First India-Jaipur Edition-23rd January 2023

CENTRE V/S COLLEGIUM

‘SANE VIEWS’

IN THE INTERVIEW, JUSTICE SODHI SAYS...

OF EX-JUDGE AMID JUDICIARY-GOVT STANDOFF

APPT OF JUDGES TO SUPREME COURT, HIGH COURTs HAS BECOME A MAJOR FLASHPOINT

Moni Sharma

New Delhi: Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday sought to support the views of a retired HC judge, who said the SC "hijacked" the Constitution by deciding to appoint judges itself. The govt, judiciary have been at loggerheads over process of appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.

Rijiju shared the video of an interview of Justice RS Sodhi (retd), a former judge of the Delhi Court, saying it is "voice of a judge" and that majority of people have similar "sane views". Rijiju said "actually majority of the people have similar sane views. It's only those people who disregard provisions of Constitution and mandate of the people think that they are above Constitution of India."

Delhi Police readies 3K page draft chargesheet

New Delhi: Delhi Police has prepared a draft chargesheet in Shraddha Walkar murder case against Aaftab Poonawala with a mix of forensic and electronic evidence along with 100 testimonies. The draft

of the chargesheet has been prepared by the officials and legal experts are looking into it.

SHRADDHA

MURDER CASE

The 3,000-page draft chargesheet with a mix of forensic and electronic evidence along with 100 testimonies is likely to form the core of the final chargesheet.

In the interview, Justice Sodhi also said, whether you can amend the Constitution? Only Parliament will amend Constitution. But here I feel the Supreme Court for the first time ‘hijacked’ the Constitution. After ‘hijacking’ they (SC) said that we will appoint (judges) ourselves and the government will have no role in it,” Justice Sodhi said in Hindi.

WFI AGM in Ayodhya cancelled

Sports Ministry to set up an oversight committee

allegations against WFI Prez First India Bureau

The right to frame laws lies with Parliament. The apex court cannot frame laws as it does not have the right to do so. —Justice RS Sodhi (retd)

SUPREME COURT DISCLOSURE TRIGGERS INTELLIGENCE CONCERNS: SOURCES

The disclosure of the SC judges' back-and-forth with the central govt over the appointment of judges, including the objections raised by intelligence agencies, has led to disquiet in the security establishment. It's been a practice not to make the objections public, and keep the confidentiality of intelligence agencies who scrutinise prospective candidates for the posts of the higher judiciary — both in HC and SC. A final call will be taken to sensitise the CJI about this practice, which has been followed since Independence, sources said.

Ayodhya: The general council meeting of the Wrestling Federation of India, which was slated for Sunday has been cancelled. WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who would temporarily step aside after the protest by top wrestlers against the federation and its chief, had said that the allegations would be discussed in the meeting, which was set to be held in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

Train forces in emerging tech: PM Modi to cops

First India Bureau

6 DEAD AS SPEEDING

TRUCK CRUSHES

PEDESTRIANS IN UP

Lucknow: Over six people were dead, few injured after a speeding truck crushed pedestrians after hitting a car on a highway in UP’s Unnao district on Sunday. Around 4-5 people are reported to be trapped in car that was hit by truck.

MAN WHO FLED DELHI 5-STAR HOTEL LEAVING

l Governor will address 8th session of the 15th Rajasthan Assembly today

l Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will present Rajasthan budget on Feb 8

Yogesh Sharma

Jaipur: The budget session of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly is starting from today. CM

Ashok Gehlot will present budget on 8 Feb.

The BJP will corner the Gehlot govt in the House on the issue of law and order and the

paper leak. BJP MP Kirodi Lal has given a call for Assembly gherao on Monday. For this, the BJP MP has contacted students preparing for competitive exams in Jaipur for several days. Security agencies are on alert regarding the gherao call of Kirodi. It is expected that farm-

SOME PEOPLE

IN INDIA CONSIDER BBC ABOVE SUPREME COURT: LAW MINISTER Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday took on the “malicious campaigns” inside and outside India in connection to the UK’s BBC’s documentary on PM Modi, and said that some people “consider the BBC above the Supreme Court of India”. The Union Minister alleged that they “lower” the country’s dignity and image to any extent to “please their moral masters”.

Morbi case: Arrest warrant against Oreva group MD

Morbi (FIB): Gujarat Police have issued an arrest warrant on Sunday against Jaysukh Patel, promoter of the local corporate Oreva Group, which had secured contract to renovate, repair and operate bridge in Morbi. The bridge collpase had led to the loss of at least 140 lives on Oct 29, 2022.

The development comes after the Sports Ministry on Saturday formed an ‘Oversight committee’ to probe the allegations leveled by a section of wrestlers.

New Delhi: Stressing on need for making the police forces more sensitive and training them in emerging technologies, PM Narendra Modi on Sunday asked for greater cooperation between state law enforcement, central agencies.

Addressing duringconclusion of 3-day “All India Conference of the DGPs and IGPs” PM emphasised on importance of ‘National Data Governance Framework’ for smoothening of data exchange across agencies.

PM said we should strive for repealing obsolete criminal laws and building standards for police

While we should further leverage technological solutions like biometrics etc., there is also a need to further strengthen traditional policing mechanisms like foot patrols etc.

—Narendra

Modi, PM

organisations all across States & also suggested prison reforms to improve jail management.

California mass shooting: 10 killed, 10 injured amid Chinese New Year Party

India Bureau

First

California: Ten people were killed and at least 10 others were injured when a gunman opened fire at a ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park on late Saturday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept said. The mass shooting, one of

Rajasthan Assembly Budget session from today

ters to the field is that they should be fully aware of the work being done in the field by all depts so that govt can save itself from being embarrassed.

California’s worst in recent memory, happened in the 100 block of West Garvey Avenue at around 10:22 pm, sheriff’s Capt. Andrew Meyer told media on Sunday. There was scant information on the suspect: Male, still at large. There is no known motive of shooter.

Nadda to attend BJP’s meeting in Jaipur today

CM GEHLOT LIKELY TO PRESENT

ers, youth, unemployed, women, SC-ST and common and poor class as well as business class will be taken care of in the budget.

Since it is an election year, Oppn will also be fully attacking the govt.

That’s why govt wants that it should have complete answers to the questions and sarcasm of the Opposition. Before the commencement of Vidhan Sabha session, the intention behind sending the Minis-

Governor Kalraj Mishra will address Rajasthan Assembly at 11 am. Assembly Speaker CM Ashok Gehlot, Dr CP Joshi, Parl Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal, CS Usha Sharma and Mahavir Prasad Sharma will welcome Governor on reaching Vidhan Sabha. More on P8

First India Bureau

A

POPULIST & ELECTION BUDGET

This will be the last budget of the Gehlot govt. Gehlot wanted to present the budget for last year of his 3rd term as soon as possible.

Assembly elections are due at the end of 2023.

In such a situation, it is believed that CM Gehlot will present a populist and election budget. The budget session is likely to be uproarious with BJP cornering the govt over various issues.

Jaipur: BJP National President JP Nadda will be on a tour of Rajasthan today to participate in BJP’s state executive meeting. He will also meet Poonia and take feedback on impact of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Raj. Nadda will give a message of solidarity to party leaders during his tour.

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, after remarking ‘Who is SRK’ at a PC, on Sunday said that he got a call from Bollywood actor at 2 am. Khan expressed his concern about an incident in Guwahati during screening of his film ‘Pathaan’.

INDIA ‘CHOKE’ AGAINST KIWIS AMID DRAMA TO EXIT TITLE RACE

Bhubaneswar: India was eliminated by New Zealand in their crossover match of the ongoing Hockey World Cup 2023, at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. New Zealand clinched victory in sudden death after the match ended in a 3-3 draw. P5

MURDER: GANGSTER-TURNED-POLITICIAN ANSARI BOOKED

KIREN RIJIJU SHARES

VIDEO

Real beauty of Indian Democracy is its success. People rule themselves through their representatives. Elected representatives represent the interests of the People & make laws. Our Judiciary is independent and our Constitution is Supreme.

—Kiren Rijiju, Union Law Minister

Guv Kalraj Mishra CM Ashok Gehlot Speaker Dr CP Joshi

First India Bureau

Thousands of people had been in the area to mark Lunar New Year.

to probe into the

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

PM Narendra Modi, HM Amit Shah, Ajit Doval, Nityanand Rai and others during conclusion of 57th All India Conference of Director Generals & Inspector Generals of Police, in New Delhi on Sunday.

MERCURY MARKS SLIGHT RISE

Congress worked for welfare of people: Khachariyawas

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Mayor of Jaipur Municipal Corporation (Heritage)

Munesh Gurjar on Sunday inaugurated sewerage development works near Kaila Mata Temple in the Sodala area.

While addressing the gathering, Khachariyawas said that the development and welfare of people were done under Congress rule and the BJP does not have any

Woman forcibly moved out of min’s residence

Jaipur (PTI): The BJP has attacked the Congress govt over a purported video of a woman being forcibly moved out of a public hearing at the residence of state Women and Child Development Minister Mamta Bhupesh. Targeting the ruling party in the state, the BJP said it reflects the working of the Congress govt and its ministers. In the video, the woman is seen arguing with the minister and later, being moved out of the residence by a male staff member. Minister Bhupesh could not be reached for comments.

agenda against the govt. “The Congress will not allow any conspiracies of BJP to succeed in the assembly.

The BJP is making paper leak and law and order an issue, but Con-

gress has taken action against the accused in the paper leak case. This budget will be dedicated to youth and women and it will bring prosperity to the public,” he said.

The winter setting sun is usually a visual treat.

Senior photojournalist Santosh Sharma captured the sunset effortlessly. Meanwhile, most places in Rajasthan witnessed a slight increase in minimum temperatures, a Met office spokesperson said on Sunday. Sirohi was the coldest place in the state, recording a night temperature of 2.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Karauli at 5.2 degrees. The weather office has forecast light to moderate rainfall in isolated places of Bharatpur, Kota, Jaipur, Udaipur and Ajmer divisions in the next two to three days.

