First India-Jaipur Edition-6th January 2023

B’LURU-CHENNAI EXPRESSWAY TO BE READY NEXT YEAR: GADKARI

‘

CAN’T UPROOT 1,000s OVERNIGHT’

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Thousands of people who faced the prospect of being left homeless in middle of harsh winter won major reprieve from SC on Thursday as it paused eviction drive on railway land in U’khand’s Haldwani. “There cannot be uprooting of 50,000 people overnight...

It’s a human issue, some workable solution needs to be found,” SC said, as it stopped U’khand HC order that had cleared eviction of 4,000 homes.

MAJOR RELIEF FOR 50,000+ RESIDENTS

SC said, “It may not be correct to say that paramilitary forces have to be deployed to remove people who have been living there for decades.” SC also stopped any construction in the area and sought responses from the railways and the Uttarakhand government. The case will be heard again next month.

The judgment of SC will protect human rights. We all were worried about demolition rendering 52,000 people homeless. SC stayed the demolition. In 2016, we took steps regarding the rehabilitation of the people.

State government would proceed according to SC’s order which stayed a December 20 direction given by Uttarakhand HC directing eviction of thousands of families occupying railway land in Haldwani district within a week.

—Pushkar Singh Dhami, U’khand CM

INDIA AND FRANCE HOLD 36TH ROUND OF INDOFRENCH STRATEGIC TALK

During the day, Bonne also called on PM Modi

New Delhi: National Security Advisor (NSA)

Ajit Doval on Thursday held the 36th round of the Indo-French Strategic Dialogue with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Bonne. Bonne’s visit was 1st major diplomatic visit of the new year, and according to a statement from Embassy of France in India, both participants agreed to intensify efforts “towards strategic autonomy”.

“2 sides held discussions on a variety of issues, including current global security situation in the context of Ukraine war, counterterrorism etc.

FRANCE’S RAFALE JETS

FOR

FRANCIS LEADS FUNERAL FOR BENEDICT XVI IN VATICAN

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi said JJM is a major development parameter of a State to provide water to every household. Addressing the 1st All India Annual State Ministers’ Conference on Water via video message on Thursday, PM said in our constitutional system, water comes under control of States and their efforts for water conservation will go a long way in achieving the collective goals of the country.

Modi called for coordinated efforts by Ministries of Environment & Water and said by making Namami Gange Mission a template, other states can also start similar campaigns for conservation of rivers. P6

CRUCIAL READ

SOON!

French Prez Emmanuel Macron’s likely India trip in early 2023.

GEHLOT SUPPORTS PARADING RAPISTS AND GANGSTERS, HEAD SHAVEN, IN MARKETS....

 ...but it is our responsibility to respect the court orders, CM Ashok Gehlot said  CM justifies ACB’s ‘no detail order’, says even Raje govt had brought similar law

Ravi Sharma

Udaipur: On Thursday, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot gave a big statement regarding gangsters and rapists and said that if he could, he would cut the hair of rapists and gangsters and parade them among the people in the mar-

ket. “If you feel ashamed then other people will also be afraid to do the same. But it is our responsibility to respect the orders of the court” Gehlot said while visiting Udaipur on Thursday while replying to a question regarding the order not to make pub-

lic the photos and names of the accused caught in ACB action.

Targeting the Leader of the Opposition, he said, “Gulabchand Ka-

If the paper is leaked, we take action. They cancel the recognition of the school where the paper is held. The government employees and officers involved in it are dismissed. We take action immediately.

—Ashok Gehlot, CM

taria says, there is a lot of corruption in Rajasthan. The ACB is conducting raids, that’s why corrupt people are getting caught. They go in reverse. Their intel-

Investigation and prosecution are the pillars of the rule of law. Therefore, it is necessary to lay emphasis on investigation and prosecution to establish the rule of law and there should be zero tolerance for corruption.

—Nityanand Rai

lect works in the wrong way. Instead of praising the raid, they talk about increasing corruption in Rajasthan. Rajasthan ACB is doing better work in India.”More on P9

MICROSOFT CEO CALLS ON MODI, PLEDGES FULL SUPPORT TO “DIGITAL INDIA VISION”

ISRO AND MICROSOFT COLLABORATE TO SUPPORT SPACE-TECH STARTUPS IN INDIA

Bengaluru: The ISRO and Microsoft on Thursday signed a MoU to help space tech startups and in turn boost the growth of space technology in the country. “MoU seeks to empower space tech start-ups across country with technology tools and platforms, go-to-market support and mentoring to help them scale and become enterprise ready,” Microsoft official said in a statement.

THROUGH “BIGGIE” TIE-UP...

The space-tech startups identified by ISRO will be onboarded onto the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub platform

founders

Pact will strengthen vision of harnessing potential of tech innovators and entrepreneurs

UP CM YOGI MEETS AMBANI, DISCUSSES INVESTMENTS...

Probe and prosecution form backbone of rule of law: Rai

Jaipur: Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai on Thursday while addressing the third national conference of the head of investigative agencies here said that state-of-the-art technology and mutual coordination are very important to empower the police.

“At present, with the changing nature of crime, the use of the latest techniques has become necessary for the police,” he said. Turn to P9

POPE

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath meets with Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani, at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, in Mumbai on Thursday.

Vatican: In a rare Mass for a dead pontiff by a living one before thousands of mourners at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Pope Francis on Thursday presided over the funeral of his predecessor Benedict XVI, the first pontiff to have resigned since the Middle Ages, as a choir sang prayers. The German theologian, who took the title of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI for his retirement in 2013, died on December 31.

Boss of oil to telecom behemoth, discussed investments in State, which UP CM has pitched as a central cog in growth machine, which will make India a $5 tn

economy. Ambani and Yogi had a fruitful conversation, to scale up RIL’s investments in India’s largest State. Jio has also planned to set up a $950 mn data centre in UP.

 Supreme Court stays the Uttarakhand the High Court’s Haldwani demolition order

 More than 50,000 people faced prospect of being left homeless post the HC order

Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi flashes victory sign after the SC’s order on the Haldwani eviction case, in New Delhi on Thursday.

—Harish Rawat, former U’khand CM

This collaboration will greatly benefit space tech startups in their analysis and processing of vast amounts of satellite data for various applications.

Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub is a useful platform for bringing together startups and providers of technology solutions to support the national space technology ecosystem.

—S Somanath, Chairman, ISRO

Space-tech startups in India are playing a significant role in advancing the country’s space capabilities with the power of technology. Through our technology tools, platforms and mentorship opportunities, we are deeply committed to empowering space-tech startups in the country to drive cutting edge innovation and accelerate scientific discovery.

—Anant Maheshwari, Prez, Microsoft India

Moni Sharma

PM Narendra Modi emphasises on the need for States’ efforts for the water conservation

Water Resources Ministers from all States take part in All-India Annual Conference on Water

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressing 1st All India Annual State Ministers’ Conference on in Bhopal on Thursday. Also present here are Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Prahlad Singh Patel, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other leaders.

New Delhi: Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, who is on a four-day visit to India, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and pledged the company’s support in helping the country realise the Digital India vision. He described his meeting with PM Modi as “insightful”, and lauded the govt’s deep focus on sustainable and inclusive economic growth driven by digital transformation.

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the upcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announced an award of `1 crore for each player if Team India lifts the WC trophy.

SHAH: RAM TEMPLE IN AYODHYA WILL BE READY ON JAN 1, ’24

Dharmanagar: Union HM Amit Shah on Thursday asserted that the BJP-led government in Tripura has wiped out terrorism and brought allround development to the northeastern state. Addressing a rally at Sabroom while flagging off BJP’s rath yatra ahead of the Tripura assembly elections, Shah announced that, ‘The Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be ready by Jan 1, 2024.’ P5

NBEMS has refuted media reports on registration for the NEET PG 2023 on Jan 5, said entrance test will be on Mar 5

Delhi Police said on Thursday that 2 more men were involved in the Sultanpuri accident case.

A Delhi court has sent five accused to police custody for four days in connection with the death of Anjali Singh

New Delhi: Tremors were felt in New Delhi and other areas of the National Capital Region (NCR) after an earthquake measuring 5.9 magnitude struck Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan late on Thursday. Epicentre was located 79 km south of Fayzabad in Afghanistan, the National Centre for Seismology tweeted.

President Vladimir Putin confirmed about Russia’s openness to serious dialogue on condition of Kyiv, told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan he was open to speak if Kyiv accepts territories occupied by Moscow as Russian, Kremlin said Thursday.

Bengaluru: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, announced that the Bengaluru to Chennai Expressway will be completed by March 2024, with cost of `17,000 crore. The 285.3 km four-lane project will help save lot of travel time.

5.9 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE TREMORS FELT IN DELHI

Shivendra Parmar

First India Bureau

The government has approved the continuation of the umbrella scheme of more than Rs 26, 000 crore for the years 2021 to 2026 to modernize the police forces.

—Nityanand Rai, Union MoS for Home

Nityanand Rai addressing conf of the head of the investigative agencies in Jaipur on Thursday.

NSA Ajit Doval with Emmanuel Bonne in Delhi on Thursday.

INDIAN NAVY

F rench aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation’s RafaleM has emerged as the frontrunner to bag a mega contract from Indian Navy for 27 fighters. Sources in Navy had submitted a detailed report to ministry on performance of Super Hornets and Rafale-M. We expect to mature Rafale-M deal during

CM Ashok Gehlot being welcomed by supporters in Udaipur on Thursday.

POONIA ATTACKS CONG

‘NOT A SINGLE PROMISE BY CONG FULFILLED’

Poonia said during Jan Aakrosh meeting at Simalwara of Chaurasi assembly

Punit Chaturvedi

Dungarpur: BJP state president Satish Poonia targeted the state government by calling it a failure on every front on Thursday. He said this at the Jan Aakrosh meeting at Simalwara of Chaurasi assembly constituency.

“Not a single promise made by Congress to the unemployed youth, women, elders & farmers has been fulfilled,” he said.

Poonia said that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had promised to waive the entire loan of the farmers, but till date not a single rupee has been waived off.

“Unemployed are still wandering for jobs. Papers of competitive examinations are being leaked in the state, due to which the candidates are feeling cheated.

Poonia was welcomed at Motli by BJP State GS Sushil Katara, BJP District President Prabhu Pandya and office bearers.

Chugh to address Jan Aakrosh Yatra today

First India Bureau

Jaipur: BJP National GS Tarun Chugh will be in the state capital on Friday. He will address the BJP’s Jan Aakrosh Yatra meetings in Sanganer and Vidyadharnagar assembly constituencies. Chugh will also address the workshop of the Data Management Department at the state office, while National General Secretary Chandrashekhar will hold one session in the meeting.

NEWS DIGEST

Jaipur: The hearing in a matter of dispute between Alok Gupa, ADG of DGGI’s zonal unit and intelligence officer Rakesh Deriwal will be held today in Rajasthan HC. ADG Gupta had relieved Deriwala before the deputation period was over. The matter was related to influencing the investigation of a case. Deriwala had challenged Gupta’s decision in CAT but it was rejected there following which he approached the High Court.

SC UPHELDS HC’S BAIL DECISION TO KAMAL RATHORE

Jaipur: Supreme court has upheld the decision of Rajasthan High Court to grant bail to Baran’s former deputy chairperson Kamal Rathore. A case of fraud was registered against Rathore in which he got bail from the HC. The decision was challenged by the Rajasthan govt in SC. A division bench of the SC headed by justice B R Gavai upheld decision.

ANIL AMBANI SUMMONED OVER REMOVAL OF STAFF

Jaipur: A court here has summoned businessman Anil Ambani through bailable warrant in matter related to the removal of an employee from company against rule 25 years ago. Ambani was MD of M/s BSES Ltd in Mumbai. Complainant Shambhu Singh Bihari was working as Office Assistant & fired in 1997.

I-T PERSONNEL PROTEST, DEMAND REGULAR DPC IN OTHER CADRES

Jaipur: Income Tax Employees Federation’s Rajasthan Circle President Rajendra Meena and General Secretary Siyaram Swamy said that the demand for regular DPC in other cadres, including Private Secretary and against the negative attitude of the administration is on in the department’s offices across the state. A demonstration was held on the headquarters premises of the department at Statue Circle in Jaipur on Thursday.

The BJP Core Committee meeting will be held on January 9 at the BJP state headquarters. The discussions will be held related to the Jan Aakrosh Yatra and as-

SITUATION WORSE IN SHEKHAWATI, GANG WARS HAPPENING: RATHORE

Jhunjhunu: Targeting the Congress government over paper leak incidents, Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore on Thursday said that the government is trying to give protection to the accused in paper leak cases.

Addressing a Jan Aakrosh Meeting in Nawalgarh area, he said that the situation of Shekhwati has worsened. He said that atrocities on Dalits have increased in the state and there is anger and resentment against the government in every village. “The situation has become worse in Shekhawati. Gang wars are happening, land grabbing is also there. Last time the people of Shekhawati had given full support to the Congress but due to the current situation, the entire Shekhawati is now standing with the BJP,” he said.

WILL SPARE NO CONG LEADER INVOLVED IN PAPER LEAK: KIRODI

Poonia issues showcause to Naruka over obscene dance

First India Bureau

Jaipur: In a matter related to obscene dance during BJP’s Jan Aakrosh Mahasabha, party’s state president Satish Poonia issued showcause notice to district president Sanjay Naruka. He said that the matter is from Kherli town where women are seen dancing on the stage during the Jan Aakrosh Mahasabha.

Poonia said that this act was an attempt to tarnish the image of the party. He said, “This is a serious act of indiscipline.” He demanded the names of the organizers of the meeting and who allowed the dance.

Kagzi gets notice over hiding `4.44 cr loan info

First India Bureau

Jaipur: In a case related to withholding info about a loan of Rs 4 crore 44 lakh and defaulting on the repayment, a bench of Justice Indrajeet Singh of the Rajasthan HC has issued notices to Kishanpole MLA Ameen Kagzee, state election commission and state’s chief secretary.

sembly sessions. In the meeting, the outline for BJP’s state level massive movement will be made. There will be brainstorming on important programs.

RU PROTEST CONTINUES

“There is absolutely no permission for this type of event on the party’s forum. You must send me the complete information without any delay,” said Poonia.

In this regard, IIFL Home Finance Limited filed a petition and told HC that company had given a housing loan of Rs 4 crore 44 lakh to Amin Kagzi on July 31, 2017, in Sanga Ashiana Villas Yojna, Sanganer, before state assembly elections. Later, company came to know that Kagzi had hidden this fact by not giving info about his loan liability even in nomination papers.

Councillors give memorandum to Reengus EO for issuing deeds

Reengus: The councillors of Reengus Nagar Palika on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to the Executive Officer (EO) demanding to issue land deeds under the Prashasan Shehron Ke Sang Abhiyan. Councillor Akhilesh Bhatra and Rakesh Sharma informed that due to a pending court case against the Chairman of Nagar Palika, the local public is

Jain society to take call on ongoing fast

Ziauddin Khan

Jaipur: Tourism and ecotourism activity has been banned at Sammed Shikharji, a Jain pilgrimage centre in Giridih, Jharkhand. The Central government withdrew its order issued three years ago on Thursday. The Union Environment Ministry has given instructions to ban all tourism and ecotourism activities and now the ball is in court of the Jharkhand government.

AHEAD OF ELECTIONS

Decision has not yet been taken on the saint’s fast unto death which has been going on for three days in Jaipur. People of Jain society said that wheth-

Voter list of Jaipur dist finalised

Jaipur: The election commission has started preparing for the Rajasthan assembly elections scheduled to take place later this year. The final voter list for the Jaipur district was issued on Thursday by election commission. A total of 49.17 lakh voters have been enrolled in the list with an increase of 73,814 voters in comparison to last year.

Among the 19 assembly constituencies of Jaipur district, voters in Sanganer, Vidhyadhar Nagar, and Hawa

Mahal assembly constituencies have decreased while voters in Amber, Phulera, Chakus and Dudu as-

sembly constituencies have increased from four to eleven thousand. According to the Election Department, a campaign was held in November and December last year to update the voter list. More than 2.27 lakh applications were received to include names in the voter list. Following scrutiny of applications, nearly 1.98 lakh people were added to the voter list. Similarly, 1,24,491 voters were removed.

er they will postpone the fast or not, decision will be taken today. Meanwhile, in Jodhpur, a silent procession on behalf of entire Jain society was postponed.

Jaipur:

not able to take benefits of Prashasan Shehron Ke Sang Abhiyan.

“The Director of Local Bodies issued an order on December 22 giv-

ing the right to the Executive Officer to issue land deeds. But then a faction came in protest against that order. This has halted the Prashasan Shehron Ke Sang Abhiyan in Reengus for the last five months,” said the councillors.

Meanwhile, Executive Officer Sitaram Kumawat assured that 101 pattas will be issued in the coming week to provide benefits to the people of Ringas.

Encroachments removed from government land in Niwai town of Tonk dist

Police at Encroachment site.

First India Bureau

JMCH to take measures to collect UD tax soon

First India Bureau

Jaipur: JMCH is all set to take strict measures in collecting UD tax from people. Commissioner Vishram Meena on Thursday took a meeting of officials and representatives of the recovery company and directed them to take strict action and achieve the desired targets.

The officials informed that properties will be attached to defaulters with dues of more than Rs 1 lakh.

Notably, demand notices are issued by revenue officers while notices are issued by the company and recovery is done thereon.

However, the company has failed to collect 50 per cent of the revenue of the given revenue in the last eight months. The commissioner said that due to the nonissuance of notices on time, the recovery is going down and that will not be tolerated now.

Niwai (Tonk): Encroachments were removed from government land in Niwai town of Tonk district on Thursday. Executive Officer of Niwai Nagar Palika Mahima Dangi informed that after receiving many complaints, encroachments were removed from eight plots situated

on government land near the eighty-feet road. A magistrate appointed by Niwai Sub-Divisional Officer Ravikant Singh, SHO Chhote Lal, Patwari

Virendra Singh Gurjar, Assistant Engineer Puranmal Gupta, Junior Engineer Rajesh Jain and other officials of Niwai Nagar Palika was also present during the drive.

Chaos continues in Rajasthan University for 4 hours on Thursday. Students gherao VC Secretariat over promotion of assistant professors on Thursday. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

HEARING ON DISPUTE BETWEEN ADG OF DGGI’S ZONAL UNIT & IO DERIWAL TODAY

First India Bureau

Satish Poonia addressing the Jan Aakrosh meeting at Simalwara of Chaurasi assembly constituency.

Tarun Singh

PILOT WRITES TO TOURISM MIN OVER SHIKHARJI

ED

Former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Thursday wrote a letter to Union Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy and urged to reconsider ‘Sammed Shikhar Ji’ declaring as tourist spot. The former deputy Chief Minister asked the minister to consider public sentiment while taking decision in this regard. The decision has led to resentment among the Jain community and they are upset, the letter read.

Bundi: Attacking the chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, RS MP Kirodi Meena said that the Enforcement Directorate team will spare no Congress leader involved in paper leak cases. He said that had the then Rajasthan Board Chair DP Jaroli been interrogated in connection with the REET paper leak case, the names of 3 ministers and 5 MLAs would have been exposed. Kirodi Meena said that Modi’s ED is coming to Rajasthan soon on this issue and will not spare even a single person involved in paper leaks. He was addressing the BJP’s Janakrosh Yatra against Congress rule and corruption in the state.

Ashish Aman

Praveen Gupta, Chief Electoral Officer addressing media on Thursday.

Women of Jain community participate in a rally organised against the decision of the Jharkhand Govt in Mumbai. —PHOTO BY ANI

Councillors of Reengus Nagar Palika submitting memorandum.

Chugh will also address the workshop of the Data Management Dept at the state office

CHURU, SIKAR AT SUB-ZERO; BITING CHILL CONTINUES

Jaipur (PTI): Rajasthan continued to reel under intense cold conditions with Churu and Sikar

The minimum temperature was recorded at minus 1.8 degrees Celsius in Fatehpur (Sikar) and minus 1.5 degrees in Churu on Wednesday night, according to the Met office.

The minimum temperature remained below four degrees Celsius in most parts of the state. Dense fog also

School holiday extension till Jan 15 likely; DMs authorised

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Owing to intense cold wave in Rajasthan, schools in Rajasthan may remain closed till January 15.

On Thursday, Director of Education Department Gaurav Agarwal authorised District Collectors to declare holidays till January 15 in all government and private schools of the State.

Now, the education officers at the district level can declare holidays till January 15 with changes in timings according to the weather conditions.

In Jaipur, holidays have

been declared in schools till January 7.

Education Minister BD Kalla said that the effect of cold is continuously increasing across the State. “Earlier holi-

days were declared in schools till January 5. But, due to drop in temperature, collectors have been authorised to declare holidays at district level,” said BD Kalla.

SPREADING WARMTH

Remodelling work at Khatipura Station: Sixteen trains cancelled

Kashiram Choudhary

Jaipur: Owing to noninterlocking work by railways, sixteen trains have been cancelled by North Western Railways. Officials informed that train operations will be affected from January 6 to 24 due to the remodelling work at Jaipur’s Khatipura station.

“During this, eight trains will remain partially cancelled as they will have to be stopped without reaching their designated stations. Due to non-interlocking work, many trains including Barmer-Jammu

IN JPR, FLYERS CREATE RUCKUS AS FACILITIES DENIED

Tawi, Bikaner-Prayagraj, Ajmer-Agra Fort, Jodhpur-Varanasi, Ajmer-Kishanganj, Delhi-Porbandar will be affected. Due to ongoing work at Khatipura station, 16 trains have been

completely cancelled, while 8 trains will remain partially cancelled. At the same time, 8 trains will be run by diverting the route,” informed Captain Shashi Kiran, PRO, Railways.

recording sub-zero minimum temperatures.

enveloped many places on Thursday morning. Coldwave conditions will continue during the next two days, the

weather office has said.

The night temperature was recorded at minus 0.1 degree Celsius in Chittorgarh, 1.2

degrees in Karauli, 1.3 degrees in Alwar, 1.4 degrees in Bhilwara, 2 degrees in both Pilani and Sirohi.

A man holds a piece of ice as temperature plummets to minus 7 degree Celsius in Mount Abu on Thursday.

Jaipurites wake up to cold, misty morning on Thursday. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

SO FAR, MANY DISTRICTS HAVE EXTENDED HOLIDAYS TILL JAN 7

DIVERTED FLIGHT LANDS

Jaipur: In lieu of the cold wave, so far, the district administrations of Jaipur, Nagaur, Bharatpur, Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Udaipur, Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar, Sirohi, Jalore, and Barmer have extended the winter holidays till January 7. However, in Sikar, schools will remain closed for Class 1 to 8th till January 7. For nursery to Class V students, all the government and private schools in Ajmer will resume the classes from January 11. In Baran and Bhilwara, schools will reopen on January 10 and January 12 respectively.

Jaipur: Passengers of a flight diverted to Jaipur airport created ruckus and blocked the porch of the airport after they were denied facilities at the airport. The passengers of Neos airlines reached Jaipur at 1.20 am but did not get any facility following which they created ruckus. The Amritsar-bound flight came from Tbilisi Airport in Georgia. It was to land at Amritsar airport at 11:50 pm but due to fog there, the flight was diverted to Jaipur.

Governor Kalraj Mishra distributes blankets to homeless people at the Raj Bhavan in Jaipur on Thursday.

THE DYNAMIC MILLENNIALS

(RETD)

Very recently I was addressing a group of mid-size company owners and senior HR executives. The attrition of employees and the availability of trained manpower emerged as the main heartburn of all.

To many employers, millennials (born between 1981-96) remained a mystery who walk into offices expecting high pay, perquisites and rewarding work ethics without blinking an eye lid. Yet, it was felt that there is no guarantee that they will not leave in a couple of years for reasons best known to them.

An acclaimed book ‘What Millennials Want from Work’ gives a strange revelation emphasising that while 69% are satisfied with their job, 76% say they prefer working for their current organization My interactions have revealed that Millennials consider that the people they work with are an incredibly important part of their work experience as they add a significant value to their role as the team members, superiors, mentors, and friends in workplace

companies in need of them need job listings on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. Not only will candidates see the listings, but applying for jobs is also influenced on the recommendations of peers and family. They indeed trust social media reviews for not only great places to eat and dance, but for great places to join for work as well.

Therefore, leaders of our industry must present a diverse and inclusive environment which is collaborative & not competitive. Foster a spirit in their teams that promotes mutual respect and a right work life balance a lucrative magnet for the young corporate work force. Organizations that create a conducive work culture will not only be able to retain them for a futuristic sustainable growth but also help them become intrinsic factor in their global rise

While the old school management and corporate leaders describe this generation as self-entitled and even at times crazy and lazy, its not the correct reflection of the youth. We need to acknowledge that today, millennials make up 46% of India’s workforce, and the numbers will grow every year as Baby Boomers (born before 194664) and Gen X (born between 1965-80) continue to retire.

My survey and understanding of the youth confirm that contrary to the stereotype belief, Millennials don’t prefer to hop jobs every few years. The reality, if I may say, is that GenY/ millennials want to grow, learn, and become leaders in the very organization they join.

An acclaimed book ‘What Millennials Want from Work’ gives a strange revelation

DANGER SIGNS IN JOSHIMATH

emphasising that while 69% are satisfied with their job, 76% say they prefer working for their current organization. My interactions have revealed that Millennials consider that the people they work with are an incredibly important part of their work experience as they add a significant value to their role as team members, superiors, mentors, and friends in the workplace. Therefore, the need to create an environment conducive enough to retain this work force.

So, the guru mantra is to create a friendly healthy organizational culture which impedes the bottlenecks and escape routes like a bad boss, office politics, or a stuffy culture. Overload of work and underpaid situations best be avoided. Remember that Millennials are looking to “level up” to a better situation, even if they are generally satisfied with their current organization.

Keeping the above in mind, employers need to examine what makes Gen Y tick. For one, materialism is secondary

Human greed is too overpowering to protect the environment. Ceaseless exploitative ways like felling of trees and unchecked construction, despite warnings by experts and environmentalists, have been taking a toll in Uttarakhand where the making of a major disaster can be seen in the town of Joshimath in Chamoli district. The red flags raised by well-meaning and concerned citizens were brazenly ignored in the past and are likely to be ignored again by politicians and people who are driven only by their short-term objectives. The town is the door to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib shrines, the Valley of Flowers and ski resort of Auli.

to gaining experience; and two, passion is a must for involvement. Actually, the paradigms of work have shifted the goal post since this age group has joined the industry. They care in equal terms about purpose and the money and the employers who have recognized this change are the ones who are successfully operating businesses in current environment.

