YK MYK BALANCING GROWTH, INFLATION IS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE IN BUDGET OPINION Rs. 5 RANCHI FRIDAY, 21 JAN, 2022 PG-12, YEAR—11, ISSUE—252 (RNI NO: JHAENG / 2012 / 44137) AT A GLANCE CENTRE TO RELEASE RS 47,541 CRORE TO STATES AS ADVANCE INSTALMENT OF TAX NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has authorised the release of an advance instalment of tax devolution to State Governments amounting to Rs 47,541 crore, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday. "This is in addition to the regular devolution for the month of January 2022, also being released today," the ministry said in a statement. Thus, States would receive a total of Rs 95,082 crore or double their respective entitlement during the month of January 2022. The Government of India had released the first advance instalment of tax devolution amounting to Rs 47,541 crore to States on 22 November 2021. INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRES BRAHMOS MISSILE BALASORE: India successfully test-fired supersonic cruise missile Brahmos off the Odisha coast here on Thursday, DRDO sources said. With new added technologies, including the control system, the missile was test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) launch pad-III at Chandipur around 10.45 am, said a source at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The detailed data is being analysed analysis, the source said. EPFO ADDS 13.95 LAKH SUBSCRIBERS IN NOVEMBER 2021 NEW DELHI: Retirement fund body EPFO added 13.95 lakh subscribers on a net basis in November 2021, an increase of nearly 38 per cent compared to the year-ago period, according to the latest payroll data. The provisional payroll data of EPFO showed that there was an addition of 13.95 lakh net subscribers in November last year. This is a rise of 2.85 lakh or a growth rate of 25.65 per cent. CORONA METER INDIA TOTAL CASES: 38,218,773 TOTAL DEATHS: 487,719 WORLD TOTAL CASES: 340,120,476 TOTAL DEATHS: 5,586,044 IND VS SA, 2ND ODI: INDIA HOPE TO PUT UP BETTER BATTING SHOW SPORTS Morning India At 3.17L cases, India reports 12% single-day rise JHARKHAND GOVT REDUCES PRICES OF RTPCR AND RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS NEW DELHI: India reported 3,17,532 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours, a substantial rise of around 12 per cent from the previous day, said the Union ministry of health and family welfare on Thursday. On Wednesday, India had reported 2,82,970 new Covid cases, a rise of over 18 per cent from the previous day's count, and on Tuesday, 2,38,018 new infections were registered. A total 491 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours on Thursday taking the toll to 4,87,693. The active caseload has jumped to 19,24,051 which constitutes 5.03 per cent of the country's total positive cases. The Omicron infection tally has risen to 9,287 across the nation, an increase of 3.63 per cent from Wednesday. The recovery of 2,23,990 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 3,58,07,029. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 93.69 per cent. Also in the same period, a total of 19,35,180 tests were conducted across the country. India has so far conducted over 70.93 crore cumulative RANCHI: Jharkhand government decreased the RT-PCR testing rates from Rs 400 to Rs 300 and Rapid Antigen testing rates from Rs 150 to Rs 50 on Thursday, as per a government order. An additional charge of Rs 100 will have to be given for a home visit to collect the samples. The decision was taken after seeing a drop in prices of the kits and prices of testing witnessed in other states of the country. The order will be applicable with immediate effect. The current upsurge in Covid cases is not causing severe illness and deaths following the high uptake of Covid vaccines, Indian Council of Medical Research chief Dr Balram Bhargava said on Thursday. Adressing the media on current Covid surge, he said that the vaccine remains beneficial and deaths have considerably reduced as compared to the second Covid surge. PG 5 A healthcare worker inoculates a senior citizen with a precautionary dose of COVID-19 vaccine, in Chennai on Thursday. ANI tests. Meanwhile, the weekly positivity rate has climbed to 16.06 per cent amid a sudden spike in cases. The daily positivity rate has declined to 16.41 per cent. With the administration of over 73 lakhs vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's Covid inoculation coverage has reached 159.67 crore as of Thursday morning. More than 12.72 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered, according to the health ministry as of Thursday morning. BIOPHORE RECEIVES SUB-LICENSE TO MANUFACTURE MOLNUPIRAVIR HYDERABAD: Biophore India Pharmaceuticals on Thursday announced that it has received license from Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) on behalf of originator company MSD, a trade name of Merck to manufacture and market Molnupiravir API and finished product in capsule form. The Hyderabad-based company said that the development of the product is complete and is gearing up for launch based on this licence within the next one week. The licence received by Biophore enables the company to launch the product within India as well as export to 104 other countries around the world, the company said in a statement. For the Indian market, the company has already received the relevant regulatory approvals from DCGI. ‘RESERVATION IS NOT AT ODDS WITH MERIT’ SC upholds OBC quota in medical courses NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Central government to provide 27 per cent reservation for OBC and 10 per cent to economically weaker sections (EWS) in All India quota (AIQ) seats in medical courses, saying that reservation is not at odds with the merit, rather furthers its distributive impact. A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said: "Competitive exams do not reflect economic social advantage which is accrued to some classes. Merit should be