First India-Delhi Edition-21st October 2022

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ANTI-COMPETITIVE PRACTICES: GOOGLE FINED $161.95 MN

India’s competition regulator said on Thursday it has fined Alphabet Inc’s Google 13.38 billion Indian rupees ($161.95 million) for anticompetitive practices related to Android mobile devices. The Competition Commission of India also ordered Google not to offer any incentives to smartphone makers for exclusively carrying its search services. P6

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.

100 MILLION COVISHIELD DOSES EXPIRED:

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.

PM MODI INITIATES PROJECTS WORTH `1970 CRORE

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

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.

Shrikant Tyagi no longer a prisoner

Walks out of Noida jail, heads straight to home in Grand Omaxe society

Noida (PTI): Politician

Shrikant Tyagi, who was arrested in August for assaulting a woman in a Noida society, was released from jail on Thursday, a senior po lice officer said.

Tyagi was lodged in the Luksar jail in Great er Noida since August 9, and was granted bail by the Allahabad HC two days ago. “He was re leased this evening after all legal formalities,” Jail Superintendent Arun Pratap Singh said.

INFAMOUS FOR ABUSING WOMAN

Tyagi, who flexed political connections and claimed association with the BJP, was caught on camera as saulting a woman resident of Grand Omaxe society in Noida’s Sector 93B, after he was challenged by her over planting of trees in a common area. He was also heard hurling expletives at the woman.

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.

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.

Clad in a white kurtapyjama paired with a black waist-coat, Tyagi (34) walked out of the jail around 6.30 pm and headed to his home in Grand Omaxe society in Noida Sector 93B.

Truss’ PM stint ends as shortest in UK history

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:

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. P8

INDIA WILL HOST 2023

WITH

THAKUR

First India Bureau

Ghaziabad: The al leged gangrape of a Delhi woman in Ghazi abad was a “fake case” in which the woman was trying to frame the men with whom she had a dispute over prop erty, UP Police claimed in a press conference on Thursday.

“She was with two of her friends for the two days — the duration for which she’d alleged she’d been kidnapped and raped by five men,” said Praveen Kumar,

UP’s regional police chief. “The complaint was all a conspiracy hatched to file a rape case on the five men,” the police officer said.

“We have recovered the car in which she went with her friends and stayed with them for two days,” he fur ther claimed.

The case gained prominence after Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal tweeted that the 36-yearold was found wrapped in a jute bag, with her hands and legs tied, and an iron rod inserted in her private parts.

Police in their press er said that mobile sig nal tracking showed that one of her friends had switched off his phone right at the spot where she was found, near Ashram Road that connects Ghaziabad with Delhi.

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

Ahead of MCD polls, Amit Shah asks to choose between ‘AAP Nirbhar’ and ‘Atmanirbhar’

bodies and said it owed Rs 40,000 crore to the municipal corporations.

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said on Thursday that

of

with

His

came after

threatened to boycott the 2023 WC due to Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Jay Shah confirming that the 2023 Asia Cup will be held at a neutral venue instead of Pakistan. P5

New Delhi (PTI): Un ion Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Arvind Kejri wal-led party wanted Delhi to be ‘AAP Nirb har’ while the BJP wanted the national capital to be Atmanirb har, and asked people to choose between the two in the MCD elections.

Speaking at the launch of a waste-to-en ergy (WTE) plant in Tehkhand here, Shah

accused the Kejriwal government of stepmotherly treatment to the erstwhile three civic

“They (Kejriwal-led party) want Delhi to be AAP Nirbhar. We want it to become Atmanirb har. In the next Munici pal Corporation of Del hi (MCD) polls, people will have to decide if they want to be AAP Nirbhar or Atmanirb har,” Shah said at the south Delhi event.

Alleging that the AAP government had been spending heavily on publicity, he claimed

Kejriwal was under the impression that devel opment came from ad vertisements, but said “this illusion can last only for five to seven years”.

“People will have to choose between ‘Vigya pan ki Rajniti’ (politics of advertisement) and ‘Vikas ki Rajniti’ (poli tics of development),” he added.

Shah assured that the BJP would be ready with a plan to make Delhi garbage-free by the time MCD Turn to P3

as leader of the Conserv ative Party,” she said.

Rishi Sunak, former chancellor, and Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons, are the two frontrunners, although a number of other candidates could enter the fray.

His family thanked the Tyagi Community for its support during their ordeal. The com munity members had held panchayats to mo bilise support for Tyagi and staged protests.

“We are very happy and have got sweets at home for his welcome,” his wife Anu Tyagi said.

NIA arrests ISIS operative from Varanasi

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

“The arrested man, Basit Kalam Siddiqui of Varanasi, was indulg ing in content creation, publication and dissem ination of ISIS propa ganda through ‘Voice of Khorasan’ magazine.

Hate speech against Muslims: Plea in SC

New Delhi (ANI): The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice on a petition seeking its intervention to stop hate crimes and speech es against the Muslim community in India.

A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar tagged the matter with a batch of other pleas on hate speech. Justice KM Jo seph has been hearing such pleas.

The petition filed by Shaheen Abdullah, a journalist working with Maktoob media, said

news and media plat forms openly demonise the Muslim community. “Public speeches open ly call for genocide of Muslims or for econom ic and social boycott of Muslims. (There is) Open participation by members of the ruling political party,” it said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks during the inauguration of ‘Waste to Energy’ plant in New Delhi on Thursday. LG Vinai Saxena also present.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Shrikant Tyagi being greeted after his release from prison on bail, in Noida on Thursday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

‘WOMAN WAS WITH FRIENDS FOR 2 DAYS’ Ghaziabad ‘gang-rape’ cooked-up story, dispute was over property: UP Police

Meerut Range Inspector General of Police Praveen Kumar addressing the press on Thursday.

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

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

were

coming

AKASH AMBANI TO DEDICATE 5G SERVICE AT SHRINATHJI

UK PM LIZ TRUSS RESIGNS

SC GRANTS INTERIM BAIL TO

7-YR-OLD’S MURDER ACCUSED

Delhi Police chief gets detention power under NSA

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday granted in terim bail to a man who was barely 16 years old when he killed a 7-yearold boy in a private school in Gurugram, three days after a Juve nile Justice Board ruled he will be tried in the case as an adult.

The incident that sent shockwaves across the national capital region had hap pened in 2017.

A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and JK Maheshwari said the continued de tention of the accused until completion of the trial may have adverse effects on him.

“Accordingly, the prayer for interim re lief is granted and un til further orders of

this court, that is by way of interim meas ure, the petitioner ap pellant be released on bail on conditions as may be imposed by ses sions judge Gurugram.

“It is, however, spe cifically provided that the petitioner appel lant shall continuously remain under supervi sion of a probation of ficer or any other per

son appointed by the sessions judge. It is also made clear that the pe titioner and his parents would be expected not to create hindrance in the trial of the case and for that matter will not try to contact or com municate with any of the witnesses...," the bench said.

The bench said if there is any shortcom

Delhi HC rejects plea against firecracker ban

TIMELINE

Gurugram student allegedly slit junior’s throat to get exam postponed z z z

New Delhi (PTI): Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi has is sued a notification, granting Delhi Police Commissioner Balaji Srivastava the powers to detain anyone un der the National Secu rity Act, sources said on Thursday.

New Delhi (PTI): Not ing the pendency of is sues related to firecrack ers before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court on Thursday re fused to entertain a peti tion challenging Delhi Pollution Control Com mittee's complete ban on sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers.

Justice Yashwant Varma dismissed the petition by two mer chants who sought to "purchase, sell and store only green crack ers" during the festive season, and said it was not appropriate for the high court to indepen dently examine such a challenge when the is sue "does appear to be engaging the attention" of the top court.

The court, however, said the petitioners were free to initiate appropri ate proceedings under the law to seek redressal

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Thurs day refused to entertain a public interest litigation for directions to the city authorities to allow the use of traditional lead acid battery in e-rickshaws which it claimed was a safer and cheaper alterna tive to its lithium ion substitute. A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma termed as "sponsored petition" the plea by an e-rickshaw driver who claimed the Delhi transport authority has issued an order refusing to register e-vehicles having lead acid battery and was promoting the use of lithium ion battery, and said it was a "policy decision". The bench emphasised that acid batteries were "very dangerous" and their lithium counterparts were already being used in several appliances.

of their grievances.

“The court notes the issue of pollution as a result of use of fire cracker during Diwali was first considered by the SC (in a case). The petition remains pend ing on the board of the

Supreme Court. Subse quently, another writ petition came to be pre ferred before the Court seeking the issuance of guidelines in respect of sale, purchase and bursting of permissible firecrackers.

ing in the conduct of the petitioner, the probation officer shall be free to report it to the sessions judge who shall forward the information to the apex court.

Advocate Sushil

Tekriwal, representing the victim's family, told PTI," We will endeav our our best to get the trial conducted expedi tiously and not leave any stone unturned to get the conviction in the case."

The order, which came into force from Wednesday, is effec tive till January 18 next year. The lieu tenant governor has authorised the com missioner of police to take into preventive detention those who become a threat to the national capital, ac cording to a senior police officer

The official notifi cation cites subsec tion 2 of section 3 of National Security Act which states that the central government or a state govern

Wanted criminal held after encounter in Gurugram

Gurugram (PTI): A man, wanted in more than a dozen criminal cases, was arrested after a brief exchange of fire, officials said on Wednesday.

The accused has been identified as Mo hit, they said, adding that there was a re ward of Rs 20,000 on him.

Mohit was wanted in more than a dozen cases of robbery, kid napping, cheating among others. He sus tained a bullet injury on his leg during the encounter and has been admitted to a

Mohit was wanted in more than a dozen cases of robbery, kidnapping and cheating. He was carrying a reward of `20,000 on his head.

hospital, police said.

A stolen motorcy cle, a pistol and one cartridge were recov ered from him, police said. After receiving a tip-off about Mohit, police put up barri cades near Bajghera village here. The po lice spotted Mohit on a bike and asked him to stop but he rammed into the barricade, in juring a policeman,

officials said. “The accused did not stop and tried to escape. When the po lice tried to stop him, he opened fire. In the crossfire, he sus tained a bullet injury. He was admitted to a hospital. A fresh FIR has been registered against the accused," said Preet Pal Singh Sangwan, ACP (Crime).

ment, if satisfied that a person can act in any manner prejudi cial to the security of the state or the main tenance of public or der, can make an or der directing that such person be de tained as a preventive measure.

The National Se

curity Act allows preventive detention of an individual for months if police feels that the indi vidual is a threat to the national secu rity, and law and or der. The individual also need not be in formed of the charg es for 10 days.

School manager dead as speeding car rams into truck in Greater Noida

New Delhi (ANI): A 25-year-old school man ager died allegedly after his speeding car rammed into a station ary truck in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noi da on Thursday, police said. The incident took place in the Surajpur area around 7.30 am. The deceased had left home after an argument with his family, the po lice said, citing prelimi nary probe.

“The deceased has been identified as Sumit Pal, a resident of Dadri in Greater Noida. He was in a Hyundai Creta which rammed into the stationary truck near

the Khodna Khurd cut,” Awadhesh Kumar, incharge of the Surajpur police station, said. “When alerted, a police team rushed to the spot and found the badly damaged car from which the body was pulled out,” Kumar said. Police had to get gas cutters to open the damaged car in order to pull the body out and the process took them half-an-hour.

28 tonnes of fake cumin seeds seized

New Delhi (PTI): The Crime Branch of police has busted an illegal factory in Kanjhawala which allegedly made fake cumin seeds and arrested its owner, offi cials said on Thursday.

The 43-year-old ac cused was identified as Suresh Gupta, resident of Budh Vihar, Phase-I. He was running the fac tory making fake cumin seeds by using grass, jaggery vinegar and stone powder, the offi cials said.

More than 400 sacks of fake cumin seeds were recovered. The value of recovered items exceeds `1 crore

More than 400 sacks of fake cumin seeds weighing a total of over 28 tons were re

WOMEN POWER

More than 400 sacks of fake cumin seeds were recovered.

covered, police said, adding the value of re covered items exceeds Rs 1 crore.

input about the factory in which fake cumin seeds were being made.

Special Commission er of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said police had received

On the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, it was con firmed that Gupta was running an illegal fac tory in Kanjhawala area and was manufac turing fake cumin seeds. Police were also tipped off that he will transport a large con signment of the same outside Delhi. Immedi ate raid was planned to bust the illegal factory.

Afghan refugees craft new life selling handmade products

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Farida Khair Khwa teaches art and craft to at least 60 refugee women and asylum seekers, free of cost

Aparna Bose

New Delhi: Building a new life in India, the women Afghan refu gees living in the na tional capital have es tablished a full-time career making hand made products and teaching handicraft to other refugee women.

Farida Khair Khwa, 46, an Afghan refugee who arrived in India in 2016, teaches art and craft to at least 60 refugee women and

asylum seekers, free of cost in South Del hi’s Jangpura.

“I teach art and craft to at least 60 women refugees as well as Asy lum-seekers free of cost. The shop is situ ated near Samman Bazar in Bhogal,” Fari da told PTI.

The training school for art and crafts was started by Farida and two of her friends in April, aiming to help the young refugee wom en in India.

“We started this busi ness 6 months ago. We make earrings, key

We started this business 6 months ago. We make earrings, key chains, handbags, purses, coasters, tradi tional clothes, and food as well. I had a longstanding desire to own a business.

—Farida, Afghan refugee

art and crafts, said that she had a longstanding desire to own a busi ness. “I always wanted to start a business of my own in Afghanistan, but I chose to focus on my family because my children were very young,” she told PTI.

chains, handbags, purs es, coasters, traditional clothes, and food as

well,” she said.

Farida, who has al ways been keen about

“After moving to In dia, I was looking for a job and gradually start ed talking about the idea to my refugee friends, who were equally interested,” she said.

Farida and her friends received help from ‘Silaiwaali’ -- a so cial enterprise in New Delhi which up-cycles waste fabric generated by clothing manufac turers for refugees to make handicraft items. She said that the so cial enterprise not only helped them with mate rials, but also taught them how to advertise their products and paid them a monthly salary of Rs 5,000 for five months.

The boy who was killed by a senior student in 2017.

Handicrafts made by women Afghan refugees at Jangpura in New Delhi.

—PHOTO BY PTI

HC REFUSES PLEA FOR LEAD ACID BATTERIES IN E-RICKSHAWS

The Lieutenant Governor has authorised the Commissioner of Police to take into preventive detention those who pose a threat to the national capital

DON'T MAKE EXCUSES FOR MCD'S FAILURE, KEJRIWAL TELLS SHAH

New Delhi (PTI):

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday hit back at Union Home Minister 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.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, the AAP su premo also said that in the next civic elections, people will have to de cide whether they want a Delhi filled with gar bage or a clean Delhi.

"For something you could not do in 15 years, now you want three more years for that? Why should people trust you? You won't be able to do it. Now we will make Delhi gar bage-free," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

He was responding to allegations levelled against his party by Shah at an event hosted by the Municipal Cor

How much funds did the central govt give to MCD in 15 years? The BJP was in power in both? Double-engine? —Arvind Kejriwal, in Twitter post

poration of Delhi (MCD) here. At the launch of a waste-toenergy (WTE) plant, Amit Shah accused the Kejriwal government of giving step-motherly treatment to the erst while three civic bod ies, and said it owed Rs 40,000 crore to the mu nicipal corporations.

In his response, Ke jriwal wrote: "How much funds did the cen tral government give to MCD in 15 years? The BJP was in power in both? Double-engine? Don't make excuses for your failure. Tell the public what work you have done in 15 years. I challenge you."

From P1 elections are held and that the city would be in a position to pro cess 100 per cent of its daily waste by 2025.

The Home minister said the WTE plant would help address the problem of waste processing and fur ther strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission.

He said the WTE in Tehkhand would pro cess 2,000 metric tonne garbage daily and produce 25 MW electricity.

The senior BJP lead er added that when re quired, the city’s waste processing capacity could be further in creased by 500 metric

Delhi government lifts ` 500 fine for not wearing face masks

Decision taken by Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)

New Delhi (ANI): The Delhi Government an nounced on Thursday that no penalty will be levied on people for not wearing face masks in public places in the na tional capital. The gov ernment, however, ad vised the public to con tinue wearing masks in crowded public places. The Health and Fam ily Welfare Department of the Delhi Govern ment in a statement said that the Delhi Dis aster Management Au thority (DDMA) has decided to withdraw the order that made it com pulsory for face masks in public and which lev ied Rs 500 as fine for those found violating the order. The decision to lift the fine was taken by the Delhi govern ment in its last COVID review meeting based on a dip in Covid cases.

New Delhi (PTI): The average PM2.5 pollution in Delhi in winter has declined by about 20 per cent as compared to the pre-pandemic period, a new report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Thursday.

The PM2.5 concentra tion for winter (October 1 to February 28) used to hover around 180-190 microgram per cubic metre before the pandemic. It has come down to 150-160 microgram per cubic metre since then, the report said. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at the CSE, said the objective of the report is to understand the trend and “the starting line of the onset of the winter pollution season or pre-winter levels in this region”.

“DDMA in its meet ing held on September 22, 2022, noted that the positivity rate of COV

vaccinated. And where as, DDMA has decided that compulsory wear ing of masks under the Epidemic Act may not be extended beyond September 30, 2022, and hence, a Fine of Rs 500 for not wearing of masks in public places would also stand with drawn after September 30, 2022,” said a state ment by Health and family department of Delhi government.

However, the govern ment advised people to wear masks in crowded public places and all.

“The provision to im pose a penalty of Rs 500 on the general public for not wearing a face mask in public places, stands withdrawn.

However, in crowded public places, all public are advised to wear masks,” it added.

Back in April, the DDMA re-imposed the fine for not wearing face masks in public places.

tonne. Another WTE plant with a capacity of 3,000 metric tonne will come up in Narela by August 2024, Shah said. The Union Home minister also hoped that the reunified MCD would successfully bring an ecosystem that would make Delhi the world’s best capital.

With completion of the delimitation pro cess to alter wards un

der MCD limits and the Centre’s approval for the final draft, the last hurdle to holding the civic body polls has been cleared.

Hitting out at the AAP dispensation in Delhi, Shah said the government in the na tional capital didn’t pay its dues to the three erstwhile civic bodies so as to affect their functioning.

Speeding vehicle hits bike, rider dies

Gurugram (PTI):

A 25-year-old man was killed while his friend was injured after their motorcy cle was hit by a speeding vehicle at Sukhrali flyover here, police said on Thursday. While Shivam Bhagat suc cumbed during treatment, his friend Kuldeep Pa til is still being treated in hospital.

The duo was on their way to IFFCO chowk when the ve hicle hit their bike from behind. The vehicle driver fled from the spot.

Ghaziabad gangrape: NCW constitutes team New Delhi (PTI): The National Commission for Women will send a fact finding team to look into the al leged gang-rape of a woman in Ghaziabad.

ID-19 infection has come down substantial ly and a majority of the population has been

The notification came days after Union Health Minister Man sukh Mandaviya held a review meeting over the new Omicron variant.

"@NCWIndia is taking cognisance of the matter and sending a two-member fact finding team," the panel tweeted.

PETITION IN HIGH COURT

5 drunk cops thrash elderly couple, suspended

Gurugram (PTI):

Three drunk police men were arrested after they allegedly thrashed an elderly couple at their home, demanding a hookah from them, an official said on Thursday.

Two other police men, who were part of the ruckus at a home in village Fazil pur on Wednesday night, are absconding. Police have suspend ed all five of them.

The three arrested men were caught by the other members of the family and were handed over to the police when they arrived at the spot.

Inspector Madan lala SHO of Badshsh pur police station said, “Three person nel have been arrest ed after their blood alcohol medical test came positive.”

“All five cops were posted in my office but now all are sus pended. FIR has also

The cops picked up a fight with the elderly couple after they refused to give them a hookah

been registered as per the complaint. Such acts by cops will not be tolerat ed,” said Upasana, DCP South.

According to the complaint filed by Rahul Bedi, son of the couple, at around 10.30pm, five men reached his home and threatened and misbehaved with his parents. He said he heard his parents screaming when he along with his broth er returned home last night. On seeing them the five men tried to escape.

DU: All 70,000 seats may be filled in first merit list itself

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi University is ex pecting that all 70,000 seats for its undergrad uate programmes will be filled in the first list, with nearly 61,000 can didates on Thursday ac cepting their allotted college and course.

“We are expecting all 70,000 seats to be filled in the first list itself. This would mean the entire process will be completed by October 24,” DU Registrar Vikas Gupta said.

“The university allo cated 80,164 seats across various categories. By

7pm on Thursday, 60,863 candidates had accept ed the seats allocated to them,” Gupta said.

The number of seats across DU colleges is 70,000, but the varsity has allocated extra seats in unreserved (OBC-NCL and EWS) and reserved (SC, ST and PWBD) categories

in the first list, taking the number to 80,164. This has been done to ensure that reserved seats, which remain va cant throughout the year, can be filled.

DU admissions are being done through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for the first time.

Delhi Congress challenges delimitation of municipal wards

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Petition claims population sizes have increased for lower income group wards, while richer wards have been handpicked for smaller population sizes

New Delhi (ANI): A Petition has been moved in Delhi High Court by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) President Chaudhary Anil Kumar on Thursday challeng ing the notification is sued in regard to the delimitation of Munici pal wards in the nation al capital.

The plea states that the Central Govern ment has in an arbi trary manner without consideration of sig

nificant issues and ap plication of mind deter mined 250 wards within the Municipal Corpora tion of Delhi, complete ly ignoring the ratio of area population and without dividing them in equal proportion as per the population and natural boundaries.

The petition filed through Advocates Vi kas Yadav, Sajid Chaud hary and Gaurav Dua seeks issuance of direc tion to the respondents to make fresh delimita

tion of the wards as per the formula prescribed for the delimitation of the wards: total popula

CONDUCT AFRESH

conducting delimita tion is to ascertain an equal number of divi sions of the electorate in the various wards.

The same has been based on the population figures obtained from the most recent Census.

electorate,” it says.

tion divided by the total number of wards such that the average popula tion of each ward is

roughly equal as per the 2011 Census.

The plea states that the very purpose of

“However, by the promulgation of the im pugned order, this very purpose behind delimi tation has become re dundant, as in the final draft order the notified 250 wards are not hav ing an equal number of

It also states that the Respondents in the fi nal draft order have turned many localities into isolated-islands, as they have been shown inside a ward which is many kilometres away. The Respondents have pushed wards of the lower income group further into the dark by increasing their popu lation sizes, whereas richer wards have been handpicked for smaller population sizes.

‘MCD’S WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANT WILL STRENGTHEN SWACHH BHARAT’

Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena at the inauguration of ‘Waste to Energy’ plant.

Arvind Kejriwal addressing a public meeting in Gujarat. —FILE PHOTO

The MCD polls are due since April this year.

—FILE PHOTO

Students set up a help desk for admission seekers under the new CUET process of Delhi University at North Campus in New Delhi on Thursday.

Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) student members stage a protest against the DU admission process through CUET Merit List, at Delhi University Arts Faculty in New Delhi, Thursday.

—PHOTOS

BY PTI

In April, the DDMA re-imposed the fine for not wearing face masks.

POLLUTION IN WINTERS HAS ‘DIPPED 20 PC’ IN DELHI: CSE

three more years for that?’

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

SIDDHAARTH MAHAN

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.!

TOP TWEETS

Indian education system has always been based on scientific principles. The concept of ‘Panchakosha’ and Vyashti, Samashti, Srushti, Parmeshti are the main elements and spirit of NCF. This day will mark an important occasion towards strengthening our education system.

l Vol 2 l Issue No.53 l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Impressions Printing and Packaging Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59, Noida-201301. Published at G-20, 3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474. Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Bhagavad Gita

Rajnath Singh @rajnathsingh

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.

Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

The writer is a specialist on Sports and Cinema who works as an actor in the Hindi film industry

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

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.

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.

IN THE COURTYARD

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.

DECIDE SANCTION IN MANIPUR ENCOUNTERS: SC

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court Thursday asked the Manipur High Court to decide within six months the issue of grant of sanction to prosecute the security personnel accused of extrajudicial killings in Manipur from 2000 to 2012.

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.

CBI OPPOSES BAIL OF ‘INFLUENTIAL’ BUSINESSMAN

New Delhi (ANI): The CBI has opposed the bail of businessman Ajay Ramesh Nawandar, arrested in connection with an alleged bank fraud of Rs 34,615 crore by Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL), saying “the accused is a very influential person”.

CBI COURT FRAMES MURDER CHARGES AGAINST EX-MP Lucknow: A special CBI court on Thursday framed murder and criminal conspiracy charges against ex-SP MP from Prayagraj, Ateeq Ahmed, in the Raju Pal murder case. Ahmed, who is facing 97 cases in UP as well as elsewhere, is currently lodged in Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad.

ED seizes `149-crore jewellery stocks in AP

New Delhi (PTI): Jewel lery stocks worth more than Rs 149 crore have been seized by the En forcement Directo rate (ED) after it raided Hyderabadbased two gems and jewels groups as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged cheat ing with MMTC, a public sector enterprise. The searches were launched

against MBS Jewellers Pvt Ltd, Musaddilal Gems and Jewels India Pvt Ltd, and their direc tors Sukesh Gupta and Anurag Gupta on October 17 at five locations in Telangana’s capital city and Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh.

The seizure includes jewellery stocks of Rs 149.10 crore and a Rs 1.96 crore cash.

RAJNATH MEETS COUNTERPARTS FROM MOZAMBIQUE, MADGASCAR

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.

BJP’s 2nd list of candidates for Himachal polls, 6 women get tickets out of 68 seats

Shimla (ANI): A day af ter the BJP released a list of 62 candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, the par ty on Thursday declared the names of the remain ing six candidates. With the declaration of the names of the re maining candidates, the BJP has released the full list of those who will be in the fray in the 68-seat

Assembly in Himachal. Out of the six candi dates getting ticket in the second list, one

DHARAMSALA FILM FESTIVAL

woman found represen tation while the other five are male candidates.

Among those selected to contest are Ramesh Dhawala from Dehra, Ravinder Singh Ravi from Jawalamukhi, Ma heshwar Singh from Kullu, Maya Sharma from Barsar, Prof. Ram kumar from Haroli, and Kaul Negi from Ram pur (SC).

PGV TO ADDRESS 8 RALLIES IN HP

New Delhi: Congress Gen Secy Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be addressing eight rallies and roadshows in Himachal Pradesh. She will be in Mandi and Kullu on October 31. She will also visit Kangra and Chamba on November 3, Hamirpur and Una on November 7. On November 10, she will hold rallies and roadshows in Shimla and Sirmaur.

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.

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.”

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

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.

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

`1,337.76 CR FINE ON GOOGLE

FOR ABUSE OF MARKET POSITION

BHARAT JODO YATRA

RaGa resumes journey from Andhra’s Banavasi

regulator said it has im posed a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for abusing its domi nant position in multi ple markets in the An droid mobile device ecosystem, apart from issuing the cease and desist order.

There was no imme diate comment from Google on the order.

regulator.

In February 2018, the regulator imposed a fine of Rs 136 crore on Google for unfair busi ness practices in the Indian market for on line search.

CCI on Thursday, said the public version of the order would be uploaded on the regula tor’s website on Friday.

CCI also orders American giant to cease and desist from unfair biz practices within timeline New Delhi (PTI): The Competition Commis sion on Thursday slapped a steep penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in re lation to Android mo bile devices and or dered the internet ma jor to cease and desist from various unfair business practices.

The regulator, which has passed the order af ter ordering a detailed probe more than three years ago, has also di rected Google to modify its conduct within a de fined timeline, accord ing to a release.

Android is a popular open-source, mobile op

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.

erating system installed by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of smartphones and tablets.

CCI, which had start ed probing the case in April 2019, has directed that OEMs should not

be restrained from choosing from amongst Google’s proprietary applications to be preinstalled and also not be forced to pre-install a bouquet of applications on their smart devices.

In the release, the

‘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.”

Google has been un der the regulatory lens of CCI, which is cur rently also looking into few other cases related to the internet major.

Matters pertaining to alleged anti-competi tive practices by Google with respect to news content, smart TV and GPay are also before the

CCI Chairperson Ashok Kumar Gupta will be retiring on Octo ber 25 and the latest Google ruling is the sec ond major one in as many days. On Wednes day, CCI slapped penal ties of Rs 392 crore on MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and OYO for unfair business practices.

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

Accused in human sacrifice move HC against custody

Kochi (PTI): The three accused in the sensa tional human sacrifice case in Kerala, in which two women were alleg edly killed in a brutal manner, on Thursday moved the high court seeking to quash a mag isterial court order granting their custody to the police probing the matter for 12 days.

In their plea, the ac cused Mohammed Shafi (52), Bhagaval Singh (68), a massage thera pist and his wife Laila (59), also sought direc tive to the state police chief not to parade them and also not to dis close their confession

Birla extends Diwali wishes to new Parl building workers

statement to the media and public till filing of chargesheet.

The accused, in the plea filed through law yer BA Aloor, also sought permission to meet lawyers during the police custody peri od or investigation.

The accused alleged that the investigating team has published wrong information in order to defame their

dignity before the pub lic at large, but the trial court has failed to con sider these aspects in proper sense which ul timately resulted in granting their 12 days police custody to the in vestigating agency, de spite being strongly op posed by them.

They alleged that it is a passion for certain in vestigating officers to disseminate to the me dia piecemeal or full information regarding the progress of investi gation. They argued that the investigating agency violated norms even before producing them before court.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

MORE PEOPLE SUPPORT INTERNET SHUTDOWN, SURVEILLANCE: SURVEY New Delhi (PTI): A study on Thursday claimed that more people were in support of internet shut down to maintain law and order than those opposing it, and a sizable number of people were in favour of surveillance as well.

The Lokniti-CSDS survey on Media in India also found that social media, though used a lot by internet users, was least trusted, and half of all social media users admitted to have been misled by fake news or information on the net at some point.

In February 2018, CCI imposed a fine of Rs 136 crore on Google.

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.”

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

TWO HELD IN GOA FOR TRAFFICKING WOMEN

‘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

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.

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

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

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.

Adityanath meets Bhagwat, population issue ‘discussed’

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.

According to sources, Chief Minister Adity anath flew from Luc know to meet Bhagwat and the two were togeth er 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.

Rashtriya Swayamse vak Sangh (RSS) leader Dattatreya Hosabale had on Wednesday said religious conversion and migration from Bangladesh were caus ing “population imbal ance” and called for strict implementation of anti-conversion laws.

Bhagwat had attend ed an RSS meet here

‘PROBLEMS WILL OCCUR IF 100 START LIVING IN A HOUSE FOR 10’

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said whatever issue the RSS raises is always in the interest of the nation.When asked by the media in Lucknow if the government will bring a policy on population control, Maurya said, “We will have to wait for what the government will do. What I am saying is my personal opinion. The number of peo ple opposing this issue is very small. See, problems will occur if 100 people start living in a house made for 10 people,” he said.

Army chief says Indian cos will get orders worth `8L Cr

First India Bureau

Gandhinagar: Army chief Gen Manoj Pande on Thursday said that indigenous weapons system is the way for ward for India and or ders worth Rs 8 lakh crore will be placed with Indian companies in the next 7-8 years.

He said Intelligence, Surveillance and Re connaissance (ISR) are primary thrust areas for him and the Army.

“The Russia-Ukraine conflict has taught us a lot. One of the things had been on how to be more self-sufficient and not to have foreign de pendence even when it comes to sustenance, including ammuni tion,” Gen Pande said during an interaction with journalists on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar.

He said the Army has already taken steps to wards indigenisation of ammunition while also looking at alterna tive sources of procure ment when it comes to spare parts.

“Indigenous systems are the way forward. In the last 3-4 years, our indigenous procure ment has grown three times. In the next 7-8

To mod ernise, we need to indi genise. I see the role of the Army as a fa cilitator of executing government policy and creating a via ble market.

—Gen Manoj Pande

Centum joins hands with Spain’s Indra

Gandhinagar: Centum Electronics Limited, India, and Indra Sistemas, S.A., Spain, have signed an MoU to collaborate in high-end futuristic Radar systems and technologies for the Government of India. The MoU envisages manufacturing and commissioning of the radar for space applications. Long-range radar is in tended to detect, track and analyse objects and debris in space at a distance of thousands of kilometres. The MoU was exchanged in Gandhinagar on Thursday.

years, we expect to place about Rs 7-8 crore of orders with Indian firms,” he said.

Gen Pande said that last year the Army had placed orders worth Rs 47,000 crore with Indian firms. He underlined that the fourth round of emergency procure ment powers is exclu sively for indigenous systems.

The Army chief not ed that in the last three rounds of emergency powers – under which the Services can close procurement deals within Rs 300 crore

each without going through the regular process – the Army had inked deals worth about Rs 6,000 crore.

He said that emergen cy powers vested are good for the Services because they cater to their immediate re quirements and give them an opportunity to test in field the systems before going in for larg er acquisition.

“I would say that to modernise, we need to indigenise. This focus on indigenisation is not an impediment but an opportunity,” he said.

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

The Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission had last year submit ted to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a draft population control bill and made a slew of rec ommendations, includ ing additional incen tives to public servants for adopting the onechild norm and ban ning 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, Stabilisation and Wel fare Bill, 2021 was hand ed over to the CM. But, no further action was initiated.

NOIDA AIRPORT LAND

Yogi’s emotional appeal tides over turbulence in acquisition

Kishor Dwivedi

Noida: An emotional appeal from Yogi Adity anath and a promise for increased compensa tion has propelled the Noida International Airport’s land acquisi tion from farmers who had denied consent for the project.

The mega aviation project of the UP gov ernment appeared to have hit turbulence ear lier this year when a section of farmers from six villages denied con sent to give up land.

According to The Right to Fair Compensa tion and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Re settlement Act, 2013, the consent of at least 70 per cent land owners is re quired for acquisition.

On October 14, Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh led a group of around 200 farmers to Lucknow where a meeting with

Chief Minister Adity anath was held.

“Hum aap se saude baazi nahi karna chahte (We do not want to nego tiate a deal with you,” Adityanath told the farmers in Lucknow during the meeting, and promised them a hiked compensation of Rs 3,400 per sq metre.

Stressing that the people of Jewar are “like family” to him, Adityanath said, “Your contribution in devel opment of an interna tional airport will be

there for your genera tions to see.” He added that “the development of the region would mean nothing if the people living in Jewar do not reap its benefits.”

According to people privy to the work, the land acquisition pro cess for the second phase had lost momen tum for nearly 10 months but has once again gained pace with administration officials and the local MLA hold ing public meetings this week.

Congress making Dalits ‘scapegoats’: Mayawati on Kharge

Lucknow (PTI): A day after Mallikarjun Kharge was elected the Congress president, BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday accused the 137-year-old party of re membering Dalits only in its bad times and making them “scape goats”.

Senior IAS officer harassed by ‘official’

New Delhi: A woman IAS officer has lodged a First Information Re port (FIR) with the Del hi Police’s cyber unit against an unidentified person impersonating a government official to gain confidential infor mation from her.

In the FIR, the senior officer also mentioned that she was harassed and threatened by the accused for the last three-four weeks. The bureaucrat alleged that

In the FIR, the senior officer mentioned that she was being harassed and threatened by the accused for the last three-four weeks

the accused also abused her using foul language.

The cyber cell of the North district police lodged the FIR Tuesday.

“I have been receiv ing WhatsApp calls and messages from a person trying to get confiden tial information related

Candle march in Noida against menace of dogs

Noida (ANI): Residents of a housing society in Noida’s Sector 100 took out a candle protest march on Wednesday night after a one-yearold child was mauled to death by a stray dog at an apartment building.

The residents pro tested against the NOI DA authority for failing to provide shelters for stray dogs. A one-yearold child died after he was mauled to death by

a stray dog in the Noida area on Monday.

The child was immid iately rushed to a hospi tal where he was under going treatment but he succumbed to his inju ries late at night, said Gautam Budh Nagar Police. “Yesterday, the work of road construc tion was going on in Lo tus Blue Society under Police Station Sector-39 area, when a stray dog bit and injured a child

who was admitted to Re ality Hospital Sector-110 where the child was un dergoing treatment. The said child died during treatment at night. Re garding which the po lice station has received the memo from the hos pital,” said police.

Following the child’s death, the residents of the housing society in Noida’s Sector 100 pro tested and blocked roads on Tuesday also.

to my department, threatening me and harassing me and using foul abusive language. When I confronted the person by saying that I shall be filing a police complaint, he replied that he is using a SIM card acquired using

fake/false documents and so police would not be able to trace him.

The said person also tried to impersonate as a senior government of ficial when he talked to me,” the FIR reads.

The officer alleged that the accused kept changing his name on WhatsApp to imperson ate someone else.

“The matter has been taken up, investigation is on,” a senior police officer said.

In a series of tweets, Mayawati said, “The history of the Congress is a witness that it has always neglected/dis dained the messiah of the downtrodden Par am Pujya Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and his society. This party does not remem ber the safety and hon our of Dalits in its good days, but makes them a scapegoat in bad days.”

“The Congress party remembers mostly nonDalits in the long run of good days and puts Dal its in front in their bad days as in the current times. Is this not deceit and pseudo politics?”

AIIMS Delhi’s SOPs for medical facilities for MPs receive flak

New Delhi (PTI): With a view to streamline treatment facilities for Members of Parliament (MPs), the new Director of AIIMS Delhi, Dr M Srinivas , has come up with a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) that include pro viding a nodal officer to coordinate and facili tate medical care ar rangements.

dent Doctors Associa tion (FORDA) said that the privilege to the MPs might come at the cost of ordinary patients.

The move has, how ever, drawn sharp criti cism from a section of doctors who have called out the “VIP culture”.

The Federation of Resi

The AIIMS director has in his letter said that in case of emergen cy, the Lok Sabha or Ra jya Sabha Secretariat or the MP’s staff can con tact the duty officer, who will guide them to emergency services.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat during the four-day ‘Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal Baithak’ of RSS in Prayagraj. —PHOTO BY PTI

CM Yogi Adityanath addressing during the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Noida International Airport in Jewar.

WINTER’S WHITE HERALD

Sledge drivers rest by the side of a road during season’s first snowfall at Gulmarg in Kashmir on Thursday. Snowfall in higher reaches of Kashmir, including popular tourist destinations like Gulmarg and Sonamarg, and rains in plains brought wintry conditions earlier than usual in the valley.

— PHOTO BY PTI/S. IRFAN

Locals stage a candlelight march in solidarity over the death of a seven-month-old child after being mauled by a stray dog on Monday evening, in Noida on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

—FILE PHOTO

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 Akanksha 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

MOVIE PROMOTIONS!

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

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.

WorldSkills Competition 2022

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

CITY FIRST

Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council (THSC) announced the winners of the WorldSkills Competition 2022 recent ly. This year’s Silver Medal in the Patisserie & Confectionery Skill was won by Nandita Saxena where as Bronze Medal was won by Anush ree Srinivasan who brought glory by winning in Hotel Reception Skill. Prathem Sharma won the Me dallion of excellence in Bakery skill. All competitors were selected through a rigorous process of selection put in place by the National Skill Develop ment Corporation (NSDC), starting from the district level to the India Skills 2022- National Competition.

Rajan Bahadur, CEO of THSC says, “On behalf of our Board and Team THSC, I would like to congratulate Silver Medallist in the Patisserie & Confectionery skill’sNandita Saxena at WorldSkills- Spe cial Edition 2022 held in the city of Lucerne in Switzerland. This

achievement is a culmination of dedication and long hours of hard work, both by Competitor and Expert Chef Vinesh Jonny. Anushree’s win ning Bronze Medal in Hotel Recep tion skill was the beginning of a winning spree, under the guid ance of Expert Aagman Baury. Equally proud of Prathem Shar ma who was awarded the Medal lion of Excellence in Bakery Skill and was relentlessly mentored by Chef Avin Thaliath. It’s indeed, a proud moment for all of us, our Board Members and Team THSC."

HAR HAR MAHADEV!

A STEP TOWARDS A BRIGHT FUTURE

CITY FIRST

Chegg, the lead ing studentfirst online learning com pany and SEEDS (Sus tainable Ecological & Environmental Devel opment Society) dis tributed over 15,500 nutrition kits to school children in Del hi and Visakhapat nam recently. As su perfoods are known for the health benefits of their remarkable nutrient density, over 90 schools were select

ed with the majority of the children from low-income families.

From Visakhapatnam, where students come from rural communi ties, 66 schools were selected. In Delhi,

about 28 schools un der the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) were selected for distribution, to promote the overall well-being of chil dren. Several dignitar

ies, government representatives and members of the school administration were present at the distribution of nutri tion kits at the MCD Shakarpur School in

Delhi.

"As a result of grow ing global crises such as climate change, COVID-19 and food in security, the marginal ised groups of society suffer the most, espe cially children. We be lieve that providing school children from underprivi leged families with superfoods will build their immunity, enabling them to learn effectively in class rooms," said Dr Manu Gupta, Co-Founder, of SEEDS.

The star cast of the movie Honeymoon, Jasmine Bhasin and Gippy Grewal were spotted in the city for the promotion of their movie recently.

Actor Sharad Kelkar was spotted in the city for the promotion of his upcoming blockbuster Har Har Mahadev recently.

Vinesh Johny, Prathem Sharma, Avin Thaliath and Nandita Saxena

—PHOTO BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

Anushree

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

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA