First India-Delhi Edition-28th December 2022

INDIA BATTLE

INDIA PLANS $2 BN INCENTIVE FOR GREEN HYDROGEN

BOMBAY HC REFUSES ANY INTERIM RELIEF TO KOCHHARS

New Delhi: Mock drills were held at several places in India on Tuesday to check preparedness to deal with any potential surge in Covid-19 infections. Amid Covid-19 surge in China and elsewhere, States and UTs swung into action, with directives being issued to check availability of oxygen and prices of essential drugs. As a part of govt’s measure to rein in Covid-19 infection in case of a possible upsurge in aftermath of the global rise in cases.

INSIDE

STORIES

Three law students have been arrested for the death of a Zomato food delivery executive who was killed in Noida after his motorcycle was hit by the official car of an Uttar Pradesh judge, Noida Police said Tuesday. All three accused are friends of the judge’s son. P2

A 40-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in north Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy area, police said. The girl was kidnapped while she was playing outside her home and was found the next morning with signs of sexual assualt. P2

Hailstorm wreaks havoc in Assam, hits over 500 homes in 37 villages

First India Bureau

Dibrugarh: Severe hailstorm wreaked havoc in several places in Assam’s Dibrugarh district. According to reports, over 500 houses have been damaged in the district due to the hailstorm. The video of the hailstorm lashing the Moran area in Dibrugarh is doing rounds on social media.

The hailstorm lashed Moran, Tingkhang, Lahowal, Lekai, Naharkatia and other areas on Monday late night and Tuesday early morning, A senior official said. There has been no report of any casualty.

IN ODISHA, DGP ORDERS CID PROBE

Rayagada: Vladimir Bidenov died due to a stroke and was cremated. His friend, Pavel Antov, was said to be depressed after Vladimir’s death and he too died on December 25, police said. Amid mystery surrounding deaths of two Russian tourists within a week in the same hotel in Odisha’s Rayagada, DGP said CID has been asked to help in probe.

Maharashtra Assembly passes resolution on border row with K’taka

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bombay HC on Tuesday, refused to extend its stay on an order granting bail to former Maharashtra HM Anil Deshmukh, paving a way for him to walk out of jail on Wednesday. Currently, the former minister is lodged in Arthur Road jail in a corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Nagpur: Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the resolution on the border dispute with Karnataka. The resolution sought to legally pursue the inclusion of 865 Marathispeaking villages in Karnataka into the state. As per the resolution, the Maharashtra government will stand behind the Marathi people in border areas and will go for a legal fight in the SC to ensure that these areas become a part of Maha. CM Shinde tabled the resolution over Maharashtra-Karnataka border row.

BJP incensed as Khurshid likens Rahul to Ram

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Slamming Congress leaders for their show of “sycophancy”, the BJP on Sunday said that the feelings of Hindus had been hurt by Salman Khurshid likening Rahul Gandhi to Lord Ram and describing him as a “yogi doing tapasya”.

Khurshid, a former Cabinet minister, told reporters in Moradabad on Monday, “Rahul Gandhi is superhuman. While we are freezing in the cold and wearing

jackets, he is going out in T-shirt (for the Bharat Jodo Yatra). He is like a yogi, he has called himself so, doing his tapasya (penance) with focus.”

Drawing a parallel with Lord Ram and his brother Bharat, Khurshid said, “Lord Ram’s ‘khadau’ goes very far. Sometimes when Ram ji is not able to reach, Bharat takes his ‘khadau’ and goes to places. Like that, we have carried the ‘khadau’ in Uttar Pradesh.”

Reacting to Khurs-

hid’s statement, BJP spokesman Harishchandra Srivastava

said they reflect nothing but sycophancy. “Khurshid saheb needs

to think thousands of times before comparing Rahul Gandhi with the ‘mahapurush’ who is followed by the entire world. He is a barrister but his statement is a symbol of sycophancy,” Srivastava said.

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia targeted the Congress at a press conference while another party spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla, said Congress leaders put “parivaar ki bhakti” above “bhagwaan and rashtra ki bhakti”.

state government will legally pursue in the Supreme Court the case to include (in Maharashtra) each and every inch of land in Belgaum, Karwar Bidar, Nipani, Bhalki cities and the 865 Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka.

New Delhi: The Safdarjung weather station on Tuesday logged a minimum temperature of 5.6 Celsius and a maximum of 17.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal. The minimum temperature was colder than in Dharamsala (6.2 degrees Celsius), Dehradun (7 degrees Celsius), and Nainital (7.2 degrees Celsius). With winds clocked at 16 kilometres per hour on Tuesday, the wind chill factor was also high. Meteorologists attributed the chill to frigid north westerly winds. P3

Yogi says may move SC after HC setback on ULB polls in UP

First India Bureau

Lucknow: UP CM Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said the state government will set up a commission to decide on the issue of OBC reservation in the urban local body elections.

CM’s statement comes after the Lucknow bench of Allahabad HC rejected the State govt’s draft notification on the civic polls and ordered holding the elections without reservation for the OBCs.

Adityanath said if required, the government may also approach the Supreme Court against the High Court order. P8

BJP challenges AAP with Mayor surprise

New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday decided to field its Shalimar Bagh councillor Rekha Gupta as its Delhi Mayor candidate to challenge AAP’s Shelly Oberoi in the January 6 elections.

The BJP has also named Kamal Bagri as deputy mayor candidate as well as Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Gajendra Daral and Pankaj Luthra for standing committee member posts, said Delhi BJP media cell head Harish Khurana.

Some party leaders claimed that an intense contest could be witnessed for mayor as well as deputy mayor since the anti-defection law does not apply to the MCD and floor crossing is possible.

‘APOLOGISE FOR HURTING HINDU SENTIMENT’

Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to Pt Jawaharlal Nehru at Shanti Van, in New Delhi on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI

BJP candidate Rekha Gupta files her nomination for Mayor on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

FRIGID WINDS BARREL THROUGH DELHI @16KMPH

—PHOTO BY PTI

First India Bureau

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviews Covid mock drill conducted at Safdarjung Hospital, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

A health worker collects the sample for testing during a mock drill for Covid-19 preparedness at CV Raman General Government hospital in Indiranagar, Bengaluru on Tuesday. PHOTO BY PTI

ACROSS THE GLOBE

The

—Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra CM

CM Himanta B Sarma asks officials to make a detailed assessment of the damages caused

l Winter storm kills 60 across US, over 15k flights cancelled; Buffalo worst hit

l Heavy snow in Japan leaves at least 17 dead and dozens injuredworst hit

A pavement is covered in hailstones after hailstorm lashes the Moran area, in Dibrugarh district on Tuesday.

PHOTO BY ANI

Mumbai: Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak approached the Bombay HC alleging illegal arrest by CBI in Videocon case. While they sought urgent hearing for interim relief of release, the vacation bench said to approach regular court on January 2.

PM MODI’S BRO PRAHLAD MODI, FAMILY INJURED IN CAR CRASH

Mysuru: Prahlad Modi, brother of PM Modi, met with an accident in Mysuru while traveling with his family on Tuesday. The local police informed that the members of the family have suffered minor injuries and are admitted to the nearest hospital.

New Delhi: 180-billion ($2.2 billion) incentive aims to reduce the production cost of green hydrogen by a fifth over the next five years, said a senior government official and an industry manager working in renewable energy. It would do this in part by increasing the scale of the industry, they said.

Friends of Noida judge’s son held over hit-and-run death

In 2022, HC took up case of woman’s right to her body

Noida (PTI): Three law students have been arrested for the death of a food delivery executive who was killed after his motorcycle was hit by the official car of an Uttar Pradesh judge, Noida Police said Tuesday.

The men, aged between 20 and 22 years, are friends with the son of a family court judge posted in Gautam Buddh Nagar and had taken the car without his or his family’s permission, police said.

The Toyota Corolla car bore a “district judge” sticker and is registered in the name of Registrar, Allahabad High Court. It was officially being used by Manjeet Singh Sheoran, Principal Judge, Family Court, Gautam Buddh Nagar, according to a police officer.

Those held in the case have been identified as Suyash Mishra, Harshvardhan, and Ru-

They had not informed the judge’s family about taking their car. En route, while Mishra drove it, the other two fell asleep.

Kumar, Sector 113 PS in-charge

—Pramod

bal all three law students at a college in Noida Sector 62 and friends of the judge’s son Vaibhav Sheoran, the official said.

“Suyash Mishra, the key accused, who was driving the judge’s official car at the time of

Court stays show cause notice to SHO for non-registration of FIR

New Delhi (ANI): A court here recently stayed the show cause notice issued to a Station House Officer (SHO) of Delhi Police for non-compliance with a magistrate court order asking for the registration of an FIR.

Earlier a Magistrate Court on August 25 directed the SHO to register the FIR in a death case, but he failed to comply with the order. Thereafter the court issued a show cause notice to the SHO and Investigation Officer. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar of Rohini Court stayed the December 16 order on the show cause notice to the SHO.

The Court has also stayed the order of August 25, 2022, ordering the registration of FIR in a complaint case. Now the matter has been listed for Jan 16.

Advocate Rishabh Jain, counsel for the SHO, submitted that “the order passed by the magistrate court to get an FIR registered in the case where the deceased died because of a heart problem, will create a wrong precedent and therefore both orders passed by the trial court

40-yr-old man held for kidnap, sexual assault of 4-year-old

New Delhi (PTI): A 40-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in north Delhi's Bhalswa Dairy area, police said.

The girl had gone missing last Wednesday evening while she was playing outside her home. Her parents lodged a complaint at the Bhalswa Dairy police station.

Around 7 am the next day, the girl was found near a park. She was taken to a hospital, where doctors disclosed that she was a victim of sexual assault.

A video surfaced on social media in which the accused could be seen purportedly taking the girl somewhere.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Devesh Kumar Mahla said accused Anil Pathak was arrested from the Bhalswa Dairy area.

He said police received information that Pathak had been spotted in the locality, but before a team could

The arrested man, Anil Pathak,

may be stayed.”

The Magistrate Court on Dec ember 16 had said, “Instead of obeying orders passed by this court they are misleading this court and their inaction in registration of FIR in terms of order of August 25, 2022, depicts that they have no regard towards the sanctity of judicial institution and they are trying to protect the accused.”

“From the conduct of the SHO concerned it appears that he is deliberately not registering the FIR and the conduct of the SHO and IO is nothing but creating hindrances in the judicial process,” the court had remarked.

the incident has been arrested,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Ashutosh Dwivedi told PTI.

Mishra, a native of Gwalior district, was arrested from his current residence in Shakti Khand area of adjoin-

ing Ghaziabad district.

While Mishra has been charged with rash driving and causing death by negligence, the other two have been booked for causing breach of trust (by taking the judge’s car without permission), the police said.

Harshvardhan and Rubal were apprehended from their residence in Ghaziabad and have been booked.

New Delhi: A highprofile political tussle over controlling the Shiv Sena and a bittter turf war between the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor played out in the Delhi High Court in 2022, while it had under the lens the privacy policy of WhatsApp and delivered landmark verdicts including the one upholding the right of women to terminate pregnancy.

It also dealt with important commercial matters, including staying the prohibition on automatic levy of service charge on food bills by restaurants, and those involving Chinese smartphone maker Vivo. The feud between the US-based ecommerce giant Amazon and Future group also hogged the limelight. The high court welcomed a new Chief Justice in Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and got 18 more judges this year. —PTI

WHO COMMANDS

THE SHIV SENA?

New Delhi (PTI): ETO Motors on Tuesday said the company has partnered with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to deploy women-driven electric auto rickshaws at metro stations in the capital. ETO Motors said the first set of 36 e-autos was flagged off from Azadpur metro station on Tuesday in presence of officials of the company and the DMRC. ETO Motors will add 100 more e-autos and develop parking and charging hubs at Kalkaji, Uttam Nagar, Dwarka and Majlis Park metro stations, it said.

The dispute between two rival factions of the Shiv Sena reached the high court which dis missed former Maha rashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's challenge to an Elec tion Commission interim order freezing the party's name and election symbol.

VACATING OF OFFICIAL BUNGALOWS

The high court paved the way for vacation of sprawling official bungalows in possession of MP Chirag Paswan, former Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav and ex-MP Subramanian Swamy, and stayed the Lokapal proceedings against JMM chief Shibu Soren.

WHATSAPP PRIVACY

Significantly, the high court held that WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy places its users in a "take it or leave it" situation, virtually forcing them into an agreement by providing a "mirage".

court holds that the ‘ultimate decision’ ought to recognise the choice of the mother as also the possibility of a dignified life of the unborn child.

RIGHT TO TERMINATE PREGNANCY

While the world debated the US Supreme Court overturning of the constitutional right to abortion, the Delhi High Court in 2022 said the "ultimate decision" in matters of abortion ought to recognise a woman's choice to give birth and the possibility of dignified life of the unborn child.

In a significant ruling which allowed a 26-year-old to undergo medical termination of her 33-week pregnancy as the foetus was suffering from cerebral abnormalities, the high court emphasised that the "choice of a woman" was recognised by Indian law. It also allowed the termination of over 30-week pregnancy due to a rare chromosomal disorder in the foetus in one case, while permitting a 16-year-old rape survivor to undergo abortion at 28 weeks of pregnancy in another.

MARITAL RAPE

While deciding on whether to criminalise marital rape, a hot button issue, one of the judges of the division bench favoured striking down the exception given to husbands in the law and said it would be "tragic if a married woman's call for justice is not heard even after 162 years" since the enactment of the IPC. The other judge, however, said the exception under the rape law is not "unconstitutional and was based on an intelligible differentia".

DEFAMATORY POSTS

It also restrained Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leaders from making “defamatory” statements against Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. It directed Congress’ Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera and Netta D’Souza to take down social media posts on allegations levelled against Union minister Smriti Irani and her daughter relating to ownership of a bar in Goa.

2020 RIOTS

Several cases of the riots of February 2020 continued to demand the high court's time. It denied bail to former JNU student Umar Khalid in a related UAPA case and dismissed a plea by some CPI(M) leaders for registration of an FIR against BJP's Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma for their alleged hate speeches. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi opposed a plea for lodging FIRs against them over alleged hate speeches.

FUTURE VS AMAZON

While dealing with commercial and business disputes, the high court dismissed a plea by a Future Group company seeking termination of arbitral proceedings initiated against it by Amazon.

Chief Secretary asks Sisodia’s office to provide details

pick him up, local people identified him and beat him up.

The accused claimed that he had gone out of the national capital after the incident. The claims are being verified and further investigation in the case is underway, a senior police officer said.

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar has asked the office of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to provide “details of orders and files” based on which the latter had alleged that important policy matters were being directly forwarded to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, official sources said.

Sisodia on Friday wrote to Saxena, alleging that the LG Secre-

tariat had “in recent past resorted to the practice of calling for files from various departments through

The LG Secretariat has in recent past resorted to calling for files from various departments through their respective secretaries and the CS.

—Manish Sisodia, in letter to LG Saxena

their respective secretaries, the chief secretary and transacting business thereon, such as approving the issu-

ance of notifications, etc., completely bypassing the minister as also the Cabinet”.

The same day the deputy chief minister issued an order to the chief secretary, secretaries and heads of departments, blaming them for sending “certain files pertaining to important policy decisions...directly to the LG secretariat without routing the same/putting it up to me as the minister in charge of

the department”.

He had also alleged that it had come to his notice that “the LG has given direct orders/directions and approvals to officers bypassing the council of ministers”.

An official source said Kumar has written to the secretary to the deputy chief minister, requesting him to provide by January 2 the “details of files and orders” based on which Sisodia made the allegations.

n All three law students at a pvt Noida college n Zomato food delivery agent died in the crash

Aditi Singh & Shikha Verma

‘FILES

lll

A copy of the CS’s letter has been marked to several officials with instructions to provide details of all such cases referred to by Sisodia

BSF's all-women daredevil motorcycle team 'Seema Bhawani' attempts a Limca Book Record on the Kartavya Path, in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Fleet of e-autos, all driven by women, now at Azadpur metro stn

One of the e-autos at Azadpur metro station. —PHOTO BY ANI

is a daily wager who lived with his wife and kids in the Bhalswa Dairy area

The

—Justice Pratibha Singh

Under cloak of fog, wind chill seeps in

New Delhi (PTI): Parts of the national capital reeled under a cold wave as dense fog blotted out the sun on Tuesday morning, lowering visibility to just 50 metres and affecting road and train traffic.

At 5.6 degrees Celsius, Delhi’s minimum temperature was less than that of Dharamsala (6.2 degrees Celsius), Dehradun (7 degrees Celsius), and Nainital (7.2 degrees Celsius).

With a high windchill factor—a measure of the rate of heat loss from skin that is exposed to the air—Delhi clocked a top wind speed of 16 kilometres per hour on Tuesday.

Safdarjung weather station logged a minimum temperature of 5.6 degrees Celsius—a notch below normal. The maximum temperature settled at 17.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal.

Fifteen trains to and from Delhi were reported running late while two were rescheduled, a spokesperson said.

Meteorologists attrib-

People walk amid dense fog on a cold winter morning at Kartavya Path, India Gate, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

uted below-normal temperatures to frigid north westerly winds barrel-

ling through the plains and reduced sunshine due to foggy weather.

CRIME BRANCH

Gangster wanted for murder in Nagaur held in Delhi

New Delhi (ANI): Delhi Police's Special cell has arrested four persons and apprehended a Juvenile wanted in the killing of a murder accused outside the court in Rajasthan's Nagaur earlier this year.

Deepak Kumar alias Deepti, the 32-yearold kingpin of the 'Deepti gang' was wanted in the murder of Sandeep Sethi, who was killed outside the court complex in Nagaur, Police said on Monday. After the incident, Deepak Kumar was declared as a "Proclaimed Offender" in three different criminal cases registered against him in Haryana.

Man found dead at Gurugram guest house

Gurugram (PTI):

The body of a member of the Badhda block samiti of Charkhi Dadri district was found hanging at a guest house located in sector 31 here, police said on Tuesday.

He was identified as Ashok Kumar (40), winning candidate of ward number 1 of the Badhda block samiti.

The body was found in a washroom of the guest house on Monday night, police said.

The cause of death is yet to ascertained and the matter is under investigation, Sector 40 police station SHO Satish Kumar said, adding that no suicide note was found.

Following his arrest, four more people including a Juvenile were arrested in connection with the murder and eight firearms, 28 live cartridges and two spare magazines were recovered, Delhi Police Special Cell said.

According to Delhi Police Special cell on September 19, Sandeep Sethi also known as Sandeep Bishnoi

was shot dead while four other persons suffered injuries in an attack by unidentified armed assailants outside the District Court in Nagaur.

Police added that the victim, who had a long history of crime himself, was facing trial in multiple criminal cases and had come to Nagaur court for the hearing in one of his cases.

Credit card frauds held from hotel in Gurugram

Gurugram (PTI): Five people of a gang were arrested from a hotel room here for allegedly duping HDFC credit card holders by sending them decoy messages to redeem bonus points, police said on Monday.

Ten mobile phones and a tab were recovered from their possession, they said.

The accused were identified as Sandeep Saini, Mukesh, Sunil Saini, Pritam, and Sushil and they were arrested from a hotel located on Mehrauli-Gurugram road on Saturday night, police said.

The gang operated its fraud business from the rooms of 3 and 5-star hotels, said police.

“During interrogation, the accused revealed that they had created a fake website similar to the website of HDFC Bank and were targeting HDFC credit card holders only,” said Preet Pal Singh Sangwan, ACP, Crime.

“They would send a link to customers redeem bonus points. When the target would click on the link and submit the details asked there, the accused would siphon the money from their cards to their account and would withdraw it from some ATM,” he said.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president, Skymet Weather, said a western disturbance led to a fresh spell of snowfall in the mountains on December 25-26 and cold northwesterly winds are now sweeping through the plains after its retreat. He said the wind chill factor was also high.

Kannauj (PTI): Three persons, including a panchayat executive officer, were killed when their car collided with a truck due to dense fog on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway in Talgram police station limits, police said on Tuesday. Sudhir Singh, executive officer of Lavad Nagar panchayat in Meerut district, Nagar Panchayat clerk Aslam and driver Tanuj Thakur were returning from Lucknow when the accident occurred, Additional Superintendent of Police Dr Arvind Kumar said. The trio was admitted to Government Medical College, Tirwa, where they succumbed to their injuries, he said.

disturbance. However, the relief is likely to be short lived.

Homeless people wrapped in woollens sleep inside a shelter home on a cold winter morning, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

LG Saxena transfers DUSIB CEO over ‘irregularities’ in night shelters

the shelter homes at ISBT and found lack of accommodation and toilet facilities there.

Mahesh has been moved to Union Territory Civil Services as special director, a statement from LG office said on Tuesday.

“Even as Garima Gupta, Secretary (Social Welfare), was given

charge of DUSIB, further action is contemplated against Mahesh. While all the shelter homes at ISBT and Hanuman Mandir area had a total capacity of only about 600 beds, there were thousands who were forced to sleep on the pavements in bitter cold,” the statement said.

Covid: Govt hospitals conduct mock drills

New Delhi (PTI): Mock drills were conducted at some of the hospitals in Delhi on Tuesday to assess their preparedness, including availability of beds and manpower, to deal with any increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the health portfolio, visited the Delhi governmentrun Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital around noon to assess the drill.

“The Delhi government is prepared for any kind of emergency.

At LNJP, there are 2,000 beds and 450 of them are dedicated to COVID-19. If a need arises, we can dedicate all 2,000 beds for COVID-19... we can also increase this

DDMA withdraws order on Covid duty of teachers at Delhi airport

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Tuesday withdrew its earlier order directing teachers to be deployed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport to enforce Covid protocols, officials said.

The new order said teachers and other teaching staff, who were to be deployed, are exempted from airport duty for the period December 31 to January 15.

“In case required, civil defence volunteers from district west may be deputed on call out duty basis,” the order issued by the district magistrate (west) stated.

The order on deployment was withdrawn after the DDMA faced criticism from teachers.

At least 85 teachers from various schools were to be deployed, it had said.

Deputy CM and Health Minister Manish Sisodia being briefed by LNJP MD Dr Suresh Kumar at LNJP Hospital in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO B Y ANI

number by using nearby banquet halls and add an additional 500 beds for COVID-19, so there would no shortage,” Sisodia told reporters at the hospital.

A senior official said Sisodia spent 30-40 minutes to inspect the preparedness.

The exercise comes in the wake of the Centre issuing an advisory to this effect on Monday amid a spurt in

“Now, we have new cylinders which were bought during the previous Covid wave, and

—Manish

Deputy CM and Health Minister

we even have tankers for transportation. The Delhi government and our health department are fully prepared for any situation,” Sisodia told reporters.

LNJP Medical Director Suresh Kumar said there was no reason to panic, but people must

be vigilant, follow Covid guidelines and take the booster dose of the vaccines.“In the mock drill, we saw our response time and it was perfect,” he said.

Besides the LNJP, the drill is taking place at other government-run facilities in the national capital and some of the private hospitals are expected to take up the exercise later in the day. The mock drill will assess bed availability, manpower, referral resources, testing capacity, medical logistics, telemedicine services and medical oxygen availability, among other aspects.

Apollo Hospital in south Delhi's Sarita Vihar is among the private hospitals where the drill will be held.

Mandaviya reviews drill at Safdarjung Hospital

“I reviewed the Covid response mock drill at Safdarjung Hospital. This mock drill was necessary to know how prepared our hospitals are,” the minister said.

“Covid cases are rising all over the world and India might witness a spike in cases too. Hence it is important that the entire Covid infrastructure in terms of equipment, processes and human resources are at a state of operational readiness,” he stated.

Clinical readiness at hospitals is crucial, Mandaviya said while noting that government as well as private hospitals are undertaking

mock drills.

Cautioning against complacency, he urged everyone to follow Covid Appropriate Behaviour. He also asked people to refrain from sharing unverified information and ensure high level of preparedness.

The minister visited the 44-bedded Covid centre at the hospital, the triage and testing area which has been created by the hospital along with a Severe

Acute Respiratory Infection ward in the makeshift facility which already existed.

Dr BL Sherwal, the Medical Superintendent of the Safdarjung Hospital, said, “All symptomatic patients shall be screened, assessed and tested right there in the Covid centre.The report shall be made available within one to two hours following which the decision on admission or dis-

charge shall be taken. Till that time the patient can be monitored.

All beds have oxygen facilities.”

Dr Neeraj Gupta, a professor in the Department of Pulmonary, Critical care and Sleep medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, said of the 44 beds, six beds are equipped with a ventilator with monitors.

People stand around a bonfire to warm themselves on a cold winter day, at Kashmiri Gate in Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTOS BY ANI

THREE KILLED IN ACCIDENT ON LUCKNOW-AGRA EXPRESSWAY

COVID-19 cases in some countries.

Compared to previous times, oxygen availability has increased 10 times. Five PSA plants have been set up. Ventilators are also present. Today, a mock drill was conducted, how patients can be attended to and shifted within 5 mins.

Sisodia,

New Delhi (PTI): Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday reviewed the Covid response mock drill at the Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital here to check its readiness to deal with any increase in the number of cases.

Union Minister of Health Mansukh Mandaviya reviews the COVID-19 mock drill at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi on Tuesday.

MINIMUM TEMP

BELOW

NAINITAL, DHARAMSALA

FOUR FROM MYANMAR ADMITTED

Four international travellers from Myanmar, who tested positive for Covid at the Delhi airport, are admitted at the Safdarjung Hospital and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing “They were asymptomatic. They will be discharged once they test negative,” Dr Sherwal informed.

PULLING THE PLUG ON LIFE…TOO EARLY

ROBIN ROY

Rampant suicides and especially the recent spate of suicides in the country and at the cine world has shocked and numbed the nation. Even the Union government informed Parliament on Tuesday that 115 daily wage earners and 63 women died by suicide every day in 2021.

A total of 42,004 daily wage earners and 23,179 housewives died by suicide in 2021, said Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in response to a question in Lok Sabha. Citing data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Rai present the following numbers for suicides in India in 2021:

l Self-employed: 20,231

l Salaried: 15,870

l Unemployed: 13,714

l Students: 13,089

l Business: 12,055

l Private sector: 11,431

l Farming: 10,881 (5,563 labourers+ 5,318 farmers)

Men were the overwhelming victims of suicide, as per the NCRB Crime in India 2021 report. Of the 1,64,033 persons who died by suicide last year, 1,18,970 were men and 45,026 were women. The suicide data for 2021 is in line with that of 2020 as daily wage earners, selfemployed persons, and the unemployed had topped the suicide victims that year as well.

Officials last year had said that pandemic-induced economic hardships were a driving factor.

– as per WHO.

Classes for five days a week, weekend offs and not more than two internal tests in a week chorus for these demands is growing among JEE and NEET aspirants recently after three students died by suicide this month allegedly due to academic stress. Often bogged down with the fast-paced curriculum and the programme structure, students say they are always racing against time and even a day’s break can push them behind thousands of other students.

However, the recent cases of student suicides have brought back the focus on fixing the schedule to make it more student-friendly. After the cases of three students dying by suicide last week came to light, the district administration issued fresh directions to ensure that there is a stress-free environment for students and that at least one weekly off is granted to them.

As per the World Health Organisation, globally, close to 8,00,000 people die by suicide every year; that’s one person every 40 seconds. For each suicide, there are more than 20 suicide attempts. The global body goes on to say suicide is serious public health issue in India

TINSEL TOWN TRAUMA

THE DISTURBING NEWS OF SUICIDES FROM THE TELEVISION AND BOLLYWOOD WORLD KEEP POURING IN RELENTLESSLY

TUNISHA SHARMA

He was found hanging from the fan of his kitchen on August 6, 2020 in the Mumbai suburb Malad where he lived alone. His credits include hit TV shows Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Left Right Left.

SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT

She became a household name through Balika Vadhu was found hanging in her Mumbai apartment on April 1, 2016. She was 24. Her boyfriend Rahul Raj is accused of abetting her suicide.

PREKSHA MEHTA

However, the recent cases of student suicides have brought back the focus on fixing the schedule to make it more student-friendly. After the cases of three students dying by suicide last week came to light, the district administration issued fresh directions to ensure that there is a stress-free environment for students and that at least one weekly off is granted to them

As per the World Health Organisation, globally, close to 8,00,000 people die by suicide every year; that’s one person every 40 seconds. For each suicide, there are more than 20 suicide attempts. The global body goes on to say suicide is an emerging and serious public health issue in India. However, it is preventable with timely, evidence-based and often lowcost interventions. The suicide mortality rate per 1,00,000 population in 2016 was 16.5, while the global average was 10.5 per 100 000. The most vulnerable are the 15-29 year old’s, the elderly, and persons with special needs

Students, however, feel that it isn’t enough. Of the three students who died by suicide last week, NEET aspirant Ankush Anand (18) from and JEE aspirant Ujjwal Kumar (17) both from Bihar were found hanging from ceiling fans in their respective rooms at their paying guest (PG) accommodation on December 12, according to police.

The third student, Pranav Verma (17), a National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant from Madhya Pradesh, allegedly consumed a poisonous substance in his hostel on December 11. No student suicide was reported in 2021 when the coaching centres here were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and students attended online classes from their homes.

all:

VAISHALI THAKKAR

On October 16 this year, the Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai actor was found dead in her Indore home. Police officials claimed they have enough evidence against Thakkar’s former boyfriend Rahul Navlani, filed an abetment of suicide case. Asif Basra Known for starring in movies such as Jab We Met, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai and Kai Po Che!, Basra was found hanging in a pvt property in Nov 2020 in Dharamshala. He was 53. He was last seen in “The Family Man-2” and “Sooryavanshi”.

The death of the Chhichhore star, who was found hanging in his Bandra home on June 14, 2020, continues to cast long shadows over the industry.

KUSHAL PUNJABI

Tuesday will be the third death anniversary of actor-model Kushal Punjabi, who was hanging in his Bandra apartment on December 27, 2019. Known for films such as Kaal, Lakshya as well as reality show Fear Factor, actor left behind a suicide note in which he said nobody should be held responsible for his death.

YOGI PROPOSES, HC DISPOSES

n a setback to reservation politics, the Allahabad High Court has derailed the Uttar Pradesh government’s quota politics by rejecting reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in urban local body elections. The high court ordered the State Election Commission to notify the elections without further delay. The term of several municipalities has already ended while that of others will end by December 31, 2022.

To garner support of the OBCs the government had come up with a draft notification on December 5 reserving mayoral seats in Aligarh, Mathura- Vrindavan, Meerut and Praya-

graj for OBC candidates.

In the case of MathuraVrindavan and Aligarh the seats were reserved for OBC women. The draft

In a setback to reservation politics, the Allahabad HC has derailed the UP government’s quota politics by rejecting reservation of OBC in urban local body elections. The HC ordered the State Election Commission to notify the elections without further delay

were reserved for OBC candidates.

should not exceed 50 percent of total seats reserved for SCs, STs and OBCs.

“Crime Patrol” actor was found dead in her home in Indore. The 29-year-old, who hanged herself, left a suicide note.

JIAH KHAN

British American actor, known for films such as Nishabd and Ghajini, was found hanging at her Mumbai residence on June 3, 2013 by her mother Rabiya Khan. She was 25. Her death was deemed suicide and reconfirmed as a suicide in 2016. Her boyfriend Rahul Raj is accused of abetting her suicide.

KULJEET RANDHAWA

In 2006, model-turned television actor, 25, known for starring in the high-school drama Hip Hip Hurray!, suspense serial Kohinoor and crime thriller drama Special Squad, allegedly died by suicide by hanging herself in her room in Juhu.

policy provided for OBC reservation on 54 chairpersons’ seats in 200 municipal councils. In the 545 nagar panchayats 147 seats

A clutch of PILs challenged the draft notification for violating the triple test formula set by the Supreme Court for OBC reservations. The triple test formula mandates setting up of a commission for an empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of backwardness within the state local bodies; specifying the proportion of reservation required… and it

The UP government told the high court that the survey of OBCs conducted in 2017 can be considered as the basis of the proposed reservation. Not convinced, the court quashed the notification, upsetting Yogi Government’s plans. Apna Dal was unhappy with the court’s order. Samajwadi Party called it a BJP government’s conspiracy.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Bible

Anurag Thakur @ianuragthakur Get ready for the biggest hockey event of the year 2023! The #HockeyMensWorldCup2023 is coming to Steel City, Rourkela, Odisha and we are pumped to host the best teams in the world. Let’s cheer @TheHockeyIndia and make this a tournament to remember! RourkelaMC

TOP TWEETS

Kiren Rijiju @KirenRijiju

India has a robust Parliamentary Democracy. Our Govt will always function as per the spirit of the Constitution of India. Nobody can accuse our Govt of undermining the independence of Judiciary.

and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Impressions Printing and Packaging Limited, C-21,

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

The writer is Senior Journalist and former Managing Editor, First India

TV actor was found hanging on the sets of a serial in Mumbai last week, one more instance of a showbiz aspirant allegedly taking the extreme step. The death of the 21-year-old “Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul” actor has arrest of her co-star Sheezan Khan for abetment to suicide. Here are some similar deaths in the entertainment industry that shocked us

SAMIR SHARMA

PRATYUSHA BANNERJEE

K’taka govt’s advisory on new virus

State’s Health Minister advises that

Bengaluru (PTI): The BF.7 variant of COVID-19 is highly transmissible but it does not have much virulence (severity of a disease), Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Tuesday.

He urged elderly, children and pregnant women to follow COVID precautions and remain vigilant. He further said that the virulence is slightly high among the elderly population and those with co-morbidities, citing reports from other countries.

“BF.7 is a sub-variant of Omicron, but the only difference between other variants and this is that the rate of its spread is high, but does not have much virulence,” he told media.

“That’s the reason in

the guidelines, we have given importance to them (old and co-morbid) and have advised them to avoid places or activities where a large crowd gathers and wear masks if unavoidable. Similar is the case with pregnant women and children,” he added. So far, four cases of

children,

elderly people, pregnant women must remain cautious

ANDHRA CM HOLDS MEETING TO CHECK PREPAREDNESS OF VILLAGE CLINICS

Amaravati (ANI): CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday held a review meeting on the prevailing Covid situation and decided to write a letter to the Centre seeking to reduce the gap for administering a ‘precautionary dose’ from the existing nine months to six months, CMO said in a statement. The CM directed the Medical and

Health Department to fill the existing vacancies of doctors and para-medical posts by January 26 besides providing accommodation and other necessary facilities to staff members working in the Department in agency areas. CM held a review meeting on the Covid new variant BF 7 challenge, on the construction of village clinics.

4 FLYERS FOUND COVID+ IN B’LURU

Bengaluru: 4 passengers who came to Bangalore Airport have tested positive. Four of 200 individuals who underwent testing, found Corona positive. Their sample has been sent for genome sequencing. The Central govt works with state govt. Amidst the surging cases of Covid-19 cases in China, wearing masks will not be made mandatory in India.

EC starts process for delimitation of LS & VS seats in Assam

New Delhi (ANI): The Election Commission of India on Tuesday said it has initiated the process for delimitation of Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and Parliamentary (Lok Sabha) Constituencies in Assam.

The process of delimitation was in pursuance of the request received from the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.

the BF.7 variant have been reported in India – two from Gujarat and two from Odisha.

In view of spurt in COVID-19 cases globally, Karnataka govt ramped up its preventive measures, making use of masks at cinema theatres and educational institutions mandatory.

FREE TREATMENT FOR BF.7 VARIANT INFECTED PATIENTS IN

Bengaluru: The state govt has announced free treatment for people with confirmed cases of the new SARS-CoV-2 variant - BF.7. “All the suspected Covid cases will be admitted and isolated at Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru and Wenlock

Hospital in Mangaluru for both observation as well as treatment purposes. All

Kin, friends bid final goodbye to Tunisha

Mumbai (ANI): The last rites of Actor Tunisha Sharma, who died allegedly by suicide on the sets of a TV serial, were performed on Tuesday at Mira Road cremation ground in Mumbai.

Tunisha’s mother Vanita Sharma broke down when her last rites were being performed, and she was seen inconsolable.

Actors- Kanwar Dhillon, Reem Shaikh, Ashnoor Kaur, Avneet Kaur, Siddharth Nigam, Abhishek Nigam, Shivin Narang, Vishal Jethwa and others attended the cremation of the late actor.

TV actor Tunisha Sharma was found dead on the sets of her ongo-

ing TV show AlibabaDastaan-e-Kabul on Saturday. A day later, her ex-boyfriend and co-star from the show, Sheezan Khan was arrested on charges of abetment to suicide. If reports are to be believed, Khan and Tunisha broke up 15 days ago.

SHEEZAN’S MOTHER, SISTER ATTEND TUNISHA’S

Mumbai:

BSF soldier killed for objecting against daughter’s obscene video

Ahmedabad (ANI): As many as seven persons have been arrested for allegedly lynching a BSF personnel in Gujarat for protesting against an obscene video of his daughter. The soldier, Melaji Vaghela (45), was allegedly attacked with sharp weapons and sticks by the family members of the boy whom he approached for uploading the video of his minor daughter online. DSP of

Nadiad VR Bajpai said that Vaghela, his son and relatives went to the house of one of the accused Shailash Yadav to speak with him and his family over the video.

Ahmedabad: The BSF has reached out to the family of its trooper Melajibhai Vaghela who was murdered in Kheda district last week when he went to reprimand a youth who allegedly uploaded videos of his minor daughter online. The BSF said it is providing all help to them, including immediate financial assistance.

SHEEZAN KHAN BREAKS DOWN DURING INTERROGATION

K’TALA

the confirmed cases with new variants will be provided with free treatment at these two hospitals,” revenue minister R Ashoka said. This apart, a highlevel committee has been constituted in every district to visit every hospital and supervise preparedness.

Delimitation falls under Section 8A of the Re Representation of the People Act, 1950.

“The Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Shri Anup Chandra Pandey and

Leopard on run injures 13 in Assam’s Jorhat

Jorhat (PTI): At least 13 people, including children and forest officials, were injured in an attack by a leopard prowling in Jorhat district of Assam on Monday.

The leopard was spotted around the campus of the Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI) in Chenijan area of the district since early morning. The residents informed the foresters about the leopard.

As many as 10 residents of the campus, including women and children, and three forest personnel were attacked in the last 24 hour by the big cat, which later fled the spot.

In a horrifying video, widely circulated on so-

cial media, the leopard can be seen jumping over a barbed wire fence and pouncing on a car before running away from the area.

A forest official told PTI that they tried to tranquilise the leopard several times, but in vain. He said that efforts are underway to track and capture it.

UP: 118 IAS officers to get Spl Secy ranks

Ahtesham Siddiqui

Lucknow: The Yogi Government of Uttar Pradesh is going to give the gift of promotion to 118 IAS officers in the new year in which 9 IAS officers will be promoted from Special Secretary rank to Secretary rank from January 1.

There is a huge shortage of secretary rank officers in the bureaucracy of UP due to which one officer has dual responsibility. Also some officers have

CHILL SETS IN

been given the responsibility of secretary before time.

In the IAS service, there is a system of giving super time pay scale on continuous service

of 16 years. IAS Sheetal Verma — Director of Census Operation/ Director of Citizen Registration News Delhi - is the first name among those who will become

Cold wave conditions likely to continue in Jan: MeT

lll

The weather office said that a layer of dense fog and moderate icy cold winds from the North were responsible for this steep fall in the temperature

New Delhi (Agencies):

The northern parts of the country will witness fresh cold wave conditions from December 31 onwards, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.

RK Jenamani, senior scientist at the India Meteorological Department, said cold days and severe cold days are mainly over south Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.

“The cold to severe

cold wave is expected to continue over Punjab, Haryana, north Rajasthan and Delhi.

Dense to very dense fog will continue to prevail in the belt. From December 28, there will be

COLD WAVE INTENSIFIES IN KASHMIR

Secretary from Special Secretary in UP.

Another important name in this connection is that of IAS Alok Tiwari, Private Secretary to Defense Minister of the country, Rajnath Singh, who will become secretary after getting promotion on January 1. Alok Tiwari, who was DM of Kannauj, Mathura and Kanpur, is considered a very honest and hardworking officer and is currently posted in New Delhi.

Shri Arun Goel has directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam to take up the matter with State Government to issue complete ban on creation of new administrative units w.e.f. 1st January 2023 till the completion of delimitation exercise in the State,” an official statement said.

Census figures of 2001 will be used for the purpose of readjustment of Constituencies in the state.

4 KILLED, 1 INJURED IN FIRE ACCIDENT AT AP PHARMA UNIT

Visakhapatnam: Four workers died and another suffered severe burn injuries following a fire that broke out at a pharmaceutical firm located inside Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City in Anakapalle district of Andhra Pradesh, police said on Tuesday. Anakapalle Superintendent of Police Gowthami Sali confirmed the fire accident that happened at Unit-III of Laurus Labs Limited on Monday night.

ASSAM POLICE RESCUE CATTLE FROM TRUCK IN BISWANATH

Guwahati: At least 28 cattle heads were rescued by Assam police from a 12-wheeler truck at Jorabat junction under Basistha PS in East Guwahati Police District. The accused were trying to smuggle the cattle heads into Byrnihat, which were brought from Bezera, Kamrup. One Md Rajmul Ali, a local of the Sipajhar region, was arrested in connection to this.

BIHAR: MISCREANTS HYPNOTIZE WOMAN, ROB JEWELLERY

Patna: Two unidentified men hypnotized a woman and made off with her jewellery in Kankarbagh, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place when Ranju Prasad wife of a retired professor was going to a doctor’s clinic for a medical check-up.

As she reached the Shivaji Park three-wheeler stand, a man approached and offered her a camphor, which appeared to be a part of prasad.

K’taka CM Bommai calls on Amit Shah in Delhi

New Delhi (ANI): Ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections scheduled next year, CM Basavaraj Bommai meet Union Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

Srinagar settled at minus 4.8 degrees Celsius — down from minus 3.5 degrees on Sunday.

improvement due to western disturbance and on December 29, fresh snowfall is expect-

ed in Jammu & Kashmir, Leh and some parts of Himachal Pradesh,” said Jenamani.

The meeting took place at Shah’s residence in which BJP chief JP Nadda was also present.

The meeting went on for over four hours, according to the sources. “The meeting was to discuss the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka, Cabinet expansion and 2024 Lok sabha elections

also,” the sources said. They further said that former ministers KS Eshwarappa and Ramesh Jarkiholi are also likely to be reinducted into the cabinet.

“With pressure mounting from former ministers KS Eshwarappa and Ramesh Jarkiholi, who have demanded that they be reinducted into the cabinet, the issue is likely to come up for discussion when Bommai meets senior BJP leaders in Delhi,” sources said.

A street is covered in snow after hailstorm in Sivasagar district.

Mortal remains of Tunisha Sharma before her cremation.

Tunisha’s mother Vanita Sharma mourns actor’s death.

FUNERAL

Tunisha Sharma’s co-star Sheezan Khan’s mother and sister also came to the cremation ground to pay their last respects. Sheezan, who worked with Tunisha in ‘Ali Baba Dastaan-E-Kabul’, was arrested on Sunday on charges of abetment of suicide.

Mumbai: Actor Sheezan Khan, arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of Tunisha, on Tuesday broke down during his interrogation and has denied allegations that he had been dating several girls while he was in a relationship with the deceased actor.

The leopard attacking a car in Jorhat district of Assam.

IAS Alok Tiwari IAS Suhas LY

BSF REACHES OUT TO FAMILY OF ‘LYNCHED’ TROOPER

Srinagar: Coldwave conditions gripped Kashmir as the mercury fell by a couple of degrees across the Valley to push the minimum temperature further below freezing point, officials said on Tuesday. The minimum temperature on Monday night fell by one to two degrees compared to the previous

night. The intense cold led to water supply lines freezing in several areas. The interiors of Dal Lake and several other water bodies in the Valley also froze, the officials said. The minimum temperature in

A health worker puts up a poster for Covid-19 test at CV Raman Govt hospital in Bengaluru, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

New Delhi: Hindustan Power Exchange (HPX) on Tuesday said it has reached the milestone of one billion units of power traded within six months of its launch. With more than 360 market participants, HPX has also raced to register participants comprising 80% buy volume of overall DAM; 90% sell volume of Green DAM and 70% buy of RTM.

HPX — promoted by PTC India, BSE and ICICI Bank — has reached the milestone of 1 bn units of power traded within six months of launch.

India’s total debt rises to `147 lakh cr in Q2

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The total liabilities of the government increased to ` 147.19 lakh crore at September-end from ` 145.72 lakh crore at the end of June this fiscal year, according to the latest data on public debt.

In percentage terms, it reflects a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1% in second quarter of 2022-23.

GOLD RATE SEES

AN INCREASE OF `173; SILVER ZOOMS `926

Public debt accounted for 89.1% of total gross liabilities at September-end 2022, up from 88.3% as on June 30, the quarterly report on public debt management released by the finance ministry on Tuesday said. Nearly 29.6% of the outstanding dated securities had a residual maturity of less than 5 years, it said.

New Delhi: Gold price rose `173 to `55,074 per 10 grams in the national capital on Tuesday amid gains in precious metal internationally, according to HDFC Securities. The yellow metal had ended at `54,901 per 10 grams in the previous trade. Silver also zoomed `926 to `70,205 per kilogram.

“Gold price continue to trade higher, helped by a softer dollar,” Navneet Damani, Senior VP –Commodity Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said. —PTI

AIRBAG INDUSTRY TO GROW TO ` 7K CR IN INDIA

During the second quarter, it said, the central government raised ` 4,06,000 crore through dated securities, as against notified amount of ` 4,22,000 crore in the borrowing calendar, while repayments were at `92,371.15 crore.

The weighted average yield of primary issuances hardened to 7.33% in Q2 FY23 from 7.23% in Q1 FY23, it said, adding, the weighted average maturity

OTHER STORIES

DATA IN NUMBERS

z The total liabilities of the government increased to `147.19 lakh crore at September-end from `145.72 lakh crore at the end of June this fiscal year

z Public debt accounted for 89.1% of total gross liabilities at Sept-end 2022, up from 88.3% as on June 30, the quarterly report said

of new issuances of dated securities was lower at 15.62 years in Q2 as compared to 15.69 years in Q1.

During July-September 2022, the central government did not raise any amount through Cash

POWER MINISTRY, DRDO INK PCT FOR EARLY WARNING SYSTEM FOR HYDRO PROJECTS

New Delhi: The Power Ministry on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for the implementation of an early warning system for vulnerable hydro projects or power stations. The ministry and the DRDO will jointly work towards developing suitable mitigation measures against avalanches, landslides, glaciers, glacial lakes and other geo-hazards, an official release said. The expertise of the DRDO will also be utilized in developing comprehensive Early Warning System for vulnerable hydro projects/ power stations in hilly regions. PTI

Management Bills.

The Reserve Bank did not conduct Open Market operations for government securities during the quarter. The net daily average liquidity absorption by RBI under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) including Marginal Standing Facility and Special Liquidity Facility was at ` 1,28,323.37 crore during the quarter, it said.

The yields on government securities in secondary market hardened in short-end curve due to near-term inflation and liquidity concern though softening of yield was observed for the longer tenure securities during the second quarter, it said.

New Delhi: The industry size of airbags, a key safety feature in vehicles, is expected to grow to up to `7,000 crore by FY2027 in India, from the current levels of around `2,500 crore, according to ratings agency Icra.

The growth in the airbag industry, which is one of the fastest growing auto component segments, is expected to be fuelled by the increase in content per vehicle arising from higher regulatory requirements and voluntary increase in the number of airbags per vehicle for enhancing safety, Icra said in a statement. —PTI

RELIGARE FINVEST LTD ON TRACK TO RESTART

ITS BUSINESS

New Delhi: Debt-ridden Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL) is hopeful of restarting its business operation in the New Year following the company’s proposal of `2,300 crore OTS finding favour from most of the lenders. Once the OTS process is completed, RFL will come out of the CAP imposed by the RBI in January 2018 due to its weak financial health. 14 out of 16 lenders have signed the OTS agreement and the remaining two are expected to sign in a day or two. PTI

INDIA EMERGES AS TOP INVESTMENT DESTINATION: REPORT

New Delhi: India emerged as one of the leading investment destinations for billionaires across the world, as per the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2022. Billionaires around globe are looking to put more of their money in India due to the strong growth of the region’s economy, according to the report. Among sectors, the billionaires favour energy, possibly due to today’s supply constraints and the accelerating secular transition to renewables. FIB

New Delhi: Digital ad spending in India is likely to reach $21 billion by 2028, a report showed on Tuesday. This can be attributed to surge in mobile and Internet usage.

Notedly, growth in UGC will empower individual creators and influencers to build their digital identity, which brands can leverage for digital ads.

This strong ecosystem of 2.5 to 3 mn creators is expected to drive marketing spending of $2.8 bn$3.5 bn by 2028. —FIB

Startups will likely attract significant FDI in 2023:

DPIIT

India-Australia FTA to help increase apparel exports: Trade Council

New Delhi (PTI): The country’s startups will attract significant foreign direct investments (FDI) in 2023 on account of steps being taken by the government to strengthen the ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs, a top government official has said.

Secretary in DPIIT Anurag Jain said India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world and the way startups here are performing; soon the country will become a top ecosystem globally.

“Number of recognized startups is increasing significantly, the FFS and Startup India Seed Fund Scheme are doing good. Startups too will attract significant FDI in 2023,” Jain said.

Presently, India has one of the most liberalized FDI policies wherein very few sectors require govt approval, he said.

New Delhi (PTI): Customs duty advantage under the India-Australia free trade agreement will help Indian apparel exporters get greater market access in that country as compared to their competitors, AEPC said on Tuesday. The agreement is coming into force from December 29.

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Vice Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said Australia is the largest importer of garments in the southern hemisphere.

While China’s share in import of apparel into Aus-

INDIA-AUS TRADE PACT

z Customs duty advantage under the India-Australia free trade agreement will help Indian apparel exporters get greater market access in that country as compared to their competitors, APEC said

tralia is more than 70%, India’s share is less than 5%. “With the India-Australia ECTA (Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement ) getting operationalised, India will have a slight duty advantage over Vietnam and Indonesia for imports in the Australian market,” he said.

India’s ready-made garment exports to Australia have seen a growth of an average of 11.84% over the last 5 years, which is “purely on account of China Plus One strategy adopted by most countries,” he added.

z India’s ready-made garment exports to Australia have seen a growth of an average of 11.84 per cent over the last five years

z AEPC Vice Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said Australia is the largest importer of garments in the southern hemisphere

Fair work conditions: Ola, Uber, 3 others score nil

New Delhi (PTI): Five digital platforms -- cab aggregators Ola and Uber, grocery delivery app Dunzo, pharmacy platform PharmEasy and Amazon Flex — have the lowest scores in a rating of digital platforms on the basis of providing fair working conditions for gig workers.

The rating of 12 digital platforms was done by a

Fairwork India team in association with the Oxford University. Fairwork eval uates the work conditions of digital labour plat forms internation ally.

Fairwork In dia Ratings 2022 Re port, which as sessed plat

forms against five principles: Fair Pay, Fair Conditions, Fair Contracts, Fair Management, and Fair Representation, found that Amazon Flex, Dunzo, Ola, PharmEasy and Uber scored zero out of 10

MARKETS CLIMB FOR SECOND DAY ON FIRM GLOBAL CUES

Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed with gains on Tuesday, following a firm trend in the global markets.

Extending its previous day’s rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 361.01 points or 0.60% to settle at 60,927.43.

During the day, it rallied 420.26 points or 0.69 % to 60,986.68. The broader NSE

Nifty climbed 117.70 points or 0.65% to end at 18,132.30. From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Asian Paints, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra and Titan were the major winners.

Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra and Nestle were the laggards.

“This year, no platform scored more than seven out of the maximum of ten points, and none scored all the first points across the five principles,” the report said. The Fairwork India Ratings 2022 evaluated 12 platforms, including Amazon Flex, bigbasket, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, PharmEasy, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto & Zomato.

India’s housing sale hits all-time high in 2022

`

FALLS 20 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 82.85 AGAINST US DOLLAR

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee declined 20 paise to close at 82.85 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday. The rupee opened lower at 82.71 against the greenback and witnessed an intraday high of 82.69 and a low of 82.87. It finally settled at 82.85, down 20 paise over its previous close of 82.65.

Domestic tourism bounces back to pre-Covid times

New Delhi (ANI): A demand for domestic air travel and hotel bookings which has increased more than pre-Covid times has given a great sense of relief to the domestic tourism sector as the demand for these services has now crossed the pre-pandemicperiod.

On December 26, around 4,23,000 domestic passengers travelled in the country that breached the preCovid high of 4,20,000. On December 24, the number of domestic travellers who took to flight was 4,35,500.

Experts in the tourism

industry said that the surge in domestic travel had been witnessed because of various restric-

tions and procedures on international travel as many countries are still coping with Covid.

PREFERRED DESTINATIONS

Vipul Prakash, COO, MakeMyTrip, said, “Domestic leisure traffic has recovered more than 100%

of pre-pandemic levels and remains strong. We are observing solid trends for the upcoming new year-end weekend. Goa, Jaipur, Shimla, Udaipur, and Manali lead the pack of the most booked destinations on the platform. We have also observed a robust uptick for Wayanad, Mysore, Ooty, Coorg, Gangtok, Dehradun, Agra, Dharamshala, and Darjeeling. People are opting for longer duration stays in premium properties, indicating a higher propensity to spend as they seek luxury-led experiences.”

New Delhi (FIB): India’s housing sales recorded an all-time high in 2022 breaching the previous high of 2014 on the back of strong demand for residential properties despite a hike in mortgage rates, according to a report by Anarock.

In 2022, the housing sales were nearly 3.65 lakh units across seven major cities. The prices of residential properties have risen in the range of 4-7% which can be attributed to surge in the input costs and demand comeback post-Covid, said the report. Anarock said that the housing sales rose 54% this year to 3,64,900 units across the seven cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Chennai, Kolkata, B’luru, Hyderabad and Pune.

BY FY27: ICRA

BJP CALLS GANDHIS ‘THE KATTAR PAAPI PARIVAR’

New Delhi (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday called the Gandhi family a “Kattar Paapi Parivar” of India while accusing their son-in-law Robert Vadra of land grabbing in Rajasthan.

In a press conference, BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia claimed that the Congress government in Rajasthan between 200813, grabbed 125 bighas of land from farmers. Accusing the Gandhi family of being embroiled in corruption and helping Robert Vadra in grabbing land from farmers in Rajasthan, Bhatia used the phrase “Kattar Paapi Parivar”, which would mean a “hardcore corrupt family.”

“There is a ‘Kattar Paapi Parivar’ in India. Their work is to grab the land of farmers and hand it over to their sonin-law Robert Vadra.

During the Congress government in Rajasthan from 2008-13, 125 bighas of land were bought from farmers and allotted to two peo-

ple Hariram and Natharam,” said Bhatia. He said that when the BJP government came to power in Rajasthan, an FIR was registered.

“When the police and ED investigated the case, it was found that both these persons do not exist and are fictitious,” he said. Bhatia said that the land in question was later sold to Skyline Hospitality in which Robert Vadra and his mother are partners.

“Corrupt Gandhi family thinks, it is beyond the reach of law but no one can escape PM Modi’s honesty and probe agency’s dedication,” he said. The BJP leader also claimed that

even when the Congress government was in Haryana, the land of the farmers was grabbed.

Gaurav Bhatia had earlier highlighted the corruption charges against the Gandhi family in the National Herald Money laundering case.

While referring to the corruption probe against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul, both former Cong presidents, in National Herald case, he said, “They are the most corrupt family in Indian politics. Three members of the family are out on bail in corruption cases. It is a serious matter of concern for a government with zero tolerance for corruption.”

RAHUL GANDHI A ‘YOGI DOING TAPASYA’: KHURSHID

Talking to reporters here on Monday, Khurshid, who is the state coordinator of the Bharat jodo Yatra, said, “Rahul Gandhi is superhuman. While we are freezing in the cold and wearing jackets, he is going out

Noida Authority issues

`235 cr notice to DLF over land compensation

Noida (PTI): The Noida Authority has issued a notice to real estate developer DLF to pay Rs 235 crore as compensation to the previous owner of the land on which the Mall of India has been built, a senior official said.

The DLF, however, said it was yet to receive the communication.

The development comes in the backdrop of a Supreme Court order on May 5 in which it had directed the Noida Authority to ensure payment of compensation for the land to its previous owner Veerana Redyy.

“Yes,” Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari told PTI, confirming that the notice has been issued. Another senior official said that

the notice was issued to DLF on December 23 and the amount has to be remitted in 15 days.

When contacted, a DLF spokesperson said in a statement: “We have not received any notice. Once we get it, we will review it.”

The DLF Mall of India is located in Sector 18, Noida’s commercial hub. The land where the mall has been built was acquired by the Noida Authority, which functions under the UP government’s Industrial Development Ministry, in 2005 from Reddy and was later auctioned to DLF.

A major part of the compensation to Reddy remains unpaid and the case reached the Supreme Court, according to an official.

in T-shirt. He is like a yogi, he has called himself so, doing his ‘tapasya’ (penance) with focus.”

Drawing a parallel with Lord Ram and his brother Bharat, Khurshid said, “Lord Ram’s ‘khadau’ (wooden slipper) goes very far. Sometimes when Ram ji is not able to reach, Bharat takes his ‘khadau’ and goes to places. Like that, we have carried the ‘khadau’

in Uttar Pradesh. Now that ‘khadau’ has reached Uttar Pradesh. Ram ji will also come, this is our belief.”

To a question related to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Khurshid said, “We respect him that’s why our leader Rahul Gandhi went to his samadhi. The actions of other BJP leaders are not worthy of respect.”

Services under NCT of Delhi fall under Centre, says HC

New Delhi (PTI): Dismissing a petition challenging the termination of a person from the post of Secretary of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, the Delhi High Court has said that services under the National Capital Territory of Delhi are necessarily the services of the Centre.

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh observed that there was evidently no State Public Service Commission in Delhi and under the Constitution, a post can be created in the city legislative assembly with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) who is the competent authority for this purpose.

“The services under the NCT of Delhi are necessarily the services of the Union and they are expressly covered only by Entry 70 of List I (of the Constitution). The Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi has no legislative competence to legislate in respect of any subjects covered under Entries 1, 2 and 18 of State List and Entry 70 of the Union List,” said the court in its order dated December 23.

“In view of Section 41 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, the Lt. Governor is required to act in his discretion in respect of these matters and not on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers,” the court stated.

HC quashes UP govt’s OBC quota

Lucknow (PTI): The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday quashed the Uttar Pradesh government's draft notification on urban local body elections and ordered it to hold the polls without reservation for the Other Backward Classes.

The Lucknow bench of the high court ordered that the state government should notify the polls "immediately" as the term of several municipalities would end by January 31.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the elections will be announced only after finding a way out to provide the OBC reser-

OPPOSITION REACTION

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav questioned the “anti-reservation BJP” for “showing sympathy” on OBC reservation in the urban body elections.

“Today, the BJP has taken away the reservation rights of the backward people, tomorrow the

BJP will also take away the reservation given by Babasaheb (Ambedkar) to Dalits,” he tweeted.

Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati tweeted that the HC decision “revealed the anti-OBC and anti-reservation thinking and mentality of the BJP and its government”.

vation. If necessary, the state government will approach the Supreme Court, he said. Soon after the verdict, Adityanath said the state government will set up a commission on urban body elections and provide reservation to the OBC on the basis of the triple test.

“Only after this, the urban body general elections will be conducted. If necessary, the state government will also appeal to the Supreme Court after considering all legal aspects regarding the decision of the High Court”, an official spokesperson said, quoting the CM.

z The court held that the appointments to the position of Secretary, DLA fall outside the purview of the office of Speaker, Delhi Legislative Assembly as the appropriate appointing authority was the LG and the appointment of the petitioner was ‘vitiated by fraud and is void ab initio’.

z It further observed that in the instant case, there was also no consultation with the UPSC at the time of appointment by way of absorption of the petitioner to the post of joint secretary and then promotion to the post of secretary, which was contrary to law.

z “As such, it is clear that the National Capital Territory of Delhi does not have its own State Public Services. Hence, it is well established that the matters connected with ‘Services’, especially as applicable in the instant matter to the position of Secretary, DLA are relatable to Entry 41 of List-II of the Constitution and fall outside the purview of the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi,” the court said.

z “The facts reveal that the deputation of the petitioner was made on the non-existent post of OSD, after completion of probation period as OSD, he was immediately absorbed on the post of Joint Secretary and immediately within a year, he was given the charge of Secretary with all upgradation in pay scales. Nowhere the approval was taken from competent authority for such deputation as OSD, absorption to Joint Secy and promotion to Secy, the appointment was vitiated by fraud and is void ab initio,” it said.

z The court observed that Article 187 of the Constitution, which pertains to the appointment of separate secretarial staff, cannot be made applicable to the NCT of Delhi which is not a State but is a Union Territory under the Constitution.

z Dismissing the petition, the court said the appointment of the petitioner “is in the teeth of law and cannot be saved” and the “termination cannot be termed as illegal”.

MHA gives NOC for name change of two places in Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi (PTI): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has given its consent to change the names of 2 places in Uttar Pradesh following recommendations from the state government, officials said on Tuesday.

The ‘no-objection’ certificates were issued by the ministry for changing the name of the municipal council ‘Mundera Baazar’ in Gorakhpur district to ‘ChauriChaura’ and that of ‘Telia Afghan’ village in Deoria district to ‘Telia Shukla’, an official said.

The MHA considers

proposals for name change as per existing guidelines, in consultations with the agencies concerned. It gives a ‘no-objection’ certificate to change the name after taking consent from the Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts, & the Survey of India, official said. For changing the name of a village or city, an executive order is needed. Renaming a state requires an amendment of the Constitution with a simple majority in Parliament, the official added.

MP in 2022: New home for cheetahs, makeover for Mahakal

ple and the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through the state during the year, which also saw an alleged serial killer targeting security guards in sleep.

Manish Shrivastava

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh was in global spotlight in 2022 when it became home to eight Namibian cheetahs, while a mega corridor came up near Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Tem-

On a positive front, Indore maintained its numero uno position as the cleanest city in the country in 2022.

The most important event for the state in the year was the airlifting of eight African cheetahs from Namibia and their release in the Kuno National Park

(KNP), their new home in Sheopur district, rekindling hopes of revival of an animal species declared extinct in

MAHAKAL LOK CORRIDOR PROJECT WORTH `

856

CR IS LIKELY TO BOOST LOCAL ECONOMY

z The development of the Mahakal Lok corridor in the temple town of Ujjain was also an important event in 2022. The project is likely to substantially increase pilgrim footfalls in the religious town and give a fillip to the local economy.

Windhoek in Namibia

z PM Modi on Oct 11 inaugurated the 900 meterlong Mahakal Lok corridor built in the Mahakaleshwar Temple premises in Ujjain.

z The total cost of the Mahakal Lok project is Rs 856 crore with Rs 351 crore spent in the first phase, an official said.

age group and are named Freddy, Alton, Savannah, Sasha, Obaan, Asha, Cibili and Saisa. —PTI

BJP spokesperson claims that Robert Vadra grabbed 125 bighas of land from farmers in Raj

Rahul Gandhi pays homage at his father Rajiv Gandhi’s samadhi, Veer Bhumi, in New Delhi on Monday.  —PHOTO BY PTI

Delhi High Court has ruled that Delhi being a UT, services in Delhi government come under the control of the central government.

‘VITIATED BY FRAUD AND VOID AB INITIO’

India 70 years ago. The spotted cats, the world’s fastest land animal, were brought in a special aircraft from

to Gwalior and moved to KNP. The wild catsfive females and 3 males are in the 30-66 months

A cheetah in Kuno National Park The Mahakal Lok Corridor

With its culture & wildlife getting richer, Madhya Pradesh attained global spotlight

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

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HOLOGRAPHIC MINI SKIRT

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Unicorn-inspired fashion is conquering the world with its cuteness and comfort level. Unicorn-shaped hoodies and unicorn tricolours inspired colours in nail paints, bags and dresses are not only ruling the fashion world by living rentfree in our brains. Here are some Unicorn-inspired fashions to make your day a little more magical.

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Life’s all about rainbows, glitter and unicorns and to mark its presence in your life City First brings to you some Unicorn-inspired fashions to make your day a little more magical.

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR

uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

henever I appear to give interviews, lectures and discourses among enlightened people eager and willing to craft a different world to live in, they almost always throw a penetrating question: what is the hope for wilderness in Rajasthan? Here, I answer that question in some detail for a wider audience.

The answer is also a narration of the hope I carry in my heart and mind. A hope that has the promise to bring smiles to the face of people! A hope that harbours dream of bringing back a biodiverse landscape on the face of the Earth. The answer is also a warning to the entire humanity in Rajasthan that there is no second chance for failure in places like Sariska.

We as a human society have encroached upon a majority of wilderness and forests of Rajasthan: to grow our food, to live

our lives, and to do things that we ought not to do, yet we do. Our domination of nature for a long time has resulted in the extinction crisis that is a testament to human impacts on forests and wilderness. So, what is hope? The only hope I cherish is that we shall be able to retain a biodiverse ecological system in Rajasthan. Indeed, we must begin to learn how to coexist with and leave space for, other species such as, for example, leopards of Jhalana and Amagarh or an array of desert animals in Tal Chhapar. That calls for continuing investments in rewilding that we have initiated, and that has emerged as a robust intervention for returning wilderness to biodiversity whose home we have altered beyond measure.

Why an emphasis on Sariska? Indeed, Sariska exemplifies reserves that lost their tiger population in the recent past. Human greed coupled with the failure of scientists and practitioners made Panna and Sariska bereft of tigers. They are an example of a disaster that protected areas can suffer regardless of the world’s best conservation legislation. Sariska and Panna are among the most studied tiger reserves in India. Notwithstanding the production of a large amount of scientific

THERE IS NO SECOND CHANCE FOR SARISKA

knowledge, it could not save the tiger from local extinction. Sariska has also been an example where scientists and practitioners remained engaged all through its life since it was declared as a Tiger Reserve. Yet, they could not see the impending disaster that befell the reserve. The reasons are simple. Ignoring the flawed conclusions from faulty research, predator depletion in Panna and Sariska was solely human‐induced. After the reintroduction of tigers in Panna and Sariska, there has been an appreciable increase in research. Nevertheless, scientists must note that the knowledge they produce now must become immediately usable on the ground.

The luxury of doing science for its own sake—to satisfy curiosity alone—is not available.

Sariska also provides a management warning. Rumours abound that there may be a lobby that doesn’t like Sariska to flourish, for they have invested hugely in money-spinner tourism infrastructure near another tiger reserve. Thus goes the conspiracy theory that the mafia may have sponsored local extermination. Be that as it may, gossips continue to proliferate. There seems no lesson here except that managers should continuously and carefully enhance the management effectiveness of all the tiger reserves, including Sariska, in Rajasthan.

What about the villages

inside? People and parks can co-exist, but prerequisites under which such relationships sustain are non-existent in Sariska. As long as a large number of villages continue to live and exploit already severely-stressed ecosystems deep inside the forests, wildlife has no chance of long-term survival. There were 29 villages inside. Out of these, just 3 could be relocated—albeit partially— over more than a decade. Recently, efforts of the team Sariska led by Field Director Roop Narayan Meena has succeeded in relocating 3 villages—Dabli, Panidhal, and Loj—just within two years. In addition, parts of Haripura and Sukola have also been shifted. Next in the process are Nathusar, Deori and Bera. This a remarkable feat given that Sariska has a deficit of about 60 per cent of staff currently. As the recruitment has already happened, we are in the process of filling these posts over the next 6 months to two years depending upon the training period.

There are other indicators of success evident in

Sariska. After the first spell of reintroduction of tigers starting in 2008 through 2013, nine adult tigers were re-established. To cut the story short, Sariska now has 25 tigers, the highest number in the known history of the tiger reserve. One-third of this number has grown during the last two years, including a new reintroduction in 2022. Yet, I must restate here that Sariska has no second chance for failure. If it fails again, it fails permanently. And, if it did fail ever, then a very large number of people living on the arc of Delhi-Jaipur would certainly become impoverished of ecosystem services including biodiversity conservation, ground-water recharge, clean water and clean air. There would also be a loss of the enchanting experience of wilderness available at the accessible doorstep. Indeed, if Sariska goes, the entire landscape continuum from Sariska in the National Capital Region through JamuaRamgarh, Nahargarh, Amagarh and Jhalana would lose an opportunity

of rewilding in near future. That would be a monumental loss to the ecology, economy and society of Rajasthan.

Why does this landscape matters in the contemporary world? It is not just a regenerating and rewilding multifunctional landscape that has come back from the brink of devastation, it is also an example of ongoing rewilding in tropical dry forests amidst global defaunation. This landscape is an example of evident success. There is hope, as noted earlier because we never had as many tigers in the recorded history of Sariska as we have today. They are breeding and living well! There is hope because villagers have started moving out of Sariska! There is hope because team Sariska has shown exemplary performance. At least some villages are slowly realizing that life outside Sariska can be more meaningful and more fulfilling. My cherished dream is that Sariska will continue moving on a path towards sustainability, where conservation and livelihoods would flourish side by side in times and life ahead.

What investment should be envisioned over the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration? The most important investment has to be in rewilding the entire landscape starting Sariska through Jamua Ramgarh, Nahargarh, Amagarh and Jhalana. As we celebrate the 50th year of project Tiger in India,

we must invest in the restoration and rewilding of the flora and fauna to their full potential. As Rajasthan celebrate the declaration of its fourth Tiger Reserve—Ramgarh Vishdhari—and prepares for the fifth one in Dholpur, we must not forget our failure in Mukundra where all reintroduced tigers were decimated. We have now started rebuilding the Mukundara population. But it will require another decade to reach a respectable place in the conservation arena.

A long-term extensive implementation to restore and rewild forests of Rajasthan is underway. Some of the recent examples are. As noted earlier, include Jhalana, Amagarh, Tal Chhapar (examples of passive rewilding), Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve, Dholpur (examples of passive & active rewilding), and the new reintroduction of a tiger at Mukundara Tiger Reserve—an area that has a complex history of initial failure of rewilding. It must be cautioned here that all these initiatives will succeed only if adequate and appropriate investments are made continuously over the long term. Rewilding is not an event; it is a very long-term process that can take up to 120 years or more!

Environmental ignorance is the mother of economic and social disaster. Thus, robust rewilding would not just entail trophic levels, corridors and well-functioning ecosystems. It would also necessitate environmentally literate politicians and bureaucrats, who must learn new lessons of conservation. There is no future for humanity without wilderness. Attempt to grow the economy and society would never succeed in the long term without a vibrant wilderness around. We hope Rajasthan will continue to succeed brilliantly in conservation endeavours.

DR DEEP NARAYAN PANDEY IS IN THE INDIAN FOREST SERVICE; WAS AWARDED THE HIGHEST NATIONAL HONOUR IN FORESTRY— THE IPVM AWARD FOR THE YEAR 1994 AND; THE DHANVANTARI AWARD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AYURVEDA, GOVERNMENT OF RAJASTHAN FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO AYURVEDA. HE HAS MORE THAN 38 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED HERE ARE PERSONAL AND DRIVEN BY THE PRINCIPLE OF THE GLOBAL COMMON GOOD. THEY DO NOT IN ANY WAY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE INSTITUTION OR SERVICE TO WHICH THE AUTHOR BELONGS.

DR DEEP NARAYAN PANDEY

PCCF (HoFF), Rajasthan

All photographs by Pushp Deep Pandey

Tiger at Sariska captured by Dr Deep Narayan Pandey

Tiger Cubs Ranthambore June 2022 captured by Dr Deep Narayan Pandey

MRIDULA SHARMA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

It seems like music videos become larger, better, and crazier with each passing year. You may put it down to technological advancements like CGI did, after all, assist create a lot of amazing visuals this year, such as Grimes' glittering "Shinigami Eyes" but in 2022, a sizable number of videos also managed to push the boundaries of real-life alterations. Flash mobs

“THAT THAT” - PSY

With the anticipated release of his first single and music video in years, “That That,” Psy attempted a second “Gangnam Style.” The music video was still a visual feast, even though it didn’t quite pull it off. This time, it had a Western theme, complete with fringe & cowboy hats.Psy usually makes hilarious and enjoyable music videos and “That That,” is no exception. When That That’s production leans into its Zumba groove and joyous brass stabs, it is at its finest.

BE T SONGS OF 2022 THE

“NO ONE DIES FROM LOVE” - TOVE LO

Tove Lo has always been a master of images, but her most bizarre and aesthetically spectacular video to date is “No One Dies From Love.” The retrofuturistic AI soap opera boasts gorgeous buildings, technicolour-drenched imagery, and an endearing robot lead.

“USED TO KNOW ME” - CHARLI XCX

Charli XCX’s Crash came with a slate of great music videos, but “Used To Know Me” stood out for its ambitious styling and wealth of cultural touchpoints. In the just under three-minute visual directed by Alex Lill, Charli switches through a series of tableaus ranging from sexy nun to glam aerobics instructor to campy Vegas girl to Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. Each one is brought to life meticulously and ends up being wholly convincing.

“OUT OF TIME”

- THE WEEKND

The Weeknd’s strange “Out Of Time” video, which also stars Jung Hoyeon from Squid Game, begins innocently enough with the singer and model enjoying a wonderful night out singing karaoke.

Then, things start to get strange: reality starts to warp around him, the dinner table filled with blood, and all of a sudden, Abel is laying on an operating table with Jim Carrey serving as his doctor.

Horror turns in music videos have become sort of a given, but Clique pulls this one off flawlessly.

“DREAMERS” – JUNGKOOK OF BTS

South Korean singer Jungkook, a member of the boy band BTS, released the song “Dreamers” in 2022. This is a pretty straightforward song in that its intent is to serve as a shoutout to the type of people whom Jungkook refers to as “dreamers”. As put forth, these are the likes of those who are not afraid to pursue their passions.

“ESTILAZO”MARSHMELLO & TOKISCHA

One of 2022’s most surprising, greatest collaborations featured a strain of Marshmello’s instantly engrossing EDM beat together with Tokischa’s witty and astute rap-sung dissertations on sexuality. Lyrically, the song promotes homosexuality, promiscuity, and, to put it simply, being a dog, which Tokischa refers to as “suciedad divinidad,” or heavenly dirty language. When the two first met in 2021, it seemed the musical gods had this one perfectly planned out. Emcleen Lumzila Caraballoe.

"SHUT DOWN"- BLACKPINK

Blackpink, a South Korean girl group, released "Shut Down" on September 16, 2022, as the second single from their second studio album, Born Pink, via YG Entertainment and Interscope Records. The song was written by Teddy, Danny Chung, and Vince, and it was produced by Teddy and 24. It is categorised as a hip-hop track with strings. Commercially successful, Hip-hop-based Shut Down has strings and a bass that won’t quit.

angels, a laser tunnel,

IN 2022, NEW MUSIC WAS DESPERATELY NEEDED, IN RETROSPECT THIS WAS ANTICIPATED. BELOW, WE HONOUR 9 OF THE FINEST MUSIC VIDEOS FROM THIS YEAR

RADIANCE OF COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS

CITY FIRST

The exhibition titled “Radiance of Cosmic Consciousness- Who Am I to Who I Am” will be organised at the Visual Art Gallery, Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi from January 6, 2023, to January 10, 2023. The event has been curated by Gorgina Madox. The upcoming exhibition will represent the sound and vibration of energies of the Cosmos. They are an eventful expression of inner life- the spiritual cosmos inside a human being. They resonate with the description of experiencing Cosmic Consciousness by spiritual masters like Paramahansa Yogananda- “The entire cosmos is gently luminous, like a city seen afar at night. It is indescribably subtle, a mellow radiance, ever undiminished” said Sonika.

Sonika’s journey has been blessed with International and National exposure to art exhibitions and art residencies. The preferred medium to express herself in oil and acrylic colours on canvas, charcoal on paper and art installations. Apart from that, she has won many awards one of them be-

ing the National Stree Shakti Award from Pranab Mukherjee on behalf of the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2013, she was one of the five nominees of the Ponds Femina Woman of Substance Award organised by the Times of India the oldest and largest media group in Asia in 2013.

Her preferred medium to express on is oil and acrylic colours on

canvas, charcoal, watercolours on paper, and art installations.

“To an Artist all Artworks are equal but the Vibration of Cosmic Motor is more equal than others, this painting is very close to my heart- titled “Master” Be original, create your language and distinctive style on your canvas Sonika further expressed.

Gorgina Madox Cu-

rator of the show said “Sonika Agarwal’s work captures the gentle glow of the cosmos, it taps into the unseen energy that surrounds us and pushes our mundane lives toward something extraordinary... both spiritually and cosmically.”

“Alongside our endeavour with promoting the Moderns, we are concerned with contemporary and

emerging talent. Sonika Agarwal is a midcareer artist whose deep inward search for her identity and self reflects in her work which is unique in its style and approach. Emulating the glowing power of Cosmic energy she brings to her work an energy that moves beyond the ordinary.” Stated Uday Jain director of Dhoomimal Art Gallery.

‘MAGIC OF FINGERS’

CITY FIRST

An ongoing exhibition of paintings by artist Ghazali Moinuddin is being organised by Gallery Sree Arts, Visual Arts Gallery at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi from December 23 to December 29. The exhibition has been curated by acclaimed curator Jitendra Padam Jain. Ghazali Moinuddin has spun his magic by not using any brush but his fingers to create mesmerizing artistry. Program Head Annkush B. Sharma expressed his delightfulness with the great response the exhibition is getting so far.

Ghazali Moinuddin is a Delhi-based artist who was born in Fatehpur. Ghazali paints nature in all its magnificence with a unique style of painting never seen before. Describing himself as a landscape artist, Moinuddin paintings have a singularly unique approach to creating his impressionist masterpieces. His deft fingers brilliantly use colour and textures with flowing lines and forms, to transport the soul to distant lands.

DECEMBER TO REMEMBER

CITY FIRST

‘December to Remember’, an initiative to bring cheer to underprivileged children across India, saw Reliance volunteers reach out to Anganwadis, schools and underserved communities. In its 10th year now, the initiative imbibes Reliance’s philosophy of ‘We Care’ through volunteering and reached over 8100 children aged 3-12 years in 2022.

It included celebrations at Jio Presents Hamleys Wonderland™️ in Mumbai on December 26 with over 1400 children from marginalised backgrounds getting a special treat while experiencing a unique event of rides and entertainment activities.

“Christmas is a time to share joy and merriment.

At Reliance Foundation, for over a decade now, Isha and I have cherished celebrating Christmas with children,” said Nita Ambani, Founder & Chairperson, of Reliance Foundation. “This year as well,

children from marginalised backgrounds came together to enjoy fun and games at the Hamleys Wonderland in Mumbai, and at venues across the country.

Hundreds of Reliance volunteers made this a truly magical experience by distributing gifts, sharing love and spreading smiles all around, making it a December to Remember! Here’s wishing that the coming year brings tremendous hope and opportunity for all our children.”

The celebrations at Jio Presents Hamleys Wonderland™️ in Mumbai were a fun extravaganza for underprivileged children from different NGOs and other organisations that work with Reliance Foundation.

December to Remember is a continuation of Reliance Foundation’s sustained initiatives in Education and Sports for All through activities that include scholarships, guidance and mentorship, promotion of sports as well as the development of sporting infrastructure at the grassroots and more.

BHARAT AMRIT MANTHAN MAHOTSAV

CITY FIRST

Under the joint aegis of Pracheen Kala Kendra and Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi, a beautiful dancedrama, Bharat Amrit Manthan was recently organised at Dr MS Randhawa auditorium of Punjab Kala Bhavan, which is a humble effort in the Mahayagya called Amrit Mahotsav of our worthy Prime Minister. This dance drama was presented by the young and talented students of Pracheen Kala Kendra and was directed and conceptualized

The program started with the

piece Vandana

in which

Kathak dance. After that, a beautiful Bhav Paksh-based piece was presented. Dace was a humble effort to present India's current situations and problems of today's society and also a request to save India's glorious history and culture.

A glimpse of Dr Samira's creative ideas was seen in this dance drama. Dr Sameera Koser and her group were felicitated at the end of the programme.

Gurugram International Couture Week is back !

CITY FIRST

It’s time to witness the entire fashion buzz as International designers and B-town celebrities are coming together for season 3.0 of GICW.

The fashion shows will be held at the BellaMonde hotel, New Delhi from January 6, 2023 –January 8, 2023.

Renowned designers

Anjalee & Arjun Kapoor will open the fashion week, while an AmatoCelebrity designer from Dubai will conclude with the grand finale. The three-day event will feature runway shows from various Indian and international designers.

Some of the designers who will be showcasing their collection in season 3 are Amato from Dubai,

Satya, MD of GICW said, “GICW is a platform that was conceptualized purely to bring raw talent to light and create a platform to bridge the gap between the Indian and international fashion industry and with the presence of celebrities, we are looking forward to a successful endeavour.”

“With season 3 scheduled in January 2023, GICW is a perfect amalgamation of fashion and creative minds coming together to redefine the way we look at designs and trends. GICW also aims to provide a platform to various designers who are at their start-up level to showcase their collection” adds Sidharrth, Director at GICW.

by eminent Kathak exponent Dr Samira Koser.

The program witnessed Sanjay Tandon (Member of the National BJP Coun-

cilor) gracing the occasion as the chief guest while Saurabh Joshi (Councillor of Municipal Corporation Chandigarh) was present

as the Guest of Honour. Registrar of the Kendra Dr Shobha Koser Secretary Sajal Koser was also present at the program.

invocatory

of Bharat Mata,

Mother India's worship was done through

Anjalee & Arjun Kapoor, Nazim Ali Khan, Prashant Majumdar, Mehul Suthar,

Karn Kadam, Archana Kochhar, Charini from Srilanka, Kamil from

Srilanka, and Meriem Belkhayat from Morocco.

On the occasion, M

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

Sonika Agarwal

Lifetrons Acrylic

Vibration of Cosmic Motor Acrylic

Cosmic Ocean (reverse effect in dark) Nectar of Immortality Acrylic

Nectar of Immortality (reverse effect in dark)

Doorway to the cosmic consciousness

Ghazali & Naila Moinuddin Rashmi Sachdeva

Nasir Abdullah Nupur Kundu

Arti & Rajan Shripad Fulari

Annkush & Jitendra Padam Jain

Asit Kumar Patnaik Shekhar Jhamb Sabia Khan

Talented artist during the performance Artists during the perfiormance

Cheerful underprivileged children during December To Remember campaign