DISENGAGEMENT PROCESS ON LAC : RAJNATH APPRISES PARLIAMENT

India and China have started the process of disengagement from the north and

south banks of Pangong Lake and a meeting of senior commanders within 48

hours will sort out the remaining issues of discord in this sector, Defence

Minister Rajnath Singh announced in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

"The implementation of this agreement will substantially restore the

situation to that existing prior to commencement of the standoff last year,"

said Singh. The disengagement, which began on Wednesday to end 10 months of

troop deployment at forbidding heights and glacial temperatures, was brought

about due to the resolute courage displayed by the armed forces and a

sustained dialogue at the diplomatic level with China, he said.

Under the agreement for disengagement, which will take place in a "phased,

coordinated and verified" manner will mean that China will withdraw its

troops to the east of Finger 8 on the north bank while Indian troops will be

re-stationed at their permanent base on Finger 3.

Both sides will also remove all military structures built after April 2020

but patrolling will remain suspended for the time being.

Patrolling will be resumed only when both sides reach an agreement in

diplomatic and military talks that would be held subsequently. "Our approach

and strategy for negotiations with the Chinese side has been guided at the

highest level by the Prime Minister's resolve that we will not give even an

inch of Indian territory. Our tenacity and approach during talks have

yielded results,'' he said.

Referring to the other friction points in Galwan Valley, Hot Springs, Gogra

Post and Depsang Plains, where troops of the two countries are still in a

faceoff, Singh said: "I want to assure this House that in these talks we

have not conceded anything. The House should also know that there are still

some outstanding issues with regard to deployment and patrolling at some

other points along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. These will be the focus of

further discussions with the Chinese side."

However, with the backing of the Chair, Rajnath declined to field questions

from members. Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu cited national security

considerations to dispense with the customary practice in the Upper House to

ask supplementary questions after a minister has made a statement.

The Defence Minister also paid fulsome tributes to the armed forces for

their grit and resolve under extremely harsh climatic conditions of Ladakh

which resulted in the present agreement. "Our nation will always remember

the sacrifices made by our brave soldiers which have been the foundation of

this disengagement at Pangong Tso Lake," he said.

TRUDEAU OFFICE SAYS HE SPOKE TO MODI ON 'RECENT PROTESTS'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that he held a "good

discussion" with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on many important

issues, including on the "two nations' commitment to democratic principles,

recent protests, and the importance of resolving issues through dialogue", a

statement from the Canadian govt said.

This reference to "recent protests" was not part of the Indian govt's

readout of the telephone conversation held between Prime Minister Modi and

Trudeau on Wednesday.

"The leaders discussed Canada and India's commitment to democratic

principles, recent protests, and the importance of resolving issues through

dialogue," the Canadian Prime Minister's office said in a statement, in an

apparent reference to the ongoing agitation by farmers in India.

The statement from the Canadian PM's office talked about "India's

significant efforts in promoting vaccine production and supply", and said,

"The two leaders had an exchange on their respective efforts to fight the

COVID-19 pandemic, protect the health and safety of their people, and

provide economic support for their citizens."

NO CHANGE IN US' POLICY ON J-K: BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

The Biden administration on Wednesday said that there is no change in the

United States' policy on Jammu and Kashmir and welcomed the resumption of 4G

mobile internet in the region.

"I want to be very clear there has been no change in US policy in the

region," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters following a

tweet from the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department which

welcomed the resumption of 4G mobile internet in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We welcome the resumption of 4G mobile internet in India's Jammu & Kashmir.

This marks an important step for local residents and we look forward to

continued political & economic progress to restore normalcy in J&K," tweeted

the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department.

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Thursday expressed disappointment at the reference to

Jammu and Kashmir in the US State Department's tweet.

"The reference is inconsistent with the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir

as recognised by numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions and

the international community," Foreign Office said in a statement in

Islamabad.

HUM DO, HAMARE DO: RAHUL'S DIG AT MODI GOVT

In an attack on the Narendra Modi govt, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

yesterday accused it of destroying mandis and promoting hoarding to "benefit

a couple of corporate friends". He spun around an old family planning slogan

"hum do hamare do" to make his point.

