alternative platforms to endorse various products and services. Not only this, these served as viable forums to bring producers and consumers closer. He also approved of the recently recommended rules for the

Photo Courtesy: The Indian Wire

direct selling industry as he believes that this will go a long way in taking the industry far ahead. He welcomed the government’s involvement and said that finally the state authorities were taking steps in the right direction.

Rajat Banerji is also in favour of the proposed change in rules for the industry. However, there are still some issues which need to be discussed with the government to streamline the implementation of the rules.

India's YoY FY22 GDP growth expected at 9.4%: Ind-Ra Photo Courtesy: IANS

New Delhi, Aug 19: India's year-onyear FY22 GDP growth is expected to come in at 9.4 per cent, said India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra).

According to Ind-Ra, the GDP trend is supported by ebbing of Covid 2.0, along with Kharif sowing, which has seen a significant pick-up with the revival of south-west monsoon and robust exports volume.

"If India is able to vaccinate its entire adult population by December 31, 2021, the GDP growth is expected to come in at 9.6 per cent YoY in FY22, otherwise it may slip to 9.1 per cent," the ratings agency said.

"Going by the pace of vaccination, it is now almost certain that India will not be able to vaccinate its entire adult population by December 31, 2021," it added.

Besides, the agency estimates suggest that 5.2 million daily doses would have to be administered from August 18 onwards to fully vaccinate more than 88 per cent of the adult population as well as to administer single doses to the rest by March 31, 2022.

"A glance at the National Accounts Data shows that of the four demand-side growth drivers, namely

private final consumption expenditure (PFCE), government final consumption expenditure (GFCE), gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) and exports, only GFCE has shown somewhat decent growth, averaging 5.7 per cent during FY19-FY21," Ind-Ra said.

"PFCE, GFCF and exports during this period grew 1.3 per cent, 1.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively.

Of the demand-side drivers, PFCE, proxy for consumption demand, is the largest component accounting for 58.6 per cent of the GDP in FY21, followed by GFCF accounting 27.1 per cent, exports 18.1 per cent and GFCE 12.5 per cent," it added.

The agency also said that projected double-digit PFCE growth in FY22 is primarily due to the base effect.

"PFCE in FY22 is estimated to be just 0.3 per cent higher than FY20.

This means the size of PFCE by end-FY22 would be similar to FY20.

There are several reasons for that.

Unlike Covid 1.0, which was largely an urban phenomenon, Covid 2.0 spread to the rural areas as well," the agency said.

"Even if the agricultural output or income remains intact in view of the

progress of monsoon so far, rural households are unlikely to loosen their purse strings in view of the Covid-19 induced rise and or a likely rise in the health expenditure as also the uncertainty insecurity associated with the likely future waves of Covid-19," it added.

Notably, Ind-Ra said that the largest chunk of rural population consists of daily wage earners, and not farmers.

"Rural wage growth, both for agricultural and non-agricultural activities, has declined lately. Wage growth has been muted even in the urban areas. In fact, urban households, besides the rise in health expenditure, are facing the double whammy of income loss or stagnation coupled with high consumer inflation," the agency said.

"All this has severely dented their disposable income," it added.

'E-buses to account for 8-10% of new bus sales in India by FY2025' Photo Courtesy: IANS

New Delhi, Aug 19: Electric buses (e-buses) are expected to be at the forefront of India's electrification drive, with the segment expected to witness healthy traction going forward, said ratings agency ICRA. ICRA expects e-buses to account for 8-10 per cent of new bus sales by FY2025.

"The traction in the e-bus segment is already visible over the recent months, despite the overall stress in the public transportation segment in the past year-and-a-half due to the Covid pandemic," the ratings agency said.

Besides, ICRA pointed out that the extension of the 'Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles' (FAME) scheme by two years to April 2024 would support adoption in the segment over the medium term.

Globally, the e-bus market is dominated by China, which accounts for 98 per cent of the global e-bus fleet, and 95 per cent of the global stock of dedicated bus chargers.

"An organised, collaborative approach towards electrification with involvement of all the stakeholders and significant government subsidies aided electrification in China, especially over the 2015 to 2017 period, after which subsidies were gradually phased downwards," ICRA said.

"Electrification in other geographies like Europe is also picking up gradually. In India too, significant incentives and subsidies have been announced through various schemes like 'FAME', 'Smart Cities'

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etc. to reduce cost of acquisition, and spur e-bus adoption, while many state EV policies have announced specific electrification targets and timelines for buses, thereby helping create a roadmap for electrification," it added.

The 'FAME II' scheme implemented by the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) has planned a significant outlay of Rs 35 billion towards supporting e-bus adoption in India.

According to Srikumar Krishnamurthy, Vice President and Co-group Head, ICRA Ratings: "Bus costs are the single largest cost element in electric bus projects, accounting for 75-80 per cent of project costs.

"With the capital subsidy of Rs 35-55 lakh per bus under the 'FAME II'

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scheme, the capital subsidy element can fund a large part of the project costs, up to even 40 per cent, which augurs well for the viability of these projects."

Additionally, Krishnamurthy cited that coupled with significant savings on fuel costs, these subsidies help bring the total cost of ownership of e-buses on par with CNG buses, and more importantly 20-30 per cent lower than diesel buses.

ICRA said that while the 'FAME II' scheme and associated subsidies would support the penetration in the initial years, expectations are that capital costs would reduce with localisation and evolution in battery technology, which coupled with favorable operating economics would support sales subsequently.

18

BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Continued unlocking accelerates economic recovery in July: ICRA Photo Courtesy: freepress

New Delhi, Aug 23: Continued unlocking across the country has accelerated the improvement in various high frequency industrial and service sector indicators during July 2021, said ICRA. According to Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA: "With the further easing of the state-wise restrictions, especially across the southern states, the roots of the economic recovery deepened in July 2021.

Despite a normalising base, eight of the 15 high frequency indicators recorded an encouraging improvement in their year-on-year (YoY) growth in July 2021."

"Moreover, 10 of the 13 non-financial indicators recorded a

month-on-month (MoM) uptick in July 2021, although the pace of the improvement expectedly eased from the levels seen in June 2021, when the state-wise unlocking had commenced."

Besides, ICRA highlighted that the YoY performance of GST e-way bills, fuel consumption, electricity generation, output of Coal India Limited (CIL), vehicle registrations, domestic passenger traffic, amongst others improved in July 2021 compared to June 2021.

Furthermore, the worsening in the YoY performance of some of the remaining indicators such as the output of passenger vehicles (PVs), scooters and motorcycles, was

primarily due to the unfavourable base effect.

However, the sequential momentum of growth eased in July 2021, after having recorded a sharp uptick in June 2021.

In contrast, ports cargo traffic, diesel consumption and rail freight displayed a decline in MoM terms in July 2021.

"To gauge the strength of the recovery across sectors, we have compared the performance of indicators in July 2021 with the pre-Covid level of July 2019, as well as the levels in April 2021. The volumes of seven of the 13 non-financial indicators rose above both their pre-Covid as well as April 2021 levels in July 2021," she said.

"While three indicators, namely, the output of scooters and motorcycles, and vehicle registrations surpassed their April 2021 levels, they trailed the level of July 2019. In contrast, domestic passenger traffic, ports cargo traffic and diesel consumption reported lower volumes in July 2021, relative to both July 2019 and April 2021."

In addition, the ratings agency cited that early data for August 2021 indicates a mixed trend across the available indicators.

Need infra to enhance sub tier downstream value chain: HMIL MD Photo Courtesy: ET Auto

New Delhi, Aug 26: India needs to set up infrastructure for enhancing 'sub tier downstream value chain' which will aid in achieving further localisation levels, said Hyundai Motor India's Managing Director S.S. Kim. Speaking at the 61st ACMA Annual Session, Kim said: "This strategy will ensure a greater level of competence and stability for the entire industry in India and for our export operations."

"To create a robust sub-vendor ecosystem -- government intervention

and support will go a long way in making India a true manufacturing hub."

"The need for localisation is immensely significant in today's context as it will usher in an era of sustainable growth for India and the automotive industry."

According to Kim, for the future, component manufacturers and OEMs should continue investing in technological advancement with a keen focus on "workplace safety, harmonious employee relationship and government collaboration".

Besides, he cited that scope to increase car penetration and potential for motorisation in India is effectively high.

"As urbanisation continues to grow in India, personal mobility holds high growth potential and business opportunity. While we focus on ramping up operations to facilitate future growth, there is an equal and urgent need to be more responsible towards environment and social issues."

In addition, Kim pointed out that Hyundai is focusing very keenly on developing affordable zero emission vehicles.

"Our transition as an alternate energy vehicle manufacturer will be gradual but accelerated in order to facilitate the creation of a resilient value chain and help the industry achieve the ideal volumes for economies of scale."

"We will continue to focus on advanced technologies such as Hydrogen fuel cell while also improving our current portfolio of powertrains that includes both BS6 compliant petrol and diesel engines offering superior fuel efficiency and reduced emission levels."

India saw shipment of 11.2 mn wearable units in Q2 New Delhi, Aug 26: India's wearables market grew 118.2 per cent year-over-year (YoY) in 2Q21 (AprilJune), shipping 11.2 million units, a new report said in Thursday.

According to the International Data Corporation's (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, watches continued to be the fastest-growing category accounting for 81.2 per cent share in the wristwear category that includes watches and wristbands, up from 35 per cent a year ago.

The earwear category also maintained its momentum, doubling its shipments in 2Q21 and remains the largest category in wearables.

The second wave of Covid-19 had a marginal impact as the overall wearable shipments declined by 1.3 per cent sequentially in 2Q21. Partial lockdowns, weekend curfews, and disrupted supply chains resulted in a skewed slump in the early-quarter shipments. However, unlike last year, the market was quick to recover as the vendors stocked the channels to fulfil the pent-up consumer demand in June'21.

Over the quarters, the watch form factor seems to be appealing to the consumers, and Indian brands have been quicker to leverage this trend and align their device portfolio.

Among the top five brands, three spots are captured by Indian brands, while Huami and Realme are at third

www.indianabroad.news

250,000 teams by 2025. eSports Players Welfare Association (EPWA) aims to be the guardian organisation when it comes to shielding the interests of eSports athletes across India. EPWA will be the first of its kind in India to offer assistance to athletes engaging in eSports. Amar Ratnam, an ex-pro gamer, has been appointed as a liaison between the players and the industry.

Ritesh Nath, the CEO & Founder of EPWA comments, "The future of eSports in India is bright, especially due to the penetration of 4G and the subsequent surge in mobile gaming.

Professional governance and structures are vital to the success of any sport; the absence of either

in gaining a significant portion of the watch market with competitive pricing, aggressive marketing, and faster adoption of new features," IDC India, Market Analyst, Client Devices, Anisha Dumbre said in a statement.

The earwear category grew by 113.1 per cent YoY in 2Q21, shipping 9.2-million-units. BoAt's aggressive shipments and diverse portfolio helped it gain a dominant 45.5 per cent share in 2Q21. It also led the TWS category with a 39.6 per cent share in the quarter. OnePlus finished second with an 8.5 per cent category share in the second quarter of this year.

Photo Courtesy: Sify.com

New Delhi, Aug 26: The just released 'Drone Rules, 2021' is expected to generate employment as well as accumulate economic benefits for the country, said Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday.

The Minister, in a conference cited that the new policy will enable the usage of drones in multiple sectors.

"The new policy will promote research and development, manufacturing, service delivery in the country," he said.

"There are already 200 Startups in the country even before the announcement of this policy. We expect generation of thousands of jobs via this policy."

The Centre has replaced the UAS Rules with the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 which are built on a premise of trust, self-certification and non-intrusive monitoring.

In March 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had published the UAS Rules, 2021.

"They were perceived by academia, Startups, end-users and other

Photo Courtesy: Indforums

Mumbai, Aug 23: India's fast growing eSports movement has got a major boost with the announcement of the launch of eSports Players Welfare Association (EPWA). EPWA, a non-profit organisation, has been created solely to ensure that the professional, legal and contractual rights of eSports players in India are safeguarded thoroughly.

Globally, eSports has an estimated audience of 474 million and is the fastest growing among all sports. eSports will be a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

India currently has 1,50,000 players and around 60,000 teams.

According to EY, the number of esports players in India is expected to grow to 1.5 million players and

and fifth positions, respectively.

Noise continues to be the leading player in the overall watch category for five straight quarters with a 28.6 per cent share in 2Q21 and closely followed by BoAt with a 26.9 per cent share. Fire-boltt, another homegrown brand, has entered at fourth position in just three quarters of starting its business in this category.

However, Xiaomi maintains its formidable lead in the wristband category with 38.9 per cent share.

"Affordability has been the key for Indian brands, and these brands have been immensely successful

Liberalised 'Drone Rules, 2021' to generate employment, economic benefits

eSports Players Welfare Association (EPWA) launches in India, aims to safeguard Indian Esports players rights and streamline policy in the eSports industry in India is one of the key drivers that led to the formation of eSports Players Welfare Association (EPWA). With the exponential increase in the number of eSports players (amateur and professional) and avenues for them to earn a living, EPWA will strive to ensure their rights are protected by defining industry norms, setting regulations, and assisting relevant stakeholders to form policies."

Shivani Jha, Director says, "eSports has been in the limelight lately with attention being drawn to it thanks to its inclusion as a medal event at the upcoming Asian Games in 2022 and potentially an Olympic nod as well. As wide as the gaming industry may be, absence of any regulations or stringent rules in eSports allows for exploitation of players. The top priority at EPWA will be to address player grievances regarding their legal obligations and contracts.

EPWA will also work to bridge the awareness gap that exists in the country by educating the industry about the latest eSports rules and regulations from India and around the globe."

Being established on the values of fairness, equality, transparency and accountability, EPWA endeavours to support enrolled eSports players, the most crucial part of the whole eSports ecosystem with the following services -Legal Advice: Professional and amateur eSports athletes alike are

Photo Courtesy: India Tv News

bound by contracts with their teams, sponsors and tournaments -- often biased in nature. EPWA proposes to offer sound legal advice with the objective of insulating the interest of the eSports players associated with it.

Contracts: Contracts being the bedrock of any engagement need to be carefully accepted, as such EPWA proposes to review and flag off concerns in team contracts, tournament contracts and sponsorships/ endorsements.

Career Advice: Navigating a career in eSports can be challenging on most occasions. EPWA helps define the various professions in eSports and equip them with tools to achieve their goals.

Dispute Resolution: Should any player be addressed with hostile situations vis-a-vis their contractual obligations, EPWA strives to guide them on a way forward themselves or through third-party legal counsel.

Community Building: EPWA aims to build a community of eSports players from across the country where they can exchange ideas, communicate and become a unified voice for eSports players in India.

EPWA works on a membership format. A player or streamer must sign up on the website to become a member after which they will have access to the above-mentioned services and much more.

/IndianAbroadNews

stakeholders as being restrictive in nature as they involved considerable paperwork, required permissions for every drone flight and very few 'free to fly' green zones were available," the MoCA said in a statement.

"Based on the feedback, the Government has decided to repeal the UAS Rules, 2021 and replace the same with the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021."

The 'Unmanned Aircraft Systems' (UAS), commonly known as drones, offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy like

agriculture, mining, infrastructure, surveillance, emergency response, transportation, geo-spatial mapping, defence, and law enforcement.

"Drones can be significant creators of employment and economic growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use, especially in India's remote and inaccessible areas," the statement said.

"In view of its traditional strengths in innovation, information technology, frugal engineering and huge domestic demand,India has the potential to be a global drone hub by 2030."

Discussions on FTAs with several countries progressing fast: Union min

Photo Courtesy: IANS

New Delhi, Aug 28: India is fast progressing in discussions with several countries for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

Currently, India is in discussions on FTAs with several countries including the UK, UAE and GCC countries, Australia and European Union.

