First India-Jaipur Edition-25th December 2022

KOCHHARS SENT TO 3-DAY CBI CUSTODY

New Delhi: The CBI on Saturday got a three-day remand of former MD and CEO of ICICI bank Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak. CBI prosecutor A Limosine told the court that 6 loans were sanctioned by Chanda to Videocon which are under the scanner.

SURVEY OF IDGAH

FROM JANUARY 2

Mathura: A local court in UP’s Mathura on Saturday ordered survey of Shahi Idgah Mosque, said to be built on the “Krishna Janmabhoomi”by the Archaeological Survey of India after January 2. The report will be submitted after January 20.

TN: 8 SABARIMALA

DEVOTEES KILLED

Pathanamthitta: 8 devotees were killed and two persons, including a nine-year-old boy injured in TN’s Theni district after a car carrying devotees plunged into a 40-feet-deep pit, officials said. 10 devotees were headed home when their car met with an accident.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that through the new NEP, a forward-looking and futuristic education system is being created in the country for the first time.

“You know very well that for the bright future of India, our existing education policy and institutes have a big role to play. IITs, IIMs and medical colleges in country have increased after 2014, the year when Patel govt came to power for first time,” he said. More on P6

RCA polls held smoothly under Arora’s supervision

NEP will promote overall development of students. Vocational and skill education has created a major role in the NEP. It is estimated that more than 50% of students will be linked with vocational education before class 10.

Shah, Union Home Minister

Gehlot’ to repeat ‘Cong Raj’ in State?

Aditi Nagar

Jaipur: With under a year left for Assembly polls, CM Ashok Gehlot has initiated a bid to ensure that his govt is repeated in 2023. As a strategy, now election will be fought on ‘Brand Ashok Gehlot’ , works of Gehlot govt and votes will be sought on basis of public welfare schemes. In a way, 2023 poll will be a referendum on functioning of Gehlot government.

RaGa at Red Fort: Yatra is to show real Hindustan

First India Bureau

New Delhi: After the Bharat Jodo Yatra reached Red Fort in New Delhi Saturday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the BJP government was spreading Hindu-Muslim hatred to divert attention from real issues. Gandhi also said, “this is not PM Modi’s, but Ambani and Adani’s government”. Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan joined the yatra in the afternoon near ITO. Meanwhile, Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi joined Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat

Teachers’ job exam cancelled after paper leak, 49 arrested

The examination will be reconducted on January 29, 2023, says RPSC

Strict action to be taken against such gangs, no injustice to youth: CM

Ravi Sharma and Shubham Jain

Udaipur/Jaipur: The general knowledge test for Grade 2 teachers recruitment in Rajasthan was cancelled on Saturday after question paper was allegedly leaked a few hours before exam started. 49 people, including the

alleged mastermind of scam and 44 students, have been arrested.

The paper leak gang had allegedly taken Rs 10 lakh from each candidate for illegally provid-

Rahul

Jodo Yatra in Delhi Saturday morning. Meanwhile, traffic was affected in parts of southeast Delhi as the yatra entered the city. More on P6

RT-PCR ‘must’ for foreign travellers

Centre’s six-point advisory to States

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, on Saturday, said RT-PCR test is mandatory for international arrivals from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand amid the surge in Covid cases in multiple nations.

ing them the questionnaire for teachers’ job test conducted by RPSC.

“Mastermind”, Suresh Vishnoi, of Jodhpur, was among those arrested. —More on P3

Meanwhile during the day, ministry has given a fresh six-point advisory to the states to face any Covid emergency amid rising cases in neighbouring China.

The availability of LMO, in health facilities and uninterrupted supply chain for their refilling should be ensured and added adequate inventory of oxygen cylinders with backup stocks to be maintained.

SOAP STAR TUNISHA, 20, FOUND DEAD ON SET; CO-STAR NAMED IN SUICIDE CASE

Mumbai: Tunisha Sharma, 20, a television actor, on Saturday allegedly died by suicide on the set of a serial in Vasai in Palghar dist, and her co-actor, Zeeshan Mohd Khan, has been charged with abetting suicide. She went to washroom on set and did not return for a long time. When door was broken down, she was found hanging inside.

Forward-looking, futuristic education system being created in country through NEP: Modi

First India Bureau

PM Narendra Modi greets during the 75th Amrut Mahotsav of Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot Sansthan via VC, in Delhi on Saturday.

—Amit

❍

BHARAT JODO YATRA ENTERS THE NATIONAL CAPITAL

Gandhi with Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, Kamal Haasan and other leaders during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, near Red Fort in New Delhi, Saturday.

RAHUL: SHARING LOVE I RECEIVED FROM HER Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared an emotional picture with his mother Sonia Gandhi taken during Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Passengers coming from abroad undergo testing at IGI Airport, in Delhi on Saturday.

Sunil Arora handing over certificate of election on Saturday to Vaibhav Gehlot as TR Meena, Kashwini Gehlot & others look on.

Jaipur (Naresh Sharma): In the history of Rajasthan Cricket Association, unopposed elections have been held again after almost two decades. Vaibhav Gehlot was re-elected as the president. The candidates of his panel were also elected unopposed on the remaining five posts. Though the unopposed election was decided on the day of withdrawal, returning officer Sunil Arora formally handed over the certificates of election on Saturday in the AGM. Arora, who is the former Chief Election Commissioner, took the responsibility of conducting elections on the appeal of RCA and he completed the election process with complete transparency. —More on P10

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the World. Meanwhile on Christmas eve, a couple dressed as Santa Claus celebrates, at snow-covered Ski Resort in Gulmarg.

Ashok Gehlot

@ashokgehlot51

Today, on December 24, from 9 to 11 am, the general knowledge test for teacher recruitment has been cancelled as a precaution so that no injustice is done to the hardworking youths.

One of accused in custody of police in Udaipur on Saturday.

‘Brand

Trains full beyond capacity for Christmas & New Year

Airfares from the city to favourite getaways have already shot high Kashiram Choudhary

Jaipur: Travelling to holiday destinations for Xmas or New Year is proving an uphill task for travellers these days. The airfares from the city to favourite getaways have already shot through the roof, while the trains have also been booked much beyond their capacity

Passengers are unable to secure a berth in trains as almost all trains between Dec 25 to 30 have been completely booked. Sources informed that in some trains bookings have been closed while in some, the waiting list is too long that is very unlikely for people to get seat confirmation.

The railways have added extra coaches to trains, but still, the bookings are very high

Minor girl raped, forced to marry by Insta friend

First India Bureau

Jaipur: A case of raping a minor girl by befriending her on Instagram has come to light in the city. The accused abandoned the minor victim at home and forcibly married her. After taking her hostage for two months, the accused thrashed and raped her.

At Nahargarh police station, the victim lodged a report against the accused Instagram friend. The police have registered a case under the POCSO Act and started an investigation.

Passengers waiting for train at Gandhi Nagar junction.

in comparison to available seats.

Destinations like Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Udaipur, and Jaisalmer are the most soughtafter tourist places and airfare to these destinations has already

increased three to five times.

Travelling to religious places like Vaishno Devi Temple in Jammu is also difficult, as trains to such places have also been booked completely.

Bookings in Ajmer-Jammu Tawi have already been closed on December 30 for sleeper classes. Bookings in the third and second AC are opened while four waiting in the first AC. Similarly, bookings closed in Sleeper and Third AC in Shalimar Express.

FROM JAIPUR TO UDAIPUR FULLY BOOKED

Trains from Jaipur to Udaipur are also full.

Jaipur-Udaipur Super has already been completely booked and there is waiting for a third AC and sleeper. Similarly, in Jaipur-Udaipur express, there are eight waiting in the third AC while in Khajuraho-Udaipur, there are waiting in the sleeper and third AC.

TEACHERS EXAM

Candidates with 82% marks in reserve category can now apply

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Raj Staff Selection Board has released revised release of teacher recruitment exam. As per the release, candidates having 82 marks in the reserve category will also be able to apply. In such a situation, now candidates who get 56.66% marks in REET will be able to apply online till January 19.

After this, the written test will be held on basis of subject from Feb 25 to 28. The selected candidates will be given posting on the basis of state level merit.

There will be no compulsion of minimum marks applicable by the Staff Selection Commission in the teacher recruitment process. It may be noted that after release of teacher recruitment exam, candidate had started protesting with demand.

Guv urges people to work together for dev of State

Jaipur (PTI): Governor Kalraj Mishra on Saturday urged people to work together for the holistic development of state & called for making it an industrial hub. He also emphasized the need for efficient management of human resources and creation of better working conditions according to global requirements.

Addressing a programme organised by the Employers Association of Rajasthan, Mishra urged people to work together for holistic development of Raj. Under leadership of PM Modi, work is being done by giving equal importance to ‘Shramev Jayate’ & ‘Satyamev Jayate’, he said. Referring to the country’s labour welfare laws, he said their purpose is to encourage those working in industry or service sector so that they can do

quality work and increase production.

He also called upon the industries and the service sector to work towards discharging so-

Mercury drops to 2.1°C in Churu

Jaipur (PTI): Intense cold gripped Rajasthan on Saturday, with the mercury dropping to 2.1 degrees Celsius, the weather department here said. The night temperature dropped below five degrees Celsius in many places in Rajasthan.

Churu was recorded the coldest with 2.1 degree Celsius on Friday night. According to MeT Dept, the minimum temp was recorded at 2.2 degrees Celsius in Pilani, 3.2 de-

grees Celsius in Bikaner, 4.2 degrees Celsius in Sirohi, 4.4 de-

grees Celsius in Nagaur, 4.5 degrees Celsius in Karauli.

cial responsibilities. Industries minister Shakuntala Rawat elaborated various incentive schemes for the industrial sector.

