First India-Mumbai Edition-25th November 2022

STEPS WILL BE STRONGER WHEN WE WALK TOGETHER: PGV JOINS RAHUL

Khandwa: Congress general secretary in-charge of UP Priyanka Gandhi with her husband Robert Vadra on Thursday joined Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodho Yatra. On 2nd day of yatra’s MP leg, Rahul started the foot march from Borgaon in Khandwa district.

EX-ISI CHIEF LT GEN ASIM IS NEW PAK ARMY CHIEF

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday chose Lt Gen Asim Munir as the new Army chief (COAS) to replace incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Bajwa, 61, is scheduled to retire on November 29.

BJP MP Udayanraje seeks action against Koshyari, Trivedi

ha MP added.

Kartikey Dev Singh

When I heard the governor’s statement about Chhattrapati Shivaji Ma haraj, I could not under stand what was the basis of such a statement.

“When I heard the governor’s statement about Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj, I could not understand what was the basis of such a statement,” Bhosale said, adding the king fought for jus tice and to free people from slavery when all other rulers had ac cepted Mughal suze rainty.

“The concept of mod ern India was put forth by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He was the inspiration for freedom fight ers like Bhagat Singh, Krantisinh Nana Patil, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Chhatrapati Sha hu Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr Ambedkar. And now these people say the thoughts of Shivaji Ma haraj have become old,” he said.

WHAT IS THE TEARING HURRY?

New Delhi: The SC on Thursday questioned what the “tearing hur ry” was for the “super fast” ap pointment of ex-IAS officer

Arun Goel as Election Commissioner, despite the government’s objec tion to a “mini trial” within the larger case on how the commis sioners are chosen. The five-judge Constitution bench continuing with some stinging remarks on process for 3rd day went straight into the files on Goel that it had sought on Wednesday.

CENTRE ASKS COURT TO ‘HOLD ITS MOUTH’

T he Centre vehemently resisted the observations, with the attorney general asking the court to “hold its mouth” for a while and look into the issue in entirety.

THE COURT STATES...

A sking about how 4 names were shortlisted from the officer database of the DoP, the court further remarked, “We are being blunt. If all these four names are care fully chosen, as yes men — we are concerned with the process of selection.” Bench said it is “struggling” to find reasons why Law Minister selected a panel of 4 names who were not going to com plete the stipulated six-year tenure, as they would turn 65, the age of retirement from poll body, before that.

OTHER ‘TOP’ COURT ORDERS

GOVERNOR HAS CROSSED ALL LIMITS: SHARAD PAWAR

Mumbai: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday criticised Governor Bhagat Sin gh Koshyari over his recent statement on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and said he has “crossed all the limits”. The former Union minister also said that “such peo ple” should not be given crucial posts.

Speaking to report ers, Pawar said, “When I heard

about Shiv Chhatra pati...now he has crossed all the limits. He did praise Shivaji Maharaj yesterday, but it is a late realisa tion. I think the Presi dent and the Prime Minister should take a decision,” he said.

The post of gover nor represents an in stitution and in order to maintain the dig nity of that post, we did not comment against Koshyari

UDDHAV URGES PARTIES TO UNITE AGAINST GOVERNOR

As Governor BS Koshyari reached New Delhi on Thursday, politicos, even BJP MP and Shivaji’s descendant, rake up the issue of his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj MUMBAI l FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 198 www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI & MUMBAI

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra CM Ud dhav Thackeray, on Thursday demanded the recall of Maha rashtra Governor B S Koshyari over his re cent remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and urged political parties in the state to take a united stand against him. He also warned that if no decision is taken on the demand in the next few days, then a state-wide bandh could be planned by his party. Thackeray said, “Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Sin gh Koshyari has been consistently insulting icons from the state. I appeal to the people from various politi cal parties to unite against him and

mount pressure on the Union govern ment to recall the gov ernor.

“I will wait for three to five days. During that period, I will contact various political parties in the state to unite against him. I am thinking of holding a peaceful state-wide bandh against Koshyari.”

MAHA SETS UP 7-MEMBER PANEL FOR MBBS BOOKS IN MARATHI

Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra govt has set up a seven-member committee to chalk out a roadmap for publishing MBBS course books in Marathi language. The seven-member panel formed in Maharashtra is headed by the medical education and research department’s joint director Ajay Chandanwale, the official said.

PM: BJP has only 1 goal, ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’

First India Bureau

Palanpur/Modasa/ Dahegam/Bavla: Con tinuing his campaign ing in Gujarat, PM Nar endra Modi on Thurs day addressed public meetings in Palanpur, Modasa, Dahegam and Bavla. PM Modi spoke extensively on tourism, environment, water, livestock and nutrition. Modi spoke on develop ment for next 25 yrs of Gujarat & said BJP has only 1 goal, ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat.’

REWRITE HISTORY, CENTRE WILL SUPPORT: HOME MIN AMIT SHAH TELLS HISTORIANS

“We spoke with officials in Madhya Pradesh which published the MBBS course books in Hindi. Next step is to hold first meeting of committee members and discuss the road map for course publication in Marathi. The meeting is likely to be held in Mumbai next week,” a senior official from the medical education and research said. (PTI)

Notably, the Madhya Pradesh government recently launched books for the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) course in Hindi.

P6

CM Eknath Shinde urges World Bank to finance water diversion project

The CM’s appeal came at his meeting with World Bank India Director Auguste Tano Kouamé

First India Bureau

Mumbai: With

change and its impact on the agricultural sec tor, Balasaheb Thack eray Agriculture Busi ness and Rural Trans formation Smart Pro ject and electric buses for BEST was held at the meet.

“The government has taken up a project to di vert the flood waters of western Maharashtra to drought-affected areas. Drinking water and lakhs of hectares of land will be brought under ir rigation through this project,’’ said Shinde.

SECURITY BREACH DURING PM’S RALLY IN BAVLA, DRONE SHOT DOWN, 1 ARRESTED

Bavla: Security breach was reported during PM Modi’s rally in Bavla on Thursday. NSG shot down a drone and took one person into custody. The drone was unarmed but it was flying at low altitude & was heading towards stage.

New Delhi: Union HM Amit Shah has asked historians to rewrite history in Indian context. “I am student of history and I hear a lot of times that our history has not been presented properly and is distorted. Maybe that is correct, but now we need to correct this,” Shah said at a function of the Assam government in Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being garlanded by the BJP leaders and party workers during public rally ahead of Gujarat Assembly polls, at Palanpur, in Banaskantha on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

l SC reserves order on a batch of pleas seeking a collegium-like system for EC appointments

l We are not questioning merits of Arun Goel’s credentials but the process is not correct, says bench

First India Bureau

A Constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph and also comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar hearing pleas at the SC in New Delhi.

Abhishek Reddy has been transferred from Telangana HC to Patna HC

SC Collegium headed by CJI DY Chandrachud on Thursday recommended transfer of 7 HC judges to different HCs in the country. The list of HC judges, who have been recommended for transfer, does not include Justice Nikhil S Kariel of the Gujarat HC

Pune: BJP MP Udayan raje Bhosale, a descend ent of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, on Thursday slammed Ma harashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari

prone areas in Vidarbha and Marathwada re

The CM’s appeal came at his meeting with World Bank India

Director Auguste Tano Kouamé. A detailed dis cussion about Maha rashtra Skill Develop ment Project, climate

Maha Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with World Bank Director Auguste Tano Kouamé.

Uddhav Thackeray

HEARING IN JACQUELINE

CASE DEFERRED TILL DEC 12

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday deferred till December 12, the hearing in a money laundering case involving Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez and conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. Fernandez appeared in the Patiala House Court in connection with case.

Aaftab burnt Shraddha with cigarettes, claims her friend

As Delhi cops search for mobile; retd officers say 2020 complaint warranted action

First India Bureau

Mumbai: In a shock ing revelation, Shrad dha Walkar’s friend told police on Thurs day that her live-in partner and alleged murderer, Aaftab Poonawala, used to burn her with ciga rettes, but she desisted from approaching the police police as she wanted to give him an other chance.

After getting into a relationship with Poon awala, Walkar distanced herself from her family and all her friends, her college friend Rajat Shukla said, while speaking to a news chan nel.

“In 2021, Shraddha shared with one of her close female friends that Aaftab burnt her with a cigarette on her back, and we felt bad after hearing about this,” he said.

Her friends then vis ited Poonawala and threatened to file a po lice complaint if he con tinued to ill-treat her, said Shukla.

MACABRE

A aftab Poon awala, Shraddha Walkar’s live-in part ner has been accused of strangling her and chopping her body into 35 pieces. He allegedly disposed of the body in Mehrauli creek in New Delhi over a period of 18 days.

murdered Walkar in Delhi in May this year and disposed of her body by sawing it into 35 pieces.

The investigators also recorded statements of Walkar and Poonawa la’s friends, relatives and owners of the flats they had rented, among others.

Meanwhile, retired Maharashtra police of ficers feel that police personnel in Palghar district should have tak en serious cognizance of the complaint lodged in 2020 by Shraddha Walkar. She had accused her live-in partner Aaft ab Poonawala of trying to kill her and that she feared he would cut her into pieces.

Steel companies want power subsidy restored

Jalna (PTI): The Steel Manufacturers Association of Ma harashtra (SMAM) on Thursday sought restoration of pow er subsidies first given by the Deven dra Fadnavis gov ernment in 2019 to boost the ailing sec tor in some parts of the state.

In 2019, the then BJP-led government had started supply of power at Rs5 per unit for steel units in Mar athwada, Vidarbha and Khandesh, but this relief was with drawn on June 23 this year, SMAM presi dent Yogesh Mand hani said.

“It was Shraddha who asked us to give him one more chance, and I think that cost her her life,” he added.

Poonawala allegedly

Bowing down for power: Kesarkar’s jab at Aaditya

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A day after Aaditya Thackeray met with Bihar Depu ty Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Maha rashtra School Educa tion Minister Deepak Kesarkar slammed the Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader’s attempt at building ‘friendship’ with other parties.

At an official event on Thursday, Kesarkar said, “Now everything has come out in the open, as those who created hur dles before the Ram Mandir Rath Yatra, are being approached through salutation.”

Without taking any names, he hit out at Thackeray and said, “It has been observed yet again that they (Shiv Sena) can bow down be fore anyone just for power. Those who were in power for 25 years could not give basic fa cilities to Mumbai. Now we are finding parking solutions at Siddhivi nayak and Mumba Devi temples.”

