First India-Mumbai Edition-21st October 2022

Maha to fill 75K non-MPSC vacancies, set up NITI Aayog-like body

2,800 SHGs also planned to provide skills development training to women from minority communities in Marathwada, Vidarbha & North Maha

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The state government on Thurs day announced that it will fill up vacancies for 75,000 posts which fall outside the purview of the Maharashtra Public Service Com mission (MPSC).

In another decision, a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minis ter Eknath Shinde ap proved a proposal to set

up the Maharashtra Institution for Trans formation on the lines of the NITI Aayog to provide guidance to the state government on policy, a statement from his office said.

TCS and IBPS will conduct examinations for recruitment of 75,000 class-B, class-C and class-D non-gazet ted employees, the cabi net decided.

The cabinet approved

a proposal to waive crop loans of a total of Rs964.15 crore taken by farmers from land de velopment banks. The assets and properties

of land development banks will be trans ferred to the state gov ernment, the release said.

To improve farmers’

RAIGAD TO GET `20K CR PAPER UNIT Mumbai (PTI): A cabinet sub committee meet ing on industries chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday approved a paper manufacturing project in Raigad district at an estimated cost of Rs20,000 crore. A 300-acre plot in Dherand in Raigad has been earmarked for the project, which will see investment by Indonesian paper and pulp manufacturing firm SinarMas—its first in the country. The cabinet sub committee on industries also decided to provide incentives to 11 industrial units, which will enable them to get benefits to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore, the official added.

rashtra, which will provide skills develop ment training to . 1,500 women.

Penalty and interest will be waived for vehi cle owners who scrap their old vehicles vol untarily. The decision is expected to help re solve the issue of old vehicles clogging the roads, the CMO release said.

income, the govern ment will provide funds to the Maharashtra Ag ribusiness Network as grants.

The cabinet also de

BJP RELEASES 2ND LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR HP ASSEMBLY

Shimla: A day after the BJP released a list of 62 candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, the party on Thursday declared the names of the remaining six candidates who will contest the elections. With the declaration of the names of the remaining candidates, the BJP has released the full list of those who will be in the fray in the 68-seat Assembly in Himachal.

AKASH AMBANI TO DEDICATE 5G SERVICE AT SHRINATHJI

Mumbai: 5G will be available in Nathdwara from October 22 and Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani will dedicate the service to Shrinathji.

Akash’s wife Shloka Ambani will also accompany him.

Ambani family has faith in Shrinathji, and a few days ago Mukesh Ambani also conducted darshan with the younger daughter-in-law.

UP CM YOGI MEETS BHAGWAT; DISCUSSES ‘POPULATION ISSUE’

Prayagraj: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday met RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and it is learnt that the two leaders have discussed the population issue. According to sources, Chief Minister Adityanath flew from Lucknow to meet Bhagwat and the two were together for about an hour.

LIZ TRUSS RESIGNS AFTER SHORTEST TERM IN UK HISTORY

cided to withdraw po lice cases registered in the course of political and social agitations till June 30, 2022.

The government

MODI BREATHES ‘LiFE’ IN WAR AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

With UN chief, PM launches Mission LiFE - Lifestyle for Environment

Kevadia: PM Narendra Modi and UN Secretary General Antonio Gu terres on Thursday launched Mission LiFE, a global plan of action aimed at saving the plan et from the disastrous consequences of climate change. The launch comes ahead of next month’s mega UN cli mate meet in Egypt.

The action plan - a list of ideas on lifestyle changes that can be tak en up as climate-friendly behaviour - along with the logo and tagline for Mission LiFE were joint ly launched by Modi and Guterres. Modi said Mis sion LiFE will strength en the concept of a propeople planet, adding it aims at following a threepronged strategy for changing people’s collec tive approach towards sustainability including nudging individuals to practice simple yet effec tive environment-friend ly actions in their daily lives, enabling indus tries and markets to re spond swiftly to change, and to influence govern ment and industrial pol icy to support both sus tainable consumption.

This Dhanteras, Modi doles out Employment ‘Dhamaka’!

New Delhi: PM Modi will launch ‘Rozgar Mela’, a drive to re cruit 10 lakh people, on October 22 via vid eo-conference and ap pointment letters will be given to 75,000 can didates during the ceremony. The PMO said this will be a sig nificant step forward towards fulfilling the continuous commit ment of the prime min ister to providing job

country, will join 38 ministries or depart ments of the Govern ment of India. The ap pointees will join the government at various levels in Group A and B (Gazetted), Group B (Non-Gazetted) and Group C.

Vyara: PM Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone of various development pro jects at Vyara in Gujarat’s Tapi district. He laid the foundation stone of mul tiple development initia tives worth over Rs 1,970 crore in Vyara including for the improvement of the road from Saputara to the Statue of Unity along with the construction of missing links.

PM’S ‘VIBRANT VILLAGE’ INITIATIVE TO COUNTER CHINA

also decided to set up 2,800 self-help groups for women from minor ity communities in Marathwada, Vidarb ha and North Maha

The state also an nounced a telecommu nications infrastruc ture policy, covering both underground and over-ground optical fi bre cables, to facilitate the roll-out of 5G technology.

‘AAP nirbhar or Atmanirbhar?’ Shah questions Delhites

Kejriwal govt owes `40k Cr to Delhi Municipal Corporations, he claimed

DON’T MAKE EXCUSES: KEJRI HITS AT SHAH

opportunities for the youth and ensuring welfare of citizens.

The new recruits, se lected from across the

The post will include the central armed force personnel, sub-inspec tors, constables, LDC, steno, PA, income tax inspectors and others.

The Government of India and the Army are going to take a big step along the LAC bor dering China and re-populate 500 villages to make the villages habitable. These villages are spread from Ladakh to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Indian army and administration will jointly develop these villages. Prime Minister Narendra Modi can visit BadrinathKedarnath on October 21-22. During this time he can discuss with villagers and jawans in Mana. PM Modi will go to Mana and give it the status of Vibrant Village.

SPL COURT ORDER ON ANIL DESHMUKH GRAFT CASE BAIL PLEA LIKELY TODAY

and closed it for orders.

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Arvind Kejriwal-led party wanted Delhi to be ‘AAP Nirbhar’ while the BJP wanted the na tional capital to be At manirbhar, and asked the people to choose be tween the two in the MCD elections.

At the launch of a waste-to-energy plant in Tehkhand, Shah also accused the Kejri wal government of step-motherly treat ment to the erstwhile three civic bodies and said it owed Rs 40,000 crore to the municipal corporations.

New Delhi: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday hit back at Amit Shah over his accusations against the AAP, and asked the BJP not to make “excuses” for its “failure” in running the MCD for 15 years.,The AAP supremo also said that in the next civic elections, people will have to decide whether they want a Delhi filled with garbage or a clean Delhi.

KEJRIWAL ‘ANTIHINDU’: BAGGA

New Delhi: BJP’s Tajinder Bagga hit at AAP sharing a video and claimed that AAP workers burst crackers on a minister’s appointment. “If Hindus burn crackers, there will be pollution, Kejriwal will send them to jail. Kejriwal, your anti-Hindu face has come to the fore again today,” he said.

Nadda calls Raj core group for a ‘sudden’ meet today

Aditi Nagar

London: British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned on Thursday in six short weeks after she took charge in the post. Speaking outside her Number 10 Downing Street office, Truss accepted that she could not deliver on the promises she made when she was running for the top Conservative leader position, having lost the faith of her party. P5

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai has said it would pass an order on the bail appli cation filed by former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh in a case of alleged corrup tion and misuse of of ficial position, on Fri day.

The case is being

probed by the Central Bureau of Investiga tion (CBI).

Deshmukh (71) had sought bail in the case as soon as the Bombay High Court granted him bail on October 04 in a money laundering case registered against him by the Enforce ment Directorate (ED).

Special CBI court Judge SH Gwalani on

Thursday concluded hearing in the argu ments on the bail plea

The Nationalist Con gress Party (NCP) lead er was arrested on No vember 02 in 2021 and has been in judicial custody. He was admit ted to a private hospital last week for coronary angiography.

Deshmukh, who was a minister in the previ ous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), is currently lodged in Arthur Road jail in Mumbai.

In March 2021, senior IPS officer Param Bir Singh had alleged that

Deshmukh, the then home minister, had giv en a target to police of ficers to collect Rs100 crore on a monthly ba sis from restaurants and bars in Mumbai.

In April 2021, the HC directed the CBI to car ry out a preliminary inquiry. The CBI, based on this inquiry, regis tered a first informa tion report (FIR) against Deshmukh and his associates for al leged corruption and misuse of official power.

New Delhi: BJP Na tional President JP Na dda has called a meeting of Rajasthan BJP Core Group in Delhi on Octo ber 21 to prepare for the assembly elections in Rajasthan. Discussion on preparations of Jan Akrosh rally to be taken out on completion of 4 years of the Ashok Ge hlot government and other activities will be discussed in the meet ing to be held from 6 pm onwards. Nadda will also give directions re garding the proposed

visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Man garh Dham in Banswara on November 1. Sources said that Nadda will take feedback about the political developments in Rajasthan Congress, about the infighting be tween Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot and their supporting MLAs.

Deshmukh is admitted in a pvt hosp for coronary angiography. —FILE PHOTO

Ex-state minister has already been granted relief in money laundering case being probed by the ED

PM Narendra Modi and Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres during the launch of the Mission LiFE at Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar, Kevadia on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks during the inauguration of ‘Waste to Energy’ plant, in New Delhi on Thursday.

PM MODI INITIATES

PROJECTS WORTH `1970 CRORE

Mumbai: Former Maha CM Uddhav claimed that not just the future of party but democracy in the country was at stake. Thackeray inducted former minister Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal into his faction on Thursday and said that despite claims of Sena’s split, people were still coming to him.

100 MILLION COVISHIELD DOSES EXPIRED: POONAWALA

CEO

Institute

Poonawalla,

Thursday said the vaccine manufacturer stopped the production of Covishield vaccine starting December 2021, and of the total stock available at that time, around 100 million doses had already got expired.

—PHOTO BY PTI

MCD POLL

Govt mulls use of satellites to assess crop damage, pay farmers

If implemented, the project will run on autopilot mode, enabling speedy disbursement of funds to farmers

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The state government plans to use satellites to assess crop damage, and link the process to the pay ment of compensa tion to farmers for faster results, an offi cial said on Thursday.

The state adminis tration held a presenta tion on Wednesday on the issue for Deputy

Chief Minister Deven dra Fadnavis, who asked officials to follow up on the proposal.

“Satellite-based crop damage assessment and compensation will be a game-changer in this sector. The satel lite images will decide the intensity of crop damage and go on to make compensatory payment to farmers,” Fadnavis said about

the plan during at a function in Mumbai.