Therefore, as a corporate coach, mentor or trainer as you may call me, I would suggest a few guiding principles to attract and then retain these work horses for a profitable operation of industries.

First and foremost, its time to forget the traditional 9-to-5 schedule of shift unless you need run of the mill work. That old time-sheet way of life will only encourage clock watchers and not output generators.

Secondly, I would suggest increased use of social media in selection and understanding the candidates. Since millennials roam on the social media most of their time,

My next recommendation will be to promote diversity and inclusion in identities like gender, ethnicity, colour, cast and disability. This shows that companies value uniqueness in their employees, a quality, Gen Y workforce is looking for.

Pandemic in last two years have made all companies realize that flexibility of communication allows people to work from the cosy environment of their homes. Millennials have liked and preferred this style of work. The double income single child syndrome allows them opportunities of flexi work hours and to bring up their child at home thus, cutting down on unnecessary expenditure of baby sitters and travel time.

Therefore, leaders of our industry must present a diverse and inclusive environment which is collaborative & not competitive. Foster a spirit in their teams that promotes mutual respect and a right work life balance a lucrative magnet for the young corporate work force. Organizations that create a conducive work culture will not only be able to retain them for a futuristic sustainable growth but also help them become intrinsic factor in their global rise.

Committee formed in August said in its report that “Joshimath is built on an unstable foundation, thick cover of landslide material, which can give way in case of heavy rain, tremors, unregulated construction or more footfall”

The first warning was issued by a panel of MC Mishra, then Commissioner of Garhwal division, about 50 years ago when the state was part of Uttar Pradesh. The panel had cautioned against blasting to remove boulders by blasting and felling of trees.

In 2021 another committee warned that Joshimath would sink on continued excavations. Another committee formed in August said in its report that “Joshimath is built on an unstable foundation, thick cover of landslide material, which can give way in case of heavy rain, tremors, unregulated construction or more footfall”.

Yet despite a hollow natural underground foundation, work on the all-weather road and hydropower plants continues. Resorts, hotels and houses have come up unchecked. With rising number of tourists and pilgrims, footfalls have also increased exponentially in recent years. Situation has deteriorated in recent months after reports of a punctured aquifer leaking water.

SPEECH

NO FURTHER CURB ON FREE SPEECH BUT NETAS NEED TO AVOID HATE

The Supreme Court’s Constitution bench has ruled against any further restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression of public servants as those contained in Article 19 (2) are “exhaustive”.

The bench comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer, AS Bopanna, BR Gavai, V Ramasubramanian and BV Nagarathna gave a majority verdict. Although Justice Nagarathna concurred with the majority view, Justice Nagarathna pointed out that certain kinds of speech like hate speech directly strike at the principles of equality and fraternity enshrined in the Constitution’s preamble.

She explained that all citizens owe certain fundamental duties under Article 51 (A). These duties include promoting harmony and brotherhood among people. She held that public servants need to be more responsible and restrained. It is this part of her judgment which requires politicians who are prone to making hate speeches to take a serious note of. Restraining a minister or party worker from spreading hate is the responsibility of a chief minister or a party president.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

You

l Vol 4 l Issue No. 211

l RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764.

Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur. Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504.

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men.

Bhagavad Gita

Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp

#ModiHaiToMumkinHai. Delivering on promises, #5G services have been inaugurated in Odisha ahead of the Republic Day celebrations. Soon, every school and panchayat in Odisha will have high-speed internet connectivity though #5G services and #BharatNet optical fiber network.

Kiren Rijiju

@KirenRijiju

are very dedicated & immensely talented star Hima Das! You made India proud on many occasions. PM @narendramodi Ji has always given total commitment for sports and fully supported all our athletes who represent the nation & bring huge laurels for our Country India.

TOP TWEETS

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

COL ANUPAM JAITLY

The writer is Defence expert, Motivational Speaker & Corporate Trainer

“Media notices my T-shirt, but ignores poors in torn clothes”

Baghpat (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on late Wednesday that his being in a T-shirt during the Bharat Jodo Yatra was not the real issue, while slamming media for “not noticing” people in torn clothes walking along with him.

Addressing a ‘nukkad sabha’ (street corner meeting) at Baraut on Baghpat-Shamli border during the march, Gandhi also said the purpose of the yatra is to remove hatred and violence being spread in the country and to draw people’s attention towards price rise and unemployment.

Amid talk raging about his wearing Tshirt in the winter during the yatra, he said the media is highlighting his attire but taking “no notice of the poor farmers and labourers walking along with him in torn clothes”.

“My being in T-shirt is not a real question, the real question is why are the farmers, poor labourers of the country and their children are in torn clothes, Tshirts and without sweaters,” he said.

The former Congress chief said that despite covering a distance of more than 3,000 kms on foot in 110 days, he is neither feeling tired nor shivering in cold in Tshirt.

“The aim of the yatra is to remove hatred and violence which is being spread in the country. BJP policy is to create fear among youths, farmers, and labourers through note ban, wrong GST. We do the politics of removing fear as we know that fear and hatred will not benefit the country,” Gandhi said.

BJY RESUMES ITS JOURNEY IN UP

Shamli: Led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed its journey around 6 am on Thursday after halting for the night at Ailum village here, with scores of people carrying the Tricolour marching through the hinterland, despite biting cold.

“BJY NOT AN EVENT BUT A MOVEMENT”

Shamli: The Bharat Jodo Yatra is a medium to fight the “divisive” ideology of the BJP and the RSS, and it is not an event but a movement that will continue, Congress general secretary incharge of communication Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday.

YATRA SHOWS CONG IS STRONG:

KHURSHID

Bagpat: Senior Congress leader and former External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid on Wednesday said the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ has shown that the party continues to have a strong footing in the state despite recent electoral reverses.

Nitish Kumar hints to start country-wide yatra to unite Oppn

Patna (Agencies): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday hinted to start a country-wide yatra after the budget session of Bihar Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) this year to unite Opposition parties for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Interacting with mediapersons on day one of his ‘Samadhan Yatra’ in Garua Badi village in West Champaran, he said: “We have started the Samadhan Yatra to review the development programmes of the state government. I want to assess the situation. If there are any issues in implementation of the development programmes, they will be resolved.”

On RJD vice president Shivanand Tiwari’s suggestion to postpone Samadhan Yatra due to the extremely cold weather in the state, Nitish Kumar said chilly weather will

BJP wiped out terrorism, developed Tripura: Shah

First India Bureau

Dharmanagar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asserted that the BJP-led government in Tripura has wiped out terrorism and brought allround development to the northeastern state.

Addressing a public rally here, Shah also said the immense love and faith shown by people towards PM Modi clearly indicate that BJP will again form government in Tripura.

Why is Rahul becoming an ascetic in a T-shirt?

Mahesh Sharma

New Delhi: The leader of the Congress party is calling Rahul Gandhi an ascetic and it is being said on the basis that he is traveling wearing a Tshirt even in cold weather. On Tuesday, he started the second leg of the journey from Delhi.

When his journey started in the morning, the temperature in Delhi was around five degrees celsius and there was a cold wave. But Rahul was in a t-shirt. He went to worship at the Hanuman temple and from there proceeded towards Uttar Pradesh. So now the million dollar question is: Has Rahul actually become an ascetic or is the Congress’ PR team trying to project him as one? The Congress leader himself is making an

issue of his wearing a T-shirt and on this basis is calling him an ascetic with strict self-control but when Rahul is being asked about this he is saying what disturbance can a t-shirt cause?

While the t-shirt has not caused any disturbance to anyone, but the Congress or Rahul should reveal as to why he is not feeling cold? Af-

ter all, until last year, he did feel cold during winters and this can be proved from the point that he has quite expensive jackets etc. which he kept wearing. So what happened this year? It is also interesting that more than a hundred ‘Bharat Yatris’ are walking with him, many of whom are of younger to Rahul but they all feel cold. Then it seems that Rahul has grown a beard to give the yatra a political purpose as well as spiritualizing it, wearing a half t-shirt to convey the message that the yatra is a form of sadhana for him. The party spokesperson are trying to project him as an ascetic, a ‘Rashtra-Mitra’ and even Bhagwan Ram and the remaining issues are dealth with by the party’s media managers.

He said a target has been fixed to provide 4.25 lakh piped water connections in the northeastern state and an investment of Rs 10,000 crore lined up for infrastructure building. Shah exuded confidence that the saffron party will win the assembly elections with two-thirds majority, and appealed to the people to vote in favour of the ‘lotus’ for overall development of the state.

Recalling the 2018 as-

U’khand CM Dhami to visit Joshimath, vows necessary action

Khatima: In the wake of land subsidence in Joshimath and cracks developing in many houses in the town, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar

Singh Dhami said that necessary actions would be taken to save the people of the district. Dhami would be visiting Joshimath soon to take stock of the situation and initiate necessary actions. It comes in the backdrop of reports of huge cracks that have appeared in the houses of the area.

Kuldeep Pathania elected HP Speaker

Dharamshala (ANI):

Senior Congress leader and five-time MLA, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, has been unanimously elected as Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly by voice vote on Thursday.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur escorted Pathania to the Speaker’s chair fol-

Patna: After Nitish Kumar announced to launch a nationwide Yatra, BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi has claimed that the Bihar govt was purchasing a jet and a helicopter worth Rs 350 crore for this yatra.

“Nitish Kumar wishes to roam wherever in the country but he will fail in his efforts to unite Opposition parties,” Modi claimed.

not affect the Yatra as he had done many yatras when he was Union Minister.

lowing his election. The election of Pathania, the member

from Bhatiyyat in

was a foregone conclusion as

PRE-EMPTING

he was the only candidate in the fray.

A five-term legislator and an advocate by profession, he was elected an MLA for the first time on the Congress ticket in 1985.

The Congress leader was elected to Vidhan Sabha in 1985, 1993, 2003, 2007 and 2022. He was elected as an Independent in 1993 and 2003.

BJP’S NATIONAL EXECUTIVE MEET ON JANUARY 16-17

New Delhi: The two-day national executive meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is scheduled on January 1617 at the NDMC convention centre here. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other senior leaders will attend the meeting. Discussion on the forthcoming elections, resolutions, review report from last meeting, are the main agendas of this executive meeting.

sembly polls, Shah said he had raised the slogan Chalo Paltai’ (Let’s Bring Change) to bring an end to the “Communists’ misrule”. Shah

BJP PLANS ‘GAO-GAO CHALO, GHAR-GHAR CHALO’ CAMPAIGN

New Delhi: As the countdown for the Lok Sabha elections due next year began with the start of 2023, the BJP has stepped up its preparations to reach out to all sections of society. The party’s OBC Morcha has decided to launch the ‘Gaon-Gaon Chalo, Ghar-Ghar Chalo’ program in March-April. The OBC Morcha has started putting in efforts to reach out to the voters of the nine states.

was in Tripura to flag off BJP rath yatras aimed at highlighting the state govt’s achievements ahead of the upcoming assembly polls.

IN THE COURTYARD

CJI CHANDRACHUD RECUSES FROM CONTEMPT PLEA AGAINST KUNAL KAMRA

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday recused himself from hearing a batch of pleas seeking contempt action against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for his alleged scandalous tweets against the judiciary. A bench headed by the CJI took up the petitions and said, “We will place this matter before a bench to which I (CJI) am not a part of because the comments (tweets) were made on the order, which I have passed.” The bench also comprising Justice PS Narasimha then listed the matter after two weeks and the CJI, in his administrative capacity will now assign the case to another bench.

CALCUTTA HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DISMISSAL OF 59 GOVT TEACHERS

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday upheld the dismissal from service of 59 primary teachers in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools for having obtained appointment through illegal means, taking the total of such persons who lost their jobs to 252. Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had ordered the removal from service of a total of 269 primary teachers in an earlier order.

K’TAKA PSI RECRUITMENT SCAM: COURT GIVES BAIL TO DIVYA HAGARGI, 25 OTHERS

Bengaluru: The Kalaburagi Session Court on Thursday granted bail to alleged kingpin BJP leader Divya Hagargi and 25 others in connection with the sensational PSI recruitment scam. Judge KB Patil gave the order granting bail to Hagargi and also to other main accused Manjunath Melakundi and Deputy Superintendent of Police Mallikarjuna and others. The court has granted bail to 36 accused in the case till date. Those who got the bail on Thursday included eight candidates, five examination invigilators and three policemen. The Karnataka govt had announced re-exams for 545 PSI posts after the scam came to light.

Did Akhilesh foil Cong’s ploy to expose him?

Shamsher Singh

New Delhi: It is a matter of great surprise and speculation as to why a letter was written on behalf of the Congress party inviting the opposition parties of Uttar Pradesh to join the yatra? Whose idea was this? Usually in Congress, first a ‘behind the curtain’ talk is held in such cases, however, this time it seems that the letter was written without

any discussion and news about it was leaked in the media before the letter was even delivered. It is also surprising that the allied parties of the UPA joined the yatra without the formal invite being received!.

There was no need to write letters to DMK, Shiv Sena, NCP, JMM, Goa Forward Party etc.

That’s why the question is, where did the idea of calling non-UPA parties come from? And if so,

then why wasnt such a letter forwarded to the Aam Aadmi Party?

It seems that Congress

wrote letters to Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party for political reasons under well thought out plan. Congress knew that these two parties would not join the yatra. But by inviting them to join, the intention of the Congress was to expose both of them. It has been learnt that Akhilesh Yadav was very upset on this news. For the first time when he was asked about this by the jour-

nalists, he said emphatically, “if you have a copy of the invitation, give it to me.” Apparently he had not received an invitation till that time and before that the news was leaked in the media.

Then in displeasure, he also said that Congress and BJP are the same.

However, later when he received the formal invite, he sent a four-lined greeting message. But he understood that the Congress was smart.

Nat’l conference of Chief Secys begins in Delhi

New Delhi: Ahead of the Union Budget, a three-day national conference of chief secretaries from all states to deliberate on economy and jobs and inclusive human development began here on Thursday. PM Narendra Modi is scheduled to chair the meeting on Friday and Saturday, his office has said. The conference is broadly based on two themes — economy and jobs and inclusive human development.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Shamli on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

As BJY resumes, Rahul Gandhi says media does not ask why are farmers, labourers not in sweaters

HM Amit Shah with Tripura CM Manik Saha and former State CM Biplab Kumar Deb during the flagging off ceremony of BJP ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’, at Dharmanagar, in North Tripura on Thursday.

Akhilesh Yadav

Chamba district,

Kuldeep Singh Pathania after being elected Speaker with Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur.

INTERIM RELIEF FROM ARREST TO WOMAN DIRECTOR

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted interim protection from arrest to a woman director accused of forcing a young TV actor to act in an adult movie. Justice Viju Abraham granted the interim relief to the director on her plea seeking anticipatory bail in the case based on the complain by the actor. The court listed the matter for hearing on January 16 to give time to the complainant to file his objections.

Nitish Kumar

SUSHIL MODI TAKES JIBE AT BIHAR CM’S PROPOSED YATRA

India to focus on health emergency preparedness, says Mandaviya

New Delhi (ANI): Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said that during its G20 Presidency, India will focus on health emergencies prevention preparedness and response through One Health and AMR.

“India’s G20 Presidency health priorities will be focussed on — health emergencies prevention preparedness and response,” he said.

Using a One Health approach, it helps design, implement and monitor programmes, policies and research on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance to provide evidence and advance inter-sectoral collaboration between public health, animal and environmental health sectors to achieve better public health outcomes.

BEDS RUN OUT AT BEIJING HOSPITALS AS COVID BRINGS MORE INFECTED PEOPLE

Beijing: Patients, most of them elderly, were on stretchers in hallways and taking oxygen while sitting in wheelchairs as COVID-19 surges in China’s capital Beijing. The Chuiyangliu hospital in the city’s east was packed with newly arrived patients on Thursday. By morning beds had run out, even as ambulances

continued to bring more patients. Medical staff rushed to take information and triage the most urgent cases.The surge in ill people needing hospital care follows China abandonment of its most severe pandemic restrictions last month after nearly three years of lockdowns, travels bans and school closures.

11 OMICRON SUB-VARIANTS FOUND DURING TESTING OF INT’L FLYERS

New Delhi (PTI): Eleven Omicron sub-variants were found among the 124 international travellers who tested positive for COVID-19 between December 24 and January 3 and the presence of all these variants was earlier reported in India, officials said on Thursday. They said 19,227 international travellers were tested in the said period, 124 of them were found Covid posi-

tive and put in isolation. The sources said of the 124 positive samples, the genome-sequencing results of 40 were received, of which XBB was found in 14 samples and BF 7.4.1 in one sample.Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya urged citizens not to panic unnecessarily but remain alert, follow the directives issued by the government.

AI flight ‘urinator’ will be arrested soon: Cops

New Delhi (ANI): Delhi Police on Thursday said that the man who allegedly urinated on an elderly woman co-passenger onboard an Air India flight was a resident of Mumbai and will be arrested soon.

“The accused is a resident of Mumbai, but his possible location is in some other state and the police team has reached there. We will arrest the accused at the earliest,” said Delhi Police. On Wednesday, Delhi Police said that it has formed teams to nab the man who allegedly urinated on an elderly co-passenger onboard an Air India

DGCA ISSUES SHOW CAUSE NOTICES TO AIRLINE OFFICIALS

Mumbai (PTI): Holding that Air India’s conduct appeared to be “unprofessional”, aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday issued notices to the officials and crew of the New York-Delhi flight, asking why action should not be taken against them for “dereliction” of duty while handling the November 26 ‘urination’ incident. An inebriated man had allegedly urinated on his female co-passenger.

ANOTHER MID-AIR ‘PEEING’ INCIDENT ON AIR INDIA FLIGHT

New Delhi (PTI): After the November 26 incident on a New YorkDelhi Air India flight, another episode of a “drunk” male passenger allegedly “urinating” on a blanket of a female passenger was reported on the Paris-Delhi sector but penal action was not pressed after the passenger gave a written apology, officials said on Thursday.This incident happened on December 6 on Air India flight 142.

ALLEGEDLY MASTURBATES IN

Centre stays all eco-tourism activities at Sammed Shikharji

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Amid protests by the Jain community against Jharkhand govt’s decision to turn Sammed Shikharji Parvat Kshetra an eco-tourism destination, the Central govt on Thursday stayed all such activities and directed the State government to immediately take all steps necessary to ensure the same.

It came after Union Minister Bhupender Yadav held a meeting with representatives of Jain Community to discuss the issue and its solution. According to the Ministry of Environ-

Water Vision@2047:

Ministers’ conference begins in Bhopal

First India Bureau

Bhopal: The 1st All India Annual States’ Ministers Conference on “Water Vision@2047” began today in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The two days conference began with the auspicious ‘Jal Kalash’ ceremony by the Chief Guest and Dignitaries.

Delivering the Keynote address, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat lauded the commitment of Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh towards water conservation and for the unwavering efforts put by him and the entire State government in hosting this conference in Bhopal.

He said “India has be-

come a leader in the field of Water and Sanitation under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. Welcoming the participants, the Union Minister said that Indian economy has continued its growth trajectory despite COVID pandemic and it is estimated that by 2027, India will become the third largest economy in the world ahead of Germany and Japan.

The Union Minister said, “there is a direct correlation between economic growth and the consumption of electricity and water. PM has given a clear roadmap for becoming a 3 to 5 trillion dollar economy and further a 10 trillion dollar economy.”

J’khand: Sand mafia attacks police

Ranchi (Agencies): The sand mafia attacked police officers when they tried to prevent the illegal mining of sand from Barakar river in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand.

BDO-CO Prem Chand Sinha, ASI Ram Mahato and the police force were assaulted and attempted to be run over with a tractor.

A police officer’s gun was snatched and thrown into the river, which was later recovered. In connection with

the incident, Sinha lodged an FIR against 100 unidentified people involved in illegal sand mining and seven named accused in the Chauparan police station. Sinha alleged that the attackers snatched his gold chain, ring and Rs 4,000. He was also

threatened he would be killed if he attempted to thwart sand mining.

The accused who were named include Dwarika Mahato, Sanjay Yadav, Vicky Yadav, Vinod Yadav, Mahendra Saav, Ravindra Rana and Indradev Yadav.

Four such attacks on the police by the sand mafia have come to light in the state within the last two months.

On December 24, a Hyva truck carrying sand illegally tried to run over a police party.

ment, Forest and Climate Change, the Union Minister specifically mentioned in the meeting that this Ministry recognizes the established fact that “Sammed Shikharji Parvat Kshetra is a sacred Jain religious place not only for the Jain community but for the entire country.”

CONG BLAMES BJP OF ‘COMMERCIALISING’ CENTRES OF JAINISM

New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Thursday said the BJP wants to “commercialise” the pilgrimage centres of Jainism in the country, accusing it of hurting the sentiments of the community. The Congress also demanded that the notification issued by Jharkhand government for acquiring the sacred mountain of Sammed Shikharji which was done by the previous Raghubar Das-led BJP government be withdrawn immediately.

Manohar International Airport: Goa commences operations

First India Bureau

Panaji: Goa’s newly developed Manohar International Airport, Mopa started its operations on Thursday. An event held at the airport saw the first passenger flight arrival and depar-

ture at the Manohar International Airport.

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh joined the event virtually. Union MoS Shripad Naik and Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant were present on this occasion.

Bengaluru (Agencies): Six persons were killed and 16 injured after an overloaded goods rickshaw they were travelling in rammed into a roadside tree near Vithal temple near Chinchanur village in Karnataka’s Ramdurg taluk in the early hours on Thursday, police said.

As many as 23 people including women and children from Hulakund village in Ramdurg taluk hired a goods rickshaw to Yellamma temple in Savadatti taluk and started the journey at around 12am on Thursday. As the rickshaw was full, a few people sat on the seat beside the driver, who lost control on the vehicle, which rammed into the tree at around 1am.

Hanumawwa Magadi, 25, Deepa Harijan, 31, Savita Mundas, 17, Supriya Harijan, 11, and Yallappa Bannur, 42 were succumbed on the spot while Indrawwa Siddametri, 42, died on the way to hospital.

All the 16 others travelled in the vehicle were injured and they have been admitted to a government hospital at Gokak.

Use cutting-edge technologies in projects: Murmu

move towards more efficient governance.

New Delhi: Significant push is being given to women empowerment in the defence forces whether in combat roles or medical services, President Droupadi Murmu said on Thursday, calling for more number of women officers in the Military Engi-

neer Services (MES).

Addressing officer trainees of the MES, who had called on the president at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, she said as young officers in the field of construction, they have the prime duty to care of the environment also. “We must move towards increased use of renewable ener-

gy for sustainable development,” Murmu said.

The president asked them to use informa-

tion and communication technologies to improve the service delivery mechanism and

“Our soldiers are always ready to lay down their lives for the country and countrymen. You should feel privileged to provide service and support to the brave sons and daughters of the motherland,” she said.

The officer trainees present were from the Indian Defence Service of Engineers, architect cadre and surveyor cadre of the MES.

“I would also like to emphasise the need for more number of women officers in MES. In recent times, we have seen increase in participation of women in our armed forces. Whether in combat roles or medical services of defence forces, a significant push is being given to women empowerment.

This positive change would be hopefully visible in military engineer services also,” Murmu said.

First India Bureau

PRESIDENT’S PLEA

President Droupadi Murmu with MES trainees in New Delhi.

DONKEYS HAVE A FIELD DAY!

Donkeys are on display for buyers at an annual donkey fair in Jejuri near Pune district in Maharashtra on Thursday. The fair is being held annually on Paush Poornima (full moon of Paush month) at ancient Khandoba temple in Jejuri.

6 devotees killed, 16 hurt as goods rickshaw rams into tree in K’taka

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at the conference.

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. —PHOTO BY ANI

MAN

FRONT OF GIRL ON DELHI BUS, CRIES WHEN CAUGHT Delhi: In a shocking incident, a man masturbated in front of a girl in a DTC bus in Rohini area in the national capital, a DTC marshal alleged in a video. Reports suggest that the incident took place on Tuesday.When the accused was caught

President Droupadi Murmu calls for more number of women officers in the Military Engineer Services

BSE

New Delhi: Sundararaman Ramamurthy has assumed charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of leading stock exchange BSE. In a regulatory filing last year, BSE said that markets regulator Sebi has approved the appointment of Ramamurthy as its Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.

“Sundararaman Ramamurthy has assumed charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BSE,” the exchange said in a release on Wednesday. —PTI

CESL FLOATS

TENDER FOR 4,675

ELECTRIC BUSES

India’s GDP growth to dip to 5.5 per cent in FY24: HSBC

New Delhi (FIB): India’s economy is expected to grow 5.5% in the next financial year, a notch below the expected potential rate of 6%, as growth momentum in the country was slowing gradually, an economist at HSBC said.

The Indian economy is expected to grow by 6.8% in the current financial year.

“While both exports and imports have slowed over the last few months, the former has slowed more sharply than the latter, indicating a sharper fall in the global growth momentum,” Pranjul Bhandari, chief India and Indonesia economist at HSBC said.

Economists at the bro-

kerage expect domestic demand to remain stronger as compared to global demand, the note said, adding that demand for goods— higher than services demand during the pandemic

TOP TALKING POINTS

z The Indian economy grew 8.7% in year ended March 2022, and is expected to grow by 6.8 per cent in the current financial year

z A Reserve Bank of India survey of professional forecasters released in December 2022 had pegged growth at 6 per cent in 2023/24

OTHER STORIES

INDIA INC BEATS US FIRMS IN OFFICE

LEASING: CBRE

New Delhi: Indian companies have overtaken American firms in gross leasing of office space for the first time, with almost a 50% share in the total demand, according to CBRE India. In its report released on Thursday, CBRE said that the gross leasing of office space rose 40% in 2022 to 56.6 million square feet across nine major cities from 40.5 million square feet in the previous year. Out of the total absorption of office space in 2022, 27.73 million square feet area was leased by domestic firms while 20.37 million square feet by American companies, according to CBRE. —PTI

RBI ALLOWS 6 ENTITIES TO TEST FINTECH PRODUCTS

Gurugram: Six entities, including HSBC and Creditwatch, have been allowed to test their fintech products to prevent and mitigate financial fraud as part of the fourth cohort under the Reserve Bank of India’s regulatory sandbox scheme. Regulatory sandbox refers to the live testing of new products or services in a controlled/ test regulatory environment for which the regulators may permit certain relaxations. The Reserve Bank announced the opening of the fourth cohort under the regulatory sandbox in June 2022 for the prevention and mitigation of financial fraud. PTI

—has fallen in recent months.