The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles cited that India and US have agreed to aspire for $500 billion trade in near future.

Furthermore, while addressing the business and trade fraternity through the platform of Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO), he noted that recently India

/indianabroadnews

emerged as the world's second most desirable manufacturing destination overtaking the US. The minister pointed out that the trend showed the potential and promise of India to become the "manufacturing hub" of the world.

He asserted that along with becoming the "manufacturing hub", India should also become a "trading hub".

According to Goyal, every growth parameter is showing an extremely "exciting future for all of us".

"Whether it is FDI, forex reserves, foodgrain reserves, agriculture production, manufacturing, all sectors are on a growth path. We now need to sprint ahead," the minister was quoted as saying in an official statement.

19

HEALTH

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Global warming debate: Bengaluru to Plasma treatment has no benefit face acute shortage of drinking water on Covid patients: US NIH Photo Courtesy: Asian life

Bengaluru, Aug 20: Expressing deep concerns about the findings of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, climate and socio-economic experts on Thursday observed that Bengaluru city will face acute drinking water shortage in the coming years.

Participating in a webinar entitled Responding to Climate Change: What should Karnataka and India do? that was organised by the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) here, Centre of Economic Studies and Policy, ISEC, Professor Krishna Raj highlighted the issue of high carbon economy that has resulted in rise of temperature by one degree Celsius, which in turn costed around 5 per cent of the GDP. "If the same trend continues at such alarming levels in change of temperatures, Bengaluru city will face acute drinking water shortage in the coming years with the reduction in water availability in the Cauvery River basin mainly due to variation in precipitation levels," he said.

He also cautioned that though India wants to increase its forest cover aimed at reducing CO2 levels by 2030, deficient climate finances may limit realising the climate targets.

"As per the Climate Policy Initiative on Global Climate Finance, 2019, 44 per cent and 56 per cent respectively constitute public and private finances. And the main concern is that about 93 per cent of the total public and private finances flow to mitigation activities and adaptation activities receive less than 7 per cent. Therefore, it would be difficult to achieve the desired results," he said and added that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR 6 report has concluded that the Earth's climate is getting so warm that temperatures in about a decade will probably go past the warning level.

Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources, ISEC's Assistant Professor Balasubramaniam warned that in Karnataka, 65 per cent of the households were highly vulnerable to rising temperatures.

"Global warming's worst affected population in Karnataka will belong to scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, elderly population, women, and children," he said.

Centre for Research in Urban Affairs, ISEC Professor Kala S. Sridhar debunked the theory that urbanisation leads to global warming using time series data from World Development Indicators.

According to her, urbanization does not affect agricultural income and in some specifications, urbanization has actually led to increased agricultural income.

"Only way forward to reduce climate change is to increase the need to depend on renewable sources of energy and reduce vehicle emissions in cities by encouraging public transport," she said.

Associate Professor, Centre for Research in Urban Affairs, ISEC Manasi said that over exploitation of ground water in peri urban areas given their positioning since they belong either to rural or urban areas, thus being vulnerable to climate change risks.

Drawing from a micro level study conducted on vulnerabilities in Karnataka, reference was made to land use change and groundwater overuse resulting in an increase in defunct borewells and negligence of water bodies. She also indicated the need for micro level studies for better understanding of local problems and finding innovative solutions to achieve Climate Action.

Economic Advisor to UP's Chief Minister, who moderated the discussion Prof. K.V. Raju, in his remarks, stated that further empirical research studies are to be taken up for policy on mining, renewable resources given its importance in the current context.

Mental health during Covid times Photo Courtesy: Health Academy Australia

T

he current times are so uncertain, it is playing havoc on people’s mental health. We have many people anxious in many ways.

To mention a few: Uncertainly with jobs and income Scared of getting locked out of own homes Scared of getting the virus Helplessness or feeling of no control over ever changing government policies causing dramatic impact on people’s lives Unable to see family overseas Separation from close family from

more than 1 year giving a sense of doom or doubts that they might never see them.

A feeling of loss of freedom To deal with these anxieties we have to start focusing on the positives which might help replace the negative feelings within us and bring a sense of gratitude which helps alleviate the anxieties.

Ask these questions to yourself: Do I have a loving family around?

Is everyone in the family healthy and happy?

Is there enough money to put food on the table and roof over the head?

Are you able to spend time with friends?

Are you able to have fun times with family and friends?

If you have answered yes to most of these questions, then you are in a better place than many.

Also knowing that you are not alone in this, and everyone is going through the same situation also helps.

Another way to cope is to keep mentally challenged. Watching Netflix does not count. Pick up a hobby, do a course which you always wanted to, stay physically active by exercising.

If you are currently unable to go out of your home due to restrictions, Fortunately the covid world also catapulted the virtual world right into our homes.

There are opportunities pretty much to do anything from the comfort of your home.

To name a few: · Dance classes · Music classes · Exercise sessions with a trainer · Studying a course 100% online and either gain a qualification or do it for self enhancement · Make up lessons There is an online option for pretty much anything. Keep going and stay strong and this will pass too.

Learn How to Counsel Your Very Own Clients!

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Photo Courtesy: IANS

Washington, Aug 19 (IANS): Early administration of convalescent plasma does not prevent disease progression in a high-risk group of Covid-19 patients, says a study led

by US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The trial, launched in August 2020, was stopped in February 2021 due to lack of efficacy based on a planned interim analysis. The final study has been published online in The New England Journal of Medicine.

"We were hoping that the use of Covid-19 convalescent plasma would achieve at least a 10 per cent reduction in disease progression in this group, but instead, the reduction we observed was less than 2 per cent,"

said Clifton Callaway, principal investigator for the trial.

"That was surprising to us. As physicians, we wanted this to make a big difference in reducing severe illness and it did not," said Callaway, who is also professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in the US. Covid-19 convalescent plasma, also known as "survivor's plasma", is blood plasma derived from patients who have recovered from Covid-19.

Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorisation to allow use of convalescent plasma in hospitalised patients with Covid-19.

The randomised, controlled clinical trial involved 500 adult outpatients who presented to 48 emergency departments with mild Covid-19 symptoms during their first week post-infection in the US. The researchers randomly assigned the participants to receive treatment with either high-titre Covid-19 convalescent plasma (containing anti-Covid-19 antibodies) or placebo (salt solution infused with multivitamins and lacking antibodies).

Of the 511 participants, disease progression occurred in 77 (30 per cent) in the Covid-19 plasma group compared with 81 patients (31.9 per cent) in the placebo group. The plasma intervention did not cause harm, the researchers found.

The reason the intervention did not produce the expected results is unclear, Callaway said. Researchers are continuing to look at possible explanations, including insufficient plasma dose, timing of plasma administration, host-related factors, or other aspects of the host tissue responses to the infection, he added.

Additional studies of Covid-19 convalescent plasma are ongoing or planned in different populations.

The results will help get a clearer, more conclusive picture of its value for future treatments of Covid-19, the researchers said.

Indo-Canadians term Canada's ban on flights from India as 'discriminatory' Photo Courtesy: The Statesman

Toronto, Aug 19 (IANS): Canada's decision to ban direct flights from India till September 21 while allowing vaccinated family-class passengers and students from all other countries has not gone down well with the Indo-Canadian community.

As a result of the ban, Indian students and family-class returnees are taking indirect routes to reach Canada, costing them $4,000$6,000 per person.

They are travelling to Canada via Mexico, the Maldives, Doha, Belgrade and Cairo, where they stop for two to 10 nights before taking a Covid test and boarding onward flights.

The Canadian government said that passengers coming from India "via an indirect route will continue to be required to obtain a valid Covid-19 pre-departure test report from a third country -- other than India -- before continuing their journey to Canada".

The Canadian authorities suspect that travellers from India are using fake documents about Covid vaccination.

As direct flights from countries such as Pakistan continue to land here, many in the Indo-Canadian community see the ban as a discriminatory move against India.

Indo-Canadian aviation expert Hemant Shah said Canada's decision is guided by political reasons.

"Why only India? When you talk about human rights, why this discrimination against India when Indo-Canadians are a major

part of Canada's workforce, and Indian students pump billions into Canada's economy," he asked.

Satish Thakkar, chairman of the Canada-India Foundation, said the ban has created a lot of confusion in the community because Covid cases are coming down in India even as other countries show signs of an uptick.

"Passengers from India take shots of Covishield which is approved by the WHO and Canada. If you allow people with two doses from other countries, the same should apply to travellers from India. If you allow them via third countries, why not directly," Thakkar asked.

Toronto-based Rishi Kapoor of

Nanak Flights said the ban on direct flights is bleeding travellers from India.

"If the authorities here suspect Covid tests, they should issue a list of approved labs so that the travellers can get vaccinated there before coming to Canada," Kapoor said.

However, Brig (retd) Nawab Heir, who heads the Veterans' Association of Ontario, said the ban on India flights has been extended in view of the threat of the Delta variant.

"There have been reports of some Delta cases around Brampton and some people have been caught with fake test certificates and flouting rules," he said.

Johnson & Johnson seeks regulator nod for vax trials in 12-17 age group in India Photo Courtesy: IANS

New Delhi, Aug 20: The Americanbased pharma major Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has applied to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for permission to conduct a vaccine trial of the Covid-19 single shot Janssen vaccine in India on children of 12-17 age group.

The American pharma J&J said in a statement that it had submitted its application on Tuesday, and that it is "imperative" to ensure all sections of the population, including children, are vaccinated against the coronavirus as quickly as possible to stop the virus.

The single-shot vaccine of J&J is the second Covid-19 vaccine which has already been approved for the

/IndianAbroadNews

Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) through the fast-track approval route by the Drug Controller General of India.

In the statement, Johnson & Johnson India also said this was an important step forward in accelerating the availability of its Covid-19 vaccine to help end the pandemic.

Earlier, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had tweeted about the Emergency Use Authorisation being given to Johnson & Johnson.

Mandaviya had tweeted, "India expands its vaccine basket! Johnson and Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is given approval for Emergency Use in India. Now India has 5 EUA vaccines. This will further

/indianabroadnews

boost our nation's collective fight against COVID19."

The five vaccines which have been granted emergency use authorization approval in India include Serum Institute's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Russia's Sputnik V, Moderna and now Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

20

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21

SPORTS

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Peace treaties to make AICF Aussie players need to take ownership for losses: Khawaja richer by Rs.1.30 crore Photo Courtesy: IANS

By Venkatachari Jagannathan Chennai, Aug 24 (IANS): Peace brings prosperity, while litigation results in cash and energy outgo.

The officials of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and Chess Association of India (CAI) will vouch for that now.

The AICF is expected to be richer by about Rs.1.30 crore after signing peace treaties with its rivals -- CAI and the Calicut registered AICF (AICF-Calicut).

A couple of days back, AICF and CAI announced that the latter will merge with the former so that the sport can progress with a lower number of court cases.

"We had approached the new management of AICF --Sanjay Kapoor, President, and Bharat Singh Chauhan, Secretary -- with the merger proposal and ending litigation. They agreed to the idea.

With this move, the years of litigation will come to an end and people can focus on the game," S.L.Harsh, Senior Vice President, CAI told IANS. "It is to reduce court cases and create a good atmosphere for chess in the country," Chauhan told IANS. The CAI was a rival organisation to AICF formed several years back and conducted tournaments.

On its part, the AICF not only filed a case against CAI but also, banned the players who had participated in the tournaments organised by its rival.

In order to re-admit the banned chess players into its fold, AICF demanded the full prize money and later some portion of that from the players who had won the CAI

organised tournaments.

The AICF also sought an apology letter from the players for readmission.

"We had to travel a long distance to attend to the case that was filed in the Madras High Court," Harsh a former player and an advocate practicing tax laws hailing from Rajasthan said.

As to the legal formalities of the merger, Harsh said AICF and CAI are registered societies. Under the Societies Act, one organisation can go for dissolution and transfer the assets and liabilities to another.

"While there are no liabilities for CAI, there will be some cash balance and some chess boards and clocks.

These will now go to AICF," Harsh said.

According to him, the state units affiliated with CAI may also get merged with the state units of AICF over a period of time.

Both Chauhan and Harsh said there was no agreement on offering positions in AICF to the office bearers of CAI. "The AICF elections got over and no post can be offered to anyone," Chauhan said.

While the CAI treaty will bring in little money to AICF's coffers, it is the peace deal with AICF-Calicut that is expected to boost its cash balance.

It was late P.T.Ummer Koya, a former FIDE Vice President and AICF Secretary who had registered AICF in Calicut in 1991.

Opposing this, chess officials in Tamil Nadu filed a case saying that the AICF registered in Chennai is the real chess body registered in long back and got a favourable verdict.

There is also a case pending between AICF and AICF-Calicut.

As per the current scheme of things, the AICF will withdraw the pending case against AICF-Calicut and get its cash balance.

"Calicut AICF funds will be transferred to AICF soon. It is around Rs.1.30 crore," Chauhan said.

Be that as it may, the merger of CAI with AICF as things stand now is not going to benefit the players who were banned or who were penalised their prize monies by the latter.

"I welcome AICF President Kapoor's decision to agree to merge CAI with AICF. But there are some issues," said Gurpreet Pal Singh a chess player and who was banned by AICF. "Over 100 chess players had suffered as AICF had banned them for playing in CAI conducted tournaments. In order to readmit them to its fold, the AICF had asked the players to pay it the prize monies won in the CAI tournaments," Singh said.

"With the merger of CAI with AICF, the next logical step for AICF is to pay back the prize monies collected from the players as a penalty. This will generate goodwill for AICF," Singh said.

He also said the AICF should also withdraw its appeal filed with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) order.

"The case has nothing to do with CAI. We are trying to reduce litigation as far as possible," Chauhan said.

Harsh said it is for the Chess Players Forum (CPF) to take up the refund of the prize money issue with AICF. Responding to that, International Master V.Saravanan, Joint Secretary CPF told IANS: "If the AICF had collected the prize money from the players for re-admission, then it has to be paid back with interest to them."

"If AICF wants to be a player-friendly organisation, then it has to withdraw its case with NCLAT and others," Saravanan added.

It was Singh and Karun Duggal who had filed a case against AICF with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and got a favourable order.

On July 12, 2018, the CCI had ruled that the undertaking prescribed for players regarding non-participation in events not authorised by it amounted to "restraints" and was violative of the Competition Act of 2002.

The CCI said the non-compliance of such undertaking will result in banning of players and removal of their Elo rating, create entry barriers, foreclose competition and restrict opportunities available to players.

The CCI also imposed a penalty of Rs.692,350 on AICF for infringing the provisions of Section 4 of the Act. The AICF though has changed its rules in line with CCI order, it has gone on appeal against the order at NCLAT.

Some The Hundred rules will make it to T20 cricket: Brathwaite St Kitts and Nevis, Aug 24: Former West Indies T20 skipper Carlos Brathwaite feels that some of The Hundred rules would gradually make their way into T20 cricket to make the shortest format of the game more attractive.

The 33-year-old Brathwaite, who landed here from Manchester -- where he captained Manchester Originals in The Hundred -- to turn out for his franchise Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League beginning on August 27, added that some of the rules in The Hundred were "interesting" and would help "quicken" T20 cricket.

"The rules (in The Hundred) were interesting," said Brathwaite.

"The rules that I think will probably come into play into mainstream T20 would be the extra fielder comes into the circle if you are past the cut-off time. I think that would give

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more of a team effort to get the overs in. I think T20 has got really, really slow. It was supposed to initially last less than three hours. Sometimes we've got T20s going on to four hours plus. So I think that will help quicken the game," Brathwaite was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.

