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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001575

Improve intl communication, Xi says

President calls for efforts to better tell Chinas stories

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has underlined the significance of bolstering the nation’s capacity in engaging in international communication to foster an image of China that is trustworthy, lovable and respectable.

In remarks made at a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday, Xi underscored that telling China’s stories well, making the nation’s voices heard and presenting a true, multidimensional, and panoramic view of China is a key task in strengthening the nation’s capacity in international communication.

He urged a keener understanding on the importance and necessity of improving China’s work in international communication in order to build an international discourse power that can match the nation’s comprehensive national strength and global status.

Xi noted that the Party has always attached importance to international communication, and China’s international discourse power and influence have seen remarkable growth since the Party’s 18th National Congress in 2012.

Under new circumstances and faced with new tasks, Xi said it is important to enhance top-level design, establish a strategic communication system with distinctive Chinese characteristics and improve the influence of international communication, the attraction of Chinese culture, affinity with China’s image, the persuasiveness of Chinese discourse and the ability to guide international public opinion.

He called for quicker steps to form a system of Chinese discourse and Chinese narrative, using Chinese theories to explain China’s practice and employing Chinese practice to elevate Chinese theories.

New concepts, domains and expressions should be created to better tell China’s stories and show the power of the thinking and the spirit behind the stories, Xi said.

It is important to step up efforts to publicize and expound on the CPC, helping the global audience understand that the CPC truly fights for the happiness of the Chinese people and learn about why the CPC is capable, Marxism really works and socialism with Chinese characteristics excels, he said.

To enable Chinese culture to go global more effectively, Xi stressed the need to interpret and present it in a way that embodies the nation’s spirit and wisdom.

Xi said a tone that displayed openness, confidence and conveyed modesty and humility must be maintained.

With China approaching the center stage of the world and being capable and responsible in playing a greater role in global affairs, Xi called for steps to make Chinese proposals, wisdom and approaches better known.

The general secretary required across-the-board elaboration on China’s philosophy on development, civilization, security, human rights, ecology, international order and global governance, saying that the nation must hold high the banner of a community with a shared future for mankind.

He reiterated the need to advocate multilateralism, oppose unilateralism and hegemony and to guide the international community to jointly work toward a new international order that is more fair and reasonable.

It is important to make good use of various touching cases to explain that China’s own development is the nation’s greatest contribution to the world and, in doing so, the country has contributed wisdom to the solution of human issues, Xi said.

The nation must continue to host events in various forms that promote people-to-people exchanges to scale up exchanges and mutual understanding between people from China and different countries, he said.

In a bid to comprehensively elevate the efficiency of international communication, China must strengthen a special team of talents that can meet the requirements for work in this regard in the new era, he added.

Xi called for the use of targeted communication strategies that can cater to the demand of different regions, countries and groups of audiences to spread Chinese stories and voices globally, and with an approach that is tailored to particular regions and audiences.

He also urged unremitting efforts to expand the circle of friends that understand China and befriend China in international public opinion, saying that the nation must improve its capacity to make its voice heard on major issues.

Published : June 02, 2021

By : XU WEI/China Daily/ANN

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Vietnam Airlines to pilot digital health passport IATA Travel Pass

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, in coordination with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), will begin piloting the digital health app IATA Travel Pass on June 1.

With the project, Vietnam Airlines becomes the first airline in Viet Nam to sign an agreement with IATA to pilot this application, which is considered the key to open up the border, facilitating passengers’ travel between countries, and meeting all entry requirements of authorities and governments of countries.

IATA is committed to supporting and closely coordinating with Vietnam Airlines throughout the trial period.

The IATA Travel Pass is a mobile app that allows travellers to store and manage certifications for COVID-19 tests or vaccines. The app has been available in iOS and Android stores.

The information provided through the IATA Travel Pass can be used by governments requiring testing or vaccination proof as a condition of international travel during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a secure means to manage health requirements and much more efficient than paper processes.

