AV 11th March 2023

E M B R A C I N G

U N C O N V E N T I O N A L C H O I C E S

South Asian women have broken the glass ceiling by entering industries and successfully innovating in them to make a mark beyond conventional career choices. We decode.

Shefali Saxena

If you ever run a cursory search on Google with the term ‘women’, the results that show up are mostly about advocacy, activation, remedies, policies, protests, and some or the other issue against women being tackled by the web While these changes are promising and reflect that there’s work being done to support women, it also uncovers the 21st century, women have come a long way. The amount of progress women have made across the globe is remarkable Not only do we have South Asian women breaking the glass ceiling by choosing non-conformist career options, but also excelling in them, many of which have become entrepreneurs, and not in the conventional industries. South Asian women have ticked a long bucket list of imaginative and innovative career options that were formerly never even heard of. Society has truly gone beyond the lens of doctors and engineers and in traditional terms, being housewives - which is also a full-time job

The UK has cemented itself as a world leader in women’s representation on top company boards, with new data released revealing that 40.2% of FTSE 350 Board positions are now held by women.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the UK and spoke at various events about the idea behind and learnings from his Bharat J o d o Y a t r a e s p e c i a l l y t h e ‘ p o w e r o f listening’, which he reiterated at his speech in Chatham House on Monday 6 March During his 10-day visit, at an exclusive i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h e I n d i a n j o u r n a l i s t s b a s e d i n t h e U K , o r g a n i s e d b y I n d i a n J o u r n a l i s t s ’ A s s o c i a t i o n o n S a t u r d a y 4 March, he spoke about his own evolution as a more patient man with a newfound t o l e r a n c e o f p a i n H e a l s o s p o k e a b o u t demonetisation, the rise of Gautam Adani in three years from 609th richest to the second richest man in India, about the BBC d o c u m e n t a r y o n N a r e n d r a M o d i , t h e ‘suppression of voices in India’, the ‘new i d e a o f I n d i a ’ u n d e r B J P - r u l e w h i c h h e alleged was about ‘silencing and attacking t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e o f t h e I n d i a n democracy’

His broad message at a gathering in the Parliament on Monday 6 March touched upon issues of unemployment, rising costs, inequality and violence, especially against women in India

Rahul Gandhi: “The art of listening is very powerful”

Rupanjana Dutta

International Women’s Day Special 11-17

Community’s week-long Holi celebrations begin

Some of the most brilliant minds have failed at many things

Britain s biggest mosque has grand reopening after devastating fire

Ukraine issue splits G20 ministers joint statement eludes meet

Rahul Gandhi interacts with journalists from the Indian Journalists Association as IJA President Danish Khan looks on

with Keith Vaz

M I NA K H AG R A M

Mina Kh agram has dedicated her life to helping u nderprivileged members of society A steno grapher by professio n, sh e has impacted society through various pro grams and initiatives As a lifeguard, sh e has taught ladies and children swimming Later, she introduced wellness and yo ga lessons to her growing network of friends and associates Sh e is currently involved in providing education, particularly to women

She launched a weekly online empowerment program along with Dr Lalit Sodha, inviting celebrities and high-prof ile speakers to share their inspiring journeys The program is known as MINLA Zoom Sessions, attracting an international audience from the UK, USA, Canada, and India Mina has conducted over 95 such sessions At home, she is a devoted wife, a mother, and a doting grandmother who performs all her family and social duties with great love and care

1) Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?

I was born, brought up, and educated in Kenya This is where I got married, and raised children and grandchildren Nakuru is where I have most of my closest friends

It is a beautiful place and extremely popular with Tourists This is where I feel most at home This is where my loyalties lie

2) What are your proudest achievements?

As a little girl, my proud moment was when I was given a prize as one of the top students in school As a mother, it was when my f irst son graduated from a university in London and recently, it was when the Indian PM Narendrabhai Modi visited Nairobi I had the opportunity to meet him and get photographed with him

3) What inspires you?

World-class speakers and dharma gurus inspire me Being a learner, I am constantly inspired by anyone who does something for their community

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

The biggest obstacle in my life was not having enough opportunities to go for higher education But as soon as I got married to my husband Ramesh Khagram, I was encouraged and supported to do whatever I loved to learn Since then, I have not stopped learning, whatever is available, in my small town

5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?

First, my late father, who taught me the value of life, my husband Ramesh Khagram, and my boys who constantly encourage me and facilitate me My husband believes that if I don't do well in new ventures, I have learned a lot in the process

6) What is the best aspect about your current role?

During corona time l met a divine personality on social media, Dr Lalit Sodha, a

Mother daughter found dead in council flat in East Finchley

world-class speaker, writer, and chiropractor We started zoom sessions, by chance, where we would invite world leaders, politicians, and athletes like Eluid Kipchoge and others in many different f ields These speakers were to motivate and inspire people during the lockdown We had zoom sessions every week, we have done more than 95 dignitaries, and have an audience of 10,000 people Our sessions are live on Facebook and are on YouTube With public demand, we have continued

7) And the worst?

I always feel I am not doing enough for people Corona has shaken the world and now war and natural disasters Children are suffering People are losing their loved ones Recession, losing jobs, and stress of life for average citizens

8) What are your long term goals?

I like to continue learning new things from young people Motivate the young generation to help in rural areas in Kenya Encourage them to spend time here and share their knowledge with needy kids

9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?

I wish to see no child sleeping hungry For that, I would like to teach mothers kitchen farming And support women's empowerment Distribute free medicine and have free medical camps in rural areas, as well as educate the youth in hygiene for longer and healthier lives

10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why.

It is my dream to spend time with Mahatma Gandhi As a child, I read a book experimenting with the truth And since then, I try to practice the truth I follow his ph i lo s o phy o f ‘ S I M P L E L I V I NG A N D HIGH THINKING’ At the same time, I personally have many questions for him to answer

An in ves ti ga ti on h as been launched after a mo ther and daugh ter were found dead in their north Lo ndon c o u nc i l fl at at l eas t s i x mo nths after last being seen alive Zarinn Adatia, 84, and h e r 4 8 -ye a r- ol d d a u g ht e r Tasneem were discovered in their Barnet Homes property in East Finchley by engineers completing a gas safet y c h e c k T h e p a i r w e re found on November 24 last year, but it is thought they had not been seen by neighbours in Prospect Ring since a ro u n d A p r i l B a r n e t

Co u n c i l s a i d t h e f a m i ly ’ s rent was up to date and they were not known to social services

D e p u t y le a d e r Ro s s Houston has conf irmed that the local authority was now trying to “determine the circ u m s t a n c e s a ro u n d t h i s tragedy”

A c o ro n e r d e t e r m i n e d

t h e 6 1 -ye a r- ol d p ro b a bly d ie d i n Au g u s t 2 0 19 M s S e le o n e m i s s e d re nt a n d utility payments and neighb o u r s c o m pl a i n e d t o Pe a b o dy Ho u s i n g A s s o c i a t io n a n d p ol ic e a b o u t a s m e l l W h e n t h e

Met reviewed the actions of t h e o f f ic e r s wh o t w ic e attended to investigate in October 2020, the internal system found that one of their controllers incorrectly recorded that Ms Seleone had been seen alive and well The off icer who made the f irst call was also only at the property for eight minutes Inside Housing reported that the body of another Pe a b o dy re s i d e nt , Te r r y Watkins, was found in his flat in Westminster in July 2021 several months after his neighbours began raising concerns about his welfare

MP reinstated after party suspended her for racist remarks

Ru pa Hu q has been reinstated a s a Lab o u r MP, f iv e months after she los t th e wh i p fo r c om men ts s h e ma de ab o u t Kwa si Kwarteng

The Ealing Central and Acton MP described thenchancellor Mr Kwarteng as "s u p e r f ic i a l ly bl a c k " , a t a Labour Party fringe event in September

L a b o u r s u s p e n d e d t h e whip, which meant she had to sit as an independent MP Ms Huq, who said she fully accepted the sanction, has apologised and completed a nt i-r a c i s m t r a i n i n g S h e made the remarks during a Q & A s e s s io n a t a f r i n g e event called What's Next for Labour's Agenda on Race?

M s Hu q s a i d : " He's superf icially, he's, a black man but again he's got more in common he went to Et o n , h e w e nt t o a v e r y expensive prep school, all the way through top schools

in the country If you hear h i m o n t h e To d ay p rogramme you wouldn't know h e's bl a c k " M r Kw a r t e n g , who had become chancellor earlier that month, was born i n e a s t L o n d o n a n d h a s Ghanaian heritage

A re c o rd i n g o f t h o s e comments was published by the Guido Fawkes website, causing a backlash ThenCo n s e r v a t i v e Pa r t y c h a i rman Jake Berr y described M s Hu q 's c o m m e nt s a s " r a c i s t " a n d "d i s g u s t i n g " L a b o u r 's d e p u t y le a d e r A n g e l a R ay n e r s a i d t h e

re m a r k s w e re " u n a c c e p table", while the party's fore i g n a f f a i r s s p oke s m a n David Lammy described the comments as "unfortunate" a d d i n g : " I w o u l d n' t h av e made them myself " Ms Huq then tweeted an a p olo g y, s ay i n g s h e h a d offered "sincere and heartfe lt a p olo g ie s " t o M r Kwarteng directly for her " i l l-j u d g e d" c o m m e nt s Re j o i n i n g t h e L a b o u r benches, she said: "During my s u s p e n s io n I h av e re f le c t e d o n t h e o f fe n c e caused by my remarks at last ye a r s L a b o u r Pa r t y Conference and I want to offer, once again, my sincere apologies to everyone affected "As I promised at the time, I have undertaken and completed anti-racism and bias training I want to make clear that I accept fully the c o n c lu s io n o f t h e p a r t y 's inquiry and the sanction it has imposed "

Women convicted for honey trapping and murder

A ma n wh o po se d o n Insta gram with two Rolex wa t c he s w a s kil l e d a f t e r two women used the date r a p e d r u g G HB in a n

attempt to rob him

S a u l Mu r r ay, 3 3 , h a d been set up in a honeytrap b y Su r p re e t Dh i l lo n a n d Te m i d ay o Aw e , w h o seduced and stripped him

plan to give an honour to his father

Rishi Sunak should block Boris Johnson’s plan to honour his father I n a p e ti ti o n s ta rte d by D avi d Mar ley, D ep u ty E di to r, T h e In dep en dent , Rishi Sunak is being urged t o b lo c k Bo r i s Jo h n so n ’ s

The petition says, “To say that Boris Johnson is never far from controversy

is plainly an understatement He will soon be forced to give evidence on Partygate and answer accusations that he lied to parliament The latest scandal to come to light, however, is even closer t o h o m e t h a n p a r t ie s held in Downing Street In h i s re s i g n a t io n h o n o u r s ’ list, Mr Johnson has put his father, Stanley, forward for an award

He re a t T h e Independent, we believe to attempt this is clearly an abuse of a system that is supposed to recognise outstanding contributions to society and public life It is n o t d e s i g n e d fo r bl a t a nt nepotism Conservative and fo r m e r Bre x i t s e c re t a r y David Davis has called it a “ridiculous” and “corrosive” move, while Labour leader

Sir Keir Starmer has cond e m n e d i t a s “ a b s olu t e ly outrageous”

Mr Johnson has already handed his brother, Jo, a life peerage as Baron Johnson of M a r yle b o n e a f t e r h e stepped down as an MP To try it again with his father is a step too far The current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak has the power to block any honour

We believe he must act n o w t o s t o p t h i s l a t e s t attempt by Mr Johnson to h a n d a n h o n o u r t o h i s father ”

In February last year, he was found naked in a pool of blood in the communal entrance to his flat in New Town Street, Luton, after t h e i r m a l e a c c o m p l i c e s , I k r a m A f f i a a n d C l e o n Bro w n , h a d b e e n s u mmoned because the drug had not knocked him out

The police were later able to identify Aff ia by a distinctive and rare designer Moncler coat he was weari n g It m a t c h e d t h e o n e worn in the CCT V on the night of the offence Aff ia, 31, from Hackney i n L o n d o n , w a s fo u n d guilty of murder and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years Dhillon, 36, Brown, 29, and Awe, 21, were conv i c t e d o f m a n s l a u g h t e r Dhillon and Awe entered the flat at around 11 30pm on

last year

jury at Luton crown court showed the women leaving the flat, followed 19 seconds later by the two men Aff ia was carrying a large knife in his right hand The Rolex watches were fake and Murray, a father of six, had no expensive items in the flat, which he had only just occupied A l l d e fe n d a n t s w e re convicted of conspiring to ro b Mu r r ay b e t w e e n Februar y 8 and Februar y 28 Aff ia was also found guilty of having a blade Bro w n w a s j a i l e d fo r 1 1 y e a r s , Dh i l l o n w a s s e ntenced to 10 years and Awe w a s s e n t e n c e d t o s e v e n years At the trial, prosecut o r Ja n e Bi c ke r s t a f f KC said: Mr Murray can be s e e n j u s t a fe w s e c o n d s after the men He is hobb l i n g a n d c o m p l e t e l y naked He opens the communal door and falls over and dies ' She said a night shift w o r ke r d i a l le d 9 9 9 a f t e r returning home an hour and a half later and saw Murray in a pool of blood

Rupa Huq Photo courtesy Tw tter

Let our voices be heard

According to new research by the UK’s leading pub company and brewer, Green King, more Brits than ever before are supporting female sports, thanks to England’s Lionesses’ 2022 Euros triumph

T h e r e s e a r c h , w h i c h w a s c o m m i s s i o n e d t o m a r k International Women’s Day, showed that 58% of us now follow a woman ’ s sports team following last year ’ s Euros success

The research also revealed that three quarters of the n a t i o n ( 7 6 % ) b e l i e v e a w a r e n e s s f o r w o m e n ’ s s p o r t h a s improved, but two thirds (66%) still believe that this is lacking in comparison to male teams

Almost half of us (48%) are now more inclined to watch women ’ s sport in the local pub, citing the Lionesses’ success as the main reason for this, with other reasons including, better atmosphere (50%) and that they enjoy watching with family and friends (43%)

And it seems pubs are taking note of demand for women ’ s sport, with 42% saying their local pubs are now showing more women ’ s sport than ever before, but just 26% believe their local pubs are showing enough women ’ s sports

In the meantime, a British scientist known who is famous for her work with the largest space telescope ever made has been honoured with her own Barbie doll

The Sky News reported that Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, who is an ethnic woman, has been ‘immortalised’ in a one-ofa-kind plastic toy in her likeness in recognition of her achievements making space and science accessible to girls

The 54-year-old, who has been recently appointed chancellor of the University of Leicester, is a former British Science Association president and the first black woman to win gold at the Physics News Awards Dr Aderin-Pocock was gifted the Barbie to mark International Women's Day and British Science Week, the report said

On the other hand, Dr Frances Hoggan, a pioneering doctor, campaigner and social reformer has been honoured with Wales' 11th purple plaque The Purple Plaques campaign was created to improve the recognition of "remarkable women in Wales"

According to ONS data, in England and Wales, women are far less likely to be killed than men In fact the year ending March 2022, 72% of homicide victims were male And as for safety on the streets, the stats suggest the greater danger for women lurks in the home, at the hands of a current or former partner In that same year, stranger attacks accounted for just 7% of female victims and 15% of male ones Just 15% of rapes are committed by strangers These are the facts Yet they

remain at odds with public perception, perhaps because of an outsize cultural reaction when that rare terrible thing does happen to a woman walking home alone at night

A year after the murder of Sarah Everard, a YouGov poll of British women found 66% of women either “always”, “often” or “sometimes” felt unsafe walking alone at night Some 25% felt similarly afraid of walking alone in the daytime Anecdotal evidence suggests much of the same effect has been produced by the coverage of Nicola Bulley’s death Women are scared to go out alone

During the recent visit of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to the UK and his discussion at Chatham House, Mr Gandhi revealed one of his memories from the Bharat Jodo Yatra, when a woman who was raped did not want to report to the police, in fear of the shame it would bring to her and the family She approached Mr Gandhi to talk about the violence she faced, and her story was a part of a message Mr Gandhi wanted to send out to the world about India’s current situation

Recently hundreds of women marched from Oxford Street to Trafalgar Square in London to protest over violence against women and girls Organiser Million Women Rise described the death of women and girls as "devastating" Million Women Rise, a collective led by black women, blamed state failings for causing women and girls to be subjected to violence

According to the Forbes: “Women currently hold only 26 7% of tech-related jobs, and similarly, technology firms with more than 10,000 employees report women ’ s representation at 26 2% This means we are not representative of the societies we serve We’re creating the creations of the solutions of tomorrow, without truly embracing the needs of those who will be using our technologies

“ We comfortable living in a world where more than half of women in tech leave the industry by mid-career, which is more than double the rate of men

Forbes assumes this is because of caring responsibilities, however the main reasons women currently leave tech included weak management support (23%), lack of opportunity (20%), and lack of work-life balance (22%) ”

Let’s not tokenise the day as just one day of commemoration and acknowledgement, but remember the miles still left to cover as a society to make this world a safer space for women

But as Meghan Markle said, “Women make up more than half of the world’s population and potential, so it is neither just nor practical for their voices, for our voices, to go unheard at the highest levels of decision-making ”

G20 allows countries to discuss crucial issues

Even though the G20 foreign ministers summit ended in New Delhi without any joint communique, it provided an opportunity to member-states to express their stand on crucial issues and on Russia-Ukraine war Neither the absence of a communique nor the unsettled nature of contemporary geopolitics is a reflection on multilateralism, which cannot always find a ready solution for deep-seated disputes But it does provide opportunities to de-escalate and open the door to durable outcomes The Delhi summit did just that through meetings on the sidelines such as the ones between the US and Russia, and between Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang Jaishankar was realistic in assessment of bilateral ties with China He termed these abnormal and added that “there are real problems in that relationship that need to be looked at ” Sensibly, India avoided a knee-jerk approach to trade in its reset of the bilateral relationship Trade is dominated by s u p p l y c h a i n s t h a t s p l i t p r o d u c t i o n a c r o s s c o u n t r i e s Consequently, looking at bilateral trade deficits in isolation is meaningless To illustrate, two critical imports from Cahina are integrated circuits and plastic raw materials China’s just

one link in the IC supply chain that feeds into India’s burgeoning electronic exports China contributed 13 8% of India’s imports between April and December 2022, the largest source A forum such as G20 allows India to get the message across

In his address, Prime Minister Modi said the world looks upon the G20 to ease the challenges of growth, development, economic resilience, disaster resilience, financial stability, trans-national crime, corruption; terrorism, and food and energy security The prime minister said multilateralism is in crisis today “The experience of the last few years, the financial crisis, climate change, pandemic, terrorism, and wars clearly shows that global governance has failed in both its mandates,” he said “You are meeting at a time of deep global divisions As Foreign Ministers, it is but natural that your discussions are affected by the geopolitical tensions of the day We all have our positions and our perspectives on how these tensions should be resolved,” Modi said Modi said many developing countries are struggling with unsustainable debt, while trying to ensure food and energy security for their people

Northeast results give a boost to BJP

The verdict given by the three northeastern states will give a boost to the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party cadre, besides the failure of the Congress to rebound as a significant force In Tripura, the BJP secured a majority on its own and will no longer be dependent on any party for the smooth running of business in the legislative assembly In Nagaland, where the party along with its senior partner, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), secured a majority The third election was in Meghalaya in which the National People's Party (NPP), led by incumbent Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, ended within striking distance of a clear majority It required no further support after the United Democratic Party decided to rejoin the coalition Yet, the BJP with two elected legislators has hitched a ride on Sangma's bandwagon for another five years

Having the BJP on your side is beneficial for any chief minister and can ensure a trouble-free ride but it can be a huge disadvantage during an election Still, all's well that ends well, and for the BJP, the message to relay outside the region is that the party "remains in power" in Meghalaya At a t i m e w h e n t h e r e h a s b e e n c o n s i d e r a b l e t a l k a b o u t opposition unity and alliance formations for 2024, it is the B J P t h a t f o r g e d t h e r i g h t a l l i a n c e s i n N a g a l a n d a n d

Meghalaya, while the parties ranged against it worked at

cross purposes

The efforts of the Trinamool Congress to expand its base outside West Bengal after 2016 to have a greater role in cobbling together an anti-BJP front fails to take off In the northeast, it first tried to do so in Tripura, but failed to make any headway in the 2018 polls It put up as many as 24 candidates and each forfeited the security deposit In an attempt to create a Bengal Plus image, the Trinamool Congress engineered defections from the Congress and got former chief m i n i s t e r M u k u l S a n g m a t o c r o s s o v e r T h e T r i n a m o o l underperformed and the two parties won five seats each Their vote shares too remained near the 13 per cent mark

Of the 119 seats for which elections were held in Meghalaya and Nagaland, regional parties won as many as 83, or close to 70 per cent of the seats From the remaining 36 seats, as many as 12, all in Nagaland, were won by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Republican Party of India (Athawale) and Janata Dal (United) In Tripura, the BJP has smartly emerged as a major player after Modi became Prime Minister, starting from zero seats and a vote share of 1 54 per cent in 2013 The party struck an alliance with the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura and secured a majority in 2018 Five years later, the BJP dispensed with the ally and still secured a clear majority

Thought for the week

There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish –Michelle Obama

Political Sketchbook

Alpesh Patel

India on the Political World Stage at G20: What to Expect in 2023

India’ s rising e con omic an d political power has posit ioned it as a k ey play er in the g lobal ar en a As the host of the G 20 su m m it i n 20 2 3 , I n d i a w il l h a v e a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o sh owca se its le ade rship on t he wor ld sta ge This summit will br in g t oget her lea der s fr om the world ’ s 20 la rge st economies t o discuss globa l economic issue s a nd se ek solutions to globa l challe nge s

And there is much to concern the world and PM Narendra Modi; Russian attacks on Ukraine, American policy, Chinese aggression, multi-polar diplomacy, global supply chain issues, emerging market concerns over energy as these government, scientists and economist meet in a series of grand meetings

What economic policie s does Ind ia hope to a chie ve a t G 20 in 2023 ?

O n e o f I n d i a ' s k e y g o a l s i s t o p r o m o t e g r e a t e r international cooperation on trade and investment The country is keen to strengthen ties with other nations and promote open, fair, and transparent trade policies that benefit all parties India also hopes to encourage other countries to invest in its domestic economy, particularly in a r e a s s u c h a s i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , m a n u f a c t u r i n g , a n d technology

Another major focus for India is enhancing financial stability and resilience The country is keen to promote greater financial cooperation and coordination between G20 nations, with a particular emphasis on preventing and m i t i g a t i n g f i n a n c i a l c r i s e s I n d i a i s a l s o w o r k i n g t o strengthen its own financial sector, with initiatives aimed at improving regulation, reducing systemic risk, and promoting greater financial inclusion

Finally, India is committed to promoting sustainable development and environmental protection The country i s k e e n t o w o r k w i t h o t h e r n a t i o n s t o a d d r e s s k e y environmental challenges, such as climate change and pollution India is also looking to promote sustainable development more broadly, with initiatives aimed at improving access to clean energy, promoting sustainable agriculture and forestry, and supporting biodiversity conservation

What str at egies is India using to increa se it s influe nce at G20 in 2023 ?

India has been taking several measures to enhance its influence at G20, which is scheduled to be hosted by India in 2023 Some of the strategies that India is using to increase its influence are:

1 Diploma tic effor ts: India has been actively engaging with o t h e r G 2 0 m e m b e r c o u n t r i e s t h r o u g h d i p l o m a t i c channels It has been participating in various forums and meetings to strengthen its position as an important player in global economic affairs

2 S t r e n g t h e n i n g i t s e c o n o m y : I n d i a i s f o c u s i n g o n improving its economic growth rate and reducing poverty levels It is also undertaking structural reforms to create a more investor-friendly environment

3 Promot ing innov ation : India is promoting innovation and entrepreneurship to create a more dynamic and t e c h n o l o g y - d r i v e n e c o n o m y T h i s w i l l h e l p I n d i a t o showcase its technological prowess and attract more investments from other G20 member countries

4 S up p o r t i n g su s t a i n a bl e d e v e lo p m e n t : I n d i a i s committed to sustainable development and is taking several measures to promote clean energy, reduce carbon emissions, and protect the environment This will help India to build a positive image in the eyes of other G20 member countries

Continued on page 6

Asian Voice is published by

Asian Business Publications Ltd

Units 207-208, Harrow Business Centre, 429-433 Pinner Road, North Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 4HN

Tel: 020 7749 4080 • Fax: 020 7749 4081

Email: aveditorial@abplgroup com

Website: www abplgroup com

INDIA OFFICE

Bureau Chief: Nilesh Parmar

(BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt Ltd

207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp Jain Derasar, Nr Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad-380 015

Tel: +91 79 4601 2649

Email: gs ahd@abplgroup com © As an Bus ness Pub ca ions

UK’s First Sikh MP hires bodyguard after death threat

T h e Sh adow Internati onal Develo pment S ecretary has h ad to call in police after receiving a death th reat

Preet Kaur Gill, Britain’s first Sikh MP, said she was l e f t w i t h n o c h o i c e a f t e r receiving an email warning: “Watch your back ” T h e L a b o u r M P f o r E d g b a s t o n , B i r m i n g h a m , h a s a l s o b e e n f o r c e d t o i n c r e a s e s e c u r i t y a t h e r surgery meetings where she has a bodyguard

Ms Gill reportedly said, “ I t w a s v e r y d i r e c t I t ' s a worry because I'm with my daughters in the constituency all the time My family live there It really puts into context the kind of job that you do It's tough enough as it is, but then when you're

faced with that, there's very l i t t l e s u p p o r t T h i s l a t e s t direct threat has really worried and concerned me As a woman, when you put yourself forward and you want to address injustices and you care about issues that affect y o u r c o n s t i t u e n t s , y o u ’ r e then faced with people that think it's okay to say this sort of stuff to you ” Ms Gill also said she was

SNP MP accused of racist slur

s h o c k e d t h a t t h e p e r s o n who sent the email had done so from a legitimate account w i t h a g e n u i n e e m a i l address

Explaining the concerns, she has about the lack of support in this area she continued: “Once you've raised it with the police, they've got to go away and do an investigation, but there's no real understanding of the impact it has on you, your everyday work, the psychological impact, the kind of always looking behind your shoulder That's why for my s u r g e r y I h a v e s e c u r i t y I h a v e s e c u r i t y b e c a u s e I know that there are individuals that come to surgery that could possibly pose a threat ”

Rare telephone boxes in Hull listed as Grade-II

Nine rare telephone boxes i n and around H ull have been awarded Grade-II listed status

The city's collection of K 8 k i o s k s i s a m o n g 5 0 r e m a i n i n g o u t o f 1 1 , 0 0 0 p l a c e d a r o u n d t h e U K between 1968 and 1983

Hull's telecoms network was not operated by British Telecom (BT) which meant the boxes remained in position after BT privatised in 1984 H i s t o r i c E n g l a n d ' s Sarah Charlesworth said the

e v o c a t i v e b o o t h s w e r e " a beloved part of England's h e r i t a g e F o r m a n y o f u s they've been the scene of memorable moments in our own lives from furtive conv e r s a t i o n s w i t h f i r s t boyfriends to desperate calls home when we've been in a fix," she said

A c c o r d i n g t o H i s t o r i c England, most of the K8s were replaced by the "sleek silver KX100 kiosk", which in turn was made virtually obsolete by mobile phone ownership

Hull is the only place in E n g l a n d w h e r e t h e l o c a l council actively ran the public telephone network, having been granted a licence t o o p e r a t e f r o m 1 9 0 2 t o 2007 The network is now r u n b y a n i n d e p e n d e n t c o m p a n y , K i n g s t o n

Communications The K8s in Hull, along with other designs, were also painted cream, rather than the red used elsewhere in the country to denote their independ e n c e f r o m t h e p u b l i c phone network

Johnny Depp flies down for a secret shopping trip to Lincolnshire

S t af f at a L in co l ns h i re a nti qu e ce ntre h ave be en l ef t st ars tr u ck a ft er H o ll ywo o d ac to r J o h n ny Depp made a surprise visit to th e shop

T h e P i r a t e s o f t h e Caribbean actor arrived in the Gainsborough village of Hemswell by helicopter on Friday 3 March as part of a s e c r e t s h o p p i n g t r i p M r D e p p w a s g r e e t e d b y s t u n n e d s h o p p e r s a s h e browsed the centre and left with several antique items

The meeting was secretly arranged by the antique s h o p w h i c h h a s l i n k s t o

P i n e w o o d S t u d i o s W h i l s t there, the A-list celebrity, also took the opportunity to h a v e a g o o n t h e i r M a r k Knopfler style guitar to the delight of staff and shoppers

Robert Miller, the owner of the antique centre, said t h a t M r D e p p w a s r e a l l y "down-to-earth "

"He really enjoyed his experience here because he was able to be himself He said he is in hotels a lot of the time because he's constantly bombarded by people " Mr Miller added: "He was very down to earth and

An SNP MP has been accuse d of using an “ignorant racial slur ” a ft er a lleg ed ly say in g politicians who apply their own make up look “overly brown” and “tandoori themselves”

John Nicolson allegedly m a d e t h e c o m m e n t s o n Wednesday night in a nowdeleted tweet ahead of his a p p e a r a n c e o n t e l e v i s i o n p r o g r a m m e T h e M P f o r Ochil and South Perthshire r e p o r t e d l y s a i d , “ N o w , I know what you ’ re thinking John Nicolson doesn’t need make up But for TV cameras and TV lights you do somet i m e s A c t u a l l y , y o u d o always “If politicians put on their own make up thems e l v e s , I ’ m r i g h t i n s a y i n g they go a bit overly brown, so t h e y t a n d o o r i t h e m s e l v e s

That’s why you need a professional make up person ”

The politician used the same phrase in the Twitter caption, reportedly writing, “Politicians that do their own make up tend to ‘tandoori’ themselves Thankfully I’ve a professional on hand to help for Debate Night ”

Scottish Tory MSP Pam

G o s a l u r g e d N i c o l s o n t o apologise for promoting the “offensive stereotype”

She reportedly said his c o m m e n t s s h o w e d a “ a complete lack of respect for the BAME community and disregard for the racism that our community faces every single day” She added, “I can’t believe John Nicolson thought this ignorant racial slur was remotely appropriate

“To use the term ‘tandoori’ in relation to brown skin colour is grossly offens i v e T h e s u b t e x t i s c l e a r : brown people eat curry It’s an offensive stereotype that I’d hoped we’d left behind in the 1970s, yet here we have a s u p p o s e d l y ‘ p r o g r e s s i v e ’ politician using it in 2023 John Nicolson needs to apologise for his lazy and crude p i g e o n h o l i n g a n d r e m o v e this crass tweet ”

Replacing mirrors with provocative posters sparks row against school

A scho ol has been criticised after rep lacing mirrors in girls' toilets with p o s ter s c o nt ai ni ng p rovocative messages

The posters were disp l a y e d a t C h r i s t o p h e r W h i t e h e a d L a n g u a g e College in Worcester

According to images posted on social media some of the quotes included "beauty is nothing without brains" and "make-up is a harmful drug"

The temporary measure was introduced after some "misuse" said the school

v e r y c h a t t y F o r s o m e o n e like that to come through our doors was brilliant He played with and bought a few guitars I m sure he will be back

T h e m e e t i n g w a s a r r a n g e d b y t h e a n t i q u e s h o p , w h i c h h a s l i n k s t o Pinewood Studios, and the Pirates of the Caribbean star left with several guitars It is not the first time Mr Depp has made surprise visits to the region, last year he performed in York on tour with J e f f B e c k a n d t h e m o n t h before he played at a gig in Sheffield

69 year old community leader jailed for multiple child sex abuse

A " comm unity figu rehead" who took advantage of his status to sexually abuse child ren has been jailed for 15 years

Y u s u f S a c h a , 6 9 , f r o m Batley, was charged with 12 o f f e n c e s i n c l u d i n g r a p e , indecent assault and indecency with a child against three victims who were child r e n a t t h e t i m e T h e o f f e n c e s w e r e c o m m i t t e d

between 1979 and 1985

W e s t Y o r k s h i r e P o l i c e started an investigation in 2019 after a one victim came forward to report the abuse she suffered He was sentenced for raping and indecently assaulting one victim,

a n d i n d e c e n t l y a s s a u l t i n g a n o t h e r S a c h a w a s a l s o found guilty of three indecent assaults and indecency with a child against a third victim

Deputy Chief Inspector Ian Thornes said: “In committing these awful offences he abused his status as a

community figurehead and the trust that brought him in the most appalling way " He added: “We can only assume t h a t i n h i s a r r o g a n c e h e must have assumed his vict i m s w o u l d n o t h a v e t h e c o u r a g e t o s p e a k o u t Instead their bravery in coming forward has exposed his o f f e n d i n g a n d a l l o w e d authorities to bring a serial child sex offender to justice ”

He added: "We welcome the sentencing of Sacha for very serious sexual offences c o m m i t t e d a g a i n s t h i g h l y v u l n e r a b l e c h i l d v i c t i m s w h o h a d n o c h a n c e o f defending themselves from him "

The school's head teache r , N e i l M o r r i s , s a i d t h e b a t h r o o m h a d b e c o m e a "congregational social area" w i t h s o m e o l d e r s t u d e n t s blocking the path to toilets, while they socialised

One parent said images of the posters had "circulated very quickly" via social media

T h e w o r d i n g o f t h e posters had made many par-

ents "quite angry", she said "Saying that make-up is a harmful drug, and that it's addictive, saying that boys won't start to like you unless you take make-up off, you'll feel ugly if you don't wear it - I think how they've gone about it is not right and they s h o u l d h a v e l e t p a r e n t s k n o w w h a t t h e y w e r e doing " The mum said her daughter, who had seen the messages via social media, thought the wording to be "quite disturbing"

"I just don't think they're going about it in the right way, this won't stop young girls putting make-up on,"

she added There had been ongoing issues a b o u t b e h a v i o u r around toilets at the school, she explained "Apparently there's a lot of bullying going on in there, there are h o r r i b l e c o m m e n t s being written on the mirrors and it sounds a s i f t h e s t a f f h a v e h a d e n o u g h [ B u t ] t h e y c o u l d have got parents together, called a meeting - for the students as well - and maybe try to get some ideas about how the behaviour can be r e s t o r e d b a c k t o h o w i t should be "

A " v e r y p r o d u c t i v e " meeting had been held with pupils and two parents said head teacher, Mr Morris He said while the student council was "being challenged to c o m e u p w i t h a n a c t i o n p l a n " , s t a f f h a d n o t i c e d p u p i l s ' b e h a v i o u r h a d " n o t i c e a b l y i m p r o v e d t h i s week"

Driver caught carelessly controlling car transporter with a single elbow

T h is sh o cki ng fo otage s h o ws t h e mo me nt a dr iv er us e d j u st o ne elbow to control a heavily-laden car transp orter o n t h e M40 in Warwicksh ire

T h e d r i v e r w a s seemingly oblivious to p o l i c e o f f i c e r s d r i v i n g alongside him in one of N a t i o n a l H i g h w a y s ’ unmarked HGV cabs, on the c a r r i a g e w a y n e a r G a y d o n He quickly put both hands firmly on the wheel when they caught his attention –and notified their colleagues travelling behind to pull the vehicle over

Footage of a number of incidents captured by police o f f i c e r s i n t h e u n m a r k e d cabs have been released by National Highways ahead of a week of action along the M1 Officers from eight different police forces includ-

i n g N o t t i n g h a m s h i r e , D e r b y s h i r e , N o r t h a m p t -

o n s h i r e a s w e l l a s t h e

Leicestershire Road Safety P a r t n e r s h i p w i l l b e p a t r o l l i n g t h e m o t o r w a y from Monday 6 to Sunday 12

March

They will be looking out for incidents of illegal driving - such as this driver who was spotted at the wheel of a h o r s e b o x t e x t i n g o n h i s mobile phone and without his seatbelt on

From the elevated position in the HGV cab, officers

can spot unsafe driving b e h a v i o u r – w h a t e v e r v e h i c l e t h e m o t o r i s t may be in More than 3 3 , 2 5 4 o f f e n c e s h a v e been recorded since the ‘ O p e r a t i o n T r a m l i n e ’ u n m a r k e d H G V c a b s s a f e t y i n i t i a t i v e w a s l a u n c h e d b y N a t i o n a l Highways in 2015 - And some 30,380 vehicles have been stopped by police The most common offences are n o t w e a r i n g a s e a t b e l t (9,962) and using a mobile phone (8,368) followed by 2,257 who were not in proper control of their vehicle

C o n s e q u e n c e s f o r drivers range from warnings t o f i x e d p e n a l t y n o t i c e s , court summons or arrest

T h e a i m o f t h e w e e k o f action on the M1 – labelled Operation Freeway - is to reduce the number of incidents on the motorway

Photo: John Nicolson Photo cred t snp org

Yusuf Sacha Photo credit West Yorkshire Pol ce

Rahul Gandhi: “The art of listening is very powerful”

M e e t i n g t h e d i a s p o r a o r g a n i s e d b y I n d i a n O v e r s e a s C o n g r e s s i n W e s t London on Sunday 5 March, he also focussed on the issues such as safety of women

