First India-Jaipur Edition-14th December 2022

WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT

India Stands Tall!

New Delhi: Defence minister Rajanth Singh on Tuesday said that the Chinese troops unilaterally tried to change the statue quo along the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in Arunchal Pradesh but Indian troops forces them to retreat to their side of the border. "On December 9 in Yangtse area of Tawang sector, the PLA troops encroached upon and attempted to change status quo. This attempt was tackled by our troops in a determined manner. Our troops bravely stopped the PLA from encroaching upon our territory and forced them to go back to their post," he said in LS. "Indian troops suffered no casualty or serious injuries," Rajnath said. "This matter has also been taken up with China through diplomatic channels. I want to assure the House that our forces are committed to guard our borders and ready to thwart any attempt that will be made to challenge it," the defence minister said in his statement. More on P7

READ Crucial

‘OVER 40 DOCUMENTS

PLANTED ON STAN SWAMY’S LAPTOP’

New Delhi: A new report by an American forensic firm shows that multiple incriminating documents were planted in the computer of Father Stan Swamy, the 83-year-old activist-priest who was arrested for alleged terror links in 2020 and who died in custody a year later.

ANNOUNCED

Washington: The US researchers announced a historic nuclear fusion breakthrough on Tuesday, hailing a “landmark achievement” in the quest for a source of unlimited, clean power and an end to reliance on fossil fuels.

KERALA PASSES BILL TO REMOVE GOVERNOR AS CHANCELLOR OF VARSITIES

Thiruvananthapuram: A Despite a boycott by the opposition, the Keralaa Assembly on Tuesday passed the University Law (Amendment) Bill to replace the Governor as chancellor of all universities in the state and instead appoint top academicians to the post. P5

MUSK IS NOW THE WORLD’S SECOND RICHEST MAN

New Delhi: Elon Musk, once worth as much as $340 billion, has been displaced as the world’s richest person by Bernard Arnault. Elon Musk, 51, has seen his fortune tumble by more than $100 billion since January to $168.5 billion, report said.

SHAH TURNS TABLES ON CONGRESS IN PARLIAMENT

ppn did

I condemn

Minister

The Indian Army bravely prevented the PLA from encroaching on our territory, and forced them to withdraw to their posts. Some soldiers from both sides were injured in the skirmish.

Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister

MAJOR HAPPENINGS

l

Yangtse is under my assembly constituency & every year I meet the Jawans and villagers of the area. It’s not 1962 anymore. If anyone tries to transgress, our brave soldiers will give a befitting reply.

Pema Khandu, Arunachal Pradesh CM

IAF SCRAMBLED JETS 2-3 TIMES OVER AIR VIOLATIONS BY CHINA

SC judge recuses from hearing Bilkis Bano’s plea

Tawang

in Parl, said Shah. “After seeing question number 5 in question hour list, I understood anxiety of Cong. Question was for cancellation of FCRA licence of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF),” he added. “If they would have allowed I would have answered that RGF grant of `1.35 cr from Chinese Embassy during 2005-2007, which was not appropriate. So as per rules, Home Ministry cancelled its registration.”

ERCP included in nat’l plan, way cleared for 90 percent Central fund

Jaipur: Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that ERCP has been included in the national perspective plan and 75 percent priority has been given in the priority link.

The central government has taken a decision on the matter and now the way is clear for 90 percent central fund

for the ERCP.

“If the state government agreed on 75 percent, the central government will give 90

percent money for ERCP,” he said However, there has been a dispute regarding 50% and 75% in the past as well. The minister said that the state government will also have to make some changes.

He said that the project is included in river interlinking and it would be connected with Chambal-ParvatiKalisindh link.

BHARAT JODO YATRA IN RAJASTHAN

CHINESE SPY VESSEL YANG WANG-5 LEAVES THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Bela M Trivedi on Tuesday recused herself from hearing a plea filed by Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven members of her family killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots, challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the case by the state government.

As soon as a bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi sat for the day, Justice Rastogi announced his sister judge will not like to hear the case. The top court said that a new bench will be constitut ed and the matter will be taken up thereafter.

IPL 2023 auction on December 23

Mumbai (FIB): “IPL 2023 Player Auction list is out with 405 cricketers set to go under hammer in Kochi on December 23, 2022. 369 players were shortlisted by 10 teams from initial list of 991 players. 36 addl players were requested, which are added into final list which makes a total of 405 which will be presented at IPL 2023 auction,” official said. P7

Rahul Gandhi interacts with Dalits, Muslims, tribals and entrepreneurs

l Gandhi to address media in Dausa on Dec 16, attend concert on 100 days of yatra in Jaipur

l 4 held for attempt to set tents associated with Rahul Gandhi’s yatra on fire in S Madhopur

l CM Gehlot, Jairam Ramesh, GS Dotasra to address media at 11 am in S’Madhopur today

Sawai Madhopur: The Bharat Jodo Yatra started from Jeenapur of Sawai Madhopur district on Tuesday. In the morning session of the yatra, thousands of people joined the yatra till Surwal Bypass.

While walking, Ra-

hul Gandhi interacted with two groups. A group of Muslim youth raised several issues before Gandhi, including the closure of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship by the central government. The second conversation was with a group of Dalit youth who specially raised the issues related to land and lawsuits

filed

on 2 April 2018 by the BJP government.

After listening to both the groups, Gandhi

HILLARY’S DAY OUT AT JANTAR MANTAR!

OTHER COURT ORDERS

z SC Collegium recommended elevation of 5 HC judges to SC. It recommended elevations of 3 CJs and 2 judges of HCs. Justice Pankaj Mithal, CJ of Rajasthan HC, Justice Sanjay Karol, CJ of Patna HC, Justice PV Sanjay Kumar and CJ of Manipur HC were the names recommended.

Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah of Patna HC and Justice Manoj Misra of Allahabad HC were also recommended.

z The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to businessman and Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra, models Sherlyn Chopra and Poonam Pandey and one Umesh Kamat in a case in which a FIR was filed against them for creating obscene content and showing it on OTT platforms. The bench said that all must cooperate and join the investigation as and when required.

STORIES

Death toll in Jodhpur cylinder blast increased to 23 as 5 more died on Tuesday. The blast took place 5 days ago. In the accident so far, 10 kids have also lost their lives, police officials said P3

A REET aspirant died by suicide by hanging self in a rented room in the housing board colony of Dungarpur city on Tuesday. ‘The young man was preparing for the REET examinations,’ the police officials said P3

Turn to P9

Bhanwar S Charan, Dinesh Tiwari, Ziauddin Khan and Sandeep Goyal

against the people of SC-ST community during Bharat Bandh

asked PCC President Govind Singh Dotasra, who is walking along with him, to talk to the Chief Minister on the issues and take action.

Rahul Gandhi, CM Ashok Gehlot, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Robert Vadra and Miraya Vadra during yatra in S’Madhopur on Tuesday.

NCP PRESIDENT SHARAD PAWAR RECEIVES DEATH THREAT, 1 HELD

Mumbai: A man has been arrested from Bihar for repeatedly making threat calls at NCP president Sharad Pawar’s Mumbai residence, police said. N Soni (45) told “Mumbai Aake Desi Katte Se Uda Doonga,” said police official.

TEJASHWI YADAV WILL LEAD IN 2025: CM NITISH DROPS A BIG HINT

Bihar: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday announced that his deputy Tejashwi Yadav would lead the ruling coalition in the 2025 Bihar election, designating him as his next-in-line and starting the countdown on his own term as Chief Minister. P5

Former First Lady of United States Hillary Clinton visited Jantar Mantar in Jaipur on Tuesday. Hillary learned about documents related to history along with the working of instruments from tour guide Farooq Khan.

NUCLEAR FUSION BREAKTHROUGH

The PLA tried to change status quo in Arunachal Pradesh, Indian troops forced them to retreat, says Rajnath Singh in Parliament

Proceedings in parliament were adjourned soon after they began as the Opposition kept insisting that the border clash issue be discussed at once Moni Sharma

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh delivers a statement in Lok Sabha on the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) clash during the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Also present here are Anurag Singh Thakur, Pralhad Joshi, Dr Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal and others.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks to the media in presence of Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal and others after Parliament session in Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

O

not allow Question Hour to run.

this act. Parl Affairs

clearly said that the Defence Minister will make a statement on

faceoff

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force had to scramble its fighters jets 2-3 times over last weeks to prevent air violations by the Chinese drones along the LAC in AP. IAF mobilizations happened before the clashes between India and China troops last week.

The Chinese scientific research vessel Yang Wang-5, which had entered Indian Ocean Region (IOR) a few days back, has now moved out of the area, Navy sources said on Tuesday and noted that the vessel was being constantly monitored.

Congress MPs demanded a statement from PM Modi over LAC situation

l Chinese foreign ministry said situation at border was ‘generally stable’

l IAF has increased the frequency of the sorties by its combat jets

l Air Force keeping close watch on China border in Eastern sectors

Bilkis Bano Bela M Trivedi

First India Bureau

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

OTHER TOP RAJ

—PHOTO

BY SUNIL

SHARMA

DEATH TOLL RISES TO 23 AS 5 MORE INCLUDING GROOM’S FATHER DIE

Shiv Prakash Purohit

Jodhpur: Five more people died on Tuesday in the cylinder blast that happened five days ago.

The groom’s father and his nephew succumbed to the injuries. So far, 10 children have also lost their lives in the horrific accident. The condition of 8 more accident victims admitted to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Jodhpur is critical.

Earlier on Monday, 6 people including the groom’s mother had died during treatment. In such a situation, the death toll has increased to 23. Those who died had more than 50% burns. The groom’s father Sagat Singh, Dilip Kumar, Sugan Kanwar, Aidan Singh died during treatment. The villagers appealed to the State Govt and Union Min Gajendra S Shekhawat to refer the injured admitted in MGH Hospital to Delhi or a higher level

Police arrests singer of viral ‘Gyanvapi temple’ song

hospital for proper treatment so that the lives of the remaining injured could be saved.

Collector Himanshu Gupta also visited the hospital after getting information about the deaths on Tuesday. A counseling room has been set up here for the relatives of the patients. Of the 54 admitted, 23 people have died and 31 injured are hospitalised.

Kota: A YouTuber, who conceptualised and shared the song ‘tera mandir banayenge shivay’ some months ago on his social media channel, has expressed his ordeal on Twitter. After the unearthing of the alleged Shivling in Gyanvapi Masjid the song was released by him along with a poster on his social media channel. After this, Kota police not only arrested the YouTuber but also slapped IPC sections 425, 505, 295-A and 3 other different sections on him.

of commercial LPG gas cylinders being used in wedding venues, hotels, restaurants, commercial establishments and against illegal storage of LPG cylinders. The CS said that a framework should be prepared to check misuse of cylinders and ensuring that fire extinguishers are installed in commercial establishments.—Vikas Sharma

Action plan soon to prevent suicide cases at ‘Kota coaching’

Amid suicide of 3 coaching students in Kota, cops and coaching owners held meeting

Kota: A strict action plan will be made to prevent the suicide cases of students coming to Kota for preparing for competitions. A day after suicide of three students, Kota IG Prashan Kumar Khamesra took a meeting of the officers and coaching operators for discussion regarding compliance of the guidelines issued for coaching institutes.

Discussions were held on how suicide cases can be prevented. The IG said that the coaching institute operators have been asked to prepare an action plan in this regard so that the children can be stress free and they get a school-college atmosphere in the coaching institutes. He said that the action plan will be implemented soon. However, regarding what kind of action plan will be, the IG says that the coaching operators will make the plan.

CJR launches integrated digital software

Kamal Kant Vyas

Jaipur: Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court Pankaj Mithal on Tuesday launched the ‘Integrated Digital Samadhan Software Solution with Prison’. Through this software, all the information of undertrial prisoners can be obtained. On Dec 6, during the hearing of a criminal writ petition in the division bench of Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Kuldeep Mathur,

an order was passed to implement such a program in which all the information of the pending prisoners related to

Jaipur: Five BLOs have been suspended with immediate effect under the Rajasthan Civil Services Classification Control Appeal Rules 1958 for negligence and apathy in election work of national importance.

Electoral Registration Officer Adarsh Nagar Siraj Ali Zaidi told that Imran Qureshi Junior Assistant Office

Registrar Cooperative Society Jaipur, Jitendra Meena Junior Assistant Directorate Animal Husbandry Dept Jaipur, Manmohan Sharma Junior Assistant Dy Director Ayurveda Dept Jaipur and Pankaj Kumar Jat Junior Assistant at JMCG have been suspended with immediate effect. One more was suspended on late Tuesday night. 400 have also been served notice.

the court cases can be sent to jail admin.

After the order, the technical team of the High Court under the

guidance of Justice Arun Bhansali, Chairman of the Steering Committee, has prepared this software.

