YK MYK OMICRON VARIANT DEEPENS PROBLEM OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE COUNTRY OPINION Rs. 5 RANCHI WEDNESDAY, 12 JAN, 2022 PG-12, YEAR—11, ISSUE—245 (RNI NO: JHAENG / 2012 / 44137) AT A GLANCE DEADLINE FOR FILING INCOME TAX RETURN EXTENDED TILL MARCH 15 NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday extended the deadlines for several compliances, including the filing of Income Tax Return (ITR) for the assessment year 202122. The due date of furnishing of returns of income for the assessment year 2021-22 has now been extended to March 15, 2022. In a statement, the Ministry of Finance said the decision has been taken after considering difficulties reported by the taxpayers and other stakeholders due to the Covid situation and in electronic filing of various reports of audit under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. LATA MANGESHKAR ADMITTED TO ICU AFTER CONTRACTING COVID-19 NEW DELHI: Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar was recently admitted to a Mumbai hospital after she was diagnosed with COVID-19. The veteran singer was admitted to Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital on Monday. "Didi is admitted to ICU after she was diagnosed with COVID-19. Dr Pratik Samdani is treating her and he says that there is nothing serious but she needs to be kept in ICU for precautionary reasons seeing her age. We hope she will recover soon. Please respect our privacy and keep didi in your prayers," Mangeshkar's niece Rachna told ANI. BIHAR BJP WOMAN MLA NOW RULES OUT RESIGNATION PATNA: BJP's Bihar MLA Rashmi Verma, who stirred up unease in the party's stat unit two days ago as she offered to resign as legislator, on Tuesday said that the matter is resolved now and she will not quit. Since her outburst, BJP leaders were in touch with the MLA to resolve the issue. CORONA METER INDIA TOTAL CASES: 35,875,790 TOTAL DEATHS: 484,213 WORLD TOTAL CASES: 311,484,050 TOTAL DEATHS: 5,515,127 IPL 2022: LUCKNOW, AHMEDABAD FRANCHISE RECEIVE FORMAL NOD SPORTS Morning India India logs 1,68,063 new cases; positivity rate drops NEW DELHI: India has recorded 1,68,063 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Tuesday. Compared to yesterday, the total number of fresh COVID cases is down by 11,660. India had reported 1,79,723 cases on Monday. A total of 4,461 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have been reported so far. Meanwhile, the tally of the active cases of COVID-19 reached 8,21,446. The daily positivity rate now stands at 10.64 per cent. There is a slight decline in the positivity rate, which was 13.29 per cent on Monday. The Ministry further informed that 69,959 people recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the recovery tally to 3,45,70,131. The recovery rate is at 96.36 per cent. The counry also witnessed 277 new COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours. As many as 4,84,213 people have succumbed to the infection so far. India has administered a total of 152.89 crore vaccine doses so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive. With a surge in COVID cases in Uttarakhand, a ban has been imposed on devotees taking a dip in the Ganga in Haridwar and Rishikesh on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on January 14. There will be a ban on devo- WITH A SURGE IN COVID CASES IN UTTARAKHAND, A BAN HAS BEEN IMPOSED ON DEVOTEES TAKING A DIP IN THE GANGA IN HARIDWAR AND RISHIKESH ON THE OCCASION OF MAKAR SANKRANTI ON JAN 14. tees gathering at Har ki Pairi in Haridwar, Triveni ghat in Rishikesh, and other ghats for a ritual bath on Makar Sankranti for their safety in view of the recent spike in pandemic cases in the state, orders issued by Haridwar District Magistrate Vinay Shankar Pandey and Dehradun District Magistrate R Rajesh Kumar said. A large number of devotees take a holy dip in the Ganga both in Haridwar and Rishikesh on the occasion of Makar Sankranti every year. COVID cases in Uttarakhand have been on the rise over the past few days. A total of 2,127 COVID positive cases were reported on Tuesday and 1,292 on Monday. Meanwhile, The Delhi government has come up with specially designed online yoga and pranayam classes to aid Covid-19 patients who are recovering at home, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday. "Yoga and Pranayam greatly add on to one's immunity. I wouldn't claim that they offer complete protection against the virus but they definitely help one cope and recover more efficiently. The Delhi Government is starting special online Yoga-Pranayam classes for all those in home isolation," Kejriwal said in a virtual media briefing, adding, "in my understanding, we are the first to design something like this." These classes will be taken by instructors to look after 40,000 patients. They have been given specific training for the asanas and practices related to the Covid-19 recovery. One class will have only 15 patients. BATTLE FOR UTTAR PRADESH Cabinet Minister Swami Prasad Maurya quits BJP NEW DELHI: In the first major jolt to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, senior minister and prominent leader from the backward community Swami Prasad Maurya has left the party to join the opposition ranks. The resignation has brought cheer to the opposition camps, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Uttarakhand, where many BJP legislators