First India-Delhi Edition-13th December 2022

First India Bureau

Gandhinagar: Bhupendra Patel took charge of Gujarat on Monday in an oath ceremony in which top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party chief JP Nadda and several CMs were present. This is Patel’s second term in the top post.

A total of 16 ministers of Bhupendra Patel’s cabinet were sworn in at a function in Gandhinagar. The new Gujarat cabinet is leaner and there is only one woman in the 17-member cabinet. The new Council of Ministers will have 8 Cabinet, 6 MoS and 2 Ministers of State with Independent Charge.

NEW COUNCIL OF MINS

Cabinet mins include Kanu Desai, Rishikesh Patel, Raghvji Patel, Balvantsinh Rajput, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Mulu Bera, Kuber Dindor and Bhanuben Babariya. P5

READ Crucial

ACCUSED IN BOGTUI KILLINGS FOUND DEAD IN CBI OFFICE

Kolkata: The prime accused in the arson and violence in Bogtui village of Bengal’s Birbhum district, which had in March claimed at least 10 lives, was “found hanging” on Monday in a temporary office set up in Rampurhat by the CBI, a source said.

‘23 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS: RRR BAGS 2 NOMINATIONS

New Delhi: SS Rajamouli’s period action film “RRR” has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the best picture non-English language category. HFPA shared the announcement on Monday evening.

INDIAN-ORIGIN SIKH YOUTH SHOT DEAD IN CANADA

FACE-OFF

NORA FILES DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST JACQUELINE

BETWEEN

INDIAN

&

CHINESE

TROOPS ALONG LAC

THE CLASH WITH CHINA IN TAWANG REGION OF ARUNACHAL ON DECEMBER 9 RESULTED IN MINOR INJURIES ON BOTH SIDES; 6 INDIAN SOLDIERS INJURED

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed at a location along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9, resulting in minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides, military sources said on Monday. They said Indian troops

resolutely confronted Chinese PLA soldiers.

The sources said both sides immediately disengaged from the area. “As a follow up to the incident, our Commander in the area held a Flag Meeting with his (Chinese) counterpart to discuss the issue in accordance with structured mechanisms to restore peace and tranquillity,” source said.

CHINA’S ATTEMPT TO GET ACCESS TO TOP OF 17,000 FT PEAK: SOURCES

Sources said on Monday that it was an attempt by China to take over the strategic heights. 5 battalion strength was brought by the Chinese to capture 17,000 feet peak - around 1,000 Chinese soldiers came prepared.

Justice Dipankar Datta sworn in as SC judge, working strength now rises to 28

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Bombay HC CJ Dipankar Datta was on Monday administered oath of office as a SC judge by CJI DY Chandrachud. Justice Datta is son of late Salil Kumar Datta, a former judge of Calcutta HC, & bro-in-law of justice Amitava Roy, who was a ex-judge of SC. With the swearing-in of Justice Datta, the total number of judges in top court has reached 28 against sanctioned strength of 34, including the CJI.

FIR against MP Cong leader for calls to ‘kill

Modi’

Bhopal (FIB): MP police on Monday registered FIR, booked senior Cong leader, Raja Pateria , over his controversial remarks to ‘kill Modi’ to save Constitution. “Modi will end elections. He will divide on basis of religion, caste & language. If you want to save the Constitution, then be ready to kill Modi. Kill in the sense of defeating him,” Pateria’s video surfaced on SM. “The person who recorded video picked it out of context,” he clarified later.

LOGISTIC HEADWINDS

OTHER COURT ORDERS

l The Supreme Court on Monday said it will consider an early listing of a plea filed by victim (Bilkis Bano) seeking a review of its earlier order by which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the plea for the remission of 11 convicts in Bilkis Bano gang rape case. P2

l SC rejected Delhi Dy CM Manish Sisodia’s plea seeking quashing of defamation proceedings against him by Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. Justice SK Kaul, “If you reduce public debate up to this level, you have to face the consequences. You should have tendered an unconditional apology earlier.”

‘Never refer to one’s caste or religion in House or else action will be taken’

First India Bureau

New Delhi: LS Speaker Om Birla on Monday warned the members against referring to anyone’s caste, religion in House after a Cong MP alleged that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman made certain remarks about his proficiency in Hindi because he belonged to a particular community.

Taking serious exception to the word used by Congress member A Revanth Reddy, Birla said people have not elected members on basis of their caste and religion.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PARL SESSION

DELHI AIRPORT CONGESTION: AUTHORITIES TO REDUCE PEAK HOUR FLIGHTS; REAL-TIME CROWD MONITORING

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Over complaints by travellers regarding congestion and mismanagement at Delhi airport, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia took stock of the crowding situation and initiated an action plan to ameliorate the problem.

The authorities on Monday put in place an action plan whereby flights during morning peak hours will be re-

duced and efforts will be made to move some flights from Terminal 3.

Apart from posting real-time updates on waiting time on social media, a command centre will monitor crowding at the gates on a realtime basis, officials said.

Crowd managers and usherers will guide travellers. Further, airlines will be notified about the crowd numbers so that check-in points can be made congestionfree, they added. Amid

ministry and the stakeholders have taken various measures to deal with the situation. The officials said an action plan has been drawn up after the visit of the minister to T3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Monday morning.

hours are from 5 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 8 pm.

IGIA has three terminals -- T1, T2 and T3. All international flights and some domestic services operate from T3.

On an average, it handles around 1.90 lakh passengers and about 1,200 flights daily.

SC sets aside HC order issuing NBW against Noida CEO

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court Monday set aside the Allahabad HC order issuing a nonbailable warrant against Noida CEO Ritu Maheshwari in a contempt case related to land acquisition.

rising

complaints about long queues and waiting

Number of flights during 5 am to 9 am will be reduced and it will also be explored to move some flights to T1 and T2 or to non-peak hours at T3, they said. The peak

At T3 domestic, additional Automatic Tray Retrieval System machines for baggage check will be deployed to ease crowding, officials said.

The top court said a senior officer, just below the Noida (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority) CEO, along with the officer-incharge for the land acquisition in Noida, would appear to assist the Allahabad High Court in dealing with the contempt case.

passenger

hours at the country’s largest airport in recent days, the civil aviation

Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia talking to officials at Delhi airport.

New Delhi: A 24-year-old Indian-origin Sikh, Sanraj Singh, has died of gunshot wounds in the Canadian province of Alberta, with police citing homicide as the reason for his death, the second such incident this month in this country. This is third such incident to be reported in two months.

New Delhi: Two years after his arrest in an Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case connected to the Northeast Delhi riots, former JNU student Umar Khalid will for the first time walk out of Tihar jail to attend his sister’s wedding following a Delhi court order. P2

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Nora Fatehi has filed a defamation case in a court here against actor Jacqueline Fernandez, alleging that the latter made defamatory allegations against her for “malicious reasons” and to destroy her career.

CJI DY Chandrachud administered oath of office to CJ of Bombay HC, Justice Dipankar Datta as a judge of SC, in Delhi on Monday.

MAHA’S FORMER HM ANIL DESHMUKH GETS BAIL; WILL STAY IN JAIL FOR 10 MORE DAYS

ENERGETIC TEAM WILL TAKE GUJ TO NEWER HEIGHTS OF PROGRESS: MODI CONGRATULATES CM PATEL

CM PATEL’S SWEARING-IN SPARKLES WITH BJP BRASS

Mumbai: The Bombay HC has granted bail to Maha’s ex-HM Anil Deshmukh in CBI case. HC said its order would be effective after 10 days.

Deshmukh had been granted bail earlier in case probed by the ED. Justice Karnik said that a few conditions were imposed, like a surety of `1L and that he would report to the CBI office.

PM Narendra Modi congratulated Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel after a swearing-in ceremony on Monday. “Congratulations to Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel on taking oath as CM of Gujarat. I would like to also congratulate all those who took oath as Ministers. This is an energetic team which will take Gujarat to even newer heights of progress,” the PM wrote in a tweet.

Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh interact during swearing-in ceremony in Gujarat. Devendra Fadnavis is also seen here.

BJP’s Bhupendra Patel takes oath as the 18th Chief Minister of Gujarat

New Gujarat cabinet is leaner with only one woman among 17 ministers

Modi greets and bows before gathering at the swearing-in ceremony here

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets people while posing for a group picture with Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, newly sworn-in State Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and State Cabinet Ministers during a ceremony, at Helipad Ground, in Gandhinagar on Monday. PHOTO BY ANI

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla conducts the proceedings of the Winter Session of the Parliament in New Delhi on Monday.

NOISE POLLUTION: DELHI GOVT TO IMPOSE FINES ON VIOLATORS

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi government has directed designated authorities to strictly impose fines on noise rule violators and submit action taken reports every month.

The Environment department, in an order dated November 29, asked all deputy commissioners (revenue), sub-divisional magistrates, assistant commissioners of police control room and traffic police, sub-divisional police officers, and chairman and member secretary of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to “ensure that local sources of noise pollution are completely curbed” in the national capital.

