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Archives for March 2022

CELEBRATING LIFE EACH DAY

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The pandemic, if not anything, has given us all a perspective on the hardships every person faces in their lifetime. This prompted us to provide a platform to those who not only survived their personal battles but simultaneously fulfilled their duties and chased their dreams. We, at Orchids – The International School, salute their courage and the management has also presented them with a small token of gesture for their extraordinary zeal for life.

This Women’s Day, here are the stories that we would like to share with you of their challenges and how they made their way through those barriers. We hope to bring these stories of courage, never-dying-spirit and optimism to millions of fellow Indians through your platform

Ms Veena Bakhle, English Teacher, Ambegaon Branch

The pandemic turned Ms Veena Bakhle’s life upside down when she suffered an irreparable loss during the 1st wave of pandemic. She lost her husband to the fury of Covid-19, but it has not deterred her from facing life head-on. Despite the tragedy, Veena says that the children she has been teaching, her schedules and the mentorship program she has been a part of for many years helped her cope with the loss.  She now says ‘when you don’t have – give’, be it love, care or even attention, this would make someone somewhere feel better and supported.

Ms Garima Sawlani, Principal, Kharadi Branch

Challenging times began for Ms Garima when her marriage of 13 years fell apart due to infidelity and violence and she became a single mom. Her profession as an educator became a driving force helping her understand the dynamics of raising a child. The result is, now her son has graduated with flying colors from Bengaluru’s top B-School and is pursuing his passion in photography and filmmaking. Ms Garima stands in support of women being financially independent, brave, decisive and have faith in their choices.

Rebeca Nagaraj S, Primary English Teacher, Mahalakshmi Layout Branch

Ms Rebeca’s father met with an accident 10 months after the pandemic began and has been bedridden ever since. The challenge for Rebeca was not just supporting her family financially but also to look for a job that would give her space to forget her worries and up skill herself with self-exploration. Ms Rebeca believes that Orchids helped her train and implement it, practically giving a sense of satisfaction. Her interaction with children kept her motivated and made her stronger and that endurance gave hope to go on.

Despite fractured predictions of exit polls, BJP, Congress confident of forming government in Manipur

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Manipur CM N Biren Singh

IMPHAL: Despite fractured predictions by most of the exit polls on Monday, the two dominant political parties in Manipur – the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress – are confident of forming the government in the northeastern state after the declaration of Assembly election results on March 10.

Manipur witnessed a hung Assembly in the previous polls in 2017, and this time too most of the exit polls’ predictions indicate another hung house.

Claiming that his party is confident to form the government in Manipur, state Congress spokesman K.H. Debabrata said that the ruling BJP has used militants and other unethical methods to retain power, but the people of the state have given their verdict against the ruling party.

“The BJP government and its leaders turned Manipur into ‘Moneypur’. During the elections, the BJP leaders utilised underground militants, goons and muscle power. The BJP government at the Centre and in the state gave Rs 16 crore to the militants just before the polls to influence the voters,” the Congress leader told IANS.

Union Minister and BJP’s Manipur election in-charge Pratima Bhowmik said there is no doubt that the BJP is coming to power in Manipur for a second term with absolute majority.

“People of Manipur have become fed up with the Congress. Their mis-governance for many years encouraged the militant outfits to grow. Blockades and bandhs (shut down) were regular affairs during the Congress regime. Hence, the people of the state this time rejected the party whole-heartedly,” Bhowmik said.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had earlier told IANS that the BJP would get at least 40 seats in the 60-member house.

Another Manipur in-charge of the BJP and the party’s national spokesperson, Sambit Patra, tweeted: “The BJP is set to come back with a firm majority in the states we were in the govt – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. Our focus area was majorly empowerment – of women, youth, poor and needy and farmers among other sectors.”

The leaders of the National People’s Party (NPP), BJP’s estranged ally, and Janata Dal (United), are also claiming that they would play a vital role in government formation. The two parties fielded 38 candidates each this time.

NPP general secretary for Manipur, Sheikh Noorul Hassan, said that in the previous Assembly elections, the party had secured four seats, but this time it will bag more than 20 seats to become a formidable political force in Manipur.

The BJP had secured 21 seats in the 60-member Assembly in the last polls in 2017 and wrested power for the first time after stitching together a coalition government with the support of four NPP MLAs, four Naga People’s Front (NPF) members, the lone Trinamool Congress MLA and an Independent member.