have resigned to join the opposition. Reacting to the developments, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said in Mumbai that he is working towards a joint opposition in Goa, and more MLAs will join the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. He said: "The people of Uttar Pradesh are looking for a change and they will ensure change in the state." Since these developments, the Opposition has got a major boost as the Congress is the principal opposition party in Uttarakhand and Goa. In the hill state, the party has already poached a few MLAs, and a few others are due to join the party, though the names have not been disclosed by the Congress. The Samajwadi Party which was feeling the heat after the BJP took early leads in the campaigning has also got some boost in the form of Swami Prasad Maurya who is considered to have influence in the eastern and central Uttar Pradesh. In Uttar Pradesh after Maurya, Roshan Lal Varma, another BJP MLA -- Brijesh Prajapati from Tindwari in Banda -has said that he has submitted his resignation from the saffron party. Varma, Prajapati and a host of other OBC MLAs met Swami Prasad Maurya to discuss the political situation. The MLAs, including Bhagwati Sharan Sagar from Bilhaur, said that the Yogi Adityanath government is not safeguarding the interests of the farmers, OBCs and other weaker sections of the society. PEOPLE WILL CHOOSE NEXT CM: SIDHU CHANDIGARH: To position himself as the chief ministerial candidate of the Congress in Punjab, state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday said it is the people who will choose the next Chief Minister of the state. Unveiling the first set of plans in his Punjab Model with focus on resurrection of Punjab, Sidhu, in the absence of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and his Cabinet colleagues, told the media here: "Punjab Model is people's model, an effort to give a roadmap to return power to people." British judge rules BR Shetty to pay Barclays $131 mn NEW DELHI/LONDON: Barclays can enforce a $131 million judgment to recover unpaid bills from embattled NMC Health founder B.R. Shetty following the failure of a foreign exchange venture, a British judge has ruled, The National reported. The UK-based international bank had sought to claw back its losses after the businessman's Abu Dhabibased UAE Exchange Centre (UAEEC) reneged on a currency-swap agreement in March 2020 with his empire on the brink of collapse. Barclays gave UAEEC Suspended Police SI found hanging in Palamu more than $129 million in less than a week, but never received the expected currencies in exchange as share trading in parent company Finablr was suspended on the London Stock Exchange amid a massive accounting scandal, the report said. A court in Dubai ruled in favour of the bank in April last year, prompting Barclays to go to the High Court in London to enforce the ruling and tap the cricket lover's frozen assets around the world, the report added. They include his only known English asset, a $5.4 million penthouse close to the Lord's cricket ground in north-west London. The flat is owned by Shetty through a British Virgin Islands company, Multi Skies Ltd, according A worker prepares kite thread, called 'Dor', ahead of the Lohri festival in Amritsar on Tuesday. R-Day celebrations to take place with stricter curbs Further reduction in number of visitors likely NEW DELHI: In wake of the ongoing third wave of COVID19 in the country, the Republic Day celebrations will take place with stricter restrictions than the ones imposed last year with the possibility of further reduction in the number of visitors allowed to witness the parade, said an official from the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday. The officials told ANI that a joint meeting was held by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence and other concerned agencies to discuss the safety and security of visitors during the event. It was decided in the meeting that there will be stricter restrictions during the Republic Day celebrations this year in addition to the restrictions imposed last year. "The route of the parade will be shorter as similar to last year. The marching contingent will end at the India Gate C-Hexagon instead of Red Fort. The Rajpath that has been redeveloped under Central Vista has been opened between Vijay Chowk and India Gate for rehearsal of contingent participating in Republic Day Parade 2022," the official told ANI. "All invitees attending parade at Rajpath on Republic Day have to strictly comply with the COVID-19 advisory that includes temperature check, sanitizer, mask, and social distancing. The decision on making vaccine certificate mandatory for invitees will be decided in the next meeting," he added. The official further informed that just like last year, the entry to the Republic Day parade will strictly be through the invitation card, and added that children below the age of 15 years will not be allowed at the parade. M FAIYAZ AHMAD DALTONGANJ: A sub inspector of police Lalji Yadav was found hanging in the roof top room of the Nawa Bazar police station in Palamu on Tuesday. Yadav was found on Tuesday morning, said SP Palamu Chandan Kumar Sinha. There was found no suicidal note of him said, additional SP K Vijay Shankar. Police will scan his all incoming and outgoing calls, messages and WhatsApp texts to find out the reasons behind his committing suicide. Sources said as he was placed under suspension only on January 5 by the SP Palamu Chandan kr Sinha on charges of dereliction of duties and misbehaviour with the district transport officer in the recent past, a feeling and impression was generated that he committed suicide just because of his suspension and this led to a swell of sympathy from public for him. NH 98 was blocked for few hours and public raised anti SP and anti police slogans. Locals lauding the deceased cop hailed him as messiah of the poor little knowing what other things were raging and ravaging him most. There were fiery speeches by the locals on the suicide of this police officer never seen in the recent past in Palamu. SP Sinha said Yadav took permission from him to go to Burmu police station in Ranchi on January 6 to hand over the charge of the Maal Khana there where he was the OC before being transferred to Palamu. Yadav went to Burmu police station and there he found things too bad for him. Some precious things of the Maal Khana at Burmu police station were missing and this had upset Yadav like anything as he had not yet handed over its charge and now for things missing from the Maal Khana he would be caught and penalised and this fear and anxiety overtook him like anything. SP said Yadav had told his problems at Burmu to his police colleagues in Palamu and Latehar who asked him to report the Burmu Maal Khana episode to the senior police officers and then relax what comes out. Advanced version of BrahMos missile test-fired NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday successfully testfired a naval variant of the advanced supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from a stealth guided-missile destroyer of the Indian Navy. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said the missile hit the designated target "precisely". "Advanced sea to sea variant of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise missile was tested from INS Visakhapatnam today. Missile hit the designated target ship precisely," the DRDO tweeted. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the successful launch of the missile reconfirmed the robustness of the Indian Navy's "mission readiness". "The robustness of @indiannavy mission readiness is reconfirmed today after successful launch of the advanced version of BrahMos Missile from INS Vishakhapatnam today. I con- gratulate the wonderful team work of @indiannavy @DRDO_India & @BrahMosMissile," Singh tweeted. BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms. BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound. Innovation, start-ups will get boost from edu sector NEW DELHI: Our Higher Educational institutions have enormous potential to serve as enablers in the Indian innovation and startup ecosystem said Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Education while addressing E- Symposium On 'Building Innovation Ecosystem In Educational Institutes' organised by Ministry of Education, DPIIT, AICTE and Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education. The Minister also launched a movie on Smart India Hackathon. Singh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shared his vision of building a new and Aatmanirbhar Bharat. "This could be achieved by supportive ecosystem and dedication and efforts of our innovators and entrepreneurs," he added. He stressed that the India of tomorrow should merge the best of our tradition with the best of the modern global outlook. Singh further said, "Our country has one of the largest higher education systems and the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world. We strive to be a knowledge-based economy and this is not possible without innovative sprit and entrepreneurship within our educational institutions." The Minister urged the educational institutions in India to shift their mind-set and create environment that supports high-quality research, innovation, and entrepreneurship leading to commercialization and technology transfer. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh also congratulated the 75 start-ups who were identified by the Ministry of Education as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebration. These 75 startups of students and faculty have developed innovative technologies and have huge potential. The start-ups received funding support upto Rs 10 lakhs each and moreover mentoring and incubation support will also be provided in collaboration with partnering agencies. K Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, Department of Higher Education said, "In India currently we have 2500 Innovation Cell and an additional 5000 cells will be added in the future." He informed that 50,000 teachers under the ambassador program are being trained which will bring huge transformation in education sector. "This is a cul- ture of innovation and these type of events motivate the youth to come forward and showcase new ideas and capabilities," he added. Anita Karwal, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy talked about how India's young minds are focusing more on developing problem-solving skills. She appreciated the huge participation of young girls in such nation and character building events indicating the success of New Education Policy (NEP) 2020's vision of equitable education. MORE ON PG 7