First India-Mumbai Edition-8th October 2022

21 years in office

MODI MUMKIN HAI

MODI MUMKIN HAI

odi Hai To Mumkin Hai’ – it’s an allencompassing phrase, describing the Confidence, Trust and Faith in a leader, who inspires a vast multitude of populace within India and abroad. Never before has India witnessed such a cult following within the political landscape – a leader, whose popularity index scaled as high as 90% and even at its worst has not fallen below 68%. Political observers across the world are per plexed at this remarkable feat, but for Narendra Damodardas Modi, this is the norm.

Clocking the highest number of days in a public office – 7,670 and still counting – Prime Minister Modi stands taller than the Former Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru and Mrs. Indira Gandhi in terms of num ber of days in Public Office. Pursu ing an ‘India First’ policy, Modi has re-enforced the idiom of ‘Aat manirbhar Bharat’ – ‘Swatantra Bharat’ – ‘Vishwa Guru Bharat’. As India marches ahead, it reso nates the clarion call of its most popular leader – ‘Yeh Desh Jhuke ga nahi, Sar Utthakar – Seena Tan kar Aage Badhega’…. See P8

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: Chairmanship Opportunities for India

LABOUR LEADER WOOS INDIANS WITH VOW TO FIGHT HINDUPHOBIA

India can assist in finding mutual and local solutions to the problems of Central Asia and introduction of a Silk Road Visa on the pattern of Shengen visa.

Indian participation in the International North South Transport Corridor, Chabahar Agreement & joining the Ashkhabad Agreement needs to be further consolidated

The Shanghai Cooperation Or ganisation (SCO) is a Eura sian political, economic, and security organization. It is the world’s largest regional or ganisation in terms of geo graphic scope and population, covering approximately 60% of the area of Eurasia, 40% of the World population, and more than 30% of global GDP.

The SCO is the successor to the Shanghai Five, formed in 1996 between the China, Rus sia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. On 15 June 2001, the leaders of these na tions and Uzbekistan met in Shanghai to announce a new organization with deeper po litical and economic coopera tion; the SCO Charter was signed on 7 July 2002 and en tered into force on 19 Septem ber 2003. Its membership has since expanded to eight states, with India and Pakistan join ing on 9 June 2017. Several countries are engaged as ob servers (Afghanistan, Bela rus, Iran and Mongolia) or dialogue partners (Sri Lanka, Nepal, Turkey Armenia, Azerbaijan and Cambodia).

With Iran signing a member ship agreement to become a permanent member (Apr 2023) and Turkey the first NATO member announcing its bid for permanent mem bership, the SCO is inching closer to be viewed as an antiWestern alliance.

The SCO has been termed as the “Alliance of the East” and has been viewed as a Chinesedominated organization. How ever, considering the current membership, including Rus sia, India and other central Asian countries, especially in

the prevailing global socioeconomic environment, the SCO has evolved into a formi dable alliance, which the world is beginning to take a serious note of. Both Russia and China have initiated their respective ambitious projects in the re gion; the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the Collec tive Security Treaty Organisa tion (CSTO) by Russia and China has launched its mega project Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB), often referred to as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The rotating presidency of the SCO to India that com menced in Sep 2022 is an op portunity as well as a chal lenge for India to carve out a niche for itself in a Region that is of vital importance to it.

THE CURRENT SCENARIO

The US withdrawal from Af ghanistan and re emergence of Taliban brings instability and possible turmoil in the region.

The region faces problems of security issues, fight against terrorism, ethnic separatism, religious extrem ism and economic and infra structural development.

Absence of any Western country or its allies as a SCO member makes it look like anti West and SCO has com menced broadening its base.

India joining the Quad-

RAJA RAJA BUILT SHIVA, VISHNU’S TEMPLES

o history is com plete without con flicting claims and counter-claims.

From most Mughal architecture in north India being claimed as Hindu temples or belonging to Hin dus by self-claimed owner ship of land on which a monu ment stands, the debate has moved down South and is centred around the religious identity of Raja Raja 1, the

comprising India, US, Japan and Australia and I2U2 with US, Israel and UAE irks Chi na and seen as a challenge to its growing global influence.

Russia, the CARs and Paki stan have all joined China’s controversial global infra structure programme BRI spanning over 100 countries minus India is a major point of concern.

Broadening of base by in cluding Bahrain, Maldives, Kuwait, UAE and Myanmar as the new dialogue partners, and process for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are already in progress.

China aims to align with Russia to counter US and that’s why avoids any direct reference to Ukraine war. China intends to use the SCO platform to emerge as its strongest leader.

Russia aims to show to the West that it is not isolated and still holds international sway. Though there were no takers of its misadventures vis-à-vis Ukraine.

Modi’s position on Ukraine war has not really gone well with Putin but it has exhibited India’s will to exert its stand on international issues firmly.

The other challenges for SCO include - Adverse impact of Ukraine war on economy and environment, Sino-Indi an border tensions, Conflict on Kyrgyz - Tajik border, Con

flict on dialogue partners Ar menia and Azerbaijan bor ders, Indian concerns about food and fertilizers shortages and fuel security, Enhancing bilateral trade (US$6 trillion) among SCO members and Floods in Pakistan.

Indian Role and Opportuni ties in SCO. A milestone in India’s ‘Look North’ policy was achieved when the baton of the SCO Chairmanship has been passed to India and now the real challenge lies in over coming the current brewing issues and restoring credibility of the SCO as one of the most viable and biggest global fora.

India could change the ex isting narrative and add sub stance to their policy of “No Single” power shall dominate the Region.

Indian approach of multipo lar order in its immediate re gion and globally and not let ting the platform look like an anti-West arrangement.

India can assist in finding mutual and local solutions to the problems of Central Asia and introduction of a Silk Road Visa on the pattern of Shengen visa.

Indian participation in the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), Chabahar Agreement and joining the Ashkhabad Agreement needs to be fur ther consolidated.

India will have to deal with containing China’s expand ing national security narra tive, check further isolation of Russia and countering growing Chinese clout.

Amicable solution to border disputes among CAR members.

Handling arch rival Paki stan and its continuous efforts undermining Indian interests.

Encourage mutual cooper ation among members; create economic opportunities, and furtherance of existing In traregional trade.

Politics in Britain seems to be getting divided on somewhat religious lines after last month’s violent clashes between Hindu and Mus lim groups in Leicester after an India-Pakistan cricket match. Britain’s Indian-origin Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that the clashes happened because of failure to integrate migrant communities. Firing a salvo against Indians she brand ed them as “the largest group of people who overstay” their visas in the UK and hinted that she would not back a trade deal that promises more visa concessions to Indians. India has countered her claims and said that action has been taken on all cases raised by the Home Office.

Britain’s opposition leader came to the defence of Indians using, for the first time, the term Hinduphobia. Addressing a large group of British Indians, Labour Leader Keir Starmer vowed to fight ‘Hinduphobia’ and divisive politics.

With Indians forming the sin gle largest ethnic minority, Starmer’s outreach to Hindus is understandable. Next UK elec tions are due in 2025.

Just as the boyhood, youth and old age come to the embodied Soul in this body, in the same manner, is the attaining of another body; the wise man is not deluded at that. Bhagavad Gita

Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp

Delighted to meet Global CEO, @ Deloitte and dear friend Mr. @ PunitRenjen. Had good exchanges on harnessing the full potential of India’s talent, creating opportunities for our youth in smaller towns and on India’s rapid strides towards becoming a digital-first economy.

Rajnath Singh @rajnathsingh

first Chola king, whose pow erful dynasty ruled southern India, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Maldives for around three centuries. More precise ly, the debate is about whether the Chola king was a Hindu.

Tamil film-maker Vetrima ran stoked the controversy with his statement that the Chola king was not a Hindu.

Veteran actor Kamal Haasan stirred the pot by repeating Ve trimaran’s claim. “Continu ously, our symbols are being snatched from us. Saffronising Valluvar or calling Raja Raja Chola as a Hindu king is con stantly occurring.” The awardwinning film-maker made the remarks after the release of Mani Ratnam’s movie Ponni yin Selvan. It is based on a fic

tional account of Raja Raja Cholan. Kamal Haasan gave the controversy a new twist by claiming that Raja Raja Chola was not even a Hindu.

Telangana Governor Ta milisai Soundararajan called these statements as attempts to conceal Hindu cultural iden tities and warned that people will raise their voice against them. The BJP’s H. Raja as serted that the Chola king was indeed a Hindu and asked the two film personalities to iden tify any church and mosque built by the powerful ruler.

Whether he was Hindu or not can be debated but there is evidence of Shiva and Vishnu temples, including the Brihadeshwara temple in Thanjavur, built by him.

Visited Medanta Hospital, Gurugram, today & received information from the doctors about the health and well being of former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Mulayam Singh Yadavji. I pray to God for his speedy recovery.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

HAS POTENTIAL

INDIA OBJECTS TO AMERICAN ENVOY’S

TO

ECI asks Thackeray faction to submit reply on poll symbol claim

New Delhi (PTI): The Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena to respond by Saturday on rival Eknath Shinde group’s claim on the party’s bow and arrow election symbol in view of the upcoming Assem bly bypoll in the state.

The Commission’s di rective came on Friday after the Shinde faction submitted a memoran dum seeking it be allo cated the symbol as the Andheri East assembly bypoll is approaching.

In a letter to Thacker

ay, the Commission di rected it to furnish com ments along with requi site documents latest by 2 pm on October 08.

“In case no reply is received, the Commis sion will take appropri ate action in the matter accordingly,” said the Commission.

The ECI told Thack eray that the Shinde fac tion had staked claim to the bow and arrow sym bol on October 04. The Andheri East bypoll was notified on Friday.

Shiv Sena leader Anil Desai, who belongs to the Thackeray faction, said

the party will respond to the Commission within the stipulated time.

