TIRUCHY  THURSDAY  NOVEMBER 25, 2021  `7.00  PAGES 14  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 Orange alert issued for Chennai on Nov 27, 28 Chennai: The Regional Meteorological Centre has issued an orange alert for Chennai on November 27 and 28 as heavy to very heavy rains are expected to lash the city. The alert has been sounded for Cuddalore, Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur. P5 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 No memorial, Jaya’s house to go to legal heirs scheme gets poll season booster R S I V A K U M A R @ Chennai Cabinet decision to benefit 80 cr ration card holders, cost `53,344 crore to the exchequer M A N I S H 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 THE Madras High Court on Wednesday set aside orders for acquisition of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s Veda Nilayam residence to convert it into a memorial. The court said the acquisition of the property in the posh Poes Garden locality does not serve any public purpose, and noted that the procedural lapses in the acquisition process were oblivious to the rights of the property’s rightful legal heirs. Justice N Seshasayee delivered the verdict seven months after reserving orders on a batch of petitions filed by Jayalalithaa’s niece J Deepa and SANS STARS, INDIA FACE NEW ZEALAND With Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Md Shami, Rishabh Pant rested, Ajinkya Rahane leads an under-strength Team India against World Test champions at Green Park in first Test Thursday | P11 ‘Heirs neglected during acquisition proceedings’ In a 123-page judgment, Justice N Seshasayee found that both the petitioners were not given an opportunity to participate in the land acquisition proceedings though they have been declared as the heirs of the former chief minister EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi WEST Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi but skipped meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi, triggering speculation about her future political moves. “Why should we meet Sonia every time? It is not constitutionally mandated,” the Trinamool supremo quipped when asked about not calling on the Congress chief. Talking to reporters, Mamata said she invited Modi to inaugurate the Bengal Global Summit (BGS) in Kolkata in April next year and that the PM accepted the invite, adding that political differences should not impact Centre-state ties. During the meeting with the PM, she raised the issues of BSF’s territorial jurisdiction, central debts to states, political violence in Tripura, and the crisis faced by jute industry in West Bengal. “I have requested the Prime Minister to inaugurate morial. Are not providing welfare measures without any personal gain the duty of any Government? At any rate do the reasons cited explain why there ought to be a second memorial for the same leader?” the judge asked. The court observed that the government must demonstrate the intended object of acquisition is useful to the public and justifies the public expenditure. Referring to the issue of expenditure of public money, he said that as a prudent manager of public funds it is the duty of the government to deploy public money where the investment fetches tangible returns to the public at large. P4 Covaxin showed 50% efficacy in 2nd wave A Lancet study among 2,714 hospital workers at AIIMS in Delhi showed that Covaxin is only 50% effective against symptomatic Covid-19, down from 77.8% efficacy shown in interim result of Phase 3 trial JAB-O-METER TAKE YOUR SHOT Nov 23 68,35,617 doses Nov 24 79,65,803 doses TOTAL DOSES 119,27,78,005 NATIONWIDE NOV 23 NOV 24 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday | PTI BGS. We are not sure how many countries will participate given the Covid situation, but if the Centre and state work together it will send a strong message and show the right direction to industry she added. ,” She also demanded the BSF’s territorial jurisdiction be withdrawn. “Protecting the federal structure of our country should be of prime importance. We deeply respect all institutions and Central agencies. In the coming days, we look forward to better cooperation between the States and Centre in order to protect the interests of our people,” she said. Notably, Mamata did not meet any opposition party leaders, not even Sonia, during her visit to the national capital, saying they are all “busy with Punjab elections”. Earlier in the day, she met BJP MP Subramanian Swamy , fuelling speculation that he might join the TMC. Both the leaders rejected the notion. Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 7,579 12,202 236 9,283 10,949 437 TAMIL NADU NOV 23 NOV 24 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 741 808 13 744 782 14 HUGE DECLINE IN TN’S SEX RATIO AT BIRTH, SAYS NFHS-5 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai T M U R U G A N A N D H A M @ Chennai KANPUR TEST A file picture of Veda Nilayam Changing optics as Mamata meets Modi in Delhi but gives Sonia a miss Call to expand steering panel at AIADMK meet Panneerselvam endorsed the view of Sengottaiyan. Party A meeting of the AIADMK’s joint coordinator Edappadi K district secretaries on Wednes- Palaniswami, however, differed day heard voices emerge in fa- and said the committee’s exvour of expanding the party’s pansion would not serve any 11-member steering committee purpose as all decisions are and empowering it to guide the taken after consulting the senparty on all issues. ior leaders, the functionary This assumes imadded. The issue of apportance amidst depointing a new presidExecutive mands that the party meeting on ium chairman was not should come under a discussed. Dec 1 single leadership inAnother functionIt was said the stead of the present ary, who attended the party’s executive meeting, denied that dual leadership. Sigcommittee nificantly the steering , Sengottaiyan sought meeting will be committee issue was the committee’s exraised by senior AI- held on December pansion. He said the 1, when the ADMK leader and Sengottaiyan gave sugdecision on the former minister KA gestions for strengthnext presidium Sengottaiyan who is ening the party and chairman is g enerally guarded the need for working expected to be with his views. together on issues. taken A senior functionThe functionary, howary told TNIE that ever, admitted there Sengottaiyan wanted the 11- was a speculation among the member steering committee office-bearers even before the expanded into an 18-member meeting that some would seek committee. He stressed the par- the committee’s expansion. ty should have a larger consen- Meanwhile, Panneerselvam’s sus on internal issues by dis- supporter and a member of the c u s s i n g t h e m w i t h t h e steering committee K Manikam office-bearers. During his – former MLA from SholavanP4 speech, party coordinator O dan – joined the BJP . nephew J Deepak. Allowing three writ petitions, he set aside the notices issued for acquisition and the award of compensation. The judge pointed out that the affidavit filed by the Chennai District Collector only projected certain traits — the respect commanded and welfare measures initiated by Jayalalithaa — for explaining the public purpose for converting the residence into a memorial. “This Court does not intend to engage in a probe if the personal traits of a leader, or if the welfare measures introduced by the leader as Minister are sufficient to justify expending public money for erecting a me- 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 SEX ratio at birth for children born in the last five years (females per 1,000 males) in Tamil Nadu has plummeted from 954 in 201516 to 878 in 2020-21, according to the data from the second phase of the National Family Health Survey-5 released on Wednesday . However, Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan told TNIE there was a statistical aberration in the data as the NFHS-5 was done based on 20,000 samples, and does not reflect the 10 lakh births reported in the State every year. “...this does not mean we will ignore the data. We will continue to work on 17 districts where the child sex ratio is lower than the national average,” he said. According to the NFHS-5, the sex ratio for the total population had improved from 1,033 in 2015-26 (NFHS-4) to 878. Worryingly, the survey 40.4% women obese According to the survey, 40.4 pc women were found to be overweight or obese compared to 30.9 pc in 2015-16. Among men 37 pc are obese or overweight against 28.2 pc in the previous survey showed 57.4 per cent children aged 6-59 months are now anaemic compared to 50.7 per cent in the previous survey while 48.3 per cent , of pregnant women aged 15-49 are anaemic compared to 44.4 per cent before. Meanwhile, the latest survey showed the number of Caesarean deliveries in private health facilities had increased from 51.3 per cent in the last survey to 63.8 percent. In public health facilities, it had increased from 26.3 pc to 36 pc. Overall, the survey shows that 44.9 percent of births in the State are by C-section against 34.1 percent in 2015-16. PANIC SELL-OFF Crypto recovers after crash as clarity on wriggle-room emerges D I PA K M O N D 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.