First India-Mumbai Edition-16th October 2022

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Another targeted killing

Kashmiri Pandit shot dead by terrorists in J&K’s Shopian

Police said area has been cordoned off and a hunt has been launched to nab assailants

POOREST OF POOR SHOULD UNDERSTAND...

PM Narendra Modi bats for laws to be written in simple, regional languages

IT IS PERSONAL: VIJAY RESIGNS AS SECURITY ADVISOR OF MHA

New Delhi: Decorated police officer K Vijay Kumar, who was credited for eliminating forest brigand Veerappan, has resigned as the senior security advisor in Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Kumar, who put in his papers sometimes ago due to personal reasons, vacated his accommodation in Delhi and relocated to Chennai.

KERALA GOVERNOR

MOHAMMED KHAN’S

FB ACCOUNT HACKED

New Delhi: Kerala Guv Arif Mohammed Khan’s Facebook account was hacked on Saturday. “The matter has been reported and efforts are on to restore page,” Khan said. There are 3 posts that show constructionrelated videos, along with descriptions in Arabic.

200 NORTH INDIANS

INDUCTED INTO MNS IN THANE’S KALYAN

Thane: At least 200 people from North Indian communities joined the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) at a function in Kalyan city of Maha’s Thane district on Saturday. Talking to reporters, people who joined the fold claimed they were fed up of ongoing politics in the state and hence, decided to go with MNS.

IIT ASPIRANT FROM WEST BENGAL KILLS SELF IN KOTA

Kota: A 16-year-old boy allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the ninth floor of a residential building in Kota on Friday. Police informed the victim, Swarna (16), a native of West Bengal, committed suicide as he was under stress due to studies.

Moni Sharma Srinagar: In another terror attack on a mi nority in Jammu and Kashmir, a Kashmiri Pandit was shot dead by terrorists in Shopian on Saturday. The Kashmiri Pandit received bullet injuries initially in the terror attack in South Kashmir's Shopian dis trict. The victim was rushed to the district hospital in Shopian.

The victim has been identified as Puran Kris han Bhat. He was target ed outside his residence on Saturday morning. Kashmir Zone Police, in its statement, said that the area is cordoned off and search is in progress.

“Terrorists fired upon a civilian (minor ity) Shri Puran Krishan Bhat while he was on way to orchard in Chowdari Gund of Shopian. He was imme diately shifted to hospi tal for treatment where he succumbed. Area cordoned off. Search in progress,” Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.

ANDHERI (E) ASSEMBLY BYPOLL

DAY DECLARED PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Saturday declared a public holiday for the Andheri East As sembly constituency on the day of the bypoll to be held on November 03.

In an official release, the district election officer stated that this holiday will be applicable to Central and state government offices, semi-government offices, public enterprises, banks and others. The holiday will also apply to voters who work outside the limits of the Assem bly constituency, stated the release. “In order to increase the percentage of voting in this by-election, public awareness is being

created on a large scale,” said Mumbai suburban District Collector and District Election Officer, Nidhi Choudhary, while appealing to citizens to vote in large numbers.

This will be the first byelection in the state after the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in June.

IED SPOTTED IN J&K’S BANDIPORA REGION

Bandipora: Vehicular move ment on the BandiporaSopore road between Badyara and Kanbathi villages in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandi pora district has been halted after security forces detected an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), officials said.

5 DRUG PEDDLERS

BOOKED UNDER PSA

Five drug peddlers were booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bud gam, police said on Saturday. 5 notorious drug peddlers were booked after obtaining formal detention orders from authority, police said.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s admin istration on Saturday terminated 5 govern ment employees for their links with various terrorist outfits. One of the 5, Tanveer Saleem Dar was known as the most important terrorist commander and logistics provider of Lashkar-eToiba in Srinagar city.

Attack on Puran Krishan Bhat by terrorists in Shopian is a dastardly act of cowardice. My heartfelt condolences to bereaved family. I assure the people that the perpetrators and those aiding and abetting terrorists will be severely punished.

—Manoj Sinha, Lt Governor of J&K

New Delhi (ANI): Em phasizing on reforms in the judicial system, PM Narendra Modi on Sat urday said laws should be written in simple and regional languages so that even the poorest of poor can understand the new legislation.

PM Narendra Modi was addressing the in augural session of All India Conference of

Law Ministers and Sec retaries at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat via video conferencing.

More on P5

‘HIMACHAL KI PUKAR, PHIR BHAJPA SARKAR’ “Jai Hatti, Jai Matti” - Union Home Minister Amit Shah gets warm welcome in hill state. Shah addresses a public meeting, ahead of the HP Assembly elections, in Sirmaur on Satur day. Shah took to Twitter a video in HP saying ‘Himachal ki pukar, phir bhajpa sarkar’. P5

‘Pak is dangerous nation in world’

CCP’s term to end on Oct 22, Xi may retain

SC suspends order clearing accused in Maoist-links case

All convicts to remain in jail as top court rejects wheelchair-bound Saibaba’s request for house arrest

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Sat urday suspended the Bombay High Court or der acquitting former Delhi University (DU) professor GN Saibaba and others in a Maoistlinks case. It said that merits of the case were not considered while granting them the relief.

The top court reject ed Saibaba’s request to order his release from jail due to his disability and health conditions and put him under house arrest after the Maharashtra govern ment opposed the

prayer. It, however, al lowed Saibaba to move a fresh bail application in the case.

The high court had acquitted Saibaba and others in the case on Friday.

An apex court bench

of Justices MR Shah and Bela M Trivedi, which sat on a nonworking day to hear the matter said, “We are of the opinion that this is a fit case to exercise powers under Section 390 CrPC and to sus

pend the impugned judgment and order passed by the high court.”

It said, “We are of the firm opinion that the impugned judgment and order passed by the high court Turn to P6

‘DISAPPOINTED WITH SC CALL’

A day after the Bombay High Court acquitted her father, Shikha Rahi, the daughter of journalist Prashant Rahi, said that she was disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision on Saturday to suspend the judgment. “This was the first case where the state made allegations about urban Naxals. The conviction in 2017 was a matter of great pride for the state and we knew that an appeal would be filed if we got a fair judgment from the high court. We did not expect the judiciary to get coloured by the picture painted by the prosecution about my father and others,” Shikha said.

Volunteers from Korea show their Taekwondo skills at the opening ceremony of "Rang De Korea" festival organised to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI), at DLF Avenue Saket, in New Delhi on Saturday.

PHOTO BY ANI

5 J&K GOVT STAFFS TERMINATED FOR TERROR LINKS

Washington: US President Joe Biden at a DCCC Recep tion in LA described Pakistan as “one of the most dangerous nations” in the world which holds “nuclear weapons with out any cohesion.” When has Pak shown aggression, said Imran on Biden’s remark.

Beijing: Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Congress will end on October 22. The media briefing comes a day ahead of over 2,000 delegates coming in for a closed-door conclave where President Xi Jinping is expected to secure a historic 3rd term in power.

Security forces cordon off the area after militants shot dead a Kashmiri Pandit Puran Krishan Bhat outside his residence, in the Shopian District of South Kashmir, on Saturday. PHOTOS BY ANI

Terrorists shot him from back near his residence. The victim is self employed and is survived by two children – a boy and a girl. —An eye witness

BMC to HC: No water certificate, no occupation nod to builders

Ghatkopar resident files petition after developer forces him to take possession of flat without amenities

First India Bureau

Mumbai: In a deci sion that will impact developmental pro jects in the city, the Brihanmumbai Mu nicipal Corporation (BMC) has informed the Bombay High

Court that Occupa tion Certificates (OC) will now be issued to developers only after they have secured water connection certificates.

A petition had been filed by a Ghatkopar resident, Subodh Joshi,

who had complained that his flat was located in a redevelopment pro ject of a building with out proper water con nection. He highlighted the fact that since BMC had granted an OC to the developer, the latter was forcing eligible per sons to take possession of their flats.

The HC pulled up BMC, directing it to streamline its process to ensure that such is

sues do not crop up again. In its affidavit, the civic body has stat ed that it has issued a circular to all wards about not issuing an OC to a building before the water connection certificate is procured.

A notification to that effect will be issued in the next two to three days, it added.

A division bench comprising Justice Gautam Patel and Jus

Fadnavis hails SC’s suspension of Saibaba acquittal order by HC

Deputy CM expresses satisfaction at outcome, vows to fight ‘legal battle ahead’

First India Bureau

Nagpur: Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday welcomed the deci sion of the Supreme Court to suspend the Bombay High Court’s order of acquitting former Delhi Univer sity professor GN Sai baba and others in a Maoist links case.

The top court on Sat urday rejected Saiba ba’s request to order his release from jail due to his disability and health conditions and put him under house ar rest after the Maha rashtra government op posed the prayer. It sub mitted that nowadays, there is a new tendency of “urban Naxals” to seek house arrest. The high court had acquit ted Saibaba and others in the case on Friday.

Speaking to reporters at the Nagpur airport,

Fadnavis said, “I am satisfied with the apex court's decision to sus pend the high court or der on professor GN Saibaba. Yesterday (on

Maha rains: Help farmers or Cong will agitate, warns Patole

Friday), I had said that the high court decision was surprising and shocking for us, be cause releasing a per son on technical

First India Bureau

Pune: State Minister Chandrakant Patil on Saturday said not a single MLA is un happy and the state government is taking decisions that will benefit people.

Speaking to reporters in Pune, Patil said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-Deputy CM Dev endra Fadnavis govern ment had completed 100 days and that no legisla tor was unhappy.

The minister of high er and technical educa

grounds, against whom there was ample evi dence of directly help ing Maoists, was wrong. Hence, we approached the SC yesterday itself.”

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

A section of activists and Left outfits on Saturday expressed disappointment with the Supreme Court decision to suspend the high court order acquitting GN Saibaba. They urged that the wheelchair-bound former Delhi University professor be given bail for medical treatment. The All India Students’ Association (AISA) held a demonstration at the university’s Arts Faculty in Delhi, demanding the release of Saibaba. The outfit also accused the police of high-handedness in dealing with students and teachers who participated in the protest.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lead er and former chief min ister said he was thank ful to the top court for forming a bench on Fri day and suspended the high court order.

“We will fight the le gal battle ahead,” he said, adding that the SC decision would provide relief to the families of policemen that were martyred in attacks by Naxalites.

More than eight years after his arrest, the Nag pur bench of the Bom bay High Court had on Friday acquitted Saiba ba in a Maoist links case for want of valid sanc tion for prosecution un der the stringent antiterror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The HC also allowed the appeals filed by five other con victs, acquitting them of all charges.

tice Gauri Godse heard Joshi’s petition. They had been informed by advocate Ashok Saroa gi that the petition had been filed after the de veloper asked his client to move into the flat al lotted to him in a newly constructed building.

Saroagi had submitted that the building did not have proper drink ing water supply nor water connection, and yet the developer was

forcing his client to oc cupy the flat.

The building is one of the five in a redevel opment project at Ghat kopar; Joshi was allot ted a flat on fifth floor of one of the buildings.

The developer as sured the HC that eligi ble persons would not be forced to take posses sion of the flats till the water connection from the BMC’s mainline was installed.

BMC opens tender for road linking Dahisar, Bhayandar

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Brihan mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued a tender on Saturday to build the elevated road linking Dahisar West to Bhay andar (West)—the last leg of the coastal road which could pro vide a respite for mo torists from traffic snarls in Dahisar check naka and Mira Bhayandar.

The civic body’s de partment of bridges has set a deadline of 42 months, inclusive of monsoon, to finish the project. Once awarded, the contractor must get clearance from the state

Construction of elevated stretch will cost the BMC an estimated Rs1.6K cr

coastal zone manage ment authority and the forest department, be fore beginning construc tion, as the alignment of the elevated road is through mangroves.

“Once the BMC com pletes the work…con necting Dahisar and Bhayandar, traffic snarls at Dahisar check naka will soon be a thing of the past. It would cut down nearly 70% of the traffic snarls,” said BMC officials.

govt taking decisions beneficial to people: Patil

tion was the chief guest at ‘Mukt Sanvad’ pro gramme conducted by Savitribai Phule Pune University.

“From day one, NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) leaders Ajit Pa war, Jayant Patil and Congress’ Nana Patole had claimed that this government will fail, but that has not hap pened. The state gov ernment is taking new decisions every other day for the betterment of people,” said Patil.

Patil, who is also the guardian minister of

Surveys, other loss

Mumbai: The Maha rashtra government must declare a "wet drought" due to heavy rains and crop dam age and losses, or the Congress will agitate and "not allow minis ters to move around," the party’s state unit chief Nana Patole said on Saturday.

Speaking to the me dia, Patole said, “Due to the incompetence of the state government, the farmers will celebrate a dark Diwali. After heavy rains, the receding wa ter has damaged crops and caused huge losses to farmers, who are dis tressed. Farmers in Vid arbha, Marathwada are reeling under heavy losses.”

He added that farm

ers in several parts of the state are distressed due to the damage to standing crops ready for harvest, while sur veys and other loss-as sessment procedures of the Eknath Shinde gov ernment were slow to take off.

“Aid announced by the Shinde-Fadnavis government has not reached farmers. The state government must immediately declare a wet drought otherwise the Congress will agi tate. Ministers will not be allowed to move around,” he warned.

Pune, said heavy rains that lashed the city in a short spell on Friday caused water logging in some places and an in

quiry will be conducted into this, he said.

“Pune district has suffered damages due to heavy rains. I will

ANDHERI (E) ASSEMBLY BYPOLL

hold talks with the dis trict collector and ask him to take stock of the damages,” he said.

Asked about the rise

in cases of sextortion in the city, Patil said, “As a guardian minis ter, I will review every other subject related to the district. I will be conducting nine re view meetings on dif ferent subjects. I will bring up this issue during a meeting with police officials.”

Measures to curb such crimes along with some mass awareness programmes will be dis cussed in the review meeting, added former state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Will Muslim voters support Thackeray camp’s candidate?

Political observers deem upcoming by-election key in gauging mood of electors in Maha ahead of BMC polls

First India Bureau

Mumbai: One of the key aspects of the up coming Andheri (East) Assembly bypoll will be whether Congress’ votes will get trans ferred to Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction’s candi date supported by the former and National ist Congress Party (NCP) or not. It re

mains to be seen if Muslim voters will support the saffron party, feel political ob servers.

Though the by-elec tion is a litmus test for the Shiv Sena, it will not be a deciding factor for the future of the party, founded by Bal Thack eray in 1966, they said.

The observers feel the outcome of elections to the Mumbai civic body,

is the first electoral

due in the next few months, will be the “ulti mate test” for Uddhav Thackeray.The Novem

ty and the combination of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Eknath Shinde-led faction.

ber 03 bypoll will be a contest between Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (SSUBT) par

“The Andheri bypoll will see if votes of Con gress get transferred to Shiv Sena and if Muslim electorates cast their votes for Shiv Sena,” said senior journalist Prakash Akolkar. He said the Shinde-led fac tion, which claims to be the “real” Shiv Sena, has “surrendered” the And heri (East) seat, which fell vacant after the death of the Shiv Sena MLA (Ramesh Latke), to its alliance partner BJP.

The by-election will not be a deciding factor for the future of the par ty. Rather it is the out come of the Mumbai civic elections that will decide the future of Shiv Sena,” he said.

Other political observ ers feel the bypoll will be no doubt an indicator of if Uddhav Thackeray can influence votes.

“The general mood of the electorate in Mum bai post a massive revolt in Shiv Sena and the col lapse of the MVA gov ernment can also be gauged from the results,” they said.

First India Bureau

Chandrakant Patil

Sena

Maha minister of Higher & Technical Education set to review rain damage in Pune district, asks collector to conduct inquiry

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

—FILE PHOTO

BY TRIDIB RAMAN

ELECTION FOR THE POST OF CONGRESS PRESIDENT TURNED INTERESTING

I s Mallikarjun

Kharge, considered the nominee of the Gandhi family, facing a tough competition from Shashi Tharoor? When Kharge reached Patna this Tuesday in connec tion with his election campaign, he was sur prised to see that de spite his campaigning, barely 200 delegates could gather to meet him, whereas 524 dele gates have been made in Bihar who will vote for the new president.

The campaign for Kharge’s campaigning programme in Patna was going on for four

days and Pramod Ti wari was already there in Patna for Kharge a day earlier. Now the delegates are complain ing that the cards have not been issued to most of them by Bihar Con gress Committee, so how will they vote?

Many delegates do not even know whether they are included in the official list of delegates or not. But both Kharge and Tharoor have a de finitive list of them as delegates are getting calls from their offices for support.

Shashi Tharoor is becoming very popular amongst the young del egates as he is person ally calling every dele gate & seeking their support for him. See ing turn of events in Patna, Kharge immedi ately played the card of the Gandhi family, say ing that ‘just 18 hours he filed his nomination papers, he was or dered to contest the elec tions of

CRUCIAL READ

BMC ISSUES ALERT ON SPREAD OF CONJUNCTIVITIS

Mumbai: Conjunctivitis cases are on the rise in Mumbai over the past two weeks and people must take precautions as well as timely visits to the doctor in case they experience pain or discomfort in their eyes, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Saturday. A BMC statement said 250-300 conjunctivitis patients have been treat ed in the civic-run Murli Deora Eye Hospital in the last two weeks.“Con junctivitis spread during rainy season,” said Dr Varsha Rokde, chief health officer of Murli Deora Eye Hospital.

INDIAN NAVY CMDR LOSES `1.5 LAKH TO CYBER FRAUDSTERS

Mumbai: An Indian Navy commander lost around Rs1.5 lakh from his credit card to cyber fraudsters, a Mumbai Police official said on Saturday. However, his quick thinking prevent ed him from losing another Rs1.35 lakh when he blocked his card. The officer was asked to download the “QuickSupport” app to pay his outstanding electricity bill. Keeping the officer engaged in conversation, the unidentified accused withdrew Rs48,999 and again Rs98,000 in back-to-back transac tions.

‘MEGA BLOCK’ FOR MAINTENANCE IN PARTS OF CENTRAL RAILWAY MUMBAI DIV

Mumbai: A mega block will be in effect on Sunday in parts of its Mumbai division to carry out main tenance works, the Central Railway announced on Friday. Down Slow Line services leaving CSMT, between 10.14 am and 3.18 pm, will be diverted on Down Fast Line between Matunga and Thane sta tions and will arrive at destination 15 minutes behind schedule. All Up and Down Line locals leaving from or arriving at CSMT from 11.00 am to 5.00 pm will be running 15 minutes behind schedule.

Congress president, be cause Rahul does not want any member of the Gandhi family to be at that post.’ That is, Kharge made it clear in a way that he had en tered the fray only af ter being asked by the Gandhi family.

POLITICAL HARMONY AT NETAJI’S FUNERAL

Shah. After attending that program, Yogi re turned and took part in Netaji’s funeral. Yogi also announced a threeday state mourning.

Most of the ministers of Yogi government, in cluding the Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak were present. Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, who has a close relation ship with Akhilesh, was also present there, Jay ant Chaudhary had also come, but he did not get any special attention from Akhilesh.

saying Kamal Nath and Bhupesh Baghel would go to Netaji’s funeral. However, the tradition of issuing this letter was unique. Rebel BJP lead er Varun Gandhi, who had reached there with his mother Maneka Gandhi, drew the atten tion of media. Seeing Varun, Akhilesh hugged him. It was an emotional moment, but it also had hidden hints of farreaching politics.

WHEN WILL ELECTIONS BE HELD IN J&K?

O n the death of Mu layam Singh Yadav, one of the great men of socialism, leaders of various parties gath ered in Saifai to pay trib ute to him. Rajnath Sin gh and Amit Shah also came, but on the occa sion of JP’s birth anni versary, there was a pro gram of UP CM Yogi Adityanath to go to his village Sitab Diara to participate with Amit

Mulayam’s second son Prateek Yadav was involved in all rituals but a distance between him and Akhilesh was visible. Akhilesh’s wife Dimple Yadav had also kept a distance from Prateek’s wife Aparna Yadav, who has gone to the BJP camp. Earlier there was a buzz that Priyanka Gandhi would also come, but later the Congress is sued a letter

T here is a divided opinion in the BJP about when elections should be held in mir. Sources said that J&K Governor Manoj Sinha wants the

tions to be held by No vember this year. Home Minister Amit Shah is also said to more or less have the same opinion. The atmosphere is in fa vor of BJP, so if elections are held in the coming few months, results may be in favour of BJP.

BJP can emerge as the number one party there. However, the opinion of the PMO is different. The PMO is in favor of holding elec tions next year along with Karnataka in the summer of 2023 so that, by then, the snow in the valley can also be cleared and the process of adding new voters in list can be completed. It should be noted that J&K has been under President’s rule since 2018 and assembly elec tions are to be held here for the first time after the abrogation of Arti cle 370 in August 2019.

ARE RJD AND JDU READY FOR MERGER?

K eeping in view the perspective of LS

Caller threatens to kidnap, kill SBI chairman over loan

ened that the SBI chair man will be kidnapped and murdered and the bank’s corporate of fice will be blown up with a bomb if the loan is not sanctioned,” said the official.

elections 2024, the script for the merger of JDU and RJD is being final ised. If sources are to be believed, then there has been a decisive round of talks between Lalu Ya dav and Nitish Kumar in this regard. Sources claim that after the merger of JDU and RJD, a new party will be formed whose national president will be Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Ya dav will take over the

...AND FINALLY

First India Bureau

Mumbai: An unidenti fied man called the State Bank of India’s (SBI) south Mumbai office and allegedly threatened to kidnap and murder the bank’s chairman and also blow up its office, said a police official on Saturday. He made the threats if the bank fails to sanction a loan of Rs10 lakh to him.

The call was received at the office of the per sonal assistant of SBI chairman located in the Corporate Centre in Na riman Point area on Wednesday morning.

Based on the complaint lodged the next day, a First Information Re

CALLER IDENTITY

After the threat call, Srivasatav approached the Marine Drive police station in south Mum bai and filed a com plaint, following which an FIR under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 506 (2) (criminal intimi dation) was registered.

post of CM of Bihar. The matter is stuck over the party’s symbol. Nitish wants the symbol of this new party to be JDU’s ‘arrow’ while Lalu is in favor of ‘lantern’. He says that his party RJD has a wide support base and vote share is also the highest and the people of Bihar also properly recognize the symbol of ‘Lantern’. Nitish seems to agree on this point, Because now he too has full desire to do politics of Delhi and he is ready to present himself as an alter native to Modi.