"The nation is being run by four persons," said Rahul, in Lok Sabha. "This

is not the first time PM Modi has tried to benefit hum do, humare do. He

first did it with demonetisation and then GST."

He did not name anyone, saying everyone knew who he was talking about. His

comments resulted in a virtual bedlam in the House, with allegations flying

against his (Gandhi) family and Union Minister Anurag Thakur, accusing him

of "telling lies" and coming unprepared to speak on Union Budget.

"The PM has given us three options - hunger, unemployment and suicide," said

Rahul, amid repeated disruptions and requests by Speaker Om Birla to

restrict his speech to the Budget. Rahul did not take their names but Union

Minister Pralhad Joshi, who raised the point of order and asked him to prove

his claims, ended taking the names of two corporates..

"Do not think it is farmers' agitation alone. It is the agitation of the

entire country. Farmers are showing way to the country, which is rising

against 'hum do, hamare do'....Let me give you in writing. Farmers will not

move back an inch. You will have to take back the three laws," warned the

Congress leader.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

BBC WORLD NEWS BARRED FROM AIRING IN CHINA, SAYS REGULATOR

British television channel BBC World News has been barred from airing in

China, the National Radio and Television Administration said on Friday, a

week after Britain's media regulator revoked Chinese state television's

broadcast licence.

In a statement issued on the stroke of the Lunar New Year, the

administration said an investigation found BBC World News' China-related

reports had "seriously violated" regulations, including that news should be

"truthful and fair," had harmed China's national interests and undermined

national unity. The channel therefore does not meet requirements for foreign

channels broadcasting in China and its application to air for another year

will not be accepted, it added.

The BBC said it was disappointed. "We are disappointed that the Chinese

authorities have decided to take this course of action," a BBC spokeswoman

said in an emailed statement. "The BBC is the world's most trusted

international news broadcaster and reports on stories from around the world

fairly, impartially and without fear or favour."

On Feb. 4, British media regulator Ofcom revoked China Global Television

Network's (CGTN) licence to broadcast in the United Kingdom after an

investigation found the licence was wrongfully held by Star China Media Ltd.

GOOGLE MULLS PULLING OUT OF AUSTRALIA

Imagine a world without Google, the search engine so pervasive it's the

starting point for more than five billion queries a day. That's the reality

facing Australia, where the tech giant is threatening to unplug its homepage

in a standoff with the govt.

Google opposes a planned law that would force the company and Facebook Inc.

to pay Australian publishers for news content. The Internet juggernaut's

ultimatum to local lawmakers - change the legislation, or else - has left a

digital vacuum hanging over a nation that essentially knows just one way to

navigate the web. Google runs 95% of Internet searches in Australia.

Potential fallout from the spat goes far beyond Australia for Alphabet

Inc.-owned Google, whose dominance of global advertising has made it a

target for watchdogs worldwide. If the company backs down in Australia, the

pay-for-news law risks becoming a template for jurisdictions including

Canada and the European Union that are following the quarrel and keen to

shorten Google's lead.

But disabling what is arguably the world's most famous website would hand

all of Australia to rivals, including Microsoft Corp.'s Bing and DuckDuckGo,

which have failed to dislodge Google as the gateway to the web. These

search-engine competitors would suddenly have a playground for development

and a foothold to advance on the global stage.

THE REST

========

UTTARAKHAND FLASH FLOOD: FRESH SCARE, OFFICIALS SAY CAN'T GIVE TIME FRAME ON

RESCUE

There was fresh scare at the Rishi Ganga and Dhauli Ganga rivers, the sites

of Sunday's flash flood disaster in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district,

following a rise in their water levels on Thursday - leading to a temporary

halt in rescue operations.

Even as the toll climbed to 36, with two more bodies recovered, more than

160 people are still missing, and the authorities admitted that they could

give no time frame on when they would be able to reach 34 of them believed

to be stuck inside a tunnel at NTPC's hydro power project site in Tapovan

area of Chamoli district.

On Thursday, a fresh attempt to reach the trapped men by drilling into an

underground tunnel, located 12 metres below the tunnel where the authorities

had been looking, failed. Govt officials and NTPC authorities revealed this

at a joint press briefing on the situation.

