GURUGRAM, Oct 30: Incumbent Adille Sumariwalla will be unanimously elected as Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president for a third term while former long jumper Anju Bobby George will be made senior vice-president during its Annual General Body Meeting here on Saturday.
Ravinder Chaudhary, who has served AFI for a long time in various capacities, will be elected unopposed as the secretary. There will be no contest for other posts also as there are only one candidate for all of them.
Sandeep Mehta, who had filed nominations for the secretary’s post, had withdrawn from the contest. He will now be the senior joint secretary.
Madhukant Pathak will be elected unopposed as treasurer. The AGM also will elect five joint secretaries and eight executive committee members without contest.
AFI Planning Committee head Lalit Bhanot is one of the executive committee members. He was also an executive committee member in the last term.
The two-day AGM is being held “in person” at a plush hotel here with the main agenda being to formally elect one president, one senior vice-president, five vice-presidents, one secretary, one senior joint secretary, five joint secretaries, one treasurer and eight executive committee members.
For the legendary Anju, the lone Indian to win a medal in the World Championships (a bronze in 2003), it will be her highest post in the AFI Executive Committee. She was in the executive committee of last term by virtue of being a member of the Athletes’ Commission.
Anju’s senior vice-presidentship will be the highest post to have occupied by a woman in AFI’s history. She will also be the first woman vice-president of the AFI.
For Sumariwalla, the coming four year term (2020-2024) will be his last as AFI president as the National Sports Code of 2011 allows only three continuous terms as head of a national sports federation. He was first elected as AFI chief in 2012.
The AFI constitution mandates at least a woman among vice-presidents, joint secretaries and executive committee members.
The elections were due to be held in April but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The AFI in May had deferred its elections and extended the term of its office bearers during a Special General Meeting held online.
At that time, the federation had said that elections can only be held “in person” and not online. (PTI)
Sumariwalla to be elected AFI chief for third term on Saturday, Anju to be made senior VP
Lalu did nothing for women apart from installing wife on chair : Nitish
KHAGARIA, Oct 30: Attacking Opposition RJD, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today appealed to people to not “get misled” by those who “ignored” women and backward classes during their rule.
Addressing an election rally at Parbatta here, he said, “They are talking today, but how was the condition of women earlier? They were ignored, nobody paid attention to their issues.”
Attacking his bete noire and jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad, without naming him, Kumar said, “When he was sent to jail, he installed his wife (Rabri Devi) on the chair, but did nothing for the welfare of the women otherwise.”
Prasad, who became chief minister of Bihar in 1990, had anointed his wife on the CM chair after he was sent to jail in 1997 over multi-crore fodder scam cases.
Kumar said when he got the opportunity to work, he gave reservation to women in panchayats and urban local bodies, besides providing quotas to SC, ST and backward classes.
“If Bihar has progressed today, the biggest reason is womens participation. Promoting women is our commitment,” the JD(U) chief said.
Talking about economic empowerment of women, he said his government started the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP), locally known as JEEViKA, by taking loan from the World Bank and the initiative has expanded today.
Trying to connect to his women voters constituency, he mentioned prohibition and asked them to cast their votes first and cook later on polling day and also encourage others in their family to vote.
Kumar declared Bihar a dry state in April 2016. On several occasions he had said he took the step on the demand of the women.
He said his government has ensured just development by taking along the SC, the ST, Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes and Mahadalits “whom nobody cared about earlier”.
He said, “Earlier even cities did not have electricity, but now we have ended the lantern era and every household gets power now.”
Lantern is th poll symbol of the RJD. “Everybody knows who says what and indulges is what kind of misdeeds. They (the Opposition) neither have the experience to work nor do they want to work. They just indulge in useless talks,” he alleged. (PTI)
Shubhankar Sharma gets off to bogey-free start in Cyprus
PAPHOS, Cyprus, Oct 30: Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma got off to a good start, signing a bogey-free four-under 67 to be placed Tied-18th after the first round of the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open here.
Sharma birdied the fifth and ninth on the first half of the course and then closed with birdies on 17th and 18th.
SSP Chawrasia carded an even-par 71 and was placed T-83rd, needing a solid second round to play the weekend.
Sharma’s 67 equalled the best he has shot since he resumed his European Tour campaign with the Hero Open in August. He has now shot 67 on four occasions.
Sharma has been following a busy schedule with the Cyprus Open being his 12th start in 14 weeks, but his best result has been Tied-26th at the ASI Scottish Open.
American Johannes Veerman and Mitch Waite of England share the lead after carding seven-under 64 in the first European Tour event to be held on the Mediterranean island.
Cyprus became the 50th nation to host the European Tour in its 48-year history.