T here are strong in dications that Ra hul Gandhi will contest the 2024 election from Kanyakumari instead of Wayanad in Kerala. Congress knows that if Rahul contests from Kanyakumari, he will need DMK’s support because BJP’s perfor mance in Kanyaku mari has also been good. South India has always given a new lease of life to the Gandhi family. After losing the 1977 elec tion from Rae Bareli, Indira Gandhi won the 1978 by-election from Chikmagalur, Karnataka. Sonia Gandhi also won her first election in 1999 from Bellary Lok Sab ha seat in Karnataka. Rahul also turned to Wayanad in Kerala when he found the situ ation tough in Amethi. He lost Amethi but he got victory in Wayanad.

Autorickshaw driver held for sexually harassing 22-yr-old college student

First India Bureau

Thane: Police have nabbed the autorick shaw driver who had absconded after alleg edly sexually harass ing a 22-year-old fe male college student in Thane city, an offi cial said on Saturday.

A team from Thane Nagar police station caught the 36-year-old accused from Digha in neighbouring Navi Mumbai

port (FIR) was regis tered against the uni dentified caller.

During the probe, po lice found that the call had been made from West Bengal and a team of the Mumbai police was on its way to trace and nab the accused.

The complaint lodged

by the bank office’s as sistant security man ager Ajaykumar Srivas tav on Thursday said that the caller intro duced himself as Mo hammed Jia Ul Ali. He also said that the bank should sanction a loan of Rs10 lakh to him.

“The caller threat

Police have launched a probe into the case and obtained the call detail record (CDR) of the phone number from which the threat call was made. It was found that it originated from West Bengal. “A team of the Mum bai police has been sent to West Bengal to nab the accused,” said the official.

SBI, the largest lend er in the country, is cur rently headed by Dinesh Kumar Khara.

A team of the Thane Nagar police station caught the 36-year-old accused from Digha in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, following the incident that had occurred on Friday morning. “We caught the accused within 24 hours,” Senior Inspec tor Jairaj Ranaware of the Thane Nagar police station said.

Three police teams had been formed for the purpose. They checked the CCTV footage and worked on intelligence inputs, before zeroing on the accused, he said.

The woman was on her way to college when the autorickshaw driv er made some remarks about her while he was standing by the road.

When she confronted him, he grabbed her hand and drew her closer to him. The wom an continued to hold onto the accused’s hand as he started driving the three-wheeler when he attempted to flee after this. She got dragged for about 500 meters with the vehicle and fell, following which the accused fled, the police said.

Based on a complaint lodged by the woman, a case was registered against the accused un der sections 354 (assault or use of criminal force to any woman to outrage her modesty), 354(A) (sexual harassment), 336 (rash or negligent act), 279 (rash driving or rid ing on a public way) of the IPC, they said.

Pune’s Jehangir Hospital inducts unique docu system for records

lll

A code stroke program has been in place at the hospital since 2015, which gets 15-20 cases of stroke per month.

Of these 7 to 8 cases require thrombolytic treatment

First India Bureau

Pune: Although a Code Stroke pro gramme is underway at the Jehangir Hospi tal in Pune to treat stroke patients, the hospital authorities recently started a oneof-its-kind system called the Acute Stroke Care-Pathway.

According to Dr Soumya Chandrashek har, Consultant Acci dent and Emergency Department at Jehang ir Hospital, the Acute Stroke Care-Pathway is

a documentation of the patient’s health re cord, which will have history, comments and developments in the pa tient’s health. Access to this is given to doctors in the stroke team, in cluding neurologists, radiologists, physio therapists and clinical psychologists.

“This helps in moni toring a patient’s health and giving the right guidance during their follow-ups. Hence, this provides comprehen sive care in a very sys tematic manner,” Chan

drashekhar said.

Stroke affects the ar teries leading to and within the brain. It is becoming an important cause of premature death and disability in countries like India, which is largely driven by demographic chang es and enhanced by the increasing prevalence of the key modifiable risk factors.

A code stroke pro gramme has been on since 2015 at the hospi tal, which gets close to 15-20 cases of stroke every month. Of these,

around seven to eight cases go for thrombolyt ic treatment.

Vinod Sawantwadkar, CEO, Jehangir Hospital, said, “We regularly mon itor a quality indicator, which is the door to nee dle time in case of a stroke. Any stroke pa tient who comes into the emergency room is as sessed immediately. If there are any signs of stroke, then the code stroke is activated on the public announcement system and the entire stroke team comes down to the emergency.”

(L

Dr Venu Shashank. Y, Dr N Kedare, Dr N Bhandari, Dr S Borse, Dr D Khurjekar, Dr Soumya Chandrashekar, Dr Kayanoosh Kadapatti, Dr Ashwini Guge, Dr Devika Nair, Dr Disha Wanere. Acute Stroke Care-Pathway is a documentation of the patient’s health re cord, which will have history, comments and developments in the patient’s health. Access to this is given to doctors in the stroke team, including neurol ogists, radiologists, physiotherapists and clinical psychologists. This helps in moni

patient’s

giving

guidance during their follow-ups.

Also shared his plans to blow up the bank office ‘if `10L loan is not sanctioned’; FIR registered

Mallikarjun Kharge

Late Mulayam Singh

Manoj Sinha Rahul Gandhi

Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar

XI PREPARES TO EXTEND HIS REIGN AT 20th PARTY CONGRESS

PRESIDENT XI

INDIA GETTING SELF-RELIANT IN DEFENCE SECTOR AT RAPID PACE

China today is the second most powerful country in the world. President Xi’s ambition is to make China to become numero uno. A powerful China has always been hegemonistic. SinoIndian bilateral relations are, since 2020, tense and strained. China is the only P5 country in the UN Security Council which is opposed to India becoming a permanent member of the Security Council

The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India

Today, the 20th Party Con gress of the Communist Party of China – CCP has begun in Beijing. It will cer tainly give President Xi Jin ping, an unprecedented third term as general secre tary of the Party and the Chairmanship of the all im portant Central Military Commission.

President Xi Jinping is 69 years old and in good health.

His Presidency will, with out doubt be renewed in March 2023 by the National People’s Congress. Mr Xi Jinping has earned the rep utation of being the most powerful leader since Mao Tse Tung- (1893-1976). I have not met President Xi, Mao I met and saw many times during 1956-58, when I was posted in Peking (not Bei jing)

Mao had a commanding presence and founded the Peoples Republic of China on 1st October 1949. From his photographs President Xi appears to lack Mao’s charisma. Mao inherited a poor, underdeveloped coun try. President Xi a rich and developing one.

According to one report “there is much less corrup tion now than when he took

My dear Natwar, I have been meaning to write to you for some time but life has a habit of becoming confused and one is constantly involved in time-consuming activities that pay no dividends. At the end of the day, I am conscious of many wasted hours and yet I have not been unoccupied a single minute. This is the answer to your question as to why I wish to leave this post.

I like your ideas of attending the Security Council debate on Apartheid and will get in touch with the PM. Unfortunately, your letter arrived just after he had left. It seems natural that I should be associated with this debate but the thinking of the Government does not always coincide with mine.

The AICC is just over and I must say it was conducted in a more business like fashion than I had hoped. Speeches were good and to the point and the Prime Minister spoke on 2 occasions firmly and well. His main difficulty now is getting around as his left leg is weak and I doubt if it will get much better. But for this he has improved and one hopes that this progress will continue if he is careful to take sufficient rest.

The burning topic of the day in India is Shiekh Abdullah’s release and passions are deeply involved. So far, he has merely been letting off steam and I suppose this is natural after a decade’s incarceration. I wonder what tune he will play on his return from Pakistan. Except for the Swatantra Party- and even they are not unanimous on this point- the whole of India is united in pressing the Prime Minister not to give way on the matter of Kashmir’s accession. The new Prime Minister, Sadiq, had lunch with me today. He is a quiet little man, but firm and, I think, as well able to handle this intricate business as anyone else in Kashmir. One thing in his favour is that he does not talk.

I will write again as soon as there from Delhi.

[Vijay Lakshmi Pandit]

over as general secretary from President Hu Jintao.

President Xi in 2021 appar ently said that China had achieved ‘Complete Victory’ in its attempt to eradicate poverty.

China today is the second most powerful country in the world. President Xi’s ambition is to make China to become numero uno. A powerful China has always

At one end of the spectrum are pre dictions about In dia becoming a global economic power by 2030 and at the other is the growing multitudes of hungry people. Proof of this is the latest Global Hunger Index (GHI). India has slipped from 101st place in 2021 to 107th rank in 2022 among 121 coun tries.

More embarrassing is the finding that there are more hungry people in India than in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangla desh and Nepal. The saving grace is that it is better placed than Afghanistan.

The GHI is based on four parameters which make hun ger “multidimensional” and, as the GHI said, “reflect defi ciencies in calories as well as micronutrients”.

These indi

Affectionately

been hegemonistic. SinoIndian bilateral relations are, since 2020, tense and strained. China is the only P5 country in the UN Secu rity Council which is op posed to India becoming a permanent member of the Security Council. Does Chi na have no problems. It does. Many, but I will ad dress them on some other occasion.

At one end of the spectrum are predictions about India becoming a global economic power by 2030 and at the other is the growing multitudes of hungry people. Proof of this is the latest Global Hunger Index (GHI)

cators include under-nourish ment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality.

In 2022 the proportion of un dernourished increased from 14.8 in 2014 to 16.3. The in crease in child wasting has been sharper---from 14.8 in 2014 to 16.3 in 2022. On other two indicators---stunting and

JINPING IS 69 YEARS OLD AND IN GOOD HEALTH. HIS PRESIDENCY WILL, WITHOUT DOUBT BE RENEWED IN MARCH 2023 BY NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRES

WHAT KIND OF A CONG PREZ WILL KHARGE BE?

What kind of a Congress President will Mallikarjun Kharge make. You will find the answers in the interview he gave to the Indian Express on Friday, October 14. Ques tion: “How will a non-Gandhi presidency work?”. Answer: “Without the Gandhi’s, you can’t (operate)… you have to take their guidance. They sac rificed for this country……..”. Question: “You are staunch family loyalist……so will the Gandhi’s be consulted before each decision, once you be come president?” Answer: “It is not necessary each and every time. But long experi ence of Sonia Gandhi, 20 years as party president, two years of Rahul Gandhi….. they know the people in every nook and corner of the coun try. In each state they know 100-200 people…. You want that I should not take guid ance from her? She is a key player in the Congress….”.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

mortality in children underfive, however, there has been improvement but at 35.5 per cent in 2019-21 stunting is still considered serious. Overall, India has been given a score of 29.1 which comes under the serious category.

While extreme poverty in the country remains in dis pute, growing income dispar ity makes availability of nutri tional diet difficult.

Former Finance Minister P. Chidam baram immediately attacked the government. “Our score has worsened since 2014…16.3 percent of all Indians are un dernourished, meaning they do not get enough food,” he said. Children’s health is part of India’s development goals.

With the Centre’s efforts to meet the targets, the targets are hoped to be achieved.

ndia achieved a confi dence-boosting mile stone by firing a bal listic missile from its first nuclear subma

rine Arihant. This gives India the capability to conduct nuclear strikes and counterstrikes on land, sea and air. The other coun tries which have such capability are the US, Russia, the UK, France and China. India reiterated its no first use commitment but said it will maintain its credible mini mum nuclear deterrence.