Over 500 pigs die in a month in Renwal

Jaipur: The spread of an unknown disease has led to the death of hundreds of pigs in the Renwal area of the district. As per a report, more than 500 pigs died in the last month. Due to the consistent death of stray pigs the city’s gar-

bage dumping yard has piled up. This has caused the risk of spreading infection in the settlements around the dumping yard, while the govt school is located just 300 meters away from the dumping yard. Due to the odour, the students and local people are facing trouble.

Fake liquor units: 4 cops and 3 excise officials suspended

Jaipur: The CST team of Jaipur Police Commissionerate on Saturday sealed four fake liquor factories in Sanganer and Shivdaspura area and arrested ten persons for allegedly manufacturing and selling illegal liquor. The Police Commissionerate also acted against four beat constables and suspended them in this regard. Action will also take against concerned

SHOs in this matter. Three excise officials were also suspended.

Additional Commissioner Ajay Pal Lamba said that the police action was taken on January 20 and 21. “Based on specific information about fake liquor factories being run in Shivdaspura and Sanganer area, a recee was done for 10 days and the factories were raided during night. The alcohol was being made by mixing chemicals and water.”

Dr Joshi inaugurates water supply projects in Harmada

Jaipur: PHED Minister Dr Mahesh Joshi on Sunday inaugurated the Urban Water Conservation Scheme at Mansa Mata Temple in the Harmada area to provide Bisalpur water to locals of the area.

Under the scheme, construction of two high reservoirs of 1500 kiloliter (kl) and 700 kl capacity and two clean reservoirs of 1800 kl and 1400 kl capacity will be built and a 143 km long pipeline will be laid.

Two-day Bhagwat Katha starts at Mehandipur Balaji

Monu Singh Rajawat

Dausa: The Shrimad Bhagwat Katha started at Mehandipur Balaji in Dausa beginning Sunday. Locals and devotees visiting the place are enthusiastic about the two-day event. Ahead of the Kalash Yatra, people started arriving at the Ganesh temple on the bypass from 6 am.

The Kalash Yatra reached the Katha Sthal at 12 o’clock. Aarti was collectively performed by Mahant Nareshpuri Maharaj along with religious leaders, including

Bhagwat Katha Acharya Mridul Krishna Maharaj. A grand tableau was also taken out during the Kalash Yatra. Krishna Nitish Bhardwaj of the Mahabharata serial participated in

the Kalash Yatra. Seven elephants, 11 mares, eight buggies and three vintage cars took part in the Kalash Yatra.Thousands of devotees, including local people participated.

IRREGULARISATION OF JOBS

He also laid the foundation stone of a 2000 kl capacity high water reservoir and laying of 10.6 km pipeline for the supply of drinking water in the Bhatta Basti area.

The work will be done for Rs. 8.17 cr. Officials informed that nearly 60,000 population of Harmada and Badrana areas will be benefited by this drinking water scheme.

Rathore and RTDC officials discuss about developing Jaipur as World Heritage site

It is expected that Raj will get benefit of the visit made by the Indian delegation

Nirmal Tiwari

Jaipur: Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Dharmendra Rathore along with Tourism Corporation MD BP Singh visited the heritage city of Spain. Rathore said that it is a World Heritage tourist destination declared by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural

Anganwadi workers protest at Ramlila Maidan

The protestors alleged that the government has broken its promise and they are getting wages even less than MNREGA employees

Jaipur: The Anganwadi workers on Sunday reached Ramleela Maidan and protested against the state government over the regularisation of their jobs. The protestors alleged that the government has broken its promise and they are getting wages even less than MNREGA employees.

“The salary for the work done during the

Organization. The delegation of RTDC observed and studied the beautiful buildings of Toledo and discussed developing Jaipur as World Heritage on the lines of UNESCO. It is expected that Rajasthan will also get benefit of the visit made by the Indian delegation to know the Spanish method of heritage conservation closely and a glimpse of the Spanish method will be seen in the works of heritage conservation in Raj. He said that the population of Toledo Spain is around 75,000.

Mahant Kailash organises college alumni meet in Jobner

Corona period has not been received yet. Our jobs should be regularized and we should include them in the pension scheme. Also, the Anganwadi workers should get Rs 5 lakhs on retirement,” the protestors said.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas also met the protestors and assured them their demands will be kept before the Chief Minister.

Jaipur:

the country and abroad also. The event was held

Mahant Kailash Sharma’s farmhouse.

Mahant Kailash Sharma graduated from

Jobner

lege.

First India Bureau

Satyanarayan Sharma

Naresh Sharma

Naresh Sharma

On the initiative of Mahant Kailash Sharma of Moti Dungri Ganesh Temple, the alumni meet of the Jobner Agriculture College Alumni Program was held on Sunday. Mahant Kailash gathered old friends and old classmates from across

at

Agriculture Col-

Former DG of ACB BL Soni, Secretary in Govt of India Alkesh Sharma, Sunil Mehta, Ajaypal Singh, and many former students

were present. Mahant Kailash Sharma and BL Soni narrated their old memories. BL Soni recited the lyrics of the song Ek Din Bik Jayega Mati Ke Mol.

First India Bureau

A total of 10 workers were arrested from four factories in Jaipur.

Dr Mahesh Joshi being felicitated by Sitaram Agarwal before inaugurating Urban Water Conservation Scheme in Jaipur.

Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Munesh Gurjar inaugurated sewerage development works in Jaipur on Sunday.

Dharmendra Rathore, BP Singh and other RTDC officials visited the heritage city of Spain on Sunday.

Mahant Nareshpuri taking out a procession on Sunday.

Mahant Kailash Sharma along with alumni of Jobner Agriculture College at his farmhouse on Sunday.

Pratap Singh Khachariyawas addressing the meeting organised by All Rajasthan Women and Child Development Joint Employees Association at Ramlila Maidan in Jaipur on Sunday.

GOVT TO LEND DRONES TO HELP FARMERS SPRAY FERTILISERS

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Low income group farmers in Rajasthan will be provided drones on rent that will help them monitor crops and spray chemicals in a wide agricultural area with less cost and time.

Around 1,500 drones will be made available at custom hiring centres by the state government in two years.

Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Horticulture, Dinesh Kumar said the use of artificial intelligence and drones for agricultural work is increasing all over the world and in the state also, the govt is promot-

ing the use of technology to enable farmers increase their income and yield.

Speaker Joshi inspires youth to enter politics

Speaker CP Joshi, while addressing youths at the Jaipur Youth Conclave at Tagore International School, Mansarovar here on Sunday, said that it is necessary to have information, hard work and self-confidence for success in political field. He said that we can serve the society by actively participating in democracy.

Speaker Joshi inspired the youth to enter politics and narrated his own experiences. He said that he is from a simple family but his determination to work in the field of politics gave him opportunities.

The Speaker said that if they understand their responsibilities, know their duties and rights and discuss issues of public interest, then the youth will surely get success.

NEWS DIGEST

LICENCE MUST FOR DJs TO PLAY MUSIC AT WEDDINGS, HOTELS, CLUBS

Jaipur: It will now be mandatory to obtain a licence for playing DJs during wedding functions and for playing music at hotels, restaurants and clubs. Police will take legal action against those who violate this. Orders have been issued by the PHQs to all the Superintendents of Police of the state in this regard. State Superintendent of Police, State ADG (Crime) Ravi Prakash issued orders in this regard.

THREE SUSPECTS HELD WITH `40,000 CASH DURING RAIDS, POLICE START PROBE

Sriganganagar: Police have arrested three suspected youths and seized over Rs 40,000 in cash during raids at different places across the country, officials said on Sunday. Police said that one youth was arrested from Haryana and two others from Punjab. “A car has been seized. Their mobile phones and over Rs 40,000 were also seized,’ Anand Sharma, SP, Srignaganagar informed.

Fake currency racket busted, 3 held in Kota

Kota: The Kota Police on Sunday busted a fake currency racket and arrested three people for printing counterfeit currency notes and circulating them. Police informed the accused has been identified as Suresh Gurjar (26), Manish Chaudhary (21) and Hukum Gurjar (25).

“During police barricading on National Highway – 25, a suspected car was stopped and checked. Four fake currency notes of Rs 200, a colour printer used for printing notes and two rims of high-quality paper are seized from the possession of the accused,” police said. “It is expected that there is a possibility of revealing a big gang’s name behind this,” police added.

1KILLED, 1 FEARED DEAD AS TRAILERS COLLIDE IN SIROHI

DEFICIENCY OF NUTRIENTS CAN BE DETERMINED

Agriculture Commissioner Kana Ram said, the deficiency of nutrients in standing crop can be determined easily through drones. He said irrigation monitoring, crop health monitoring, pest analysis, crop damage assessment, locust control, chemical spraying can be done in a better way using drones. Last Wednesday, a live demonstration of state-level drone technology was organised at Joshiwas village, Jobner.

limited

Pvt hosps in State protest over Right to Health Bill

First India Bureau

Jaipur : Doctors are protesting against the Right to Health Bill of the Rajasthan Government. Doctors associated with the Indian Medical Association and Private Doctors Association held a symbolic strike of 1 day in Jodhpur on Sunday.

During this, the OPD in the private hospital remained completely

closed, although the emergency services were not affected.

Through symbolic protest, the doctor demanded amendment in bill.

In Kota, private doctors protested against the govt at Commerce college chauraha and termed the Right to Health Bill as a black law. On the other hand, the functioning was normal in most of the hospitals in Jaipur.

Describing

years, he showed principled consent. He said that the decision on the recruitment of 900 veterinary officers pending in the High Court of Rajasthan is likely to be issued soon. All the demands of the veterinarians are in the notice of the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and soon all the demands will be settled. But the doctors said that the fast unto death will continue and they will agitate untill their demands are met.

Sirohi: A person was charred to death while one was feared dead in Sirohi on Sunday after two trucks collided head-on and got engulfed in fire. Police informed the incident took place around 12 km away from Sirohi on Kandla highway which remained closed for nearly 3 hours.