Echoing a similar sentiment, Thane city former Mayor Naresh Mhaske criticized Aadi tya’s meeting with Ya dav too. “After Eknath Shinde’s rebellion, Aaditya has been roam ing around the state to

CRUCIAL READ

SPEEDING CAR

KILLS COP, INJURES

7 AT CRASH SITE

Nagpur: A speeding car ploughed into a crowd gathered at the site of an accident in Nagpur, killing an on-duty policeman, identified as Jayant Vishnu Sherekar (42), and injuring seven others, police said on Thursday. On Wednesday night, a truck rammed into a car. Police person nel rushed to the site and rescued the car driver who was trapped inside.

They were attempting to manage the crowd that gathered, when another high-speed car ploughed into onlookers and fled.

CM SHINDE MEETS

ASTROLOGER, DRAWS FLAK

Nashik: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has drawn flak for apparently meeting an astrologer in Sinnar to know the future of the gov ernment. CM Shinde reportedly told the media that he had visited Kamakhya Devi and had his palm read. “There was faith, and 50 MLAs and 13 MPs supported me. The government was being run for some, and it was not acceptable to the common people. We have formed the government for the common people,” he added.

prevent the collapse of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction. Even though Tejashwi’s fa ther Lalu Prasad Yadav always opposed Shiv Sena and the thought process of Balasaheb Thackeray, these people are now feeling close to him,” he said.

Thackeray on Wednesday sought to distance himself from the strident “anti-mi grant” stance that the Shiv Sena, founded by his late grandfather Bal Thackeray, has often been accused of taking in the past.

A team of Delhi po lice, which is probing the murder case, on Thursday, conducted a search in Bhayander creek near Mumbai for a mobile phone. The search was conducted with the help of person nel of the Mira-Bhay andar-Vasai-Virar po lice, said an official.

Former Additional Director General of Po lice (ADG) Prem Kris han Jain said, “As the woman (Walkar) had ap proached the Tulinj po lice with a hand-written complaint, they could have recorded her state ment and registered an FIR against her live-in partner Poonawala.”

“This scrapping of subsidy led to a dras tic fall in industrial growth and produc tion. Now, neighbour ing states like Chhat tisgarh and Madhya Pradesh provide elec tricity at Rs5.25 per unit, while it is Rs8 per unit in Maharash

tra,” he said.

“Due to this, 36 steel units have shut down,

and 10 units have shifted base to Mad hya Pradesh, Chhat tisgarh and Gujarat. We want the Eknath Shinde-Fadnavis gov ernment to bring back this subsidy to give a boost to the ailing sec tor,” he claimed.

Steel manufactur ing unit owner Satish Agarwal said prices were volatile since the COVID-19 pandemic, which was also im pacting the construc tion sector.

I do not know if Sheena Bora is alive, Rahul Mukerjea tells court

First India Bureau

First India Bureau Mumbai: Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Chief Ud dhav Thackeray fired the latest salvo amid a resurgence in the bor der dispute between Maharashtra and Kar nataka, with a swipe at Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over Karnataka CM Basa varaj Bommai claim ing 40 Maharashtra villages.

Thackeray said that Maharashtra’s identity and deities are being in sulted, but CM Shinde does not care about it and passes time by giv ing vague answers.

He added that it is not even clear if Maharash tra even has a CM or not as he never speaks. If 40 villages of Maharashtra go to Karnataka, Shinde will say let them take the villages. He may also say that we will give 100 vil lages to Maharashtra af ter winning PakistanOccupied Kashmir, Thackeray said.

Mumbai: Rahul Muk erjea, son of former media baron Peter Mukerjea, on Thurs day told a special court here that he did not know if Shee na Bora, to whom he was engaged before her murder, alleged ly by her mother In drani Mukherjea in 2012, was still alive.

Rahul was being cross-examined by de fence lawyers as a wit ness in the case before special CBI judge SP Naik-Nimbalkar.

Rahul said, “I do not know whether Sheena is alive or dead as of today…. It is not true to say that I am fully aware about (her) whereabouts and that she is alive today,” in response to a question by Indrani’s lawyer Ranjeet Sangle.

He also denied being in regular touch with Sheena until the end of September 2012, and conspiring with her to prepare a forged pass

BACKGROUND

His cross-examina tion will continue on Friday.

port to enable her to leave the country.

Rahul also denied Sangle’s allegation

ACCOUNTABILITY

that he had “falsely im plicated” Indrani Muk erjea in the case for “personal vengeance”.

As per the Central Bu reau of Investigation, Indrani disapproved of Sheena’s relationship with Rahul. She also had financial disputes with Sheena, the CBI has said. All the accused—Ind rani, Peter Mukerjea and Sanjeev Khanna— are out on bail.

Chaturvedi slams BJP, Ranes over Disha death case

Says

First India Bureau Mumbai: Shiv SenaUddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Pri yanka Chaturvedi on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP) and Ranes–Union minister Naray an Rane, his sons Nilesh and Nitesh–owe an apology to peo ple “they were accus

ing” in Disha Salian death case.

Her demand comes after the Central Bu reau of Investigation (CBI) clarified that the death of late actor Su shant Singh Rajput’s talent manager was an accident.

Salian fell to her death from a high-rise in Mumbai on June 08, 2020, days before the ac

tor

Following CBI’s clar ification, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has intensified

its attack against those who alleged Aaditya was connected to Salian’s death, espe cially Rane.

“A young Mumbai girl, Disha Salian, lost her life in an accident that was not her par ents’ only loss. BJP & Ranes left no stone un turned to character as sassinate & use her name for political gain. Now after CBI re port, these shameless vultures owe the peo ple they were accusing an apology,” Chatur vedi tweeted.

The Rajya Sabha

member also blasted news channels for am plifying the conspiracy theories and giving “platforms to such lies and calumny.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) Deputy Leader and Spokesperson, Mani sha Kayande, said, “The Ranes must apol ogize to Aaditya if they have the courage.”

Former Mayor and Shiv Sena Deputy Leader, Vishakha Raut, reiterated the senti ment by saying Aaditya Thackeray “underwent a lot of mental turmoil due to this.”

was found dead in his house. Several con spiracy theories around the two deaths started doing rounds, claiming both Salian and Rajput were murdered. Several

BJP leaders levelled al legations against Aadi tya Thackeray and oth er Sena leaders.

‘shameless vultures owe apology’ to people they accused of involvement after CBI rules the death an accidental one.

Shiv Sena - UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi. —FILE PHOTO

Shraddha Walkar

—FILE PHOTO

Steel manufacturers say prices have been volatile since pandemic began; construction also hit badly

In 2019, the then BJP-led government was supplying power to steel units at Rs5 per unit. —FILE PHOTO

Prime accused in the case, Indrani Mukherjea is out on bail.

—FILE PHOTO

Sheena’s mother Indrani Mukerjea is a prime accused in the murder case, which came to light in 2015, three years after Sheena (24) was allegedly killed by Indrani with the help of Indrani’s former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shy amvar Rai in April 2012.

Ex-Thane mayor also slams Sena for meeting with Bihar Dy CM Tejashwi Yadav

They (police) should take serious cognizance of the complaints lodged by women and take appropriate ac tion. In Walkar’s complaint given to the Tu linj police station in 2020 against Poonawa la, police could have summoned him and taken action against him.

D Sivanandhan, Former Maha Director General of Police (DGP) Director

Tejashwi welcomes Aaditya on Wednesday. —FILE PHOTO

‘CM Shinde will gift 100 villages to Karnataka’

NO DIVORCE: HC TELLS MAN WHO FALSELY CLAIMED WIFE WAS HIV+

THE ISSUE

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A 44-yearold man from Pune has been denied di vorce by the Bombay High Court, as he falsely claimed his wife was HIV positive, due to which he suf fered mental agony.

In its order of No vember 16, a division bench comprising Jus tice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Sharmila Desh mukh dismissed the ap peal filed by the man in 2011, challenging an order passed by a fam ily court in Pune the same year refusing his petition for divorce.

The man has not pro duced any evidence that his wife had tested positive for HIV, which caused him mental ag ony, the HC said, add

ing that his prayer for grant of divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of mar riage is liable to be re jected outright.

The couple got mar ried in March 2003 and the man claimed his wife was of whimsical nature, stubborn, short-tempered and did not behave properly with him or his family members.

She had also suf fered from tuberculo sis and later with her

pes, the man further claimed.

As per his plea, a test later conducted on his wife in 2005 revealed she was HIV positive. The man subse quently sought divorce. The wife, however, re futed the claims and said her HIV test had come out negative, but still her husband spread rumours about this among her family members, thus causing mental agony to her.

The HC bench in its

order said the man failed to produce the medical report of his wife showing she was HIV positive.

“There is not an iota of evidence produced by the petitioner hus band that the respond ent wife had tested posi tive for HIV, which caused him mental ago ny or that the wife has treated him with cruel ty,” said the high court.

“In spite of the medi cal report which shows the test result as HIV

DNA “not detected”, the petitioner has re fused to co-habit with the respondent and de famed the respondent in the society by in forming relatives and friends that the re spondent has tested positive,” it said. Hence, the husband’s prayer for grant of di vorce on the ground of irretrievable break down of marriage is li able to be rejected out right, the bench said in its order.

Vikram Gokhale still critical, not dead, family clarifies

Pune (PTI): Veteran actor Vikram Gokhale is not re sponding to treat ment and is in a crit ical condition at a Pune hospital, his wife said on Thurs day, a day after many media outlets report ed that he had died.

Gokhale, an actor equally at home in theatre, television and movies, is undergoing treatment at the Dee nanath Mangeshkar Hospital here follow ing health complica tions. He is 77.

The “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” actor has “multi organ fail ure”, his wife Vrishali Gokhale said in a statement.

“Doctors are trying their best. He is not re sponding to the treat ment as expected” said Vrishali said on Thurs day morning.

Dismissing reports of his death on Wednesday night, the actor’s daughter Neha Gokhale told PTI that her father is “on life support and has not passed yet.

Second Project 15B destroyer delivered to Navy

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) on Thursday delivered the second stealth-guided missile destroyer under Pro ject 15B to the Indian Navy, an official said.

Once commissioned, the vessel--built here by MDL using indigenous steel DMR 249 A--will

bear the name INS Mormugao.

The overall indige nous content of the project is approximate ly 75%, the official said.

The destroyer is armed with supersonic BrahMos surface-tosurface missiles and Barak-8 long range surface-to-air missiles.