Desai met with Com mission officials earlier on Friday to submit doc uments in connection

LEGISLATIVE WING, ORG STRUCTURE MAIN ASPECT OF ECI REPLY: DANVE

Mumbai (PTI): Asserting the legislative wing and organizational structure of a political party were two different facets, Shiv Sena leader Ambadas Danve on Friday said his party will emphasize this crucial aspect in its reply to the Election Commission of In dia (ECI) in connection with which faction gets the bow

with a separate matter where the Shinde fac tion had claimed to be the “real Shiv Sena”.

The group has cited sup port of majority mem bers of the Lok Sabha

and arrow election symbol. Danve is a member of the Uddhav Thackeray-led fac tion of the Shiv Sena, which is locked in a fight with rival group headed by Maha rashtra CM Eknath Shinde over the saffron outfit’s poll symbol. “Our main conten tion is that the legislative party and organization are two different things. So the

and the state Assembly.

The fresh claim to the bow and arrow election symbol by the Shinde faction is seen as an at tempt to deny its use by the Thackeray group

legislative group cannot stake claim over the organi zation. We will place these points before the Election Commission,” said the Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council. He also asserted that the Thackeray faction will submit its reply within the time stipulated by the apex poll body.

which has decided to field Rutuja Latke, the widow of late MLA Ramesh Latke, for the November 03 bypoll.

The Bharatiya Jana ta Party (BJP), an ally

of the Shinde faction, has decided to field Murji Patel, a council lor in the Brihanmum bai Municipal Corpora tion (BMC), for the by poll necessitated due to Latke’s death.

The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have de cided to support the candidate of the Thack eray faction of the Shiv Sena, their coalition partner in the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Shinde had raised a banner of revolt against Thackeray for

entering into an “un natural alliance” with the Congress and NCP. Over 40 of the Shiv Se na’s 55 MLAs had sup ported Shinde, forcing the resignation of Thackeray from the post of Maharashtra chief minister.

The Andheri East bypoll is the first after Shinde and the BJP un seated the MVA gov ernment in June, and is considered by politi cal analysts as a pre cursor to settling of claims by Shinde and Thackeray to be the “real Shiv Sena”.

NCB SEIZES DRUGS

WORTH `120 CR IN MUMBAI, GUJARAT

Mumbai: In a major drug haul, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) recovered MD drugs worth Rs 120 crore, officials said on Friday. The drugs were seized at 2 places in Gujarat and Mumbai. A total of 50 kilograms of drugs were recovered from Mumbai. In Gujarat, a total of 10.350 kg were seized while four persons were arrested.

2 SOLDIERS DIE IN TANK BARREL EXPLOSION IN UP

Jhansi: Two Indian Army personnel including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) died after a T-90 tank barrel exploded during the annual firing at Babina Field Firing Ranges in UP, Army officials said on Friday. The field exercise was held at Babina Cantonment near Jhansi on Thursday.

AVALANCHE: 10 MORE BODIES FOUND, TOLL RISES TO 26

Uttarkashi: Ten more bodies were recovered from the site of an avalanche, taking the death toll to 26, the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said on Friday. Two Cheetah helicopters took off from the Army helipad in Harsil to join the search operations, the officials said. The avalanche had occurred at a height of 17,000 feet on Tuesday.

2 MP CONG MLAS

BOOKED FOR EVE TEASING ON TRAIN

Bhopal: Two Congress MLAs from MP were booked for allegedly harassing a woman while they were travelling on an overnight train. The alleged incident was reported on the intervening night of Thursday-Friday when they were travelling in a AC coach of Rewanchal Express (Rewa to Bhopal).

RECONSIDER TRAVEL TO PAK, SAYS US IN TRAVEL ADVISORY

Washington: The United States has issued a travel advisory to its citizens to reconsider travel in highrisk areas in Pakistan due to terrorism and sectarian violence. In a travel advisory, the US has asked its citizens not to travel to Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, due to terrorism and kidnapping.

REAL DEVELOPMENT OF N-E BEGAN AFTER 2014: SHAH

Northeast was considered just a tourist destination earlier, says HM in Gangtok

Gangtok (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a threeday visit to the north east, on Friday said that the region was only con sidered a “tourist desti nation” before Naren dra Modi became PM.

Shah noted that the “real development” of the northeast began only after Modi took over the office of the Prime Min ister in 2014. The re marks of the Home Min ister came at a Coopera tive Dairy Conclave- 2022 of Eastern and Northeastern regions.

“In 75 years of inde pendence, before Naren dra Modi became the PM, the northeast was consid ered only a tourist desti nation. After he became the PM, the real develop ment of the northeast began,” Shah said.

He said that PM Modi-led government has decided to set up 65,000 active Primary Agricultural Credit So cieties (PACS).

“Modi govt has decid ed to set up around 65,000 active PACS. We’ve de cided that within five years every panchayat will have one PACS and a dairy each,” he said.

ED grills K’taka Cong president Shivakumar

New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directo rate on Friday ques tioned Karnataka Con gress president DK Shi vakumar in the Nation al Herald money laun dering case. Shivaku mar told reporters here that he was a “law-abid ing citizen” and hence he was deposing before the agency despite not knowing why was he exactly called.

‘SHEER MADNESS’, SAYS CONGRESS

New Delhi: The Congress slammed the BJP-led Union govt in connection with the summons issued by the ED to DK Shivakumar to appear before it on Friday in the mid dle of its ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, saying that the BJP has lost sanity by directing central agencies to issue summons against Shivakumar.

ANI

Gyanvapi mosque: Judge says need clarity over ‘Shivling’

“OVERWHELMED” BY PEOPLE’S RECEPTION, SAYS HM AMIT SHAH

Gangtok: As Amit Shah reached Sikkim’s Gang tok on Friday, people were seen on both sides of the road to welcome the Home Minister with the national flag in hand. Sharing a video of the same, Shah tweeted, “Grateful to the people of Sikkim for such a warm reception in Gangtok. I am overwhelmed.” Shah is on a three-day visit to the Northeast. He inau gurated Sardar Vallabhb hai Patel’s statue at Raj Bhavan in Gangtok. State Governor Ganga Prasad was also present on the occasion.

AMIT SHAH, JP NADDA ARRIVE IN ASSAM

Varanasi (Agencies):

The court of Varanasi’s senior-most judge on Friday deferred its or der on a plea seeking carbon dating of a pur ported ‘Shivling’ found inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The court will pronounce its order on October 11.

The plea by Hindu wom en petitioners sought scientific investigation, including carbon dat ing, of the ‘Shivling’

found during a video survey carried out on the orders of a lower court in the temple town earlier this year.

The court sought clarifications from the lawyers for the women petitioners on two points: Whether the purported ‘Shivling’ can be made a part of the case or not and whether the court can actually order any sci entific investigation.

GOVT ASKS CJI UU LALIT

TO NAME HIS SUCCESSOR

New Delhi: The Union government on Friday asked incumbent Chief Justice of India UU Lalit to name his successor. According to the convention, Justice D Y Chandra chud is next in line to become the CJI in order of seniority. He is likely to be named as the next CJI by Justice Lalit. Current CJI Lalit is to superannuate on November 8 after his brief tenure of 74 days.

Threat to Ambanis: Voice samples of suspect collected

Sent for forensic tests to match with calls made to Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Officials of Mumbai police on Fri day collected voice sam ples of a 30-year-old man arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Reli ance Industries Chair man Mukesh Ambani and his family members.

The man was arrest ed by a team of Mumbai

police officers from Darbhanga in Bihar on Thursday. Rakesh Ku mar Mishra had alleg edly called the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai

twice on Wednesday and threatened to blow it up along with Ambani’s residence ‘Antilia’, and kill Ambani, his wife Nita and sons Akash and Anant. Turn to P6

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Friday dis missed a plea by former Mumbai police officer, Sachin Waze, seeking to quash the sanction granted to pros ecute him under the provisions of the Unlawful Activi ties Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with the ‘Antilia’ bomb scare case. The petition is dismissed for lack of territorial jurisdiction, said a bench compris ing Justices Mukta Gupta and Anish Dayal. The plea, filed through advocate Chaitanya Sharma, sought to strike down section 15(1) of the UAPA, claiming that it is ultra vires of Article 14 (equality before law) and 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution. It also sought to quash and set aside the sanction order of September 02, 2021 passed by the Centre and grant consequential relief. The MHA had given sanction for prosecution of Waze in September last year in the case of an SUV with explosives being found near Mukesh Ambani’s house in Mumbai and the murder of businessman Hiren Mansukh.

Election

India

DELHI HC DISMISSES PLEA BY EX-MUMBAI POLICE OFFICER

Amit Shah being welcomed upon his arrival, at Lebing Helipad, in Gangtok on Friday. He reached Gangtok to inaugurate the Eastern and North-Eastern Zones’ Dairy Cooperative Conclave.

Amit Shah during the unveiling ceremony of a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, at Raj Bhawan in Gangtok. —PHOTO BY PTI

Muslim devotees come out after offering prayers amid tight security, at Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Guwahati (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda arrived in Guwahati on Friday to attend different programmes in the Northeastern state. Shah and Nadda arrived on separate flights. They were received at Guwahati airport by CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, state BJP presi dent Bhabesh Kalita, and party MPs. Shah chaired a high-level official meeting on the annual floods in Assam, and also hold discussions with the BJP’s Assam core committee at the state guest house later in the even ing. On Saturday, Shah along with the BJP president will inaugurate the party’s newly-constructed state office at Beltola, and also address a rally of party workers.

Sena Dussehra rallies crossed permissible noise limits: Report

top cop Phansalkar

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The noise levels at the Dusseh ra rallies held by both factions of the Shiv Sena crossed the permissible lim its, with Uddhav Thackeray’s event at Shivaji Park being

noisier, a report by an NGO has re vealed.

The maximum noise level recorded at Thackeray’s Shivaji Park rally was 101.6dB, while Ekanth Shinde’s event at Ban dra Kurla Complex (BKC) witnessed noise level of 91.6dB, stated the report by Awaaz Foundation.

