13102022_ First India New Delhi.pdf

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with German Ambassador Philipp
Ackermann at Delhi Secretariat on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
DU SEMESTER 1 CLASSES FROM NOVEMBER 2
New Delhi: The Delhi University (DU) issued an academic
calendar for first semester students on Wednesday, announc-
ing that classes will begin on November 2 with a four-day
break between the first and second semesters. The first
semester will start in November 2022 and end in March 2023
and the second semester will be from March to July. The first
semester will begin before the third round of admissions.
Germany’s help may be
taken to build world-
class roads in Delhi: CM
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhi government may
consider taking the
help of German experts
in making roads in the
national capital world-
class, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal said
on Wednesday
.
The statement came
after the CM met Ger-
man ambassador to In-
diaPhilippAckermann.
“I had a great ex-
change with Delhi CM
@ArvindKejriwal and
Deputy CM @msisodia
on governance,” Acker-
mann tweeted.
CO-ORDINATED CRACKDOWN ON DOPING
Sports minister promises to ‘protect’ athletes
New Delhi (PTI):
Alarmed by the rise of
doping cases in India,
National Anti Doping
Agency (NADA) will
now join hands with
National Forensic Sci-
ences University and
Food Safety Standards
Authority of India to
“protect” the country’s
athletes, Union Sports
minister Anurag
Thakur said here on
Wednesday. Thakur
said this while address-
ing on the opening day
of the ‘WADA Athlete
Biological Passport
Symposium- 2022’ that
got underway here.
“To ensure that our
athletes are protected
from inadvertent dop-
ing due to consumption
of nutritional supple-
ments with prohibited
substances, NADA is
collaborating with
NFSU and FSSAI,”
Thakur said.
The main objective of
the third edition of the
symposium is to
strengthen anti-doping
measures in the coun-
try, which was ranked
third behind Russia and
Italy in terms of doping
violations reported by
WADA in 2019.
The National Dope
Testing Laboratory is
in the process of setting
up an Athlete Biologi-
cal Passport Unit in In-
dia and Thakur said it
would be a very impor-
tant scientific tool in
anti-doping and the re-
lated research not only
detect but deter doping
in sports.
“The Symposium
will turn out to be a big
milestone in our collec-
tive fight against dop-
ing and also strengthen
the anti-doping pro-
gramme in India,”
Thakur said.
Anti-doping agency
to tie up with Food
Safety Authority,
Forensic Sciences
varsity: Thakur
Anurag Thakur at the opening session of the ‘WADA Athlete Biological Passport Symposium- 2022’, in
New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
DELHI GOVT
RAISES MINIMUM
MONTHLY WAGES
New Delhi: The Delhi
government has raised
the minimum wages of
unskilled, semi-skilled
and skilled workers.
The revised monthly
wages will be applicable
from October 1. Wages
of unskilled workers
will be increased from
`16,506 to ` 16,792,
semi-skilled work-
ers from `18,187 to
`18,499 and skilled
workers from `20,019
to ` 20,357.
NGT imposes `900-crore
fine on Delhi government
New Delhi (PTI): Ob-
serving that “citizens
cannot be faced with
an emergency situa-
tion due to lack of gov-
ernance”, the Nation-
al Green Tribunal
(NGT) has directed the
Delhi government to
pay ` 900 crore as envi-
ronmental compensa-
tion for improper
management of solid
municipal waste.
A bench headed by
chairperson Justice
Adarsh Goel noted
that 80 per cent of
waste at landfill sites
was not remediated.
CBI BOOKS DELHI
FOREST OFFICIALS
New Delhi: The CBI has
registered a case against
unidentified officials
of Delhi government’s
forest department and an
official of Bank of Baroda
in connection with a `223
crore fixed deposit scam.
The CBI has alleged that
the forest department
deposited surplus fund
of `223 crore, which was
transferred to an alleged
fake account.
Delhi Chief Secratary at the
Ghazipur landfill site.
INDIA’S DEBT RATIO
PROJECTED TO BE
84% OF ITS GDP: IMF
India’s debt ratio is projected
to be 84% of its GDP by end
of 2022, which is higher than
many emerging economies,
but its debt is a
little bit easier
to sustain, a
senior IMF offi-
cial has said. “It
would be very
important to give reassurance
to people and to investors
that things are under control,
and things are going to
become less vulnerable over
time,” Mauro, told.
Retail inflation jumps to 5-month
high of 7.41 percent in September
New Delhi: India’s re-
tail inflation touched
7.41 per cent in Septem-
ber, up from 7 per cent
in August, and 6.7 per
cent in July, fuelled by
high food prices, erratic
rainfall, and supply
shocks from Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine.
Prices of daily consum-
ables like cereals and
vegetables, which form
the largest category in
the inflation basket,
have climbed over the
past two years.
The factory output,
measured in terms of
the Index of Industrial
Production (IIP), con-
tracted by (-)0.8% in Au-
gust, as per data re-
leased by the MoSPI.
MODI GOVT’S
DIWALIBONUS!
Union Minister for Information Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur
holding a press conference on Cabinet Decisions, in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: The Cen-
tral government on
Wednesday approved
Rs 22,000 crore as a one-
time grant for state-run
oil marketing compa-
nies (PSU OMCs) for
losses incurred due to
domestic LPG prices.
The government said
that between June 2020
to June 2022, the inter-
national prices of LPG
increased by around
300%. Accordingly, do-
mestic LPG prices have
risen only by 72% dur-
ing this period. This
has led to significant
losses for these OMCs,
the government said.
The Union Cabinet
headed by Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi ap-
proved one-time grant
to 3 oil marketing com-
panies - Indian Oil Cor-
poration (IOC), Bharat
Petroleum Corporation
Ltd (BPCL) and Hindu-
stan Petroleum Corpo-
ration Ltd (HPCL).
BONUS OF `1,832 CR FOR 11.27
LAKH RLY EMPLOYEES: THAKUR
ALL 3 ACCUSED SENT TO
14-DAY JUDICIAL CUSTODY
DEVELOPMENT OF CONTAINER
TERMINAL AT TUNA-TEKRA
Making the announcement on Wednes-
day, Union minister Anurag Thakur
said, “Productivity-linked bonus of ` 1,832
crore will be given to 11.27 lakh employ-
ees of railways. It will be a bonus of 78
days and `17,951 will be its maximum
limit.” According to available data, about
11.27 lakh non-gazetted railway employ-
ees are likely to benefit from decision.
Ernakulam: The Ernakulam magis-
trate court on Wednesday remanded
all the three accused of killing two
women allegedly as a human sacri-
fice in black magic rituals in Kerala’s
Pathanamthitta on judicial custody.
The accused will be under judicial
remand for a 14-day duration which
will end on October 26.
Union Cabinet approved the project to
develop the container terminal at Tuna-
Tekra, Deendayal Port in Gujarat under
public private partnership mode. The
cost of `4,243.64 crore will be on part of
Concessionaire and cost of common user
facilities of `296.20 crore will be on the
part of the concessioning authority toward
development of common user facilities.
`22,000 crore
boost for oil
firms as bonus to
the railway workers
Payment of
productivity
linked bonus to the
railway employees
Development of
the container
terminal at Deendayal
Port located in Gujarat
CABINET OKAY’S
KERALA HUMAN SACRIFICE CASE
Cannibalism suspected,
1 body cut into 56 pieces
First India Bureau
Thiruvananthapuram:
A couple in Kerala who
allegedly mutilated and
killed two women in a
ritualistic “human sac-
rifice” to get rich quick
may have even eaten the
flesh of their victims,
the police said today, as
shocking new details
emerged in the case.
Victims Roselin and
Padma were tied up and
tortured before they
were strangled, the po-
lice said. The women’s
breastswerechoppedoff
and the blood was al-
lowed to flow out. One of
the bodies was cut into
56pieces,thepolicechief
said. The body parts
were found from three
pits. Two women were
allegedly sacrificed as
part of a ritual in a re-
mote Kerala village by
three people, including a
couple, to gain wealth.
The victims were killed,
theirbodypartschopped,
cooked and eaten by the
accused.
Laila, one of the accused in the Elanthoor ‘human sacrifice’ case,
being produced at court, in Kochi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
The first accused, Shafi, is a
sadistic psychopath who takes
pleasure in hurting and inflicting
wounds on others. He is a sexual pervert.
There’s a possibility that the accused ate
parts of body after killing the victims. It is
being investigated, but not confirmed yet.
—CH Nagaraju, Kochi police chief
ACCUSED ACCUSED ACCUSED
VICTIM VICTIM
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI MUMBAI
NATIONAL GAMES:
BORGOHAIN
BAGS GOLD IN
MIDDLEWEIGHT
‘AWARE OF LAKSHMAN REKHA BUT WILL EXAMINE NOTEBAN’
New Delhi: The SC on Wednesday asked Centre and RBI to file detailed
affidavits. It said that while it is aware of ‘Lakshman Rekha’ on judicial review
of govt policy decisions, but will have to examine the 2016 demonetisation
decision to decide whether issue has become a mere “academic” exercise.
New Delhi: Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina
Borgohain executed her gameplan well to beat
silver medallist Saweety Boora 5-0 and secure the
women’s 75kg gold medal at the boxing arena on the
concluding day of National Games on Wednesday.P6
NAVY’S MIG 29K
DEVELOPS TECH
SNAG, PILOT
EJECTS SAFELY
Vasco: A MiG 29K on a routine sortie over the sea
off Goa developed a technical malfunction while
returning to the base, said Navy on Wednesday. The
pilot ejected safely and has been recovered in a swift
search and rescue Operation. BoI has been ordered.
BSE SENSEX 57,625.91 478.59 | NSE NIFTY 17,123.60 140.05
Russia ready for
gas supplies to
Europe: Putin
Chinese national
among 10 held in
`900 cr fraud case
Moscow: Russian Pres-
ident Vladimir Putin
said on Wednesday that
Moscow is ready to re-
sume gas supplies to
Europe via a link of the
Germany-bound Nord
Stream 2 pipeline under
the Baltic Sea — an of-
fer quickly rejected by
Berlin. German offi-
cials have said Russia
halted supplies through
the Nord Stream 1 as a
political gambit and
questioned why sup-
plies through Nord
Stream 2 would be any
more reliable.
Hyderabad: The city
police arrested 10 per-
sons including a Chi-
nese and a Taiwan na-
tional for allegedly
cheating lakhs of per-
sons to tune of `903
crore. So far `1.91 crore
have been frozen in var-
ious bank accounts. Hy-
derabad police commis-
sioner CV Anand
opined that it could
even be a Rs 10,000 crore
scam, which was run
through a network to
route money of unsus-
pecting investors away
.
NEW DELHI l THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 2 l Issue No.45

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2022
02
New Delhi (PTI): A
25-year-old auto-rick-
shaw driver was arrest-
ed in south Delhi’s Sa-
ket area for allegedly
molesting a school stu-
dent, police said on
Wednesday
.
Accused, Shahrukh
usually drove in
Ambedkar Nagar,
Sangam Vihar and Chi-
rag Delhi area, they
said. According to po-
lice, the incident took
place on September 30
at about 1.43 pm.
The girl took an auto
from her school in Sa-
ket to meet her mother
at Central Market in La-
jpat Nagar. During the
journey, the auto driver
misbehaved with her by
passing lewd and sexual
comments. He even
touched her inappropri-
ately, they said.
She somehow man-
aged to escape from the
auto near Lajpat Nagar
metro station. After
that the auto driver fled
away, a senior police of-
ficer said.
A case has been regis-
tered under sections 354
(Assault or use of crimi-
nal force to woman with
intent to outrage her
modesty), 509 (Word,
gesture or act intended
to insult the modesty of
awoman)of IPCandrel-
evant section of Protec-
tion of Children from
Sexual Offences (POC-
SO) Act at Saket police
station and an investiga-
tion was taken up, said
Chandan Chowdhary,
DCP (South).
