19022021-TT-01.qxd 2/18/2021 10:54 PM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.141 no.49 | 12 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2021-2023 established in 1881  himachal pradesh NADDA SOUNDS BUGLE FOR 2022 ASSEMBLY POLL HP /thetribunechd PIRAMAL GROUP GETS RBI NOD FOR DHFL TAKEOVER BUSINESS IN WB, SHAH PROMISES TO BRING GROWTH BACK PAGE /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com friday | 19 february 2021 PM for SAARC medical visa Seeks seamless movement of health staff in emergency | Pak backs him Tribune News Service SOUTH ASIA FIGHTING COVID DECISIVELY Many experts had voiced special concerns about the densely populated Asian region and the pandemic’s impact on its population. But we all met this challenge with a coordinated response. New Delhi, February 18 India on Thursday mooted an ambitious regional cooperation plan for seamless movement of doctors, nurses and air ambulances between countries of the SAARC and Indian Ocean Region during medical emergencies noting that greater integration was critical to making the 21st century the century of Asia. Addressing a workshop on “Covid-19 management, experience and the way forward” with 10 neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked experts to Puducherry CM to face floor test on Feb 22 Puducherry, February 18 Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararjan on Thursday ordered a floor test for the Congress government in the UT on February 22, to ascertain whether it has majority in the wake of resignations by the ruling party MLAs that has reduced its strength to 14. Soundararajan’s direction to Chief Minister V Narayansamy came after the Opposition “reiterated” its stand that the government has to prove its majority on the floor of the House. — PTI IN BRIEF ‘Metro Man’ set to join saffron party NEW DELHI: India’s “Metro Man” E Sreedharan, who is credited with changing the face of public transport system in the country, is all set to join the BJP BACK PAGE . Will stop shooting, Cong warns actors BHANDARA: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Thursday said if Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar do not take a stand on the fuel hike issue, then their films would not be allowed. PTI 12-yr-old autistic girl swims record 36 km MUMBAI: Jiya Rai, 12, has created history by swimming 36 km in the Arabian Sea to create awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder. PTI Commercial markets to shut on Feb 26 NEW DELHI: Traders' body CAIT on Thursday said all commercial markets will remain closed on February 26 in view of 'Bharat bandh' call. PTI ❝ Narendra Modi, PRIME MINISTER consider a special visa scheme for doctors and nurses so that they could travel quickly within the region during health emergencies on the request of the receiving country. The Pakistan representative at the meeting is learnt to have supported India’s stand on collabo- CHRIS MORRIS IPL’S COSTLIEST BUY ~16.25 CR ■ SHAHRUKH KHAN The Tamil Nadu player got a deal from Punjab Kings, over 51 times his base price of ~20 lakh ■ CHRIS MORRIS The South Africa all-rounder was bought by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL auction on Thursday, making it the most expensive buy ever, overtaking Yuvraj Singh (~16 cr by Delhi Capitals in 2015) ■ ~9.25 CRORE K GOWTHAM The Karnataka spinner was the costliest Indian going to Chennai Super Kings CHRIS MORRIS ~5.25 CRORE ■ ~20 LAKH ARJUN TENDULKAR Son of Sachin Tendulkar, was bought by Mumbai Indians at his base price and father-son will work together in the champion team ~17 CRORE VIRAT KOHLI Retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore, remains the costliest player in the IPL ration and stated “hypernationalist mentality won’t help”. Pakistan said it would be part of any regional cooperation on the issue. The PM earlier posed several searching questions to the delegates asking them if the civil aviation ministries of the 10 countries could coordinate a regional air ambulance agreement for medical contingencies and a regional platform for collating, compiling and studying data about the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines. “Can we similarly create a regional network for promoting technology-assisted epidemiology for preventing continued on page 9 New Delhi, February 18 Foreign envoys wound up their two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday with a briefing by the Army, which told them how Kashmiris were choosing to ignore Pakistan propaganda and giving democracy a chance. The team of heads of Missions visited the 15 Corps headquarters in Badami Bagh Cantonment today and interacted with Lt General BS TOOLKIT: NOTICE TO CHANNELS ON ‘FIR LEAK’ The Delhi HC has issued notices to the News Broadcasting Standards Authority and some TV news channels on Disha Ravi’s petition against “leaking” contents of toolkit FIR to the media. Union Minister admits stir behind BJP rout in Pb poll Cong wins Mohali too; SAD, BJP draw a blank Jalandhar, February 18 The resentment against the farm stirs has hit the BJP’s performance in the Doaba region. Not being able to bag even a single ward in Kapurthala, the party has bagged merely one ward each at Nawanshahr and Jalandhar. Union Cabinet Minister Som Parkash said the farmer protests certainly had an impact on the MC polls. Chandigarh, February 18 The ruling Congress in Punjab won the Mohali Municipal Corporation poll on Thursday. It won 37 wards. Independents bagged 13, while the SAD and BJP drew a blank. Health Minister Balbir Sidhu’s brother Amarjeet Sidhu, who is the mayoral candidate, won from ward number 10. — PTI 9 fake Himachal institutes got ~28-cr fund Bhanu P Lohumi Tribune News Service Shimla, February 18 Over Rs 28 crore meant for granting post-matric scholarship to SC/ST/OBC students was disbursed to nine fake institutions in Una, Chamba, Sirmaur