www.freepressjournal.in | twitter.com/fpjindia Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 I M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 50K before budget-day? SenSex SoarS 834 pointS Pg 7 world iS a better place without diSruptor trump richa reSpondS to twitter trollS and quaSheS criticiSm over recent movieS Pg 20 PANT’S KICK IN THE PANTS 290c. 210c. Sunrise: 07:15 am Sunset: 06:25 pm Vol. 64 No. 225 | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 20, 2021 | 14 Pages | EDITIONS: Mumbai*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-Paper EDIT GOTCHA AT GABBA I THE LINES VILLAGES GIVE CHINA AN EDGE The Chinese villages that have mushroomed near the Line of Actual Control – especially in tracts of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim – are seen as an extension of Chinese cantonments since there are no civilians living in these settlements, says a report in India Today’s news portal. Incidentally, most of these villages have come up in the aftermath of the 2017 Doklam standoff; their military and operational value can be gauged from the fact that they are home to storage bunkers and reconnaissance towers. These posts in the forward areas give a strategic advantage to the Chinese PLA. ‘VAX SIDE EFFECTS ARE NEGLIGIBLE’ Niti Aayog member Dr VK Paul has underscored that the side-effects of Serum Institute’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin are ‘less than negligible,’ compared to that of other Covid-19 vaccines. Addressing a press conference, Dr Paul tried to dispel the misgivings of Covid-19 inoculation among health workers, which has led to a low turnout at some vaccine centres. ‘‘While the World Health organization is clamouring to provide vaccines to priority groups in other nations, our doctors and nurses are declining the vaccine. It is a very serious situation. I am sad, and I request them with folded hands - We need to start our non-Covid services also. Health care workers need vaccination because they can’t be at risk,” Dr Paul said. THAROOR TAKES SALACIOUS JOY As Team India pulled off a historic three-wicket win over Australia in the fourth and final Test in Brisbane, Congress MP and wordsmith Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter to share his "word of the day" – epicaricacy -- the act of rejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others. Alongside his tweet, Tharoor shared a graphic of former Australian cricketers who had all predicted trouble for India ahead of the fourth Test at Gabba. While Michael Clarke had predicted "deep trouble" for Team India without Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting had said there would be a good chance of a "white wash" in Kohli's absence. Brad Haddin and Mark Waugh had both said India would not recover from its loss in Adelaide. ndia has often been blamed for the death of Test cricket, such has been its recent obsession with the quick-fire T-20, exemplified by the IPL circus. At Gabba, finally came redemption with Team India resurrecting the five-day game from the shallow depths of instant cricket, with a historic three-wicket win over Australia. Ironically the team that led , the charge and showed a never-seen-before zeal to Successfully chase a 328-run target in the fourth innings, was saddled with bruises, broken bones and battered bodies. Already the mainline players , had been ferried home on the stretcher. In terms of relevance, therefore, a series win without Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah not available at various points, is zillion times more significant than the 2-1 win in 2018-19 when the opposition didn't have Steve Smith and David Warner in its ranks. A minefield of talent called Rishabh Pant (89 not out off 138 balls) channelled his inner 'Mad Max' to scare the daylights out of the Australians with his breathtaking stroke play ending the home team's , 32-year-old unbeaten run at the 'Fortress Gabba'. The result has the potential to end Tim Paine's reign as Australia captain having lost back-to-back home series against India. The highlight of the day was Rishab’s battle with Nathan Lyon as he demolished the 100-Test man in the company of debutant Washington Sundar (22), who hooked the world's best fast bowler, Pat Cummins, for a six. No one moved from their seats as Pant cut, drove, and paddle-swept to make a statement to his detractors while gifting India one of their finest overseas wins during the dying moments of the final session with an off-driven boundary . CONTD. ON P13 Day 2: Turnout just 50% Rishabh Pant (C) celebrates with teammates at The Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday. BETWEEN BRISBANE Pg 10 ONLY 13 AT JJ HOSPITAL SWAPNIL MISHRA Mumbai After a gap of two days, the Covid-19 vaccination drive resumed in Mumbai on Tuesday morning, but unlike the first day there were , hardly any beneficiaries rushing to get their shot. On Day 2, the overall turnout was only 50 per cent in the city with only 1,597 of 3,200 , beneficiaries going to the vaccination centres on Tuesday Civic officials have at. tributed this drop to the slow functioning of the Co-Win application, which manages the process. There was a similar problem on the eve of the nationwide mass immunisation launch. The civic body has a target of inoculating 4,000 healthcare workers (HCWs) at the nine centres across the city , but it was learnt there was duplication of the names of 800 HCWs, which was deleted on Tuesday morning, resulting in the number of beneficiaries for the day dropping to 3,200. However, only 1,597 beneficiaries were vaccinated at the end of the day . CONTD. ON P13 CoWin comes a partial cropper on Tuesday, too PRATIP ACHARYA / Mumbai The CoWin (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network) app continued to be plagued by glitches even as the mass vaccination drive resumed on Tuesday morning. The two-day break in the inoculation drive was not sufficient to iron out issues, it would appear. The technical glitches in the app continued to be problematic for the Brihanmumbai Munici- pal Corporation (BMC), as it was unable to reach the targeted beneficiaries supposed to be inoculated on Tuesday . Civic officials said the new application was posing a problem and requested the state government to resolve the issue with immediate effect, failing which, there would be backlogs and most beneficiaries who were willing to take the vaccines would be left out. CONTD. ON P13 There were only 13 beneficiaries who were inoculated at JJ Hospital, a Covaxin-administering centre, on Tuesday. This was because the hospital received an old list of beneficiary names instead of a fresh one. Officials attributed this to the massive glitch in the CoWin application, saying the app fails to identify repeat names as it generates the subsequent