NEW LAWS HELP FARMERS, SAYS PM

As farmers from Punjab and Haryana, seeking repeal of the new farm laws,

continued to protest at the gates of Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi

backed the laws Sunday, saying they were for the benefit of farmers.

In his Mann Ki Baat address, Modi said: "The agriculture reforms in the last

few days have opened doors to new possibilities. For years, the demands of

farmers, demands which were promised at some time or another by every

political party, have been fulfilled. After a lot of discussion, Parliament

gave agricultural reforms legal recognition. These reforms have not only

removed many restrictions for farmers, but have given them new rights and

opportunities."

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, writing to farmer unions staging the

protest, assured them that all their issues would be addressed in

discussions with a high-level committee of Union Ministers at Vigyan Bhavan

on December 3. He said this discussion can take place earlier if all unions

gather the protesting farmers at the designated ground in Burari on the

outskirts of Delhi.

"According to available information, due to severe cold, farmers are facing

a lot of problems. In the wake of the Covid pandemic, there is a threat of

infection due to such large gatherings," he said in the letter, urging

farmers to move to Burari.

The Prime Minister, in his Mann Ki Baat address, spoke of the "new rights"

that the new laws had granted farmers. He cited the example of a farmer in

Dhule district of Maharashtra whose "full knowledge of the laws has come to

his aid".

He cited two other examples - of Mohammad Aslam of Baran in Rajasthan, CEO

of a local farm produce organisation who has created a WhatsApp group of

farmers on prevailing mandi rates, and Virendra Yadav of Kaithal who has

done business of Rs 2 crore in two years by selling farm stubble to

agro-energy plants and paper mills by using straw baler machines.

"I request the youth, and especially the lakhs of students studying

agriculture, that they should go to nearby villages and bring awareness

among farmers about the recently passed farm reforms. By doing this, you

will be partners in the big change that is happening in the country," he

said.

FARMERS REFUSE TO MOVE, SAY WILL INTENSIFY PROTEST

Rejecting the Centre's invitation for conditional talks, farmers camping at

the Delhi-Haryana border reiterated their demands on Sunday, and said they

would not vacate the arterial GT Karnal highway.

Farmers' groups held discussions at Delhi's northern Singhu Border - through

which the highway to Haryana, Chandigarh, and onward to Himachal Pradesh and

Punjab passes - to chalk out their course of action. In the evening, they

announced at a press conference that they would blockade five points of

entry into Delhi - Sonipat, Rohtak, Jaipur, Ghaziabad-Hapur, and Mathura -

in the coming days.

The farmers have been camping outside Delhi since Friday. On Saturday, Union

Home Minister Amit Shah had invited farm unions for talks on December 3 on

the condition that they move the protest from the highway to the Sant

Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari.

"We have rejected the invitation from the Centre. One of their conditions

was that we must go to the Burari Park first. We will never go to Burari

Park. We have come to know that it is more an open jail than a park,"

Surjeet Singh, president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Krantikari), Punjab, said.

The farmers are demanding the repeal of three "pro-corporate" farm laws

enacted by the Centre, and have vowed not to back down. "We have rations to

last us months, until our demands are met. Our tractors are like mini

lodgings," Surjeet Singh said.

He also said the farmers would not allow any person affiliated with a

political party on their platform. "We demand that the rate of MSP (minimum

support price) should be fixed, and that farmers should not be fined for

burning farm stubble. We also demand that the proposed electricity Ordinance

should be kept in abeyance," Surjeet Singh said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted on Sunday that "The Centre must

talk to farmers immediately without any preconditions."

PM'S DEFENCE OF NEW FARM LAWS DELIVERS LETHAL BLOW NEGOTIATIONS: CONG

The Congress on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's defence of the

new farm laws when lakhs of farmers were protesting on the streets had

delivered a lethal blow to the prospects of the proposed negotiations,

demonstrating the government's disinterest in resolving the crisis.

Congress communications chief Randeep Surjewala said: "The Prime Minister in

his Mann Ki Baat programme defends the farm laws. If the Prime Minister is

standing in favour of these laws despite such widespread protests, what will

be the outcome of a dialogue? Who should the farmers expect justice from?

What will be the purpose of talks? Modi's arrogance and obduracy are writ

large on his stance."

Surjewala added: "The truth is that the Modi government intends to serve the

capitalists and exploit the farmers. The Prime Minister is unaffected by the

anguish and struggle of 62 crore farmers. The government wants to hand over

the agriculture trade worth over Rs 20 lakh crore to crony capitalists. The

seriousness of the government is reflected in home minister Amit Shah's

attitude - he can't travel 15km to the Delhi border to talk to the farmers

but will fly 1,200km to campaign for municipal elections in Hyderabad."

"The promise was to double the farmers' income but the Modi government

ensured multifold increase in the incomes of Adani-Ambani. Those who are

still defending the black laws cannot provide a solution in favour of the

farmers," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

DAYS AFTER SHRINGLA VISIT, CHINA DEF MIN IN NEPAL TO BOOST MILITARY TIES

China's defence minister General Wei Fenghe on Sunday met Nepal PM K P

Sharma Oli and held talks with the country's army chief General Purna

Chandra Thapa on various issues of bilateral interest, aimed at bolstering

military cooperation and taking the existing friendly ties to a new height.

This is the highest-level visit from China after President Xi Jinping's

two-day state visit that took place in October last year.

Wei's visit comes days after foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla

wrapped up his maiden two-day visit to Nepal. In the first week of November,

Indian Army chief General M M Naravane paid a three-day visit to Nepal aimed

at resetting bilateral ties.

General Wei held talks with General Thapa at the army headquarters.

"Bilateral discussions were held at the delegation-level mainly on issues

pertaining to resumption of training and student exchange programme and

follow up on defence assistance," a statement by the Nepal army said. Wei

viewed both the proposals "positively and affirmed that the bilateral

cooperation should resume as soon as possible," it said. He also pledged to

provide additional assistance to the Nepali army in fighting the Covid-19

pandemic. The Nepali army expressed confidence that "the visit will help in

strengthening and expanding the cordial military-to-military relations."

WON'T CHANGE MIND ON FRAUD CLAIMS: TRUMP

In the first TV interview since losing his re-election bid, President Trump

indicated on Sunday that he will never concede to Joe Biden and abandon his

conspiracy theory about mass ballot fraud. "My mind will not change in six

months," Trump told Fox News. "This election was rigged," he claimed. He

also said it might be difficult to get his allegations heard before the

Supreme Court. "The problem is it's hard to get it to the SC," he said.

THE REST

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COBRA OFFICER KILLED, 9 COMMANDOS INJURED IN IED BLAST IN SUKMA

An officer of the CRPF's jungle warfare unit, CoBRA, was killed while nine

commandos were injured after Maoists triggered an IED blast in

Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Saturday night, security officials said.

They said the improvised explosive device explosion took place in the

Chintalnar forest area of the district at around 9 pm and the injured

personnel were evacuated by an IAF helicopter at around midnight.

Assistant Commandant Nitin P Bhalerao, 33, succumbed to injuries in the

early hours of Sunday.

Nine commandos, including the team leader second-in-command rank officer

Dinesh Kumar Singh, were injured in the incident.

Bhalerao, a resident of Nashik in Maharashtra, was a decorated commando and

had been adjudged the best in various combat competitions, a senior officer

of the force said.

TWO CMs CALLING EACH OTHER A LIAR

A few hours after Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar made his

office's call details public to prove that he called his Punjab counterpart

Capt Amarinder Singh to discuss the farmer protests, the latter trashed it

as "complete fraud".

In a statement, Amarinder on Sunday said, "Flaunting a page of his own

office register cannot condone ML Khattar's lies, and if he really wanted to

connect, he could easily have used official channels or called up on the

mobile phone."

Khattar has said that he had tried to talk to his Punjab counterpart on many

occasions over telephone on the 'Delhi Chalo' march by farmers' protesting

the Central farm reform laws. "Now, when the record has been shown as to how

many times I tried to speak to him, he (Amarinder) has no answer," he had

said earlier in the day.

"If at all someone from his office called my residence, why were the calls

made to an attendant? Why were official channels not used to get in touch

with me?" asked Amarinder.

"Top officials of the Punjab government, at principal secretary and DGP

levels among others, have been in touch with each other on the farmers'

issue for the past several days. Yet none of these officials conveyed

Khattar's desire to talk to me at any point in time," Amarinder said, adding

that his Haryana counterpart's attempt to "seize a high moral ground" on the

farmers' Delhi Chalo march was "pathetic".

AAP, ON CENTRE'S STAND-OFF WITH FARMERS

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday asked the Centre to

immediately and unconditionally hold talks with the farmers who continued to

protest against the new agriculture laws staying put at the Singhu and Tikri

border points of the national capital for the fourth consecutive day.

The Aam Aadmi Party has supported the farmers' protest and its national

convenor Kejriwal asked the Centre to immediately meet the farmers.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh said that his party demands that Home Minister Amit

Shah should first resolve the issues of the farmers by listening to them.

"The Aam Aadmi Party under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal is standing

beside the farmers. We welcome the farmers to Delhi, we will fight shoulder

to shoulder with them," he said.

At a press conference on Sunday, senior AAP leader and chief spokesperson

Saurabh Bhardwaj said his party believes that Shah has shown "utter

irresponsibility" by leaving the national capital to campaign for Hyderabad

municipal elections when lakhs of farmers were waiting at the Delhi border

to talk to him.

Bhardwaj said on one hand, Amit Shah was telling the farmers that

coronavirus cases might increase due to their protest and on the other, he

was claiming that in his Hyderabad roadshow there was massive public

participation which shows "no social distancing was maintained".

AAP leader Raghav Chadha hit out at Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh

over the farm laws, holding him "equally responsible for crushing" the

farmer protests. "There is a nexus and friendship between PM Narendra Modi

and Captain Amarinder Singh. Together they are duping and deceiving the

farmers," Chadha claimed. The Congress' 2019 election manifesto had the

proposal of the abolition of APMC markets and also these three "black laws"

brought by the Modi government, he said.

ANAND SHARMA GOES AGAINST CONGRESS' OFFICIAL LINE, WELCOMES PM MODI'S COVID

VACCINE REVIEW TOUR

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma Sunday went against the party line and

welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-city tour to review the

Covid-19 vaccine development.

Sharma, the deputy leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha and former

Union minister, called it a move that will "lift the morale of frontline

warriors and reassure the nation".

Sharma's statement stood in stark contrast to the Congress party's official

line - the previous day, it had termed PM Modi's visit a way to seek

"publicity".

Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had taken a jibe at PM

Modi's tour while farmers protest on the streets.

8 STATES, UTs REPORTED NEARLY 71 PC OF NEW COVID-19 DEATHS IN 24-HOUR SPAN

Nearly 71 per cent of the 482 new COVID-19 fatalities reported in a span of

24 hours (up to Sunday morning) were from eight states and Union Territories

with Delhi recording the highest number of 89 deaths followed by Maharashtra

with 88 and West Bengal with 52, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.

It has said 22 states and UTs have recorded case fatality rates lower than

the national average of 1.46 per cent.

Maharashtra recorded the highest positive change with the addition of 1,940

cases, whereas Delhi recorded the highest negative change with a decrease of

1,603 active cases in a span of 24 hours, the ministry said.

The total no. of cases identified country-wide since the start of pandemic

stands at over 94 lakhs while the current active cases are at around 4.46

lakhs. The total no. of deaths so far stands at about 1.37 lakhs

The last 7 days have seen an average of about 41,700 new cases a day while

the recoveries have averaged at about 40,070 a day. The deaths by Covid-19

have averaged 486 a day over the last 7 days.

SERUM INSTITUTE SEEKS RS 100 CR IN DAMAGES FROM TRIAL SUBJECT

As questions mount on Oxford-AstraZeneca vacine trials in India after a

40-year-old participant fell sick and sought damages of Rs 5 crore, Serum

Institute of India (SII) has said the allegations in his legal notice are

"malicious and misconceived".

The volunteer fell sick 10 days after he was given a shot on October 1 in

the clinical trial of Covishield (it could be the vaccine or the placebo).

