03032022 first india new delhi

Will start Metro services in 5 districts including
Varanasi in next 5 yrs if BJP retains power: Nadda
Varanasi: BJP national
president JP Nadda on
Wednesday promised to
start metro services in
some districts of Uttar
Pradesh including
Agra, Gorakhpur, Vara-
nasi, Prayagraj, and
Meerut in the next five
years if Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party retains pow-
er in UP.
The senior BJP lead-
er also claimed that Ut-
tar Pradesh has marked
the lowest unemploy-
ment rate under the
Yogi Adityanath-led
government. “In the
next five years, we’ll
start metro services in
Agra, Gorakhpur, Vara-
nasi, Prayagraj, and
Meerut. UP has marked
the lowest unemploy-
ment rate under Yogi
govt. Through MSMEs,
more than three lakh
jobs have been created
in the state,” Nadda
said while addressing a
public rally Varanasi.
Nadda also said that
state stands at 2nd posi-
tion in the Ease of Do-
ing Business ranking.
BJP EVOLVES BIG PLAN FOR UP POLLS
JP Nadda at the entrepreneurs meet in Varanasi on Wednesday.
Rajasthan CM Ashok
Gehlot writes exclusively
for First India on the Old
Pension System.
inside P4
Today UP
stands at num-
ber 2 in Ease of
Doing Business ranking.
Per capita income has
doubled, the state is be-
coming a leading desti-
nation for investments
under the Yogi govern-
ment. If you vote for
BJP, we promise to take
UP to the first position.
—JP Nadda, BJP chief
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD,
LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
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NEW DELHI l THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 183
Purvanchal in the penultimate
phase holds the key to UP 2022
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: A strong
BSP can ensure a trian-
gular fight in an elec-
tion that has so far been
seen as a bipolar one
between the BJP and
the Samajwadi Party
. A
triangular fight can
mean a split of the anti-
BJP votes.
As the period of poll-
ing in the seven-phase-
long Uttar Pradesh As-
sembly elections ap-
proaches its end, the
penultimate phase of
the crucial polls is
scheduled for Thursday
.
It will be a real test
for BJP to hold on to its
2017 tally of 46. In 2017,
the BJP had a sizable
lead in districts like
Kushinagar and Maha-
rajganj and many of the
seats in Gorakhpur,
Deoria and Basti dis-
tricts as well.
Of the 19 seats that
BSP bagged in 2017,
5 seats came from this
region.
UTTAR PRADESH PHASE-6 (TODAY)
57
Constituencies
10
Districts
2.16
crore voters
676
Candidates
in the fray
46
seats BJP
clinched in
2017 polls
7am-6pm
Polling time
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
(Gorakhpur Urban), Mata Prasad
Pandey (Itwa), Leader of Opposition
in the state assembly
Ram Govind Chaudhary
from Bansdih against
Ketakee Singh (BJP), Vinay
Shankar Tiwari who would
be contesting on SP ticket this time
against Rajesh Tripathi (BJP) from
Chillupar and Rakesh Pandey on
SP ticket from Jalalpur.
KEY CANDIDATES
Caste-based
census,
reservation,
Healthcare
facilities,
unemployment,
inflation, stray
cattle and
infrastructure
development
CRUCIAL
ISSUES
If a third World War were to
take place, it would involve
nuclear weapons and be
destructive. Russia would face
“real danger” if Kyiv acquired
nuclear weapons.
—SERGEI LAVROV, Russian Foreign Minister
I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders we built billions of dollars of
this violent regime — no more! United States Department of Justice is
assembling a dedicated task force to go after their crimes. We are coming for
your ill-begotten gains. The US and European allies were coming after their
yachts, luxury apartments and private jets. And tonight, I am announcing that
we are joining our allies in closing off our airspace to all Russian flights.
—JOE BIDEN, US President in first State of the Union address
BOMBING UKRAINE,
THREATENING WORLD
Moscow (Agencies):
Russian Foreign Minis-
ter Sergei Lavrov said
on Wednesday that if a
third World War were to
take place, it would in-
volve nuclear weapons
and be destructive, the
RIA agency reported.
A week after launch-
ing its invasion of
Ukraine, Russia said its
forces took control the
first sizable city on
Wednesday, seizing
Kherson, in the south,
as fighting raged
around the country and
Western nations tight-
ened an economic noose
around Russia.
More than half a mil-
lion Ukrainians have
fled the fighting since
Russian attack.
The assault on the
Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
continued even as
Russia said it would be
ready to resume talks
with the Ukrainian side
Russia claims control
over Ukraine’s Kherson;
Another Indian
student in Ukraine
dies due to prolonged
brain-related illness
All Indian nationals in
Kharkiv have been asked to
leave immediately for their
safety. The advisory comes
amid a huge shortage of
public transport
A 40-mile (64-kilometer) convoy of hundreds
of Russian tanks and other vehicles advanced
slowly on Kyiv, the capital city of nearly 3
million people, in what the West feared was a
bid by Putin to topple the government and
install a Kremlin-friendly regime
1 2 3 4
RUSSIA TO PROBE
INDIAN STUDENT’S
DEATH IN SHELLING
Moscow is working to
ensure a safe corridor for
evacuation of Indian stu-
dents stranded in eastern
Ukraine and will launch a
probe into the death of an
Indian student in shelling
in Kharkiv, Russian am-
bassador to India Denis
Alipov said Wednesday.
CHINA HOLDS TALKS
WITH UKRAINE
China is “extremely con-
cerned” about the harm
to civilians in Ukraine,
Foreign Minister Wang Yi
told his Ukrainian coun-
terpart Dmytro Kuleba
during a phone call, in
the latest indication of
Beijing’s desire
to prevent the war’s
further escalation.
KILLED STUDENT’S
FATHER RESPONDS
TO MIN’S REMARK
Father of Naveen re-
ponded to Minister Pral-
had Joshi’s comments
on students failing to
qualify in exams in India.
“Naveen simply could not
afford to study medicine
in India and so went to
Ukraine,” Shekharappa
Gyanagoudar said.
INDIA EVACUATES VIA
MOLDOVA ROUTE
The Indian government
is evacuating its citizens
stranded in Odessa town
of Ukraine. The entire
evacuation process is
being carried out via
Moldova to Romania. The
Indian embassy in Roma-
nia in coordination with
Moldovan authorities is
organising movement.
‘IT’S DUE TO RISING STRENGTH OF INDIA,
WE ARE ABLE TO EVACUATE NATIONALS’
Sonbhadra: Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Wednesday (March 2)
said that India is able to evacuate its
stranded nationals under ‘Operation
Ganga’ in Ukraine because of the
country’s ‘rising power’. Addressing
a poll rally in UP’s Sonbhadra, Modi
said, “India will leave no stone un-
turned in bringing back the stranded
nationals from war-hit Ukraine”.
PM MODI SPEAKS TO PUTIN, DISCUSSES
EVACUATION OF STRANDED INDIANS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
spoke to Russian President
Vladimir Putin on Wednesday and
discussed the issue of safe evacu-
ation of Indians from war-torn
Ukraine. This was the second con-
versation between Modi and Putin
within a week on Ukraine conflict.
VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH, KREMLIN’S PICK
FOR UKRAINE PRESIDENT AFTER WAR
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who
fled to Russia in 2014, is being prepared by the
Kremlin for a special occasion, The Kyiv Independent
tweeted, citing a report
by the Ukrayinska Pravda,
an online newspaper. The
report, citing Ukrainian
intelligence, said that ac-
cording to one scenario,
Russia will try to declare
him as the “President of Ukraine”. The Kremlin may
be preparing an informational operation or action for
Yanukovych’s return to Ukraine, it said.
Ukrainian soldier passes the site of a fighting with Russian troops in the Ukrainian capital
of Kyiv. (Left) Volunteers from the Territorial Defense Units make Molotov cocktails to use
against Russian troops in Kyiv. Ukraine on Wednesday sharply raised the number of civilians
killed in the Russian invasion to over 2,000 as the country contested Russian claims of
capturing the port of Kherson and reported an escalation in attacks on many cities.
‘3rd World War will involve nuclear weapons’
Indian Girl Students
Out Of Kharkiv With
Russian Help, Boys
Next: Sources
TMC decimates Oppn, wins 102 of 108 civic bodies
Kolkata (PTI): The
ruling Trinamool Con-
gress has recorded a
landslide victory in
the West Bengal mu-
nicipal elections win-
ning 102 of the 108 mu-
nicipalities. Out of the
102 civic bodies won by
the TMC, there is no
opposition in 31 mu-
nicipalities. TMC
chief and West Bengal
Chief Minister Mama-
ta Banerjee congratu-
lated all the winning
candidates of the par-
ty and expressed grati-
tude over the “over-
whelming mandate”.
The Left Front se-
cured its victory in
Taherpur Municipali-
ty in the Nadia dis-
trict. BJP failed to
open its account.
The Congress too
failed to win a single
seat. Surprisingly, the
newly-formed Humro
Party won the Darjeel-
ing Municipality
.
The civic body polls
recorded a 77 per cent
turnout, marred with
violence. Mamata Banerjee

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022
02
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Reach out to students evacuated from
or still in Ukraine, Govt asks officials
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhi government has
asked district authori-
ties to reach out to the
families of students
evacuated from the
war-hit Ukraine or
those who are still
stuck there to extend
any help they need and
assure them that all
necessary steps are be-
ing taken for their wel-
fare, officials said on
Wednesday.
They also said dis-
trict authorities have
engaged teachers and
other staff in their re-
spective jurisdiction to
effectively execute
these orders.
According to the or-
ders issued by district
authorities, the teams
concerned will meet
the families of strand-
ed students and assure
them that adequate
steps are being taken
to ensure the welfare
of their wards.
They will also visit
the houses of students
evacuated from
Ukraine and ask about
their wellbeing and of-
fer whatever help they
need, an official of the
Central district said.
Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal had
on Tuesday urged the
Central government to
bring back Indians
stranded in Ukraine at
the earliest and pro-
vide them with all
help.
A senior administra-
tive official of the
South Delhi district
said that these efforts
are being made to allay
fears of family mem-
bers of those stranded
in different cities of
Ukraine by offering
them whatever help
they need.
“These are tough
times for the families
of students who are
still stuck in Ukraine.
AISA DEMANDS SAFE EVACUATION OF
INDIANS STRANDED IN UKRAINE
TEAMS OF DELHI TEACHERS FORMED
TO BE IN TOUCH WITH STUDENTS
New Delhi (PTI): Members
of the Left-affiliated All
India Students’ Association
held a protest at Jantar
Mantar here on Wednesday
demanding the evacua-
tion of Indian students
stranded in war-ravaged
Ukraine. The protesters
carrying placards raised slogans supporting Ukraine.
The placards carried by the protesters read — ‘Indian
government must ensure safe return of trapped Indian
citizens’ and ‘end the war before it ends you’. und 15 to
20 AISA members held the protest at Jantar Mantar in
central Delhi.
New Delhi: Two teams of teachers have been tasked
with being in touch with students who have returned to
Delhi from war-hit Ukraine and the families of those who
are still stranded there. The
two teams of four teachers
each will report to the office
of the SDM Karol Bagh.
They have been directed to
visit the homes of all the
students who have returned
from Ukraine after February
22 and to “ensure that all
necessary steps are being taken for the welfare of the
students”. They have also been directed to visit families
of students still stuck in Ukraine and “assure them that
adequate steps are being taken to ensure the welfare of
the students”.
SIGH OF RELIEF! Ninth flight under Operation Ganga with 218 Indian nationals, evacuated
from Ukraine, departs from Bucharest to New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
DECISION ON 1993 DELHI BOMB
BLAST CONVICT’S RELEASE DEFERRED
New Delhi (PTI): The Sentence Review
Board(SRB) headed by Delhi Home Minis-
ter Satyendar Jain on Wednesday deferred the
decision on the early release of Davinder Pal
Singh Bhullar, a 1993 Delhi bomb blast case
convict who is currently lodged in Amrit-
sar jail. The matter has been put off till the
next SRB meeting, said a Delhi government
official. The demand by Sikh groups for
Bhullar’s release had gained ground ahead of
the assembly elections in Punjab. The seven
members of the Board include the director
general of Tihar prison, secretaries of Home
and Law departments and director of social
welfare department of the Delhi government, a
district judge and a senior Delhi Police officer.
DELHI HC DISMISSES BAIL PLEA OF
AVANTHA GROUP’S GAUTAM THAPAR
New Delhi (ANI): The Delhi High Court
dismissed the bail application of Gautam
Thapar, Avantha Group promoter in a money
laundering case linked to an alleged bank loan
fraud of `515 crore. Thapar was arrested on
August 3, 2021, in connection with the alle-
gations of misappropriation of funds granted
by Yes Bank in the form of a loan. On behalf
of Gautam Thapar, Senior Advocate Mukul
Rohatgi, briefed by a team from Karanjawala
& Co. led by Sandeep Kapur, Senior Partner
along with Vir Sandhu, Vivek Suri, Niharika
Karanjawala, Mridul Yadav, Abhimanshu
Dhyani, Sahil Modi and Kajal Advocates.
HC JUNKS BAIL PLEA OF BIZMAN
GEHLOT IN MONEY LAUNDERING
New Delhi (ANI): The Delhi High Court
on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of
businessman Raj Singh Gehlot, Ambience
Group Promoter, in a money laundering
case related to an alleged bank loan fraud
case. The case relates to certain loans
granted by a consortium of banks for
the construction of the Ambience Hotel
at Shahdara, Delhi. The bench of Justice
Manoj Kumar Ohri on Wednesday refused
to grant bail to Gehlot who was arrested
by Enforcement Directorate last year in
the matter. He was arrested under the
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
(PMLA) for committing bank fraud against
the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Consortium.
PIL AGAINST GOVT NOTIFICATION
CONCERNING POST OF DMRC MD
New Delhi (ANI): A Public Interest
Litigation (PIL) has been moved in Delhi
High Court on Wednesday challenging the
Government of National Capital Territory
Delhi’s notification regarding the post
of Managing Director Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation (DMRC) dated February 10,
2022. The plea seeks direction to declare
that the upper age limit for the post of Man-
aging Director-DMRC, which is not only
extremely specialized and requires the most
competent and experienced person but also
an unreserved and sole post; cannot be
arbitrary, irrational and discriminatory.
Delhi forest dept plans soil testing to make tree plantation 'more scientific'
Delhi Forest Depart-
ment plans to conduct
soil testing and an inter-
nal audit in a bid to
make the plantation ex-
ercise this year “more
scientific”, according to
officials.
Like last year, the
plantation exercise will
focus on native varie-
ties. This will help fur-
ther improve the surviv-
al rate of saplings, a for-
est department official
said.
“Testing is being con-
ducted in all the forest
divisions in Delhi to as-
certain the characteris-
tics of the soil in a par-
ticular area. It will give
us an idea whether the
soil is alkaline or acidic,
has enough nutrients
and moisture and organ-
ic content to support the
growth of saplings,” the
official said.
“For example, if the
soil is alkaline, it will
have to be treated to sup-
port sapling growth,” he
said, adding the aim is to
make the exercise more
scientific.
The agencies which
will undertake planta-
tion will also be aware
of the pros and cons and
accordingly, steps can be
taken to improve the
sapling survival rate,
the official said.
An internal audit,
which will be recom-
mendatory in nature,
will be conducted in
April to determine the
species best suited for a
particular region and
the factors playing a role
in the tree mortality
.
The department also
plans to have seed collec-
tion centres in all the
three forest divisions. A
seed bank was created in
the Asola Bhatti Wildlife
Sanctuary in South For-
est Division last year.
This will ensure
round-the-year seed
availability with the de-
partment, he said.
At present, the forest
department has seeds of
60 indigenous species.
The target is to have
seeds of 100 such spe-
cies, he said.
The Delhi govern-
ment had set a target of
planting 33 saplings and
shrubs in the last finan-
cial year.
Various government
agencies planted 32 lakh
saplings in the financial
year 2020-21.
Delhi’s green cover
increased from 21.88 per
cent to 23.06 per cent of
its geographical area in
the last two years, ac-
cording to the India
State of Forest Report
(ISFR) report released
by the Union Environ-
ment Ministry in Janu-
ary
.
TO ASCERTAIN NATURE OF SOIL...
CRUCIAL READ
DELHI POLICE ASI AMONG SIX ACCUSED
ARRESTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Gurugram (PTI): An assistant sub inspector of the
Delhi Police and his five associates were arrested
for allegedly peddling drugs, officials said on
Wednesday. According to Palwal police, around
1,370 kg of marijuana worth over Rs 2 crore was
seized and the five arrested included ASI Shoyeb,
Asif, Mohammad, Aas Mohammad, Lakhpat and
Taufiq, all residents of Nuh and Palwal districts.
The contraband was packed in 44 sacks and
hidden under coconuts in a truck that came to
Mewat from Odisha, they said. Shoaib was with
the special cell of Delhi Police and escorting the
truck in his car, Rajesh Duggal, Superintendent of
Police, Palwal said.
PRAGATI MAIDAN
TUNNEL LIKELY
TO BE READY
THIS MONTH
New Delhi (PTI):
Commuters travelling
to the India Gate and
other central Delhi areas
from east Delhi, Noida
and Ghaziabad will
soon be able to avoid
traffic snarls at ITO and
nearby stretches as the
construction of a tunnel
underneath the Pragati
Maidan is likely to be
completed this month,
officials said. Officials
of the PWD said that
along with the tunnel
six underpasses are
also being constructed
at Mathura Road, Ring
Road and Bhairon Marg.
FOUR ABDUCTED
FROM FORMER
MP’S FLAT IN
SOUTH AVENUE
New Delhi (ANI): Four
people, including the
driver of a former mem-
ber of parliament A.P.
Jithender Reddy, have
allegedly been ab-
ducted from the MP’s
flat in South Avenue on
Tuesday. Jitender Raj,
PA to Reddy, while
speaking to ANI said,
“Three guests of AP
Jithender Reddy came
to stay at his flat at
105 South Avenue.
On Tuesday morning I
came to know that our
driver Tilak Thapa is
missing along with the
guests.”
Minister Jain
inaugurates
reservoir with
2.95 cr Ltr cap
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
Water Minister Satyen-
dar Jain on Wednesday
inaugurated an under-
ground reservoir with
2.95 crore litres capaci-
ty in Mundka to meet
the demand for drink-
ing water in the region.
Another under-
ground reservoir of 2.68
crore litres capacity
was inaugurated in So-
nia Vihar. It is expected
to benefit around 6 lakh
residents in East Delhi.
Jain also laid the
foundation for a sewage
pumping station in
Harsh Vihar, which will
be able to treat 1.75
crore litres of sewage
per day
.
The minister said
these initiatives will
benefit around 8.45 lakh
residents in the unau-
thorised colonies of
Mundka, Sonia Vihar
and Harsh Vihar.
Building sustainable
economy must take
centre stage,says LG
Complete disclosure of
food article being veg or
non-veg must, says HC
New Delhi (PTI):
There must be a com-
plete disclosure regard-
ing a food article being
vegetarian or non-vege-
tarian as fundamental
rights of every person
are impacted by what is
offered on the platter,
the Delhi High Court
said on Wednesday
.
The high court di-
rected the Food Safety
and Standards Author-
ity of India (FSSAI) to
issue a fresh communi-
cation to all the author-
ities concerned stating
the obligation to make
clear disclosure as to
whether the food article
is vegetarian or non-
vegetarian.
A bench of Justices
Vipin Sanghi and D K
Sharma passed the or-
der while hearing a plea
for labelling “all items”
used by the public, in-
cluding home applianc-
es and apparel, as “veg-
etarian” or “non-vege-
tarian” on the basis of
their ingredients and
“items used in manu-
facturing process”.
The court agreed
with the submission
made by the petitioner’s
counsel that it is point-
less to issue such a com-
munication to the au-
thorities and not to the
general public whose
fundamental rights are
affected.
“We direct that the
fresh communication/
order be given wide
publicity to in all the
national dailies,” the
bench said.
New Delhi (PTI): Lt
Governor Anil Baijal
on Wednesday said Del-
hi’s master plan 2041
will be notified this
year and asserted that
building a sustainable,
inclusive, resilient,
green and digital econ-
omy must take
centre stage in the vi-
sion for the city’s devel-
opment.
Addressing the CII
Delhi State Annual Ses-
sion 2021-22, he also
said for the first time
provisions for night-
time economy has been
included in Delhi’s mas-
terplan, which is a
“critical intervention”
that can lead to several
positive results.
“It can support eco-
nomic activities that
can thrive at night, such
as cultural recreational
activities, logistics, cer-
tain industries. This
would also help in stag-
gered work timings and
therefore reduce con-
gestion in streets,” he
said.
The Lt Governor said
the Master Plan for Del-
hi 2041 is “comprehen-
sive, yet a comprehensi-
ble document” that can
be easily understood by
the common man.
BAIJAL SPEAKS
We direct that the
fresh order be given
wide publicity in all
the national dailies
LIQUOR VENDORS MOVE HC OVER ORDER PROHIBITING DISCOUNTS
New Delhi (ANI): A plea was moved on Wednesday by several liquor vendors challenging the
order dated February 28 by which the excise department of the government of NCT of Delhi,
has prohibited the issuance or grant of discounts/ rebate/concessions by the retail licensees
on alcohol brands in view of reports of overcrowding outside vends and the existing threat of
COVID-19. The petitioners who are valid L 7Z license holders stated that in June 2021, the Delhi
government had approved the new Delhi Excise policy for 2021-2022 and stated that according
to the liquor policy and the tender expressly permit grant of discounts by the retail licensees.
Clause 4.1.9 (viii) of the policy in its last line states “The licensee is free to give concession,
rebate or discount on the MRP.” Similarly, Clause 3.5 .1 of the tender in its last line states “The
licensee is free to give concession, rebate or discount on the MRP”, stated the plea.
Anil Baijal

INDIA
03
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Former
Congress president Ra-
hul Gandhi has started
meeting leaders of oth-
er states in the midst of
the Assembly elections
of five states and start-
ed taking stock of the
organisation and other
works in these states.
According to sources in
theCongress,Rahulhas
started meeting the
leaders of the states in
connection with the
preparations for the
elections to be held this
year.Alongwiththis,he
is also meeting the lead-
ers of the state commit-
tees and encouraging
them for further elec-
tion preparations. He
has met leaders of
Jharkhand and Karna-
taka in this regard and
himself visited Chhat-
tisgarh and Gujarat.
Rahul Gandhi met
all the leaders of
Jharkhand recently. It
is believed that he had
called all the leaders
in view of the condi-
tions after RPN Singh,
who was in charge of
the state for a long
time, joined the BJP.
The new in-charge
Avinash Pandey had
brought all the MLAs,
ministers and party
office bearers and Ra-
hul met everyone. But
the purpose of this
meeting was not only
that the in-charge has
changed and that
there is a possibility
of breakdown in the
state, so Rahul showed
solidarity with every-
one. No, the reality is
far from this since
word in the Congress
is that it is also a sign
of preparation for Ra-
hul’s new role.
That is why after
Jharkhand, a similar
meeting took place
with the leaders of
Karnataka. Almost all
the big leaders includ-
ing former Chief Min-
ister Siddaramaiah,
party leader in Rajya
Sabha Mallikarjun
Kharge, State Presi-
dent DK Shivakumar,
former Chief Minister
Veerappa Moily met
Rahul together. Elec-
tions in Karnataka are
due in May next year.
The meeting with Ra-
hul a year before elec-
tion does not have elec-
toral meaning, but in
connection with the
preparations for Rahul
to become the presi-
dent again. In the com-
ing days, Rahul will
meet leaders of other
states as well.
RAHUL GANDHI ON SILENT MARCH TOWARDS
CONGRESS’ ‘PRESIDENTIAL CHAIR’, YET AGAIN
Mahesh Sharma
Kolkata: West Bengal
would witness a bizzare
development and if this
happens, then it will be
recorded in history that
the meeting of the Leg-
islative Assembly of a
state started at 2 o’clock
in the night. Although
there is time and it is
possible that it can be
rectified, but looking at
the current situation, it
seems that the meeting
of the West Bengal Leg-
islative Assembly will
start on March 7 at 2
AM and Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar will
address the same. This
has happened due to the
wrong time being typed
in the proposal sent by
the state government to
convene the assembly
session. The proposal
was sent to the Gover-
nor after the cabinet
meeting chaired by
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee, in which the
date of March 7 was
written but in case of
time, ‘2 AM’ was writ-
ten instead of ‘2 PM’.
Significantly
, there is
already a dispute be-
tween Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar and
the state government on
many issues. This issue
came up in the midst of
that controversy. The
Governor approved this
proposal and said that
he would attend the
meeting at two o’clock
in the night and would
be ready to give speeche
and start the session as
the government so de-
sires. Later the Chief
Secretary of the state
HK Dwivedi sent a let-
ter, saying that there
was a typing mistake
and the Governor
should allow the session
to be called from 2
o’clock in the day, but
the Governor turned
down the demand of the
Chief Secretary
. He says
that the Chief Secretary
cannot amend the cabi-
net proposal. This
means that Mamata Ba-
nerjee will have to call
the cabinet meeting
again and send the pro-
posal again. Along with
this, a request will also
have to be made to the
Governor.
Guv Dhankhar proves to be a strong
force before ‘aggressive’ Mamata Govt!
Gazipur (PTI): Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Wednesday
hit out at the BJP’s ri-
vals, saying dynasts
living in palaces and
moving in big cars can-
not understand the
problems of poor.
Highlighting his gov-
ernment’s public wel-
fare initiatives, he said
even during the worst
pandemic in 100 years,
the government did
not let anybody sleep
empty stomach by pro-
viding them free ra-
tion.
Addressing an elec-
tion rally here, he said
Ghazipur has given
many great personali-
ties to the country.
PM MODI: DYNASTS LIVING IN PALACES
CAN’T UNDERSTAND PROBLEMS OF POOR
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Time has come to punish
those who change the
identity of Gazipur
These Parivarwadis
made fun of us when we
talked about toilets
Chandauli (PTI): Un-
ion Home Minister
Amit Shah on Wednes-
daysaidillegalweapons
were made earlier in Ut-
tarPradeshtoscareand
kill people but now
shells and missiles are
being manufactured to
protect the country
.
He was apparently re-
ferring to the defence
industrialcorridorcom-
ing up in the state.
Shah also listed vari-
ous achievements of
the BJP government in
the state.
“Earlier, illegal weap-
ons were made in Uttar
Pradesh, which were
used to scare or kill peo-
ple. Today
, shells and
missiles are being made
here, which are used to
protect India. This
changehascomeduring
the BJP government,”
Shahsaidaddressingan
election meeting here.”
“I have been to
around 150 (assembly)
seats of in UP and seen
the election mood at
every place. In the first
five phases of the elec-
tions, the SP and the
BSP will be wiped off,
andthepeoplearework-
ing to form the BJP gov-
ernment.”
Chandauli will go to
polls during the sev-
enth phase on March 7.
Instead of illegal weapons, UP
now makes missiles, says Shah
Home Minister Shah greets during a public meeting in Jaunpur.
Jaunpur (PTI): Sama-
jwadi Party chief Akh-
ileshYadavonWednes-
day threw a broadside
at the BJP terming it
the“biggestliarparty”
and accused it of halv-
ing farmers’ income
even though they came
to power with the
promise of doubling it.
At an election meet-
ing in Jaunpur, he
promised to relax the
age limit for govern-
ment jobs and an-
nounce vacancies in
the police force if the
alliance led by his par-
ty comes to power in
Uttar Pradesh.
Yadav sought to
counter the BJP’s
“ghor pariwarwadi
(staunch dynast)” jibe
directed at him, say-
ing, “We accept that
we are family people.
Whenever family peo-
ple like us step out of
our houses, they gen-
erallybringsomething
like sweets for chil-
dren.
JAUNPUR: BJP IS BIGGEST LIAR
PARTY IN WORLD, SAYS AKHILESH
Patna (PTI): The State
Election Commission in
Bihar has declared the
dates or the legislative
council poll. The voting
will be held on April 4
and the result will be de-
clared on April 7.
The polling will be
held for 24 out of 75
seats. The voting on
these seats has been de-
layed by nearly seven
months as the term of
the 24 members expired
in July last year.
Of the 24 seats, three
were vacant since No-
vember 11, 2020, as the
memberswereelectedto
theLegislativeassembly
.
These members are Rit
Lal Ray, Dilip Ray and
Manoj Yadav. Two seats
Darbhanga and Sa-
mastipur fell vacant due
to the death of the sit-
ting members.
As per the election
commission, the polling
was delayed as the rural
local bodies that make
for the majority of the
lectoral college for the
MLC polls were not in
existence at the time.
“Biennial elections to
fill up 24 seats could not
be conducted by
16.07.2021 as the Constit-
uent Local Bodies/Elec-
tors therein were not in
existence at that time.
The Commission vide
letter 21.05.2021 had
sought information re-
garding the existence of
constituentLocalBodies
functioning and their
percentage in the said
Constituencies,”anSEC
statement said.
Bihar MLC poll for 24 seats
on April 4, counting on Apr 7
NCB says probe yet
to be completed in
Aryan Khan drug case
Mumbai (ANI): The
Narcotics Control Bu-
reau (NCB) on Wednes-
day dismissed media re-
ports which inferred
that there was “non-
availabilityof evidence”
against Aryan Khan in
thedrugs-on-cruisecase.
The NCB through a Spe-
cial Investigation Team
(SIT) that was constitut-
ed to look into the drug
nexus leading back to
the cruise, termed all
such media reports as
“mere speculations.”
NCB Deputy Director
General Sanjay Singh,
who is currently head-
ing the SIT on the drugs-
on-cruise case, dis-
missed the reports as
false and said that the
statements made were
not cross-checked with
the agency before being
published.
“Themediareportson
non-availability of evi-
dence against Aryan
Khan are not true and
just speculations. These
statements were not
cross-checked with the
NCB before being pub-
lished,” media reported.
Schools reopen across
Kashmir after 32 mths
Schools in J&K reopen after remaining shut for 32 months due to
Covid and for maintaining law & order post abrogation of Art 370.
Jammu (PTI): All gov-
ernment, private, and
army-run schools in
Kashmir reopened on
Wednesday after a gap
of 32 months.
The authorities in
the second week of Feb-
ruary decided to reopen
schools across Jammu
& Kashmir as the num-
ber of Covid cases
dropped significantly
.
School buses filled
with students made
way to respective
schools across the city
and other parts of the
valley, officials said.
The government has
made it compulsory for
students above the age
of 15 years to be fully
vaccinated for them to
be allowed for attending
in-person classes.
Webcasting at 203
polling stations
Dispur (ANI): The As-
sam State Election
Commission has made
all the arrangements as
the election in 99-Majuli
(ST) assembly constitu-
ency is just a week away
.
The Chief Electoral
Officer (CEO) of As-
sam, Nitin Khade stat-
ed, “As directed by the
ECI, we made all the
arrangements regard-
ing webcasting, which
will be done in all the
203 polling stations of
the Constituency.”
He further stated that
these arrangements are
donetoensureafree,fair
and safe bye-election to
the Assam Legislative
Assembly
, 2022. The poll
proceedingswillbemon-
itored live by ECI, CEO
Assam, District Election
Officer and other con-
cerned officials on duty
.
Khade also said that the
half section of the
CAPF will be deployed
at each polling station
to ensure full-proof se-
curity on poll day
.
ASSAM: MAJULI BYPOLL
Village head
shot dead in
J&K’s Kulgam
Jammu (Agencies): A
panch (village council
member) was shot dead
by militants in J&K’s
Kulgam district on
Wednesday
, police said.
P o l i c e
s o u r c e s
said mili-
tants shot
M u h a m -
m a d
Yaqoob Dar in Kulpora
Srandoo village of Kul-
gam.
“He sustained several
injuries. He was rushed
to district hospital Kul-
gam where doctors de-
clared him dead on ar-
rival,” a source said.
Sources added that
the area has been cor-
doned off for searches.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav addresses a public rally in Jaunpur on Wednesday.

PERSPECTIVE
04
THE VEHICLE OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC SECURITY
OLD PENSION SYSTEM
T
he Congress Party and its
Government in Rajasthan
recognizes its duty to pro-
vide socio-economic secu-
rity to the people. A Gov-
ernment employee
serves for 30-35 years
and spends his post re-
tirement life on the basis
of pension. It is there-
fore the duty of any
elected Government to
ensure that the employ-
ees live their life with a
sense of security so that
they can render their in-
valuable contribution to
cause of good govern-
ance. With a view to
strengthening the socio-
economic base of the Gov-
ernment employees, the
Central Civil Services
(Pension) Act, 1972 was im-
plemented which had pro-
vision for an inbuilt pen-
sion/ family Pension, Gra-
tuity and commuted
amount. Unfortunately the
old pension system was
done away with by the Vaj-
payee Government in De-
cember, 2003 and replaced
it with a New Pension Sys-
tem (NPS) w.e.f. 01.04.2004.
The NPS in its current
form is riddled with a num-
ber of problems and the
employees throughout the
country have been demand-
ing for the restoration of
the Old Pension System
(OPS) as the NPS fails to
take care of their current
as well as post retirement
needs. National Human
Rights Commission, CAG
Report No. 13 of 2020 and
the Second National Judi-
cial Pay Commission have
also raised questions about
the efficacy of the NPS in
providing guaranteed so-
cio-economic security to
the employees. Under the
NPS, the hard earned re-
tirement fund of employees
is subjected to the vagaries
of share market which fluc-
tuates at the drop of a hat.
In the event of major in-
ternational crises like
the present Ukraine cri-
sis, the share market no-
sedives thereby increas-
ing the heartbeats of em-
ployees and perennially
putting their social secu-
rity at risk. An employee
cannot work with his full
potential and contribute
to good governance if his
socio-economic security
is threatened. Since the
pension fund is invested in
market which is replete
with risk and provides no
guarantee of return even
after 17 years of implemen-
tation of NPS, it engenders
old age insecurity among
the employees.
In order to protect the
interests of Rajasthan
Government employees
and safeguard their life
after retirement, the
Congress Government in
Rajasthan decided to re-
store the Old Pension
System (OPS) for all the
employees joining gov-
ernment services on or
after 1 January, 2004.
In my budget speech in
the State Assembly on 23
February, 2022, I have an-
nounced to implement the
OPS from the next Finan-
cial Year. This decision has
been hailed not only by the
employees in Rajasthan
but also by the employees
of all the States. Earlier,
Pension was the primary
differentiating factor be-
tween the Government and
the private jobs. The Pay
scales in Government jobs
cannot exceed the pre-
scribed limit. Talented
youths used to accord pri-
ority to government jobs
because guaranteed pen-
sion under OPS provided
security to their future. It
has been observed the in-
terest of talented youth in
Government job dwindled
with the implementation
of NPS. The decision to im-
plement OPS will attract
large number of talented
youth towards government
jobs in future.
It is said about OPS
that it places a lot of fi-
nancial burden on the
governments and forces
them to abandon devel-
opment and welfare
works. These critics fail
to take into account the
fact that the country has
done commendably well
even when the Old Pen-
sion System was in force.
Development and public
welfare works were nev-
er curtailed on account
of OPS.
A number of factors trig-
gered the Government of
Rajasthan to restore the
OPS. In the Old Pension
System, an employee was
guaranteed the right of
pension as half of the last
basic salary plus dearness
relief at the time of retire-
ment and in the case of in-
service death, the employee
and his family was given
economic support in the
form of Death Cum Retire-
ment Gratuity (DCRG). No
such guarantee is provided
in the NPS. Table 1.1 exhib-
its the major difference be-
tweentheOPSandtheNPS.
The fact that the armed
forces have not been in-
cluded in the NPS right
from the beginning, makes
it clear that the OPS ade-
quately provides social se-
curity to them. The NPS
was implemented for em-
ployees in Indian Coast-
guard under the defense
ministry while the employ-
ees of this service work
with the same alertness
and face the same challeng-
es as faced by the person-
nel of armed forces. Simi-
lar services are rendered
by employees of BSF, CISF,
CRPF, ITBP, SSB etc. yet
they have been covered un-
der NPS. The employees of
the central and the State
Governments also dis-
charge their duties with
the same spirit and com-
mitment. Keeping two dif-
ferent systems of pension
is discriminatory and is
against the principle of
natural justice.
In the performance au-
dit of the NPS (Report No.
13 of 2020) the CAG has
come out with revealing
facts regarding the plan-
ning, implementation and
monitoring of the NPS.
The CAG report mentions
that ‘Even after 15 years of
introduction of NPS, rules
on service conditions/re-
tirement benefits in re-
spect of employees covered
by NPS were pending fina-
lization (Para 3.2)’. Raising
objection to the viability of
the fund/scheme, the CAG
in para 3.9 says ‘There was
no indication that actuari-
al evaluation of the fund/
scheme was conducted
once in two years and of
adoption of any other
mechanism to assess the
viability of the fund/
scheme’. Questioning the
implementation of NPS,
the CAG in para 4.1.3 of the
same report stipulates that
‘there was no assurance
that 100 percent of eligible
employees were covered
under NPS despite 15 years
of implementation.’ These
are indeed serious objec-
tions which threaten the
socio-economic security of
the employees. States like
Kerala, Andhra Pradesh,
Assam, Himachal Pradesh
and Punjab have setup
state level committees to
review the NPS in their re-
spective states in view of
the protests by the NPS em-
ployees. The West Bengal
Government has not yet
implemented the NPS.
While preparing the
NPS, no attention was
paid to the pension
amount payable to the
employee after the retire-
ment. This has created a
senseof insecurityamong
the employees through-
out the country
. If the
NPS is so sacrosanct then
why the Second National
Judicial Pay Commission
has, in its report in Febru-
ary 2020, suggested that
NPS should not be imple-
mented in the Judicial
Services.
The National Human
Rights Commission, wrote
to the Central Government
on20December2021,asking
it to setup a committee to
review NPS for the sake of
ensuring the protection of
humanrightsof employees.
The employees appoint-
ed on/after 01.01.2004 and
who have retired now, they
have either not received
any pension or if they have
received any pension then
it is not sufficient to make
their both ends meet.
Therefore it can be said
that NPS failed to achieve
its objective. There was no
provision of family pen-
sion and gratuity in NPS in
the beginning. The Gov-
ernment of India had to
implement the same later.
The State Government
of Rajasthan never com-
promised with the develop-
ment schemes of the State
despite NPS. Likewise, the
development works will
continue in the state even
after the implementation
of OPS. The State Govern-
ment was fully aware of
the anxieties caused by
NPS among the employees.
The Old Pension Sys-
tem provides social and
economic security to the
employees hence, the
Government of Ra-
jasthan decided to restore
OPS in the larger interest
of the employees. It is not
fair to have two catego-
ries of pension schemes
and differentiate among
the employees.
ASHOK GEHLOT
Chief Minister, Rajasthan
In my budget speech in
the State Assembly on
23 February, 2022, I
have announced to
implement the OPS
from the next
Financial Year. This
decision has been
hailed not only by
the employees in
Rajasthan but also
by the employees of
all the States
Contribution of
employee
Pension Guarantee
by Government
Amount of Pension
Dearness Relief
provided by Govt
for mitigating
impact of inflation
Commutation
of Pension
GPF Eligibility
NPS Withdrawal
DESCRIPTION
Nil
Yes
50% of last pay
drawn
Yes
Upto 33%
Yes
Yes
OLD PENSION
SYSTEM
10% of
(Basic pay plus DA)
No
No link with
last pay
No
No option
No
Upto 25% of the
amount deposited
after 2015
NPS
(TIER-I)
Vol 1 Issue No. 183
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
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The peace of God is with
them whose mind and
soul are in harmony,
who are free from desire
and wrath, who know
their own soul.
—Bhagavad Gita
TOP
TWEETS
Grateful to our
airline crew and
pilots for their
service and support
to Government’s
efforts in bringing
our citizens
back home.
#OperationGanga
Smriti Z Irani
@smritiirani
Many people became farmer leaders,
but no one did anything for the farmers.
When our government was formed under
the leadership of Prime Minister Mr.@
narendramodi, first of all, 40 crore were
opened through Jan Dhan accounts, and
then money was deposited directly in the
accounts of farmers.We don’t just say,
we believe in doing.
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda

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INDIA
05
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: When Ma-
harashtra government
minister Nawab Malik
was arrested by the
Enforcement Directo-
rate (ED), there was a
lot of chaos in Mum-
bai. There was a meet-
ing at Sharad Pawar’s
house, Mamata Baner-
jee called Pawar, and
later then Pawar went
to meet Chief Minis-
ter Uddhav Thackeray
and it was decided
that the next day the
entire government
would protest in sup-
port of Malik. But the
next day’s perfor-
mance was carried out
only by NCP and Con-
gress. All the minis-
ters of NCP and Con-
gress in the Uddhav
government demon-
strated in front of the
ministry and other
leaders of both the
parties protested in
other parts. In this,
most of the MPs,
MLAs and ministers
of Shiv Sena remained
absent.
Later Shiv Sena MP
Sanjay Raut said in the
manner of clarification
that the entire govern-
ment and Shiv Sena
also stood with Nawab
Malik. But the reality is
that Shiv Sena has dis-
tanced itself from the
issue. According to in-
formed sources, there
are two reasons for this.
The first reason is that
Malik has been arrest-
ed for being close to Da-
wood Ibrahim’s family
members and buying
their property
. And sec-
ondly, the whole matter
of ED is related to Mus-
lims and Shiv Sena
does not want to get en-
tangled in these two is-
sues before Brihan-
mumbai Municipal
Corporation elections
to be held in next two
months. In Mumbai, it
has to unite the votes of
‘Marathi Manush’ and
Hindus. Shiv Sena
knows that it is not go-
ing to get Muslim vote
and if it is seen more
with Malik then Hindu
vote will shift to BJP.
That is why Shiv Sena
has decided to fight
alone by separating
from NCP and Con-
gress. On the other
hand NCP has nothing
at stake in BMC.
Shiv Sainiks worried of getting their hands burnt!
NAWAB MALIK CASE
96.8% ADULTS RECEIVED FIRST DOSE OF
COVID VAX, 81.3% 2ND, CENTRE TO SC
For the population between 15-18 years of age, 74% (5,47,94,459) have been covered with the first dose
New Delhi (ANI): The
Centre on Wednesday
informedtheapexCourt
that96.8percentof adult
populationhavebeenad-
ministered with first
dose of the Covid vac-
cine and 81.3 per cent
have been administered
the second dose.
Additional Solicitor
General Aishwarya
Bhati, representing the
Centre, submitted be-
fore a bench of Justices
L. Nageswara Rao and
B.R. Gavai that
177,50,86,335(177.5crore)
total vaccines have been
administered.
In the adult popula-
tion, 96.8 per cent of the
population (90,92,27,350)
has been covered with
the first dose, and 81.3
percent of the popula-
tion (76,35,65,779) has
been covered with the
second dose. For the
population between 15-
18 years of age, 74 per
cent (5,47,94,459) have
been covered with the
first dose, and 37.1 per
cent (2,74,87,370) with
the second dose. The
precaution dose num-
bers for the adult popu-
lation amount to
2,00,11,377. The figures
are based on data col-
lated on February 28.
The top court was
hearing a plea by Jacob
Puliyel challenging vac-
cine mandates issued by
various state govern-
mentsandseekingdirec-
tion to also disclose post
vaccination data regard-
ing adverse events.
Advocate Prashant
Bhushan, representing
Puliyel, a formermem-
berof theNationalTech-
nicalAdvisoryGroupon
Immunisation, contend-
ed that a person’s funda-
mental right to not take
vaccine cannot be
eclipsed by the govern-
ment only by saying that
person not taking vac-
cine will pose a clear
threat to public health.
Bhushan said: “Even,
I had Covid. But, I have
not taken the vaccine. I
have decided not to take
the vaccine, come what
may
.”
He insisted that ad-
verse effects of Covid
vaccination are not
known, and questioned
why governments are is-
suing vaccine mandates
restricting people from
entering public spaces
by making vaccination
mandatory
. “If one was
infected with Covid (and
got cured), that person
gets better natural im-
munityagainsttheinfec-
tion,” said Bhushan.
BMC chief Chahal
shows income way
amid Covid-19
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The revenue
surplus of the country’s
richest municipal corpo-
ration, Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation
continued to boom even
inthetestingtimesof the
ongoingpandemicphase.
BMC’s Municipal
Commissioner Iqbal
Singh Chahal informed
that due to 50 per cent re-
duction in premiums
charged on building pro-
posals between Mar’21
Dec’21, BMC had a wind-
fall of nearly Rs 14,000
crore additional income
in last 11 months (due to
increase in volumes
wherein 2,860 new con-
struction projects got ap-
proved, most of which
werenon-viablewithfull
premiums), resulting in
unprecedented jump in
BMC reserves from Rs
78,000 crore to nearly Rs
93,000 crore now.
A real win-win situa-
tion, where the real es-
tate sector (backbone of
Mumbai) is on fast track
now, despite last 2 years
of covid pandemic, re-
sulting in tremendous
boost in employment in
this sector for the next
three years at least.
Pune (PTI): Coming
out in defence of Maha-
rashtraministerNawab
Malik, who has been ar-
rested by the ED in con-
nection with a money
laundering case, NCP’s
state unit president Jay-
ant Patil has said that it
is not mandatory to
seek the resignation of
any minister until the
crime is proven.
Apparently targeting
BJP, Patil said there are
efforts to put the MVA
ministers in trouble.
He was speaking to
reporters on the side-
lines of a party event
here on Tuesday
.
When asked about
BJP state unit chief
Chandrakant Patil’s
statement that his party
willnotallowtheupcom-
ing budget session of
state legislature to func-
tion if Malik continues
to remain a Cabinet Min
despite his arrest, the
NCPleadersaid,“Letthe
BJPputforthitsstandon
Malikduringthesession
and an appropriate an-
swer will be given.” “If
everyday some kind of
action is being taken
against ministers, it is
not mandatory to seek
their resignation. If the
crime against them is
not yet proved, why
wouldthepersongivehis
resignation?” he said.
“In the case of Anil
Deshmukh, we took his
resignation innocently
when he was arrested,
but it was later under-
stood that the allega-
tions against him were
frail,” Patil said.
Malik’sresignationnot
necessary: NCP leader
Pune (PTI): Four per-
sons died of suffocation
while cleaning a septic
tank near a residential
building in Loni
Kalbhor in Pune dis-
trict, said police author-
ities on Wednesday
.
The incident took
place around 11.30 a.m.
The deceased were
tasked with cleaning a
septic tank behind a
residential complex in
Loni’s Kadamwak Vas-
ti, around 20 km from
Pune city
.
“The first victim was
taken out of the tank in
an unconscious state.
He was rushed to a
nearby hospital, where
doctors declared him
brought dead. The oth-
ers were soon taken
out, but had already
died,” said a police sta-
tion official, adding
that the process of
identifying the victims
was on along with fur-
ther investigations
into the matter.
Pune: 4 die of suffocation
while cleaning septic tank
New Delhi (PTI): A
Public Interest Litiga-
tion (PIL) has been
filed in the Supreme
Court seeking to direct
the Bureau of Police
Research and Develop-
ment (BPRD) to collect
data in a time-bound
manner from all the
state police organisa-
tions on investigations
revealing a direct link
between viewing por-
nographic material
and rape.
The petition has
been moved by advo-
cate Nalin Kohli, who
has apprised the Court
about an investigation
by the Police in Assam
into the gruesome
murder of a six-year-
old girl wherein it has
been revealed that the
four perpetrators of
the crime, including
two minor boys be-
tween eight and 11,
were porn addicts.
As a consequence of
this, the Assam Police
has issued guidelines
to be followed by the in-
vestigating officer for
collecting digital evi-
dence while investigat-
ing offences related to
rape, molestation and
other sexual offences.
The petitioner
sought the direction of
the Court to all the
state police organisa-
tions to collect data in
a time-bound manner
on the linkage between
the viewing of porno-
graphic material and
rape and also consider
formulating an SOP by
its police to include
the aspect of viewing
of pornographic mate-
rial while investigat-
ing cases of rape and
sexual assault.
PLEAINSUPREMECOURTOVERDATAON
LINK BETWEEN RAPE,PORNOGRAPHY
CRPF trooper
commits
suicide in JK
Srinagar (PTI): A Cen-
tralReservePoliceForce
(CRPF) trooper commit-
ted suicide by shooting
himself on Wednesday
in Jammu Kashmi’s
Srinagar district.
Police sources said
constable Anand Lal of
29 CRPF battalion shot
and killed himself with
his service rifle in the
Sanat Nagar area of
Srinagar city
.
“A case has been reg-
istered in this incident.
“The reason behind
the trooper taking the
extreme step is being
probed,” sources said.
New Delhi (Agencies):
The India Meteorologi-
cal Department(IMD)
on Wednesday forecast
heavy to very heavy
rains for Tamil Nadu
and neighbouring areas
owing to a low pressure
area likely to intensify
into depression.
A low pressure area
formed over southeast
Bay of Bengal (BoB) and
adjoining areas of south
Andaman Sea Equato-
rial Indian Ocean (EIO)
on Monday evening
moved west-northwest-
wards and lay over cen-
tral parts of south BoB
and adjoining EIO at
8.30 a.m on Wednesday
.
“It is likely to become
a well-marked low-pres-
sure area during the
next 24 hours and con-
centrate into a depres-
sion during subsequent
24 hours,” the IMD said.
‘Heavy,very heavy rain
likely in TN on Mar 3,4’
First India Bureau
New Delhi: One of the
most influential media
conglomerates, Bennett
Coleman and Co. Ltd., is
allegedly being evaluat-
ed for a split, according
to sources. The news
comesastheTimesGroup
iswitnessingaconflictbe-
tween the brothers Samir
JainandVineetJain.The
Jain family owns and op-
eratesTheTimesof India,
India’s largest English
newspaper. Samir Jain,
the elder brother is the
Vice President of the
company while Vineet
JainisservingastheMD.
TIMES GROUP
HEADING FOR
SPLIT?
A health worker gives a Covid-19 vaccine jab to a beneficiary at a vaccination center.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray with Sanjay Raut.
New Delhi: The effec-
tiveness of the Pfizer
COVID-19 vaccine for
children waned quickly
during the Omicron
surge in the US, es-
pecially among those
aged 5 to 11 years, but
the preventive was still
protective against se-
vere disease, according
to a study. Researchers
estimated the effective-
ness of Pfizer vaccine
against COVID cases
and hospitalisations.
‘PFIZER LESS EFFECTIVE
AGAINST COVID IN KIDS’
Mumbai: On the eve of the Budget session of the Maha-
rashtra legislature, senior BJP leader
Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday
said his party is firm on its demand
for the resignation of state minister
Nawab Malik, who has been arrested
by the Enforcement Directorate in
connection with a money launder-
ing case. Fadnavis was speaking to
reporters in Mumbai after chairing a meeting of the BJP’s
members of the legislative Assembly and Council as the
budget session is set to begin from Thursday.
Mumbai: Referring to the arrest of Neil Somaiya, son of
BJP’s Kirit Somaiya for his alleged links with an accused
in the PMC Bank scam, Shiv Sena
MP Sanjay Raut said that father and
son duo will be jailed soon. The Shiv
Sena leader said, “Mark my words...I
repeat: baap beta jail jayenge.
Period. And rest assured, apart from
baap beta, three central agency
officials and their vasuli agents will
also go behind bars. Maharashtra jhukega nahi!”
FIRM ON DEMAND FOR MALIK’S
RESIGNATION, SAYS FADNAVIS
BAAP BETA JAIL JAYENGE: RAUT
SLAMS KIRIT SOMAIYA, HIS SON
Kochi (PTI): The Ker-
ala High Court on
Wednesday dismissed
Malayalamnewschan-
nel MediaOne's appeal
against a single judge
order upholding the
Centre's decision to
stop its telecast by not
renewing its licence.
A bench of Chief
Justice S Manikumar
and Justice Shaji P
Chaly also rejected
the appeals by some
of the channel's em-
ployees, including its
Editor, as well as the
Kerala Union of
Working Journalists
(KUWJ) against the
single judge's order of
February 8.
The Centre had
banned telecast of the
channel on January
31. This was not the
first time the channel
hasfacedsuchabaron
its operation.
Kerala HC upholds Centre’s
ban on MediaOne TV
BMC had a
windfall of
nearly Rs 14,000
crore additional
income in last
11 months
Nawab Malik

BIZ BUZZ
06
AMID THE UKRAINE WAR
New Delhi (PTI): In-
dian companies are ex-
pected to dole out an
average increment of
9.1 percent in 2022,
higher than the pre-
Covid-19 increment in
2019, as companies are
focusing on retention
of talent through re-
wards.
According to the 2022
Workforce and Incre-
ments Trends Survey
by Deloitte Touche Toh-
matsu India LLP, the
average India 2022 in-
crement is expected to
go up to 9.1% from 8%
in 2021. Moreover, 2022
projected increment is
higher than the pre-
Covid-19 increment in
2019 by 50 basis points
(bps). A basis point is
equal to 1/100th of a
percentage point. “Cor-
porate India reacted dif-
ferently to each Cov-
id-19 wave.
Average pay hike expected to rise by 9.1% this year
DELOITTE’ INCREMENTS TRENDS SURVEY
THE SURVEY FINDINGS FOR 2022 STATES...
z 34% the organisations
surveyed are planning to
give double-digit average
increments, compared
with only 20% in 2021
and 12% in 2020
z Increments are
expected to be higher
across all major sectors,
compared with 2021 and
the pre-pandemic levels
observed in 2019
z Life sciences and IT
sectors are likely to give the
highest increments in 2022
z Finance technology, IT
product companies and
digital/e-commerce or-
ganisations are expected
to give double-digit incre-
ments in 2022
z 92% of organisa-
tions are expected to use
individual performance to
differentiate increments
across employees, with
top performers expected
to get 1.7 times the incre-
ment given to average
performers
z More than half
the organisations are
expected to differentiate
increments by levels of
management (with senior
management getting a
lower increment than
relatively junior employ-
ees)
z Percentage of employ-
ees to be promoted is
expected to increase from
11.7% to 12.4% in 2022,
with avg additional incre-
ment to those promoted
expected to be 7.5%
While the
2022 incre-
ment of 9.1
per cent is only for
existing employees,
the overall employee
cost could go up by
an even higher
amount, owing to
factors such as in-
cremental hiring,
one-time pay cor-
rections and reten-
tion bonuses.
—Anubhav Gupta,
Partner at DTTILLP
PETROL, DIESEL PRICE HIKES MAY
RESTART FROM NEXT WEEK: REPORT
New Delhi (PTI): Af-
ter remaining stable for
months, petrol and die-
sel prices may see a
hike after assembly
elections come to an
end next week, says a
JP Morgan report
Fuel prices may be
hiked to bridge the 9 a
litre gap created by
surging international
crude prices, which
have gone past the $100
per barrel. “With state
elections getting over
next week, we expect
daily fuel price hikes to
restart across both gas-
oline and diesel,” JP
Morgan said in a re-
port.
The seventh and final
phase of polling for the
Uttar Pradesh assem-
bly elections is to be
held on March 7 and the
counting of votes for all
the elections held ear-
lier in Uttarakhand,
Punjab, Goa and Ma-
nipur is slated to take
place on March 10.
CRUDE OIL RATES
International crude oil
prices shot above $110 a
barrel for the first time
since mid-2014 on fears
that oil and gas supplies
from energy giant Rus-
sia could be disrupted,
either by the conflict in
Ukraine or retaliatory
western sanctions.The
basket of crude oil In-
dia buys, rose above
$102 per barrel on
March 1, the highest
since August 2014, ac-
cording to information
from the Petroleum
Planning and Analysis
Cell(PPAC)of thepetro-
leum ministry
. This
compares to an average
of $81.5 per barrel price
of the Indian basket of
crude oil at the time of
freezing of petrol and
diesel prices in early
November last year.
RETAILERS @ LOSS
State-owned fuel retail-
ers Indian Oil Corpora-
tion (IOC), Bharat Pe-
troleum Corporation
Ltd (BPCL) and Hindu-
stan Petroleum Corpo-
ration Ltd (HPCL) are
making a loss of `5.7 a
litre on petrol and die-
sel.
This is without taking
into account their nor-
mal margin of `2.5 per
litre.
REPORT STATES
The brokerage said for
oil marketing compa-
nies to revert to normal-
isedmarketingmargins,
retail prices need to in-
crease by 9 a litre or 10
per cent. “We expect a
combination of small
excise duty cuts (Rs 1-3
perlitre)andretailprice
hikes (Rs 5-8 a litre) to
reflect the pass-through
of $100 per barrel oil,”
the report further said.
Russia makes up for a
thirdof Europe’snatural
gas and about 10 per cent
of global oil production.
About a third of Russian
gas supplies to Europe
usually travel through
pipelines crossing
Ukraine. India’s mfg ac-
tivities expand in Feb as
output, new orders rise
amid demand: PMI.
BRENT CRUDE BREACHES $111
MARK, HIGHEST IN 8 YEARS
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Lower supplies
as well as hostilities
between Russia and
Ukraine pushed
Brent crude oil price
to nearly an 8-year
high on Wednesday.
Besides, robust global
demand is expected to
keep the Brent-index
crude oil price high.
Consequently, crude
oil prices have surged
by nearly 15 per cent
in the last two days on
fear of tight supplies.
On Wednesday, the
Brent-indexed crude
oil prices rose to over
$111 per barrel on
Wednesday. It had
risen to $102 per bar-
rel on Tuesday from
Monday’s $98 per
barrel mark.
Sensex drops 778 pts, Nifty holds 16,600
benchmark equity in-
dices on BSE and Na-
tional Stock Exchange
(NSE) snapped out of a
two-session gaining
streak and ended over
1% lower on Wednes-
day weighed by auto-
mobiles, banking and
financial stocks which
fell after GDP growth
data released Monday
missed market esti-
mates. Ukraine crisis
along with crude oil
prices weighed on in-
vestor sentiment. SP
BSE crashed 778.38 pts
(1.38%) to settle at
55,468.90 while Nifty
climbed 187.95 pts
(1.12%) to end at
16,605.95.
BharatPe strips Ashneer
Grover of co-founder tag
New Delhi (PTI): Pay-
ment startup BharatPe
has stripped its co-
founder Ashneer Grov-
er of all positions for its
alleged “misdeeds” and
may take further legal
actions, including claw-
ing back of some of his
shareholding.Bharat-
Pe, which allows
shopownerstomake
digital payments
through QR codes,
in a statement said
Grover resigned
after receiv-
ing the
agenda
for an
upcoming board meet-
ing that included sub-
missionof anindepend-
ent audit regarding his
conduct. Board of com-
pany met Tuesday
, and
the meeting went past
midnight, following
which a statement was
issued. “Grover family
their relatives en-
gaged in exten-
sive misap-
propriationof company
funds, including, but
not limited to, creating
fake vendors through
which they siphoned
money away from com-
pany’s account
abused company ex-
pense accounts in or-
der to enrich them-
selves and fund their
lavish lifestyles,” it al-
leged.
BIZ BRIEFS
Bengaluru: India’s
factory activity
growth acceler-
ated in February
as the threat from
a third Covid-19
wave eased, while
some softening
of price pressures
meant demand and
business expecta-
tions strengthened,
a private survey
showed. However,
the survey was
conducted before
Russia invaded
Ukraine, which led
to an immediate
spike in oil prices.
GOLD RALLIES
`1,202; SILVER
JUMPS `2,148
New Delhi: Gold
in national capital
on Wednesday
surged by `1,202
to `51,889 per 10
grams, reflecting
overnight gains
in international
precious metal
prices along with
rupee depreciation,
according to HDFC
Securities. In previ-
ous trade, yellow
metal had closed
at `50,687 per 10
grams.Silver also
jumped by `2,148
to `67,956 per kg,
from `65,808 per
kg in previous trade.
UKRAINE CRISIS:
GOVT MAY
DEFER LIC IPO
New Delhi: With
the Russia-Ukraine
war roiling financial
markets globally,
the government
may defer the
mega IPO of LIC
and wait for an op-
portune time to get
the maximum value
of its holding in the
state-owned insur-
ance behemoth,
sources said.
Didn’t dilute
NSE orders,
says Tyagi
HDFC DIPS 5%, NEARS 52-WK LOW
Mumbai: Shares of
HDFC Bank dipped 5
per cent to `1,358 on
the BSE in Wednes-
day’s intra-day trade
on the back of persis-
tent selling pressure
in financial shares,
mainly private institu-
tions.The stock of
private sector lender
traded at its lowest
level since April 2021.
Stock quoted close
to its 52-week low of
`1,353.10 touched on
April 12, 2021. HDFC
Bank has underper-
formed the market
by falling 10 per cent
in past one week, as
compared to 3.5 per
cent decline in Sensex.
In the last one year,
the stock has slipped
13%, as against a
10% rally on BSE
benchmark index.
Only thing lavish
about me is my
dreams and ability to
achieve them against all odds
through hard work and enter-
prise.
—Ashneer Grover
BPCL to invest
over `3,972 crore
for devp of city
Aurangabad, Maha-
rashtra: Bharat Petro-
leum Corporation Lim-
ited (BPCL), a Maha-
ratna’ and a Fortune
Global 500 Company,
has launched the city
gas distribution (CGD)
network in Aurangabad
and Ahmednagar dis-
tricts. The Company
will invest around Rs.
1,600 crore over next 5
years and a total of Rs.
4000 Cores for comple-
tion of full project.
BPCL won geographi-
cal area (GA) of Au-
rangabad and Ahmed-
nagar during 9th round
of bidding of PNGRB,
throughawhollyowned
subsidiary Bharat Gas
Resources Ltd (BGRL).
KIAIndiasalesrise8.5%inFeb
KIA had dispatched
16,702 units cars to
dealers in February
New Delhi (PTI): KIA
India on Wednesday
said its sales increased
8.5% YoY to 18,121
units in February. The
automaker had dis-
patched 16,702 units
to dealers in February
2021. The company said
it continues to remain
one of the top five sell-
ing car manufacturers
in the country, owing to
the consistent perfor-
mance of its products.
Bajaj Auto sales
dip 16% in Feb
Wewalkthatvery
finelinebetween
toplineandbot-
tomlineandcannot
compromiseonthetop
linevolumepartbyin-
creasingthepricesas
muchasthecostincreas-
es.Ontheotherhand,the
bottomlinecannotbene-
glected.Itisacontinuous
processandwewillcon-
tinuouslymonitorit.
—Shashank Srivastava,
Executive Director,Maruti
Suzuki India
2,81,714 units sale of TVS in Feb
MARUTI SUZUKI SEES MARGINAL
INCREASE IN PRODUCTION IN FEB
New Delhi (PTI):
TVS Motor Company
registered sales of
281,714 units in Feb-
ruary 2022 as against
sales of 297,747
units in the month
of February 2021.
Total two-wheelers
registered sales of
267,625 units in Feb-
ruary 2022 as against
sales of 284,581
units in Feb 2021.
Domestic two-wheel-
er registered sales of
173,198 units in Feb
2022 as against sales
of 195,145 units in
February 2021.
New Delhi (PTI):Maruti
Suzuki India said its
production witnessed a
marginal increase last
month. In regulatory fil-
ing, auto major reported
production of 1,69,692
units in Feb, compared
to 1,68,180 units in
same month last year.
MSI said passenger ve-
hicle production stood
at 1,65,672 units last
month, against 1,65,783
units in Feb last year.
New Delhi (PTI): Bajaj
Auto on Wednesday
reported a 16 per cent
drop in its total sales to
3,16,020 units in Febru-
ary. The company had
sold 3,75,017 units in
February 2021. Do-
mestic sales last month
stood at 1,12,747 units
as against 1,64,811
units, down 32%.
Three-wheeler
sales of TVS
Company grew
by 7% from Feb
2021 to 2022
Mumbai: Outgo-
ing SEBI chief Ajay
Tyagi on Wednes-
day said the capital
markets regulator
acted as per its re-
mit and understand-
ing on the National
Stock Exchange
(NSE) case, and
denied any “dilu-
tion” of orders in the
matter. Speaking to
reporters after hand-
ing over the charge
to his successor,
Madhabi Puri Buch,
Tyagi said the NSE
case pertains to
events between
2010-2015, and the
regulator started
investigations under
him in the “right
earnest”.
Factory growth
accelerated in
February
...May claw back
some of his shares

07
NEWS
Mumbai (PTI): All the
IPL teams will start
training in the city
from March 14 or 15 on-
wards and five practice
venues have been iden-
tified. It is understood
that the MCA ground in
suburban Bandra Kurla
Complex, MCA ground
in Thane, the Dr DY Pa-
til University ground
and a football pitch
along with the CCI and
the Reliance Corporate
Park ground in Ghan-
soli have been identi-
fied by the authorities
as practice venues for
the cash-rich tourna-
ment, which begins on
March 26.
Players are likely to
start coming into the
city from March 8.
The Maharashtra
government on Wednes-
day conducted a meet-
ing with BCCI and
Mumbai Cricket Asso-
ciation in South Mum-
bai for a smooth con-
duct of the IPL, which
is now a 10-team affair.
Post the meeting, in a
series of tweets, Aadi-
tya Thackeray said, “To
ensure the smooth flow
of the @IPL, Minister
@mieknathshinde ji and
I conducted a joint
meeting of IPL, @BCCI
with officers of Police
and Municipal Corpo-
rations of Mumbai,
Thane, Navi Mumbai.”
He also said that the
state’s deputy CM
would soon conduct a
similar meeting for
Pune, the other venue
for IPL.
“For Pune, the meet-
ing will be held soon,
proposed to be chaired
by DCM sir to ensure
that the tournament is
successfully carried out
in all our city venues,”
said Aaditya, who is the
son of Maharashtra CM
Uddhav Thackeray
.
IPL teams to start training in Mumbai from March 14 or 15
PREPARATIONS FOR IPL 2022
lll
Maha govt on
Wednesday
conducted a
meeting with
BCCI and MCA
for a smooth
conduct of the
IPL, which is
now a 10-team
affair
Mumbai (PTI): The
Maharashtra govern-
ment on Wednesday
approved full-vaccinat-
ed spectators at 25%
of stadium capac-
ity for the upcoming
Indian Premier League
matches. In an official
statement issued in the
evening, the state gov-
ernment said consider-
ing that the COVID-19
cases have been on
the decline, the crowd
limit has been capped
at 25% and only fully
vaccinated spectators
will be permitted to
enter the stadiums.
MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT
PERMITS 25% SPECTATORS
Noida (PTI): In its biggest penalty yet for water
pollution, the Greater Noida Industrial Development
Authority on Wednesday
imposed a fine of `1 crore
on a group housing soci-
ety for dumping untreated
sewerage into a rainwater
drain in violation of norms.
The action has been taken
against Supertech’s Eco Village One project and the
developer has been directed to remit the penalty
amount within a week, the Greater Noida Industrial
Development Authority (GNIDA) officials said.
Nagpur (PTI): Offences
have been registered
against 11 persons
for allegedly duping a
bank of `3.53 crore by
fraudulently availing
loans in Maharashtra’s
Nagpur district, the
local police said on
Wednesday. The police
have registered eight
cases of cheating and
forgery committed at
Manewada branch of
Andhra Bank in Nagpur,
an official said. Based
on complaints lodged
by a bank manager, the
police have regis-
tered eight separate
cases under sections
420 (cheating), 467
(forgery) and other rel-
evant provisions of the
IPC against 11 persons,
he said.
Siliguri (Agencies):
A three-month old
party has emerged as
the face of Hill politics
in Darjeeling, as the
Hamro Party floated by
a well-known restau-
ranteur took the lead to
form the board in the
Darjeeling municipal-
ity. Though the party
president and face of
the campaign Ajoy
Edwards, the owner of
Glenary’s, of the most
famous restaurants in
the hill town, lost in his
own ward, the party
won 18 of the 32 wards
in the civic board.
The Hamro Party was
formed on November
25, 2021 and contested
in all the wards of the
Darjeeling civic board
in its electoral debut.
`1 CRORE FINE ON HOUSING SOCIETY
IN GR NOIDA FOR WATER POLLUTION
11 BOOKED FOR
DEFRAUDING
BANK OF `3.5 CR
Hamro Party
wins Darjeeling
civic body
CRUCIAL READ
Mahagovt’sdecisiontogoonwithvaxrule
forpublictransportusers‘unfortunate’:SC
Mumbai (PTI): The
Bombay HC on Wednes-
day said the Maharash-
tra government’s deci-
sion to continue with a
rule making full vacci-
nation mandatory for
using public transport
violated the fundamen-
tal rights. “This is very
unfortunate. You (the
state government) are
insisting that everyone
should get vaccinated.
There is no question of
personal choice. On one
hand you say it is volun-
tary, not compulsory,
and on the other hand,
you create such a situa-
tion that everyone must
getvaccinated,”abench
of Chief Justice Di-
pankar Datta and Jus-
tice M S Karnik said.
Mumbai (Agencies): The Malwani police have
sent a notice to Union minister Narayan Rane and
his son Nitesh Rane, an MLA,
to appear before them this
week to record statements in
an FIR registered against the
duo for allegedly making de-
famatory remarks and spread-
ing false information about late
actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager
Disha Salian’s death. The remarks in question
were made by Narayan Rane on Feb 19.
UNION MINISTER NARAYAN RANE, SON
GET NOTICE IN DISHA SALIAN CASE
UKRAINE CRISIS
IN THE COURTYARD
HC’s ‘No’ to quash
criminal proceedings
Allahabad (PTI): The
Allahabad High Court on
Wednesday dismissed a
petition seeking quashing
of criminal proceedings
against the admin of a
WhatsApp group in which
a morphed picture of
PM Narendra Modi was
allegedly posted. The
petitioner’s contention
was that the message
was not sent by him and
he was only the group
‘admin’. Justice Moham-
mad Aslam rejected the
petition filed.
NEERAJ BAGS BEST MLA AWARD!
Congress’s Neeraj Sharma was honoured with Best MLA award at the first day of
the budget session of the Vidhan Sabha in Haryana on Wednesday. Also present
here are Manohar Lal Khattar, Kanwar Pal Gurjar, Bhupendra Singh Hooda,
Dushyant Chautala and Gyanchand Gupta.
Cong ‘padayatra’ continues,
to culminate in B’luru today
SC will hear PIL against
promises of freebies by parties
Supreme Court on
Wednesday agreed to
consider listing for an
urgent hearing a plea
seeking direction to
register FIRs against
political parties for al-
legedly inducing voters
by offering freebies.
A bench headed by
Chief Justice N V Ra-
mana took note of the
submissions of lawyer
Barun Kumar Sinha
that the plea filed by
Hindu Sena vice presi-
dent Surjit Singh Yadav
on the issue needed
hearing in view of the
fact that assembly polls
in five states are getting
over. “We will list it,”
said the bench.
Bengaluru (PTI): The
Congress’ ‘padayatra’,
demanding implemen-
tation of the Mekedatu
project cross the Cau-
very river in Karnata-
ka, continued for the
fourth day on Wednes-
day. The padayatra on
Wednesday covers a dis-
tance of 16.7 km to
reach Mekrhi Circle in
the city from near Jay-
adeva Junction.
This is the second leg
of the march that ended
abruptly in Ramanaga-
ra on January 13.
The ‘padayatra 2.0’
with the theme ‘Nam-
ma Neeru, Namma
Hakku’, that resumed
on Sunday, will culmi-
nate at the National Col-
lege Ground in Basava-
nagudi in Bengaluru on
March 3, after covering
a total distance of 79.8
kilometres.
Speaking to report-
ers, Leader of Opposi-
tion in Siddaramaiah
claimed that the ruling
BJP is in fear and is dis-
turbed as the padayatra
has been successful.
K’taka Congress President DK Shivakumar others on Wednesday.
IPL team CSK skipper MS Dhoni. @CHENNAIIPL/TWITTER
‘Providing generic
medicines to poor
top priority of govt’
New Delhi (PTI): Un-
ion Minister for State
Chemical and Fertiliz-
er, Bhagwanth Khuba,
on Wednesday, flagged
off mobile vans, e-rick-
shaws and ‘Jan Ausha-
dhi Raths’ for wider
awareness about Jan
Aushadhi stores and
medicines. He said that
Ministry’s top priority
is to provide generic
medicines to the poor at
low cost.
“On the occasion of
Jan Aushadhi Diwas,
we are spreading and
highlighting more and
more Jan Aushadhi
medicines. Doctors
should also know more
and more about it.”
“Generic Medicines
is available for the poor
people at 50 to 90% less
cost at Jan Aushadhi
Kendra. There are
about 1,450 types of
medicines, 250 types of
surgical instruments
are available in the
store.” Khuba told ANI.
‘USSANCTIONSONRUSSIA
WON’TAFFECTIAF’
Indian Air Force will
not be significantly im-
pacted by the US sanc-
tions on Russia and In-
dia’s relations with
both the countries re-
main strong, Vice Chief
Air Marshal Sandeep
Singh said on Wednes-
day. However, the IAF
will face difficulties for
a month or two in get-
ting spare parts for its
defence equipment
from Russia to India, he
added.
About 70% of Indian
defence equipment is of
Russian origin.
After Vladimir Putin
started military offen-
sive against Ukraine on
February 24, various
western countries -- in-
cluding the US -- have
decided to block assets
of four large Russian
banks, impose export
controls and sanction
oligarchs close to the
Russian president.
“We know the geopo-
litical situation is diffi-
cult (currently). Our
relations with Russia
will continue,” Singh
said. He said that things
are still unfolding geo-
politically
.
“Our position is very
strong and our rela-
tions with both the
countries (Russian and
the US) have remained
(strong) and you have
seen that,” he noted.
OP GANGA: SCINDIA MEETS
INDIAN ENVOY TO ROMANIA
Budapest (ANI): Union
Civil Aviation Minister
Jyotiraditya Scindia
on Wednesday met
Ambassador of India
to Romania, Moldova
and Albania, Rahul
Shrivastava, in view of
the ongoing Russian
military operation in
Ukraine. Scindia high-
lighted that a meeting
was held to decen-
tralise the evacuation
operations and map
out responsibilities, in-
cluding assisting with
medical emergencies.
In a tweet today, he
said, “Chaired a meet-
ing with Ambassador
Rahul Shrivastava
and the Indian dias-
pora – heads of Indian
companies in Romania
to decentralise the
evacuation operations
and map out respon-
sibilities, including
assisting with medical
emergencies, a 24*7
call center and state-
wise data collection.”
With Operation Ganga
being carried out on
a war-footing basis,
Scindia earlier on
Wednesday interacted
with Indian students at
Henri Coanda Interna-
tional Airport in Bucha-
rest in Romania.
l Four IAF’s C-
17s to bring back
800 Indians from
Ukraine in next 12
hours.
l 6 Punjab
MPs meet MoS
Meenakshi Le-
khi, urge her to
evacuate In-
dian students from
Ukraine soon.
l MBBS student
from Punjab dies
of brain stroke in
Ukraine.
l 15 flights
scheduled over
next 24 hours for
evacuation of Indi-
ans due to Ukraine
crisis.
l 60 pc of stranded
Indians in Ukraine
have already
crossed borders
and are safe, Centre
informs Kerala HC.
l When Centre
was aware of de-
velopments, why
didn’t they bring
students ear-
lier from Ukraine,
asks Mamata
Banerjee.
l Consultative
Committee of Par-
liament on External
Affairs to meet
today.
l Beyond silly:
Manish Tewari on
ministers greeting
Indians on evacua-
tion flights.
l Emergency
medicines, blankets
tents among relief
aid dispatched to
Ukraine.
KEY
HIGHLIGHTS
U’khand govt sets up
coordination centres in
Delhi for returnees
Dehradun (ANI): Ut-
tarakhand Government
has set up coordination
centers in Delhi and
Mumbai for the people
of Uttarakhand returning
from Ukraine, informed
in-charge Chief Secretary
Radha Raturi.State Disas-
ter Operation Center has
also been activated at the
state level to bring back
the people of the state
trapped in Ukraine safely.
Union Min asks Oppn
to ‘introspect’ over
politicising evacuation
New Delhi (PTI): Un-
ion Minister Gajendra
Shekhawat on Wednesday
slammed Opposition
parties, who accused the
Indian government of de-
laying the evacuation pro-
cess of Indian nationals
stranded in Ukraine.“The
govt is doing its duty.
Even before this, there
have been governments in
the country for many dec-
ades and such situations
have come up many times
in the world. Opposition
leaders should introspect
had they performed in the
past when they were in
power.”

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
5,986,736
TOTAL DEATHS
371,820,005
TOTAL RECOVERED
61,455,160
ACTIVE CASES
439,261,901
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
514,246
TOTAL DEATHS
42,338,673
TOTAL RECOVERED
85,680
ACTIVE CASES
42,938,599
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
1982 BATCH IAS TO CELEBRATE REUNION
AT LBSNAA TO MARK 40 YEARS OF SERVICE
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: The
1982-batch IAS officers
will hold a reunion at
the Lal Bahadur Shastri
Academy of Adminis-
tration (LBSNAA, Mus-
soorie) on June 3-4 to
celebrate the 40th anni-
versary of their service.
Some of them may avail
of the optional third-day
stay on June 5.
Top bureaucrat of the
batch and current Un-
ion Cabinet Secretary
Rajiv Gauba may also
grace the occasion and
be part of his batch-
mates on the reunion
day. Indianmandarins
has learned that of 109
officers (serving re-
tired), 65 have con-
firmed their participa-
tion whereas nine have
regretted their absence
for pressing reasons
with some of them pre-
scheduled to undertake
foreign trips.
Interestingly, the ten-
tative program suggests
that horse riding may
be among the daring
sports activities. The ex-
citing program sched-
ule has one interesting
item: Bed Time: For
those who want to sleep.
The 2nd day (conclud-
ing day) of the reunion
would mark the evening
(called Dinner + Hun-
gama at LBSNAA) will
reportedly be coordi-
nated by former Union
Tourism Secretary
Rashmi Verma and for-
mer Chief Secretary of
UP Deepak Singhal.
Top bureaucrat of
batch, current Union
Cabinet Secy Gauba
may also grace event
Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie.
Challenges are gifts- they force us
to open new doors, grow and
bloom in new climates. Embrace
them!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
BJP SP AT LOGGERHEADS
ALONG WITH ALLIES IN UP
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: In Uttar
Pradesh’s Purvanchal,
more than 80% of the 57
Assembly seats in the
6th phase were held by
the BJP and its allies.
Of these, BJP alone has
46 seats and its allies
Apna Dal (S) and
Suheldev Bharatiya Sa-
maj Party (SBSP) have 2
seats. But this time the
picture of the alliance
has changed. BJP’s al-
lies now include the
Sanjay Nishad-led Ni-
shad Party and Anupri-
ya Patel-led Apna Dal
(S). At the same time,
Omprakash Rajbhar’s
party is in alliance with
SP.
In this phase, BJP is
in the fray on 52 seats
and its allies are con-
testing on the remain-
ing five seats. Two can-
didates of Nishad Party
are fighting on BJP’s
symbol. These include
Dr. Asim Kumar from
Tamkuhiraj and Shra-
van Kumar Nishad, son
of Nishad Party’s chief
Dr. Sanjay Kumar Ni-
shad, from Chauri
Chaura seat of Gorakh-
pur. Vinay Verma of
BJP-Apna Dal (S) alli-
ance is contesting from
Shohratgarh seat of
Siddharthnagar. Sitting
MLA of Apna Dal,
Chaudhary Amar Sin-
gh, by becoming a rebel,
is presenting a tough
challenge as an inde-
pendent candidate. In
four seats, candidates
are contesting on the
symbol of Nishad Party
.
These include Anil Ku-
mar Tripathi from Me-
hdawal, Awadhesh
Dwivedi from Katehri,
Ketki Singh from Bans-
dih, Vivekananda from
Khadda.
In the last Assembly
elections, the Suheldev
Bharatiya Samaj Party
(SBSP), in alliance with
the BJP, contested eight
seats and won four
seats, one of which was
Ramkola in Kushinagar
area.
SIXTH PHASE: TESTING TIMES IN UTTAR PRADESH!
THE CANDIDATES
In the election fray
with the stick symbol
of SBSP are Mahendra
Chauhan from Rasra
seat, Hanshu Ram from
Beltharrode. Renavasi
Dehati from Ramkola,
Ashok Chauhan from
Khadda in Kushinagar,
Premchand Nishad from
Shohratgarh seat, Doodh
Ram from Mahadeva,
Algu Chauhan from
Dhanghata of Sant Kabir
Nagar, Geeta Ratna Pas-
wan from Maharajganj,
Manbodh Prasad from
Salempur seat of Deoria.
In this phase,
BJP is in fray on
52 seats, allies are
contesting on 5
JAYANT TO JOIN AKHILESH, MAMATA
FOR POLL RALLY IN VARANASI TODAY
RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary
will be joining Samajwadi
Party president Akhilesh Yadav
and West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee for a joint poll
rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi
on Thursday. The Rashtriya Lok
Dal (RLD), which is fighting the UP
assembly elections in tie-up with
Yadav’s SP and is its major ally for
western region of the state, made
the announcement on social media
Wednesday. The joint rally will
be held in Airhe village in Harhua
block of Varanasi 12 pm onwards,
the RLD said.
Mamata Banerjee
Akhilesh Yadav
Jayant Chaudhary
The fact that little vote-swing could gain more seats BJP (L) SP (R) have been meticulously campaigning with their best foot forward.
Govt is determined to
address people's needs,
says LS Speaker Birla
Chennai (PTI): Lok
Sabha Speaker Om Bir-
la on Wednesday said
government was work-
ing on a mission to ad-
dress people’s needs in
various sectors and that
countrymen were lead-
ing economic transfor-
mation across world.
Despite its size, the
country was leading the
climate-change chal-
lenge under the leader-
ship of PM Narendra
Modi, the Speaker said
during an award-pre-
senting function organ-
ised by Bhagwan Ma-
haveer Foundation
here.
Problems such as
open defecation, hous-
ing and lack of electric-
ity supply persisted in
many parts of the coun-
try, but the government
addressed them one by
one, he said. He praised
culture and heritage,
especially the value of
service, of the nation
and said this helped it
successfully face the
Covid-19 pandemic.
Stressing on the con-
cept of Atmanirbhar
(self-sufficiency), he
said Mahatma Gandhi
had insisted on econom-
ic transformation and
that was possible only
through this concept.
Hailing the talent in the
country, he said, “Pro-
fessionals, IITians and
scientists are leading
the economic transfor-
mation in different
parts of the world.”
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla being greeted by Thiru Dayanidhi Maran, Dr Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, Dr
T Sumathy and Thamizhachi Thangapandian at Tamil Nadu Raj Bhawan in Chennai on Wednesday.
FOR A CAUSE!
Poland to help Indian students from
Ukraine to complete their studies
Warsaw [Poland]
(ANI): Polish universi-
ties will be opening
their doors to Indian
students evacuated
from Ukraine so that
they can finish their
studies, said Union
Minister VK Singh on
Wednesday
.
Minister of State for
Road Transport and
Highways and Civil
Aviation, VK Singh in-
teracted with 600 Indian
students at Hotel
Prezydenckie in
Rzeszow, Poland. He
said, “If your course
isn’t complete...all peo-
ple I met in Poland said
that they’ll take up re-
sponsibility for educa-
tion of all students who
were in Ukraine” Many
students were in the
middle of their studies
in Ukraine when the
crisis between Russia-
Ukraine escalated.
However, Poland, with
whom GoI has friendly
relations, is ready to
take these students.
UPROAR! Guj Guv cuts short his address
Gandhinagar (PTI):
GujaratGovernorAcha-
rya Devvrat had to cut
short his customary ad-
dress to the state Legis-
lative Assembly on the
first day of the Budget
SessionhereonWednes-
day after Congress
MLAs caused disrup-
tion by raising anti-BJP
slogans over various is-
sues.
Due to the continuous
sloganeering by nearly
50 opposition MLAs,
who were seen carrying
placards, the governor
left the House after ad-
dressing it for nearly
five minutes. His re-
maining speech was
then tabled in the
House.
As soon as Devvrat
began his address by re-
membering Mahatma
Gandhi, senior Con-
gress MLA Virji Thum-
mar interrupted him
and urged him to first
ask the BJP govern-
ment to stop eulogising
Gandhiji’s assassin Na-
thuram Godse.
Without paying any
heed to the chaos creat-
ed by the opposition
bench, Devvrat contin-
ued with his address
initially. But after
Thummar, another sen-
ior Congress MLA got
up from his seat and
started shouting slo-
gans seeking the resig-
nation of Minister of
State for Home, Harsh
Sanghavi, over the issue
of law and order situa-
tion and seizure of
drugs from Mundra
port and different parts
of the state in the recent
past.
Later, other MLAs
also joined the chorus
and started raising slo-
gans against the BJP
government over sever-
al other issues, includ-
ing paper leak of a clerk
recruitment exam, cor-
ruption and harass-
ment by land mafia. Due
to the chaos, the Gover-
nor cut short his speech
and left the House.
Gujarat Guv Acharya Devvrat addresses Vidhan Sabha House at commencement of 10th session on Wednesday.
VK Singh interacts with the Indian Students awaiting at Rzeszow
Airport for flights for India under Operation Ganga on Wednesday.
Kejriwal to Tikait, KCR carries
buzz of fresh alliances to Delhi
New Delhi (Agencies):
The jostling among non-
BJP parties for control
of Opposition space will
see a fresh round this
week. Telangana Chief
Minister K Chan-
drashekar Rao is in
Delhi for a hectic three
days, during which his
officials are trying to
line up meetings over
the contentious All In-
dia Service cadre rule
amendments, as well as
talks with CM Arvind
Kejriwal and BKU lead-
er Rakesh Tikait.
General Vijay Kumar Singh
@Gen_VKSingh
Poland and India share
centuries of friendship and
cordial relations which have
brought our people together. I
am happy to share that Polish
universities will be opening
their doors to our students
from Ukraine. Jai Hind!
With Kejri hoping for
a Punjab win, Rao is
reportedly hoping to
talk to him about an
alliance of parties

grew up watching
Dilip Kumar in
tragic roles, he is
my Dad’s favourite ,
but I fell for him
when I watched Ko-
hinoor, what a rol-
licking comedy with none
other than Meena Kumari
and then Ram aur Shyam
and I haven’t found anyone
to date with better comic
timing and swashbuckling
attitude.
If you have watched See-
ta aur Geeta and Chaal-
baaz, you might have a
déjà vu moment or two but
very soon Dilip Kumar will
draw you in and it will be
him all the way, but I sim-
ply must put in a word for
Pran as the totally amazing
diabolic villain, Gajendra.
The music – deep and sin-
ister- whenever Pran steps
into the frame is a delight
as is his stylish attire with
leather boots, jodhpuris
and the moustache.
For me, the movie gives
a glimpse into how child-
hood abuse and trauma can
shape a person’s character
and mark him/her forever
as it does with Ram who is
a scared, timid man unable
to stand him up for himself
or his family while his
twin Shyam is a happy-go-
lucky, confident, daring
and swaggering man. I
would have liked to write
youth but even a big fan of
the thespian like me can’t
stretch the truth so much,
he was close to 45 years but
his acting prowess makes
you forget that.
In spite of Dilip Kumar
in a double role and Pran,
the movie actually does do
justice to both its heroines,
the absolutely beautiful
Waheeda Rehman and the
chirpy pretty Mumtaz,
both are women of spirit
and we are spared the sac-
rifice and sobs. Young
Mumtaz manages to hold
her win despite the strong
and senior co-stars.
And now the music, this
time I have kept the music
for the end because frankly
except for Aaj ki raat mere
dil ki salaami le le (which is
one of my favs); Aayi hain
baharein is a sermon, Main
hun saaqi tu hai sharaabi is
a drag, Balam tere pyaar ki
aag is still tolerable.
I love the scene of the
face-off when Ram (actu-
ally Shyam) refuses the
sign the papers, right from
sliding down the balus-
trade, arrogantly whistling
in Pran’s glowering face,
mimicking the munim to
the point of thrashing Pran
with his own whip in the
shadow of the growling
menacing stuffed tiger as
the metaphor, I like it all
except Nirupa Roy slap-
ping Shyam for bestowing
justice, that I hated.
My all-time favourite
scene is when in the climax
Pran forcibly gets Shyam to
sign the property papers
thinking he is Ram and
brandishing a pistol tells
him to sign his name. Dilip
Kumar does, in Hindi, Urdu
and English with a smi-
ley… wouldn’t you fall in
love with such a hero?
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
NEW DELHI, THURSDAY,
MARCH 3, 2022
DOUBLE
TROUBLE
THIS THROWBACK THURSDAY, WE BRING
YOU RAM AUR SHYAM, WHICH WAS THE
ORIGINAL FLICK TO THE REMAKES WITH
THE SAME PLOTLINE - SEETA AUR GEETA,
CHAALBAAZ AND KISHEN KANHAIYA AND
BELIEVE ME DILIP KUMAR DOES SHOW
THE WAY, EVEN TODAY!
I

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
SUHANI SHARMA, MODEL
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Investment
antiques and
jewellery would
bring handsome
financial gains.
On professional
front, recognition
for good work
would motivate
you to work harder. Efforts made to
improve personality will bring desired
results. Those awaiting an affirmation on
romantic front are likely to get lucky.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You succeed
in completing
an important
project well
before deadline.
Disagreements
on the family
front are
foreseen. Be
careful about the legal apprehensions
in the property you are planning to buy.
Your intuition will save you from a tricky
spot today.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
A sound
financial health
of businessmen
would enable to
give monetary
benefits to
employees. Your
sole dependency
on friends may
fail to bring any respite from loneliness
today. It is good day to confess your love
as stars appear favourable for positive
reply.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You will have an
awesome day
today .Continue
to put in efforts at
work and you will
see promising
opportunities
coming your
way. Matrimonial
match for siblings will bring happiness
for entire family. You will get a good price
for your property. Seek proper valuation
of the property you are planning to buy.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Health tips from
an expert will
enable you to
get closer to
your fitness
goals. Chances
of being misled
by competitors
in business are
high. Your generous behavior would
enable to enjoy some lovely moments
with family. Love comes your way as
friendship turns into romance.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Implementation
of new ideas
and projects
would add to
your prestige on
the professional
front. A sound
monetary
position would
enable you to keep pace with changing
times. Avoid raising controversial issues
at home to maintain harmony. It is a
wonderful day to build new connections.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Some of you
are going to
experience
emotional
fulfillment on
romantic front.
Yoga would help
in raising your
energy levels.
Place emphasis on domestic affairs
to enhance the domestic tranquility.
Associating yourself with humanitarian
group on social front would benefit you.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Seek the opinion
of your family
before finalizing
a property deal.
An impromptu
invitation to a
function from an
unexpected friend
is likely to be
received. Your bold initiatives on romantic
front bring back passion and spark in
romantic relationship. Your intuition will
save you from a tricky spot today.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Your hard work
and dedication
are likely to
be noticed
by seniors,
paving way for
promotion or
increment. Family
will be supportive
of career aspirations. A promising day
overall as you stay in limelight without
any efforts. Harsh words may create a rift
in your romantic relationship; be careful.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Those suffering
from chronic
ailments may
find remarkable
improvement in
their health with
home remedies.
Today you will
enjoy the trust
of senior management. Minor domestic
disputes may snowball into a major row,
so give attention to the family. Rewards
and recognition will come your way.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You will succeed
in resolving
disputes with
family members,
normalizing ties.
Seek proper
valuation of the
property you
are planning to
buy. You will remain much in demand
on social front. You need to stand by
romantic partner during testing times to
make the relationship stronger.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Paying special
attention to plan
your career would
give immense
joy. You are likely
to get clearance
or approval for
your construction
plans. You find
things moving in the way you want them.
Gifting something to your beloved is likely
to make the day memorable. You are
likely to receive invaluable guidance.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
The Gold
Standard
in Post–
Graduation:
MBA
MUNIRA LOKHANDWALA
The writer is a personal
development skills facilitator.
veryone talks
about the man-
tra ‘Maximize
Returns and
M i n i m i z e
Risk’ when it
comes to in-
vestments but only
some of us see that
even our education is
an investment: in terms
of time, effort and, of
course, money. So, the
most important ques-
tion that you need to
answer for yourself or
your children; especial-
ly during these uncer-
tain times is: What
course should I or my
child pursue to opti-
mize both in terms of
risk and return?
As automation in-
creases throughout the
world, the skill that
overrides other skills is
the skill or rather the
art of management.
Starting with the obvi-
ous i.e. management of
people to the more ex-
otic i.e. management of
campaigns based on
text analytics, manage-
ment is now an essen-
tial part of any activity
.
Here are some other
reasons why doing an
MBA should be the next
logical step to start or
enhance your career.
ENTRY OR ADVANCEMENT
REQUIREMENTS
To have a corporate career, we
need to apply and qualify for a
corporate job. If you notice
most of the entry-level posi-
tionsinglobalorganizationsis
‘ManagementTrainee’.Thisis
not a misnomer; these organi-
zations have the policy to hire
candidates with a master’s in
Business Administration. For
other companies, even if they
hire non-MBA candidates at
entry-level positions, they still
requireanMBAforjobpromo-
tions, so employees cannot ad-
vance beyond certain levels
without an MBA.
MBA PAY PACKAGES
Some of the reasons we spend
more than half of our day at
a job are long term security
and salary. Both of these cri-
teria are automatic benefits
of an MBA degree. If you
compare the average income
of candidates with different
educational backgrounds
then you will see that employ-
ees with an MBA earn more
than employees without an
MBA qualification. MBAs do
not just earn more they may
earn as much as twice the
amount that a graduate will
be earning on average.
(Source: GMAC1)
The average starting salary
of an MBA in India is Rs. 4.5
lakh per annum. Considering
that the cost of an MBA starts
from 3 lakhs, the standard
time to recover your invest-
ment for your MBA education
is 2 to 3 years.
HIGH DEMAND FOR MBAS
Internationally, 77% of the
U.S. employers and 87% of
companies in the Asia Pacific
plan to hire an MBA graduate.
Indian Express states that ‘
Ac-
cording to survey respond-
ents, demand for MBA gradu-
ates by the technology indus-
try is anticipated to increase
by 10 per cent in 2021 com-
pared to pre-pandemic 2020
levels. In fact, with 96 per cent
of tech recruiters projecting
to hire MBA graduates in
2021, the demand for manage-
ment talents tops the previous
three years.2’ So if you have
done an MBA, you do not need
to worry about getting a job.
The demand for MBAs has
been constantly high in the
past and will continue to be so.
FLEXIBLE JOB ROLES AND
INDUSTRIES
One of the most important
advantages is the flexibility
that an MBA offers concern-
ing its specialization. This
ensures that irrespective of
the industry and the job pro-
file that you are targeting
there will be an MBA to suit
your purpose. Don’t just be-
lieve me; have a look at some
of the specializations: Con-
sulting, Strategic Manage-
ment, General Management,
Analytics, Marketing, Fi-
nance, Operations, Human
Resources, International
Business, Entrepreneurship
and the list goes on..!
BUSINESS NETWORKING
Networking has been contrib-
uted immensely to business
success and an MBA is the
only educational program
that teaches you this skill or-
ganically
. As an MBA student,
you’ll interact with fellow stu-
dents, professors and other
teaching staff such as doctor-
ate students (all of them have
great management experi-
ence). Besides this, most im-
portantly
, you will also be able
to access the extensive alumni
network of that particular
MBA programme. As a part
of outreach programs and/or
placement processes, you will
touch base with industry
leaders and interact with
them. You will also go to com-
pany visits, which will add to
your learning experience.
Full-time MBA programs are
breeding grounds for friend-
ships that last lifetimes. If
you check the Startup envi-
ronment, companies are in-
evitably launched by batch-
mates which bring us to the
next benefit of doing an MBA.
ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS
AND RESOURCES
Most of the current start-up
environment is driven by in-
dividuals with an MBA. This
is hardly surprising consider-
ing that the culture at a busi-
ness school fosters entrepre-
neurship skills. Be it speciali-
zation in Entrepreneurship
or Business Plan Competi-
tions, the MBA curriculum
and environment encourages
students to explore ideas and
bring them to fruition.
A lot of MBA colleges in India
(including the IIMs) and
abroad (including Harvard
which has the Harvard Inno-
vation Lab) also have Incuba-
tion Centres. Incubation cen-
tres or as they are called Incu-
bators are institutions that
assist entrepreneurs in devel-
oping their business and solv-
ing problems associated with
it, especially in the initial
stages, by providing an array
of business and technical ser-
vices, initial seed funds, lab
facilities, advisory, network
and linkages.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Munira Lokhandwala has
been an educationist in the
post-graduate sector for the
past twenty years. She is an
alumna of IIM Kolkatta and a
Wiley –published author. She
has scored 100%ile in the CAT
Entrance Exam for MBA in
IIMs. She has launched CAT-
4Sure – First Residential Pro-
gramme for CAT.
E

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