Brathwaite, who is unlikely to be a part of the Tallawahs for the opening CPL match against Saint Lucia Kings on August 27 as he is in isolation after a co-passenger on the flight from UK to St Kitts and Nevis tested positive for Covid-19, added that the two-overs-from-the-same-end rule in The Hundred could be among the first to be incorporated in T20 cricket to speed up the over-rate.

"I think two overs from the same end is probably something that could catch on as well. Again, just for speed of play. It now means that you [switch ends] 10 times instead of 20. And the idea of not crossing if

the batter gets out caught -- the new batter comes into bat. I think those three are ones that could potentially be implemented or phased into T20 cricket in the future."

On Monday, the tall West Indies all-rounder had extended his contract with Australia's Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Sydney Sixers for the coming season and had said he would aim to help them win a hat-trick of titles.

The Barbados-born West Indies all-rounder had played a key role in the Sixers' title win in the previous edition, taking 16 wickets for the season.

Brathwaite is best known for his match-winning four consecutive sixes off England's Ben Stokes in the 2016 ICC World Twenty 20 Cup final's last over that propelled West Indies to the title. The BBL commences in December.

Sydney, Aug 23: Australian cricketer of Pakistani origin Usman Khawaja has backed embattled coach Justin Langer, saying that the players too need to take the blame for the country's dismal show rather than putting the entire blame on Langer.

"It's not always the coaches. The guys aren't performing; the players need to take ownership at some stage. It's not one person so there needs to be some sort of perspective put around this," said Khawaja, who has played 44 Tests for Australia, scoring more than 2,800 runs.

Tensions flared up between coach Langer and the cricketers and Cricket Australia (CA) had to do a lot of fire-fighting, holding an emergency Zoom meeting on August 18 where CA chairman Earl Eddings, CEO Hockley, Test skipper Paine, limited-overs captain Aaron Finch, and vice-captain Pat Cummins were present.

Hockley then issued a statement supporting Langer the same day.

"There's no doubt the week has been difficult for him (Langer), but as I said the last few days, we've been able to galvanise around him, to have some really robust discussions on where we want to take this cricket team, what we expect of him and what he expects of us. The T20 World Cup and the Ashes are probably two of the biggest things that any Australian cricket and any Australian coach wants to be a part of and we're all on the same page and can't wait to get started on both of those huge projects for us,"

Photo Courtesy: TOI

Hockley had said.

Khawaja said that Langer would be feeling very uncomfortable guiding the side.

"How do you think JL feels? He probably feels like the guys in the team are stabbing him in the back and that's what it looks like and that's why it's so disappointing," Khawaja said on his YouTube channel. "It's actually a really bad look.

This is something the group needs to sort out ASAP. "He [Langer] is a very passionate person. Loves Australian cricket, wants the best for everyone, wants to only succeed. He's driven by winning, driven by winning the right way and all the things he brought

after sandpapergate were focused on those things," added Khawaja.

The cricketer conceded that Langer gets emotional when it comes to work ethics.

"One thing that keeps coming up is his emotions. Yes, the man wears his heart on his sleeve. He can be very emotional. It's probably his one downside; his greatest weakness is his emotion. He rides the highs and rides the lows but it's only because he is passionate. Unfortunately, it's probably the one thing that's letting him down the most but it comes from a very good place. He knows it, he knows he needs to improve, he's said it in the media, I've chatted to him."

Tokyo Paralympics: Mariyappan in quarantine, Tek Chand new flag bearer New Delhi, Aug 24: Hours before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics, flag bearer Mariyappan Thangavelu along with five other members of the Indian contingent have been put into quarantine after they came in close contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19.

According to the information received here, none of them have tested positive since the past six days. As a precautionary step, they will remain in quarantine and another Indian para-athlete Tek Chand will be the new flag bearer for the country at the opening ceremony.

Confirming the development, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) stated, "Thangavelu Mariyappan will not be part of India's opening ceremony today. He has been replaced

by Tek Chand as the country's flag bearer. On his flight to Tokyo, Mariyappan came in close contact with a covid positive foreign passenger. Though on reaching the village

Photo Courtesy: IANS

he has been Tested for 6 days and all his reports are negative, but the Organizing Committee has advised not to make Mariyaapan participate in the Opening Ceremony today."

The ceremony starts at 4:30 PM IST. The opening ceremony will be telecast Live on Eurosport/HD. The Live feed from Eurosport will also

be streamed on the Discovery+ app.

Mariyappan, who would be competing in the men's high jump F42 event, is allowed to train but have specific timings. F42 category is for athletes with a leg deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement in the legs.

Women cricketers' salaries in The Hundred set to rise from next edition London, Aug 24 (IANS): The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison has said that the salaries of women cricketers playing in The Hundred will see a substantial increase compared to the inaugural edition of the tournament, which concluded recently.

There has been talk about women players getting far less compared to their male counterparts playing in The Hundred, with the highest-paid women cricketers getting 24,000 pounds while the lowest-paid male player in the tournament received 25,000 pounds. In fact, the lowest pay bracket for women cricketers in the event was 3,600 pounds.

The managing director of the tournament, Sanjay Patel, has said that the event was on target to provide a 10 million pound input into the game, and the ECB wants to use some of that money to make the tournament more lucrative for women cricketers.

"There's going to be some good news for women's salaries. You can expect that," Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.com.

"We've seen in year one how it's already delivering. It's provided outstanding entertainment for new and existing fans alike, unearthed new cricketing heroes, and it's been

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fantastic to see so many children and families enjoying the action. It's also changed the game for women's cricket, smashing record after record and creating role models for girls and boys to be inspired by," said Harrison.

"We need to grow cricket, reach more people and inspire more children to pick up a bat and ball and that's exactly what the Hundred does."

Patel too is happy with the success of the tournament, claiming that 16.1 million people have watched The Hundred on television, and Harrison said that to keep up the popularity of the tournament, the next edition too will have double-headers.

While the ECB had earlier envisaged

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hosting the men's and women's matches at different venues, the evolving pandemic situation forced the Board to alter its plans. And it resulted in larger crowds watching women's games.

"The double-header model wasn't the original proposition. We were forced to do that through Covid. But actually it's turned out to be one of the best things that's happened. It was an enforced change which has turned into a huge benefit," said Harrison.

Patel added that the, "men's and women's games just have to go together. For the next three or four years at least I think they have to be together."

22

SPORTS

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Paralympic Games: Avani Lekhara Paralympics: Result under review for wins gold for India in 10m air rifle event in which Vinod Kumar won bronze Photo Courtesy: IANS

Tokyo, Aug 30: India's Avani Lekhara won the first gold medal for the country at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in Women's 10m Air Rifle SH1 with a world record score of 249.6 in the elimination round on Monday.

The 19-year-old Avani, who sustained spinal cord injuries in a car accident in 2012, qualified seventh for the final but shot superbly to leapfrog to the top in the final.

China's Zhang Cuiping took silver,as she did in Rio 2016, with a score of 248.9 while Ukraine's Iryna Schetnik finished with a total of 227.5 for bronze.

World Athletics U20: Shaili wins silver in long jump Photo Courtesy: IANS

Mumbai, Aug 30: There could be a change in the medal positions in Sunday's men's Discus throw F52 at Tokyo 2020 as the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is reviewing the results of the event following an appeal.

India's Vinod Kumar had won a bronze medal in this category with a throw of 19.91, an Asian record. Piotr Kosewicz of Poland won gold with 20.92 metres and Velimir Sandor of Croatia took silver with a throw of 19.98 metres.

The IPC and Tokyo 2020 organising committee posted a notification on their websites on Monday morning informing that the results in men's Discus Throw - F52 are under review.

Such a review could mean either elevation or downgrading of a medallist.

Though the IPC usually does not give details of such a review process till a final decision is reached, such a review is normally conducted in case of an appeal filed by one of the

Photo Courtesy: IANS

participants over the classification status of one of the medallists.

The classification system for para-sport is quite controversial with a large number of categories for sportspersons with unique impairments.

There are 10 impairment groups in the Paralympics: eight involve physical impairments, and the

other groupings are for visual and intellectual impairments.

There are always doubts about the classification as the unique differences in disabilities of athletes lead to doubts that one is getting an unfair advantage over others.

There have been doubts about people exaggerating their impairments to get into a specific classification.

Paralympics: Jhajharia misses gold, Gurjar bags bronze in javelin F46 Photo Courtesy: The Statesman

Nairobi, Aug 22: India's Shaili Singh improved on her personal best of 6.48 metres with a superb effort of 6.59 in the womens long jump final but lost out on the gold medal by an agonizing one centimetre on the final day of competitions at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday.

The 17-year-old Shaili, coached by former jumper Bobby George and his wife Anju Bobby George, had to be satisfied with the silver medal

despite a brilliant performance in Nairobi during which she improved on her personal best twice, once to qualify for the final (6.48) and then in the final -- 6.59 meters.

Shaili had taken the lead with a leap of 6.59m on her third jump but Sweden's Maja Askag cleared 6.60 on her fourth jump and took the gold medal as Shaili fouled her next two attempts and could manage only 6.37 metres in the sixth and final jump. Maja had also won the

women's triple jump gold earlier in the championships.

Shaili had started off with an identical 6.34 in her first two jumps but came up with the big leap in the next attempt to jump into the lead.

Saili's silver medal is the third medal for India in the World Athletics U20 Championships 2021 adding to the silver won by Amit Khatri and the bronze by the 4x400 Mixed Relay team.

Anirban Lahiri finishes tied56th in The Northern Trust Jersey City (New Jersey), Aug 24: Indian golfer Anriban Lahiri settled for a share of 56th position following a final round which included four birdies and three bogeys at The Northern Trust here as his hopes of progressing into next week's BMW Championship in the FedExCup Playoffs are all but over.

Needing a top-10 finish at the Liberty National Golf Club to have any hopes of advancing, Lahiri had a 1 under-70 in the final round, postponed to Monday due to bad weather, as he aggregated 5-under-279 for the tournament. Lahiri was making his return into the Playoffs for the first time in three years.

"Not the finish to the season I was looking for but happy with the effort.

Big thank you to my team for riding the highs and lows. Time to rest up and recover. #currypower," the 34-year-old Indian star tweeted late on Monday.

American Tony Finau won the trophy after defeating Australian Cameron Smith in the first hole of a sudden-death playoff after both were tied on 20-under 264, with world No. 1 Jon Rahm finishing third. Finau's long awaited second PGA Tour victory moves him up to pole position on the FedExCup standings.

Among the Asians, Korea's Sungjae Im enjoyed his best finish at The Northern Trust in a share of 16th place as he led three www.indianabroad.news

Photo Courtesy: IANS

other Asian stars into the second FedExCup Playoffs event, the BMW Championship which begins on August 26.

The 24-year-old Im, who was making his third appearance in the first Playoffs event, closed out the weather-hit week which forced a Monday finish with five birdies against four bogeys. He rose from 30th position to 25th on the FedExCup standings following his 14th top-25 finish of the PGA Tour 2020/21 season.

Japan's reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama settled for a share of 43rd following a 70 as well which included a double bogey, bogey finish over his closing two holes. He dropped two rungs to 16th

place on the FedExCup standings.

Another Korean, KH Lee will enter the BMW Championship in 37th place following his tie for 47th finish at Liberty National while compatriot Si Woo Kim, who missed the halfway cut, will be the fourth and final Asian player advancing in the Playoffs in 33rd position.

This week, the top-70 players will tee up at Caves Valley Golf Club at Owings Mills, with the subsequent top-30 advancing into the season finale, the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Since the FedExCup was inaugurated in 2007, no more than two Asians have featured at the same time at the TOUR Championship.

Tokyo, Aug 30: Double Paralympic Games gold medallist Devendra Jhajaria's hopes of extending his legacy by winning the third gold did not materialise as the Indian had to be satisfied with a silver medal in the men's Javelin Throw F46 category at Tokyo 2020 on Monday.

Jhajharia, who won gold medals in 2004 Athens and 2016 Rio with world record throws, threw 64.35, much farther than his world record of 63.97 but Sri Lanka's Dinesh Priyan Mudiyanselage Herath produced a gigantic throw of 67.79 to set a new world record and win the gold medal.

Sundar Singh Gurjar, a two-time World Championship gold medallist, took bronze with a best throw of 64.01 metres on Monday.

Jhajharia had reached Tokyo with hopes of winning a third gold medal in javelin throw F46, the first Indian to do so. He was in good form coming into Tokyo Paralympics as he had crossed his world record mark during the national trials at New Delhi in June this year.

He was quite confident of repeating his performance and winning his third gold with a world record.

Indeed he did manage to produce his personal best but Herath turned out to be a surprise package.

Jhajharia had started with 60.28 in

his first throw and hurled the spear to 64.35 off his third throw. He tried to improve it further but fouled his next two throws and could manage only 61.23 on his sixth and final attempt.

It was quiet redemption for Gurjar as he had tragically missed a chance to compete at the Rio Paralympics in 2016 because he turned up late for his event.

On Monday, Gurjar started with 62.26 metres in his first throw and produced his best distance of the day with 64.01 in his fifth chance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

lauded Jhajaria's silver medal-winning feat, tweeting, "Superb performance by @DevJhajharia! One of our most experienced athletes wins a Silver medal. Devendra has been making India continuously proud. Congratulations to him. Best of luck for his future endeavours. #Paralympics."

For Gurjar, PM Modi tweeted, "India is overjoyed by the Bronze medal won by @SundarSGurjar. He has shown remarkable courage and dedication. Congratulations to him. Wishing him the very best. #Paralympics."

Paralympics: Nishad wins silver in high jump, second medal for India on Sunday Tokyo, Aug 29: India's Nishad Kumar won a silver medal in men's high jump T47 at the Tokyo Paralympic Games on Sunday, clearing the bar at 2.06 and equalling the Asian record in the process.

Nishad finished second behind Roderick Townsend of the United States, who set a world record by clearing 2 metres and 15 centimetres.

The 21-year-old Nishad who hails from Una in Himachal Pradesh started with 1.89 metres which he cleared easily. He cleared 1.94 in his second effort and 1.98 in his third jump.

His best effort of 2.06 came in his fifth jump and though he went for 2.09 in his final chance, he could not clear it and had to settle for second place.

Townsend, the 29-year-old from Louisville, started with 2.02 metres and went on to steadily improve it to 2.15 in his fifth jump. He went for 2.18 in his sixth and last jump but could not clear it.

This was India's second silver medal of the day and also the second at the Tokyo Games after Bhavina

Photo Courtesy: IANS

Patel claimed silver in the women's singles Class 4 table tennis on Sunday morning.

Nishad, who suffers lower-limb impairment, trains at the Sports Authority of India facilities at Bangalore and is participating in his first Paralympic Games.

He won a bronze medal at the World

Championships in Dubai in 2019.

A physical education student from Lovely Professional University, Nishad began competing in para-athletics in 2009 and has won several medals at the national level.

Ram Pal, the other Indian in the fray in the event, finished fifth with a personal best effort of 1.94 metres.

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23

TRAVEL

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Island hopping in Seychelles

Photo Courtesy: Pexel

W

ith 115 islands, the Seychelles archipelago brags of postcard-perfect beaches that are sure to have visitors drift away to paradise. But there’s more to Seychelles than its many beaches; the nation sprinkled across the water off the coast of East Africa, conceals many surprises for its explorers. Here’s a quick glance at what one can do: Unleash Your Wild Side Seychelles is inhabited by a unique ecosystem above and below its waters. Home to a range of lush rainforests and 250 bird and 2000 plant species. Seychelles’ wildlife is as enchanting as its beaches. The nation’s national bird, the black parrot, is also the rarest avian on the planet. This rare species can be spotted by those with a keen eye while exploring the Vallée de Mai Natural Reserve, a UNESCO

World Heritage Site on the island of Praslin. Besides, the Vallée is home to the world's largest population of endemic coco-de-mer, a flagship species of global significance as the bearer of the largest seed in the plant kingdom.

