Moni Sharma New Delhi: A contro versy erupted on Wednesday over allot ment of government flats to Rohingya refu gees in Delhi. Critics said it was against the Centre’s earlier claims that the Rohingya Mus lims were not refugees but illegal immigrants and that the Kashmiri Pandits and Hindus from Pakistan living as refugees in the national capital should have been given priority in allotment of flats. Hours after Union Housing and Urban Af fairs Minister Hardeep Puri said Wednesday that all Rohingya refu gees would be shifted to EWS flats in Delhi’s Bakkarwala, the office of HM Shah issued a statement denying any such move by Centre. MHA has directed Delhi govt to ensure that the Rohingyas will contin ue at present location and taken up the matter of their deportation, the HM’s office said. Puri had said Centre planned to resettle around 1,100 Rohing yas, currently living in tents in Madanpur area.
New Delhi (ANI): Ni tin Gadkari and Shivraj Singh Chouhan were dropped from BJP’s highest decision-mak ing body on Wednesday, while former chief min isters BS Yediyurappa & Sarbananda Sonowal were included in list. Others on the BJP Parliamentary Board list include Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, K Laxman, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, Sudha Yadav, Satyanarayan Jatiya and BL FadnavisSantosh.and K Lax man are the two crucial inclusions on the list, hinting at a promotion for the leaders. While BJP OBC Morcha na tional president Lax man has been trying to gain grounds in Telan gana, Fadnavis played a major role in forging an alliance with Shinde camp that led to top pling of Uddhav govt. “People like BSY, SN Jatia, K Laxman have given their lives to the party, building it brick by brick, ” sources said. NEW DELHI & MUMBAI BSE SENSEX 60,260.13 417.92 | NSE NIFTY 17,944.25 119.00 BUYING MANCHESTER UNITED: MUSK JOKES
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia MUMBAI l THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 103
With respect to news reports in certain sections of media regarding Rohingya illegal foreigners, it is clari fied that Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has not given any directions to provide EWS flats to Rohingya illegal migrants at Bakkarwala in New Delhi. —Ministry of Home Affairs Hardeep Singh @HardeepSPuriPuri India has always welcomed those who have sought refuge in the country. In a landmark decision all #Rohingya#Refugees will be shifted to EWS flats in Bakkarwala area of Delhi. They will be provided basic amenities, UNHCR IDs & round-the-clock @DelhiPo lice protection.
Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was appointed the Leader of House in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde made the announcement on Wednesday, while introducing the newly inducted members of his cabinet to the Upper House on the opening day of the state legislature’s Monsoon Session. Fadnavis, who is a member of the Legislative Assembly from Nagpur and a Bharatiya Janata Party leader, introduced the state Legislative Council’s newly elected members. The chief minister is usually the Leader of the House in the Assembly, while his deputy holds the equivalent post in the Council.
New Delhi (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of the plea against the practice of promising freebies dur ing election campaigns for Monday and asked all stakeholders to give their suggestions on freebies in writing by August 20. Bench headed by CJI Ramana said that concern is about spend ing moneypublicin
VHP: ROHINGYAS ARE REFUGEESNOT INFILTRATORSBUT A day after the central govern ment announced its decision to shift Rohingya refugees to EWS flats in New Delhi, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) chief Alok Kumar on Wednes day condemned the move and said that the Rohingyas are not refugees but infiltrators and should be ‘pushed out’ of the country.
BJP PARLIAMENTARY BOARD REVAMP Gadkari, Shivraj out; Yedi, Sonowal in
The party’s rejigged parl board, which has four new faces, signals a generational and political shift in the highest tiers of the BJP in the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah era
CENTRE GRANTS ‘Z’ CATEGORY VIP SECURITY COVER TO GAUTAM ADANI
New Delhi: Billionaire industrialist and Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani has been accorded a ‘Z’ category VIP security cover of CRPF commandos by Centre. The all-India cover will be on a payment basis and it will cost over `15-20 lakh per month.
Crucial
Renni Abraham Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that he had consulted with In dia’s Deputy National Security Advisor Datta Padsalgikar prior to an imminent shake up in the Indian Police Service (IPS) of lenge“ItvisstateMonsoonlinesSpeakingMaharashtra.onthesideoftheongoingSessionattheLegislature,Fadnatoldmediapersons,canturnintoachalifpromotedIAS and IPS officers from Maharashtra are given cream posts in the state to fill vacancies. Then, the Union government may cut down postings of officials in both the cadres from the Central government pool.” Similarly, he pointed out that if IAS and IPS officers from the state cadre on Central deputa tion were recalled before their three-year tenure was up, it would impact their confidential re ports. And it would ad versely make them ineli gible for future postings to the FadnavisCentre. expressed unhappiness over the conduct of Turn to P5
Anurag Singh Thakur holding a press conference on Cabinet Decisions in Delhi on Wednesday.
Azad Maidan’s sharmindagi, when women’s dignity died
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR,
Hardeep Puri announces housing for Rohingyas Amit Shah’s office says there are no such plans 80-year-old Zoora Khatoon at Rohinya refugee settlement area in Kalindi Kunj, Delhi on Wednesday.
TAKING CHARGE
MONEY,JACQUELINEFERNANDEZLAUNDEREDSAYSED Mumbai: The ED has decided to name Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez as an accused in a multi-crore money laundering case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar and others, official sources said on Wednesday.
FADNAVIS IS NEW LEADER OF MLCSC: CAN ACCESS TO EDU, DRINKING WATER BE TERMED AS FREEBIES?
TAKE BANSTEPSPROACTIVETOLIFTFIFAONAIFF:SC
Top Court orally observed that issues raised during the hearing of the petition against freebies promised by political parties during polls are gettingcomplicated”,“increasinglyandwhetheraccesstofreeeducation,drinkingwater,electricitycanbetermedfreebies?
—FILE PHOTO
JALORE: ACCUSED SENT TO JC Jalore: On completion of two-day police remand of accused school operator Chail Singh, he was presented in court from where he was remanded to judicial custody. SC-ST Commission filed a case under section 302 and SC-ST Act in matter of death of dalit student Indra Meghwal, who was slapped by Chail. READ
Ichalkaranjikar, who had moved the Bom bay High Court seek ing compensatory damages for the huge public property loss by the vandalizing mob, recently received response on the case under Right to Infor mation“Originally,(RTI). an as sessment of Rs2.75 crore was made re garding the damage to public and private property after the mob went on a ram page. Subsequently, the district magis trate calculated the losses for ofandthecompensationseekingfromRazaAcademyotherorganizersthepublicmeeting.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Central Government to take “proactive steps” with the ofsuspensionthattobodygoverningfootballworldFIFAensurethetheAll India Football Federation (AIFF) is lifted & country gets to host the Under-17 Women Football World Cup as scheduled. Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis
1 2 Concern is about spending public money in right way: SC on ‘freebies’
Fadnavis consults Dy NSA over IPS overhaul
Shivraj Singh Chouhan Sarbananda SonowalBS Yediyurappa Nitin Gadkari Gadkari not included in BJP’s Parl Board shows that his stature as an astute politician has grown leaps and bounds. When your calibre grow and you pose a challenge BJP downsizes you. —NCP leader Clyde Crasto
NO IDEA: NITISH ON SINGH’S WARRANT
Cabinet Decisions: Digital library, agri, ECLGS enhancement, more...
Turn to P5 A decade after the stillmolestedconstableswomenriot,whowerebrutallybyamobatMumbai’siconicgroundareawaitingjustice
Renni Abraham Mumbai: Sheer lack of political will in Ma harashtra by succes sive governments has ensured the death of dignity of woman po lice constables molest ed a decade ago on Au gust 11, 2012, at Mum bai’s iconic Azad Maidan.Tenyears on, the trial for the heinous offence at the preplanned riot has not commenced before the Sessions Court of Mumbai yet. While the perpetrators roam freely on bail, many of the women police con stables felt the shame too much to bear and resigned.Ithasbeen a decade of decadence of the legal process initiated to prosecute 60-odd ac cused identified for the incident including the desecration of the Amar Jawan memori al and outraging the modesty of these po licewomen. They re portedly ripped off their police uniforms and perpetrated more such shameful acts too graphic to be carried in the dark of print. Advocate Virendra
AZAD MAIDAN RIOT Wikipedia quite simply describes the incident of the Azad Maidan riots as thus: “Azad Maidan Riot refers to a riot by Indian muslims, organized at Azad Maidan on 11 August, 2012 to condemn the Rakh ine riots. It started out as a protest and later turned into a riot. It reportedly began as the crowd got an gry either after hearing an inflammatory speech or after seeing photographs of Rakhine state riots. The incident resulted in two deaths and injuries to 63 people, including 58 police officers. Mumbai Police estimated that the riots caused a loss of `2.74 crore in damages to public and private property.”A man vandalizing the Amar Jawan memorial during the 2012 Azad Maidan riots.
GOVT FLATS TO ROHINGYA REFUGEES TRIGGER ROW
New Delhi: Union Min ister Anurag Thakur addressed media and briefed about key deci sions in Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday. CABINET APPROVED l An interest subven tion of 1.5 per cent per annum on shortterm agriculture loan up to Rs 3 lakh to ensure “adequate credit flow in the ag riculture sector”. l Limit of Emergency Credit Line Guaran tee Scheme (ECLGS) by Rs 50,000 crore from Rs 4.5 lakh cr to Rs 5 lakh crore with addl amount being earmarked exclusive ly for firms in hospi tality, related sectors. l Widening access of the baseLibraryKnowledgeTraditionalDigital(TKDL)datatousers. l Cabinet apprised signing of Contract between India and France to support the ITF activities on the Indian Transport Sector.
Washington: Elon Musk, world’s richest person, briefly lifted gloom over Manchester United’s shares and fans on Wednesday by tweeting he was buying English soccer club - only to say later it was part of “long-running joke”.
Patna: After reports of a warrant against Bihar’s new law minister Kartikeya Singh emerged, CM Nitish Kumar said he had no information about it. Reports say, RJD’s Kartikeya Singh was to surrender in Danapur court on August 16 in a kidnapping case but instead, he showed up at Raj Bhavan to take oath. P5 AKASA AIR TO ADD 1 FLIGHT EVERY 2 WKS New Delhi: Akasa Air is well-capitalised and its growth is secure with the financial means to place an order for more planes, its chief Vinay Dube said on Wednesday, days after the passing away of the airline’s key investor Jhunjhunwala.RakeshCarrier, took to the skies on August 7, got 3rd aircraft on Aug 16.
The Paithan belt is a Shiv strongholdSenaand people are committed voters of the Thackeray family. We are uncon cerned with any sort of targeted discrimination brought to bear upon regions that exhibit a groundswell of support for the Shiv Sena. We will expose collectors in the regions where development funds are sought to be withheld in regions with a strong Shiv Sena base. Our party chief Uddhav Thackeray will be launching a statewide tour soon. —Ambadas Danve, LOP, Maha Legislative Council
Renni Abraham Mumbai: Leader of Opposition (LOP) in the state Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve, exuded confi dence over the Shiv Sena’s political pros pects on Wednesday. He even glossed over alleged overtures from former MPs and MLAs belonging to alliance partners in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. “We are sure of the political roadmap, which included prop ping up youthful leaders to take on veteran rebel Sena MLAs like Sandi pan Bhumre (Employ ment Guarantee and Horticulture Minister), who was made MLA from Paithan district in 1995. This resulted in his contemporaries being edged out in the region, while youth leaders like Manoj Pere will now take on a senior cabinet minister in the Eknath Shinde cabinet, come Assembly polls,” said Danve.Speaking to media persons, Danve added, “You would be surprised to know that not only is the youth brigade with in the Shiv Sena that is enthused by the sudden opportunity to prove their mettle that has now presented itself. Former MPs and MLAs belonging to the Con gress and NCP parties are now approaching us for tickets for whenever the next general elec tions and state assembly polls will be held.”
Under former CM Uddhav Thackeray, the MVA government had increased the number of BMC councillors to 236 Everyone knows who ‘real CM’ is:
First India Bureau Mumbai: Alluding to the influence which Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has in the new Maha rashtra dispensation, Shiv Sena leader Aadi tya Thackeray de nounced the Eknath Shinde-led govern ment on Wednesday. Taking a dig at the newly installed govern ment, he said everyone knows who the “real chief minister” is. Thackeray also took a jibe at the recent cabi net expansion, by say ing, “The new ministe rial team did not want to hear any of the voic es—be it Mumbai or of women or of Independ entChiefMLAs.” Minister Eknath Shinde expand ed his cabinet of minis ters last week, inducting nine MLAs each from his own Shiv Sena rebel faction and the Bharati ya Janata Party (BJP), which is supporting his government. No woman legislator or Independ ent leader was inducted into the 20-member cabi net. The first 14 to 15 MLAs who aligned with Shinde when he revolted against the Shiv Sena leadership in June also did not find a place in the cabinet. “So there is no place for loyalty,” said Thackeray, a minister in the previous govern ment, outside the Vid han Bhavan in Mumbai. “Everyone now knows who the real chief minis ter is,” he said in an ap parent reference to Fad navis, who holds home, finance and a host of other key portfolios. After the portfolios were allotted, the Shiv Sena faction led by par ty president Uddhav Thackeray had criti cized the Shinde gov ernment, saying crucial portfolios were allocat ed to the “IndependentsBJP. have not got any place. Wom en have not got any place in the Cabinet nor has Mumbai,” said Thackeray.TheloneCabinet min ister from the metropolis was Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the BJP MLA from Malabar Hill in south Mumbai.
Ambadas Danve addresses media with LOP of Maha Assembly Ajit Pawar. —PHOTO BY ANI
MunicipalBrihanmumbaiCorporation. —FILE PHOTO
Mumbai: Students appearing for Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) and B.Ed and Bachelor of Hotel Management exams can change their exam batch if the dates of these exams clash, Maharash tra minister Chandrakant Patil said on Wednesday. Students appearing for MPSC exams in addition to B.Ed and BHMCT exams can send an email to Com mon Entrance Test (CET) administrators requesting a batch change if the dates overlap. ASPIRANTS CAN SEEK DATE CHANGE IF MPSC AND OTHER EXAMS OVERLAP
Aaditya Thackeray’s dig at Shinde
FREE TRAVEL FOR PEOPLE ABOVE 75 YEARS OF AGE IN MSRTC BUSES
—Ajit Pawar, Leader of Opposition, Maha Legislative Assembly
CRUCIAL READ Mumbai: According to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office on Tuesday, the dearness al lowance (DA) for Maharashtra government employ ees has been increased by 3%. The revised DA will be applicable from August, it said. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. With this hike, the dearness allow ance has now been raised to 34% against the basic salary, the statement said. 3% DEARNESS ALLOWANCE HIKED FOR MAHA GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
Opposition leaders holding placards stage a protest on the first day of the Maharashtra Assembly Monsoon Session, at Vidhan Bhavan, in Mumbai on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI The rules.democraticformedgovernmentisCourtSupremeverdict…pending.Thehasbeenagainstallvaluesand
LOP Danve ‘predicts’ rise of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena
Renni Abraham Mumbai: Eknath Shinde’s political for mation of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs and inde pendents were given the short end of the straw in budgetary al locations made in the supplementary de mands placed before the state legislature on Wednesday. In a united chorus, Shinde’s MLAs had al leged that their former alliance partner in the government, the Nation alist Congress Party (NCP) had starved them of funds for develop mental works in their constituencies, forcing their hand in rebellion to leave the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition. Apparently, ignominy refuses to leave the re bels’ political fate, with roughly Rs11,800 crore of supplementary de mands cleared by the lower house on Wednes day are set to finance the ministries held by the BJP in the newfound po litical alliance in Maha rashtra. On the other hand, Shinde and his ministers, in turn, were allocated Rs6,303 crore. This allocation was perfectly in sync with the smaller share of portfolios allocated to them. A similar imbal ance had occurred in the MVA when the Shiv Sena had the fewer num ber of portfolios, as com pared to the NCP. The Shinde camp was expectedly unhappy by the turn of events. Depu ty CM Devendra Fad navis had made it an an nual ritual after the budget announcement to fine tune the share of fund outlays between the Congress and the NCP alliance partners in gov ernment till 2014.
CM Eknath Shinde with Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis at Vidhan Bhavan on the first day of the Monsoon Session. BY ANI Fadnavis’demandsSupplementaryplanfordivisionoffundslargelyfavoursBJPandnotShinde’srebelfaction
—PHOTO BY ANI 2:1 ratio
budgetwitnessedallocationinfreshoutlay
—PHOTO
Opposition raises slogans against Shinde-led govt
Calls out duringemptactiviststargetinggovernmentShindeforpartytopre-disruptionsCM’stour
First India Bureau Mumbai: A bill to re store the number of councillors in the Bri hanmumbai Munici pal Corporation (BMC) to the original 227 was tabled in the state As sembly on Wednesday by the Eknath Shindeled government. The Mumbai Munici pal Corporation and Ma harashtra ment)CorporationsMunicipal(AmendAct2022billwas tabled by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who also holds the portfolio of state’s urban develop mentThedepartment.originalnumber of BMC councillors was increased to 236 by the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) govern ment, where Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister. Earlier this month, the ShindeFadnavis government reversed the MVA gov ernment’s decision. The previous govern ment had also approved the redrawing of wards in Mumbai—a move that drew flak from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), then in opposi tion, as well as the MVA member Indian Nation al Congress (INC). The BJP and Con gress, both, had accused the Shiv Sena of misus ing its powers to redraw the wards to benefit the Uddhav Thackeray-led party in the upcoming civic polls. The BJP has wanted to capture the BMC, which was gov erned by the Shiv Sena for over two decades, since their alliance fell apart in November 2019. In the 2017 elections, for the first time, the BJP won 82 seats, against the 84 seats of the Shiv Sena in the 227-member civic body.
The Shiv Sena leader has passed scathing remarks on Shinde who rebelled to form his own govt Aaditya Thackeray arriving at Vidhan Bhavan on Day 01 of the Monsoon Session on Wednesday.
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The recent tour by scion of the Thackeray family, Aaditya Thack eray, was immensely successful, said the LOP in the upper house at the Vidhan Bhavan. He added, “This was followed by the road shows by Chief Minis ter Eknath Shinde in the same regions, prior to which, the administra tion strategically resort ed to issuing notices to Sena activists asking them to leave the dis trict that coincided with the CM’s visit. We will not be cowed down by such tactics and respond in true Shiv Sena style.” Danve introduced Manoj Pere, district president of Shiv Sena from Paithan on the sidelines of the ongoing Monsoon Session of the statePerelegislature.said,“Even in the recent Gram Pan chayat elections of sev en-odd villages in Pai than, it is apparent that Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has won out rightly in three GPs. It was also able to elect three to four members in the remaining four GPs alongside alliance partners, the NCP and Congress.”Theleader insisted that the results of 271 GP elections, that were held recently, were no indicator of true politi cal leveleachbeformationfromtwo“Inrepresentation.mostcasesevenorthreecandidatesthesamepoliticalwerefoundtocontestingagainstotheratthevillageelections,”hesaid.Pere,however,exudedconfidenceovertheSena’sprospects,evenifthey(polls)wereheldin2024whenthetenureofthecurrentdispensationnaturallycomestoanend,irrespectiveofthescaleofdevelopmentworkscarriedoutbytheEknathShindeledgovernment.
Mumbai: People above 75 years of age can now travel free by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corpora tion (MSRTC) buses, announced Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday. The decision was taken at the state cabinet meeting. “As we are celebrating the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the Maharashtra government has taken this decision,” Shinde said. The cabinet also decided to provide ‘Govinda’ troops with Rs10 lakh insurance coverage during the Gokulashtami festival. The state government will pay the insurance premium.
Members of the state Legislative Assembly and Legislative Coun cil from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Indian National Con gress (INC) and their allies—led by the Lead er of Opposition Ajit Pawar—shouted slo gans against the cur rent government over farmers’ issues. Some members of the Ud dhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, including MLA Aaditya Thack eray, also took part in the ernment’scesstheirofhasnavisoftionedplacardswereAsloganeering.fewprotestersseenholdingthatquesthelegitimacytheShinde-Fadgovernment.“Thisgovernmentignoredtheplightfarmerswholostcropsduetoexrainfall.Thegovlegitimacy is also in doubt and be ing debated legally,” said an opposition lead er from the steps of the state legislature com plex in south Mumbai. The opposition has been targeting the Shinde-led govern ment, claiming that it was “unconstitu tional”.AjitPawar has ear lier said, “The way the government came to power, it is our unani mous view that the Shinde government has not been formed as per the stipulated con stitutional regulations. The Supreme Court verdict on the petitions regarding it is pending. The government has been formed against all democratic values and rules.”
Shinde govt tables bill to restore BMC members to 227
First India Bureau Mumbai: Just before the commencement of the Maharashtra state VidhanonledtheedsitionWednesday,MonsoonAssembly’sSessionontheoppopartieschantslogansagainstEknathShinde-stategovernmentthestepsoftheBhavan.
Husband arrested for abetting suicide
Due to the pact,im four wheels of a coach of the ex press train got off the tracks. Only a few hospital.admittedfromsengerThough,inseriousbodyinjuries,receivedpassengersminorbutnosustainedinjuriestheincident.onepassufferinganxietywastoa
First India Bureau Mumbai: The Brihan mumbai DaythesafelytohaveCorporationandCorporationMunicipal(BMC)ThaneMunicipal(TMC)askedresidentskeepnationalflagsathomeafterIndependencecelebrations.
Mumbai: A 45-yearold sales executive from Punjab was arrested for alleg edly molesting a woman at a five-star hotel here, police said on Tuesday. The accused on Mon day had allegedly called the woman for ‘massage service’ at the hotel where he was staying, but the two had a disagree ment over payment. According to the woman, he assaulted her and threw her out of his room. The man was arrested by Vakola police for alleged assault and molestation, the of ficial said.
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Speaking to the me dia, a BMC official said, “Around 35 lakh nation al flags were distributed by the BMC across the city. The civic body won’t be taking them back. We have asked citizens to preserve the flags at home following the ‘Flag Code of In dia’.”Additional munici pal commissioner of TMC Sandeep Malvi added, “The TMC has asked residents to fol low government guide lines to preserve the flags at home after cel ebrations. During the distribution of the flags we also shared pam phlets with the Flag Code for residents to fol low.”Meanwhile, Mumbai kars have differing opinions on the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ Cam paign. A 29-year-old Kandi vali resident expressed concern about how to respectfully preserve the flag following Inde pendence Day celebra tions. “My greatest con cern is that the people will dispose of several flags without following the Flag Code of India. There should have been strict guidelines for citizens to follow in or der to dispose of the tri color with dignity.”
The incident oc curred at around 1.20 am between Gudma and Gondia railway sta tions, said an official of South East Central Railway (SECR), add ing that the Commis sioner of Railway Safe ty (CRS) of SECR re gion will conduct an inquiry into it. “Prima facie, the loco pilot of the expressBhagat Ki Kothi SF Ex press (20843) - going from Bilaspur to Jodh pur could not control the train, due to which it hit the brake van of a goods train that was standing ahead of it,” said the senior official. “Due to the impact, four wheels of a coach of the express train got off the tracks. Only a few passengers received minor injuries, but no body sustained serious injuries in the incident. Though, one passenger suffering from anxiety was admitted to a hospi tal,” he said. After being alerted, a medical relief train and railway officials reached the accident site.Restoration work was carried out immediate ly, and the train was re instated on the tracks. Post that, the express train continued its jour ney further, added the official.Another official said the CRS will conduct an inquiry into the acci dent. “The date of the probe, to be conducted by the CRS that works under the administra tive control of the Min istry of Civil Aviation of the central govern ment, will be notified later on,” he said. The CRS is likely to record the statements of railway employees, officers and the general public to collect details related to the accident.
Police Naik Anita Wavhal hung herself at Srinagar police station on Tuesday. Victim was mentally Vijay,harassedphysicallyandbywhousedtosuspecthercharacter
Latur: A 27-yearold man committed suicide by jumping off a railway bridge in Latur district on Tuesday, police said. The incident took place on Barshi Road area around 11 am. Anand Shivajirao Kshirsagar (27), of Chikhali village in Ahmedpur tehsil, left his sister's house in Shrinagar locality to buy medicines and did not return. Anand is said to have jumped off the bridge, and the police were alerted about the incident. A case has been regis tered at MIDC police station and probe is underway, the official said.
BMC and TMC ask residents to follow the ‘Flag Code of India’ to keep the tricolour safely after the celebrationsI-Day
FATALITIES
Bureau
While a 35-year-old Chembur resident stat ed, “We are still unsure how to care for the tri color. Not everyone is aware of the rules that must be followed when raising the flag. We are looking for information on how can we preserve the tricolour with hon our and dignity.” India
MAN HELD STARWOMANMOLESTINGFORATFIVE-HOTEL
Students form a human pyramid to break the dahi handi during Wednesday.in(SNDT)DamodaratfestivalJanmashtamicelebrations,ShreematiNathibaiThackerseyCollege,Mumbai,on
People celebrate the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, in Mumbai. —PHOTO BY ANI
Rescue and relief work underway after the passenger train derailed in Gondia in the early hours of Wednesday; (inset) Derailed wheel of the train. —PHOTOS BY PTI INJURED AS TRAIN GOES OFF THE TRACKS AFTER HITTING A GOODS TRAIN FROM BEHIND; CRS TO PROBE
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According to cops, the accident took place after a contain er coming from the wrong side rammed into a car, at 01.30 am on Wednesday. The car going to Pune while the container was heading BhausahebtifiedTheyseven-year-oldyear-oldtrict—includeAhmednagarBudrukresidentssaid.gaonanwomanwereFivewithwrongerKaregaon,WhenlingfamilywrongsameAhmednagartowardsinthelanefromtheside.“SixmembersofaweretraveltoPuneinacar.theyreachedacontaincomingfromtheside,collidedtheirvehicle.ofthefamilykilled,whileawasinjured,”officialofRanjanpolicestationThedeceased—ofAvanevillageindisafour-girlandaboy.havebeenidenasSanjayMhaske (53), Ram Bhausaheb Mhaske (45), Raju Ram Mhaske (7), Harshada Ram Mhaske (4) and Vishal Sanjay MhaskeSadhana(16). Ram Mhaske (35), was se riously injured in the accident and admit ted to a private hospi tal for ingpoliceRanjangoanficandrushedstationjangoanliceMandage,theVehicles(IPC)IndianvanttainerdriverteredfencetodentspotdriverthatnavdentPunetreatment.superintenofpoliceAbhiDeshmukhsaidtheaccusedfledfromtheaftertheacciandsearchisonnabhim.AnofhasbeenregisagainsttheoftheconunderrelesectionsofthePenalCodeandtheMotorAct.ImmediatelyafteraccidentBalwantseniorpoinspectoratRanMIDCpoliceandhisteamtothespotclearedthetrafonthehighway.MIDCareinvestigatthecase.
First India Bureau Thane: Police have ar rested a 39-year-oldman for allegedly abetting the suicide of his wife, who was working as police naik, an official said on Wednesday. The police arrested the man on Tuesday evening, a few hours af ter the alleged suicide took place at the Srina gar police station.
3 BOGIES OF
First India Bureau Pune: Five mem bers of a family were killed and one was seriously in jured in a road ac cident near Ran jangaon MIDC (Ma harashtra Indus trial said.egaon,highwayPune-Corporation)DevelopmentonAhmednagarnearKarofficials
—PHOTO BY PTI
My Green Society collects national flags to dispose them respectfully Mumbai: Even as citizens wonder what to do with their flags after Independence Day, ‘My Green Society’ has come forward to collect them from housing societies and care for them in accordance with the Flag Code of India. The city-based NGO started collecting the national flags from Wednes day so that the flags are disposed of in a dignified manner. The organization will be collecting the national flags from societies from across Mumbai and Thane. Project coordinator from My Green So ciety Manish Bharatiya said, “We will start collect ing the flags from societies across Mumbai and Thane from August 16. This process will go on for a week. People can reach out to us through call or WhatsApp on 9820099022 or 9167761697. They will have to share their name, address, and contact details. We won’t charge any money for this.”
The man, identified as Vijay Dagdu Zine, was arrested for caus ing mental and physical harassment to his wife, which eventually led her to commit suicide. The man used to sus pect the character of his wife and allegedly used to quarrel over the issue.“On Tuesday after noon, Anita Wavhal, 34, hanged herself to death from the ceiling fan at the ladies' section over there. She had reported for work around 10.30 am,” he said. Her dead body was found hanging in the ladies' section of the po lice station when her colleague who wanted to have lunch together, called her and did not get any response. Soon, she went to the ladies’ section and found the deceased hanging, he added.Her body was soon sent for post mortem.
The impact was so severe that five people were crushed to death, while Sadhana Mashke, the wife of deceased Ram, sustained major injuries. The family was on its way to Pune, while the container was heading to Ahmednagar in the same lane from the wrong side
Civic bodies ask citizens to preserve national flags ‘HAR GHAR TIRANGA’
ficialreportedcasualtiesouslyries,gersmoreWednesday.thetrainaftertricttracksRajasthanfrompressThreeNagpur/Mumbai:bogiesofanextraingoingChhattisgarhtogotofftheinGondiadisofMaharashtraithitagoodsfrombehindinweehoursofWhilethan50passensustainedinjunobodywasseriinjured.Nohavebeensofar,anofsaid
—A South East Central(SECR)Railwayofficial
WHAT HAPPENED The incident occurred at around 1.20 am between Gudma and Gondia railway sta tions, said an official of South East Central Railway (SECR), adding that the Com missioner of Railway Safety (CRS) of SECR region will conduct an inquiry into it. “Prima facie, the loco pilot of the express - Bhagat Ki Kothi SF Express (20843) - going from Bilaspur to Jodhpur could not control the train, due to which it hit the brake van of a goods train that was standing ahead of it,” said the senior official.
MAKHANCHORISBACK!
Five of a family killed in accident near Ranjangaon
CRUCIAL READ Palghar: The Palghar district administration issued an alert to riverside villages in Vasai, Palghar, Dahanu, Wada, and Vikramgad tehsils on Tuesday, stating that water was being released from dams due to heavy rains. According to an of ficial, water was being discharged from the Tansa, Modaksagar, Kawdas, and Dhamni dams. He also mentioned that the water level in the Vaitarna and Pinjal rivers was rising. HEAVY RAINFALL: PALGHAR DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION ISSUES FLOOD ALERT MAN JUMPS TO DEATH INRAILWAYFROMBRIDGELATURDIST TRAIN DERAIL, NO
PERSPECTIVE MUMBAI | THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022 04 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia l Vol 1 l Issue No. 103 l RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701. Published at Plot No. 3
COLBHUKARRAJESH
The author has been Head Security Rajasthan Operations of Cairn Energy and DGM HR in Jindal Saw Ltd
75 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE TIME TO CONSOLIDATE INDIA’S POSITION ON KASHMIR & Po K
THE BIG MODI-SHAH PLAN OF ANNULMENT OF ARTICLE 370
WAY FORWARD While measures to deal with discontent within Kashmir have been initiated, there is a need for more innovative measures to undercut Paki stan’s gross indulgence in fanning the issue. A robust and coherent approach to reshape the domestic as well as exter nal discourses on PoK to pursue Indian claims in a firm and consistent man ner. Indian agenda must focus on empowerment and Self-Rule political package challenging Paki stan’s locus standi on in troducing changes in a contested region of Gilgit and Baltistan where peo ple have been denied their basic political rights. Need to exploit China Pa kistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) placed under Chi na’s Belt and Road Initia tive (BRI) by India by siting the principle of territorial sovereignty and integrity to stake its claim on PoK and this position was re scinded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to the territory during his Independence Day address in August 2016. There is greater need than ever before to retrieve the subject of PoK from the backburner and bring it head on during strategic discussions and policy for mulations. The Instru ment of Accession, signed in India’s favour by the Maharaja of Kashmir in October 1947, is the most authentic and significant legal backing, based on which India must leverage its claim not only on Jam mu & Kashmir but also Pak occupied Kashmir.
FIFA AXE ON
While India is implement ing several new projects in Jammu and Kashmir to meet the demands of the post-Covid economy, PoK on the other hand has suf fered many budgetary cuts with the government fa vouring corrupt politi cians as well as China mak ing inroads into the terri tory and using the land to fulfil its own ambitions. PoK has been under Pa kistan’s control for over seven decades and is now incrementally falling under China’s sphere of influ ence; India must carefully evolve a prudent strategy on PoK that could material ise into territorial claim on the region just as the rest of the Jammu and Kashmir. India needs to cogently argue out its position on PoK by putting out a comprehen sive proclamation based on documents like The Instru ment of Accession. The Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir car ries a provision of 24 seats in the state’s legislative as sembly for representatives from PoK so why not a re think on allocating seats for PoK in the Lok Sabha. The Indian government needs to address near com plete apathy of the Indian media with respect to de velopments in PoK and counter Pakistani media’s obsession with Kashmir with appropriate Indian rebuttals. Exposing the militant training camps in PoK and diminishing the malicious propaganda and subversive activities un leashed by Pakistan. In addition to the exist ing routes, India needs to consciously insist on open ing up more points across the LoC for movement of people and goods, especial ly the Kargil- Skardu route.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Fortunately, cricket does not have an international body in cricket like FIFA, the international Federation of Association Football, to monitor working of federations in soccer playing countries and suspend those without duly elected bodies as has been done with the Indian football federation, AIFF ashmir finds mention in an cient texts of India and has remained part of ancient Indian Empires for ages but the Indo - Pak dispute emerged after partition when Pakistan sponsored militia-invaded Kashmir in September 1947. To save the state from this invasion the then ruler Maharaja Hari Singh placed Kashmir un der the dominion of India by executing an Instrument of Accession on 27 October 1947. Later a UN brokered cease-fire came into effect in 1948, a Line of Control (LoC); a de facto border was established separating In dian and Pakistani adminis tered regions of Kashmir. Since then, India and Paki stan have fought three wars in 1965, 1971 and 1999 over Kashmir (in 1971, Kashmir was perhaps the peripheral issue) and they had been in volved in several skirmish es on both sides of LoC. Ten sions between the two coun tries escalated in the 1990s after Pak sponsored terror ism took a devilous shape in Kashmir. As it stands India holds 60% of Kashmir, Paki stan has occupied 30% and 10% has been illegally ac ceded to China.
There is greater need than ever before to retrieve the subject of PoK from the backburner and bring it head on during strategic discussions and JammuinsignedInstrumentformulations.policyTheofAccession,inIndia’sfavourbytheMaharajaofKashmirOctober1947,isthemostauthenticandsignificantlegalbacking,basedonwhichIndiamustleverageitsclaimnotonlyon&KashmirbutalsoPakoccupiedKashmir K
KASHMIR The Modi- Shah plan of an nulment of Article 370 and the formation of two new union territories in 2019 has triggered the change and stabilising with time. The concerted effort by team Chinar Corps, other secu rity forces and local people under the guidance of Lt Governor has definitely stimulated the change. The government’s reconstruc tion plan for Kashmir with an outlay of approximately Rs 24,000 crore, in the fields of infrastructure, educa tion, health, civil amenities, industrial promotion, em ployment and income gen eration seems to be working for good. If over six lac tour ists pouring into valley since 2021is an indication, then definitely the valley is witnessing winds of change. There is a need to consolidate the changes and some constructive efforts to encourage cross-border trade, rein in the militants by Pak, initiate tourism be tween Kashmir and Paki stan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and establish proper rules of engagement in rela tion to conduct comprehen sive dialogue between India and Pakistan should pave way for lasting peace in Kashmir.
Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
TOP TWEETS
KASHMIRPAKISTAN-OCCUPIED(PoK)
Encouraging construc tive engagement between PoK driven think-tanks, academics and communi ties with those in India will lead to cross-fertiliza tion of ideas and forge partnership on significant issues of mutual interest. Chinese presence in PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan fur ther limits India’s options in Kashmir. The presence of PLA soldiers in PoK will deny Indian military the comfort window in a twofront war strategy propa gated by Pakistan. Worse, once hostilities stop, China will emerge as a more pow erful stakeholder for Kash mir resolution.
The Modi- Shah plan of annulment of Article 370 and the formation of two new union territories in 2019 has triggered the change and stabilising with time. The concerted effort by team Chinar Corps, other secu rity forces and local people under the guidance of Lt Governor has definitely stimulated the change. The government’s reconstruc tion plan for Kashmir with an outlay of approximately Rs 24,000 crore, in the fields of education,infrastructure,health,civil amenities, industrial promotion, employment and income generation seems to be working for good.
ports federa tions in India have been poor ly managed and have drawn the ire of international bodies and even the Supreme Court after matters reached its portals. In 2019 the Board of Control for Cricket in In dia was disbanded and a Committee of Administra tors (CoA) appointed by the Supreme Court to imple ment the recommendations of Justice RM Lodha panel to reform not just BCCI but also state bodies. Led by the former CAG Vinod Rai, the CoA managed to streamline the BCCI’s affairs before handing over charge to elected members compris ing Jay Shah and Sourav Ganguly.Fortunately, cricket does not have an international body in cricket like FIFA, the international Federa tion of Association Foot ball, to monitor working of federations in soccer play ing countries and suspend those without duly elected bodies as has been done with the Indian football federation, AIFF. In May this year the Su preme Court appointed CoA headed Justice AR Dave, a former judge of the apex court to manage the state of affairs of the All India Football Federation and carry out day to day governance of the soccer body. It was a pro-tem ar rangement to facilitate fresh elections. This wellintentioned move to set the AIFF’s house in order has angered FIFA whose secre tary-general Fatma Samoura suspended AIFF with immediate effect for violating FIFA statutes. The suspension has cast a shadow on the U-17 Wom en’s World Cup which is scheduled to be held in In dia in October. But with the Supreme Court directing the Central Government to take up the matter with FIFA, the issue may get re solved soon. INDIA’SFEDERATIONSOCCER S SPIRITUAL SPEAK God promises to make something good out of the storms that bring devastation to your life. Bible Nitin Gadkari @nitin_gadkari Supporting The Tourism & Hospitality Industry! The Union Cabinet chaired by the PM Shri @ narendramodi Ji has approved the enhancement in the limit of ECLGS by Rs 50,000 crore from Rs. 4.5 Lakh crore to Rs. 5 Lakh crore. #CabinetDecisions Jyotiraditya M. Scindia @JM_Scindia Heartiest greetings to all the devotees of the country on the birth anniversary of Lord Balram ji! I pray to Lord Balarama, an incarnation of Sheshnag, for the happiness and prosperity of the entire humanity.