The NGO and chari table trust submitted a noise-level monitor ing report of the ral

lies held on Wednes day to Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar and sought “appropriate

action in accordance with the Noise Pollu tion Rules”.

Sumaira Abdulali, President of Awaaz

Foundation, said, “The permissible noise level is 55dB in Shivaji Park, which is a residential zone,

while it is 65dB at Ban dra Kurla complex, which falls in the cat egory of commercial zone.”

UDDHAV-LED SENA FACTION MOCKS SHINDE OVER RALLY

Say he just read out ‘Modi-Shah Chalisa’; dub rebel faction ‘duplicate’ Shiv Sena

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Friday al leged that Maharash tra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Dussehra rally was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-backed event, and mocked him saying that he only “read out ModiShah Chalisa” during his speech.

It also dubbed the Shinde-led rebel faction as a “duplicate Shiv Sena”.

In an editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the party claimed that the Shinde camp must have spent Rs50 crore to Rs100 crore on the Dussehra rally held at the Ban dra-Kurla Complex (BKC), as nearly 2,000

buses were booked to ferry supporters and over two lakh people who attended the event were given food.

“The rally at the BKC was one of the BJPbacked events. The amount spent must have been the same used for buying a cou

ple of MLAs. The event was like a fashion show and a beauty pageant,” it said.

Ever since Shinde and other Sena legisla tors rebelled against the party leadership, the Uddhav Thackeray faction has been target ing them saying that

Action against 3 staffers for paddy harvest irregularities

First India Bureau

Gondia: Action is be ing taken against three staffers of the state-run Tribal De velopment Corpora tion for embezzlement of funds and other al leged irregularities in paddy procurement and embezzlement.

of the accused is a corporation sub-re gional officer, said an

official.

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13 PERSONS BOOKED FOR ‘ABUSIVE’ SLOGANS AGAINST THANE LEADER

Thane (PTI): Police have booked 13 people in Thane for allegedly making objectionable remarks about Naresh Mhaske, former mayor and leader of the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The accused, reportedly belonging to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the party, have been accused of

each of the rebel MLA took 50 ‘khoke’ or boxes, meaning Rs50 crore to switch loyalty.

“The rally was or ganized in the name of Shiv Sena, but it was more of a BJP event, because in his speech, the chief leader (Shin de) of the duplicate

shouting abusive slo gans against Mhaske while moving towards Mumbai’s Shivaji Park for the Dussehra rally on October 05, said a Thane Nagar police station official. They have been charged un der Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Maharashtra Police Act provisions, but no arrest has been made as yet, he added.

Shiv Sena, just read out the Modi-Shah Chalisa (heaping praise on Prime minister Naren dra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah),” it said in reference to Hanuman Chalisa.

The two factions of the Shiv Sena held mega rallies on Dusseh

ra evening (October 05). While Thackeray addressed his rally at Shivaji Park in Dadar area, Shinde addressed a gathering at the BKC.

On Wednesday, Ud dhav Thackeray’s elder brother Jaidev, his es tranged wife Smita, and his nephew Nihar Thackeray were on the stage. Nihar is the son of late Bindumadhav Thackeray, son of Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

“It is the BJP that wrote the screenplay. The gist of the main speech, dialogues, char acters were written by it (the BJP),” they said.

The Shiv Sena said the Shinde faction was behaving as if it had merged with the BJP and that the support ers there were only short of chanting ‘Modi-Shah’.

As per the founda tion’s report, 101.6dB was from drums on the road outside Shivaji Park, next to a school and nursing home, while the high est noise level 91.6dB at BKC was witnessed when Shinde was wel comed at the event.

The report further revealed that the speech made by for mer Mayor Kishori Pednekar was the “loudest” in the Thack eray faction’s rally at

Shivaji Park and it re corded a maximum of 97dB. Meanwhile, Shinde’s speech logged 89.6dB, which was the highest at the Bandra Kurla Complex.

“The readings at Bandra Kurla Com plex were taken out side the ground on the road a little distance away. There are no residential or silence zones in the area, which is mostly com mercial,” stated the report.

Fadnavis calls out Uddhav for remark on CM’s grandson

Akola (PTI): Deputy Chief Minister Dev endra Fadnavis on Friday condemned Shiv Sena leader Ud dhav Thackeray’s statements about the minor grandson of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde dur ing the Dussehra ral ly on October 05 and dubbed them as being of a “low standard”.

During his speech, Thackeray had attacked CM Shinde, referring to his son (Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde) as a brat and said his oneand-half-year-old grand son Rudransh has an eye on the councillor’s post.

Addressing the media after chairing a district planning committee meeting, Fadnavis said, “I feel very bad that a leader like Uddhavji mentions Shinde’s grandson and comments on it. This is a very low standard. Thackeray should publicly take back his words.”

Where are we headed to in Ma harashtra if we are commenting on a one-and-halfyear-old child?

—-DevendraFadnavis, Maha Deputy CM

“Where are we headed to in Maharashtra if we are commenting on a one-and-half-year-old child? I express strong displeasure at such com ments,” he added.

Closure report filed in case against IPS officer

First India Bureau

Pune: Cops in Pune have filed a closure report in a case ac cusing senior IPS of ficer Rashmi Shukla of illegally tapping the phones of Con gress leader Nana Patole.

A senior official said here that police have filed a ‘c-summary’ re port in a court. A case is closed when a court accepts such a report.

A ‘c-summary’ re

port is filed when a case has been regis tered “by mistake” or a complaint is found to

FOR THE LITTLE ONES

It was alleged that phones of Cong leader Nana

Patole were tapped illegally when Shukla was Pune PC during the previous BJPled govt rule

be civil in nature.

The case was regis tered against Shukla at Bundgarden police sta

tion in February 2022 under section 26 of the Indian Telegraph Act when the Shiv SenaNCP-Congress Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in power in Maharashtra.

It was alleged that the phones of Patole, who is now the state Congress chief, were tapped illegally during the previous BJP-led government when Shukla was Pune po lice commissioner.

Section 26 of the Tel

egraph Act deals with “unlawful interception of messages”. Shukla is now on Central deputation as additional director general of Central Re serve Police Force (CRPF) in Hyderabad.

The previous Senaled MVA government had also accused her of tapping the phones illegally by misleading higher authorities when she headed the state intelligence de partment.

Maha govt to begin ‘Khilkhilat’ ambulance services for newborns

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Equipped with nutrition kits, info on govt hospitals as well as list of vaccines, they will drop infants and their mothers home free of charge

Mumbai: State cabi net minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha on Thursday announced the government’s plan to start ‘Khilkh ilat’ ambulance ser vices for newborns in Maharashtra.

Speaking to report ers, Lodha—who holds the Tourism and of Women and Child Devel opment portfolios— said, “These ambulanc es have been specially designed to drop the mother and the new

born child at their homes.”

On the lines of a simi lar scheme by Gujarat government, the Maha

born babies crying on hearing the sound of an ambulance siren. To remedy that, these am bulances will have a unique siren. We plan to offer services of this ambulance at five loca tions in suburban Mum bai under a pilot project. It will be expanded to other locations after re view of response to the service,” said Lodha.

proffer special moments to families and help them welcome a new member,” he added.

GOVT TO FORM PANEL TO DECIDE ON EXAMINATIONS FOR CLASS III TO VIII

rashtra government is also set to start ‘Khilkh ilat’ ambulance services for infants, he added.

“Usually, we see new

Incidentally, Lodha is also the guardian minis ter of Mumbai subur ban district.

“The main motive be hind this service is to

The ‘Khilkhilat’ ser vice aims to provide mothers and infants with a safe homecom ing for free. The initia tive was started by the Gujarat government in September 2012. The ‘Khilkhilat’ ambulanc es will be equipped with nutrition kits for the newborns, a list of vac cines to be given at spe cific times, and infor mation about nearby government hospitals.

Pune (PTI): Maharash tra minister Deepak Kesarkar on Friday said the state government will form a committee to take a call on start ing examinations for students of Class III to VIII. The state govern ment had discontinued unit tests and term-end examinations 10 years ago. “A committee of experts, including psychologists, will be formed to take a

decision about bringing back examinations for students of Class III to VIII. However, we do not want any student to fail in these examinations till Class VIII,” said the state school education minister. A decision will be taken in the state cabinet about providing free books and text books to students, he said, adding that 85% students in the state will benefit from the move.

First India Bureau

While Shinde’s rally clocked 91.6dB, Thackeray’s rally was noisiest at 101.6dB.

CM Eknath Shinde addresses supporters at the Dussehra rally held at MMRDA ground in Mumbai on October 05. —FILE PHOTO

A

project

launched by Guj

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis at a meeting with government officials on Friday.

To

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The India Meteorological Depart ment (IMD) issued a yel low alert for the city and the surrounding districts of Thane, Pal ghar and the Konkan region for the next two days, as heavy rains with thunder lashed Mumbai on Friday, an official said.

The IMD has forecast thunderstorms accom panied by lightning and light to moderate rains and gusty winds (30-40 kmph) very likely at iso lated places for Friday and Saturday, the offi cial said.

The city went under cloud cover and wit nessed incessant rain fall from afternoon, with parts of the city witnessing heavy rains and thunderstorms, civic officials said.

The island city, east ern and western sub urbs received average 1.05mm, 9.12mm and 1.28mm rainfall respec tively between 11 am and 2 pm, a civic official said.

Eastern suburbs like Vikhroli received up to 35mm rainfall in the four hour period, he said, adding that there was no report of major water-logging any where in the city.

Public transport ser vices of the Brihan mumbai Electric Sup ply and Transport (BEST) and Railways remained unaffected amid heavy rainfall.

Local train services on all three corridors are running normally, a Central Railway spokes person said.

IMD issues yellow alert warning as Mumbai sees heavy rains

HC nixes review plea, asks civic body to pay ` 2L

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court slammed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corpora tion (BMC) for seek ing a review of its 2019 order for “abuse of process of court” and “without any sub stance”. It also asked the civic body to pay Rs2 lakhto the origi nal petitioners.

