First India-Delhi 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 P6

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.

BREAKTHROUGH 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

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.

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

Oppn did not allow Question Hour to run. I condemn this act. Parl Affairs Minister

said

on Tawang faceoff 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.”

Metro connectivity to Noida, IGI airports via New Delhi station

Noida (PTI): The DMRC on Tuesday signed an agreement with the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority for preparing a detailed project report for the construction of the proposed metro rail link between New Delhi Railway Station and Greater Noida, officials said.

The proposed rail link is part of the Uttar

Pradesh government’s plan to provide lastmile metro connectivity till the Noida International Airport in Jewar,

they said.

A team of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) made a presentation to YEIDA officials regarding the rail line between Greater Noida’s Knowledge Park area and New Delhi Railway Station, covering a distance of 37 km over 11 stations in an estimated one hour time, according to a press release.

DELHI RIOTS UAPA CASE

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

SC judge recuses from hearing Bilkis Bano’s plea

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.

SCRAMBLED

OVER

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. P6

Where am I party to the violence?

Gulfisha Fatima seeks bail

New Delhi (PTI): Student activist Gulfisha Fatima on Tuesday sought bail from the Delhi High Court in a case of larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi, asserting that no role was ascribed to her in the violence.

Arguing before a bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar. the counsel appearing for Fatima said all the statements to show her alleged culpability were

recorded by the police over a period of several months after her arrest and the possibility of these statements being “tailored” cannot be ruled out.

The lawyer argued that no speech or suggestion at any meeting of the accused in the case is ascribed to Fatima. “I am not denying that violence took place in Delhi but what is the role ascribed to me?

Where am I party to the violence? Where am I encouraging that vio-

from HC

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.

ANNIVERSARY OF A TRAGIC DAY

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.

EVENTS:

CM TO CHAIR MEET

lence?” the counsel said.

Submitting that all the witnesses “speak like a great chorus”, the lawyer questioned the reliability of the prosecution witnesses.

“Does he go to the police? Does he escalate the issue? Not one witness. There is not one witness that doesn’t have a role in the protest,” he said.

Gulfisha Fatima at the anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh in early 2020.

—FILE PHOTO

PAR PANEL SUMMONS AIRPORT CEO

New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel will take up the issue of congestion at Delhi airport with Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, the CEO of Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), on Thursday, according to the committee’s Chairman Vijayasai Reddy.

The

airport on Tuesday. Image tweeted by Nikhil Inamdar @Nik_Inamdar

NCP PRESIDENT SHARAD PAWAR RECEIVES DEATH THREAT, 1

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.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during a tribute ceremony to pay homage to martyrs who lost their lives in the 2001 Parliament attack, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

PLA troops tried to change status quo in Arunachal Pradesh, India 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 issued be discussed at once P6 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

clearly

that the Defence Minister will make a statement

Pema Khandu, Arunachal Pradesh CM

IAF

JETS 2-3 TIMES

AIR VIOLATIONS BY CHINA

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.

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

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.

Bilkis Bano Bela M Trivedi

New Delhi: Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena will chair a meeting along with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday to take stock of preparations for events as part of India’s G-20 presidency, LG House sources said. Delhi ministers will attend the meeting to be chaired by Saxena and Kejriwal.

meeting will be to take stock of preparations in the run-up to the G-20 summit on December 14,” sources said.

NUCLEAR FUSION

Govt looks for experts to train 2 cr officials

Envisioned as one of the largest capacitybuilding initiatives in government organisations anywhere in the world, Mission Karmayogi will initially cover about 33 lakh government officials at the Centre and will eventually aim to transform approximately 2 crore government officials across the Centre, the states and the local bodies, according to an official order advertising the recruitment.

Ashwini Shrivastava

New Delhi: Karmayogi Bharat, a not-forprofit company set up by the Union Personnel Ministry, is looking for experts from industry and academia to help in its national programme for transform-

ing approximately two crore government officials across the states and at the Centre.