“Urban demand has far outstripped rural demand over 2022, but is also moderating since mid-2022, led primarily by goods,” the

Capital infusion in Vodafone Idea under discussion: Min

New Delhi: State-owned Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL) on Thursday said it has floated a tender for 4,675 electric buses worth `5,000 crore. This is the second tender under the National Electric Bus Programme (NEBP), a company statement said. Also, this is the third tender for electric buses following the ‘Grand Challenge’ tender of 5,450 ebuses that catalyzed this business and a recently concluded tender for 6,465 e-buses. —PTI

XIAOMI LAUNCHES REDMI NOTE 12 SERIES IN INDIA

Bhubaneswar (PTI): Debt-ridden telecom firm Vodafone Idea has various requirements, including infusion of capital, and discussions on this front are going on, telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

VIL, reeling under debt burden of over ` 2 lakh crore, has opted for converting about `16,000 crore of interest liability payable to the government into equity, which will amount to around a 33% stake in the company while promoters’ holding will come down to 50% from 74.99%.

‘Vodafone (Idea) has many requirements. It has a particular requirement of capital. How much capi-

New Delhi: Global technology brand Xiaomi on Thursday launched the Redmi Note 12 series, which includes Note 12 Pro+ 5G, Note 12 Pro 5G, and Note 12 5G, for consumers in India. Redmi Note 12 5G starts at `17,999, Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G at `24,999, and Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G at `29,999, and all will be available from the company’s official website and online and offline stores.

The 12 Pro+ 5G comes equipped with the 200-megapixel pro-grade HPX Sensor combined with Xiaomi’s super optical image stabilisation (OIS). —FIB

tal, who will infuse? All those things are under discussion at this point of time,” Vaishnaw said. VIL has offered a stake to the government at a par value of `10 per share.

JIO, AIRTEL 5G SERVICES LAUNCHED IN BHUBANESWAR

Bhubaneswar (PTI): Telecom operators Jio and Bharti Airtel on Thursday started their 5G services in the Odisha state capital.

Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the centre has sanctioned a total of `5,600 crore for telecom services in Odisha in the 2022-23 and 5,000 mobile towers will be installed across the state for world class communication facilities. He had committed to start 5G services in the state before January 26.

BSNL TO START 5G SERVICES IN 2024

Bhubaneswar (PTI): State-owned BSNL will start 5G services in 2024, Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday. BSNL has shortlisted a TCS and C-DOT led consortium for rolling out 4G network, which will be upgraded to 5G in about a year of placing the order under the contract. “BSNL will start 5G services in 2024,” Vaishnaw said.

Total vehicle retail sales jump 15% in 2022: FADA

New Delhi (PTI): Retail sales of overall vehicles in India grew by 15.28% to 2,11,20,441 units in 2022 led by record sales of passenger vehicles and tractors, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Thursday.

In 2021, total retail sales of vehicles in India were at 1,83,21,760 units, FADA said in a statement.

Two-wheelers retail sales stood at 1,53,88,062 units last year, a growth of 13.37% from 2021 when sales stood at 1,35,73,682

units. Passenger vehicles (PV) retail sales were at 34,31,497 units in 2022, as against 29,49,182 units in 2021, up 16.35%, it added.

FADA President Manish Raj Singhania said, “For CY2022, while total vehicle retails grew by 15% yearon-year.”

note added. Rural demand, which has been weak throughout 2022, could tick higher though due to strong sowing during the winter season and moderating rural inflation.

Domestic air passenger traffic grows 15% in Dec

Mumbai (PTI): Domestic air passenger traffic grew 15% year-on-year to around 129 lakh in December 2022 but remained 1% lower than the December 2019, Icra said on Thursday. In the April-December period of the current fiscal, domestic passenger traffic is estimated at around 986 lakh, registering around 63% y-o-y growth and lower by approximately 9% compared to April-December 2019, it said. At the same time, the airlines deployed slightly higher capacity (less than 1%) in the previous month over the yearago period, Icra said, adding that it, however, was lower by around 7% than the pre-COVID levels.

HAMDARD SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH MET CITY TO BUILD FOOD PARK CLUSTER IN JHAJJAR

Gurugram: Model Economic Township Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Thursday said that it is developing a Greenfield Smart city near Gurugram and announced the signing of a definitive agreement with Hamdard Group for setting up a world-class manufacturing facility at the city. According to an official release, Hamdard is developing its Hamdard Food Park Cluster (HFPC) to manufacture some of its core food categories on approximately 10 acres of land at MET City. ANI

POLICY TO MAKE ADOPTION OF IST MUST ON ANVIL, SAYS GOVT

New Delhi: The government is planning to come out with a comprehensive policy for mandatory adoption of IST nationwide, a senior consumer affairs ministry official said. The purpose is to ensure synchronization of all networks and computers to IST and adoption of IST by Telecom Service Providers, ISP, power grids, banks, stock exchange, etc, the official said. Presently, IST is not being adopted mandatorily by all telecom and internet service providers. They are utilising the servers synchronised to other sources such as GNSS. —PTI

Markets settle lower for 2nd day

Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmarks ended lower for the second straight session on Thursday, dragged down by banking and finance counters and continuous foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 304.18 points or 0.50% lower at 60,353.27 after it failed to hold on to initial gains. During the day, it fell 607.61 points or 1% to 60,049.84.

The broader NSE Nifty dipped 50.80 points or 0.28% to end at 17,992.15.

From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance tanked 7.21%. The other major

ON IMPENDING RECESSION, GLOBAL SLOWDOWN

New Delhi: Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) expects a doubledigit sales growth in the domestic market for the December 2022 quarter.

This is backed by low single-digit volume growth said the Godrej Group’s FMCG arm in its quarterly update for the third quarter of FY23. “There has also been a sequential improvement from high single-digit sales growth and mid-single-digit volume decline in the previous quarter,” it said. —PTI

laggards were Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Titan, Power Grid, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and Bharti Airtel.

ITC, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle and Larsen & Toubro were the major winners.

RUPEE GAINS 32 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 82.50 AGAINST US DOLLAR

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee gained 32 paise to close at 82.50 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, supported by a weaker greenback overseas. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.75 and touched an intra-day high of 82.50 and a low of 82.80 against the greenback. It finally ended at 82.50, registering a rise of 32 paise over its previous close.

COAL DISPATCH TO DIFFERENT SECTORS

RISES 5% IN DEC 2022

New Delhi: The dispatch of coal to different sectors was at 78.91 million tonnes (MT) in December, registering a rise of 5.28%. The coal dispatch in Dec 2021 was 74.95 MT. “During Dec 2022, CIL (Coal India), SCCL (Singareni Collieries Company Ltd) and captive mines/others registered a growth of 3.57%, 17.89% and 8.85% by despatching 62.72 MT, 6.72 MT and 9.46 MT (of coal) respectively,” as per the provisional figures of coal ministry. The dispatch of coal to the power sector increased by 4.26% to 65.65 MT during the last month. —PTI

HOUSING SALES AT DECADAL HIGH IN 2022

New Delhi (PTI): Sales of residential apartments, which rose 68% in 2022, are likely to sustain this year on likely moderation in inflation and better price deals from builders, according to JLL India.

In a statement, JLL India on Thursday said that the sale of apartments grew 68% to 2,15,666 units in 2022 from 1,28,064 units in the previous year across seven major cities—Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune.

India Inc likely to get cautious about hiring in Q12023

New Delhi (PTI): Corporate India is indicating cautious hiring in the March quarter of 2023 as concerns rise over possible recession and steady inflation, a survey said.

According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, based on interviews with nearly 3,030 public and private employers, hiring intentions will decrease in the quarter both on year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter basis.

During the quarter, 48% employers expect to increase their staffing levels, 16% anticipate a decrease

in hiring intent and 34% do not anticipate any change in hiring, resulting in a net employment outlook of

32%. When compared to the same period last year (January-March 2022), hiring sentiments have weak-

MAJOR FINDINGS

Hiring intentions will decrease in the March quarter of 2023 both on year-on-year and quarter-onquarter basis z

During the quarter, 48% employers expect to up their staffing levels, 16% anticipate a decrease in hiring and 34% don’t anticipate any change

ened by 17 percentage points and by 22 percentage points when compared to the previous quarter.

“Employers are cautious due to the impending recession and deepening global slowdown which also created a stir in the IT sector during the previous quarter,” Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup India said.

Citing reports, Gulati said 33% of Indian CEOs have implemented a hiring freeze. “India may be impacted in the short term but in a country with the GDP net growth of 7%, the market is expected to see a balanced approach with growth in the tech sector and startups,” he said.

Mumbai includes Mumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, Thane city and Navi Mumbai. The annual sales of 2,15,666 units recorded in 2022, the highest in over a decade, next to the peak seen in 2010 at 2,16,762 units, it added.

On the outlook, JLL India said, “Sales momentum is likely to sustain in 2023 on the expectations of moderating inflation supporting a reversal in repo rate hikes”.

GCPL AIMS DOUBLE DIGIT DOMESTIC SALES GROWTH

RAMAMURTHY TAKES CHARGE AS MD, CEO OF

FARMER GROUP ALLOWS LAND POOLING IN PHAGI

UDH Advisor Sandhu to hold discussion on farmers’ proposal today

Abhishek Shrivastava

Jaipur: For the first time, a group of farmers have proposed to the State Government to acquire land under the land pooling law.

The farmers are from Phagi Road and a meeting chaired by Advisor to UDH GS Sandhu will be held on January 6 to discuss the proposal.

After several years long exercise, the Land Pooling Act was implemented in the state on April 4, 2016.

The law came into force during the previous BJP government but rules were not implemented. When the Congress government came to power, the rules were implemented in May 2020.

The farmers of the villages located on Phagi Road of Jaipur district have voluntarily proposed to give their land to the state government under this act for the purpose of the development of the area.

Rathore meets marble traders’ association

The farmers are from Shrirampura, Balawala, Dabla Khurd, Lakhna and Achrawala villages. It has been said in the proposal that there are Rohini first, second and third residential schemes in this area lo-

cated south of the city. 380 bighas of land has been acquired by JDA for NRI scheme and more than 1000 bighas of JDA owned land is available for various schemes in village Chittoda.

Jaipur: Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Dharmendra Rathore along with the delegation of Rupangarh Marble Association met Industry Minister Shakuntala Rawat on Thursday.

He urged to transfer both the marble industrial areas of Rupangarh to RIICO. In the

delegation from Rupangarh, President of Marble Association Rupangarh Mukesh Modani, Vice President Rambilas Thakan, Treasurer Chaitan Bhainsa, Bhanwarlal Malakar, Shivjiram Kumawat, Mohan Kumawat, Banwarilal Thori Sarpanch Jajota, Rakesh Tandon, District Congress spokesperson were present.

New Delhi (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday permitted 18 foreign nationals to board the ‘Palace on Wheels’ train subject to an undertaking for depositing Rs 15 lakh by their booking agent by Thursday to the RTDCL.

The tour of these foreign nationals was cancelled in 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Justice Prathiba M Singh, after hearing the petition of Worldwide Rail Journeys Pvt Ltd and in view of the urgency of the matter,

permitted the 18 foreign passengers to board the train. The high court granted relief subject to some directions.

Considering that there are 18 passengers who have to board the train ‘Palace on Wheels’

Statiq to supply 253 fast chargers to REIL

New Delhi (PTI): Electric vehicle charging network developer Statiq on Thursday said it has bagged a contract from Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Ltd (REIL) to supply 253 fast chargers.

These fast chargers are for four-key highway projects connecting Agra-Lucknow, MeerutGangotri, Chennai-Bellary, and MangaldaiWakro, the company said in a statement.

New Delhi (PTI): Rajasthan is set to witness a three-cornered fight in the assembly polls likely to be held later this year with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday setting in motion preparations for the launch of its foray in the state, currently ruled by the Congress.

AAP’s poll strategist Sandeep Pathak held a crucial meeting with the party’s Rajasthan unit leaders and volunteers here, and asked them to

“While this is an outright sale, Statiq will maintain the overall quality and upkeep of the equipment for the next three years,” it add-

pull up their socks to make the party’s foray in the Congress-ruled state a success.

AAP’s election incharge for Rajasthan Vinay Mishra was also present in the meeting which reviewed the

ed. The tender requires an assortment of 210 fast chargers of more than 50kW charging capacity and another 43 fast chargers of more

than 100kW charging capacity that will charge 4-wheelers quickly, the company said.

The Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) space is going to be playing a critical role in helping the nation make a smooth transition from conventional engine vehicles to eco-friendly EVs, Statiq Head - Government Relations and Corporate Affairs Aman Rehman said.

Attackers

open fire on gangster in Alwar hosp, two hurt; one arrested

Alwar (ANI): Two women were injured after unidentified persons opened fire on a gangster named Vikram at a government hospital in Rajasthan’s Alwar on Thursday.

Vikram alias Laden was brought to the Behror government hospital for a medical check-up, under police protection.

The gangster was brought on a two-day warrant for a medical check-up after which he had to be taken back to Jaipur.

While Vikram was sitting on a chair, two goons opened fire on him. Although Vikram got off unscathed, two women, identified as Batti Devi and Bhateri Devi, were injured.

The women, shot in the legs, were admitted to the hospital.

Delhi HC permits 18 foreign tourists to board ‘Royal Train’

SMS Hosp-like medical facilities at RUHS soon

Vikas Sharma

Jaipur: The Medical college of Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) in Jaipur, which made a mark in the country and abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic, would soon become an alternative to Sawai Man Singh hospital.

