OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
CORONA
26°C - 33°C
ALERT AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00
COVID-19 UPDATE
WORLD
8,70,177 2,63,50,250 DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA 25,586 DEATHS 8,43,844 CASES
CONFIRMED CASES
TAMIL NADU 7,608 DEATHS 4,45,851 CASES
www.firstindia.co.in www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/ thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia instagram.com/thefirstindia
RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 279
INDIA
GUJARAT
68,560 39,30,059 3,064 1,00,375 DEATHS
CONFIRMED CASES
KARNATAKA 6,054 DEATHS 3,70,206 CASES
DEATHS
DELHI 4,500 DEATHS 1,82,306 CASES
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN 1,095 DEATHS 86,227 CASES
Ladakh flare-up ‘direct result’ of China’s actions: India India, Russia finalise AK-47 203 rifles deal
Pangong Tso Lake
New Delhi: India on Thursday said the situation witnessed in the border areas in eastern Ladakh over the past four months is a “direct result” of actions taken by China aimed at effecting unilateral change in the status quo of the region. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson An-
urag Srivastava said India is committed to resolve all issues through dialogue, noting the way ahead to address the issue is negotiations. “It is clear that the situation we witnessed (in eastern Ladakh) over the past four months is a direct result of actions by Chinese side aimed at ef-
fecting unilateral change in status quo. “We strongly urge China to sincerely engage with the Indian side with the objective of expeditiously restoring peace in border areas through complete disengagement,” he said at an online media briefing. On Monday, the Indi-
an Army said the Chinese military carried out “provocative military movements” to “unilaterally” change the status quo on the southern bank of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh on the intervening night of August 29 and 30 but the attempt was thwarted by the Indian troops. Turn to P6
SC TO BANKS ON LOAN MORATORIUM
Don’t declare accounts as NPAs till further orders ‘Roll out loan resolution schemes by mid-Sept’ New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed that the bank accounts should not be declared as nonperforming asset (NPA) as on 31 August should not be declared as NPAs until the disposal of the pleas seeking an extension of the moratorium period. A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, was hearing two petitions seeking an extension of
the moratorium period on repayment of loans and to waive off the interest on the repayment of the loan amount in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central government, said that the banking sector is the backbone of India’s economy and that the government cannot take any decision which can weaken the economy. Turn to P6
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asked bankers to roll out loan resolution schemes by September 15 and COVID-19 related distress must not impact their assessment of borrowers’ creditworthiness. She said lenders must immediately put in place boardapproved policies for resolution, identifying eligible borrowers and reach out to them. There should be a quick implementation of a sustained
Our armed forces capable of dealing with Chinese: CDS
to take advantage of any possible conflict between India and China in eastern Ladakh, saying Islamabad may suffer “heavy losses” for any “misadventure”. “Of late, India has been seeing some aggressive actions by China but we are capable of handling these in the best suitable ways,” Gen Rawat said at the online event while men-
tioning laid down protocols between the two countries in maintaining peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control. In a warning to Pakistan, Rawat said the country will suffer “heavy losses” if it attempts any misadventure against India taking advantage of the border row with China. Meanwhile, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane reviewed operational preparedness along LAC in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim & Ladakh. The visits of Bhadauria and Naravane come at a time when Indian troops Turn to P6
JEE, NEET exams: SC to hear review plea by 6 states today
Account of PM Modi’s personal website hacked
conducts both the exams is holding JEE Main Exams from September 1 to September 6, while NEET exams will be held on September 13. A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari will consider the review plea in chambers. The review matters in the top court are usually considered ‘inchambers’ through circulation Turn to P6
New Delhi: Twitter on Thursday said the account linked to PM Narendra Modi’s personal website was hacked, and it has now been restored. “We’re aware of this activity and have taken steps to secure the compromised account. We are actively investigating the situation. At this time, we are not aware of additional accounts being impacted. Advice on keeping your account secure can be found here,” a Twitter spokesperson said in an emailed statement. After hacking @narendramodi_in Twitter account, which is the Prime Minister’s personal website, the cybercriminal reportedly sent out posts seeking donations for the PM National Relief Fund for COVID-19 using crypto currency.
