YK MYK SC APPOINTED PANEL OF MEMBERS, BACKED FARM LAWS IN PAST OPINION Rs. 3 KOLKATA THURSDAY, 14 JAN, 2021 PG-12, YEAR—7, ISSUE—238 (RNI NO: WBENG / 2014 / 56803) ANUSHKA, VIRAT APPEAL TO PAPARAZZI RESPECT PRIVACY SCREEN & CINEMA Morning India WEATHER TODAY MAX 25 C MIN 13 C Sky will be clear. AT A GLANCE Govt to purchase 83 Tejas Mk1A fighter jets REPUBLIC DAY PARADE TO FEATURE 321 SCHOOLKIDS, 80 FOLK ARTISTS NEW DELHI: Schoolchildren from four Delhi schools and folk artists from Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata will take part in the cultural programme during the Republic Day parade here on January 26. The number of participating children and folk artists have been cut down to 400 this year, compared to more than 600 last year, in view of the Covid-19 restrictions. The Ministry of Defence and Directorate of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi have selected 401 students and artists 271 girls and 131 boys from DTEA Senior Secondary Schools, Delhi, Mount Abu Public School, Rohini, Delhi, Vidya Bharti School, Rohini, Delhi, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, B-2, Yamuna Vihar, Delhi and Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata. SERUM INSTITUTE DISPATCHES OVER 90 PC VACCINES ORDERED BY GOVT NEW DELHI: Serum Institute of India (SII) has dispatched over 90 per cent of the COVID19 vaccine, Covishield, oreder by the Government of India. Official sources confirmed to ANI that about 10.99 million doses have been already dispatched from SII facility in Pune and only around 90,000 doses are left to be dispatched. CORONA METER INDIA TOTAL CASES: 1,04,96,367 TOTAL DEATH: 151,579 WORLD TOTAL CASES: 92,140,883 TOTAL DEATH: 1,973,387 Fire in a slum at Bagbazar, North Kolkata on Wednesday evening. Ex-TMC MP Can’t be stingy in nutrition for kids, KD Singh sent open anganwadis: SC tells states to ED custody till Jan 16 NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday sent former Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker K.D. Singh to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till January 16. In a major action, the ED arrested Singh in connection with a money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) earlier on Wednesday. Singh was a Rajya Sabha member of the Trinamool Congress from 2014. His term got over in April last year. The Trinamool leaders have claimed that they had no contact with Singh for a long time. The arrest is being seen as a major action ahead of the Assembly elections in Bengal scheduled later this year. In September 2019, the ED had carried out searches at the premises of Singh in a money laundering probe related to the Alchemist Infra Realty LLC in the Rs 1,900 crore money laundering case. The ED had registered a case of money laundering against Alchemist Infra Realty LLC, a firm related to Singh and others, on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on March 18, 2016. In January 2019, the ED had attached properties to the tune of Rs 239 crore of the group. The ED investigations revealed that funds mobilised by the Alchemist Infra Realty Limited from various investors were never utilised for the purpose for which they were collected. The funds were transferred to the bank accounts of other group companies which were mainly paper companies from where they were systematically siphoned off by the accused and were used to purchase properties at various locations in the country, as ED official had said earlier this month. Singh had resigned as the Chairman of Alchemist Group in 2012. In August 2019, Singh was also questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Narada sting operation case. CAL HC ASKS GOVT TO FACILITATE 'E-SNAN' AT GANGA SAGAR MELA KOLKATA: Amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic situation, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday advised all the pilgrims to go for 'E-snan' (E-bathe) during the holy Ganga Sagar Mela in West Bengal this year. Concerned by the risk of spreading Covid-19 infection, a bench of Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee ordered the Mamata Banerjee-led state administration to make necessary arrangements to dissuade the pilgrims going for a holy dip in the water. Instead the administration can facilitate them to opt for 'E-snan' during the religious congregation. The bench was presiding over a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Ajay Kumar De over the issue of public health and safety on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said children are the next generation and therefore unless and until children and women have nutritious food, it will affect the next generation and ultimately the country as a whole. A bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and comprising Justices R. Subhash Reddy and M.R. Shah said no one can doubt that children are the future of the country and if there is some stinginess in providing them with adequate nutrition, the country, as a whole, is deprived in future of taking the benefit of their potential. The top court said all states/Union Territories shall ensure that nutritional standards as provided in Schedule II of the National Food Security Act, 2013, should be fulfilled by providing nutritional support to pregnant women, lactating mothers, and to children who suffer from malnutrition. The observation from the top court came on a PIL questioning the closure of anganwadi centres across the country. Petitioner Dipika Jagatram Sahani had sought direction to the Centre and all states and Union Territories to forthwith reopen all the anganwadi centres in the country and provide anganwadi services as before the lockdown and in accordance with Sections 4 to 7 of the National Food Security Act, 2013. "We are of the view that unless there are any specific reasons for not opening of anganwadi centres, all Centre deducts Rs 714 cr DVC dues days after State exits pact SANJAY SAHAY RANCHI: Days after the Jharkhand cabinet passed a resolution annulling the tripartite agreement with RBI and the power ministry, the latter has deducted Rs 714 crore as DVC dues from state government's fund under the same agreement. A senior officer in the state government has confirmed the development. According to him, even though the state cabinet has decided to exit there is no clause in the agreement which permits this step, adding the contract seemed to be flawed. Sources said that deduction of Rs 714 crore has been made from the State account in RBI which gets fund under various heads, including old-age