First India-Mumbai Edition-19th October 2022

Mumbai:

ARYAN CASE: NCB FINDS LOOPHOLES IN THE PROBE OF CRUISE DRUG BUST

‘Where is application of mind?’

SC SLAMS GUJARAT’S REPLY IN BILKIS BANO CASE, CALLS IT ‘VERY BULKY’

New Delhi: The SC on Tuesday said that Guja rat government’s re sponse to petitions chal lenging the remission granted to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case is “very bulky”, where, instead of factual state ments, a series of judgments have been cited. A bench, head ed by justice Ajay Rastogi, orally ob served that he has not come across a counter affi

Bilkis Dadi

davit where a series of judgments have been quoted. “A very bulky counter. Where is the factual statement, where is the application of mind?” he asked.

Parl to frame law on Uniform Civil Code: Centre tells SC

The Centre on Tuesday told the SC that it could not direct Parliament to frame or enact any law on Uniform Civil Code in the country. The Min istry of Law and Justice in its affidavit stated that the matter of poli cy is for the elected rep resentatives of the peo ple to decide and no di rection in this regard can be issued by the Centre.

“As and when the Re port of Law Commis

CENTRE STATES OVER ARTICLE 44...

It is a directive principle re quiring State to endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for all citizens. It is said to strengthen the “Secular Democratic Republic” object as enshrined in the Constitu tion’s Preamble.

sion in the matter is re ceived, the Govt would examine the same in consultation with the various stakeholders involved in the matter,” said the ministry.

Crucial

UNION CABINET HIKES MSP FOR WHEAT, MUSTARD & OTHERS

“LET US DEFEAT TERRORISM WORLDWIDE”

New Delhi: Centre increased MSP for wheat from `2,015/ quintal to `2,125/quintal for next sowing season. MSP for rapeseed, mustard increased to `5,450/quintal from `5,050/quintal. Union Minister for I&B Anurag Thakur said govt has ensured a 100% return on cost of production for wheat and mustard. P5

RUSSIA: 14 KILLED IN FIGHTER JET CRASH NEAR UKRAINE

Yeysk: At least 14 people including three children were killed when a Sukhoi Su-34 fighter jet crashed into the courtyard of a ninestorey apartment building and exploded in a fireball in southern Russia just across the Sea of Azov from Ukraine.

INDIA-RUSSIA HOPE TO BAG $5BN FROM CRUISE MISSILE SALES

New Delhi: A JV between India and Russia that has developed supersonic cruise missiles hopes to secure $5 billion worth of orders by 2025, its chairman said on Tuesday. BrahMos, is in talks with Malaysia, Vietnam. Indonesia for new orders, having bagged a first deal of $375 mn with Philippines, Rane said.

DRI SEIZES 86.5 KG

WEED WORTH RS39.5 CR; 2 HELD Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 86.5 kg of high-quality US-origin hydroponic weed valued at Rs39.5 crore and arrested two persons in this connection from Mum, an official said on Tuesday.

The DRI’s Mumbai zonal unit intercepted two US-origin consignments at the Courier Terminal in the Air Cargo Complex. An examination resulted in the seizure of 86.5 kg of hydroponic weed (ganja) from the consignments, he said.

PM Narendra Modi addresses 90th In terpol General Assembly attended by delegations from 195 member coun tries after a gap of about 25 years

New Delhi: Pakistan’s top homeland security agency chief on Tues day was seen avoiding questions about under world don Dawood Ibra him and 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, both of whom are among ter rorists most wanted by Indian security agen cies and believed to be living in Pakistan.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi addressed the 90th Interpol general assem bly in Delhi, attended by delegations from 195

member countries com prising ministers, police chiefs, heads of national central bureaus & cops.

“Time to look ahead and also look at the past. Our Vedas say let noble thoughts come from all directions and India be lieves in global coopera tion,” Modi said at the inauguration of the In terpol general assembly.

“There is a need to develop international strategies to defeat ter rorism worldwide,” he added. Modi said Inter pol can help control pro ceeds of crimes and cor ruption. With ANI Inputs

Interpol is approaching a historic milestone. In 2023, it will celebrate its 100 years. This is a call for universal cooperation to make the world a better place. India is one of the top contributors towards UN Peacekeeping Operations.

—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

BINNY IS BCCI PREZ; WON’T GO TO PAKISTAN FOR ASIA CUP: JAY

KHALID’S BAIL PLEA IN RIOTS CASE DISMISSED

Delhi HC denied bail to stu dent activist Umar Khalid. It observed that protests against CAA & 2020 NE Delhi riots were prima-facie orchestrated at various conspiratorial meets which were attended by Khalid, adding that the allegations against him are prima facie true and embargo under UAPA is attracted.

SC REFUSES TO SHIFT CONMAN TO NEW JAIL

The SC on Tuesday refused to entertain a fresh plea by alleged ‘conman’ Sukesh Chandrashekhar seeking transfer from Mandoli jail in the city to any other jail which is not under control of DG of Prisons, Delhi. “We find no reason to entertain the petition. We don’t appreciate this kind of behaviour,” bench said.

OVER DAWOOD

ASKS PAK

JAYALALITHAA DEATH

PM Modi is all set to launch Defence Space Mission on Wednesday, the next generation of national offense and defence, even as he inau gurates the DefExpo 22

The Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission of in quiry, which probed the circumstances leading to the death of former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa in 2016, in its concluding remarks said her aide VK Sasikala “have to be found fault with and investigation is to be or dered”. On Tuesday, TN govt tabled in the assembly the reports of separate commissions of inquiry that looked into the circumstances surrounding the death of Jay alalithaa and the 2018 police firing at Thoothukudi in the state. The panel has also named former health minister C Vijayabaskar, the then health secy J Radhakrishnan and KS Sivakumar, a doctor and relative of Sasikala, the then Chief Secretary Rama Mohana Rao and others.

MVA COALITION CLAIMS GAINS IN GP POLLS EVEN AS BJP ‘BAGS’ 230+ SEATS

Elections held at 1,079 Gram Panchayats in Maha; Oppn reiterates win over 455 seats

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Despite losing power in June this year, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) opposition coali tion comprising Con

gress, Nationalist Con gress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bala saheb Thackeray) claim to have made huge gains in recently held Gram Panchayat polls. Inter estingly, the ruling ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the

PANELS BACKED BY SAMANT, GOGAWALE LOSE Mumbai (PTI): The panels backed by Maharashtra ministers Uday Samant and MLA Bharat Gogawale from the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde have suffered defeat in the gram panchayat polls in their native villages. Besides, the ruling BJP won three gram panchayats in Sindhu durg, the home district of School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar who is also a member of the Shinde group. The fourth one was bagged by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena faction, sources said on Tuesday.

single-largest entity in the elections held in 18 districts. The Opposi tion has claimed to have

triumphed on a total of 1,079 out of 1,165 Gram Panchayats (DPs) seats defeating Turn to P6

6 pilgrims, pilot killed in chopper crash near Kedarnath Temple

The helicopter was ferrying pilgrims to the Guptkashi, CM Dhami orders probe

Kedarnath: Seven peo ple who were aboard a chopper that crashed in Uttarakhand near the iconic Kedarnath Dham have died, officials have confirmed. The tragedy occurred when the chopper crashed at Garud Chatti, nearly 2 km from the Kedarnath Dham shrine. Chief Minister Pushkar Dha mi has ordered a probe.

The helicopter - car rying pilgrims - was fly ing from Kedarnath to the Phata helipad. Utta rakhand SDRF Com

Anguished by the helicopter crash in Uttarakhand. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families.

—Prime Minister’s Office

mandant Manikant Mishra confirmed the deaths in the chopper crash, which was re ported to have taken place minutes after the takeoff. The bad weath er is believed to have caused the tragedy.

The news of the death of devotees due to the helicopter crash in Kedarnath is very sad. In this hour of grief, my condolences are with the families of the accident victims. May Baba Kedar give strength to the bereaved family and place the departed souls at your feet.

—Anurag Thakur, Union Minister

2 UP workers killed in J&K attack, 1 arrested

Shopian: Two migrant labourers were killed after terrorists hurled a grenade at them in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir in the early hours of Tues day, police said. Taking to Twitter, Kashmir Zone Police said, “Ter rorists hurled a grenade in Shopian’s Harmen area, injuring two la bourers Monish Kumar and Ram Sagar.”

“Both were residents of UP’s Kannauj. They

were shifted to the hos pital, where they suc cumbed to their inju ries,” the police said. A local “hybrid terrorist” Imran Bashir Ganie from Harmen of LeT was arrested.

NIA conducts raids at over 50 locations

New Delhi: The NIA on Tuesday carried out raids at more than 50 locations in several states across northern India in an ongoing case against gangs and their nexus with terror groups. The raids were conducted in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, U’khand, Delhi and NCR to dismantle and disrupt emerging nexus between terrorists, gangsters, drug smug glers and traffickers.

PANEL HOLDS AIDE SASIKALA GUILTY, RECOMMENDS PROBE

Pak FIA DG Mohsin Butt for the Interpol General Assembly, dodged a question on whereabouts of Dawood Ibrahim, LeT & JeM chief asked by news agency ANI

PM MODI TO LAUNCH DEFENCE SPACE MISSION IN GUJ TODAY

Moni Sharma

SDRF and police personnel during a search and rescue operation at the helicopter crash site, at Phata, in Kedarnath on Tuesday.

Mumbai: Roger Binny took over officially as board president during the BCCI AGM on Tuesday. Jay Shah will continue to be BCCI secretary as he was elected unopposed for the role, he said Indian cricket team won’t be travelling to Pakistan for

Asia Cup.

RaGa, Lord Ram common letter coincidence: Patole

is not a comparison to Lord Ram, but a coinci dence, that both their names begin with the letter ‘R’. But we do not compare Rahul with Lord Ram while BJP leaders compare their leaders with God. God is God and Rahul Gandhi is a human being.”

BJP withdrew from Andheri bypoll after realization of imminent defeat: Uddhav camp

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction on Tues day claimed Bharati ya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Murji Patel withdrew from the Andheri East Assem bly bypoll contest af ter realizing that his defeat was imminent.

Pramod Sharma

Mumbai: Maharash tra Congress chief Nana Patole on Tues day concurred with Rajasthan minister Parsadi Lal Meena’s remark that likened Lord Ram’s padyatra (journey on foot) from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka to Congress leader Ra hul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo’ padyatra.