“DPCC directions issued on June 25, 2021, regarding adoption of the scale of compensation for violation of noise rules be complied with in letter and spirit. Monthly

ATR (action taken report) needs to be submitted,” read the order is-

of the year. The air quality index at 9.10 am read 238, according to the Sameer application. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and

BILKIS BANO CASE

300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.

The weatherman has forecast mainly clear sky for the day with the maximum temperature likely to settle at 28 degrees Celsius.

SC to consider listing of review plea relating to remission of 11 convicts

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday said that it would consider early “listing by circulation” a plea seeking review of its earlier order by which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the plea for remission of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and Dipankar Datta took note of the submissions of lawyer Shobha Gupta that the review plea is yet to be listed.

“It will come up by circulation. I will have it posted early. There is a date, I will check,” the CJI told the lawyer who said the tentative date was shown as December 5. As per procedures, review pleas against apex court judgements are decided in chambers by circulation by the judges who

were part of the judgement under review.

Besides the review, Bano, who was gangraped and seven members of her family killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots, has filed a separate petition challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the case by the state government, saying their premature release has "shaken the conscience of society".

The plea is listed for hearing on Dec 13 before a bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela

M Trived. The gangrape survivor has sought a review of the apex court’s May 13, 2022 order on a plea by a convict. The top court had asked the state govt to consider the plea for premature release of the convicts in terms of its policy of July 9, 1992 about deciding a remission petition within a period of 2 months.s

The review plea said Bilkis Bano was not made a party to the petition by a convict who along with others was released under the

state’s remission policy which is not in force.

“In view of the development that the policy dated July 9, 1992 stood cancelled vide circular dated May 08, 2003 of State of Gujarat, it was necessary to be examined whether still the policy dated 09.07.1992 would be the relevant policy for remission application of the convicts to be considered, if at all the State of Gujarat is the appropriate Government under section 432 CrPC,” the review plea said.

sued by Principal Secretary (Environment) Anil Kumar Singh.

According to the DPCC, violation of noise rules may attract a penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh. A loudspeaker or a public address system cannot be used without permission from authorities, according to the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules.

It also cannot be used between 10 pm and 6 am except in closed premises such as auditorium, conference rooms, community and banquet halls for communication.

Violators of the rules for the use of loudspeakers and public address systems are liable to a fine of Rs 10,000.

Violations of norms with respect to the use of generator sets and construction equipment is punishable by a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000, respectively.

BJP gives free ration only when it needs votes: Yadav

Mathura: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav took a jibe at BJP on Monday and said the ruling party only provides free ration when it wants people's votes and the benefits vanish as soon as elections are over. Citing the BJP's defeat in the Mainpuri parliamentary and the Khatauli assembly bypolls, he said the saffron party faced public anger.

“When the BJP wants people’s votes, it gives free ration, oil, gram, jaggery and salt. But when it gets the votes, it stops giving free ration,” he said.

Accusing BJP, he alleged that barring “some rich friends”, it wanted to make everyone poor and was working on these policies.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) chief was in Mathura with wife Dimple Yadav and their children on Sunday to pay obeisance at the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan. This was their first visit to the temple after Dimple Yadav's

When the BJP wants people's votes, it gives free ration, oil, gram, jaggery and salt. But when it gets the votes, it stops giving free ration. —Akhilesh Yadav,

victory in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll.

Akhilesh made a 'swastik' sign near the temple and prayed for the wellbeing, progress, development, prosperity and peace for the state and in the country.

Yadav called the BJP a party that spread hatred and its politics hinged on making people fight each other. Attacking the saffron party over its promise of giving jobs to the youth, Yadav said BJP leaders

made youths see big dreams before the elections but now the youths were going astray and were not getting jobs.

The SP retained the high-profile Mainpuri LS seat in the bypolls while the BJP wrested the Rampur Sadar assembly seat from it. The BJP, however, lost the Khatauli segment to SP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal. Akhilesh attacked the BJP for its "intense dishonesty" in Rampur Sadar.

New Delhi (PTI): Details of all entry-level classes along with seats available for admission in private schools here for the 2023-24 academic session are expected to be declared by Friday.

The admission process for entry-level classes in over 1,800 private schools in Delhi began on December 1. The last date to submit applications is December 23, the Delhi gov-

BOOSTING STUDENTS TO BECOME SMART ENTREPRENEURS

‘Govt schools students turning into job creators’

New Delhi (Agencies):

Students of Delhi government schools are becoming smart entrepreneurs as well as responsible citizens by learning the concepts of establishing their start-ups at a young age, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said on Monday.

Addressing students at a government school in East Delhi’s Mandawali Fazalpur, Sisodia said that through the ‘Business Blasters’

programme, the students of Delhi government schools are turning into job creators and not job seekers.

“I am happy to see that the children of government schools are dreaming of starting their own businesses and are eager to experiment in their respective fields. The Delhi government will support their determination and hard work in every way and their

businesses will create new job opportunities,” Sisodia said.

He further stated that the Business Blasters programme has completely changed the

definition of career for the students and that, the Delhi government will support the students who will have the potential to create new employment opportuni-

Schools to declare admission details by weekend CULTURAL TREASURE

First India Bureau

ties in the future. “It is important to inculcate the entrepreneurial mindset among students from the school level and make them understand that their ability to create job opportunities will help the country.

Students are now dreaming of starting their own businesses and are eager to do some new experiments in their respective fields. sThe Delhi government will support their work which has the potential to create new employment opportunities,” he said.

Additional Sessions

cular. The second list of students shortlisted for admission will be uploaded on February 6. Private unaided recognised schools have already uploaded their criteria for admission on their respective websites. The circular said, “No deviation from the above schedule shall be permitted. Schools shall display the aforesaid admission schedule on its notice board & website.

Khalid

had

Khalid

‘Business Blasters’ programme helping students become smart entrepreneurs: Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid was granted interim bail for 7 days to attend his sister’s wedding by a Delhi court on Monday.

Judge Amitabh Rawat granted relief to Umar Khalid from December 23 to 30. Khalid had moved an application seeking two weeks' interim bail for his sister's wedding.

was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention)

Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being a mastermind of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The violence

erupted during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens.

was arrested by Delhi Police in September 2020.

ernment’s Directorate of Education had said in a circular last month. The first list of stu-

dents selected for admission and the waitlist will be out on January 20, according to the cir-

As per DPCC, violation of noise rules may attract a penalty of up to `1 lakh

Violators of the rules for the use of loudspeakers and public address systems are liable to a fine of Rs 10,000.

The last date to submit applications for entry-level classes is December 23, as per the Delhi govt’s Directorate of Education. Deputy

Former CM Akhilesh Yadav and Dimple Yadav worshiping in Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan, Mathura on Monday.

Samajwadi Party chief

Artists performing a traditional dance during Rashtriya Shilp Mela festival, at North Central Zone Cultural Centre, in Prayagraj on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI

HC seeks ED’s reply on bail pleas of 2 co-accused in money laundering case

Vaibhav & Ankush Jain have challenged a trial court’s order by which their pleas were dismissed

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Monday sought response of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the bail pleas of two accused in a money laundering case in which Delhi minister Satyendar Jain is also facing prosecution.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice to the ED and asked it to file its reply on the bail applications of Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain. The high court listed the two bail pleas on December 20, along with Satyendar Jain’s bail application.

The two accused have challenged a trial court’s November 17 order by which their bail pleas were dismissed on grounds that they “knowingly” assisted Jain in concealing the proceeds of crime and were “prima facie guilty” of money laundering.

The trial court had also dismissed the bail plea of Satyendar Jain, saying he was prima facie involved in concealing the “proceeds of crime”.

It had said “prima facie” Jain was “actually

involved in concealing the proceeds of crime by giving cash to Kolkata-based entry operators and thereafter, bringing the cash into three companies... against the sale of shares to show that in-

SI alleges abuse, physical assault by advocate husband

New Delhi (PTI): A woman sub-inspector (SI) of the Delhi Police has been allegedly abused and physically assaulted by her advocate husband in southwest Delhi's Dwarka, police said on Monday.

The matter came to light after SI Doli Tevathia, narrated her ordeal on Twitter and also posted a video of the alleged assault where her husband was seen abusing and fighting with her in Dwarka, they said. "I am a Sub-Inspector in Delhi Police. Presently on maternity leave.

I am constantly facing abuse from my husband advocate Tarun Dabas. Today he beat me in broad daylight. Please ensure action," she tweeted from her personal Twitter handle.

In the video, the man could be seen entering the lane and hitting a parked car with his black SUV and later he is seen engaging in a heated argument with his wife. Both are seen fighting as

For Women (DCW) through Twitter following which the panel has issued notice to the police. On Monday, Tevathia said they have filed three complaints against Dabas so far.

come of these three companies was untainted one.” “By this process, the proceeds of crime to the tune of 1/3rd of Rs 4.61 crore has been laundered.

Apart from that, Jain has also used the same modus operandi to convert his proceeds of crime of Rs 15 lakh by receiving accommodation entries from Kolkata-based entry operators in his company by the name of J J Ideal Estate Pvt Ltd,” the court had noted.