Asked how long the rescue operations could take, Garhwal Divisional

Commissioner Ravinath Raman said they couldn't say anything. "It depends on

how much slush and muck is there inside the tunnel. We are working according

to the evolving situation," he said, adding that NTPC had informed them that

an attempt to dig into the second tunnel had run into technical

difficulties.

SHAH: CAA TO BE IMPLEMENTED AFTER VACCINATION

Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday put off the implementation of the

controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) for the time being and

announced that the Act would be notified after the vaccination drive against

Covid-19 was over.

Shah, who is on a tour of West Bengal to drum up support for the BJP for the

impending Assembly elections, was speaking at a meeting at Thakurnagar,

considered Mecca of the numerically strong refugees of the Matua caste from

across the border.

Shah said in the "auspicious venue" associated with Matua leaders Harichand

Thakur and Guruchand Thakur, he would like to assure people that the CAA

would be implemented after the vaccination drive was over.

COVAXIN APPROVAL AFTER DUE EVALUATION OF DATA: HARSH VARDHAN TO CHHATTISGARH

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan Thursday told the Chhattisgarh govt

that the drug regulator has granted permission to manufacture the Bharat

Biotech's Covaxin based on the "prescribed procedure" and "after due

evaluation of pre-clinical and clinical trial data".

The Union minister wrote to the Chhattisgarh Health Minister that both

Covaxin and Serum Institute's Covishield vaccines are "safe and immunogenic"

and "should be used expeditiously" to "rapidly confer protection to

prioritized beneficiaries".

The letter came after the state govt expressed concerns regarding supplies

of Covaxin citing "unavailability of phase 3 data and also lack of display

of expiry date on the vial". "Your concern regarding the unavailability of

expiry date on Covaxin vial is also completely unfounded and without basis,

as the same is mentioned on the label of vaccine vials," Vardhan wrote.

GLOBAL FINANCIAL COS TAKING TO BITCOIN; INDIA YET TO TAKE CALL

With cryptocurrencies getting more backing from global institutional

players, the rate of Bitcoin, the most popular of the bunch, touched an

all-time high level of $48,000 Thursday. After electric carmaker Tesla

announced a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin last week, financial services

companies such as payments player Mastercard and US-based lender Bank of New

York Mellon also announced their intention of validating these alternative

digital assets.

In India, however, the adoption and use of cryptocurrencies still remains a

pipe dream, with the country going back and forth on the issue.

The govt has readied a new legislation - Cryptocurrency and Regulation of

Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 - that aims to ban all private

cryptocurrencies, while setting the stage to roll out the legal framework

for an "official digital currency". The RBI had banned cryptocurrencies in

2018, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court last March.

HACKER CLAIMS KOO APP USER DATA LEAK

Koo, which has crossed over 3 million downloads - over half of which came in

the last 30-40 days - has suddenly gained traction over the last few days

with union ministers like Piyush Goyal, other prominent personalities, and

govt departments and senior officials promoting it. Given the shot in the

arm Koo is getting from these quarters at a time when its biggest rival

Twitter is embroiled in a spat with the Centre, industry insiders are

suggesting that the govt is looking to push the app as an alternative to

Twitter.

A French cybersecurity researcher, known by the moniker Elliot Alderson on

Twitter, posted early Thursday that he could access personal data of Koo

users, including e-mail ID, date of birth, marital status and gender.

In response to information put out by Alderson, Koo's co-founder and CEO

Aprameya Radhakrishna said that the data visible is "something that the user

has voluntarily shown on their profile of Koo". "It cannot be termed a data

leak. If you visit a user profile you can see it anyway," he added.

This was countered by Alderson, who shared a screenshot of the Koo profile

of an IAS officer whose data Alderson claimed he could access, without it

being visible on the profile page as pointed out by Radhakrishna. He tagged

the Koo CEO in his tweet.

Following Alderson's tweet, Radhakrishna replied: "We're attempting to do

something for our country, India. All help is appreciated. If you want to

help out in this journey of ours please write to me on ar@kooapp.com and we

can take a look at all the feedback you have. Thanks!"

