First India-Delhi Edition-01st January 2023

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“guru”

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Hello 2023!

In order to mark the New Year 2023, people in Australia witnessed dazzling fireworks as they acknowledged New Year with a celebration on Saturday. Dazzling fireworks lightened up the Sydney Harbour Bridge as the sky got painted with different colours. The bridge is well-lit with flashy illuminations all around.

P5

TOP STORIES Other

z India has confirmed its first case of Omicron’s XBB.1.5 in Gujarat this December, Insacog data showed on Saturday

z Russian man, who had “disappeared” after deaths of two other men in Odisha recently, was found on Saturday

z Mumbai court Saturday sent Sheezan Khan, accused in TV actor Tunisha Sharma’s death, to judicial custody for 14 days

z The Lakshadweep administration has prohibited entry into 17 of the total 36 islands citing national security

‘BJP to go alone in 2023 K’taka polls’

Bengaluru: Urging party workers to ensure that BJP forms a government with twothirds majority in Karnataka, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday asserted that the party will go alone in the 2023 assembly polls, and said it will be a direct contest as voting for JD(S) is like casting the ballot for Congress.

He also urged people to decide whether they are standing with a party of patriots, referring to the BJP, or with “tukde tukde gang” under the leadership of Congress.

“There are clearly two sides and it is a straight fight this time. Journalists say there is a triangular fight. I said no, it is a straight fight, because voting for JD(S) means voting for Congress. So, is it a straight fight or not?” Shah asked. P5

WORRY ABOUT INDIA-CHINA BORDER’

9 killed, 32 hurt as SUV rams into bus in Navsari

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: As many as nine people were killed and 32 others sustained injuries due to a collision between a bus and an SUV in Gujarat’s Navsari in the wee hours of Saturday.

Additional district collector Ketan Joshi told that out of the 32 injured, 17 were taken to a hospital in Valsad, 14 were admitted to a hospital in Navsari and another wounded person was taken to Surat for treatment. Joshi said 9 bodies were recovered by police teams and taken for autopsy.

PM ANNOUNCES EX GRATIA AID

An ex-gratia of `2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased, injured will get `50,000.”

Former Pope Benedict XVI passes away, funeral on Jan 5

Ashram flyover closure: Police suggest alternative routes to avoid traffic chaos

New Delhi(PTI): The 45-day closure of the Ashram Flyover from Sunday for the construction of a connecting road will hit traffic to and from south and southeast Delhi, police said.

It also advised people to park only at designated places and plan journeys to reach hospitals, ISBTs, railway stations or airports well in advance owing to the closure.

The move

impact traffic

from the Outer

BY PTI

DND flyover, Mathura road and Noida, they said. During this period, both carriageways of the ring road on the underside of the flyover will be operational, the Traffic Police said.

“From January 1, both carriageways of the Ashram flyover will be closed due to the construction of a connecting road between the Ashram flyover and new DND flyover,” traffic police said in a statement.

Traders welcome LG’s nod for 24x7 op of restaurants

New Delhi (PTI): Traders welcomed LG VK Saxena’s decision to allow restaurants in 5-star and 4-star hotels in Delhi to operate round-theclock, saying it will promote the night economy.

National Restaurants Association of India treasurer Manpreet Singh said, “We are happy such a step has been announced by the LG. It will help increasing business and promote the night economy.”

is likely to

coming

Ring

Road, both side of the carriageways passing through Ashram chowk,

Traffic Congestion near India Gate, in New Delhi Saturday, as people throng the area for New Year celebrations on its eve.

INDIA CELEBRATES!

A man takes a selfie in the backdrop of the illuminated India Gate on the eve of New Year 2023, in New Delhi.

—PHOTO BY PTI

—PHOTO

Moni Sharma

Amit Shah was speaking at the BJP’s booth presidents and the booth-level agents convention at the Palace Ground in Bengaluru

HM Amit Shah with Basavaraj Bommai and Pralhad Joshi during foundation laying of CDTI of BPR &D, in Bengaluru on Saturday.

‘DON’T

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday asserted that he is never worried about the India-China border as he knows that the ITBP personnel are guarding the borders there and “because of this, no one can occupy even an inch of India’s land.”

JOE CONDOLES DEATH OF MODI’S MOTHER

Washington: US President Joe Biden has sent his deepest condolences to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the loss of his mother Hiraben who passed away in Gujarat at the age of 100.

I CONSIDER BJP MY ‘GURU’, SAYS RAHUL

Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said he considers the Bharatiya Janata Party as his

(teacher) as the BJP shows him a roadmap and teaches him “what should never be done”.

Vatican: Former Pope Benedict, who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to resign, died on Saturday aged 95 in a secluded monastery in the Vatican.

Bells tolled across Vatican City as news of his death, which followed a rapid decline in his health over Christmas. Vatican said his body would lie in State from Monday in St Peter's Basilica & his funeral will be held on morning of January 5.

POPE FRANCIS WILL PRESIDE OVER THE FUNERAL

Pope Francis will preside over the funeral for former pope Benedict XVI, who has died at the age of 95, on January 5, the Vatican said Saturday. “On Thursday January 5, at 9:30 am (0830 GMT) the funeral is expected to take place in Saint Peter’s Square, presided over by the Holy Father,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists at a special briefing following the death of the first pontiff to resign in six centuries.

Dense fog in parts of Delhi, minimum temp at 10.2o C

cold day conditions are predicted to wallop parts of Delhi in early January, meteorologists said.

Man gets six months in jail for causing death by rash driving, negligence

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi witnessed dense fog in parts of the city on Saturday, with the minimum temperature settling at 10.2 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average, the India Meteorological Department said.

Relative humidity recorded at 8:30 am was 90 per cent, it said. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 21 degrees Celsius in the national capital. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted partly cloudy skies during the day with dense fog in the morning.

Visibility at Palam dropped down to 250 m for a while during 1 am to 2 am and improved again becoming 800 m at 6 am. Visibility was less than 200 m at 5:30 am over Bhatinda, Chandigarh-50 m, Ambala-25 m, Bareilly-25 m, Lucknow-25 m, Varanasi-50 m, Patna-25 m, and

CARPOOL, CYCLE OR WORK FROM HOME — ADVISORY FOR DELHI RESIDENTS AS AQI PLUMMETS

New Delhi: The air quality in the national capital dipped to “very poor”, as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city reached 369 on Saturday morning. With air quality deteriorating in Delhi, the Commission for Air Quality Management has issued various advisories for the citizens including – working from home, carpooling to work and using public transport Meanwhile, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials, dense fog will make a comeback on Saturday evening and cold weather conditions on Sunday.The Delhi government has also banned all construction activities to prevent decline of air quality in the national capital. For a third consecutive day, the air quality in the city remained under the "very poor" category on Saturday as it recorded an AQI of 369, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

Gaya-50 m, according to IMD. Delhi's minimum temperature rose to double digits for the first

winds from the Himalayas will bring the minimum temperature down by three to five degrees Celsius in the plains of northwest India. "Dense fog is likely to continue over the region during the next four to five days. A fresh cold wave spell is likely to commence over northwest India from January 1," it said in a statement.

The Safdarjung observatory, the city's primary weather station, on Saturday recorded a minimum temperature of 10.7 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal. It was also the highest minimum temperature this month.

The mercury will drop to 8 degrees Celsius on Saturday and further to 4 degrees Celsius by January 2. Dense fog and cold wave conditions are predicted in parts of Delhi from January 1 to 5, according to the meteorological department. A cold day is when the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 10 degrees Celsius below normal and the maximum temperature is at least 4.5 degrees Celsius below normal. A severe cold day is when the maximum is 6.5 degrees Celsius or more below the normal.

According to IMD, ''very dense'' fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 metres is ''dense'', 201 and 500 metres ''moderate'', and 501 and 1,000 metres ''shallow''.

New Delhi (PTI): A court here has sentenced a person to six months imprisonment for seriously injuring a man while reversing his dumper and then dumping him in a field where he was found dead.

Ram Kumar, however, was released as he had already undergone six months in detention.

The court was hearing arguments on the sentencing of Kumar, who hit Lala Ram while reversing his dumper in an alleged rash and negligent manner on March 30, 2015.

Kumar on the pretext of taking a severely injured Ram to a hospital dumped him in a field. He then washed off blood stains from his vehicle and suppressed the incident, the prosecution said.

In July, the court had convicted Kumar for offences under IPC sections 304A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving on a public

way) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender). It had said the charges against him were proved beyond reasonable doubt.

The court noted Kumar had inflicted injuries on Ram that were sufficient for causing death. Thereafter, for destroying evidence and screening himself from legal punishment, he dumped Ram's body, it said.

"Keeping in view the circumstances of the convict as well as the gravity of the offence in mind, the convict is sentenced to simple imprisonment for six months for the offence under section 304A of the IPC, simple imprisonment for six months for the offence under 201 of the IPC and simple imprisonment of four months for the offence under section 279 of the IPC," Addl Sessions Judge Shefali Sharma said.

time in 15 days on Friday, but the respite is predicted to end soon. The IMD said icy

HC disapproves of deliberate filing of meritless pleas

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court has disapproved of the deliberate filing of "meritless" pleas in pending civil cases, saying it wastes precious judicial time and prevents the conclusion of the main matter.

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said until the bar and the bench come together to fix responsibility, the main matters would continue to linger on and never see the light of the day.

The court's observations came while dismissing an application by one of the beneficiaries seeking the appointment of an administra-

tor and removal of the executors, appointed by the testator of the will.

“Before parting, though not specifically in the facts of the present case, this court berates as to how a web of complex IAs (interlocutory applications) is deliberately created in the

This court berates as to how a web of complex interlocutory applications is deliberately created in the civil suits as well as other petitions pending.