This is the first time that India launched a ballistic missile from a submarine to prove that the in digenously built Arihant is fully operational. The Arihant class ballistic missile submarines, of which India has three, are capa ble of taking on both Pakistan and China. The achievement highlights the progress made by India in defence production. Af ter the launch of the country’s first largest home-made warship by the Prime Minister in Sep tember and the first indigenous ly made Light Combat Helicop ter Prachand taking wings early this month, the submarinelaunched ballistic missile comes as a boost to self-reliance in the defence sector.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Conquer anger with nonanger. Conquer badness with goodness. Conquer meanness with generosity. Conquer dishonesty with truth. Buddha

Hearty

a comprehensive

final. I’m sure that this team will continue their brilliant run and will achieve new heights. @BCCIWomen

Narendra Modi @narendramodi

Our women cricket team makes us proud with their grit and dexterity! Congratulations to the team for winning the Women’s Asia Cup. They have shown outstanding skill

teamwork. Best wishes to the players for their upcoming endeavours.

Anurag Thakur @ianuragthakur

ImHarmanpreet

her team

K NATWAR SINGH

Raj Bhavan, Bombay 18 May 1964

To

Modi highlights importance of sensitive justice system

PM says a sensitive justice system is essential for capable nation, harmonious society

New Delhi (ANI): High lighting the importance of ease of justice for peo ple, Prime Minister Nar endra Modi on Saturday said a sensitive justice system is essential for a capable nation and a harmonious society.

Addressing the inau gural session of All In dia Conference of Law Ministers and Secretar ies vis video conferenc ing, PM Modi pointed out the need for a de pendable and speedy justice system for a healthy and confident society in a developing country like India. He further added that the judicial system and var ious procedures and tra ditions in every society have been developing according to the needs of the time period.

He said that the de velopment journey of Indian society is thou sands of years old and the nation made steady progress despite facing critical challenges.

When justice is seen to be delivered, then the faith of the countrymen in the constitutional institutions is strengthened. And when justice is delivered, the confidence of the common man goes up.

Stressing the need for continuous improve ment, the Prime Minis ter pointed out that it is an indispensable re quirement for the smooth functioning of every system.

Throwing light on the special emphasis on re moving the pressure of the government from

—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

the citizens of India, the Prime Minister in formed that in the last 8 years, India has repealed more than one and a half thousand archaic laws and reduced more than 32,000 compliances to put an end to the legal hurdles that obstruct the path of innovation and ease of living.

PM TELLS INDUSTRY, RESEARCH BODIES TO WORK TO ADDRESS ENERGY NEEDS

New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called upon the industry, academic and research organisations to work seamlessly with greater integration to address India’s energy needs and foster circular economy for sustain able development.

He also highlighted the need to use scientific ap proach and technology such as artificial intel ligence in various fields ranging from traditional knowledge to mapping

students to their interest, skill sets and compe tencies to make them better suited to meet the demands of future India and the world.

PM, who is President of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), made the com ments at the meeting of CSIR Society here on Saturday. Modi asked the scientific commu nity to move towards Vision 2047 with the aim of India being a global leader, according to an official statement.

‘Modi govt made possible what seemed impossible’

Shimla (PTI): Refer

ring to the abrogation of Article 370 and the con struction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the Narendra Modi gov ernment made possible what had previously seemed impossible.

He was addressing an election rally of the rul ing BJP in Himachal’s Sirmaur district ahead of the assembly polls.

He said the Modi govt abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5, 2019.

“If you talk to Con gress leaders and work ers about Article 370, they remain mum as its provision was made by Jawaharlal Nehru,” the BJP leader said.

On the construction of Ram temple, Shah said, “Congress used to taunt us and say ‘Man dir vahi banayenge, tithi nahi batayenge’.”

PM Modi started the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayod hya, Shah said.

K’taka BJP regime anti-SC-ST, a commission govt: RaGa

Ballary (PTI): Con gress leader Rahul Gan dhi on Saturday hit out at the BJP-led regime in Karnataka as against the Scheduled castes and tribes and alleged that it is a “40% com mission” government.

The BJP govt in Kar nataka is “anti-SC and ST,” and there is a 50 % rise in atrocities against these oppressed people, Rahul Gandhi alleged addressing a public meeting here, which is part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by him.

A large number of

party workers and peo ple gathered at the mu nicipal ground here as the Congress party cel

THE COURTYARD

PRASANNA B VARALE SWORN IN AS CHIEF JUSTICE OF KARNATAKA HIGH COURT

Bengaluru: Prasanna Balachandra Varale was sworn as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court on Saturday. In a simple but graceful ceremony, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered him the oath of office. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Karnataka High Court judges, Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma, and senior officials of the state government attended the event at Raj Bhavan here. Justice Varale’s family members were also present on the occasion. Justice Varale was born on 23 June 1962 at Nipani in Karnataka.

JYOTISH PEETH TO WAIT FOR ITS NEW SHANKARACHARYA

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stopped the coronation of Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati as the new Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand. A bench passed the order after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench that the Shankaracharya of Govardhan Math in Puri has filed an affidavit that the appointment of Avimukteshwaranand as the new Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth has not been endorsed.

LIFE TERM FOR UP MAN IN 7-YR-OLD DOWRY CASE

Bahraich: A court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment in a seven-year-old dowry murder case. District Govt Counsel (criminal) Munnu Lal Mishra said Sahjad Ali, a resident of Rattapur village under Ranipur police station had married Tajina, a resident of Vishunpur village under Bhinga police station area in Shravasti district, in 2011. Tajina’s mother Rabia was a widow, and despite being poor she gave a dowry beyond her capacity in 2011.

Thane (PTI): A hospitality firm has been directed to pay Rs 35,000 by the Thane District Consumer Complaints Redressal Commission (TDCCRC) to a customer for deficiency in services. In their order of October 7, details of which were made available on Saturday, TDCCRC president VC Premchandani and member Poonam V Maharshi said Rs 25,000 was for mental agony and harassment and Rs 10,000 was cost to complainant.

ebrated the foot march led by Rahul Gandhi completing the 1,000 km milestone.

HOLD ELECTION OF YOUR OWN FIRST: THAROOR TO BJP

New Delhi (PTI): Con gress presidential candi date Shashi Tharoor on Saturday slammed BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya over his dig at the AICC chief elections, saying “we are perfectly capable of resolving our own internal differ ences” and don’t need his involvement in the polls. Tharoor also took a swipe at the BJP and said try to hold an election of “your own first”.

Prez, PM pay homage to Dr Kalam on his birth anniv

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Naren dra Modi paid homage to former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, on his birth anniversary on Saturday. President Murmu paid homage to Dr Kalam at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The President and officials of Rashtra pati Bhavan paid floral tributes in front of the portrait of Dr Kalam.

Meanwhile, PM Modi tweeted: “Tributes to our former President Dr

President Murmu pays tribute to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

APJ Abdul Kalam. He is greatly admired for his contribution to our na tion as a scientist and as a President who struck a chord with every sec tion of society.”

TRS MP ALLEGES CONG DID ANDHRA ‘TODO’; JAIRAM RAMESH HITS BACK

New Delhi (ANI): As Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Andhra, TRS MP Vijayasai Reddy V hit out at Congress stating that its agenda is opposite of ‘jodo’ (uniting) as it had ‘todo’ (bifurcated) the state eight years ago. Reacting to allegation, Jairam Ramesh said that TRS chief and present Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao himself wrote to the then Cong-led Central govt asking for Andhra’s bifurcation.

WHAT’S THE MEANING OF YATRA WHEN INDIA IS ALREADY UNITED: BOMMAI TO CONGRESS

Bengaluru (ANI): Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday asked what is the meaning of the Bharat Jodo Yatra when the country is already marching ahead as a united India. “When India is growing as a strong nation, the Bharat Jodo by the Congress Party has no meaning. What is the meaning of Bharath Jodo yatra? Already, the country has been marching ahead as a united India,” he said.

Key RSS meet in UP from today

Prayagraj (PTI): RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and its top functionar ies will attend the fourday national executive board meeting begin ning here on Sunday. RSS publicity in-charge Sunil Ambekar said the meeting will discuss various issues raised by Bhagwat in his speech on the occasion of Vi jaya Dashami. Bhagwat had spoken about edu cation in mother tongue, population imbalance and social harmony.

CONG’S JOB IS TO CREATE QUARRELS

AMONG PEOPLE: SHAH IN HIMACHAL

SHAH SEEKS HELP OF NON-RESIDENT

GUJARATIS

Ahmedabad (Agencies):

Seeking the assistance of non-resident Gujaratis for the upcoming As sembly elections Gujarat, Union HM Amit Shah on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ushered successful an epoch of “politics of per formance” by eliminating appeasement, casteism and dynastic politics.

HM TO LAUNCH MBBS HINDI BOOK IN BHOPAL TODAY

Bhopal (ANI): Union HM Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan will launch the MBBS Hindi course book at Lal Parade ground in Bhopal on Sun day. MP is the first state to start the MBBS course in the Hindi language.

Initially, three subjects have been selected to be studied in Hindi.

DISPLACED BY FLOODS

Around 100 Hindus from Pakistan reach Jodhpur

Jodhpur (PTI): Two batches of Hindus from Pakistan’s Sindh prov ince reached here this week, alleging persecu tion and discrimination in relief work following flash floods in Pakistan.

The migrants, of Bhil community, and came from Sindh’s Tando Al lahyar, expressed will ingness to settle in In dia and said they don’t want to go back.

Chaturaram Bhil, who came with his wife and eight children, said the two batches had

around 100 people. Both groups came to India through the Attari-Wa gah checkpost.

While the first group crossed over to India on Oct 12, other came on Oct 14, Bhil said. He said they first reached Harid war and from there they travelled to Jodhpur.

“We will do whatever is lawful. If they do not want to go back, they will be asked to carry out the formalities to stay here,” said ASP (CID) Rameshwar Lal Meghwal.

Uttar Pradesh’s absconding IPS officer Manilal Patidar surrenders

Ahtesham Siddiqui

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh IPS officer Ma nilal Patidar, abscond ing in a corruption case, surrendered in the Pre vention of Corruption Act Court in Lucknow on Saturday. The court sent him to judicial cus tody for 14 days. He was under suspension on corruption charges since 2020 and later fled.

Former Mahoba SP Patidar claimed he has

WOMEN IN BLUE

been implicated in a wrong case. Questions were being raised on the Yogi government and the UP regarding the missing officer.

IPS Patidar was on the run since Sep 2020

in the death of crusher businessman Indrakant Tripathi. Indrakant had sent the video to CM Yogi Adityanath and the then DGP on Sep 7, 2020, accusing Patidar of demanding bribes.

Next day, Indrakant was found injured in his car. He had been shot in the throat. On Sep 13, he died during treatment.

On the instructions of UP govt, an FIR was reg istered against five peo ple, including Patidar.

India lifts 7th Women’s Asia Cup title with win over SL

Sylhet (PTI): India maintained their domi nance in the Women’s Asia Cup with an eightwicket demolition of a self-destructing Sri Lanka in the final here on Saturday for their 7th title in 8 editions.