“There were some discrepancies and technical errors in the

plan I was presented with yesterday, but I have asked (officials) to get them fixed. (Once it is implemented), this

system will operate on autopilot mode, which means it will have min imum human interven tion,” he added. Under

—FILE PHOTO Satellitebased crop damage as sessment and com pensation will be a game-changer. The satellite images will decide the intensity of crop damage and go on to make com pensatory payment to farmers.

—Devendra Fadnavis, Dy CM

the tehsil to the district level, before finally reaching state-level au thorities. Eventually, the government an nounces monetary compensation, depend ing upon the impor tance of the crop and its production cost.

the current system, the government issues a written order asking revenue officials to physically visit the af

FOOD KITS: ANNOUNCEMENT CAME FIRST, PROCUREMENT BEGAN LATER

‘We will ensure 50% packets food kits reach district-level officials by Saturday evening,’ Min says First India Bureau

Mumbai: Amid criti cism that food kits con taining 1kg rawa (semo lina), edible oil, lentils and sugar—which the state had said would be available to ration card holders ahead of Diwali for Rs100—have not reached all 1.7 crore beneficiaries, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ravindra Chavan on Thursday said procure ment began after the announcement.

“The decision was taken just seven days before, after which the government machinery took steps to procure and prepare the packets for eligible ration card holders. We will ensure more than 50% packets

reach each district-level distribution officials by Saturday evening for sale at fair price shops,” Chavan told a regional news channel.

The “Anand-Sheed

ha” initiative, to be giv en to ration cardholders through fair price shops under the public distri bution system, was an nounced by the state government on October

04. At the time, the gov ernment had said it would entail an expend iture of Rs486 crore and cover seven crore of the state’s 12 crore popula tion. “For the first time,

‘Not just Sena but democracy at stake’

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is bat tling for the legacy of the Shiv Sena founded by his father late Bal Thackeray, on Thurs day claimed that it was democracy and not just the party’s future that was at stake.

Thackeray was ad dressing a function at the Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar area of Mum bai where he inducted former minister and two-term MLA from Digras Sanjay Desh mukh from Yavatmal into his faction.

“People whom I thought would never be politi cally close are coming out in support. Similar ly, people of different re ligions and regions are extending support. It is not just the future of Shiv Sena but the de mocracy of the country is at stake.

—Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena chief

finished, people were still coming to him.

“The common man and especially civilized people in Maharashtra do not agree with what has happened and are extending their sup port. They tell me, ‘Don’t give up, fight, we are with you. We don’t agree with what’s hap pening’,” he said.

the state is trying to give palm oil through fair price shops. Since it is a liquid, officials de cided to be extra cau tious while packing the kit so that it does not

spill onto other items,” Chavan said.

While several states are trying to extend similar schemes till Oc tober 28, the Maharash tra government is try ing to ensure most of the eligible beneficiar ies get it before Diwali, he added.

He said the scheme also faced hurdles like transportation as it takes three to four days for these packets to reach remote areas of Vidarb ha from Mumbai. It was decided the distribution of these food kits would begin from October 20, and directions have been given to start the sale and not wait for plastic bags in areas where the latter has not arrived, Chavan asserted.

Case against Uddhav-camp MLA for anti-Rane remark

Pune (PTI): A case has been lodged against Shiv Sena Uddhav Bal asaheb Thackeray MLA, Bhaskar Jadhav, for his allegedly de rogatory remarks against Union minis ter and Bharatiya Ja nata Party (BJP) lead er Narayan Rane.

fected farms, carry out a survey and then sub mit a damage assess ment report. The re ports are moved from

“If satellites are used to assess and pay compensation to farm ers, it will save several hours of the govern ment staff’s time and help in speedy dis bursement of funds to farmers,” an official from state revenue de partment said.

CRUCIAL READ

STATE ANNOUNCES `2 CR REWARD FOR SHOOTING CHAMPION

Mumbai: The state government on Thursday announced a cash prize of Rs2 crore for Rudrankksh Patil (18), who won gold in the men’s 10-metre air rifle event at the ISSF World Shooting Champi onships in Cairo, Egypt. His win on October 14 made only the second Indian to do so after Abhi nav Bindra. He had beaten Italy’s Danilo Dennis Sollazo 17-13 in the gold medal match in a comefrom-behind effort. The cabinet resolution hailed Patil’s effort, especially given his young age.

CHEMICAL-LADEN TANKER OVERTURNS, NO CASUALTY

Thane: A tanker loaded with propylene glycol fell on its side on Mum bai-Nashik road in Thane district on Thursday shortly after midnight after its driver apparently lost control over the vehicle, an official said. No one was injured in the accident which took place at 12.45 am near Anand Nagar check naka. The chemical leaked on the road from the vehicle. A team from the Regional Disaster Management Cell and local firemen were dispatched to provide assistance.

CIDCO’S ‘EASE OF DOING BUSINESS’ CELL TO PROVIDE FASTER, BETTER SERVICES

Thane: State-run planning authority City and Industrial Development Corporation’s (CIDCO) ‘Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Cell’ was inaugurated on Thursday. “The EODB portal will facilitate, streamline, digitize CIDCO’s services to provide faster, transparent and efficient services to common people, investors, builders, and developers,” CIDCO managing director Sanjay Mukherjee said, adding that a Citizen Facilitation Centre has also been set up in CIDCO Bhavan, to inform people about the EODB Cell.

MAN SEEKS `1L RANSOM FOR 5-YEAR-OLD, HELD

MAN ARRESTED FOR RAPING MINOR GIRL IN NAGPUR CITY

Deshmukh had ear lier been with the Shiv Sena and also served as a minister in the Con gress-led Democratic Front government be tween 2002 and 2004. He

NIDM hails training programme for Palghar 3rd-gender persons

Thane: (PTI) The Un ion government’s Na tional Institute of Dis aster Management has appreciated the Pal ghar district adminis tration’s training pro gramme for third gen der persons, an official said on Thursday.

The NIDM letter, written by its associate professor Dr Ajinder Walia, said this genderbased disaster manage ment training to third gender persons was a first for the country and it thanked Collector Go vind Bodke, Additional

Collector Kiran Ma hajan and District Dis aster Management Of ficer Vivekanand Kad am for the feat.

It is a valuable contri bution to the innovative training programme, the NIDM functionary’s letter said.

NIDM works under the Union Home minis try with nodal responsi bilities for human re source development, capacity building, training, research docu mentation and policy advocacy in the field of disaster management.

was also with the BJP for a brief while.

Addressing a gather ing after the induction, Thackeray said despite claims that the Shiv Sena had split and was

He said people need to ask themselves whether democracy will stay alive or they would go back to slav ery. “My future and that of my party will be decided by the peo ple and the party cad re,” he said.

Police filed the case after Yogesh Shingate, a BJP office-bearer, regis tered a complaint against Jadhav at the Deccan police station on Wednesday night.

Police say the legisla tor has been booked un der Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 505 (in

tent to cause or likely to cause fear or alarm among the public), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 500 (punishment for defamation) and 153A (promoting enmity be tween different groups).

He allegedly mocked Rane and accused him of corruption.

SAY NO TO CRACKERS

Palghar: A man was arrested for allegedly ab ducting a 5-year-old girl and seeking a ransom of Rs1 lakh from her father, Palghar Superintendent of Police Balasaheb Patil said on Thursday. The girl was kidnapped from near her house along Mahim Road on Wednesday evening, and the ransom call was received some time later, he added. “Qe traced the girl and the 25-year-old accused to Usarni Kelva area within two hours,” he said.

Nagpur: A 33-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl in Nagpur city, police said. The accused, who was known to the 16-year-old girl, called her to his house on Tuesday afternoon, and allegedly raped her, the police said. Acting on the victim’s complaint, cops arrested the accused and booked him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Chandrapur: The decomposed carcass of an adult tiger was found on Thursday in Ballarpur forest division in Chandrapur district, an official said. A forest guard patrolling the area falling within the Central Chanda division spotted the big cat’s body, the official said.

“Preliminary investigations suggest the tiger may have died of old age. We are awaiting the post mortem report to know the exact cause of death,” said Prakash Lonkar, Chief Conservator of Forests, Chandrapur Circle.

Opt for pollution-free Diwali, CM Eknath Shinde urges

the students read.

First India Bureau

Mumbai: With Maha rashtra gearing up to celebrate Diwali with out COVID-19 restric tions for the first time since 2019, Chief Min ister Eknath Shinde on Thursday urged the state’s residents to opt for a pollutionfree festive season.

Considering that fire crackers hold the most appeal for youngsters, CM Shinde and his dep uty Devendra Fadnavis encouraged students present at an Environ ment Ministry event organized at Mantra laya to take an oath for a pollution-free Diwali.

“Our festivals are linked with nature and

so, we must not pollute it and to maintain the balance of nature, we will avoid using plastic, and when our birthdays

are celebrated, we will do plantation. To avoid pollution, we will cele brate cracker-free Di wali,” the oath taken by

Addressing the event, CM Shinde said, “For the past two years, peo ple have been unable to celebrate Diwali due to COVID-19, but after the formation of our gov ernment—which is for the common people—all the festivals will be cel ebrated with joy and enthusiasm.” State Minister Shambhuraj Desai was also present at the event, which also saw participation from students with vision disabilities.

The multiple stages of the current process means farmers have to wait long periods to access compensation for damaged crops.

DECOMPOSED BODY OF TIGER FOUND

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde. —FILE PHOTO

Residents of Dharavi hold placards during a protest demanding Diwali kits to ration cardholders in Mumbai on Thursday. On Oct 04, the state had said the food kits would be made available to 7 crore people in time for Diwali. —PHOTO BY ANI

IMAGE PROBLEM?

MUM TO BE LIT UP

He was addressing students present at an Environment Ministry event organized at Mantralaya

HC to hear petition on court holidays after Diwali holidays

ATS arrests 4 activists of banned PFI in Raigad dist

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thurs day said it would hear after Diwali holidays a public interest liti gation (PIL) challeng ing the practice of courts taking long va cations, thereby af fecting filing and hearing of cases.

The high court’s Di wali vacation is from October 22 and it would reopen on November 09.

The PIL filed by Sa bina Lakdawala chal lenged the vacations taken by the high court, claiming it was in viola tion of the fundamental rights of litigants whose rights to seek justice will be affected.

Lakdawala’s lawyer Mathews Nedumpara said the petitioner was

not against judges tak ing holidays but mem bers of the judiciary should not take leave at the same time so that the courts remain function al throughout the year.

Nedumpara men tioned the plea on Thursday before a divi sion bench comprising Justice SV Gangapur wala and Justice RN Laddha seeking urgent hearing.

The bench asked the lawyer why the PIL was filed now when the high court calendar for 2022

MBMC holds dry run before e-bus fleet induction

was made available in November last year it self. The HC said it would hear the PIL on November 15.

