KALABURAGI  MONDAY  FEBRUARY 01, 2021  `7.00  PAGES 28  CITY EDITION 1 IN EVERY 4 INDIANS EXPOSED TO CORONAVIRUS: SEROSURVEY 25% of the population has shown evidence of past infection of Covid19, the third national serosurvey done by ICMR has revealed CITIES CLOSE TO ACHIEVING HERD IMMUNITY? EPIDEMIC TO WEAKEN AT 70% EXPOSURE The survey estimates India’s actual Covid-19 infection size at 30 crore though the number of confirmed cases stands at just over 1 crore. “The figures are much higher in many cities, strengthening the epidemiological theory that some cities may be approaching herd immunity as evident in the falling daily numbers of new cases,” an official told TNIE | P7 The serosurvey carried out in Dec and Jan tested blood samples of 400 randomly selected persons from 70 districts across 22 states ■ Scientists and researchers in many countries have estimated that the coronavirus epidemic will slow down rapidly when 60-70% of the population in an area gets exposed to the virus and recovers ■ 37,44,334 VACCINATED AGAINST COVID AS ON SUNDAY, ACCORDING TO UNION HEALTH MINISTRY 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 COMMITTED TO PM’s DIGNITY, KISAN’S SELF-RESPECT: TIKAIT WOULD FM TICK THESE CHECKBOXES TODAY?  No radical change in income tax slabs, but expect some tax breaks for the salaried class Modi says country saddened by insult to the Tricolour at Red Fort on Republic Day EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi Farmers raise slogans during their ongoing protest against the new farm laws, at the Singhu border, in Delhi on Sunday | SHEKHAR YADAV Another senior journalist booked by UP Police Suspension of internet undemocratic: Morcha The UP Police lodged an FIR against The Wire’s editor Siddharth Varadarajan who had tweeted the story of the family of Navreet Singh, a protester who died on Republic Day. The family disputed the police claim that he died after his tractor rammed a barricade The morcha condemned the arrests of journalists, and the suspension of internet services at protest sites. “It (govt) is also fearful of the coordinated work of the farmers’ unions across different protest sites... This is undemocratic and illegal,” it said in a statement A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government was just a phone call away to talk to the farmers’ unions, the Tikait brothers said they will honour Modi’s dignity while also being committed to protecting their self-respect. Bharatiya Kisan Union leaders Naresh and Rakesh Tikait said they were open to talks to find a middle path, but their definition of a middle ground was different from what the Centre has in mind. “Talks are necessary A solution should be . found. These farmers have been protesting for over two months now.... The middle path could be that the Centre assures farmers it won’t implement the three laws during its tenure. We will also try convincing the farmers,” Naresh said. As for Rakesh Tikait, he said farmers would not succumb to pressure but they don’t want the government or Parliament to ‘bow down to them’ either, adding they respect Modi’s dignity Rakesh demanded the re. lease of farmer leaders to pre- pare a conducive environment for talks. While the Tikaits are part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmers’ unions, their position was more nuanced than the blunt statements of the morcha so far. The morcha on Sunday formed a committee to trace those who went missing after the Republic Day tractor rally . In his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi expressed dismay at the riots that day and the ‘insult’ to the Tricolour by a mob that had entered the Red Fort complex to plant a religious flag. The Tikait brothers echoed him but saw a plot in the violence. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police sent over 50 fresh notices to people, including farmer leaders, officials said. Police said some tractors used during the violence have been identified and notices were sent to their owners. The police are also conducting investigations at several locations outside Delhi, including Punjab and Haryana, to locate the people involved in P7 the riots. Sasikala leaves hospital SIDE-EFFECTS Immunity boosters in car with AIADMK flag for children not advisable, say docs EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru EXPELLED AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, who was a close associate of former Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa, was given a rousing welcome by hundreds of her supporters at Victoria Hospital, from where she was discharged around noon on Sunday Interestingly the SUV ferry. , ing her had an AIADMK flag. After a week’s stay at a resort on the outskirts of the city Sasika, la will head to Tamil Nadu, where Assembly elections will be held in a few months. Soon after the news of her discharge from the hospital was confirmed, over 200 supporters gathered at the hospital around 9 am to welcome her. They were holding photos of Jayalalithaa and Sasikala. Around 11 am, Sasikala’s nephew T T V Dinakaran entered the hospital and almost an hour later, Sasikala was driven out of the hospital. By this time, almost a thousand people had gathered. Some had come from as far as Kanyakumari. Wearing a mask and gloves, Sasikala waved to her support- I F F AT H F AT H I M A @ Bengaluru V K Sasikala greets supporters as she leaves Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday | SHRIRAM BN ers from the car and bowed to them with folded hands. They welcomed