First India-Mumbai Edition-11th November 2022

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Male:

Agencies like ‘Centre’s pets’, Raut’s bail guide for country:

case was like a guide for the country.

Addressing reporters on Thursday, Thackeray said Raut could again be implicated in a false case.

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Former chief minister Uddhav Thack eray on Thursday claimed that central in vestigative agencies were acting like the “Centre’s pets” and that the decision of a court to grant bail to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a money laundering

Rajya Sabha member Raut who met the for mer CM at his residence, said he was confident that the erays and the par ty would stand by his family in his ab sence and he would

go to jail “10 more times” for the organization.

Raut also met Nation alist Congress Party su premo Sharad Pawar and enquired about his health. “Sharad Pawar was ill, but he is all right now. When I was in jail, he looked af

ily and also handled the legal fight. Hence

I haven’t heard what Raut said, so I will not comment. If we want to end this bitterness in politics, then we all will have to do something about it. Politicians should end this culture of staying silent. Court has given him a bail and now ED has gone to higher court. Let’s see what the court rules.

I was in solitary confine ment, just like Savarkar and Tilak. Even my arrest was political. Whatever my party, my family and I had to endure we have suffered. My family has lost a lot; it happens in life and politics.

cussed about this too with Sharad Pawar,”

Raut told reporters, add ing that he would meet Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis as well.

Pressed further, Raut said he would apprise Shah about his

However, when asked if he would also meet ister

Uddhav

Eknath Shinde, Raut sidestepped the ques tion. “My work is with Fadnavis as he is Home Minister. So I will go to meet him. I have some questions about the state which I will ask him. He is state’s Depu ty CM, not of any par ty’s, there is nothing wrong in meeting him,” he said.

Asked about the Elec tion Commission’s deci sion to freeze the Shiv Sena’s name and sym bol, the MP claimed at tempts are being made to freeze the Constitu tion. Turn to P6, More on P2

BJP BETS ON ‘YOUNG AND FRESH’ FACES!

l BJP releases 1st list of 160 candidates, 38 sitting MLAs dropped

l The list includes 14 women, 13 SC, 24 ST leaders

Moni Sharma

Gandhinagar: Faced with the prospect of an ti-incumbency in up coming Gujarat elec tions, the ruling BJP has denied tickets to as many as 38 sitting MLAs, picking 69 of the incumbent lawmakers in its first list of candi dates for the December 1 and 5 Assembly elec tions in Gujarat. The list of 160 candidates out of a total 182 was released by Union minister Bhu pendra Yadav on Thurs day. Notable names missing in the first list include former CM Vi jay Rupani, former dep uty CM Nitin Patel, for mer minister RC Faldu, Bhupendrasinh Chu dasama and senior lead er Pradipsinh Jadeja.

Congress turncoats Hardik Patel, Bhagvan bhai Barad and Mo hansinh Rathva’s son Rajendrabhai Rathva have been given tickets from Viramgam, Talala and Chhota Udepur, re spectively. BJP has also fielded former MLA Kantilal Amrutiya from Morbi.

day of campaign for HP Assembly polls

Palampur: Union Home Minister Amit Shah ad dresses rally at Paonta Sahib on last leg election campaign here attacked Opposition Congress in a veiled attack at “moth er-son” Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. “Do you see an ything besides ‘mother-

son’ when you look at Cong minutely? There is a ‘mother-son’ in Delhi as well as HP. Cong is not a democratic party, par ty born out of dynasty.”

During the day, Shah in Palampur said, “We have promised in our poll manifesto that once BJP comes to power in HP, we will implement ‘Common Civil Code’ in the state and added ear lier, no one believed that Article 370 could be removed (from J&K).

ENG ROUT IND, SEAL FINALS BERTH!

The

Shah

OTHER TOP STORIES

A day after UK HC ordered extradition of fugitive diamond Nirav Modi to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering, the MEA Thursday said that country wants to bring “him back as soon as possible”.

The Indians planning to travel to the US may continue to experience delays in visas at least for the next few months as a significant fall in waiting time is expected only in the summer of 2023.

Congress to win unilaterally in

HP: Gehlot

Gujarat. Recently, 70 died due to illicit liquor. These (BJP) people are not conducting any probe into Morbi acci dent. CM is stubborn & stubborn is their lead er,” he said.

Jaipur: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on Thurs day exuded confidence that Congress would win unilaterally in up coming HP polls. He also said there is a good atmosphere in favour of the Congress in Gu jarat where a fierce an ti-incumbency wave is being seen against the current BJP govern

ment. “The atmosphere is good. In HP, Congress is winning election uni laterally,” he told media after returning from tour of both the states.

“There is very fierce wave against BJP govt

in Gujarat. 5 (Parivar tan Sankalp) yatras were taken out, the re action of people seen in these yatras is indica tive of this,” he said.

“Unemployment situ ation is very terrible in

On ‘Bharat Jodo’, he said, “Rahul has started a movement, lakhs of people are coming in it. Even the BJP has got disturbed by it, so they keep making allegations in a hurry. We are not worried about them.” “Rahul has started this yatra with issues of in flation, unemployment & it is having a huge impact,” Gehlot said.

I have come to thank him. I will meet Prime Minister Narendra

Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah during Par liament session and dis

Even as he claimed the state was being run by Deputy CM Fad navis, Raut admittedthe new (Shinde-Fadnavis) government had taken some good decisions, especially regarding housing for the poor, giving more rights to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). "There is a new government in Maharashtra and it has taken a few good decisions. I welcome that. We will not oppose for the sake of opposition. Whatever is good for the country should be welcomed," he said.

RAUT PRAISES FADNAVIS

—Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM, Maharashtra

‘Was in solitary confinement like Savarkar, my arrest was political,’ claims Raut

New Delhi: Bihar politician Lalu Yadav, who has been unwell for some time, will receive a kidney from his daughter Rohini Acharya. RJD leader will go through a kidney transplant later this month. “Yes, I’m destiny’s child and so proud to give my kidney to papa,” said, Lalu’s

former Andaman and Nicobar

Delhi: Activist

Mumbai’s Taloja prison in Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, was allowed by SC Thursday to be placed under house arrest owing to his deteriorating health but with conditions like no mobile, internet & more.

Naresh Sharma

Raj CM Ashok Gehlot, Shakuntala Rawat and Rajiv Arora felicitating

Ashok Patni at 11th India Stone Mart at JECC, Jaipur on Thursday.

Rajasthan is suitable for investment in all respects, says Gehlot while inaugurating ‘India Stone Mart’

First India Bureau

Union Home Minister Amit Shah being felicitated by the party candidate Vipin S Parmar during an election campaign rally at Dehan in Palampur on Thursday. Voting for 68 seats tomorrow.

England’s skipper Jos Buttler shakes hands with India’s Virat Kohli after beating India by 10 wickets during the Semi-Final match of ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2022, at Adelaide Oval on Thursday. England face Pakistan for coveted trophy on Sunday.

At least 10 people, in cluding nine Indians, were killed and several others injured when a fire swept through cramped lodgings of foreign workers in Male, the Maldivian fire service said on Thursday.

Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday rapped ED for adopt ing a pick-and-choose policy and asked why they had not ar rested actor Jacqueline despite lookout circular. Order on the bail plea reserved till Nov 24, 25.

PHOTO BY MUKESH

KIRADOO

Kerala government on Thursday removed Governor Arif Mohammad Khan as the chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam deemed-to-be-university through an amendment. As per the new amendment, the chancellor will be an eminent person in the field of art and culture appointed by the sponsoring body.

Uddhav Thackeray

Sanjay Raut

BHARAT JODO YATRA

'MODI , SHAH USE ED AS POLITICAL WEAPON'

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also accused the BJP of trying to destroy the cooperative sector, where Maha is a leader

First India Bureau

Nanded: The Directo rate of Enforcement was a “political weap on” in the hands of Prime Minister Naren dra Modi and Union Minister of Home Af fairs Amit Shah, as proven by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s bail order, Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday.

Terming Raut’s arrest as “illegal” and a “witchhunt”, a special court in Mumbai granted him bail on Wednesday in a money laundering case related to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project.

Ramesh said the court made it clear that the central agency was be ing “used to intimidate, threaten and create fear among political oppo nents”.

“Raut’s bail order shows that the Enforce ment Directorate is not an independent institu tion, but a political weap on in the hands of Modi and Shah,” he said.

The Congress leader said there was no case to arrest Raut, who is a sea soned parliamentarian and the executive editor of ‘Saamana’, the mouth piece of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction.

Ramesh was address ing a press conference as part of the ongoing Ma harashtra’ leg of the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. “We hope Sanjay Raut will continue to tar get the central govern ment over different is sues,” Ramesh said.

Actor Sushant Singh joins yatra; says ‘path of love, harmony difficult’

ficult.

The former Union minister also alleged that the Bharatiya Ja

nata Party (BJP) was try ing to destroy the coop erative

ANDHARE’S ‘AMBEDKARITE’ CREDENTIALS UNDER FIRE

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Sushma Andhare, senior lead er of the Shiv SenaUddhav Balasaheb Thackery, is known as an a devout Ambed karite and has often attacked the current Central government, accusing it of being anti-Dalit.

However, Baburao Potabhare, social work er and also a follower of Baba Saheb Ambedkar has called her creden tials into question, ac

cusing her of charging money to give proAmbedkar speeches.

At a press conference in Beed on Thursday, Po tabhare called Andhare a “suparibaaz” (one who does things at a cost)

“Andhare may have

studied about Baba Sa heb Ambedkar but she has taken money for giv ing statements and speeches. She acts good too. Last night, she acted superbly when Sanjay Raut was released.

Raut’s mother and wife did not shed a tear, but Andhare was crying hard. This is her drama. These weren't tears of joy,” Potabhare said, adding that she charges Rs50,000 per speech and alleging that she “never took part in any Ambed karite agitation.”