In the launching programme, Chief Justice said that since the time of covid-19 pandemic, there has been a technological revolution in the functioning of judiciary through computerization, digitalization, e-filing, paperless courts and virtual hearings.

Justice Shrivastav a said that on the basis of the information received through this software, there will be a lot of cooperation in the matter of free legal aid.

PHED engineers’ strike called off after Min Joshi intervenes

Naresh Sharma

Jaipur: The picketing of the PHED engineers ended after talks with minister Mahesh Joshi.

The decision to go on mass leave on Wednesday was also withdrawn.

The PHED Minister has agreed to the reasonable demands of Engineers.

In a week, the govt will be asked to take action against the collector

KISHANGARH AIRPORT

Unscheduled flight can land using GAGAN

After this trial at Kishangarh Airport, India becomes first country in the Asia Pacific Region to achieve such a landmark named GAGAN

Ajmer: Non-scheduled flights will now be able to land at Kishangarh airport through satellite. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has successfully conducted a flight trial using GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) based LPV Approach Procedures at Kishangarh Airport.

India is the first country in the Asia Pacific Region to achieve

such a landmark. Now non-scheduled flights can also be easily

landed at Kishangarh airport in case of bad weather as well as low

visibility. Airports Authority of India with its aircraft VT-FIU on Tuesday successfully carried out LPV approach landing at the Kishangarh airport, becoming the first NSOP (Non Scheduled Operator Plane) to perform such an approach. All this has been possible with the help of SBAS (Satellite Based Augmentation System) technology, that is, the landing of aircraft will be based on satellite.

First India Bureau

IN DUNGARPUR, REET ASPIRANT DIES BY SUICIDE, FATHER LODGES POLICE REPORT

Dungarpur: A young man preparing for the REET examinations die by suicide after he hangs self in a rented room in the housing board colony. Deceased Himanshu Katara (22) was staying with his younger brother, but he was not in the room at the time of the incident. It all came to know when the younger brother returned after three hours. As per police, Shankarlal Katara, a resident of Indrakhet, has lodged the report. On the information, the Kotwali police reached the spot and informed the relatives. The police took the dead body down from the noose and kept it in the mortuary.

There was also a discussion about the holiday in coaching centers on Sunday to give students a break. At present, the students do not get rest on Sundays because they have tests on Sundays. It was also discussed that the ranking

of the test conducted in the coaching institutes should not be released.

District Collector OP Bunkar said that coaching operators have been bound to ensure compliance of the guidelines issued in 2018 and in November 2022.

Lahoty meets CS over anomalies in uniform distribution in Sanganer

Jaipur: MLA Ashok Lahoty met Chief Secretary Usha Sharma at the secretariat on Tuesday regarding the complaint of irregularities in distribution of uniforms at government schools in Sanganer. During the meeting with his delegation, he presented photos about the irregularities.

Lahoty said that in Jhalawar, action was taken after the school hours by terming the MLA’s programme as

politicized, but in Sanganer, during the school hours, the family members of the MLA, his staff and the PA became chief guests and distributed the uniforms.

Stepfather rapes minor daughter

Arif Mansoori

pected that work on this will start in six months.

“This road will be built by the National

Highway Authority of India and Rs 2500 crores will be spent for this.

The road will be constructed from Natni Ka Bara to Thanagazi,” he said. With the construction of this road, there will be no problem for the wild animals of Sariska to move freely.

Jhalawar: A stepfather raped a minor daughter in the Dug area of Jhalawar. The police are engaged in the investigation of the matter. About 10 years ago, a married woman from the Dug area eloped with her lover along with her fiveyear-old daughter. After some years, the woman consumed insecticide and she died. when her daughetr attained the age of 15, her cruel stepfather caught raped minor her 3-4 times. The matter is being probed.

First India Bureau

So far, 10 children have also lost their lives in the horrific incident; The condition of 8 more victims admitted to Hospital in Jodhpur is critical

Gul Mohammad

Collector Himanshu Gupta visiting the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Jodhpur on Tuesday.

(L) Kota Collector OP Bunkar and (R) IG Prashan Kumar Khamesra during the meeting with coaching owners on Tuesday.

MLA Ashok Lahoty giving memorandum over scam in school uniform distribution to CS Usha Sharma on Tuesday.

CS WRITES TO DMs, INSTRUCTS TO AVOID JODHPUR LIKE MISHAP

T aking serious note of the gas cylinder blast incident of Jodhpur which has claimed 23 lives so far, Chief Secretary Usha Sharma has written a letter to all district collectors instructing them for checking marriage venues, hotels, restaurants, commercial establishments and to ensure adequate firefighting equipment. Sharma said that a survey regarding prescribed security standards in all marriage venues should be conducted.

She directed collectors to take a meeting of the officials of local administration and oil companies, verification

First India Bureau

Dr Rituraj Sharma

Chief Justice of Rajasthan Pankaj Mithal and Justice MM Shrivastava on Tuesday.

First India Bureau

and the connection has been restored at the house of the Superintendent Engineer in Karau-

li. Earlier on on Tuesday engineers of the PHED dept were protesting at the Jal Bhawan.

AENs, JENs protesting at Jal Bhawan on Tuesday.

During the trial of GAGAN based LPV procedure at Kishangarh, RS Jamwal, Adhiraj Yadav, Anoop Kachron, Shakti Singh, Gaurav Raghuvanshi, Naveen Dudi, DK Meena, Khemraj Meena, Anuradha Sulania and other officers were present on Tuesday.

LAHOTY SPEAKS

CS, DGP MEET CJR

14L complaints received against Gehlot govt

Aishwary Pradhan

Jaipur: Union Jal

Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday said that the BJP has received 14 lakh complaints in the Jan Aakrosh Yatra against the Gehlot government. Of these, more than 11 lakh are handwritten and 3 lakhs have been found on the website.The party has decided that from December 15 to 31, there will be big public meetings at the Assembly level in Rajasthan in which national and state level leaders will tour and stay during the night, said Shekhawat while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday.Eight to 10 workers will go to every assembly constituency and 2000 workers will tour across the state.

HC orders State govt to install 179 portable weighing machines

SHEKHAWAT RESPONDS ON PHONE TAPPING AND SANJEEVANI CASES IN THE STATE

Responding to a query on the phone tapping case, Shekhawat said that the state government tried to assassinate his character in this matter.

He said an application was made in the court in 2021 seeking permission for his voice sample and news was spread that the court gave permission. But the court’s decision was something else while for

one year the CM and his henchmen tried to assassinate his character. On the question about Sanjeevani credit society fraud, Shekhawat said the SOG has investigated the case for 3 years. “The chargesheets have been filed and if anything is found against me, I should be arrested. What are they waiting for?,” he said.

Has Energy Minister Bhati agreed to arbitrariness of technocrats?

First India Bureau

Jaipur: About a month has passed since the transfer list of AEN was released in Jaipur DISCOM but five assistant engineers of the Jaipur district are not leaving their posts.

Jaipur: Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Subha Mehta of Rajasthan High Court heard the PIL filed by Advocate SK Singh on the news item published in a newspaper on 02.04.2021 wherein four people of Dave family died on road accident due to overloading of trucks which was plying between Gudoj to Balarai four-lane highway. The State Government took cognizance of the PIL after the notice and 179 portable weighing machines were purchased in the budget of 2021-22. hearing the PIL and arguments of Advocate Suni Kumar Singh, Rekha Dixit, Saurabh Chatterjee, Keerti Harsha, and M Raja, the Court directed the State Government to install immediately the aforesaid portable machines and if there is any difficulty then the Transport Commissioner must give reasoned order.

Assistant Engineer Mohan Lal Sharma is still handling responsibility in Kalwar while he was transferred to Bad Peepli.

Similarly, AEN Mohanlal Poonia, who was transferred to Dausa, is still in Bad Peepli .

CS Bhansali was sent from Nala Power House to Kalwar but despite being relieved, technocrat Bhansali

Elderly man crushed to death under SUV

Mukesh Mathrani

Barmer: An elderly was crushed to death under an SUV in which some smugglers were escaping from the police. The incident has been reported from Baytu police station area. The deceased had been identified as Tikuram Jat, police said.

At the time of the incident deceased was standing on the road. In the meantime, an SUV coming from the front side crushed the elderly man. Police further said that wanted criminals

were escaping in the SUV that hit the elderly man. However, police tried to catch the accused but they were successful in escaping. After hitting the elderly man, the SUV overturned but the accused stopped another vehicle at gunpoint and fled.

did not take up the new responsibility.

Similarly, AEN Rajat Jain is not going from SMU Jaipur to HTM Sanganer whereas Assistant Engineer Amit Gaur also did not leave the responsibility of HTM Sanganer.

In such a situation, the question is being raised when most of the transfers are being done on the recommendation of “honourables”, has Energy Minister Bhanwar Singh Bhati agreed to the arbitrariness of the technocrats?

Delegates to discuss human rights in Jpr

First India Bureau

Jaipur: In first, the state will host a discussion on human rights today at hotel Golden Tulip. Delegates from 17 countries will discuss how to promote protection and upgradation of human rights. Delegates will come from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Gambia, Ghana, Gonia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe.

Kataria writes to CM demanding Jain Board

Jaipur: Agriculture Minister Lal Chand Kataria has recommended formation of Jain Board. He wrote a letter to CM Ashok Gehlot in this regard.“Formation of Jain board is necessary in the state to preserve and protect the culture of Jain community, religious properties, and protection of Jain Acharya and saints,” he said. Youth Congress leader and councilor candidate from Vaishali Nagar, Mohit Jain, had raised demand. Kataria quoted Mohit Jain in letter.

POONIA TO MARCH IN KARAULI TODAY

Karauli: Amid the Jan Aakrosh Yatra, BJP state president Satish Poonia will be on a foot march from Kaila Devi to Madan Mohanji temple today. On Tuesday, party workers were given responsibilities to prepare the route of the march. BJP District President Brijlal Dikolia said that Poonia will visit Kaila Devi temple today at eight in the morning before joining the Jan Aakrosh Yatra. Party

workers and office bearers of the district will join him in the march. In the evening, Poonia will visit Madanmohanji and participate in the evening aarti. He will cross Kaila Devi, Khohri Mode, Mohanpura, Natni Ki Chhatri, Mouni Baba Ashram in Atewa, Rajor, Karsai, Mamchari, Kalyani, Gangapur Mode, Gadka Ki Chowki, Teen Bad, Shiv Ashok Paradise and arrive at Madan Mohanji Temple.

Alwar: The ongoing tussle between the leaders is showing in the BJP’s Jan Akrosh Yatra. In Alwar, there was a fierce fight between two women leaders during the yatra. They slapped each other and the matter escalated so much that the people around had to intervene.In a meeting held before the yatra, there was an argument between two BJP leaders. The Mandal president threatened the other leader to leave from here or else she would throw him in the car. The matter is of Thanagaji in Alwar.

Diya discusses budget allocation for KVS with Union MoS for Edu

First India Bureau

New Delhi: During the winter session of Parliament, MP Diya Kumari met Minister of State for Education, Annapurna Devi.

During the meeting, she discussed early budget allocation and start of work of Kendriya Vidyalayas in Rajsamand, Bhim, Merta, and Jaitaran Vidhan Sabha of the parliamentary constituency.

In the meeting, the Union Minister said that financial approval

for Kendriya Vidyalaya will be issued for Merta, Rajsamand, and Bhim shortly. Jaitaran’s DPR has not yet

Registration limit on purchase of pulses, oilseeds up by 10%

Nirmal Tiwari

Jaipur: Cooperative Minister Udai Lal Anjana said that the registration limit has been increased by 10 percent on the purchase of moong, urad, groundnut and soybean on minimum support price in the state. The registration limit has been extended to 368 procurement centres for moong, 270 for groundnut, 166 for urad and 83 for soyabean. The decision will benefit 41

SCHEME

thousand 271 additional farmers of the state.

Anjana said that by increasing the registration limit, 10 thou-

sand 775 farmers of moong, 15 thousand 856 farmers of groundnut, 2 thousand 158 farmers of urad and 12 thousand 482 farmers of soyabean will be benefited.

“Around 67409 farmers have registered for moong and 22638 farmers for groundnut for ongoing procurement on support price and 50389 metric tonnes of moong has been purchased from 26583 farmers for an amount of Rs 390.77 crore.,” he said.

Pilgrimage train from Jaipur to Tirupati flagged off

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Under the popular Senior Citizen Pilgrimage Scheme of the state, the seventh train left from Jaipur junction to Tirupati on Tuesday. More than 1,000 elderly passengers will visit the Tirupati pilgrimage free of cost through this train.

Devsthan Minister Shakuntala Rawat wished all the pilgrims a happy journey. On this occasion, she said

that all arrangements for the comfortable travel of elderly pilgrims have been made by the Devasthan Department. Arrangements are being constantly improved after receiving feedback from the passengers who travelled in the earlier six trains that went to the pilgrim centre in the past. Rawat said that in the seventh train, 745 passengers belonged to Jaipur, 75 from Sawai

Madhopur and 260 from Kota.