Next, spot giant tortoises that roam freely around the sandy coves of Curieuse Island, where preserved wilderness and granite beaches set the right ambience for these gentle creatures.

Get a glimpse into the rich marine life with a Semi-Submarine ride from Eden Island on Mahé. Cruise along the most spectacular underwater reefs of Seychelles and spot a variety of sea life swim alongside.

From corals, colourful seaweed, sea meadows to schools of fish. We challenge you to keep count of the unique species you spot!

Adventure, Ahoy!

Along with its beaches, Seychelles holds many adventures and the best way to experience them is by enjoying a trek in the region. Nestled in Mahé, Morne Seychellois National Park, the largest national park, stretches across the mountain range Morne Seychellois, the highest peak.

Indeed, the reward of completing a hike is the panorama one enjoys from the top. The summit affords unparallel views of the capital of Victoria.

The fourth largest island in the archipelago, La Digue is a haven for those seeking some time amidst nature to unwind. Apart from exploring the island on a bicycle or an oxcart, diving and rock climbing are popular as well. Although, it is the La Pass to Grand Anse Trail, which immerge as a clear winner.

The trail passes through French colonial houses, woodlands, marshy areas, finally leading to the Grand Anse Beach.

Enjoy a Tryst with Culture The vibrant culture is a result of the many cultural influences. Meander through the markets in Mahé, or simply visit during the Creole Festival to soak up the flavours of the region. History buffs will love the quaint town of Baie Lazare, in Mahé.

The 18th-century neo-gothic Baie Lazare Church is a delight to behold.

It also presents a serene panorama of the area. A visit to the National Museum of History is perfect for a time-travel expedition to understand the history while glancing through the paraphernalia on display.

Food for Thought Just as its culture, Seychelles’ cuisine features a healthy amalgamation of flavours from its three adjoining continents to form its very own distinct palate. For a gourmand, a tour through the historical sites such as the Jardin du Roi offers an opportunity to sample homemade dishes at a quaint café enveloped by the buzz of a typical Seychellois life.

The stunning sunsets of Seychelles are undeniably its finest feature. And they are best enjoyed along a delicious Creole meal, which consists of preparations made with fish and shellfish, heightened with coconut, mangoes and breadfruit served with a bed of garden-fresh vegetables.

Sri Lanka opens its borders to Indian tourists Fully vaccinated international Indian tourists can move freely around Sri Lanka, after an on-arrival test as the country reopens borders to India after a long anticipated wait.

With a clear travel safety protocol and no minimum stay period, as the ease in restrictions globally pave way for a strong comeback of international travel, Sri Lanka has taken a big step. The latest Sri Lankan Tourism health protocol for Indian travellers shares detailed information on the travel safety guidelines approved by government authorities. These have been designed to ensure maximum safety for travellers and local communities.

Only fully vaccinated Indians who have completed the recommended vaccine doses will be considered (after 2 weeks from their final vaccination), with no minimum stay period requirements. Further enhancing travel opportunities between both countries, the national carrier SriLankan Airlines is soon expected to increase connectivity and flight frequencies from Indian cities to its hub in Colombo.

Resplendent Ceylon invites Indian guests to experience its benchmark luxury hospitality and peerless service once again in the destination.

Ceylon Tea Trails, Cape Weligama and Wild Coast Tented Lodge: All three resorts within the hospitality group offer newly launched, specially curated travel packages under the ‘Tea, Sea and Safari’ journeys.

The newly launched range of ‘Tea, Sea and Safari’ journeys by Resplendent Ceylon has been thoughtfully conceptualised - with exclusive insights into the cultural, natural, and culinary heritage of the destination. These travel packages provide different combinations of

Photo Courtesy: Pexel

www.indianabroad.news

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curated itineraries spanning across the resorts – for short stays ranging from four to seven nights, as well as long stays of 10 nights or more.

Authentic experiences merged with luxurious accommodation promise utmost privacy during the stay – from restored colonial era bungalows at Ceylon Tea Trails amidst tea plantations, to expansive cliff-top villas and suites overlooking the sea at Cape Weligama, and spectacular cocoon tents at Wild Coast Tented Lodge that redefine ‘safari’ as a holistic wilderness experience.

Additionally, special upgrades and curated dining privileges together offer an unparalleled ultra-luxe vacation. Resplendent Ceylon’s ‘SafeStay’ initiative further ensures that health and safety are paramount for all guests, teams, their families, as well as local communities.

The pioneer of luxury experiential travel in the destination and part of the family-owned Dilmah Tea Company, as the sole member of Relais & Chateaux in Sri Lanka, Resplendent Ceylon has been globally renowned for three distinctive, boutique luxury resorts in the destination: Ceylon Tea Trails, Cape Weligama and Wild Coast Tented Lodge.

"We’re confident this positive step

by Sri Lanka Tourism will facilitate seamless travel between our neighbouring countries in the coming months. India is an important market for us and Resplendent Ceylon is delighted to invite discerning Indian travellers once again to experience meticulously tailored ‘Tea, Sea and Safari’ journeys combined with benchmark luxury hospitality across our resorts”, said Malik Fernando, Managing Director, Resplendent Ceylon.

24

TECHNOLOGY

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

OnePlus 9 RT is launching in Twitter as 'porn hub' allowing psy-war targeting communal harmony: Report October in India, China: Report

Photo Courtesy: IANS

Beijing, Aug 20: Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus is reportedly planning to launch a new smartphone -- OnePlus 9 RT -- in October.

According to Android Central,

the smartphone will offer modest upgrades over the OnePlus 9R. As for availability, the OnePlus 9 RT will debut in the India and China markets, similar to the 9R. This is the only phone in the numbered flagship series that's on the cards for later this year; there will be two Nord launches, but no new devices aimed at the high-end segment, the report said citing sources.

As for the hardware on offer, the OnePlus 9 RT uses the 9R as a foundation, so it will feature the

same 120Hz AMOLED panel, a higher-binned version of the Snapdragon 870 and a 4500mAh battery with 65W charging.

There will be camera-focused upgrades, with the phone picking up the 50MP Sony IMX766 that's featured in the OnePlus 9 series as well as the Nord 2, the report said.

While the sensor served as the wide-angle lens on the OnePlus 9 series, it became the primary module on the Nord 2, and that will be the case on the OnePlus 9 RT as well, it added.

Samsung launches live online shopping platform in India

Photo Courtesy: AP7AM

New Delhi, Aug 20: Samsung on Friday launched a live online shopping platform -- Samsung Now, heralding the pre-booking event of Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G on August 23.

The company said that Samsung Now is a unique live shopping platform introduced on Samsung.

com that will redefine the online shopping experience.

"Young shoppers in India are seeking real-time and interactive shopping experiences. Taking their cue, we are introducing Samsung Now, which will make Samsung. com the coolest and most rewarding destination for our young shoppers,"

Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung India, said in a statement.

"We are really excited to launch India's first live online shopping platform that will premiere with the launch of our latest Galaxy Z series -- Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Flip3," Warsi added.

Consumers pre-booking these revolutionary devices during the live-pre book will get early delivery and exclusive limited period offers in addition to the existing prebook offers on Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3.

They will be eligible for additional benefits such as early delivery, free Galaxy SmartTag, Galaxy Z Fold3 5G Flip Cover with S Pen and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G Silicon Cover with Ring.

The live commerce event on Samsung.com will start at 6 p.m. on August 23 and consumers will be able to avail the exciting limited period offers till midnight, the company said.

Tesla now aims to sell electricity directly to consumers in US

San Francisco, Aug 28: After electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and energy storage systems, Elon Muskrun Tesla is now planning to sell electricity directly to consumers in the US. In an application filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Texas, the EV maker has requested to become a "retail electric provider" (REP) under its subsidiary Tesla Energy Ventures, reports Energy

Choice Matters.

"The applicant will rely on the Tesla mobile application and the Tesla website to execute on its customer acquisition strategy. Specifically, the applicant will target its existing customers that own Tesla products and market the retail offer to customers through the mobile application and Tesla website," the company said in the application.

"In addition to the Tesla mobile application and Tesla website, the applicant's existing 'Tesla Energy Customer Support' organisation will be trained to provide support and guidance to customers in customer acquisition efforts," it added.

Ana Stewart is listed as President of Tesla Energy Ventures. She has been with Tesla since 2017 as the director of regulatory credit trading and had earlier worked at the Tesla-acquired SolarCity.

Tesla currently offers a retail electric plan in Australia and the UK,

focused on integrating home energy storage.

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Tesla is going to supply its full energy ecosystem with solar, batteries and EV chargers, to new homes in a new luxury community being built in Florida.

According to the auto-tech website Electrek, the automaker recently started to provide its full energy ecosystem with solar panels, Powerwall home battery packs and electric vehicle chargers to third-party installers to offer the "full Tesla Energy ecosystem".

The other trend is that Tesla started making more deals with new home builders to install their energy products directly in new projects instead of retrofitting them on existing homes.

Tesla recently signed deals for large products in Porter, Texas and Austin.

And now, there is another, similar deal in Florida, the report said.

Adobe acquires video collaboration platform Frame.io for $1.275 bn

Photo Courtesy: Techstreet now

San Francisco, Aug 20: Software major Adobe announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Frame.io, a leading cloudbased video collaborateon platform, for $1.275 billion.

With over a million users across media and entertainment companies, agencies and global brands, Frame. io streamline the video production process by enabling video editors and key project stakeholders to seamlessly collaborate using cloudfirst workflows.

"With this acquisition, we are welcoming an incredible customer-oriented team and adding www.indianabroad.news

Frame.io's cloud-native workflow capabilities to make the creative process more collaborative, productive, and efficient to further unleash creativity for all," Scott Belsky, Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President, Creative Cloud, said in a statement.

The combination of Adobe's industry-leading creative software, including Premiere Pro and After Effects video editing products and Frame.io's review and approval functionality, will deliver a collaboration platform that powers the video editing process.

With the combination of Frame.io

and Adobe, Creative Cloud customers, from video editors, to producers, to marketers, will benefit from seamless collaboration on video projects with Frame.io workflow functionality built natively in Adobe Creative Cloud applications like Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Photoshop.

Frame.io customers and partners will benefit from the company's robust plug-ins and third-party application support along with the innovation generated by the combined Adobe Creative Cloud and Frame.io teams.

"We have entered a new era of connected creativity that is deeply collaborative, and we imagine a world where everyone can participate in the creative process," said Belsky.

With the addition of Frame.io, Adobe Creative Cloud's commitment to enabling collaboration across all stakeholders of creativity extends beyond Adobe's applications to the growing number of third-party applications across the creative ecosystem.

New Delhi, Aug 27 (IANS): Twitter is the 'porn hub' of social media, DisinfoLab said in a new report.

Shockingly, despite Indian laws and Twitter's own policies, even child porn and rape videos are freely available. Worse, Twitter's lax policy has allowed a massive psy-war targeting communal harmony, the report said.

Twitter has a full-fledged porn industry -- from live web cam to other ‘off-line services'. Numerous NSFW content selling websites openly advertise themselves on Twitter, including those who show their registration in India, it added.

These activities are not run in hiding but in broad day light, advertising with hashtags! Live porn is openly sold on Twitter using the #IndianCamGirl hashtag involving a nexus of ‘service providers', it said.

The fact that the hashtag started in 2017, involves several Influencers, and is used regularly is a testament to Twitter's unwillingness to address these concerns.

In the garb of such ‘services', personal data of the users are being mined, to be used for criminal activities from ‘sextortion' to rape, to sexual exploitation of minors, leading to grave consequences, including suicides.

Anti-social/anti-India elements are taking advantage of this ‘free porn' environment of Twitter, weaponising the content. An elaborate psy-war is being waged to damage India's communal harmony, particularly between Hindus and Muslims, the report said.

"Hundreds of fake handles are running coordinated campaigns, dehumanising the women of both religions. These handles pretend

Photo Courtesy: IANS

to be Hindus (#hstuds) when demeaning Muslim girls (#mslut); and Muslim (#mstud), while demeaning Hindu girls (#hslut)," it added.

The behavioural pattern of these handles - creation date, activity, location and hashtag - clearly establishes an organised campaign designed to harm social harmony.

Surprisingly, despite obvious Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour (CIB), Twitter doesn't seem to take any actions, the report said.

Twitter, the US based for-profit company, seems obliged to follow only US laws, while showing complete dis-regard to India's IT Rules, which prohibits adult content on social media. Twitter doesn't even make any attempt to implement the laws, doable with basic location filter, the report said.

Contrast it with other social media platforms which do far better content management, and continue to strive to keep social media space clean. Shockingly, Twitter seems blind to even most obscene contents, including child porn despite a ‘child sexual exploitation policy'.

Twitter claims to have a ‘zero tolerance' policy towards child

pornography - and yet seems to make zero efforts to counter this menace. It's important to remember that this content is available to even under age users, as Twitter doesn't filter ‘sensitive content' to even young users, the report said.

Equally shocking is freely available ‘rape videos' on Twitter, which is prohibited even under Twitter's policy of ‘gory content'. Even those video posts, which have words that could trigger filter mechanism are freely available, including the gang-rape video of a young girl, the report said.

Twitter has also failed to filter obscene content for young users.

Even a minor user on Twitter can access most obscene content if they wish to. Worth noting that Twitter could easily filter particular kind of content on age and location restriction, if it wished to, DisinfoLab said.

"To access Twitter Hub, one need not even own a Twitter account.

An open Google search could land anyone, even a minor, to most gory and vulgar contents available on Twitter with just a click on ‘view sensitive content'. Seems #Google also needs to take measures to control it," the report added.

MediaTek emerges as preferred chipset partner in India in 2021: Report New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS): Chipmaker MediaTek has emerged as the preferred chipset partner for smartphone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India in the first half of 2021, a report said on Friday.

According to market research firm techARC, out of the total 117 smartphone models launched in the first half (Jan-Jun), 54 smartphone models used a MediaTek SoC. However, Qualcomm led the 5G smartphone launches with 20 out of 35 models using its chipset.

"While revenue market share is a factor of sales of smartphones for chipset players as well, the first acid test continues to be the selection, which is done after rigorous testing and assessment of platform by the OEMs." Faisal Kawoosa, Chief Analyst, said in a statement.

"This is an area where India needs to pursue 'Atmanirbhar' ambition rigorously and soon have a domestic player making chipsets for smartphones and other smart devices.

We do have hopes in players like Saankhya Labs," Faisal added.

The report said that Qualcomm's

Photo Courtesy: IANS

Snapdragon 888 and MediaTek's Helio G35 tie for number 1 chipset with maximum number of smartphone models launched by OEMs. In terms of maximum variants launched on a chipset, MediaTek's Helio G80 and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 732G were used as SoC for 11 variants each by smartphone OEMs. The affordable segment (Rs 6,000 Rs 12,000) and the mid segment (Rs 12,001 - Rs 25,000) were dominated

with MediaTek based smartphones.

While the premium segment (Rs 25,001 - Rs 50,000) and the luxe segment (more than Rs 50,00) were strong with Qualcomm chipsets.

Among smartphone OEMs Samsung led with 16 launches, closely followed by Realme with 15 launches.

Vivo stood third with 10 launches.

Across OEMs there were 178 variants of models launched for various price segments with different configurations.

Facebook empowers small business advertisers in India New Delhi, Aug 20: Facebook on Friday announced a new programme, the small business loans initiative, to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India that advertise on the social media platform to get quick access to credit through independent lending partners.

The initiative is open to businesses registered across 200 towns and cities of India, the company said in a statement.