It has also decided to engage "young professionals" who will be required to research and analyse various policy decisions that the govern-

ment takes to meet the objective of the 'Mission Karmayogi' -dubbed as the biggest bureaucratic reform initiative-- the national programme for civil services capacity building. Karmayogi Bharat’s special purpose vehicle (SPV) will

2019 JAMIA VIOLENCE

be responsible for owning, managing, maintaining, and improving the digital assets, i.e., iGOT-Karmayogi (Integrated Government Online Training) the digital/e-learning platform, including the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) of all software,

Police oppose setting up of SIT

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi

Police on Tuesday opposed in the high court here a plea to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into alleged police atrocities that took place in Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University in December 2019 following student protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The police responded to an 'amendment application' – filed in a pending PIL concerning the incident of violence at the varsity – that also sought the transfer of FIRs lodged against students to an independent agency and argued that a "stranger" cannot seek a judicial inquiry or investigation by any thirdparty agency.

The police said the application was "nothing but a disguised attempt by a third party interloper to interfere in criminal matters in the garb of PIL" and a PIL petitioner cannot be permitted to choose the members of SIT for

POLICE VERSION

the plaint/petition, in law, cannot be permitted," the reply said.

"It is submitted that the petitioners, who claim to be students of Jamia, do not have locus to seek registration of FIR/judicial inquiry or investigation by a third party agency on behalf of a third person stranger. It is well settled that it is impermissible in law to seek the intervention of the Hon'ble Courts in criminal matters in the garb of PIL," it added.

content, process etc. on behalf of the government. iGOT Karmayogi is an online platform that enables online, face-to-face, and blended learning and manages lifelong learning records of officials.

"To venture out and excel in these areas, tal-

Central Secretariat officers take to Twitter over non-promotion

New Delhi (PTI): The CSS Forum, an association of Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officers, on Tuesday took to Twitter over non-promotion of their members. The posts of Section Officers (SOs) have become vacant on a large scale in the CSS, one of the members of the association said.

HOW TO APPLY

Those interested have been asked to apply along with a cover letter mentioning the "area of expertise of the person", "Why they would like to work with KB" and "How KB would benefit from the person working with KB" in not more than 500 words, besides a curriculum vitae and two references.

ents may not be necessarily available with the government, hence Karmayogi Bharat is willing to take people

‘YOUNG PROFESSIONALS’ NEEDED

The Karmayogi Bharat is also looking for young professionals to join its team, according to another order. They will be required to research and analyse various policy decisions that the government takes to meet the objective of the Mission Karmayogi –create a competent civil service rooted in Indian ethos, with a shared understanding of India's priorities, working in harmonisation for effective and efficient public servicedelivery, the order said. The last date to apply under the young professional category is December 21. For those interested to become volunteers, the last date to apply is December 22. The ideal candidate should have out-ofthe-box thinking, a positive outlook and an eye for detail, the order added.

from industry and academia to work with the KB on a volunteer basis from their parent organisation so that these

experts play a key role in improving iGOT Karmayogi Bharat platform," the order said. —PTI

Delhi govt launches winter action plan for homeless

AT 177, DELHI RECORDS BEST AIR QUALITY SINCE OCTOBER 15

investigating and prosecuting any alleged offence.

"The petitioners, who are third-party strangers under the garb of PIL, cannot seek either a judicial inquiry or in-

Woman gives chase, nabs phone snatcher

New Delhi (ANI): A woman gave chase and nabbed a juvenile who had allegedly snatched her mobile phone in Rajouri Garden area, Delhi Police said. According to the police the incident took place at 9:30 am on December 11 when a woman Ruchi Gulyani, 31, was on her way to office. "Ruchi Gulyani of Moti Nagar was on her way to office and talking on her phone when two boys on a grey scooty attempted to snatch her phone. After initial resistance by her, the robbers forcefully took her phone and fled". "The woman stopped a scooty rider and requested his help in chasing them. She then went in pursuit of the robbers and managed to nab one while the other managed to escape," Delhi Police said.

vestigation by any thirdparty agency for ventilating grievances of persons who are not before the Hon'ble Court. It is submitted that an amendment which changes the nature of

Several petitions are pending before HC seeking directions for setting up SIT, Commission of Inquiry or a fact-finding committee, medical treatment, compensation and interim protection from arrest for the students and registration of FIRs against erring police officers.

The petitioners are lawyers, students of JMI, residents of Okhla where the university is located, and Imam of Jama Masjid opposite Parliament House.

"Out of 3,640 sanctioned posts for Section Officer in the central secretariat, 1,624 are vacant (that is about 45 per cent). Despite the availability of sufficient number of qualified officers, the vacant posts are not being filled even through promotion," the officer said.