“The money which had come into the account of three companies during the check period was not the income of the companies arising from any lawful business but in reality the same was the accommodation entries obtained by Jain and other co-accused persons by providing cash to the Kolkata-based entry operators,” it had said.

Delhi police’s reply sought on Sukesh wife’s bail plea

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to the EOW of Delhi Police on the plea of conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar’s wife Leena Maria Paulose in a ₹ 200 crore extortion case.

Sukesh Chandrashekhar, Leena Maria Paulose and others are currently in judicial custody since last year in the case for allegedly duping Aditi Singh, wife of the former promoter of Ranbaxy, Shivinder Singh, of ₹ 200 crore.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma asked Delhi Police to file a status report in the matter and slated the matter for further hearing on February

2, 2023.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Monday opposed in the Supreme Court conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar’s plea for shifting him to a prison outside the national capital, calling him a “desperate and cunning criminal” who has no respect for law. It alleged Chandrashekhar is abusing the process of law to further his crime syndicate and levelling baseless allegations against the Delhi Police and the central government.

‘Ensure compliance with law prohibiting sale of e-cigarettes’

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the authorities to ensure compliance with the law prohibiting manufacture, sale and distribution of e-cigarettes.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma refused to entertain a PIL seeking constitution of a court-monitored committee to review effective implementation of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage, and Advertisement) Act, 2019 and noted that action was already being taken by the State machinery pursuant to the law, including conducting raids. The court none-

theless asked the authorities to take all possible steps to ensure online sale of e-cigarettes, as alleged in the plea, does not take place.

It also said the Delhi police shall take steps to ensure that e-cigarettes are not sold near and around schools and colleges.

"As stated above, raids are being carried out and the Act itself provides for a complete mechanism, this court does not find a reason to interfere. This court does not find it expedient to interfere under writ jurisdiction in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case,” said the bench, also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad.

MCD polls: Model Code of Conduct lifted

she takes out the side view mirror of his car. He also abuses her and pushes her. He also threatens to kill her. The SI has also sought help from Delhi Commission

Taking action, the Delhi Police has registered a case against her husband and are probing the matter. A case under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC has been registered at Najafgarh police station.

New Delhi (PTI): The Model Code of Conduct which was imposed for the recently-held municipal polls in Delhi has been lifted, the State Election Commission said on Monday.

A senior official of the SEC said the decision has been taken as the “election process is over”. On November 4, State Election Commis-

HEALTH ALERT

Delhi records over 260 dengue cases in December

Annual tally crosses 3, 800-mark so far; city also recorded 241 cases of malaria and 44 cases of chikungunya

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The city has recorded more than 260 dengue cases in December, taking the infection tally of the disease past 3,800 so far this year, according to a report issued by Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Monday. The dengue infection tally stood at 3,595 till December 2, and 262 more cases have been recorded since then till De-

cember 9.

In November, 1,420 cases were logged, while 1,238 cases were recorded in October.

The city has also recorded 241 cases of malaria and 44 cases of chikungunya this year. Of the total of 3,857 reported cases, 693 were logged in September.

In 2017, the city logged 4,704 cases in the January 1-December 9 period, the report stated. No death has been

reported so far this year due to the disease while in 2021, dengue claimed 23 lives, the report said.

In 2015, the city witnessed a massive dengue outbreak, with the number of cases cross-

ing 10,600 in October. It was Delhi’s worst dengue outbreak since 1996.

The city recorded 23 dengue cases in January, 16 in February, 22 in March, 20 in April, 30 in May, 32 in June, 26 in

July, and 75 in August. Cases of vector-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria are usually reported between July and November, sometimes stretching till mid-December.

According to the officials of the MCD’s health department, symptoms of vectorborne diseases include high fever, headache, rash, muscle, and joint pain, which are quite similar to that of COVID-19 which also include fever or chills, muscle or body aches, fatigue and headache among others. Last year, 9,613 dengue

cases were recorded in the city, the highest since 2015.

In 2018, Delhi reported 2,774 dengue cases during the January 1-December 9 period, according to the report. The corresponding figures in 2019, 2020, and 2021 were 1958, 1030, and 9,260. Ten deaths each were reported due to dengue in 2016 and 2017, four in 2018, and two in 2019. The official data showed that 4,431 dengue cases were recorded in Delhi in 2016, 4,726 in 2017, 2,798 in 2018, 2,036 in 2019, and 1,072 in 2020.

While polling was done on December 4, the counting of votes was done on December 7.

Provisions of Model Code of Conduct are enforced from the date of announcement of the election schedule by the State Election Commission and it remains in operation till completion of the election process, the SEC said in a com-

munication sent to the Delhi chief secretary and other authorities.

“Now, that the declaration of result in respect of Municipal Corporation has been completed, the Model Code of Conduct in effect since 04.11.2022, has ceased to be in operation in the NCT of Delhi with immediate effect,” reads the communication.”

Man sustains gunshot injury in South Delhi

New Delhi (Agencies): A 49-year-old man sustained a gunshot injury while he was returning home after a funeral in South Delhi's Dakshinpuri area, police said on Monday.

The victim, Suresh Chand received the injury on his left thigh and has been discharged after treatment, they said.

The matter came to light after police were informed by the Batra hospital regarding a patient with a gunshot injury following which police reached the hospital and recorded the statement of the injured.

According to the police, the victim claimed that on Sunday when he was returning from the funeral, there was a stampede of more than five-six boys near his home and gunshots were being fired. He accidentally sustained the injury on his left thigh Soon after, his son Lalit took him to the hospital where he was treated, a police officer said.

Minister Satyendar Jain —FILE PHOTO

Patients undergoing treatment at a hospital in Delhi. —FILE PHOTO

Video grab of the incident

Punjab police personnel perform horse riding during the opening ceremony of All India Police Games Volleyball Cluster 2022, at Punjab Armed Police (PAB) center, in Jalandhar on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI

sioner Vijay Dev, in a press conference, announced the schedule of polls.

Polling for MCD polls was done on December 4.

ACCUSED ARRESTED IN MONEY LAUNDERING CASE ON CBI FIR AGAINST JAIN

The ED had arrested the accused in the money laundering case based on a CBI FIR lodged against Jain in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Jain is accused of having laundered money through four companies allegedly linked to him.

INDIA & CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

tions if one has no legal expertise. Initiating governance procedures in place can help comply with these laws to focus on company’s success.

Not just this, following laid down regulations, one can boost company’s reputation. A company with a strong reputation will have an easier time attracting investors and developing strong relationships with customers.

So, are their any short comings and weaknesses that need to be looked into by company owners? Yes indeed, like two sides of every coin, there are a few disadvantages which if guarded against will enrich the working culture and environment in the corporate. First and foremost, business houses are beholden to both state and federal laws. The basic purpose for forming a corporation is to shield shareholders from the liabilities of the company to the amount of money or other assets invested by them.

IN-DEPTH

CIVILIZATIONAL SPREAD GOES GLOBAL VIA THE TEMPLE ROUTE

From Ayodhya, Varanasi and Ujjain, India is now focusing on temples in Angkor Wat in Cambodia where king Suryavarman II built a grand temple complex dedicated to Lord Vishnu which has attracted lakhs of tourists.

Though some measures have been taken by SEBI and RBI backed by strong political will, much is needed to be done by the corporates themselves to pay attention to the grievances of investors and protection of their investment by abiding with the laws and adopting good standards of effective management. If India wants greater pie of FDI resulting into sustainable financial growth, it must implement stronger laws protecting interests of Global investors

Being a trainer, leadership coach and a mentor associated with the corporate world over 15 years, I thought of elaborating the need for a good corporate governance because of the increasing concerns about the non-compliance of standards of financial reporting and accountability by many corporate houses.

The collapse of international giants likes Enron, World Com and Xerox are the glaring examples of the absence of good corporate governance and corrupt practices adopted by management of these companies in CAHOOTS with their financial advisers. In last few decades, even Indian markets have witnessed ugly practices wherein investors have lost their life time earnings with no conclusive actions on the culprit corporate houses.

Well, SEBI appreciated the need for corporate governance and accordingly appointed several committees to guard the interests of investors and shareholders of a listed company against lack

of adequate standards of financial reporting and accountability. Yet, the trend of companies raising capital from the market at fake valuation by projecting a wrong assessment of the company’s assets and profitability could not be arrested.

Though in India, the organizational framework for corporate governance involves the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG), only the listed companies are forced to comply with its provisions. 90% of unlisted companies remain out of the gambit of these set rules and regulations and therefore, the interest of market forces remains by and large at the mercy of these company owners.

No doubt that these unlisted and private limited companies make a major contribution to economic growth and employment in India.

However, the corporate governance needs of such companies have all through been relatively neglected by the experts and policy-makers alike. How the interests of various stakeholders like customers, suppliers financiers, , employees, and government is being taken care of by these Corporates remains debatable.