Sri Lanka, who were playing their first tour nament final in 14 years, imploded after opting to bat on a slow and turning pitch. They could only manage 65 for nine which India

knocked off in 8.3 overs.

Smriti Mandhana struck a sublime 51 not out off 25 balls.

It was a procession after Sri Lankan skip per Chamari Athapath thu got run out in the third over following a mix up with Anushka Sanjeewani who too got run out six balls later.

Renuka, who has been in top form since the Commonwealth Games in August, sent

Hasini

the very first ball she faced.

The Lankans were in dire need of a partner ship but Kavisha Dil

hari’s fall made it 16 for five as she was bowled while trying to play an

incoming delivery from Renuka across the line.

Rajeshwari Gayak wad got her first wick et after Nilakshi de Silva played on to her stumps while trying to cut a ball close to her body. At 32 for eight, be ing bowled out for a sub-50 total was very much on the cards, but Ranaweera saved them from that ignominy with an unbeaten 18 off 22 balls.

Indian team players celebrate with the Womens Asia Cup T20 2022 trophy.

ANI

PM Narendra Modi with Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Jitendra Singh during CSIR society meeting, in New Delhi.

Sirmaur (ANI): In the run-up to the Himachal Pradesh As sembly polls, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Satur day launched an attack on Congress saying that the party’s job is to create quarrels among people.Shah launched the BJP election campaign song ‘Himachal Ki Pukaar Phir BJP sarkar’ at a public rally in Sirmaur on Saturday.

BHARAT JODO YATRA

Rahul Gandhi, DK Shivakumar, Mallikarjun Kharge, Siddaramaiah and KC Venugopal, in Bellary, on Saturday. —PHOTO BY PTI

‘We stand for open, rule-based Indo-Pacific maritime border’

Self-reliance, secured borders key to powerful nation, says Defence Minister Rajnath

New Delhi (ANI): Em phasizing sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth while preserving the ecosystem’s health, De fence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said India stands for open and rule-based maritime borders in Indo-Pacific.

Singh reaffirmed In dia’s resolve for open, free and rule-based maritime borders in the Indo-Pacific region. Ad dressing at the 18th Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meet ing (HACGAM) here, Singh asserted that In dia, throughout history, has been a peace-loving society which has never invaded a foreign land and has always respect ed universal human values and territorial integrity of other coun tries, while treating them as equal partners.

He said oceanic space should be respected as a global common for the benefit of all humanity in an environmentally sustainable way.

He said that India’s shared vision of ‘SA GAR’ (Security and Growth of All in Region),

New Delhi: Air Force Wives Welfare Asso ciation (AFWWA) on Saturday celebrated its 62nd anniversary. To commemorate the occa sion, AFWWA organised a cultural programme at Air Force Auditorium, Subroto Park, here. Union

Sustainable Develop ment Goals and ‘Rule Based Order at Sea’ com plement the focused In dian approach of inclu sive growth and lasting collaboration in the Indo-

2-day conference of Power ministers of States & UTs ends

First India Bureau

Udaipur: A two-day conference of Power and Renewable Energy Ministers of State/ UTs concluded in Udaipur on Saturday.

Union Minister for Power RK Singh chaired the conference. Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State for Power, Deputy CM/ Power/ NRE Min isters of States along with Principal Secre taries of States and UTs attended the event.

During the Confer ence, detailed delibera tions were held with fo cus on Financial Viabili ty & Sustainability of

distribution sector, Mod ernization & upgrada tion of power systems, and Development of Power Systems to ensure 24x7 power supply in cluding investment re quirement & Power Sec tor Reforms. The States provided their inputs and suggestions on each of these pertinent issues.

Considering the criti cal role of distribution sector in ensuring fi nancial and operational sustainability across the power sector value chain, it was empha sized to take effective steps towards reduction of Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses.

Minister Smriti Irani was the Chief Guest on the occasion and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also attended the event as the Guest of Honour.

Pacific region. He high lighted India’s focus to wards the blue economy and strongly advocated the sustainable use of ocean resources for eco nomic growth, improved

We stand for open, free, rule-based maritime bor ders in Indo-pacific, in which no nation, how-soever big, may be allowed to appropriate the global common or exclude oth ers from its fair use. We are always ready and forthcoming to work with all the like-minded part ner countries across vari ous forums towards this endeavour.

—Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister

WEBSITE FOR CONTRIBUTION TO ARMED FORCES BATTLE CASUALTIES WELFARE FUND

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched ‘Maa Bharati Ke Sapoot’ website for contribution to the Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund and appealed to the people to contrib ute generously to the

livelihoods and jobs and preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem.

He voiced India’s com mitment to implement international regula tions; enact legislation

fund. The AFBCWF is a Tri-Service fund, which is utilised to grant immediate financial as sistance to the families of soldiers/sailors/ airmen who lay down their lives or are griev ously injured in active military operations.

for maritime safety and security; establish a co operative mechanism with nations and engage in capacity building of maritime law enforce ment agencies.

“Make profession more inclusive”, law grads advised

Patna (Agencies): A boat carrying Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday col lided with an underconstruction pillar of the JP Setu bridge dur ing the inspection of Chhath Ghat situated on the banks of river Ganga in Patna.

SC judge tells law students to be humane towards female litigants

New Delhi (PTI):

Pitching for a more in clusive and accessible legal profession, Su preme Court judge Jus tice DY Chandrachud on Saturday advised young law students to incorporate feminist thinking in the way they dealt with law.

Addressing the con vocation of the National Law University (NLU), Justice Chandrachud said students must strive to make the legal profession more inclu sive and accessible.

“I would particularly advise you to incorpo rate feminist thinking in the way you deal with

the law,” he said.

Recounting his experi ence as a junior judge in the Bombay High Court, Justice Chandrachud said he used to sit in a criminal roster with Jus tice Ranjana Desai (now retired) and heard di verse criminal appeals.

“Initially, I viewed the matters where women were often subjected to the worst of crimes and violations from a straightjacketed perspec tive, but sitting with a colleague who had more diverse exposure to reali ties of gender gave me the necessary feminist perspective,” he said.

“Of course, I believe that all of us, including myself, have a lot to learn in terms of how we perceive law and ap ply social experienc es,” Justice Chandra chud added.

The incident oc curred when the CM was personally present at the bank of the Gan ga river to ensure secu rity arrangements and proper cleanliness for the devotees. All aboard the boat including the Chief Minister are safe.

Chhath Puja will be celebrated on October 30 and 31. Chhath, cele brated after Diwali, in volves the offering of “arghya” by fasting women to the Sun god in knee-deep water. The festival is hugely popu lar among Purvancha lis living in Delhi.

ASEAN-India artists’ camp in Udaipur

Udaipur (PTI): To cel ebrate the 30 years of ASEAN-India relations, the Ministry of Exter nal Affairs, in collabora tion with cultural or ganisation Seher, is or ganising the second edition of ASEAN-India artists' camp in Udaipur.

The ongoing nine-day camp, organised with the aim to connect ASE AN countries and India

through art and cul ture, is hosting artists from Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia,

gage in interactions and panel discussions on various topics.

CRUCIAL READ

Bhubaneswar (ANI): Odisha Police has seized assets worth Rs 30 crore from one Archana Nag who was recently arrested for allegedly honey trapping and blackmailing several people, includ ing politicians and those from the film industry.

The arrests were made earlier in October. Nag’s husband is also allegedly involved in her illegal activities informed the police. As per reports around 15 girls were involved in the racket which allegedly blackmailed and honey-trapped rich and influential people including politicians with the threat that their intimate pictures would be released to the public.

Brunei, Thailand, Cam bodia, Lao PDR, Myan mar and Vietnam.

The artists will en

“Enhancing peopleto-people and cultural connect between India and ASEAN forms an integral part of current ASEAN-India engage ments. The artists camp intends to take forward the tradition of creative exchange between In dia and ASEAN.

Agriculture Ministry celebrates ‘Mahila Kisan Diwas’

First India Bureau

Hyderabad: The Na tional Gender Resource Centre in Agriculture, Directorate of Agricul ture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare in collaboration of Nation al Institute of Agricul tural Extension Man agement (MANAGE), an autonomous organi zation under Ministry of Agriculture and

Farmers Welfare has celebrated ‘Mahila Kisan Diwas’ or ‘Inter national Rural Women

PM MODI TO INAUGURATE PM KISAN SAMMAN SAMMELAN 2022 ON MONDAY

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate a two-day event PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022 on Monday morning at Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi. The event will bring together more than 13,500 farmers from across the country and around 1500 Agri Startups, an official statement said on Saturday. Prime Minister will inaugurate 600 Pradan Mantri Kisan Samrud dhi Kendras under the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.

Day’ on Satruday.

As the year 2023 has been declared as the ‘In ternational Year of Mil

lets by United Nations (UN), the theme of this year Mahila Kisan Di was is ‘Millets: Empow

ering Women and Pro viding Nutritional Se curity’. This inaugural event was organized

through Video Confer encing under the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar who said, the resolution initiated by Govern ment of India and sup ported by 72 countries to mark year 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets’ has been unani mously adopted by the UN General Assembly and declared year 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets (IYOM)’.

New Delhi (ANI): The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed environmental compensa tion of Rs 2,900 crores on the state of Karna taka for allegedly not managing solid as well as liquid waste management causing harm to the environment. Tribunal said that the award of compensation has become necessary under section 15 of the NGT Act to remedy the continuing damage to the environment and to comply with directions of the Supreme Court requiring this Tribunal to monitor the enforcement of norms for solid and liquid waste management.

SC suspends... is required to be sus pended. For the reasons stated, the impugned judgment and order passed by the high court is ordered to be suspended till further orders.”

It issued notice to Saibaba and others and sought their replies by December 08 on a plea moved by the Maha rashtra government against the high court order and stayed the re lease of all the accused in the case from jail.

It said that the offenc es for which the ac cused were convicted by the trial court are very serious and against the sovereignty

and integrity of the country and a detailed scrutiny of the judg ment is required as the high court did not con sider the merits of the case.

“The high court has not at all dealt with and considered anything on the merits of the judg ment and order passed by the trial court, though even according to the counsel appear ing on behalf of A-6 (Saibaba), the detailed submissions were made on behalf of the ac cused on merits of the appeal and on the judg ment and order of con viction and sentence imposed by the trial court,” it said.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar at the meeting.

LORD RAM’S JANMABHOOMI!

Pictures depicting the underconstruction Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya, on Saturday.

—PHOTOS BY ANI

Rajnath Singh releasing the publication at 18th Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies meeting.

ODISHA: WOMAN BLACKMAILER HELD, ASSETS OVER `30 CRORE SEIZED

NGT SLAPS `2,900-CR ENVIRONMENTAL COMPENSATION ON KARNATAKA

Justice DY Chandrachud and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal at the 9th Convocation of National Law University, in New Delhi.

Union Power Minister RK Singh at the conference.

Nitish Kumar inspects Ganga ghat in Patna, on Saturday.

Nitish’s boat collides with pillar during inspection

PM TO INAUGURATE 75 DIGITAL BANKING UNITS TODAY

US UNLIKELY TO HELP INDIA IN CHIP MAKING: CHINA

New Delhi: As the US and India join hands to ad dress semiconductors supply chain challenges, the Joe Biden govern ment’s offer to provide assistance to India to build up its semiconduc tor manufacturing capaci ty appears to be just lip service, Chinese state-run publication Global Times has said. US deputy as sistant secretary, South and Central Asia, Afreen Akhter, during her visit to India this week, said they will help India boost its semiconductor manufac turing capacity.

RIIL Q2 NET PROFIT

DECLINES 11.4% YOY

TO `2.26 CRORE

Srinagar (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate two digital banking units of Jammu and Kashmir Bank to the nation on Sunday via video conferencing, according to the officials.

To deepen financial in clusion, the prime minister on Sunday will inaugurate 75 digital banking units (DBUs) of different banks across the country of which two are of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, they said. Prime Minister Nar

endra Modi will also address the nation on the occasion.

Of the two, one is the SSI branch at Lal Chowk in Sri

INCLUDING 2 OF J-K BANK

z To deepen financial inclusion, the prime minister will inaugurate 75 digital banking units (DBUs) of different banks across the country of which 2 are of Jammu and Kashmir Bank

z Eleven banks in the public sector, 12 in the private sector and one Small Finance Bank are participating in the endeavour

z The DBUs are being set up to ensure that the benefits of digital banking reach every nook and corner of the country

en banks in the public sec tor, 12 in the private sector and one Small Finance Bank are participating in the endeavour.

Mumbai: Reliance Indus trial Infrastructure Ltd (RIIL) on 15 October an nounced its quarterly re sults for recently ended September 2022 quarter.

The RIIL reported 11.4 per cent drop in the sec ond quarter net profit on flattish revenue. The firm reported a net profit of Rs 2.26 crore in July-Sep tember which was 11.4 per cent lower than Rs 2.55 crore net profit in the same period last year, the company said in a stock regulatory filing.

D-MART: AVENUE SUPERMARTS Q2 PROFIT SURGES 63%

Mumbai: DMart chain of retail stores operator Ave nue Supermarts on 15 October reported a 62.7 percent rise in standalone post-tax profit of Rs 730 crore for the quarter end ed September 2022. It was Rs 448.9 crore a year back, it said in a stock regulatory filing. PAT mar gin stood at 7 per cent in Q2FY23 as compared to 5.8 percent in Q2FY22. In the financial results, re leased by the firm, the net revenue also came in higher at Rs 10,385 crore for the second quarter, which is an increase of 36 percent compared to Rs 7,650 crore in September 2021 quarter.

HDFC BANK Q2 NET PROFIT SURGES 22% TO `11,125 CRORE

Mumbai: HDFC on Satur day said its consolidated net profit surged by 22.3% to Rs 11,125 crore for the July-September quarter of the current fi nancial year led by strong growth in loan. The bank’s consolidated advances grew by 22.8% from Rs 1,249,331 crore as on Sept 30, 2021, to Rs 1,533,945 crore as on Sept 30, 2022. HDFC’s consolidated net profit for the half year ended Sept, 2022 was Rs 20,704 crore, up 21.7%.

nagar and the other is the Channi Rama branch in Jammu. As part of the Un ion budget 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sithara

INDIAN ECONOMY WILL STAY ON COURSE: FM

New Delhi (PTI): The In dian economy will stay on course despite global head winds and is projected to grow at 7% in fiscal 202223, Finance Minister Nir mala Sitharaman has said, attributing this to the con ducive domestic policy en vironment and focus on key structural reforms.

Her remarks came dur ing her intervention at the plenary session of the in ternational Monetary Fi nance Committee (IMFC) on Friday. The meeting it self, she said, is being held at a juncture when the global economic outlook is clouded by key downside risks: growth slowdown in major economies, cross-border ef fects due to the ongoing geo political situation, inflation ary pressures led by escalat ing food and energy prices that have adversely impact ed vulnerable economies.

“This is an outcome of the conducive domestic policy environment and the our focus reforms to boost growth,” she said.

IN A WORLD OF UNCERTAINTIES, INDIA AMONG VERY FEW STANDOUT PERFORMERS: FIN MIN

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman praised the economy of the country, a day after the International Monetary Fund described the country as a bright spot amid the global economic crisis. During the on going annual meeting of the World Bank, the finance minister said, “In a world of uncertainties, India is one of the very few standout perform ers”. She said India’s National Statistical Organisation has now placed the GDP growth for Q1 of the current financial year 2022-23 at 13.5% on a year-on-year basis – the highest among the large economies.

FM DISCUSSES CURRENT GLOBAL SITUATION WITH IMF’S DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR

Washington (PTI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also met IMF’s Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath to discuss current global mat ters and India’s G-20 presidency next year. Sitharaman is currently in the city to attend the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, on the sidelines of which she has held a large number of bilateral and multilateral meetings. They discussed current global matters, including food and energy security issues, climate is sues, digital assets and the upcoming G-20 presidency of India.

man had announced the setting up of the 75 DBUs in as many districts of the country to commemorate 75 years of India’s Inde

pendence. The DBUs are being set up to ensure that the benefits of digital bank ing reach every nook and corner of the country. Elev

Govt hikes windfall profit tax on export of diesel, ATF; raises tax on domestic crude oil

New Delhi (PTI): The gov ernment on Saturday hiked the windfall profit tax on the export of diesel to Rs 12 per litre and that on jet fuel exports to Rs 3.50 a litre with effect from October 16. The levy on domestically produced crude oil too has been increased by Rs 3,000 per tonne to Rs 11,000.

After lowering the tax rates for two consecutive fortnights mirroring fall in global crude prices, the fi nance ministry has brought about a hike in export taxes on crude, diesel and ATF, in its latest review. At the sev enth fortnightly review, the government raised the windfall profit tax on the export of diesel to Rs 12 per litre from Rs 6.5 a litre, and brought back the levy on ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) exports at Rs 3.50 per litre, from nil, finance min istry said in a notification.

While private refiners Reliance Industries Ltd and Rosneft-based Nayara En ergy are the principal ex

‘India unlikely to be hit by global recession’

MINISTRY’S LATEST REVIEW

z The levy on domestically produced crude oil too has been increased by `3,000 per tonne to `11,000

z The government raised the windfall profit tax on the export of diesel to `12 per litre from `5 a litre

z India first imposed windfall profit taxes on July 1

porters of fuels like diesel and ATF, the windfall levy on domestic crude targets producers like state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corpo ration and Vedanta Ltd. In dia first imposed windfall profit taxes on July 1.

OTHER STORIES

DBUs will provide a vari ety of digital banking fa cilities to people such as opening a savings account, account balance check, printing passbook, funds transfer, fixed deposit investments, loan applica tions, application for credit or debit cards, and bill and tax payments among others.

Army ties up with 11 banks for banking facilities to Agniveers

New Delhi (PTI): The In dian Army has signed agreements with 11 banks including the private sector banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank for providing banking facili ties to Agniveers on enrol ment, the Ministry of De fence said on Saturday.

The MoUs were signed by Lt Gen V Sreehari, DG (MP & PS) and senior officials of Banks in a ceremony pre sided over by Lt Gen C Bansi Ponappa, the Adjutant Gen eral of the Indian Army on 14 October 2022, the minis try said. Eleven banks with which the Indian Army has signed the agreement in clude State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC First Bank and Bandhan Bank.

Agniveers will receive Rs 33,000 in the second year, Rs 36,500 in the third year and Rs 40,000 in the fourth year. They will get Rs 11.71 lakh as Seva Nidhi Package after four years.

POWER MIN SEEKS STATES’ COOPERATION TO ACHIEVE `50 LAKH CR INVESTMENT IN POWER

PROJECTED GROWTH RATE

z With a projected growth rate of 6.8% & inflation ‘much under control’, India is doing reasonably well, says SBI chief

Washington: The impact of a global recession, which is increasingly be ing feared by the IMF and the World Bank, is unlike ly to be as pronounced in India as compared to oth er countries, State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Khara said.

With a projected growth rate of 6.8% and inflation “much under control”, In dia is doing reasonably

well, Khara told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Mone tary Fund and the World Bank here. “Majorly, it (In dia) is an inward-looking economy in terms of de mand because a significant component of the GDP is essentially addressed to the domestic economy. So, from that point of view, I think it (global recession)

will have an impact but it won’t be as pronounced as perhaps (it will be on) oth er economies which are fully coupled with the globe,” he said. ” If we look at the beta fac tor, perhaps the Indian economy’s beta factor would be much lower as compared to some of the other larger economies that have a significant com ponent of export,” he said.

AU BANK TAPS INTO MERCHANT SOLUTIONS

First India Bureau

Jaipur: As per the Minis try of MSME’s Annual Re port 2020-21, India has about 6 crore MSMEs. They are regarded as the back bone of the Indian econo my and contribute signifi cantly to India’s GDP. How ever, a report by the Inter national Finance Corpora tion (IFC) stated that the merchant segment remains highly underserved with 84 percent of the credit de mands of merchants being dependent on informal fi nancing channels.

More than 90% of MS

The

360-DEGREE

UNDERSTANDING

New Delhi: Union Power Minister R K Singh on Saturday sought states’ cooperation to achieve the investment target of Rs 50 lakh crore in the power sector against the backdrop of estimates of doubling of electricity demand in the next decade.

chaired the conference of power and renewable energy ministers of state/ UTs held on 14th and 15th October 2022 in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Union Minister sought cooperation from the states in achieving the ambitious goals that are set before the power sec tor,” an official statement said.

MALABAR GOLD TO INVEST IN `750 CR UNIT IN TELANGANA

Mumbai: Malabar Gold & Dia monds, one of the largest gold and diamond retail chains in the country, on Saturday said it laid founda tion stone for the construc tion of Malabar Gems and Jewellery manufacturing unit in Telangana. Malabar Gold & Diamonds will invest Rs 750 crore to set up the manufactur ing facility and refinery in the state. It is expected to generate about 2,750 jobs, according to the release.

ALOK INDUSTRIES’ NET LOSS WIDENS TO

`191.50 CR IN JUL-SEP

New Delhi: Integrated textile company Alok Industries on Saturday reported a widening of its consoli dated net loss to Rs 191.50 crore for the second quarter that ended on September, 2022.The company acquired by Reliance Industries along with JM Financial Asset Reconstruc tion through NCLT-monitored insolvency proceedings last year, reported a net loss of Rs 84.11 crore in the July-Sep quarter a year ago.

‘BAD BOSSES’ NOT TOP REASON FOR EMPLOYEES’ JOB SWITCH, AS PER NAUKRI.COM SURVEY

Bengaluru: Poor career growth and not ‘bad bosses’ is the top rea son for employees’ job switch, according to a survey. Bosses who focus more on work-life balance are preferred by employees, it said.

The survey was conducted by Naukri.com to understand the relationship between Indian employees and their managers, the job site said in a statement on Saturday.

The survey found that the opportunity to grow within an organisation is what makes professionals stay in their current organisations.

Editor- in- Chief of First India and Bharat24, Dr Jagdeesh Chandra simplifies why the nation resonates with each and every act of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, how Modi, the phenomenon, has gone beyond the constraints of politics and is transformed into the ‘AdyatmGuru,’ whose each action is paving a path for a new type of politics in a country, whose strength lies in its Adhyatm

z What is the message behind inaugurating the Mahakal Lok by Prime Minister Nar endra Modi in Ujjain?

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra: It has just one message.

