13042022_First India_Ahmedabad.pdf

‘Nature of Gujaratis is to contribute to uplifting society’
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: It is the
nature of Gujaratis in-
cluding the Patidar Sa-
maj to contribute to up-
lifting society through
services and charities,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi said on Tues-
day
, while addressing an
eventhereviavideocon-
ferencing.
PMModiinaugurated
aboys’hostelandeduca-
tioncomplexof ShriAn-
napurna Dham Trust,
and also laid the founda-
tion stone of Hiramani
Arogyadham of Jansa-
hayak Trust during the
virtual event.
These newly created
projects of education
and nutrition will be of
great benefit to the com-
mon man of Gujarat, he
said, adding, “Where
Goddess Annapurna
Devi is worshipped
thereisnoscopeformal-
nutrition. Ignorance of
nutrition is responsible
for malnutrition.”
He also said that Indi-
an farmers are capable
enough to provide food
toeachandeverycorner
of the world at a time
when the world is run-
ning out of food stocks
due to the pandemic.
Referringtothenewly
constructed education
complex at Adalaj, Modi
called upon the youth of
Gujarat to be equipped
for “Industry 4.0 (fourth
phase of industrial de-
velopment)” through
skill development.
Expressinghappiness
over the opportunity to
participate in various
development ceremo-
nies in Gujarat these
days,thePrimeMinister
described the contribu-
tion of religious and so-
cial organizations of the
state in the field of edu-
cation, health and nutri-
tion and praised their
meritorious contribu-
tion.
He also appreciated
the “gentle and firm”
Chief Minister Bhupen-
draPatel,and--citingthe
latter’s focus on modern
thinking and responsi-
bility towards basic
works--said he was con-
fident that Gujarat
wouldreachnewheights
under Patel’s leader-
ship.
Patel, who was also
partof thevirtualevent,
said, “When the power
of social organization
joins the efforts of the
government, the value
of everyone’s effort is
added to the mantra of
‘Sauno Saath, Sauno Vi-
kas’ and ‘Sauno Vish-
was’.” He also advocated
the involvement of so-
cial forces in nation-
building to create a
healthy India, an edu-
cated India, and At-
manirbhar India.
PM Modi Narendra Modi
PM laid the foundation stone of
Hiramani Arogyadham and
inaugurated a boys’ hostel and
education complex virtually
CRUCIAL READ
BOMB HURLED AT
NITISH’S JANSABHA
Patna: A bomb was hurled
near Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar’s ‘Jansabha’
(public meeting) site in
Nalanda district. Accord-
ing to reports, it was a
low-intensity bomb that
blasted around 20 feet
away from where the Bihar
CM was present during
the event.
GOVT APPROVES
PROSECUTION
New Delhi: Clearing the
way for cognisance of
CBI chargesheet against
Amnesty International and
its chair Aakar Patel, the
government has granted
the agency sanction to
prosecute the organisa-
tion. CBI sources said the
sanction was received two
days ago.
13 SHOT AT IN SUBWAY STATION IN NEW
YORK, COPS SAY NO ACTIVE EXPLOSIVES
New Delhi: Five people were shot Tuesday morning at
a subway station in Brooklyn, New York. Fire person-
nel responding to reports of smoke at the 36th Street
station in the Sunset Park neighborhood found multiple
people shot and undetonated devices. The fire depart-
ment said 13 people were injured, but there were no de-
tails on what those injuries entailed. Reports indicating
preliminary information said that a suspect fled wearing
a construction vest and a gas mask.
JHARKHAND CABLE CAR ACCIDENT
3 dead,CM Hemant
Soren announces probe
Want “Peaceful
& Cooperative”
Ties With India:
Shehbaz Sharif
‘Indian monthly oil
import lesser than EU’s
usage in one noon’
New Delhi: External
Affairs Minister S Jais-
hankar Tuesday said
that India imports less
oil from Russia than Eu-
rope does in an after-
noon when asked about
India’s position on the
Russia-Ukraine war and
its foreign policy goals.
Responding to ques-
tions after the India-US
2+2 meeting between
the two sides, Jais-
hankar said, “I noticed
you refer to oil purchas-
es. If you are looking at
energy purchases from
Russia, I would suggest
that your attention
should be focused on
Europe, which probably
we do buy some energy
which is necessary for
our energy security
. But
I suspect, looking at the
figures, probably our
total purchases for the
month would be less
than what Europe does
in an afternoon.”
Deoghar: The death toll
in the Jharkhand cable
car accident rose to
three on Tuesday after a
woman fell to death
while being rescued.
She was the second per-
son to fall during the
rescue operation and
succumb to injuries. A
third person who was
injured in the accident
on Sunday evening ear-
lier died. Indian Air
Force (IAF) choppers
Tuesday rescued 10 of
the 15 tourists who re-
mained trapped in cable
cars over the Trikut
Hills in Jharkhand’s De-
oghar district for more
than 40 hours following
a technical snag. The
rescue operations had
been briefly halted late
evening on Monday
.
New Delhi: Thanking
Narendra Modi for con-
gratulating him, Paki-
stan’s new Prime Min-
ister Shehbaz Sharif on
Tuesday said that his
country desires peace-
ful and
coopera-
tive ties
with In-
dia.
With-
in min-
utes of
being sworn in as the
PM on Monday, Sharif
was congratulated by
Modi, adding that “In-
dia desires peace and
stability in a region free
of terror, so that we can
focus on our develop-
ment challenges and
ensure the well-being
and prosperity of our
people.”
he virtual meeting between
US President Joe Biden and
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in which the former
hailed India’s humanitarian
approach towards the people
of Ukraine and mentioned
that both the nations are go-
ing to continue close consul-
tation to manage destabilis-
ing effects of this Russian
war, seems to have paved way
for India becoming one of the
world leaders.
The meeting ahead of the
2+2 dialogue between the two
countries in which Biden
said the US and India share
a strong and growing “ma-
jor defence partnership”,
has given a clear signal to
the world that India, un-
der the leadership of
Modi, is no longer going to
play the second fiddle and
has its own influence on
the world stage.
When the war began, it
was Ukraine, that was look-
ing toward India to bail it
out by persuading Russia to
stop the war, but now the
world’s super powers
are banking on In-
dia while recognizing
its
ability and potential. From
the two major global players
- Putin and Biden - to Israeli
PM Neftali Bennet, to UK
Prime Minister Boris John-
son, to Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a
host of other leader; all have
been looking towards Modi
and India’s relations with
countries across the world to
drive home their respective
points and concerns.
India, and Modi in particu-
lar, do not just have a massive
‘goodwill’ among nations, but
also have the ability to pro-
vide a ‘conscious stability’ to
the world affairs, a fact that
global powers have begun to
accept, only over the past few
years. Be it Modi’s ‘hug di-
plomacy’, his ‘covid care’
programstoallpowerful
and weak nations alike,
or his ‘scientific solu-
tion finding ap-
proach’ to modern
problems; all these
combined have ef-
fectively cemented
Modi’s and India’s
place in global lead-
ership as a mindful
world power! Observ-
ersbelievethatUkraine
hasprovidedanoppor-
tunity to Modi to
establish
himself as global leader even
above Biden and Putin.
In fact, the US President
was all praise for India re-
cently when he said, “I want
to welcome India’s humani-
tarian support for the people
of Ukraine, who are suffering
a horrific assault, including
a tragic shelling in a train sta-
tion last week that killed doz-
ens of innocent children and
women and civilians attempt-
ing to flee the violence.”
“The United States and In-
dia are going to continue our
close consultation on how to
manage the destabilizing
ef-
fects of this Russian war,”
Biden said and added, “We
take the same concerns about
the global challenges we face
for Covid-19, advancing
health security and tracking
the climate crisis and we
share a strong and growing
major defence partnership.”
On his part, while giving a
clear indication that India
was bound to play a key role
in resolving conflicts, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi apt-
ly reiterated that India was
hopeful of the “ongoing talks
between Russia and Ukraine
will pave the way for peace.”
“When I came to Washing-
toninSeptemberlastyear,you
saidthatIndia-USpartnership
can contribute to the solution
of many global problems. I
completely agree with you. As
theworld’stwolargestandold-
est democracies,
we are natu-
ral partners,” he added.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
GLOBAL LEADER MODI EMERGES
AS A ‘SUPERPOWER’ OVER BIDEN
AND PUTIN IN UKRAINE CRISIS
Ukraine has provided an opportunity for Modi to establish himself as a global leader,
where everyone in Moscow and Washington DC looks up to Narendra Modi
T
2+2 dialogue between
the two countries in
which Biden said the US
and India share a strong
and growing “major
defence partnership”,
the world that India,
under the leadership
of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, is no
longer going to play the
second fiddle and has its
own influence on the
world stage
SHASHIKANT
SHARMA
The writer is Consulting
Editor, First India
The United States and India
are going to continue our
effects of this Russian war,”
major defence partnership.
was bound to play a key
role in resolving conflicts,
Modi aptly reiterated that
India was hopeful of the
“ongoing talks between
Russia and Ukraine will
pave the way for peace”
JOE BIDEN
VLADIMIR PUTIN
NARENDRA MODI
PERSPECTIVE
JAIPUR | WEDNESDAY,
APRIL 13, 2022
04
www.firstindia.co.in
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ia
l Vol 3 l Issue No. 305
l RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/7776
4.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B.
Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk
Road, Jaipur. Published at 304,
3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das
Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001,
Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
A person can rise through
the efforts of his own mind;
or draw himself down, in
the same manner Because
each person is his own
friend or enemy.
—Bhagavad Gita
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
Under the ongoing public relations
campaign in Himachal Pradesh, today
in the Jhanduta assembly of Bilaspur,
the name of Vijaypur booth president
Smt. Jamna Devi was honored. It is
these activists who have made the
Bharatiya Janata Party resound all over
the country today.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
The demise of Dr. R. Venkatapathy is
a big loss for news industry in India.
He played an instrumental role in
taking the Tamil daily Dinamalar to its
heights. My deepest condolences to
the bereaved family members and the
staff of Dinamalar.
TOP TWEETS
IN DIRE STRAITS,
LANKA RESORTS TO
EMERGENCY STEP
OF LOAN DEFAULT
ri Lanka’s Prime
Minister Mahinda
Rajapaksa said on
Monday that his gov-
ernment will tide
over the economic crisis the way
it finished off the LTTE to end
the 30-year war. Mahinda is the
elder brother of President Got-
baya Rajapaksa. Under intense
public pressure to resign, Prime
Minister Mahinda is clinging on
to power even as the situation in
the country is turning from bad
to worse. A proof of the gloomy
situation came on Tuesday
when Lankan finance ministry
announced that it would be de-
faulting on all its external debt
of $51 billion as it has run of
foreign exchange to pay for im-
ports. For a nation grappling
with severe shortage of food,
fuel and medicines this was an
emergency measure.
The Rajapaksas are in no
mood to oblige either the opposi-
tion with their resignation.
They expect countries like India
to bail them out with supplies of
essentials. So far India, which
has managed its economy better
than its neighbours, has not dis-
appointed.
S
ensuring India for
its human rights
record, US Secre-
tary of State An-
tony Blinken said
in the presence of External
Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jais-
hankar and Defence Minister
RajnathSinghthattheUSwas
monitoringtherecentsurgein
human rights abuses in India.
“…we are monitoring some
recent concerning develop-
mentsinIndiaincludingarise
in human rights abuses by
some government, police and
prison officials,” Blinken said
at a joint press briefing. His
comments came days after US
Representative
Ilhan Omar’s
remark that the US was hesi-
tanttocriticisetheIndiangov-
ernmentforitsallegedhuman
rights abuses. With Blinken
not elaborating his statement
further and Jaishankar mak-
ing no mention of it at the
press conference, not much
should be made out of
Blinken’s statement.