During the investiga-
tion, hundreds of CCTV
camera footage were
gathered and analysed.
The registration num-
ber of the alleged auto
was also obtained and a
raid was conducted at
Trilokpuri but the ac-
cused was not found to
be living in the address,
she said.
However, on October
11 at about 5.30 pm, act-
ing on the related infor-
mation, the team laid a
trap near the Khanpur
traffic signal. The auto
was spotted coming to-
wards Khanpur from
Badarpur side. When
signalled to stop, the
driver tried to flee. How-
ever, he was intercepted.
Auto-rickshaw driver held for molesting school kid
New Delhi (PTI): Any
expansion, particularly
of geographicalbounda-
ries, involves violation
of human rights, Vice
President Jagdeep
Dhankhar said on
Wednesday, asserting
that India as a nation
never believed in such a
policy
.
In his address at the
foundation day event of
the National Human
Rights Commission
(NHRC) here, he said In-
dian ethos is such that
the country's concern is
not limited to itself but
cares for the world.
We are yet to have an-
other nation that can
match our unrivalled
record, Dhankhar said.
We never believed, as
a nation, in expansion.
Any expansion, particu-
larly of geographical
boundaries, involves vi-
olationof humanrights,
of an extreme degree.
This nation (India) has
never done so, he said.
In his address, the
vice president also
stresses that human
rights, as a concept, can-
not be reckoned only in
the narrow sense of
preservation of person-
al liberties and dignity
.
They have to be un-
derstood in a broader
context, he added.
When it comes to
decimation of human
rights, we can't afford to
be neutral, we have to
take sides, he said.
“Neutrality helps the
oppressor, never the
victim. As a matter of
fact, a neutral man is
hardly any different
from the oppressor. Si-
lence encourages the
tormentor, never the
tormented. In such sce-
narios, there is no op-
tion, but to be pro-ac-
tive, and we must inter-
fere,” Dhankhar said.
‘Neutrality only helps the
oppressor, not the victim’
Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar and Justice Arun Mishra,
Chairperson, NHRC, at Foundation Day of National Human Rights
Commission in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI New Delhi (PTI): NHRC chairperson Justice
(retd) Arun Kumar Mishra on Wednesday said
fruits of reservation had not percolated to
the bottom of the society and emphasised on
the need for reservation despite the govern-
ments running several socio-economic wel-
fare schemes.
InhisaddressattheNHRC'sFoundationDay
here, Mishra also pressed for urgent jail re-
forms. On Delhi's pollution issue, the NHRC
chief said the burning of stubble in nearby
states must stop at once as a grave violation
of right to clean air. “Several measures have
been taken for socio-economic and political
upliftment of the marginalised sections. More
affirmative action is needed. The time has
come to clarify that unrepresented classes in
services are provided reservation within the
reserved category itself to ensure overall de-
velopment, because fruits of reservation have
not percolated to the bottom, he said.
NHRC Chairperson Justice Arun Mishra addresses at the
inaugural session of the NHRC’s 29th Foundation Day
celebrations, in New Delhi on Wednesday.—PHOTO BY ANI
India’ s concern
not limited to
itself but for the
whole world: VP
‘Reservation still needed’
When it comes to decimation of human
rights, we can’t afford to be neutral, we
have to take sides.
—Jagdeep Dhankhar, Vice President
Special Cell unit of Del-
hi Police has arrested
two alleged members of
the Lawrence Bishnoi-
Sampat Nehra-Tinu
Bhiwani gang from the
Lado Sarai area in the
southern part of the
city after an exchange
of fire, officials said on
Wednesday
.
The accused have
been identified as Deep-
ak (32), a resident of
Bhiwani in Haryana
and Gulshan Kumar
(38), a resident of Baha-
durgarh in Haryana,
they said.
Both gangsters have
been involved in over a
dozen criminal cases in
Delhi and Haryana.
On September 30, po-
lice got information
about Deepak and Ku-
mar going on a motor-
cycle near DDA land in
Lado Sarai.
Around 10.15 pm,
Deepak and Kumar
were seen going to-
wards Lado Sarai.
They were signalled
to stop, but Deepak
whipped out a pistol
and fired a bullet. Police
also retaliated and both
the accused were
nabbed, Deputy Com-
missioner of Police
(Special Cell) Jasmeet
Singh said.
One round was fired
by Deepak and one by
the police. One semi-
automatic pistol with
four live cartridges was
recovered from Deepak
and a single-shot pistol
with two live cartridges
was recovered from Ku-
mar, they said.
Spl cell arrests Lawrence-Nehra-Bhiwani gang members
ACCUSED TRIED TO DODGE POLICE
New Delhi (PTI): Four-
teen PFI activists, ar-
rested in a crackdown
on the radical Muslim
outfit over its alleged
terror links, Wednes-
day approached Delhi
HC seeking release and
compensation, claim-
ing they were unlaw-
fully detained.
Petitions came up be-
fore a bench of Justices
Siddharth Mridul and
Amit Sharma which
granted time to petition-
ers’ counsel to file addi-
tional documents and
relevant judgements to
support their case.
The bench listed the
matter for further hear-
ing on November 21.
Delhi Police raised
objection over main-
tainability of the peti-
tions and said habeas
corpus pleas cannot lie
as most petitioners have
been released on bail.
A habeas corpus peti-
tion is filed seeking di-
rection to produce a per-
son missing or illegally
detained. The petition-
ers claimed they were
arrested on the night of
September 27 when cops
in civilian dress as well
as in uniform barged in
and picked them up
withouttellinganything
about the reasons for it.
14 arrested in PFI case move HC
seeking release, compensation
❍ POLICE V/S POPULAR FRONT OF INDIA
PFI Delhi unit president Parvez Ahmed and Secretary Mohammad
Illiyas at Patiala Court in custody of Delhi Police's special cell.
—PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: Delhi HC asked police to place on re-
cord data showing the number of cases under UAPA
where it filed charge sheet within the stipulated 90
days. A bench headed by Justice Mukta Gupta also
asked them to disclose details of instances where
charge sheet was filed after extension. Sec 43D(2)
of the anti-terror law grants 90 days to the agency
to complete probe and file charge sheet. It, however,
states if not possible to complete probe within the
period, the court may extend the deadline up to 180
days. “State will file a data showing in how many
cases under UAPA, charge sheet was filed within
90 days; in how many cases, extension of time was
sought and in case, extension was sought as also
the period for which extension was granted and
period in which charge sheet was filed thereafter,
well before next date of hearing,” said the bench.
HC ASKS POLICE FOR
DATA OF UAPA CASES
CAPITAL PAIN
Delhi reported the season’s first episode of fog on Wednesday morning which lowered visibility
levels to 350 metres in some parts of the capital.The air quality is likely to deteriorate to the
poor category by Saturday. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi (PTI):
The Delhi govern-
ment on Wednesday
asked all fuel stations
to sell fuel from Octo-
ber 25 to only those
vehicles which have
valid Pollution Under
Control Certificates.
In a notice by the
transport depart-
ment, owners of vehi-
cles more than a year
old (except electric or
battery-driven vehi-
cles) were also asked
to get PUCCs for their
vehicles.
The department is
issuing notices to
owners without valid
PUCCs to get them
within a week or face
suspension of RCs.
The government has
also formed teams to
check buses coming
from neighbouring
states at Anand Vihar
terminal for PUCCs.
Only vehicles with PUC
to get fuel from Oct 25
Driving
a vehicle
without
a valid PUCC is
liable to attract a
penalty of
`10,000 and im-
prisonment up to
3 months or both.
—Official notice,
Transport department
Gurugram: To curb stubble burning, the
Gurugram administration on Wednesday said
the defaulters will be slapped with a fine of Rs
2,500 per acre. Deputy Commissioner Nishant
Yadav said village-level vigilance teams will
keep a tab and report any instance of stub-
ble burning. Yadav also said farmers will be
provided with a 50 per cent rebate on buying
equipment used in stubble management,
whereas an 80 per cent grant will be given
to registered farmer groups or panchayats if
they purchase the equipment through custom
hiring centers. We have been sensitising
farmers but those who don't abide by the
rules will be fined Rs. 2,500 per acre, he said.
The district, like other parts of NCR, suffers
from poor air quality during winters.
Farmers burning stubble
to be fined `2.5k/acre
New Delhi (ANI): A
court here on Wednes-
day extended the inter-
im bail of businessman
AjayRameshNawandar,
arrested in connection
with an alleged bank
fraud of Rs 34,615 crore
by Dewan Housing Fi-
nance Corporation Lim-
ited (DHFL) on medical
grounds.
Special Judge Vishal
Gogne extended the bail
till October 19, 2022, and
said the court finds no
reason to conclude that
either the submissions
or the medical records
are contrived and non-
genuine. Nawandar had
moved a regular bail
plea in the matter and
the same court on the
last date had sought a
response from CBI.
Lawrence Bishnoi, accused in Sidhu Moose Wala murder case,
being produced at Ludhiana Court on Wednesday.
—PHOTO BY ANI
Bizman Nawandar’s
interim bail extended
Ajay Ramesh Nawandar
New Delhi: Legacy
waste at three land-
fill sites in the na-
tional capital has
gone down by 26.1
lakh metric tons
during the last four
months between
June and Septem-
ber, effecting an in-
crease of 462 per
cent in disposal of
waste compared to
the preceding three
years, officials at
the Lieutenant Gov-
ernor’s secretariat
said on Wednesday
.
They said that to-
tal waste lying at
the three landfill
sites has reduced
from 229.1 lakh MT
in May 2022 to 203
lakh MT in Septem-
ber 2022, translat-
ing into a waste dis-
posal rate of 6.52
lakh MT every
month since June
this year.
Waste at 3
landfills down
by 26.1L MT
REPRESENTATIVE PIC

CAPITOL
03
Supreme Court Wednes-
day directed no citizen
can be prosecuted un-
der section 66A of Infor-
mation Technology Act,
2000, which it had
scrapped back in 2015.
Under the annulled
section, a person post-
ing offensive content
could be imprisoned for
up to three years and
also fined.
Underlining that lib-
erty of thought and ex-
pression is of cardinal
significance, the top
court had on March 24,
2015 done away with the
provision, saying the
public's right to know is
directly affected by Sec-
tion 66A of the Informa-
tion Technology Act.
A bench headed by
Chief Justice UU Lalit
said in all cases where
citizens are facing pros-
ecution for alleged vio-
lation of Sec 66-A of the
Act, the reference and
reliance upon the said
provision shall stand
deleted.
“We direct all DGPs
and Home Secretaries
of the states and compe-
tent officers in Union
Territories to instruct
the entire police force in
their respective states/
UTs not to register any
plaint of crime with re-
spect to alleged viola-
tion of section 66A,”
said the bench.
The top court clari-
fied that this direction
shall apply only with
respect to offence pun-
ishable under section
66A, and if in the crime
in question, other of-
fences are also alleged,
then the reference and
reliance upon section
66A alone shall be de-
leted.
The bench observed
the counsel appearing
for the Centre has
placed on record an all-
India status report with
regard to pending cases
under section 66A.
It observed the infor-
mation given in a tabu-
lar form does suggest
that despite the issue
regarding the validity
of section 66A of the
Act having been decid-
ed by the court, a num-
ber of criminal pro-
ceedings still rely upon
this provision and citi-
zens are still facing
prosecution.