M eeting the m em bers of Indian

Jou rnalists’ A sso ciation

Speaking about the BBC document a r y c o n t r o v e r s y i n v o l v i n g P M

Narendra Modi, Mr Gandhi said, “The reason the Bharat Jodo Yatra became necessary is because the structures of o u r d e m o c r a c y a r e u n d e r b r u t a l attack,” he said

He added, “The BJP wants India to be silent They want it to be quiet because they want to be able to take what is India’s and give it to their close friends That’s the idea, to distract the population and then hand over India’s wealth to three, four, five people "

When asked why he was “defaming India in foreign soil” he strongly refuted the allegation saying, PM Modi started it all on foreign soil, by saying how nothing had been done in India in the last 60-70 years

“He has insulted every Indian and their grandparents by saying that India has lost a decade, and he said all this on a foreign soil "

While Mr Gandhi opposed the idea o f h i m s t a n d i n g a s t h e P r i m e Ministerial candidate in the 2024 general election, he spoke about the party’s vision to ‘ save ’ India’s economy

Answering our question, he emphasised on production, support for SMEs and agriculture to be the key He said, “The United States, India, Germany, Japan, Korea, these used to be production centres And the Chinese have now wrapped up, they're much better at it I don't appreciate the way they do it They do it more simply they do it using force So, I believe that a model for production in democratic countries is absolutely critical to the growth And I think there's a lot of work that can be d o n e b e t w e e n E n g l a n d , I n d i a , t h e United States, Germany ”

He further added, “In India, there is two or three times this massive concentration of wealth The entire banking system is being used to protect one gentleman for one gentleman's businesses And that needs to change So, there are clusters, of production in India all across the country The millions of people who are ready to produce and the banking system needs to be opened up to them Small and medium businesses should get bank loans, a n d s m a l l a n d m e d i u m b u s i n e s s e s s h o u l d h a v e t e c h n o l o g i c a l s u p p o r t And I am not saying that there is no role for large businesses, there is But there shouldn t be a role for complete and absolute monopoly I think agriculture is a huge problem too One of the things that I have heard throughout my walk was the agricultural industry And India needs to talk about agriculture in the 21st century It needs to talk a bit about developing the cold chain and needs to think about how to create jobs ”

A dd ressing Parliamentarians at House of Com mons

Virendra Sharma MP, Chair of the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) welcomed back Indian MP Rahul Gandhi in UK’s Parliament since his last trip in 2018 There were around 90 people in the Committee r o o m w h i c h i n c l u d e d M P s , L o r d s , councillors, policymakers, academics and community members

Among the guests were London’s D e p u t y M a y o r f o r B u s i n e s s R a j e s h Agrawal, Seema Malhotra MP, Valerie

Community’s week-long Holi celebrations begin

Mem bers of th e comm unity celebrated Holi in the first week of March w ith great zeal and enthusiasm T he

Hi g h C o m m i s si o n er o f

In d i a in th e U K , V i kr am

Do ra i sw a m i a tte nd e d th e Holi celebration on 5 March or g an i se d b y c o m m u n i ty members of Dartford and su p p o r ted b y Da rtf o rd

Bo ro u g h C o u n ci l M r Gareth Joh nson, MP , Cllr Paul Cu tler, Mayor Dartfo rd Boroug h Council & others joined in

The celebrations didn’t e n d e a r l y o n U K - b a s e d n o n - p r o f i t o r g a n i s a t i o n Heritage Bengal Global will

When asked what led to Congress’ failure in the 2014 elections, he said the “UPA government missed the shift in political discourse from the rural to urban space ” S e n i o r B J P l e a d e r R a v i S h a n k a r Prasad, reportedly severely criticised Mr Gandhi, accusing him of defaming India abroad

Mr Gandhi talked about free speech and his pride in the diaspora in the UK

L ecture at Cambrid ge U niv ersity

Mr Gandhi, who is a Visiting Fellow

mark its Holi celebration this Saturday at the Harrow C i v i c C e n t r e w h i c h g o e s into demolition and regeneration in April this year

Organising Committee m e m b e r s S o u r a v P a l ,

Tamalika Basu and Ramita

Ghosh are working tirelessly to ensure the event is a grand success The weather though is giving them some causes of concern, ‘but the response from the diaspora is really encouraging’ said Tamalika

a s o m b r e m o o d , “ I a m r e m e m b e r i n g t h e p a s t M a y o r o f H a r r o w M r i n a l Choudhury whom we lost in 2020, but because of the strong relationship he crea t e d w i t h u s d u r i n g h i s times, the Harrow Council offered us the venue which

He added, that narrative in India has to change to grow with production and employment He added, “The UK has high technology and there can be a chance of synergy We cannot leave m i l l i o n s o f o u r p o p u l a t i o n u n e mployed ”

When asked if India is put on global map by PM Modi, as millennials would like to believe, he opposed by saying, “India’s position is much more than what a government says

“Congress party is an idea, and that BJP is unbeatable is a narrative in the media I listen to people on the ground There is a strong undercurrent against the government, and there is severe unemployment, and we must listen to that If democracy is weak or crumbles, i t w i l l a f f e c t t h e w o r l d , a s I n d i a ’ s democracy is much bigger in size than Europe or even the US ”

Rah ul Gandh i sp eaks at C hatham House

Speaking at the Chatham House, Mr Gandhi interacted with the audience, one of who said she no longer can recognise the country she was born into (India) and raised in, like many other Indians

The leader explaining BJP's ideological model, referred to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), calling it a "fundamentalist" and "fascist" organisation, and a "secret society" that is “built along the lines of the Muslim Brotherhood and the idea is to use the democratic contest to come to power and then subvert the democratic contest afterwards And it shocked me at how successful they have been at capturing the different institutions of our country ”

o f t h e C a m b r i d g e J u d g e B u s i n e s s School (Cambridge JBS), delivered a student-only lecture at the University on the topic of "Learning to Listen in the 21st Century'

The lecture reportedly was divided into three key parts First, he spoke about the Bharat Jodo Yatra, for about 4,000 km (about 2486 miles), through 12 States of India from September 2022 to January 2023 His aim was to draw attention to "prejudice, unemployment and growing inequality in India"

T h e s e c o n d p a r t o f h i s l e c t u r e reportedly focussed on the ‘two divergent perspectives’ of the US and China since World War II, especially since the 1 9 9 1 c o l l a p s e o f t h e S o v i e t U n i o n , according to the Indian Express

The last part of his lecture was around the theme of ‘Imperative for a Global Conversation '

T h e A N I r e p o r t e d t h a t h e a l s o alleged that the Israeli-made spyware Pegasus was used to tap his conversations on his phone He claimed that intelligence officers apparently asked him to be “careful” while talking on the phone

According to the news agency ANI, Mr Gandhi said, “I myself had Pegasus on my phone Large number of politicians have Pegasus on their phones I’ve been called by Intelligence officers who say please be careful of what you say on your phone as we are recording the stuff”

Reacting to the Congress leader’s c

m m e n t s ,

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Sports and Youth Affairs said that ‘Pegasus is in Mr Gandhi’s mind, nowhere else’, reported the ANI

V i c e P r e s i d e n t M a h u a Bej said, “Last year we did it i n f r o n t o f t h e T o w e r Bridge, possibly the first of its kind - that was followed by our participation at the London Mayor’s Diwali in the square and our very own T h a m e s D u r g a P a r a d e which created a very good following of our organisat i o n i n t h e c o m m u n i t y , l e a d i n g t o a v e r y g o o d response in this years Holi ” Director of the organis a t i o n A n i r b a n Mukhopadhyay quipped in

we will use as a colourful farewell to the nostalgic old b u i l d i n g s o f t h e C i v i c C e n t r e , w h i c h g o i n t o d e m o l i t i o n a n d r e g e n e r ation ” Rang Rave - Neon Holi party will take place on 11th March from 11 pm to 4 am in Camden at THE CAMD E N , 6 5 C r o w n d a l e R d , C a m d e n , L o n d o n N W 1 1 T N , U n d e r g r o u n d : M o r n i n g t o n C r e s c e n t ( N o r t h e r n L i n e ) w h e r e B o m b a y F u n k a d e l i c w i l l present its unique UV glow in the dark party at The Camden - Camden's newest cocktail bar and late-night party spot Desi DJs will be playing live all night There w i l l b e f r e e g l o w s t i c k s , neon faces & body painting M u s i c w i l l i n c l u d e B o l l y w o o d B h a n g r a a n d Holi party theme by DJ Shai G u y ( B o m b a y F u n k a d e l i c resident), Doni Brasco (Lyca r a d i o ) a n d D J R u t v i k (Mumbai) More informat i o n i s a v a i l a b l e o n Eventbrite

Partygate: BoJo acting like Donald Trump?

o r

e d i

cu s s ed w a ys to bl o ck fu n d i ng f o r MPs’ local p rojects, in c lu d i ng a n ew centre for disabled ch i l d re n, t o p ersuad e them to vote fo r Cov id rules Th is is b ei ng to u t ed as B o ri s J oh ns o n ’ s “ c u l tu re o f th e regime” and that his ad minis tr ati o n w as “d ru nk o n power ” M e a n w h i l e , a c c o r d i n g t o T h e I n d e p e n d e n t , C o n s e r v a t i v e M P s h a v e accused Boris Johnson of acting like Donald Trump in

his efforts to undermine the P a r t y g a t e i n q u i r y i n t o whether he lied to parliam e n t T h e f o r m e r p r i m e minister is under growing pressure after the privileges committee released a report saying it would have been “ o b v i o u s ” t o M r J o h n s o n t h a t N o 1 0 g a t h e r i n g s breached Covid restrictions

Holi celebration on 5 March organised by community members of Dartford, supported by Dartford Borough Council

Vaz MP, Navendu Mishra MP, Tan Dhesi MP, Gareth Thomas MP, Tulip Siddique MP, Lord Navnit Dholakia and Lord Karan Bilimoria to name a few The conversation was chaired by Dr Mukulika Banerjee of the London School of Economics and Sanam Arora from National Indian Students and Alumni UK (NISAU)

Sam Pitroda, Virendra Sharma MP, Rahul Gandhi, Dr Mukulika Banerjee and Sanam Arora at Parliament

Indian Overseas Congress organises a diaspora event in West London

Develop solution for your own problems

Rohit Vadhwana

Some locks have more than one key

T he y c ann o t be o p ened wi th ou t using all the keys, in the correct combinatio n Unless you put the keys in a predefined s eq uence, th e loc k doesn't open So is life Many of th e locks in life can be opened not with a single key but with a bunch o f keys Until you have accumu lated all the required keys in a bunch, the mystery will not be solved Th e door will not op en The Pandora box will remain closed

There are many situations where one step solution doesn't work You need a series of steps to be taken, in the right order, in the correct length and at the appropriate time to achieve the desired result Otherwise, all the efforts made go to waste What it needs is a series of efforts made to achieve a certain level of success Random work, put in here and there, without planning, doesn't give any result There is nothing like the proportionate benefit of the actions taken Either you swim through the sea or sink No other possibility

In fact, most of the struggles in life require multiple efforts You cannot resolve the miseries through one action You have to be able to put together all the steps and resources required to solve the problem Sometimes it is money, other times it is health Occasionally it may be family and often the problem may be related to your own skill Attitudinal issues may also play a part But in most situations, it is a combination of all or most of them which cannot be decoded without a number of efforts The situa t i o n b e c o m e s s o c o m p l e x t h a t y o u c a n n o t s i m p l y straighten it

You need to possess a number of keys in life, they will be used on different occasions, either singly or in combination Also, there might come a situation where all of them have to be applied together These keys might mean skills, attitude, resources and willingness to act You might also notice that your keys are different from others, just like in any lock, other keys cannot open it, and so is life Other people's ready made solutions do not apply to your circumstances Therefore, it is difficult to implement anyone's advice in your life, even if it has worked for them

Analyse your own circumstances and develop your own solutions Don't rely on others' keys to open your locks Use a combination of ideas to come out of your complications, rather than restricting on one

(Expressed opinions are personal)

Neil Basu urges authorities to introduce ‘positive discrimination’ in recruiting ethnic minorities

The former h ead of counterterrorism, N eil Basu , wh o is th e s en io r-m o s t et h ni c min o ri ty p o l ic e o f f ic e r in Br ita in , h as e xp r es s e d th a t two -thirds of chief constables are ‘terrif ied’ to acknowledge ins t it u tio n al r ac i s m i n t h e force, according to a report B a s u h a s u r g e d a u t h o r i t i e s t o i n t r o d u c e ‘ p o s i t i v e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n ’ i n recruiting ethnic minorities to help combat the menace, the Telegraph reported The f o r m e r h e a d o f c o u n t e rterrorism has also revealed that one chief constable had been told by his boss that he would be sacked if they called t h e i r f o r c e i n s t i t u t i o n a l l y r a c i s t “ I d o n ’ t a g r e e w i t h p o s i t i v e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n I didn’t want it 30 years ago [when he joined the police, I wanted people to think I was a g r e a t c o p I d i d n ’ t w a n t anyone to give me a leg up for any reason other than I was a great cop, ” Basu was quoted as saying by Telegraph

“And everybody I know w i t h a p r o t e c t e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c , w h e t h e r t h e y ’ r e f e m a l e , g a y , b l a c k , brown also feel exactly the same way We do not want positive discrimination My point to the Government in setting policy is you will never without it ”

H e a d d e d : “ A t l e a s t a t h i r d o f c h i e f c o n s t a b l e s probably don’t think we are

Neil Basu

i n s t i t u t i o n a l l y a n y t h i n g They don’t see the problem at all Probably another third a r e t e r r i f i e d o f r e d u c i n g morale by our frontline ” I n a n i n t e r v i e w w i t h

Danny Shaw, the interviewer f o r C r e s t , B a s u t o l d t h a t according to him, positive discrimination is the only w a y t o i m p r o v e t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f e t h n i c minorities within the force and to help counter racism though he did not personally support discrimination

He added, “If you attract more people to join, you get more applicants They are massively outweighed by the n u m b e r o f w h i t e m i d d l ec l a s s u n d e r g r a d u a t e applicants If you do it on an equal waiting basis, they’re always going to crowd out b l a c k a n d b r o w n v o i c e s u n l e s s y o u a c t u a l l y d o something to increase the p o s s i b i l i t y o f g e t t i n g through That is not about l o w e r i n g s t a n d a r d s , t h a t ’ s about recognising if you ’ ve got a problem in that area ”

Report reveals Police insensitive towards resolving missing black and Asian people

Missing persons cases involving black and Asian peopl e are less likely to be r esolved by police t han t hose involving white peopl e, research sugg ests Black and Asian children are also likely to be missing for longer, the r e p o r t , p u b l i s h e d b y t h e c h a r i t y Missing People, found The research, which incorporates a number of findings based on freedom o f i n f o r m a t i o n r e q u e s t s t o p o l i c e forces and local authorities across the UK, suggests that a lower proportion of missing incidents relating to Black and Asian people were solved by the police, and that people of colour were less likely to be flagged as being at risk because of their mental health or in danger of child sexual exploitation

The report said it painted a “worrying picture” for Black and Asian communities, and that concern expressed by those working with missing children or adults should “trigger action”

It comes eight months after the Metropolitan police were forced to apologise by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog, which found that England’s largest police force did not take the case of R i c h a r d O k o r o g h e y e s e r i o u s l y enough One call handler told his family: “If you can’t find your son, how do you expect us to?” which the Metropolitan police accepted was insensitive

Deal or no deal?

Prime minister Rishi Sunak's revised Northern Ireland Protocol deal with the European Union is widely regarded as better than the deals secured by his predecessors Theresa May and Boris Johnson Keeping our fingers tightly crossed, we hope it succeeds on its way through parliament

H o w e v e r e v e ry t hi ng dep e n ds o n ho w N o r t he r n Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) views the new-look deal If DUP members pout their doubts it will be instantly ripped up and flung in the bin and Rishi will have to start the tedious process all over again In my opinion it seems the DUP's idea of "negotiation" is wanting everything to go their way and giving nothing in return Can the situation ever be resolved to everyone's satisfaction?

Your guess may be more hopeful than mine

Ash Gupta

Women are the bedrock of a nation

Women are the backbone of the family and the bedrock of a nation They bring life into the world They sense the cries of an infant Their instincts are to care for the old, the sick and those in need Our mothers, sisters and daughters share a core value of caring for others

International Women’s Day which is celebrated on March 8 is celebrated to make people aware of women rights and to show the achievements of women around the world since they are the real architects of the society

Jubel D'Cruz

M umbai, India

Age is no bar

Age is only a number, it is like mind over matter as long as you don't mind it doesn't matter There are stories where at 100 years people start PhD (Mr Bolaram) Married, widowed, single woman start businesses and complete degrees, join army At 65 col Sanders started KFC Age is no bar You reach your boundaries and realise there are no boundaries

T S Karthik Chennai

We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit Please keep contributing as always If you are new, then write to Shefali at shefali saxena@abplgroup com

India on the Political World Stage at G20: What to Expect in 2023

Continued from page 3

5 S t ren gth e ni ng it s i ns ti t ut i o nal fr ame wo rk: I n d i a i s strengthening its institutional framework by improving governance, reducing corruption, and enhancing the rule of law This will help India to create a more stable and p r e d i c t a b l e e n v i r o n m e n t f o r i n v e s t o r s a n d o t h e r stakeholders

What challenges do es India face in establishing itself as a global leader at G20 in 2023?

One of the primary challenges is the country's internal economic and social issues India has a vast population, and many of its citizens still live in poverty The country's economic growth rate has been uneven, and the government has struggled to keep up with infrastructure development and job creation Yet the GDP per capita of and Indian Hindu and Indian Muslim are the same

A n o t h e r c h a l l e n g e i s I n d i a s r e l a t i o n s w i t h o t h e r countries, particularly with China and the United States India and China have a long-standing border dispute that has escalated in recent years, and tensions between the two countries remain high Similarly, India's relationship with the US has been complicated by trade issues, immigration policies, and geopolitical tensions Yet these issues have not been an issue at all at G20 India seems to have with deft diplomacy avoided any issues on these matters at G20

Additionally, India's ability to contribute to global issues, such as climate change, could be limited by its domestic concerns India is one of the world's largest polluters, and the country's reliance on coal as a primary source of energy has been a concern for environmentalists Again, India's point of needing time but having commitment has seen it avoid criticism

Of course some forces want to tell you free speech is dead (difficult to believe when the leader of the opposition freely, openly, criticizes the PM at every turn, as do his party ) Or others who will tell you there is a pogrom against Muslims by a Hindu nationalist party Again difficult to believe when less than half of Hindus vote BJP and 19% of Muslims do (Pew Research)

High Commission of India in the UK starting the week long celebration of International Women Day 2023 From discussion on ‘Role of Innovation and Education in the Digital Age for Gender Equality to showcasing Nari Shakti through the paintings of Seema Kohli, celebration of womanhood done the right way!

Entrepreneur Sharon Jandu appointed to Federation of Small Businesses Board

Entrepreneur and su ccessfu l advoc ate fo r Bri ti sh As ia n bu s ines s, S haron Jandu h as been app ointed to the national Board of Directors o f th e F ede rat io n o f S ma ll

Businesses (FSB), th e UK’s biggest membersh ip organisation for small businesses and the self-employed, from 7 March 2023

Yorkshire-based Sharon, who runs her own business providing global services, LEK Global, has played a leading role in celebrating the contributions of British Asians, including entrepreneurs, profess i o n a l s , i n f l u e n c e r s , a n d p o l i t icians She now brings this experience to the highest level of FSB Sharon is passionate about facilitating improved trade opportunities between the UK’s small businesses and the Indian sub-continent

Sharon Jandu said, “I’m excited to have been appointed to the FSB Board FSB has such a strong voice heard in governments at all levels and is committed to supporting the UK’s diverse small businesses community Small businesses contribute a huge amount to the UK’s

Some of the most brilliant minds have failed at many things

Shefali Saxena

Bridging the ethnic minority gap between teachers and pupils

University this September

economy and there’s never been a more important time to play a role in shoring that up for the future ”

M a r t i n M c T a g u e , n a t i o n a l chair of FSB, said, “It’s fantastic to have Sharon on board, she is a real inspiration and her understanding o f t h e v a s t c o n t r i b u t i o n t h a t

35% of pupils in Eng land are from an e th nic m i no ri ty, bu t th es e underrepresented groups make up only 1 5% of teachers, government data has revealed Now Teach, a charity helping old er career ch angers bec o m e s eco nd a ry s ch o o l teachers shared a case study with Asian Voice which gives an insight into bridging the ethnic minority g ap be tw een teac he rs and pupils

renewed purpose

B

r i t i s h A s i a n s m a l l b u s i n e s s e s make and the particular issues they face, will help FSB enormously in our mission to be representative of the whole of the UK’s small business community and supporting small businesses to achieve their ambitions during these particular difficult times ”

Brand owned by British Indians wins World’s Best Flavoured Vodka title

Launched just seven months ago, Indian-inspired and British-made u ltra-premium vodka, Desi Daru h as already been named World’s Best Flavoured Vodka in th e prestigious, World Vo dka Awards

The vodka brand is owned by British-born Indians, who celebrate the best of the two countries t h e y c a l l h o m e t h r o u g h t h e flavour-led spirits, using the highest quality ingredients from the Himalayan mountains to the jungles of Maharashtra and the lush English countryside

Desi Daru’s Alphonso Mangoflavoured vodka has been making waves in the drinks world since its launch last July And it impressed the global panel of judges so much, it claimed the top spot in the UK F l a v o u r e d V o d k a c a t e g o r y a n d then competed against the best from each country to win the coveted title of World’s Best Flavoured

Vodka

Desi Daru co-founder Mohit Singh told the newsweekly, “It is the perfect marriage of East and

West and we are thrilled the judges agree and have honoured us with such a prestigious accolade

“The World’s Best title reflects the quality of the finest alphonso mangoes, prized for their sweetness that we sourced from India’s R a t n a g i r i , w h i c h a r e d i s t i l l e d rather than infused for a fuller, smooth flavour All of our vodkas

a r e d i s t i l l e d s e v e n t i m e s f r o m c r e a m y , E n g l i s h w i n t e r w h e a t , grown in Oxfordshire "

Police officer sexually assaulted colleague

A ser ving Me t Police officer has be e n fo un d g ui lt y of s e xu a lly as sa ult i ng a c olle a g ue wh ile on duty

PC Archit Sharma, of the Met unit covering Haringey and Enfield, was found guilty of sexual assault after a trial at Wood Green Crown Court The court heard how an allegation was received on December 7, 2020 that PC Sharma had sexually assaulted a colleague while both were on duty

The officer, who is currently suspended from duty, was charged on July 28, 2021 The Met Police said misconduct hearings would now

take place following his conviction M e t D e t e c t i v e C h i e f S u p e r i n t e n d e n t C a r o l i n e H a i n e s said: “I am furious that an officer has behaved in such a grossly unacceptable way In doing what he did, PC Sharma totally betrayed all the values of policing I hope that this outcome demonstrates that we will treat reports of sexual assault with the utmost seriousness, wherever they occur and whoever is responsible I applaud the bravery of this officer in coming forward in the way they did ”

Sharma is due to be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court

T h e a p p r o a c h o f recruiting older people i n t o t h e c l a s s r o o m m e a n s 3 2 % o f N o w T e a c h e r s a r e f r o m a n ethnic minority Almost all of the teachers are over 45 and have decades of experience working in other fields Traditional teacher recruitment, focussing on young graduates, is baking in this ethnicity gap between pupils and t e a c h e r s C h a n g i n g t a c t i c s t o attract older trainees could double representation T h i s i n e q u a l i t y m a y a l s o b e having a wider impact The UK has one of the youngest teaching workforces in the OECD and data shows the most economically deprived schools have the youngest teachers, meaning those children are taught by people with the least life and career experience Deepak Swaroop, 57, LondonKnew within months of retirement he had made a mistake After 10 years as a partner at EY, leading their global automation and artificial intelligence effort, he was left unsatisfied with the pace of retirement Fuelled by the need for a

i n l i f e , h e u n r etired to become a Maths teacher in a s t a t e s c h o o l i n L o n d o n d u r i n g the height of the p a n d e m i c H e b e l i e v e s e m p l o yers need to do more to invest in r e t r a i n i n g a n d r e s k i l l i n g o l d e r workers in their current roles and society must leverage them more formally their skills while giving them a purpose He has embarked on a new path to challenge himself with a complete career change at 55 and hasn’t looked back Sasha Chaudhri, 57, LondonFour decades after leaving school at 16, with no qualifications, this top c i t y l a w y e r p a s s e d h e r E n g l i s h GCSEs just weeks before starting t r a i n i n g t o b e c o m e a t e a c h e r Despite failing her then OLevels in 1981, she later gained a law degree and Masters before working for 25 years at top city firms such as Visa, Santander, EY and the Financial Ombudsman Sasha, from Merton, South London, began her teacher training for English at Kingston

Sasha told Asian Voice, “After a challenging time, I left school at 16 after failing all my exams Despite t h i s , m y p a s s i o n f o r E n g l i s h s p u r r e d m e o n t o s u c c e s s f u l l y achieve a first in Law at University at the age of 32, followed by a very rewarding career in the corporate world Despite over 20 years of working for big names such as G r a n t T h o r n t o n a n d R o y a l London, I started feeling unfulfilled Having attained a high level in my career, I did some soulsearching and reached the decision to follow a new career path in teaching English I want to inspire students and help them to obtain a good foundation in the English language to enable them to pursue their dreams

“To prepare me for this career in teaching, I decided to retake my G C S E s i n E n g l i s h a n d M a t h s , w h i c h h a s b e e n a n i n c r e d i b l y r e w a r d i n g e x p e r i e n c e R e t a k i n g them provided me with the invaluable experience of fostering an upto-date understanding of the syll a b u s a n d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o observe some inspiring teaching methods as a student On a personal level, I have learned patience and will be immensely proud to be part of a profession that develops our children of today for the future r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t o m o r r o w a n d beyond I would say to students struggling to make the grade they wanted, that some of the most brilliant minds have failed at many things, and the fact that they keep preserving eventually makes them stronger It is that journey that provides you with the opportunity to learn to conquer life’s obstacles”

Falsely accused victim donates to charity that helped her in bad times

A sub-postmistress left homeless when she was falsely accused amid the Post Office scand al has made a donation to the charity that came to her aid

R u b b i n a S h a h e e n , f r o m

Shrewsbury, was jailed for a year in 2010 after being wrongfully conv i c t e d o f f a l s e a c c o u n t i n g a n d t h e f t S h e a n d h e r h u s b a n d , Mohamed, lost their home and were forced to live in a van before Shrewsbury Ark came to their aid with blankets, sleeping bags and food

They have given the charity £2,400 from an interim pay-out they received after her convictions

were overturned More than 700 branch managers were given crimin a l c o n v i c t i o n s w h e n f a u l t y accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their premises Mr Shaheen said of the events more than a decade ago: "We were made homeless, we were t o t a l l y p e n n i l e s s " H e s a i d Shrewsbury Ark helped them at their lowest point and even paid their fuel expenses when they travelled to temporary accommodation in another town

The couple said they were glad to be able to offer their support to the charity in return

Mrs Shaheen, who worked at

G r e e n f i e l d s P o s t O f f i c e i n Shrewsbury, always maintained her innocence In December 2019, at the end of a long-running series of civil cases, the Post Office agreed to settle with hundreds of claimants I n A p r i l 2 0 2 1 , t h e C o u r t o f A p p e a l c o n f i r m e d M r s S h a h e e n was innocent and that it was the P o s t O f f i c e c o m p u t e r s y s t e m , called Horizon, that was to blame S h e a n d o t h e r v i c t i m s w e r e promised interim compensation of up to £100,000 from the government

But she said she was still waiting to receive her compensation from the Post Office

Health inequalities during pandemic driven by increased exposure to virus

Ethnic minority groups e xperienced highe r rat es of severe illness and de ath fr om Covid because of their greater risk of b ecoming infected, a major study has concluded

Researchers at the University of Manchester found that high transmission of the virus was the most significant factor behind increased mortality in ethnic minority communities

Previous studies on the subject have not reached a conclusion over whether higher fatalities were due t o h i g h e r i n f e c t i o n r i s k , p o o r e r prognosis once infected, or both

R e s e a r c h e r s a n a l y s e d r e s u l t s

from 77 research studies, covering

200 million people from around the world

T h e s t u d y f o u n d t h a t S o u t h

Asian people were three times more likely to test positive for Covid than white people, while Black people w e r e 1 8 t i m e s m o r e l i k e l y , a n d M i x e d a n d O t h e r e t h n i c g r o u p s

were each 1 3 times more likely

The risk of needing intensive care was also higher: South Asian, East Asian, Indigenous, Hispanic and Black groups all had more than triple the risk of white groups

Researchers cited a number of s o c i o e c o n o m i c r e a s o n s f o r t h e

i n c r e a s e d i n f e c t i o n r a t e s a m o n g ethnic minority groups, including

“different patterns of employment, income and housing”

In a letter sent to inquiry chairw o m a n B a r o n e s s H a l l e t t , t h e C o v i d - 1 9 B e r e a v e d F a m i l i e s f o r J u s t i c e g r o u p a n d r a c e e q u a l i t y think tank Runnymede called for ethnic minority communities to be “placed firmly at the centre” of the inquiry

Figures released by Transport f o r L o n d o n ( T f L ) l a s t y e a r a l s o r e v e a l e d t h a t m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 London bus and Tube workers had died from Covid during the pandemic The majority were people belonging to ethnic minorities, TfL said

Deepak Swaroop

Sharon Jandu

Sasha Chaudhri

CF India hosts fundraiser dinner in Brum

C o ns erv ati ve MP De an Russell told attendees at a f u nd rai s i ng d in ne r i n Birmingham, “When Labour see a p roblem, they exploit it When we see a problem, we fix i t” Th e event was o r gan is e d b y E dgb as to n C o ns erv ati ve s i n p art ners h i p wi th Co n se rva ti ve F riends of India (CFI), the Britis h I ndian arm of the T ory party

C u r r e n t l y h e l d b y Labour, the Tories are eager to take over the Edgbaston seat at the next UK general election MP Russell, originally from Castle Bromwich i n B i r m i n g h a m , s a i d h i s party were working hard to h a l v i n g i n f l a t i o n , c u t t i n g debt, growing the economy, solving backlogs and stopping small boats

In his humour-packed 1 0 - m i n u t e a d d r e s s , M P Russell said he understood w h y t h a t t h e n a t i o n w a s annoyed with the Tories and cited two types of politicians: those who knock on doors to tell constituents what they think and those who do the same to ask constituents what they think He said the latter was better as it prompted people to share their views on why they don’t want the opposition Speakers were eloquent-

Sapta Tandava: A milestone performance in the UK

Yet another milestone was reached by S anskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence as it presented a unique theme o f Sapta T andava at Bharatiya Vidya Bh avan last week

T h e a u d i t o r i u m w a s a b u z z w i t h A u m Namasshivay and Har Har M a h a d e v c h a n t s a s t h e seven Tandavas were pres e n t e d i n d i f f e r e n t d a n c e forms on centuries-old comp o s i t i o n s T h e p r o g r a m , t i t l e d S i v o h a m , h a d a n

ly introduced by CFI volunt e e r A m i l K h a n , P u b l i c A f f a i r s M a n a g e r a t University of Birmingham

M a y o r o f W e s t M i d l a n d s Andy Street, in his address, said that India has become the second biggest inward i n v e s t o r i n t h e W e s t Midlands and is "nipping on t h e h e e l s " o f t h e U n i t e d States Mr Street also said that the number of foreign b u s i n e s s e s t h i n k i n g o f investing in the region has doubled to 1,200 since the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham

Bilateral trade between India and the UK is worth around £16 5 billion, and the UK is India’s biggest G20 investor India is one of the biggest investors in the UK It invests more in the UK than it invests in the rest of the EU combined

The Consul General of India in the Midlands, Dr Shashank Vikram reminded attendees of the importance of friendship and said that finding like-minded countries was a challenge hence the UK-India bond was a p a r t i c u l a r l y s p e c i a l o n e With the aid of his mobile phone, he scrolled down citi n g s e v e r a l k e y s t a t i s t i c s relating to UK-India trade

Held at Edgbaston Golf Club last Friday (3 March), t h e r o u n d - t a b l e e v e n t b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r f r i e n d s from all sections of society

A t t e n d e e s i n c l u d e d Dominic Stanford, former Birmingham City councill o r , n o w a P u b l i c A f f a i r s O f f i c e r a n d C h a i r m a n o f E d g b a s t o n C o n s e r v a t i v e s , f o r m e r L e a d e r o f Birmingham City Council

L o r d M i k e W h i t b y , b u s inessmen in real estate, the Arain brothers, accountant Shabir Djakiodine, Albanian asylum seeker turned barrister Musa Nela, Shamsul and H a m d a n A r i f e e n , W i l l B u t t r e s s , P r e s i d e n t o f University of Birmingham

C o n s e r v a t i v e s a n d l o c a l politicians and supporters

The evening included a three-course meal and featured a Q&A session The vote of thanks was given by CFI Director Nayaz Qazi

Peshawari restaurant caters a prestigious Burns night event

N amak Mandi, the award W i n ni n g Gl as g ow b a se d r es t aur an t, ha d t he esteemed honor of c atering for the 8th Annual Glasgow Afghan United Burns/Rumi Supper, a Burns Night event h el d a t Gl as g ow C it y C ha mb er s on t he 18 J anuary

This highly anticipated o c c a s i o n a t t e n d e d b y approximately 250 individuals, including some notable f i g u r e s s u c h a s R t H o n J a c q u e l i n e M c L a r e n L o r d P r o v o s t o f G l a s g o w ,

Professor Stephen Gethins, Anas Sarwar MSP Leader of S c o t t i s h L a b o u r P a r t y , C h r i s t i n a M c K e l v i e M S P , Minister for Equalities and Older People as well as Sabir Zazai OBE, Mr Khalid Javid and Mr Abdul Bostani Namak Mandi’s Bridge S t r e e t l o c a t i o n o f f e r s a u n i q u e a n d a u t h e n t i c P e s h a w a r i c u i s i n e t o t h e entirety of Scotland The restaurant prides itself on its philanthropic work and regularly provides food for the homeless

( B h a r a t a n a t y a m ) , M a n j u

Sunil (Mohiniattam) and Dr

P r i t h a D a s m a h a p a t r a (Odissi) Through this program, the lyrical works of

n i n g C h i e f G u e s t A m i s h

e x p l a n a t i o n o f d i f f e r e n t

T a n d a v a s a n d t h e i r c o ntexts, performed by Shivani

B h a n d a r i ( K a t h a k ) , A r y a

A r u n ( B h a r a t a n a t y a m ) , Y o g i n d r a M a r a v a n t e ( Y a k s h a g a n a ) , L a k s h m i

A v e e n ( K u c h i p u d i ) , R a g a s u d h a V i n j a m u r i

c o m p o s e r s s u c h a s

M a h a d e v a S a m b h o a n d

S h a h u j i M a h a r a j ( C h h a t r a p a t i S h i v a j i

M a h a r a j ' s g r a n d n e p h e w )

are also highlighted Lord Shiva was invoked through classical and folk dances by 20 performers in the begin-

Tripathi, Director of The Nehru Centre, and Guest of Honour Dr Nandakumara, Executive Director of The Bhavan have spoken on the occasion Amish's words on Shiva's consciousness were thought-provoking He has commended the initiative of Sanskruti Centre in bringing out such a novel subject to UK audiences Artists were f e l i c i t a t e d , f o l l o w e d b y a v o t e o f t h a n k s b y S u s h i l Rapatwar The program was c o n c e i v e d & e x e c u t e d b y R a g a s u d h a V i n j a m u r i a n d anchored by Radhika Joshi and Raj Agrawal About 300 people attended this program, and many of them expressed profound appreciation for the rich content of the evening

Kirit Modi’s investiture ceremony takes place at Windsor Castle

Th e investiture ceremony o f K i ri t Mo di to o k p la ce a t W in ds o r C as tl e o n 2 8 February 2023 for the MBE The award was presented to him by Princes Royal, Princess Anne He has been awarded for his contribut i o n t o p r o m o t i n g o r g a n donation Kirit Modi is a kidney transplant recipient He is Hon President of the National Kidney Federation ( N K F ) a n d t h e N B T A (National BAME Transplant Alliance), Chair of the Lister A r e a K i d n e y P a t i e n t s

Kirit Modi with his wife

Meena who donated a kidney to him in 2001

A s s o c i a t i o n ( L A K P A ) a n d Chair of the Jain and Hindu S t e e r i n g G r o u p o n o r g a n donation (JHOD) Kirit has

frequently spoken at the All Party Parliamentary Kidney G r o u p a n d w r i t t e n t w o Manifestos for Change; on BAME issues and on living kidney donation He is a member of the project board f o r t w o N H S B T p r ogrammes, the Community Investment Scheme and the Living Transplant Initiative Kirit received a Points of Light award from the Prime Minister for his work on organ donation in 2018 and a n M B E i n t h e J u b i l e e Birthday Honours in 2022

Project Shakti – building stronger communities in Leicester

In Sep tember 2022 Leicester saw communal disorder on the streets involving young men from both the Hindu and Musli m communi ti es I n rec e nt ye ars newe r gro u p s h ave a rri ved f ro m f o rme r P o rtu gu e se -r u n enclaves in India of Daman and Diu and have migrated to Leices ter in signi fic ant numbers before the UK left the Europ ean Union Some of the yo unger members o f th i s c o mmu ni ty wer e involved in th e disturbances an d th ei r wi de r fa mi li es were affected as a result

W h i l s t t h e r e a s o n s b e h i n d t h e d i s o r d e r a r e complex, the vast majority of communities in Leicester would like to move forward and learn from the disturbances and support those affected Our organization recognizes that greater support is required for the communities from the areas of Diu and Daman, and there are cultural challenges and i n t e g r a t i o n i s s u e s w h i c h require addressing P r o j e c t S h a k t i w a s l a u n c h e d a t t h e S h r e e

Hindu Community Centre

i n L e i c e s t e r o n T h u r s d a y 23rd February 2023 to support these communities

Dr Jiva Odedra – Chair of Trustees at Shree Hindu

M a n d i r a n d C o m m u n i t y Centre said, “This project will allow us all an opportunity to learn about the new a r r i v a l c o m m u n i t i e s a n d therefore present an opportunity to integrate through d i f f e r e n t m u t u a l c u l t u r a l understanding ”

L e i c e s t e r C o m m u n i t y

L i n k s w i l l p r o v i d e a s a f e space for this community to seek advice and support and w o r k m o r e c l o s e l y w i t h statutory agencies such as the Police Service and the l o c a l a u t h o r i t y T h e Voluntary and Community Support sector in Leicester will be encouraged to work more closely with this community and address issues around health inequalities a n d m e n t a l h e a l t h T h e o r g a n i s a t i o n w i l l w o r k c l o s e l y w i t h t h e C i t y

D e v e l o p m e n t O f f i c e r f o r

L e i c e s t e r s h i r e C o u n t y

C r i c k e t C l u b t o p r o v i d e

opportunities for younger people from this community to engage in sports and provide them with a safe space to explore some of the issues they are facing

Taruna Mistry CEO of Leicester Community Links s a i d , " I t ’ s i m p o r t a n t f o r statutory agencies and comm u n i t y o r g a n i s a t i o n s t o w o r k c o l l a b o r a t i v e l y t o address the issues and concerns following the disturbances in Leicester last year

I believe this project will have a positive impact on the communities from Diu and Daman who have chosen to make Leicester their home ”

L e i c e s t e r C o m m u n i t y Links values the importance o f c o m m u n i t y c o h e s i o n projects and is determined t o w o r k c l o s e l y w i t h a l l groups In recognition of their community cohesion a n d w e l l b e i n g p r o j e c t s delivered and the positive impact made, the organisat i o n w a s a w a r d e d t h e Q u e e n s P l a t i n u m J u b i l e e

C o m m u n i t y A w a r d i n January 2023

Shakeel Ur Rehman, Dean Russell MP, Mayor Andy Street, Lord Mike Whitby Cllr Robert Alden Nayaz Qazi Naadir Qazi

The Arain brothers Musa Nela Hamdan Arifeen Shamsul Arifeen

Amish Tripathi and Dr Nandakumara with Tandava presenters

Sapta Tandava presentation at Sivoham event

Britain’s biggest mosque has grand reopening after devastating fire

T he iconic Baitu l Futuh Mo sque, wh ich suffered a damaging blaze in 2015, inaugu rated its new comp lex at the National Peace S ymposium of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community o ver the weekend

The large fire burnt down almost a third of the mosque complex, including multipurpose halls

Bigger and better Ramadan with Asda

have warned of the risks of a full-scale world war and have spoken of how its deadly and destructive consequences are far beyond our comprehension Having long warned of such a war, I take no satisfaction in the fact that we are moving ever closer to it

“Rather, I feel only grief and anguish as I see the world hurtling ever faster towards a terrifying world war in which the lives of millions of innocent people will be lost or permanently

This year, Asda is celebrating its bi ggest Ramada n yet with 15 0 new p rodu ct lines, more great dea ls an d an ea si er s h o p p in g exp eri en ce th a n e ver be fo r e across the store

As the holy month approaches, Asda is making it easier for customers to find what they need with dedicated Ramadan aisles in 150 stores, a +47% increase from last year These stores are in key areas across the country, such as Wembley, Leicester and Sheffield

The ASDA Ramadan range includes Halal products, tinned ingredients, frozen food, baked goods, fresh fruit and vegetables, and cookware

With reconstruction now complete, London’s landscape welcomes a beautiful new £20 million five-storey structure that will allow community members and locals to take part in religious, sports and community events, as well as providing office space and guest rooms

The worldwide Head and Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, inaugurated the new complex at the 2023 National Peace Symposium

This year marked the 17th symposium to date and was attended by hundreds of guests including parliamentarians, diplomats, academics and representatives from numerous charities and faith communities

Speaking about the importance of mosques and the role of a true Mosque, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said, “A true Muslim upon entering a mosque shall himself enter a state of peace and shall by fulfilling the commands of God, prove a beacon of peace and security for others All our mosques (of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community) serve not only as an abode of worshipping God Almighty but are also a means of fulfilling the rights of mankind and establishing peace in the world ”

The Caliph used his address to drive attention towards the urgent need for peace in light of the raging conflicts around the world He further said, “For many years I

destroyed instead of bestowing a legacy of peace and prosperity to our future generations, our parting gift to them will be nothing except death, destruction and misery "

New to Asda this year include Ramadan Countdown Calendars with celebratory chocolate treats i n s i d e a n d T h e D e s i D o l l Company’s innovative, bi-lingual soft plush talking Muslim dolls ( £ 3 0 ) t h a t s p e a k a n d s i n g i n English and Arabic, providing a fun and unique way for young children to learn languages

Farzana Rahman, who founded The Desi Doll Company in 2008 after noticing how the market lacked Islamic toys to teach children about religion and faith, in fun and interactive ways says, “I left my banking career and d e s i g n e d A a m i n a a n d Y o u s u f These are two interactive plush dolls that talk and sing when you press their hands, feet and nose! They teach children the basics of the Islamic faith in a fun and light-hearted way ”

The Baitul Futuh Mosque was originally built in 2003 and has been open for community members and the public and can accommodate over 10,000 worshippers

The new £20m project was funded by members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the design is based on a pure geometry and a symmetrical arrangement, which is often found in Islamic architecture, particularly in the design of mosques The five-storey complex includes naturally ventilated spaces and includes two large multipurpose halls, offices and guest rooms The new facility also incorporates low energy and sustainable technologies including, solar panels, efficient heating and cooling systems, and other energy and water saving features which contribute towards its green footprint

Photo courtesy: ©AMA UK

Autistic boy falls prey to bullies at school

As a forfeit fo r losing a video game, a 14year-old autistic British boy was asked by his friends to buy a copy of the Koran and bring it to school, Kettleth orpe High in Wakefield, West Yorksh ire

It has been reported that there was no malicious intent involved, but the holy book, once inside the school, became accidentally damaged, though only ‘slightly’ and not by the boy’s hands

In his defence, he is autistic and, says his mother, ‘doesn’t always realise what is appropriate and what is not appropriate’

Nobody, certainly not the boy, could have foreseen what would happen next Unfortunately, the boy was suspended along with three other pupils Police began investigating and recorded a ‘hate’ incident; a Labour councillor stoked tensions by falsely claiming on social media that

the book was desecrated; and his mother found herself pleading for forgiveness at the local mosque after his life was threatened

The matter reached the desk of Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who declared herself ‘deeply concerned’ by the case and the way it has been handled ‘The education sector and police have a duty to prioritise the physical safety of children over the hurt feelings of adults,’ she said

Reports of death threats against West Yorkshire school pupils who allegedly damaged a copy of the Koran are alarming, the home secretary has said

The Department for Education is already believed to be working with Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield, West Yorkshire after it suspended four students over the incident

n a r y L t d , believes it was import a n t t o i n t r o d u c e chocolate countdown c a l e n d a r s f o r Ramadan, after spotting a huge gap in the m a r k e t a n d l a c k o f v a r i e t y a v a i l a b l e

Ramadan Countdown

C a l e n d a r s p r o v i d e a highly engaging and i n t e r a c t i v e w a y t o e d u c a t e c h i l d r e n o n t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f Ramadan Sara International Ltd is also stocking its e x t e n s i v e r a n g e o f Madina and Palestinian Medjoul dates for the first time in Asda Founder, Osama Aziz, launched his business back in 1985, at a time when there was a lack of Arabic or/and Halal food widely

a v a i l a b l e i n t h e U K O n t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f d a t e s d u r i n g Ramadan, Osama s a y s , “ O n a p e rsonal level, I cons i d e r o f f e r i n g d a t e s d u r i n g R a m a d a n t o Muslims, is a duty, and our success in doing so has given us great joy!”

N o o r A l i , H e a d o f W o r l d F o o d s a t A s d a , c o m m e n t s : “ I ’ m r e a l l y e x c i t e d t o help our Asda cust o m e r s p e r f o r m Ramadan Fasting and celebrate E i d F e s t i v a l , b y m a k i n g i t a s affordable and convenient as possible to fill their shopping baskets with everything they need, across multiple categories ”

His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad

The new Baitul Futuh Mosque

Yousef by The Desi Doll Company

Aamina by The Desi Doll Company

Ramadan calendar

The findings come as part of the latest report by the governmentb a c k e d F T S E W o m e n L e a d e r s R e v i e w , s p o n s o r e d b y L l o y d s Banking Group and KPMG, which w a s l a u n c h e d t o d a y i n C a n a r y W h a r f T h e r e p o r t t r a c k s t h e progress being made in breaking down barriers to the progression of talented women into directorships and senior executive roles across the business

T h e s e f i n d i n g s d e m o n s t r a t e steady progress in getting women leaders to the top table of business in the UK, with women ’ s board representation increasing by nearly 3% in 2022 across the FTSE 350 (40 2%) FTSE 350 Leadership positions below the board for women are now at 33 5% and at 34 3% for 50 of the UK’s largest private companies, published for the first time this year

Women now hold a third of all L e a d e r s h i p r o l e s i n F T S E 3 5 0 Companies too, a huge milestone that shows the continuing progress that is ongoing throughout businesses The next critical goal for the business is to achieve a target o f 4 0 % w o m e n i n F T S E 3 5 0

Leadership teams before 2025which the UK business is on track to meet

Business and Trade Secretary a n d W o m e n a n d E q u a l i t i e s

Minister Kemi Badenoch said, “I’m pleased to see that FTSE 350 companies have surpassed this target, s h o w i n g t h a t c h a n g e d o e s n ’ t always require top-down interventions but can occur when everyone is pushing in the same direction

This progress is very welcome, and I’d urge businesses to keep up this momentum to achieve a better balance in leadership positions as well as in boardrooms ”

Just over a decade ago, 152 of t h e F T S E 3 5 0 B o a r d s h a d n o women on them at all - this is truly a thing of the past now, with the presence of women on every board of the FTSE 350 and the vast majority of the 350 companies now having 3 or more women on their board W i t h b u s i n e s s e s h i t t i n g t h e 40% target for Women on Boards well ahead of schedule, it is clear that the momentum is on their side and a sea change is still coming

Results secure the UK in second place when compared internationally to other countries driving for more women on top public liste d b o a r d s T h i s i s e s p e c i a l l y notable, as the scope of the UK achievement is across 350 publicly listed companies, and progress has been achieved on an entirely volu n t a r y b a s i s , r a t h e r t h a n b y a mandatory quota system that is enforced on businesses in many countries

The UK’s unique business-led approach has paid dividends, with c o m p a n i e s s t e p p i n g f o r w a r d t o report their numbers, with high levels of success

Nimesh Patel and Penny James, Co-Chairs, FTSE Women Leaders Review, said, “Achieving 40 per cent representation for Women on Boards is a defining moment and is a testament to the power of the voluntary approach and the collective efforts of many businesses and individuals over the last decade By extending the Review to include for the first time 50 of the largest UK private companies, our work

Embracing unconventional choices

from every ethnicity that it is possible to dream big and achieve their dreams I am British Champion Powerlifter 2022, a woman in her forties with two children – a working mum! I hope that my unconventional journey inspires a generation of women to take up the sport, or whatever they are pass i o n a t e a b o u t a n d d r e a m t o achieve – anything is possible!”

now tracks the progress of women in 30,000 leadership roles across all of the big British businesses ”

O n I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o m e n ’ s Day 2023 as Asian Voice gears up to host ‘Embracing Equity’ - Women

In Conversation (See P14-17 for more details), we spoke to women from all walks of life, in order to understand how they’ve broken t h e g l a s s c e i l i n g a n d w o r k e d t o w a r d s e m b r a c i n g e q u i t y , t h e newsweekly reached out to South Asian women who have chosen non-conformist (unconventional) career options which weren’t the classic options for women in the south Asian societies a decade ago These women hail from sports, e n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p , a n d c e l e b r i t y management and are also working towards inclusivity in Britain

First British P akistani po werlifter

Dr Amna Kh an is a senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University While not strictly her career, Amna is British Champion Powerlifter 2022 – the first British Pakistani to achieve this Amna was good at sports growing up, but her parents wanted her to focus on education it was the safer option for an immigrant family She was a great swimmer but as a Muslim female, the costume requirement did not align with her religious beliefs

Later in life, after a car accident and having her first child, Amna decided to take up strength sport, which is considered a predominantly male sport and certainly not for Pakistani Muslim women due to stereotypes within the community and in the wider dominant culture Despite battles with long Covid and a knee injury, Amna was c r o w n e d B r i t i s h C h a m p i o n i n June, having only ever competed in t w o c o m p e t i t i o n s S h e ’ s a t r u e believer that every woman, girl, minority ethnic and every practising faith can be a champion in whatever they set out to do Aside from her sporting achievements, Amna is an international keynote s p e a k e r , l e a d i n g c o n s u m e r behaviour media expert, academic researcher, and published author –a woman of many talents!

Speaking to Asian Voice about c h o o s i n g a n u n c o n v e n t i o n a l career, Amna said, “Asian women are underrepresented in sports and more so within strength sports like powerlifting Although it is great to s e e m a n y A s i a n f e m a l e s n o w engaging in fitness and going to the gym, very few of them lift heavy weights! Strength sport has always been viewed as a male sport

I wanted to challenge the narrative

Not only for females but also for Asian women, we need more role models and representation I also wanted to challenge the myth that lifting makes you bulky and manly, I found that it defined my physique and made me much more feminine, enhancing my curves I wanted to pave the way for all women

than 20,000 people through mentoring programmes, skills works h o p s a n d c o m m u n i t y c o n n e ctions I became a published author and presenter of the award-winning show The Everyday Hustle on B B C A s i a n N e t w o r k I ' v e w o n many awards and am a verified blue tick across all platforms I have also been recognised as an influencer, advocate and leader Though it may not seem it directly but working in the media, managing many hats and being a public figure versus a professional in the corporate space, is unconventional And being a brown woman with a voice, platform and power is still unconventional despite it being 2023 Knowing that the work I am

knowing I could be doing a job I wouldn’t enjoy definitely keeps me going If I’m having a bad day, I know that no two days are ever the same So, I’ll keep pushing through t h o s e t o u g h d a y s F o r m e , I realised hard work can have a huge impact on the direction of my work/career I’m not afraid of hard work Because I know it will lead me further than where I am today

Sonya Barlow , Award Winning

E n tre p ren eu r, A u th o r & BB C Radio Host, and F ound er of L MF N etw or k, a F e m al e- C en tri c C areers & Inclusion Platform, told the newsweekly, “As a young girl, I wanted to work in media or entertainment, present or be on TV, but w a s o f t e n r e m i n d e d t h a t g o o d brown girls don't go on the TV and s o t o o k a p a t h d o w n b u s i n e s s instead As a graduate, I worked in the tech industry where I was one of 3 South Asian women across a team of 300 people I had to educate my family about the world of tech as it meant late nights, long hours and travelling across Europe staying in hotels (unmarried young w o m e n , o h n o ) E v e n t u a l l y , I became frustrated, feeling tired of the loneliness and microaggressions That’s how LMF Network started in 2018, as a brunch initiative to have career and confidence conversations with women from different backgrounds However, I realised many minority professionals, were experiencing similar situations In 2020, I took the leap to make LMF Network into a business to help the careers of diverse talent and risk it all - which turned o u t t o b e t r u e b e c a u s e a f e w months later, the pandemic started, and I lost 75% of my income

“It was hard, and I often questioned my decision, but it was the best I’ve ever made In the last t h r e e y e a r s , t h r o u g h L M F Network, I have upskilled more

doing impacts the careers and confidence of thousands of people is what keeps my passion for equality, advocacy and diversity alive ”

Celebrity M anag er

Mayah is a C elebrity Manager

She is also dubbed as PR-to-theStars Mayah is from a Pakistani background and not only does she have a non-usual career in general but for someone from a South Asian background “I have yet to meet another South Asian woman in celebrity management I’m not saying there isn’t, but I’ve not met one That’s one of the reasons I think what I do is unconventional within our culture,” she told Asian Voice

She further said, “Another reason is that it can be 24/7, including being woken at 4 am with breaking news But mainly, it can seem if you ’ re working with celebrities, it’s seen as being “wishy-washy” and “‘not real work” because people don’t really understand what it is that I do Not forgetting that you don’t need a degree for this career choice! I’m quite ambitious, so I naturally want to do well in my career However, this career wasn’t promised to me as I went to university to do primary teaching So,

That’s a huge motivator!”

Bu ild ing inclusiv e cultures

A d v i ta P ate l C o - Fo u n d erC o m m s Reb el t o l d u s , “ I n e v e r intended to work in communications However, I struggled to find work the year I graduated in IT, so I worked in an admin role This role changed my life as it opened up the world of marketing and c o m m u n i c a t i o n s – a n i n d u s t r y where you don’t see many faces like mine – but I absolutely loved it However, after 17 years of working in corporate roles, I felt I had a greater purpose, so I set up a comm u n i c a t i o n s c o n s u l t a n c y c a l l e d CommsRebel to help organisations build inclusive cultures so people can thrive in their roles It was an unconventional move for someone like me I went from a well-paid, secure role to starting a business with no real idea of how to run one I gave myself six months to s u c c e e d H o w e v e r , w h o k n e w three months after I launched the b u s i n e s s t h e p a n d e m i c w o u l d arrive? But I didn’t let this stop me I knew my passion in life was to help people thrive, which kept me going I started a second business, became a confidence coach, cohosted an award-winning podcast, wrote a book and spoke internationally This year I launched an app, and I have my second conference, where I bring people together who think differently about the world of work Despite the adversities you may face, never let anyone dim your light or tell you something isn’t possible!”

Meet the original non-conformist

The secret history of the first Asian woman nominated for the b est actres s O scar - Merle Oberon, a pic k for best ac tress in 1936, was born in Bomb ay and spen t her career pas sin g for white

Born Estelle Merle O’Brien Thompson in what was then the British Indian city of Bombay, Oberon was determined to make the most of her innately fairer complexion It became her ticket to a bigger world, the shroud that helped disguise the fact that she was the product of rape Her birth father was the Anglo-Irish foreman of a tea plantation Her mother, believed to have been of Sri Lankan and Māori ancestry, was just 14 when she

gave birth in 1911 After centuries of intermixing, babies born from biracial relationships had evolved into a quiet shame – shunned by Britons and Indians alike

The family nicknamed Oberon “Queenie”, as her birth coincided with Queen Mary and King George’s visit to India In an attempt to soften Oberon’s lot in life, her grandmother raised her as her own and convinced her that her teenage mother was actually her half sister But that wasn’t enough to shield Oberon from the relentless taunts over her mixed heritage At the age of three, after a cross-country move to Calcutta, she won a scholarship to one of the city’s best all-girls private schools, only for classmates to drive her out with their overt racism Films and the nightlife scene became her escape, and playing pretend key to her survival

Female-centric careers & inclusion p latform

Advita Patel

Mayah

Dr Amna Khan

Sonya Barlow

Embracing Equity

The path from dreams to success does exist May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get on to it, and the perseverance to follow it -

The theme for International

Wo me n' s D ay 20 23 i s

‘E mb rac i ng E q ui t y ’ T h e fo c u s o n gen der eq u i ty needs to be part of every society's DNA And it's critical to u nderstand the differen ce b etwe en eq u it y a nd equality Equity isn't j ust a ni c e- to - h av e, it 's a m u sthave The aim o f the IWD 2023 camp aign theme is to get the world talking about wh y eq ua l o p p o r tu ni t ie s aren't enough People start fr o m d if fe re nt p lac e s, so true inclusion and belo nging requ ire equitable action

W e c a n a l l c h a l l e n g e gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out i n c l u s i o n C o l l e c t i v e

Kalpana Chawla

a c t i v i s m i s w h a t d r i v e s c h a n g e F r o m g r a s s r o o t s a c t i o n t o w i d e - s c a l e m o m e n t u m , w e c a n a l l e m b r a c e e q u i t y F o r g i n g gender equity isn't limited to women solely fighting the good fight Allies are incredibly important for the social, e c o n o m i c , c u l t u r a l , a n d p o l i t i c a l a d v a n c e m e n t o f

women When we embrace equity, we embrace diversity, and we embrace inclusion We embrace equity to forge harmony and unity, and to help drive success for all Equality is the goal, and equity is the means to get there Through the process o f e q u i t y , w e c a n r e a c h equality S o u t h A s i a n w o m e n have come a long way, navig a t i n g p a r a d i g m s h i f t s i n technology and innovation and are now known to be the fastest-growing commu-

n i t y w i t h w o m e n w h o exhibit exceptional leadership and grasping powers There’s nothing women in t h e c o m m u n i t y c a n n o t accomplish if given the right o p p o r t u n i t y a n d s u p p o r t Whether it’s things as basic as booking online tickets, u s i n g U P I , s c a n n i n g b a rcodes, or using social media and WhatsApp, women are n o t b e h i n d i n a n y f o r m w h e n i t c o m e s t o b e i n g abreast with technology

By the virtue of traditional methods, South Asian w o m e n h a v e s i n c e t i m e immemorial been the master of innovation at home and in professional spheres

This year, Asian Voice brings you the inspiring suc-

Arora, Dr Swati Dhingra -

E x t e r n a l M o n e t a r y P o l i c y Committee member in the

B a n k o f E n g l a n d , R u p a Popat - entrepreneur, board advisor, Angel Investor and NED, author Sarah Woods, Global CEO Mindforward Alliance Poppy Jaman OBE, Mamta Saha – a renowned p s y c h o l o g i s t a n d T E D x s p e a k e r a n d f i l m m a k e r Shamim Sarif

T h e s e e x t r a o r d i n a r y women have spoken about breaking the glass ceiling, making their voices heard in boardrooms dominated by men, their social and emotional support, their struggles and success stories, and m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y , t h e y ’ v e spoken about never giving

3000 people, 112,000 meals, how two women succeeded with DabbaDrop

Shefali Saxena

In 2018, F riday nigh ts in East Londo n for neighbours-turned-friends Renee Williams and Anshu Ahuja revolved around a takeaway and a glass of wine With a three and six-year-o ld between them, rushing around after children all week meant meal planning usually went o ut the windo w “Conversations were usually centred aro und how we could leave our jobs to do so mething that catered to our lifestyle of wo rking mo thers better,” says Renee, “not an easy feat by any means ”

the admin for the user

“Too much time is spent scrolling through UberEats or Deliveroo wondering what to eat that night”, says Renee, “ we really wanted to bring back the excitement

wasted

“It makes sense for food businesses to be making changes in order to be more environmentally friendly, “ says Anshu, “ we ’ re plant-based at DabbaDrop as the meat industry is a huge contributor to climate change and food waste is an enormous problem in the UK We throw away about 9 5 million tonnes of food each year and Renee and I felt strongly that DabbaDrop would not contribute to this embarrassing number That’s the whole reason why we ’ re subscription based as it asks each

cess stories of some exceptionally talented, hardworking and determined South Asian women in the UK who have made a name and diff e r e n c e i n s e c t o r s a c r o s s f i n a n c e , t e c h n o l o g y , a r t s , h o s p i t a l i t y , f o o d c u l t u r e , pop culture and more

W e h a v e e x c l u s i v e l y i n t e r v i e w e d D a r j e e l i n g

Express founder, author and g l o b a l l y a c c l a i m e d c h e f , restaurateur and cookbook a u t h o r A s m a K h a n , M e h r n a v a z A v a r i , t h e y o u n g e s t a n d t h e f i r s t

up in life and finding the right support system to keep moving forward with their head held high amid global recognition and success

Mumbai-born Anshu was working as a TV Producer for heavy-weight programmes such as First Dates and One Born Every Minute on Channel 4 and New Zealand native Renee was an Event Producer for the likes of Caprice Holdings and Soho House Despite their impressive CVs, their love of food and the community which comes hand-in-hand with it took over and lit the spark Thus, DabbaDrop was born DabbaDrop has had over 3000 people sign up for the service so far and they have delivered over 112,000 meals so far in our 4 years as a business Th e idea o f DabbaDrop

surrounding takeaways and give customers a takeaway to look forward to rather than one that’s chosen out of convenience ” Operating on a rotating menu with flavour tours across South Asia from Sri Lanka to

customer how many people are being cooked for so portions are appropriate sizes No need for a huge takeaway with food piled up knowing you won’t eat it all ”

f e t c h

woman Area Director to run t h e I H C L o p e r a t i o n s , founders of DabbaDrop, a new South Asian tiffin service in the UK, Nina Pateldigital transformation and innovation executive with e x p e r i e n c e a t T h e N e t - ap o r t e r G r o u p , H a r v e y N i c h o l s a n d

W e ’ r e a l s o t h r i l l e d t o have received acknowledgem e n t f r o m t h e f i r s t l a d y ( s p o u s e o f t h e P r i m e Minister) of the UK, Akshata Murty on recognising Asian V o i c e a n d t h e R o y a l A i r Force’s (RAF) effort to bring together a panel of incredib l y t a l e n t e d w o m e n t h i s month to discuss how we as a community can embrace e q u i t y T h i s ‘ W o m e n i n Conversation’ event will be on 13 March and hosted at Edwardian I, in the Taj hotel ( a d m i s s i o n b y i n v i t a t i o n only)

To read more about the ‘Women in Conversation’ event, its excellent moderator, and its panellists, please see pages 14-17

Delivering to postcodes across East London so far, the sustainable South Asian-inspired takeaway brand has saved a total of 18,360kg of greenhouse gasses to date (the same amount as flying from London to Amsterdam 314 times) Anshu describes their business’ success as a slow burn instead of an overnight success “It was an idea I’d had for a while”, she says, “and it started very organically with me cooking South Asian food out of my own kitchen for about 20 people or so on our street One of which was Renee who thought it was a brilliant idea and conversations very quickly turned into how we can make this bigger and better ” DabbaDrop operates on a subscription basis where customers can choose to have their food delivered once a week or once a fortnight, aiming to take away

Kerala, customers receive a curry delivered via bicycle in a Dabba tin - a stacked stainless steel box born out of Bombay in the 1900s which is reusable and inspiration for the brand’s name How is it different from regular Asian tiffin services?

Sustainability separates DabbaDrop from the rest (as well as their freshly cooked and vibrant menu) Staggeringly, DabbaDrop is the UK’s first closed-loop takeaway brand and as well as the greenhouse gases they have avoided, they have also saved 142,580 plastic containers from going to landfill and saved 2,500kg of food from being

There is a whole team behind DabbaDropfrom Operation Managers to Head chefs, cyclists to customer service teams - delivering good quality, healthy food, sustainability requires meticulous planning and attention to detail at all times We take our hats off to the original Dabbawalas, from Mumbai, who have done this for decades, without the help of tech!

Amid th e vegetable crisis, are ingredients for Asians in th e UK fou nd easily?

Yes! We love Seelans in East Ham for all things South Indian and Sri Lankan and Taj stores on Brick lane for everything North Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi We also work closely with Murugan from Lakshmi Brand for all our South Asian supplies

Anshu and Renee

The keys to transforming the workplace for good mental health

Shefali Saxena

P oppy Jaman OBE is a respected figure in the international mental h e al th s p ac e wh o c h amp i o ns eq uali ty i n all its fo rms i n h er p r o fe ss i o na l a nd p er so n al li f e

After working with leaders acro ss the world in both the p ublic and p rivate sectors for o ver 20 years, sh e h as become a global voice o f a u th o ri ty o n wo rk p la ce me nta l h ealth, constantly striving to drive sustainable change forward

She is the Global CEO of MindForward Alliance and, over the past 12 years, has created the world’s leading workplace mental health o r g a n i s a t i o n f o c u s e d o n t r a n s f o r m i n g w o r k p l a c e s i n t o s p a c e s t h a t s u p p o r t t h e mental health of their employees; partnering with global business leaders, initially in the financial services sector, to achieve her goal Poppy is also working with the World Health Organisation (WHO), as part of a Special Initiative in Bangladesh, where she is advising o n t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y ’ s national mental health strategy I n a d d i t i o n t o r u n n i n g a g l o b a l organisation, she has recently co-founded two initiatives The first is Re-Balance, a social i m p a c t b u s i n e s s t h a t s e e k s t o a d d r e s s i n e q u a l i t y b y s t r i v i n g a l o n g s i d e g l o b a l communities to provide skills, education and support The second, Change The Race Ratio, i s a n a s s o c i a t i o n o f U K b u s i n e s s l e a d e r s collectively campaigning to increase ethnic minority representation on boards and in l e a d e r s h i p p o s i t i o n s w i t h i n U K F T S E 1 0 0

businesses

Poppy was the founding CEO of Mental Health First Aid England During her tenure, she led the development of the organisation from a small government initiative into an independent community interest company, recognised as one of the fastest-growing SMEs in Europe by the Financial Times (FT) in 2017 Poppy also served as an advisor on the Board of Public Health England for six years and was identified as one of the country’s leading mental health experts by the UK Secretary of State following her instrumental role in the creation of the NHS’s Every Mind Matters platform

In 2018, Poppy was awarded an OBE in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the mental health sector In addition, she r e c e i v e d a n h o n o r a r y d o c t o r a t e f r o m t h e University of Gloucestershire One year later, she won Woman of the Year at the GG2 Diversity & Leadership Awards and was named a “ game changer” in the FT’s Women of 2019 List More recently, she was included in 2022 ’ s Diversity Power List

Poppy continues to work with a myriad of global leaders in both the private and public spheres as a trustee of the Centre for Mental Health and as a non-exec for the Guardian Council at Togetherall, as well as sitting on the advisory board for the Queen Mary Global Policy Institute and a Risk Steering group run by PwC

Poppy is a proud British Bengali and saree enthusiast, supporting sustainable fashion and artisans in South Asia However, above all else, her personal point of pride is her family; she is the mother of four incredible children What is the key to transforming the workplace for good mental health ?

Leadership and resources Without leaders b e i n g v u l n e r a b l e a n d o w n i n g t h e a g e n d a n o t h i n g c h a n g e s a n d w i t h o u t o r g a n i s t s putting resourcing and KPIs in place it is just tokenism You have to show compassion, not empathy and the difference between the two is action

As a Global CEO, what are your learnings and o bservations on wo rking with co mpanies and altering th eir enviro nment to make it mental h ealth friendly?

That most businesses want to do the right thing but don’t know what the tangible steps are that’s what we do to assist them We assess them and then guide them with knowledge

a n d p r a c t i c e s f r o m a r o u n d t h e w o r l d W e e n a b l e t h e c r o s sfertilisation of knowledge and silks in a safe and effective way We e n s u r e c u l t u r a l r e l e v a n c e a n d nuance are at the heart of their strategy so it’s not a western model that is rolled out, which will not stick or worse will be the wrong solution

We are the global community for workplace mental health and w e b r i n g t h e p o w e r o f collaboration where leaders and practitioners a r e s o l v i n g t h e c h a l l e n g e t o g e t h e r a c r o s s borders and beyond industry silos

Businesses that compete in the market are working closely together and that’s crucial to c r e a t i n g g l o b a l c h a n g e T h i s i s n ’ t a competition that any one organisation can win alone W h ere do yo u t h in k wo rk p lac es mak e mi s tak es o r g o wr o ng i n tri gge ri ng a n employee's mental h ealth?

Mental illness is often triggered by an accumulation of factors that are both inside and outside the work environment and so recognition is crucial to creating good mental health in workplaces

S o , f i n a n c i a l h e a l t h , e l d e r l y c a r i n g r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , p a r e n t i n g c h a l l e n g e s , a n d one ’ s own personal relationships are all factors that impact stress and if those aren’t addressed it is unlikely that a good job will provide the necessary salve

Job stresses such as long hours, no breaks, unrealistic deadlines, lack of control, bullying and hare are often the tipping points Which is why we work with businesses to implement init Such parenting and mental health toolkits Workplaces that consider the whole person is more likely to create the culture that is needed for Human flourishing Who is the custo dian of making sure that a wo rk p la ce i s c o nd uc i ve to an emp l o yee s mental health?

There is legislation in health and safety all over the world that requires employers to p r o t e c t a n d p r o m o t e t h e h e a l t h o f t h e i r e m p l o y e e s M o s t o f t h e t i m e t h o s e l e g a l frameworks are translated only to physical health That is changing The world health organisations have declared a mental health crisis and so all of us in all settings need to educate and take action; in our homes as parents, at work as managers, in schools as teachers, and in faith communities as advisors

And first, we have to apply self-care We have to learn our own mental health-enabling p r a c t i c e s s u c h a s t h e r a p y , c o a c h i n g , meditation, exercise and our own mental stress triggers so we can be well and lead by example We have to assimilate that helps e e k i n g b e h a v i o u r i s a s t r e n g t h , n o t a weakness

As a woman, what do you think wo men need at the workplace to be able to nurture their mental h ealth and perform well at the same time?

To be treated as equals to men and be g i v e n o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r e x p o s u r e a n d experience

How different is mental health transformatio n in men and women in th e workplace?

It’s not different but nuanced in lived experiences Everyone is unique and mental illness and wellness are unique to us The key is to understand what drives us and nurture that Research shows that men seek help often too late in their journey and at crisis points so businesses need to normalise men talking and c r e a t e t h e r i g h t e n v i r o n m e n t s f o r t h a t

Women feel more imposter syndrome and take on more responsibilities to demonstrate competence and be seen Businesses need to address this

Are you happy with th e general global outlook towards mental h ealth at workplaces?

Yes, I am but we need to work to speed things up Young people's mental health is declining and we need to hold hope and create change to ensure the next generation has the right platform to grow

down barriers

One o f the UK ’ s leading independent f i lmm ake rs , L o ndo n -b as ed S h a mi m

S arif’ s four previo us films have notched u p a tot al o f 47 a wa rds i nc lu ding 13 a war ds fo r h er mo st re ce nt f ea tu re Despite the Falling Sno w starring Rebecca F erguson and Ch arles Dance, currently streaming on Netflix Sarif’s TV directing c re di ts in cl u de th e rec en tly rel eas ed S eason 4 of th e Netflix smash hit YOU starring Penn Badgley which has been watched by over 40 million h ouseh olds, while she h as also directed several TV s eri es f or HB O Ma x, P ara mou n t and eOne

It hasn’t been easy

S p e a k i n g t o A s i a n V o i c e , S h a m i m

A n u a n c e d e x p l o r a t i o n o f t h e immigrant experience, Polarized portrays the culture clash between bible belt White C a n a d a a n d p r o g r e s s i v e M u s l i m Palestinians and is groundbreaking in its depiction of contemporary Palestinians beyond the shoebox of Middle Eastern c o n f l i c t W i l d R o s e m e e t s B r o k e b a c k Mountain, this slow-burn tale follows a struggling singer/songwriter from a poor farming community coming to terms with her queer identity and the barriers thrown up by family, religion, race and c o m m u n i t y i n t h e p o s t - T r u m p / B r e x i t against a heady soundtrack of Arabic rap, hip hop and American country Writer and director Shamim Sarif is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, feature film director, and director for premium series, including the new fourth season of YOU for Netflix/Warner

S h a m i m ’ s l a t e s t f e a t u r e f i l m a s a w r i t e r / d i r e c t o r , P o l a r i z e d , h a s j u s t completed and made its debut at Berlin’s EFM in Feb 2023 and will premiere at BFI Flare in March 2023 H e r p r e v i o u s f e a t u r e s a s w r i t e r / d i r e c t o r i n c l u d e D e s p i t e t h e Falling Snow, starring Rebecca Ferguson and Charles Dance The film garnered 13 a w a r d s H e r f i r s t f e a t u r e f i l m a s writer/director, I Can’t Think Straight debuted at Palm Springs Film Festival and won 11 awards Her follow-up movie ‘The World Unseen’ debuted at the Toronto I n t e r n a t i o n a l F i l m F e s t i v a l b e f o r e garnering 23 awards internationally Her latest books, The Athena Protocol and The Shadow Mission, (HarperCollins)

a r e b e i n g d e v e l o p e d a s a s e r i e s w i t h

V i l l a g e R o a d s h o w a n d G r a n V i a Productions (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), with Shamim writing the pilot Shamim is of South Asian descent and identifies as LGBTQIA+ Her work has always focused on diversity, feminism, social impact and humanism As well as YOU, her other series directing credits i n c l u d e S k y M e d ( P a r a m o u n t P l u s ) , M o o n s h i n e ( e O n e ) a n d Diggstown(CBC/Fox) An accomplished speaker, Shamim has spoken at TED events worldwide, at the INK Conference in India and DLD in Munich Corporate speaking events have included Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Citibank and Disney S h a m i m w a s i n v i t e d t o j o i n t h e Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars) in 2019 She is also a member of the BAFTA, the Writers Guilds of America and Canada, the Director’s Guild of Canada and the Canadian Media

Sarif explained, “It hasn’t been easy Especially when I started out because w o m e n o f c o l o u r w e r e v e r y underrepresented both behind and in front of the camera I think I got past it by always working on my craft and focusing on getting better until my work could speak for itself But now there are more opportunities because there is a better awareness of bringing diversity into the i n d u s t r y , i n p a r t t h a n k s t o b o t h t h e # M e T o o a n d # B l a c k L i v e s M a t t e r movements When I was starting out twenty years ago, Depa Mehta and Mira Nair were flying the flag for South Asian female directors, and they helped me to realise that a career as a film director could be possible I was one of the first film directors who was both South Asian and Queer, and because of that my focus was telling queer stories, and this in itself c r e a t e d a n o t h e r s e t o f b a r r i e r s t o overcome, it meant that my stories were harder to sell when trying to secure a t h e a t r i c a l r e l e a s e b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e o u t s i d e t h e m a i n s t r e a m H o w e v e r I persevered, and the response to my first two films The World Unseen and I Can’t Think Straight was so overwhelming that it was clear that queer representation was needed in the South Asian community As soon as those two films were released I r e c e i v e d a d e l u g e o f m e s s a g e s f r o m w o m e n a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d – b u t particularly from India and Pakistan –who finally felt validated by seeing female c h a r a c t e r s w h o w e r e q u e e r , b u t w h o could choose their own path and crucially have a happy ending ” There’s still more we can do Shamim further added, “As a South Asian film director, one of the challenges I faced, was the perception that I was only able to tell south Asian stories – so it’s important to me that I can now direct stories that are about a wider human experience, and to not just be pigeonholed For example, I recently directed an episode of the Netflix smash hit TV Series

YOU I think there has been a positive change in the industry Post MeToo and # B l a c k L i v e s M a t t e r , i t m e a n s t h a t women of colour are being hired more frequently for directing jobs But there’s still more we can do Both women and the south Asian community can help each other to break down barriers through n e t w o r k i n g a n d c r e a t i n g n e w opportunities to tell important stories so that South Asian Women feel seen from n e w p e r s p e c t i v e s F o r t h a t r e a s o n , I always try to have a woman of colour shadowing my work, for example when I was filming Moonshine for eOne in 2022

I had the Canadian Pakistani film director Fawzi Mirza shadowing me because it’s important to me to lift up women of c o l o u r w h o a r e b r e a k i n g i n t o t h e industry ”

Both women and the south Asian community can help each other break

Poppy Jaman OBE

Shamim Sarif

Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality

R u p a Ga na tra P op at surely know s how to f o ll o w h er p as s i o n

A fter being an investm ent banker for eig ht y ea rs , s h e l ef t h er p lush job to start her o wn ad venture as an entrepreneur, because a cc o rd in g to h e r, “I always knew I’ d reg ret it if I d idn’t giv e it a sh ot ” She has come a l o ng w ay si nc e t h en and is now a passionate ad vocate of fundi n g s ta rt- u p s le d b y w omen to help them achieve their d ream s

She is the founder a n d m a n a g i n g p a r t n e r o f Araya Ventures, a venture c a p i t a l f i r m i n v e s t i n g i n c o m p a n i e s s h a p i n g t h e future of education, health, finance, climate, commerce and work and which has 65% of its investment portfolio in companies with at least one female founder, 65% in first-time founders and 50% o f i t s c o m p a n i e s w i t h a t least one ethnic minority f o u n d e r T h e j o u r n e y , o f course, was not an easy one She told Asian Voice, “As a technology start-up founder in 2013, it was extremely challenging to raise funds for my business at the time There is no doubt it has i m p r o v e d e s p e c i a l l y f r o m my own experience a decade ago but given the current statistics that less than 3% of venture funding still goes to f e m a l e e n t r e p r e n e u r s , w e still have a long way to go ” W h at m ak es P o p at s ta nd o u t fr om o th er ang el investo rs?

What makes Popat stand o u t f r o m o t h e r a n g e l investors is her empathy and her own experience as a succ e s s f u l e n t r e p r e n e u r S h e struggled in a world where angel investors themselves indulge in bad practices like t a k i n g t o o m u c h e q u i t y , i m p o s i n g c o m p l i c a t e d terms, or putting their interests ahead of the company ’ s, and where women are especially singled out (a 2019 s t u d y b y D r D a n a K a n z e s h o w e d t h a t w o m e n a r e asked more negative, prev e n t i o n - o r i e n t a t e d q u e stions that focus on the chall e n g e s , r i s k s , o r p o t e n t i a l losses their business could face), today she invests at quite an early stage in the businesses where potential returns are high, but often w h e n t h e r e i s n ’ t r e v e n u e yet, leading to an unreliable financial model and being perfectly aware that most start-ups fail But she considers it an immense privilege to be a co-traveller in the journeys of those shaping our future and whilst f i n a n c i a l r e t u r n s a r e k e y , s t r e s s e s a d d i t i o n a l v a l u e s l i k e p r o v i d i n g n e t w o r k , advice, or expertise to the entrepreneurs she backs S o who are the p eople with w hom she prefers to go on investm ent jo urneys?

The Indian, the Brit, and the Desi

An interview with Sarah Woods

“I look for mission-driven founders, who have deep i n d u s t r y k n o w l e d g e a n d understanding of the market that they operate in and are looking to build a comp a n y t h a t h a s a n i m p a c t b e y o n d o n l y f o c u s i n g o n financial gain, those who know exactly what they are doing, maybe because they have experienced it themselves, those who can adapt and evolve, founders who are focused on the execution A business idea can only take you so far – the r e s t i s i n t h e e x e c u t i o n Diversity in the founding team is paramount, not only as it drives better returns but also because it drives more innovation and therefore better outcomes for the customers,” she said Div ersity

Speaking about diversity, Popat talked about companies built and run by pass i o n a t e f e m a l e e n t r e p r e n e u r s w h o o f t e n have first-hand knowledge of the issues their companies are solving Her investment portfolio is, unsurprisingly, diverse and of which many companies are levell i n g t h e p l a y i n g f i e l d f o r women - one of her investments is Juno, which exists to educate women on building financial freedom and to close the financial literacy gender gap Another is Code F i r s t G i r l s , w h i c h h a s a l r e a d y e d u c a t e d 8 0 , 0 0 0 women in the U K in coding and placed them into technical job roles with the government, the UK’s biggest banks and other large institutions Then there is Indē W i l d , f o u n d e d b y D i i p a Büller-Khosla, a beauty and w e l l n e s s c o m p a n y w h i c h embraces Ayurveda to create s o l u t i o n s t o c o m b a t t h e u n d e r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f S o u t h A s i a n w o m e n b y focusing on launching products for different skin types, t o n e s , t e x t u r e s , a n d c o ncerns that are deeply rooted within this community

T he comm on threads that bind all women together

B u t w h i l e s u p p o r t i n g diversity in looking, thinki n g , a n d d o i n g , P o p a t s t r e s s e d t h e c o m m o n threads that bind all women together as well She is very concerned about the gender wealth gap, and the lack of

financial literacy that lies at the root of it and

w h i c h i s s t r u c t u r a l l y

e n f o r c e d w o r l d w i d e

H e r s u g g e s t i o n s t o

c o u n t e r t h i s w e r e :

“Give financial literacy training at school and make this compulsory in school curriculums

This is something my h u s b a n d R u p e e n Popat is very passionate about and is spearheading as an initiative in the UK Financial institutions also have an opportunity to educate their female customers and work has begun here There are also m a n y c o u r s e s a n d p r ogrammes today that enable y o u n g w o m e n t o l e a r n financial literacy – for examp l e , Y o u r J u n o a n d G i r l s That Invest These courses enable women to become part of a community and b u i l d a n e t w o r k a s t h e y learn how to invest in asset classes such as shares and property In the UK, currently, less than 15% of angel investors are women That’s one of many reasons I have recently launched an angel i n v e s t m e n t e d u c a t i o n course to encourage more w o m e n t o b e c o m e a n g e l investors The Halo course is designed for senior female e x e c u t i v e s , s e n i o r w o m e n w o r k i n g i n s c a l e - u p s a n d entrepreneurs to learn how to get started with investing in start-ups Several financial institutions have already signed up to have their executives join our 2023 courses D e t a i l s c a n b e f o u n d a t www Araya ventures/halo ”

Only 1 4% of angel inv estors in the UK are wom en

Finally, being one of the only 14% of angel investors in the UK who are women (no points for guessing that the rest are mostly white men from Oxbridge or Ivy L e a g u e i n s t i t u t i o n s ) , h e r advice for the women wanting to do things differently was expectedly meticulous “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve whatever you want to Dream big a n d t h e n b r e a k t h o s e d r e a m s d o w n i n t o s m a l l steps and start putting them into action Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and deserve, whether that’s a salary increase or a promotion Get as much experie n c e a s p o s s i b l e a c r o s s a variety of industries before settling on anything The future is changing and is no longer about one career for life so ensure you are always l e a r n i n g a n d d e v e l o p i n g y o u r s e l f a n d y o u r s k i l l s t h r o u g h o u t y o u r l i f e t i m e

Ignore technology, coding, and artificial intelligence at your own peril Don’t be afraid of failure The best version of you is not the one w h o l i v e s t h r o u g h e a s y times but is the one that comes into being after great challenges ”

Paramita Purkayastha

Th e first thing that would s tri k e y ou u p o n o p en i ng

Sarah Wood s ’ Desi Kitchen:

From Jaland har to th e Black

C o u n try : A C u l i nar y R oa d m a p to t h e I nd ia n

Diasp ora in Mo dern Britain is th e effortless sto rytelling

C ooking is ind eed an art for her And born as she was in a wo rking -class Punjabi family of first-generation Indian i m m i g r ant s i n Bl ac k C o u n try w h er e th e y ‘ cou ld n’t actu ally get rid o f the visitors – it was a bit like living in Piccad illy Circus!’, her true inheritance is in the joy she gets in creating comm u n it i es th ro u g h f o o d , w h e th er it be t h ro u g h cro wded and ticketed supper clubs, or spreading lockdo wn ch eer by p assing food an d d ri nks t h ro u g h h e r hom e windo w to th e people i n the neig h bou rho o d As she told us in her interview w i th A s i an V o i c e, ‘ Wh a t makes me happy is the reaction I get wh en I see people eating my food T here are few professions in the w orld wh ere you can elicit such strong em otions, and being a chef is one o f th em wh ere you can provid e such p leasure to oth er p eop le ’ Rich diversity o f im migration

And bringing together s o m a n y p e o p l e w i t h s o much joy for nearly all her life has made her mindful of differences, and how those can be overcome ‘by a language of food’ In the introduction to her book, she writes: ‘I feel we need to focus on the here and now, the very exciting evolution of the British food scene based on the rich diversity t h a t i m m i g r a t i o n h a s brought As well as sharing r e c i p e s d e r i v e d f r o m m y own Punjabi heritage, I look forward to lifting the veil on o t h e r c o m m u n i t i e s , f r o m the island of Sri Lanka all the way up to Kashmir, in t h e f o o t h i l l s o f t h e Himalayas Indian food is not one homogenous food type, but hyper-regional and nuanced The second-generation desi layer removes the g e o g r a p h i c a l b o r d e r s , a n d this same cross-over forms p a r t o f o u r i d e n t i t y T h e world has always had fusion i n s p i r e d b y t r a v e l , e x p l oration and more recently an a c c e l e r a t e d m o v e m e n t o f people Classical and tradit i o n a l r e c i p e s w i l l a l w a y s have a place, but sometimes y o u h a v e a c r a v i n g o r a ‘ c h a s k a ’ t h a t o n l y d e s i flavours can satiate ’ Classic recipes

In her illustrated book (where her cat Tilly makes an appearance), she includes classic recipes from Punjabi, Kashmiri, Pakistani, Nepali, Gujarati, Parsi, Sri Lankan, A f r i c a n I n d i a n , G o a n , B a n g l a d e s h i , a n d B e n g a l i communities (kudos to her for this distinction!) from

areas in Britain which they are most associated with The food from each region is introduced by a person from the respective community belonging to first-, second- and third-generation d i a s p o r a , p e o p l e w h o a r e a l s o a p a r t o f t h e s o c i a l media communities she has made for desi foodies She devised most of the recipes herself while being guided by these people And while she was a finalist in BBC One’s Britain’s Best Home Cook, her journey around the UK into the households o f d i f f e r e n t c o m m u n i t i e s w a s a d i f f e r e n t k i n d o f i m m e r s i v e e x p e r i e n c e , something she told us was a learning curve for her too

Most of these recipes would be a part of the community’s oral tradition, without writt e n r e c i p e s A n d h e r research would entail looking at the different worlds as a newcomer to get the story behind each of the recipeswhy people would cook in a certain way, and why particular dishes were important to people ‘It’s just the hard w o r k a n d t h e l e g w o r kspeaking to people, doing your research, and reading’, she smiled

And all these make for a s b i g m o u t h f u l s a s t h e y suggest because to be fair, people from the Indian subcontinent can’t be exuberant when it comes to food Fairly poor families would have whole meat and fish without judgement to make t h e m o s t o f a g o o d d a y , w h i l e a n a v e r a g e H i n d u family would have different food dishes for widows, the head of the household and the like, and all communities would have some form of ritual fasting Though of course, there is some hope for people to healthy and s u s t a i n a b l e e a t i n g F o r i n s t a n c e , s h e b r i n g s i n Ayurvedic properties of balance in her recipe of the B e n g a l i ‘ c h o r c h o r i ’ ( t r a d it i o n a l l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h Bengali widows), and she has included a list of spices that she uses regularly along with their benefits in her section on Gujarati food for which she collaborated with NHS doctor Pyal Patel and Cheshire-based nutritionist

Katy Petter

The Desi story But the desi story that she tells through her book is a n o v e r a r c h i n g o n e o f r e m e m b e r i n g t h e I n d i a n subcontinent, with love As she told us, there is something for everybody ‘It’s for t h e r e a d e r t o p i c k a n d c h o o s e w h a t t h e y w a n t ’ Some of the dishes are not meant to be eaten every day, they are celebratory dishes,

o r t h e y a r e m e a n t t o b e e a t e n i n m o u r n i n g , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e P a r s i d i s h ‘dhansak’, which was originally a dish eaten on the fifth day after a person ’ s p a s s i n g w h e n m e a t w a s reintroduced into the diet She recalled the advice of dietician Fareeha Jay, with w h o m s h e c o l l a b o r a t e d while laying out food from the Kashmiri communitymoderation is the key One should not hold back during celebrations, especially after rigorous fasting ‘The most important thing to remember is to enjoy what you eat and not feel guilty about it,’ according to Jay

True to how its sound and scope, the book is very ambitious, all the more with her acknowledgement that there is no such thing as ‘Indian cooking’ or ‘authentic Indian home food ‘It is when you bring in the desi element that you are crossing over to different count r i e s l i k e S r i L a n k a , Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal But then you are also b r i n g i n g i n t h e r e g i o n a l influences of the places in Britain in which these communities have settled So it has got a dual regionality in some respects That’s why I w a s m i n d f u l t o c e l e b r a t e some of the traditional and classic cookery that define regions and communities, and then bring in the desi remix with blended cultures a n d b o r r o w e d e l e m e n t s And that’s an expression of my identity- I am not one thing, I am not another My identity is hyphenated, as is my food ’

T

adka

And Sarah does manage t o c o n v e y t h a t w i t h h e r m e t i c u l o u s n e s s , e v e n t o novices For someone who told us she did not want to make it easy and who takes pride in writing at the outs e t , “ I N E V E R u s e s h o pbought pastes and jars”, her warmth and inclusiveness c o m e t h r o u g h w i t h t h e cooking advice for beginners that she shared with us: “I would say that for s o m e o n e n e w t o I n d i a n cooking, the most important thing to master would be a tadka A tadka is the objectional flavour that is used across India There are two types of tadka The first tadka is where you are tempering your whole spices, cooking them in the oil so t h a t t h e r e a r e l a y e r s o f flavour, and then adding the aromatics The other tadka is the sizzling tadka right at the end which you pour on the dal I would recommend masoor dal because daal is one of the simplest things to cook, and one of the most p o p u l a r E v e r y b o d y l o v e s daal, I have not met anyb o d y w h o d o e s n ’ t F o r s o m e b o d y w h o w a n t s t o m a s t e r I n d i a n c o o k i n g , I w o u l d s u g g e s t d a a l a n d t a d k a a s y o u r s t a r t i n g point,” she said

Rupa Popat

Sarah Woods

A message from Akshata Murty

Thank you for your invitation to mark International Women's Day at the Women in Conversation event on 13 March…

It is an important day in the calendar, which I know will be marked in various ways across the globe.

I do hope that the event is a great success.

Yours sincerely

Akshata Murty

Be an ally

Mamta Saha holds a Bsc and Msc Occupational Psychology with postgraduate qualifications along with 20 years of global experience. Her consultancy focuses on how to become consciously inclusive. She has worked with Tesco, L’Oréal, The House of Lords

The Malala Fund, Sony and Bupa to say the least. As an advocate of leadership, she has created and led “Unlocking Self-limiting Beliefs” workshops at Lloyds of London and internationally. She continues to design and coach corporate executives on Authentic Leadership, Emotional Resilience, Mindfulness, Conflict Resolution and Diversity & Inclusion.

As a psyc hologis t, what i s your key observati on of women when it comes to lack of equali ty in any walk of life? How does that impact a woman ’ s psyche?

My experience as a psychologist and working very closely with women across all levels most senior to junior, I feel like women miss out on significant opportunities because of issues around a lack of confidence, self-belief, lifestyle circumstances and the general emotional labour and the invisible labour that a lot of women commit to subconsciously or is just put upon them subconsciously and I feel like this leads to a lack of equality for women, particularly at home in the workplace.

How can a woman m ake sure that her voice is heard in a room of people, many of which are male-dominated?

For a woman to have her voice heard and she really needs to know what her intention is, and her purpose is, what is her overall intention and purpose not just for that meeting or conversation, but actually overall, you know, what kind of impact does she want to create in life and that it will create a great foundation for her to actually fulfil that that purpose and also it will help her to assert herself in situations that may be male-dominated. It's also for women to call out things that they feel maybe are not fair or right. For them, for example, men getting

Message from the Chairman

I am delighted that the RoyalAir Force is partnering with AsianVoiceand Gujarat Samachar to celebrate this edition of WomeninConversation. The UK is home to some of the world's remarkable achievements and women's contribution to this has been tremendous to say the least. During the past five decades or so our publications have laid great emphasis on gender equality and women's empowerment, and to witness women break the proverbial glass ceiling across a number of fields, many of which were hitherto the domain of men, is a matter of great pride. I join our readers in saluting women for truly transforming our society and playing a pivotal role in its prosperity and wellbeing.

Endeavouring to bring “Tajness”

more pay or somebody else getting more pay than them and they're doing the same job, or people getting more opportunities or opportunities being quite unfair, for example, opportunities might be around, a revolving around a day of golf and that's unfair. So if a woman feels like something's unfair, and it may hinder her progress that she needs to be able to really call that out and share that openly. assertiveness and confidence also and having that voice also has a lot to do with body language. So really use powerful body language to stand to be assertive and to not be afraid to make eye contact, and also use a good too strong tone in which to articulate the points that they're trying to make.

What can we as a community learn in order to work collectively to support each other in our careers and pe rsonal growth?

Support, don’t exploit. Don’t expect pro-Bono work and freebies. Value a Women's contribution and worth. Stick together, be loyal, stay consistent, and be honest

What can we a s a community do to embrace e quity, espe cially when it comes to wome n and their ov erall upliftment in ev ery possible wa y?

l Be an ally

l Call out inappropriate treatment/policies

l Advocate for yourself and others

l Mentoring schemes

l Look at behavioural gaps and address them

l Create opportunities for women to shine

W ha t ki nd of p sy ch o l og i ca l approach d rive s equity and ha rmony among wome n?

l Psychological safe culture and climate

l No holds barred and judgement Let women speak with openness from the heart

l Create opportunities for collaboration

Here’s her exclusive Q&A with Asian Voice, where she talks about being a woman in a leadership role in the Hospitality industry and breaking the glass ceiling.

What does a day in the life of Mehrnavaz Avari look li ke?

For Hoteliers, no two days are ever the same. Each day begins with meeting my departmental heads and the Executive committee of the Hotel, to help them fair through their various agendas and work towards achieving seamless business Operations. I meet with our hotel guests, many of whom know me from my past two decades of working in the Taj Group. I regularly meet with industry bodies and attend events as in my role every new day brings new challenges and opportunities.

As a woman how have you attempted to bri ng in changes and improvements in the current functi oning of the hotel?

The IHCL/Taj Hotels have been operating two hotels in London since the 1980s and we are quite fortunate to have these beautiful heritage hotels, located in the most privileged location in the royal quarter, a gem throw away from the majestic Buckingham Palace. Both hotels have distinct characters and aim to meet the unique needs of different clientele.

We have endeavoured to bring “Tajness” as our unique proposition to offer personalised services to our guests to provide unique ‘home away from home’ experiences and hence all our business strategies and operations are aimed towards achieving this.

One of my main areas of focus has been on our employees, as at the IHCL we believe that employees are our core asset and hence people are at the centre of everything we do.

Would like to add that since taking over the helm of operations in London, we have successfully launched ‘Taj The Chambers’ our business private members club then proceeded to launch our new restaurant ‘TH@51’, which is a lively restaurant and bar, serving an amalgamation of world flavours with innovative dishes, while very soon, we are about to launch our brand-new restaurant ‘House of Ming’.

What are some of the mai n hi ghlights so far during your supervis ion?

I believe in a collaborative style of leadership, so I like to engage with my team on a one-on-one

basis and investing time to guide them helps in project success. While at the same time, I have also encouraged my team to dedicate time in working with the local communities alongside Victoria Bid and engage in CSR activities like local soup kitchens.

One of the main highlights was an invitation from Number 10, Downing Street to address young interns on having a lucrative career path in the Hospitality industry.

Since my childhood, I have always been artistic and have been naturally inclined towards developing things and hence I was able to help our Executive Chef in designing afternoon tea and special culinary offerings at our restaurants. Do you thi nk your appoin tment as the Area Director UK & General Manager has broken the glass ceiling in a tradi ti onally male-dominated industry?

Given my diverse experience across geographies, I have learned to see challenges as opportunities to make a lasting difference for our brand and create the changes that have become the need of the hour. I firmly believe that if you work hard and deliver results, there is no glass ceiling for you to break through – the sky is the limit! I have always believed that age is just a number and that leadership roles should be given based on performance and potential. It is highly gratifying to work for organizations like IHCL and Tata Group that resonate with this philosophy and demonstrate it through action. Could you tell us some upcomi ng events and exciting c hanges at Taj that our readers mus t know about?

Recently King Charles appealed to the British public to support a project, ‘Butterfly Conservation’ run by a wildlife charity to help in the conservation of butterflies, so this spring as an effort to support this initiative, we have creatively worked around to introduce our new afternoon tea theme. As the new afternoon tea theme is still being fine-tuned, so still is under wraps, and will be revealed only in March. We will also see the most anticipated opening of House of Ming, after decades of success in our Hotel in Delhi, House of Ming will open with the best and most authentic Cantonese and Szechuan Chinese food. The opening of HOM will certainly add a new dimension to our culinary offers.

In the late spring we will also be once again enjoying the Royal events from a privileged location, with the coronation of King Charles III, our hotels will be once again the time to welcome dignitaries, welcome those who want to see the Royal family at the parades and the famous balcony at Buckingham Palace and enjoy the many celebrations taking place in the Royal Quarter. We will of course take this opportunity to celebrate it too.

- C B P atel

Mamta Saha

Mehrnavaz Avari

Women have been given an almost impossible mission

Nina Patel is a digital transformation and innovation executive with experience at well-known brands such as The Net-aPorter Group, Harvey Nichols and Farfetch Both in her career and outside Nina dedicates significant time to empowering women She does this by giving her angel investment, mentoring and advisory capacity solely to women She also serves as a Trustee for Women International, a charity dedicated to supporting women in postconflict nations, as well as the Sadlers Wells Theatre

Leadership roles and opportunities

Speaking to Asian Voice, Nina Patel described her journey of being a woman in a leadership role at Farfetch as a “wiggly and o p p o r t u n i s t i c o n e , r a t h e r t h a n a w e l lplanned and executed linear and upward trajectory ” As a professional, she always a s k e d h e r s e l f w h e t h e r a n y o p p o r t u n i t y would enable her to meet and work with new and inspiring people “If I feel like one or more of these are going to happen, I've pursued it This approach has led me to work in large and small companies, corporates and start-ups, and a variety of industries, all of which in hindsight are a key part of the puzzle that makes me who I am today As a woman, who studied Computer Science and started in IT Consulting, I was used to being the only or one of the few women in the room, ” Patel said

“I cannot however say that I felt this hindered any of my progression early in my career, I was in a company that made a concerted effort to try to empower women and also I felt recognised for my accomplishments based on merit However, as I have progressed, become older and more senior, I do feel there is still a challenge for women at the most senior levels of organisations, and this often doesn't come down to capabilities, but instead comes down to the lifestyle and work/life balance women want to achieve, and established 'boys clubs' that remain challenging to break through,” she added

The great expectations

Nina also mentioned she is single with no children, so her view on the world is quite different from many of the women of her age at the level of career that she is at

Patel told us, “When I look at them, however, I often feel that my generation of women has been given an almost impossible mission We are the first generation of women to have grown up in environments (I speak from my diaspora upbringing) to be able to be just as successful as any man around us and have the same expectation of s u c c e s s a s a n y p e e r m a l e o r f e m a l e

However, on the household side, we do not have a generation of male partner who has grown up in an environment that expects them to have the same level of equity when it comes to the household and familial roles

“I see this changing and know many men who contribute equally to the house-

Giving back to the community

Sanam Arora is the Chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK (NISAU UK) and chief architect of the India UK Achievers Honours.

hold or even take on the stay-at-home role, but this is still not the norm, and I see a peer group of women getting burned out by the dual expectation of career and home, and this is often the cause of many women who would be extremely successful and rise to the highest ranks of the workplace, choose instead to take a step back or consciously choose to stall their trajectory because it's all becoming too much, and this is why the g l a s s c e i l i n g r e m a i n s i n p l a c e i n m a n y industries, it's not because the women are not capable of the roles, but it's because the cultures and norms in society and their industry do not create an environment where they are able to feel successful in both their career and home

“There are many incredible women who despite this are pushing through, and I have so much respect for them our next generation of women owes their future career and life balance to them, because these women who are fighting the hardest now, will hopefully set the norms for a more equitable balance of career and life for our future generations of women and men ”

In male-dominated boardrooms

As a woman in a leadership role, how does Nina Patel make sure her voice is heard in a boardroom, presumably dominated by men? Nina said, “Whether male or female, I find that people appreciate someone who contributes meaningfully and empathetically to a conversation Men are often stereotyped as speaking simply to have their voice heard, and I have encountered quite a bit of this in my career, instead, I ensure that I listen to everyone in the room, formulate my thoughts and speak up when I have something to contribute to the discussion or conversation This means that I have b e c o m e p e r c e i v e d t o b e s o m e o n e w h o speaks with authority, clarity and purpose, which was exactly the image that I wanted to leave people with when I was early in my career and the only woman in a room full of men As you get more senior, your leadership position comes with authority and people will default to listening to you and assume that what you say is 'gospel' Here is where I think the power of being an active listener and an empathetic leader shines, and where women can set themselves apart as leaders who even while in a position of authority take the time to listen and understand that their voice is only one of many, and empower those who are less likely to speak up in the room to do so ”

Professionally, she is a senior strategist in the Investment Management industry, providing transformation advice to investment managers For her work towards the welfare of young Indians abroad and promoting the India-UK relationship, Sanam has won numerous

The reward of volunteering Sanam works in corporate finance while doing momentous volunteer work for NISAU UK Her job is definitely not easy at all She chooses her clients and for that, she has to be a part of many meetings, corporate lunches and dinners and networking She further said, “I think you know for me as someone who has always felt your value that when people go abroad to study, no matter what their background is, they have a privilege and that privilege is a privilege of being able to study abroad and live in an amazing country like the UK So I feel like we have a duty to give back to our communities I'm a Sikh girl, maybe there is a religious spiritual element to it We've been brought up in the way of philanthropy being part of daily life so you know, not to bring religion into it, but I do find that giving back gives me a sense of fulfilment and I just see it as something everybody should be doing Because increasingly I also find that people who come from urban elite backgrounds in India, my peers from Delhi, Bombay, and Bangalore - are actually very insulated in our own little bubbles We really don't know what's going on around us we live in our own La La Lands of pristine privilege Essentially, we've become quite immune to the sufferings of those around us To the degree that even when you're an Indian student in the UK, if you're at an elite university, you probably won't even realise 10 years ago, the sheer troubles that were being faced by your peers in the majority of the universe colleges in the UK So it's that sort of dichotomy that I think everyone should really learn to help each other out For me that the sense of being able to help someone do something for someone, I think it's purely selfish ”

Championing I ndi a- UK relations

Sanam affirmed that there is also an element of being able to champion India and the UK because there is a serious lack of understanding of contemporary India

She said, “The more countries work closer together, like how we are headed towards a Free Trade Agreement Right, I feel that actually, if I put my let s say, British hat on, I feel like we re really ill-preparing or not preparing young Brits, to be able to understand what their counterpart in the world is going to be India is going to be one of the largest economies in the world We're going to have to deal with India, right? I

awards, including the prestigious PIEoneer award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry and holds the Honorary Studentship of the London School of Economics SU She has been appointed as a Commissioner for the UK s International Higher Education Commission

We asked the young woman we all see running around, campaigning and routing for the diaspora and students about what keeps her going amid all the work she does to make people's lives better. Sanam said, “My dad is my go-to person for everything. He is literally the mentor and guide. My mother is obviously the backbone and the pillar of the family So it s really my parents collectively That honestly made everything possible for me and has sort of given me the wings to fly ”

think we see it as our role increasingly to champion the UK to really talk about contemporary India and increase people's understanding of contemporary India For example, India's FinTech revolution is things we'll proudly talk about and spread knowledge about I think there's the element of giving back to society but also feeling a strength of a sense of really giving back to India by ensuring that India's contemporary voice is heard loudly and clearly ”

Importance of neurodiversity

Commenting on how she navigates her work as a woman, sometimes when she’s perhaps surrounded by men in a boardroom where she needs to make her voice heard, Sanam explained that there is a certain sense of empowerment that you can derive from being the only one in your position “So if I'm the only woman if I'm the only brown person, if I'm the only young person and if I'm the only person who's speaking, not in a British accent, those four things can actually drag me down, or it could be something that I use to my advantage I have found that it is very easy to choose one or the other I've always felt that my USP is to just be as authentic as possible Ultimately, people respect authenticity, you're going to fake an accent, you're going to fake any form of behaviour to chime along with your clients or whoever you're trying to build a relationship with, I think people see through what they look at you and ultimately as the ones you and I think the one thing I have found that has certainly worked in my favour is knowledge I think no one can take away your knowledge from you then it doesn't matter whether you are a woman But I have sometimes felt like, not necessarily so much because of the females, it could be that I have just not paid too much attention to it, but more as a younger person I have felt as though the other person may think oh, this person doesn't really know anything about what they're talking about But actually, you do because you've done your homework and I think if you if you look at all like a Venn diagram, those four things I mentioned, that can get quite challenging But I also think that Britain is a society, which is increasingly welcoming of, differences because I think they realise the importance of neurodiversity So you know that your diversity you can put forth as your strands, which is what I have tried to do by just completely myself ”

Nina Patel

Sanam Arora

The role of women in running a successful economy

Dr Swati Dhingra is an external Monetary Policy Committee member at the Bank of England. She is an Associate Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, and an Associate of the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE. She is a Director of The Royal Mint Museum and a member of the Steering Group for the UK’s Economy 2030 Inquiry Recently, she has also been a member of the UK’s Trade Modelling Review Expert Panel and the LSE’s Economic Diplomacy Commission Here’s her Q&A where she talks about a woman’s role in running a successful economy

How important is a woman s role in running a successful economy?

It is vital If 50 per cent of the population is systematically under-represented, the efficiency loss to the economy has got to be large This is not just a matter of equity but efficiency I r e a d M a r i l y n W a r i n g ’ s I f W o m e n

Counted as a young student and it enabled me to appreciate the importance of women ’ s

voices in the economy Much of women ’ s work is unpaid or uncounted in economic statistics, so their role is significantly underrepresented Women are more acutely aware of these problems and their representation in running the economy is one way of making women ’ s work count Women often suffer g r e a t e r c o n s e q u e n c e s f r o m e c o n o m i c vagaries and it is simply undemocratic if they are not in positions that shape the economy

Asma Khan, a delicious success story

Asma Khan is an Indian-born British celebrity chef, restaurateur, and awardwinning cookbook author She owns Darjeeling Express, a restaurant in London's Kingly Court and was profiled on the sixth season of the documentary series Chef’s Table on Netflix

H ere ’ s an exclusive chat with her: Does it sync in for you - all the love, success and promising future opportunities for you?

I think yes, it does seem at times when I kind of feel oh my God what is happening in my life It’s so exciting to get recognition I will be very honest It feels very good when people are nice to you and kind to you, but I think that you know it is just a road that I am taking right now Like every actor or actress when you go on stage, the spotlight hits you for a short time and then you walk off the stage and go back into darkness So while it's here, I’m happy, but I also know that it’s temporary

You’re one of the only south Asian women in the industry to have broken the glass ceiling What was that process like? What did it take to do that?

Yes, people often ask me how to break the glass ceiling and I always feel this is not what I want to do I don t want to be standing anywhere surrounded by glass I want all the buildings, those doors and windows that keep out women who look like me, who sound like me Asian women who are not given opportunities and are kept out of many things and

this is true for all women, not just Asian women, I want to bring the entire edifice down I don’t just want to break the glass ceiling I don’t want any restrictions I want the spaces opened up so women can be everything she wants to be What can we as a community learn in order to work collectively to support each other in our businesses and personal growth?

I think your community, the people of your family, your faith, your culture, and your neighbours, can be your greatest strength, but unfortunately can also be very damaging for you I think it is very, very important that you build networks within the community that encourage the younger generation, the future leaders in our own community We applaud them, we praise them I don't think we should restrict them, we should not be imposing rules on them and yes, it is important for them to speak the language, to celebrate festivals, maybe to wear traditional clothes on Eid, Diwali or Holi This is all part of our culture, what we need to be able to h a n d l e , t h e c o m m u n i t y a n d t h e c u l t u r e , hand-in-hand with progress, looking into the future and seeing how this person, this young

I think women observe the world differently from men because their lived experience often differs from that of men Women suffer greater consequences from economic shocks, so they also have a different view of policy choices Good decision-making in any area requires involving key stakeholders This applies equally well, if not more, to women ’ s role in the economic empowerment of society Do you think enough South Asian women get a fair chance and opportunities to learn and pursue economics at a graduate level?

I t h i n k n o t W e a r e n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y encouraged to learn economics, except sometimes as a way of getting a better-paid job

There is a general underrepresentation of women in Economics and particularly in senior roles For example, just 26% of academic economists in the UK are women Asians seem to be doing better in aggregate numbers, with 39% of lecturers being women But this hides a very worrying trend Between 2012-2018 the share of Asian female professors dropped from 22 per cent to 16 per cent

Unfortunately, I still see a very negative attitude towards women from ethnic minorities in the profession and somewhat of a backlash on efforts to address their underrepresentation But that should not deter young women because there are many good people who are working tirelessly for this to change How do you make sure that your voice is heard in a room of people, especially in your field which on the surface is male-dominated?

Good arguments, content and reasoning

person in our community can become a leader and change things for all of us

What is that one moment during your life when you knew that you had arrived?

I think I have to say I felt like I've arrived when Paul Rudd, who I was just staring at sitting at my table in my restaurant and I was very awkward and I asked him, you know, "Can I take a picture with you?" He told me, "Oh my god I'm so excited! I want to take a picture with you! I've been waiting to take a picture with you! I'm so excited to see you!"

Y o u k n o w w h e n s o m e o n e s o f a m o u s i n Hollywood, an A-lister who is telling you he wants to take a picture with you? Yeah, I think that's probably the time I realized I had arrived

What can we as a community do to embrace equity, especially when it comes to women and their overall upliftment in every possible way?

I think the change in our community is very important in how girls are looked at We can start with how we can treat our daughters, that sons and daughters should be treated equally, that they should inherit property equally, that they should all have a stake in the family business because often you see that fathers or mothers who have a business, they can only be taken over by a boy I think we need to change our attitude toward our daughters because everyone thinks we get them married off and she'll go off to some other family Yes, she'll go off to some family, but what about her blood family, what about her own people? I think we should hold on to our girls, and even when they are married let them feel they still have a stake, a financial stake, a stake in the business, a stake in the future So they don't feel suddenly when they got married, that they are thrown away, abandoned or just sent off to some family I think these are very important changes we need to

are essential But in a male-dominated field, often that is not enough I find it important, to be frank, and have the courage to say what I think

I am of the opinion that taking on male traits to make yourself heard is not the right approach, that just perpetuates the problem It is important, especially for young women who may be uncertain early on, that they don’t need to behave like their male counterparts to be heard We have to make the world a better place and our own actions should reflect that

What can we as a community do to embrace equity, especially when it comes to women and their overall upliftment in every possible way?