CONTRASTING TALES OF TWO POLL WINS

Two states had two different parties forming new governments in a contrasting atmosphere. On one side was Gujarat where BJP the new government led by Bhupendra Patel took oath of office in the presence of party stalwarts led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, chief ministers of all BJP-ruled states, party leaders and Union ministers. This is Bhupendra Patel’s second consecutive term as chief minister proving that the term anti-incumbency has lost its relevance in Gujarat. Congress, which seems to have lost the plot, ended up with 16 seats and the new challenger Aam Aadmi Party could win

Being a trainer, leadership coach and a mentor associated with the corporate world for over 15 years, I thought of elaborating the need for a good corporate governance because of the increasing concerns about the noncompliance of standards of financial reporting and accountability by many corporate houses

Now the question arises as to why a relevant aspect of profitability in business, that is good governance, is not given attention to by most of these unlisted and private limited companies? The short answer is their ignorance coupled with diluted or non-existent rules in managing of such companies by the concerned authorities.

It may be worthwhile on my part to carry out a quick SWOT analyses of good governance for readers to understand. The strengths or the advantages of it are enormous. For example, while running a company, it is easy to violate rules and regula-

Two States had Two different parties forming new govts in a contrasting atmosphere.

On one side was Gujarat where BJP, the new govt led by Patel took oath. Swearing-in of Sukhu in HP turned out to be a low-key affair despite the presence of the party’s big leaders

only five seats. The show of strength and exuberance was an indication that the BJP was all set for triumphant return to Lok Sabha in 2024. The other state that witnessed a change is Himachal

Apart from limited liability protections, corporations are actually formed so that, the company can trade stocks in order to raise required capital. The problem, however, if a corporation wants to sell stock and protect its owners from liability, is that it must follow a wide range of formalities. For instance, the board of directors must act in the best financial interest of the company. If they are not fulfilling this fiduciary duty, they may be subjected to personal liability.

While pandemics like Covid 19, crashing Rupee and framing of non-conducive policies are considered threats to good governance, globalization and healthy competition are a few opportunities for corporates to energise their efforts and tighten their belts for adopting and practicing principles of good governance for growth.

Though some measures have been taken by SEBI and RBI backed by strong political will, much is needed to be done by the corporates themselves to pay attention to the grievances of investors and protection of their investment by abiding with the laws and adopting good standards of effective management. If India wants greater pie of FDI resulting into sustainable financial growth, it must implement stronger laws protecting interests of Global investors.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Pradesh where the BJP could not beat anti-incumbency and lost by a wafer thin percentage of votes. In terms of seats Congress still got a majority by a safe margin. Compared to Gujarat the loss in Himachal was relatively inconsequential for the BJP. It was, however, a lifeline for the Congress. Yet, the swearing-in of Sukhvinder Singh turned out to be a low-key affair despite the presence of party’s big leaders. The initial differences over choice of chief minister may have played a dampener despite the fact that Himachal offers a glimmer of hope to the Congress.

While the BJP is gung ho about 2024 after its Gujarat victory, the Congress has to cover a lot of ground to cover and internal issues to sort out.

Subsequent rulers changed Angkor Wat, world’s largest religious monument, from Hindu to Buddhist religious centre. Now India has decided to restore the Angkor Wat temple due to India’s civilizational spread. A great deal of restoration work has already taken place. With temple construction/restoration being the Union government’s priority, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in Varanasi recently that it is “a matter of pride for us that we are building a temple in UAE”. India also has the approval to build a temple in Bahrain and has around a 1000 temples in the US.

India’s expanding religious footprint, especially in Arab countries, is a significant and welcome development.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

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

Bhagavad Gita

Amit Shah @AmitShah

Congratulations to Mr. @ Bhupendrapbjp for being sworn in again as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. The people of Gujarat have given unprecedented support to BJP’s politics of development. I am confident that Bhupendrabhai’s double engine government under the guidance of @ narendramodi ji will take Gujarat’s pride and development to new heights.

Rajnath Singh @rajnathsingh

Congratulations to Shri @Bhupendrapbjp ji on taking oath as Gujarat’s Chief Minister for the second term. I am confident, he will continue taking the state forward on newer heights of development and good governance. Wishing him a successful tenure ahead.

l Vol 2 l Issue No.104

l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840

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

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra

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

COL ANUPAM JAITLY (RETD)

The writer is Defence expert, Motivational Speaker & Corporate Trainer

SWEARING-IN CEREMONY OF GUJ CM BHUPENDRA PATEL

CMs OF BJP-RULED STATES TAKE PART

Chouhan, Adityanath, Bommai, Himanta, Sawant, Eknath Shinde and others in attendance

Gandhinagar (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Pradesh’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan and others took part in the oathtaking ceremony of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar on Monday.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, Uttarakhand’s Pushkar Singh Dhami and Tripura's Manik Saha were also present. Leaders from different BJPled states and Union Ministers have already reached the venue for the oath-taking ceremony of Bhupendra Patel.

BJP leader Bhupendra Patel will take oath as the Chief Minister of

Gujarat for a second consecutive time in Gandhinagar today.

Patel took the oath as the 18th Chief Minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at the Helipad Ground near the new Secretariat in Gandhinagar at 2 pm.

Talking to the reporters at the airport, Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio said, “We’ve come here to celebrate the victory of Gujarat. In partnership, we are very much confident of winning polls (in Nagaland).”

Cabinet expansion soon: Himachal Pradesh

CM Sukhu

Earlier,

Shimla (PTI): The Himachal Pradesh ministry will be expanded soon in consultation with the Congress high command and begin work on implementing pre-poll promises from its first Cabinet meeting, CM Sukhvinder Sukhu said on Monday.

Sukhu said all “guarantee schemes” would be implemented in the first Cabinet meeting.

Among the “guarantees” offered by the Congress ahead of the elections include implementation of the Old Pension Scheme, about 5 lakh jobs for the youth, a Rs 680-crore start-up fund for youths, Rs 1,500 per

month to women and free electricity up to 300 units of consumption.

GUJARAT CREATED HISTORY UNDER PM MODI’S LEADERSHIP, SAYS SONOWAL

Ahmedabad: Union Minister and BJP leader Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday credited

PATEL’S JOURNEY FROM M’NAGAR COUNCILLOR TO SECOND-TIME CM

Taking a dig at the Congress, the BJP leader

“Congress

states and at the Centre for almost 60 years. They could not do anything even after getting the opportunity for such a long time.”

Adhikari seeks central forces’ deployment

Kolkata (Agencies): Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari on Monday filed a PIL before a division bench of Calcutta High Court demanding the deployment of central armed forces during next year’s election to the three- tier panchayat system in the state.

In the PIL, Adhikari also appealed for the rural civic body polls to be conducted next year under the supervision of a retired justice of the Calcutta High Court. The matter will come up for hearing on Tuesday.

Recently, in a number

of public rallies, Suvendu Adhikari expressed apprehension that the ruling Trinamool Congress will try to wrest control over all

Cong warns leaders over anti-party statements

Dhanbad: The ruling Congress party in Jharkhand on Monday warned its leaders of strict action if they were found making public comments against the party. The party’s disciplinary committee chairman Brajendra Prasad Singh said some Con-

gress leaders were repeatedly issuing statements against the party. Describing it as indiscipline, he said that strict action will be taken against those found to be making such statements.

A section of leaders was openly expressing their resentment

SAYS

the three- tiers in the state’s panchayat system by unleashing violence as they had done in the last polls in 2018. So now, his close associ-

ates said, he has decided to tap the legal doors so that avenues are opened to make the rural civic body polls peaceful as far as possible.

2015 Kotkapura firing: SIT grills SAD patriarch Parkash S Badal

Chandigarh

sacrilege protesters that occurred after the desecration of the holy book of Sikhs in October 14.

Both SAD leaders appeared before the SIT at 11.30 am and were grilled. On November 29, former Director General of Police Sumedh Saini, who has been accused in the case, did not appear before the SIT.

‘Issue of restoration of Atal Tunnel foundation stone to be taken up with authorities concerned’

Shimla (PTI): The Himachal Pradesh government on Monday said it will take up the issue of restoration of a plaque declaring that the foundation stone for the Atal Tunnel was laid by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi with the concerned authorities.

In a release issued here, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the plaque has been “missing”, which is an “insult to democracy”. It must be

restored at the earliest, he said.

The state Congress had protested after Prime Minister Naren-

dra Modi inaugurated the tunnel on October 3, 2020, alleging that the foundation stone laid by Gandhi on June 28, 2010

had been removed before its opening.

Gandhi had laid the foundation stone for the tunnel as the then chair-

person of the National Advisory Council, according to the release.

The 9.02-km tunnel was built by the Border Roads Organisation to connect landlocked Lahaul-Spiti district, said Sukhu, who assumed charge as the Chief Minister on Monday.

Himachal Pradesh Police had on October 14, 2020 said the foundation stone was secure with the construction company which built the tunnel.

Gandhinagar (ANI): BJP leader Bhupendra Patel took oath as the Gujarat CM for a second consecutive time in Gandhinagar on Monday. Born on July 15, 1962, in Ahmedabad, Patel holds a Diploma in Civil Engineering from Government Polytechnic, Ahmedabad. He is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He is also an active member of Pandit Deendayal Library managed by RSS at Memnagar. Beginning his political journey as a member of Memnagar municipality, Patel got elected as MLA from Ghatlodia constituency (Ahmedabad) in the 2017 Gujarat assembly elections. He was sworn in as the 17th Chief Minister of Gujarat on September 13, 2021. He was first elected as BJP legislative party leader on September 12, 2021.