A division bench comprising Justice Gautam S Patel and Justice Gauri V Godse passed an order on Oc tober 03 in the plea by the civic body seeking review of its Septem ber 17, 2019 order. The civic body defended its move by claiming that after the said order was passed, “someone in the estate depart ment found documents that are of an even ear lier vintage.”

the civic body told the bench that its officers had ‘sifted’ through the archive record, the bench inquired as to why the sifting process was not possible before an affidavit was filed.

The Western Express Highway was left flooded following heavy rains, near Santacruz airport, in Mumbai on Friday.

—PHOTOS BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

Thane witnesses 47.49mm rain in 8 hours

Thane (PTI): Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has sanc tioned 79 posts in the regional disaster management cell of the Thane Municipal Corporation, an offi cial said on Friday.

19-YEAR-OLD MAN KILLS WOMAN AS THANE ROBBERY BID GOES WRONG

Thane: Police have arrested a 19-year-old man for killing a woman, who was an employee of Bhiwandi Nizampura Municipal Corporation in Thane district, informed a police official on Friday. He entered deceased Sarita Salve’s house intending to steal but ended up killing the woman. “Moniesh Jadhav, an unemployed teen was arrested after going through 75 CCTV cameras. The man entered the house to steal and ended up killing the 42-year-old woman,” said Sachin Gaikwad, senior inspector of Crime Branch Unit II.

BODY OF UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN FOUND FLOATING IN THANE LAKE

Thane: The body of an unidentified woman was found floating in the Shivaji Talao in Thane’s Kalwa area on Friday, an official said. The deceased woman is said to be in her late 40s. Local firemen and the RDMC team took the body out of the lake and handed it over to the police. A case of accidental death has been registered and a post-mortem will soon be conducted, the official added.

MAN BOOKED FOR ABETMENT AFTER HARASSED WIFE HANGS HERSELF

Thane: Police have lodged a case against a man after his 24-year-old wife committed suicide due to harassment in Thane. The police have lodged a case under section 498A (harassment) and 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code against the accused, an official said. The man allegedly started beating his wife after she gave birth to their second daughter and threatened to divorce her. She then hanged herself on September 23, informed the official, adding that no one has been arrested yet.

These posts have been sanctioned due to rapid urbanization of the area and the need for quick response to untoward in cidents, he said.

RDMC chief Avinash Sawant said Thane city received 47.49mm of

rainfall between 8.30 am and 4.30 pm on Friday, taking the season’s over all rainfall to 2852.73mm.

This figure was 3,520.13mm during the monsoon season last year, Sawant pointed out.

“The heaviest rainfall

READING FOR ALL

of 27.94mm was received between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm,” he said.

On the RDMC expan sion, he said, “The new posts comprise that of commandant, three dep uty commandants and 75 responders. It will in

volve an extra expendi ture of Rs4.64 crore for the civic body.”

Newly-appointed mu nicipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar visited the RDMC control room during the day amid heavy rains, he added.

The BMC had sought a review of the order in a lease dispute which was decided after con sidering an affidavit filed by one Sudhakar Ramkrishna Mahajan on its behalf.

The court noted that the 2019 order was made after considering Ma hajan’s affidavit on be half of the BMC. After

According to Ma hajan’s affidavit, he had “gone through the avail able relevant records pertaining to the mat ter” and “acquainted himself” with the facts and circumstances of the present case.

“This petition is a gross abuse of the pro cess of a court. The fact that it has been done by the BMC only makes it worse. The review peti tion is entirely without substance. It is dis missed,” said the bench.

Bombay High Court.

Mumbai’s khataras waiting for BMC scrapyard project

Mumbai: A plan to set up a centralized scrap yard for old and un claimed vehicles by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corpora tion (BMC) has been put on the back-burn er. The civic body has been unable to final ize a land parcel for the project so far. An announcement to remove such vehicles was made by former Mumbai Police Com missioner Sanjay Pan dey in February this year. The ‘Remove Kha tara’ drive was set to be

WATER RESERVES

undertaken by the BMC and Mumbai police for removal of unclaimed abandoned vehicles that litter roadsides and eat up the space in the city.

As part of the drive, the civic body had is

sued notices to owners of 2,381 vehicles, asking them to remove their vehicles from roads.

Among them, 379 own ers had complied, while 782 vehicles were seized by officials.

With above-normal rains, Maha reservoirs at 90% capacity

According to the state’s Water Resources Department, 31 out of 36 districts in Maharashtra have more than 75% live water storage

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Thanks to an above-normal mon soon season this year, water storage in all reservoirs in the state has crossed the 90% mark. In all dams, the water storage was highest since 2017, re vealed officials of the

state government’s water resources de partment.

Good rainfall between June and September re sulted in all dams in the region to be filled with water. Average water stored in all dams across Maharashtra is 83.19% of its total capacity.

According to the wa

ter resources depart ment, 31 out of 36 dis tricts in Maharashtra had live storage greater than 75%. While three

continue in the state, water storage levels are likely to improve.

HV Gunale, Chief En gineer, Water Resource Department, said that good rainfall in catch ment areas of dams re sulted in a better capac ity of water.

All four subdivisions of Maharashtra, Kon kan and Goa, Central Maharashtra, droughtprone region of Marath wada and Vidarbha had reported above-normal rainfall.

districts had live storage between 30 to 75%, only two districts had less than 30% on Thursday.

With rainfall likely to

“Even for Pune city, the water capacity of all four dams was full ear lier. Now Panshet, War asgaon and Khadakwa sla are at 100% capacity.

And Temghar is at 99.01% till Thursday,” said Gunale.

As per the India Mete orological Department, the official monsoon sea son is from June to Sep tember. During this pe riod the average normal monsoon rainfall in Ma harashtra is 994.5mm.

Till September end, Maharashtra reported 23% excess rainfall.

First India Bureau

People visit Khadakwasla Dam, which is at 100% capacity, in Pune.

Mumbai’s

—FILE PHOTO

Division bench slams civic body for seeking review on its order after ‘sifting of archives’ throws up new info

Students participate in the United Way Mumbai Let's Read Carnival event, in Mumbai on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

BMC had issued notices to owners of 2,381 vehicles under its ‘Remove Khatara’ drive. —FILE PHOTO

PM encourages India to take lead in Industry 4.0

Gujarat (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said In dia has the potential to lead the fourth indus trial revolution and the government has worked on reforms to make the country a manufacturing hub of the world.

He said that the fourth industrial revo lution is as much about new technology, as it is about innovative think ing. “Due to various factors, India may have missed being a part of earlier industrial revo lutions. But India has the potential to lead In dustry 4.0, because, for the first time in recent history, we have many different factors like demography, demand and decisive govern ance coming together,”

Due to various factors, India may have missed being a part of earlier in dustrial revolutions. But India has the potential to lead Industry 4.0, because, for the first time in recent history, we have many different factors like demography, demand and decisive governance. —Narendra Modi, PM

he said through a mes sage.

The Prime Minister’s

Centre rejects claims of NHA ‘inaccuracies’

New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry on Fri day dismissed media reports suggesting in accuracies in National Health Accounts (NHA) especially the out-ofpocket expenditure re duction claim as “mis leading and incorrect”.

“The recent NHA es timates (2018-19) show a substantial reduction in out-of-pocket expend iture (OOPE), reaffirm ing the government’s commitment towards easing the citizens’ fi

nancial burden. Calling this data, a “mirage” by one expert of health economics working in a private Indian Univer sity and quoted in cer tain sections of media, is devoid of justifica tion & rational basis”, the ministry said in a statement. The minis try said that National Health Accounts (NHA) provide detailed infor mation on expenditure incurred within the health sector of the country.

message was read by a Joint secretary of the Ministry of Heavy In

GOVT APPROVES

Cong Prez poll: Shashi Tharoor releases poll manifesto

Mallikarjun rubbishes remote control remark

Ahmedabad (PTI):

dustries here at the con ference on Industry 4.0.

Modi added that the industry and entrepre neurs play a key role in making India a vital link in global value chains.

“We have worked on reforms and incentives to make India a techpowered manufactur ing hub of the world,” he added.

Chennai (PTI): Con gress leader Shashi Tha roor has favoured limit ing the term of office for state presidents in the party and called for Congress to be revived and re-ener gised to take on BJP in the 2024 general elec tions. Denying rumours that he may opt out of the presidential race due to meagre support, Tha roor said he was very much in the fray and has been receiving support from various quarters.

“My message is revive the party, re-energise it, empower workers, de centralise authority and be in touch with the peo ple. This, I believe will make Congress politi cally fit to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP in the 2024 general election,” Tha roor said.

Prez Murmu likely to visit Tripura for 2 days from Oct 13

Agartala: President Droupadi Murmu is likely to visit Tripura for two days from Octo ber 13 to inaugurate various development projects in the north eastern state, an official said on Friday.

During the day, DGP Amitabh Ranjan held a high-level meeting on security arrangements for the President’s pro posed visit, he said.

“We have a prepara tory meeting on the

President’s visit. Secu rity arrangements will be finalised after receiv ing details of her tour programme,” the offi cial said.

UP govt reinstates two suspended IAS officers TK Shibu & Sunil Kumar Verma

Ahtesham Siddiqui

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh govt has rein stated 2 IAS officers who had been suspend ed 6 months back. The officials include 2012 batch IAS officer TK Shibu and 2013 batch IAS officer Sunil Ku mar Verma. Both the officers are currently kept in-waiting and later the government will post them some where. IAS T K Shibu, DM Sonbhadra, was suspended from the post on 13 March 2022 by the government on

charges of keeping dis tance from public and public representatives and corruption in min ing. Meanwhile, IAS T K Shibu is a native of Alappuzha of Kerala and has served as DM of Shravasti and VC of

Prayagraj. Along with this, he has also done good work as CDO Har doi, Shahjahanpur, Un nao and as Joint magis trate in Prayagraj.