For undersea war

CRUCIAL READ

BANNED PLASTIC, AND RECOVERS `15K IN FINES

Thane: The Thane Munic ipal Corporation (TMC) as a part of the plastic ban campaign on Monday, November 21 and Novem ber 22, took action on 25 shops in Kopri, Uthalsar and Kopat area in Thane and confiscated 47kg of banned plastic and recov ered a fine of Rs15,000 from the shops. The action was taken as per the order given by TMC chief Abhijit Bangar.

KALYAN MAN CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY AT CREMATORIUM

Thane: A resident of Kaly an town in Thane district celebrated his birthday in a crematorium to convey a message against blind beliefs and superstitions prevailing in the society.

Gautam Ratan More, who turned 54 on November 19, hosted a birthday party on Saturday night at the Mohane cre matorium where guests were served biryani besides cake.

CIDCO LOTTERY DRAW FOR 4K HOUSES IN DRONAGIRI, KALAMBOLI, TALOJA, KHARGHAR

Thane: The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) on Wednesday conducted a computerised lottery draw of its housing schemes for 4,158 apartments in Dronagiri, Kalamboli, Taloja and Kharghar nodes of Navi Mumbai. The lottery draw was conducted at the CIDCO Bhavan. The CIDCO had launched this housing scheme on August 31. Under the scheme, 404 apartments were made available for EWS under PMAY housing scheme and the remaining 3,754 for general category, it said.

NMMC FELICITATES SECURITY GUARD WHO SAVED WOMAN

Navi Mumbai: Additional Commissioner of Navi Mumbai Municipal Cor poration (NMMC) Sujata Dhole felicitated security guard Nitin Kindare for his bravery in foiling a woman’s suicide bid. On October 19, a woman jumped into a pond near the crematorium in Airoli after shouting someone’s name. Kindre, who was deputed nearby at the time, followed her into the lake and saved her.

TEACHER COMES TO SCHOOL DRUNK, SUSPENDED

Palghar: A teacher with a Palghar district Zilla Parishad (ZP) school in has been suspended for allegedly being under drunk in the educational institution and beating up a ZP functionary, author ities said on Thursday. The teacher, working at the primary school at Dhamangaon in Dahanu taluka, had also been found sleeping and abus ing others in the school, officials said in a release.

fare, it is fitted with indigenously devel oped anti - submarine

One of the largest destroyers built in India, the vessel is 163m long and 17m wide with a maximum speed of 30 knots

weapons and sensors, prominently the hullmounted Sonar Humsa

NG, heavy weight Tor pedo Tube Launchers and ASW Rocket Launchers.

The contract for four ships of Project 15B, a follow-on of the Kolka ta class (Project 15A) destroyers commis sioned in the last dec ade, was signed on January 28, 2011.

The lead ship, INS Visakhapatnam, was

commissioned into the Indian Navy on No vember 21, 2021.

Designed by the War ship Design Bureau, the Indian Navy’s inhouse organization, and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, the four ships of the Pro ject are named for ma jor cities: Visakhapat nam, Mormugao, Im phal and Surat.

Keep praying.”

A hospital official added that Gokhale was on ventilator sup port and doctors were trying their best.

“Doctors are mak ing all efforts, but there are several com plications. We will up date you about further medical updates,” Rajesh Damle, a fami ly friend, said, adding, “I appeal to all the peo ple not to believe or spread any rumours about his health.”

Known for playing men of authority on screen, Gokhale has

acted in several Hindi and Marathi films, in cluding the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Ag neepath (1990), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), Natsamrat (2015) and Mission Mangal (2019). His latest re lease is the Marathi film Godavari.

Leopard injures 3 in Kalyan housing complex; captured

First India Bureau

Thane: Three persons were injured by a leopard that entered a housing complex in Kalyan in Thane dis trict on Thursday, an official said.

Panicked residents called the fire depart ment and police person nel after the big cat wan dered onto the premises of Anugrah Tower on Chinchpada Road in the morning, he said, add ing that the animal was later captured.

“Three people sus

tained minor injuries and were given firstaid at a local hospital. The leopard has been kept captive and we are awaiting for a cage into which it will be shifted (for evacuation from the site),” Range Forest Officer Sanjay Channe said.

Huge crowds gathered in the area after word spread about the leop ard’s presence, officials said. adding that the leopard may have strayed from the nearby Haji Malang Hills, which has thick forest cover.

BETTER HYGIENE

CSMT’s toilets get less gross with mechanized seats

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Acknowl edging that the “aim and shoot” technique does not work for all users, the Central Railway has in stalled mechanized toilet seats that will stay up until physi cally put down be fore use in a bid to promote better hy giene at the Chhatra pati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai.

Many male passen gers do not lift up the seat before urinating in

public toilets with western commodes. This makes it unhy gienic for others, Cen tral Railway’s (CR) chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar

the seat cover down. It will remain in the down position as long as a person is using it, otherwise it will lift up automatically,” Sutar explained.

said on Wednesday. The new arrangement keeps the seat up auto matically, he added.

“When someone wants to use the toilet, they can easily push

The “first-of-its-kind” mechanized toilet seats use a pair of springs at tached to an aluminium base mount with bolts, so they do not need elec tricity or any other form of energy, he added.

For now, this facility can only be found in public toilets at CSMT in south Mumbai but will gradually be intro duced in public toilets

at other railway sta tions of the Mumbai division, Sutar said.

The Central Railway has also asked the pas sengers to share their experience about the new facility.

It will be interesting to see whether passen gers welcome the move, or find the expe rience of touching a toilet seat in a public restroom revolting.

Nearly 37 lakh com muters use the CR’s suburban services on a daily basis, in addition to outstation train pas sengers.

Bombay High Court —FILE PHOTO

Div bench throws out petition over lack of evidence, slams petitioner for defaming his spouse

The Central Railway has installed an ‘automatic up’ system, which keep seats up when not being used; seeks public’s comments on the new facility

The Central Railway has also asked passengers to share their experience about the new facility at CSMT. —FILE PHOTO

Huge crowds gathered in the area after word spread about the leopard’s presence. —FILE PHOTO

Statement from wife and daughter come a day after many media outlets carried premature reports of the actor’s demise

We will keep you updated. I appeal to all the people not to believe or spread any rumours about his health.

—Rajesh

Damle, Family friend

A health worker administers a vaccine to a child at a temporary vaccination camp, in the wake of the measles outbreak in Mumbai. The city saw 19 new cases and one death on Thursday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

WORLD CUP PUTS THE SPOTLIGHT ON QATAR, BUT ALSO BRINGS ATTENTION TO ITS HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD AND POLITICS

With the start of the World Cup on November 20, 2022, soccer teams from 32 countries and tens of thousands of fans have converged on Qatar, a tiny Arab country on a pen insula in the Persian Gulf. But search “Qatar 2022” on line, and the first nonsport results are about the coun try’s human rights issues.

Like its fellow oil-rich Arab countries, Qatar has enjoyed immense wealth that nur tured grand ambitions of eco nomic growth among rulers and citizens alike. Qatar and its neighbors, including Bah rain and the United Arab Emirates, have brought in mil lions of workers from other countries to support their fastgrowing cities and businesses over the past few decades.

ple who don’t know a soccer ball from a hockey puck to understand four aspects of Qatar’s politics that relate to its human rights challenges.

1. QATAR IS RULED BY A POPULAR KING

A sparsely populated country in a desert, Qatar gained inde pendence from Great Britain in 1971. With its large oil and natural gas reserves, Qatar has the highest income per citizen in the world. Qatar’s ruler is popular among citi zens. Sheikh Tamim bin Ham ad Al Thani is part a family dynasty that has run the ar ea’s politics since the 1800s, even under Ottoman and Brit ish control. This makes Qatar one of eight Arab countries governed by hereditary kings.

I am a political scientist and legal scholar of the Middle East who has lived and worked in Qatar.

Given the sudden media focus on the country, I think it is helpful for both World Cup fans and people who don’t know a soccer ball from a hockey puck to understand four aspects of Qatar’s politics that relate to its human rights challenges

Yet genuine global concern about rights in countries like Qatar and mistrust between the Middle East and the West will persist. Can new global awareness of Qatar lead to more nuanced understanding of both cross-cultural similarities and differences between Arab Islamic countries and the rest of the world? For the moment, this is as hard to know as which country will win the World Cup

In particular, about 30,000 workers came from Bangla desh, India and Nepal to con struct the World Cup stadi ums. At least 37 died, accord ing to official Qatari counts, while building the US$220 billion infrastructure for the games.

I am a political scientist and legal scholar of the Mid dle East who has lived and worked in Qatar. Given the sudden media focus on the country, I think it helpful for both World Cup fans and peo

SC IS RIGHT ON EC APPOINTMENTS

2. YES – WORKERS’ RIGHTS HAVE BEEN A PROBLEM

Doha, the capital of Qatar, has become a major media, educational, diplomatic and recreational hub over the past few decades. Its break neck development also re quired workers from all over the world. As a result, foreign workers make up about 85% of the country’s total popula tion, but they do not have the same rights as Qatari citi

The Supreme Court’s gaze is fixed on the ap pointment of Election Commis sioners and the Bench hear ing the matter is posing some probing observations regard ing lack of transparency in appointments and their short tenures. The court asked for the appointment file of EC Arun Goel to look at the mechanism that was followed and observed that “if there is no hanky panky then there is nothing to fear”. A former IAS officer of Punjab cadre Arun Goel is in line to be come the Chief Election Commissioner after the term of Rajiv Kumar ends in 2025.

The Supreme Court’s hard stance invited an equally tough response from the gov

zens. Qatari natives have been reluctant to share their extraordinary social welfare benefits, like free medical care, with millions of work ers from abroad. This makes for a system that gives many more rights to Qatari nation als than the millions of oth ers who live there.

3. YET QATAR HAS MADE MAJOR REFORMS

While workers’ rights have received appropriate West ern media attention, Qatar’s direct efforts to respond to

The Supreme Court’s gaze is fixed on the appointment of Election Commissioners and the bench hearing the matter is posing some probing observations regarding lack of transparency in appointments and their short tenures

ernment which said that there was no pick and choose and the selection was made on the basis of seniority. The government rejected out right the court’s suggestion to include a Supreme Court judge in the selection panel. Attorney General Tushar

4. AND WESTERN CRITIQUES MAY CONCEAL OTHER AGENDAS

Qatari officials have suggest ed that international atten tion to foreign workers’ con ditions is part of a broader pattern of Westerners belit tling Arabs and Muslims. One blatant example is an October issue of the French right-wing satirical maga zine “Le Canard enchaîné,” which depicted Qatari soccer players as terrorists.

Calls in some parts of Eu rope for a widespread World Cup boycott add fuel to this and other arguments that the European and American im pression of Qatar is hypocriti cal and possibly Islamophobic. Though hardly a neutral ob server, Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, which car ries out the World Cup, reflect ed many Gulf Arabs’ views when he argued that Europe’s history of exploiting Middle Easterners and others gives it little moral high ground on is sues of non-Western rights.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

Mehta told the Bench headed by Justice KM Joseph, “A pre supposition that only with the presence of judiciary in dependence and fairness will be achieved, that is an incor rect reading of the Constitu tion. Mere presence of some one from judiciary will en sure transparency is a falla cious statement.”

Barring TN Seshan no oth er CEC has shown spine to challenge the government whenever it was found want ing in sticking to norms. Be fore every election questions are raised over EC’s deci sions creating the perception that its decisions are influ enced by the government. After the Supreme Court, the poll panel is one institution whose autonomy should be sacrosanct.

THE UNRESOLVED BORDER DISPUTES BETWEEN STATES CREATE FRICTION

Border disputes be tween states keep flaring up now and then without any resolution in sight.

Assam and Meghalaya were to start their second round of talks to resolve their boundary dis pute when six people were killed in firing by the Assam police. Five of those killed belonged to Meghalaya. Assam Chief Minis ter Himanta Biswa Sarma de nied the incident had anything to do with the dispute over 12 stretches of their long border. The dispute had been resolved in six of these areas in March. While these two north-east ern states avoided provocation, another flashpoint emerged be tween two BJP-ruled states of Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bom mai and his neighbouring state’s Deputy Chief Minister Deven dra Fadnavis engaged in a war of words over border dispute after some villages in Maha rashtra’s Sangli district passed a resolution to merge with Kar nataka following a water crisis. Fadnavis asserted that no vil lager was going anywhere. Bom mai found this provocative. Fes tering since 1960, when will the dispute be resolved?

MAHENG/2022/14652 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701. Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Phone 022-46031417.

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh

Editor: Anita Hada

for selection of news under the PRB Act

Chandra

Sangwan responsible

Amit Shah @AmitShah

Millions of tributes on the martyrdom day of ‘Hind di Chadar’, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji. The ascetic life, sacrifice and teachings of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the supreme symbol of struggle and sacrifice against oppression and injustice, will always remain a source of inspiration for the unity of the nation.

Rajnath Singh @rajnathsingh

Lachit Borphukan was a courageous military leader who fought valiantly for the honour and dignity of his people. On the occasion of his 400th birth anniversary, I bow to him for his exemplary courage and bravery. He will remain an inspiration for India’s coming generations.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

God promises to make something good out of the storms that bring devastation to your life. Bible

TOP TWEETS

local and international activ ism are less known. Qatar enacted the most significant labor rights reforms in the Arab world in 2021.

AAM AADMI PARTY TOPS THE LIST, FOLLOWED BY CONGRESS AND RULING BJP: ADR REPORT

21% CANDIDATES IN PHASE 1 FACING CRIMINAL CASES ’

‘

Ahmedabad (PTI): A total of 167 candidates, out of 788 contesting the 89 seats in the first phase of Gujarat As sembly elections, have criminal cases against them, with 100 of them facing serious charges like murder and rape, a report by the Associa tion for Democratic Re forms (ADR) said on Thursday.

With this, 21 per cent of the candidates in fray have criminal cas es against them, while 13 per cent are facing serious charges.

The Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP), which is con testing 88 seats out of the total 89, tops this list among major political parties in the fray with 36 per cent of its candi dates having criminal cases. Thirty per cent of its candidates are facing serious cases such as murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, among others, the ADR said in its report. The number of candidates having criminal cases fielded by the AAP is 32.

The Arvind Kejriwalled party is followed by

the Congress, which has fielded 35 per cent of its candidates with criminal cases. Twenty per cent of such candi dates are facing serious cases. The grand old party is contesting all 89 seats in the first

CRUCIAL READ

ARMY CARRIES OUT SEARCH OPERATION IN J&K’S POONCH

Jammu (PTI): The Army on Thursday carried out a cordon-and-search opera tion in the border belt of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, officials said. Based on informa tion about the movement of suspected terrorists, the Army cordoned off Bhata forest in the Mendhar border belt and carried out a search operation, they said. The security forces also resorted to ‘speculative fire’ to clear the area, they added. The search opera tion was going on at the time of filing this report.

Davanagere (Agencies):

A man in Karnataka’s Davanagere district was ar rested on Thursday for al legedly killing his 6-month pregnant wife and burying her body in the jungle – in a pit, he had prepared much earlier, police said. The accused is identified as Mohan Kumar, 25, a resi dent of Gangondanahalli near Channagiri town near Davanagere. Police have launched a hunt for the parents of Mohan, who are on the run. The deceased woman was identified as 21-year-old Chandrakala aka Rashmi.

FIRING: MOBILE INTERNET TO REMAIN SUSPENDED IN MEGHALAYA TILL SATURDAY

Shillong (Agencies): The suspension of mobile Internet and data services that was ordered on Tuesday after firing by the Assam Police that left five civilians of Meghalaya and an Assam forest guard dead in West Jaintia Hills district, has been extended in 7 districts of Megha laya till Saturday morning, officials said on Thursday.

Meghalaya Home Secretary CVD Diengdoh, in a notification said that firing incident at Mukroh village in West Jaintia Hills district has a potential to disturb public peace and tranquility, and cause a threat to public safety in the seven districts.

RAIDS CONDUCTED ON MARIJUANA FARMS IN KARNATAKA, 2 HELD

Yadgir (Agencies): The Excise teams on Thursday conducted raids on agri cultural farms cultivating marijuana in Yadgir district.

The raids were conducted in four locations — three in Ullesugur village and one in Evoor village in Surapura taluq of Yadgir — and two persons have been taken into custody in this connection. The authorities have also seized three kg of dry marijuana and another three kg of fresh marijua na. The investigations have revealed that the accused used to prepare marijuana and stored and sold it to potential customers.

Kannauj (PTI): Samajwadi

Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday indi cated that he may contest the 2024 parliamentary elections from Kannauj, which had elected him as an MP for the first time.

“It is our job to contest... what will I do sitting idle? I will contest from where I had contested the first election,” he told report ers here when asked if he will contest from Kannauj in 2024. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, however, said the party would take a decision at the right time. He was here to attend a function.

PM LAUDS GOA GOVT’S INITIATIVE OF PROVIDING JOBS TO STATE’S YOUTH

New Delhi: Prime Minister Naren dra Modi on Thursday lauded the Goa government in its step towards providing jobs to the youth via the distribution of appointment letters to the new recruits and said that several departments of the state including the police will further hire in the upcom ing months. The PM said that the step will strengthen the Goa Police further enhancing the convenience of the people, especially tourists.

phase and the number of candidates with criminal cases fielded by it is 31, the ADR re port further said.

The ruling BJP, which is also contesting all seats in the first phase of the election,

has fielded 14 candi dates with criminal re cords. Percentagewise, such candidates ac count for 16 per cent of its total number and 12 per cent are facing seri ous charges, the ADR said in its report.

A LEADER WHO IS UNBEATEN FOR 32 YEARS IS BJP’S DWARKA CANDIDATE

Dwarka (ANI): The Dwarka Assembly constituency’s seat should be considered one of the safest bets for BJP in the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections. The reason is Pabubha Manek, an MLA who has not lost a single election in the last 32 years. BJP has entrusted Manek, to win the seat for the party for the third straight time. Pabubha Manek, who has never lost an election since 1990, won the first three elections as an independent (1990, 95, 98), then joined the Congress and won the seat in 2002. Later, he won the Assembly elections of 2007, 2012 and 2017 on a BJP ticket. Speak ing to ANI on the sidelines of his campaign, Manek, claiming the support and af fection of all communities in the constituency, said that he has been “selected and not elected” for this long.

The Bharatiya Tribal Party, which is contest ing 14 seats in first phase, has four candidates (29 per cent) with declared criminal cases. A total seven per cent of its can didates have serious criminal cases this time.

Will bring UCC through all democratic process, says Shah

New Delhi (PTI): Un ion Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the BJP is commit ted to bring Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country but only after following all democrat ic processes and discus sions on it.

Addressing an event here, he also exuded confidence in BJP's vic tory in the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat assembly elections as also in the MCD (Mu nicipal Corporation of Delhi) polls.

The home minister credited Prime Minis ter Naredra Modi for making the country's politics free from the "naasur" (canker) of casteism, dynasty and appeasement.

Talking about the UCC, Shah said it has been a promise of BJP since its days of Bhar tiya Jan Sangh.

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Delhi Police and prosecution will ensure Shraddha Walkar’s killer will get the strictest punishment. “Delhi Police, prosecution will ensure whoever killed Shraddha Walkar will get strictest punishment in least time,” Amit Shah said at an event. Aaftab Amin Poonawala, Shraddha’s live-in partner, is accused of killing her and chopping her into 35 pieces before disposing them off in Delhi’s Mehrauli forest in May.

SHRADDHA MURDER CASE IS NOT ABOUT “LOVE JIHAD”, SAYS AIMIM CHIEF OWAISI

New Delhi: Citing the bone-chilling Shraddha Walkar murder case, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday called out the BJP for giving the issue a “religious angle” and said that the incident is not about “love jihad.” Owaisi said that BJP politics over this is completely wrong. “BJP politics over this is completely wrong. It’s not an issue of love jihad but of exploitation and abuse against a woman and that is how it should be viewed and condemned,” Owaisi said.

NEW GUIDELINES

Cong set to attack Modi govt at Ambedkar’s birthplace

New Delhi (ANI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is lead ing the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, will ad dress a mega rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Mhow, the birthplace of Dr BR Ambedkar, on Constitution Day on November 26.

Through this mega event, Rahul Gandhi is expected to attack the Modi government at the Centre on the lines of “Save Consti tution Save Democra cy”, sources said. As per sources, Priyanka Gandhi who has al ready reached Indore may also join the rally.

Other than them, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has also changed his programme for the event.

Verify Aadhaar before accepting it as proof of identity: UIDAI

New Delhi (ANI): Be fore accepting Aadhaar either in physical or electronic form as the proof of identity of an individual, entities should verify if it is gen uine, UIDAI has said.

