MANGALURU  THURSDAY  OCTOBER 22, 2020  `7.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION 16.7 LAKH INDIANS DIED IN 2019 DUE TO AIR POLLUTION: STUDY Outdoor and household particulate matter pollution contributed to the death of 1.16 lakh infants in the first month of their life CAUSES STROKE, HEART ATTACK, LUNG CANCER LARGEST RISK FACTOR FOR DEATH More than half of these deaths were associated with outdoor PM2.5 and others were linked to the use of solid fuels such as charcoal, wood, and animal dung for cooking. Long-term exposure to outdoor and household air pollution contributed to deaths from stroke, heart attack, diabetes, lung cancer, chronic lung diseases and neonatal diseases, the report said ■ ■ The new analysis reported in the State of Global Air this year says air pollution is now the largest risk factor for death Particulate air pollution exposure during pregnancy is linked to low birth weight and pre-term birth, which can trigger serious complications that may lead to death 21% OF NEONATAL DEATHS ATTRIBUTABLE TO AMBIENT / HOUSEHOLD AIR POLLUTION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI CM takes stock of flood damage PM will meet 15 funding agencies RAMKRISHNA BADSESHI @ Kalaburagi Foreign investors look up to India for stable returns, to tap long-term opportunities here EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra will soon meet 15 leading global fund houses which are keen to invest in India, Tarun Bajaj, secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), said on Wednesday . “Fund houses from all over the world are in touch with us and want us to provide good assets with stable returns,” Bajaj said while addressing a virtual event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry . The decision follows conversations between funds and the Indian government on longterm investment opportunities here. The announcement also comes on a day when RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said India is at the cusp of an economic recovery . Bajaj, however, did not reveal names of the funds which would be meeting the PM. The DEA secretary added that the government was looking at channelising domestic savings and domestic assets. “There is a lot of capital available in the country and now it’s increasing unlike 10 years ago, when money was not available. For instance, the government is in talks with regulators to tinker rules to allow Employees Provident Fund to put money in the infra sector,” the official said. He also revealed that the Union Cabinet will soon consider a new public sector enterprises policy which will allow for the , privatisation of the public sector enterprises. “It is an open secret, but till it gets the stamp of the Cabinet we are not satisfied. It should happen very soon,” Bajaj said, adding monetisation of assets is a focus area of the government and that it is getting a lot of traction. He said the government has been able to privatise six airports, and now the Airports Authority of India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation are ready with six more airports. GOVT OPEN TO MORE STIMULUS The Modi govt is open to further stimulus measures to boost the coronavirus-hit economy, Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj said Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa being briefed about the extent of damage caused due to rain and flooding, during an aerial survey of affected districts | EXPRESS Oppn demands activist’s release, repeal of UAPA E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Bengaluru OPPOSITION leaders on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the 83-year-old tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, who has been booked under the UAPA in the Bhima Koregaon case, and demanded that he be released and the stringent law repealed. They also urged the people to break their silence on what they called the government’s efforts to muffle the voices of the weaker sections of society . Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren condemned the arrest of Swamy the rights activist from his state, by the Na, tional Investigation Agency (NIA). Soren was joined by other leading political leaders of the Opposition parties, who condemned the arrest of Swamy at a virtual press conference organised by the People’s Union for Civil Continued on: P5 Liberties (PUCL) on Wednesday . AS the water level in the swollen Bhima river, which has caused extensive damage to standing crop and properties, began to recede, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday surveyed the devastation caused in the North Karnataka districts during an aerial survey . The situation remains grim as around six lakh cusecs of water is being released into the Bhima river from dams in Ma- EXPRESS READ Bihar polls: EC frets as parties flout Covid norms New Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday took “serious view” of violations in social distancing and mask norms during poll campaigning. It said CEOs would be expected to invoke penal provisions against violators. P8 SBI offers 25 bps concession on home loans Mumbai: SBI on Wednesday announced concession of up to 25 basis points (bps) on its home loan rates. Customers will get an interest concession of 25 bps on loan of above Rs 75 lakh, based on their CIBIL score and if they are applying via YONO. harashtra, and the Ar my, NDRF, SDRF personnel and the local administration have been directed to be on high alert. During the survey of flood-hit areas in Kalaburgi, Bidar and Raichur in an Indian Air Force helicopter, the CM witnessed the damage to standing crops and properties. Due to bad weather conditions, he had to cancel his plans to take stock of the situation in other parts of Kalaburgi and also visit to Vijayapura. After his marathon meetings for over three hours with senior officers from the flood-hit districts at Kalaburgi airport, the CM said he cannot announce any fresh compensation due to the Model Code of Conduct in force for the legislative council and bypolls to assembly segments on November 3. He, however, directed the officials to take up relief works as per NDRF and SDRF norms, to ensure adequate supply of food and medicines in relief camps, and prevent outbreak of communicable diseases. P4 Govt relaxes onion import norms, to offload more stock EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi/Mumbai WITH onion prices going north because of heavy rains damaging standing crops in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the Centre on Wednesday announced easing of its import norms till December 15. India is already importing onions from Egypt and Iran. While Maharashtra’s popular Lasalgaon variety of big onions fetches a retail price of `90-100 per kg, the Egypt and Iran consignments come at half the cost — `40-50. The downside is the imported va- rieties aren’t as hot on the palate as the Indian ones. The Consumer Affairs Ministry said it will offload more onion from its buffer stock into the open market to contain the price rise. An estimated kharif crop of 37 lakh tonnes is likely to start arriving in the mandis and soften prices, it added. The ministry said, “The government has relaxed the conditions for fumigation and additional declaration on Phytosanitary Certificate (PSC) under the Plant Quarantine Order (PQ), 2003 for import up to December 15, 2020.”