According to Vietnam Airlines General Director Le Hong Ha, promoting digital transformation through an electronic health passport solution such as the IATA Travel Pass will help quickly restore regular international passenger transport.

Senior Vice President at IATA Nick Careen emphasized that electronic health passport would be the solution to international travel during the pandemic, and that the IATA Travel Pass would hold the key for international aviation activities to restart.

The IATA Travel Pass is being piloted by more than 30 airlines worldwide, including five-star airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways, and three countries have officially allowed the use of this app for entry.

The app is forecast to become a global trend, helping countries be more confident in easing travel restrictions and thus rebounding their aviation industries as soon as possible.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam has asked the Ministry of Transport to propose to authorized agencies for implementing this mechanism, towards accelerating the reopening of regular international flights to Viet Nam. — VNS

Published : June 02, 2021

By : Viet Nam News/ANN

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Human Trafficking: Tales of horror unravelling

Another video of torture found; 3 India returnees in custody; police detained 10 suspects

Awoman, devastated, is sitting on a bed with two others. There are bruises and injury marks on her legs, face and other parts of her body. Bloodstains can be seen on the bed sheet.

As she stares blankly, two young men in the same room are seen verbally abusing her.

A new video footage, found by Bangladesh police, tells another story of the horrors in Bengaluru. Investigators say the brutalised woman seen in the video is a sex trafficking victim, who was tricked into going to the South Indian city by a racket.

She is one of three Bangladeshi young women, aged between 15 and 25, who managed to flee from captivity by the sex traffic racket and came back home.

The investigators said the traffickers were from the same group, which recently made headlines after a video footage showing a Bangladeshi woman being tortured in the same city went viral.

The three women were lured into going to Bengaluru in mid-March and they managed to return before Eid-ul-Fitr.

They are now in police custody, investigators told The Daily Star yesterday, adding that they got some vital information from them. They also said they were trying to identify and detain all the culprits involved.

Speaking to The Daily Star, police officials linked with the probe said they, along with the victims, have raided three “huts” adjacent to the bordering areas in Satkhira, where the women were kept before being trafficked.

The law enforcers detained at least 10 suspects for their alleged involvement in the crime.

The investigators suspect that nearly 5,000 women and girls, aged between 15 to 30, were trafficked through three points of the bordering districts in Satkhira, Jashore and Lalmonirhat over the last five years.

The criminals spent between Tk 15,000 and Tk 20,000 to take each victim to the other side of the border without passports and visas, they said.

After the video clip of a 22-year-old woman being tortured and sexually assaulted went viral on social media, Indian police on May 27 arrested Rifatul Islam Ridoy, also known as Ridoy Babo on TikTok, along with five other Bangladeshis, from Bengaluru.

Bangladesh police then began an investigation and found a transnational racket, involving some Bangladeshis, which trapped victims using the social media platform TikTok.

Police said Ridoy can be seen in the new video.

Md Shahidullah, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Tejgaon division), earlier at a press briefing said some criminals from the south-western region of Bangladesh and several Indian states were involved in the gang. The racket’s network is stretched out to Dubai, UAE, and some other countries in the Middle East.

‘VIDEO UPLOADED FROM BANGLADESH’

Investigators said the first video that went viral was uploaded by one of the three victims who managed to flee.

The Daily Star could not verify this claim.

“She uploaded the video after coming back to Bangladesh. She did it hoping to get justice as she wanted the assaulters’ arrest,” said an investigator, wishing not to be named.

All the women were tortured by the same group.

The official said another woman was seen in the viral video, who tortured the three women as they refused to be a sex worker and asked to be sent home.

Wishing not to be named, another police official said a case under the human trafficking prevention act would be filed against the woman seen in the first video.

Police said the woman went to Dubai in 2019 where she was pushed into the sex trade and also worked as a bar dancer for six months.

She then came to Bangladesh and later went to India a few months ago with “TikTok Ridoy”.

Then, she lured the three women into going to India, promising to give them modelling contracts or well-paid jobs, the official said.

“The woman then kept the three victims at a hotel and forced them to have intercourse with men.”

On Friday, the woman, who was seen being tortured in the previous viral video, underwent a medical examination in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, the six accused have been remanded for 14 days.

Published : June 01, 2021

By : The Daily Star/ANN

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Spore should be able to ease Covid-19 rules after June 13 if community cases fall further: PM Lee

SINGAPORE – Singapore should be able to relax restrictions on social gatherings after June 13, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday (May 31).

This is provided the Covid-19 situation continues to improve and the number of community cases falls further, he added.

In a speech broadcast live to the nation, the Prime Minister noted that the number of new cases reported daily has fallen since Singapore went on heightened alert with stricter measures to combat the spread of the virus.

“Because of your support, the number of daily cases has come down,” Mr Lee said. “Barring another superspreader or big cluster, we should be on track to bring this outbreak under control.”

The country will know for sure in another week or so, he added, urging Singaporeans to keep up their efforts and stay vigilant.

This means working from home if possible and going out only when necessary, he said. “Most importantly, if you feel unwell, see a doctor immediately – even if you have been vaccinated.”

Since May 16, people have been allowed out in only groups of two and dining in eateries has been prohibited as the country tightened Covid-19 restrictions to stamp out a worrying surge of cases in the community.

The rules were tightened after new clusters of infection were found – notably, at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and at Changi Airport – along with a rise in unlinked cases, implying community spread.

Published : June 01, 2021

By : The Straits Times

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3-child policy proposed as society ages

A key meeting of the Communist Party of China unveiled on Monday a policy that would allow all couples to have up to three children, in place of the current universal two-child policy, in a bid to cope with an increasingly aging society. It also pledged stronger support for families.

The decision signaled a stronger emphasis from the nation’s top leadership to stabilize births and respond to the aging population after recent national census data showed an aging demographic structure, analysts said.

It was announced after the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee heard a report on major policy measures to actively address the aging population during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period and reviewed a decision on improving birth policies to promote long-term balanced population growth.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting.

The meeting highlighted the need to carry out a national strategy to proactively cope with the aging society, including steps to introduce phased-in delays to the retirement age and promote the unified national management of basic old-age insurance funds.

The nation will improve the multilevel social security system for the elderly and explore the establishment of a long-term nursing insurance mechanism framework, according to a summary of the meeting.

It called for quicker steps to develop an elderly care service system and a health support system that coordinates the development of home care, community services and professional institutions and integrates elderly care with medical and health services.

The meeting urged the authorities at various levels to scale up their fiscal input, with steps to improve financial investment policies and improve the funding mechanism from multiple channels to support the growth of the elderly care sector.

The policymakers highlighted the significance of a three-child policy and its support measures in improving the demographic structure and maintaining China’s edge in human resources.

They stressed the need for unified policymaking in terms of marriage, births, parenting and education, with stronger measures to guide young adults on issues related to marriage and family values and to target unhealthy social conduct during wedding ceremonies and excessive betrothal gifts.

The level of services to ensure good prenatal and postnatal care must be improved, and a child care service system that benefits all families will be established, the summary said.

The meeting called for greater equality in education and an enhanced supply of high-quality education resources to reduce families’ education expenditure, saying that more incentives in taxes and housing will be rolled out and the legitimate interests of women in the job market will be safeguarded.

The policymakers also pledged to continue with aid packages for one-child families and rural families with two daughters from before the nation adopted the universal two-child policy in 2016, saying that the nation will establish and improve various policies for such families under the family planning policy.

China’s latest national census data, published in May, showed a fertility rate of just 1.3 children per woman in 2020, which was on a par with aging societies like Japan.

The nation has adjusted its population policies twice since 2012, allowing couples, of which one partner is an only child, to have a second child in 2013 and carrying out a universal two-child policy starting in 2016.

