visakhapatnam l thursday l february 25, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION stadium gets a new name India take control of the third Test against England after a grand opening ceremony and foundation stone laying event of the Motera sports complex big stage President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the world’s largest cricket stadium and renamed it Narendra Modi stadium leading to a controversy. However, the govt later clarified that it’s only the cricket arena that has been renamed; the whole complex is still named after Sardar Patel rahul jibe Congress leader Rahul Gandhi got an opportunity to land a punch after the surprise renaming. “Beautiful how the truth reveals itself. Narendra Modi stadium — Adani end — Reliance end. With Jay Shah presiding,” he tweeted, with the hashtag ‘HumDoHumareDo’ patel sixer Once again, Axar Patel showed his guile picking up six wickets for 38, including the scalps of Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow & Ben Foakes. England were all out for 112 on a turning track. This is his second fifer in three innings. He took five wickets in the second innings of the second Test starting gear India’s approach was clear. Fight out the most challenging session and get going on Thursday. Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill shelved the shots. Although they ended up losing Gill, Pujara and Kohli, Rohit got going at the first sight of opportunity to take India to 99/3 India skipper Virat Kohli introduces his team to President Ram Nath Kovind and home minister Amit Shah before the Test | BCCI | P11 11 talking points on the field n England all-rounder Ben Stokes was seen applying saliva on the ball. The incident took place at the end of the 12th over, prompting umpire Nitin Menon to have a chat with him. The ball was sanitised n third-umpiring decisions went against England much to their Two The number of black and red soil pitches in the Centre n fan ran on the the ground breaching bio-bubble protocols A Australian firm Populous, which designed the MCG among others, is the architect of the stadium chagrin. To be fair to the visitors, they had a point with at least one of those appeals — the stumping of Rohit Sharma 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 60+? 45+ with co-morbidities? Your jab window opens on March 1 The CBSE syllabus for classes 1 to 7 in government schools will be introduced from the academic year 2021-22. It will be gradually extended to the next classes yearwise. Classes 1 to 10 will come under CBSE by 2024 YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister Pvt sector to participate in vax campaign S u m i S u k a n ya D u t ta @ New Delhi The Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the launch of Covid-19 vaccination for the third priority group from March 1, which includes people above 60 years and those above 45 years with comorbidities, and involves the private sector. The vaccines will be administered at 10,000 government facilities free of cost and at 20,000 paid private facilities. The cost of the vaccines at private hospitals will be decided in three-four days after a meeting with manufacturers and representatives of hospitals, said Union minister Prakash Javadekar. “From March 1, people above 60 years of age and those above 45 years of age with comorbidities will be vaccinated at 10,000 government and over 20,000 private vaccination centres. The vaccine will be given free of cost at government centres,” said Javadekar in a press briefing on the Cabinet’s decisions. The government is yet to make public the clinical criteria for those with underlying conditions to qualify for vaccinations against coronavirus but sources in the Union health ministry told this newspaper that these include diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. The underlying conditions have been defined by a special panel of doctors appointed by the government and are likely to be released within the next few days. Officials also said that portability facilities will be offered for the vaccination, which means that the beneficiaries can get the jabs anywhere in India after registering on CoWin app and furnishing required documents at the time of vaccine administration. “At the time of registration on CoWin, beneficiaries will be allotted a slot and will have a bunch of hospitals to choose from. For this purpose, the app is being updated,” said a senior ministry official. He added that the CoWin portal is being integrated with the Aarogya Setu app for ease of registration for beneficiaries. There are two approved Covid-19 vaccines in India, one each by the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech. However, the government is yet to clarify whether the third priority group can choose its jab brand. Key questions Who will get the vaccine? People above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities What are the comorbidties recognised for prioritisation? Diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, but final word is yet to be out What is the process of taking the vaccine? You first need to register on CoWin App. It will ask you for your choice of hospital. You then need to select an available day/time slot. If you miss an assigned slot, you can register again What papers are needed before taking the shot? At the site of vaccine administration, you need to submit proof of age through a valid government ID. For those in the comorbid group, proof of comorbidity is required What will be the cost of vaccines? It is free at govt hospitals. At private hospitals, you need to pay the price fixed by manufacturers and overhead cost charged by the