Along with this, IAS Sunil Kumar was also suspended from the

post of Auraiya Dis trict Magistrate on 4 April 2022 on charges of corruption and since then, a departmental enquiry was also being conducted against him. Sunil, a native of Rai Bareily, became IAS from engineering ser vice, and has also been CDO Sonbhadra & Var anasi and Joint Magis trate of Etawah and Agra.

After many years in the bureaucracy of UP, it was seen that the gov ernment has suspend ed 2 IAS and set up an inquiry against them.

G20 PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER’S SUMMIT

This will be her first visit to Tripura as the President of India.

Murmu is likely to arrive at Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport here on October 13, he said.

A civic reception has been planned by Agar tala Mayor Dipak Ma jumder at Town Hall here, the official said, adding that Chief Min ister Manik Saha and his cabinet colleagues are expected to be pre sent in the programme.

Senior Congress leader and candidate for the party’s presidential polls Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said there is no such thing as “remote control” in his party unlike the BJP, where every president is selected through a “consensus”. In the city to campaign for the election to the party’s top post, Kharge assert ed that if becomes the head of the grand old party, the remote con trol would be with him.

He was replying to a query about the BJP’s claim that he would act as the “remote control” and “proxy” of Sonia Gandhi after being elected to the post.

Attacking the BJP, he said, “How many times has the prime minister held (party president’s) election? All the presi dents were selected through consensus, and you are teaching me?

India defends self on abstaining Xinjiang vote

New Delhi: India on Friday commented on the situation in China’s Xinjiang and said rights of people of the autono mous region should be “respected and guaran teed”. The remarks by External Affairs Minis try Spokesperson Arin dam Bagchi came a day after India abstained from voting on a resolu tion at the UN High Commission that called for a debate on concerns over the human rights situation in Xinjiang.

UP to host Indian Road Congress at IGP

Uttar Pradesh (ANI):

The four-day-long, 81st Annual Session of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), will be held in Lucknow from October 8 to 11 at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan after 11 years, the official said on Friday.

Uttar Pradesh will be hosting the event for the fifth time and the PWD will be the nodal department for making all arrangements.

While Union Minis ter of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will be the Chief Guest at the inau guration ceremony, UP

‘Dialogue, diplomacy to resolve global issues’

lll India’s Parliament protects the interests of citizens and legislates purposively to fulfil their hopes and aspirations, Birla added

Indonesia (ANI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla participated in the con cluding session of P20 and stressed dialogue and diplomacy are the only ways to resolve global issues for world peace and prosperity.

Om Birla said that he invited the delegates to the next P20 Summit which will be hosted by India as New Delhi will be hosting the G-20 (Group of 20) leaders’ summit in New Delhi next year in 2023. “Par

A lot of people say I am a remote control and work from behind. They say I will do what Sonia Gandhi will say. There is no such thing as remote con trol in Congress, people take decisions togeth er. It is your thinking. A few people are creat ing this idea. Mallikarjun Kharge, Senior Cong leader

Where is the remote control in the BJP?

When I become presi dent, the remote con trol will stay with me.” Decisions would be taken by “our commit tee, elected members, working committee and parliamentary

board”, he said.

Hailing Sonia Gan dhi, Kharge said she had made a renowned economist the country’s prime minister (Man mohan Singh) rather than taking up the post herself or considering her son for it.

SUBMIT INFORMATION ON WELFARE SCHEMES FOR ELDERLY: SC TO STATES

New Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) has asked states and union territories to furnish infor mation on pension, old age homes and geriatric care schemes for the welfare of the elderly. Acting on a PIL filed by former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, a Bench led by Justice Aniruddha Bose asked them to file status reports regarding the implementation of the Main tenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act.

FROM PG 1

Threat to Ambanis...

ticipating in Concluding Session of #P20, thanked Parliament of Indonesia for success

hosted by India,” he said in a tweet.

“Mentioning that mu tual cooperation is the foundation of success for G-20, stressed on dia logue and diplomacy to resolve global issues for world peace & prosperi ty,” he added.

CM Yogi Adityanath will preside over the event. Union Minister of State General (retd.) VK Singh will also be attending the event.

Over 1,500 delegates from India and abroad are likely to participate in discussions about the use of technology in the construction of roads and bridges. About 200 delegates from UP will also par ticipate in the event. After the convention, the participants will also be enlightened about the spiritual and cultural heritage of Ut tar Pradesh.

As per the First Informa tion Report (FIR) regis tered by DB Marg police station, the caller had also claimed that “we had carried out” Pulwa ma attack and the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. The accused was being interrogated as to his motive behind threaten ing one of India’s richest businessmen, said a po lice official. Mishra’s voice samples will be sent to a forensic lab to match them with the re cordings of the threat calls, he added. Police have also recovered a mo bile phone used to make the threat calls on the

toll-free number of the hospital. A security incharge at ‘Antilia’ has filed a complaint regard ing the threat calls at DB Marg police station and submitted recordings of the two calls. This was the second time the Ambani family was threatened on the hospital landline num ber. On August 15 this year, the hospital re ceived at least nine calls threatening the billion aire industrialist and his family members, said an official.

Mukesh Ambani cur rently has a Z-Plus secu rity cover, provided by the Union government.

MUKESH AMBANI TO OPEN FAMILY OFFICE IN SINGAPORE, MANAGER HIRED: REPORT

New Delhi (Agencies): Asia’s secondwealthiest man, Reliance Industries Ltd. Chairman Mukesh Ambani, is setting up a family office in Singapore, according to people familiar with the move. The Mumbai-based billionaire has picked a manager to hire staff for the new entity and get it running, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The Ambanis have also chosen real estate, one of the people said.

No intention of making Hindi alone national language: RaGa

Mandya: Cong leader Rahul Gandhi on Fri day said there was no intention of making Hindi alone the na tional language and threaten the identity of regional languages.

He said this during his interaction with rep resentatives of educa tional institutions.

fully organising the Summit. Invited the Del egates to the next #P20 Summit which will be

In the session, he out lined India’s journey of democracy in the last 75 years and mentioned that the smooth transfer of power after every election has been the speciality of democracy.

“There was a discus sion with Rahul about the identity of Kanna da. He said everyone’s mother tongue is im portant,” said a senior leader.

He said that the industrial revolution is as much about new technology

Mallikarjun Kharge addressing the media.

IAS Sunil Kumar Verma IAS T K Shibu

President Droupadi Murmu

Om Birla met Duarte Pacheco on the sidelines of the P20 Summit, in Jakarta on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

CONG PREZ POLL: KHARGE AHEAD OF THAROOR IN TN

Chennai: Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has emerged as the favourite for the party’s presidential poll among the cadres in Tamil Nadu after a majority shunned a meeting called by fellow contestant Shashi Tharoor. Of the 710 voters in the Congress electoral college from Tamil Nadu, a handful at tended the meeting convened by Tharoor to seek support for his candidature at the state Congress headquarters on Thursday.

Rahul Gandhi with deceased journalist Gauri Lankesh’s mother Indira and sister Kavitha during ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Mandya, on Friday.

JAGUAR LAND ROVER RETAIL SALES DIP BY 4.9% IN JULY-SEPT

RBI TO COMMENCE PILOT LAUNCH OF E-RUPEE SOON

Jaipur: Tata Motorsowned Jaguar Land Rover on Friday reported a 4.9% decline in retail sales at 88,121 units in the sec ond quarter ended on September 30, 2020. The company had posted retail sales of 92,710 units in the same quarter previous fiscal. Sales of the Jaguar brand were at 17,340 units in the second quar ter as against 19,248 units in the year-ago peri od, down 9.9%. Similarly, sales of Land Rover brand were down 3.65% at 70,781 units as compared to 73,462 units. PTI

AUDI INDIA RETAIL SALES UP 29% IN JANUARY-SEPTEMBER

Mumbai (PTI): The Re serve Bank on Friday said it will soon commence the pilot launch of e-rupee for specific use cases with a view to bolstering India’s digital economy, making payment systems more ef ficient, and checking mon ey laundering.

In a concept note on Cen tral Bank Digital Currency, the RBI said CBDC is aimed to complement, rather than replace, current forms of money and is envisaged to provide an additional pay ment avenue to users, not to replace the existing pay ment systems.

New Delhi: German luxu ry carmaker Audi on Fri day reported a 29% growth in retail sales at 2,947 units in the Janu ary-September period of this year in India. Audi In dia had retailed 2,291 units in the same period last year. The growth was driven by the new A8 and Q7, coupled with contin ued demand for the e-tron range, A4, A6, Q5 and the RS performance range, the company said. Also, Audi Approved: plus has grown by 73% in first 9 months of 2022.

GOLD PRICE RISES `37; SILVER RATES, TOO, GO UP BY `311

“Supported by state-ofthe-art payment systems of India that are afforda ble, accessible, convenient, efficient, safe and secure, the Digital Rupee (e?) sys tem will further bolster India’s digital economy, make the monetary and payment systems more ef ficient and contribute to furthering financial inclu sion,” the paper said.

CBDC is a digital form of currency notes issued

OTHER STORIES

TOP TALKING POINTS

z The Government of India had announced the launch of the Digital Rupee — a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) from fiscal year 2022-23 onwards in the Union Budget placed in Parliament on Feb 1

by a central bank. While most central banks across the globe are exploring the issuance of CBDC, the key motivations for its issu

DEVELOPING ECONOMIES WILL NEED $1 TRILLION IN RE SECTOR TO ACHIEVE NET-ZERO TARGET: IMF

Washington: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday said that developing economies needed an investment of $1 trillion a year by 2030 solely in the renewable energy sector to stay on track to achieve the net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050.

z CBDC can be classified into two broad types — general purpose or retail (CBDC-R) and wholesale (CBDC-W)

z Retail CBDC would be potentially available for use by all & while wholesale CBDC is designed for restricted access to select financial institutions

ance are specific to each country’s unique requirements.