Lu Jiehua, a professor of social demographics at Peking University, highlighted the need to give adequate guarantees in terms of the reproductive rights of women and allow them to give birth without any burden as the nation moves to bolster fertility rates.

Yuan Xin, a population scientist at Nankai University in Tianjin, said a three-child policy will serve to boost the fertility rate, and a new package of socioeconomic measures would be required to adapt to the policy shift.

He said the new policies must cover children, parents and seniors, to improve the financial situation of couples planning to have children and help elderly people live better lives.

Published : June 01, 2021

By : China Daily/ANN

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Opinion split in Tokyo over whether Games should be held

The Yomiuri Shimbun asked Tokyo residents about the measures they wanted to see taken regarding the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which are less than two months away.

In a telephone survey conducted from May 28 through 30, a total of 49% of the 1,001 respondents supported holding the Games, including 25% who said they should be held with a limited number of spectators and 24% who said there should be no spectators. This was essentially a split with the 48% who favored canceling the Games.

In a nationwide poll conducted from May 7 to 9 by The Yomiuri Shimbun, 59% of respondents favored canceling the Games while only 39% favored holding them.

Published : May 31, 2021

By : The Japan News/ANN

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China to support couples having third child

China will allow all couples to have three children and beef up support policies in a bid to cope with increasingly aging society, according to a key Party meeting on Monday.

The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee also highlighted the need to increase the mandatory age for retirement and work proactively toward the unified national management of basic old-age insurance funds to carry out a national strategy of responding proactively to the aging society.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting.

Published : May 31, 2021

By : XU WEI/China Daily/ANN

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001491

Tesla center in China to store local data

Tesla has said it will store data its vehicles generate in China locally and offer its vehicle owners access to query information, as vehicles from the United States carmaker and other smart car companies are fueling privacy concerns.

In a Sina Weibo statement late Tuesday, Tesla said it has established a data center in China, with more to be built in the future, for local data storage, promising that all data of its vehicles sold on the Chinese mainland will be kept in the country.

It did not provide a schedule when the center will be put into use but said it will notify the public when it is ready for use.

Tesla’s move is the latest by a smart vehicle maker in response to growing concerns that the vehicles’ cameras and other sensors, which are designed to facilitate use, may prove to be privacy intrusion tools as well.

The public debate over the issue became more intense in April when a Tesla Model 3 owner protested at the Shanghai auto show about an alleged brake failure that resulted in a car crash.

In the same month, Tesla made public the vehicle’s data within 30 minutes of the car crash without the consent of the car owner, fueling further debate about safety and privacy. The dispute remains unresolved so far, as the data cannot be verified.

Tesla is just one of a growing number of companies that are rolling out smart vehicles.

Statistics from the Ministry of Information and Technology show 15 percent of passenger cars sold last year have Level 2 autonomous functions.

That means over 3 million vehicles, from both Chinese and foreign carmakers, with cameras and radars hit the Chinese roads last year.

Experts said the number of smart vehicles will grow even higher and faster, as the global auto industry is shifting toward electrification and digitalization. Features like wireless software updates, voice commands and facial recognition are now standard on most new vehicles.

Earlier this month, the Cyberspace Administration of China began to solicit public opinion on a set of draft rules that require automobile-related business operators to obtain the permission of drivers before collecting car owners’ personal and driving data.

The default option for the carmakers is not to store data that vehicles generate, and even if they are allowed to store it, the data must be deleted if customers request so.

Chen Quanshi, a professor of automotive engineering at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said it is a correct move to regulate the smart vehicle segment.

“Connectivity is making cars easier to use, but it poses risks as well. We should have introduced regulations earlier,” said Chen.

In early May, autonomous driving startup Pony.ai founder James Peng said the data its robotaxi fleets collect in China will be stored in the country, and they will be desensitized to ensure privacy.

Late last month, the National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee released a draft to seek public feedback, which would forbid companies from processing data from cars not related to vehicle management or driving safety.

Also, data regarding locations, roads, buildings and other information collected from the environment outside the cars through sensors such as cameras and radar will not be allowed to leave the country, it said.

Control of use, transmission and storage of data are a challenge for the industry and regulators worldwide.

Nio’s founder and CEO William Li said its vehicles sold in Norway will have their data stored locally. The Chinese company announced in May the vehicles will be available in the European country later this year.

Published : May 31, 2021

By : LI FUSHENG/China Daily/ANN

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Korea-US alliance should not take aim at China: Chinese envoy

South Korean diplomacy in recent years has been increasingly complicated by a tough balancing act: Weighing the demands of its security ally the US against its top trading partner China.

Seoul’s strategic dilemma was showed again recently when the joint Korea-US statement — issued following the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart, Joe Biden — triggered a sharp response from Beijing. Despite relatively toned-down language and no direct reference to China, Beijing took issue with the two countries’ mention of Taiwan in their statement, condemning it as interfering in China’s internal affairs. 

Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming said he was well aware of the difficult balance Seoul had to strike, but warned against forming any grouping or relations that undermine Beijing.

“There is no problem in Korea’s developing its ties with the US. But it shouldn’t target China,” Xing told The Korea Herald in a recent interview held at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul. “China and Korea are strategic cooperative partners, whereas Korea and the US are traditional allies. (Seoul’s) two relations should go hand in hand, and not contradict each other.”

The envoy also hit out at the US-led initiative, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which is widely seen as a forum to contain China, saying that forming an exclusive circle to take aim at a specific country was “fake multilateralism.”

“Genuine multilateralism should be open and inclusive. Establishing a small political circle that excludes and targets a specific country like the Quad is not a true multilateralism,” he said. “This only causes new division and conflict.”
 
The still inchoate Quad — comprising four like-minded democracies in the Indo-Pacific, the US, Japan, India and Australia — has stoked intense debate here on whether Seoul should take part in an expanded version of the group if it receives an official invite. Washington could push further for its key Asian ally to join the club, but Seoul is apparently wary that the decision could jeopardize its ties with Beijing.

Reiterating China’s firm opposition to the Quad, Xing asked for South Korea to take a “careful stance,” and not to participate in a grouping that targets a specific country.

Amid a complicated political landscape, one of the critical issues between the two countries is the timing of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Korea. Xi was set to visit Seoul last year, but the trip was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“As the ambassador, I regard the visit as one of the most important tasks,” he said. “The two governments are continuing talks in this regard and when the COVID-19 situation improves, we consider Seoul as the place for (Xi’s) first overseas visit. But as to the exact timing, it is uncertain at this point.”

He believes Xi’s visit to Seoul will serve as a critical milestone in Korea-China ties and serve as an occasion to enhance the bilateral relations to an even higher level.

With next year marking the 30th anniversary of the two countries normalizing diplomatic ties, Xing hopes that Seoul will continue to be a strategic cooperative partner for the next 30 years, based on deepening trust and cooperation.

The ambassador is known for his expertise on the Korean Peninsula, speaks fluent Korean and witnessed the history of bilateral relations up close. He brought the embassy plaque from China to Korea via Hong Kong when the Chinese Embassy here first opened in 1992. Since joining the Chinese Foreign Ministry in 1986, Xing has mostly served in Pyongyang and Seoul, with stints at the Chinese Embassy in Korea on four separate occasions, including the latest post as the envoy.

Looking back on three decades, Xing views the two countries as having made visible progress in their exchange and cooperation in various areas, be it trade, diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges, as well as recent joint responses to the pandemic.

But he added there were difficulties as well.

South Korea’s 2016 decision to deploy an advanced US missile defense system, called THAAD, on its soil has hurt bilateral relations. Most recently, the cultural spat involving the origin of kimchi and hanbok has stirred tension among people between the two countries.

The envoy said that such cultural controversy is derived from misunderstanding between the two sides, with media at times aggravating the debate. Xing, underlining the two countries’ shared history and values over centuries, called for more openness and inclusion to further advance their relations.