“The

Supriya Sule, other NCP leaders join yatra, Pawar pulls out due to ill health

First India Bureau

Nanded: Prominent Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders, including state unit chief Jayant Patil, Baramati MP Supriya Sule and party leader Jitendra Awhad joined the Rahul Gan dhi-led ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ of the Congress here this afternoon on the fourth day of its Maharashtra leg.

The NCP leaders joined Rahul Gandhi after he resumed his foot march from De glur Naka. NCP Presi dent Sharad Pawar will not join the foot march due to health issues, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday.

Addressing media persons here, Ramesh said Pawar (81) had ear

lier agreed to partici pate in the foot march.

“He was recently hos pitalized and consider ing doctor's advice for rest, he will not join (the yatra),” said Ramesh, the general secretary (communica tions) of the All India Congress Committee.

Shiv Sena leader and former state minister Aaditya Thackeray will join the yatra on Friday, he said.

The Congress and NCP had shared power for 15 years in Maha rashtra from 1999 to 2014. The two parties were also allies in the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vi kas Aghadi (MVA) gov ernment that was in power from November 2019 till June 29 this year when it collapsed following a revolt with in the Shiv Sena.

I’m safe: Sattar amid calls for resignation

First India Bureau

Aurangabad: Amid calls for his resigna tion over his allegedly derogatory comments against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule, state Agriculture Min ister Abdul Sattar seemed unexpectedly buoyant during a me dia interaction here on Thursday.

“I’m safe,” he told re porters in Aurangabad, leading to speculation that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has al

ready declined to accept his cabinet minister’s resignation.

Sattar’s show of

SOME RESPITE

strength came at a public rally, where thousands of his supporters thronged to meet him.

Notably, Sillod constitu ency, which Sattar repre sents in the Maharash tra state assembly, is lo cated in Aurangabad district.

Sattar also reviewed the damage caused to

crops due to rains in a meeting with the collec tors of various districts in the Marathwada re gion, as well as officials from the agriculture de partment, and various insurance companies.

As many as five lakh applications from farm ers seeking compensa tion for crop damage are pending with insurance companies, an official said, adding that Sattar directed officials to dis pose of pending applica tions within five days and pay compensation to the farmers.

Raut dealing with ‘unaccounted money’ can’t be termed ‘proceeds of crime’

Special PMLA court judge MG

Deshpande

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Agreeing that while Sanjay Raut dealt with some “unaccounted mon ey” to buy plots at Ki him near Alibaug in Raigad district, a spe cial court here said that it cannot be “thrown in the stock

of proceeds of crime (POC) under the pro visions of the Preven tion of Money Laun dering Act (PMLA)”.

Special PMLA court judge MG Deshpande made this observation on Wednesday while granting bail to Raut, veteran Shiv Sena lead er and a Rajya Sabha

member, in a money laundering case related to the Patra Chawl rede velopment project. Raut was arrested in the case by the Enforcement Di

rectorate (ED) on Au gust 01. The court said that possessing and dealing with unaccounted mon ey may have different

ED PLEA HEARING LIKELY TODAY

nothing to show that it is “a proceeds of crime with knowledge there of” to the Shiv Sena leader, the court said.

“Therefore, some un accounted money (that) had been dealt with by Sanjay Raut at the rele vant time during 200711 or any other period thereafter…cannot be thrown in the stock of POC,” the court stated.

the court ruled. The ED contended that Sanjay Raut and his family went on for eign trips from the illgotten money arranged by co-accused Pravin Raut.

consequences under the different penal laws, but the same cannot be termed “proceeds of crime” under the provi sions of the PMLA.

Though Sanjay Raut received some money— as “alleged in prosecu tion’s complaint”— from co-accused Pravin Raut, there is absolutely

“Unaccounted money without explanation… or any activity relating to scheduled offence cannot be capitalised as done by the ED herein,”

Dismissing the claim, the court said: “Merely (because) Pravin Raut could not give the ac count of money relat ing to travel tickets, for want of remembrance, can it be straightaway connected with POC or the criminal activity re lating to a Scheduled Offence?”

made the observation while granting bail to veteran Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha member

Sanjay Raut flashes a thumbs-up sign as he exits the Arthur Road jail on Wednesday.

—FILE PHOTO

Mumbai (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut by a special court in a money laun dering case could not be heard by the Bombay High Court on Thursday due to paucity of time. A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre said those matters that could not be taken up for hearing on Thursday shall be heard on Friday.

sector, in which

Maharashtra is a leader.

cooperative sector is being centralised in

the hands of the home minister,” he alleged. It is being done to hurt

the Congress and the NCP, which are strong in this sector, he said.

Rahul Gandhi interacts with supporters in Nanded on Thursday.

—PHOTOS BY PTI

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi try their hands at playing a giant drum during a rally in Nanded on Thursday, as part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. —PHOTO BY ANI

Sushma Andhare —FILE PHOTO

NCP MP Supriya Sule joined Rahul Gandhi on his march, even as her father Sharad Pawar withdrew his participation citing ill health. —PHOTO BY ANI

A delegation of women activists met with Governor Koshiyari on Wednesday, to demand Sattar’s resignation. —FILE PHOTO

Maha Agri Minister Abdul Sattar’s show of strength came at a public rally, where thousands of his supporters thronged to meet him

Nanded (PTI): Actor Sushant Singh joined the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Nanded city of Ma harashtra on Thurs day and walked with

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi before sharing the dais with political leaders at a public meeting.

Speaking at the rally,

the 50-year-old actor said, “Hatred is being spread and the path of love and harmony is difficult. You have cho sen this path. It is dif

There is a saying that if you lose every thing in love, then vic tory is possible,” while looking in Rahul Gan dhi’s direction.

Singh is the second film personality after Pooja Bhatt to take part in the foot march that began from Kanyaku mari on September 07.

MEASLES OUTBREAK

Central team in Mumbai to help as civic body starts vax drive

Mumbai: After the outbreak of measles in slum areas of Mum bai, the Brihanmum bai Municipal Corpo ration has started a vaccination drive in F/North, H/East, L, M/East and P/North wards in the city.

The vaccination ses sions are being conduct ed in Parel, Bandra East, Santacruz East, Kurla, Govandi, Chembur and Malad West areas due to a rise in measles, and rubella cases among children aged between zero to five years.

The civic body has also appealed to the par ents to complete mea sles and rubella vacci nation for their ninemonth-old and 16-month-old children.

A BMC official said that three children were suspected to have died due to measles and 90 others contracted the dis ease in the city this year.

According to Execu tive Health Officer of the BMC Mangala

Gomare, measles cases were found in wards FNorth, H-East, L, MEast, and P-South since January. The highest 23 infections were report ed from the Govandi area. The three deaths—two brothers aged 3 and 5 years and their cousin aged 5 years—were also re ported in the same area.

A civic doctor in formed that the BMC has set up a special ward at Kasturba Hos pital at Chinchpokli for the treatment of chil dren infected with mea sles, and some 35 pa tients were undergoing treatment there.

Meanwhile, the Un ion Health Ministry has deputed a high-level

multi-disciplinary team in the city to take stock of the upsurge of cases.

The Ministry on Wednesday said the team will assist the state health authorities in instituting public health measures and fa cilitate the operation alization of requisite control and contain ment measures.

Green signal! Mumbai to get 92 new EWS secondary schools

Mumbai: The state government has ap proved a proposal of the Mumbai civic body to upgrade 92 primary schools to secondary education al institutions for stu dents of the economi cally weaker sections (EWS), on the condi tion that the upgraded schools would receive no financial assis tance or subsidy for their functioning.

There are more than 200 secondary schools (imparting education till Class X) in the city, run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, all of which are affiliat ed to the Maharashtra state secondary educa tion board, headquar tered in Pune.

A government order (GR) issued on Wednes day said, “The Maha rashtra government has approved the BMC’s pro posal of upgrading 92

primary schools, to open secondary classes from the new academic year of 2022-23.”

The GR said the de mand to upgrade the ex isting 92 primary schools to secondary

schools was made from time to time by parents, school management committees, local corpo rators and legislators.

“It would be manda tory for these new schools to provide all the facilities including physical and academic as well as sufficient number of rooms as per the current policy and criteria of the state gov ernment. These schools will have to adhere to the standards laid down by the state from time to time,” the order said.

AID & ASSIST

The three-member central team to Mum bai includes experts from the National Cen tre for Disease Control (NCDC) in New Delhi, Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi, and the Regional Office for Health and Family Welfare in Pune, Maha rashtra. The team is

Anubhav Srivastava, Deputy Director, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), NCDC.

According to the Min istry, the team will un dertake field visits to investigate the out break and assist the state health depart ments in terms of pub lic health measures, management guide lines, and protocols to manage the increasing cases of measles being reported in Mumbai.

No-fly zone: Month-long ban on drones in Mumbai

Mumbai (PTI): The Mumbai police have prohibited the flying of drones, remotecontrolled micro light aircraft, paragliders, private helicopters and hot air balloons from November 13 to December 12 to pre vent their possible use for terrorist ac tivities, an official said on Thursday. No activities of the above-mentioned pri vate flying objects will be allowed in the Bri hanmumbai Police Commissionerate lim its, except aerial sur veillance by city police or by specific permis sion in writing by the deputy commissioner of police (operations), as per the order issued

The order period covers the anniversary of the deadly terror attack in Mumbai on Nov 26, 2008, in which 166 people were killed

on Monday.

The city police issued the order under Section 144 of the Criminal Pro cedure Code (CrPC) and said any person contra vening it shall be pun ishable under Indian Penal Code Section 188 (disobedience to an or der lawfully promulgat ed by public servant).

“It is likely that ter rorists, anti-national elements might use drones, remote-con trolled micro light air

craft, paragliders, etc., in attacks, endangering the life of public at large, destroy public property and cause dis turbance to law and or der,” the order said.

Hence, it is necessary to put certain restric tions on the activities of such elements in the jurisdiction of Brihan mumbai Police Com missionerate to prevent any probable sabotage by the use of these fly ing objects.