—Justice

Chandra Dhar SIngh, Delhi HC judge

civil suits as well as other petitions pending, only to ensure that the main matter never meets its logical conclusion and the precious judicial time is exhausted in adjudicating only the numerous IAs," the court said in an order passed recently.

With the western disturbance retreating by Saturday, cold wave and

In the plains, the met office declares a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius or when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and is 4.5 notches below the normal.

Bail to man accused of running illegal visa racket

New Delhi (PTI): A court here granted bail to a man arrested for allegedly running an illegal visa racket, noting that no one victim had come forward to file a complaint against him.

Vacation Judge Shailender Malik granted relief to accused Nanda Ballab Joshi, noting that while 32 passports were recovered from him, he was admittedly running a tour and travel agency.

“It is also not the case of the prosecution that passports recovered from the possession of the accused were fake, rather (they are) found to be genuine. It is also admitted position that

The

Court upholds 2 yrs jail term for subjecting wife to cruelty

New Delhi: A sessions court here upheld the order of a magisterial court awarding two years imprisonment to a man for subjecting his wife to cruelty.

The court was hearing an appeal by Kirori Mal, here after being convicted under Section 498A of IPC.

There was no evidence on record to disbelieve the wife’s testimony, the court said.

3 men shoot dead gym owner, decamp with CCTV recorder

none came forward to give the complaint regarding alleged fake visa having been given or provided by the accused,” the judge said.

The judge also noted that the accused was in judicial custody since November 26, 2022 and was no longer required for custodial interrogation or investigation.

“In view of the nature of allegations and the impact of the offence upon respondent no.2 (the wife) as well as upon society, this court finds that the trial court had rightly sentenced the appellant. Accordingly, the impugned order on sentence dated January 8, 2019, does not require any interference,” Addl Sessions Judge Jagminder Singh said in a recent order.

‘Humayun’s Tomb’, ‘Eiffel Tower’ on walls

of Liberty’ on another side of the walls, standing next to the celebrated ‘Eiffel Tower’ of Paris and flanked by St Basil’s Cathedral of Russia.

New Delhi (Agencies):

In a shocking incident reported from the national capital, a gym owner was shot dead at his office in Preet Vihar area of Delhi on Friday.

The three assailants also took away the CCTV recorder with the to prevent their identification.

Police said the accused decamping with the recorder made the case a bit complicated.

The deceased has been identified as Mahendra Aggarwal. He was into the business of running a chain of gym and spa

centres. He also sold gym equipments. The murder took place when three armed men entered Aggarwal's office around 8pm on Friday and fired indiscriminately at him. A bullet hit the gym owner's head killing him instantly, according to a report.

During their escape, the assailants also took away the CCTV recorder from the office. Cops say they are looking for CCTV footage from other areas to identify the accused.

Soon, Delhi to have geo-tagged streetlights with smart sensors

New Delhi(PTI): The Delhi municipal authorities have begun decorating drab public walls in the city, including those of garbage dumps, with thematic paintings and murals for the G20 summit and meetings scheduled in 2023. Some of the murals have come up in the last few days, including one near Gandhi Darshan at Rajghat.

“We have started the work to decorate the city with artistic murals for the G20 events and the

summit later in 2023. Beautiful paintings have been done on public walls at many locations, and walls of ‘dhalaos’ (dump yards) are also getting adorned with artwork to enhance the look and feel of the city,” a senior official of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi said.

The ‘dhalao’ near

Gandhi Darshan was, until a few days ago, a spot passers-by would avoid, but now, it has become a “sort of a head turner” complete with fresh bright coloured walls.

This mural depicts the famous monuments from various countries which are part of the influential G20 grouping.

Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been portrayed on one of its walls in bright orange and ochre hues against a blue backdrop and a colourful ‘G20’ logo mounted on top.

London’s iconic ‘Big Ben’ rises tall on the edge of the ‘dhalao’ building and the ‘Statue

The Big Ben is a world renowned tower clock, famous for its massive bell and iconic image that is often used to represent London.

‘The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World’ is an iconic monument and veritable symbol of New York City and in many ways, America. Dedicated in 1886, it was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the US and is recognised as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy.

New Delhi (Agencies): The Public Works Department is planning to install smart sensors and geotag all streetlight poles with the help of a centralised software, an official said.

The main aim

behind the initiative is the illumination, repair and maintenance of all streetlights across all key busy stretches, besides ensuring the safety of women and children, officials added.

Officials said the PWD is also replacing old halogen lights with LED lights. The new streetlight poles and LED lights will have the aforementioned features embedded.

“We are making a list of all streetlights and poles, after which sensors will be installed in these and will be geo-tagged using a centralised software system,” an official explained.

n Visibility at Palam airport drops to 250 m.

n Minimum to be 3 degrees soon, says IMD

A street in Delhi on a foggy Saturday morning.

NO COMPENSATION FROM ACCUSED

judge said the accused was no longer required for custodial interrogation or investigation

NEW BEGINNINGS

HOTEL RESTAURANTS, BARS TO OPEN 24X7

New Delhi (Agencies):

All restaurants in 5-star and 4-star hotels in Delhi will now be allowed to operate round-the-clock, according to the new licensing norms aimed at boosting the national capital's night economy.

Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, had in November, set up a high powered committee to ease and facilitate license requirements for restaurants/eateries, and directed it to examine the existing regulations and suggest ways of expediting the licensing processes.

After the submission of the report by the committee, it took several rounds of meetings to finally concretise the liberalised regulations, officials said. These will now be sent to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to bring about necessary changes in the new application undertaking and uploaded on the MHA licensing portal.

"This is expected to

EASE OF LICENSE

The grant of licenses have been made timebound, with a deemed approved clause being inserted, that will ensure that the license has been approved and granted if the concerned agency/ official does not take any action on the application within the stipulated time frame. An applicant will be able to get his license within a maximum of 49 days, with minimum human interface, instead of the earlier unlimited time frame that resulted in an applicant running from pillar to post and getting harassed. The average time for grant of new licenses was three years in Delhi up till now. As many as 2,389 new applications for Eating Houses from 2022 and 2121 applications from 2021, are pending as of now. Similarly, 359 applications for Lodging Houses are pending for 2022.

be done in the next three weeks, and come January 26, entrepreneurs in the national

ON DESIGNATED DAYS

STUDENTS, STAFF OF AIIMS CAN MEET DIRECTOR WITHOUT APPOINTMENT

capital will be able to avail of this new progressive, businessfriendly and liberalised

licensing regime in Delhi," an official said.

Under the new norms, all restaurants/ eating houses in Five and Four Star Hotels, those within Airport, railway station and ISBT premises will be permitted to operate on a 24X7 basis after payment of necessary fee.

In 3-star hotels, they will be allowed to operate till 2 am, and in all other categories, they will be able to operate till 1 am. Additionally, in 5-star and 4-star hotels, the ceiling of only one restaurant getting bar license has been lifted.

This will enable such hotels to obtain separate liquor licenses for more than one restaurant/bar serving liquor within the hotel premises on payment of license fee.

The number of documents required for getting licenses has been drastically reduced and 28 documents will no longer be required to be uploaded.

Boy, 8, assaulted with thread tied to his private part in south Delhi govt school

New Delhi (PTI): A group of students allegedly assaulted a Class 2 student in an NDMC school here in South Delhi's Kidwai Nagar area by tying a nylontype thread on his private part, police said on Saturday. An New Delhi Municipal Council official said that police have taken up the matter and are investigating it.

According to police, the matter came to light on Wednesday when the

parents of the eightyear-old boy checked on him while he was taking shower. They took the boy to a hospital and informed the police about the incident. In their police complaint,

“The condition of the child is stated to be normal but he is still under observation,” police said.

the parents alleged that a nylon-type thread was tied on the private part of their son by his fellow students in school.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Chandan Chowdhary said, "We

haven't registered a case yet because the child is not able to identify the other children. We are taking a legal opinion on the matter. We will be taking the child along with us to the school to identify the accused in the incident." The officer said the students are on a winter holiday.

Since the accused are also children, they will have to be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.

‘Less space a hindrance in opening more ‘specialised’ schools’

New Delhi: The Delhi government wishes to expand its Specialised Excellence schools in all zones of the capital, however, there is an issue of space, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Saturday, during a visit to one of the schools.

Sisodia was interacting with students of Dr BR Ambedkar School of Specialized Excellence at Surajmal vihar.

Dr BR Ambedkar Schools of Specialised Excellence are choicebased schools for Class 9 to 12 that allow students to specialise in their chosen fields of study. Currently, there are 46 schools of specialized excellence in the national capital.

exposure in all subjects," Sisodia said.

New Delhi (PTI): To discuss innovative ideas and remove any access barrier, the director of the AIIMS here will meet the medical students and staff of the institute without any appointment between 8 am and 9 am on designated days.

"With a view to encourage free flow of thoughts and to remove any access barriers, it has been decided to designate 8 am to 9 am as the open meeting time, during which the students and staff of AIIMS, New Delhi can meet the undersigned (Director) without any appoint-

WEEKLY SLOTS

For the convenience of all, the weekly slots have been divided.

Saturday has been allotted for undergraduate and PhD students, Monday for faculty members, Tuesday for nursing staff, Wednesday for allied health professionals, Thursday for outsourced staff, Friday for all other staff and Saturday for postgraduate students and senior residents.

ment," an office memorandum issued by Director Dr M Srinivas said on Saturday.

Gurugram youth killed in road accident in Ambala

Ambala (PTI): A youth from Gurugram was killed after a car he was travelling in was hit by a truck on Ambala-Delhi national highway on Saturday, police said. The incident occurred near Ambala Cantonment when Deepak and his friends Rithik, Chirag Prakash and Tushar were on their way to Shimla for New Year celebration, they said. The vehicle was being driven by Tushar, who got injured in the accident. The injured were rushed to the civil hospital at Ambala Cantonment and stated to be out of danger, police said. Tushar told police that when they reached Ambala Cantonment, a speeding truck hit their vehicle and it overturned after the collision.

