DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA India largest producer of milk in the world, record increase of 58% in milk production in last 10 years; Welfare of 8 crore cattle-rearing families ensured Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat 6-month amnesty stretched to 6 years, more than 100 projects with ‘violations’ cleared JAY MAZOOMDAAR NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 Sandeshkhali: NCW chief says she got 2 rape complaints; TV journalist held SANTANU CHOWDHURY & SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 19 THE NATIONAL Commission for Women chairperson Monday said she had received 18 complaints from the women of West Bengal’sSandeshkhali,including two of rape, during a visit to the area. The chairperson, Rekha Sharma, also demanded President's Rule in the area and resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for “failing to stop atrocities on women”. The statepolice,meanwhile,arrested a TV journalist who was reporting from the area, prompting a sharp reaction from the BJP. The area has been at the centre of a political firestorm between the TMC and BJP ever since protests broke out in the area earlier this month, led by women who claim they were sexually harassed over the years by aides of Trinamool Congress strongman Sheikh Shahjahan. Since the allegations, TMC’s Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar have been suspended fromthepartyandplaced under arrest. Shajahan has been abscondingsinceJanuary5afteran Enforcement Directorate team was attacked by a mob while on its way to search his residence in connection with a ration scam. “Women in Sandeshkhali have been harassed and deprived of their rights. A large number of them have been CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AN AMNESTY window opened for just six months in March 2017 to clear projects in a novel “violation category” became routine through a Union Environment Ministry notification in July 2021, and provided ex-post facto approval to over 100 projects till the Supreme Court stayed the notification in January this year. Projects that started work without obtaining a mandatory prior environmental clearance or exceeded the limits set as clearance conditions fall under the “violation category”. Besides clearing over 100 projects,theministryalsoissued terms of reference (ToR) for impact assessment to at least another 150 (see chart) under the violation category. Once a projectisconsideredfitforappraisal, ToR is issued for assessing its environmental impact and a final decision on the clearance depends on that assessment. Coal, iron and bauxite mines, a greenfield airport, multiple distilleries, steel and iron factories, industrial estates, cement plants and limestone quarries, chemical units and building PROJECTS* CLEARED UNDER VIOLATION CATEGORY Jun 2017-21 EACs Jul 2021-Dec 2023 Violation Industry Coal Non- Infra Power Total Mining Coal TOR 57 68 7 10 10 2 154 EC 55 27 9 5 2 3 101 *Minimum numbers from available records; EACs: Ministry’s sectoral Expert Appraisal Committees. Since July 2021, all EACs cleared projects under Violation category; TOR: Terms of Reference issued for impact assessment to projects considered fit for appraisal; EC: Environmental clearance issued; Source: MoEFCC construction sites — these are the projects cleared by the Union Environment Ministry under the “violation category” since March 2017. Conceived as a one-time opportunity, it became a routine process when the Union Environment Ministry CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Waiting forSC BY TURNING a six-month window for clearing projects which violated clearance conditions into a routine process, the Environment Ministry allowed for at least 100 projects to sail through. These include power projects, an airport. Now the Supreme Court will take a call. ‘Marking on ballot papers grave lapse, presiding officer has to be prosecuted’ ANANTHAKRISHNAN G MIHIR VASAVDA ROURKELA, FEBRUARY 19 AS 20-YEAR-OLD local girl Jyoti Chhetri, playing against the USA in the FIH Pro League, dazzled the homecrowd on February 18, her parents watched at the stadium, less than 2 km from their home in Rourkela's Panposh neighbourhood. For the rising forward in the national women’s hockey team, last week was straight out of a fairytale.Butforonetwist–soon, DAY AFTER MEETING Punjabfarmers rejectGovtoffer, toresumeDelhi marchtomorrow KANCHAN VASDEV NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 EXPRESSING CONCERN about horse trading in Chandigarh mayoral polls, Supreme Court Monday decided to examine the ballot papers of the January 30 elections to see if the results can be deduced by disregarding the “defacement”allegedlymadeon some of them by the Returning Officer. Athree-judgebenchpresided by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, also directed that the ballot papers be produced before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, and a fresh Returning Officer — an officer of the state whoisnotalignedtoanypolitical party — be appointed. “What we propose to do is to directtheDeputyCommissioner, who is the prescribed authority, to appoint a fresh Returning Officer… The process shall be taken to its logical conclusion from the stage, which was Farm leaders Sarvan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal address reporters in Patiala. PTI CENTRE’SMSPOFFER,PAGE7 Farmerleaderssaywillsticktodemand forMSPlegalguaranteeforallcrops CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 19 CCTV footage of returning officer Anil Masih during the mayoral polls on Jan 30 reached immediately before the declaration of the result. We will ask the Registrar General of the HighCourttonominateajudicial officer to oversee the process of the counting of the ballots. And lettheresultsbedeclaredonthat, disregarding the defacement, which has been made by the Returning Officer either in the form of putting any mark or whatever on the ballot papers. Letthatbecarriedout,”thethreejudge bench said orally. Refusing requests to take up the case on Wednesday and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi with UP CM Yogi Adityanath during the 4th groundbreaking ceremony of UP Global Investors’ Summit in Lucknow, Monday. PTI PAGE6 Sants are building new temples, I am rebuilding nation: PM Modi ‘If today Sudama gave rice to Krishna, PIL in SC, graft verdict’ “I am working day and night to rebuild the temple that is the nation and make it grand. Today, India has reached a place where we are not emulating (others) but setting examples,” he said, laying the foundation stone of Kalki Dham in Sambhal in western Uttar Pradesh. “Wearebeingseenasaninnovationhub.Wearethefifthlargest VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 PRIMEMINISTERNarendraModi on Monday said that like sants and acharyas are building new temples, God has entrusted him with the responsibility of building the “rashtra-roopi mandir (the temple that is the nation)”. Indian hockey team’s Jyoti dazzles crowd, hopes her home next door isn’t demolished PAGE 1 ANCHOR ● Bring ballot papers to court, count afresh, says Supreme Court NOTICE ON ROURKELA ROAD-WIDENING PROJECT Jyoti Chhetri during a match at the Birsa Munda Stadium, less than 2 km from her house, in Rourkela. Hockey India E EXPLAINED cbc 22201/13/0280/2324 Prosperous dairy sector tor Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee BY UNNY `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Government of India BUSINESS AS USUAL POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2024, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES Scan for more information ● she might not have a home. On the field, Jyoti has been playing hard and moving up. Off it, she has been fighting to avert demolition of her house where she has lived all her life. Jyoti’s father Bhim Chhetri, a mason, said the family has been serveda“notice”bylocalauthorities to vacate the house to make way for widening of the road. It’s going to be a challenge given that the family moved in 20yearsagoandbuiltahouseon this estimated 300-square-foot CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 economy for the first time and have become the first country to reach the Moon’s south pole. For the first time, we have Vande Bharat and Namo Bharat trains; we have a vast network of highwaysand expressways. The positiveenergyandself-confidencein thenationisauniqueexperience,” the Prime Minister said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Rajasthan: Snubbed for key post, Congress heavyweight joins BJP HAMZA KHAN JAIPUR, FEBRUARY 19 U.S. PROPOSES U.N. RESOLUTION FOR TRUCE IN GAZA INDEPENDENTS WILL JOIN SUNNI ALLIANCE: IMRAN’S PARTY P10 EXPRESS NETWORK HerparentsBhimandSeemaatahousetheybuilt20yearsago onGovtlandoppositethePanposhSportsHostelwhereBhim onceworkedandJyotifirstpickedupahockeystick A DAY after the Centre proposed minimum support price (MSP) on three pulses, maize and cottonthroughcooperatives,agitating Punjab farmer leaders Mondayeveningrejectedtheoffer and said they would resume their‘DilliChalo’protestat11am Wednesday to demand legal guarantee of MSP on all crops. Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said they discussed at length the Centre’s proposal, whichwasofferedduringameeting between the protesting farmer leaders and three Union ministers Sunday night, and reachedtheconclusionthatitwas “not in favour” of the farmers. “We stand by our demand of legal guarantee for MSP on all 23 crops,” he told reporters. Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarvan Singh Pandher said the ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest would resume at 11 am Wednesday. “We will start marching towards Delhi. We should be allowed to protest. We have every right to launch an agitation. There is no need for any meeting. The government should take decisions now. There have been enough discussions,”hesaid,addingthat the Haryana-Punjab borders should be opened for them. “We appeal to the government to either accept our demands or let us go to Delhi,” he B.TECHSTUDENT ENDSLIFE INKOTA PAGE 3 CONGRESS MLA and former Rajasthan Cabinet minister Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), on Monday resigned from the state Assembly and joined the BJP at its state office in Jaipur in the presence of leaders such as state BJP president C P Joshi and state in-charge Arun Singh. He later said he was returning to his old home, referring to his early political stint with the RSS-affiliatedstudentbodyAkhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in school and college. He Rajasthan BJP chief C P Joshi (left) with Mahendra Jeet Singh Malviya. Rohit Jain Paras also said he was “saddened and hurt” when he was denied permission to attend the Ayodhya Ram Temple consecration CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The AI in AIIMS: Helping identify therapies for cancer patients ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 CANARTIFICIALintelligence(AI) help doctors identify the best cancer therapy for their patients? A supercomputer and AI, developed by researchers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS)Delhi,promises to do just that. Oncologists usually toggle with ideas as they decide the best therapy for their patients. But with iOncology AI, which employs a supercomputer in Pune and a high-capacity server called Charak I at the National Cancer Institute campus in Jhajjar, doctors can determine the most common type of genetic mutation in their patients, helping them narrow in on the best treatment option. For instance, a doctor treating someone with breast cancer of a particularsubtypesuchasHER2can cross-reference data related to therapy that has worked for patients of the similar genetic makeup,thushelpingthedoctor make informed, faster and precise therapy choices. iOncology AI aims to sequence the genomes of 3,000 cancer patients who are currently seeking treatment at AIIMS, aiming to address a fundamental question: Does a patient’s genetic makeup correlate with the efficacy of diverse cancer therapies? So far, the AI model has been tested on 1,500 breast and ovarian cancer patients from AIIMS and was found to be over 75 per centaccuratewhencomparedto thediagnosisprovidedbytheclinicians. Genomic data is a powerful tool for medical researchers and doctors. It helps them understand how variations in DNA affect our health. Through genomic sequencing, they decipher our genetic makeup andspotalterationsinourgenes. These changes are key to understanding how diseases such as cancer develop. “This is an evolving platform, the more data it gets, the more accurate it will become,” said Dr WHAT IS iONCOLOGY AI ■ Developed using CDACPune’s supercomputer and patient data saved in Charak I server at NCI Jhajjar, it’s an electronic health record and treatment guidance system with patient records such as pathology, radiology details and clinical history ■ Additionally, genomic data of cancer patients from AIIMS will be uploaded to the system to understand its relation with various treatments ■ AI then studies the data and tries to co-relate which treatment works best for patients with what history and test results Jaipur Ashok Sharma, the principal investigator of the project and additional professor specialising in epigeneticsinthedepartmentof biochemistry at AIIMS. The system is now being validated in five district-level hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. How does the AI tool work? Theplatform,developedwith Pune’s Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, allows CONTINUED ON PAGE 2