Earlier, Pracharak to PM was attributed to Narendra Modi, now it will be, PM to ‘AdhyatmGuru.’ This is the big gest message. And this is why the Prime Minister has said that it is neces sary for success that the nation should take its cultural heritage ahead and moves forward keeping it in the fore front. So, when we see the developments in its entirety, we can say that today Narendra Modi’s agenda or his philoso phy has changed and he is trying to give a new path to the politics of the nation. This inaugura tion has been wonderful and thus, the question arises, if Modi is trying to bring back the lost glory and pride of India?

To this, I would say that the role of Prime Minis ter is changing. It was a coincidence that he joined politics, but deep down in his heart, he finds comfort in temples and ‘Aradhana’. A friend of mine said that the positivity with which Modi talks about the an cient heritage of India, is enough to give goose bumps. It is my firm be lief that the actual strength of Narendra Modi is now visible after this development and politics is merely a ‘roleplay’ for him. His actual strength is in re-develop ment of temples, safe guarding the culture and heritage. That is why, everyone is liking the development and in fact, every Indian is hap py with it. Take a look at his body language. The manner in which he is seated shows that how strong a faith he has.

The manner in which he

is reciting the ‘Shlokas’ has left the nation awestruck. Thus, moving ahead from his role of PM, Modi is quickly be coming the ‘AdhyatmGuru’ on the facade of India.

z Several holy sites have been renovated since 2014. How do you see this move? It is a good effort. It has been an attempt to fulfil what the people have been desiring for years. If you look closely, there have been nine such in cidents, which highlight Narendra Modi’s ap proach. So, this is a good development. Whether Kashi or Ayodhya, peo ple are attached to these places now. For the re cent unveiling, it can be said that it was divine and wonderful.

z In the recent past, we saw PM Modi don ning the role of a global leader. But do you think now his im age is transforming into that of a Adhyat mik Rashtra Purush? Yes, it is absolutely right. He is a global lead er and look where he has reached. Look at the say and image of India across the world. When ever he goes abroad, the premier of the other na tion appears eager to meet him. And the im age surrounding ‘Adhy atm’ will become more strong in the days to come. And this image change that he is under going, is good for him and I have said it earlier too that he does not run behind power. He is like a saint or a fakir. The moment he feels he is done, he would move on leaving aside this power and its pleasures. Inter estingly, what goes on in his heart, not even Amit Shah or bureaucrats close to him know. It now seems his heart is

in this Ram Bhoomi. So it will now be interest ing to see how he talks of nation now and how he connects with the faith of the nation.

z PM Modi is a busy politician, who is ad dressing various in ternational issues as well. In such a case, how will he take out time for this ‘Mission Mandir’?

He does take out time.

See, I have said in the past that Narendra Modi has too mentioned in the past that only busy people have time because they are ‘planned.’ He sleeps for merely three to four hours. I am pleasantly surprised as to how does he achieve the immense works and tends to hun dreds of files that come to his office.

z Looking at the num ber of temples that have been renovated, do you think ‘Domes tic Tourism’ will wit ness a revolution?

Of course, it has al ready been born. If one visits Srinagar today, he would witness how the temples are being

redeveloped after re moval of Article 370.

Similarly, if one visits Uttarakhand, or Kashi and now Mahakal, he won’t get flight or train tickets easily as every one wants to visit these places nowadays. There is a certain enthusiasm in people so the tourism revolution is at its peak.

At present, no hotels in Kashmir or Dehradun or Uttar Kashi have rooms for guests as they are ‘fully occupied.’ So, a new ‘Avatar’ of Do mestic Tourism has come to light and it will acquire greater heights in days to come. And not only the Indians, but also the foreign vis itors will be attracted to visit these places in the near future.

z It is also being said now that the inaugu ration of Mahakal Lok by PM is his ‘Master Stroke’ keep ing in mind the 2023 assembly elections?

See it was not planned, but it turned out to be so.

The first thought was to sit before Shiva and to chant a ‘Jap’ and return.

But its by-product was that it became a ‘Master

Stroke.’ I don’t think it was a planned execution because his agenda of re-development of the temple and other reli gious sites, is entirely an original one. It is not one of the election winning tools or tactics for Modi.

z Do you think Modi has made a road map for 2024 elections from now, consider ing the developments in Ayodhya, Kashi and Ujjain?

See a road map has been created on its own. With Ayodhya, Kashi, Ujjain , Kashmir and Kedar nath, in the days to come an agenda will be creat ed on its own without any plan or objective. Now, the BJP does not want anything other than Amit Shah’s ‘strat egy’ and Modi’s ‘oration’ and ‘electrifying speech es.’

When he renders speeches like a ‘Dharma Purush,’ it seems that the agenda of election has been changed. I don’t think that he needs a manifesto or resources now. Modi just moves ahead on his ‘Adhyatm vaad’ and the people fol low him and the election is over! So, now Modi

has gone beyond the pur view of normal politics. Now, the BJP and all this politics appear small be fore his personality. A person’s personality be comes grand due to pop ularity and with people’s support. It is the crowd that increases the per sona. So, Modi doesn’t need anything and will leave the election strat egy to Amit Shah.

z Will there be any impact of Himachal and Gujarat elections on this image build ing?

Like I said, it is merely a way to reach 2024. When general elections are ap proaching, I don’t think there will be any issue regarding 2023 elections. I think there will be a clean sweep in Himachal and Gujarat. Our analy sis says that about 21 seats will go to Congress in Himachal so it is a sweep for BJP. I don’t see any difficulty before BJP in repeating government in Himachal. As far as the CM face is con cerned, our sources claim that perhaps there may be a change of face and individuals like young turk Anurag

Thakur could be brought forward. He is a good orator, does not have any complications around him as a politician so he could be one. Other than that a ‘dark horse’ candi date could be a female Rajya Sabha member. Moreover, JP Nadda has surpassed these things as he is a senior leader. Other than that he could be, if needed, become a minister in some impor tant ministry. The Himachal election doesn’t have much con nection with Nadda, other than a moral au thority that since it is his home state and his own party gets to form the government so as a lead er one is happy. As far as Gujarat is concerned, last time BJP got 99 seats and later, some other winning candidates join in which took the num ber to 111. According to astrology, BJP will get 109 seats, while there are other forums that claim 135 seats. Even if it is 109, then too, others like in dependents will join in and then BJP govern ment will be formed with 120-125 seats. Be sides, Gujarat is like home state and Naren dra Modi is a whirlwind and his victory is sure shot. In fact, several Gu jaratis say as to why are the elections being held since they have to vote for Modi and BJP. But we are a democracy and election processes have to be followed. So Modi’s popularity combined with grass roots mecha nism of Amit Shah, there would be much space left for any other party. So, according to me Himachal and Guja rat should go to BJP.

z

Do you think Shivraj has been gift ed with a ‘boon’ by Modi, in the way PM patted on MP CM’s back during the inau

It certainly seems so. However, I would add that it is impossible to ascertain the working or strategy of Modi and Shah. But on face value, it certainly seems that Shivraj has been gifted with a boon. During the function, PM praised him and his govern ment. So this is more than enough that a PM has praised CM. Then when the corridor was inaugurated, Shivraj showed Modi around like a guide. Shivraj is a grass roots worker & an intellectual as compared to others. So it seems that he has been given ‘Abhaydan’. It seems on the face value that there perhaps may not be any change of leadership.

z But do you still up hold your earlier com ment that now the fight is for 2029 and not 2024?

Of course. Because till the time the Opposition has one leader, they can never get more votes than Narendra Modi and BJP. The new persona of Modi that is coming to the fore, it is like a ‘Tsu nami.’ By the time 2024 comes, a few more tem ples would be made & the sentiment of the nation swings and then, the is sues of other political parties, like free electric ity etc become negligible or hold no position among people. I am re minded of Shah’s claim that they will rule for 50 years. So, if they contin ue like this, then, any thing is possible. So, it is my summation that there is no competition to BJP in 2024, but the fight is for 2029.

the show

guration of Mahakal corridor?

Modi, from a pracharak to PM, has now transformed from PM to a Dharma-Guru and a spiritual leader!

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra with Shweta Mishra, Aditi Nagar, Poornima Mishra, Shikha Thakur and Akanksha Bhalla during The New JC Show.

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra in conversation with Shweta Mishra during The New JC Show.

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

SIX YARDS OF PURE GRACE!

Satin sarees are lovely because they exude grace and ageless beauty. However, if you’re unsure of how to properly style your satin saree, City First brings to you some helpful hints that will not only help you style your satin saree but also accessorise it!

MRIDULA SHARMA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

The fashion of 2022 has nearly been like a mod ernised recap of that of the 2000s.

This year has seen a number of long-forgotten fashion trends make a triumphant comeback, including lo gomania and biker shorts. High-shine satin and eth nic is one such trend that has returned to our ward robe. What was formerly thought to be exclusive to bridal gowns is now in charge of dressing you from head to toe. Ethnic wear from the ace Fash ion designers like Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahil iani and Sabyasachi has provoked Indian Women to set up their wardrobes with new and trendy satin sarees. A satin weave is a particular kind of fabric weave that results in a material that is typically glossy, smooth, or shiny, usually with a glossy front and a dull back. Along with plain weave and twill weave, it is one of the three basic kinds of textile weaves.

You will be halfway there if you pick the ap propriate colour for the event you intend to wear the satin saree for. This will also depend on the

time the event takes place; generally, for evening or nighttime activities, pick darker colours. Not only are purple and darker blue hues appropriate for winter gatherings, but also for late soirées. You can select a vivid blue, crimson, or pastel colour if you want to wear it in the morning or are at tending an event that lasts all day. You can also get jewellery to go with any satin saree or to con trast it. You can always display some of your priceless gold or silver jewellery if the situation calls for it. Additionally, you can experiment with bold jewellery, such as nose and toe rings, arm lets, bracelets and Jhum kas. However, if you pre fer to be more subtle, you might select some straightforward jewellery to go with your wonderful satin saree.

Speaking of cuisine, there are several dishes that are produced especially during Diwali. Without sweets and snacks, the Diwali holiday would not be complete, but there are a variety of other traditional delicacies that are made during this festive time. City First is offering

the

The celebra tions are in full swing with Diwali just around the horizon, and people are shopping for gifts, clothes, home decor, and other things. How can the biggest Indian holiday be celebrated without plenty of mithai? No festival is complete without sweets. Instead of pur chasing sweets from the store, make your mithai and add a per sonal touch to your Diwali celebration. We have a solution if you enjoy creating sweets at home but don't want to bother with laborious reci pes. Here are a few quick and simple reci pes you can try this year during Diwali.

It's that time of year when joyful fervour fills the soul with the prospect of happiness and success as the en thusiasm of the cele bration can be felt eve rywhere.

The preparations for the biggest festival have started and it's impossible to think of this festival of happi ness and harmony

without mentioning some indulgent treats that have been an es sential part of our cu linary culture. From charmingly lit streets to tiny fairy lights winning our hearts to the encapsulating aro ma of desi ghee lad doos and mithai.

This year, Diwali will be observed on October 24. If you haven't yet rolled up your sleeves and be gun planning for the festival of lights and flavours, then check out these simple yet de lectable tradi tional dishes that you may make for the occasion and share with your loved ones.