Dealing with North Korea is another important area where the two countries, as well as the US, could work together, he said.

Xing reaffirmed Beijing’s support in Seoul’s efforts to improve inter-Korean ties and stressed that China had been putting consistent efforts for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and for securing peace and stability in the region.

“With the dialogue on the peninsula facing some difficulties at this time, the related countries need to find ways to break the deadlock,” said Xing.

He said China’s policy to resolve North Korea’s nuclear issue — the “dual track principle” of denuclearization and the establishment of a peace mechanism, through a step-by-step and simultaneous approach — aligned with the US’ recently announced North Korea policy review that emphasizes “practical” steps.

“We hope that cooperation between China and the US on the peninsula issue will serve as a highlight between the two countries,” he said. “In this regard, China will continue to play a constructive role.”

The Winter Olympic Games is set to be held in Beijing next February. Xing expressed confidence about hosting the international event as scheduled, noting that preparations were going smoothly.

But in regards to growing calls to boycott the Olympics amid Beijing’s alleged human rights violations, the envoy argued against politicization of the international sporting event.

“Some politicians and organizations are instigating a boycott of the Winter Olympics on so-called human rights grounds. But the related reports are untrue and it is against the Olympic spirit. As a result, it will also harm athletes’ interest,” said Xing.

Citing the IOC’s opposition against the politicization of the event, Xing asked for Seoul’s continuous support for the upcoming Olympics.

Published : May 31, 2021

By : Ahn Sung-mi/The Korea Herald/ANN

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Every 10th household in India report active COVID-19 case

Every 10th household in India is right now reporting an active case within immediate family members and almost every fifth household in India is reporting loss of life among near and dear ones, as per the IANS-CVoter Covid Tracker.

This means one in every 10 Indian families has at least one family member suffering from Covid and one in every 20 Indian families has self-reported a death within immediate or extended family, as per the tracker.

The tracker is reporting high incidence of healthy people dying of Covid. As per the tracker, 58.9 per cent said that the person was completely healthy before and died of Covid itself.

And the highest number of deaths are being reported in the relatively young. 36.2 per cent deaths occurred in the age bracket below 45 years. 14.9 per cent deaths are between 26 and 35 years and 19.1 per cent deaths between 36 and 45 years.

The fear remains about someone in the family getting infected or not getting treatment. This fear is unlikely to go down till the actual number of cases go down and people start getting treatment and oxygen properly without getting too stressed about it. The tracker is generally one to two weeks ahead of the official trendline, and we don’t see that happening for next 6 to 8 weeks in near future.

The tracker found that Corona becomes the top issue, again in India and the number of confirmed positive cases and deaths within immediate family as reported by Tracker is multiple times over the official Government numbers.

Even by the most conservative estimates, the self-reported ILI (Influenza like illness) symptoms is directly in sync with the trendline of self-reported Covid positive cases. Needless to say, that only a fraction of such cases have been tested for Covid, as usual. So, the lack of testing is being passed as lack of positive cases.

“Whichever way we calculate, the official records are showing less than 1/10th of numbers that is being reported by the public, be it in case of Active report or be it the case of mortalities. The self-reported numbers by “We, the people of India” are numbing, and experienced by all of us barring the “system”, the tracker found.

The sample size of the Covid-19 tracker was 56,685 and the period of the survey was January 1 to May 27, 20021 covering all 542 Lok Sabha segments.

56.9 per cent respondents said they are afraid that either myself or someone in my family may actually catch the Coronavirus.

Opinion is divided on whether the Indian government is handling the Coronavirus well as 48.7 per cent said yes and 48.6 per cent said no. However, 46.8 per cent feel that the threat from Coronavirus is exaggerated.

On the requirement of ICU, ventilator, oxygen supply, 51.7 per cent said there was a requirement and got these easily while 31.7 per cent said they got these after lot of efforts while 8.4 per cent said they did not get these even after lots of efforts.

Published : May 31, 2021

By : The Statesman/ANN