"Here, we have skillbased learning. We have collaborated with the IB board and This is the first of its kind initiative done by us. Learning is important. We have no pressure of studies here.

are here to get

"We want these specialized schools in all zones but we are facing the problem of space," he added. The minister said that the government is collecting data on students to move forward with its plan to increase the number of specialized schools. "We have taken data from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and doing a

mapping of how many students are from which zone. We have data that when students come to our schools in Class 6. We have data on which schools’ students have their basics clear and which schools we should work from the scratch," he added. Manish Sisodia, who is also the education minister of the state, asked the students about their experience in the school.

People wishing Happy New Year 2023 pose for a picture at a mustard field, in Moradabad, Saturday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Students

Dy CM Manish Sisodia speaks during a Parents Teacher Meeting at a government school in east Delhi, Saturday. —PHOTO BY PTI

K NATWAR SINGH The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India

How does one assess 2022? In my judgement only by recalling major events.

UKRAINE-RUSSIA WAR

The Ukraine war began in February 2022, when President Vladimir Putin decided to attack Ukraine. His expectation was that it would be walk over. He could not have been more wrong. A popular Ukrainian comedian has become a war hero. The people of Ukraine have shown amazing bravery, patriotic zeal and iron will. The Russian leader has been merciless, inflicting frightful damage all round. It will take at least a decade to rebuild Ukraine.

2022 – THE YEAR THAT WAS...

IN-DEPTH

WORLD AWAITS NEW YEAR WITH HOPE AND SOME TREPIDATION

Ambedkar is undoubtedly the outstanding intellectual, Indian politics has produced. A hundred years ago the life of an untouchable was like living in hell. How he over-came the cast barrier is described by the author with, both feeling and genuine sympathy. In many ways I admire Ambedkar. No one could have written our constitution in such a masterly way

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is all too visible. From Chicago to Florida, Vancouver to New York, the land mass is six to ten feet under snow. Thousands of flights have been cancelled. Hundreds of passengers are standard at innumerable airports, with shortage of proper shelter, sleeping space, child care and sanitation. Water taps have frozen, any number of towns and localities are without electricity. In others parts of the world nature’s has inflicted the fury of fires and floods. The flood waters in Western Pakistan took agonising weeks to subside. The damage and destruction was unpretended? In those areas of Pakistan it seldom rains.

KYI’S 33 YRS IN PRISON

The, almost insane and brutal military regime in Myanmar has given 77 year old Aung San Suu Kyi, a 33 year prison sentence. The words, “Human Rights” are not familiar to the military of what was once a civilized Buddhist country.

POPULATION 8 BILLION

The population of the World touched 8 billion in 2022. In the next decade it will cross 9 billion. This will result in a shortage of almost everything except human beings and arms. Imagine a China and a India each with 2.5 billion people. This is not a fairy tale but a horrendous possibility.

A NAME CHANGE IS HALF A STEP

ATROCITIES BY TALIBAN

The United Nations is dysfunctional. It is helpless in dealing with the atrocities being committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They misrule a country, while, mentally living in the 18th century. Why does not the Islamic world do something, it possess both money and might. Pakistan cannot take effective action because hundreds of thousands of Taliban live in the Frontier province of Pakistan. If the Taliban rule lasts a decade, a vast number of girls will grow up illiterate. Most unexpectedly the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party has chosen a non-white as its leader. This was unthinkable even a decade back.

UK PM: INDIAN-ORIGIN

Rishi Sunak is now Prime Minister. His great grand parents (Indian) migrated from Gujrawala to East Africa. His parents settled down in the UK. The rest is history. Good luck, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

QUEEN PASSED AWAY

Queen Elizabeth, the longest serving British monarch, passed away on September 8 at Balmoral. She became Queen on the death of her father, King George VI on 6th February 1952. Queen Elizabeth II’s regime lasted almost seventy years, seven years more than that of her great, great grand mother, Queen Victoria.

G20 PRESIDENCY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s internal and external image goes up by the month. He was unanimously elected President of G20 in Bali a few weeks back. The G-20 is the richest, most powerful and influential organisation in the world. Shri Modi has his work cut out.

BOOK ON AMBEDKAR

“Ambedkar: A Life” is a splendid book. Shashi is that rare politician who can actually write. I have read several biographies of Ambedkar. This is arguably the best. Ambedkar is undoubtedly

the outstanding intellectual, Indian politics has produced. A hundred years ago the life of an untouchable was like living in hell. How he overcame the cast barrier is described by the author with, both feeling and genuine sympathy. In many ways I admire Ambedkar. No one could have written our constitution in such a masterly way. I find his references to Gandhiji totally unacceptable. Ambedkar never won an election. Without the generosity of Gandhi and Nehru he would not have got elected to the Rajya Sabha. Gandhi forgot and forgave. Not Ambedkar. Three person’s did not condole Gandhiji’s assassination. One was Ambedkar. The other two were Churchill and Stalin. Gandhi remains a world figure. Ambedkar’s achievements and fame are confined to India, that is Bharat. Was BR Ambedkar a great man. Yes, but not greater than Gandhiji.

Punjab’s Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains deserves some praise for doing away with names of caste and fraternity given to about 56 government primary schools earlier. Bains said the schools felt that in present times names associated with castes made “them feel uncivilised” and also “promoted segregation in the society on caste lines”. Education in Punjab is imparted on the principle of equality and there is no justification for discrimination in schools’ names based on castes. After the minister’s order, government primary schools in the state are being renamed after a local hero or a known personality. It is a very small step towards

ending casteism.

Punjab is a Sikh majority state but Scheduled Castes constitute 4.3 percent of SC’s in India. It is the Jat Sikhs who dominate the state’s politics and culture but are only 20 percent of the population whereas Scheduled Castes constitute nearly 32 percent of the total population of over 30 million. Despite their majority Punjab had its first Dalit chief minister in September 2021 when Charanjit Channi,

an SC MLA, was elevated to post. The edu minister’s claim of equality and no discrimination in state gets rebutted. And sadly discrimination was stark during Covid when Jat Sikhs reportedly sent food to Dalit homes as they were not allowed to enter gurdwaras for langar or touch vessels. Sikhism’s principle of “Sarbat da bhala” (welfare of all) saved Dalit community from starvation during the pandemic.

ear 2022 will be gone in a few hours time but 2023 will come saddled with the same old fears and hopes. News of another Covid outbreak has been and will continue to be disconcerting. Will the virus be as disruptive in 2023 as it was in 2020 and throw economies and lives out of gear? One can only hazard some guesses and carry on with life hoping nothing dreadful will happen. With peace not on the horizon, the Ukraine war may only turn worse and cause more destruction and disruption in supplies than it has done so far. That’s a challenge the world is most apprehensive about. So far India has steered clear of troubled waters with adroitness but will it remain unaffected in 2023 and keep supply chains intact for the benefit of domestic consumers. Inflation and energy prices will determine if 2023 is cheerful or disappointing.

Humanity survives on hope, which has helped it get over the worst calamities.

l Vol 2 l Issue No.123

l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840

Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Impressions Printing and Packaging Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59, Noida-201301. Published at G-20, 3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra

Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Narendra Modi @narendramodi

Saddened by the passing away of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who devoted his entire life to the Church and the teachings of Lord Christ. He will be remembered for his rich service to society. My thoughts are with the millions around the world who grieve his passing.

Anurag Thakur @ianuragthakur

Nation grieves with Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji over the tragic demise of his beloved mother. There is nothing as indescribable in God’s creation as the bond between mother & child. May her atma attain sadgati! Om shanti.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Neither in this world nor elsewhere is there any happiness in store for him who always doubts.

Bhagavad Gita

Punjab’s Ed Minister Harjot Singh Bains deserves some praise for doing away with names of caste and fraternity given to about 56 govt primary schools earlier. Bains said the schools felt that in present times names associated with castes made “them feel uncivilised” and also “promoted segregation in the society on caste lines”

With ITBP guarding our border, no one can grab an inch of India: Shah

Bengaluru (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday lauded the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP), calling them ‘Himaveer’ (snow bravehearts) and said no one can encroach even an inch of our land when they guard the borders.

He said the ITBP personnel guard our borders in harsh conditions and the title of ‘Himaveer’ for them is bigger than Padma Sri and Padma Vibhushan.

“We cannot even imagine how they guard our borders in minus 42 degree Celsius temperature. This can happen only with a strong willpower and supreme degree of patriotism. The ITBP works in the odd geographical conditions in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh or Jammu and Kashmir,” Shah said after inaugurating the Central Detective Training Institute of the ITBP here.

“People of India call

the ITBP soldiers as 'Himaveer.' This title is bigger than the Padma Sri and Padma Vibhushan civilian awards.

While the civilian awards are the government title, 'Himaveer' is the title given by the people of India,” Shah

Tripura BJP will start Jana Biswas Rath Yatra programme to strengthen the party support base in the state.

told the gathering.

Among all the central armed police forces, the ITPB works in the most odd weather conditions,

100-DAY STAY WITH FAMILY OR HEADQUARTERS FOR JAWANS DEPUTED ON BORDERS:

Bengaluru (PTI):

Bureau of Police

Development (BPR&D) in Devanahalli, Bengaluru, Shah said, “They (soldiers posted in border areas) should have this opportunity to stay with their families or at headquarters for 100 days... We are preparing rosters for this purpose.” “The stress and tension of soldiers will come down. This is a difficult task, I understand. But, I believe from a humanitarian point of view it has to be done,” the Home Minister added. He assured ITPB soldiers that before elections, the government will make a plan in this regard. “PM Naredra Modi’s govt is dedicated to the welfare of soldiers and the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF),” he asserted.

he said. “I am always assured and never worry at all about the IndoChina border when our ITBP soldiers are pa-

trolling or camping because no one there can encroach even an inch of our land,” the Home Minister said.