The announcement came at a recently held virtual event -- Enabling MSME Growth through Financial Inclusion -- hosted by Facebook India in partnership with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

"Facebook is deeply committed to creating economic opportunities for India's small businesses. Access to timely capital is more important than ever as it can help them jumpstart their recovery and drive big growth," said Ajit Mohan, VP and MD Facebook India, in the statement.

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"As a company, we are at the spear end of the digital transformation and we believe that the Small Business Loans Initiative can provide big impetus to early entrepreneurs to fuel their ideas and their appetite for taking risks," he added.

Facebook has also tied-up with lending partner Indifi to help the SMBs get loans at a predefined interest rate of 17-20 per cent per annum, and will not be charged a processing fee, the social media giant said.

Many small businesses face challenges in securing loans of lower amounts, but through this programme, SMBs can get loans between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 50 lakh.

The new programme will help SMBs to apply for loans without collateral through a quick online application and Indifi will disburse the loan amount within five working days of completing all documentation, the statement said.

Further, Facebook is also committed towards women-led businesses in India. Small businesses that are

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Photo Courtesy: IANS

wholly or partly women-owned can get a special 0.2 per cent reduction per annum on the applied loan interest rate from Indifi, it added.

The programme is a completely not-for-profit arrangement with Facebook's lending partners and small businesses are not obligated to spend their loan amount on Facebook advertising.

Facebook has, in the last one year, taken numerous steps to support the economic recovery of small businesses. These include offering grants to small businesses, and expanding the company's industry-leading skilling initiatives to support the offline to online journeys of small businesses.

25

ART & CULTURE

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

'Colours of Kolkata' - an art Telangana sets up state, district heritage authorities initiative on Independence Day Photo Courtesy: IANS

Photo Courtesy: IANS

Hyderabad, Aug 17: The Telangana government on Tuesday constituted the Telangana State Heritage Authority (TSHA) for protection, preservation and conservation of heritage of the state.

The government also constituted committees at district level and a separate body for Greater Hyderabad for the purpose.

The Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture Department issued an order constituting the committees under Telangana Heritage (Protection, Preservation, Conservation, and Maintenance) Act, 2017, brought to safeguard the state's

tangible and intangible heritage.

The Chief Secretary will be the Chairman of the TSHA, and the Secretaries, Tourism and Culture, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Education, and Finance will be members. Director, Department of Heritage will be the 1member convenor.

According to the Government Order, two experts from archaeology, heritage, history background will be co-opted members.

There will be a District Heritage and Precincts Committee (DPHC) for each district except Greater Hyderabad. Headed by the District

Collector concerned, it will have the Superintendent of Police, Additional Collector, District Forest Officer, District Education Officer, District Tourism Officer, District Town and Country Planning Officer As members. Assistant Director, Department of Heritage, will be member convenor. Two experts from archaeology, heritage, history background will be co-opted members.

The government also constituted Greater Hyderabad Heritage and Precincts Committee (GHHC) for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)/Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) area. GHMC Commissioner will be the Chairman and Metropolitan Commissioner, HMDA the Co-Chairman.

Police commissioners of Hyderabad, Cyberabad, Rachakonda, Commissioner of Tourism, District Collectors of Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri, and Sanga Reddy districts, Chief City Planner, GHMC, Chief Planning Officer, HMDA, Conservator of Forests, Hyderabad, will be members and the Deputy Director, Department of Heritage, the member convenor. The government will nominate two experts from archaeology, heritage, and history background as co-opted members.

International virtual Kerala Onam floral contest gets a warm response Photo Courtesy: IANS

T

hough street art is common in the US, Australia and Europe, it has not been tried and tested in that manner in this country.

In an effort to add some colour to

K

erala Tourism's Global Pookkalam (floral carpet) contest to be held virtually has got a good response from the country and abroad, said State Tourism Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyaz.

The government is hosting the virtual competition, titled 'Viswa Manavikathayude Loka Ona Pookkalam', in the backdrop of Covid-19 that has forced Malayalis to remain indoors and celebrate the harvest festival.

Riyaz said the international Pookalam contest gives a common platform to both Malayali diaspora who are unable to visit the state during Onam and Keralites who miss their opportunity for social get-togethers this year owing to Covid-19 conditions.

"The theme of the event sends

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across the Onam message of unity and fraternity. Usually, expatriate Malayalis celebrate this festival along with fellow members of their associations. This time, the Pookalam contest facilitates them to celebrate Onam with all Malayalis across the globe," said Riyaz who is also the son-in-law of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Minister has asked all Keralites wherever they are to participate free of cost by registering at https://www. keralatourism.org/contest/pookkalam2021, where the Pookkalam image can be uploaded till August 23 midnight.

The jury under the Department of Tourism will evaluate the Pookkalams and select 100 from among them. They will be uploaded onto the website of the department.

The contestants will be awarded

the City of Joy, an art campaign is being initiated on Independence Day where all the walls of the Tram Depots will be painted in different colours by the West Bengal

Tramways Company.

The whole idea is to add some colour to the mundane streets. The campaign has been started by the West Bengal Transport Corporation.

The art, celebrating Kolkata and its famous citizens, will be done on WBTC depot walls, mostly located in the heart of the city. The art works have been curated by WBTC in collaboration with a city-based artist, Mudar Patherya.

The initiative - 'Colours of Kolkata', is an effort to celebrate the diversity of Kolkata. This year also marks the 100th birth anniversary of Satyajit Ray and the 160th of Rabindranath Tagore. To begin with, street art has begun with these two stalwarts. The location is Park Circus; on the wall of a WBTC Tram Depot.

"A lot of times people spit and deface our depot walls. It looks bad. This would add an artsy touch to the art capital of India and also maybe discourage people from spoiling the walls," said MD of WBTC Rajanvir Singh Kapur.

"In future, eminent artists of Kolkata will be invited to help in creating such public art at prominent locations to make the City of Joy even more beautiful," said Kapur.

The Colours of Kolkata has already started from Park Circus and will cover the walls of most of the depots till Durga Puja. The next places in line are Tollygunge Tram Depot opposite Tolly Club and then it will be extended to the Gariahat Depot, near Ballygunge Phari. The Gariahat Depot also houses the Tram World.

The Tram World was launched in December 2020 commemorating the 140th anniversary of the foundation of Calcutta Tramways Company in London. It's one of a kind tram museum in the whole world.

"The objective of #coloursofkolkata is to utilise the public walls of the city to send out a singular message - that Kolkata is artistically and aesthetically one of the most vibrant cities of the country. I am thankful to WBTC for giving me this opportunity and the movement is intended to attract a variety of artists to help put the city's best face forward," said Patherya.

Once completed over all depot walls, this would be a one-of-its-kind initiative anywhere in an Indian city.

Kolkata is known as the art capital of India and this will only add to its glory.

first, second and third prizes in two categories: individual and organization/association. There will be ten consolation prizes. Also, all participants will be given a special Onam gift.

All contestants can download from the website their certificate of participation.

Kerala Tourism is also readying a comprehensive video programme featuring folk arts by the state's performers who are in financial difficulties owing to the pandemic.

The 15-minute clips will be beamed online through audio-visual and social media.

The three main days of the harvest festival of Onam starts on Friday and due to the pandemic, like in the last year, this time also all public celebrations are forbidden.

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26

LITERATURE

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

SARAT CHANDRA CHATTOPADHYAYA A crusader with a pen Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya is one of the greatest of Bengal’s novelists whose writings reflected the social malaise that plagued the nineteenth and early twentieth century Bengal. His style of writing was such that common people could understand and relate to the characters depicted in his novels, says Devashish Chakraborty It is not uncommon to find Indian writers whose writings reflect the realities of contemporary India.

Romanticism, though not altogether missing, is not as pervasive as it once was in this country. In India we had Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote poems and short stories that often mingled reality with mysticism, blurring the boundary between the two. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya was also a great Bengali writer, but the characters he built in his creations mostly lost their impact owing to the writer’s didactic and moralistic approach. It is here that Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya excelled -- in the portrayal of real characters one can easily identify with.

His early life

“

His writings reflect that he detested such obnoxious behaviour of men towards women. He was much ahead of his time in terms of giving expression to a woman’s inner feelings and her desires. In Devdas, which has been made into a successful movie more than once, he has portrayed a woman character in Parvati who cannot forget her lover even after marriage. This was unthinkable at the time Sarat Chandra wrote this novel.

“

It is almost as if poverty and artistic expression have an inextricable bond that is also universally found.

Dostoevsky, Kafka and a host of others seem to have been inspired by the hardships of life. Charles Dickens’ masterpieces seemed to have emerged from his own penurious experiences in life. Similarly, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya had to deal with poverty very early in his life. His father bequeathed him nothing, save a restless spirit that made him a tramp later in his life and an urge to relentlessly pursue literary excellence. In fact, his father had dabbled with almost everything in literature, from poems to short stories to novels. However, he could not finish even one of them.

This would remain one of Sarat Chandra’s regrets throughout his life. Poverty disrupted his education many times and he could not settle

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down in any school for long enough to finish education. Later, he also had to leave his college education for want of resources. But all along he was inspired to write and he wrote his first novel at the age of 17.

While Dickens wrote about urban poverty in Victorian England, Sarat Chandra portrayed rural poverty in Bengal, which could apply to almost any other part of India. In fact, his portrayal of poverty-stricken people has a universal appeal and one can find them relevant even today.

But Sarat Chandra was never didactic in his writings, unlike Bankim Chandra, his contemporary.

He believed that the role of a writer is not to become a reformist but to factually portray whatever is prevalent in the society.

His empathy for women In the nineteenth and early twentieth century India, women were treated most cruelly, confining them to household chores with little opportunity to escape from the daily grind. Women had to do everything according to the bidding of their husbands, and men always dominated them. The sati system was prevalent in which a wife would have to sit on her husband’s funeral pyre, and die. She would then be referred to as a goddess. It was ironical that cruelties upon cruelties were heaped on her, even forcing her to burn alive following her husband’s death, but in public she would be hailed as a goddess and eulogized for her purity and unflinching devotion to her husband. Sarat Chandra opposed this practice and the injustices done to women by the society. His writings reflect that he detested such obnoxious behaviour of men towards women. He was much ahead of his time, in terms of giving expression to a woman’s inner feelings and her desires. In the novel Devdas, which has been made into a successful movie more than once, he has portrayed a woman character in Parvati who cannot forget her lover even after marriage. This was unthinkable at the time Sarat Chandra wrote this novel. Orthodox Hindus were not amused at all by such a portrayal of women by the writer. They protested but Sarat Chandra was not deterred by the noises they created and continued to write in a fashion that would inspire authors even today. An artist’s spirit cannot be bound by shackles of conservatism and narrow-mindedness, and Sarat Chandra was a fitting example.

A bold writer ahead of his time Unlike Bankim Chandra, one of his contemporaries, Sarat Chandra did not want to pander to the moralists of his age. He understood right at the very outset that a writer’s job is to tell the real story and not fall into the trap of becoming a moralist. Didactic writings bore the readers as they cannot relate to and identify with the characters portrayed. Poverty and the deplorable condition of women in the society motivated him to write in a simple and straightforward manner whatever he saw and experienced around him. He gave a human face to poverty without glorifying it. Through his writings he showed that the poor can lead an honest and dignified life. He did not have the genius of a Tagore to write poems, but he can be regarded as the first true novelist of Bengal. If Bengali authors of today still have a say in the society, as was evident a few years ago in West Bengal assembly elections which saw the people overwhelmingly reject the more than three-decade-old communist government, it was all because of the legacy that writers like Sarat Chandra left behind. People in Bengal trust their writers for a more objective portrayal and analysis of society.

Sarat Chandra was never scared of dealing with topics which were then regarded as controversial. In Choritrohin (the characterless), one of his novels, he narrates the story of a young educated bachelor who falls in love with a young

maid-servant. The portrayal of the maid-servant’s character itself was quite bold, considering the society and the times in which Sarat Chandra lived.

In Devdas he portrays the life of a lover whose beloved is married off to another person against her wishes, and the lover, who initially meekly submits to the fate written largely by their parents, realises his folly and in despair takes to heavy drinking before he finds another woman, a courtesan, who falls in love with him and tries to bring some comfort to his battered self.

To fulfil a vow he had made to his beloved that he would meet her before his death, he dies at her doorstep. Hearing the news of his death the beloved wants to rush out to see him, but her family members prevent her from venturing outside.

A love story that could have come to fruition was spoilt by illogical and harsh social norms that prevailed at that time.

In most of his other writings he has been bold enough to explore human relationships beyond conventional boundaries. In Parineeta, another of his novels made into a movie, he depicts the complexities of human relationships, societal pressures and the vagaries of fate.

As long as people love "love stories", Sarat Chandra's works will never grow old in appeal or become outdated in context. In all his novels — Devdas, Choritrohin, Shesh Prashna, Shesher Parichay, Pather Dabi, Biraj Bau and Grihadaho -- the strength of Sarat Chandra lies in the utter simplicity of his writing style and his control of every detail of his characters. His novels portray both aristocracy and middle-class chauvinism.

His contribution as a writer Sarat Chandra’s contribution to society at large as a writer can be gauged from the fact that Justice Markandey Katju, former chairman of the Press Council of India, had appealed for conferring Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, on him. Sarat Chandra through his novels and short stories has attacked every conceivable social evil such as oppression against women, casteism and superstition. He was for liberalism, then a Western concept about which Indians were largely unfamiliar. He left a rich legacy of objectivity, boldness and straightforwardness for Indian authors to emulate. He was ahead of his time in dealing with themes which were then regarded as highly controversial. The protests by orthodox Hindus against some of his radical thoughts reflecting in his writings failed to dissuade him from writing on such themes. He would write what he saw and experienced in the society. But his novels were entertaining as there was never any preaching of moral lessons for the readers. The fact that his works have been translated into more than one language shows that his storylines are interesting, relevant, and entertaining.

Some major works Bindur Chhele (Bindu's Son), 1913 Parineeta 1914 Biraj Bou (Mrs. Biraj), 1914 Ramer Shumoti (Ram Returning to Sanity), 1914 Arakhsanya, 1916 Devdas 1917 (written in 1901) Choritrohin (Characterless), 1917 Srikanto, (IV parts, 1917, 1918, 1927, 1933) Datta, 1917–19 Grihodaho, 1919 Dena Paona (Debts and demands), 1923 Pather Dabi (Demand for a pathway), 1926 Ses Prasna (The Final question), 1931 Shesher Parichoy

Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyaya Born: 15 September, 1876 Debanandapur, Hooghly, West Bengal Died: 16 January, 1938 Kolkata, West Bengal Pen name: Anila Devi

Famous Hindi movies on his novels Parineeta (2005) Devdas (2002, 1955, 1936); Dev D(2009) Apne Paraye (1980) Chhoti Bahu (1971) Khushboo (1975) Majhli Didi (1967) Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya

Sarat Chandra visits Surendranath Roy in 1927

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27

SPIRITUALITY & DEVOTION

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

In celebration of divine mother’s homecoming Of all the festivals celebrated in India, Durga Puja is in a league of its own, for the sheer grandeur and magnitude of its celebrations. One can savour the vibrant and joyous atmosphere that Durga Puja creates by being in any part of India, but Kolkata is still the best place to be in, feels Devashish Chakraborty

I

f you are in India in the months of September and October, the best place to visit is invariably the city of joy, Kolkata, in the state of West Bengal. But if you are in any other part of India at this time of the year, you need not feel disappointed, for the spirit of Durga Puja pervades in other parts of India too. Last year, I could not be in Kolkata as my previous commitments did not allow me to visit the city where I would love to be. It would be a blatant lie if I were to say I wasn’t disappointed. Even Indian President Pranab Mukherjee made it a point to visit his ancestral home in West Bengal to participate in the annual celebrations. So much is the charm of Durga Puja!