Addressing media persons during a review meeting on prepara tions to welcome ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ into Maha rashtra, Patole said that it is, however, a “co-inci dence” that both of their names begin with the letter ‘R’. The remarks of the state Congress chief came after Meena on Monday said that Ra hul Gandhi is walking even more than Lord Ram did from Ayodhya

PATOLE SLAMS PAWAR FOR BACKING SHELAR

Patole also took an apparent jibe at his ally and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar for supporting BJP’s Ashish Shelar for the cricketing body polls. “BJP knows well with whom they want to be close. There is an election going on in the cricket body also and all are coming together giving a different message,” said Patole. “Everyone can make out what is coming out from the cricket game (Mumbai Cricket Association and the Board of Control for Cricket in India polls),” he added.

to Sri Lanka.

“Rahul Gandhi’s padyatra will be histor ic. Lord Ram too had gone from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka on foot. He (Gandhi) is walking

even more than that, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir,” Meena had said.

Reacting to the state ment, Patole said, “Even Lord Ram walked from

He is working for hu manity and it can be seen by everyone, he added.

Patole organized the meeting to discuss the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ which is likely to pass from Maharashtra on November 07. One of the main agendas dis cussed were prepara tions for the yatra to fa cilitate people joining it with party leaders.

The yatra entered Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday morning. The yatra is scheduled to carry on for a total of 150 days. On the 41st day of the yatra, Rahul Gan dhi resumed the march from the Halaharvi bus stop in Kurnool.

But even after this safe passage the BJP has suffered humiliation, the Thackeray camp claimed further in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

The Marathi daily carried an article on the by-election with the heading “Kamlabai re treated from Andheri”.

The Thackeray group has labelled the ruling BJP as ‘Kamalabai’, a reference to its poll sym bol Kamal or lotus.

The Andheri East by poll, scheduled for No vember 03, has been ne cessitated due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke earlier this year.

Even after safe passage, BJP was humiliated, claims Sena’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’

Thackeray pitched for an unopposed contest, the BJP on Monday pulled out its candidate from the bypoll.

Seven candidates are in the poll arena, but the victory of Rutuja Latke is a foregone con clusion.

nent,” an editorial in ‘Saamana’ said.

It also claimed that there was a strong possibility of rejection of Patel’s nomination due some anomalies in his papers.

“Their (BJP-Shinde group) car was at a dan gerous turn and it was bound to meet with an accident. To avoid this accident, they applied brakes and took a Uturn,” it said.

Kanyakumari to Kash mir as did (Adi) Shanka racharya (Vedic schol ar). Rahul Gandhi is doing the same in the form of a padyatra. Peo ple are joining him, so it

“As the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ enters Andhra Pradesh, the excitement has gone to the next lev el. Massive support to all the Padyatris has en ergized everyone,” the Congress said in a tweet.

The Thackeray-led Sena faction has fielded Late Ramesh Latke’s wife Rutuja Latke, while the BJP had nom inated Patel.

After Nationalist Con gress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Ma harashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj

“The withdrawal of the (BJP) candidate does not appear as simple as it looks. In case of a de feat, the Shinde-Fad navis government must have realized that they have to pay a cost. The BJP must have also real ized that the victory of the Shiv Sena (Thack eray faction) is immi

Instead of facing burn injuries (referring to the flaming torch poll symbol of the Thacker ay faction) and facing an imminent defeat, the BJP chose a simple way (of withdrawing the candidate), it said.

But even after this safe passage the BJP has suffered humilia tion, the Marathi publi cation said.

Sanjay Raut’s bail plea hearing set for Oct 21

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A special court on Tuesday said it would continue hearing on October 21 into the bail plea of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case.

Special Judge MG Deshpande also extend ed Raut’s judicial cus tody till October 21 after he was produced in the court at the end of his remand on Tuesday.

In the court, Raut met Nationalist Con gress Party (NCP) lead er, Eknath Khadse, who had come there to mark his presence in connec

HEALTHY ENDEAVOUR

tion with a money laun dering case lodged against him by the ED.

The two leaders spoke briefly during which Raut was heard

ularities in the redevel opment of a Patra Chawl (row tenement) and related financial transactions involving the Sena leader’s wife and associates.

court that the allega tions levelled against Raut by the ED were inherently unbelieva ble and cannot be relied upon.

Mundargi told the court that the alleged transactions are from years 2008 to 2012. It has been a decade and the allegation is of only Rs3.85 crore, he said.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, ap pearing for the ED, sought additional time to oppose certain fresh arguments made by Mundargi.

telling Khadse he would be out of the prison soon.

The ED’s probe against Raut pertains to alleged financial irreg

Difficult to build cycle tracks in Mum: Gadkari

Union min vows to encourage cycling habit; shares plans to install dedicated tracks in his hometown Nagpur

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Space con straints in the city will make it impossi ble to widen roads, thus making it diffi cult to create cycle tracks on roads, Un ion minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.

Gadkari, who han dles the Central gov ernment’s road trans port portfolio, under lined that it was impor tant to encourage the sustainable and healthy habit of cy cling. “We can make dedicated tracks in

Tier-II and Tier-III cit ies,” he said.

“I support the idea (of cycle tracks). But my practical problem is that in the city area, it is very difficult to in crease the width of the road. In Mumbai, we cannot make cycle tracks,” Gadkari said in Mumbai, at an inter active meeting with in stitutional investors organized by Philip Capital.

He also said there were “encroachments and political problems” in Mumbai, which made the job of creat ing dedicated cycle

tracks difficult.

Gadkari’s remarks came as clarifications about the reports of the abandonment of a 40km cycle track project in Mumbai; it also somewhat explained

the low patronage of the existing cycle tracks that were con structed without any planning about conti nuity.

The minister, how ever, announced he was

constructing a cycle track in his home city Nagpur, and added that some of the cities through which nation al highways are going will also have similar infrastructure soon.

He also said there was a huge potential for cycle manufactur ing in the country, pointing out that ex ports currently stood at only under Rs30,000 crore, against the glob al market of Rs8 lakh crore.

The road transport minister also spoke about road safety, and improving the way they are engineered. He said his ministry was mulling the crea tion of a ‘credit rating’ for road contractors,

wherein a good record in the past will earn an entity extra points while bidding for a new project.

Gadkari also in formed that first phase of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is set to be completed this year. “My plan is to connect Nariman Point to Del hi, thereby making it a 12-hour journey,” said the Union minister.

Speaking about the achievements of the Road and Transport Ministry, Gadkari said: “I was pained to know that around one crore people in the country were driving cyclerickshaws.” He added that 80 lakh people among them were ply ing e-rickshaws today.

On Tuesday, Raut’s counsel Ashok Munda rgi completed his re joinder arguments dur ing which he told the

The court agreed and posted the plea for fur ther hearing on October 21 and also extended Raut’s judicial custody till then.

After chest discomfort, MLA Sanjay Shirsat shifted to Mum hospital

First India Bureau

Aurangabad: Legis lator Sanjay Shirsat, who is member of the Shiv Sena fac tion led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, suffered from chest discom fort and high blood pressure in Aurang abad, said a doctor who attended him on Tuesday.

The MLA was shift ed to Mumbai by an air ambulance in the morning after being given medicines to stabilize his health pa rameters, he said.

Shirsat, who repre sents the Aurangabad West constituency, ex

perienced chest dis comfort and breath ing issues on Monday evening, after which he was admitted to a private hospital in Au rangabad itself. His BP was high and was administered medi cines, Dr Unmesh Takalkar said.

After Shirsat felt better, he was shifted to Mumbai, the doctor said.

Nana Patole (centre) with party leaders Ashok Chavan (left) and Balasaheb Thorat (right) during a review meeting at Tilak Bhavan in Mumbai on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Maha Cong chief terms padyatra, led by national party leader, as ‘historic’; holds meet to review prep to welcome him in state

Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray supporters celebrate allocation of ‘mashaal’ symbol. FILE PHOTO

ACCORD STRUCK!

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met with Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi on Tuesday for final handover of the Dharavi Redevelopment project agreement. A deal has been signed between the Union Ministry of Railways’ Rail Land Development Authority and the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority.

Union Road & Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. —FILE PHOTO

The Shiv Sena leader was arrested in a money laundering case earlier this year.

—FILE PHOTO

A special court under the PMLA extended Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP’s judicial custody until then

PUNE INUNDATED AFTER HEAVY SHOWERS

People in low-lying areas shifted; rain activity to reduce from today, say IMD officials WATERLOGGED

First India Bureau

Pune: Heavy rains lashed Pune city over night and on Tuesday morning, causing wa terlogging in many areas.

Some people staying in low-lying areas and near the Karha river banks were shifted to safer places, said dis trict authorities.

Seven goats died after being swept away in the flood waters in Kanhur Mesai area of Shirur tehsil.

According to the In dia Meteorological De partment (IMD), Shiva jinagar witnessed 104 mm rainfall in about five hours till 3 am on Tuesday. Magarpatta re ceived 116 mm down pour and Pashan record ed 94 mm of rainfall during the same period.

Waterlogging was witnessed in many areas including Hadap sar, Market Yard, Sinh gad Road, NIBM Road, BT Kawade Road, Katraj, Deccan, Karve Nagar, Kothrud, Kond hwa and Peth.

Shivaji Nagar area re ceived around 81 mm of

rainfall in just a couple of hours on Monday night, as per the Met de partment.

According to the Pune Fire Brigade, water gushed into several are as and a wall collapsed in the Parvati locality.

IMD’s Weather Fore casting Department Head, Anupam Kashya

Gang of 5 pickpockets targeting commuters in BEST buses arrested

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Mum bai Crime Branch arrested a gang of five people who tar geted commuters on BEST buses. The gang was involved in multiple pickpocketing inci dents, police said on Tuesday.

According to the Mumbai Crime Branch’s Unit XII, the officials also recov ered four ‘Chalo Cards’ of BEST bus from the accused and have learnt that as many as 40 previous cases were registered against the gang members.

On October 17, the officials from the Mumbai Crime Branch’s unit XII had received a tip off on the suspects. The of ficials learned that the pick-pocketing

40 cases were registered against the accused; ‘Chalo Cards’ recovered

gang was present at the Omkareshwar Mandir BEST bus stop in Borivali East. The police swung into action and de tained the suspects.

During interroga tion, the officials found out that all the accused assembled the location to com mit pick-pocketing.

Following which they were placed under ar rest. An offence has been registered against them under section 401 of the IPC.

pi, said the satellite im ages revealed “there was enough moisture in the state.”

The city is expected to stay cloudy with light ning and thunder activ ity in the evening along with light to moderate rainfall. The rain activ ity will reduce from Wednesday, he added.

In a few low-lying ar eas, vehicles were sub merged in rainwater.

Twelve people stuck in the flood waters in Mangalwar Peth and Kondhwa areas were shifted to safer places, said fire brigade officials.

Twenty families stay ing near the Karha river

in Jalgaon Kathe Pathar village of Baramati tehsil were also shifted after the river swelled following the release of water at the rate of 35,000 cubic foot per second (cusec) from the Nazre dam, said district officials.

Speaking about heavy showers on late Monday

Health Dept warns of nCoV spike, cites new virus variants

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Maha rashtra Health De partment has cau tioned that the COV ID-19 cases could rise especially during win ters and the festive season, citing new variants like BA.2.3.20 and BQ.1 reported from the state.

These variants have been detected for the first time in the country, it said.

In a release, it also said that the new XBB variant of coronavirus has a growth advantage over BA.2.75 and has im mune evasive property.

According to a health bulletin released on Monday, COVID-19 cases rose by 17.7% in the state between October 10 and 16 as compared to be tween October 03 and 09.

This rise has been no ticed particularly in the densely populated dis tricts of Thane, Raigad and Mumbai, it said.

“Some experts are

Govt urges people to take precautions after detection of BA.2.3.20, BQ.1 and XBB strains

predicting a rise in the coming winter season especially in the festive environment. In WGS (whole genome sequenc ing), the proportion of BA.2.75 has decreased to 76% from 95%” said the bulletin.

The state has report ed XBB which is a new variant having growth

advantage over BA.2.75 and immune evasive property. Apart from this, the state has re ported BA.2.3.20 and BQ.1 variant first time in India, it said.

The Health Depart ment asked people not to ignore flu-like symp toms such as fever, sore throat and running nose and seek medical advice at the earliest. It also urged the public to ob serve COVID-19-appro priate behaviour includ ing social distancing and wearing face masks at public places.

SHOWING THE RIGHT PATH

night and subsequent waterlogging in various parts of the city, Vikram Kumar, Commissioner, Pune Municipal Corpo ration, said this year’s rainfall in the month of October has been un precedented.

A few days ago too the city had received heavy showers.

DEMAND

13 areas of Marathwada receive excess rainfall

First India Bureau

Aurangabad: Isolated parts of Marathwada witnessed rainfall in the last two days, with Ambad tehsil in Jalna district recording the highest 113.75 mm rainfall, said an offi cial on Tuesday.

At least 10 areas in four districts of Marath wada region received excess rainfall (above 65 mm) on Sunday. Show ers continued on Mon day in 13 areas of the region, said the official.

As per the Revenue Department’s report, 13 areas of the Marathwa da region received above 65 mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period till Mon day night.

The highest rainfall of 113.75 mm was recorded in Ambad tehsil, fol lowed by Sukhapuri cir cle in Jalna with 113.25 mm, stated the report.

The areas that re ceived excess rainfall in Aurangabad include Kannad (67 mm), Chap aner (67 mm), Chi kalthan (74 mm), Amb hai (89.50 mm), Banoti (107.25 mm), it said.

In Jalna, Kumbhar zari (65.50 mm), Jalna Rural (65.25 mm), Am bad (113.75 mm), Sukhapuri (113.25 mm) and Ghansawangi (89.50 mm). In Beed, Madal mohi (67.75 mm), Pache gaon (68.50 mm) and Chaklamba (66.50 mm) received excess rainfall, the report stated.

— PHOTOS BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

Government, police must uphold services of NGOs, says HC

was made available on Tuesday.

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has said the state government and police depart ment should recog nize and uphold the services provided by NGOs (Non-govern mental organizations) and assist them in stead of moving the needle of suspicion on

such organizations.

In an order passed on October 14, a single bench of Justice Bhara ti Dange granted antici patory bail to one Dashrath Kamble, who runs ‘The Little Sunshine Foundation’, an NGO that raises funds for needy people, specifically young children.

A copy of the order

Kamble has been ac cused of falsely and fraudulently collecting money through crowd funding, claiming that the amount was for the medical expenses of two children. An FIR was registered at Nala sopara in Palghar dis trict against Kamble in June this year for for gery and cheating. It was alleged that he had collected money for the open heart surgeries of two four-year-old chil dren, but the same were

never performed.

While seeking pre-ar rest bail, he relied on documents provided by Wadia Hospital for Chil dren confirming pay ment of Rs50,000 from his NGO and the reason why the surgeries were not performed.

In its order, the bench noted that it was neces sary for the police de partment to recognize and uphold the services provided by such NGOs and if possible, to assist them in taking their ven tures further.

Several NGOs provide

services to the needy and destitute people through money collected via crowdfunding, it said.

It is also necessary for the police department to recognize and uphold the services carried out by such NGOs. If possi ble, it should also assist them in taking their ven tures further, said the court.

The investigating of ficer had submitted to the court that the police had collected details of the three bank accounts of Kamble’s NGO. They found that between Au

gust 2021 and March 2022, Rs1 crore was cred ited to the accounts, out of which the organiza tion has spent Rs88 lakh on various activities and services it undertakes.

The remaining sum is ly ing in the bank accounts, the police said, adding the NGO was also in volved in offering finan cial assistance to old-age homes, orphanages and for animal support.

The bench then noted that in view of these sub missions, the custodial interrogation of the ac cused was not required.

Highest rainfall recorded in Ambad tehsil at 113.75 mm. —FILE PHOTO

According to IMD, Pune city has received 268 mm rainfall so far in October.

—PHOTO BY ANI

PAWAR SLAMS BJP FOR PUNE ‘MESS’ Mumbai (PTI): Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Con gress Party (NCP) criticized the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over waterlogging in Pune city. Pawar, an MLA from Pune district, said the BJP has left the IT and education hub in a “mess” in the name of making it a “smart” city. The BJP was in power in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for five years till the tenure of the elected body ended earlier this year.

Residents of Kalbadevi and Girgaon areas organized a Girgaon bandh and protest march against Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited on Tuesday. They expressed dissent over decisions taken for rehabilitation of people affected by the Metro 3 project.

Wearing masks, social distancing are recommended while stepping out. —FILE PHOTO

Bombay High Court asks government servants to assist such organizations in their endeavours. —FILE PHOTO

Court grants anticipatory bail to the founder of an organization accused in a cheating case

DON’T POLITICISE GANGULY’S EXIT,

LET’S NOT PLAY GAMES OVER CRICKET

Team India took on Bang ladesh and headed for a massive win in the Day/ Night Test which was held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in Nov 2019.

l IPL amid Covid scare

For the last one week, there was a lot of political heart burn over the fact that Sourav Ganguly would not remain the BCCI presi dent post Oct 18, 2022.

Criticising the party at the Centre, Trinamool Congress raised the issues and said that keeping an eye towards the 2021 cru cial Assembly election, Ganguly was made the BCCI chief in 2019. The party, however, alleged that after the Prince of Calcutta “refused” to join politics or to be precise… refused to join “them”, he was removed.

Ganguly, on the other hand, recently at a Band han Bank event in Kolkata said, “I have been an ad ministrator and I will move on to something else.

“Whatever you do in life, the best days are when you played for India. I have been president of the BCCI and I will go on to do big ger things. You can’t be a player forever, you can’t be an administrator forever. It’s been great doing both.

“I never believed in his tory but the feeling in the past was East lacked talent to play at that level. You don’t become an Ambani or Narendra Modi in one day. You have to work for months and years to get there,” he further said. Ganguly also opened up on his experience leading the Indian team as captain.

Let’s remember the glorious past of such icons forever and not attach it or let’s not get entangled in such episodes and let Cricket remain Cricket. Let’s keep our passion for the game intact and hail the icons in the way they should be and let’s bleed blue for the game that is religion to us all… a game that actually unites India.

“It was six captains leading the team. I stood up for Rahul when he was almost dropped from the one-day side. I took their suggestions in picking the team. These things don’t go unnoticed in a team en vironment,” he said. “It’s not just the runs I scored. People remember other things. It’s what you do as a leader for them,” said the outgoing BCCI chief.

Roger Binny has re placed Sourav Ganguly, while Ganguly is out as the BCCI president, Jay

Roger Binny has replaced Sourav Gan guly, while Ganguly is out as the BCCI president, Jay Shah continues to remain the board’s secretary. A few other changes in the BCCI has also been made as the top brass undergoes a major reshuffle.

Shah will continue to re main the board’s secre tary. A few other changes in the BCCI were also made as the top brass un dergoes a reshuffle.

It is actually very sad to see how politicians react and in fact reduce the stat ure of global icons. Sourav Ganguly has been one of the finest and gifted bats men India has ever pro duced and he’s captain par excellence. Time and again, he had demonstrat ed his cricketing acumen and lifted the team to dizzy heights and under him we even reached the 2003 World Cup final.

His contribution in team building has been ex emplary and Sourav Gan

Kapil, who was sacked as the chairman of the National Cricket Academy after he took up his position as the chairman of the ICL board, insisted that he, along with fellow former players who had defected to the rebel league, were keen to work with the BCCI, but couldn’t do so because of governing body. Mohin der Amarnath, the former India batting Stalwart, had called the selectors in 1989 a bunch of jokers. Mohinder who is also known as Jimmy Amarnath, had the most number of comebacks in his 19-year-old international career.

guly, given his status, is easily one of India’s brightest icons. However, we must resist and desist ourselves from diminish ing such a person’s stature and limit him to being a Bengali icon. His jabar dast fan following across generations and across the nation is mind boggling.

When he was made the captain despite the pres ence of greats, these politi cians who are today decry ing his departure from BCCI never hailed the de cision and said that Ben galis were promoted. Gan guly was chosen because of his prowess and acu men and the rest is history.

We must remember that a BCCI president has never

been repeated since Inde pendence. Since there is no basis for the fact that some thing went wrong in the corridors of power, there’s no need to sour things un necessarily and demean the stature of such icons.

When Ganguly was made the board president, these politicians who are beating their chests today after he is stepping down, never hailed the decision then saying that a Bengali was given his due. Why didn’t they then taint the episode as a political one or why didn’t they cheer the fact that a Bengali was made the Board president? That time they remained silent.

Let’s not spoil the glory and stint that the gifted

Gujarat lesson: Every sinner has a future

The Gujarat gov ernment’s affi davit in the Bilkis Bano case has shift ed the focus on the prema ture release of 11 convicts from the state to the Cen tre. The affidavit filed by the Gujarat government in the Supreme Court on Monday stated that the re mission in sentence was allowed keeping in mind the good behaviour of the convicts and not in ac cordance with Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebra tions. The significant part of the affidavit was that the remission had the ap proval of the Union Home Ministry.

When the world was una ble to grasp the evolving and fast-changing scenar ios after Covid-19 broke out in 2020, the BCCI man aged to organise the de layed IPL for that year in Dubai, where the infection rates were far less.

l Domestic cricketers’ pay hike

After assuming the charge of the BCCI, Ganguly had clearly stated that his fo cus would be on first-class cricket. In a significant decision, Ganguly intro duced pay hikes for the cricketers who play in the domestic circuit.

l Appointing Rahul Dravid as coach Ganguly was instrumental in convincing his former colleague Rahul Dravid to become the men’s team’s head coach after his prede cessor Ravi Shastri stepped down. Also, VVS Laxman was given the charge of the National Cricket Academy after Dravid quit to become the Team India head coach. Ganguly had played an ac tive role in appointing Lax man to the NCA post as well.