2 Guj lions headed to SGNP in Nov

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The ‘Lion Safari’ at Sanjay Gan dhi National Park in Mumbai is all set to get a new pair of lions from the Sakkarbaug Zoo in Gujarat’s Jam nagar by the end of November, Forest Minister Sudhir Mun gantiwar said.

After the death of a 17-year-old lion last month, only one male lion is left at SGNP.

“With the new pair, we are hopeful of receiving more visitors,” he said.

Man kills neighbour, says ‘accident’

First India Bureau

Palghar: A 28-yearold auto-rickshaw driver was killed al legedly by a neigh bour in Palghar dis trict before the ac cused attempted to pass it off as a case of accident, police said. The incident took

NOT IN ‘SPORTING SPIRIT’

place in Vasai area on Monday while the vic tim had gone in their neighbourhood for a party with his friends, they said.

According to an offi cial from the Mira Bhay ander-Vasai Virar police, his wife was later noti fied by police that he was killed in a wall collapse

incident.

She rushed to the spot and found her husband buried under the debris, but there was not a sin gle scratch mark on his face, he said.

The police initially registered a case of ac cidental death and sent the body for post-mor tem, which revealed the

man died due to a skull fracture, the official said. The accused had dis appeared when the vic tim was being taken to hospital, he said.

Efforts were on to trace the accused, the official said, adding that the reason behind the killing was as yet unknown.

Dissolution of Maha wrestling association committee ‘illegal’: HC

The court asked the Pawar-led elected body of the MSWA to hold office until its tenure ends in 2023

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednes day held the June 30 decision “illegal” of the Wrestling Federa tion of India (WFI) to dissolve the elected ex ecutive committee of Maharashtra State Wrestling Association (MSWA), led by Na tionalist Congress

Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar. A single-judge bench of Justice Sandeep K Shinde said the WFI de cision was not taken in “sporting spirit”.

Holding the WFI’s June 30 decision of the WFI “unreasonable and unenforceable,” the court quashed and set aside the July 31 election held by the ad-hoc com

mittee of the MSWA as being “illegal”.

It said the elected

body of the MSWA head ed by Pawar “shall hold the office till its tenure

Before superseding and/or dissolv ing the elected body of petitioner MSWA, neither the association was heard, nor its elected governing council members apprised of the allegations-cumcharges, which forced WFI to dissolve the state body, although tenure of the council members is yet to come to an end. Therefore, the decision of the executive committee of WFI was, not only in breach of principles of natural justice, but taken behind their back.

comes to an end and carry on its day-to-day functions in accordance

with its Constitution.”

The MSWA had said that the committee was

controlled by Pawar for nearly four decades.

However, in a June 30 meeting of the WFI’s national executive, the national body, headed by BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, decided to dissolve the said com mittee, citing the state body’s failure to con duct certain tourna ments. The MSWA said that such a decision was taken in an “arbi trary” manner.

The MSWA had said that as per news reports, the state body’s control

was being handed over to Ramdas Tadas, BJP MP from the Wardha constituency.

The petitioner said the committee headed by Pawar was elected in 2019 for five years and its tenure was to end in 2023. The association had challenged a July 4 WFI communication through which the com mittee’s general secre tary BS Landge was in formed that their panel had been dissolved and an ad hoc committee ap pointed for the function ing of the association.

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

Bombay High Court

—FILE PHOTO

Justice Sandeep K Shinde

Three children were suspected to have died due to measles and 90 others contracted the disease in the city this year

The civic body has appealed to the parents to complete measles and rubella vaccination for their 9-month-old and 16-month-old children. —FILE PHOTO

There are more than 200 BMC-run secondary schools in the city. —FILE PHOTO

headed by Dr

The order covers drones, remote-controlled micro light aircraft, paragliders, private helicopters and hot air balloons. —FILE PHOTO

SPECIAL WELFARE DEPT FOR DIVYANGS

Mumbai: The state is planning a new separate welfare department to implement schemes worth Rs1,130 crore for persons with disabilities, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced. During a meet ing on the welfare of persons with disabilities, the CM Shinde told officials to prepare a detailed pro posal covering required human and other resources to manage the new department, an official said. The proposal will be discussed in the cabinet before it gets approval, he added.. Divyang Welfare Commis sioner Omprakash Deshmukh was among those who attended the meeting.

Gujarat is the only natural home to the Asiatic lion. —FILE PHOTO

INSPIRED ENGLAND THRASH INSIPID INDIA, DASH HOPES OF DREAM FINAL WITH PAKISTAN

and 4 fours to make a splen did 63 off 33 balls. Kohli played second fiddle to keep the innings intact, reaching his half century too. India scored 58 runs in the last 5 overs of which Hardik scored 50, helping the team’s total to 168 runs. On a pitch that looked slightly slower and where the spinners were able to turn the ball, the score looked above par and it was now the turn of Indian bowl ers to hold their nerves and push the team into the final.

SPECIAL JUDGE’S STRONG REMARKS AGAINST THE ED ARE TELLING

As India heads home, there are questions galore for them. After the defeat in the last World T20, India talked about setting a new template of aggressive cricket but it was the same old story in the semifinals with the team showing nerves and playing well its potential. After the match, Rohit Sharma admitted that the bowlers did not begin well and the game was taken away from them pretty quickly. India’s ageing team, bowlers who can bowl over 140 kms/h consistently and fearless opening batters have to be the most needed changes staring at the Indian Team management

It was yet again a story of what might have been as In dia was demolished by Eng land on Thursday evening at Adelaide. The Men in Blue crashed out of the World T20 Championship losing by 10 wickets. So, convincing was the English win that they still had 4 overs left after the win. India now goes back to the drawing board and has to take a hard look at some of its tactics and combinations, many that have been far be hind the way World T20 cricket is progressing!

Winning the toss, England captain, Jos Buttler, chose to field first. It was cited that the ball might come on the bat better in the second half of the contest, although In dian Captain, Rohit Sharma said that his preference was to bat first. He got his wish but it was a sedate start to the proceedings as India lost KL Rahul inside the first couple of overs, fending a rising de livery by Chris Woakes to the keeper. As Kohli joined Rohit in the middle, the run scor ing became difficult against a steady attack and India could accumulate only 38 runs in the powerplay. India

DEMOCRACY GETS A BOOST IN US

Winning the toss, England captain, Jos Buttler, chose to field first. It was cited that the ball might come on the bat better in the second half of the contest, although Indian Captain, Rohit Sharma said that his preference was to bat first. He got his wish but it was a sedate start to the proceedings as India lost KL Rahul inside the first couple of overs, fending a rising delivery by Chris Woakes to the keeper

needed to up the tempo but unfortunately Rohit skied off Sam Curran, scoring just 27 in 28 balls. The less than 100 strike rate of Rohit meant that India was under score board pressure throughout its innings and they stayed behind in the game until the last 5 overs.

India’s sensation, Suryaku mar hit a six in his trade mark style, pulling one straight over the keeper’s head but didn’t stay long at the crease as an impressive tossed up leggie by Adil

Rashid beat him in the air and he was holed up at sweep er cover making only 14. This brought Hardik Pandya in the middle and he, along with Kohli, started the rescue work for India. Kohli was the aggressor initially in the partnership but as the situa tion got desperate, it was Pandya who showcased his power hitting abilities.

India was 110 for 3 after 15 overs and well below the po tential par score at the point but Pandya took on the Eng lish bowlers, hitting 5 sixes

But that wasn’t to be so. The blistering knock by Pan dya did nothing to swing the momentum India’s way as Jos Buttler too came out fir ing and hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 3 boundaries in the very first over. The tone of the English innings was set then itself. Indian swing bowling had no effect as both Buttler and Alex Hales used the crease to good perfection, targeting the smallish square boundaries. The re sult was that they cruised to 63 for no wicket in the first powerplay and even the in terjection of spin did noth ing to stop the carnage. Such was their dominance that the English openers hit 10 sixes between themselves, finish ing the match in just 16 overs without losing a wicket!

As India heads home, there are questions galore for them. After the defeat in the last World T20, India talked about setting a new template of aggressive cricket but it was the same old story in the semifinals with the team showing nerves and playing well its potential. After the match, Rohit Sharma admit ted that the bowlers did not begin well and the game was taken away from them pretty quickly. India’s ageing team, bowlers who can bowl over 140 kms/h consistently and fearless opening batters have to be the most needed chang es staring at the Indian Team management.

The hopes of a dream final between India-Pakistan are over and fans have been left utterly disappointed in the manner that their team bowed out. It’s now the best time to rebuild as the next T20 World Cup is 2 years away because the best stories are written not of those who continue to win but of those who rise like a phoenix from the ashes!

hiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut got bail after spending over three months in jail. The Bombay High Court also refused to give immediate relief to the Enforcement Direc torate which arrested Raut in an alleged money laundering case. The high court may or may not overturn the order of the Spe cial Court whose strictures against the ED and its function ing is noteworthy.

“Not a single trial right from the establishment of this Desig nated Court, the ED has con cluded by leading evidence and the Court could give a single judgment right from the last decade. There is absolutely not a single judgment after a com plete trial in this Court right from the beginning and during the tenure of all my predeces sors,” Special Judge MG Desh pande remarked. The ED has used its exceptional powers very casually, the judge said.

The judge’s remarks need no elaboration. They prove that the ED first detains an accused and then collects evidence with the purpose of keeping the accused in detention.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

It is better to do nothing, than to do what is wrong. For whatever you do, you do to yourself. Buddha

Donald Trump’s politics of reli gion, race, gun culture and antiabortion did not fetch dividends the former US President may have been hoping for. The US midterm election results for the House of Representatives and the Senate turned out to be disap pointing for the Republican Party and put a question mark on the popularity of Trump who was believed to have been eyeing another shot at presidency. The re sults should sober him down.

