YK MYK CREATIVE FREEDOM FACING CHALLENGE IN INDIA ON OTT PLATFORM OPINION KOLKATA TUESDAY, 9 FEB, 2021 PG-12, YEAR—7, ISSUE—264 (RNI NO: WBENG / 2014 / 56803) MAX 28 C MIN 14 C Sky will be clear. AT A GLANCE SPORTS Morning India Rs. 3 WEATHER TODAY 1ST TEST, DAY 4: INDIA LOSE ROHIT SHARMA EARLY IN CHASE OF 420 Investor wealth jumps over Rs 16.7 lakh cr in 6 days NEW DELHI: Investor wealth has jumped over Rs 16.70 lakh crore as markets extended its winning streak to the sixth session on Monday. The BSE benchmark Sensex rallied 617.14 points or 1.22 per cent to close above the 51,000-mark for the first time on Monday. During the day, the benchmark index jumped to its alltime high of 51,523.38. Markets have been gaining since February 1 (Budget day). Since February 1, the market capitalisation of BSElisted companies has zoomed THE BSE BENCHMARK SENSEX RALLIED 617.14 POINTS OR 1.22 PER CENT TO CLOSE ABOVE THE 51,000-MARK FOR THE FIRST TIME ON MONDAY. DURING THE DAY, THE BENCHMARK INDEX JUMPED TO ITS ALL-TIME HIGH OF 51,523.38. Rs 16,70,154.05 crore to reach Rs 2,02,82,798.08 crore, its new record high. During this time, the 30share BSE index has gained 5,063 points or 10.93 per cent. Religare Broking Ltd ITBP personnel rescuing people from the washout near the Tapovan dam after the Glaciar burst in Chamoli on Monday. ANI Mamata challenges PM Kisan Sammaan Nidhi scheme 18 BODIES RECOVERED, 202 MISSING CHAMOLI: At least 202 people are missing while 18 bodies have been recovered so far after a flash flood inundated a power project at Raini village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, the state government said on Monday. The ITBP, which is engaged in rescue and relief operations, also cited updated inputs received from the administration. PG 5 SC LOWERS NEET 2020 CUT OFF FOR BDS COURSES BY 10 PERCENTILE NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the vacant seats in the first year of BDS course for the year 2020-21 should be filled by lowering the percentile mark by 10 percentile. CORONA METER INDIA TOTAL CASES: 1,08,39,100 TOTAL DEATH: 155,118 WORLD TOTAL CASES: 106,755,003 TOTAL DEATH: 2,328,814 GLOBAL CUES, FOREIGN FUNDS LIFT EQUITIES; BANKING STOCKS RISE MUMBAI: India's benchmark equity indices ended higher for the sixth consecutive session on Monday, as robust global cues and fresh influx of foreign funds buoyed investor sentiments. Accordingly, the market had a gap-up opening but remained sideways through the day. On Monday, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,876.60 crore in BSE, NSE and MSEI in the capital market segment. Globally, most Asian shares rose echoing the rally on Wall Street last week, with Nikkei momentarily reaching three-decade highs on growing optimism over the global economy. Similarly, European stocks traded higher with markets tracking positive sentiment in Asia and the US. New community ‘Andolan Jivi’ is taking shape: Modi WEARING OF MASK SHOULDN'T BE AN EGO ISSUE: HC NEW DELHI: Wearing of mask should not be an ego issue as it's for one's own safety from the COVID-19 infection, the Delhi High Court has observed while hearing a plea challenging imposition of challan for not wearing mask while driving a private car alone. Justice Prathiba M Singh orally observed that wearing a mask even when travelling alone in the car is for one's own safety from the virus because when a person stops the vehicle at the traffic signal and puts the window down, there is a chance to catch the infection. Vice-President (Research) Ajit Mishra said, "The bulls continued to dominate the benchmark indices following supportive global cues." Geojit Financial Services Head (Research) Vinod Nair said, "Strong global cues supported the domestic rally. The overall market is maintaining its buoyancy with rally in all sectors especially auto, IT and metals. Improved domestic outlook is encouraging sustained FPI inflows." Market valuation of the BSE-listed companies had crossed the Rs 100-lakh crore milestone on November 28, 2014. KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of lying, adding that the Centre is providing Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammann Nidhi for over two acres whereas her Government is providing Krishak Bandhu scheme for every one katha of land. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal Government for not passing on the benefits of the centre's PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to the farmers saying that out of 25 lakh farmers who applied, only 6,000 farmers were chosen by the State Government for benefits. "Narendra Modi is lying continuously. The centre is giving Kisan Sammann Nidhi over 2-acre land, as compared to my Government's Krishak Bandhu for one katha land. Which is better?" the West Bengal CM said in the state Assembly on Monday. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammann Nidhi or PM Kisan is a central sector scheme with 100 per cent funding from Government of India, under which income support of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments will be provided to small and marginal farmer families having combined landholding/ownership of up to 2 hectares. Banerjee further told the state Assembly, "Some are speaking politically regarding the state budget. Some say it is an advertisement ahead of the polls. Even if it is an advertisement, is there any problem? Some are saying we are there for a few days. We will be there again with a huge mandate." In 2010, tax collected was Rs 21,000 crores and now it is Rs 75,000 crores, said Banerjee, adding that the State Government's debt has decreased. "They dissolved the Planning Commission. Such people, look at them. They call Vivekananda as Tagore. They only slam Bengal day and night. Someone said Yogi will come. Let them come. Does he even knows what Nanoor is famous for. Let them come. But Gujarat can never rule Bengal," she added. Banerjee also stated that cycles are distributed among the poor under her Government's Sabooj Sathi scheme, the funds for which come from SC/ST funds. She further stated that her Government takes care of poor households irrespective of their caste. Sabooj Sathi is a scheme by the West Bengal Government, which was launched for the distribution of bicycles to an estimated 40 lakh students studying in Classes IX to XII in Government and Government-aided schools and madrasahs of the State. Banerjee stated further: "I conducted 500 review meetings. I did 'Duare Sarkar' for people who cannot reach the secretariat. NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said a new community has come up in the country -- andolan jivi (one who thrives on protests)-- who can be spotted in every protest and are parasite for the nation. "We are well aware of some terms like 'Shram Jivi' and 'Buddhi Jivi'. But, I am seeing that from some time a new entity has come up in this country'Andolan Jivi'. This community can be spotted wherever there is a protest, be it agitation by lawyers, students, or labourers, sometimes at the forefront and sometimes from behind. They cannot live without protests. We have to identify such people and protect the nation from them. They are parasites," said the prime minister while replying to the motion of thanks on President's address in Rajya Sabha. He further said the nation also needs to be cautious of a new form of FDI- Foreign Destructive Ideology. This statement comes after the celebrities at the international level like pop star Rihanna, American Vice President Kamala Harris' niece Meena Harris and environmental activist Greta Thunberg supported Indian farmers agitating against the farm laws. Farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. INDIA DIRECTS TWITTER TO BLOCK 1,178 ACCOUNTS IN FRESH NOTICE Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the Budget Session of Parliament in Rajya Sabha on Monday. ANI ‘End agitation, hold talks’ NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the farmers to end their agitation and initiate talks to resolve the issue while assuring that the MSP will continue. He also appealed to the farmers to give a chance to the agri reforms and said he was always open to change. Modi while replying to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, said that the MSP will continue and so will the monthly ration scheme to 80 crore people. Appealing to the agitating farmers to end their protest, he said talks should be held to resolve the issue. Modi said, "The agri-reforms should be given a chance and MSP was very much there and will continue in the future, and I in the House also say that the ration scheme to 80 crore will continue." "The farmers should end their agitation and sit and talk to resolve the issue," he said. "There are problems in our agri sector even after record production. We must all work together to solve these problems. "During the Covid pandemic, we've also done record purchasing from the farmers. Thus, we've continuously made changes to keep solving problems." He said the objections in the House on the farm laws were procedural and even the opposition accepts that the country needs agri reforms. Govt considering objections to 12-hr work shift: Labour secy NEW DELHI: Senior IAS officer and Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Apurva Chandra, said on Monday that the government is considering the objections raised by the trade unions to 12hour daily work shift. "See, there will be a maximum of 48 hours of work in a week. If someone works for 8 hours a day, then there will be 6 working days per week. If a company opts for 12-hour working per day for its employees, it means four-day working and three holidays," Chandra told IANS at the Shram Shakti Bhawan here on Monday. The senior 1988batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, who has been Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment since October 2020, said: "If daily working hours are increased, you will have to give the workers sim- ilar holidays also. There will be 5 or 4 working days if duty hours are increased. It will now be mutually agreed to by the employees and employers as to what is appropriate for them. No one will be able to work for 12 hours a day." The Ministry is engaged in formulating relevant rules and regulations to implement the four new Labour Codes in the next few weeks to usher in labour reforms. The new labour laws will not compromise the interests of labourers and employees in any way, Chandra said. "Rules and regulations are now being framed on provisions related to working hours. There is no final word as yet. Once the rules are formulated, things will become more clear. The Ministry wishes to assure that establishments will not be able to exploit their employees at any cost." NEW DELHI: The Indian government has sent a fresh notice to Twitter in less than 10 days, directing it to block 1,178 more accounts believed to be linked to the Khalistan sympathisers and those backed by Pakistan as well. According to sources, the new notice was sent to Twitter on Thursday last week and the company was yet to comply with the directions. Earlier this month, the IT ministry had asked the micro-blogging platform to block 257 accounts using the #ModiPlanningFarmerGe nocide hashtag amid the farmers' protest, under the Section 69A of the IT Act. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) warned the social media platform of penal action over noncompliance of its order to remove accounts and tweets which alleged "farmer genocide" in the country. Content with the hashtag "#ModiPlanningFarmerG enocide" were posted on Twitter, which, according to the government, was designed to "inflame passions" and "hatred". Citing that Twitter unilaterally unblocked accounts and tweets despite the government order, the notice said that that Twitter is an intermediary and is obliged to obey the direction of the government and refusal to do so will invite penal action. Twitter management in India faces penal action if the company does not comply with the governments. ‘India may miss 5G bus’: Panel lambasts lack of preparedness NEW DELHI: As 5G dreams eludes Indians despite the government's emphasis on technology and fifth generation connectivity, the Standing Committee on Information Technology has raised concerns that India "may miss the 5G bus" due to inadequate availability of spectrum, high spectrum prices, low fiberisation among others. Highlighting the concerns leading to the delay, the report of the panel chaired by Congress' Shashi Tharoor said that it is "disappointing" to note that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has hardly learnt from the past delays as the vision for 5G, which was reflected in the setting up of the High-Level Forum and Expert Committees, has not been transformed into action on the ground and is not reflected in the policies formulated by the government. The panel, in its report, has noted that poor development of use cases, non-uniform Rights of Way (RoW), deficient backhaul capacity among others are also factors coming in the way of rolling out of 5G services in India. "There are apprehensions that India is set to miss the '5G bus' due to lack of preparedness, spectrum issues, inadequate use-case development, uncertainty around sale of radio waves for 5G, etc," the report presented in the parliament said. According to the report, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has informed the panel that even though the report of the 5G High Level Forum has been released by the DoT in August, 2018, only minimal implementation instructions have been issued so far. Spectrum issues which are at the heart of 5G are yet to be resolved, noted the panel, adding that the telecom service providers (TSP) have submitted that spectrum bands for 5G are yet to be identified and made available to them. "The current reserve price of spectrum is one of the highest in the world, which needs to be rationalised taking into account per capita income and reserve price benchmarks of other countries, 5G trial applications have been submitted by the TSPs in the month of January 2020." However, till date the guidelines for trials have not been made clear and there is no set date for commencement of these trials, it added. Asked about the timeline for the rollout of 5G, the DoT Secretary informed the committee that in India, 5G technology will initially ride on 4G technology. In the initial years, the core will be 4G and the radio access network will be 5G. Firstly, 5G will not be rolled out pan-India, but in selected areas where the demand would justify the capex. The committee has been informed that by the end of calendar year 2021 or beginning of 2022, there will be some roll out in India in some specific uses, because 4G should continue in India for at least another 5-6 years, said the report. "From the foregoing, the Committee are inclined to conclude that sufficient preparatory work has not been undertaken for launching of 5G services in India," the Tharoor-led panel said in its report. The parliamentary committee said that when many countries are swiftly moving towards 5G technology, India is likely to witness its deployment only by the end of 2021 or early part of 2022, that too partially. So it is very likely that after missing the 2G, 3G and 4G bus, India is going to miss on 5G opportunities, unless time-bound action is taken in core areas where governmental intervention is required, it said. The committee said that it trusts that the government will take expeditious action on the pending recommendations of the TRAI as it is yet to take action on many of the recommendations of the telecom regulator on issues which have direct bearing on 5G deployment.