DU MAY OPEN
MID-ENTRY
WINDOW FOR UG
7TH ‘INDIA
ART FESTIVAL’
STARTS TODAY
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
University is likely to
open a mid-entry win-
dow in November for
candidates who failed
to apply for admis-
sion to undergraduate
programmes within
the stipulated time, an
official said here. As
per a schedule issued
by the university, the
mid-entry window will
open during the third
round of the Common
Seat Allocation System
(CSAS) from November
5 to 7. The university
began the admission
process for UG courses
for 2022-23 academic
year last month.
much-touted India Art
Festival, now in its sev-
enth edition, will show-
case 4,500 artworks by
over 25 galleries and
450 artists from across
the country here in
the national capital,
starting Thursday. The
four-day annual art fair,
known for its demo-
cratic presentation of
art, offers emerging,
independent artists the
opportunity to exhibit
along with major and
mid-level art galleries
presenting established
and master artists with
thousands of innova-
tive artworks.
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Commission for Women
(DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Wednesday alleged
that she had been receiving
rape threats after she wrote
to the Centre demanding
the ouster of filmmaker
Sajid Khan from reality
show ‘Bigg Boss’. In a
letter, Maliwal had informed
Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thak-
ur that several women had levelled allegations of
sexual harassment against Khan during the #MeToo
movement. In a complaint to the Delhi Police’s Cyber
Crime Cell, the DCW chief said she had been receiv-
ing rape threats on social media after she flagged
the issue. She demanded that the police register an
FIR and immediately arrest the accused.
‘GETTING RAPE THREATS AFTER SEEKING
SAJID KHAN’S OUSTER FROM BIGG BOSS’
CRUCIAL READ
No citizen can be prosecuted
under Sec 66A of IT Act: SC
n Apex court
had scrapped the
section in 2015
New Delhi: There
must be proof of
direct or indirect acts
of incitement and ev-
idence of continuous
harassment against
the accused in an
abetment to suicide
case for holding
them guilty, the
Supreme Court (SC)
said on Wednesday,
thereby acquitting a
Chennai-based doc-
tor and his mother
who were convicted
of driving his wife
to take the extreme
step. The apex
court observed, ...
in cases of alleged
abetment of suicide,
there must be proof
of direct or indirect
acts of incitement
to the commission
of suicide. Merely
on the allegation
of harassment ...
conviction in terms
of Section 306 IPC is
not sustainable.
Abetment to
suicide: There
must be proof
of incitement,
says SC
Despite the is-
sue regarding
the validity of
section 66A of the Act
having been decided
by the court, a num-
ber of criminal pro-
ceedings still rely
upon this provision.
—Bench, Supreme Court
THE PETITION
New Delhi (ANI): Cy-
ber Police branch of
north-east Delhi arrest-
ed a man for allegedly
impersonating Spanish
actor Manu Rios to trap
younggirlsonsocialme-
dia, said the officials on
Wednesday
.
The accused has been
identified as Abbuzar
Rehman (22). The ac-
cused tried extorting
money as he threatened
to leak pictures of these
girls. “A plaint was reg-
istered at Cyber police
station through Minis-
try of Home Affairs Cy-
ber Crime reporting
portal, alleging the ac-
cused of extorting mon-
ey from her and threat-
ening to make her pic-
tures viral on social
media. A case was regis-
tered at PS Cyber North
and an investigation
was taken up. The police
arrested the accused on
Monday
,thepolicesaid.
Man held for
impersonating
Spanish actor
to trap girls
ongoing slum festival in
Delhi's shelter homes
has given homeless peo-
ple an opportunity to
learn and participate in
various activities, giv-
ing them a break from
their daily humdrum.
A week-long festival
to spread awareness on
issues surrounding
homelessness and its
challengeswaslaunched
by DyCMManish Siso-
dia on World Homeless
Day on October 10.
Sunita,anightshelter
resident, said two teach-
ers visit the shelter
home at Sarai Kale
Khan five days a week,
to teach kids for free.
Sunita (45) has been
managing her family by
herself after her hus-
band passed away
.
I moved to this shel-
ter home after my hus-
band passed away in
2018. I mostly work at
construction sites as
labourers and some-
times as scrap-dealers,
she said.
Barkha, 18, born in
slums and grew up at
Sarai Kale Khan night
shelter, spoke extensive-
ly about a cultural event
organised by the gov-
ernment on Monday
.
At other shelter
homes medical camps,
yoga, meditation class-
es, special drive on
cleanliness, tree plan-
tation, gardening ac-
tivities and camps for
voter ID cards have
been set up.
Residents said apart
from this festival, the
Delhi government has
taken various meas-
ures to make their lives
easier.
New Delhi (ANI): The
National Green Tribu-
nal (NGT) has directed
the authorities of Uttra-
khand to shut down il-
legal establishments in
Chilla Range of Rajaji
National Park.
NGT said all commer-
cial activity in the for-
est in violation of the
judgement of the Su-
preme Court is to be
stopped. Responsibility
for implementing these
directions will be of the
State PCB, District
Magistrates and Direc-
tor, Rajaji Tiger Re-
serve.
The directions of
NGT were passed on Oc-
tober 10 by the Bench
headed by its Chief Jus-
tice Adarsh Kumar
Goel while hearing a
plea moved by 'All India
Yound Lawyer Associa-
tion' against alleged il-
legal functioning of
hotels, resorts, pubs,
clubs and ashrams and
other illegal commer-
cial activities in Chilla
Range of Rajaji Nation-
al Park.
The Tribunal in July
month had sought a fac-
tual and action-taken
report from a joint
Committee of the Dis-
trict Magistrate, Harid-
war, State PCB, Direc-
tor, Rajaji Tiger Reserve
and nominee of District
Legal Services Author-
ity, Haridwar.
ShutdownillegalestablishmentsinRajajiNat’lPark:NGT
CBI on Wednesday ques-
tioned Managing Direc-
tor of India Ahead News
and Andhra Prabha
newspaperMoothaGau-
tam in connection with
the Delhi excise policy
scam case, officials said.
The executive was
called to CBI headquar-
ters in the morning and
grilled on various as-
pects of the case includ-
ing some transactions,
they said. Although he
is not named as accused
in the FIR, another em-
ployee of the channel,
Arjun Pandey
, is named
in the FIR as one of the
alleged close associ-
ates of Manish Sisodia.
The agency also ques-
tioned Amit Arora, di-
rector, Buddy Retail Pri-
vate Limited in Guru-
gram, also listed in the
FIR as one of the three
close associates of
DyCM Sisodia.
Slum fest an opportunity
for Delhi’s homeless to
learn and better their lives
People sit around a temporary kitchen at an event on 'Homeless
Day' at Sarai Kale Khan night shelter. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: CM Arvind
Kejriwal congratulated
the education team and
said two government
schools in city have
topped the ranking for
state government day
schools in the country
.
Kejriwal in a tweet
said, “Proud of my
Team Education. Once
again, Delhi Govt
schools top the Educa-
tion World School Rank-
ings, with the best state
govt school in India.”
Government-run Raj-
kiya Pratibha Vikas
Vidyalaya, Sec 10,
Dwarka came first and
Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas
Vidyalaya, Yamuna Vi-
har came second.
Delhi govt schools
top India ranking
Two teachers visit the shelter home at
Sarai Kale Khan five days a week, to
teach our kids for free.
—Sunita, construction worker
RADIO-COLLARED TIGER GOES MISSING FROM TIGER RESERVE
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia at
the inauguration of the Annual
Zonal Athletic Meet at East
Vinod Nagar Sports Complex on
Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
CBI questions India Ahead News
MD in Delhi excise policy case
Buddy Retail Pvt Limited Director Amit Arora with his son at the
CBI office in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
(L-R) Women buy bangles on the eve of Karva Chauth festival, in New
Delhi on Wednesday. Married women get henna applied on their hands
on the eve of Karwa Chauth in New Delhi. People throng Sarojini Nagar
market for festive shopping.
—PHOTOS BY PTI/ANI
LONG LIVE LOVE
Actor Mona Rios

l Vol 2 l Issue No.45
l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
04
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
On her birth anniversary, tributes to
Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia Ji. She was
synonymous with courage and foresight.
She devoted her life to serving others.
Sharing what I had said during one of
the previous #MannKiBaat programmes
about her outstanding personality.
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
Away from the attachment of position
and power, Rajmata Scindia ji set
high ideals in politics by living life as
a national servant. The struggle of
Rajmata Scindia ji, who dedicated her
life to the service of the country and the
organization, will always inspire us to
restore democracy in the emergency.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Love the whole world
as a mother loves
her only child.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
TOP TWEETS
HUMAN SACRIFICE,
A RESULT OF
MENTAL SICKNESS
OR SUPERSTITION
he sacrifice of two
women in Kerala to
get rich is shocking.
It is difficult to imag-
ine superstitious be-
liefs as dangerous as in this case
also occurring in a Communist
state which prides itself on its
literacy rate which is the highest
in the country. In earlier times
human sacrifices were made to
please or appease gods for the
fulfillment of one’s wish as part
of religious practices. Now all
religions have criminalised the
barbaric practice. Yet they keep
being reported, like the ones in
Kerala, to shake our conscience.
The Kerala couple---Bhagaval
Singh and his wife Laila---were
allegedly made to believe that
the two sacrifices will make
them rich. Last year an Odisha
man was charged with making
a human sacrifice to appease
Goddess Kali. In another report-
ed case a member of a family
was sacrificed for its prosperity
.
At least one NCRB report
blamed holy men (tantriks) for
the sacrifice of 51 children be-
tween 2014 and 2016.
T
day after the Inter-
national Mone-
tary Fund cut In-
dia’s growth fore-
cast for 2022 to 6.8
percent, Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman told a
gathering in the US, “I am
aware that growth forecasts
around the world are being
revised lower. We expect In-
dia’s growth rate to be around
7 percent this financial year.
More importantly
, I am confi-
dent of India’s relative and
absolute growth performance
in the rest of the decade.” No
global economy is beyond the
impact of extraneous factors
as a result of the Russia-
Ukraine war. Sitharaman es-
pecially mentioned energy
andfertilizersasmaindisrup-
tors of growth as their avail-
ability was becoming difficult
by the day
. The Reserve Bank
of India had also lowered its
growth forecast from 7.2 to 7
percent and the World Bank
slashed its forecast for Finan-
cial Year 2023 from 7.5 to 6.5.
The Russia-Ukraine con-
flict and the consequent sanc-
tions on supplies have had
serious implications for food
prices. The Union Finance
Minister was confident of In-
dia’s absolute growth pros-
pects but the IMF cautioned,
“As storm clouds gather, poli-
cymakers need to keep a
steady hand. The global econ-
omy continues to face steep
challenges, shaped by the
lingering effects of three
powerful forces: the Russian
invasion of Ukraine, a cost-
of-living crisis caused by per-
sistent and broadening infla-
tionary pressures, and the
slowdown in China.”
The US Federal Reserve is
expected to raise interest
rates again in the near future
and the RBI may also follow
suit to check inflation which
is expected to rise further
from 7.41 percent. For the pov-
erty-stricken people inflation
means higher cost of living.
OUTSIDE FACTORS
JOLTING ECONOMY
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told a gathering in the US,
“I am aware that growth forecasts around the world are
being revised lower. We expect India’s growth rate to
be around 7 percent this financial year. More
importantly, I am confident of India’s relative and
absolute growth performance in the rest of the decade”
A
RUSSIAN JUGGERNAUT
EUROPEAN WINTERS
ust after a little more than 7
months in war, Vladimir Pu-
tin signs a law formally
merging four important
Ukrainian regions into Rus-
sia. The documents annexing
20% of Ukraine, carried out
in noncompliance of interna-
tional laws, were published
on a Russian government
website on 5th of October 22.
Both houses of the Rus-
sian parliament ratified trea-
ties making Donetsk, Lu-
hansk, Kherson and Zapor-
izhzhia regions as part of
Russia. While Russia calls it
‘referendums’, US, western
countries and Ukraine re-
jected it as a bogus and sham.