Since follow-up tests showed he had developed antibodies for the Sars-CoV-2

virus, there is a high probability that he was given the vaccine. On October

11, the person reported a severe headache and vomited. After CT scans,

Covid-19 tests, and MRI scans, he was shifted to the ICU of a hospital. He

was released after 11 days, and the discharge summary says he had suffered

"acute encephalopathy". The person is still disoriented and agitated.

A law firm has, on his behalf, sent legal notice to SII, seeking

compensation of Rs 5 crore.

A Serum spokesperson said: "While Serum is sympathetic, there is absolutely

no correlation with the trial and the medical condition of the volunteer.

The volunteer is falsely laying the blame on the Covid vaccine trial."

The volunteer was informed that the complications had no connection with the

trial. "He still chose to go public and malign the company. Serum will seek

damages in excess of Rs 100 crore," the spokesperson said.

AMID DIVESTMENT PLANS, PSUs LAG IN MARKET RALLY

Amid the relentless rally in the stock market, institutional investors seem

to have largely voted down government-owned companies. Their stock prices

continue to languish, unlike those of leading private sector companies.

The PSUs have shown significant lag in performance despite the broad

recovery in the markets since April 2020.

While the BSE Sensex has risen by 50 per cent between March 31 and November

24, the BSE PSU index has risen by only 18.7 per cent. In fact, the BSE mid

cap and small cap indices have jumped by 60 per cent and 75.6 per cent

respectively in the same period.

Stock prices of government-owned companies and banks continue to lag behind

private peers, and have been trading sharply below their peak value of

recent years. Low valuations are an issue for the government because it has

a heavy disinvestment agenda lined up. The Finance Ministry is said to be

looking at ways to improve the market value of government companies.

State-owned banks, which were expected to benefit in terms of market value

after a spate of amalgamations and capital infusion, have seen a steady

decline in value. The Nifty PSU Bank index, for instance, is down 64 per

cent from its peak of 4,327 in 2017.

While many private banks also saw a sharp decline in share value after the

pandemic impacted markets in March 2020, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank

have had fresh record highs in recent days and several other private sector

banks have done well.

AUSSIES DOMINATE, TAKE ODI SERIES AGAINST INDIA

Australia buried India under an avalanche of runs for a 51-run drubbing in

the second ODI and took an unassailable 2-0 series lead after the majestic

Steve Smith produced another master-class in the form of a 64-ball 104, in

Sydney again on Sunday.

Batting first, Australia rode on five fifty-plus scores including Smith's

blazing knock, to post an imposing 389/4 against a sluggish India.

A target of 390 proved to be too much for India as they were stopped at

338/9, with captain Virat Kohli (89) and KL Rahul (76) finishing as their

main contributors.

BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON WINS AND GROSJEAN ESCAPES HUGE CRASH

An eventful Bahrain Grand Prix came to a close behind the safety car, with

Lewis Hamilton securing his 11th victory of the season. He now edges ever

closer to creating the joint record of most wins in a year, with both

Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel tied on 13.

The race did not get off to the right start, with Romain Grosjean slamming

into the wall and the Haas car almost instantly bursting into flames. It was

not a sight that F1 fans wanted to see, but the best news came when he

walked, albeit gingerly, into the safety car.

Replays showed that Grosjean tried to pass his teammate Magnussen, but was

unaware of AlphaTauri's Daniil Kvyat coming in from behind. The Frenchman

was later on declared 'okay' despite a few minor burns, in an official

statement from the Haas F1 team on their Twitter handle.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The less satisfaction we derive from being ourselves, the greater is our

desire to be like others. - Eric Hoffer

OFF TRACK

A guy boards a train bound for Pittsburgh and sits down in his seat. He

immediately notices that the guy next to him has a deeply bruised, black

eye. "Heck, what a coincidence! We both have black eyes! Mind if I ask how

you got yours?"

"Well," explains the man, "I was at the ticket counter and this gorgeous

well stacked blonde was behind the counter. When I asked to purchase a

ticket to Pittsburgh, I accidentally blurted out 'I'd like a picket to

Tittsburgh' and so she punched me!" The man continues, "What's your story?"

The other guy explains, "I was at the breakfast table and I meant to say to

my wife, 'Please fix me a bowl of corn-flakes,' but I accidentally said,

'You ruined my life you stupid bitch.'"