The team of train in-

charge, escort and doctor will be available on the train at all the

times. According to Rawat, only the passengers selected from

the main lottery list were invited for the pilgrim journey. The pas-

sengers on the waiting list were given a chance in place of the passengers absent. Rawat said that under one of the budget announcements of CM Ashok Gehlot, 20,000 senior citizens of the state are being taken to visit the places of worship under the Senior Pilgrimage Tour Scheme 2022. Out of these, 18,000 passengers are being made to travel by train and 2000 passengers

Amrit Mahotsav: Kota &

Bundi

to witness BSF show

First India Bureau

Kota: The people of Bundi and Kota will get an opportunity to witness the wonderful display of valor by the brave soldiers of the Border Security Force.On the initiative of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, jawans in both cities will show astonishing stunts. Along with this, people will also get to see the stunts of the dog squad of the BSF and the display of weapons.

BSF DIG Pushpendra Singh Rathore said that on the occasion of Amrit Mahotsav, special events are being organized by the world’s largest borderguarding force in different cities of the country.In view of this, shows will be organized at the Sports Complex in Bundi on December 17 and in Kota on December 18 at Umaid Singh Stadium. In this show, the Seema Bhavani motorcycle team of the BSF will display stunts.

Assistant Engineer

been prepared, action will be started on that too after the preparation of the DPR, she said.

First India Bureau

BJP has decided that from December 15 to 31 there will be public meetings at the Assembly level in Raj in which national and state level leaders will tour

by flight.

SENIOR CITIZEN PILGRIMAGE

Devasthan dept officials flag off train from Jaipur on Tuesday. Passengers boarding the train from Jaipur junction.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat addressing a press conference in Jaipur on Tuesday. Also seen here are Laxmikant Bhardwaj, Bhajan Lal Sharma and Anand Sharma. —PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO Satish Poonia taking blessing from an elder in Amer on Tuesday.

BJP WOMEN LEADERS CLASH OVER SITTING ON CHARIOT, SLAP ONE ANOTHER IN ALWAR

Kali Charan Saraf flagging off the Jan Aakrosh Yatra from Ward 148, Anandpuri in Jaipur on Tuesday.

Diya Kumari met Annapurna Devi in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Udai Lal Anjana

Bhanwar Singh Bhati

PM invites people to share inputs for 2022’s last Mann Ki Baat

New Delhi (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invited people to share their inputs for the upcoming episode of Mann ki Baat scheduled for December 25, informed the Prime Minister’s Office.

The scheduled podcast will be the last ‘Mann ki Baat’ of 2022 slated for December 25 at 11 am. Prime Minister Modi urged people to write on the NaMo App, and MyGov app or record their messages

on 1800-11-7800.

Sharing MyGov’s invitation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “2022's last

#MannKiBaat will take place on the 25th of this month. I am eager to receive your input for the programme. I urge you

to write on the NaMo App, MyGov or record your message on 180011-7800.”

Earlier on November 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 95th Edition of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ said that “our country is home to the oldest traditions traditions in the world. Therefore, it is also our responsibility to preserve our traditions and traditional knowledge, to promote it and to take it forward as much as possible.”

2022’s last #MannKiBaat will take place on the 25th of this month. I am eager to receive your input for the programme. I urge you to write on the NaMo App, MyGov or record your message on 1800-11-7800.

—Narendra Modi, @narendramodi

PM Modi to participate in birth centenary celebrations of Pramukh Swami Maharaj today

New Delhi (PTI): PM Narendra Modi will participate in the inaugural function of birth centenary celebrations of Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, his office said. It said Swami Maharaj was a guide and guru who touched countless lives across India and the world.

“He was widely respected and admired as

a great spiritual leader. His life was dedicated to the service of spirituality and humanity. As the leader of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, he inspired countless cultur-

al, social and spiritual initiatives, providing comfort and care to millions,” it added.

In his birth centenary, people from across the world are celebrating his life and work.

The year-long celebrations will culminate in ‘Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav’ that will be hosted by BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, Shahibaug.

Guwahati (ANI): The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) on Tuesday proposed forming a grand alliance of all the “anti-BJP political parties” at a national level to fight against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam said that if people want to change the BJP government at the Centre with a secular government then it is imperative to form a grand alliance of all secular parties at the national level. “So, if a grand alliance is formed against BJP at the national level, there can be Congress or AIUDF. But, if both the parties joined the grand alliance, it would be not only Assam based, but the one at a national level,” Aminul Islam said in a conversation with ANI.

WORKING WITH A SENSE OF REVENGE ISN’T GOOD ’

Shimla (ANI): Former Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur on Tuesday slammed the newly formed Congress government in the state and claimed that the Congress was continuing its custom of stopping work and overturning the decisions of BJP in the region and said that starting work with a sense of revenge is not good.

“Congress, continuing its custom, started the work of stopping and overturning the decisions of our government, while the cabinet has not even been formed yet, but has started working with a sense of revenge. Starting work with a sense of revenge is not good,” tweeted Thakur. He also alleged that the current government was obstructing the development works in the state.

“School, college, hos-

IN THE COURTYARD

Congress, continuing its custom, started the work of stopping and overturning the decisions of our government, while the cabinet has not even been formed yet, but has started working with a sense of revenge. Starting work with a sense of revenge is not good.

—Jairam Thakur, former chief minister, Himachal Pradesh

pital, police station, bridge, road, drinking water scheme... the work of hanging, obstructing and distracting all these works has started, for which the public will never forgive them. Starting work

with a sense of revenge is not good,” he added.

His remarks came after the newly appointed Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu made numerous announcements in the first cabinet meeting.

Shimla (ANI): After assuming the charge of the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu paid a courtesy call on Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Raj Bhavan, on Tuesday for the first time. While congratulating the Chief Minister, the Governor hoped that under his leadership Himachal Pradesh would achieve new heights of development. "I have seen the performance of Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in Vidhan Sabha. He is a visionary leader and I hope, his team will perform all the administrative work smoothly", said Arlekar. The Chief Minister said that he would seek the guidance of the Governor to take Himachal Pradesh forward on the path of development.

BRS is rehabilitation shelter for abandoned netas: NV Subhash

Hyderabad (ANI): Telangana BJP spokesperson NV Subhash took a sharp dig at the upcoming Delhi office inauguration of K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi party on Tuesday and said BRS is nothing more than “a rehabilitation shelter for those politicians who have been abandoned or sidelined by their respective parties”.

Days after the Election Commission’s nod for a change of name of the erstwhile Telangana Rashtra Samithi party, Telangana Chief Minister and BRS supremo KCR will inaugurate the party's national headquarters in Delhi on Wednesday.

Ridiculing KCR’s new office space and a new name for the party, Subhash said, “A stage is set to provide employment to some leaders by K Chandrasekhar Rao in his new political outfit at Delhi tomorrow.”

KAVITHA IS TRYING TO WHIP UP WOMEN’S SENTIMENTS: REDDY

Hyderabad (ANI): A new political fracas came to the fore on Tuesday as BJP Spokesperson Rachana Reddy slammed TRS MLC K Kavitha and said that the latter was trying to gather women’s support a day after her interrogation by the investigative agency for her alleged involvement in the liquor scam. “The BJP has always respected the rule of law, equal protection of law and equality before the law. The matter of Kavitha’s role in the liquor scam is under investigation. We will not comment on it. Kavitha is speaking a day after her interrogation and suddenly reconvenes Jagruti,” Rachana Reddy added.

Nitish may pass on mantle to Tejashwi; drops hints

Patna (PTI): Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Tuesday dropped hints that he was looking forward to passing on the mantle to his young deputy Tejashwi Yadav, leaders emerging from a meeting of legislators of the ruling ‘Mahagathbandhan’ said.

The JD(U) supremo, once again, ruled himself out as a prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha polls even as he maintained that a “united opposition” could defeat the Narendra Modiled BJP in 2024.

“The CM pointed towards Tejashwi ji and said he is the leader of the future, under whose leadership the 2025 assembly polls in the state would be fought,” said Mahboob Alam, the legislature party leader of CPI(ML) Liberation which supports the govt from outside.

Kerala govt’s nod to Bill to remove Guv as Chancellor MP Cong leader Pateria detained

Damoh (ANI): Congress leader and former minister Raja Pateria was on Tuesday detained by the Panna Police from his residence, in connection with his alleged “kill Modi” remarks.

CBI FILES CHARGE SHEET AGAINST EX-BARC CEO

New Delhi: The CBI has filed a charge sheet against former BARC CEO Sunil Lulla for allegedly manipulating viewership ratings of channels from “his ends” during his tenure in the ratings agency, officials said Tuesday.

During the probe that was started on a complaint from a Lucknow-based advertiser, the CBI did not find any evidence of alleged manipulation being done at the customer level by channels, they said.

ANKITA BHANDARI MURDER: NEXT HEARING ON 22

Dehradun: A local court here will on December 22, hear an application by one accused in Ankita Bhandari Murder Case seeking 10 days time to give consent for the Narco and Polygraph tests. The police said on Monday that out of the three accused, one has sought 10 days time for the narco and polygraph tests.

The body of 19-year-old Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at a resort run by Pulkit Arya, son of now expelled BJP leader.

SC TO HEAR CASE OF MAHARASHTRA POLITICAL CRISIS ON JANUARY 10

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday posted for January 10 hearing a batch of petitions filed by the rival factions belonging to Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena group in relation to the Maharashtra political crisis. A five-judge Constitution bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha asked the counsels of both sides to complete all procedural formalities in the meantime. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the Thackeray group told the apex court that he would argue on the reference of the matter to the seven-judge bench.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered on Monday afternoon at Pawai police station in Panna district against the Congress leader and former state minister for making remarks against the prime minister. Pateria has been booked under

sections 451, 504, 505 (1) (b), 505 (1)(C), 506, 153-B (1)(C) of the IPC. He was detained from his residence in Hatta of Damoh district early

this morning.

State Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Monday ordered filing a FIR against the Congress leader.

MP CONG ISSUES SHOW CAUSE NOTICE AGAINST PATERIA

using

and condemnable words for

Narendra Modi while addressing a meeting. According to the notice, the party asked him to reply within three days as to why he should not be expelled from the party. Pateria was heard saying on Sunday, “PM Modi will end elections, divide people on the basis of religion and Dalits face the biggest threat under his regime. You should be ready to carry out ‘Modi ki hatya’ if you want to save the Constitution”.

a

Thiruvananthapuram

(PTI): The Kerala Assembly proceedings on Tuesday saw high drama as it passed the bill to replace the Governor as the Chancellor of universities in the State and appoint eminent academicians in the top post, while the opposition UDF boycotted the House over non-acceptance of its suggestions regarding the bill.

“The University Laws (Amendment) Bill is passed,” Speaker AN Shamseer said on

2001 PARLIAMENT ATTACK ANNIVERSARY

Tuesday.

The bill, which had undergone scrutiny by a Subject Committee of the House, was passed after hours long discussions during which the Congress-led UDF said it was not opposed to the removal of the Governor as Chancellor.

Leaders pay tribute to Parliament attack victims

New Delhi (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday led the nation in paying tributes to those who laid down their lives during the 2001 Parliament terrorist attack.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and MPs across the party lined up to

pay tributes to the martyrs of the 2001 Parliament terrorist attack.

-

BACKGROUND

READY TO GUARD NEW PARLIAMENT IF DIRECTED, SAY CRPF HEROES

New

for CRPF sub-inspectors D Santosh Kumar and Shyambir Singh to pay tributes to their fallen comrades on December 13 every year but a gush of adrenaline and emotions runs through them as they remember the 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament. Both Kumar and Singh, decorated with the peacetime gallantry medal ‘Shaurya Chakra’ for thwarting the attack, say given a chance they will “love to come back” for security of the new Parliament building. It is expected that the Budget session of the Parliament, which usually begins during the last week of January, will be held in the new building, adjacent to the old structure.

Murmu said the na

tion will always remain grateful to the “valiant

martyrs” who laid down their lives in the 2001 attack.

Varanasi: A Varanasi court deferred the hearing to December 22 of a plea seeking the filing of a case against Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of the people of Kashi by making controversial remarks. The SP and AIMIM chiefs made the alleged controversial remarks regarding the Shivling-like structure found in the Gyanvapi mosque compound during a court-ordered survey on May 16 this year to December 22. The hearing was deferred due to the condolence announced after the death of a senior lawyer.