socially contextualised." Pronouncing detailed reasons for its decision, the top court said, "Reservation is not at odds with merit but furthers it's distributive impact." Citing that when a matter involves constitutional interpretation, the bench said the judicial propriety will not allow the court to stay the quota, in the backdrop that counselling has not commenced. A group of petitioners led by Neil Aurelio Nunes moved the top court challenging Centre's July 29, 2021 notification to implement OBC and EWS reservation in NEET-All India Quota from the current academic session in the postgraduate courses. The top court emphasised that judicial intervention at this stage will further delay the admission process this year, and it would also trigger litigation. "We are still in midst of the pandemic and thus the nation needs doctors," the bench said. The apex court also declared that Pradeep Jain judgement can't be read to mean no reservation in AIQ seats. In connection with the EWS quota, the top court said the petitioners' argument was not limited to the quota in AIQ, but it was also on the criteria adopted by the Central government. Emphasising that this aspect requires detailed hearing, the bench fixed it for further hearing in the third week of March this year. The detailed judgement will be uploaded later in the day. SL Navy rams and sinks TN fishing boat, 7 fishermen rescued CHENNAI: A Sri Lankan Naval boat rammed into Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu damaging the boat that developed cracks and sank. Seven fishermen, who were on-board the sinking boat were rescued by other fishermen. The incident occurred on Wednesday late at night. The All Mechanised Boat Fishermen's association president, P. Sesuraja while speak- ing to mediapersons said, "450 boats from Rameswaram area ventured into the sea after 4 p.m. on Wednesday. While they were fishing near Katchatheevu, a Sri Lankan Naval boat reached the spot and rammed it into a fishing boat creating a crack in the boat, and ultimately it sank in the waters. "It's a huge loss but fortunately, the fishermen raised a distress alarm, and those fishing nearby rescued them. While no lives were lost, this is a continuing phenomenon and we are driven to the wall. The State and Central governments have to take a call soon and diplomatic pressure should be mounted up on the Lankans against such incidents. We will have no other way but to enter into blockades to bring this issue to the national notice." PoJK calls Modi for help MD ADHUNIK POWER PRODUCED BEFORE NIA COURT A VIDEO has gone viral on social media where a Kashmiri refuge by the name of Malik Waseem from Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir and currently living in Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), can be seen begging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rescue him and his family from the "zulm" (cruelty) they face from the PoJK government.Here is the story of this hapless man. In 1947 his family migrated to PoJK and were allotted a house in Muzaffarabad. At the time there were thousands of RANCHI: Managing director of Adhinik Power Mahesh Agrawal was produced before the special NIA court on Thursday and was subsequently sent to jail under judicial custody. It may be stated here that NIA has filed a charge-sheet against Aggrawal and other accused persons in terror funding case. It is learnt that NIA is seeking three days remand of Agrawal. Agrawal was arrested from Kolkata. —Sanjay Sahay empty properties that originally belonged to those Hindus and Sikhs who were either massacred during the 1947-48 communal genocide or had somehow managed to escape to Jammu. These properties were confiscated by the government and a department of Matrooka Emlak or abandoned properties was set up. It was in these properties that the Kashmiri refuges were housed and over a period of a few years were given ownership rights. Over decades the prices of these properties soared from a few thousand ruppees to crores. Influential people are allegedly bribing the local government officials who deal with real estate to change the ownerships of the properties to a middleman and then buy it of them. When the local police came to evict Waseem and his family the police produced a document that said the property was under the ownership of a different person. On January 18, Waseem was forcefully evicted from his property along with young children and women members of the family. INDIAN ARMY CONTACTS CHINESE PLA Seeks return of abducted Arunachal youth ITANAGAR: The Indian Army through hotline has contacted the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and sought return of abducted Arunachal Pradesh teenager Miram Taron, defence sources said on Thursday. A defence PRO tweeted: "17-yr-old youth Miram Tarom of Zido, Arunachal Pradesh, was reportedly captured by the PLA across the LAC. On receipt of info, Indian Army imdtly contacted PLA through a hotline. Assistance from PLA has been sought to locate and return him as per protocol." An Arunachal Pradesh government official said here that the state government had also sought the Defence Ministry's intervention to ensure the safe return of the youth. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that the Defence Ministry through diplomatic channels took up the matter with the Chinese authority. "I am hopeful that the youth would be released and return to his village soon," the Chief Minister told the media on Thursday. Arunachal Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Minister Alo Libang, also a local BJP MLA, said that he is optimistic that the youth would be returned very soon. The Chinese Army reportedly abducted Tarom from the Indian territory where China had constructed 3-4 km road in 2018. The incident was reported from Upper Siang district on January 18. His friend, who managed to escape, reported the matter to the authorities and brought it to the notice of Tapir Gao, an MP from the Arunachal East parliamentary constituency.