First India-Mumbai Edition-5th December 2022

CM, DyCM ‘test drive’ Samruddhi Expy Nagpur-Shirdi stretch

First India Bureau

Nagpur/Jalna: A ‘test drive’ of the newly built Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Express way was undertaken by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday. The top minis ters travelled between Nagpur and Shirdi cit ies on an inspection ahead of the express way’s inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on De cember 11.

During their journey, Congress workers raised black flags as

Shinde and Fadnavis passed Jalna city to ex press dissent on vari ous issues. This includ ed farmers losing elec tricity connections due to pending bills and the recent statement made by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

With Fadnavis in the driver’s seat of a fourwheeler, both the lead ers started their jour ney towards Shirdi, a distance of 520km, along with their convoy from the ‘zero point’ of the Samruddhi Ex pressway in Nagpur at

93 SEATS UP FOR GRABS!

l

Ahmedabad: The sec ond phase of Gujarat elections will be held today for the remaining 93 Assembly constituen cies, for which 833 can didates are in the fray.

The 93 assembly seg ments are spread across 14 districts of north and central Gujarat, and in clude prestigious As sembly constituencies – Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Gandhinagar.

In the second phase, 93 assembly segments,

including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Gandhi nagar constituencies, across 14 districts in the north and central Gujarat will go to polls on Monday. A total of 2.54 crore voters are eli gible to exercise their franchise, and polling will be held at 26,409 booths for the second phase of polls.

Election Commis sion will deploy 29,000 presiding officers and over 84,000 polling offic ers in 14 dists to con duct polls. More on P6

12.45 pm, said the dis trict information office.

Shinde was seen oc cupying the front seat of the vehicle next to Fadnavis. Maharashtra State Road Develop ment Corporation (MSRDC) Managing Di

rector, Radheshyam Mopalwar, and a few of ficials accompanied them.

Their inspection tour was well-received in Nagpur, Wardha, Amra vati, Washim, Buldha na districts of the Vid

arbha region, it said. Speaking to reporters before the journey at Nagpur, CM Shinde said the Samruddhi Express way will be a game changer project, which will bring the two cities closer and increase

trade.

On their way to Shirdi from Nagpur, the two leaders took a break in each district where they were welcomed.

Around 3.30 pm, when they reached the outskirts of Jalna city, Union Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve and former state minister Arjun Khot kar welcomed Shinde and Fadnavis.

However, some Con gress workers reached the venue and waved black flags at them to protest alleged snap ping of power connec

tions of farmers by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribu tion Company Ltd (MSEDCL) for non-pay ment of bills. They also denounced “insulting” remarks made by the governor against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, social activ ists Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule, and stoppage of scholar ship to minority com munity students by the Union government.

Speaking to report ers, Jalna district presi dent of the farmers’ wing of the Congress,

Narayan Wadekar, sought to know why the state government was not waiving the power bills of farmers.

The polling officials check the EVM and other election equipment at a distribution centre in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

DECEMBER 8 THE ‘BIG’ COUNTING DAY

Sikar/Jaipur: The ar rest of the accused of shootout in Sikar in which gangster Raju Thehat and one other person was killed with in 24 hours has been an other big success in maintaining law and order and proved the acumen of DGP Umesh Mishra.

Mishra was in con stant touch with con cerned police officers till late Saturday. The

police nabbed 5 people including a minor on Sunday. Two of accused identified as Satish Kumhar and Jatin Meghwal were injured in a brief encounter with police on Sunday. DGP congratulated

As per sources, DGP Mishra may make a big announcement for re ward or out of turn pro motion for the team in volved in the operation.

First G20 Sherpa meet begins in the Lake City

First India Bureau

Udaipur: The first G20 Sherpa Meeting under India’s Presidency, be gan in the lake city, Udaipur on Sunday. In dia’s G20 Sherpa, Am itabh Kant is presiding over the four-day meet ing. Delivering opening remarks, Kant, said, In dia took over G20 at a time when the world is facing several challeng es. He said, India be lieves every crisis is an opportunity. Represent atives of 19 countries among European Union and 9 special invitee

Iran abolishes ‘morality police’ after protest

Tehran (FIB): Iran has scrapped its morality po lice on Sunday after over 2 months of protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest for allegedly violating country’s strict female dress code. Demonstrators burned their mandatory hijab head coverings, shout ed anti-govt slogans.

countries will take part, setting stage for impor tant conversations on some of most pressing issues of current time.

Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway will be a game changer project. The travel time of 18 hours will come down to six to seven hours. Mumbai and Nagpur will come closer and trade will increase. It will also help farmers.

—Eknath Shinde, Maha Chief Minister

Greeted

CM Eknath Shinde speaks to the media as Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis looks on. —PTI PHOTO

Shivendra Parmar and Satyanarayan Sharma

Jaipur Range IG Umesh Dutta & Sikar SP Kun war Rashtradeep.

MACRON: I TRUST ‘MY FRIEND’ PM MODI TO BRING US TOGETHER

New Delhi: Congress leader KC Venugopal said ahead of the winter session of the parliament that it will not be practical for the party’s senior leader Rahul Gandhi to attend it due to yatra. The winter session will start on December 7 and is scheduled to conclude on December 29.

London: French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday expressed confidence in India taking over the presidency of the powerful G20, saying that he has trust that PM Narendra Modi would bring everyone together to build a peaceful and a sustainable world.

MEHIDY HASAN MIRAZ HELPS B’DESH STUN IND BY 1 WICKET

Dhaka: Bangladesh recorded a sensational one-wicket victory over India in 1st ODI of the three-match series on Sunday. Put into bat, India were all-out for 186. Mehidy H Miraz produced a sensational 39-ball 38run cameo to take team home with 4 overs to spare.

‘NOT

unfortunate that some gangs are still operating in the state. We are fighting against gangsters from Haryana & other states.

2 accused identified as Satish Kumhar and Jatin Meghwal injured in a brief encounter with police in Jhunjhunu on Sunday. Police caught Sikar residents Manish Jat, 25, and Vikram Gurjar, 28, and Haryana’s Satish Kumhar, 40, Jatin Megh wal, 24, and one minor. The police personnel who caught the accused will be rewarded.

—Umesh Mishra, DGP

PM Modi is of the view that the meeting should be decisive, ambitious and action-oriented.

—Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa

l Gujarat has been ruled by BJP since 1995, will see fight between Cong & AAP

In second phase of voting in Gujarat, there are total 833 candidates in the fray

Moni Sharma

SEATS TO SEE MOST INTENSE COMPETITION

THE OBVIOUS ‘MODI FACTOR’ IN GUJARAT BY-POLLS IN 5 STATES INCLUDING RAJ & UP

Maninagar, a BJP stronghold and the home district of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Ghatlodia and the state capital of Gandhinagar, are some of the seats that are anticipated to see the most intense competition.

Results of high-voltage Assembly elections in Guja rat, where phase 1 voting took place on Dec 1 & 2nd phase voting today and Himachal Pradesh, which voted on November 12, along with 5 Assembly by polls voting today will be declared on December 8.

Apart from the obvious ‘Modi factor’, it is the BJP’s election machinery and strong booth manage ment skills that have given the party a clear edge over Congress and AAP. Right from bombarding voters with targeted messaging on social media to mar shalling its booth manag ers, BJP has clearly stolen a march over its rivals so far as campaigning goes.

Bye-election in 5 assem bly constituencies of UP, Odisha, Rajasthan, Bihar and Chhattisgarh today. Mainpuri LS seat in UP fell vacant following the death of Mulayam Singh. By-polls on Padampur seat in Odisha, Sardarshahar in Rajasthan, Kurhani in Bihar, Bhanupratappur in Chhat tisgarh and Rampur in UP will be held along with Mainpuri Parl constituency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks blessing from his mother Heeraben Modi, at her residence, in Gandhinagar on Sunday.

Shivaji was born in Konkan, claims BJP MLC

Opposition parties slam Lad for his remark; the latter apologizes for ‘mistake’

Mumbai: With his claim Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born in the Konkan region, Bharatiya Ja nata Party MLC Pras ad Lad, has stoked a controversy. His state ment prompted Shiv Sena – Uddhav Bala saheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut to ask if the BJP had set up a new council for historical research.

It is a known fact that Chhatrapati Shiva ji Maharaj was born at Shivneri in Pune dis trict (of western Maha rashtra) and died at Raigad in the Konkan region of the state, Raut told reporters on Sunday.

Facing over flak over his comments, Lad in a video message posted on his Twitter handle on Sunday said, “I of fer my apology if I have hurt anyone’s sentiments.”

Konkan was the “kar ma bhoomi” of Chhatra pati Shivaji Maharaj,

he tweeted.

One cannot forget that the seeds of ‘swara jya’ (self-rule) were sown in Konkan, Lad said.

“I spoke something else unintentionally and I rectified the mis take immediately,” said the BJP legislator.

In the video message,

Lad also criticized the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for “politi cizing” the issue.

The NCP had tweet ed a video of Lad ad dressing a press con ference on the ‘Konkan Mahotsav’ where he made the comment on the birth place of the 17th century Maratha

warrior king, who is a revered figure in the state of Maharashtra.

The Sharad Pawarled party said the BJP should teach history to its own legislators in stead of preaching about it to others.

When asked about Lad’s remarks, Raut wondered if the BJP

THE ROW

Last month, there was a political slugfest in Maharashtra after Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari said Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an icon of “olden days”, a remark dubbed as an “insult” to the Mara tha king. State Tour ism Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha had also faced criticism for his recent remarks on Shivaji Maharaj. Raut had on Friday also criticised the BJP for maintaining “silence” over alleged objectionable remarks made against the Chhatrapati by some public figures and vowed to avenge him.

wanted to rewrite his tory and had set up a new council for histori cal research.

“The chief minister (Eknath Shinde) has set up a NITI Aayoglike panel in Maha rashtra and appointed his builder friend to head it,” said the Rajya Sabha MP.

Maha min promises action over ‘insults’ to Chhatrapati

First India Bureau

Aurangabad: State cabinet minister Atul Save, on Sunday, as sured followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Mara tha community mem bers of action against persons who have “abused the great man”.

Talking to reporters, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, said, “I assure the followers of Shivaji Maharaj that their demand for action against the ones mak ing remarks on Shivaji, will be conveyed to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Deven dra Fadnavis.”