The Government of India had announced the launch

of the Digital Rupee — a Central Bank Digital Cur rency (CBDC) from fiscal year 2022-23 onwards in the Union Budget placed in Par liament on February 1, 2022.

The central bank said: “The Reserve Bank will soon commence pilot launches of e? for specific use cases. As the extent and scope of such pilot launch es expand, RBI will con tinue to communicate about the specific features and benefits of e-rupee, from time to time.”

CBDC can be classified into two broad types -- gen eral purpose or retail (CB DC-R) and wholesale (CB DC-W). Retail CBDC would be potentially available for use by all and while whole sale CBDC is designed for restricted access to select financial institutions.

“For CBDC to play the role as a medium of ex change, it needs to incorpo rate all the features that physical currency repre sents including anonymity, universality, and finality,” the note said.

India still on course for 7% growth: CEA

First India Bureau

New Delhi: India’s Chief economic adviser V Anan tha Nageswaran said the country is still on course for 7% growth in the cur rent fiscal year although “downside risks dominate the upside risk” but it’s “better placed” than other countries.

“What gives us strength is the fact that domestic consumption is the biggest driver of growth,” he told ET in an interview on Thursday. “I would argue that once the current oneoff exogenous external shocks dissipate, I am still confident that the sustain able growth rate will be closer to 7%.”

He dismissed reports of

Rupee falls 15 paise to close at all-time low of 82.32/USD

PTI

Observing that emerging mar kets and developing economies account for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions and many are highly vulnerable to climate hazards, the IMF said in a report released on Friday that developing economies would need significant climate financing in the coming years to reduce their emissions and to adapt to the physical effects of climate change.

INDIA, UK CARRYING OUT INTENSIVE DISCUSSIONS ON FTA, MEA ASSURES

New Delhi: Gold price in the national capital rose `37 to `52,300 per 10 grams on Friday amid de preciation in rupee, ac cording to HDFC Securi ties. In the previous trade, the precious metal had touched `52,263 per 10 grams. Silver also gained `311 to `62,022 per kg from `61,711 per kg. In the international market, gold was quoting lower at $1,711.16 per ounce while silver was up at $20.73 per ounce. Spot COMEX Gold last quoted at $1,711.16, while Indian gold prices trade higher amid a weaker rupee and strong physical gold demand.

NET OFFICE SPACE LEASING JUMPS

New Delhi: India and the UK are carrying out intensive discus sions for a free trade agreement as both sides are keen to con clude it at the earliest, the Min istry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday amid indication that the previously-set Diwali deadline for the ambitious deal could be difficult to meet. The MEA’s comments came in the backdrop of UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman expressing reservations over the proposed pact on the grounds that it could increase immigration to the UK and go against the goals of Brexit.

PTI

PTI

VEHICLE REGISTRATION: TWEAKS SUGGESTED IN BH SERIES RULES

New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has pro posed to allow conversion of regular vehicle registrations into Bharat Series (BH) numbers as part of measures to widen the scope of the BH series ecosystem. At present, only new vehicles can opt for BH series mark. In a draft notification, the MoRTH informed about the proposed amendments in the rules governing Bharat (BH) series registration mark which was launched for people who are in transferable jobs.

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 15 paise to close at an all-time low of 82.32 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday as a firm American currency and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit.

Moreover, a negative trend in domestic equities and elevated crude oil pric es sapped investor appetite, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 82.19, then fell further to 82.43 and finally settled for the day at an all-time low of 82.32 against the American currency, registering a de cline of 15 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, the Indian currency for the first time closed below the 82 level against the greenback.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six cur rencies, declined 0.19% to 112.04.

SENSEX, NIFTY CLOSE MARGINALLY DOWN ON PROFIT BOOKING IN IT, FINANCIALS

Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed margin ally down in a volatile trade on Friday following profit booking in financials and IT shares amid a weak trend in global equity markets.

Snapping its two-day gain ing streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 30.81 points or 0.05% to settle at 58,191.29. During the day, it fell 370.95 points or 0.63% to 57,851.15. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 17.15 points or 0.10% to end at 17,314.65. Among Sensex shares, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finance and ITC were the major laggards. On the other hand, Titan, Power Grid, NTPC, Maruti, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints were among the winners.

JP Morgan not including India’s sovereign bonds in a widely popular global in dex due to concerns about the country’s market infra structure.

“We have to understand that the stated reasons are not real reasons--this is a very specious excuse,” he said. “India’s infrastruc ture is far more advanced.”

India has made its stance clear about not giving up its sovereign right to tax, he said.

Countries with capital gains tax have had their bonds included in these in dices, the CEA said. “We have to wait and see where this conversation and socalled public diplomacy and public bargaining eventu ally converge,” he said.

GOVT NOTIFIES CREDIT GUARANTEE SCHEME FOR STARTUPS

New Delhi (PTI): The gov ernment has notified the credit guarantee scheme for startups to provide them collateral-free loans up to a specified limit.

In a notification, the DPI IT said that loan/debt fa cilities sanctioned to an eligible borrower on or af ter October 6, would be eli gible for coverage under the scheme.

“The Central Govern ment has approved the ‘Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups for the pur pose of providing credit guarantees to loans extend ed by member institutions to finance eligible borrow ers being startups,” it said.

This scheme would help provide the much needed collateral-free debt funding to startups, it added.

MIs include financial in termediaries engaged in lending/investing and con forming to the eligibility criteria approved under the Scheme.

PTI

2-FOLD IN JAN-SEPT

New Delhi: Net leasing of office space jumped over 2-fold in January-Septem ber across top seven cit ies to 30.26 million square feet, but is unlikely to breach the pre-COVID level this year, according to JLL India. Net leasing stood at only 14.63 mil lion square feet in the cor responding period of the last year across seven major cities, as the de mand was adversely im pacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

PTI

PTI

Growth slows of bank deposits: Kotak

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The growth of bank de posits across the mar ket has slowed down to 10% YoY as per the RBI’s data, said Kotak Securities Ltd in a report.

According to the report, there is a perceptible slow down in the bank deposit growth in metropolitan, semi-urban and rural In dia with household savings being relatively weak.

Further the bank branch expansion has slowed

down mainly by the public sector banks.

The report said private banks continue to gain market share but their dominance is much more

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

z Growth of

z There is a

in urban markets as com pared to rural and semiurban markets.

The current account, savings account (CASA) deposits has slowed al

though the ratio has moved up higher to approximately 45% led by higher savings ratio in recent years.

The private banks have increased their market share in current account and in the corporate seg ment while public banks have been losing share steadily in the household and government sectors, Kotak Securities said.

As per the report, the du ration of term deposits continues to fall, especially post Covid and the share of non-individuals is quite high at 45% of the overall term deposits.

IDBI Bank: Govt, LIC to divest 60.72% stake

New Delhi (PTI): The gov ernment on Friday invited bids from investors for pri vatising IDBI Bank by sell ing a total of 60.72% stake in the bank.

The last date for submis sion of bids or Expression of Interest (EoI) is Decem ber 16.

Currently, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) holds 529.41 crore shares repre senting 49.24% stake in IDBI Bank, while the gov ernment holds 488.99 crore shares or 45.48% stake.

Of this, the government will sell 30.48% and LIC

will sell 30.24% stake, ag gregating to 60.72% of the equity share capital of IDBI Bank, along with transfer of management control in IDBI Bank, De partment of Investment and Public Asset Manage ment (DIPAM) said while inviting bids.

Gujarat Model: A Global Success

Ajay Kumar

Popularly known as Narendra Bhai, Modi took over as Chief Minister of Gujarat on 7th Octo ber 2001 and still has close to 2 years in his current office before he faces another par liamentary election.

2001 was a year of disaster and distress in Gujarat. Ravaged by a devastating earthquake, torn apart by persistent so

Under the astute leadership of a visionary, who understood the pulse of the state he was born in, Modi steered Gujarat on the path of progress

cial and economic strife, the Gujarat Sto ry was all but fin ished… Under the as tute leadership of a visionary, who under stood the pulse of the state he was born in, Narendra Modi steered Gujarat on the path of progress. To

day ‘Gujarat Model’ of development is one of the most searched and researched concepts of inclusive, collabo rative, and participa tive development.

Under PM Modi’s stewardship, India stands as the 5th larg est economy in the

world. Unshackling itself from its colo nial past, India has displaced its coloniz er, Great Britain, and donned the mantle of the fastest-growing economy in the world, contrary to a world economy that reels under the shadow of an imminent reces sion. It takes a ‘Man’ like Prime Minister Modi, whose decisive political deftness en dears India to all inter national players.

EX-AIR INDIA PILOT AMONG 8

HELD IN `120 CR DRUG BUST

Chemical analysis confirms 1,200kg of substances seized by ANC is mephedrone

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The chemi cal analysis report of 1,200kg of substances seized by the Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) has confirmed it is high quality mephed rone, a Mumbai police official said on Friday.

With this, the total quantity of the banned substance now stands at 2,428kg, with an esti mated value of Rs4,856 crore, he added.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested six members of an interstate drug cartel, includ ing a former Air India pilot as part of the op eration, a senior official said here on Friday.

“On Thursday, the NCB team raided a go down located on SB Road in Fort area of south Mumbai, from where it seized 50kg me phedrone and arrested two more accused, in cluding the kingpin in the case,” Sanjay Singh,

Officials found 812kg of a powdery white substance during the raid. It was later confirmed to be mephedrone.

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

“As part of the investigation, an ANC team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade again conducted raids at a factory in Ankleshwar in Gujarat and another factory at Ambernath in Thane district, recovering 513kg of high quality mephedrone,” an official said, adding, “In these raids, 812kg of a powdery white substance and 397kg of brownish stones were also seized. Eight persons were held. The white powdery substance and the brown stones, cumulatively weighing 1,200kg, was sent for chemical analy sis.” The report has now confirmed the seized substances are mephedrone.

Deputy Director Gen eral of the NCB, said, adding that more people are likely to be held.

The accused former

CRUCIAL READ

GODOWN GUTTED IN FIRE IN MUMBRA AREA OF THANE; NO ONE INJURED

Thane: A godown in Thane’s Mumbra area was gutted in fire that broke out on Friday morning. Nobody was injured in the incident. “The fire took place in the godown located on ground floor of a ground plus four-storey Mhatre Mansion in Dattawadi area at around 4.20 am,” said Avinash Sawant, Chief of Thane’s civic body’s Regional Disaster Management Cell. The cause of the fire is being investigated, he said. The factory contained scrap material, cardboard, and gunny bags, he added.

MAN ACQUITED IN CHILD LABOUR CASE

Thane: A local court has acquitted a bakery owner accused of employing child labourers in Navi Mumbai.

According to details of the case made public on Friday, Judge Rachna Tehra said the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against Ikrar Mehndi Hasan Khan (52). The case was filed after two minors were allegedly found to be working at Khan’s bakery, which was raided in August 2016.

RIP OFF: MAN GETS SCRAP INSTEAD OF $

Thane: An autodriver trying to get US dollars for Indian currency was cheated of Rs3 lakh, said a Thane Police official. Jaiprakash Dubey was hired by a woman to go to Navi Mumbai on June 02, where she told him that she had US dollars. She convinced him to exchange rupees for dollars, and decamped with over Rs3 lakh after handing him a packet which ended up containing pieces of scrap paper in return.

pilot had started his ca reer as a lower-rank em ployee and later passed a pilot course exam, he said, adding that the ac

cused had worked for Air India between 2016 and 2018.

“The pilot had left his job due to some medical

reasons and since then he had been involved in the drug cartel,” he said.

One of the accused held from Mumbai is a history-sheeter. He was arrested by the Directo rate of Revenue intelli gence (DRI) in 2001 in a 350kg mandrax drug trafficking case and has been out on bail since 2008, the official added.

“With the authentica tion of the seized sub stance, this becomes one of the biggest sei zures of mephedrone in the country this year,” the official added.

The Mumbai police’s Anti Narcotics Cell had, in August, busted a me phedrone manufactur ing unit in Nallasopara in Palghar district, seiz ing 700kg of mephed rone and arresting five persons.

This raid was part of follow-up action after 2.760kg of mephedrone were confiscated from Govandi in the eastern part of the city in March.

Rajasthan is the ideal state for investment: CM Gehlot

l MoU signing of about `11 lakh crore, 10 lakh people will get employment

l Gautam Adani announces `60,000 crore investment in Raj

l Inauguration and foundation stone laying of 76 industrial areas and units

Naresh Sharma & Ziauddin Khan

Jaipur: Rajasthan

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot stressed, while addressing the inau gural session of Invest Rajasthan Sum mit-2022 at JECC on Friday, said that in vestments are being made in the state on a large scale only be cause of state’s invest ment-friendly policies.

The investor-oriented policy framework, with excellent road network and quality human re sources have brought investment to the state,

Day after buffalo hit, Vande Bharat train rams into cow

The nose cone was replaced following Thursday’s incident in which four buffaloes died, officials said

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Gandhi nagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express hit a cow near Anand sta tion in Gujarat on Fri day.

The incident, the second involving a col lision with cattle in as many days, resulted in a “small dent” on the nose cone panel, an of ficial said.

The nose cone of the newly-launched semihigh speed train had just been replaced after it was damaged after hit ting a herd of buffaloes grazing on the tracks near Ahmedabad around 11.15 am on Thursday.

Four animals had been killed in the collision.

FIR FILED

case has been filed against the owners of the buffaloes involved in Thursday’s colli sion with the Vande Bharat Express.

nose cone cover for the driver coach was damaged in the hit, which also killed four animals.

way Protection Force (RPF) inspector Pradeep Sharma, at Vatva railway station in Gujarat, said an FIR was filed under the Railways Act—in volving unauthorized entry into any part of a railway and misuse of its prop erty—against the unidentified owners of the animals.

from Mumbai.

Friday’s incident took place at 3.48 pm near Anand, about 432km

dent,” Sumit Thakur, chief public relations of ficer of Western Railway, confirmed on Friday, adding that all the pas sengers were safe.

Earlier in the day, Thakur had announced that the Railways had replaced the front por tion of the train.

“The nose cone cov er of the train’s driver coach along with its mounting brackets was damaged in (Thursday’s) cattle-hit incident. However, the vital parts of the train remained unaffected.

The damaged nose cone was replaced at the Coach Care Centre in Mumbai Central,” he said.

he said, adding that many important deci sions have been taken by the state government to encourage investment Single window system and one stop shop has made it easier to get nec essary permissions to set up industry, he said.

Gehlot said massive investment is coming in the state from the two-day

Invest Rajasthan Summit being held here. He added that the government has already signed MoUs worth about Rs11 lakh crore. “Through this, about 10 lakh people are expected to get employ ment. For the first time, MoUs have been signed on priority basis on the theme of Committed and Delivered,” he said.

In a first, 9 charged under MCOCA in loan app fraud case

has been invoked as extortion was involved.

Mumbai (PTI): The stringent Maharash tra Control of Organ ised Crime Act (MCO CA) has been invoked against nine persons arrested earlier in a loan app fraud case, a police official said on Friday.

ates were found to be in volved in extortion and cheating through such loan apps, criminal in timidation, misappro priation and other ille gal activities for the past 10 years,” he said.

“The train’s front por tion has suffered a small

“The nose cover is designed to absorb the impact without trans mitting the same to the functional parts of the train. Therefore, it is sacrificial by design and hence replacea ble,” Thakur said.

The loan app fraud was busted after a call centre was raided in Karnataka capital Ben galuru, leading to the ar rests of 18 persons and seizure of data related to personal details of more than one lakh people.

“One of the arrested accused Dhiraj Punekar and eight of his associ

“After a detailed study, we were given permis sion by higher authori ties to slap MCOCA pro visions against these nine persons,” the offi cial added.

Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta said MCOCA has been in voked in a cyber case (loan app fraud) for the first time as extortion was a key aspect.

INAUGURAL

INVEST RAJASTHAN

A hoarding of popular PM Narendra Modi outside BJP office, New Delhi is the cynosure for all who pass and gathers eyeballs.

Gautam Adani addressing the media in the presence of CM Ashok Gehlot, Sudhir Mehta, Dr CP Joshi, Vaibhav Gehlot, Shakuntla Rawat, Mamta Bhupesh, Veenu Gupta and others on Friday.

CM Ashok Gehlot and Gautam Adani interacting during the Invest Rajasthan Summit that commenced at JECC Sitapura on Friday. Dr CP Joshi, Anil Agarwal, Shakuntla Rawat & Rajiv Arora also seen.

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

People say diamonds are a girl’s best friend but you can’t help but disagree with this adage. Their absolute favour ite thing to do is collect ador able, brilliant small pearls that radiate nothing but pure beauty and elegance.

Everybody likes to present them selves in a unique form and nothing can be more elegant than dressing yourself in queenie attire. These shiny pearls decorate the whole body and highlight every groove. Pearl jew ellery acts as a very flexible wearing in the wardrobe but an extravagant pearl piece looks ravishing and pure on anyone irrespective to look, peak and figure. From celebrities to note worthy historical figures, everyone was fully drenched in the fashion of these priceless jewels. The origins of this fascination with pearls are as captivating as the pearl itself, more than numerous other gems because its very fragility has made a chrono logical record that much more chal lenging to preserve. This beautiful gem is produced from a tear that re sults from the injury of the oyster. This extraordinary piece of time and pressure depicts fashion in a different way because they don’t arise from the depths of the earth but from the sea.

Pearl clothes are more youthful, playful and allow people to wear them in a variety of ways and styles. A sim ple pearl beaded necklace looks ele gant at any type of event and in differ ent costumes, a pearl strand can add the required grace and elegance to any look and it has remained a classic piece in every woman’s heirloom. The craze for enviable pearls is increasing day by day. Pearls look great in any form. In whatever form, pearls appear beautiful. It might be a bracelet, an klet, necklace, ring, or bangle. Wear ing pearls is a timeless trend. It may be decorated at any time of the year be cause it is an evergreen material. This rekindled love for the ocean’s lustrous treasures has inspired a new crop of brands and inspired collections fit es pecially for the summer months. Unique designs from some of the most compelling brands have re-designed pearls to contemporary lifestyles.

The timelessness of pearls reflects the fact that they are the most stylish of any gemstone! City First brings to you some style tips and significance of Pearl Fashion

AIR

Touch the sky with Glory

SHUBHANSHI PATHAK cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

The eighth of Oc tober each year is designated as Indian Air Force Day. This day is commemorated to honour the contribution and supe rior performance of the Indian Air Force.

Since its establish ment on October 8, 1932, the Indian Air Force has taken part in a number of signifi cant operations that have contributed to the prosperity of the coun try. The Indian mili tary has also engaged in famous air fights that have enhanced In dia's standing on the battlefield and demon strated the capabilities needed to defend the country. This year In dian Air Force will be celebrated to honour India’s aviation indus try and the air force personnel who have

One of the first female fighter pilots in India is Bha wana Kanth. Along with two other members of her cohort, Mohana Singh and Avani Chaturvedi, she was recognised as the first combat pilot. Kanth was born in Darbhanga, Bihar, on December 1, 1992. Kanth enjoyed playing sports as a child, including Kho Kho, Badminton, swimming, and painting. All of the afore mentioned women serve as role models for other

—BHAWANA KANTH

Flight Indian pilot Lieutenant Avani Chaturvedi is from the Madhya Pradesh region of Rewa and was born on October 27, 1993. She and two of her colleagues, Mohana Singh Jitarwal and Bhawana Kanth, were recognised as the first female combat pilots. In June 2016, the group was accepted as a fighter squadron of the Indian Air Force. On June 18, 2016, they were formally commissioned by Manohar Parrikar, who was the defence minister at the time. Former President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Nari Shakti Puraskar to Chaturvedi.

