01022022 first india new delhi

Role of women expanding, women commissions
need to widen their scope of work: PM Modi
New Delhi: Noting that
the role of women in
the society is continu-
ously expanding, Prime
Minister Narendra on
Monday said the wom-
en commissions will
have to increase their
scope of work and give
a new direction to the
women of their states.
Speaking on the occa-
sion of the 30th founda-
tion day of the National
Commission for Women
(NCW), the prime min-
ister said the participa-
tion of women in the
growth cycle of a “new
India” is increasing
continuously and the
commissions should
also promote the role of
women in entrepre-
neurship as much as
possible.
“Today, the role of
women is continuously
expanding, so all wom-
en’s commissions will
also have to increase
their scope of work and
give a new direction to
the women of their
states,” he said.
Modi also said people
with old thinking con-
sidered the skills of
women as a matter of
domestic work but it is
necessary to change
this mentality to bolster
the country’s economy
.
Taking a swipe at the
previous governments,
he said those who did
not give priority to
women safety, women
did not hesitate to re-
move them from power.
—PTI
PM says both the Make in India and
the Self-reliant India initiatives are
utilising the skills of women
PM Narendra Modi at the 30th National Commission for Women Foundation Day virtual programme.
NEW DELHI lTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNITITLE NO.DELENG/2021/19840 lVol 1 l Issue No.153
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Supreme Court agreed to list for urgent hearing a former Rajya Sabha
lawmaker’s plea seeking contempt action against top Haryana government of-
ficials over alleged disruptions in the offering of Friday ‘namaz’ in Gurugram.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and
Hima Kohli took note of the submissions of advocate Indira Jaising.
The government on Monday approved the highest bid of Tata Steel Long
Products Limited for acquiring 93.71 per cent equity in Neelachal Ispat
Nigam Ltd (NINL), held by joint venture partners of four CPSEs and
two Odisha government companies, at an enterprise value of Rs 12,100
crore. It is an integrated steel plant at Kalinganagar in Odisha.
GURUGRAM ‘NAMAZ’
ROW: SC AGREES TO
HEAR PLEA FOR
CONTEMPT ACTION
GOVT APPROVES TATA
STEEL’S BID TO ACQUIRE
93.71% EQUITY IN
NEELACHAL ISPAT
Kerala HC defers
Centre’s order to
revoke licence
of Malayalam
news channel
Kochi: Kerala High
Court has deferred the
order of the Ministry of
Information and Broad-
casting revoking the li-
cence and removing the
name of a Malayalam
news channel ‘Media
One’ from the list
of permitted news
channels citing securi-
ty reasons.
The High Court de-
ferred the order till the
next hearing, which
will be on Wednesday
.
Politics of revenge: PM Modi attacks
Akhilesh in first virtual meet for UP
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi to-
day accused the opposi-
tionSamajwadiPartyof
inducing voters to “seek
revenge” on the BJP in
Uttar Pradesh, saying it
was a far cry from the
developmental policies
of the Yogi Adityanath
government.
Pitching it as “Nakli
Samajwad (fake social-
ism) versus gareeb ka
sarkaar (government of
the poor)” he cited the
homes for poor, policies
for backward classes,
medical colleges, great-
er connectivity through
expressways, initiatives
for Muslim women and
the raising of marriage
for women as the
achievements of the
BJP government at the
Centre and the state.
BJP NAMES MINISTER & EX-MULAYAM
AIDE BAGHEL AGAINST AKHILESH
EC EXTENDS BAN ON RALLIES,
ROADSHOWS TILL FEBRUARY 11
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named Union min-
ister and party’s Agra MP from the backward community
SP Singh Baghel as its candidate against Samajwadi
Party chief Akhilesh Yadav from Karhal Assembly
segment in Mainpuri. Baghel had entered politics as
president of the Mulayam Youth brigade and went on to
win thrice as Samajwadi party MP from the now-merged
Jalesar seat, (now non existing merged in Etah).
The Election Commission on Monday extended the ban
on the public rallies and road shows during upcoming
state Assembly polls due to ongoing Covid-19 pandem-
ic. The ban will now remain in place till February 11.
Didi blocks Bengal Guv on Twitter,
he tweets WhatsApp message to her
Kolkata: West Bengal
Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar took to Twit-
ter on Monday to share
the contents of a What-
sApp message he
sent to CM Mamata
Banerjee.
G o v e r n o r
Jagdeep Dhankhar
also mentioned in
his tweet that his
message to the CM
Mamata Banerjee
was “read” at 10.25
am on Monday
.
Earlier in the day, the
West Bengal Chief Min-
ister held a press con-
ference. “Every morn-
ing and evening he
[Governor] tweets ac-
cusing and attacking
us. As if he is the only
supreme and we
are bonded labour-
ers. I cannot take it.
I have blocked him
today on Twitter,”
CM Mamata Baner-
jee said as per a
statement by the
West Bengal gov-
ernment.
“Pegasus is run-
ning from Governor
house. He is tapping
phones,” she added.
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
NEW DELHI
2,779
NEW
CASES
5,502
RECOVERED
38
NEW DEATHS
Jagdeep Dhankhar
@jdhankhar1
Dialogue and harmony
amongst constitutional
functionaries is essence
and spirit of democracy
and mandate of the
constitution. This can
blossom with mutual
regard and respect.
There has been all
through highest personal
regard for you from my
side. Am sure this will
receive your thoughtful
consideration. Regards.
SITHARAMAN TO PRESENT UNION BUDGET TODAY
8-8.5%
THE ECONOMIC SURVEY
PROJECTS ‘AMBITIOUS’
GDP GROWTH IN 2022-23
Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman on
Monday tabled the Economic
Survey 2021-22 a day ahead
of the Union Budget 2022
After a contraction of
7.3% last year, the
economy is estimated to grow
by 9.2% this fiscal, and 8.3%
in the next fiscal
The macroeconomic stability
indicators in the government’s
Economic Survey suggest that the country’s
economy is well-placed to take on the
challenges of the financial year 2022-23
1 2 3
New Delhi: India’s
Gross Domestic Prod-
uct growth rate is pro-
jected to grow by 8% to
8.5% in the next fiscal
year of 2022-’23, the gov-
ernment said on Mon-
day in the Economic
Survey tabled in Parlia-
ment by Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman. The finance
minister will present
the country’s annual
Budget on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Rajya
Sabha was adjourned
for the day after the Sur-
vey was tabled.
CEA V Anantha
Nageswaran
(R) along
with Principal
Economic
Advisor Sanjeev
Sanyal talk to
media, after
Economic
Survey 2021-22
is tabled in both
the Houses of
Parliament by
FM Nirmala
Sitharaman.
Prez addresses joint
session of Parliament
New Delhi: President
Ram Nath Kovind on
Monday highlighted the
achievements of the
Narendra Modi govern-
ment’s mega COVID-19
vaccination drive and
noted that 150 crore dos-
es were administered to
the country’s citizens in
a record time.
In his address to the
joint sitting of both
Houses of Parliament
at the start of the Budg-
et Session in the Cen-
tral Hall, President Ko-
vind said the Rs 64,000
crore PM Ayushman
Bharat Health Infra-
structure Mission will
prepare the country for
a health crisis in the
future.
President Ram Nath Kovind addresses the Parliament during the
Budget Session 2022. Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman
Venkaiah Naidu, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla are also seen.
CHALLENGES
AND CONCERNS
KEY MEASURES
FLAGGED
Despite a projected
9.2 per cent growth
in GDP in FY22 to above
pre-pandemic levels,
the Indian economy
continues to face a slew
of structural challenges
that existed prior to the
pandemic and new chal-
lenges brought on by
Covid-19. The Economic
Survey also noted that
the supply chain disrup-
tions and slow economic
growth have contributed
to an increase in inflation
in the country.
EASE OF EXIT
“There has been an
overhaul in the process
of winding-up due to the
insolvency/bankruptcy
with the introduction of
the IBC. However, the
procedure of voluntary
business exit still needs
to be simplified signifi-
cantly,” the Survey said.
CROSS-BORDER
INSOLVENCY
There is a need for a
standardised frame-
work for cross-border
insolvency. At present,
IBC has no standard
instrument to restructure
the firms involving cross
border jurisdictions.
REDUCE PATENT
PROCEDURE DELAYS
Average pendency for
final decision in acquir-
ing patents in India is
42 months as of 2020,
much higher than 20.8,
20, 15.8 and 15 months
respectively for USA,
China, Korea and Japan.
SENSEX ROCKETS
813 POINTS, NIFTY
ABOVE 17,300 MARK
The Sensex surged 813
points to reclaim the
58,000-level while the Nifty
breached the 17,300-mark
on Monday on account of in-
tense buying across sectors
after the Economic Survey
2021-22 projected healthy
growth for the economy
in the near term. Sensex
opened with significant gains
and kept its momentum
throughout the session. It
finally closed at 58,014.17,
clocking a gain of 813.94
points or 1.42 per cent.Like-
wise, the NSE Nifty rallied
237.90 points or 1.39 per
cent to end at 17,339.85.
STRONG REVENUE
The survey pointed out that revenues
have witnessed a strong revival in
FY22. This means that the government
has fiscal room to provide support
if necessary. High Foreign Reserves,
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and
rising exports have provided a buffer
against liquidity tampering.
AGIRCULTURE
Agriculture and allied sectors remained
the silver lining during the Covid-19
pandemic and are expected to grow by
3.9 per cent in 2021-22 after growing
3.6 per cent in the previous year.
SERVICES SECTOR
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the
services sector the hardest. This sec-
tor is projected to grow by 8.2 per cent
this financial year following the previ-
ous fiscal’s 8.4 per cent contraction.
INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
The growth of the industrial sector
has been estimated at 11.2 per cent
in FY22.
CONSUMPTION
Total consumption is estimated to
have grown by 7.0 per cent in 2021-22
with significant contributions in the
form of government spending.
AIR INDIA PRIVATISATION
The Economic Survey has highlighted
that privatisation of Air India was a
significant step in terms of boosting
the privatisation drive and gathering
disinvestment proceeds.
INCREASE IN CAPITAL
SPENDING
According to the Economic Survey,
there can be a sharp increase in capital
spending by the government as a de-
mand and supply-enhancing measure.
CRYPTOCURRENCY
The issue of cryptocurrency has not
been covered in the Economic Survey
2021-22, Principal Economic Adviser
Sanjeev Sanyal said in an interaction
with media. “As you know, this is a mat-
ter of some debate within government.
So, this is something that is currently in
discussion,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
speaks during Jan Chaupal.
IAS officer Usha Sharma becomes
Raj’s 2nd woman chief secretary
Jaipur: Senior IAS of-
ficer Usha Sharma was
appointed as the chief
secretary of Rajasthan on
Monday. The 1985 batch
officer is only the second
woman to occupy the
top-most bureaucratic
position in the state. She
succeeded Niranjan Arya,
who retired from the ser-
vice. Until now, Sharma
was the secretary of the
Sports and Youth Affairs
Ministry in New Delhi on
deputation. As the chief
secretary, Sharma will
invariably also be the
chief advisor to the chief
minister. In Rajasthan,
Sharma has held the posts
of Principal Secretary
(Tourism), Commissioner
(Tourism), Commissioner
(Industries) and Secretary
(Urban Development and
Housing) among others.
Chief Secretary Usha Sharma called on Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on Monday.
More on P6

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2022
02
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New Delhi: Delhi has
replaced Bengaluru as
the startup capital of
India, according to the
Economic Survey 2021-
22 tabled by Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman in the Parlia-
ment on Monday
.
The survey says that
over 5,000 recognised
start-ups were added in
Delhi while 4,514 start-
ups were added in Ben-
galuru between April
2019 to December 2021.
With a total of 11,308
start-ups, Maharashtra
has the highest number
of recognised startups.
ndia had a record num-
ber of start-ups (44)
reach unicorn status in
2021.
It overtook the UK to
emerge as the third
highest country in
number of unicorns af-
ter the US and China
which added 487 and
301 unicorns respec-
tively in 2021. As of
January 14, 2022, India
has 83 unicorns with a
total valuation of $
277.77 billion.
Moreover, the num-
ber of new recognised
start-ups have in-
creased to over 14,000 in
2021-22 from only 733 in
2016-17.
As a result, India has
become the third larg-
est startup ecosystem
in the world after the
US and China.
The Economic Sur-
vey says that in the last
three years the number
of start-ups in the space
sector has increased
from 11 in 2019 to 47 in
2021.
One of the important
factors responsible for
this was providing a
predictable, forward-
looking, well defined
and enabling regulato-
ry regime for space ac-
tivities in the country
.
The first to be updat-
ed were the SpaceCom
and SpaceRS policies,
further liberalising the
traditional satellite
communication and re-
mote sensing sectors,
respectively, and ena-
bling entrepreneurs to
take up end-to-end ac-
tivities in these do-
mains.
The Economic Sur-
vey also highlighted
that the government’s
most of India’s startups
are in the IT/ knowl-
edge-based sector.
Intellectual property,
specifically patents are
key to this knowledge-
based economy. There
has been a gradual in-
crease in the filing and
granting of patents in
India. —Agencies
New Delhi: Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal on Monday handed
over compensation to
farmers whose crops
were damaged due to un-
seasonal rains in Octo-
ber last year. He also an-
nounced that a survey to
assess loss to mustard
crop in January will be
started soon.
Stating that no coun-
try or state can prosper
if it doesn’t honour and
help farmers, Kejriwal
noted that Punjab is yet
to compensate farmers.
He said his govern-
ment adopted a simple
formula for fixing com-
pensation to avoid any
problems.
In case of less than 70
per cent losses, 70 per-
cent compensation and
100 per cent compensa-
tion in case of over 70 per
cent loss has been fixed
at the rate of `20,000 per
acre, he said.
The Chief Minister
said he was like a son and
brother of farmers in
Delhi and the doors of
his government were al-
ways open for them.
An amount of around
`55 crore will be distrib-
uted among 45,000 farm-
ers in Delhi whose crops
were damaged due to un-
seasonal rains in Octo-
ber last year. —PTI
New Delhi: Hundreds
of Anganwadi workers
staged a protest near
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal’s resi-
dence at the Civil Lines
here on Monday to
pressfortheirdemands,
including recognition
as government employ-
ees.
The protest was or-
ganised under the aegis
of Delhi State Angan-
wadi Workers and Help-
ers Union.
The protesters shout-
ed anti-government slo-
gans and displayed
placards demanding
the roll back of the New
Education Policy. They
also demanded that gov-
ernment employee sta-
tus should be be given
to them. They were
stopped by the police a
few metres away from
the CM residence fol-
lowing which they sat
on a dharna and contin-
ued their protest.
The protesters held
placards which read
“Inqalab Zindabad” and
“Karmachari Ka Darza
Hamara Adhikar”. —PTI
New Delhi: Days after a
20-year-old woman was
allegedly abducted, gang-
raped and paraded naked
on streets in an east Del-
hi colony by her neigh-
bours, it transpired on
Sunday that her younger
sister too had been as-
saulted by her assailants.
Acting on the com-
plaint of the 18-year-old
younger sister of the vic-
tim, police have lodged
another case against her
assailants, including
eight women, one man
and three juveniles, who
have already been appre-
hended, police said on
Sunday.
Shahdara Deputy
Commissioner of Police
R Sathiyasundaram said
the police have already
arrested nine people,
eight women and one
man, and detained three
minor boys for their al-
leged roles in the crime
against the elder sister.
The victim’s younger
sister came forward with
her complaint after the
police arrested them, he
said adding she alleged
that she too was har-
assed, molested and
thrashed by the
assailants of her
sister days before the in-
cident involving her el-
der sister. —PTI
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court on Monday
asked the DMRC coun-
sel to take clear instruc-
tions on how it will pay
the amount of the arbi-
tral award of over `4,600
crore to Reliance Infra-
structure’s subsidiary
DAMEPL or else face an
“unpleasant order”.
Justice Suresh Ku-
mar Kait preponed the
date of hearing relat-
ing to the execution of
the arbitral award
passed against the
DMRC, from March 29
to February 14.
“Mr. (Parag) Trip-
athi, on the next date of
hearing, I don’t want to
hear anything here or
there. You have to take
clear instructions on
howtopaytheamount,”
the judge said. —PTI
Police has busted an in-
terstate firearms syndi-
cate and arrested a
60-year-old arms smug-
gler with 10 sophisti-
cated pistols and 20 live
cartridges, officials
said on Monday
.
The accused, Kasim
Ali, is a resident of
Hamirpur in UP. He
sourced arms and am-
munition from MP and
further smuggled them
in Delhi NCR, Haryana
and UP West, they said.
Police said he has al-
ready supplied over 500
firearms in Delhi NCR
in the last three years.
DCP (Special Cell)
Jasmeet Singh said the
team got information
about arms trafficking
syndicate being operat-
ed in Delhi NCR by Ka-
sim in association with
his associates. —PTI
New Delhi: A 40-year-
old doctor, who was
working at a London
hospital, allegedly died
by suicide at her resi-
dence in south Delhi’s
Greater Kailash, police
said on Monday
.
The deceased, identi-
fied as Megha Kayal,
was in depression
after she lost her
79-year-old mother re-
cently, police said, add-
ing a suicide note was
also found from the
spot.
The police said “self-
inflicted injuries” were
found on the thigh of
the deceased. K aya l
had been working at the
Milton Keynes Univer-
sity Hospital in London
as a neurologist for the
past one year. Prior to
that, she was a doctor at
the Apollo hospital in
Delhi’s Sarita Vihar,
she said. —PTI
New Delhi: Ahead of
the Union Budget pres-
entation in Parliament
on February 1, people in
Delhi on Monday voiced
their expectations from
the upcoming budget.
According to the com-
mon people in Delhi,
Union Budget 2022-23
should be made keeping
the middle-class people
in mind amid the post-
COVID-19 scenario. A
government employee,
Pankaj said, “Budget
should be post-COVID
friendly and address to
the troubles that a mid-
dle-class man faces eve-
ry day- increase in pet-
rol and edible oil prices,
salary reduction and
job loss.”
According to him, the
purchasing power of
middle-class people has
decreased after the pan-
demic.
While speaking to
ANI, Anil opined that
the main concern for In-
dia today is the health
sector, employment sec-
tor and education sec-
tor.
“Apart from Delhi,
education is costly
throughout the country
.
This is how a poor man
or a middle-class man’s
child is not getting a
proper education. A
child’s future should
not be based on money.
We hope that the Fi-
nance Minister works to
mitigateunemployment
problems and at the
same time rolls out
schemes for skill devel-
opment and cheaper
education system.”
Shalini, another Del-
hiite, thinks that the
Budget should contrib-
ute to the Indian Econo-
my besides addressing
the tax system ‘salaried’
middle-class’ concern.
“Budget should be
corrected for the middle
class especially for the
salaried people.” —PTI
People voice their expectations ahead of Budget
BUDGET 2022
New Delhi: Scores of students held a protest out-
side Delhi University’s Hansraj College against the
setting up of a cow protec-
tion and research centre
inside the campus and
demanded the construction
of a women’s hostel there.
The Students’ Federation
of India (SFI) unit of Hansraj College has been
alleging that a ‘’gaushala’’ — Swami Dayanand
Cow-Protection and Research Centre — has been
constructed at the site reserved for a women’s
hostel. College principal Rama Sharma has said
that they have only kept a single cow at the centre
and it is for research purposes.
STUDENTS PROTEST CONSTRUCTION OF
COW CENTRE AT DU’S HANRAJ COLLEGE
MINIMUM TEMP
SETTLES BELOW
NORMAL IN CITY
New Delhi: Delhiites
woke up to a cold Mon-
day morning with the
minimum temperature
settling at 6.4 degrees
Celsius, two notches
below the season’s
average. The relative
humidity at 8.30 am
stood at 94 per cent.
The weather office has
forecast mainly clear
sky for the day with the
possibility of strong
surface winds. The
maximum tempera-
ture is likely to hover
around 23 degrees Cel-
sius. On Sunday, the
maximum temperature
was recorded at 22.2
degrees Celsius.
CRUCIAL READ
DELHI AIRPORT
IMPLEMENTS
ONE-HAND
BAG RULE
New Delhi: With
some exceptions,
Delhi airport imple-
mented the rule which
allowed a domestic
passenger to carry
only one piece of
luggage or handbag
as cabin luggage. A
Delhi airport official
informed that the
following advisory
from Central Indus-
trial Security Force
(CISF) and Bureau of
Civil Aviation Secu-
rity (BCAS), only one
piece of hand bag-
gage is permitted per
passenger as ‘Cabin
Luggage’.
Doctor working
in London
hospital dies
by suicide
HC asks DMRC to take clear
instructions on due payment
Arms smuggling ring busted, 1 held
Relief for farmers hit
by unseasonal rains
in Delhi last year
ECONOMIC
SURVEY
Anganwadi workers seek govt
employee status,stage protest
Sisofwomanparadednakedtoo
harassedbyherassailants:Police
MORE THAN 5,000 RECOGNISED START-UPS WERE ADDED IN DELHI AS COMPARED TO BENGALURU
National capital now
START-UP CAPITAL TOO
New Delhi: Patiala
House Court of Delhi
on Monday directed
Delhi Police to pro-
cure requisite sanc-
tions from the con-
cerned authority to
prosecute business-
man Sushil Ansal in
alleged fraud in pass-
port renewal.
Sushil Ansal along
with his brother and
several others are
presently lodged in
Tihar jail after sen-
tencing and convic-
tion by a court in an-
other case related to
the 1997 Uphaar cin-
ema fire tragedy
.
Chief Metropoli-
tan Magistrate, Dr
Pankaj Sharma, on
Monday asked the
Delhi Police’s inves-
tigation officer to en-
sure the requisite
sanctions from the
concerned authority
to prosecute busi-
nessman Sushil An-
sal in alleged fraud
in passport renewal
matter and slated the
matter for February
21, 2022. —ANI
Court asks police to secure
sanctions to prosecute Ansal
DELHI POLICETOTAKEACTIONAGAINST
THOSE REVEALING VICTIM’S IDENTITY
New Delhi: The Delhi Police said legal action would
be taken against those found revealing the identity
and spreading rumours about a woman who was
allegedly abducted, gang-raped and paraded by her
attackers recently. The appeal came after several
tweets were posted on social media platforms claim-
ing that the victim had allegedly committed suicide.

INDIA
03
IN THE COURTYARD
IND-ORIGIN US MAN
JAILED FOR SEXUALLY
ABUSING TEEN
New York: A 41-year-old
Indian-origin man in US
has been sentenced to 15
months in prison for sexu-
ally abusing a minor boy
seated next to him on an
airplane in 2019, accord-
ing to Justice Dept. District
Judge Nancy E. Brasel
sentenced Neeraj Chopra,
who is from Minneapolis,
for engaging in sexual
contact on an airplane dur-
ing a flight from Boston to
Minneapolis, according to
a statement by the US De-
partment of Justice on Fri-
day. Chopra was convicted
of crime in July last year
following a three-day trial.
According to court docu-
ments, Chopra knowingly
engaged in abusive sexual
contact with a 16-year-old
victim who was seated
next to him aboard a Jet
Blue flight from Boston.
CBI TAKES OVER
CASE OF TN GIRL
WHO KILLED SELF
New Delhi: The Madurai
Bench of the Madras
High Court transferred
the Thanjavur student
suicide case to the CBI on
Monday, January 31. The
order comes the same day
that the National Com-
mission for Protection
of Child Rights (NCPCR)
team is visiting Thanjavur
to conduct an inquiry into
the matter. On January
19, a Class 12 girl in Tamil
Nadu’s Thanjavur died
in the hospital after not
responding to treatment.
She had consumed pes-
ticide on January 9, after
she was allegedly forced
to clean rooms and other
menial work. It is also
alleged that she was forced
to convert to Christianity.
The 17-year-old girl con-
sumed pesticide in a bid to
kill herself.
SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE: SC JUDGE RECUSES
FROM HEARING TARUN TEJPAL’S PLEA
New Delhi: A Supreme Court judge on Monday recused
from hearing a plea by former editor of Tehelka magazine
Tarun Tejpal against the Bom-
bay High Court, which declined
to entertain his application for
an in-camera hearing of the
appeal filed by the Goa govern-
ment against his acquittal in a
sexual assault case. Justice U
U Lalit recused from hearing
Tejpal’s plea. This is the second recusal in the case. On Janu-
ary 21, SC judge Rao opted out of hearing the plea.
WB POST-POLL: CBI OPPOSES SUPIYAN PLEA,
SAYS CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION REQUIRED
New Delhi: CBI opposed the plea filed by TMC leader SK
Supiyan, who was the election agent of WB CM Mamata
Banerjee in Nandigram, and urged the court to dismiss his
petition seeking relief, saying that there are cogent reasons
to justify the arrest of the petitioner and his custodial
interrogation to unearth a wider and larger conspiracy of
planned political rioting and revenge. “Thus as per state-
ment on record pertaining to the offence in question, there
are cogent reasons to justify arrest of the petitioner and his
custodial interrogation to unearth a wider and larger con-
spiracy of planned political rioting and revenge,” said CBI.
KAPIL HADN’T SURFACED WHEN VIOLENCE
WAS PLANNED: PROSECUTOR IN UMAR BAIL
New Delhi: The prosecution told a court on Monday there
was a proposal to incite violence by the main conspirators
of the Northeast Delhi riots
of 2020 and BJP leader Kapil
Mishra was not in the picture
as it opposed the bail of former
JNU student Umar Khalid in
connection with one of the cas-
es. Special Public Prosecutor
(SPP) Amit Prasad made his
arguments before Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Amitabh
Rawat and dismissed the complicity of Mishra in the riots.
MLAs’ SUSPENSION: BJP TO MOVE SC AGAINST
SENA LEADERS FOR QUESTIONING DECISION
New Delhi: BJP will file a case against Shiv Sena leaders for
questioning the SC’s recent decision to revoke the suspension
of 12 party MLAs from Maha
Assembly. Party’s state chief
Chandrakant Patil said, “We will
file a case in the Supreme Court
against Sena’s Sanjay Raut
and transport min Anil Parab
for speaking against the SC’s
decision.” Patil said that by
questioning the decision of apex court and casting aspersions
on it, some Sena leaders were insulting the judiciary.
MOVE HC SEEKING PROHIBITION ON EXHIBITION
OF MOVIE ‘WHY I KILLED GANDHI’: TOP COURT
New Delhi: SC on Monday directed the petitioner seeking
to prohibit any exhibition or publication of the film “Why I
killed Gandhi” or any of its contents in any manner whatso-
ever on any OTT Platform or any other online social media,
to approach the high court with his grievances. A bench of
justices Indira Benerjee and Justice JK Maheshwari refused
to entertain the plea filed by one Sikandar Behl through
Advocate Anuj Bhandari. The court, however, noted that it
appears that the petitioner as a citizen has a serious cause
of concern. But it also observed that no fundamental right
of citizen appears to have been violated. Court granted him
liberty to approach the HC with his grievances.
SC COLLEGIUM RECOMMENDS JUSTICE
MUNISHWAR BHANDARI AS MADRAS HC CJ
New Delhi: The SC collegium headed by Chief Justice N
V Ramana has recommended to the Centre that Justice
Munishwar Nath Bhandari be
appointed as the Chief Justice
of the Madras High Court.
The collegium, which also
comprised senior most judges
Justices U U Lalit and A M
Khanwilkar, held deliberations
on December 14, 2021 and
January 29, 2022, recommended 17 names for appointment
as judges in Andhra Pradesh, MP and Orissa high courts.
KHADSE’S SON-IN-LAW’S BAIL RESERVED TILL FEB 9
Mumbai: A special PMLA court in Mumbai has completed its
hearing on the bail plea of Girish Chaudhri, son-in-law of NCP
leader Eknath Khadse. The court has reserved its order till
February 9 on this case. Girish Chaudhary was arrested by
Enforcement Directorate (ED) in July 2021 in connection with
Pune’s Bhosari land scam matter. In the case, a plea was filed by
Pune-based activist Hemant Gavande in 2017, alleging that
Khadse misused his position as Revenue Minister.
MAJITHIA GETS RELIEF FROM ARREST TILL FEB 23
New Delhi: While observing that the election in Punjab will be
held on February 20, the Supreme Court on Monday granted
protection from arrest to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader
Bikram Singh Majithia till February 23 in the drug case. A
Bench of Chief Justice of India Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana
and Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli asked Majithia to
surrender before the concerned trial court on February
23 and apply for regular bail.
BAIL TO LAWYER, SM MANAGER OF DESHMUKH
New Delhi: Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Monday granted bail to
Maharasthra’s ex-HM Anil Deshmukh’s lawyer Anand Daga and
his social media Manager Vaibhav Gajendra Tumane in the
document leak case. Special CBI Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal
granted bail in the matter. During arguments, CBI had opposed
the bail plea saying Tumane was the one who collected the
sensitive report from Lawyer Anand Daga, prepared its
copies and couriered it to various addresses in Delhi.
AVOID CLOSE
SITTING AT ANY COST:
RS CHAIRMAN URGES MPs
New Delhi: RS Chair-
man M Venkaiah Naidu
on Monday requested
all members of House
to follow new seating
arrangements and
avoid close sitting at
any cost amid the Cov-
id-19 scare. Unlike ear-
lier arrangements in
normal days, the new
seating arrangements
for the members are
fixedinRSandLScham-
bersaswellasthegaller-
ies of both the Houses.
NO LEGISLATIVE
BUSINESS ON DAY 1
The govt indicated that
it is unlikely to bring
any legislative business
in RS in 1st half of the
session, sources said.
Naidu held on the agen-
da via VC & indicated
priority will be given
to the debate of Presi-
dent’s address. —ANI
OBIT REFERENCES
ON 1ST DAY OF
BUDGET SESSION
Obituary references
to the passing away
of sitting member Dr
Mahendra Prasad;
ex-members Joyanta
Roy, Debendra Nath
Barman, M Moses,
Ganeshwar Kusum;
and legendary Kathak
dancer Pandit Birju
Maharaj were also
made by Rajya Sabha
Chairman.
Pegasus raises head once
again before Parl session
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: The spy-
ing on Israeli software
Pegasus was revealed
just before the mon-
soon session of Parlia-
ment last year. The
result of that revela-
tion was that the en-
tire session was in tur-
moil. The opposition
has been demanding a
discussion and inves-
tigation on the
Pegasus case and the
government has been
happily carrying on
with its legislative
business. The opposi-
tion worked outside
the parliament and the
government inside the
parliament. The im-
pact of this disclosure
was also seen on the
next session i.e. win-
ter session. However,
there was little effect
as the Supreme Court
had announced the
formation of a techni-
cal committee of ex-
perts to probe the mat-
ter in October itself.
For this reason,
Pegasus was not an is-
sue in the budget ses-
sion of Parliament in
the new year. But be-
fore the
new ses-
sion, a
new reve-
lation was revealed.
TheAmericannewspa-
per New York Times
has reported that
Pegasus was also in-
volved in an arms deal
worth about Rs 15,000
crore during PM Nar-
endra Modi’s visit to
Israel in 2017. That is,
India bought Pegasus
software in 2017 itself.
If this is true, then it is
very likely that the
country’scitizenswere
spied on
because in
the first
revelation
of Pegasus, 300 phone
numbers were report-
edtohavebeenhacked.
Everyone knows
how far the investiga-
tion of the committee
formedbytheSupreme
Court will go. Like the
parliamentary com-
mittee, this committee
will not have the privi-
leges and will be able
to investigate as many
documents and deals
of the government as
the government wants
to be investigated. So,
its results can be pre-
dicted in advance. The
opposition is also
aware of this, so its up-
roar will continue. So,
one can say that an-
other session is about
to start and the stage is
set. There will be alle-
gations and counter-
allegations from both
sides and the end re-
sult will be that the op-
position MPs will be
agitating in the Parlia-
ment House complex
and the government
will be handling all the
work smoothly
. It will
notbesurprisingif the
budget is also passed
without discussion.
RS Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu conducts Proceedings of upper
house on 1st day of the Budget Session of Parliament on Monday.
Parliament has
right to know
truth in Pegasus
row, says CPI MP
New Delhi: Communist
Party of India Rajya
SabhaMPBinoyViswam
on Monday said the
House has a right to
know the truth in the
Pegasus row and minis-
ters are supposed to
come up with facts.
Viswam has given a no-
tice of breach of privi-
lege against Union Min-
ister of Communica-
tions, Electronics and
InformationTechnology
Ashwini Vaishnaw for
his statements on the
floor of the House re-
garding Pegasus contro-
versy
. “(IT Minister)
Ashwini Vaishnaw is a
good friend, he is a good
man.Butwhathesaidon
Pegasus were not facts.
The House has the right
to know the truth and
ministers are supposed
tocomeupwithfacts.He
was trying to hide gov-
ernment’s face, facts on
Pegasus,” Viswam told.
The IT Minister
misled the
Parliament by
stating that Pegasus
was not connected with the
Indian Govt. One of the most
credible newspapers of the
world says the Pegasus deal
was done during PM
Narendra Modi's visit to
Israel. That is why we're
moving privilege
motion.
—KC Venugopal,
Congress leader
Now think, what will be the effect of this new
revelation on the budget session of Parliament? This
gives the opposition a new issue on Pegasus and the
opposition will demand the PM’s reply on this issue,
would like to have a discussion and will demand a
Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate it.
Obviously, the government will not be ready for this.
The government has a defense argument that the
Supreme Court has formed a committee, so now
that committee should be allowed to investigate,
there is no need for another inquiry
SPECIAL
Adhir alleges Centre misleading
Parl,top court on Pegasus matter
New Delhi: Congress
LokSabhaleaderAdhir
Ranjan Chowdhury on
Monday alleged that
the Central govern-
ment is misleading the
Parliament, the SC and
the people on the
Pegasus matter. Con-
gress leader said, “We
have moved the Privi-
lege motion in House
on Pegasus. This gov-
ernment is misleading
the House, SC, people...
As Opposition, it’s our
responsibility to raise
this issue; Centre at-
tempting to spread lies
about it (Pegasus).” As
the Union Budget ses-
sion begins on Monday
,
Congress has planned
to target the PM Naren-
dra Modi-led Central
govt on the issue of
Pegasus snooping.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury & other MPs attend first day of Budget
Session of Parliament in Lower House, in New Delhi on Monday.
BIGGER THAN WATERGATE SCANDAL:
SHIV SENA ON PEGASUS SPYING ROW
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Monday remarked
that the alleged snooping using the controversial
Pegasus spyware was bigger than the Watergate
scandal that had rocked the US in the 1970s. Shiv
Sena mouthpiece, Saamana, said that the Modi
government allegedly lied in Parliament about
purchasing the Pegasus spyware from Israel,
which was reported by The New York Times last
week. Referring to the Watergate scandal in the
US involving President Richard Nixon, the editorial
said that the American president eventually had to
resign following the spying disclosures.
Badal
family's
frustration
over Sidhu
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: In Punjab,
Parkash Singh Badal
family has once again
gearedupagainstNavjot
Singh Sidhu, which is
notthefirsttimethatthe
Badal family has come
face to face against Sid-
huinthismanner.When
Sidhu was in the BJP
and the BJP was in sync
with the Akali Dal, even
then the Badal family
did not get along with
Sidhu. But then Arun
Jaitleyusedtolook‘han-
dle’PunjabfromtheBJP
sideandheusedtomain-
tain the balance. But in
2014, the Badal family
created a feud between
Jaitley and Sidhu. Jait-
ley got the Amritsar seat
vacatedfromSidhuashe
decidedtocontestfromit
and for this, Sidhu was
also sent to the RS.
However, in that elec-
tion,CaptainAmarinder
Singh defeated Jaitley
.
EventhentheBadalfam-
ily propagated that Sid-
hu did not work in Am-
ritsar and he defeated
Jaitley by fraternizing.
The end result of this
campaign was that Sid-
hu left the BJP and went
toCongress.Sincethena
one-on-one contest with
theBadalfamilyisgoing
on. This time, Bikram
Majithia, brother of
Parkash Singh Badal’s
daughter-in-lawHarsim-
rat Kaur Badal, has him-
self reached Amritsar
East seat to challenge
Sidhu.Keepinmindthat
in the 2014 LS elections,
it was Majithia who was
lookingaftertheelection
campaign and other de-
tails for Jaitley
.
But now Majithia has
been fielded and there-
fore, it is needless to say
,
that Badals will put
their entire strength be-
hind him.
Parkash Singh Badal

PERSPECTIVE
04
very institution on this planet
uses a budget to estimate the rev-
enue and expenditure for a spe-
cific period.
The central government is re-
quired by Article 112 of the In-
dian Constitution to deliver an
annual financial statement to
Parliament. It is a statement of
the Government of India’s esti-
mated receipts and expenditures
for each financial year, which
runs from April 1 to March 31.
The Union budget for 2021 fo-
cused on increased capital ex-
penditure (CAPEX), disinvest-
ment, and tax compliance ease
following the Covid-19 pandemic-
induced recession.
The Union Budget of 2022 will
be critical in determining the In-
dian economy’s path ahead in the
face of the ongoing third wave of
the Covid contagion. According
to some market observers, the
government’s focus would be on
economic resuscitation through
increased spending, with need-
based capital investment being
the key imperative.
The finance ministry faces a
difficult task in managing and
delivering a pragmatic budget on
February 1, 2022, given the gov-
ernment’s desire to become a $5
trillion economy by 2025 and the
potential of another lockdown
and supply interruptions due to
mounting COVID cases around
the country
.
Finance Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman begins her fourth Un-
ion Budget preparations at a time
when the Indian economy is on
the path to recovery: GDP ex-
panded 8.4% in the second quar-
ter of FY2022, after rising 20.1
percent in the first quarter. So, in
the face of newer Covid varia-
tions, different institutions and
individual bodies are throwing
coins into the wishing well with
the following wishes, expecta-
tions, and fears:
HOPE FLOATS...
In the aftermath of the Covid
Pandemic, the Union budget will
play a pivotal role in putting In-
dia on the growth trajectory with
aim of achieving a $5 Trillion
Economy by 2025. Investments in
infrastructures, railways, agri-
culture, and disinvestment pro-
grams are expected to be part of
the Union Budget 2022 keeping a
high fiscal expenditure.
Under the National Monetiza-
tion Pipeline, the government
maydeclareassetmonetizationof
public sector companies (NMP). It
can also use REITs for monetizing
the real estate it owns.
The high food and fertilizer
subsidy burden of FY21-22 will
quite certainly be reduced in
FY23, albeit it will still be twice
as high as pre-Covid levels.
The budget may also focus on
enhancing the Pharma and
Healthcare Sectors, attention to
social safety measures such as
MGNREGA, and emphasis on
capital expenditure.
The government’s ‘Atmanirb-
har Bharat’ (Make in India) man-
ufacturing push might be bol-
stered by the budget, which could
increase subsidy disbursements.
In the textile sector, because
the price of raw cotton has been
steadily rising, the sector is urg-
ing the government to repeal the
5% import tariff and impose an
export duty
. Cotton prices in the
domestic market will be stabi-
lized as a result of this.
Increasing the Excise Tax, cer-
tain businesses in the tobacco
and cigarette industries may suf-
fer as a result of the increased
duty on cigarettes and tobacco
products.
TAXATION
The forthcoming budget is ex-
pected to provide relief to both
corporations and taxpayers
in the form of direct and
indirect tax refunds.
There might also be a
pleasant surprise in the
shape of an easing of GST
regulations and assistance
for industries that have suf-
fered relatively poorly as a result
of the epidemic.
As per the data provided by the
Income Tax Department, approx-
imately 42,800 people have de-
clared a taxable income of above
Rs. 1 crore annually whereas
only 8,600 individuals have re-
vealed their annual income is
above Rs. 5 crore. In an economy
with a tax-paying base of around
1.5 crore people, 4 lakh people
with income over Rs. 20 lakh, ac-
counting for 1% of the tax base,
account for 63 percent of the in-
come taxes received from indi-
viduals. As a result, 99 percent of
India’s tax-paying citizens are
forced to fill out ITRs while pay-
ing a paltry tax on some rationale
or another. People that pay up are
generally from the salaried class
because they can’t avoid paying
taxes. After all, TDS is deducted.
Only 2,200 doctors, chartered
accountants, attorneys, and other
professionals have declared year-
ly earnings of moreover Rs 1
crore. Wealthy agriculturists
don’t have to pay much in taxes.
Political parties also make sure
they don’t have to pay taxes. Indi-
viduals expect the
The implementa-
tion of the ex-
penditure tax
is envisaged.
The expendi-
ture tax is
similar to the
income tax, ex-
cept that the tax
base is one’s ex-
penditure rather
than one’s income. The move
from an income-based to an ex-
penditure-based income tax
would not only alleviate the nega-
tive effects and injustices of a
non-inclusive income tax, but it
will also curb wasteful spending
and stimulate savings to a far
greater extent than the current
system promises.
The Union Budget 2022 is pro-
jected to provide tax relief to indi-
vidual taxpayers, especially with
major state elections round the
corner. The majority of respond-
ents in a recent KPMG pre-budget
study stated they expected an in-
crease in the basic income tax ex-
emption ceiling of Rs 2.5 lakh.
The government has made sev-
eral initiatives to strengthen the
economy in the previous year, but
there has been no clear focus on
increasing spending, so the mar-
ket will be looking for some sub-
stantial announcements for the
salaried class. Individuals antici-
pate a rise in the standard deduc-
tion for salaried employees from
Rs50,000toRs1,00,000.Becauseof
the pandemic, health insurance
and other insurance products
have become increasingly cru-
cial. The government may
also consider giving addition-
al tax incentives to encour-
age people to get appropriate
health insurance. It is pre-
dicted that a separate bucket
for life insurance investment
for tax rebates under
section 80C would be created.
The government may broaden
the scope of Section 80D of the
Income Tax Act to allow people
of all ages to deduct expenses for
Covid-19 medical treatment for
themselves or family members.
The taxpayers also fear that
there might be a fee ranging from
Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,000 for filing in-
come tax returns.
The government should en-
hance the tax benefits for home
loans, which have remained near-
ly unchanged for many years.
There may be income tax deduc-
tion on housing loan interest to
increase from Rs 2 Lc to Rs 3 Lc,
as well as the extension of the
PMAY Credit Linked Subsidy
Scheme for middle-income
groups. Individuals also hope
that forthcoming Budget empha-
sizes growth by eliminating the
previously postponed GST on tex-
tiles and apparel. The people wish
for a well-calibrated decrease in
income tax slabs since this will
assist taxpayers in saving money
,
which may then be used to drive
additional spending and econom-
ic development, aiding the overall
recovery of the economy
.
BANKS, NBFCS AND
FINTECHS
Industry groups have proposed
creating a permanent refinanc-
ing window for NBFCs and clas-
sifying non-banking financial
firms as a priority sector for
banks to lend to.
Due to project delays caused by
the pandemic, for housing fi-
nance, the government may pro-
long the PMAY-CLSS program to
meet the government’s aim of
providing Housing for All by 2022.
The finance minister is antici-
pated to provide tax relief,
streamline investment, and pro-
vide further incentives to MS-
MEs for the MSME sector.
To boost business grew expo-
nentially, the government might
implementfiscalpolicyinitiatives
to help MSMEs and firms create a
robust digital infrastructure.
The public stands to benefit
from start-ups and the FinTech
business. People should be able to
rely on simple, safe, and one-stop-
solution services as a result of
FinTech businesses’ efforts. Fin-
Tech is a technology and innova-
tion-driven sector. The govern-
ment should concentrate on grow-
ing its digital footprint to facili-
tate access to financial services. It
will assist if systemic financial
institutions, such as FinTech NB-
FCs, can support small enterpris-
es through lower-cost financing
programs, the expansion of the
Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for
MicroandSmallEnterprises’cov-
erage, and appealing priority sec-
tor lending standards. A dedicat-
ed Fintech Hub for the Fintech
ecosystem should boost the sec-
tor’s visibility and growth. Fin-
tech organizations that specialize
in micro credit and lending invest
in technology and other tools to
reach out to unbanked or under-
banked people who aren’t served
by traditional NBFCs and banks.
They are striving toward the goal
of financial inclusion. A frame-
work for providing tax incentives
and quick access to cash would be
a positive move.
While India is home to over
17% of world’s population, 65 %
of whom are under the age of 35,
the country’s financial literacy
rate is only 24%. Personal fi-
nance should be taught in
schools so that citizens may
channel their savings into
investments and build
wealth for themselves
and the economy
. A policy
directive in that direction in the
future budget would be a positive
move in the right direction.
UNION BUDGET 2022
GREATEXPECTATIONS!
Individuals expect
the Union Budget
2022 to be savings-
centric, i.e. increasing
exemption limits
and deductions
to inculcate more
savings of post-tax
disposable incomes
which in turn will
fuel investments.
Individuals wish for
reduced effective
taxes for middle-
and low-income
households, either
through lower rates
or a higher standard
deduction.
E
A
SAVING-
CENTRIC
BUDGET!
Vol 1 Issue No. 153
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: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor:
Sharat K Verma responsible for selection of
news under the PRB Act
Govt. tirelessly
working to remove
roadblocks on the
growth track.Record
exports, robust
manufacturing
lightening speed of
execution of world-
class infrastructure is
proof that India means
business.
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Your right is only to perform your
duty. You do not have right to expect
any consequences there of.You should
neither be motivated by the fruits of
your action, nor should they
encourage you to be inactive.
— Bhagavad Gita
TOP
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INDIA
05
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Former
Congress President Ra-
hul Gandhi has said that
the party’s chief minis-
terial candidate will be
announced in Punjab. It
is being said that Rahul
is caught in the trap laid
by Delhi CM Arvind Ke-
jriwal in this matter,
however, nothing can be
farther from the truth. It
is in Congress’ interest
to contest by announc-
ing the name of current
CM Charanjit Singh
Channi in Punjab and
word is that Channi’s
name is more likely to
be announced by the
party. With the an-
nouncement of his
name, the party can ex-
pect to garner 34% Dalit
votes outrightly. Al-
though Navjot Singh
Sidhu, Pratap Singh Ba-
jwa, Sukhjinder Rand-
hawa and Sunil Jakhar
are also contenders,
Channi’s name is more
likely. So, in Punjab,
Congress will benefit
from the announcement
of CM’s candidate.
But what will hap-
pen in the rest of the
states? Will the Con-
gress announce the CM
contender in other
election states as well?
In UP, Priyanka Gan-
dhi Vadra had de-
scribed herself as a
contender, in gestures,
but within a day her
claim was withdrawn.
The Congress has
neither a face nor any
hope for the party in
UP. But in Uttarakhand,
Goa and Manipur, the
party has leaders and
there is hope. So, will
the Congress fight in
these states by declar-
ing its CM contenders?
In Uttarakhand too, if
the party makes Harish
Rawat a contender, it
can benefit from the
move. But looking at
the situation so far, it
does not seem that the
party will fight in other
states by declaring CM
contenders. This is rea-
son enough to believe
that it is because of Ke-
jriwal in Punjab that
the Congress has de-
cided to declare the CM
contender.
Where will Congress declare CM contenders?
DILEMMA IN CONGRESS
FALEIRO JOLTS
TRINAMOOL!
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: The true
hopes of the Trinamool
Congress in Goa seem to
be coming to an end as
the party's tallest leader
and former CM Luizin-
hoFaleirohasrefusedto
contest the assembly
elections. Earlier he had
to contest election and
his name was an-
nounced but suddenly
he said that he will not
contesttheelectionsand
will give a chance to
the young face in
his place. His an-
nouncement is a
big setback for
Trinamool. There
are chances of Mamata
Banerjee's party win-
ning two-three seats in
the Goa assembly elec-
tions, of which one seat
would have belonged to
Faleiro. With him not
contesting, this possi-
bility has diminished.
Now the party has hope
from Lekhi Churchill
Alemao. If the party
wins one or two seats
including Alemao, it
will be a major boost for
the party
.
Now the question is
why did Luizinho Fa-
leiro refuse to contest
the election? It was be-
lieved that if he had
fought, he would have
won the election. But he
has refused because he
doesn'tneedtofight.
Had he won the as-
sembly elections,
he was becoming
the CM but then he
wouldhavehadtoresign
from the Rajya Sabha.
Keep in mind that af-
ter including him in
his party, TMC has sent
him to the Rajya Sab-
ha. Had he become an
MLA, the party would
have asked him to
leave the Rajya Sabha.
Even if he could not
win, his status in TMC
would have been less.
Hence he is trying to
preserve his current
status so that a better
bargaining can be
done during LS polls.
High Court on Monday
declined to hear a Pub-
lic Interest Litigation
(PIL) seeking direction
to the Centre, Delhi
Government and others
to submit the plan for
the distribution of es-
sential supplies and
services during the up-
coming third wave of
COVID-19. The plea also
sought direction to sub-
mit the plan for availa-
bility and distribution
of oxygen during the
upcoming third wave
which is expected in
the next 10 days.
The bench of Justice
Vipin Sanghi and Jus-
tice Jasmeet Singh on
Monday showed their
displeasure on the pe-
titioner and said the
present situation of
pandemics is getting
better in Delhi. We
are dealing with a de-
clining number of cas-
es now, hospital beds
are vacant and you are
filing this frivolous pe-
tition now.
Petitioner Jagdish
Sharma, a Congress
leader stated that since
the last few days Omi-
cron is spreading
among the citizen very
fast therefore it poses a
grave threat of deadly
infection among the
population of the
country. —ANI
PM Modi meets Akali Dal (Sanyukt)
chiefSardarSukhdevSinghDhindsa
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Monday said that Rajya
Sabha MP
, Sardar Sukh-
devSinghDhindsa’spas-
sion for Punjab’s pro-
gress is always visible.
Earlier today, PM
Modi held a meeting
with Shiromani Akali
Dal (Sanyukt) head
Sardar Sukhdev Singh
Dhindsa who is also
BJP’s ally. Taking to
Twitter, PM Modi said,
“Had a wonderful
meeting with Rajya
Sabha MP, Sardar
Sukhdev Singh Dhind-
sa Ji. It is always a de-
light to hear his in-
sightful views on key
subjects. His passion
for Punjab’s progress
is always visible.”
This meeting came
ahead of the upcoming
Punjab Assembly
elections which will go
to the polls on Febru-
ary 20. —ANI
New Delhi: The Samy-
ukt Kisan Morcha, an
umbrella body of farm
unionsthatspearheaded
protestsagainsttheCen-
tre’s agri laws, on Mon-
day threatened to re-
sume its agitation if the
government does not
fulfil promises made to
farmers in Dec last year.
In a statement, the
SKM alleged that the
government had not ful-
filled any of the prom-
ises, including setting
up a committee on MSP
and withdrawal of cas-
es against protesters,
made to the farmers.
The farmers will be left
with no option but to
resume their agitation
if the govt continues to
renege on its promises,
it said. Following the
call of the SKM, farm-
ers across the country
observed ‘’Day of Be-
trayal’’ on Monday over
Centre’s non-fulfilment
of its promises. —PTI
SKM threatens to resume
stir against farm laws
AIADMK-BJP ALLIANCE
ONLY @NATIONAL LEVEL;
LOCAL BATTLE ALONE
COCONUT VENDOR
WHO WAS PRAISED
BY PM FEELS AMAZED
Chennai: After the seat-
sharing talks between the
AIADMK and BJP failed,
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K
Annamalai on Monday said
the saffron party would be
contesting the upcoming
urban local body polls alone
as they wished to strength-
en the party at the ground
level. He, however, added
that the alliance with the
AIADMK would continue at
national level and both will
fight 2024 Polls together.
Chennai: Thaiammal, who
donated Rs 1 lakh from
her savings to build a new
building for the panchayat
union middle school in her
village, said whatever hap-
pened since her donation
was something beyond her
imagination and dreams.
M Thaiammal (43) a tender
coconut vendor from
Udumalaipettai praised by
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in his monthly radio
address to the nation on
Sunday, said she did not
even imagine that her small
gesture for a local school
would attract national at-
tention. The Rs 1 lakh she
donated was collected over
about four years.
VISTARA CANCELS
SEVERAL FLIGHTS
FOR FEBRUARY
K’TAKA BJP MEET
WITH SHIVAKUMAR
SPURs SPECULATION
New Delhi: Vistara airline
had cancelled several flights
for the month of February
while many more were
rescheduled due to low
demand, sources in aviation
disclosed on Sunday. The
cancellation and reschedul-
ing of flights have led to
several complaints from
affected passengers. Taking
to Twitter, a passenger also
raised concern over the
unavailability of Vistara’s
customer care. Furnishing
a reply on the same, Vistara
Spokesperson on Monday
informed that they are offer-
ing a waiver of change fee
for one-time rescheduling
on all direct bookings with
travel until March 31.
Bengaluru: A private
meeting held by K’taka
Cong prez D K Shivakumar
with a BJP minister at the
former’s home on Monday
morning has triggered
speculation that the minis-
ter is unhappy with recent
changes in the state govt.
Both Tourism Min Anand
Singh and Shivakumar,
also an MLA, said the visit
was a courtesy call. “A visit
to the house is not about
politics,” Shivakumar said.
New Delhi: “Far more dangerous than Omicron is ‘O
Mitron’,” senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said
on Monday in an apparent swipe at the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, as he flagged “increased polarisation”
and the “weakening of democracy”. Congress leader
Shashi Tharoor has been attacking the government, al-
leging that it is indulging in divisive rhetoric and
spreading hatred. “Far more dangerous than
Omicron is ‘O Mitron’! We are measuring
the consequences of the latter every day
in increased polarisation, promotion
of hatred bigotry, insidious
assaults on the Constitu-
tion the weakening
of our democracy,” the
former Union minister
said in a tweet.
‘O MITRON’ MORE DANGEROUS THAN
OMICRON, SAYS SHASHI THAROOR
WEST BENGAL GOVT EASES COVID
CURBS; YAYS TO SCHOOLS, FLIGHTS
Kolkata: The West Bengal govt on Monday says
that that schools (classes VII–XII), colleges and
universities will reopen from February 3. Commu-
nity schools would be held for students
of classes V to VII. West Benghal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
also said that we are allowing direct
flights from UK but Passengers
coming from UK will have to un-
dergo RT-PCR test on arrival.
HIGHLIGHTS
l Tamil Nadu: Devotees
flout COVID protocols
as they bathe on Thai
Ammavasai
l Canadian PM Trudeau,
‘in hiding’ over
vax stir, says he’s
Covid-19 positive
l Odisha schools and
colleges not reopening
from February 10,
Govt calls notice fake
l Sri Lanka pacer
Nuwan Thushara tests
positive for COVID-19
ahead of Australia
series
PM Narendra Modi meets Sardar Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Monday.
AT 94, BADAL
TO BECOME
OLDEST
CANDIDATE
TO CONTEST
ELECTIONS
New Delhi: Five-
time former Punjab
Chief Minister and
senior Shiromani
Akali Dal (SAD)
leader Parkash
Singh Badal will
become the oldest
candidate to contest
any type of election
in the country as he
filed his nomina-
tion papers for the
upcoming assembly
polls in the state
on Monday. At the
age of 94, Badal will
contest the Punjab
Assembly polls
from his home turf
Lambi. Breaking the
age bar, before the
SAD patron, former
Kerala chief minister
VS Achuthanandan
had contested the
Assembly election
as the oldest candi-
date in 2016 at the
age of 92 years.
HIGHLIGHTS
l PRIYANKA GANDHI
BEGINS DOOR-TO-
DOOR CAMPAIGN IN
NOIDA FROM KALI
MATA MANDIR, EX-
PRESSES CONFIDENCE
IN DEFEATING BJP
 l Will win UP polls
very comfortably, says
Hema Malini
 l Charanjit Singh
Channi files his nomina-
tion papers before the
returning officer at Tapa
 l Captain Amarinder
Singh files nomination
from Patiala
 150 FIRs lodged for
violation of ECI’s Mod-
el Code of Conduct in
Uttarakhand
PILSEEKINGDIRECTIONS
TOCENTRE,DELHINIXED
PLAN FOR DISTRIBUTION OF ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES IN THIRD WAVE
Rahul Gandhi
Luizinho Faleiro
Arvind Kejriwal Charanjit Channi
PUNJAB
will give a chance to
the young face in
big setback for
Trinamool. There
has refused because he
doesn'tneedtofight.
Had he won the as-
sembly elections,
he was becoming
the CM but then he
GOA
GOA
ASSEMBLY POLLS
SAFE HOMECOMING!
Miram Taron (centre) with his parents at Tuting in Arunachal
Pradesh on Monday. Almost two weeks after he went
missing on border between India and China, he was
reunited with his family by the Indian Army on Monday.
ASSEMBLY POLLS:
CASES LODGED OVER
ALCOHOL, DRUGS
New Delhi: A little over
1% of the FIRs filed in
connection with the ongo-
ing Assembly elections
were related to violation of
COVID-19-related safety
norms, while just over
70% of the cases were
lodged under Acts dealing
with alcohol and drugs,
according to EC sources
on Monday. Till Monday,
25,365 complaints had
been received through
the EC’s cVIGIL app and
22,257 of them or 88%
were found to be correct,
the source said. The EC
had taken a zero tolerance
approach towards any at-
tempt to harm the sanctity
of the electoral process.
PR SREEJESH WINS
ATHLETE OF THE
YEAR 2021 AWARD
seasoned goalkeeper, PR
Sreejesh, was on Mon-
day named as The World
Games Athlete of the Year
for 2021. In 2020, Indian
women’s hockey captain
Rani Rampal became the
first Indian to win the hon-
our for her performances
in 2019. Veteran Indian
hockey goalkeeper PR Sre-
jeesh, was part of the men’s
team that claimed a bronze
medal in the Tokyo.
New Delhi: The issue of the wrong depiction of a map of
India on WHO’s website has been “raised strongly” with
the World Health Organisation, the Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA) said on Monday. The statement was made
in a written reply by Minister of State (MoS) V Muraleed-
haran to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The question was
asked by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. Scin-
dia had sought a response from the MEA on whether a
map of India on the WHO website “is depicting the Union
Territories of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh in a totally
different colour” and if so, whether the Government of
India has lodged any protest with the WHO in this regard.
MATTER RAISED AT HIGHEST LEVEL; MEA OVER
MAP SHOWING JK IN DIFFERENT COLOUR
New York: The United States has blocked the appoint-
ment of the next Pakistan ambassador, Masood Khan,
over possible terror links. US Congressman Scott Perry
wrote to the US President, Joe Biden, and requested him
to reject Masood Khan as the next ambassador. The US
Congressman mentioned that Masood was known to
have praised Burhan Wani. The US Congressman urged
President Joe Biden to reject “any diplomatic credentials
presented to him by Masood Khan. The letter said, “can
only be described as a breathtaking lack of judgment at
best,” it added that a pause is not enough. I urge you
to reject any diplomatic credentials presented to you by
Masood Khan and reject any effort by Pak Govt.
US BLOCKS PAKISTAN ENVOY’S APPOINTMENT
OVER POSSIBLE ‘TERROR LINKS’
CRUCIAL READ

BIZ BUZZ
06
Eco Survey projects 8-8.5%
GDP growth for FY 2022-23
economic growth is ex-
pected to remain in the
range of 8 to 8.5% in
2022-23 as against a pro-
jected growth of 9.2%
in the current financial
year and a sharp con-
traction witnessed in
2020-21, according to
the Economic Survey
2021-22 tabled in the
parliament on Monday
.
“With the vaccina-
tion programme hav-
ing covered the bulk
of the population,
economic momen-
tum building back
and the likely long-
term benefits of sup-
ply-side reforms in the
pipeline, the Indian
economy is in a good
position to witness
GDP growth of 8.0-
8.5% in 2022-23,” said
the annual survey re-
port released ahead of
the Union Budget.
However, the report
present-
e d
in the parliament by
Finance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman not-
ed the challenges aris-
ing out of the
n e w
C OV-
ID-19
vari-
a n t s
and uncertainties in
the global economy
.
“The global environ-
ment still remains un-
certain. At the time of
writing, a new wave in
the form of the Omi-
cron variant was
sweeping across the
world, inflation had
jumped up in most
countries, and the cycle
of liquidity withdraw-
al was being initiated
by major central banks.
This is why it is espe-
cially important to
look at India’s macroe-
conomic stability indi-
cators and their ability
to provide a buffer
against the above
stresses,” it said.
Overall, macro-eco-
nomic stability indica-
tors suggest that the
Indian economy is well
placed to take on the
challenges of 2022-23, it
said.
One of the reasons
that the Indian econo-
my is in a good position
is its unique response
strategy. Rather than
pre-commit to a rigid
response, the Govern-
ment of India opted to
use safety-nets for vul-
nerable sections on one
hand while responding
iteratively based on
Bayesian-updating of
information. —ANI
OVERALL ECO ACTIVITY HAS RECOVERED
Apr-Dec fiscal deficit at half
of FY22 budget estimate
New Delhi: Robust
growth in tax and non-
tax revenues has led to
a significant reduction
in fiscal deficit during
April-November 2021
when compared with
the corresponding pe-
riod of the previous
year, according to the
22.
The data on Govern-
ment accounts for
April to November
2021, released by the
Controller General of
Accounts, show that
the fiscal deficit of the
Central Government
at end November 2021
stood at 46.2% of the
budget estimate com-
pared to 135.1%
during the
same period
in 2020-21
a n d
114.8% during the
same period in 2019-20.
During this period
both fiscal deficit and
primary deficit stood
at levels much below
the corresponding lev-
els in the previous two
years. The primary
deficit during the pe-
riod April to Novem-
ber 2021 turned up at
nearly half of the level
it had
reached during April
to November 2019. The
fiscal deficit budgeted
in the current year
was more realistic as it
brought in several off-
budget items to within
the budget allocation
such as the food sub-
sidy requirements of
the Food Corporation
of India (FCI).
“In the backdrop of
an evolving pandemic
situation, Government
of India’s agile policy
response differed from
the waterfall strategy
of introducing front-
loaded stimulus pack-
ages, adopted by most
other countries in
2020,” noted the Eco-
nomic Survey 2021-22.
Revenue receipts
have grown at a much
higher pace during the
current financial year
(April to November
2021) compared to the
corresponding periods
during the last two
years. This perfor-
mance is attributable
to considerable
growth in both tax
and non-tax reve-
nue. —ANI
Banks weathered
pandemic shock
New Delhi: The com-
mercial banking sys-
tem has so far weath-
ered the pandemic
shock even if there are
some looming im-
pacts, said the 2022
Economic Survey
.
According to the
survey, the gross non-
performing advances
ratio of Scheduled
Commercial Banks
(SCBs) continued to
decline from 11.2% in
2017-18 to 6.9% by Sep-
tember 2021.
Moreover, the SCBs
witnessed net Non-
Performing advances
ratio declined from 6%
to 2.2% during the
same period.
The survey further
said, “accommodative
money policy, along
with other regulatory
dispensations, asset
classification stand-
still, temporary mora-
torium and provision
of adequate liquidity
was put in place in or-
der to provide a safety
net to the system.”
“Liquidity has been
down partly but re-
mains in surplus
mode and regulatory
measures have been
realigned,” read the
survey
.
The survey also said
that bank credit
growth accelerated
gradually in 2021-22
from 5.3% in April
2021 to 9.2% as of De-
cember 31, 2021.
—ANI
AGRI ALLIED SECTORS LEAST
impacted by COVID in last fiscal
New Delhi: Agricul-
ture and its allied sec-
tors have been the least
impacted by the COV-
ID-19, and is expected
to grow by 3.9% in
2022-23 after register-
ing 3.6% expansion in
the previous year.
“Increasing impor-
tance of allied sectors
including animal hus-
bandry, dairying and
fisheries in growth
and income of the
farmers indicates that
focus needs to shift
more towards harness-
ing the potential of al-
lied activities. There is
also a need to improve
the productivity of
small and marginal
farmers through devel-
opment and implemen-
tation of small holding
farm technologies,”
said the report.
It noted that crop di-
versification towards
oilseeds, pulses and
horticulture needs to
be given priority by ad-
dressing the core is-
sues of irrigation, in-
vestment, credit and
markets in their culti-
vation.
I n the Eco-
nomic Survey,
it was indicat-
e d that re-
search and develop-
ment in agriculture
and allied sectors can
play a major role in re-
alisation of sustaina-
ble agriculture prac-
tice that efficiently
meets the objectives of
nutritional security
and improvement in
farm income.
—ANI
Health sec expenditure
projected to be 73%
higher than 2019-20
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment expenditure
on health sector is pro-
jected to increase by
73% to `4.72 lakh crore
in 2021-22 when com-
pared with 2019-20, ac-
cording to the Eco-
“Although, the pan-
demic has affected al-
most all social servic-
es, yet the health sec-
tor was the worst hit.
Expenditure on health
sector increased from
`2.73 lakh crore in
2019-20 to `4.72
lakh crore in
2 0 2 1 - 2 2
(BE), an in-
crease of
n e a r l y
73%. For
the education
s e c t o r , the in-
crease
during
same pe-
riod was
20%,” said the
annual report.
The report noted
that the government’s
spending on social
services increased sig-
nificantly during the
pandemic.
As per the survey,
India has made sig-
nificant progress in
improving its health
outcomes over the last
two decades by elimi-
nating polio, guinea
worm disease, yaws
and maternal and neo-
natal tetanus.
—ANI
TOP PRIORITY
Over `1,500 crore paid to 1.2 lakh
depositors after DICGC Act changes
New Delhi: Over
`1,500 crore has been
paid to more than 1.2
lakh depositors of de-
faulting banks under
the Deposit Insurance
and Credit Guarantee
Corporation, since it
came into existence in
1961, as per the Eco-
The deposit insur-
ance coverage that be-
gan with `1,500 in 1961,
was raised gradually to
`1 lakh in 1993.
After the announce-
ment in the Union
budget 2020-21, the de-
posit insurance cover
was increased from `1
lakh to `5 lakh per de-
positor per bank.
The Deposit Insur-
ance and Credit Guar-
antee Corporation
(Amendment) Act,
passed by Parliament
in 2021, made signifi-
cant changes in the
landscape of deposit
insurance in India.
Under the Act, the
Corporation is liable to
pay the insured deposit
amount to depositors
of an insured bank.
Such liability may
arise when an insured
bank undergoes liqui-
dation, reconstruction
or any other arrange-
ment under a scheme,
and merger or acquisi-
tion by another bank.
“Since the Act came
into force, over `1,500
crore has been paid to
over 1.2 lakh deposi-
tors against their
claims, as of early Jan-
uary 2022,” the survey
said.
With deposit insur-
ance coverage of `5
lakh per depositor per
bank, the number of
fully-protected ac-
counts stood at 247.8
crore at end-March
2021, constituting
98.1% of the total num-
ber of accounts at 252.6
crore, as against the
international bench-
mark of 80%. —PTI
SENSEX SURGES 814 POINTS; NIFTY ENDS AT 17,340
Mumbai: The BSE Sensex surged 813
points to reclaim the 58,000-level
while the Nifty breached the 17,300-
mark on Monday on account of in-
tense buying across sectors after
the Economic Survey 2021-22
projected healthy growth for the
economy in the near term.
A positive opening in European
markets and a firm trend in Asian
equities also supported the domestic
bourses, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex opened with
significant gains and kept its momentum
throughout the session. It finally closed
at 58,014.17, clocking a gain of 813.94
points or 1.42%.
Likewise, the NSE Nifty rallied 237.90
points or 1.39% to end at 17,339.85.
In the Sensex pack, —PTI
ROAD CONSTRUCTION INCREASED
TO 36.5 KM/DAY IN 2021-22
New Delhi: Capital expenditure for Indian Rail-
ways has been budgeted to `2,15,058 crore
for the financial year 2021-22 from `1,55,181
crore in 2020-21, said the 2022 Economic Sur-
vey. The Economic Survey also said that the
extent of road construction per day increased
from 28 km in 2019-20 to 36.5 km in 2021-22.
The survey also said that the growth of the
industrial sector was 22.9% in the
first half of the financial year vis-a-
vis the corresponding period of
2020-21 and it is expected to
grow by 11.8% in the
financial year. —ANI
SIGNIFICANT ACCELERATION IN
FORMALISATION OF JOB MARKET
New Delhi: An analysis of the latest EPFO
data suggests a significant acceleration in
formalisation of the job market, driven by both
new formal jobs and formalisation of existing
jobs, during 2021. “An analysis of the latest
EPFO data suggests significant acceleration
in formalisation of the job market, driven by
both new formal jobs and
formalisation of existing
jobs, during 2021, with
13.95 lakh net addition to
EPF subscribers in Nov
2021,” the Economic
Survey stated. —ANI
Robust growth in
tax and non-tax
revenues has led
to a significant
reduction in fiscal
deficit during
April-Nov 2021

07
NEWS
Patiala: Punjab Lok
Congress chief Amarid-
ner Singh Monday pre-
dicted an “abysmal”
defeat for Navjot Singh
Sidhu from Amritsar
East, saying the Punjab
Congress chief won
from this seat in the
past only with the sup-
port of the BJP. He also
dubbed as a “farce”,
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi’s announce-
ment that the party’s
chief ministerial face
will be decided with in-
puts from the ground.
After filing his nomi-
nation papers from Pa-
tiala Urban and inaugu-
rating his party office
inthecity
,Singhtermed
“ridiculous” Sidhu’s
charge that he was be-
hind the Shiromani
Akali Dal (SAD) field-
ing Bikram Singh Ma-
jithia against the state
Congress chief.
“I am not Majithia’s
uncle,” said the PLC
leader, adding that with
38 per cent of the voters
in Amritsar East being
Hindus and 32 per cent
SCs, Sidhu’s defeat was
certain.
The BJP, as part of
the alliance with PLC
and Shiromani Akali
Dal (Sanyukt), has field-
ed a strong candidate
from the constituency,
he added.
The SAD has fielded
Majithia from Amritsar
East seat from where
Sidhu is seeking re-elec-
tion in the February 20
state assembly polls.
On Rahul Gandhi’s
statement that the Con-
gress would announce
its chief ministerial
candidate in the state
after taking inputs from
the ground, Singh said
this was just “theat-
rics”.
He pointed out that as
per procedure, the peo-
ple elect their MLAs
and then the Congress
Legislature Party de-
cide on the chief minis-
ter. “So all this talk is
just drama.” —PTI
Ashok Kaura
Phagwara: BJP candi-
date from Phagwara As-
sembly Constituency
Vijay Sampla got a shot
in the arm on Monday
when Senior Congress
Leader and Improve-
ment Trust Phagwara
Chairman Sohan Lal
Banga joined BJP in the
presence of senior BJP
Leaders. Earlier He met
Senior BJP Leader and
Punjab BJP Incharge
Ganjender Sheikhawat
atChandigarhlastnight.
Banga a former PPCC
Secretary was annoyed
by Congress for denying
party ticket to him.
Meanwhile two for-
merBJPcouncillorswho
had joined the Congress
after deep differences
with Union Minister
Som Parkash re-joined
the BJP in support of
Sampla on Monday
.
These leaders included
Gurdeep Deepa and Om
Prakash Bittu and their
associates At BJP’s elec-
tion office at Hargobind
Nagar,Samplawelcomed
them and said their full
dignity would be main-
tainedintheparty
.Mean-
while Sampla filed his
nomination papers as
BJPCandidatebeforeRe-
turning Officer cum
SDMPhagwaraKulpreet
Singh on Monday
. Inter-
estingly Union Minister
Som Parkash who is be-
ing considered as the op-
ponentof Samplaaccom-
panied Sampla.
Ahmedabad: Several
Hindu outfits held pro-
tests across Gujarat on
Monday against the kill-
ing of a youth in Dhand-
hukatownhereonJanu-
ary 25 over a Facebook
post he had shared on
January6thatsomepeo-
ple alleged hurt their
religious sentiments.
Kishan Boliya was
shot dead by two motor-
cycle-bornemenoverthe
postandfourpeoplehave
beenarrestedinthecase,
probe of which was tak-
en over by Gujarat ATS.
On Monday
, function-
aries of various Hindu
outfitsorganisedvehicle
rallies and foot marches
in several cities, with
the police having to re-
sort to a mild baton
charge in Rajkot. —PTI
London: Prime Minis-
ter Boris Johnson has
received a long-awaited
report from an investi-
gation into lockdown-
breaching government
parties, the government
said Monday
. The Cabi-
net Office said senior
civil servant Sue Gray
has provided an update
on her investigations to
the Prime Minister.”
Johnson’s office has
promised the report
will be published swift-
ly, and that the prime
minister will address
Parliament about its
findings.
But Monday’s update
is unlikely to tell the full
story
. Some of Gray’s
findings are being with-
held because of a sepa-
rate police investigation
into whether some of
the gatherings broke
COVID-19 laws. —AP
New Delhi: As many as
413 prisoners, who have
been awarded death
sentence, were lodged
in jails across the coun-
try till the end of 2020,
according to a new cen-
tral government data.
Of the total death
row prisoners, 94 were
sentenced to capital
punishment in 2020,
stated the National
Crime Records Bu-
reau’s annual ‘Prison
Statistics India 2020’.
The death sentence of
29convictswascommut-
ed to life imprisonment
in 2020, according to the
NCRB, which functions
under the Ministry of
Home Affairs.
“A total of 94 persons
wereawardeddeathpen-
alty during 2020 in the
country
. Out of 94 per-
sons awarded with capi-
tal punishment, UP and
Rajasthan reported 15
persons each, followed
by West Bengal (14), Bi-
har (8) and Jharkhand
and Tamil Nadu (6
each),” report stated.
Out of 29 whose death
sentence was commut-
ed to life imprisonment,
24.1% (seven) were re-
ported from Maharash-
tra followed by Ra-
jasthan and Tamil Nadu
(5 and 17.2% each).
A total of 413 convicts
(including 319 persons
of previous years and
94 persons sentenced
during the year 2020)
sentenced with capital
punishment were
lodged in various jails,
accounting for 0.36% of
the total convicts.
UP has reported the
highest number of such
convicts accounting for
12.8% (53 out of 413) of
total convicts sentenced
with capital punish-
ment in the country fol-
lowed by Maharashtra
(49, 11.9%) and Madhya
Pradesh (40, 9.7%), it
noted. —PTI
Over400deathrowprisonersinIndianjailstill2020
DATA SAYS
lll
The death
sentence of 29
convicts was
commuted to life
imprisonment in
2020, according
to the National
Crime Records
Bureau’s annual
Prison Statistics
Contesting all seats in UP after 3 decades big gain for Cong: Priyanka
Noida: Congress lead-
er Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra on Monday said
her party will be con-
testing all the 403 As-
sembly seats in the up-
coming Uttar Pradesh
polls after nearly three
decades, terming it a
“major achievement”.
The Congress gen-
eral secretary and the
party in-charge for Ut-
tar Pradesh also said
she is mentally pre-
pared to face FIRs,
court cases or even a
jail term in her attempt
to put up a fight against
the Yogi Adityanath
government.
Interacting with re-
porters during her
visit to Noida in Gau-
tam Buddh Nagar dis-
trict, she said, “It is af-
ter almost three dec-
ades that the Congress
will be fighting the As-
sembly polls on all 403
seats of Uttar Pradesh.
I think it is a major
achievement. We will
contest all seats and
give a good fight.”
The Congress fought
the 2017 Uttar Pradesh
election in a tie-up
with the Samajwadi
Party (SP). The
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty (BJP) swept the
polls, bagging over 300
of the 403 seats, while
the Congress-SP com-
bine could manage to
win less than 60 seats.
Priyanka Gandhi
was in Noida, which
goes to polls on Febru-
ary 10, to drum up sup-
port for Congress can-
didate Pankhuri
Pathak.
OntheUttarPradesh
police lodging FIRs
against Congress lead-
ers like Chhattisgarh
Chief Minister Bhu-
pesh Baghel during
poll campaigning, she
said, “I am mentally
prepared ever since I
started working in Ut-
tar Pradesh. They can
lodge cases, arrest me
or put me in jail, but we
are prepared to fight
and struggle for the
people.”
The Congress gen-
eral secretary hit out at
her party’s political ri-
vals for allegedly focus-
sing their politics on
caste and communal
lines and appealed to
people to focus on is-
sues of development
and local problems in
the upcoming election.
With women safety
and their empower-
ment being a key poll
plank of the Congress,
Priyanka Gandhi ap-
pealed to the women of
the state to realise
their power and make
the election about their
issues.
“All women must re-
alise the power they
have. Today
, women are
not considered a politi-
cal power and why is
that? They constitute
half of the population
but are still not taken
seriously in politics be-
cause they are not unit-
ed. All women must
stand united and de-
clare that they want
politics for their fu-
ture, self-reliance, in-
dependence and de-
mand a chance to
fight,” she said. —PTI
Priyanka Gandhi receives a warm welcome during the door-to-door campaign, in Noida on Monday.
Says she is prepared to face FIRs,
court cases or even jail term in
her fight against the Yogi govt
Johnson gets ‘partygate’
report but questions linger
Improvement Trust
Phagwara chief SL
Banga joins BJP
Bedsheets used to rescue patients
from smoke-filled Gujarat hospital
Man killed over Facebook post: Hindu
outfits hold protests across Gujarat
Junagadh: Without
waiting for stretchers,
alert staffers at a private
hospital used bedsheets
toquicklycarrypatients
out of the medical facil-
itywhichwasfilledwith
smoke in the wee hours
of Monday in Junagadh
cityfollowingafireinan
adjacent laboratory
.
The hospital had not
caught fire, but it re-
ceivedamassiveamount
of smoke emanating
from the blaze-hit labo-
ratory
,adiagnosticscen-
tre. In all, ten patients
were rescued from the
hospital and admitted to
the city’s civil hospital,
doctors said. Of them,
five patients suffered
from breathing compli-
cations due to smoke in-
halation —PTI
Amarinder predicts ‘abysmal’ defeat
for Navjot Sidhu from Amritsar East
CHANNI CLAIMING CREDIT OF WORKS
DONE BY MY GOVT: CAPT AMARINDER
Patiala: Punjab Lok Congress chief Capt Amarinder
Singh on Monday trashed CM Charanjit Singh
Channi’s claims over welfare works, claiming that the
ruling Congress government is taking credit of the
works which were done when he was the Punjab CM.
Amarinder Singh had quit the Congress following
his unceremonious exit as the CM last year. Later,
he floated the Punjab Lok Congress and now has a
alliance with the BJP and the SAD (Sanyukt) for the
Assembly polls scheduled for February 20. —PTI
SIDHU’S
VISION FOR
PUNJAB
Chandigarh: Re-
leasing his vision
for the state, PPCC
chief Navjot Singh
Sidhu on Monday
said that Punjab
Model is based
on the visions of
great congress-
men and derives
its inspiration from
Guru Nanak Dev
Ji’s philosophy of
“Sarbhat Da Bhala”
(welfare of all).
Speaking to media
Sidhu said that the
Punjab Model aims
at bringing the
power back in the
hands of its people.
AFTER FILING HIS NOMINATION PAPERS FROM PATIALA URBAN, CAPT RIDICULES NAVJOT SIDHU
Capt Amarinder Singh along with Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat arrives to file his
nomination from Patiala Urban, at Mini Secretariat, in Patiala on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
SL Banga joining BJP in the presence of Vijay Sampla and others
Members of various Hindu outfits staging a dharna in Dhandhuka
town in Gujarat on Monday. The hospital had not caught fire but it got filled with smoke.

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
5,683,403
TOTAL DEATHS
297,218,688
TOTAL RECOVERED
72,945,363
ACTIVE CASES
375,847,454
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
495,050
TOTAL DEATHS
38,976,122
TOTAL RECOVERED
1,831,268
ACTIVE CASES
41,302,440
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
Smriti Irani touches feet of Mulayam and hearts of netizens
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Samajwadi
Party (SP) founder-pa-
tron and MP Mulayam
Singh Yadav was seen
blessing Union Minister
Smriti Irani as she
touched his feet at the
Parliament complex on
thefirstdayof theBudg-
et session on Monday
.
The video shows Ya-
dav entering the Parlia-
ment, carefully step-
ping down the stairs.
Upon seeing him, Irani
approache him and
touches his feet, which
the SP veteran acknowl-
edges by blessing her.
Also on Monday, Con-
gress leader Rahul Gan-
dhi and Smriti Irani
were seen exchanging
glances at the footsteps
of the entry gates to the
House. Although the
two were surrounded
by other Parliamentar-
ians, the picture be-
came a moment of ‘po-
litical reckoning.’
The netizens wasted
no chance to show their
‘expertise’ on the devel-
opment. Some of them
claimed that Irani
looked like was taking a
dig at Gandhi for the lat-
ter’s humiliating defeat
against her in Amethi.
“Amethi yaad hai na Ra-
hul ji !! Yes I was the one
to set a perfect example
of LadkiHoonLadSakti
Hoon for you. Hail to
#smritiirani Ji #wom-
enempowerment,” a
Twitter user wrote.
Amethi has been the
‘safe’seatfortheGandhi
family and the Congress
party
. Since the 1960s, it
has always been won by
a Congress candidate,
except on two brief oc-
casions. It has been the
constituency that sent
Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv
Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi
and even Rahul Gandhi
to the Parliament. But
on May 23, 2019, Irani
breached the Gandhi
bastion of Amethi by a
margin of 55,000 votes.
AAPhailsGuv’sorderofinquiry
insandmafiacaseagainstChanni
Mahesh Kumar
Chandigarh: The Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP)
Punjab has welcomed
the decision of Gover-
nor Banwari Lal Puro-
hit, who has ordered the
DGP to conduct a high-
level inquiry in the al-
legations of illegal sand
mining against CM
Charanjit Channi.
While addressing the
media on Monday, AAP
Punjab affairs co-in-
charge Raghav Chadha
said that AAP had sub-
mitted a letter to the
Governor and demand-
ed an inquiry against
Channi. Chadha
thanked the Governor
for accepting Aam Aad-
mi Party’s demand and
hoped that the Punjab
Police would conduct a
fair and independent in-
vestigationinthematter
and punish the guilty
.
Referring to the letter
related to the order of
inquiry, Chadha said
that the Governor has
taken cognizance of the
matter and has ordered
DGP VK Bhawra to take
action against Channi
for illegal sand mafia
his constituency Cham-
kaur Sahib’s village
Jindapur. Governor has
asked the DGP to con-
duct a high level in-
quiry into illegal sand
mining and hand over
the report to him. Chad-
ha appealed to the DGP
and Punjab Police not to
come under any kind of
political pressure and
register an FIR against
CM Channi after con-
ducting a fair and inde-
pendent investigation
into the whole matter.
Raghav Chadha says that AAP had
submitted a letter to the Punjab guv
Raghav Chadha addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on Monday.
Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab
Senior Leader and Leader of Opposition Harpal
Singh Cheema alleged that despite nearly one
lakh vacancies in various government depart-
ments in Punjab, the Congress government
and SAD-BJP government did not provide jobs
to the youth of the state and on the top of that
they kept exploiting the unemployed youth
financially, by charging crores of rupees in the
form of recruitment process and farms fees.
COMPLETING RECRUITMENT PROCESS AND FILLING UP
VACANCIES WILL BE AAP’S PRIORITY: LOP CHEEMA
Political parties friends in
Bihar become foe in UP
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Politics not
only makes for strange
bed-fellows but also ap-
parently turns friends
into foe. A case in point
is that of Janata Dal
(United) and Vi-
kassheel Insaan Party
(VIP). They are friends
in Bihar but foes in Ut-
tar Pradesh assembly
polls 2022.
Part of the ruling
NDA government in
Bihar both are contest-
ing the UP elections
alone after the BJP re-
fused an alliance with
them.
Though JD(U) na-
tional spokesperson
K.C.Tyagiinsistedthat
this will not affect the
alliance in Bihar, he
said that his party was
disappointed and was
contesting the UP elec-
tions alone.
The JD(U) has de-
clared a list of 20 candi-
dates. It will contest a
total of 50 seats with fo-
cus on central and east-
ern Uttar Pradesh, said
state party president
Anup Singh Patel. Un-
ion minister and senior
JD(U)leaderRCPSingh
wasintalkswiththetop
leaders of BJP to stitch
upanalliancefortheUP
Assembly elections but
it did not materialise.
Singh’s name is now
missing from the list of
JD (U)’s star campaign-
ers in UP
. Patel refused
to comment on this.
“Onlythetopleadership
can say something on
this,” he said.
VIP, a Nishad-cen-
tric party, had also
made an attempt to
form an alliance with
the BJP, riding on the
hope that being a part
of NDA in Bihar will
make it easy for it.
However, that did
not work out either. In
fact, BJP, in Uttar
Pradesh, is in alliance
with the Nishad Party
,
which represents the
community
.
FRESH SALVO
Nearly 100 cities see improved air quality
New Delhi: As many
as 96 cities across the
country have witnessed
an improvement in the
air quality with the
government taking a
host of measures, in-
cluding steps to curtail
vehicular emissions,
22 said on Monday
.
The govt has ap-
proved Phase-II of
FAME scheme with an
outlay of Rs 10,000 crore
foraperiodof fiveyears
commencingfromApril
1, 2019 as part of its ef-
forts to promote electric
vehicle adoption and
reduce air pollution.
Out of total budget-
ary support, about 86
per cent of funds has
been allocated for de-
mand incentive so as to
create demand for elec-
tric vehicles (EVs) in
the country, it added.
“This phase aims to
generate de-
mand by
way of sup-
porting 7,090
e-buses, 5
lakh e-3
wheelers,
55,000 e-4
wheeler
passen-
ger cars
(includ-
ing strong hybrid) and
10 lakh e-2 wheelers,”
the Economic Survey
stated.
Permit require-
ments for electric vehi-
cles have been re-
moved, it added.
“As a result of these
initiatives, 96
cities showed a decreas-
ing trend of PM10 con-
centration in 2020-21 as
compared to 2019-20.
The number of cities
within the prescribed
National Ambient Air
Quality Standard
(PM10 less than 60 g/
m3) also increased
from 18 in 2019-20 to 27
in 2020-21,” it noted.
However,airpollution
remains a major con-
cern,with36citiesshow-
ing an increasing trend
in PM10 concentration
in2020-2021ascompared
to 2019-2020, it added.
—PTI
‘Operation Maa’ author in Kashmir, Lt Gen Dhillon hangs up his boots
New Delhi: After serv-
ing at various strategic
postings in the Indian
Army during his career
spanning 39 years, Lt
Gen KJS Dhillon re-
tired on Monday, with
his last assignment be-
ing that of Director
General Defence Intel-
ligence Agency and
Deputy Chief of Inte-
grated Defence Staff
(Intelligence).
Commissioned in the
army in December 1983,
the illustrious officer,
popularly known as
‘Tiny Dhillon’, earned
widespreadappreciation
for initiating Operation
Maa’ during his tenure
as the head of Kashmir-
based XV Corps where
he approached the fami-
lies especially mothers
of misguided youths
who had joined militan-
cyandrequestedthemto
bring back their chil-
dren into the national
mainstream.
“Do good and serve
your mother, then your
mother and then your
father. This is the im-
portance of the mother
in the Holy Quran. This
was the message I used
to tell all the misguided
youths,” he said.
Lt Gen Dhillon came
in the spotlight immedi-
ately after taking over
as the Corps command-
er of the strategically
located XV Corps when
security forces elimi-
nated Kamran alias
‘Ghazi’, mastermind of
the February 2019 ter-
ror attack on CRPF per-
sonnel in Pulwama that
left 40 jawans dead.
“Kitne Ghazi aaye
aur kitne gaye, hum ya-
hin hain dekh lenge
sabko (Many such ter-
rorists have come and
gone, we stand where
we are rock solid),”
were his comments dur-
ing a press conference
to announce the suc-
cess.
The statement, which
went viral on social me-
dia with lakhs of hits
recorded on YouTube
and Twitter, was seen as
a reflection of the ar-
my’s resolve in fighting
terrorism along the
Line of Control as well
as the hinterland. —PTI
Endingonesuccessfulinnings,
Aryasetsforthforanewinning!
Dr Rituraj Sharma
Jaipur: On the day he
ended his over 3 decade
longinningsasabureau-
crat, former Chief Secre-
tary Niranjan Arya got
thegoldenopportunityto
startyetanotherinnings,
this time in the quasi po-
litical role as the advisor
to rajasthan CM Ashok
Gehlot. In fact, when his
appointment to the Ra-
jasthan Public Service
Commission (RPSC) as
its Chairman got stuck
due to various compul-
sions, Gehlot honoured
therelationbetweenhim
and Arya and also Arya
unflinching loyalty to-
wardsthetoweringChief
Minister and accorded
him an important place
in his own office!
Interestingly, Arya
will be in a ‘different
league’ among the
league of advisors and
withtheeyesseton2023,
will be the chief politi-
cal advisor to CM.
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot Niranjan Arya
Every ending is a new beginning- you
may not feel it but deep down, we all
must believe it!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Lt Gen KJS Dhillon

he fashion in-
dustry is always
categorized as a
dynamic one,
where consum-
er preferences
surely rule the
market. There is no
denying that Indian
arts, crafts, and local
traditions are unpar-
alleled the world
over, often inspiring
global fashion
trends.
Jaipur Dori,
founded in 2015 by
Princess Shalini
Narukaa of Jaw-
li, Alwar, focuses
on fabric, crafts-
manship and
comfort. It is a
sustainable
unisex cloth-
ing brand ear-
lier known as
M i r a a y a ,
based in
Jaipur. 10%
of proceeds
earned by Jaipur Dori go
towards Angles Care - A
school for the underprivi-
leged under Shalini’s Foun-
dation and rewilding Jawai
Seva for semi arid ecologi-
cal conservation. Jaipur
Dori is committed to in-
volving more sustainably
ethical and responsible
practices while remaining
devoted to bridging the gap
between western and Indi-
an patterns by creating de-
signs that are fluid, bold
and rooted to the soil.
As a young girl, Princess
Shalini was much motivat-
ed by her mother (Late
RaniSahibaRatanKumari,
Princess of Nachana, Jais-
almer) who used to use
leftover fabrics, and other
recyclable material to cre-
ate toys for the local village
children. She was fascinat-
ed by needlework and the
wayhermothercouldmake
clothes out of thread and
wool, that was when Sha-
lini learnt the word cro-
chet, leading her to explore
several mediums of mak-
ing garments and embroi-
dery
.
Most of Shalini’s child-
hood and teens years went
into spending time with the
local craftsmen and women
observing and alongside
learning how to create de-
tails in the design, Shalini
started visiting the library
to explore more about fash-
ion of the past, she started
creating her own sketches
and took to the machine,
what started as fascination
became a part of who Sha-
lini was becoming. In her
late 20’s Princess Shalini
started professionally
making clothes for friends
and family leading her to
make bridal dresses, she
would then use the lefto-
ver fabric material to make
clothes for the needy in her
spare time. Jaipur Dori is
creatingasymphonythatis
ultimately inspired by a
strong female figure such
as herself.
NEW DELHI, TUESDAY
FEBRUARY 1, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
JAIPUR DORI:
A PERFECT BLEND OF
TREND AND CULTURE
Jaipur Dori is a brand that has made its presence felt
by creating ethnic fashion in a contemporary format.
Princess Shalini Narukaa of Jawli, Alwar, the
participating designer for the First India Fashion
Connect, season 11 to be held at Oaks Ibn Batuta
Gate Hotel, Dubai on March 12, has been a powerful
pillar and backbone of the brand, leading to a large
customer base and unprecedented success!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
T
Princess Shalini Narukaa
Rajkumari Padmaja Jodhpur rewilding
Jawai Seva wearing Jaipur Dori
Riddhi

01022022 first india new delhi

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