list. Dr Lalit Sankhe, in-charge of the vaccine centre at JJ hospital said they were awaiting the new list beneficiaries through the CoWin app, but found out on Tuesday that the list was the same as that generated on January 16 and those named had already been vaccinated that day. “The list we received had the same names as on Saturday. So, of the 61 shortlisted people who couldn't get vaccinated on Saturday, 13 were inoculated today,” he said. Farmers will talk with Tandav makers will Govt, not with SC panel implement changes OUR BUREAU New Delhi The representatives of the agitating farmers on Tuesday announced that they will meet the government in their tenth round of talks on Wednesday at 2 PM, while making it clear that nobody will meet the Supreme Court-appointed panel. The panel of experts, one of whom has since dropped out, will start hearing the farmers opposed to the three contentious laws and their supporters from Thursday . A Supreme Court Bench, headed by Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, is also to hold a sitting on Wednesday at 11 AM and has the farmers' issue on top of its cause list. After its first meeting on Tuesday to draw up its agenda, the Supreme Court-appointed panel decided to hold its first round of consultations with the farmers on Thursday ac, cording to its member Dr Pramod Kumar Joshi. CONTD. ON P13 OUR BUREAU / Mumbai/Bhopal Back to the wall, the makers of "Tandav" on Tuesday agreed to make changes in their controversial web series after several FIRs were filed against the political drama for alleged inappropriate depiction of Hindu deities and calls for its ban. The day also saw many political leaders expressing the need for close monitoring of OTT platforms besides protests at some places with the demonstrators burning effigies of series director Ali Abbas Zafar. ‘Tandav’, a nine-episode political thriller starring Bollywood A-listers Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, started streaming on Amazon Prime Video on Friday but the show ran into trouble over its depiction of Hindu deities. Taking cognisance of complaints over the web series, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had on Sunday sought an explanation CONTD. ON P13 and Ramon Magsaysay awards. “Dr. V Shanta will be remembered for her outstanding efforts to ensure top quality cancer care. The Cancer Institute at Adyar, Chennai, is at the forefront of serving the poor and downtrodden. I recall my visit to the institute in 2018. Saddened by Dr. V Shanta’s demise. Om Shanti,” tweeted Modi. In the evening, her mortal remains were cremated in Chennai with police honours, a rare recognition for a civilian from the medical field. According to Cancer Institute authorities, Dr Shanta had complained of chest pain on Monday night following which she was rushed to the hospital. She died early in the morning. Leaders and many of those, who were associated with Dr Shanta in her medical career spanning over CONTD. ON P13 Doyen of cancer care Dr Shanta passes away at 93 LAST WORD C N CHITHRA / Chennai ancer Institute (WIA), Adyar, chairperson, Dr V Shanta, widely regarded as the doyen of cancer care in India, passed away early on Tuesday at the age of 93. Leaders led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to the senior oncologist who has won several national and international honours, including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibushan “Wisdom does not come through intelligence, it comes through love.” Her Holiness Mataji Nirmala Devi WATCH OUT FOR US NOW: PIETERSEN SPORTS DESK / Mumbai Virat Kohli, seemingly through with his parenting duties, has returned to lead India against England in the upcoming home Test series, while the selectors have also recalled all-rounder Hardik Pandya and pacer Ishant Sharma to bolster the squad. Kohli, who proceeded on paternity leave after the Adelaide Test, was named in the 18-man squad along with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the final Test in Brisbane against Australia due to an abdominal strain. The squad has been named only for the first two Tests of the fourmatch series, starting on February 5 in Chennai. Moments after Team India beat Australia, they were given a warning by former England skipper Kevin Pietersen. He congratulated India for their win, but also added that the ‘real team’ will be arriving in the country in two weeks’ time and that the hosts should watch out for them. Interestingly , he wrote this in a tweet in Hindi and was soon trending on social media for it. Senior pacer Ishant had missed the Australia tour due to the side strain he suffered during the IPL in the UAE while Pandya only played the ODIs and T20Is Down Under. Tamil Nadu paceman T Natarajan was dropped as the selection panel added Axar Patel, a left-arm spinner and useful batsman down the order, to the squad as he would be more effective to counter England on Indian pitches. The 26-year-old Patel is yet to make his Test debut while he last played for India in T20s in February 2018 against South Africa. He has also played 38 ODI matches. CONTD. ON P13 JEE Main:75% score in Class XII waived RONALD RODRIGUES / Mumbai In a relief to students, the eligibility criterion of securing at least 75 per cent marks in the Class 12 board examinations in order to take the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main has been waived for the academic year 20212022, announced Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Tuesday Also, the competitive . test for admission to undergraduate engineering programmes will be conducted four times in 2021. On the lines of a similar waiver for JEE Advanced, the minister announced on Tuesday "Considering the , decision taken for IIT JEE (Advanced) and in line with the decision taken for the last academic year, it has been decided to waive the 75 per cent marks (in Class 12 exam) eligibility criterion under Joint Entrance Examination (Main) for the next academic year 2021-2022." The minister further said, "This will be applicable in respect of NITs, IIITs, SPAs and other CFTIs, whose admissions are based on JEE (Main)." On December 16, 2020, the minister had announced that the JEE Main would be conducted in February March, , April and May 2021. The minister had said, "The exam will be conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) four times in 2021, in 13 different Indian languages. The question paper will comprise a total of 90 questions, of which candidates will have to attempt a total of 75, as decided by the NTA." The JEE Main is conducted for admission to UG engineering programmes (BE/ BTech) at the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Centrally funded technical institutions (CFTIs), institutions and universities funded or recognised by participating state governments.