First India-Mumbai Edition-30th November 2022

FIRST INDIA NEWS TURNS 9!

IT’S OFFICIAL!

SIA+TATAS: VISTARA+AIR INDIA

l

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Tata Sons and SIA on Tuesday an nounced that they will merge Vistara into Air India, with a target to complete the process by March 2024 subject to regulatory approvals.

Tata Sons will hold 74.9% stake in the AIVistara-AI Express-Ai rAsia India Pvt Ltd (AAIPL) combined enti ty and SIA remaining 25.1% stake. Based on SIA’s 25.1% stake postcompletion, its share of any additional capital injection could be up to $615 mn, payable after completion of merger.

6 IAS OFFICERS

TRANSFERRED

Mumbai: The govt on Tuesday announced the transfer of six officers of the IAS: Bhagyashree Banait, VN Suryavanshi, Soumya Sharma, SM Kurti, SS Chavan and Tukaram Mundhe. This is Mundhe’s 20th transfer in his 16-year service, and his second in two months.

K’TAKA VS MAHA BORDER BATTLE OVER IN SC TODAY!

New Delhi: A day before the Supreme Court was to hear Maharashtra’s petition on a festering territorial dispute, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai reached New Delhi to meet with BJP chief JP Nadda. He also consulted with senior lawyers, including Mukul Rohatgi, the former Attorney General of India, who will appear for his state. “The border dispute is a political tool used by all parties in Maharashtra,” Bommai has said, adding that Maharashtra’s pleas have not been found valid for years.

The merger of Vistara and Air India is an im portant milestone in our journey to make Air India a truly world-class airline. We are transform ing Air India, with the aim of provid ing great customer experience, every time, for every customer.

—N Chandrasekaran, Tata Sons chairman

Tata Sons is one of the most established and respected names in India. With this merger, we have an opportunity to deepen our relationship with Tata and participate directly in an exciting new growth phase in India’s aviation market and restore AI to its position as a leading airline on the global stage.

—Goh

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

l SIA to invest $250 million after integration is properly completed

l The valuation of the new Air India is more than $1 billion

l AAIPL and Vistara airlines both did carriers did not have a single profitable fiscal

l They have a total of 218 widebody and nar rowbody aircraft

l AAIPL, Vistara serves 38 international and 52 domestic destinations

l Do not worry about your future: Vistara CEO assures 4,700 staffers

We, at Vistara, take immense pride in em barking on this journey. Vistara is a fine manifestation of its parent brands Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, and we are delighted that we will continue to be guided by their legacies as we merge with Air India.

Rane asks Uddhav to give account of his work for Maha!

First India Bureau

Mumbai: “Didn’t he grow up using the names of Prime Minister Nar endra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah?” Union minister and senior BJP leader Narayan Rane asked of Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday.

Rane also raised seri ous allegations against Thackeray, two days after the Shiv Sena chief criti cized the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led rival Sena faction at a farm ers’ meet in Buldhana.

“(He) came to power holding BJP’s hand and then spent 2.5 years with NCP President Sharad Pawar,” he said.

“How much did you steal in those 2.5 years? How much was embez zled when COVID-19 medicines were pur chased? I have proof from firms. Owners are ready to talk. Many peo ple died due to lack of medicine. And they were asking for a percentage,” he alleged.

Sharad Pawar, saying: “Sharad Pawar ji, you were the Chief Minister of this state four times. You said that we will not give any village to Kar nataka, and BJP has also decided that we will not give any village.”

Rane also attacked Thackeray for his si lence on Rahul Gandhi’s comments on VD Sar varkar:

He added: “How many jobs went out of Maha rashtra in two and a half years? Does anyone have an account of this? Ud dhav Thackeray only knows how to make al legations. What work did Uddhav do in two and a half years?”

Choon Phong, SIA CEO

Sanctions-hit Russia asks Ind for parts for key sectors

Moscow: Moscow has sent India a list of over 500 products for po tential delivery in cluding parts for cars, aircraft and trains, four sourc es familiar with matter said, as sanctions squeeze Russia’s ability to keep vital industries

I FEAR RAUT’S LIFE MIGHT BE IN DANGER: BHUJBAL

Nashik: Senior leader of the Nationalist Con gress Party (NCP), Chhagan Bhujbal, has expressed apprehen sion that Shiv Sena –Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction MP Sanjay Raut may be at tacked during his up coming Karnataka visit.

The Karnataka High Court has sum moned him in connec tion with a provocative speech delivered by him a few years ago.

Raut will travel to Kar

nataka for the hearing.

Expressing his views, Bhujbal said that the possibility of an attack on Raut can not be ruled out and his life might be in danger. Therefore, (Union Home Minis ter) Amit Shah should pay attention to it without doing politics. With the Maharash tra-Karnataka border village merger dispute flaring up recently, Bhujbal said that “there is a possibility of an attack on Raut during his visit to Kar nataka.”

running. India is keen to boost trade in this way, said the source, as it tries to narrow a ballooning trade deficit with Russia.

Firms have ex pressed concern, however, about poten tially falling foul of Western sanctions.

—Vinod Kannan, Vistara CEO

On the border row be tween Maharashtra and Karnataka, Rane ad dressed NCP chief

“When injustice was done to a Marathi per son, Uddhav Thackeray never came forward. Ra hul Gandhi came to Ma harashtra and left after giving a statement on Veer Savarkar, these peo ple did not say anything.

Uddhav Thackeray com mitted betrayal in the

Interestingly, Rane also claimed to have proof that actor Sushant Singh Rajput was mur dered.

“Disha Salian and Su shat Singh Rajput did not commit suicide, but were murdered. When the need arises, I will give this evidence to CBI,” he said. Last week, the CBI ruled Salian’s death an accident.

All is not well in Kerala Cong as Venu-Tharoor camps at loggerheads!

Centre ‘gives’ Bombay HC 2 judges

New Delhi: Following the recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium on Tuesday, the Union gov ernment cleared the names of two advocates for appointment as Bombay High Court judges. The two advo cates--Santosh Govin drao Chapalgaonkar and Milind Manohar Sathaye--were approved for appointment as ad ditional judges of the Bombay HC. Interest ingly, the apex court was in ‘anguish’ as a result of the delay in ap pointments on the Cen tre’s end.

Notably, only last Fri day, the Centre had turned down the rec ommendation of 10

judges forwarded by the Supreme Court Col legium. In fact, a bench comprising Justice SK

Kaul and Justice AS Oka observed that when the Collegium ‘re iterates a name, it is end of chapter.’ It also asked the Union gov ernment to resolve the delay and gave fair warning so as to not make the court take a judicial decision in this regard. While com menting on the matter, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju stressed on t he fact that govern ments used to pick judges before 1991 and that the existing system was an outcome of judi cial order and alien to the Constitution.

Bengaluru: It seems that trouble is brewing in Kerala Congress and ‘ALL IS NOT WELL’ in the state unit as the KC Venugopal and Shashi Tharoor camps have reportedly come face to face. Former Ker ala Congress President Muraleedharan said on Tuesday that those dreaming of becoming Kerala CM are the same people that are engaged in opposing Tharoor.

“Opponents were also behind the cancellation of the Kozhikode Youth Congress program,” he claimed. There was rhetoric regarding Kozhikode, Malabar and Malappuram phase of yatra and now Kerala Congress sources have revealed that KC’s name is in CM race in case of formation of govt.

But on the other hand, Tharoor’s stature has in creased after the Con gress president election.

“Tharoor had performed well in elections even without any support. A large part of Kerala Youth Congress also sup ported Tharoor,”sources said. Notably, disturbed by the news of rebellion, Shashi Tharoor made it clear that he has no in tention to form any party.

“I will work for Congress, and have no intention to form any other party. But at whose behest the Kozhikode program was cancelled should be probed,” he said. Mean while, on Tuesday, KC reached Jaipur to resolve the issue of Rajasthan.

name of Hindutva.”

Union min claims Uddhav came up the political ladder holding PM Modi’s and Amit Shah’s hands but stabbed them in back. He questioned how much money Thackeray made from nCoV medicines

Disha Salian and Sushant Singh Rajput did not commit suicide; they were murdered. I have evidence, which I will give the CBI when the need arises.

—Narayan Rane, Union Minister

First India Bureau

l Tatas and Singapore Airlines agree to merge Vistara & Air India by March 2024

25.1 per cent stake for the Singapore Airlines (SIA) in “new Air India (AI)”

Pramod Raghavan

New Delhi: Reliance Jio users across the country are facing issues making calls and sending messages. Several users took to Twitter to complain about the issue. While some claimed that they are unable to make calls, others said that they are unable to send/receive messages and use internet from Jio.

Mumbai: Adani Group has emerged as the highest bidder for the 259-hectare Dharavi Redevelopment Project on Tuesday. The group has put in a `5,069 crore bid for redevelopment of one of the largest slum sprawls in world, CEO of project SVR Srinivas said.

‘MEDIA MUST REPORT VERY CAUTIOUSLY ON TERROR NEWS’

New Delhi: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday advised caution while live reporting terror attacks, saying it should not provide clues to attackers and their ill motives while accuracy of news is even more important. P6

KC Venugopal

Shashi Tharoor

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra paid a courtesy visit to Honourable Governor of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat at Raj Bhavan Gujarat, in Gandhinagar on Tuesday evening.

COURTESY MEET!

First India News, mostwatched channel in Rajasthan celebrates its ninth anniversary today. The function will be held at the channel office at 6pm, CMD Dr Jagdeesh Chandra and Director, First India News Virendra Choudhary will grace the occasion and greet First India News family.

Advocates Santosh Govindrao Chapalgaonkar and Milind Manohar Sathaye to be elevated to post of addl judges

Dharavi redvt bid: Adani pips DLF

At `5,069 cr, winning bid more than double of 2nd highest `2,025 cr, state govt nod awaited

Mumbai: In a first step of the Dharavi Redevelopment Pro ject, the Adani Group has won the bid to redevelop one of the largest slums in the world.

Emerging as the highest bidder for the 250 hectare (approxi mately) project, the group outbid DLF which had put in a bid of Rs2,025 crore, by quoting Rs5,069 crore for the redevelopment project, said SVR Srin ivas, Chief Executive Officer of the project.

The Naman Group, which was also gun ning to land the pro ject, did not qualify in technical bidding.

“We will now be sending the details to the government, which will consider and give final approv al,” he said, adding that the Maharashtra government will ap prove it in a couple of weeks. The bid is for the entire Rs20,000 crore project, and the total timeline for the project is seven years to rehabilitate the sev en lakh slum dwellers who are spread over 2.5 sq km area right

MAN HELD FOR STALKING TWO GIRLS IN MUMBAI

now, said Srinivas. The project, which will help the winning bidder to book high revenues by selling lakhs of square foot of residential and com mercial space in cen tral Mumbai, has been in limbo for many years now because of its complexities.

Eight bidders, in cluding entities from South Korea and the UAE, had attended a pre-bid meet held in

BIG NUMBERS

October and three of them actually bid for the project. Naman Group, a city-based de veloper, was the third whose bid did not qual ify. The government

FIR AGAINST RAGA FOR SAVARKAR STATEMENT?

Mumbai: A 30-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly chasing two girls returning from a tuition class in suburban Andheri in his friend’s car, police said on Tuesday.

The friend of the accused is on the run. Both the men hail from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and had come to Mumbai to meet their friend, who lives in subur ban Jogeshwari, a police official said. The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when the girls were returning home after attending a tuition class.

Mumbai: An FIR may be lodged against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for saying that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar helped the British, during his “Bharat Jodo Yatra” in Maharashtra. Savarkar’s great-grandson Ranjit Savarkar wrote a com plaint letter to the police, on the basis of which, the Mumbai Police has completed the entire initial process before filing a FIR. According to sources, political circles are abuzz with the rumour that a FIR may be registered against Gandhi.

DOG WALKER THRASHED, PET KICKED FOR REFUSING TO EXIT LIFT AT HOUSING SOCIETY

Mumbai: A 24-year-old dog walker was beaten up and a pet dog was kicked for refusing to alight an elevator in a housing complex in the western suburb Sakinaka here, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place at Arum housing society in Nahar Amrit Shakti area on Monday night, an official said. After slapping the victim twice, the accused snatched a stick from his hands and started beating him with it.

MAN ATTACKS WIFE, MURDERS SISTER-IN-LAW

Mumbai: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader Prakash Ambedkar on Tuesday asked the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to clarify if there would be an alliance between the VBA and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Already a member of the MVA coalition with the Nationalist Congress Party and Congress, the Thackeray faction of the Sena is in talks with the VBA for a tie-up. “Our ear lier talks were positive, and now want the Uddhav-led Sena to clarify if there will be an MVA-VBA alliance in future polls, or if VBA and Sena will have separate al liances,” VBA said. Prakash Ambedkar is the grandson of late Dr BR Ambedkar.

Thane: In a shocking incident in Badlapur a husband killed his sister-in-law when she came to settle down the property dispute between husband and wife. The incident took place on Monday, November 28 and the police have arrested the husband said a police officer from Badalapur police station on Tuesday. The accused also attacked his wife and mother-in-law and injured them.

has sought a consoli dated net worth of a minimum of Rs20,000 crore to choose the winning bid, and is likely to evaluate both technical and finan

HC adjourns Deshmukh bail petition hearing until Dec 02

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bom bay High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on the bail plea of former home minister Anil Deshmukh in a case of corruption and misuse of power till December 02.

Senior counsel Vikram Chaudhari, ap pearing for Deshmukh, sought an early hearing as Deshmukh has been in jail since November last year. A single bench of Justice MS Karnik could not begin the hear ing on Tuesday as Addi tional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing

for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), unable to appear in court due to ill health.

Deshmukh (73) had approached the HC after a special CBI court re jected his bail plea last month. He sought bail both on medical grounds and merits.

cial eligibility before awarding the project to the highest bidder.

The winning bidder is required to form a special purpose vehi cle (SPV) for executing the project, and a stag gered timeline of in vestments has also been stipulated by the state government. The developer has to take care of rehabilitation, renewal, amenities and infrastructure components.

DHARAVI’S HISTORY

Located on the northernmost tip of Mumbai, Dharavi was one of the origi nal six koliwadas, or fisherfolk settle ments, according to the Slum Rehabilita tion Authority. As the city expanded, this one-time swamp transformed into a decrepit urban sprawl on government land with a flourishing economy. The plan to give slumdwellers homes was first mooted by architect Mukesh Mehta in 1997. The process started in 2003-04, when the state decided to redevelop Dharavi as an integrated planned township, and an action plan was approved in February 2004. The government decided to cross-subsidize the cost of develop ment by allowing developers to retain part of the land to be sold at market prices outside the slum rehabilitation scheme.

Baba Ramdev says sorry for remark on women’s clothes

Mumbai (PTI): Yoga guru Ramdev has apologized for his re mark on women for which the Maharash tra State Commission for Women (MSCW) had issued him no tice, the panel’s chairperson Rupali Chakankar said.

At an event where he had shared the stage with Amruta Fad navis—the wife of Dep uty Chief Minister Dev endra Fadnavis—last week, Ramdev had said women can look good in anything, saree, salwar kameez or “even when they wear nothing”.

Taking cognizance of the comment, the MSCW had issued a no tice to Ramdev to which he responded with an apology. Chakankar in a tweet on Monday

said: “Baba Ramdev aka Ram Kisan Yadav used lowly language against women at a public event in Thane. The state commission for women took cogni zance of it and sent him a notice seeking his response in two days. The commission has received his re sponse and he has sought an apology for his comments.”

Ramdev in his re sponse claimed his re marks were miscon strued and apologized for the comments.

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has ad journed the hearing on the bail application of “encounter specialist” and former cop Pradeep Sharma in the Mansukh Hiren mur der case. The next hearing on the matter will be held on Decem ber 01. In its previous order, the court had or dered Singh to present CCTV footage of the al leged meeting between Sharma and disgraced cop Sachin Waze on March 03, 2021.

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Modifying its status quo order, the Su preme Court on Tues day allowed the Mum bai Metro Rail Corp. Ltd (MMRCL) to pursue its application before the Tree Authority seeking permission for the fell ing of 84 trees for metro car shed in Mumbai’s Aarey region.

The court said that the tree authority will be at liberty to take an appropriate decision on

MMRCL’s application by imposing suitable conditions.

The court observed that the state govern ment’s decision to re store the location of the car shed at Aarey, re versing the decision of the previous govern ment to relocate the same to Kanjurmarg, was based on relevant

considerations.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha said, “It would be im possible for this court to stay the decision at the interim stage.”

Prima facie, the Bombay HC holds as valid the felling of the trees as well as the de

cision to locate the metro car shed at Aar ey, the bench said.

It also noted that the state considered sev eral factors, such as the Central govern ment’s letter and ex pert committee re ports, while deciding on restoration of Met ro car depot for Metro line 3 at Aarey.

First India Bureau

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project had been in limbo for several years due to its complexities. —FILE PHOTO

Ex-cop Pradeep Sharma’s bail plea hearing adjourned

Mahila Congress members protest against Baba Ramdev over his controversial remarks, in Mumbai on Nov 26. —PHOTO BY PTI

Former Maha Home minister Anil Deshmukh —FILE PHOTO

had said women can look good in anything, or even ‘when they wear nothing’ at an event

A large-scale fire that broke out on Tuesday behind IT Park in Mumbai’s Goregaon hills area, where the Sanjay Gandhi National Park is located, could be seen from miles away.

NHRC notice to govt, DGP over sexual abuse at shelter home

New Delhi: Taking cognizance of media reports that several minor girls have ac cused the director of a private shelter home in Nagpur of sexual exploitation, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued no tices to the Maha rashtra government and the Director-Gen eral of Police, offi cials said on Tuesday.

“Prima facie, it is ap parent that the district authorities concerned have ‘failed’ to conduct proper supervision at the shelter home, which is being run within their jurisdic tion,” the NHRC said in a statement.

Harshal More was arrested after a 14-yearold girl filed a com plaint of rape against

him last week. A case has been registered against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Since then, at least five more residents of the Gyandeep Gurukul Adhar Ashram shelter home for girls—includ ing four minors—have told the police that

they were also sexual ly exploited by the 28-year-old who was in charge of running the institution meant to protect them.

“These media re ports, if true, raise the very serious issue of human rights viola tions,” the NHRC said, adding that it has is sued notices to the chief secretary and the direc tor general of police,

11L aspirants apply to fill 18.3K posts in Maha police

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Authorities have received more than 11 lakh applica tions for the 18,331 va cant posts of consta bles, drivers, and State Reserve Police Force personnel, an official said on Tuesday.

The massive surge of aspirants attempting to log in to fill out the ap plication form caused the government’s web site to slow down consid erably, but the issue has now been rectified, the official stated.

The online applica tion process opened on November 09, and Wednesday is the last day to apply. So, many job aspirants tried to register on the website until late at night on Monday, he said.

“Till noon Monday, we received 10.74 lakh appli cations, but now we can say we have already re ceived more than 11 lakh applications,” the offi cial said, adding, “It seems we will get more applications.”

2 cops held for corruption

Palghar: A police naik and a consta ble have been ar rested for taking a bribe of Rs10,000, Anti-Corruption Bureau officials said on Tuesday.

The duo, posted at the Palghar railway police station, had al legedly demanded the money from a person to allow the

transportation of banned tobacco products, Deputy Su perintendent of Po lice (ACB- Palghar) Navnath Jagtap said, adding that the ac cused were nabbed red-handed on Mon day after the person filed a complaint.

The two cops are fac ing charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the official said.

seeking a detailed re port within six weeks.

The Commission has also sought to know if the victim, especially the minor ones, were provided with any counselling.

Further, the NHRC has also asked PN Dix it, the commission’s Special Rapporteur for Maharashtra, to in spect the shelter home located in Mhasrul and

submit a detailed re port within two months. This report is expected to cover the safety, security, and vulnerability of the in mates, as well as details on their food, habita tion, health and wel fare, and measures be ing taken to improve their living standards.

Couple moves HC over district surrogacy board

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A local couple has moved the Bombay High Court seeking direc tion to the state gov ernment to set up a district surrogacy board as per provi sions of the Surro gacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, and to process registra tions of fertility clinics in Mumbai.

A division bench headed by Justice SV Gangapurwala on Monday sought the government’s re sponse to the plea and posted it for hearing on December 12.

As per the petition, the husband and wife, both in their 40s now, got married in 2016. The woman has been suffering from diabe tes and other related ailments since a young age. She failed to con ceive following which they approached vari ous fertility clinics and

experts, but it did not result in pregnancy.

According to the plea, the couple then decided to go for sur rogacy, but learnt that not a single clinic has received registration for surrogacy yet.

The plea claimed de

spite there being a law pertaining to surroga cy and Assisted Repro ductive Techniques (ART), no clinic in Mumbai is allowed to process surrogacy ap plications. Even the district surrogacy board is yet to be set up, it added.

“Prohibiting the pe titioners from under going ART procedures would be against the fundamental rights en shrined under Articles 14 and 21 of the Consti tution of India,” the plea said.

Govt not serious in tackling measles: Tope

First India Bureau

Jalna: Former Maha rashtra Health Minis ter, Rajesh Tope, on Tuesday alleged the state government is not serious in tackling the measles outbreak. He claimed 14 children have died due to mea sles in the state so far, but the government is not doing enough.

“Healthcare is the prime responsibility of the state, which should wake up from its slum

ber,” he said in Jalna.

Tope, who was the health minister in the

previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) govern ment, suggested the

Ex health min urges govt to speed up inoculations, 14 kids have died so far

government form task forces, speed up the vac cination programme and spread awareness about measles.

Mumbai reported 11 fresh cases of the viral infection and one sus pected death, said a Brihanmumbai Munic

ipal Corporation (BMC) official.

The latest additions take the infection tally to 303 so far this year. There have been eight of confirmed deaths due to measles and three deaths in in which measles is suspected to be the cause of death.

The BMC has said 1,34,833 children in the age group of nine months to five years will receive the additional dose (special dose) from December 01.

FOB restored after accident, Rly launches inquiry

First India Bureau

Nagpur: Even as 90 labourers worked in shifts under the su pervision of 10 per sonnel to finish the restoration work on the foot over bridge (FOB) at Balharshah railway station, sen ior administrativegrade railway au thorities have launched an investi gation into the mis hap, officials said.

A 48-year-old woman

was killed and 12 per sons were injured as they fell on a railway

track after a pre-case slab of the FOB con necting platform 1 and

2 at Balharshah rail way station in Chan drapur district fell on November 27.

The work on the FOB—which was mon itored by the Railway Protection Force (RPF)—was completed on Monday night and the structure has been opened for limited pas senger movement, an official said.

All measures were taken to ensure smooth movement of trains, the official said.

Central Railway of ficials tasked with the inquiry say routine maintenance and in spections of the 45-year-old FOB were performed regularly, and refused to com ment further.

The work on a new bridge at the station is expected to be complet ed by the end of Janu ary 2023. The bridge will help ease the movement of passen gers at the station, an official added.

haar-related issues.

First India Bureau

Mumbai: According to a report by the state Education De partment, around 19.5 lakh students in Maharashtra do not have Aadhaar cards and nearly 59 lakh face related problems in the student regis tration process, Sys tematic Administra tive Reforms for Achieving and Learn

ing by Students (SARAL) for govern ment and aided and unaided schools.

The data was collect ed ahead of the teacher approval process, where posts of teachers allot ted to each school are decided based on the number of students en rolled. Students with valid Aadhaar cards are considered enrolled.

The data revealed that about 91% of stu

dents have an Aadhaar enrollment, of which, 18% is invalid. Of the total 2,33,13,762 chil dren enrolled in gov ernment and aided schools across Maha rashtra, 19,55,515 do not have Aadhaar cards. Out of the 2,13,58,247 children who have Aadhaar cards, 40,01,250 are in valid, which means their enrollment will not be counted.

The registration of students carried out by teachers every year us ing the students’ Aad haar numbers every year is mandatory for

The poor handling of Aadhaar card services has caused several errors in the names of students and parents, date of birth, address, as well as other personal information.

all government, aided, and unaided schools.

According to a sen ior official from the Education Depart ment, an Aadhaar card is mandatory for stu dents to avail of bene fits such as mid-day meals, textbooks, school uniforms and

many more. From Jan uary 2023, students, who are registered on the portal with an Aad haar card will only be able to avail of the midday meal scheme.

There is a possibility that these students will be deprived of these benefits due to Aad

Meanwhile, the edu cation department is sued a circular on No vember 27, giving a deadline of December 03 to schools for mak ing Aadhaar available to students not having unique identification cards.

Students with errors in their information have been given a dead line of December 10 to rectify the errors and students with invalid Aadhaar cards can up date their data or ob tain Aadhaar by De cember 20, according to the circular.

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

The bridge was restored Monday night, and opened to limited foot traffic.

—PHOTO BY PTI

—Mahendra Ganpule, Spokesperson, Maharashtra State Principals’ Federation

WHY THE ‘HASTE’ & ‘LIGHTNING SPEED’

Editor,

The Supreme Court last week had questioned the “haste” and “tearing hur ry” in appointing Arun Goel as Election Commis sioner. The Centre had ve hemently resisted the ob servations, with the attor ney general asking the court to “hold its mouth” for a while and look into the issue in entirety.

At the outset, a fivejudge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Jo seph perused the Centre’s original file pertaining to Goel’s appointment as EC, and said, “What kind of evaluation is this? Al though, we are not ques tioning the merits of Arun Goel’s credentials but the process.”

Top Court last week had questioned the “haste” and “tearing hurry” in appointing Arun Goel as Election Commissioner. Centre had vehemently resisted the observations, with the attorney general asking the court to “hold its mouth” for a while and look into the issue in entirety.

Bench, which also comprised Justices Aniruddha, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar, said none of 4 names in panel were “carefully handpicked” by law min so that they could complete 6-year tenure

As the bench questioned the “lightning speed” with which Goel was appointed as Election Commissioner and also that his file did not even move within depart ments for 24 hours, the Cen tre through Attorney Gen eral Venkataramani vehe mently urged the bench not to make observations with out looking into the entire issue pertaining to the ap pointment process.

During the hearing, law yer Prashant Bhushan tried to make submissions before the bench while the Attorney General was speaking. “Please hold your mouth for a while,” the top-most law officer had told Bhushan.

The Supreme Court re served its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking a collegium-like system for the appointment of ECs and the Chief Election Commissioner and asked the parties to file written submission in five days.

Justice Ajay Rastogi, who is also a part of the bench, told Venkatarama ni, “You have to listen to the court carefully and an

ARTICLE 324 OF THE CONSTITUTION TALKS ABOUT APPT OF ECs

Supreme court flagged Article 324 of the Constitution, which talks about the ap pointment of election commissioners, and said it does not provide the procedure for such appointments. Moreover, the article had envisaged the enactment of a law by Parlia ment in this regard, which has not been done in the last 72 years. The court also noted that since 2004, no Chief Election Commissioner has completed his six-year tenure and during the 10-year rule of the UPA government, there were six Chief Election Commissioners and in the eight years of the NDA government, there have been 8 Chief Election Commissioners.

swer the questions. We are not on individual candi dates but on the process.”

The Attorney General said he is bound to answer the questions of the court.

The Supreme Court said the 1985-batch IAS officer got voluntary retirement from service in a single day, his file was cleared by the Law Ministry in a sin gle day, a panel of four names were put up before the Prime Minister and Goel’s name got the nod from the President within 24 hours.

The bench, which also comprised Justices Anir uddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar,

APEX COURT OBJECTS TO LAW MINISTER RIJIJU’S REMARKS ON COLLEGIUM SYSTEM

enough also. With an interview… I am not saying anything else…” The judge, who is junior only to CJI in seniority, asked AG R Venkataramani to “resolve” the issue, according to Bar and Bench, adding, “Don’t make us take a judicial decision [to ensure that files are cleared].”

Over the past few months, Rijiju has taken repeated swipes at the collegium system.

said none of the four names in the panel were “carefully hand-picked” by the law minister so that they could complete a sixyear tenure.

Venkataramani said that there is a mechanism and criteria for selection and there cannot be a sce nario where the govern ment has to look back at every officers’ track record and ensure that he com pletes a six-year tenure.

Under the Election Com mission (Conditions of Ser vice of Election Commis sioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991, an Election Commissioner can have a tenure of six

years or up to the age of 65, whichever is earlier. Speak ing on Arun Goel’s appoint ment, the Attorney Gener al said his profile is impor tant and not the voluntary retirement matter which is being made an issue.

The bench said the 1991 Act says that the Election Commissioner’s tenure is of six years and the gov ernment has to ensure that the person who holds the post completes the stipu lated period. The Apex Court said it is “strug gling” to find the reasons and objects on how the law minister selected a panel of four names who were not going to complete the

BUILDING OF A SHOWDOWN

s the executive and judiciary heading for a showdown?

Both sides have exchanged harsh words on the process to be adopted for appointment of judges.

The Centre argues that the collegium system is opaque and “alien to the Constitu tion”, while the Supreme Court’s argument is that the National Judicial Ap pointments Commission Act, which the government wants implemented, was struck down by a majority verdict of a Constitution bench hence was not rele vant. The Centre appears in no mood to follow that verdict.

Law Minister Kiren Riji ju, who has been critical of the collegium system for appointment of judges, fired the first salvo after the Supreme Court blamed the

India LAW MINISTER KIREN RIJIJU, WHO HAS BEEN CRITICAL OF THE COLLEGIUM SYSTEM FOR APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES, FIRED THE FIRST SALVO AFTER THE SUPREME COURT BLAMED THE CENTRE FOR SITTING OVER NAMES RECOMMENDED BY THE COLLEGIUM

Centre for sitting over names recommended by the collegium. “The Centre is frustrating the appoint ment process of judges in higher judiciary by not clearing names recom mended by its collegium”. Warning the Centre to re

solve the issue and “not force it to take decision on the judicial side”. Rijiju’s response further irked the court. Rijiju said, “Never say that the government is sitting on the files, then don’t send the files to the government, you appoint

yourself, you run the show.”

The exchange did not stop here. Justice SK Kaul of the Supreme Court re torted, “Let them give the power. We have no diffi culty…when somebody high enough says let them do it themselves, we will do

it ourselves, no difficulty”. On Monday Justices Kaul and AS Oka urged the gov ernment’s law officers to ensure that the law laid down by the apex court for judges’ appointment is fol lowed. This may not be the end of the story.

stipulated six-year tenure.

On last Wednesday, Arun Goel’s appointment as an Election Commissioner came under the scrutiny by the top court which had sought from the Centre the original records pertaining to his appointment for pe rusal, saying it wanted to know whether there was any “hanky panky”.

The Apex Court, which had rejected the Centre’s objections to its order for producing the original file, had said it wanted to know whether everything was “hunky dory” in the ap pointment process as claimed by the government.

On November 19, Arun

Goel, a Punjab cadre IAS officer, was appointed as election commissioner. Goel would be in line to be the next CEC after incum bent Rajiv Kumar demits office in February 2025. His total tenure in the Election Commission would be over five years.

He will join Rajiv Ku mar and Election Commis sioner Anup Chandra Pan dey on the poll panel. Arun Goel was the secretary in the Ministry of Heavy In dustries till recently and his voluntary retirement came into effect on No vember 18. He has also served in the Union cul ture ministry.

The bench said since 1990, voices have been raised from various quar ters and once, veteran BJP leader LK Advani had written for a collegiumlike system for constitu tional bodies, including election commissioners. The top court also termed the exploitation of the “si lence of the Constitution” and the absence of a law governing the appoint ments of ECs and CECs a “disturbing trend”.

The court flagged Article 324 of the Constitution, which talks about the ap pointment of election com missioners, and said it does not provide the procedure for such appointments. Moreover, the article had envisaged the enactment of a law by Parliament in this regard, which has not been done in the last 72 years. The court also noted that since 2004, no CEC has completed his six-year ten ure and during the 10-year rule of the UPA govern ment, there were six CECs and in the eight years of the NDA government, there have been eight CECs.

On November 17, the Centre had vehemently opposed a batch of pleas seeking a collegium-like system for the selection of CECs and ECs, contending that any such attempt will amount to amending the Constitution.

TOP TWEETS

Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp

Even though the Prime Minister @narendramodi’s government is giving money for houses in the housing scheme, West Odisha has been neglected in the allocation of houses. The Modi government has provided toilets in Swachh Bharat Yojana, money to farmers in Pradhan Mantri Kisan Yojana, piped water to every house, and gas in Jwarja Yojana.

Bhupender Yadav @byadavbjp

Met with Karnataka Chief Minister Shri @BSBommai ji today. We spoke in detail about several issues concerning the sustainable development of the state.

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Bible

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Apex Court bench of SK Kaul and Abhay S Oka objected to Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s remarks that the government is not sitting on files recommending the appointment or transfer of judges. “Never say that the government is sitting on the files. Then don’t send the files to the govern ment, you appoint yourself, you run the show then,” Rijiju had said. Justice Kaul said on Monday, “When someone high enough says that..it should not have happened…Mr [attorney general] I have ignored all press reports, but this has come from somebody high

ROBIN ROY

Campaigning ends for first phase of Gujarat polls; Shah attacks Congress

Rahul Gandhi once advised people against taking Covid-19 vaccine, says Amit Shah

First India Bureau

Kheda: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi used to warn people against taking the Covid-19 vaccine terming it `Modi vac cine’, but later got vac cinated himself secretly.

Addressing a cam paign rally in pollbound Gujarat, he also

COMPULSION

New Delhi: The Centre clarified to the Supreme Court that there was no legal compulsion to get a Covid vaccination. In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Centre submitted that the concept of informed consent is inapplicable to the voluntary use of a drug. “While the GoI strongly encourages all eligible persons to take vax in public interest, there is no legal com pulsion for the same,” the affidavit read.

DEATH PENALTY TO 2 BY ODISHA COURT FOR RAPING MINOR

Paradip: Two persons were sentenced to death by a fast-track court in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur on Tuesday for raping & killing an eight-year-old girl. The incident hap pened in 2014 in Tirtol PS area. The girl was returning home from a shop after buying choc olates when allegedly four people took her to a secluded spot, and raped her. They killed her after that, according to the prosecution.

RIJIJU CROSSED ‘LAKSHMAN REKHA’: SALVE

New Delhi: Displeased over Kiren Rijiju’s recent remarks on the run-ins between the govt and the judiciary over the functioning of the Colle gium, Senior Advocate Harish Salve said the Union Law Minister had crossed the ‘Laksh man Rekha’. Rijiju had criticised the Supreme Court’s observation that the govt was sitting on files relating to appoint ment of judges cleared by Collegium.

said that when he intro duced the bill for abro gating Article 370, op position leaders began to shout like crows in Parliament.

“When Congress

leaders were busy do ing politics during the pandemic, Prime Min ister Narendra Modi worked hard to keep the people of Gujarat safe,” he added. Modi, as

chief minister, estab lished peace in Gujarat, Shah said. “In Gujarat, Congress did nothing except making Hindus and Muslims fight each other. The BJP govern

Rahul gan dhi used to warn people against vaccine say ing do not take `Modi vaccine’ and it could harm you. But thank fully, no one takes him seriously nowadays.

—Amit Shah, Union Home Minister

NADDA: CONG, AAP LIKE QUAILS, WILL FLY AWAY AFTER DESTROYING CROPS

Ahmedabad: BJP president J P Nadda on Tuesday said the opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party were like quails who destroy standing crops and fly away. The BJP was here to stay, he said at a rally in tribal-dominated Devgadh Baria town of Dahod district where voting will be held on December 5 in the sec ond phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections.

ment eliminated riots in Gujarat. Such riots benefit neither Hindus nor Muslims. Such vio lence only hinders de velopment,” the Union minister said.

‘DO YOU HAVE 100 HEADS LIKE RAVAN?’, ASKS KHARGE

New Delhi (ANI): Days after PM Narendra Modi clapped back at a Con gress leader’s “aukat” comment, the party’s new chief Mallikarjun Kharge has delivered a new controversy for the party, just before the Gu jarat election, by target ing PM with a “Ravan” reference.

The BJP has accused Kharge of “insulting Gu jarat’s son” repeatedly. Kharge made the com ments while addressing a rally in Ahmedabad ahead of polls next month. “Modi ji is PM but forgetting his work, he keeps campaigning in corporation elections, MLA elections, MP elec tions, and everywhere & all the time he’s talking about himself” Kharge said. “How many times do we see your face? How many forms do you have? Do you have 100 heads like Ravan?” Kharge said, drawing laughter and ap plause from his audience. “Is Modi going to come and work at municipali ty,” Kharge asked.

Congress president Kharge’s “Ravan” barb at PM Modi on Tuesday triggered a slugfest with the BJP slamming it as an insult of every Gujarati and the Opposi tion party calling the attack on its leader “anti-Dalit tirade”.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra asked voters in Gujarat to do “100 per cent voting for the son of the soil” Modi to take “revenge” in a democratic manner for the “insult”, as he invoked various ob

jectionable remarks made by Congress members over the years against the prime minister. BJP leader Amit Malviya said, “Unable to take the heat of Gujarat election, pushed to the fringe, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge loses control over his words, calls PM Modi “Ravan”. From “Maut ka Saudagar” to “Ravan”, Congress continues to insult Gujarat and it’s son.”

Slamming Malviya, Con gress’ Pawan Khera asked “why can’t you digest the fact that a Dalit who has worked his way up is the elected prez of Cong”.

ON 7th DAY OF BJY IN MP, RAGA REACHES MAHAKALESHWAR

Indore: Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra headed for Ujjain from Sanwer, In dore on the seventh day of its Madhya Pradesh leg on Tuesday. Gandhi and other Congress leaders includ ing former CM Digvijaya Singh, ex-parliamentarian Prem Chand Guddu were seen walking briskly in the morning after the yatra marched towards Ujjain.

Shah was speaking at Thasra town in Kheda district where voting for the Gujarat Assem bly elections will be held on December 5, in the second phase.

“Parties like AAP and Congress emerge during the polls, and then disappear. The people of Gujarat must not give opportunity to those who seek votes by making misleading claims. They are like quails. As soon as the crop gets ready, quails come, and fly away after eating away the entire crop,” said Nadda. Both Con gress and shed “crocodile tears” for tribals but did nothing for them for 70 years, he alleged.

Minister Thakur schools media over reporting on terror attacks

New Delhi (PTI): Infor mation and Broadcast ing Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday ad vised caution while live reporting terror attacks, saying it should not pro vide clues to attackers and their ill motives.

“Media needs to re port with responsibility in the case of earth quakes, fire and more importantly terrorist attacks. Media must en sure that any live re porting in case of ter rorist attack should not provide clues to the at

tackers and their ill mo tives,” Thakur said while addressing the Asia-Pacific Broadcast ing Union (ABU) Gen eral Assembly here.

While the speed with which information is

G-20: India plans mega 200 meetings across fifty cities

New Delhi (ANI): India will be hosting over 200 meetings across the na tion in 50 cities as New Delhi is set to assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to No vember 30, 2023, accord ing to sources.

India will assume the presidency of the Group of 20 (G-20), the alliance of 19 major economies and the Eu ropean Union on De cember 1st of this year.

‘ISIS-led terror still a threat, Ulemas have vital role’

New Delhi (PTI): Em phasising that crossborder and ISIS-inspired terrorism continues to pose a threat, NSA Ajit Doval said on Tuesday that Ulemas have a “vi tal role” to play in coun tering radicalisation and extremism by prop agating progressive ideas and thought. In his opening remarks at a dialogue between the

Indonesian and Indian delegation of Ulema and leaders of other faiths, Doval said the coopera tion of the civil society

is essential in counter ing threat from ISIS-in spired individual terror cells and returnees from theatres like Syria and Afghanistan.

“Cooperation of the civil society is essential in countering the threat from ISIS-inspired indi vidual terror cells and returnees from theatres like Syria and Afghani stan,” Doval said.

CHANGES IN CONGRESS

WOMEN SQUAD OF BSF SHOOTS DOWN DRONE ALONG INDIA-PAKISTAN BORDER

As per the sources, the meetings will take place in less explored parts of country at very exotic locations of India.

PM Modi’s vision is to connect all districts and blocks with G-20 so that the message will reach to masses through Jan Bhagidari initia tives. India will also light up 100 monuments on Dece 1st with the G-20 logo as the country officially takes the pres idency of the grouping.

transmitted is impor tant, accuracy is even more important and should be primary in the minds of communi cators, Thakur said. The Union minister said maintaining public trust should be the high est guiding principle for responsible media or ganisations. Thakur also credited the media for coming to the aid of those stuck at home dur ing the COVID-19 pan demic, saying it con nected people with the outside world.

Earthquake of 2.5 magnitude jolts Delhi, 3rd in 20 days

New Delhi (PTI): An earthquake of magni tude 2.5 struck 8km west of Delhi on Tuesday night at 9.30pm, Nation al Center for Seismolo gy said. The quake struck at a shallow depth of 5km.

However, there were no reports so far of any injury or damage to property. Tremors were felt across the national Capital. This is at least the third earthquake to hit Delhi in the last days.

north of Amritsar city, they said.

Will Sonia-Rahul attend the Dec 4 steering committee meeting?

Sonia Gandhi & Rahul Gandhi find place in steering committee formed by Kharge, now question is, whether they will attend this?

Shamsher Singh

New Delhi: After Mall ikarjun Kharge was ap pointed as Congress President, an interest ing development hap pened. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi found place in the steering committee formed by the new Congress Presi dent Mallikarjun Kharge, but the ques

tion is whether both will attend the first meeting of this committee or not? After stepping down from the post of president, Sonia Gandhi is completely away from everyday political ac tivities. In a way, she has retired as her health is also not very good. Therefore it is possible that she may not attend the steering committee

meeting. When Rahul Gandhi was the presi dent, it happened maybe once in a while that Ra hul had held a working committee meeting and

Sonia did not attend. But barring a few excep tions in the last 24 years, Sonia has held all the meetings.

Rahul Gandhi defi

nitely used to remain absent from many meet ings. But that is a thing of the past. Now he has become a serious and round the clock politi cian. But right now he is undertaking the Bharat Jodo Yatra and there is no news that he will leave the trip and come to Delhi to attend the steering committee meeting. Although he had come to Delhi for Kharge’s oath taking ceremony. But there is no news about coming to Delhi for the steering

committee meeting. It is possible that he may join this meeting through video confer encing facility. But if both Sonia and Rahul are not in the meeting then it will be a big deal and then the whole stage will be in the hands of Kharge. Priyanka Gan dhi Vadra will definitely participate in the meet ing but she usually re mains silent in such meetings. That’s why there is a need to keep an eye on the December 4 meeting.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Police on Tuesday eve ning arrested YSR Tel angana Party chief and Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sister YS Sharmila along with her six as sociates in connection with a protest outside Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s residence. Earlier today, the police had towed away a car with YS Sharmila sitting inside and detained her.

NIA RAIDS 20 PLACES AFTER INFO GIVEN BY LAWRENCE BISHNOI

New Delhi: NIA has conducted raids at 20 spots across Del hi-NCR, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab in connection to the gang ster-terror nexus case. The raids followed after probing six gangsters, including Lawrence Bishnoi, Neeraj Bawana and Tillu Tajpuria. The six gangsters had named several others during questioning and the NIA hunt is on to find them.

Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi & Mallikarjun Kharge. —FILE PHOTO

Union Home Minister Amit Shah waves at his supporters while addressing rally in Kapadvanj, Gujarat on Tuesday.

JP Nadda during the road show in Bhavnagar West on last day of campaigning for the phase 1 Gujarat Elections on Tuesday.

Amritsar: A women squad of the Border Security Force has foiled a cross-border drug-smuggling attempt in Amritsar district by shooting down a drone, which was flying from Pakistan into India with 3.1kg of narcotics, officials said on Tuesday. The troops fired at the drone at on late Monday night after they noticed it enter ing the Indian territory near Chaharpur village, around 40km

V-P JAGDEEP DHANKHAR IN AGARTALA

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar with his wife Sudesh Dhankhar and Tripura CM Manik Saha at a seminar on ‘A New Horizon in the Development of Education’ and an exhibition on ‘Historical & Cultural Heritage of Tripura’, at MBB College, in Agartala on Tuesday.

KHARGE IGNITES ROW

Mallikarjun Kharge while addressing a rally in Gujarat.

Anurag Thakur

BJP SLAMS KHARGE FOR ‘RAVAN’ JIBE AT PM, CONG CALLS IT BJP’S ANTI-DALIT TIRADE

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi performing puja with rituals at the famous Mahakal temple of Lord Shiva in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.

BRIEFS

GOLD PRICE FALLS `101; SILVER ALSO

DECLINES BY `353

DIGITAL RUPEE TRIAL STARTS TOMORROW

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India will launch the first pilot for CBDC (Central Bank Digital Cur rency) or retail digital Ru pee (e ` -R) on December 1, it said on Tuesday.

UK delivering on new FTA with India: Rishi Sunak

IPHONE 15 TO COME WITH NEW SONY CAMERA SENSOR

“The pilot would cover select locations in closed user group (CUG) compris ing participating custom ers and merchants. The e ` -R would be in the form of a digital token that rep resents legal tender. It would be issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued. It would be distributed through intermediaries, i.e., banks,” the RBI said in a statement.

SALIENT FEATURES

z Users will be able to transact with e`-R through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones.

Transactions can be both P2P P2M, the central bank said

z The first phase will begin with SBI, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank in four cities. Later, BoB, UBI, HDFC & Kotak Mahindra Bank will join

z Payments to merchants can be made using QR codes displayed at merchant locations

New Delhi: There’s al most a year left for the ar rival of iPhone 15 series but the rumours and speculations have been endlessly pouring in. In the latest news, the iP hone 15 series is said to use Sony’s new camera sensor that has photodi odes and transistors placed in separate layers, allowing for more photo diodes resulting in well-lit photos. According to a re port, upcoming iPhone 15 series could use Sony’s newest “state of the art” image sensors. — FIB

ONGC GAS PRICE TO BE CAPPED AT $6.5 FOR FIVE YEARS

Users will be able to transact with e₹-R through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones. Transactions can be both Person to Person (P2P) and Person to Mer chant (P2M), the central bank said.

Payments to merchants can be made using QR codes displayed at mer chant locations.

RBI has also selected eight banks for phase-wise participation in this pilot.

OTHER STORIES

The first phase will begin with four banks: State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank in four cities. Later, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will join this pilot.

The pilot will initially be rolled out in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhu baneswar. It will be extend ed to Ahmedabad, Gang tok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow,

DIRECT SELLING INDUSTRY IN INDIA IS SHOWING CONSISTENT GROWTH, SAYS IDSA

New Delhi: Indian Direct Selling Industry is showing consistent growth. The size of the industry has grown rapidly to over $2 billion last year. Indian Direct Selling Asso ciation (IDSA) is the association of the direct selling companies in India and is contributing to the growth and the development of this sector. Worldwide, the Direct Selling industry is estimated to be over $180.5 billion. Indian industry has grown at a CAGR of 15.7% over the past four years despite the COVID-19 pandemic and is likely grown even more rapidly. —ANI

AIRLINE

New Delhi: A govern ment-appointed gas price review panel, led by Kirit Parikh, is recommending a floor and ceiling price for natural gas produced from legacy fields of state-owned firms for five years to help moderate CNG and piped cooking gas rates. State producers Oil and Natural Gas Cor poration (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) will be paid a minimum or floor price of $4 per million British thermal unit and a cap or ceiling price of $6.5 as against the cur rent rate of $8.57, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. —PTI

EXPORTS

OF DEFENCE ITEMS TO REACH `17K CRORE IN FY23

POSITIVE SIGNS

KIA INDIA FORAYS INTO CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED CAR BUSINESS

New Delhi: Automaker Kia In dia on Tuesday said it has com menced certified pre-owned business in the country with a plan to have 30 sales outlets by the end of the year. The company said its certified pre-owned car business ‘Kia CPO’ intends to provide a new age experience to customers, in line with new car buying experience, that will allow them to sell, buy or exchange pre-owned cars, backed by ownership transfers and customised finance options. —PTI

Patna and Shimla. The scope of pilot may be ex panded gradually to in clude more banks and loca tions, the RBI said.

RBI Governor Shakti kanta Das had earlier this month said that the RBI will follow up on the whole sale e-rupee pilot with a similar trial on the retail side this month itself. The broader wish of the RBI is to execute a full-fledged launch of the CBDC “in the near future”, Das said.

Telecom operators may raise tariffs in

2023: Fitch

New Delhi (ANI): Fitch Ratings expects telecom op erators to raise tariffs in 2023, given the focus on profitability by the service providers.

It said Vodafone Idea needs to increase tariffs as its EBITDA generation is insufficient to meet finance costs and to invest suffi ciently in capital expendi ture. The last time the tel ecom operators raised tar iffs was in late 2021.

“We have only one mar ket on an improving out look - India - compared with two (India and Malay sia) in 2022. Only one mar ket - Sri Lanka - is on a de teriorating outlook. Con solidation is likely to con tinue in most markets as weaker participants face the choice whether to be acquired or decline,” it said in a report.

London (PTI): British Prime Minister Rishi Su nak has reiterated the UK’s commitment to a free trade agreement (FTA) with In dia as part of the country’s wider focus on enhancing ties with the strategic IndoPacific region and standing up to competitors with “robust pragmatism”.

The British Indian lead er reflected upon his herit age and committed to pro moting British values of “freedom and openness” around the world.

He also pledged to “do things differently” far re moved from the so-called “golden era” with China, which he said poses a “sys temic challenge” to British values and interests.

“Before I came into poli tics, I invested in business es around the world. And the opportunity in the In do-Pacific is compel ling,” Sunak said.

“By 2050, the In do-Pacific will de liver over half of global growth com pared with just a quarter from Eu rope and North America combined. That’s why

‘PROMOTING BRITISH VALUES’

z Delivering his first major foreign policy speech since taking charge at 10 Downing Street last month at the Lord Mayor of London’s Banquet on Monday night, the British Indian leader reflected upon his heritage and committed to promoting British values of “freedom and openness” around the world

we’re joining the TransPacific trade deal, the CPTPP, delivering a new FTA with India and pursu ing one with Indonesia,” he said.

India and Britain launched negotiations for the FTA in January with an aim to conclude talks by Diwali but the deadline was missed due to a lack of consensus on issues. The focus of the FTA nego tiations is on reduc ing the barriers to trade, cutting tar iffs, and support ing easier imports and exports into each other’s mar kets.

Nilekani foresees ‘significant economic activity’

New Delhi (PTI): India will witness “significant economic activity” over the next decade on the back of open network for digital commerce (ONDC), record aggregating system and government measures like GST, FAStag and e-way bills, Infosys Technologies co-founder and chairman Nandan Nilekani said on Tuesday.

“...there are three big things coming today, which will over the next decade have more of an impact (on India). I believe in the next 10 years India is going to see significant economic activity which is broad based, inclusive and de mocratised,” he said.

The first is, ONDC sec ond is account aggregator framework and the trans formation happening in the logistics sector due to government initiatives like GST, Fastag and the e-way bill, Nilekani said.

Nilekani said he expects the ONDC — an initiative of the government to pro mote an open platform for all aspects of the exchange of goods and services through electronic net works — to begin soon.

Q2 growth likely slowed to 5.8%: SBI

New Delhi (PTI): Citing a weak manufacturing sec tor coupled with the steep margin compression, SBI Research has pencilled in the country’s GDP growth for the second quarter at 5.8%, down 30 basis points from average estimates.

In a report, SBI Research headed by Soumya Kanti Ghosh said corporate re sults, operating profit of companies, excluding banking and financial sec tor, degrew by 14% in

Q2FY23 as against 35% growth in Q2FY22, though the top line continued to grow at a healthier pace.

Net sales grew by 28%, while bottom line was down by around 23% from

DOMESTIC AIR TRAFFIC TOPS 4 LAKH-MARK FOR TWO DAYS

the year ago period. Further, corporate mar gin seems to be under pres sure, as reflected in results of around 3,000 listed enti ties, excluding banking and financial sector, due to higher input costs with de clining operating margins, from 17.7% in Q1FY22 to 10.9% in Q2FY23. Given this and the wide diver gence in market consensus (6.1%) regarding Q2 GDP, SBI sees the economy print ing in at 5.8%.

Sensex, Nifty settle at fresh lifetime highs

New Delhi (PTI): The Sensex and Nifty ended at fresh lifetime peaks on Tuesday amid a largely firm trend in other Asian markets and continuous foreign fund inflows.

FUEL PRICE CUT HOPES RISE AS CRUDE OIL PRICES DROP

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The increased partnership with the pri vate sector has led to a substantial rise in defence exports. India achieved exports of defence items and technology worth a record `13,000 crores in 2021-22 and this figure is likely to rise to `17,000 crores in 2022-23. Several factors like rising demand, greater innovation, more conducive policies and a maturing ecosystem in defence and aerospace manufacturing space are leading to growth. — FIB

New Delhi: A huge drop in crude oil prices have rekin dled hopes in India of a possible reduction in fuel prices.

Benchmark Brent crude fell to its lowest since Janu ary on Monday, with prices dropping $2.6/barrel, or more than 3%, to $80.97.

Apprehension over anoth er production cut by the Opec+ grouping of oil ex porters, including Russia, has contributed to the sharp fall.

The fall in Brent crude oil prices has brought down

the cost of ‘Indian Basket’ – or the mix of crude bought by Indian refiners – to $82/ barrel from an average of

$112.8 in March. This fall has raised hopes of a fuel price cut in India as the current petrol and

LOWEST SINCE JANUARY 2022

z Benchmark Brent crude fell to its lowest since January on Monday, with prices dropping $2.6/barrel, or more than 3 percent, to $80.97

z This fall has raised hopes of a fuel price cut in India as the current petrol and diesel prices reflect oil at about $85/barrel

diesel prices reflect oil at about $85/barrel. Petrol and diesel prices are supposed to be revised

daily but state-owned fuel retailers have not exer cised their rights since April 6. Rates have been on freeze since then except on May 22 when prices were reduced following a cut in excise duty.

Prior to the April freeze, petrol and diesel prices had gone up by ` 10 per litre each. Petrol currently costs `96.72 a litre in the national capital and diesel is priced at `89.62.

If the price reduction happens, this will be the first cut since May 22 when the govt cut excise duty on the two fuels.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 177.04 points or 0.28% to settle at 62,681.84, its fresh record closing high. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 55.30 points or 0.30% to end at 18,618.05, its fresh record closing high. Among the Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, Nestle, Dr Reddy’s, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Titan were gainers.

` FALLS 3 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 81.71/$

New Delhi (PTI): The rupee slipped 3 paise to close at 81.71 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday as rising crude oil prices in the international market weighed on forex market sentiment. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened strong at 81.58 but later slipped into the negative territory. During the session, it touched an intra-day high of 81.57 and a low of 81.74 against the greenback. The local unit finally settled at 81.71.

2ND FRONT

Modi: The country’s biggest crowd puller, who has capacity to convert crowd into votes

z Both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are campaigning in Guja rat and addressing the people in Gujarati. Will that have any ef fect on the voters?

Of course. This is their ‘masterstroke’ as the public connects with it. I hear them addressing the public in Gujarati and I admire them thinking that the elec tion has slipped from the Opposition’s hands. What ever public meet ing they address and some meeting is ad dressed by those who speak in Gujarati, tell me whom will the voter feel connected to more?

Unless the voter is the staunch supporter of the Congress or AAP or any other party. So this is a ‘masterstroke.’ This move has definitely made an impact.

z Will the enormous crowd that is visible in PM’s rallies con vert into votes?

Definitely. I have ob served a difference in the crowd that Naren dra Modi gets in his ral lies, and the crowd that other leaders garner. His crowd is a genuine crowd. Others’ is a crowd that the party as sembles from various places, but that does not convert into votes. But perhaps he (Modi) is God gifted or may be it is his style, or his hard work or commitment that the crowd that as sembled to hear Modi gets converted into votes. That is why you have 50,000 people at places where the maxi mum capacity is to in corporate 30,000 or so.

Similarly, for Amit Shah, the capacity may be 10,000, but there would be 15,000 people attending the rally. So, this crowd should be considered as genuine.

z How despite the stat ure and terror of Amit Shah, so many rebels have jumped into the electoral foray and will they have any ef fect on the overall equation for BJP?

They can hamper the equation albeit only to a limited extent. But they will come to know the real result of their deci sion only after the elec tion. Defying Amit Shah and not acknowledging his orders since he is a senior leader is a techni cal mistake of these re

bels. It so happens that a person learns about the mistake at the very time, or after it shows some result. Of course, they will hamper par ty’s prospects in 32 as semblies. So, the party also assigns the task re garding the ‘damage control’ to 30-35 people. Yes, there will be some damage, but not in the same proportions as they had thought of when they stood for elec tion, because the entire election is focused on Narendra Modi. They won’t be able to hurt much but like everyone else, I am also surprised with the bravery that these candidates have shown.

z So will the Con gress and AAP rebels also result in a simi lar story for their re spective parties? They too have rebels, but they are irrelevant. They are not going to form the government. They aren’t in the race. They are dividing the 40% vote amongst themselves. Only one estimate claims that the Congress will get 60 something seats, re maining all others have denied; So giving only 25-30 seats to Congress & the rebels can cast their affect on those seats. But the rebels can affect the BJP more since their number is greater in BJP while the number of rebels in Congress is not too high. AAP may have one or two rebels, but it does not have any rele vance. So, as far as dam age caused by rebels is concerned, it will be in context of BJP.

z In the entire cam paigning in Gujarat, the Congress has maintained an unu sual silence. Why is it so?

They are afraid. Once long back, Sonia Gan dhi had used the term ‘Maut Ke Saudagar’, then some one else said something else. These days Jairam Ramesh says something or Chi dambaram says some

thing else. But now it is said that they have been told to keep off. They don’t know what issues to pick apart from what they have said in their manifesto. So, they are cautious that as soon as they say anything, Modi-Shah will catch them and a new contro versy would be created. Thus, they have been asked to remain silent and keep off. And ac cording to me, that it is a ‘wise strategy.’

z What are the real is sues in this Gujarat election? Also, what are the issues that the BJP has been making?

The BJP’s main issue has always been ‘Hindutva,’ whether di rectly or indirectly. Then the second issue it raises is of the double engine government, and their third issue has always been of de velopment, Remaining all other issues are based on a short time span. Even in their manifesto, they ad dressed issues of farm ers, youth, students etc.

But BJP’s basic key is sues are the ones which have been aforemen tioned.

z And what does the Congress’ manifesto say?

The Congress’ mani festo is based on prom ises. They do not want to get into any contro versy. So, firstly they promised OPS Scheme which is given by Ashok Gehlot. Based on this, they are hoping to win the election in Himachal too. Here too they have promised the same and made it an issue. Then they have promised em ployment to 10 lakh peo ple. Thereafter, bring ing the ‘Chiranjeevi Scheme’ like Rajasthan

has been promised as well. Then come free electricity and women centric schemes. So major issues they have addressed and prom ised are is OPS, employ ment and the ‘Chiran jeevi Scheme.’

z Talking about promises, what has AAP promised or made into an issue?

AAP has only one promise. They promise everything to be free. Free electricity, water, education etc. And they also say that they will give everything for free and cite the example of Delhi and Punjab, where they have actu ally implemented their ‘free’ agenda. It is a separate issue that now a debate has started in the nation regarding freebies.

z After Delhi and Punjab, now AAP has promised freebies in Gujarat. What do you think will be its effect? It won’t have much ef fect. An effect can hap pen only in totality and that is when the voters, as a whole, become ‘game- changer.’ Now that we have already made an assessment that these parties will be restricted within 9 seats and other survey claims not more than 15-20 seats. These is sues will perhaps bring AAP to a few seats.

z So by that meas ure, do you think BJP will taste victo ry in the New Delhi’s MCD elections?

BJP is making its best attempt to win the elec tions. It has got all its Central Ministers and Chief Ministers to cam paign there. But my analyses is that it will be difficult to bring

Modi’s crowd is a genuine crowd. Others’ is a crowd that the party assembles from various places, but that does not convert into votes. But perhaps he (Modi) is God gifted or may be it is his style, or his hard work or commitment that the crowd that assembles to hear Modi gets converted into votes. That is why you have 50,000 people at places, where the maximum capacity is to incorporate 30,000 or so

down AAP. They (BJP) may come close to in number of wards, but AAP gets ruled out or is routed, I don’t see that happening. Astrologers claim that though AAP will not have any major victory in Assembly elections, but in local body elections, AAP cannot be ruled out.

z Then why is BJP’s entire campaign fo cused on negative propaganda on AAP? Everything is fair in love and war. Secondly, what BJP has done, like the videos and stings of AAP, they are all genu ine. They can’t deny that they haven’t taken money. They cannot deny that a person was massaging their leader,

who has a rape case against him, in jail. They also can’t deny that they sold their tick ets. So, it can be termed as BJP’s negative cam paign on AAP, but it is based on facts and is logical as well.

z How do you analyse the ‘Women Factor’ in these elections con sidering a lot of women are now tak ing to active politics? The factor is reasonable and although it is not in proportion with the number of women in society, still the number of active women in pol itics is reasonable. BJP has fielded 17 female candidates and Con gress has fielded 14, while AAP has fielded

7, so there has been a reasonable representa tion of Gujarati women in these election.

z But if we look closely, it seems that the political parties do not give that rele vance to women or to put in another way, they are not given as many tickets as men? There must be a tactical or political reason for it. Considering that all po litical parties eye wom en voters and introduce schemes for them. There are talks of 50% reser vation, 35% reservation, laws are framed for them and lots of other steps are taken, but when it comes to ground reality, I think, that the parties do not get win ning candidates in good numbers and hence women do not get more tickets. Look at Con gress, they brought the slogan ‘Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon’ during Ut tar Pradesh polls, but they did not bring that slogan to Gujarat. So, every party has this rule to give tickets according to the representation in their organisation.

z But luring the fe male voters is also im portant. So what are the promises made by all three parties?

You can’t ignore the fe male voters as they are almost 48% i.e. almost half of 4.90 crore total voters in the State. Thus, the parties will have to bring populist schemes like free education, free gas cylinder, free elec tricity, free scooty or free computers. These are some of the things every government and party engages in.

z What is this ‘5P’ that is being heard in the Gujarat election?

Narendra Modi brings out a new miracle from his hat every day. This ‘5P’ will be a success and everyone is observ ing how successful it will be. He gives a slo gan and that becomes super hit. He gave the slogan ‘Lets make Guja rat’ and that became hit. Now he has given this ‘5P,’ and that has already become a hit amongst the masses.

z Will the Morbi bridge collapse re sult in any effect on these elections? There was a probability that it could have cast some effect, but BJP handled the entire epi sode with utmost grit and smartness. It could not become an issue. Secondly. political par ties have their own inter est. Some tried to make it an issue and I read that 132 people died, but no party is ready to give away its vote. Congress has made an issue over it and has said that 132 people have died and FIR has been registered then at least name the con tractor in the FIR or form a Judicial Commis sion or do something else in the matter. Chid ambaram said no one apologised, no case was registered and no one resigned. But still Morbi incident has not had that big an effect, as much as the people were hoping it would have had. Then BJP played a master stroke in this. The per son, who saved the peo ple, Kanubhai, the party gave him a ticket. So, Morbi has a moral

but I don’t think it will become a major is

show #Modialltheway trended top All-India on Twitter

influ ence,

sue in this election.

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Bharat24-Vision of New India and First India, CMD First India News, highlights what sets Modi led BJP campaign apart from other parties in Gujarat, how the issues created by other parties have become inconsequential, what role rebels will play in hurting BJP and what will be their political future post election. Dr Chandra also stresses that AAP may perhaps perform better in MCD elections than assembly elections and that the Morbi bridge collapse incident was handled superbly by BJP due to which the Opposition parties have not been able to make an issue around it. Excerpts... (Part II) During the

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra with (R to L) Astha Khandelwal, Poornima Mishra, Aditi Nagar, Pooja Yadav, Shweta Raje, Amit Mishra, Kshama Tripathi and Manish Desai during The JC Show.

READ PART-1 ON NOVEMBER 29, 2022

Chandra,

Un discrepancy to the ‘every day smiley catalogue girl’,

Queen and donning the stage with her charm and confi dence, Bhakti has proved that she was born to conquer the fashion world.

It is rightly said that one should not mind their makeup every time, but make up their mind once in a while.

The 25-year-old diva showed the world that she just does not have good looks but learned good books. She

ing a student to being a fash ion designer was very hap pening and great, I always dreamt about being an inspir ing artist and wanted to get framed in a big bang poster to make my parents and myself proud”.

Bhakti’s inimitable style transformation from freshfaced girl to modelling power house shook everyone, when asked about her struggle the crowned beauty said, “I

strongly believe that if you re ally desire something from the heart then the whole uni verse will work towards get ting you that. From being re jected because of not so good personality, I made sure to give myself a chance and work on myself and present out there as a talented artist. I am working as a stylist in a production house for 4 years and also realised that there are many girls who have been rejected for their looks. I pre sented myself the way I am the way, I wanted to show the real me, my work, etc. I always wanted to inspire other dreamers. Rejections are mo tivation to the one who really wants to achieve dignity and success, and I wanted to be a voice for those who think they can’t do what they dream.”

The elegant queen further said, “I am extremely grateful to Dr Jagdeesh Chandra and First India Queen for making my dream come true, some thing great like this can only be visualized by JC sir, he has opened open the gates of op portunity for many deserving girls like us.”

Bhakti Jani, the winner of First India Queen, which took place on Friday, October 21 at the Jade Ballroom of the Sahara Star in Mumbai, shares her journey with City First

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

FIRST INDIA QUEEN

Jagdeesh Chandra along with Aditi Jaggi Rastogi felicitate Bhakti Jani

Jagdeesh Chandra along with Aditi Jaggi Rastogi and Pearl Agarwal (Winner First Miss India 2021) and the participants congratulate Bhakti Jani on being crowned as the Winner of First India Queen 2022

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

SUPER INDIANS RAJASTHAN CHAPTER

City First brings to you some more glimpses from the Super Indians Rajasthan Chapter organised by First India News Rajasthan and Bharat24 News channel on Sunday at Lake City Udaipur. The lamp lighting of the program was done in five-star Hotel Ananta in the presence of Dr Jagdeesh Chandra along with Assembly Speaker Dr CP Joshi, renowned film actor Govinda, Rajasthan Foundation Commissioner Dhiraj Srivastava, Erstwhile Mewar royal family member Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Chief Business Office and Strategic Advisor Manoj Jagyasi, Newly appointed Managing Editor of Bharat-24 Shamsher Singh and First India News Editor Jinendra Singh Shekhawat and other dignitaries. During the event, actor Govinda conducted panel discussions in three different sessions with experts from different fields and shared valuable information.

Alia Bhatt is now living her best life as a new mother.

After just dis closing the name of her kid, the actress was spot ted on November 29 making her first public out ing in the city.

She was photo graphed by pa parazzi outside the house of her sister Shaheen Bhatt, who cele brates her birth day today.

When Alia ar rived at Shaheen's resi dence, she was spotted sitting in her car. The ac tress was seen wearing blue baggy jeans and a black T-shirt, paired with gold en hoop earrings.

She tied her hair in a neat bun.

ADITI CHAVAN cityfirst.mumbai@firstindia.co.in

The 53rd Inter national Film Festival of In dia recently concluded its last day on Monday, No vember 28. The closing ceremony saw many dignitaries giving their concluding speeches, including Nadav Lapid who was the IFFI jury head. But a statement passed by him during his speech has been meeting with severe backlash online.

The Israeli screen writer and filmmaker criticised Vivek Agni hotri's 2022 film, The Kashmir Files, calling it "propaganda". The film is based on the exodus killing of Kash miri Pandits in 1990 Kashmir.

Lapid, in his ad dress, said, "We were, all of us, disturbed and shocked by the 15th film: The Kashmir Files. That felt to us like propaganda, a vul gar movie, inappropri ate for an artistic com petitive section of such a prestigious film festi val. I feel comfortable to share openly these feelings here with you on stage. Since the spirit of having a festi val is to accept also a critical discussion

CONTROVERSY STIRS AS IFFI CONCLUDES

which is essential for art and life."

Post the incident, Is rael's Consul General to Mumbai Kobbi Sho shani took to Twitter to write, "I saw the Kashmir file and met the cast. I have a differ ent opinion than Na dav Lapid. After his speech, I told Nadav my opinion."

Fellow jury member, Sudipto Sen reacted to Lapid's remarks and stated that the comments made by the jury head were solely his personal opinions. "In the offi cial presentation of the Jury Board to the Festi val Director and in the official Press Confer

Ridhiema Tiwari's revelation

aazz Mahal starring Ridhiema Ti wari, Himanshu Soni and Neha Har sora is all set to premiere on Tuesday

While viewers are excited to decode the mysteries of this suspenseful Mahal, Ri dhiema Tiwari recently spilt a secret about her special connection with Dakini. The actress revealed that she had been mani festing such a role right after her marriage with Jaskaran Singh.

"Women are mysterious ly intuitive and interest ingly most women stun their partners by config uring even the oblivious.

Raazmahal on Shema roo Umang men tions tag lineDakini ke Rahasya . And he says Duni yawalo aao aakar mujhse poocho, Dakini ke saare Rahasya Mujhe pata hai (he knows all of Daki ni's secrets)" Tiwari

ence, where we 4 juries (the fifth jury had to leave for her emergen cy) were present and interacted with the press, we never mentioned any thing about our likes or dislikes. Both were our offi cial collective opinion. As jurors, we are as signed to judge the technical, aesthetic quality and socio-cul tural relevance of a

film. We don't indulge in any kind of political comments on any film and if it is done, it is completely in a person al capacity - nothing to do with the esteemed Jury Board," the letter said.

Vinod Ganatra, who is the chairman of the Jury Members of the Indian Panorama (Fea ture Films), also react ed to the matter. He said, "If the jury talks like this, then what about Schindler’s List? I strongly oppose and condemn this jury’s comment. I am also the chairman of the fea ture jury and I feel that it is insulting to India and for a film like this."

Hindi

Anu

He took to Twitter to post several images, in cluding one still from the film that featured him. Along with it, he wrote a Hindi state ment that loosely trans lates to, "No matter how big the lie is, it's always small in comparison to the truth (sic)."

He also gave his opin ion to ANI and said, "If the holocaust is right, the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits is right too. Seems pre-planned as immediately after that the toolkit gang be came active. May God give him wisdom."

A MOMENT TO CHERISH!

Kangana Ranaut as Chandramukhi

CHIRANJEEVI HONOURED

Chiranjeevi is surely one of the most cele brated artists in the Indian film indus try right now. The ac tor is lovingly called Master by all his fans. Hon ouring his years of work in revolu tionizing Indian cine ma, Master Chiran jeevi was bestowed with the Indian Film Personality of the Year Award at the 53rdInternational

Film Festival of India (IFFI). In an emotional speech, the star ex pressed his gratitude to the film fraternity and his fans. He men tioned that some rec ognitions are spe cial and this award falls into that cate gory. Chiranjeevi also called himself a slave of the Telugu fans around the world and mentioned that it is because of them that he has received this honour.

Malad Masti by MLA Aslam Shaikh

Malad Masti, an event that was attended by many cel ebs like Riteish Desh mukh and Genelia Deshmukh, Varun Sharma and Ganesh Acharya at Inorbit Mall on Tuesday. The idea behind this event is about how people should step out and meet friends, watch new things and enjoy, rather than just watch things on their mobile at home. The event is allowing people to en

joy and spend a good weekend outside their homes.

MLA Aslam Shaikh said that the main aim

and message of the event this year revolves around child abuse. It is important that peo ple are made aware and

children should be pro tected against evil forc es in society.

The event was held at Inorbit Mall, New

Link Road, Malad west. This is the 5th year of Malad Masti and it is being sup ported by Gold Medal Switches.

Varun Sharma, Faisu Shaikh, sing ers Amit Gupta, Brajesh Shandilya, Mubeen Saudagar Standup comedian and Ganesh Acharya interacted with the crowd at the event. More than 5,000 people attended the event or ganised by MLA Aslam

The Padmashri and four times National Awardwinning actress Kangana Ranaut has signed yet another grand entertainer. The actress has signed up to play the role of Chandramukhi. The actress will be seen playing the title role in the iconic blockbuster se quel of Chandramukhi called Chandramukhi 2, Directed by P. Vasu. The earlier version had Ra janikanth and Jyothika Saravanan.

Kangana Ranaut will be seen playing the role of Chandramukhi, a world-renowned dancer in the King’s court who's known for her dancing skills and breathtaking beauty.

Renowned Tamil Ac tor Raghava Lawrence will be seen opposite Kangana Ranaut is believed to be a huge cinematic experience. Add ing curiosity is the sketch made by cos tume designer Neeta Lulla, an acclaimed National award win ner for multiple films. When contacted Nee ta Lulla mentioned, "To create a character who is the epitome of grace in every Adaa, Her looks, her hair, her stance and walk exude and portray the spirit of dance. To me that is Chandramukhi. The film is going to be a beautiful yet challeng ing experience. I'm very excited to be working

again with Kangana on this project, her sheer strength as an actor lies in the ability to lose herself to the character she is playing. Can’t wait to see what amal gamates in Chan dramukhi 2".

As per the source, "Kangana will start shootings the first schedule of the film in the first week of De cember. The actress will be taking a small break from Emergency and the second schedule of Chandramukhi 2 will commence in January after Emergency wraps.

believed Chandra mukhi 2 is produced by one of the biggest pro duction houses Lyca films who's recent re lease was PS1.

Sources close to Kan gana mentioned " Kangana is thrilled to do her next Ta mil film after huge acceptance for Thalaivii. Talking about her forthcoming film, Kangana will be seen in ‘Tejas’ essaying the role of an air force pilot and Emergency, playing the role of for mer prime minister, Indira Gandhi.

film actor,

pam Kher who was part of the film, too respond ed to Lapid's statement.

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra greeted Manoj Jagyasi, Chief Business Officer & Strategic Advisor, Bharat24- Vision of New India, on the occasion of latter’s birthday. The former reached his residence in Ahmedabad on Tuesday morning and wished him good health & success.

Leah Isadora Behn, the second daughter of Märtha Louise of Norway, dances with her cavalier, Lakshraj Prakash, the younger son of Diya Kumari of Jaipur, at le Bal des Débutantes in Paris.

at 8.30 PM on Shemaroo Umang.

MOMMY

Poster of the film

Nadav Lapid

Anurag Thakur felicitates Master Chiranjeevi at IFFI

Aslam Shaikh, Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh

Alia Bhatt

Ridhiema Tiwari

Kangana Ranaut

Faisu Shaikh

Ganesh Acharya