In her petition, Lak dawala said the long court vacations are a relic of the colonial era and have contributed to a collapse of the judi cial delivery system.

The plea has sought for a declaration that closing courts for more than 70 days for any kind of vacation is a violation of fundamental rights of litigants because it leads

to courts becoming una ble to hear cases for lack of time.

“Such practice of long vacations is liable to be brought to an end,” said the plea.

The petition sought for making the high court fully functional during the upcoming Di wali vacation by ap pointing an adequate number of judges to hear and adjudicate all cases and directions to the registry to receive all petitions without insist ing on permission from

the vacation bench.

“Requisite breaks for lawyers and judges can be provided with out the entire institu tion being shut down,” said Lakdawala.

She also said her con tention was not that va cation be denied to judges and lawyers and their workload be in creased. But only that could be encouraged to take leave at different times of the year.

Mumbai: The state Anti-Terrorism Squad has arrested four activists of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) from Panvel in neighbouring Raigad district, an official said on Thursday.

Those arrested in clude a local member of the banned outfit’s state expansion com mittee, a local unit secretary and two other workers, he said.

The ATS had spe cific information about a meeting of

two functionaries of the PFI and few work ers in Panvel, even as the organisation has been banned by the Government of India, the official said.

Accordingly, an ATS team conducted a search in Panvel, lo cated about 50km from Mumbai, and ap prehended the four PFI activists, he said.

After questioning, all the four were placed under arrest in a case registered at the Kala chowki unit of the ATS in Mumbai under sec tion 10 of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the official said.

Those held include a local member of the proscribed outfit’s state expansion committee, a local unit secretary and two other workers

Further probe into the case is on, added the official.

The government had last month banned the PFI and several of its associ ates for five years, ac cusing them of hav ing “links” with glob al terror groups such as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Mira Bhayandar Munici pal Corporation (MBMC) recently con ducted a dry run of an electric bus in the run-up to induction of 45 such vehicles to its existing fleet.

Dilip Dhole, the civic body’s municipal com missioner and other of ficials travelled in a demo e-bus on Wednes day to evaluate the per formance of the bus. The dry run was ar ranged by one of the companies which have participated in the bid (tender) process.

The project will be ex ecuted under the wetlease model, under which, buses will be owned, maintained, and operated by a private contractor. The person will also pay for fuel (charging) in exchange for a fixed per-km rate and generate income through advertisements.

Budgetary alloca tions amounting Rs23 crore has been ear marked for the procure ment as well as subsidy to be offered to contrac tors. While the civic body administration will grant a subsidy of

Rs45 lakh for each ebus, the decision about income generated through advertise ments will depend on rates quoted in tender bids.

The project is being implemented under the aegis of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) rolled out by the Central government for improving air qual ity in the country.

“This is our first major step towards gradually phasing out the conven tional mode of trans port and replacing it with a sustainable al ternative. It will not en sure a clean and green environment but also be pocket-friendly for commuters,” said Dhole.

MBMC will only de ploy conductors to col lect revenue through ticket sales. Currently, 70 out of the 74 buses of the MBMC operate on 18 routes which trans port an average of 85,000 commuters daily.

Mumbai: A multistage cycle race, named “Hindayan”, with a format similar to that of the famous Tour De France, will be held in India in February, organizers said on Thursday.

The race—with 100 cyclists participating— would be flagged off from New Delhi’s Na

de France’ race comes to Pune

commoners or serious amateurs, to cycle in ‘Hindayan’, he said. It would also be open to non-Indian cyclists.

Chapke explained the named “Hindayan”, a compound word de rived from Sanskrit, where “Hind” is the land from Sindhu River to Sindhu (Indian) Ocean, while “Ayan” means expedition.

Builder Paras Porwal jumps off bldg, dies First India Bureau

Mumbai: Well-known real estate developer Paras Porwal alleg edly committed sui cide by jumping off the balcony of the gym at his 23rd-floor residence in Shanti Kamal housing soci ety at around 6am on Thursday.

tional War Memorial on February 05, and culmi nate at Pune after doing over 1,600 km across multiple days, a state ment said.

The race will have halts at many places, in cluding Agra, Jaipur,

Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, and end in Pune on February 19, the statement said.

“At present, there is no such sporting event in India. We resolved to create Asia’s biggest an nual cycling event (on

the lines of Tour De France or Giro d’Italia or Vuelta a Espana),” said Vishnudas Chpake, event organizer.

There is also an “ex pedition” format of the cycling event, which will give a chance to

According to the state ment by the organizers, cycling would happen on national highways in ru ral areas; in urban areas, however, the event will be non-competitive, as those places are congest ed, it added.

One lane will solely be dedicated for cycling on national highways during the race.

Police later found a suicide note at the 57-year-old builder’s gym which mentioned that nobody was respon sible for his death and no enquiry be made.

A passer-by alerted cops about the body, which was then sent to a civic-run hospital for post mortem. An investi gation is underway.

THE VACATION CONUNDRUM

Petitioner terms shut down of all court matters as ‘violation of fundamental rights of all litigants’

Petition asks that judges and lawyers not take leaves at the same time to enable court to stay functional throughout the year. —FILE PHOTO

Allocates Rs23 cr for vehicle procurement; set to be operated under wet-lease model

All 45 new electric buses will be owned, maintained & operated by a private contractor.

First India Bureau

Maharashtra ATS produce members of the proscribed outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) at the Panvel Sessions court, in Navi Mumbai on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

IN A CELEBRATORY SPIRIT!

‘HINDAYAN’

The event, which is to be held in February, will be non-competitive in urban areas. —FILE PHOTO

The event will see participation from 100 riders; to have halts at Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, A’bad, Surat & Mumbai

1. Workers hard at work on putting together kandils (air lanterns) in large numbers for political parties inckuding Bharatiya Janata Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena at Mahim Kardikar Wadi in Mumbai on Thursday.

2. With the festival of Diwali just around the corner, people spotted shopping for decorative items and kandils at the Kandil Galli in Mahim area of the city.

—PHOTOS BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

First India Bureau

With the Covid Crisis deepening mental health problems in multiple ways, protecting sportsmen from mental scars is now even more serious. An additional factor for Indian cricketers is the negativity that social media often generatesThe heavy trolling that players have faced in past year is too recent to bear repetition

As the T20 World Cup gets un derway, Virat Kohli will be un der fans’ scrutiny once again. He will be one of the most closely watched superstars in the tournament. A fit and inform Virat implies a special edge for Team India regaining the T20 trophy that they have never won after their victory in the inaugural edition in 2007. Virat’s comeback since the Asia Cup and his admis sions about mental turmoil during his form slump have highlighted the need to ad dress mental health as a top priority in Indian cricket.

Kohli’s barren spell with the bat finally ended with his sparkling run in the Asia Cup. As he scored 122 off just 61 deliveries in India’s last Asia Cup match, Virat notched up his first hundred for nearly three years. His 71st interna tional century and a string of vital knocks since then reflect that the former India captain is closing in on his best.

His run drought had deep ly impacted his mental wellbeing. Kohli’s performances had specially nosedived over the past year, easily the worst phase of his career. During the 2022 IPL, Virat managed just one fifty in 16 matches as

PAY HEED TO WHAT GUTERRES HAS TO SAY

KOHLI COMEBACK SHARPENS NEED TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

he got the greatest number of Golden Ducks (3) in the sea son. His batting woes contin ued during India’s tour of England where 20 was his highest score in six innings across different formats!

Besides on-field slump, offfield battles dogged Virat over the past year as his equation with the BCCI deteriorated sharply. First, he announced his resignation as India cap tain in the shortest format, just ahead of the last T20 World Cup. Soon, the BCCI sacked him as the ODI Skipper and replaced him with Rohit Shar ma – though Kohli was keen to continue leading in Tests and ODIs. Later, Virat even stepped down as Test Captain, hours after India’s series defeat against South Africa.

Beyond the bitterness with BCCI was the huge load that Virat shouldered in his Cap taincy years. As pointed out by former India Coach Ravi Shastri, in the past five years Virat has played double the matches as compared to bat ters like Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Babar Azam and Steve Smith. As such, mental fatigue was a major issue af flicting Kohli. With his form dipping and some experts even questioning his place in the team, Virat took a crucial break from the game. During the month-long break after the England tour, he discon nected himself from the game and didn’t even touch his bat for a month – as he admitted in a candid inter

Kohli’s comeback in form suggests that it is high time that BCCI makes mental conditioning experts an integral part of Team India. Though the BCCI has recently roped in Paddy Upton as India’s mental conditioning coach, he will work with the Indian team only till the T20 World Cup!

view on his return.

Kohli remarked, “I realised that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit, recently. You are convincing yourself: ‘No, I have the intensity.’ But your body is telling you to stop. Your mind’s telling you to take a break and step back.”

Despite his aura and ‘inyour-face’ aggression, Kohli’s comments reflect how vulner able he has been on mental health issues. As he admitted in that frank chat, “I am looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong, and I am. But eve ryone has a limit, and you need to recognise that limit, other wise, things can get unhealthy for you. This is a very normal thing to feel, but we don’t speak, we don’t want to be looked at as mentally weak.”

His candid confessions made it clear that after a month’s rest Kohli was keen to rediscover his batting

mojo. With his fresh mindset, Virat scored 276 runs at an average of 92 and played vital knocks in four of his five in nings in the Asia Cup. Impres sive knocks in later series with Australia and South Af rica have silenced critics and signalled that Kohli is ready to regain his batting crown.

With the Covid Crisis deep ening mental health prob lems in multiple ways, pro tecting sportsmen from men tal scars is now even more serious. An additional factor for Indian cricketers is the negativity that social media often generates. The heavy trolling that Mohammed Shami, Rishab Pant and Ar shdeep Singh (to name just 3) have faced in the past year is too recent to bear repetition.

Kohli’s comeback in form suggests that it is high time that BCCI makes mental condi tioning experts an integral part of Team India. Though the BCCI has recently roped in Paddy Upton as India’s mental conditioning coach, he will work with the Indian team only till the T20 World Cup!

Given the gravity of current challenges, the BCCI needs to use its vast financial resources to get constant counselling and full-time help for players through mental health experts. If the Virat saga helps to make mental fitness a key compo nent of team preparations, the long-term health of Indian Cricket is bound to improve!

DELHI’S DIFFICULT AND YEARLY CONUNDRUM: AIR POLLUTION

The United States has been dogwhistling about rights of minori ties in India.

Washington’s annual report released in June this year contained inflammatory comments made by some In dian politicians and instanc es of discrimination against Muslims and Christians in the country. India defended its record on protecting the rights of minorities and questioned the US for its re cord on human rights. India’s external affairs ministry claimed the US officials who made the comments were “ill-informed” and “biased” and asserted that “India val ues religious freedom and human rights”. Earlier US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United

What may not sound music to India’s ears, on unequivocal condemnation of hate speech Guterres said this must be done by protecting the rights & freedom of journalists, human rights activists, students...