COURT DEFERS TO DEC 22 HEARING PLEA SEEKING CASE AGAINST AKHILESH, OWAISI

VP Jagdeep Dhankhar, LS Speaker Om Birla, PM Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and others paying tributes to the martyrs, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. —PHOTO

BY ANI

FORMER HP CM JAIRAM THAKUR TARGETS CONG GOVT

‘

Jairam Thakur (R) with his successor Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

HIMACHAL CM SUKHU PAYS COURTESY VISIT TO GUV ARLEKAR

“Grand alliance at national level must to defeat BJP in 2024”

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Congress on Tuesday issued

show cause notice to its party leader Raja Pateria for

objectionable

PM

‘KILL MODI’ REMARKS

Raja Pateria under police detention on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

FOOTBALL ENSURES ‘YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE’

For almost three weeks now, some regions in India have had sleepless nights… No… not because of the Gujarat or the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections. These people have had nothing to do with these polls (at least remotely). They have been staying awake for football’s biggest extravaganza, the FIFA World Cup 2022!Primarily, West Bengal, Kerala, Goa and the northeastern states have been India’s main “cheerleaders” for the football world cup.

drubbing during the penalties, Argentina fans are grinning but keeping their fingers crossed.

And mind you, all this excitement albeit the fact India may be 105th in world ranking. The Indian men’s national team maintained their 105th rank in the latest FIFA men’s rankings released (again) recently.

Bengalis swear by football even as the race’s biggest international sporting icon, Sourav Ganguly, has been a cricketer! Bengali’s passion for the game has been such that it sees a Bengali-yana in all teams. We may be 105th in world ranking but note the way Bengalis feel about the Bengali-yana even in the names of the following players and the way these names are pronounced

And for a month, there has been a sharp divide between people over supporting several teams and the main opposition has come from the Argentina and the Brazil camps. Initially, when Argentina was defeated by Saudi Arabia, the Brazil fans had mocked the team (Argentina) and now when they (Brazil) are out of the tournament after Croatia

There has also been a sharp divide between the cricket and football fans. Understandably, Indian cricket fans have had nothing to cheer about since mid-November as far as cricket is concerned and that is the time when the FIFA World Cup started. Since November, Team India have lost mostly everything they played. To be precise, we lost the T20 World Cup (needless to say how pathetically) and we also lost the ODI series to Bangladesh!

Our Men in Blue, of late, has had the habit of waking up after the requirement it seems. In a nonconsequential third ODI that was played for the record’s sake, Team India defeated Bangladesh but handed over the trophy to

them! And for this entire month that is between midNovember and mid-December, if you have had an encounter with an Argentine fan and by “mistake” if you have praised the OUR Men in Blue, you have had it…

The sharp retort would come in the following manner… “Chhere din dada, oi toh barota desh khele, tar aabar World Cup” (Just forget it brother, only 12 countries play cricket so what’s the big deal about its World Cup).

Bengalis swear by football even as the race’s biggest international sporting icon, Sourav Ganguly, has been a cricketer! Bengali’s passion for the game has been such that it sees

a Bengali-yana in all teams. We may be 105th in world ranking but note the way Bengalis feel about the Bengali-yana even in the names of the following players and the way these names are pronounced.

FROM DENMARK

z Oliver Christen-sen, Joachim Ander-sen, Andreas Christen-sen, Rasmus Kristensen, Jens Stryger Lar-sen

FROM BELGIUM z Kevin-De, Romelu Lu-kaku

FROM ENGLAND

z Luke Shaw (pronounced as Luke Saha…!)

z Bukayo Saka (Upbeat Bengali fans also pronounce Saka as Saha)

LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST… z Lionel Messi from Argentina (whose name is pronounced by the aam Bengali in the following manner Lion Mashi)

IF YOU THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS IT, READ ON… z Ask any Bengali about the description of the ball used for the matches, the type of surface of the playing arena… etc 90 per cent of them will give you near perfect answers z Football is indeed a great game as far as its “attachment” with Queen’s language is concerned z The game has given several idioms etc to the language… sample this z Referee blows the whistle… and the term that has entered our parlance

WHISTLEBLOWER

z Kick-off, a football term is widely used in our daily lives z To be on the ball… z And Shifting the Goal post needs no explanation

This is a fun piece and no-offence meant.

It is meant ONLY for fun reading!

A Winning World Cup Strategy for Arab World

MMAN — For decades, the Arab world has suffered from disunity. While it is connected by geography, language, and culture, the region’s lack of cohesion has long allowed foreign powers to plunder its resources. The legacy of colonial divide-and-rule tactics remains pervasive, and parochialism has prevented Arabs from leveraging their huge oil wealth and relatively educated populations. But the FIFA World Cup has shown us another way.

Football has emerged as a great unifier following a string of unexpected victories for Arab countries.

In November, Saudi Arabia beat Argentina, Tuni-

sia defeated France, and Morocco routed Belgium. Then, during the knockout stage, Morocco made history by eliminating both Spain and Portugal to become the first Arab country to secure a place

in the semifinals.

Morocco’s victories were the result of a perfectly executed plan devised by coach Walid Regragui, who placed goalkeeper Yassine Bounou at the center of the team’s strategy. Bounou re-

peatedly stymied Spain’s attempts to score, and Morocco went on to eliminate the team in penalty shootouts. Nor could Portugal’s attackers find a way to beat Bounou, and Regragui’s side pulled off a

City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504.

Morocco’s success in the tournament has united Arabs throughout the Middle East and North Africa behind a common hope. Can the team’s winning strategies do something similar for the region’s politics?

stunning 1-0 win. “I’m trying to think of when such a shock as this has happened in the World Cup,” one commentator told the BBC. “Pinch me, I’m dreaming,” Bounou said.

PROJECT SYNDICATE

SOURCE:

OFFSIDE

z An Indian who spotted an Argentinian with the Indian tricolour wrapped around her recently posted a video clip that has now amassed more than 7 lakh likes on Instagram. Leti Estevez was seen carrying the Indian national flag in a video shared by Yadil M Iqbal, a football fan from Kerala.

z According to reports, the panchayat authorities had directed fans to remove the cut-outs of football icons to ensure free flow of water. But it was resolved soon and the “football giants” were not shifted. The FIFA website (fifa.com) shared pictures, bringing global recognition, which was acknowledged by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He retweeted it with the words, “Kerala and Keralites have always loved football and it is on full display with Qatar 2022 around the corner. Thank you, FIFA for acknowledging our unmatched passion for the sport.”

z Malayali readers’ love for Latin American literature is also amazing, with writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Paulo Coelho being almost considered locals!

z Members of Goan Social Workers Qatar (GSWQ), a group formed by Goan residents working in this Gulf state, are hopeful that “aamcho munees [our man, in Konkani]” will help Portugal go all the way. Goa, a former Portuguese colony, still has many inhabitants, who speak the language and follow their customs and traditions.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Bible

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda Paid his heartfelt tributes to all the brave martyrs who laid down their lives while fighting the terrorists to thwart the terrorist attack on the Parliament House on 13th December, 2001. The country will always be indebted to you for your supreme sacrifice in the defense of the nation.

TOP TWEETS

Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp

Today one year has been completed for the inauguration of the grand Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The nectar period of faith, spirituality, knowledge, science and research has started in India under the leadership of the Prime Minister @ narendramodi. Along with Kashi Vishwanath Dham, other spiritual heritage of India are also being rejuvenated.

Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur.

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

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

ROBIN ROY

The writer is Senior Journalist and former Managing Editor, First India

CLARIFICATIONS NOT ALLOWED ON SENSITIVE ISSUES: RS DY CHAIRMAN

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh on Tuesday refused permission to opposition MPs to seek clarification on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement on the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Arunchal Pradesh, saying clarifications are not allowed on sensitive issues.

The Opposition parties led by the Congress, which stalled proceedings in the first hour of the session and thereafter raised slogans demanding a discussion on the border clashes, wanted to seek a number of clarifications after Singh made a statement in both houses of Parliament. Harivansh Narayan Singh, however cited four precedents to say queries cannot be allowed on sensitive issues.

Opposition members, however, were not satisfied and continued to raise the issue for sometime, before the Congress led them to stage a walkout of the House.

Rajya Sabha procedures allow MPs to seek clarifications on any statement by ministers.

The deputy chairman said the House will appreciate the valour and bravery of the Indian armed forces and their commitment to protect territorial integrity of the country.

New Delhi (ANI): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday made it clear in the Lok Sabha that there was “no proposal” under its consideration for bringing crimes of caste terrorism under the purview of NIA.MoS (Home Affairs) Nityanand Rai replied to

23 MONKEYPOX CASES REPORTED TILL DEC 8: GOVT

New Delhi (PTI): A total of 23 confirmed cases of Monkeypox have been reported in India till December 8 this year, MoS (Health) Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. In response to a question on the present status of COVID-19 cases in the country, Pawar said the trajectory of the cases is witnessing a slow and sustained decline since mid-July 2022. As on December 8, a total of 4,244 active cases of COVID-19 are reported in the country.

We were told by the Leader of the House and Deputy Rajya Sabha Chairman that we would be given a chance for clarification but they did not give it and were not ready to listen to us. This is not good for the country.

Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Chief

the query of a member of the Lower House D Ravikumar when he asked: “whether the government has any proposal to bring crimes of caste terrorism under the purview of National Investigation Agency (NIA), if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor”.

New Delhi (PTI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said a significant portion of drugs like heroin, cocaine, and hashish are being smuggled into the country through sea route. In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, she said as per inputs received

NO INCREASE IN CUSTODIAL DEATHS IN KERALA IN 2018-19: MoS RAI IN LS

New Delhi (ANI): According to data furnished by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), no increase in custodial deaths in Kerala has been noticed in 2018-19, MoS (Home Affairs) Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The minister replied in writing to a query of Congress MP Kumbakudi Sudhakaran on “whether the government has taken note that custodial deaths in Kerala have increased

by 100 per cent in 2018-19, as per the records of NHRC”. Asked whether the government has taken note of the recent incidents of police brutality and human rights violations in Kerala, Rai said, “Police and Public Order are state subjects as per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.”“It is primarily the responsibility of the state government concerned to ensure protection of human rights of the citizens,” Rai added.

Some people keep questioning our Army, armed forces and para-military forces & their capabilities; for them, politics comes before nation, so I don’t want to comment on them.

SURAT MAN HELD ON CHARGES OF SPYING FOR PAKISTANI INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ISI

New Delhi (PTI): The Gujarat Police on Tuesday apprehended a 33-year-old man from Surat on charges of spying and allegedly working for Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, official sources said. Deepak Kishor Bhai Salunkhe was arrested by crime branch sleuths from the diamond city, acting on inputs provided by the Military Intelligence from the Pune-based southern army command, they said. The man, a resident of Bhuvneswari Nagar in Surat, used to run a shop.

J&K: IED DETECTED, DIFFUSED BY SECURITY FORCES

Sopore (ANI): Around three kilogram of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) found along state highway was diffused by security forces in Tulibal area of Sopore on Tuesday. The Army in a statement said, “In the wee hours of the morning today, 2-3 KGs of improvised explosive device (IED) was detected by security forces of Uplona Rashtriya Rifles in Tulibal area alongside state highway at around 0630 hours.”

TAMIL NADU MAN KILLS 5 FAMILY MEMBERS, SELF

Tiruvannamalai (PTI): A man allegedly killed his wife and four children, including two teenage daughters and ended his life at his house in Chengam taluk in the district.

Another daughter, aged about 9, who was admitted to the government hospital here with cut injuries initially, has been referred to the Government Hospital in Chennai for advanced treatment. The man, identified as Palanisamy, 45, was a labourer from Oranthavadi village.

GANGSTER’S PROPERTY ATTACHED IN UTTAR PRADESH’S PRATAPGARH DISTRICT

Amethi (PTI): The Amethi administration on Tuesday attached properties worth Rs 78 lakh belonging to gangster Bhimsen alias Raju following a local court order on December 5. Sub Divisional Magistrate (Amethi tehsil) Priti Tiwari said the property at a village in Antu police station limits of Pratapgarh district was attached on Tuesday. A brick kiln in the name of Bhimsen’s wife was also sealed and a notice pasted stating that the property was acquired using money earned from crime, she added.

Move for monetisation of Rly stations dropped

New Delhi (PTI): The railways ministry has dropped its proposal for monetisation of stations on public-private partnership mode, and projects are now being taken up under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode, a source said.

The source said that the ministry of railways has been asked to expedite monetisation of other assets, including trains, goodsheds, hill rail, stadiums, railway colonies and railway land parcels among others.

far raised only Rs 1,829 crore against the target of Rs 30,000 crore in the current financial year, the source added.

from NCB, the main drugs smuggled through the sea route are heroin, cocaine, hashish and Amphetamine type Stimulants (ATS). “The percentage of these drugs smuggled through sea route vis a vis total seizures is significant, though their percentage varies from year to year,” she said.

GOVT: FCRA LICENCE OF 1,811 NGOs CANCELLED IN 3 YRS

New Delhi (PTI): The FCRA registration of 1,811 NGOs were cancelled between 2019-21 for alleged violation of law, MoS (Home) Nityanand Rai said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. “During the last three years i.e. 2019 to 2021, the FCRA registration certificates of 1,811 associations have been cancelled under section 14 of The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA, 2010) due to violation of provisions of the FCRA, 2010,” he said in a written reply.