Female leopard dies at N’garh Biological Park

First India Bureau

Jaipur: The injured female leopard from Nahargarh Biological Park died after colliding with a vehicle seven days ago. Late Saturday evening on December 17, a female leopard collided with a vehicle near Aranya Bhawan in the city. The mother of deceased female leopard was named ‘Basanti’, and the deceased was famous as Basanti’s daughter.

The impact of the collision was so strong that her backbone was broken and both her rear legs were frac-

PSK attends Kshatriya Chintan Shivir

First India Bureau

Jaipur: Rajasthani one-day Kshatriya Chintan Shivir 2022 was organized by All India Kshatriya Mahasabha Trust at Shri Krishna Marriage Garden, Sikar Road in Jaipur.

Eminent people of Rajput society participated in the camp. Cabinet minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas also partici-

pated in the programme as chief guest. People from all over the state ex-

pressed their views on issues like women empowerment, including economic reservation,

condition and direction of the society.

Addressing the programme, minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said that whether the people of the society are working in any field or are associated with any party in the political field, they should think about the welfare of society & give a new direction & help in making it a better place.

After a wait of 40 days, DoP finally allots room to Yashwant!

Jaipur: Finally, after a wait of 40 days, Commissioner, Departmental Enquiries, IAS officer Pritam B Yashwant, has been allotted a separate room and the official has started working. After returning from a year-long leave, Yashwant was not allotted any room by the DoP to sit and work from the Secretariat. After First India reported on the matter, DoP provided Yashwant a room in the SSO Building last week. But perhaps what is

more interesting is the fact that when Yashwant was on leave, his responsibility was not handed to someone else. Secondly, it did not bother anyone that Yashwant worked for 40 days from his home. In reality, the position of Commissioner, Departmental Enquiries is considered to be a cold posting with ‘minimal relevance’. Amongst the bureaucratic circles, this is considered to be a punishment posting where officials that are not ‘favourites’ of the government or with whom the

government is not too pleased, are posted.

And perhaps what is more intriguing is the fact that the total number of Commissioners is not final as the numbers can sway between 1-6. As of now, three IAS officers, Rajendra Singh Shekhawat, Prem Sukh Vishnoi, and Pritam B Yashwant are working as Commissioner Departmental Enquiries.

A fourth Commissioner, Veena Pradhan, retired in August this year.

It is well known that 2003 batch IAS officer, Yashwant, has been

handling important positions in his career. He has served as Collector in three districts and has served as Commissioner, Commercial Taxes and Secretary GAD in the current government. Moreover,

during the Covid pandemic, he was given the important additional charge of MD, Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation. But while in GAD, in December 2020, he fell ‘out of favour’ and was posted at his current position. When he returned after a year-long leave, he was given the same posting.

Interestingly, right from junior IAS to senior ACS rank officers have been posted on this position and in fact, ACS rank senior most IAS officer Ravishankar Srivastava has

been a bureaucrat, who has been posted here not once or twice, but four times. Similarly, senior IAS officer RN Meena was kept on this post till his retirement, for two and a half years, by the then government. Former CS Niranjan Arya was posted as Commissioner DE by BJP government for three years and eight months from April 2015 to December 2018 and even the ‘most powerful’ officer in the previous BJP government, Praveen Gupta, also had to taste the

post in February 2020.

The DoP engages in handing chargesheet to gazetted officers in all departments and getting investigations on complaints done. The investigations are done by Commissioner, Departmental Enquiries and one Commissioner can have 15-20 or more investigations at hand at once. DoP Secretary allots the investigation cases, but there is no rule or regulation as to how many investigations are completed by the Commissioner and at what time.

Cousins found hanging from tree, reason for death not confirmed

Jaipur: Cousin brother and sister committed suicide on Friday night in the city. On Saturday morning, the bodies of both were found hanging from a tree. The relatives were searching for both of them since late evening. The police collected evidence with the help of the FSL team. The post-mortem of both bodies will be conducted by the Medical Board at Kavantia Hospital. The police are trying to find out the reason behind the suicide.

According to the police, bodies of a boy and a girl were found hanging from a tree in Mundiyaramsar village on Saturday morning. FSL team collected evidence from spot & later bodies were removed.

AJMER-JAMMU TAWI RUNS FULL, LONG WAIT LIST

TRAIN

Guv Kalraj Mishra addressing programme at Employers Association of Rajasthan. Also seen Industries minister Shakuntala Rawat.

tured. After the accident, she succumbed to injuries on Saturday. Senior Veterinarian Dr Arvind Mathur and Medical Board will perform the post-mortem.

First India Bureau

CITY GEARS UP FOR CHRISTMAS

Come Christmas, the entire city and especially church gets decked up in hues of reds, whites, greens, and blues. St. Xavier’s Church at Bhagwandas Road is all decked up and women are seen clicking selfies. These are the days when every nook & corner of city makes you feel and live festive moments. And without any doubt, Jpr does it better. —PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Female leopard while being rescued seven days back.

Rajendra Chhabra

Pritam B Yashwant

Residents of Sikar stand near fire place on a cold winter morning.

—PHOTO BY RAKESH GURJAR

Pratap Singh Khachariyawas being felicitated during ‘Kshatriya Chintan Shivir 2022’ on Saturday.

Offenders barred for lifetime

Police arrest

Ajmer/Jaipur/ Udaipur/Bharatpur:

After the paper leak and cancellation of the 2nd grade teacher recruitment exam, the RPSC members held a meeting on Saturday and decided to debar and blacklist for lifetime all the candidates caught in the case. They would not be able to appear in any examination of the commission.

The State Government also suspended 4 government employees — Senior teacher Ravataram, second grade teacher Bhagirath, headmaster Suresh Kumar and one other — and procedure was initiated to dismiss them from the government service.

Police in Bharatpur also arrested two dummy candidates while appearing in the exam.

Acting on a tip-off that the paper was leaked to candidates who were coming in a private bus to Udaipur, police teams stopped a vehicle at an intersection in Bekariya police station circle this morning, Udaipur SP Vikas Sharma said. He said the candidates travelling in the bus were found to be in possession of the leaked examination paper.

Udaipur Police in the past few days has arrested three persons who tried to appear in the teacher recruitment examination as “dummy candidates”.

On May 16, 2022, a questionnaire of the Raj Police Constable Recruitment Exam was cancelled after it was leaked.

Two students kill themselves in Barmer

First India Bureau

Barmer: Two people committed suicide in Barmer on Saturday after being into a depressive state of mind from quite some time. Police informed that a girl, studying in Class 11 allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in Kharar village under Dhorimana Police Station area. “The girl was into mental depression that led her to take the extreme step. The post-mortem was conducted and the body was handed to family members,” police said.

Similarly, a 25-year-old man jumped into a water tank and died in Dhorimana area of Barmer district.

“The deceased was identified as Babulal Meghwal, a resident of Koja village. The man went into depression due to the REET exam,” police said.

49 in paper leak scam; cancelled

exam to be held on Jan 29, 2023

COVID-19 testing begins at airport

Kashiram Choudhary

Jaipur: The random Covid-19 testing of passengers arriving on international flights started at Jaipur airport on Saturday as the authorities step up measures to prevent possible spread of the infection in the State.

New Covid rules were scheduled to be implemented from 10 am on Saturday onwards. However, no scheduled flight arrived after 10 am.

Meanwhile, an in -

NSA AGAINST CRIMINALS, SAYS DGP MISHRA

Rajasthan Government should understand the pain of parents who spend hard-earned money to educate their children.

The system needs a change.

UPSC papers never leak. Due to political shelter, they get the courage to leak RPSC papers. It is clearly the negligence on part of the state government.

Another paper leak has happened.

Thousands of youths form the state have travelled to appear in the exam in shivering cold. Where is state government’s conscience and general knowledge. Now the water has passed over the head, now Only the curses of the youth will decide.

Jaipur: DGP Umesh Mishra on Saturday said that the records of those who try to copy would be scrutinised and action is being mulled against the criminal elements involved in cheating under the National Security Act. He informed that an amendment is being suggested in the PASA law to confiscate the property of criminals involved in counterfeiting gangs.

Gehlot promises strict action

Jaipur (FIB): Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said the leak of teacher recruitment exam paper was unfortunate and promised a strict action against the culprits.

Gehlot said that Rajasthan is the only state in the country which has taken prompt and strict ac-

tion in such matters.

“The paper leak is very unfortunate. Papers have started leaking in many states, in the army, in the judiciary (Rajasthan). It is a very worrying situation. Rajasthan is the first state in the country which has put such people in jail,” Gehlot told reporters here.

He further said,

“Strict action will be taken against those who indulge in this act. We have recently passed a law in the assembly under which such people will get strict punishment, if needed, we will make a more stringent law.”

The CM said it was sad to see some young people too getting involved in such acts.

ternational charter flight reached Jaipur airport from Dubai. Two out of 11 passengers on board the flight were tested for corona, while a passenger voluntarily got the RTPCR test done.

Another RTU staffer accused of molestation

First India Bureau

Kota: Accusations of molestation against faculties of Rajasthan Technical University (RTU) seem to end not anytime soon. Now, one more staff member of RTU has been accused of molesting a contractual worker of the University. Dean of Faculty Affairs, Rajiv Gupta, has been charged with molesting a female staff member.

On Saturday, the victim filed a complaint before the National Commission of Women

(NCW) stating the alleged incident. A threemember team of NCW had reached Kota to investigate the allegations made by the victim involving former associate professor Girish Parmar. The delegation recorded the statements of the victims on Saturday.

Shubham Jain, Ravi Sharma & Ravi Katara

A policeman tries to pacify protesting ABVP workers outside BD Kalla’s residence in Jaipur.

Candidates return after Govt cancels exam after paper leak, in Jaipur.

Protesters put up lock at the gate of BD Kalla’s residence on Saturday.

MP Kirodi Lal Meena holds protest, accuses RPSC of leaking exam paper in Ajmer on Saturday.