Moscow: India and Russia have finalised a major deal for manufacturing AK47 203 rifles in India during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s ongoing visit here, the official Russian media reported on Thursday. The AK-47 203 is the latest and most advanced version of the AK-47 rifle, which will replace the Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56x45 mm assault rifle. The Indian Army has a requirement for around 770,000 AK-47 203 rifles, of which 100,000 will be imported and the rest Turn to P6
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider on Friday a plea of ministers of six opposition-ruled states seeking review of its August 17 order allowing holding of NEET and JEE exams physically. The ministers had claimed that the top court order failed to secure students’ “right to life” and ignored “teething logistical dif-
New Delhi: India’s armed forces are capable of handling aggressive Chinese actions in “best suitable ways”, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat said on Thursday, remarks that came against the backdrop of China’s fresh attempts to change the status quo in certain areas in eastern Ladakh. In an interactive session at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, Gen Rawat also asserted that India’s policy of engagement in the region, if not backed by credible military power and influence, would imply acknowledging China’s pre-eminence. Rawat also warned Pakistan against trying
ficulties” to be faced in conducting the exams during the COVID-19 pandemic. National Testing Agency (NTA) which
CDS Gen Bipin Rawat
Sanofi, GSK start vaccine human trials resolution plan by lenders for the revival of every viable business, said Sitharaman during a review meeting with heads of scheduled commercial banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). Turn to P6
London: Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline say they are beginning human trials of a potential vaccine for COVID-19 after positive results from preclinical testing. The drugmakers said Thursday they plan to test the vac-
cine on 440 adults at 11 sites in the US, with the first results ex-
pected in early December. If these tests are successful, the companies plan to begin large-scale trials later that month. They plan to seek regulatory approval for the vaccine in early 2021 if data from the trials supports it. —ANI
Single-day jump of 1,325 cases pushes Gujarat tally past 1L mark Health dept puts the death toll in Rajkot at 95, local sources say figure close to 800 Haresh Jhala Gandhinagar: With 1,325 fresh cases of COVID-19 reported on Thursday, Gujarat has now witnessed 1,00,366 cases. However, the real shocker is the apparent mismatch in data being circulated by the state health department and local reports in
terms of total fatalities in the hometown of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. While state data puts Rajkot’s COVID-19 death toll at 95, local dailies say that as many as 767 bodies have been cremated or buried in keeping with pandemic protocols since March, with 59 such deaths having report-
COVID-19 testing in Ahmedabad.
—FILE PHOTO
edly occurred in just the past two days. It is to be noted that Rajkot-based newspapers have been publishing data about higher deaths for the past 15 days, with no challenges coming in from the state or local administration. The figure of 767 comes from an evening newspaper which says its team conducted an onground investigation at the city’s crematoriums and graveyards. In the past 24 hours, the state has conduct-
ed 75,487 tests. With Thursday’s 1,325 new cases, the state now has 16,131 active cases--the highest number to date. Eightynine patients are on ventilator support across the state. According to a statement issued by the government, 16 patients died in the state in the past 24 hours: five in Surat, three each in Rajkot and Ahmedabad, two in Vadodara and one each in Bhavnagar, Bharuch and Gandhinagar. Again, Surat re-
corded the highest number of new cases, with 272. Of these, 179 were from the city and 93 were from rural areas. Ahmedabad had 166 new cases, Rajkot, 135, Vadodara, 123, Bhavnagar, 58, Gandhinagar, 39, Panchmahal, 37, Banaskantha, 30, and Amreli, 29. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is conducting tests at workplaces, construction sites and religious places. As part of this exercise, Turn to P6