HYDERABAD  WEDNESDAY  DECEMBER 23, 2020  `7.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION ‘AIR POLLUTION KILLED 1.7 LAKH INDIANS IN 2019’ 1.4% GDP LOST DUE TO POOR AIR QUALITY As much as 18% of the total deaths last year were due to air pollution, says a new paper published in Lancet Planetary Health According to the paper, air pollution shrank India’s GDP by 1.4%. However, the study found household air pollution decreased in India, resulting in 64% drop in the death rate attributable to it between 1990 and 2019. ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava attributed this to govt schemes such as the ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’ and ‘Unnat Chulha Abhiyan’ `2.6 lakh cr NORTHERN STATES BIGGEST LOSERS ■ ■ The scientific paper noted that the economic loss due to air pollution as a percentage of the state GDP was higher in the northern and central India states, with the highest in Uttar Pradesh (2.2% of the GDP) and Bihar (2% of the GDP) Delhi had the highest per-capita economic loss at $62 P7 LOSS TO ECONOMY AS PREMATURE DEATHS SHRANK INDIA’S PRODUCTIVITY 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 20 fliers from UK positive, Nov 25 start date for scan THE FRESH CASELOAD  Six of those who tested positive were on a flight that landed in Delhi at 11.30 pm on Monday; two in Kolkata on Sunday night; four in Ahmedabad on Tuesday; and eight, in Amritsar, including a crew member. All had taken direct Air India flights from London Flight ban kicks in; detailed SOP issued to states to track passengers; samples of all those infected will be subjected to spike gene test S U M I S U K A N YA D U T TA @ New Delhi WITH at least 20 fliers from the UK testing positive for Covid-19 upon their arrival in India on Tuesday, the government tightened its screening protocol a day after announcing a temporary flight ban, as a new variant of the virus in Britain is creating havoc. To do so, the Centre opened the window for tracking incoming fliers from November 25 by sharing with all states the full list of international arrivals from the UK since that date. The list includes those who transited via Britain as well. Fliers who arrived between November 25 and December 8 need to be contacted by the district surveillance officers and advised to self-monitor their health. Those with symptoms must be administered the RTPCR test and if they test positive, their genetic sequencing must be done, the standard operating procedure said. As for those who arrived between December 9 and 23, district surveillance officers have to track them daily till 14 days after their arrival in India. The new variant is estimated by the European Center for Disease Control to be more transmissible and affecting the younger population, the SOP pointed out. The variant has a set of 17 changes or mutations. The ban on flights from the UK comes into effect from Wednesday and will continue till December 31. Fliers arriving from the UK on Monday-Tuesday will be mandatorily subjected to RT-PCR tests and those testing positive quarantined institutionally . Samples collected from positive patients will be subjected to spike gene-based RT-PCR tests in appropriate labs to assess whether they carry the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 identified in the UK. If anyone has the new variant, the patient will remain in a separate isolation unit. All others will follow the normal treatment protocol, the advisory said. Those who contract the new variant, too, will get treatment as per the existing protocol. They will take a repeat test on the 14th day after the initial positive test. In the sample is still positive, further samples may be taken until two consecutive samples taken 24 hours P7 apart test negative. Passengers arriving from UK at the Chennai International Terminal being taken to quarantine centres | ASHWIN PRASATH  In Kolkata, those sitting near the two passengers who tested positive were asked to stay in home isolation for two weeks  Screening process IN the first major electoral exercise after Article 370 revocation, the Gupkar Alliance on Tuesday emerged the single largest group in the District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu & Kashmir. Notably the BJP made inroads , and won three seats in Muslim-majority Kashmir — in Srinagar, Bandipora and Pulwama. In the 280 DDC seats, elections for which was held in eight phases, People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration comprising NC, PDP, PC, ANC, JKPM, CPI and CPM was ahead in 116 seats (86 won and leading in 30 seats). The BJP has emerged as the single largest party It was . ahead in 73 seats, having won 65 seats and leading in eight others. The independents have emerged as the third dominant force with 55 seats (36 won and leading in 19). Top leaders of Gupkar Alliance, which was formed in October to fight for Article 370 restoration, had stayed away from the poll campaign and let the second-rung leaders lead the campaigning. PDP leader Waheed Para, who was arrested by NIA last month in militancy-related case, won the polls even without campaigning from his hometown Pulwama seat. However, the Gupkar Alliance suffered a major setback Party BJP J&K NC Independent J&K PDP INC JKAP JKPC CPI (M) JKPM PDF BSP JKNPP Total Result awaited Total DDC seats Seats Won 65 54 39 25 20 10 6 5 3 1 1 1 231 49 280 in Srinagar, where it got only three seats. Independents emerged a dominant force in Srinagar with seven seats followed by J&K Apni Party with thee seats and the BJP one. While the PAGD contested the polls on the plank to demand restoration of Article 370 and statehood, BJP fought the polls on the plank of development and asserted that Article 370 had gone