BHUBANESWAR l sunday l february 21, 2021 l `8.00 l PAGES 26 l JEYPORE EDITION Osaka rules Aus Open, wins fourth Grand Slam title The Japanese needed 77 minutes to sweep past Jennifer Brady of the US in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in women’s final sunday blockbuster: the men’s final Novak Djokovic will play for his 18th Grand Slam title while his opponent Medvedev will play for his first when they meet in the Australian Open final on Sunday. Djokovic leads Daniil Medvedev 4-3 in head to head. However, Medvedev seems to be in form with a 20-match winning streak since October — Djokovic too had been one of the casualties | P13 shining star destined for more ■ ■ ■ The 23-year-old becomes only the third player after Monica Seles and Roger Federer to win her first four major finals She had won 2018 US Open, the 2019 Aus Open & 2020 US Open Her win sparked celebration in corona-hit Japan. An astronaut tweeted ‘congratulations’ from international Space Station two Osaka will rise to two in world ranking on Monday 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 Centre, states must work together: Modi Urges synchronisation of the Union and state budgets ; focus on EoDB M A N IS H A N A N D @ New Delhi Steady rise in Covid graph 6,112 New cases in Maharashtra on Saturday Punjab Failure to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour is at the heart of the continuing rise of new cases in Maharashtra this week Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Chhattisgarh 10,000 New cases on an average in Maharashtra when the virus was at its peak earlier A BMC Covid marshal clicking a pic of a maskless girl at a Mumbai local station on Saturday | PTI 44 4 States 75.87% Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and MP, where upsurge has been worrying of the total cases on Saturday are from Maharashtra and Kerala fresh cases in Vidarbha testing, contact tracing to be revived  Vigilance squads formed for surprise raids at wedding parties and other social gatherings  Aggressive Deaths tied to Covid reported in Maharashtra Kerala  Most 101 Deaths reported from across India 23 Deaths reported from Kerala (15) and Punjab (8) in past 24 hours Saying that the youth cannot wait for development any longer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked the states to embark on the reform journey. Speaking at the sixth governing council meeting of the Niti Aayog, the prime minister exhorted chief ministers to align state budgets with the Union budget, asking them to work on their respective pipeline of infrastructure projects, besides setting up task forces to lessen compliance burdens for the people and businesses. Modi said private enterprises, which have shown much enthusiasm, should be embraced by the states for accelerated development. “The focus should be on ease of doing business for the international audience,” said Modi, while making a mention of the liberaliAs a government, we sation of geospatial data, adding had it been done a decade earlier “there also have to would have been a Google from honour this enthusiasm, the India.” energy of the He suggested the synchronisation of private sector the Union and state budgets for multiplier effect. Modi dwelt at length on InNarendra Modi, dia’s bid to become a global manufacPrime Minister turing hub, suggesting states should set up district export promotion councils, while identifying one product each for exporting. “There’s an all round eagerness to push forward with economic development. The youth of the country cannot wait,” Modi said. The Centre, he said, weeded out 1,500 redundant laws and urged all states to do likewise. Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar later said the CMs gave many actionable inputs on which it would work with the ministries. Resilient Odisha cushioned Toolkit doesn’t Covid blow: Economic Survey sow disaffection, E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Odisha’s economy is expected to contract by 4.92 per cent (pc) in 2020-21 but the pandemic’s blow has been cushioned by State government’s effective financial management and governance during the year of health crisis, the State Economic Survey said on Saturday . The contraction in Odisha’s real GSDP growth will be much lower than the 7.7 pc decline projected for the national economy, said the Economic Survey and attributed it to the resilience of the State economy and effective governance measures in managing the pandemic. The period between 2012-13 and 2019-20 points to a positive differential trend in the State’s average annual growth rate. While its growth trajectory has been higher than the national rate, the contraction caused by Covid crisis is lower than the national economy . The Odisha economy grew at an average annual rate of 7.1 pc, higher than the national rate 6.6 pc and 13 other states of the country during eight year period. The Economic Survey also said that the State’s per capita income bettered most of its counterparts in last nine years showing a story of sustained growth and prosperity. The per capita income of Odisha showed a rise from `48,499 (2011-12) to `1,04,566 (2019-20), registering a 115.6 per cent jump over the period. During the same time, national per capita income rose from `63,462 to `1,34,226 registering a 111.51 per cent growth. “This suggests that over about a decade, the per capita income of Odisha has grown faster than national average. Odisha’s per capita income which was about 76.42 pc of the national average in 2011-12 increased to 80.46 pc in 202021. It has been higher than that of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh during the period,” the survey said. Similarly, the average annual growth rate in agriculture (4.42 pc), industry (7.13 pc) and GSDP (7.13 pc) in Odisha clocked a faster growth than the national average. Only in services sector, the State recorded lower growth of 7.11 pc against the country average of CONTINUED ON: P7 7.99 pc. 10th round talks begins, special reps to pick up the thread next M ayan k S i n g h & P u s h k a r B ana k a r @ New Delhi As the 10th round of India-China corps commander-level talks were held on Saturday to disengage troops from other friction points along the line of actual control (LAC), sources indicated that the special representatives of the two countries on the boundary dispute were likely to meet soon. Sources said the two special representatives, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, will meet to iron out the differences in the perception of the LAC. The two special representatives last held a video conference in June last year, setting the ball rolling for the disengagement. They have been in touch ever since, sources said. The 10th round of talks is being held between Lt Gen P G K Menon Military meeting “First a review of the process completed will be taking place and then other sectors where the standoff is taking place will be discussed. The modalities of the disengagement will be dependent on agreements the two sides will reach during the talks,” a senior Army officer said about the Corps Commanders’ meeting and Chinese Major General Lin Liu. “The modalities of the disengagement will be dependent on agreements the two sides will reach during the talks,” a senior Army officer said, adding it was important that a politico-military will to act was demonstrated. Sources said both the governments had taken steps to normalise CONTINUED ON: P7 ties. Disha tells HC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi An online ‘toolkit’ is merely a ‘resource document’, it does not ‘sow disaffection’ and there is no evidence to show the toolkit on farmers’ protest is responsible for the violence on January 26, activist Disha Ravi told a Delhi court on Saturday as she sought bail. “If highlighting the farmers’ protest globally is sedition, I’m better (off) in jail,” Disha said through her lawyer in court, which will give its decision on the bail on Tuesday . The bail plea was strongly opposed by the Delhi Police, which alleged that Disha was preparing the toolkit with those advocating Khalistan and she was part of a global conspiracy to defame India and create unrest in the country in the garb of the farmers’ protest. “This was not just a toolkit. The real plan was to defame India and create unrest here,” the police told additional sessions judge Dharmender Rana. The prosecution also submitted that Disha deleted WhatsApp chats, emails and other evidence and was aware of legal actions she could face. The deletion of chats, the police argued, showed Disha’s ‘guilty mind and sinister design’. These allegations were rejected by Disha’s counsel, who said: “I am 22, from Karnataka. I have no connection with the Khalistan movement. There is no single chat or conversation between me (Disha) and the (banned organisation) Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). And even if I (Disha) meet someone, there is no symbol on him P10 that he is a secessionist.”  EXPRESS READ State revenues up by 7.3 pc: CM Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday maintained that Odisha’s fiscal condition is in a much better position compared to many other states despite the Covid-19 pandemic | P3 WITH THIS ISSUE That Gut Feeling PLUS 12 PAGES Don’t politicise everything, allow elected governments to function, says Naveen E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Sounding a cautionary note over increasing political polarisation in the country, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said this kind of an atmosphere is one of the biggest threats to the pace of development and peace. Addressing the sixth governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog, the Chief Minister said, elections are an essential feature of democracy . “The hallmark of a mature democracy is that once elected, gover nments are meant to work for people, beyond party line. It is high time that we as a country have serious introspection on whether we are able to do the same,” he stated. Pointing at the growing trend of politicisation of issues and happenings, the Chief Minister said, “Every crime is being politicised, every action of an elected government is being seen from a political angle,” and added, “This kind of an atmosphere is one of the biggest threats to the pace of Every crime is being politicised, every action of an elected government is being seen from a political angle. It is high time the country gets out of election mode and allows elected governments to function Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister development and peace in the country. It is high time the country gets out of this election mode and allows elected governments to function.” He called for an unified response and inclusive approach to all major challenges facing the country in the true spirit of cooperative federalism. Citing the Covid-19 pandemic, Naveen said, while the world struggled with the unprecedented challenge, India showed with its unified response what could be possible. “The European countries and the United States could not put up an unified front,” he noted. Referring to the promise made by national parties on passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill both in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, the Chief Minister warned that history will not forgive if this is not fulfilled. He also called upon NITI Aayog to play a leading role in ensuring committed and targeted action for regions which are neglected and populations that are vulnerable. “Specific sections like malnutrition, connectivity and sex ratio imbalances need focus,” he said. The Chief Minister stressed re-evaluation of the pattern of the UPSC, NEET and JEE national level examinations in which lakhs of young people appear every year to ensure merit takes precedence over everything. “Should we not have examinations that focus on equality and attracting merit as opposed to examination patterns that are heavily dependent on highly paid coaching classes,” CONTINUED ON: P7 he asked.