As a keen observer of mili-
tary affairs,I feel that theRus-
sia – Ukraine war has now
entered a totally new phase
with Russia declaring that
any attack on these four Rus-
sianterritories will beviewed
as a war on Russia and it will
retaliate with all its detrimen-
tal nuclear might.
I am surprised to note that
series of sanctions imposed
under the banner of US since
2014, following the annexation
of Crimea and now the an-
nexation of four regions have
hardlyhadanyeffectoneither
themilitarycapabilitiesor,the
economic strength of Russia.
Now the question arises if
the numerous sanctions im-
posed on any strong-willed na-
tion carry any worthwhile
meaning or not? Well, in 1974
and then in 1998 US imposed
similar economic, technologi-
cal and trade boycott against
India when it carried out nu-
clear tests in Pokaran. The
onlyresultitachievedwasthat
India emerged as a stronger
and a self-reliant nation tech-
nologically and economically
.
In my opinion, the ratchet-
ing-up of sanctions on Russia
givestheWesternworldanillu-
sion and a psychological satis-
factionthatrealactionistaking
place on Ukraine and US re-
mains in control of world af-
fairs. But, will these sanctions
have any effect on a leader of
Putin’scalibreandhisdecision-
making on current war? The
answer is NO. The history as
also seen in case of India, sug-
gests that this is quite unlikely
.
I would further state that, the
wholetheorybehindsanctions
is fundamentally unsound
since it assumes that strong
country like Russia will cir-
cumvent and manoeuver their
policiesif unbearablefinancial
cost is inflicted on them.
On the reverse slope of all
these sanctions stand Euro-
pean Community, a divided
and alienated home where,
many members are con-
vinced that US is in fact hurt-
ing their economy and pun-
ishing their people on the
pretext of isolating Russia.
A French political class
also believes these measures
are ineffective. The president
of the far-right party Ras-
semblement National of
France, Marine Le Pen, in-
sisted that “these sanctions
serve absolutely no purpose,
except to make the people of
Europe suffer “ by forcing
Europe into an energy crisis
during coming winters.
So, apart from France, how
do other countries on the
continent plan to tide over
the monster of looming win-
ters? Moldova, North Mace-
donia and Bosnia Herzego-
vina are fully dependent on
gas from Russia and cannot
survive the onset of winters.
All the three are in Eastern
Europe and except North
Mecedonia, other two are not
under the umbrella of NATO
and none are members of EU.
Thestoryof majorcountries
like UK, Germany and Italy
thatshapethedecisionmaking
of EUisnodifferent.Thedwin-
dlingeconomyof UKisnohid-
den secret. British consumer
price inflation is set to peak at
18% - nine times the Bank of
England’s target - in early 2023
as per predictions of econo-
mists.Therisingenergyprices
will hit the middle- and lower-
income households in the
worst possible manner as it is
directly linked to sanctions on
Russia. Italy was also seen ap-
proaching Austria as a dealer
for supply of Russian Gas to
meetthechallengesof winters.
Though, the political deci-
sions are pushing EU econo-
my to ruins courtesy Ukraine
war, it’s the common man suf-
fering on the altar of sanc-
tions. Alarmingly reports say
that Germany
, France Italy
have only 60% gas stocks in
place to beat the winters and
runtheindustries.Willpower
outages in Europe be the or-
der of the day like in a third
world country or, will the EU
shift its loyalties away from
NATO to lean towards Russia
to ensure industrial produc-
tion, comfortable winters and
economicgrowth.Canwepre-
dict that peace can return
only if Europe shuns the in-
terference of UK and US
whichhavenocontiguitywith
the main land mass and em-
brace trade and treaties with
Russia to allow a new world
order! Well … implied lessons
loomlargeforIndiaaswewait
and watch the Juggernaut.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
J
Will power outages in
Europe be the order of the
day like in a third world
country or, will the EU shift
its loyalties away from
NATO to lean towards
Russia to ensure industrial
production, comfortable
winters and economic
growth. Can we predict that
peace can return only if
Europe shuns the
interference of UK and US
which have no contiguity
with the main land mass
and embrace trade and
treaties with Russia to
allow a new world order!
Well … implied lessons loom
large for India as we wait
and watch the Juggernaut
In my opinion, the
ratcheting-up of
sanctions on Russia
gives the Western
world an illusion and
a psychological
satisfaction that real
action is taking place on
Ukraine and US remains
in control of world affairs
COL ANUPAM
JAITLY (RETD)
The writer is Defence expert,
Motivational Speaker Corporate Trainer

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INDIA
05
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: IAS Jais-
hankarMishra,aretired
bureaucrat from Uttar
Pradesh’s bureaucracy
,
has been appointed as
the new Chancellor of
Gurgaon’s Sushant Uni-
versity
.Inthisuniversity
that is more than three
decades old, the chancel-
lorhasbeenselectedbya
well-knownacademician
and a search committee
of enterprises.
Former bureaucrat
Jai Shankar Mishra has
been a 1980 batch IAS of
Uttar Pradesh cadre
and has served as col-
lector of many districts
of Uttar Pradesh, rising
to the ranks of secre-
tary and principal sec-
retary, handling several
departments.
He has written more
than 15 books in Hindi
and English. His son
Abhishek Mishra has
also been a minister
in the Samajwadi Par-
ty government. Jais-
hankar Mishra has
been considered a
very friendly and
cheerful officer !!
IAS Jai Shankar appointed as VC of Sushant Univ
UP BUREAUCRACY
New Delhi (ANI): Con-
gress veteran leader
and party's presiden-
tial candidate Mall-
ikarjun Kharge said
that his name was not
suggested by the party
supremo Sonia Gandhi
and dismissed the spec-
ulations of receiving
support from the par-
ty's interim president.
Kharge said that So-
nia Gandhi had never
suggested his name for
the party president po-
sition and called it a
rumour.
Sonia Gandhi sug-
gesting my name for
the president position
is all a rumour, I have
never said this. She has
clearly stated that any-
one from the Gandhi
family will neither be a
part of the election nor
support any candi-
date, Kharge said on
Tuesday.
Notably, Shashi Tha-
roor and Mallikarjun
Kharge are up against
each other in the race
for the post of Congress
President.
Someone has spread
this rumour to defame
the Congress party, So-
nia Gandhi and me. She
has clearly stated that
she will not participate
in the party elections
nor will she come in
support of any candi-
date, Kharge said.
KHARGEDISMISSES‘RUMOURS’
OF SONIA GANDHI’S SUPPORT
Says that Sonia never suggested his name for the party president’s position
BHARAT JODO YATRA
CONGRESS PRESIDENTIAL POLLS
Bhopal: Rajya Sabha
MP Mallikarjun
Kharge said on
Wednesday that after
becoming the Congress
national president, his
prime responsibility
would be to implement
declarations made dur-
ing the party's meeting
held in Rajasthan's
Udaipur. Kharge, who
is one of the candidates
for the Congress presi-
dent, was in Bhopal to
seek support for his
candidature.
Addressing a press
conference at the Con-
gress headquarters in
Bhopal, the Congress
Rajya Sabha MP said
that all the declarations
made during the
Udaipur conclave were
finalised after long dis-
cussions and they are
the need of the hour.
‘If elected Congress Prez, will
implement Udpr declarations’
New Delhi: When asked about Shashi Tharoor's plan
to decentralise authority in the Congress, senior party
leader Mallikarjun Kharge said he does not want the two
of them to be compared. In an exclusive interview with
India Today, he made an appeal to not compare him with
Tharoor. Speaking on Tharoor's manifesto to reform the
way the party functions, he said, I have come on my own
from block president to this level. Was Shashi Tharoor
there during that time?
RaGa to meet unemployed
youths from Karnataka
Rahul Gandhi with padyatris during the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Chitradurga on Wednesday.
Who will be successor
to Naveen Patnaik?
Karnataka (ANI):
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi resumed the
'Bharat Jodo Yatra'
from the Challakere
town, Chitradurga in
Karnataka on Wednes-
day
.TheCongresslead-
er will also be meeting
around 2000 unem-
ployed youth from the
southern state.
Themarchstartedat
6:40 am, informed the
veteran Congress lead-
er Jairam Ramesh.
Day 35 of Bharat
Jodo Yatra began at
6:40 am from Chal-
lakere and the entire
day will be in the his-
toric Chitradurga. The
afternoon interaction
of Rahul Gandhi will
be with around 2000
unemployed youth
from all over K’taka
who face a bleak fu-
ture in the so-called
'New India', tweeted
Jairam Ramesh.
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Is Odisha
Chief Minister and Biju
Janata Dal supremo
Naveen Patnaik about
to announce his politi-
cal successor? At least
the murmurs in Odis-
ha’s political sphere
seem to suggest so. Pat-
naik has said that his
successor will be an-
nounced at the right
time. His saying is im-
portant because till re-
cently he never talked
about his successor.
He had said some time
ago that Biju Janata Dal
is not a party
, but a mass
movement, it is a party
of the people and
the people will decide
his successor.
Now that he has
stressed on announcing
the successor at the
right time, two ques-
tions have arisen. First,
who will be the succes-
sor and what will be the
right time? It is be-
lieved that the right
time is the 2024 assem-
bly elections. Elections
to the Rajya Sabha will
be held along with the
Lok Sabha in Odisha
and it is possible that
before that Naveen Pat-
naik’s successor may
be announced or at
least indicated as to
who it will be.
SHIVKUMAR ATTACKS BJP, WEARS T-SHIRT
HIGHLIGHTING ‘UNEMPLOYMENT’
Karnataka: Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivkumar
was seen wearing a t-shirt highlighting the ‘unemploy-
ment’ problems during the Karnataka leg of the Bharat
Jodo Yatra on Wednesday. The Congress leader wore a
bright red coloured t-shirt with yellow text- symbolically
signifying Kannada colours- highlighting the problem of
unemployment while walking alongside Congress MP
Rahul Gandhi during the 35th day of the Yatra. “Youth
need jobs, not empty promises”, a message, written on
DK Shivkumar’s t-shirt in the Kannada language. The
State Congress chief accused the BJP government of
failing to tame the rising unemployment in Karnataka.
‘Atkaya, bhatkaya, latkaya...’
GAURAV YATRA: NADDA ATTACKS CONGRESS IN GUJARAT
Gujarat (ANI): BJP
president JP Nadda on
Wednesday flagged off
the ‘Gujarat Gaurav
Yatra’ in Mehsana.
Chief Minister Bhu-
pendra Patel and other
BJP leaders were also
present at the occasion.
Addressing a public
rally on the occasion,
Nadda said, “BJP is a
pro-active, pro-respon-
sible government and
pro-responsive govern-
ment. He said BJP gov-
ernment understands
the plight of the people.
What did Congress do
for years? Pitted broth-
ers against each other,
areas against each oth-
er and did not supply
water where it was
needed. Jo vikas ki
yatra chalani thi usko
atkaya, bhatkaya, lat-
kaya. Now they them-
selves are stuck...”
Chamba: In the run-up to the Assembly polls, Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi will launch Rs 3,000 crore Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-III scheme sanc-
tioned for Chamba in Himachal Pradesh on
Thursday. The Prime Minister will address a
huge public meeting at the famous Chowgan,
or the public promenade in the historic town
of Chamba, which ranks 95th in the Centre’s
list of the country’s 115 backward districts.
Meanwhile, The country’s fourth Vande Bharat Express
starting from Amb Andaura in Himachal Pradesh’s Una
district will further shorten the distance to Delhi for people
from northern India. It will be inaugurated by Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi from the Una station today.
PM TO LAUNCH `3,000 CR PMGSY
SCHEME IN HIMACHAL PRADESH
Kerala: Kerala Chief
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
on Wednesday wrote to
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi saying
that efforts
to impose
the Hindi
language
are unac-
ceptable.
The essence of India is
defined by the concept of
'unity in diversity' which
acknowledges cultural
and linguistic diversity.
Acknowledging this, it is
brotherhood, tolerance and
mutual respect between
different peoples that
sustains our country. The
Chief Minister said that
promoting any one lan-
guage above others would
destroy this integrity, said
CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
IMPOSING HINDI
UNACCEPTABLE:
KERALA CM WRITES
TO PM MODI
Kolkata: The Calcutta HC on Wednesday directed West
Bengal Police to constitute a SIT to probe the Mominpur
incident. After the investigation, the
SIT will have to submit its report
in court. The Calcutta HC has also
directed the Kolkata Police Commis-
sioner to take steps so that there is
no further violence. The tensions flared up in Mominpur on
Sunday after religious flags put up in the area.
Mumbai: Rutuja Latke, the candidate of ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav
Balasaheb Thackeray’ party for the upcoming Andheri
(east) bypoll, on Wednesday moved the Bombay HC
seeking a direction to the Mumbai civic body to accept her
resignation as its employee. The petition will be heard on
Thursday. In her petition, Rutuja Latke said the delay by
the civic body in issuing a letter or order (accepting her
resignation) appears to be deliberate to prevent her from
contesting the November 3 byelection.
CALCUTTA HC DIRECTS WB POLICE TO
FORM SIT TO PROBE MOMINPUR VIOLENCE
BYPOLL: UDDHAV CAMP NOMINEE MOVES HC
OVER DELAY IN ACCEPTANCE OF RESIGNATION
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Wednesday
granted two more weeks
to the Centre to respond to
a batch of petitions chal-
lenging certain provisions
of the Places of Worship
(Special Provision) Act,
1991, that prohibits the fil-
ing of a lawsuit to reclaim
a place of worship or seek
a change in its character
from what prevailed on
August 15, 1947.
New Delhi: The SC said
it will hear on Oct 31 a
petition raising the issue
pertaining to the lumpy skin
disease in cattle. The matter
was mentioned for urgent
listing before a bench
headed by Chief Justice U
U Lalit. The counsel who
mentioned the matter told
the bench that the disease
has spread among cattle
and over 67,000 cows have
died till date due to this.
PLACES OF WORSHIP
ACT: CENTRE GIVEN
2 WEEKS TO REPLY
SC TO HEAR ON OCT
31 PLEA ON LUMPY
SKIN DISEASE JP Nadda speaking at the flagging-off of the “Gaurav Yatra”, in
Mehsana on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
DON’T COMPARE ME WITH THAROOR,
SAYS KHARGE ON CONG PREZ POLL
CONGRESS TO MIX
BALLOT PAPERS
Naveen Patnaik
Mallikarjun Kharge
Jai Shankar Mishra
Lucknow: IAS Sujata
Sharma, who came to Uttar
Pradesh on inter-cadre dep-
utation, will now go back to
her home cadre - Hy-
derabad - after completing
her 3 years deputation in
December. Sujata Sharma,
a 2006 batch officer, came
to Uttar Pradesh on Decem-
ber 4, 2019 and at present,
she is posted as Secretary,
Infrastructure and Indus-
trial Development. Since
she came to UP in 2019,
she is handling the same
industries department. In
view of the Global Inves-
tors Summit to be held in
February 2023, the Uttar
Pradesh government may
soon appoint a principal
secretary or secretary rank
officer. Due to the Global
Investors Summit, a lot of
industries are coming to
UP from across the country
and the world. So in view
of the increasing work in
this department, there is a
great need for officers, that
is why the government can
appoint an IAS officer of the
rank of Principal Secretary
and Secretary of Industries
Department any time now.
SUJATA SHARMA TO GO BACK TO HER HOME CADRE HYDERABAD
Sujata Sharma
New Delhi (PTI): A Supreme Court bench headed by
Chief Justice U U Lalit on Wednesday ordered the copy of
an affidavit, filed before it in a sealed cover by an investi-
gative journalist probing a corporate fraud and claiming
he was being stalked and attacked, to be sent to the office
of the Attorney General so that steps could be taken for
his safety. Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, appearing for the
petitioner, said the journalist has investigated
the corporate fraud and is now facing
threats. He said the man was also
attacked on his way home in Noida.
The bench told Attorney General R
Venkataramani, who was present
in the court, to take steps for the
journalist’s safety.
ENSURE SAFETY OF JOURNALIST PROBING
CORPORATE FRAUD: SC TO ATTORNEY GEN
IN THE COURTYARD
Tharoor to cancel UP visit to avert ‘clash’ with Kharge
New Delhi: Senior
CongressleaderShashi
Tharoor, who is one of
the contend-
ers in
therace
for
Con-
gress
presi-
dent, has had to cancel
his visit to Uttar
Pradesh twice in two
days amid speculations
that he was told to stay
away to avert a poten-
tial ‘faceoff’ with sup-
porters of Mallikarjun
Kharge, another Con-
gress veteran who is in
the fray for the party’s
top post and was com-
ing to visit the state.
Tharoor suggested
visiting on Tuesday but
was told that it could
result in clashes with
supporters of Kharge,
who is set to visit the
state capital.
WILL CALL FOR CWC ELECTIONS IF
ELECTED CONG CHIEF: THAROOR
New Delhi: Shashi Tharoor asserted that if he
becomes the AICC chief, he would fully implement
the party’s existing constitution which requires CWC
elections and revival of the parliamentary board that
has been dormant for a quarter-century. Tharoor also
said the Cong must decentralise authority and truly
empower the grassroots office-bearers of the party.
Shashi Tharoor
‘FOR EVERY AZAD AND SCINDIA WHO
LEAVE, CONG WILL HAVE 25 OTHERS’
Bengaluru: Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh
said senior leaders quitting the party are unlikely to
leave a void as there is an abundance of workers and
leaders who can replace them. “For every Azad (Ghu-
lam Nabi Azad) and Scindia (Jyotiraditya
Scindia), the Congress will have 25
others. The party’s youth cadre is
getting strong.” Ramesh asserted.
Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya
Singh led the march in Chitradurga’s
Thalaku with the Congress
Seva Dal, while Ramesh
followed him.
Jairam Ramesh
—PHOTO BY ANI

INDIA
06
Nicosia (Agencies): At
least 28 children have
been killed in protests
that have swept Iran
since the death of Mah-
sa Amini, with hun-
dreds more mostly de-
tained in adult prisons,
rights groups inside
and outside the country
said.
Amini, 22, was pro-
nounced dead days af-
ter the notorious moral-
ity police detained the
Iranian Kurd last
month for allegedly
breaching the Islamic
Republic’s strict dress
code for women.
Anger flared at her
funeral and spread to
become the biggest
wave of protests to rock
Iran in almost three
years, despite a crack-
down that has killed
scores and seen hun-
dreds arrested. Iran’s
Children’s Rights Pro-
tection Society con-
demned security forces
for resorting to violence
against children who
have protested in
schools. “According to
statistics, 28 children
have been killed in
these confrontations,
most of which hap-
pened in the underpriv-
ileged province of
Sistan-Baluchistan,”
the Tehran-based group
said in a statement post-
ed on its website.
At least twenty-eight children killed, many arrested in Iran
Moscow (Agencies): Russian strikes on Wednesday
killed seven people and wounded another eight at a mar-
ket in the east Ukraine city of Avdiivka near the frontline,
said a regional governor. “At least seven dead and eight
wounded as a result of the shelling this morning on
Avdiivka. The Russians struck where many people were
at that time,” the regional governor said.
RUSSIAN STRIKE KILLS SEVEN AT
MARKET IN EAST UKRAINE
INDIAN
STUDENTS GET
CHINESE VISAS
XI JINPING ALL
SET TO REWIND
CHINA’S CLOCK
Over 1,300 In-
dian students have
received visas to
return to China
to resume their
studies after being
unable to do so
for over two years
owing to strict
Covid-19 travel re-
strictions imposed
by the country in
early ‘20 at the start
of the pandemic.
Beijing (PTI):
China’s ruling Com-
munist Party is set
to slide back to its
founder Mao Ze-
dong’s era soon as
President Xi Jinping
is set to break the
decades-old rule to
cling in power and
perhaps for life,
amid pressure from
the US-led West
against Beijing.
Public protesting
PLEAS AGAINST
TIMES GROUP OVER
WAGES DISMISSED
PLAYER GETS BAN
FOR ATTEMPTING
MATCH-FIXING
‘KHAN SHOULD NOT
HURT RELIGIOUS
SENTIMENTS’
MAIN ACCUSED IN
IB STAFFER’S
MURDER NABBED
New Delhi (PTI): A
Delhi court has dis-
missed over 80 pleas
seeking direction to
Bennett Coleman and
Co. Ltd, publishers
of the Times group
of newspapers, to
increase wages accord-
ing to the pay scales
prescribed under the
Majithia Wage Board
Award. The Labour
court said the grant
was not automatic but
subject to satisfactory
completion of services.
Dubai (Agencies) :
Mehar Chhayakar, an
Indian cricketer former-
ly based in the United
Arab Emirates, has been
banned from all cricket
for 14 years for seven
breaches of the sport’s
anti-corruption code,
the International Cricket
Council (ICC) said on
Wednesday. Chhayakar
was found guilty by an
ICC Anti-Corruption
Tribunal of attempting
to influence aspects of
the UAE’s one-day.
Bhopl (PTI): Madhya
Pradesh Home Minister
and BJP leader Narot-
tam Mishra said actor
Aamir Khan should
stay away from ad-
vertisements and acts
which hurt religious
sentiments after a bank
commercial featuring
Khan and actor Kiara
Advani faced criticism.
Mishra said Khan
should not do such
advertisements keeping
Indian traditions and
customs in mind.
New Delhi (ANI): Spe-
cial Cell of Delhi Police
on Tuesday arrested
a key accused from
Telangana’s Meerpet
in connection with a
case pertaining to the
murder of Intelligence
Bureau (IB) staffer
Ankit Sharma during
the northeast Delhi
violence. The accused
has been identified as
34-years-old Munjtajim
alias Musa Qureshi. He
was carrying a reward
of Rs 50,000.
New Delhi (PTI): Top Indian discus thrower Kamal-
preet Kaur, who achieved stardom for her exploits
at the Tokyo Games, was on Wednesday banned for
three year for using prohibited substance Stanozolol,
the Athletics Integrity Unit
has announced.Kamalpreet
was handed a provisional
suspension in May this year
after testing positive for the
steroid, which was found in
her sample that AIU collected at Patiala on March
7. “The AIU has banned Kamalpreet Kaur of India
for 3 years for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited
Substance, starting from 29 March 2022. DQ results
from 7 March 2022,” the AIU said in a statement.
DISCUS THROWER KAMALPREET KAUR
BANNED FOR 3 YRS FOR USE OF STEROID
CRUCIAL READ
‘AusisIndia’simportantpartnerforsecurity’
Jaishankar on his 2-day visit to Australia, addressed the Indian community and spent time with military
Sydney (PTI) Austral-
ia is an important part-
ner for India in terms
of security and stabili-
ty in the Indo-Pacific
and working together
ensures that this region
remains free, open, sta-
ble and prosperous, Ex-
ternal Affairs Minister
S Jaishankar has said.
Jaishankar, who is on
a two-day visit to Aus-
tralia, during his ad-
dress to the Indian com-
munity said during the
visit he spent time with
the Australian military
.
“They are a very im-
portant partner for us
today in terms of secu-
rity and stability in the
Indo-Pacific. In fact, the
big change in our rela-
tionship is the fact that
today we both are mem-
bers of the Quad mech-
anism and are working
together in many ways
to ensure that this re-
gion remains free, open,
stable and prosperous,”
Jaishankar said on
Tuesday
.
“I have seen again
even in the last year
how much progress we
have made just in the
last few weeks. We have
had two major exercises
in Australia where the
Indian military has par-
ticipated,” he said. He
said the perception, the
relevance of each coun-
try to the other and the
two nations’ common
shared ability to con-
tribute to the better-
ment of the region, is
“something which is
today an important fac-
tor in the relationship
“, he said.
The US, India and
several other world
powers have been talk-
ing about the need to
ensure a free, open and
thriving Indo-Pacific
in the backdrop of
China’s rising mili-
tary manoeuvring in
the region.
‘Nationalgamesfosterspiritof
nationalunityamongparticipants’
Surat (FIB): Under the
chairmanship of Vice
President Jagdeep
Dhankhar, the closing
ceremony of the 36th
National Games-2022
has been organized at
Pandit Deendayal Upad-
hyay Indoor Stadium,
Surat. Lok Sabha Speak-
er Om Birla and Chief
Minister Bhupendrab-
hai Patel will be present
on the occasion.
Addressing the Clos-
ing Ceremony of 36th
National Games at Pt
Deendayal Upadhyaya
Indoor Stadium in Surat
today
, the Vice President
congratulated the state
government for the suc-
cessful organisation of
the mega sporting event
which saw many new
records being set in dif-
ferent streams over the
last few weeks. “
Athletes
will carry fond memo-
ries and a new enthused
spirit of nationalism
from here,” he said.
Significantly, 7500
athletes from 36 states
and union territories
participated in 36 types
of sports in the 36th Na-
tional Games to realize
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi’s ‘Khelo India’
and ‘Fit India’ cam-
paign. A total of 1100
competedforgold,silver
and bronze medals. 2000
technical staff and over
2500 volunteers helped.
Agartala (Agencies):
President Droupadi
Murmu, who arrived in
Tripura on Wednesday,
inaugurated a Judicial
Academy and laid the
foundation stone of the
National Law Universi-
ty at Narsingarh, on the
outskirts of the Agarta-
la city
.
This was her first vis-
it to the northeastern
region after assuming
the highest office on
July25.Accordingtothe
officials, National Law
University, Tripura un-
der the Higher Educa-
tion Department of the
state government,
would now function
from the Tripura Judi-
cial Academy as both
are adjacent places.
Prof. (Dr.) Yogesh Pratap
Singh has recently been
appointed as first Vice-
Chancellor of National
Law University, Tripu-
ra, for which the state
government has allotted
9.23 acres of land at
Narsingarh for setting
up of a permanent cam-
pus of the varsity
.
Officials said that stu-
dents from the north-
eastern and other states
of India would be able to
take higher studies on
law in the University
.
Haryana govt orders
halt of cough syrup prod
Ambala (Haryana)
(ANI): Haryana gov-
ernment has ordered a
halt of total production
of cough syrups from
Sonipat-based company
Maiden Pharmaceuti-
cals Limited, which was
recently flagged by the
World Health Organisa-
tion (WHO) following
the deaths of 66 chil-
dren in The Gambia.
The company has
also been issued a show
cause notice for 12 vio-
lations found at its man-
ufacturing plant.
State health minister
Anil Vij told ANI on
Wednesday,
“The samples of
three drugs of the Soni-
pat-based pharmaceuti-
cal company which
were mentioned by
WHO, have been sent to
Central Drug Labora-
tory in Kolkata. The re-
port is yet to come.
We will take action
only after the report
comes. After a joint in-
spection by Central and
State officials, 12
violations were found
in the manufacturing
facility. ... It has been
decided to shut total
production. We have
sent a notice in this re-
gard.”
TMC lashes
out at “political
vendetta”
Kolkata (ANI): Amid
the buzz over ex-crick-
eter Roger Binny likely
to replace Sourav Gan-
guly as chief of the
Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI),
the Trinamool Con-
gress (TMC) attacked
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), accusing
it of attempting to hu-
miliate the former In-
dian skipper since it
had failed to induct
him into the party.
TMC Rajya Sabha
MP Santanu Sen al-
leged political vendetta
of the BJP behind the
possible exit of Gan-
guly as BCCI president.
“Amit Shah visited
Sourav Ganguly’s
house a few months
ago.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar interacts with Indian
community, in Sydney. —PHOTO BY ANI
INDIA’S TIES WITH JAPAN, SOUTH
KOREA, CHINA IMPROVED: EAM
Singapore (ANI): India’s
bilateral and economic
ties with Japan, South
Korea and China were
bolstered because of
its association with the
10-nation ASEAN bloc,
external affairs minister
S Jaishankar said. The
Association of Southeast
Asian Nations Nations-
India trade in goods
agreement was signed
on Aug 13, 2009 and it
came into force in Jan,
2010. The ten ASEAN
countries include Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myan-
mar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam. Jaishankar
made these comments in
a foreword published in a
book titled: “ASEAN and
India: The Way Forward,”
which was launched in
Singapore on Wednes-
day. “Ties with Japan
and South Korea were
energised as a result,”
the minister said.
RAISES VISA
BACKLOG ISSUE
WITH AUSSIES
Sydney (PTI) Exter-
nal Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar has that he
took up with Australian
authorities the issue of
visa backlog, particu-
larly related to students
seeking to return to
educational institutions
in the country following
the COVID pandemic,
and was assured that
the problem would
be resolved by the
year end.
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar
at the national games in Surat on Wednesday.
OM BILRA
ENCOURAGES
SPORTSMANSHIP
Surat (Agencies): The
Indian National Flag got
international recognition
with the greatest effort
made by their athletes,
the Lok Sabha president
said. Female players have
made our country proud
time and again—Lok
Sabha’s President. Om
Birla, President of the
Lok Sabha, stated at the
conclusion of the 36th
National Sports in Surat,
Gujarat.
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij
—FILE PHOTO
Prez lays foundation stone for
Law University in Tripura
President Droupadi Murmu during the inauguration of the Tripura
Judicial Academy laid the foundation stone of the National Law
University, in Agartala on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Racial attack on Agra
student in Australia
Shubham Dubey
Agra: A 28 year student
from Agra’s town Kirav-
ali studying in Australia
was attacked with a
knife in Australia.
Family members fear
that it was a racist inci-
dent and has requested
govt to bring him home.
StudentShubhamGarg,
pursuing PhD in Syd-
ney
, was attacked on the
night of October 6 when
he was returning to his
room after withdrawing
money from an ATM.
He got seriously in-
jured and was admitted
to a hospital. In Agra,
the victim’s family met
MP Rajkumar Chahar
on Tuesday and pleaded
for help. Ram Niwas
Garg, resident of Paith
Gali , said that his son
Shubham had gone to
Australia on September
1 to pursue PhD in MS
in University of New
South Wales.
Shubham’sroommate
Bhuvan Tilani, a resi-
dent of Delhi, informed
the police about the
attack.
The victim was
stabbed 11 times
and is critically ill
Shubham Garg
AROUND THE WORLD

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 50,890.00 270.00 0.02 (Per 10g)
SILVER 58,500.00 400.00 0.05 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.33 0.029 0.036
GBPINR 91.118 0.183 0.202
CURRENCIES
Digital Payment solutions record unprecedented growth in India
New Delhi (Agencies):
India has been extremely
keen on adopting digital
payment system fully and
has been making giant
leaps towards it.
During the last three
years, digital payment
transactions have regis-
tered unprecedented
growth in India. Easy and
convenient modes of digi-
tal payment, such as
Bharat Interface for Mon-
ey-Unified Payments In-
terface (BHIM-UPI); Imme-
diate Payment Service
(IMPS); pre-paid payment
instruments (PPIs) and
National Electronic Toll
Collection (NETC) system
have registered substan-
tial growth and have trans-
formed digital payment
ecosystem by increasing
Person-to- Person (P2P) as
well as Person-to-Mer-
chant (P2M) payments. At
the same time, pre-exist-
ing payment modes such
as debit cards, credit cards,
National Electronic Funds
Transfer (NEFT) and Real-
Time Gross Settlement
(RTGS) have also grown at
a fast pace.
BHIM-UPI has emerged
as the preferred payment
mode of users. The Gov-
ernment of India also
launched the digital pay-
ment solution e-RUPI, a
cashless and contactless
instrument for digital pay-
ment, which is expected to
play a huge role in making
Direct Benefit Transfer
(DBT) more effective in
digital transactions in the
country
. All these facilities
together have created a ro-
bust ecosystem for a digital
finance economy
.
Getting a whopping over
1.3 billion people under the
ambit of digital payment
solutions is not an easy
task but the Indian govern-
ment is not leaving any
stone unturned to achieve
that milestone. One of the
major objectives of Digital
India is to achieve “Face-
less, Paperless, Cashless”
status. The promotion of
digital payments has been
accorded the highest prior-
ity by the Government of
India to bring each and
every segment of our coun-
try under the formal fold of
digital payment services.
TRANSFORMING CASHLESS TRANSACTIONS
CASHLESS
ECONOMY
z In August 2022 alone, 346
banks were live on the UPI
interface, with 6.58 billion
financial transactions being
carried out for a total value
of nearly Rs 10.73 lakh cr
z UPI firmly placing India on
the track toward a cashless
economy and currently
constitutes over 40% of all
digital transactions in India
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Billionaire en-
trepreneur Elon Musk’s
SpaceX is set to seek a
permit to launch satellite
internet services in India
under its Starlink brand,
becoming the third com-
pany to apply for such a
permit, the Economic
Times reported. SpaceX
will also seek statutory
approvals from the gov-
ernment for landing rights
and market access, the re-
port said, adding that it is
likely to seek approvals
from Department of Tele-
communications (DoT) to
set up local gateways.
SpaceX and DoT did not
respond to Reuters re-
quests for comment after
regular hours. —PTI
Mumbai: Multiplexes
chain company, PVR on
Wednesday received
shareholders’ approval for
a merger with rival Inox
Leisure. In March, PVR
and the Inox Leisure board
of directors approved a
share swap amalgamation
scheme where Inox will
merge with PVR. On Octo-
ber 11, PVR sought equity
shareholders’ approval for
the Inox merger. During
the meeting, 99.9986%
vote was cast in favour of
the merger, while a frac-
tional 0.0014% voted
against the deal. —PTI
PVR SHAREHOLDERS
APPROVE MERGER
WITH RIVAL INOX
SPACEX TO SEEK
GOVT PERMIT FOR
STARLINK SERVICES
New Delhi: Chipmaker In-
tel Corp is planning a ma-
jor reduction in head-
count, likely numbering in
the thousands, in the face
of a slowdown in the per-
sonal computer market,
Bloomberg News reported
on Tuesday, citing people
with knowledge of the sit-
uation. The layoffs will be
announced as early as this
month and some of Intel’s
divisions, including the
sales and marketing
group, could see cuts af-
fecting about 20% of staff,
as per the report. —PTI
INTEL PLANS TO CUT
THOUSANDS OF JOBS
HIT BY PC SLOWDOWN
Mumbai: State Bank on
Wednesday said its home
loan book has surpassed
the Rs 6-lakh-crore-mark,
making it the largest in the
industry. To mark the occa-
sion, the bank also an-
nounced a festive offer for
home loan buyers, offering
up to 25 bps discount on
interest rate starting at
8.40% also the waiver of
the processing fee till Jan-
uary 2023. The lower inter-
est will also be applicable
to balance transfers. Com-
menting on this, chairman
Dinesh Khara said SBI has
over 28 lakh home loan
customers. —PTI
SBI LARGEST HOME
LOAN PROVIDER,
TOPS ` 6L CR MARK
*Rates till the edition went to print.
SLOWDOWN IN ALL
MAJOR SECTORS
New Delhi: The manufacturing
sector shrank by 0.7% in August
2022 compared to the 11.1%
growth recorded in the year-ago
period, as per the data by the Sta-
tistics and Programme Implemen-
tation Ministry. The power sector
showed a growth of 1.4% against
a 16% rise a year ago. The mining
sector witnessed a contraction of
3.9% in August 2022, whereas
there was a growth of 23.3% in
the year-ago period.Capital goods
output, which is a barometer of
investments, rose 5% in August
2022 compared to 20% growth in
the year-ago month.