Basic rights in India have become ‘luxuries’ & ‘entitlements’:

Srinagar (PTI): Basic rights in the country have now become “luxuries” and “entitlements” bestowed upon only those who toe the government's line on political, social and religious matters, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Saturday. In a letter to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, she also alleged that the trust deficit and growing alienation has only widened in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. “I write to you with a deep sense of concern and worry about the prevailing situation in the country especially J-K. Your recent observations on the inability of lower judiciary to grant bail in ordinary cases in a functioning democracy as ours should have been adopted as a directive rather than just being consigned to a single column story churned out in newspapers,” Mufti said in the

Mufti

I write to you with a deep sense of concern and worry about the prevailing situation in the country especially J-K.

—Mehbooba Mufti,

letter posted on her Twitter handle.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy on Friday, CJI Chandrachud had said that over 63 lakh cases across the country have been considered to be delayed due to nonavailability of counsel and over 14 lakh cases are delayed as they await some kind of document or record.

I consider BJP my ‘guru’, says Cong leader Rahul Gandhi Modi will become PM again: Himanta Biswa Sarma

New Delhi (ANI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said he considers the BJP as his “guru” (teacher) as it shows him a roadmap and teaches him “what should never be done”.

At a press conference, the Wayanad MP said, “I want them (BJP) to attack us aggressively, this will help Congress party understand its ideology. I consider them (BJP) as my Guru, they are showing me the way and training me on what is not to be done.”

While talking about the Bharat Jodo Yatra which entered New Delhi on December 24 before taking a nine-day break, he said, “When I started this, I just took it as an ordinary yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Slowly we understood that this yatra has a voice & feelings.”

“The doors of Bharat Jodo Yatra are open for everyone, we are not going to stop anyone from joining us. Akhilesh ji, Mayawati ji and others want ‘Mohabbat ka Hindustan’,” he invited other Opposition parties ahead of 2024 elections.

I consider them (BJP) as my Guru, they are showing me the way and training me on what is not to be done.

—Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader

New Delhi (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will return to power for a third consecutive term after the 2024 general election, even though there could be many candidates for the post.

Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) and the country’s only candidate for the post of prime minister is Narendra Modi. “Narendra Modi will become the prime minister again with the blessings of people,” he told a press conference here.

“@narendramodi

POLITICAL BATTLE AHEAD

2023 to set the tone for 2024 Lok Sabha elections

New Delhi (ANI): As 2023 is knocking at the door, the next year is going to be politically crucial as several highstakes political battles are set to take place that are likely to set the tone for 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

At least nine states, from the northeast to the west and south to the central part of the country, are due to witness assembly elections in 2023. The coming year also holds significance for the anti-BJP

parties who have been vocal about forming a united opposition for some time now. The

election-bound states include Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh,

Telangana, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram. Further, if all goes well, the gov-

ernment may also hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir next year. In that context, the election-bound 2023 can be considered as the semifinal ahead mega battle of 2024.

Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are the two states where there is a Congress government. So it is probably not wrong to be said that there is a fight for survival for Congress which got a boost after winning the recently

held Himachal polls.

In Rajasthan, Congress wrested power from the BJP in 2018 by winning 100 seats in the 200-member state Assembly. The BJP, which got a thumping majority by winning 163 seats in 2013, could manage to get only 73 seats in 2018.

The State will again see a direct fight between the BJP and Congress in 2023. Since 1990, the power in Rajasthan has been swinging between BJP and Congress.

ADVERTISER CAN DO GENERIC COMPARISON WITH OTHER PRODUCTS:

New

COURT

online while he was trying to book an appointment at a hospital in November. Additional Sessions Judge Shailender Malik denied the relief to West Bengal resident Shyam Babu Giri, who was alleged to have cheated the officer posted in the Ministry of Commerce of Rs 33,400. The judge, while noting that “extraordinary relief of anticipatory bail can be granted only in extraordinary circumstances”, said the details of the modus operandi by which the offence was committed was yet to be ascertained.

Patna (PTI): Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Saturday made it clear that he had “no problems” with the Congress, his ally in the state, pushing for Rahul Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate for the next general elections. Talking to media here, the Janata Dal (U) leader also reiterated that he was “not a claimant” for the top post.

New Delhi: An advertiser needs to have the freedom to make advertisements containing “generic comparison” with other related products to highlight its own product and mere allusions are not sufficient to make out a case of disparagement, the Delhi High Court has said in a recent order. The court made the observation on a lawsuit by Zydus Wellness Products against Dabur India over commercials for ‘Dabur Glucoplus-C Orange’ as it refused to pass an interim order to restrain alleged “unfair competition” and disparagement in relation to the plaintiff’s ‘Glucon-D Tangy Orange’.

DELHI HIGH

New Delhi: A Delhi court, while dismissing a revision petition against an order of a magisterial court to register an FIR in a case of alleged embezzlement of funds by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials, has requested the Joint Commissioner of Police concerned to ensure a fair, impartial and expeditious probe. Deprecating the approach of the state government to oppose the directions of the magisterial court, the court said “it is incomprehensible as to why the state seems to be so averse to an effort to bring the skeletons behind the closet to see the light of the day.” The court was hearing the revision petition by Kuldeep Singh, a treasurer in MCD, who said that the order of the magisterial court was not sustainable.

Delhi: A Delhi court has denied anticipatory bail to a 28-year-old man accused of cheating an IAS officer

COURT DENIES ANTICIPATORY BAIL TO MAN WHO CHEATED IAS OFFICER ONLINE

Amit Shah inaugurates the ITBP residential and non-residential complexes at Devanahalli, in Bengaluru on Saturday. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and Karnataka CM Basavraj Bommai also present.

Cricketers Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya meet Union HM Amit Shah at his residence, in New Delhi on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI

SHAH TO LAUNCH JANA BISWAS RATH YATRA IN TRIPURA ON JANUARY 5

Agartala: Focusing upon the upcoming Assembly Election in Tripura, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Jana Biswas Rath Yatra in the state.

SHAH

CONGRESS PRESIDENT KHARGE LASHES OUT AT BJP, ACCUSES IT OF CHEATING INDIANS

Thiruvananthapuruam (Agencies): With a likely cabinet reshuffle by PM Narendra Modi, it is speculated that popular actor Suresh Gopi might get a berth. Gopi, who till April, was a nominated member by BJP to the Rajya Sabha, was keen to get an extension and he wished that the extension comes with a cabinet berth. Gopi was a candidate at the 2019 Lok Sabha poll from Trissur and also in the 2021 Trissur assembly constituency.

SHAH A ‘POLITICAL TRADER’ WHO TAKES IN CORRUPT PEOPLE INTO BJP: SIDDARAMAIAH

Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Saturday that the soldiers deputed in border areas of the country will get to stay with their families or in headquarters for 100 days in a year. Delivering a speech after inauguration and laying the foundation stone of various projects of ITBP and

Research and

New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday lashed out at the BJP and said that Indians know that the BJP has cheated them. Kharge took to Twitter and reminded PM Narendra Modi of his promises. He said that the BJP could not meet all these promises in 2022.

ji, today is the last day of 2022. You said that by 2022... every farmer’s income will be doubled. Every Indian will have a house. Every house will get 24x7 electricity. This didn’t happen... ... But every Indian knows that BJP has cheated him!” Kharge tweeted in Hindi.

Bengaluru: Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah took a dig at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for calling the Congress corrupt by terming the latter a “political trader” who inducted tainted people in the state BJP. In a series of tweets on Friday night, Siddaramaiah sarcastically “commended” the hypocrisy of Shah for talking about corruption despite retaining leaders in the Karnataka unit of BJP who are steeped in wrongdoing by charging 40 per cent commission in recruitment, transfer, promotion, allocation of grants, implementation of works and payment of bills.

Mehbooba Mufti

Former J&K CM (in her letter to the Chief Justice of India)

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during a press conference, in New Delhi, on Saturday. —PHOTO

Dr SL Thaosen, IPS takes over additional charge of Director General Border Security Force from Pankaj Kumar Singh, IPS, at BSF Headquarters, in New Delhi on Saturday.

Vice President Dhankhar greets the nation on New Year’s eve

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has greeted the nation on the eve of New Year – 2023. In his message, he said, this joyous occasion is an opportunity to continue our efforts

The nation that is on rise as never before, is a favored global destination of growth, opportunity and investments.

—Jagdeep Dhankhar, Vice President

with greater vigour ensuring the upward growth trajectory.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said that the nation that is on rise as never before, is a favored global desti-

nation of growth, opportunity and investments. He has appealed to people to usher in the new year with a resolve to take India to greater heights of progress and prosperity.

Year 2022 was more peaceful than previous 4 years: J&K DGP

Zero Terror is our New

Jammu: In his yearender media conference on Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said that 2022 was more peaceful as compared to the previous four years.

Addressing mediapersons here, the DGP said that 56 foreigner terrorists were among 186 killed in 2022.

Giving details, Singh said, “One hundred youth joined militancy in the year, 17 were arrested, the others were killed and only 18 are now active. We haven’t seen such a lowest local militant recruitment in the past four years. Also, a total of 159 militants/ over ground workers (OGWs) were arrested.

Fourteen cops and 17 security force personnel were killed in operations against the militants in the year 2022.

“Mission Zero Terror is our New Year resolu-

tion. In 2022, we busted 146 militant modules. The law and order situation was most peaceful in 2022.

A total of 1,350 UAPA cases are under investigation. The SIA and SIUs are doing a great job.

“We conducted large

Chandigarh: Chandigarh Police on Saturday said they are investigating allegations of rape attempt levelled by an athletics coach against Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh, a former Olympian. Former captain of the Indian national hockey team, Sandeep Singh has rubbished the charges as "politically motivated". The woman, who participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics, was recruited as a junior coach in the Sports Department in September.

NEPALESE HELD ON CHARGES OF IMPERSONATION

Kolkata: In a joint raid by personnel of the Indian Army and the West Bengal district police, a citizen of Nepal impersonating as an Indian Army colonel, was arrested on Saturday from Sukhiapokhri area adjacent to the Indo-Nepal border in Darjeeling district of West Bengal. The arrested person has been identified as Man Bahadur Gurung, a resident of Taratal in Bardiya district of Nepal.

HYDERABAD: 15 INJURED AS BUS GOES OFF ROAD

Hyderabad: At least 15 passengers were injured when a TSRTC bus rammed into bushes at Rajendra Nagar on the city outskirts on Saturday. According to police, driver of the city bus belonging to TSRTC lost control and as a result the vehicle veered off the road and rammed into roadside bushes before coming to a halt. The accident occurred near Hydershakote in Rangareddy district.

scale anti-militancy operations through out the year in which 186 militants, including 56 foreigners, were killed. Majority of the slain militants were affiliated to Lashkar-eToiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed,” the DGP said.

172 TERRORISTS KILLED IN KASHMIR IN 2022; RECRUITMENT DOWN BY 37%: ADGP

A total of 172 terrorists, including 42 foreigners, were killed in more than 90 operations carried out by the security forces in Kashmir in 2022. “During year 2022, total 93 successful encounters took place in Kashmir in which 172 terrorists including 42 foreign terrorists got neutralised,” Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar wrote on Twitter.

Bihar hooch tragedy’s mastermind arrested in Delhi

New Delhi: Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has arrested a man wanted in the cases related to the spurious liquor tragedy in Bihar’s Saran which claimed the lives of 73 people, an official said on Saturday.

The accused has been identified as Ram Babu Mahto, a resident of Doila village in Saran district.

According to Ravindra Singh Yadav, the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), information was received by the Inter-State Cell of the Crime Branch that Mahto may be hiding somewhere in Delhi.

Kerala Guv Arif Mohd Khan extends New Year greetings

Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Saturday

people of the state on the eve of the New Year and wished it ushers in a period of plenty, equity and wellbeing for everyone.

“I earnestly wish that the year 2023 strengthens our harmony in ideas and endeavours for Kerala’s development and ushers in a period of plenty, equity and well-being for everyone in our state,” Khan added.

Pant likely to be shifted to Delhi: DDCA Director

New Delhi: In a statement, BSF mentioned, “The troops of the Punjab Frontier have maintained an extremely high level of alertness and vigil. Resultantly, BSF has successfully detected and captured 22 drones and seized 316.988 kgs of heroin, 67 weapons, 850 rounds.”

Nod for airport near Sabarimala temple

Thiruvananthapuram:

With four international airports already in operation in Kerala, the state government on Saturday gave the nod for land acquisition to build a fifth airport in Kottayam district near the famed Sabarimala temple.

The order from the Revenue Department states that 2,570 acres of land will be taken between Erumeli South and Manimala. The Cheruvally rubber estate has been selected as the place for the proposed airport.

Outside of the rubber estate, 307 acres of land will also have to be acquired, the order says.

The airport will be located 48 kms from the Sabarimala airport and will have a runway of 3,500 metres.

The state-run KSIDC has been appointed as the nodal agency for all the preliminary work, including taking over the land.

The state govt has all along contested that this land originally belonged to it.

Jammu: A total of 186 terrorists, including 56 Pakistani nationals, were killed and 159 arrested in 2022 which proved to be the most successful in recent years. J&K DGP said the police and other security agencies are moving in the right direction to achieve “zero terror” activities in the Union territory.

“On the basis of technical surveillance as well as specific inputs, Mahto was nabbed from Dwarka,” Yadav said.

New Delhi (ANI): The Delhi & District Cricket Association Director Shyam Sharma said a DDCA team will be at Max Hospital in Dehradun to monitor Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant’s health, who met with an accident on Dec 30, and if needed the batterwicketkeeper would be airlifted to Delhi for his plastic surgery.

While returning from Delhi to Roorkee, Pant’s car collided with the divider on the Narsan border of Roorkee near

J&K: Snowfall brings smile on tourists’ faces

Indore (PTI): Four members of a family tested positive for coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district on Saturday, and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing, an official said. A 45-year-old man, his wife and their daughters, aged 12 and seven years, living in Agrawal Nagar colony have tested positive for the infection, district surveillance officer Dr Amit Malakar told PTI.

“Their samples were sent for testing after they complained of cough and cold,” he said.

Srinagar: The prolonged dry spell in Kashmir was broken as the valley received overnight light to moderate snowfall which brought slight relief from the intense cold conditions, even as the flight operations at the Srinagar airport were affected early morning.

PM MODI’S VISION

The snowfall, which was the season’s first in the plains of the valley, however led to the closure of the SrinagarLeh national highway, the officials said.

While the plains of Kashmir received light snowfall, the higher reaches experienced moderate snow.

Hammadpur Jhal on Friday. Sharma said that Pant might be airlifted to the National Capital for further surgery as he suffered multiple injuries.

Talking to ANI, Sharma said: “A team of Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) is going to Max Hospital Dehradun to monitor his health, if required we’ll shift him to Delhi and chances are high that we’ll airlift him to Delhi for plastic surgery.”

Ahead of EC’s delimitation deadline, Assam merges 4 dists

Assam: Ahead of the EC’s deadline on starting the delimitation exercise for assembly and parliamentary seats, the Cabinet decided to merge four districts with existing ones and redraw boundaries in 14 places on 31 Dec. As per details, Biswanath district will get merged with Sonitpur, Hojai with Nagaon, Bajali with Barpeta and Tamulpur with Baksa. Also, the decision comes into effect immediately and notifications have been issued and with this the number of districts in state will now get reduced from 35 to 31.

PMBJP providing medicines at affordable prices

Hyderabad: Anjani Kumar, who earlier held post of Director General, ACB, on Saturday assumed office as the new DGP of Telangana. The 1990-batch IPS officer, who took charge at state police headquarters, succeeded M. Mahendar Reddy, who demitted office on reaching superannuation. Several senior police officials congratulated Anjani Kumar on the occasion. Mahendar Reddy, who served as the head of state police force for five years, was given farewell by his successor and other senior police officials.

New Delhi (ANI): The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers on Saturday said that medicines are being made available under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), priced 50-90 per cent less than that of branded medicines fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ensuring high-quality medicines at affordable prices to all.

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi

Pariyojana (PMBJP) was launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India in November 2008. The target of opening 3,000 Kendras was achieved in December 2017.

Further, a revised target of total 6,000 outlets was also achieved in March 2020.

In this journey, the number of Kendras has now increased to 9,000

from 8,610 in the last financial year.

Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in a

statement said that the government has deepened the reach of PMBJP with more than

9,000 stores covering 743 out of 766 districts across the country.

The Government has set a target to increase the number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) to 10,000 by March 2024.

The product basket of PMBJP comprises 1,759 medicines and 280 surgical devices covering all major therapeutic groups such as Cardiovascular, Anti-cancers, Anit-diabetics,

Anti-infectives, Antiallergic, Gastro-intestinal medicines, Nutraceuticals, etc.

“In addition to this, various nutraceutical products like Protein Powder, Malt-based Food Supplements, etc. and some AYUSH products like Ayuraksha Kit, Balraksha Kit and Ayush-64 tablet as immunity boosters have been added to the product basket of the Pariyojana,” the Ministry said.

Mission

Year resolution, says Jammu & Kashmir top cop Dilbag Singh

Transport Ministry team inspecting the car of cricketer Rishabh Pant after it met with an accident, at the Delhi-Dehradun highway.

Tourist walk on a snow-covered road on their way to the Gulmarg.

Family of four tests positive for coronavirus in MP’s Indore

greeted

Srinagar:

HARYANA SPORTS MINISTER FACES ALLEGATIONS OF RAPE ATTEMPT

SENIOR IPS OFFICER ANJANI KUMAR TAKES OVER AS TELANGANA DGP

Arif Mohammed Khan

Jagdeep Dhankhar

Dilbag Singh

New York: The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the 10 largest charitable gifts announced by individuals or their foundations totaled nearly $9.3 billion in 2022. Topping the list is Bill Gates, who gave $5 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to back the grantmaker’s work in global health, development, policy & advocacy, & U.S. education. Gates, whose net worth is estimated at $104 billion, attracted attention in July when he announced he was giving $20 billion to the foundation. —PTI

2022 IN REVIEW

BIZ LEADERS WHO MADE HEADLINES

MUKESH AMBANI

Mukesh Ambani chairs and runs $104 billion (revenue)

Reliance Industries, which has interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom, and retail.

RATAN TATA

Tata Group started the year 2022 with a bang as it took over Air India and in a historic order, Tata Groupled Air India is reportedly close to placing landmark orders for as many as 500 aircrafts. As per a report, these 500 jets are being bought from both Airbus and Boeing as Air India prepares to transform itself under the Tata Group.

GAUTAM ADANI

Reliance Industries Ltd also announced that it will acquire German firm Metro AG’s wholesale operations in India for Rs 2,850 crore as the conglomerate Ambani seeks to strengthen its dominant position in India’s mammoth retail sector.

FALGUNI NAYAR

show Shark Tank India.

The Lenskart founder became a favourite on social media for his sharp business skills, vision, humble approach, and confidence.

ANAND MAHINDRA

NAMITA THAPAR

The company doubled its revenue in the last financial year at $121 million through online and in-store sales. Gazal Alagh was also seen at Shark Tank India.

LEENA NAIR

boss Musk completed the $44 million deal to take over Twitter.