IN THE COURTYARD

FORCED RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS: SC

HEARING ON JAN 9

New Delhi: The apex court on Monday adjourned to January 9 the hearing of a plea seeking direction to the Centre and states to take stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversion by “intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits”. The matter was deferred as the Solicitor General was not available.

EXTENSION TO ED DIRECTOR: SC NOTICE TO GoI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response from the Centre and others to a plea challenging the third extension granted to Enforcement

LIFE TERM

Udhayanidhi to be sworn in as Minister in MK Stalin Cabinet

Chennai (PTI): DMK youth wing secretary

Chief Minister M K Stalin’s son, Udhayanidhi, is expected to be appointed a Minister this week, party sources said here on Monday.

Udhayanidhi, who represents the Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni constituency here in the Assembly, has not made any denial vis-a-vis the development.

Asked on the matter, DMK spokesperson Constantine Ravindran said that be it Ministers or party district secretaries, there is a de-

is more pronounced,” he told PTI.

mand that Udhayanidhi Stalin be made a Minister. “Now, this demand

On a claim doing the rounds that Udhayanidhi would be appointed Minister on December 14, he said: “There is no denying the fact that party office-bearers want to see him as a Minister. A decision, however, lies in the hands of our party president (Chief Minister M K Stalin).” Party sources added that he is expected to be inducted into the Cabinet by this week and consequently, a Cabinet reshuffle is also on the cards.

HIMACHAL CM SUKHU

Shivraj

Union Ministers Parshottam Rupala, Mansukh Mandaviya, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and others attend the swearing-in ceremony of Gujarat CM-designate Bhupendra Patel, at Helipad Ground, in Gandhinagar on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri at the Congress CLP meeting in Shimla, on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for the party’s historic win in the Gujarat Assembly polls. The former Assam chief minister spoke to reporters at the Ahmedabad airport as he reached the city for the oathtaking ceremony of Bhupendra Patel as the next Gujarat Chief Minister. Sonowal said: “It is certain that India will become the best nation in the world under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and with continued development..., we are moving fast in that very direction.”

said:

handled the government in different

BENGAL PANCHAYAT POLLS

and

(ANI): Former Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal appeared before the Punjab Police Special Investigation Team probing the 2015 Kotkapura police firing incident that took place against the anti-

Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra. A bench issued notices to the Union of India, Central Vigilance Commission and the ED director on a plea filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur.

Kolkata: Former WB minister Partha Chatterjee on Monday prayed for bail before a special CBI court here in a case in connection with the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in state government-aided and sponsored schools. Opposing his bail prayer, the CBI prayed for an extension of his judicial remand. The special CBI court judge, after hearing arguments of both sides, reserved the order on the prayers.

Muzaffarnagar: A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district on Monday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for raping a five-year-old girl. Special Judge, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court, Mumtaz Ali also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on convict Sompal after holding him guilty under various sections including IPC 376 (rape) and 5/6 of the POCSO Act. The court decided the case in 28 days.

WB SSC ‘SCAM’: CBI COURT RESERVES ORDER ON PARTHA CHATTERJEE’S BAIL

MAN AWARDED

FOR RAPING 5-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN UTTAR PRADESH

Suvendu Adhikari with BJP state chief Sukanta Majumder (L) and party leader Rahul Sinha (R) at a protest rally, in Kolkata, on Monday.

Udhayanidhi Stalin with CM MK Stalin. —FILE PHOTO

HPCC CHIEF MEETS SUKHU

Shimla: Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Virbhadra Singh met with Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu who took charge as the Chief Minister of the state on Monday. Sukhu assumed charge of the office at the state civil secretariat in Shimla on Monday.

PM NARENDRA MODI BOWS BEFORE GATHERING AT SWEARING-IN CEREMONY OF GUJARAT CM Gandhinagar (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted and bowed before the gathering at the swearing-in ceremony of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and his cabinet ministers in Gandhinagar. The Prime Minister led the long line of dignitaries at the swearingin ceremony of Patel, who took oath as the chief minister for the second time.

on Sunday evening, PM Modi held a roadshow in Ahmedabad after his party swept the Gujarat Assembly bagging 156 seats, the highest-ever electoral haul for any party in the state since it was founded in 1960. People lined the streets through which PM Modi’s convoy passed and greeted him with loud cheers. The PM was also seen waving at the adoring crowds.

TMC MEETS CEC

New Delhi (PTI): India’s crude steel output rose by about 5% to 10.34 million tonne (MT) in November 2022, according to SteelMint India. As per the research firm, the top six steel makers produced 6.28 MT steel and the rest 4.06 MT came from the secondary sector. The country had produced 9.88 MT of steel during the same month of 2021.

In November 2021, large producers jointly manufactured 6.09 MT steel, while the secondary industry produced 3.79 MT, it added.

INDIA IMPORTS COAL

WORTH `2.3 LAKH CRORE

IN APR-SEPT

Net direct tax collection rise 24%

New Delhi (PTI): The net

direct tax collection grew 24% to ` 8.77 lakh crore in the April-November of the current fiscal, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.

This represents 61.79% of the full-year Budget Estimates (BE) of direct tax collection for 2022-23 (April-March).

“Direct tax collection net of refund stands at ` 8.77 lakh crore as of November 30, which is 24.26% higher than the net collection for the corresponding period last year,” the ministry tweeted.

The collection accounts for 61.79% of Budget Estimates for FY 2022-23.

The Budget estimated direct tax collection at `14.20 lakh crore this fiscal, higher than ` 14.10 lakh crore collected last fiscal (2021-22). Tax on corporate and individual income

DATA IN NUMBERS

z The Budget estimated direct tax collection at `14.20 lakh crore this fiscal, higher than `14.10 lakh crore collected last fiscal. Tax on corporate and individual income makes up for direct taxes.

makes up for direct taxes.

Tax collection is an indicator of economic activity in any country.

z The collection from the levy of tax on goods and services sold (GST) has flattened to around `1.45-1.50 lakh crore per month.

z Refunds amounting to `2.15 lakh crore were issued between Apr 1-Nov 30, which is about 67% higher than the last year

The collection from the levy of tax on GST has flattened to around ` 1.45-1.50 lakh crore per month.

New Delhi (PTI): India imported 131.92 million tonne of coal worth `2.3 lakh crore in April-September period of ongoing financial year. In FY22, the country’s coal import of 208.93 million tonne (MT) was worth `2,28,741.8 crore, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a reply to the Rajya Sabha. The coal import was 215.25 MT in FY21. Import of coal in India consists mainly of coking coal and high grade coal, whose prices are normally higher than thermal coal.

PAYTM LOAN DISBURSAL REACHES

RUN RATE OF `39K CR

RBI sells $33.42 billion in AprilSeptember to curb rupee volatility

New Delhi (PTI): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) net sold $33.42 billion in the foreign exchange market in the first six months of current fiscal to defend the rupee from excessive volatility. The central bank closely monitors the foreign exchange markets and intervenes only to maintain orderly market conditions by containing excessive volatility in the exchange rate,

without reference to any pre-determined target level or band. “During the financial year, the RBI’s operations have resulted in net sales of $33.42 billion till September 2022.”

New Delhi (PTI): Digital financial services firm One97 Communications on Monday said that its loan disbursals reached an annualised run rate of around `39,000 crore in November this year. OCLhad reported loan disbursals at an annualised run rate of around `37,000 crore in October. “Our loan distribution business (in partnership with top lenders) continues to witness an accelerated growth with disbursements through our platform now at an annualised run rate of `39,000 crore in the month of November,” Paytm said in a regulatory filing.

GOLD RATES FALL BY

New Delhi (PTI): Gold price fell by `109 to `54,461 per 10 gram in the national capital on Monday amid weak global trends. In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at `54,570 per 10 gram. Silver, however, climbed `934/kg to `68,503/kg. “Gold prices traded lower on Monday amid a firmer dollar,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities. In the international market, gold was quoting lower at $1,789.4/ounce.

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday lauded the Indian Rupee and said it has been strong against every currency.

The statement from the minister came during Monday’s parliamentary session. “The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has used foreign exchange reserves that it has to intervene in the market to make sure that the Dollar-Rupee fluctuation does not go too much,” she said.

Sitharaman also praised the Indian economy in the parliament by calling it the fastest-growing economy.

“It is sad that some people in Parliament are jealous of the country’s increasing economy. India has the fastest-growing economy but the opposition has a problem with it.

Everyone should be proud of India’s growth but some people take it as a joke,”

IN INDIA, SAYS GOVT

Mumbai (PTI): The Sensex ended over 51 points lower on Monday while the Nifty settled flat amid a weak trend in global markets and continuous foreign fund outflows. Markets are awaiting the November inflation data to be announced later in the day, traders said.

`

36,145 CRORE SPENT UNDER CSR BY COMPANIES IN 2019-21

New Delhi (PTI): A total of `36,145 crore has been spent by various companies across the country to carry out development activities as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. While `17,672.40 crore has been spent under the CSR by the companies in 2020-21, `18,473.41 crore has been spent in 2019-20, she said.“The government monitors the compliance of CSR provisions through the disclosures made by the companies in the MCA21 registry. Whenever any violation of CSR provisions is reported, action against such non-compliant companies is initiated as per provisions of the Act.”

GST EVASION OF `23,000 CRORE UNDER PROBE

New Delhi (PTI): GST evasion of about `23,000 crore by gaming companies between April 2019 and November 2022 is being investigated by the tax officers, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Monday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, the minister said the Enforcement Directorate has

attached proceeds of crime of more than ` 1,000 crore in several cases related to Cyber and Crypto assets frauds wherein online gaming etc have been used for siphoning the proceeds.

“The estimated evasion of GST by these companies works out of `22,936 crore, relating to the period April 2019 to Nov. 2022,” he said on Monday.

Sensex declines 51 points on Monday

The broader NSE Nifty ended at 18,497.15, marginally higher by 0.55 points.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 51.10 points or 0.08% to settle at 62,130.57. During the day, it tumbled 505.52 points or 0.81% to 61,676.15.

Indian Rupee strong against every currency: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Govt won’t make RBI’s inflation letter public

New Delhi (PTI): The government on Monday ruled out making public the RBI report detailing the reasons why the central bank could not keep inflation within the targeted 6% upper limit for the three consecutive quarters.

From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Infosys, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India and Bajaj Finserv were the major laggards. Tata Steel, Nestle, Dr Reddy’s, UltraTech Cement, Wipro and HDFC Bank were among the winners.

OTHER STORIES

GOVT ACROSS WORLD, FORUMS LAG BEHIND IN RULEMAKING

` FALLS 25 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 82.53/$

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee declined 25 paise to close at 82.53 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, pressured by a lacklustre. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 82.54 against the greenback and witnessed a high of 82.50 and a low of 82.74.It finally settled at 82.53.

OYO ROLLS FEATURES FOR LISTING HOTELS BASED ON RATINGS

she said while taking a dig at the opposition.

The rupee on Monday declined 25 paise to 82.53 against the US dollar as heavy selling pressure in domestic equities and a strong greenback in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiments.

“Yes sir, RBI has furnished a report to the central government, as mandated under Section 45ZN of the RBI Act, 1934 and Regulation 7 of RBI Monetary Policy Committee and Monetary Policy process Regulations, 2016,” minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said.

‘415 MN PEOPLE LIFTED OUT OF POVERTY’

First India Bureau

New Delhi: More than 400 million people were lifted out of poverty in India between 2005-06 to 2019-21, the government said on Monday citing UNDP's Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2022.

As per the baseline report of MPI 2021 released by NITI Aayog, India's MPI identifies 25.01% of the population as multidimensionally poor, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Planning Rao Inderjit Singh said.

"As per the 'Global Multi-

dimensional Poverty Index 2022: Unpacking deprivation bundles to reduce multidimensional poverty' report

released

Pro-

TOP TALKING POINTS

z The MPI data was based on NFHS-5, which was conducted over two years from June 17, 2019 to April 30, 2021 due to delay caused by the pandemic.

z The % of population as multidimensionally poor in rural and urban areas is 32.75% and 8.81%, respectively.

gramme (UNDP), in India, 415 million people exited poverty between 2005-06 to 2019-21," Singh said.

New Delhi (PTI): Governments across the world and internet forums have lagged behind in rulemaking for big technology players for their innovations that can cause harm to society, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said. Minister of State (MoS) Chandrasekhar further said the internet, which has been a force for good, has also increasingly begun to represent risk, user harm and criminality.

New Delhi (PTI): Travel tech firm OYO on Monday launched a feature on its app listing hotels that provide the most consistent and high-quality customer experience based on ratings and reviews. Consumers can now see hotels marked ‘Super OYO’ while booking through the OYO App. The category called ‘Super OYO’, constantly analyses each hotel’s performance on multiple parameters such as customer ratings and reviews.

ALL-INDIA ELECTRICITY DEMAND MAY GROW 7% TO 1,480 BILLION UNITS IN FY23: ICRA

New Delhi (PTI): The all-India electricity demand is expected to grow 7% to 1,480 billion units (BU) in the ongoing financial year, as per Icra. In the preceding 2021-22 fiscal, the all-India power demand was at 1,380 BU, the ratings agency said on Monday. “All-India electricity demand to remain healthy at over 7% in FY23 despite growth slowdown post Q1 of this fiscal, and grow at 5-5.5%in FY24,” Icra said. The estimates are based on the fact that all-India electricity demand increased 10.6% year-on-year in first eight months of FY2023.

ABRY BENEFITTED 60 LAKH BENEFICIARIES IN PANDEMIC: MINISTER

New Delhi (PTI): The Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) meant for creating employment during the pandemic benefitted 60.13 lakh beneficiaries, Parliament was informed on Monday.

The ABRY was launched on October 1, 2020, to incentivise employers to create new employment and restore employment lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The terminal date for registration of beneficiaries was March 31, 2022.

AI CLOSE TO FINALISE DEAL OF 50 BOEING 737 MAX PLANES

Mumbai (PTI): Tata Groupowned Air India is close to finalising a deal with US aircraft maker Boeing for 50 narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX planes for its international budget arm Air India Express, according to sources. The sources said the deal will be part of a large aircraft order that Air India has been discussing with Boeing Co and Airbus SE since the beginning of this fiscal. Air India plans to triple its fleet over the next five years.

by Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development

INDIA’S STEEL OUTPUT GROWS 5% TO 10.34 MT IN NOV

‘X FACTOR’ MODI

Gujarat script written, directed, produced and starred by one man ‘Hero’ i.e. PM Modi, says Dr Chandra

Taking a look back at the recently announced Gujarat election results, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Bharat24-Vision of New India and First India; CMD, First India News, Dr Jagdeesh Chandra delves deeper into the phenomenon that is Narendra Modi, how the ‘X-Factor’ surpassed every other party and its leaders, how PM campaigned as if he was contesting as Chief Minister, how Modi has become greater than his own party and how the results surprised everyone including Modi, Shah, Nadda, Bhagwat and others but were in line with the predictions of Gujarat’s BJP state chief CR Patil’s claim of party winning over 150 seats. Excerpts… (Part-I)

z What is meant by ‘X-Factor Modi’?

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra: Its meaning is absolutely clear. ‘Modi All the way,’ ‘One man show Modi’, ‘Man of the match Modi,’ ‘Modi A to Z in Gujarat’, ‘156 a Modi miracle’. This means that Gujarat’s script is written, directed, produced and even starred by Modi. And when we talk about Modi, Amit Shah is ‘in built’ in that story. Look at Modi, he stayed in Gujarat for 21 days and campaigned in a manner that looked as if he himself is contesting the Chief Ministerial election. He conducted 12 Yatras and stayed there for 21 days. He covered 52 constituencies and the Party won in 46, which means the success rate is over 88%.

This is why, I advise my friends in the Congress to give walk over to Modi and Shah in Gujarat. Entire nation is there, go and contest in some other state. They should be extremely careful while entering Gujarat because there exists the ‘X-Factor Modi.’

z Did Narendra Modi, or Mohan Bhagwat or Amit Shah even think that this target of 156 would be achieved?

It doesn’t seem so. Yes, everyone had this thought in their hearts that they would cross the 127 seat record. Amit Shah had said that they would cross the numbers and JP Nadda said that they would create a record, but no one said that they would achieve 156 seats. No one except CR Patil said that the party would go past 140-150 seats. The basic point is that they focus on each election as if it is the last election of their lives, and they consider the night prior to the election to be the last night of their lives so they must do whatever needs to be done. They contest the elections following the principle of ‘Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed’ and if seen logically, all this had to happen in Gujarat, perhaps not 150 plus, but

about 130 seats. Even those near to Prime Minister had opined that the Party would get seats in the range of 129-130. The reason for this was that last time, the BJP got about 54-55 percent votes and the Congress got 44 percent, or thereabout. So they had thought that this time around the 4045% votes that go to Congress would be divided due to the ‘three -way’ contest, and that is what exactly happened. So, they had thought they would get a little over 127, but never did they think it would swell to 156 seats. So, you are right in saying that all, even the senior leaders, hadn’t imagined that the Party would win 156 seats.

z So does this victory mean that Narendra Modi has become larger than his own party?

It can be said that in Gujarat, it is not BJP, but Modi that has won. This is why, this phenomenon is created that Modi is bigger than the Party. And when perceived holistically, this holds true as well. One person holds the reins of the people. No other party has a bigger ‘crowd- pullar’ than the BJP in the nation. In the BJP, its think tank, its own social circle, there is no one more powerful or bigger leader than Modi. He has become greater than the Party, but it is his modesty that he salutes the Party and stays within the confines of Party’s discipline, but the truth is that he is actually greater than the Party.

z PM Modi conducted a 55 kilometre long road show in Ahmedabad. Do you think this road show had a major impact on the election, considering the results now?