BYJU’S TO FIRE 2500
EMPLOYEES AND HIRE
10000 TEACHERS
New Delhi: Edtech major Byju’s
has chalked out a plan to become
profitable by March 2023 to
optimise its
marketing and
operational
cost, which will
lead to retrench-
ment of 5 per cent employees
or about 2,500 people in next
six months. Byju’s co-founder
Divya Gokulnath told PTI that the
company will start focussing on
building brand awareness over-
seas through new partnerships
and hire 10,000 teachers for India
and overseas business. —PTI
MERCEDES-BENZ AND
MICROSOFT JOIN HANDS
TO BOOST EFFICIENCY
New Delhi: Mercedes-Benz
and Microsoft announced a
partnership on Wednesday us-
ing Microsoft
Cloud for a
data platform
intended
to improve
production efficiency at over
30 passenger car plants glob-
ally, the carmaker said. The
data platform, called MO360, is
already available in Europe, the
Middle East and Africa and will
also be launched in the United
States and China, the state-
ment said. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
RBI’S RATE HIKES TO HAVE LIMITED IMPACT ON
BANKS’ PROFITS: MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE
Bengaluru: The Reserve Bank of India’s slew of rate hikes this year to
combat surging inflation will help lift banks’ net interest margins, but
the increase will be limited as funding costs will rise faster than loan
rates, Moody’s Investors Service said.
The RBI has now raised rates by a total
190 basis points since its first unsched-
uled mid-meeting hike in May, with
further hikes likely on the cards. While
India’s economic growth will slow, its
growth outlook was better than its peers,
Moody’s said in a note on Wednesday.
Banks’ profitability would also be reined in by losses on their govern-
ment securities holdings as yields rise, the ratings agency said. —PTI
UPI, RuPay, BHIM
to go global: Fin Min
Washington (PTI): India
is talking to different coun-
tries to make Rupay ac-
ceptable in their nations,
Union Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman said
on Tuesday
. “Not just that,
the UPI (Unified Payments
Interface), the BHIM app,
and NCPI (the National
Payments Corporation of
India) are all now being
worked in such a way that
their systems in their re-
spective country, however,
robust or otherwise can
talk to our system and the
interoperability itself will
give strength for Indians
expertise in those coun-
tries,” she said.
“Weareworkingtogether
with several countries,” Si-
tharaman said in response
toaquestionfromanIndian
student at the University of
Maryland, who wanted to
have the UPI in the United
States as well. Sitharaman
made the remarks at the
prestigiousBrookingsInsti-
tute think-tank during a
fireside chat with eminent
economist Eshwar Prasad.
“I’m a student at the Uni-
versity of Maryland here. I
am really proud of our UPI
system in India. I just want-
ed to ask, what do you think
are the future plans for the
UPI system and how can we
share it with the world?
Specifically in the US,
that’s what I miss the most
about India not having a
UPI system in the US,” the
Indian student asked. “We
are talking to different
countries. Singapore and
UAE have all come forward
now to make Rupay accept-
able in their countries,”
Sitharaman said.
READY TO TALK WITH STARTUPS TO PREVENT
THEM FROM MOVING OUT OF INDIA, SAYS FM
Washington (PTI): The government is ready to talk with the startups
who are contemplating moving overseas and address their issues as
much as it can to help them stay in India, Union Finance Minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has himself engaged
with startups and the government’s policies have created an enabling
environment as a result of which there are more than 100 unicorns in
India. “I have engaged, the Prime Minister with the startups to know
what they want from India. And we kept as much as possible addressing
their concerns. Now as a result of which, not purely as a result of which,
but also because of which, you saw your Unicorns coming to reach 100
in number within the year of 2020 and 2021,” she said in response to
a question at the prestigious Brookings Institute think-tank. “I’ve heard
this from others as well. They (startups) are moving to Singapore,
they’re moving to the UAE. Well, if they want to talk to the Government
of India and say, look, we were moving to Singapore, but if we were to
do this, we would be quite happy to be here. And after hearing it if it’s
possible, we’ll certainly attend to them,” Sitharaman said when asked
about the successful Indian startups moving out of the country.
Bengaluru (PTI): India’s
business process manage-
ment (BPM) sector with
revenues at $44 billion ex-
perienced double-digit
growth of over 14 per cent
in FY22 as compared to
FY21 and accounts for
nearly 40 per cent of global
sourcing spend, a Nasscom
report said on Wednesday.
Leveraging data to improve
operational efficiency will
emerge as the top priority
for BPM service providers
in the next two years.
As per the findings, over
90 per cent of the surveyed
companies are expected to
increaseITbudgetsbymore
than 10 per cent during the
next 12 months though un-
certainties like macroeco-
nomic issues, geopolitics
and delayed decision-mak-
ing may create some head-
winds. Moreover, firms are
increasingly focusing on
building an integrated Digi-
tal Capability Platform that
will ensure seamless data
flow, said the report by
Nasscom in collaboration
with HFS Research. “The
BPM industry in India has
matured significantly
. The
next evolution for this sec-
tor will be more dynamic,
reliable, and significantly
more agile in driving and
shaping the next-gen needs
of clients,”saidKSVishwa-
nath, Vice President, In-
dustry Initiative, Nasscom.
India’s BPM industry
logs $44 bn revenues,
grows at 14% in FY22
EXTREME
SATISFACTION
z The highest concentration
of Global 2000 enterprises
is using evaluating India
as a delivery location for
BPM services
z Over 60% of the surveyed
enterprises have declared
extreme satisfaction with
the delivery of Cloud, AI,
FA, data, and insights
from India
TWIN BLOWS: INFLATION RISES TO
7.4%, FACTORY OUTPUT SHRINKS
New Delhi (PTI): In twin
blows to Indian economic
revival, higher food prices
drove retail inflation to a
five-month high of 7.4 per
cent while factory output
fell for the first time in 18
months. The second con-
secutive month of rise in
consumer price index
(CPI)-based inflation will
add to the pressure on the
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) to again raise interest
rates to tame high prices.
Food inflation surged to
a 22-month high of 8.6%
while core inflation rose to
a 4-month high of 6.3%.
Separately
, the Index of In-
dustrial Production (IIP)
declined 0.8% in August.
“Thecombinationof slight-
ly higher inflation and fall
in IIP raises concerns,”
said Nikhil Gupta, chief
economist at Motilal Osw-
al. “However, next month’s
data and US Fed’s policy
will decide whether we see
35 bps or 50 basis point hike
by the RBI in December.”
Since April 2022, the RBI
has increased the interest
rate by 190 basis points in a
bid to dampen demand. The
consumer durables seg-
ment declined 2.5% from
11.1% growth a year ago.
The primary goods seg-
ment, which accounts for
nearly 34 per cent of the
index, expanded 1.7 per
cent in August compared to
16.9 per cent growth in the
year-ago period.
Rupee falls 12p
to close at 82.33
against US dollar
on fund outflows
New Delhi (PTI): The ru-
peefellby12paisetocloseat
82.33 against the US dollar
on Wednesday due to sus-
tainedforeignfundoutflows
and a stronger dollar in the
overseas markets. Besides,
risk aversion sentiment
among investors ahead of
the release of US Fed min-
utes and inflation data
weighed on the local unit.
At the interbank foreign
exchange market, the local
currency opened lower at
82.32 and later fell further
to 82.3750 against the
American currency. It re-
covered some ground to
close at 82.33, registering a
decline of 12 paise over its
previous close. “In line
with the dollar index, the
rupee marked another
steady day
. So far this week,
the rupee has been trading
in a narrow range and clos-
ing near 82.32,” said Dilip
Parmar, Research Analyst,
HDFC Securities.
New Delhi (PTI): Adani
Data Network has been
granted unified licence for
access services, which en-
ables it to provide all tele-
com services in the coun-
try, according to two offi-
cial sources.
Adani Group entered the
telecom sector after buy-
ing spectrum in the recent
auction. “Adani Data Net-
works has been granted UL
(AS),” an official source
said. Another official said
that the permit was grant-
ed on Monday
.
An e-mail query to Ada-
ni Group did not elicit any
reply. Adani Data Net-
works Ltd (ADNL), a unit
of Adani Enterprises Ltd,
acquired the right to use
400MHz of spectrum in the
26GHz millimetre wave
band worth Rs 212 crore for
20 years in the recent 5G
spectrum auction.
Adani gets
licence for full
fledge telecom
services
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks to scholars of The
Brookings Institution in Washington, Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

08
2NDFRONT
Greetings on the occasion of
Karvachauth, blessings and
joy to all the women praying
on this auspicious day.
—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Modi’s A-team in PMO: Who’s Who
SOME OF THE TOP CIVIL SERVANTS IN COUNTRY, BUT LOW-PROFILE
First India Bureau
New Delhi: To ensure
that the Prime Minis-
ter’s flagship schemes
are implemented on the
ground, a core team at
the PMO is at work.
They are some of the
most powerful civil
servants in the country
but they are, in general,
much more low profile
than some of their pre-
decessors.
The four senior-most
members of the PMO
are the soft spoken PK
Mishra, who was ap-
pointed as principal
secretary to the PM af-
ter Nripendra Misra
stepped down; Ajit Dov-
al, national security ad-
visor; and Modi’s two
advisors — retired IAS
officers Amit Khare
and Tarun Kapoor.
Each of the top four
lend their expertise in
key areas. Mishra, a re-
tired Gujarat-cadre IAS
officer who is known
for his more ‘decentral-
ised style’ of function-
ing, oversees important
policy issues, which in-
clude the agenda of
cabinet meetings and
appointments-related
matters, in addition to
other responsibilities.
Former director of
the Intelligence Bureau,
Doval has been looking
into everything related
to national security —
from foreign affairs to
defence and intelligence
agencies — since 2014.
Both Mishra and Doval
have cabinet ranks.
Khare, a 1985-batch
Jharkhand-cadre IAS
officer, who was reap-
pointed as Information
Broadcasting secre-
tary for a second time
after retirement, moved
to the PMO in October
2021. He handles the ru-
ral and agriculture ver-
ticals. In the late 1990s,
Khare had famously
exposed the fodder
scam in Bihar that had
led to Lalu Prasad Ya-
dav’s conviction.
Kapoor, the second
advisor in PMO, was ap-
pointed in May 2022.
The former Petroleum
secretaryisaHimachal-
cadre IAS officer and
looks after infrastruc-
ture and resources.
(L-R) Principal Secretary to the PM, PK Mishra, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and former
principal secretary to the PM, Nripendra Misra, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Prime
Minister's Office in New Delhi. —FILE PHOTO
MONEY GUY:
ARVIND SHRIVASTAVA
A 1994-batch Karna-
taka-cadre IAS officer,
Shrivastava handles
the finance and econ-
omy verticals of the
PMO.
The min-
istries of
Finance
and Cor-
porate
Affairs,
as well as NITI Aayog,
come under his pur-
view. He also handles
matters related to PMO
Funds. Before joining
the PMO he was a
joint secretary in the
Finance Ministry.
1 WOMAN FRIDAY: PUNYA SALILA SRIVASTAVA
A 1993-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT (Arunachal
Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre, addi-
tional secretary Srivastava has been with the PMO since
October 2021 and wears many hats. She became a familiar
face during the Covid pandemic as part of the team of se-
nior officials drafted by the Centre to brief the
media daily. Srivastava used to answer media
queries about measures taken by the govern-
ment to tackle the pandemic in chaste Hindi.