At least his supporters expect him to delay that announce ment. President Joe Biden hinted at a press conference that he intended to run again. The biggest Trump-backed supporter to lose was Dr Me

US midterm poll results for the House of Representatives and Senate that turned out to be disappointing for Republican Party, put a question on Trump who was believed to have been eyeing another shot at presidency

hmet Oz in Pennsylvania. Dr Oz lost to Democrat John Fet terman. The absence of a much anticipated “giant red wave” was hailed by Presi dent Joe Biden as a “good day for democracy”. The results showed that Americans were ready to bear with high infla

tion as they did not have to worry about unemployment which is at a 50-year low. Bar ring right wing Republicans women voters stood their ground against the anti-abor tion law passed by the Su preme Court and endorsed by Trump supporter. Biden is strongly in favour of wom en’s right to have an abortion.

A lot was at stake on the results of these midterm elections. On the internation al front, America’s policy on Ukraine, much disliked by Trump, and Russia, a Trump favourite, would have caused a shock. Europe must be es pecially relieved to know that the Republicans have fared disappointingly. It is on the domestic front that voters opted for inclusivity, wom en’s rights and secularism.

No. 3 Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Phone 022-46031417.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

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

Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda

Respected Prime Minister Shri @ narendramodi ji in his address to the public meetings of Chambi and Sujanpur in Himachal Pradesh has described the dreams of our Devbhoomi as his resolve. Virbhoomi Himachal, a pilgrimage place of faith and spirituality, is marching towards glory under the guidance of the Prime Minister, it will continue.

Rajnath Singh @rajnathsingh

The gap between internal & external security is narrowing. Concerted international efforts are needed to counter emerging threats like cyberattacks & information warfare. India believes in a multi-aligned policy, not a world order where few are considered superior to others.

SIDDHAARTH MAHAN

The writer is a specialist on Sports and Cinema who works as an actor in the Hindi film industry

RESIGNS’ IN GUJARAT

CAMPAIGNING ENDS IN HIMACHAL

JP Nadda enumerates projects of double-engine govt

Multiple CM faces is our strength, not weakness, says Cong president

First India Bureau

Shimla: The Congress and the BJP on Thurs day wound up their As sembly poll campaigns for Himachal Pradesh, which saw high profile leaders with promises that ranged from imple mentation of a common civil code to scooters for college-going women.

The BJP, which is con testing to return to pow er in the Jai Ram Thakur-led state, scored on bringing in the big names. PM Modi visited twice, addressing a se ries of rallies — the last two on Wednesday.

Home Min Amit Shah and party prez J P Na dda also addressed pub lic meetings on last day.

Former Cong prez Ra hul Gandhi, who is busy in Bharat Jodo Yatra, has skipped campaign ing. But Priyanka Gan dhi Vadra made up for him to an extent.

The BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday said the prog ress of Himachal Pradesh will come to a halt if a wrong government comes to power in the hill state. Addressing a rally here in support of party candidate Rakesh Pathania on the last day of campaigning for the November 12 Assembly polls, Nadda enumerated various projects launched by the "double-engine" BJP governments at the Centre and the state and said, "This is the time for a renewal of the government. When one engine goes down, Himachal goes down.... If a good gardener is not chosen, the garden will be ruined." Cautioning people against falling for any kind of bait, he said.

Shimla has seen unprec edented development in the past five years of the BJP regime, said Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday. He addressed a rally at San jauli in Shimla to seek votes for BJP candidates Sanjay Sood (Shimla Urban) and Suresh Bhardwaj (Kasumpti). He said that “freebies are not “Revdi”, for the clear reason that almost all will give rise

to women led development.” Thakur also welcomed Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on her tour to Hi machal Pradesh on Thursday.

Shimla (ANI): The presence of several chief ministerial faces in Himachal Pradesh is not the Congress’ weak ness but its strength, party president Mall ikarjun Kharge said on Thursday as the cam paign for assembly elec tions in the hill state drew to a close. The rul ing BJP, in contrast, is going into elections banking just on PM Modi’s face because it is “aware of the failures of the chief minister (Jairam Thakur) and the state government”, Kharge, who is oversee ing his first elections after assuming charge as Congress president last month, said.

“The BJP has noth ing to show in the form of governance, that is why it is continuously attacking the Congress party on non issues. We have several capable leaders who can be chief ministers. We see it as our strength and not weakness,” Con gress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said.

GANDHI PROMISES OLD PENSION SCHEME

Shimla: Alleging that the BJP has “snatched” the economic security of the elderly by doing away with the old pension scheme (OPS), Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday reiterated that her party will bring it back in HP and Gujarat if it forms govts there. PG Vadra in a Facebook post, said the Cong believes that the employees who have contributed to nation-building should get a pension. “By abolishing the old pension, the BJP snatched the financial security of the elderly in the country. The people who serve the country throughout their life, where should they go in old age?” Vadra asked.

HELD RALLIES ON ALL 68 SEATS

Sirmaur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday, while addressing a public rally at Sataun said, "The BJP government only brought inflation and joblessness in HP. Now is the time for change. The Congress has promised to restore the Old Pension Scheme in 10 days and give jobs to 1 lakh people if voted to power in the state."

The Congress held 'Vijay Ashirwaad' rallies across all 68 Assembly segments of Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, the last day for campaigning for the November 12 polls, with party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra leading a door-to-door campaign in Shimla.

BJP will win max number of seats in Gujarat: Patil

Gandhinagar (ANI): Ahead of the Gujarat As sembly polls, Bharatiya Janata Party state Presi dent CR Patil on Thurs day exuded confidence in the party winning the election with the maxi mum number of seats and said that the people of Gujarat are happy with the work done in the state under the lead ership of PM Modi.

Patil said that the names of the candidates have been discussed thoroughly, all the facts have been seen, and after going to every booth and discussing with the workers, a list has been made. A good result is expected seeing support.

CR Patil, BJP Gujarat Prez

A am Aadmi Party released its 14th list of 10 candi dates for the Gujarat Assem bly Elections on Thursday. The party has fielded Virchandbhai Chelabhai Chavda from the Tharad constituency while Se jalben Khunt will contest from Una. Vishal Tyagi will contest from Jamnagar south, Hemant Khava from Jamjodhpur, Dev ender Solanki from Talala, and Arun Gohil from Khambat.

GUJARAT CONGRESS MLA QUITS PARTY AHEAD OF POLLS, 3RD IN 2 DAYS

Gandhinagar: In another jolt to Congress ahead of the As sembly elections in Gujarat, party MLA from Jhalod Bhavesh Katara submitted his resigna tion to Speaker Nimaben Acharya. He is the second leader to resign on the same day. Earlier, Congress MLA from Talala constituency in Gujarat, Bhagvanbhai D Barad, tendered his resignation from all posts of INC to Dr Nimaben Acharya. He said that he has decided to quit Congress after consultation with his supporters. He will join the BJP. The jolt to the Cong party came the second day in a row after tentime MLA and tribal leader Mohansinh Rathvaresigned.

Our mics, voices blocked inside parliament, demonstrates RaGa

SAMAJWADI PARTY FIELDS DIMPLE

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party on Thursday named former Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav as the party candidate for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll, necessitated by the death of her father-in-law and SP Patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. Wife of SP national president Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam’s 'badi bahu' has been an MP from Kannauj twice in the past. SP patriarch’s 'chhoti bahu' Aparna Yadav had formally joined the BJP and is awaiting her electoral debut as a BJP candidate.

COMEDIAN VIR DAS'S BENGALURU SHOW CANCELLED

Bengaluru: Stand-Up comic Vir Das's show which was scheduled on Thursday in Bengaluru was cancelled at the last moment following protests by Hindu right-wing organisations. Vir Das also took to his Instagram and informed the same. "Hey folks. Due to unavoidable circumstances, we are push ing the Bengaluru show. New details and dates soon. Sorry for the inconvenience," he wrote. The organiser was forced to cancel the house full event after pressure from a Hindu front.

COIMBATORE BLAST: NIA CARRIES OUT SEARCHES IN TAMIL NADU, KERALA

Chennai: The searches were made in connection to a case pertaining to a bomb blast in a car laden with explosives in front of Kottai Eswaran Temple of Coimbatore district on Oct 23 this year. "These searches were conducted in eight districts of Tamil Nadu namely Chennai, Coimbatore, Thiruvallur, Thiruppur, Nilgiris, Chengalpatu, Kanchipuram and Nagapattinam. One location had also been carried out in the Palakkad district of Kerala," reads NIA statement. According to preliminary info, accused Jamesha Mubeen was planning to carry out extensive damage, it reads.

TWITTER PAUSES

"OFFICIAL" LABELS ON SELECT ACCOUNTS

New Delhi: Twitter on Thursday announced that it is not putting the "Official" label on the accounts, even though it is still going after impersonation and deception. A tweet from the 'Twitter Support' account read, "We're not currently putting an "Official" label on accounts but we are aggressively going after impersonation and decep tion." Twitter also informed why the "Official" label is being used and said that to distinguish between blue checkmarks and accounts that are verified as official.

Pardeep was about to open his dairy products shop at Kotkapura market when he was killed. According to the police, five men on two motorcycles reached the spot. One of them opened fire, killing Pardeep and injuring his gunman Hakam Singh and Amar Singh, a former municipal council lor, the police added.

New Delhi(ANI): India is on the rise as never before and is on the way to "reclaim the glory" it had enjoyed ages ago, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Thursday. Addressing a gathering at the opening ceremony of a three-day conference on ‘Infra structure, Information and Innovation for Building New Bharat’, he said that after 34 years a “revolutionary step” has been taken by intro duction of the National Education Policy 2020, and added this policy

will be a “game-chang er”. The conference has been organised as part of the centenary cele brations of the Delhi University. “I congratu late the Delhi University for completing 100 years. It is a milestone in the journey of any organi sation,” he said. The Vice President said the rise of the country is "unstoppable".

“Today it's a matter of pride to be an Indian. Anywhere you go, honour of Indian and Indianness is differ ent,” he added.

Nanded (PTI): Switch ing his microphone off and on, Congress leader sought to give a demon stration of what alleg edly happens in Parlia ment when Opposition leaders speak on issues that the BJP govern ment finds uncomforta ble. “See what they do. Whenever we speak on the note ban (of 2016), mic off — like this,” he said, going inaudible for bit at a public event as part of his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ that’s now in Ma harashtra.