Waite carded an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys to sign for a 64 on a low-scoring day, while Veerman joined him on that position after his fifth birdie of the day on the 18th hole, adding to an eagle he carded on the 10th.
In a share of third place on six-under are former Ryder Cup players Jamie Donaldson and Andy Sullivan, Joel Stalter of France and Finland’s Sami Valimaki (both winners on the European Tour this season) and David Drysdale of Scotland. (PTI)
Three losses doesn’t make us a bad team: Rahane
DUBAI, Oct 30: A hattrick of losses might have jeopardized their playoff chances but Delhi Capitals batsman Ajinkya Rahane says the string of defeats doesn’t make them a bad side and stressed on staying positive and playing as a unit in the upcoming matches.
After a dominating show in the first phase, the Capitals suffered three straight losses to slip to the third spot with 14 points in the IPL standings, making their last two league games crucial for their play-off qualification.
However, Rahane said such losses are part and parcel of a tournament as big as the IPL.
“I think we started off really well, won seven out of nine games initially, and then the last three games were not as per what we wanted, but this is going to happen in a tournament like IPL You play 14 league games, it’s a big tournament,” Rahane said during pre-match press conference.
“I think the upcoming two games are really important, and it’s all about staying positive. Three losses don’t make us a bad team. It’s all about playing to our strength and backing each and every individual. As a team, we are really looking forward to playing against Mumbai now and then RCB.”
On Saturday, DC will take on defending champions Mumbai Indians, who have already qualified for the play-off with 16 points.
“Mumbai are a good team, they are a strong team and we know their past as well. I mean, they did so well in IPL. For us, what is important is to play to our strength, what we have been doing, and it’s all about giving our best tomorrow,” said Rahane.
“Each and every individual is capable of winning the game for our team, so I think we should believe in that and believe in our ability. We all know that they play as a unit and we know how strong they are. So, for us, it’s all about playing as a unit against Mumbai Indians tomorrow and play to win.”
Since their loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Capitals have been on a three-day break and Rahane said it was helpful for the team.
“Sometimes it does help, you can actually reflect what went wrong, especially last three games. You can actually think about it and learn from your mistakes. It does help mentally and physically also. You get a break, switch off completely, and think about your own preparations and what your team needs from you.
“I believe in that (the break), it’s all about how you take it. After losing a game, you always learn a lot. In fact, after each and every game, I always believe that you learn something or the other,” he added. (PTI)
India to pursue self reliance, support domestic entrepreneurs : Rajiv Kumar
NEW DELHI, Oct 30: India will pursue self reliance and give domestic entrepreneurs the best possible environment to go forward, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said today.
Kumar while addressing a virtual event organised by industry body FICCI further said India is committed to the global economy and opening trade order.
“We will pursue self reliance, we will give our domestic entrepreneurs the best possible environment to go forward. We will, while attracting FDI, also repose our faith and trust in those who have already invested in India,” he said.
Kumar also noted that the government will give more space to private entrepreneurs, because without them whether domestic or foreign, India will not be able to achieve the kind of sustainable growth that the country wants.
“Yes, we will do all of this, as all other nations have done. But it will be done in the global context. It will be done in India, remaining open.
“It will be done with India trying to regain its share in global and regional production chains, it will be done with the respect to multilateral trading orders, and rule bound orders” he emphasised. Kumar also pointed out that if any support to domestic industry will be given by the government through tariffs then it would have an in-built sunset clause.
“And it will not imply in any sense, any form of isolation or protectionism,” he said.
Kumar also pointed out that the government has introduced production linked incentive (PLI) schemes for 9-10 sectors and in case of 4 sectors, government decisions have already been taken. “The objective of PLI schemes is to incentivise investors in this country to put up globally comparable capacity in scale and in competitiveness,” he said.
Noting that the government has taken COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity Kumar said,”we have rationalised the labour laws, we have liberated our farmers, we have liberalised the FDI scheme.”
He stressed on the need to increase the share of trade in India’s GDP.
“We need to increase spending on health, education,” Kumar said adding human resources, health and welfare will be the centre of India’s growth strategy.
He also said the government is pushing electric mobility in a strong way. (PTI)
BJP MP gives Rs 2.5 lakh to Ladakh boy whose video of saluting soldiers went viral
NEW DELHI, Oct 30: BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday said he has given Rs 2.5 lakh to the parents of a young boy from Ladakh after a video clip of him giving a crisp salute to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel posted in the region went viral.
The video clip of Namgyal saluting a team of ITBP personnel has been widely shared online. It was tweeted by the border patrolling force from its official handle on October 11.
“Namgyal had won the love and respect of an entire nation when a video him giving a crisp salute to the ITBP personnel passing through Shushul in Ladakh emerged,” Chandrasekhar’s office said in a statement.