Meaning of Di wali, also known as the "holiday of lights," is also known as "the festival of flavours"! Yes, you're right. In India, a celebration entails donning new clothes, travelling to different locations, adorning the entire house, en joying time with loved ones, and eating an abundance of food.

enjoy with

TRADITIONAL DIWALI RECIPES TO TRY

SAMOSA

Nobody can resist a samosa that is both crispy and spicy! You may find it to be the ideal snack for this joyous occasion. Therefore, you must serve "chai-samosa" to your visitors if you are hosting a small Diwali party at your home. Stop waiting and go add this delectable snack to your Diwali meal list right away.

SOAN PAPDI

Soan papdi is a cube-shaped Indi an dessert which has a flaky tex ture. It is general ly made with desi ghee, which is very good for health. So, just go and grab the in gredients; gram flour, sugar, desi ghee and milk, and make this scrumptious des sert to enjoy with your close friends. And, you can also pack it as a Diwali gift for the relatives!

RICE KHEER

How can we miss including this quintessen tial dish on our list? Yes, that’s right, Rice kheer is something without which any Indian festi val is incom plete! Not just festivals, it can also be prepared on other occa sions like kitty party, game night or potluck. So, what are you waiting for? Go and make this delicious des sert easily at home and enjoy!

DRY FRUITS SANDESH

Another Benga li dessert on this list is the ‘dry fruits sandesh’. You must al ready know that dry fruits are very healthy and this sweet, being made with the good ness of dry fruits and milk, can be the per fect item to be included in the ‘sweet dishes list’ for Diwali. Serve it to your guests after lunch or dinner.

Time to feature the first sweet on this list, which is obvi ously gulab jamun! You just can’t imagine celebrating Di wali without having these delicious khoya balls dipped in thick sugar syrup. The rich texture and yummy taste of this sweet dish can instantly impress everyone!

GULAB JAMUN

Playful comment

Deepika Padukone

Trailer OutHUBBY GOALS!

Kspoke about her married life and couldn’t help but ask what it was like to celebrate her first Karwa Chauth with Vicky Kaushal. On her first Karwa Chauth, Katrina Kaif couldn’t help but quip, “I was hungry. But, the sweetest thing was that, of course, Vicky was also fasting. Yes, he also fasted. That, he wouldn’t… I’m sure he wouldn’t have [let me do it alone], and he didn’t even… it’s not like I asked him to do it all. I didn’t say anything. He did it himself, so that was sweet and of course, our… his par ents were also over, so it was our first… because it was our first year of marriage, there’s pooja which hap pens and all that. So, that was lovely.”

Nargis Fakhri is not work ing in the Hindi film in dustry currently. Mean while, the actress had ear lier also opened up about facing mental issues. And this time she talked a little more in detail about her Bollywood journey. Nargis said that she was called immature because she was authentic and honest in her feelings. “You have to interact with people even if you don’t want or are comfortable

with them. You have to put up a face which I was unable. Speak ing further the actress revealed that there was a time when she faced mental issues. “Due to stress, I developed health issues. I was depressed and I was unhappy. So, I took two years off to get healthy,”

Nargis was quot ed saying.

Janhvi Kapoor starrer Mili’s trailer has been released. A few days ago the makers shared the teaser and poster of the film and it received a positive response from fans. The survival thriller film is directed by Mathukutty Xavier and it is the Hindi remake of the director’s Malayalam film Helen, which was released in 2019. In the trailer, it was disclosed that Janhvi plays the role of a nursing student who plans

Deepika Padu kone and Ran veer Singh make one of the most pop ular star cou ples in B’Town. The Gehrai yaan actress recently put all the rumours to rest as she talked about her hubby on the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle’s pod cast. And now, keeping the tradition of their social media PDA alive, Deepika yet again left a playful comment on Ranveer’s recent live session. Re cently, Ranveer Singh came live on his Insta gram stories. Needless to say, thousands of fans joined him in the session to watch the Jayeshbhai Jordaar actor. Amid his many followers to flooded him with heart reacts and comments, was a comment from Deepi ka herself, as she wrote, “Working up an appetite I see..(googly eyes emoji)”.

MOMMY DUTIES

onam Kapoor is in one of the best phases of her life currently. She recently delivered her first baby and the couple named their little bundle of joy, Vayu. In a recent video, she gave her fans a glimpse of baby Vayu who was on his mother’s lap, while Sonam

In the video that Sonam Kapoor shared, we can see baby Vayu who is covered in a white blanket and is on Sonam’s lap while the actress is breastfeeding her little one. Sharing this video, Sonam wrote, “It’s so nice to get back to the real world with my team, get dressed up and meet people.. love being back in my home ground. Love you #Mumbai with all your scars and cracks you’re magic.”

Anand Ahuja took to the com ments section and wrote, “Built for this mama @son

uhana Khan is one of the most popular star kids on the block. A few minutes back, she took to her Instagram space and penned a rather unique birthday wish for Zoya

Sharing the snap shot, Suhana wrote, “Happy Birthday @ zoieakhtar (red heart emoji)”.

She further thanked her and added, “Thanks for put ting up with us.

Lots of love”.

Katrina Kaif

Kapoor

Sonam Kapoor

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Ranveer’s live

Amyra on Jogi’s success: makes me want to work harder

lidifying her position as a rising star in the Indian Film Industry.

ASHISH TIWARI cityfirst.mumbai@firstindia.co.in

Amyra Dastur has always been one who indian girls can resonate with. The actress who’s making waves in the industry on her due to her talent, fashion sense and beauty, has been roped in as the brand ambassador for Piramal Pharma’s Lacto Calamine Skin Care Product Range as well as the face of Marico’s Hair & Care oil, replacing Shraddha Kapoor.

That’s not all, her latest film, ‘Jogi’ with Diljit Dosanjh received a thunderous applause from the audience, fans and critics alike, thereby so-

The Parsi beauty who started off her career as a model, has starred in numerous mega ad campaigns including prestigious phone, skin care and cosmetics brands, will surely be a perfect fit for India’s most well known Skin Care Brand and its most loved hair care brand.

The actress has carved her own unconventional path in the world of entertainment and has become an inspiration for many young girls and women today.

Amyra Dastur says, “Skincare plays an important and very essential part in one’s day to day life. I’m very excited and grateful to be associated with Lacto Calamine. I think every girl has at least one product from this brand in their homes. Lacto Calamine has cemented itself in

India with a loyal customer base and millions of followers who have been using their products for years.

As for Marico, when I think of hair oil, it’s the first name that pops into my head. I’ve been oiling my hair for years and it’s a brand I trust and I’m proud to be the face of.

I’m happy and grateful to be associated with such historic companies. The applause and accolades that my film Jogi has received has me absolutely overwhelmed in the best possible way and as an artist it makes me want to work harder than ever. That’s all we look for, love and support from the audience for the hard work and heart we put into our projects.”

After Jogi, the Indian beauty has a lot to look forward to; Excel Entertainment & Amazon Prime’s “Bambai Meri Jaan” inspired by the

best selling novel ‘Dongri to Dubai’. The starlet also has a Tamil thriller ‘Bagheera’ opposite Prabhudeva set to hit theatres soon and she is currently wrapping up the schedule of her debut Punjabi Film “Furteela” oppo-

site Jassie Gill. Looks like this Parsi beauty is on a roll and we look forward to watch her on screen very soon.

Teri Ho Gayi releases

T he trailer of Tara Vs Bilal created a lot of excitement amongst the audiences for a hatke love story of two opposite worlds, Tara and Bilal. As fans await the release of this film, makers drop Teri Ho Gayi, a mesmerising song that will

are penned by Manan Bhardwaj. Feel the Love and emotion this year with Teri Ho Gayi. The song depicts the beautiful relationship between Tara and Bilal and their realisation of love for each other amidst the chaos of life.

Tiger 3 is one of the most anticipated films of 2023. The Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi starrer was supposed to be released on the occasion of Eid as were the first two parts of the Tiger series. But it seems that the date has been shifted further and instead of the usual release date, the film will be out on Diwali 2023. The announcement was made by Salman Khan on his Instagram handle.

Along with a poster of the film, Khan wrote, “Tiger has a new date... Diwali 2023 it is! Celebrate #Tiger3 with #YRF50 only on a big screen near you. Releasing in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. @katri-

nakaif | #ManeeshSharma | @ yrf.” Katrina Kaif too shared the same post along with the caption, “Tiger & Zoya are arriving on Diwali 2023. Celebrate #Tiger3 with #YRF50 only at a big screen near you. Releasing in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. @beingsalmankhan | #ManeeshSharma | @yrf.” The film is helmed by Maneesh Sharma who is famous for directing Band Baaja Baaraat. Salman and Katrina will essay their famous roles of Indian and Pakistani spies, Tiger and Zoya. cityfirst.mumbai@firstindia.co.in

Hitesh praises HIS TEAM

Hitesh Bharadwaj has been successfully leading Udaariyaan with his portrayal of Ekampreet Singh Randhawa. The show is being produced by Ravie Dubey and Sargun Mehta’s Dreamiyata Entertainment. He talks about the show and the journey so far.

“Udaariyaan has a loyal fan base and my experience

has been amazing here. The environment here is chilled out and also, and we have been shooting in real locations in Punjab, which has a different feel. Even one of my earlier shows was shot in Delhi. It also had a different but amazing vibe,” he says.

Praising Ravie, Sargun and Dreamiyata, he adds, “It’s wonderful to be working with them. Here it’s a different level of warmth, creativity,

ness. So, I am very lucky to have all of them, and Ravie and Sargun are amazing and very creative.”The makers, according to the actor, have ensured that the quality of tained. “Every scene, dialogue, mance are done Udaariyaan has set the bar high for itself”,

Daniel pays tribute to Hagrid

There are times when an actor essays a role where they become the character. Such was the character of Hagrid in the Harry Potter movie series. Robbie Coltrane who portrayed the role essayed it with such excellence that no one can

Robbie Coltrane passed away. The actor who was at age 72 was

tribute with his kind words. He said, “Robbie was one of the funniest people I’ve met and used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on the set. I’ve especially fond memories of him keeping our spirits up on Prisoner of Azkaban when we were all hiding from the torrential rain for hours in Hagrid’s hut and he was telling stories and cracking jokes to keep morale up.”

Hiten on Swaran Ghar

It is great to be with Swaran Ghar for the last 3-4 months now. But it was just more than brilliant working with such great talents. The best part is that, luckily, I know Ajay Singh Chaudhary and Sangita Ghosh. So, working with them is amazing. Overall, it was a great experience. We work as a team because we don’t only shoot but we discuss a lot of other things too and learn a lot,”

He also has nice things to say about Ravie Dubey, Sargun Mehta and their production house

Dreamiyata. “It’s just mind-blowing. I am so amazed looking at how Ravie and Sargun are doing production so well. I am so happy for them about the way they have managed. I’ve now almost shifted to Chandigarh as they made me feel so com-

fortable. Ravie and Sargun are darlings. I have no complaints. Also working with Dreamiyata is wonderful, every episode, and every scene is done with lots of love. Thank you to Sargun and Ravie for bringing me on this show,” he adds.

cherished by all his costars including Daniel Radcliffe, the OG Harry Potter. He paid a fitting

Amyra Dastur

Hitesh Bharadwaj

Hiten Tejwani

Starcast of Harry Potter

Poster of the song...

Late Robbie Coltrane with Daniel Radcliffe