The Unique Identifi cation Authority of In dia (UIDAI) said the verification of Aadhaar number, following the consent of the Aadhaar holder, is the right step to establish the genu ineness of any form of Aadhaar (Aadhaar let ter, e-Aadhaar, Aadhaar PVC card, and m-Aad haar) presented by the individual concerned.

The Union ministry of Electronics and IT said verification of Aadhaar prohibits 'unscrupu lous elements and antisocial elements' from indulging in any possi ble misuse of the iden tification document.

Hitting back, Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi, “Narendra Modi ji, instead of cursing the Congress, speak on the misrule of the BJP!”

CONG CONDEMNS PM MODI OVER APPOINTMENTS “SCINDIA MAY HAVE INDICATED AT GHAR WAPSI”

New Delhi: The Op position party Congress alleged on Thursday that almost all appoint ments made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and decisions taken by him were done by “tearing” convention and the Constitution without consultation. The remark comes on a day the Supreme Court observed that the appointment of a new election commis sioner was effected in a “tearing hurry”.

Shimla: Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia’s “welcome” remark for the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Madhya Pradesh could be an indication of “homecoming”, an AICC spokesperson said. The yatra entered Bodarli vil lage in MP’s Burhanpur district from Maharash tra on Wednesday morn ing. BJP leader Scindia had said, “Everyone is welcome in Madhya Pradesh”, referring to the march on November 23.

PM Modi to address Lachit Barphukan’s birth anniv today

New Delhi (ANI): PM Narendra Modi will ad dress the closing cere mony of the year-long celebrations of the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Barphukan on Friday morning at Vigyan Bhawan here.

It has been PM’s con stant endeavour to hon our unsung heroes in a befitting manner. In line with this, country is cel ebrating 2022 as 400th birth anniversary year of Lachit Barphukan.

The celebrations were inaugurated in Febru ary this year by former President Ram Nath Ko vind in Guwahati. Bar phukan (1622-1672) was the General of Ahom Kingdom of Assam who defeated the Mughals and successfully halted ever-expanding ambi tions of the Mughals under Aurangzeb.

HM TO ATTEND BIRTH ANNIV OF BARPHUKAN

New Delhi: Union HM Amit Shah will attend the 400th birth anniversary celebration of Ahom General Lachit Barphukan in here on Friday. The three-daylong event, organized by the Assam govt, began in the national capital on Wednes day. On the first day, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the exhibi tion, being organized as a part of the event.

NADDA ALSO PAYS TRIBUTES

New Delhi:

“Veer

Religious rings, threads not permitted: Air India

New Delhi (PTI): Tata group-owned Air India has issued new guide lines on grooming for its male and female cabin crew, including barring them from sporting black and reli gious thread on the wrist, neck and ankle.

Among others, the airline has told the crew that they should not have grey hair and must be regularly coloured in natural shade.

“Religious rings with coloured stones and pearls, nose-pins

and neck jewellery” along with thumb rings are not allowed. “Black and religious thread on wrist, neck

and ankle are strictly not permitted,” as per the guidelines. According to the air line, a bald look is al

Among others, the airline has told the crew that they should not have grey hair and must be regularly coloured in natural shade

lowed for the crew.

“Crew with deep re ceding hairline and male balding patches must keep a clean

shaved head/ bald look. Head must be shaved daily. Crew cut is not permitted,” it added.

Further, the airline said that grey hair is not permitted and must be regularly coloured in a natural shade. “Fash ion colours and heena are not permitted”.

A query sent to Air India seeking comments on the new guidelines remained unanswered.

Soon after taking over Air India in January this year, Tata group advised its cabin crew to wear

minimum jewellery to avoid flight delays.

“The cabin crew must adhere to the uni form regulations with emphasis on minimum jewellery being worn in order to avoid any de lays at customs and se curity checks.

“The cabin crew should not visit dutyfree shops and proceed to the boarding gate soon after completing immigration and secu rity checks,” Air India had said in a circular in February this year.

PM Narendra Modi at a rally, in Dehgam town of Gandhinagar district, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Rahul Gandhi with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, her husband Robert Vadra and other leaders during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

PM Modi being presented a Lord Ganesha idol at a rally, in Dehgam, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Amit Shah being felicitated by Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma as Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal looks on. —PHOTO BY PTI

PM MODI SHOULD SPEAK ABOUT BJP’S ‘MISRULE’ IN GUJ: CONG PREZ KHARGE

WILL ENSURE STRICTEST PUNISHMENT FOR SHRADDHA’S KILLER: AMIT SHAH

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday hit back at PM Narendra Modi over his attack on the party during the campaign in Gujarat, saying that instead of cursing the Congress, he should speak about the BJP’s “misrule” in the state. Modi on Wednesday had sought to corner the Congress for not supporting a tribal woman, Droupadi Murmu, in presidential poll.

BJP chief JP Nadda on Thursday tweeted:

Lachit Borphukan was a Gener al of Ahom Army whose unparalleled heroism and bravery is an inspiration not only to Assam but to whole India.”

BRIEFS

ROOFTOP SOLAR

India ’s inflation to ease: Fin Ministry

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Rooftop solar capacity installations in India fell 29% to 320MW in July-Sept 2022, ac cording to Mercom Re search India. The country added 448 MW rooftop solar capacity in the same quarter a year ago, the re search firm said. During January-September, the installations at 1,165 MW were also down 11% compared to 1,310 MW in the corresponding ninemonth period of the last year, the report titled ‘Mercom India Rooftop Solar Market Report Q3 2022’ said. —PTI

UNIPARTS INDIA’S

IPO TO KICK OFF ON NOVEMBER 30

New Delhi: According to a Finance Ministry report published on Thursday, on the back of macroeconom ic stability, despite global monetary tightening, India is well placed to grow at a “moderately brisk rate” in the coming years.

It further said inflation ary pressures will ease in the coming months with the arrival of kharif crops and at the same time job opportunities will in crease with improvement in business prospects.

The ‘Monthly Economic Review for October 2022’ also cautioned that the US monetary tightening is a “future risk” which could lead to dip in stock prices, weaker currencies and higher bond yields, result ing in higher borrowing costs for many govern ments around the world.

New Delhi: The initial share-sale of engineering systems and solutions provider Uniparts India will open for public sub scription on November 30. The three-day initial public offering (IPO) will conclude on December 2. The bidding for anchor in vestors will open on No vember 29, according to the red herring prospec tus (RHP). The IPO is en tirely an Offer for Sale (OFS) of 14,481,942 eq uity shares by promoter group entities and exist ing investors. —PTI

EVOLUTIONX DEBT

CAPITAL TO INVEST $35-40 MN IN UDAAN

It said a rapid deteriora tion in global growth pros pects, high inflation, and worsening financial condi tions have increased fears of an impending global re cession. The spillovers of the global slowdown may dampen India’s exports businesses outlook. How ever, resilient domestic de mand, a re-invigorated in vestment cycle along with strengthened financial sys

EXPORTERS DEMAND FISCAL SUPPORT IN BUDGET

New Delhi: Growth-stage debt financing platform

EvolutionX Debt Capital has committed an invest ment into B2B e-com merce platform udaan, a joint statement said on Thursday. While both the companies did not dis close the corpus, sources aware of the development said that the commitment is in the range of $35-40 million (about `286-326 crore). Udaan claims to have over 3 million retail ers across various cate gories including lifestyle, electronics, home and kitchen, staples, fruits & vegetables, FMCG, phar ma and general merchan dise. —PTI

VOLVO CAR INDIA TO HIKE PRICES OF SELECT MODELS

New Delhi (PTI): Export ers on Thursday demanded fiscal incentives, tweaking in customs duties on cer tain products and credit at affordable rates in the forth coming Budget to boost ex ports and create jobs.

In a pre-budget virtual meeting with Finance Min ister, the FIEO said the de preciation of the rupee against the US dollar is af fecting exports’ competi tiveness and the sector re quires more support.

“Creation of employ ment is the biggest chal lenge faced by the country... We would urge the govern ment to provide fiscal sup port to units which provide additional employment in the export sector,” the ex porter’s body said.

Noting

tem and structural reforms will provide impetus to economic growth going forward.

“In a world where mon etary tightening has weak ened growth prospects, In dia appears well placed to grow at a moderately brisk rate in the coming years on account of the priority it accorded (to) macroeco nomic stability,” the report

said. The ministry said, so far in current year, India’s food security concerns have been addressed and will continue to receive the utmost priority from the government.

“Easing international commodity prices and new kharif arrival are also set to dampen inflationary pressures in the coming months,” it said.

Lagged data a big hindrance for policy decision, says Patra

Mumbai (PTI): Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Michael Patra on Thurs day said formulating mon etary policy is a challeng ing task in a volatile envi ronment like the current one, given lagged data inputs, which are also frequently reviewed.

Patra said that next week, the deliberations will be starting for the next pol icy review to be announced in the first week of Decem ber and will have to depend on inflation data for Octo ber and growth data for July-September coming out on November 30.

“Monetary policy has to be forward-looking, and that is because when the policy rate is changed, it takes quite a while before it reaches lending rates and aggregate demand in the economy. Hence, we can only target future in flation, not yesterday’s,” Patra said.

“On the basis of one month ago and three month ago data, I will have to assess what is inflation and growth going to be one year down the line,” he added.

Patra, who over sees the impor tant mone

Sensex close at record high on Thursday, Nifty jumps 216 points

Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark BSE Sensex closed at an all-time high of 62,272.68 on Thursday, tracking a firm trend in global markets after the US Fed minutes indicated a slower pace of rate in crease that bolstered inves tors’ sentiment.

Extending its rally to the third straight day, the 30-share Bombay Stock Ex change (BSE) benchmark rallied 762.10 points or 1.24% to settle at 62,272.68, its record closing peak.

During the day, it jumped 901.75 points or 1.46% to its lifetime high of 62,412.33.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 216.85 points or 1.19% to end at 18,484.10.

From the Sensex pack, HCL Technologies, Info sys, Wipro, Power Grid,

ACCORDING TO INDUSTRY EXPERTS

New Delhi: Luxury car maker Volvo Car India on Thursday said it will in crease prices of its three models -- XC90, XC60 and XC40 Recharge -- by up to 1.8% with effect from Nov 25 in order to offset the impact of rising input costs. The ex-show room price of XC40 Re charge will rise to `56.9 lakh from `55.9 lakh cur rently. Similarly, prices of XC 60 will rise to `66.5 lakh and that of XC90 to `96.5 lakh from `94.9 lakh earlier. —PTI

Tech Mahindra, Tata Con sultancy Services, Hindu stan Unilever, HDFC, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the major winners.

Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the laggards.

RUPEE GAINS 30 PAISE ON THURSDAY TO CLOSE AT 81.63 AGAINST US DOLLAR

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 30 paise to close at 81.63 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday as a weak greenback in the over seas market and a rally in domestic equities boosted investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.72 and touched an intra-day high of 81.60 and a low of 81.77 against the greenback. The local unit finally settled at 81.63, registering a rise of 30 paise over its previous close.

NRIs investing in large housing units in India

First India Bureau

New Delhi: According to industry experts, NRIs liv ing in the US, the UK and Singapore are investing in larger housing units in their hometowns, having learned from the painful experience of living in space-tight units during the lockdown in India, and as the Work from Home (WFH) mode has become a requirement.

The real estate experts also said that the Non Resi dent Indians are also set tling down with extended families, another lesson

from the pandemic that liv ing together with family members is much helpful in facing another COVID-19 wave type development in the future.

“There has been a para digm shift in the residen tial market in terms of liv ing and lifestyle,” said one of the market expert.

While another added

WFH IS NOW A REQUIREMENT

z NRIs living in the US, the UK and Singapore are investing in larger housing units in their hometowns, having learned from the painful experience of living in space-tight units during the lockdown in India, and as WFH is now a requirement

that WFH had become a re quirement and profession als are now seeking out ad ditional space to set up workstations within their residences.

TOP TALKING POINTS

z RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra on Thursday said formulating monetary policy is a challenging task in a volatile environment like the current one, given lagged data inputs, which are also frequently reviewed

z Deliberations will have to depend on inflation data for October

tary policy function at the central bank, said there are shocks like the war in Ukraine, and the jump in oil and food prices, which the monetary policy has to contend with after the release of the dated offi cial data. Additionally, there is the risk of fre quent reviews as well, he rued, pointing out that in India, we have prelimi nary, partial, revised and final styles of account presentations.

The RBI has also been deploying artificial intelligence and ma chine learningbased sentiment analysis tools late ly which have come up with interest ing find ings, he added.

OTHER STORIES

GOVT TO AUGMENT COAL STOCKS AT POWER PLANTS

New Delhi: The government on Thursday said it is planning to augment coal stock at thermal power plants to 45 million tonnes by March-end. The coal ministry said that it further plans to increase the stock of fossil fuel at the pithead. “The Ministry of Coal is planning to build stock at domestic coalbased plants to the tune of 30 million tonnes by the end of November, 2022.” It has plans to keep building the stock so that by the end of March 31, 2023, coal stocks at TPP go up to 45 million tonnes. —PTI

Recession unlikely in APAC region in 2023:

Moody’s

New Delhi (PTI): A reces sion is unlikely in the APAC region in the coming year, although the area will face headwinds from high er interest rates and slower global trade growth, Moody’s Analytics said on Thursday.

In its analysis titled ‘APAC Outlook: A Coming Downshift’, Moody’s said India is headed for slower growth next year more in line with its long-term potential.

On the regional outlook, Moody’s said even though India, as well as other ma jor economies of APAC re gion are expanding due to their own delayed reopen ing from pandemic-related shutdowns, the expected slowdowns in Europe and North America, along with China’s sluggish economy, will cause 2023 to be a slow er year than 2022 for eco nomic growth.

“That said, a recession is not expected in the APAC region in the coming year, although the area will face headwinds from higher in terest rates and slower global trade growth,” Cochrane added.

ABOUT `400 CR TAX DEPOSITED BY FILING UPDATED ITRs SO FAR

New Delhi: The recently intro duced provision of allowing taxpayers to update their tax returns has seen as many as 5 lakh re-filings with about Rs 400 crore additional tax com ing in, a senior govt official said. The Finance Act, of 2022 introduced a new concept of updated returns, which permitted taxpayers to update their ITRs within two years of filing, subject to payment of taxes. “So far about 5 lakh updated ITRs have been filed and about `400 crore taxes have been paid,” he said. —PTI

CCI TO PASS VERDICT ON GST PROFITEERING COMPLAINTS FROM DEC 1; NAA TO WIND UP

New Delhi: From December 1, all complaints related to GST profi teering will be dealt with by India’s antitrust watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI), in place of National Anti Profiteering Authority, a government notifica tion said. Currently, all consumer complaints of companies not passing on GST rate cut benefits are investigated by the Directo rate General of Anti-profiteering (DGAP), which then submits its report to the NAA. The NAA then gives a final ruling on such complaints. Since the tenure of NAA ends this month, its functions will be taken over by the CCI from December 1.

UAE BARS ENTRY OF PEOPLE WITH SINGLE NAME IN PASSPORTS

New Delhi: Individuals having only single name as sur name or given name in their passports will not be allowed to enter the UAE with new guidelines coming into force. “Any pass port holder with a single name (word) either in surname or given name will not be ac cepted by UAE immigration and the passenger will be considered as INAD,” accord ing to a circular issued by Air India and Air India Express, mentioning about the latest UAE guidelines.

TCPL, CHAUHAN IN DISCUSSIONS FOR SALE OF BISLERI

New Delhi: Veteran indus trialist Ramesh Chauhan on Thursday said he is scouting for a buyer for his packaged water busi ness Bisleri In ternational and is in talks with several players, including Tata Consumer Products Ltd. Tata Group firm also said that it is in discus sion with Bisleri International, for growth and expansion of the business of the company. However, the 82-year-old denied a report that a `7,000 crore deal has been finalised with TCPL.

New Delhi (PTI): There is a need to promote a circular economy to deal with the issues related to climate change, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Thursday said. Kant noted different ministries and states are taking initiatives to promote a circular economy. He said in COP 27, India underlined its long-term low carbon emission strategy. India’s Presidency for the G20 from December 1 provides an opportunity to the country for an accelerated transition towards the circular economy, he added.

that there is a need to create a business environment for the circular economy, he said,” We need to ensure that regula tions do not become burdensome”.

Need to promote circular economy to deal with climate change issues: Kant

What did you do to avert bandh in Oct ‘21? Bom HC asks police

Ex-min Nawab Malik’s bail order ‘not ready’ yet

First India Bureau

Strike was reportedly supported by then ruling MVA govt of NCP, Cong & Shiv Sena RIGHT OR NOT?

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thurs day directed state po lice to inform it about measures taken to avert the bandh called by the then ruling Na tionalist Congress Party (NCP) in Octo ber 2021 to protest the death of farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakh impur Kheri. The statewide strike was supported by NCP al liance partners Shiv Sena and Congress.

The court was hear ing a public interest liti gation (PIL) filed by four senior citizens, includ ing former Mumbai Commissioner of Police Julio Ribeiro last year seeking penalty on the political parties and compensation for those affected.

A division bench com prising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Jus tice Abhay Ahuja noted that bandhs are “uncon stitutional” and sought to know if the police had complied with direc

tions passed in a 2004 judgment delivered by Justice AP Shah. The order made it mandato ry for the police to serve a notice on the political party calling for the bandh, inform them of its illegality and then take criminal action against those enforcing the strike.

Declining interim re lief to the petitioners

Belapur-Mandwa water taxi service to begin operations this weekend

on the ground that it would amount to grant ing final reliefs of mon etary compensation, the court kept the mat ter for disposal on Jan uary 25, 2023.

In its affidavit, the state denied calling for the bandh and the police department’s affidavit claimed that the NCP called for the bandh.

The police machinery

“immediately” took nec essary steps to ensure that law and order situ ation is maintained throughout Mumbai district by providing ad ditional bandobast and manpower to patrol the streets, it added.

During the hearing, Advocate Ramesh Soni, on behalf of the peti tioners, submitted, “Even though the then

Adivision bench comprising CJ Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja noted that bandhs are “unconstitutional” and sought to know if the police had complied with directions passed in a 2004 judgment delivered by Justice AP Shah. The order made it mandatory for the police to serve notice to the political party calling for the bandh, inform them of its illegality and then criminal action against those enforcing it.

Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ruling coalition claimed there was no cabinet decision to call for a bandh, ac cording to press re ports, the bandh was sponsored by the par ties in power.”

The court noted that despite innumerable judgments calling bandhs illegal, even law yers still go on strike.

Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai on Thursday said that the order on bail plea of former Maharash tra minister Nawab Malik in a money laundering case “is not ready” and will likely be pronounced on November 30.

Special Judge RN Rokade had reserved his order on Malik’s bail plea on November 14 and listed it for Thursday after hearing lengthy arguments put forth by both sides.

As the matter came up on Thursday, the court said the order was not ready.

The order is now like ly to be pronounced on November 30.

The Enforcement Di rectorate (ED) arrested Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader in February this year in a money laundering case linked to the ac tivities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibra him and his aides.

He is in judicial cus tody and currently un dergoing treatment at a private hospital here.

BMC issues tenders worth `6,079 cr to concretize 400km of Mumbai roads

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The civic body in Mumbai on Thursday re-floated tenders worth Rs6,079 crore for the concreti sation of 400 kilome tres of the metropo lis’s roads.

Officials stated that the cost of the works had increased by Rs200 crore, though there are no major changes in terms and conditions.

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The newlylaunched water taxi Nayan XI in Mumbai will start its weekendonly services between Belapur and Mandwa from Saturday. The water taxi will depart from Belapur at 8 am and arrive at Mandwa at 9.15 am, according to the operator, Nayan tara Shipping Pvt Ltd.

The service from Mandwa will start at 6

pm and it will arrive at Belapur at 7:45 pm via the Domestic Cruise Terminal (DCW) ferry wharf. The ticket price will be Rs300 for execu tive class and Rs400 for business class.

When Nayan XI be gan services earlier this month, it was running ferries only from DCT to Mandwa. However, it has now decided to ca ter to more available routes to draw footfall and generate revenue.

Earlier this month, tenders worth Rs5,806 crore were cancelled due to poor response, they added.

The bunch comprises five tenders, compris ing works on roads in the island city, one for the eastern suburbs and three for the west ern suburbs, they said.

“The tender for roads of the island city is Rs1,233 crore, while it is Rs846 crore for the eastern suburbs

Tenders include one worth `1,233 cr for the island city, another of `846 cr for the eastern suburbs, and three tenders for the western suburbs worth `1,631 cr, `1,145 cr and `1,223 cr, respectively

works. The three ten ders for the western suburbs are worth

Rs1,631 crore, Rs1,145 crore and Rs1,223 crore, respectively,” a

HEALTH CHECK

In August, the BMC had started the tender ing process for concre tising the city’s roads and had called it a “huge step” towards making them pothole-free in the next two years.