Smiling, he switched the mic back on, speak ing in Hindi: “Here, I have the controls. But in Parliament House the mic is switched off just like that. We keep won dering what happened.”

“China’s army has come in, occupied 2,000 square kilometres — mic off,” he alleged. “No matter what we are say ing, no one will be able to hear it, see it — mic off,” he further said in a

video tweeted by the party’s social media head, Supriya Shrinate. He said the Yatra — Kanyakumari to Kash

PRESIDENT’S TRIP TO HOMELAND

mir — is also necessi tated as a large part of the mainstream media does not cover the Con gress’s initiatives.

IN THE COURTYARD

SC TO SET UP BENCH ON FRIDAY TO HEAR GYANVAPI CASE

New Delhi: The Supreme Court agreed to set up a bench on Friday to hear the Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath case in which the Hindu side has sought extension of an order by which protection of an area where a “Shivling” was found in Gyanvapi premises was ordered. A bench headed by CJ D Y Chandrachud on Thursday took note of the submis sions of advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain. “We will constitute a bench at 3 pm on Nov 11,” the CJI said.

Agencies like ...

The “unbridled rul ers” have no idea of what will happen if all these forces come together, he said. Raut also said that BJP MP Subramani an Swamy--known for his anti-Modi opin ions--had called him to enquired about his well-being and ad vised him to take care of his health.

Prez Murmu reaches Odisha, first time after oath

Bhubaneshwar (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu was given a rousing welcome on Thursday as she ar rived at the Bhubane swar airport on a twoday visit to Odisha, her native state. Governor Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Pat naik received her at the airport. She was ac corded a guard of hon our by the state govern ment on her arrival. Soon after, she left for Puri on an Air Force

helicopter. She will be visiting the famed Jag annath Temple in the

seaside town. On her return to Bhubaneswar, a reception will be host

ed in her honour at the Raj Bhavan.

Murmu, who hails

from Mayurbhanj dis trict of the state, is also scheduled to visit her school in Bhubaneswar, besides attending other programmes on Friday. This is Murmu’s first visit to the state after becoming the president in July.

The state govern ment has already de clared a half-day holi day for all offices, schools and colleges in the state capital region on the occasion of Mur mu’s visit.

lll

Prez Droupadi Murmu, who hails from Mayurbhanj district of the state, is also scheduled to visit her school, besides other programmes

The President was accorded a guard of honour on her first visit to Odisha on Thursday. In a rare gesture,

President Droupadi Murmu walked about two kilometers to seek the blessings of Lord Jagannath at Puri.

JP Nadda during a rally in Jhanduta on Thursday.

PROGRESS OF HIMACHAL PRADESH WILL STALL IF WRONG GOVT VOTED TO POWER, SAYS NADDA

MANIFESTO PROMISES NOT ‘REVDIS,’ WILL LEAD TO WOMEN-ORIENTED GROWTH: THAKUR

PRIYANKA

VIJAY ASHIRWAAD: CONG

ANOTHER

Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president.

India on the rise as never before, on its way to reclaim past glory: V-P

BHARAT JODO YATRA

Rahul Gandhi, demonstrating ‘mic on-off’ in Nanded on Thursday.

FOR MAINPURI BYPOLL

BARGARI SACRILEGE

CASE: ACCUSED DERA FOLLOWER SHOT DEAD

Ludhiana: Dera Sacha Sau da follower Pardeep Singh, an accused in the Bargari sacrilege case in 2015, was shot dead in Pun jab’s Faridkot district on Thursday, the police said.

CRUCIAL READ & GUJARAT ELECTION 2022

HIMACHAL

Supporters stand on a roof to greet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (unseen) during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Nanded on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

FROM PG 1

business

New Delhi (PTI): Stateowned Bank of Baroda on Thursday said it has in creased its marginal cost of funds based lending rate by up to 15 bps across tenors. The lender has approved the revision in marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) with effect from November 12, 2022, Bank of Baroda said in a regu latory filing. The bench mark one-year tenor MCLR has been raised by 10 basis points to 8.05%. It is the rate at which most of the consumer loans such as personal, auto & home are tied to.

CAD likely to be at 3% this fiscal

Mumbai (PTI): State Bank of India has pencilled in lower current account defi cit at 3% for this fiscal as against the minimum con sensus of 3.5%, citing ris ing software exports, re mittances and a likely $5-billion jump in forex re serves via swap deals.

Every $10 increase in crude prices impacts the Current Account Deficit (CAD) to the tune of 40 ba sis points while the same on fuel inflation is 50 bps and also results in 23 bps decline in growth, accord ing to Soumyakanti Ghosh, the chief economic advisor at SBI.

CAD has a counter cycli cal shock absorber, he said in a report on Thursday.

New Delhi (PTI): Shares of Tata Motors on Thurs day closed over 4% lower after the company report ed a net loss of `898 crore for the second quarter ended September. The stock declined 4.80% to settle at `412.20 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange. At the NSE, it fell 4.61% to fin ish at `413.20 apiece. In volume terms, 11.83 lakh shares were traded on the BSE and over 2.62 crore units on the NSE during the day. Tata Motors on Wednesday reported a net loss of `898 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2022.

Exchange rate is the ma jor contributor to software exports growth and 40% of its variation is explained by exchange rates. “If we translated these numbers in actual terms, every Re 1 fall against the dollar leads to an increase in software exports by $250 million”.

This, along with an ex pected $5 billion-forex re serve accrual by way of swap transactions and higher remittances, will

OTHER STORIES

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

z Every $10 increase in crude prices impacts the Current Account Deficit (CAD) to the tune of 40 basis points while the same on fuel inflation is 50 bps and also results in 23 bps decline in growth

cap CAD at 3% of GDP as against the average lowest level projected for the year at 3.5%, Ghosh said.

The strong remittances and software exports have lowered CAD by 60 bps in the June quarter, adding that if this trends contin ued in the September quar ter, then CAD would be be

z Exchange rate is the major contributor to software exports growth and 40 per cent of its variation is explained by exchange rates

z SBI has pencilled in lower current account deficit at 3% for this fiscal as against the minimum consensus of 3.5%

low 3.5% in the second quarter and at 3% in the full fiscal.

According to Ghosh, fo rex reserves, which have declined from $642 billion in September 2021 to just about $531 billion last week, are expected to rise by $5 billion as swap trans actions reverse.

GST evasion of `55,575 crore detected in 2 yrs

New Delhi (FIB): GST au thorities have detected GST fraud of `55,575 crore over the last two years and arrested over 700 persons for causing loss to the ex chequer, an official said on Thursday.

Over 22,300 fake GST identification numbers (GSTIN) were detected by the officers of the Directo rate General of GST Intel ligence (DGGI).

The government on No vember 9, 2020, launched a nationwide special drive against unscrupulous enti ties for availing and pass ing on Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraudulently by issu ing fake/bogus invoices, thereby evading Goods and Services Tax (GST).

“In the two years of the special drive, GST/ITC fraud worth ` 55,575 crore has been detected. 719 per sons have been arrested, which include 20 CA/CS professionals,” the offi cial said.Voluntary depos its of Goods and Services Tax (GST) worth ` 3,050 crore have been made dur ing the period.

Sensex falls over 410 pts to slip below 61k-level; Nifty retains 18,000

Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark Sensex de clined over 410 points to close below the 61,000-mark on Thursday, tracking weakness in M&M, Bajaj Finserv and Reliance In dustries amid widespread selling pressure in global markets. A depreciating rupee also put pressure on domestic equities, traders said. In a subdued session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 419.85 points or 0.69% lower at 60,613.70. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty fell 128.80 points or 0.71% to end at 18,028.20.

Axis Bank was the big gest loser in the Sensex pack, followed by Bajaj Fin serv, Titan, M&M, Bajaj Finance & IndusInd Bank.

In contrast, HDFC twins, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy’s were gainers.

FALLS 30 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 81.77 AGAINST US DOLLAR

New Delhi (FIB): Gold rallied by `135 to `51,898 per 10 gram in the national capital on Thursday amid a rise in price of the metal in inter national market, accord ing to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the yellow metal had settled at `51,763 per 10 gram.

Silver, however, dropped by `250 to `61,618 per kg. In the international market, gold was trading in the green at $1,709 per ounce while silver was flat at $21.05 per ounce.

PFC LOGS HIGHEST EVER QUARTERLY PROFIT OF `5,229 CR

New Delhi (PTI): E-commerce major Flipkart has burnt cash of $3.7 billion (about `30,000 crore) in about a year ending September 2022, according to regulatory filings. Flipkart had $1 billion in cash in July 2021, which came down to $887 million by September 2022. The company, in July 2021, raised $3.6 billion (about `29,000 crore), which has been completely exhausted, according to regulatory filings of Flipkart and Walmart.

Kolkata (PTI): The Tea Board has sought an assistance of `1,000 crore for the industry in the next five years starting 202223. Chairman of Tea Board Saurav Pahari said that in the budget submitted to the Union Commerce ministry, focus has been on handholding the small tea growers (STGs). “We have sought an assistance of Rs 1,000 crore in the budget submitted to the ministry for a period of five years starting 2022-23”, Pahari said.

Mumbai (FIB): States’ debt will stay elevated at 30-31% of their gross domestic products this fiscal as they have been borrowing from the markets much beyond their means amid modest revenue growth, a report said on Thursday. The ag gregate indebtedness of states, as measured by debt to gross state do mestic product (GSDP), is expected to remain elevated at 30-31% this fiscal, almost similar to 31.5% seen in fiscal 2021-22, Crisil said in a report. States’ indebtedness had risen to a decadal high of 34% in the Covid-hit fiscal 2020-21.

New York (PTI): Global entities and fund manag ers are keen to invest in India, Chairman of the In ternational Financial Ser vices Centres Authority (IFSCA) Injeti Srinivas has said, underlining the need to create a platform that intermediates global capital flows into the do mestic economy.