See, Modi is a ‘Mastermind Strategist.’ He strategises and Amit Shah executes it. He knows what needs to be done and when. They won the Uttar Pradesh election and the very next day, when everyone was taking time out and relaxing, Modi reached Ahmedabad and undertook a nine kilometre long road show, approximately six months before the election. There were thousands of people on the road then, and they repeated the same rally during campaigning, but this time, it was 55 kilometre long and a million people participated in this road show. It was a great ‘Mastermind card’ played by Modi, on the eve of second phase of the election, and that has given tremendous results. It was a ‘Master stroke.’

z Do you think it is only Modi and Shah, who have understood Gujarat?

Of course, that is what it seems to be. There are reasons for it too. They campaigned in Gujarati, which is a ‘mastermind move’ and all other political parties were bamboozled. This established a connect among people. Those who were not going to vote for them, immediately fell for the party over the use of Gujarati language. They know it far better than anyone which card to play at what time. Let me cite a few examples through which you will come to know why only these two men know and understand Gujarat. The

people inform them. I went to observe the election campaigning in Ahmedabad and sat in a bus. I came across a child and asked her if she knows Narendra Modi. She said yes, he frequently visits Delhi . I told her no he lives in Delhi. She said no, he lives in Ahmedabad and sometimes goes to Delhi. When she became adamant, her father enquired about the commotion. I told him about our conversation that the girl was saying Narendra Modi lives in Gujarat whereas, I was saying that he now lives in Delhi. The father immediately asked me not to

teach the girl wrongly and stressed that he (PM) lives in Gujarat and seldom visits Delhi. Look at the passion of people. With this, tell me who can defeat Narendra Modi? Then I went a little further and towards the Teen Darwaza area, I came across a Paani-Puri seller and asked him about the political situation. He said that earlier there used to be riots thrice in a week, the market used to remain closed in Ahmedabad, which is factually correct. People used to worry, if someone from the house would go out for work, they would worry

if the child would return safely, be it Hindu or Muslim. Now that worry has vanished, there are no riots and we all are happy. Then another example is from Surat, where a ‘Mazaar’ had to be removed and established elsewhere, as it was part of some development project. When asked that the ‘Mazaar’ was removed & yet you want to vote for Modi, they said even Temples have been shifted. They said that Modi has shifted 150 temples and only two ‘Mazaars’ have been shifted. So look at the sentiment and state of mind of the people. They say that Modi will remove, be it ‘Temple’ or ‘Mosque,’ if it falls in the way of development. That is why, I say that only these people know and understand Gujarat and that, thought of ‘Hindu-Muslim enmity’ is ending now. I went to another Muslim dominated area and asked them. They agreed that they didn’t want to vote for Modi, but also accepted that now they have no other option left and secondly, the ‘Double engine Government’ which Modi talks about, has resonated with them. They stressed that if any other government comes to power, then issues like scarcity of water and other such matters would spring up. Therefore, they said that they need development too and hence, would vote for Narendra Modi. So, when the voters have such a perception in their minds, then, I can say for sure that only

two people understand this state.

z Till now it has been Modi and Shah. But do you think now CR Patil’s name can also be included in this list?

You can say CR Patil is like a ‘trouble shooter.’

I would not go as far as saying that he is the face in Gujarat, but surely, his stature is considered to be larger than that of the Chief Minister. So, after Modi and Amit Shah, you can say that he is somewhere in the second line and he is there because his idea (about party’s number of seats) came true. He was Party President and was Modi’s personal choice, although nothing can happen in Gujarat without Amit Shah’s approval. PM Modi also consults him while taking decisions about Gujarat. In fact, Patil was the only person, who had stressed that the party would win around 150 seats and if the party does not get as many seats then he proclaimed he would retire from politics. And now the party crossed the 150 mark.

z How do you analyse Amit Shah’s role in this historic victory?

His role is parallel to Narendra Modi. I always say, ‘They are natural allies.’ He had started planning about all this since 2011-12. he has been planning this for over a decade and now that the elections were here, he sat in Gujarat for ten days. He is a ‘Mastermind,’ he

makes all the strategies and executes them and hence, he is called ‘Chanakya.’ Since the beginning till the end, he carried out several roles including that of a troubleshooter, manager & game changer. Above all, he conducted 23 rallies and covered 108 assembly constituencies. He also controlled the rebels, established coherent understanding with CR Patil and as Narendra Modi’s trusted General, he did wonders in Gujarat.

z Has JP Nadda’s stature and role increased considering the manner in which the entire election campaign has been conducted? Of course. His stature and role has increased. Moreover, his say in the decision making process in the PMO has also been substantial. And the reason for it is that he is a loyalist, he is a hard working person, a thorough gentleman, a low-profile and silent performer. So, his stature has definitely increased and with the role and responsibilities assigned to him, he is the third important person after Modi and Shah. His tenure would go up till 2024 elections, but it is very much possible that keeping in mind his performance and co-ordination, he may continue on the position.

During the show #XFactorModi!trended top All-India on Twitter

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra with Astha Khandelwal, Amit Mishra, Aditi Nagar, Mimansa Malik and Poornima Mishra during The JC Show.

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra during The JC Show.

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

Arose can never be a sunflower, and a sunflower can never be a rose. All flowers are beautiful in their own way, and that’s like women too and beautiful model Varunavi Singh proved that rare is beautiful. While de scribing her dreams, the young achiev er said “I want to encourage women to embrace their own uniqueness.” When asked about her personality, she said, “I’m a student pursuing Bsc, a model and also a make-up artist. I am an ani mal lover who loves to feed street dogs and other animals, some of my hobbies are dancing, travelling, gardening and many more. I believe that I am a rising model. Moreover, I’m a hard-working, passionate, punctual and optimistic per son.” While describing her journey, the ravishing beauty said, “I belong from a middle-class family, modelling is not considered a reputed and graceful pro fession also they don’t allow their daughters to make their career in the field of modelling, they don’t feel proud been a parent of a model. ” From my childhood, I have always been so fasci nated by modelling, as it is diverse and allows you to channel what style you prefer. The various styles available keep the job interesting and inspiring where your passion will grow in the diverse high-energy environment.” she added. When asked about her memorable moment, the young dream er said, “My biggest achievement till date in the field of the modelling is that I have won the title ‘3rd runner up’ of Elite Miss Rajasthan and also I have done the show ‘THE JC Show’ live on the national television and I am ex tremely thankful to Jagdeesh Chandra sir to giving me this opportunity and I also want thank Gaurav Gaur for believing in me.”

Varunavi Singh, a ravishing supermodel shares her inspiring journey in an exclusive interview with City First!

—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum, native to Southern Europe and Asia), is an annual herb with white flowers and hard, yellowish-brown and angular seeds. Commonly known as methi in Hindi and vendhayam in Tamil, it is a popular ingredient in many North and South Indian dishes and home remedies.

FENUGREEK Health Benefits,

Uses, and Side Effects

Fenugreek seeds and leaves are strongly aromatic and flavorful. The seeds are bitter, but lose their bitterness if lightly roasted. They are rich in vitamins such as thiamin, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins A, B6, and C, and are a rich storehouse of many minerals such as copper, potassium, calcium, iron, selenium, zinc, manganese, and magnesium. Fenugreek leaves are a rich source of vitamin K as well.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF FENUGREEK

Fenugreek seeds are a rich source of trigonelline, lysine and l-tryptophan. The seeds also contain a large number of saponins and fibres that may account for many of the health benefits of fenugreek. The following are some of how the fenugreek herb has been used traditionally for treating a variety of conditions.

REDUCES CHOLESTEROL

Fenugreek contains saponins that help reduce the body’s absorption of cholesterol from fatty foods. Some studies also indicate saponins have a role to play in reducing the

body’s production of cholesterol, especially LDL or bad cholesterol. For example, Reddy and Srinivasan from the Central Food Technological Research Institute, CSIR, Mysore, India, found that fenugreek helped regress existing cholesterol gallstones in mice. Further, they claimed that fenugreek could significantly reduce cholesterol concentration.

REGULATES BLOOD SUGAR AND CONTROLS DIABETES

An unusual amino acid (4HO-Ile), so far found only in fenugreek, has possible anti-diabetic properties such as enhancing insulin secretion under hyperglycemic conditions, and increasing insulin sensitivity. Iranian researchers from Qom University of Medical Science suggest the potential of 4HO-Ile as an adjunct to diabetes treatment for type 1

ENHANCES BREAST MILK PRODUCTION

Fenugreek has been known since ancient times as a herbal galactagogue - or a herb that increases milk production. Fenugreek has been used traditionally by mothers to increase the production of breast milk and stimulate milk flow while nursing and breastfeeding. Other examples of herbal galactagogues include blessed thistle, milk thistle, fennel, anise, nettle, and others. However, it must be noted that there are very little modern data on their safety and efficacy. This is supported by some studies that have found that consumption of herbal tea containing fenugreek seeds enhanced the production of breast milk in mothers and facilitated infant birth weight regain in early postnatal days.

PROTECTS FROM CANCER

Studies have shown that the fibres in fenugreek may help prevent certain cancers. For example, Researchers at Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, found that fenugreek has estrogenic effects and could be a possible alternative to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Other studies have shown that saponins and mucilage in fenugreek bind to toxins in the food and flush them out, thus protecting the mucus membrane of the colon from cancers.

MAINTAINS HEALTHY TESTOSTERONE LEVELS

An Australian study reported the significant positive effect of fenugreek on physiological aspects of male libido and also found that it may assist in maintaining normal healthy testosterone levels. The study recruited 60 healthy males between the ages of 25 and 52, without erectile dysfunction and randomized to 2 tablets per day of 600mg Testofen (a Fenugreek extract and mineral for-

mulation) or a placebo for 6 weeks. The researchers found that Testofen significantly increased sexual arousal and orgasm in the study men.

AIDS DIGESTION

Fenugreek is said to be an effective heartburn or acid reflux remedy because the mucilage in fenugreek seeds assists in soothing gastrointestinal inflammation, and coating the stomach and intestinal lining.

According to a study published in the journal Phytotherapy Research, a 2-week intake of a fenugreek fibre product taken 30 minutes before two meals/per day, by subjects with frequent heartburn, diminished heartburn severity. The researchers found that the effects were similar to that of ranitidine at 75mg, twice a day.

HELPS WITH WEIGHT LOSS

Fenugreek complements diet and exercise for weight loss. This thermogenic herb aids weight loss by suppressing appetite, increasing energy in the short term, and potentially modulating carbohydrate metabolism.

FENUGREEK’S USE AS A NATURAL HOME REMEDY

Fenugreek is widely known for its culinary properties and also as a traditional remedy for several conditions.

It has been used traditionally in India, China, and the Middle East for thousands of years to treat many ailments and conditions.

Fenugreek seeds are rich in vitamin E and are added as preservatives in pickles.

Dried leaves of the fenugreek are used for flavouring meat, fish and vegetable dishes.

Herbal tea made with fenugreek, lemon and honey are traditionally used as a remedy for fevers.

Fenugreek has been used traditionally as a remedy for eczema, burns, abscesses, and gout.

Fenugreek has also been used to stimulate uterine contractions and induce childbirth.

Fenugreek extract has been suggested to assist in balancing women’s hormones and also to enlarge breasts.

A paste made from fresh fenugreek leaves applied regularly to the scalp before a bath may help with hair growth, improve hair complexion, and reduce dandruff.

MITA MAJUMDAR cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

NIGHT FULL OF STARS!

City First brings to you glimpses from the royal dinner party of the Mathuradas Mathur Exhibition Polo Cup organised by Vishaal Mathur, Grandson of the Late Mathuradas Mathur, at the grand Mehrangarh Fort on Sunday. Various who’s who of the city including Gaj Singh, from the erstwhile royal family of Jodhpur, Rishee Miglani-Brand Ambassador of this exhibition match, famous PR Jagdeep Singh, Supermodel Muskan Moolchandani, Sudhir Mathur among others members of royal families, industrialists and NRIs attending the event. It is noteworthy to mention that, Maharaja Gaj Singh Sports Foundation Polo Ground witnessed the grand polo match, ‘’Mathuradas Mathur Exhibition Polo Cup’ on Sunday. The extravaganza match was won by Bharat24, where the team scored 9 goals against the Suhana team which settled for 5 goals.

—PHOTOS BY SUNIL SHARMA

(L-R) Nicolas Scortichini, Vishaal, Boozo, Jhanvi and Shweta

(L-R) Aangelene Daryanani, Harish, Parveen Singh, Ben Bector, Stephine Chang and Shweta Satpathy

(L-R) Dr Sarita, Mandakini, Vishaal and Dr Asha Bakshi

Jangjeet and Vihaan

Magical dance performance

Shweta, Nisha and Jhanvi Mewar

Mandakini, Vishaal and Shweta

Reggi, Shweta and Bozzo Singh

Muskan Moolchandani during the match

Anuja

Hemant and Dr Asha Bakshi

Sudhir and Mukund Dhami

Sunil, Rishee, Vishaal, Rukmani and Kashiff

(L-R) Bharat Kanungo, Dhan Raj Chauhan, Manish Singhvi, Shri Pal Lodha, Ben Bector, Rahul Singhvi, Sunil Talwar, Vishaal Mathur, Trilok Jindal and Harish Sancheti

(L-R) Jagdeep Singh, Mukund Dhami, Devraj, Nisha and Sudhir

Clockwise: Riddhi, Shweta Satpathy and Sanha

Mandakini Raina

Simran, Vijaykriti and Vijaylaxmi

Suvrat and Taniya Jain

Enthralling musical performance during the dinner party

Magical dance performance

WICCA: A MAGICAL JOURNEY WITH SPELLS AND RITUALS

City First

The grand book launch of Wicca: a magical journey took place at Ashoka Ophelia by Shashi Tharoor, INC.

MP for Thiruvananthapuram and Salman Khurshid, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India at Ashoka Ophelia on Monday, December 12.

During the occasion, Dr Tharoor said, “Rashme’s book makes compelling reading. In her writing, Rashme displays a deep knowledge of the psyche of Wicca, of healing witchcraft and of the exotic practice of spells and magical wizardry. The reader is led through a bewildering maze of incensefilled prose which will assail your senses as though you are physically by her altar’.

While describing her book, Author Rashme Oberoi said, ‘I have structured it as a handbook and guide to Wicca and Wiccan practices, drawing on my experiences. Unlike most international books which provide complicated spells, I have used simple tips on how to improve your finances, relationships, remove obstacles and heal yourself through reenergising and cleansing your chakras and auras.’

Rashme began making predictions through tarot cards for clients roughly three decades ago when tarot was not

known as an art of divination in India. Along the way, she learnt the Wiccan way of life, which is practising positive spells for mani festing wishes and desires for herself and her clients ranging from health, rela tionship to financial is sues. She formally stud ied the religion and the craft that is Wicca. She practices Shamanic, Pranic, Crystal and Chakra healing.

Today, Rashme is an accomplished Wiccan, a Healer and a Divinator.

Rashme hosted a weekly show on Zee TV on tarot, dream interpreta tions and crystals for four years. Bina Ramani, Lock et Chatterjee, VK Modi, Mukesh Tyagi, Neeraj Sach deva and Ruhi Ganguly are some of the celebs were also present on this occasion.

Chief

Corporation

Special

DESTINY HAS ITS OWN PLANS

things/works but didn't enjoy them, none of the works satisfied him. One of his friends suggested he try out for acting cause he is good at dancing and good with expressions. It took him some time

search of work. He said, "Being in Mumbai for around a year I realised that working hard is important to achieve your goals but you also need to be smart".

Born in

The narrowminded people were the toughest battle that I fought. They said I won't be getting any work in Bollywood because of my looks, I should try theily as

well cause I don't belong to a

My achievement was seeing my parents happysion when they saw my first advertisement with Ranbir Kapoor and Manoj Pasha. I have done many TVC & digital ads and a few short films. Apart from acting, I won a staging label in Martial

Sacred space and centre for spirituality: Akshardham

CITY FIRST

n all its magnificent grandeur, beauty, wisdom, and happiness, Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi represents the pinnacle of Indian culture's 10,000-year history. It exemplifies the best of India's traditional ways, age-old spiritual teachings, and antique architecture magnificently. The Akshardham experience is an illuminating tour of India's illustrious art, ideals, and contributions to human growth, happiness,

and peace.

With the help of 11,000 craftsmen and hundreds of BAPS volunteers, the Swaminarayan Akshardham complex was completed in just five years, thanks to the blessings of HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). On November 6, 2005, the complex was officially opened and hailed by Guinness World Records as the most comprehensive Hindu temple in the world.

On the occasion of 47th annual function

Parishad Tarun Mitra provided study materials to poor students and sewing machines to widows during the program organised at New Delhi Commercial Senior Secondary School, Daryaganj.

Guest MLA Abhay Verma inaugurated the program by lighting the lamp and addressed the organisation for their commendable work.

councillor Alka Raghav also addressed the program.

Guest Delhi State Consumer Commission Judge Subhash Chandra Jain also appreciated the activities of the Council.

Khem Tamang, an actor from Delhi shares his inspiring journey with City First

AISHA GUPTA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

The grand wedding ceremony of Shivam, son of Naresh Babbar and Monica Babbar with Aaryaa, daughter of Sanjay Sharma and Ranjeeta Sharma was organised on Saturday, December 10 at Noida Golf Course Club, Sector-38, Noida. Various dignitaries reached to bless the newlyweds and wished them a happy married life ahead.

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

Anita Toddy Ajay Mago

Neelam and Sangeeta

Salman Khutshid and Shashi Tharoor

Sanjay, Ajay, Rashme, Salman Khutshid, Shashi Tharoor, Anita Toddy and Mukesh Tyagi

Rashme Oberoi, Ajay, Shashi Tharoor and Ruhi Ganguly during the cake cutting ceremony

Lehar Sethi

Khem Tamang

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

Bina Ramani

Ranjeeta, Aaryaa, Shivam and Sanjay

Monica, Aaryaa, Shivam, Naresh and Chaman Lal Asthana

Karan and Vaishali

During the lamp lightning ceremony