WOMEN’S IPL

Bilkis Bano was gan graped in Gujarat’s Ran dhikpur village during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Seven members of her

family and her three-year old daughter were killed by the accused in front of her. She was pregnant at the time and was only 21

years of age.

The Supreme Court crit icized the Gujarat govern ment for filing a reply which lacked “application

The Gujarat govt’s affidavit in the Bilkis Bano case has shifted focus on premature release of 11 convicts from state to Centre. The affidavit filed by Gujarat govt in the Supreme Court on Monday stated that the remission in sentence was allowed keeping in mind good behaviour of convicts and not in accordance with Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations

of mind” and lacking fac tual statements. The re mission must give hope to others committing hei nous crimes like this.

southpaw had. He was an administrator for eight long years, including his stint in the CAB and later with the BCCI. Politicians do play their games but the common man must be aware of the facts and the fiction. Equating any moves with political intonations can easily undermine the stature of such greats.

SOURAV DADA’S ACHIEVEMENT AS A BCCI CHIEF Day/Night Test

l Ganguly’s BCCI was instrumental in hosting the first Day/Night Test (also called Pink Ball Test) in the country.

Then skipper Virat Kohli’s

Barely a few weeks ago, the outgoing BCCI president had announced the com mencement of the wom en’s IPL, which is likely to begin next year. In a letter to the state associations, Ganguly wrote as quoted by various media, “The BCCI is currently working on the much-awaited Wom en’s IPL. We are expecting to start the first season early next year.”

Let’s remember the glo rious past of such icons forever and not attach it or let’s not get entangled in such episodes and let Cricket remain Cricket. Let’s keep our passion for the game intact and hail the icons in the way they should be and let’s bleed blue for the game that is religion to us all… a game that actually unites India.

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. Bible

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda Today, giving another gift to our farmer brothers under the leadership of respected Prime Minister Shri @ narendramodi ji, the cabinet approved the increase in MSP of 6 Rabi crops for the marketing season 2023-24. Modi government determined to double the income of the donors. Thank you Prime Minister.

Amit Shah @AmitShah Modi ji is taking important steps one after the other to double the income of farmers and empower them. The increase in the MSP of 6 Rabi crops for the 2022-23 season by the cabinet shows Modi ji’s commitment towards farmer welfare. Thanks to Modi ji for this decision which gives relief to the farmers.

TOP TWEETS

Hada Sangwan

Media Pvt Ltd,

Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.

Dr

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

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

ROBIN ROY

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

BINNY REPLACES SOURAV AND JAY SHAH CONTINUES TO REMAIN SECY

KAPIL DEV WHO LIFTED THE FIRST-EVER WORLD CUP FOR INDIA IN 1983 HAD ROUGH WEATHER TOO WITH BOARD

I never believed in history but the feeling in the past was East lacked talent to play at that level. You don’t become an Ambani or Narendra Modi in one day. You have to work for months and years to get there.

—Sourav Ganguly, Former BCCI President

To

Whatsapp:

IN THE COURTYARD

STAY ON REMOVAL OF BHATTACHARYA AS WBBPE PREZ

Kolkata: The Supreme Court has put an interim stay on an order of the Calcutta High Court on removal of TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya as West Bengal Board of Primary Education president. But the court did not pass any order on the reappointment of Bhattacharya for that chair considering that the state govt has already replaced him after the Calcutta High Court order.

GoI SHUTS DOWN MDMA INTO RAJIV ASSASSINATION

‘Will restore glory of Dholavira & Lothal’

New Delhi (ANI):

Prime Minister Naren dra Modi virtually re viewed the progress of the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal in Gujarat on Tuesday and said that the government will bring back the glory of Dholavira and Lothal.

In his address via video conferencing, PM Modi said, “We’ll bring back the glory of Dhola vira and Lothal. We’re seeing rapid progress in this mission. Lothal was not only a major trading centre of the In dus Valley Civilisation, but it was also a symbol of India’s maritime power and prosperity. The way in which Lo thal was developed as a port city thousands of years ago still amazes

experts.” “An industry for the construction of ships used to be present thousands of years ago in Kutch. Big ships made in India were sold all over the world, and this indifference to wards heritage did a great loss to the country. This situation needs to change,” he added.

He cited the archaeo logical evidence and stated that India was a maritime power even thousands of years ago. He stressed that India was also a major part of major sea trade routes.

“We have archaeo logical evidence prov ing that even thousands of years ago, India was a maritime power and part of major sea trade routes... The heritage complex being built in

Lothal will be a great source of information for the common man about India’s rich mari time history spanning

New Delhi: The govt has wound up the 24-yearold Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) constituted to probe the wider conspiracy into the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, officials have said. MDMA was working under the CBI and comprised officers from multiple central security agencies.

IRCTC CASE: COURT SAYS NO TO CANCEL TEJASHWI’S BAIL

BJP meet to finalise Himachal candidates

New Delhi (PTI): The newly reconstituted Central Election Com mittee of the BJP met for the first time on Tuesday evening to finalise the party’s candidates for the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls sched uled for November 12.

New Delhi: A local court in Delhi on Tuesday advised Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav to be responsible and choose appropriate words while speaking in public. Meanwhile, the Court also refused to cancel the bail granted to Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) alleged scam.

WOMAN, PARTNER SENTENCED FOR KILLING HUSBAND

PM Narendra Modi, Union ministers Ra jnath Singh and Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda attended the meeting, among others.

The party had recent ly brought in several new faces in the CEC

centuries,” he said.

“The same splendour, the same power of thou sands of years ago is be ing rekindled on this

HIMACHAL POLLS 2022 Congress releases first list of 46 candidates

Shimla: After much de bate and discussion, Congress has finally re leased the first list of 46 candidates for the com ing assembly elections. In the first list all the prominent leaders have been accommodated.

Nadda welcomes PM Modi.

while dropping a few.

The CEC has new en trants such as BS Yedi urappa, Union minis ters Bhupender Yadav and Sarbananda Sonow al, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Om Mathur etc.

Public consultation on Nat’l Credit framework today

In Chamba dist, Yashwant Singh Khanna has been fielded from Churah (SC); Neeraj Nay yar from Chamba; Asha Kumari from Dalhousie and Kuldeep Singh Pathania from Bhattiyat.

In Kangra dist, Ajay Mahajan from Nurpur,

Bhawani Singh Pathania from Fatehpur; Chander Kumar from Jawali; Surinder Singh Manko tia from Jaswan-Pragpur, Sanjay Rattan from Jawalamukhi; Raghubir Singh Bali from Nagrota Bagwan; Kewal Singh Pathania from Shahpur, AICC Secretary Sudhir Sharma from Dharam shala; Ashish Butail from Palampur and Kishori Lal from Baijnath (SC).

In Lahaul-Spiti assembly seat, party has once again relied on former MLA Ravi Thakur.

earth. I am sure it will become a huge centre of attraction for tourists from all over the world. This complex is being developed to welcome thousands of tourists a day,” PM added.

He recalled the inci dents of history and said India had relations with all the civilisations of the world and the country’s maritime power had a big role to play in this.

“There are numerous stories of our history which we were made to forget. Ways were not explored to preserve them and pass them on to the next generations. We could have learnt so much from those inci dents. India’s maritime heritage is one such sub ject which is discussed very little,” he said.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set for another visit to his home state Gujarat on Wednesday, where he will dedicate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around Rs. 15,670 crores. During the two-day visit, Prime Minister Modi will cover Gandhi nagar, Junagadh, Rajkot, Kevadia, and Vyara, a state ment from Prime Minister’s Office said on Tuesday.

PM TO INAUGURATE 3-DAY HOUSING EVENT TODAY IN GUJ

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate ‘Indian Urban Housing Conclave-2022’ a three-day event being organised by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India from October 19 to 21 at Rajkot, Gujarat. Union Housing Minister Hardeep Puri, Union Minister of State (Housing) Kaushal Kishore and other dignitaries from Centre and States will also grace the occasion.

PM’S PRE-DIWALI TEMPLE RUN AHEAD OF ELECTIONS

New Delhi: Diwali festival this year will be a little different for PM Narendra Modi. He has a busy two days leading up to Diwali, Oct 24, as he goes temple-hopping in Uttarakhand and UP. This involves travel to Kedarnath and Badrinath on October 21, and then a trip to Ayodhya on Chhoti Diwali, Oct 23. The tem ple run comes very close to elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

We do not believe in hierarchical world order, says Rajnath Singh

Gandhinagar (PTI): Defence Minister Ra jnath Singh on Tuesday said India does not be lieve in a “hierarchical world order” where a few countries are considered superior to others.

India was steadfast in its commitment to pro vide support in all are nas to African countries, he said at the India-Afri ca Defence Dialogue (IADD-2022). A ‘Gandhi nagar Declaration’ to en hance cooperation in the fields of training and military exercises was adopted at the end of the event, organised on the

‘People not happy with collegium, it is govt’s job to appoint judges’

Ahmedabad (PTI): Un ion Law and Justice Min ister Kiren Rijiju said the people of the country are not happy with the collegium system and ac cording to the spirit of the Constitution, it is the government’s job to ap point judges.

time,” Rijiju said in re sponse to a question on the process of appoint ment of judges.

sidelines of Defence Expo 2020. “India does not believe in a hierar chical world order where a few countries are con sidered superior to oth ers,” Singh said.

“We do not believe in

making or becoming a client or satellite state, and so when we partner with any nation, it is on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual re spect,” the Defence Min ister further said.

Nat’l Tourist Police Scheme event today

First India Bureau

Kota: Three years after a man was killed by his wife’s lover, a court has sentenced woman and her partner to different jail terms. The court has given life term to Sanif Mohd, of Bhilwara, for murdering Abdul Vahid in 2019. Vahid’s wife Najma was awarded a jail term for her role in the conspiricy of murder.

New Delhi: Union Min ister Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a highlevel meeting with the committee preparing National Credit Frame work for School Educa tion, Higher Education and Skilling here on Tuesday. Secretary, School Education Anita Karwal; Secretary,

Higher Education San jay Murthy; Chairman, NCVET; Dr Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi and senior officials of the Educa tion and Skill Develop ment Ministry attended the meeting.

Pradhan gave his consent to start the pro cess of public consulta tion on the National Credit Framework from Wednesday.

Govt hikes wheat MSP by `110/qtl; 2-9% rise in MSP of 6 rabi crops

New Delhi (PTI): The govt on Tuesday hiked the minimum support price of six rabi crops by up to 9%, with Rs 110 per quintal increase for wheat crop to boost do mestic production and farmers’ income.