But here I was, from the city of joy to the city beautiful, Chandigarh.

My host Jatin Das, an architect by profession, was excited to receive me at his home in Chandigarh, where I would be lodged for the next 10 days. His excitement was understandable. Every Bengali feels on top of the world on Puja days and I have felt the same, right from my childhood. India is, indeed, a great country even for her festivals. I am yet to read of any other country that has such a rich, carnival-like atmosphere prevailing almost throughout the year. My friends from the UK, who would often visit me in Kolkata, preferred to come during the Puja days. They have always made it a point to partake of the celebratory spirit and fervour that pervaded the city of joy all through the months of September and October.

“Tomorrow we will visit Kalibari in the morning for the Maha Saptami Puja; in the evening we will go to Bangiya Sammelan, which is the site of another puja,” announced Jatin, even as he exuded enthusiasm that was by now catching me unawares.

Kalibari is one of the main Durga Puja centres in Chandigarh. Bangiya Sammelan is another local centre, where the cultural facets of the puja are more apparent than the religious ones. It is a cultural organization that was created by a few influential Bengalis of the city to give expression to their cultural aspirations. I was happy that I would miss Bengal a little less the next day.

“

The element of surprise had to do with the kind of endeavour that went into building a mini-Bengal of sorts. There were traditional drummers beating their drums in a certain manner that is known to have sent many a devotee to a trance-like state. Such is the power of rhythmic drumbeats that is unmatched by any other anywhere in the world.

“

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The puja days The next day saw Jatin’s family gear up for the puja. His children, both boys, were wearing perhaps the best attire of the season. His wife was no different as she was draped in one of those attractive, colourful sarees, which I believe ladies wear so that others might envy them.

Jatin was also attired in traditional Bengali dhoti and kurta. He offered one of his own pairs to me, but I preferred my conventional shirt and a pair of trousers, knowing full well dhoti-kurta was not my cup of tea. The combination could be quite cumbersome for someone brought up wearing pairs of trousers.

The visit to Kalibari on the first day of the puja, the Maha Saptami day, was a bit of a surprise. The element of surprise had to do with the kind of endeavour that went into building a mini-Bengal of sorts.

There were traditional drummers beating their drums in a certain manner that is known to have sent many a devotee to a trance-like state. Such is the power of rhythmic drum-beats that is unmatched by any other anywhere in the world.

The chanting of mantras (sacred words) and invoking the Goddess by pelting Her with flower petals aimed at Her feet was part of the morning rituals. It is believed that Lord Rama had worshipped Goddess Durga with 108 blue lotuses and by lighting 108 lamps to seek Her blessings before taking on the might of demon king Ravana. I could see that a large crowd had gathered at the temple to offer their prayers to the Goddess.

In the evening, we reached Bangiya Sammelan to witness the night extravaganza. Aarti, another form of invoking the Goddess, began at dusk. Now earthen shells replaced flower petals. These shells were stuffed with coconut husk, camphor and a few other items, and a small fire lit them up. The idea is to produce smoke that is believed to purify the circumambient atmosphere before the worship of the Goddess.

The priest chanted mantras to the accompaniment of drum-beats, even as he danced a mystical dance.

The smell, sound, and flavour of the atmosphere were beyond expression. People were enthralled by the spectacle and so was I. For a moment I felt like I was in Kolkata.

The evening also saw singers and dramatists showcase their talent.

Durga Puja is not just about the religious aspect of the celebrations, it is also the time for fulfilling people’s cultural aspirations.

Friends and relatives, who haven’t met for months, even years, come together, strengthening their bonds of kinship. Former rivalries are kept aside as everybody is in a buoyant mood. The next two days, the Maha Asthami day and the Maha Nabami day, were almost similar so far as the puja schedule and arti were concerned. The subtleties of rituals were, of course, distinct and different on each day, which was known only to a priest. For ordinary folks like me, such subtleties would be incomprehensible.

In the late evening of the penultimate day, the Maha Nabami day, an open theatre was created at Bangiya Sammelan, which was reminiscent of Roman amphitheatre. The Bengalis are fond of staging open-air plays, like the Romans of yore. It is difficult to say how and from where this culture travelled to Bengal. I was lost in reverie as I watched the actors enact the facsimile of life.

The last journey On the last day, the Bijoya Dashami day, it was time to bid farewell to Goddess Durga. I accompanied Jatin and his wife to Kalibari, where married women would smear each other’s forehead with sindoor (red cosmetic powder worn by married women along the parting of their head) picked from the feet of the Goddess. It is believed that this ritual is a must for wives to ensure a long life for their husbands.

It is now time for the final journey of Goddess Durga, Gods Kartika and Ganesha, and Goddesses Saraswati and Lakshmi, who are accompanying Her. The idols of Goddess Durga and other gods and goddesses are carefully removed from the

sanctum sanctorum and carried in a truck for immersion in the Ghaggar river, flowing through Panchkula in Haryana.

Post-immersion get-together and greetings The immersion of the idols of Goddess Durga and Her accompanying gods and goddesses is symbolic of Her return to the abode of Lord Shiva, Her consort. It is a moment of both sadness and joy. The sadness comes from the departure of the Goddess and the joy comes from the atmosphere of friendliness and camaraderie that the puja creates.

At Bangiya Sammelan’s recently renovated building, Jatin and his friends had arranged a party where guests came, hugged, greeted, and wished for each other an auspicious year ahead. The party began with the serving of the choicest of non-vegetarian and vegetarian delicacies, sweetmeats, and rasgullas (spongy balls of cheese dipped in syrup). A few of Jatin’s friends sang devotional songs, and kids gathered there did not shy away from singing the songs of their choice, not necessarily devotional in nature, mostly from Bollywood numbers.

Finally, when the festivities concluded, I was reflecting on how the fond memories of one’s native land leaves an indelible impression on an individual’s psyche. It then requires a community of like-minded individuals to collectively forge a bond of friendship for the sake of recreating a place and time one could not always find oneself in, for reasons not always of one’s own making.

How to Enjoy Durga Puja See the making of Goddess Durga and other idols Witness the ritual of infusing the energy of Goddess into the idols (Kola Bou bath) Relish special delicacies made during puja days Visit different sites of Durga Puja See the immersion of idols

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Photo Courtesy: Reetu Khodiya

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28

SPIRITUALITY & DEVOTION

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Intoxication and Hindu scriptures

By Paddy Krishnan ike all other aspects of life, Hinduism has no specific injunction against intoxication.

This includes different intoxicants like alcohol and cannabis. While not condemned, alcohol was not fully accepted either. The Sanskrit root word madd means very happy, glad or animated but is also used to derive words that mean to be drunk or intoxicated. This article is a brief summary of different aspects related to intoxication.

The Rig Veda has elaborate and precise rules for the preparation of different types of alcohols. Soma is the most commonly mentioned alcoholic drink. It was mainly consumed in the context of rituals. A drink called Sura is also mentioned often and appears to be a common drink that is not linked to rituals.

There are other types of alcohol that are mentioned in Hindu writings.

This includes the fermentation of the Mahua flowers and then distilling it to obtain liquor. The fermented liquor caused diarrhoea and thus distillation was necessary.

Although it is not clear what was the Soma plant (most people think it is a type of milk-weed), Soma was regarded as a drink from the Gods that having exceptional qualities.

There was a strict procedure for producing this intoxicating drink.

L

www.indianabroad.news

For instance, the plant from Mount Mujavat had to plucked by the roots under moonlight, crushed between stones by the priests, sprinkled with water and then sieved. The resulting liquid was mixed with yoghurt or milk and then fermented resulting in an alcoholic drink. There are some scholars who believe that Soma was derived from the Sanskrit root Su meaning press or extract.

Those who were qualified, could acquire supernatural powers after drinking Soma. For instance, such people could kill others merely by looking at them. The moon God Chandra is also called Soma as he controls the medicinal properties in plants. The Rig Veda has about 120 hymns praising Soma. These hymns talk about becoming immortal and discovering God after drinking Soma. Thus, no harm could come to such people. The Gods also desired Soma as they too were nourished by it. The Gods also become intoxicated as the beverage is divine. In general, Soma purifies and gives health and immortality.

The Shusruta Samhita states that, anyone who uses Soma will have a youthful body with a lustre similar to that of the moon. Furthermore, they which will not be harmed by fire, poison, or any weapon, and will have the energy of many elephants.

They will also have the ability to master the Vedas and will have the blessings of the divine spirit.

All this shows that the high caused

by Soma was associated with the divine.

Sura is a generic term for alcohol made from grains. The Katyayana Srauta gives a detailed procedure for the preparation of Sura. Because grains do not become alcohol as easily as sugars, the cooked grains need an external agent for it to transform into an intoxicating drink.

A substance called Kinva (perhaps yeast) was added to the grains.

Combining two non-intoxicating substances to develop an intoxicant, was viewed as magic.

While Brahmins were allowed to drink Soma after the rituals, they

were forbidden to drink Sura. The justification for this distinction is unclear. The Brahmans were expected to be in control of their senses while they were conducting the rituals. Hence they could use (but not drink) Soma during the rituals. Soon this changed, and the Brahmins were not allowed to consume any alcohol or Soma even after rituals.

Around the first century CE, Sura was called the filth of grains and was viewed in very negative light. Sura was said to interfere with Ojas (the life giving energy) and thus disturb the mind. Because of this, Sura was not suitable for anyone who was seeking Moksha. Steadiness of the mind is one of the pre-requisites for Moksha and Sura interferes with this. But the Carvakas, who do not believe in a soul or Moksha, had no such restrictions. However, they too believed in moderation as too much alcohol could be fatal.

The use of alcohol is also mentioned the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

In the Ramayana, alcohol is not viewed negatively. However, in the Mahabharata, alcohol is viewed as a destructive force. The Yadavas perished because they killed each other while being inebriated.

In the context of medicine, Ayurveda has many references to the use of alcohol. Alcohol is used as a solvent for extracting key active ingredients from herbs. It also talks about special herbal wines called asavas and arishtas which can be used as medicines. Caraka discusses the benefits of alcohol for a variety of ailments including fevers and piles.

But it also warns about the intoxicating effect of such “medicines”.

Frequent consumption can cause disease by increasing toxins in the blood, damage the brain and thus affect the mind. Caraka also writes that when alcohol is consumed in the right quantity, it is like Amrita, (the nectar of immortality). Caraka makes is very clear that it is not easy to define a safe level for alcohol consumption as numerous variables are involved.

The economic benefits of alcohol (similar to modern taxation rules via special duties) is defined in the Arthashastra. It defines the activities of a state official called the Superintendent of Sura. The Arthashastra provides a legal framework for regulating drinking halls and what services they should provide (e.g., bed for those who cannot go home).

The other major intoxicant in Hindu scriptures is cannabis or bhang. In the Atharva Veda, cannabis is named one of the five most sacred plants on Earth. It is called the source of happiness as well as the liberator.

Cannabis is usually used in the worship of Shiva and is often consumed at festivals like Shivaratri and Holi. Cannabis is supposed to clear one’s mind and bring one closer to God. Even the origin of cannabis is divine. The cannabis plant is supposed to have sprouted from a drop of Amrit (the nectar of immortality) that landed on a mountain. Shiva brought the plant down for the benefit of mankind. The Asuras and other demons attempted to use the cannabis plant for their own evil usage. However, Shiva prevented this.

Hence the cannabis is also called Vijaya to represent Shiva’s victory over the Asuras. Cannabis was then treated like a guardian spirit who can counteract the attempts of evil demons. This why cannabis is consumed at festivals and weddings.

It not only honours Shiva, but it also gets rid of the demons who are trying to cause trouble.

It is also interesting to study how the ancient Tamils, who did not always follow the Vedas, used intoxicants. While many of the religious writings are relatively new (around 2nd century CE), there are various categories of kal (alcohol) such as pizhi, theral, ariyal, naravu and mattu. The names are derived from the processes and materials used to make the alcohol. For instance, alcohol was obtained from coconuts, dates, jackfruit and various cereals.

Such types of alcohol was offered

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Photo Courtesy: Pinterest

to the local village Gods, who represented spirits that protected the village, or Gods like Muneeshwaran who are manifestations of Shiva.

Various poets have compared such alcohol to the sting of a scorpion or a snake bite indicating that they must have been very potent. Hence care was needed when consuming alcohol. But later, people like Thiruvalluvar argued for abstinence in his Thirukkural.

In summary, the early Hindus indulged in all intoxicants in moderation and it was not forbidden.

But over time people perhaps over indulged and many negative

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consequences were observed. This led to many injunctions against all intoxicants such as it being unfit to be given or accepted as gifts. As the idea of a steady mind and Moksha gained importance, the scriptures argued that one should not consume any intoxicant because of their mind-altering properties.

Paddy Krishnan is a computer scientist, who got his BTech degree from IIT-Kanpur and PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Being very interested in Hindu philosophy, he maintains a blog at www. goldcoasthindu.wordpress.com

29

BEAUTY

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Don’t wait till you get wrinkles Should you switch to

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rom the last decade, the beauty industry has witnessed a boom in anti-ageing and wrinkle-removal solutions. Many new products and procedures emerge daily to cater to the rising needs of “looking picture perfect” among millennials.

The blue light from screen time, unhealthy eating practices and ineffective lifestyle choices make our skin and overall health suffer, thereby ageing us in the process.

Therefore, it becomes essential to start an anti-aging regimen even after you’ve started showing signs of fine lines and wrinkles.

When should you start anti-ageing treatment?

Ageing skin is often characterised by dullness, sagging and wrinkled skin. Profhilo, a new skin bio-remodelling procedure, is a remarkable way of giving mature and ageing skin a new lease of life.

Profhilo is a hyaluronic acid-based skin procedure that works to galvanise the skin’s ability to generate collagen and elastin – the two scaffolding proteins critical to skin’s

firmness and elasticity.

Hyaluronic acid is a hydrophilic substance found naturally in the skin, the presence of which is critical to the health of the skin’s extracellular matrix and its ability to hold on to moisture. As we age, our skin loses its natural reserves of hyaluronic acid resulting in dull, dry and lax skin.

There is endless information on the internet about the anti-ageing skin care. According to the beauty experts, one should start the anti-ageing skin treatment in their late 20’s or early 30’s to push off wrinkles as long as possible. One should keep in mind that wrinkle-removal products delay more wrinkles from showing up, but it won’t make the ones that are already there disappear. So, the earlier you start, the more protection you will get in delaying the ageing process What Should an Anti-Aging Skin Care Routine Look like?

One should start working with the dermatologist or beauty expert to build an effective anti-aging skin care routine depending upon your own beauty goals. The skin professional will first assess your problem areas and make recommendations based on your unique needs. Your custom regimen might include following products and procedures: Sun Protection: Protecting from the harmful UV rays of the sun is the first line of defense in slowing down the aging process. The most important reason for wrinkles and dark spots on the skin in your 20’s and 30’s is due to the excessive sun exposure can. You should immediately consult your dermatologist about skin care for sun damage, which can include treatments like microdermabrasion, chemical peels, laser therapy, and retinoids.

Topical Creams: Your dermatologist

may recommend over-the-counter or prescription creams to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Anti-aging products might contain ingredients like retinol, alpha and beta hydroxy acids (AHA and BHA), and vitamins A and C. These ingredients help eliminate dead cells and boost skin regeneration, so you can enjoy a smoother texture.

Laser Treatments: Laser treatments actually stimulate the skin’s natural production of new skin cells and collagen. The treatment also helps individuals in reducing the age spots, hyperpigmentation, and fine lines following this treatment besides increasing the production of skin cells and collagen. Your skincare specialist will be able to guide you on how many treatments you’ll need to achieve the best possible results.