In the PMO, she handles the social and wel-
fare verticals, encompassing the ministries
of Health Family Welfare, Education, Skill
Development, Social Justice, Tourism, and
Culture. Besides this, she also monitors announcements to
be made by the PM. With a master’s in physics from Delhi’s
St. Stephen’s College, she is known to be a meticulous plan-
ner. Prior to joining the PMO, she worked in the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA), where she was the first joint secretary
to head the new women’s safety division in 2017.
TECH GOVERNANCE IN-CHARGE:
HARI RANJAN RAO
A former secretary to Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh
Chouhan, Rao is a 1994-batch IAS officer of the MP cadre.
At the PMO, he oversees the technology and governance
verticals. The former includes the ministries of Science and
Technology, Electronics and IT and Communications, while
the latter encompasses Home Affairs, IB,
and some of the flagship programmes of the
government, including Direct Benefit Transfer
and digital payments.Reputed to be a dynam-
ic officer, Rao is credited with transforming
the tourism sector in Madhya Pradesh during
his tenure as tourism secretary and managing
director of MP Tourism Board. During his tenure, MP won a
national award for tourism. Rao is a tech buff and was also
the state’s IT secretary. Prior to joining the PMO, Rao was
posted as administrator of the Universal Services Obligation
Fund in the Department of Telecommunications.
INFRA RESOURCES: ROHIT YADAV
A 2002 Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer, Yadav joined
the PMO in February 2020 from the Union Steel Ministry. He
looks after the infrastructure and resources
vertical in the PMO. The ministries of Road
Transport Highways, Railways, Shipping,
Civil Aviation, Housing Urban Affairs,
Petroleum Natural Gas, and Power, Coal
Mines come under his purview. Yadav had
previously served as the private secretary to
the then Commerce, Industries and Civil Aviation minister
Suresh Prabhu.
HR: HARI RANJAN RAO
A 2001-batch IAS
officer of Bihar cadre,
Sridhar joined the PMO in
2020 and looks after the
human resources vertical.
All appointments-related
files come to him. He also
handles matters related
to personnel, law and
justice, cabinet secretariat,
anti-corruption units, and
vigilance. Sridhar was a
director in the IAS training
academy in Mussoorie.
Besides Mishra, Doval, Khare and
Kapoor, a few others are noteworthy
because of their proximity to Modi —
like Hiren Joshi, officer on special duty
(communications and information tech-
nology), who manages the PM’s social
media and is said to play a key role
in managing the “media narrative”
around Modi.
The PMO’s senior hierarchy
also comprises four additional
secretaries, three joint secretaries, two
private secretaries, 10 directors, and
four OSDs among others. Each of the
senior officers — drafted from the IAS,
Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian
Revenue Service (IRS) — heads differ-
ent verticals, like rural affairs, social,
welfare, finance, technology, and so on.
Each of the additional secretaries and
joint secretaries in charge of different
verticals works with a team of two-three
directors and deputy secretaries.
ADDITIONAL SECRETARIES
JOINT SECRETARIES
SUPPORTING CAST
3
2
3
1
2
RURAL AFFAIRS:
ATISH CHANDRA
A 1994-batch Bi-
har-cadre IAS officer,
Chandra handles the
rural vertical, which
includes the ministries
of Rural Development,
Agriculture, Panchayati
Raj, and Jal Shakti.
Chandra was earlier
working as CMD, Food
Corporation of India.
4 IFS officers on deputation
T
he four Indian
Foreign Service
(IFS) officers cur-
rently on deputation
in the PMO are Rudra
Gaurav Shresth, who
is a joint secretary;
Vivek Kumar, private
secretary to PM Modi;
and two director-rank
officers, Yadav Man-
harsinh Laxmanbhai
and Shweta Singh.
Gaurav Shresth, a
1999-batch IFS officer,
handles the foreign
and security vertical,
under which the min-
istries of External Af-
fairs and Defence fall.
He is assisted by two
director-rank officers.
He also handles mat-
ters related to the de-
partments of Space
and Atomic Energy, as
well as the National
Security Council Sec-
retariat (NSCS) and
National Technical
Research Organisa-
tion (NTRO).
Vivek Kumar, a
2004-batch IFS officer,
joined the PMO in 2014
as a deputy secretary,
after Modi became
PM. A BTech from IIT
Bombay, Kumar was
appointed as private
secretary to PM Modi
in May 2022. Kumar
has previously served
as deputy consul gen-
eral and head of chan-
cery in the Consulate
General of India in
Sydney, and in diplo-
matic positions in
Russia.
(R) Vivek Kumar, private secretary to PM Modi
SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLER: HIREN JOSHI
Hiren Joshi was Modi’s
OSD in the Gujarat
Chief Minister’s Office
and one of his main re-
sponsibilities included
managing the leader’s
social media profile
across platforms.
Joshi moved to the
PMO in 2014 when Modi
became the PM. As OSD
(communications and
information technolo-
gy), he is the man re-
sponsible for managing
the PM’s digital foot-
print across platforms
like Twitter and Face-
book. He not only man-
ages all of Modi’s social
media accounts but also
keeps a hawk eye on
what is said on these
platforms about the PM
and also briefs him. He
was reappointed as
OSD in the rank of joint
secretary in July 2019
when Modi became the
PM for the second time.
Originally from Ra-
jasthan, Joshi has a
PhD from Indian Insti-
tute of Information
Technology and Man-
agement in Gwalior. He
also taught at Manikya
Lal Verma Textile and
Engineering College in
Bhilwara.
‘EYES AND EARS’: PRATIK DOSHI
CALENDAR KEEPER: SANJAY R BHAVSAR
OSD Doshi, another
‘outsider’ in the power
corridors of Delhi, moved
to the PMO in 2014 when
Modi became the PM. He
is known as the “ears and
eyes” of Modi and gives
inputs on all selections
and appointments before
the PM gives his go
ahead, according to serv-
ing and retired bureau-
crats who did not wish to
be named. In Delhi’s pow-
er corridors, he is known
as the man who conducts
a 360-degree oversight
of top bureaucrats and
important persons in
the government. He was
appointed as OSD in
the PMO in the rank of
joint secretary in June
2019 when Modi became
the PM for a second
term. Though his official
designation is OSD (re-
search and strategy), his
responsibilities are not
limited to that. “He gives
inputs and feedback on
all selections — from top
officials in the govern-
ment to vice-chancellors
of universities and
directors of IITs, before
the appointments are
cleared by the PM,” a
source said. A graduate
of Singapore Manage-
ment School, Doshi
had worked as research
assistant in the Gujarat
CMO under Modi.
A nominated Gujarat-cadre IAS officer, Bhavsar moved
to the PMO in June 2014, soon after Modi became
PM. A trusted Modi aide, the OSD (appointment
and tour) manages the PM’s appointment and tour
schedules. A chemical engineer by qualification, he
was Modi’s OSD when the latter was the Gujarat CM.
Besides Joshi, Doshi and Bhavsar, the PMO has a
fourth OSD — Ashutosh Narayan Singh, a former
journalist. However, Singh does not have a Gujarat
link. Before joining the PMO in 2016, Singh was an
associate executive editor in IBN-7. Having worked in
the media for a decade, Singh is well up to his task.
Besides media research, he also gives inputs for PM
Modi’s Hindi speeches.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: In its bit for
clean energy, the Army
has decided to go in for
electric vehicles, which
includes sedans, buses
and motorcycles, at lo-
cations designated as
peace stations.
According to a new
plan, some units at
peace stations will see
25 per cent light vehi-
cles (cars), 38 percent
buses and 48 percent
motorcycles switch
from fossil fuel to elec-
tric mode.
Globally, militaries
are looking at EVs or
hybrid models for vari-
ous types of vehicles in
use, including tanks.
Many American com-
panies are working on
hybrid and fully elec-
tric vehicles for the US
Army
.
“Many projects are
being implemented to
reduce the carbon emis-
sions and dependency
on fossil fuels. Introduc-
tion of Electric Vehi-
cles (EVs) are consid-
ered as one of the effec-
tive steps in that direc-
tion,” a source said.
Hence, the Army has
put into plan a roadmap
to induct EVs wherever
possible considering
the operational com-
mitments which will
significantly cut down
emissions and depend-
ency on fossil fuels, the
sources said.
Roadmap
“Keeping in view the
necessity and employa-
bility of EVs over vari-
ous terrains, the Army
will equip a few units
located in peace sta-
tions with EVs sequen-
tially
. Around 25% light
vehicles, 38% buses and
48% motor cycles of the
selected units/forma-
tions will be changed to
EVs with adequate
charging infrastruc-
ture,” an Army note
said.
Sources said that the
Army is also procuring
EVs through the capital
budget route, which
means buying them
from the budget alloca-
tion meant for moderni-
sation and new equip-
ment.
An Open Tender En-
quiry (OTE) for pro-
curement of 60 electric
buses along with 24 fast
chargers will soon be
floated, the sources
said.
In April this year, the
Army had organised a
demonstration of avail-
able electric vehicles
before Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh.
Army to have electric buses, cars bikes
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inspecting the display of electric
vehicles to be inducted into the Indian Army, in New Delhi.
Railways asked to file report
on quality of water supplied
Delhi High Court on
Wednesday asked the
Indian Railways to file a
fresh status report in a
matter relating to al-
leged supply of contam-
inated drinking water
to passengers and ma-
nipulation in the award
of contracts for setting
up chlorination plants.
A bench of Chief Jus-
tice Satish Chandra
Sharma and Justice
Subramonium Prasad
was informed by the pe-
titioner's counsel that
the last status report
was filed by Railways in
October 2019.
Let a fresh status re-
port be filed in the mat-
ter within six weeks.
List on February 15,
2023, the bench said.
The high court was
hearing a plea by NGO
-- Centre for Public In-
terest Litigation --
which has sought an
independent and pref-
erably court-monitored
probe into the alleged
neglect of the quality of
drinking water being
supplied and manipula-
tion in the award of
contracts for setting up
chlorination plants.
The high court had
earlier questioned the
Indian Railways' past
decisions to hike fares
when it was not provid-
ing proper services and
asked it to stop giving
contaminated water.
Water not even
tested for e.coli
bacteria, NGO
claims in plea
Rudra Gaurav Shresth, Jt Secy
—FILE
PHOTO

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
NEW DELHI, THURSDAY,
OCTOBER 13, 2022
fter season
one of the fes-
tive month in
August, peo-
ple are gear-
ing up for an-
other month
of occasions calling
for some ethnic
glam-up starting
withDusshera. While
the clothes portion of
Indian fashion mar-
ketplaces, from side-
walks to high-rise
malls, is humming with
flaming design fads, the
footwear segment is also
drawing attention.
Whetheryou’renew-
lywed,we’vegotyou
prepared for any-
thing from com-
pletely conventional
to getting dressed
quickly
.
If your heart hints
at a red lehenga for
your debut Karwa
Chauth look, in-
vest in a silk le-
henga for a re-
gal and ro-
mantic feel.
The ideal
newlywed look consists of a
basic satin dupatta, a high-
waisted skirt with heavy
, de-
tailed embroidery
, and a
cropped hanky halter top that
adds a modern touch. Add
beach waves to your hair, huge
earrings,andstuddedkadasto
complete the ethnic style.
Stuck at work but want to
makeitontimewhenthemoon
makes an appearance? To
work, you can don a deep red
silkanarkalisuitthatgoeswell
withgoldenjhumkasandcoor-
dinating juttis. Leave your
locks open with a middle split
and highlight your cheeks to
instantly heighten your look.
You can even doll up yourself
in a red flowy georgette saree
with a glass beaded with a full-
sleeved, corset-style, intricate
lace blouse, which will surely
get you praise.
As ethnic trends rule people’s sanities ahead of Karwa
Chauth and Diwali festive occasions, paying attention
to your jewellery is as important as picking a
perfect outfit. If you are looking for fashion tips,
here’s a guide on how to lift your fashion game
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
A

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