02042022_ First India New Delhi.pdf

As Shah embarks on 2-day visit to Karnataka,
BJP denies mulling over leadership change
Bengaluru (ANI): As
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah embarked on
his two-day visit to Kar-
nataka which is sched-
uled to go to Assembly
polls next year, top BJP
sources said that the
party does not succumb
to any pressure and is
not mulling any change
of leadership ahead of
the crucial elections.
Shah arrived at the
HAL airport in Bengal-
uru on Thursday late at
night and was received
by Karnataka CM Basa-
varaj Bommai and Un-
ion Parliamentary Af-
fairs Minister Pralhad
Joshi and other leaders.
During his two-day
visit, Shah will be hold-
ing meetings with BJP
core groups of the state.
The meetings assume
a lot of significance
given the fact that there
have been several
rounds of speculations
that there could be a
change of leadership in
the state including the
Chief Minister as well
as the party president.
Top sources in the
BJP rubbished any pos-
sibility of a change of
leadership in the state.
“There is no question
of change of leadership
in the state... The presi-
dent (Nalin Kateel) has
been given a term and
he will definitely com-
plete that,” said the
sources.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurates “The Bharat Darshan
Sushasan Yatra” along with MP Tejasvi Surya (L) and Karnataka CM
Basavaraj Bommai (C), in Bengaluru on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
LET CHILDREN FOLLOW
THEIR OWN DREAMS
New Delhi: At the fifth
edition of Pariksha Pe
Charcha Saturday,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi Saturday
dealt with a myriad set
of issues related to ex-
ams and education, in-
cluding stress manage-
ment, dealing with so-
cial media distractions
and choosing between
competitive and school
exams.
He also spoke of the
National Education
Policy and the role of
women in education.
He said students
should appear for ex-
ams in a “festive mood”
and without any stress.
...PM MODI’S MESSAGE
TO PARENTS, TEACHERS
PM Narendra Modi interacts with students during ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ programme in New Delhi.
l From stress to
social media to NEP:
Modi tackles range of
questions at Pariksha
Pe Charcha
l The event was held
at Talkatora Stadium
and saw the presence
of around 1000
students from schools
of Delhi NCR, along
with their teachers
Technology was not a bane and it should be used effectively.
Students can use ‘online’ medium to gain knowledge and
execute it offline. When you read, do you actually read or
watch reels? In reality, the fault does not lie with online or
offline mediums —Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
MISS UNIVERSE HARNAAZ SANDHU
REVEALS SHE HAS CELIAC DISEASE
Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu offers prayers at the Golden temple in Amritsar on Friday.

z Miss Universe
2021 Harnaaz Kaur
Sandhu revealed that
she is suffering from
Celiac disease

z Sandhu said, I’m
one of those who was
first bullied that ‘she’s
too skinny’ and now
being labelled as fat

z Celiac disease is an
autoimmune condition,
in which the affected
person’s own immune
system works against
the body causing
weight loss, gain and
neurological diseases
Ready to discuss if India wants
to buy anything from us: Lavrov
Most major
Russian oil
buyers in
Europe: India
response to
UK minister
New Delhi: An un-
scripted sharp ex-
change between Ex-
ternal Affairs minis-
ter S Jaishankar and
his counterpart, vis-
iting British Foreign
Secretary Liz Truss,
highlighted the di-
vergences between
New Delhi and Lon-
don on the issue of
sanctions on Russia.
With Secretary
Truss listening, Jais-
hankar said that talk
of sanctions “looks
like a campaign” and
it was Europe that
was buying more oil
from Russia than be-
fore the war.
While the British
Foreign Secretary re-
peatedly talked about
Russian aggression,
Jaishankar did not
name Russia in his
statements during
the 45-minute talk.
The Russian Foreign Minister highlighted the possibility of
India becoming a mediator between Russia and Ukraine
and resolve the conflict. He said efforts to move away from
dollar-based payments and pitched for ruble-rupee system
New Delhi: Russian
Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov on
Friday, after holding
talks with External
Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar, said that
Moscow is ready to
discuss India’s re-
quirement of crude
oil, if the country
wants to buy it from
them. The high-level
talks come in the
backdrop of indica-
tions that India could
buy greater volumes
of discounted Rus-
sian oil and both
sides were keen on
having a ruble-rupee
arrangement for bi-
lateral trade.
“If India wants to
buy anything from
Russia, we are ready
to discuss it,” he said.
The US warned of
consequences over
attempts to “circum-
vent” American
sanctions against
Moscow. After the
meeting, Lavrov said
that the “Indian for-
eign policies are
characterised by in-
dependence and the
concentration on
real national legiti-
mate interests.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov. In the 40-minute meeting, PM
Modi called for an end to violence as Lavrov briefed him
on Ukraine situation including peace negotiations.
IN RUSSIAN AIRSPACE,
UKRAINE CHOPPERS
STRIKE FUEL DEPOT
Moscow: Talks to stop
the fighting in Ukraine
resumed on Friday, as
Russia accused the
Ukrainians of a cross-bor-
der helicopter attack on an
oil depot. The governor of
Russia’s Belgorod region,
Vyacheslav Gladkov, said
an airstrike on Russian
soil by a pair of helicopter
gunships caused fires and
wounded two people.
NEPAL PM MEETS EAM,
TO HOLD TALKS WITH
PM MODI TODAY
New Delhi: Nepal Prime
Minister Sher Bahadur
Deuba met External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar and
Foreign Secretary Harsh
Shringla in Delhi on Friday.
The Nepalese PM arrived
in India today for a three-
day visit, accompanied by
officials and his spouse Dr
Arzu Deuba. Nepal’s Prime
Minister is visiting India at
the invitation of Modi. P5
INDIA IN FAVOUR OF RESOLVING DISPUTES
VIA DIPLOMACY: SAYS EAM JAISHANKAR
New Delhi: India has always been in favour of resolving
disputes through diplomacy, External Affairs Minister
S Jaishankar said on Friday during a meeting with his
Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in New Delhi. In his
opening remarks at the Hyderabad House, Jaishankar
said: “Our bilateral relations have continued to grow
in many areas and we have diversified our cooperation
by expanding our agenda. Our meeting takes place in a
difficult international environment quite apart from the
pandemic,” added Jaishankar.
Punjab Assembly passes
resolution for transfer
of Chandigarh to Punjab
Chandigarh: Days af-
ter Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah an-
nounced that the Cen-
tral Service rules will
be applicable to employ-
ees of Chandigarh in-
stead of the Punjab ser-
vice rules, the Punjab
Assembly in a special
session Friday unani-
mously passed the offi-
cial resolution reiterat-
ing the state’s claim on
Chandigarh.
The Resolution was
passed by voice vote in
absence of BJP mem-
bers, who walked out.
The newly-inducted
Punjab Chief Minister,
Bhagwant Mann,
while addressing
the House, said, “I
guarantee the people
of the state that I will
fight for the rights of
the state, seek ap-
pointment with Prime
Minister and take up
the issue with him.”
My life is in danger, says
PM Imran ahead of voting
on no-vonfidence motion
Islamabad: Prime
Minister Imran Khan
said on Friday that he
has credible informa-
tion that his life is in
danger but asserted
that he is not afraid and
will continue his fight
for an independent and
democratic Pakistan.
In an interview with
ARY News ahead of
Sunday’s no-confidence
motion in the National
Assembly against him,
Mr Khan said the “es-
tablishment” (the pow-
erful military) gave him
three options - no-confi-
dence vote, early elec-
tions or resignation as
the Prime Minister.
Pakistan PM Imran Khan
A ‘powerful country’
supporting India is
angry with Pak for
Russia visit: Khan
NEW DELHI l SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 212
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea by the Maharashtra government chal-
lenging the Bombay High Court order which rejected its prayer to constitute a Special
Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the cases against former Home Minister Anil Desh-
mukh. “It is a complete red herring…I thought the state will see some sense. But,
these are different nature of battles. Sorry, dismissed,” said Justice S K Kaul. P5
SC REJECTS
MAHARASHTRA
PLEA ON A PROBE
ON DESHMUKH
The police should reclaim social legitimacy and public trust by breaking the “nexus
with the political executive”, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said on Friday.
Ramana was speaking at the CBI’s D.P. Kohli Memorial Lecture on the topic — ‘De-
mocracy: Role and Responsibilities of Investigative Agencies’. The chief justice said
investigative agencies should “stand by ethics and integrity”.
NEED TO RECLAIM
PUBLIC TRUST: CJI
NV RAMANA AT
CBI FUNCTION
HAPPY
CHAITRA
NAVRATRI
CRUCIAL READ
MVA CRACKS: ‘SIDELINED’, CONG MLAs SET
TO MEET HIGH COMMAND WITH COMPLAINTS
Mumbai: The growing fissures within the ruling Maha
Vikas Aghadi coalition in Maharashtra are set to echo in
Delhi, with all the 44 Congress MLAs in the state plan-
ning to travel to Delhi in the coming week to meet party
chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on the matter. “The
Shiv Sena and NCP are clearly dominating the function-
ing of the government as well as outside. The Congress
is getting secondary treatment,” said Congress minister.
TELANGANA, DELHI MAKES WEARING OF
MASKS OPTIONAL, REMOVE COVID CURBS
Hyderabad: The Telangana government on March 31
decided to lift all Covid restrictions, including manda-
tory wearing of face masks, State Director of Public
Health G Srinivasa Rao said on Friday. Masks will be
voluntary, except for elderly, those with comorbidities
and pregnant women, who have been asked to con-
tinue following rules.Meanwhile, Delhi too released a
similar order on Friday wmaking masks voluntary.
BJP FIRST PARTY
SINCE 1990 TO
TOUCH 100-MARK
IN RAJYA SABHA
New Delhi: For the first
time in its history, the
BJP has reached the feat
of having 100 members
in Rajya Sabha after the
party won one seat each
in Assam, Tripura and
Nagaland in the elections
held on Thursday. In the
recently held biennial
polls for 13 Rajya Sabha
seats across six states,
the BJP lost its solitary
seat from Punjab but
gained one each from the
three northeastern states
and Himachal Pradesh
where all five outgoing
members were from
Opposition parties.

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2022
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
New Delhi (ANI): A man died of asphyxiation on Friday
morning while trying to escape the fire that erupted in a
house here, said Dwarka Police. The fire broke out in a
house early morning in the Prem
Nagar area of Bindapur in South
West Delhi. The police said that
the information was received at
around 5.15 am on Friday morn-
ing. The police reached the spot
immediately but the fire engulfed
one life before it was doused. The person identified
as 29-year-old Lalit lost his life due to asphyxiation.
Although the reason for the fire is still uncertain, the
police is investigating the case.
New Delhi (PTI): The authorities have imposed Section
144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in Uttar
Pradesh’s Gautam Budh Nagar in view of the upcoming
festivals and high-school
exams. Major festivals
that will be celebrated this
month include Ramzan,
Ram Navami, and Ambedkar
Jayanti. Section 144 – which
prohibits a gathering of
four or more people – will
come into effect starting Friday and stay in force till
April 30, news agency ANI quoted the district police
commissionerate as saying. Meanwhile, the dates of
the General Legislative Council election are also slated
to be announced this month.
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Disaster Management
Authority (DDMA) will no longer levy fines on
people not wearing masks in
public places in the national
capital, senior officials said,
as the city’s Covid-19 graph
continued to flatline, with the
caseload at its lowest since
mid-December last year. “Delhi
will stop imposing fines for not wearing masks. This
decision is likely to come into effect from Friday.
Currently, the fine is ₹500. However, this does not
mean that the Delhi government endorses people
not wearing masks. Intensive campaigns will be
conducted to promote wearing of masks,” said a se-
nior government official who attended the Thursday
DDMA meeting, where this move was made.
New Delhi (ANI): Delhi Police cyber cell arrested a
man allegedly for stalking and threatening people
on social media by creating
multiple fake accounts.
According to the police, the
accused Mithun Tiwari is a
stalker and he created multiple
fake accounts on Instagram to
stalk people. National Cyber
Crime Reporting Portal received a complaint on
March 17 wherein the complainant reported that
someone has created many fake Instagram accounts
and threatened her on Instagram for kidnapping and
making her morphed photographs viral. A case was
registered at South West District Police station under
sections 354 D and 509 of the Indian Penal Code.
ONE DIES OF ASPHYXIATION AFTER FIRE
BREAKS OUT AT A HOUSE IN DWARKA
SECTION 144 IMPOSED IN NOIDA TILL
APRIL 30 IN VIEW OF FESTIVAL, EXAMS
DELHI TO JUNK FINE FOR NOT WEARING
MASK AS COVID CASES DECREASE
MAN ARRESTED FOR THREATENING
PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
CRUCIAL READ
Delhi transport dept launches drive to
ensure lane discipline by buses drivers
New Delhi (PTI): Long
queues of vehicles were
visible across Delhi dur-
ing peak traffic hours on
Friday morning as the
Delhi government’s
Transport Department
launched a drive to en-
sure lane discipline by
drivers of DTC and clus-
ter buses.
Under the drive, viola-
tion of lane discipline
will attract a fine of Rs
10,000.
Violations will also be
punished with prosecu-
tion under the Motor
Vehicles Act, suspen-
sion of driving license
and termination of vehi-
cle permit, an order by
the Transport depart-
ment stated.
For the safe journey
of the public, DTC and
cluster buses in the
entire city will ply on
the bus lanes and will
stop at the designated
stops in earmarked box-
es only from April 1, said
a notice by the depart-
ment.
“The public is advised
to avoid plying their ve-
hicles in the designated
bus lanes. Vehicles
parked in the bus lanes
or bus boxes are liable to
be towed and will invite
penal action as per law,”
stated the notice.
“The lane enforce-
ment drive is being
started today by the Del-
hi Transport depart-
ment. The drivers of
buses and heavy motors
are appealed to drive in
the bus lanes only,”
Gahlot said in a tweet.
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot inspects bus lane
enforcement drive.
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhi High Court on
Friday allowed the re-
opening of certain are-
as of Nizamuddin
Markaz, where the Tab-
lighi Jamaat congrega-
tion was held in March
2020 amid the COVID-19
pandemic and has re-
mained shut since then,
to enable devotees to of-
fer prayers during the
month of Ramzan.
Justice Jasmeet Sin-
gh, who was hearing a
plea by the Delhi Waqf
Board seeking a direc-
tion to open the mosque
for the holy month, clar-
ified that no “Tablighi
activities” and lectures
can take place on the
premises and only
prayers can be offered.
“It is directed that for
Ramadan, namaz and
religious prayers shall
be permitted to be of-
feredonthegroundfloor
and four floors at Masjid
Bangle Wali. This ar-
rangementisonlyforthe
one month of Ramzan
culminating with Eid Ul
Fitr,” ordered the court.
“Religious prayers
and namaz (are al-
lowed) but no Tablighi
activities. Let’s not di-
lute it. There will be no
lectures. Prayers can be
made. But no lectures,”
the court stated.
It added that the in-
stant permission was in
continuation of the
March16orderwhichim-
posed various conditions
for the reopening of the
premisesfortheocassion
of Shab-e-Bharat.
HC allows reopening of Nizamuddin Markaz
RAMZAN
lll
It is directed that
for Ramadan,
namaz and
religious prayers
shall be
permitted on the
ground floor
and four
floors at Masjid
Bangle Wali
Offline classes resume in
Delhi-NCR after two years
Parents droping their wards to school buses with mixed emotions in the capital
New Delhi (PTI): Par-
ents dropping off their
children to school buses
with mixed emotions,
ensuring that they were
carrying sanitizer bot-
tles and well-decorated
schools -- these were the
scenes in Delhi-NCR as
institutions resumed
offline classes from Fri-
day after a gap of more
than two years.
Sudha Acharya,
chairperson of the Na-
tional Progressive
Schools’ Conference
(NPSC), which has over
120 private schools as
its members, said that
students were eagerly
awaiting this day
.
“It is after two years
that schools are re-reo-
pening and students
were excited to get back
to school,” she said.
Acharya is the princi-
pal of ITL Public
School, Dwarka.
At her school, teach-
ers conducted a special
prayer assembly for stu-
dents.
“Teachers had pre-
pared special perfor-
mances for students
and it’s like a festival
today. Yesterday, we
held a farewell for Class
12 students and they
were very happy. At 11
am, we will tune in for
the prime minister’s
Pariksha Pe Charcha,”
she said.
Rashmi Dixit, parent
of a Class 5 student of
Shri Ram Global School
in Noida Extension,
said, “My son was ear-
lier studying in Nagpur
and today is his first
day in his new school.
He had been attend-
ing online classes of
this school for the last
one year. He will be
meeting his friends.
Students had grown
comfortable with the
idea of online classes
but this will be a good
shift for them as they
will get back into a
proper routine.”
The schools in Delhi were opened on Firday after a two-year gap. —Representative Image
A PARENT SAYS
Stalin studies Delhi Model at
Govt school, Mohalla Clinic
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister MK
Stalin on Friday visit-
edaDelhigovernment-
run school and a mo-
halla clinic in East
Delhi.TheDMKleader
isonathree-dayvisitto
the National Capital.
Stalin was wel-
comed by Delhi CM
Arvind Kejriwal and
Deputy CM Manish
Sisodia at Rajkiya
Sarvodaya Bal Vidya-
laya in West Vinod
Nagar — one of the
state government’s
model schools.
Inside the school,
the delegates were
taken to meet some
best performing
teams of the Business
Blasters programme,
a part of the entrepre-
neurship mindset
curriculum. They
also visited the
school’s activities
wing for nursery and
kindergarten stu-
dents. The delegation
saw the different aids
that it had to help stu-
dents better under-
stand their classes
and subjects.
The ministers also
visited a happiness
class, a deshbhakti
(patriotism) class, and
the swimming pool.
Following his visit
to the school, Stalin
tweeted: “Visited
Model School and Mo-
halla Clinic initia-
tives of Delhi govern-
ment along with Hon-
orable Delhi CM
Arvind Kejriwal and
Deputy CM Manish
Sisodia. We will also
be establishing a
world class Govern-
ment Model School in
Chennai soon and I
have extended by invi-
tation to Arvind Kejri-
wal in advance.”
We will also be
establishing a
world class Govt
Model School in
Chennai: MK Stalin
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Dy
CM Manish Sisodia visits a Delhi govt school. —PHOTO BY PTI
Vikas Kumar takes charge as third
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief
New Delhi (PTI): Vi-
kas Kumar, a 1988-batch
officer of the Indian
Railway Traffic Service,
on Friday assumed
charge as the new man-
aging director of the
Delhi Metro Rail Corpo-
ration, officials said.
The Delhi govern-
ment on Wednesday had
appointed Kumar as the
successor of Mangu
Singh, who on Thursday
bid an emotional fare-
well to the DMRC after
an illustrious career of
25 years at the urban
transporter, including
the last decade as its top
boss.
Singh was the manag-
ing director of DMRC
since January 1, 2012,
and his famed tenure
ended on Thursday
.
Delhi High Court on Fri-
day sought a status re-
port from police in rela-
tion to the alleged attack
outside the residence of
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal earlier
this week and said that
an “element of fear”
was sought to be created
by the “unruly crowd”
and the police force at
the spot was “inade-
quate” and “outnum-
bered”.
A bench of Acting
Chief Justice Vipin
Sanghi and Navin Chaw-
la, hearing a petition by
AAP MLA Saurabh
Bhardwaj, granted time
to Delhi Police to file its
status report in sealed
cover. “Some took law
into their hands. There
is element of fear sought
to be created. That is
evident. The police force
was inadequate...they
did try to stop them but
they were outnum-
bered,” the court ob-
served.
HC seeks status report on
vandalism at CM’s residence
Jamia students stage protest,
seek full reopening of campus
New Delhi (PTI):
Scores of Jamia Millia
Islamia students staged
a protest in campus
Thursday, demanding
the complete reopening
of college.
On February 14, Ja-
mia had begun offline
classes for final year
students. On March 2,
classes for postgradu-
ate students shifted to
offline mode, and on
March 15, the shift was
made for undergradu-
ate students. The uni-
versity had said the de-
cision for students of
the remaining years
would be taken later.
“We students of first
year and the intermedi-
ate years were greatly
unsatisfied with this
partiality. We held
many protests for the
full reopening, but the
administration didn’t
care,” said a student.
New Delhi(ANI): Un-
ion Minister of Rail-
ways Ashwini
Vaishnaw on Friday
informed the RS that
New Delhi Railway
Station will be rede-
veloped to provide
state of the art pas-
senger amenities and
an iconic building to
cater to traffic de-
mand of the future.
He made the an-
nouncement while
responding to a query
in a written reply, say-
ing the proposal for
the redevelopment of
the railway station
will be taken up in a
Public-Private Part-
nership mode.
Responding to a
question by Aam Aad-
mi Party MP Sushil
Kumar Gupta wheth-
er the New Delhi rail-
way station redevel-
opment has received
environmental clear-
ance from the govern-
ment of the NCT of
Delhi, Vaishnaw said
that railway station
projects are exempted
fromseekingprioren-
vironmental clear-
ance subject to cer-
tain conditions.
New Delhi Rly
station to be
revamped in
PPP mode
Vikas Kumar is taking over charge from Dr. Mangu Singh, who
was the Managing Director of DMRC since 1st January, 2012.
Nizamuddin Markaz

INDIA
03
Bengaluru (Agen-
cies): Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi on Fri-
day virtually sounded
the poll bugle for Kar-
nataka Assembly elec-
tions a year away by
calling upon the party
functionaries to aim to
win a minimum of 150
seats in the 224-mem-
ber house.
“We should not aim
to win these elections
with a close margin. We
should be very clear in
our minds that we are
going to win not less
than 150 seats and we
should start our calcu-
lations from the 150-
seat mark,” said Gan-
dhi, while addressing a
gathering of Congress
functionaries before in-
teracting with different
sections of the state
unit at the party office
including the enrollers
of membership drive.
He said winning 150
seats would not be a dif-
ficult task for the Con-
gress if the party func-
tionaries fight the polls
unitedly, fight on the
right issues and the
party guarantees merit
as the criterion for the
party’s candidates,
leaders and voters.
Alluding to internal
fights among the fac-
tions within the party,
Gandhi called upon
KPCC president DK
Shivakumar, Congress
legislature party lead-
er Siddaramaiah and
leader of opposition in
Rajya Sabha Mallikar-
jun Kharge to work to-
gether.
“Siddaramaiah ji,
Shivakumar ji and
Kharge ji, you are sen-
ior leaders and I know
you very well and
worked with you close-
ly during the previous
elections. The most im-
portant requirement is
that you should fight
unitedly and your high-
est responsibility is
that you should be
more intense in what
you are doing and en-
sureC winning 150
seats,” he said.
Gandhi gave his par-
ty functionaries three
principles to win the
elections: fighting elec-
tions with an objective
on winning it decisively
with a minimum of 150
seats, making decision
of merit, and reward-
ing the party workers
with party ticket strict-
ly based on the loyalty
to the party
.
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Elections
are being held for 13
seats of Rajya Sabha, in
which the Congress is
going to face a major
loss. After this, 21 seats
will be falling vacant be-
tween June 21 and 30, 34
betweenJuly1and7and
two seats in August. Ac-
cordingly, elections for
57 seats are going to be
held in the next two-
three months.
The loss that Con-
gress is facing is one as-
pect, but it will gain
someseatsinRajasthan,
Chhattisgarh and Hary-
ana. If allies show good-
will, the Congress can
get one seat each in Ta-
mil Nadu, Bihar and
Jharkhand as well.
Congress will defi-
nitely get three seats in
Rajasthan and two in
Chhattisgarh. The party
can get one seat in Hary-
ana. Apart from this,
there will be one seat
each in Karnataka and
Maharashtra but again
Jairam Ramesh from
Karnataka and P Chid-
ambaram from Maha-
rashtra are likely to be
repeated. So, the eyes of
all the contenders of the
Congress are on Ra-
jasthan, Chhattisgarh
and Haryana. Among
the contenders for the
RajyaSabha seat,onone
side are the old Con-
gress and G-23 leaders,
who are trying to get the
Rajya Sabha seat by
twisting the arm of the
party high command,
and on the other hand
are the leaders of Rahul
Gandhi’s team, who rely
on Rahul and are sitting
in the hope of getting
the Rajya Sabha berth.
Jitendra Singh’s
name has suddenly ap-
peared among the close
friends of Rahul Gan-
dhi. He was in charge in
the states like Odisha,
Assam etc. but the per-
formance of Congress
was not good in either
of these states. It is be-
ing told that he is the
contender for one of the
threeseatsinRajasthan.
He belongs to Rajasthan
and has been a Union
Minister. So, the party
will not face any prob-
lem in giving him a
ticket.
There is already one
outsider in Rajya Sabha
from both Rajasthan
and Chhattisgarh.
Therefore, there will be
opposition in the state
committee, yet Mukul
Wasnik and Anand
Sharma are claiming
berths from Rajasthan,
Chhattisgarh and Hary-
ana. By the way, the
number one contender
from Haryana would be
Kumari Selja, whose
seat was forcefully va-
cated by Bhupinder
Singh Hooda last time,
who in turn sent his son
to RS from the seat. So,
this time Shailja’s has
laid claim on that seat.
However, it is also pos-
sible that Hooda, who is
associated with the
G-23, may pressurize
the high command to
give a seat to a leader of
the same group. It is be-
lieved that Ghulam
Nabi Azad will go to Ra-
jya Sabha from some
state the Congress has a
good presence in.
Among the old leaders,
Subodh Kant Sahai is a
contender for the seat of
his home state
Jharkhand. Milind De-
ora is also pushing, but
party sources reveal
that his chances are not
too strong. Moreover,
Kapil Sibal will retire
from his seat but it ap-
pears that this time the
party will not give him
a seat but he will reach
Rajya Sabha anyhow!
Ruckus in Congress over RS berths!
INTERNAL RIFT
New Delhi (ANI):
The Centre on Friday
extended the Armed
Forces (Special Pow-
ers) Act in three dis-
tricts of Arunachal
Pradesh including
Tirap, Changlang,
and Longding from
April 1 to September
30 this year, according
to a notification is-
sued by the Ministry
of Home Affairs.
In addition, the
Government of India
has also extended AF-
SPA in the areas fall-
ing within the juris-
diction of Namsai and
Mahadevpur police
stations in Arunachal
Pradesh.
“The Central Gov-
ernment in the exer-
cise of the powers
conferred by section 3
of the Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act,
1958 had declared the
Tirap, Changlang,
and Longding dis-
tricts in Arunachal
Pradesh and the areas
falling within the ju-
risdiction of Namsai
and Mahadevpur po-
lice stations in Nam-
sai district, bordering
the State of Assam as
‘disturbed’ areas,” the
notification read.
Mumbai (ANI): Maha-
rashtra Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray on
Friday said that he has
full faith in state Home
Minister Dilip Walse
Patil, dismissing re-
ports of him being up-
set with his Cabinet
minister.
“I have full faith in
Home Minister Patil
and he is doing a good
job,” the Chief Minis-
ter’s office said in a
statement after the
meeting of Thackeray
and Patil concluded at
‘Varsha’ bungalow
here. Their meeting
lasted for more than
an hour.
Uddhav denies
report of row with
Home Min, says
‘full faith in him’
Tushar Kumar
New Delhi: Like Maha-
rashtra, Congress is
said to be in danger in
Jharkhand too. The
membership of Bandhu
Tirkey, one of the two
MLAs who broke away
from Babulal Marandi’s
party and joined the
Congress, is in danger
as a special CBI court
sentenced him to three
years of imprisonment
in the disproportionate
assets case. If the High
Court does not stay the
sentence, then his mem-
bership will be termi-
nated. So, the state BJP
leaders are believing
that now the ‘political
game’ has started as it is
attempting to break the
12 Congress MLAs and
form a separate faction
and join them in the
BJP so that the govern-
ment falls and the BJP
government is formed.
There is a group
of BJP leaders who
want mid-term elec-
tions instead of form-
ing the government
now. Because of this,
the BJP’s campaign
has come to a halt.
On the other hand,
the dilemma of Con-
gress MLAs is how can
they join BJP? This di-
lemma is faced by the
tribal MLAs and espe-
cially the MLAs who
won from Christian ma-
jority seats as they
don’t want to go with
BJP. There are at least
three MLAs from
around Ranchi who are
keeping a distance from
the BJP due to the con-
cern of the Christian
vote and because of this
the BJP’s campaign has
come to a halt. At the
same time, it is also re-
ported that more than
the Congress leader-
ship, Chief Minister
Hemant Soren and his
political manager are in
touch with the Con-
gress MLAs and are tak-
ing care of them. That’s
why these MLAs are not
giving any special at-
tention to the Congress
leadership. It is also dis-
cussed that in the next
election, more than
half of the sitting Con-
gress MLAs can contest
from Jharkhand Mukti
Morcha ticket.
Congress MLAs in a major
dilemma in Jharkhand!
Bandhu Tirkey
Karnataka: RaGa sounds poll
bugle, sets 150-seat target
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka on Friday.
New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday
(April 1) targeting the BJP-led Karnataka govern-
ment called it the “most corrupt government in the
country”. Addressing a party meeting in Bengaluru,
Gandhi said that the BJP cannot provide employ-
ment as “they have destroyed small and medium
industries”. “The economy of our country has col-
lapsed. Unemployment and inflation have increased,
these are the biggest issues in the country. Even
if BJP wants, they can’t provide jobs to people in
India because they have destroyed the employment
providing sectors,” the Congress leader said. “The
Prime Minister used to speak about corruption, but
if he speaks about it in Karnataka, people will laugh
as this (BJP govt) is the most corrupt state with 40
percentage (commission) govt,” Gandhi alleged.
Kolkata (PTI): Rights activist
Irom Sharmila, who was on
a 16-year-long hunger strike
demanding repeal of AFSPA,
welcomed the Centre’s decision
to reduce areas under the Act’s
purview in Assam, Nagaland and
Manipur, but maintained that the
“draconian, colonial law” should be rolled back com-
pletely. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday
announced a reduction in the number of “disturbed
areas” in the three northeastern states where the
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 continues
to be imposed along with Jammu and Kashmir.
RAHUL SLAMS KARNATAKA GOVT
AS ‘COUNTRY’S MOST CORRUPT’
ACTIVIST IROM SHARMILA WANTS
COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL OF AFSPA
The biggest responsibility of state Congress leaders is to fight
unitedly and win 150 seats in the Assembly polls next year
Government
declares these
areas as
‘disturbed’ areas
from April 1 to
Sep 30, 2022
Centre extends AFSPA in 3 dists
of Arunachal for six months
Colombo (Agencies):
As Sri Lanka’s worst
economic crisis in dec-
ades brought more pow-
er cuts and gloom, peo-
ple in the country are
staring at a very bleak
future. The country ran
out of diesel on Thurs-
day and the island na-
tion of 22 million peo-
ple is struggling with
rolling power cuts for
up to 13 hours a day as
the government is una-
ble to make payments
for fuel imports because
of a lack of foreign ex-
change.
Sri Lankans are now
blaming the govern-
ment for the worst eco-
nomic crisis since its
Independence in 1948.
On Wednesday,
March 30, Sri Lanka be-
gan imposing record
nationwide 10-hour
daily power cuts, up
from the seven-hour
power outage an-
nounced in the first
week of March, as it ran
out of hydroelectricity
.
Mumbai (PTI): Central
Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) will be taking the
custody of former Ma-
harashtra Home Minis-
ter Anil Deshmukh, sus-
pendedcopSachinWaze
and Kundan Shinde on
Friday, in the corrup-
tion case.
The Bombay High
Court will be hearing,
on April 8, Mr Desh-
mukh’s bail plea in the
case. On March 25, the
court granted a week’s
time to the Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED)
to reply to the bail ap-
plication filed by Mr
Deshmukh.
Anil Deshmukh was
previously lodged in
Arthur Road Jail.
The Enforcement Di-
rectorate (ED) in its
charge sheet filed in
February this year in
the Rs 100 crore extor-
tion and money laun-
dering case said that
Anil Deshmukh has
been taking undue ad-
vantage of the posi-
tions he held since 1992.
“Anil Deshmukh
took the wrong advan-
tage of his position
since 1992. He made a
lot of money and prop-
erty through illegal
means. The illegally
earned money was
used in 13 companies.
These are either owned
by his sons or his close
associates,” reads the
chargesheet.
CBI to take custody of
Maharashtra ex-Home,
others in graft case
Violent protests
outside Prez house
SRI LANKA CRISIS
Members of the Socialist Youth Union scuffle with police as they
attempt to enter the Sri Lankan President’s office in Colombo.
Anil Deshmukh
New Delhi (PTI): Tak-
ing a swipe at the BJP
government in Uttar
Pradesh, Congress lead-
er Priyanka Gandhi
VadraonFridayaskedit
to hold a “charcha” on
the paper leak and said
“no bulldozer is target-
ing”thesysteminvolved
in such acts.
Her attack came af-
ter the Uttar Pradesh
secondary school
board’s Class 12 Eng-
lish exam was can-
celled in 24 districts on
Wednesday following a
question paper leak.
“TheBJPgovernment
should have a ‘charcha
on paper leak’ in Uttar
Pradesh,” she said.
“Last year, on Novem-
ber 28, lakhs of youth
suffered a blow due to
theUPTETexamination
paper leak. In the name
of action, nothing hap-
pened except preten-
tious steps,” Priyanka
Gandhi said.
Tilltoday
,theyouthof
Uttar Pradesh do not
knowwhichcorruptsys-
temof theUttarPradesh
governmenthadcarried
out the paper leak, the
Congress general secre-
tary claimed, adding the
result of it was another
paper leak.
Thistimealsothegov-
ernment is not doing
anything except taking
pretentious steps, she
said. “The journalist
who reported the news
of paper leak is being
sent to jail.”
Yogi Govt should hold ‘charcha
on paper leak’ in UP: Priyanka
Mumbai (PTI): The
Congress in Maha-
rashtra on Friday
accused PM Modi of
ignoring critical issues
facing the country and
sought to know when
he will hold an interac-
tive session on rising
inflation. State Cong
chief Nana Patole said
the PM was en-
grossed in organising
events like ‘Pariksha
Pe Charcha’, his an-
nual interaction with
students, and seems
to have no time to ad-
dress pressing issues
like inflation, sluggish
economic growth
and unemployment.
“The PM is ignoring
burning issues of the
country. The ‘publicity
minister’ is engrossed
in organising events,”
he said.
WHEN WILL PM
HOLD MEHANGAI
PE CHARCHA?
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

SPIRITUAL SPEAK
It’s rightly said, ‘There is
enough for everyone’s
need but not greed.’
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Thank PM @narendramodi ji for taking
out his valuable time to bless guide
our young friends—the pillars of a
strong and an #AatmanirbharBharat.
There is no doubt that Hon’ble PM’s
words of encouragement at the
#ParikshaPeCharcha will boost their
confidence help them excel.
Arvind Kejriwal
@ArvindKejriwal
I am very delighted that Thiru @
mkstalin visited Delhi Government’s
schools and Mohalla Clinics today.
This country can only progress if we all
learn from each other’s good ideas.
TOP TWEETS
AKHILESH-SHIVPAL
BONHOMIE WAS A
PRETENCE ONLY
FOR UP ELECTIONS
he Samajwadi Party,
which flattered to
deceive during the
UP assembly elec-
tions, is back at self-
destruction. The family feud
between Akhilesh Yadav and
his uncle Shivpal years before
the polls dented the party’s fu-
ture prospects. A humiliated
Shivpal was forced to form his
own Pragatisheel Samajwadi
Party. Realising Shivpal’s hold
on Yadav votes in the Mainpuri,
Etawah region, Akhilesh
patched up with his uncle for
the duration of elections. Shiv-
pal won his Jaswantnagar seat
by a margin of 90,000 votes but
couldn’t help the SP to go be-
yond 125 seats. This was an un-
expectedly low number for a
party which was dreaming of
ousting the BJP.
Polls over, Akhilesh and Shiv-
pal were back at feuding. Shiv-
pal was not invited to the SP
legislature party meeting. In
return, Shivpal boycotted the
meeting of allies called by Akh-
ilesh. The bonhomie over, Shiv-
pal met Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath and set off rumours
of his joining the BJP. What has
soured the chacha-bhatija rela-
tions now, nobody knows.
T
he tragic killing
of some civilians
in Nagaland’s
Mon district in
D e c e m b e r
2021had led to loud protests
over removal of Armed Forc-
es Special Power Act in the
North-eastern states Naga-
land, Assam and Manipur.
Following insurgency, the
three states were put under
the Disturbed Areas Act in
the Nineties. The Act is re-
quired in some border states
where there is insurgency
. It
empowers armed forces with
extraordinary powers to
search and arrest without
warrant and shoot a suspect
without the fear of prosecu-
tion. With a botched opera-
tion like the one in Mon, the
demand for the Act’s with-
drawal gained momentum
and anger against the Cen-
tral government also mount-
ed. Eight civilians and a sol-
dier were killed at Mon. Such
incidents had alienated a
large chunk of the local pop-
ulation and prevented their
integration in society
.
In a welcome move, Union
Home Minister Amit Shah
tweeted to announce the
withdrawal of AFSPA from
several areas in the three
states. It was clarified that
the AFSPA has not been en-
tirely withdrawn and it will
continue to remain in force in
some areas. Disturbed Area
notification is to be scrapped
from 23 of 33 districts of As-
sam. It will remain in force in
nine districts. One district
will have partial withdrawal.
That makes Assam the big-
gest beneficiary of the “his-
toric” decision.
Assam Chief Minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma wel-
comed the move but said it
was fraught with risks. The
withdrawal has, however,
been made possible due to the
vastly improved security
situation and development in
the North-east. Over time the
region may be completely
free of AFSPA.
CENTRE’S WELCOME
MOVE IN NORTH-EAST
The AFSPA has not been
entirely withdrawn and it
will continue to remain
in force in some areas.
Disturbed Area
notification is to be
scrapped from 23 of 33
districts of Assam
T
BALANCED SIDE AND FLYING
START GIVES HOPE FOR ROYALS TO
EMULATE WARNE TRIUMPH IN IPL!!
In their opening game
against Sunrisers
Hyderabad, the Royals
displayed their skills to the
hilt and demolished the
Kane Williamson-led side
by 61 runs. In the process
they pumped their net run
rate which might become
important in the latter
part of the tournament.
Sanju Samson scored
55 off just 27 balls
or Rajasthan royals, IPL 2022
has a special significance – it
comes barely a month after
the stunning death of Shane
Warne, the Aussie legend
who led them to victory in
the 1st IPL in 2008. However,
after being the inaugural
champions, the Royals have
never made it to the finals of
the tournament again and
have finished among the bot-
tom three in most seasons.
But now, with a fresh look
and a balanced side, most
fans and experts hope that
things will change this year
as the mix of young and old
players in the squad looks
not just promising but are be-
ing tipped as the Dark Horses
of the current season.
With a lot of fresh ammu-
nition in their arsenal, the
Royals look impressive on
both fronts - bowling and bat-
ting. Rajasthan had a huge
purse at their disposal going
into the IPL auction. Every-
one expected them to spend it
on big names but the team
selection was done with a
great deal of prudence and
planning to make it a cohe-
sive unit in all departments.
The core of the team re-
volves around new skipper
Sanju Samson and Jos But-
tler who were both retained
by the franchise due to their
fabulous batting and wicket-
keeping abilities. Rest of the
team is equally impressive
with Ravi Ashwin, Yuzi Cha-
hal and Trent Boult leading
the bowling attack.
In their opening game
against Sunrisers Hy-
derabad,theRoyalsdisplayed
their skills to the hilt and de-
molished the Kane William-
son-led side by 61 runs. In the
process they pumped their
net run rate which might be-
come important in the latter
part of the tournament. San-
ju Samson scored 55 off just
27 balls, proving why he is
always the name discussed in
selection meetings for the na-
tional T20 team.
Devdutt Padikkal, one of
the new entrants who has en-
joyedtwosuperbseasonswith
Royal Challengers Bangalore,
batted in the middle order in-
stead of his usual opening
spot scoring 41 along with
power hitter Shimron Hetmy-
er. They took Rajasthan past
the 200 mark and gave a stiff
challenge to Hyderabad.
Giventheirrichexperience,
the Ashwin-Chahal duo kept
the opposition in check in the
crucial middle overs. The 8
overs between them cost only
43 runs and Chahal got 3 cru-
cialwicketsaswell.Moreover,
Prasidh Krishna and Trent
Boult took 2 wickets each, go-
ing less than 6 runs an over.
Prasidh is the most expen-
sive buy at 10 crores for Roy-
alsandprovedhisworthearly
when he got rid of Kane Wil-
liamson. In addition, they
also have the option of play-
ing Nathan Coulter-Nile and
Navdeep Saini to sharpen
their bowling armoury
. Sig-
nificantly, the Royals have
also roped in Sri Lankan leg-
endanddeathbowlingexpert-
Lasith Malinga as their fast-
bowling coach who could play
a key role in bringing some
control in the death overs.
While Royals have got off
to a flying start with a com-
manding win in their season
opener, their next match
against Mumbai presents a
much tougher test. If Royals
can keep up their momentum
and perform to their poten-
tial, they could spring a huge
and most pleasant surprise
this season. Adding to Mum-
bai’s strength would be Indi-
an middle order batsman,
Suryakumar Yadav, who was
out of the first match due to
a wrist injury. Malinga has
been with Mumbai Indians
for a long period and would
be able to build plans for Ra-
jasthan bowlers to tackle the
likes of Rohit Sharma , Ishan
Kishan and Suryakumar.
A possible weakness for Ra-
jasthan might be their bench
strength which has many
young upcoming bowlers but
lacks any stop-gap batsman.
Thatiswhyitiscrucialthatthe
main batters play well along
withkeepingthemselvesfitfor
alongseasonahead.Inthefirst
match Rajasthan looked like a
well-oiledmachinerywitheve-
ryone playing their roles to
perfection. The fielding stand-
ard of the team, barring a few
exceptions like Ashwin and
Chahalistopclassanditseems
they have the wherewithal to
stand up to the rigours of IPL
grind and take the title.
If the dangerous dark
horses go on to reach the fi-
nal and lift the trophy, the
Royals could pay the perfect
tribute to Shane Warne – the
Wizard of leg spin who pro-
vided inspirational leader-
ship to their only champion-
ship win till now!
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
F
While Royals have got
off to a flying start
with a commanding
win in their season
opener, their next match
against Mumbai presents
a much tougher test. If
Royals can keep up
their momentum and
perform to their
potential, they could
spring a huge and
most pleasant
surprise this season
SIDDHAARTH MAHAN
The writer is a specialist on Sports
and Cinema who works as an actor
in the Hindi film industry
PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 212
l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Sharat K Verma
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act

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INDIA
05
New Delhi: India effec-
tively handled the Omi-
cron wave, which
caused numerous
deaths in other coun-
tries, because of better
Covid management and
a massive vaccination
drive, Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya
said on Friday
.
Replying to a supple-
mentary question in
the Lok Sabha, Man-
daviya said the ICMR
has from time to time
guided the country and
helped in vaccine-relat-
ed research leading to
India having its own
indigenous vaccine.
“It was under PM
Narendra Modi’s guid-
ance that India saw best
Covid management...
While Omicron caused
numerous deaths in
other countries, India
sailed through the Omi-
cron wave because of
v a c c i n a -
tion,” Man-
daviya said
during the
Q u e s t i o n
Hour.
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: After the
victory of the BJP in
the elections of four
States, apprehensions
are being raised about
the Maharashtra and
Jharkhand Govern-
ment. The Govern-
ments of both the
States are also engaged
in the ‘siege’ of their
MLAs but now, it seems
that the focus of the
BJP is on Bihar. More
than Maharashtra and
Jharkhand, the BJP is
focussed on making its
Chief Minister in Bi-
har. Keep in mind that
BJP has had a Chief
Minister in both the
States, but in Bihar, the
BJP has not been able
to field its own CM. Bi-
har is the only state
among the big states of
Hindi belt, where till
date the BJP has not
had a Chief Minister.
So, the BJP is desperate
for this achievement.
But the question is,
how will the BJP bring
its own chief minister
in Bihar? Will Nitish
Kumar get the BJP gov-
ernment formed or
will he keep bowing be-
fore the BJP to save his
own Government? Go-
ing to Lucknow for
Yogi Adityanath’s oath
ceremony and bowing
on the stage to greet
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi is a sign that
Nitish understands the
game plan of the BJP
and will give his last
try. He is trying to
make sure that some-
how he remains the
Chief Minister.
JD(U) leaders are of
the view that BJP needs
Nitish Kumar till the
next Lok Sabha elec-
tions as Bihar has 40
seats, out of which NDA
got 39 seats last time.
On the contrary, BJP
leaders say that out of
39, BJP has only 17 seats
and JD(U) also has 17,
whereas in 2014, when
BJP fought separately
from them, the BJP had
23 seats and JD(U) was
reduced to two seats.
That’s why many party
leaders want that there
is no point in retaining
Nitish while worrying
about the Lok Sabha
elections.
BJP has included
three MLAs of Mukesh
Sahni’s party — VIP in
its party and it is the
largest party in the As-
sembly. On this basis, a
group of party leaders
want to talk to Nitish
and find a way out for
his honorable farewell.
That’s when it has
been publicised that
Nitish should be made
the Vice-President
or President and in
return he should ap-
point a BJP CM in Bi-
har. BJP leaders are
also proposing merger
of the JD(U) with the
BJP. However, this
does not seem to be
possible immediately.
If Nitish is not ready
for a dignified fare-
well, the BJP is also
thinking of ways to
‘extract’ the ‘desired
result’ through other
means. Be that as it
may, the preparation
of the BJP is to make
its Chief Minister be-
fore the 2025 Assembly
elections.
How will BJP bring about its Chief Minister in Bihar?
New Delhi: The Centre
has told the Supreme
Court that quashing of
reservation in promo-
tion to SC/ST employ-
ees in government jobs
may lead to employee
unrest and multiple
litigations. In an affida-
vit filed before a bench
of JusticesLNageswara
Rao and BR Gavai, the
centre informed it that
the policy for reserva-
tion is in consonance
with the Constitution
and the law laid down
by this court.
If the case is not al-
lowed, it would neces-
sitate withdrawal of the
benefits of reservation
in promotion granted to
SC/ST employees. This
may lead to reversions
of SC and ST employ-
ees, re-fixation of their
salaries including re-
fixation of pension of
many employees who
may have retired in the
meantime, recovery of
excess salaries/pension
so paid to them. This
would lead to multiple
litigations and employ-
ee unrest, the Centre
said. Defending its poli-
cy, the Union of India
stated that representa-
tion of SCs/STs in gov-
ernment jobs is inade-
quate and contended
that grant of reserva-
tion does not in any
manner hamper the ad-
ministration.
The administrative
efficiency is ensured
through the system of
Annual Performance
Assessment Report
which captures assess-
ment of work output,
personal attributes and
functional competency
of each officer, it said.
The centre further
submitted data of 75
ministries and depart-
ments under its juris-
diction and said out of
27,55,430 total employ-
ees, 4,79,301 are SCs,
2,14,738 are STs and the
number of OBC em-
ployees is 4, 57,148.
The court had earlier
directed the centre to
file an affidavit on the
c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s
data that is available
to the government
along with applica-
tion of mind on data
for providing reserva-
tion in promotion to
Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes in
government jobs.
Quashing quota in promotion
may cause unrest: Centre to SC
Centre contended that policy for reservation is in consonance with Constitution
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court collegium
recommended 39 wom-
en for appointment as
high court judges in the
last one year, out of
whom 27 were appoint-
ed and the remaining 12
cases are under various
stages of the process,
Lok Sabha was in-
formed on Friday
.
In written reply to a
question, law minister
Kiren Rijiju said in the
present system of ap-
pointment of Supreme
Court and HC judges
through the collegium
system, the onus to pro-
vide social diversity
and representation to
all sections of the soci-
ety, including SCs, STs,
women and minorities,
primarily falls on the
judiciary
.
Responding to the
question on the repre-
sentation of women in
courts, he said the gov-
ernment remains com-
mitted to social diver-
sity in the appointment
of judges in the higher
judiciary
.
Govt: 27
women judges
appointed in
HCs in one year
‘RECLAIM CREDIBILITY, PUBLIC TRUST’,
CJI NV RAMANA TELLS CBI, POLICE
MATERNITY
SHOULD NOT BE
BARRIER: JUDGE
SC SETS ASIDE
HC’S SABARMATI
ASHRAM VERDICT
New Delhi: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on
Friday said the CBI, through its “actions and inac-
tions” have often raised “questions on its credibil-
ity”. Speaking at a function of the agency, he also
suggested that the need of the hour is to “reclaim
social legitimacy and public trust” and the first step
to that “is to break nexus with political and execu-
tive”. ““There is an immediate requirement for the
creation of an independent umbrella institution,
so as to bring various agencies like the CBI, SFIO,
ED, etc. under one roof. This body is required to be
created under a statute, clearly defining its powers,
functions and jurisdictions,” he said.
New Delhi: Maternity
should not be a barrier
in women’s careers
and providing access
to quality childcare
at the workplace
would ensure that
motherhood does not
become an obstacle
to women’s empower-
ment, said Supreme
Court Judge Justice BV
Nagarathna on Friday.
Justice Nagarathna,
who was speaking as
the guest of honour
at the inauguration of
a crèche facility at the
Delhi High Court.
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Friday
asked the Gujarat High
Court to hear afresh
Mahatma Gandhi’s
great grandson’s
plea against the state
government’s plan to
redevelop Sabarmati
Ashram. The Supreme
Court has set aside the
high court’s November
21 verdict dismiss-
ing Tushar Gandhi’s
plea against the plan
which he contended
will corrupt the pristine
simplicity of the
Ashram.
India sailed through
Omicron wave due to
vax drive: Mandaviya
WhatwillhappenifNitishdisagrees
to place a BJP CM in Bihar CMO?
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: What will
happen if Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Ku-
mar does not accept
BJP’s plan and does
not agree to get the
BJP filed its own
Chief Minister in Bi-
har. BJP leaders have
a plan for this also. A
meeting of BJP lead-
ers was held in Delhi
last week, which was
attended by all the
members of the core
committee. After the
meeting, there was a
campaign run by
Mukesh Sahni to
merge three party
MLAs with the BJP. It
is being told that the
party’s further strate-
gy was decided in the
meeting. The main
thing in this strategy
is to spoil the image of
Nitish Kumar as
Chief Minister. Under
this scheme, right
from BJP Central
Ministers to State BJP
leaders, are giving
statements on law and
order and opposing
the prohibition of liq-
uor. Giriraj Singh’s
statement on Hindu-
Muslim divide is also
part of this strategy
.
It is also being said
that preparations are
also being made to
hold mid-term elec-
tions in the State, the
timing for which is
not yet decided. Ac-
cording to informed
sources, a new politi-
cally active Governor
will be brought first.
After that initiative
will be taken in this
direction. If every-
thing goes according
to the BJP’s strategy,
it will withdraw its
support and claim to
form its government
as the single largest
party and the Gover-
nor will give it a
chance.
BJP’s effort is to
make its own Chief
Minister once, so that
the message goes to its
voters that BJP can
make its own CM. For
example, when Atal
Bihari Vajpayee be-
came PM for 13 days in
1996, the way for BJP
that the party can
field its own PM, was
opened and in 2000,
when Nitish Kumar
became CM for seven
days, he emerged as
an alternative. Simi-
larly, BJP will try to
give a message to the
hardline Hindutva
voters that it can field
its own CM.
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi and his Nepa-
lese counterpart Sher
Bahadur Deuba will
jointly inaugurate
India-Nepal rail ser-
vice on Saturday
through videoconfer-
encing, at an event at
New Delhi’s Hy-
derabad House.
East Central Rail-
way (ECR) chief pub-
lic relations officer
(CPRO) Birendra Ku-
mar has said the
launch of the much-
awaited rail services
would give further
impetus to the bilat-
eral relations between
the two countries.
MODI-DEUBATOFLAGOFF
INDO-NEPALTRAINTODAY
—FILE
PHOTO
DEUBA
VISITS
BJP HQ
BJP national president
JP Nadda with Nepal’s
Prime Minister Sher
Bahadur Deuba during
their meeting, in New
Delhi on Friday.
NAGALAND
GOVT LIFTS ALL
COVID CURBS
Kohima: In view of
the weekly Covid-19
positivity remain-
ing below two per
cent for the past one
month in Nagaland
and advisory issued
by Ministry of Home
Affairs, the state has
announced that all
curbs stand with-
drawn from Friday.
There will be no re-
striction on number
of people who can
attend event, Chief
Secy J Alam said.
Mansukh Mandaviya
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
New Delhi: Russia is
offering India steep dis-
counts on the direct
sale of oil as mounting
international pressure
lowers the appetite for
its barrels elsewhere
following the invasion
of Ukraine, according
to people with knowl-
edge of the matter.
The sanctions-hit na-
tion is offering its flag-
ship Urals grade to In-
dia at discounts of as
much as $35 a barrel on
prices before the war to
lure India to lift more
shipments, the people
said, asking not to be
identified discussing
confidential delibera-
tions. Headline Brent
prices have risen about
$10 since then, implying
an even larger
reduction from current
prices.
Russia wants India to
take 15 million barrels
contracted for this year
just to begin with, they
said, adding the talks
are taking place at gov-
ernment level.
Asia’s No. 2 oil importer
is among a handful of
nations that have been
doubling down on Rus-
sian crude, defying in-
ternational pressure
and sanctions. Russian
barrels have been flow-
ing to Asia in greater
volumes as buyers
across Europe and the
U.S. shun the supply fol-
lowing the invasion of
Ukraine. India and Chi-
na have been the key
buyers.
Russia has also of-
fered rupee-ruble-de-
nominated payments
using Russia’s messag-
ing system SPFS, that
could make trading
more attractive for In-
dia, they said. No final
decision has been taken
and the matter will
probably be discussed
when Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov
arrives in India for a
two-day visit Thursday
.
The direct purchase is
expected to involve Rus-
sia’s Rosneft PJSC and
the Asian nation’s big-
gest processor Indian
Oil Corp., which have
an optional term con-
tract — that’s rarely
used — for close to 15
million barrels a year.
It’s not clear what the
upper end of the buying
might be, but India is
thought to have limited
appetite for the grades
being offered.
RUSSIA OFFERS OIL TO INDIA
AT STEEP DISCOUNT: REPORT

BIZ BUZZ
06
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
GST collections hit all-time
high in March at `1.42 trn
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): GST collection in
March touched an all-
time high of over Rs
1.42trillion,anincrease
of 15% annually
, on the
back of rate rationali-
sation and anti-evasion
steps, the finance min-
istry said on Friday
.
With the record col-
lection, the Centre’s
Goods and Services
Tax (GST) mop-up has
exceeded the revised
budget target of Rs 5.7
trillion set for the pre-
vious fiscal ended
March 31, 2022.
The gross GST reve-
nue collected in March
2022 is Rs 1.42 trillion,
of which CGST is Rs
25,830 crore, SGST is Rs
32,378 crore, IGST is Rs
74,470 crore (including
Rs 39,131 crore collect-
ed on import of goods)
and cess is Rs 9,417
crore (including Rs 981
crore collected on im-
port of goods).
The gross GST col-
lection in March 2022 is
all-time high, breach-
ing an earlier record of
nearly Rs 1.41 trillion
collected in January
.
The government has
settledRs29,816croreto
CGST and Rs 25,032
crore to SGST from
IGST as regular settle-
ment. In addition, Cen-
tre has also settled Rs
20,000 crore of IGST on
ad-hoc basis in the ratio
of 50:50 between Centre
and states/UTs in
March. The total reve-
nue of Centre and the
states in the month of
March 2022 after regu-
lar and ad-hoc settle-
ments is Rs 65,646 crore
for CGST and Rs 67,410
crore for the SGST. Cen-
tre also released GST
compensation of Rs
18,252 crore to states/
UTs during the month.
The revenues for the
month of March 2022
are 15% higher than
the GST revenues in the
same month last year
and 46% higher than
the GST revenues in
March 2020. During the
month, revenues from
import of goods was
25% higher and the rev-
enues from domestic
transaction (including
import of services) are
11% higher than the
revenues from these
sources during the
same month last year.
Total number of e-
way bills generated in
the month of February
2022 is 69.1 million as
compared to e-way bills
generated in the month
of January 2022 (68.8
million) despite being a
shorter month, which
indicates recovery of
business activityat fast-
er pace, said the minis-
try in a statement.
SETTLED
CommercialLPGpricehiked
by`250,nowtocost` 2,253
New Delhi (ANI):
The prices of 19 kg
commercial LPG
have been increased
by Rs 250 per cylinder
effective from Friday
.
This is the second
hike in a month. With
this, the 19 kg com-
mercial cooking gas
willnowcostRs2,253.
The commercial LPG
was increased by Rs
105 on March 1.
However, there has
been no increase in
the prices of domes-
tic gas cylinders to-
day
.
Last week, the
price of domestic
cooking gas (LPG)
was hiked by Rs 50
per cylinder. A 14.2-
kg LPG cylinder is
costing Rs 949.50 in
Delhi from March 22
onwards.
Notably, fuel
prices continue
torisewithpet-
rol and diesel
rates rising
by another
80 paise per litre each
on Thursday, netting
an increase of about
Rs 6.40 a litre in nine
revisions in 10 days
so far.
Yesterday, staging
a protest against the
fuel price hike, Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi demanded
the BJP-led Centre to
bring the rising fuel
prices under control.
Congress MPs led
by Rahul Gandhi on
Thursday staged a
protestatVijayChowk
on Thursday
against the
fuel price
h i k e .
Senior party leaders
Adhir Ranjan Chowd-
hury
, Mallikarjun
Kharge, Abhishek
Singhvi, KC Venugo-
pal,ShaktiSinhGohil
and others were pre-
sent at the protest.
The Congress lead-
ers protested with
cutouts of LPG cylin-
ders and placards
having the slogans
‘Rollback fuel price
hike’.
MarketsstartFY23withsolidgains;
Sensexjumps708pts,Niftytops17,670
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): It was a one-way
rally on Dalal Street on
Friday as investors
started the first day of
the new financial year
(FY23) with across-the-
board buying.
The frontline
SP BSE Sensex
zoomed 708 points, or
1.2 per cent, to settle at
59,277. The Nifty50,
meanwhile, soared 206
points or 1.2 per cent to
end at 17,670.
The broader indices,
too, advanced in-line
with large-caps with
the BSE MidCap
and SmallCap in-
dices climbing 1.4
per cent and 1.7
per cent, respec-
tively
.
NTPC, Power-
Grid,IndusInd
Bank, SBI,
HDFC, MM,
HDFC Bank, Bajaj Fi-
nance, Wipro, Axis
Bank, Maruti Suzuki,
and ITC were the big-
gest Sensex gainers,
surging in the range of
1.5 per cent to 6 per
cent.
On the downside,
only Tech M, Dr Red-
dy’sLabs,SunPharma,
Titan,andInfosyswere
the drags, down up to
0.7 per cent.
In the broader mar-
ket space, Adani Pow-
er, BHEL, Bajaj Hold-
ings, RBL Bank, SML
Isuzu, Sahyadri In-
dustries, Mrs Bec-
tors Foods, and
S p a n d a n a
S p h o o r t y
leaped be-
tween 5 per
cent and
10 per
cent.
IndiaInc'screditqualityimprovedsharply
in2ndhalfofFY22:RatingAgencies
New Delhi (PTI): Cor-
porate India’s credit
quality showed a sharp
improvement in the
second half of FY22,
but high input prices
and withdrawal of pan-
demic-related relief
measures can pose
pressures in the new
year, rating agencies
said on Friday
.
Crisil Ratings, which
rates a large number of
financial sector enti-
ties, reported an im-
provement in the credit
ratio -- the number of
upgradestodowngrade
-- to 5.04 times in the
second half of this fi-
nancial year, from the
2.96 per cent in the first
half of the fiscal.
It attributed the im-
provement to a sus-
tained rebound in de-
mand, which lifted rev-
enues of most sectors to
pre-pandemiclevelsand
proactive relief meas-
ures by the government
that cushioned the pan-
demic blow.
The agency gave a
“positive” outlook on
credit quality going
ahead and expects the
upgrades to outnum-
ber downgrades in
FY23 as well.
However, with the
pressure exerted on in-
put prices, courtesy a
push in commodity
prices following the
Russian invasion of
Ukraine, and the pos-
sibility of withdrawal
of pandemic-related
relief measures can
also moderate the cred-
it ratio, it said.
Meanwhile, Icra said
credit quality rebound-
ed in FY22 after the
economic slowdown in
FY20 and the pandemic
scarred FY21.
IMPROVEMENTS
ATF hiked by 2% to all time high
amid surge in global energy prices
FY 2021-22: HAL scales new peak,
records revenue of over ` 24,000 cr
New Delhi (PTI): Jet fuel prices on Friday
were hiked by 2 per cent - the seventh straight
increase this year - to an all-time high, reflecting
a surge in global energy prices. Aviation turbine
fuel (ATF) - the fuel that helps aeroplanes fly -
was hiked by Rs 2,258.54 per kilolitre, or 2 per
cent, to Rs 1,12,924.83 per kl in the national
capital, according to a price notification by
state-owned fuel retailers. There was, however,
no change in the price of petrol and diesel on
Friday. Prior to the second pause in 11 days,
auto fuel rates had gone up by Rs 6.40 per litre.
The increase in ATF price comes on back of the
steepest ever hike 18.3 per cent (Rs 17,135.63
per kl) effected on March 16.
PTI (Bengaluru): Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
said on Friday it has recorded the highest ever
revenue of over Rs 24,000 crore (provisional
and unaudited) for the financial year ended on
March 31, 2022, registering a six percent growth
over the previous fiscal. The corresponding
figure for the previous year stood at Rs 22,755
crore. ‘’Despite the challenges of the second
wave of COVID-19 during the first quarter of
the year and the consequent production loss,
the Company could meet the targeted revenue
growth with improved performance during the
balance period of the year,’’ said HAL CMD, R
Madhavan.
SC asks whether it
can pass orders
restraining alienation
of FRL’s assets
Supreme Court Friday
requested whether or
not it may possibly
move any interim order
on a plea of Amazon
that Future Retail Ltd’s
belongings together
with ‘Big Bazaar shops’
not be alienated until
the dispute over it’s
merger with Reliance
Retail is set by
the arbitral
tribunal. Future
Retail Ltd said it has
missed the due date
for repayment of Rs
5,322.32 crore to
lenders on account of
the ongoing litigations
with Amazon and other
related issues.
India will continue to buy oil from Russia: FM
Mumbai (Agencies):
Finance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman on
Friday said that India
will continue buying
cheap Russian oil in the
nation’s interest, said,
evenaspressuremounts
to isolate Kremlin.
Sitharaman said it is
only natural for India to
look for a good deal and
thatthegovernmenthas
alreadystartedpurchas-
ing oil from Russia. She
saidthattheMinisterof
Petroleum and Natural
GasHardeepSinghPuri
is working on a plan to
source more oil.
“We have already
started buying oil from
Russia; we have re-
ceived three to four
days of oil supply from
Russia,” she said.
Russia has offered its
flagship Urals grade to
India at discounts of as
much as $35 a barrel on
prices before the war to
encourage India to lift
more shipments.
“I would put my na-
tional interest first and
I would put my energy
security first. And if
there is fuel available
at discount. Why
shouldn’t I buy it?” the
finance minister said.
Sitharaman said she
was entering the new
fiscal 2022-23 with cau-
tious optimism despite
the Russia-Ukraine sit-
uation. But expressed
concerns over the price
andavailabilityof natu-
ral gas which may pose
a challenge for energy
transition plans, given
the country’s commit-
ment to climate change.
Coal India achieves record production
of 622 million tonnes in FY22
New Delhi (PTI):
State-owned Coal India
Limited (CIL) on Fri-
day reported a record
coal production in
FY22 at 622.6 million
tonnes, registering an
annual growth of 4.4
per cent.
In 2020-21, coal pro-
duction stood at 595.2
million tonnes (MT).
Coal supplies to pow-
er generation compa-
nies during FY22 also
touched a record of
540.4 MT, up 21.4 per
cent as compared to
445 MT in FY21.
“CIL ended FY22
scripting a historic
high in coal produc-
tion, offtake and coal
despatch to power
plants.. amid rising
coal demand from the
country’s (power) gen-
eration companies,’’
the company said in a
regulatory filing.
According to the fil-
ing, CIL began FY22
with 99.13 MT of stock
atitspitheadsandcould
liquidate 38.4 MT of
coal in March 2022-end.
New Delhi (PTI): Air India, Air India Express and
Alliance Air suffered a total loss of ₹ 17,032 crore
between April 2020 and December 2021, Civil Aviation
Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said in the Lok Sabha on
Thursday. He said the highest loss was incurred by
the now privatised Air India with ₹ 9,373 crore loss in
2020-21 and ₹ 6,927 crore in 2021-22 (upto Decem-
ber 2021). Air India Express incurred ₹ 184 crore
profit in 2020-21 and ₹ 161 crore loss in 2021-22 (till
December 2021), he said during the Question Hour.
The minister said Alliance Air’s loss was ₹ 440 crore
in 2020-21 and ₹ 315 crore in 2021-22 (till December
2021).
LOSSES BY AI, AI EXPRESS, ALLIANCE
AIR `17,032 CR DURING APR ‘20-DEC ‘21
Russia is offering
more oil to India at
a discount of as
much as $35 a
barrel on prices
before the Ukraine
war
BSE Power index hits over
14-year high; Adani Power
zooms 64% in 8 days
Mumbai (Agencies):
Shares of power gen-
eration and its related
companies were in
focus on Friday as the
SP BSE Power index
hit over 14-year high
in the intra-day trade,
on expectation that
improved demand
will spur earnings
growth of the sector.
Adani Power,
Bharat Heavy Electri-
cals(BHEL)andNTPC
from the index rallied
between 5 per cent to
10 per cent, while Pow-
er Grid Corporation,
Tata Power, Torrent
Power and JSW Ener-
gy advanced in the
range of 2 per cent to 4
per cent on the BSE.
Among individual
stocks, Adani Power
hit a record high of Rs
203.55, locked at 10 per
cent upper circuit on
the BSE. The stock
has zoomed 64 per
cent in the past eight
trading days.

07
NEWS
GUJ NEEDS SOUND STRATEGY TO
GUJ NEEDS SOUND STRATEGY TO
AVOID DEBT TRAP: CAG REPORT
AVOID DEBT TRAP: CAG REPORT
GUJARAT’S PUBLIC DEBT WAS `3,08,030 CRORE IN 2020-21
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The re-
port of the Comptrol-
ler and Auditor Gen-
eral (CAG) of India
tabled in the Gujarat
Assembly has pointed
out that the state gov-
ernment needs to for-
mulate a “well thought
out” debt repayment
strategy to avoid fall-
ing into a debt trap.
The ‘State Finances
Audit Report of the
CAG for the year end-
ed March 31, 2021’ was
tabled in the Assem-
bly on Thursday, the
last day of the Budget
session.
Gujarat’s public
debt--consisting of in-
ternal debt of
Rs2,90,031crore, and
loans and advances
worth Rs17,999 crore
from the Centre--was
Rs3,08,030 crore in
2020-21, the report
says.
The maturity pro-
file of outstanding
stock of public debt as
of March 31 indicates
that 61% of the total
public debt, or
Rs1,87,973 crore,
would be repayable
within the next seven
years, which may put
a strain on the govern-
ment budget during
that period, the report
states, adding that the
remaining 39%, or
Rs1,20,056 crore,
would become due for
servicing after seven
years.
“In view of the in-
creasing committed
expenditure on one
hand and revenue def-
icit on the other, the
state government
would have to work
out a well-thought-out
borrowing-repayment
strategy to avoid fall-
ing into a debt trap,”
the report stressed.
FACTS FIGURES
Congress extends membership
drive deadline till April 15
Yogi calls for crackdown
on criminals and mafias
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath on Fri-
day directed the offi-
cials to take stern ac-
tion against the crimi-
nals and mafias by
demolishing and
seizing illegal
properties.
Yogi’s office
t w e e t e d ,
“Stern action should be
taken against crimi-
nals and mafias by de-
molishing and seizing
the illegal properties.
There should be no leni-
ency towards mining,
liquor, animal, forest,
land mafias or any oth-
er professional crimi-
nal.” Earlier, the CM
held a meeting with the
Home Department offi-
cials late on Thursday
night and directed to fix
priorities as a part of a
100 days work plan and
take swift action on it.
“Under ‘Mahila Shakti’
campaign, women se-
curity should be con-
ducted effectively and
actively. Special cam-
paign should be
launched at school, col-
lege, market and crowd-
ed places,” he said. He
said that security, good
arrangements and good
governance were the
priority of the state
govt.
“Security arrange-
ments at all places of
faith and important
installations should be
made better,” he di-
rected. Yogi. directed
that police lines should
be established proper-
ly in every district
within a year.
New Delhi (ANI): The
Congress party has ex-
tended the deadline of
its membership drive
for the Organisational
polls from March 31 to
April 15, said sources.
The Congress’ mem-
bership drive began on
November 1 last year.
The southern states are
leading in this drive
with Telangana on top
as per party sources.
The sources said 39
lakh members had en-
rolled in Telangana, 34
lakh in Karnataka, 15
lakh in Maharashtra, 10
lakh in Gujarat, 10 lakh
in Kerala, five lakh in
Chhattisgarh, four lakh
in Bihar, three lakh in
Delhi and three lakh in
Rajasthan.
The emphasis of the
drive seems to be on
digital membership to
make the party better
prepared for electoral
challenges.
Party leaders are try-
ing to boost the ‘digital
membership’driveinall
states including the five
where assembly polls
were held in February-
March.
Congress is keen that
those who have taken
membership via ‘paper’
are also part of the digi-
tal register. This, the
party feels, will help in
better preparations for
the2024LokSabhapolls.
While about three
crore people joined the
party within five
months of the com-
mencement of the paper
membership, 1.3 crore
members opted for digi-
tal membership in the
first 40 days of the drive,
sources said.
YOGI LAYS DOWN STRICT RULES
PEOPLE OPT FOR DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP
NEW BEGINNING!
Gudi Padwa is a spring-time festival that marks the
traditional new year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus.
Maharashtrian TV actress Pooja Rathore welcomes the
festival near Pune, on Friday.
AIMPLB asks Muslims not to
be misled by anti-Hijab spin
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The All In-
dia Muslim Personal
Law Board (AIMPLB)
has called upon the
community not to be
misled by propaganda
of communal forces on
Hijab issue, which was
now before Supreme
Court.
The general secre-
tary of the board, Maul-
ana Khalid Saifullah
Rahmani, said in state-
ment on Friday that im-
mediately after the cri-
siseruptedinKarnataka
the board had contacted
thecommunity’sleaders
inthestate.Buttheysaid
that matter would be re-
solved mutually with
talks. But there was no
breakthrough in discus-
sion as the BJP govern-
ment of Karnakata
adopted anti-Muslim
policy on the issue.
Punjab launches integrated road accident database project
Kulwinder Bawa
Chandigarh: With a
view to reduce road ac-
cidents and accidental
death rate in the state,
Punjab Transport Min-
ister Laljit Singh Bhul-
lar, on Friday, launched
the Integrated Road
Accident Database
(iRAD) project in the
state, thus making
Punjab the first state
in the country to initi-
ate ultra-modern tech-
nology equipped with
GIS maps for reducing
road accidents to the
minimum level, im-
proving road designs
and identifying acci-
dental black spots.
After inaugurating
intra-departmental
mobile application
based project related
to the Public Works De-
partment (BR), Na-
tional Highways,
Health and Family
Welfare, National
Highways Authority
of India and Punjab
Mandi Board during
the brief function held
at Punjab Bhawan, Bh-
ullar said, each day 10-
12 road accident fatali-
ties are being reported
in Punjab, which is
more than the Nation-
al average of 8-9 deaths
per day, adding that
each life is precious for
us. Bhullar said that
seven major states –
Punjab, Tamil Nadu,
K’taka, Maha, MP, UP
and Raj started using
iRAD projects and the
Punjab is first amongst
all and in the country,
which launched iRAD
after integrating it
with GIS maps with
Police Station
boundaries.
Punjab Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar iRAD project in, Chandigarh.
The iRAD system
starts with mobile
application, which will
enable police person-
nel to enter details
about a road accident
along with photos and
videos, following which
a unique ID will be
created for the incident.
An engineer from the
PwD or the Local Body
will receive an alert
on his mobile device.
The Engineer will then
visit the accident site,
examine it, and feed the
required details, such
as the road design.
Data, thus collected will
be analysed by a team
at IIT-Madras, which
will then suggest if
corrective measures in
road design need to be
taken. The iRAD has in-
tegration with National
Digital Vehicle Registry
“VAAHAN” and driver
database “SAARTHI”
along with its integra-
tion with Crime and
CCTNS used by the
Punjab Police.
HOW IRAD WILL WORK?
‘AAP govt first in Punjab to
not hike electricity tariffs’
Mahesh Kumar
Chandigarh: AAP govt
in Punjab has decided to
not increase power tar-
iffs in the state and con-
tinued all subsidies.
Welcomingthisdecision
of Bhagwant Mann gov-
ernment, AAP leader
and party spokesperson
Dr Sunny Singh Ahlu-
walia termed it as pro-
people and pro-Punjab
decision. He added that
Aam Aadmi Party will
live up to its election
promiseof 300unitsfree
electricity per month
soon and with this deci-
sion it is clear that AAP
govt won’t levy any
hiked tariffs on exceed-
ed power use from 600
units per bill.
He said that since
2002 AAP govt is the
first govt in Punjab who
came in power and re-
tained old power tariffs.
He said that Bhagwant
Mann led AAP govt is
continuously taking de-
cisions to benefit com-
mon people as much as
possible and this deci-
sion will ensure that the
consumers of state will
not be burdened with
any increase.
—PHOTO
BY
VIJAYKUMAR
HARISHCHANDRE
First India Bureau
New Delhi: To achieve
its objectives of empow-
erment and protection
of women and children,
the Union Ministry of
WomenandChildDevel-
opment will hold zonal
conferences with States
and Union Territories
(UTs) commencing from
SaturdayatChandigarh.
Starting on Saturday
from Chandigarh, the
Ministry will be holding
other zonal conferences
at Bengaluru (April 4),
Guwahati (April 10),
Mumbai (April 12) and
Bhubaneswar(April13).
The objective of these
conferences is to sensi-
tiseStateGovernments/
UT Administrations on
the 3 Umbrella Missions
of the Ministry to facili-
tate proper implementa-
tion of the schemes over
next five years.
The empowerment
and protection of wom-
en and children who
constitute 67.7 per cent
of India’s population
and ensuring their
wholesome develop-
ment in a safe and a se-
cure environment is
crucial for the sustain-
ableandequitabledevel-
opment of the country
.
The objectives under
the schemes of the Min-
istry are sought to be
achieved with the sup-
port of state govern-
ments and UT Adminis-
trations that are respon-
sible for the administra-
tion of the schemes.
To achieve these ob-
jectives, Cabinet has ap-
proved 3 important Um-
brella Schemes of the
Ministry to be imple-
mented in mission
mode, viz, Mission
Poshan 2.0, Mission
Shakti and Mission Vat-
salya. All 3 Missions
will be implemented
during the 15th Finance
Commission period
2021-22 to 2025-26.
Mission POSHAN 2.0
is an Integrated Nutri-
tion Support Pro-
gramme. It seeks to ad-
dress the challenges of
malnutrition in chil-
dren, adolescent girls,
pregnant women
through a strategic shift
in nutrition content.
The delivery and by the
creation of a convergent
eco-system to develop
and promote practices
that nurture health,
wellness and immunity
.
Mission Shakti envis-
ages unified citizen-
centric lifecycle sup-
port for women through
integrated care, safety,
protection and empow-
erment to unshackle
women as they progress
through various stages
of their life.
The objective of Mis-
sion Vatsalya is to se-
cure a healthy and hap-
py childhood for every
child in India and foster
a sensitive, supportive
and synchronized eco-
system for development
of children.
WCD Ministry’s Zonal Conferences with States/UTs begin from today
OUTREACH PROGRAMME
lll
Zonal
Conferences
aim at strategic
interventions to
address
Malnutrition
Concerns for
Empowerment,
Development
and Protection
of Women and
Children

08
2NDFRONT
Dignity and grace, these ‘mere’
words add beauty and peace to
life-in big doses.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
10lakh+EVs,1,742charging
stationsinIndia,saysGadkari
New Delhi (ANI): The
number of electric ve-
hicles on roads across
the country has reached
over ten lakh with
around 1,700 charging
stations operational in
public places across the
country, Union Minis-
ter Nitin Gadkari in-
formed Lok Sabha in a
written reply
.
As per Vahan 4 data,
as of March 25 this
year, a total of 10,76,420
EVs and a total of 1,742
Public Charging Sta-
tions (PCS), as per the
Bureau of Energy Ef-
ficiency (BEE), are op-
erational.The Ministry
of Power has issued
“Charging Infrastruc-
ture for Electric Vehi-
cles – the revised con-
solidated Guidelines
and Standards” on
January 14, 2022, to ac-
celerate the e-mobility
transition in the coun-
try, the Union Minister
said.
“Action Plans have
been prepared by the
Bureau of Energy Effi-
ciency (BEE) for 8 cities
with a 4 million-plus
population (Mumbai,
Delhi, Bangalore,
Ahmedabad, Chennai,
Kolkata, Surat, and
Pune),” Nitin Gadkari
told the Lok Sabha.
Under these action
plans, scenario-wise
targets have been pre-
pared for Business as
Usual (BAU), Moderate
and Aggressive Scenar-
ios for the installation
of chargers in these
cities, he said.
The Ministry of
Heavy Industries (MHI)
had invited proposals
from any Government
Organisation or Public
Sector Undertaking
(PSU) to build and oper-
ate public EV charging
infrastructure on ex-
pressways and National
Highways under FAME
India Scheme Phase-II
for Highways and Ex-
pressways.
On the other hand,
PSU Energy Efficiency
Services Limited
(EESL), in consortium
with Convergence En-
ergy Services Limited
(a subsidiary of EESL),
has been awarded the
work for setting up EV
charging stations along
16 NH or expressways.
In order to facilitate
EESL in the above pros-
pect, NHAI has signed
an MOU with EESL,
the ministry said.
As per this MoU,
NHAI shall provide
space or land near toll
plazas and its buildings
for the installation of
Electric Vehicle Charg-
ing Stations, based on
the revenue sharing
model, subject to an
agreeable amount to
NHAI and EESL.
AAP CMs Kejriwal, Mann to take part in Gujarat roadshow
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP)
leaders and Delhi and
Punjab Chief Minis-
ters Arvind Kejriwal
and Bhagwant Mann
will take part in a road-
show here on Saturday
.
The event is part of
the duo’s two-day visit
to the state, which is
likely to witness As-
sembly polls in Decem-
ber.
“The 2km roadshow,
which we are calling
Tiranga Yatra, will cov-
er Nikol and Bapuna-
gar area of Ahmedabad
city. Nearly 50,000 peo-
ple, including all key
party leaders from
across the state, will
take part,” Gujarat
AAP general secretary
Manoj Sorathiya said
on Friday
.
Against the back-
drop of vandalism
amid a protest outside
Kejriwal’s Delhi resi-
dence some days ago,
the AAP unit here
asked city police com-
missioner Sanjay Sriv-
astava to take extra
measures for the safety
and security of the two
leaders.
“Some miscreants re-
cently attacked Kejri-
wal’s residence in Del-
hi. We fear some people
may attack our leaders
here too. So, we have
sent a letter to the po-
lice commissioner to
take extra precaution
and ensure the safety
of our leaders here,”
Sorathiya told report-
ers. As per the schedule
released by the party,
Kejriwal and Mann
will arrive on Friday
night.
On Saturday, they
will first visit Gandhi
Ashram in the morn-
ing and then reach
Nikol area of the city
in the afternoon to lead
the ‘Tiranga Yatra’. On
Sunday, they will visit
Swaminarayan Temple
in the Shahibaug area
before going back to
Delhi in the evening.
2km ‘Tiranga Yatra’
will cover Nikol
and Bapunagar
in Ahmedabad
PROPOSALS
BJP getting battle-ready for Raj;
Nadda,Shah to visit this month
Jaipur (ANI): Ahead
of BJP president JP
Nadda and Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah’s visit to Ra-
jasthan this month,
the Bharatiya Janata
Party is getting battle-
ready for the Assem-
bly polls due next year
in the state.
Nadda, who is
scheduled to arrive in
the state on Saturday
will hold a meeting
with the core team of
the party’s Rajasthan
unit to check on the
preparedness ahead
of the assembly polls.
He is expected to visit
Sawai Madhopur.
While the schedule
for Amit Shah’s visit
to Rajasthan is yet to
be finalised, he is ex-
pected to be in the
state for two days like-
ly in mid-April. The
Union Minister is ex-
pected to be in Ban-
swara, which borders
Gujarat. Apart from
holding several offi-
cial functions and
functions for the party
what is important is
his meeting with the
state leadership.
The visit by both
Nadda and Shah is ex-
pected to boost the
state leadership to
prepare itself for the
poll contest after hav-
ing lost the last assem-
bly polls to Ashok Ge-
hlot-led Congress.
Notably, former
CMVasundhara Raje,
one of the key figures
in the political spec-
trum of Rajasthan re-
cently met top party
leadership including
PM Narendra Modi,
JP Nadda, Defence
Minister Rajnath Sin-
gh and Road Trans-
port Minister Nitin
Gadkari.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda.
Delhi’s average min
temp in March 2nd
highest in 72 years
New Delhi (Agencies):
While maximum tem-
peratures rose and Del-
hi began to witness a
heatwave at the end of
March, the minimum
temperature has also
remained high through
the month.
The average mini-
mum temperature in
March this year was
17.6 degrees Celsius, the
second-highest average
recorded in the past 72
years. From 1951 to
2022, the highest aver-
age minimum tempera-
ture recorded in March
was 18.5 degrees Celsi-
us in 1953 and 2010, ac-
cording to R K Jenama-
ni, senior scientist,
IMD. The average mini-
mum temperature in
March 2021 was 16.8 de-
grees Celsius, while it
was even lower at 15
degrees Celsius in
March 2020, and 13.8 de-
grees Celsius in March
2019. The minimum
temperature is usually
recorded at night.
The minimum tem-
perature recorded early
on Thursday was 20.1
degrees Celsius, two de-
grees above normal.
The average maxi-
mum temperature in
March this year was
32.9 degrees Celsius, a
little lower than 33.1 de-
grees recorded last year.
This was, however,
higher than the average
of 28.2 degrees recorded
in March 2020 and 2019.
BIG BOOST
The average minimum
temperature in March
this year was 17.6
degrees Celsius, the
second-highest
average recorded in
the past 72 years.
RSS chief Bhagwat to address Kashmiri Hindus on April 3
New Delhi (ANI): RSS
chief Mohan Bhagwat
will address the Kash-
miri Hindu community
through video confer-
ence during Navreh cel-
ebrations on April 3.
Sanjeevani Sharda
Kendra (SSK), Jammu
is organising a three-
day programme from
April 1-3 to celebrate
the ‘Tyaag and Shaurya
Divas’ and urge the
‘Kashmiri Samaj’ to
take a pledge for return-
ing to their homeland
on the occasion of
Navreh.
The SSK has been cel-
ebrating the ‘Navreh,
Tyaag and Shaurya Di-
vas’ with the commu-
nity members and
school children for sev-
eral years and used to
conduct seminars, es-
say writing and quiz
competitions.
The Navreh celebra-
tions will culminate
with a virtual address
by RSS Sarsanghchalak
Mohan Bhagwat to the
Kashmiri Hindu com-
munity. The word
‘Navreh’ is believed to
be derived from San-
skrit ‘Nava Varsha’
meaning the New Year.
TYAAG AND SHAURYA DIVAS
Smriti wonders why
woman MP can’t be
addressed as a lady
New Delhi (PTI): Un-
ion Minister Smriti
Irani on Friday won-
dered why a woman
member of Parliament
cannot be addressed as
a lady
.
Her remarks came af-
ter Congress’ Adhir
Ranjan Chaudhary and
Saugata Roy of TMC ob-
jected to Irani referring
to Geetha Viswanath
Vanga of the YSRCP as
a lady member during
the Question Hour in
the Lok Sabha.
They said the Minis-
ter should have ad-
dressed her as ‘honour-
able member’, to which
Irani said whatever she
has said was not unpar-
liamentary and refer-
ring to a woman mem-
ber as a lady was not
wrong.
“I have taken no dis-
respect to her presence
in the House,” Smriti
Irani said.
CNG price up by
80p in Delhi,
total hike at `4
in last 1 month
New Delhi (PTI): CNG
price in the national
capital on Friday was
hiked by 80 paise per kg
on the back of the gov-
ernment raising input
natural gas prices to re-
cord levels.
CNG price in the NCT
of Delhi has been in-
creased to `60.81 per kg
from `60.01, according
to information posted
on the website of In-
draprastha Gas Ltd
(IGL) — the firm which
retails CNG and piped
cooking gas in the na-
tional capital.
This is the sixth in-
crease in CNG prices in
the last month. In all,
rates have gone up by
about `4 per kg.
The increase comes
on the back of a surge
in gas prices globally
.
‘Tireless’ Raj CM Ashok Gehlot
back to his ‘old demeanour’
Sangeeta Sharma
Jodhpur: Days after vis-
iting Jodhpur and taking
stock of the city and its
dwellers, Rajasthan
Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot once reached the
BlueCityandlikealways,
he appeared in his now
established ‘old demean-
our’. After reaching
Jodhpur, he took stock of
the various development
worksgoingoninthecity
.
He took feedback from
the officials regarding
the progress of works
and budget announce-
ments. Along with this,
theofficerswereaskedto
complete all the work on
time. Within a week, for
the second time, taking a
three-hour long drive, he
toured the city with pub-
lic representatives and
observed the develop-
ment work.
After reaching Jodh-
pur on Friday afternoon
from Jaipur, the CM
went directly to inspect
the ongoing develop-
ment works in the city.
During the visit, Gehlot
first reached Mathura-
das Mathur Hospital to
give concrete shape to
his plans to strengthen
the infrastructure of
the medical system. He
oversaw the phased con-
struction work of the
multi-storey ICU ward
to be built from the CM’s
budget announcement
of 2019-20 there. Princi-
pal of Medical College
SS Rathore and Collec-
tor Himanshu Gupta
informed the Chief
Minister about the pro-
ject, highlighting that
till now the structure
work has been complet-
ed while the work of fur-
nishing on the third
floor is in progress
which is likely to be
completed by April 30
and will provide better
modern medical facili-
ties to the common man.
CM Gehlot also ob-
served the construction
work of remaining
floors in OPD block of
Mathuradas Mathur
Hospital.
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
Delhi Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal

avya Kapoor has
been walking cat-
walks for a few
years now, one of
those rare models
who has set a huge
benchmark in the
fashion and glamour indus-
try with her charisma.
When asked about her
initial journey, Kavya
shared, “My journey has
been a roller coaster ride
emotionally, mentally as
well as physically. I was a
plump kid
throughout my teens due to
which I was always bullied
andheardcountlesstaunts.”
The passionate young
soul has worked day and
night to achieve her goals
and aspires to rule the mod-
elling industry one day
.
Talking about her
achievements, the beauty
exclaimed, “I have been the
cover girl for Spotless Fash-
ion Magazine, an interna-
tional magazine for fashion
and lifestyle). I have also
been the showstopper for
global fashion week 2021 for
all designers. Have done
various shoots including
print ones for re-
nowned brands, eth-
nic clothing brands
and many more.”
Her victory at
First Miss India, a
national level
beauty pageant
held in Goa on
October 30, 2021,
was indeed a
turning point
in her life.
When asked
what major changes came in
her life post crowning, the
alluring beauty said, “The
moment was surreal and
life has become more beauti-
ful. I wouldn’t say any dras-
tic change followed, but yes,
personally and profession-
ally, I witnessed huge
growth. My confidence level
raised. I learned from my
flaws and developed a better
understandingof mywork.”
Kavya Kapoor doesn’t
just contain multitudes, she
displays them, boldly. For
her, fashion is some-
thing that shifts on
the regular, but it’s
always fun.
“For me, the
whole point of
getting dressed
is, who do you
want to be to-
day? And
who do you
want to be
perceived
as today?”
K a p o o r
said. She
fur ther
added, “For me, I don’t have
one fashion statement that
stays with me every single
day and I just whip out a dif-
ferent shirt or jeans. I am
someone completely differ-
ent every single day and I
love that part about me.”
“But I think after all of
this time, these moments
where you get to express
yourself and show that fash-
ion is, however, you’re feel-
ing,” she concluded.
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
K
KAVYA
DAUNTLESS BEAUTY!
NEW DELHI, SATURDAY,
APRIL 2, 2022
Young, fearless
and a woman
with big dreams,
Kavya Kapoor
from Uttar
Pradesh, in a
candid
conversation
with City First,
shares her
modelling
journey and
future plans!
Kavya is a
person who has
found the right
spirit and path
to transform
her dreams
into reality,
without
compromising
on her
principles.

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