Dermal Fillers: With age and loss of collagen, our overall facial volume decreases This is where dermal fillers come into play to restore this volume. The skincare specialist will go for dermal fillers to fill in wrinkles, where it appears the most including around the mouth and under your eyes. It also helps in increasing the cheek volume.

Dermal fillers generally last between six months and a year.

Microdermabrasion: This procedure can be another effective wrinkle treatment and can also address melasma, age spots, and sun damage. In this treatment procedure, your skincare specialist will use an instrument to spray fine particles of a chemical substance onto your skin. This will enable the skin to regenerate, which can fade some signs of aging.

By Dr. Jaishree Sharad, India’s Leading Celebrity Cosmetic Dermatologist, Mumbai

ammonia-free hair colour?

A wise man once said, “Gray hair is mandatory, we get it from our children”, the other option is, we have can bid adieu to it if we want. There are many who prefer to don the salt & pepper or silver look but there are till those who do not shy away from using hair colour, not just to hide the greys, but to make a style statement.

Clelia Cecilia Angelon, Founder & CEO, Surya Brasil suggests why you should switch to ammonia-free hair colour: Role of Ammonia An alkaline chemical by nature, Ammonia has traditionally been added to various hair dyes to raise the pH level of the hair during the colouring process. As the pH level spikes, the cuticles of the hair fibre open up, letting the colour penetrate deeper into the cortex, which is the inner part of the hair. The natural pigment of the hair can also be lightened using Ammonia, making it fit for re-colouring.

There is no proof of Ammonia disrupting our hormones or increasing cancer risks, but it has been found to cause conditions like throat, nose & eyes irritation, breathing difficulty, burns and even pulmonary edema.

Ammonia is widely considered moderately toxic as against more harmful chemicals and toxins.

Usage and Subproducts Ammonia has even traditionally been used only in hair colours that categorise themselves as permanent hair colours, as the semi-permanent ones do not need to reach the cortex region. These colours merely provide a coating to the hair, hence they are considered less harmful on hair, scalp and skin.

Ethanolamine, Diethanolamine and Triethanolamine are chemical compounds that are often present in hair colours that claim to be Ammonia-free. The reality, however, is that these are sub-products of Ammonia and more harmful than compounds consisting of nitrogen and hydrogen Why Ammonia-Free The aforementioned facts are pretty much self-explanatory as to why one should immediately switch to ammonia-free hair colour. But it is important to know how these hair colours carry out the task of colours penetrating the cuticles of the hair fibre, moreover, it is important to check whether the alternative discovered is organic or not. When we developed our all-natural hair henna cream, we opted for

Aminomethyl Propanol, which is an organic compound in a colourless liquid form. The ingredient suits the ethos of developing products with consciousness for all living beings.

Some hair dyes contain monoethanolamine that comprises an alcohol.

To ensure that is less harmful to the hair, it is added in less concentrated form and also combined with emollient oils.

Hence, there is no qualm in saying that even traditionally ammonia has solved a great purpose pertaining to hair colour, allowing them to reach as deep as necessary, in the present times one should go for organic alternatives available readily in the market. While doing so would save the hair, scalp and skin from intense harm, it will add to a sustainable regimen in your personal care.

Science for an effective skincare regime

Face serums do what most skincare products can’t - they go deeper into the skin and give a hydration boost, reduce blemishes, fight aging signs

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ace serums have been featured in the advanced skincare glossary for some time now.

Do you wonder what all the hype is about?

Well, face serums are a proven solution for a host of skincare concerns and are worth adding to your skincare routine. Serums are usually formulated with up to 2-3 active ingredients like skin acids, vitamins, antioxidants etc. which penetrate deep into your skin to target specific skin concerns like dryness, wrinkles, large pores, and dark spots.

Serums work more efficiently since they are light, penetrate deeper and are easily absorbed by the skin. Introducing a serum in your skincare regimen can be the single most effective step you take towards healthy and impeccable skin. Face serums do what most skincare products can’t - they go deeper into the skin and give a hydration boost, reduce blemishes, fight ageing signs. Having said that, skincare is a journey, and one must be consistent and patient with it to see maximum results!

Nykaa SKINRX launched by Nykaa features four high-performing gender-neutral serums, to address the most common Indian skin woes.

These power-packed serums are committed to helping you achieve the best version of your skin. Every formulation is enhanced with clinically proven active ingredients that work together in appropriate concentrations to give you visible results. Addressing the most common concerns for Indian skin, it www.indianabroad.news

brings extensive scientific research to give you the skin of your dreams with gentle, dermatologically tested formulations. The range features the following serums to target specific skin concerns: SKINRX 10% Niacinamide Serum Benefit: Visible brightness, reducing blemishes, acne marks, and congested pores Target Concerns: Dark Spots, Blemishes, Dullness, Uneven Skin Tone Ingredients: Combination of 10% Niacinamide + 1% Zinc + 1% Alpha Arbutin Skin type: Suits all skin types Niacinamide is an active form of Vitamin B3 that targets dark spots and blemishes. It also reinforces the skin’s protective barrier, shielding it from the effects of pigmentation.

1% zinc is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory in nature and is quite effective in both preventing and diminishing the severity of acne and smoothening the skin’s texture.

Along with these two powerful ingredients it has 1% Alpha Arbutin which is a highly effective skin brightening activity. It fades dark spots and pigmentation by suppressing the melanin-stimulating enzymes in the skin, promoting an even skin tone. It can be used for both am and pm routines. This lightweight vitamin and mineral formula that effectively fades dark spots and blemishes, while fighting dullness to brighten the skin and induce an even skin tone.

SKINRX 2% Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Benefit: Provides extreme hydration for plump and smooth skin Targets concerns: Dryness, Dehydration, fine Lines Ingredients: 2% Hyaluronic Acid + 1% Marine Algae + 1% Vitamin B5 Skin type: Suits all skin types It is an intensely hydrating daily-use serum that maintains and boosts the skin’s moisture, to revive dry skin and promote a smooth, hydrated complexion. Hyaluronic Acid is a multi-molecular combination that ensures hydration seeps through different layers of the skin. This Serum has 2% Hyaluronic Acid which is known for its humectant properties, hyaluronic acid pulls in moisture from the surroundings and locks it into the skin to keep it adequately hydrated. This boost of hydration and helps smoothen fine lines to reveal plump, supple skin.

1% Marine Algae is an antioxidant that helps protects the skin from environmental stressors such as allergens and bacteria. It also plays an active role in replenishing skin lipids, thereby keeping the skin moisturized. The third active being 1% Vitamin B5is a hydrating ingredient that allows moisture to penetrate the skin, leaving it smooth and soft.

It also carries anti-inflammatory properties, which have a healing effect on the skin. This serum can be used for both am and pm routines.

SKINRX 2% Salicylic Acid Serum Benefit: Provide acne solution Targets concerns: Enlarged pores, Acne, Blackheads, Whiteheads Ingredients: 2% Salicylic Acid + 1% Witch Hazel + 1% Pepper Berry Skin Type: Acne-prone oily skin Salicylic Acid is a gentle exfoliating formula that works deep within the skin to fight off acne and reduce blackheads and whiteheads to give clearer healthier skin. Salicylic is also known as BHA (beta hydroxy acid) which effectively treats acne by deeply exfoliating the skin and removing dead skin cells. It also reduces blackheads and whiteheads and unclogs the pores to reveal clear skin. The serum also has Witch Hazel which acts as an astringent to shrink and tighten pores. It is also anti-inflammatory in nature and has a soothing effect on sensitive skin. The third active in the serum is Tasmanian pepper berry which

is anti-inflammatory in nature and provides relief from itching and burning sensations, and thus has a calming effect on sensitive skin. If you’re just starting out with BHAs, limit the use of the SKINRX 2% Salicylic Acid Serum to every alternate day, increasing frequency to once a day gradually. BHAs tend to make your skin susceptible to sunburn, so limit sun exposure and use sun protection even when home or stepping out.

SKINRX 2% Advanced Retinol Serum Benefit: Age Defence, aids in reducing wrinkles and fine lines, gives radiant skin Targets concerns: Wrinkles, Fine Lines, Dullness, Uneven skin tone Ingredients: 2% Advanced Retinol + 1% Australian Caviar Lime + 2% Lactic Acid Skin Type: All skin types This serum is an anti-ageing powerhouse that targets fine lines and wrinkles to renew the skin. A derivative of Vitamin A, retinol is a potent anti-ageing ingredient that softens the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It further hydrates the skin and accelerates skin cell renewal to reveal a radiant and revitalized complexion. This serum comes with an addition of 1% Caviar Lime which is a rich source of AHAs (alpha-hydroxy acids). Australian Caviar Lime is a daily gentle exfoliant that promotes a brighter, younger, even skin tone. Part of the AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) family, another ingredient in this serum is lactic acid which is known to smoothen fine lines, wrinkles, and firm the skin by stimulating collagen renewal. It is also a gentle exfoliant with moisturizing properties. This serum should be only used at night-time. If you’re a newcomer to retinoids, limit the use of the SKINRX 2% Advanced Retinol Serum to 1 or 2 times a week, increasing the frequency slowly. Avoid using Vitamin C and Retinol together. One should always use Vitamin C in the morning and Retinol at night.

The house of Nykaa brings to you the perfect solution in a bottle to kick start this journey, packed with science backed formulations.

Reena Chabbra is CEO, Nykaa Brands

/IndianAbroadNews

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30

FASHION

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

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Why lingerie can be a game-changer in your romantic life

A new

ASHION DESTINATION R

HYDERABAD

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nushree Reddy marks a decade in the business with a flagship store which opened on the 14th of August. The designer, a favourite with the millennials is known for her youthful and contemporary take on traditional styles.

The Hyderabad-based eponymous label marks it’s 10th anniversary this year. Drawing inspiration from vintage styles, floral patterns Reddy combines them beautifully with Zardozi embroidery with careful detailing and embellishments.

“The last decade in the fashion industry has been absolutely surreal. When I started my journey as a fashion editor years back it gave me the opportunity to work and understand designs and fabrics closely and my love for it grew. I set out with designing ethnic ensembles for friends and family, gradually the passion project went on to become a

profession where I crafted traditional wear for the bride tribe. Lucky for me, discerning, modern brides also loved the pastel colours and floral prints which are prominent in my work", says Reddy.

Adding, "You’ll also notice intricate zardosi work in my collections, which is something I've drawn from my roots in Hyderabad The city is often the epicenter for shopping in Southern India and a lot of my designs pay tribute to my hometown.

Now, a decade later, my connection with the city has only grown stronger as we launch our flagship store here. My own store, in my own city, amidst other prominent names, is a perfect way to celebrate.

With the store, I also launch my first ever pret collection which includes Chikankari outfits, resort wear, and everyday luxury wear.”

omance among couples is a bond that is unfiltered and completely divine. The feeling of being wanted & desired is enough to give you goosebumps and when it comes from your love interest, nothing like it!

After a while, couples do try a variety of things to reignite the passion among themselves, and how about getting a hot pair of lingerie to get him all excited.

Here’s a closer look to know the reasons why lingerie can make your man desire you more.

The report is based on a survey conducted by Groversons Paris Beauty among 25,000 of its female buyers from Metropolitan cities like Mumbai, New Delhi NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Bengaluru.

Ignites the passion of love Normally for couples who have been in the relationship for quite a time, their erotic life seems to have a monotonous path, simply no efforts for imagination and seduction.

However, things are changing with the current generation. They want to know more, explore more, have high expectations from each other.

To keep the passion of both partners alive and to capture your partner’s attention, you need sexy lingerie that turns on your partner, bringing out his erotic side as it exposes men to the female world and makes them understand women better.

From plunge bras to lacy, to pretty panties and thongs, one can choose anything to do the trick. A sexy pair of lingerie is like icing on the cake which will definitely world as a perfect dessert.

Speaking from their real-life incidents, 54.25% of women prefer wearing the right kind of lingerie on their special date nights. About 40.81% have stated that it has helped in making their partners feel special as we make extra efforts to keep the spark on.

Set yourself and the surroundings There are times in a relationship where you spend normal boring days without realising the need of some spice and extra in your relationship. If not both, one must

think to start putting required efforts to uplift the mood of your partner and your relationship. So, for a woman, adding the spice of a fresh quirky pair of lingerie can solve the purpose. 52.92% of Groversons consumers have stated that their lingerie wear has helped them to get intimate with their partners.

According to Groversons report, about 42.14% of women have stated that having a good lingerie collection helps in adding spice to their erotic lives. Interestingly 58.17% have voted for lacy bras while 49.21% have voted for transparent babydoll lingerie to be their preferred choice.

Appearance leads to confidence It’s a fact that good lingerie enhances the overall appearance and sexy lingerie not only makes you more desirable but also enhances your personality as you dress up in different outfits. Lingerie has the capacity of changing your entire look, so choose smartly. Be it corset, thongs or push-up bras, pick something that you think will catch your partner's eyes and be difficult for him to resist.

Feeling confident is the first most key to achieve anything and 46.22% of Groversons Paris Beauty consumers have confirmed that having a good lingerie collection brings out confidence in them and about 47.76% of consumers like to have a diverse lingerie collection for themselves.

Interestingly, red, hot pink & black colours are the most in-demand with 58.12%, 40% and 57.65% votes respectively.

Are you a

MODERN INDIAN BRIDE ?

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he contemporary Indian bride is nothing like her predecessors; being mostly in the age group of millennials or Generation Z, the importance she gives to individualism, value for money, quality and utility is far from what brides used to do back in the day.

The modern bride needs comfort as much as style, her choices are unconventional and her wedding is designed according to her taste and sensibilities. On the one hand she wants her parents to be happy and so doesn't mind going the traditional www.indianabroad.news

route-- to a limited extent! Young brides don't let up on what they want either — comfort, style, something exclusive and unique!

So while there may be many brides who still opt for customary red for their wedding ensemble, there’s another set that’s opting for ivories and light tones for their big day.

Case in point is producer-cum-stylist Rhea Kapoor, who got married over the weekend to her long-time boyfriend Karan Boolani. Known as a trendsetter, Kapoor chose a beautiful ivory hued Chanderi

sari by designer Anamika Khanna, jewels gifted by her mother, Sunita Kapoor, and a vintage pearl veil by Birdhichand. A departure from the stereotypical big fat Indian wedding (one her sister Sonam Kapoor chose to have), hers was an intimate affair at her family residence in Mumbai.

Rhea is not the only one, earlier this year, actor Varun Dhawan tied the knot with long time girlfriend designer Natasha Dalal who rocked a pale gold ensemble from her own label. While the fashion police might not have approved of the opulent

lehenga, the muted colour was still hailed as a good option for millennial brides.

Gauahar Khan was yet another bride who looked stunning in ivory at her wedding last year. For her nikah, the actress opted for a traditional intricate gharara paired with statement polki jewellery.

“Given it’s timeless appeal, clothing in ivory is having a major moment.

The colour is subtle yet very impactful,” says celebrity stylist Surina Kakkar. Several Indian designers such as Sabyasachi Mukherjee,

/IndianAbroadNews

Tarun Tahiliani, Shyamal and Bhumika, Manish Malhotra, Rohit Bal, Gaurav Gupta and Abhinav

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Mishra fit the brief when it comes to designing lighter tones for special occasions.

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WHAT’S ON

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

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WHAT’S ON

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

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33

ENTERTAINMENT

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Tahira Kashyap announces directorial debut with 'Sharmaji Ki Beti'

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ahira Kashyap Khurrana has announced her first directorial feature film 'Sharmaji Ki Beti'.

She has commenced filming this month in Mumbai and Chandigarh.