Srinivas is leading a del egation of senior officials from the International Fi nancial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City, are cur rently in the US for meet ings and roundtable discus sions with American and global investors, banking and educational institu tions for business opportu nities.The delegation is on a visit to New York and Wash ington. “We had meetings with fund managers. They are all very keen to invest in India,” Srinivas said.

SALES VOLUME FALLS IN RURAL MKTS

New Delhi (PTI): Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on Thursday posted its highest ever quarterly profit after tax of `5,229.33 crore for Sep tember quarter 2022-23 mainly due to higher reve nues. The consolidated profit is 4% higher as compared to the year-ago period when it logged a profit of `5,023.42 crore, it said in a BSE filing. To tal income rose to `19,344.39 crore from `19,282.60 crore in the same period a year ago.

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated by 30 paise to close at 81.77 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, as participants remained cautious ahead of the release of the US inflation data. Forex traders said a weak trend domestic equities also weighed on investor senti ments. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.61 and witnessed a high of 81.54 and a low of 81.92. It finally settled at 81.77 against the American currency, register ing a fall of 30 paise over its last close of 81.47.

India-US CEO forum to further strengthen bilateral economic ties

New Delhi (PTI): India-US CEO forum discussed ways to further strengthen eco nomic ties between the two countries. It was chaired jointly by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Gina Raimondo, US Secy of Commerce.

In the meeting, Goyal highlighted the significant growth of the India-US eco nomic relations, driven by the common interest of promoting sustainability, emerging technologies, globally resilient supply chains and small business es.

“The forum continues to be an effective platform for dialogue across key secto ral themes and to identify areas for closer collabora tion for the mutual benefit of both economies,” the commerce ministry said in a statement on Thursday. It comprises CEOs from

FMCG industry continues to see slowdown

New Delhi (PTI): The country’s FMCG industry continued to witness con sumption slowdown in the September quarter, with rural markets registering a higher decline in volumes compared to the three months ended June, says a report.

Also, consumers contin ued to prefer purchasing smaller packets amid com panies hiking prices in re sponse to broader inflation ary pressures, according to the report released by data analytics firm NielsenIQ.

The FMCG industry wit nessed an overall volume

decline of 0.9% in the Sep tember quarter in compar ison to the preceding three months. This was the

fourth consecutive quarter with negative volume growth for the industry and is “attributed to the

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

z The country’s FMCG industry continued to witness consumption slowdown in the September quarter, with rural markets registering a higher decline in volumes

z The FMCG industry witnessed an overall volume decline of 0.9% in the September quarter

double-digit price growth for the past six consecutive quarters,” the quarterly FMCG report said.

leading Indian

TOP TALKING POINTS

z India-US CEO forum discussed ways to further strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

US-

This is the sixth time the forum has been convened since its reconstitution in Dec 2014 by the govern ments of India and the US.

The CEOs, under the seven working groups, pre sented priority areas to create stronger partner ships and boost growth across various critical ar eas, such as entrepreneur ship and promoting small businesses, healthcare and

z It was chaired jointly by Piyush Goyal and Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce.

z Goyal highlighted the significant growth of the India-US economic relations

pharmaceuticals, aero space and defence, ICT and digital infrastructure, en ergy, water and environ ment, infrastructure and manufacturing, financial services, trade and invest ments.

The bilateral trade be tween the countries has increased to $120 billion in 2021-22 from $80.5 billion in 2020-21.

Profitability boost for Ind companies from weak `

New Delhi (PTI): S&P Global Ratings on Thurs day said about half of the Indian companies that they are getting a boost in their core profitability from ru pee depreciation.

“Much of our rated India corporate portfolio has siz able US-dollar linked reve nue and, therefore, is not exposed to rupee deprecia tion. This encompasses en tities in the IT, metals, and chemicals sectors. About half of the firms we rate are getting an EBITDA boost from currency weak ening,” the US-based rating agency said in a report.

EBITDA or earnings be fore interest, taxes, depre ciation and amortization is a measure of a company’s operating profitability.

S&P said domesticallydriven sectors, such as tel ecom, are also well placed to withstand the rupee de preciation due to their hedging policies.

BANK OF BARODA RAISES MCLR ACROSS TENORS

TEA BOARD SEEKS `1,000 CR SUPPORT FOR INDUSTRY

RUPEE

FLIPKART BURNS OVER $3.7 BILLION CASH IN ABOUT A YEAR

MODEST REVENUE GROWTH, HIGHER CAPITAL OUTLAYS TO KEEP STATES’ DEBT HIGH AT 30-31%

and

based companies and is cochaired by Tata Sons Chairman N Chan drasekaran and Lockheed Martin President & CEO James Taiclet.

Global Cos keen to invest in India: IFSCA

2ND FRONT

Activist Navlakha set to leave Taloja jail today

QUICK RECAP

Other accused too complain about lack of facilities in jail

First

India Bureau

Mumbai: A delay in the due process to change the imprison ment of Gautam Nav lakha, an accused in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links cases, into house arrest as per Supreme Court’s ruling likely pushed his release from jail to Friday.

Navlakha’s partner Sahba Husain said the accused activist would not be able to leave the Taloja jail, located in Navi Mumbai, during the day.

“The Supreme Court has given 48 hours (for implementing the or

der). There is a lot of pa perwork to be done in cluding furnishing local surety as directed by the apex court and also the deposit amount,” Hu sain said.

She had expressed her happiness over the Su preme Court order al lowing the 70-year-old activist to be placed un der house arrest for one

month. “The order says he will have to be in Mumbai. We have seen certain places...but we are yet to zero in. We have to make arrange ments now,” she said, referring to where Nav lakha would stay.

The activist has been lodged in the Taloja pris on since his arrest in Au gust 2018.

‘Proud day since encroachment around Afzal Khan’s tomb cleared’

First India Bureau

Pune: Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hailed Thursday as a “proud day” after the Satara district administra tion demolished unauthorized struc tures that stood on government land around the tomb of Afzal Khan, a general of the Adil Shahi dy nasty of Bijapur.

Khan was killed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Ma haraj at the foot of Pratapgad Fort in the district in 1659—the an niversary of which is marked as “Shivpratap Din” by some organiza tions in Maharashtra on November 10.

Satara collector Ruchesh Jaiwanshi said that unauthorized struc tures had mushroomed over an area of 15-20 gunthas (1 guntha = 1,089 sq ft) of land around Khan’s tomb, which was later built in the spot where he died.

Some portion of the land belongs to the for est department while some parcels belong to the revenue depart ment, Jaiwanshi added.

The action started in the early hours of

There were demands (of removal of en croachment) from ‘Shiv-premis’ (Shivaji Maharaj’s followers) but when they staged protests, cases were registered against them and the encroachment was never removed. Today, it is a matter of satisfaction for everyone that the entire encroachment has been removed.

Fadnavis, Dy CM

—Devendra

Thursday amid heavy police security and was still going on late into the evening, officials said.

“Today is a proud day for everyone as today is Shivpratap din. On this day, Afzal Khan was killed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” depu ty CM Fadnavis told Marathi news channels.

“We started to remove the encroachments in 2017, based on the High Court’s order from 2007,

but some legal problems came up,” he said.

“There were demands (of removal of en croachment) from ‘Shivpremis’ (Shivaji Maha raj’s followers) but when they staged protests, cases were registered against them and the en croachment was never removed. Today, it is a matter of satisfaction for everyone that the en tire encroachment has been removed,” Fad navis said.

Allowing Navlakha’s request for house arrest, the Supreme Court on Thursday said that pri ma facie there was no reason to reject his med ical report. A bench of Justices K M Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy also said the house arrest order should be implemented within 48 hours.

The apex court also

directed Navlakha to de posit Rs2.4 lakh, the esti mated expense of police deployment outside his house as per the Nation al Investigation Agency.

Maha urges Centre to get back Shivaji’s sword from the UK

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Maha rashtra government has approached the Centre to get back a sword of Chhatra pati Shivaji Maha raj, which is in a museum in the United Kingdom, state culture minis ter Sudhir Mungan tiwar said on Thurs day.

The state govern ment will also try to reach out to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in this regard, he told reporters here.

“In 2024 we will cel ebrate 350th anniver sary of Shivaji Maha raj’s coronation. We wish to bring back his ‘Jagdamba sword’ from the UK. It has been touched by Shivaji Maharaj so it is extremely valuable for us,” the minister said.

“We have started communication with the Union govern ment to bring back the sword from the UK,” he said, adding that Rishi Sunak—an

In 2024, Maharashtra will celebrate 350th anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj’s coronation

Indian-origin lead er—has now become the prime minister of that country.

“We will try to have dialogue with the UK prime minister Rishi Sunak. If the UK hands over the sword, it would help us a lot as we are organizing a series of events for the special day in 2024,” Mungantiwar said.

Deputy Chief Min ister Devendra Fad navis said, “It is obvi ous that we want the sword back, because it is a matter of pride for us.”

BULLET TRAIN

Mumbai (PTI): The Su preme Court order permitting activist Gautam Navlakha to be kept under house arrest for a month has brought to the fore several applications filed by the accused in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links case la menting lack of facili ties in jail and denial of access to the same.

Besides seeking medi cal treatment, the ac cused in the case have time and again ap proached courts for per mission to get books, chairs, drinking straw, spectacles and mosquito nets inside the prison.

In November 2020, ac cused Stan Swamy had filed an application be

fore a special court here seeking straw and sipper at the Taloja jail. In his plea, Swamy had said the National Investiga tion Agency (NIA) seized it from him and he was unable to lift a glass due to Parkinson’s disease.

The NIA, in its reply, however, said it had not seized any straw and sip per glass from Swamy.

Later, jail authorities provided him with a straw and sipper.

In December 2020, Navlakha’s partner Sah

ba Husain said the for mer’s spectacles were stolen in jail and when his family sent him a new pair, the jail author ities refused to accept them. The high court later criticized the jail authorities and said all these are human consid erations. The jail author ities later accepted the pair of spectacles sent by Navlakha’s family.

In 2020, lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj had filed an application be fore the special court claiming she was not be ing allowed access to books. She said when books were sent for her, the Superintendent at Byculla Jail, where she was lodged, had refused to receive them for her.

Case against businessman: No role found of any ED official, Maha ACB tells HC

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The state Anti Corruption Bu reau (ACB) on Thurs day told the Bombay High Court its inquiry into the alleged cor ruption case involving businessman Jitendra Navlani did not reveal the involvement of any officer from the Enforcement Directo rate (ED).

In an affidavit sub mitted before a division bench of Justices Re vati Mohite Dere and RN Laddha, the ACB said its investigation has ruled out the in volvement of any ED officer in the corrup tion case.

“The apprehension there will be coercive action is nothing but an imagination of peti tioner (agency),” the ACB said in its affida vit, adding, “Resultant ly, there is no occasion for the investigating agency to treat any of ficer of the ED as sus pect or accused.”

Thereafter, the ED withdrew its petition filed in the high court seeking protection for

its officers from coer cive action.

The ACB had lodged a case against Navlani after he allegedly ex torted Rs58 crore from private companies be tween 2015 and 2021.

The ACB registered its ’First Information Report when the Maha Vikas Aghadi govern ment was in power. Af ter its fall in June, the ED was apprehensive that coercive steps may be taken against its of ficers following certain remarks made by politi cal leaders, even though no ED officer was named in the case.

The ED, in its peti tion, said there was a clear attempt by the state machinery to thwart various investi

After the fall of the MVA govt, certain remarks made by political leaders led the ED to worry about coercive steps against its officers, even though none was named in the case

gations initiated against ministers “sev eral of whom are closely connected with the ruling dispensation in the state”, and sought that the HC transfer the case to an impartial agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation.

GODREJ & BOYCE REFUTES ALLEGATIONS OF CAUSING DELAYS

Tells Bombay HC land acquisition process was ‘illegal

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Godrej & Boyce Manufactur ing Co. Ltd (G&B) on Thursday submitted to the Bombay High Court that the pro ceedings of acquisi tion of its land in Mumbai initiated by

the Maharashtra gov ernment for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project were “illegal and bad in law”.

The company also re futed allegations lev elled against it by the state government and the National High Speed Rail Corp. Ltd (NHSR CL) that it was causing unnecessary hurdles and impediment in the land acquisition pro cess, thus delaying the project.

Of the total 508.17km

rail track between Mum bai and Ahmedabad, 21km is planned to be underground. One of

the entry points to the underground tunnel falls on the land in sub urban Vikhroli (owned

by Godrej).

The company and the government have been embroiled in a legal dis

This is demon strably false and (the) re cord clearly establishes that any substantial de lay is attributable en tirely to the respondents (state and NHSRCL). It was the respondents who grossly delayed the ac quisition proceedings.

& Boyce Manufac turing Co. Ltd

pute over the acquisi tion of the companyowned land in Vikhroli for the bullet train pro

ject since 2019.

In its rejoinder affida vit submitted on Thurs day in reply to the affida vits of the government and NHSRCL, G&B chal lenged an order of Sep tember 15, passed by the Maharashtra govern ment awarding compen sation to it for land ac quisition for the bullet train project.

It said the final com pensation amount of Rs264 crore was a frac tion of the initial Rs572 crore offered to the com pany for the acquisition

of the land.

Earlier, the state gov ernment had in its affi davit emphasised on the importance of the bullet train project and said the Ahmedabad-Mum bai high-speed rail cor ridor project is a priority project for the Govern ment of India.

The matter came up for hearing before a divi sion bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sharmila Deshmukh on Thursday.

The court adjourned it till November 21.

and bad in law’

—Godrej

The country’s first bullet train will run at a maximum speed of 350km per hour, covering the distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in under three hours. —FILE PHOTO

Supreme Court had allowed his request for ‘house arrest’ earlier on Thursday

Gautam Navlakha surrendered before the NIA, in New Delhi on April 14, 2020. —FILE PHOTO

MUMBAI, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022

Soare

oddess, the omni channel tech beauty platform, held a grand celebration in honour of the opening of its store in the pink city at the Mall of Jaipur, Vaishali Nagar.

Showcasing the brand new Digital and Beauty Tech store the public was invited to join in and celebrate the occasion.

With 200+ beauty brands on its platform, a highly suc cessful online debut, and a Luxe Beauty store in Gur gaon, Boddess Beauty is just in time for all things auspi cious and festive in Jaipur.

The evening was graced by the Chief guest, Ashok Patni wherein he was seen unveiling the experiential Boddess Beauty concept fea turing Magic Mirror – which works as a Skin Analyser; Make-over Station with the best make-up artists; worldclass beauty advisors to solve all skin woes of con sumers and handpicked in

ternational and home-grown beauty brands.

Jagdeesh Chandra also graced the event with his pres ence and congratulated Ashok Patni for the milestone. He was ecstatic to witness the su perb experience store and the members’ hard work.

vice

bars, consulta tion from beauty advisors, digital skin analysers, make-up try on, and much more.

Kriti

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in B

Kate Hudson showcasing Juice Beauty

Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Shailendra Godha, Ashok Patni, Atul Jain, JK Jajoo and Mohit Jajoo

Boddess Beauty store features handpicked products of Juice Beauty and Neal’s Yard Remedies

Sharad Sharma and Ashok Patni during Boddess Beauty launch event

showcasing mcaffeine product

Bhatt

ARIES

MAR 21 - APR 20

You are very generous by nature and also you are the backbone of your family. Today is a favourable day for business. You may postpone your study plans. You are very fortunate to have a great friend circle. Be careful of the words that come out of your mouth. Your lover may finally say yes to get married to you.

TAURUS

APR 21 - MAY 20

ART

LIBRA

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

Visit a doctor if you have any doubts about your health. Don’t attack stress even if you don’t have any. Let go of things that are not in your control. You want to have your own house and you will work hard to make your dream come true.

SCORPIO

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

IS ONLY

NEVER FINISHED,

ABANDONED!

Art speaks where words are una ble to explain, the famous say ing has solved the greatest problem of life, this statement depicts the reality of life, which says that, despite the great force and profun dity, words are not al ways as effective at com municating ideas as art is. Although the written or spoken word has con siderable power, a pic ture or work of art may have even more impact on people’s minds and has the power to turn their perception upside down. Let’s learn inter esting facts about Sir Peter Paul Rubens, one of the finest artists of his time.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish artist most well-known for his ecclesiastical and myth

in the Flemish Baroque tradition. He was the most famous in all of Europe in the 1600s and his masterworks high lighted movement, col our, and debauchery that had royalty and no bility beseeching for more. This interesting and prolific artist was raised in Roman Catho lic and received a classi cal education, he began his artistic training in 1591 as an apprentice to Tobias Verhaecht. After a year, he hauled on to work with Adam van Noort for four years. He was then apprenticed to artist Otto Van Veen and in 1598 was admitted into the painter’s guild of Antwerp, and then finally moved to explore Italy in May 1600.

It is rightly said that art is the reflection of the artist’s character and intelligent and powerful brain. So in Venice when Rubens got inspired by artists such as Titian, Tin toretto, and Paolo Ve ronese before being hired by the duke of Mantua for whom he made replicas of Re naissance paintings.

After learning certain things, the preacher of art lugged on yet again

this time in Florence to attend the marriage of Marie de Medicis to King Henry IV of France and continued to make copies of 16th-century art, which now serves art historians well.

It is rightly said that Hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard.

In August 1601, Rubens made his way to Rome where the Baroque style reigned supreme with the revival of Michelan gelo and Raphael styles.

The majestic art lover received his first commission in Spain during this era and he appeared to be taking every thing in. This included amassing a hefty collection of art.

At the end of 1605, he made his second trip to Rome and, along with his brother Philip, be gan amassing and inves tigating all forms of art work and ancient phi losophy. He retained a sizeable collection of Roman scripture, reliefs, portrait busts, and rare

coins. And finally, his hard work paid off when Rubens designed his own art studio and had many assistants. Though tables turned when he received the news of his ill mother, he left and returned to his hometown. The next year, he married Isabella Brant and annexed his painting studio a mar vellous townhouse in the city. Filled with as sistants, collaborators, apprentices, and engrav ers, Rubens was able to produce a tremendous volume of work with their help. The majority of painters in the 1600s worked as contract la bourers who painted for specific jobs. Rubens’ work thus came to be as sociated with particular political groups of the period. The majority of painters in the 1600s worked as contract la bourers who painted for specific jobs. Rubens’ work thus came to be as sociated with particular political groups of the period. After much ef fort, in 1622, Rubens was called for one of his

famous assign ments by Queen mother Marie de Medicis to il lustrate a passage in her newly built Luxembourg Palace. She commis sioned 21 canvases to glorify her life and the regency of France. The interesting fact about this artist is that he mar ried his wife’s niece, Helene Fourment and they were married when Rubens was 53 years old and Helene was just 16. His young wife was a major inspiration be hind his artworks dur ing the last decade of his life, and the curvaceous female figures dominant in some of his later por traits such as The Feast of Venus, The Three Graces, and The Judg ment of Paris were quite reminiscent of Helene.

On May 30, 1640, the art explorer died from gout which resulted in heart failure. He was survived by his eight children, three from Is abella and five from Helene, many of whom married into esteemed and noble families of Antwerp.

You need a break from day to tensions and the way to cope up with stress is to meditate. You must create an environment of understanding at home. You will succeed in any sort of examination if you put your heart and soul to it. Promotion can be expected even if other are not.

GEMINI

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

Your spouse may make you spend more than you expected. Fantastic day for investing money in stock market as you can make fortune. You need help on academic front and you should not shy away from asking. You miss your parents a lot and somewhere fear to loose them. Admit your faults in relationship.

CANCER

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

You care about you lover but somehow hesitate in expressing that care. Don’t make friends for money and status rather make friends who will stick with you forever. On social front, you may have to spend some extra money in buying gifts for someone for some specific occasion.