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FROM PG 1
New Delhi: The Delhi HC on Wednesday al lowed a batch of peti tions seeking de-freezing of their bank accounts and permission to oper ate. These petitions were moved in a money laun dering case connected with Vivo Mobile India Private Limited. New Delhi: Journalist Rana Ayyub moved HC on officio.renderedthemaintainable2002,Authority,theproceedingsOrder,fromexpiryceaseshasdatedAttachmentthatED.ThementagainstWednesdaytheattachoffundsbypleastatedProvisionalOrder04.02.2022lapsedandtoexistuponof180daysthedateoftheandthatthebeforeAdjudicatingPMLA,arenolongerasAuthorityisfunctus
New Delhi: The HC, while dealing with a suit related to Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali ‘Coronil’, ob served that the public at large must not be misled by making statements against allopathy. “You are welcome to have your followers, you’re welcome to have your disciples. But please do not mislead the public at large by saying what is more than what the official,” Justice Anup J. Bhambhani orally remarked. New Delhi: The SC on Wednesday reserved its judgement on separate pleas of the Jharkhand govt and CM Hemant Soren against an order of the HC that accepted the maintainability of a PIL for a probe against the JMM leader accused of granting himself a mining lease as the state’s mining minister. A Bench of Jus tices UU Lalit, SR Bhat, & Sudhanshu Dhulia heard the arguments of the counsels for the parties.
Bixal Kongari — were ar rested after their car was intercepted on NH 16 at Panchla in Howrah. DO NOT MISLEAD PUBLIC BY SAYING MORE THAN WHAT IS ‘OFFICIAL’: HC TO RAMDEV SC STAYS PROCEEDINGS BEFORE J’KHAND HIGH COURT AGAINST CM HEMANT SOREN
PM Narendra Modi arrives for a screening of historical series on Swaraj, at Parliament House Complex in New Delhi, Wednesday. Former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi
Fadnavis... certain IPS officers in Maharashtra (particu larly in Mumbai city) that had tarnished the image of the state and hinted at an imminent overhaul.During his earlier stint as Maharashtra chief minister, the Na tional Investigation Agency (NIA) had de puted Padsalgikar (then in NIA) as Mumbai city’s police Padsalgikarchief. was tasked with cleaning up the Mumbai police de partment particularly, to weed out “rotten ap ples in the police admin istration” starting at the top. It may be re called that such IPS offi cers including dis graced former Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, Venkatesh am, Bipin Bihari and many more IPS officers were shunted out of the city in Padsalgikar’s wake.Fadnavis also lament ed that the previous MVA government in Maharashtra had un done all the conscien tious work undertaken earlier to clean up the police department by re habilitating police offi cers like former Mum bai Police Commission er Sanjay Pandey, who indulged in corruption.
Narendra @narendramodiModi The success of Aspi rational Districts on various parametersbe it health, nutrition, education or exports - is heartening. Glad to see the lives of lakhs get transformed due to DistrictsAspirationalprogram.
Four rounds of consultations were held with Azad: Cong
BJP LAUNCHES ‘DESH KI BADLI SOCH’
New Delhi (ANI): After Ghulam Nabi Azad quit as the campaign com mittee Chairman hours after his appointment, sources in the Congress claimed that the party had held extensive con sultations with him on everyFourcommittee.roundsof con sultations were done by the party with Azad and the last round was held on July Congress14. sources claimed that when Saifuddin Soz was the state Congress presi dent, Ghulam Nabi Azad was the campaign committee chief of the Party in Jammu and Kashmir.Senior Congress lead er Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday quit as the J&K campaign committee head after being named by the party. He has con veyed his decision to the party leadership, sourc es close to him said. However, there was no official word from either side.Azad’s resignation has come as a surprise to many in the party as it was considered that he was consulted in the key appointments and was active in party forums.
PM Modi invites ideas and inputs for Mann Ki Baat scheduled for August 28
SOLAR SCAM ACCUSED RAPE CASE: CBI QUESTIONS VENUGOPAL New Delhi: The CBI, questioned Cong leader K.C. Venugopal in connection with the alleged sexual exploitation of the prime accused in the 2012 Solar scam case of Kerala.As per the CBI sources, he was questioned last week. However, the probe agency has not made any official statement in this regard. The prime accused, who allegedly cheated innocent people by promising solar solutions and shares in solar energy projects, in 2013 had written to the top Kerala cop alleging that she was sexually exploited by then MLA and now MP Hibi Eden, K.C. Venugopal, former CM Oommen Chandy, former minister A.P. Anil Kumar, Congress MP Adoor Prakash, and BJP leader A.P. Abdullah Kutty. Shimla: The Congress has removed HPCC working president Pawan Kajal amid speculation that he may join the BJP. Rumours are doing the rounds that Kangra MLA Pawan Kajal is expected to join the BJP on Wednesday. The Cong high command late on Tuesday announced the removal of Pawan Kajal from the post of HPCC working president. AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday shot off a letter to the Congress’ Himachal unit saying Pawan Kajal has been removed as HPCC working president and Chander Kumar has been ap pointed the working president. Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur and BJP state prez Suresh Kashyap on Tuesday evening left for Delhi. CONG REMOVES HPCC WORKING PREZ KAJAL; PAWAN JOINS BJP
Sack new state law min: Modi to Nitish New Delhi (ANI): After reports of a war rant against Bihar’s new law minister Kar tikeya Singh emerged, Bihar BJP Rajya Sab ha MP and Former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi on Wednesday demanded the Nitish-Kumar gov ernment, to show courage and sack his minister with immedi ate“Howeffectcan a person like Kartikeya Singh be made Minister who had to surrender be fore Court on August 16, Tuesday? How was he made to take an oath as Law Minister in Bihar? If the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nit ish Kumar has the courage, then he should sack him im mediately, who is MLA of RJD,” BJP’s Sushil Modi told ANI. “In the swearing-in ceremony in Raj Bhavan, Patna yester day, an RJD MLA has been made law minis ter. Singh have been booked for kidnapping in 2014 and he has also accepted in his affida vit and in that case, the court had issued the warrant. He (Sin gh) had to surrender before the court on Au gust 16, but instead of surrendering, he took oath as Law Minister,” he said. SINGH’S INDUCTION RETURN OF ‘JUNGLE RAJ’, SAYS BJP ‘MODI KO HATANA HAI’: LALU PRASAD’S FIRST COMMENT New Delhi: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has hit out at the Centre and called it a liar.added,toafterSushilaskedkoernment.topolls,aboutgovernment.‘dictatorial’Whenaskedthe2024LokSabhaLalusaid,“WehaveoustthedictatorialgovHatanahai,Modihatanahai.”WhenaboutBJPMPModi’sallegationsthenewgovtcamepowerinBihar,Lalu“SushilModiisaIt’sallwrong.”
CRISIS
Nearly weeks after resigning from Cong, Naresh Raval & Raju Parmar joined BJP
New Delhi: Prime Min ister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on August 16, 2022 reviewed ongoing bilateral initiatives, including defence collaboration projects and cooperation in civil nuclear energy. During their tele phonic conversation, they also discussed important geopolitical challenges, including those related to global food security, a state ment issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said.
CONGRESS
IN THE COURTYARD bitterAIADMK’sdays are over, says OPS Chennai : AIADMK’s bitter days are over and it’s spring once more, mentioned former Ta mil Nadu CM O Pan neerselvam on Wednes day welcoming the Ma dras excessive court docket verdict ordering upkeep of establish ment as on June 23 in the affairs of the cele bration. The court dock et order has introduced OPS again as celebra tion coordinator. In an announcement, OPS mentioned the uni ty of the AIADMK could be established and the celebration would stride on the trail of victory. “I believed in dharma, the courts, the AIADMK cadre and the folks of TN, who believed that justice was on my as pect. Now the darkish days of the AIADMK have come to an finish,’’ said Panneerselvam.
And yet, the voices of protest from the new po lice recruits—who suf fered molestation dur ing the incident—was simply forgotten. Most of them belonged to the Schedule Caste (SC), Other Backward Class (OBC) and poor agricul turist families that did not wield influence nor had the financial means to take the issue to its logical legal end. The lackadaisical ap proach to the case, where trial is yet to com mence, finds a near identical reflection in another similar case re ported in Bhiwandi in 2006 when a similarly charged mob of people torched down a police van with two personnel trapped inside. Their charred re mains were the only evi dence of what tran spired. “In 2015, persons connected with the same Raza Academy were acquitted over lack of evidence,” said Ichalkaranjikar, adding, that “it was a lack of proper prosecution or the will to do so, if you ask me.”
MUMBAI | THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022 05INDIA www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Kerala: Kerala Court on Wednesday observed that Section 354 A of the IPC will not prima facie be attracted if a woman was wearing “sexually pro vocative” dress. The order was issued by Kozhikode Sessions Court while granting bail to 74-yearold social activist Civic Chandran in sexual har assment case. The court order read, “The photo graphs produced along with the bail application by the accused would reveal that the defacto complain ant herself is wearing a dress which is sexually provocative. So Section 354A will not prima facie stand against the accused. Even admitting that there was physical contact it is impossible to believe that a man aged 74 and physically disabled can forcefully put the defacto complainant in his lap.”
Kolkata: The Calcutta HC on Wednesday granted interim bail to three Jharkhand MLAs arrested by West Bengal Police in Howrah district after nearly Rs 49 lakh in cash were seized from a car they were travelling in. The three Congress MLAs — Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachchap and Naman
PM MODI & FRENCH PRESIDENT MACRON DISCUSS GEOPOLITICAL CHALLENGES
RANABASELESS:INALLEGATIONSMEDIAAREAYYUB
New Delhi (ANI): Prime Minister Naren dra Modi has invited people to share their ideas and inputs for an upcoming episode of Mann ki Baat. The ide as can be shared on My Gov, Namo App, or dial the number 1800-117800 to record the mes sage, the PM’s Office stated.Sharing MyGov invi tation, the PM tweeted, “Looking forward to ideas and inputs for the upcoming Primeyourinfollowmissedone7800sagenatively,orgust.programme#MannKiBaaton28thAuWriteonMyGovtheNaMoApp.Alterrecordamesbydialling1800-11-Itfurtherstatedthatcanalsogiveacallon1922andthelinkreceivedSMStodirectlygivesuggestionstotheMinister.
New Delhi: The BJP has launched a campaign ‘Desh ki Badli Soch’ to project PM Modi in a favourable light by comparing his Independence Day speeches with those of his Congress predecessors. On Tuesday night, the party shared on its Twitter handle many graphics quoting parts of speeches made by Modi and his predecessors.
JHARKHAND MLAs ARRESTED WITH RS 49 LAKH IN CASH GRANTED INTERIM BAIL
72% BIHAR MINISTERS HAVE DECLARED CRIMINAL CASES AGAINST THEM: ADR New Delhi: More than 70 pc of the newly sworn-in ministers in Bihar have declared criminal cases against themselves, the poll rights body ADR said. CM Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Yadav also have cases regis tered against them. Kumar, who recently severed ties with the BJP and joined hands with the RJD to form the govt in Bihar, expanded his new cabinet on Tuesday by inducting 31 new ministers. Kumar & Deputy CM Yadav had been sworn in earlier on Aug 10.
Ghulam Nabi Azad —PHOTO BY PTI New Delhi: A day after the Bihar ministers were assigned portfolios and RJD MP Kartikeya Singh took oath as the state’s new law minister, BJP slammed the Nitish Kumar-led state govt over Singh’s induction and demanded to sack the minister on immediate basis. Calling the move the beginning of ‘Jungle Raj’, Union Minis ter RK Singh said that he’s ashamed of the state of affairs in the region. Azad Maidan’s... Only government or gans such as the police department, fire bri gade, BEST came for ward and enumerated their losses for burnt down buses, police vans, among others. However, news media organiza tions including televi sion channels, whose OB vans were torched, strangely did not come forward,” he said. A net result of this surprising volte-face by the ‘silent’ media hous es resulted in the dis trict magistrate comput ing the loss of property at just over Rs36 lakh.
PLAINT AGAINST KHARGE’S SON FOR ‘BRIBE & COUCH GOVT’ REMARK Karnataka: The women’s wing of the AAP on Tues day filed a complaint with the K’taka State Women’s Commission, seeking action against Cong MLA Priyank Kharge over his lewd remark that women seeking govt jobs in the BJP-ruled state have to give sexual favours. “MLA Priyank Kharge has spoken out against women during an event in Kalaburagi on Aug 12,” Kushala Swamy, AAP’s Bengaluru women’s wing president, told report ers here. “This is a bribebased govt (BJP) & young boys who want jobs and want to get a job, must pay a fee. He is making a sexist statement that girls must go to bed if they need work. This is a derogatory comment to job-seeking and employed women, & the Women’s Commission should take strict action,” she added.