Mohana Singh Jitarwal is one of the first female fighter pilots in India. She was de clared the first female combat pilot along with two of her co hort, Bhawana Kanth, and Avani Chatur vedi. In June 2016, all three female pilots were accepted into the fighter unit of the Indian Air Force. They were formally commissioned by Manohar Parrikar, the defence minister. These three women were the first to be chosen for the pro gram when the Indian government decided to open the fighter stream in the Indian Air Force to women on an experimental basis..

—MOHANA SINGH JITARWAL

In June 2007, Wing Com mander Khushboo Gupta received her appoint ment as an IAF helicopter pilot. She has an extensive op erational flying experience in the Ladakh and North East regions, includ ing the world's highest battleground, the Siachen Glacier. She graduated from Wellington's Defence Services Staff College and is a qualified flying instructor. She attended the Montfort Senior Secondary School and was born and raised in Delhi.

—KHUSHBOO GUPTA

An officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and former chopper pilot, Gunjan Saxena was born in 1975. She enlisted in the IAF in 1994, and she served in the 1999 Kargil War. She is one of two female IAF officers that participated in the Kargil War. She is one of only two women, the other be ing Flight Lieutenant Srividya Rajan of the Indian Air Force, to pilot Cheetah helicopters into a combat zone. Sax ena was the only female pilot in the Indian Armed Forces during the Kargil War. After seven years of service, her career as a helicopter pilot came to an end in 2004.

Katrina shared a quirky video

Phone Bhoot starring Katrina Kaif, Ishaan Khatter and Siddhant Chatur vedi is one of the most-anticipated

Ethnic ensembles are key items the Kapoor and Bhatt family followed a colourful and vibrant desi-style agenda at Alia’s baby shower.

The pictures from the private and at-home organised ceremony came to us in a mani fold and our fingers couldn’t wait but zoom into each one’s ensem ble. Each ensemble looked like

the one you’d buy now and wear forever come any season, any cel ebration. Let’s talk about the woman of the hour, mother-to-be Alia’s super yellow and mustard blend attire. Going forward, you could effortlessly and confidently step out in this attire which is worthy of being welcome at the earliest. You have Diwali coming up in a couple of weeks, so don’t you please forget!

The Brahmastra actor rocked a peach kurta and churidaar from Mard by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. The actress donned a cus tom Raji Ramniq Anarkali set on this blessed day. Her desi look was impressive which was backed by celebrity fashion stylist, Ami Pa tel’s adeptness to make it look stunning on the whole. Alia is a true beauty and this outfit’s hues added to her glow.

RANBIR’S SWEET GESTURE

Rashmika Mandana who made her Bolly wood debut with Goodbye opened up about Ranbir’s working style. The actress revealed that Ranbir Kapoor’s working style is similar to the one she follows. Rashmika further claimed that Ranbir is a director’s actor and so is she. She revealed that their captain is Sandeep Reddy Vanga and he is perfect but at the same time he is also very open with his ac tors. According to the Pushpa actress, Sandeep used to come and ask them if they were ok and if they found the scene ok. After this, she used to go to Ranbir to ask him if he feels she did well.

In a recent interview, Rashmika shared that Ranbir did a sweet deed for her which made her cry on set. She said, “When we were shooting for Animal, I was complaining about my breakfast ki ‘itna boring tha’, and how sweetly he got me breakfast the next day. He made his chef cook the next day, and I started crying.”

Nushrratt in ‘AKELLI’

or the unversed, Nushrratt made a mark in the Bollywood industry. On Thursday evening, the budding Bollywood actress informed fans that her upcoming drama thriller movie is titled ‘Akelli’. The film will be directed by debutant filmmaker Pranay Meshram under the production banner of Dashami Studioz. Unable to contain her ex citement for the film, Nushrratt soon tweeted about the development and wrote, “Apni Pe Aa Jaaye.Toh Ek Akelli Hi Kaafi Hai! #PranayMe shram @ninad_nv @vickysidana_

Priyanka Chopra is a global movie icon who has ventured into both Bollywood and Hollywood. She is currently the Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF. Priyanka took to Ins tagram on Thursday as she heaped praises for Hillary Clinton, sharing a throwback photo.

Priyanka Chopra attended a seminar hosted by Hillary Clinton for the Women’s Leadership Forum, not too long ago. She shared photos with Hillary on her Instagram story.Priyanka, in her In stagram story where she shared pictures with Hillary Clinton, wrote, “Thank you HRC for an amazing evening! Throwback to the powerful seminar hosted by #HillaryClinton for Women’s Leadership Forum. She has worked tirelessly, to expand wom en’s representation and leadership in every sphere.” Based on what Priyanka has said, Hillary is working tirelessly, to expand women’s representation in every sphere.

Priyanka

Ranbir Kapoor

Rashmika Mandana

Alia

Bharuccha

GAUAHAR KHAN APPRECIATES NIMRIT’S GAME

and she has managed to inspire a lot of people.”

Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia

Kaur is currently leav ing no stone unturned to entertain her fans as a contestant in the Bigg Boss 16 home.

Well, there is no doubt that Nimirt has been playing the game, and she is seen as one of the strongest contestants on the show.

Being a captain two weeks in a row to win the hearts of the audience in such a small span of time is really commendable. Before entering the house Nim rit in one of her interviews re vealed who she looks up to as an inspiration when it comes to Bigg Boss.

Further revealing her inspi ration, Nimrit shared, “I have seen a few seasons earlier. The person who I consider an inspi ration is Gauahar Khan. She is someone who is really strong

There's no one like Gauahar Khan and we completely agree. The diva was one fierce con testant in her season. And it seems like Nimrit is learning from the best. Re cently Gauahar took to her Instagram stories and ap plauded Nimrit. She reposted the piece of the news and wrote "Awww that's so sweet, Ruling the first week already! Shine on!"

Speaking of Nimrit's game she has amazed the au dience within just two weeks and we hope she continues to do so.

Alia blows KISSES

icha Chadha and Ali Fazal had a dreamy wedding with some of the most adorable online pictures. The couple tied the knot in Delhi after a slew of differ ent ceremonies that were attended by their friends and families. Now a video from their ritual has surfaced that shows just how much in love Richa and Ali are.

Taken from the audience, the video showed Ali waiting for his bride as she slow ly walked towards him. While the men in her house held her long trail veil, she looked lov ingly at her groom. Ali took Richa’s hands when she came closer and blew several kisses in the air. This cute gesture was appreci ated by the bride who lovingly adored her

ANERI VAJANI Celebrates Dussehra

Aneri Vajani on the occa sion of Dussehra shared pictures of herself surrounded by smiling kids after the Dussehra Puja.

She talked about her idea of decorat ing the house on Dussehra, "I love ecofriendly celebrations and, hence, we do not use any products that could harm the envi ronment. I like to dress up the house

with fresh flowers, as the colours add posi tive vibes and happi ness. Floral arrange ments infuse fresh ness and festive touch."

Aneri also shared what the festival means to her, "Dusseh ra symbolises victory, goodness, love, and triumph, and these are seen in the cele brations and prepara tions of one and all. It is a much-awaited fes tival in our home."

Aryan's web series!

According to a recent story, Aryan Khan's web series would begin produc tion by the end of the year. "Multi ple actors have been giving audi tions for the web se

year," said the report. Aryan recently did a test shot for the web series at a Mumbai studio earlier this year. “Of all the ideas in develop ment, the two in the forefront is a web series for Ama

with some elements of thrill, however, the details of feature films are not known yet. If everything pro ceeds at the right pace, there’s a strong possibility of the show being greenlit by the platform this

Netizens troll ANUSHKA!

PRO KABADDI LEAGUE - SEASON 9

DCD DELHI KABADDI CLUB STRENGTHENS ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH JK SUPER CEMENT

FIRST

Dabang Delhi Kabaddi Club, the defending Champions of the Pro Kabaddi league announced JK Super Ce ment as its title sponsor for the third year in a row on Friday. As part of this part nership, Dabang Delhi launched a special video.

Commenting on this an nouncement, Durganath Wagle, Director of Dabang Delhi KC said, “We are elat ed to strengthen our associa tion with JK Super Cement for the third year in a row. JK Super Cement has been a true Dabang brand in the Indian cement industry,

demonstrating strength, du rability, and safety. Dabang Delhi too has always played with grit and determination and emerged as the Champi ons in the last season. We look forward to another fruitful association with JK Super Cement and a suc cessful season ahead.”

Commenting on the part nership, Pushp Raj Singh, Group President of Market ing at Grey Cement said, “We are extremely pleased to support Kabbadi, an In dian sport that celebrates grit, power and persever ance. We are excited and thrilled and look forward to this partnership of strength, longevity, and a pure bond

of emotions. It’s amazing to see the appeal of Kabaddi among the youth and grownups alike. We truly believe in the skills and sportsman ship of JK Super ki Dabang Delhi. In the 8th season of Pro Kabaddi, Dabang Delhi was the Champions, and with their current line up of fine players, we don't see any chance of not making history in the 9th season. A glorious per formance by the team is what we hope for as Title Sponsor. Our best wishes go out to the team for their up coming matches.”

This year, in the PKL auc tions, Dabang Delhi K.C. has strengthened its squad for

the forthcoming Season 9 of the league by picking up a mix of young and experi enced talent including Ravi Kumar, Sandeep Kumar Dhull, Vishal Lather, Md. Liton Ali, Reza Katoulin ezhad, Amit Hooda, Anil Kumar and many more.

Team also retained the star raiding duo Naveen Kumar Goyat & Vijay Malik who showcased the best of their performances in the previous season. The ninth season of Pro Kabad di commenced on Friday and will be held in three cit ies, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad. The matches will be aired on Star Sports Network and Hotstar.

Aneri Vajani with children during the celebrations

Anushka Sharma

Alia Bhatt

Aryan Khan

Nimrit Kaur

Gauahar Khan

ASHISH