It is unfortunate that we are not able to maintain good relations with our neighbours. Everyone knows about our relations with Pakistan but even with China we are not able to establish good relations.

Naval chief on Lanka visit to strengthen bilateral ties

Colombo (PTI): Indian Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar arrived here on Tuesday to strengthen the existing bilateral maritime relations between India and Sri Lanka and enhance capacity-building initiatives towards ensuring peace in the region.

Earlier in the day, indigenous INS Sahyadri, a multi-role missile frigate of the Indian Navy, also made a port call at Colombo to complement the visit of the Chief of Naval Staff

(CNS), according to a press statement.

The ship would engage in training engagements with the Sri Lankan Navy and participate in Maritime Partnership Exercises with it.

“Largest asset class (stations) dropped. Stations earlier proposed on PPP mode are now being taken up under EPC mode,” the source said.

The ministry has so

“Likely realisation from asset monetisation of Indian Railways assets under NMP (National Monetisation Pipeline) in the current fiscal has been now estimated at Rs 4,999 crore,” the source said.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a meeting with Niti

Will support India’s G20 Presidency, systemic challenges: G7 countries

Washington (PTI): Leaders of G7 countries have backed India’s G20 presidency and pledged to jointly address major systemic challenges and immediate crises while reiterating commitments towards an equitable world.

India formally assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1. The next G20 Leaders’ Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government is scheduled to be held on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi.

PM Narendra Modi said India will work to further promote oneness, inspired by the theme of “One Earth, One Family, One Future” and listed terrorism, climate change and the pandemic as

the greatest challenges that can be best fought together.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the G7 countries said they endorse a sustainable future for all. “Under the German Presidency, we, the G7, together with other international partners, have demonstrated our resolve to jointly address both major systemic challenges and immediate crises of our time,” the grouping said in the statement.

Aayog CEO Parameswaran Iyer on November 14 reviewed the progress of NMP implementation.

Earlier this year, the then NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant had said the government’s plan to monetise railway assets by allowing private players to run trains did not attract enough investors due to lack of proper structuring and the railway ministry is looking at it afresh.

GoC Gosain, DGP discuss security situation in J&K

Jammu (PTI): General Officer Commanding (GoC) of 26 Infantry Division Major General Neeraj Gosain on Tuesday called on DGP Dilbag Singh and discussed the security scenario in Jammu and its peripheries.

The GOC, who met the DGP at the police headquarters here, discussed in detail the countermeasures being taken to foil the new designs adopted by Pakistan that include dropping of arms, ammunition and drugs through drones to disrupt the prevailing peace in J&K. The DGP appreciated the bond between the Army, police and paramilitary forces, which, he said, has contributed immensely in wiping out the ill intentions of Pakistan and its terror associates.

Airlines told to deploy more manpower

New Delhi (PTI): Amid congestion at airports, the Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday asked airlines to deploy adequate manpower at all check-in and baggage drop counters to ensure passengers’ smooth flow.

Besides, the ministry has requested the scheduled airlines to place real time data on their social media feeds regarding waiting time at respective airports’ entry gates.

The latest communication comes against the backdrop of rising

passenger complaints of long waiting hours at Delhi airport where the authorities have taken various measures to ease the congestion.

As per the ministry, it has come to the notice that the airline check-in

IPL 2023 MINI-AUCTION

PARL PANEL TO TAKE UP AIRPORT ISSUE WITH DIAL

counters at certain airports are found unmanned or inadequately manned during early morning hours leading to congestion at the airports, thereby causing inconvenience to the passengers.

Over 400 cricket players to go under hammer on December 23

New Delhi (Agencies): It is that time of the year again, because the mini-auction for the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League will take place on December 23 at the city of Kochi, Kerala. Till now, the time of the auction was not known, but the BCCI have aofficially announced that the mega event will begin

from 2.30 pm on that day.

As many as 405 players will be up for auction, out of which 273 are Indians and 132 are overseas players. The teams will have a total of 87 slots to fill in the upcoming auction, out of which 30 are reserved for overseas players.

Out of the 273 overseas players, four are from associate nations. A to-

tal of 282 uncapped players from across the globe will be up for auc-

tion. A total of 991 players registered themselves initially for the

auction. However, the 10 teams at first shortlisted 369 players that would be put for sale in the auction. The teams then later requrested an addition 36 cricketers to be added to the final shortlist. A total of 19 overseas players will have the highest base price of Rs 2 crore. 11 players then fall under the bracket of a base

price of Rs 1.5 crore. 20 players, including the Indian batsmen Manish Pandey and Mayank Agarwal will go for a base price of Rs 1 crore. Manish Pandey was released by the Lucknow Super Giants, while Mayank Agarwal, who captained the Punjab Kings in the last IPL edition was also released by the franchise.

CRUCIAL READ

New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel will take up issue of congestion at Delhi airport with CEO of airport operator DIAL on December 15 amid passengers facing long waiting hours, according to the committee’s Chairman Vijayasai Reddy. The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture will be holding the meeting with the DIAL CEO.

Admiral R Hari Kumar met with V Adm N Ulugetenne.

Crowd at T3 IGI Airport departure, in New Delhi, on Tuesday.

RS Dy Chairman Harivansh. Opposition leaders walkout from Rajya Sabha after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s address.

Omar Abdullah, former J&K CM

Pushkar Singh Dhami, Uttarakhand CM

MHA: NOT MULLING TO BRING CRIMES OF CASTE TERRORISM IN NIA’S PURVIEW

BULK OF ILLICIT DRUGS BEING SMUGGLED INTO INDIA THROUGH SEA ROUTE: FM

BRIEFS

FIRST TO DO SO India to hold satellite spectrum auction

New Delhi: Vedanta Group on Tuesday said that it has signed pacts with 30 Japanese technology companies to develop an Indian semiconductor and glass display manufacturing ecosystem. The pacts were signed at the Vedanta-Avanstrate Business Partners Summit 2022 held last week at Tokyo, Japan. The company is committed to make India a hub for electronics mfg. It is focussed on taking the lead in creating the electronics industry ecosystem rather than just tech transfers. —PTI

GOVT LIKELY TO ISSUE GREEN BONDS IN JAN-MARCH QTR

New Delhi (PTI): India will be the first country to auction spectrum for satellite communication, and it should be designed to attract investments in the sector, telecom regulator Trai chairman PD Vaghela said on Tuesday.

Vaghela said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will soon make recommendations to make permissions required for satellite communication from various ministries — Information and Broadcasting, Space and Telecom — seamless to enhance ease of doing business in the sector.

He also said Trai has received a reference from the Department of Telecommunication for the spectrum required to be put to auction and associated aspects of satellite-based communication.

TOP TALKING POINTS

New Delhi: Sovereign Green Bonds are likely to be issued during the January-March period of the current fiscal. The objective of Sovereign Green Bonds is to mobilize resources for green infrastructure as part of the government’s overall market borrowings in 2022-23. The framework for these bonds has been brought out. The bonds are likely to be issued from January to March 2023. The proceeds will be deployed in public sector projects which help in reducing carbon intensity of the economy. —PTI

INDIA IMPORTS

46.14 LAKH TONNES OF UREA IN APR-NOV

“I think India will be the first to handle the issue of auctioning the space base spectrum. We are working on it,” Vaghela said.

Trai will be coming out with some sort of model for the auction of space spectrum, he added.

OTHER STORIES

“But it should not kill the sector. That is very important. Any system that we will be bringing is to actually encourage and promote investment in the sector, and not increase any burden. I mean, that is the biggest challenge which we have, and we are conscious of that fact,” Vaghela said.

Trai is yet to come up

PLI SCHEME QUALIFIERS, STEEL MINISTRY TO INK PACTS TO MATERIALISE INVESTMENT PROPOSALS

New Delhi: Qualifiers of PLI scheme for specialty steel will soon sign agreements with the steel ministry to take their investment proposals forward. The selected players have already been sent letter of approvals post selection in the scheme, a senior steel ministry official said. On Friday, the government announced selection of 67 entries with an investment potential of `42,500 crore under the scheme. The proposed investments are expected to generate 70,000 job opportunities and add 26 million tonnes of speciality steel capacity in the country. PTI

NCLAT ALLOWS SETTLEMENT BETWEEN MCDONALD’S & BAKSHI

with a consultation paper on the spectrum auction as per the standard process meant for satellite communication. When asked about the status of the paper, Vaghela said that Trai is in discussion with experts and regulators worldwide for a suitable model and the consultation paper will be floated after those discussions are over.

‘Not good’ for govt to share data in aggregated form: Kant

Mumbai (PTI): India’s G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Tuesday pitched for the dissemination of data by the government in a granular form and said that sharing aggregated information is “not good”.

Kant said data is a key aspect to help any country meet her developmental goals and added that India has benefitted from the same.

Stressing on the importance of ensuring quality of data, the former civil servant who till recently worked as the chief executive of the government think-tank Niti Aayog made the reference to data aggregation practices by the government.

“…Government data are provided as aggregates, which is not good. We should break down the aggregation,” Kant said.

He said many a time, the quality of the data is also very poor and “we need to ensure that the data is de-cluttered, presented in a simplistic way and it is not difficult to navigate”.

Banks wrote off NPAs over 10 lakh crore: Sitharaman

New Delhi (PTI): Banks have written off bad loans worth `10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Tuesday.

The non-performing assets (NPAs), including those in respect of which full provisioning has been made on completion of four years, are removed from the balance sheet of the bank concerned by way of write-off, she said.

“Banks write off NPAs as part of their regular exercise to clean up their balance sheet, avail tax benefit and optimise capital, in accordance with RBI guidelines and policy approved by their boards.

As per inputs received from RBI, Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) wrote off an amount of `10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years,” she said.

As borrowers of writtenoff loans continue to be liable for repayment and the process of recovery of dues from the borrower in written-off loan accounts continues, write-off does not benefit the borrower,

Sensex snaps two-day losing streak, jumps 403 points

Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark indices ended in the green on Tuesday after retail inflation dipped below the RBI’s upper tolerance level of 6% for the first time in 11 months in November.

New Delhi: Urea production stood at 187.21 lakh tonnes during April-November period of this fiscal, while imports were at 46.14 lakh tonnes to meet domestic demand. As per the data, urea production stood at 250.72 lakh tonnes in the 2021-22 fiscal as against 246.05 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 and 244.58 lakh tonnes in the 2019-20 financial year. Urea imports stood at 91.36 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal, 98.28 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 and 91.23 lakh tonnes in 2019-20. —PTI

New Delhi: The NCLAT on Tuesday allowed US food major McDonald’s and its former estranged Indian partner Vikram Bakshi to withdraw their petitions filed against each other over Connaught Plaza Restaurants Ltd. The appellate tribunal also dismissed the intervention application filed by HUDCO earlier opposing the deal. CPRL (Connaught Plaza Restaurants Ltd) is now wholly-owned by McDonald’s after its estranged partner Vikram Bakshi transferred his share in the joint venture to the US-based firm. —PTI

AIPEF SEEKS 3 MONTHS TIME ON ELECTRICITY AMENDMENT BILL 2022

New Delhi: The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has sought a three-month time from the government to comment on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022. In this regard, the body said it has written a letter to the Standing Committee on Energy. The government’s decision to invite comments from stakeholders on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022 is a welcoming step, AIPEF said in a statement. “AIPEF has requested the Standing Committee on Energy on Monday to give a three months time.” —PTI

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 402.73 points or 0.65% to settle at 62,533.30. During the day, it jumped 437.35 points or 0.70% to 62,567.92. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 110.85 points or 0.60% to end at 18,608. From the Sensex

BSE ADDS 1 CRORE INVESTORS IN 148 DAYS TO REACH 12-CRORE MARK

New Delhi (PTI): Leading stock exchange BSE on Tuesday said it has added 1 crore registered investor accounts to its platform in a span of 148 days, taking the total count to 12 crore. The exchange added one crore investors’ accounts between July 18 and December 13, BSE said in a statement. In comparison, the exchange took 124, 91, 85 and 107 days for the previous milestones of 11 crore, 10 crore, 9 crore and 8 crore, respectively. “BSE crossed the milestone of 12 crore registered users based on Unique Client Code (UCC) on December 13, 2022,” the exchange said. Of the 12 crore users, 42% fall in the 30 to 40 age brackets, followed by 23% in 20-30 years and 11% in the 40-50 age bracket.

RUPEE DECLINES

36 PAISE TO END AT 82.87 AGAINST US $

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee declined by 36 paise to close at 82.87 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, weighed down by persistent foreign capital outflows from the capital markets. Risk aversion sentiment among investors ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision also impacted trading, forex dealers said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 82.63 against the greenback and witnessed a high of 82.60 and a low of 82.87. It finally settled at 82.87, down 36 paise over its previous close of 82.51. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.15%.