‘IF PROVOCATIVE DRESS, SEXUAL HARASSMENT WON’T STAND’
VIVO: HC ALLOWS FIRMS TO OPERATE BANK ACCOUNTS
New Delhi (PTI): The Centre sacked three Central Industrial Se curity Force (CISF) commandos engaged in the security of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval over the se curity breach incident that happened in Febru ary this year, sources said. According to sources, the govern ment has also trans ferred a DIG and com mandant rank officer associated with VIP se curity of Doval. In Feb ruary, a security breach was reported at the residence of Ajit Doval after a man tried to en ter the premises. He was stopped by security personnel and later ar rested by Delhi Police. A red-coloured SUV, being driven by the man, tried to enter the gate of Doval’s high-se curity central Delhi residence, sources said.
India home to 18 of 20 cities with highest rise in PM 2.5 New Delhi (PTI): In dia is home to 18 of the 20 cities with the most severe increase in fine particle pollutants (PM 2.5) from 2010 to 2019, according to a compre hensive and detailed analysis of air pollu tion and global health effects for over 7,000 cities released on Wednesday.Thenew report also shows that Delhi has highest average fine PM 2.5 among world’s most populated cities. It was published by the US-based research or ganisation Health Ef fects Institute (HEI) on Wednesday. The report ‘Air Quality and Health in Cities’, used data from 2010 to 2019 and focused on two of the most harmful pollut ants -- fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ni trogen dioxide (NO2). It combined groundbased air quality data with satellites and mod els to produce air qual ity estimates for cities around the world. “Of 7,239 cities, India is home to 18 of the 20 cit ies with the most severe increase in PM2.5 pollu tion from 2010 to 2019.
Doval security lapse: Commandos sacked Flood situation in remainsOdishagrim
New Delhi: DGCA has asked airlines to ensure follow-up of Covid-19 protocols urging them to ensure all passengers wear face masks throughout the flight. Also, it said if a passenger showed disagreement to comply with Covid-19 proto cols, strict actions will be taken against the passenger.
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: The fourth phase of CUET UG kicked off on Wednes day, with some centres reporting technical snags leading to exam cancellation. The morn ing slot was cancelled at Guru (Delhi)PacificTechnology,mentInstituteHargobindofManageandInformationDelhi,AsiaInstitute,Jasolaamongothers.
25 lakh new voters likely to be enrolled in J&K Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Hird esh Kumar on Wednes day said around 25 lakh new voters are expected to be enrolled in the Un ion Territory as the spe cial summary revision of electoral rolls is be ing held for the first time after abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. He also described the ongoing exercise to complete the special summary revision of electoral rolls by No vember 25 as a “chal lenging task”.
Jammu: Six members of a family were found dead in two houses under daughtersSakinaHabib,identifiedThebeaddinghere,ViharcircumstancesmysteriousinTawiareaofSidhrasaidthepoliceitappearedtoacaseofpoisoning.deceasedwereasNoorulSajadAhmedBegum,herandason.
New Delhi: In last 24 hours, India registered 9,062 new cases of Covid-19. According to Union Health Ministry, the entire recovery rate was about 98.56 per cent, with a total recov ery data of 4,36,54,064. Overall active COVID-19 cases has dropped to 1,05,058, according to statistics from the health ministry.
NTA
LG shoulders mortal remains of ITBP men
NOC TO OFFICERSTOWERS:TWINFIREBOOKED
Protests against CAA start in NE after 2-year gap
DCGI CHIEF DR VENUGOPAL SOMANI’S TENURE EXTENDED BY THREE MONTHS
LG Manoj Sinha lending a shoulder to the coffin of a personnel. A flooded street in Odisha town IN BAD SHAPE Residents in India, Nigeria, Peru, and Bangladesh are exposed to PM2.5 levels that 5QualityannualIndia,cities,Onlythanseveral-foldarehigherglobalaverage.fouroftheseandnoneinmettheWHOPM2.5AirGuidelineofmicrogrammes.
AIRLINES TO BE STRICT MASKINGON SIX OF FAMILY FOUND DEAD IN JAMMU Noida: An FIR was registered against three Chief Fire Officers, namely Mahavir Singh, Rajpal Tyagi and IS Soni, who gave fire No Objection Certificate (NoC) in the Noida Supertech twin towers demolition case. Action was taken on the report of the inquiry commit tee constituted under DIG of Fire Service.
Guwahati (PTI): After a gap of almost two years, protests against the controversial Citi zenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, returned to the Northeast. While the All Assam Students Union (AASU) organ ised a protest meet against CAA, the North East Students’ Organi sation (NESO) held pro tests against the conten tious act across the en tire region. The police, however, prevented AASU activists from bringing out a protest rally today.
4 IAS, 6 PCS officers shifted in UP MAJOR RESHUFFLE Three among 4 IAS officers relegated while BulandshahrDM gets more teeth Chandra Prakash Singh Delhi has highest average fine PM 2.5 among world’s most populated cities.
z NIDAAN hosts data about those arrested & jailed for drugs offences and those “directly or indirectly involved in produce, manu facture, possession, sales, usagetransport,purchase,storing,ofnarcotivcs.
New Delhi: Tenure of Dr VG Somani as Drugs Con troller General of India has been extended. “It has been decided with approval of the competent authority that Dr Somani shall continue to hold the charge of the post of Drug Controller of (India) under FR 49(v) for a period of three months w.e.f 16.08.2022 or until fur ther orders, whichever is earlier,” ministry order said. New Delhi: There has been a nearly two-fold increase in hospitalisations in over a fortnight, with officials saying those with comorbidities are getting admitted to hospitals. Even though the rise in infections and hospitalisations is not yet alarming, experts have reiterated the need to wear masks.
DELHI SEES NEARLY TWO-FOLD RISE IN HOSPITALISATIONS IN A FORTNIGHT
FIVE OPERATORSCHOPPERKEDARNATHFINED PHASECANCELS4EXAM AT A FEW CENTRES
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir’s Lt Governor Manoj Sinha lent a shoulder to carry the mortal remains of the ITBP jawans killed in the Pahalgam bus acci dent. At least seven troopers of the IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP) were killed and over 30 others were in jured after a bus carry ing them fell into a river in the Pahalgam area of Jammu and Kashmir. The bus was carrying 39 personnel.
In Uttar Pradesh, 6 senior PCS officers have also been trans ferred. PCS Rakesh Singh has been posted as ADM Trans Gomti Lucknow, PCS Rakesh Kumar Patel has been posted as Chief Reve nue Officer Pratapgarh, PCS Vivek Chaturvedi has been posted as ADM Nagar, Aligarh and PCS Anirudh Pratap Singh has been posted as Municipal Magistrate, Saharan pur.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks at the International launch of the book titled ‘India’s Vaccine Growth Story’ by Dr. Sajjan Singh Yadav, in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
India supplies nearly 60% of vaccines used worldwide’ India double dosing citizens, produced Covid vax even during lockdown: Sitharaman New Delhi (PTI): Fi nance Minister Nirma la Sitharaman on Wednesday said nearly 60% of all the vaccines used in the world are produced in India and over the decades, the country has made re markable contribution to vaccinating the world. India today is double dosing every citizen and produced Covid-19 vaccines even during the lockdown pe riod, she added. Launching the book ‘In dia’s Vaccine Growth Story’ by Sajjan Singh Yadav, Additional Sec retary, Expenditure De partment, Sitharaman said it is in the coun try’s DNA to be able to contribute to world vac cination. “Over the dec ades India has made remarkable contribu tion. Nearly 60 per cent of all the vaccines which are used in the world are produced in India. India has singu lar contribution to make to the world in terms of vaccination and that which is being produced and supplied to the entire world,” Si tharaman said. She said that is not easy to produce and ex ecute COVID vaccina tion at that scale. India crossed 200 crore Covid vaccinations in a timebound manner. So far, 208.57 crore doses have been administered.
MUMBAI | THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022 06INDIA www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
seamless transfer of data among different pillars of the criminal justice system, like courts, police, jails and forensic science laboratories, from one platform.
The report published by Health Effects Institute (HEI) shows Delhi has highest average level of fine PM 2.5 among the world’s most populated cities ‘
Ahtesham Siddiqui Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has transferred 4 IAS officers, in which the Vice-Chairman of Khurja Chandraprakashing.hasAuthorityDevelopment-IASNisha-beenputonwaitMeanwhile,DMSin gh, serving as Collector of Bulandshahr, has been given additional charge of VC Buland shahr Khurja Develop ment Authority. Apart from this, IAS Gyanesh war Tripathi will han dle the charge of Spe cial Secretary, waiting.offcieragainstplaintstheirIASbeenCPers,transferbureaucracyinpartment.AdministrationGeneralDeThereisadiscussionthecorridorsofthethatintheof4IASofficDMBulandshahrSingh’sstaturehasraised,whiletwoofficershavelostchairsaftercomwerereceivedthemandonehasbeenputon
First portal on arrestednarco offenders starts
New Delhi: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh each to five helicopter opera tors carrying pilgrims to Kedarnath shrine for flouting safety rules and not maintaining proper flying records. The reg ulator also suspended officials from two other operators for three months.
“NIDAAN is a onestop solution for all narcotics offenders’ related data and will help probe agencies as an effective tool to con nect the dots,” NCB DG SN Pradhan said. NIDAAN PLATFORM z NIDAAN sources data from the networkcriminalitplannedrepository(atem)criminal(inter-operableICJSjusticesysande-Prisonscloud-basedapp)anditistointegratewiththecrimeandtrackingsystem.
New Delhi (PTI): A first-of-its kind data base of arrested nar cotics offenders has been made operation al for use by various central and state pros ecution agencies tasked to enforce antidrugs laws in the country, officials said. The portal-NIDAAN or the Na tional Integrated Data base on Arrested Nar co-offenders--has been developed by the Nar cotics Control Bureau. It is part of the nar cotics wasCourttiativety’.and‘DrugtionalChandigarhShahHomeportalmechanismcoordination(NCORD)launchedbyMinisterAmitonJuly30inatthenaconferenceontraffickingnationalsecuriTheICJS,aninioftheSupremee-committee,createdtoenable
Bhubaneswar: The flood situation in Odis ha’s Mahanadi river system remained grim as it continues to swell, with around 1.5 lakh people in 237 villages being marooned, an of ficial said. The first flood of the season has affected over two lakh people in 10 districts.
INDIA LOGS 9,062 CASES IN 24 HOURS
The other two cities are in Indonesia,” the au thors of the study said. “Of 50 cities with most severe increase in PM2.5, 41 are in India and 9 in Indonesia. On the other hand, of the 20 cities with the great est decrease in PM2.5 pollution from 2010 to 2019, all are in China,” they said. India and In donesia have seen the most severe increase in PM2.5 pollution, where as China has seen the greatest improvements. 1.7 million deaths linked to PM 2.5 The authors noted that in 2019, 1.7 million deaths linked to PM2.5 exposure occurred in the 7,239 cities included in the analysis, with cit ies in Asia, Africa, and Eastern and Central Europe seeing the greatest health im pacts. They zoomed in to the most populous cities in each region i.E. A subset of 103 cit ies across 21 regions. Among the most popu lous cities in each re gion, Delhi and Kolka ta featured in top 10 with the highest PM2.5related disease burden in 2019.
Sensex extends gains to 4th day, reclaims 60K mark
Mumbai (PTI): The BSE Sensex maintained its win ning run for the fourth ses sion on the trot on Wednes day to reclaim the 60,000-lev el after a gap of over four months as investors re mained upbeat amid soften ing crude oil prices and per sistent foreign fund inflows. A strengthening rupee and positive Asian markets further bolstered senti ment, traders said. The 30-share BSE bench mark jumped 417.92 points or 0.70% to settle at 60,260.13 -- closing above the psycho logically key 60,000-mark for the first time since April 5 this Similarly,year.the broader NSE Nifty spurted 119 points or 0.67% to finish at 17,944.25, marking its sev enth straight session of gains. Bajaj Finserv was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing 5.74%, fol lowed by Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahin dra, HCL Technologies, NTPC, HUL and Wipro. On the other hand, Mahi ndra & Mahindra, UltraT ech Cement, Maruti, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, Power Grid and Titan closed with losses of up to 1.07%. The market breadth was positive, with 23 of the 30 Sensex constituents log ging gains. “Consistent participation by FIIs is the backbone of the current rally in the domestic mar ket. This reversal in the FII trend is owed to the resil ience showcased by the In dian economy even as infla tion continues to plague the western andrablesteckjumpeddex0.64%theHeadvestors,”confidenceand“Decliningmarkets.commodityoilpricesalsoinstilledinforeigninsaidVinodNair,ofResearch.Inthebroadermarket,BSEmidcapgaugeroseandthesmallcapinadvanced0.53%.Sectorally,BSEtelecom1.80%,followedby(1.13%),consumerdu(1.10%),IT(1.04%)finance(0.90%).
z Bajaj Finserv was the top gainer in the Sensex pack.