Urs commences; Jannati darwaza opens up for pilgrmis at dargah

Shubham Jain

Ajmer: The unofficial beginning of the 811th Urs of Khwaja Garib Nawaz started with the flag ceremony in which sandal ceremony was performed on the 28th night of Moon in Garib Nawaz’s dargah. The Jannati Darwaza was also opened on early Sunday morning with rituals and there was a rush of pilgrims.

If the moon of Rajab is sighted on Sunday, then Jannati Darwaza will remain open, otherwise this door will be shut at night with the closure of court and will be opened again on next morning, which will remain open for 6 days. It is believed that whoever passes through this door, goes to heaven.

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Amid an outrage by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the ‘Mughal Tent’ in the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), the Organiser of the festival has said that it was named before 16 years ago and will continue with the same.

Sanjoy K Roy, the organiser of the festival said that the leaders have the right to have opinions though the event has nothing to do

WAQF BOARD...

Writes to district admin over property encroachment

Jaipur (FIB): Land mafia is encroaching a Waqf Board land in Jhunjhunu district. Illegal constructions of mall and complex are being done on the land of Dargah in Jhunjhunu, which is owned by Waqf board. Expressing resentment on this, Rajasthan Waqf Board Chairman Dr Khanu Khan Budhwali has written a

was named 16 yrs ago, nothing political, says organiser

jected to the organisers of the JLF naming one of its venues Mughal Tent, saying that the name had hurt the sentiments of a lot of people in the country.

with politics. “It is their opinion. In Hollywood ‘Mughal’ word is used to look at a certain life-

style. It was named 16 years ago and will continue the same,” Roy said. The BJP has ob-

BJP State President Satish Poonia on Sunday said that, ‘If the Mughals are uprooted, the tent will also be uprooted. The name should on Nationalist Muslim great men. The tent should be named after APJ Abdul Kalam.”

Vikas Sharma

Jaipur : Art and Culture Minister Dr BD Kalla while speaking to reporters on the Mughal Tent controversy in Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) on Sunday said that on the one hand, they talk about cultural unity, Vasudev Kutumbakam while on the other hand, they create controversy about Mughal tent.

“Here names of Maharana Pratap, Meera, Pannadhay, Veer Durgadas and other freedom

fighters are also being taken and authors are talking about all castes and religions. It is

wrong to create controversy over Mughal Tent by the opposition,” said Minister Dr BD Kalla.

“Progressive farmers of the state have already started using drones in agriculture,” he said.

“Looking at this, the govt has decided to provide drones on rent to such farmers who have

income and cannot afford expensive drones,” Sharma said. —with PTI inputs

Rajasthan govt planning to rent out around 1,500 drones for better monitoring of crops

Drone-based spray requires less quantity of water, as well as pesticides, due to better application and bio-efficiency. It will also help farmers to monitor their crops. —FILE PHOTO

Amid protest by doctors in private hospitals in Jodhpur and Kota, Jaipur observed normalcy on Sunday.

Sanjoy K Roy interacting with media on Sunday.

DELEGATION OF VET DOCS MEETS MIN LALCHAND KATARIA IN JPR

Jaipur: Animal Husbandry Minister Lalchand Kataria on Sunday held talks with the delegation of Veterinary Doctors Association, Rajasthan, who are fasting unto death for their 11-point demands. The minister first inquired about the health of all the veterinarians who fell ill during the fast unto death.

all the demands as pending and justified for

Pilgims throng the venue as soon as ‘Jannati Darwaza’ was set open on Sunday. Zaayrins bowed their head at the door and prayed throughout the day.

CP Joshi during the conclave on Sunday. Rashid Kidwai, Kamal Rathore, Yogita Bhayana, Gotam Seth, Rahul Kajla are also seen.

First India Bureau

Jaipur : Raj Assembly

Rush of pilgrims at the ‘Jannati Darwaja’ on Sunday. —PHOTOS BY NADEEM KHAN

First India Bureau

Min BD Kalla during Kanhaiya Lal Sethia Award ceremony. Ranjit Hoskote, Anamika, Jaiprakash Sethia, Siddharth Sethia, Namita Gokhale, Sanjoy K Roy and other were also present.

Kalla interacting with media.

letter to the district administration.

Dr Khanu Khan Budhwali

THE TALIBAN CANNOT DEFEAT WOMEN

GORDON BROWN

YASMINE SHERIF

In the weeks since the Taliban’s December 2022 decree banning young women from attending university, Afghans have shown that they will not take this latest outrage lying down.

Brave female students have launched a campaign of resistance – risking beatings, arrest, or worse – and their male counterparts (and many professors) have shown solidarity by walking out of their exams.

As much as the Taliban tries to crush girls’ and women’s rights, they are unlikely to achieve a final “victory.” Afghan girls and women enjoyed a right to education in the years prior to the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, and now neither intimidation nor prison sentences will silence them. They have experienced what it is to be free, and they will not accept the alternative.

These examples all suggest that the authorities are not legislating from a position of strength. Rather, they are acting out of fear of women’s empowerment. After all, there is no other credible justification for such policies. Islam encourages education, and all of Afghanistan’s neighbors offer schooling for girls

The Taliban have already been warned that if they exclude women from work performed by NGOs providing food and health care, these organizations will have no choice but to leave the country – a message reinforced this week by United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. But another way to effect change is to threaten the Taliban regime with the full force of international law. The Taliban’s brutal and inhumane treatment of wom-

en and girls warrants investigation by an international tribunal. The regime is clearly in breach of the international conventions dealing with children’s and women’s rights to which it has agreed. No other country in the world bars women and girls from receiving an education, and no other country has such draconian forms of state-led gender persecution.

I have spoken to many Afghan students in my capacity as UN Special Envoy for Global Education, and words cannot capture the frustration they feel.

The world’s poorest and most vulnerable children know that they are now shouldering the heaviest burden in the global fight against one of the greatest injustices of all – the denial of girls’ and women’s rights. Afghan girls have been denied access to schools, banned from pub-

AFGHANISTAN HISTORY OF BENEFITING FROM GIRLS’ EDUCATION

Moreover, Afghanistan itself has a history of benefiting from girls’ education. The country’s own past shows that if the Taliban continue down the road of repression, Afghans will have only half the doctors, nurses, and teachers they need. And if half of Afghanistan’s human capital has been squandered, the economy, which desperately needs to be rebuilt, will remain among the worst-performing in the world.

lic spaces, prevented from traveling without a male escort, and forced to wear burqas that cover them from head to toe.

The university clampdown has been in the offing for some time. After the Taliban takeover in 2021, universities introduced gender-segregated classrooms and entrances, and declared that fe-

male students could be taught only by women professors or old men. Then, in October 2022, the Taliban issued sweeping restrictions on the subjects that women were permitted to study. Veterinary science, engineering, economics, journalism, and agriculture were all deemed off limits.

During my many pre-

COMMONER VIPs’ DREAM MOMENT

This Republic Day will be remembered more for auto-rickshaw drivers, vendors, construction workers behind the Central Vista project and Kartavya Path’s maintenance workforce than for the who’s who in the front rows to enjoy India’s might on display as special invitees. They may not get the privilege of rubbing shoulders with the bigwigs, nor will it change their status but the mere fact that they will be given prominence is going to make it a memorable event for the underprivileged. And give them a sense of pride too. Invitations were sent to them last year. The move is an extension of last year’s Padma awards which were given to

achievers with a low profile and the Republic Day is aptly themed “Participation of the Common People”.

The workforce involved in the making of Kartavya Path had found a special mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at

its inauguration in September last year when he also unveiled the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The PM promised to invite them along with their families.

The prime minister emphasized acknowledging the labour force for its contribu-

tion in nation building. Giving them a pride of place on the Republic Day is to honour the true spirit of the Republic for which the Narendra Modi-led government deserves fulsome praise. The special gesture would also build a feeling of

This Republic Day will be remembered more for autorickshaw drivers, vendors, construction workers behind the Central Vista project and Kartavya Path’s maintenance workforce than for the who’s who in the front rows to enjoy India’s might on display as special invitees

patriotism and a stronger bond between the prime minister and the working class. The parade will be graced by Abdel Fattah alSisi, the President of Egypt with a marching contingent of 120 members participating in the parade.

In some parts of the country, education is continuing underground or in home schools, with little resistance from the authorities, and in other areas, girls are still allowed to attend regular schools, in open defiance of the Taliban’s injunctions. One can also infer internal fissures from the ban on women NGO workers, a policy that the minister of public health claims does not apply to the health sector.

2021 visits to Afghan schools where girls were being taught, I saw firsthand that there was widespread enthusiasm for universal education, both in rural areas as well as the cities. The Taliban’s many bans fly in the face of fundamental human aspirations. People everywhere want more freedom, not less.

The Taliban’s policy on girls’ and women’s education represents neither the real Afghanistan nor the true Islam. It is urgent that the international community, and especially the Muslim world, come together to support young Afghan women as they stand up for their rights.

SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE

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Anurag

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Bible

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Narendra Modi @narendramodi India has several languages, which add to our cultural vibrancy. The Central Government is undertaking numerous efforts to encourage Indian languages including giving the option of studying subjects like engineering and medicine in one’s Matru Bhasha.

Thakur @ianuragthakur Had the opportunity to visit the Vivekananda Museum located in Kolkata, the birthplace of Swami Vivekananda, the resplendent flame of knowledge-eternaldevotion, to pay obeisance to Swami, to know more closely the life journey of Vivekananda and his advanced thoughts.

The writer is a former Prime Minister and chancellor of the exchequer of the United Kingdom

The writer is a Director of Education Cannot Wait

EDU IS A BIG NO FOR GIRLS HERE SO IT IS CONTINUING UNDERGROUND APPROACH

PM hails CJI’s pitch for making SC judgments available in regional languages

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud’s emphasis on making Supreme Court judgments available in regional languages.

“At a recent function, the Hon’ble CJI Justice DY Chandrachud spoke of the need to work towards mak-

ing SC judgments available in regional languages. He also suggested the use of technology for it. This is a laudatory thought, which will help many people, particularly

youngsters,” Modi wrote on Twitter and shared on the site the relevant clip of the CJI’s speech delivered at an event organised by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa

in Mumbai.

The prime minister has in the past often pitched for making ju dicial verdicts more accessible to the com mon man by making those available in regional lan guages.

With PTI inputs

BJY resumes amid tight security in J&K’s Kathua

Kathua (PTI): The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi resumed Sunday from Hiranagar in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district amid heightened security in the wake of twin blasts in Jammu.

After day-long break, the Yatra started as per schedule around 7 am from Hiranagar near the International Border along the JammuPathankot highway which was sealed by security forces.

Accompanied by J&K

Congress chief Vikar Rasool Wani, working president Raman Bhalla and hundreds of volunteers, Gandhi entered Samba district’s Tapyal-Gagwal after crossing Londi check point at around 8 am and was greeted by enthusiastic workers and supporters waiting on both sides of the road. The Yatra was supposed to have a night halt at Chak Nanak.

WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY COMPROMISE WITH RAHUL’S SECURITY:

Samba (PTI): A day after twin bomb blasts rocked a busy locality here leaving nine people injured, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said there will be no compromise on the security of Rahul Gandhi who is leading the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Jammu and Kashmir. The Yatra had entered Kathua district on Thursday evening via Punjab.

REFRAINS

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has refrained from levying a Rs 750-crore environmental compensation on Jharkhand govt for improper management of solid and liquid waste. The tribunal also noted the state government’s undertaking that Rs 1,114 crore had already been allocated for solid and liquid waste management. According to data presented by the state’s chief secretary, there still existed huge gaps in management of solid and liquid waste, a bench comprising Chairperson Justice AK Goel said.

UP COURT SENTENCES TWO IN RAPE CASE

Gonda: A man and his mother have been sentenced by a local court in a 2016 case of abduction and rape of a 15-year-old girl. A special POCSO court awarded 14-year rigorous imprisonment and Rs 17,000 fine to the man identified as Kanhaiya, while the mother Shyama Devi was awarded three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. Giving details of the incident, A man had told police that his daughter was lured and raped by Kanhaiya on October 12, 2016.

Want to send govt schoolteachers abroad to gain best experience: Kejri

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that he wants school teachers to gain best experience in foreign countries, amid a tussle with the Lieutenant Governor over city government’s proposal to send teachers to foreign countries for training.

He said his government will keep sending teachers abroad for the benefit of the students, though he himself has been to any foreign

country only twice in the past eight years as a chief minister. Kejriwal was addressing teach-

ers, who had been to foreign countries for training, here.

He said he wants the city’s government schools to be the best in the world so that students from abroad come here for education.

“Some people consider it expenditure, but it is investment. I feel that you can construct four bridges less and four roads less, but we should provide best exposure and training to our teachers,” he said.

BEFORE LAST PRE-GENERAL ELECTION BUDGET, PM NARENDRA MODI CONVENES COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

New Delhi (Agencies): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting of his Council of Ministers on January 29 before the Parliament’s budget session which is going to start from January 31. In 2023, this will be the first meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Modi government.

All Union Ministers, Ministers

Row over Kamal Nath’s message to the policemen of Madhya Pradesh

Niwari: Former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath stoked a controversy for allegedly threatening officers of the police administration ahead of the state assembly elections to be held this year. He was addressing a rally, where he said “Acha Hisab Liya Jaaega” within eight months as polls are approaching.

“All the police officers should listen with their ears open that everybody’s account will be taken in the upcoming elections,” said Kamal Nath.

of State (Independent Charge) and Ministers of State will participate in this meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting of the Council of Ministers, called before the last full budget of the tenure of the Modi government, is being termed crucial. On February 1, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union budget.

According to sources, in the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi can give special instructions to all the ministers

regarding the budget session. Since this will be the last full budget of the Modi government, the Prime Minister would want that after the presentation of the budget, all the ministers should work tirelessly to highlight its public welfare aspects to take them to the public. Because along with the assembly elections to be held in nine states of the country this year, the party would also like to take the advantage of this budget in the Lok Sabha elections to be held next year.

Sarma assures Shah Rukh on anti-‘Pathaan’ protests

Guwahati (Agencies): Hours after he feigned ignorance about Shah Rukh Khan, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he received a call from the Bollywood actor who expressed concern over a violent protest ahead of the screening of his latest film, Pathaan, at a cinema hall in Guwahati.

On Sunday morning, the chief minister in a Tweet informed that Khan called him at 2am and expressed his concern about the recent violence in the cinema hall in the state.

“Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan called me and we talked this

morning at 2am. He expressed concern about an incident in Guwahati during the screening of his film,” Sarma wrote on Twitter.

“I assured him (Shah Rukh Khan) that it is the duty of the state govt to maintain law & order. We’ll enquire and ensure no such unto-

BJP might lose all 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP in 2024: Akhilesh

Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said the BJP might taste defeat in all 80 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 General Elections.

“The party that claimed to rule for decades — its leader said that it will be there for (the next) 50 years — is now counting its days. Its national president should visit two medical colleges in the state and he will understand how many seats they are going to win,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

Yadav also asked the BJP, which is holding its state executive meet here, to pass a resolution to provide Rs 1 crore and a government job to families of custodial death victims.

“The BJP practises discrimination. Will it pass a resolution to pro-

vide Rs 1 crore financial help and a government job to the family of Balwant Singh? It should pass a resolution to pro-

MODI HAI TO MUMKIN HAI

vide Rs 1 crore financial assistance and a government job in custodial death cases to the families concerned,” he said.

ward incidents happen,” Sarma added.

On Saturday, reacting to alleged protests by a rightwing outfit in Assam against the release of Pathaan, Biswa Sarma said he doesn’t know who Shah Rukh Khan is and he is not aware of the movie ‘Pathaan’.

SP leader Maurya creates row with remarks on Ramcharitmanas

Lucknow (Agencies): Samajwadi Party lead-

re-

over Ramcharitmanas.

Maurya said that certain portions of Ramcharitmanas insulted a particular class of people and should be changed. “I object to the insulting comments,” he said.

He even quoted certain verses from the Ramcharitmanas saying that Tulsidas mentions certain castes, all of which belong to the Hindu religion.

“If all of those castes belong to Hinduism, then what’s the meaning behind insulting one of their own?” he questioned.

Modi mantra now resonates world over: Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Sunday exhorted the BJP workers saying the resonance of the slogan ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai’ is not limited to India anymore but has spread globally, a proof of that is India’s presidency of G20 group.

G20, an intergovernmental group, has 19 members, besides the European Union, and is chaired by each member nation for a year, rotationally.

“Wherever there is crisis in the world, everyone looks towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi with hope.

The slogan that was raised in 2019 – ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai’ – today has not only become India’s slogan, it

BY ANI

has become a global mantra and India getting the presidency of G-20 is an example of that,” Aditynath said.

“Modi ji has done the work of connecting every Indian with the G20. There are 11 conferences related to G20 which will be held in Agra, Lucknow, Varanasi, and Gautambuddha Nagar,” he said, addressing the daylong inaugural session of BJP’s state executive meeting at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan.

UP WENT FROM “BIMARU” TO LEADING G20 UNDER PM’S LEADERSHIP: YOGI

with a whopping 156 out of the 182 Assembly seats, which is the highest number of seats any party has won after the formation of the state in 1960. He also showed faith

After day-long break, Rahul Gandhi-led march starts from Hiranagar

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with supporters during the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Samba district, on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Lucknow (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended the State BJP Working Committee meeting held here on Sunday. Speaking on the recent Gujarat elections, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said, “Historic win of BJP in Gujarat inspires us and has infused a new enthusiasm in us”. BJP swept the Gujarat Assembly election

in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that under the leadership of PM Modi, India will become 4th largest economic superpower in the world.

RaGa CREATING HATRED AMONG PEOPLE TO REGAIN POWER, SAYS RAJNATH SINGH

Bhopal (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of creating hatred among people in order to regain power, and alleged that he was tarnishing India’s image on international platforms. Addressing a programme organised by the Madhya Pradesh government to provide land rights of residential plots to the poor in Singrauli district of the state located around 650 kms from here, Singh asked Gandhi not to play with India’s “prestige and pride”.

RAMESH

NGT

FROM LEVYING ` 750-CR FINE ON JHARKHAND

Narendra Modi@narendramodi

India has several languages, which add to our cultural vibrancy. The central government is undertaking numerous efforts to encourage Indian languages including giving the option of studying subjects like engineering and medicine in one’s Matru Bhasha (mother tongue).

Assam CM Himanta B Sarma & Shah Rukh Khan. —FILE PHOTO

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav. —FILE PHOTO

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal at a function in Delhi, on Sunday.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party State Working Committee meeting, in Lucknow on Sunday.

AKHILESH YADAV LAUDS BIHAR CM NITISH ON INITIATING CASTE SURVEY

Lucknow: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday lauded Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for initiating the caste survey saying that the British too had thought in 1931 about the move, which alone could ensure the development of all castes. Yadav said, “The caste survey is not made today. The British had thought that a caste survey should be done in 1931.” “I appreciate and congratulate Bihar Chief Minister for this,” he said, after attending a function here on Sunday.

er Swami Prasad Maurya has stoked a major row with his

marks

—PHOTO

NDRF to put permanent teams in hills for rescue operations

These teams will launch swift rescue operations during snow avalanches & land slides

New Delhi (PTI): The National Disaster Response Force is mulling to permanently station specialised mountaineering teams in the higher reaches of the Himalayas so that they are ready and acclimatised to launch swift rescue operations during snow avalanches, land slides and glacial lake outburst floods among others, officials said. The federal contingency force has initiated a slew of measures to prepare its saviours for tackling natural and man-made catastrophes in these fragile mountain ranges on India’s north which, according to experts, may see a rise in accidents due to a variety of reasons, including climate change and human development. The force, that draws its complete manpower on deputation from paramilitary forces.

J&K: MEDIUM TO LOW DANGER LEVEL AVALANCHES LIKELY IN NEXT 24 HOURS

J&K: SHUT DUE TO LANDSLIDE AT DEWAL BRIDGE, NATIONAL HIGHWAY REOPENS

MAJOR

HP govt transfers 16 officials with immediate effect

Shimla (ANI): In a major reshuffle, the Himachal Pradesh government has directed the transfer and posting of 16 officers which include four IAS officers, four IPS officers and eight State Administrative Service officers.

“On the recommendations of the Civil Services Board, the Governor, Himachal Pradesh, is pleased to order the transfers and postings of IPS officers, with immediate effect, in the public interest”, the official statement read.

The list included IPS officers Gurdev Chand, Sanjeev Kumar, Sakshi Verma, and Dr Monika.

The government has also transferred four IAS officers.

The government has also posted 8 State Administrative Service officers.

According to an of-

ficial statement from the state government, Madan Kumar (HPAS-2012) has been posted as the Registrar of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Cluster University in the Mandi districts.

Vivek Mahajan (HPAS-2012) is now posted as Una district’s Sub Divisional officer (civil).

Jagan Thakur, HPAS (2012), Sub Divisional Officer (Civil), Dalhousie, as Addi-

tional Director, Tourism and Civil Aviation of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, relieving Dr Rakhee Singh, HPAS (2016) of this additional charge.

Anil Kumar Bhardwaj, HPAS (2017), presently under the order of transfer as Assistant Commissioner (Protocol), Parwanoo, District Solan, Himachal Pradesh, is now posted as Sub Divisional Officer (Civil), Dalhousie.

WOMAN SET ON FIRE FOR RESISTING ‘RAPE’, SUCCUMBS

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday will confer the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) 2023 on 11 children for their exceptional achievements.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the awardees on Tuesday. Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani will also interact with the children.

Hazaribag: The 23-year-old woman, who was set on fire for allegedly resisting rape attempt, succumbed to her burn injuries in a Ranchi hospital on Sunday morning, police said. The woman had been doused with petrol and set on fire in her home in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag allegedly by four persons for resisting rape attempt on the night of January 7.

Chandigarh: In a joint operation by BSF and Punjab Police, a drone carrying drugs was shot down near the India-Pakistan international border in Amritsar on Sunday. The unmanned aerial vehicle carrying five kg of heroin was shot down in Kakkar village. “In a major breakthrough, Amritsar police, in a joint operation with BSF, have recovered a 6 wing drone after firing and bringing it down & seized 5 Kg heroin from village Kakkar, which is 2 Km from International border with Pakistan,” DGP Gaurav Yadav said in a tweet.

2 MINOR BOYS HELD FOR STABBING TEEN TO DEATH IN DELHI

New Delhi: Two children were apprehended for allegedly stabbing an 18-year-old teen to death in the Bhati Mines area.

Some locals informed them on Saturday evening that a man had been found dead near Radha Krishna Mandir of Sanjay Colony in the Bhati Mines area. A local police team reached the spot and started a preliminary inquiry after taking custody of the body.

CHHATTISGARH: THREE CHARRED TO DEATH IN CAR

Bilaspur: Three persons died after they were burnt alive in a road accident after a car allegedly hit a tree and caught fire. A probe is underway to ascertain the identity of the fourth person who was present at the accident site. The accident occurred on Saturday when the passengers were charred to death while sitting in the vehicle. The car burnt to ashes after hitting a tree.

After long search, rogue elephant tranquilised in Kerala

R-Day: BSF starts ‘Op Alert’ exercise along Pakistan border

Gandhinagar (ANI):

The BSF has launched a seven-day ‘Ops Alert’ exercise along the IndiaPakistan border, from Sir Creek to Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and Barmer district of Rajasthan, to thwart evil designs of anti-national elements to disrupt the upcomng Republic day celebrations.

Palakkad(PTI): A wild elephant, which has been wreaking havoc in a few villages in Kerala’s Palakkad district for the past two years, was tranquilised by a forest department team on Sunday morning. The elephant, code-named Palakkad Tusker-7 (PT-7), roaming inside the forest at Dhoni and neighbouring villages in the district was found by the Rapid Response Team after a search that went on for several hours. A team led by chief veterinary surgeon, Dr Arun Zachariah, tranquilised the wild elephant around 7 am. Excited over the achievement of the forest department’s team, State Forest minis-

MAN KILLED BY ELEPHANT IN CHHATTISGARH

Ambikapur: A 32-yearold man was killed by an elephant in Surguja district. Prakash Karketta of Gadaghat village had gone missing three days ago after he set out for his in-laws house and his body was recovered this morning from Bansbadi area, Range Sanjay Lakda said. “He was trampled to death by an elephant that has been spotted in the area for the past few days after getting separated from its herd,” he added.

ter, A K Saseendran, renamed PT-7 as ‘Dhoni’, the village where the elephant had hit hard.

According to Gujarat BSF, the ‘Ops Alert’ exercise began on January 21 and will continue till January 28. “Ops Alert exercise is being carried out to thwart any ill designs of antinational elements during upcoming Republic day celebrations,” the BSF said in a statement.

During this exercise, special operations in forward and depth areas as well as Creeks and Harami Nalla would be carried out. Besides validating various operational procedures, public outreach programmes have also been planned during this period, the BSF informed further. The exercise on the international border comes on the heels of twin blasts that rocked Jammu’s Narwal area on Saturday.

New Delhi (ANI): The Garud Special Forces of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be marching on the Kartavya Path during this year’s Republic Day parade for the first time. Squadron Leader PS Jaitawat will be leading the Garud team as part of the IAF contingent and Squadron Leader Sindhu Reddy will be the contingent commander. India is all set to showcase Special Forces and made-in-India missile power on the occasion. This year would also see the first and last participation by Indian Navy’s spy plane IL 38 flying over the Kartavya Path on Republic Day this year.

Kerala’s Guruvayur temple has over 260 kg gold

Thrissur (PTI): The famed Guruvaur Sree Krishna Temple in this central Kerala district, which recently revealed details of bank deposits to the tune of over ₹ 1,700 crore, has declared that it also has over 260 kg of gold in stock.

In an RTI reply, the authorities of the temple said it has 263.637 kg of gold comprising precious stones and coins, and nearly 20,000 gold lockets.

The management of

the shrine had earlier refused to give details due to security reasons.

The management of the shrine had earlier refused to give details

due to security reasons. The centuries-old shrine, where Lord

Management

Bhopal (ANI): Homegrown vaccine maker Bharat Biotech will launch its intranasal COVID-19 vaccine iNCOVACC, the first of its kind in India, on January 26, the company’s chairman and managing director Krishna Ella said here on Saturday while interacting with students at the India International Science Festival in Bhopal.

New Delhi (ANI): On the sidelines of the G20 summit, the first meeting of Youth20 (Y20) will be held in Guwahati from February 6-8, in a run-up to the final Youth-20 Summit in August this year, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports informed on Sunday. “As India is hosting the Youth20 (Y20) summit for the first time on the sidelines of the G20 summit, the first meeting of the Y20 Group shall be held in Guwahati from 6th to 8th February 2023, the Ministry stated in the release.

Vishnu is worshipped as Krishna, attracts thousands of people

from across the country every year.

Details of the assets were given following a RTI query from MK Haridas of Guruvayur and president of an organisation named Proper Channel.

Haridas alleged that neglect and inaction of the temple devaswom with regard to the development of the shrine and the welfare of its devotees prompted him to seek the details through RTI.

New Delhi (FIB): Ahead of Pariksha Pe Charcha 2023, a unique initiative to cope up with examination stress amongst students, a nation-wide painting competition will be held in 500 different Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country on Monday. The day is observed as ‘Parakram Diwas’, birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Punjab cops launch search for gangster Landa’s aides

Chandigarh (PTI):

Punjab Police has launched massive raids on suspected hideouts of persons linked with gangster-turned-terrorist Lakhbir Singh alias Landa. The simultaneous raids were conducted at the residential and other premises linked to Lakhbir landa of Harike village of Tarn Taran district, in all the districts of Punjab in the ongoing cases.

The operation was aimed at disrupting the nexus between terrorists, gangsters and drug

He

Vehicles covered in snow after the area receives fresh snowfall, at Tangmarg, in Baramulla on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Guruvaur Sree Krishna Temple in Thrissur district of Kereala.

—FILE PHOTO

Srinagar (ANI): The Jammu and Kashmir State Disaster Management Authority (JKSDMA) on Sunday issued an avalanche warning in several districts of Jammu and Kashmir in the next 24 hours. The Authority informed that low-danger level avalanches are likely in Baramulla and Ganderbal districts, while medium-danger level avalanches are likely to strike Doda, Poonch, Ramban, Bandipore and Kupwara districts.

Srinagar (ANI): The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which had been shut in the wake of a landslide at the Dewal Bridge, reopened on Sunday for stranded vehicles, after clearance work. Earlier on Sunday, the National Highway was closed due to a landslide at the Dewal Bridge in Samroli, Udhampur. The rescue team reached the spot and started the restoration and reopening work. Further reports are awaited.

smugglers based in India and abroad, DGP Gaurav Yadav said.

said 334 persons linked with Landa were raided in a day-long operation on Sunday by 142 parties of Punjab Police involving about 800 police personnel.

BSF

LORD KRISHNA’S ‘VIRAT SWAROOP’ TABLEAU

Chandigarh (PTI): International Gita Mahotsav is the theme of Haryana’s tableau for this year’s Republic Day parade on Kartavya Path and will depict a large “Virat Swaroop” statue of Lord Krishna as described in the Bhagavad Gita, an official said Sunday. Amit Agrawal, the additional principal secretary to the chief minister, said the tableau will give the message of the Bhagavad Gita and will also meticulously showcase various scenes of the Mahabharata war.

CRUCIAL READ

DRONE CARRYING HEROIN SHOT NEAR INDIAPAK BORDER IN AMRITSAR, 2 ARRESTED

Elephant ‘PT Seven’ in a cage, in Palakkad, Kerala on Sunday.

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu speaks to media on the sidelines of a function. —PHOTO BY ANI

of famed Guruvaur Sree Krishna Temple had earlier refused to give details due to security reasons

BRIEFS

Govt may not announce capital infusion for PSBs

New Delhi: Foreign investors pulled out a net amount of `15,236 crore this month so far on attractive Chinese markets and concerns about the US economy entering a recession. However, FPIs have turned buyers in the last four trading sessions. The outflow in the month of January came following a net inflow of `11,119 crore in December and `36,239 crore in November. According to the data with the depositories, FPIs have made a net withdrawal of `15,236 crore this month. —PTI

FOUR OF TOP-10 COMPANIES ADD `82,481 CR IN MCAP

New Delhi (PTI): The government is unlikely to announce capital infusion for public sector banks (PSBs) in the upcoming Budget as their financial health has improved significantly and they are on track to earn a combined profit of `1 lakh crore, sources said.

Their capital adequacy ratio is much above the regulatory requirement and varies between 14-20%.

To augment their resources, banks are raising growth funds from the market and also by selling their noncore assets, they added.

The government last provided capital support to banks in 2021-22. It had earmarked ` 20,000 crore for recapitalisation of PSBs through supplementary demands for grants.

New Delhi: Four of the 10 most valued firms together added `82,480.67 crore in market valuation last week, with HDFC Bank and Adani Total Gas emerging as the top gainers. While Infosys and HDFC were the other gainers, Reliance Industries, TCS, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, SBI and LIC faced erosion from their market valuation. Reliance Industries remained the most valued domestic firm, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank. —PTI

343 INFRA PROJECTS SHOW COST OVERRUN OF `4.5 LAKH CRORE

The government infused `3,10,997 crore to recapitalise banks during the last five financial years i.E., from 2016-17 to 2020-21, out of which `34,997 crore were sourced through budgetary allocation and ` 2,76,000 crore through issuance of recapitalisation bonds to these banks.

All the 12 public sector

TOP TALKING POINTS



The government last provided capital support to banks in 2021-22. It had earmarked `20,000 crore for recapitalisation of PSBs through supplementary demands for grants

banks earned a cumulative profit of about ` 15,306 crore in the first quarter which increased to `25,685 crore in the September quarter. On a year-on-year basis, the growth was 9% in the first quarter while it surged to 50% in the

Adani Group to spin off hydrogen biz by 2028

New Delhi (PTI): Billionaire Gautam Adani's group plans to spin off businesses like hydrogen, airports and data centre between 2025 and 2028 after they achieve a certain investment profile, it's Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh said.

The



Concessional Income Tax regime expected in Budget 2023-24: EY

New Delhi (PTI): The government is expected provide a more rationalised TDS framework to reduce the compliance burden for taxpayers, besides a revamped new concessional tax regime by providing additional benefits like standard deduction, EY said on Sunday.

The Budget wishlist of EY also highlights that the government should provide some respite to lowand mid-income taxpayers with annual income up to Rs 20 lakh on the personal income tax side.

Also, possibility of 'green' incentives to be introduced such as tax exemption to interest from green bonds and rationalisation of capital gains rates and holding periods could be expected in the

EY’s BUDGET WISHLIST

 The Budget wishlist of EY also highlights that the govt should provide some respite to low- and mid-income taxpayers with annual income up to `20 lakh on the personal income tax side



Government schemes needed for penetration of EVs:

TaMo ED

New Delhi: As many as 343 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of `150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of more than `4.5 lakh crore, as per an official report. Out of 1,438 projects, 343 reported cost overruns and as many as 835 projects were delayed. “Total original cost of implementation of the 1438 projects was `20,35,794.75 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be `24,86,069.52 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of `4,50,274.77 crore (22.12% of original cost),” the ministry’s latest report said. —PTI

HDFC LIFE SEES

BETTER MARGINS IN FOURTH QUARTER

Adani Enterprises Ltd, which is looking to raise Rs 20,000 crore in a follow-on share sale, is the business incubator for the group.

Over the years, businesses such as ports, power and city gas were first incubated in AEL before being spun off or demerged into separate listed companies.

AEL currently houses new businesses such as hydrogen, where the group plans to invest $50 billion over the next 10 years across the value chain, flourishing airport operations, mining, data centre and roads and logistics.

"The businesses have to

achieve a basic investment profile and maturity before being considered for a demerger. Between 2025 and 2028 we think these businesses can achieve the desired levels for a demerger," Singh said.

The group is looking to become one of the lowest cost producers of hydrogen — a fuel of the future that has zero carbon footprint. It is also betting big on its airport business with an aim to become the largest service base in the country in the coming years, outside of government services.

IN THE HOLY CITY OF VARANASI

second quarter.

During the second quarter, SBI reported the highest-ever profit of ` 13,265 crore.

In the first half of FY23, the cumulative net profit of all PSBs increased by 32% to`40,991 crore.

Also, possibility of ‘green’ incentives to be introduced such as tax exemption to interest from green bonds

Budget, to be unveiled in Parliament on February 1.

With regard to Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), the EY said that currently, 31 sections under the Income tax Act deal with different types of payments to residents, where the withholding tax rates vary from 0.1 – 30%.

New Delhi (PTI): Support provided by the government to promote electric and zero emission vehicles through schemes such as FAME II, need to be continued till penetration of such automobiles crosses a particular threshold with a good level of localisation, according to Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh.

There is also a case to consider the extension of the FAME II scheme, which will come to an end next year and include bigger electric buses to avail of subsidy, he said.

"The government has done a terrific job to promote, or more than promote I would say, ignite electric vehicle or zero emission vehicle demand.

Whether it is FAME phase I, phase II, now PLI and state level incentives, a lot of policy measures, the government has really done a terrific job," he said.

Q3 earnings, global trends to guide market

New Delhi (PTI): Trading in the equity market in the holiday-shortened week ahead will be largely guided by the ongoing quarterly earnings, global trends and foreign fund movement, analysts said.

Dalal Street also may face volatility amid monthly derivatives expiry, they added.

"This week will be a

shortened week because the market will be closed on Thursday in honour of Republic Day; thus, the January month F&O expiry is scheduled for Wednesday, which may cause market volatility.

"Global cues are also volatile and lack direction, but any major swing in the global market may also impact our markets. FIIs' sell-

INFLOW IN GOLD ETFs DROPS BY

90 PER CENT IN 2022

New Delhi (PTI): Inflow in gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) plunged by 90% to `459 crore in 2022 due to rising prices of yellow metal, increasing interest rate structure coupled with inflationary pressures. This was way lower than an inflow of ` 4,814 crore seen during 2021. However, the asset base of gold ETFs and investors' account or folio numbers increased in 2022 from the preceding year. On the domestic front, investors are preferring to invest in equities over other asset classes with the segment attracting an investment of `1.6 lakh crore in 2022, way higher than `96,700 crore seen in the preceding year.

OTHER STORIES

ing has slowed down in the last few days following aggressive selling in the first half of this month, but institutional flows will remain crucial for the direction of the market. Q3 earning season is going on, therefore stock and sectorspecific moves will continue," said Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart Ltd.

INDIA’S SMARTPHONE SHIPMENTS FALL 6% IN 2022, MODERATE GROWTH IN 2023

New Delhi: India’s smartphone shipments fell to 151.6 million units in 2022, declining by 6% compared with 2021, a report has shown. According to a Canalys report, Xiaomi was still the number one vendor for the full year. Samsung took the number one spot in the fourth quarter (Q4) for the first time since Q3 2017, shipping 6.7 million units for a market share of 21%. The second place went to vivo, which shipped 6.4 million units, mainly via offline channels. —FIB

Mumbai: HDFC Life expects its margins to improve further in the fourth quarter, having already neutralised the hit it had taken from the merger of Exide Life three quarters earlier than expected. The company closed the Dec quarter with a new business premium margin of 26.8%. Its FY22 VNB margin stood at 27.4% and the management is confident of reaching there or making a further improvement as it closes the current fiscal. —PTI

CNG REPLACES DIESEL AS FUEL ON BOATS

Varanasi (PTI): Noisy and polluting boats on the Ganga river are now plying on environment-friendly CNG as part of a plan to cut noise and air pollution on the holy river.

As many as 583 boats already have CNG engines and plans are afoot to replace the entire fleet of boats operating on banks of the holy city of Varanasi with environment-friendly fuel, Oil Minister Hardeep Puri said on Sunday. These boats are being supplied CNG from India’s first floating CNG station built by GAIL at Namo Ghat.

“In July last year Prime Minister had desired that boats on holy Ganga should be run on CNG. Against the

target of 500 boats, 583 have already switched to CNG and we are working to get 2,000 boats to convert,” he

PM MODI’S VISION

on

Hardeep

said that

July last year

had

on holy Ganga

be run on CNG.

said. To promote the fuel, a race of CNG-run boats was organised on banks of this holy city.

—PTI

HEAD OF SPORTS BIKE MAKER KTM SAYS SCOPE OF ELECTRIC MOBILITY ‘HIGHLY OVERRATED’

Pune: The head of Swiss sports bike maker KTM, which claims to be the world’s No 1 premium motorbike brand and also sells tens of hundreds of e-bikes in Europe, is not confident of the capability of electric vehicles beyond a point and feels that optimism on this front is “highly overrated”. KTM, which is primarily into high-end racing bikes, has a 50.1:49.9 manufacturing JV with Bajaj Auto. It will also be selling the electric model of the resurrected iconic Chetak scooters from the Bajaj stable in Europe from the first quarter of 2024. —PTI

Oil Minister

Puri said

Sunday

in

Prime Minister

desired that boats

should

Against the target of 500 boats, 583 have already switched to CNG and we are working to get 2,000 boats to convert

government infused `3,10,997 crore to recapitalise banks during the last five financial years i.E., from 201617 to 2020-21

FM Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the fifth and final full Budget of the Modi 2.0 govt on February 1

Paper leaks, MLAs’ resignation, Health Bill, et al., Budget Session likely to be stormy today

Jaipur: The Assembly session starting from Monday is likely to be stormy. The echo of many issues will be heard in this Assembly session, it is an election year, so the Opposition will not lag behind. The issue of paper leak, resignation of Cong MLAs, govt recruitment, demand for districts, electricity crisis, increasing crime cases, officials involved in corruption, farmer loan waiver and many other issues will be heard.

The ruling party may also have to fight with its own people due to internal strife in the party. During this session, a meeting of the Select Committee has also been called to reconsider the Right to Health Bill. The strategists of the ruling party Cong will be headed by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal.

Lodha submits privilege notice against Rathore

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Independent MLA and CM’s adviser

Sanyam Lodha has submitted a breach of privilege motion under Rule 157 to the Secretary of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, Mahavir Sharma regarding the PIL filed in the Rajasthan High Court by Rajendra Rathore, Deputy Leader of Opposition.

The motion said that the PIL was moved at the pre-mature stage before the decision of the Speaker in the case related to the resignation of 81 MLAs of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. Lodha has sought permission to raise it in the House on January 24 during the Assembly session starting from Monday.

MLA Lodha has referred to the provision

of Article 190 (3) (b) of the Constitution of India in the breach of privilege motion which is related to resignation letter. Similarly, Rule 173 (2) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly has also been mentioned in the proposal, which is related to the resignation letter of the members.

Abhishek Shrivastava

Jaipur: Education Minister BD Kalla on Sunday laid stress on giving recognition to Rajasthani language saying that not recognising Rajasthani language is an insult to 10 crore people of the State.

“Rajasthani language should be recognised.

The language spoken by only 10 lakh people is recognised while the language spoken by 10 crore people is deprived of recognition,” he said.

The Minister said

that the day the people of Rajasthan decided not to vote until the language is recognised, that day everyone will understand the spirit of Rajasthanis,” he said.

He said that a proposal has been sent by

the Rajasthan government to the centre but no action has been taken so far.

“Central Government’s attitude is an insult to Rajasthanis,” he added. He was speaking at Poet Kanhaiyalal Sethia Awardan award ceremony at Jaipur Literature festival.

The Minister also raised the demand for the Nobel prize for Poet Kanhaiyalal Sethia.

He said the way Sethia has worked through his poems, he should get the Nobel Prize.

Jaipur: After the approval of the Rajasthan Government, major amendments were done in the State excise policy on Sunday.

As per the order, existing allotted shops can be renewed by adding 50 per cent of the shortfall from the reserve amount.

The contractors will have to increase lifting of stock by a minimum 20 per cent for the year 2022-23. Heritage wines have been included in IMFL guarantee fulfill-

ment. At the same time, exemption was given to licensees till 15 February 2023 for depositing dues. Central Armed Police Force will also be given facility as per BSF. In the policy, changes have been made to increase EDP of IMFL B-sec and ABP of beer by Rs 40 per carton. Duty was abolished on Rajasthan made and India made wine. 30 per cent additional excise duty currently applicable has also been abolished. BIO’s duty slab was made telescopic.

l UDH and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal

l Govind Singh Dotasra, PCC Chief

l Dr Mahesh Joshi, PHED Minister, Chief Whip

l Mahendra Choudhary, Deputy Chief Whip

l Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Food and Civil Supplies Minister

l Parsadi Lal Meena, Medical & Health Min

l Shakuntala Rawat, Industry and Devasthan Minister

l Mamta Bhupesh, Women and Child Development Minister

l Gulab Chand Kataria, Leader of the Opposition

l Rajendra Rathore, Deputy Leader of the Opposition

l Satish Poonia, BJP State President and MLA

l Jogeshwar Garg, Whip of BJP Legislature Party

l Kalicharan Saraf,

l Govind Meghwal, Disaster Relief Minister

l Dr Subhash Garg, Minister of State

l Rajendra Yadav, Minister of State for Home and Higher Education

l Ashok Chandna, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister

l Tika Ram Jully, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister

l Sanyam Lodha, Independent MLA and CM’s adviser

l Dr. Raj Kumar Sharma, Advisor to the Chief Minister

l Rohit Bohra and Danish Abrar

Senior BJP MLA

l Madan Dilawar, Senior BJP MLA

l Vasudev Devnani, Senior BJP MLA

l Anita Bhadel, Senior MLA

l Ramlal Sharma, MLA and BJP Spokesperson

l Pushpendra Singh Bali, Senior MLA

l Ashok Lahoti, MLA

MLAs ready with questions

Jaipur:

by MLA Amritlal Meena, which the Revenue Minister is expected to answer.

Mon-

The question about the new districts in the State has been raised

MLA Shankar Singh Rawat has asked question regarding reservation for Rawat caste, which Minister Tika Ram Jully is likely to answer.

Question regarding the conservation of the state bird Godavan has been raised by Congress MLA Bharat Sin-

gh Kundanpur. He has asked as to how serious the government is regarding the conservation of Godavan. Forest Minister Hemaram Choudhary is likely to answer this question. MLA and CM’s adviser Dr Rajkumar Sharma has raised question regarding conservation of havelis of historical importance. Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh is expected to answer it.

U’khand CM offers prayers at temples in Bhinmal, Pushkar

Jalore: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday offered prayers at Varahshyam Temple in Bhinmal town of Jalore District. The Chief Minister reached Bhinmal by helicopter from Udaipur and also offered floral tributes at Mahakavi Magh memorial. Dhami was welcomed by BJP workers at the helipad. CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said that Rajasthan is the land of bravery and develop-

ment is taking place in the entire country under the leadership of Prime Minister Naren-

kar’s Brahma Temple.

BJP to hold district-level Jan Aakrosh meets against Govt policies from Feb 15

lll

Vasundhara Raje will welcome BJP chief JP Nadda on Monday. Nadda will address State Working Committee meet in Jaipur

Jaipur: It has been decided in the meeting of State BJP officials on Sunday that the party will hold district-level Jan Aakrosh meetings from February 15 to March 15 in which the workers of all Assembly constituencies of every district will unite.

BJP national president JP Nadda and State in-charge Arun Singh will address the BJP

State Working Committee meeting on Monday at the Entertainment Paradise.

The meetings will be organised against the policies of the state government and Congress.

The task has been given to all the office bearers of BJP. The strategy has been made for the dedi-

cation fund campaign on February 11. The meeting was held at the state BJP headquarters

here on Sunday.

The state office bearers also discussed preparations for PM Modi’s grand programme at Asind in Bhilwara district on January 28. The resolution regarding victory of BJP’s mission 2023 and 2024 was also discussed.

There was also discussion on the strategy to make the new voter campaign successful.

The leaders also discussed organising Bhai-

ron Singh Shekhawat’s birth centenary year. The plan was made for various programmes by contacting old workers.

The officials were also given the task to speed up the Panna Pramukh campaign.

BJP state chief Satish Poonia, co-incharge Vijaya Rahatkar, State Organisation General Secretary Chandrashekhar addressed the meeting including many BJP office bearers and leaders.

Aishwary Pradhan

Will corner State Govt on various fronts: Poonia; Cong forms team to counter Opposition attacks LoP Gulab Chand Kataria to chair BJP Legislature Party meeting today

Yogesh Sharma

Vikas Sharma

First India Bureau

The MLAs of the ruling Congress as well as the Opposition have posted several questions to be answered during the Assembly session starting from

day. MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi has raised the question over pornography cases in the State.

Lunaram Darji

dra Modi. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister also prayed at Push-

OPPOSITION TEAM

Sanyam Lodha hands over notice to Assembly Secretary on Sunday.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami prays at Neelkanth Mahadev Temple in Jalore’s Bhinmal on Sunday.

Minister BD Kalla.

Satish Poonia, Vijaya Rahatkar light lamp at BJP office bearers’ review meeting in Jaipur on Sunday.

Satish Poonia, Vijaya Rahatkar, Chandrashekhar during a review meeting of BJP office bearers in Jaipur on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO

—PHOTO

BY MUKESH

KIRADOO

The third day of the multi-faceted and exuberant Jaipur Literature Festival with its characteristic flavour, substance and scale, bringing together writers, readers, connoisseurs, influencers, and thinkers witnessed a great footfall. City First highlights the glimpses!

BEYOND BOOKS

Blurton and head of culture and learning programmes at the British Library Jamie Andrews in conversation with Managing Director, Teamwork Arts and Festival Producer Sanjoy K Roy.

Leading financial historian Ed-

n the month of January, when the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival arrives in the city, Jaipur vibrates with exhilarating energy. The city glows as the literary festival is celebrated with its caravan of ideas and inspiring sessions that feature the best of thinkers, writers, leaders and entertainers. One gets to experience the best of this sumptuous feast of ideas here.

JLF 2023 began the fourth day with its customary Morning Music, featuring fusion band, Pangaea, comprising composer-songwriter Mike Hogan; tabla player Saptak; and sitar player/flautist Mayank, who performed a soul-stirring Indian classical piece.

‘The Museums That Make Us’ featured Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum Tristram Hunt, Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan Usha Sharma, British

Chancellor, in conversation with Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Sanjeev Sanyal, discussed interest rates and how monetary policy is going through many difficulties following not just the COVID crisis but also the financial crisis of 2007-8. During the conversation, the Chancellor drew many instances from ancient Mesopotamia and Greek philosophers to give the audience an idea about the past in the context of interest rates.

Author and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani was in conversation with celebrated journalist, author, and columnist Vir Sanghvi discussing Nilekani’s groundbreaking book Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar - A Citizen-First Approach.

Concluding the day, the Festival hosted an awe-inspiring Heritage Evening at the historic Amber Fort with a magical performance, in association with ‘Engendered, Trans-national—arts and human rights’.

This was followed by another performance titled – Shared Dreams by ---and George Brooks.

ward

MITALI DUSAD mitalidusad01@gmail.com

FASHION BONANZA: Clockwise: Diksha, Riya Chawla with Diva

—PHOTOS BY MUKESH

KIRADOO

& SUNIL

SHARMA

SAY CHEESE: (L-R) Payal Gautam, Meenakshi Gautam, Kajal Gautam and Chhavie Gautam

Tripti Pandey during the session ‘FIRST EDITION: THE HALF EMPRESS’

Radio to Royal Albert Hall

come a wrestler, but he was not at all interested in it. He also told an interesting anecdote related to Beatle George Harrison, how he used to stand on his doorstep and then they both

played a lot together.