Wheat MSP has been raised by 5.45% to Rs 2,125 per quintal from Rs 2,015 per quintal to encourage more area under the crop amid tight govt stock position owing to low procure ment, fall in production and higher exports.

The decision to in crease the MSP of rabi crops for 2023-24 mar keting year was taken at a meeting of the Cab inet Committee on Eco nomic Affairs chaired by PM Narendra Modi, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said in a media briefing on Tuesday.

THAKUR TO OPEN MEGA CLEANLINESS DRIVES TODAY

New Delhi: Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur will inaugurate Mega Cleanliness Drives under Swachh Bharat 2022 from Chandani Chowk, Delhi on Wednesday. Similar Cleanliness Drives will be undertaken in all villages across the country. The aim is to consolidate the efforts of Swachh Bharat 2022 by Deptt. of Youth Affairs and its affiliate or ganizations namely NYKS and the NSS.

Speaking at ‘Sabar mati Samvad’ organised here by ‘Panchjanya’, a weekly magazine pub lished by the RSS, he said he has observed that half of the time judges are “preoccupied” with de ciding the appointments, due to which their pri mary job of delivering justice “suffers”.

The minister’s re marks came after he

had said at a conference in Udaipur last month that there is a need to rethink the collegium system of appoint ments to the higher ju diciary.

“Till 1993, every judge in India was ap pointed by the law min istry in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. We had very eminent judges at that

“The Constitution is clear about it. It says that the President of In dia will appoint judges, that means the law min istry will appoint judg es in consultation with the Chief Justice of In dia,” he said.

“The Supreme Court in 1993 defined consul tation as concurrence. In no other field has consultation been de fined as concurrence but in judicial appoint ments,” he said, adding that the collegium sys tem was expanded by the judiciary in 1998.

New Delhi: A day-long national conference of top police officers of states will be held in New Delhi on Wednes day on the effective im plementation of a uni form tourist police scheme across the coun try, the Tourism Minis try said on Tuesday.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will be the chief guest at the event.

Union Minister for Cul ture and Tourism G Kis han Reddy will also be present on the occasion.

The Ministry of Tour ism, in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the

STRENGTHENING TIES

Bureau of Police Re search and Development (BPR&D), is organising the national conference of director generals/in spector generals of po lice department of all states and Union territo ries “in connection with implementation of Uni form Tourist Police Scheme at Vigyan Bha wan in New Delhi on October 19 (Wednesday).

French delegation calls on MoS Jitendra Singh

France Minister informed MoS Dr Singh that French President Macron is likely to visit India in early 2023

First India Bureau

New Delhi: France Minister Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, cur rently on India visit, called on Union Minis ter of State (Independ ent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh at North Block, to discuss Indo-French col laboration in Nuclear Energy. She was accom panied by a high-level

French delegation.The two sides discussed ways to speed up the set ting up of the nuclear power reactors at Jaita pur site in Ratnagiri dis trict of Maharashtra by joint collaboration.

Indian Govt has al ready accorded ‘In-Prin ciple’ approval for set ting up six nuclear power reactors of 1650 MW each in technical coop

eration with France which would make it the largest nuclear power generating site with a to tal capacity of 9900 MW as part of an umbrella nuclear deal signed with France in Sept 2008.

(EPRs) at Jaitapur. In May, this year, a highlevel team from EDF visited India and held detailed talks with NPCIL officials.

Dr Singh assured the France Minister that the technical, financial and civil nuclear liabil ity issues will be re solved at the earliest by both the sides and well before the scheduled visit of the French pres ident Emmanuel Ma cron in early 2023 as an nounced by Chrysoula Zacharopoulou.

The French company EDF last year submit ted to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd its binding technocommercial offer to build six European Pressurised Reactors

First India Bureau

Dr Jitendra Singh in meeting with French delegation on Tuesday.

PM REVIEWS PROGRESS OF GUJ’S MARITIME HERITAGE COMPLEX

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews the progress of National Maritime Heritage Complex site at Lothal, Gujarat, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

PM MODI’S ANOTHER 2-DAY VISIT TO HOME STATE GUJARAT STARTS TODAY

Rajnath Singh at DefExpo 2022, in Gandhinagar, on Tuesday.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at a meeting on Tuesday.

NORMAL TIES WITH CHINA DEPEND ON PEACE ON BORDERS: JAISHANKAR

India’s search for a “more balanced” & “stable relationship” with China was severely impacted New Delhi (ANI): Ex ternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tues day said that peace and tranquillity in the bor der areas of India and China remain the basis for normal relations.

Speaking at the con ference of the Center for Contemporary Chi na Studies (CCCS) on “China’s Foreign Policy and International Rela tions in the New Era,” Jaishankar said, “Peace and tranquillity in the border areas clearly re main the basis for nor mal relations. From time to time, this has been mischievously conflated with the sort ing out of the boundary question.” He further said that the truth is that the prerequisite

has been and remains one much more modest, and even that was breached in 2020.

Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar shared the main points and said that India’s search for a more balanced and sta

KERALA HUMAN SACRIFICE CASE

Allegations of organ mafia unfounded, says Kochi Commissioner

Kochi (ANI): Kochi Po lice on Tuesday said that there is no organ mafia behind the mur der in the killing of two women for Human Sac rifice rituals.

Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Na garaju said, “Allega tions of organ mafia behind the murder are unfounded. Organ transplantation is not possible in unsanitary conditions. If you think in common sense it will not work. It is suspected that the main accused Muhammed Shafi has misled the co-accused in this regard.” He further said that there is techni cal evidence against the accused.

“There is no indica tion that there are more victims. Missing cases are being investigated. So far no evidence has been found about the link between missing cases and human sacri fice cases. Several phones have been seized from the accused. Mu hammed Shafi, who is the main accused muti lated the bodies. It is done in the butcher’s style,” Kochi Commis sioner said.

Meanwhile, Kochi DCP S Sasidharan said that the investigation is in process and lot of sci entific evidence against the accused. “There is

no evidence that the main accused, Mu hammed Shafi victim ized more people regard ing human sacrifice rit uals. The investigation is in progress. There is a lot of scientific evidence against the accused. An investigation is under way into the statements that the victim woman Padma’s phone was de stroyed. DNA samples of victim Padma’s rela tives were collected. This is for the conclu sive evidence,” DCP said.

Earlier on Monday, the Special Investiga tion Team, Kerala con ducted a potency test and collected DNA sam ples of three accused persons. “The accused identified as Mu hammed Shafi, Bhaga val Singh and Laila were taken to the Er nakulam Medical Col lege by the special inves tigation team, Kerala to collect the samples,” of ficials said.

ble relationship with China takes it across multiple domains and many options. “Given the developments of 2020, they obviously fo cus on an effective de fence of the border. This was notably undertaken

NPCL gives 7 days time to Omaxe Greens Society

Noida (FIB): Noida Power Company Limit ed has given 7 days’ time to Omaxe Putting Greens Society for pay ment of long outstand ing electricity bills.

NPCL on Tuesday has said that if the society does not pay the dues within 7 days, then it will be left with no oth er option and the elec tricity of the entire so ciety will be cut.

Omaxe Putting Greens Society owes Rs 82 lakh to NPCL. This due on Omaxe Putting Greens Society is about 10 months old. NPCL on Monday sent a final no tice to Omaxe Putting Greens Society, asking it to clear the dues with in 7 days.

Rahul Gandhi resumes march from Kurnool

DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATED Itanagar (PTI): The Indian Army is celebrat ing the diamond jubilee of the Battle of Walong which is as an example of bravery and sacrifice made by the brave hearts of the force in the face of Chinese ag gression in 1962. Sixty years ago the Indian Army gave a “bloody nose” to the Chinese in the Battle of Walong,

even in the midst of Covid,” he added. Refer ring to India and China tensions which intensi fied after the Galwan valley clash, Jaishankar said that establishing a way of life between New Delhi and Beijing after

Tezpur-based Defence spokesperson Lt Col AS Walia said. “The Indian Army launched its only counterattack during the war to stall the ad vancing PLA soldiers. The bravehearts of Indian Army held back the Chinese troops for 27 days, which forced them to deploy its reserve division from Tawang to Walong.

2020 is not easy. “Yet, it is a task that cannot be set aside. And this can only become sustaina ble on the basis of three mutuals: mutual re spect, mutual sensitivi ty and mutual interest,” EAM added in a tweet.

Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh) (ANI): Con gress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday as party leader Rahul Gandhi along with others reached Hala harvi village in the Kurnool district after a day’s break.

The 3,500-km yatra from Kanyakumari to

Rahul Gandhi interacting with Andhra farmers, in Kurnool, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Kashmir on Monday observed a “rest day” on the 40th day of the march in Sanganakal lu since its com mencement on Sep tember 7.

On the 41st day of the Yatra, Rahul Gan dhi resumed the march from the Hala harvi bus stop in Kur nool.

Bilkis convicts released with eye on elections: Cong New Delhi (Agencies): Congress questioned the Centre for preferential treatment given to the Bilkis Bano case con victs, alleging that it has been done for elections.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said that the Gujarat government affidavit “proves beyond a shadow of doubt.”

“It is repugnant, reprehensi

Roger Binny succeeds Sourav Ganguly as BCCI president

New Delhi (Agen cies): Former World Cup-winning all-round er Roger Binny was elected unopposed as the new Board of Con trol for Cricket in India (BCCI) president at the board’s latest Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, Oc tober 18th.

Binny, 67, replaces Sourav Ganguly as the board chief, ending the former India captain’s 3-year tenure at the top job.

Roger Binny took over officially as the board president during the BCCI Annual Gen eral Meeting (AGM) on October 18. Binny, who played 27 Tests and 72 ODIs for India between

BY ANI

1979 and 1987, has held key positions in admin istration in the Karna taka State Cricket As sociation over the years.

Adani Defence & Aerospace to acquire Air Works for `400 cr

Ahmedabad (ANI):

Adani Defence Systems & Technologies (AD STL) has signed defini tive agreements to ac quire Air Works in a Rs 400 crore deal.

The company said on Tuesday that Air Works was the country’s big gest and highly-diversi fied independent main tenance, repair and op erations (MRO) with the largest pan-India net work presence across 27 cities. Air Works had developed operational capabilities within the

country for key defence and aerospace plat forms, the company said. From the first P-8I aircraft Phase 32 checks to Phase 48 checks and MRO on the landing gear of the Indian Air Force’s 737 VVIP air

FEATHER IN THE CAP

craft, Air Works under takes base maintenance for Air Transportation Rack (ATR) 42/72, A320 and B737 fleet of aircraft from its EASA and DG CA-certified facilities at Mumbai, Delhi, Hosur and Kochi.

He has been the pres ident of the KSCA since 2019. Binny also served as the national selector for the men’s cricket team in the past.