I think we are prejudiced as a community, even to the point of treating our own members differently based on parochial reasons Gender is one important dimension of it I see a lot of signs that the South Asian community in the UK has made a lot of progress compared to my parents’ and grandparents’ generations But we still have gender stereotypes, especially around family life

These norms have to be challenged constantly because simply wishing that they will change with time would mean the biases will be around for many more generations That is just not good enough I hope that the tight family structures we have can in fact make the transition easier In my own experience, I have seen that my parents’ deep caring and understanding helped us all with the transition when my choices of work and family differed from their norms

make in our community It is only then that people find some amount of equality between boys and girls between families, between daughters and sons, and between daughtersin-law and daughters as well may I add What more can we look forward to from Asma Khan?

It's now been a month since we ’ ve opened up in the new location in Kingly Court We've come back to the top floor where we started from in 2017 Although we have come back to the same courtyard, we've come back to a much bigger space with a huge massive open kitchen and we have the capacity to seat 96 people The first restaurant was 55 So it's a homecoming, but to a brighter, bigger space, which is very exciting For the future, for the restaurant, I think we ’ ve moved a lot over Covid We've suffered a lot with having to pivot and do deliveries and I posted biryani and all of that so the first thing that I would hope is some peace for us to have a stable economic situation so we don't face uncertainty and difficult challenges For myself, I mean I am probably going to be writing another book I’m going to be doing a lot more filming and media work, but I also want to spend more time setting up the mentoring school for leadership which I had planned to do before Covid but then Covid of course put a stop to all of that I think that I would really like to use the restaurant, some part of the space, and we have a very beautiful private dining room area and I want to use that to just kind of gather women together so that we can talk about how we can actually help each other move forward and also kind of mentor the future generation of people so that’s kind of really what I’m looking forward to once the restaurant settles down I want to kind of use the space to gather women around from my community but also from other communities to see how we can help each other

Dr Swati Dhingra

Asma Khan

I feel comp elled to address recent co mments th at have been circu lating in the media and online regarding my p olitical beliefs It h as come to my attention that some individuals have accused me of being a Marxist I wo uld like to set the record straigh t once and for all

Let me be very clear: I am not a Marxist I never have been, and I never will be Any suggestion to the contrary is completely false and baseless

The fact of the matter is that I read at age 12 about the principles of Marxism, specifically the idea that workers create profit for the owners of capital This led me to realize that it would be much more advantageous for me to become a shareholder, rather than simply an employee

As a result, I started buying shares in various companies, in part thanks to privatisations of the 1980s, using the names and monies of family members (I remain the most liked nephew to this day) and have been somewhat successful in paying the bills

This decision, however, in no way reflects a belief in Marxist ideology Rather, it is simply a smart financial move that anyone can make, regardless of their political leanings

I apologize if my previous comments have caused confusion or concern among any of my supporters Please rest assured that I am not a Marxist, and never have been I remain committed to the principles of democracy, free market capitalism, and individual liberty

Indeed, if you'd like to be a better capitalist might I suggest you visit my free resources at www campaignforamillion com Free is not very Capitalist of me, but feel it will encourage more capital building in your pension

I urge you to turn the capital you have worked so hard all your life for, to work for you Treat it like a worker and make it sweat and generate a profit for you in your old age

As a shareholder in some of the world’s biggest companies including Warner Bros and Disney, these in my SIPP, have the best people in the world working for me to generate a return for me as the provider of capital ie as a shareholder

Learn these skills, whether a school child as I extoled to the wonderful pupils such as Yash Shah at Haberdasher’s S c h o o l i n m y T E D x t a l k t h i s p a s t w e e k , o r r e t i r e d entrepreneurs Ensure you can get your capital working for you Be the capitalist not only the worker

Thank you for your understanding

Sincerely,

Thousands of small businesses face closure as costs keep rising

T he owners of nearly one in eight microbusinesses, defined as employing fewer th an 10 people, fear they will have to fold, equating to 630,000 businesses, as the cost keep rising

Catherine Sweet who sells art for a living via her website BobCat Gallery and at exhibitions, says "a massive decline in consumer spending" coupled with rising living costs is a disaster for businesses

"I know that my business could grow five-fold If I had a physical space, but every negotiation I have entered into with the landlord has come to nothing because I do not have the funds right now

"Affordable rent subsidies for retail premises would be a huge boon, because for businesses like mine, having physical premises would be a game changer, but it's completely out of our reach," she said

The annual Venture Forward study found that only a fifth of microbusiness owners think the government is doing enough More than three quarters also described the cost of living crisis as the greatest challenge they've ever faced, with the price of energy the biggest single concern

According to Andrew Gradon, GoDaddy's UK manager, microbusinesses represent 96% of all businesses within the country's private sector “Around 42% said that they wanted support with tax incentives but also looking more broadly to business support - so looking at technical assistance for business development as well as support for digital strategy "

The study estimates that if the 12% of microbusinesses under threat went under, it would wipe £12bn from the economy

Brits choose to invest money despite financial crisis

A c c o r d i n g t o a p o l l c o n d u c t e d a m o n g 2 , 0 0 0 adults, it was found that 32 per cent of them put money into something other than a regular saving account or cash ISA during 2022, with two-thirds of these doing so for the very first time With 36% looking for higher returns than savings accounts, three out of ten people (31%) said the costof-living crisis has inspired

them to make their money work harder While 41 per c e n t w a n t t o g r o w t h e i r m o n e y a n d w e a l t h o v e r time, although 32 per cent are looking to achieve their l o n g e r - t e r m g o a l s a s quickly as possible

In fact, those between the ages of 25 and 34 were the group most likely to invest in the previous year; 4 1 % o f t h i s g e n e r a t i o n a i m e d t o i n c r e a s e t h e i r

Indie cafe takes on US coffee chain over name

A fami ly-run vegan cafe in Brixton has filed a lawsuit to stop a large US coffee chain from expanding into the U K in a n e ff or t to co mpe te wi th St ar b uc ks , saying that the firm's " very similar" brand i s harming the reputation of the cafe's "indi e vibe"

The popular plant-based cinnamon buns from south London's Blank Coffee, run by Warner Newman, 34, and Samantha McKinson, 32, are in a trademark battle with Blank Street, a New York c o m p a n y w h o s e f o u n d e r s are using venture capital to s u p p o r t t h e i r e x p a n s i o n plans

The founders of Blank Street Coffee, Vinay Menda and Issam Freiha, say they wish to challenge Starbucks

and Dunkin’ Donuts Their s t a t e m e n t o f g r o u n d s f o r t h e i r o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e t r a d e m a r k r e g i s t r a t i o n , claims the 11 Blank Street cafes in London are already “ c a u s i n g a c t u a l c o n f u s i o n a n d a r e d a m a g i n g t h e opponent, in that customers are querying the inferiority of the Blank Street product and, assuming the opponent has sold out, complaining about it”

T h e U S c o f f e e c h a i n , founded in 2020, allegedly p l a g i a r i s e d N e w m a n a n d McKinson's name as well as their cafe s distinctive mint g r e e n / w h i t e / b l a c k l i v e r y , p l a i n l e t t e r i n g , a n d w e r e endeavouring to mimic the indie spirit," according to a separate court letter The US company refuted this

With shortage of fresh produce,

vegetable seed sales on rise

Demand for vegetable seeds has rocketed as supermarkets co ntinue to limit sales of some fresh pro duce

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said seed sales across its retail outlets had risen 20% in February compared to the same month last year Separately Mr Fothergill's Seeds said online sales had jumped by nearly 50% last month

Stores are limiting tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers but the RHS said many potato suppliers had already sold out Recent bad weather in Spain and North Africa, along with complex supply chains, have been blamed for empty shelves in UK supermarkets Wholesalers and importers suggested the UK may also be suffering because of lower domestic production, as well as a price-sensitive market

Former environment minister George Eustice claimed the shortages would last three to four weeks but some growers said supply problems could last until May Based on sales last year, the RHS predicted that chard, salad leaves, tomatoes, garlic and squash would be among the most popular vegetables to grow in 2023

f i n a n c i a l s e c u r i t y i n t h i s way And overall, the trend looks to continue in 2023, with 35 per cent of all those polled saying they feel more confident about investing this year than before Brian Byrnes, head of p e r s o n a l f i n a n c e a t M o n e y b o x , w h i c h commissioned the research, s a i d : “ W e k n o w t h a t i n v e s t i n g , f o r m a n y , c a n still be daunting

“But it is an increasingly e s s e n t i a l p a r t o f a n y f i n a n c i a l p l a n t o h e l p m i t i g a t e t h e i m p a c t o f i n f l a t i o n o v e r t i m e a n d build wealth for the future to help achieve longer-term financial goals

“Market volatility is not unexpected or even a bad thing for investors – in fact, investing in a downturn can give you more bang for your buck ”

Hunt may shield households with his UK budget

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is to spend about £3 bn in his March 15 Budget to sh i eld U K h ou s eh ol d s fro m higher energy bills, but new economic forecasts m ean he w i ll h ave li ttle room for big giveaways

The chancellor has been handed draft forecasts by t h e U K f i s c a l w a t c h d o g showing the economy will barely meet his fiscal rule to have public debt as a share of output falling in five years ’ time

T h i s p r e d i c t i o n h a s s e v e r e l y i m p a i r e d H u n t ’ s a b i l i t y t o c o n s i d e r Conservative MPs’ demands for big and immediate tax cuts in the Budget But Hunt has urged Tory MPs to be

p a t i e n t a n d s a y s he hopes to start the process of tax c u t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y for business, in his A u t u m n S t a t e m e n t , b y w h i c h p o i n t h e h o p e s t o have a better outlook for the public finances ”

We were hoping recent p o s i t i v e e c o n o m i c n e w s would give us extra room for manoeuvre this time, but it hasn’t quite happened,” said one government insider H u n t h a s s e c u r e d a n unexpected £30 bn windfall in the public finances, partly f r o m h i g h e r t h a n anticipated tax receipts in 2022-23, and this means he can provide some one-off help to households in the Budget

Living costs, higher mortgage rates make homes less affordable

UK h o u se p r i ces fel l b y 1 1 % in t h e year t o Februar y, as h igh er mor tgag e rates and living costs made hom es less affordable Aside fr om a small dr op at th e star t o f th e p and em ic , t h i s w as t h e first annual fall in property val u es sin ce No ve mb er 2012 P r i c e s s l i p p e d o n a monthly basis too, falling by 0 5% from January The b u i l d i n g s o c i e t y s a i d i t would be "hard for the mark e t t o r e g a i n m u c h m o m e n t u m i n t h e n e a r term Economic headwinds

Energy firms told to pass on the benefits to consumers

Ministers h ave warned energy firms that th ey mu st pass on th e benefits of lower wh o l es ale p ri c es t o co n s um ers , a mi d concern that bills cou ld rise this spring

I n a s p e e c h , G r a n t S h a p p s w i l l t e l l energy suppliers that reduced wholesale prices must be seen in consumer prices, “ no ifs, buts or maybes”

I n a n a p p a r e n t s i g n o f g o v e r n m e n t concern about the impact of reduced direct s u p p o r t f o r d o m e s t i c e n e r g y b i l l s , t h e energy secretary will spell out his message i n a s p e e c h a t t h e C h a t h a m H o u s e thinktank in London “I have one overriding mission in this new job: for the UK to have

among the cheapest wholesale electricity p r i c e s i n E u r o p e , ” s a i d S h a p p s , w h o s e formal brief changed from being business and energy secretary to energy security and net zero secretary amid a mini-reshuffle and restructuring earlier in February

“This is critical to consumers, to our c o u n t r y a n d t o o u r p l a n e t , ” h e a d d e d

“Making the most of our position as a world-leaders in renewables and nuclear technology, homegrown sources that will shield households from the worst excesses of the volatile global fossil-fuel markets And suppliers must be ready to pass those savings on to consumers ”

look set to remain relatively s t r o n g , w i t h t h e l a b o u r market widely expected to w e a k e n a s t h e e c o n o m y s h r i n k s i n t h e q u a r t e r s a h e a d , " s a i d i t s c h i e f economist Robert Gardner

He added that mortgage rates remained "well above" the lows seen in 2021

The price of an average property is now £257,406, d o w n f r o m £ 2 5 8 , 2 9 7 i n J a n u a r y a n d 3 7 % l o w e r t h a n i t s p e a k i n A u g u s t 2022 House prices have fallen on a monthly basis for six months in a row, according to Nationwide, as higher borrowing costs h a v e s q u e e z e d b u y e r s M o r t g a g e r a t e s w e r e already rising last year as the Bank of England put up interest rates to tackle the soaring cost of living

Looking to the future, Gardner predicted property prices would fall by 5-6% from their peak in August 2022 to the trough which "feels like a relatively soft landing given the pressure o n h o u s e h o l d f i n a n c e s " H o w e v e r , h e a d d e d t h a t forecast was dependent on t h e l a b o u r m a r k e t n o t weakening more than people expect

Jeremy Hunt

India's GST collections jump 12%, cess at record high

Notwiths tanding a slowing i n th e mo p- u p f r om imported products, India's GST receipts increased 12 4% to £ 14 95 b i l li o n i n February

A c c o r d i n g t o f i n a n c e m i n i s t r y d a t a , F e b r u a r y ( c o l l e c t i o n s f o r t r a n s a c t i o n s i n J a n u a r y ) marked the 12th straight month of the kitty being a b o v e £ 1 4 b i l l i o n

“Normally, February being a 28-day month witnesses a relatively lower collection of revenue, ” the ministry said in a statement

T h e f i g u r e s a l s o revealed that last month's c e s s r e v e n u e s r e a c h e d a record high of £1 19 billion T h e c e s s o n l u x u r y a n d

Axis Bank takes over Citi’s retail biz for £1.16 bn

Axis Bank has taken over th e Citibank's retail division for £1 16 instead of the earlier stated price of £1 23 billion

When the two banks agreed to a deal las t y ear, C iti 's ability to keep its business was a factor in th e deal's p ricing T h e a c q u i s i t i o n w i l l i n c r e a s e A x i s B a n k ’ s customer base by 24,00,000 a s a g a i n s t t h e 3 0 , 0 0 , 0 0 0 e x p e c t e d e a r l i e r T h e merger has increased Axis Bank’s credit card base by 1 8 , 0 0 , 0 0 0 , g r o w i n g i t s market share in credit cards from 11 4% to 16 2% “Axis B a n k a l r e a d y h a s a r i c h n e t w o r k o f C i t i a l u m n i a c r o s s t h e h i e r a r c h y ,

r e f l e c t i n g t h e c u l t u r a l alignment between the two o r g a n i s a t i o n s , ” s a i d A x i s Bank MD &CEO Amitabh Chaudhry

Signages on 13 Citibank branches will be replaced w i t h t h a t o f A x i s B a n k A n o t h e r 2 1 b r a n c h e s w i l l house an Axis branch and also retain a Citi-branded branch Axis Bank will also take over six offices of Citi F o r C i t i b a n k c a r d h o l d e r s , not much will change for t h e p r e s e n t a s t h e C i t i branding will continue to be used by Axis Bank under licence for some time The offers and the terms and c o n d i t i o n s w i l l a l s o continue

NCLAT allows lenders to invite fresh bids for Rcap

T he N a t i on a l C o mp a ny

L a w Ap pe l la t e Tr i b un a l

(NCLAT) allowed R eliance

C apital (RCa p) lenders to s e e k f r e s h b i ds un d e r b ankruptcy proceedings

O n c e t h e N a t i o n a l

C o m p a n y L a w T r i b u n a l

( N C L T ) d e t e r m i n e d t h a t

Torrent Investment s £864 million bid was the highest, lenders filed an appeal Due to the Hinduja family's late b i d o f r o u g h l y £ 9 0 0 million, lenders demanded a new round A c c o r d i n g t o t h e appellate tribunal's order, plan value cannot be the o n l y a s p e c t o f t h e r e s o l u t i o n p l a n t h a t i s modified or improved The order stated: "We are of the

considered judgment that Regulation 39(1A) does not restrict CoC (committee of c r e d i t o r s ) f r o m e n g a g i n g with or urging resolution a p p l i c a n t s t o f u r t h e r improve the plan value

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e N C L T ' s o r d e r , t h e C o C cannot engage in talks after the challenge mechanism (a p r o c e d u r e i n w h i c h a l l b i d d e r s a r e g i v e n t h e c h a n c e t o o u t b i d t h e h i g h e s t b i d d e r )

Additionally, the tribunal s t a t e d t h a t I n d u s I n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l H o l d i n g s ' ( I I H L , o r H i n d j u a ' s ) proposal did not comport with the bid made available t h r o u g h t h e c h a l l e n g e system

introduction of the GST in July 2017

Disaggregated data for February showed that both s t a t e a n d c e n t r a l G S T c o l l e c t i o n s r o s e b y 1 3 % each, while integrated GST c o l l e c t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g o n imports, were 11% higher

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

We are in the midst of closing a deal which is a sh op and upp ers; it’s seconds away from a train statio n, which is always a go od thing This will ensu re minimal vo id periods The area is very patchy, one can see it was very do minated with immigrants and social h ousing, bu t due to its connectivity and regeneration, the area is co ming up The same can be said for what was formally Chalkhill in North West London

s i n f u l i t e m s i n c l u d i n g v e h i c l e s , t o b a c c o , s o f t drinks, yachts, aircraft, and coal has only reached £1 1 b i l l i o n t w i c e s i n c e t h e

A m o n g t h e s t a t e s , M e g h a l a y a w a s t h e l o n e o n e w h i c h s a w a f a l l i n collections with Himachal, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Telangana, Odisha a n d A s s a m r e p o r t i n g growth rates which were below the national average

Best day for Adani stocks as mcap up 9%

After the Adani family sold h o ldi ng s i n f o u r gro u p co mp ani es to a US - bas ed in ves to r fo r aro u n d £1 5 4 billio n, all 10 Adani group st o ck s s aw a r al ly a nd co ncluded with significant gains According to figures comp iled by th e BSE, th e to tal val u e i n cr eas e d b y 8 7%, or by £6 8 2 billion to £85 billion

The group had its best day in terms of market cap g r o w t h o n F r i d a y s i n c e H i n d e n b u r g p u b l i s h e d a d a m n i n g r e p o r t o n t h e c o n g l o m e r a t e s c o r p o r a t e practises over a month ago

Since January 25, the group ’ s 1 0 s t o c k s w e r e b e i n g p u m m e l l e d o v e r H i n d e n b u r g ’ s r e p o r t a l l e g a t i o n s a g a i n s t t h e g r o u p o f s t o c k p r i c e m a n i p u l a t i o n , a c c o u n t i n g f r a u d a n d c o r p o r a t e malfeasance

GQG Partners, which is t r a d e d o n t h e A u s t r a l i a n S e c u r i t i e s E x c h a n g e ,

concluded the day 3% lower in contrast to increases in A d a n i G r o u p ' s s t o c k Despite Rajiv Jain, one of t h e f u n d ' s t w o f o u n d e r s , sounding very upbeat about the stake purchase in Adani companies, media reports claimed that the purchase had sparked concerns from an Australian pension fund c l i e n t o f G Q G a t a t i m e w h e n m a j o r i n v e s t o r s , i n c l u d i n g N o r w a y ' s sovereign wealth fund, were offloading the stock T h e t w o d i s c o m s , D a k s h i n H a r y a n a B i j l i Vitran Nigam Limited and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited, and Adani Power Limited announced t h e y h a d s i g n e d a s t a n d a r d i s e d p o w e r purchase agreement (SPPA)

From the 4,620 MW power plant at Mundra's phase-IV, w h i c h h a s a 1 , 9 8 0 M W c a p a c i t y , A d a n i w i l l n o w supply 1,200 MW in total of power to these discoms

India's Q3 GDP slows to 4.4%

Ind i a ’ s e co no m ic acti vi ty slo w ed to 4 4 % i n th e Dec em ber qu arter as manufacturing activity was seen to be slugg ish, although the go vernm ent r ema ined hopeful of meeting the 7% g ro wt h es ti m ate fo r th e current financial year The economy increased by 6 3% during the second quarter of current financial year and 5 2% in the December quarter of 2021

T h e l a t e s t n u m b e r s r e l e a s e d b y t h e N a t i o n a l S t a t i s t i c a l O f f i c e a l s o

India's sensex tops 60,000 as global rally continues

Glob al t ailwind s he lpe d India n sense x to close above t he psychologica lly importa nt 60,000-mark once again after two weeks but some market ana lyst s said the two-day old rally could fizzle out after the Tuesday break due to the trading holiday on Holi

Market players feel that despite strong e c o n o m i c d a t a i n t h e U S a m i d r a g i n g inflation, its central bank may not raise rates as aggressively as was being expected earlier This has led to a global rally, including in India The strong gains in Adani Group stocks also boosted sentiment, market players said

The sensex started the new week on a strong note to cross 60,000 points and

r e a c h e d a n i n t r a - d a y h i g h o f 6 0 , 5 0 0

However, some profit taking during closing hours pulled the sensex down and it closed Monday’s session at 60,224, up 415 points On the NSE, the Nifty gained 117 points to close at 17,711 According to Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services, one of the major concerns that prevailed in the market in the last few weeks was the fear of aggressive US Fed policy action, which led to a r i s e i n t r e a s u r y y i e l d s a n d U S d o l l a r A d d i t i o n a l l y , t h e r e w e r e u n c e r t a i n t i e s surrounding Adani Group stocks “All of these have now shifted in favour of the bulls,” Nair wrote

What’s attractive about this deal is not necessarily the discount, it’s the low price of this property It is difficult to purchase a freehold shop and uppers for less than £500K anywhere in London This combined with its location, means it will mature nicely over a five-year period, despite the storms waiting for us around the corner In order to finance this property, you will need to get commercial finance; in this market this is very expensive Therefore, the way to get around this is to split the lease into residential and commercial and put most of the funding on the residential side Residential mortgages can be still obtained at a very sensible level

The property has been misdescribed It consists of four floors, only three have been mentioned in the particulars The basement is absent This means 25% of the square footage has been left out

The development potential is very limited in this property; there may be an angle for a mansard but not much else It is very much a buy, tweak and hold, and wait for the area to bring the property up

This cutting the lease may seem like splitting hairs, but when one looks at the figures over a five year period, the numbers speak from themselves On another site this exercise is saving £100K over five years from the discount in the residential interest rates, so a worthwhile exercise

Hopefully, we should have an agreeable answer on this deal shortly If it’s of interest please feel free to get in touch with us to discuss

I do believe there is the possibility of trading this asset However, as it’s rare to get something in this price range and location it is better to hold and benefit from the anticipated growth; without too much exertion

About £200K investment would be required for this deal It could be structured in order to do this deal with less It is better to keep a buffer and be prepared for any speed humps which inevitably come along

Recently, I went to view a sample of properties which are owned by a German fund, who are flush with funds They had used the old trick of converting a normal house into a HMO The properties looked like you were in a hospital as soon as you stepped in; so easy to clean and low maintenance The numbers they were producing in comparison to the properties were through the roof Over 10% yields From the finish they weren’t intended to be for professionals, it was the social housing sector which they were ultimately aiming for This idea, which has been executed well, and on a massive scale, is well worth exploring and implementing in this deal we are looking to close shortly

revised upwards the growth for 2021-22 to 9 1%, against 8 7%, which was attributed as one of the reasons for the m o d e r a t i o n i n t h e t h i r d quarter of the current fiscal year

A p a r t f r o m t h e b a s e effect, sectoral data based o n g r o s s v a l u e a d d e d e s t i m a t e d t h a t t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g s e c t o r shrank 1 1% during the third q u a r t e r , a l t h o u g h a l i t t l e b e t t e r t h a n t h e 3 6 % c o n t r a c t i o n e s t i m a t e d f o r the July-September period Chief economist at Bank of B a r o d a , M a d a n S a b n a v i s s a i d “ T h e m a j o r disappointment is negative growth in manufacturing, which can be attributed to w e a k p r o f i t a n d l o s s o f accounts of this sector The second-quarter results did indicate a fall in profits due to high input costs ”

Manufacturing activity growth slows, but still robust

Ac ti vi ty i n I ndi a ’ s manufacturing sector grew at its slowest pace in four mo nt h s in F eb ru a ry bu t rem ai ned ro b u st o n th e back of stro ng expansion in sales and ou tput while input co s t i nf la ti o n ti c ked u p higher, as per survey

The S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was unchanged from its reading of 55 4 in January, coming in at 55 3 in February The headline figure exceeded its 5 3 - y e a r a v e r a g e 7 T h e

d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n expansion and contraction is 50 points Responses to q u e s t i o n n a i r e s d i s t r i b u t e d t o b u y i n g m a n a g e r s i n a p a n e l o f a b o u t

A m i d r e p o r t s o f a c c o m m o d a t i v e d e m a n d c o n d i t i o n s a n d s u c c e s s f u l m a r k e t i n g c a m p a i g n s , manufacturers experienced a n i n c r e a s e i n n e w w o r k i n t a k e s T h e u p t u r n s t r e t c h e d t h e c u r r e n t sequence of growth to 20 months, according to the survey results W i t h t h e d e v a s t a t i n g effects of the Covid-19, the m a n u f a c t u r i n g s e c t o r h a s p l a n n e d a r e b o u n d , a l t h o u g h t h e p a c e h a s r e m a i n e d u n e q u a l T h e d e m a n d c o n d i t i o n s h a v e a l s o b e e n e x a c e r b a t e d b y s l o w i n g e x p o r t s , a n d t h e s u r v e y r e s u l t s r e v e a l t h a t f r e s h e x p o r t o r d e r s o n l y

Separation can be a good thing

Pak names Sikh legislator as Ambassador at Large for Kartarpur

I S L A M A B A D : Pa k i st a n h a s n a m e d 4 8 y e a r ol d R a m e sh Sing h Ar ora , a Sik h legisla tor fr om its Punja b pr ovince, a s the Am bas sad or A t L a rg e for t he Kart ar pur corr idor, the biggest pea ce gest ur e bet ween India a nd Pak ist an Arora told media that it was unfortunate that the response to the Corridor was lukewarm

I t w a s o p e n e d i n N o v e m b e r 2019 to facilitate pilgrims from India to the gurdwara after a break of three years He said his biggest hope is to boost the number of pilgrims from India via the corridor

He claimed that although

Ramesh Singh Arora

Pakistan had made preparations for at least 5,000 pilgrims every day in Kartarpur, the facility was rarely used by even 1,000

Indians There are typically 200 to 500 pilgrims each day We c a n o n l y i m p l o r e t h e S i k h sangat in India to utilise this r o u t e t o t h e f u l l e s t e x t e n t p o s s i b l e s i n c e I n d i a n S i k h s ' demand was the primary factor in its opening He also advised Pakistani

P r i m e M i n i s t e r t h a t t h e

G u r d w a r a s h o u l d b e o p e n round-the-clock, every day of t h e w e e k " W e w i l l d o everything possible from our s i d e t o e n c o u r a g e a s m a n y p e o p l e a s w e c a n t o v i s i t

K a r t a r p u r C u r r e n t l y , t h e gurdwara is open from dawn to dusk for Indians But since it is a

2 INDIANS HELD FOR ILLEGALLY CROSSING INTO US

two-way process, we have to work out the modalities with the Indian authorities " The official is also holding discussions over accommodating u n d e r p r i v i l e g e d p i l g r i m s w h o cannot pay fees or don't have a passport "The $20 (Rs 1,600) per person fees is not affordable for e v e r y o n e , e s p e c i a l l y w h e n families are travelling together However, not everyone in India - particularly those from rural areas - possesses a passport We h a v e a l r e a d y a s k e d t h e governments of Pakistan and India to abolish the requirement for a passport Pakistan ought to down the costs "

Nepal PM to reshuffle cabinet after 3 allies pull out: Report

KAT HM AN D U: According to a m e d ia r e p or t , N e pa l ’ s P r im e M in ist e r Pus hpa Ka ma l D a ha l P r a ch a n d a is p r e p a r e d t o r e s t r u ct ur e h is ca b i n e t in a n e f fo r t t o ma i n t a in t h e n e w l y e s t a b l is he d un s t a b l e coa l it i on This incl ude s fill ing up 16 vacant m i n is t r ie s t h a t r e su l t e d fr om t hree politica l part ie s l eaving his gove rnment F o l l o w i n g a d i s a g r e e m e n t o v e r s u p p o r t i n g t h e N e p a l i C o n g r e s s c a n d i d a t e f o r t h e presidential election, the secondl a r g e s t p a r t y i n p a r l i a m e n t , CPNUML, withdrew its support f o r t h e " P r a c h a n d a " - l e d

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , s e n d i n g t h e country into yet another period o f p o l i t i c a l u n r e s t R a s t r i y a

Prajatantra Party (RPP) has also quit the government Rastriya

Lanka workers defy strike ban to protest IMF bailout plan

C O L O M B O : I n vio l a ti o n o f a g o ve r nm e nt o r d er , Sr i Lan ka n w orkers went on strike to pro tes t a g ai ns t a re s c u e p l a n f o r t h e i s l an d n at io n ' s f in an c ial c ri s is , f orcing th e cl osu re o f som e h osp ital s, banks, and po rts

P r e s i d e n t R a n i l Wickremesinghe is facing a public backlash over steep tax hikes and spending cuts imposed to s e c u r e a s o r e l y n e e d e d I n t e r n a t i o n a l M o n e t a r y F u n d

(IMF) bailout

Only emergencies are being handled, according to doctors at t h e N a t i o n a l H o s p i t a l o f S r i Lanka in Colombo, the country's commercial hub, while appointments at private clinics and hospitals have been cancelled

Electricity workers and bank tellers were also on strike while dock workers staged lunchtime protests at the capital’s port By ordering "critical services" to continue working and threatening to fire employees who disobeyed the order, Wickremesinghe essentially outlawed strikes

Difficu lt to l ive

Union leaders said they were told by Wickremesinghe that he cannot reduce income taxes as it was a condition of the IMF to release a bailout package

H a r i t h a A l u t h g e o f t h e G o v e r n m e n t M e d i c a l O f f i c e r s ’

A s s o c i a t i o n t o l d r e p o r t e r s i n Colombo that his union planned to continue its industrial action

“A token one-day protest is not going to sway the authorities,” he said “We will have to t a k e s t r o n g e r a c t i o n ” A r o u n d

2,000 port workers, already staging a work-to-rule, held a demons t r a t i o n i n s u p p o r t o f t h a t demand during their lunch break in Colombo

Elsewhere, hundreds of government employees wore black clothes and armbands and flew black flags outside state buildings Government hospitals were impacted as nurses conducted a four-hour strike and doctors part i c i p a t e d i n d e m o n s t r a t i o n s , according to union leaders Most b a n k s a c r o s s t h e n a t i o n w e r e closed for the day as banking unions joined the strike

Swatantra Party (RSP) has also withdrawn its ministers from the government However, it would keep supporting the government f r o m t h e o u t s i d e W i t h t h r e e major parties pulling out, the seven-party ruling coalition has disintegrated

According to the newspaper, Prachanda has now allied himself with the Nepali Congress and six other parties and demands a new p o w e r - s h a r i n g a g r e e m e n t a s soon as possible As this was g o i n g o n , t h e J a n a m a t P a r t y , N a g a r i k U n m u k t i P a r t y , a n d Janata Samajbadi Party left the o l d c o a l i t i o n a n d j o i n e d t h e

M a o i s t C e n t r e a n d N e p a l i Congress' new one The eight parties will be difficult for the p r i m e m i n i s t e r t o d i v i d e , according to the leaders T h i n k i n g t h a t c a b i n e t expansion could help keep the c o a l i t i o n i n t a c t a n d g a r n e r support for the presidential polls scheduled for March 9, the PM is preparing to start discussions to fill vacant cabinet positions, the n e w s p a p e r s a i d M a n a h a r i Timilsina, the media expert to the PM, said the ruling parties a r e e x p e c t e d t o d i s c u s s t h e a l l o c a t i o n o f m i n i s t e r i a l portfolios within a day or two

Court rejects Imran plea for suspension of arrest warrant

I S L A M A B A D : A d is t r ic t an d s e s s i on s c our t i n Is l a m ab a d uphel d the n on-b ail a bl e ar re s t warrant s for form er PM Im ran K ha n af t er r e je c t i ng hi s p l e a s ee king t he s us pen s ion of t he court’s earlier order in a cas e of all eged corr upt ion agains t him related to the purc has e and s ale of gif t s f r om t he To s ha kh an a (s tate depos itory)

A d d i t i o n a l s e s s i o n s j u d g e

Z a f a r I q b a l a n n o u n c e d t h e verdict, reserved earlier in the day, after hearing arguments on an application filed by the PTI chief seeking the cancellation of

Pak risks $18bn fine for delaying Iran gas pipeline: Report

IS L AM A B AD : If Paki stan doesn't fin ish the Irani an petrol pip eli ne project by the deadli ne specifi ed in the deal, there could be a $18 bi llion fine The Publi c Accounts Committee of Parliament debated the nonut i l i za ti o n of R s 332 b i l li o n ($ 4 bi l l i o n ) i n p et ro l i n f r as tr u ct ur e dev elopment cess, whi ch was collected f or developin g three major petrol projects, in cludin g the construction of a pipelin e to i mport petrol from Iran, d uri ng a meetin g with i ts chai rman Noor Alam Khan i n the chai r Committee member Syed H uss ai n Tari q said that the funds are lyi ng idle and the projects are stag nan t, warnin g that Pakistan faces fi nes if the g as pipeline project with I ran is n ot compl eted on ti me

A s e n i o r m e m b e r o f t h e p e t r o l e u m m i n i s t r y i n f o r m e d t h e

gathering that Pakistan had contacted the US regarding the Iranian petrol conduit project to request assistance He emphasised that Pakistan is unable to purchase petrol from Iran due to an import ban, according to the story He also highlighted the safety and security concerns in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project The committee members questioned how much Pakistan could be fined for failing to finish the Iran petrol conduit on schedule According to the story, the petroleum secretary retorted that the fine could be $18 billion under the terms of the agreement He also remarked that they have asked the US ambassador to either give them permission to go ahead with the project or give them money to pay the fine, it said

Two Indian nationals were among five persons arrested by the US border authorities for illegally crossing into the country from Canada by boat On February 20, according to a statement from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) US Border Patrol agents from the Detroit sector detained the five near Algonac in the US state of Michigan The border patrol noticed a boat in the St Clair River crossing the international boundary late at night and notified the authorities who seized the five people Agents found two migrants - completely drenched and shivering - with them All were taken into custody and during questioning agents identified that two were from India, and the rest from Nigeria, Mexico and the Dominican Republic

INDIAN STUDENT BANNED BY AMERICAN AIRLINES

A 21-year-old Delhi boy studying in a US university was briefly detained by Delhi police after American Airlines complained that he caused a midair ruckus in “a heavily intoxicated” state and urinated on a male business-class passenger on board its New York-Delhi flight that landed the previous night This is the third incident of its kind involving Indian flyers in less than four months American Airlines cancelled alleged offender Aryan Vohra s return ticket and barred him from flying the airline, saying he was “not adhering to crew instructions on board; repeatedly arguing with operating crew; not willing to be seated and continu-ously endangering safety of crew and aircraft”

MICROSOFT EMPLOYEE’S WIFE FOUND DEAD IN US

Imran Khan

his warrants The same court had l a s t w e e k i s s u e d n o n - b a i l a b l e arrest warrants for Imran after he decided not to turn up before the court while attending hearings of three other cases - prohibited f u n d i n g , t e r r o r i s m , a n d attempted murder - filed against him in other courts located in the same judicial complex

On Sunday, police went to Imran’s Lahore home to arrest him but the PTI chief evaded arrest and later addressed his supporters, lashing out at the current coalition government for its incompetence and targeting f o r m e r a r m y c h i e f G e n e r a l

Qamar Javed Bajwa for his ouster from office last year

I m r a n h a s t h r i c e s k i p p e d i n d i c t m e n t h e a r i n g s i n a n Islamabad sessions court in the case Imran is accused of not sharing details of the gifts he retained from the Toshaskhana and proceeds from their reported sales The Election Commission o f P a k i s t a n h a d c o n c l u d e d i n October that Imran had made “ i n c o r r e c t d e c l a r a t i o n s ” r e g a r d i n g t h e g i f t s h e h a d purchased from the Toshakhana and disqualified him for being “ d i s h o n e s t a n d c o r r u p t ” E C P t h e n a p p r o a c h e d c o u r t s e e k i n g proceedings against Imran under criminal law

The wife of an Indian Microsoft employee who went missing in the US was discovered dead in suspicious circumstances next to a lake in Washington Soujanya Ramamaurthy 30 who lived in Redmond with her husband a software developer at Microsoft went missing on February 25 Her body was found the next day in Lake Sammamish after a massive search by the police The Police are yet to ascertain how the tragedy transpired, and so far there have been no arrests However, multiple media reports stated that Soujanya was hit multiple times on the head with an object similar to a hammer

FIRE ERUPTS AT ROHINGYA CAMP IN BANGLADESH

A big fire at a camp for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh destroyed homes and sent thick black clouds of smoke through the area on Sunday before being brought under control The blaze erupted at Camp 11 in Cox’s Bazar, a southeastern border district where more than a million Rohingya refugees live Most of the refugees fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 and the fire left some of them homeless again “We currently don’t have an estimate for damages but there are no reports of casualties,” Rafiqul Islam, additional police superintendent at Cox’s Bazar said He added that the blaze was under control and senior officials from the fire, police and refugee relief departments were at the site

PAK RUPEE HITS RECORD LOW AMID IMF BAILOUT

The Pakistani rupee has recorded a new low while a bigger-than-expected interest rate rise has failed to restore its markets as the South Asian country struggles to unlock critical funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) According to Eikon data, the rupee hit a record low of 284 per US dollar in local trading It retraced some losses to end at 279 per dollar, still down by some 6 per cent Pakistan's central bank announced a larger-than-expected 300-basis-point interest rate increase in an effort to combat rising inflation, support its currency, and satisfy another IMF demand

Pushpa Kamal Dahal

in brief

CHINA AGAIN HIKES DEFENCE BUDGET

China will boost defence spending 7 2% this year slightly outpacing last year’s increase as Premier Li Keqiang called for the armed forces to boost combat preparedness The 1 55 trillion yuan ($224bn) in military spending in the national budget is closely watched by China’s neighbours and in Washington as a barometer of how aggressively the country will beef up its military China pegged its defence budget at 1 5 trillion yuan last year a 7 1% increase This year s hike marks the eighth consecutive singledigit increase As in previous years, no breakdown of the spending was given, only the overall amount and the rate of increase

CHINA BANS WOMEN FROM MODELLING LINGERIE

Chinese livestream fashion companies have adopted a new strategy by including male models in their videos as a result of Chinese regulations prohibiting female models from exhibiting pants online Chinese media have reported that many videos featuring male models wearing a range of lingerie styles, including push-up bras, tight corsets, and lacetrimmed nightgowns, have surfaced Xu, who is the owner of a livestream business, even introduced a male model wearing a silk robe on the social media website "The light and luxurious boudoir of the wife and adults," the caption of the post read as per the outlet The clip garnered over 2 000 likes and a flood of commenters shared their opinion on the gender-bending decision

STORY OF US SINGER LEAVES JUDGE IN TEARS

An emotional audition on “American Idol” by a survivor of a Texas high school shooting prompted tears from the judges and criticism of the country s response to gun violence Trey Louis was one of the students at Santa Fe High School in May 2018 when another student fatally shot 10 people on campus After his audition, Louis told the judges - Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan - that one of the reasons he wanted to participate in the singing competition was because of the shooting Lost a lot of friends Eight students were killed Two teachers were killed It’s just really been negative, man,” said Louis Perry began to cry placing her hands over her face and bowing her head

GERMANY UNVEILS FEMINIST FOREIGN POLICY BLUEPRINT

In order to guarantee that everyone "has the equal right to representation and access to resources," the foreign and development ministers of Germany have issued new feminist foreign policy guidelines The ministers stated that the government s foreign policy places a strong emphasis on taking women s and girls' needs into account and advancing them in order to eliminate discrimination and advance more stable societies “We are not calling for a revolution here but we are doing something that is self evident German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Berlin

RUSSIAN FLAG PAINTED ACROSS LITTLE MERMAID BASE

A Russian flag was found painted onto the base of Denmark’s “The Little Mermaid” statue in what police said was a “case of vandalism” at Copenhagen’s most famous landmark and a popular tourist attraction

According to a police official, the perpetrator of the incident was not immediately discovered Following Moscow s invasion of Ukraine last year Denmark and other Western countries have been outspoken critics of Russia The 110-year-old bronze statue depicts the little mermaid from 19th-century Danish author Hans Christian Andersen s tale of the same name, and is sat on a rock by a waterside promenade

Khalistan supporters vandalise another Hindu temple in Oz

ME LB OURNE : A pro minent Hindu temple in Brisbane was attacked by p ro-Kh alistan su p p o r ter s o n S a tu rda y, i n th e la tes t incident o f vandalism against Hindu temples in Australia T he incident took place at the Shree Laxmi Narayan Temple in Brisbane “ Te mp le p rie st and devo tee s cal led th is mo rn in g and no t if i ed me ab o u t t h e vandali sm o n th e bou ndary wall o f ou r temple,” Temple president Satinder Shu kla was quoted as saying “We have informed the Queensland p olice officers, and they assured to e ns u re th e sa fe ty o f T emp l e a nd devotees ”

Sarah Gates, director of Hindu Human Rights, said that the latest hate crime is an a t t e m p t t o t e r r o r i s e A u s t r a l i a n H i n d u s

“This latest hate crime is a pattern of Sikhs For Justice globally, clearly attempting to terrorise Australian Hindus With a barrage

Indian origin faces jail term for dealing in child porn

NEW Y ORK : An Indian-American man h as p leaded gu ilty to federal ch arges of sexrelated crimes, and admitted he was a part of 30 o nline communities, wh ich traded sexually-explicit images of mino rs

o f p r o p a g a n d a , i l l e g a l s i g n s a n d c y b e r bullying, the organisation intends to present all-pervasive threats, fear and intimidation,”

Gates said

Gates later tweeted an image of the Hindu community fighting back after the attack on the temple Community members with the temple committee cleaned antiH i n d u h a t e - f i l l e d g r a f f i t i “ H i n d u s t a n Zindabad,” she tweeted with a picture

Indian-American engineer found guilty to fraud charges

N E W Y O R K : A 27-y e a r o ld In d i a n American engin eer at a crypto asset trading pla tf orm has pleaded guilty to charges of commoditi es fraud

Nishad Singh was the former co-lead e n g i n e e r o f F T X T r a d i n g L t d H i s involvement in a multiyear plan to mislead equity investors in FTX, Singh founded the c r y p t o c u r r e n c y t r a d i n g p l a t f o r m w i t h Samuel Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, has led to federal charges being brought against him

I n D e c e m b e r l a s t y e a r , f e d e r a l authorities had charged Bankman-Fried with orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Singh was accused b y t h e S e c u r i t i e s a n d E x c h a n g e Commission In a related move, Singh was also charged by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

S i n g h e n t e r e d a g u i l t y p l e a a s t o commodities fraud and other charges in

the separate, parallel action against him in the Southern District of New York Despite false representations by Bankman-Fried to investors that FTX was a secure crypto asset trading platform with sophisticated r i s k m i t i g a t i o n m e a s u r e s t o p r o t e c t customer assets and that Alameda was just a n o t h e r c u s t o m e r w i t h n o s p e c i a l p r i v i l e g e s , S i n g h a l l e g e d l y c r e a t e d a software code that allowed FTX customer funds to be diverted to Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund owned by BankmanFried and Wang

The complaint alleges that Singh knew or should have known that such statements were false and misleading S i n g h i s c h a r g e d w i t h a c t i v e l y participating in the plot to defraud FTX's i n v e s t o r s , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e c o m p l a i n t

Singh withdrew about $6 million from FTX a s t h e c o m p a n y w a s o n t h e v e r g e o f bankruptcy for personal use, including the purchase of a multimillion-dollar home and payments to charitable organisations

Indian nurse extradited to Oz is charged for 2018 murder

B R I S B A N E : T wo y ear s a ft er in it i all y requ est ing R ajwi nder S i ngh' s e xtradit io n from India, Australian po lice in the northeastern city of Cairns charged him with murder S ingh, 38, h as denied killing T oyah Cordingley, 24, as she walked her dog along Wangetti Beach north of Cairns in October 2018 He arrived under police escort from Ne w D el h i t o Me lb o u rne , Au st ral i a Mag is tr ate Mart i n Gri n be rg dem and ed Singh's extradition from Victoria state to Qu eenslan d, the state wh ere Co rdi ngley died, after learning that police had DNA and telep h one evidence linking S ingh to th e murder Singh travelled 3,000 km north to Cairns in a private jet

Detective Inspector Sonia Smith of the

Queensland Police stated, "We are really relieved to be at this point and we will now commence the court procedure According to a police statement, Singh was charged with one count of murder and appeared before the Cairns Magistrates Court

Singh had returned to India from Sydney a day after Cordingley’s body was found and two days after her murder, leaving behind his wife and three children at their home s o u t h o f C a i r n s i n I n n i s f a i l , w h e r e h e w o r k e d a s a n u r s e A N e w D e l h i c o u r t

approved Singh’s extradition in late January after he surrendered his appeal rights, which could have tied up the legal process for years

He was arrested in November 2022 on the outskirts of Delhi

Indian-American woman appointed to key judicial post

W A S H I N G T O N : T ej al Meh ta , an I ndi a n- Ame ri ca n wo man judge who promised to make a real impact to the commu nity and treat people with comp assion, has taken oath as th e first justice o f a district co urt in the US state of Massach usetts

She will serve as the first justice of the Ayer District Court Her swearing-in took place on Thursday

She has served as an associate justice with the same court and was unanimously selected and sworn in by Judge Stacey Fortes, chief justice of the District Court, on March 2, the Lowell Sun newspaper reported

“I'm confident that with her leadership

that the best is yet to come for the Ayer District Court,” said F o r t e s , c h i e f j u s t i c e o f t h e District Court, who selected M e h t a f o r t h e p o s i t i o n a n d swore her in during the ceremony “As a lawyer, you can help people, but you can only help them to a point,” Mehta said, adding that “As a judge, you can do so much more and get to the root of issues and talk to people in such a way that really gets through to them I have seen the same hopes and despairs in every court I have sat in as a travelling judge,” Mehta, who started her career in civil work, said

M a y a n k M P a t e l , 2 7 , o f L e x i n g t o n , entered a guilty plea in the US Eastern District Court on two counts: one count of generating visual depictions of a juvenile engaging in sexually explicit behaviour and another count of distributing and producing visual images, as per media

M e m b e r s o f t h e E l e c t r o n i c C r i m e Branch with Kentucky State Police went to Patel's home on January 23, 2023 after they suspected him of distributing and possessing explicit material

According to court documents, Patel's phone number was found on dozens of online communities tied to child sex abuse Officers found films and images of obscene m a t e r i a l i n v o l v i n g y o u n g c h i l d r e n a f t e r examining his laptop and iPhone, according to court filings His smart phone was used to create each and every photograph

According to testimony given in court, Patel created pornographic photos and films with a victim who was seven years old at the time Patel has belonged to 30 secret communities, one private group, for at least three months, and other private groups for an unspecified period of time

For his conduct, Patel faces a maximum of 50 years in prison, $500,000 in fines and supervised release between 10 years and life

Saudi Arabia set to introduce Yoga in universities: report

JE DD AH: Saudi Arabia is set to introduce yoga in its universities due to its significance for mental and ph ysical health , rep orted A rab Ne ws S eve ral agr eem ent s wi l l b e s i gned wi th maj o r u ni vers it ies i n S au di Arabia to supp ort and promote yoga o ver the next few month s, according to Saudi Y o ga C o mmi tte e P re si de nt No u f A lMarwaai

During her participation in the fourth session, titled "Development and Promotion of New Sports Games in Universities," AlMarwaai explained that the committee was striving hard to introduce yoga to universities, emphasizing the importance of practising it for health and wellness

"Yoga gives its practitioners many health benefits (for) both physical and mental wellbeing, she said, adding, one of the most important pillars of achieving Vision 2030 is to enhance participation in sports activities, and to achieve sports excellence locally, continentally, and internationally "

She added that yoga is not just meditation and relaxation as some might believe, b u t " i n c l u d e s A s a n a p o s t u r e p r a c t i c e , Pranayamas breathing techniques, Bandhas muscle control (and) then comes Dhayan and Yoga Nidra meditation and relaxation"

She added that the committee "aims to discover the talents of distinguished yoga practitioners in all types of yoga in general or Yogasana sports, to hone their talents, and support them to participate and represent the Kingdom in local and international t o u r n a m e n t s " T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t w a s recently made in Riyadh during a forum t i t l e d ' T h e R o l e o f U n i v e r s i t y S p o r t s i n

Supporting the Kingdom's Vision in Sports', organised by the Saudi Universities Sports Federation in cooperation with the Ministry of Education A number of experts and international leaders in university sports, led by t h e p r e s i d e n t o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Universities Sports Federation, Leonz Eder, and Paulo Ferreira, director general of the International University Sports Federation, attended the event

Tejal Mehta

Ukraine issue splits G20 ministers, joint statement eludes meet

The G20 foreig n ministers' meeting ended with a chair summary and outcome document rather than a j o i nt c o mm u ni qu e, a s f o rei g n m i ni st er S Jai s h ankar p ut i t, extremely polarised views on the U kraine issue, even thoug h there was significant meeting of minds on issues that d eveloping countries are grappling with The outcome was the same as what happened at the finance ministers’ meeting last week in Beng aluru where Russia and China blocked efforts to arrive at a consensus

J a i s h a n k a r c l a i m e d t h a t t h e divide on Ukraine could not be closed He highlighted other areas

where consensus had been reached,

i n c l u d i n g t h e n e e d t o p r o m o t e multilateralism, energy and food security, and terrorism

He said that the G20 foreign m i n i s t e r s m e e t i n g h a d n o t produced an outcome document in quite some time Similar to the finance ministers' meeting, Russia and China were singled out in the

o u t c o m e s t a t e m e n t a n d c h a i r summary for declining to support the Bali Declaration's paragraphs 3 and 4 on Ukraine India-US meet focuses on Ukraine, Indo-Pacific, clean energy US secretary of state Antony

B l i n k e n a n d J a i s h a n k a r h e l d a

bilateral meeting on the margins of the G20 meeting in which they d i s c u s s e d t h e U k r a i n e i s s u e , f o c u s e d o n c o o p e r a t i o n i n t h e Indo-Pacific, and reviewed bilateral ties

T h e U S S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t reported that they discussed joint initiatives to advance and broaden strategic technology and defence i n d u s t r i a l c o o p e r a t i o n , e n h a n c e f o o d , e n e r g y , a n d g l o b a l h e a l t h security, clean energy transition, c o u n t e r - n a r c o t i c s c o l l a b o r a t i o n , a n d w o m e n ' s e c o n o m i c e m p o w e r m e n t “ B l i n k e n a n d Jaishankar also discussed how to m i t i g a t e t h e g l o b a l i m p a c t s o f

Blinken, Lavrov talk in 1st meet since Ukraine war

The Ukraine issue prevented th e G2 0 f o re ign mi ni s te rs ' m eet in g from issuing a joint declaration, but US secretary of state Antony Bl i nke n a nd h i s Ru s si a n co u nterp art S ergey Lavro v to ok advantage of th e opp ortunity for a bri ef "co ntact," wh ich was th ei r first encounter since Russia began i ts a ll eged s p ec i al m il i tar y operation in Ukraine Blinken used th e o p p o rt u ni ty to c o nve y to Ru ssia that US will continue to unwaveringly suppo rt Ukraine “fo r as long as it takes to end the war ” B l i n k e n a l s o c a l l e d f o r Moscow's decision to leave the New START nuclear arms deal, which sets verifiable caps on the nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia, to be reversed There hasn't been a meeting since they were last s p o t t e d e a c h o t h e r a t t h e G 2 0 foreign ministers' summit in Bali in July 2022 While the western nations were criticising the war, L a v r o v r u s h e d o u t o f t h e G 2 0

summit

A Russian spokesperson said though there were no negotiations in the “contact”, which, according Russian authorities, took place at B l i n k e n ’ s b e h e s t “ H e ( L a v r o v ) spoke to him, standing, as part of the second session of the G20 No talks or real meeting took place,” s a i d t h e o f f i c i a l O n t h e N e w START deal, Blinken claimed he

a s s u r e d L a v r o v t h a t m u t u a l adherence is in both the US and Russia's best interests The US will always be prepared to engage in and take action on strategic arms control, just as we did even at the height of the Cold War, I assured h i m , r e g a r d l e s s o f w h a t i s occurring in the world or in our relationship, Blinken stated while speaking to the media

Adani share crash: SC sets up panel to probe ‘failures’

The Adani Group and other companies, whose shares ex peri enced a meltdown after the Hi ndenburg report on January 24, were suspected of vi olatin g laws governin g the s ec ur i t i e s ma r k e t Th e S up re m e C o ur t established a fi ve-member commi ttee, led b y f or me r S C j ud g e A M S a pr e , to i nvesti gate alleged regulatory failures in d e t e ct i n g an d p r e ve n t i n g su spe ct e d vi olations

A b e n c h o f C h i e f J u s t i c e D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said the committee will c o m p r i s e f o r m e r S B I c h a i r m a n a n d independent director of ONGC and several Tata Group companies O P Bhatt, former Bombay HC judge J P Devadhar, veteran banker K V Kamath, Infosys founder and non-executive chairman Nandan Nilekani and commercial law expert Somasekhar Sundaresan

The Supreme Court permitted Sebi to c o n t i n u e i t s i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o t h e allegations made in the Hindenburg report against the Adani Group, but it raised the concern that the market watchdog had not specifically mentioned an inquiry into an alleged violation of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules of 1957, which mandate the maintenance of a minimum public shareholding in a public limited company T h e S C b e n c h s a i d i t h a d b e c o m e

against volatility of the kind which has been witnessed in the recent past “We are o f t h e v i e w t h a t i t i s a p p r o p r i a t e t o constitute an expert committee for the a s s e s s m e n t o f t h e e x t a n t r e g u l a t o r y f r a m e w o r k a n d f o r m a k i n g recommendations to strengthen it,” the C J I - l e d b e n c h s a i d a n d a s k e d t h e committee to submit its report to the court “in a sealed cover ” within two months

Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, the US

a n d I n d i a ’ s

c o o p e r a t i o n i n

I n d o - P a c i f i c , a n d regional issues,” it said Russia says will target West Russian foreign minister Sergey

Lavrov and Jaishankar discussed

t h e U k r a i n e c r i s i s a n d o t h e r

i m p o r t a n t a r e a s o f b i l a t e r a l

c o o p e r a t i o n , s u c h a s e n e r g y , commerce, and investment, as well

a s t h e u s e o f c o m p l e m e n t a r y currencies to settle trade There w e r e d i s c u s s i o n s a l s o o n

A f g h a n i s t a n , S C O a n d B r i c s

cooperation and, as Moscow said, creation of a security architecture in the Indo-Pacific

The two leaders also discussed the effects of the Ukraine conflict l i k e f o o d a n d e n e r g y c r i s e s o n d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s “ A w i d e ranging discussion with FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia on #G20FMM sidelines Exchanged views on our b i l a t e r a l c o o p e r a t i o n a n d G 2 0 issues,” Jaishankar tweeted

India, Quad allies call for ‘just’ Ukraine peace, decry N-threat

Alt h o u gh I n di a h as n' t yet den o un c ed Ru s s ia 's ac ti o ns in Ukraine, it joined the other Quad nations in stating that the use or th re at o f nu c le ar we ap o n s i s "i nadmis sible" and calli ng for a j u st p e ac e b ec au s e, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken st ate d, aggr es s or s c an no t be allo wed to get away with their crimes

The Quad foreign ministers, i n c l u d i n g J a p a n ' s Y o s h i m a s a Hayashi, who travelled to India for the ministerial after skipping the G20 summit, for the first time mentioned the Ukraine issue in a Q u a d f o r e i g n m i n i s t e r s ' j o i n t statement in response to Russia's suspected use of nuclear coercion But, Ukraine was included in a joint text that the leaders released following their summit in Tokyo last year In a message to China, the Q u a d s t r o n g l y o p p o s e d a n y unilateral action meant to change the status quo or increase tensions

in the South and East China Seas, while reaffirming commitment for a free, open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific

A m i d C h i n a ’ s i n c r e a s i n g influence in the UN, the ministers committed to cooperate to address attempts to “unilaterally subvert the UN and international system, in consultation with our partners a n d t h r o u g h m u l t i l a t e r a l a n d international platforms’’

The ministers emphasised the necessity of a comprehensive, just, and long-lasting peace in Ukraine in accordance with international law, particularly the UN Charter, according to the joint statement on the Ukrainian conflict

Entities operating here must follow Indian law, Jaishankar tells Cleverly

In a meeting with h is Indian counterp art S J ai s h an kar , o ut si de th e G2 0 f or ei gn mini sters' meeting, UK fo rei gn secretary James Cleverly brou ght up action against the top p ublic servi ce broadcaster by Indian auth orities, further escalating th e BBC tax "survey" issue Jaishankar "firmly" instructed Cleverly, according to Indian so urces, th at any organisation do ing business in India mu st adhere to all ap plicable rules and laws

Court sends Sisodia to 14 days in judicial custody

Manish Si sodia, a former d ep u ty ch ie f m in i st er o f Delh i, was sentenced to 14 days in judicial prison by a s p e ci al c o u rt T h e co u r t a dded th at it wo u ld n o t p reve nt th e medi a fr o m covering th e sto ry

"If media is reporting, they are reporting As long as protests are peaceful, it is fine," the court of special judge M K Nagpal said

After the CBI's attorney claimed that the media was giving the case a "political colour," the judge made his comment

"In view of the submissions made and f u r t h e r k e e p i n g i n v i e w t h e f a c t s t h a t

investigation of the case is still pending to unearth the entire conspiracy and the r o l e o f o t h e r p e r s o n s i n v o l v e d t h e r e i n , t h e accused is remanded to JC till March 20, 2023 and he is d i r e c t e d t o b e p r o d u c e d b e f o r e t h i s c o u r t o n t h e above said date at 2pm physically, as has been requested on behalf of the accused Let his custody warrant be prepared, as per the applicable rules and guidelines," stated the court while sending Sisodia to judicial custody The CBI in its application did not seek custody of Sisodia but stated that it can seek the same later

Last week, during a House of Commons d i s c u s s i o n o n t h e s u b j e c t , t h e U K government defended the BBC by asserting t h a t i t s t o o d u p f o r t h e b r o a d c a s t e r ' s e d i t o r i a l i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d t h a t i t h a d brought the matter up with the Indian government “ T h e c o n v e r s a t i o n s I h a d w i t h h i m (Jaishankar) are best to keep with him I did raise it (the BBC issue),” Cleverly told media after his meeting with the Indian minister “One of the advantages of having such a strong and professional relationship with Jaishankar is I am able to bring up, and indeed he brings up with me, some of these sensitive issues,” Cleverly added

In the bilateral, the two sides looked to bolster ties in defence & security, trade and investment The two leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

The move came after the BBC aired a documentary on the Gujarat riots in 2002 t h a t i n c l u d e d a c c u s a t i o n s a g a i n s t P M Narendra Modi in his capacity as the state's c h i e f m i n i s t e r a t t h e t i m e I n c o m e - t a x authorities described the activity as surveys rather than raids On the day of the BBC office raids, UK officials had stated that they were closely watching the situation Government sources here said they had earlier too conveyed to UK that BBC had to c o m p l y w i t h l o c a l l a w s U K o p p o s i t i o n though sees the “raids’’ as retaliatory

Neiphiu Rio, Conrad Sangma take oath as Nagaland, Meghalaya CMs

N ati o na li s t De mo c rat ic Progressive Party’s Neiphiu Rio and National People’s Party chief Conrad Sangma t o o k o ath as th e Ch i ef Minister of Nagaland and Meghalaya resp ectively o n T u e sd ay Bo th t h e ceremonies were graced by P r im e Mi n is te r N are ndr a Modi

T a d i t u i R a n g k a u Z e l i a n g a n d Y a n t h u n g o Patton take oath as Deputy chief ministers of Nagaland i n K o h i m a D u r i n g t h e o a t h - t a k i n g c e r e m o n y i n M e g h a l a y a , G o v e r n o r

Phagu Chauhan swore in 1 2 - m e m b e r c o u n c i l o f ministers including NPP’s

Prestone Tynsong and BJP’s

Alexander Laloo Hek

M o d i a r r i v e d a t L o k p r i y a G o p i n a t h B o r d o l o i I n t e r n a t i o n a l Airport in Guwahati in the m o r n i n g , w h e r e h e w a s r e c e i v e d b y A s s a m G o v e r n o r G u l a b C h a n d

Kataria He then left for S h i l l o n g o n a h e l i c o p t e r where he was received by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda, who had reached there on Monday Assam Chief Minister and NEDA c o n v e n o r H i m a n t a B i s w a Sarma was also present On conclusion of the s w e a r i n g - i n c e r e m o n y o f t h e M e g h a l a y a government, Modi left for K o h i m a i n N a g a l a n d t o g r a c e t h e o a t h - t a k i n g c e r e m o n y o f N D P P ’ s

Neiphiu Rio as the state’s chief minister

The NDPPBJP coalition in Nagaland w o n 3 7 s e a t s i n t h e 6 0member Assembly in the r e c e n t l y - c o n c l u d e d Assembly polls All other p a r t i e s i n t h e s t a t e subsequently handed their letters of support to the R i o - l e d a l l i a n c e m a k i n g way for an Opposition-less g o v e r n m e n t i n t h e northeastern state S i n c e t h e s t a r t o f e l e c t i o n c a m p a i g n , b o t h N D P P a n d B J P h a d

Covid cases on the rise for 3 weeks now

projected 72-year-old Rio as their chief ministerial face His victory – with a 92 87 per cent vote share – from h i s s t r o n g h o l d N o r t h e r n

A n g a m i - I I w a s t h e m o s t resounding win of them all His only challenger was the C o n g r e s s ’ s S e y i e v e l i e Sachu Rio has won every state election he contested from the constituency since 1 9 8 9 H e w a s f i r s t a C o n g r e s s l e a d e r , t h e n joined the Naga People’s Front (NPF) leader and is currently in the NDPP fold Rio staked his claim to f o r m t h e g o v e r n m e n t i n Nagaland only on Monday evening

M o d i w i l l r e t u r n t o Guwahati in the evening

a n d h o l d a c l o s e d - d o o r m e e t i n g w i t h t h e A s s a m cabinet He will leave for A g a r t a l a o n W e d n e s d a y where Manik Saha-led BJP government will be sworn in

India, Italy to elevate their relationships to strategic partners

A t th ei r s u mmi t, P M N are ndr a Mo di an d h i s Italian counterpart Giorgia M elo n i e lev ate d th ei r b ilateral ties to th at o f a s tr ate gi c p art ner sh i p a nd s igned a memo randum o f u nderstanding fo r defence c o o p er ati o n M od i al so e xtended an i nvita tio n to I ta li an def en ce fi rm s to a ct i vel y t ake p ar t i n th e Make in India p rogramme “ T h i s y e a r I n d i a a n d Italy are celebrating the 75th a n n i v e r s a r y o f b i l a t e r a l relations On this occasion, we have decided to elevate the India-Italy partnership to the status of a strategic

Giorgia Meloni & Narendra Modi

partnership,” Modi said in a joint press statement with Meloni, who described him as the most loved leader in the world

According to Modi, the two nations also agreed to r e g u l a r l y o r g a n i s e j o i n t t r a i n i n g s e s s i o n s a n d exercises for their military

forces

Vinay Kwatra, the foreign secretary, said that Meloni shown a t h o r o u g h c o m p r e h e n s i o n o f I n d i a ' s s t a n c e o n U k r a i n e M o d i w a s asked for assistance by Meloni, the leader o f t h e m o s t f a r - r i g h t administration in Italy since World War II, in promoting a fair peace in Ukraine

“We both share the hope that India as G20 president can play a central role in f a c i l i t a t i n g n e g o t i a t i o n s towards a ceasefire and a just peace, ” Meloni said In

h i s r e m a r k s , M o d i s t a t e d t h a t I n d i a h a s b e e n v e r y c l e a r t h a t t h e U k r a i n e s i t u a t i o n c a n o n l y b e r e s o l v e d b y c o n v e r s a t i o n a n d d i p l o m a c y a n d t h a t India is completely prepared t o c o n t r i b u t e t o a n y p e a c e f u l r e a c t i o n H e p r a i s e d I t a l y ' s a c t i v e i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e I n d oPacific “It is a matter of great pleasure that Italy has decided to join the IndoP a c i f i c O c e a n I n i t i a t i v e T h i s w i l l e n a b l e u s t o identify concrete themes for enhancing our cooperation in the Indo-Pacific,” Modi said

Infrastructure push to make India developed by 2047: PM Modi

India will r each its goal of b e com i n g a d e v e lo p e d coun try by 2047, a ccor din g t o Prime Minister Na rendra M o di , w ho cla i m e d i nfr ast r uctur e de ve lopme nt i s t h e co u n t r y 's e c on o m ic e ngine “ N o w w e h a v e t o improve our speed and move in top gear, ” he said in a postBudget webinar Noting that the PM Gati Shakti Master Plan is a critical tool that i n t e g r a t e s e c o n o m i c a n d infrastructural planning with development, Modi said it will change the face of India's i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d multimodal logistics

The PM stated that the PM Gati Shakti Master Plan's e f f e c t s w e r e a l r e a d y b e c o m i n g a p p a r e n t " W e have located the weaknesses t h a t w e r e a f f e c t i n g t h e effectiveness of the logistics s y s t e m D u e t o t h i s , 1 0 0 i m p o r t a n t p r o j e c t s h a v e r e c e i v e d f u n d i n g t o t a l i n g

£7 5 billion as part of this year's Budget " " W i t h q u a l i t y a n d m u l t i m o d a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , our logistic cost is going to reduce further in the days to c o m e T h i s w i l l h a v e a positive impact on the goods m a d e i n I n d i a , o n t h e competence of our products A l o n g w i t h t h e l o g i s t i c s

sector, there will be a lot of i m p r o v e m e n t i n e a s e o f l i v i n g a n d e a s e o f d o i n g business," he added, inviting participation of the private sector According to Modi, the b u d g e t f o r t h i s y e a r w i l l p r o v i d e i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a f r e s h b o o s t H e s a i d t h a t compared to 2013–14, India's

c a p i t a l e x p e n d i t u r e h a d increased five times, and the g o v e r n m e n t i s m a k i n g progress towards its goal of i n v e s t i n g £ 1 , 1 0 0 b i l l l i o n t h r o u g h t h e N a t i o n a l I n f r a s t r u c t u r e P i p e l i n e Every stakeholder has new o b l i g a t i o n s , o p p o r t u n i t i e s , and courageous choices at this moment, he declared

SC collegium backs 7 names for elevation to Gujarat HC

Th e ce n t r a l go v e rn m e n t w a s a d vi se d t o promot e t wo attorn eys a nd five judges to the Gujarat high court's bench by t he Supreme Cour t collegium They are Devan De sa i and M ox a Th a k k e r , bo t h la w y e r s, a n d f iv e judicial officers Susa n Pinto, H D Suthar, JC Doshi, MR Me ngd ey an d DA Joshi The Gujarat HC’s collegium comprising the then chief just ice and t wo senior-most judges had r e co m me n d e d t h e se se v e n n a m e s in September 2022 The chief ministe r a nd the g ov e r n o r h a d a ls o con c ur r e d w i t h t he recomme ndations

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice

Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K M Joseph of the SC collegium stated that the SC judges

who are familiar with the activities of the Gujarat HC were approached to determine t h e a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s a n d f i t n e s s o f t h e a t t o r n e y s a n d j u d i c i a l o f f i c e r s f o r t h e i r elevation to the HC bench “For the purpose of assessing the merit and suitability of the candidates for elevation to the High Court of Gujarat, we have scrutinized and evaluated the material placed on record, including the inputs furnished by the Intelligence Bureau We have also perused the observations made by the department of justice in the file,” the collegium’s note reads

Although the Gujarat High Court is authorised to have 52 judges, there are now only 24 judges there

Co vi d- 19 in s tan ce s h av e be en s l o wly r is i ng wh i l e attention has been focused on th e recent spike in flu i nf ec ti o ns a cr o ss I nd ia Although overall detections stay very low and there h as been no increase in fatalities over the past three weeks, th ere has been a steady rise in Covid infections

India registered a week on-week spike of 63% in the seven days This followed a 39% increase in the previous week and a 13% rise in the week before

According to the media's Covid database, 1,898 new

C o v i d i n s t a n c e s w e r e reported in the nation last week, up from 1,163 and 839 cases each in the two weeks prior Although these figures are not yet significant, the steady increase would be cause for concern India's spike occurred in July of last year, when weekl y i n f e c t i o n s p e a k e d a t 140,000 from July 18 to 25, marking the longest stretch of increase since then In reality, cases have been edgi n g u p f o r f i v e s t r a i g h t weeks, with the first two w e e k s s e e i n g m a r g i n a l increases

India leads world in cutting internet access, watchdog says

I nd i a i m p o sed by fa r t he h i g h est nu m ber o f i ntern et shutdowns in the world in 2022, internet advocacy watchdog Access Now said , as the country topped the list for the fifth successive year

In a report, the New York-based digital rights advocacy o r g a n i z a t i o n s a i d t h a t o u t o f 1 8 7 i n t e r n e t s h u t d o w n s worldwide, 84 occurred in India, including 49 in Indianadministered Kashmir

"Authorities disrupted internet access at least 49 times in Kashmir due to political instability and violence, including a string of 16 back-to-back orders for three-day-long curfewstyle shutdowns in January and February 2022," the watchdog report added

Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between India and arch rival Pakistan, which claim the region in full but rule only parts Jammu and Kashmir, a state with a predominance of Muslims, lost its autonomy in August 2019 as a result of a decision made by the federally administered two-territory Bharatiya Janata Party administration, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi The government has since regularly imposed c o m m u n i c a t i o n s r e s t r i c t i o n s o n t h e r e g i o n o n s e c u r i t y grounds, which rights groups have condemned and described as measures to quash dissent

Ukraine was second on the list, with the Russian military cutting access to the internet at least 22 times after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24 of last year

Following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, on September 16th of last year while in police custody, there were widespread anti-government demonstrations in Iran last autumn Following this the Iranian government imposed restrictions on the use of internet to curtail the spread of dissent there The morality police in Tehran detained Amini for disobeying the hijab regulations, which call for women to completely conceal their bodies and hair

Main accused gets life term for Hathras rape-killing

A special SC/ST court in UP's Hathr as district found the ma in defendant guilty of the 2020 murder of a 19-y ear-old Dalit girl, more than two y ears after the incident made national headlines However , the court found the three other defendants innocent of all counts The court declared that only Sandee p had bee n found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder "but not rape," and had b een given a life sent ence The other three defendants were Ravi, LuvKush, and Ramu

On September 14, 2020, the victim's family had alleged that the girl was dragged into a farm and assaulted by four upper-caste men at a village under Chandpa police limits She was taken to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital for treatment, but eventually she died on September 29 due to multiple fractures, deep gashes on the body and tongue, and paralysis In her dying declaration before a magistrate in Aligarh, she had “named the four accused” Her family had then alleged that she was gang-raped

The hasty cremation of the victim's body after midnight in a public field close to their home contributed to the uproar The local authorities, according to her relatives, "forced" them to quickly and quietly perform her final rites They said that it was done "without their consent" and "they were not even permitted to bring the body home one last time But, according to the police, the cremation was performed "in accordance with the family's wishes"

Conrad Sangma & Neiphiu Rio

SC refuses plea for urgent hearing on Karnataka hijab ban

N E W D E L H I : M u sl im gi r l s tu d ent s in p r e- u ni ver si t y colleges who had dropp ed a year b y n ot ap p ear in g i n th e P UC examination protesting ban o n h ijab in Karnataka government scho ols and P U colleges, may lose the current academic year as th e S up reme Cou rt refused u rgent listing of the plea to allow them to appear with hijab for this year's examinations starting from March 9

A h i j a b c l a d a d v o c a t e s o u g h t urgent hearing of an application filed by 'Sharia Committee for Women' s e e k i n g a l l o w i n g h i j a b w e a r i n g Muslim girl students to appear in PUC examinations The committee has also challenged a Karnataka HC verdict upholding the state's decision to ban s t u d e n t s f r o m w e a r i n g r e l i g i o u s c l o t h i n g s , i n c l u d i n g h i j a b , t o government schools and colleges On O c t o b e r 1 3 l a s t y e a r , a t w o - j u d g e bench of the SC had given a split verdict on the validity of the ban, w h i c h w o u l d r e q u i r e t h e C J I t o constitute a three-judge bench for hearing afresh the appeals

With no working day available before March 6, when the SC goes for

PM Modi to visit poll-bound Karnataka on March 12

H U B B A LL I : P ri me

Mi ni s ter Na ren dra

Mo di will be vi siti ng poll bound Karnataka's Mandya and HubballiDh arwad dis tric ts on Ma rc h 12 , Uni o n P arl iame ntary Aff ai rs Minister P ralh ad Jo shi said

ED ISSUES FRESH SUMMONS TO PINARAYI AIDE

a week-long Holi festival break, CJI D Y C h a n d r a c h u d s a i d h e w o u l d constitute a three-judge bench which w o u l d c o m m e n c e h e a r i n g o n t h e pending appeals immediately after the c o u r t r e s u m e s j u d i c i a l w o r k f r o m

March 13

As the second PUC examination c o m m e n c e s f r o m M a r c h 9 , t h e advocate said, "Those who want to wear hijab to school and colleges have already lost an academic year last year because they were not permitted to enter the college premises wearing hijab What about this academic year? Should they lose this also?" The CJI said, "I cannot answer your questions I will constitute a bench and it will commence hearing on the pending appeals as soon as possible "

SC raps Punjab governor, CM for ‘unconstitutional’ behaviour

NEW DE LHI: The Supreme

C our t re pr im a n de d Ch ie f M i ni ste r B ha gw a n t Sin gh M ann for using disparaging l anguage to improperl y deny i nfo rm a t ion r e que st e d b y

Punjab Governor Banwarilal

Purohit The Governor had b een tr ying t o prolong the a sse m b l y ' s b udg et se ssio n i n violation of the Constitution

A bench of Chief Justice D Y C h a n d r a c h u d a n d J u s t i c e P S N a r a s i m h a d e c i d e d t o i m p a r t l e s s o n s o n t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l duties of the Governor and CM despite the Governor convening the budget session as requested by the Mann government just b e f o r e t h e h e a r i n g , w h i c h substantially met the demands of the AAP government T h e b e n c h c r i t i c i s e d t h e Governor's choice to seek legal c o u n s e l r e g a r d i n g t h e summoning of the House, despite t h e C o u n c i l o f M i n i s t e r s ' recommendation that he call the budget session on March 3 due to the "derogatory letter and tweets"

o f t h e C M T h e b e n c h c i t e d Article 174 of the Constitution and the Supreme Court's nearly 5 0 - y e a r - o l d d e c i s i o n i n t h e Shamsher Singh case “ I n v i e w o f t h e c l e a r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p r o v i s i o n s , i t leaves us in no manner of doubt t h a t t h e a u t h o r i t y , w h i c h i s e n t r u s t e d t o t h e G o v e r n o r t o s u m m o n t h e H o u s e , i s t o b e exercised in the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers This is not a constitutional area in which the Governor can exercise his discretion He is not required to seek legal advice on whether to summon the budget session of the assembly as he is bound by t h e a d v i c e o f t h e C o u n c i l o f Ministers,” the bench said

K O L K A T A: T h e vi ce - ch a nc el lo rs o f s i x state-aided u niversities whose extension o f service h ad been questioned by former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar handed t h ei r r es i gna ti o n to h is s u c ce ss o r, C V A nan da Bo s e, and go t a th r ee -mo n th extension with his app roval

Dhankar had questioned the extension of the VCs’ tenure because the government had issued the orders without his approval

The governor is the ex officio chancellor of all state-aided universities

An organisation of college teachers and researchers had filed a PIL in the high court challenging the extension of the tenure of t h e V C s o f 2 4 s t a t e - a i d e d u n i v e r s i t i e s , including those who went to Raj Bhavan last week, on the ground that the government

As the ruling BJP s t r e n g t h e n s i t s c a m p a i g n i n Karnataka, where elections are likely to take place on May, PM Modi has been visiting the state frequently since the beginning of the year to lay the groundwork for or inaugurate various projects and schemes He h a s a l s o b e e n g i v i n g s p e e c h e s a t l a r g e p u b l i c gatherings

"Prime minister will be visiting Karnataka on March 12 to attend programmes at Maddur in Mandya district and thereafter by around 2 PM will land in Hubballi to inaugurate IIT Dharwad, following which will address a mega public meeting nearby," Joshi said Speaking to reporters, he said there is official confirmation from the Prime Minister's office about the visit "It will be a first of its type major public gathering in Maddur as well As per the locals, there is no such large venue in Mandya and the surrounding areas to accommodate the huge crowd that gathers when PM Modi comes, thus a private field has been taken for the meeting he said

Shah meets Punjab CM over Ajnala clash

S h a h ’ s m e e t i n g w i t h P u n j a b

g o v e r n o r

Banwarilal Purohit

The Enforcement Directorate issued new summons to CM Raveendran additional private secretary to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan asking him to appear for interrogation in LIFE Mission case Though he was asked to be present he didn’t turn up before the agency The summons were issued on a day when purported WhatsApp chats between chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan s former principal secretary M Sivasankar and gold-smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh about her alleged meeting with the CM in 2019 regarding a job under the Non-Resident Keralite's Affairs (NORKA) department have surfaced This comes a day after the LIFE Mission controversy rocked the state legislative assembly

SENIOR BJP LEADER QUITS PARTY, JOINS AIADMK

BJP s Tamil Nadu IT Wing chief CTR Nirmal Kumar on Sunday lashed out against the party's state president K Annamalai and quit the party Within hours of announcing his resignation he met AIADMK interim chief K Palaniswami and joined the main opposition party In a statement Kumar charged the party s state leadership with showing scant disregard to party workers and even alleged Annamalai engaged in surveillance against many, a charge denied by a close associate of the leader "There is nothing more demeaning than rejoicing at the surveillance of own party members and functionaries," Kumar, a Madurai-based party worker, said

NEW DEL HI: Home Minister

A mit Shah met with Bhagwant

M a nn a nd s tres se d th e importance of the state police d e ali ng f i rm ly wi th su ch elements in light of the Ajnala incid ent in Punjab, in which the r ad i cal S i kh l ead er A m ri tp al S i ng h and h i s s up p o rter s s to rm ed a po li c e s tat io n brandishing swords and guns to d emand the release of his aide w h o w as b ei ng h el d o n kidnapping charges The meeting with Manna t t e n d e d b y P u n j a b h o m e secretary, DGP and intelligence o f f i c e r s - c a m e a d a y a f t e r

had not followed UGC procedures, including obtaining the chancellor’s approval

An official in the education department said six VCs resigned and got an extension signed by the governor

Sources said another group of VCs will go to Raj Bhavan to tender their resignation “ S e v e n V C s a r e a m o n g t h e 2 4 w h o s e a p p o i n t m e n t ( e x t e n s i o n a n d f u l l - t e r m appointment) did not have the chancellor’s s i g n a t u r e S o i t c r e a t e d a l e g a l complication Of them, six VCs submitted their resignation to the chancellor and each of them got an extension for a period of t h r e e m o n t h s , ” s a i d e d u c a t i o n m i n i s t e r Bratya Basu, who accompanied the VCs at a news conference Sources said the extension of the tenure

S i m i l a r c o n c e r n s are known to have been raised by Shah with the governor A c c o r d i n g t o s o u r c e s , S h a h c o m p l a i n e d a b o u t the way the Ajnala incidents were handled and the claimed inability of the Punjab police to resist the demands of A m r i t p a l S i n g h ' s r o w d y s u p p o r t e r s S e v e r a l h a v e c r i t i c i s e d t h e i r c h o i c e t o l e t Amritpal's assistant Lovepreet Singh go free, saying it may have given pro-Khalistan elements more confidence to challenge police enforcement again The police’s “soft” handling of Amritpal Singh, who moves around with a private army of 20-25 armed supporters, central agencies believe, has only made it increasingly difficult to rein him in

PANDEMONIUM IN PUNJAB ASSEMBLY

Pandemonium prevailed during the discussion on the Governor s address in the Punjab Assembly on Monday as heated arguments ensued between CM Bhagwant Mann and Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa when the latter was speaking on the address As Bajwa, while referring to AAP MP Raghav Chadha’s statement that the BJP flag should be put on offices of the central investigating agencies, said AAP should put its flag on the vigilance office Mann replied that whosoever was involved in misappropriation of public money would not be spared The CM while pointing towards the Opposition Congress benches said truth would soon come out and no one would be spared Bajwa questioned the CM for not acting” against former minister Fauja Singh Srari

12 INFANTS DIE OF RESPIRATORY INFECTION IN KOLKATA

of the seventh VC was found to be in order

“We will constitute search committees (for the appointment of full-term VCs) and bring an amendment to the law governing search committees The chief minister has worked this out as well,” the minister said Governor Bose, who was seated next to minister Basu, said: “What we witness here is the birth pangs of a new order and death throes of an old one The litmus test of education is its ability for conflict resolution We would like to take education to a kind of no-conflict zone Some technical issues were there in light of the Supreme Court order This has been amicably resolved with t h e v i c e - c h a n c e l l o r s t h e m s e l v e s c o m i n g

f o r w a r d t o t e n d e r t h e i r r e s i g n a t i o n voluntarily ”

Seven children have died due to respiratory infection in West Bengal in the last 24 hours, a senior health official said The government, in a statement, said till now 12 deaths from Adenovirus have been reported in the state with eight of them having comorbidities The government however did not term the seven deaths in the last 24 hours as deaths from Adenovirus Instead it said that acute respiratory infections (ARI) were common during the ongoing season The health authorities said, There is no evidence of viral epidemic at present In the last 24 hours, five children have died in state-run hospitals in Kolkata, and two at Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital,” the official said

6 Bengal VCs quit, governor extends their tenure by 3 months

Narendra Modi

Bhagwant Singh Mann & Banwarilal Purohit

Bhagwant Mann & Amit Shah

SC seeks to end monopoly of govt in selection of CEC, ECs

In a landmark decisi on, the S upre me C ourt a bol i sh ed the practise that had been popular since Independence by ordering that the Chief E lection Commissioner and E lection Commissi oners be chosen by a three-member committee made up of the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India

A f i v e - j u d g e c o n s t i t u t i o n b e n c h o f Justices K M Joseph, Ajay

R a s t o g i , A n i r u d d h a B o s e , H r i s h i k e s h R o y a n d C T

Ravikumar, in a unanimous verdict, disapproved of the p r e s e n t s y s t e m o f t h e Centre appointing members of the poll watchdog and b r u s h e d a s i d e t h e g o v e r n m e n t ’ s s t i f f o p p o s i t i o n t o j u d i c i a l interference in its domain

The bench said, “ECs, including the CEC, blessed with nearly infinite powers, must be chosen not by the e x e c u t i v e e x c l u s i v e l y a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h o u t a n y

objective yardstick,” it said

In its verdict running into 378 pages, the bench s a i d t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f C E C a n d E C s s h o u l d b e done in a manner so as not to frustrate their six-year tenure, saying that a short t e n u r e a l s o h a m p e r s t h e independence of the panel

The Supreme Court said any perception that a “ yes m a n ” a p p o i n t e d b y t h e Centre in the poll panel will d e c i d e t h e f a t e o f d e m o c r a c y h a s t o b e r e m o v e d a n d t h e c o m m i s s i o n s h o u l d b e made “fiercely independent,

India records hottest

February since 1901

h o n e s t , c o m p e t e n t a n d fair” “We declare that as far a s a p p o i n t m e n t s t o t h e p o s t s o f C h i e f E l e c t i o n Commissioner and Election C o m m i s s i o n e r s a r e concerned, the same shall be done by the President of India on the basis of the a d v i c e t e n d e r e d b y a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and, in case, there is no such leader, the leader of t h e l a r g e s t p a r t y i n t h e o p p o s i t i o n i n t h e L o k Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India

India reported its warmest F eb r u ar y sin ce p r o p er recor d-keeping began 1901, recor ding t he highest average maximum (day) temp er a t u r e ( 29 5 deg r e es Celsius) across th e country in over a century, even as t h e India M et eor o lo g ical D ep a r t me nt s ig n al l ed m o r e b it t er day s ah e ad with a forecast o f ho tter t h an no r m al su m mer in many p arts of th e country du r i ng t h e Ma r ch - M ay period Northwest India exper i e n c e d i t s w a r m e s t February on record, with average daytime temperatures up to 3 4% over avera g e , a n d c e n t r a l I n d i a e x p e r i e n c e d i t s s e c o n d warmest February, with an average maximum temperature more than 2°C above average The majority of n o r t h e a s t , e a s t , c e n t r a l , a n d c e r t a i n p o r t i o n s o f northwest India, including Delhi-NCR, are likely to have "above normal" maxim u m t e m p e r a t u r e s o v e r

SC junks Mallya’s plea against bid to declare him fugitive eco offender

The Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by billionaire Vijay Mallya opposing actions taken by a Mumbai court to d esignate him as a fugitive economic offend er and seize his assets

The apex court dismissed the petit i o n f o r n o n - p r o s e c u t i o n a f t e r t h e counsel representing Mallya submitted that he was not getting any instructions from the petitioner in the matter

“The counsel for petitioner states that the petitioner is not giving any instructions to the advocate for the petitioner In view of this statement, the petition is dismissed for non-prosecution,” a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal said

A s p e c i a l P r e v e n t i o n o f M o n e y L a u n d e r i n g A c t ( P M L A ) c o u r t i n

Mumbai received a petition from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) requesting that Mallya be designated as a fugitive" under the 2018 Fugitive Economic Offenders Act The top court, which had on December 7, 2018 sent notice to the ED on Mallya's petition, had refused to stay the proceedings

On January 5, 2019, the Mumbai special court had declared Mallya a ‘fugitive' under the Act Under the provisions of the Act, once a person is declared a fugitive economic offender, the prosecuting agency has the powers to confiscate his property Mallya, who escaped to the UK in March 2016, is sought after in India for the default of a loan of £900 million t h a t n u m e r o u s b a n k s p r o v i d e d t o Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) He filed a petition with the Supreme Court in 2 0 1 8 c o n t e s t i n g t h e B o m b a y H i g h Court's decision to deny his request for a stay of the proceedings before a special PMLA court in Mumbai on the ED's motion to designate him a fugitive economic offender under the new statute

TN CM says assault videos on migrant workers fake, dials Nitish Kumar

T amil Nadu police boo ked five people, inclu ding journalists and social media influencers, for spreading false information as rumours went viral of attacks o n migra nt wo rkers f rom no rth ern states Tamil Nadu chief minister M K S talin, meanwhile, issued a statement that no h arm would befall the migrant wo rk ers , wh o m h e c all ed “ bro th e rs who had helped in the develop ment of T amil Nadu” Stalin said h e had “ spoken to Nitish Kumar and assured h im th at all the workers in the state are o ur own workers Th ey help us in the development of our state and no harm will happen to them ”

f a c t - f i n d i n g t e a m o f o f f i c i a l s

from Bihar met Tamil Nadu police and labour department officials in Chennai and later told the media that they were c o n v i n c e d t h e r e p o r t s o f v i o l e n c e against migrant workers were fake “We met the office-bearers of the Bihar association (sic) and they told us that they don't have any problem We will also visit Coimbatore and Tirupur and meet the migrant workers and clear t h e i r d o u b t s a n d f e a r s , " s a

Balamurugan D, secretary in the Bihar rural development department

A team of officials from Jharkhand had already visited the state and seen f o r t h e m s e l v e s t h a t t h e r e w e r e n o attacks, TN officials said Twitter users Prashant Umrao of BJP, and Shubham Shukla and Yuvraj Singh Rajput were booked for posting false information

Cases were also registered against the e d i t o r o f D a i n i k B h a s k a r a n d

M o h a m m a d T h a n v e e r o f T h a n v e e r post S t a l i n s a i d t h e r u m o u r s s t a r t e d after a journalist from Bihar portrayed a private conflict in some other state as having happened in Tamil Nadu He appealed to TV channels, social media channels and platforms to adhere to media ethics and refrain from publishing news without checking the facts Guest workers flocked to Tamil Nadu for employment are assured of a peaceful life, basic amenities and due benefits and protection under labour laws, Stalin said Some who cannot tolerate this peaceful atmosphere are trying to denigrate the culture of the Tamil peo-

ple with the ill-intention of bringing a bad name to the government, he said, w a r n i n g o f l e g a l a c t i o n a g a i n s t rumour-mongers “It is highly condemnable that some people are doing such dirty politics on an issue that does not exist,” Stalin said

the time period, according to IMD's forecast for the summer season S C Bhan, an IMD scientist who published the s e a s o n a l o u t l o o k , w a s a s k e d i f c l i m a t e c h a n g e w a s t o b l a m e f o r t h e record-breaking February temperatures and the forec a s t o f h o t t e r s u m m e r days He responded that although the entire world i s e x p e r i e n c i n g c l i m a t e change and global warming, the attribution (direct link to climate change) is

typically a matter of diagn o s i s " T h a t m i g h t o r might not be a result of g l o b a l w a r m i n g , " h e remarked

Although the agriculture ministry is prepared to provide extension services and support to farmers in case of extreme weather events, Bhan, who oversees the hydromet and agromet advisory services of IMD, s a i d t h e r e h a s b e e n n o report of a negative impact of temperatures on farming operations so far

Govt defers FCRA licence of CPR for 6 months over ‘violations’

The p rominent public po licy think tank centre for Po licy Res ea rc h ( CP R) h as be en su sp en ded by h ome minis tr y u nde r th e F o r ei gn Co ntr i bu ti o n ( R egu l ati o n) Act, 2010 (FCRA), alleging “ p ri me f ac ie vio la tio ns o f p ro vi s io n s ” o f th e l aw Following th is susp ensio n, CPR is ineligible to receive or utilise the foreign fu nds It was set up 50 years ago and listed several agencies as i t s p a r t n e r s a n d d o n o r s , i n c l u d i n g N a m a t i t h a t c o u n t s O p e n S o c i e t y Foundation, founded by bill i o n a i r e G e o r g e S o r o s , a s o n e o f i t s “ s u p p o r t e r s ” Soros had recently linked PM Narendra Modi to the Adani controversy, only to be slammed by BJP as well as external affairs minister S Jaishankar CPR has been under the inspection of the income-tax department for alleged violations

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief

J u s t i c e o f I n d i a Y V Chandrachud who was in the CPR governing board, has been under the scrutiny of the income tax department for suspected violations

In a statement posted on its website, the think tank said it had received notices f r o m t h e t a x d e p a r t m e n t f o l l o w i n g t h e s u r v e y a n d had responded to them

“CPR has and continues to cooperate fully with the authorities We are in complete compliance with the law and are routinely scrutinised and audited by government authorities, includi n g t h e C o m p t r o l l e r a n d Auditor General of India

We have annual statutory audits and all our annual audited balance sheets are in the public domain There i s n o q u e s t i o n o f h a v i n g undertaken any activity that i s b e y o n d o u r o b j e c t s o f association and compliance mandated by law,” it stated

CBI questions Rabri Devi at home in land-for-job scam

T h e C e n t r a l Bu r e a u of I n v e st i g a t io n que st ioned for me r Biha r chief minist er R abri De vi in relation to a land-for-job r ailway recruit in g scheme in which her husband, ailing RJD le ader Lalu Prasad, t he ir two daug ht ers, a nd 14 other people a re accuse d of pa rticipating

The CBI team reached Rabri’s 10, Circular Road residence and questioned her for about four hours while RJD supporters staged a dharna outside alleging misuse of central agencies by the Centre The Economic Offences Unit of CBI had registered an FIR in New Delhi on May 18 last year and subsequently filed a chargesheet in the railway scandal in which aspirants allegedly gave more than 100,000 square feet of prime plots in Patna as bribe for Group D jobs to Lalu’s family members when he was railway minister in the

UPA government (2005-2009) Shiv Kumar Yadav, Rabri's attorn e y , s t a t e d t h a t " M a d a m h a s responded to all the queries posed by the CBI " Rabri, a member of the state legislative council, travelled to the Upper House to participate in the budget discussion after the CBI team had left It was the CBI's job, which they completed before departing They will nag us repeatedly, but we won t submit, she added

According to the CBI FIR, during Lalu's tenure as railway minister, 12 people were appointed as " s u b s t i t u t e s " i n s i x d i f f e r e n t r a i l w a y z o n e s

between 2004 and 2009 in exchange for seven instances of land transfers The agency claimed that Lalu took advantage of his position to gain financial advantage for himself and his family

Vijay Mallya

Rabri Devi

Irani teaches Gates how to make Khichdi

Union Minister Smriti Irani updates her social media and shares interesting posts that catch the attention. The minister created a buzz after sharing a video with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates "Recognising the Super Food of India and its POSHAN component When @BillGates gave tadka to Shree Ann Khichdi!" wrote Smriti Irani while sharing the video. In the clip, you c a n s e e B i l l G a

Nourishment campaign. The billionaire was seen alongside Irani, who showed him how to make tadka for khichdi Gates can be seen adding ingredients to a pan Once the tadka is ready, Irani swiftly pours it on top of the khichdi and Gates helps her to stir it. He also takes a few bites of the dish Over 477,000 people have viewed and commented on the post Many applauded Gates for acknowledging Indian culture and cuisine. Several also noted how well Smriti Irani guided Bill Gates during the khichdi preparation An individual joked, “Now this Khichdi will be called as Microsoft Khichdi.” A third person wrote, “Tadka is important in Khichdi ” Bill Gates also had a wonderful encounter with Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group. Anand Mahindra and Bill Gates also had a meeting, and the businessman posted a photo of them together on Twitter He revealed that Gates was a classmate of Mahindra's at Harvard University. (Agency)

t r i e d t o i n c h f o r w a r d a l o n g w i t h t h e baraatis, but he stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake Nine people were run over by the vehicle as it accelerated onward

Two of the injured were later pronounced dead at the hospital after being taken to a hospital The driver who was dancing at the time of the accident has been taken into custody (Agency)

Labourer’s son wins medal as town funds his trip

Newlyweds found stabbed to death before reception

A gang of stray dogs at Bandia village in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh mauled a t h r e e - y e a r - o l d g i r l t o d e a t h D o c t o r s determined that she had at least 200 dog bite marks on her body Pari, daughter of A v d h e s h G a n g w a r , a l a b o u r e r , w a s t h e youngest of four sisters and a brother Recently, Pari walked towards a field to play w h e n a r o u n d s e v e n - e i g h t h u n g r y d o g s pounced on her Locals said that a young person heard her crying for assistance and ran to save her When he rescued Pari from the dogs' grasp, he too got bitten When she was taken to the hospital, the medical staff pronounced her dead Pari’s uncle Jitendra Kumar said, “The dogs dragged her for nearly 50 metres and bit her all over the body, causing deep injuries, especially on the neck ” (Agency)

Woman locks self, son in house to avoid Covid, rescued

A team of police, health department officials, and members of the child welfare department broke open the main door of the house and rescued Munmun Majhi and h e r 1 0 - y e a r - o l d s o n i n G u r u g a m T h e mother and son were then brought to the public hospital According to civil surgeon Dr Virender Yadav, "The woman has some psychiatric problems Both of them are referred to PGI, Rohtak where they are a d m i t t e d t o t h e p s y c h i a t r i c w a r d f o r treatment" The matter came to light on February 17 when husband Sujan Majhi approached the police Sujan, who works for a private company as an engineer, was prohibited from entering the home by his w i f e a f t e r h e l e f t t o g o t o t h e o f f i c e following the first lockout in 2020 The mother and son are currently undergoing medical attention at the hospital (Agency)

Driver busy dancing, rookie drives away car, mows down 2

Two persons were killed and seven others injured after an SUV crashed into the baraat at a wedding celebration in MP's Shivpuri district Three of those hurt are suffering from critical injuries According to police, the Bolero driver got out to dance with the group, leaving the engine running Another man got into the driver’s seat and

Jai Prakash (19), a ju-jitsu player from Rudrapur, was on the verge of dropping out from the Asian championship in Thailand despite qualifying as he could not afford the travel expenses Prakash, whose father is a daily wager, needed assistance to meet the expenses So his coach and the district association head posted a request on social m e d i a S e v e r a l p e o p l e i n t h e t o w n responded, and they raised about Rs 85,000 so that the teen could compete in the event, w h i c h w a s h e l d a t B a n g k o k ' s R a n g s i t University from February 24 to 28 He not only travelled to Bangkok but also bagged the bronze medal in the men's 56 kg weight c a t e g o r y o f t h e i n t e n s e l y - f o u g h t competition (Agency)

Ex-HC judge held in disproportionate assets case

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested S N Shukla, a former judge of the Allahabad High Court, and was charged with having disproportionate assets They filed a lawsuit against him after discovering that between April 1, 2014, and December 6, 2 0 1 9 , h e h a d m a d e p u r c h a s e s a n d i n c u r r e d e x p e n s e s t o t a l i n g £ 4 0 0 , 0 0 0

However, his income from all known sources in the same period was only £150,000 The CBI filed an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Shukla, his second wife Suchita Tiwari, and Saideen Tiwari, Shukla's brother-in-law, along with other unnamed individuals According to the CBI, searches were conducted at Saideen's home in Amethi as well as the residences of Judge Shukla and Suchita in Lucknow During investigation, it surfaced that the ex- judge a l s o a c q u i r e d a s s e t s i n S a i d e e n ’ s n a m e (Agency)

A n e w l y - m a r r i e d c o u p l e w a s f o u n d dead with multiple stab wounds in a locked r o o m m i n u t e s b e f o r e t h e i r w e d d i n g reception in Raipur Police suspect the two quarreled after which one of them stabbed the other before ending life The couple24-year-old Aslam and Kahkasha, 22 were in a relationship for four years before the marriage It’s not known what triggered the tragedy Police report that the bride had at least 15 stab wounds, suggesting that the groom may have been the one to start the attack Family members and visitors were startled to hear cries coming from the couple's room during the reception They were screaming in agony, say police The screams went on for about a minute and then faded away Someone managed to find a peephole in one of the windows and saw the couple lying unconscious and splatters of blood everywhere and a knife lay next to the bride (Agency)

Woman completes half marathon on frozen lake

I n d i a ' s f i r s t f r o z e n l a k e m a r a t h o n , d u b b e d t h e " P a n g o n g F r o z e n L a k e Marathon," was held in the Pangong Tso in L a d a k h , a n d a y o u n g w o m a n f r o m Vadodara participated in it The World's Highest Frozen Lake Half Marathon was also recognised by Guinness Book of World Records Stuti Bakshi (30) was the only woman from Gujarat in the event in which 100 people participated Only nine women participated in the event, including four from Ladakh and the remaining from other parts of the country, Bakshi said Bakshi had participated in four half marathons earlier, but this was the first time she participated in such an event at a high altitude And she ended up being successful i n h e r m o s t c h a l l e n g i n g r u n s o f a r completing the distance of 21 9 km in four hours (Agency)

US woman gives birth To 'MoMo' twins

monochorionic twins are referred to as "MoMo," which stands for these types of twins The fluid, amniotic sac, and placenta were all the same Less than 1% of all births in the United States are MoMo twins, making them some of the rarest types of twins At 25 weeks pregnant, Alba was hospitalised to the High-Risk Obstetrics Unit Doctors indicated that their goal was to deliver the twins via caesarean section, as per the nation's standard, at 32 to 34 weeks d u e t o t h e i n c r e a s e d r i s k o f s t i l l b i r t h associated with MoMo deliveries (Agency)

Mechanical elephant for performing rituals

A mechanical, l i f e l i k e e l e p h a n t was employed for r i t e s a t t h e

Irinjadappilly Sri K r i s h n a T e m p l e i n K e r a l a ' s T h r i s s u r r e g i o n , marking a first With the help of the actor Parvathy Thiruvothu, PETA India donated the elephant to the temple The iconic lifel i k e m e c h a n i c a l e l e p h a n t n a m e d Irinjadappilly Raman is 10-and-a half feet in h e i g h t w h i l e 8 0 0 k g i s t h e w e i g h t Electricity powers the elephant's head, eyes, mouth, ears, and tail PETA India developed the artificial elephant in response to the temple's request that no elephants or other animals ever be kept or hired for rituals, c e l e b r a t i o n s , o r a n y o t h e r p u r p o s e Irinjadappilly Raman's "Nadayiruthal" (a ceremony to offer the elephants to Gods) was conducted Kerala's temple festivities are often considered incomplete without elephants (Agency)

Scared of leopard attack, farmer cages himself

In a rare instance, a woman in the United States had consecutive pregnancies that resulted in the birth of two pairs of identical twins Britney Alba found out she was expecting twins again about six months after giving birth to her first set of twins c

A f a r m e r i n the Aravalli village o f B h a t k o t a i n Gujarat has been enclosing himself i n a c a g e f r o m d u s k u n t i l d a w n in order to defend himself from a leopard family he claims to have recently sighted T h e 7 0 0 o r s o v i l l a g e r s w h o l i v e h e r e hunker down in their houses as the sun sets and put their cattle in secure barns To protect his wheat and peanuts crops, Bharat Barot enters his field while carrying a blanket and a lathi with a machete attached He then locks himself inside a cage “I have been following this practice for six months when a leopard attacked me near my farm Before this incident, nobody believed me when I told them that I saw a leopard And now, after I told them that I saw a leopard couple with their cubs near a temple, the villagers are terrified,” said Bharat, a small farmer (The Times of India)

Stray dogs kill UP girl, leave 200 bite marks

Walking 11 minutes a

p h y s i c a l a c t i v i t y M o d e r a t ei n t e n s i t y p h y s i c a l a c t i v i t y i s defined as activity that raises the h e a r t r a t e a n d m a k e s p e o p l e breathe faster, but not so fast they can’t speak

d i s e a s e , a n d c e r t a i n c a n c e r s , including those of the head and neck and myeloid leukemia

As per the largest-ever pooled d a t a a n a l y s i s , o n e i n 1 0 e a r l y d e a t h s c o u l d b e a v o i d e d i f

e v e r y o n e m e t j u s t h a l f t h e recommended weekly target of 150 m i n u t e s o f m o d e r a t e - i n t e n s i t y

Pandemic severely impacted young adults: Study

A new study has fou nd th at the pandemic has severely i mp a c ted p eo p l e ’ s m ent al h ealth and relationships all o ver the world The th ird annual mental state of the world repo rt (MSW) commissioned by S apien Labs, a non-pro fit research o rganization, conducted a global survey to better u nderstand mental health The research c o mp i l ed re sp o n se s f ro m o ver 400,000 pa rtic ip an ts a cr o ss 64 co u n tri es , wh o were asked questions about t he ir fami ly rel ati on sh i p s, friendship s and overall mental well-being

They found that there has been a little recovery in d e c l i n i n g m e n t a l h e a l t h during the pandemic The survey found that on a 300p o i n t s c a l e , t h e a v e r a g e s c o r e h a d d e c l i n e d b y 3 3 p o i n t s o v e r t h e p a s t t w o years and remained at the same level as in 2021 It also f o u n d t h a t y o u n g a d u l t s were more likely to have mental challenges compared with previous generations

People aged 18 to 24 also

had a lower “social self” and were three times more likely not to get along with family members, reporting higher r a t e s o f f a m i l y i n s t a b i l i t y and conflict They were also more likely not to have close f r i e n d s c o m p a r e d w i t h those 75 and older

The study noted, “This pattern, apparent even prior to the pandemic, represents a sharp reversal of patterns documented prior to 2010, i n d i c a t i n g a d r a m a t i c decline in mental wellbeing with each younger generation rather than an increase in wellbeing as we age ”

The research stated that

f a m i l y r e l a t i o n s h i p s a r e d i m i n i s h i n g w o r l d w i d e , which could hurt a person ’ s mental health People with n o c l o s e f r i e n d s h i p s a n d poor familial relationships are 10 times more likely to e x p e r i e n c e p o o r m e n t a l health

T a r a T h i a g a r a j a n , founder and chief scientist at Sapien Labs, said, “These data suggest that we have n o t f u l l y a p p r e c i a t e d t h e profoundly relational nature of the human psyche As much as we may believe that we are each independent, our wellbeing is profoundly relational in nature ”

Diabetic neuropathy patients can get help from spinal cord stimulation

A study found that diabetic n europathy, which re sults i n nerve loss, can cause disc omf o r t a n d n u mb n e ss, m ost f r e q u e n tl y i n t h e han ds and feet Ove r 25% of t he 37 mi lli on Ameri cans w ho ha ve d i ab ete s suf fe r f r o m t he p a i n f u l i ll n e ss k nown as diab etic neuropathy "Dia beti c ne uropa thy often results in poor q uali ty of li fe, depression, anxi ety an d i mpaired sleep, and the a vai la ble me dica tion s can b e i n e f f e ct i v e f o r m an y people or have si de effects that people can't tolerate," s ai d stu d y a ut h or E ri k a P e t e rse n , MD, of t h e U niversi ty of Arkansas

Two hundred and sixt e e n p a r t i c i p a n t s w i t h painful diabetic neuropat h y s y m p t o m s t h a t w e r e

unresponsive to treatment f o r a t l e a s t a y e a r w e r e included in the trial For a period of six months, the other half of the participants also received routine medical care Just standard medical care was provided to half A change to the alternative treatment was available to patients after six months For a total of t w o y e a r s , p e o p l e w e r e monitored

A s u b c u t a n e o u s l y implanted device is used in spinal cord stimulation In order to prevent pain sign a l s f r o m r e a c h i n g t h e brain, the device stimulates the spinal cord electrically

After six months, the people who received stimulation reported 76% decrease i n t h e i r a v e r a g e p a i n

amount, while the people who did not receive stimulation had a 2% increase in t h e i r a v e r a g e a m o u n t o f pain In tests of their motor f u n c t i o n , s e n s a t i o n a n d r e f l e x e s , i m p r o v e m e n t s

were seen in 62% of those receiving stimulation compared to 3% of those receiving medication only

At six months, 93% of those eligible to cross over a n d r e c e i v i n g m e d i c i n e only preferred to receive stimulation, while none of those receiving stimulation desired to receive medicat i o n o n l y T h e a v e r a g e amount of discomfort was found to have decreased by 80% after two years, while motor function, sensitivity, and reflexes had improved by 66% more

D r S ø r e n B r a g e , o f C a m b r i d g e ’ s M e d i c a l R e s e a r c h Council (MRC) epidemiology unit said, “If you are someone who finds the idea of 150 minutes of m o d e r a t e - i n t e n s i t y p h y s i c a l activity a week a bit daunting, then our findings should be good news Doing some physical activity is better than doing none This is also a good starting position – if you find that 75 minutes a week is

manageable, then you could try stepping it up gradually to the full recommended amount ” R e s e a r c h e r s l o o k e d a t 1 9 6 p e e r - r e v i e w e d a r t i c l e s , c o v e r i n g more than 30 million participants from 94 large study cohorts They t h e n e x a m i n e d t h e a s s o c i a t i o n between levels of physical activity a n d t h e r i s k o f h e a r t d i s e a s e , c a n c e r a n d e a r l y d e a t h T h e y found accumulating 75 minutes a w e e k o f m o d e r a t e - i n t e n s i t y activity lowered the risk of early death by 23 per cent It was also e n o u g h t o r e d u c e t h e r i s k o f cardiovascular disease by 17 per cent and cancer by seven per cent

Researchers create new technology to enhance cancer detection, treatment

Re sea rcher s at t he University of Te chnology Sydney have cr e a t e d a n ov e l t o ol t h a t e n a ble s d o ct o r s t o s k ip i n va s iv e bi op sy op e r a t io n s a n d t r a ck t r e a t me n t e ff e ct i v e n e ss b y d e t e c t in g a n d a n a lys in g ca n ce r ce lls fr o m bloo d sa m pl e s P r of e ss or Ma j i d W a r k i a n i fr o m t he U T S S ch oo l o f Biomedica l Engine ering sa id get ting a biopsy can cause d i sco mf or t t o p a t ie n t s , a s well as an incre ased risk of complications due to sur gery a n d h ig h e r c os t s, bu t a n a c cur a t e c a n ce r d i a g no H e s a i d , “ M a n a g i n g c a n c e r through the assessment of t u m o u r c e l l s i n b l o o d samples is far less invasive than taking tissue biopsies It allows doctors to do repeat tests and monitor a patient's response to treatment ” The Static Droplet Microfluidic

d e v i s e i s a b l e t o r a p i d l y d e t e c t c i r c u l a t i n g t u m o u r cells that have broken away from a primary tumour and entered the bloodstream

The device uses a unique m e t a b o l i c s i g n a t u r e o f c a n c e r t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e tumour cells from normal blood cells The study has been published in the peerreviewed scientific journal B i o s e n s o r s a n d Bioelectronics "In the 1920s, O t t o W a r b u r g d i s c o v e r e d that cancer cells consume a lot of glucose and so produce m o r e l a c t a t e O u r d e v i c e

monitors single cells f o r i n c r e a s e d l a c t a t e u s i n g p H - s e n s i t i v e fluorescent dyes that d e t e c t a c i d i f i c a t i o n a r o u n d c e l l s , " s a i d Professor Warkiani "A single tumour cell can exist among billions of blood cells in just o n e m i l l i l i t r e o f b l o o d , making it very difficult to f i n d T h e n e w d e t e c t i o n t e c h n o l o g y h a s 3 8 , 4 0 0 c h a m b e r s c a p a b l e o f isolating and classifying the n u m b e r o f m e t a b o l i c a l l y active tumour cells," he said Once the tumour cells are identified with the device, t h e y c a n u n d e r g o g e n e t i c a n d m o l e c u l a r a n a l y s i s , w h i c h c a n a i d i n t h e diagnosis and classification o f c a n c e r a n d i n f o r m p e r s o n a l i s e d t r e a t m e n t plans

6 ways to add whole grains to your diet

The staple Indian diet is the right mix of fibre, vitamins, minerals, protein, and other essential nutrients The usual plate of roti (flatbread), sabzi ( curry), and dal ( lentils ) us ua ll y f i x f or t he k ey s uppl em en ts However, when you don’t feel like eating roti, you can cut the monotony using these alternative whole grains and still gai n the same nutrition I n h i s r e c e n t I n s t a g r a m p o s t , nutritionist Bhuvan Rastogi said, “Rotis are a very good source of fibre, but not all of us know how to make them Replacing it with processed grains will be useless, as they have little fibre content Whole grains can be a better option, as the alternatives discussed in this post have high fibre content and are easy to incorporate into your diet ” R a s t o g i s u g g e s t s s o m e w h o l e - g r a i n options that are easy to incorporate into your diet:

1 Wheat daliya or Bulgur

Wheat daliya is easily available and is a coarse form of wheat with intact fibre Bulgur, however, is available in Western countries and is already partly cooked It's like rolled oats but made up of wheat, making it a convenient whole-grain option

2 Barley daliya

Barley has a higher fibre content than wheat, jowar and oats Barley daliya is a convenient way to add fibre to your meals

3 Quinoa and oats

There are the most common wholegrain options in the West and hence the most famous Their nutritional values are comparable to the other options like wheat, daliya and barley

4 Rajgira/Amarnath

This local pseudo-grain is from the same f a m i l y a s q u i n o a , w i t h c o m p a r a b l e n u t r i t i o n I t ' s e a s y t o c o o k a n d d i g e s t , making it a good option for your whole grain needs

5 Split Jowar and Sorghum

Jowar is a type of millet that is a good alternative to rotis but hard to add to your meals But split jowar can be an easy way to accommodate the goodness of jowar into your diet

6 Samak/Vrat Chawal

Samak/Vrat Chawal is not rice but a millet with comparable fibre content to other whole grains, much higher than rice

"Most whole grains have a comparable f i b r e o f a b o u t 1 0 g p e r 1 0 0 g ( i n c l u d i n g quinoa and oats) Barley has a higher fibre content of 14-17g Choosing one over the other makes very little difference On the other hand, processed grains will always h a v e m u c h l e s s o r e v e n n o f i b r e , s o incorporating whole grains over processed ones makes a much bigger difference to your well-being,” Rastogi concludes

Piyush Mishra says he was sexually abused as a child

Actor Piyush Mishra recently opened up about a traumatic incident from his early life, when he was sexually assaulted by a female relative around 50 years ago He has referred to the incident that happened when he was in the seventh standard, in his autobiographical novel ‘Tumhari Auqaat Kya Hai Piyush Mishra.’

Amitabh Bachchan hurt during shoot in Hyderabad

Actor Amitabh

Bachchan

suffered an injury to his rib cage while shooting an action scene for a film here last week and was treated in a private hospital in the city before being flown to Mumbai with advice to rest at least a month. Bachchan wrote about the accident in a blog post, also requesting fans not to turn up outside his home Jalsa like they usually do as he wouldn’t be able to meet them at the gate

“In Hyderabad at shoot for Project K, d u r i n g a n a c t i o n s h o t , g o t i n j u r e d , r i b cartilage popped, broke and muscle tear to the right rib cage Cancelled shoot, did doctor consult and scan by CT at AIG h o s p i t a l i n H y d e r a b a d a n d f l o w n b a c k home,” Bachchan (80) wrote

I n a n i n t e r v i e w , P i y u s h s a i d t h a t although the incident deeply impacted his life, he never wanted to take “ revenge ” on that person He said, “Sex is such a healthy thing that your first encounter with it should be good, otherwise, it scars you for life, it disturbs you for life That sexual assault gave me complex throughout my life and it took me a long time and several partners to come out of it I wanted to hide the identity of some people Some of them are women, and some men who are now well established in the film industry I did not want to take revenge against anybody, or to hurt anyone ” H i s b o o k n a r r a t e s h i s d e c a d e s - l o n g journey into the Indian film industry and his numerous struggles and hardships before getting recognition among audiences He said, ”I wanted to write a novel for a long time, but now it is out of the way I don't want to stay as a music director, neither do I want to sing I don't want to just act Now, I have film direction on my mind That is something I want to explore Let's see when that happens ”

K n o w n a s a n a c t o r , s i n g e r , a n d c o m p o s e r , P i y u s h ' s a u t o b i o g r a p h y i s narrated through the character of Santap Trivedi, or Hamlet, as he was known in his alma mater, the National School of Drama (NSD) In the book, Piyush also talks about his interest in acting and theatre; even though his father pressured him to pursue a career in medical science, he eventually dropped out and decided to join NSD at the age of 20

Huma Qureshi roasts Farah Khan's airport look

Choreographer-director Farah Khan was recently spotted at the Mumbai airport with brother-filmmaker Sajid Khan, where she was surprised to see paparazzi waiting at the airport for them Also with them was actor Huma Qureshi, who was featured in a funny video from the airport that Farah posted on Instagram The video showed Huma roasting Farah, asking her why she wore a bedsheet

Surprised by the paps, Farah asked them, ‘Kisne bully apko idhar ye bolo? (Who called you all here tell me that?) She t h e n a s k e d t h e m t o c l i c k p i c t u r e s o f Huma’s new car, which made the actress laugh Farah chose a printed green outfit, whereas Huma wore a red shirt and denim

Later, Farah took to Instagram to post a funny video on the way to the flight She said that she organised a charter coach for

everyone to reach the flight and pointed t h e c a m e r a t o w a r d t h e f a c e s o f h e r companions In the video, Huma takes the phone from Farah and asks her why she is wearing a bedsheet Farah seemed miffed at this comment and took the phone away from Huma She wrote in the caption: "Pls call me to organise your next trip (funny face emoji)”

Last month, Farah hosted a party to celebrate with the ‘Bigg Boss’ contestants, which his brother Sajid Khan was a part of Many ‘Bigg Boss 16' contestants, such as S h i v T h a k a r e , N i m r i t K a u r A h l u w a l i a , S h a l i n B h a n o t , S o u n d a r y a S h a r m a , A r c h a n a G a u t a m a n d A b d u R o z i k , a t t e n d e d t h e p a r t y S h e w r o t e i n h e r caption, "Party of the year!! Bigg Boss 16 my favourite show MANDLI ROCKS PS MC Stan singing anthem for the first time ”

Shweta Bachchan says she's been ‘tougher’ with daughter than son

Ranbir urges reporter to not spread rumours over Alia’s involvement in new film

Actors

Shraddha Kapoor and Ranbir

Kapoor are currently busy individually promoting their upcoming movie ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar,’ which will be released on March 8 Many questions about why they aren’t seen together at promotional events have been raised At a recent media interaction, Ranbir was asked if his wife and actor Alia Bhatt were why he did not promote the movie with his co-star The actor gave a witty response and asked the reporter not to “spread rumours” about him

Amitabh

Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan’s daughter Shweta Bachchan recently admitted to not being “even handed” while raising her children - Navya Naveli Nanda and son Agastya Nanda. She asserted that she had to be tougher with her daughter as the world isn’t easy for women, but added that Navya

Sushmita Sen reveals she had a massive heart attack

Sushmita Sen revealed she had a “massive heart attack” just days after announcing she had undergone heart surgery Speaking with her fans on her Instagram page, she said she had 95 per cent blockage in one of her main arteries The actress started a live session by thanking everyone around her for their quick and prompt action in saving her life when she suffered a heart attack. She also named most of the people individually and said that she had written down the names to ensure she did not miss any of those.

S h e a l s o a d d r e s s e d o n e o f t h e d i s c u s s i o n s h a p p e n i n g o n s o c i a l m e d i a these days, the effects of physical exercise She said, "I know a lot of you will stop going to the gym and say, 'see, going to the gym did not help her ' But that is not good It did help me I survived a very, very big heart attack It was massive heart attack, with 95

% blockage in one of my main a r t e r y I s u r v i v e d b e c a u s e I have kept an active lifestyle I am very lucky to be on the other side It doesn't put fear in m e , i n s t e a d , I n o w h a v e a f e e l i n g o f p r o m i s e t o l o o k forward to something," said the actor

In the video, Sushmita had a hoarse voice and assured fans that it was not serious “Before you guys think it is something serious, let me tell you that I had viral throat infection I still have some residue (of the infection) So, my voice sounds very exciting so just bear with it I could not wait any longer to talk to you guys I have come to see you guys and tell you all that I am a very, very lucky girl,” she said, smiling

She also responded to fan messages urging her to be back on screen as ‘Aarya ’ She said, “Once I get a clearance from my doctors, I will be off to Jaipur to finish Aarya and I will also be working on the dubbing for Taali ”

had her choice to live life in her own way.

She said, “I’ve been tougher on Navya, because I feel the world isn’t easy on women, and you have to be that much stronger, and that much more vigilant and careful Not about deadlines or stuff like that Also, their personalities are very different I would like to think that Agastya’s an old soul Navya is a little naive, and I’m a little more nontrusting of certain friends and relationships I would be a little careful about (things), and talk to her about Of course, she has the liberty to live her life the way she wants ”

Shweta added, “The only time we had a really big disagreement about something she wanted to do, and I really vetoed it in a really strong way was the belly piercing She had it done, and I just removed it,” Shweta recalled while Navya burst out laughing She added, “I think Navya has a lot of my mother in her She has a lot of conviction, and it’s not easy to shake that She’s passionate about a lot of causes, and is vocal about them She’s comfortable about coming on stage and talking about things she believes in than someone like me; I’m very shy, and not good at all this ”

This is not the first time the actor was a s k e d t h e r e a s o n b e h i n d t h e i r s e p a r a t e appearances during the film’s promotions He had previously said that the makers wanted the fresh on-screen pair to be seen by audiences in the theatres first In a video doing the rounds on the internet, the actor was seen laughing from the interaction W h e n a s k e d a b o u t A l i a B h a t t ’ s involvement in ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar’s promotional strategy, he said, "Wo kyun mana karegi? Aap aise hi afwah uda rahe hai Aisa kisi ne nahi bola hai, aap controversy create kar rahe ho Aaj kal mere life mein koi controversy nahi hai (Why will she stop me? You are spreading rumours, Alia has not made any such statement, you are trying to c r e a t e a c o n t r o v e r s y T h e r e i s n o controversy in my life at present) ”

In another interaction, Ranbir said he was looking forward to reuniting with his wife and their daughter Raha when they r e t u r n f r o m K a s h m i r A l i a i s c u r r e n t l y f i l m i n g t h e r e f o r h e r u p c o m i n g d r a m a ‘ R o c k y A u r R a n i K i P r e m K a h a n i ’ w i t h f i l m m a k e r K a r a n J o h a r a n d h e r c o - s t a r

Ranveer Singh

On the work front, Ranbir will be next in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's ‘Animal’ alongside R a s h m i k a M a n d a n n a A n i l K a p o o r a n d Bobby Deol also feature in the film set to be released this year

Started seeking validation from audience after Sridevi’s death, says Janhvi

Actress Janhvi Kapoor

opened up about having a “weird sense of relief” after her mother's death, ace actor Sridevi. Talking about Sridevi’s death, she called herself “stupid” for seeking validation from the audience when her first film was released

In discussions with Barkha Dutt for Mojo Story, Janhvi said, “When I lost mom, of course there was this huge tragedy, there was a hole in my h e a r t B u t t h e r e w a s t h i s h o r r i b l e f e e l i n g o f “ s o m e t h i n g b a d h a s happened” to justify all the great things in my life and all the privileges and the things that I got easily which I heard my entire life I thought ‘Ok now something bad has happened I deserve this I deserve this horrible thing that has happened to me It was a weird sense of relief ”

Janhvi said she dove right into

work to cope with the loss “During Covid I was forced to spend a minute w i t h m y s e l f , a n d thoughts, and I realized actually how damaged I was Another aspect of it that I reflected on, that I think really messed me up was the validation and a p p r o v a l t h a t I s o u g h t f r o m m y m o t h e r I g a v e t h e a u d i e n c e t h a t responsibility ”

She added, “Not everyone in the world is going to love you like your mother So, when my first film came out I was like ‘I will get the audience’s love through mom and it will be her ’ That was stupid of me, because a, it was my first film, and b, with the baggage of privileges with me, not everyone is out to love you And, I could have done a better job ”

Almost 6 months later, Janhvi's debut film, ‘Dhadak’ was released in theatres, also starred Ishaan Khatter

Yami reacts to a Twitter user who said she needs better PR

Actor Arshad Warsi, wife barred from stock market

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred 31 entities, including actor Arshad Warsi, his wife Maria Goretti and promoters of Sadhna Broadcast from the market. The move is related to misleading videos on YouTube channels luring investors to buy the TV channel’s shares.

Actress

Yami Gautam recently responded to a Twitter user who said she needed to hire a better PR agency. While she agreed that celebs with PR managers were doing well, she said that relying on “PR heavy activities, reviews, trends, perceptions, image” was not her thing The actress added that she did not judge celebs for doing so However, she wanted her work to speak for itself

Yami tweeted, "I see the power of PR heavy activities/ reviews/ trend/ perceptions/ image etc which actors are relying on, and I judge no one But I am a strong believer in ‘YOUR WORK IS YOUR BEST PR’ It’s a longer route but takes you the correct way ' The original tweet Yami responded to read, "All Yami Gautam needs to do is hire better PR agency It would do wonders to her career ”

On the work front, she was recently seen in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s thriller ‘Lost’ alongside Pankaj Kapur, Rahul Khanna, and Tussah Pandey She will be seen next in ‘Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga’ alongside Sunny Kaushal and Sharad Kelkar The movie will be out on March 24 on Netflix It is sent inside a hijacked plane, with Yami playing the role of an air hostess and Sunny, her boyfriend and accomplice, reportedly on a mission to steal diamonds from the flight cargo to free themselves from debt

S a d h n a ’ s p r o m o t e r s h a v e a l s o b e e n restrained from the market The regulator has impounded illegal gains of £4 19 million made after the videos were uploaded Sebi n o t e d t h a t W a r s i m a d e g a i n s o f R s 29,40,000, while his wife profited by Rs 37,60,000

T h e o r d e r c a m e a f t e r S e b i r e c e i v e d complaints that alleged there was price manipulation and offloading of shares (also k n o w n a s p u m p a n d d u m p ) b y c e r t a i n entities in the Sadhna scrip The regulator then found a spurt in the price and volume of Sadhna scrip between April and mid-July 2 0 2 2 S u b s e q u e n t t o t h e r e l e a s e o f t h e videos, there was an increase in the price and trading volume of the Sadhna scrip

Massive crowd gathering for Kartik Aaryan in the US

Kartik Aaryan recently attended a Holi fest in Dallas, USA and was amazed by the turnout, which many believe was the biggest crowd for an Indian actor at an outdoor event in the country Aaryan shared a video from the event where he is seen standing on a car's roof while surrounded by a massive crowd of fans

He is seen grooving to his ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 ’ title song and performing its hook step He also waved to his fans and greeted them with folded hands Kartik wrote along with the video, “Pardes mein apne Desh wali feeling (the feeling of home abroad) My First time in US Just Unreal Unbelievable THANK YOU DALLAS for so much love This Holi will always remain close to my heart!!”

Kartik's fan page commented on the video, “Shehzada Of Millions Hearts celebrating Pre Holi festival with 8000 fans of Dallas ” A fan wrote, "Proud of youu Mann, guys keep showering love to him, lots of love

and respect from my side " Another wrote, “Ab Dallas walo ke Dil chura liye ho to hamare saath Holi khelne aa jao waapis (now you have stolen hearts of those in Dallas, come back to us to play Holi) ”

A paparazzo also shared a video from the fest that shows Kartik greeting his fans with folded hands Sharing the video on Instagram, the paparazzo wrote, “@kartikaaryan created madness at a Holi fest in Dallas, USA The event witnessed a massive crowd - the biggest turnout for an outdoor event in US for I n d i a n a c t o r T h e h e a r t t h r o b kickstarted the festive mood with his electrifying energy ” O n t h e w o r k f r o n t , K a r t i k ’ s l a t e s t r e l e a s e ‘ S h e h z a d a , a l s o starring Kriti Sanon, Ronit Roy, and M a n i s h a K o i r a l a d i d n ' t p e r f o r m w e l l a t t h e b o x o f f i c e H e i s c u r r e n t l y s h o o t i n g f o r

Ki Katha’ and has also announced his return with ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 ’

Rajinikanth’s next project set to release in 2024

Veteran star Rajinikanth has announced his next project, his 170th film Lyca Productions took to Twitter to announce that they will be bankrolling Thalaivar’s next movie, which TJ Gnanavel will direct In a statement, it was confirmed that the movie will be a 2024 release The project is currently dubbed ‘Thalaivar 170 ’

Manushi Chhillar set to make Telugu debut on ‘VT13’

“We are feeling honoured to announce our next association with Superstar @rajinikanth for#Thalaivar170 Directed by critically acclaimed @tjgnan Music by the sensational “Rockstar”@anirudhofficial (sic),” the tweet read The actor will reportedly be seen playing a Muslim police officer in the film, which will go on the floors soon

Meanwhile, Rajinikanth will soon complete shooting for his upcoming release ‘Jailer ’ The movie marks his maiden collaboration with director Nelson A Twitter user recently posted a video where Rajinikanth’s car can be seen being mobbed by fans who’ve spotted him inside Some even request him to step out if possible As the car leaves the spot, Rajinikanth can be seen slightly rolling down his window to wave In ‘Jailer,' Rajinikanth plays a prison jailer, and the film is predominantly shot inside a prison It also stars Shivrajkumar, Mohanlal and Jackie Shroff in key roles apart from Tamannaah Bhatia and Ramya Krishnan

Meanwhile, Rajinikanth will also commence work on his daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth’s film, ‘Laal Salaam ’ He will be seen in an extended cameo role in the movie

Miss World Manushi Chhillar is all set to make her Telugu debut opposite Varun Tej in the action film ‘VT13’ based on the Indian Air Force The Telugu-Hindi drama was announced last year with Varun in the lead and will be the directorial debut of Shakti Pratap Singh Hada

Former

The actor announced her casting with a video announcement from the producers on social media She wrote, "Here’s to those who touch the sky with glory Excited to be teaming up with @varunkonidela7 in #VT13 (hug emoji)." In the video, Manushi is seen going through the script and making notes Arriving at the last page, which just says ‘Jai Hind,’ the actor closes the script with a small airplane as in the previous video She dons a pair of dark sunglasses and smiles for the character

In a statement, Manushi shared, "I am elated to be a part of this incredible spectacle filled with action and working with Sony Pictures International Productions and Renaissance Pictures I am grateful to my director, Shakti Pratap Singh Hada, for trusting in me, and I am excited to know the life and journey of the officers in the

Indian Air Force It is an exciting beginning to sharing screen space with Varun Tej ”

The yet-untitled film is tentatively called ‘VT13 ’ It is produced by Sony Pictures International Productions and Sandeep Mudda from Renaissance Pictures and coproduced by Nandakumar Abbineni and God Bless Entertainment

Written by Shakti Pratap Singh

Hada, Aamir Khan and Siddharth

Raj Kumar, VT13 goes on floors on Friday It will be simultaneously shot in Telugu and Hindi

Inspired by true events, the film will feature Varun as an air force pilot while Manushi will portray the role of a radar officer The drama film will follow their actions on the frontlines as they face one of India's biggest, fiercest aerial attacks

On the work front, Manushi will be next seen with Vicky Kaushal in the comedy ‘The Great Indian Family,’ directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya She is also part of the cast of the John Abraham-starrer ‘Tehran’, which will be released later this year

Samantha stood by me during MeToo movement: Chinmayi Sripada

Indian playback singer Chinmayi Sripada has been dubbing for actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu since her debut in the 2010 Telugu film ‘Ye Maya Chesave.’ She recently shared how Samantha had backed her during the MeToo movement in India in 2018. Sripada noted that Samantha ensured she got work when others were blacklisting her

i r a m u t h u o f s e x u a l m i s c o n d u c t T h e singer had also faced a ban from the dubbing union because she spoke about MeToo allegations about its president, actor Radha Ravi Then, Samantha had come out in support of her friend and colleague She had written on Twitter, The ‘U Turn’ actress wrote, Dear @23 rahulr and @Chinmayi I know the both of you for ten years now I don't know two more brutally honest people It is this attribute of yours that I value most in our friendship I love you with all my heart and what you say is the TRUTH !! #istandwithchinmayi ”

In an interview, Chinmayi said, "She has repeatedly broken every glass wall built a r o u n d w o m e n a c t o r s i n t h i s c o u n t r y Samantha stood by me during #MeToo She was one of the few, if not only, voices of stature to believe me and continue to give me work I'd even go out on a limb and say she got me to dub for her even when she was fully ready to be dubbing for herself ”

Last October, Samantha revealed that she had been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called Myositis Despite this, the actor continued to honour her professional commitments On Instagram, the actor shared a photograph of herself getting a drip in a hospital and wrote, "I am slowly realising that we don’t always need to put up a strong front Accepting this vulnerability is something that I am still struggling with The doctors are confident that I will make a complete recovery very soon ”

Rana Daggubatti 'shocked' when a friend addressed Mahesh Babu as Namrata’s husband

ActorRana Daggubati, who is preparing to release the upcoming web series ‘Rana Naidu,’ recently opened up about the emergence of South films in the country with the success of films like ‘RRR’ even in the West. In an interview, he spoke about the perception of South films and how the audience didn’t even know the name of some famous South actors a few years ago

Speaking in an interview, the actor said that he has been trying to make films that would cater to audiences in every region for quite some time now Rana then went on to share a hilarious conversation he had with a friend in Mumbai a few years back

“I was away for a few years while filming for Baahubali, so when I met this friend, I told him about the film When he asked who was playing the titular role, I said Prabhas, and he was like ‘Who’s Prabhas?’ I didn’t know how to explain that to him so told him the names of his few films He had not watched any of those films and then he told me something really crazy He said the only Telugu actor I know is Chinu’s husband I was wondering what he meant and then I realised that Chinu was Namrata Shirodkar I was shocked that they knew of Mahesh Babu in that sense I told him just wait for four-five years, and an army of us will land up here,” said the actor

The actor’s ‘Rana Naidu’ is the Indian adaptation of Ray Donavan, in which he has teamed up with his uncle Venkatesh for the first time The movie also stars Surveen Chawla, Sushant Singh, Abhishek Banerjee, Gaurav Chopra, and Ashish Vidyarthi

Karan Soni to voice Spider-Man

India in ‘Across the Spider-Verse’

Indian-American actor and comedian Karan Soni is all set to become a part of the Spider-Verse as he has been cast to voice Spider-Man India in ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.’ The movie is a sequel to Oscar-winning ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.’

Deepika set to present an award at Oscars 2023

S o n i w i l l v o i c e P a v i t r P r a b h a k a r , t h e a l t e r n a t e universe version of the superhero Spider-Man India The character first appeared in the comics in 2004 He gained his spider powers from an ancient yogi and started fighting crime

Karan is known for playing the cab driver Dopinder in the first two ‘Deadpool’ movies It is yet to be known if he will be a part of ‘Deadpool 3 ’ He was recently seen in ‘The People We Hate at the Wedding’ and ‘Not Okay ’

Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K Thompson, ‘Spider-Man: Across the SpiderVerse’ is scheduled to release in June 2023 It also stars Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Jason Schwartzman, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Greta Lee, Rachel Dratch, Jorma Taccone, Shea Whigham and Oscar Isaac The movie is scheduled for release on June 2

Priyanka

Actor

Deepika Padukone will present an award at the Oscars ceremony this year She will join the likes of Emily Blunt, Samuel L Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael B Jordan, Janelle Monae, Zoe Saldana, Jennifer Connelly, Liz Ahmed, and Melissa McCarthy T h e A c a d e m y ’ s I n s t a g r a m h a n d l e shared a list of names The caption read, “Meet your first slate of presenters for the 95th Oscars Tune into ABC to watch the Oscars LIVE on Sunday, March 12th at 8e/5p! #Oscars95 ”

Deepika is the third Indian presenter at the awards so far In 2016, Priyanka Chopra presented the Achievement in Film Editing award to Margaret Sixel for ‘Mad Max: Fury Road ’ Before that, late model Persis Khambatta presented the Best Feature-Length Documentary Film award On the work front, Deepika will next b e s e e n i n ‘ F i g h t e r ’ s t a r r i n g H r i t h i k R o s h a n a n d A n i l K a p o o r S i d d h a n t Anand directs the movie She also has ‘ P r o j e c t K , ’ a l o n g s i d e P r a b h a s a n d Amitabh Bachchan

Rajamouli, Keeravaani present award for Best Documentary to ‘All That Breathes’

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli and composer M M Keeravaani presented the Best Documentary award to Shaunak Sen’s ‘All That Breathes’ at the 37th annual American Society of Cinematographers. They presented the award to cinematographers Ben Bernhard and Riju Das for the movie

P r e s e n t i n g t h

a w a r d s , K e e r a v a a n said, “Cinematography can make or break a documentary And unlike a feature film, where you can unfold lighting, sound, and your subjects, a documentary is afforded none of these advantages ” Rajamouli added, "Capturing the memorable

dance sequences in RRR required a lot of talent and ing Shooting a documentary requires all that, plus innate gift to anticipate where to capture the fect shot and elevate the storytelling to an art m ” Keeravaani met Oscar-nominated composer J u s t i n H u r w i t z o f ‘Babylon’ fame at the event D i r e c t e d b y Shaunak Sen, 'All That Breathes’ follows two brothers, Mohammad S a u d a n d N a d e e m Shehzad, who rescue and treat injured black te birds in Delhi The brothers save the birds who ured due to pollution or kite flying jamouli and Keeravaani remain in the US ahead of the Academy awards While ‘RRR’ has already picked up several awards internationally in the last few months, it also has Oscar nominations this year

Who remembers Priyanka Chopra’s shortlived music stint? The 40-year-old actress launched her first video with RedOneproduced debut single ‘In My City’ in 2012 and featured will i am She followed it with ‘Exotic,’ a collaboration with musician Pitbull Now married to musician Nick Jonas, many wonder why she didn’t continue focusing on her playback career

In an interview with People magazine, Peewee explained why her “music career lasted two seconds ” She said, “(It’s) insane what musicians do I don’t know how they do it tour life is really crazy It’s so hectic You have late nights, and early mornings, you ’ ve travelling to a different city every day and you do it for three months That’s why my music career lasted two seconds ” She added, “I was not meant to do that This rockstar life is I admire it tremendously It’s definitely not for the weak-hearted ”

Priyanka also said that the experience gave her a real appreciation for what her husband does as a solo artist and as onethird of the pop group Jonas Brothers

reveals why her music career didn’t take off

in brief Mirabai Chanu wins BBC Indian Sportswoman award for second time

We i g h tl i f t e r M i ra b a i C h a n u has won the 202 2 BB C Indian Sp o rt s w o m a n O f T he Y e a r a w a rd a f t e r a p ub li c v ot e C h an u b ec om e s t he f i r s t athle te to win the award twice in a row after wi nnin g it for the year 202 1 She became the first Indian weightlifter to earn a silver m e d a l a t t h e 2 0 2 0 T o k y o O l y m p i c s , a n d i n 2 0 2 2 , s h e w o n g o l d a t t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h G a m e s i n Birmingham, England At the 2 0 2 2 W o r l d W e i g h t l i f t i n g C h a m p i o n s h i p s , s h e t o o k home a silver medal J o i n i n g t h e a w a r d ceremony through a live link Chanu thanked everyone who supported her She said, “I am really excited and want to say

that I will be working even h a r d e r f o r t h e f o r t h c o m i n g games and win more medals for India ”

BBC Para Sportswoman of the Year, a category introduced f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e w e n t t o

Bhavina Patel The para table t e n n i s p l a y e r w o n a s i l v e r

medal at the 2020 Summer

P a r a l y m p i c s i n T o k y o , becoming the first Indian table tennis player to achieve this feat

Pritam Siwach, a former captain of the Indian women's hockey team, received the BBC Lifetime Achievement Award

A LIFE-SIZE TENDULKAR STATUE AT WANKHEDE

for her contributions to Indian s p o r t a n d f o r m o t i v a t i n g a number of players Boxer Nitu Ghanghas was chosen as the BBC Emerging Player of the Year She is a twotime youth world champion a n d C o m m o n w e a l t h G a m e s medalist

L o v e l y C h o u b e y , R u p a R a n i T i r k e y , P i n k i , a n d Nayanmoni Saikia received the BBC Changemaker of the Year Award for their victory in the w o m e n ' s l a w n b o w l s t e a m c o m p e t i t i o n a t t h e 2 0 2 2 Commonwealth Games, which was India's first-ever medal in the discipline The 95-year-old Bhagwani Devi and 106-yearo l d R a m b a i w e r e j o i n t l y awarded the special trophy for their achievements

Australia beat India by 9 wickets, qualify for WTC final

A u strali a d efeated Ind ia by 9 w ic ke ts o n th e t h ir d te st a t

Holkar Stadium in Indore w ith o nly 76 required With this w in o n Day 3 , Australia g uaranteed their place in the World Test C h am p i o ns h i p c h am p i o ns h i p g am e With one Test remaining in Ahm ed abad, India leads th e f o u r- m a tc h B o rd e r- Ga v as ka r T rop hy series 2-1 A win would a d v a nc e I nd i a to th e W T C ch amp ionsh ip match

R a v i c h a n d r a n A s h w i n bowled the first over of the day a n d h e i n s t a n t l y m a d e a n i m p r e s s i o n b y h a v i n g U s m a n

Khawaja caught behind by Srikar

Bharat on the second ball of the day Khawaja took the review but the replays showed an edge m u c h t o t h e d e l i g h t o f t h e

Indians T r a v i s H e a d ( 4 9 * ) a n d

M a r n u s L a b u s c h a g n e ( 2 8 * ) e n s u r e d t h e r e w e r e n o m o r e

Mumbai Indians thrash RCB in WPL

M um b a i In d ia n s r ecorded a convinc ing nine-wicket win over R o ya l Ch al l en g e r s B a n g al or e , t h e ir s econd on the trot in t he Women’s Premier L e a gu e, a t t he B r a b our n e S t a di um o n M on d a y In t he proces s, they als o ass erted that t heir power-packed perf orm ance i n t he t ou rn a m e n t op en e r a gains t Gujara t Gia nts was n o f luke

It started with their bowlers, who didn’t sway away from their plans and kept the RCB batters on a tight leash every time The batters then followed the same template, attacking the fragile RCB bowling to canter to victory in 14 2 overs Leading them in b o t h d e p a r t m e n t s w a s W e s t I n d i e s a l l - r o u n d e r H a y l e y Matthews With her off-spin she finished as MI’s top-wicket taker w i t h f i g u r e s o f 3 / 2 8 , w h i c h included back-to-back scalps of RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana and Heather Knight (0) in her second over Delhi be at Bang alor e

Meg Lanning was eager to watch Shafali Verma rip apart o p p o s i t i o n b o w l e r s f r o m t h e n o n - s t r i k e r ’ s e n d T h e D e l h i C a p i t a l s s k i p p e r ’ s w i s h w a s f u l f i l l e d o n S u n d a y a s h e r y o u n g e r t e a m m a t e p l a y e d a n integral role in their 60-run win o v e r t h e R o y a l C h a l l e n g e r s B a n g a l o r e i n t h e i r o p e n i n g

m a t c h o f t h e

Women’s Premier L e a g u e a t t h e B r a b o u r n e S t a d i u m U S A ’ s Tara Norris picked up five for 29 as DC restricted RCB to 168 for three to round off a comfortable win The 24-year-old left-arm pacer accounted for Ellyse Perry ( 3 1 ) , R i c h a G h o s h ( 2 ) a n d Heather Knight (34) among her five scalps to make sure RCB m i d d l e - o r d e r d i d n ’ t m o u n t a comeback after 18-year-old offie

Alice Capsey (2/10) had sent back openers Sophie Devine (14) and Smriti Mandhana (35)

Har man pr ovide s sizzlin g ope ning act

A f t e r a g r a n d o p e n i n g c e r e m o n y , i f t h e W o m e n ’ s P r e m i e r L e a g u e n e e d e d a r o l l i c k i n g s t a r t , i t r e q u i r e d a

H a r m a n p r e e t K a u r ‘ s p e c i a l ’

Unleashing her brand of sizzling s t r o k e p l a y , t h e I n d i a n a n d

M u m b a i I n d i a n s c a p t a i n smashed a boundary-filled 65 to guide her team to a mammoth s c o r e o f 2 0 7 f o r 5 a g a i n s t a

listless Gujarat Giants at the DY

Patil Stadium on Saturday night

Kaur’s magical innings and her entertaining 89-run partnership for the fourth wicket in just 42 balls with the equally destructive New Zealander Amelia Kerr (45 not out), saw MI plunder 130 runs off their last 10 overs, 83 of those coming in the final 6

hiccups and guided Australia to victory Head attacked Jadeja in the next over, hitting one over the bowler's head Labuschagne then decided to go for the sweep in the same over, bringing the score to 35 for one after 12 overs

A f t e r t h a t , t h e r e w a s n o looking back for the Australian duo who had gained enough confidence to go for their shots

Labuschagne hit the winning runs, a four over mid-wicket, to

complete a memorable victory

Captain Rohit Sharma, who had said a day before this Test, "what has happened to them (Australia) in this series could happen to us, because of the (turning) pitches", proved to be prophetic

For visiting teams, victories in India are uncommon, and A u s t r a l i a w a s n o e x c e p t i o n , recording their first triumph on Indian soil in six years

NZ pull off one run win over England

A s a result of lion-h earted paceman Neil Wag ner's heroics, New Zealand defeated England by o ne run, becoming only the fourth team in Test histo ry to trium ph after being asked to follo w-on

At noon, New Zealand's chances were diminished after setting England 258 to win as Joe Root (95) and captain Ben Stokes (33) produced a 121-run stand to cut the deficit to 57 runs with five wickets in hand Enter Wagner, who had bled more than eight runs an over in the third innings when England romped to a 267-run win in the series-opener at Mount Maunganui He had both Root and Stokes out slogging in Wellington then nervelessly held catches in the deep to help remove Stuart Broad (11) and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes for 35

Following Foakes' dismissal, Jack Leach and Anderson needed seven runs to win Anderson hit a boundary off Wagner to reduce the necessary score to two runs Wagner came again and had Anderson caught down the leg side for four to trigger jubilation among his teammates and the home fans in the crowd With the two-match series ending 1-1, the hosts preserved their unbeaten record at home dating back to 2017 They also handed England only their second defeat in 12 Tests since the team unleashed attacking ‘Bazball’ revolution last year

After starting the day with 48 for 1, England lost four wickets and finished at 80 for 5 In a fit of rage, Root ran out a scoreless Harry Brook But the former skipper shrugged off the mistake and threatened another century after his unbeaten 153 in the first innings The momentum changed once more as England passed 200 after Stokes top-edged a Wagner delivery to square leg, where Tom Latham made the catch

The Mumbai Cricket Association is coming up with a ‘special gift’ for cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar who will celebrate his 50th birthday on April 24 this year The MCA will erect a lifesize statue of Tendulkar inside the iconic Wankhede stadium in Mumbai It s a pleasant surprise My career had started here and this is like the completion of a big circle It s been a journey with unbelievable memories and the best moment of my cricketing career came here when we won the World Cup in 2011, Tendulkar said

AMEE, ANUPAMA HELP INDIA ‘A’ TO TITLE WIN

Amee Kamani and Anupama Ramachandran played out of their skins to help India A clinch the Women s Snooker World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand The duo defeated the formidable Englan d ‘A side which comprised of 12-time world champion Reanne Evans and world No 4 Rebecca Kenna, 4-3 in the title clash

The Indian cueists came out firing from the getgo to take the opening two frames against Evans and Kenna Both Amee and Anupama suffered mid-match blues when they lost the doubles frame after which Evans put it across Chennai cueist Anupama to help England A’ draw level The teams then split the next two frames to set up an exciting decider with Amee up against Kenna The Indian a five-time 15-red national champion did the early running but Kenna kept Amee on a tight leash with a couple of tight snookers However the southpaw the first Indian to register a century break in a match first broke free from the shackles to have the Englishwoman in trouble and then took the colours for a 78-39 victory to power India to their maiden World Cup triumph

RABADA BOWLS SA TO VICTORY OVER WINDIES

Kagiso Rabada picked up six for 50 to bowl South Africa to an 87-run victory over West Indies in the first Test at Super Sport Park in Centurion After bowling out the hosts for 116 in the morning, West Indies needed 247 to win but were dismissed for just 159 The only resistance of note came from Jermaine Blackwood who made a gutsy 79 before being ninth man out The match hurtled to a conclusion with more than two days to spare as the fast bowlers of both teams held sway on a pitch of variable bounce West Indies’ Kemar Roach dominated the morning as he took five for 47 as South Africa, resuming on 49 for four, lost their last six wickets for just 67 runs

RUSSIA JOINS ASIAN FEDERATION

Russia’s governing body for chess said it had been admitted into the game s Asian federation and will leave Europe as Russian players face restrictions over Moscow’s assault in Ukraine The shift finalised by a vote at the Asian Chess Summit in Abu Dhabi comes as other Russian sports federations, including football, are considering a similar switch The head of the Chess Federation of Russia hailed the move as a historic event For the first time, a chess federation one of the strongest in the world, has moved from one continent to another the chess federation’s president Andrei Filatov was quoted as saying in a statement

MAROOF RESIGNS AS PAK SKIPPER

Bismah Maroof stepped down as Pakistan women s cricket team captain following a disastrous T20 World Cup campaign last month Maroof led Pakistan for six years All-rounder Nida Dar, who led the team when Maroof was unfit, is tipped as the favourite to fill the role

Yoga prodigy from UK wins prestigious event in Canada

Mirabai Chanu