SCRAP 5% 4-6% Manufacturer discount THAT PAYS A voluntary scrappage scheme for personal vehicles from 2024 and heavy commercial vehicles from 2023 promises discounts on new buys. A look made 100 Scrapping centres to betwo years operational in the next ■ TOLL BOOTHS TO MAKE WAY FOR GPS-BASED COLLECTION Physical plazas will be done away with in a year as Centre will use GPS imaging to collect highway levy through FASTag While new vehicles are FASTag-enabled by the manufacturers, the older ones would get the RFID tags for free from the Centre, said transport minister Nitin Gadkari. He said 93% users were paying the levy through the tag ever since it was made mandatory on February 16. Those not complying will face the heat for toll theft and GST evasion, he added Steep hike in FCs for vehicles that are older than 15 years ■ OLD VEHICLES TO GET FREE FASTag A GST cut on new vehicles, whose buyers have scrapped their old cars ■ HUBBALLI FRIDAY MARCH 19, 2021 `7.00 PAGES 12 CITY EDITION Road tax rebate of up to 25% for personal vehicles and up to 15% for commercial vehicles by states proposed Registration fees may be waived for the new vehicle against the scrapping certificate ■ Of ex-showroom price of a new car as scrap value for the older one SCRAP CENTRES MUST ■ Comply with environmental and pollution norms and with all applicable Acts ■ Have adequate parking facility, de-pollution equipment for air, water and sound pollution and adequate facilities for hazardous waste disposal 35,000 JOBS LIKELY TO BE CREATED DUE TO THE SCRAPPAGE POLICY 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 PM’s nationalism pitch targets Didi Modi recalls Mamata’s critical take on Army during Pulwama blast in J&K in 2019 and the Balakot counterattack; slams her for calling 2008 Batla House shootout a fake encounter P R O N A B M O N D A L @ Kolkata A medical worker carries swab samples during a Covid-19 testing drive near the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station in Bengaluru on Thursday | SHRIRAM BN State readies to fight second wave, musters all resources E X P R ESS N E WS S E RV I C E @ Bengaluru AS fresh cases of Covid-19 continue to surge with every passing day, the State Government has shifted gears and is reintroducing measures taken during the peak of the pandemic last year, to prevent a possible seco n d w ave a n d m i t i g a t e its impact. For the next 50 days, doctors, healthcare workers and officials will work in mission mode to take preventive measures as well as to ramp up the vaccination drive. “If we vaccinate senior citizens and those aged above 45 with comorbidities, we can mitigate the second wave,” Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Thursday after taking stock of the situation at a meeting with the heads of government hospitals in Bengaluru. The government has set an ambitious target of vaccinating three lakh people per day . The Covid War Room, which was started last year, will be reactivated for real-time monitor- ing of the situation, contact tracing, creating micro-containment zones, earmarking of beds in government hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients, besides reviving the Covid Care Centres (CCC) and roping in private hospitals. The government has decided to earmark 1,000 beds in government hospitals for treating Covid-19 patients in anticipation of a rise in cases. Officials will hold the first round of discussion with private hospitals in the next two days to reserve beds for Covid-19 patients. “If the infection spreads further, we will rope in private hospitals to ensure availability of adequate number of beds,” he said. The Health Minister said that they are now anticipating a possible second wave and preparing to fight it. “We also have the advantage of vaccines now, which we didn’t have last year. People should follow precautions and should not let their guard down,” Dr Sudhakar stressed. CONTINUED ON: P3 PREPARING FOR THE SURGE GOVT HOSPITALS BMCRI, Victoria Hospital: To increase beds from 160 to 300 Sir CV Raman General Hospital: 100 of 250 beds for Covid patients KC General: 70 general Covid beds + 50 ICU beds Govt hospitals in and around B’luru to upgrade capacity Govt to take a call on reserving 50% beds in private hospitals COVID CARE CENTRES 3 centres used as CCCs will start by this weekend Each centre to have a minimum of 100 beds BBMP has finalised HAL’s Command and Control Centre, National Games Village and Haj Bhavan BBMP to deploy staff at CCCs Health, zonal officers to ensure facilities are in place More CCCs may be opened if required, but not at BIEC REVIVING the BJP’s nationalism plank, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cited the Pulwama terror attack in J&K and the subsequent airstrike deep inside Pakistan’s Balakot to put West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the back foot for criticising the Army earlier. Modi also recalled Mamata pitching the Batla House shootout in 2008 as a fake encounter, a narrative that was negated by a Delhi court convicting a terrorist and awarding capital punishment in the case recently . “The people of Bengal have not forgotten who you stood with after the Pulwama attack and criticised the Army No one . has forgotten how Mamata Didi and a few other parties reacted when the Batla House encounter took place. These people stood with the terrorists at that time and raised questions on the encounter. A court recently convicted one of