Mulayam’s ashes to be immersed in Prayagraj today

Etawah (PTI): The ashes of Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav will be im mersed at the Sangam in Prayagraj on Wednes day, family sources said.

The family of Yadav, led by his son and party president Akhilesh Ya dav, had on Monday im mersed ashes of the late leader in the Ganga in Haridwar. For the im mersion in Prayagraj, the family will leave by plane from Saifai air strip at 11 am, the sourc es said.

Promotion on the cards for over 70 IPS officers from UP

Lucknow: With the coming of new years 2023, the Uttar Praesh bureaucracy will wit ness promotion of more than 70 IPS officers of the state. In this, ‘cap tains’ of 5 districts of UP will become DIGs and 5 DIGs will also be promoted as IGs.

Although there is no vacancy in the rank of DG from ADG, some of ficers will not be able to get the benefit of pro motion, but those

ble and revolting that an elected government chose to release these convicts in such a cavalier manner.

The grant of premature release to the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case is a stain on this government’s legacy that will never wash off,” he told reporters. Sin ghvi said when the release was ordered on August 15, the Modi government

maintained a studied and deliberate silence on free ing the criminals, an action which has drawn legitimate criticism the world over and “exposed our system to widespread shame and ridicule”. “The fact that the Modi government actively suppressed this fact shows that even it was aware that the action was a condemn able one,” he noted.

CRUCIAL READ

BROWN SUGAR VALUED AT OVER `1 CRORE SEIZED IN ODISHA’S BALASORE Bhubaneswar (Agencies): Brown sugar weighing 1.6 kg valued at over Rs 1 crore in the international market was seized in Odisha’s Balasore district, police said on Tuesday. Based on intelligence input, a team of the special task force (STF) of the Odisha crime branch conducted a raid near Balasore railway station on Monday and seized the narcotic drugs from the possession of two drug peddlers, the police said. The arrested person is identified as Sk Raju and Amzad Khan, both residents of the Balasore district.

servinng currently as IG, will get the benefit of promotion in the rank of ADG. In the IPS officers who are to be promoted in UP, 9 IPS officers of 2019 batch

will become SP from ASP. Moreover, the names of 11 IPS officers of 2009 batch will be considered.

Thiruvananthapuram (Agencies): A week after rape charges were filed against Eldhose Kun nappilly, the Congress legislator from Kerala’s Perumbavoor constituen cy is likely to be charged with attempt to murder, sources said. A source said that the investigation team is “seriously con sidering” including the attempt to murder charge against him.

MVA claims...

BJP-Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena alliance, based on the purported political affiliations of the winning candidates.

However, sources in the Maharashtra state elec tion commission (SEC) have reiterated that “the GP elections were not contested on party sym bols” and declined to comment on the claims of various parties.

After the final results emerged late on Monday evening, the BJP has contended that it bagged more than 230 GPs, while Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Bala sahebanchi Shiv Sena secured around 110 seats, taking their col lective total to 340.

On the other hand, the NCP has claimed to have bagged 155 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) 150 seats and the Congress 140 seats--tallying to 445 seats, with the remain ing seats going to inde pendents and other can didates.

Additionally, candi dates in 86 GPs were elected unopposed and polls were held for the remaining 1,079 GPs on Sunday.

Trashing BJP’s asser tions, NCP’s Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar asked, “How did they ar rive at their so-called victory figures... when the polls are not fought on party-lines?” He add ed that all such claims are “false”.

Referring to the re bels led by Shinde, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the ‘gaddaars’ (trai tors) have been taught a sound lesson in the GP elections.

Meanwhile, Congress Chief Spokesperson, Atul Londe said that the party has been on a con stant winning spree in all the local elections over the past few months.

NCP Chief Spokes person, Mahesh Tapase, said that the MVA allies have made inroads even into areas where they had no presence till now.

“The people have totally dumped the leadership of the Shinde Group MLAs in their own con stituencies in the GP polls... The MVA has performed exceedingly well and the NCP has picked up around 190 GPs,” he said.

Ahtesham Siddiqui

Bahraich SP KK Chaudhary, Jaunpur SP

Ajay Kumar Sahni, Ba reilly SSP Akhilesh Ku mar Chaurasia, Pilibhit SP Dinesh P and Ghazi abad SSP Muniraj are sure to get promoted. This year only 6 DIGs,

of 2005 batch, will be able to become IG. Ali garh Range DIG Deep ak Kumar, Gorakhpur Range DIG J Ravinder Gour, Basti Range DIG RK Bhardwaj, Devipa

tan DIG Upendra Agar wal and Azamgarh DIG Akhilesh Kumar are the officers whose names have been in cluded in the promo tion list.

MLA LIKELY TO BE CHARGED WITH ATTEMPT TO MURDER

COUPLE MURDERED, BODIES DUMPED INTO RIVER

Roger Binny, Rajeev Shukla, Jay Shah, Ashish Shelar and others at the 91st AGM of BCCI, at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai on Tuesday.

EAM Dr S Jaishankar delivers the keynote address at a conference of CCCS, in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

CONG’S BHARAT JODO YATRA ENTERS ANDHRA PRADESH

IPS Dinesh Kumar IPS Ajay Sahni

IPS Keshav Kumar

IPS Muniraj

IPS Akhilesh Chaurasia

ICB APPROVES WOMEN’S IPL AT AGM New Delhi (Agencies): The general body of the BCCI on Tuesday approved the conduct of a separate leagueformat T20 tournament for women cricketers, the WIPL. The demand for WIPL has been growing for some years now, and BCCI secretary Jay Shah was pushing hard for it, said a senior source in the BCCI.

—PHOTO

Bagalkot (Agencies): In a case of honour killing, a minor girl and her lover were murdered and their bodies dumped in Krishna river, police said on Tuesday. According to the Bagalkot Rural Police police, the incident took place in the early hours of October 1 when the minor girl’s family took her and 22-year-old Vishwanatha Nelagi out on the pretext of uniting them.

business

NISSAN TO DRIVE IN GLOBAL PRODUCTS INTO INDIAN MARKET

Wheat MSP hiked by ` 110 to ` 2,125/qtl

New Delhi (PTI): The gov ernment on Tuesday hiked the minimum support price for wheat by ` 110 to `2,125 per quintal and mus tard by ` 400 to ` 5,450 per quintal for the current crop year to boost the produc tion and income of the farmers.

sons. Sowing of rabi (win ter) crops begins in October, immediately after the har vest of kharif (summer) crops. Wheat and mustard are major rabi crops.

New Delhi: Japanese au tomaker Nissan is looking to drive in its global sports utility vehicles, in cluding X-Trail into the In dian market, as it looks to strengthen its presence in the country, a top compa ny official said on Tues day. The company, which currently sells models like Magnite and Kicks in the country, is looking to drive in models like XTrail, Juke and Qashqai into the country. On Tues day, the automaker an nounced that it is study ing the feasibility of XTrail and Qashqai for the Indian market.

GOLD FALLS BY `10 BUT SILVER PRICES GO UP BY `774

The decision to increase the MSPs (minimum sup port prices) of six rabi crops was taken at a meet ing of the Cabinet Commit tee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

MSP is the rate at which the government buys grain from farmers. Currently, the government fixes MSPs for 23 crops grown in both the Kharif and rabi sea

According to an official release, the CCEA has ap proved an increase in MSPs for six rabi crops for the 2022-23 crop year (JulyJune) and the 2023-24 mar keting season (Apr-March).

The absolute highest in crease in MSP has been approved for lentil (Mas ur) by `500 per quintal, fol lowed by rapeseed and mustard by `400 per quin tal, it said. Wheat MSP has been increased by `110 to ` 2,125 per quintal for this crop year from ` 2,015 per quintal in the 2021-22

crop year.

The cost of production of wheat is estimated at ` 1,065 per quintal, the re lease said.

Briefing media, Infor mation and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur

SCINDIA URGES STATES TO REDUCE TAX ON JET FUEL

said the government has ensured a 100% return over the cost of production in the case of wheat and mustard. Whereas in the other four rabi crops, it is between 50 to 85% return over cost of production, he

Air India aims 30% int’l market share in 5 years

MSP = MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICES

z The decision to increase the MSPs (minimum support prices) of six rabi crops was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

z MSP is the rate at which the government buys grain from farmers

added. Asked if the hike in MSP of rabi crops would lead to food inflation, the minister said the inflation in India is under control in comparison with other countries. The support price of barley was hiked

OTHER STORIES

by `100 to `1,735 per quintal for the 2022-23 crop year from ` 1,635 per quintal in the previous year.

Among pulses, the MSP for gram has been in creased by `105 to `5,335 per quintal from ` 5,230 per quintal, while for lentil (Masur), it was hiked by ` 500 to ` 6,000 per quintal from `5,500 per quintal.

In the case of oilseeds, the government has in creased the MSP for mus tard seed by ` 400 to ` 5,450 per quintal for the 2022-23 crop year from ` 5,050 per quintal in the previous year.

The MSP for safflower has been raised by ` 209 to ` 5,650 per quintal from `5,441 per quintal.

NCLT EXTENDS RELIANCE CAPITAL RESOLUTION PROCESS DEADLINE TO JANUARY 31

New Delhi: Gold prices in the national capital fell `10 to `50,783 per 10 grams on Tuesday amid appreciation in rupee, ac cording to HDFC Securi ties. In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at `50,793 per 10 grams. Silver, however, climbed `774 to `57,064 per kilogram from `56,290 per kg. In the in ternational market, gold was trading in green at $1,657 per ounce while silver was up at $18.91 per ounce.

ONGC BIDS FOR 20% STAKE IN RUSSIA’S SAKHALIN-1

New Delhi (PTI): Union Civil Aviation Minister Jy otiraditya Scindia on Tues day said there is a huge demand for air travel after the pandemic and urged eight states and UTs to re duce the tax on jet fuel.

Air traffic growth will be driven by smaller cities, he said and emphasised the need for developing airport infrastructure in such places.

The domestic air traffic is inching closer to preCOVID level and in recent times, the daily passenger numbers crossed the four lakh mark twice.

Scindia said that VAT on jet fuel is still high in eight states and Union Territo ries in the range of 20-30% and urged them to reduce the rate.

The minister requested Goa, Assam, Delhi, Maha rashtra, West Bengal, Ra jasthan, Bihar and Tamil

TOP TALKING POINTS

z The domestic air traffic is inching closer to preCoronavirus-pandemic (COVID-19) level and in recent times, the daily passenger numbers crossed the four lakh mark twice

Nadu to reduce the VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).

“New growth to come from Tier 2 and 3 cities,” he

z Scindia said VAT on jet fuel is still high in eight states and Union Territories in the range of 20-30% and urged them to reduce the rate

z The minister requested Goa, Assam, Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar and TN to reduce the VAT

said and emphasised the need to bring down entry barriers in the context of high VAT on jet fuel in some states.