States was monitoring the rise in human rights abuses in India by some officials.

The visiting UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres has also criticised India’s hu man rights record. On a three-day visit to India, Gu terres said in Mumbai. India, he said, has a “responsibility to shape global human rights, and to protect and promote the rights of all individuals, including members of mi

nority communities”. He said that the understanding that “diversity is a richness… is not a guarantee.

In a direct reference to In dia Guterres said that the val ues of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru are to be guarded by “condemning hate speech unequivocally”, an area in which India has been found wanting despite several orders of the Supreme Court. What may not sound music to India’s ears, on une quivocal condemnation of hate speech Guterres said this must be done “by protect ing the rights and freedom of journalists, human rights ac tivists, academics, students… and by ensuring continued independence of judiciary”.

Those familiar with the situation, Guterres clearly nailed it.

Political parties, reli gious sentiments and farmers together make it impossible to keep Delhi air clean, especially around Diwali. For starters, the Delhi government has banned bursting of fire crackers on Diwali. Violation of the ban will invite a jail term of six months and a fine of Rs 200. Good rule, indeed. But there’s a catch. Who will implement it?

The Delhi Police, which comes under the Union Home Minis try? It is a certainty that the reli gious-minded and youngsters won’t follow the rule. The Delhi government, however, claimed that teams were in place to en force the ban. Ironically, in a video released by BJP’s Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga AAP workers were seen celebrating the ap pointment of Raj Kumar Anand as a minister in the Delhi govern ment by bursting firecrackers.

In what makes the develop ments a conundrum, Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari challenged the ban on the sale and use of fire crackers in Delhi in the Su preme Court but the apex court rejected his plea.

They alone see truly who see the Lord the same in every creature, who see the deathless in the hearts of all that die. Seeing the same Lord everywhere, they do not harm themselves or others.! Bhagavad Gita

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India sets new goals to keep pace with changing times. R&D, with active private sector participation, key to deal with future challenges. Shared my thoughts at the DRDO Seminar on ‘Atmanirbharta in Defence’ on the sidelines of #DefExpo22 in Gandhinagar.

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Cong insulted tribals, but community will teach lesson to party: PM

Vyara (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Congress of making fun of tribal traditions and culture, and added that people from the community would not forget the “insult” and they would “teach a les son” to the party.

Addressing a rally af ter inaugurating and laying foundation stones for various projects at Vyara in the tribal-dom inated Tapi district of Gujarat, he also alleged that the previous Con gress governments nev er took steps to improve

PREPARATIONS IN FULL SWING IN KEDARNATH AHEAD OF PM’S VISIT Kedarnath: Preparations are in full swing in Kedarnath ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath to lay the foundation stone of a few roads and Hemkund Sahib ropeway on Friday. PM will review and initiate various development projects. Ganga Dhar Linga, Pradhan Pujari of Badrinath-Kedarnath Mandir Samiti said, “The preparation is in full swing here at Kedarnath ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. PM Modi will offer prayers at Kedarnath tomorrow morning.”

the condition of tribal people as it just focused on winning elections.

He said the welfare of tribals by providing to them pucca houses with electricity and gas con nections, road connec

tivity, schools for the children from the com munity, among other things, was the top prior ity of his government.

From Wednesday, Modi has been on a two-day visit to BJP-ruled Guja

rat, his home state, where Assembly elections are due by December end.

He said the country currently has a tribal daughter as its president in Droupadi Murmu and tribal son Mangubhai Patel as the governor of Madhya Pradesh.

“You have seen earlier governments. Compare Congress governments of the past with the pre sent BJP-led govern ments in different states.

Congress governments never thought about your future and they would just work for win ning elections. Before the

polls they used to make false promises, but after elections they would for get them,” he said.

On the other hand, the BJP government has given top priority for the development of the trib al community of the country, he asserted.

“I tell you that your forefathers faced a lot of difficulties, but due to our work you are facing less difficulties now. Now, we want to ensure that your children do not have to face such diffi culties in future,” he said during his address to the tribal people.

Pulitzer winner episode: US tells India to ensure media’s freedom

INDIA’S DEFENCE SECTOR IS IN “GOLDEN PERIOD”: RAJNATH

Gandhinagar (ANI):

This era is a “golden pe riod” of the Indian de fence sector, said De fence Minister Rajnath Singh at DefExpo in Gan dhinagar on Thursday.

Washington: The Unit ed States has called for respect for press freedom in India after authorities stopped a Kashmiri pho tojournalist from flying to New York to receive the Pulitzer Prize.

Sanna Irshad Mat too was stopped by im migration authorities at New Delhi airport on Tuesday and prevented from boarding while two of her colleagues were permitted to leave the country. The US State Department said it was aware that Mattoo was prevented from flying and was “tracking these developments closely.”

“A shared commit ment to democratic val ues including the re spect for the independ ence of the press is a bedrock of the US-India relationship,” a State Dept spokesman said.

NIA ARRESTS ISIS OPERATIVE FROM VARANASI

New Delhi: The NIA conducted raids at 2 locations in Varanasi and Delhi in connection with ISIS ‘Voice of Hind’ module case and arrested a 24-yearold “highly radicalised” man, who, the agency said, was engaged in recruitment of Indian youths on behalf of the ISIS for waging war against the Indian State.

He was speaking at ‘In vest for Defence’, the event organised during the 12th edition of Def Expo. The event has been added to the Defence Expo from this edition.

The Ministry of Defence said the event was organ ised to promote invest ment in the defence sec tor in the country by both the Indian industry and foreign original equipment manufactur ers. It will also highlight the requirements of the armed forces and policy reforms undertaken by the government for ease of doing business in the defence sector.

“We have to create healthy environment for our investors that will not only give them good returns but also give them recognition in domestic and global markets,” Singh said.

ED SEIZES `149-CRORE JEWELLERY STOCKS IN ANDHRA PRADESH

New Delhi: Jewellery stocks worth Rs 149 cr were seized by the ED after it raided Hyderabadbased 2 gems & jewels groups as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged cheating with MMTC, a public sector enterprise. The searches were launched against MBS Jewellers Pvt Ltd, Musaddilal Gems and Jewels India Pvt Ltd.

TEACHERS RECRUITMENT SCAM: TMC MLA BHATTACHARYA’S PLEA REJECTED BY SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected former chairman of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education and TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya’s plea challenging his arrest by ED in a money laundering matter relating to the alleged irregularities in primary teachers’ appointments. Earlier on Tuesday, a bench had reserved the order on Manik Bhattacharya’s plea.

HC SAYS NO TO CRACKERS BAN PLEA HEARING

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea challenging the order for a complete ban on firecrackers in the NCT of Delhi till January 1, 2023, noting that similar petitions are pending before the Supreme Court.

CONG MLA GETS PRE ARREST BAIL IN RAPE CASE

Thiruvananthapuram:

A Kerala sessions court here on Thursday granted Congress MLA Eldhose Kunnappilly anticipatory bail in a case of rape and attempt to murder. He is untraceable. The court granted him the relief subject to various conditions.

YASIN MALIK APPEARS IN SPL COURT IN RUBAIYA SAYEED KIDNAPPING CASE

Bengaluru: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik appeared before a special court here via videoconferencing on Thursday in connection with the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Union Home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

RAJNATH MEETS COUNTERPARTS FROM MOZAMBIQUE, MADGASCAR

Gandhinagar (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral meetings with his Mozambique and Madgascar counterpart on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022. “Glad to interact with the Defence Minister of Mozambique, Mr Cristovao Artur Chume on the sidelines of #DefExpo2022,” Singh said in a tweet. Taking to Twitter, Singhr said that he had a fruitful discussions with Madagascar Defence Minister Lt. General, Rakotonirina Leon Jean Richard. Ear lier, Singh was speaking at ‘Invest for Defence’, the event organised during the 12th edition of DefExpo. The event has been added to the Defence Expo from this edition onwards. The event was organised to promote investment in the defence sector in the country by both the Indian industry and foreign original equipment manufacturers.

‘One face before us, another in the media’: Mistry tongue-lashes Shashi Tharoor camp

New Delhi: Congress central election author ity chief Madhusudan Mistry hit out at Shashi Tharoor on Thursday over his allegations of “irregularities” in the conduct of the party’s presidential poll in Ut tar Pradesh.

“We accommodated your request and de spite that, you went to the media alleging Cen

tral Election Authority was conspiring against you,” Mistry said, and further added that while Tharoor told him that he was satisfied with the authority’s answers to his questions on irregu

larities, he made differ ent allegations while speaking to the media.

“I am sorry to say that you had one face before me which com municated that you are satisfied with all our answers and different face in the media which made all these allega tions against us,” Mis try said. Tharoor’s chief election agent Sal

man Anees Soz had de manded that votes from the state be deemed in valid. Mistry said there was “no basis” in what is written in the letter and argued that making the letter public was not right. In a separate let ter to Mistry, Tharoor’s team also raised “seri ous issues” in the con duct of the election in Punjab and Telangana.

DHARAMSALA FILM FESTIVAL

We will host ’23 Cricket WC with all teams: Thakur

New Delhi (ANI): Un ion Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said on Thursday that India will host the 2023 edi tion of the 50-over Cricket World Cup with all the teams.

His comments came after Pakistan threat ened to boycott the 2023 WC due to Asian Crick et Council (ACC) presi dent Jay Shah confirm ing that the 2023 Asia Cup will be held at a neutral venue instead of Pakistan. The Union of Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports said that India is not afraid of any threat and it will not stop them from hosting the tourna ment.

‘BCCI WILL LOOK INTO PAK’S THREAT’

New Delhi: Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said on Thursday that the BCCI will look into the matter after the statement by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that holding Asia Cup 2023 at a neutral venue could affect the Pakistan team’s visit to India for upcoming ODI World Cup in 2023.

MP TO HOST 5TH KHELO INDIA GAMES

New Delhi: The upcoming Khelo India Youth Games will be held in Madhya Pradesh. The announcement to this effect was made by Union of Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur in the presence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the national capi tal on Thursday.

Truss’ PM stint ends as shortest in UK history

London: British Prime Minister Liz Truss re signed on Thursday just six weeks after she en tered 10, Downing Street.

Speaking outside the door of her Number 10 Downing Street office, Truss accepted that she could not deliver the promises she made when she was running for Conservative leader, having lost the faith of her party.“I recognise though, given the situa

tion, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conserva tive Party. I have there fore spoken to His Maj esty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Con servative Party,” she said.Rishi Sunak, for mer chancellor, and Penny Mordaunt, are the two frontrunners, although a number of other candidates could enter the fray.

80 films from 32 countries to be screened at int’l event

New Delhi (Agencies):

Eighty films from 32 countries, including 21 feature narratives and 43 short films, will be be showcased at the 11th Dharamshala Interna tional Film Festival (DIFF) in Dharamsala next month, as an nounced on Thursday.