ADITI KUSHWAHA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

In the session 'Breath of Gold', great flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia narrated funny anecdotes from his life. The life of the 84-year-old musician has been nothing short of a thriller. Organized on Breath of Gold, a book written on his life by author Satya Saran, Panditji and Satya Saran interacted with JLF producer Sanjoy K Roy. Panditji told how his wrestler father wanted him to be-

George also took him to his home in London. The journey of his life has included many successful national and international milestones including playing the flute on the radio to performing at the Royal Albert Hall.

Panditji also explained in detail about Annapurna Devi. She was Panditji's teacher, but Annapurna never publicly accepted him as her disciple. When asked about this, Panditji said that Annapurna ji was from Maihar, she could never accept it because of the atmosphere of the village and her self-respect.

Panditji has been honoured with all the major honours including Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.

Beginning and Endings!

cesses in creating those. While talking about the curation of artefacts at the British Museum, Blurton noted, “Objects are part of the story of man’s life on the planet.”

uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

he momentum of the beginning and the sense of an ending define the circumference of a story.

A panel of accomplished writers read from and context beginnings and endings in the structure of their work. This was discussed on the fourth day of the grand JLF 2023 where Chuden Kabimo, Sheela Tomy, Manoranjan Byapari and Arunava Sinha.

Moderated by Literary Director Mita Kapur, the session shed light on the beginnings and endings of the novels, and the writers’ own thoughts and pro-

Logan spoke about the significance of private museums in the contemporary age whilst Andrews and Roy discussed the importance and benefits of the collaboration of museums and libraries across the world.

Speaking about translations of various works in different languages to English, Andrews said, “So one of the big things we are doing at the moment with partners in India… is working on OCR, Optimal Character

Recognition for other scripts, for Indian script, for Urdu, for Bengali, for other Indian scripts, to make sure that this material, once it’s digitised can be easily found.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mita Kapur, Liter-

ary Director, The JCB Prize for Literature stated, “The JCB Prize has been associated with the Jaipur Literature Festival for the past five years. The festival provides a substantial platform for the finest of contemporary fiction that India has to offer to a wide spectrum of audiences both nationally and internationally. We are delighted and very proud to present the JCB Prize’s shortlisted authors and translators along with the winner for 2022 at the festival.”

The JCB Prize for Literature celebrates excellence in Indian writing. It is presented each year as a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer, as selected by the jury. The Prize encourages translations and aims to introduce new audiences to works of Indian literature written in languages other than their own.

On the fourth day of JLF 2023, the morning was indulged with a mind-nerving session about how to use technology to the best of its advantage.

Talking about the pandemic, Nandan said, "The book came out of the pandemic, we found we were spending more and more time on the phone, people were getting a lot upset and the book is really about how to be on top of it." Talking

about how people are losing themselves mentally in tech, Tanuj said, "everybody is frustrated, taking a break from social media has become common for gen-Z and millennials. How we cope up and use technology, the methods are same, irrespective of the kind of

tech." Current tech revolution in a historical context impact of industrialisation, family level changes

People are now becoming more individualistic Smartphone leading us there?

As per Nandan, we are becoming more and more inward with tech and filter bubbles. We only want to be around content that we want to hear and that goes along with our ideologies. "Risk is that this stuff moves with hyperspeed - it makes all more difficult to predict where this will end up," says Nandan.

As per Tanuj, "It is crucial to rearchitect tech to create a more prosperous and inclusive society

- fundamental driving factor is countering the winner takes all approach."

Historian and author Hindol Sengupta in conversation with author Ruth Harris reviewed his book, 'Sing, Dance and Pray: The Inspirational Story of Srila Prabhupada FounderAcharya of ISKCON' on the fourth day of Jaipur Literature festival on Sunday.

The story of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, is traced in historian Hindol Sengupta’s new book.

The book sketch-

es the moving account of Srila Prabhupada’s mission to introduce the ancient teachings of Vedic India to mainstream America and spread the ‘Hare Krishna Movement’. In conversation with author and academic Makarand R. Paranjape, Sengupta discussed Vivekananda’s life and experiences in the USA and India whereas Harris said, “It is the double-sidedness of his message that makes

him both profoundly provocative, stimulating, and at the same time, difficult to understand because it seems like it is a lack of coherence, but I would say it isn’t…” The session also examined Sarada Devi’s influence in his life and the role of women who are often neglected in the lives of 'great men'. Also explored was the duality of Vivekananda’s thought, wherein he faced the dilemma of learning new things from the West, and deflecting cliched criticisms of India.

SALONI KHANDELWAL cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

A GRAND BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!

CLAIMING THE VICTORY!

CITY FIRST

The grand finale of Queen of India Season 2, the biggest and most prestigious nationallevel beauty pageant organised by Kalyan & Sons Production took place on Saturday at Hotel Prime Safari, Jaipur. The top 25 finalist models selected for the finale walked the ramp for the title crown in a fashion sequence completed in a total of four rounds on the theme of Western, Traditional and Indo-Western outfits. Show organiser Monu Verma shared that models from other cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Indore, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Assam, Gurgaon and Jaipur have participated in this pageant. In this pageant, models of the Miss and Mrs category from more than 16 age groups participated. 15 models in Miss and 10 models in Mrs presented their claim of victory in this

finale. Before this grand finale activities like photoshoots, talent round, grooming session was organised for all the finalists.

He further informed that in this grand finale event, the dressage collection was showcased by Sunita Jaishwani, Priyanka and fashion design students of Apex University. The beautiful makeover of the models was done by Aarti Sharma of Hair Master Salon. Nancy Singh and Gaurav Yogi were present as jury members in this fashion event. Pihu Singh attended the event as the showstopper. The choreography of the show was done by Rahul

Sharma. Ishita Sharma was declared as the winner, Alisha Khan was the first runner up and Ritu Sharma was the second runner-up in the Miss category. In the Mrs category, Aishwarya Agarwal was the winner, Shefali Garg was the first runner-up and Usha Madnani was the second runner-up.

CITY FIRST

The magnificent ground titled the Rajasthan Polo Club Ground witnessed the grand polo match on Sunday. The momentous match ushered between tew powerful teams of Jaipur including Bedla–Trojans and Rajnigandha Achievers.

Vaibhav Gehlot President of Rajasthan Cricket Association along with the family, Sunita Gehlot (mother), Himanshi Gehlot (wife) and Kashwini Gehlot (daughter) graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and

motivated the players with his encouraging words. While Dr Rashmi Sharma, Director, Department of Tourism Govt of Rajasthan was also present as the guest of honour. During the match, the Bedla-Trojans won the Ra-

jasthan

scored

Padmanabh Singh

scored

presented to the winning team by

Supermodel and actress Akanksha Bhalla celebrated her birthday with much fervour and enthusiasm at Rambagh Jaipur on Saturday, January 21, as her birthday was on January 22. Jagdeesh Chandra reached to bless the ravishing diva and wished her a huge success. Various who’s who of the city including Gaurav Gaur, director Elite miss Rajasthan along with various supermodels including, Shrishti Khatri and Astha Khandelwal along with various models, friends and family reached to greet her. During the occasion, the overwhelmed birthday girl said, “I am blessed to celebrate my special day with Jagdeesh sir, Gaurav Gaur and my EMR fam, truly a great day it was.”

—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO

—PHOTOS

BY SANTOSH

SHARMA

WEDDING BELLS

Under the joint aegis of Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi and Ravindra Manch Society in association with Jyoti Kala Sansthan, a 3-day Jeevan Sandhya drama was staged at Vasudev Smriti Natya Samaroh in Jaipur on Saturday. The drama festival was inaugurated by Art and Culture Minister Dr BD Kalla with a lamplighting ceremony. Vasudev Motwani in the role of Ramchandra and Nandini Panjwani in the role of Janaki kept the audience enthralled till the very end with their soulful performances. The stage arrangement in the play was by Manoj Swami and Ankit Sharma Nonu, the lighting was by Rajendra Raju and Shahjor Ali, music composition was by Om Prakash Saini.

Tourism Polo Cup in an exciting match against the Rajnigandja Achievers. The BedlaTrojans scored 7 goals against the Rajnigandha Achievers who scored 4 goals.

5 of the winning team’s 7 goals, with Rohan Sundesh adding two more.

four for the Rajnigandha Achievers. The trophy was

Sunita Gehlot, Vaibhav Gehlot and Dr Rashmi Sharma, Director of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan. The Secretary of the Rajasthan Polo Club, Digvijay Singh was also present on the occasion.

GLORIOUS

(Standing) L-R: Neelanjana Jangid, Shrishti Khatri, Rutvi Tiwari, Arzoo, Priyanka Bhalla, Kamakshi, Akansha Bhalla, Soni Kumari, Himakshi Choudhary, Tripti Arora and Tanu (Sitting) L-R: Shweta Raje, Tanu, Rewati, Devshree Hada and Gaurav Gaur

Gorgeous birthday girl ‘Akanksha Bhalla’

Jagdeesh Chandra with Radhika, Huda, Radhika, Somya, Simran, Alisha, Monu Verma, Pawan Goyal, Bittu, Priti, Ishika Kareena and Ritu

Alisha Khan, Ishita Sharma, Monu Verma and Ritu Sharma Alisha Khan, Ishita Sharma & Ritu Sharma

Digvijay

Sunita Gehlot, Vaibhav Gehlot, Dr Rashmi Sharma and

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Jagdeesh Chandra with Kavita Chauhan, Gauravi, Rajendar Chauhan, Dashrat Singh Chauhan and guests from Italy

Jagdeesh Chandra with Gauravi and Rajveer

Jagdeesh Chandra with Rajendar Singh Chauhan

Groom Prithviraj Singh Chauhan

Nimit Mathur, Dr Shailendra, Kavita Chauhan, Dashrat Singh, Madhavi and Gauravi

The grand wedding ceremony of Prithviraj Singh Chauhan, son of Rajendar Singh Chauhan and Shree Sela with Shailja Kumari, daughter of Chandravijay Singh Khangarot and Ugriyawas took place at Nazarbagh Palace, Jaisinghpua Road, Jaipur on Sunday, January 22. Jagdeesh Chandra reached to bless the couple and wished them a happy married life ahead. Various dignitaries were also present on the occasion.