Risingcommunalincidents
in the country targeting and
stigmatising
minorities and
ruling party leaders giving
cover to the troublemakers,
India is emerging more as a
theocratic nation where secu-
larism and democratic princi-
ples are slowly disappearing.
One only has to look at the US,
UK, Australia and New Zea-
land where majority versus
minority debate has seldom
turned into Islamophobia
and
compare with the situation in
India to see where we are
headed.Whetheritisdisallow-
ing Muslims to pray in an
open space despite govern-
mentpermission,threatening
Muslimwomenwithrape,pro-
tests over hijab, boycotting
Muslimtradersandclosureof
meat shops during Hindu fes-
tivals, has divided the society
.
Despite growing conflicts
it is unlikely that the US will
go beyond verbal censure of
India, which it looks at as a
key defence, strategic and
business partner.
ANTONY BLINKEN’S
UNEXPECTED REMARK
Censuring India for its human
rights record, US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken said in
the presence of External
Affairs Minister Dr. S.
Jaishankar and Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
that the US was monitoring
the recent surge in human
rights abuses in India
C
IN-DEPTH
AHMEDABAD l WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 137
Ukraine has provided an opportunity to Modi to
establish himself as global leader, where everyone in
Moscow and Washington DC looks up to Narendra
Modi, writes Shashikant Sharma
GLOBAL LEADER MODI
EMERGES A SUPERPOWER
OVER BIDEN AND PUTIN IN
UKRAINE CRISIS
It was yet another disappointing session for Dalal Street investors as the
benchmark indices extended losses after a gap-down start on Tuesday.
Losses across sectors pulled the headline indices lower, with the 30-share
pack Sensex declining 388 points or 0.66% to settle at 58,576.37. P7
NIFTY ENDS
BELOW 17,600,
SENSEX FALLS
388 PTS
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
A new political
threat for Kejriwal
Shashikant Sharma
Shimla: A Narendra
Modi and Amit Shah
confidante, a silent per-
former and an unas-
suming cricketman
turned politician, Anu-
rag Thakur, has sud-
denly started giving
sleepless nights to Aam
Aadmi Party supremo
and Delhi Chief Minis-
ter Arvind Kejriwal.
The reason is simple:
Thakur has demolished
Kejriwal’s dreams of
establishing a govern-
ment in the hill state of
Himachal Pradesh.
After having success-
fully brought AAP’s
state chief Anup Kesri
and other office bearers
of the newly formed
party into the BJP fold,
Thakur rubbed salt in
the ‘still fresh’ wounds
of Kejriwal when on
Monday he ensured a
smooth transition from
AAP to BJP of state
chief of AAP’s mahila
morcha-MamtaThakur
along with the deputy
chief and other office
bearers of the women’s
wing, Industries wing
and even the social me-
dia incharge of AAP for
Himachal Pradesh.
This was Anurag
Thakur’s second suc-
cessful ‘surgical
strike’ at AAP, to
which the rival
party has no an-
swer. After the
dual blow, the
leaders of Aam
Aadmi Party are
in a tizy as to what
needs to be done
towards ‘damage
control’. AAP,
which is dreaming
of sitting on the
throne o Himachal, has
suddenly reached the
margins in the state due
to Thakur’s master-
stroke.
Assembly elections
are to be held in
Himachal at the end of
this year.
Lucknow: After regis-
tering a historical sec-
ond consecutive win to
return to power for 18th
legislative assembly
, the
BJP once again marked
a thumping victory in
legislative council polls
and won 33 seats, in-
cluding nine unopposed
out of 36 vacant seats.
However, the party
failed to end the monop-
oly of jailed mafia don
Brijesh Singh’s family
in Varanasi seat, as his
wife Annapurna Singh
won in a one-sided con-
test to become MLC for
the second time. She se-
cured 4,234 votes to de-
feat SP’s Umesh Yadav
who bagged 345 votes.
The BJP candidate Su-
dama Patel managed to
fetch 170 votes only
.
Two other seats, such
as Azamgarh-Mau and
Pratapgarh were won by
independentcandidates.
UttarPradeshlegislative
councilhas100seatsand
on April 9, the state went
for a poll on 36 vacant
seats. Once the results
are formally declared,
the BJP will enjoy a ma-
jority in both houses of
Uttar Pradesh for the
first time in decades.
After the landslide
victory in MLC polls,
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath extended
congratulations to win-
ning MLCs. In the two
tweetshewrote,“Hearty
congratulations and
best wishes to all the
newly elected members
of the Upper House of
Uttar Pradesh.”
Bypolls: Violence
breaks out in Asansol
Elections were held to
Asansol Lok Sabha
seat and four Assem-
bly seats - Ballygunge
in West Bengal,
Khairagarh in Chhat-
tisgarh, Bochahan in
Bihar and Kolhapur
NorthinMaharashtra
on Tuesday
. Barring a
few incidents of vio-
lence, the polling for
WestBengal’sAsansol
Lok Sabha constitu-
ency and Ballygunge
Assembly seat, was
largely peaceful, with
over 52 per cent of eli-
gible voters casting
their votes till 5 pm.
BJP’s candidate Ag-
nimitra Paul alleged
that people from the
Trinamool Congress
hurled stones at her
convoy
, while the po-
lice took no action, ac-
cording to ANI.
BJP candidate Agnimitra Paul leaves after inspecting a
polling booth in Asansol parliamentary constituency.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
The results are once again an expression of people’s
faith in BJP’s “development model”.
ANURAG THAKUR
(Top) ITBP personnel evacuate a child during a rescue operation.
(Below) ITBP, NDRF personnel during a rescue operation after the
collision of two cable cars at Trikut Ropeway, in Deoghar.
Union Minister for Information
and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur
P4
UTTAR PRADESH MLC POLLS
BJP REGISTERS THUMPING
VICTORY, WINS 33 OF 36 SEATS
—PHOTO
BY
PTI

z US Reaffirms
Support For India’s Bid
In UN Security Council,
Nuke-Club NSG

z US Conveys Full
Support To India’s
Upcoming G20
Presidency
POINTERS
Our goals are absolutely
clear and noble: Putin
New Delhi: Russian
President Vladimir Pu-
tin said on Tuesday that
Moscow’s military oper-
ation in Ukraine would
undoubtedly achieve
what he said were its
“noble” objectives.
Speaking at an awards
ceremony at the Vostoch-
ny Cosmodrome in the
Russian Far East, Putin
was quoted as saying by
Russian news agencies
that said Moscow had no
otherchoicebuttolaunch
a military operation to
protect Russia and that a
clashwithUkraine’santi-
Russian forces had been
inevitable.
“Its goals are abso-
lutely clear and noble,”
Putin said of Russia’s
military campaign.
Putin said the main
objective of Moscow’s
military intervention in
Ukraine was to save
people in the Donbas re-
gionof easternUkraine.

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Nation-
al coordinator of the All
India Mahila Congress
and former MLA from
Dehgam constituency,
Kaminiba Rathod, may
beconsideringdefecting
to another party ahead
of Gujarat state assem-
bly elections. If sources
are to be believed, she
has been sending feelers
of her dissatisfaction
with party leaders.
A close confidant of
Kaminiba told First In-
dia, “She is complaining
about the functioning of
the party and saying
that workers are being
ignored. Even in her for-
mer constituency, few
Congress leaders were
troubling the former
MLA.” Kaminiba had
won the election in 2012
polls on a Congress tick-
et and defeated the BJP
candidate by a margin
of 2,200 votes.
Sticking to the party,
she passed the loyalty
test during Congress
strategist and senior
leader late Ahmed Pa-
tel’s Rajya Sabha elec-
tion.Shewasnominated
by the party for the 2017
elections, but she lost to
BJP candidate Balrajs-
inh Chauhan by a mar-
gin of 10,860 votes. Since
then, she has never been
in the limelight and so,
must be looking for oth-
er options, he added.
Since 1972, the Con-
gress party has won the
Dehgam seat five times
while the BJP has won
six times. The constitu-
ency is dominated by
Other Backward Class
(OBC) voters, especially
the Thakor community
.
And that is why in the
past 11 elections, only
one non -Thakor candi-
date--BJP’s Vithal Shah-
-has won the seat twice
(in 1990 and 1995). Inci-
dentally, Gujarat
Pradesh Congress Com-
mittee (GPCC) Presi-
dent Jagdish Thakor
was elected to the state
assembly in 2002 and
2007 from Dehgam.
It is too early to tell if
Kaminiba switching
parties will have an ad-
verse impact on Con-
gress’ prospects in up-
coming polls. However,
another Congress lead-
er,MLAAshwinKotwal,
may also be looking to
defect. According to the
rumour mill, he is also
unhappy with the par-
ty’s state and central
leadership.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Former
Viramgam constituency
MLA Kamabhai Rathod
is set to rejoin the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP)afterfiveyears.He
will be inducted into the
ranks in the presence of
state unit President CR
PatilandChief Minister
Bhupendra Patel at the
party’s state unit office,
said sources.
Rathod was suspend-
ed in 2017, after he re-
volted against the par-
ty’s decision to field
Kanubhai Karamsibhai
Patel from Sanand con-
stituency. The former
had contested from the
same seat on a BJP tick-
et in the 2012 elections
and lost to Congress’
Karamsibhai Patel. He
was elected to the state
assembly for the first
time on a BJP ticket
from Viramgam con-
stituency in 2007.
According to party
sources, it is part of an
exercisefordamagecon-
trol and increasing the
BJP’s prospects to meet
the target of 182 seats in
the Vidhan Sabha. As
Patil dreams to win all
182 seats in forthcoming
elections, the party is
trying to win the hearts
of those who had left or
were suspended.
A few days ago, for-
merMandalMLAPragji
Patel returned to the
BJP. Party sources also
believe that both Patel
and Rathod are consid-
ered to be from former
Gujarat Chief Minister
and incumbent Uttar
Pradesh Governor
Anandiben Patel’s
camp.
In the 2012 elections,
Pragij Patel contested
from Viramgam con-
stituency but lost to
Congress candidate
Tejashriben Patel. Inci-
dentally, the Congress
leader then joined the
BJP in 2017 and was
fielded by the party in
polls, but she lost to
Congress candidate
Lakkhabhai Bharwad
by a margin of 6,400
votes.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Bhupendra
Patel called upon citi-
zens of the state to save
water, electricity and
fuel to help serve the
nation. Speaking at a
Azadi Ka Amrit Ma-
hotsav event in the
state capital on Tues-
day, he said that 75
years of Indian inde-
pendence celebration
had become a platform
for creating new con-
sciousness for rural
developmental pro-
jects.
He arrived at Sard-
hav village in Gandhi-
nagar district on Tues-
day morning to ad-
dress local residents.
Addressing the gather-
ing, the CM said, “We
can serve the nation by
saving water, electric-
ity and petrol.”
Leading a prabhat
pheri (early morning
musical procession),
CM Patel was joined by
senior leaders of the
village as well as
youngsters. He greeted
and interacted with
the people.
Prior to embarking
on the prabhat pheri,
CM Patel performed a
mangal aarti by visit-
ing Ambaji Mata and
Ranchhodrai Temples
in Sardhav.
Later in the day, he
inaugurated a new RO
plant in the village
and also honored the
progressive farmers
of the village, who
have successfully
adopted natural or-
ganic farming.
Addressing the vil-
lagers on the occasion,
the chief minister
said, “Prime Minister
Narendrabhai Modi
has inspired us to cel-
ebrate development
through Azadi Ka Am-
rit Mahotsav. Mahatma
Gandhiji called villag-
es the ‘Soul of India’,
and keeping that in
mind, we have given
priority to all-round
rural developmental
projects.”
Preserving water, power fuel will help serve the nation: CM
Crowd gathered to hear CM Bhupendra Patel at the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ event at Sardhav.
Patel participated in a prabhat
pheri, dedicated a RO plant and
felicitated farmers in Sardhav
village on Tuesday
Kaminiba Rathod protesting inflation in fuel prices. —FILE PHOTO
Another Cong leader to defect
ahead of Guj Assembly polls?
According to the
grapevine, ex-
MLA from
Dehgam
Kaminiba
Rathod may
choose to shift
her allegiance to
another party
Former MLA
Kamabhai Rathod
was ousted for
revolting against
party’s decision to
field another
candidate from
Sanand after his
loss in 2012 polls
First India Bureau
Porbandar: A blunder
made by Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) state
unit President CR Patil
while addressing people
gathered at the Mad-
havpur Fair in Por-
bandar on Tuesday, has
evoked criticism from
opposition Congress
and the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP). During his
speech, Patil made the
mistake of addressing
Subhadra as Lord
Krishna’s consort,
when in fact, she was
his sister.
While delivering his
speech at the fair, Patil
said, “In memory of the
wedding of Lord Krish-
na and Subhadra at
Madhavpur, the fair is
held to celebrate their
union every year.” After
he was interrupted and
told about his mistake
by a local leader, the BJP
Gujarat chief hastened
to recant his earlier
statement and correctly
stated that the wedding
took place between Lord
Krishna and Rukmini.
However, it was not
enough to placate the
opposition party. Con-
gress’ Chief Spokesper-
son Manish Doshi
called out the BJP for
the mistake and re-
marked, “The BJP is a
party that calls itself
the protector of Indian
heritage, culture, reli-
gion and mythology
. Its
state leader is unaware
about the relations be-
tween Subhadra and
Lord Krishna.”
He further comment-
ed, “Education Minister
Jitu Vaghani is plan-
ning to teach the Bhag-
wad Gita in schools.
Perhaps, he should
teach it to BJp leaders
and workers first.”
“Patil’s statement is
condemnable and
shameful. It’s clear that
the BJP leader has little
knowledge of Indian
history and mythology
,”
said Pravin Ram, AAP’s
youth wing president.
He added, “Patil
should have enough
knowledge that Subh-
dra is the sister of Lord
Krishna and Lord Bal-
ram. She was married
to Arjun and was the
mother of warrior Ab-
himanyu. He should
apologize to the people
of state and always
check facts before mak-
ing statements on his-
torical facts or mythol-
ogy.”
SLIP OF TONGUE
Patil’s blunder attracts criticism, political leaders call for apology
BJP Gujarat President CR Patil. —FILE PHOTO
BJP chief accidentally referred to
Lord Krishna’s sister Subhadra as the
consort he married at Madhavpur
Kamabhai Rathod.
SUSPENDED BJP LEADER
TO DO GHAR WAPSI TODAY
Pratij Patel being welcomed into BJP by Guj Chief CR Patil.
EXPRESSING DISSENT
First India Bureau
Vadodara: The re-
sults of a food testing
drive conducted by the
Vadodara Municipal
Corporation (VMC) in
February and March
this year, have deemed
11 samples to be un-
safe, below standard
and misbranded for
consumption. The civ-
ic body has initiated
action against the food
business operators for
failure of samples in
accordance with the
Food Safety and Stand-
ards Act, 2006.
Samples of food ma-
terials were collected
from different areas
of Vadodara city in
February-March, 2022
by VMC health de-
partment teams. Out
of the total, 11 sam-
ples failed the test, of
which, one was found
to be unsafe, 4 were
declared sub-stand-
ard, and five were
deemed misbranded
and one was termed
subpar as well as mis-
branded.
As per instructions
of the VMC commis-
sioner as well as the
Food and Drug Con-
trol Administration of
Gandhinagar, a spe-
cial drive was con-
ducted by food safety
teams in different ar-
eas of Vadodara city.
Food samples collect-
ed by officials includ-
ed manchurian, palm
oil, ice-cream, cheese,
farsan (fried snack),
confectionery items,
pizza sauce and black
salt. They were sent to
the Public Health Lab-
oratory in Ahmedabad
for analysis.
VMC cracks down on food bizs with ‘failed’ food samples
11 samples found to be unsafe, subpar and misbranded.
Continuing their strike, Class IV employees of the Nagar Prathmik Shikshan Samiti (NPSS)
in Vadodara took to begging for money with bowls in hands at traffic junctions in the city on
Tuesday. Showcasing their helpless situation, they demonstrated against their non-permanent
status, which denies them pension and other benefits during their service and post retirement.

GUJARAT
03
First India Bureau
Surat: In a unique ini-
tiative, toy trains in a
Surat restaurant can
be seen passing
through the dining ta-
bles serving food to
the diners.
In the train-themed
restaurant “Trainian
Express”, which has at-
tracted a lot of people in
the city
, the train makes
its way straight to the
diners from the kitchen
without the need for any
human intervention.
The various compart-
ments of the train are
loaded with bread, rice,
curries, papad, etc.
The dining tables in
the eatery are also
named after different
stations of Surat city
,
giving the guests a full
railway station vibe.
“We have been to
many restaurants. Food
outthereisservedbythe
waiters. Here food is
served by trains. We
have enjoyed the new
initiative. Children, spe-
cially are liking it a lot.
This restaurant has re-
vived our train memo-
ries,”saidDevyaniPatel,
a customer.
Owner Mukesh
Choudhary said, “The
trains run on electricity
.
As soon as the food is
prepared, it is put on the
train and sent to the par-
ticular table that has
names on stations like
Ring Road, Althan, Var-
acha, etc. This train con-
cept in the restaurant is
being liked by all.”
Dimple Rajpurohit,
another guest said, “We
are reliving our child-
hood train moments
here. This has given us a
chance to tell our chil-
drenaboutthelongtrain
journeys that we took as
children. We love the
concept.”
Surat restaurant serves food on toy trains
ALL ABOARD!
CHILLING BY THE POOL
A white tiger hangs out near a trough of water in its enclosure at the Kamla Nehru Zoological
Garden—or Kankaria zoo, as it is locally known—in Ahmedabad, which saw a maximum
temperature of 41.5 °C on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Diners get nostalgic as they relive
childhood memories of long train
journeys that they took as children
The various compartments of the train are loaded with bread, rice, curries, papad, etc.
Donated organs
from brain-dead
youth save 4 lives
Forest area in nine districts on a
decline: Forest Survey of India
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The “In-
dia State of Forest
Report 2021 (ISFR), a
biennial report by
the Forest Survey of
India, claims that
there has been a mas-
sive reduction in for-
est cover in
Ahmedabad. Totally
17,422 trees were up-
rooted in just two
years across the
Ahmedabad-Gandhi-
nagar belt.
As per the ISFR re-
port, forest cover has
been steadily declining
in the last four years in
nine districts—
Ahmedabad, Banas-
kantha, Bharuch, Nar-
mada, Surat, Tapi,
Dang, Vadodara and
Surendranagar.
Chief spokesperson
of Gujarat Pradesh Con-
gress Committee Man-
ish Doshi said, “In the
name of ‘green Gujarat’,
forestfestival,forestcon-
servation and tree plan-
tation drives, the BJP
government has only
pulled down trees in the
nameof development.In
eight years, from 2013-to
2021, the ruling power
cut down over a million
trees,andoverthreemil-
lion trees were uprooted
unofficially
.”
“From a total area of
17.86 sq km of forest cov-
er, 9.42 sq km of the for-
est cover was reduced,
which is 48%, and in
Ahmedabad, 8.55 sq km
of forest cover was re-
duced.” he added.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Civil Hospital in
Asarwa carried out
yet another organ
donation proce-
dure. The father of
a 25-year-old youth
from Lunavda, Ma-
hisagar, decided to
donate his only
son’s organs as soon
as doctors declared
him braindead, thus
saving four lives.
Jayesh Nat (25) met
with an accident on
April10whenatempo
knocked him down.
He suffered a head in-
jury and was rushed
to the civil hospital.
Despite several at-
tempts to revive him,
on April 11, doctors
declared him brain-
dead. As other family
members cried over
Jayesh’s condition,
his father, Dhulabhai
Nat, turned coura-
geous,wipedhistears
and decided to donate
his son’s organs.
The doctors imme-
diately took Jayesh’s
body to the Retrieval
Centre and began
the procedures. Af-
ter several hours,
the doctors retrieved
the heart, lungs, liv-
er and one kidney
for donation.
While the heart
was transferred to
CIMS Hospital in
Ahmedabad, the
lungs were trans-
ferred to Global Hos-
pital in Mumbai, us-
ingthegreencorridor.
Organs—kidney and
liver—were trans-
planted to patients at
the Civil Hospital’s
Kidney Institute,
within minutes.
Civil Hospital’s su-
perintendent Dr
Rakesh Joshi said,
“Of all the organs, re-
trieval and transplan-
tation of heart and
lungs is the most dif-
ficult. Civil Hospital
has conducted 52 or-
gan donation proce-
dures in which 158
organs were donated.
From these, eight
were heart and eight
werelungdonations.”
MoS Home reviews law
order situation in H’nagar
First India Bureau
Sabarkantha: Sev-
eral families in vio-
lence-hit Himmat-
nagar in Sabarkan-
tha district have left
their houses, while
Minister of State
for Home Harsh
Sanghavi on Tues-
day rushed to the
town to review the
law the order situa-
tion and gave orders
to strictly deal with
miscreants.
Himmatnagar wit-
nessed communal
clashes and arson dur-
ing Ram Navami cele-
brations on Sunday
and a day later stones
and petrol bombs were
hurled in the Vanzara
Vas area of the town,
police said.
Fearing for their
safety, several families
living in Vanzara Vas,
which witnessed fresh
violence on Monday
night, have locked
their houses and left
the area with their be-
longings even as the
police promised ade-
quate security and
prompt action against
anti-social elements.
“We are left with no
other option but to
leave this area. We are
living under fear at
present as this area is
now surrounded by
localities of people be-
longing to a particular
community. If we stay
here, our children and
women may get
killed,” a woman, who
left the area, told re-
porters.
An elderly woman
said a mob of nearly
500 people from near-
by Chandnagar local-
ity surrounded Van-
zara Vas and pelted
stones and hurled pet-
rol bombs.
After attending a
meeting chaired by
Sanghavi, Gujarat
DGP Ashish Bhatia
said adequate steps
have been taken to
maintain law and or-
der in the town.
The meeting was at-
tended by Bhatia, Sa-
barkantha district col-
lector Hitesh Koya,
Range IG Abhay
Chuadasama, Addi-
tional Director Gen-
eral of Police (Law
and Order) Narsimha
Komar and Himmat-
nagar MLA Rajen-
drasinh Chavda.
On the steps taken
to ensure safety of
those who are fleeing
their homes, Bhatia
said, “We have de-
ployed two companies
(more than 200 person-
nel) of the Rapid Ac-
tion Force (RAF) in
the town to tackle
communal clashes.
There is no need to
panic because all se-
curity arrangements
have been made.”
The state has also
deployed four compa-
nies of the State Re-
serve Police to prevent
any flare up, the sen-
ior IPS officer said,
adding additional
force from adjoining
districts were also
called in to help the lo-
cal police in maintain-
ing peace.
The local police
have detained 10 mis-
creants involved in
Monday night’s vio-
lence.
On Sunday
, Himmat-
nagar witnessed vio-
lence, stone-pelting
and clashes between
two communities.