The film is a multi-generational ensemble comedy-drama about the modern, middle class female experience. The film stars Sakshi Tanwar, Divya Dutta, and Saiyami Kher. The film gives a peek into the lives of

urban women, all with the common surname of Sharma.

On her first directorial feature film, writer-director Tahira said: "'Sharmaji Ki Beti' is like an extension of my personality as it is inspired by various incidents and characters I have met, experienced and observed in real life. It will always hold a very special place in my heart because it's the first script

I ever wrote."

Tahira has directed critically acclaimed short films 'Toffee' and 'Quaranteen Crush' in the anthology series 'Feels Like Ishq'.

She continued, "I am thrilled that it is coming to life as my directorial debut venture in the feature film space. It is an amalgamation of emotions striking the perfect balance, with a happy, relatable, emotional and inspiring narrative. A big shout out to the formidable cast and crew we've put together for this exciting journey, and to Applause and Ellipsis for continuing to believe in brave set-ups and subjects and giving new talent an opportunity."

Talking about the film, Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment said: "Sharmaji Ki Beti is a charming, spirited tale that's been written with an effusive affection for its characters and the worlds they inhabit. Tahira Kashyap Khurrana has emerged as a unique, prominent literary voice and her stories have always resonated with their sharp wit and striking attention to detail.

We're excited to present her feature directorial debut to the world and to partner with Ellipsis Entertainment in bringing this wonderful narrative to life."

"As magnets for promising new talent, we are delighted to now launch the incredibly accomplished Tahira Kashyap Khurrana as a feature director, having propelled top ad names like Ram Madhvani, Suresh Triveni and Aakash Bhatia to the front of the filmed entertainment space," said managing partners Tanuj Garg and Atul Kasbekar, Ellipsis Entertainment.

Anusha Dandekar: I was always a stage baby

M

odel-actor Anusha Dandekar has been mentoring models at various modelling shows, sharing her expertise in the field.

Anusha was one of the judges at the recent 'MTV Supermodel of the Year' Season 2 along with Milind Soman and Malaika Arora.

Anusha is excited about the virtual format of the show that allows women from all walks of life to participate in the show.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Anusha shared what the audience can expect from Season 3. "The one

thing that you can really expect is strong, independent, individual thinking women who know no limitations for themselves. That is the beauty of this show. It blew my mind."

Anusha shared that she was allowed to be independent when she was growing up. "My parents let me be whoever I wanted to be. I was allowed to have wings all my life."

Talking about her journey, she said, "My journey is mine. I came to my country. But, I was brought up in Australia. I couldn't speak a word of

Hindi, my Marathi was okay. I was finding my own way. I was always strong and independent. I was somebody you couldn't mess with."

The actress has been featured in films like 'Mumbai Matinee', 'Delhi Belly', 'City of Gold', and 'Bhavesh Joshi', to name a few.

Anusha, 39, shared as a child she was always interested in entertainment. She expressed, "I was very lucky. I was always a stage baby.

I didn't know how to do anything else. In school, I did get out of class many times just because I used to make up stories that I need to go for rehearsals on stage."

She added, "I was really dramatic at school. My parents let me go for dance lessons, drama, anything that I wanted to do. Maybe the way they were brought up they told us studying is the most important thing."

"I just couldn't focus as much I wanted to, as I was really interested in entertainment. By the end, they eventually gave up. Whatever I wanted to do, I never had to argue about it or have a battle. So, it was easy for me to spread my wings."

The contestants at the 'MTV Supermodel of The Year' Season 2 inspire Anusha in many ways. "I am so in awe of all of them, from where they come and from what they do, giving themselves no limitations no matter what would be their circumstances to become a supermodel. I had tears and goosebumps, I had all the emotions this year."

Talking about the concept of beauty, she said, "Beauty has no limits when you know your job, you know your skill, and you what you are doing.

The shortest model can look the tallest because they are good at their job. That's the beauty of a supermodel. We are looking for a skill set, technique, and all those things more than the cookie-cutter way of what people think supermodels are."

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Palak Mucchal says Salman recommended her for 'Laapata' number

From playing Kapil Dev to Jayeshbhai, Ranveer navigates multiple characters

B

ollywood livewire Ranveer Singh will be seen playing characters as different as chalk and cheese in his upcoming motley of films such as '83', 'Jayeshbhai Jordaar', 'Cirkus', 'Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani', 'Takht' and Shankar's 'Anniyan' remake.

The 36-year-old actor maintained that he is only striving to be the best actor and create distinctive characters.

Ranveer said: "I mean to create distinctive characters. In my estimation that should be the endeavour of every actor. It most definitely is mine."

The actor made his Bollywood debut with 'Band Baaja Baaraat' in 2010. Since then, he has starred in blockbusters such as 'Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela', 'Bajirao Mastani', 'Dil Dhadakne Do', 'Padmaavat', 'Gully Boy' and 'Simmba'.

Y

oung singer Palak Mucchal is known for giving some chartbusting numbers in Bollywood films. Her latest songs 'Rammo Rammo' from 'Bhuj: The Pride Of India' and 'Kabhi Tumhe' from 'Shershaah' have garnered a lot of attention.

Palak has achieved recognition as a singer at a very young age. In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Palak said: "I do believe I'm living my dream. Nobody in my family sings. Singing came to me as God's gift. I never thought that I would be able to sing so many songs in such a short span of time, get to work with such amazing people, receive so much love from my fans and support and win so many awards.

It's truly been a dreamy journey."

Palak debuted with 'Ek Tha Tiger' track 'Laapata' which was well-appreciated by the audience.

"I debuted with 'Laapata'. Salman sir had recommended my name for it. To have your first song in a Yash Raj film, that too for Salman Khan sir, I think I couldn't have asked for anything more."

She continued sharing the milestones in her journey, "Then I got 'Aashiqui 2' which kind of broke all the records and served as a milestone in all of Indian music history.

Then I got 'Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo', I thought nothing can be bigger than that. 'Kaun Tujhe' and so many other songs followed. It just kept getting better."

Recently, she sang her single 'Chaap Tilak' with Rahul Vaidya.

The 29-year-old singer shares her constant music inspiration is Lata Mangeshkar. "My inspiration as a singer has always been Lata Ji."

Ranveer, who is married to actress Deepika Padukone, added: "Let me not speak for anyone else, I will speak for myself to say that from the very beginning of my career I have only tried having endeavoured to create distinctive characters because I am trying to be the best actor I can possibly be."

Yunan: Many artistes would kill to have Raftaar as their mentor New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS): Young hip hop artist Yunan has had a roller coaster ride to be finally recognised as a singer.

He has songs like 'Netflix And Chill' featuring Raftaar, 'Kyu' and 'You' and the latest single 'Slay' to his credit.

Sharing the thought behind 'Slay', Yunan told IANS: "It's a commercial dance track with some slick Spanish vibes. I was just sitting in the studio one day and started randomly scripting lyrics inspired by the saying of 'couples who stay together slay together', and then boom, I just conjured up the title of the track."

Uday Sachdeva, also known as 'Yunan' began his career as a dancer in 'Dance India Dance Lil' Masters' in 2012 followed by a short acting stint in MTV Splitsvilla Season 12.

He shared, "The journey as an artist has been quite a learning curve. I'm grateful that I have platforms like Kalamkaar and Sony Music India to market my music when there is new talent cropping up by the minute in the music market."

Having been passionate about dance and music since an early age, Yunan, 23, found his mentor in popular rapper Raftaar who has been guiding him since the age of 16.

Talking about being spotted by Raftaar, he told IANS: "It's been 10 years now that I have known him.

I met him in 2010 when he visited my hometown for a competition.

He gave me an opportunity of a lifetime where he became my dance guru. Since then, there has been no looking back and he's been kind enough to take me under his wings under Kalamkaar. I started my

innings in the music world because of him and he helped me discover the artiste in me."

Raftaar featured the young music artiste on his tracks 'Sick', 'Beshaq' and 'Mundiya Di Mautt'.

Having an opportunity of learning from Raftaar has been a game-changer for Yunan. "Raftaar is not just a mentor but a brother and a friend. I consider myself blessed to have such an amazing guru especially at such a nascent time of my career. A lot of artists would kill to have Raftaar as their mentor," he said.

The singer's biggest music inspiration is Justin Bieber. "I aspire to be called the Justin Bieber of Hindi pop someday. That's my personal benchmark," said Yunan.

Currently, Yunan is working on few collaborations and also on his original tracks. "I'll be putting out my debut EP followed by my album.

I'm going to be experimenting a lot with these two showcases."

Kiara Advani: My parents want to know what's written about me

A

ctress Kiara Advani, who is receiving a lot of praise for her performance in the recently released 'Shershaah', says that her parents always read comments on social media about their daughter.

As the actress is always being scrutinised by the netizens, asked about how her family responded to that, Kiara said, "I ignore it (mean comments) as it does somewhere affect me. I want to have a normal day, and I don't want to go into reading comments....we're also humans. Sometimes I think, 'oh my mom will read it, my father will read it and they don't like it,' and they do (read it).

"My parents hashtag Kiara Advani every day, they want to know what is been written about me, what my fans are saying about me...they enjoy it. I tell my mom to ignore it, but she tells me that she wants to know what is being said about me. So when you talk about culture, I believe that being respectful to one another is an important part of it. People should

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understand 'ki yeh (actors) bhi insaan hai, inke bhi emotions hote hai', they are sensitive, and there must be a reason behind it."

Kiara was having a conversation with actor and talk-show host

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Arbaaz Khan for his digital show 'Pinch By Arbaaz Khan Season 2'.

The episode will be releasing this week on QuPlay's YouTube Channel, on ZEE5 and on MyFM.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Vol 1, Issue 14 Sept 1 -15, 2021

Wamiqa Gabbi on how regional Tisca Chopra misses her daughter cinema paved her way to Bollywood while shooting outdoors

A

ctress Wamiqa Gabbi, who grabbed the spotlight with her power packed performance as the steadfast cop in the

web-show "Grahan", is thankful to regional cinema that helped her get Bollywood projects.

Before making her Hindi debut, Wamiqa has been a part of several Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films such as "Ishq Brandy", "Godha", "Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam" and "Bhale Manchi Roju" among many others.

The actress said: "Talent for acting is out there in abundance but to get noticed in mainstream cinema is a different ball game altogether.

Coming from a non-filmy background, there's no doubt that it's tough to get films in which I could be noticed by other filmmakers, but my biggest boon has been my work in regional movies."

The 27-year-old actress said that she wouldn't want to differentiate between cinema based on language.

"As an actor, I wouldn't want to differentiate cinema based on language. So, if good projects come my way, I'm more than happy to do good regional cinema along with Bollywood projects," she added.

Currently, she is busy prepping for her role Sivagami for the series "Baahubali: Before the Beginning" based on Anand Neelakantan's 2017 and 2020 novels "The Rise of Sivagami, Chaturanga" and Queen of Mahishmathi.

Ishita Dutta talks about portraying a simple and kind-hearted woman on-screen

A

ctress Ishita Dutta known for shows like 'Ek Ghar Banaunga' and 'Bepanah Pyar' has been roped in to play the character of 'Kajol Mukherjee' the upcoming serial 'Thoda Sa Baadal, Thoda Sa Paani'. She talks about her role that portrays the life of a young woman whose marriage to athe

perfect one' is on the cards. But her dreams are shattered overnight after she is forced to become the family's breadwinner following the demise of her father.

Ishita comments on playing a Bengali girl for the first time: "I had never played a Bengali girl before, but I got the opportunity to play it

through 'Kajol''s character, who is very close with her family. One of the better qualities of 'Kajol' is that though she's simple and kind-hearted, she is no "bechari". She is very strong-willed and does not shy away from speaking up. Just like her, I believe in standing up against the wrong as well."

The 30-year-old actress has attended workshops to play this role perfectly on-screen. Moreover the vacations she spent in Kolkata also helped her to depict the character in a realistic way.

She said: "I used to go for my vacation to the city and this character took me back to my days enjoying the culture and life there. Another important aspect that helped in the preparations was the workshops conducted. They helped me acquire a deeper understanding of relationships with parents, siblings, and the family as whole. It is very important for all the actors to connect as a unit.

During our first meeting with the director, we did a prop-up shoot to create chemistry. So, it all turned out to be a great help to get into 'Kajol''s character.

Ishita herself is a very simple person and this is the reason she relates well with her on-screen avatar. She added: "As a person, I believe I'm very similar to 'Kajol' as I am also very close to my parents and my sister."

'Thoda Sa Baadal, Thoda Sa Paani' will be starting from August 23 on COLORS.

Raashii Khanna: Passion for my craft keeps me on my toes

A

ctress Raashii Khanna is busy shuttling between Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai for her projects in three different languages. However, the actress says she has no complaints.

Raashii Khanna who has been shooting for filmmakers Raj and DK's series alongside Shahid Kapoor, has now started the shoot of her series 'Rudra' alongside actor Ajay Devgn.

The actress is scheduled to fly to Chennai to start shooting for her recently announced untitled Tamil film alongside Dhanush.

Not stopping at this, Raashii also has 'Tughlaq Durbar', 'Aranmanai 3' and 'Bhramam'.

The actress believes this to be a result of her hard work and doesn't want to complain about the hectic schedule.

Raashii tells "I've worked very hard to get to where I am in my career and that has resulted in interesting opportunities in the entertainment industries in the North and the South. It's not very easy to be shuttling cities every three to four days but I am not complaining because I have always wanted to work with brilliant minds and that passion for my craft has been keeping me on my toes."

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A

ctress Tisca Chopra has her hands full with interesting projects in the pipeline.

From the feature film ‘Jug Jug Jiyo' and web series 'Fear', to ‘Tisca's Table' and ‘Tete-a-Tete with Tisca', she is soon about to wear the director's hat too.

Amid all this, the actress tries to be a hands-on mother with her teenage daughter Tara.

Sharing how she maintains the balance during shoots, Tisca shared in an exclusive conversation with IANS, "I would like to think that I am a hands-on mother, but for the past 15 to 20 days, I haven't been able to do so because I am shooting away from Mumbai. Then I am headed for another project for a month due to which I am going to be away from home."

The actress says the digital world comes to her rescue for keeping in touch with her daughter during outdoor shoots.

"Long live FaceTime and video conferencing. That's the way I can keep in touch with my child. We have a routine so we talk every morning...

I also tuck her in with a good night over the phone. Fortunately, my husband is back home with her.

So I'm not stressed about that," she says.

Tisca, 49, shares that although technology comes as a saviour for the mother, she misses being away from her daughter for days.

"I miss snuggling with her at night, I miss our story times, her mad energy and crazy sense of humour.

She is an absolutely wonderful child who's crazy and funny and I miss all of that," Tisca says.

Photo Courtesy: Instagram

"If we don't have Covid cases again, I am hoping that Tara and my husband can visit me at shoot. It will be good for both of us, she can see

her mom at work and I can show her a new place and make her meet some cool new people at the shoot," she adds.

Sept 10 release date set for Naga Chaitanya, Sai Pallavi's 'Love Story'

A

ctors Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi's much awaited romantic film 'Love Story' will have a theatrical release on September 10.

The film has been ready for release but was on hold due to the pandemic and lockdown. It was earlier scheduled to release in April this year.

Chaitanya took to Instagram to make the announcement on Wednesday.

Uploading a still from the film, he captioned it: "This Vinayaka Chaitvi is extra special. #Lovestory releasing in theatres near you on Sep 10."

Sai Pallavi, too shared the news on her Instagram stories.

Earlier, there were multiple speculations around the film going for an OTT release. However, the official announcement has put that to rest.

Directed by Sekhar Kammula, the film also stars Devayani, Rao Ramesh, Posani Krishna Murali, Rajeev Kanakala and Easwari Rao in pivotal roles

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