"Thousands of people are requesting for promotion of eligible ASOs (Assistant Section Officers) of CSS and filling up of 1600+ vacancies in SO grade. CSS Forum requests @PMOIndia @ DrJitendraSingh and @ DoPTGoI to immediately look into the issue," the CSS Forum tweeted.

New Delhi (PTI): The government has launched a winter action plan for the homeless which includes food and lodging across all shelter homes in the city.

A 24x7 centralised control room has been set up and multiple helpline numbers (14461, 011-23378789 and 01123370560) have also been issued by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).

After reviewing the plan with officials on Tuesday, DyCM Manish Sisodia said, “To ensure no one is left out in the cold in peak winter, the government has established food and lodging facilities for homeless people across 195 shelter homes with capacity to shelter 17,000 people.”

All 22 sub-registrars in Delhi now women

New Delhi (PTI): From property registrations to marriage registrations, Delhi will now see only women sub-registrars involved in dealing with common people as LG VK Saxena directed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to appoint them.

The move would mean that for the first time, all 22 Sub-Registrars in Delhi government's Revenue Department will be women officers.

In a statement, the LG office said it is expected that with women officers at the helm, the "prevalent corruption, red-tapism and harassment of people at such

PARL PANEL FINDING

offices will be mitigated". The sub-registrar offices are at the cutting edge of government's interface with the common citizens, it said.

After assuming office,

LG Saxena, to empower women in government services by placing them in positions of importance, had envisaged the sub-registrar offices of Revenue Department be headed by women.

"This, he had underlined, would also ensure more sensitive, corruption-free and empathetic public dealing, as experience around the world had established," the statement added.

‘Public Library membership down; digitise texts’

New Delhi (PTI): A parliamentary committee has raised concerns over decrease in membership of the Delhi Public Library and recommended the government form a virtual library through largescale digitisation of texts.

The parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture’s 328th report, ‘Action Taken by the Government on the Rec-

ommendations/ Observations of the Committee contained in its Three Hundred Tenth Report on the subject

Functioning of Central Libraries in the Country,’ has stated that the Delhi Public Library has witnessed a decrease in

MINISTRY ACCEPTS

New Delhi (PTI): Winds gusting up to 16 kmph gave Delhi its best air quality since October 15 on Tuesday. The 24-hr average air quality index (AQI) of the city stood at 177, improving from 218 on Monday. The AQI was 186 on October 15. This is also the first time since December 14, 2020 that the capital recorded a “moderate” air quality day in December. Meanwhile, Delhi Pollution Control Committee has directed agencies to strictly implement curbs under stage 3 (AQI severe) and stage 4 (severe plus) of the Graded Response Action Plan whenever ordered by the Commission for Air Quality Management. The maximum temperature settled four notches above normal at 26.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and the minimum settled at 8.9.

OVER 40 LAKH CONSUMERS APPLY FOR ELECTRICITY SUBSIDY

New Delhi (PTI): More than 40 lakh of the national capital’s 57.60 lakh domestic power consumers have applied for subsidies under the Delhi government’s free electricity scheme till Tuesday, government data showed. The data also showed 47 lakh consumers received subsidies when consumers didn’t need to apply for the scheme. The Delhi government revamped its subsidy scheme to make it mandatory for domestic consumers to apply to avail of the benefit. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced that from October, only those consumers who apply for power subsidy would get it. As of Tuesday evening, 40,28,915 consumers have applied for the subsidy.

Two girl students die after being knocked down by car, 1 held

First India Bureau

New Delhi: A person was arrested on charges of rash driving after two 14-year-old girl students of Class 9 were knocked down dead by the car he was driving.

The students, Vanshika Mishra and Manvi, studied in Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Peeragarhi village, police said.

from what it was prior to coronavirus period i.e. 1.85 lakh. Being a model library created in 1951 in Asia with UNESCO’s technical, financial assistance, it should lead other libraries in country and extend all possible help in their growth.

membership in recent times, one of the reasons being the pandemic.

“It has come down to 1.5 lakh membership

Delhi Public Library should make all out efforts to increase its membership/viewership in the interest of general public,” the report stated.