Passenger vehicle wholesales rise 28% in November

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS



Banks have written off bad loans worth `10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years



The NPAs, including those in respect of which full provisioning has been made on completion of 4 years, are removed from the balance sheet of the bank concerned by way of write-off

she said.

Banks continue to pursue recovery actions initiated in written-off accounts through various recovery mechanisms available, such as filing of a suit in civil courts or in Debts Recovery Tribunals, filing of cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and through sale of non-performing assets.

New Delhi: Gold price fell `8 to `54,534 per 10 grams in the national capital on Tuesday amid a fall in prices of precious metal in overseas market, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the yellow metal had settled at `54,542 per 10 grams. Silver, however, jumped `82 per kg to `68,267 per kilogram. In the international market, gold was quoting lower at $1,787.80 per ounce while silver was up at $23.48 per ounce. —PTI

New Delhi: Aided by robust demand for both utility vehicles and cars, the wholesales of Passenger Vehicles in India jumps by 28% year-on-year in November, industry body SIAM said on Tuesday.

Overall passenger vehicles dispatched from companies to dealers stood at 2,76,231 units last month as compared to 2,15,626 units in November 2021. Utility vehicle wholesales rose 32% to 1,38,780 units in November against 1,05,091 units in the year-ago period.

HIKE CV PRICES BY UP TO 2%

Similarly, passenger car dispatches increased 29% to 1,30,142 units from

1,00,906 units in November 2021. Van sales, however, dropped to 7,309 units last

month from 9,629 units in November 2021.

“Positive consumer and business sentiments have reflected in the better sales in the month of November 2022, compared to the previous year,” SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal said.

SUPER LUXURY CARS CLOCK 50% GROWTH IN INDIA

New Delhi (FIB): Despite a slowdown in growth across the globe and rising worries of recession, the demand for luxury cars in India continues to grow at a tremendous pace. This year has seen the highest-ever growth for such ultra-luxury cars in India as sales grew by 50% in 2022, breaking the previous record, which was achieved in 2018. The market is led by Italian super sports carmaker Lamborghini, and other big contenders on the list are Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bentley. All these luxury wheels have been in great demand since the end of post-pandemic restrictions.

New Delhi (PTI): The government on Tuesday said an amount of ` 60.46 crore has been received in tax from entities for transactions in virtual digital assets (VDAs), including cryptocurrencies, since the introduction of TDS provisions in July.

The government, from April 1, has brought in a 30% income tax plus surcharge and cess on transfer of crypto assets, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and Dogecoin.

Also, to keep a tab on the money trail, a 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) under section 194S of I-T Act has been brought in on payments over `10,000 towards virtual digital currencies from July 1.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said CBDT conducts outreach/ awareness programmes for deductors/ taxpayers and also takes appropriate action, including search & seizure operations, surveys, enquiries etc, as required.

“Post insertion of Section 194S in the Income-tax Act, 1961 through Finance Act, 2022, a total of 318 direct tax challans having TDS code 194S have been received having total amount of ` 60.46 crore,” Chaudhary said.

GOLD FALLS BY `8; SILVER PRICE SEES A JUMP OF `82

VEDANTA INKS PACTS WITH 30 JAPANESE FIRMS



Telecom regulator Trai chairman PD Vaghela said India will be the first country to auction spectrum for satellite communication, and it should be designed to attract investments in the sector

 Vaghela said the Trai will soon make recommendations to make permissions required for satellite communication from various ministries

Trai has received a reference from the Dept of Telecom for the spectrum required to be put to auction

pack, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, M&M, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finserv were the winners.

First India Bureau

DRIVEN BY ROBUST DEMAND

TaMo TO

New Delhi (PTI): Tata Motors on Tuesday said it will increase prices of its commercial vehicle range by up to 2% from January to offset the impact of rising input costs. While the price increase will vary as per individual model and variant, it will be applicable across the entire range of commercial vehicles, the auto major said in a statement.

CONG TO MARK 100 DAYS OF YATRA WITH CONCERT IN JAIPUR: JAIRAM

Sawai Madhopur: To mark 100 days of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress will organise a concert in Jaipur on Friday with a live performance from singer Sunidhi Chauhan, AICC General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Tuesday.

The Yatra started from Kanyakumari on September 7 and has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh. It will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir in early February 2023. The ‘Bharat Jodo Concert’ will be attended by Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, who will also address a press conference in Dausa at 1 pm on the day.

“The (Bharat Jodo)

Yatra will complete 100 days on December 16 and it will be a milestone,” Ramesh said at a press conference adding that a huge public meet would be held in Alwar on December 19. Former Union minister Namonarain Meena said the Yatra had received overwhelming response & added that PM Modi’s lies had been exposed.

The Congress’ Ra-

jasthan unit chief GS Dotasra said the feedback received during the yatra would be communicated to govt.

Ramesh also praised the taste of guavas cultivated in Sawai Madhopur and said he was surprised to find that the district was a leader in guava cultivation. He added that guava processing units should be promoted in the area.

Rajgarh, Ladnun, Peepalda, Sultanpur & Sawai Madhopur to get new stadiums FROM

Jaipur: CM Ashok Gehlot has approved Rs 1.5 crore as state share for construction of stadiums under Major Dhyan Chand Stadium Scheme. As per the proposal, Rs 1 cr has been sanctioned for construction of stadium in Rajgarh in Churu, Rs 25 lakh each for construction of stadiums in Ladnun in Nagaur, Peepalda and Sultanpur in

Kota, and Rs 10 lakh for stadium in Chauth ka Barwara, Sawai Madhopur.

With new stadiums, better sports facilities will be available at the local level to players of

Rajiv Arora:

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Rajasthan Export Promotion Council, Chairman, Rajiv Arora said that the International Expo to be held in Jodhpur from March 20 to 23 next year will prove to be a milestone in the field of exports in the state.

Arora was holding a hybrid meeting with council members, representatives of industrial organizations and district general manag-

the state. It is noteworthy that in budget of 2021-22, the CM had announced to build stadiums at block level under the Major Dhyanchand cheme. Under the scheme, a provision was made to give a contribution amount equal to amount received from MP or MLA fund, public representative, public cooperation, local body or CSR fund as state share for building stadiums.

Jaipur (FIB): Two RAS officers were transferred on Tuesday. Arvind Kumar Sengwa was transferred as Additional Commissioner Land Management cum Principal Land Management Training School. Rakesh Kumar became the Additional Collector in Dausa. They were instructed to join with immediate effect. The Department of Personnel issued the order.

in

So far ambassadors from 15 countries have responded positively to the expo and have agreed to send their business representatives.

ers from across the state regarding preparations for the expo held at Udyog Bhavan on Tuesday.

Arora said that in this

Raj Agro Board’s Dharnia participates in Bharat Jodo Yatra

❍ HIGHLIGHTS

z Panchayati Raj Min Ramesh Meena stayed with Rahul Gandhi in the Yatra after tea break and had discussion about Panchayati Raj Department. Rahul asked Meena to meet him again.

z In Sawai Madhopur, when an ambulance got stuck in Nukkad Sabha during Rahul’s speech, he immediately stopped and directed to give way to th ambulance.

z When a journo suggested about guava processing plant in Sawai Madhopur, Jairam Ramesh said that he will talk to Rahul, CM Gehlot & GS Dotasra about it.

z Sawai Madhopur MLA Danish Abrar said “Rahul has lost his grandmother and his father at a young age. Despite that, there is no hatred in his heart.”

z Kids welcomed Yatra with Vande Matram in Mainpura village & near Ajnoti, RaGa played drum at dangal held by Meena community.

tent

accused tried to escape, and the police chased and caught four people.

P1…

Rahul interacts...

After the talks, both the groups said that Rahul Gandhi listened to them carefully and assured them of action on matters that come under state govt’s purview.

Congress party’s communication incharge Jairam Ramesh said that on Dec 16, Rahul Gandhi will address a press conference in Dausa district at 1 pm.

In the afternoon, Rahul Gandhi visited Ambedkar Memorial Welfare Society, Center for Dalit Rights, Ra-

jasthan Balmiki Manch, Udaan Manav Seva Samiti, Aghaz Foundation, Rights Resource Centre, Ambedkar Study Centre, working for the development and welfare of Dalit community in Rajasthan and interacted with representatives of Vyas University and many other people associated with this community.

Gandhi listened to all and requested the CM, sitting with him, to solve the problems at the state level.

‘WHEN WILL RAHUL FREE RAJ OF CORRUPTION?’

Jaipur: BJP State Prez Dr Satish Poonia raised the 9th question to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on corruption. He said that corruption has become etiquette in Rajasthan. “When will Rahul Gandhi free the state from corruption?” he asked in a video statement.

“Various organisations ranging from Transparency International have confirmed that Rajasthan is one of the most corrupt states in the country. This record has been seen in the last 4 years,” Dr Poonia said.

YATRA INFUSING HOPE AMONG PEOPLE: PILOT

the Bharat Jodo Yatra in North India has been many times more successful than the South India. “People are getting new enthusiasm and hope from the Yatra,” he said. He said that the Yatra will complete 100 days in Dausa and a history will be created.

“This is not a political trip. Rahul Gandhi does not accuse anyone. He only talks about love,” he said. Congress has registered a big victory in Himachal, he added.

international expo, products ranging from handicrafts to jewellery, ceramics and other products will be displayed on a wide scale.

He said that in this event to be held in Jodhpur, various pavilions would be constructed in an area of about 1 lakh square meters. An important meeting was held in Jodhpur on November 7 to meet the exporters and prepare for it, he further added.

Jaipur: Giriraj Sanadhya, Secretary of Rajsamand District Cricket Association, has resigned.

He resigned from the post of DCA Secretary and Headley Club President.

Sanadhya accused RCA President, Rajsamand DCA President and his PA of neglecting him. He also raised questions on the selection of Rajasthan cricket team.

In evening leg of the Yatra also two groups mainly of youth accompanied Rahul Gandhi.

Anand Sharma, Mukul Wasnik, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Sachin Pilot, Pramod Jain Bhaya, Ramlal Jat, BS Bhati, Rajendra Gudha, Ramesh Meena, Bhajan Lal Jatav, Zahida Khan, Divya Maderna, Amin Kagzi, Rafeek Khan, Mukesh Bhakhar, Ramniwas Gaondia, Indra Meena, Mahendra Gehlot, Sandeep Chaudhary and others participated on Tuesday.

Sharma

Jaipur: With senior IPS and Director General of Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) BL Soni set to retire on December 31, only one question is being discussed these days in the police circles: Who will be the new Director General of ACB? Interestingly, according to highly placed sources, IPS Rajiv Sharma can be appointed as DG - ACB.

Dharmendra Rathore, Anil Sharma meet Kharge, discuss Raj politics

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The Chairman of RTDC Dharmendra Rathore held a detailed discussion about the politics of Rajasthan during a courtesy meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun

Newly

Rathore said that due to public welfare policies of CM Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan, Con-

gress has won 7 out of 9 assembly by-elections with huge votes and in Rajasthan Assembly elections 2023, the Congress government under the leadership of

Int’l Expo to be held

Jodh in March, would prove to be a milestone

First India Bureau

4 HELD FOR PLANNING TO SET ABLAZE TENTS IN YATRA

Rajiv Arora chairs a Hybrid meeting to review the preparations for the International Expo to be held in Jodhpur in March 2023.

Mahendra Parakh, PR Sharma and other officials were present.

Rahul Gandhi waves at the crowd during the ‘Bharat JodoYatra’ in Sawai Madhopur on Tuesday. Also seen here are CM Ashok Gehlot, GS Dotasra, Sachin Pilot & others.

(R): Rahul Gandhi with the representatives of Dalit Groups.

Kalbeliya dancers swirl to the tunes of ‘dhol’ outside the PCC office in Jaipur as they celebrate the ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Raj. About 5,000 Cong leaders from Jaipur would participate in Yatra on Dec 18. —PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO

Rahul Gandhi with Rafeek Khan as the latter interacts with him during the Bharat JodoYatra in Sawai Madhopur.

Manish Dharnia, member of Rajasthan State Agro Industries Development Board, participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Bundi district. During this, he met Rahul Gandhi and discussed various issues with CM Ashok Gehlot. Thanking CM Ashok Gehlot for the excellent arrangements made in view of the Yatra in Rajasthan, Dharnia said that this has infused new energy among the workers.

First India Bureau

Kharge.

elected MLA from Sardarshahar Anil Sharma also accompanied Rathore.

CM Ashok Gehlot will repeat. Kharge congratulated Anil Sharma for winning the Sardarshahar assembly by-election by more than 27,000 record votes.