All kinds of medical facilities including nephro, ortho, gynecology and paediatrics will be available in the RUHS hospital. On the other hand, the way for medical students to study PG and super specialty will also be paved.

For this, the RUHS has forwarded a proposal to the state government. Looking at the pressure on the

Law student jumps off 7th floor, dies

First India Bureau

Jaipur: A student allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the seventh floor of an under-construction building in Sitapura area on Wednesday.

Police informed the deceased has been identified as Kartikey Kumawat (20), a resident of Mali Colony in Chandpole studying law.

SMS hospital, now there is a need for an alternative to seamlessly provide medical and health services to the people in Jaipur. With this vision, the RUHS forwarded the proposal to the state government to increase facilities.

The proposal mentions recommendations of opening 25 new departments and super specialty services in cardiology, neurology and other departments.

Locals spot crack on railway track in Bharatpur, mishap averted

First India Bureau

Bharatpur: A crack in the track was spotted after a goods train passed on Thursday morning in Bharatpur district.

The locals immediately informed the railway authorities following which the officials and workers reached the spot and started repairing.

Due to the disruption, Udaipur-Khajuraho intercity express was stopped for 1 hour 25 minutes at Khedli railway station while Marudhar train was stopped at Nadbai railway station for nearly 40 minutes.

Sources said that after the goods train passed on Agra-Bandikui railway track, some locals spotted the crack in the track. Railway officials said that the crack occurred due to cold.

Civic bodies in Jodhpur prepare for G20 summit

and begin their journey today and the overall facts and circumstances of this case, the bench directed that the petitioner shall deposit Rs 15 lakh by January 5, 2023, with the RTDCL by way of a demand draft.

“The incident occured around 2:30 pm on Wednesday. A suicide note has been recovered from the spot and a case of abetment to suicide has been registered. The victim called his friend Vishal Pareekh before jumping from the building. The victim was declared dead by doctors,” police said.

Gangapur remains closed over cow slaughter incident

First India Bureau

Gangapur City: Markets remained closed in Gangapur City on Thursday following a bandh called by BJP and Gaumata Sarv Samaj Sangharsh Samiti in protest against the cow slaughter incident that took place nearly a month ago. A rally was carried out from Balaji Chowk to Mini Secretariat un-

Raje extends support Bhungra blast victims

First India Bureau

work done by the party so far towards strengthening the organization’s base in the state and also discussed at length the party’s strategy for the upcoming assembly elections.

Soon after its stupendous victory in Punjab, the Arvind Kejriwalled party had launched a mega exercise to strengthen its base in Rajasthan and announced that it will contest all 200 seats in the 2023 state assembly polls.

Jodhpur: Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has extended her support to the victims of the Bhungra gas cylinder blast. Earlier, tube wells were dug for the victims and food items were also given. Now, containers have been sent with an attached washroom where the family can live.

A house will also be built by the Former CM for the family, but till then, a temporary ar-

rangement has been done for the time being by sending the threestar containers. Notably, former CM Vasundhara Raje visited Bhungra village and was shocked after seeing the horrific incident.

der the leadership of former MLA Mansingh Gurjar and Municipal Council Chairman Shivratan Agarwal.

The protestors raised slogans against the government and submitted a memorandum to ADM demanding the arrest of the remaining accused in the cow slaughter case and removal of officials responsible for the incident.

Jodhpur: Both the municipal corporations of Jodhpur — South and North — have started preparing for the three-day G20 summit schedule to take place from February 2 to 4. The civic bodies have commenced a special drive in the city to clear garbage and debris in every ward of the city. Apart from the routine budget, both the municipal corporations have also sanctioned a special budget for this.

Notably, dignitaries from 20 countries will participate in the G20 summit. Besides routine cleaning and sewerage works, things like

managing cart vendors, catching stray animals, removing shrubs, painting of the walls and upkeep of the dividers are also being undertaken. The dignitaries will also visit the walled city of Jodhpur during their stay.

Bombshell found near govt school in Sri Ganganagar

Vijaynagar (ANI): A bombshell was found Thursday near a government school in Rajasthan's Vijaynagar area, officials said.

According to officials, a bombshell was found near a government school in Sri Ganganagar area by municipality officials while cleaning drains.

Police rushed to the spot after receiving the information about the presence of a bombshell.

On Monday, Punjab

Police said that a "misfired bombshell" was found over two kilometres away from the official residence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

Additional Director General of Punjab Police AK Pandey, who is also

security chief of the Chief Minister, said same day they had informed the Army also about the recovery of the bombshell and that there was "no risk".

He said the misfired bombshell has been found in bushes in Rajindra Park and that the place is near shops of scrap dealers. Chandigarh's Nodal officer, Disaster Management, Sanjeev Kohli had said earlier a live bombshell has been found here.

Dharmendra Rathore, Shakuntala Rawat discuss ‘transfer of industrial area’ with delegation of Rupangarh Marble Assn. First India Bureau

The area is directly connected to the airport via Ring Road.

—REPRESENTATIONAL PICTURE

PoW REACHES JPR WITH 42 FOREIGN TOURISTS

Jodhpur Municipal Corporation Mayor Kunti Deora Parihar flags off cleanliness campaign ahead of G-20 summit.

First India Bureau

HOST INDIA

—Photo

The tour was cancelled in 2019 due to Covid pandemic

AAP sets in motion its Raj foray, to contest all 200 seats

EVEN SP-COLLECTOR GO BEHIND BARS: CM

CM Gehlot, while reassuring govt’s strong outlook on corrupts said that officials’ identity in cases of false implication should be protected

Dimple Sharma, Tripti Gautam and Sandeep

Pali/Udaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said that the opposition is making an issue that corruption cases have increased in Rajasthan. “I want to tell them that we are catching the corrupt, that’s why the actions of ACB have increased. We want to make Rajasthan corruption free. There are many other states in the country where ACB does not even take action. We have even put the Collector-SP in jail,” Gehlot said while speaking to media in Pali.

On the question of not revealing the identity of those caught in corruption cases, the Chief Minister said, “There are many cases in which officers are falsely impli-

During the time of Vasundhara government, a bill was brought to stop the media from printing some coverage. When this matter became an issue, later this order was withdrawn.

cated. That’s why it is being done so that the officer doesn’t have to face defamation. Until it is proved that he has committed corruption, his identity should be kept secret. This is the decision of three judges of the Supreme Court.

Gehlot said, “paper leak has become like a disease, but due to its fear, we will not stop conducting the examination. Go to Gujarat and see that there are no jobs there. On the other hand Rajasthan will probably be the first state in the country where maximum number of jobs are being given to the youth. Jobs have been given to 1.35 lakh youths and the process of interview and examination is going on to give jobs to 1.25

Poonia calls it ‘Tughlaqi farman’, Sharma warns to corner govt

Attacking the State govt over the order issued by DG ACB to not reveal the name and photo of the accused involved in corruption, BJP state prez Satish Poonia on Thursday said that the Congress govt was working to give protect the corrupt. Terming the order as ‘Tughlaqi Farman’, Poonia said that the order clearly shows that it was intended to

protect corruption. He said that it was accepted in a public programme of the CM that bribes are taken for transfers.

PLACE OF CORRUPT SHOULD BE IN JAIL: UNION MIN NITYANAND RAI

Criticism of the order issued by acting DG of ACB Hemant Priyadarshy to not reveal the name and photo of the accused of bribery cases has started at every level. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai have opposed the orders. Nityanand Rai said that the place of the corrupt should be in jail. “There should be zero tolerance against corruption. The law of the country also says the same. As far as hiding the identity of the corrupt is concerned, it is a different matter as long as it is for punishment and cooperation in the investigation but apart from this, it should not be hidden at all,” he said. The minister said that the faces of the corrupt should come before the law and society and their identity should not be hidden at all.

lakh youths.”

He said that about 25 lakh youth appeared for the REET exam and the Congress government of the state made free ar-

“There is no such place left in the Cong rule where corruption does not happen,” he said. He said that corruption is at its peak under Congress rule and it has been established that the most corrupt govt in Rajasthan so far. MLA Ramlal Sharma said the govt is working to save corrupt people through this order and the BJP will oppose it in the assembly.

HOW CORRUPTS WILL BE EXPOSED THEN, ASKS LOP GC KATARIA

L oP Gulab Chand Kataria said that the orders issued by the officiating DG is for giving protection to corrupts who get caught in the trap.

“Action is taken by the ACB only after collecting the evidence. In such a situation,

Officiating DG Priyadarshi clarifies clouds

rangements for the students to travel. The CM said that paper leaks happened in UP, Gujarat and Bihar as well, but there were no arrests.

Reacting over the issue of Raj ACB not to share details of held accused, Food and Civil Supply Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said, “This order is going to be rejected, we will not do anything which will spoil the work of the state govt.” “I believe that the order issued by the DG as soon as he took charge is going to be rejected. I do not agree with that order. No Congress MLA or minister will support such action,” he said. He said that the government is not in agreement with such an order. “This order is absolutely wrong,” he said. Khachariawas said that when action of Income Tax and GST is taken, the names and photos are exposed.

Jaipur: ACB Acting DG Hemant Priyadarshi

cleared the air surrounding the order issued from ACB. In a special conversation with First India, he said that this letter was meant for internal communication to the officers to focus on the mentioned areas during their research.

Targeting the union government on decisions on Agniveer Yojana and farmers being implemented without discussion in Parliament Re-

garding increasing crimes in Rajasthan, the Chief Minister said that crimes have not increased in the state. He said, “BJP’s rallies are

proving to be a complete flop. Crowds are being gathered through obscene dances. There are half a dozen candidates for CM’s post in BJP.”

Miscreants loot `5.71L on gunpoint inside bank Drunk doc rams into 3 people, one dead

Incident is of Nagaur’s JLN Hosp, Doctor has been taken into custody

First India Bureau

Nagaur: A man was killed while two women were injured in Nagaur on Thursday after being run over by a speeding car driven by a doctor in a drunken state. Police

Bharatpur: Three masked armed criminals looted Rs 5.71 lakh from the Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch in the Vair area of Bharatpur district on Thursday. The robbers entered the bank at around 11 am and held the bank employees and customers hostage at gunpoint. “One of the

robbers pointed a gun at the female cashier and took cash amounting to Rs. 5.71 lakhs. Senior officials rushed to the spot after the incident and barricading was done in the area. An FSL team too reached the bank and collected samples from the spot.

CCTV footage is being gathered & teams have been formed to nab the accused,” police said.

Army jawan kills himself by service revolver in Bikaner

Bikaner (FIB): An army jawan shot himself dead with his service revolver in Bikaner on Thursday. Police informed the deceased has been identified as Mandeep Singh (36), a resident of Gurdaspur in Punjab. “Mandeep Singh was posted at a military base in Bikan-

er. On Thursday, he committed suicide by killing himself with the service revolver. The victim took extreme steps as he was under severe depression. The dead body has been kept in the mortuary of military hospital and a post-mortem will be done,” SHO Lakshman Singh said.

informed that Dr YS Negi, posted in JLN Hospital of Nagaur, ran over his car on the victims in an inebriated state inside the hospital premises.

“The deceased has been identified as Bhanwarlal Meghwal (57), an employee of the Social Justice Department. Raisa (40) and Dajiya

Bano (20) were also critically injured in the mishap. Dajiya Bano is even pregnant and presently undergoing treatment,” police said. “In the preliminary investigation, it was found that Dr YS Negi was driving his car in a drunken state. He has been taken into custody and is being interrogated,” police said.

Girl raped, found at Bandikui

Monu Singh Rajawat

Mehandipur Balaji: A youth from Lotwara allegedly raped a girl by threatening her at a dharamshala in Mehandipur Balaji and many other places under Mehandipur Balaji police station area. The victim was spotted at Bandikui railway station.

SPORTS ROUND-UP

On January 1, the girl’s brother had reported a missing complaint about his sister at

Mehandipur Balaji police station. The victim told the police that the accused, Balram Yogi, a resident of Lotwara, threatened her and first took her to Anjani Dham Dharamshala in Balaji town and then raped her in Madhya Pradesh.

A case has been registered and search is on for the accused.

On the release of the name and photograph, he said that even CBI never releases any name or image. Likewise, there are many other agencies that follow the same, and hence they have also followed them. Supreme Court also has guidelines in this spirit and the order has been issued in pursuance thereof, he said. He further added that there is no question of hiding the identity of the culprits, as all their FIRs are available on website.

Probe and...

The minister said that the police forces are the watchdog of the peace and harmony of the nation and in such a situation; it is the need of the hour to strengthen the police intellectually, physically and organizationally and transform it into a smart force. Rai said that the active contribution of the police in day-today life makes people’s lives easy. He said that the work done by the police during covid has created a positive image among the people. Rai said that it is necessary to prepare police to deal with chemical and biological disasters and training plays an important role in this. Rai asserted that the faces of corrupts should be exposed.

Raj vs J’khand Ranji: Sen hits a ton, visitors lead by 135 runs on day 3 In Jhunjhunu, Indian team selected for Mini Golf World Cup scheduled in Sweden

Manoj Tak

Jaipur : Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy Match between Rajasthan and Jharkhand began on a good note for the guests as K Deobrat and Aryaman Sen opened the innings and provided a stable start to their team after a slow day 2.

Further, Rajasthan pacer Rituraj Singh provided a major breakthrough to the team by

Deobrat;

3 wickets overall on day 3. The highlight of the day

Notably, Jharkhand’s Saurabh Tiwary also hit a brilliant 78 runs that helped Jharkhand to take a lead of 135 runs. At the end of the game on day 3, Kumar Kushagra and Anukul Roy are still on the crease. For the final day, Rajasthan will look forward to bowl out Jharkhand as quickly as possible by turning over the tables in their favor, while chasing down the target.