Malik moved a regu lar bail plea before the special court in July.

The NCP leader sought bail pleading there is no predicate of fence against him to prosecute him for mon ey laundering.

The probe agency,

however, opposed the bail stating the case reg istered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Dawood Ibrahim and his hench men is considered as a predicate offence.

The ED has claimed the accused was deal ing with Ibrahim and his sister Hasina Parkar and “there is no question of him be ing innocent.”

The agency’s case against Malik is based on an FIR filed by the NIA against Dawood, key accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, and his aides un der the Unlawful Activi ties (Prevention) Act.

Nine booked after farm produce worth `2.42 cr goes missing in Latur

First India Bureau

Latur: Police have reg istered a case of cheat ing against nine trad ers after farm produce worth Rs2.42 crore purchased by another merchant and kept in a warehouse in Latur city went missing from the place, an of ficial said.

The case was regis tered on Monday as per the court orders, sub-in spector Sandip Karad said. “Based on the com plaint lodged by Praveen Manik Mane, a case was registered against the nine traders. The com plainant, who is also a trader, claimed that he had stored 1,000 sacks of urad (black gram) and 1,705 sacks of soybean in the warehouse in Latur’s MIDC area,” he added.

When the complain ant noticed that the goods had gone miss

Based on the complaint lodged by Praveen Manik Mane, a case was registered against the nine traders. The com plainant, who is also a trader, claimed that he had stored 1,000 sacks of udid (black gram) and 1,705 sacks of soybean in the warehouse lo cated in MIDC area of Latur.

—Sandip Karad Sub-inspector

ing, he sought answers from these nine traders, but they gave evasive replies. He then moved the district court, which ordered the police that a case be registered against the nine.

Rid of chronic pain, Vashi sr citizen regains mobility, quality of life

lll Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Narvekar praised NNMC doctors and medical staff who performed the lumbar canal stenosis surgery free of charge.

Vashi: A 64-year-old man suffering from lumbar canal stenosis was successfully op erated upon at the General Hospital Vashi run by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC).

The civic body’s Com missioner Rajesh Narvekar praised the expert doctors and med ical staff who per formed the procedure and lauded them for ex

ecuting it free of charge.

The patient had been suffering from left low er back pain for the past two years. The pain was so severe that it was im possible for him to walk even for eight to ten minutes. An MRI scan revealed a case of lum bar canal stenosis, wherein there is a nar rowing of the spinal canal which compress es the nerves travelling through lower back to the legs.

Prof Dr Praveen

Padalkar and Assistant Professor Dr Sumit Sonawane of the PG col lege performed the sur gery successfully with lumbar decompression under spinal anesthesia for a duration of 1.15 hours. After recovery, the patient will be re lieved of pain as the surgery was successful.

The cost of surgery at a private hospital usually costs around Rs2 lakh to Rs2.5 lakh.

However, this surgery has been successfully

performed free of charge at NMMC’s hos pital. “This is an impor tant step in the empow erment of the health department after many years in the municipal hospitals,” said an offi cial from the NNMC health department.

NMMC’s General Hospital at Vashi serves common citizens and a large number of pa tients come here every day for treatment of various diseases, added the official.

Congress, CPI and Shiv Sena supporters raise slogans during the ‘Maharashtra Bandh’ against the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, in Mumbai on Oct 11, 2021. —PHOTO BY ANI

NCP leader is in judicial custody in a money laundering case linked to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim & his aides

First India Bureau

Brihanmumbai Mu nicipal Corporation of ficial said.

Earlier this month, tenders worth Rs5,806 crore were cancelled due to poor response.

Malik had moved a bail plea in July.

—FILE PHOTO

FASHION CONNECT SEASON 13

FIRST INDIA TAKES LONDON BY STORM

The Fashion Connect set the bar high with the completion of its very successful previous seasons. With the huge response and netizens going gaga over the exemplary lineup and digital readiness, First India took Fashion Connect Season 13, to London and in association with India Fashion Week London the glamorous show was held at Novotel London Hammersmith on November 20!

After the successful sea son 12 of First India presents Fashion Con nect and designers em bracing old-school glamour in India, seems like the fashion police made the next stop in London in order to bombard our social media with the latest tea on what’s popping in the domain of style. Yes, you guessed it right, you’re about to have inside access to some of the ‘can’t miss’ moments at the First India Fashion Connect Season 13, in association with India Fashion Week London, held at Novotel London Ham mersmith, London on Novem ber 20.

With the whole aura beam ing in style, the front rows oc cupied by starlets and trends strutting down the runways, it’s almost as if we stepped afoot into the galaxy of glam, rotating in style.

Farah Ansari from Sewa, Ayesha and Radhika from Cit rine and Shalani Narukaa par ticipated in the grand event and showcased their ravishing designer collections. The audi ence was thrilled by a spectacu lar singing performance by First Kiss fame, Ipsitaa. Celeb rity Designer Samant Chauhan shed magic and concluded the whole show.

During the occasion, the grand launch of the cover page of the book ‘Unheard’ by Bha vini Bhargava was done by ace

If the top models with their catwalks aren’t enough for you to drool over the First India Fashion Connect Season 13, well then the designers and their unconventional approach sure should do the deed. Speak ing of which, just like every fashion week, the one in Lon don was nothing short of an

uber stylish series with jawdropping collections walking down the ramp every single second.

Rishee and Lokesh while paying gratitude to every one said, “This wouldn’t have been possible without Jagdeesh Chandra, though he could not make it for this season to London, his guid ance and perception have given it the boost to make Fashion Connect Season 13 at London, one of the best! Today, Fashion Connect rules the Fashion and glam our world as the best singleday fashion event and it is only due to the vision of Jagdeesh Chandra. The fas cinating history behind Lon don’s fashion industry has helped to shape the city into what it is today, and contrib uted to its remarkable repu tation as a central hub for innovative style. And with this Fashion Connect, we wish to take this around the globe.”

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/ thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09

designer Samant Chauhan, Ip sitaa and many other dignitar ies.

MITALI DUSAD mitalidusad01@gmail.com

My congratula tions to First In dia and Fashion Connect teams for the huge success of Fashion Connect Season 13 in London. We are committed to showcase the Indian designers and promote our rich culture and tradition across the world and will continue to do so in the seasons to come!”

—DR JAGDEESH CHANDRA, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, First India

Designer Farah Ansari with the ravishing models

Lokesh Sharma

FACE OF THE DAY!

Aries

MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

Spend time talking with likeminded people as it will make you feel good for now. Boisterous behaviour is what everyone needs right now, do whatever you can do to cheer everyone up. You will feel financially comfortable and infant you are in position to invest money in some new venture.

Gemini

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

You need a break from day to tensions and the way to cope up with stress is to meditate. You must create an environment of understanding at home. You will succeed in any sort of examination if you put your heart and soul to it. Promotion can be expected even if other are not.

Leo

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

You care about you lover but somehow hesitate in expressing that care. Don’t make friends for money and status rather make friends who will stick with you forever. On social front, you may have to spend some extra money in buying gifts for someone for some specific occasion.

Libra

SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 22

You are a pro in your field and none can beat you. You give tough competition to people. Many people get inspired by you. You will get special treatment from your dear ones. Take stand where you need to, don’t run in the same direction where everybody else is going.

Sagittarius

NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22

You make sure to make things work your way. Never demotivate someone even if someone is not capable of doing something. You are most wanted by your friends. You can have romantic affair in office and a serious one. You will invest money in clothes and accessories today.

Aquarius

JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19

Scrumptious food is what you are craving for today. You always maintain cordial relationship with everyone. You workout daily to keep yourself fit. You may start a side business to earn extra money. You are not a jealous kind and you feel happy for others.

Taurus

APRIL 21 - MAY 20

SANYA KALSI, Influencer

You are very generous by nature and also you are the backbone of your family. You may postpone your study plans. You are very fortunate to have a great friend circle. Be careful of the words that come out of your mouth. Your lover may finally say yes to get married to you.

Cancer

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

Your spouse may make you spend more than you expected. Fantastic day for investing money in stock market as you can make fortune. You need help on academic front and you should not shy away from asking. You miss your parents a lot and somewhere fear to loose them.

Virgo

AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23

You love to live close to your family. Best day to buy gold and silver or any precious metal for investment sake. You are a child at heart and never let this child die. You have a big heart and you always help someone if you can. Video gathering is possible as you miss your social circle like anything.

Scorpio

OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22

You will succeed and move ahead in your professional life, as the year begins. Be careful, though, as your daily routine may be affected adversely.

Your boss may be the reason for your annoyance. Pressure tactics can infuriate you. Probably, by 5th or 6th, you may think of taking up a new job.

Capricorn

DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20

Your spouse is someone who can do anything for your happiness. You are opportunist and this will make you successful one day. There may be delays in property possession and it won’t effect you. You are happy spending whole day at home. Help your mothers at home today.

Pisces

FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20

You will feel amorous towards your wife. This is the best time try something new with life give yourself a new purpose. Work on your limitations, there can be no better time than this. You have more opposite sex friends than the same and you may be judged sometimes but don’t care.

More people are becom ing increas ingly health conscious and choos ing healthy food options.

Millets are far more nutrient dense than wheat and rice. They are tasty and easily available. Since they are highly under-con sumed, we should make efforts to incorporate them into our daily menus in the form of rotis, bread or other food preparations.

Millets like sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), or barley have always been stereo typed as grains for the underprivi leged. They are associated with either seed given to birds or thick rotis to eat for a rural event or a dish to be had occasionally.

Fortunately, millets are gradually ac quiring impor tance. People are more and more becoming aware of the nutritional benefits of millet. Plus, seeing them on the racks of health stores has mo tivated many a per son to consume mil let more frequently.

If we were to draw a bar graph compar ing the nutrient con tent of millets and wheat or rice, the mil let bar would tower to a much greater extent. For example, the calci um content in finger millet (ragi) is nearly 350mg for 100g whereas in wheat and rice it is even below 50mg.

A few millets are eat en in the form of grains but most are pounded into flour and then used to make a range of dishes. Although add ing bran and soy flour to wheat would give it extra fibre and protein it will not increase the content of minerals and B vitamins. Nutri

NUTRITIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MILLETS

tionists are now advising their clients to con sume multi grain flour rotis and bread or switch to millet because of their high nutrient den sity. Due to the high

fibre content, they also aid in healthy weight loss. For example, in stead of two wheat chappatis, one can eas ily do with consuming just one bajra roti or one multi-flour chapa tti with added bran.

Nowadays a range of

bread made from mil lets and premixed flours of jowar, bajra, wheat, Bengal gram flour, and soya are also available. We just need to know their nutrient content to motivate ourselves to consume them on daily basis.

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

MAULISHREE JHAWER, BHSc, MSc

BE FLAWLESS... NOT FLOSSLESS..!

FLOSSING DAY IS CELEBRATED ON THE FOURTH FRIDAY IN NOVEMBER, WHICH IS NOVEMBER 25 THIS YEAR. THE HOLIDAY STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF FLOSSING YOUR TEETH EVERY DAY FOR EXCELLENT ORAL HEALTH. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT HORSEHAIR WAS USED AS DENTAL FLOSS BEFORE THE INVENTION OF THE MODERN FLOSS WE USE TODAY? CITY FIRST HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF FLOSSING AND ORAL HYGIENE!

WHY ISN’T BRUSHING ENOUGH?

The tooth has 5 surfaces, but your toothbrush can only reach 3 of them. The two untouched surfaces are very close to the sides of other teeth, making it easy for food to get trapped in between. When food gets stuck in these gaps, it creates a breeding ground for bacteria to build up, creating plaque. This is where floss comes in handy – as an interdental cleaning tool, it can get into these tight spaces and remove 80% of plaque.

MITALI DUSAD mitalidusad01@gmail.com

Are you flossing regu larly?” is probably a question you get asked every single time you visit the dentist. And that’s be cause it’s important! Many people hate the feeling of moving a piece of floss between their teeth, and therefore leave flossing out of their daily teeth cleaning routine. But just brushing your teeth often isn’t enough to remove plaque and prevent cavities. Helping you main tain a healthy smile by protecting your teeth and gums and protecting you from other diseases, here’s why flossing needs to be a part of your daily routine.

HOW TO OBSERVE FLOSSING DAY

Commit to flossing at least once a day: Flossing is not only essential to your oral health but also your overall health. So by committing to flossing once a day, you’re committing to keeping yourself healthy. Schedule a time — 2 to 3 minutes — every day when you would floss.

Visit the dentist: If you haven’t visited the dentist in a long while, here is the perfect time to do that. Book an appointment with a dentist or check your calendar for your closest free day and make that appoint ment. Remember that your oral health is your overall health.

Educate other people about the health ben efits of flossing: Flossing Day is all about raising awareness of the importance of flossing to people’s oral health. You can con tribute to that effort by encouraging your family and friends to floss every day. Also, you can use social media to influence people within your network to start flossing.

WHY FLOSSING DAY IS IMPORTANT

Flossing keeps your teeth healthy: Accord ing to the American Dental Association (A.D.A.), employing interdental cleaners such as floss help prevent the buildup of plaque in-between the teeth. Without floss ing, the plaque buildup can lead to gum disease or cavities.

Flossing promotes overall body health: Excellent oral health means a healthy body. The mouth is the window to various parts of your body, including the heart, and when it’s not properly taken care of, it caus es several health complications.

Flossing is good for your appearance: In addition to other good oral practices, such as brushing, flossing helps ensure healthy gums, whiter teeth, and a brighter smile. You can keep the confident vibes flowing by flossing away the trapped little bits of food in your mouth that can cause a real stink. It’s true; a comprehensive oral care routine will reward you with fresh breath.

PROTECT YOUR GUMS

When you neglect flossing, plaque and bacteria can easily build up. If they are not removed properly the bacteria will eventually begin to irritate gum tissue, and this will get worse as bacteria increases. When left untreated, this can eventually cause Gingivitis – a periodontal disease that causes red and puffy gums to bleed easily.

5 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOUR TEETH

Teeth are not bones: Although the hu man teeth and bones are primarily made up of the same material and con tain nerves and blood, teeth do not pro duce bone marrow – unlike bones.

They’re the hardest substance in the body: Contrary to popular opinion, tooth enamel is harder than bone, making it the hardest part of the body.

Teeth can’t self-repair: Because teeth are coated in enamel, which is not liv ing tissue, they cannot repair them selves once damaged.

Teeth are unique to each person: Like your tongue print and fingerprint, no one has the same set of teeth as you do. So why hesitate when you can take care of your teeth with just a few care ful steps.

A 200 lbs bite force: The bite force of an adult human is almost comparable to that of a pit bull, which is 235 lbs.

A DOUBLE CELEBRATION AT FIRST INDIA’S MUMBAI OFFICE

the chance to unveil their sil ver button!

ADITI CHAVAN cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

The venture of First India was started eight months ago with the blessings of Dr Jagdeesh Chan dra who put his faith in every one of its employees. Right from You Tube, Instagram and Face book, First India spread its roots into the entertainment world of Mumbai. With four thriving channels including First India Telly, First India Filmy, First India Spotlight and First India Fashion, the team worked effortlessly to bring some extraordinary re sults to the table. The entire team of First India Mumbai had an enormous celebration packed in on November 24 as they had not one but two rea sons to do so.

November 24 marked the birthday of Managing Editor, Entertainment, Ashish Ti wari. This called for a special celebration as the office was decorated with balloons of gold and black. Not only that but the occasion was graced by none other than Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, who blessed Mr Tiwari with all his heart. But the cheeky grins stapled on everyone’s face had another reason to appear. The team finally got

Through the auspicious hands of Dr Jagdeesh Chan dra, the glistening silver but ton was opened, ready to be shown off to the world. The happiness on everyone’s face was remarkable as this feat was achieved within six months! This achievement is something not even the big gest channels could accom plish in such a short span.

Bestowed to the Telly chan nel, the team worked day and night to attain such a tri umph.

Expressing his gratitude and his pride over the mirac ulous achievement, Ashish Tiwari said, “It was a very special moment to have JC sir in the office, especially on such an important day for me. Right from the cake cut ting to the silver button un veiling, everything was a surreal experience. I had all the confidence in my team who worked vigorously. The fact that even JC sir praised our entire team for doing a great job was the cherry on the cake.”

Bringing forward social media and video content, First India’s Mumbai office works towards making some exclusive content for its so cial media, including the YouTube channel. As the re sults of such dedication are paid off with a genuinely heart-warming visit from the man whose vision birthed the creation of First India, it motivates the members of the First India family to work with more vigour towards a common goal.

CITY FIRST

Aditya Chopra and ace director Siddharth Anand is relent lessly working to make Pathaan India’s biggest action spectacle! The visually spectacu lar Yash Raj Films’ action extravagan za, Pathaan, is part of Aditya Chopra’s am bitious spy universe and has the biggest su perstars of the country Shah Rukh Khan, Deep ika Padukone and John Abraham in it. It has now come to light that

Pathaan has a huge Tom Cruise connect that is going to blow the minds of every specta cle movie going audi ence in India!

Siddharth reveals, “When one sets out to make the spectacle action film of India with one of the all time biggest heroes of our country, Shah Rukh Khan, you need to have a champion team that is unified in the vi sion. Thankfully we got an A-team that came together to push the visual envelope with Pathaan and I was de

CITY FIRST

wavy hair and nude lips completed her look!

Gorgeous ac tress

Manushi Chhillar made heads turn at the recently held evening soirée with global fashion icon Anna Wintour.

Manushi dressed indigenously in a scintillating black six yards coupled with black gloves. The actress kept it ele gant and classy in a Arpita Mehta saree teaming it with a Sa byasachi belt and Louboutin shoes. A diamond neckpiece,

On the work front, Manushi Chhillar, who made her grand Bollywood debut in Yash Raj Films’ Samrat Prithviraj, opposite super star Akshay Ku mar, recently wrapped up her next film Tehran with action star John Abraham. Manushi won the Miss World 2017.

BTS will be enlist ing for their mandatory mili tary service starting this year-end.

The eldest of the group, Kim Seokjin who goes by the stage name Jin will be the first one to bid his fans adieu. While every one knew he would be enlisting by the end of the year, the exact date was un known.

However, a recent news article that has been doing the rounds on the internet stated that the singer will be enlisting on December 13. A South Korean daily newspaper, namely, Aju Business Daily reported that unnamed military of

lighted to have someone like Casey O’Neill, who has extensively worked with Tom Cruise, to be by our side.”

Emmy award-nomi nated Casey, regarded as one of the best action directors in Hollywood, is the brain behind Tom Cruise’s death-defying stunts in films like Jack Reacher, Mission Impos sible series films, Top Gun : Maverick and has also worked with Marvel Studios and Steven Spielberg to name a few!

About Casey, Sid dharth further adds, “He brings in a wealth

of experience and he immediately bought into the idea of creat ing edge of the seat ac tion for Pathaan that could match what he’s done back home in Hol lywood. What Casey has created in Pathaan, is simply mind-bog gling. You will have to see the film for that be cause we aren’t going to disclose any details from the film till it re leases in theatres on 25 Jan.”

Pathaan is set to re lease on Jan 25, 2023 in Hindi, Tamil and Telu gu.

Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin is cur rently in Panchgani, Maharashtra for the shoot of a new pro ject. While the other details of this new project are still un der wraps, what we do know is that Tahir and Fatima are ro mantically paired op posite each other. Tahir, who wrapped up the shoot with Fa

tima last night, took to Instagram to share a BTS picture with the gorgeous actress.

He posted the ador able photo with a caption that read, “Super energy hang ing with this cutie.”

ficials stated Jin will be de ployed to a unit after receiv ing five weeks of training at the boot camp. Soompi re ports industry representa tives said Jin will attend a recruit training centre in Yeoncheon County, Gyeo nggi Province.

Addressing these claims, Jin took to the photo-sharing site, Weverse on Thursday and confirmed the news. The tweet translation posted by a fan named @btstransla tion7 said, “There's an article out there that I hadn't planned on being pub lished.. in

CITY FIRST

CITY FIRST

Tahir shoots with Fatima Shaikh, shares a BTS

Jagdeesh Chandra with Ashish Tiwari and Sandeep Shukla with Mumbai First India Team

Mumbai Team

Jagdeesh Chandra with Sandeep Shukla and Ashish Tiwari

Jagdeesh Chandra with Sandeep Shukla, Ashish Tiwari and Mumbai team during cake cutting ceremony

Jagdeesh Chandra and Ashish Tiwari sharing a moment of joy

Jagdeesh Chandra with Ashish Tiwari and Sandeep Shukla cutting cake

Poster of Pathaan

Kim Seokjin

Manushi Chhillar

Fatima’s post