tirupati l thursday l november 25, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION NFHS-5 shows anaemia, obesity rising, fertility rate dipping Over half of Indian women and children anaemic; women likely to bear 2 kids on average, down from the 2.2 fertility rate in 2015-16 SOme Nutritional indicators falling U.P. has highest Fertility rate The 2019-21 National Family Health Survey estimates 67.1% of India’s kids and 57% of women have anaemia, up from 58.6% and 53.1% respectively in the prior 2015-2016 NFHS. Obesity has risen to 22.9% from 18.9% in men and to 24% from 20.6% in women. The data combines figures from two phases of the NFHS-5, with the latest phase covering 14 states & UTs ■ ■ Most countries have a replacement-level fertility rate (at which a population replaces itself across generations) of around 2.1 India’s fertility rate has dipped below the 2.1-mark for the first time, with states’ figures ranging from 1.4 in Chandigarh to 2.4 in Uttar Pradesh. The metric has declined in the majority of states Phase 2 of NFHS-5 covered states such as TN, UP, MP, Punjab and Rajasthan 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 express read Govt to derecognise unviable pvt schools Vijayawada: The Department of School Education has decided to withdraw the recognition of private aided/unaided schools which are having less than 20 or zero enrolment as per Rules issued under the Right to Education Act. An amendment to an earlier GO issued in 2013 stated that any school with less than 20 children was unviable Crash course for govt social media teams New Delhi: An estimated 150 staff members of the social media teams of Union ministers will be trained in a December 4 workshop on more effective outreach on digital platforms, according to a letter written by MyGov CEO Abhishek Singh, IAS, to all ministers’ offices. A larger chunk of the population spends more than 3 hours daily, and this initiative is meant to deepen engagement | P7 Jats revive demand for quota in Uttar Pradesh Lucknow: The Jat community in western Uttar Pradesh is ready to throw its backing behind whichever political party ensures reservation for the powerful voting bloc. Sources in the Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti said a campaign for quota will be launched from Dec 1 in poll-bound UP, Punjab and Uttarakhand | P8 80% terrorists killed in J&K were locals New Delhi: As many as 151 terrorists have been killed Jammu and Kashmir this year, of whom only 21 were foreigners, CRPF officials said on Wednesday. A senior official remarked that this shows radicalism continues to affect the region despite claims of normalcy being restored after abrogation of Article 370 | P8 Free foodgrain scheme gets poll season booster Cabinet decision to benefit 80 cr ration card holders, cost `53,344 crore to the exchequer MA N ISH A N A N D @ New Delhi Staying the course to give the BJP a poll booster ahead of the Assembly elections in five states, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to extend the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana — wherein 5 kg of foodgrains per person is given each month — till March 2022. The Cabinet also approved the legislative proposal to repeal the three contentious farm laws enacted by Parliament last year, to give effect to the Prime Minister’s recent announcement, which was also aimed at mitigating the potential electoral damage to the BJP in poll-bound states. PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, announced in the wake of the imposition of nationwide lockdown last year, will cost the exchequer a whopping `2.60 lakh crore, with its fifth phase from December 2021 to March 2022 alone costing `53,344 crore. The BJP-led government at the Centre had started giving poll cushion to the party after the outcome of the largest byelections in which the saffron outfit saw reversals in Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, and R a j a s t h a n w i t h M a d hya Pradesh being the sole excep- tion. The decision to reduce the excise duty on petrol and diesel was the first major step, which was followed up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the repeal of the three contentious farm laws. The legislative proposals to amend the list of the scheduled tribes for Uttar Pradesh and Tripura are also on the cards. PM Garib Kalyan Yojana claims to cover 80 crore people in its ambit and is running uninterrupted since April 2020, with the first four phases witnessing allocation of 600 lakh tonnes of foodgrains to states and Union territories. The Centre is currently on an infrastructure inauguration and foundation-laying spree in UP, with the PM slated to lay the foundation of the Jewar international airport in the state on Thursday. He had unveiled the Pooravanchal expressway recently . Four out of five states heading for the Assembly elections during February-March 2022 are currently ruled by the BJP, with the Congress being the main rival of the saffron outfit in Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Punjab. The crucial state of Uttar Pradesh is bracing for a multi-cornered contest. CABINET CLEARS BILL TO REPEAL FARM BILLS Briefing reporters about the Cabinet decisions in New Delhi on Wednesday, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said the formalities to give effect to repealing the three contentious farm laws have been completed and the repeal bill will be brought before both the Houses of Parliament at the earliest. The winter session of Parliament will commence on Monday Flash floods in Cheyyeru River’s catchment area destroyed several houses at Thogurpeta in Nandaluru, Rajampeta mandal, of Kadapa district | sri krishna kummara Floods recede, villagers return to pick up pieces and begin life afresh had receded and villagers who @ Thogurpeta (Kadapa) left Thogurpeta to save their lives, returned to their village Completely or partially col- only to find themselves homelapsed houses, household arti- less and helpless as all their becles strewn all over the place, longings were washed away in mud-filled houses and people the floods. salvaging whatever they can At least 40 houses collapsed from the rubble are some of the in two hamlets under Thogurpscenes in the villages affected eta panchayat. Having lost all by Cheyyeru deluge. their belongings, the flood-hit   Following unprecedented villagers are now surviving rains on November 18 and 19 with the relief material and under the influence of depres- food being provided by some sion, inflows into Annamayya NGOs. project on Cheyyeru increased The district administration abnormally resulting , has provided an aid in the breach of its of `2,000 and essenbund. tials commodities  At least 12 villages worth `3,800 to the downstream of the Ground report flood victims. Annamayya project They include 25 kg in Rajampet mandal of rice, 1 kg of red were devastated by the deluge. gram, 1 kg of potatoes, 1 kg of “Between 4:30 and 6:30 am on onions and 1 litre of cooking November 19, floodwater from oil. The meagre aid seems to be Cheyyeru engulfed our village highly inadequate to the flooddestroying all that came in its hit villagers who lost everyway. T he floodwater has thing, which they earned over touched the roof of houses. It the years. does not take much time for our . “Though the district adminhouses to collapse like a pack istration distributed essentials, of cards due to the intensity of we have no earthen oven or kerdeluge,” 60-year-old Anasuyam- osene stove to cook the food,” ma of Thogurpeta told TNIE said another victim, narrating when it visited the village on their plight. Wednesday to study the ground The villagers virtually have situation. nothing to meet their basic P4 By afternoon, the flood water needs.  Sri Krishna Kummara AP govt restricts movie screenings to four a day poration (FDC) will maintain the online portal and the financial transactions will be settled The Andhra Pradesh Assem- the same day through an RBI bly on Wednesday passed the gateway,” he said. He mainAP Cinemas (Re gulation) tained that the portal would en(Amendment) Bill 2021, paving sure transparency . way for the online sale of movLater, speaking to reporters, ie tickets. The amendment also the minister said the objective restricted the screening in the- of legislation was to protect the atres to four shows a day . people from being exploited, Information and Public Rela- taking advantage of their craze tions Minister Perni Venkatra- for a film or hero. maiah said the State “Some are criticishas introduced a ing what the governOnline ticket seamless online ment has to do with sale movie booking systhe sale of cinema Once the software tem, similar to the tickets and why it is is ready, tickets in Indian Railways’ onbothered when the 1,100-odd cinema line ticketing mechseller and the buyer theatres will be sold are not worried about anism, to enhance online on the lines the movie-theatre the price . It is the experience. Once the of Railway ticketing bounden responsibilsystem por tal goes live, ity of the gover nmovie-goers could ment to protect the book tickets of their choice people from being exploited in over the phone or via internet any manner,” he said. or SMS. Venkatramaiah clarified that He said the new system would the State would not be involved do away with long queues, un- in the commercial transactions necessary journeys and disap- and the FDC would solely be repointment over non-availabili- sponsible for maintaining the ty of tickets. It would also check website. He said meetings with black-marketing and tax eva- all stakeholders would finalise sion, thereby helping the reve- the software and once ready, nue department collect GST tickets in the State’s 1,100 odd and other taxes on time. cinema theatres would be sold P5 “The Film Development Cor- online.  E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada @ Vijayawada Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 8,488 12,510 249 7,579 12,202 236 statewide Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths Samples tested Nov 23 nov 24 196 264 242 247 1 1 26,119 31,987 `6,054.29 40 Estimated loss cr Deaths 25 People still missing 20 cm Highest single-day rain fall recorded at Peddamandyam in Chittoor on November 19 95,949 Families affected 1,402 Villages affected 69,616 Rain-hit people in relief shelters 324 Relief camps 19,832 People yet to receive essential commodities Forecast Heavy rains likely on November 26, 27, 28, and 29 in Nellore and Prakasam districts The Centre should support Andhra Pradesh by extending financial assistance liberally to assist rain-affected people and restore the damaged infrastructure —YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister Provide `1,000 cr interim relief, Jagan writes to PM E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Pegging the total loss due to heavy rains and subsequent floods at `6,054.29 crore, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday dashed off separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging the Centre to provide an interim relief of `1,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh and depute an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to Rayalaseema and Nellore to assess the damage. Jagan informed that heavy to very heavy rains lashed southern part of AP under the influence of depression formed in the Bay of Bengal on Novem- ber 18, which crossed the coast on November 19. “The four south coastal districts and Rayalaseema received 11.1 cm rainfall from November 13 to 20 as against the normal rainfall of 3.2 cm with an excess of 255.5%. On November 19, the highest rainfall of 20 cm was recorded in Peddamandyam mandal of Chittoor district, followed by Galiveedu in Kadapa with 19.3 cm and Nallacheruvu in Anantapur with 17.8 cm,’’ he said. The Chief Minister further informed that heavy rains lashed Tirupati, Tirumala, Nellore, Madanapalle, Rajampet and other places inundating low-lying areas and disrupting P4 the normal life.  Unprecedented rains led to bund breach: Officials E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e NATIONWIDE Nov 22 Nov 23 Trail of destruction Pipeline of dirt Sleuths of the Anti-Corruption Bureau take out cash and jewels hidden in a drainage pipe at the Kalaburagi, Karnataka home of a PWD junior engineer in a raid that was part of a crackdown on 15 govt officials in the state | Special Arrangement | P5 Explaining the circumstances that led to flooding of villages downstream of Annamayya project on Cheyyeru last Friday (November 19) following a breach to its bund, to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at a review meeting on Wednesday, officials, led by Kadapa District Collector V Vijayarama Raju said unprecedented heavy rains in a short span of time had led to flooding of almost all irrigation projects. At 8.30 am on November 18, Pincha project had inflows of just 3,845 cusecs and between 6 and 8.30 pm on the same day , they increased to 90,464 cusecs. In 24 hours (from 8 am on Thursday), 50 mandals of the district received an average rainfall of 10.7 cm. Further, the rains that lashed Seshachalam Hills in Tirupati and other parts of Chittoor district led to heavy inflows into Cheyyeru catchment area. Heavy rains in Piler and Rayachoti at the same CM’s dig at TDP govt CM Jagan Mohan Reddy blamed the negligence of the previous TDP regime in strengthening Annamayya project for the breach of the bund time increased the inflows abnormally. Pincha is the first project on Cheyyeru, followed by Annamayya located in the downstream. Discharge capacity of Pincha is 48,000 cusecs only and on November 18, it received more than 50,000 cusecs and similar discharge rate was observed at Annamayya project. On November 18 midnight, the inflows into Pincha touched 1.17 lakh cusecs, which is more than 2.5 times. In the early hours of Friday, the Pincha project breached and the floodwater rushed downstream to Annamayya P5 project.  p a n i c s e l l - o ff Crypto recovers after crash as clarity on wriggle-room emerges d i pa k m o nd a l @ New Delhi More clarity emerged on the proposed cryptocurrency bill to be tabled in Parliament as various government and industry sources claimed that the government may not go for a blanket ban, and instead may allow some digital currencies with proper regulations. With experts doubting the possibility of a blanket ban, cryptocurrenciers in India recovered sharply after witnessing a 25% drop on Monday night and early morning trade on Tuesday. Most cryptocur- rencies were trading 8-10% lower than their 24-hour peak. Bitcoin, which had touched a low of `33.21 lakh during the past 24 hours, recovered the losses and traded above `41 lakh at the time of filing this report. It was still trading 10% lower than the 24-hour high of `46.51 lakh. The idea that cryptocurrencies would be banned by the government stemmed from the agenda of the bill listed for the winter session of Parliament. But many industry players Only one or two cryptos will survive, says Rajan Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday said that most of the cryptocurrencies will perish and only one or two out of the 6,000odd cryptocurrencies will survive. “If things have value only because they will be pricier down the line, that’s a bubble,” he said in an interview to a channel. “Cryptos may pose the same problem as unregulated chit funds, which take money from people and go bust, a lot of people holding crypto assets are going to be aggrieved,” he added and government officials told this newspaper that the bill has been reintroduced (after the government failed to table it in the monsoon session) with an unchanged agenda, and that the bill has undergone several changes ever since. A senior finance ministry official said the gover nment has been planning to come out with specific rules for taxing gains from cryptocurrencies, and if it had to ban them, there was no need for such an exercise. Ashish Singhal, founder and CEO of CoinSwitch Kuber, a crypto exchange, says: “Our discussions over the last few weeks indicate there is broad agreement on ensuring customers are protected, financial system stability is reinforced and India is able to take advantage of the crypto technology revolution.” Exchanges have asked the investors to not panic and take hasty decisions. CoinDCX told its investors that that it’s “positive” that smart and sensible regulations will follow.