India’s demandoilto rise 7.7% in 2022New Delhi (PTI): Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has paid ` 8,312.4 crore to the DoT towards dues for spec trum acquired in the re cently concluded 5G auc tions, the company said on Wednesday.Withthepayment, Airtel has paid four years of 2022 spectrum dues upfront. Airtel said it believes that this upfront payment, coupled with the morato rium on spectrum dues and AGR-related payments for four years, will free up future cash flows and al low Airtel to dedicate re sources to successfulout.concentratesingle-mindedlyonthe5GrollBhartiAirtelmadeabidof `43,039.63 crore."This upfront payment of 4 years allows us to drive 5G rollout in a concerted manner given our operat ing free cash flow. Airtel also has access to ` 15,740.5 crore in capital from the rights issue, which is yet to be called. "With the ideal spectrum bank, best technology and adequate free cash flow, we are excited to bring to the country a world-class 5G experience," Bharti Airtel MD and CEO Gopal Vittal said in the statement. The company had an op tion to pay ` 3,848.88 crore upfront and the rest in 19 annual instalments.
—PTI New Delhi: The govern ment will set up expert groups to explore the adoption of common chargers for mobile and all portable electronic de vices and submit a de tailed report in two months. Emerging out of the meeting with industry stakeholders, the secre tary said India can initially think of exploring shifting to two types of chargers, including a C-Type port. Each stakeholder has a different perspective and expert groups will be formed to examine sepa rately those issues.
Govt projects record foodgrain production
New Delhi: Passengers of Australian low-cost airline Jetstar can now book seats on betweenagreementanflightsIndiGoasinterline
CABINET OKAYS 1.5% INTEREST SUBVENTION ON SHORT-TERM AGRI LOANS OF UP TO `3 LAKH
"We are being very open and honest about our inter ests. I have a country that has a per capita income of two thousand dollars. These are not people who can afford higher energy prices," Jaishankar said. He said it was the gov ernment's "obligation" and "moral duty" to ensure that the people in India get the "best deal."
—PTI GOVT TO SET UP EXPERT GROUPS TO EXPLORE ADOPTION GOLD SLIPS `53; SILVER DECLINESPRICESBY`256 New Delhi: Capital mar kets regulator Sebi has restructured its advisory committee on Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF). The panel is mandated to recommend investor education and protection activities that may be undertaken di rectly by the markets reg ulator, or through any other agency, for utilisa tion of the Sebi Investor Protection and Education Fund. The bycommitteeeight-memberwillbechairedMonikaHalan.
MUMBAI | THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022 07www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Commodity Price Change % Chg GOLD 52,340.00 53.00 0.10 (Per 10g) SILVER 57,957.00 256.00 0.44 (Per 1kg) COMMODITIES Currency Price Change % Chg USDINR 79.45 0.29 0.27 GBPINR 96.1181 0.6590 0.6904 CURRENCIES
IN 2021-22 CROP YEAR PRODUCTION IN NUMBERS z The country’s foodgrain output, comprising wheat, rice, pulses and coarse cereals, stood at record 310.74 million tonnes. z Wheat production is pegged lower at 106.84 million tonnes. business BRIEFS New Delhi: Gold in the national capital on Wednesday slipped `53 to `52,340 per 10 grams amid a decline in interna tional precious metal prices and rupee appreci ation, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the yellow metal had closed at `52,393 per 10 grams. Silver also de clined `256 to `57,957 per kg from `58,213 per kg in the previous trade. In the international mar ket, gold was quoting lower at $1,772 per ounce while silver was flat at $19.96 per ounce.
—PTI ELEVATED ATF PRICES LIKELY TO POSE THREAT *Rates till the edition went to print.
the carriers went live on Wednesday, according to a statement. “As demand for air travel continues to recover, Jetstar customers looking for low-cost travel options can now access IndiGo’s low fares from Jetstar’s hub in Singa pore to key Indian destinations including Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Tiruchirappalli via jetstar. Com,” the carriers said. —PTI
Bangkok (PTI): The US and some others may not appreciate India buying Russian oil, but they have accepted it as New Delhi has not been defensive about its stand but made them realise that the gov ernment had the "moral duty" to ensure that the people got the "best deal", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. Jaishankar defended In dia's decision to buy dis counted Russian oil amid Moscow's ongoing war with Ukraine, saying many suppliers of India have di verted their supplies to Eu rope, which is buying less oil from Russia. Oil prices are "unreason ably high" and so are the gas prices. A lot of tradi tional suppliers to Asia are diverting to Europe be cause Europe is buying less oil from Russia, he said. "It is a situation today where every country will try to get the best deal pos sible for its citizens, to try to cushion the impact of these high energy prices. And that is exactly what we are doing," Jaishankar said in response to a question. He said India is not do ing it in a "defensive way".
New Delhi (PTI): India's demand for petroleum products like petrol and diesel will grow by 7.73% in 2022, the fastest pace in the world, an OPEC report said. India's demand for oil products is projected to rise from 4.77 million bar rels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 5.14 million bpd in 2022. The growth in demand is the fastest in the world. For 2023, the Organisa tion of Petroleum Export ing Countries (OPEC) pro jected a growth of 4.67% in India's demand to 5.38%. India is the world's third largest oil importing and consuming nation. The de mand for petroleum prod ucts in India is supported by the healthy economic growth of 7.1%, continuing economic reopening amid ease of COVID restrictions and easing of trade-related bottlenecks supporting both mobility & industrial sector activity.
GAINS 29 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 79.45/$ MARKET IN NUMBERS
New Delhi (PTI): Retail businesses across India continued to post healthy growth over pre-pandemic levels, registering an 18% rise in July sales compared to the same month in 2019, Retailers Association of India said on Wednesday. As per the latest busi ness survey by Retailers Association of India (RAI), the East India region saw the highest year-on-year growth of 25% last month, followed by the south at 21%, north at 16% and west at 10%. In terms of catego ries, sports goods clocked the highest growth rate with a 32% increase over July 2019, followed by foot wear and furniture & fur nishing at 23% each. Apparel and clothing registered a 22% rise, while quick service restaurants, consumer durables and electronics footwear posted a growth of 17%.
—PTI SEBI COMMITTEEADVISORYREJIGS ON IPEF Mumbai: Elevated ATF prices and Rupee depre ciation are likely to pose a serious threat to the re covery process for do mestic carriers, ICRA said. In India, ATF ac counts for around 45% of the operational cost of an airline. Besides, as much as 35-50% of the airlines’ operating expenses are US dollar driven. The rat ings agency also said the removal of ceiling on air fares from August 31 will help domestic airlines to bring their ticket prices in line with the supply-de mand dynamics.
New Delhi (PTI): India’s wheat production is pro jected to have declined nearly 3% to 106.84 million tonnes while the overall foodgrain production is es timated to have touched record 315.72 million tonnes in the 2021-22 crop year. The wheat production is estimated to have declined due to heatwave that re sulted in shrivelled grains in the northern states of Punjab and ReleasingHaryana.thefourth ad vance estimate for the 202122 crop year, the Union ag riculture ministry on Wednesday said a record output is also estimated for rice, maize, gram, pulses, rapeseed and mustard, oil seeds and sugarcane. The crop year 2021-22 was from July 2021 to June 2022. The country’s overall foodgrain production is es timated to be record 315.72 million tonnes in the crop year that ended in June 2022, according to the min istry. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said record production of so many crops was the re sult of the genceofwellfarmer-friendlygovernment’spoliciesasastirelesshardworkthefarmersandthediliofthescientists.
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee gained 29 paise to settle at 79.45 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday as heavy buying in domestic equities and persistent foreign capital inflows strengthened inves tor sentiment. Besides, softening crude oil prices and easing inflationary pressures supported the domestic unit, forex traders said. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened strong at 79.32 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 79.26 and a low of 79.48. It finally ended at 79.45 against the American currency, registering a rise of 29 paise over its previous close of 79.74. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.06% to 79.74.
It is a situation today where every country will try to get the best deal possible for its citizens. And that is exactly what we are doing. —S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister NO CHANGES IN RULES FOR BOOKING TICKETS FOR KIDS: RAILWAYS New Delhi: The Railways on Wednesday clarified that there has been no change in the travellingchildrenticketsbookingconcerningruleoffor by train after news reports claimed that those in the age group of one to four years are now being charged adult fares. However, it said that in that case, a separate berth or seat shall not be provided. Passen gers can, however, purchase tickets if they require berths/ seats for their children who are below the age of 5 years. In that case, the full adult fare will be charged. —PTI JETSTAR PASSENGERS CAN NOW BOOK INDIGO FLIGHTS SEATS
z Sensex jumped 417.92 points or 0.70% to settle at 60,260.13 -- closing above the 60,000-mark for the first time since April 5 this year
`
Retailers report 18% growth in sales in July MAJOR TALKING POINTS
z Nifty spurted 119 points to finish at 17,944.25, marking its 7th straight gain.
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved interest subvention of 1.5% on short-term agriculture loans of up to `3 lakh for all financial institutions, a move aimed at ensuring adequate credit flow in the farm sector. The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved restoring interest subvention on short-term agriculture loans of 1.5% for all financial institutions, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said. —PTI
‘India never defensive about its stand on buying Russian oil’
z Airtel said it believes that this upfront payment, coupled with the moratorium on spectrum dues and AGRrelated payments for four years, will free up future cash flows. z Over the last one year, Airtel said it has also cleared Rs 24,333.7 crore of its deferred spectrum liabilities much ahead of scheduled maturities. z The company had an option to pay `3,848.88 crore upfront and the rest in 19 annual instalments.
STOCK MARKET ON WED
Airtel pays `8,312.4 cr for 5G
OTHER STORIES
am. It was also sung in the Vidhan Bhavan at the start of the Mon soonAfterSession.thenational an them, people also chant ed slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’.Asperthe order is sued last week, private establishments, traders and other tostudentsnationalwerethosedepartments,governmentincludingundertheCentre,expectedtosingtheanthem,whilewereexpecteddosoinopengrounds.
CM Shinde orders CID probe of Mete accident
First India Bureau Mumbai: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednes day asked the direc tor general of po lice to order a probe by the state MeteleadernentMLCthepartmentInvestigationCrimeDe(CID)intodeathofformerandpromiMarathaquotaVinayak
around 5 am. The CCTV footage of Khalapur toll naka, the final toll plaza when going to wards Mumbai showed Mete’s white car crossing the toll at 4.52 am. Around 12 minutes later, it met with an atailedingvestigation.failedthetohadMarathanizingplayedorganization,morning.tionnotMete’sthatcident.spiredlice,statementhelatethemandedChavannephewMeanwhile,accident.Mete’sBalasahebhasalsodeaprobeintomovementsoftheleader’sdriver,ashaschangedhistothepoaboutwhattranbeforetheacHeallegedwhenhecalleddriver,hedidrevealthelocaofthecarthatActivistsofMete’swhoaroleingalvasupportforreservation,alsothreatenedlaunchaprotestifgovernmenttoorderaninCopsarealsolookforacarthatMete’svehiclefewdaysago.
BJP leader’s tweet on NCP leader ‘arrest’ raises heat
ED to name Jacqueline as accused in `200cr money laundering case Fernandez arrives for questioning at ED office —FILE PHOTO deliveredChandrasekharConmanhadallegedlyRs15LcashtoawriteronbehalfofFernandez
—PTI PHOTO
Vinayak Mete was killed in an accident on MumbaiPune Expressway on Aug 14.
First India Bureau Mumbai: The govern ment’s appeal to col lectively sing the na tional anthem in pub lic and private insti tutions across Maha rashtra at 11 am on Wednesday, was wholeheartedly exe cuted by citizens who sang ‘Jana Gana Mana’ at the stipulat ed time. The exercise was part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ that was be ing celebrated across the nation to celebrate 75 years of Indian Inde pendence.Asperthe state gov ernment’s directive, participation was man datory for all state gov ernment erfices,ernmentschools,wasthemsingrequestedes,universitiesdepartments,andcollegbutthecitizenswerethatthey,too,thenationalanonWednesday.Thenationalanthemcollectivelysungincolleges,govandprivateoffactoriesandothestablishmentsat11
First India Bureau Thane: Police have ar rested two persons in connection with smuggling of ele phant tusks and have impounded an ivory carving worth Rs2.50 crore, on Wednesday. The ivory piece weighing as much as 1.4 kilogram was recov ered from Kalwa on Tuesday afternoon by the crime unit-I of the city"Basedpolice.on a tip-off, a police team laid a trap and nabbed the duo, who were found carry ing a bag at Shivaji chowk area of Kalwa. After a search, a 34.50 cm-long and 8 cm-wide carved ivory piece was recovered from it," said an“Theofficial.ivory carving had an image of a woman along with some design. The ivory piece also had some thing written below it in s foreign language along with an English letter and numbers written on it in red col our,” he said, adding that the carved ivory piece is worth Rs2.50 crore.The accused have been identified as Amit Warlikar (42), who works as a fitness in structor and Sagar Patil (40), a lottery seller. A case has been regis tered against them un der various sections of Wild Life (protection) Act, 1972 at Kalwa po lice station.
