06082022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

271 gram panchayats
elect sarpanches in Maha
Renni Abraham &
Satish Nandgaonkar
Mumbai: The results
of 271 village gram
panchayat (GP) elec-
tions were declared
today. They are not
authenticated or de-
clared by the Maha-
rashtra state election
commission (SEC) on
the basis of political
symbols.
SEC’s Chief Elector-
al Officer (CEO), Kiran
Kurundkar, has clari-
fied, “The gram pan-
chayat elections are
neither discriminated
on a political party ba-
sis nor from a party
symbol basis. There is
simply no data availa-
ble to indicate the po-
litical affiliation of the
winning candidates.”
Friday saw the count-
ing of votes limited to
271 GPs in Maharash-
tra, out of a total 27,500
GPs (villages) where
elections are
due. These
elections
were scheduled as they
had been notified by
the SEC following the
Supreme Court’s insist-
ence to hold elections
in the GPs, where
scheduled.
Counting of the re-
sults to these limited
271 GP elections were
held at the taluka
(town) level. Individual
political party activists
generated the data be-
ing circulated in the
state on Friday that in-
dicated that the Deputy
Chief Minister Deven-
dra Fadnavis headed
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) had got 80-odd
candidates elected as
sarpanches (village
heads).
Nationalist Congress
Party (NCP) led by
Sharad Pawar won in
50-odd villages, while
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde’s rebel faction
(with 40 rebel Shiv
Sena and 10 independ-
ent MLAs) held sway in
40-odd villages in the
polls. The Congress
party managed to se-
cure winning votes in
20-odd villages from its
last political denomi-
nator party hierarchy.
Additionally, 33 vil-
lage sarpanches were
elected unopposed but
their party affiliations
are still to be clarified
by the individuals
themselves. In some
cases, villages decided
to elect their heads
without considering
any political affiliation,
simply as an en bloc de-
cision.
Turn to P6
BJP bags
majority,
followed by
NCP, CM
Shinde’s Sena,
Thackeray’s
Sena group
and Congress
respectively
OTHER INSTANCE
The same trend was apparently repeated in
2021, just before the second wave of the
COVID-19 pandemic (Delta variant) hit Ma-
harashtra, when 14,000 village sarpanches
were elected in the state. Then, the
MVA-led government claimed that the
BJP had managed to win around 3,500
GPs, while they held sway over
close to 11,500 such GP heads.
Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee calls on President
Droupadi Murmu, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on Friday.
(T) Congress President Sonia Gandhi leads a protest of party MPs including Rahul and others
wearing black clothes, against inflation and unemployment, at Parliament, in Delhi on Friday. Rahul
Gandhi, KC Venugopal, and others stage a nationwide protest at Vijay Chowk, in New Delhi on Friday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a meeting with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday.
MAMATA DIDI CALLS ON PREZ MURMU,
PM MODI IN DELHI!
CONG UPS ANTE AGAINST MODI GOVT OVER INFLATION
CONGRESS
‘MEN IN BLACK’!
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: Wearing
black clothes, Congress
MPs, led by party chief
Sonia Gandhi and Ra-
hul Gandhi, staged a
protest in the Parlia-
ment House complex on
Friday as they marched
towards the Rashtrapa-
ti Bhavan as part of
their nationwide stir
against price rise, the
GST hike on essential
items and unemploy-
ment. The party also
protested against the al-
leged misuse of probe
agencies by govt to tar-
get its leaders. The Con-
gress workers also
marched to gherao PM
Modi’s residence as
part of the protest.
They were, however,
stopped by the Delhi Po-
lice and not allowed to
proceed towards the
Rashtrapati Bhavan.
MPs were detained by
police at Vijay Chowk.
INDIA BIDS TO
SELL FIGHTER
JETS TO MYS
Israeli strikes
on Gaza kill 10,
55 others hurt
New Delhi: India has
offered to sell 18 trainer
variant of light-combat
aircraft (LCA) “Tejas” to
Malaysia, the defence
ministry said on Friday,
adding that Argentina,
Australia, Egypt, the
United States, Indone-
sia, and the Philippines
were also interested in
the single-engine jet.
Gaza: Israel unleashed
a wave of airstrikes in
GazaonFriday
,killingat
least10people,including
a senior militant, and
wounding over dozens,
according to Palestinian
officials. Israel said it
was targeting the Islam-
ic Jihad militant group
in response to an “immi-
nent threat” following
arrest of another senior
militant in the occupied
West Bank this week.
Targeted killing of sen-
ior Palestinian militant
appeared likely to draw
rocket fire from Gaza.
Congress
stages
nationwide protest
against price hike,
GST hike on essential
items, unemployment
and misuse of probe
agencies by the govt
Paramilitary
forces and the
Delhi police blocked
the Congress’s
march from the
Vijay Chowk to
Rashtrapati Bhavan
Rahul, Priyanka and others who were detained by police,
released after 6 hours; Sect 144 imposed in New Delhi dist
How do you
feel about
the death of
democracy?
What this country built in
70 years was destroyed
in 8 years. There is no
democracy in India today!
There is a dictatorship
of 4 people in India. We
want to raise the issue of
inflation, unemployment
etc. We want to discuss
the society being divided.
We (Opposition) are not
allowed to speak in Parl.
We are arrested on the
road. Media can’t show
courage in the current
environment.
—Rahul Gandhi,
Congress Leader
HITLER ALSO WON
ELECTIONS, I WILL
SHOW YOU...: RAHUL
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Friday said even
Nazi leader Adolf Hitler used
to win elections as he had
control of all of Germany’s
institutions. Gandhi said if he
is given charge of the entire
institution, he would show
how elections are won.
1
2
Assam CM Himanta
Biswa Sarma plays
emissary for
Mamata for the
meeting with PM
this time around
MAMATA’S
OUTREACH TO
PM MODI
BJP’S DILIP GHOSH SAYS... ‘CONVINCE US THERE IS NO SETTING’
Mamata Banerjee uses her meetings with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to send out a message that “a
setting has been made”, BJP’s Dilip Ghosh said.
Ex-Guv of Meghalaya and ex-BJP state prez Tathagata
Roy took to Twitter and asked PM Modi to convince
people that there is no ‘setting’ between him & Mamata.
Renni Abraham
WB CM Mamta Banerjee
met PM Modi on Friday
to resolve a few con-
cerns of her state includ-
ing over the GST regime
even as the reach out by
the firebrand TMC, using
the good offices of As-
sam CM Himanta Biswa,
is being politically
viewed as an overture
of friendship to the BJP.
Turn to P6
Uddhav Thackeray takes
over as‘Saamana’ editor
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
President Uddhav
Thackeray on Friday
took charge as the edi-
tor of the party mouth-
piece ‘Saamana’, after
the Enforcement Direc-
torate (ED) arrested the
paper’s executive editor
Sanjay Raut on alleged
charges of money laun-
dering.
Thackeray’s name
was mentioned in the
imprint line of the Mar-
athi newspaper, which
was started by party
founder Balasaheb
Thackeray
.
Incidentally, Thack-
eray was the editor of
the newspaper till No-
vember 2019 and re-
signed after he became
the Maharashtra Chief
Minister in the previ-
ous Maha Vikas Aghadi
government. He had
handed over the charge
to his wife Rashmi
Thackeray, before it
landed with Raut.
WAZIRX’S BANK
ASSETS SEIZED
New Delhi: ED on Friday
said that it has frozen bank
deposits of `64.67 crore as
part of a money laundering
probe against cryptocurrency
exchange WazirX. ED
conducted searches at
premises of one of directors
of Zanmai Labs Pvt Limited,
which operates WazirX.
VISTARA FLIGHT
SUFFERS BIRD HIT
New Delhi: A Vistara flight
heading to Mumbai returned
to Varanasi after it suffered
a bird hit on Friday, airline
said. A spokesperson of
airlines said, “Vistara flight
UK 622 operating from
Varanasi to Mumbai turned
back to Varanasi due to a
bird strike during departure.
ANCHOR IN RELIEF
FROM ARREST: SC
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Friday granted
protection from arrest to
Zee News editor Rajnish
Ahuja in connection with
a programme pertaining
to Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi, which
was broadcast by the
television channel.
PARTHA, ARPITA IN
JAIL TILL AUG 18
Kolkata: Former edu
minister of WB Partha
Chatterjee and his aide
Arpita Mukherjee were
sent to 14 days in judicial
custody by spl court in
Kolkata on Friday in SSC
scam case. Court granted
14 days’ judicial remand
on a prayer by the ED.
READ
Crucial
Crucial Amid China, Taiwan tension,
US postpones missile test
Beijing: China said on
Friday that more than
100 warplanes and 10
warships have taken
part in live-fire military
drills surrounding Tai-
wanoverpast2days.Tai-
pei termed China’s mili-
tary exercises around
theislandnation“highly
provocative”. China was
settopressaheadFriday
with its largest-ever mil-
itary exercises encir-
cling Taiwan despite
firm statements of con-
demnation by US, Japan
& European Union. Chi-
na also halts co-opera-
tion with US on key is-
sues. US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken
criticised Chinese mili-
tary drills saying that
firing around Taiwan
was a disproportionate
and US postpones Min-
uteman III missile test.
US will ‘not allow’
China to isolate
Taiwan: Pelosi
US House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi said on Friday that
US will “not allow” China to
isolate. “They may try to keep
Taiwan from visiting or par-
ticipating in other places, but
they will not isolate Taiwan by
preventing us to travel there,”
she told reporters in Tokyo.
50 bps rate hike is new
normal for banks: Das
Mumbai (ANI): TheRe-
serve Bank of India
(RBI) Governor Shakti-
kantaDasonFridaysaid
50basispointsor0.50per
cent hike in policy rates
has become a new nor-
malforthecentralbanks
across the world.
Das was reacting on
the RBI MPC decision
to hike the policy repo
rate by 0.50 per cent. “If
you look all around, 50
basis points has become
new normal and large
number of banks are
now hiking by 75 to 100
basis points,” Das said
while explaining the ra-
tionale behind 50 basis
points hike in policy
rates by the RBI. RBI
Governor said the other
central banks have been
far more aggressive
than the RBI in hiking
policy rates. P7
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MUMBAI l SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 92
BAJRANG PUNIA, SAKSHI MALIK STRIKE GOLD
Birmingham: Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik
increased India’s gold medal haul at the CWG 2022 in style on
Friday. Punia defeated Canada’s Lachlan McNeil, in women’s
62kg final; Malik beat Canada’s Ana Godinez Gonzalez. P6
VP POLL TODAY:
NUMBERS IN
FAVOUR OF
DHANKHAR
New Delhi: The NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar,
who has been pitted against Opposition pick Marga-
ret Alva, is set for an easy victory in the vice-presi-
dential election today as the numbers are stacked
in favour of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
PAK’S FINMIN
WARNS OF ‘BAD
DAYS’ AMID
INFLATION
Karachi: Addressing a ceremony at the Pakistan
Stock Exchange, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Miftah
Ismail on Friday said govt would continue to curb
imports for the next three months, as he warned of
“bad days” ahead for the cash-strapped country.
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI & MUMBAI BSE SENSEX 58,387.93 89.13 | NSE NIFTY 17,397.50 15.50

First India Bureau
Mumbai: Police de-
tained several Con-
gress leaders outside
the Vidhan Bhavan in
Mumbai on Friday to
prevent them from
staging a protest op-
posite the Raj Bhavan
(Governor’s House).
They were set to take
part in the party’s na-
tionwide stir against
the Centre over price
rise, the Goods & Ser-
vices Tax (GST) hike
on essential items
and unemployment.
State Congress Presi-
dent Nana Patole and
former Maharashtra
ministers Balasaheb
Thorat, Varsha Gaik-
wad, Naseem Khan,
Chandrakant Handore
were among some of
the leaders who were
detained. Videos of the
leaders being detained
were circulated on so-
cial media platforms.
The Congress lead-
ers said they had
planned to carry out a
protest march to the
Raj Bhavan, the official
residence of the gover-
nor in South Mumbai,
to protest against the
Centre’s policies.
As per the plan an-
nounced on Thursday,
the march was to begin
from Hanging Garden
and culminate at the
Raj Bhavan around 11
am.
A heavy deployment
of police was put in
place outside the Vid-
han Bhavan, the state
legislature complex,
where Congress lead-
ers held a meeting.
However, the police
personnel prevented
them from proceeding
to the Raj Bhavan, lo-
cated a few kilometres
away.
Congress leader Bal-
asaheb Thorat told the
police that it was their
right to stage an agita-
tion over the issues
concerning people, in-
cluding rising infla-
tion.
“Even under British
rule, peaceful protests
were allowed. But un-
der the ‘ED’ govern-
ment, even this is not
possible,” Thorat told
reporters, in an appar-
ent reference to the
Eknath Shinde-Deven-
dra Fadnavis govern-
ment in the state.
Former Maharash-
tra Chief Minister
Ashok Chavan said the
Congress planned to
hold a peaceful protest.
A police officer told
the Congress leaders
that they can hold a
protest at Azad Maid-
an. But the party lead-
ers argued with the po-
lice, following which
they were detained and
taken to the Azad Maid-
an police station.
Police said that no-
tices had been sent to
several Congress lead-
ers in Mumbai, remind-
ing them that prohibi-
tory orders were in
place, which prevents
gathering of five or
more people at one
place.
Meanwhile, in Nag-
pur, Congress staged a
protest outside the dis-
trict Collectorate. Sev-
eral Congress workers
and leaders raised slo-
gans against the Centre
and were detained by
police.
NEWS
MUMBAI | SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
Mumbai: Uddhav
Thackeray was plan-
ning to quit as Maha-
rashtra Chief Minis-
ter last year after
talks with Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi,
claimed the Shiv Se-
na’s rebel faction on
Friday.
Deepak Kesarkar, a
spokesperson of the CM
Eknath Shinde faction,
said for Thackeray that
his relations with Modi
were more important
that holding on to the
top post.
Reacting to Kes-
arkar’s claims, Sena
spokesperson Manisha
Kayande, a member of
the Thackeray camp,
said, “He is revealing
something new every
day. He has been mak-
ing self-contradictory
statements and sounds
confused.”
Kesarkar said he es-
tablished contact with
Modi and started a line
of communication.
“After Uddhavji met
Modiji (in June last
year), it was decided
that he will quit (as CM)
in the next 15 days be-
cause for him his rela-
tions (with PM) were
more important (than
holding post). But it
was realized that he
needed more time to
convince his party
workers,” he said.
In the past, Modi had
termed Thackeray, who
is the Shiv Sena presi-
dent, as his “younger
brother”.
The Thackeray-PM
meeting in New Delhi
was followed by the sus-
pension of a dozen BJP
MLAs from the Maha-
rashtra Legislative As-
sembly for a year in July
2021 over unruly behav-
iour. The move further
strained ties between
former allies Shiv Sena
and the BJP
, which was
then in the opposition.
Later, the talks halted
after Rane, a bete noire
of Thackeray, was in-
ducted into the Union
Cabinet which upset the
Sena president, he said.
The talks did not go
further because of
“ego” issues, said Kes-
arkar.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
leader Sanjay Raut—
who is currently in
the Enforcement Di-
rectorate’s (ED) cus-
tody in an alleged
money laundering
case—has thanked op-
position parties for
supporting him.
Sena MP and Spokes-
person Priyanka
Chaturvedi on Friday
released a letter signed
by Raut.
In the letter, he
thanked leaders of all
opposition parties in-
cluding the Congress,
Nationalist Congress
Party (NCP), Trinamool
Congress (TMC), Dravi-
da Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK), Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP), Commu-
nist Party of India (CPI)
and CPI (M) for express-
ing solidarity with him.
The Shiv Sena’s Ra-
jya Sabha member was
arrested on August 01
by the probe agency in
a case related to alleged
irregularities in the re-
development of Patra
Chawl.
“The toughest times
show you who your reli-
able allies are,” said the
letter. “I am thankful for
the overwhelming sup-
port given to me during
the political witch-hunt
and motivated attack di-
rected against me by the
central government
through central agen-
cies. My fight will con-
tinue for what is right.
Neither will I bow down
to pressure nor will it
break my resolve to see
this fight through,”
wrote Raut.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bom-
bay High Court ex-
pressed its displeas-
ure with the Maha-
rashtra government
on Thursday over the
low remuneration
paid to members of a
committee formed to
oversee the publica-
tion of Dr Babasaheb
Ambedkar’s writings
and speeches.
A division bench of
Justices Prasanna Va-
rale and Kishore Sant
noted that the govern-
ment’s decision to pay
non-government mem-
bers of the committee
Rs 10,000 per month was
not a “welcome step”.
The bench was hear-
ing a petition taken up
suo motu in December
2021 after media reports
said the Maharashtra
government had halted
its project of publishing
the literature of
Ambedkar.
During earlier hear-
ings, the court was in-
formed that a 26-mem-
ber committee, which
included experts, was
in place to overlook the
publication of writings
and speeches of social
reformers, including
Ambedkar.
The court had, on the
last hearing in July,
sought to know from
the government how
much remuneration
was paid to the commit-
tee members who are of
experts in their field.
On Thursday
, the
bench was informed by
government pleader
PurnimaKanthariathat
the non-government
members were paid
Rs10,000 each month.
There are 10 such mem-
bers in the panel.
To this, the court,
said the amount comes
to around Rs300 per day
.
“What is this? How
can the state pay such a
less amount to experts?
At least pay them as per
their knowledge and
status. This isn’t a wel-
come step at all,” said
Justice Varale.
Henotedthattheprice
index has gone up since
1971 and asking the
members to accept these
allowances was certain-
ly not a welcome step.
Thebenchorderedthe
state government to en-
sure that appropriate
and sufficient funds are
made available to the
committee apart from
supportingstaff tocarry
out its work smoothly
.
HC raps Maha on low pay to Ambedkar writings pub committee
JUSTICE FOR REMUNERATION
lll
Says that the
govt’s decision
to pay `10,000
per month to
non-govt
members of
committee was
not a ‘welcome
step’; asks it to
ensure adequate
funds given
What is
this? How
can the
state pay such a
less amount to ex-
perts? At least pay
them as per their
knowledge and
status. This isn’t a
welcome step at all.
—Justice Prasanna
Varale
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A Yuva
Sena leader and
son of a rebel
Shiv Sena MLA
has lodged a com-
plaint, alleging
that he received a
threat call for
supporting the
party faction led
by Maharashtra
Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde,
said police offi-
cials on Friday.
Vikas Gogawale,
son of rebel legisla-
tor Bharat Goga-
wale, on Thursday
lodged a complaint
at Gamdevi police
station against uni-
dentified persons,
said an official.
In his complaint,
Vikas claimed that
he had received a
call from a person
who threatened him
with dire conse-
quencesforsupport-
ing the Shinde fac-
tion, he said.
Gondia (PTI): The
administration in
Gondia district
has lodged a po-
lice complaint af-
ter irregularities
were found in the
enrollment of
beneficiaries in
the Pradhan Man-
tri Matritiva Van-
dan Yojana (PM-
MVY), a materni-
ty benefit pro-
gramme.
District health
Officer (DHO), Dr
Nitin Wankhede,
on Wednesday
lodged a complaint
with the Gondia ru-
ral police, after dis-
crepancies were
found in the names
and documents of
28 beneficiaries.
“They were en-
rolled in the Cen-
tral government
scheme and Rs1.4
lakh was also trans-
ferred to their ac-
counts under the
direct benefit trans-
fer,” he said.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Shiv Se-
na’s Thane dis-
trict chief Kedar
Dighe was sum-
moned by Mum-
bai police in con-
nection with a
case where he is
accused of threat-
ening a rape sur-
vivor, an official
said on Friday.
She alleged that
Delhi-based busi-
nessman Rohit Ka-
poor raped her at a
five-star hotel in
Mumbai. Dighe,
who is his friend,
had threatened her
not to disclose the
incident to anyone.
A First Informa-
tion Report (FIR)
was registered at N
M Joshi Marg Po-
lice Station Kapoor
for alleged rape. A
lookout notice has
been issued against
him by the police.
Rebel MLA’s
son receives
threats for CM
group support
Discrepancy
complaint
lodged by
Gondia admin
Kedar Dighe
summoned
for threats to
rape survivor
Thackeraywastoquitas
MahaCMafterPMModi
meet:DeepakKesarkar
Sanjay Raut thanks
opposition parties
for supporting him
Thackeray faction
claims rebel MLA
making contradictory
statements and
sounds ‘confused’
Shiv Sena MP is in ED
custody till Aug 08 for
alleged involement in a
money laundering case
Raut waves to supporters as
ED officials escort him from his
‘Maitri’ residence.
—FILE PHOTO
CongleadersdetainedbeforeRajBhavandemo
THE INTENT
As per the plan an-
nounced on Thursday,
the march was to
begin from Hanging
Garden and culminate
at the Raj Bhavan
around 11 am. A
heavy deployment of
police was put in place
outside the Vidhan
Bhavan, the state
legislature complex,
where Congress lead-
ers held a meeting.
However, the police
personnel prevented
them from proceed-
ing to the Raj Bhavan,
located a few kilome-
tres away.
Even under British rule, peace-
ful protests were allowed. But
under the ‘ED’ government,
even this is not possible.
—Balasaheb Thorat, Congress leader
They had planned to set out for the Governor House from Hanging Garden to demonstrate against Centre
Cong leader Bhai Jagtap (in grey tee) raising slogans with party leaders. Former CM Ashok Chavan, Maha Cong chief Nana Patole, at Azad Maidan police station.
Police detains Congress workers prior to their planned protest in
Mumbai on Friday. —PHOTOS BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
Kedar Dighe
Deepak Kesarkar

MAHARASHTRA
03
MAN MURDERED,
DUMPED IN
LAKE IN THANE
DISTRICT
Nagpur: Nine langurs
were killed when light-
ning struck a tree they
were sitting on in a for-
est of Nagpur district,
a forest official said
on Friday. The incident
took place on Thurs-
day at Mouza Walni
in Khapa forest range
of Nagpur, he said.
At least nine langurs
were sitting on a tree,
which was struck by
lightning, killing them
on the spot. The forest
department conducted
a panchanama and
buried the carcasses in
the forest, the official
added.
Thane: A 20-year-old
man was brutally killed
and his body dumped
in a lake in Ambernath
town of Thane district,
police said on Friday.
The incident came to
light when the police
were alerted about the
victim’s body floating in
the lake in Jawsai village
on Thursday afternoon,
an official from Am-
bernath police said.
The body of the victim,
identified as Vishal
Sarvajit Rajbhar, was
stuffed in a gunny sack
with stone-filled bags
tied to his legs and neck,
the official said.
CRUCIAL READ
Mumbai: A first information report (FIR) has been reg-
istered against unidentified persons following the death
of several fish and crabs
in the Bhendkhal creek at
Uran in neighbouring Navi
Mumbai, police said on
Thursday. The FIR was filed
on the basis of a complaint
submitted by officials of
the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) at
the Uran police station, an official said. Cleaning of
chemical tankers at the creek had led to the death of
several fish and crabs, the official said, quoting from
the complaint. MPCB officials had inspected the creek
and collected water samples for testing, he said.
Gadchiroli: An alleged Maoist woman carrying a Rs2
lakh reward on her has been arrested in Gadchiroli
district, police said on
Thursday. Mude Hidma
Madavi, member of the
Kasansur dalam (squad) of
the Maoists, was nabbed
on Wednesday during an
anti-Naxalite operation in
Ettapalli taluka, said a release issued by the Gadchiroli
superintendent of police’s office. The operation was
carried out in the backdrop of ‘Maoist martyrs’ week’
observed in the district from July 28 to August 3. As
part of the exercise, a ‘nakabandi’ was set up. The Nax-
alite was apprehended and later identified as Madavi.
FIR AGAINST UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS FOR
DEATH OF CRABS, FISH IN URAN CREEK
SUSPECTED MAOIST WOMAN CARRYING
`2 LAKH REWARD HELD IN GADCHIROLI
‘NCSC has no power to interfere with MoD order’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Nation-
al Commission for
Scheduled Castes
(NCSC) does not have
the jurisdiction to in-
terfere with a decision
taken by an employer
against his or her em-
ployee, the Bombay
High Court has ruled.
In a recent order, a di-
vision bench compris-
ing Justice RD Dhanuka
and Justice Kamal Kha-
ta allowed a petition
filed by the Union Min-
istry of Defence (MoD).
The plea had challenged
an order passed by the
NCSC in March this
year, directing it to re-
investigate a discipli-
nary action initiated
against a staff nurse.
The high court
passed the order on July
27 and a copy of the
same was made availa-
ble on Friday
.
As per the petition,
one Chandraprabha Ke-
dare was appointed as a
staff nurse in January
1973 in the Cantonment
Board in Deolali in Ma-
harashtra’s Nashik. In
2013, a disciplinary ac-
tion was initiated
against her and she was
asked to take compulso-
ry retirement.
Kedare approached
theNCSCalleginginjus-
tice and harassment, fol-
lowing which the Com-
mission, in its March
order, claimed that the
MoD had compulsorily
retired the woman with-
out adopting due proce-
dure.
Quashing the NCSC
order, the court ob-
served that the Commis-
sion had acted totally
without jurisdiction.
In our view, the Com-
mission has no such ju-
risdiction to interfere
with the decision al-
ready taken by the em-
ployer against Kedare
after following proce-
dure. The Commission
cannot act as an appel-
late authority against
an order passed by an
employer taking disci-
plinary action against
an employee, said the
bench.
An employer has the
powers to take discipli-
nary action against his
employee and when
such action has been up-
held in all legal proceed-
ings, the employee can-
not file an application
before the Commission,
it added.
The bench quashed
and set aside the NCSC’s
order and dismissed the
complaint filed by Ke-
dare before it.
In its order, the Com-
mission had noted that
injustice had been met-
ed against Kedare, who
belongs to the Sched-
uled Caste (SC) commu-
nityandthatthepunish-
ment of compulsory re-
tirement was draconian
in nature.
The NCSC had asked
the MoD to re-investi-
gate the matter.
Bombay High Court overturns
Commission’s order to MoD to
re-investigate a disciplinary action
PUSHBACK
Explosives cache buried by Naxalites recovered
Gadchiroli (PTI): The
police have recovered
a huge cache of explo-
sives and other mate-
rials allegedly buried
by Naxalites in a for-
est in Gadchiroli dis-
trict, said police on
Friday.
Based on an intelli-
gence input, a team
comprising special op-
eration squads (C-60),
Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF) 192 battal-
ion and BDDS person-
nel conducted an opera-
tion in Hetalkasa forest
on Thursday and recov-
ered the explosives,
said an official.
The police had re-
ceived information that
Naxalites belonging to
the Korchi local organi-
zation squad (LOS),
Tipagad LOS and com-
pany number four had
buried ammunition,
explosives and other
items in Hetalkasa for-
est, under Kurkheda
sub-division.
Officials have recov-
ered two cookers (one
filled with explosives),
four car remotes, three
wire bundles, eight
packets of distemper
colour, 1kg of yellow
powder, 2kg of grey
powder, white powder,
some granular sub-
stance, two notebooks, a
water can, which were
concealed in a plastic
drum and buried.
According to the po-
lice, Naxalites observe
martyrs’ week from
July 28 to August 3,
during which they
carry out subversive ac-
tivities against the gov-
ernment and use am-
munition and explo-
sives for this.
First India Bureau
Nashik: A scene
where students swim,
or are carried on
their shoulders by the
adults, to cross the
waters of Daman Riv-
er to reach their
school—Sukla Vidya-
laya in Devlacha Pada
village, which might
be a rare display of
courage for outsiders,
is a common sight for
locals over here,
“There are around 15-
20 children who have to
cross the river to go to
school.Theriverisdeep,
so we carry them either
on our shoulders or in
big containers. We re-
quest the administra-
tion to build a bridge,”
said a local resident.
A local resident of the
village, Laxman said,
“The children of the vil-
lage in Peth taluka have
to swim daily, even in
the rain and cross the
river to go to school eve-
ry day by risking their
lives. People send their
children to school to get
an education at the cost
of their lives.”
Many parents make
their children cross the
river every day by sit-
ting on their shoulders
and others do not send
them to school fearing
something untoward.
When the backwater
of the Suki River is
released into the river,
during the rainy days,
and then the river
gets flooded. At such a
time, children are not
able to go to school for
many months, due to
which their studies
are affected.
A local resident said,
“It has been many years
since we are living like
this. There are no roads,
no bridge, which makes
it very difficult for chil-
dren to go to school.”
FromMPs,andMLAs
to zila parishads, and
panchayat samiti mem-
bers to local public rep-
resentatives, the people
of the village have been
pleading for the bridge
for years, but the gov-
ernment never pays at-
tention to it. People’s
representatives forget
the problems of the vil-
lage after the election
tours are over.
No bridge: Students swim across river to reach school
DESPITE ODDS
lll
Local residents
have been
urging
authorities to
build a bridge
over Daman
river, to
no avail;
politicians
forget their
pleas after
polls, they say
NINE LANGURS
KILLED DUE TO
LIGHTNING
STRIKE IN NAGPUR
Trader abducted for `50 lakh ransom in Thane; four held
First India Bureau
Thane: Four persons
have been arrested
for allegedly abduct-
ing a trader and de-
manding a ransom of
Rs50 lakh in Dombivi-
li of Thane district,
police said on Friday.
The victim, Himmat
S Nahar, who owned a
plywood shop, was ab-
ducted on Wednesday
and rescued hours later,
said a senior inspector
of Manpada police sta-
tion of Dombivili in
Kalyan division.
The police have ar-
rested Sanjay Ram-
kisan Vishwakarma
(39), Sandeep Dyandeo
Rokde (39), Darmadz
Ambadas Kamble (36)
and Roshan Ganpat
Sawant (40), all resi-
dents of Dombivili in
connection with the
crime, he said.
Vishwakarma, the
main accused in the
case, is a carpenter and
he bought plywood
worth Rs3 lakh from the
victim’s shop. To make
the payment, he took
Nahar to an ATM cen-
tre, he said.
Claiming that the ma-
chine was not working,
the accused asked the
victim to accompany
him in a car to another
ATM centre and alleg-
edly kidnapped him,
the official said.
The accused called
up the victim’s family
in the night and de-
manded a ransom of
Rs50 lakh, he said.
The police were alert-
ed and four teams were
formed to trace the ac-
cused. The victim’s fam-
ily was asked to bring
the ransom money to a
tunnel near Goteghar
village on Mumbai-
Agra Highway. The po-
lice personnel dressed
as villagers accompa-
nied the victim’s neph-
ew, the official said.
Three men were
nabbed at the scene,
while another accused
who was guarding the
victim held captive at a
house in the village was
apprehended while one
more managed to flee in
the dark, he added.
According to the
police, the accused were
unemployed and want-
ed to make quick money
.
A case under relevant
sections of the Indian
Penal Code was regis-
tered in this regard.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A 43-year-
old man from Chinch-
pokli in Mumbai was
conned of Rs7.5 lakh
in a ‘sextortion’ rack-
et, where he was
threatened with an
abetment to suicide
case, the police said
on Friday.
The man got video
chat, who started un-
dressing during a con-
versation. Soon, the
man got a call from the
Delhi cybercrime offi-
cial Arun Saxena.
“The accused, call-
ing himself Arun Sax-
ena, told the man that
the woman he was chat-
ting with had commit-
ted suicide, after her
pornographic videos
were uploaded on so-
cial media. He threat-
ened to implicate the
man in an abetment to
suicide case and extort-
ed Rs7.5 lakh between
July 15 to 18,” the offi-
cial said.
`7.5L ‘sextorted’
from man after
‘suicide’ threat
According to the
police, the accused
were unemployed
and wanted to
make quick money
OVERCAST SKY
Monsoon clouds gather over the city skyline giving it a greyish hue, in Mumbai on Friday.
Chhota Shakeel’s
brother-in-law
arrested by NIA
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Na-
tional Investigation
Agency (NIA) ar-
rested one Mohd
Salim Mohd Iqbal
Qureshi alias Salim
Fruit, brother-in-
law of gangster Da-
wood Ibrahim’s
close aide Chhota
Shakeel, informed
NIA officials.
He was arrested in
a case relating to the
activities of D-Com-
pany. The suo moto
case, related to ter-
rorist or criminal ac-
tivities was filed on
February 3.
“Salim Fruit, a
close aide of D-Com-
pany
, played an active
role in extorting huge
amounts of money in
the name of Chhota
Shakeel via property
dealings and dispute
settlements for rais-
ing terror funds in
furtherance of ter-
rorist activities of D-
Company,” an NIA
official said.
Salim Fruit during his arrest.
—PHOTO
BY
PTI
Daman river gets
flooded when
the backwater of
Suki river is
released during
monsoon

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 92 l RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Editor-In-Chief:DrJagdeeshChandraEditor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Those who cling to perceptions and views
wander the world offending people.
—Buddha
he Congress is
at the forefront
of protests
against the gov-
ernment. Even
on Friday its leaders and
workers donned black
cloth and raised slogans
against inflation and GST
which is hurting the poor.
As the Congress intensi-
fied its protests, dramatic
scenes were witnessed in
the national capital. Rahul
Gandhi was detained by
the police and his sister
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra,
who resisted her deten-
tion, was dragged and put
into a police vehicle for
breaking a barricade. Sev-
eral other party workers
were also detained. The
noticeable part was that
despite being in a weak
state, the party was able to
put up a massive show.
Regional outfits in Uttar
Pradesh like the Samajwa-
di Party and the Bahujan
Samaj Party
, which should
havealsotakentothestreet
on inflation and GST, have
stayed put inside their cosy
rooms. The reason could
have been either the fear of
the Enforcement Directo-
rate or they simply avoided
being seen as supporting
the Congress even if it was
for a genuine cause.
The Congress has re-
cently been protesting
against ED’s notices to its
president Sonia Gandhi
and Rahul Gandhi in the
National Herald case. Pro-
tests then followed each
time the two leaders were
summoned for question-
ing. On Thursday the ED
mandated Mallikarjun
Kharge, Leader of Opposi-
tion in the Rajya Sabha, to
be present in the Young In-
dianoffice,whentheHouse
was in session. As Friday’s
protests were staged al-
most in continuation of the
previous ones it appears
that the party is fearing the
worst in the National Her-
ald case and wants to keep
up the pressure.
CONGRESS
KEEPS UP ITS
STRUGGLE
On Thursday the ED mandated Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader
of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, to be present in the
Young Indian office, when the House was in
session. As Friday’s protests were staged almost in
continuation of the previous ones it appears that the party
is fearing the worst in the National Herald case and wants
to keep up the pressure
T
Nitin Gadkari @nitin_gadkari
Ghar Ghar Tiranga! Tiranga: The
Symbol of our Freedom and our
Unity! Saluting the Tricolour,
let us all proudly participate in
#HarGharTiranga hoist the
National Flag at our places from
13th to 15th August.
Kiren Rijiju @KirenRijiju
When you start treating one family
as more important than the country..
you will see this!Thousands
of complaints coming about
this annoying unreasonable
Parliament disruptions by Congress
some of it’s allies. What will our
future generation learn from these leaders?
TOP TWEETS
A previous study reported
that a single shot of the
Jynneos vaccine protected
monkeys infected with
monkeypox and that this
protection lasted for at least
two years. If this holds up in
the real world, it would
support withholding second
doses in favor of immunizing
more Americans. This would
be key as many health
experts expect the virus to
continue spreading,
furthering increasing
demand of the vaccine
onkeypox isn’t going to be
the next Covid-19. But
with the outbreak having
bloomed to thousands of
infections, with cases in
nearly every state, on Au-
gust 4, 2022, the US de-
clared monkeypox a na-
tional public health emer-
gency. One reason health
experts did not expect
monkeypox to become so
widespread is that the US
had previously approved
two vaccines for the virus.
WHAT ARE THE AVAILABLE
MONKEYPOX VACCINES?
Two vaccines are current-
ly approved in the U.S. that
can provide protection
against monkeypox, the
Jynneos vaccine – known
as Imvamune/Imvanex in
Europe – and ACAM2000,
an older smallpox vaccine.
The Jynneos vaccine is
produced by Bavarian
Nordic, a small company
in Denmark. The vaccine
is for the prevention of
smallpox and monkeypox
disease in adults ages 18
and older who are at high
risk for infection with ei-
ther virus. It was approved
in Europe in 2013 and by
the U.S. Food and Drug Ad-
ministration in 2019.
The Jynneos vaccine is
given in two doses four
weeks apart and contains
a live vaccinia virus. Vac-
cinia normally infects cat-
tle and is a type of poxvi-
rus, a family of viruses
that includes smallpox
and monkeypox. The virus
in this vaccine has been
crippled – or attenuated –
so that it is no longer able
to replicate in cells.
This vaccine is good at
protecting those who are at
high risk for monkeypox
fromgettinginfectedbefore
exposure and can also less-
en the severity of disease
post-infection.Itiseffective
against smallpox as well as
monkeypox. Until the re-
cent monkeypox outbreak,
this vaccine was primarily
given to health care work-
ers or people who have had
confirmed or suspected
monkeypox exposure.
The U.S. government
has over 200 million doses
of ACAM2000 stockpiled
in case of a biological
weapon attack of small-
pox. But despite the ade-
quate supply of the vac-
cine, ACAM2000 is not be-
ing used to vaccinate
against monkeypox be-
cause of the risk of seri-
ous adverse side effects.
For now, only designated
U.S. military personnel
and laboratory research-
ers who work with certain
poxviruses may receive
this vaccine.
HOW EFFECTIVE ARE
THESE VACCINES?
According to the U.S. Cent-
ers for Disease Control,
there is not yet any data
available on the effective-
ness of either vaccine in
the current outbreak of
monkeypox. But there is
older data available from
animal studies, clinical tri-
als and studies in Africa.
A number of clinical tri-
als done during the approv-
al process for the Jynneos
vaccine show that when
giventoaperson,ittriggers
a strong antibody response
on par with the ACAM2000
vaccine. An additional
study done in nonhuman
primates showed that vac-
cinated animals that were
infected with monkeypox
survived80%to100%of the
time,comparedwithzeroto
40% survival in unvacci-
nated animals.
Another use of the Jyn-
neos vaccine is as a post-
exposure prophylaxis, or
PEP, meaning the vaccine
can be effective even when
given after exposure to the
virus. Because the monk-
eypox virus incubates in a
person’s body for six to 14
days, the body of someone
who gets the Jynneos vac-
cine shortly after being
exposed will produce anti-
bodies that can help fight
off infection and protect
against a serious monkey-
pox case.
The ACAM2000 data is
older and less precise but
shows strong protection.
Researchers tested the vac-
cine during an outbreak of
monkeypox in central Af-
rica in the 1980s. Although
the study was small and
didn’t directly test vaccine
efficacy, the authors con-
cluded that unvaccinated
people faced an 85% high-
er risk of being infected
than vaccinated people.
DOES A SMALLPOX
VACCINE PROTECT
AGAINST MONKEYPOX?
According to the CDC, a
previous smallpox vacci-
nation does provide some
protection against monk-
eypox, though that protec-
tion wanes over time. Ex-
perts advise that anyone
who had the smallpox vac-
cine more than three years
ago and is at increased
risk for monkeypox get the
monkeypox vaccine.
WHO SHOULD GET
VACCINATED?
At the national level, any-
one who has had close con-
tact with an infected per-
son, who has a weakened
immunesystemorwhohad
dermatitis or eczema is eli-
gible for a Jynneos vaccine.
Somestateandlocalgov-
ernments are also making
vaccines available to peo-
ple in communities at
higher risk for monkey-
pox. For example, New
York City is allowing men
who have sex with men
and who have had multiple
sexual partners in the past
14 days to get vaccinated.
WHAT IS THE SUPPLY LIKE
FOR THE JYNNEOS VACCINE?
As of July 29, 2022, a little
over 300,000 doses have
been shipped to points of
care or administered, with
another 700,000 already al-
located to states across the
U.S.However,demandisfar
outpacing supply
. Public
health officials acknowl-
edge that vaccine supply
shortages have resulted in
long lines and clinics hav-
ing to close when they run
out of vaccines. The issues
have been magnified by
technicalproblemswithon-
line booking systems, par-
ticularly in New York City
.
WHAT ABOUT JUST USING
ONE DOSE OF JYNNEOS?
Although federal health of-
ficials advise against with-
holding the second dose,
some places – including
Washington, D.C., and New
YorkCity–arewithholding
the second dose until more
become available. This
strategy is being used in
Britain and Canada as well
tovaccinateasmanypeople
aspossibleatleastonetime.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
M
MAUREEN FERRAN
The writer is Associate
Professor of Biology, Rochester
Institute of Technology
MONKEYPOX
VACCINES
A virologist answers 6 questions about how they work,
who can get them and how well they prevent infection
This vaccine is good at
protecting those who are
at high risk for monkeypox
from getting infected
before exposure and
can also lessen the
severity of disease
post-infection. It is
effective against smallpox
as well as monkeypox.
Until the recent monkeypox
outbreak, this vaccine
was primarily given to
health care workers or
people who have had
confirmed or suspected
monkeypox exposure

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05
INDIA
Chandigarh (PTI): The
Punjab government
has roped in Narcotics
International, a non-
profit society, to tackle
drug addiction among
jail inmates. Under the
initiative called “peer
support network”,
meetings will be held
in jails to help drug
addicts get rid of
the problem, according
to a statement.
Punjab acts
against drug
menace in jails
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: It is the
right of the opposition
to question the policies
of the government,
highlight its shortcom-
ings and if the govern-
ment does not listen, it
is the right of the oppo-
sition to protest. The 70
years of history
, experi-
ence and traditions of
Parliament established
a way of protest. But
now it seems that the op-
position parties will not
be able to protest follow-
ing those ways. Opposi-
tionpartiesusedtoraise
slogans in the House, go
to the Well and hold
demonstrations, waving
placards, but now all
this will not be allowed.
Members can be sus-
pended for using such
tactics. In the monsoon
session of Parliament,
27 MPs in both the hous-
es were suspended for
the same reasons.
Think, MPs will not
carry placards inside
the House, will not raise
slogans, will not go to
the Well, will not be able
to utter words of pro-
test, will not be able to
ment premises, then
how will they oppose
the government? Either
they stand quietly in
their place or walk out
of the house!
Keep in mind that re-
cently a list of unparlia-
mentary words had
come out and there is a
growing feeling that if
allthesewordsaremade
unparliamentary, then
how will the MPs pro-
test? A Rajya Sabha
manual states that MPs
shouldnotstagesit-inor
ment premises. Howev-
er,thereisnobanonthis
and in this session also
the MPs demonstrated.
But just as MPs were
suspended for shouting
slogans and showing
placards, in the coming
days, they may also be
suspendedforprotesting
in Parliament premises!
How will the opposition protest in Parliament?
IN A FIX
Opposition members protesting in Parliament
In the coming
days, MPs
may also be
suspended for
protesting in
Parliament
premises!
New Delhi ( PTI): In a
5-day satellite communi-
cation exercise, the
army tested all of its
space-based assets to en-
sure their operational
readiness.Thearmyalso
completed a study on the
communication, cyber
and electromagnetic ef-
fectsreportedduringthe
ongoing Russia-Ukraine
war, they added. The ex-
ercise “Skylight” was
conducted from July 25
to July 29, sources said.
Thearmyisutilisingser-
vices of a number of
ISRO satellites.
Army holds exercise to test sats,
ensure operational readiness
Exercise ‘Skylight’ was conducted between July 25 and July 29.
Panaji (PTI): In a fresh
twist to the row over an
upscale Goa bar which
the Congress has linked
with Union minister
Smriti Irani’s daugh-
ter, the district admin-
istration has issued a
notice to the local vil-
lage panchayat seeking
relevant documents in
response to a complaint
alleging the outlet was
built illegally.
‘Silly Souls Caf and
Bar’ at Assagao village
in North Goa is at the
centre of an ownership
row ever since the Con-
gress alleged it was op-
erated illegally by Ira-
ni’s daughter.
Goa administration seeks
papers related to Silly Souls
New Delhi (PTI): Un-
ion Home Minister
Amit Shah on Friday
said India is set to take
a giant leap in the 75th
year of its Independ-
ence and nobody will be
able to stop it from be-
coming a great nation.
Shah said foreign
powers could keep In-
dia under their rule as
they succeeded in creat-
ing an inferiority com-
plex amongst Indians
which should be uproot-
ed to achieve independ-
ence in its truest sense.
The Home Minister
was speaking after the
launch of a mega seri-
al ‘Swaraj Bharat Ke
Swatantrata Sangram
Ki Samagra Gatha’,
produced by Doordar-
shan to mark the 75th
anniversary of Inde-
pendence.
The 75-episode mega
show chronicles lesser-
known tales about In-
dian history and would
be telecast from Au-
gust 14 on Doordar-
shan in Hindi and re-
gional languages.
Shah wondered if In-
dia could claim to have
achieved the true ide-
als of Swaraj if it failed
to protect its languag-
es, culture, and history
as it marched towards
the centenary of Inde-
pendence.
“The real meaning of
Swaraj means to run
India the way Indians
want it to be run. It in-
cludes our own lan-
guages, our religion,
our culture and also our
arts,” Shah said at the
function attended by In-
formation Broadcast-
ing Minister Anurag
Thakur, Minister of
State L Murugan, mem-
bers of parliament
among others.
Shah said India has
been administered
well since Independ-
ence and has had sev-
eral achievements to
its credit.
Shah urges ppl to uproot
inferiority complex
MEANING OF TRUE INDEPENDENCE
Home Minister Amit Shah lights the lamp at the launch of the
serial Swaraj – Bharat Ke Swatantrata Sangram ki Samagra
Gatha, in New Delhi on Friday. Minister Anurag Thakur also seen.
We have heard that Sardar Patel
had unified India. I see a reflection
of Sardar Patel in Amit Shah. Pa-
tel unified the country, Amit Shah is mak-
ing it stronger. —Anurag Thakur, IB Minister
‘MPS DON’T ENJOY IMMUNITY
FROMARREST DURING SESSION’
Govt considers plan to adjourn monsoon session early, final decision yet to be taken
New Delhi (PTI): Ra-
jya Sabha Chairman M
Venkaiah Naidu on Fri-
day clarified that MPs
do not enjoy any immu-
nity from arrest in crim-
inal cases when the
House is in session and
they cannot avoid sum-
mons issued by law en-
forcement agencies.
When the Upper
House assembled for the
morning session, Chair-
man Naidu had to ad-
journ it within minutes.
More than 10 Con-
gress members trooped
into the Well of the
House, protesting
against the alleged mis-
use of probe agencies.
They said Leader of Op-
position in Rajya Sabha,
Mallikarjun Kharge,
has been “insulted” as
he was summoned by
the ED on Thursday
during the working
hours of Parliament.
When the House reas-
sembled after the ad-
journment at 11:30,
Naidu said there is a
wrong notion that mem-
bers have privilege from
action by agencies while
Parliamentisinsession.
91 PVT MEMBER
BILLS, INTRODUCED
IN LOK SABHA
PM MODI HOLDS
MEETING WITH
TOP MINISTERS New Delhi: Ninety-one
private member bills,
including one by RSP MP
N K Premachandran seek-
ing to provide a framework
for the Agnipath scheme
for recruitment of soldiers
in the armed forces, were
introduced in Lok Sabha on
Friday. AIMIM leader Asa-
duddin Owaisi introduced
a Constitution amendment
bill, BJP member Nihal
Chand introduced a bill to
constitute a National Popu-
lation Control Commission
while NCP member Supriya
Sule introduced a bill to
provide compulsory sensi-
tivity training to students.
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Friday held a meeting
with top
Ministers
in the
Parlia-
ment to
discuss
the government’s
strategy. Union Min-
isters Rajnath Singh,
Amit Shah, Pralhad
Joshi and Anurag
Singh Thakur were
among those present
in the meeting with
PM Modi.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu conducts proceedings
of the Upper House on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI/SANSAD TV
GOVT FORMS PANEL TO LOOK INTO
WAYS TO STRENGTHEN MSP
‘Anaemia cases in children increased
from 58 pc to 67 pc in about 5 years’
New Delhi: The government has constituted a com-
mittee to look into ways to strengthen the minimum
support price (MSP) system for farmers going
ahead, MoS Kailash Choudhary said in Rajya Sabha.
“A committee has been formed regarding diversifi-
cation, natural farming and MSP,” the minister said
while replying to a query during the Question Hour.
It includes farmer representatives, state government
and central government officials, he added.
New Delhi: Prevalence of anaemia
among kids aged 6 months to five
years has increased by over nine
per cent in about five years, the
Centre told Lok Sabha. According
to National Family Health Survey-4
of 2015-16, the percentage of
anaemia in this age bracket was
58.6. This has increased to 67.1%.
RS CONSIDERS
RIGHT TO HEALTH
BILL, 2021
‘1,253 RAILWAY
STATIONS TO BE
UPGRADED’
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha
resumed discussion
on a private member
legislation namely the
Right to Health Bill 2021.
It aims to provide for
health as a fundamental
right to citizens and to
ensure equitable access
and maintenance of a
standard of physical and
mental health.
New Delhi: Rail Minister
Ashwini Vaishnaw on
Friday informed Rajya
Sabha that 1,253 railway
stations had been identi-
fied for development,
of which 1,215 stations
have been developed
and the remaining are
set to be developed
under Adarsh Station
Scheme by 22-23.
Mansukh
Mandaviya
FIR AGAINST MAG
OVER ‘OFFENDING
PICS’ OF SHIVA
BSF NABS PAK
FISHERMAN OFF
GUJARAT COAST
Kanpur: Police here
have lodged an FIR
against The Week amid
a row over objection-
able pictures of Lord
Shiva and Goddess Kali
that has led Hindu activ-
ists to burn copies of
the magazine and econ-
omist Bibek Debroy
end his association with
it. Kanpur’s Kotwali
police registered the
case against the editor
and management of the
magazine.
Ahmedabad: Border
Security Force Friday
apprehended a Pakistani
fisherman and seized
five boats from Harami
Nala creek area close
to the Indo-Pak border
in Kutch district, an
official said. The BSF had
seized two fishing boats
abandoned by Pakistani
fishermen in the same
area. During patrolling,
the BSF troops observed
movement of some
boats near the border.
SOLDIER, CIVILIAN
HURT IN KULGAM
ECOUNTER
CABINET SECY
RAJIV GAUBA
GETS EXTENSION
Srinagar: An army man
and a civilian were in-
jured during an encoun-
ter between security
forces and terrorists
in Kulgam district of
Jammu and Kashmir on
Friday, police said. Se-
curity forces launched
a cordon and search
operation in Redwani
area of Kulgam district
following information
about presence of
militants in the area, a
police official said.
New Delhi: The Ap-
pointment Committee
of the Cabinet headed
by PM Modi has ap-
proved a 1-year exten-
sion for Union cabinet
secretary Rajiv Gauba.
Gauba terms was set
to get completed at
the end of this month.
However, he will contin-
ue in the same position
till August 30, 2023. In
2021 also, he was given
a year’s extension till
August 2022.
Chhapra: The death toll in Wednesday’s hooch trag-
edy at Noniatoli under Maker police station of Bihar’s
Saran district has risen to
11 with eight more people
dying since Thursday night
and on Friday morning. DM
Rajesh Meena said,“Probe
is on. The trail of liquor
smuggling to the area is
being established. The SHO of Maker PS Niraj Mishra
and the chowkidar of Phulwaria Bhatha village has
been suspended for liquor smuggling/selling.”
SEVEN DIE IN YET ANOTHER HOOCH
TRAGEDY IN ‘DRY’ STATE BIHAR
CRUCIAL READ
JHARKHAND HC BANS PROMOTIONS OF
STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
SC NOT TO HEAR PLEA AGAINST ALLOWING
SIKH FLIERS TO KEEP KIRPAN ON PLANE
HC REFUSES TO BAN
KITE FLYING, ONUS
ON POLICE
New Delhi: The Delhi High
Court Friday refused to ban
kite flying in the national
capital, saying it is a cultural
activity, and directed the
government and police to
ensure compliance with the
National Green Tribunal’s
(NGT) order banning sale of
Chinese synthetic ‘manjha’
used for kite flying.
27 GET LIFE TERM
FOR KILLING OF 3
DALIT MEN
Sivagangai: The Special
Court for Exclusive Trial
under the Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes (Pre-
vention Act) here on Friday
sentenced 27 people to life
imprisonment in connection
with the murder of three
Dalits in the Kachanatham
village in Tamil Nadu’s Siva-
gangai district in 2018.
Ranchi: The High Court of Jharkhand has banned all pro-
motions of employees across the government departments
in the state. Justice SN Pathak
passed the order on Thursday
while hearing a PIL which claimed
that a recent decision of the police
department will hamper the gen-
eral category employees’ prospect
of getting promotions. The court ordered DGP Neeraj Sinha
and the state government to file affidavits on the matter.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to heed Hindu
Sena’s plea against allowing kirpan to be granted to Sikh
passengers on domestic flights.
The SC says that the petitioners can
turn to the apex court in this matter.
The Hindu Sena said such permis-
sion could pose a danger to other
passengers traveling on the plane.
In fact, the Hindu Sena had chal-
lenged the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security’s decision to
allow Sikh passengers to carry kirpans on domestic flights.
WHY RATION
CARD MUST
UNDER AROGYA
NIDHI ASKS HC
New Delhi: Delhi
High Court on Friday
questioned why having
a ration card was nec-
essary for a citizen to
avail financial benefits
under the Rashtriya
Arogya Nidhi and
sought the stand of the
Centre and city govern-
ment on plea by a be-
low poverty line cancer
patient to declare the
mandate illegal and
unconstitutional. Jus-
tice Yashwant Varma
issued notice on the
plea by the 30-yr-old
woman whose request
to AIIMS for financial
aid under the scheme
was rejected for non-
availability of a ration
card and granted time
to the respondents to
file reply. The court
observed that without
a ration card, the pe-
titioner would not get
the benefit under RAN,
which would defeat the
scheme itself.
IN THE COURTYARD

06
INDIA
MODI INTRODUCED INNOVATION
INGOVERNANCE:JITENDRA SINGH
New Delhi (PTI): Un-
ion Minister Jitendra
Singh on Friday said
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi has intro-
duced innovation in
governance and made it
technology-driven. This
is the essence of the
success story of Modi’s
mantra of “reform, per-
form and transform”,
said Singh, the Minister
of State for Personnel.
Speaking after the
launch of 16th edition
of Central Secretariat
Manual of Office Proce-
dure (CSMOP) 2022, he
said, there is continu-
ous innovation in re-
forms under Modi, who
takes personal interest
in all governance relat-
ed issues.
Singh said that be-
sides making govern-
ance technology driven,
Prime Minister Modi
has also introduced in-
novation in governance
reforms, according to a
Personnel Ministry
statement. He also in-
formed that some of the
success stories in gov-
ernance reforms imple-
mented by Modi as CM
of Gujarat are being
replicated at the Centre
like the abolition of in-
terviews, prompt re-
dressal of grievances
and weeding out of ob-
solete laws.
Singh said, since
2014, when Modi took
charge at the Centre,
there is a visible change
in the work culture and
all the ministries are
strictly adhering to
timelines in execution
of projects.
Union Minister says the Prime Minister made the governance technology driven
Union Minister Jitendra Singh speaking at an event in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY TWITTER
PM to chair
NITI Aayog
meeting
New Delhi (PTI):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi will chair the
seventh governing
council meeting of the
NITI Aayog on Sunday
and this, his office said,
will pave the way for a
new era of collabora-
tion between the Centre
and the states.
This will be the first
physical meeting of the
council after July 2019
anditsmembersinclude
all the chief ministers.
As the country com-
memorates 75 years of
independence, there is a
reinforced need for the
states to be agile, resil-
ient and self-reliant and
move towards “Aat-
manirbhar Bharat” in a
spirit of cooperative fed-
eralism, the PMO said.
The seventh govern-
ing council meeting of
NITI Aayog will be held
on August 7 and this
will pave the way for
synergies towards a
new era of cooperation
between Centre and
states/UTs,” it said.
PM MODI SPEAKS TO PHILIPPINES
PRESIDENT FERDINAND MARCOS JR
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi spoke on phone
on Friday with Presi-
dent of the Philippines
Ferdinand Marcos
Jr. According to the
PMO, “The two leaders
reviewed various areas
of bilateral engagement
and expressed satisfac-
tion at the rapid growth
of cooperation between
India and Philippines.”
“PM during his conver-
sation with President
Ferdinand Marcos
reiterated the important
role the Philippines
plays in India’s Act
East Policy and its
Indo-Pacific Vision, and
expressed the desire to
further expand bilateral
relations,” added PMO.
PM has also assured
Ferdinand of India’s full
support in his plans and
projects for the devel-
opment in Philippines.
PM Narendra Modi
GAMES HIGHLIGHTS
MURALI SREESHANKAR WINS
SILVER IN HIGH JUMP FINAL
Murali Sreeshankar became the
first Indian to win a Long Jump
medal at the Common-
wealth Games. The
23-year-old clinched a
silver in the Men’s final.
This is India’s second
athletics medal, following
Tejaswin Shankar’s bronze in the high
jump on Wednesday.
PV SINDHU, SRIKANTH SAIL
INTO QUARTERFINALS
Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu
and Kidambi Srikanth had another
easy outing as they
stormed into the quarterfi-
nals of the women’s and
men’s singles events with
comfortable wins. Sri-
kanth too didn’t break any
sweat on his way to a 21-9 21-12 win
over SL’s Dumindu Abeywickrama.
COMMONWEALTH
INDIA MEN’S
4X400M RELAY
TEAM IN FINAL
SUDHIR WINS
GOLD IN PARA
POWERLIFTING
India’s men’s
4x400m relay
squad of Mu-
hammed Anas
Yahiya, Noah Nirmal
Tom, Mohammed
Ajmal and Amoj
Jacob clocked
3:06.97 and finished
second in the heats
to reach the final at
the Birmingham.
India’s Sudhir
has won gold in
para powerlifting
men’s heavyweight
event in CWG.The
27-year-old, who
has an impairment
due to the effects of
polio, thus opened
India’s para sports
medal account in the
ongoing CWG.
BAJRANG PUNIA, SAKSHI
MALIK, ANSHU SECURE SILVER
Wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi
Malik, and Anshu Malik have se-
cured a silver medal. Punia defeated
England’s George Ramm with a 10-0
win in 65 kg category. Saksi got the
better of Etane Ngolle of Cameroon
in 62 kg freestyle. Anshu stormed
into final with a 10-0 win over Nethmi
Poruthotage of Sri Lanka.
271 gram..
However, during the
2014-2019 reign of the
BJP-Shiv Sena alliance
government in Maha-
rashtra, such GP elec-
tions generally indi-
cated a trend where the
ruling dispensation
claimed a majority of
the seats. This is in-
dicative largely of the
fact that villages gen-
erally tend to vote in
candidates affiliated to
the ruling dispensa-
tion, as it could ensure
their village’s expecta-
tions on funding from
the state government
over development are
met in real time.
Although the BJP
and the CM Shinde fac-
tion have apparently
bagged (80+40) around
120 GPs, the NCP (55),
Shiv Sena (Thackeray
faction) (27), and Con-
gress (22) have laid
claim to around 105
GPs. This indicates
the limited size of the
GP elections saw an
even fight and perhaps
indicated a small
measure of sympathy
wave for the Uddhav
Thackeray-led govern-
ment.
Wrestling interrupted after security alert
Birmingham:Inanem-
barrassing incident for
theorganisers,thewres-
tling bouts at the Com-
monwealth Games had
tobestoppedandspecta-
torswereaskedtovacate
the hall after a speaker
fell from the ceiling,
minutes after the first
session began. Only five
bouts could be complet-
ed when a speaker, used
to relay announcement,
fell near one of the mat
chairmen,raisingasafe-
tyissueattheCeventary
stadium and arena on
the opening day of the
wrestling competitions.
This was right after
India’s Deepak Punia
had won his opening
86kg bout. The gathered
fans were asked to va-
cate and a thorough
check was ordered by
the organisers, who
fixed a restart of the ses-
sion at 12:45 local time.
“All are safe, they are
just rechecking the
whole system to avoid
anyuntowardincident,”
said a coach. The Victo-
riaParkArenainCoven-
try had hosted the judo
events till a day ago and
converted to the wres-
tling venue for the
events that started on
Friday morning.
Venue emptied at Birmingham.
4-year-old girl
dies after mom
flings her
from 4th floor
Bengaluru: In a tragic
incident, a woman
killed her four-year-old
daughter by throwing
her from the fourth
floor of an apartment
building in Bengaluru’s
Sampangiramanagar
area on Thursday after-
noon. She even tried to
jump off the building
railing too but was
timely pulled back to
safety by the residents
of the society
.
A senior police offic-
er said that the entire
incident was caught on
a CCTV camera. In the
footage, the mother, a
dentist by profession, is
seen walking along
with her daughter on
the balcony around
3:05pm. After some
time, she lifted her
daughter and threw her
to the ground.
She took a few mo-
ments and climbed onto
the railing. She stood
there for several sec-
onds, presumably pre-
paring to jump.
ALL SET FOR VP POLLS
Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi, National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s Vice
Presidential candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National
President JP Nadda during the NDA meeting ahead of the Vice Presidential elections, in
New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Govt to hold exhibitions on ‘horrors of
Partition’ at railway stations, airports
New Delhi (PTI): The
government is set to
hold exhibitions on
“horrors of the Parti-
tion” at key public plac-
es such as railway sta-
tions, airports and
malls between August
10 and August 14.
The Ministry of Cul-
ture has written to the
Railway Ministry to
hold such exhibitions
on station premises to
reach out to a maxi-
mum number of people.
Other than railway
stations, such exhibi-
tions to highlight the
“tragedy of the Parti-
tion” should be organ-
ised at important public
places such as banks,
post offices, airports,
shopping malls, educa-
tional institutions and
vocational training in-
stitutes.
In his Independence
Day speech last year,
PM Modi declared Au-
gust 14 to be observed as
“Partition Horrors Re-
membrance Day”.
Partition Horrors Re-
membrance Day has
been envisaged to bring
to light the agony, suf-
fering and pain of mil-
lions of people who
were the sufferers. It is
to remind the country
of the largest displace-
ment of human popula-
tion in the last century,
which also claimed the
lives of a large number
of people.
The exhibition will be held between August 10 and August 14.
J-K has taken giant leap
in every sector, says LG
Srinagar (PTI): Jam-
mu and Kashmir has
taken a giant leap in
everysectorsincetheab-
rogation of its special
status three years ago
and the youth now want
to work with a smart
phone rather than in-
dulge in stone pelting,
Lieutenant Governor
ManojSinhasaidonFri-
day
.
“Huge changes have
taken place in J-K in the
last three years. A com-
monmanfeelsthatthere
has been a huge change
in his life. J-K has taken
a giant leap in every sec-
tor, be it health parame-
ters, Pradhan Mantri
Gram Sadak Yojana,
saturation of social
schemes, e-governance,
orstart-ups,”Sinhasaid.
There was no shut-
down in J K on the
third anniversary of the
bifurcation of and abro-
gation of the provisions
of Article 370. The LG
said the biggest change
is that a new confidence
hassetinamongthepeo-
ple across the country
because of the decisions
taken by the Centre. H e
said the biggest change
is that a new confidence
hassetinamongthepeo-
ple across the country
because of the decisions
taken by the Centre.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha
JK PARTIES SLAM CENTRE, SEEK
ROLLBACK OF MOVE
OVER 88 PC DROP IN LAW AND ORDER
INCIDENTS IN KASHMIR
Srinagar (PTI): The National Conference and the
Peoples Democratic Party on Friday flayed the
Centre for “robbing” the people of
Jammu and Kashmir of their special
status on this day three years ago
and demanded rollback of the move.
Former CM and PDP chief Mehbooba
Mufti, along with her supporters, tried to take out a
march from party headquarters but were stopped
by police.
Srinagar (PTI): Law and order incidents in
Kashmir have dropped by over 88% in three
years since the revocation of the erstwhile
state’s special status compared to the preced-
ing 3 years, police said. From August 5, 2016,
to August 4, 2019, as per the data shared by the
police. The police said while 124 civilians were
killed in law and order situations in Kashmir in
3 years prior to August 5, 2019, no civilian was
killed since then.
ABROGATION OF SPECIAL STATUS
Didi seeks WB’s dues worth crores
From Pg 1...
It may be recalled, as
exclusively reported in
First India, that the
Assam CM recently met
Mamata Didi in Kolkata
along with then WB
Governor Jagdeep
Dhahkhar over high
tea, where he informed
the Chief Minister of
WB of the President of
India’s decision to with-
draw the governor from
her state. The TMC CM
had a very turbulent re-
lationship with
Dhankhar till then and
was believed to be on
the verge of initiating
impeachment proceed-
ings against him. Im-
mediately after the Kol-
kata meeting Mamata
Didi had indicated that
she would abstain from
voting against
Dhankhar’s candida-
ture for VP, as proposed
by NDA headed by PM
Narendra Modi.
The initiative for Fri-
day’s meeting with the
PM, however, is be-
lieved to have come
from Didi’s end further
cementing the Assam
CM’s rising profile as
not only the right hand
of HM Shah but also,
emissary of PM Modi.
WB CM also raised
the issue of rechristen-
ingWBasBanglaacross
all language formats
besides another issue
with PM Modi during
her meeting on Friday.
The WB CM was also
scheduled to meet with
the newly elected Presi-
dent of India Droupadi
Murmu.
Mamata Banerjee
FROM PG 1

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 52,592.00 9.00 0.01 (Per 10g)
SILVER 58,477.00 487.00 0.83 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 79.23 0.17 0.21
GBPINR 96.1957 0.5808 0.6001
CURRENCIES
Piped cooking gas price up by `2.63/unit
EMIs to rise as RBI hikes interest rate, again
New Delhi (PTI): The
price of cooking gas piped
to household kitchens in
the national capital and ad-
joining cities was hiked by
`2.63 per unit on Friday
, the
second increase in rates in
less than two weeks.
Piped cooking gas in
Delhi will now cost `50.59
per standard cubic meter,
as against `47.96 previous-
ly, according to In-
draprastha Gas Ltd - the
firm that retails CNG to
automobiles and piped
cooking gas to households
in the national capital and
adjoining towns.
The increase is to “par-
tially offset the increase in
input gas cost,” IGL said.
This is the second hike
in prices in less than two
weeks. Rates were last re-
vised on July 26, by `2.1 per
scm. Rates have been on
the upswing for the past
several months and have
gone up by more than 70%
in the last one year.
PNG in Delhi used to
cost `29.66 per scm in July
2021. Thereafter rates have
been increased on 9 occa-
sions, totaling `20.93.
The current increase fol-
lows the government man-
dating the use of costlier
imported LNG to meet in-
cremental demand.
IN DELHI NCR
RBI HIKES INTEREST RATE BY 50 BPS
NEW RATES
IN DELHI

z Piped cooking gas in Delhi
will now cost `50.59 per
standard cubic meter, as
against `47.96 previously

z PNG in Delhi used to cost
`29.66/ scm in July 2021.
Thereafter rates have been
increased on 9 occasions.
RBI RETAINS GROWTH
FORECAST AT 7.2%
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank
of India on Friday retained its
growth projection at 7.2% for
the current
fiscal as it
sees im-
provement
in urban
demand and gradual recovery
in rural India aided by normal
monsoon. The RBI expects
growth in the first quarter of
the current fiscal at 16.2%,
which will taper to 4% by the
fourth quarter. Das, however,
cautioned that there are risks
from the ongoing Russia-
Ukraine war. —PTI
GOVT PROPOSES
CHANGES TO
COMPETITION LAW
New Delhi: The government
on Friday proposed a raft of
amendments to the competi-
tion law,
including the
introduction of
a settlement
framework,
a reduction in the time limit
for combination approvals
and incentivisation for parties
to disclose information in
cartel probes. The Competi-
tion (Amendment) Bill, 2022,
introduced in the Lok Sabha
on Frida. —PTI
GOVT TO RELAX SUGAR
EXPORT QUOTA FOR
2021-22
New Delhi: The government
will relax the quantitative
restriction of 10 million tonnes
(MT) on sugar
exports and
will allow ship-
ments of an
additional 1.2
million tonnes in the current
marketing year ending Sept.
In late May, the Centre had
decided to cap sugar exports
at 10 MT in the 2021-22
marketing year (Oct-Sept) to
maintain domestic availability
and price stability. —PTI
HDFC RAISES `8,700
CR AS ‘SOCIAL LOAN’
New Delhi: Mortgage lender
HDFC Ltd on Friday said it has
raised $1.1 billion (`8,700
crore) from
a clutch of
investors
under
‘Syndi-
cated Social Loan Facility’ to
cater to the affordable housing
segment in the country. HDFC
said it has raised the amount
by way of external commercial
borrowings (ECBs). This is
India’s largest social financing
issuance, the largest social
loan globally, the first social
ECB loan out of India. —PTI
NRIs CAN PAY UTILITY BILLS USING BHARAT
BILL PAYMENT SYSTEM
Mumbai : Non-Resident Indians will soon be able to use Bharat
Bill Payment System to pay utility bills and education fees on
behalf of their family members in
India, the Reserve Bank said on
Friday. The Bharat Bill Payment
System (BBPS) is an interoper-
able platform for standardised bill
payments. Over 20,000 billers are
part of the system, and more than
8 crore transactions are processed
on a monthly basis. RBI Governor
Shaktikanta Das said that BBPS has transformed the bill payment
experience for users in India and it is now proposed to enable the
system to accept cross-border inward bill payments. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
‘INDIAN ECONOMY IS AN ISLAND OF
MACROECONOMIC, FINANCIAL STABILITY’
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: The Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED) on
Friday said it has frozen
bank deposits of `64.67
crore as part of a money
laundering probe against
crypto currency exchange
WazirX. The federal agen-
cy said it conducted raids
against a director of Zan-
mai Lab Pvt Ltd, which
owns WazirX, on August 3
in Hyderabad and alleged
he was “non-cooperative”.
The agency’s probe
against the crypto ex-
change is linked to its on-
going investigation
against a number of Chi-
nese loan apps (mobile
applications) working in
India. —PTI
Chennai: Hinduja Group
flagship Ashok Leyland
has unveiled a 13.5 metre
bus chassis at the
Prawaas 3.0 organised by
the Bus and Car Operators
Confederation of India in
Hyderabad, the company
said on Friday. The 4x2 in-
tercity bus chassis is a
new platform engineered
for high speed intercity
commute with larger sa-
loon space, offering 20
per cent additional pas-
senger capacity against
the 12 metre intercity
chassis, a company state-
ment said. —PTI
ASHOK LEYLAND
UNVEILS 13.5 METRE
BUS CHASSIS
ED FREEZES OVER
`64 CRORE BANK
DEPOSITS OF WAZIRX
Kochi: With an eye on the
upcoming Onam season,
Tata Motors plans to in-
crease its sales in Kerala
by 40% in the second
quarter of the financial
year 2022. Rajan Amba,
the VP, Sales, Marketing
of Tata Motors PV Ltd,
said Kerala is a big market
for the hatch and SUV
segment of vehicles. The
senior official of the Tata
Motors said due to the en-
hanced customer experi-
ence, the brand was able
to maintain a retention
rate of over 72%. —PTI
TATA MOTORS AIM
TO GROW IN EXCESS
OF 40% OVER Q2
New Delhi: Capital mar-
kets regulator Sebi has
strengthened the guide-
lines for debenture trus-
tees with respect to listed
securities. The require-
ments pertaining to en-
cumbrance, creation of
security and related due
diligence that needs to be
carried out by Debenture
Trustees (DTs) have been
revised. In a circular is-
sued on Thursday, Sebi
said that DTs will have to
put in place an empanel-
ment policy for empanel-
ling external agencies
for carrying out due
diligence. —PTI
SEBI STRENGTHENS
GUIDELINES FOR
DEBENTURE TRUSTEES
Mumbai (PTI): Home,
auto and other loan EMIs
are set to rise further after
RBI on Friday raised the
key interest rate by 50 basis
points, the third straight
increase since May in an
effort to cool stubbornly
high inflation.
The increase in lending
rate or the repurchase rate
(repo) by 50 bps to 5.40% is
25 bps higher than the pre-
pandemic repo level.
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) Governor Shaktikan-
ta Das signalled that the
second straight half-point
hike wasn’t the end of the
rate tightening regime and
more may come to tame in-
flation that has for six
months stayed above the
comfort zone of 6%.
The central bank how-
ever did not revise its exist-
ing economic growth or
inflation forecast despite
indications of a global
slowdown, recessionary
conditions in the developed
economies, and the mod-
eration already witnessed
in commodity prices.
“Inflationary pressures
are broad-based and core
inflation remains elevated.
Inflation is projected to re-
main above the upper toler-
ance level of 6% through
the first three quarters of
2022-23, entailing the risk
of destabilising inflation
expectations and trigger-
ing second-round effects,”
Das said.
RBI said the volatility in
the global market is lead-
ing to imported inflation.
The spillover from geo-
political shocks has result-
ed in uncertainty in the
inflation trajectory
. Global
commodity, metal and food
prices have eased from re-
cent peaks, however, they
still remain elevated.
On the domestic front,
higher sowing of kharif
crops bodes well for the
food price outlook. The
shortfall in paddy sowing
is being monitored closely,
even though rice stock re-
mains above buffer norms.
Since May, the RBI has
cumulatively raised inter-
est rate by 140 bps in its ef-
fort to contain inflation.

z In all, 140 bps hike in repo since May
2022 to check inflation

z Real GDP growth for Q1:2023-24
projected at 6.7%

z Financial sector well capitalised and
sound

z GDP growth projection for 2022-23
retained at 7.2%. GDP growth projection:
Q1 at 16.2%; Q2 at 6.2%; Q3 at 4.1%;
and Q4 at 4%.

z Domestic economic activity exhibiting
signs of broadening

z India’s foreign
exchange reserves
provide insurance
against global
spillovers

z India witnessed large portfolio outflows of
$13.3 billion in FY23 up to August 3

z MPC decides to remain focused on with-
drawal of accommodative stance to check
inflation

z Key short-
term lending rate
(repo) raised by
50 basis points
(bps) to 5.4%;
third consecutive
hike
RBI KEEPS FY23
INFLATION AIM
AT 6.7 PER CENT
Mumbai (PTI): The RBI
on Friday retained infla-
tion forecast for FY23 at
6.7% amid uncertain price
trajectory on “geopoliti-
cal shocks” and on hope
that inflationary pressures
would ease with pick-up in
kharif sowing and sup-
ply chain improvements.
In its previous monetary
policy review in June, it had
projected retail inflation for
2022-23 at 6.7%, higher
from 5.7% forecast in April.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta
Das said inflation in second
and third quarter of current
fiscal year is expected to
remain above the upper
tolerance level of 6%.For
second quarter of 2022-23,
the RBI has projected infla-
tion at 7.1%; Q3 at 6.4%.
It is, however, expected
to come under control at
5.8% in Q4.
HIGHLIGHTS OF RBI
MONETARY POLICY
Following are the highlights of the RBI’s fourth
monetary policy review of fiscal year 2022-23
announced by Governor Shaktikanta Das:

z Retail inflation projection too retained at 6.7% for 2022-23.
Inflation projection: Q2 at 7.1%; Q3 at 6.4%; and Q4 at 5.8%;
Q1:2023-24 at 5%

z India wit-
nessed large
portfolio
outflows of
$13.3 billion
in FY23 up to
August 3

z Depreciation of rupee more on account of appreciation of US
dollar rather than weakness in macroeconomic fundamentals of
the Indian economy
Sensex rises 89 pts after 1-day break
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee
appreciated by 17 paise to
close at 79.23 (provisional)
againsttheUSdollaronFri-
day after the Reserve Bank
hiked in-
t e r e s t
rates by
50 basis
p o i n t s .
At the in-
terbank
f o r e i g n
exchange market, the do-
mestic currency opened at
79.15 per dollar. It hovered
in a range of 78.94 to 79.29
during the session. The do-
mestic unit finally settled at
79.23, up 17 paise over its
previous close of 79.40.
` rises 17 paise
to close at 79.23
against US $
Unacceptably high inflation
led to 50 bps rate hike: Das
Mumbai (PTI): The “un-
acceptably high” inflation
trending around 7% mark
led the RBI to hike rates by
an aggressive 0.50% on Fri-
day, according to Governor
Shaktikanta Das.
Stating that there are
signs that headline infla-
tion, which has breached
the 6% upper threshold set
for the RBI for six consecu-
tive months, has peaked,
Das on Friday said policy
moves from here on will be
“calibrated, measured and
nimble” and will depend on
unfolding dynamics.
“... Inflation still re-
mains at uncomfortably or
unacceptably high levels
and therefore, monetary
policy has to act,” he told
reporters.
“Monetary policy will be
calibrated, measured and
nimble depending on the
unfolding dynamics of in-
flation and economic activ-
ity. The focus will remain
on ensuring safe and soft
landing for the economy,”
he added.
He said steps have to be
taken to contain inflation
and inflation expectations
in the economy
.
Mumbai (PTI): Equity
benchmarks ended mod-
estly higher on Friday after
the Reserve Bank raised
the key interest rate in an
effort to cool stubbornly
high inflation and defend
the rupee.
Continuous foreign fund
inflows into the capital
markets and softening
crude oil prices also helped
the bourses regain momen-
tum, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex
ended 89.13 points or 0.15%
higher at 58,387.93 after fac-
ing volatility during the
fag-end of trade.
The broader NSE Nifty
went up by 15.50 points or
0.09% to finish at 17,397.50.
Among the Sensex con-
stituents, UltraTech Ce-
ment, ICICI Bank, Bharti
Airtel, Power Grid, Infosys,
Wipro and Axis Bank were
the major gainers.
MM, Maruti, RIL were
among the laggards.
Mumbai (PTI): Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on
Friday said the country’s economy is an island of stability despite
two Black Swan events and multiple shocks. “In an ocean of high
turbulence and uncertainty, Indian economy is an island of mac-
roeconomic and financial stability,” Das told reporters. He said the
financial stability, macroeconomic stability and resilience of growth
is being witnessed despite two Black Swan events happening one
after the other and multiple shocks. Generally, a Black Swan event
refers to an unpredictable event that has negative consequences.
Das did not list out the two Black Swan events that he referred to.In
recent times, the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war
have significantly impacted the global economy.
Monetary policy will be calibrated, measured
and nimble depending on the unfolding dy-
namics of inflation and economic activity.
—Shaktikanta Das, Reserve Bank of India Governor

08
2NDFRONT
The only thing stopping a person
from succeeding and accomplishing
all dreams is that he thinks he can’t.
—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Election body stays polls to 25 zilla
parishads, 284 panchayat samitis
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The state
election commission
(SEC) on Friday stayed
the election process
for zilla parishad
and panchayat sami-
tis, after Maharashtra
cabinet amended the
zilla parishad and
panchayat samiti
Act, 1961 on Wednes-
day. The government
scrapped the previous
Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) government’s
decision to increase
the minimum and
maximum number
of seats to all zilla
parishads.
The chief minister
Eknath Shinde-Deputy
CM Devendra Fadnavis
cabinet had scrapped
the delimitation exer-
cise conducted by Shiv
Sena-led MVA govern-
ment and reverted to
227 seats in the Brihan-
mumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) ear-
lier. Similarly, it has
now amended the 1961
Act, and scrapped the
MVA decision to in-
crease the minimum
number of seats from 50
to 55 and maximum
seats from 75 to 85 in all
zilla parishads.
In a release, the SEC
said, “Due to the amend-
ment and change in the
number of ZP members,
the notification for
reservations in 25 zilla
parishads and 284 pan-
chayat samitis sched-
uled to be issued on Fri-
day has been stayed.
Similarly, the voter ists
scheduled to be pub-
lished on August 10 have
also been stayed.”
The SEC has accord-
ingly informed the col-
lectorsof Raigad,Ratna-
giri, Sindhudurg, Na-
shik,Jalgaon,Ahmedna-
gar,Pune,Satara,Sangli,
Solapur, Kolhapur, Au-
rangabad, Jalna, Parb-
hani, Hingoli, Beed,
Nanded, Osmanabad,
Latur, Amravati, Buld-
hana, Yavatmal, Chan-
drapur, and Gadchiroli
to await further orders.
The government’s de-
cision to scrap the in-
crease in ZP and PS
members is based on de-
clining population in ru-
ral areas. The MVA gov-
ernment’s decision had
led to increase in the
numberof members.An
increment in one ZP
member requires a pro-
portionate increase of
two panchayat samiti
members, said a source.
Meanwhile, the Ma-
harashtra government
has moved the Supreme
Court seeking recall of
its order by which it had
directed the SEC not to
re-notify the poll pro-
cess to 367 local bodies,
where it has already
commenced, in order to
provide reservation to
Other Backward Class-
es (OBCs).
A bench headed by
Chief Justice NV Rama-
na on Friday said it will
set up a fresh bench to
hear the plea of the state
government as Justice
AM Khanwilkar, who
washearingthecasepre-
viously
, has retired.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Wife of
Shiv Sena MP San-
jay Raut, Varsha
Raut was sum-
moned by the
Enforcement Direc-
torate (ED) in con-
nection with the
Patra Chawl case on
Friday.
The ED has called
Varsha Raut to appear
before it on Saturday
(August 06). ED offi-
cials raided the Shiv
Sena leader's home on
Sunday and after
questioning him for
several hours, arrest-
ed him in the wee
hours on Monday.
Sanjay Raut was
produced before a spe-
cial court which di-
rected to send him to
the ED's custody till
Thursday. Prior to his
arrest, Sanjay Raut's
brother had said,
“BJP is afraid of him
and got him arrested.
They have not given
us any documents (re-
garding his arrest).
He has been framed.”
“False charges are
being framed against
people. This is being
done to weaken Shiv
Sena and Maharash-
tra. Sanjay Raut won’t
be cowed down. I will
not leave the party.”
Shiv Sena MP, Sanjay
Raut, while he was be-
ing detained.
Meanwhile, anoth-
er FIR was registered
against Sanjay Raut
for allegedly threaten-
ing Swapna Patkar,
wife of Sujit Patkar,
a close aide of Shiv
Sena MP.
The case was regis-
tered at the Vakola
police station under
sections 504,506 and
509 of the Indian Pe-
nal Code. An audio
clip had gone viral in
which Raut was alleg-
edly heard threaten-
ing Swapna Patkar.
Swapna Patkar is
also a witness in the
Patra Chawl land
case.
As soon as the ED
officials detained him
in connection with
the Patra Chawl land
scam case, the Shiv
Sena leader said that
he “won't be cowed
down”.
On June 28, Sanjay
Raut was summoned
by the ED in connec-
tion with the preven-
tion of the money
laundering case per-
taining to the Rs1,034
crore Patra Chawl
land scam.
Patra Chawl case:
ED summons
Sanjay Raut’s wife
COURTESY MEET
Jagdeesh Chandra greets Ajay Kumar, Managing Editor Bharat24 and Syed Umar, Senior
Editor Bharat 24 during a courtesy visit by them at his residence in Jaipur on Friday morning.
Dr Shashikant Sharma,
the senior journalist from
Himachal Pradesh, who has
been associated with the
Tribune and Navbharat Times
for many years, has joined
Bharat24, the national Hindi
news channel to be launched
on August 15, as Consulting
Editor.
Maha govt scraps MVA’s
decision to increase min and
max number of seats in ZPs
ANOTHER DECISION
First India Bureau
Palghar: The Palghar
administration has
asked people to come
forward with dona-
tions and purchase
flags so that every
household in the
district can hoist
the Tricolour as
part of the Union
Government’s ‘Har
Ghar Tiranga’ cam-
paign between Au-
gust 13 and 15 to
mark 75 years of In-
dependence.
An official said on
Friday that each flag
costs Rs21 and that
the district administra-
tion has so far made
2.5 lakh pieces availa-
ble, despite the fact
that the district has 6.5
lakh households.
He said Rs25 lakh
had been raised
through donations,
which will be used to
purchase flags and dis-
tribute among those
who cannot afford it.
“We want donors, in-
dustrialists, etc. to
come forward and en-
sure every household
manages to get a flag to
hoist between August
13 and 15,” said collec-
tor Govind Bodke, who
chaired a meeting of
officials on the issue
during the day.
Meanwhile, Palghar
superintendent of
police Balasaheb
Patil said his depart-
ment had organised a
10km run on the occa-
sion, while Chandra-
kant Waghmare, addi-
tional chief executive
officer of the zilla pari-
shad, said awareness
programmes will be
held to make the ‘Har
Ghar Tiranga’ cam-
paign a success.
More than 37 lakh
flags will be required
for all five districts of
Konkan division in
Maharashtra, an offi-
cial said on Friday.
The Konkan division
comprises Thane,
Raigad, Palghar,
Ratnagiri and Sindhu-
durg districts. A total
of 37,39,118 flags are
required in all five
districts of the Konkan
region, and so far
30,59,502 have been
made available, divi-
sional commissioner,
officiating Dr Mahen-
dra Kalyankar said.
An additional
demand for 8,79,444
flags has been made
with the central gov-
ernment.
Palghar admin seeks donations so that 6.5L homes can hoist Tricolour
HAR GHAR TIRANGA
lll
The money will
be used to
purchase and
distribute flags
as part of the
Centre’s ‘Har
Ghar Tiranga’
campaign
First India Bureau
Mumbai:TheArvind
Kejriwal-led Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP)
has claimed power
over one gram pan-
chayat in Jalna dis-
trict of Marathwada
region.
AAP’s won all seven
seats in the Kumbhari
gram panchayat polls
held on Thursday
.
Preeti Sharma Menon,
AAP’s national execu-
tive member--who is in
charge of the party’s
foray into Mumbai
civic elections this
year-- congratulated
Anil Dhavale, the sec-
retary of AAP’s Mar-
athwada division on
the victory
. “Slowly
but surely the Kejriwal
Model is gaining popu-
larity
,” she tweeted.
Right to Informa-
tion (RTI) activist
from Pune, Vijay
Kumbhar, the state or-
ganizer for AAP, said
the party had about
100 elected members
in previous gram pan-
chayat elections.
The party will con-
test elections in 14 Ma-
harashtra municipal
corporations for the
first time, with special
focus on the Brihan-
mumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC)
polls, this year. AAP
leaders and workers
have raised a number
of local issues, includ-
ing the ‘Save Aarey’
movement against the
development of a Met-
ro car shed at Aarey
forest.
AAP wrests one
gram panchayat
in Marathwada
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The status
quo against felling of
trees in Mumbai's
Aarey Colony exists
and no trees have
been cut since Octo-
ber 2019, the Mumbai
Metro Rail Corpora-
tion Ltd (MMRCL)
told the Supreme
Court on Friday.
The apex court was
hearing a plea alleging
trees in the Aarey Colo-
ny—the site for a con-
tentious Metro car shed
project—were being cut
despite a restraining or-
der of the top court.
Solicitor General
Tushar Mehta, appear-
ing for MMRCL, told a
bench headed by Jus-
tice UU Lalit that he
had made a statement
before the Supreme
Court in 2019 that trees
will not be cut further
for the Metro car shed
and no trees have been
felled since.
“There is a statement
which I had made that
there will not be any
further cutting of trees
and I have filed an affi-
davit today that thereaf-
ter there has never been
any cutting of trees,”
Mehta told the bench,
also comprising Justic-
es Aniruddha Bose and
SR Bhat.
The apex court had in
2019 taken suo motu (on
its own) cognizance of a
letter petition ad-
dressed to the Chief
Justice of India by law
student Rishav Ranjan
seeking a stay on felling
of trees in the colony
.
The apex court had
restrained authorities
from cutting any more
trees after Mehta sub-
mitted on behalf of the
state of Maharashtra
that no further trees
will be cut. Mehta said
some bushes and weeds
were there which have
been cleared and some
branches trimmed so
vehicles could pass on
an approach road in the
colony
.
“That trimming took
place. That is what I
have said on the affida-
vit. No tree cutting is
going on,” he asserted.
While taking the af-
fidavit on record,
the bench said pending
further consideration
no specific interim di-
rections are called for
in view of the stand
taken in the affidavit
filed on behalf of the
corporation.
MMRCL to SC: Status quo exists, trees not being cut in Aarey
More than 37 lakh flags
will be required for all
five districts of Konkan
division in Maharashtra,
an official said
People protest against the state government over the construction of
a Metro rail car shed in Aarey Forest, in Mumbai. —FILE PHOTO
Apex court was
hearing a plea
alleging trees
in the Aarey
were being cut
despite a
restraining
order of the
top court
Party workers celebrate their seven-seat victory in Kumbhari
gram panchayat.
Varsha Raut. —File photo
ED officials
are said to
have seized
`11.50lakh
unaccounted
cash from
Sanjay Raut’s
residence
during the raids

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MUMBAI | SATURDAY,
AUGUST 6, 2022
‘KAREENA’S
FEE HIKE’
ver since the news of
the Hindi adaptation
of the mythological
epic Ramayan has
come out, fans have
been eagerly waiting
for an official an-
nouncement about the same.
The curiosity amongst neti-
zens as to who would be play-
ing Ram and Sita has been go-
ing on for quite some time now.
There were reports of Kareena
Kapoor Khan being ap-
proached for the role of Sita.
Then it was also report-
ed that she had hiked her fees
from Rs 6-7 crore to Rs 12 crore.
The actress revealed that the
reason why she never
offered an expla-
nation was be-
cause she was nev-
er offered that film.
She further added, “I don’t
even know why I was put into
that because I wasn’t the choice
for the film. These all are made-
up stories and I don’t want to
put anybody down because
maybe even they need stories.
Every day people are looking
for some sort of stories on Ins-
tagram but I don’t know where
it came from.”
E
H
arnaaz Kaur Sandhu, who hails from
Punjab made India proud after she
bagged the crown of Miss Universe
in the year 2021. She is hitting the
headlines as she has landed in legal trou-
ble after actress and producer Upasana
Singh filed a civil suit against Harnaaz
Sandhu in the Chandigarh district
courtfor‘breachof contract.’Upasana
said that Harnaaz has refused to give
dates for the film promotions despite
the agreement to make
herself available in
personandvirtually
.
R
adhana Ram, the daughter of vet-
eran Sandalwood actress Malashree
and late producer Ramu, will be soon
stepping into acting. She has signed
her first project opposite Darshan. Made
under the direction of Tharun Su-
dhir, the film is being bankrolled
byrenownedproducer,Rockline
Venkatesh. Sharing this excit-
ing news, the makers tweet-
ed, “Elated to welcome on-
board @Radhanaram_ for
#D56 Daughter of ‘Ka-
nasina Rani’ @Ramu-
Malashree and #Ramu
Sir, we are excited to
launch #RadhanaR-
am to the world of
cinema.”
For the unversed,
Malashreeruledthebox
office in the ’80s and ’90s.
Herhusbandandproducer
Ramuiscreditedwithmak-
ing some big-budget ven-
tures like A K 47, Lockup
Death, Simhada Mari and
Gloibar, to name a few.
A
lia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor are
amongst the cutest couples in Bolly-
wood. The duo fell in love with each
other on the sets of their fantasy-drama
film, Brahmastra. The actress was asked whether her
husband ever smiles at home as he always looks seri-
ous in most of his pictures. Alia said, “Basically, he
has those sunken eyes which make him look either
serious or sad but that is just his face. Like very
often, people tell me I look tensed with my frown-
focused face but that’s just how I am. That’s
just his face. Ranbir is always smiling and
laughing, but maybe you can say I am
the one who makes him laugh
and smile.”
A
shika Ranganath is team-
ing up with director Suni yet
again for the upcoming Kan-
nada film titled Gatha Vaib-
hava. She first collaborated with the
filmmaker on Avatara Purusha Part 1
and will be in the second instalment as
well and now is on board as the female
lead. She will be romancing debutant
Dushyanth, who is the son of Karna-
taka MLA, SR Srinivas. Suni an-
nounced the collaboration with a
fun video. It is about working
with a newcomer, to which
she responds that she’d
rather work with estab-
lished heroes now.
COME FALL
IN LOVE
A
dityaChopra’sBroadway-
bound musical Come Fall
In Love is about the cele-
bration of love and how it
can unify people, and cultures
and break down all barriers.
Playing Simran in this reimag-
ined adaptation is acclaimed art-
ist Shoba Narayan. She says, “I
am thrilled to be bringing this
classic love story Come Fall in
Love, to Broadway and to be play-
ing the iconic lead role of Sim-
ran. The fact that we have an In-
dian musical headed to Broad-
way feels incredibly personal and
monumental to me as an Indian
American actor who grew up lov-
ing Bollywood films and musical
theatre.
It was only a matter of time
before Broadway and Bollywood
found each other and I am over
the moon to be leading this excep-
tional production.”
Radhana’s
debutproject
‘Breach of contract’
Alia Bhatt
Ashika Ranganath
Poster
Shoba Narayan
Radhana Ram
Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu
Kareena Kapoor Khan

06082022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

06082022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

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