hospital for administering the shot. There will be more clarity soon dictionary in vidya kanuka kit for students English to Telugu dictionary will be added to Vidya Kanuka kit for the benefit of students. Teachers will also be provided dictionaries. All the items to be given under Vidya Kanuka should be of good quality. Similarly, students who opt for laptops under the Amma Vodi scheme, should be given devices of high configuration. Buildings will be constructed for 390 schools, which do not have pucca structures in the State. The first phase of Mana Badi Nadu Nedu works should be completed by the end of March. Further changes should be made in the second phase of Nadu Nedu works, the Chief Minister said CBSE syllabus for classes 1 to 7 in govt schools in State from 2021-22 E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @Vijayawada The State government has decided to introduce the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus for classes 1 to 10 in a phased manner. “The CBSE syllabus for classes 1 to 7 in government schools will be introduced from the academic year 2021-22. It will be gradually extended to the next classes year-wise. Classes 1 to 10 will come under the CBSE system by 2024,” Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said, at a review meeting on implementation of ‘Mana Badi Nadu Nedu’ in the State. Speaking to TNIE, Education Minister Audimulapu Suresh said the Chief Minister wanted not just standard infrastructure in government schools, but quality standards in cur- riculum. “For this, he suggested that CBSE syllabus be introduced in the State from the next academic year in a phased manner. Accordingly, CBSE syllabus will be introduced for classes 1 to 7 from 2021-22,’’ he said. During the review meeting, Jagan directed officials to add English to Telugu dictionary to Vidya Kanuka kit. “The quality of books should be on par with those given in private schools,’’ Anganwadi teachers to get training The CM said Anganwadi teachers should be given training in teaching and online tests should be conducted for them. The teachers should improve their skills with the help of training sessions, he said Govt biz bar lifted for private banks: FM E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi THE Centre on Wednesday decided to lift the embargo on granting government-related business to private banks. Till now, gover nment banking transactions were done only through public-sector banks and select private banks such as Axis Bank. The decision, announced by Finance Minister Nir mala Sitharaman, will open the doors for the private sector to participate in government-related banking transactions run- ning into lakhs of or crores, such as taxes and other revenue payment facilities, pension payments, small savings schemes. In 2012, RBI had allowed private sector banks to act as agency banks but the move was not supported by the then government, which put an embargo on extending governmentbusiness to private banks. Now the government has decided to lift the embargo to push its privatisation drive. Bankers have welcomed the move. Uday Kotak, chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, “It will enable the banking sec- Level playing field Private banks will get to handle government transactions such as: l Tax payments l Revenue receipts and payments on behalf of the Centre as well as State governments l Pension payments in respect of Central and State governments l Work related to Small Savings Schemes, the commission for which is borne by the Centre l Defence transactions tor to serve customers better.” Meanwhile, bank unions opposed the government’s decision saying it is unfair and to the disadvantage of public sector banks, which have to meet social banking obligations. “If the government will distribute their business to private banks, the ability of public sector banks to lend to weaker and priority sectors on concessional rates of interest will become difficult because the government’s business helps these banks to balance the cost,” said C H Venkatachalam, general secretary AIBEA. , express read Kashmir only dispute with India, says Imran Govt has no business to be in business: Modi Colombo: Pakistan PM Imran Khan said on Wednesday that Kashmir is the only dispute with India and it can only be resolved through dialogue. Addressing the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Trade and Investment Conference, he said he approached India for talks but nothing came to pass | P7 New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday on Wednesday made his strongest pitch for privatisation of nonstrategic PSUs, saying the government has no business to be in business. He said 100 under-utilised assets with PSUs will be monetised Biden not in favour of Taliban rule in Afghanistan Washington: US President Joe Biden would not be okay if the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, the White House has said. The US and the Taliban had reached an agreement in February 2020 calling for a permanent ceasefire, peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government, and a withdrawal of all foreign forces by May 1. There are about 2,500 US troops in the war-torn country | P9 Rahul The Fisherman In what was a Putin moment, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi jumped into the sea to join fishermen toiling for their catch off Kollam coast in Kerala on Wednesday | PTI Pullback win-win, China’s creeping Girl murdered by classmate, students forward playbook won’t work: Gen want to punish surrendered accused atrocity in narasaraopet M AYANK S IN G H @ New Delhi Army Chief General M M Naravane on Wednesday said China’s known