“Namgyal’s spirit of patriotism encouraged many to call upon for helping the young Ladakh boy to realise his dreams. I have contributed Rs 2.5 lakh for him through Flags of Honour Foundation and a cheque of the same amount has been issued in his father’s name,” the BJP MP said in the statement.
Since its formation in 2009, the Flags of Honour Foundation supported and advocated the cause of the armed forces, the men and women who serve and the veterans who have made tremendous sacrifices for the nation, the statement reads.
In line with this endeavour, Chandrasekhar has sought to reach out to Namgyal’s parents so as to ensure that he shines and some day inspires others to stand tall for the motherland, it said. (PTI)
Facebook using experience from polls in India to stop abuse ahead of US elections
NEW DELHI, Oct 30: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said steps taken by the social media giant have helped protect the integrity of more than 200 different elections around the world, including in India, and have also played an important role in stopping abuse ahead of US elections. Noting that next week will certainly be a “test” for Facebook, Zuckerberg said the company will continue “fighting to protect the integrity of the democratic process”.
“These are all changes we’ve made in the last four years — and they’ve helped us protect the integrity of more than 200 different elections around the world, including in the EU, India and Indonesia. And they’ve been important for stopping abuse ahead of next week’s vote in the US,” Zuckerberg said during the company’s earnings call and outlined some of the steps that have been taken.
He added that the company has focused on issues like voter suppression, and has worked closely with experts in the space, including civil rights leaders. Facebook’s security teams were looking for traditional threats like hacking four years ago, but what it ended up seeing was something new — coordinated interference campaigns, using fake accounts, that tried to spread misinformation and discord, he said. “Since then, we’ve built the most advanced systems in the world to find and remove these threats, and it shows in the numbers. In the years since, we’ve taken down more than 100 networks, including from Russia, Iran, and China – and we block millions of potentially abusive accounts every day,” Zuckerberg said.
Zuckerberg explained that the company has taken steps to make ads transparent and anyone who wants to run a political or social issue ad has to go through its authorisation process first.
Between March and September, the company rejected ads 2.2 million times before they could run for trying to target the US without authorisation. For political and social issue ads, Facebook allows users to see who paid for the ad and what audience the ad reached, to make political advertising on the platform more transparent.
“Our policies prohibit misrepresentations of when and how to vote and content meant to intimidate people into not showing up to polling places, like claiming ICE will be there. And we recently expanded these policies to include implicit misrepresentations, like for example, claims that you’ll get COVID by voting in person,” he said.
From March through mid-October, Facebook removed more than 1,35,000 pieces of content in the US for breaking these rules, he added.
“Election integrity is and will be an ongoing challenge… I also know that our work doesn’t stop after November 3rd. So, we will keep anticipating new threats evolving our approach, and fighting to protect the integrity of the democratic process and the right of people to make their voices heard around the world,” Zuckerberg said.
Facebook saw its total revenue grow 22 per cent to USD 21.4 billion in the September quarter, while its net income was at USD 7.8 billion.
Its daily active users (DAUs) base stood at 1.82 billion on average, while monthly active users (MAUs) base was at 2.74 billion as of September 30, 2020.
Zuckerberg also talked about interoperability between Facebook’s family of apps (WhatsApp and Instagram) that allows users to send messages between the apps. (PTI)
Amendment in Act will dis-empower PR system in J&K: AJKPC
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 30: All J&K Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) has claimed that amendment made by the Union Government in J&K Panchayati Raj (PR) Act 1989 is an attempt to dis-empower the newly established PR system in the Union Territory.
Addressing a press conference here today Shafiq Mir, AJKPC Chairman along with elected BDC chairpersons expressed resentment against the amendment and claimed that the amendment is against the promises made by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi regarding strengthening PR Institutions in J&K.
A handout stated that after amendment District Development Councils (DDCs) will be elected through direct vote by people in 14 constituencies that have been created in each district under name ‘Territorial Constituencies’. These constituencies also include the jurisdiction of already elected Block Development Councils (BDCs).
Explaining concern, Shafiq Mir, who is also an elected BDC Chairman said, a territorial constituency within the jurisdiction of elected Block Development Council will be a sort of clash with the already elected Block Development Chairman.
“Not only this, by this amendment, the elected BDC Chairpersons will not have right to vote or to contest in District Chairman election,” he said claiming it injustice and against the spirit of PR Act.
Mir also said that it was they who contested Panchayat elections when all the political parties had boycotted these.
He also claimed that the amendment will opened doors for political activists to enter PT institution which may demoralize Panchayat leaders of J&K.
Demanding rollback of the amendment, Mir said the tier elections should be conducted as per JKPRI Act 1989.