Mohit Kamboj promises exposure of politician linked to irrigation scam of 2019, which was probed by then ACB Director General Param Bir Singh ON THE MONEY
AIMING FOR NEW INNINGS
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Satish Nandgaonkar Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mohit Kam boj’s series of tweets on Tuesday night hinting at the incar ceration of a “big NCP leader” along with Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh has created a flutter in the political cir cles. Incidentally, po litical leaders from all parties came to gether to attend the first day of the Mon soon Session of the state legislature. Taking to his Twitter handle, Kamboj had tweeted, “Save This Tweet :- One NCP BigBig Leader Will Meet Nawab Malik & Anil Deshmukh Soon!”
First India Bureau Mumbai: Vinod Kam bli, a former Indian batting star, was once a poster boy for many aspiring cricketers.
The leader, who headed the Maratha outfit ‘Shiv last.presswayMumbai-PunehitkilledSangathana’,SangramwasafteravehiclehiscarontheExonSundayTheprobewasorderedfollowingthedemandbyMete’swifeJyotithatthegovernmentmustinquireintowhattranspiredinthefinaltwohoursbeforeMete’scarmetwithanaccidentonAugust14at
Move comes after activistsleader’sfromdemandthelatewifeJyotiandofhisMarathaoutfit
Today, however, his financial situation is such that he would do anything related to cricket to earn these figures in cash The 50-year-old has lost considerable amount of weight. The weight-loss, however, may not mean he is su per fit, and stresses that to coach a team, one has to be fit and hence he lostCurrently,weight. Kambli he is looking for cricket-re lated assignments as his only source of income is the pension from the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Rs 30,000 pension. The former Indian cricketer, who played as a left-handed middle order batsman, last coached a team in the 2019 T20 Mumbai League and guided young cricketers at the Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy in Nerul.However, the retired cricketer finds Nerul too far to travel. “I used to wake up at 05 am, take a cab to DY Patil Stadium. It was very hectic. I would then coach at the BKC ground in the evening,” Kambli said. “I need assignments where I can work with kids,” he continued. “I know Mumbai has re tained Amol (Muzum dar) as their head coach, but I am availa ble wherever I am need ed.”Kambli also seeked help from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and was roped into the Cricket Im provement Committee (CIC), but it was an hon orary job. “I went to the MCA for some help. I have a family to look after. I told the MCA many times that if you re quire me, I am there whether it is at the Wankhede Stadium or at BKC,” he said.
It was followed by an other tweet: “Irrigation Scam Case Should Be Investigated Again Which Was Closed in 2019 By Param Bir Sin gh!”After the initial tweets, Kamboj sent an other tweet claiming that he will soon expose a big Nationalist Con gress Party (NCP) lead er in a press conference, by revealing details of assets in India and abroad, benami compa nies, and properties in his girlfriend’s name. He said he will also re veal details of corrup tion by the leader when he was a minister han dling various portfolios. The tweets sent by Kamboj appear to point at NCP leader Ajit Pa war, presently the Lead er of Opposition in the state Assembly. He had received a clean chit from the Anti-Corrup tion Bureau (ACB) in the irrigation scam in December 2019, when IPS officer Param Bir Singh was the agency’s director general. Pawar was cleared days after the Shiv Sena joined hands with the Con gress and NCP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in December 2019. It has emerged that the Bombay High Court has neither accepted nor rejected the report on Pa war submitted by the ACB owing to the COV ID-19Newlypandemic.appointed Ma harashtra BJP partyonbypattern“Kamboj’sVidyaselective100%evidencespeakshasiblebeKamboj’sShelartionstance,andcarrycies.thesurehasBawankuleChandrashekharchiefsaid,“Ifheinformation,IamhewillshareitwithinvestigatingagenTheagencieswillouttheirprobe,iftheyfindsubtheywilltakeacaccordingly.”BJPleaderAshishsaid,“Mohittweetsmustbasedonsomecredinformationthathereceived.Healwaysonthebasisofandhehasastrikerate.”Callingoutpatternofleaks,NCP’sChavansaid,tweetsfittheofselectiveleaksBJPspokespersonsthedirectivesofthehighcommand.”
Former India cricketer Vinod Kambli asks for work
First India Bureau Mumbai: The En forcement Directo rate, that had ques tioned Bollywood ac tor Jacqueline Fer nandes in connection with a money laun dering case linked to alleged conman, has decided to name her as an accused, official sources said on Wednesday. The agency dealing with the investigation is likely to file a fresh charge sheet in this case before a Preven tion of Money Launder ing Act (PMLA) court in Delhi. According to sources, the actor has been named as an ac cused in prosecution complaint.Jacqueline has been questioned multiple times by the agency. She was last summoned by the Enforcement Direc torate in June. The federal agency in April provisionally at tached Rs7.27 crore funds of the actor un der the PMLA apart from Rs15 lakh cash as the it called these funds as ‘proceeds of crime’ related to a Rs200 crore extortion case. The actor told the ED, in her statement record ed in August and Octo ber last year, that she "received" gifts like three designer bags from Gucci, Chanel, two Gucci outfits for gym wear, a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes, two pairs of diamond earrings and a bracelet of multicoloured stones and two Hermes bracelets from funds."contributionyearoverRs200andminister'stary,retary,selfgh,ShivinderHealthcarewifeconnedChandrashekhar.SukeshallegedlyAditiSingh,offormerFortispromoterMohanSinbyintroducinghimasUnionhomesecUnionlawsecreofficerfromprimeoffice(PMO)extortedmorethancrorefromheraperiodofoneonthepretextoftoparty"TheaccusedconmanwasrunninghisillegalextortionbusinessfromcentraljailinDelhi(Tiharjail)inassociationwiththejailofficials,"theEDsaid.
Amidst financial strife, the retired batsman onofficialsurgesassignments;cricket-relatedseeksMCAtopassmorework
First India Bureau Palghar: A 15-yearold girl was electro cuted in Virar town of Palghar district, when she was walk ing through a flooded road. She was rushed to the nearby hospital where doctors de clared her brought dead, said officials. The girl, known as Tanisqua Kamble was a resident of Abrol Hous ing Society. She went out of her at around 5pm and was walking through a waterlogged road in Bolini. Soon the onlookers saw the girl fall down. When the by standers went to help her, they got electric shocks and were thrown away.Others informed the state-run power firm MSEDCL and got the supply cut. She was then rushed to a hospital where doctors declared her brought dead.
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Ivory carving worth ` 2.50 crore seized in Kalwa, two held
The one single way to make life beautiful is to live every single moment with gratitude. Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, India
Virartoelectrocuted15-yr-olddeathintown The accused told police that they sourced the tusk from a person called Tara Citizens croon national anthem after govt appeal
First
Students of Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) College stand for the national anthem during an ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ event, in Mumbai, on Wednesday.
Taapsee Pannu from the show Kareena Kapoor Khan Bipasha Basu Her post...
areena Kapoor Khan is one of the most loved actresses in Bollywood. Well, it looks like she has landed in a little bit of trouble. No! there is nothing to be worried about as she has been sum moned by janta ka lawyer Riteish Deshmukh on the show Case Toh Banta Hai. To note, this is a new funfilled courtroom drama wherein the celebs face some atrangi ilzams and defend themselves with the help of their defence lawyer Varun Sharma. Kareena took to her Instagram handle to share a video of her from the sets of Case Toh Banta Hai. Sharing this vid eo, Bebo wrote, “Atrangi CourtroomCheck Atrangi Lawyers - Check Atrangi Witnesses - Check Can’t wait no more! #CaseTohBantaHai, coming this Friday on @am azonminitv @riteishd, @ kushakapila, @fukra varun #Collab.” ipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover, never fail to serve cou ple goals with their adorable pictures. Now, the actress took to her Instagram handle and shared an adorable video. Bipa sha recently jumped on the ‘Move Your Bump’ trend and flaunted her baby bump in it. The actress is seen donning a black jumpsuit and captioned #monkeylove.”
B
S hefali Shah is currently basking in the success of her recently released mov ie, Darlings, which also featured Alia Bhatt and Vijay Varma in the lead. Now, Shefali took to her social media handle and announced to her fans and followers that she has tested positive for Coronavirus. The actress wrote: “I have tested positive for Covid-19. Have immediately isolated myself and will be under home quarantine. I am following all safety protocols under the ad vice of my doctors. Requesting everyone who came in contact with me to get tested immediately too. Grateful for all your love & support.”
POSTCRYPTIC Ananyaraisestemperature
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A ll eyes are on Taapsee Pannu as she is all geared up for the release of her movie Dobaaraa. In a recent interview, the actress opened up about the spat. Taapsee shared that the photographer was so rude to her that she felt he was doing her a favour by clicking her photos. The Do baaraa actress further added, “Even my parents don’t scold me in that tone. I don’t even know how to describe it to you. I was given a schedule to follow. I was doing that. Why should I be at the receiving end of this tone, as if I have committed a crime?!” she said.
A nanya Panday is one of the most popular actors in the tinsel town of Bollywood. Ananya took to the tionedpleteingslit.front,cut-outbodycondonnedgorgeousraiyaanInasiteto-and-video-sharingphoandtreatedfanstoslewofnewpictures.thephotos,theGehactresslookedasever,assheastunningbluedresswithadetailingatthealongwithabackShealsoworestrikblueheelstocomherlook.Shecapthepost,“promotionsday6282762272
D isha Patani is a popular actress. She has worked in movies such as Ma lang: Unleash the Mad ness, Baaghi 2, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Ek Villain Returns, and others. She en joys a massive fan following on social media and often keeps treating her fans with her gorgeous pictures, workout videos, dance num ber videos, and photos with her cuteRecently,pet. Disha made a cryptic post on social me dia amid breakup rumours with Ti ger Shroff. Tak ing to the stories section of Insta gram, the Baa ghi 2 actress wrote, “If no one ever told you, it’s all gonna be okay”. A few days, some re ports However,dating.yearsseveralterupbrokeShroffTigernihathatgestedsugDisPataandafof ac cording to the sources they have not called it off and are still ‘very much together’.
Disha
Soon after, Shefali’s industry friends sent love to the actress in the com ments section. Panday Shefali Shah Patani
Still
Atrangi Courtroom
Her story...
COVID POSITIVE SPAT PHOTOGRAPHERSWITH Ananya
COMMITMENT Finally, in this fiercely competitive age of start-ups and digitiza tion, it is easy for young people to give up on pursuits without truly committing or trying. There is a pressing need to stress commit ment to one’s work, re lationships and most anything in life. Gane sha was asked to assist in writing the epic Ma habharata, and he did so on the condition that Ved Vyasa would nar rate it to him, at one shot, continuously, without a break. One would think his sugges tion proved counterproductive when Gane sha’s pen broke but undeterred, he pulled out one of his tusks, and continued writing, using the latter as a pen! This kind of duty to one’s work needs to be inculcated in the young life,eristhosetherefore,sha’scanprofoundpatingpeopleandwillandandintoslightlyfood,festivalstogetherSure,ourlearningTheregeneration.isimmensetobehadinrichmythology.itisgreattogetandcelebratewithfun,andfamily.AdeeperdelvingthesignificancemeaningofGodsfestivalsthoughenrichthefestivalthelivesofthewhoareparticiinit,more.ThelessonsonederivefromGanelifeshouldnot,belimitedtofewdaysthathecelebratedbutrathimbibedinone’sforalifetime! True Role Model
LIBRA SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22 Money coming from promiseshaveregimeAstateyoustreamsvariouswillkeepinanelatedofmind.newfitnessthatyouadoptedtokeep you in the pink of health. Getting an old furniture upholstered may be at the top of the mind of some homemakers. Your search for partner may soon be over.
GANESHA A
A family youngster is keen to learn from you, so don’t disappoint. Settling down in a new house is indicated for some.You may have to awaken partner’s interest in you once again.
CAPRICORN DEC 23 - JAN 20 toYougetcompanytoatimplementedyouSomethinghaveworkislikelyprofittheandyounoticed.arelikelycelebratethe achievement of a family youngster in a grand way. An exotic island destination beckons, for which you may already be making plans!
SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 - DEC 22 Money inlikelyoccasionsprevioustogetherputonistocomehandynow.
SCORPIO OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22 You are likely to find the day most auspicious. Your knowledge about your line of work will be thumbsandappreciatedroundlygetyoutheupfrom higher ups. Friends and family may get together to give you a surprise and make your day. Business travel may leave little time for romance.
10ETC MUMBAI | THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022
VIRGO AUG 24 - SEP 23 Help extended to someone will help him or her get ahead on the academic front. People falling under this sign will have refreshingveryday.
ARIES MAR 21 - APR 20
Visiting a mall or watching a movie with family is likely to be the highlight of the day for some. You may enjoy travelling to a tourist destination. PISCES FEB20 - MARCH 20 A vacation you only aboutdreamedislikely to become a reality soon. Healthy eating will help prevent Moneyailments.digestivewillbe no constraint in buying what you like. Driving down with lover to a happening place is indicated today. Overall a very good day for you.
DUTY Being dutiful too is a lesson that youngsters can draw from Gane sha’s own life. When asked to guard the house while his them,elders,especially.sontoo,rivedisbeyondmatter;asheadandThataccessdeniedingly,albeitGanesha,bathed,motherunknowfamouslyhisfathertothehome.helosthisheadcametoweartheofanelephant,aresult,isanothertohavegonethecallofdutythelessontobedetherefrom.HereisaveryvitallesforyoungpeopleRespectingcaringforandgoingthat extra mile is an attrib utes that will make a new generation more empathetic, under standing and respectful. RESPECT Respect for family and parents seems to be dwindling. It has be come cool to be a rebel, that too without a cause. Ganesha’s life presents yet another insight ful instance of loving one’s par ents. When asked to circle the planet, while his brother Kartik did so literally, Ganesha chose to circle his par ents, proclaiming that THEY were, his world! This kind of devotion is becoming a rare commodity. But young er kids would do well to reassess their par ents’ importance. It might be fashionable to be rebellious and needlessly outspoken – however, to realize that elders bring with them altogether deep er wisdom and life ex perience, and to learn from that rather than challenge it, would place youngsters on a better footing.
KARTIK BAJORIA
SIMRAN PAREEK, Influencer
AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 19 Your timeco-workersHelpcomeopportunitiesastosituationfinancialissetimprove,earningtoyou.frominaconsuming task will be forthcoming on the work front. Support of family will encourage you to take up a challenge. Socially, your presence will be much looked forward to.
GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 21
MERCY In a pleading,However,banishedandMoonheavy.comecauseGaneshaouseatenlyreturnendexamplepresentsfulness.thydents.inawouldwar-tornhate-mongering,world,webewisetoinstilsenseofforgivenesschildrenandstuDevelopemparatherthanvengeGanesha’slifeawonderfulofthis.Leghasitthatonhisfromaheavenget-together,havinghisusualcopiamountsoffood,trippedbehisbellyhadbetoolargeandSeeingthis,thelaughedathimwasconsequentlybyGanesha.uponsomeGaneshafor gave him and reduced his sentence by half! This same kind of un derstanding and spirit of mercy would do wonders in the cur rent generation. The ability to forgive and show kindness is greatly required, par ticularly in a cutthroat and competi tive world, and young people would do well to adopt this quality.
CANCER JUNE 22 - JULY 23 Changes made by you at workplace may not appreciatedbe by all. Strict dietary control will keep you fit as a fiddle. A family reunion is on the cards and will enable you to meet everyone. You can be tasked to organise an outing for friends and relations. Some of you may plan to add to your property.
Some clarification will need to be sought on a financial issue, before you take the next step. Efforts in the real estate market may bear fruit. A project left halfway by someone else may come on your shoulders, but your efforts will be acknowledged. Overall, a great day for you.
who lifted a fallen car riage was asked how he did it by the impact ed Gods, he said it was because he had calledout Ganesha’s name for help & strength. This made the Gods realize Ganesha’s im portance and power, more importantly, though, it was Ganesha standing up for himself, giving a clear signal of his selfrespect.
YOURDAY
TAURUS APR 21 - MAY 20
Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva here are many peo ple we look up to, Sometimesidolize.worshiphero-and they are people from within our own fami lies, our parents, un cles and aunts. At oth er times, it may be a teacher at school, a colleague or a senior at work. And then there are almost al ways some accom plished, renowned cit izens we consider role models. It struck me, however, that we have in our rich mythology, a plethora of idols whose lives give us many wonderful and relevant lessons. So in a country that cele brates Lord Ganesha, why not draw inspira tion from his story? There’s a lot to learn and immense wisdom to be drawn.
Your stars favour a bright beautiful day. A reunionfamilyison the cards and you may get invited to a social function. Tax advisor will be a big help in saving taxes, so don’t hesitate to contact one.It is difficult for the relationship of friends turned lovers to fall apart, so relax.
SELFRESPECT Children have a tendency andlordsaonceknoweverimportant;totoqualityrespectabouttheybasingothers,andonconceptagefashioningoftheirself-imorself-basedtheopinionsperceptionsofratherthanthisonwhatknowandthinkthemselves.Self-then,isavitalforkidstoday,develop.Beingopenoutsideopinionisitishowjustascrucialtooneself.Ganeshafamouslyduguproadthatdeitiesandweretotraversewhentheperson
(The author is a Jaipur-based Communication Skills Educator & Writer) T www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/ thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Problem about finances will be resolved. Those on propertyStarstheirimprovementwillmedicationfindadistinctincondition.onthefront appear the brightest. Taking the family on a trip seems impossible today due to your professional commitments, so postpone it for some other day.
LEO JULY 24 - AUGUST 23 Your popularity is set to soar on both personal and Familysplurgingtooffronts.professionalSomeyouwillhavecurbyourways.lifewill cruise along smoothly with much love and bonhomie. Don’t speed up on the road. Chance of moving to a new location on transfer is likely for some.
—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN City First brings to you some more glimpses of the mega launch of the national Hindi news channel Bharat24- Vision of New India, on Sunday by Anurag Thakur, Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Sports & Youth Affairs. Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor-in-Chief thanked the Union Minister and also welcomed all the guests who had come to join in the occasion.
Jagdeesh Chandra with Ashish TiwariVijay Srivastava, Sandeep Mishra congratulate and greet Jagdeesh Chandra
Jagdeesh Chandra greeted by Poornima Mishra Jagdeesh Chandra greeted by Srishti Khatri Jagdeesh Chandra greeted by Tripti Arora Jagdeesh Chandra greeted by Naina Yadav Jagdeesh Chandra greeted by Megha Shyam Soni
Jagdeesh Chandra greeted by Rutwi Tiwari(L-R) Dilip Solanki, Sumit Awasthi and Ashish Tiwari (L-R) Tanmay Shankar, Amit Malviya and Aditi Nagar with others during the occasion Cultural dance performance during the inaugural ceremony Discovery Tower
CHAUHANSHAZIDBY—PHOTOS
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T he 2006 superhit film, Krrish shook the Bolly wood industry and introduced a genre to the development stated, “The fourth in stalment of the Krrish franchise will take the story of the third part ahead, but it will be set in a completely differ ent world with new characters and excit ing twists. Rakesh Ji is developing the ently working on the crucial parts of the story. Once he finalises the script, they will begin work on the casting and other logistics of ture some never seen before action We made a mistake by being silent: Arjun Arjun Kapoor, who was last seen in Ek Villain Re turns, said that the film industry has a lot of problems to solve but the only way to start is by making good films. The actor also added that people in the in dustry need to come together to end this trend.Ina recent chat, ac tor Arjun Kapoor spoke about various reasons that might be hampering the film industry. “I think we made a mistake by being silent for so long. Our decency was taken for our weakness. We al ways believe in ‘let the work speak for itself, all this doesn’t matter,” he told HungamaBollywoodasKa poor spoke about the cancel culture that has besieged the film industry since 2020. He added, “We toler ated a little too much. Now people are used to it.”
R Madhavan, Khushali Kumar, Darshan Kumar, Kookie Gulati and Bhushan Kumar R Madhavan, Khushali Kumar and Darshan Kumar Poster of song...R Madhavan
Hrithik Roshan Arjun Kapoor Ridhi Dogra and Shivin Narang ven before its release, Aamir Khan’s pet project, Laal Singh Chaddha was surrounded by con troversy and hatred. Netizens were too eager to boycott and ban the film over religious sentiments, which were not related to the film in general. Nonetheless, it is a shame that even the star power of Mr Perfectionist who before this has given Bolly wood some of its biggest hits, could not pull audi ences into theatres. How ever, in these tough times, actors and other celebrities have hailed the film and Aamir for his hard work and persever ance and Ektaa Kapoor too had her say in the matter. At the screening of Taapsee Pannu’s Dobaaraa, the production gi ant commended the three Khans for giving Bollywood so much and even declared that Aamir is someone who cannot be banned. She said, “It is so weird that we are banning the very people who have given so much business to the industry. The Khans and especial ly Aamir Khan is a legends. You cannot boycott him. He cannot be boycotted. You cannot boy cott the soft ambassadors of India.”
Ektaa Kapoor Aly Goni
RELIVE THE monsoon romance R evive the good old days of ro mance in mon soon with ‘Bar saat Ho Jaaye’. Directed by ace Ashish Panda, the music video of ‘Bar saat Ho Jaaye’ features Shivin Narang and Ri dhi Dogra who set out on a journey to discover their love and relive their first meeting. “I think Ridhi and I share some great on screen chemistry which audiences will see in the song. Every frame is cap tured beautifully by Ash ish Panda”, says Shivin Narang. Ridhi Dogra said, “I love rains and I love music. And people who know me, know how much I love this season and music is such a com panion in my life. Shoot ing for this song was amazing! Jubin has a mesmerizing voice and I really loved the tune since the moment I heard it, I really hope au diences love it too.”
A Aly opens up on why he loves working on OTT
ASHISH TIWARI cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Ektaa defends AamirKrrish 4 in development
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R MADHAVAN: Films now have to be more progressive fter the rock ing effects of Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, R Madhavan has set out to bring forward a rather different gen re. Dhokha: Round D Corner promises to be a thrilling, over-theedge drama that may make one question re ality. Starring Mad havan alongside Khushali Kumar, Aparshakti Khurrana and Darshan Kumar, the film is ready to re lease in the theatres soon. Teasing a glimpse of the mass thriller that Dhokha is, the teaser launch of the film saw the actor talk about not only his movie but also his views on the Jacque line Fernandez contro versy, Laal Singh Chaddha’s boycott, his son’s bright future and South Indian Films amongTalkingothers.about the comparison between Hindi films underper forming nowadays and the massive success of South films, Madhavan had some intellectual two cents to give. As someone who has dab bled with both, he said, “If a good film comes and people love it, then they will come to the theatres. To talk about South films, I will talk clearly that Baahu bali 1 and 2, RRR, Pushpa and KGF 1 and 2 are the only six films that worked more than Hindi films. We cannot call it a pat tern. May be haveleasedTheconsumeaudiencecontent,makeevertent.worldlywatchingchangederencesCOVID-19,post-prefhaveafterconSo,whenyouwillworthythewillit.filmsrenowtobe more progres sive.” He blamed the pandemic for the changed atti tude of andagnosticwas“Rocketryingaren’tChaddhaaudiencethetowardsfilmsandthereasonwhyfilmslikeLaalSinghworktoday.atime-filmwouldhaveworkedanytimeitwasreleased.Butthatisnotthecaseforsomemovies.Afterthe pandemic, you are dealing with a highly educated audience who has been exposed to world cinema. So, you have to make content accordingly,” he said. Revealing how he and his son, Vedaant are being pressured to be a certain way especially after Vedaant won gold for India in swim ming, Madhavan said, “A certain charac ter for us is an accom plishment as an actor. It has no reflection of our actual standing in society. Secondly, a lot of pressure is being put on me and my son. We are not that accom plished yet and have a long way to go, espe cially diligence.”duesingtime.inhavedustryimageversydon’ttroublesarilythattheofversylineonSharingVedaant.”histhoughtswhethertheJacqueFernandezcontroaffectstheimagethefilmfraternity,3Idiotsactorsaidthatisnotnecesthecase.Revealingthatthehighesttaxpayersarefromthefilmindustry,Madhavanchimed,“Ihopeshegetsoutoftheverysoon.Ithinkthecontroisaffectingtheofthefilminastheraidsratherdecreasednumbersintoday’sEveryoneispaytheirrespectiveandworkingwith
A ctor Aly Goni says that OTT has given him a chance to work as well as take out time for his family and he loves the bal ance he can strike by working in the medi um. The actor says that he realized the impor tance of spending time with family after the pandemic struck and is glad to have OTT plat forms that give him this kind of freedom. “The only difference I think is that shows on OTT don’t drag. They get over in like 2 or 3 months and you get time to be around your close ones, which is very important, I feel. And I realised this af ter Corona,” he says. He adds that this is not the case on TV. “On TV, you just get lost. I remember when I was doing TV, I couldn’t at tend any of my cousins’ wed dings. I couldn’t attend or cele brate any occasion. I think OTT is good because you will get time to do other things as well. And I think spending time with your family is a big thing, once you miss it, you have missed out and that time won’t come back again,” he says.He adds, “I want to strike a balance be tween my personal and professional life. I don’t want one to suffer at the cost of another. TV pace is fast and a TRPdriven mindset is there too. TV you work many hours non-stop but in OTT in a day you shoot scenes.”itedlim
