YK MYK PAK: RAPE VICTIMS TO BE BILLED RS 25K FOR MEDICAL EXAMINATION WORLD KOLKATA SATURDAY, 20 FEB, 2021 PG-12, YEAR—7, ISSUE—275 (RNI NO: WBENG / 2014 / 56803) MAX 30 C MIN 18 C SCREEN & CINEMA Morning India Rs. 3 WEATHER TODAY VAANI KAPOOR: WANT TO TAKE AS MANY PLUNGES AS POSSIBLE Visva-Bharati aimed to free India's education system, says PM Sky will be partly cloudy. AT A GLANCE DEVP IS OUR RELIGION, SAYS MODI T’PURAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said development is for everyone and it is the aim and religion of his government. Development and good governance do not know caste, creed, race,gender, religion or language, Modi said while inaugurating and laying foundation stones of some key projects in power and urban sectors in poll-bound Kerala via video conference. TMC TO TAKE OUT PROTEST RALLIES DURING PM’S VISIT TO BENGAL KOLKATA: To protest against the regular price hike of petrol, the ruling Trinamool Congress has decided to agitate across the State during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to West Bengal on February 22. According to TMC sources, the ruling party will protest against the BJP-led Central Government demanding immediate reduction of the fuel prices as it is detrimental for the poor people. Notably, the Prime Minister is scheduled to address a public rally in Hooghly district where the TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to hold another counter rally on February 24. The PM is also likely to inaugurate Dakshineswar metro station as well. CORONA METER INDIA TOTAL CASES: 1,09,68,911 TOTAL DEATH: 156,180 WORLD TOTAL CASES: 110,948,969 TOTAL DEATH: 2,454,696 SHANTINIKETAN: Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore developed a system of education at Visva-Bharati University to free and modernise India's education system from the shackles of subordination, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. Speaking at the convocation ceremony of VisvaBharati University via video conferencing, the PM said he was inspired and delighted to be part of the "wonderful heritage that Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore gave to Mother India". "It would have been good if I could go there personally to take part in the ceremony today but due to the new rules (COVID-19) I am taking part in this event through video conferencing," PM Modi said. Modi said the new National Education Policy (NEP) implemented in the country also aims to free Indian education from the older shackles and give the students the freedom to showcase their talent. "The new National Education Policy is a major step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat. It gives strength to research and innovation," he said. He said in the Union Budget of 2021, the Government, through the National Research Foundation has proposed to spend Rs 50,000 crore over the period of five years in the field of research-based studies. However, the Prime Minister added that making a self-reliant India is not possible without empowering the daughters of the country, and added that "in NEP, the Government has made provision for Gender Inclusion Fund to empower girls." He said the students who studied at Visva-Bharati University are part of a vibrant tradition. "If Gurudev wanted to see Visva-Bharati as just a university, he could have named it Global University or some other name, but he named it Visva-Bharati University. For Gurudev Tagore, VisvaBharati was not merely an institute for imparting knowledge. This is an attempt to take Indian culture on the global platform," said the PM. He cited Tagore's lines and said labourers, intellectuals, social workers and saints, all are a part of the bigger society and all have to work together for its liberation. "Just as it is necessary to remain restrained and sensitive while in power, it is necessary for every intellectual and every expert to be responsible. Your knowledge is not only yours, but it is a heritage of the society, of the future generation of the country. Your knowledge and skills can make a society and a nation proud," the PM said. Mamata likely to skip Niti Aayog meeting on February 20 Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to skip the Niti Aayog's Governing Council meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 20, sources said on Friday. The council, the apex body of the Government's think tank, includes all Chief Ministers, Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories (UTs), several Union Ministers and senior Government officials. The Prime Minister will chair the Saturday's meeting where issues related to agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing and human resource development will be discussed, according to an official statement. "Mamata Banerjee may not attend the Niti Aayog's February 20 meeting," a sen- Disha Ravi sent to jail for 3 days NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Friday sent climate activist Disha Ravi to three-days judicial custody in connection with the 'toolkit' case. The 21-year-old activist was produced before the court amid high security at the end of her five-days police custody. Ravi was arrested from Bengaluru on February 13 in connection with allegedly editing and sharing a 'toolkit' on social media related to the farmers' protest. During the course of proceedings, the Delhi Police told Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain that Ravi has been evasive in giving replies during the interrogation and shifted the blame An activist Disha Ravi leaves from Patiala House Court, in New Delhi on Friday. ANI onto co-accused Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk. The police requested the court to send her to threedays judicial custody, as they Indian IT professionals to gain US RETURN TO 2015 PARIS AGREEMENT BECOMES OFFICIAL The US return to the 2015 Paris Agreement became official on Friday, paving the way for climate actions through its domestic and international policies while creating millions of "green" jobs. But what does that mean for the global climate action? WORLD benefit hundreds and thousands of Indian IT professionals and their families. Those waiting for a Green Card for more than 10 years, would get the legal permanent residency immediately as they would be exempted from the visa cap. Indian IT professionals, waiting for more than a decade now, and whose num- Aayog's meetings and termed it as a "fruitless" exercise, alleging that the body has "no financial power" and cannot support the State plans. The sixth meeting of the Governing Council will witness the entry of Ladakh for the first time, in addition to the participation of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory, the statement said. This time, other Union Territories headed by Aadministrators have also been invited to join, it added. The Governing Council meets regularly and its first meeting took place on February 8, 2015. However, the council did not meet last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TOOLKIT CASE BIDEN INTRODUCES AMBITIOUS IMMIGRATION BILL IN CONGRESS WASHINGTON: In a major move that will benefit hundreds and thousands of Indian IT professionals in America, the Biden administration has introduced an ambitious immigration bill in Congress which among other things proposes to eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based green cards. The US Citizenship Act of 2021 proposes a pathway to citizenship to 11 million undocumented workers, elimination of per country quota for employment-based green cards and work authorisation for dependents of H1B foreign workers. The bicameral immigration bill, if passed by both the chambers of the Congress House of Representatives and the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden, would bring citizenship to millions of foreign nationals, including undocumented workers and those who came to the country legally. The legislation would also ior TMC leader said on condition of anonymity. Banerjee had earlier skipped the Niti GOVT ALLOWS DRONE DEPLOYMENT TO COLLECT AGRI DATA ber runs into thousands, are likely to be the biggest beneficiary of this provision of the bill. Authors of the bill Senator Bob Menendez and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez told reporters that the US Citizenship Act of 2021 establishes a moral and economic imperative and a vision of immigration reform that is expansive and inclusive. It grows the economy by making changes to the employment-based immigration system, eliminating percountry caps, making it easier for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) advanced degree holders from US universities to stay in the US and improving access to green cards for workers in lower-wage industries. have served a notice to coaccused Shantanu, who will join the investigation on February 22, following which both will be confronted. "She has been evasive in giving replies. We have served notice to co-accused Shantanu who will be joining the investigation on February 22. She has to be confronted with co-accused," Public Prosecutor Irfan Ahmed told the court. The prosecutor added, "During the course of interrogation, Disha Ravi has shifted the blame on Nikita and Shantanu. All the accused need to be confronted with one another. That's why three days judicial custody is being sought." The court was also informed that Disha Ravi has moved a bail application which will come up for hearing on February 20. NEW DELHI: The Centre has given regulatory approval for drone deployment for remote sensing data collection in agricultural areas of 100 districts of the country. The move will be beneficial for Gram Panchayat level yield estimation, under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has granted conditional exemption for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System usage to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. "The exemption shall be valid from the one year from the date of issue of the permission letter or until the operationalisation of the 'Digital Sky Platform', whichever is earlier," the ministry said in a statement. "However, this exemption shall be valid only if all conditions and limitations are strictly adhered to." Besides, the ministry said in case of violation of any condition, this exemption shall become "null and void and action may be initiated. INDIAN GOVT TO APPEAL AGAINST CAIRN ARBITRATION AWARD BUSINESS India, China military talks today for further disengagement NEW DELHI: India and China military delegates will meet on Saturday for the tenth round of talks to discuss disengagement at other friction places at the Line of Actual Control, sources said. During the tenth round, the Corps Commanders will discuss other friction areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and 900 square km Depsang Plains. The talks will start at 10 a.m. at Moldo on the Chinese side. The build-up in Depsang was not being considered part of the current standoff that started in May last year as escalations here took place in 2013, India has insisted during recent military commander meetings to resolve all issues across the Line of Actual Control. "The initial attempt will be to resolve Gogra and Hot Springs. Finding a solution to Depsang might be tricky and take longer," said an official. The representatives during the tenth round of "corps commander level" meet will also check the status of disengagement at northern and southern banks of Pangong Lake. The disengagement process at both banks of the Pangong Lake is expected to complete till February 20. It was on February 10 that China made an announcement that New Delhi and Beijing have agreed to disengage at Pangong Lake. Indian Army team along with Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) are physically verifying and reverifying disengagement at Pangong Lake. "It is a joint inspection team, both from Indian Army and Chinese PLA," said a senior government officer. The agreement states that Chinese troops will move back to Finger 8 and Indian troops will pull back to the INDIA'S NEXT MARS MISSION LIKELY TO BE AN ORBITER NEW DELHI: As NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars in the early hours of Friday to look for signs of past life, ISRO's next mission to the Red Planet is likely to be an orbiter. Perseverance, the biggest and the most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, made its landing at Jezero Crater. After its successful Mars Orbiter Mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) called for 'Announcement of Opportunities' on Mars Orbiter Mission-2. "It is now planned to have the next orbiter mission around Mars for a future launch opportunity," according to the Announcement of Opportunities. But there are other major projects that are lined up. After the Mars Orbiter Mission's success, ISRO also decided to explore Venus. However, the immediate priorities of ISRO remain to be Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan - both projects have been delayed due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Under Chandrayaan-3, ISRO will once again try to land a rover on the Moon. The mission was to be launched late last year. Chandrayaan-2 did not yield expected results as the lander hard-landed, dashing India's hopes to successfully land on the Moon. ISRO plans to send three humans to space by 2022 under Representative Photograph the Gaganyaan (human space) mission. The India France Joint Vision for Space Cooperation' also mentions about the possible collaboration to explore Mars. "CNES and ISRO, with the support of Laboratoire de meteorologic dynamique (LMD, CNRS), will jointly work on the modelling of Mars and Venus atmospheres," the vision statement said. Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission was India's first endeavour to successfully reach another planet. The launch vehicle, spacecraft and ground segment cost Rs 450 crore, one of the cheapest missions to Mars so far. Designed to work for six months, the mission has completed over six years. The Mars orbiter has sent thousands of pictures totalling more than two terabytes. As the NASA successfully landed its Perseverance rover in a deep crater near the planet Mars' equator called Jezero, Google on Friday added a virtual fireworks on its page for a specific search. If you search "Perseverance" on Google, you will see firework all over the page. "Good things come to those who persevere. Congrats @NASA and @NASAPersevere on a successful landing!" Google tweeted. Engineers at NASA's mission control in California erupted with joy when confirmation of touchdown came through. The six-wheeled vehicle will now spend at least the next two years drilling into the local rocks, looking for evidence of past life. Jezero is thought to have held a giant lake billions of years ago. And where there's been water, there's the possibility there might also have been life. The signal alerting controllers that Perseverance was down and safe arrived at 20:55 GMT. In the past they might have hugged and high-fived but strict coronavirus protocols meant they had all been separated by Perspex screens. A respectful fist bump was about all they could manage. Indian American Swati Mohan virtually spearheaded the successful landing of Perseverance that will search for signs on life on the Red Planet.