JAYSHREE ULLAL

Mumbai: After years of lackluster performance, the Indian banking sector has been a clear outperformer in 2022 and the credit growth in Q4FY23 is expected to be stronger, said Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd. As per report by Emkay Global, the Indian banking sector performance was led by stronger than-expected credit growth after years of a lackluster performance, sharp margin uptick benefiting from the rate cycle and a far stronger balance sheet now.

INT’L CYBERSECURITY

MKT GROWS 16% TO REACH $17.8 BN IN Q3

The richest Indian and the third richest in the world, Adani left behind Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Adani grabbed headlines throughout the year for his ventures and deals but his appetite for headlines made him grab not only headlines but also a media house. NDTV’s takeover remained the highlight of all his ventures.

OTHER STORIES

Falguni Nayar quit her investment banking job to start Nykaa, a retailer of beauty products. Nayar took Nykaa public in November 2021 and became India’s richest self-made female entrepreneur in 2022. As per the IIFL Wealth Hurun India rich list 2022, Nayar is India’s richest woman with a net worth of Rs 38,700 crores.

PIYUSH BANSAL

The country was pleasantly surprised when Piyushappeared in the reality

ANANT AMBANI, KARAN ADANI TO BE PART OF MAHA’S ECONOMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL

Mumbai: Anant Ambani, the son of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, and Karan Adani, the son of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, have both been nominated as members of Maharashtra’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), as per the chief minister’s office (CMO). Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran will preside over the council, which will include 21 members. “The EAC will play a key role in achieving the goal of a $1-trillion economy. It will function as a private research body with a focus on issues related to agriculture, banking, engineering and education among others,” Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis earlier said in the legislative council. —AGENCIES

The Mahindra group owner is a sound businessman and a social media enthusiast.

Along with running a successful business, he is famous for his candid tweets and interactions on the micro-blogging platform. Be it an incorrectly spelt ‘Croissant’ or telling people why it’s none of his business who his daughters choose to marry, the billionaire made headlines for his social media takes and gestures throughout the year. Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra Group, currently stands at the 91st rank in India’s list of the wealthiest people.

Another shark from the Shark Tank India, Namita became a household name and inspiration for not only entrepreneurs but many social media memes for her careful, calculated, and polite approach on the show. A chartered accountant by profession, Thapar is the executive director of Pune-based Emcure Pharma, worth $730 million.

GHAZAL ALAGH

The 34-yearold’s company Honasa Consumer, which hosts the brand Mamaearth, became a unicorn in January 2022 after closing a $52 million funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. Valued at $1.2 billion, the company was co-founded by Ghazal and her spouse Varun Alagh.

Leena Nair made the headlines after she joined the French ultraluxury lifestyle brand Chanel as Global CEO in January 2022. An alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli in Maharashtra, she became the first woman to become CEO of the iconic and admired company Chanel. Before Chanel, she had a long career at Unilever.

PARAG AGARWAL

After getting appointed as successor to Twitter cofounder and CEO Jack Dorsey in November 2021, Parag Agarwal again hit the headlines after the Elon Musk-Twitter saga started in 2022. He departed from the company on less than friendly terms, having been reportedly escorted out of the building along with other top executives on the same day that Tesla

Global Investors Summit: UP receives investment worth over `1 lakh crore

New Delhi: Elon Musk was the second person ever to amass a personal fortune of more than $200 billion, breaching that threshold in January 2021, months after Jeff Bezos.

New Delhi: The global cybersecurity market grew 15.9 per cent year on year to $17.8 billion in the third quarter this year, despite deteriorating economic conditions, a report has shown. Palo Alto Networks was the number one vendor in the quarter, growing 24.9% and increasing its market share to 8.4 per cent, up from 7.8 per cent in Q3 2021.

Cisco was the secondlargest cybersecurity vendor, with growth of 16.7 per cent and a flat market share of 6.9 per cent. Network security was the largest category, representing $5.1 billion and growing 14.8%. —PTI

PAKISTAN’S

ECONOMY FACES

SEVERE HEADWINDS

CENTRE TO ROLL OUT NEW INTEGRATED FOOD SECURITY SCHEME

New Delhi: The government is set to roll out of center’s new integrated food security Scheme from 1 January 2023, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said. As per the decision made by cabinet, led by PM Narendra Modi, the new Scheme would provide free food grains to 81.35 crore beneficiaries under NFSA, for the year 2023. It would also ensure effective and uniform implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA). —AGENCIES

GLOBAL CELLULAR IOT MODULE MARKET GROWS ONLY 2% IN Q3

New Delhi: Global cellular internet of things (IoT) module shipments grew by only 2% (on-year) in Q3 2022, as China led the market followed by North America and Europe. According to a report by Counterpoint Research, China’s shipments decreased 8 per cent (YoY) in Q3 due to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases.

Automotive, router/CPE, PC, industrial and point of sale (POS) were the top five applications in terms of value in Q3. —PTI

AS PER PROPTIGER REPORTS

Islamabad: Pakistan’s economic situation is facing “severe headwinds” with inflation being forecast to stay high between 21-23% and the cashstrapped country’s fiscal deficit widening by more than 115% in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Pak’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) said that the economic growth is likely to remain below the budgeted target in FY23 due to devastation caused by floods, as per reports. PTI

Born in London and raised in Delhi, Jayshree Ullal was among those who proved their mettle. The president and CEO of Arista Networks, a computer networking firm, she got listed on the Forbes list of America’s richest self-made women. With a net worth of $1.9 billion, Ullal owns 5% of Arista’s stock.

DEVIKA

Devika Bulchandani is another addition to Indian talent rocking the stage at the global level. She was appointed as the Global CEO of the advertising, marketing, and public relations agency Ogilvy in September 2022. She is responsible for all aspects of the creative network’s business across 131 offices in 93 countries. Before being appointed as global CEO, Bulchandani served as Global President and CEO of Ogilvy North America & took the helm from Andy who stepped down as Global CEO.

The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer has now achieved a first of his own: becoming the only person in history to erase $200 billion from their net worth. Musk has seen his wealth plummet to $137 billion after Tesla shares tumbled in recent weeks, including an 11% drop on Tuesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Elon Musk’s fortune peaked at $340 billion on Nov. 4, 202.

New Delhi: Investors have submitted proposals to the UP State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) for the construction of industrial facilities in various state districts totaling more than Rs 1 lakh crore.

The UP government stated in a statement released here that memoranda of intent (MoUs) worth Rs 83,000 crore had been inked regarding these investment proposals.

The Global Investors Summit, which will take

place in Lucknow from February 10–12, 2023, will see the completion of these MoUs. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), UPSIDA, Mayur Maheshwari said the state government is making complete efforts to make Uttar Pradesh a trillion-dollar economy. To achieve the target, nine teams of senior officials of UPSIDA were constituted.

In the first phase, meetings were organised with investors and entrepreneurs in 22 districts of the state.

Over 98,000 unsold homes in Delhi-NCR at 2022-end

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi-NCR market has 98,290 unsold housing units at the end of 2022 calendar year and it will take around five years for builders to sell these stocks at current sales velocity, as per PropTiger. com. In its latest report, housing brokerage firm PropTiger has mentioned that unsold inventory rose 17% in 2022 to 8,49,510 units across eight major cities.

Out of these, nearly 8.5 lakh unsold stocks, 80 per cent units are under construction, while 20 per cent homes are completed and ready-to-move-in. These

cities are -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and

Ahmedabad. With improvement in housing sales across 8 cities, the inventory overhang -- the estimated time builders would

take to sell off the existing unsold stock based on the current sales velocity -- has declined to 33 months in 2022, as compared to 42

months during 2021, the consultant said. “Pune, Kolkata and Chennai have the lowest inventory overhang of 26 months, whereas, Delhi NCR continues to have the highest inventory overhang of 61 months,” PropTiger said.

The Delhi-NCR market has been facing this issue of unsold inventories for many years as sales velocity has remained subdued. The NCR market is plagued with the problem of stalled projects as many big developers including Unitech, Amrapali, Jaypee Infratech, The 3C Company and Ajnara Group.

Tata Motors to complete acquisition of Ford India’s manufacturing Plant in Jan 10

New Delhi: The auto major said that the acquisition of Ford India’s (FIPL) manufacturing plant at Sanand, through its subsidiary, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEML) will be completed on 10 January 2023.

On 7 August 2022, Tata Motors said that its subsidiary, TPEML and FIPL had executed a unit transfer agreement for the acquisition of FIPL’s manufacturing plant situated at Sanand, Gujarat.

TATA STEEL, TUTR HYPERLOOP TO DEVELOP HYPERLOOP TECH

Chennai (ANI): Tata Steel and TuTr Hyperloop have signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) at IIT Madras, to jointly work on the development and deployment of hyperloop technology at scale. The main research areas will focus on key challenges of design and materials selection.

Debashish Bhattacharjee, Vice-President, Technology and New Materials Business, Tata Steel, said: “We encourage and foster homegrown technologies and are committed to drive them towards commercial success.”

BANK CREDIT DEVP TO BE STRONGER: EMKAY GLOBAL

BILL GATES MADE BIGGEST CHARITABLE DONATION IN 2022

rom Ratan Tata and Gautam Adani to Falguni Nayar and Kaivalya Vohra, take a look at Indian business leaders who grabbed headlines in the year gone by.

Musk becomes first person in history to lose $200 billion

Mirch Masala

FIRST

INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL

BY TRIDIB RAMAN

The author is a journalist and political commentator and views expressed are his personal

There are many surefire arrows in BJP’s quiver for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, such as the rise of Hindutva, Uniform Civil Code, Ram Mandir, etc., but in the last few elections, including the UP elections, the most successful ‘Brahmastra’ of the BJP has been to the ‘Poor - Free ration’.

PM Modi himself believes that ‘the poor cannot be fed by just showing the photo of the food, it is necessary to provide them ration to fill their stomach.’ The intelligence report received by the government also indicates that the PM’s ‘free grain scheme’

given to poor has added to PM’s popularity. A source close to the PMO claims that the PM has told his core group on several occasions that ‘if the total budget of the Government of India is around Rs 40 lakh crore, then if out of this Rs 2 lakh crore is given as free ration to the poor people, what is wrong with it? After all, we are a ‘welfare state’, it is our responsibility that ‘No one sleeps hungry.’ So, there are indications that the programme of giving free ration to 813.5 million poor Indians will continue at least till 2024 elections. It will remain so, no matter how much the economists break their heads over it.

WHY IS SUSHIL SHINDE RETIRING?

Senior Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde became so emotional on Congress’s Foundation Day, Dec 28, that he announced his retirement from politics on the same day. If sources are to be believed, Shinde was running very upset with Party High Command for some time. Shinde had been hoping for a long time that the Gandhi family would give him an important role in Party. Even two years ago, his name was floated for the post of Congress President, as he was considered very close to Rahul Gandhi. This time also, another Dalit leader Mallikarjun Kharge won the race for President’s post, as the Gandhi family was also looking at the upcoming assembly polls in Karnataka. This time, when Rahul’s BJY was leaving Maharashtra, Shinde wanted to take Rahul to Chandrapur & get a gigantic statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar unveiled by him. Rahul was also ready for this, but in last minute, Shinde’s opponents filled Rahul’s ears & the ‘Yatra’ passed by the statue but Rahul didn’t unveil it. Now, on January 26, local leaders of Chandrapur (including BJP leaders) would unveil the statue. Anyway, Shinde wasn’t even invited to Chintan Shivir of Congress, felt that enough is enough and thought it right to sit at home.

BITTER RELATIONSHIPS OF KERALA

In Kerala, the bitterness between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Arif Mohammad Khan is increasing. Recently, on the occasion of Christmas, Governor Khan organised a grand party at Raj Bhavan, where invitation was sent to the CM & other prominent State leaders. But neither the CM came to Governor’s party, nor did any leader of the state’s main Opposition Congress party attend. While a special invitation was sent to Congress leader VD Satheesan from the Raj Bhavan, he didn’t turn up, nor did any minister of the Vijayan government attend the Guv’s feast. On the contrary, Vijayan kept his Christmas party at the Mascot Hotel, which comes under Kerala Tourism, where Governor was not invited. Leaders of many parties including Congress were involved in this party, which was enough to show the mirror to the Governor, that is, neither the ruling party of the state is liking the unnecessary interference of the Governor in the administration nor the Opposition Congress itself.

ewly

WOMEN AT THE FRONTLINES OF INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS IN 2022

The year 2022 was undoubtedly a rollercoaster ride, as a record number of incidents took place that nobody saw coming. So, honouring this rollercoaster year, here are the world’s most talked about crises and iconic moments that made huge headlines.

HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN UNDER TALIBAN RULE

Stories about women and how they drive change are often silenced, but in 2022 they took centerstage and came on the front lines of every crisis and conflict, whether it was Abortion law in the United States, Anti-Hijab protests in Iran, or Education Rights in Afghanistan. Women’s bid to reclaim their rights has earned widespread international support and prompted solidarity protests in India, too.

protecting the remote and beautiful Sierra Gorda. A group of women in Niger integrated refugees and migrants in their bid to stave off desertification by creating a thriving market garden. A mechanical engineer in Kenya had to fight gender discrimination to develop practical and affordable energy solutions.

UKRAINIAN WOMEN IN THE BATTLE FIELD

Six months after the US Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe Wade ruling, the state of abortion rights around the country remains unsettled, thanks to the patchwork of lawsuits in state courts ad emergency court orders.

JOHNNY DEPP AND AMBER HEARD TRIAL

WOMAN REFEREE AT MEN’S WORLD CUP

Stéphanie Frappart of France became the first woman lead referee at a men’s World Cup match when she officiated a game between Costa Rica and Germany in Qatar in December. This was also the first men’s World Cup game to have an all-woman referee team.

ANTI-HIJAB PROTESTS IN AYATOLLAH’S IRAN

Those who think that PM Modi keeps a distance from the media, they are in for a surprise. The PM keeps meeting selected journos and takes ‘feedback’ from them. Just like in past, the PM invited some selected editors for tea at his home. An enlightened editor wanted to know PM’s opinion about 2024 general elections and told him that ‘24 won’t be easy for you, because you are losing Karnataka’. On this, PM quipped saying, ‘Thankfully you have only Karnataka in your mind, otherwise our condition isn’t good even in MP & C’garh. But you can’t consider state elections as a benchmark for LS polls, voting patterns of voters are different in both polls. Congress had won MP, Chhattisgarh & Raj in 2018-2019 assembly polls as well, but how much did it increase seats of Congress in the 2019 LS polls? Now let everyone play their own game (PM was probably referring to Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra) when the time comes, I will also play my game.’

But

The enthusiasm that is being seen all over the country regarding Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra ’ and the huge crowd that is gathering in it, has still not brought any tension to BJP. The saffron party’s survey says that ‘his visit may have made Rahul the most acceptable face of the Opposition, but he has not been able to project himself as an alternative to Modi.’ Sources close to Rahul reveal that ‘ Rahul has also decided in his heart that he will not be the face of the Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Instead, in the elections of 2024, the concept of ‘collective leadership’ will be implemented, which will mainly be formed by bringing together three people, and apart from Rahul, Priyanka can be a face in this. If Sonia will not participate in this race due to her health reasons, then the slot of a third leader remains vacant.

Congress has a long list of contenders to fit in this slot, which will also be decided when the time comes.

The entire world witnessed Afghanistan’s military forces and government surrendering to the Taliban without a fight when it took control in August 2021, and since then, the nation is still facing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The country’s economy has no cash to pay salaries or buy food and women are still protesting against the education ban and they feel like "caged birds".

WOMEN TACKLING THE CLIMATE CRISIS

Mexican violinist Martha Corzo led and inspired a group of some 17,000 local environmental activists, devoted to

An estimated 57,000 women have served in the Ukrainian armed forces, including on the front lines as first responders and in combat specialties, including as armored vehicle gunners, infantry commanders and snipers.

ABORTION BAN IN THE UNITED STATES

Amber Heard filed a domestic violence restraining order against Depp and brought photographic evidence of the alleged abuse she suffered. Heard's attorney claimed that Depp sexually assaulted her but after heated discussions and debates for weeks, the highly-publicized defamation case ended in May and the verdict was in favour of the Pirates of the Caribbean actor.

THINGS THAT HAPPENED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2022

Since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, Iranian women have poured into the streets to protest their government’s decades long oppression of women. Thousands of women then turned to cutting their hair as an act of defiance in a stance against the rules of the hijab being compulsory.

hasn’t yet

this.

sought opinion in this regard from

his

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

z The most significant world event of this year. It’s been over 300 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the eight-yearold conflict has devastated the country with multiple air strikes, which isolated Russia further from the West and fueled economic insecurity around the world.

THE UK SEES 3 PMS IN 2 MONTHS

z Rishi Sunak became the UK’s 3rd Prime Minister in less than 2 months — the fifth in 6 years. Sunak made history as the first person of color to become UK PM.

He is also the first person of the Hindu faith to sit in that office and may even be the first PM who comes to the job with more wealth than the British royal family.

FAMOUS PERSONALITIES WE LOST

z India also lost two of its most popular artists - singer Lata Mangeshkar, fondly referred to as India’s Nightingale, and music composer Bappi Lahiri aka the ‘disco king’ of the Indian music industry.

z Shockingly, former President of Japan Shinzo Abe was assassinated while speaking at a public event. The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, was arrested on the scene and charged with murder.

z Sports legend Roger Federer announced his retirement from tennis, leaving behind millions of heartbroken fans and also rivals – like longtime competitor and friend, Rafael Nadal.

After registering its strong presence in the Gujarat elections, the next target of the Aam Aadmi Party could be Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan. Arvind Kejriwal’s strategy is to build AAP’s mass base in one state year- after -year till 2029. AAP’s focus is more on those states where it can replace Congress. It seems that Kejriwal has imbibed the BJP’s agenda of ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’, apparently, somewhere in his campaign, he is also getting the support of saffron beliefs.

z The untimely demise of Indian singer KK due to cardiac arrest and death of an Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds in a car crash left the world shocked.

z Popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, aged 28, became the victim of a gang war.

z India lost its own Warren Buffet Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Jhunjhunwala died due to multiple organ failure, aged 62. At the time of his death, Jhunjhunwala was the 438th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $5.8 billion, according to Forbes.

z India assumed the G-20 presidency for the next year. India will host over 200 meetings in over 50 cities.

z The world was sent into the throes of another virus – Monkeypox.

z Massive floods wreaked havoc in Pakistan from June to August which killed more than 1,400 people and caused an estimated $30 billion in damage as houses, crops and key infrastructure were swept away.

20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, who announced his retirement after the Laver Cup in London, poses for a picture with Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic Bollywood actors Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Akshay Kumar, former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and Indian tennis player Sania Mirza at the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in 2014. —PHOTO BY ANI

WILL SMITH SLAPS CHRIS ROCK AT THE OSCARS

z The 94th Academy Awards had the audience shocked as actors Will Smith and Chris Rock had an unscripted altercation. The Will Smith slapgate incident was highly condemned but it also highlighted Jada Pinkett Smith’s fight with Alopecia.

N

appointed President of Bihar Congress Akhilesh Singh has invited Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge to Bihar to flag off the ‘Yatra’ starting from Jan 5 from Digvijay Singh’s ‘Nanihal.’

Kharge

agreed on

Kharge has

one of

advisors, Rajya Sabha MP Syed Nasir Hussain. After much deliberation, Hussain has come to the opinion that ‘At least in his first visit, the Cong Nat’l Prez shouldn’t visit states like Bihar or UP, as party’s cadre their is extremely weak’, so for Kharge, getting a crowd there will be a tough challenge. Hussain had also sought opinion of local Congress unit of Bihar & then he concluded that Kharge shouldn’t visit Bihar. Hussain has conveyed his opinion to President, and now Kharge has to take the final decision.

PM’S ‘CHAIR PE CHARCHA’ WITH JOURNALISTS WILL KHARGE GO TO BIHAR?

BJP IS NOT WORRIED ABOUT RAHUL’S YATRA

PM COMMITTED TO PROVIDE FOOD TO POOR & DESTITUTE

As we enter into the NEW YEAR 2023, let us all think about what can we do to make it better not just for our own selves but also for others. The first thing is to love yourself. It is only when we love and accept ourselves that we will have acceptance and love for others in our hearts. Promise yourself that you will take joy in the little things in the days that unfold- by the sunshine on your face, the breeze in your hair, the smell of coffee, the smile of a child, the beautiful flowers dotting, the roadside- all make our life beautiful and joyful… these simplest of things. Strive to make the minutes better, and the hours, days, weeks, months and the year will automatically open their petals for YOU with peace and prosperity and happiness.

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US AT FIRST INDIA FOR ALL OUR READERS AND MORE.

PURGE YOUR CLOSET

Is there a more therapeutic activity than cleaning out your closet? Never settle for anything less than clothing that accentuates your greatest features. Get rid of outdated clothing to make place for new wardrobe additions that will fit your ever-changing style in the coming year.

Beginning on New Year’s Day, planning challenges might arise.

There’s pressure to get the year off to a good start, and you could worry that if you don’t achieve anything extraordinary, it might be a sign of things to come. As it was originally intended, New Year’s Day should be a straightforward occasion to pause, consider the positive aspects of the previous year, and make resolutions for even more positive outcomes in the year ahead.

Starting the year off right can be a challenge, especially in light of unwarranted social pressure, but it can also be a thoughtful and rewarding experience. We’ve come up with a list of 9 options suitable for everybody in any mental or physical state to allay your concern over your New Year’s Day plans.

2023 is yours to keep as long as you do, whether you’re searching for a healing getaway or require a day of hibernation.

ACTIVITIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL START TO THE NEW YEAR

Festivities at home can be amazingly fun, all you need is a few crazy ideas. City First gives you some insights about unique ways to celebrate this New Year’s Eve at your very own home.

4 FAMILY-FUN GAME DAY

Host a game or party day with friends or family to bring in the new year with joy and fun. Cards Against Humanity or Taboo are usually likely to draw a crowd if you’re not sure which games to choose.

TAKE A ROAD TRIP

Whether you’re travelling alone, with family, or with your significant other, taking the wheel may be freeing. Make a trip plan or just follow the road as it takes you! It is the best an introvert could wish for.

A MOVIE MARATHON

SPEND TIME PREPARING MEALS OR BAKING

Meal planning is the ideal method to get your detox after the holiday excess started. Spend time in bulk sautéing, chopping, and baking, in which you can include enough greens in your diet to help prevent winter colds.

SING YOUR HEART OUT WITH KARAOKE

Karaoke is undoubtedly one of the best ways to spend New Year’s eve at home. All you need is a record player to set the mood of the night. Gather your friends and family members and spend the eve singing your favourite songs to your heart’s content.

ENJOY A PHOTO SESSION WITH QUIRKY PROPS

7 RELISH IN THE “ME TIME”

Spending time alone is essential for maintaining good mental health. On New Year’s Eve, you may unwind and splurge. Take a well-deserved break from your busy schedule, and take some peaceful “me time.” The advantages of hot chocolate may be enjoyed while reading your favourite book. Remember to get out of your cosy pyjamas. Thanks to the time you spent by yourself on New Year’s Eve, you may start the New Year by giving yourself more love.

stances and taking memorable images.

PLAN A FEELGOOD DAY

While ringing in the new year might be joyful for some, it can also be challenging for others.

It’s possible that life hasn’t gone as planned for you during the past year. Or perhaps the holidays are a particularly trying time for you (very common, by the way). If so, organising a happy New Year’s Day might help you avoid feeling depressed or lonely.

MRIDULA SHARMA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

MRIDULA SHARMA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

The epidemic, demonstrations, and several other challenges that the year 2023 brought made life rather tough for people all across the world. But as this year draws to a close, we should all acknowledge that with each year that passes, one should leave behind re-

grettable experiences and errors. So let’s all be upbeat and happy as

we welcome the new year of 2023 with bright spirits and goals for the

future. We should make a commitment to not allowing the bad times to keep us from looking forward to the future and putting up the necessary effort to realise our goals. So let’s all welcome the new year with much-needed optimism and joy.

I hope this is the year I become the person I always wanted to be, Despite my struggle, I hope to overcome each and everything smiling. I cherish every moment I have to spend with my mom, dad and brother. I have started something new in 2022 which will take me on a new adventure in the upcoming years.

STAR-STUDDED NIGHT

MITIKA JAIN

Last year was hard for me. Due to my anti-social nature, it was very difficult for me to interact with anyone. But I am glad to my Special one for being there for me on a very difficult journey. It is crucial that individuals learn how to use and improve their public speaking abilities in the middle of this so that what they have to say is really heard! I believe 2023 will be my year and I will overcome this weakness of mine.

MANSHA RAJ

This year has been a roller-coaster ride for me. Sometimes I cried sometimes I laughed it was like a bitter-sweet journey for me. 2022 has taught me a lot of things and made me a better person in understanding how to live a life. I can say I am much more mature now. I know how to grow alone and love my own company. I hope 2023 comes with a lot of positivity and luck for me.

‘For a pleasant and secure New Year’s Eve’

City First

The Grand finale of Queen of Delhi was organised at hotel Eros, New Delhi on Friday, December 30 2022, The Grand eve was curated by Kamakhya Flick’s production. Participants from all across the country competed for the title, Grand finale also witnessed many celebrities, VIPs and industry experts gracing the event. Rajesh Singh Sooryavanshi, Pria Warrick, Shilpi Arora, Raj Kamal Gupta and Prerna Mandloi were some of the celebrity judges at the show.

The grand Ceremony also witnessed energetic and vibrant performances by Singer Amty Singh and participants. Founders Dr Shubhanshu Singh Rajput and Sachin Singh motivated all participants and focused on Women’s Empowerment and Awareness against Acid attacks on women.

Janvi Adhikari was de-

Let’s

Delhi.

afety is unquestionably the primary concern if you’re going out tonight for New Year’s Eve at a bar or club.

In the end, our safety is in our hands, even if Delhi Police is maintaining tight se curity by deploying extra work ers, restau rant owners are setting up house drops and hiring additional female bouncers for women’s protection.

Umang Tewari, the founder of Key nightclub, says, “The party season brings more responsibilities on us, and ensuring women’s safety is always on top of the list. We hire 30% extra staff for the De-

time, for more guarded supervision.” Talking about the addition of female bouncers, he says, “We also have female bouncers so ladies feel comfortable confiding in them, in case they face any trouble.

Immediate actions are being taken to resolve such issues.”

Sahil Sambhi, the co-

founder of Molecule, says, “Right from arranging the drops for patrons to taking action when the team is alerted of anything unpleasant at the outlets, we’re making sure security arrangements are well taken care of.”

Not just customers, the safety of women staff is a priority for the party venues too.

Sharad Madan, the cofounder of Khubani, says, “We ensure that the safety of our female staff is also taken care of and it has been our utmost priority.”

es, beverages, and mocktails. Invite your friends to join your

THE ASHOKA HOTEL, DELHI

We’re all geared up to ring in 2023 with a boom as it’s less than a day away.

While some of us are on the road, others have already reserved tables for brunches and dinners on January 1. Some people may also have scheduled stayca-

tions for the new year (and if you haven’t yet, you need to check here!). Many of us are also anticipating spending the evening alone at home, enjoying the company of our loved ones. Some people still want to make plans and

celebrate into 2023, though. As for parties, Delhi surely knows how to throw a good one!

Make your New Year’s celebration in 2022 even more thrilling by going to one of these places in Delhi for a fun-filled evening.

21 SHOTS, GURUGRAM

You would be familiar with the types of events that 21 Shots hosts if you reside in Gurugram. It is the perfect place to spend New Year’s eve and the following day, with a menu offering a variety of specialities, sweet dish-

The Ashoka Hotel is a well-known name, and its festive parties are widely popular. The New Year party would begin on December 31 and continue till January 1. You will definitely have unlimited fun.

JUNKYARD CAFE, DELHI

One of the most frequented locations in New Delhi is Junkyard Cafe. There are several things you may do

here on New Year’s Eve or Day, from the decor to the food buffet. It will also be among the top locations in Delhi-NCR for you to travel with your significant other.

IMPERFECTO, NOIDA

The restaurant chain Imperfecto is wellknown for its delectable cuisine, and lively atmosphere. One of its eateries is in Noida, where it already attracts a lot of partygoers. They are now preparing for the Christmas party and will shortly be celebrating New Year’s in style.

clared the winner of Queen of Delhi 2022 while the first and second runner-up was

Mamta Kumari and Sparkle Batra. The winners received up to Rs. 3 lakhs cash prize.

SALONI SHARMA

CHARVI SHARMA

This new year I want to forget every bad memory I have experienced. I want to forget the past and celebrate the present in this new year. So, Here’s a toast to the future, a toast to the past, and a toast to our friends, far and near. Happy New Year!

ADITI KUSHWAHA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Stunning winners Mamta Kumari, Janvi Adhikari and Sparkle Batra

Maa Bhavani Shankar Nand

Giri ji Kinnar Maharaj

Prerna Mandloi

(L-R) Shilpi Arora, Rajesh Singh Suryavanshi, Pria Warriq and

Raj Kamal Gupta

Glimpse of the event

Sachin Singh

—PHOTOS

BY SHAZID CHAUHAN