320c. 240c. Sunrise: 06:32 am Sunset: 06:53 pm TATA CONSUMER TO DIVEST STAKE IN US FIRMS EMPIRICAL, SOUTHERN TEA Pg 9 A CONTEST UNLIKE ANY BEFORE IN NANDIGRAM & W. BENGAL ‘I KEPT WAITING FOR DAVIDJI TO CAST ME’ Pg 20 Beauty attracts the eye. Accomplishments attract the mind. But character captures the heart. His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj Vol. 64 No. 285 | FRIDAY | APRIL 2, 2021 | 16 Pages | ` 4 | EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-Paper BETWEEN THE LINES JOE BIDEN REVERSES TRUMP ERA H-1B BAN In a move that can may bring cheer to Indian IT professionals, US President Joe Biden has allowed the Trump-era ban on foreign workers, particularly H-1B category, to lapse without extending it further. In June last year, amid the nationwide lockdown in the US and the global pandemic, the then US President Donald Trump ordered a ban on entry of applicants in several temporary or ‘non-immigrant’ categories. These included those holding the H-1B visa which is popular among Indians. Back then, the Trump administration had argued that these visas presented a risk to the US labour market during the economic recovery. The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. DELHI-MEERUT IN 45 MINUTES: The Delhi-Meerut Expressway has finally opened for public. It will reduce travel time between the two cities from three hours to just 45 minutes. It was declared operational by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. On the expressway, the speed limit for cars has been set at 100 km per hour. Freight vehicles can run at a maximum speed of 80 km per hour. The construction has been completed at a cost of 8,346 crore rupees. TAKE JAB ON HOLIDAY: Seeking to exponentially expand the countrywide anticoronavirus inoculation drive, the Centre has decided to keep all public and private sector COVID-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs) operational throughout April, including on gazetted holidays. The Centre has written to all states and union territories on Thursday and asked them to make necessary arrangements for this, the Union Health Ministry said. The government opened the vaccination drive to include everybody above 45 years of age on April 1. PAK CABINET ‘NO’ TO IMPORTS: In a volte-face, Pakistan's Cabinet on Thursday rejected a proposal of its Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to import cotton and sugar from India. "The Cabinet stated clearly: NO trade with India," Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said in a tweet. “PM Imran Khan made it clear there can be no normalisation of relations until India reverses” its action in Kashmir of August 5, 2019, tweeted Mazari, who is known for her hawkish stand. The Cabinet decision comes a day after Pakistan's new Finance Minister Hammad Azhar announced that the country will lift a nearly twoyear-long ban on import of sugar and cotton. SPUTNIK HAS TO GIVE MORE DATA: The Subject Expert Committee of the Indian drug regulator, tasked with vetting Covid-19 vaccine proposals, has sought additional data on Russian candidate 'Sputnik V', while deciding on its emergency use authorisation, a senior government official said on Thursday. In September 2020, Dr Reddy's had partnered with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct the clinical trials of Sputnik V. Phase three trials are underway. In February, the committee had asked the pharma company to furnish immunogenicity data. The approval, if granted, would make Sputnik V the third coronavirus vaccine to be administered in India. The efficacy of Sputnik V is 91.6 per cent as confirmed by the data published in the Lancet. EDIT PETROL ` 96.98 Per litre Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 For the record, over 43K new cases in Maharashtra; 8,600+ in city — the worst thus far F SWAPNIL MISHRA Mumbai or the first time since the pandemic outbreak last year, Maharashtra reported the highest singleday cases and deaths on Thursday The state recorded . 43,183 new infections and 249 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing its tally to 28,56,163, with 54,898 deaths so far. The state capital, Mumbai, also followed suit, reporting the highest number of singleday cases in the last 24 hours, with 8,646 new infections and 18 deaths on Thursday in, creasing its tally to 4,23,260 cases so far. The total death toll in the city is now 11,704. The recovery rate has dropped to 84 per cent, with 5,031 patients being discharged on Thursday in, creasing the total recovered patients to 3,55,691. Dharavi, which had been a cause for concern in the first phase of the pandemic because of its super-congested state, reported 71 new infections in the last 24 hours. Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani once again emphasised the need for people’s strict adherence to Covid norms at all times, especially in daily travel. “We have already imposed night curfew to restrict the crowd in pubs, clubs and other socialising hubs. Also, we have issued new guidelines for private firms to limit the number of staffers at offices,” he said. Health experts have observed that many are contracting the infection from their infected colleagues or family members. “Offices are getting contaminated because of overcrowding. Staff who reside in the distant suburbs Per litre www.freepressjournal.in twitter.com/fpjindia HOME & OFFICE NEW CLUSTERS Pg 15 DIESEL ` 87.96 must commute by bus and train to work. Also, as most offices have air-conditioners, it leads to faster spread,” according to an expert. Dr Subhash Salunkhe, state adviser for COVID-19, said, while the virus circulating in the state could be said to be more infectious than the first wave but not as lethal, more data is needed to draw connect it to the surge. CONTD. ON P14 Cruel joke on New wave but same old bedside story April Fools’ Day % rate cut on small savings is retracted Oversight or Hindsight? FPJ NEWS SERVICE New Delhi The government on Thursday rolled back small savings interest rate cuts within hours of a notification, attributing it to a mystifying ‘oversight.’ The steep cuts in % rates on schemes ranging from the National Savings Certificates and Public Provident Fund would have hurt millions of middle class depositors. The cuts would have impacted schemes for the girl child and the elderly . But coming on the eve of the Nandigram elections, which could be a defining moment for the realignment of political forces, the announcement could have swayed the fickle minded voters who are not too ideologically inclined. Rates of small savings schemes are linked to government bond yields, explain sources in the ministry Ac. cording to them, small savings have become key to fi- ACUTE SHORTAGE IN ICU SWAPNIL MISHRA Mumbai nancing the government deficit, which has widened because of the coronavirus pandemic, increasing the need for borrowings “Interest rates of small savings schemes shall continue to be at the rates which existed in the last quarter of 2020-2021, that is, rates that prevailed as of March 2021. Orders issued by oversight shall be withdrawn,” Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted. However, social media had a field day on the abrupt Uturn and the indiscreet choice of words in the FM’s tweet, attributing it instead to election-driven ‘hindsight’ – as the politically insensitive announcement had coincided with the Nandigram election in West Bengal. The Ministry of Finance is not known to take impromptu decisions and notifications go through a maze of clearances before they see the light of the day point out sources. The , government, these sources added, had sought the Election Commission's no-objection for the periodic review of interest rates and had got it before making the announcement in the middle of elections. The government had said a periodic review in every quarter was necessary said sources in the , election body . CONTD. ON P14 ANTILIA BOMB SCARE CASE SOMENDRA SHARMA Mumbai The National Investigation Agency is probing whether a criminal with former links to the Dawood Ibrahim gang had any role to play in creating a channel on a social media messaging application under the name of Jaish-ulHind and sending a threat message after a gelatin sticksladen SUV was found near Antilia, the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani. “ After the threat message surfaced, the probe revealed that the message was sent from a mobile phone whose location was inside Tihar Jail in Delhi. The said informa- E QUEEN'S GAMBIT Mystery woman quizzed T he NIA officers on Thursday questioned the mystery woman with a note-counter who had been spotted in the CCTV footage of a south Mumbai hotel during the time that Vaze was staying there, from February 16 to 20. The sources said that the woman was detained from the airport area. Earlier in the day, an NIA team had conducted searches at her Mira Road residence. The NIA is probing her links to Vaze and trying to ascertain why she was in the hotel carrying a note-counting machine and was seen walking towards Vaze's room with a device in her hand. Even as the civic body plans to increase the number of Covid beds from 13,000 to 21,000, the city is already reeling under a shortage of beds, as nearly 80 per cent of Intensive Care Units (ICU) beds in major hospitals like Nanavati, Lilavati and Bombay Hospitals are full. There are a total of 169 ICU beds vacant in private hospitals. Doctors have raised concerns over the decision of tion was immediately communicated to the Delhi police, who then informed the prisons department. On March 12, the prison department had found a mobile phone believed to have been used by a terror suspect lodged inside the prison. However, the deleted data retrieved from the phone could not conclusively prove that the threat message was sent from that phone. Instead, we have now received information that a man who earlier had links with the Dcompany and is lodged in Tihar Jail could be involved in sending the said message. We are verifying this information,” said an investigator. CONTD. ON P14 ROBIN ROY ven as Nandigram was rousing itself from poll-induced inertia, Chief Minister Mamata bowled a fast one on a highly turning track. At around 2 pm she was wheeled into Boyal primary school, becoming the first Chief Minister and election candidate to enter a poll booth premises and was stationed there for more than 2 hours. The EC’s Model Code of Conduct explicitly states, “Excepting the voters, no one without a valid pass from the Election Commission shall enter the polling booth. Candidates can only visit the ‘premises’ of a booth.” Detractors said her overreach showed the desperation of a chief minister who is trying keep her head above water. Whereas the body language of the CM seems to say it all, her die-hard fans would rather wait till the last ball is bowled. the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to increase isolation beds, instead of focusing on ICU beds that are in demand. According to the BMC Covid dashboard, there are 1,627 ICU beds, of which only 324 beds are vacant. Similarly of the , 1,000 ventilator beds, only 170 are vacant. The city is currently the second worst-affected district in the country after Pune. “Of the 480 ICU beds in private hospitals, only 169 were vacant until March 31. Of the 1,627 ICU beds of the BMC, only 155 were available,” said an official. However, according to Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani, currently the situation is in , hand and there has been a sudden rise in the numbers, causing an increased demand for beds. “There is a slight bed crunch in the private sector but ICU beds are available in the public sector. Also, we will be installing additional ICU beds in the next three days,” he said. CONTD. ON P14 No lockdown for now: Tope SANJAY