forever and cannot be restored. The Congress, which initially aligned with PAGD but later ended its alliance with PAGD, was ahead in 25 seats (18 won and leading in seven). The J&K Apni Party of influential businessman and for mer PDP leader Altaf Bukhari won nine seats and was leading in five. CHINESE smartphone manufacturing major, Oppo has announced setting up of a 5G Innovation Lab at its Hyderabad R&D centre. The new lab will intensify the development of core product technologies for the 5G ecosystem and accelerate its rollout in the country . Oppo will also be setting up three more functional labs dedicated to camera, power & battery and performance in order to continue fulfilling its commitment to ground-breaking innovation. nations that have barred flight from Britain We are yet to spot such a virus in our country. We will be safe if we suppress the genomic sequence Dr V K Paul, NITI Aayog member (Health) Telangana monitoring health of 358 UK returnees D O N I TA J O S E @ Hyderabad IN the wake of mutant a Covid-19 virus scare, the Telangana Health Department has begun an intensive surveillance programme to track down travellers coming from the United Kingdom. The State government has identified 358 individuals who came from the UK from December 15 till date and is monitoring their health as per guidelines given by Central government. Meanwhile, seven individuals arrived here on Tuesday on one of the last flights, post the announcement of a ban on flights from the UK, and all of them tested negative for Covid-19. The government, however, as a precaution- ary measure will continue to keep them in institutional quarantine. “The surveillance system is active at the moment. The State has seen flights coming in from the UK, four times a week via direct and connecting flights. The Central government will soon be sharing a list of all those INSIDE NO SPL PERMISSION FOR STUDENTS DURING HOLIDAYS: BRITISH ENVOY I P3 O I S H A N I M O J U M D E R @ Hyderabad RESULTS OUT 40 took many hours, resulting in a bit of chaos and confusion at airports Another emphatic endorsement of the innovation ecosystem in Hyderabad KT Rama Rao, IT & Industries Minister These labs will focus on creating the latest and the most advanced technologies for the world. Indian team will also be leading innovations for other countries including Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Japan and Europe. Commenting on the launch of the 5G lab, Tasleem Arif, vice-president and head of R&D, Oppo India, said: “5G development is a key focus area for Oppo and our R&D facility is working round the clock towards strengthening India’s technology base.” “With this lab setup, while we work towards developing core technologies for the 5G era and strengthen the overall ecosystem, we also aim to support India in its 5G journey. The who arrived between December 9 and 23 to monitor the health condition of the travellers,” explained Dr G Srinivas Rao, Director of Public Health, Telangana. While reassuring people that there is no need to panic, he said that one has to be cautious and continue following the Covid-19 prevention protocols. CONTINUED ON P4 TS SLASHES PRICES OF RT-PCR TESTS I P4 Gupkar Alliance leads Oppo sets up 5G lab at its Hyd R&D centre in 116 J&K DDC seats F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar India is part of about technologies developed at the lab will mark a global footprint while promising our vision to make India an innovation hub,” he added. As of September, 2020, Oppo has submitted over 3,000 5G standard-related proposals to 3GPP declared over 1,000 fami, lies of 5G standard patents to the ETSI. The brand, according to Japanese research institution NGB Corporation, is among the top 10 companies regarding the number of declared 5G patent families. It has deployed its 5G standard patents in over 20 countries. 13K VOLUNTEERS RECRUITED Bharat Biotech achieved a milestone in clinical trials of Covaxin, reaching the halfway mark of its targeted goal of 26,000 participants | P4 CBSE exams won’t be held before Feb EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi CENTAL Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations for classes 10 and 12 will not be held until February 2021, Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said during an interaction with teachers on Tuesday . “I received a lot of requests from students and teachers to postpone the CBSE exams for classes 10 and 12,” the minister tweeted. He said the board exams would be held later, but did not specify dates saying it would be announced soon. Unlike classes, the board exams would not be held online since “many schools are in rural areas”, the minister said. “CBSE board exams will be conducted on a reduced syllabus,” the minister said, adding that 30% of the total syllabus for the exams has been scrapped. There will also be 33% internal choice in the exam, he added. AGRARIAN UNREST Farmer unions to decide on talks today MODERN MARVEL An artist’s impression of Telangana’s first-ever skywalk to be built at the busy Uppal Junction in Hyderabad. The structure, being described as the second engineering marvel in the city after the Durgam Cheruvu cable bridge, will be 660-metre long | P3 New Delhi: Protesting farmer unions deferred a decision on the Centre’s offer for fresh talks to Wednesday, even as Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar expressed hope the impasse will be resolved soon | P7 Kerala guv says no to special House session T’Puram: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has declined approval for a special Assembly session planned on Wednesday by the Left front government to discuss and pass a resolution against the contentious central farm laws