DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 To spur growth & jobs, booster for construction and low-cost housing VICE-PRESIDENT, NC PAGE 12 EXPRESS NETWORK USTAD GHULAM MUSTAFA KHAN DIES AT 89 PAGE 10 On table: more funds for PM Awas; easing of FDI rules in construction development SUNNY VERMA & SANDEEP SINGH NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17 THE UPCOMING Budget is expected to give a special focus to construction development and affordable housing as increased activity in these areas provide a higher boost to overall demand in the economy because of their forward and backward linkages. Sourcessaidthe government plans further liberalisation of foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations for the construction development sector while a higher allocation is expected towards a credit-linked subsidy scheme for affordable housing. Onefactorbehindtheexodus of migrants from cities during In latest fightback for India, Chennai flair and Palghar grit BUDGET ’21 8 NEW TRAINS TO STATUE OF UNITY The Ahmedabad-Kevadia Jan Shatabdi Express, one of the trains flagged off by PM Narendra Modi on Sunday, has a Vistadome coach with glass rooftop. Nirmal Harindran REPORT,PAGE6 COUNTDOWN IN & OUT OF COVID SHADOW the pandemic was their lack of access to safe, affordable housing in urban clusters. Significantly, as part of the pandemic slowdown stimulus, several state governments provided various concessions in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE EDITORIAL PAGE U.S.:INCITEMENT TORACISM BY SANJIB BARUAH PAGE 8 NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17 Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar during the IndiaAustralia Test in Brisbane, Sunday. AP NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17 THE FURTHER these Indian cricketers are pushed to the ropes, the stronger they bounce back. On Day 3 of the fourth Test, the series level at 1-1, India slipped and staggered to 186 for sixbutralliedspectacularlytofin- ishtheirfirstinningsat336.Atthe heart of their latest feat was the unflusteredseventh-wicketstand of123runsbetweenWashington Sundar, a 21-year-old debutant, andShardulThakur,a29-year-old one-Test tailender, that limited Australia’s lead to 33. At stumps, the home team were21fornolossandagamethat seemed to be swaying towards CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Surge in dating apps in Tier-II cities, but skew against women PAGE 1 ANCHOR KARISHMA MEHROTRA NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17 WHEN NIHARIKA Singh first used dating app Bumble in her hometown of Lucknow in 2018, she found that after a few swipes, there were no more potential partners. Butaftershegot stuck at home following the lockdown last year, the 24-yearold found a whole new crop of menonsuchapps,manyof them back at home like her. “They would send me nonstop offers,” she said, after deletingtheappsinDecember.“Idon’t thinkI’llusetheappsinLucknow everagain.Ifoundthathere,men 31 million Indian dating app users in 2020, 67% men weretoopsychologicallydesperate to meet — that was not the caseinDelhi,Mumbai,Bangalore. The experience difference betweenagirlandaguyishuge,especiallyhere.Iamsufferingfrom a problem of abundance.” Across India, dating app executives have noted an unexpected Covid effect: the growth CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Johnson invites PM to G7 in June, says will visit India before summit SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17 ALMOST A fortnight after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed “regret” that he would not be able to visit India as Chief Guest fortheRepublicDaycelebrations in view of the pandemic, he has invited the Indian Prime Minister to the UK for the G7 summit in June this year. Boris Johnson: absent for R-Day Johnson, who had extended an invitation to Modi during a phone call last year, also reiterated his plan to visit India ahead of the G7 summit. Theproposedsummitwillbe CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E Coalition of ● democracies G7 PLUS India, Australia and South Korea is seen as a gathering of D-10 — 10 leaders who represent over 60% of people living in democracies around the world. This is also seen as a signal to China. Many who got notices decide not to appear before Central agency EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE LUDHIANA, AMRITSAR, CHANDIGARH, NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17 BOTH THE Congress and NDA’s erstwhile ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Sunday condemned the summons and notices by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to farm leaders, journalists and an NGOprotestingagainstthethree farm laws alleging that the Centre was using the agency to intimidate those opposed to it. “Will you now send notices to the farmers of this country from an agency which probes terrorists? The farmers of this country are called terrorists, Naxalites, agent of China, agent of Pakistan…Journalistsaresent NIAnotices,farmersaresentNIA UV sanitisers, apps: Kota Vaccines off to smooth start, cross opens to students today 2-lakh mark; dip in active cases ANKITA DWIVEDI JOHRI SANDIP G CentreusingNIA toscarefarmers, itwon’twork, sayCong,Akalis E X P L A I NE D ‘Of course DDC polls have kickstarted a political process from deep freeze... They will create a new leadership’ OMAR ABDULLAH NOTICES, SUMMONS ISSUED ULTRA-VIOLET lighting for sanitisationinclassrooms,pathways and seats marked with stickers to ensure social distancing, an Aarogya Setu-like app to monitor positive cases within coaching centres, plush studio apart- ments for students to ensure they don’t need to step out, and a new 31-bed hospital with an ambulance on call. Nearly 10 months after the pandemicforcedKota’sRs3,000crore coaching industry to shut down, and prompted an overnight digital switch, the Rajasthan town is preparing to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 KAUNAIN SHERIFF M EXPERT OF THE 2,24,301 beneficiaries from the priority group who received their doses by the end of two days of the nationwide vaccination programme against Covid-19, only 447 reported ad- Praveen Pardeshi NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17 EXPLAINS From The Indian Express panel of specialists, exclusive insight EXPLAINED PAGE 11 verse events following immunisation (AEFI), the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday. Of the 447, only three required hospitalisation, with two of them being discharged. OnSunday,only553sessions wereconductedacrossthecountry, with 17,072 beneficiaries CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 notice...(there's an) income tax raidonarhatiya…Whatdoesthe Modi government think? That by using these agencies to scare andthreatenfarmers…theywill bow down. Nobody has been able to subjugate the farmers,” Congress communication department head Randeep SurjewalatoldreportersinDelhi. The NIA has issued notices andsummonstoseveralpersons including Baldev Singh Sirsa, President of Lok Bhalai Insaf Welfare Society, and a member of the delegation in talks with the government on farm laws; Punjabi actor Deep Singh Sidhu, who is supporting the protests; three businessmen who started a bus service from Ludhiana to Delhitotransportfarmers;three journalists vocal on protests; Khalsa Aid, an NGO, and some CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY