First India-Delhi Edition-29th September 2022

TO LATA

Begusarai:

PFI DISBANDS ORG

HRS AFTER CENTRE’S BAN FOR FIVE YEARS

BONANZA!

New Delhi: The PFI has announced that it is dissolving the organisation with immediate effect, a move that followed the Centre’s decision to impose a five-year ban on the organisation and its affiliates and fronts. In a statement issued Wednesday evening, PFI state general secretary A Abdul Sattar announced that the organisation was being disbanded following the notification by the MHA imposing a ban on it. During the day, PFI affiliate says will challenge govt’s ban in Supreme Court.

‘ANKITA MURDER MADE FAST-TRACK CASE, `25L FOR KIN’

Dehradun: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday said murder case of 19-yr-old Ankita Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at a resort near Rishikesh, will be tried in a fast-track court. He also announced Rs 25 lakh as compensation for her kin from Pauri-Garhwal.

SENIOR LAWYER R VENKATARAMANI IS NEW ATTORNEY GEN

CABINET OKAYS

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) extended by 3 months

Chowk named after India’s nightingale in Ayodhya: PM

New Delhi: The GoI on Wednesday appointed senior advocate R Venkataramani, as the new Attorney General for India for a period of 3 years from the date he enters upon his office. Venkataramani will take over from incumbent AG KK Venugopal whose tenure will expire on tomorrow, September 30.

HC GRANTS BAIL TO CHITRA, ANAND SUBRAMANIAN

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to former NSE head Chitra Ramkrishna and ex-group operating officer Anand Subramanian in the colocation scam case being probed by CBI. Justice SK Jain said he was granting “statutory bail” to the two former officials of NSE.

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Rs 10,000 crore for the redevelopment of the New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mum bai’s Chhatrapati Shiva ji Maharaj Terminus railway stations, Infor mation and Broadcast ing Minister Anurag Thakur said Wednesday.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said all redevelopment of stations will be done in the EPC model and not on PPP mode to ensure that there is no addition al burden on passengers.

“Railways caters to middle class and lower middle class so any ex tra burden on passen gers is not good. So, it has been decided to in vest budget money in the Railways and take it up with investment from govnt. It is a con scious decision to rede velop all these stations in EPC mode,” he said.

DEARNESS ALLOWANCE IS ALSO FOR 68.62L PENSIONERS, OTHERS

Cabinet on Wednesday ap proved proposal to increase DA for Central govt employ ees and pensioners to 38% of basic pay from 31% previ ously, up 4%, effective July 1, 2022. At the CCEA meeting headed by PM Modi proposal to release an addl install ment of DA was approved. Increase in DA will benefit 47.68L Central govt employ ees, 68.62L pensioners, it also applicable for civilian and defence employees.

New Delhi (ANI): Prime Minister Naren dra Modi paid tribute to Lata Mangeshkar on her 93rd birth anniv on Wednesday by virtually inaugurating an inter section in Ayodhya that has been named after late singer, PMO said.

A towering 40 feet long and 12 feet high sculp ture of a veena engraved with a picture of God dess Saraswati has been installed at the chowk.

Marking the special oc casion, PM Modi paid a touching tribute to her.

UP CM Yogi Adity anath took a decision to name the chowk in Ayo dhya after Bharat Ratna honoree days after she passed away on Feb 6.

JOLT TO CONGRESS! HP WORKING PRESIDENT MAHAJAN JOINS BJP

KEY FEATURES

z These revamped stations will be made in tune with the cityscapes

z 199 stations with footfall of 50L people/ day plan in 1st phase

z Tender for over 47 stations out, work is underway at 32 stations

z The cost of the re-development of 3 major stations is over Rs 60,000 crore

High Court quashes ban on tobacco, pan masala in Delhi

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court has quashed the notifica tions of the Food Safety Commissioner prohibit ing the manufacture, storage, and sale of gut ka, pan masala, tobacco, and similar products in the national capital, saying they were issued in a mechanical manner and the authorities exceeded the powers vested in them.

The notifications were issued from time to time from 2015 to 2021. The high court said it was conscious of the harmful effects and

various diseases caused by the use of tobacco, both smokeless and smoking and that smok ing is injurious to pub lic health and added that it accordingly con demns and discourages the use of any form of tobacco. But, the ques tion of law cannot be

decided merely based on public conscious ness and sentiments and have to be decided on a fair interpretation of the law, it said.

The judgement came on a batch of petitions filed by those engaged in the business for sev eral decades.

GOVT FREE RATION SCHEME, PMGKAY, EXTENDED FOR NEXT THREE MONTHS

The Union Cabinet has announced an extension of the PMGKAY by 3 months from its stipulated deadline of September 30. The exten sion will be from October to December. PMGKAY scheme will cost the govt an additional Rs 80,000 crore till the end of month, putting govt’s estimated expenditure at Rs 2.5 lakh crore for this financial year, a key finance ministry official said. PMGKAY provides free 5kg of food grains per person per month to 80 cr beneficiaries under NFSA. P7

Mumbai (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated production house Ra jshri Productions for completing 75 years of its inception, saying the banner has showcased the “beauty of Indian culture and values” through the decades.

According to the Mumbai-based enter tainment studio’s offi cial Twitter handle, the prime minister had written a letter on Au gust 29 addressing its managing director Ka mal Kumar Barjatya.

“I thank you for your

greetings on the occa sion of 75 years of free dom of our country and wish you the same. It was also interesting to note that Rajshri Pro ductions celebrated 75 years of successful work on the same day as our Independence Day. I congratulate your fam ily and your team on this momentous occa sion and wish you suc cess in all your future endeavours,” the PM wrote in the letter.

“Guided by the vision of your father, Shri Tarachand Barjatya, Rajshri Productions has

GUJARAT ALL SET TO HOST NATIONAL GAMES; PM TO INAUGURATE IT TODAY

PM Modi will inaugurate the 36th National Games at a grand Opening Ceremony to be held at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad today. PM will also ad dress athletes from across country taking part. Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur will also attend the opening ceremony. National Games are being held in the state of Gujarat for the very first time.

Sonia keeps Gehlot guessing, may give him an appointment today!

Congress camp abuzz that Digvijay Singh could also stand for presidency election. If so, party high command would then have an option and whether or not Gehlot will then file nomination will be known only after Sonia Gandhi and Ashok Gehlot’s meeting today

Amit Mishra & Aditi Nagar

New Delhi: With sus pense building around the Congress president election and everyone from political opponents, political commentators and observers and even the general public wait ing to learn what the fu ture holds for Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the three time Chief Minister and sen ior Congress leader reached New Delhi late on Wednesday night, hav

ing flown from Jaipur.

At the New Delhi air port, Gehlot was re ceived by Dheeraj Sriv astava and MLA Danish

Abrar. Meanwhile, it is believed that CM Gehlot will be given an audi ence by Sonia Gandhi on Thursday. Turn to P8

entertained many gen erations of audiences across different media, be it cinema, television or music, while show casing the beauty of In dian culture and values.

“Shri Sooraj Barjatya has also continued in the same vein, creating some memorable works of entertainment,” the prime minister wrote.

Vikas (development) and Virasat (legacy) go hand in hand, added Modi. “I am sure that you will continue to strengthen India’s in nate cultural unity and diversity,” Modi wrote.

and

The

connection

Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw with Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur during a press conference on Cabinet Decisions, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

New Delhi: In a massive pre-poll jolt to the Congress in HP, party’s working president Harsh Mahajan joined the BJP in New Delhi on Wednesday, in a move that came as a surprise to the grand old organisation bat tling a massive crisis in Rajasthan. Mahajan is a former state Cabinet minister and represent ed Chamba in the Himachal assembly thrice winning consecutively in 1993, 1998 and 2003.

PM Narendra Modi virtually addresses the inauguration of an intersection named Lata Mangeshkar Chowk in Ayodhya in New Delhi on Wednesday. (R) Modi takes to Twitter his memory with Lata ‘didi’.

Moni Sharma

Ashwini Vaishnaw and Anurag Thakur share a smiling frame.

RAJ CM GEHLOT REACHES DELHI

CM Ashok Gehlot reached Delhi airport on Wednesday. Also seen here is Dhiraj Srivastava, Shashi Kant Sharma and others.

YAMUNA LEVEL STARTS DROPPING BUT STILL ABOVE DANGER

Tyagi community protests at Noida society; RAF deployed

Noida (PTI): Scores of Tyagi community mem bers gathered outside the Grand Omaxe soci ety here on Wednesday in support of politician

Shrikant Tyagi, who is currently in jail over charges of molesting a woman.

Police and Rapid Ac tion Force (RAF) per sonnel were deployed outside the society in Sector 93B as tension brewed in the housing complex since Tuesday evening.

"Adequate police have been deployed at the site since Tuesday. We are monitoring the situation here," DCP (Central Noida) Ram

Badan Singh, who was at the protest site, said.

Meanwhile, the Noi da Authority started a survey to review the en croachments inside the housing society. Accord ing to officials, en

croachment notices were issued to around 300 residents of the soci ety after erupting of a controversy on August 5, when Tyagi was con fronted by a woman resident over his al

leged encroachment of the common grounds of the apartments.

Tyagi was caught on camera assaulting the woman resident of the society after he was challenged by her.

Tyagi’s wife claims threat

Noida: Shrikant Tyagi’s wife on Wednesday claimed threat from Gautam Buddh Nagar MP Mahesh Sharma, after which the BJP demanded a CBI probe into the matter.

The allegations of Anu Tyagi came during her address to Tyagi com munity members who had gathered outside her residence. “My fight is with Mahesh Sharma alone. There is a threat to us from him and I need secu rity,” she alleged.

CBI books Amrapali Silicon City

New Delhi (PTI): A 26-year-old man accused of killing a hotelier and real tor last month has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.

Pradeep Mor, a resident of Jhajjar in Haryana, was arrested from outer Delhi's Alipur area, they said. The police recovered a sophis ticated 9 mm pistol, nine live cartridges and an empty round from him.

Mor was involved in the killing of Burari resident Amit Gupta, the police said. Gupta was shot at by two assailants in Burari in August. One of the shooters -- Amit Yadav alias Rahul -was arrested earlier this month. Extor tion was the motive behind Gupta's killing, Deputy Com missioner of Police (Outer North) Devesh Kumar Mahla said.

New Delhi (PTI): The CBI on Wednesday con ducted searches at six locations in Delhi and Noida after registering an FIR against Amra pali Silicon City Private Limited and its promot er, Anil Kumar Sharma, for alleged bank fraud of Rs 177 crore.

The CBI has booked the company on a com plaint from Bank of Baroda which was part of a consortium includ ing Bank of Maharash tra and Punjab National Bank that was allegedly cheated by the compa ny, officials said.

The company had taken over 1.76 lakh square metre land from from New Okhla Indus trial Development Au thority (Noida) for de veloping a group hous ing complex, Amrapali Silicon City, in Sector 76 of the Delhi suburb.

The audit showed that the company sold 468 flats at extremely lower rates with some even lower than the construction cost. The company’s account

books and other finan cial records showed that Rs 73 crore of funds were possibly diverted by selling flats at prices lesser than the con struction cost.

Among other issues, the audit also flagged the company has divert ed funds to the tune of Rs 303.18 crore as re ceived from various home buyers to their other group companies, they said.

The bank has alleged that the company has committed fraud, for gery and misappropri ated the loan amount cheating the banks to an extent of Rs 177 crore excluding inter est, they said.

An audit showed the company sold 468 flats at extremely low rates, some even lower than construction cost

CBI arrests 2 for cheating foreign nationals by posing as Interpol

New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has arrested two men who ran an illegal call centre in west Delhi from where they allegedly cheated and extorted money from foreign nationals by posing as Interpol and Europol officers, officials said on Wednesday.

The call centre, located in the narrow bylanes of Shadipur village here, was run by a man named Jaiveer Sharma. The perpetrators impersonated themselves as officers of Interpol and Europol to gullible foreigners, the FIR registered by the CBI claimed. During the searches, the CBI found four cryptocurrency wallets having a total of Rs 1.30 crore that included Bitcoins. Vijay and Vishal were arrested in the case.

“The source has also informed that most of the amounts collected from the victims through cheating by the accused are transferred in the form of Bitcoin (a crypto-currency) in the cryptoaccount of accused Vijay maintained in the e-wallet of ‘WazirX’,” the FIR alleged.

Chitra Ramkrishna, Anand Subramanian get HC bail

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to former National Stock Exchange (NSE) head Chitra Ramkrish na and ex group operat ing officer Anand Sub ramanian in the co-loca tion scam case being probed by the CBI.

Justice Sudhir Ku mar Jain said he was granting "statutory bail" to the two former officials of the NSE. An FIR was registered in the case in May 2018, amid fresh revelations about irregularities at the country's largest stock exchange. The CBI is probing the alleged improper dissemination of information from the computer servers of the market exchanges to stock brokers. Subra manian was arrested by the CBI on February 24.

The CBI had arrested Ramkrishna on March 6, a day after her antici patory bail application was dismissed by a trial court. In a status report filed in the bail plea by Subramanian, the CBI said the investigation has established that coaccused Ramkrishna abused her official posi tion at NSE to illegally appoint him as the

Justice Jasmeet Singh is sued notice on the bail plea by Ramkrishna, former Managing Director of NSE, and granted time to the investi gating agency to file its response. Ramkrishna, represented by senior advocate Rebecca John, said that no scheduled offence was made out against her and the allegations also do not fall within the rigours of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. She was arrested by the CBI on March 6 in a case registered in May 2018 related to an alleged co-location scam at NSE. ED later arrested her on July 14 in the phone tapping case. Earlier in the day, she was granted bail by the high court in the CBI case.

Chief Strategic Advisor and also arbitrarily and disproportionately hiked his compensation and re-designated him as group operating of

ficer without requisite approvals.

FARMERS FOR THEIR LAND

New Delhi (PTI): The water level in Yamuna river in Delhi started receding after breaching the evacuation mark of 206 metres, with Haryana reducing the flow from the Hathnikund Barrage in Yamunanagar, officials said on Wednesday. Authorities said they expect the Yamuna water level to recede further over the next two to three days as there has been no significant rainfall in the upper catchment areas of the river or in Delhi. A swollen Yamuna flooded low-lying areas along the riverbanks in Delhi on Tuesday, prompting authorities to evacuate around 6,500 people and suspend rail traffic movement on the Old Yamuna Bridge.

Ramkrishna was the MD and CEO of the NSE from April 2013 to December 2016.

A woman shifts with her belongings from a lowlying area in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Below) Residents of low-lying areas in Delhi take shelter on a road. —PHOTOS BY PTI

Palm trees planted in front of arrested politician Shrikant Tyagi’s residence, in the common garden in front of his apartment at Grand Omaxe society in Noida, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Chitra Ramkrishna (L) and Anand Subramanian.

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the stand of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the bail plea by Chitra Ramkrishna in connection with a money laundering case related to alleged illegal phone tapping and snooping of national stock exchange (NSE) employees.

HC SEEKS ED STAND ON BAIL PLEA

Women farmers shout slogans during a protest demanding adequate compensation from the state government for acquisition of 1,810 acres of land in three villages of Manesar, in Gurugram on Wednesday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Adequate police have been deployed at the site since Tuesday. There has been no law and order situation. We are monitoring the situation here.

—Ram Badan Singh, DCP (Central Noida)

Accused in hotelier’s murder held

COULD THIS BE NEW DELHI?

Donate blood twice a year:

Kejriwal’s appeal to Delhi

New Delhi (PTI):

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednes day launched a mega blood donation drive on the birth anniver sary of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

During the event, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader called upon everyone to pledge to donate blood twice a year and said there was a need to in culcate the culture of blood donation in a campaign mode as there were few volun tary donors.

Kejriwal said he wished to donate blood but could not do so for being a diabetic. Depu ty Chief Minister Man ish Sisodia donated blood on the occasion at Maulana Azad Medical College. The AAP chief said camps had been set up at 70 places across the city and people were enthusiastically turning up to donate blood. He added that more camps would be set up next year.

Kejriwal also said it was Bhagat Singh’s dream that everyone in the country was pro vided good education and health care and that the farmers and workers got their due.

Kejriwal said the Del

hi government would conduct campaigns throughout the year to motivate people to do nate blood.

“Around 1,500-2,000 people donate blood on a regular basis and they are mostly those who have to give blood to a patient. We can make this a part of cul ture in Delhi by holding blood donation drives on a massive scale.”

A healthy person can donate blood every three months. “Howev er, I appeal to the people to pledge on this occa sion to donate blood at least twice a year,” Ke jriwal said and added it was a befitting tribute to Bhagat Singh as he sacrificed his life for the freedom of the country at a young age of 23 years.

AAP celebrates 1 year of ‘Deshbhakti Curriculum’

New Delhi (PTI): Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday urged teachers of Delhi gov ernment schools to instill among students the spirit of making India the number one country in the world.

He was speaking at an event held to mark one year of the imple mentation of the Deshbhakti curricu lum in Delhi govern ment schools.

“Political leaders will not make the country number one.

It is the 130 crore peo ple who will make the country number one. I request teachers to in still the spirit of mak

ED can’t browbeat judge: Jain to HC

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court the Enforcement Direc torate (ED), which is an “uncommon species ruling the country”, cannot be allowed to “brow beat” a judge and seek transfer of a mon ey laundering case on the basis of a “bias” without any basis.

The AAP leader,

while assailing a lower court order transfer ring the money laun dering case against him from one special court to another following an application by the ED, said institutions need ed to be protected and the judiciary should say such “tactics” are unac ceptable.

Senior advocate Ka pil Sibal, appearing for Jain, told the high court that not interfering with the ED’s conduct will bring anarchy, and asserted that “bias suddenly dawned”

on the agency after the special court judge did not agree at that stage to its request for consti tuting an independent board for Jain’s medical examination.

“Your lordship will have to decide whether the (special court) judge is to be protected or the ED is to be protected. It is time for the judiciary to stand up and say these kinds of tactics cannot be accepted. You cannot allege bias against a judge,” the senior lawyer told Jus tice Yogesh Khanna.

ing India the number one country in the world so that when students come out of schools, they work to wards it,” he said.

“Under the curricu

lum, a student said she learnt that one should not look at any one through the lens of caste. This will al ways stay with her,” Kejriwal said.

Bail to Amanatullah

New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Wednes day granted bail to AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, who was arrested in a case related to al leged irregularities in the Waqf Board.

“The application is allowed. Personal bond of Rs one lakh(with one surety of the like amount to be fur nished), “Special Judge Vikas Dhull said.

On Tuesday the court had reserved its order on Khan’s bail plea.

The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) arrested Khan after conducting raids at his premises on September 16.

According to the FIR, Khan, while working as chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board, illegally recruited 32 people by violating all norms and government guidelines.

Further, it was al leged that as chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board, Khan rented out several properties of the Waqf Board ille gally amid allegations of corruption and favouritism.

The FIR also alleged that Khan misappropri ated funds of the Waqf Board comprising grants-in-aid from the Delhi government.

Another blow to Kejriwal ahead of Gujarat polls

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The En forcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Sa meer Mahendru, the Managing Director of Indospirit Group, in connection with Delhi’s now expelled excise policy which has trig gered a huge face-off between the ruling AAP and the BJP, officials confirmed.

Sources said Mahen dru was taken into cus tody under the criminal sections of the Preven tion of Money Launder ing Act (PMLA) after he was put through a night-long questioning session at the agency’s office in central Delhi.

Mahendru, the sec ond person to be arrest ed in the case is expect ed to be produced before a local court where the ED will seek further re mand. Mahendru was actively involved in ir regularities in the fram ing and implementa tion of excise policy, the Central Bureau of In vestigation (CBI) alleg es in its FIR. Mahend ru’s arrest comes a day after the CBI held busi ness man Vijay Nair, making its first arrest in the alleged excise policy scam naming him as accused number 5 in the FIR registered by the agency in which Manish Sisodia is also an accused.

WHO IS SAMEER MAHENDRU?

The co-ordinated run-up to the PFI ban

lll

Tuesday’s raids were part of a “strategy” to set the stage to “ban the PFI” and to “curb the demonstrations, violent protests and attacks” that had broken out after the first round of arrests

First India Bureau

New Delhi: On Tues day afternoon, Delhi

Police personnel took position for raids, in cluding in Muslim-dom inated areas of Shaheen Bagh and Nizamuddin, to detain people associ ated with the Popular Front of India (PFI).

Among those de tained was a man who runs a publishing house of Urdu literature in Daryaganj; a man who gave lessons on the Quran; and a student of Delhi University.

A total of 30 people from across the nation

al capital were detained, as part of a second round of crackdowns against the PFI. It was part of a “strat egy” to set the stage to

“ban the PFI” and to “curb the demonstra tions, violent protests and attacks” that had broken out after the first round of arrests.

Sources say that the ex ercise — first by the NIA and ED and then by local police of several states — was part of the preparations for impos ing ban on the PFI.

Following the Tues day raid, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday banned the PFI, notifying it as “unlawful association” under the UAPA for a period of five years.

Tuesday’s crackdown came less than a week after the first crack down, which resulted in the arrest of 106 peo ple allegedly linked to the outfit.

Illustrations of how the New Delhi Railway Station will look after its re-development. The Centre on Wednesday approved the Indian Railways’ proposal for the redevelopment of New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai’s CST railway station.

—PHOTOS BY PTI

Amanatullah Khan

CM Kejriwal addresses the Mega Blood Donation camp event at Maulana Azad Medical College on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

SISODIA DONATES BLOOD

CM Arvind Kejriwal with Deputy CM Manish Sisodia during an interaction with students and teachers of Delhi govt schools, on the occasion of the 1st anniversary of ‘Deshbhakti Curriculum’, at Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.

CBI GETS 5 DAYS’ CUSTODY OF NAIR New Delhi (PTI): A court here on Wednesday allowed CBI five days of custodial interrogation of businessman Vijay Nair, arrested in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy scam case in which Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is also an accused. The court noted the prosecution’s submissions that after being arrested on Tuesday, the accused was not cooperative and evasive on different pretexts. “Hence, in view of the totality of facts and circumstances, application filed by CBI is allowed and accused is remanded to the cus tody of CBI for a period five days i.e, till October 3, 2022,” Special Judge M K Nagpal said.

Vijay Nair being produced at the Rouse Avenue court following his arrest by CBI, in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

OPERATION OCTOPUS

It is time for judiciary to stand up and say these tactics cannot be accepted. You cannot allege bias against a judge.

—Kapil Sibal, representing Satyender Jain

Police deployed at PFI office building at Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

—PHOTO BY PTI

Mahendru in ED custody.

WHY ARE PETROL DIESEL PRICES NOT COMING DOWN?

TAKEAWAY

Given the repeated rate hikes to tackle inflation, rupee depreciation may persist, making oil imports expensive. With OMCs trying to recoup losses, fuel prices in the short term are unlikely to drop. Unless, there is pressure from the government to bring the prices down, it seems that our fuel bills will continue to dent our savings for some more time

WHY ARE PETROL & DIESEL PRICES NOT COMING DOWN?

If you are a vehicle owner, chances are that each time you visited a petrol pump in the past few months you must have wished for petrol and diesel prices to come down. We all know that fuel prices have remained the same for the last few months despite getting constant up dates on falling crude oil prices. Have you ever won dered why Indian fuel prices are not reflecting the same? Before we address this, let us give you a little background.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

When the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in early 2022, crude oil prices had shot up to in excess of $120. However, oil prices have now tumbled to their lowest level to $84 per barrel for the first time in months. Moreover, Indian re finers have been securing discounted oil from Russia post the war sanctions. In fact, Russian oil now ac counts for 16% of India’s

PULLING THE WOOL, THE AMERICAN WAY

overall imports compared to just 0.5% a year ago.

However, fuel prices in In dia have largely remained unchanged. For instance, in the national capital, petrol and diesel prices have been Rs 96.72 and Rs 89.62 a litre respectively for the last 4 months. In Mumbai too, pet rol and diesel prices have re mained unchanged at Rs. 106.29 and Rs. 94.23 a litre for the past 3 months

We all know that the prices of petrol and diesel are di rectly dependent on global oil prices. But there are a host of other costs added to the oil price to come to the final price we pay at the pump sta tion. Let’s understand that in detail.

COST OF CRUDE OIL:

The cost of crude or unre fined oil varies based on de mand and supply economics, international political rela tions and future reserves. In the international market, a barrel of crude oil is priced and traded in USD. Changes in the price of crude oil and currency movements direct ly impact petrol and diesel prices in the country.

PROCESSING COSTS: The crude oil is acquired, re fined and distributed by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petro leum are examples of such

We all know that fuel prices have remained the same for the last few months despite getting constant updates on falling crude oil prices. Have you ever wondered why Indian fuel prices are not reflecting the same?

companies. Costs incurred here include freight, process ing costs, margins, opera tional costs – all of which affects the final price at which fuel is sold.

COMMISSION FOR DEALERS: This is the amount paid by OMCs to the dealers who are in charge of distributing the fuel to the final customer.

TAXES: The central gov ernment levies excise duty on petrol and diesel – a prede fined amount irrespective of fuel prices. In addition, state governments impose a Value Added Tax which is applied at all stages of the production of goods and services. For ex ample, in Delhi excise duty is 21% and VAT is 16.25% of the cost per litre of petrol.

Now coming back, why have petrol and diesel prices not come down?

REASON 1: WEAKENING OF THE RUPEE

Repeated interest rate hikes by the US Fed and increase in India’s trade deficit has triggered the depreciation of rupee against the dollar to a historic low of 81.09. This will make import of crude oil expensive. How? Crude oil prices are always quoted and traded in USD. This means that India has to spend more to get the same quantity of oil. Moreover, India is an import-depend ent nation as it gets around 85% of its oil from other countries. Thus, the weaken ing of the rupee has a bear ing on the domestic price of fuel.

REASON 2: TIME TO RECOUP LOSSES

When international oil prices surged to multi-year highs, OMCs didn’t revise their sell ing price in line with the in ternational costs to help the government tame the already high inflation. As a result, these companies were incur ring huge losses, almost Rs.2025 per litre on diesel and Rs. 14-18 a litre on petrol – posting a combined net loss of Rs. 18,480 crore in the last quar ter. With low crude oil prices, this is the right time for OMCs to recover its past losses be fore the benefit can be passed on to the consumers.

External Affairs Minister S Jais hankar is steering India’s foreign policy with no in tention of holding his punch es wherever required. After taking on Europe for buying oil from Russia and strongly defending New Delhi’s friend ship with Moscow, he trained his guns on the United States.

America’s F-16 deal with Pakistan has obviously not gone down well with India and EAM Jaishankar in some plain speaking stated that by allowing the sale of F-16 fleet “the US was not fooling anybody” as in the past American weapons have only been used against India

UNDER PRESSURE, MAMATA VEERS TOWARDS BJP & OPPN LOOKS AGAPE

In a blow to West Ben gal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s “Duare Ration Scheme” has been de clared illegal and ultra vires of the National Food Security Act, 2013. The scheme required PDS shop owners to deliver food grains at the doorstep of the card holder. The judgment has thus jettisoned a promise Mamata Banerjee made in her election manifesto. The court ruled that the NFS Act does not support that policy.

The chief minister has other wise been effectively subdued by the Central government. So much so, she now finds faults with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and not Prime Minister Narendra. Under relentless pres sure from central investigative agencies and the Calcutta High Court, changing her tune was the safest way out for Didi even though one cannot be sure if that will save her kin from the En forcement Directorate. The change was first witnessed dur ing the Presidential election when she decided to support BJP’s candidate Droupadi Mur mu. The move took opposition parties completely by surprise.

It is ironical that Washing ton which earlier accused Pakistan of sheltering Osa ma bin Laden, the master mind of 26/11, and carrying out terrorist attacks on India should now find it to be a

America’s F-16 deal with Pa kistan has obviously not gone down well with India and EAM Jaishankar in some plain speaking stated that by allowing the sale of F-16 fleet “the US was not fooling any body” as in the past Ameri can weapons have only been used against India. The US defended the supply saying that it was Washington’s “ob ligation to provide military equipment to ensure that Pa kistan’s capability to deal with threats from al-Qaeda and ISIS remains intact.

holy cow. Over all these past years Pakistan has not once used US weapons against ter rorists even as it became their breeding ground. In 2018, while IMF was consid ering a bailout package for Pakistan, the US wanted to ensure that the money won’t be used for terror financing or pay off debt to China. With such a track record, US Sec retary of State Anthony Blinken’s justification for F-16 supply to Pakistan, therefore, is at best a shoddy attempt at pulling the wool over India’s eyes.

Islamabad has never given up machinations to destabi lize India. Its intelligence agency continues to protect pro-Khalistan elements and planners of Mumbai terror attacks.

Greetings to NDMA personnel on their 18th Foundation Day. Through capacity-building and sharing best practices, NDMA is playing a pivotal role in realising the vision of a disasterresilient India. May the @ndmaindia continue to serve the nation with the same resolve & spirit.

l Vol 2 l Issue No.31

l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840

Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Impressions Printing and Packaging Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59, Noida-201301. Published at G-20, 3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra

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

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Whatever is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your longterm happiness & benefit. Buddha

Narendra Modi @narendramodi

Congratulations @GiorgiaMeloni for leading your party @FratellidItalia to victory in the Italian general elections. We look forward to working together to strengthen our ties.

Amit Shah @AmitShah

TOP TWEETS

‘PRIYANKA NO MORE A GANDHI, SHOULD BE CONG PRESIDENT’

New Delhi (PTI): Con gress MP Abdul Khaleque on Wednes day batted for Priyanka Gandhi to take on the mantle of party presi dency, saying that being the daughter-in-law of the Vadra family, she is no more a Gandhi fam ily member as per Indi an tradition and should take up the post.

His remarks come a few days after Ashok Gehlot also said Rahul Gandhi has told him that he respects the wish of the party work ers that he should take charge of the organisa tion but no one from the Gandhi family would become the next Con gress president.

“I requested him mul tiple times. He has clearly said ‘I know, eve ryone wants me to take it up, PCCs have passed resolutions, the work ers want it. I have a lot of respect for them but due to certain reasons, we have decided that a non-Gandhi family per son should become the president’,” Gehlot had said.

Senior Congress lead er Tharoor seems set to contest the polls for the top post but it is not clear who will be his electoral rival as the de velopments in Ra jasthan have put a cloud over Ashok Gehlot’s candidature.

According to a notifi cation issued by the

DIGVIJAYA SINGH TO FILE NOMINATION FOR CONG PREZ ELECTION: REPORTS

New Delhi: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has decided to file nomi nation for the post of the party president for which election is sched uled to be held on Octo ber 17. He is expected to arrive in the national capital on Wednesday night. Sources close to Singh on Wednesday said the decision to contest the polls is his personal one, adding nobody from the Gandhi family has asked him to do so. The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister may file the

party on Thursday, the process for filing nomi nations for the election will be held from Sep tember 24 to 30. The

nmination by September 30. Congress’ initial plan was to field Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for the top party post but the high-octane drama in Rajasthan has miffed the Gandhis. Sources in the know of things said “Gehlot has not been ruled out from the race yet”.

date for scrutiny of nomination papers is October 1, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October

IN THE COURTYARD

SC TO HEAR KHAN’S PLEA AGAINST UP GOVT ACTION ON MOHAMMAD ALI JAUHAR VARSITY

New Delhi: The SC on Wednesday agreed to hear SP leader Azam Khan’s plea against the Uttar Pradesh govt’s action for taking over Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in the state on September 29. Azam Khan’s plea was mentioned in the SC by senior advocate Kapil Sibal. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal said that his client, who was facing 87 cases, got bail with great difficulty. Later, three more cases were lodged against him on the allegations of corruption, he said.Senior Advocate Sibal further said that now they have taken over the university, closed down the mess and have broken the walls.

CLARIFY STATUS OF SINGH KILLER’S MERCY PLEA: SC

New Delhi: The SC expressed dissatisfaction against the Centre over no decision taken on Balwant Singh Rajoana’s plea that his death penalty in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab CM Beant Singh be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of his long incarceration of 26 years. The apex court was also unhappy over submission of the counsel for the Centre that the matter be adjourned.

A BIG SC HEARING ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH FOR MINS

New Delhi: To frame general guidelines in “thin air” to restrict govt ministers, MPs, MLA or public leaders, including political party presidents, from making unguarded, derogatory and hurtful statements in public may prove “difficult”, a Constitution Bench prima facie said on Wednesday. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta accepted that a public functionary should be more guarded in speech than an ordinary person.

SC TO HEAR PLEAS CHALLENGING CENTRE’S 2016 DECISION ON DEMONETISATION

New Delhi: The SC on Wednesday said it will examine if the challenge to the Centre’s 2016 demonetisation decision has become academic and posted the matter for consideration on Oct 12. As the hearing commenced, a constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer wondered if the matter survives for consideration at this stage.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, submitted that for all practical purposes the matter does not survive for consideration. However, the case can be examined as an academic exercise, he said. Responding to the submission, the bench said, ”A fivejudge bench for academic exercise when we are already burdened with such a large amount of pendency.” “We will fix it for hearing on October 12. We will examine if it has become academic and if it can be heard at all,” the bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, and B V Nagarathna said.

Violence in Jammu now significantly low: Lt Gen Manjinder

Abdul Khaleque @MPAbdulKhaleque

As Shri Rahul Gandhi is denying to become @ INCIndia President again, I consider @ priyankagandhi as best candidate.”

“Being daughter in law of Vadra family, she is no more member of Gandhi family as per Indian tradition.

CONGRESS AGAINST ALL FORMS OF COMMUNALISM IN SOCIETY: RAMESH

New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Wednes day said it is against all ideologies and institutions that abuse religion to polarise the society and misuse it to spread hate, bigotry and violence. All India Congress Commit tee general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh said his party is against all forms of communal ism. His statement came a day after the Central government banned the PFI and several of its associ

8. The final list of can didates will be pub lished at 5 pm on Octo ber 8. The polling, if needed, will be held on

ates for their alleged terror activities.“The Congress’ policy has always been to uncompromisingly fight all ideologies and institutions that abuse religion to polarise our society, that misuse religion to spread prejudice, hate, bigotry and violence,” he said.

October 17. The count ing of votes will be tak en up on October 19 and the results will be de clared the same day.

Surendra Singh is now Secretary to Delhi L-G

New Delhi: The SC has imposed a fine of `5 lakh on the Tamil Nadu government for filing an “unnecessary” appeal despite the issue being already decided by the top court. A bench of Justices MR Shah and Krishna Murari asked the State to deposit `5 lakh within a period of four weeks.

WB GOVT’S ‘DUARE RATION SCHEME’ LEGALLY VOID: HC

Kolkata: In a major setback for the West Bengal govt, the Calcutta High Court today termed the state government’s ‘Duare Ration Scheme’ as legally void.

The division bench of the Calcutta HC called it illegal in the “eye of law” as it coincides with the National Food security Act, 2013.

The much touted scheme was part of the chief minister’s election manifesto promising free ration at doorstep to beneficiaries.

The scheme had been implemented soon after govt formation in 2021.

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the HC.

TEJASHWI ASKED TO APPEAR BEFORE COURT IN IRCTC CASE

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday directed Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to personally appear before it on the CBI’s plea seeking cancellation of his bail in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam. Granting time to Yadav’s counsel to file response, Special Judge (CBI) Geetanjali Goel directed personal appearance of the RJD leader on October 18.

Ahtesham Siddiqui

Lucknow: UP cadre IAS Surendra Singh, who had been serving as Meerut Commission er & CEO of Greater Noida Authority, has been made Secretary to the Lieutenant Gover nor of New Delhi. Meanwhile, IAS Chan dra Bhushan Kumar, a 1995 batch officer, has been made the Princi pal Secretary to the

Lieutenant Governor.

IAS Chandra Bhush an Kumar is currently posted as Deputy Elec tion Commissioner in the Election Commis sion. For a period of three years, the central govt has shifted Suren dra Singh to the AG MUT cadre and ap pointed him as Secre tary to LG in New Delhi. IAS Surendra Singh has served as collector of 10 districts of UP.

Rajkot (PTI): The Gujarat Congress on Wednes day took out a rally in Saurashtra region in a bid to woo Patidars by visiting temples associated with the community, ahead of the state Assembly elections due in December this year. Senior party leaders started the day-long rally, titled “Chalo Congress ke saath, Maa ke dwar”, by garland ing a statue of India’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Rajkot city.The rally will cover Khodaldham (in Rajkot district) and Sidsar (Juna gadh), known for temples of the reigning deities of Leuva and Kadva sub-castes of Patidar, a numeri cally significant community in the state.

CONG SHARES PHOTO OF GIRL MEETING RaGa

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday shared videos of Rahul Gandhi leading the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and being greeted joyfully by a young girl who seems so delighted at meeting the Lok Sabha MP she breaks into tears.

“No caption needed. Only love,” the party wrote as it tweeted the video. A second video showed Rahul Gandhi leading party workers and locals on the march and a third (among several shared online) shows him smiling and lift ing a young child on his shoulders.

NOT KEEN ON BECOMING CONG PREZ: NATH

Bhopal (PTI): MP Congress chief Kamal Nath on Wednesday said he is not keen on becoming the party president and does not want to contest the election for that post as he wishes to focus on his home state, where As sembly elections are scheduled next year.“I talked to Rahul Gandhi and urged him to contest so that all this (ongo ing uproar) could be ended. I told him things are getting complicated. But he said he does not want to become (the party president),” Nath told reporters.

“There is a lot of sup port from locals against terrorism. So far, the violence in Jammu is significantly low and if someone came from the valley side, he has been neutralised,” Lt Gen Manjinder Singh said addressing a press con ference in Jammu’s Na grota. “Pakistan is try ing infiltration, terror ists, ammunition and narcotics, but we have a strong anti-infiltration grid and secondly we are concentrating on securing hinterland for which we have a strong anti-terror grid,” he added.

Further, on the con cern for drone threat, Singh announced the launch of an anti-drone mechanism while men tioning that the drone threat is more in Pun jab and in the plains.

“There is less sighting for drones in our (White Knight Corps) areas and we suspect the ones seen here are a recon naissance by the enemy, hence we are soon get ting an anti-drone mechanism,” he said.

Lalu Prasad Yadav elected RJD chief unopposed

New Delhi (ANI): For mer Chief Minister of Bihar and founder pres ident of RJD Lalu Pras ad Yadav was re-elected unopposed as the party president for the record 12th time on Wednesday. Uday Narayan Choud hary Returning officer of the RJD election said that only Lalu had filed the nomination for the post of the party presi dent and thus was elect ed unopposed as the party chief. “Today from 3 to 4 pm, the date and time for withdrawal of nomination papers were fixed during which the only filed nomination paper was not with drawn,” he added.

Chandigarh airport renamed after Bhagat Singh

Chandigarh (PTI):

The international air port here was on Wednesday renamed Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Chandigarh, days after Prime Minister Naren dra Modi’s announce ment in this regard.

Union Finance Minis ter Nirmala Sithara man, who was the chief guest at an event at the airport, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deciding to re name the airport after the iconic freedom fight

er. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Haryana Bandaru Dat tatreya, Union Minister V K Singh, Punjab Chief

Minister Bhagwant Mann, Haryana deputy chief minister Dushy ant Chautala, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij

and Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher were also present at the event. During his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio broadcast on

Sunday, PM Modi had announced that the air port would be renamed after Bhagat Singh as a tribute to the freedom fighter. The 115th birth anniversary of the free dom fighter is being cel ebrated on Wednesday.

TRIBUTE TO THE FREEDOM FIGHTER

J&K (ANI): GOC White Knight Corps Lieuten ant General Manjinder Singh on Wednesday asserted that violence in Jammu is signifi cantly low.

Nirmala Sitharaman, Bhagwant Mann, Banwarilal Purohit and Bandaru Dattatreya at the naming ceremony of Chandigarh International Airport as Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport.

Lalu Prasad Yadav filing nomination papers for the post of party’s chief.

MAYAWATI CAN JOIN OPPOSITION ALLIANCE IF PROJECTED AS PM CANDIDATE Lucknow: In a major development, the BSP has said that it can join the opposition alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, provided the alliance partners are ready to project Mayawati as their Prime Ministerial candidate. BSP national spokesperson Dharamveer Chaudhary said that the “ultimate decision, however, will be taken by Behenji (Mayawati)”, Chaudhary added that if the opposition parties reach out to BSP in a respectful manner and apprise the party chief of their agenda, there is no harm that the party would see in aligning with them.

GUJ CONGRESS HOLDS RALLY TO WOO PATIDAR COMMUNITY AHEAD OF POLLS

SC IMPOSES `5 LAKH FINE ON TAMIL NADU GOVERNMENT

—PHOTO BY ANI

Surendra Singh Chandra Bhushan Kumar

Free ration scheme now till end of 2022

TEA EXPORTS RISE IN FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 2022

Kolkata: Tea exports dur ing the period January to July in the calendar year 2022 have touched 116.36 million kg as com pared to 103.38 million kg in the same period of 2021. According to Tea Board data, exports to the largest importing block, the CIS countries, re mained almost stagnant at 25.20 million kg as against 24.98 million kg in the first seven months of 2021. UAE emerged as a large importer at 19.14 million kg during Jan to July 2022, up from 8.07 million kg in 2021.

—PTI

INDIA NEEDS $10 BILLION FOR EV BATTERIES BY 2030

New Delhi (PTI): Ahead of assembly elections in Guja rat and Himachal Pradesh, the government on Wednes day extended by three months its programme to provide free rations to the poor at a cost of `44,762 crore as it looked to ease pain from high inflation.

The scheme to provide 5 kg of wheat and rice free of cost to 80 crore poor every month, which was ending on Friday, will now run through December 31, 2022, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said.

The Union Cabinet head ed by Prime Minister Nar endra Modi in a meeting on Wednesday decided to ex tend the scheme by three months, he said.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was started in April 2020 to help the poor whose livelihoods were

shuttered by a nationwide lockdown aimed at con taining the spread of the Coronavirus. The scheme has been extended multi ple times and was to end on Friday.

“At a time when the world is battling with the effects of Covid on its de cline and insecurity due to

EXTENDED FOR 3 MORE MONTHS

z Under the free rations to the poor scheme, 5 kg of foodgrain per person per month is provided free of cost for all the beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA)

` breaches 82 mark against $ on forex outflows, surging US yields

New Delhi: India needs to invest about $10 billion to boost cell manufacturing and raw material refining to meet domestic demand for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles by 2030, according to a re port. “By 2030, just to serve the local demand of Li-ion batteries, India would need upwards of an estimated $10 billion in vestments in cell manu facturing capacity, with additional investments in raw material refining ca pacities,” it said. —PTI

TATA MOTORS DRIVES IN TIAGO EV AT `8.49 LAKH

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee plunged below the 82 mark for the first time in day trade before settling down by 40 paise at 81.93 against the US dollar on Wednes day due to heavy forex out flows amid strengthening US treasury yields.

Moreover, a negative trend in domestic equities and a stronger dollar in overseas markets sapped investor appetite, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 81.90 and later fell to 82.02 to a dollar in day trade due to risk-averse senti ment among investors. The rupee finally settled at 81.93, its all-time low.

The Indian rupee hit a fresh record low against the dollar on Wednesday weighed down by a rise in US treasury yields and the

SENSEX, NIFTY TUMBLE NEARLY 1 PER CENT

Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark indices ended nearly 1% lower on Wednesday, tracking a weak trend in global markets and continu ous foreign fund outflows. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 509.24 points or 0.89% to settle at 56,598.28. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty declined 148.80 points or 0.87% to end at 16,858.60.Among the 30-share Sensex pack, ITC, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy’s and Power Grid were among the winners.

ance Securities.

“However, the fall was less than at its Asian peers as the Reserve Bank of In dia intervened in the mar ket today,” Iyer said.

z According to Union Minister Anurag Thakur, 122 lakh tonne of foodgrains will be given out free of cost in three months starting from October 1

z The sixth extension of the pro-poor scheme comes ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh

Icra maintains 7.2% GDP forecast for FY23

Mumbai (PTI): Citing re vival in contact-intensive services and a pick-up in government and private expenditure, rating agency Icra on Wednesday re tained its previous growth forecast of 7.2% for the current fiscal.

Growth is expected to pick up to pre-Covid levels on the back of pent-up de mand, even though on an annualised basis, the abso lute numbers will be falling from Q1 (13.5%) to a much lower level in Q2 and fur ther down in the two re mainder quarters due to the high base, the agency said.

various reasons, India has been successfully main taining food security for its vulnerable sections while taking necessary steps to keep availability and affordability for com mon man,” an official statement said.

“Recognising that people have gone through a diffi cult period of pandemic, government has decided to extend PMGKAY for a pe riod of three months so that poor and vulnerable sections of society are sup ported for the forthcoming major festivals.”

Under this scheme, 5 kg of foodgrain per person per month is provided free of cost for all the benefi ciaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

Thakur said the govern ment has so far spent `3.45 lakh crore on the PMGKAY

OTHER STORIES

USERS TO SHELL OUT UP TO 45% PREMIUM FOR 5G PLANS: STUDY

New Delhi: Over 100 million users in India with 5G-ready smartphones want to upgrade to 5G network in 2023 and many of them are willing to pay up to 45% premium, a study by Erics son said on Wednesday. The survey assumes significance as the countdown for 5G services availability has begun in India, the world’s secondbiggest smartphone market after China. —PTI

scheme since its launch in April 2020.

With the additional ex penditure of about `44,762 crore for the latest exten sion, the overall expendi ture of the PMGKAY will be about `3.91 lakh crore for all the phases, he said.

Thakur said 122 lakh tonne (12.2 million tonne) of foodgrains will be given out free of cost in the three months from October 1.

The total allocation of foodgrain for phases I-VII will reach about 1,121 lakh tonne (112.1 million tonne).

The sixth extension propoor scheme comes ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and also at a time when food inflation is rul ing at a high level.

The retail inflation in the food segment was 3.11 per cent in August last year.

DEADLINE FOR BROKEN RICE EXPORTS AGAIN EXTENDED BY GOVT

New Delhi: The government has again extended the last date for export of broken rice in transit by 15 days till October 15. It first banned export of broken rice on Sept 8. “Export of consignments of broken rice...As permissible under notification dated September 8 has been…extended till Octo ber 15, 2022,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.

GOODS AND SERVICE TAX (GST) REVENUE IN SEPTEMBER LIKELY AT `1.45 LAKH CRORE

New Delhi: Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue mop-up in September is expected to be around `1.45 lakh cr, an official said.

Mumbai: Betting big on electric mobility, Tata Mo tors is gearing up to drive in a range of models across multiple price points as it expects the portfolio to account for more than 30% of its overall sales by the end of this decade. On Wednes day, the company expand ed its electric vehicle port folio in the country with the launch of Tiago EV with introductory prices for first 10,000 customers ranging between `8.4911.79 lakh. The company said 2,000 units will be reserved for the current owners of Nexon EV and Tigor EV. —PTI

New Delhi: Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani and OnlyFans’ Indian-ori gin CEO Amrapali Gan have been named by TIME magazine in the TIME100 Next list that recognises “rising stars from across industries and around the world.” The TIME100 Next list is inspired by the pub lication’s flagship TIME100 list of the world’s most powerful people. The TIME100 Next “recognises 100 rising stars from across indus tries & around world. —PTI

dollar, Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reli

Offshore Chinese yuan weakened by 0.90%, while Singapore Dollar weak ened by 0.48%, while the Korean Won weakened by 0.83% and were the worst performers amongst Asian peers..

At 7.2%, the number is marginally higher than most consensus forecast of 7% and 10 bps lower than what S&P forecast earlier this week. The RBI is wide ly believed to again lower its growth forecast at its Sep 30 MPC review.

Don’t need so many PSBs: Ex-SBI chief

New Delhi (PTI): India needs ‘fewer’ but stronger Public Sector Banks, and the smaller ones could be privatised or merged, for mer SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya has said.

Bhattacharya further said much of the goals that are expected to be achieved through privatisation of PSBs can also actually be achieved by enabling the

state-owned banks and by levelling the playing field.

“The thing is, privatisa tion has never been the an swer to all the ills,” she said while responding to a ques tion on former RBI gover nor D Subbarao’s sugges tion that the government should come up with a 10year road map for privati sation of all PSBs.

Subbarao had recently

RBI’s rate setting panel starts deliberations

New Delhi (PTI): The Re serve Bank’s rate-setting panel on Wednesday start ed deliberations on the keenly awaited monetary policy amidst expectation of 50 basis points hike in interest rate to check infla tion and improve foreign capital inflow to arrest de clining value of rupee against the US dollar.

The decision of RBI Gov ernor Shaktikanta Das headed six-member Mone tary Policy Committee (MPC) will be announced on September 30.

The government has

tasked the central bank to ensure the consumer price index (CPI) remains at 4% with a margin of 2% on ei ther side, but retail infla tion has stubbornly stayed above the RBI’s comfort zone since January.

As per the latest data, the inflation was at 7% in August.

suggested that the govern ment should come up with a 10-year road map for pri

vatisation of all PSBs as it would provide much need ed predictability to stake holders. “I don’t really be lieve that we need so many public sector banks either, the number of PSBs could be decreased. “Some of them could be privatised. And maybe you know, the stronger ones could still remain public sector banks,” said Bhattacharya.

IN INDIA THIS YEAR

“The collection in September is likely to be little more than `1.45 lakh cr. Improved business activity is expected to yield better collec tions in coming months,” the offi cial said. The mop-up in September last year was `1.17 lakh cr.The official further said as per estimates, the average yearly revenue from GST in 2022-23 is expected to be around `1.55 lakh cr.The collection in April was at a record high of `1.68 lakh cr.

INDIA, NETHERLANDS FORMALISE FTM FOR INVESTMENTS

New Delhi: India and the Netherlands have formu lated a mechanism for faster resolution of invest ment cases of Dutch companies operating here in the country. The DPIIT and the Embassy of the Netherlands have signed a joint statement to formalise the bilateral Fast Track Mecha nism (FTM). Invest India, the national investment promotion and facilitation agency, is the executing body of FTM.

‘AGGRESSIVE RATE HIKES MAY BE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE’

New Delhi: Aggressive rate hikes by central banks glob ally to tame soaring inflation may prove counterpro ductive in the short run, Emkay Wealth Management said. Un derlining that geopolitical ten sions, soaring crude oil prices and worries around recession in the developed countries are some of the major risks threat ening the markets, Emkay Mgmt however said India fears no major risks.

CRED, upGrad & Groww top start-ups list

Bengaluru (PTI): Online professional network LinkedIn on Wednesday re leased a list of the top 25 start-ups in India that have shown resilience in an un certain market environ ment, and are continuing to innovate in 2022.

Topping this year’s list is unified payments interface CRED. Valued at $6.4 bil lion, this young start-up maintained its podium po sition on the LinkedIn Top Startups list, moving from the third spot in 2021 to number one in 2022.

“Besides gaining popu larity for its quirky ads in

the past two years, CRED is also setting new bench marks for employee wellbeing by offering benefits such as ElderCare, egg freezing, and one-on-one

TOP-TWO IN THE LIST

z Valued at $6.4 billion, Cred maintained its podium position on the LinkedIn Top Startups list, moving from third spot in 2021

z At second is one of India’s largest online higher education Cos - upGrad

support for mental well ness to its employees,” a LinkedIn statement noted.

The second spot on the list is taken by upGrad, one of India’s largest online

higher education compa nies that curates vast up skilling opportunities for professionals and college students, followed by Groww in third position.

AKASH AMBANI, GAN AMONG TIME100 NEXT LIST OF RISING STARS

ASI finds caves & temples at Bandhavgarh after 84 years

DCW notice to DG (Prsions) after prisoner molests doctor

‘Dissolution of marriage’: SC bench begins hearing

New Delhi (PTI): The Archaeological Survey of India has found an cient caves and temples, remains of Buddhist structures and mural inscriptions bearing names of cities like Ma thura and Kaushambi in old scripts during its recent exploration at Bandhavgarh in Mad hya Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday.

An ASI team covered nearly 170 sq km falling in the area of the fa mous Bandhavgarh Ti ger Reserve that is not accessible to public dur ing the over a monthlong exploration of the region which it under took for the first since 1938, they said.

During the exercise held from May 20-June 27, the ASI’s Jabalpur Circle also reported many ancient sculp tures, including large monolithic sculptures of various avatars of Lord Vishnu like ‘Vara ha’ and ‘Matsya’, and “board games made in natural caves”, officials said. Superintending Archaelogist of the Ja balpur Circle, S K Baj pai, who led the team, shared details and im ages from the explora tion during a media in teraction at the ASI headquarters here.

“This is the first time ASI has explored Band havgah since the 1938 exploration by archael ogist N P Chakravarti.

Many structures there were documented, we reported and docu mented more struc tures, including an cient caves, temples, Buddhist remains, maths, sculptures, wa ter bodies, mural in scriptions in old scripts

What is also noteworthy is the names of old cities like Mathura and Kaushambi, located in UP, found in an cient inscriptions we have documented, Bajpai said.

“Names of these cities lo cated far away from Band havgarh suggest that there were trading ties & people from other cities may have donated something, but again, it is a matter of conjecture,” another offi cial said. Mathura’s name was mentioned in Brahmi script, Bajpai said, adding, inscriptions are also in Nagari and Shankhalipi.

‘Spare more IAS, IPS officers for Centre, weed out dead wood’

ASI officials said a total of 35 temples have been documented, 9 earlier and 26 temples or remains of temple of Kalachuri period in the latest exploration.

Of the caves, 26 are newly documented, dating to 2nd century BC to 5th century AD period and mostly Bud dhist in nature, while 50 were reported earlier. A vo tive stupa and a Buddhist pillar fragment containing miniature stupas carving, which roughly date back to 2nd-3rd century AD have been documented as part of this exploration.

like Brahmi and Na gari,” Bajpai said.

A special permission was taken from the for est authorities to ex plore the area in Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh, he said, adding that he “encountered a tiger and elephants” during the job, but “caves gave us shelter”.

“For me, the most startling finding is the remains of the Bud dhist structures in the region where a Hindu dynasty ruled. It sug gests religious harmo ny, but who built these Buddhist structures is not known yet, “ the ASI official said.

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Commission for Women has issued a no tice to Director General of Prisons after a wom an doctor was allegedly molested by an under trial prisoner at the Mandoli jail. The vic tim was a resident doc tor and had treated the accused earlier, the panel said.

The doctor told the panel that when she went to the washroom on September 26, she found that the accused was already hiding there. The prisoner at tempted to rape her but she managed to escape and alert the security staff, according to DCW.

The accused is lodged in jail in a rape case, the panel said. “This is a very serious matter and raises the issue of safety and security of the wom en staff working in jails especially where male inmates are housed,” the panel said adding that it has issued a notice to Di rector General of Pris ons seeking details of the FIR & enquiry report in the matter, it said.

New Delhi (PTI): The SC on Wednesday com menced hearing argu ments on the issue of what could be the broad parameters for the ex ercise of power under Article 142 of the Con stitution to dissolve a marriage between the consenting parties without referring them to the family court.

A five-judge Constitu tion bench headed by Justice SK Kaul ob served that under the Hindu Marriage Act, the divorce is based on fault theory but the ir retrievable breakdown of the marriage could be a ground reality of the situation without get ting into a blame game.

“Two very good peo ple may not be good partners,” said the bench, which also com prised Justices Sanjiv Khanna, A S Oka, Vikram Nath, and J K Maheshwari.

“Sometimes we have come across cases where people have even lived together for a con siderable period of time and then marriage breaks down,” it said.

Article 142 of the Constitution deals with the enforcement of decrees and orders of the apex court to provide “complete justice” in just about any case before it

Senior advocate In dira Jaising, who is as sisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, said generally there are allegations and counter allegations when a divorce petition

DHANUSH GUN, MADE IN INDIA

is filed. Justice Kaul ob served, “This is also, to my mind, very subjec tive. What is a fault theory? See, somebody may say there are alle gations made, she does not get up in the morn ing and give my par ents tea. Is it a fault theory? You could have done the making of the tea better, maybe.”

The bench observed that a lot of issues are arising from the “so cial norm”, where one thinks that the lady must do this or the gents must do this.

Taj Mahal most visited ticketed ASI

site for domestic tourists in 2021-22

New Delhi (PTI): The Taj Mahal was the most popular centrally-pro tected ticketed monu ment for domestic visi tors in 2021-22, accord ing to a new report re leased by the Union Ministry of Tourism.

New Delhi (PTI): The Centre on Wednesday asked States to spare more IAS, IPS, and IFoS officers for central dep utation, besides seeking their cooperation in weeding out inefficient employees. The request came during the annual conference of Principal Secretaries of states/ UTs, held to deliberate

on personnel, general administration, and ad ministrative reforms.

Addressing the con ference, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said there is already a struc ture laid down for cadre management of all In dia services and it needs to be followed in letter and spirit.

A government job is the dream job for every citizen, cutting across all sections of society.

People look up to a government job not only because it provides the best facilities, salary package and job security but also because the selec tion process is open to all and is merit based.

—Statement by Personnel Ministry

While the Mughalera mausoleum ranked first, the Red Fort and the Qutub Minar -- both UNESCO-recognised sites in Delhi -- were the second and third most visited sites for the pe riod. The over 280-page report titled ‘India Tourism Statistics 2022’ was released on Tues day by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on World Tourism Day at an event here.

The report said due to restrictions related to COVID-19, “the number of foreign tourist arriv als (FTAs) in India dur ing 2021 decreased to 1.52 million as compared to 2.74 million in 2020,

registering a negative growth of 44.5 per cent”. Sharing data about the footfall at various sites under the Archaeologi cal Survey of India

(ASI), the report said the Taj Mahal ranked first among 10 most popular centrally-protected tick eted monument for do mestic visitors in 2021-

22. The Group of Monu ments at Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu was the most visited among the top 10 centrally-protect ed ticketed monument for foreign visitors dur ing the same period.

According to data shared by the report, the Taj Mahal wit nessed 3.29 million visi tors or 12.65 per cent of the total footfall in 202122 for domestic visitors, followed by Red Fort (1.32 million) and Qutub Minar (1.15 million).

Sonia keeps Gehlot...

Interestingly, with the political development in Rajasthan, since Sun day, it is being said that there is a question over Gehlot running for par ty presidency. One sec tion within the party has claimed that Gehlot is not yet out of the race for the presidency. How ever, any conrete devel opment in this regard, will occur only after Ge hlot meets Sonia Gan dhi and the duo reach a decisive understanding.

Meanwhile, the Ra jasthan CM also spoke to the media at Delhi airport and said, “We all work under the com mand of Congress Pres ident. The current situ ation is of the Congress family and we will solve it soon. It has been our party’s tradition, we al ways obey the Congress President. Congress of the whole country is standing under com mand of Sonia Gandhi. Small things do happen

in a large family.”

Gehlot also suggested to the media that in stead of focussing on Congress, ‘the media should recognize the crisis facing the coun try today.’

He further said, “To day we are concerned about that, for which Rahul Gandhi is taking out the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Our party’s tradi tion is going on for 50 years and we all follow the instructions of the Congress President.”

Interestingly, there is yet another grapevine in the presidency election.

Word in ‘relevant’ cir cles is the former Mad hya Pradesh Chief Min ister Digvijaya Singh may stand for the Con gress presidency elec tion. With this, political observers claim that if Singh fills thenomina tion, he would then give a chance to high com mand to have an option at their disposal.

Indian Army undertakes operational deployment of the state-of-the-art Dhanush Gun System. It is the first indigenously developed project for long-range Towed Artillery Guns.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Buddhist structures and mural inscriptions also found in its recent exploration

An ASI team covered 170 sq km in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve that is not accessible to the public

‘MATHURA, KAUSHAMBHI’ CAVES, TEMPLES, SCULPTURES

(Top) Tourists at Taj Mahal. (Above) Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar with Secretary Tourism Arvind Singh, Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Ajay Bhatt releasing Indian Tourism Data 2022 on World Tourism Day at Vigyan Bhawan. —PHOTO BY ANI

TOURIST HOTSPOTS

Union MoS for Personnel Jitendra Singh says ‘cadre management’ needs to be followed in letter and spirit

G Kishan Reddy @kishanreddybjp

In Bandhavgarh Forest Reserve, remarkable archaeological remains are unravelled by @ ASIGoI. 26 temples, 26 caves, 2 monasteries, 2 votive stupas, 24 inscriptions, 46 sculptures, other scattered remains & 19 water structure are recorded. The Varah here is one of the largest.

These four pictures of the ASI team’s discoveries in Bandhavgarh were tweeted by Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising is assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter.

FROM P1…

Ilove melodrama which is why my favorite scene in Karz is when Durga Khote, mother of the Kiran recognizes his soul/ spirit in the young dash ing singer Rishi Kapoor. Ah! Bollywood Drama at its best in the hands of thespian Subhash Ghai. A reincarnation drama with amazingly sexy mu sic, woe betide me but Karz is a movie I have watched many times. Om Shanti Om is a song that has transcended genera tions, literally too with Ranbir Kapoor wooing to day’s generation as his fa ther did … Chalta nahi hai dil deke yaaron Iss dil pe zor koyi, Iss rog ka nahi hai ilaaj Duniya mein aur koyi … to gaao Om Shanti Om! Listen to it now and Laxmikant Pyarelal mu sic will start to flow in your veins immediately.

Dard-e-dil … aashiq ba naya aapne croons a super cute Rishi (who is named Monty of all the things) for a coquettishly smiling Tina Munim with police sirens blaring in the back ground, (you will have to watch the movie to know why I am not telling you).

Rishi plays a melan choly singer, an orphan tortured by snatches of music, a ramming jeep with a red heart sporting ‘Just Married’ and a flash ing image of Goddess Kali, all unfolds as he fol

lows his heart- the young ‘main solah baras ki’ Tina to Ooty. Fortunately, the romance between Rishi and Tina (irritatingly childish and in a school uniform) forms a minor part of the movie. The

This Throwback Thursday we bring you Karz, a classic masala movie with reincarnation, murder, romance, and more thrown in, watch it today, and bits of it will stay with you, forever! The signature tune of Karz is still bewitching

ANITA HADA

FACE OF THE DAY!

Aries

MARCH 21 - APRIL 20

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

Gemini

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

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

Leo

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

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

Libra

SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 22

Take stand where you need to, don’t run in the same direction where everybody else is going. Visit a doctor if you have any doubts about your health. Don’t attack stress even if you don’t have any. Let go of things that are not in your control. You want to have your own house and you will work hard.

Sagittarius

NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22

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

Aquarius

JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19

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

NAMRATA SENANI GARG, Influencer

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

MARITAL BLUES: FORGIVENESS

Taurus

APRIL 21 - MAY 20

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

Cancer

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

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

Virgo

AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23

You are a pro in your field and none can beat you. Female scorpios are lioness and women around are often jealous. You give tough competition to people. Many people get inspired by you. You will get special treatment from your dear ones. you will feel inspired today.

Scorpio

OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22

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

Capricorn

DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20

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

Pisces

FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20

Boisterous behaviour is what everyone needs right now, do whatever you can do to cheer everyone up. You will feel financially comfortable and infant you are in position to invest money in some new venture. Your personality will attract many eligible bachelors.

Ascholar once de scribed forgive ness as “the highest and most difficult of all moral les sons.” Some say, “People take advantage of you when you forgive them.” Others say, “that sounds fine in theory, but it is easier said than done.” Many feel that they will never be able to forgive. This is because reactions to personal of fences are often emo tional. A person feels a sense of betrayal, anger and a desire to take re venge. Forgiveness does not mean that we mini mize what has been done or pretend it never oc curred. Neither does it mean letting others take advantage of us.

Forgiveness is, ceas ing to feel resentment because it can do more damage to one’s health and marriage than the offence itself. It is a wellthought-out personal choice that reflects a de

done — the harsh words and thoughtless acts. As a result, affection gets replaced by resentment.

Harbouring ill-feeling is like slapping yourself and then expecting the other person to feel the pain. The other partner may be feeling just fine and not at all troubled by any of these feelings.

If one tends to rake up issues over minor mat ters, then one can ask oneself, ‘Could I be more patient with my part ner?’

Not every offence needs to be discussed; one can overlook it and choose to be silent.

One wife said, “When I feel hurt, I try to calm down first. Often, I real ize that the offence was not that serious. Focus

couples withhold for giveness to maintain a sort of power over their partner. Then, when a conflict arises, they use a past event as a trump card to gain the upper hand. Others feel, “If I forgive, I am inviting

in preventing a wide range of physical and emotional problems such as depression and high blood pressure.

A wife said, “One time my husband apologized for something that hurt me deeply. It was hard for me to forgive him. I eventually did but I re gret that I didn’t do it sooner. It brought im mense strain on our re lationship.”

One can be easily hurt if he/she is overly sensi tive. One therapist said: “If you have been hurt by your partner, it’s be cause you still care about him/her. So, by retreating, you are not only wounding your mate but destroying yourself. You further dismantle the relation

I get even!” Sadly, this statement is a guiding principle for many. Re fusing to talk and using the silent treatment as a weapon with which to punish deepens the grudge.

Bitterness is like rust that slowly corrodes any relationship. In every situation, a victim can weigh, “Do I remain in severe emotional tur moil, feeling intensely hurt and angry, until the matter is fully resolved?”

Putting off forgive ness leads to separation, often followed by feel ings of guilt and loneli ness. A husband who di vorced after fourteen years said, “The disad vantages far outweigh the delights of middle age life without marital ties. Silence can be loud in an empty house. One learns that the bark of the dog, the meow of a cat or the chirp of the bird is no substitute for a human voice… Friends do not close the awful gap that was once filled by someone called wife or husband.”

A working woman, di vorced and living by her self, had achieved the pinnacle of financial success. But she said, “It’s when I come home and close the door, and know that not a soul cares what I am doing or

YOUR DAY

REKHA-KUMAR The writer is a personal development skills facilitator.

BIRTHDAY BASH!

Hemant Sharma, News Director, TV9 Bharatvarsh celebrated his 61st birthday on Tuesday, September 27 at The Imperial, New Delhi. Greetings poured in for the senior journalist from politicians, colleagues and friends across. The gala night at Imperial was a get-together with memories, much laughter and sharing of anecdotes as family and friends gathered to celebrate the happy occasion.

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

Jagdeesh Chandra greets Hemant Sharma. Also seen are Ishaanee and Veena

Hemant Sharma cuts the cake flanked by Jagdeesh Chandra, Veena Sharma, Ishaanee Sharma, Usha Joshi, Pankaj Singh and Kumar Vishwas

Jagdeesh Chandra with Sumaira Khan

Hemant Sharma and Navneet Sehgal

Hemant Sharma greeted by Mohan Prakash

Ishaanee Sharma & Veena Sharma

Kumar Vishwas & Hemant Sharma

Jagdeesh Chandra with Dhruv Sehgal & Shiv Sehgal

Jagdeesh Chandra with Kamlesh Chaubey

(L-R) Veena Sharma, Kalpana Sahai and Pammi Sahni

Dayashankar Mishra and Prabhat Kumar

Hemant Sharma with Devesh Singh & Himanshu Singh

(L-R) Pankaj, Veena, Sushma and Ishaanee

Hemant Sharma with (L-R) Sushil Dwivedi, Kiran Dwivedi and Yashwant Deshmukh

Hemant Sharma with Yashi Shukla & Ishaanee Sharma

Dhruv Sehgal, Dinesh Gautam and Shiv Sehgal

The celebratory cake on the occasion

Rohit Sahai Harjeet Singh Sahni

Usha Joshi in conversation with Yashwant Deshmukh

Hemant Sharma and Kalpana Sahai

Usha Joshi & Hemant Sharma Hemant Sharma with (L-R) Dr Mahesh Sharma, Veena Sharma, Dr Uma Sharma and Pankaj Singh

The delicious cake of fruits and dry fruits

A ROSE IN A DESERT!

KHUSHI MISHRA cityfirstdel@gmail.com

Tell us something about yourself.

My name is Mannat Goel and I hail from the capital city Del hi. I am a student of MBA entrepre neurship and I am also an aspiring blogger.

Where do you see yourself af ter the next 20 years?

I am an entrepre neur as well as a fashion influencer.

I always wanted to be a successful in fluencer for which I am trying my level best. In future, I want to see myself as a successful woman.

How did your journey begin?

I started my journey in 2019 and at that time I was an in trovert, I am very blessed to have people in my life who always support me and have my back. Fashion, beauty

and lifestyle were always my centres of interest.

What were some of the battles you fought and are still fighting in your journey?

I believe criticism and body shaming is what we can expect from this pro fession, I remember ini tially these criticism used to affect my men

tal health drastically. But with time I learned to grow with it.

Talk to us about your achievements I believe in self-confidence. People around me saw a ma jor change in my personality overall that too in a positive sense. I was an introvert but my profession has changed all of that.

Birthday Bash

Special Screening

CITY FIRST

The special screen ing of a heartwrenching real istic film I'm Gonna Tell God Every thing was held on Wednesday. BJP MP Satyapal Singh and for mer Mumbai Police Commissioner graced the event as the chief guest. Presented by San jay Dutt, Jai Patel's Hol lywood short film is in the news all over the world. The film is coproduced by Abhishek Dudhaiya who pro duced and directed the film Bhuj with Ajay Devgn. Eminent person alities including Acha rya Shailesh Tiwari (Ve dic Tantra guru), Gan bold Dumbajaw (Am

bassador of Mongolia), Alberto Antonio Guani (Ambassador, Consu late General of Uru guay), Vijay Bhardwaj (Co-in charge Social Media Western UP BGP), Claudio An sorena Monteiro (The Ambassador, Consulate General of the Republic of Costa Rica), (Ginny C. Pascal, First Secre tary, Consulate of Cote d'Ivoire), Annie K Nan

da (First Secretary, Na mibia High Commis sion), Junghwa Kim (Embassy of South Ko rea), Mukesh Kumar Meena (IPS Special Commissioner of Police Delhi), K M Gupta (State Con venor - CA Cell, BJP Delhi) and Udit Arya (Secretary CSS Forum, Government of India) were present on the occasion.

"I believe criticism and body shaming is what we can expect from this profession," says Mannat Goel from Delhi during a chit-chat session with City First

CITY FIRST

Harsh Singh cele brated his birthday on Tuesday at the Skol club in South Del hi. Several renowned per sonalities including Viresh Verma, Akansha Popli,

Meeta Chaturvedi, Akash K Aggarwal, Manuj Shar ma, Reena Rai, Ruhi Gan guly, Shaine Soni, Anil Katoch, Navneet Aro ra, Sanjay Singh, Anuj Lalwani, Anil Lakhwani and Sujay Ghosh graced the occasion with their presence.

FIRST

by artist Surita Tandon

PMO.

MOVIE PROMOTIONS!

Press Conference of the upcoming magnum opus movie PS-1 was organised by Lyca Productions and Madras Talkies on Wednesday. Director Mani Ratnam, Chiyaan Vikram, Aishwarya

Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha and Sobhita Dhulipala graced the occasion with their presence.

Mannat Goel

During the event

Rudraksh and Monica Sharma

Shilpa and Ruhi Ganguly

Anish and Deepika

Bhawna and Ajay Rajpal

Dhiraj and Alisha Singh

Anuj Lawani and Mohit

Shaine Soni

Anchal Sharma

Reena Rai and Akassh K Aggarwal

Navneet Arora and Anil Katoch Manuj Sharma and Viresh Verma

Surita Tandon

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

—PHOTO BY MANOJ KESHARWANI

Meeta Chaturvedi

Harsh Singh and DJ Akanksha Popli