According to police, the accident took place on Sunday when both were going for tuition at 4 pm. While they were crossing Rohtak Road (Nangloi to Peeragarhi carriage way) at Metro Pillar 294, they were hit by a car being driven by Arun Sharma of Nangloi. Sharma and his father Ravi were going to Karnal bypass to collect a water tank for hospital machines of Sant Onkar Singh Memorial Charitable Hospital, police said.

The injured were taken to Pushpanjali Hospi-

tal and later referred to Balaji Action hospital where Manvi was declared dead and due to non-availability of ventilator, Mishra was hospitalised in Maharaja Agrasen Hospital. During treatment, she also succumbed, police said.

RASH DRIVING

Shah’s removal referred to President: LG tells HC

n‘DUE TO DIFFERENCE IN OPINION OF CM’; NEXT HEARING JAN 9

New Delhi (ANI):

Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and other respondents have filed an affidavit on the petition of Jasmine Shah, stating that the matter has been referred to the President in view of the difference of opinion expressed by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal against the LG’s recommendation.

On November 26, Sisodia, the minister incharge, made a noting upon the file concerning the removal of Shah and disagreed with the opinion expressed by the LG and forwarded it to the CM, who is also Chairperson of DDCD, the affidavit said.

The CM on November 26 approved the noting and the order directing the Planning Department to rescind the two

Arvind Kejriwal GROSS ABUSE OF POWER: SHAH

“In exercise of such authority vested in him by Article 239AA (4) of the Constitution, the LG, in terms of difference of opinion expressed by the Deputy CM and approved by the CM, referred the matter to the President on November 30,” it said.

Four including 2 Nigerians arrested for duping people

New Delhi (PTI): Four men including two Nigerian nationals were arrested for allegedly duping people of money on the pretext of sending them gifts and later calling them for money to get their gifts released by posing as excise officials, police said on Tuesday.

The accused have been identified as Sachin Rai (36), Zigmi Lama (29) and two Nigerians Smith Henry (36) and Wisdom Okafor (35), police said.

Four held for posing as finance ministry officials

New Delhi (PTI): Four men were arrested for allegedly posing as Ministry of Finance officials and cheating people using forged government documents, police said on Tuesday.

With the arrest of Mehtab Alam (33), Sartaj Khan (31), Mohd Junaid (29) and Deen Mohd (27), the police also claimed to have unearthed a data sheet of approximately 3,000 potential victims.

orders of November 17, 2022 with immediate effect and issue orders to de-seal the office of the vice chairperson of DDCD, it added.

The affidavit said that Article 239AA (4) of the Constitution provides

Khalid’s bail comes with many conditions

New Delhi (ANI):

Additional Sessions

Judge of Karkardooma Court, Amitabh Rawat while granting interim bail to Umar Khalid imposed several conditions, including that he remains at home except on the days of wedding functions of his younger sister Zainab Fatima.

"He shall not meet members of the public. He will be entitled to interact with his family members, relatives and friends during the marriage ceremony but during his entire interim bail period, he shall remain at his home at Johri Farm, Delhi except to attend marriage functions on December 26, December 27, and December 28, 2022, at the designated place,” the judge said.

The court noted verification of the marriage-related functions has been done by the Investigating Agency. It has also been stated that both parents of the accused are earning members.

COURT’S CONDITIONS

l Umar Khalid shall not get in touch with any of the witnesses nor will tamper with evidence.

l He will provide his mobile number to the Investigating Officer (IO) and keep his mobile open till the period of interim bail.

l He will daily video call the IO during the period.

l He shall not talk or give any interview to any media or social media.

l The police may guard the house from outside, but shall not go inside.

l On the expiry of the period of bail, Khalid will surrender himself on December 30 before the Jail Superintendent who shall thereafter file a report to court.

that in case of a difference of opinion between the LG and his ministers, the LG shall refer such matters to the President and shall act accordingly to the decision given by the President.

The matter is related to the recommendations made by the LG to the CM for the removal of Jasmine Shah from the post of Vice Chairperson of the Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission (DDCD).

Police said the accused created fake profiles on Facebook and approached people for friendship through social media. Then they start chatting with them through International WhatsApp numbers. According to police, once they gained confidence of the victims, they offered partnership in their business and in the meantime, they offered them gift parcels.

Excise case: ED opposes bail pleas of Nair, Boinpally, Reddy

New Delhi (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday filed a reply, opposing bail petitions moved by AAP’s Vijay Nair, businessmen Sharath Reddy and Abhishek Boinpally, who are in judicial custody in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy money laundering case.

The reply copies were filed before Special Judge MK Nagpal by the ED through Special Public Prosecutor Naveen Kumar Matta. The de-

tailed arguments on the bail petition of Sharath Reddy will take place on December 17.

The court also will also hear arguments on the bail plea of businessman Sameer Mahendru, who was the first person

Sandeep Pathak made AAP’s nat’l general secy

New Delhi (PTI): The AAP has appointed its senior leader and Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak as national general secretary (organisation), after it recently became eligible for national party status.

Pathak was the party's election in-charge for Punjab and Gujarat, where assembly polls were held this month.

"The party hereby appoints Shri @SandeepPathak04 as the Rashtriya Sangathan Mahamantri (National General Secretary Organisa-

tion). He will also be a Permanent Invitee to the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of AAP. Congratulations on your new role!" the party tweeted from its official handle.

Sources in the AAP also said the appointment has been made eyeing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

to be arrested by the ED in the excise policy case.

During the proceedings on Tuesday, advocates Kapil Sibal and Siddharth Luthra appeared for Reddy.

The court also fixed December 19 as the date for hearing three more bail petitions in the case moved by Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally and Binoy Babu. At present, the court of Special Judge MK Nagpal is examining the five bail petitions in the excise case.

All the accused have previous experience of working at insurance companies, the police said. Alam, the alleged kingpin, also has experience in dealing with websites and email registration.

He convinced his associates to work with him to earn easy money. They fraudulently obtained insurance policyholder data and started contacting them with fake email IDs created in the name of the Reserve Bank of India and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).

The gang used forged documents of the Ministry of Finance bearing the signature of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, RBI Regional Director SMN Swamy, the IRDA (Bima Lokpal) and officials from various life insurance companies, the police said.

The accused collected data from insurance companies and targeted the victims by sending forged documents and cheques to entice and dupe the policyholders.

The matter came to light after the Ministry of Finance, which also

MODUS OPERANDI

Elaborating on the gang's modus operandi, DCP Prashant Gautam said the accused used to call the insurance policyholders posing as IRDA, RBI and Ministry of Finance officials and lured them on the pretext of providing maturity amount against their existing or lapsed policies. "In order to convince the policy holders, they sent them emails using IDs similar to that of government financial institutions with forged documents seemingly issued from the RBI, Ministry of Finance and the IRDA," Gautam said. They also sent forged cheques by post to the victims in order to induce them. After that, they asked for charges, including processing, no-objection and fund releasing. "Upon getting the cheques, the victims transferred the amount into the accounts provided by the accused persons and then the accused would withdraw the amount from different locations in Delhi," the senior police official said.

received a fake letter issued in its name and bearing Sitharaman's signature, highlighted the issue. Similar complaints were also received during the inquiry.

The police said one victim was duped of Rs 127,000 using the same modus operandi.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations)

Delhi BJP’s Chandolia files plaint with ACB against AAP leaders

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi BJP leader Yogendra Chandolia on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) against AAP leaders, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, MP Sanjay Singh, for being accused of horse-trading.

Chandolia, who is incharge of BJP's northwest Delhi unit and a former mayor, alleged Kejriwal was part of a "conspiracy" to accuse his party of trying to poach AAP councillors.

He said in his com-

‘ANTI-MINORITY POLICY’

plaint that he never spoke to anyone or indulged in any horsetrading.

"The allegations levelled against me are false, baseless, concoct-

Prashant Gautam said after analysing the technical aspects and cyber trailing, the team zeroed in on the location and identity of the alleged fraudsters. Despite the accused constantly changing their locations, the police managed to arrest Alam from New Delhi's Mustafabad following a raid. Later, his three associates were arrested, Gautam said.

ed and far from the truth. I specifically state that I neither called nor made Adesh Gupta talk to anyone and have not offered any money to anyone," he stated.

New Delhi (PTI): The AAP government will provide 450 types of medical tests free of cost at its hospitals and health centres from January 1, with CM Arvind Kejriwal saying the move will help those unable to afford private healthcare. The number of medical tests provided free of cost by the city government at present is 212, officials said.