Four people tried to set the tents associated with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra on fire. The miscreants reached the Yatra venue by a car late on Monday night at Bamanwas in Sawai Madhopur, when the food was being prepared for the Yatra in the tents. About 10-15 people came and left the cattle in the

and were preparing to set the tent on fire. A Congress worker overheard the accused while trying to chase away the cattle. Some workers immediately informed the police about this. When the police reached the spot, the

The Congress’ Rajasthan unit chief Govind Singh Dotasra said the feedback received during the yatra would be communicated to the government

Rajasthan is the only Congress-ruled state the yatra has entered and will cover about 500 km over 17 days before entering Haryana on December 21

CM Ashok Gehlot along with Manish Dharnia & Bharat Sharma during the Bharat JodoYatra in Bundi.

Rahul Gandhi with the Anchor & Reporter of First India News, Jayati Mishra during the Yatra.

Sawai Madhopur: Former Dy CM Sachin Pilot said that

Rahul Gandhi interacts with kids as they also hand over their creativity in form of letters to Rahul during the Bharat JodoYatra.

Mallikarjun Kharge with Dharmendra Rathore & Anil Sharma, who called upon the Congress President at his residence in New Delhi.

First India Bureau

Navin

Secy Rajsamand Dist Cric Assn Sanadhya resigns

State Govt transfers two RAS officers

IPS Rajiv Sharma likely to be new DG-ACB in Raj

After BJP’s landslide victory in Gujarat, Modi is international

media’s new ‘Hero’: Dr. Chandra

Describing how Rahul Gandhi is responsible for party’s loss in Gujarat and that his Yatra should have been started after the two recently concluded Assembly elections, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Bharat24-Vision of New India and First India; CMD, First India News, Dr Jagdeesh Chandra stresses that Congress’ lack of leadership, uncertain decision making and Rahul Gandhi’s disinterest in aggressive campaigning in Gujarat assembly elections directly resulted in the abysmal performance of the party. Dr Chandra also says that Owaisi did not have any role in the election other than divide Congress’ vote which is the same with Kejriwal also. Excerpts... (Part-II)

z You must have seen the media coverage after Gujarat’s victory. Why is there so much appreciation for PM Modi in the national media?

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra: See what actually happens is that elections are like festivities for media. And in that festivity, the hero is always praised. And by and large, the media supports Modi and is touched by Modi’s talent. Let me cite you a few headlines here.

Bhaskar carried a headline saying Gujarat’s chest is now 156 inch.

Patrika carried ‘Gujarati maa Bolu, Tame Prem Karu Chu’. Media loves to give catchy headlines and elections, like I said, are like the festivals of Diwali or Holi. This time too, it happened and there was a competition as to who will file the best headline.

z So how do you analyse the positive projection about PM Modi in international media? That was unusual and wonderful at the same time. Because it has been a general attitude of Indian leaders to see a ‘Down -sized’ version of PM since Modi has emerged as a global leader. Al-Jazeera, a channel that rarely supports Modi came in his support then several media portals also supported him. UK’s TheGuardian, the biggest media group also supported PM. And only one thing was said by all in their analyses that Modi has charisma and he is a combination of religion and development. So with Modi’s praise, the nationalists have felt proud that perhaps for the first time foreign international media has praised an Indian Prime Minister openly.

z Now that India has G20’s Presidency and the manner in which PM Narendra Modi has set its narrative, do you think BJP will get benefit of this in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections?

I have said this in the past too that Narendra Modi knows and even those near to him also

know which opportunity needs to be encashed how. They have a superb tuning in that matter. Similarly, G20 is an opportunity and PM chased that and a narrative came out that it is an opportunity to showcase the strength of India at the global level. So definitely, the government will get benefit from it going into the election. Moreover, Modi himself has said that the honour of G20 Presidency is not his, rather of each and every citizen of the nation. They have chased this opportunity and one can witness in days to come, an atmosphere about the G20 will be seen across the country and the Prime Minister’s Presidency in G20 will be encashed and publicised, which will ultimately benefit the party in elections.

Yatra, will he perhaps address these issues. In the meantime, Raghu Sharma has resigned and it is believed that more such resignations should happen.

z After Congress’ defeat in Gujarat, party in charge for Gujarat Dr Raghu Sharma resigned from the position, taking responsibility. Do you think other leaders from Gujarat will follow suit?

As of now, Congress is a ‘Leaderless’ party, even if Kharge and all other are there. Dr Raghu Sharma has resigned taking responsibility of the defeat, but it remains to be seen, if the party chief in Gujarat or the CLP leader resign taking responsibility. Even if they do, then also there is no relevance because they also lost. Raghu Sharma believes that for two years, there was no CLP leader of state chief in Gujarat which has affected the party. As far as Raghu Sharma is concerned, he is a good leader. He was a Minister in Rajasthan and won two bypolls for the party in Rajasthan. So whether this is a start or an end of such issues will have to be seen because only when Rahul Gandhi gets time from his

z How responsible is Rahul Gandhi for the loss? Should it be that the Bharat Jodo Yatra he has undertaken, have been started after the Gujarat elections? There are two things. Firstly, how responsible is he for the Gujarat debacle. Well, he is responsible for not taking decision. For two years the important posts of party leader and CLP leader were vacant which is akin to a joke. How will an organisation work in such a manner? There is no resource management there, neither is there any clarity. Ashok Gehlot was given responsibility, but there was no clarity there too. No one is free to make decisions. They (Rahul Gandhi) wasted 2 years keeping everyone on toes, if they will become Party President or not, & then they wasted 2 years in Gujarat. Well, he is responsible for the party since he is the undeclared president of the party and CEO of Congress. Then as far as the Yatra is concerned, so of course, as a politician, it was a wrong time to take out the Yatra. It was not appropriate. The Parliament is in session, Assembly elections have been conducted in Himachal and Gujarat. Even if one discounts Himachal that Priyanka Gandhi went there, even then, there is challenge in Gujarat and Parliament. But he

went for the Yatra. So even though he went to Gujarat and conducted rallies for two days, but that was a mere symbolic move and he should have stayed put there for 15 days. So, I feel that he is responsible to a large extent.

z Mallikarjun Kharge is the new Congress President, but do you think there still exists a lack of leadership in the party? Also, is there a tripartite power centre in Congress i.e. within the Gandhi family?

Of course, lack of leadership still exists in Congress. Although Kharge has become the Party President, but he has not been able to take decisions. How will he take decisions when he is a ceremonial President? Moreover, Rahul Gandhi does not have time. You are right in saying that there are three power centres in the party and there is no unanimity in decisions.

I said a little while back that Congress is like a headless party and the power centres are in their own spheres and Kharge isn’t able to work independently. So, even though, someone else has been made Congress President, the actual power still rests with the ‘Gandhis.’ So yes, there is still a leadership crisis in Congress.

z Priyanka Gandhi went to Himachal to campaign for the party and the party has won too. So how do you visualise Priyanka’s role?

Her role was good. She went to Himachal as she has a home there. She went to five districts and conducted major rallies. These five districts had 22 seats and the party has won on these seats, so the party has won election due to Priyanka’s activities. Although no one persona can be singled out and given all the credit

for the party’s victory in Himachal. In fact, a few people were disgruntled as well saying that she has come to Shimla and her phone was switched off. The leaders wanted her to reach party’s office in Shimla to release the manifesto, but she didn’t go, so there was resentment as well. She was in Shimla, but such actions don’t bring about a connect or synergy with workers. But still on the face value, being fair to her, one can say that yes she had a role and she has won Himachal for the party.

z What was Owaisi’s or his party AIMIM’s role in Gujarat?

Owaisi did do much as he got only 0.29 percent vote share. As far as 2024 is concerned, I don’t see Owaisi playing any major role. His and Kejriwal’s role is similar, that they want to upset the game and want to make their presence felt in it. So, Owaisi didn’t have any impor-

tant role in Gujarat.

z As far as workers are concerned, what exactly is the basic difference in cultures of Congress and BJP? The basic difference is that the BJP is a worker- oriented party, while the Congress is a leaderoriented party. The second difference is organisation. They (BJP) work for the organisation and would not shy away from clashing for even single vote, and on the other hand, is Congress which does not have a proper organisation. You can see for yourself, Kharge has become President, but posts are still lying vacant on multitude of places including that of District President, Block President etc. Secondly, as far as culture is concerned, let me cite you an example. The Congress won Himachal Pradesh and party workers and leaders were hopeful that the doors of 10, Janpath would open, AICC would open its doors and celebrate the victory, distributing sweets among workers & leaders alike. But nothing of that sort happened as the leaders were in Sawai Madhopur’s Rathmabore Tiger Reserve observing wildlife. Since it was Sonia Gandhi’s birthday, so as family, Priyanka and Rahul were also there. They could have celebrated their birthday, but at least, they could have given a time to workers that they will meet them at a particular time and those who wanted to meet them, and celebrate the victory could come. Or they

could have asked to celebrate the victory at AICC or at the very least in Shimla, but nothing happened anywhere. So basically, neither are they sad over loss, nor happy over victory.

z Did Hardik Patel set his records straight by contesting the election on BJP’s ticket?

You can say so. He struggled a lot, but it did not find traction in ModiShah’s rule. Ultimately, he surrendered and joined BJP, thereby, winning by over 50,000 votes.

z AAP has made its entry into the Gujarat Assembly. Will this have any far reaching effect?

Definitely. Kejriwal is clear on this. He contests first election to lose, second to make other main parties lose & fights the third to win. Look at how they entered Punjab with 20 seats in 2017 & are now at 92 seats. Now, where will he go to cut other parties? In 2023, polls will be held for 9 assembly constituencies, specially in the Hindi belt of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. What happened in Gujarat will happen in these states also, where the vote share would be divided whose direct benefit would go to the BJP so it will have a far reaching effect. The only far reaching effect of AAP’s entry in any state would be Congress’s loss.

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

It is tough to guide your children towards developing into ideal adults, because you have to lead by example.

—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, First India

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra with Sonika, Pooja Yadav, Aditi Nagar, Mimansa Malik and Poornima Mishra during The JC Show.

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra during The JC Show.

ust like most fashion

90s, and the trendy look has returned to stay thanks to the numerous ways to wear it. The reason why cold shoulder tops have become so fashionable in recent years is that they give a casual summer ensemble a hint of eroticism. Recently, a few let-

nation of painterly blooms, gentle pastel hues, and airy chiffon fabric. Add a little roughness to the top with something like these faded jeans with the raw edge step hem. The bohemian style is enhanced by braided mules. It is Haute Hippie be-

DELIGHT IN THE DETAILS J

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

WOULD YOU ALLOW ANGER TO OVERTAKE YOU

devastating effects. Many people take anger as aggression but there is a fine line between the two. Anger is an emotion while aggression is an action. An angry person may or may not show aggression whilst an act of aggression can be performed with no anger at all.

ARIES

MAR 21 - APR 20 Today is a favourable day for business.

Listening to someone’s advice on the professional front will be in your interest. You are very generous and also you are the backbone of your family. Be careful of the words that come out of your mouth. Your lover may finally say yes to get married.

TAURUS

APR 21 - MAY 20

You will enjoy good health by remaining regular in your workouts. It will be in your interest to guide a family youngster on the academic front.

Scrumptious food is what you are craving for today. You may start a side business to earn extra money. You are not a jealous kind and you feel happy for others.

GEMINI

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

LIBRA

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

Fortunes are set to rise for those in trade and business. You love to live close to your family. You are a child at heart and never let this child die. You have a big heart and you always help someone if you can. Expected payments are likely to get released soon. Your day will be blessed.

SCORPIO

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22 Family will be supportive of your ideas, but only to an extent. You give tough competition to people. Many people get inspired by you. You will get special treatment from your dear ones. Good health is assured through own efforts. You will feel happy today.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV 23 - DEC 22

Your spouse is someone who can do anything for your happiness. Tensions on the family front are likely to get sorted out.

Help your mothers at home and give them a reason to smile. You are opportunist and this will make you successful one day.

CANCER

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

Almost every living being is born with a survival triad - fight, flight and freeze. We fight when cornered, take flight if circumstances are grave and freeze to avoid getting noticed if that one is the most appreciated strategy. These all are natural survival instincts which help save the life of a trained practitioner.

Controlled anger is part of the fight strategy which everyone experiences off and on during their lifetime. There is no bodily impact by mild angry mood but the problem arises when one is unable to control oneself and gets excessively angry, thereby, impacting relationships and quality of life. Sometimes, anger may be responsible for gross injury or even loss of life. That is the simple logic to conclude that we should understand and manage anger, an emotion we are born with.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY?

Your heart rate races up, your breath becomes deeper and your stomach starts churning. Jaw clenching, teeth grinding, sweating, body shaking and trembling are part of a strong anger response.

If not controlled at this stage, the muscles get tense with feelings of fainting and leg weakness. Prolonged anger episode is characterized by shouting, abuse, threats, yelling, and crying which some people try to control by smoking or alcohol intake or throwing and breaking things.