LEO

Scrumptious food is what you are craving for today. You always maintain cordial relationship with everyone. You workout daily to keep yourself fit. You may start a side business to earn extra money. You are not a jealous kind and you feel happy for others. You are a very grounded person.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV 23 - DEC 22

You spouse is someone who can do anything for your happiness. You are opportunist and this will make you successful one day. There may be delays in property possession and it won’t effect you. You are happy spending whole day at home. Help your mothers at home today and give them a reason to smile.

CAPRICORN

DEC

AQUARIUS

VIRGO

PISCES

FACEOFTHEDAY

PRACHI SHARMA, Model

by Saurabbh Sachdeva

most

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

KIRITI ALONGSIDE KAREENA

The latest announcement of India’s big gest actresses, Kriti Sanon, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Tabu coming to gether has become the talking point of the industry. In a statement to a leading por tal, Rhea Kapoor who will be directing ‘The Crew’ is pretty impressed with Kriti Sanon. She says that Kriti Sanon is the new shining star. “She is a really authentic girl. The min ute you meet her you know that she stays true to her roots and her family, and that was re ally important for this character and the film. More than anything else I like the fact that Kriti is so determined and hardworking.”

New Venture

ELECTRIC CHEMISTRY

Director Siddharth Anand is directing Yash Raj Films’ Pathaan, an impor tant cog in Aditya Chopra’s vision for the biggest spy uni verse in Indian cinematic history. Siddharth Anand said Pathaan will present Deepika at her hottest and coolest best and she will mesmerise everyone with her sizzling screen presence like never before! Siddharth said, “Deepika Padukone is up there with the biggest of superstars in the history of Hindi cinema. Pathaan will showcase her in probably her hottest and at the same time, the coolest self." About

the super-hot pairing of Shah Rukh and Deepika, Siddharth says, “The onscreen jodi of Deepika and Shah Rukh Khan is proba bly one of the biggest pair ings that Indian cinema has ever seen, given their in credible successes in the past. And in Pathaan we have presented SRK and DP in a way that’s unprecedent ed.” He adds, “They have electric chemistry with each other and they look just so hot together. It’s rare to find a pairing like theirs and their Jodi is a huge USP for Pathaan.” Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone re cently sizzled in Spain as leaked photos from the sets took the internet by storm.

WRAP UP!

Actress Saba Azad, who won praises for her role as lawyer Parvana Irani in the first season of the streaming series 'Rocket Boys', has wrapped up the sec ond season of the show, which revolves around the lives of nuclear physicists Dr Vikram Sarabhai and Dr Homi J. Bhabha.

The actress an nounced the wrap of the second season of the show on her Insta gram on Wednesday. She shared snippets

Rashmika TROLLED

Rashmika Mandanna is one of the most popular actresses in the South. She enjoys a massive fan base, and along with love she receives hate and gets trolled often.

Rashmika Mandan na was recently criti

watched Kantara yet when asked about her reaction. After she replied that she hasn’t so far, she was hit with a storm of comments, accusing her of not being re spectful to her sen iors and ‘forgetting her roots.’ For un versed, Rishab Shet

SHE SAID YES!

Malaika Arora and Ar jun Kapoor are one of the most adored cou ples in Bollywood. The duo made their relationship of ficial a few years back and have been dating each other for a quite long time now.

Taking to her Instagram han dle, Malaika shared a picture and wrote, 'I said yes'. She also added some red heart emojis. However, she did not tag her boyfriend Arjun on it. In the

photo, she is seen donning a black sleeveless top and flaunt ing her happy smile for the camera. Malaika's caption has left fans wondering if she's engaged to Arjun Kapoor or if it's a promo tional gim mick.

cording to her caption will be launching on November 11. Today Sidharth Malhotra took to his Instagram stories to share the same picture and wrote, ‘looking forward’. It is cute to see how the star is supportive of his ru moured girlfriend’s family.

Rashmika Mandanna

Malaika Arora

Her post...

Kriti Sanon

Saba Azad

Sidhart Malhotra’s insta story...

Kiara Advani

Deepika Padukone

THAI MASSAGE:

A Quirky Family Entertainer

Massage was exactly and hence I am a part of the project and work ing with such a stellar star cast has been a cherry on the top.”

ASHISH TIWARI cityfirst.mumbai@firstindia.co.in

Thai Massage is a heart warming tale about the coming of age of a seventy-yearold man in a quirky family

The film stars the prolific Ga jraj Rao, known for many memo rable performances along with Divyenndu Sharma who has worked his way into the audi ence's heart with each character he has brought to life. The cast spoke exclusively to Ashish Tiwari of First India News.

Speaking on the Film Gajraj shared, “ I like movies that are dif ferent from the others and Thai

Speaking on the film Mangesh shared, “All stories revolve around us it is just important to see them and write them. I believe I feel too much hence I can bring that story on screen.”

Sharing his take on the changing industry norms Gajraj said, “ The same stories and same characters on screen that have been played over the years are not appre ciated by the audiences now while the audience is keen on watching unique and real stuff. Now there’s a space to put forth real stories out there.

And that’s why people are ac cepting a story of a 70-yearold man “Sharing his character Divyenndu shared, “ I feel very blessed and lucky that I am

always offered some brilliant and path-breaking characters. When I heard the story I could see the char acter shining out and at that mo ment I just knew I had to execute this on screen. I am extremely lucky that I got to be part of such a distinguished project like Thai Massage”

Speaking on the success they shared, “Stardom shouldn’t get over an actor. We should only work hard and deliver our best it’s on the audience to love and appreci ate a character but that love shouldn’t overpower your effort and it should never be your ego. That’s the only way to success” Thai massage is a tale of At maram Dubey (played by Gajraj Rao), struggling with erectile dysfunc tion and his adven tures to overcome it, including a trip to Thailand! The movie is presented by T-Series Films and Reliance En tertainment and will be released on 11th November 2022.

Uunchai premiere: A starry night where legends supported legends

Unchai is one of the most antici pated films of 2022 that stars the biggest legends of the Bollywood industry. The film showcases Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani, Danny Denzongpa, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta and Sarika in one single frame. With such big names associated with the project, it surely piqued the curiosity of netizens. Now, as the film has been released in theatres, it will be a treat to watch how this heart-warming dra ma will unfold on the big screen.

Before its big re lease, the Sooraj Bar jatya directorial had a starry premiere which was attended by many more legends who came on to cheer the industry veterans. While Parineeti Chopra who also is a quintessential part of the film attend ed the premiere in an all-black dress. She chose to wear an anklelength black dress paired with a black overcoat and black heels. The beauties of Bollywood including Kangana Ranaut, Kajol, Madhuri Dixit, Isha Koppikar and Divya Dutta too made their

presence known. Other than them, sev eral Bollywood heart throbs too came to the event and even clicked some pictures with the main cast. The Bade Mi yan, Akshay Kumar and the Chote Miyan, Tiger Shroff could be seen conversing with Anupam Kher. Ab hishek Bachchan at tended the premiere in his father’s place.

Siddhant Chatur vedi, Fardeen Khan, Johnny Lever, Shakti Kapoor, Rakesh Roshan and others too had a gala time at the premiere.

Directed and produced by Sooraj Bar jatya, Uun chai is a sto ry about three friends who leave their cosy lives behind to embark on a jour ney to Mount Ever est to fulfil the last wish of their de ceased friend. It stars Parineeti Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Danny Denzongpa, Neena Gupta and Sarika.

Bhumika Chawla: I accept all kinds of responses to my films

Actress Bhu mika Chaw la, who was recently seen in the film Op eration Romeo, said that she was not de terred by the lukewarm response of the film. The actress said that she al ways believes in putting in her best, and leav ing the rest to

the audience.

“The response to a film is not in our hands. I enjoyed working on Operation Romeo. There are some who re ally liked the concept and some who may have thought other wise. It’s part of the game.

I accept gracefully whatever the response may be - people did ap preciate my work and I feel humbled about that,” she said.

cityfirst.mumbai@firstindia.co.in

VIDYUT’S MULLET LOOK

Vidyut Jammwal is one of the most versatile actors in the entertain ment industry. Crakk! which is set to be India’s first ever extreme sports drama has started shooting and ear lier this week, Vidyut Jammwal shared his first look from the film. Talking about his look, Vidyut shared, “the mullet look has a long-standing history of actors in high-on-energy films rocking it in the 70's and 80’s. It’s the history of this look that made it the perfect choice.”

Vihaan Samat Gives Us Major Fashion Goals

Prakash's outspoken comment

In an interview, Prakash Raj said he uses the term mafias every now and then and has a good reason to term certain people that way. “Cinema is a language, the most re cent human language. It was like a river and it flowed but people stopped it. They put conditions on it that you should show it only in theatres and began thinking writing was only about two-and-ahalf hour stories. Eve rybody had been stop ping things like you can’t release it on TV first etc. But once the pandemic stopped this mafia, people had to go and this content came out,” he said.

He further stated, “That’s the beauty of this medium. Earlier, I had to do certain loud films. I had to do it be cause there is a certain set of audience for that. My stardom is because of that.”

Vihaan Samat, known for his per formance as Harsh in Mismatched, who says he has always aimed to play impactful roles that stay in people’s minds, also treats us to some amazing fashion trends. His Instagram page is a myriad of styles that can be taken inspiration from. Some are just too dreamy while others take our breath away with their sheer creativity. He has shown us on many occasions how he can be well dressed in mul tiple versions of attires.

Vidyut Jammwal

Prakash Raj

Vihaan Samat

Kangana Ranaut

Anupam Kher and Tiger Shroff

Isha Koppikar

Kajol

Rani Mukerji

Divya Dutta

Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Johnny Lever and Siddhant Chaturvedi

Parineeti Chopra

Shakti Kapoor and Rakesh Roshan

Abhishek Bachchan with a guest

Maduri Dixit-Nene

Sooraj Barjatya, Boman and Zenobia Irani and Anupam Kher

Mahaveer Jain, Sooraj Barjatya, Akshay Kumar, Boman Irani and Anupam Kher

Bhumika Chawla

Poster of the film...

Gajraj Rao

Divyenndu Sharma