Jhunjhunu: The 8th National Women-Men Junior/Senior Competition organized by Mini Golf Federation India at Badagaon, Jhunjhunu, was held on the course developed at the Gomti Devi College. Around 700 players from 20 states participated in the competition. Through this competition, the Indian team has been selected for the World Cup Mini

Golf to be held in Sweden in the month of August this year. The selected team will now be

given training by organizing camps.

For World Cup Indian Team Men: Bhu-

pendra Prasad, Digvijay Singh, Hanshuman Sharma, Harsh Dubey, Neel Sagar Patel and Sunil Chaudhary from Chhattisgarh, Sumit Sarkate, Nindand Nimgade, Sudhir Suhagpuri and Meet Lakhani from Maharashtra, Brajesh, Mahavir, Harsh from Gujarat, Karan, Arpit, Sandeep and Bobby from MP, Yash Sandeep, Prithvi Chaudhary and Jaideep Singh from Delhi have been selected.

Saloni Khandelwal and Rahul Faujdar

taking the wicket of K

taking

was Aryaman Sen who scored a century and anchored the innings for Jharkhand.

First India Bureau

Bharatpur’s

Sqaud for the Mini Gold

ORDER SEEMS WRONG, I DO NOT SUPPORT THIS: KHACHARIYAWAS

GOVT IS TESTING LEGALITY, SAYS PRINCIPAL SECY

Dr Negi’s car. After the accident, the car climbed on the foothpath and collided with the tree before coming to halt.

until the photo and identity of such corrupt people is not exposed, how will they be exposed,” he said.

Kataria demanded the withdrawal of the order and said that the govt should give strict punishment to such criminals so that chargesheets can be presented.

On ACB’s order related to the order of not making the name of the personnel embroiled in a graft case, public, Principal Secretary, Home — Anand Kumar — told First India, “ACB’s order is being tested by state government whether it is legal or not. Any decision will be taken after the test.” Interestingly, even CBI has also taken similar decision and the name, identity and photo of the accused is not revealed by the agency.

—Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister

FROM P1…

Navin Sharma

has

ACB DG Hemant Priyadarshi

GEHLOT: RAJ LEADING STATE TO PROVIDE JOBS

Talent of tribal students needs to be flourished: CM

Udaipur : Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that Rajasthan is the leading state in the country in providing employment to the youth in private and government sectors.

The work of providing more than 3 lakh government jobs is being done by the State government. At the same time, in the pri-

Micro, small & medium industries are being encouraged through the new MSME law. With this, new entrepreneurs are getting interest-free loans. Also, there is no labor unrest in state. Due to these facilities, Rajasthan has become the main attraction of the investors.

vate sector also, due to the policies of the state government, a favorable environment has been created for investment and employment opportunities are being

BUNDI KAUSHAL MAHOTSAV

Birla: Country’s youth would be future job providers

created on a large scale.

He said that according to the statistics of the Government of India, Rajasthan is at the second place in the country with a GDP growth

—Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister

rate of 11.04 per cent.

Gehlot was addressing the youth on the last day of Mega Job Fair organized at Zonal Railway Training Ground in Udaipur on Thurs-

day. Here the Chief Minister interacted with the youth and provided offer letters to the youth seeking employment. Gehlot said that Raj is moving ahead in the field of education with govt schemes. The CM said that the state has become a model state in country with the schemes in the health sector & youth are being trained via various schemes.

Udaipur: CM Ashok Gehlot announced the opening of a sports school in Udaipur after Jaipur and Jodhpur. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of statelevel Tribal sports competition at Gandhi Ground in Udaipur, he said that he wants the talent of tribal students to flourish.

He said that the work of the sports school would start soon, adding that the Urban Olympics will be held from January 26. “We will try to organise training for the players during the summer vacation, so that they can prepare better,” the Chief Minister said.

CM Gehlot to inaugurate Jio's 5G services in Rajasthan on Saturday

Jaipur: Jio's 5G services will be rolled out in Rajasthan from Saturday. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will start the 5G services at a programme in Techno Hub located in Jhalana. The 5G service will start in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur districts.

Bundi: Asserting that the intellectual abilities and work efficiency of India’s youth is amazing, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla called upon the youths to upgrade their skills according to the requirement of time and job. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of a 2-day Employment Fair organised by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in Bundi on Thursday. He added saying that the country’s youth is leading in the world in intellectual abilities, skills, innovation, research and technology.

In Bundi, more than 12,000 jobs have been offered to youth.

More than 80 firms

India will become a leading country in the world by demonstrating its power strongly. There is an important contribution of youth in this.

have set up their stalls at the venue.

“The youth of the country would be job providers in times to come,” he said. The youth visiting the 'Bundi Kaushal Mahotsav' were enthusiastic. Young women also applied for jobs. Birla appealed to youth to read biographies of people who introduced prominent startups & learn from them how to be a 'job creator.' Bundi MLA Ashok Dogra also addressed the youth.

CM’s tour to Sagwara today CM Ashok Gehlot will visit Sagwara in Dungarpur today. He will participate in Gau Katha at Mahipal Maidan and lay the foundation stone and inaugurate schemes

worth Rs 250 crore.

Congress outgoing president Dinesh Khodania gave the information regarding the programme.

RHB Commissioner reviews myriad projects, issues guidelines to officials

Jaipur: RHB Commissioner Pawan Arora, in an important meeting at the Board’s HQs, discussed in detail and gave necessary guidelines for finalising the design of the sculpture of the Coaching Hub of Jaipur, including various ongoing projects across the State.

Arora said that attractive look is being given to all the underconstruction buildings by the Board. The building of Coachin Hub is

being built in an attractive manner to provide a positive environment to the students and visitors visiting there.

In order to make the Coaching Hub, being built in Sector 16 of Jaipur Pratap Nagar, world-class and attrac-

tive, the representatives of Idea and Manav Murti Art presented several options for main entrance’s design, amphitheater, library, sports arena’s sculpture in a power point presentation. The Commissioner also gave many important suggestions for improving the designs.

It may be noted that a Coaching Hub is being developed in 2 phases on 65,000 square metres of land located in Pratap Nagar to benefit about 65-70,000 students with edu facilities.

RaGa on 4-day tour to Raj from Jan 7

Prakash and Yogesh Sharma

Jaipur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit Rajasthan on a four-day tour from January 7 -10. The 31-member committee of Parl’s Standing Committee on Defence is on a tour to Raj. Rahul Gandhi is also a member of the panel. Rahul Gandhi will reach Jodhpur on January 7; While he will visit Pokaran with team on Jan 8. The committee will visit Jaisalmer on Jan 9-10 & hold discussion with officials.

Meanwhile, the ‘Hath Se Hath Jodo’ campaign will run for two months

in from Jan 26 and for the planning of the campaign, there will be a meeting in the PCC war room on January 8 at 3 pm wherein CM Ashok Gehlot, State Congress incharge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and PCC Chief GS Dotasra will be present.

First India Bureau

Jaipur: On Thursday, the Rajasthan Housing Board took action in Pratap Nagar and removed three encroachments from its land.

On the instructions of RHB Commissioner Pawan Arora, about 2,000 square metres of park land and 1,000 square metre-long road land in zone 194 of Pratapnagar sector 19 were freed from encroachment. “Due to the long standing demand of the allottees of Zone 194 of Sector 19, the en-

croachment which had been continuing for 22 years on the park and the road in Pratap Nagar, Sector 19 was

Shivendra Parmar

removed. Any kind of encroachment on the Board’s land will not be tolerated,” Arora said.

RHB’s anti- encroachment drive in Pratap Nagar area

IN ACTION MODE

TO YOUTH

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot during the Mega Job Fair held at the Zonal Railway Training Ground in Udaipur on Thursday. Also seen here are Ashok Chandna, Arjun Singh Bamniya, GS Dotasra, Preeti Shaktawat, SS Jadawat, Raghuveer Meena, Mangilal Garasiya, PC Kishan, Renu Jaipal and others.

A large number of employment opportunities are being created in Raj due to State Govt’s policies: CM

The CM provides offer letters to the youth on the occasion & the State Govt signs MoUs with 7 firms

Ravi Sharma

Ravi Sharma

CM INAUGURATES 2 FLYOVERS

First India Bureau

Gehlot to unveil handicaft Fest Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will inaugurate the West Rajasthan Industry Handicraft Fes-

tival in Jodhpur today. He will also visit Banswara to lay foundation stone of the upper high level canal Project in Lankai village.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot during his visit to Udaipur on Thursday, enjoys tea at a local eatery situated at the Fateh Sagar Lake. Also seen here are Ashok Chandna, GS Dotasra and others.

Bhawani S Hada

Om Birla interacts with the youth during the Kaushal Mahotsav Job Fair at Kumbha Stadium in Bundi on Thursday.

Shiv

—Om Birla, LS Speaker

Rahul Gandhi

RHB Commissioner Pawan Arora chairs a meeting to review various ongoing projects across the State at RHB HQs on Thursday. Also seen here are Alpa Chowdhary, KC Meena, Sanjay Sharma, Amit Agarwal and others.

RHB officials Rohit Singh, RL Meena & others during the anti-encroachment drive.

CM Ashok Gehlot being felicitated by Rajendra Bhatt at the Tribal Sports competition at Gandhi Ground in Udaipur. Also seen are Ashok Chandna, GS Dotasra, Preeti Shaktawat & others. (Inset) CM Gehlot motivates students by trying his hand at the bow & arrow competition during the event.

The Allure of

Bronze is a gorgeous tint with various features that is well-known for its distinctive tone and natural characteristics.

Bronze is a hue that stands on its own. It is most commonly linked with strength, stability, and support. It is incredibly grounded and requires minimal aid.

Bronze, if it were a

person, would surely have a big head on its shoulders. This is why many colours try to be more bronze-like. Bronze is selflessly supportive. It’s always looking for opportunities to lift others up, which is why this astonishing hue is held in such high regard. Bronze is selflessly supportive. It’s always looking for opportunities to lift others up, which is why this dazzling hue is held in such high regard.

The state of Ebla was organised as a redistributive system during the Early Bronze Age: commodities were gathered by the central authority from its own farms and communities. The things gathered were subsequently distributed to the wealthy and governmental personnel.

Textual records from these transactions, which indicate the sorts and amount of collected products, have been researched by archaeologists. Depending on posi-

Bronze is a beautiful colour that is both welcoming and appealing. Bronze is a loyal and social hue, so you’ll always feel accepted when you’re surrounded by it. City First brings to you some dazzling outfits in the most appealing colour of all time!

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

MUKESH BAGDA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Agood winter diet is critical for staying healthy during the cold season.

It is critical to consume a variety of meals to improve your winter health and ensure you are getting all of the necessary nutrients your body need.

As we approach winter, you may have noticed that the days are growing shorter and the nights are getting longer. Every season brings its own set of difficulties, and this one can be especially taxing on our immune systems.

Winter is a season for cosiness, warmth, and snuggling with loved ones, but this combination does not necessarily correlate to good health.

That means a healthy winter diet is in need to get through those long, dark evenings without gaining weight!

But most people have a belief that whatever they eat in the winter season gets easily digested. Due to this, con-

What we eat can affect everything from our energy levels to how well we sleep. So, don’t let the winter blues get you down this year – check out these simple tips on healthy eating when it’s cold outside!

Don’t let the Winter Blues get you down this year!

HOW MUCH SHOULD I EAT IN THE WINTER?

Aim for roughly 2,000 calories per day for ladies and 2,500 calories per day for males to keep them healthy throughout the colder months. This is the same as your regular calorie intake, however, you should boost it somewhat to stay warm!

CONCLUSION

Eating healthy is the greatest approach to protecting your immune system. Eating a varied diet rich in nutrients can help you stay healthy and strong throughout winter. Fish, spinach, pumpkin seeds, nuts/seeds (particularly almonds), avocado, basil, ginger, and cinnamon are a few examples.

If you want additional suggestions on how to keep healthy during the colder months or advice on what sorts of food might be useful for certain health concerns, arrange an appointment with a Nutritionist in Lahore through oladoc.

suming more sweets, jaggery and sweets increases weight. Also, this mistake can make you ill. At the same time, the immune system is also weak in winter, to boost it becomes necessary to include nutritious foods rich in all important nutrients in our diet. Everything from our energy levels to how well we sleep may be influenced by what we eat.

Don’t let the winter blues get the best of you this year; instead, check out these simple recommendations for healthy eating while it’s chilly outdoors!

ARIES

MAR 21 - APR 20

Limiting some items from your diet will have a positive effect on your health. There is much to achieve today and you will find yourself up to it. Academic front seems favourable. You are likely to buy something you have been longing for.

In the winter season, start your day with lukewarm water and honey. Consuming honey mixed with warm water can help in flushing out toxins. Apart from this, it is also considered very effective in weight loss. 

A lot of fruits and vegetables should be eaten in the winter season. A good amount of vegetables and fruits increases immunity. This keeps the body fit from the inside in winter. 

Consume more quantity of green leafy vegetables in the winter season. It helps in reducing the risk of getting sick. 

Dishes made of lentils like khichdi, lentil soup, and moong dal are dishes rich in protein, fibre and minerals in winter. 