JOG Mumbai Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday said the government will not announce lockdown in the state from April 2 as rumoured and reported in a section of media. Instead, the government will introduce strict measures to curb the virus infection. Tope’s statement came on a day when a record 43,183 new COVID 19 positive cases, People will have to observe including 8,646 in Mumbai, COVID 19 norms, including were reported in the state. face mask, public distancing The recovery rate and avoid crowding,’’ 3 lakh he noted. has dipped to 85.2% while the fatality rate 45-yr plus Tope reminded his is 1.92%. gathering that Chief get jab Minister Tope, who has been Uddhav in constant touch Thackeray at an emer, with the health department gency meeting held early officers to review the bed this week, clearly said lockavailability vaccination and , down will be the last optracing, tracking and testing, tion which the government said, ''At least for now, the would explore. He said it government will not impose was also discussed which a fresh lockdown but will ansectors will be hit the most nounce strict and stringent following the imposition of measures to contain the lockdown. virus transmission. CONTD. ON P14 EC debars A Raja from canvassing Maharashtra leads GST March N CHITHRA Chennai The Election Commission of India on Thursday with im, mediate effect, barred former Telecom Minister A Raja from campaigning in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections for 48 hours holding that he had violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by making certain remarks against AIADMK leader and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. It also removed him from the list of DMK’s star speakers besides reprimanding him and advising him to be watchful and not to make intemperate, indecent, derogatory obscene remarks and , lower the dignity of women during election campaign. An attempt by Raja to move the Madras High Court challenging the decision was unsuccessful with the judges refusing to hear the plea on an urgent basis. “ After considering your state- 15 MILLION J&J JAB TAILPIECE DOSES ARE RUINED A manufacturing subcontractor in Baltimore mixed ingredients from the coronavirus vaccines of Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, ruining up to 15 million vaccine doses From Johnson & Johnson. Federal officials attributed the mistake to human error. The mix-up has delayed future shipments of Johnson & Johnson doses in the United States while the Food and Drug Administration investigates what occurred. This is a major embarrassment for Johnson & Johnson, whose one-dose vaccine has been credited with speeding up the national immunization program. ments and reports, the Commission had found the contents of the speech made by you not only derogatory but also obscene and seen to be lowering the dignity of motherhood of women, which is a serious violation of the provisions of the MCC,” the order issued by ECI Secretary Malay Mallick said. The poll body rejected Raja’s interim reply on March 31 in which he denied the allegations and asked for a copy of full text of his abusive speech, copy of the complaint preferred by the AIADMK and requested for an opportunity to give detailed reply and the benefit of a personal hearing. “The Commission has considered your reply and the same was not found satisfactory It was also observed that . asking for the above said details and more time to represent is an attempt to buy time which the Commission cannot afford to give in the midst of elections,” the order said. CONTD. ON P14 Record 14% rise in collections SANJAY JOG Mumbai Maharashtra continues to march ahead in the country’s total record GST collection of Rs 1,23,902 crore in March, collecting Rs 17,038.49 crore this year, as against Rs 15,002.11 crore in the corresponding period last year, a record 14 per cent rise. Despite being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic induced lockdown and economic downturn, Maharashtra has shown a rise in GST collections, indicating a recovery in the state economy , which grew at minus 8 per cent in 2020-21. According to the Union finance ministry the GST rev, enues during March 2021 are the highest since the introduction of GST. In line with the trend of recovery in GST revenues over past five months, revenues for March 2021 are 27 per cent higher than those for the same period last year. As far as Maharashtra is concerned, the state government, in the annual budget for 2021-22, had estimated its own tax revenue at Rs 2,43,490 crore, an annual increase of 14 per cent over 2019-20. The growth rate for own tax revenue is estimated to be significantly higher than the growth rate for GSDP (an annual increase of 3 per cent over 2019-20). CONTD. ON P14 ty…that’s Shri @rajinikanth Ji for you. It is a matter of immense joy that Thalaiva has been conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Congratulations to him,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Thanking everyone, Rajinikanth gratefully acknowledged the role of Raj Bagathur, the driver of the bus in Bengaluru in which the actor was a conductor, his elder brother Sathya- narayanan and ace film director K Balachandar (the last Dadasaheb Phalke recipient from Tamil Nadu), in his transition to the silver screen. This incidentally is the first national film award that Rajinikanth has bagged. While he has been conferred the Padma awards, he had not won any national awards for his performances so far. CONTD. ON P14 Poll season Phalke pickings for Rajini LAST WORD S N CHITHRA Chennai uperstar Rajinikanth, Tamil filmdom’s reigning demigod, was on Thursday chosen for this year’s Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest recognition in the world of cinema in India. “Popular across generations, a body of work few can boast of, diverse roles and an endearing personali-