pension, scholarship and finance commission funds. The move comes a day after the state government informed the Centre about the cabinet decision on the agreement. Notably, the state government led by the BJP had signed an agreement with the Centre and RBI under which the dues of state in lieu of consumption of power from Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) would be deducted in case payment is not made within a prescribed period of time. Sources said that the Union power secretary asked the RBI to deduct Rs 714 core and deposit it in the Centre's account. The notice in this regard was issued to the state on December 20. It may be stated here that the first instalment of dues amounting to Rs 1417 crore was deducted in October 2020 leading to a strong protest by the state government. The irregular payment by the Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited has raised the dues to Rs 4949 crore. Jharkhand is ready to pay back the undisputed Rs 3558 crore. Move to impeach Trump again: What to watch, how to track NEW YORK: The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is moving to impeach outgoing US President Donald Trump for the second time in his tenure, within the span of 12 months. That's happening on Wednesday and here's how the day is likely to shape up, give or take some time delays and twists. But first a slice of history. If the momentum holds and Trump does end up getting impeached, it will be for the first time in the country's 244-year history that a sitting US President gets impeached for a second time. It is already the fourth time a President is facing impeachment proceedings, and Trump accounts for 50 per cent of that total. The other two US presidents on that list: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. The big difference between Trump's last impeachment and this one is that the ground has opened underneath the Republican after the attack on the US Capitol, after Senate control evaporated but not necessarily in that order. Unlike the last time Trump was impeached, when no House Republicans supported charges against him, the Republican support for impeaching Trump this time is growing, by the hour. The House convenes at 9 a.m. (Washington time) for initial debate. Around noon is when the action will really begin spiraling into another orbit. Expect two hours of debate on the single article of impeachment - "incitement of insurrection" - followed by the big one: House impeachment vote likely late afternoon. The vote is likely to take less than an hour. House Democrats are confident they have the votes to impeach even as more Republicans abandon Trump. Next up, the Senate. After four long years of enabling Trump, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell is said to be "pleased" about impeachment because it will be easier to distance the party from Trump. No matter what happens there, everything that is going on signals a stunning end for the Trump era in the White House. This excerpt from the impeachment article against Trump says it all: "President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States." Meanwhile, India, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been termed as the "Difficult Four" by a UK think tank. In report "Global Britain, Global Broker" by Chatham House which is a detailed study on UK strategic agenda post Brexit, India is listed among the "Difficult Four". "Developing the relationship with India, a pivotal regional democracy, as part of this shift in British strategic focus, will prove a complex task. India's importance to the UK is inescapable," the report says. India will be the largest country in the world by population very soon and will have the third-largest economy and defence budget at some point in this decade. It is also an English-speaking country with a large diaspora in the UK, reflecting the two countries' deep historical linkages. "As a result, India is always on the list of countries with which a new UK government commits to engage. But it should be obvious by now that the idea of a deeper relationship. anganwadi centres beyond the containment zones should be made functional by all the states/Union Territories at an early date," the top court said in its 31-page verdict. The bench noted that all states should review the situation and take positive decisions on or before January 31, and unless there are specific decisions taken by the State Disaster Management Authority of a particular state, anganwadi centres be opened on or before this date. All the states/Union Territories shall issue necessary orders regarding monitoring and supervision of anganwadi centres to ensure that the benefit reaches to the beneficiaries and a Complaint Redressal Mechanism be put in place in each district, it said. The bench added that since June 2020, the ready to eat nutritional traditional sweet Sukhadi (1 kg per week) in lieu of hot cooked meals is provided to children aged between 3 to 6 years. ALSO SEE PG 5, 7 NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the highest decision-making body for security issues headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the purchase of 83 Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets at a cost of Rs 48,000 crore, including infrastructure. The CCS approved the largest indigenous defence procurement deal worth about Rs 48,000 crore to strengthen the Indian Air Force's fleet of homegrown Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas. "This deal will be a game changer for self reliance in the Indian defence manufacturing," Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said. The LCA-Tejas is going to be the backbone of the IAF fighter fleet in the years to come. LCA-Tejas incorporates a large number of new technologies many of which were never attempted in India. The indigenous content of LCA-Tejas is 50 per cent in the Mk1A variant which will be enhanced to 60 per cent. The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is indigenously designed by the Aircraft Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The HAL has already set up second line manufacturing facilities at its Nasik and Bengaluru Divisions. Equipped with the augmented infrastructure the HAL will steer LCA-Mk1A production for timely deliveries to the IAF. "The decision taken today will considerably expand the current LCA ecosystem and help in creating new job opportunities," the minister said. HAL follows a system integrator model in the LCA Mk1A programme and acts as an umbrella organisation, fostering manufacturing.