and Kangra districts of Himachal Pradesh. The institutions, running without affiliation with competent bodies, got funds meant for 8,800 students, according to the CBI probe into the Rs 250-crore scholar- SCHOLARSHIP SCAM ■ ~250-cr scholarship scam is being probed by the CBI ■ 32,000 students did not get scholarship under various schemes ■ 272 pvt educational institutions are under scanner in the case ship scam. Fake accounts were opened in the names of students in six banks in Himachal and Punjab. The money deposited in their accounts was transferred to an account opened in the name of Marketing Solution Skill Development Society. Three persons, including the wife of then Superintendent (Grade-II), Department of Higher Education, Arvind Rajta who dealt with disbursement of scholarship, have been arrested by the CBI. Meanwhile, the state Higher Education Department has Blinken approaches Germany, France, UK have also expressed interest in ensuring a rules-based approach to navigation in the Indo-Pacific. While France is active in the region, Germany 2 OF 5 MPs ATTEND DELIMITATION PANEL MEET Farmers block a rail track in Patiala on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO He said, “We can’t deny the impact. However, wins and losses are part of elections. ...The party will bounce back like always.” INSIDE New Delhi, February 18 The third ministerial meeting of the Quad grouping was held in virtual mode at the initiative of the new Biden administration today. "The Quad is emerging as a critical piece of the Indo-Pacific geopolitical fabric. Great to see Secretary Blinken leading so early in the new administration," said strategic analyst Abraham Denmark. Blinken also touched base on the same day with his counterparts from France, Germany and the UK in a separate call to discuss shared global challenges. All these countries Tribune News Service Protests at 100 sites in Pb, Hry | Impact negligible: Govt Union Minister Som Parkash Tribune News Service and the UK intend to deploy naval assets in the region. "It was important for the international community that the direction of changes remains positive and beneficial to all," noted an Indian read-out of the virtual meeting that was attended by Foreign Ministers S Jaishankar, Marise Payne (Australia), Toshimitsu Motegi (Japan) and Antony Blinken (US). The discussions on regional issues included a reiteration of their common vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, with clear support for ASEAN cohesion and centrality. continued on page 9 Army briefs envoys on J&K ground situation Farmers derail railway traffic Chandigarh, February 18 The four-hour “rail roko” protest by farmers today brought the train traffic to a complete halt in Punjab and Haryana. Following a call given by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, farmers organised protests at over 100 spots in both states. The nationwide protest was also staged at some places in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. However, in many states, it was a low-key affair. The Railways claimed there was a negligible impact, although some trains were stopped by officials as a precautionary measure. continued on page 9 Committed to ensure free, open Indo-Pacific region: Quad FMs directed all institutions within and outside the state, where bonafide Himachal SC/ST/OBC students are studying, to furnish affidavits that information in respect of students seeking scholarship has been verified by them. The CBI registered a case in May 2019. Scholarship was not paid to around 32,000 SC/ST/OBC students under 36 schemes since 2012-13. In all, 272 private educational institutions are under scanner in connection with the scam. The Delimitation Commission, chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (retd), on Thursday met two of five MPs from J&K and sought their views on redrawing the boundaries of the parliamentary and Assembly segments of the newly carved out UT. Raju, General Officer Commanding, and other senior officers, including Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar. The envoys were briefed by the Army and police on the ground situation at the Line of Control and in the hinterland. They were told that as the LoC vigil heightened, terror organisations were using tunnels dug under seasonal riverbeds along the International Border in Jammu to push terrorists into India. The perpetrators of the Pulwama terror attack in February 2019 had used a similar tunnel, they were told. Despite foiling several infiltration attempts along the LoC, the Pakistan army continued to run terror camps across the border and violate ceasefire to help terrorists infiltrate into the Valley. Later, the envoys landed in Jammu, where they held meetings with L-G Manoj Sinha on the challenges of development in the UT after August 5, 2019. The envoys interacted with delegations, including newly elected DDC members. Not sharing contact list with FB: WhatsApp New Delhi, February 18 WhatsApp today published a detailed blog assuring users of privacy and security of their personal chats, saying it would gradually unveil features that would gently nudge consumers to accept its privacy update that triggered a massive backlash in January. The firm had to defer the policy update which, it said, would be effective from May 15. Says chats encrypted, can’t be read “We do not keep logs of who everyone is messaging. We do not share contact lists with Facebook. This is our global approach” the firm said. “We are updating our terms and privacy policy. We cannot read or listen to your personal conversations as these are end-to-end encrypted. This will never change. We are only making it easier to chat with businesses to ask questions and get quick. Chatting with businesses is optional,” WhatsApp today said, asking users to accept the updates to continue using the service after the due date. — TNS