New Delhi (PTI): Air In dia chief Campbell Wilson on Tuesday said the airline aims to have 30% share in both domestic and interna tional markets in the next five years.

Currently, the loss-mak ing carrier, which was tak en over by Tata group in January, has put in place the revival plan ‘Vihaan. AI’. Air India aims to have 30% share in domestic and international markets in the next five years, Wilson, who is the MD & CEO said.

Currently, the airline has a domestic market share of 10% and an international market share of 12%.

According to Wilson, the airline will triple its fleet in the next five years.

New Delhi: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has for the third time extended the deadline for debt-ridden Reliance Capi tal’s resolution process to January 31. The earlier deadline was November 1, 2022. This is the third extension as the timeline has been extended twice in the past, sources said. As per the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) rules, the admin istrator had to originally close the resolution of RCL within 180 days, by June 3, 2022. Earlier, the lenders of Reliance Capital had given an extension of 30 days to the bidders for submission of binding bids, along with an EMD of `75 crore, by October 31.

SBI HIKES SAVINGS DEPOSIT RATE BY 0.3%

FOR ` 10 CR & ABOVE

AMBUJA ALLOTS 47.74 CRORE WARRANTS TO ADANI FAMILY FIRM

New Delhi: ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natu ral Gas Corporation (ONGC), is making a pro posal to retake 20% stake in Russia’s Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in the far east, sources said. Rus sian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month disbanded Exxon Neftegaz as operator of the Sakha lin-1 and transferred the project and all of its as sets and equipment to a new operator. OVL is in the process of applying to regain the 20% stake it held in the project, three sources aware of the matter said.

CORPORATE FUNDING IN GLOBAL SOLAR SECTOR FALLS 18%

Sensex up for 3rd day, ends 550 pts higher

Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark indices rallied for the third day in a row on Tuesday amid firm global market trends and buying in index major Reliance In dustries. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 549.62 points or 0.94% to settle at 58,960.60. During the day, it zoomed 732.68 points or 1.25% to 59,143.66.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 175.15

Drones can help create $100-bn GDP boost

New Delhi: Corporate funding in the global solar sector declined by 18% year-on-year to $18.7 bil lion in January-Septem ber 2022, according to a Mercom Capital report. Corporate funding in cludes venture capital and private equity (VC), debt financing, and public market financing. “Total corporate funding in 9M 2022 (first nine months) stood at $18.7 billion, 18% lower compared to $22.8 billion raised in 9M 2021.

Gandhinagar (PTI): Put ting drones at the centre of a technology-led transfor mation of Indian agricul ture can help boost the country’s GDP by 1-1.5% and create at least five lakh jobs in the coming years, the World Economic Fo rum said in a new report on Tuesday.

The report, prepared by WEF’s Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution in India in collaboration with Adani Group and launched here, outlined the potential for drone-based transfor mation of Indian agricul

ture. It also outlines use cases for drones, fusing military and civilian tech nologies enabled by digital adoption, analytics, digital financing and a well-coor dinated local stakeholder effort and provides a frame work for development of scalable pilots that can be implemented by various governments, WEF said.

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee pared its initial gains to close 7 paise down at 82.37 (provisional) against the US dollar in a restricted trade on Tuesday. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 82.21 against the greenback. It witnessed an intra-day high of 82.02 and a low of 82.37 against the American currency during the session. It finally ended at 82.37 against the US dol lar, down 7 paise from its previous close of 82.30.

points or 1.01% to end at 17,486.95. State Bank of In dia (SBI) was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, followed by ITC, Nestle, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd

Bank, Mahindra & Mahin dra, RIL and Larsen & Tou bro. HDFC, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Sun Pharma were the laggards.

IN LAST 12 MONTHS

Mumbai: A day after lowering the deposits for small savers (under `10 crore in savings deposits by 5 bps to 2.70% per an num, State Bank on Tuesday increased the savings deposit rates by 30 bps for large accounts. The bank said the new pricing of 30 bps more on deposits, is applicable for `10 crore and above, and is effective from October 15. Banks have been witnessing flight of money to other asset classes even as they were lending more. While interest rates for saving bank deposits below `10 crore remains unchanged at 2.70 percent.

New Delhi: Ambuja Cements Ltd on Tuesday said it has issued 47.74 crore warrants to Adani family firm Harmonia Trade and Invest ment and raised `5,000 crore. Ambuja Cement, now a part of Adani Cement, has issued 47.74 crore warrants at a price band of `418.87, said a regu latory filing by the company. As per the terms and condi tions, the Adani group family has contributed `5,000.15 crore, which is “25% of the Limited issued price”, it added. The warrants issued on a preferential issues basis to Adani Group firm have a face value of `2, it added.

MERCHANT BANKERS CAN’T UNDERTAKE ANY BIZ OTHER THAN THOSE RELATED TO SECURITIES MKT

New Delhi : A merchant banker cannot carry on any business other than those pertaining to the securities market, accord ing to the capital markets regulator Sebi. Providing an informal guidance in this regard to PNB Investment Services, Sebi indicated that its views might differ on a case-to-case basis. The clarification came after PNB Investment Ser vices, which is registered as a merchant banker, sought informal guidance on whether it can act as a direct selling agent by starting a fresh business vertical for marketing retail products such as home loans, car loans on behalf of PNB or other banks.

5G, telecom jobs in India see 33.7% growth

Mumbai (PTI): Job post ings for 5G and telecommu nications have witnessed significant uptick in the last 12 months, as enter prises are looking at 5G adoption at an accelerated pace, says a report.

According to global job site Indeed, job postings for telecommunications and 5G have increased by 33.7% between September 2021 and September 2022.

“5G rollout has been ea gerly anticipated in India, and businesses have al ready begun hiring to de velop 5G-specific technolo gy and services. With enter

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

z According to global job site Indeed, job postings for telecommunications and 5G have increased by 33.7% between September 2021 and September 2022

z Clicks for Customer Service Representatives and Operations Associates have increased by 13.91% & 8.22%, resp in last 1 month

there will be an increased need for skilled talent that can design security sys tems and strengthen net work architectures to adapt to the new technology, he noted. The report further noted that clicks for Cus tomer Service Representa tives and Operations Asso ciates have increased by 13.91% and 8.22%, respec tively, in the last one month.

prises looking at 5G adop tion at an accelerated pace, we will likely see an uptick in hiring for these roles in

the next few quarters,” In deed India Career Expert Saumitra Chand said.

This also means that

The data also revealed that the average salary for top job roles such as techni cal support, BPO executive and customer service rep resentative was ` 3,53,298, `3,29,520 and `3,06,680.

Duty is not a negative word, Duty does not hinder, it

and satisfaction.

a sure path, one can stride with

NCB seizes 7 kg cocaine worth `30 crore, 5 held

3 nabbed for smuggling 7,500 tablets of Nitrazepam

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Narcot ics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested three persons for al legedly smuggling 7,500 Nitrazepam tab lets in Mumbai, an of ficial said on Tuesday.

‘Godrej & Boyce creating hurdles for land takeover’

First India Bureau

Mumbai (PTI): The Narcotics Control Bu reau (NCB) has seized 7 kg of cocaine worth Rs30 crore and ar rested five persons four of whom are Af rican nationals in operations conducted in New Delhi and Mumbai, said an offi cial on Tuesday.

Two women an Indi an and an Ethiopian were among those ap prehended.

In a joint operation, the NCB’s Mumbai and Delhi units recovered 4.9 kg of cocaine from a woman in the Tilak Na gar area of New Delhi on October 13.

A probe revealed the drug was sourced from a hotel in the Masjid Bandar area of Mum bai. In an immediate follow-up action, two Ethiopian nationals, who had allegedly given the trolley bag to the woman, were appre hended on October 14, he said.

Following further in vestigations, two more Ethiopian nationals, in cluding a woman, were nabbed from a hotel in

50-YR-OLD KNOCKED DOWN BY TANKER IN CHEMBUR AREA DIES; DRIVER HELD

Mumbai: A 50-year-old man died after a tanker rammed into him in the eastern suburb of Chembur. The incident took place on Monday at Vashi naka, where a tanker knocked down a man who was walking with his wife, an official from RCF police said. The impact was so severe that the man died on the spot, he said, adding that the tanker driver who attempted to flee was caught by locals. Based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s wife, a case under sections 279 (rash driving), 304-A (causing death by negligence) and other relevant provisions of the IPC and Motor Vehicles Act has been registered against the arrested accused, the official said.

Masjid Bandar.

At least 2 kg of co caine was recovered from a similar trolley bag and USD 8,000 in cash was seized from the duo’s possession.

In all, cocaine weigh ing nearly 7 kg and val ued at around Rs30 crore was seized by the drug law enforcement agency.

Investigations have revealed the arrested accused were part of a syndicate being man

aged by Nigerian drug traffickers, he said.

The woman arrested from Delhi is the wife of one of the kingpins op erating the drug syndi cate from Delhi.

The contraband was to be delivered to other kingpins in Delhi and further distributed to other parts of the coun try, he added.

GOOD AS NEW

The NCB’s Mumbai zonal unit had received information that a con signment of tablets was being transshipped by a local courier from Ahmedabad to the west ern suburb of Borivali.

Based on a tip-off, the NCB team laid a trap on October 04 and appre hended the receiver who arrived there to collect the consign ment, he said.

The official further added that the consign ment contained 7,500 tablets of Nitrazepam, which did not have proper documentation.

The anti-drug agency then arrested two other accused from different parts of the city on Oc tober 14 and 17.

Mumbai: Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd “had left no stone unturned” to create unnecessary hurdles in the state’s way to acquire the land owned by the company, for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, the state government told Bombay High Court on Tuesday.

A division bench of justices Nitin Jamdar and Sharmila Desh mukh was hearing a petition filed by Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd, challenging the state government’s or der of September 15, 2022, awarding compen sation to it for acquir ing land for the bullet train project.

The company, in its petition, requested the high court to instruct the state government to not begin the process of awarding compensa tion, and initiate pos session proceedings.

The state government,

in its affidavit filed by Deputy Collector (Land Acquisition) Jagatsing Girase, termed the com pany’s allegations as frivolous, baseless, un warranted and unsub stantiated. It also in formed the court that its acquiring body had al ready deposited a sum of approximately Rs264 crore towards compen sation on October 17.

“The respondent au thorities are making every effort to ensure that the project does not face hurdles…even ca tered to the whims and fancies of the petition er…. Yet…unreasona ble demands are ever increasing and chang ing as per their caprice and this has led to esca

Since 2019, the company and govt have been embroiled in legal battle over Vikhroli land

lation of the cost of the project approximately by more than Rs1,000 crore,” the affidavit stated.

According to the state government, several ne gotiations were held for an amicable resolution of the issue without success, leaving the government with no al ternative but to proceed with the acquisition of the alternate land iden tified and owned by the company.