Have a healthy breakfast this season which has the right mix of carbs and

TAURUS

GEMINI

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

proteins. Eat nuts, seeds and fruits when hungry and stay away from chips, and chocolates.



By drinking enough water, you will remain very active even on cold days. Along with this, your body will also get warmth from the inside.



Consume root vegetables like carrot, sweet potato, radish, and beetroot in abundance. 

Herbs and spices like black pepper, fenugreek, celery, ginger, garlic, and cumin help fight cough and flu. They stimulate appetite and digestion and improve blood circulation. 

Roti made from millet provides complex carbs, fibre and minerals like magnesium. These help in preventing heart diseases like high blood pressure and heart attacks.

CANCER

JUNE

Family issues that are leading to disputes are likely to be resolved amicably. There is a chance of somebody taking you along for a function or a party. Keeping track of something or someone may prove an uphill task. Your standing in your circle is likely to get a boost.

VIRGO

SAGITTARIUS

NOV 23 - DEC 22 You will succeed in wriggling out of a tight financial situation by curbing wasteful expenditure. An outing with family promises much fun. Prepare well for a long journey, if you want to travel comfortably. Shifting to a new house or a new city cannot be ruled out for some.

CAPRICORN

DEC

AQUARIUS

JAN 21 - FEB 19

Something being organised on the social front may get you totally involved. Expect immediate returns from the investments made by you. Workload is likely to increase on the professional front. This is a fine day on the financial front. Good understanding and mutual respect is likely to enhance.

front are likely to disappear.Something may keep you from realizing your full potential on the academic front. A practical solution may be found for a complex problem at work. Those in love will feel much closer now, than before.

SCORPIO

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

Something new may be acquired for the home by homemakers. An initiative on the health front is likely to give rich dividends. Those involved in a project will be able to give a good account of themselves. You despise is likely to turn over a new leaf, so let bygones be bygones.

PISCES

FEB20 - MARCH 20

Going the extra mile for someone will be greatly appreciated by all. Someone may not agree to your terms but that should not affect your productivity. You will get a chance to tap your potential on the professional front and impress those who matter.

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

FONDNESS FOR SAMANTHA RASHMIKA EXPRESSES HER

Rashmika Mandanna recently expressed her love and support to Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

The actress during the promotions of her upcoming film Varisu, spoke about her fondness for Samantha. She also reacted about Samantha suffering from Myositis and said she is very protective of her.

Speaking in an interview

with Glute, Rashmika Mandanna spoke about Samantha Ruth Prabhu and said, "Sammy is a wonderful lady. She's graceful and beautiful at heart. She's a person that I always want to protect. I am a very possessive mama when it comes to her."

Regarding her Myositis diagnosis, she said, "I came to know about Sam's condition when she put it out. I didn't know if she wanted to talk about something

before the world knew. I only wish her the best. I've always admired her and looked up to her. When you look up to someone, you would want them to win all the battles. It's the same for me. I am going to be this person who's going to be extremely possessive of her. She's a woman of utmost care, grace and love. I want the world to have only love for her."

RAVISHING RED DRESS

Malaika Arora, a Bollywood superstar, is frequently spotted experimenting with different red-carpet styles, diets, and other things. It's understandable why she draws so much attention and why the paparazzi like her. After all, she is a fashionista. She is renowned for her passion for fitness in addition to her sense of style. The actress consistently outperforms our expectations while appearing for fashion picture sessions when she isn't working out. Malaika is skilled at accessorising any look, whether it's her athlei-

sure or casual western clothing. She is skilled at styling them for a better appearance.

Malaika just revealed images from her most recent photo shoot, and they really mesmerised us.

Malaika chose a crimson little dress with a multicoloured geometric pattern from Naeem Khan's racks.

This dress features a mini length, a plunging neckline, and a subtle sheen.

The diva completed her ensemble with a pair of pointed heels and a pair of black stockings.

She opted for metallic eye makeup, a nude lip and contoured cheekbones to emphasise her features. Her sleek, straight hair was the finishing touch her clothing needed.

—Agency

Janhvi Kapoor blushes

Rhea Kapoor and Karan Boolani hosted a private dinner party at their lavish house in Bandra on Wednes day night. The Kapoor clan was seen making their way to the party in style.

Arjun Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Khushi Kapoor, Anshula Kapoor, Harsh Vardhan Kapoor, Mohit Marwah and his wife Antara were seen arriving for the dinner. But it was Janhvi who caught everyone's attention. She arrived with Shikhar in the same car.

When the paparazzi tried to capture them, Janhvi was seen blushing and hiding her face. Every time she gets clicked, she interacts with them. But this time, she was just keeping it low-key. Janhvi was seen sporting a white sweatshirt and casual pants while Shikhar opted for a blue t-shirt and jeans. The rumoured love birds were all smiles

DEEPIKA’S LOOK FROM PROJECT K

SUHANA KHAN & AGASTYA NANDA ARE DATING?

Suhana and Agastya recently wrapped up the shoot of The Archies. They were seen making a starry entry at the wrap-up party that took place recently. Janhvi Kapoor's sister Khushi Kapoor too is making her debut with the Zoya Akhtar directorial. Ever since they started shooting for the film, the excitement around them amped up. Now, according to sources, Suhana and Agastya are in

a relationship. The report suggests that the romance started on the sets of The Archies. A source revealed that they were not trying to hide their bond on the sets and would spend a lot of time together. It is also being said that they don't plan to make their alleged romance official as of now. Going by the report, Shweta Bachchan loves Suhana and she approves of her and Agastya's relationship.

—Agency

Deepika has been ruling the hearts of millions of fans and also the box office for quite some time. Taking to their official Twitter handle, Vyjayanthi Movies shared a poster from the film Project K. This look appears to be that of Deepika Padukone. In the poster, we can see a silhouette of a woman standing against the sunlight. The face of the

woman is not visible but she looks like Deepika only. The poster looks quite intriguing and it is written ‘A hope in the dark’. Below in the poster is written, ‘Happy birthday Deepika, Team Project K’. Sharing this poster, Vyjayanthi Movies wrote, “Here's wishing our @deepikapadukone a very Happy Birthday. #ProjectK #HBDDeepikaPadukoneb.” —Agency

Tara’s dose of unfailing glamour

Eating up our need to doll up is this satin dress by Surya Sarkar. That perfectly corseted dose is back, yes! The plunging neckline mini outfit featured a structured bodice that had a ribbed-like stitching detail. We could swoon over and rave about its fit all day. So, here goes the fire emoji for Tara's recent look. Styled by fashion maven and Tara's goto stylist, Meagan Concessio, the diva's

outfit was accessorised with jewellery such as criss-cross studded bracelets, ring, mini hoop earrings from Mahesh Notandass. We're keeping our look sparkly just as we did throughout December. Also, include a pair of bow-tied glittery stilettos in your style notes. Never mute the kind of shine that looks like fire. The 27-year-old’s hairdo was sleek and her makeup featured nude glossy lipstick, blush, and a bit of kohl. —Agency

Malaika Arora

Malaika in Naeem Khan’s crimson little dress

Deepika Padukone

Tara Sutaria

First look of the film

Tara in a satin dress by Surya Sarkar

Janhvi Kapoor

Shikhar and Janhvi

Farah Khan’s post...

Rashmika Mandanna and Samantha Ruth Prabhu

LOVE FOR LITERATURE

CITY FIRST

Jaipur Literature Festival is all set to run from January 19-23 at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur. This year, at its 16th edition, the Festival will showcase a range of women writers and their exemplary works. Celebrating women writers, there is a session that will discuss how one captures the life of a woman in a piece of writing. This panel of speakers will feature authors Emily Perkins, Eugenia Kuznetsova, Ana Filomena Amaral and Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáinin’s conversation with Saskya Jain. At the

Shades of devotion

CITY FIRST

The words of Saint Kabir and his contempo rary saints will echo in JKK. In fact, the ‘Bhav Sali la’ festival is being organised by

the Center on January 7-8 in a series of musical programmes. Renowned artists will give Bhakti Ras Pradhan presentations during the two-day event. The festival will be curated by Surasangam Institute,

against the mainstream and fought over several decades to bring her creative work into the world. At the Festival, Evaristo will be in conversation with journalist and writer, Nandini Nair where she will present her reimagined memoir and an essential manual for creativity and reinvention. At another session, the International Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree along with Daisy Rockwell will be in conversation with Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar winner Ta-

MAGIC OF MUSIC!

What influenced you to get started?

My Mumma tells me that

I have been very fond of playing with utensils, and being in the kitchen since I was less than a year old.

So probably this is coming from my childhood. I enjoy watching cooking videos especially miniature cooking. Miniature cooking fascinated me so much that I badly wanted to do all that on my own and now my Mumma allows me to do actual cooking as well. I am so happy!

What do you like to cook?

Though I enjoy cooking everything that I can, I specifically love cooking when I have to fry something. I enjoy the process

of adding something to hot oil and watching how it gets cooked. My all-time favourite is making pakora sand Jalebis.

Do you want to become a chef when you grow up?

Absolutely yes! Cooking is my hobby and I just enjoy learning some thing new eve ry day. There

Jaipur. On the first day, Sampat Saini of Taranagar, Churu will extol the glory of Guru Maharaj with hymns written by Saint Kabir. After this Dr Vidhi Nagar will perform a special ballet. Kathak dancer of Lucknow Gharana Dr Vidhi is the chairperson of the dance department at Kashi Hindu University.

On January 8, Banaras Gharana singer

The program was conducted by Anant Vyas and at the end expressed gratitude to Prachir Surana.

SPOTTED!

are millions of dishes around the world and I want to deep dive into this sea and explore dishes from around the world.

Pooja Rai will give a vocal performance. There will be a singing performance by well-known singer and musician Satish Dehra, basically

How did Sabhya get started with cooking?

Kitchen utensils were a few of the first toys he started playing with when he was as young as 8-9 months old. He was so fond of the pressure cooker whistle that he used to whistle exactly like a pressure cooker and sometimes I even got confused as if I left something on the stove.

What influenced him? Sabhya used to enjoy watching me cook and gradually started helping me in cooking. He used to enjoy it every time and whenever he used to ask me to take over, I never stopped him. He got a

a resident of Jayal, Nagaur. Satish Dehra has given his voice in many songs of Hindi films including ‘Hina’, and ‘Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi’. At the same time, he also got the opportunity to sing in Ramanand Sagar’s TV serial ‘Ramayana’. Dehra has also done music direction in many Rajasthani films. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

chance to try his hands at baking during the lockdown and since then he is unstoppable.

How do you encourage him?

I have encouraged him in whatever he is doing. Cooking is his hobby and I have encouraged him to always try his hands at everything. I make him participate in cooking competitions, shows and events so that he becomes more and more confident and polishes his interest.

DG Jail Bhupendra Dhak and Gaurav Bardiya

(L-R) Upasna Bardiya, Vikas Bardiya, Rajendra Bardiya, Kiron Bardiya and Munesh Gurjar

(L-R) Nirmal Bardiya, Kusum Bardiya, Newlyweds Mahima Bardiya & Ayush Jain, Arun Jain and Sweta Jain with others

(L-R) Sharvan Khan, Vikas Bardiya, Rajendra Bardiya, Ghanshyam Agarwal, UDH Minister Shanti Dhariwal, Navratan Mal Kothari, Retd. Justice Ganpat Singh Bhandari, MLA Rafeek Khan and Gaurav Bardiya

The grand reception ceremony of Mahima, daughter of Kusum and Nirmal Bardiya with Aayush, son of Sweta and Arun Jain was solemnized on Wednesday, January 4 at Bardiya Villa, Jaipur. Various dignitaries including Shanti Dhariwal, UDH Minister of Rajasthan, Munesh Gurjar, Mayor - Jaipur Municipal Corporation Heritage, Rafeek Khan, Chairman-Rajasthan State Commission for Minorities and DG Jail Bhupendra Dhak with others reached to bless the couple and wished them a happy married life ahead.

MEET & GREET!

Jagdeesh Chandra was greeted by Ravikant Sharma, Founder member of Queen of Delhi 2022 and Prem Sharma, during a courtesy meet at the former’s residence on Thursday.

Jagdeesh Chandra was greeted by Ghanshyam Karol of the First India family, as he reached the former’s residence to seek blessings on the occasion of his birthday on Thursday, as his birthday was on Wednesday, January 4.

For the first time in the JIFF, the trailer of the silent Ramleela of Bissau, a short film highlighting the glory of Prabhushree Ram made in Bissau town of Jhunjhunu, will be launched. A special screening of the silent Ramleela short film of 10 mins duration will be held at INOX Screen GT Center on January 7.

Renowned flute player Pt Rakesh Chaurasia enthralled the audience by playing the flute on the second day of the two-day Padma Shri Late Prakash Chandra Surana Memorial Ceremony organised by Shruti Mandal, Ministry of Art, Literature and Culture on Thursday. Pandit Rakesh Chaurasia started the program with Raga Puriya Kalyan. He reminded the audience of the famous flute player Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia by presenting a composition composed in Madhya Taal in 9 Matras with Aalap, Jod. He ended with Raag Bihag.

Bollywood actor Vishal Dadlani was papped at the Jaipur International Airport on Thursday, as he was in the Pink City for a private affair.

Sudha Murthy during her session at JLF

Usha Uthup

Chitra Banerjee

Daisy Rockwell

Bernardine Evaristo

Geetanjali Shree

Vidhi

Nagar

Pooja

Roy

Satish Dehara

—PHOTOS

—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO