Chipset market grows 5% as Russia-Ukraine war threatens global supply

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Chipset market grows 5% as Russia-Ukraine war threatens global supply

Amid the global chip shortage that is going to worsen with the Russia-Ukraine war, a new report has shown that the global smartphone AP (Application Processor)/SoC (System on Chip) chipset shipments grew 5 percent (on-year) in the fourth quarter of 2021.

5G smartphone SoC shipments were almost half of the total SoC shipments, according to Counterpoint Research.

MediaTek led the smartphone SoC market with a share of 33 percent in Q4.

“MediaTek’s smartphone SoC volumes declined due to the high shipments in the first half and inventory corrections from Chinese smartphone OEMs. Many customers had built chipset inventories to manage uncertainties in the supply situation,” informed research director Dale Gai.

Qualcomm recorded a very strong quarter, growing 18 percent (on-quarter) and 33 percent (on-year) despite component shortages and foundry capacity not being able to keep up with demand.

“Qualcomm was able to prioritize high-end Snapdragon sales, which come with higher profitability and less impact from shortages than mid-end and low-end mobile handsets,” said senior analyst Parv Sharma.

Qualcomm captured a 76 percent share in the 5G baseband shipments, driven by Apple’s iPhone 13 and 12 series and premium Android portfolio.

“Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 flagship mobile platform will start shipping from this quarter.

“The performance in Q1 2022 will be driven by design wins in the Samsung Galaxy S22 series and launches in the Chinese New Year. Overall, the next inflection in growth will be in H2 2022 with the launch of 5G handsets by major OEMs,” Sharma noted.

Apple maintained its third position in the smartphone SoC market in Q4 2021 with a 21 percent share. The iPhone 13 launch and festive season drove the shipments.

Samsung Exynos slipped to the fifth position with a 4 percent share as Samsung is in the middle of rejigging its smartphone portfolio strategy of in-sourcing as well as outsourcing to Chinese ODMs (original design manufacturers).

Russia-Ukraine war: FIDE moves Chess Olympiad out of Russia

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Russia-Ukraine war: FIDE moves Chess Olympiad out of Russia

Owing to the deteriorating geopolitical situation, the International Chess Federation or FIDE has decided to move the 44th Chess Olympiad and all other official competitions planned from Russia.

The other events that are moved away from Russia are the first chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities and the 93rd FIDE Congress, FIDE said.

This year, Congress should also include an electoral procedure, since the first term of the current FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich is coming to an end. Dvorkovich was elected in Batumi (Georgia), in September 2018.

The decision was taken at FIDE’s extraordinary meeting held on February 25.

The Chess Olympiad, in which teams from approximately 190 countries compete for two weeks, was supposed to take place in Moscow from July 26 to August 8.

FIDE is already working on finding alternative dates and locations for these events.

‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ mints Rs 10.5 cr on day one

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‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ mints Rs 10.5 cr on day one

Alia Bhatt-starrer ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ has made a whopping Rs 10.5 crore on the first day of its release on February 25.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the earnings of Alia’s hits such as ‘Raazi’ and ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ on Twitter.

Adarsh said: “#Raazi vs #GangubaiKathiawadi: *Day 1* biza #Raazi: 7.53 cr (pre-Covid + 100% occupancy) #GangubaiKathiawadi: 10.50 cr (pandemic + 50% occupancy in #Maharashtra)… Note: #Mumbai, #Thane, #Pune, #Gujarat, #Delhi (some locs) are best performers on Day 1. #India biz.”

‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ tells the tale of a young girl named Ganga who becomes Gangubai, a madame in the red light area of Kamathipura.

It is loosely based on the true story of Gangubai Harjivandas, popularly known as Gangubai Kothewali, whose life was documented in the book ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai’, written by S. Hussain Zaidi.

Hrithik gives shoutout to rumoured girlfriend Saba Azad on social media

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Hrithik gives shoutout to rumoured girlfriend Saba Azad on social media

Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan recently took to his Instagram and gave a shoutout to his rumored girlfriend, Saba Azad. The shoutout came ahead of Saba’s gig and it marks Hrithik’s first post for her.

The ‘War’ actor shared a picture of Saba Azad along with Naseeruddin Shah’s son Imaad Shah. The two have an electro-funk band called Madboy/Mink. Hrithik wrote on the picture, “Kill it, you guys”.

The rumors of the two dating each other have been grabbing headlines of late. Earlier, Saba was also seen at a Hrithik family lunch in a picture shared by Hrithik’s uncle Rajesh Roshan. Captioning the picture, Rajesh Roshan had written, “Happiness is always around… Especially on a Sunday, specifically at lunchtime.”

Hrithik was earlier married to Sussanne Khan, they’re parents to two sons, Hrehaan and Hridhaan. Sussanne had also attended Saba’s gig sometime back. She posted Saba Azad’s photo from the music event and wrote, “What an amazing evening. You are super cool and supremely talented.”

Saba Azad expressed her gratitude towards Sussanne through Instagram stories, where she wrote, “Thanks, my Suzie. So happy you were there last night.”

Meanwhile, after a hiatus of two years, Hrithik will be next seen in the Hindi remake of the 2017 runaway Tamil success, ‘Vikram Vedha’ essaying the role of Vikram along with Saif Ali Khan, Radhika Apte and Rohit Saraf.

Stalin speaks to Tamil students in Ukraine, enquires about their well-being

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Stalin speaks to Tamil students in Ukraine, enquires about their well-being

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin on Saturday spoke to Tamil students stranded in Ukraine and enquired about their well-being in the war-torn nation. He enquired about their safety and availability of drinking water and food.

In a video call, lasting for a few minutes, the Chief Minister assured the students that the government is in coordination with the Centre and taking steps to bring them back.

Speaking to students from Tiruchi who are stranded in Ukraine, Stalin said that he was disturbed on seeing the ongoing developments in that country.

However, a student who interacted with the Chief Minister, said that at present he and his friends are “safe” and “the area where they live is not under shelling”.

The Chief Minister, according to his office, told the student, “Be strong. The government is taking steps to bring you all back.”

The Chief Minister’s office has already started a helpline for the students stranded in Ukraine as well as their parents and relatives to communicate. A similar helpline is set up at the Tamil Nadu Bhawan in New Delhi.

According to information, more than 1,500 people have reached out to the Tamil Nadu government through the helpline since the crisis unfolded in Ukraine. There are around 3,500 students from different parts of the state in Ukraine with a majority being students.

There were reports that for evacuation, Indians have to reach the borders of Romania and Hungary and the first batch of evacuation is taking place from western Ukraine as other borders have already been sealed by the Russian forces.

Indian students are permitted to travel in vehicles up to borders by tying the national flag on their vehicles. On Saturday morning several Tamil students who were to catch a flight from Budapest complained that they were not allowed to cross the border.

Soumya Nathan, a third-year MBBS student in Ukraine, told IANS: “It is a tough situation and we are living in bunkers. Waiting to get back home and hope we will be supported by the Government of Tamil Nadu and Government of India to get evacuated from here.”

Nagarjuna-hosted ‘Bigg Boss Telugu OTT’ all set to go

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Nagarjuna-hosted ‘Bigg Boss Telugu OTT’ all set to go

Disney Plus Hotstar comes forth with the 24-hour OTT version of the sensational ‘Bigg Boss’ show, to entertain the Telugu television audience.

As announced by the makers of the controversial reality show, the curtain-raiser episode will start airing on Saturday, February 26.

The promos released by the makers of ‘Bigg Boss Telugu OTT’ features Nagarjuna, as his hosting adds to the excitement.

Earlier, on Friday, the makers unveiled a video in which the ‘Manmadhudu’ actor is seen exploring the colorful sets, where the contestants of the first season of ‘Bigg Boss Telugu OTT’ will reside for the coming days on the show.

It is reported that the 24-hour show will have 17 contestants, the list, which includes contestants from the previous five seasons of the reality show in Telugu.

It is also informed that the show will continue to be telecasted for 12 weeks, as of now, but there are chances that the makers will prolong a couple of weeks, as per the requirement.

Historical drama ‘Outlander’ kicks off its prequel

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Historical drama ‘Outlander’ kicks off its prequel

With Season 6 of ‘Outlander’ scheduled to release on March 6 and the seventh season already getting a nod for production, a prequel to the historical drama series is currently in works at a leading television network with Matthew B. Roberts set to write and executive produce the prequel, reports ‘Variety’.

‘Outlander’ is based on the ongoing novel series of the same name by Diana Gabaldon, who recently teased in a Facebook post about working on a prequel novel about Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser, the parents of Jamie Fraser – the main character from ‘Outlander’. Currently, a writers’ room is being assembled for the project which is set to begin work in the coming weeks.

According to ‘Variety’, the exact plot details with regards to the prequel and its focal point haven’t been revealed yet. Ronald D. Moore, who developed ‘Outlander’ for television, will also executive produce along with Maril Davis under their Tall Ship Productions banner.

The series remains one of the premium cabler’s most popular shows. As with ‘Outlander’, Sony Pictures Television will be the studio.

Important to give everybody a go during practice games: Mithali Raj

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Important to give everybody a go during practice games: Mithali Raj

A confident India skipper Mithali Raj on Saturday stated the importance of giving all members in the squad game time during the warm-up matches of the Women’s Cricket World Cup starting from Sunday. Ahead of their opening match in the World Cup against Pakistan on March 6, India will play two warm-up matches against South Africa and West Indies on Sunday and Tuesday respectively.

“I definitely know the combinations that I would field in the first couple of games at least. But I look forward to giving all the co-players game time and the opportunity of a practice game also to those players who I think will probably get an opportunity at some point during the World Cup. So, it’s important to give everybody a go during the practice games,” said Mithali during the captains’ virtual media conference.

Mithali, set to make her sixth World Cup appearance, clarified that batter Harmanpreet Kaur will be the vice-captain in the tournament despite all-rounder Deepti Sharma doing those duties in the last two ODIs against New Zealand.

“Deepti being picked as the vice-captain was the choice of the selectors and the BCCI. The squad of the World Cup was already announced so Harmanpreet is the vice-captain for the team for the World Cup.”

Mithali further explained the need of having a mixture of experienced and young players to perform well in big events like the World Cup. “We do have the core group which has experienced from the last edition of the One-day World Cup. Most of the players, including the young players who have got into the side in the last couple of series, had the opportunity of playing the leagues. So, that gives them the exposure other than playing the bilateral series.

“When you get into a big event like this, you clearly also depend on experience. It’s not just about having young players and having both together, I think it’s a good mixture because the experienced and younger lot who get the freshness into the team also has a different approach. If you have seen the last couple of series like in Australia and even in the recently-concluded bilateral series with New Zealand, the batting department has come good.

“The bowlers have taken a little bit of time because it is not easy to find your rhythm when you come out of long quarantine. We didn’t even have a camp in India due to the rise in cases at that point in time. The series we played and the one we played last year was important to find players and work on the things we wanted to work on as a preparation for the World Cup.”

Before the World Cup, India managed to avoid a clean sweep by winning the final ODI against New Zealand at Queenstown by six wickets. Asked about the takeaways from the 4-1 series loss which served as vital preparation for the World Cup, Mithali remarked, “The win is important for any team who is getting into a big event because you take a lot of confidence from winning a game. The takeaway definitely is the way the batting unit has turned out in each and every game. The bowling unit took a little time.

“The spinners that we bank on as a bowling unit, they do also understand all these wickets are batting friendly and they need to tighten up their line and length. I am sure by the end of the series, they understood the areas where they consistently need to bowl, and that has really helped them. We definitely look forward to putting more efforts in the fielding department, that is one area we as a team are constantly have been working on.”

Raashii Khanna: Was nervous at first to work with Ajay Devgn

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Raashii Khanna: Was nervous at first to work with Ajay Devgn

Actress Rashi Khanna, who is all set to make her digital debut with ‘Rudra – The Edge of Darkness’, has talked about working with Bollywood star Ajay Devgn in the stories.

Raashii said: “To be honest, I was nervous at first to work with him. But when I met him, I realised how down-to-earth he is. It’s very easy to have a conversation with him. And whatever little that I have pulled off playing this character is all thanks to him and my director. Ajay sir was very supportive and made me feel very comfortable.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to pull off certain scenes if it wasn’t for his support, especially my introduction. He obviously is very experienced and I learned a lot from him in terms of camera angles, playing out certain emotions, playing it natural and the list is very long!”

A remake of the successful British series Luther, ‘Rudra – The Edge of Darkness’ is an engaging and dark take on a cop’s journey of uncovering truths and bringing victims justice.

It will see Ajay Devgn’s titular character of an intuitive and instinctive police officer fighting for the truth in darkness as he wades through a grim and complex web of crimes and criminals and corruption with a wrathful, steely grit.

‘Rudra – The Edge of Darkness’ will be available exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar from March 4, 2022, in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Bengali.

Helmed by ace director Rajesh Mapuskar, spanning across six episodes, the series has been shot across multiple unique locations in Mumbai and reimagines the city from the lens of the country’s most wanted.

Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India, the crime drama features a stellar cast including Raashi Khanna, Esha Deol, Atul Kulkarni, Ashwini Kalsekar, Tarun Gahlot, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Satyadeep Misra in pivotal roles.

India records 11,499 fresh Covid-19 cases, 255 deaths

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India records 11,499 fresh Covid-19 cases, 255 deaths

India on Saturday reported a further decline in Covid-19 cases with 11,499 infections in the past 24 hours against 13,166 cases registered in the previous day, the Union Health Ministry said.

A total of 255 new Covid-related deaths have also been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 5,13,481.

Meanwhile, the active Covid cases have reduced to 1,21,881 which constitute 0.28 percent of the country’s total positive cases.

The recovery of 23,598 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 4,22,70,482. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.52 percent, the Ministry said.

Also in the same period, a total of 11,36,133 tests were conducted across the country. India has, so far, conducted over 76.57 crore cumulative tests.

Meanwhile, the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 1.36 percent while the daily positivity rate has risen to 1.01 percent.

With the administration of over 28.29 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s Covid inoculation coverage has reached 177.17 crores as of this morning. This has been achieved through 2,02,74,848 sessions.

More than 11.80 crore balance and unutilized Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs, according to the ministry.

Budget expands efforts to reform, transform healthcare system: PM

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Budget expands efforts to reform, transform healthcare system: PM

The health budget expands the government’s efforts to reform and transform the healthcare system over the past seven years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

“We have adopted a holistic approach in our healthcare system. Today our focus is not only on health, but equally on wellness. When we talk about holistic and inclusiveness in the health sector, we are including three factors in it. The first is an expansion of infrastructure and human resources related to modern medical science.

“Second is the promotion of research in traditional Indian system of medicine like AYUSH and its active engagement in the healthcare system. And third is to provide better and affordable healthcare facilities to every person, every part of the country through modern and futuristic technology”, said PM Modi while inaugurating the post-Union Budget webinar of Health Ministry.

He underlined that the critical healthcare facilities should be extended at the block level, at the district level, and near the villages. This infrastructure needs to be maintained and upgraded from time to time. He called upon private and other sectors to come forward with more energy for this endeavor.

To strengthen the primary healthcare network, construction of 1.5 lakh health and wellness centers are also on at a fast pace, he said, adding that till now, more than 85,000 centers are providing the facility of a routine check-up, vaccination, and tests. Mental healthcare has also been added to this year’s health budget, he highlighted.

“Therefore, the budget for health education and human resource development related to healthcare has made a considerable achievement compared to last year. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission provides an easy interface between consumers and healthcare providers. With this provision, both — getting the treatment and giving the treatment — in the country will become very easy”, PM Modi said.

He further said that it will also facilitate global access to India’s quality and the affordable healthcare system.

Today the whole world is accepting the role of Ayush. It is a matter of pride that the WHO is going to start its only Global Centre of Traditional Medicine in the world in India, said PM Modi.

Women’s World Cup: Sophie Devine inspired by 2000 title triumph; wants to repeat feat

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Women’s World Cup: Sophie Devine inspired by 2000 title triumph; wants to repeat feat

New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine and her team would be looking for inspiration from the 2000 title triumph when they begin their campaign in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup against the West Indies on March 4.

The White Ferns had defeated trans-Tasman rivals Australia at home to clinch their maiden women’s 50-over World Cup title and Devine said that her side will continue to play some “exciting brand of cricket” they have been playing for some time now.

The White Ferns will be entering the World Cup riding on a challenging 4-1 series win against the Mithali Raj-led India.

“We know if we play a really exciting brand of cricket that we can get the whole country behind. That’s going to leave a legacy. I think it’s something that the Blackcaps did particularly well in 2015. They really did have the whole country behind them and we’re hoping we can do something similar in igniting the passion that so many Kiwis have for their sport and hopefully they can get behind us as well.”

The 2015 men’s Cricket World Cup was jointly hosted by New Zealand and Australia with the Blackcaps making it all the way to the final before losing to their trans-Tasman rivals.

The last time New Zealand hosted a Women’s World Cup they came away champions, and Devine has fond memories of the 2000 triumph.

“That was probably one of the first times I’d watched women’s cricket on TV and it’s not a bad one to watch,” Devine said.

“There’s a number of us players that were inspired by those players who played in that tournament and it’s pretty incredible to think now here we are, some 20 odd years later, hosting our own World Cup tournament with the opportunity to hopefully replicate what they did back in 2000,” she added.

Twitter halts ads & recommendations in Russia, Ukraine

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Twitter halts ads & recommendations in Russia, Ukraine

Twitter on Saturday announced to pause ads and recommendations in Russia and Ukraine to safeguard users from misinformation, as it monitors risks associated with the Russia-Ukraine war.

The company said it is proactively reviewing Tweets to detect platform manipulation and taking enforcement action against synthetic and manipulated media that presents a false or misleading depiction of what’s happening.

“We’re temporarily pausing advertisements in Ukraine and Russia to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don’t detract from it,” the company posted in a tweet.

For people using Twitter in Ukraine and Russia, “we also paused some Tweet recommendations from people you don’t follow on Home Timeline to reduce the spread of abusive content”.

The platform said it is identifying and disrupting attempts to amplify false and misleading information.

“We’ll continue to take steps to safeguard people on the service and the communities they operate within while enforcing the safety and integrity of the platform during this time”.

Earlier, after blocking several researchers’ accounts as Russia began a military strike against Ukraine on Thursday, Twitter admitted it “mistakenly” removed a number of accounts sharing details about Russian military activity.

Several researchers sharing Russia-Ukraine information found their Twitter accounts “unexpectedly” suspended.

Twitter’s Head of Site Integrity, Yoel Roth, said in a tweet that the company’s human moderation team made the mistake.

“A small number of human errors as part of our work to proactively address manipulated media resulted in these incorrect enforcements. We’re fixing the issue and reaching out directly to the affected folks,” he posted.

Meta slams Russia’s move to restrict Facebook

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Meta slams Russia’s move to restrict Facebook

Meta on Saturday criticized Russia’s move to restrict Facebook in the country, saying that it reacted in response to either Facebook’s fact-checking practices or its policy of labeling state-run media accounts.

The Russian government said on Friday that it will begin to “partially restrict” access to Facebook after the social network put restrictions on four Russian state-linked media outlets — the television network Zvezda, news agency RIA Novosti, and the websites Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru.

Nick Clegg, Global Affairs VP at Meta, tweeted that ordinary Russians are using Meta’s apps to express themselves and organize for action.

“We want them to continue to make their voices heard, share what’s happening, and organize through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger,” he posted.

Earlier, Russia’s internet regulatory agency Roskomnadzor said that on February 24, Facebook social network (Meta Platforms) restricted the official accounts of four Russian media outlets.

“Roskomnadzor sent requests to the administration of Meta Platforms to remove the restrictions imposed by the social network on Russian media and explain the reason for their introduction. The owners of the social network ignored the requirements,” the agency said in a statement.

Since October 2020, Roskomnadzor said it has recorded 23 cases of such censorship of Russian media and Internet resources by Facebook.

On February 25, the Prosecutor General’s Office, in agreement with the Russian Foreign Ministry, decided to recognize the social network Facebook as involved in the violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens.

“In accordance with the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office regarding the social network Facebook, starting from February 25, Roskomnadzor, in accordance with the law, takes measures to partially restrict access in the form of slowing down traffic,” it elaborated.

Malaysia reports 30,644 new Covid cases, 57 deaths

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Malaysia reports 30,644 new Covid cases, 57 deaths

Malaysia reported 30,644 new Covid-19 infections as of midnight Friday, bringing the national total to 3,367,871, according to the health ministry.

There are 257 new imported cases, with 30,387 being local transmissions, Xinhua news agency reported citing the data released on the ministry’s website.

Further 57 deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to 32,591.

The ministry reported 22,678 new recoveries, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 3,040,850.

Among 294,430 active cases, 332 are being held in intensive care and 196 of those are in need of assisted breathing.

The country reported 132,371 vaccine doses administered on Friday alone and 82.2 percent of the population have received at least one dose, while 78.8 percent are fully vaccinated and 44.3 percent have received boosters.

Weather to remain generally cloudy in J&K, Ladakh till March 2

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Weather to remain generally cloudy in J&K, Ladakh till March 2

The weather remained overcast with widespread light rain, snow in Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh on Saturday as the MeT department forecast generally cloudy weather till March 2.

A statement issued by the Met department said: “Weather is likely to remain partly to generally cloudy in J&K and Ladakh till March 2 with no forecast of any significant weather during the next five days”.

Srinagar recorded 1.8 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam minus 0.8 degrees, and Gulmarg minus 7.5 degrees as the minimum temperature.

Drass town in the Ladakh region registered minus 7.9 degrees and Leh minus 6.6 as the night’s lowest temperature. Weather parameters for Kargil were not available in the morning.

Meanwhile, Jammu city clocked 8.8 degrees, Katra 6.7 degrees, Batote minus 1.9 degrees, Banihal minus 0.4, and Bhaderwah 0.1 as the minimum temperature.

Apple iPhone SE 3 (2022) may start as low as $300

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Apple iPhone SE 3 (2022) may start as low as $300

Apple is planning to launch a third-generation iPhone SE and now a new report has claimed that the upcoming iPhone may start at $300.

According to GizmoChina, the news comes from Investor’s Business Daily. The report claims that Loop Capital Markets analyst John Donovan said he heard rumors that the new 5G-supported iPhone SE 3 (2022) could start at $300.

The 2022 iPhone SE will reportedly feature 3GB memory, while the 2023 iPhone SE will have more significant changes, including a larger display and 4GB memory.

Display analyst Ross Young previously said that Apple is working on a new 4.7 inch iPhone SE with 5G connectivity for launch in 2022, followed by a successor iPhone SE model with a 5.7 inch to 6.1 inch LCD display in 2024.

Young originally said that the larger iPhone SE model was scheduled for 2023 but was pushed back to 2024, however, Kuo said he believes that it is still on the cards for 2023.

The 2022 iPhone SE is expected to retain the design and 4.7-inch display of the current model and add 5G connectivity, but it is not clear if it will contain either the A14 or A15 chip.

J&K delimitation commission redraws some of its draft proposals

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J&K delimitation commission redraws some of its draft proposals

The delimitation commission has accepted some suggestions and rejected others submitted by associate members including the BJP and the National Conference and redrawn some of its draft proposals.

The associate members have been asked to submit their response by March 4 after which the final draft would be put in the public domain.

The government has extended the term of the Delimitation Commission by two months and it has up to May 6 to submit its recommendations for delimitation of 90 Assembly constituencies in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It has already given 47 seats to the Kashmir division and 43 to the Jammu region.

Headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai, the Commission comprises Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra and State Election Commissioner (SEC) K.K. Sharma. It was set up on March 6, 2020.

Following the redrawn draft proposals, the commission has opened the Poonch Assembly segment and instead reserved Rajouri for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and merged parts of RS Pura with Jammu South seat to rename it as RS Pura-JS (Jammu South) while restoring Suchetgarh and Habbakadal constituencies.

Suchetgarh has been reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs).

The commission has also redrawn boundaries of several other Assembly segments including Poonch, Mendhar, Surankote, Thanna Mandi, Rajouri, Banihal, March, Jammu North, etc, and reversed the name of Mughal Maidaan seat of Kishtwar as Inderwal.

Commission sources said that the BJP’s suggestion for the inclusion of Shopian in the Anantnag-Poonch Parliamentary constituency has been rejected. It has also rejected the NC objection to the inclusion of the Poonch district and parts of the Rajouri district in the South Kashmir Parliamentary segment.

The commission accepted the BJP suggestion for the de-reservation of at least one Assembly seat in Poonch district as all three constituencies there were reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Poonch-Mandi constituency has been de-reserved and declared as a general seat.

In place of Poonch, the Rajouri Main Assembly constituency has been reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (STs).

Now, five seats reserved for STs in the Jammu region are Surankote and Mendhar in Poonch district and Rajouri, Darhal, and Thanna Mandi in the Rajouri district. Four seats are reserved for STs in the Kashmir division, totaling nine.

The commission has restored Suchetgarh Assembly constituency in the Jammu district which had been merged in RS Pura and Bishnah in the draft report submitted to five Associate Members on February 4.

Suchetgarh seat has been restored and reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) in place of RS Pura.

Parts of RS Pura have been merged with Jammu South Assembly seat (earlier known as Gandhi Nagar or Cantonment) and the segment now has been renamed as RS Pura-Jammu South (RS Pura-JS).

Earlier, RS Pura was reserved for SCs. RS Pura-JS is now an open seat and Suchetgarh is the seventh constituency reserved for SCs. Six others are March, Akhnoor, Bishnah, Samba, Kathua South, and Ramnagar.

Boundaries of Suchetgarh and RS Pura-JS have been readjusted by the Panel.

The Delimitation Commission is understood to have acceded to the suggestion of both the National Conference and the BJP to restore the Habbakadal Assembly constituency in Srinagar district which has sizeable electorates of Kashmiri Pandits and rename Mughal Maidaan seat in Kishtwar district as Inderwal.

The constituency was earlier also known as Inderwal and had been named Mughal Maidaan in the draft report.

Kot Patwar Circle of Raipur Domana whose four Panchayats had been clubbed with the March (SC Reserve) seat in the draft report has now been merged with the Jammu North Assembly constituency.

Doongi, Suhana, Bagla, and Fatehpur Panchayats which were part of the newly created Thanna Mandi Assembly segment in the Rajouri district have been clubbed with the Rajouri Assembly seat as they were part of Rajouri tehsil.

Poonch Patwar Halqas of Mandi block which had been included in the Surankote constituency in the draft report has again been made part of the Poonch-Mandi segment. Similarly, some Halqas of Mendhar segment which was incorporated in Surankote has been reversed to Mendhar.

Sangaldan area has now been included in Banihal Assembly seat of Ramban district while Tangar belt of Banihal has been shifted to Ramban seat.

The Commission is likely to meet five Associate Members and brief them about their suggestions/objections which have been accepted or rejected.

After the meeting, the commission will put its report in the public domain for inviting claims and objections.

Delhi govt spends Rs 293cr on ads during Covid from 10,665 cr estimated fiscal deficit for 2021-22

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Delhi govt spends Rs 293cr on ads during Covid from 10,665 cr estimated fiscal deficit for 2021-22

Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government has spent Rs 293 crore on advertisements through television channels, newspapers, and radio during the Covid-hit financial year 2020-21. This is Rs 93.2 crore more than what it spent in 2019-20, reveals an RTI. The fiscal deficit for 2021-22 is estimated to be Rs 10,665 crore as per the Budget estimates for the year 2021-22.

In 2020-21, fiscal deficit has increased by 146 per cent from the budget to the revised stage. In 2020-21, revenue deficit is estimated to be Rs 3,770 crore at the revised stage as compared to a target of revenue surplus of Rs 7,239 crore at the budget stage (a decrease of 152 per cent). The budget estimates a revenue surplus of Rs 1,271 crore in 2021-22.

Amid rising deficit in capital’s economy, heavy spending on advertisements may be considered the way forward towards a sluggish economy.

Delhi’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) witnessed around 3.92 per cent of contraction due to the ongoing Covid-19 infection during the year 2020-21. As per the revised estimates for 2020-21, the receipts other than borrowings are estimated to reduce by 23 per cent over the budget estimates. In 2020-21, total expenditure is estimated to decrease by 9 per cent from the budget to revised stage. In 2020-21, borrowings are estimated to increase by 261 per cent from the budget to revised stage.

The Delhi government released an amount of Rs 2405.59 crore on its popular scheme of providing subsidy on electricity during 2019-20. During the same period, Rs 467.50 crore was released in Delhi Jal Board account for meeting the expenditure on account of giving free water to consumers.

The expenditure Budget of the Delhi government is mainly financed from its own tax revenue, which includes revenue collection from GST, VAT excise, stamp duty and motor vehicle tax (MVT). In addition, there is non-tax revenue and transfers from Government of India in the form of loan and grant under various items. Nearly 68 percent of total tax revenue in 2019-20 came from the GST and VAT, 14 percent from excise, 13 percent from stamp duty, and 5 percent from MVT. The tertiary sector plays a pivotal role in the state economy, both in terms of employment generation and contribution to the state income.

As per the Budget estimates for 2021-22, Delhi government’s total expenditure in the financial year is targeted at Rs 69,000 crore. This is an annual increase of 16 per cent over the actual expenditure in 2019-20. The expenditure is proposed to be met through receipts of Rs 54,07 crore and borrowings of Rs 9,285 crore. The total receipts for 2021-22 other than borrowings are expected to register an annual increase of 6 per cent over 2019-20.

According to the Delhi Economic Survey 2020-21, the per capita GSDP of Delhi in 2020-21 at constant price was estimated to be Rs 2,83,614 which is 7 per cent lower than that in the financial year 2019-20. In 2020-21, agriculture, including mining, manufacturing and services sector, contributed to 3 per cent, 14 per cent and 83 per cent of the economy. However, these sectors contracted by 4.6 per cent, 6.3 per cent and 5.5 per cent, respectively.

Nirmal Khandelwal, Chairman, Delhi and NCR Committee, PHDCCI, told IANS, “Delhi’s financial health is deteriorating from last two years since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Industry, trade, labour, theatre, production unit all are shut in the capital city more or less since the pandemic hit India which has badly impacted the financial condition of Delhi. The main earning source of the city is tourism, which has badly been affected by Covid-19. Additionally, the several production units have been shifted to the neighbouring states in Noida and Gurugram, so the major part of its revenue goes to that neighbouring states.”

He added that the Economic Survey of 2021-22 will throw light on these issues as no major relief have been given by Delhi government during the Covid era.

However, the Economic Survey of year 2021-22 is expected in March 2022 as Delhi government is likely to present its annual budget during the Assembly session starting from March 23.

The Delhi government’s annual budget for 2022-23 will have a roadmap for the city’s economic progress and creating job opportunities, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said last week.

He said a special attention will be given to bring the national capital’s economy back on track.

2nd T20I: Confident India look to continue winning momentum against Sri Lanka

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2nd T20I: Confident India look to continue winning momentum against Sri Lanka

After a thumping victory in the first T20I, the Rohit Sharma-led Team India will look to continue the winning momentum and clinch the three-match series when they face Sri Lanka in the second T20l, here on Saturday.

Team India took a lot of positives from their win in the first T20I. Ishan Kishan looked uncomfortable against West Indies but came out all guns blazing against Sri Lanka in the first T20I, scoring 89 runs in 56 balls with 10 fours and 3 sixes. Shreyas Iyer held the #3 batting position well and displayed his impeccable finishing skills with an unbeaten 57 runs off 28 balls after starting off really slow.

Ishan Kishan (89) and Shreyas Iyer (57*) helped India to a massive score of 199/2 before their bowlers came up with an excellent performance to keep Sri Lanka in check as the hosts won the first T20I in Lucknow by 62 runs to take a 1-0 series lead on Thursday.

Team India had a lot of positives in their win in the first T20I. Ishan, who struggled in the home series against West Indies, signaled his timely return to form with his blazing fifty while Shreyas Iyer, who batted at number three in the absence of the rested Virat Kohli, grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Both Ishan and Iyer know that they won’t be the first choice in the playing XI when India field a full-strength team in the future. So both youngsters will look to repeat their heroics in order to capitalize on the opportunities that are coming their way.

The hosts have another opening option in Ruturaj Gaikwad, who missed the first match due to a wrist injury. If he becomes fit and available in the second T20I, then he could open with Kishan, with skipper Rohit Sharma dropping himself down the order as he did against the West Indies. A fit-again Ravindra Jadeja, who came to bat higher up the order in the previous match, didn’t face that many deliveries. But speaking after the game, Rohit said that the all-rounder will continue to bat higher up the order as the team wants to optimize his batting skills.

“We want more from him, that is why we asked him to bat higher. You will see that happening more and more in the games that he plays for India. I want him to bat up the order more,” said the skipper about Jadeja.

“He is a very improved batter, so we will try and see if we can promote him going forward. We are very clear with what we want to achieve with him in white-ball cricket,” he added.

Meanwhile, comeback man Sanju Samson, who did not get the chance to bat in the opener, will be keen to perform to prove himself again in the international arena.

As far as India’s bowling is concerned, the hosts used seven options, including the batting all-rounders Deepak Hooda and Venkatesh Iyer on Thursday and they did well to restrict Sri Lankan batters. Venkatesh was a bit expensive but he took a couple of wickets. And in all likelihood, India will love to go with the same bowling lineup.

However, it will be interesting to see whether teams want to give some game time to Kuldeep Yadav, who has played very few matches in the recent past.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka will need to play out of their skins to end India’s 10-match winning streak at the picturesque stadium of Dharamshala. The visitor’s top order failed to put up a big performance with the bat while their bowling attack also looked ordinary in the absence of frontline spinners Mahesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga.

Charith Asalanka, who hit a fifty and was the only positive for Sri Lanka and he will look to repeat his performance.

Squads:

India:

Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav.

Sri Lanka:

Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Charith Asalanka, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lahiru Kumara, Danushka Gunathilaka, Ashiana Daniel, Shiran Fernando, Binura Fernando.

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