SC to hear Aarey matter on Nov 02

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The mat ter of the felling of trees at Mumbai’s Aarey Colony, the site for a metro car shed project, will come up for hearing on Novem ber 02 in the Supreme Court. The matter was mentioned on Tues day before a bench comprising Chief Jus tice UU Lalit and Jus tice Bela M Trivedi.

Sachin Joshi discharged in money laundering case

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Mumbai police have arrested a 39-year-old man for alleged possession of swords in the western suburb of Oshiwara here. Acting on a tip-off, the po lice on Monday raided the house of the accused in Gulshan Nagar locality of Oshiwara and recovered six swords, the official of Mumbai crime branch’s unit 9 said. The accused, who supplies building ma terials, has a past record of five cases against him. While the police are yet to ascertain why the accused had so many swords in his possession, a case under the Arms Act has been registered in this regard.

Thane: Kalyan police arrested a 45-year-old man for allegedly raping a minor. The accused, identified as Sanjay Ban sode, sexually assaulted his 12-year-old neighbour. Bansode was arrested on October 17. Senior Police Inspector of Bazar Peth police station NM Patil said, “While she (kid) was playing outside her house, the accused Sanjay Bansode called her into the house and sexually assaulted her. In the even ing the minor complained about stomach ache and informed her parents about the incident. The parents promptly filed a complaint and a case has been lodged.”

NAVI MUMBAI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION PARTICIPATES IN E-VEHICLE EXHIBITION

Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) recently took on a collaborative role in organizing an international exhibition on electric vehicles, charging stations, batteries and allied services, maintaining an environmental perspective.

Drive Electric Expo, organ ized at CIDCO Exhibition Center on October 14 and 15, was attended by renowned industry groups in the country related to electric vehicles and equipment. In this exhibition, NMMC also set up a public awareness stall which high lighted the need to increase the use of electric vehicles in today’s changing era, keeping in mind the shortage of fuel. More than thousand visitors visited the stall of NMMC and appreciated the environmental works of the corporation.

Mumbai: A special court discharged ac tor-businessman Sachin Joshi here on Tuesday from a mon ey laundering case registered against him by the Enforce ment Directorate (ED) in connection with city-based firm Omkar Realtors and

Developers. Special Judge MG Deshpande, designated to hear cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), discharged Joshi from the case.

Two other accused in the case, Kamal Kishore Gupta (62), Babulal Varma (51) also granted relief; the duo is currently in judicial custody

Joshi was arrested in February 2021 and was later granted in terim bail by the Su preme Court on medi cal grounds. In March 2022, the special court granted Joshi bail on

merits noting that pri ma facie no money laundering case was made out against him.

Joshi’s counsel Aabad Ponda and ad vocate Subhash Jad hav of Parinam Law Associates argued that there was no evidence of alleged money laun dering as claimed by the Central probe agency.

The apex court had been told by the Mum bai Metro Rail Corpora tion Ltd (MMRCL) on August 05 that no trees had been cut in Aarey Colony since October 2019. On August 24, the Supreme Court had di

rected the MMRCL to strictly abide by its un dertaking that “no trees will be cut in Aarey Colony” and warned that any violation would result in strict action.

The counsel, who mentioned the case, said the work for the Metro car shed was con tinuing, and as a result, the court may be pre sented with a fait ac compli. “As prayed for, let this matter be not deleted from the noti fied date,” the apex court said in its order. In 2019, the apex court had taken suo motu cognizance of a letter seeking a stay on the felling of trees in Aarey Colony.

Big-hitting Ruturaj fires Maharashtra to 40-run victory

lll

Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad went on a six-hitting spree, clubbing 7 maximums and 8 fours in his 114 off 68-balls in Elite group C match of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

First India Bureau

Chandigarh: Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a scintillating hundred to power Maharash tra to a 40-run win over Kerala in an Elite group C match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Tuesday.

Opting to bat, skipper Gaikwad went on a sixhitting spree, clubbing seven maximums and eight fours in his 68-ball 114, to single-handedly take Maharashtra to 167 for four.

In reply, Kerala could manage 127 for eight in their stipulated 20 overs, with Rohan Kun nummal top-scoring with a 44-ball 58 at the top.

SCORE CARD

splendid bowling per formances by Vidhwath Kaverappa (3/22) and V Koushik (3/5).

Karnataka, who had finished runners-up in the last edition, bun dled out Arunachal Pradesh for 75 runs in 19.2 overs, and then re turned to overhaul the target in 6.5 overs.

For Maharashtra, Satyajeet Bachhav (3/11) and Azim Kazi (2/25) took three and two wickets respective ly, while Rajvardhan Hangargekar (1/16) and

Shamshuzama Kazi (1/8) accounted for one each. In another match, Karnataka trounced Arunachal Pradesh by 10 wickets, riding on

The Karnataka team is leading the group C points table in the tournament with 16 points secured from five matches, followed by Haryana and Ser vices teams.

—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,

MAN ARRESTED FOR POSSESSION OF SWORDS

NEIGHBOUR RAPES MINOR, ARRESTED; REMAND TILL THURS

CRUCIAL READ

POWER PLAY

Maintenance work was undertaken on runways of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on Tuesday. The airport was shut down from 11 am to 5 pm to facilitate repairs and services resumed after six hours later in the day.

—PHOTO BY PTI

BARTER SYSTEM

Drug syndicate had a meeting with drug carriers in Ethiopia. Seen here is an African national caught with drugs. –FILE PHOTO

Four accused arrested are African nationals part of syndicate managed by Nigerian drug traffickers

Environmentalists and activists have opposed the cutting of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony. —FILE PHOTO

FIRST INDIA

QUEEN & THE SHOW BEGINS...

First India and Bharat24-Vision of New India present First India Queen kicked off on Tuesday at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai. City First brings to you glimpses from the training and grooming sessions and highlights the associate partners in various fields behind the magnificent show!

irst India Queen, where beauties from pan In dia will compete for the privileged titles and crowns, at Hotel Saha ra Star in Mumbai on October 21, revealed its top 30 finalists recently!

First India Queen, a nationallevel beauty pageant reinforces the values of teamwork and ca maraderie in quality & struc tured environment. The brand encourages women to be spon taneous, confident, unhindered and free as they live. The pag eant would have been truly in complete without the love and support of our partners.

Tuesday witnessed a very in teractive session with Den tokraftt by Dr Nida Khateeb and another session with Skinworks by Dr Priti Shenai. More than a hundred talented and ravishing women from across the country walked the ramp and showcased their talent during various audi tions rounds held across multi ple cities. Grooming and train ing sessions were held where contestants prepared in various aspects to enhance self-confi dence while walking the ramp, personality enhancement, nu trition, fitness and other areas of development that are needed to become a professional model.

Parimal Mehhta, FounderBlanckanvas Media Pvt Ltd said, “First India Queen cele brates the philosophy of living your flow, of being in sync with the universe so that nothing comes in your way of achieving your dreams. First India Queen embodies the same spirit with each contestant being sponta neous, confident, and breaking stereotypes fearlessly. It is a very organic association for us.” He further added, “We are extremely excited and gratified to organise this season. It is go ing to be a journey of hard work and perseverance filled with countless worthwhile moments for the contestants.”

First India Queen is cu rated by Blanckanvas Me dia and the finale will be choreographed by Parimal

Mehhta. Apart from cash

MITALI DUSAD mitalidusad01@gmail.com

Dr Priti Shenai- Skin Works with the top 30 finalists of First India Queen

The beautiful Grand Finale Venue, Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai

Rajendra Jain, MD SVAR Group

Crowning Partner

Kavita Kharayat-

Walk Mentor

Reflections of perfection

Stunning

Divisha Paliwal,

Gaurva

Toshi

(L-R)

JD Maheshwari

ramp

Himmat Singh

Jagdeesh Chandra addressing the audience

Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Shubhda Panwar, Muskan Kamdar, Akanksha Bhalla,

Tiwari, Muskan Khariwal and Tripti Arora walking the ramp. Also seen is Gaurav Gaur.

Sheena Parashar, Yasheel Pandel, Manisha Pandel, Shweta Raje,

Agrawal and Devshree Hada

Soni

and

Ruchi Pathak and Devshree Hada Kritika Solanki

—PHOTOS BY SUNIL SHARMA AND MUKESH KIRADOO

ELITE MISS RAJASTHAN 2022

CROWN OF SUCCESS!

The momentous grand finale of the 9th edition of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2022 was organised at Samskara Resort on Ajmer Road on Sunday, October 16. City First brings to you some more glimpses from pure fashion show!

The glance of beauty and fashion was seen in the grand finale of the 9th edi tion of Rajasthan’s biggest and most prestigious beau ty pageant Elite Miss Ra jasthan 2022 held at at Sam skara Resort on Ajmer Road on Sunday. During the grand show, Shweta Raje won the crown of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2022 fol lowed by Taj Devshree Hada and Sheena Parashar as the first and second runner up respectively. While Varuna vi Singh, Disha Nareda and Shivangi Singh Rao were de clared runner-ups.

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra graced the program as the chief guest and mo tivated the finalists. Directors of Elite Miss Rajasthan Gaurav Gaur, Anil Bhattar, Ajit Soni, PN Doody, Nakul Vijay, Yasheel Pandel and Patron of the program JD Ma

heshwari appreciated the winners for their bright future.

During the finale, Charvi Tanya Dutta, Aditi Hundai, Himmat Singh and Akanksha Bhalla were present as judges to test all the contestants. The event took place in five design er sequence rounds, the first round showcased designer Varsha Jan gid’s western designer collection. In the second round, the girls per formed the ramp walk with 32 saris of Bhaiya who came from Bagru. This was followed by a multi-de signer round, wherein 17 eminent designers from Rajasthan show cased their collection, in which the top 15 girls were shortlisted by the jury. After which the question an swer round with the top 6 selected from all the contestants was fol lowed by the finale round in the fashion designer Heena Balani’s Garments crowned the winner of this season. Meanwhile, the girls’ title announcement round was also special. The judges announced the top 3 on the basis of talent, confi dence and introduction of the mod els. Many eminent fashion design ers and industry celebrities were also present during the event.

KAVITA CHAUHAN cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

(L-R) Rewati Upadhyay, Charvi Tanya Dutta, Akanksha Bhalla, Gaurav Gaur, Shweta Raje, Astha Khandelwal, Shrishti Khatri, Rutvi Tiwari, Aditi Hundai and Isha Agarwal during the grand finale of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2022

Clockwise: Priya Yadav, Tanu Chaudhary, Khushi Vijayvargiya and Sonam

Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R)

Shubhda Panwar, Muskan Kamdar, Akanksha Bhalla, Navya Tiwari, Muskan Khariwal and Tripti Arora