Range IG Abhay
Chudasama had earli-
er said nearly 40 per-
sons involved in vio-
lence in the town in
the last two days have
been arrested.
Vanzara families have started leaving town after the petrol-bomb attack on Monday night.
Stones and petrol bombs were hurled in the Vanzara Vas area of the
town on Monday, leading several families flee their homes in fear
64 students test positive for
COVID-19 in 6 days at
Gujarat National Law Uni
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
number of students
who have been detect-
ed with coronavirus
in the Gandhinagar-
based Gujarat Nation-
al Law University over
the last six days has
touched 64 after nine
more students tested
positive, a health de-
partment official said
on Tuesday
.
All those infected are
university students who
met physically for the
first time after offline
classes resumed on
April 4, Gandhinagar
Municipal Corporation
Medical Officer of
Health Dr Kalpesh Gos-
wami said.
None of them require
hospitalisation and all
have been kept in isola-
tion in the institute’s
hostel, with three teams
monitoring their health
round the clock, Goswa-
mi said.
“So far, some 700 stu-
dents and staff of the
university have been
screened for the virus,
and 64 students have
tested positive. After of-
fline classes resumed,
students arrived at the
campusfromtheirhome
states and the virus may
have spread as they in-
teracted with each oth-
er,” the official ex-
plained.
Goswami added that
some samples have been
sent for genome se-
quencing to find out the
variant involved.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat reported another
24 cases of COVID-19
in the 24 hours ended
5 pm on Tuesday, an
official of the state
health department
said. With this, the
state’s total case tal-
ly has risen
to 12,24,106 since the
beginning of the
pandemic.
With no fresh deaths
due to the virus, the
death toll remains
steady at 10,942.
Gandhinagar and
Vadodara shared the
top spot in the district-
wise list, with eight
new cases each.
Ahmedabad followed
with six, while Sabar-
kantha and Surat had
one new case each.
There are now 152
active cases in Guja-
rat, where a total of
12,13,012 persons have
recovered from COV-
ID-19, including 20 who
were discharged from
hospitals around the
state on Tuesday. There
are no patients in a
critical condition.
As many as 52,576
persons received vac-
cine doses throughout
the day
, the official said.
The recovery rate is
now 99.09%.
Gujarat Naitonal Law Universtity. —FILE PHOTO
With 24 new cases, Guj active tally now 152
17,422 trees were uprooted in A’bad and G’nagar belt in 2 years.

he virtual meeting between
US President Joe Biden and
Modi in which the former
hailed India’s humanitarian
approach towards the people
of Ukraine and mentioned
that both the nations are go-
ing to continue close consul-
tation to manage destabilis-
ing effects of this Russian
war, seems to have paved way
for India becoming one of the
world leaders.
2+2 dialogue between the two
countries in which Biden
said the US and India share
a strong and growing “ma-
jor defence partnership”,
the world that India, un-
der the leadership of
Modi, is no longer going to
play the second fiddle and
has its own influence on
the world stage.
When the war began, it
was Ukraine, that was look-
ing toward India to bail it
out by persuading Russia to
stop the war, but now the
world’s super powers
are banking on In-
dia while recognizing its
ability and potential. From
the two major global players
- Putin and Biden - to Israeli
PM Neftali Bennet, to UK
Prime Minister Boris John-
son, to Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a
host of other leader; all have
been looking towards Modi
and India’s relations with
countries across the world to
drive home their respective
points and concerns.
India, and Modi in particu-
lar, do not just have a massive
‘goodwill’ among nations, but
also have the ability to pro-
vide a ‘conscious stability’ to
the world affairs, a fact that
global powers have begun to
accept, only over the past few
years. Be it Modi’s ‘hug di-
plomacy’, his ‘covid care’
programstoallpowerful
and weak nations alike,
or his ‘scientific solu-
tion finding ap-
proach’ to modern
problems; all these
combined have ef-
fectively cemented
Modi’s and India’s
place in global lead-
ership as a mindful
world power! Observ-
ersbelievethatUkraine
hasprovidedanoppor-
tunity to Modi to
establish
himself as global leader even
above Biden and Putin.
In fact, the US President
was all praise for India re-
cently when he said, “I want
to welcome India’s humani-
tarian support for the people
of Ukraine, who are suffering
a horrific assault, including
a tragic shelling in a train sta-
tion last week that killed doz-
ens of innocent children and
women and civilians attempt-
ing to flee the violence.”
“The United States and In-
dia are going to continue our
manage the destabilizing ef-
fects of this Russian war,”
major defence partnership.”
was bound to play a key role
in resolving conflicts, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi apt-
ly reiterated that India was
hopeful of the “ongoing talks
between Russia and Ukraine
will pave the way for peace.”
“When I came to Washing-
toninSeptemberlastyear,you
saidthatIndia-USpartnership
can contribute to the solution
of many global problems. I
completely agree with you. As
theworld’stwolargestandold-
est democracies, we are natu-
ral partners,” he added.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
GLOBAL LEADER MODI EMERGES
AS A ‘SUPERPOWER’ OVER BIDEN
AND PUTIN IN UKRAINE CRISIS
Ukraine has provided an opportunity for Modi to establish himself as a global leader,
where everyone in Moscow and Washington DC looks up to Narendra Modi
T
2+2 dialogue between
the two countries in
which Biden said the US
and India share a strong
and growing “major
defence partnership”,
the world that India,
under the leadership
of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, is no
longer going to play the
second fiddle and has its
own influence on the
world stage
SHASHIKANT
SHARMA
The writer is Consulting
Editor, First India
The United States and India
are going to continue our
effects of this Russian war,”
major defence partnership.
was bound to play a key
role in resolving conflicts,
Modi aptly reiterated that
India was hopeful of the
“ongoing talks between
Russia and Ukraine will
pave the way for peace”
JOE BIDEN VLADIMIR PUTIN
NARENDRA MODI
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
A person can rise through
the efforts of his own mind;
or draw himself down, in
the same manner Because
each person is his own
friend or enemy.
—Bhagavad Gita
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
Under the ongoing public relations
campaign in Himachal Pradesh, today
in the Jhanduta assembly of Bilaspur,
the name of Vijaypur booth president
Smt. Jamna Devi was honored. It is
these activists who have made the
Bharatiya Janata Party resound all over
the country today.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
The demise of Dr. R. Venkatapathy is
a big loss for news industry in India.
He played an instrumental role in
taking the Tamil daily Dinamalar to its
heights. My deepest condolences to
the bereaved family members and the
staff of Dinamalar.
TOP TWEETS
IN DIRE STRAITS,
LANKA RESORTS TO
EMERGENCY STEP
OF LOAN DEFAULT
ri Lanka’s Prime
Minister Mahinda
Rajapaksa said on
Monday that his gov-
ernment will tide
over the economic crisis the way
it finished off the LTTE to end
the 30-year war. Mahinda is the
elder brother of President Got-
baya Rajapaksa. Under intense
public pressure to resign, Prime
Minister Mahinda is clinging on
to power even as the situation in
the country is turning from bad
to worse. A proof of the gloomy
situation came on Tuesday
when Lankan finance ministry
announced that it would be de-
faulting on all its external debt
of $51 billion as it has run of
foreign exchange to pay for im-
ports. For a nation grappling
with severe shortage of food,
fuel and medicines this was an
emergency measure.
The Rajapaksas are in no
mood to oblige either the opposi-
tion with their resignation.
They expect countries like India
to bail them out with supplies of
essentials. So far India, which
has managed its economy better
than its neighbours, has not dis-
appointed.
S
ensuring India for
its human rights
record, US Secre-
tary of State An-
tony Blinken said
in the presence of External
Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jais-
hankar and Defence Minister
RajnathSinghthattheUSwas
monitoringtherecentsurgein
human rights abuses in India.
“…we are monitoring some
recent concerning develop-
mentsinIndiaincludingarise
in human rights abuses by
some government, police and
prison officials,” Blinken said
at a joint press briefing. His
comments came days after US
Representative Ilhan Omar’s
remark that the US was hesi-
tanttocriticisetheIndiangov-
ernmentforitsallegedhuman
rights abuses. With Blinken
not elaborating his statement
further and Jaishankar mak-
ing no mention of it at the
press conference, not much
should be made out of
Blinken’s statement.
Risingcommunalincidents
in the country targeting and
stigmatising minorities and
ruling party leaders giving
cover to the troublemakers,
India is emerging more as a
theocratic nation where secu-
larism and democratic princi-
ples are slowly disappearing.
One only has to look at the US,
UK, Australia and New Zea-
land where majority versus
minority debate has seldom
turned into Islamophobia and
compare with the situation in
India to see where we are
headed.Whetheritisdisallow-
ing Muslims to pray in an
open space despite govern-
mentpermission,threatening
Muslimwomenwithrape,pro-
tests over hijab, boycotting
Muslimtradersandclosureof
meat shops during Hindu fes-
tivals, has divided the society
.
Despite growing conflicts
it is unlikely that the US will
go beyond verbal censure of
India, which it looks at as a
key defence, strategic and
business partner.
ANTONY BLINKEN’S
UNEXPECTED REMARK
Censuring India for its human
rights record, US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken said in
the presence of External
Affairs Minister Dr. S.
Jaishankar and Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
that the US was monitoring
the recent surge in human
rights abuses in India
C
IN-DEPTH
PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 3 l Issue No. 137
l RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf
of First Express Publishers.
Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet
Survey No.148P, Changodar-
Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist.
Ahmedabad. Published at D/302
3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium
Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej
Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act

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INDIA
05
Congress demands FIR
against Karnataka Minister,
seeks independent probe
New Delhi (PTI): The
Congress on Tuesday
launched a scathing at-
tack on the BJP over
the death of Santosh
Patil, a contractor who
levelled corruption
charges against KS Es-
hwarappa, and de-
manded an FIR against
the Karnataka minis-
ter and an independent
probe into the incident.
Former Congress
chief Rahul Gandhi
accused the prime
minister and the Kar-
nataka chief minister
of being complicit in
the contractor’s death,
saying that the vic-
tim’s pleas to them
went unanswered.
“BJP’s 40% Commis-
sion Government in
Karnatakahasclaimed
the life of their own
Karyakarta. The vic-
tim’s pleas to the PM
went unanswered. The
PM and CM are com-
plicit. #BJPCorrup-
tionFiles (sic),” Gan-
dhi said on Twitter.
Patil was found dead
in a hotel room in Udu-
pionTuesdaymorning.
He had earlier accused
KarnatakaRuralDevel-
opment and Panchayat
RajMinisterEshwarap-
pa of demanding 40%
commission. The Min-
isternotonlydismissed
his allegations but also
filed a defamation suit
against him.
Congress general
secretary and chief
spokesperson Randeep
Surjewala said PM
Narendra Modi and
Karnataka CM Basa-
varaj Bommai should
lodge an FIR of mur-
der and corruption
against the Minister
and dismiss him, oth-
erwise Bommai’s com-
plicity is clear.
“The CM and PM
should Lodge an FIR
of Murder and Cor-
ruption against the
BJP Minister. Arrest
the Minister. Dismiss
him as a Minister. Con-
duct an independent
probe. Otherwise, it
will be clear that CM
Bommai is complicit
in the alleged corrup-
tion (sic),” Surjewala
said on Twitter.
“Dear Friends of the
BJP
, At least show guts
to speak for a fellow
BJP worker! The wife
of BJP worker, late
Santosh Patil is crying
andtellinghowshehad
to sell her jewellery to
fulfil the insatiable lust
of corruption. Will JP
Nadda speak up (sic)?”
he asked.
CM Bommai said
the police will conduct
a thorough and trans-
parent investigation
into the contractor’s
death. He also ruled
out any resignations
in this regard.
Surjewala alleged
that the “stench of cor-
ruption in 40% Com-
mission Bommai Gov-
ernment, Karnataka
has reached its nadir”.
“Even BJP workers
are not spared and are
forced to commit sui-
cide as the CM and PM
refuse to act upon al-
legations of 40% Com-
mission against BJP
Minister, Eshwarap-
pa,” the Congress lead-
er alleged.
CONTRACTOR DEATH
KARNATAKA MINISTER ‘RESPONSIBLE FOR
MY DEATH’: CONTRACTOR'S LAST MESSAGE
Bengaluru (Agencies): A contractor, who had accused
the Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj
Minister KS Eshwarappa’s associates of demanding a
40% commission for a contract, was found dead at a
private lodge in Udupi this morning. Santosh Patil re-
portedly sent messages to
the media and his friends
early this morning, saying
that he was going to end
his life and alleged that Mr
Eshwarappa was respon-
sible for his death. In his
purported suicide note,
Patil urged PM Narendra
Modi, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai and senior
BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa to help his wife and kids
after his death. “RDPR minister KS Eshwarappa is
solely responsible for my death. I am taking this deci-
sion, keeping my aspirations aside,” he wrote.
Retail inflation shoots
up to 6.95% in March
New Delhi (ANI): In-
dia’s retail inflation
surged to a 17-month
high of 6.95 per cent in
March from 6.07 per
cent in the previous
month due to a sharp
increase in food prices,
the National Statistical
Office (NSO) data
showed on Tuesday
.
Retail inflation as
measured by the Con-
sumer Price Index (CPI)
has remained above the
upper limit of the Re-
serve Bank of India
(RBI) tolerance band for
the third consecutive
month. The retail infla-
tion stood at 6.01 per
cent in January 2022.
Theinflationissharp-
ly higher when com-
pared with the previous
year. The Consumer
Price Index (CPI) based
inflation stood at 5.52
per cent in March 2021.
The price rise was
sharper in rural India
than in urban. CPI for
rural India surged to
7.66 per cent in March
from 6.38 per cent in the
previous month.
CPI-based inflation
for urban India rose to
6.12 per cent in March
2022 from 5.75 per cent
in the previous month.
The Consumer Price
Index (CPI) inflation
data is released month-
ly by the National Sta-
tistical Office (NSO),
Ministry of Statistics
and Programme Imple-
mentation.
The Price data are col-
lectedfromselected1,114
urban markets and 1,181
villages covering all
states/UTs through per-
sonal visits by field staff
of the Field Operations
Division of NSO, MoSPI
on a weekly roster.
During the month of
March 2022, NSO collect-
ed prices from 99.9 per
cent of villages and 98.3
per cent urban markets
while the market-wise
prices reported therein
were 90.2 per cent for ru-
ral and 93.2 per cent for
urban, according to an
official statement re-
leased by the National
Statistical Office (NSO).
‘Students can pursue 2
degrees at same time’
New Delhi: Students
will now be able to pur-
sue two full-time degree
programmesinphysical
mode simultaneously
either at the same uni-
versity or from different
universities,UGCChair-
man Jagadesh Kumar
announced on Tuesday
.
TheUniversityGrants
Commission (UGC) will
soon issue detailed
guidelinesinthisregard.
“As announced in the
new National Educa-
tion Policy (NEP) and in
order to allow students
to acquire multiple
skills, UGC is coming
up with new guidelines
to allow a candidate to
pursue two degree pro-
grammes in physical
mode simultaneously.
The degrees can either
be pursued from the
same or different uni-
versities,” Kumar said
at a press conference.
Students will also be
allowed to pursue two
degree programmes in
physical and online
mode simultaneously,
he added.
Northeast has seen rapid
devp under Modi:Thakur
Mumbai (PTI): Union
Minister of Informa-
tion and Broadcasting
Anurag Thakur at-
tended the third day of
the four-day ‘Mad-
havpur Ghed Fair’ in
Gujarat. The event was
alsoattendedbyNBiren
Singh, Chief Minister
of Manipur and Minis-
ters of Gujarat.
Addressing the audi-
ence on the occasion the
Minister said Mad-
havpur Ghed Festival is
highest symbol of con-
necting people and the
festival brings together
the far east of the coun-
try and the west. Speak-
ing on the work being
carried out in the States
of north-east Thakur
saidLookEastPolicyhas
become Act East Policy
only under the current
Govt and north eastern
Statesof Indiahavesince
seen unprecedented de-
velopment in infrastruc-
ture and facilities.
Cong mentality:
AAP on Punjab
singer Sidhu’s
‘gaddar’ lyrics
Chandigarh: Punjabi
singer Sidhu Moose
Wala on Tuesday came
under sharp attack
from Punjab’s ruling
Aam Aadmi Party over
his latest song, with the
party leaders accusing
him of calling the peo-
ple of the state traitors.
Shubhdeep Singh Sid-
hu, also known by his
stagenameSidhuMoose
Wala, released his latest
song titled ‘Scapegoat’
in which he talks about
his defeat in the recent
Assembly polls.
Moose Wala, who
fought on a Congress
ticket from Mansa As-
sembly seat, was defeat-
edbyAAP’sVijaySingla
with a margin of 63,323
votes. AAP leader Mal-
winder Singh Kang al-
leged Moose Wala called
the people of Punjab
“gaddar” in his latest
song and demanded the
Congress to clear its
stand on the “objection-
able” lyrics.
“The song reflects the
mentality of the Con-
gress,” Kang alleged.
Condemning singer,
AAP MLA Jeevan Jyot
Kaur tweeted, “Punjab-
is are neither traitors
nor hypocrites. We have
a rich history and we
always stand for justice
and truth. Mind your
words.”
After Kharge, ED
summons Pawan
in Herald case
New Delhi: Congress
leader and former Un-
ion Minister Pawan
Bansal was summoned
by the Enforcement Di-
rectorate on Tuesday in
connection with the Na-
tional Herald case.
The development
comes a day after the
law enforcement agen-
cy questioned Congress
leader Mallikarjun
Kharge in connection
with its investigation.
Young Indian is a
charitable organisa-
tion, which acquired
AJL and its assets
worth over Rs 400 crore
from Congress.
CRUCIAL READ
MEHBOOBA MUFTI
PLACED UNDER
HOUSE ARREST
Srinagar: Authorities on
Tuesday placed former
Chief Minister Mehbooba
Mufti under house arrest
in Srinagar city prevent-
ing her from going to
Anantnag district. Mufti
alleged that she intended
to visit the family of the
Kashmiri Pandit in Shop-
ian district.
ED ATTACHES RS 50
LAKH FLAT OF IQBAL
KASKAR’S AIDE
Mumbai: ED has attached
a flat in Thane worth
around Rs 50 lakh that
belonged to Iqbal Kaskar’s
close associate Mumtaz
Ezaz Shaikh in a money
laundering case. ED had
registered the case against
Pakistan based gangster
Dawood Ibrahim, his fam-
ily members and others.
MADHYA PRADESH MINISTER BLAMES
MUSLIMS FOR RAM NAVAMI CLASHES
Khargone (MP): In escalating tensions over
clashes during a Ram Navami procession in Madhya
Pradesh’s Khargone, the state Home Minister Narot-
tam Mishra on Tuesday directly accused Muslims
of violence and rioting. He also defended the Govt’s
widely criticised move to demolish homes of those
who allegedly threw stones at Hindu procession.
Shah urges everyone to work for welfare
of country and people in next 25 years
New Delhi (PTI): Un-
ion home minister Amit
Shah on Tuesday ap-
pealed to everyone, ir-
respective of party af-
filiations, to work for
the welfare of people
and the country in the
next 25 years so that In-
dia becomes one of the
most developed nations
in the world.
Shah said Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
had said the next 25
years — from the 75th
year of India’s inde-
pendence to the 100th
year of country’s free-
dom — is crucial for the
growth of the country
and this period has
been termed as ‘Amrit
Kaal’.
SHAH IN PONDY ON
APRIL 24 TO IRON
OUT DIFFERENCES
New Delhi: Union Home
Minister Amit Shah will
visit Puducherry on April
24 to attend several
programmes. The visit
is primarily intended to
iron out the differences
between CM N Ran-
gasamy and the BJP
legislators. Ever since
the coalition government
of the AINRC and the
BJP assumed office in
the Union Territory, there
have been differences
between the two parties.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressing at the Inaugural session
of ‘Amrit Samagam’ in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘Delhi remote control: Oppn as
Kejriwal holds Punjab meeting
Chandigarh (Agen-
cies): Arvind Kejri-
wal’s meeting with Pun-
jab officers on Monday,
reportedly in the ab-
sence of CM Bhagwant
Mann, has fueled a mas-
sive controversy with
the opposition Con-
gress alleging “remote
control” by the AAP
chief.
Arvind Kejriwal, the
CM of Delhi, reportedly
met with top officials of
the Punjab State Power
Corporation Limited
(PSPCL) in the meeting,
where the Sate’s chief
secretary were present.
Opposition parties
like the Congress and
Akali Dal seized on re-
ports that Mann, who
took charge as CM, was
not present at meeting.
“IAS officers sum-
moned by Kejriwal in
Mann’s absence. This
exposes the de-facto CM
and Delhi remote con-
trol. Clear breach of
federalism, insult to
Punjabi pride. Both
must clarify (sic),”
tweeted Navjot Singh
Sidhu.
Arvind Kejriwal with Bhagwant Mann. —FILE PHOTO
Birla: Youth will make democratic
institutions more accountable
Guwahati (ANI): Lok
Sabha Speaker Om Bir-
la on Tuesday said that
youth are not only the
future of the country
but also the present.
In his address at the
valedictory session of
the eighth Common-
wealth Parliamentary
Association Confer-
ence, Birla said that the
youth, with their ener-
gy, potential and inno-
vative thinking are ca-
pable of bringing posi-
tive changes in society
and meaningful solu-
tions for the future.
“It is the responsibil-
ity of democratic insti-
tutions to ensure active
participation of youth
and women in policy-
making and to make
maximum use of them
for the development of
the country,” he said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and other dignitaries at the
valedictory session in Guwahati on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

INDIA
06
READY TO SUPPLY FOOD STOCK
TO WORLD IF WTO GIVES NOD: PM
Ahmedabad: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Tuesday said
that during his talk with
US President Joe Biden,
he offered to supply In-
dia’s food stock to the
worldif theWorldTrade
Organisation (WTO) ac-
cords permission.
Food stock in differ-
ent parts of the world is
dwindling due to the
war (in Ukraine),
Modi said.
“Today the world is
facing an uncertain sit-
uation as nobody is get-
ting what they want.
Petrol, oil and fertiliz-
ers are hard to procure
as all the doors are get-
ting closed. Everybody
wants to secure their
stocks after this (Rus-
sia-Ukraine) war be-
gan,” Modi said.
“The world is facing a
new problem now; the
food stock of the world
is getting empty, I was
talking to the US Presi-
dent, and he also raised
this issue. I suggested
that if WTO gives per-
mission, India is ready
to supply food stock to
the world from tomor-
row,” Modi said.
Food stock in different parts of the world is dwindling due to the war between Russia Ukraine
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing via video conferencing,
in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
MODI WRITES A LETTER TO
BENEFICIARY OF AWAS YOJANA
New Delhi (ANI): To
congratulate a ben-
eficiary of PM Awas
Yojana on Tuesday, PM
Narendra Modi wrote
a letter to congratulate
him for the ownership,
to add up to his con-
tentment. According
to an official state-
ment, PM Modi sent a
letter to Sudhir Kumar
Jain of Sagar district
of Madhya Pradesh
for adding up to his
happiness of own roof
by congratulating him.
“House is not just
a structure made of
bricks and cement, but
our feelings, our aspi-
rations are attached to
it. The boundary walls
of the house not only
provide us security
but also instil in us
the confidence of a
better tomorrow,” PM
wrote in his letter to
Jain. “The dream of
your own house has
come true through the
Pradhan Mantri Awas
Yojana. Your sense of
satisfaction after this
achievement can easily
be felt by your words
in the letter. This house
is like a new founda-
tion for the dignified
life of your family and
a better future for both
your children,” state-
ment read quoting PM.
US yet to decide on sanctions
over Russia-India missile deal
Washington (PTI):
The US has not yet
made any decision on
potential sanctions or
waivers to India un-
der CATSAA law for
its purchase of the
S-400 missile defence
system from Russia,
Secretary of State An-
tony Blinken has said.
The US administra-
tion is required under
its domestic law,
Countering Ameri-
ca’s Adversaries
through Sanctions
Act (CAATSA) to im-
pose sanctions on any
country that has sig-
nificant transactions
with Iran, North Ko-
rea or Russia.
CAATSA is a tough
US law that authoris-
es the administration
to impose sanctions
on countries that pur-
chase defence hard-
ware from Russia.
“We continue to
urge all countries to
avoid major new
transactions for Rus-
sian weapons sys-
tems. We’ve not yet
made a determination
on sanctions under
the CATSAA law,”
Blinken said.
INDIA PLANS $2BN EXPORTS TO RUSSIA
India,AmericaurgeTalibantofollowUNSC
resolution, call to end violence in Myanmar
Washington: India and
the US have called on
the Taliban leadership
to abide by the UNSC
resolution which de-
mands that Afghani-
stan’s territory must
never again be used to
threaten or attack any
country or to plan or fi-
nance terrorist attacks.
US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken and US
Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin welcomed
Singh and Jaishankar
to Washington for the
Dialogue. “The minis-
ters called on the Tali-
ban to abide by UNSC
Resolution 2593 (2021),
which demands that Af-
ghan territory must
never again be used to
threaten or attack any
country or to shelter or
train terrorists, or to
plan or finance terror-
ist attacks,” the joint
statement issued by the
Ministry of External
Affairs said on Tuesday
.
The ministers also
called for the cessation
of violence in Myan-
mar, the release of all
those arbitrarily de-
tained, and a swift re-
turn to the path of de-
mocracy and inclusive
governance.
Myanmar’s military
seized power on Febru-
ary 1 after overthrow-
ing the elected govern-
ment led by Aung San
Suu Kyi.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, EAM S Jaishankar along with US
Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin and US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken in Washington. —PHOTO BY ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
SC: CLARIFY STAND ON
SALEM’S SENTENCE
New Delhi : The Supreme
Court on Tuesday directed
the Union home secretary
to file an affidavit by April
18 on whether it is going
to abide by the solemn
assurance given by the
then deputy Prime Minister
of India Lal Krishna Advani
to the Portugal govern-
ment that the maximum
sentence handed out to
gangster Abu Salem will
not exceed 25 years.
SC ASKS FTII TO
ALLOW DIVYANGS
New Delhi(PTI): The
Supreme Court on Tuesday
directed the Pune-based
Film and Television Insti-
tute of India (FTII) to allow
candidates suffering from
colour blindness to pursue
all courses on filmmaking
and editing. It said no
discrimination be made
based on colour blindness
for getting admission in the
institute as it is not a form
of blindness.
Raipur: A 56-year-old woman was raped, brutalised
with an iron rod before her head was smashed with a
boulder in a blood-curdling incident in Chhattisgarh, the
police have said. The woman, who had a mental disabil-
ity, had resisted rape and was found last Wednesday
so badly mutilated that the police in Janjgir-Champa
district thought she was killed in a road accident. The
autopsy report revealed the horror. An investigation by
the police and security camera footage found that she
was savagely assaulted and dragged by someone on
the road. She had been kicked in the stomach, punched
in the eyes and assaulted with an iron rod.
Hyderabad: After setting the Centre a 24-hour deadline
to procure foodgrain from Telangana’s farmers, CM K
Chandrashekar Rao heaped insults on the Central gov-
ernment and accused the BJP of
weakening the agriculture sector.
This, he said, is a conspiracy to
hand over the agriculture sector
to corporates and reduce farmers
to labourers. Rao had set up a
fresh face-off with the Centre and
PM Modi with a dispute involving the purchase of rice
from farmers in his state. During his sit-in protest in
Delhi, “I asked them if they don’t have the money or the
PM has no heart to buy food grain,” he said.
56-YEAR-OLD WOMAN RAPED, TORTURED
WITH IRON ROD IN CHHATTISGARH
CONSPIRACY TO HAND AGRI SECTOR
TO CORPORATES: KCR SLAMS BJP
CRUCIAL READ
Covid-19: Health Minister Mandaviya takes
stock of ‘XE variant’, wants boost in vaccination
New Delhi (PTI): Un-
ion Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya,
who chaired a meeting
of the country’s key ex-
perts on Covid-19’s new
‘XE variant’, directed
officials to boost the on-
going monitoring and
surveillance of new
variants and cases as
well as of vaccinations.
He also asked the of-
ficials to constantly re-
view the availability of
essential drugs and
medicines required in
the treatment of Cov-
id-19 patients, a state-
ment from the ministry
read. The Health Minis-
ter further emphasised
on carrying out the on-
going vaccination drive
at full pace and to vac-
cinate all eligible candi-
dates, the statement
said.
The meeting was at-
tended by Dr VK Paul,
Rajesh Bhushan, Dr
Randip Guleria, Dr Bal-
rama Bhargava, Dr. NK
Arora and others.
US MONITORING
RECENT HUMAN
RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
IN INDIA: BLINKEN
Washington: In an other-
wise congenial diplomatic
engagement between top
US and Indian officials,
the Biden administra-
tion on Monday struck a
mildly disapproving and
discordant note by unilat-
erally raising what it said
is a rise in human rights
abuses in India. “We are
monitoring some recent
concerning develop-
ments in India, including
a rise in human rights
abuses by some govern-
ment, police, and prison
officials,” US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken told
the media.
Mumbai: India is likely
to get average monsoon
rains this year, a private
weather forecasting
agency said on Tuesday
,
raising prospects of
higher farm and eco-
nomic growth in Asia’s
third-biggest economy
.
Monsoon rain are ex-
pected to be 98% of the
long-term average, and
there is a 65% chance
that India will get aver-
age rainfall, Skymet
said.
The weather agency
is in the process of
gathering data sets per-
tinent for a comprehen-
sive monsoon forecast
in April.
New Delhi defines av-
erage, or normal, rain-
fall as between 96% and
104% of a 50-year aver-
age of 88 centimetres
(35 inches) for the four-
month season begin-
ning June.
Monsoon to be average: Skymet
CRUCIAL MONSOON
lll
Nearly half of
India’s farmland,
which has no
irrigation cover,
depends on
Monsoon to
grow crops such
as rice, corn,
cane, cotton and
soybeans.
Lanka announces defaulting on
all its $51billion external debt
Colombo: Sri Lanka
defaulted on its $51 bil-
lion foreign debt Tues-
day as the island nation
grapples with its worst
economic crisis in
memory and wide-
spread protests de-
manding the govern-
ment’s resignation.
Acute food and fuel
shortages, alongside
long daily electricity
blackouts, have brought
widespread suffering to
the country’s 22 million
people in the most pain-
ful downturn since in-
dependence in 1948.
Public anger has
flared in recent weeks
with crowds attempting
to storm the homes of
government leaders.
Sri Lanka’s Finance
Ministry said the coun-
try was defaulting on
all external obligations,
including loans from
foreign governments.
Protester wave a Sri Lankan
national flag during a protest.
ARJUNA URGES
Baisakhi 2022: Sikh ‘Jatha’
from India depart for Lahore
Delimitation in
JK may be
over by April
Amritsar (ANI): A
group of Sikh ‘Jatha’
departed for Pakistan’s
Lahore on Tuesday for
celebrating the festival
of Baisakhi (Khalsa Sa-
jna Day).
“We all are ready to
go to the Guru’s place to
bow the head at Guru
Nanak Dev, who is the
Guru for Indians and
Pir for the people of Pa-
kistan,” said a member
of the batch.
“We had applied for
900 visa permits but
could get permits for
only 705, resulting in
the disheartening of
the 195 whose visas
were rejected,” said
Ravinder Singh Khalsa.
“We really hope the
new Prime Minister of
Pakistan Shehbaz Sha-
rif to keep the brother-
hood amongst countries
maintained and ease
the Visa system,” he
added.
Most of the pilgrim
devotees have empha-
sized their demand for
cancelling the visa re-
quirements to visit the
Gurudwara in the
neighbouring country
.
New Delhi (ANI): The
Centre will take a final
call on elections in JK
after the Delimitation
Commission submits
its final report by April-
end. The decision will
be taken after the Cen-
tre reviews all aspects,
sources said.
“The report will be
submitted to Ministry
of Law and Justice. And
after which a summary
revision of Electoral
rolls will be taken up by
the Election Commis-
sion,” said official.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chairs a meeting.
Reduce time gap
for booster jab to 6
months: SII to Govt
New Delhi (PTI): Vaccine
major SII has appealed
to the Government to
reduce the gap between
the second and booster
dose to six months from
nine months at present,
according to its CEO Adar
Poonawalla. Recall-
ing that they could not
meet the commitment of
exporting vaccines in the
first quarter of 2021.
GUARD YOUR LEMONS,
THIEVES STEAL 60KG IN
UP’S SHAHJAHANPUR
Shahjahanpur: Anything
that is valuable is a thief’s
delight. And with the
prices of lemon skyrocket-
ing in the market, thieves
in Shahjahanpur stole
60 kilos of lemon stored
in a vegetable trader’s
godown. The thieves also
stole some other high-
priced vegetables from the
godown. Manoj Kashyap,
the vegetable trader, said
the thieves took away 60
kilos of lemon, 40 kg of
onions, 38 kg of garlic and
a fork from his godown.
The trader from Bahadu-
rganj Mohalla, who has a
shop in the Bajaria area.
BJP’S BULLDOZER
CARRYING “HATRED,
TERROR”: RAGA
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment should run a
bulldozer over problems
of the people such as in-
flation and unemployment
but the BJP’s bulldozer
is carrying “hatred and
terror”, Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi said on
Tuesday. His attack on the
BJP came after the Khar-
gone district administra-
tion in Madhya Pradesh
started demolition of at
least 50 “illegal” struc-
tures of people accused
of pelting stones at a Ram
Navami procession.
—FILE PHOTO
OVER 1,500 SCHOOLS IN MAHA
DISTRICT LOSE POWER SUPPLY
Alibaug: MSEB has
stopped power supply to
over 1,500 schools in
Maharashtra’s Raigad
district over non-pay-
ment of dues, an official
said on Tuesday
. Power
supply has been discon-
nected to 1,549 schools
of Raigad Zilla Pari-
shad, of which 679 have
lost electricity perma-
nently, the MSEB offi-
cial said. The supply
has been stopped due to
non-payment of bills to
the tune of Rs 49.74 L,
he said. Electricity has
been disconnected at
118 schools in Pen.

BIZ BUZZ
07
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
Patent filings rise to
66,440 in FY22: GoI
New Delhi (PTI): The
numberof patentfilings
increased from 42,763 in
2014-15 to 66,440 in 2021-
22 due to steps taken by
the government to
strengthen intellectual
property rights (IPR) re-
gime of the country
, the
commerce and industry
ministry said on Tues-
day
.
It also said India
granted 30,074 patents
in 2021-22 as compared
to 5,978 in 2014-15.
There has also been a
reduction in the time of
patent examination
from 72 months in 2016
to 5-23 months at pre-
sent.
“For the first time in
the last 11 years, the
number of domestic
patent filing has sur-
passed the number of
international patent fil-
ing at Indian Patent (IP)
officeinJanuary-March
2022 quarter,” it said.
Of the total 19,796
patent applications
filed, 10,706 were filed
by Indian applicants
and 9,090 by non-Indian
applicants, it added.
The coordinated ef-
forts by the department
for promotion of indus-
try and internal trade
(DPIIT) and IP office
has led to increased
awareness among all
strata of the society, it
said. These efforts have
on one hand led to in-
crease in the number of
IPR filings and on the
other hand, reduced the
pendency of patent ap-
plications.
COORDINATED EFFORTS
Mumbai (Agen-
cies): IndianOilCorp
(IOC) has excluded
several high-sulphur
crude grades, includ-
ing Russian Urals,
from its latest tender,
trade sources said on
Tuesday
.
India’s top refiner
informed market
participants that
Das, Eugene Island,
Thunder Horse and
Urals crude were no
longer on the list of
grades under its lat-
est tender, which
closes on Tuesday,
the sources said.
IOC imports crude
for itself and on be-
half of its Chennai
Petroleum subsidi-
ary
.
U.S. President Joe
Biden had told Indi-
an Prime Minister
Narendra Modi late
on Monday that buy-
ing more oil from
Russia was not in In-
dia’s interest and
could hamper the
U.S. response to the
war in Ukraine.
Indian Oil removes
Russian Urals from latest
tender, says report
Household budget
strained as prices of
essentials, fuel rise
New Delhi (PTI):
A sharp rise in pric-
es of essential com-
modities over the
past few months
coupled with the
latest burden of
steep hike in fuel
rates have made life
difficult for almost
every section of the
society across the
country, with peo-
ple finding it hard
to manage their
household budget.
While the prices
of vegetables and
several other food
items have gone
through the roof,
the rates of petrol
and diesel have in-
creased by about Rs
10 per litre each in
the past one month.
Besides, the prices
of other petroleum
products, including
cooking gas, have
also witnessed a
rise in the past few
days, adding to the
woes of the people.
“The daily hike
in fuel prices has
made our life diffi-
cult. An LPG cylin-
der now costs
around Rs 1,000,
while prices of oth-
er commodities, in-
cluding fruits, veg-
etables, and cook-
ing oil, have sharp-
ly increased,” said
Anudeep Kaur
Goraya, a home-
maker from Phag-
wara in Punjab.
Ompal Singh, a
businessman from
Haryana’sHisarwho
runs a shop in the
automarket,saidthe
rising inflation has
also hit small busi-
nesses and traders.
The rising prices
have hit almost eve-
ryone, either it be a
milkman from Mad-
hya Pradesh or a
fish vendor from
Kerala.
Kallu Ram (50), a
milkman from Bho-
pal, said the high
petrol price has
made a big dent in
his savings,” said
Ram.
About29%Indianhouseholdsdowngradededibleoil:Report
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): As prices of edi-
ble oils rose over the
past 12 months, the
low-and middle-income
households from
across India have been
feeling the pinch. Pric-
es of most edible oils—
sunflower oil, peanut
oil, canola oil, sesame
oil, coconut oil, soya-
bean oil, mustard oil,
palm oil, olive oil—
which Indian house-
holds use for cooking,
have shot up by 50%-
70% above the pre-
COVID levels. As edible
oil prices have risen,
24% of Indian house-
holds have cut down
consumption while
67% are paying more
for it by reducing
spending and savings,
shows a survey by Loc-
alCircles.
In a release, Local-
Circles says, “Indian
households are coping
with this price increase
by downgrading their
cooking oil to a cheaper
alternative, which in
the long run could have
health risks. In the sur-
vey, 29% of Indian
households said that
they have downgraded
their cooking oil.”
According to indus-
try experts, domestic
edible oil prices have
risen by 50-100% in the
last 12 months, and by
25-40% in the last 45
days.
Sensex slides 388
points; Tata Steel, RIL,
Wipro, Bharti Airtel dip
Mumbai (ANI): The
Indian equities mar-
kets’ key indices fell
sharply for the second
consecutive day on
Tuesday with the
benchmark Sensex
closing 388 points
down on negative
global cues.
The 30 stock SP
BSE Sensex slumped
388.20pointsor0.66per
centtocloseat58,576.37
points against its pre-
vious day’s close at
58,964.57
points.
Ear-
lier, the Sensex opened
in the red at 58,743.50
points and slumped to
alowof 58,298.57points
in the intra-day
.
This is the second
consecutive day of a
sharpplungeinthekey
indices.TheSensexhad
lost 482.61 points or 0.81
per cent on Monday
.
The broader Nifty 50
of the National Stock
Exchange fell 144.65
points or 0.82 per cent
to 17,530.30 points. The
Nifty had lost 109.40
points or 0.62 per cent
on Monday
.
Tata Steel plunged
2.76 per cent to Rs
1320.55. LT slumped
1.86 per cent to Rs
1747.50. Bharti Airtel
slipped 2.15 per cent to
Rs 741.60.
The index heavy-
weight Reliance In-
dustries slumped
1.90 per cent to Rs
2560.15.
`3 tn opportunity for stakeholders in EVs: CRISIL
Mumbai (Agencies):
Electric vehicles (EVs)
present an opportunity
of almost Rs 3 trillion
for various stakehold-
ers in India over the
next 5 years through
fiscal 2026, a CRISIL
analysis indicates.
The opportunity in-
cludespotentialrevenue
of about Rs 1.5 trillion
across vehicle segments
for vehicle makers as
well as component man-
ufacturers and Rs 90,000
crore in the form of dis-
bursements for vehicle
financiers, with shared
mobility and insurance
accounting for the bal-
ance.
Meanwhile, reflecting
the shifting from ICE to
battery operated vehi-
cles, data on the Vahan
portal shows the share
of electric three-wheel-
ers (3Ws) increased to
almost5percentof three
wheelers registered in
fiscal2022fromlessthan
1 per cent in fiscal 2018.
For electric two-
wheelers (2Ws) and
buses, the percentages
rose to almost 2 per cent
and 4 per cent, respec-
tively. The shift is not
limited to large cities
either. Smaller towns
are also entering the
fray, driven by the gov-
ernment’s fiscal and
non-fiscal measures.
According to Vahan
statistics, the contribu-
tion of the top 10 dis-
tricts in nationwide
sales of electric cars
and 3Ws
d r o p p e d
from 55-60
per cent
in fiscal
2021 to
25-30 per
cent in
fiscal
2022.
F o r
t w o
w h e e l -
ers, the
percentage
declined from 40-45 per
cent to 15-20 per cent.
The drivers of EV
adoption are for all too
evident. Rising fuel
prices and higher cost
of ICE vehicles are im-
pacting their afforda-
bility, and government
support for EVs is also
playing a h u g e
role.
New Delhi (PTI): Coal block allocatees have a
golden opportunity to augment production as
the demand for thermal coal will rise due to an
increase in electricity demand, according to a
senior government official. There are reports of
coal shortages amid rising demand for electric-
ity with the onset of summer season. New coal
blocks are being allocated for commercial mining
and prospective bidders have shown encouraging
responses for these blocks.
‘DEMAND FOR COAL TO RISE DUE TO
INCREASE IN ELECTRICITY DEMAND’
New Delhi (Agencies): With a net worth of $118 bil-
lion, Gautam Adani is now the sixth-richest person
in the world, according to a report by Times Now.
The owner of Adani conglomerate has overtaken the
founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin,
according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The
chairman of Adani group saw his wealth rise by Rs
65,091 cr as the share prices of his companies like
Adani Green Energy, Adani Enterprises, Adani Gas
and Adani Transmission soared on Monday.
GAUTAM ADANI NOW WORLD’S 6TH-
RICHEST; PIPS GOOGLE FOUNDERS
New Delhi (Agencies): With an aim to make the
online railway travel booking experience better, online
bus ticketing platform redBus on Tuesday launched
a standalone lite app called ‘redRail. redRail, which
was launched as an in-app feature on redBus late last
year, will now be accessible on all mobile devices, in-
cluding entry-level Android OS smartphones. “redRail
is a rail ticket booking service launched by redBus, in
collaboration with IRCTC as the authorised partner,”
Prakash Sangam, CEO of redBus, told news agency.
REDBUS LAUNCHES ‘REDRAIL’, A LITE
APP FOR EASY TRAIN BOOKINGS
Bitcoin INC announces its
innovative token format, BEP-20
We should take textiles exports
to $100 billion by 2030: Goyal
New Delhi (ANI/PNN): The Bitcoin
INC (BINC) is based on Binance
Smart Chain (BEP20), and all the
crypto and NFT enthusiasts, inves-
tors, and traders will now be able to
make the most of the new block-
chain infrastructure. There are so
many things happening around the
world, with news and updates on
new advancements and develop-
ments taking place across different
industries and sectors of the world.
It is essential today to throw more
light on these advancements that
have been curated and created with
keeping a bigger purpose in mind.
The digital financial industry is one,
which so far has given rise to many
such incredible brands, businesses,
and platforms, but among them, only
a few go ahead in turning people’s
heads and making them aware of
how exceptional some developments
are in taking the industry and the
whole world forward in ways more
than one. The recent announcements
disrupted the Defi space for the bet-
ter, which included the launch of new
blockchain infrastructure. Recent
news is abuzz that Bitcoin INC (BINC)
is based on Binance Smart Chain
(BEP20).
New Delhi (PTI): Union Minister
Piyush Goyal on Tuesday pitched
for taking the textiles exports of the
country to USD 100 billion by 2030
as the sector is recording a healthy
growth. The textiles minister also said
the exports would get a boost as the
sector would get zero duty access
in the UAE and Australia. India has
signed a trade pact with both these
countries. India is also trying to get
zero duty access in the markets of the
European Union, Canada, the UK and
member countries of the Gulf Coop-
eration Council (GCC), he said here
at a function. India is negotiating free
trade pacts with these countries.
The textiles exports last fiscal year
stood at USD 43 billion as against
USD 33 billion in the previous year.
“The sector is growing at a fast pace
and we should take exports to USD
100 billion by 2030. We will leave
no stone unturned to achieve this
aggressive growth and substantial
target,” Goyal said. He added that
the current geopolitical situation is
changing and it provides huge op-
portunities for the industry to boost
exports. The minister further empha-
sised on the need to promote cotton
production in the country.
WB accounts for 10.4%
MFI loan portfolio: Report
Kolkata (PTI): West
Bengal accounts for
10.4 per cent of the to-
tal MFI loan portfolio
in the country after
Tamil Nadu at 12.4 per
cent, as per a new re-
port.
It said the MFI seg-
ment created huge
small entrepreneur-
ship in the state, cov-
ering eight million
women, mostly from
the underprivileged
segment of the socie-
ty
.
The government
needs to be more pro-
active in terms of pro-
viding on issues like
issuance of trade li-
cences, shop and es-
tablishment registra-
tion and other compli-
ance processes, the
report by the Associa-
tion of MFIs in In-
dia, West Bengal Chap-
ter, said.
It also said AMFI
in West Bengal direct-
ly employs around
37,000 people, a bulk of
them from the low-in-
come families with
limited educational
qualifications.
Domestic edible oil
prices have risen by
50-100% in last 12
months
INCREASING SHARE

Greetings on the occasion of
Baisakhi. Good health and
prosperity to all.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Rashid
Khan has been steady
without being ex-
traordinary like pre-
vious years and the
reason for that is the
safety first approach
by opposition batters
during this edition of
IPL, feels Gujarat Ti-
tans spinner.
He has taken six
wickets from four
matches at an economy
rate of 6.68 but batters
across teams have nego-
tiated the Afghan great
pretty well. But the
23-year-old, who is
among the most sought-
after leg-spinners in
franchise cricket
around the world, is not
surprised and says it’s
just a matter of time.
“I’m happy with the
way I’m bowling in this
competition so far,” he
said in a virtual media
interaction here.
“I don’t really focus
on results, it’s all about
how I’m bowling. But
it’s about the opposi-
tion, they don’t take
thatkindof riskagainst
you which will allow
you to take more wick-
ets,” Rashid said.“But
whenever there are
enough opportunities
as a bowler, I would be
smart enough to get
them out. So far I’m
happy with my bowling,
the pitching has been
great,” he added.
Rashid had decent
figures of 1/28 as Guja-
rat suffered their first
defeat against his old
team Sunrisers Hy-
derabad on Monday—
after three wins—los-
ing by eight wickets.
One shy of getting his
100th IPL scalp, Rashid
said he’s always been a
slow starter in the IPL.
“If you look at the
stats in IPL, I always
have similar (slow)
starts. I’ve always tak-
en 5-6 wickets, not 12-13
in the first four-five
games. It always re-
mained the same. But
definitely, I will try my
best to keep improving.
Definitely, there will be
a time when I’ll deliver
that magic spell,” he
promised.
Rashid, who has
played 80 matches
across 2017-2022, said
it’s an unbelievable
journey for him so far.
“Five years back, I
didn’t even think of
playing IPL. Nearing
100 (wickets), becoming
vice-captain of Gujarat,
it’s massive. I’m so
lucky and blessed.”
On being part of the
leadership group by be-
ingthedeputytoHardik
Pandya, Rashid said the
best part is about hav-
ing clarity about their
individual roles.
“At times, you per-
form and at times you
don’t. The mindset is
about giving 100%
that’s more important
than the result. We as a
team are clear about it
and everyone knows
about their roles.”
Gujarat Titans next
face Rajasthan Royals
at the DY Patil stadium
on Thursday.
Batters have stopped taking risks against me: Rashid
IPL 2022
Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan . —FILE PHOTO
TOUGH BREAK
lll
Gujarat Titans
spinner has
taken 6
wickets from
4 matches
but batters
across teams
have
negotiated
him well
QUOTA SPEARHEAD HARDIK PATEL
HINTS AT CONTESTING GUJ POLLS
The Supreme Court has stayed his conviction in a 2015 rioting and arson case
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Gujarat
Congress leader
Hardik Patel on Tues-
day said that his aim
was not just to con-
test elections but also
to serve the people,
soon after the Su-
preme Court stayed
his conviction in a
2015 rioting and ar-
son case, paving the
way for him to fight
upcoming polls.
Patelhadspearheaded
the Patidar community
campaign in Gujarat in
2015 seeking reservation
under the OBC category
.
The assembly elec-
tions are due in Gujarat
in December this year.
“My aim is not only
to contest elections but
also to serve the people
of Gujarat with
strength. Three years
ago, I was sentenced to
two years in jail in a
false case, but today the
Supreme Court has
stayed the sentence. I
thank the judiciary
from the heart,” tweet-
ed Patel, the working
president of Congress
in Gujarat, in Hindi.
Earlier in the day, a
supreme court bench
stayed Patel’s convic-
tion in the rioting and
arson case and said,
“Having regard to the
facts and circumstanc-
es, we are of the view
that this is the fit case
for the high court to
have stayed the convic-
tion. The conviction is,
hereby, stayed until the
appeals are decided ac-
cordingly
.”
The top court was
hearing a plea filed by
Patel against the judge-
ment of the Gujarat
High Court seeking
suspension of the con-
viction so that he could
contest the 2019 Lok
Sabha elections.
Patel had sought a
direction to suspend
the conviction order
passed on July 25, 2018,
by a sessions court in
Mahesana in Visnagar.
The court had sen-
tenced Patel to two
years in jail in the riot-
ing and arson case
lodged against him
and others during the
state-wide Patidar agi-
tation in 2015.
He had also chal-
lenged the validity of
the high court’s order
of March 29, 2019, re-
fusing his plea for a
stay on the conviction.
Ananya Sengupta
Surat/Navsari: Ja-
pan’s high speed Shin-
kansen trains will be
modified for Indian
conditions like tem-
perature, dust and
weight before they are
sent to India for the
country’s ambitious
‘bullet train project’.
Satish Agnihotri,
Managing Director,
National High Speed
Rail Corporation Lim-
ited (NHSRCL) said the
project is slated to
complete a 48 km sec-
tion between Surat-
Billimora in 2027, with
the first trials to be
held a year earlier. He,
however, said the pro-
ject is stuck in Maha-
rashtra due to land ac-
quisition issues.
“We will get the E5
Shinkasen series trains
currently operating in
Japan. However, we are
conductingstudiestoup-
grade them to Indian
conditions in terms of
dust and temperature,”
Agnihotri said.
The E5 series are Jap-
anese Shinkansen high-
speedtraintypesbuiltby
Hitachi and Kawasaki
Heavy Industries. They
are capable of running
at a speed of 320kmph
and are 3.35 m wide, the
widest among such
trains are available in
countries like France
and Germany
.
Sources said another
aspect that the Japanese
are working on is to en-
sure that the trains are
able to carry the Indian
weight as the Japanese
are lighter.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Customs Department
has found evidence
that Rs1,300 crore
worth of gold was
smuggled into the
city through the
Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel International
Airport between 2013
and 2019, and has pe-
nalized four persons
of more than Rs433
crore in this regard.
Given that the evi-
dence uncovered so far
also points to a hawala
racket, customs offi-
cials have also shared
their information with
the Enforcement De-
partment, which will
now look into the ha-
wala angle, officials
said on Tuesday
.
The investigation
into the smuggling op-
eration was uncovered
back in 2019, when air-
line employee Jignesh
Savaliya was caught
while helping carrier
Lokesh Sharma smug-
gle in 24.5kg of gold
from Dubai. The duo
revealed that the rack-
et had been going on
since 2013.
Over the course of
the investigation, cus-
toms officials seized
notes bearing details of
money paid for smug-
gling, from one Nita
Parmar,anemployeeof
the kingpin Rutuga
Trivedi. Officials have
also dug out emails
from and to Jignesh
Savaliya containing de-
tails of financial trans-
actions in the name of
JR and MB. Further in-
vestigation revealed
that one of the accused,
Jitendra Rokad, had
been transferring mon-
eyforthesmuggledgold
through hawala.
Customs have raised
a penalty demand of
Rs433,65,23,100 crore
against Rutuga Trive-
di, Jignesh Savaliya,
Lokesh Sharma, and
Divya Bhudiya. If the
four want the seized
gold back, they will
have to pay the penalty
within the stipulated
time frame.
Patidar community leader and Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel. —FILE PHOTO
The project is slated to complete a 48 km section in 2027.
BACKGROUND
4 penalized `433 cr for
smuggling `1,300 cr
gold into A’bad in 6 yrs
Bullettraintrialstostart
2026aftermodifications
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The In-
dian Army has issued
a rejoinder to a state-
ment issued by the
Hanuman Mandir
Trust on the issue of
Hanuman Jayanti cel-
ebrations, to be held
April 16, at the tem-
ple at Camp Hanu-
man in Ahmedabad’s
Cantonment area.
“(The) Mandir trust
had approached Sta-
tion Commander for
requisite permission
with regard to ar-
rangements to be made
by the Mandir Trust on
the auspicious occa-
sion of Shri Hanuman
Jayanti on April 16.
Station Headquarters
has examined all is-
sues from the security
point of view and has
requested Mandir
Trust authority to or-
ganise the event
planned well in all re-
spects, without incon-
venience to anyone, in
coordination with Civ-
il administration and
police authorities to
maintain order during
the event,” it said in a
statement.
“Issue such as Pras-
ad distribution is be-
yond the purview of
the army authority
and no views have
been exchanged in this
regards,” the Army
added.
Hanuman temple event at Cantt has Army nod
First India Bureau
Surat: The work on
the city’s Metro rail
project—which was to
have been completed
prior to the Assembly
elections slated for
later this year—could
be delayed due to
changes in the design
and a lack of commu-
nication between two
sets of officials.
At least five iron pil-
lars have been lying
unutilized at Bhimarad
since January which, a
person close to the issue
says, is because a
change in design could
mean that the pillar
height could need to be
increased from the cur-
rent 8m to 12m.
However, this person
adds, the Surat Munici-
pal Corporation and the
Gujarat Metro Rail Cor-
poration seem to lack-
ing in communication
and cooperation.
“Gas lines, as well as
those for BSNL, water
and drainage passing
underneath the metro
route are still in place.
Work on the Metro can
only be initiated once
they are removed or di-
verted,” this person
said.
Lack of coordination puts brakes on Surat Metro
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO

Tellmesomethingaboutyourself.
I’m a very simple and sober guy
, I
want to learn and explore every
art form, I want to fly to new
heightsbutatthesametimeIwant
to stay grounded. And being a
grounded person means being a
more well-rounded person I don’t
want to leave my base, I want to
cover all segments of fashion
whether it’s of 3k or 30 lacs.
When did your love affair
with design begin? How
would you describe the
emotion?
My mother started a bou-
tique 25 years ago, and I
started designing for the
boutique, that’s how I de-
veloped an interest in de-
signing. I haven’t learnt
designing in my entire
life and learnt every-
thing from my experi-
ence. Design for me is
creativity, Having a
creative mind allows
us to do new and ex-
citing things and
engage ourselves in
a way that takes us
one step closer to
reaching our full
potential, and this I
have used in my art.
My designs are always about ex-
pressions. Attire that will talk on
your behalf!
The journey officially began
24 years ago but my love af-
fair with design has been
ongoing since childhood. I
have always believed in on-
wards and upwards, no look-
ing back!
What do you truly enjoy
working with?
All my creations have
Jaipur’s semi-precious
beads and stones. Myde-
signs have an entire
gamete of legendry
‘gotta Patti’ work,
Swarovski ivory
, ceram-
ic, Belgium sequences spray and
‘
Aari Resham’ rosette work. The
couture looks elegant with geor-
gettes flow, nets, swirls, lush velvets
and Banarsi silk.
who do you feel carries off your
clothes the best.
Madhuri Dixit is an icon, she slays
in every outfit that she dons.
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
EMBROIDERED
EMBROIDERED
WITH IMAGINATION!
WITH IMAGINATION!
UTTKARSHA
SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@
firstindia.co.in
MOHIT FALOD AND HIS AVANT-GARDE DESIGNS ARE SYNONYMOUS WITH
ALL THINGS GLITZ AND GLAMOUR. THE ACE DESIGNER, WHO COMPLETES 24
YEARS OF HIS JOURNEY IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY, HAS SHOWCASED HIS
ASTONISHING DESIGNS ON FASHION CONNECT, HELD IN DUBAI AND HAS
EVEN DESIGNED COSTUMES FOR VARIOUS BOLLYWOOD CELEBS. IN AN
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CITY FIRST, THE DESIGNER TALKS ABOUT HIS
LOVE FOR DESIGN AND HIS JOURNEY IN THE GLAMOUR WORLD.
AHMEDABAD, WEDNESDAY,
APRIL 13, 2022
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA

13042022_First India_Ahmedabad.pdf

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