Other BDC Chairpersons who spoke on the occasion were Arun Kumar Sharma, Surinder Kumar Bhagat, Sarshad Natnoo, Brijeshwer Singh and Aftab Ahmed Beig.
Eid Milad-un-Nabi celebrated with religious fervour, gaiety across Jammu
No procession taken out in city in view of COVID
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 30:- Eid-Milad-un-Nabi -the birthday of Prophet Mohammed was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety across the Jammu region today. Though due to COVID Pandemic no religious processions and big gatherings and congregations were held, however the Day was observed by members of Muslim community with full enthusiasm and fervour by holding special prayer meetings in all mosques during the Namaz.
However, in view of the COVID guidelines and SOPs no procession was taken as has been a usual practice in any part of the Jammu district on the occasion. Special prayers were held to rid the mankind of the Pandemic which has taken heavy toll all over the Globe. The Muslim clerks on the occasion also threw light on the significance of the day and life and teachings of Prophet Mohammed.
They said Islam is religion of peace, brotherhood and devotion to God. The Islam has laid bases on good principles of humanism. They appealed the people to follow the teachings of holy Quaran and Prophet Mohammed who has shown the path of righteousness and humanity to whole world. Prophet fought against oppressor and sided with oppressed to seek justice for them, they said.
However amid outbreak novel Corona Virus fear, Eid-Milad-un-Nabi was celebrated with religious fervor, gaiety and enthusiasm in Bhadarwah, while following all SOPs and guidelines issued by Government and local administration.
On the auspicious occasion of Milad-un-Nabi several programmes including recitation of Quraan, Dars-e-Quraan, Dars-e-Hadees and Naat Khawani (devotional songs) were held in different mosques of Bhadarwah.
To celebrate this auspicious day, people gathered in their respective mosques to participate in the congregation and processions.
At Bhadarwah town, the main function was held under the chairmanship of president Anjuman-e-Islamia Bhadarwah Pervaiz Ahmed Sheikh at historical Jamia Masjid Bhadarwah, where dozens of devotees took part in religious procession which was taken out from Jamia Masjid and after passing through Masjid Mohallah, Pasri Bus Stand, Qilla Mohallah, Thada Mohalla, Dharampura it culminated back at Jamia Masjid.
While speaking on the occasion, speakers urged upon the people to follow the guidelines of Prophet Mohammad for the betterment of society and to maintain brotherhood in the world.
People also celebrated this auspicious day by distributing sweets, Pudding and other items.
“Prophet came in the world not for selected tribes but for the whole humanity and Prophet was the epitome of peace, justice and kindness. There is a need to follow the sayings of Quraan for peace and prosperity,” said president Anjuman-e-Islamia, Bhadarwah, Pervaiz Ahmed Sheikh, adding that in view of outbreak of novel Corona Virus, the gathering was restricted for selected persons, beside special prayers were offered to get rid from this deadly virus.
Dr Jitendra inaugurates ‘Global AYUSH Conclave’, calls for integrated healthcare
Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Oct 30 : Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also a renowned Diabetologist and former Professor of Medicine, today formally inaugurated 3-day “Global AYUSH Conclave” (Mela) with a call for promoting integrated healthcare, particularly in the post-COVID scenario.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that COVID has evoked worldwide interest in Yoga, Ayurveda and Naturopathy to build immunity and search for a healthy lifestyle. Delivering the inaugural address at the event organised virtually by ASSOCHAM, he said that in the last four to five months, the Western World has turned to India to explore the best practices of Alternative Medicine.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said that Modi’s New India will become “Atma Nirbhar” in health care and will also contribute to the World in providing immunity booster mechanisms through the traditional medicine system. He said, COVID has reiterated and re-emphasised the virtues of Integrated Healthcare and there is a need to make it part of world medical regimes including that of WHO.
Ever since Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister of India, he has brought to the centre stage the virtues of indigenous system of medical management, said Dr Jitendra Singh. It was Modi, he said, who brought a unanimous resolution in the United Nations to observe International Day of Yoga, as a result of which Yoga has reached virtually every household across the world. He said, it was again Prime Minister Modi, who created a separate Ministry of AYUSH, considering the importance of indigenous medical management system.
The Union Minister said that the Himalayan, Hilly and North Eastern States of India have a very rich repository of medicinal herbs and plants, and urged all the stakeholders to make use of them and promote the same at a global level.
Dr. Jitendra Singh congratulated Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, President of apex industry body ASSOCHAM (The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) and Deepak Sood, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM for organising the Global AYUSH Mela and urged them to make it truly global through virtual mode during the pandemic times.
Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH Rajesh Kotecha, Acharya Balkrishna of Patanjali and Padam Shree H.R. Nagendra, Yoga Therapist and founder Vice Chancellor of Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) also spoke on the occasion.