her by showering flowers on the car, chanting ‘Vazhga Chinnamma’ (Hail Chinnamma). Some also smashed pumpkins to ward off any evil eye on their leader. A convoy of 7-8 cars followed Sasikala’s vehicle, which, according to her followers, was the same one which was used by Jayalalithaa. As the SUV moved from Victoria Hospital towards KR Market Junction, around 10 private bodyguards ran alongside the vehicle while some of them clung on to it. P5 WITH parents scouting for immunity boosters for their children in the hope of keeping Covid-19 at bay, pharmacies have seen a spike in demand. But experts warn that it could do more harm than good to those aged below five — including inducing conditions like arthritis and rheumatism at an earlier stage in life. With the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic, many worried parents have been asking health professionals for immunityboosting supplements, like vitamin C, D and zinc supplements for children. But experts say a well-balanced meal for children between 0-5 years of age is more than enough to give them adequate immunity . They warn that apart from early arthritis and rheumatism, children can be vulnerable to side-effects like severe mouth ulcers, fever, disturbance in growth, red eyes and muscle pain. Children should not have lesser or higher immunity but adequate immunity is what is im, P3 portant, the point out. WITH THIS ISSUE THE ESSENTIAL CAMPUS DIGEST YOUR LIFE COACH 28 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF edex (TABLOID) HOLY COW! Wrestling body gifted buffalo worth `1.5 lakh F I R O Z M I R Z A @ Chennai RECEIVING weird gifts for their accomplishments is not new for athletes. Tennis legend Roger Federer was gifted a cow, not once but twice, by the Swiss Open Gstaad. The 23rd Senior Women’s National Wrestling Championship in Agra on Sunday witnessed a similar incident, but this time it’s the governing body that ended up with the gift. In its bid to felicitate the best wrestler of the tournament, a sponsor on Sunday offered to gift a buffalo worth around `1.5 lakh. With the event not having an award in that category, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) decided to accept the gift on behalf of the wrestlers. “A local sponsor wanted to gift the buffalo to the best wrestler. Given the format in which the competition was being organised, every weight category (total 10) has a gold winner so it was not possible to pick the best among them,” Vinod Tomar, WFI’s assistant secretary told this daily , . After much deliberation, the animal was eventually gifted to WFI, he added. Sources claimed that around `15,000 was spent only on the decoration of the buffalo that was brought to the venue with much fanfare. So what’s next? Even the federation is not sure what to do with the gift. A WFI source revealed that the animal might be transport- ed to WFI’s headquarters in New Delhi. The federation runs its office from president Brijbhushan Sharan Singh’s official residence in Delhi. Singh is a BJP MP from Kaiserganj, Uttar Pradesh. The buffalo which was gifted to the Wrestling Federation of India in Agra on Sunday | SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT BUDGET 2021-22 We can see a Budget which is a budget like never before. 100 years of India wouldn’t have seen a Budget being made postpandemic like this FM Nirmala Sitharaman during her address to the CII Partnership Summit 2020 on January 5 11:00 am Budget presentation begins  Budget may increase tax rebate under Section 80C and 80D from `1.5 L to `2 L  Standard deduction limit likely to be doubled to `1 Lakh increasing the exemption for health expenses  Higher tax rebate likely for firsttime home buyers  Government to fix some anomalies in the National Pension Scheme with regard to income tax benefits  Covid-19 cess to raise revenue on the cards J1,19,847 cr  Increasing tax on long-term capital gains from equity and property is a possibility  Further increase in import duty on sin goods and luxury items  Spending more on health infrastructure is a given, by how much more is the question  Budget is likely to set up a separate bank for infrastructure sector  More privatisation drive of PSUs, privatisation of electricity distribution expected  Substantial increase in defence outlay to deal with a belligerent China  Atmanirbhar overdrive to push indigenisation and accelerate growth January GST collection, the highest monthly mop-up so far. Came as a sentiment booster a day before the Budget K’taka pins hopes on Central dues A N U S H A R A V I @ Bengaluru WITH Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman all set to present the Union Budget for 2021-2022 on Monday, Karnataka is hoping to get its dues in Central grants as well as proportionate infrastructure funding. While earlier in January, the state’s representative on the GST Council and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had apprised Nirmala Sitharaman about the state’s expectations, officials in the government hope there are no cuts in fund allocation to the state in the form of centrally sponsored projects, grant-in aids, devolution of funds from the 15th Finance Commission, GST compensation and big-ticket infrastructure projects. “We expect the Centre to allocate our share of funds to us in the Budget. We are also hopeful of policy decisions on ease of doing business, simplification, relaxation for industries, reforms in licensing and registration, encouragement for entrepreneurship,” said Deputy CM Dr C N Ashwath Narayan. P5