strategy of nibbling into neighbouring territory slowly, like it did in the South China Sea, will not work with India. “I think more than anything else what we have achieved is to show that this strategy will not work with us,” the General said referring to the recent recipro- cal disengagement at Pangong lake in Ladakh after a standoff that lasted more than nine months. He was giving a talk on the “Role of the Indian Army in dealing with the contemporary national security challenges” at a Delhi-based think tank, Vivekananda International Foundation. “China has been in the habit of creeping forward making very small incremental changes where in each change by Strategies in place to deal with pending issues Army Chief Gen Naravane spoke about the existing trust deficit, which makes India wary of China’s intentions. “Going forward there are... pending issues in the areas of Eastern Ladakh (like Depsang, Gogra, Hotspring, Demchok); also pending issues in other areas along the Line of Control. But we have our strategies in place for that,” he said itself was not very big or worthy of a very strong reaction.” And because of the very small incremental moves that were never contested, it has been able to achieve its aims without firing a shot or any loss of life, he pointed out. Gen Naravane described the Pangong disengagement as a win-win for both sides, adding it was achieved as all the organs of the government worked in tandem. “As a result of this whole approach, disengagement has taken place. I think it is a very good end result. It is a win-win situation, and I think for any agreement to last both sides should feel that they have achieved something,” he said, adding it’s the outcome of 10 rounds of military-level talks. E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Guntur Vishnuvardhan Reddy, accused in murder of K Anusha I File photo `10L ex gratia announced Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced an ex gratia of `10 lakh for K Anusha and assured her family that stern action will be taken against the accused. The government will extend all support to the girl’s family, the Chief Minister said. A degree second year girl of a private college in Narasaraopet was murdered by her classmate on Wednesday. The girl was strangled to death and her body was thrown into a canal by the accused, who later surrendered to police. The murder triggered protests in the town. According to the police, Kota Anusha (19) of Gollapadu village in Muppala mandal was studying BSc second year in Krishnaveni Degree and PG College in Narasaraopet. Anusha was last seen leaving the college on the bike of her classmate Vishnuvardhan Reddy (19) of Pamidipadu village in Bollapalli mandal in the morning. The girl’s murder came to light after Vishnuvardhan Reddy surrendered to police. Narasaraopet Rural Circle Inspector M Veera Reddy said based on the confession of the accused, they retrieved the body of Anusha from Govindapuram stream in Palapadu. “ Vi s h n u v a r d h a n R e d d y claimed that he had acquaintance with Anusha, but he grew suspicious that she started maintaining distance from him for the past two months. He took Anusha to Palapadu on the pretext of having a talk and murdered her,” the CI said. As the news of the girl’s murder spread, her family members and students gathered and staged a protest in the town demanding that the accused be P5 handed over to them. he said and instructed the officials to provide dictionaries to teachers also. “All the items to be given under Vidya Kanuka should be of good quality. Similarly, those who opt for laptops under the Amma Vodi scheme, should be given devices of high configuration,” he stressed. The Chief Minister directed the officials to construct buildings for 390 schools, which do not have pucca structures in the State. “The first phase of Mana Badi Nadu Nedu works should be completed by the end of March,” he emphasised. Examining the photos of government schools which were revamped under the Nadu Nedu scheme, Jagan said the schools should be more colourful with good designs and inteP4 riors. fuel bill Petrol price hike results in thrust to e-bike sales Sistla Dakshina Murthy @Vijayawada With the prices of petrol inching closer to `100 per litre, the demand for battery operated scooters is on the rise as people want to save on fuel cost. As a result, the sale of e-scooters has increased considerably in the city Pro. spective buyers of two-wheelers are also evincing interest in purchasing e-scooters and making enquiries about vehicles in the local showrooms. At present, there are five escooter showrooms in Vijayawada. Naanyasri Electric Vehicles showroom on BRTS Road in the city has sold about 150 e-scooters since November, which shows the rise in demand for battery operated vehicles. The number of enquiries from prospective buyers about e-scooters has also witnessed a three-fold rise from 10 to 15 a day People are increasingly . preferring personal twowheeler transport due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Almost three years ago, we started the showroom to promote the use of battery operated vehicles in Vijayawada. The business was nominal till September 2020 and we used to sell 10 to 15 vehicles a month. Thanks to skyrocketing prices of petrol, people started evincing interest in buying e-scooters which do not require vehicle registration and a driving licence,” Deepthi Parepalli, Chief Executive Officer of Naanyasri Electric Vehicles showroom, P4 told TNIE. crash Tiger woods survives, career in doubt Tiger Woods was lucky to be alive with multiple fractures, according to those present at the crash site, but might jeopardise his career | P11