Amid the raging war with Twitter which has refused to block several

"incendiary" accounts despite notices from the IT ministry, the govt

yesterday said it was revisiting the guidelines on social media. Speaking in

the Rajya Sabha earlier, the Minister warned Twitter, Facebook and others

against violating Indian laws if they wished to do business here.

CAP ON AIRLINE CAPACITY EXTENDED TILL 31 MAR, BUT FARES MAY RISE UP TO 30%

The govt has increased the upper and lower cap on airfare by up to 30 per

cent in a move that's expected to push up tariffs and improve the financials

of airlines hit hard by the pandemic. However, the cap on airline capacity,

currently at 80 per cent of the pre-Covid level, has been extended till

March 31.

Flights with 90 to 120 minutes of duration will have a lower fare cap of Rs

3,900, up from Rs 3,500 earlier, for instance. The cap on maximum chargeable

fare has been raised to Rs 13,000 from Rs 10,000.

Except for market leader IndiGo, no other airline has been able to deploy

even 70 per cent capacity of the year-ago operation.

The extension of cap on capacity will help airlines with weaker balance

sheet like SpiceJet and GoAir, which can't increase their fleet size

immediately. "A few airlines said that allowing full capacity will create

pressure on them and may even lead to bankruptcy. That's why we are treading

cautiously," said a govt official.

DAY 4 AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin was unable to bear the pressure of

defending her maiden Grand Slam title as the American bowed out in the

second round in tears on Thursday following a 6-3 6-2 loss to Estonia's Kaia

Kanepi.

Kenin, who was also runner-up at the French Open last year, crumbled in 64

minutes and the 22-year-old admitted the burden of expectation took its

toll.

Fourth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev celebrated his 25th birthday in style

with a 6-2 7-5 6-1 win over Roberto Carballes Baena while Rafa Nadal

overcame the challenge of Michael Mmoh as well as an unruly spectator in a

6-1 6-4 6-2 victory.

Heavily bandaged top seed Ash Barty survived a near-collapse in the second

set from 5-2 to come away with a 6-1 7-6(7) victory over fellow Australian

Daria Gavrilova to set up a third round match with Russian 29th seed

Ekaterina Alexandrova.

A day after local favourite Nick Kyrgios won in five sets, the crowd at the

John Cain Arena got their money's worth again as Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas

beat 267th-ranked Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7(5) 6-4 6-1 6-7(5) 6-4 in a battle

lasting over 4-1/2 hours.

Ukraine's fifth seed Elina Svitolina produced a clinical display to beat

American teenager Coco Gauff 6-4 6-3.

Home favourite Alex de Minaur struck 30 winners en route a dominant 6-3 6-3

7-5 victory over Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas.

Stan Wawrinka has played plenty of memorable five-set matches at the

Australian Open. He nearly made it another in this year's Australian Open,

but he wasted a big lead in the fifth-set tiebreaker - and three match

points - before falling 7-5 6-1 4-6 2-6 7-6(9) to Marton Fucsovics of

Hungary in the second round.

INDICATORS

Sensex 51,531 (+222), Nifty 15,173 (+67), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores)

66797.83

Nasdaq 14,026 (+53) Dow 31,431 (-7), S&P 3,916 (+6)

US$-Rs. 72.71 GBP-Rs. 100.53, Euro-Rs. 88.18, UAE Dhm-Rs.19.79, Can$-Rs.

57.29, Aus$- Rs. 56.31

GBP 0.72 /US$, Euro 0.82 /US$, Jap.Yen 104.68 /US$, Aus$ 1.29 /US$, Sing

1.32 /US$, Bang Taka 83.25 /US$, Can$ 1.26 /US$, Mal Ring 4.04 /US$,

Pak Re 159.00 /US$, Phil Peso 48.01 /US$, Russian Rouble 73.72 /US$, NZ$

1.38 /US$, Thai Baht 29.84 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.58 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 47,983

Dollar Index 90.51 Brent Crude 60.67 BDI 1303

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,820 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,790 /

4,690, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 68,400

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands. -

Alexandra Penney

OFF TRACK

Patient: Doctor, you must help me. I'm under such a lot of stress. I keep

losing my temper with people.

Doctor: Tell me about your problem.

Patient: I just did, you stupid bastard.