JNUTA for ‘immediate reversal’ of decision to withdraw fellowship

lll

Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani last week announced the decision to discontinue the Maulana Azad Nat’l Fellowship from 2022-23 academic session

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The Centre’s decision to withdraw the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for minority students has not gone down well with teachers at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here, with Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on Tuesday demanding an immediate reversal of the ‘anti-minority policy’.

“The JNU Teachers’

Association (JNUTA) notes with deep dismay the media reports appearing on December 10, 2022, that the Ministry of Minority Affairs has decided to withdraw the Maulana Azad Fellowship (MAF), a 5-year fellowship provided by the Centre in the form of financial assistance to six notified minority communities -- Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Parsis and Sikhs, to pursue PhDs,” it said in a statement.

Last week, in a written reply in Lok Sabha, Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani announced the decision to discontinue the fellow-

ship from 2022-23 session, saying it overlapped with various fellowship schemes being implemented by the government. JNUTA

Academic excellence can thrive in an environment not only free & devoid of fear but one that seeks to remove social disadvantages.

—JNUTA

called the discontinuation of the scheme an attack on the values of “inclusivity and democracy” integral to the higher education sys-

tem required in India.

“JNUTA demands an immediate reversal of the anti-minority policy evident in the withdrawal of MAF and the upholding of the democratic rights of all teachers to participate in higher education with dignity and without fear,” the teachers’ body said.

In the statement, the JNUTA also noted that academic excellence could only thrive in an environment that was

not only free and devoid of fear but one that actively sought to remove social disadvantages.

On Monday, students of many universities, including Jamia Millia Islamia and JNU, staged a protest outside the Ministry of Education here against the discontinuation of the fellowship. The Centre had last week announced discontinuation of prematric scholarships for minority students from Class 1 to Class 8.

LG Vinai Kumar Saxena Jasmine Shah

CM

IFSO Unit of Delhi Police Special Cell arrest insurance fraud gang posing as officials of Ministry of Finance or RBI, in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

BJP’s Yogendra Chandolia with Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bidhuri addresses a press conference at Delhi BJP office on Tuesday.

BY ANI

FOOTBALL ENSURES ‘YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE’

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

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.

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)

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

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.

SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE

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!

z An

Estevez

dian

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.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

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

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.

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

ROBIN ROY

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

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

was seen carrying the In-

national flag in a video shared by Yadil M Iqbal, a football fan from Kerala.

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.”

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 ’

the

Congress

in the state

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

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

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):

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”.

Nitish drops hints he may pass on mantle to Tejashwi

development. "I

the performance

all the

work smooth-

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

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.

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.

“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.

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

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

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 2001

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

will be held in the new building, adjacent to the old structure.

Murmu said the nation 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.

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

New Delhi: It

a ritual

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,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. —PHOTO BY ANI

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

FORMER HP CM JAIRAM THAKUR TARGETS CONG GOVT

Shimla (ANI): Former Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur on Tuesday slammed

newly formed

government

and

‘

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

HIMACHAL CM SUKHU PAYS COURTESY VISIT TO GUV ARLEKAR

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

have seen

of Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in Vidhan Sabha. He is a visionary leader and I hope, his team will perform

administrative

ly", 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.

‘Grand alliance at national level must to defeat BJP in 2024’

(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

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Congress on Tuesday issued a show cause notice to its party leader Raja Pateria for using objectionable and condemnable words for PM 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”.

‘KILL MODI’ REMARKS

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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

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

“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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

PARL PANEL TO TAKE UP AIRPORT ISSUE

WITH DIAL

New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel

DIAL on December 15 amid passengers facing long waiting hours, according to the committee’s Chairman Vijayasai Reddy.

The Department-related

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-

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.

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

TAMIL NADU MAN KILLS 5 FAMILY MEMBERS,

will take up issue of congestion at Delhi airport with CEO of airport operator

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.

Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Chief

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

z

‘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.

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.

z

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

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

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

z 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

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.

NCLAT ALLOWS

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

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.

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

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.

RUPEE DECLINES 36 PAISE TO END AT 82.87 AGAINST US $

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

SETTLEMENT

BETWEEN MCDONALD’S & BAKSHI

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.

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

First India Bureau

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.

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

PTI

z 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.

DRIVEN BY ROBUST DEMAND

TaMo TO HIKE CV PRICES BY UP TO 2%

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.

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

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.

It

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

www.firstindia.co.in

DELIGHT IN THE DETAILS

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

Just 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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

LEO

AQUARIUS

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

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

hehnaaz Gill and Sidharth Shukla’s love story is one of the most beautiful stories of the decade. The duo met inside the Bigg Boss 13 house and their connection was very organic. But the sud den 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 anniver sary of Sidharth Shukla by organising langar at a Gurudwara in Mumbai. She shared a post on so cial media on which it was written on a board, “joh koi insaan mujhe bhagwaan/parmatma tak paho cha 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

INDIA’S FIRST EVER FASHION SOIRÉE

CITY FIRST

THE ILLUSION OF COLOURS ON CANVAS

CITY FIRST

An upcoming four-day art camp and exhibition titled ‘Rang Mirage’ by Adhvika Agarwal (Director) will be organised at Sanik farm, New Delhi. The exhibition will be sponsored by Manoj Agarwal (MD, Great Value Group) in support of Sanskar Bharti. The camp has collected the works of various talented artists all across India and gives the artists an opportunity to showcase their work in the heart of Delhi. Rang Mirage ‘Rango ka Khel’ as the name suggests is an illusion of colours on canvas, turned into impeccable different styles of paintings.

This concept allows artists to participate and attend a 4 day Art Camp held in Delhi. The camp will take care of all amenities and accommodations, including paint, leisure, eateries and a whole lot of fun. The camp has thirteen artists coming over to a residence in Sainik Farms which will conclude with an art exhibition on the last day, showcasing all the paintings done by 13 artists to an influen tial crowd of Delhi NCR. The focus of this art camp is to support and gen erate awareness of our great senior artists in India.

A

lways known to reveal his success through revelries, Manish Malhotra this time hosts a Khaab Bridal Soirée, an evening of couture and cocktails at the Leela Palace, Delhi on Saturday, December 10. The only designer in our country who extended his influence beyond fashion and films celebrates nine years of his eponymous Manish Malhotra Flagship Store in Delhi.

The state’s crème de la crème and beau monde gathered for a unique high aesthetic experience to celebrate the designer’s achievement with a couture representation of his bridal wear where craft and artistry dominate.

The highlight of the soirée was the showstopper Vaani Kapoor musing and making a statement in an ethereally exaggerated ivory ensemble, a deconstructed asymmetrical Lehenga with a striped organza trailing drape and an encrusted broad Pearl band paired with the brands signature crossover stylised Blouse embellished in 3D crochet sequins.

The couture range exhibited at the soirée oscillates between the oldworld regalia and the modern repertoire.

—PHOTOS

BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

The hidden language OF

CITY FIRST

THE SOUL

Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra and Dancing Deer will be going to organise an Odissi recital by Molina Singh’s debut performance on Friday, December 16, 2022, at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi. MP and Padma Vibhushan Sonal Mansingh will grace the event as a Chief Guest. Capsuled into

an hour of a spectacle, Molina will present four distinct Odissi sequences woven into a solo recital. Expressing her sentiments about her first-ever recital, an emotional Molina said, “My journey as a dancer has been unconventional. At my age, I should’ve been training new Kathak students, but here I am, making my debut as an Odissi dancer. I am nervous and excited.” Cheering her on towards her passion, her husband Actor Sushant Singh expressed, “Molina lives and breathes dance, and I think in Odissi she has finally found her true calling. Her solo debut performance on the 16th of December is the culmination of years of ‘Tapasya’. I am so proud of her, she inspires me to be a better artist and person.”

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.”

Khaab Bridal

2022 is a symphonic harmony of various heterogeneous elements that span from staid classic to the edgy take of new-age appeal bridal and cocktail wear. The collection was accessorized with heritage treasures, envisioned in modern art by Manish Malhotra Jewellery, curated in line with Raniwala 1881.

Vaani Kapoor

Ravishing models showcase the collection

Adhvika Agarwal

Molina Singh

Former South Africa cricketer, Kings XI Punjab official coach and all-time best fielder Jonty Rhodes arrived in Jaipur on Sunday to appoint Vidyadhar Nagar Jaipur-based Anytime Sports Nutrition as the official distribution partner for his fitness supplement brand ESN Ripped Series. Many dignitaries including Kamlesh Goyal and Amit Goyal, directors of Anytime Sports Nutrition were present on the occasion. Jonty Rhodes' ESN Ripped series of fitness nutrition products.

MEET AND GREET

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.