However, this time the BJP, NPP and NPF are contesting separately and have fielded candidates against each other.

Congress, which governed the state for 15 consecutive years (2002-2017) and emerged as the single largest party by securing 28 seats in 2017, this time formed a Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance (MPSA) after forging a pre-poll alliance with four Left parties and Janata Dal-Secular.

Political observers said the outcome of the Assembly elections would have important ramifications for Meghalaya and Nagaland, the two northeastern states which along with Tripura would go to the polls early next year.

China calls Moscow its chief ‘strategic partner despite Ukraine war as Russian banks consider Union Pay cards after sanctions

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Russia President Vladimir Putin (L) with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping

BEIJING: China’s foreign minister on Monday called Russia his country’s “most important strategic partner” as Beijing continues to refuse to condemn the invasion of Ukraine despite growing pressure from the U.S. and European Union to use its influence to rein Moscow in.

China has broken with the U.S., Europe and others that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

Beijing has said sanctions create new issues and threaten a political settlement of the conflict.

“No matter how perilous the international landscape, we will maintain our strategic focus and promote the development of a comprehensive China-Russia partnership in the new era,” Wang said at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial parliament.

“The friendship between the two peoples is ironclad,” he added.

Much attention has been paid to a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Feb.4, after which a joint statement was issued affirming “strong mutual support for the protection of their core interests.”

Russia said it endorses China’s view of self-governing Taiwan as an “inalienable part of China, and opposes any forms of independence of Taiwan,” while China backed Russia in opposing the further enlargement of NATO.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn comparisons to China’s own threat to invade Taiwan to bring what it considers a wayward province under its control.

However, Wang said Taiwan was a “fundamentally different” issue from Ukraine because the island is “an inalienable part of China’s territory.”

“Some people, while being vocal about the principle of sovereignty on the Ukraine issue, have kept undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Taiwan question. This is a blatant double standard,” Wang said in a less-than-subtle dig at Taiwan ally the U.S.

China and Russia have increasingly aligned their foreign policies against the liberal Western order and their militaries have carried out exercises together and flown joint air patrols, as their relationship has taken on the trappings of an informal alliance.

Xi’s government has refused to criticize the Russian invasion but tried to distance itself from Putin’s war by calling for dialogue and the respect of national sovereignty.

That prompted suggestions that Putin failed to tell the Chinese leader his plans before their February statement.

Along with denouncing trade and financial sanctions on Moscow, Beijing says Washington is to blame for the conflict for failing to take Russia’s security concerns into consideration.

During an hour-long phone conversation with U.S.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday, Wang said China opposes any moves that “add fuel to the flames” in Ukraine.

Wang called for negotiations to resolve the immediate crisis, as well as talks on creating a balanced European security mechanism.

He said the U.S. and Europe should pay attention to the negative impact of NATO’s eastward expansion on Russian security.

On a visit to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on Monday, Blinken said China’s actions were at odds with its avowed support for stability and “respecting sovereignty.”

Blinken was speaking at a news conference with his Lithuanian counterpart, whose country has come under severe economic pressure from Beijing after it agreed to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius.

“From its coercion of Vilnius to its failure thus far to condemn Moscow’s flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine today and in 2014, Beijing’s actions are speaking much louder than its words,” he said, referring to Russia’s earlier annexation of Crimea.

In Brussels, European Commission spokesperson for foreign affairs Peter Stano said the EU would like to see China play a mediating role and convince Russia to stop its war in Ukraine.

“China has the potential to reach out to Moscow because of their relationship, obviously, and we would like China to use its influence to press for a cease-fire and to make Russia stop the brutal unprecedented shelling and killing of civilians in Ukraine,” Stano told reporters Monday.

He noted that China was not among the five countries which voted against a resolution adopted by the U.N. General Assembly condemning the Russian aggression.

China abstained in the vote.

“This is a reason for us to continue and even step up our engagement,” Stano said.

Chinese state-controlled media have been told to post only pro-Russian content and to censor anti-Russian or pro-Western views, according to a copy of instructions that appeared on the social media account of the newspaper Beijing News.

The post was later deleted.

On Friday, a translation by state TV of remarks by the head of the International Paralympic Committee during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Paralympics skipped portions that expressed horror about the war in Ukraine and called for peace.

The most senior Chinese leaders have avoided mentioning the war in public.

On Saturday, Premier Li Keqiang, the No.2 leader, indirectly acknowledged its impact, saying prices of oil, wheat and other commodities are high and “prone to fluctuation,” but gave no indication why.

Global conditions, Li said, were “increasingly volatile.”

Leading Russian banks are looking into issuing cards that operate on a Chinese payment system after Visa and Mastercard said they would cut their services in Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

Sberbank and Tinkoff Bank said on Sunday that they are considering the possibility of payment cards powered by China’s UnionPay system.

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, said it would announce the launch date later.

Sberbank and Tinkoff told users that they will be able to use Visa and Mastercard for transactions within Russia but they will stop working for payments outside of the country after Wednesday.

The Russian central bank warned on Sunday that all cards using the Visa or Mastercard systems will stop working for both purchases on foreign websites and transactions abroad.

Russian banks are scrambling to find new ways to facilitate cross-border payments after a host of foreign companies suspended financial services, part of a larger move by the West to isolate Russia and cut it off from the global financial system.

Along with Visa and Mastercard, American Express also withdrew its services over the weekend.

They followed major brands from Apple to Shell and Ikea in pulling out of Russia.

China has refused to criticise the invasion of Ukraine but tried to distance itself by calling for dialogue and respect of national sovereignty.

The Chinese payment processor UnionPay benefits from its position as a payment monopoly bolstered by the large Chinese population and the world’s second-largest economy, helping it to grow into a serious rival to Visa and Mastercard.

UnionPay cards are accepted at physical stores in 180 countries and regions and at online stores in 200 countries and regions, according to its website.

UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya asks Akhilesh Yadav to accept defeat before vote counting

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LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Monday asked Akhilesh Yadav to accept defeat and said on March 10 the Samajwadi Party will become “‘samaapt vaadi party'”.

Counting of votes will be held on March 10.

Several exit polls have forecast a clear majority for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, Maurya said, “The claims of the Samajwadi Party and that of Akhilesh Yadav Ji have fallen flat. This means that on March 10 the people of Uttar Pradesh will make the Samajwadi Party a ‘Samaapt vaadi Party’ (a party, which has come to an end).”

“Akhilesh Yadav Ji, accept defeat before the counting of votes. Come to the ground from sky-high arrogance. People know your mindset, they know the goons of your party very well. “They know that if the Samajwadi Party returns to power there will be hooliganism, crime, riots, corruption and illegal grabbing once again,” he said.

In another tweet, Maurya also said that the future of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress will remain in dark for the next 25 years.

Will decide on post-poll alliance with Samajwadi Party based on circumstances: Priyanka Gandhi

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Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. (File Photo)

JAIPUR:  Not ruling out the possibility of a post-poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday said a decision in this regard will be taken “based on the circumstances”. 

 Notably, she did not rule out the possibility of forming a post-poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

“Decision will be taken based on the circumstances that arise. First, let the results come,” she said.

When asked whether the newly elected MLAs would be taken to Rajasthan to prevent horse-trading, Priyanka said: “It is a question of the future. The conditions will be known only after the results are out.”
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasara and Gujarat in-charge Raghu Sharma were present at the airport to receive her.

Priyanka arrived in Jaipur on Monday to discuss the post-poll scenario with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, ahead of the Assembly poll results in five states on March 10.

The Congress general secretary, who was accompanied by party leader Rajeev Shukla, was received by Gehlot, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra and others at the airport here.

Asked about speculation that the party might shift some of its leaders who would emerge victorious in the five state Assembly polls to Jaipur to prevent them from being “poached”, Gandhi sought to downplay it, saying it is a matter of the future.

During her brief interaction with reporters at the airport, she said people must have thought about whom to vote before exercising their franchise.

“The public will make the right decision,” the Congress leader said.

On a question about post-poll alliances, she said everything will depend on the circumstances.

Congress sources said Gandhi will discuss the post-poll scenario in the five states with Gehlot, a veteran party leader.

Later in the day, the Congress general secretary attended a programme organised by an NGO at a hotel.

Sources said select entrepreneurs attended the event in which Gehlot was also present.

After the event, Gandhi went to the chief minister’s residence for dinner.

The results of the Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa Assembly polls are scheduled to be announced on March 10.

Siddaramaiah tears into Bommai’s Karnataka budget, says it has stamp of RSS

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BENGALURU: Terming Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s maiden budget as lacking in vision, Opposition leader in the Assembly, Siddaramaiah, said that he was hoping it would have former CM SR Bommai’s influence, but has more of RSS imprint. “I was disappointed,’’ he remarked.

Siddaramaiah said that in order to cover its mistakes, the BJP government is blaming the Covid-19 situation. Citing the lockdowns, the government said it was not able to collect taxes and therefore, went for borrowings. Even the Fiscal Responsibility Act was amended to facilitate this.

“The double engine government has failed miserably’’ he asserted. Till 2018, the state had loans of Rs 2.42 lakh crore which will increase to Rs 5.18 lakh crore by the end of March 2023. This year alone, the State Government has to pay more than Rs 43,000 crore including Rs 27,000 crore interest on the loans, he noted. Training his guns on the Centre, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka pays more than Rs 3 lakh crore in taxes but, in return, gets only Rs 44,000 crore. 

Outsider who?
When Siddaramaiah began his speech, he said there were many leaders with RSS background “including you (referring to Revenue Minister R Ashoka) and KS Eshwarappa. But ignoring them, Bommai, who was not even in touch with the RSS or BJP till 2008, was made CM”. To this, Ashoka retorted saying Siddaramiah himself was also not from Congress, but was made CM in 2013.

Big birthday event for Vasundhara Raje on Tuesday, seen as show of strength ahead of 2023 Rajasthan polls

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JAIPUR:  The followers of former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje will celebrate her birthday on March 8 in a grand style which is being seen as a major show of strength among the political circles.

Coinciding with International Women’s Day, the event is also being construed as the launch of poll preparations by the BJP’s Raje camp. Rajasthan is going to the polls next year. 

In the midst of preparation for birthday celebrations, two audio clips have gone viral on social media in which the party’s infighting has come to the fore yet again. BJP’s Bundi district president Chitarmal Rana and local MLA Ashok Dogra are reportedly heard asking a local worker to distance from Raje’s Dev Darshan Yatra as it is not a party programme.

Nevertheless, former ministers Babulal Verma, Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, Yunus Khan, Bhavani Singh Rajawat, former state president Ashok Parnami and former MLA Prahlad Gunjal are among the senior leaders preparing to celebrate the event at Keshavarai temple in Keshavraipatan, Bundi as part of the Dev Darshan Yatra. The district BJP unit, however, has distanced itself from the programme.

According to BJP insiders, the target of gathering a crowd of one lakh people was set to Raje supporters for the birthday programme.

All participating MLAs, former MLAs, close leaders were asked to mobilise a crowd of at least 2,000-3,000 people.

In the Rajasthan political circles, the turf fight between Raje and the party’s state president Satish Poonia, who heads the RSS faction, is a well-known fact.

The Raje camp claims that the BJP can come to power only if the next election is fought under the leadership of Raje. 

3,993 new COVID infections in India, daily cases in country lowest in 662 days

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NEW DELHI: India logged 3,993 new coronavirus infections, the lowest in 662 days, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,29,71,308, while the active cases dipped to 49,948, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The active cases comprise 0.12 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate further improved to 98.68 per cent, the ministry said.

A reduction of 4,170 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.46 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was 0.68 per cent, according to the ministry.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 179.13 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year.

The 108 new fatalities include 83 from Kerala and five from Karnataka.

A total of 5,15,210 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,43,740 from Maharashtra, 66,263 from Kerala, 39,996 from Karnataka, 38,017 from Tamil Nadu, 26,137 from Delhi, 23,476 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,180 from West Bengal.

The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

2022 Assembly elections: Exit polls predict win for BJP in Uttar Pradesh, AAP in Punjab

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NEW DELHI: Several exit polls on Monday forecast a clear majority for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab with some of them giving an edge to the saffron party in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

While India Today-Axis My India predicted 288-326 seats for the BJP and its partners in Uttar Pradesh and 71-101 for the SP alliance, News 24-Today’s Chanakya predicted 294 seats for the NDA and 105 for the Akhilesh Yadav-led alliance.

News 24-Today’s Chanakya predicted 43 per cent vote share for the BJP alliance in Uttar Pradesh and 35 per cent for the SP and its partners.

CNN News 18-Matrize predicted 262-277 seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and allies and 119-134 for the Samajwadi Party (SP) and allies in Uttar Pradesh.

Times Now-Veto predicted 225 and 151 seats for them, respectively.

Most of them were also unanimous in predicting a big win for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, with India Today-Axis projecting up to 76-90 seats in the 117-member assembly.

A few exit polls also forecast a hung assembly in Punjab, the only poll-bound state where Congress is in power while giving a clear edge to the AAP.

News 24-Today’s Chanakya predicted a wave in the AAP’s favour in Punjab, giving it 100 seats with a margin of 10 seats on either side.

It gave 43 to the BJP and 24 to the Congress in Uttarakhand.

TV9 Bharatvarsh-Polstrat, however, predicted 56-61 seats for the AAP in Punjab, making it the frontrunner.

The Congress was mostly predicted to be securing the second spot in Punjab.

In Uttarakhand, both the Congress and the BJP were favoured by different exit polls to win the assembly polls.

The ABP News-CVoter forecast an edge for the Congress in Uttarakhand, giving the party 32-38 seats in the 70-member assembly and the BJP 26-32 seats.

Goa was predicted by most pollsters to be heading for a hung assembly.

The BJP was given a clear edge by most exit polls in the election to the 60-member Manipur assembly, with the Congress being seen a distant second.

The BJP is in power in four of the five states.

The exit polls signal that the BJP remains the dominant party in these states and indicate a big swing in the AAP’s fortunes as Kejriwal’s party is also seen to have emerged as a force in Uttarakhand and Goa where it may corner a decent poll percentage if not many seats.

Most exit polls also predicted a big fall in the fortunes of the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and a setback for the Congress, which had hoped to retain power in Punjab and make a comeback in states like Uttarakhand and Goa.

The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

Exit polls have mostly predicted that the BJP would be emerging as the single-largest party in Manipur, where elections were held in two phases on February 28 and March 5.

According to Zee News-Designboxed, the saffron party might bag anything between 32 and 38 seats in the 60-member Assembly, while the Congress would possibly muster 12-17 seats.

IndiaTV Ground Zero Research has forecast 26-31 seats for the BJP, with the Congress ending up with 12-17 constituencies and other parties with 11-22 seats.

In almost every exit polls projection, Congress was seen as bagging fewer seats than the last election’s tally.

The party had pocketed 28 seats in 2017, three short of the magic number.

All pollsters are unanimous about BJP’s better performance.

The saffron camp, which won 22 seats in 2017, had stitched up an alliance with the NPP and other regional outfits to form government in the state, with N Biren Singh at the helm.

Interestingly, non-BJP and non-Congress parties are being expected to grab a major part of the Assembly pie this time.

India News has forecast 23-28 seats for the BJP, 10-14 for the Congress, and as many as 19-26 seats for other parties.

Results of the elections will be declared on March 10 after counting of votes.

The BJP had, during its campaigns, claimed that it had successfully created a bandh-free Manipur and bridged the hill-valley divide in the state.

It promised to empower women and bring militant groups to the discussion table if voted to power this time.

Raichur’s Bushra Mateen creates new record in University History by winning 16 gold medals

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Belagavi: Raichur S.L.N College’s B.E Civil Engineering department’s student, Bushra Mateen has won a total of 16 gold medals from the VTU and created a new record. 

Prof. Karisiddappa, Chancellor at Visvesvaraya Technological University, called a press conference regarding the VTU’s Annual Convocation event and said that the University’s 21st Annual Convocation program would be conducted on March 10th at the Jnanasangama Campus, he informed.

Bushra Mateen who has won a total of 16 gold medals has reportedly created a new record, which is the first record in the history of the VTU. The University’s Chancellor also said that to date the record of the maximum number of gold medals won had been at 13, he informed. 

Bengaluru B.N.M Technological Institution’s Swathi Dayanand from the E and C Department, Belagavi K.L.E. Dr. M. S. Sheshagiri Engineering College’s Vivek Bhadrakali from the Mechanical Department, Bellary Institute Of Technology and Management’s Chandana M. from the E & C Department have each won 7 gold medals, it is learned. 

Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot is scheduled to preside over the event. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will be delivering the Convocation address and Minister of Higher Education Dr. C. N Aswathanarayan will be participating as the chief guest at the event, the University’s Chancellor informed.

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