DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2021, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `5.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 FIRST PHASE: TROOPS BACK AT LOCATIONS BEFORE STANDOFF ` 62 per Dozen BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY China pulls troops east of Finger 8, Indians vacate heights in Chushul; spotlight on Hot Springs, Gogra, Depsang KRISHN KAUSHIK & DEEPTIMAN TIWARY DepsangPlains NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 MAKINGSIGNIFICANTheadway in attempts to resolve the ninemonth military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, Chinese and Indian troops have completed the first phase of disengagement on the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, and their senior commanderswillmeetSaturday Ladakh Daulat Hot BegOldie Springs Galwan J&K Leh Srinagar Pangong Tso morning to discuss the pullback of troops from the other friction points in the region. Official sources said the dis- engagement of artillery, tanks and troops from heights was completed Wednesday, but the two sides had to verify it on the ground and this was done Thursday. “Everything that was agreed upon at the ninth round of talks (on January 24) has been achieved. At Pangong Tso, we have achieved status quo ante. On the north bank, China has pulled its troops east of Finger 8 (whichIndiasaysmarkstheLAC) CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 China’s admission: Officer, 3 soldiers died in Galwan KRISHN KAUSHIK NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 IN A rare acknowledgment of its troopcasualties,theChinesePLA announcedFriday thatfourof its personnel, including a battalion commander, died in clashes withIndiantroopsintheGalwan Valley in Ladakh last year. It also said that another officer, of the rank of a Colonel, was “seriously injured in the skirmish”. As Maharashtra records FROM EARTH, ON MARS 6,112 cases, 3 districts focus on genome sequencing TABASSUM BARNAGARWALA MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 19 AMRAVATI WILL send 90 more samplesof Covid-19patients,includingthoseof thedeceased, to look for prevalence of mutation in them. Yavatmal will send 100 samples,whileAkolasentitsfirst 75 samples on Thursday for genome sequencing to check if mutation isresponsibleforrapid rise in cases in the district. Maharashtra on Friday recorded 6,112 cases. The last time daily case load crossed 6,000 in the state was 114 days agoonOctober28.Thestatenow became the ninth spacecraft to successfully land on Mars. IT WILL collect rock samples has20.87lakhcaseswith44,765 active infections. At a time when experts have advised speedy vaccination of population, Maharashtra on Friday could immunise only 14,880people,farbelowitsusual tally of 30,000-40,000 a day. Dr Archana Patil, state director (family welfare), said less vaccinationcampswereheldbecause of Shiv Jayanti celebrations. Thedecisiontosendsamples for genome sequencing comes after four of 12 samples from Amravati showed a point mutation (E484Q) similar to the one found in South Africa, Brazil and theUK.Oneof foursamplesfrom containing possible signs of bygone microscopic life. TWO OTHER spacecraft (UAE, China) swung into Mars orbit around last week. All three missions lifted off in July. REPORT,PAGE11 The first image after NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars on Thursday. NASA TV/ Reuters KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 19 HEARING A plea from climate activist Disha Ravi, who was arrested in connection with a toolkit on the farmers' protest thatwastweetedbySwedishactivist Greta Thunberg, the Delhi High Court Friday directed CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 “Freedomofspeechand therighttopeaceful protestandassemblyare non-negotiablehuman rights.Thesemustbea fundamentalpartofany democracy. #StandWithDishaRavi” GRETA THUNBERG POINTINGOUTthatamongthose spreading terror and violence across the world are several highly educated people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday calledonthestudentcommunity toadopta“nation-firstapproach” tofindsolutionsinsteadof being a part of the problem. Addressing the annual convocation of Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal through videoconference, the Prime Minister also said that the newNationalEducationPolicyis a major step towards an AtmaNirbhar Bharat (SelfReliantIndia)asit“givesstrength to research and innovation”. He invoked the “world view” of the university's founder, Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision was not about “a typical educationalinstitutionbutonethat will help Indian culture realise its full potential globally”. Stressing that “knowledge and power both come with responsibility”, Modi said: “Jo duniya mein aatank phaila rahe hein, jo duniya mein hinsa phaila rahe hein, unmein bhi kayee highly skilled, highly learned, highly educated log hai. Doosri taraf aise bhi log hai jo Corona jaise vaiswik mahaamari se duniyakomuktidilanekeliyedinraat apni jaan ki baazi laga dete hai. Aspatalon mein datey rehte hein, prayogshalaaon mein jutey rehte hain.” (“Among those who are spreading terror in the world, those who are spreading violence in the world, there are also several highly educated, highly learned, highly skilled people. On the other side, there are also those who risk their lives day CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 ORDER SEEKING MANDATORY PRIOR CLEARANCE Uddhav govt reviews cash transfer scheme for tribal students Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Academy of Sciences write to Pokhriyal EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE 2 top academies to Govt: new webinar rules could halt all scientific discussion AMITABH SINHA PUNE, FEBRUARY 19 INDIA’S TWO largest and oldest science academies have written to the Ministry of Education — andthethird is consideringjoining in — to say that its recent order mandating institutions to seek Government clearance for all webinars could “lead to a complete halt of all topical scientific discussions” and “im- Nation needs to be protected but imposing prior approval, (not) defining India’s ‘internal matters’ constrains progress of science” PARTHA MAJUMDER, PRESIDENT, INDIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES pede” the interest of science among the young. The Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India, together include more than 2,500 of India’s top scientists. The first two have sent separate letters to Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal seeking withdrawal of these “blanket restrictions.” Sources saidthe thirdis consideringsupporting this petition. The order, issued on January 15 — in the wake of new procedure notified by the Ministry of External Affairs last November — asks all government entities, including publicly funded educational institutions and universities, to “seek approval” of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 19 THE UDDHAV Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra is reviewing the previous BJP government's decision on implementingtheDirectBenefit Transfer (DBT) system for tribal students in residential schools and is considering restoring at least partially the old system of awarding contracts to provide stationery and personal use CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 How a football pipeline from Shillong feeds top clubs PAGE 1 ANCHOR MIHIR VASAVDA NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 IN 2009, Shillong Lajong became the first club from the Northeast to qualify for the country’s premier football competition, the ILeague. A little more than a decadelater,theyareabsentfrom thetoptwotiersofIndianfootball. Yet, their presence is unmistakable—becauseclubsacrossIndia continue to reap the benefits of the talent Shillong Lajong have churned out over all these years. From Mumbai City’s Bipin Singh, one of the standout performers in the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) season, to Bengaluru FC youngster Wungngayam Muirang, the first Tangkhul Naga player to feature in the competition, and Goa’s Redeem Tlang, over 20 Shillong Lajong alumni have been snapped up by 10 out of the 11 teams in the top division. Graduates from academies set up by Tata, All India Football SHUBHAJIT ROY & PRANAV MUKUL www.indianexpress.com PM: Highly educated among those who Police must not prejudice are spreading terror... think nation first probe, media should EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE exercise restraint: HC NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 PM Narendra Modi, Australian PM Scott Morrison. Twitter/ MEA WhyPerseverancemarksanew chapterinMarsExploration:NASA scientistDrAmitabhaGhoshexplains. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THUNBERG TWEETS FOR DISHA CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Australia PM call to Modi, news Bill to rein in Big Tech firms NASA’S PERSEVERANCE DISHA RAVI PLEA SOFI AHSAN & ANAND MOHAN J This is the first admission by China that it suffered casualties in the June 15, 2020 clashes in Galwan Valley where 20 Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel, lost their lives. The PLA madenomentionof thenumber of personnel injured in the clashes. It made the announcement on the eve of the tenth round of talks between the two armies. On Twitter, Chinese handles, Mumbai City’s Bipin Singh, a Shillong Lajong product, has been a standout performer in the ongoing ISL season. ISL Federation and Minerva, too, are sprinkled across different teams and leagues in the country. But what sets Shillong Lajong apart is they are a community club feeding other clubs pan-India with finished products. In the process, and at a time whenmostIndianclubsarefinding it tough to sustain operations, they have generated revenues in the eight-figure range. In 2017, for instance, the club earned Rs 1.47 crore in fees on contracts for itsplayers at theISL draft. In 2015, they purchased a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INSIDE FROM TAXI DRIVER TO FAKE COP: MAN ARRESTED; IDENTITY CARD, UNIFORM SEIZED PAGE 3 NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 AUSTRALIA HAS reached out to Indiaamongseveralcountries,including Canada, France and the UK, in a move to stitch a global coalition against tech giants GoogleandFacebookamidafaceoff over compensation for sharing news content from media companies on their platforms. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday,andlatersaidthatthey “discussed the progress” on Australia’s “News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code Bill 2020”. Under the proposed law — News Media and Digital PlatformsMandatoryBargaining E E X P L A I NE D ` 102 per kilo CHINA ` 85 per kilo Pangong disengagement over, other friction points to be discussed today PAKISTAN ` 57 per kilo ● Global impact CURRENTLY, NEWS publishers get only a portion of ad revenues generated from their content on big tech platforms. If Australia clears the Bill mandating compensation for use of such content, it could trigger similar laws across the world. EXPLAINED PAGE 7 Code Bill 2020 — Australia seeks to mandate a bargaining code that aims to force Google and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2