the terrorists and sentenced him to capital punishment,’’ said Modi, while addressing a rally in Junglemahal’s Purulia district. Turning to the alleged extortion and cut money issues that have smeared the reputation of the ruling Trinamool Congress, Modi said, “BJP believes in DBT, which stands for direct bank transfer, whereas Didi believes in TMC, which is transfer my commission. TMC’s days are numbered in Bengal.” Referring to the foot injury Mamata sustained while on her campaign trail in Nandigram, the PM said, “Like millions of The Trinamool has created a new breed of Maoists in Bengal who loot public money. The money is meant for poor people. Didi’s government has patronised Maoist violence Narendra Modi, Prime Minister other women, for me, Didi is also a daughter of the nation. When she got injured, I was worried. I pray for her speedy recovery .” Referring to the khela hobe (there will be a game) one-liner Future tense as Delhi HC validates Singapore verdict in Amazon case B I S M A H M A L I K @ Bengaluru DEBT-riddled Future Group, led by its embattled founder Kishore Biyani, suffered a major setback after the Delhi High Court upheld an emergency arbitration (EA) award delivered by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre last year. The EA had put on hold a `24,713-crore deal between Reliance and Future Group. Delivering the verdict on an appeal filed by e-commerce giant Amazon, a single judge bench of Justice J R Midha on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to Biyani and other FRL promoters, asking them why they shouldn’t be detained in prison for violating the EA order. Ordering the attachment of their assets, the HC directed Biyani and others to furnish additional details of their assets. Maintaining that the EA order was enforceable under Section 17(2) of the Indian Arbitra- tion and Conciliation Act, Justice Midha criticised Biyani and other promoters for wilfully disobeying it. While directing the Biyani to appear in person for the next hearing in April, the HC said that the Singapore’s emergency arbitrator had rightly invoked the group of company doctrine and re- strained Future Group from selling its assets to Reliance. Biyani and FRL have been directed to stop further action in seeking regulatory approval to the RIL-FRL deal and bring on record all the actions taken for furtherance of the deal after the EA order was passed in October last. FRL had approached NCLAT to get the deal with RIL cleared in a bid to save its retail, warehousing and logistics businesses, reeling under a debt of `13,000 crore. Amazon, which owns a 49% stake in FRL’s promoter entity Future Coupons, argued that Biyani had violated a contract, restraining the firm from entering into any shareholding arrang ement with rival companies, including Reliance. The whole thrust of the respondents before this court is that the petitioner (Amazon) is a trillion-dollar company and D1,430 crore invested by them in the present case is peanuts for them and they should forget about this money as it is worth zero today - Delhi HC Mamata is making at every public rally, Modi said, “Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole chaakri hobe. Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole shiksha hobe. Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole vikas hobe. Khela sesh hobe, vikas aarambh hobe (Didi says there will be a game. BJP says, there will be employment, education, development and education. The game will over over and development will begin.” Modi also accused Mamata of encouraging West Bengal’s Maoists, who have waged war against the country for her po, litical gain. Castigating her for playing the politics of religion, Modi said, “After practicing politics of appeasement in Bengal, suddenly there seems to be a change in Didi. This is not transformation of the soul. This is fear of defeat.” EXPRESS READ Putin points at US after Biden’s remark MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that US President Joe Biden’s remarks about him reflect the past and current problems of the US. Biden was asked in an interview whether he thought Putin was a killer and replied ‘I do.’ Asked about Biden’s comment during a video call, Putin charged that it reflected the United States’ own troubled history. Govt bats for All India Judicial Service NEW DELHI: A “properly framed” All India Judicial Service (AIJS) on the lines of other all-India services such as IAS and IPS is important to strengthen the overall justice delivery system, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The service will give an opportunity for induction of qualified legal talent, as well as address the issue of social inclusion. Two lakh garment workers lost jobs, many others stare at loss of income Ex-CEA quits, pressure on Univ to take back Mehta A S H W I N I M S R I PA D @ Bengaluru JUST when things had started looking up for garment workers, a possible second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has brought back fears of income loss yet again. Garment workers, most of them women, were among the worst hit last year, as around two lakh of them lost their jobs, with garment units closing down and many laying off workers. As per estimates, there are around 1,500 garment factories in the state, of which more than 900 are in Bengaluru. According to Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar, in his reply to Tiptur MLA B C Nagesh in the Assembly, more than 2.85 lakh women were working in 983 garment units as of last year. Many of the units shut down and the total number of women workers has now dropped to less than one lakh. He also said that cases have been booked against 239 people (owners) for not providing minimum wages to women Top court should have bench in Bengaluru: MP E X P R ESS N E WS S E RV I C E @ Bengaluru The BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, K C Ramamurthy on , Thursday pitched for setting up a bench of the Supreme Court in Bengaluru. The former cop-turnedMP, who raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday , reasoned that litigants were hesitant to approach the apex court owing to the distance, inability to afford transportation cost, and high fees of advocates. “There is a dire need for the SC to set up its appellate benches in four regions of the country. In the South, Bengaluru will be the P5 ideal place,” he said. employees. This apart, notices have been served to 396 garment units for not providing facilities to women employees as per rules. Hebbar told The New Indian Express that the USA, the UAE and European countries are the major markets for the garment units in Karnataka, especially those in Bengaluru. “Ever since the pandemic hit, followed by a lockdown, they were not able to export garments. Also, they could not take up fresh orders as they did not have storage space. This has been a major issue. However, for the last couple of months, things are improving and they have started work,’’ P5 he said. vate capital, can no longer provide space for academic expression and freedom”. THE faculty and students at the Mehta, who quit as the uniAshoka University isversity’s vice-chansued strong statements cellor two years ago, in support of political in an email to his stucommentator Pratap dents on Wednesday Bhanu Mehta, who reevening — a day after signed from the unihe resigned — had versity two days ago hinted that a discusciting infringement on sion with the univeracademic freedom, and Pratap Bhanu Mehta sity regarding the demanded that the in“prevailing circumstitution ask him to join back. stances” led to his exit. A day after Mehta’s exit, not“The decision to leave ed economist and former chief Ashoka was not an easy one, economic advisor Arvind Sub- especially because of the exramanian put in his papers, ru- ceptional quality of students I ing that the institution “even have been privileged to teach,” with its private status and pri- he wrote. “But after discussions EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi ‘TROUBLING HE FELT COMPELLED TO LEAVE’ “That someone of such integrity and eminence, who embodied the vision underlying Ashoka, felt compelled to leave is troubling,” Arvind Subramanian said in his resignation letter to vicechancellor Malabika Sarkar with the university about the prevailing circumstances, it became clear to me that it was best to move on. Hence, I took the decision to resign.” The faculty of the university , in a letter to the chancellor Malabika Sarkar on Thursday said, “it is not only an occasion for sorrow over the departure of a deeply respected and admired colleague, it also raises urgent questions about the university’s commitment to academic freedom as well as the internal processes.” It is plausible that Mehta’s resignation was a consequence of his role as a public intellectual and a government critic, P8 the faculy said. JUDICIAL SENSITIVITY SC slaps high court on the wrist over rakhi-for-bail order K A N U S A R D A @ New Delhi TERMING the Madhya Pradesh High Court order last year that had asked a man accused of sexual assault to have a rakhi tied by the victim to get bail, as a judicial stereotype, the Supreme Court on Thursday set it aside and issued a slew of guidelines on gender sensitivity in judicial approach. A bench comprising justices A M Khanwilkar and S Ravindra Bhatt said, “Judges play — at all levels — a vital role as teachers and thought leaders. It is their role to be impartial in words and action, at all times. If they falter, especially in gender related crimes, they imperil fairness and inflict great cruelty in the casual blindness to the despair of the survivors.” The judgment came on a plea filed by nine woman lawyers who had challenged the high court’s directive saying such bail orders have the effect of trivialising sexual offences. “Using rakhi tying as a condition for bail, transforms a molester into a brother, by a judicial mandate,” the judgment read. “This is wholly unaccept- able, and has the effect of diluting and eroding the offence of sexual harassment. The act perpetrated on the survivor constitutes an offence in law, and is not a minor transgression that can be remedied by way of an apology, rendering community service, tying a rakhi or presenting a gift to the survivor, or even promising to marry her, as the case may be,” the 24-page judgment stated. The bench while issuing a set of directions to the trial courts and high courts, also stressed the need to include gender sensitisation in the curriculum as well training of judicial officers in National Judicial Academy on this subject. The syllabi and content of such courses shall be framed after due consultation with domain experts, preferably within three months, the verdict said adding that the use of language and appropriate words and phrases should be emphasized as part of this training.
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