—PHOTOS

BY MUKESH

KIRADOO

Gulab Chand Kataria

@Gulab_kataria

Satish Poonia

@DrSatishPoonia

CRAZY MOMENTS FROM FIFA WC 2022 IN QATAR

A PHARMA FIRM IN THE DOCK, BUT INDIA WANTS CLINICAL PROOF

For tourist too life was a ball but discipline was not flouted. Qatar is not a democracy. You step out of line, you got it in the neck. When World Cup was allotted to Qatar the widespread reaction was not in favour. Doha proved them wrong. The Hindustan Times of December 20 selected the best XI of the 2022 World Cup

or a man approaching 94 years of age, excitement is a rarity.

FFrom November 20th to December 18th a boyish enthusiasm took over. I was one among the three billion fans who sat glued to the TV to watch the Football World Cup. The first shock was Saudi Arabia defeating Argentina. Lionel Messi looked more than bewildered. Saudi Arabia beating Argentina!! No. it could not be real. But it was.

The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia presented Bentley cars to each Saudi player. Soon Germany, Belgium, Brazil, England were out. Little known African countries became giant killers. Morocco played with amazing skill. They had their opponents in a daze. Africa had arrived on the football big league. Doha’s Lusail Stadium did not have a vacant seat. Fans were left breathless. What was the great Cristiano Ronaldo doing? He was not in the field till half time. His arrival on the wonderfully manicured green turf but some pep into the Portuguese team. He even scored a penalty goal. Here was the second

WELFARE POLITICS DRIVES GOVERNMENT

 GOALKEEPER: Emiliano Martinez - Argentina: Without him, it is unlikely Argentina would have won the World Cup. He is the best goalkeeper in the World.

 LEFT BACK: Theo Hernondez - France: He was called to replace his brother, who suffered an injury. Theo did not let the side down.

 CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Sofyan Amrabat - Morocco: The most impressive skill he brings to the game is his ability to dictate the pace of the game.

 LEFT WINGER: Kylain Mbappe - France: The future is his. Once Messi has retired and

best footballer in the world fumbling. He had, a few days before the World Cup began, left the Manchester team under unpleasant circumstances. As Cristiano’s game deteriorated, Messi’s picked up. Soon Portugal was out of the World Cup. Ronaldo’s grief was all too visible.

From the first day I had backed France. The country had won the Cup four years ago. Argentina and France met in the final. The former was two goals ahead when the French wizards Kylian Mbappe scored two stunning goals. Two all. In

The Central government turned Santa Claus for the poorest of the poor when it announced free foodgrains for them under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) starting January 1, 2023. This will be above the earlier entitlement of 5 kg foodgrain under NFSA. The earlier scheme, PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna, which was launched in April 2020, has been discontinued as the Finance Ministry’s Expenditure Department had advised against its continuation. The free foodgrain plan will cost the exchequer about Rs 2 lakh crore.

Coming at a time when inflation is making life hard for the 81 crore poor, the gift of free ration for one more year

Ronaldo too, Mbappe will undoubtedly the best player in the game. He is 23 years of age. Messi is nearing 36, Ronaldo is 37. 

ATTACKING MIDFEILD: Lionel Messi - Argentina: By winning the World Cup he is as of now the greatest footballer of all time. 

RIGH BACK: Achraf Hakimi - Morocco: He was solid at the back as well as effective going forward. 

CENTRE BACK: Cristiano - Romero: Only 24, he can only improve. Takes pressure and with confidence. 

CENTRE BACK: Josko Guardiol - Croatia: He is only 20. Top clubs in Europe have their eyes on him. 

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Luca Modric - Crotia: Age 37. Captain of team. His last world cup. 

RIGHT WINGER: Antonoine GriezmannFrance: He is 37. Did very well in this world cup. Unlikely to play in 2026. 

STRIKER: Julian Alvarez - Argentina: Age 22, his goal against Croatia when he ran from almost the halfway line will be remembered for years to come.

the thirty minutes extra time no goals were scored.

Penalty time. Mbappe scored the first goal. His class was all too evident. His pace is stunning. He suddenly appears from nowhere, sending the football into the goal. Speed, over 38 kilometres an hour!! Mbappe was heartbroken when his two teammates made a mess by missing two penalty goals. Argentina won the World Cup. Even President Macron could not console Mbappe. I too was very disappointed. But the better side won. A few words about

the organizers. Qatar excelled itself. Everything went like clockwork. No misbehaviour in stands, none in the hotels and hostels.

For tourist too life was a ball but discipline was not flouted. Qatar is not a democracy. You step out of line, you got it in the neck. When World Cup was allotted to Qatar the widespread reaction was not in favour. Doha proved them wrong. The Hindustan Times of December 20 selected the best XI of the 2022 World Cup.

Central government turned Santa Claus for the poorest of the poor when it announced free foodgrains for them under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) starting Jan 1, 2023. This will be above earlier entitlement of 5 kg foodgrain under NFSA

will be a big relief for the country’s poverty-stricken population. Since the outbreak of Covid the Centre has been providing free ration to the poor under the.

The pro-poor concern is not the only criteria for extending the free ration scheme, though it is the more important one. The extra 5 kilo free ration will continue to be distributed till the end of 2023, just before the nation goes to poll in 2024. As it will be given irrespective of caste or reli-

gion, it would have a huge impact on BJP’s popularity among the masses.

One may talk of the significance of India getting G20 presidency for Prime Minister Narendra Modi but for the poor getting free foodgrain is more important. The G20 presidency being rotational would have come to India anyway as it is an important member of the group. State governments have to ensure fair distribution by ration shop owners.

Maiden pharmaceutical company has been held accountable by a Select Committee of the Gambian National Assembly for the death of 70 children due to contaminated syrup made by the company. The committee recommended that the Maiden’s products be banned in the Gambian market and legal action be pursued against it. The syrups were contaminated with diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. Surprisingly, India has come to the defence of Maiden. Although the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation allegedly found irregularities in its processes and ordered its closure, India has refused to take any action on the plea that neither Gambia nor WHO shared clinical data linking the deaths with the syrup.

The pharma company does not have a clean record and that should prompt the government to act against it. The WHO also raised an alert because of the presence of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol in syrups. Both can be fatal for humans. Bihar, Kerala and Gujarat had also warned against Maiden’s products.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

@ianuragthakur

Heartiest congratulations to our talented female wrestler Antim Panghal, who has just been nominated for the #UnitedWorldWrestlingRisingStar of the Year honour. As a rising star in the wrestling world, she has won gold medal at #NationalGames2022 & #WorldU20WrestlingChampionship.

● Vol 4 ● Issue No. 199

● RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764.

Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur. Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504.

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra

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

Bhupender Yadav @byadavbjp

Addressed the Graduation Day Ceremony of @esichq Medical College & Hospital in KK Nagar, Chennai. Stated that health is at the core of our nation-building strategy. The students receiving their degrees & awards today represent India’s investment capital for a better tomorrow.

Anurag Thakur

As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.

Bible

TOP TWEETS

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

K NATWAR SINGH

The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India

Amit Shah bats for edu in mother tongue for students’ betterment

Says education in mother tongue will increase their ability to think, reason

Mehsana (PTI): Education imparted to a student in his mother tongue as provided under the new National Education Policy (NEP) will increase his ability to think, reason, analyse and research, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday.

Addressing a gathering at the 95th anniversary of Sheth GC High School at Vijapur here, Shah said work was underway to translate into regional languages the syllabi of technical, medical and higher education courses, and added that the NEP will make India number one country in next 25 years.

Under British education policy for pre-Independent India, rote

learning was a sign of intelligence, he said, adding that students did not have the power to think, research, reason, analyse, decide and understand, which created many issues in society.

“The new education

policy, which has made fundamental changes, including laying emphasis on the mother tongue, will make India number one in the world in 25 years,” he said.

“If a student reads, speaks and thinks in the

Yogi, PM meet in Delhi, discuss UP Global Investors Summit

New Delhi (Agencies): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Saturday during which they discussed the UP Global Investor Summit slated to be held in Lucknow from February 10-12, 2023.

Sources said: “As the summit is nearing, multiple meetings are taking in Uttar Pradesh as well as with Central leadership. The Chief

Minister extended an invitation to the Prime Minister for the summit and shared the updates on the preparations so far.”

The sources added

that Adityanath and Modi was spoke about the MLC polls in UP.

With just a few weeks left for the summit, Uttar Pradesh has managed to get investment proposals worth almost Rs 7 lakh crore, according to official updates.

The state’s representatives have also been travelling abroad to get their hands on a variety of investment proposals under the Chief Minister’s leadership.

NEP has created a big role for commercial and skill education. More than 50 per cent students will be connected to commercial education before Class 10, and this will help to take them towards self employment, micro and cottage industry.

—Amit Shah, Union Home Minister

mother tongue, then it will increase his ability to think, his reasoning power, capability of analysis, and research will naturally emerge within this child,” he said.

“The fundamental change in NEP is to edu-

& analyse

Jamshedpur (PTI): Two persons were arrested on the charge of slaughtering cows and selling their meat in Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district, the police said on Saturday. The police also seized 500 kilograms of beef from the spot during a raid in Haldipokar under Kowali police station, about 30 kilometres from here, and arrested three customers on Friday. Besides, the police personnel rescued 17 cows from there. Slaughter of bovine animals and selling their meat are banned in Jharkhand.

CASTE-BASED CENSUS FOR OBCs: SC NOTICE TO GoI

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has sought response from the Centre and others on a plea seeking directions for a caste-based census for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the upcoming Census. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha issued notices to the Centre, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and others while seeking their replies. It also tagged the matter with a similar case pending before it.

“MONEY CAN’T ERASE TRAUMA OF ACCIDENT VICTIM”

New Delhi (PTI): Money cannot erase trauma of a serious accident, the Supreme Court has said.

“Whilst no amount of money or other material compensation can erase the trauma, pain and suffering that a victim undergoes after a serious accident, monetary compensation is the manner known to law, whereby society assures some measure of restitution to those who survive, and the victims who have to face their lives,” a Supreme Court bench said.

Kolkata (Agencies): Guddu Kumar, a suspected ISI-spy, who was arrested by the Special Task Force from New Jalpaiguri on December 21, has informed the interrogating sleuths that he was trapped by the Pakistani intelligence agency through a pornographic website. Kumar, an original resident of Champaran in Bihar, is currently under the custody of STF, whose sleuths are interrogating him to get additional information about his nexus. State police sources said that during interrogation, Kumar had admitted to the police that during his days in Bihar, despite being married, he was keenly addicted to pornographic websites especially those having explicit Indian contents.

BHARAT JODO YATRA

Cong’s jibe at BJP for BJY; says no stopping for Yatra

Shah said a person is able to have original thinking only when the subject to ponder over is taught in his mother tongue, and the NEP will help provide a platform to a child’s inherent capacities like art and music etc. Along with this, the syllabi of

New Delhi (PTI): Nothing can prevent the Bharat Jodo Yatra from moving forward, the Congress asserted asking the BJP to “stop playing politics in the garb of the Covid pandemic” and trying to “stall” the march, which entered the national capital Saturday morning.

cate students in their mother tongue at primary and secondary level. I am confident in another two, five, seven years, all the students in the country will be imparted education in their mother tongue,” Shah added.

MP: Ex-Congress MLA BB Pateriya joins BJP

Bhopal (Agencies) Brij Bihari Pateriya, a former Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh, joined the BJP on Saturday.

Pateriya, is considered a strong leader in Sagar district, joined the saffron party in Bhopal in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Political turmoil in Sagar has escalated after Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh held a meeting with district

leaders and workers last week. Sources said that Pateriya was sidelined and he was planing to contest the 2023 Assembly elections on a Congress ticket. However, there was minimal chances of his candidature, they added.

Congress leaders alleged the BJP has made and failed in its every attempt to defame Rahul Gandhi and derail the yatra somehow as people from across the country including Delhi are overwhelmingly extending their support.

“Covid and health are serious issues and the BJP should not make them a tool of their politics,” AICC media and publicity in-charge Pawan Khera told reporters at the Ashram Chowk. “If you have the courage to stop the Yatra, do so. We will follow all rules and protocols, if any with regard to Covid.” “We know our responsibilities and the BJP should govern instead of giving us advice or directions. They are not declaring norms but their concern is Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra which is getting the support of people,” Khera said.

J&K: Big haul of arms & ammunition

Srinagar (Agencies): The J&K Police along with the Army have recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition in a joint operation at Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said on Saturday.

The police said that the arms and ammunition recovered include eight AK 74 assault rifles with 24 magazines and 560 rounds, 12 pistols (Tokarev type) with 24 magazines and 244 rounds, 14 grenades and 81 balloons with Pakistani flag imprint.

The police have launched a probe into the matter after registering a case.

HOUSE OF LATE SEPARATIST LEADER SYED

SHAH GEELANI IN SRINAGAR

NIA RAIDS MULTIPLE LOCATIONS IN CHANDIGARH, J&K

New Delhi (ANI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday morning conducted raids at multiple locations in Chandigarh, and Jammu and Kashmir in

TROUBLE FOR RaGA OVER COMMENTS ON VEER SAVARKAR

Lucknow: A complaint has been registered in a court here against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for alleged derogatory remarks against Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in Maharashtra recently.On Friday, ACJM AK Srivastava directed complainant Nripendra Pandey to produce evidence under section 200 of CrPC. Once he examines himself and his witnesses under section 202 of CrPC, the court would decide whether or not to take cognizance of offences and issue summons to Gandhi. The court fixed January 9 as the next date of hearing.

GOVT’S OROP DECISION DUE TO BJY, CLAIMS CONG

New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday welcomed govt’s decision to revise the pension of ex-servicemen under the ‘one rank, one pension’ scheme and said it is the result of Bharat Jodo Yatra which raised the issue. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said one should “understand the chronology” of the issue as ex-servicemen had only two days ago met Rahul Gandhi during the Yatra and highlighted the issue.“This is the direct effect of Bharat Jodo Yatra... Rahul ji’s meeting yielded the decision of the union cabinet two days later,” Ramesh said on Saturday.

Bhagwat to attend 2-day RSS meet in Guj from today

Ahmedabad (PTI): RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will be in Gujarat on December 25 and 26 to attend a meeting of workers of the outfit’s Saurashtra zone and guide them about expanding its base in the region.

The moves come a day after the central counter-terror agency carried out searches at 14 locations in Jammu and Kashmir against people involved in the spreading of terrorist activities by the various proscribed terrorist outfits in the Union Territory (UT) by targeting minorities, security personnel.

NEED OF THE HOUR

The closed-door meeting, to be held in Anjar town of Kutch, will be attended by nearly 300 RSS workers of Saurashtra and Kutch regions and the focus will be on establishing shakhas (branches) in each and every village of the state, a functionary of the outfit said.

“RSS is completing

100 years in 2025, and a target has been set of establishing shakhas in each and every village. We also plan to cover all the cities and towns through our shakhas. On December 25 and 26, Bhagwat will provide guidance to the workers of Saurashtra and Kutch region,” he said.

Congress top leaders should mind their language!

Shamsher Singh

New Delhi: Several party leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party national president Mallikarjun Kharge, need to work on their language.

If these leaders have to give speech in Hindi, then they will have to learn Hindi. It will not happen that every time they say some nonsense and say that the language is weak or they are Kannada speaking, Bengali speaking, that’s why the problem has arisen. It is okay once in a while, but if this is

happening again and again, then this message will be go among masses that the Congress leaders do not give such statements because of their language problem, but deliberately do wrong things.

Kharge is the National President of Congress, so he needs to be more careful about his words. If he wants to speak Hindi, then learn it well or avoid its idioms, proverbs etc. because there is a danger of ruining the meaning.

Similarly, Rahul Gandhi said in a press conference in Jaipur that

what he really meant, then that’s too bad. This is also factually wrong as Chinese soldiers are not beating Indian soldiers anywhere. Even if there has been a clash between the two, Indian

soldiers have also beaten up Chinese soldiers. There are videos of this as well and army officials also confirm this. Even if this is true, no leader should publicly question the valor of the army and the bravery of the soldiers. So, here comes the matter of both language and understanding of the matter.

A few days ago a big mistake was made by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha.

He had used the word ‘Rashtrapatni’ for President, which is an inde-

cent remark. He later apologized for this and said that his Hindi is not good. But in the name of bad Hindi, he has committed these types of mistakes earlier also. He is the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha and thus has a big responsibility. He cannot make mistakes like this again and again. On the other hand, in Madhya Pradesh, former Congress minister Raja Patria talked about PM. Did he not understand the difference between defeating and killing?

Chinese soldiers are beating up Indian soldiers. If he wanted to say something else, but due to lack of words, he said the word ‘pitai’ then that is a different matter. But if that’s

technical, medical and higher education are being translated into the mother tongue, he said.

NEP WILL PROVIDE PLATFORM TO KIDS’ INHERENT SKILLS: HM

HM Amit Shah addressing a gathering at the 95th anniversary of Sheth GC High School at Vijapur, Mehsana on Saturday.

New Delhi: The Gandhi family walked together in the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Saturday as former party president Sonia Gandhi, her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren joined Rahul Gandhi in the march in the national capital. Sonia Gandhi and her family members walked with Rahul Gandhi for a short distance till the yatra halted for the morning break at the Ashram Chowk in Delhi. This is the second time Sonia Gandhi, also Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson, joined the yatra that began in September from Kanyakumari.

GANDHI FAMILY WALKS TOGETHER IN BHARAT JODO YATRA IN NEW DELHI

ALI

SEALED Srinagar (ANI): The State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Saturday sealed a house of late Kashmiri separatist and Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani at Barzulla in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar.The house of the former president of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was sealed on the orders of Srinagar’s District Magistrate (DM). Geelani passed away on September 1, 2021, after a prolonged illness. His death is believed as the second major setback for the separatists in J&K after August 5, 2019 (abrogation of article 370), while some observers believe that separatism is over in Kashmir.

two separate cases having links to terror activities.The raids are still on at the premises and hideouts of some suspects in these cases, sources said.

Rahul Gandhi leads BJY, in New Delhi, on Saturday.

The J&K Police have started investigation in the matter.

Mohan Bhagwat

Rahul Gandhi with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge. —FILE PHOTO

JHARKHAND: 2 HELD FOR SLAUGHTERING COWS; 500 KG OF BEEF SEIZED

ARRESTED ISI SPY IN WB WAS TRAPPED BY PAK AGENCY THROUGH PORN SITE: POLICE

BRIEFS

INDIA WILL TAKE ‘ 20 years to be a developed nation ’

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has raised `582 crore by issuing bonds on a private placement basis. The bank has issued and allotted Basel III compliant Additional Tier I bonds at a coupon of 8.40 per cent per annum, aggregating to `582 crore on a private placement basis, the bank said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The bank said the non-convertible taxable bonds will qualify as Tier I capital. —PTI

INVESTORS’ WEALTH ERODES

BY `15.77

LAKH CR IN 4 DAYS

New Delhi: Noting that the achievement of $5 trillion economy is a short term “aspirational goal,” former RBI Governor C Rangarajan on Saturday said that even after it, India will still be known as middle income country with per capita income $3472.

Rangarajan further said in order to reach the level of an upper middle-income country, it will take another two years and to be classified as a developed country, the per capita income will have to be at a minimum of $13,205 and that will take more than two decades of strong growth of between 8 to 9% to achieve it.

‘SHORT-TERM ASPIRATION’

 Former RBI Governor C Rangarajan said that achievement of $5 trillion economy is a short term “aspirational goal,” as even after that India will still be known as a middle income country

 Rangarajan said in order to reach the level of an upper middle-income country, it will take another two years  And to be classified as a developed country, it will take more than two decades of strong growth of between 8% and 9% to achieve it

New Delhi: Equity investors have become poorer by `15.77 lakh crore in four consecutive days of market rout where the benchmark Sensex has tumbled over 3%. According to market analysts, investors remained cautious due to rising Covid cases around the globe sparking fears of another global outbreak of the virus. In four days, the benchmark has slumped 1,960.9. The continuous decline in equity markets eroded `15,77,850.03 crore from investors wealth as the mcap of BSE-listed firms now stands at `2,72,12,860.03 cr. —PTI

ESIC SCHEME ADDS 11.82 LAKH NEW MEMBERS

IN OCT

He said at aggregate output level, India is the fifth largest economy in the world now. That by itself is an impressive achievement. But in terms of per capita income, India’s rank according to IMF is 142 out of 197 countries.

“The immediate focus of policymakers must be

OTHER STORIES

to raise the growth rate of the economy. Achievement of a $5 trillion economy is a good short term aspirational goal. This will take a minimum five years of sustained growth of 9%. Even then, at the end of it, India’s per capita income will be only $3472 and we

will still be classified as a lower middle income country,” he noted.

“We have thus to go a long way. This only shows we must certainly need to run fast,” the former chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister said.

For this year, govt projects record wheat production

New Delhi (PTI): The government has projected record wheat production in the ongoing 2022-23 crop year (July-June) as total area sown to the winter crop has increased by 3.18% to 312.26 lakh hectares so far in the ongoing rabi season. Sowing of wheat begins in October while harvesting starts in April.

The country’s wheat production had declined to 106.84 million tonnes during 2021-22 crop year due to a heatwave in some key growing states, as against 109.59 million tonne in the previous year, as per official data.

According to the ministry’s latest data, wheat has been sown in 312.26 lakh hectares (ha) in the ongoing rabi season as of December 23, as against 302.61 lakh ha in the yearago period.

“Thus 9.65 lakh hectare more area has been covered compared to last year,” the ministry said.

Free foodgrain scheme extended for one year

First India Bureau

New Delhi: In a pro-poor move, the government has decided to provide free foodgrains to 81.35 crore people for one year under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) at an estimated cost of `2 lakh crore.

Currently, the beneficiaries covered under the NFSA pay `1-3 per kg.

Under the Act, foodgrain is allocated at 5 kg per person per month for priority households category and at 35 kg per family per month for Antodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) families at highly subsidised prices of ` 1, ` 2 and ` 3 per kg for coarse cereals, wheat and rice, respectively.

With the Cabinet decision on Friday, beneficiaries under NFSA will get foodgrains free of cost for one year till December 2023.

The decision comes days ahead of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) ending on December 31, 2022.

Under the PMGKAY, which was launched in April 2020 to provide relief to the poor during the COVID-19 pandemic, 5 kg of foodgrain is being provided free of cost to about 80

ACCORDING TO FINMIN REPORT

LAUNCHED IN APRIL 2020



The government has decided to provide free foodgrains to 81.35 crore people for one year under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) at an estimated cost of `2 lakh crore 

Under the Act, foodgrain is allocated at 5 kg per person per month for priority households category

crore people over and above the NFSA quota.

“The Prime Minister has taken a historic decision of providing foodgrain to the poor free of cost. A total of 81.35 crore people would benefit,” Food Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The move will entail an expenditure of about ` 2 lakh crore for the exchequer, he said, adding the entire cost will be borne by the Union government.

GOYAL LAUNCHES RIGHT-TO-REPAIR PORTAL & NEW PREMISES OF NATIONAL CONSUMER HELPLINE

New Delhi: Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday launched a host of new initiatives, including the right to repair portal and an NTH mobile app and opened new premises of National Consumer Helpline centre in the national capital. A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the Consumer Affairs Department and IIT (BHU), Varanasi as well launched a capacity building programme of consumer commissions. These initiatives were launched on the occasion of the National Consumer Day. PTI

OVER 10 LAKH E-SHRAM REGISTRANTS ON NCS

PORTAL: OFFICIALS

New Delhi: Around 11.82 lakh new members joined the ESIC-run social security scheme in October 2022, according to official data released on Friday. The data is part of a report — Payroll Reporting in India: An Employment Perspective - October 2022 — released by the National Statistical Office. It showed that the gross new enrolments with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) rose to 1.49 crore in 2021-22, from 1.15 crore in 2020-21. It was 1.51 crore in 2019-20 and 1.49 crore in 2018-19. —PTI

HINDUJA GROUP UPS

ITS BID TO ACQUIRE RELIANCE CAPITAL

New Delhi : Over 10 lakh e-Shram registrants have registered on the National Career Service (NCS) portal and are getting jobs accordingly, an official statement said.

The portal of the Ministry of Labour and Employment was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 20, 2015. “So far, more than 10 lakh e-Shram registrants have registered on NCS portal and eShram workers are getting decent jobs through NCS,” the ministry said.

The portal is also integrated with 27 states and many private portals like Monster India, Naukri.Com, Freshersworld, Merajob etc. PTI

20% ETHANOL-BLENDED PETROL TO DEBUT WITHIN DAYS, SAYS PURI

New Delhi: After achieving the target to sell petrol doped with 10% ethanol, India will in the next couple of days start experimental supplies of 20 per biofuel mixed petrol, oil minister Hardeep Puri said. He said India achieved 10% ethanol blended petrol (petrol 90%, ethanol 10%) in June, well ahead of the deadline of Nov 2022. “E20 (petrol mixed with 20% ethanol) will come in select markets on a pilot basis in a day or two,” he said. E20 is being rolled out in 11 states/UTs of Delhi, Bihar, UK, HP, UP, Haryana, K’taka, Maha, Punjab, Daman Diu & Dadra & Nagar Haveli. —PTI

New Delhi (PTI): The minimum support price (MSP) of crops can guarantee stable prices but not always the best rates, which can only be ensured through fair competition in the market, Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand said.

Chand noted that cultivators want it to get the best price for their produce and also to protect themselves from price fluctuations.

“In my view, MSP is not the best price in all situations. It is definitely a stable price but not the best price. Best price comes from competition. If there is competition in the market, farmers can get the best price,” he said.

Global developments can complicate India’s outlook

New Delhi (PTI): Global economic developments are expected to complicate the outlook further for the Indian economy next year and there is a need to maintain vigilance on the external front, a finance ministry report said. The external sector continues to face the headwinds emanating from the global slowdown. However, it said, the downside to a widening current account deficit is expected to be limited by a robust services export performance through the rest of the year and by inward

remittances, which are expected to touch $100 bn this fiscal, as per World Bank.

“As we head into 2023, global economic developments are expected to complicate the outlook further, and therefore continued vigilance is a critical aspect in maintaining India’s external resilience,” it said.

No country can afford to sit on its laurels, India included, it said, adding that continued commitment to macroeconomic stability will underpin both economic performance and investor interest in India.

Gems & jewellery industry achieves its export target

New Delhi: Hinduja Group, promoter of IndusInd Bank, made an attempt to revise upward its bid for taking over debtridden Relinace Capital to `9,500 crore with upfront cash outgo of `8,800 crore, sources said. The group had made an offer of `8,110 crore in the auction that was held on December 21, sources said. Earlier this week, the Ahmedabad-based Torrent group emerged the highest bidder by putting a bid of `8,640 crore. —PTI

Jaipur (PTI): India’s gems and jewellery industry has achieved its annual export target of $48 billion till the last quarter of the current financial year, an official said.

He said that after Covid pandemic, the industry is back on track and keeping its fingers crossed amid the current surge in number of coronavirus cases across the globe.

“The present chairman of the gems and jewellery council has informed that the industry has achieved the yearly target of 48 billion of exports from the

country till the last quarter.

We have achieved what he had to achieve,” secretary of the JJS Rajiv Jain said.

The 20th edition of the four-day jewellery show kicked off on Friday at the JECC here, which is hosting over 900-plus booths and 500-plus exhibitors from different parts of the country and abroad.

Jain said that the domestic gems and jewellery market is also growing because of heavy gold buying. He said that focus of jewellery traders has now shifted from international consumers to the domestic

buyers.

He said that the industry is back on track after the Covid pandemic and keep-

ing its fingers crossed that a China-like situation doesn’t happen in India.

“We are keeping our fin-

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

After Covid pandemic, the industry is back on track and keeping its fingers crossed amid the current surge in number of coronavirus cases across the globe

Domestic gems and jewellery market is also growing because of heavy gold buying

gers crossed. If it remains limited to China then it will be a windfall gain for the Indian market,” Jain said.

India seeks more balanced trade with Russia: Envoy

Moscow (PTI): India welcomes the growth of trade with Russia which has reached $27 billion this year mainly due to its purchasing of large volumes of oil and fertilisers from Moscow, but New Delhi wants it to become “more balanced”, India’s Ambassador to Moscow Pavan Kapoor has said.

Russia has become a major oil supplier to India. India’s appetite for Russian oil swelled ever since it started trading on discount as the West shunned it to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia emerged as India’s fifth largest trading partner during April-September this fiscal year with a bilateral trade of $22.7 billion during the sixmonth period.

“Trade has risen considerably this year since April, mainly due to our country’s purchasing large volumes of oil and fertilisers,” Kapoor told a forum.

“Trade reached $27 bln. This is a positive trend, though [we] would like it to be bilateral, as [trade] from Russia was worth $25 bln while [trade] from India only equalled $2 bln,” the diplomat said, adding that the Indian side “would like it to be more balanced.”

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK RAISES `

CR THROUGH BONDS

MSP can only guarantee stable price, not best: Chand

Dhariwal praises State Govt, targets Shekhawat

Dhariwal releases Jaipur District Darshan book

Abhishek Shrivastava

Jaipur: On the completion of four years of government, UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal released the Jaipur District Darshan book. Addressing a press conference, Dhariwal targeted minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and said that it was not right to call the Lok Sabha speaker by name and it only reflects the mindset of Singh. He said that calling him Om Birla would be wrong, instead, we should address him as Speaker saab.

The press conference was organized at Dhariwal’s residence on the achievements of the Jaipur district during the

Sarpanch, husband climb water tank in Dausa

Also

four years of the government. He said, “There is no government English medium school in any state of the Hindi belt. But the government has opened English medium

CLASH

BHILWARA

Bhilwara: During the visit of In-charge minister Dr Mahesh Joshi to the city, the officers and Congress leaders got into a violent dispute in front of him.

CYLINDER BLAST

Min Garg meets affected families in

Jodhpur village

Sant Ratinath Maharaj of Shekhawati laid to rest

Sikar: The last rites of saint Ratinath Maharaj who passed away at the age of 76 were performed at Bau Dham in Sikar’s Laxmangarh on Saturday.

Subhash Garg visited Bhungra village in Jodhpur.

schools in Rajasthan. More than 75 thousand leases were given by the Jaipur Development Authority during the Prashasan Shehron ke Sang campaign.”

Society must empower specially-abled: GSS

The chaos among them took a fierce turn after the opening ceremony of the exhibition organized on the successful completion of the government. Congress District Vice President Durgesh Sharma expressed his displeasure with the officiating collector Rajesh Goyal. Whereas, the acting Collector and ADM administration accused Goyal of neglecting public representatives.

2 members of Sandeep Sethi gang arrested

Jaipur: Subhash Garg, Minister in-charge of Jodhpur, visited Bhungra village in Jodhpur’s Shergarh where a cylinder blast tragedy took place recently. He met affected families and also visited Mahatma Gandhi hospital where he met the victims.During the Jodhpur visit, the minister also inaugurated an exhibition on the government’s four-year achievements.

A large number of his devotees as well as public representatives including PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra and deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore offered tributes to Ratinath at his Ashram.

He took initiation at the age of about 10 years at the Amrit Ashram of Fatehpur after taking guru Diksha from Shubnathji Maharaj. He turned Ratinath from Ramavtar after Diksha and became the revered saint of Shekhawati.

He was born in a sim-

ple Brahmin family in Mandawa and got his early education from Mandawa and later from Fatehpur.

During this, he joined Amrit Ashram Fatehpur where he adopted Vairagya. He earned fame and made international recognition as Bhajan Samrat.

Ratinath Maharaj breathed last in Mumbai. He was the peetha-

Ashok Gehlot

@ashokgehlot51

The demise of Peethadhishwar Sant Shri Ratinath Ji Maharaj of Boudham Ashram located in Laxmangarh is an irreparable loss to the spiritual world. He dedicated his whole life to spirituality and society. I pray to Almighty God to give strength to all the followers in this difficult time.

dhishwar of Bau Dham. His mortal remains were brought to Jaipur airport on Friday evening by charter plane from where it was brought to Bau Ashram by road late at night.

Jodhpur to host G-20 session in Feb

First India Bureau

Suresh Bihari

Dausa: A female sarpanch and her husband on Saturday climbed a water tank in Lalsot subdivision of Dausa district demanding action against land mafias and removing encroachments from government land. Police informed that sarpanch of Chandsen gram panchayat, Kaushalya Devi and her husband Mahesh Meena climbed a water tank located at the bus stand and started raising slogans.

The Sarpanch alleged that around two months, she was attacked by a group of men when she tried to stop them from encroaching on the land of gram panchayat located on Shyampura Road.

Jodhpur: Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that society needs to come together to empower the speciallyabled people. On Saturday, Shekhawat encouraged the distribution of equipment like automatic sewing machines, wheelchairs, etc. free of

cost to 100 Divyangjans at Laghu Udyog Bharti Bhawan on behalf of Voice of Special Abled People. He said that the programme was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ and he was excited to attend the programme. He said that more than 50 crore people across the world are physically challenged.

Nagaur (FIB): The Nagaur Police has arrested 2 members of Sandeep Sethi gang for allegedly conspiring to take revenge of the murder of Sandeep Sethi. Police informed that 2 miscreants, identified as Lokendra & Dheeraj Prajapat, were arrested while they planning to kill the murderers of Sandeep Sethi. Sandeep Sethi was shot down by the members of Deepak Yadav alias Dipti gang outside Nagaur court a few months ago. Nagaur SP Rammurti Joshi informed that the both miscreants had planned to kill Dipti Yadav in JLN Hospital of Nagaur.

SC Judge Dinesh Maheshwari visits Mehandipur with family

Monu Singh Rajawat

Dausa: SC Judge Dinesh Maheshwari visited Mehandipur Balaji with his family on Saturday. He also visited Bhairav Baba and Pretraj Sarkar and wished for the country’s prosperity. On the occasion, the priest presented him with Balaji Maharaj’s robe.

Trust Secretary MK Mathur told Justice Maheshwari about the activities conducted by Balaji Mandir Trust.

Mahant Maharaj told him about the successful efforts being made for girl child education. The secretary told him that the trust was continuously working for the welfare of the peo-

RATHORE ACCUSES BJP

ple. Discussions were held regarding the arrangements of the temple trust. Justice Maheshwari praised the arrangements made by the temple trust for the devotees. Meanwhile,

‘Railway Min being pressurised’

First India Bureau

Jaipur: RTDC chairman Dharmendra Rathore on Saturday targeted the BJP saying that the party leaders are becoming obstacles in the development work.

Rathore said that he met Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav on 13 December and requested allotment of land for building a rest

house and cafeteria at the railway guest house at Taragarh by RTDC.

Rathore

Jodhpur: In the ongoing G-20 summit in the country, Jodhpur will also host a session. The delegates of the countries participating in the G-20 will stay in Jodhpur from February 2-4. A programme was organized on Friday to inform hospitality people about how to behave with the guests coming to Jodhpur and what arrangements

would be made etc. As a result, a sensitization program was organized

for tourism stakeholders at the State Institute of Hotel Management by

the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

Sandeep Shukla, assistant director of the Ministry of Tourism, told that India has got the presidency of the G20 till November. . So along with basic information to the stakeholders, hosts will be directed that when the stakeholders come in contact with the delegates, their behaviour and mannerism should be nothing but the best.

He said that the Railway Minister was positive about the proposal

and gave instructions to the Ajmer Divisional Railway Manager to negotiate terms and conditions.

“A visit of the spot with the officials of the tourism department also took place on December 14 as per the instructions of the Railway Minister but now a BJP leader has written a letter to the railway minister to pressurise him,” he said.

First India Bureau

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat reviewing third quarterly meeting of the ‘DISHA’ at the Collectorate in Jodhpur on Saturday.

Rakesh Gurjar

Shanti Dhariwal in a press conference at his residence in Jaipur.

seen are Prakash Rajpurohit, Mahendra Soni, Jasmeet Sandhu, Dinesh Kumar Sharma & others on Saturday.

CONGRESS LEADER AND OFFICER

BEFORE JOSHI IN

Saint Ratinath Maharaj

First India Bureau

said that this has exposed the character and face of the BJP in front of the public

MK Mathur offering prasad to SC Judge Dinesh Maheshwari.

Sarpanch & her husband at water tank.

Mirch Masala

FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL

BY TRIDIB RAMAN

The author is a journalist and political commentator and views expressed are his personal

When the behind-the-scenes gossip starts taking shape in politics, then the political ‘road map’ ahead can be fathomed. Recently, when a few BJP MPs gathered at the Parliament House Annexe, PM Modi himself heaped praises on Gujarat State President Patil, giving him credit for the unprecedented victory in the Gujarat elections for some fiveseven minutes. By the way, Patil has also handled the responsibility of the PM’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi. Every

BJP MP who came out of this meeting of the parliamentary session had a little idea that Patil is going to get something big in the party in the coming days. Soon after, Patil hosted a dinner for NDA allies and BJP MPs at the Delhi Gymkhana Club and the most important thing is that he invited the MPs to the dinner with the request that the ‘PM wants the MPs to attend this dinner’. But it is said that Patil, using his political acumen, had invited leaders like Sharad Pawar to this dinner. However, it is another matter that Pawar refused to attend this dinner citing his health.

Bihar remains the biggest ordeal for Rahul Gandhi even today. Despite extensive reshuffle in the Congress organization of Bihar, the party’s graph is still not rising there. The loyalty of big leaders of Bihar Congress is more towards Nitish or Lalu than their Party High Command. While Bhakt Charan Das, Congress in-charge of Bihar, is said to be a ‘Nitish bhakt’, the newly appointed State Prez Akhilesh Singh is more dear to Lalu and Tejashwi. Now Bihar Youth Congress has got a new president in form of Garib Das, his loyalty is also reportedly with Lalu-Tejashwi. Party High Command is continuously receiving complaints that bidding is being done for various posts in organization. Money is being sought in the name of making District Prez & even Block Prez. In the name of strengthening the party, there is a demand of Rs 25,000 from AICC members, Rs 60,000 from former MLAs, Rs 1 lakh from MLAs and Rs 10 lakh from ministers, and yet, no action is visible.

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury had an informal meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah during the Winter Session of Parliament. Expressing his pain in front of Shah, Yechury said, “You have made such a person the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who does not allow the Leader of the Opposition to speak in the House. Sometimes even the basic sentiments of the member get hurt.” On this, Shah laughed and said that “we have fielded our wrestler from Haryana in the political arena, who will impress even the bigots. You have already seen its fate in Bengal. Yechury could not say anything on this.”

CHIRAG TO ‘LIGHT-UP’ SOON?

These days Chirag Paswan’s spirits are high. The BJP forgot him by siding with Nitish, but today after Nitish dumped BJP, the same BJP is crying foul. BJP’s number two also inquires about Chirag’s well-being these days. If sources are to be believed, soon Chirag may get the chair of Delhi. There is going to be a major reshuffle in the Modi cabinet in the coming days, and if sources are to be believed, Chirag has been promised that he will be given an important ministry in this reshuffle. The BJP is trying to get Chirag to spit his anger with his uncle and get the Paswan family to reunite so that a new wave can be raised against Nitish in Bihar.

THINKING REGARDING

It has been reported that PM Modi is very serious about CR Patil’s candidature. Sources claim that the PM had met Dattatreya Hosabale, number two of the Sangh, to know the Sangh’s mind in this regard, and while expressing his feelings to Dattatreya, he wanted to know the Sangh’s opinion about making Patil the next BJP President.

Hosabale also praised Patil and said that ‘he can prove to be a successful president of BJP, because he is a good organizer, tactful and approachable.’

But Hosabale’s opinion was that it would be better to wait for a while for Patil’s coronation because right now, the top two positions are occupied by Gujarat leaders. In such a situation, it wouldn’t be fair to make the BJP president a leader of such a state. Even though Patil was born in Maharashtra, his workplace has always been Gujarat.’ So, Dattatreya opined that at least till the elections, only JP Nadda should carry on as Party President & only after that any reshuffle at the top will be apt.’ But the final decision in this regard has to be taken by the BJP High Command (Modi-Shah).

Sadhvi Uma Bharti is fighting for favourite seat for herself in the 2024 general elections, but her party men aren’t allowing her to enter MP. She has the option of Bundelkhand, but the local saffron brigade there isn’t that enthusiastic about her. So,she met veteran BJP leader Nitin Gadkari & revealed her pain. Gadkari spoke to BJP High Command saying, “It would be a big advantage to field Umaji from UP, as there is a large number of Lodh votes of Sadhvi’s cognate.” He got reply, ‘in UP we get votes not on caste equations but on Modi’s face alone, so we have no interest in playing the caste card in the 2024 polls.’ So what is Sadhvi’s political future? Only time will tell.

I n Chhapra district of Bihar, more than 80 deaths due to alcohol have created a ruckus even in Nitish Kumar’s party JDU. His MLAs are also angry with him for his ‘liquor policy’. A JDU MLA bluntly says that ‘if polls are held in Bihar today, not even 10 JDU MLAs will win.’ MLAs wanted that compensation should be announced by State Govt to those who died of spurious liquor, but Nitish was adamant on his ‘no’, because of which even Tejashwi is feeling helpless. The women have also started getting disillusioned with Nitish, saying that ‘if liquor ban is implemented in a state like Gujarat, there are also large scale de-addiction centres, which aren’t there in Bihar.’

According to an intelligence report, China is setting up its espionage network on a large scale in India. China is looking for such Nepali and Tibetan citizens having knowledge of Hindi language, who can gather intelligence for them by staying in India. In the past, Indian agencies have arrested many Nepali citizens on the charges of espionage, after which such beliefs have become even stronger. Indian agencies are also keeping a close watch on organizations like ‘Nepal Study Centre’ operating in different parts of the country.

FLAGS OFF THE NON-VIOLENCE CHARIOT

There’s no place for violence, hatred in an ideal society: CM

CM OFFERS CONDOLENCES

Naresh Sharma

Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot while addressing the launching ceremony of Ahimsa Rath organised to mark 2550th ‘Nirvana Utsav’of Lord Mahavir, said that truth and nonviolence are the basic spirit of the Constitution. “The State Govt is also following these ideals. The message of Bhagwan Mahavir is that the society should be free from violence and hatred. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi also received the teachings of truth and non-violence from Jain Muni,” the CM

said. He paid homage to Acharya Shri Sanmati Sagar Ji Maharaj on his 13th Samadhi Divas and discussed with Sunil Sagar Ji Maharaj various schemes of public interest being run in the state.

“The state government has set up the country’s first peace and non-violence department to spread the teachings of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.

Gehlot flagged off the

non-violence chariot at the function after offering prayers. “Along with the education of truth, non-violence, the message of de-addiction will also reach the common people through the chariot.”

Jaipur: After the victory, RCA President Vaibhav Gehlot has assured that he will work for the betterment of Rajasthan cricket by taking all the districts together. RCA’s formal AGM was held today, in which election results were announced by Sunil Arora.

Shakti Singh was elected as Vice President, Bhavani Samota as Secretary, Rampal Sharma as Treasurer, Rajesh Bhadana as Joint Secretary and Farooq Ahmed as Executive Member.

After the election, Vaibhav Gehlot said, “3 years ago we started improving the infrastructure of Rajasthan cricket. Under this, the construction work of the International Cricket Stadium has started in Jaipur.”

At the same time, he said, the Barkatullah

“Our aim will be to improve the players and cricket of Rajasthan,” Gehlot said, adding that he would work closely with all the 33 district unions.

Earlier, Election Officer Sunil Arora congratulated the newly elected office bearers of RCA and gave them the certificates of victory. In the RCA’s AGM, Sunil Arora said that RCA had requested him to conduct elections and he is happy that all the district unions are united.

Retired IAS officer TR Meena also played an important role in these elections.

Arora said it was a good thing for him that

RCA had requested me to conduct elections. I am addressing the united RCA. I didn’t have much attachment to cricket but my son & grandson love cricket. I request the RCA to make a museum like London.

Sunil Arora, Election

the RCA elections went unopposed. He also quipped that RCA showed unity in the election, but can’t say how much it is.

After the withdrawal of nomination by the Nandu faction, all the 6 candidates of CP Joshi faction have made a clean sweep in the elections.

All the district secretaries of Nandu faction also attended the AGM, who withdrew their nominations in support of Vaibhav.

Jaipur: Raj Congress in-charge Sukhjinder Randhawa said, “There are some problems in Raj organisation. There is factionalism but we won’t let Punjab like situation occur. Party exists only if there is discipline. If someone says that I am the only one then it will not work. That’s why I have come to end the doubts about the leadership. Nobody is bigger than the party, no matter how big a leader he is.”

However, the party workers are concerned as to under the current political situation of Raj, when will all the pending issues be settled? Randhawa hinted saying, “All issues will be decided in the next 9 days.”

PLAINTS AGAINST LEADER’S REMARKS

The season of rhetoric has returned in Congress as complaint has reached PCC in-charge Sukhjinder Randhawa. A plaint has reached regarding Harish Chaudhary’s statements wherein the complainants have apprised ‘decision makers’ that his comments have been made against the party which would cause harm to the party. Moreover, reports of news published in newspapers and social media have reached the in-charge. Notably, Randhawa is reaching Jaipur on December 28.

Naresh Sharma

Khan Cricket Stadium in Jodhpur has been prepared for international matches. Along with this, land has been acquired from UIT in Udaipur for the new cricket stadium where the construction work of the stadium will start in the next few days.

Earlier, the Chief Minister also released books on the occasion. Agriculture Minister Lalchand Kataria said that Ahimsa Rath will disseminate the message of peace and nonviolence in entire Raj.

Our aim will be to improve the players and cricket of Raj, says Vaibhav Gehlot

Won’t let Pb like situation occur in Raj: Randhawa

DIRECTIONLESS CONGRESS IN BIHAR

YECHURY SHARES HIS ‘PAIN’ TO SHAH

WHY IS SADHVI UMA BHARTI SAD NOWADAYS?

NITISH’s OWN MLAS ARE ANGRY WITH HIM

WHAT IS SANGH

PATIL?

WILL CR PATIL BE THE NEXT BJP PRESIDENT?

Vaibhav Gehlot felicitates Sunil Arora with a floral bouquet at RCA Academy in Jaipur on Saturday as TR Meena looks on.

Vaibhav Gehlot seeks blessings of his parents Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sunita Gehlot at CMR in Jaipur on Saturday.

Vaibhav Gehlot flashes the victory sign with other newly elected members of the RCA after the AGM at RCA Academy in Jaipur on Saturday. —PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

State Government established country’s first Peace & Nonviolence Dept, Gehlot says while addressing the programme

CM Ashok Gehlot being felicitated during the launching ceremony of Ahimsa Rath programme held to mark the 2550th ‘Nirvana Utsav’ of Lord Mahavir at Digambar Jain Temple in Vaishali Nagar in Jaipur. Also seen here is LC Kataria and others.

CM Ashok Gehlot addresses during the launching ceremony of Ahimsa Rath programme at Digambar Jain Temple in Vaishali Nagar in Jaipur.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot seeks the blessings of a Jain Saint during the mega event held at Digambar Jain Temple.

Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed deep condolences on the demise of Mohammad Salim, son of former media advisor and senior journalist Mohammad Yasin. Gehlot visited the residence of Mohammad Yasin on Saturday and expressed condolences on the death of his son Mohammad Salim and prayed for the departed soul.

First India Bureau

The time has arrived to get dressed up to the nines. As we celebrate Christmas today, who can resist a flash of red, a touch of velvet or a sparkle of glitter? Whether the event calls for a casual, semi-formal, business, cocktail, or festive dress code, City First got the best Christmas party outfit ideas for a stylish celebration!

MITALI DUSAD mitalidusad01@gmail.com

It’s that time of year - the party invites start dropping and it’s time to get your glam on. Designer collections seemed to hope for some sense of normalcy as we close out the year with celebrations filled with friends and family. So what better opportunity to wear the season’s most opulent feathers, luxe velvets, and, of course, exquisite sequins and shine than this Christmas?

You can stick with Christmas colours and plenty of ruffles to really make a statement. You won’t fail to make an entrance if you choose a dramatic red ballgown for your Christmas party. One can even go simple and silky, adding some drama to your Christmas look with some fun accessories. Sequins and sparkles bring all the party vibes and never go amiss when wondering what to wear. Nowadays you can purchase sequin dresses in an array of different colours and styles.

family. So what better opportunity to wear as well as

If you like something a little more simple and fuss-free then satin dresses, as well as stretch dresses, are the perfect attire to wear.

They can be subtle yet eye-catching (look for relaxed shapes and stretch fabrics for ultimate comfort) and you can always add a little diamante jewellery for some extra Christmas bling. If you’re going for a dress, you should pick one that’s knee-length or longer. Though a slit down the side is perfectly fine if you want to reveal a bit more skin. Pair the look with nice heels and a clutch to complete your outfit, and you’ll look fabulous.

look with nice heels and a clutch to comThe Cocktail attire dress code calls for an

The Cocktail attire dress code calls for an elegant dress that sits on or above the knee. Also, keep in mind that heels are a must. If you’re unsure of what to choose, a little red or white dress will be your best friend.

CELEBRATING THE SEASON PERPETUAL HOPE! OF

Christmas is the season of family and friends one can spend his entire holidays with family members at home decorating the house and baking sweets cakes, dancing to the tunes of The Red Festival and singing our all-time carols. Spending Christmas with the fam is everyone's favourite Christmas routine and watching movies is one of them, so once again sing for Christmas cheers and Hallmark holiday movie jeers. City First brings to you some magical Christmas Movies which will plop your down on the couch with your loved ones. So here are some finest Christmas movies to ever climb down your chimney.

A CHRISTMAS TALE

The movie has made an emotional connection with its audience due to the depiction of the harsh reality of life. French auteur Arnaud Desplechin crafts a sprawling, spellbinding portrait of familial dysfunction and reconciliation and togetherness. The story talks about a clan reuniting, uneasily, at Christmas only to learn that their matriarch (Catherine Deneuve) is dying of leukaemia.

HOME ALONE

Oh yes, we can't say no to Home Alone, a notorious kid and his incredible Christmas celebration are worth watching no matter how many times. Home Alone is indeed the Best Christmas Movie of All Time because it covers all the season-specific bases, is replete with jingle bell spirit and effectively embodies the Four Fundamental Principles of Christmas.

THE PRINCESS SWITCH

Remember your favourite High School Musical star, Vanessa Hudgens? If so, I am sure you have to calm your horses because, her film debut film of what ultimately becomes a Netflix Christmas trilogy, about a small-town baker who looks exactly like the duchess (also played by Hudgens) of a fictional country called Belgravia. Switching places for a day, the two run into a cheesy Christmas catastrophe.

BAD SANTA Definitely not an ideal Santa, who loves to spread happiness and good cheer, Willie, a swindler on the other hand dressed up as Santa, and his elf partner Marcus try to rob a mall. Their motive fails when the thief befriends an eight-year-old boy.

OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY

LAST CHRISTMAS

Just like its name the movie did not make a rightful place in the hearts of its audience.

The Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding romcom from director Paul Feig got some harsh criticism in 2019, but the thing is, the movie has more to offer than critics first assumed. Despite a climax twist ending that still doesn't totally sit right, this is a Christmas film based entirely around George Michael songs. The movie is a great combination of great chemistry between the leads and a completely irrational Eastern European character played by Emma Thompson. C'mon into the rotation, Last Christmas.

KRAMPUS

Can we talk about some dark Christmas mania? Christmas horror doesn’t come around nearly as often as romantic Christmas entanglements, making Krampus a welcome addition to the holiday movie canon. Based on the scary German Santa who beats children with sticks, Krampus is a big, scary, monster who punishes those who have lost their Christmas spirit.

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

X-MAS CELEBRATIONS

INIFD CONVOCATION CEREMONY 2022

CITY FIRST

In the 23rd year since its inception, Kamla Poddar Group and INIFD Jaipur organised their Annual Convocation Ceremony.

On this occasion Special guests Ashley Rebello renowned Bollywood Designer and Personal Stylist of Salman Khan, Internationally known Fashion Designer Himmat Singh and Chairperson of IIID Jaipur Chapter and Interior Designer Sheetal Agarwal conferred the Trophies and Certificates to all passing out students. On this occa-

sion, meritorious students were also awarded the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Super Achiever Sward and Kalpana Chawla Super Achiever Award. These awards were given to the budding designers who through sheer grit and creativity.

During the occasion,

CHRISTMAS BELLS!

Ashley Rebello said, “I am delighted to see that the INIFD students have been successfully showcasing at the global arena. May it be New York Fashion Week or London Fashion Week or Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI, these students are shining bright with

their creative talent and making it big in the design world. I am sure that the INIFD students would benefit a lot from today’s session for the ongoing preparations in designing their collection for the international and national fashion weeks.”

SOME MORE GLIMPSES!

Kamla Poddar,

The Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Kalpana Chawla Awards are dear to the Institute and are given to Meritorious

and most deserving students.

Abhishek Poddar, Director of KPG, said that “The Convocation aims at awarding the best of the best students for their effort and hard work. INIFD holds the merit of all its students in high esteem.”

MEET & GREET!

CITY FIRST

Isha Ambani, daughter of billionaire Mukesh Ambani received a grand welcome as she arrived in Mumbai with her husband Anand Piramal and their newborn twins at Karuna Sindhu (her opulent residence in Worli) from Piramal and Ambani families on Saturday.

The families came together with the biggest smiles on their faces to welcome the newborn twins at their residences.

This is the first time that the Ambani scion has come to India after the birth of her twins in the US last month.

Isha was

Whereas

Ambani

are

Krishna

Christmas celebrations were held at the NOIDA office of Bharat24-vision of New India, a National Hindi News channel during the festive season. Jagdeesh Chandra was also congratulated by Managing Editor Shamsher Singh and Senior Editor Syed Umar for Bharat24 now being available on DD Free Dish (Channel No. 074). The entire team joined in the celebrations wherein Jagdeesh Chandra also felicitated Anchor Shazia for garnering 2.6 million viewership for her popular 5 pm debate show, ‘Public hai sab jaanti hai’!

Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Shazia as Santa Claus strikes a joyful pose

Jagdeesh Chandra with Shamsher Singh, Syed Umar and the team of Bharat24, (L-R) Amit Baliyan, Niraj Kumar Singh, Raj Kumar Pathak, Ankit Kumar as Santa Claus, Shazia Nazir, Arvind Singh, Amit Ojha, Anu Shridhar, Kshama Tripathi, Pratham Soni, Abhishek Rao and Aarif Khan

seen with one of the twins in her

arms. Karuna Sindhu (Worli residence) was seen beautifully decorated with flowers.

Isha's mother-in-law Swati Piramal was seen waiting at the

entrance along with the priests to welcome the couple and their twins. Nita Ambani also arrived at the residence to welcome the family.

Grandparents Nita

and Mukesh Ambani looked super happy and also clicked with one of the babies. Mukesh Ambani's daughter Isha Ambani and her husband Anand Piramal were

blessed with twins on 19th November, informed the Ambani family through an official release.

family wrote in the statement, "We

delighted to share that the Almighty has blessed our children Isha and Anand with twins on 19th November 2022. Isha and the baby Aadiya and baby boy

are doing well. We seek your blessings and good wishes for Aadiya, Krishna, Isha and Anand in this most important phase of their life."

Chairperson of Kamla Poddar Institutes said that “This Convocation at INIFD aims to confer rewards on the most dedicated students.

—PHOTOS

BY SUNIL

SHARMA

City First brings to you some more glimpses from the launch of the fashion brand Its Ish at Hilton Jaipur on Thursday.

(L-R) Roma Poddar, Kamla Poddar, Ashna Vasvani, Ashley Rebello, Haneet Singh, Sheetal Agarwal, Neelam Mittal and Abhishek Poddar During the event

(L-R) Ishita, Rajiv Arora, Dr Seema and Dr Puneet Abhimanyu Deepak Gupta Vinodh and Satish

Vijay Andrews and JD Maheshwari Anudita

Anugya and Shantanu

Kaya and Ishita Manan and Poonam Teena and Rishee

Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal

Isha Ambani spotted with her twins

Grandparents Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani with newly born

The educators conclave took place at JNU on Saturday in which Sandeep Bakshi CEO of Seedling grp of schools, Preeti Bakshi and Anurag Tripathi CBSE Secretary and all other dignitaries were present.

Jagdeesh Chandra was greeted by Devraj Singh, GM Taj Amer, as the former reached at the newly opened Hotel Taj Amer at Delhi Highway, Jaipur on Saturday, December 24. Team members Santanu Ghosh and Vikrant were also present on the occasion. Jagdeesh Chandra congratulated the team and wished them success.

On the 22nd death anniversary of Sitaram Sharma, former patron of Press Club organisation Chomu, a seminar was organised in the municipal premises. The chief guest of the seminar, District Sessions and District Justice Satyanarayan Taylor, MLA Ramlal Sharma, Municipal Chairman Vishnu Saini, Rukshmani Kumari, Chuttan Yadav, Press Club President Jitendra Rangey and Press Club members and others were also present in the ceremony.

‘We, the Women of Rajasthan’ organisation organised a Christmas and New Year Celebration cum financial awareness program for women at Radisson City Centre, Jaipur on Saturday.

Jagdeesh Chandra graced the occasion as the chief guest.

Director Diksha Gupta shared that it is very important to have financial information for the business sector, for which, ‘We the Women of Rajasthan’ in collaboration with Valuefunds, organised this event. Dilip Morani, director of Valuefunds also shared financial information on the occasion.

Jagdeesh Chandra greeted Abhishek Srivastava, of the First India family as he reached the former’s residence to seek blessings on the occasion of his birthday on Saturday, December 24.

Jagdeesh Chandra during the carol singing ceremony

Jagdeesh Chandra with Diksha Gupta

Diksha Gupta, Alka Gaur, Priyanka Jain & Nehal Nayar

Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Santanu Ghosh, Devraj Singh and Vikrant