The highlights in clude the India pre mieres of Cannes Jury Prize Winner and 2022 Oscar Nominee, Joy land (Pakistan, 2022) by Saim Sadiq; Once Upon

The India premieres of these acclaimed inter national features will also take place at DIFF 2022: Eternal Spring (Canada, 2022) by Jason Loftus; In Viaggio (Italy, 2022) by Gianfranco Rosi; Lullaby (Spain, 2022) by Alauda Ruiz de AzAa; Mother Lode (Italy, France, Switzerland, 2021) by Matteo Tortone; Navalny (US, 2022) by Daniel Roher; Neptune Frost (Rwanda, US, 2021) by Anisia Uzeyman, Saul Williams; They Car

ry Death (Spain, Colom bia, 2021) by Helena Gi rAn and Samuel M. Del gado; and Tukdam: Be tween Worlds (Finland, Ireland, Estonia 2022) by Donagh Coleman.

After two years of be ing online due to the pandemic, the 11th edi tion of the Dharamsha la International Film Festival (DIFF) is back with a physical edition that showcases the lat est and finest indie films from India and around the world.

A Time in Calcutta (In dia, 2022) by Aditya Vikram Sengupta; the Anurag Kashyap-pre sented debut feature by

Parth Saurabh, Pokhar Ke Dunu Paar (On Ei ther Sides of the Pond) (India, 2022); 2022 Oscar Nominee, Writing with

Fire (India, 2021) by Rintu Thomas and Su shmit Sen; and Fire in the Mountains (India 2021) by Ajitpal Singh.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addresses the DRDO seminar as part of 12th DefExpo, in Gandhinagar on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur with MoS Nisith Pramanik (L), MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and MP Sports Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia, in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Rajnath Singh meets Mozambique Defence Minister Cristovao Artur Chume, in Gandhinagar on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

IN THE COURTYARD

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the foundation stone laying ceremony of multiple development initiatives worth over Rs. 1970 crore at Vyara, Tapi, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

ADITYANATH MEETS BHAGWAT; POPULATION ISSUE ‘DISCUSSED’

RaGa resumes journey from Andhra’s Banavasi

October 16 to 19 in which the population problem was discussed.

According to sources, Chief Minister Adity anath flew from Luc know to meet Bhagwat and the two were to gether for about an hour.

The two had lunch together after which the CM returned, they said, adding that both dis cussed the population issue. Adityanath also invited the RSS chief to Deepotsav at Ayodhya on October 23. Rashtri ya Swayamsevak Sangh

Goa intends to establish Drone School: CM

Panaji (Agencies):

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that his government intends to establish Drone School, for which he said drone policy will be finalised by November.

Sawant said that drones can help various departments, hence their inputs will be tak en while finalising the drone policy. ‘Informa tion and Technology Ministry and Civil Avi ation Ministry will fi nalise the drone policy by November. We in tend to establish a Drone School, drone manufacturing unit, drone cluster, drone re pair and drone training centre. Hence to push it forward, drone policy will be finalised by No vember,’ he said.

‘Drone can help the agriculture depart ment, transport depart ment and various other departments. Hence we have asked all depart ments to give their in puts,’ Sawant further said. He said that after November to use drones in the state, one will have to seek permission from the Civil Aviation Ministry.

“Those who have drones will have to reg ister themselves. We are thinking of estab lishing a Drone School on Public Private Part nerships (PPP), hence today first meeting was held,” he said.

(RSS) leader Dattatreya Hosabale had on Wednesday said reli gious conversion and migration from Bangla desh were causing

“population imbal ance” and called for strict implementation of anti-conversion laws.

Bhagwat had attended an RSS meet here from

‘We strive to ensure quality education’

Guwahati (ANI): As sam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that his government strives to ensure quality educa tion for students with the help of Information Technology (IT).

While chairing the first meeting of Assam Rajya Shiksha Aayog on Thursday, the Chief Minister said, “We strive to ensure quality education for our stu dents with the help of IT. He further said that according to National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, providing univer sal access to quality ed ucation would be key to

economic growth and empowerment of peo ple.

He said, “We spend 6 per cent of SGDP (state gross domestic product) on education. Making it sensitive & responsive to the intellectual, phys ical & emotional devel opment of students is our priority.”

The Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission had last year submitted to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a draft pop ulation control bill and made a slew of recom mendations, including additional incentives to public servants for adopting the one-child norm and banning those who violate the two-child policy from contesting local bodies polls.

The recommenda tions were made in the 19th report on Popula tion Control, Stabilisa tion and Welfare. The report along with the

draft Uttar Pradesh Population Control, Sta bilisation and Welfare Bill, 2021 was handed over to the CM. But, no further action was initi ated.

CM Yogi flew from Lucknow to meet Bhagwat and the two were together for about an hour Prayagraj (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday met RSS head Mohan Bhagwat here, with the two leaders learnt to have discussed the population issue.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said whatever issue the RSS raises is always in the interest of the nation and added its concern over population prob lem would get support of the nation. When asked by the media, Maurya said, “We will have to wait for what the government will do once a meeting is held over it. What I am say ing is my personal opin ion,” he added.

Kurnool (ANI): Con gress leader Rahul Gandhi resumed Bharat Jodo Yatra from the Banavasi village of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday morning.

Today is the third day of the march in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district. Gan dhi’s yatra, which started from Banavasi village this morning, will break at Mugati village. The residents of surrounding areas are warmly welcom ing Rahul Gandhi and the yatra is seeing the participation of local leaders. On the 43rd day of the Yatra, Ra hul Gandhi along with other party lead

‘Nitish may go to BJP again’

Patna (PTI): Political strategist-turned-activ ist Prashant Kishor on Thursday took a fresh jibe at Bihar Chief Min ister Nitish Kumar, his former mentor, reiterat ing that the latter may ditch the ‘Mahagath bandhan’ and return to the BJP-led NDA.

Kishor, who had on the previous day claimed that Kumar could do yet another volte face and return to the NDA, attacked the JD(U) de facto leader for letting party MP Harivansh continue as the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman. The election strategist had also told PTI on Wednesday that

Birla extends Diwali wishes to new parl building workers

Kumar has kept a line of communication open with the BJP through Harivansh.

“After having snapped ties with the BJP, Nitish Kumar should have asked Hari vansh to step down. If he insisted on occupy ing the post, he could have been expelled from the JD(U).

LALU SLAMS GOVT AS RUPEE PLUNGES TO RECORD LOW Patna (Agencies): RJD national president Lalu Prasad on Thursday slammed the Narendra Modi government at the Centre as the Indian rupee fell to a record low of 83 against the United States dollar. “When it comes to demonetisa tion, Narendra Modi takes decisions over night. The Narendra Modi government is respon sible for ruining the economy of the country. As a result, the Rupee is tumbling to historic low, he is quiet,” Lalu Prasad posted on Twitter.

Dengue patient dies due to carelessness

Prayagraj (UP) (Agen cies): In a bizarre inci dent, a dengue patient in Prayagraj was alleg edly given sweet lime juice instead of plasma, and reportedly died.

A video allegedly ex posing a fake blood bank unit from UP has gone viral on the social media. It has been shared on the so cial media by a local journalist.

New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday interacted with construction work ers at the new parlia ment building site and

extended his Diwali greetings to them. He re viewed the construction of the new parliament building and expressed gratitude towards the

workers for building the temple of democracy.

Birla also offered sweets to them and wished for their bright future.

HEALTH IS WEALTH

To the unversed, both plasma and mosambi (sweet lime) juice ‘look’ similar. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said that a probe into the incident was

underway and a test re port was expected soon. “Strict action will be taken against those found guilty in the case,” he said.

Meanwhile, taking a view of the rising den gue cases, the state gov ernment has restricted all UP doctors and para medical staff from tak ing leave.

Mandaviya inaugurates multiple health projects

lll

The government has linked health with development, as only a healthy citizen can contribute towards national development

New Delhi (Agencies): Union minister for Health and Family Wel fare Mansukh Mandavi ya on Thursday said In dia was advancing to wards a healthy and prosperous future through investments in health infrastructure.

The minister inaugu rated multiple health infrastructure projects in Ahmednagar. The projects include three primary health care centres in Ahmednagar, Dr. Vikhe Patil Cancer

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi being greeted during the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Kurnool on Thursday.

ers will cover Mugati, Halaharvi and Kal ludevakunta in the Kurnool district. Later in the even ing, Rahul Gandhi paid obeisance at Sri Raghavendra Swamy Math followed by a brief meeting with Sri Subudhendra Tirtha ji in Mantralayan in the Kurnool district.

—PHOTO BY ANI

The yatra will stay night in the Chetni halli.Earlier on Wednesday, the Con gress offered prayers at the Sri Ganga Tem ple in Adoni.Address ing a press confer ence, the Congress said that Andhra Pradesh should have one capital, and that should be Amaravati.

CRUCIAL READ

MADURAI CUSTOMS SEIZE 8 GOLD PIECES

Madurai (ANI): The Madurai Customs Airport Intelligence Unit (AIU) confiscated eight gold pieces weighing 141 grams that were concealed in a toolbox from a passenger on October 19. The man flew in from Dubai. It was discovered that the man was attempting to smuggle the gold by concealing it in a toolbox. When he was searched, gold worth Rs seven lakh was seized. Eight gold pieces in all have been discovered in the passenger’s possession, six of which are cylindrical in shape, one of which is bent cylindrical in shape, and the eighth is shaped like a bindi.

3 INDIANS AMONG 4 ARRESTED AFTER SHOOTOUT IN NEPAL

Centre and Dr Vikhe Pa til Nuclear Medicine Centre. Addressing the media, Mandaviya said, “The govt has linked

health with develop ment, as only a healthy citizenry can contribute towards national devel opment.”

Pune (PTI): Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said routine immunisation was affected due to the coronavirus pandemic and the earlier vaccination programme has to be brought back on track.Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufactur ers Network (DCVMN) here, Mandaviya said India achieved the feat of

administering 100 crore coronavirus vaccine doses in nine months and 200 crore in 18 months.Today, around 70 pc of the popu lation in the is fully vacci nated against coronavirus, he said.India’s coronavirus vaccination programme began on January 16, 2021. Lauding vaccine makers, the minister said they have helped the government at every step on the vaccine front.

Kathmandu (PTI): Three Indian nationals were among four persons arrested in connection with a shooting incident in Nepal’s Madhesh province, bordering India, according to a media report on Thursday. Gul shan Singh (22), Saurabh Shah (20), and Rehan Singh (20), all hailing from Bihar were arrested for a shootout that took place on Wednesday.

Goa (Agencies): Two persons were arrested on Thursday for allegedly trafficking women in Goa, police said. Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi said that accused are identified as Mohsin Shaikh, from Gujarat and Shilpi Mishra from Mumbai. He said that after receiving information about prostitution activities at Anjuna in North Goa, the raid was conducted and three victim girls were rescued.“Initially accused person Mohsin Shaikh had come to deliver one victim girl during which the police surrounded the accused and rescued the victim girl.

Bengaluru (Agencies): With the arrest of three Railway staffers on charges of drug peddling, Karnataka Police claimed to have seized hashish oil and ganja worth Rs 80 lakh in Bengaluru on Thursday. According to police, the accused worked at the North East Frontier Railway Agartala Coaching depot. They worked as AC attendants and bedroll staff.

Bhopal (ANI): At least three people were killed and seven others injured after an explosion occurred in a firecracker warehouse in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district on Thursday. The local police and the official of district admin istration have reached the spot on Jaitpur road in Banmore Nagar and rescue operation is underway.

New Delhi (ANI): A case of alleged gang rape of a woman has come to light in Ghaziabad. On October 18, a 40-year-old woman had accused five people of raping her. However, the Ghaziabad police said that the victim and the accused are acquainted. The National Commission for Women (NCW) has formed a 2-member fact-finding team to probe the case. “@NCWIndia is taking cognizance of the matter and sending a two-member fact finding team to meet the family of the victim and the concerned authorities,” tweeted NCW.

TWO HELD IN GOA FOR TRAFFICKING WOMEN

NCW SENDS TWO-MEMBER TEAM TO PROBE GHAZIABAD GANG RAPE CASE

‘ROUTINE IMMUNISATION SUFFERED DUE TO COVID-19, IT HAS TO BE PUT BACK ON TRACK’

K’TAKA POLICE ARREST 3 RAILWAY STAFFERS

COMPLAINT AGAINST ACTOR FOR ‘HURTING’ HINDU SENTIMENTS

3 KILLED IN GODOWN AFTER FIRECRACKER EXPLOSION

Udupi (Agencies) : Hindu Jagaran Vedike has lodged a police com plaint against Kannada actor Chetan Ahimsa for allegedly ‘hurting’ Hindu sentiments in Udupi district of Karnataka, police said. Hindu Jagran Vedike, a right wing group affiliated to the RSS, has mentioned that actor Chetan Ahimsa had issued derogatory and insulting statements.

Union Health Minister Mandaviya.

—FILE PHOTO

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath

BHARAT JODO

PRASHANT KISHOR’S NEW JIBE AT BIHAR CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla interacts with the construction workers at new parliament building site.

business

BRIEFS

‘WORLDWIDE IT SPENDING TO GROW 5.1% IN 2023’

Markets extend gains for 5th session; IT stocks shine

San Francisco: IT spend ing is projected to total $4.6 trillion in 2023, an in crease of 5.1% from 2022, a new report said on Thursday. As per latest forecast by Gartner, the demand for IT in 2023 is expected to be strong as enterprises push forward with digital business initia tives in response to eco nomic turmoil. The report mentioned that the tech nologies that are being maintained versus those that are driving the busi ness are evident by their projected growth rates in 2023.

ITC Q2 NET PROFIT RISES 24% TO `4,670 CRORE

Mumbai (PTI): Bench mark indices ticked higher for the fifth straight ses sion on Thursday, buoyed by fag-end buying in IT stocks despite a largely downbeat trend overseas.

A recovery in the rupee also boosted investor confi dence. After swinging be tween gains and losses throughout the session, the 30-share BSE Sensex saw robust buying towards the fag-end to close 95.71 points or 0.16 per cent higher at 59,202.90.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 51.70 points or 0.30 per cent to 17,563.95. HCL Technolo gies topped the Sensex gainers’ chart, spurting 2.22 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, NTPC, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, TCS and Infosys.

BSE SECTORAL INDICES CLIMBED 1.69%

New Delhi: The BSE midcap gauge fell 0.30 per cent and the smallcap index ended marginally lower by 0.01 per cent. Among the BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas climbed 1.69 per cent, fol lowed by utilities (1.66 per cent), power (1.50 per cent), energy (1.39 per cent), IT (1.20 per cent) and teck (1.19 per cent).

Services, bankex, capital goods, consumer durables, industrials and financial services posted losses. World stocks were largely negative ahead of a slew of central bank meetings. Among other Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals. Wall Street had ended in the negative terri tory on Wednesday. International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.16 per cent higher at USD 93.48 per barrel.

IN FAVOUR OF THE BULLS

z HCL Technologies topped the Sensex gainers’ chart, spurting 2.22%, followed by Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, TCS, Infosys & more

z Market breadth was in favour of the bulls, with 18 of 30 Sensex components closing in the green

support above 17,400 zones for the 3rd consecutive day indicating strong base formation.

` recovers from all-time low, closes 21 paise up at 82.79 against USD

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee rebounded from its lifetime low to close 21 paise higher at 82.79 against the US dol lar on Thursday amid weakness in the greenback overseas. Forex traders said the local currency re covered on suspected RBI intervention after hitting a record low of 83.29 during the session.

However, rising crude oil prices in the interna tional market capped the rupee’s gain, they added.

New Delhi: ITC Ltd on Thursday reported a 24.08 per cent increase in con solidated net profit at Rs 4,670.32 crore for the second quarter that ended September 30, 2022. sThe company had posted a net profit of Rs 3,763.73 crore during the July-September quarter of the previous fis cal, it said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from op erations rose 25.35 per cent to Rs 18,608 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal compared to Rs 14,844.38 crore in the year-ago period.

INFOSYS ALLOWS STAFF TO TAKE UP EXTERNAL GIG WORK

However, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, HDFC Bank, Titan and Axis Bank were among the prominent laggards, dropping as much as 4.71

per cent. The market breadth was in favour of the bulls, with 18 of the 30 Sensex components closing in the green.

“Despite global head winds, sentiments were positive ahead of Diwali festival and healthy earn ings so far. Nifty has found

With `3 crore/day donations, Shiv Nadar named most generous Indian

Mumbai: HCL founder Shiv Nadar topped as the most generous person in the country with an annual donation of Rs 1,161 crore, the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2022 re vealed on Thursday. Nadar, 77, has reclaimed the ‘In dia’s most generous’ title with a donation of Rs 3 crore per day.

Wipro’s Azim Premji, 77, slipped to the second posi tion with an annual dona tion of Rs 484 crore after ruling at the top position for the last two consecutive years, it said. India’s rich est man Gautam Adani, 60,

New Delhi: Infosys has allowed its employees to take up external gig work, becoming the first large software services firm in India to do so, according to Moneycontrol. The company’s move to ac knowledge and enable gig work marks a step for ward and may even be come a trendsetter. It comes as a larger debate around moonlighting and employee rights that con tinues to rage in the IT in dustries along with other white-collar work sectors. The company may be looking for a way to retain talent when the IT indus try is seeing sky-high at trition rates.

VODAFONE IDEA TO FINALISE FUND RAISING PLAN TODAY

AIRBUS GETS NOD TO MANUFACTURE MILITARY AIRCRAFT IN INDIA

New Delhi: European aviation major Airbus on Thursday said it received the regulatory approval from the Indian regulator for its C295 aircraft pro gramme, becoming the first foreign original equipment maker to get such a nod.

In September last year, India sealed a nearly Rs 21,000 crore deal with Air bus Defence and Space to

procure 56 C295 transport aircraft to replace the age ing Avro-748 planes of the IAF under a project that entails manufacturing of military aircraft in India for the first time by a pri vate company.

The regulatory approv al for the ambitious pro gramme was accorded by Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality As surance (DGAQA).

“We expect the strength in the market to continue in the near term. Stock spe cific action would continue as companies keep an nouncing results,” said Sid dhartha Khemka, HeadRetail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Ajit Mishra, VP - Re search, Religare Broking Ltd, said markets are di gesting the recent gains and the tone is still positive, thanks to noticeable buy ing interest on every dip.

Coal import to be stopped by 2024:Union Min

New Delhi: Union minis ter of coal, mines and par liamentary affairs Pral had Joshi on Thursday said that the import of dry fuel which has declined considerably will be stopped by 2024.

Speaking at an event at the office of the Comptrol ler & Auditor General of India here to release a ‘Compendium of Asset Ac counts on Mineral and En ergy Resources’, the min ister said commercial coal mine auction which was institutionalised by the present government has made the auctioning pro cess totally transparent.

Joshi also complement ed CAG’s office for bring ing out the first ever com pendium of asset account on mineral assets of the country. The minister said that the report pre sents comprehen sive picture of the mineral re sources spread across dif ferent states in the country.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened weak at 83.05 against the greenback but later lost ground to quote at 83.29. It also touched an intra-day high of 82.72.

The rupee pared all its losses to end at 82.79, regis tering a gain of 21 paise over its previous close.

In the previous session, the rupee had settled at an all-time low of 83 against the dollar.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 95.71 points or

OTHER STORIES

‘RUPEE STILL STRONGER IN COMPARISON TO OTHER CURRENCIES’ New Delhi: Market analyst Sunil Shah on Thursday said even though the rupee as a currency has weakened in comparison to the US dollar, but it is still “far stronger” than other currencies. Shah added that the weakening of the rupee will be stable once the FDI (foreign direct investment) flow increases, which the analyst feels is likely from next month. “Foreign capital will help in stabi lising the rupee,” Shah added. For the record, the Indian rupee has been weakening over the past few weeks to hit fresh new all-time lows as the USD strengthened against major global currencies.

0.16 per cent to close at 59,202.90, and the broader NSE Nifty climbed 51.70 points or 0.30 per cent to 17,563.95.

ORACLE BETS BIG ON MULTI-CLOUD OFFERINGS FOR INDIAN GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC SECTOR

Las Vegas: As the Indian government doubles down on mod ernising its infrastructure in the digital era, Oracle on Thursday said its multi-Cloud offerings, which are fresh out of the oven, can help the public sector and state governments move to the cloud faster and in an efficient manner. Oracle has two multi-Cloud offerings, one is the da tabase service for Microsoft Azure and the other one is ‘One MySQL’ database service for Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has generated great traction among the private sector.

INDIAN LENDERS IN TALKS WITH RUSSIA TO FINALISE TRADE

New Delhi: Indian lenders UCO Bank and Yes Bank are in talks with their Russian counterparts over a pay ment mecha nism for trade between the two countries, a government official said on Thursday. Reuters had reported large lenders are reluctant to process direct rupee trade transactions with Russia for fear of becoming the target of sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, and New Delhi is counting on smaller banks.

Mumbai: Adani group on Thursday said that it had bagged a project from BEST –Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport – to install 1.08 million smart meters in Mumbai. The company revealed that its contract includes installation of the smart meters over 30 months, and then maintained for the following 90 months. Shares of Adani Transmission surged over 1.6% in the first half of trade on Thursday.

AIR INDIA RECEIVES OVER 73,000 APPLICATIONS FOR CABIN CREW, PILOTS IN TWO MONTHS

New Delhi: Air India, which has embarked on expansion plans, on Thursday said it has received over 1,752 applications for pilots and 72,000 applica tions for cabin crew in the last 2 months. The loss-making carrier also received over 25,000 applications from management postgraduates with three years’ experi ence in ground-based business roles.

53% IT professionals may resign to pursue new job within next year

New Delhi: Debt-ridden telecom company Voda fone Idea’s board will meet on Friday to finalize plans for raising funds. Vodafone Idea has in formed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that its board will meet on October 21 to consid er a proposal to raise funds through the issu ance of convertible de bentures. Vodafone Idea has been trying to raise funds for a long time but has not succeeded.

Mumbai (PTI): More than half of IT professionals (53 per cent) are likely to pur sue a new position within the next year due to better compensation, a lack of training and development and a lack of work-life bal ance, according to a report.

About 66 per cent of IT decision makers see skills gap in their teams even as there is a 10 per cent de crease from last year, ac cording to Skillsoft’s 2022 IT Skills and Salary Re port. However, the indus try is facing another press ing challenge centred around talent attrition,

with more than half (53 per cent) of all respondents ex tremely or somewhat likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, it added.

Skillsoft’s 2022 IT Skills and Salary Report based on a survey with nearly 8,000 respondents. The report further revealed that over the past year, the workplace has been defined by em ployee-led “movements”, namely the Great Resigna tion and “quiet quitting”.

Meanwhile, the pace of digital transformation and lack of enough technical resources have pushed many IT professionals to a

point of burnout.

Skillsoft’s report found that two biggest challenges for the IT leaders’ are em

TOP 3 REASONS FOR LEAVING

z Among IT professionals that changed employers in the past year, their top 3 reasons for leaving were better compensation, a lack of training & development, and a lack of work-life balance

z The top cited inhibitor to training is that firm does not see a need for it

innovation,” Skillsoft Gen eral Manager, Tech and Dev, Zach Sims said.

He said companies that create cultures of learning and talent development will be most successful in recruiting and retaining ambitious individuals with the right skills and certifi cations to make an impact.

ployee retention and re cruitment. “Learning is the catalyst for mutually beneficial growth for em

ployees and employers, es pecially as organisations struggle to retain technical talent and keep pace with

“This culture not only supports individual em ployee growth, which is something IT profession als are actively seeking, but also leads to better business outcomes that propel organisations for ward,” he added.

ADANI TO INSTALL 1.80 MN SMART METERS FOR POWER USERS

ranked 7th in the list, with a donation of Rs 190 crore. Shiv Nadar has been hon oured by the US-India Stra

tegic Partnership Forum (USISPF), with its Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 for his contribution.

Editor-in-Chief,

Riteish, Genelia Deshmukh in soup over land allotment

SII stopped Covishield production in Dec 2021

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

Latur: Bollywood ac tor Riteish Deshmukh and his wife Genelia have landed in contro versy over the allot ment of a plot for his agro-processing com pany in the Maharash tra Industrial Develop ment Corporation (MIDC) area in Latur.

Latur district Bharati ya Janata Party (BJP) President, Gurunath Mage, has claimed that Deshmukh’s company Desh Agro Pvt. Ltd was allocated the land within three weeks of its forma tion and only 10 days af ter it applied for a lease.

Riteish’s wife Genelia Deshmukh is a co-owner of the company.

According to MIDC rule, allotment of land is to be on a priority basis for projects being set up with a capital of more

than Rs20 crore.

Mage said Desh Agro, which was registered on March 21, 2021, had de manded allotment of land in teh same month.

“Within nine days, three plots of more than 2.5 lakh sq m were allocated to them together,” he said, adding, “When 16 requests are pending since 2019, then how was the land allotted to Desh mukh’s company in a hurry within 10 days? There should be an in quiry into the issue.”

Pune: The Serum In stitute of India (SII) has stopped the pro duction of Cov ishield vaccine be ginning December 2021, Chief Execu tive Officer Adar Poonawalla, said on Thursday, adding that, by then, around 100 million doses of ready stock had al ready expired.

Booster vaccines have no demand as there is general lethar gy among people and also because they are fed up with the pandem ic, he told reporters on the sidelines of the an nual general meeting of Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN).

“Since December 2021, we stopped the production (of Cov ishield). We had a stock of a few hundred mil lion doses at that time and of that, 100 million doses have already ex pired,” said Poonawalla

429 new nCoV cases, 1 death; active tally at 2,650 in state

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Maharash tra on Thursday re corded 429 fresh cases of COVID-19, cases and one more death linked to the infec tion, while 466 pa tients recovered in the state, the health department said. This comes at a time when Dr Soumya Swa minathan, chief scien tist at the World Health Organization (WHO), said some countries may see “another wave of infections” with the XBB subvariant of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

With Thursday’s ad ditions, the overall tally rose to 81,29,105, while

the death toll increased to 1,48,378, said the de partment in a bulletin.

On Wednesday, the state recorded 418 cases and three COVID19-linked fatalities.

Of the new cases, Mumbai accounted for 147. While the count in Nashik district rose to 4,82,269 with the addi

tion of 13 new patients in the last two days (Oc tober 19 and 20), it re ported no deaths.

The sole fatality due to the infection in the state in the last 24 hours was reported from Sind hudurg district.

The case fatality rate is now 1.82%, while the recovery rate is 98.14%.

when asked about the update on the Cov ishield vaccine.

He said the SII’s vac cines can be mixed.

“Now, Covovax should be allowed in two weeks. So I think they will and should probably have the poli cy to mix boosters. If WHO allowed it, then maybe the Indian regu lator will and should al low it. But again, boost ers have no demand at the moment. There is lethargy generally. Peo ple are fed up of COV ID-19 and vaccines. To be honest, I am also fed up with it. We all are,” he said.

Going forward, peo ple may take anti-COV

Now, Covovax should be allowed in two weeks. So I think they will and should have the policy to mix boosters. If WHO allowed it, then maybe the Indian regulator will and should allow it. But again, boosters have no demand at the moment. There is lethargy generally. People are fed up of COVID-19 and vaccines. To be honest, I am also fed up with it. We all are.

ID-19 vaccines and oth er shots together when they take their annual shots, Poonawalla said, adding, “It will become that kind of a product.”

“In India, there is no culture of taking flu shots as we see it in the West. We tried when we launched a few vac cines in 2010. During the H1NI pandemic in 2011, no one took it. Flu

Man gets life term for killing wife, kid

First India Bureau

Jalna: A local court here has sentenced a 30-year-old man to life imprisonment for murdering his wife and seven-year-old daughter.

Shahji Govindrao Deshmukh frequently quarrelled with his wife as he suspected her of infidelity and even beat her, prosecutor Jayshree Salunkhe told the Jalna district court.

On September 2, 2020, Deshmukh, a resident of Partur tehsil’s Akoli village hit his wife with an iron rod, killing her on the spot. He also murdered their daugh ter who had been a wit

He bludgeoned his wife to death and then murdered 7-year-old who witnessed it

ness to the crime.

He was soon arrested for the double murder.

The prosecution ex amined eight witnesses in the court.

On Tuesday, judge AL Tikle upheld the prose cution’s case and sen tenced the accused to life in prison.

NO TAP STAYS DRY

—Adar Poonawalla, CEO, SII

is not something that sounds scary to people. They just do not want to take it,” he said.

Covishield was pro duced at the SII’s Pune facility with a master seed from Oxford Uni versity and AstraZene ca. The SII had an nounced its partnership with Oxford University to manufacture the vac cine in April 2020.

BEST set to install ‘smart meters’ to manage defaulters

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bom bay Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) undertaking plans to introduce smart meters, which would empower the distrib utor to automatical ly cut-off power sup ply of bill default ers. Over 10.80 lakh such meters will be installed by Adani Transmissions in the next 2.5 years.

BEST awarded the Rs1,250 crore project to Adani Transmission Limited’s Advanced Metering Infrastruc ture (AMI) partner, said the company’s distribution CEO Kandarp Patel.

ATL would not only install the smart me ters—along with the related communica tion and cloud infra structure—it shall also maintain them for seven and half years for the BEST, on a de sign-build-financeown-operate-transfer basis, said Patel.

Billed as the biggest of its kind in the coun try, the project will cover end-to-end ad vanced metering for distribution infra

They would empower the distributor to automatically cut off power supply remotely

structure and end con sumers of BEST, with complete energy ac counting and zero manual intervention. It will also empower BEST power consum ers—all located in south Mumbai—to monitor online con sumption patterns and take prompt cor rective action if need ed. They will also be offered options such as pre-paid billing, netmetering facilities for housing complexes and commercial build ings with roof-top so lar energy plants, among others.

Let’s keep Goddess Lakshmi’s vahan safe this Diwali, NGOs say

First India Bureau Mumbai: To save owls that are ritu ally sacrificed each year during Diwali, TRAFFIC and WWFIndia have collabo rated to create awareness in public and authorities.

The two NGOs have, in collaboration, pro duced and shared identification tools such as posters and ID cards in English and Hindi with enforce ment agencies and the general public, as part of the larger goal to protect the species.

“Owls are noctur

India is home to about 36 owl species. —FILE PHOTO

nal hunters and play a crucial role in bal ancing the ecosys tem. They are consid ered friends of farm ers, keeping rodents and other agrarian pest populations in check. Owls also have a strong cultur al significance as a vehicle of Goddess

Lakshmi. Despite such strong rele vance, superstitious and manipulated be liefs…threaten its future,” said Dr Mer wyn Fernandes, Co ordinator, TRAFFIC India Office.

Every year, owls are sacrificed for mystic rituals and practices especially in smaller towns and villages where owl parts such as the skull, feathers, ear tufts, claws, heart, liver, kidney, blood, eyes, fat, beak, tears, eggshells, meat, and bones are prescribed for ceremonial pujas and rituals.

BMC GRANTS WATER CONNECTIONS TO 47% APPLICANTS

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Civic body’s ‘Water for All’ scheme has so far benefited almost 20K in the past 5 months; process was slowed down due to incessant rainfall in the monsoon

Mumbai: The Brihan mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), since rolling out its ‘Water for All’ policy in May, has so far pro vided water connec tions to about 47% applicants. Out of 1,666 applications covered under the policy, 782 were pro vided with connec tions, the civic body has revealed.

One connection for at least five houses means 20,000 people re ceived authorized con

nections in the past five months. There are around 150 slums with 20 lakh people that do not have legal water

tions.

The BMC had first sanctioned the policy in 2016, following a De cember 2014 order of

BMC first sanctioned the policy in 2016, following a Dec 2014 HC order which classified water supply as fundamental right

the Bombay High Court, which stated that water supply is a fundamental right, ir respective of whether the house is legal or il legal. However, the BMC put several terms on implementation of the policy, and only a handful of slum dwell

ers actually received water connections.

“We have received 1,666 applications from across the city so far, out of which almost 80% applicants have been granted permis sion. The process of laying the pipelines has begun as well. At least 782 applicants have received connec tions till now,” said Pu rushottam Malvade, head of Hydraulic En gineering Department.

“There are around 150 slums with a population of 20 lakh that do not have water connections.

People buy water from tankers, illegal connec tions, and slums/build ings,” said Sitaram Shelar, activist and founder of Pani Haq Samiti organization. He added that though the BMC has rolled out a good initiative, it needs to speed up.

According to civic of ficials, the process slowed due to the mon soon. They could not grant permission for digging or trenching to lay the pipelines dur ing the rainy season, and this affected the pace of the work.

First India Bureau

connections. Hence, about 1% of the unauthorized slum population now has au thorized water connec

Civic body has approved 782 of 1,666 applications for authorized connections. —FILE PHOTO

No takers for booster shots as people are fed up, says Poonawalla

Going forward, people may take the anti-nCoV vaccine along with other annual shots. —FILE PHOTO

The actor couple co-own Desh Agro Pvt Ltd. —FILE PHOTO ALLEGATIONS

You are lucky to have a job that pays the bills, walk an extra mile to find fulfilment and creative challenge. It’s worth it.

—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO

SESSIONS FOR THAT ‘PRIME’ SASH

The ‘City of Dreams’, Mumbai is gearing up for the grand finale of the National level beauty pageant First India Queen 2022 to be held on October 21 at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai, with gorgeous-looking top 30 models all set to compete for the coveted crown. City First brings to you glimpses of the training and grooming sessions conducted at Hotel T24, Mumbai!

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

n today’s modern world, a pleasant and wellgroomed individ ual is always wel comed by people from any sector. Being groomed is almost a lifestyle for people working in the corporate world but it is a necessi ty in the arena of per forming arts - be it mod elling or acting.

The criteria to win is not based on just looks, but a fit body, an allround personality, spo ken skills and inner depth. Right from when they are shortlisted by the First India Queen organisa

tion, contestants are encour aged to eat healthy, exercise, and adopt healthy habits. They are groomed physical ly, mentally and emotionally, and their innate skills are honed.

The first day kicked off with a ceremony where all the finalists were welcomed

with a sash and a gift ham per and as the evening rolled in, the talent round and question-answer round for First India Queen also start ed. While the second day wit nessed an equally insightful session by Pooja Misra fol lowed by an entertaining talent round.

MITALI DUSAD mitalidusad01@gmail.com

Fitness Coach Karan Hebbar from Kinesiis with the top 30 finalists during a session on Health & Fitness

Clockwise: Kavita Kharayat Avani Kakekochhi and Sanya Hissaria

Parimal Mehhta addressing the audience during a grooming session. Also seen is Dr Chandra Ambati, one of the finalists of First India Queen

Finalists keenly listening to the training and grooming session

Sunny Kamble

THE SKY FULL OF STARS

@ SAHARA STAR

Most people cringe when they get sum moned for jury duty but when it comes to judging a national-level beauty pageant, it is indeed a privilege. As much nerve-wracking and tedious as it gets, the task is equally exciting too. We are proud to announce the jury members of First India Queen, to be held today at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai.

Shenai, Roopmati Manere, Jayanthi Ballal, Poonam Pandey, Anita Hada, Ishika Taneja, Shibani Kashyap, Raayo S. Bakhirta, Nitinn R Miranni, Madhuri Bho sale, Karishma Modi, Akanksha Bhalla and Aditi Jaggi Rastogi. The jury members suggest ed that the diversity of the panel reflected the indus try as a whole. “Most of us grew up in different cities, remote places,” said Pari mal Mehhta “But think that fashion and beauty pageants are a kind of re mote oxygen. They show us things that we wouldn’t normally know or under stand and speaks to those people even in the lowliest bubbles. It means that young aspirants in the modelling industry can see stuff they wouldn’t other wise see. Fashion travels and communicates and in this rising times of beauty pageants that’s more im portant than ever.”

This globe-hopping aspira tion amid the finalists ap pears to be borne out by the spectacular jury. Contend ers for the coveted crown of First India Queen range from the City of Dreams to the Pink City, the streets of Capital City to the State of Mysore. First India Queen represents the most sophis ticated approach to glam our on a huge platform.

Rajendra Jain, Archa na Kochhar, Parimal Mehhta, Dr Priti

Dr Priti Shenai

Archana Kochhar

Karishma ModiIshika Taneja

Nitinn R Miranni

Poonam Pandey

Bhalla

Roopmati Manere

Jayanthi BallalMadhuri Bhosale

Rajendra Jain

The beautiful Grand Finale Venue, Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai

Shibani Kashyap

Raayo S Bakhirta

Parimal Mehhta

Anita Hada

MITALI DUSAD cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Aditi Jaggi Rastogi

It’s not just about grooming, BUT BEING YOU TOO...

The three days grooming sessions by fashion and model ling experts in cluded grooming tips, nutrition, how to carry themselves well, how to pose for the cam era, ramp walking, speaking skills, pres sure handling, etc. Su permodels and men tors are toiling hard to make the dreams of these 30 divas, a reality.

After the grooming and mentoring sessions alone, these girls out shine as epitomes of em powered women with wellshaped opinions. Within a short span, they have in spired thousands not just to believe, but also to speak up for themselves.

Wednesday witnessed a session by Pooja Misra, the multi-talented ravish ing model, a VJ and Big Boss fame also graced the occasion and enlightened the girls on various fash ion and modelling topics.

While briefing them about how to pose, style and face the camera and audience, she also shared a secret mantra, ‘The Mood Board’. The girls were very impressed and fascinated by the insight

While Thursday kicked off with a rejuvenating health and fitness session by Fitness Coach Karan Hebbar from Kinesiis, fol lowed by Parimal Me hhta’s session. The even ing witnessed sessions by Kavita Kharayat and Sun ny Kamble, supermodels of India, from the Manish Malhotra group.

Kavita Kharayat, model and mentor for the grand event said, “I always ad vise my girls to be confi dent and positive while

answering questions. If the question requires hu mour, don’t hesitate to throw it. Be smart and dip lomatic!”

Any person who has leadership potential pos sesses a natural inclina tion to work hard, learn, and be coachable. Some times we squander time on people who do not pos sess these traits and over look the ones who do have essential leadership at tributes. So starting with the right guidance is a

must.

While Parimal Mehhta gave some valuable tips in case of wardrobe malfunction, he added, “Just take it cool. Don’t overreact on stage when everybody is looking at you. All you need to do is get control of the embarrassment and go ahead with the ‘devil may care’ attitude.”

The sessions touched upon topics like ward robe must-haves like a pair of denim, a white shirt and a black t-shirt are wardrobe must-haves. The girls were briefed about how one can mix and match these with anything for any occa sion. How a simple short dress is also a must.

The young beauties were thrilled with the ses sions and are all pepped up for the grand finale.

Janhvi's armpit hickey!

While pro moting her new movie

FMSP cast addresses backlash

OTT series, Four More Shots Please is coming back with its third sea son that fans have been waiting for two years now. While it has been im mensely loved, there also has been backlash regarding the content. Several claim that the show obscenely talks only about sex. Answering it, the four women spoke about the show in a recent interview.

Kirti Kulhari said that al

though everyone is entitled to their own opinion, she be lieves that India is the second most populated country and the show is representing what is already out there in the world. Sayani Gupta add ed that it is not about sex but about women having the choice to choose their sexual partners and to discover their sexuality.

Bani J, who plays a bisexual character in the show revealed

that the main reason behind the trolling of the show is that the male-dominated society is not comfortable with women taking charge of their sexual ity. Maanvi Gagroo shared that she experienced firsthand how women openly started embracing the show and lived vicariously through the lives of the four main leads. She explained that wom en from all age groups ex pressed their love for the show.

EPITOME OF PERFECTION!

Madhuri Bho sale is the founder and CEO of IRA WOMEN and Screen shots Studios. The tal ented woman is a me dia veteran and also worked across the length and breadth of the country handling large portfolios of over Rs 400 Cr. An MBA, she has an experience of 20+ years across the gamut of Strategy, Rev enue, Operations, Con tent Creation, Market

ing and People Man agement. Not only this, the boss lady has suc cessfully helmed Sen ior level positions and has led large teams in blue chip companies like Airtel, Idea, Loop Mobile & Radio Mirchi.

Screenshots studios is a Media Startup. It’s a content Studio where they create and exe cute shows for various media platforms like OTT, TV, Audio, Fea ture Films and New Age Social Media etc.

These are unique con cepts, ideas and stories

which are relevant to the millennial and transcend multiple for mats, Languages cul tures and a leading full-service creative agency for brands who want to speak directly to Gen Zers.

Talking about her interests, Madhuri is a Hodophile, which means loves to travel. Diving is her huge pas sion as well. She enjoys meeting people from different walks of life and is always in search of extraordinary sto ries.

‘Mili’, Bollywood ac tress Janhvi Ka poor has been post ing pictures of herself on social media in stun ning outfits. The actress recently posted a few gorgeous im ages of her

self wearing a seductive cutout dress with a black tone that cost Rs. 7 thou sand. The actress struck seductive poses for the camera while looking scorching hot. Notably, some keen-eyed followers noticed a love bite close to Janhvi's right armpit not long after she uploaded her seductive photographs. It's true what you just read!

On Wednesday, Kapoor shared her sultry photo

ANANYA'S cosy evening

According to the most recent ru mours, Ananya and Aditya have been secretly dating and their bond is becoming stronger by the day. To gether with her sister Nu pur Sanon, Kriti Sanon organised a Diwali cele bration on Wednesday at their new home in Mum bai. A lot of prominent names were invited to the party. Additionally, Anan ya and Aditya attracted a lot of attention during the party owing to their close ness and were observed interacting with one an other. The new pair in the town was seen in one of Kriti's pictures with An gad Bedi and Neha Dhu pia while they were deep ly engaged in discussion and unaware that they were in the photo. When Bhavna Pandey, the moth

graphs, posing with the ut most style and elegance. She chose to wear her hair loose and added brown lip stick, blush, mascara, and kohl-rimmed eyes. In these stunning photographs, the 25-year-old actress is a sight to see and demonstrates her impeccable sense of style. The scorching video of Sridevi's daughter strik ing sexy positions during the picture shoot was also uploaded online.

Madhuri Bhosale

Pooja Misra with the top 30 finalists of First India Queen during a training and grooming session

Vaishnavi TN walking the ramp during the training session. Also seen are other finalists

Anshika Choudhary and Swati Yadav

Neha Varma and Suhani Chauhan

Janhvi’s post...

Ananya Panday

Neha Dhupia’s post...