Save made the prom ise after Shivaji’s fol lowers in Aurangabad protested outside his residence during the day by raising the slo gan “Rajyapal Hatao, Maharashtra Bachao”

Phase-1 of Pune Metro to be complete by March 2023

Followers of Shivaji Maharaj protest outside Atul Save’s home in Aurangabad

(Remove the Governor, Save Maharashtra) amid beating of drums.

In view of aggressive protestors, security ar rangements were tight ened at the minister’s place in Aurangabad.

A member of the

Maratha Kranti Mor cha (which staged the protest), Vinod Patil, said: “This ‘Dhol Bajao’ movement has been or ganized in regard to the manner in which great leaders are being insult ed in the state. We talked with Atul Save and he has assured us of action against the ones involved in it.”

Patil further said that if their demand is not met, the agitation will be taken to the streets.

Govt launches new ‘Gas Station, Petrol Pump Sevak’ job training course

First India Bureau

BJP MLA against Urdu Bhavan bldg

Mumbai: Extending his support to the Ag ripada Sangarsh Sami ti, which is protesting the construction of the Urdu Bhavan in the Agripada area, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane hit out at former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

“The majority popu lation here is of Hindus and hence Urdu Bhavan

should not be made here. There is a govern ment of Hindu ideology and we will not let in justice happen,” Rane

said, adding, “If Ud dhav Thackeray wants to make an Urdu learn ing centre then he should build it near his own home Matoshree.”

The BJP MLA had claimed that earlier the land in question was originally reserved for the construction of an Industrial Training In stitute but the Maha Vikas Aghadi govern ment gave it for Urdu Bhavan.

Pune: State Minister for Higher & Techni cal Education Chan drakant Patil has said that the first phase of the Pune Metro train project would be com pleted in the next three months.

Patil—who also serves as the district’s guardian minister—after touring the Shivajinagar under ground station of the Pune Metro, stated that the 33km-long networks will be completed by March 2023.

He also rode the train from the Garware Col lege Metro station to

FACELIFT INITIATIVE

Vanaz and went to the Maha Metro operating control centre at the Range Hill vehicle depot on Friday.

The minister added that there is easy access to the Shivajinagar rail way station, PMPML and MSRTC bus depots from the Shivajinagar Metro station, thanks to its multi-modal integra tion. It will also link the Hinjewadi Metro sta

tion to the Civil Court route.The Commission er of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) will con duct an inspection after the construction on both lines is finished. After the CMRS observations are satisfied, the new routes will be made available to the public.

The Pune Metro suc cessfully ran a test run from Garware College to Civil Court station on November 25.

The 33km Phase-1 of the Pune Metro rail comprises 29 stations and two lines—Vanaz to Ramwadi and Pim pri Chinchwad to Swargate.

CM Shinde launches drive to change Thane’s image

As part of ‘Mukhyamantri Aanche Badalte Thane’ mechanical cleaning will be done to make Thane city debris-free

First India Bureau

Thane: Chief Minis ter Eknath Shinde in augurated ‘Mukhy amantri Aanche Badalte Thane’ initia tive at the Thane Mu nicipal Corporation (TMC) headquarters here on December 03.

TMC Commissioner Abhijit Bangar along with other officials and employees from the civ ic body were also pre sent on the occasion.

In his address, the CM said, “Thane city is developing rapidly, and the citizens have start ed to see the changes in this city. Various ser vices are being provid ed, citizen participation is also important in the development of Thane along with the munici pal corporation.”

He further added, “The development of Thane will be done at a fast pace. In the coming six months, I believe

that Thane city will be pothole-free, garbage free, clean, and beauti ful.”

An audio tape of the

streets, and clean toilets have been included in this campaign. Our aim is to keep all the roads, public places, and tour ist attractions of the city clean and beauti ful,” Shinde said.

As part of the drive, cementing work on 10.70km of roads, work on 55.68km of roads by the UTWT method, and resurfacing of 75.44km stretches by the asphalt ing method will be done.

campaign was also re leased by the chief min ister.

“Clean and beautiful streets, pothole-free

According to the plan, mechanical cleaning will be done to make Thane city debris-free. The six-month-long campaign will be imple mented to give priority to solving the problems of the sanitation work ers and also provide free health check-ups for the sanitation workers and their families at the mu nicipal hospitals.

“A number of pro jects are underway on behalf of the TMC as well as MMRDA and other organizations. This campaign is being implemented to see how the problems related to the daily lives of the citizens can be solved in a time-bound manner.

The emphasis is on a clean and beautiful city,” Bangar said.

India Bureau Mumbai: Minister of Skill Develop ment, Employment and Entrepreneur ship,

FOR THE WOMEN

Prab

Lodha, on Sun day launched an innovative training course ‘Gas Sta tion, Petrol Pump Sevak’ for women.

According to Lod ha, this programme has been implement ed for skill develop ment and employ ment of women from low-income groups under the govern ment’s Sustainable Development Goals Small Project.

“The objectives of this programme are to provide employ ment opportunities for disadvantaged groups, particularly women from low-in come families, to pro vide them with em ployment opportuni ties in areas where women are not repre sented, so that they are empowered. It also aims to increase earnings of low-in come families so that poverty is eradicat ed,” he explained.

After the comple tion of the training programme, the trainees will be ap pointed as attend ants at gas stations and petrol pumps of

Around 100 women beneficiaries will be trained under this programme for a week. After undergoing train ing, the trainees will be appointed at fuel stations of state-run petroleum companies on a monthly salary between Rs12,000 and Rs15,000.

The programme is aimed at skill devt & empowerment of women belonging to low-income families; provide jobs to them

state-run petroleum companies on a monthly salary rang ing from Rs12,000 to Rs15,000.

All trainees stand to receive direct em ployment at gas sta tions and petrol pumps. Around 100 women beneficiaries will be trained under the training pro gramme. While the duration of training is seven days, the women will also be provided with 90-day job training through the non-governmen tal organization Re vathi Roy Foundation.

First India Bureau

NAGPUR KE SANTRE!

Vendors arrange oranges for sale, at the Kalmana wholesale Market, in Nagpur. —PHOTO BY ANI

PM Narendra Modi launched commercial operations on two parts of Phase-1 in March of this year, from Vanaz to Garware College and Pimpri Chinchwad to Phugewadi. —FILE PHOTO

CMRS

First

Mangal

hat

The devel opment of Thane will be done at a fast pace. In the coming six months, I believe that Thane city will be pothole-free, gar bage free, clean, and beautiful.

—Eknath Shinde, Chief Minister of Maharashtra

I offer my apology if I have hurt anyone’s sentiments. I spoke something else unintentionally and I rectified the mistake immediately.

—Prasad Lad, BJP MLC

Atul Save —FILE PHOTO

First India Bureau

Nitesh Rane —FILE PHOTO

Kurla woman GANG-RAPED at home

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Three men have been booked for the gang rape of a 42-year-old woman, a Mumbai police offi cial said on Sunday.

The trio allegedly broke into her home in Mumbai’s Kurla area, attacked her with a sharp weapon and burnt her with cigarettes on her private parts in the early hours of Wednes day, the official said, adding the three ac cused and their victim stay in the same locality.

“The accused alleg edly raped her one by one and also performed unnatural sex. They burnt her private parts with cigarettes and at tacked her with a sharp weapon on the chest and both arms. One of the accused made a video of the incident and threat ened to circulate it if she approached the po lice,” he said.

The woman narrated her ordeal to neighbours, who got in touch with an NGO and an FIR was reg istered, the Kurla police station official said.

The trio has been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 376 (rape), 376D (gang rape),

AT RISK

377 (unnatural sex), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weap on) and other offences and efforts were on to nab them, he said.

Notably, data from the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai Virar Police Commis sionerate, released ear lier this year, show that cases of crime against women rose from 1,194 in 2017 to 1,541 in 2019 to 1,775 in 2021. The cases of rape have gone up from 176 cases in 2017 to 220 cases in 2019 to 292 cases in 2021, officials had stated.

RAPIST GETS 10 YR RI IN PALGHAR

Palghar: A local court has sentenced a 47-year-old man to 10 years’ rigorous im prisonment for rap ing a little girl, then aged seven.

The court of special judge Sanjaykumar V Khongal, which is hear ing cases pertaining to the Protection of Chil dren from Sexual Of

fences (POCSO) Act, also fined the man Rs6,000.

Special Public Prose cutor Jayprakash Patil told the court that the convict worked as a se curity guard in Virar town, and lived in the same town as his vic tim. On February 03, 2016, he took the girl to his house when her mother was away and raped her.

Solapur: A man has been booked for bigamy after he married twin sisters (36) in Solapur district, officials said on Sunday, after videos of the ceremony held on Friday were widely shared online. Based on a complaint, a non-cognizable offence under section 494 (marrying again during lifetime of husband or wife) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the groom at Akluj police station, an official said. As per the complaint, the man married the Mumbai-based twins, who are IT professionals, with the blessings of both families.

ST BUS RAMS INTO PICK-UP VAN, 4 DIE

Nagpur: Four persons died after a state transport bus rammed into the pick-up van in which they were travelling, in Yavatmal district on Sunday, police said. Superintendent of police Pavan Bansod said that the accident occurred on the road from Ner town to Amravati around 10.25 am. While two persons died on the spot, two more succumbed to their injuries after being rushed to the hospital. A pick-up van with seven occupants was head ing towards Amravati from Yavatmal, while the bus was coming from the opposite direction, he said.

60-YEAR-OLD MAN KILLED, 1 DETAINED

Thane: A 60-year-old man was killed in Thane district and police have detained a suspect in this connec tion, an official said on Sunday. The incident took place at around 9.30 pm on Saturday in Diva area of Mumbra town. The body of the victim had multiple stab wounds and was sent to a government hospital for post-mortem. It is suspected the accused was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident, the official from Mumbra police station said. A case has been registered under Indian Penal Code Section 302 (murder).

NIGERIAN NAITONAL HELD OVER `18 CR COCAINE SEIZURE AT MUMBAI AIRPORT

Mumbai: A Nigerian national was apprehended by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in connec tion with the seizure of cocaine worth Rs18 crore at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, an official said.

On Saturday, the DRI apprehended a 27-year-old Kenyan man and a 30-year-old woman from Guinea with 1,794g of cocaine, arriving from Addis Ababa by an Ethiopian Airlines flight, he added. All three were produced before a court, which sent them to judicial custody.

Children’s home razed after sexual abuse complaints

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bethel Gospel Pentecostal Church in Navi Mum bai was demolished following recommen dations made by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) after complaints of sexual abuse of chil dren, officials said.

Forty-five children had earlier been rescued from the illegal home, and NCPCR took cogni zance of the matter after three children living in the shelter filed a com plaint against Pastor Ra jkumar Yesudasan, al leging that he had been exploiting them sexually.

One of the minor girls, reportedly, also had to undergo an abortion, ac cording to information given to the NCPCR. It is believed that several mi

Pastor who ran the illegal shelter was arrested in August after three residents accused him of sexual exploitation

nors living there had been trafficked from various states. Yesu dasan was arrested in August.

NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo and another official visited the children’s home in October after complaints to the state government did not yield any results. Their inquiry revealed that the children resid ing in the church-run shelter home had been brought to the Navi Mumbai church by a man called Vinod from Rajasthan and Odisha among other states.

MSRDC to take call on who gets land around highways

First India Bureau

Mumbai: In an usual move, the Maharash tra State Road Devel opment Corporation (MSRDC) has decided to make land parcels

around its highways available to private players for commer cial use without any tender or auction.

MSRDC will unilat erally decide the price of the land, an official

SAM NO VARUNAH

said. “it is important that areas near the highways are devel oped and job opportuni ties are created, which will benefit the state’s economy and pave the way to set up new cit

ies,” he explained.

“Under this, we will directly purchase or ac quire land for the com pany through private negotiations instead of an auction or public ten der,” the official added.

With 40 new nCoV cases, Maha active tally at 293

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The state witnessed 40 new cas es of COVID-19 on Sunday, raising the the tally of infections to 81,35,977, an offi cial from the state health department said on Sunday.

At least 75 patients recovered during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 79,87,277, while the toll remained unchanged at 1,48,407, he said. With this, the state is left with 293 ac tive cases.

Maharashtras’ recov ery rate stands at 98.17%, while the fatal ity rate is 1.82%, the of ficial said.

Of the latest cases, Mumbai circle reported 23, followed by Pune with 12, Nagpur with two, and Nashik, Au rangabad and Akola one each, he said.

Another constable held in Nagpur jail ganja supply case

Nagpur (PTI): Days after the arrest of two constables of the Nagpur Central Jail and three historysheeters for allegedly supplying ganja to inmates, the city po lice arrested one more policeman, posted on duty at the prison, who is the suspected kingpin of the racket, an official said on Sunday.

With this, the num ber of arrested persons in the case has gone up to six, he said.

The accused consta ble had purchased a SIM card and mobile phone through which he would use in arranging ganja for the inmates.

“The police zeroed in on him on the basis of the location of the mo bile phone. He had asked his friends to recharge

WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR...

The accused consta ble told the police that he threw the phone into a nullah following the arrest of two jail con stables on Wednesday, police sources said.

A local court remand ed him to police custody till December 07.

At least 7,574 swab samples were tested in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of tests conducted in the state to 8,56,82,177.

the mobile phone. How ever, the phone has not yet been recovered by

the police,” the official of Dhantoli police sta tion said.

Notably, the smug gling racket has been on for at least a year and a half, officials have stated.

3 men broke in, attacked her with a sharp weapon, and also burnt her private parts with cigarettes

Students of the Gurukul School of Art paint posters protesting attacks on women, in Mumbai on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI

The demolition was carried out in a joint op by NMMC and CIDCO.

First India Bureau

WEIRD BLISS: MAN CHARGED WITH BIGAMY FOR MARRYING TWIN SISTERS IN SOLAPUR

Navy personnel showcase their skills as the annual Navy Week, commemorating Operation Trident during the IndoPak War of 1971, comes to a close. Top Naval officers and Governor BS Koshyari attended.

—PHOTOS BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

MAKING EMPLOYEES

BUSINESS PARTNERS IS TO EMPOWER THEM TO TAKE DECISIONS

It makes a lot of sense, from both an economic stand point and market reputa tion perspective, to make employees business partners.

This translates to using their knowledge, skills and experi ence to enhance the product quality, customer service and innovations in the company.

Making employees business partners is about empowering them to take decisions on a daily basis – decisions that will enhance their work output and quality and enhance the overall performance of their team and the company

mployees first, custom ers second” was probably one of the early concepts that were aimed at em powering the work force. It emphasises on the fact that customers can be delighted only if employ ees are delighted and hence, committed to your cause. One cannot take away the fact that the suc cess or failure of any busi ness, to a large extent, depends on its employ ees. With this renewed emphasis on a company’s workforce, a relatively new concept in India, em ployee as partners has slowly started to seep into the business culture of companies. However, the concept is still nascent in India. While some compa nies have talked about it, very few have actually fol lowed through.

In the endeavour of making employees business partners, companies must remember to share information about the company with employees. Many companies send out mailers or hold all-employee meets to make specific company announcements. This ensures that employees hear all that they need to from the right people and refrain from making assumptions. Dissemination of company news from the highest rungs displays the company’s trust in its employees, who then return this trust by working hard and doing more than what the company expects of them

The tendency of compa nies is to view their em ployees as order-takers rather than partners. There are times when em ployee contributions fall into the trap of the expect ed and routine and their potential as a valuable business partner is not ex plored to the extent it is possible. Undoubtedly, if the companies can view their employees as busi ness partners, it will surely enable them to become more competitive and in novative in today’s market.

The reason for this is simple: treating employ ees as partners leads to an understanding among the workforce that they have a shared purpose and a common goal that everybody is working to wards. All employees ir respective of the role they play have valuable inputs for the business.

“The way your employ ees feel is the way your cus

tomers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your custom ers.” – Sybil F. Stershic

It makes a lot of sense, from both an economic standpoint and market reputation perspective, to make employees business partners. This translates to using their knowledge, skills and experience to en hance the product quality, customer service and inno vations in the company. Making employees busi ness partners is about em powering them to take deci sions on a daily basis – deci sions that will enhance their work output and qual ity and enhance the overall

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

performance of their team and the company.

This concept reflects the company’s commit ment to being a good em ployer that believes in col laboration rather than control. It would involve a deep commitment and loyalty of employees to wards towards the organ ization, its success, repu tation and its customer base. It is a management truism, that customer ser vice and a company’s suc cess is not the job of a few but of each person that works in the company and what better way to get everyone ‘on board’ than making employees busi

ness partners.

Making employees business partners trans lates to them going the extra mile, doing much more than the basic re quirements of their job and demonstrating their indefatigable loyalty to wards serving their cus tomers. Employment se curity displays the com pany’s commitment to the welfare and growth of their staff, such compa nies also invest hugely in employee training and coaching programs aimed at self and professional development.

The clear career paths also contribute towards

The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers.

“Employees first, custom ers second” was probably one of the early concepts that were aimed at empow ering the workforce. It emphasises on the fact that customers can be delighted only if em ployees are delighted and hence, commit ted to your cause

they need to from the right people and refrain from making assumptions. Dis semination of company news from the highest rungs displays the com pany’s trust in its employ ees, who then return this trust by working hard and doing more than what the company expects of them. ‘The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.’ – Theodore Roosevelt.

f you’ve been watching the World Cup, you might have marvelled at the physical fitness and skill of these elite players. How can they run and run and run for so long? What makes them so good at speedy changes of direc tion? Biomechanically, is there a certain body type that is perfect for football?

Of course, much of the brilliant play is down to nat ural talent combined with years of very hard training and practise. But there are certainly some physical fea tures that help a lot when it

comes to being able to play football at this level.

Different features for different positions

There’s no one single per fect body type for this sport; much depends on what position you play. A central defender, for exam ple, might benefit from a bit of extra height so they can defend against aerial balls in the box.

Lighter upper body, strong lower body

Football players in general are not stocky like, say, rugby players. But while the upper body tends to be

fairly light (which saves on mass and helps with speed), they do generally have quite big, strong legs. All in all, these players are well built to produce elite per formances at the highest levels of the game. While years of hard training has

surely contributed to their success, they might also thank their parents for the genes they received too.

What about the goalkeeper?

One position that does ben efit greatly from height is

the goalkeeper.

The Australian goal keeper, Mark Schwarzer, used his 1.95 metres frame to great advantage. And most elite goalkeepers stand taller than 1.85 metres.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

making employees busi ness partners. The ulti mate aim is to achieve and over achieve all the goals set out by each person and the company. Binding em ployees with rules and ‘red tape’ will only make them lazy, dull and unpro ductive.

In the endeavour of making employees busi ness partners, companies must remember to share information about the company with employees. Many companies send out mailers or hold all-em ployee meets to make spe cific company announce ments. This ensures that employees hear all that

This quote is so apt for companies who believe in making employees busi ness partners – if you do not believe in your employ ees, it means that you have made the wrong choice while hiring. Research has conclusively proved that decentralization of deci sion-making leads to em powered employees with a leadership and customer service mind-set, which translates to higher cus tomer satisfaction levels and therefore more busi ness and profits.

Such companies will outrun their competitors and even put them out of business and reach new pinnacles of success. Making employees busi ness partners is highly intelligent and strategic move that will bear rich rewards for any company.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good: His love endures forever. Bible

Nitin Gadkari @nitin_gadkari

The project has already bagged records from Asia Book and India Book. Now receiving this eminent award is indeed a proud moment for us. I heartily thank & salute the incredible Engineers, Officers & Workers who persevered round the clock to make this happen. #GatiShakti

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Smriti Z Irani @smritiirani

Hearty greetings to all the marines deployed to protect the country’s water borders with indomitable courage and commitment on ‘Indian Navy Day’. The countrymen are proud of all the loyal and service-oriented sailors towards the motherland.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh

Chandra Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh responsible for selection of

—Theodore Roosevelt

—Sybil F Stershic

BATTLEGROUND GUJARAT

16 seats in Ahmedabad crucial for ruling BJP

Apart from Opposition Congress, the new entrant AAP and AIMIM have also jumped into fray; ruling BJP has always enjoyed an upper hand here

Ahmedabad (PTI): Six teen Assembly seats in Ahmedabad city, which go to polls in the second phase of the Gujarat polls on Monday, are crucial for the Bharati ya Janata Party which has always enjoyed an upper hand here in the elections since 1990.

While Congress im proved its tally to four seats in 2017 from two in 2012, the fight has be come more interesting this time with the entry of AAP, which has field ed candidates in all 16 seats, and AIMIM which is contesting four seats.

Analysts claim the BJP, which currently holds 12 out of these 16 seats, will win most of them and the AAP may fail to make any impact. The AIMIM is likely eat into the Congress’s votes in some of seats.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding two roadshows in the city ahead of the second phase of polling, the 16 Assembly seats in Ahmedabad city, con sidered a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are once again in the spotlight.

POLLING PARTIES GATHER AT EVM DISTRIBUTION CENTRE

Gandhinagar (ANI): The polling par ties gathered at the EVM distribution centre in Gandhinagar ahead of the second phase of polling in the state on Monday. The Election Commission had announced the conduct of Gujarat polls in two phases on December 1 and 5. After the first phase of polling, the Election Commission urged vot ers to reach their designated polling booths early and cast their votes be fore 5 pm on Monday. “Voters should not carry their mobile phones to the polling booths,” an official said. The second and final phase of Assembly elections will go for polling for 93 Assembly seats, with 833 candidates across parties in the fray.

VOTE IN LARGE NUMBERS IN PHASE 2 OF GUJ POLLS: CEC

Gandhinagar (Agencies): Taking note of the low voter turnout in the first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has appealed to elector ate to come out in large numbers and vote in the second and final phase. In the first phase of elections, 63.34 voter turnout was recorded on 89 seats. In that too, rural turnout was higher compared to urban.

Hubballi (ANI): Kar nataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai on Sunday expressed con fidence in positive re sults from the Bharati ya Janata Party’s (BJP) ‘Jan Sankalp Yatra’ by saying that the Yatra is getting a tremendous response from the public.

While speaking to re porters at Hubballi air port, while on his way to his constituency of Shiggao, Karnataka CM said, “The ‘Jan Sankalp Yatra, a public outreach programme of the cen tral and state govern ments, is receiving a tremendous response across the state.” “The Sankalp Yatra has been held successfully in Hyderabad-Karnataka, Central Karnataka and Mumbai-Karnataka re gions. It will be intensi fied in the current month. Along with this, the welfare schemes of both the state and the union governments will be spread to the people to win their confi dence,” Bommai added. Earlier during the Jan Sankalp Yatra in Challakere on Tuesday Chief Minister Bom mai hit out at the Con gress Party and said that the grand old party is dreaming of return ing to power in the state.

BHARAT JODO YATRA Yatra to reach Srinagar around January 26, says Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi (ANI): Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress party will reach Srinagar around January 26, said senior party leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference, Jairam Ramesh said, “On De cember 24, Bharat Jodo Yatra will reach Delhi and around January 26, the Yatra will reach Sringar. Rahul Gandhi will be there and we will hoist the national

President Kamal Nath on Sunday praised Rahul Gandhi for undertaking Bharat Jodo Yatra. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra started its Madhya Pradesh phase on November 23 and it reached to its con clusion on Sunday. “We don’t need to learn about

UP: 6 held for distributing liquor to voters

Muzaffarnagar (PTI): Police on Sunday ar rested six people for al legedly distributing money and liquor to voters to lure them to vote in favour of a par ticular candidate in the Khatauli bypoll. Police have also seized Rs 51,000 from their pos session. Acting on a tipoff that some people were distributing mon ey and liquor in favour of a particular candi date, a checking drive was undertaken.

flag.” While Congress MP KC Venugopal on Sunday said that it is not practical for former party president Rahul Gandhi to attend the winter session of Par

liament as Bharatb Jodo Yatra is underway.

The Winter Session will begin on December 7 and will last until De cember 29. The session also had to be delayed by a month due to the Gujarat Assembly elec tion schedule.

“Bharat Jodo Yatra is underway. It is not prac tical for Rahul Gandhi to attend the winter ses sion of Parliament,” Venugopal said at a press conference here.

attended Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Ujjain. He visited Baba Mahakal and received his blessings,” Kamal Nath said. “Had darshan of God in Omkareshwar also. Lakhs of people welcomed Rahul Gandhi in Indore.

Thiruvananthapuram:

The ruling LDF and the opposition Congress in Kerala were in agree ment on Sunday that there was no need for central forces to main tain law and order at Vizhinjam here which saw incidents of vio lence recently in con nection with the sea port being built there.

Kharge makes strong pitch for accountability

New Delhi (PTI): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday sent out a stern message to lead ers to perform or make way for others, and strongly pitched for accountability of office-bearers “from top to bottom” as he presided over the first meeting of the party’s steering committee.

During the meeting at the AICC headquar ters here, the Con gress also decided to hold its plenary ses sion in Raipur, Chhat tisgarh, in the second half of February, where Kharge’s elec tion as president would be ratified.

As the Congress plans to end the Bharat Jodo Yatra by January 26, the Com

mittee decided to con tinue its mass out reach with the ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhi yan (Joining Hands campaign)’ till March 26, during which foot marches will be taken out from village to block and district lev els and will culminate as public rallies at state headquarters.

The party will also

hand out a letter by Rahul Gandhi talking about the core mes sage of the yatra, along with a “charge sheet’’ against the Modi government.

The party also plans to take out state-level marches by women party workers across the country which will be led by Priyan ka Gandhi Vadra.

GROUPS NOT REQUIRED IN CONGRESS, UNITY NEED OF HOUR, SAYS THIRUVANANTHAPURAM MP SHASHI THAROOR

Thiruvanathapuram: Senior Congress leader and third-time Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor has said that a unified party was the need of the hour and the petty group politics did not have any place in the state unit.

Tharoor was addressing a function at Bodhigram in Pathana mthitta on Sunday. He said the party needed to be united and there was no need for ‘A’ and ‘I’ groups in the Congress of Kerala. He was referring to the two prominent groups in the state Congress which have always been calling the shots in the party hierarchy. While former CM Oomen Chandy was leading the ‘A’ group, former state home minister, Ramesh Chennithala was heading ‘I’ group. He said that he was updating the respective District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents during his visit to the respective districts.

Kejriwal’s ‘bright idea’ is Sheila Dixit’s past wonder!

Hinduism from BJP, we are in front of everyone as we are. Thousands of people

Arranging this trip was a task of great responsibili ty,” he added.

Kerala Ports Minister Ahw wammed Devarko vil was of the view that Adani Group, which is carrying out the port construction, can seek protection from central forces at the work site, but outside it the police was capable of main taining law and order.

New Delhi: The Con gress is contesting the Delhi Municipal Corpo ration elections in the name of former CM late Sheila Dixit and has given the slogan of making Delhi into ‘Sheela ji’s Delhi’. But it is not that only the Con gress is promising to make Delhi theirs by implementing their agenda. The Aam Aad mi Party, which came to prominence on Con gress’ votebank, is also promising to implement some of the schemes im plemented during the Sheila Dixit govt, but in a different way. The most important prom ise in this is the issue of empowering the Resi dent Welfare Society ie RWA. Kejriwal has promised that the RWA of Delhi will be given the status of mini cor

CALL FOR INNOVATION

porator if his party wins in the MCD.

This promise of Aam Aadmi Party is being taken to mean that if it wins, it will involve RWA in the work from policy making to its im plementation and local problems will be solved

more easily. Although the BJP is opposing it. Anyway, before taking any such initiative, the approval of the Center through the Lieutenant Governor will be neces sary, which will be dif ficult for the AAP to achieve.

Youth are growth engine of India, says Thakur

First India Bureau

Hisar: Union I&B Min ister Anurag Thakur has called upon the youth to be proactive and innovative, em brace new technology make strong network, skill, up-skill and reskill themselves as a growth engine of coun try as India is the growth

engine of the world. He stressed upon holistic learning experience through multidiscipli nary approach through New Education Policy(NEP) as educa tion is the backbone for the development of the country and the people and serve their family, country and country men alike as bright

youngsters are the na tional asset. He said that India is the 3rd Start-up country in the world. Thakur was deliver

ing convocation address at Om Sterling Global University, Hisar on Sunday as the chief guest. He called upon

the universities and ed ucational institutions to upgrade the sports in frastructure and the youth to actively partici pate in Fit India Move ment stressing upon ‘Fitness Ka Dose, Aadha Ghanta Roz’ to be fit and healthy. A Youth confer ence will also be there as a part of G-20 Presiden cy of India programmes.

He lauded the efforts of farmers, sports per sons, girls of Haryana for earning good name in their fields.

He congratulated the University and the stu dents who graduated and got degrees today in the first ever convoca tion of the University.

Thakur said that 750 ‘Yuva Samvad’ are being organised in the country.

During the convoca tion ceremony, 815 stu dents were awarded de gree, diploma; 184 stu dents of 15 undergradu ate courses and 426 stu dents of 59 post gradu ate courses awarded degrees respectively.

GUJ GOVT TRIES TO DEFINE FREEDOM OF RELIGION IN SC

THREE GET LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR KILLING MAN

HATE SPEECH FIR: “PRIOR SANCTION IS REQUIRED”

from the competent authority is required for the court’s direction.

COURT ACQUITS MAN WHO RAN OVER STRAY DOG

New Delhi: A court has discharged a man of the charge of mischief, say ing his car had acciden tally killed a stray dog and there was no deliber ate or intentional action on his part. The court was hearing a review pe tition by Puneet, against whom a magisterial court had framed charges.

New Delhi: The Gujarat govt has told the Supreme Court that freedom of reli gion does not include the right to convert others, and requested the top court to vacate a High Court stay on the provision of a state law that mandates prior permission of the district magistrate for conversion through marriage.

Azamgarh: A local court has awarded life sen tence to three persons for killing a man here 18 years ago. Additional District Judge Ramanand on Saturday awarded life imprisonment to Baliram Tiwari, Ajay Tiwari and Vimal Tiwari for killing Brijpati due to old enmity on March 6, 2004.

New Delhi: A local court here has dismissed a plea for registration of an FIR against a person for allegedly making deroga tory comments against the Buddhist community, saying prior sanction for prosecution

Union Minister Anurag Thakur at 1st convocation ceremony of Om Sterling Global University, in Hisar on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurates Community Radio Station 90.0 ‘Bhavyavani’ in Hisar

Polling officials leave for their polling stations after collecting EVMs and other election equipment from a distribution centre, ahead of the final phase of Gujarat elections, in Ahmedabad, on Sunday.

“No need for deployment of central forces at Vizhinjam Port”

Bommai exudes confidence in party’s Jan Sankalp Yatra

Sonia Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, along with Congress leader KC Venugopal, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and other leaders at AICC HQ in New Delhi, on Sunday.

Mahesh Sharma

KEJRIWAL, OWAISI ARE B AND C

TEAM OF BJP: BHUPESH BAGHEL New Delhi (ANI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday took a swipe at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal alleging that he and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi are the “B and C teams” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “Asaduddin Owaisi and Arvind Kejriwal are the B and C team of BJP,” Baghel said.

KAMAL NATH LAUDS RAHUL GANDHI FOR UNDERTAKING BJY Agar Malwa (ANI): PCC

Prez speaks glowingly of AP’s role in nation’s development

addresses gathering at a civic reception in Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati (PTI): Pres ident Droupadi Murmu on Sunday hailed the contribution of people from Andhra Pradesh towards the country’s development, and ad vised students to tread a fine balance between following traditions and embracing the modern world.

Murmu addressed a gathering after being welcomed at a civic re ception hosted here on her first visit to the state upon becoming President.

“In line with the Na tional Education Poli cy-2020, our students should earn an eminent place in the modern world while continuing our traditions. Eminent scientist Dr Yallapraga da Subba Rao did this a century ago,” she noted.

She recalled the life of Dr Subba Rao who went to the Harvard Medical School in 1922 to pursue pharmacy and biochemistry.

“He made great con

tributions in this field. His research led to dis covery of many lifesaving medicines. He was also interested in

Ayurveda,” the Presi dent said.

She pointed out that Andhra Pradesh had a leading role in the de

velopment of modern science and technology in independent India.

“People of Andhra Pradesh have enhanced the country’s reputa tion in science and tech nology, especially infor mation technology. The Telugu diaspora has an influencing role across the world, with majori ty of them being tech nology professionals,” she said.

Ankita Bhandari murder accused to undergo Narco test: U’khand Police

Dehradun (ANI): The Uttarakhand Police on Sunday said investiga tion into the Ankita Bhandari murder case involving an expelled BJP leader’s son is al most complete with just the Narco tests of the accused remaining.

“An application will be filed in the court for the narco test of Anki ta’s killers, including the main accused Pulkit Arya. “Things will be

test is done. Our

gation is almost com

MoS Singh to lead Indian delegation to Abu Dhabi Space Debate today

First India Bureau

New Delhi: MoS Dr Ji tendra Singh will lead the official Indian dele gation to United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the “Abu Dhabi Space De bate”, a 2-day interna tional meet beginning on Monday. Dr Singh will address the Open ing Ceremony on India’s behalf along with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The MoS will also at

tend the Ministerial Plenary on the ‘Role of Foreign Policy in Ena bling Space Diplomacy and International Coop

eration’ along with the MoS Foreign Affairs of the UAE, Foreign Min ister of Bahrain and Minister of Advanced Technologies of Israel.

Dr Singh will also hold talks with Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chair person of UAE Space Agency to discuss ways and means for further strengthening bilateral space cooperation.

shan said addressing a press conference.

The body of 19-yearold Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at a resort run by Pulkit Arya, the son of ex pelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, was recovered from Chilla canal in Ri shikesh on September 24. She was reported missing for at least six days before her dead body was found by the officials.

PREZ MURMU LAUDS TELUGU LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Vijayawada: Presi dent Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said the rich traditions of Telugu language and literature are wellknown to people across the country. She referred to the enriched traditions of the Telugu language during her speech at the civic recep tion organised by the Andhra Pradesh government. The President, who began her speech with a few Telugu words greeting the people and thank ing them for the civic reception, referred to the famous words of Sri Krishnadevaraya “Desa bhashalandu Telugu Lessa” which means among the nation’s languages, Telugu is the best.

Midnapore blast: Deceased was in illegal cracker biz Kolkata: A new twist emerged on Sunday, two days after the explosion at a local TMC leader’s residence in East Mid napore district near the ancestral residence of Leader of Opposition Su vendu Adhikari killed three persons on Friday. Lata Rani Manna, wife of the deceased TMC leader Rajkumar Manna informed the police that the blast was because of stocked illegal firecrack ers at the house.

Eastern Naval Command pays homage to bravehearts

Visakhapatnam (ANI): As part of Navy Day cel ebrations, Eastern Na val Command (ENC) paid homage to service personnel who made the supreme sacrifice in various actions includ ing the 1971 War.

A wreath was placed by Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta AVSM, YSM, VSM FOC-in-C ENC at the ‘Victory at Sea’ War Memorial at Visakhapat nam. Wreaths were also placed by Dr Mallikara juna, District Collector, Ch Srikanth, Commis sioner of Police and Vice Admiral VK Namballa (Retd), President Navy Foundation.

On this occasion, all the personnel of the ENC rededicate them selves to the service of the country and to pro tect the vast maritime boundaries.

Earlier, PM Narendra Modi extended greet ings on the occasion of Navy Day and said that the force while “stead fastly” protecting the nation has distin guished itself with its humanitarian spirit.

NAVY DISCOVER VINTAGE CANNONS FROM HOOGHLY RIVER BANK IN KOLKATA

Kolkata: The Indian Navy hit upon a jackpot of a different kind while clearing a piece of land on the banks of Hooghly river. Five cannons, probably of World War I vintage, were dis covered by the Navy from the river bank in Kolkata, a senior official said. Two of these British-era cannons were refurbished and mounted at INS Netaji Subhas, Navy’s area base headquarters here.

FATE OF EIGHT EX-INDIAN NAVY PERSONNEL IN QATAR PRISON STILL HANGS IN BALANCE

Kolkata: The fate of eight ex-Indian Navy personnel, who are imprisoned in Qatar for over 90 days, hangs in balance. The Indian Ex Servicemen Movement (IESM) has now written to India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, seeking his intervention. IESM chairman Major Gen Satbir Singh (retd) said the Ex-Indian Navy personnel were working for Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services in Doha, as per an MoU between India and Qatar. Their job was to train Qatar Navy personnel.

2 arrested in Punjab with 10 AK-47 rifles

Chandigarh (ANI):

The Punjab police has arrested two alleged drug smugglers and re covered 10 AK-47 rifles and 30 bore pistols.

The police arrested two drug smugglers— Sukhvir Singh and Bindu Singh— after re covering 13 Kg heroin from them in Amritsar on November 21. This further led to the arrest of their two more aides, identified as Manpreet Singh and Balkar Singh

Ratlam (Agencies): As many as six people were killed and several oth ers injured in a road ac cident in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam dis trict on Sunday. A truck rammed into people in Ratlam, claiming six lives. The accident oc curred at a traffic inter section near Satrunda village on Ratlam-Leb ad Road, about 35 km away from the Ratlam district.

alias Lovepreet Singh, both resident of Guru Harsahai in Ferozepur, from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said.

DRDO gives to MSQAA holding sealed particulars of Akash missile

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The De fence Research and De velopment Organisa tion (DRDO) has hand ed over all technical specifications and re lated materials of the land-forces version of the Akash weapon sys tem to the Missile Sys tems Quality Assur ance Agency (MSQAA), paving the way for its production.

“The

ing of complete weapon system elements were

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF RADIATION ONCOLOGISTS

IMD predicts heavy rains in TN between Dec 8-10

Chennai (Agencies): The Indian Meteoro logical Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rains in the north coastal Tamil Nadu region, including Chennai from Decem ber 8 to 10. The IMD said that heavy rains will be accompanied by strong winds during the period.

The northeast mon soon, which was not ac tive in November with the state having a defi cit rainfall, the weather department forecasts that in December it is likely to make up the shortfall, the IMD said.

The possibilities of back-to-back weather systems coming over the Bay of Bengal will lead to heavy surplus rainfall in the month of December. The Indian Meteorological Depart ment (IMD) also pre dicted that a low pres sure system may bring heavy rains and strong winds to north coastal Tamil Nadu, including Chennai.

Awareness is critical in fight against cancer: LS Speaker Om Birla

Lok Sabha Speaker addresses 42nd National Conference of Radiation Oncologists of India in New Delhi

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, ad dressed at the 42nd Na tional Conference of Radiation Oncologists organized by the Asso ciation of the Radiation Oncologists of India. Speaking on this oc casion, Birla referred

to several rapid devel opments in the health sector in India and ex pressed the view that such progress would help in achieving the target of a developed India by 2047.

Mentioning about the critical role of aware ness of people in detec tion and treatment of

cancer, Birla said that there is a lack of aware ness about cancer in

India. He observed that the lack of access and affordability of quality

treatment is also anoth er constraint for most of the people. Unless

there is a major prob lem in the body, the gen eral public refrains from medical checkup. He noted that the Asso ciation is already work ing on how after a cer tain age people are mo tivated to get health check up done. He ap pealed them to work ex tensively in this area of awareness.

Speaking on the de velopment of technolo gy in cancer treatment, Birla said that with the passage of time, new

technologies have come, which have made can cer treatment possible.

Radiation technology has made cancer treat ment very successful.

Radiation technology has proved to be very useful for advanced treatment of cancer.

He noted that over time, there has been technological develop ment in radiation thera py as well. He further said that the develop ment of medical science has not only increased

the lifespan of people but has also improved the quality of life. With the development of new technology, surgeries and operations are be coming easier than in the past decades. Opera tions are being done at the micro level. He said that targeted treatment is being done with ro botic surgery and laser operation. Birla said that there is a moral re sponsibility as well as a social responsibility in this fight.

President Droupadi Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu addresses at the civic reception hosted by Andhra Pradesh govt, as Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and State CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy look on, in Vijayawada on Sunday.

Om Birla at the 42nd National Conference of Radiation Oncologists of India in New Delhi on Sunday.

technical speci fication and quality document and the draw

sealed and handed over by Project Akash to MSQAA as part of AHSP transfer,” de fence ministry said.

clearer after the narco

investi

plete,” Chief Spokesper son of the Uttarakhand Police ADG V Murge

Activists protest demanding CBI probe into Ankita Bhandari ymurder, in Dehradun on Saturday. —PHOTO BY PTI

—PHOTO FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE

MoS

Dr Jitendra Singh

MP: 6 dead, 12 hurt as truck rams into people

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav

Andhra people have enhanced coun try’s reputation in science & tech nology. The Telugu diaspora has an influencing role across the world, majority of them being technology professionals.

—Droupadi Murmu, President

CDS Gen Chauhan, Chief of Air Staff VR Chaudhari, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar and Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen BS Raju pay homage to fallen heroes at the National War Memorial on Sunday.

New Delhi (PTI): Maruti Suzuki India’s challenge to produce 20 lakh units this fiscal may fall slightly short, according to com pany Senior Executive Of ficer, Marketing & Sales Shashank Srivastava. He, however said, the compa ny is still counting on an outside chance to meet the challenge through ex ecution of its pending or ders that stands at around 3.75 lakh units.

“By our current calcula tion, I think it should be slightly short of that number,” Srivastava said in a statement.

PRIVATE SECURITY INDUSTRY DEMANDS HIKE IN FDI LIMIT

RBI likely to moderate interest hike

New Delhi: According to various industry experts, after three back-to-back in terest rate hikes of 50 basis points each, the Reserve Bank may opt for a lower rate increase of 25-35 bps in lending rates at its coming monetary policy review on Wednesday amid retail in flation showing signs of moderation and the need to push growth.

The Reserve Bank of In dia (RBI) will come out with its next bi-monthly policy review on December 7 at the end of the three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) beginning Monday.

In addition to the domes tic factors, the RBI commit tee may also take some cues from the US Federal

Reserve which hinted at a lower rate hike of 50 basis later in the month. In order to combat inflation, the Federal Reserve had earli er hiked the key interest rates 4 times by 75 bps each.

The Reserve Bank since May has increased the repo or benchmark lending rates by 190 basis points, to calm down inflation which has remained above its comfort level of 6 per cent since January.

RBI’s rate decision, state poll results to drive equity market

New Delhi (PTI): An as sociation of private secu rity services providers on Sunday demanded an in crease in the foreign di rect investment (FDI) limit in the sector to 74% from the existing 49%. Raising the demand, the Chairman of the Central Association of Private Security Indus try (CAPSI), said in a statement that raising the FDI limit to 74% will help modernise, digitise and propel the growth of the crucial sector which cur rently employs over one crore personnel.

FPIs INVEST `36,329 CRORE IN EQUITIES IN NOVEMBER 2022

New Delhi (PTI): RBI’s in terest rate decision is a ma jor factor that will drive the trends in the equity market this week, while global cues and foreign fund trad ing activity would also be watched, analysts said.

Market investors would also track the state election results later this week, they added.

“Global cues continue to cause volatility, but this week the market’s focus will shift to domestic cues like RBI policy and state election results. The out

come of the RBI policy is scheduled for 7 December, while the results of Guja rat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections will come on 8 December,” said Santosh Meena.

PMI data for the services sector is scheduled to be announced on Monday.

“We do believe that the MPC will continue with rate hikes this time though the magnitude will be low er -- probably 25-35 bps. More specifically we do be lieve that the terminal repo

TOP TALKING POINTS

z The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will come out with its next bi-monthly policy review on December 7 at the end of the three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) beginning Monday.

rate for the financial year will be 6.5%, which means there will be one more rate hike in February,” he said. Sabnavis further said there will not be any sur prise for the market just as is the case for global mar kets too, which are now ex pecting more moderate in creases in interest rates by the Fed. The GDP growth in the second quarter of the fiscal slowed to 6.3% as against a growth of 13.5%

z In addition to the domestic factors, MPC may also take some cues from the US Federal Reserve which hinted at a lower rate hike of 50 bps

z The RBI since May has increased the repo or benchmark lending rates by 190 bps, to calm down inflation

in the preceding three months.

D K Pant, Chief Econo mist, India Ratings, said the second quarter infla tion and GDP numbers are in line with RBI’s forecast.

“Inflation is likely to de cline further. However, it is expected to remain higher than 6% in this quarter. We believe RBI may go for a 25 bps hike in repo rate in Dec 2022 monetary policy,” he said.

States’ capital spends inch up 2.2% in H1 despite big spike in revenue

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Capital ex penditure (capex) of 18 states has increased by just 2.2% in the first half of the current fiscal even as their combined revenue deficit has narrowed to more than one-fourth from the yearago period, according to a report.

This means that there has to be a massive 57% in crease in their capital out lays to meet their FY23 budgeted target, Icra Rat

SpiceJet expects improvement in operations, says Ajay Singh

New Delhi (PTI): After pulling out money from Indian equities market in the past two months, FPIs made a strong come back in November with a net in vestment of `36,329 crore on weakening of the US dollar index and posi tivity about overall macro economic trends. This was the third month (July, August and November) in this year when FPIs wit nessed net inflows. More over, they started the month of December on a positive note.

MCAP OF EIGHT TOP FIRMS CLIMBS TO `1.15 LAKH CRORE

New Delhi (PTI): Spice Jet, which is looking to raise $200 million, expects to see improvement in op erations and restructuring benefits in the current quarter of this financial year.

The budget carrier’s chief Ajay Singh has told shareholders that it has also completed a series of settlements with most of the major partners, includ ing manufacturers and les sors.

In his message in the air line’s annual report for 2021-22 fiscal, Singh, who is the Chairman and Manag ing Director, said the air line industry worldwide

continues to undergo a transformation.

The airline has received shareholders’ nod for transfer of its logistics business to SpiceXpress and the process of hiving off the cargo and logistics platform is expected to be completed soon.

“Our logistics business has been valued at `25,557.7

million and the transfer of business under this pro cess will help us signifi cantly strengthen our bal ance sheet and wipe out the negative net worth of our business.

“We expect to see im provement in operations and restructuring benefits will be visible starting Q3 FY2023,” Singh said.

IN BID TO DIVERSIFY BUSINESS ACTIVITY

New Delhi (PTI): Eight of the top-10 most valued firms together added `1,15,837 crore in market valuation last week, with Reliance Industries emerging as the biggest gainer. From the top-10 pack, HDFC twins were the only laggards. The market valuation of Reli ance Industries jumped `71,462.28 crore to `18,41,994.48 crore. It also ruled the chart of the top-10 most valued firms followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India, HDFC, Bharti Airtel and Adani Enterprises.

NITI Aayog plans to highlight

India’s key achievements: Bery

New Delhi (PTI): NITI Aayog will use India’s G20 presidency as an opportu nity to highlight signifi cant achievements of the country as the world does not fully appreciate India’s ability to deliver public ser vices at scale, its ViceChairman Suman Bery has said.

Bery further said that people tend to know the China story, but they tend not to know the India story.

“During its G20 presi dency, India will be in the global limelight till the summit next September. It is NITI Aayog’s role and duty to tell the India story.

“So, we will be using the opportunity to make peo ple aware of India’s many significant achievements including UPI, the (COV ID-19) vaccination pro gramme, and the (food) ra tion programme,” he said.

outlay of `6.2 lakh crore.

But these states have col lectively spent only ` 1.59 lakh crore so far this fiscal, which is just about a growth of 2.2% annualised.

ings said in an analysis on the available numbers from 18 of the largest states, which have budget ed for a combined capital

Main challenge is to maintain aviation safety ranking: DCGA

New Delhi (PTI): With the country getting its highestever rank in the ICAO avia tion safety rankings, DGCA chief Arun Kumar on Sun day said the challenge now is to maintain and further improve the air safety eco system. The comments also come against the backdrop of the country’s aviation sector slowly coming back into the growth trajectory after being severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the domestic air traffic is also inching towards the pre-pandemic level. In the latest rankings by the In dian Civil Aviation Organi sation, India’s position has jumped to the 48th place from 102nd spot in 2018.

Abu Dhabi invites Indian start-ups to invest

Abu Dhabi (PTI): In its bid to diversify Abu Dha bi’s business activity be yond hydrocarbons, the UAE’s capital city is seek ing more investments from India which will not only benefit the local economy but also allow Indian firms to use it as a platform to grow their footprints around the world.

Abu Dhabi has identi fied priority sectors in cluding agritech, tourism, healthcare, pharma and financial services, where Indian enterprises can in vest.

Abdulla Abdul Aziz

Alshamsi, Acting Director General of Abu Dhabi In vestment Office (ADIO) which is tasked with pull

ing the investments, said that his office will facili tate all investment ave nues for Indian companies

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

Revenue deficits of these 18 states have nar rowed to a low ` 30,000 crore in the first half of the current fiscal. This revenue tailwind comes in spite of these states budg eting for a combined rev enue deficit to ` 1.4 lakh crore in FY23 from ` 1.1 lakh crore in FY22.

India’s G20 presidency began from December 1 and the next G20 Leaders’ Summit at the level of Heads of State/Govern ment is scheduled to be held on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi.

“Because I don’t think the world fully appreciates India’s ability to deliver public services at scale, even LPG connections. I mean, the numbers are by any global standards al most unimaginable,” he asserted.

20% premium recommended for ONGC, OIL gas production

New Delhi (PTI): The Kir it Parikh Committee, which recommended a floor and ceiling price for natural gas produced from legacy fields of state-owned producers to moderate in put price for CNG and fer tilizer, has favoured paying ONGC and OIL a premium of 20% over such price for any new gas production they add from old fields.

The panel, which sub mitted its report to the oil ministry last week, has rec ommended benchmarking price of natural gas pro duced from ONGC and OIL’s legacy or old fields, called APM gas, at 10% of cost of crude oil imported into India. This rate would however be subject to a

OTHER STORIES

ceiling or cap price of $6.5 per million British ther mal unit, until a full dereg ulation of prices is imple mented in 2027. There would also be a floor of $4 with a view to cover for cost of production and at the same time keeping cost for fertilizer, power and CNG, which use gas as in put raw material, at man ageable levels.

POWERGRID TO SEPARATE TELECOM BUSINESS

called this as a natural extension of the growing relations between India and the UAE.

Kolkata (PTI): The UAE emerged as the second largest importer of tea from India after the Common wealth of Inde pendent States (CIS) as a block, accord ing to the latest data. During the period from Jan to Sept 2022, UAE imported 28.58 million kilograms of tea from India, a rise of 159%from the similar period of 2021.

Kolkata (PTI): Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd is in the process of carving out its telecom verti cal to a new fully-owned subsidiary, Powergrid Tel eservices Ltd, in a bid to have a “focused approach” and to move up the value chain, sen ior company officials said. It has also got approval from the CERC to operate data centres.

UAE EMERGES AS SECOND-BIGGEST TEA IMPORTER FROM INDIA

First India Bureau

Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baro da, said the RBI will be pre senting the monetary poli cy against the backdrop of GDP growth slowing down as well as inflation being high above 6%.

New Delhi (PTI): Leading FMCG companies say they are keeping a close watch on prices of major commodities, which have fallen in case of some items. While prices of palm oil have eased and sugar is stable, FMCG firms pointed out that rates of some other major items including wheat are still firm and hence they would wait and watch before taking any call on reducing the price.

FMCG

HC relief for Nepali student over cancelled admission

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bom bay High Court has set aside a decision by Mumbai University for declining admis sion to a student from Nepal in a Mas ter of Psychology de gree course.

A division bench comprising Justice SV Gangapurwala and Jus tice RN Laddha on De cember 01 passed a judg ment while hearing a plea filed by Megha Puri, an international student from Nepal, challenging a communi cation sent from MU on November 26, 2021, de clining her admission to the psychology course.

The court held that the petitioner should not “suffer for the mis take committed by the university” as the deci sion to cancel admis sion was “mid-way through the academic year” and she was “not at fault.”

Yatra teaching me things that cannot be learnt travelling in an aeroplane: Rahul

Jhalawar: Rahul Gan dhi on Sunday said the Bharat Jodo Yatra is teaching him things that cannot be learnt “while travelling in an aeroplane, a helicopter or any vehicle”. “India is not understood from aeroplane, it is under stood only after shaking hands with a farmer with a torn hand,” he said while addressing the people as the yatra

entered for the first time a Congress-ruled state. The yatra entered Rajasthan at Jhalawar from Madhya Pradesh on Sunday evening. Gandhi said he is pained to leave MP but happy to enter Ra jasthan. The yatra flag was handed over from MP PCC Chief Kamal Nath to Rajasthan PCC Chief Govind S Dotasra.

Primary charge should have been murder: HC

OVERLOOKED

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has pulled up the father of a de ceased woman for not taking timely action in his daughter’s death case. It also said his actions were “con trary to prudence”.

Justice GP Sanap of the Nagpur bench made the observation while dealing with an appeal by a man convicted un der Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the death of his pregnant wife.

Citing testimony from medical experts that the cause of death was strangulation with postmortem drowning, the court also pulled up

the sessions court that allowed the case to be tried as a dowry death.

The sessions judge framed charge against the husband and his family members under Section 304B (dowry death) of the IPC, and an alternate charge un der Section 302 (mur der) IPC was also framed. The appellant was found guilty under Section 304B.

“The deceased had sustained three injuries to her neck. The inju

ries clearly indicated that the deceased was strangled, killed and thereafter thrown in the pond. Injuries were ante-mortem. It there fore goes without say ing that in this case the death was pure and sim ple homicidal death,” said the court.

“The learned sessions judge has completely ig nored this important aspect and proceeded on the assumption that of fence of dowry death would take in its fold of

fence of murder,” ob served the court.

According to the prosecution, the wom an, who had been cut off by her parents after she eloped with the de fendant, had com plained to her mother that she was being men tally and physically harassed just days be fore her death. While her mother testified as much, the court noted that there was no cor roborating evidence to prove dowry demands.

BHARAT JODO YATRA WILL BE HISTORIC IN RAJASTHAN: GEHLOT

Jhalawar: CM Ashok Gehlot said that they would hold bet ter yatra in Rajasthan than MP and this would be historic.

“Rahul Gandhi is taking out this yatra to end the atmos phere of hatred in the country and he has started the biggest journey after independence. This journey is being taken out regarding the current situ ation of the country. “Rahul Gandhi has made the most difficult journey. There is a message of Rahul Gandhi’s visit to every village and every house. Inflation is killing everyone and unemployment is rising,” he said.

GEHLOT INVITES SONIA TO JOIN YATRA ON DEC 9 IN RAJASTHAN

CM’S WIFE VISITS RAJ TEMPLE

Court grants bail to man held for rape of 2-year-old toddler

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A man ar rested for rape of a two-and-a-half-yearold girl was recently granted bail by the Bombay High Court.

Kolhapur police nabbed him for alleg edly removing her un dergarment and in serting a finger in her private parts in 2020.

In his order, Justice Nitin R Borkar observed that the case appeared to be of sexual assault and not penetrative sexual assault. “Since the ac cused had been in jail for over two years, the court is inclined to release him on bail,” he said.

According to the com plaint filed by the girl’s mother, the toddler was repeatedly urinating in her clothes on Novem ber 02, 2020, when the incident occurred.

While the lawyers of the accused argued that there are a lot of contra dictions and omissions in witness statements.

The legal aid of the minor’s mother asked for the accused not to be released on bail as he was involved in the seri ous offence of penetra tive sexual assault.

While pronouncing the order, Justice Bork ar stated, “It appears the victim was medi cally examined and ex

cept for tenderness, no other injury was found on the private part… Prima facie, therefore, case appears to be of sexual assault and not penetrative sex ual assault.”

‘NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF MENTAL HEALTHCARE ACT REGRETTABLE’

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bom bay High Court on Saturday slammed the state govern ment for “regretta ble state of affairs” in implementation of Mental Health care Act provisions.

A bench comprising Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Gauri Godse noted the grav ity of duties imposed on the state mental health authority. It also deemed it neces sary to issue direc tions to them to incul cate a sense of urgen cy for the tasks ahead.

In its order, the court highlighted that the authority itself had not been function ing till the state was directed in August this year to make it func tional.

“In this regrettable state of affairs, it has become necessary for us to issue direc

tions to the authority and the state, high lighting the gravity of duties imposed upon them under the Act and to inculcate a sense of urgency for the tasks ahead,” stat ed the order.

The court was in formed that under Section 56 of the Act, the state mental health authority was mandated to meet no less than four times a year.

However, it was only after the court’s directions that the au thority was formed and it held its first

‘sense

law,

meeting in September.

The court noted that the minutes failed to show what tasks the chief executive officer (CEO) of the authori ty had undertaken in order to conduct the work programmes and prepare annual accounts of revenue and expenditure

First India Bureau

The Nagpur bench makes observation while setting aside a man’s dowry death conviction over lack of evidence

The learned sessions judge has accepted the case of prosecution that the deceased died a homicidal death. In this view of the mat ter, charge for murder ought to have been a principal charge. The learned sessions judge somehow missed this crux of the matter and committed a grave error.

—Justice Sanap, Nagpur bench, Bombay HC

Justice Nitin R Borkar observed that it appeared there was no penetrative sexual assault

Bench slams Maharashtra govt on failure to implement the

calls for

of urgency’

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s wife Lata Shinde arrived at Mehandipur Balaji Temple in Rajasthan’s Dausa and prayed on Sunday. The temple trust members welcomed her with a shawl and presented Lord Balaji’s modak prasad. She had visited the temple late on Saturday as well, but was turned away as the gates had already been shut.

—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,

Ashvini Yadav New Delhi: CM Ashok Gehlot on Sunday met the former president of the party Sonia Gandhi and extended an invita tion to her to come to Rajasthan to join Bharat Jodo Yatra on her birth day on December 9. She is likely to visit the state. The CM also invited the national media for the coverage of Bharat Jodo Yatra. He said that the national media is boycotting the biggest yatra after independ ence. During the Delhi visit, Gehlot attended the steering committee meeting in AICC.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Chawli, Jhalawar in Raj from MP on Sunday

Rahul, Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, Kamal Nath, GS Dotasra dance together

Yatra to cover a distance of 500 km in Raj in 17 days before entering Haryana on December 21

Event was covered by First India reporting team, Yogesh Sharma, Bhanwar S Charan, Dimple Sharma, Tripti Gautam and Arif Mansoori and Photojournalist Santosh Sharma

Raj CM Ashok Gehlot, KC Venugopal, Kamal Nath, Govind Singh Dotasra, Sachin Pilot during the yatra at Jhalawar on Sunday.

Rahul Gandhi dances with folk artistes as the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Jhalawar in Rajasthan from MP on Sunday.

MRIDULA SHARMA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions.

Small people always do that, but the great ones make you be lieve that you too can become great. The quote ap plies to this dynamic beauty who is made for a stunning finalist at the First India Queen 2022. While speaking about herself Kajol said “I hail from the city of love Agra.

I am a 23-year-old young girl with big dreams and big goals.” On a professional note, the beauty shared “I believe we need both profession and passion in our lives to be suc cessful and I am a person who always carries both. If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it. My passion and hard work paid off when Jagdeesh Chandra Sir provided me with an opportunity to be a part of the First India Queen and I can’t thank him enough for this opportunity. “Talking about her professional life she further mentioned, “I have done a Master’s in Market ing.” While praising her par ents’ efforts diva stated, “My parents are the ones who stood with me in every path. Wheth er modelling, educating me, roaming with friends enjoy ing and many more.”

“I always want to be a person who can be inde pendent and handles so many things at a single time. So here I am trying to manage my job, stud ies and modelling all at once.”

“Thus, I am here to ex press myself, whatever I see, experience and plan for my life. I try my best to be mod est passionate, devoted, hard working and honest about it. I want to be the best version of daughter, mother, and sister,” Kajol claimed.

“IF

Balancing Act of Parenting

We all want to be the best parents in the world for our chil dren. The word ‘Parenting’ has a different meaning for every couple or parent. For me, as a parent, it’s the cut est yet toughest task in the world. Nurturing a child with fondness, and affection but at the same time making your child understand life’s practicalities, what’s right or wrong for them, and know the set peripheries of Indian society and our own culture is indeed required.

With a liberal mindset, I believe we should raise our children knowing our traditional moral values and, in the chorus, give them the wings of freedom to fly where they can excel with their aptitude rather than per form anything just for their par ent’s choice or wish. Throughout the circus of par enting, it’s essen tial to focus on bal ancing primacies, juggling responsi bilities, and flip ping between your kid’s desires.

Believe me, friends, if we show hope, trust in our kids, and give them responsibilities with an environ ment of love and

FACE OF THE DAY!

them for a wrong curvy path in life. So here parents’ role becomes so important. If we parents restrict them more, they can be resistant so as a pal we need to tune in with them and keep an eye on them without their cognizance. And for a single parent, it becomes more difficult to handle a young teen ager. If you want your child to lis ten, and respect you rather than fear you then for this, you need to be supportive, not an authoritative or a helicopter parent and need not be mon itored excessively by you.

Without pressurizing let them do whatever career path they want to pursue in life. I think this way they will come up with flying colours.

If you don’t agree with their point of view then rather shouting at them, very po litely make them understand. Parents should never hit their children, under any cir

cumstances. There are many other ways to discipline a child. A bal anced, firm, and consistent ap proach needs to follow. As we are adults, so this needs more compas sion, kindness, and understanding from our side. We need to under stand from a kid’s perspective. Re spect their opinion. Pay attention when your child speaks to you. Treat them kindly. Praise your child and be generous with re wards — your love, hugs, and com pliments. Whatever you do your child follows, so be a good role model for your child.

Your relationship with your child is the foundation for their relationship with you and with others as well. Allow these cute lit tle monsters’ own space to develop their concerns, explore their inde pendence, and experience failures.

At least, for me, I and my kiddo are like buddies…who share eve rything…you should also try, then life would be fun!

Aries

MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

Health tips from an expert will enable you to get closer to your fitness goals. Using your initiative at work will be much appreciated. You may get a chance to pursue old hobby. Your generous behavior would enable to enjoy some lovely moments with family.

Gemini

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

Following a health diet will be a good idea. Luck favours you today on the profes sional front. Focus sing on health now will help you in keeping physically fit. Clarity of mind will help you forge ahead on the academic front. Frustration on the romantic front is possible.

Leo

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

Family will be most supportive, when it really matters for you. Some of you may add to your list of properties by booking a new one. It is good day to confess your love as stars appear favourable for positive reply. A long drive is likely to help you get over mental tiredness.

Libra

SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 22

Distant relatives may drop in for a surprise visit. On professional front, recognition for good work would motivate you to work harder. Those awaiting an affirmation on romantic front are likely to get lucky today, as partner responds positively. Your day will be full of surprises.

Sagittarius

NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22

It’s a very good day to take calculated risks in financial matters. Your efforts on the professional front will be recognised. Opting for some healthy choices will ensure you remain in perfect health. You will feel much happy and contented on the family front.

Aquarius

JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19

A friend may motivate you to take up a healthy activity.

Parents may appear more than happy with what you deliver. Plans for overseas travel are likely to materialise. You are likely to get clearance for your construction plans. You find things moving in the way you want them.

Taurus

APRIL 21 - MAY 20

A major purchase may make a dent in your savings, but will help in keeping up with the jonesses. Speculation may not be profitable and you can very well burn your fingers. Some of you may get hard pressed to find a good match for someone eligible in the family down, Saturn will save you.

Cancer

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

Your intuition will save you from a tricky spot today. Yoga would help in raising energy levels and improve your metabolism. You will manage to achieve your aim through travel. This is a great time on the academic front, when you mange to render your best.

Virgo

AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23

Avoid raising controversial issues at home to maintain harmony. Successful implementation of new ideas and projects would add to your prestige on the professional front. It is a wonderful day to build new connections. Your relationship requires you to be tactful.

Scorpio

OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22

Happiness in the domestic sphere will only come with a changed mind set. Some of you are likely to become a part of an overseas official trip. Better to consult an expert in financial matters before making an investment.

Capricorn

DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20

You will succeed in resolving misunder standing with family members, normalizing ties. Despite your misgivings, you retain good health. You will do much to bring peace at home. You will remain much in demand on social front. Some of you can get romantically involved.

Pisces

FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20

Gifting something to your beloved is likely to make the day memorable. Matrimo nial match for siblings will bring happiness for entire family. You will get a good price for your property. Those awaiting results are assured of succeeding with flying colours.

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

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SHRIYA SHUKLA, Artist

ANUBHA JAIN Journalist Writer jainanubha1@outlook.com

CLUMSY SIDE OF DISHA!

ni has sustained an injury on her right leg. The actress took to ries yesterday and shared pictures of her injured leg and wrote, “Can I be injury free for a week...why am I so clumsy.” She is seen soaking her feet in cold water to relieve pain.

ever did not stop her from making dinner plans with her friends. The actress was seen all dressed up as she was spotted outside a restau rant, her leg wrapped in a bandage.

And then it was time to go back home to her recovery routine, which she shared in her Instagram story and wrote, “Back to same old recovery.”

THE CHAOTIC DUO

Saif and Kareena was re cently, seen making heads turn at the Red Sea Festi val in Jeddah. Before en tering the venue, Saif was asked about the contributions of wom en in cinema. While speaking about the same, the actor named a few female actresses but he for got to mention his wife’s name. He said, “Cinema is empty with out women for a start. When you think of cinema you think of so many important ladies, from Marlene Dietrich to Audrey Hep burn to Charlize Theron.” Bebo was quick to interrupt, “to your wife!” Saif then added, “and to my beautiful wife” and they lau ghed.

—Agency

hraddha Kapoor’s recent cam eo in the song ‘Thumkesh from the movie, Bhedi broke the internet. The ac tress recently took to her social me dia re-sharing an interesting insight from the hook step of the song. Shrad dha shared an interesting insight about gender reversal in the hook step of the song that was noticed by Humans of Cinema. Throwing light on it, Shraddha also wrote, “The gender reversal in the hook step is a brilliant observation. Had wondered whether audiences will no tice that layer. The magic of @amarkau shik!”

—Agency

torial Chakda Xpress.

While fans are eagerly wait ing to see Anushka in Chakda ‘Xpress, now, the actress left

Anushka Sharma is one of the most versatile actresses in Bolly wood. She made her acting debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the 2008 film, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and has carved a niche for herself. Anushka was last seen in the 2018 Aanand L Rai film, Zero, co-starring Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif. Ever since she has been missing from the screens, now, she will be back after a long break and will be seen as cricketer Jhulan Gos wami in the Prosit Roy direc

Shraddha Kapoor

Anushka Sharma

Kareena Kapoor

Disha Patani

Kareena and Saif at Red Sea Film Festival

SONAM misses hubby on Anniversary

Sonam Kapoor is currently en joying the new phase of her life as a new mother. She wel comed her first child – a baby boy with her husband Anand Ahuja on September 20 and named him Vayu Kapoor Ahuja. Sonam and Anand tied the knot in May 2018 in Mumbai after dating for a couple of years. They also hosted a star-studded wedding recep tion. Ever since the newly turned par ents have been making 'every day phenomenal' for each other ever since they fell in love. Sonam never shies from express ing her love for husband Anand Ahuja on Instagram. Speaking of which, the actress has dropped a love-filled post on her social media handle for her "number one". Sharing a throwback picture, Sonam wrote, "Nothing com pares to you.. my (number one) miss you Anand Ahuja #everydayphenom enal 7 years of togetherness and love." In the image, both are happily posing for the camera with their arms wrapped around each other. Soon after the actress shared the post, fans flood ed the comment sec

MALAIKA’S Emotional Confession

part ways in 2017 and continues co-parent ing their son. Malaika is now dating actor Ar jun Kapoor for a while, Arbaaz, on the other hand, is dating model Giorgia Andriani.

ASHISH TIWARI cityfirst.mumbai@firstindia.co.in

Malaika Arora, who is gear ing up for her upcoming re ality show ‘Moving In With Malai ka,’ has dropped a new teaser on her Insta gram handle. In the clip, Malaika can be seen opening up about her separation from Arbaaz Khan and her life decisions with Fa rah Khan.

Malaika Arora got married to Salman

Recently during Ka reena’s Podcast Show the actress spoke out about her divorce and said, “It’s never, ever easy, like no other ma jor decision in your life. At the end of the day, someone has to be blamed. You always have to point fingers at someone. I think that’s the general human na ture to go about things."

The Munni Bad naam Actress post ed a clip online where in she’s seen speaking at an event where her sister Am rita Arora and actress Sophie Choudry can be seen sitting in the au dience. Malaika says, "I have moved on, my ex has moved on, when will every one of

you."In another scene, Malaika gets teary-eyed while talking to Farah about her life decisions. "Every decision that I made in my life has been complete ly worth it. I am happy."

Farah consoles her and says, "Aww, you look beauti ful even when you cry."

In the clip, Ka reena spoke about her best friend. “I think she is witty, hot, beautiful and she is rock solid, let’s see if she lets her guard down,” Ka reena said.

Sharing the clip, Malaika Arora wrote in the caption, "It's time for me to let you all in, will I let my guard down? #Hotstar Specials #MovingIn WithMalaika starts streaming December 5th Monday.

marks Kumar’s first foray into the streaming series arena About which he said, “it’s more on the science fiction” side of things with “a lot of action in it, I can say that.” Akshay has recently finished shooting Selfie, a remake of the 2019 Malayalam-language comedydrama Driving Licence as well as Start up, about the founder of Air Deccan, India’s first low-cost airline.

While he’s welcomed the stream ing platforms in India, he stressed that India is still an untapped territory when it comes to growth in that area. “We are 1.5 billion people there and still Netflix, Amazon, Disney, ZEE5, all of these digital platforms, they have only tapped no more than about 10 to 12% of the mar ket. The market in India is huge.”

Salman Khan, on Saturday, shared an update on his forthcoming pro ject ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan.’ The

RAM CHARAN gets awarded

ecently, the Mega Power Star Ram Charan attended

tion made to his already

long list of accolades. The actor received the True Legend - Future of Young India Award.

Apart from being an amazing actor, he is also a philan thropist, He has al ways used his position in society to create a positive impact. Even the roles that he choos es to play in films posi tively inspire people, especially the youth, all around the world.

It comes as no sur prise that he has re ceived this award. The artist has always been praised for how he has played roles that give a message to the audi ence. His films have been ac claimed not only all over India but on a global scale. Even his role in the super hit RRR was ex tremely note worthy and praised by audiences all over the world.

in one of his Interviews, Ran deep responded to a question concerning the audience's poten tial for OTT by saying, "I'm not very good at it, so I don't know. What I perceive is that individuals have taken a lot of diverse stuff from around the world, despite the fact that we were all trapped in our rooms for two years during the pandemic. As a result, there was a change in how people con sumed content, including all forms of cinema. Thus, that experience won't ever be forgotten."

The actor shared a pic ture from the sets of the film on social media and he revealed that the film's schedule has been wrapped. Salman Khan can be seen dressed in a printed jack et and sporting long hair, His swag is off the charts. The actor had been teasing his Insta fam with glimpses from his project.

Keeping with his tradi tion, Bolly wood super star Sal man Khan’s next film

‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’ is all set to release on the day of Eid next year. The actor wrapped up the film’s shoot on Saturday.

Other than Sal man Khan, the film will also feature Pooja Hegde, Ven katesh Daggubati, Shehnaaz Gill, Palak Tiwari and Vijender Singh.

On the work front, Salman Khan was last seen in the film Antim, directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, which also featured Salman Khan's brother-in-law Aayush Sharma (married to Arpita Khan).

There has to be a balance in the story

Salman Khan

Akshay Kumar

Sonam Kapoor

Randeep Hooda

Malaika Arora

Ram Charan

Randeep during the shoot