Anger activates sig-

nificant inflammation in body tissues and re current episodes may lead to the develop ment of chronic dis eases as age advances. Hence, the cause of anger should be re solved at the earliest otherwise there would be a price tag in form of a lifelong ailment. The underlying causes of triggering anger are numerous. A threat or an attack, frustration, powerless ness, deception, and unfair treatment all cause some degree of anger even in people well-trained to main tain their calm. What is important is the de gree of loss of temper.

There are so many issues with partners, coworkers, family members, friends and clients that may be re

Overall, except for a well-controlled, wellunderstood emotion, anger is a negative and harmful behaviour trait and should be avoided. It is never easy to do so but yet, but it is possible. A pause of a few minutes before reaction, counting ten, breathing deeply and holding it, and relaxing the body may help avert the outburst. Listening to music or talking with someone leads to distraction and cools the temper. Since it is part of behaviour, counselling and behaviour therapy may do wonders. Religions and their places of worship used to provide significant calm and coolness in many people’s lives but no more are the older effects visible.

The politicisation of religions across the globe has converted these places into dens of hatred and anger.

You must create an environment of understanding at home. Your regular exercise routine promises to keep you fit and energetic. You will succeed in any sort of examination if you put your heart and soul to it. You need a break from day to tensions and the way to cope up with stress is to meditate.

LEO

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

You are very fortunate to have a great friend circle. You will manage to implement it at work. You are likely to feel much energetic today. Visit a doctor if you have any doubts about your health. You want to have your own house and you will work hard to make your dream come true.

CAPRICORN

DEC 23 - JAN 20 You make sure to make things work your way. You are most wanted by your friends. You can have romantic affair in office and a serious one. You will invest money in accessories today. You are a God fearing person. Never demotivate someone even if someone is not capable of doing something.

AQUARIUS

Pending paperwork concerning a property will be completed. Your spouse may make you spend more than you expected.

Admit your faults in relationship. Invest money in stock market as you can make fortune. You miss your parents a lot and somewhere fear to loose them.

VIRGO

PISCES

FACEOFTHEDAY

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

DR RAMAVTAR SHARMA

ramawatarf132@gmail.com

JANHVI IN VERSACE

The Mili actress was busy warming up the waters of Maldives and her beach bum mode deserves special attention. We took notes of the season’s sparkles, party favourite cut-outs, and backless dresses and holiday essentials such as denim shorts, a bikini top, and a printed monokini. If you’re not a keen enthusiast of a colour mash-up, follow this all-black look. And, no doubt this outfit can be your party wear.

Janhvi’s return to Mumbai was

marked by a round table conference which also had notable stars like Anil Kapoor, Dulquer Salmaan, Rishab Shetty, Ayushmann Khurrana, Vidya Balan, Rajkummar Rao, and a few others. The young actress was styled by Meagan Concession and her team in a Versace single-breasted blazer designed from a silk blend.

The Rs. 335,500 number had shoulder pads, a single Medusa button, peak lapels, and flap pockets. The tailored construction here is sure to be the headliner, it’s classy.

OLIVIA WILDE TURNS ‘GOOFY’ AT DISNEYLAND

Olivia Wilde has been in the headlines for the past few weeks for her reported breakup with Harry Styles! Ever since news broke of the ex-couple calling it quits, Olivia has been multitasking between representing Don’t Worry Darling during awards season and spending quality time with her family and friends. Speaking of Wilde’s loved ones, the talented actress-director recently took her and Jason Sudeikis’ children to Disneyland. For the unversed, Olivia Wilde and ex-fiance Jason Sudeikis share two children; Otis, 8, and Daisy, 6. Taking to her Instagram page, she shared photos and a video of herself with Otis and Daisy enjoying a trip to Disneyland.

ANANYA TAKES SHANAYA TO QATAR

ATHIYA & KL RAHUL’S WEDDING

One of the most highly anticipated celebrity marriages of 2023 is not too far now. So, if you are sick of the humdrum of the wedding date confusion, don’t be! We’ve got you covered. The wedding dates of Athiya Shetty and KL Rahul and finally, the lovebirds will celebrate their wedding events from 21st to 23rd January 2023. Suneil & Mana Shetty’s beautiful daughter will walk down the aisle with Cricketer KL Rahul in the 4th week of January 2023. Their families and close ones have geared up for the bigfat wedding.

A Special Gesture for him

hehnaaz Gill and Sidharth Shukla’s love story is one of the most beautiful stories of the decade.

Ananya Panday jetted off to Qatar on Tuesday.

The actress has taken her dad Chunky Panday to watch the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Ananya, who is a diehard football fan, has taken her BFF Shanaya Kapoor along with her to watch the match. A source revealed that the actress has been invited by Qatar Airways and the government to attend the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup. On a Tuesday morning, they were spotted at the private airport. Shanaya was seen along with her father Sanjay Kapoor and brother Jahaan. It will be exciting to see their pictures and videos while watching the match.

DUA LIPA SPARKS ROMANCE RUMOURS

The duo met inside the Bigg Boss 13 house and their connection was very organic. But the sudden demise of Sidharth Shukla shocked his fans and loved ones. It was Sidharth Shukla’s 41st birth anniversary on December 12. The actress Shehnaaz Gill shared an emotional post on social media where she posted a picture of Sidharth Shukla and wrote in the captions, “i will see you again 12 12.”

The actress commemorated the birth anniversary of Sidharth Shukla by organising langar at a Gurudwara in Mumbai. She shared a post on social media on which it was written on a board, “joh koi insaan mujhe bhagwaan/parmatma tak pahocha de toh main uske charan/per chu lunga, aur prasad ke rup mein main apna jivan daaan kr dunga.”

There seems to be a new couple in H-town and it happens to be Dua Lipa and rapper Jack Harlow. After Harlow wrote a song after Lipa in his recent album, it seems the duo have gotten along well. The duo recently bumped into each other at the Variety Hitmakers Brunch in Los Angeles in November and it seems that’s where the two hit it off. After the duo ran into each other at the Variety Hitmakers Brunch, the Levitating singer has become quite smitten with the charming rapper, and the report also mentioned that the duo have been in “constant communication” ever since. An insider also informed that Harlow was already taken by Dua Lipa and added, “he was very interested in her, and was going to strongly pursue [the romance].”

Janhvi Kapoor

Ananya Panday and Shanaya Kapoor

Olivia Wilde

Athiya Shetty

Shehnaaz Gill

Dua Lipa

Janhvi in Versace single-breasted blazer

Her story...

Jack Harlow and Dua Lipa

THE JC SHOW

BEAUTY OF ART & HISTORY!

Global marked their presence.

DURING THE DAY!

CITY FIRST

Artefacts from beautiful architecture and art forms from around the world were showcased on the rugs, showcasing the history of rugs over the decades and how they have changed over time. This site was unique in itself and the Heritage Rugs Connect organised

for the first time in the city. On Tuesday, the program was organised at Saraswati Global located in Jal Mahal, where

many dignitaries of the city participated in the program.

Jagdeesh Chandra along with Dr Mahesh

Joshi, Cabinet Minister, Rajiv Arora, Rajsico President and Rajasthan Export Promotion Council and Himmat Singh,

International Fashion Designer, Ambassador Khadi, Government of Rajasthan were present as the Chief Guest for the event. Prachi Khandelwal, Suchita Manak Bohra, Shweta Surana and Rashmi Kotawala were also present in the program organised under the joint aegis of Fit Body and Soul and Saraswati Global. Yash Bhatia, Rishabh Vishwanath and Asif from Sarvati

Much awaited music fest! PROUD MOMENT!

CITY FIRST

After the overwhelming response received by its previous editions, Vedanta Udaipur World Music Festival, India’s biggest world music extravaganza, launched the festival to the world on December 9 with a poster launch.

The event kickstarted the festival and announced the line-up for the festival starting from December 16 to 18. The sixth edition of the festival in association with Rajasthan Tourism and Hindu-

stan Zinc will witness the presence of over 100 renowned musicians, Conceptualized by Seher. The underlying theme of Vedanta Udaipur World Music Festival 2022 is “Preservation and propaga-

tion

Mahesh Choudhary and Preethi Ammaman from Saraswati Global presented a spectacular collection of various types of rugs along with the grand history of rugs. During the occasion, artisans from different regions of the state also gave live demonstrations of handloom and hand weaving. In which a glimpse of the history of rugs was seen from the delightful fusion of Rajasthan and Mughal architecture.

Along with this, Preethi Ammaman shared about 18 finishing steps after rugs are prepared which include measuring, counting knots, measuring pile height etc. He further added that after going through all these manual processes, it takes another month or so to make the final product.

50 leaders awarded the WomenLead India Fellowship!

CITY FIRST

The inaugural cohort of WomenLead India Fellows was selected for work in Education, Rural Transformation, Sports for Development and Arts, Culture and Heritage. Through a 10-month programme, the Fellows will be provided with a course curriculum and access to a network of global leaders and influencers. The Fellowship aims to enhance India’s development sector ecosys-

tem through women’s leadership

Washington, D.C, USA / Mumbai, India, December 13, 2022:

Women leaders who drive, enable and facilitate social change in India will be part of a new initiative that strengthens their capacity with a Fellowship and a strong support system.

Fifty inspiring women from India’s social sector have been identified for the inaugural WomenLead India Fellowship, a joint initia-

tive by Reliance Foundation and Vital Voices Global Partnership. Driving an ambitious urgent agenda for wom-

en’s leadership in India, the Fellowship invests in change makers, social entrepreneurs and social sector leaders,

with a support system to meaningfully grow their social initiatives and achieve the United Nations Sustainable De-

velopment Goals.

Speaking on the Fellowship award, Nita M Ambani, Founder & Chairperson, of Reliance Foundation, said, “My congratulations to the 50 exemplary women who have been selected for the first WomenLead India Fellowship.

It has been a joy to learn about their inspiring journeys and transformational vision. I hope this Fellowship will be a force multiplier that further strengthens and amplifies their out-

standing work with communities across India. Reliance Foundation is privileged to partner with Vital Voices in this incredible initiative to support our WomenLead India Fellows and be a part of their story.”

“I commend these 50 women leaders for rising up to the challenges people face in their communities to steer the way forward. They are shining examples of what the WomenLead India Fellowship is all about and I

couldn’t be prouder that Vital Voices is a part of their journey. We are enthusiastic about making a longterm investment in this inaugural cohort of Fellows, whom we believe will use their power to empower millions of others,” said Alyse Nelson, Co-Founder, President & CEO, of Vital Voices. “We are thrilled to partner with Reliance Foundation on welcoming India’s next generation of women leaders into this esteemed Fellowship.”

Jagdeesh Chandra with the anchors of The JC Show (L-R) Sonika, Karishma Sachdev Tahlani, Varunavi Singh, Astha Khandelwal, Aditi Nagar, Mimansa Malik, Poornima Mishra, Amit Mishra, Shazia, Pooja Yadav, Amrita Garg and Ayushi Shekhawat during The New JC Show at Bharat24Vision of New India, Noida on Monday, December 12.

After the birthday of Rituraj Sharma, President of Rajasthan High Court Staff Association and the marriage ceremony of his daughter, a Sunderkand and Bhajan Sandhya was organised at the residence on Tuesday. The Bhajan Sandhya was organised by Dr Preeti Dixit, wife of Rituraj Sharma and her family members, after which delicious food Prasad was also served.

Star player Bhumika Shukla reached Jaipur on Tuesday and got a grand welcome from Rajasthan Rugby Football Association at Jaipur airport. Bhumika recently won the silver medal for India in Indian Rugby Asia Championship.

of the forgotten musical instruments and traditions of Rajasthan” where the festival will focus on showcasing Sarangi, which is a protected musical tradition by UNESCO.

Unique Builders represented Rajasthan in the recently held International Property Expo in Dubai. Speaking about the event Vibhishek Pal Singh, MD of Unique Builders said that representing Rajasthan on such International platforms is a matter of pride for our company as we get the chance to exhibit the real estate development done by us. Moreover, we have been a regular participant in such big occasion events abroad and have been receiving great responses for our properties. Singh said this time was no different as we got great responses from the NRIs and are positive that we will continue to grow our international business as such.

Jagdeesh Chandra was presented with the Look Book of the Jaipur Photographers’ Club at his residence on Tuesday. The Club is organising its 10th Annual Photo Exhibition which will be inaugurated on December 22 at Chaturdik Art Gallery, JKK. The exhibition will be marked with the launch of the 2023 Calendar with the theme ‘Incredible India’. Anil Khubani was also present on the occasion.

Jagdeesh Chandra with Parul, Tanvi and Yashika

Himmat Singh, Toshi Vijay, Yash and Mahesh Joshi with the local artisans

Poonam Madan, Toshi Vijay, Shraddha Chaudhary, Priyamvi Rajawat, Doorva Sharma and Tanvi Gaur Arora

Megha Gupta and Chandini Batra Nagpal

Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Raj Chaudhary, Preeti Chaudhary, Rajiv Arora, Himmat Singh, Mahesh Chaudhary and Megha Gupta

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA