15022022 first india ahmedabad

First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The pros-
ecution on Monday con-
cluded arguments on
the quantum of sen-
tence for the 49 convicts
in the 2008 Ahmedabad
serial bomb blast case.
Special judge AR Pa-
tel will hear the argu-
ments of the defence on
Tuesday, special public
prosecutor Sudhir
Brahmbhatt said.
The court has barred
the print and electronic
media from reporting
the details of the argu-
ments on the quantum
of sentence until the fi-
nal verdict is awarded,
Brahmbhatt said.
The court had said
that details of the argu-
ments made by the ac-
cused and their lawyers
as well as the prosecu-
tion should not be pub-
lished in print or elec-
tronic media until the
final verdict is pro-
nounced.
The special court had
last Tuesday convicted
49 people and acquitted
28 others, over 13 years
after a series of coordi-
nated bomb blasts
killed 56 people and left
more than 200 injured
in Ahmedabad, within
70 minutes, on July 26,
2008.
The convicts re-
mained present before
the court via video con-
ferencing.
The accused were
convicted under vari-
ous sections of the In-
dian Penal Code, Un-
lawful Activities (Pre-
vention) Act, Explosive
Substances Act and the
Damage to Public Prop-
erty Act. One accused
was also convicted un-
der the Arms Act.
They were convicted
under sections 302
(Punishment for mur-
der), 307 (attempt to
murder), 121 (a) (con-
spiracy to wage war or
attempt to wage war
against the nation) and
124 (a) (sedition) among
others of the IPC, and
16(1)(a)(b) of the UAPA
related to punishment
for a terrorist act.
They attract a maxi-
mum punishment of
death sentence and im-
prisonment till life. The
prosecution had said
that it will argue for the
maximum punishment.
Out of the 49 con-
victs, 32 are currently
lodged in the Sabarmati
Central Jail in
Ahmedabad, four in a
jail in Bengaluru, seven
in Bhopal, three in Talo-
ja, two in Jaipur, and
one at Gaya.
Prosecution concludes arguments on quantum of sentence
2008 SERIAL BLASTS CASE
Court has barred the media from
reporting details of the arguments
until the final verdict is awarded
Police personnel wait outside the trial court for the verdict on February 8. —FILE PHOTO
AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 81
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Vineet Joshi, Additional Secretary in Education Minis-
try, was appointed as CBSE Chairman on Monday. The
development comes following relinquishing of charge
by Manoj Ahuja after he was appointed as the OSD in
Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The Tata Group has appointed Ilker Ayci — for-
mer Turkish Airlines Chairman — as Air India’s
Managing Director and CEO effective on or before
April 1. The development is in line with the Tata
Group’s plans to appoint an expatriate chief. P7
IAS VINEET
JOSHI IS
CBSE’S NEW
CHAIRMAN
TATA GROUP APPOINTS
EX-TURKISH AIRLINES
CHAIRMAN ILKER AYCI
AS AIR INDIA MD & CEO
CORONA CATASTROPHE
JUSTICE BHANDARI TAKES
OATH AS MADRAS HC CJ
amil Nadu Governor RN Ravi administered oath of office to Madras High Court Chief
Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari in the presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin at
the Raj Bhavan in Chennai on Monday. Hailing from Rajasthan, he is the 32nd Chief
Justice of the High Court. Justice Bhandari, who was the Acting CJ of the High
Court, was appointed as the Chief Justice by President Ram Nath Kovind who accepted the
recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium which proposed his name. Turn to P8
T
Security concerns: MHA
‘bans’ 54 Chinese apps
New Delhi: The Minis-
try of Home Affairs has
recommended banning
54 Chinese mobile apps
that pose a threat to the
country’s security
.
The apps against
whom the adverse secu-
rity inputs were gener-
ated include Sweet Self-
ie HD, Beauty Camera,
Music Player, Music
Plus, Volume Booster,
Video Players Media all
formats, Viva Video
Editor, Nice Video
Baidu, AppLock and As-
tracraft, among others.
A formal notification
banning these apps will
be issued by the Minis-
try of Electronics and
Information Technolo-
gy (MeitY).
his will be second ma-
jor action against Chi-
nese apps.
Back in June 2021,
the government had
banned 59 Chinese apps
including the popular
short video sharing
platform TikTok, UC
Browser, WeChat and
Bigo Live, saying they
were prejudicial to the
sovereignty, integrity
and security of the
country
.
U’KHAND, GOA DECIDED
2 VILLAGES IN KEDARNATH CONSTITUENCY BOYCOTT POLLS; ADMIN ASKS
THEM TO RECONSIDER, EC DISMISSES SP CLAIMS OF VVPAT TAMPERING
61.72% voting in UP polls’ second phase
F
rom ferrying the
elderly and dif-
ferently-abled in
‘dolis’ to making ar-
rangements for Covid
patients, the Election
Commission on Mon-
day ensured people in
Goa, Uttarakhand and
parts of Uttar Pradesh
do not miss out on vot-
ing in the assembly
elections on Monday
.
The voter turnout re-
ported at 8 pm was 78.94
per cent in Goa and
59.51 per cent in Uttar
Pradesh, the poll panel
said, while Uttara-
khand till 8 pm reported
62.50 per cent. Voting
was held peacefully in
all the three states, of-
ficials said.
While, assembly polls
inGoaandUttarakhand
were completed in a sin-
gle phase, for Uttar
Pradesh, it was the sec-
ond of a seven-phase
election. The results
will be declared on
March 10.
According to the
commission, special ‘di-
vyang dolis’ were de-
ployed in Uttarakhand
with the help of volun-
teers from the National
Cadet Corps (NCC) for
assisting people with
disabilities (PwD) and
senior citizens to poll-
ing stations.
Polling officials take a handicapped voter to a polling booth in
Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar. (Below): Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev and
Acharya Balkrishna after casting their vote in Haridwar.
HC CORRECTS
BAIL ORDER OF
ASHISH, CLEARS
WAY FOR RELEASE
The Allahabad High Court
on Monday corrected
its order granting bail
to Ashish Mishra in
Lakhimpur Kheri case.
Ashish Mishra had moved
the Lucknow bench of
the High Court on Friday
seeking insertion of sec-
tions 302 (murder) and
120 B (criminal con-
spiracy) of IPC that were
“inadvertently” not men-
tioned in the high court
order as the jail authori-
ties would not release him
due to omission.
Triple talaq law saved
thousands of Muslim
women: PM Modi in UP
Kanpur: Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi on
Monday claimed that
the law against triple
talaq has saved thou-
sands of Muslim wom-
en in Uttar Pradesh
Addressing an election
rally, Modi further said
that Muslim girls feel
safe under BJP rule in
UP and a greater num-
ber of Muslim girls is
going to schools.
PM Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Jalandhar on Monday.
PM MODI PROMISES ‘NAVA
PUNJAB’, SAYS CONGRESS
HUMILIATED AMARINDER
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday promised
a ‘Nava Punjab’ in his first
rally in the poll-bound state
since the security scare in
Ferozepur last month. Ad-
dressing a rally in Jalandhar,
PM Modi said, if given a
chance, the NDA will deliver
a ‘Nava Punjab’ or new Pun-
jab in next 5 years. PM also
targetted Congress for hu-
miliating ex-CM Amarinder.
Shah: Past govts
couldn't avenge
killing of our
jawans by Pak
Jhansi: Union home
minister Amit Shah
on Monday launched
an all-out attack on the
opposition in poll-
bound Uttar Pradesh,
invoking the third an-
niversary of Pulwama
terror attacks in which
40 CRPF personnel
had lost their lives.
“During SP, BSP-sup-
ported Congress rule,
any Tom, Dick & Har-
ry would enter India
from Pakistan & be-
head our jawans,” said
Shah in Jhansi.
Shah in Jhansi.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has agreed to
hear the police plea against a probe by the Central
Bureau of Investigation in the suicide of a 17-year-
old school girl in Tamil
Nadu. But the court said
that the central agency
can continue probe
in the case where the
student was allegedly
coerced to convert to
Christianity. The teen
had died by suicide after consuming poison at her
home in Thanjavur on January 9 and died 10 days
later. In a video, the girl alleged that the hostel
warden had forced her to clean the hostel and do
maintenance work. The hostel warden has been
arrested under the Juvenile Act apart from charges
of abetting suicide.
Guwahati: Assam’s
Cacher district police
recovered 30,000
tablets of Yaba, a mix
of methamphetamine
and caffeine, and
apprehended three
persons from the
Bagpur area under the
Joypur police station.
Taking to Twitter,
Cachar police wrote
‘In a major overhaul,
30,000 YABA tablets
recovered and three
persons apprehended
by Joypur Police Sta-
tion. The war against
drugs continues and
will not stop short of
any stops.”
New Delhi: Amid grow-
ing tension between
the BJP-led Centre and
the DMK government
in Tamil Nadu, a phone
call from Union Home
Minister Amit Shah to
Kanimozhi more than
a month ago has now
become a topic of fierce
discussion, sources
said. Shah called DMK
MP M Kanimozhi to
wish her on her 54th
birthday on January 5.
INMAJORHAUL,
30KDRUGTABLETS
SEIZEDINASSAM
SHAH’SB’DAYCALL
TOKANIMOZHI
RINGSLOUDBELLS
INDIA
JAIPUR |TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
08
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NATIONPAYSTRIBUTETOPULWAMAMARTYRS
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday paid
homagetotheCentral
Reserve Police Force
(CRPF)personnelwho
losttheirlivesinater-
rorist attack in Pul-
wama in 2019, and
saidtheirbraveryand
sacrifice
motivate
every In-
dian to
work to-
wards a
strongandprosperous
country. In the attack
by Pak sponsored ter-
rorists in the south
Kashmir,40CRPFper-
sonnel made the su-
preme sacrifice.
PM tweeted, “I pay
homage to all those
martyredinPulwama
onthisdayin2019and
recall their outstand-
ing service to our na-
tion. Their bravery
andsupremesacrifice
motivates every Indi-
an to work towards
a strong and
prosperous
country.” —PTI
CRPFpayshomageto
40jawanskilledin’19
THIRD ANNIV OF
DEADLY ATTACK Lethpora (J&K): The
CRPFonMondaypaid
floral tributes to its
personnelmartyredin
thePulwamaterrorat-
tack on this day three
years ago.
Additional Director
General (ADG), CRPF,
DS Chaudhary, led the
officers and jawans of
the paramilitary force
in paying their trib-
utes at the martyr’s
memorial here. ADG
Chaudhary and other
CRPF personnel laid
floral wreaths at the
memorial. —PTI
Thesecurity
forceselimi-
natedthe
modulebe-
hindthePulwamaat-
tackwithin100hoursof
theattack.Afterforces’
operationsagainstJeM,
theirultraswereso
scaredofdyingthatno-
bodywantedtotakethe
leadershiprole.
—LtGen
(Retd)
KJS
Dhillon
Jhansi (UP): Union Home
Minister Amit Shah on Mon-
day said that the defence
corridor project in Uttar
Pradesh’s Jhansi will help
India “teach a lesson to Pa-
kistan”. Addressing a public
rally in Mauranipur, Shah
said, “PM has
laid the founda-
tion stone for
the defence
project in
Jhansi.
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi said
the sacrifice of jawans will
not go in vain. “We can
never forget the martyrs of
Pulwama. Their sacrifice and
that of their families will not
go in vain — we
will ensure
answers are
given. Jai
Hind,” Gan-
dhi tweeted
in Hindi. —PTI
Kochi: The Kerala High Court
allowed the State govern-
ment’s appeals and set aside
a single judge order defer-
ring a survey in connection
with the SilverLine project.
A bench of Chief Justice S
Manikumar and Justice Shaji
P Chaly set aside the single
judge’s order deferring the
survey till February 7. The
single judge, thereafter, had
further deferred the survey
till February 18. The single
judge’s orders had come on
several pleas, some of which
have opposed the survey be-
ing conducted and the others
were against the laying of
concrete poles. —PTI
New Delhi: The SC on
Monday issued a notice
on a petition challeng-
ing the Gujarat HC’s
order staying Section 5
of the Gujarat Freedom
of Religion (Amend-
ment) Act, 2021, which
mandated permission of
DMs for religious conver-
sion. A bench of Justices
Abdul Nazeer and Krishna
Murari, while hearing an
appeal filed by the state
govt, against staying Sec-
tion 5 of the Act issued
notice to Jamiat Ulama
E-Hind Gujarat and the
other on whose petition
HC order had come.
Kashmir: Farooq Abdullah, MP
from Srinagar, said that he has
been placed under house arrest
and has been disallowed from
visiting Jammu. “I was sched-
uled to visit Jammu today. This
morning, I was informed by
security officials that I cannot
step out of my house,” he said.
The ex-J&K CM said that police
cited the anniversary of the
Pulwama terrorist attack for not
allowing his travel to Jammu.
SHAH: DEF PROJECT
IN JHANSI WILL HELP
CRPF personnel pay tribute to those who
were killed in the Pulwama terror attack,on
its third anniversary,at a memorial,Lethpora,
in Pulwama on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
RAHUL: WILL ENSURE
ANSWERS ARE GIVEN
KERALA HC SETS
ASIDE ORDER
DEFERRING SURVEY
SC NOTICE ON PLEA
AGAINST RELIGIOUS
CONVERSION
FAROOQ STOPPED FROM
VISITING JAMMU
Manila: External Af-
fairs Minister S Jais-
hankar on Monday
held “productive dis-
cussions” with his
Philippines counter-
part Teodoro L Locsin
during which they cov-
ered a range of issues
dealing with mutual
national security.
Jaishankar's three-
day maiden visit to the
Philippines comes over
two weeks after the
Southeast Asian coun-
trysigneda$375million
deal with India to buy
three batteries of
BrahMoscruisemissile.
“Held productive
discussions with FM @
teddyboylocsinof Phil-
ippines. We are enter-
ing a new phase of our
partnership. Its basis
is the mutuality of na-
tional security and de-
velopment aspirations.
Our conversation cov-
dealing with both,”
EAM tweeted. —PTI
EAMholdstalkswithPhilippinecounterpart
ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankar with Philippine counterpart
Teodoro L Locsin in Manila on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: Finance
minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman on Monday
said the ABG Shipyard
account turned NPA
during the erstwhile
UPA regime and the
banks took lesser than
normal time to detect
the fraud perpetrated
by the shipping firm.
"...in this particular
case with that kind of a
measurement,actually,I
should say to the credit
to the banks, they've
takenlesserthanwhatis
normally an average
time to detect these
kinds of frauds," FM
said at a Press confer-
ence after addressing
the members of the RBI
board.Theministersaid
normally banks take 52-
56 months of time to de-
tectsuchcasesandiniti-
ate follow-up actions.
LoanstoABGturned
NPAspriorto2014:FM
Kolkata: Mamata Ba-
nerjee, after reaching
out to regional heavy-
weightsMKStalinandK
Chandrasekhara Rao,
reserved a grand snub
for the Congress as she
saidnoregionalpartyis
on good terms with it
anditcangoitsownway.
The Bengal Chief
MinisterpingedherTa-
mil Nadu and Telanga-
na counterparts and
discussed a meeting of
oppositionChief Minis-
ters to "protect" the
country's federal struc-
ture. She made it clear
today that the Congress
is not invited.
"No regional party
sharesgoodtermswith
Congress. The Con-
gress party will go its
way, we will go our
way,"MamataBanerjee
told reporters. —Agencies
Amid outreach to
MK Stalin,KCR,
Mamata’s snub
for Congress
New Delhi: As a virus-
weary world limps
through the third year
of theoutbreak,experts
are sending out a warn-
ing signal, Don't expect
omicron to be the last
variant we have to con-
tend with — and don't
letyourguarddownyet.
In the midst of a vast
wave of milder infec-
tions, countries around
the world are dialing
backrestrictions.Many
people are starting to
assume they've had
their run-in with Cov-
id-19 and that the pan-
demic is tailing off.
That's not necessarily
the case. —Agencies
Covid-19‘maynevergoaway’,will
likelytriggernewwaves,sayexperts
Hyderabad: After the
Ram Janmabhoomi de-
bate was settled by the
Supreme Court in No-
vember2019,anewcon-
troversy has erupted -
this time over Hanu-
man Janmabhoomi.
This, however, is not
between two religions
but between two Hindu
trusts (one in Andhra
Pradeshandtheotherin
Karnataka) claiming
differentlocationsasthe
birthplaceof Hanuman.
TheTTD,orTirumala
Tirupati Devasthanam,
in Andhra Pradesh has
planned a ceremony to
develop facilities at An-
janadri, a temple and
pilgrimage site in the
TirumalaHills.—Agencies
Two religious bodies fight
over Hanuman’s birthplace
NOT PRESTIGE ISSUE: SC TO
TN ON SUICIDE PROBE BY CBI
ISRO SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES
EOS-04,TWO OTHER SATELLITES
INDIA,MALDIVES HOLD DIALOGUE TO
EXPAND DEFENCE COOPERATION
ASSAM LIFTS ALL
COVID CURBS
CASE AGAINST BIHAR BJP MLA FOR
ALLEGEDLY KIDNAPPING WOMAN: COPS
New delhi: The Indian Space Research Organ-
isation (Isro) successfully launched its earth
observation satellite EOS-4 and two co-passenger
technology demonstrator and scientific satellites
at 5:59 am Monday from the first launch pad at
the country’s only spaceport in Sriharikota, Andhra
Pradesh. “After a flight of about 17 minutes 34
seconds three satellites namely EOS-04, INSPIRE-
sat-1 and INST-2TD were injected successfully.
New Delhi: Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has held
"very productive" talks with the top military brass
of the Maldives to further bolster bilateral defence
and security cooperation amid concerns over
China's increasing footprint in the Indian Ocean.The
Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours
in the Indian Ocean Region and the bilateral defence
and security ties have been on an upward trajectory
in the last few years. "Delighted to be in Maldives
for the 3rd Defence Cooperation Dialogue. Had
very productive discussions. Deeply appreciate
warm hospitality of @cdfofmndf Maj Gen Abdulla
Shamaal," Kumar tweeted on Monday, a day after
the talks in Male. In November, India, the Maldives
and Sri Lanka held a two-day maritime operation.
New Delhi: Assam
to withdraw all
Covid-19 curbs in the
state from February
15, said CM Himanta
Biswa Sarma. Notifi-
cation in this regard
issued on Monday.
The curb that will be
lifted include manda-
tory testing facilities
at airports.
Patna: A case was filed against BJP MLA Vinay
Bihari in Patna for allegedly kidnapping a 25-year-
old woman, police said. The case was registered
at the Agam Kuan police station of the city based
on a complaint filed by the woman’s mother, they
said. “An FIR has been registered against the MLA
from Lauriya in West Champaran and two others
in connection with the kidnapping of a 25-year-old
woman,” said Bipin Bihari, the SHO. —PTI
New Delhi: Driven by rising prices certain food items,
retail inflation soared to a seven-month high of 6.01
per cent in January, breaching
the upper tolerance level of the
Reserve Bank. According to the
Consumer Price Index (CPI) data
released by the government, the
retail inflation in ‘oils and fats’
category stood at 18.7 per cent
Several other segments, including fuel and light,
clothing and footwear and transport and communica-
tion witnessed over 9 per cent price rise.
RETAIL INFLATION SPURTS TO SEVEN
MONTH HIGH OF 6.01% IN JANUARY
CRUCIAL READ
PM pays tribute to CRPF jawans
martyred in Pulwama terror attack
Imphal: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
on Monday paid tributes to CRPF jawans
killed in the dastardly Pulwama terror
attack on this day three years ago. Singh
said that the Centre is ready to talk with the
militant outfits of the Northeastern region
to resolve their problems as the govern-
ment always wants to end the violence per-
manently. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
also had lunch at the residence of Kargil
War martyr Yumnam Kalleshor Kom, in
Imphal. Addressing an election meeting at
Langthabal Mandal in Imphal West district
of Manipur, the Defence Minister said
that the government is always prepared
to talk with the extremist outfits for a
lasting solution of the insurgency prob-
lem and to stop violence in Manipur and
other Northeastern states permanently.
RAJNATH PAYS TRIBUTE TO CRPF JAWANS,
SAYS OPEN TO TALK WITH MILITANTS OF NE
HIMANTA SLAMS KCR FOR
SEEKING PROOF ON STRIKE
New Delhi: The sparring between Telangana CM
K Chandrashekar Rao and his Assam counterpart
Himanta Biswa Sarma continued, with the Sarma
presenting “videographic evidence” of the surgical
strike. Rahul Gandhi’s comments, demanding
evidence of the surgical strike, had snowballed
as Rao came out in his support. Sarma posted a
video on Koo, captioned, “Dear KCR garu, here is
the videographic evidence of the surgical strike by
our brave Army. In spite of this you question the
valor of our forces and insult them. Why are you
so desperate to attack and malign our Army? New
India will not tolerate insults against our Army.”
IN THE COURTYARD
PM Narendra Modi
P6
We need not go to any other authority
than Holy Quran and wearing hijab will
be protected under Article 25. Muslim
girls wearing headscarves are not hurting
anyone. Religious freedoms can be barred only
when it interferes with public order.
—Devadatt Kamat, advocate contends in Karnataka High Court
HIGH COURT ADJOUNS HEARING
K’taka govt may
introduce new hijab
norms in schools
Bengaluru: Karna-
taka government is
likely to introduce a
Standard Operating
Procedure (SOP) on
the usage of hijab
based on the high
court proposal ban-
ning religious gar-
ments in schools and
colleges till the mat-
ter is pending with
the court.
The government is
likely to issue guide-
lines for all schools
and colleges after
some students came
to attend classes to-
day wearing hijab de-
spite the court order.
Some students
were asked to remove
hijab by school au-
thorities standing
outside the school
gate. To prevent such
situations, the gov-
ernment is likely to
come up with a new
set of guidelines.
Chief Minister Ba-
savaraj Bommai will
meet Education Min-
ister BC Nagesh, edu-
cation department
officials and home
department officials
to decide upon such
guidelines based on
the high court pro-
posal.
The govt is likely to intro-
duce SOP on the usage
of hijab based on the high
court proposal. The new
guidelines will let students
coming in hijabs and
burqas enter schools and
then change into uniform.
TMC sweeps Bengal civic body
polls, wins in 4 municipal corps
Kolkata: Nine months
after its landslide win
in the West Bengal As-
sembly polls, the Trina-
mool Congress on Mon-
day reaffirmed its dom-
inance among urban
voters as it made a
clean sweep in the elec-
tions to four municipal
corporations.
The TMC retained
control of Bidhanna-
gar, Chandernagore
and Asansol municipal
corporations and
wrested power in Silig-
uri from the CPI(M)-led
Left Front. Both the
vote share and the
number of seats for the
TMC in these civic bod-
ies were much higher
than the last election
held in 2015. The
CPI(M) lost opposition
status to the BJP in
Asansol and Siliguri,
but retained its distant
second position in Bid-
hannagar and Chand-
ernagore.
Trinamool Congress supporters celebrate party’s win in Kolkata.
TMC chief and West Bengal
CM Mamata Banerjee.
Gujarat A’bad
NEW
CASES
350
NEW
CASES
1,040 NEW
DEATHS
14

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022
02
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With the
Ahmedabad police
moving towards a new
world of digital polic-
ing, people in the state
can now lodge police
complaints using their
mobile phones, Minis-
ter of State (Home)
Harsh Sanghavi said
on Monday.
A new app, called
Tarkash, will allow peo-
ple to file complaints
and aid police person-
nel in running the show
digitally, he said.
Sanghavi, who is also
the Minister of State for
Sports, Youth and Cul-
tural Activities, added
that the state govern-
ment plans to institute
a new sports policy to
provide opportunities
and encouragement to
sportspersons.
Expanding on the
Tarkash app,
Ahmedabad Police
Commissioner Sanjay
Srivastava said, “It is
time for a next-genera-
tion policy
. The app will
also improve database
policing. The umbrella
software also includes
many other services in-
cluding court manage-
ment system, internal
assessment and even
online history of repeat
offenders, which offic-
ers in the field can ac-
cess at any time.”
He also lauded the
cybercrime team
which, in addition to
solving cases, is now
also preparing syllabi
for secondary and
higher secondary
classes, which will be
shared with the Guja-
rat State Secondary
and Higher Secondary
Education Board soon.
The cybercrime divi-
sion will also train
teachers about these
courses, he said.
A survey of women
in the city has revealed
that they seek more se-
curity and safety near
public toilets, he added.
“They have even sug-
gested some black spots
in the city, where wom-
en feel particularly un-
safe due to the lack of
public streetlights. We
will suggest that the
municipal corporation
increase its budget al-
location for public toi-
lets under the Nirb-
haya programme. The
Uttar Pradesh govern-
ment has used huge
funds to create public
toilets for women, and
we can follow their ex-
ample,” he said.
State to implement new
sportspolicy:Government
Guj citizens can also file FIRs from their mobile phones
Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi and Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Sanjay Srivastava at the event on Monday.
Opposition Congress
names CJ Chavda whip
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: After
changing the Leader
of Opposition in the
Gujarat Assembly
and the president of
the Gujarat Pradesh
Congress Committee,
the opposition high
command has now
named CJ Chavda as
the whip of the Con-
gress Legislative Par-
ty. With this reshuf-
fle, only Shailesh
Parmar has retained
his position as depu-
ty LOP.
According to a
statement issued by
All India Congress
Committee General K
Venugopal, Gandhi-
nagar (North) MLA
CJ Chavda replaces
Ashwin Kotwal as the
whip of the party,
with Lalit Vasoya, the
young Patidar leader
from Dhoraji, being
named Chavda’s dep-
uty. Senior MLAs
Punja Vansh and Vir-
ji Thummar have
been appointed chief
spokespersons, while
other spokespersons
include Ashwin Kot-
wal, Gyasuddin Shai-
kh, Baldevji Thakor,
Amrish Der, Naush-
ad Solanki and Kirit
Patel.
Notably, the new
appointments indi-
cate that the party is
making an effort to
ensure that all major
castes get equal rep-
resentation, given
that two appointees
are from the Sched-
uled Castes, three
from the OBC, two are
Patels, while there is
also a Muslim, a Koli,
and one from a tribal
community
.
The party has also
appointed two observ-
ers per assembly seat.
So far, in phase 1, it
has named 26 observ-
ers, who will be tasked
with helping the par-
ty prepare its panel of
candidates based on
sentiment among the
rank and file.
Congress Legislative Party
reorganized in bid to balance
caste equation ahead of polls
CJ Chavda (left) has replaced Ashwin Kotwal as party whip,
while Shailesh Parmar (right) has retained his position as
deputy LOP. —FILE PHOTOS
WATER SUPPLY TO BE SHUT OFF
FOR 24 HOURS IN PARTS OF V’DARA
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
state government has
assured parents of stu-
dents stranded in
Ukraine of assistance
from the central gov-
ernment to ensure their
safe return to India.
Around 6,000 students
from Gujarat are in the
foreign nation pursuing
either medical or engi-
neering courses.
Va d o d a r a - b a s e d
Arvind Sindha’s daugh-
ter Astha is pursuing a
graduation degree in
medicine in Ukraine.
Due to prevalent ten-
sion in Ukraine owing
to a possibility of war
with Russia, colleges
and universities have
asked students to re-
turn to their native
countries. On the other
hand, airlines have can-
celled flights, and only a
few airlines are operat-
ing. But airfares are as
high as one lakh rupees.
Sindha further in-
formedFirstIndia,“Stu-
dents can leave Ukraine
only after their educa-
tional institutions issue
them a letter. There are
many who have not re-
ceived a letter and until
they do, they cannot
leave the country
.
On Sunday, Sindha,
accompanied by par-
ents of other students,
had personally met
with state Revenue and
Law Minister Rajendra
Trivedi and requested
Centre’s help. Trivedi
assured parents that
Chief Minister Bhupen-
dra Patel will take up
the matter with the Un-
ion External Affairs
Minister Subrahmany-
am Jaishankar and en-
sure safe return of their
children.
Parthsinh (name
changed) had been in
Ukraine for just two
months after securing
admission to an engi-
neering college in De-
cember 2021. His father
back home in Suren-
dranagar took up the
matter of his return
with Union Minister of
State for AYUSH Dr Ma-
hendra Munjapara. He
has been assured of
central government’s
assistance.
Govt promises safe return of students stranded in Ukraine
HOPEFUL
lll
With danger of
war with Russia
looming over the
foreign nation,
parents of
students
pursuing medical
engineering
degrees there
want Centre to
intervene
Students awaiting word for their return to India from Ukraine.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Owing to
ongoing work on foun-
dation of the Package
6 track of the bullet
train project by the
National High Speed
Rail Corporation Lim-
ited (NHSRCL), lakhs
of people in Vadodara
will not receive water
supply for 24 hours. A
1,354 mm diameter
line will be shifted
from Rayka Dodka
Frenchwell towards
Vadodara as it is pass-
ing near the proposed
NH - 8 Chhani
Chayapuri station.
Approximately 10
lakh people from the
east, west and some
parts of north Va-
dodara will be affected
due to the mega water
supply shutdown on
February 15. Water sup-
ply to 17 tanks and four
boosters will be hin-
dered and the panel
transformer will also be
changed at Rayka
Frenchwell during the
shutdown.
As per an official no-
tification, water supply
to Punam Nagar Tank,
North Harni, Sama, Ka-
relibaug, Ajwa, Pani-
gate, Nalanda, Ga-
jrawadi, Lalbaug, Jail,
Sayajibaug, Manjalpur,
Airport, Warasia,
Khodiyarnagar booster
and Gorwa, Subhanpu-
ra tank and booster,
Wadiwadi, Akota, Kala-
li water tank, will be
shut off. Supply will be
hindered on February
15 and 16 morning and
will be distributed on
low pressure from Feb-
ruary 16 in the evening.
“Water supply will be
affected for 24 hours
due to the shifting of
water pipeline as it is
obstructing foundation
work of the bullet track
laid by the NHSRL un-
der supervision of Jap-
anese engineers. They
need precision in pile to
pile measurement due
to the high speed train
and hence the pipeline
is being shifted some
distance away from its
present place. Water
distribution will be
shut off for 24 hours
and we will try to com-
plete the work soon,”
said Jatan Badheka, ex-
ecutive engineer, water-
works electrical/me-
chanical department,
Vadodara Mahanagar
Seva Sadan.
Foundation work of high speed rail project
affected due to the water pipeline.
Pipeline
obstructing
bullet train work
to be shifted to
new location
TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel launched the DISHA system in Gandhinagar on Monday. He is
seen here flanked by Minister of State for Labour and Employment Brijesh Merja and Industrial
Safety and Health Director PM Shah.
PAAS leader urges Surat police to
prevent drug use among youngsters
First India Bureau
Surat: The brutal mur-
der of 21-year-old wom-
an Grishma Vekariya
by her college batch-
mate Fenil Goyani in
Kamrej area of rural
Surat on Saturday
morning has sent
shockwaves across the
state. Alpesh Kathiriya,
convener of the Patidar
Anamat Andolan Sami-
ti (PAAS), accompanied
by other members, vis-
ited the family mem-
bers of the deceased.
Attributing the rise
in crime to consump-
tion of drugs by young-
sters, Kathiriya said,
“In Varachha Yogi
Chowk, Sarthana, Ka-
targam, Pune village
areas, youth are con-
suming more and more
drugs. It is due to this
that the crime rate has
spiked.”
He further stated, “I
personallythinkthatthe
accused Fenil is also ad-
dicted to drugs. We are
goingtoholdseveralpro-
grammes in the coming
daystopreventspreadof
(drug) contamination in
our area. We also issue
an ultimatum to the po-
lice to take immediate
action against perpetra-
tors of such acts.”
An application was
also filed with the po-
lice commissioner
against sale of drugs in
residential societies by
PAAS recently
.”We plan
to give Surat police sev-
en days to crack down
on people selling or
buying drugs,” said
Kathiriya.

GUJARAT
03
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: For the
first time in nearly
two years after the
COVID-19 pandemic
began and amid a de-
cline in fresh cases in
Gujarat, the state gov-
ernment has decided
to allow anganwadi
centres, pre-schools
and kindergartens to
reopen across the
state from Thursday.
This decision was
taken by Gujarat Chief
Minister Bhupendra
Patel after reviewing
the COVID-19 situation,
Education Minister
Jitu Vaghani, who is
also the state govern-
ment’s spokesperson,
said on Monday
.
Gujarat on Sunday
reported 1,274 COV-
ID-19 cases and 13
deaths, raising its tally
to 12,15,290 and the toll
to 10,808. As per the
state health depart-
ment, Gujarat had
14,211 active cases as of
Sunday
.
“This is the first time
in two years when pre-
schools and angan-
wadis will be reo-
pened,” Vaghani told
reporters.
All educational insti-
tutions were asked to
stop holding offline
classes at their premis-
es after March 2020 as
the COVID-19-induced
lockdown was imposed
in Gujarat.
As the situation im-
proved over time, the
state government al-
lowed schools and col-
leges to resume offline
classes but pre-schools
and anganwadis (rural
child care centres) re-
mained shut consider-
ing the safety of tod-
dlers.
“From February 17,
anganwadis and pre-
schools can start im-
parting education at
their premises by fol-
lowing the SOPs issued
earlier. Officials han-
dling anganwadi opera-
tions and owners of
pre-school classes need
to make necessary ar-
rangements to restart
the education,” Vagha-
ni said, adding that the
consent of parents is
needed for sending
their wards to pre-
schools, kindergartens
and anganwadis.
The minister said
that toddlers suffered a
significant loss of edu-
cation due to the clo-
sure of pre-schools in
the last two years.
“The state govern-
ment is preparing an
action plan to overcome
this issue of learning
loss in children as they
will take admission in
Class 1 without getting
any pre-school educa-
tion,” the minister said.
The Gujarat govern-
ment recently allowed
the reopening of
schools for students of
classes 1 to 9 as cases
declined.
PRE-SCHOOLS, ANGANWADIS
TO REOPEN ON FEBRUARY 17
Many Class 1 kids will be going to school for the first time ever. —FILE PHOTO
Guj sees 1,040 new nCoV cases, 14 deaths
11,92,841
TOTALRECOVERED
2,570 MORE
IN A DAY
12,16,330
TOTAL CASES
1,040 CASES
IN A DAY
350 MAX
CASES IN
A’BAD
ACTIVE CASES
10,822
TOTAL DEATHS
12,667
14 DEATHS
IN A DAY
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat on Monday re-
ported 1,040 new
COVID-19 cases and
14 fresh deaths, rais-
ing its overall infec-
tion tally to 12,16,330
and the toll to 10,822,
the state health de-
partment said.
This was the state’s
lowest single-day case
tallyinnearlyamonth-
and-a-half.
As against this,
2,570 patients were dis-
charged during the
day, pushing up the
number of recovered
cases to 11,92,841, the
department said.
With this, the num-
ber of active cases in
the state came further
down to 12,667, of
which 84 patients are
on ventilator support,
said the department in
a release.
D i s t r i c t - w i s e ,
Ahmedabad reported
the highest number of
350 new cases, followed
by Vadodara 234, Surat
80,Gandhinagar37and
Rajkot 34, among oth-
ers, the release said.
Vadodara reported
the highest number of
four deaths, followed
by Bhavnagar at three,
and Ahmedabad, Su-
rat, Panchmahal,
Morbi, Valsad, Mahis-
agar, and Jamnagar
one each, said the de-
partment.
The adjoining Union
Territory of Dadra and
Nagar Haveli, Daman
and Diu reported two
new cases and seven
recoveries. With this,
the tally of COVID-19
cases rose to 11,402 and
the number of recov-
ered cases increased to
11,374, officials said.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: A
teenaged girl fled
from home in Ada-
laj after her par-
ents forbade her
from spending
money from her
piggy bank to dis-
tribute chocolates
on ‘Chocolate Day’
of Valentine’s week
in school. Officials
of Adalaj police
were able to reu-
nite the minor with
her family within a
few hours of her
departure.
A missing person
complaint was filed
by Naineshbhai (the
minor’s father) at
Adalaj police station,
that their teenage
daughter Ruby was
nowhere to be found.
Police immediately
began a hunt for the
minor. Her mother in-
formed them that the
girl had left home for
her tuition class on
Saturday evening.
When she did not re-
turn, the mother in-
quired with the tui-
tion teacher, who in-
formed her that Ruby
did not show up for
class. Shocked on
hearing this, she im-
mediately informed
Naineshbhai who re-
ported the matter to
the police, after con-
ducting searches in
homes of friends and
relatives.
Officials went
through CCTV foot-
age, in which Ruby is
seenboardinganauto
rickshaw. Police
trackedhercellphone
and as they were trac-
ing it, Ruby called her
mother and informed
that she had left home
of her own will.
Officials said that
Ruby boarded a vehi-
cle that was moving
towards Visat Circle.
They took her into
custody and reunited
her with her family
.
Girl runs away
from home over
‘Chocolate Day’
CLEARER VISION
A pair of city workers
are seen wiping dust
off a CCTV camera
at a traffic junction
on the busy Ashram
Road, in Ahmedabad
on Monday, to better
enable authorities to
keep an eagle eye on
traffic violators.
—PHOTO BY
HANIF SINDHI
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Rajkot: After almost
27 years, a littéra-
teur from Rajkot will
be conferred with the
prestigious Sahitya
Akademi Award
2021. Dr Yagnesh
Dave has won the ac-
colade for his Guja-
rati book titled
‘Gandhmanjusha’,
which is a collection
of poems.
The announcement
was made by the Aka-
demi on February 08.
The book was selected
on the basis of recom-
mendations made by a
three-member jury. A
PhD in experimental
biology (ecology),
68-year-old Dr Dave is a
retired station director
of All India Radio
(AIR). He is known for
his poetry and creative
essays and ‘Gandh-
manjusha’ is his 21st
treatise.
Speaking to First In-
dia, Dr Dave expressed
his elation on winning
the coveted award. “I
was astonished, sur-
prised and extremely
happy that my work
received recognition. I
am not a popular writ-
er or a poet. It is always
a happy feeling when
what you write is ac-
knowledged. Very few
poets belong to a sci-
ence background like
me, so I feel more elat-
ed at my work getting
recognition,” he said.
Lauding Dr Dave’s
achievement, Anamik
Shah, former vice
chancellor of Gujarat
Vidyapith said, “Yag-
neshbhai is a versatile
poet, essay writer and
columnist, and his lit-
erary style is different.
He writes long poetry
using historical and
mythological symbols
such as tree and birds,
thereby connecting to
his training in ecologi-
cal research. An inde-
pendent voice, he ex-
presses his satire
through direct verses
on present situation of
the society
.”
Sahitya Akademi Award goes to
Rajkotian after 27-year wait
LITERARY FEAT
Dr Yagnesh Dave
has won the
felicitation for
his collection of
poems entitled
‘Gandhmanjusha’
The book and Dr Yagnesh Dave.
They have been shut for nearly 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 UPDATE

PERSPECTIVE
04
lVol3lIssueNo.81
l RNINO.GUJENG/2019/79050.
Printed and published by Anita
Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Ex-
press Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar
Printing Planet Survey No.148P,
Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. San-
and, Dist. Ahmedabad. Publishedat
D/3023rdFloorPlotNo.35Titanium
Square,SchemeNo.2,ThaltejTaluka,
Ghatlodiya,Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
A person can rise through the
efforts of his own mind; or
draw himself down, in the same
manner. Because each person is
his own friend or enemy.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
Heartfelt tribute to the brave jawans
of @crpfindia who upheld the
sovereignty of the country by making
their supreme sacrifice in the cowardly
terrorist attack of Pulwama. The
nation will always be indebted to your
sacrifice. Your bravery will continue to
inspire us to root out terrorism.
Smriti Z Irani
@smritiirani
Tributes to the country’s beloved
leader, gentle and simple natured,
known as a dynamic orator, Padma
Vibhushan respected Sushma Swaraj ji
on her birth anniversary. Her intimacy
with the workers and her immense life
dedicated to public interest has been
innumerable inspirations for all of us.
TOP TWEETS
HIGH PENDENCY
OF CASES AND
OVERCROWDED
JAILS IN COUNTRY
he India Justice Re-
port 2020 has stated
that the number of
pending cases in dis-
trict courts is an area
of major concern. Quoting the
National Judicial Data Grid
numbers, the report said that
there were 35.34 million cases
pending in district courts across
the country. Another 4.74 mil-
lion cases were pending in the
high courts. The pandemic was
one of the contributing factors
in the large pendency
.
Overcrowding of prisons is
another area of concern with
undertrials constituting three-
fourths of those in prisons.
Compared to 2019, there was
also a steep fall of 2.6 lakh in the
number of undertrials released
on bail adding to the number of
undertrials languishing in jail.
Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Odisha,
Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh
saw an increase in their prison
population in 2020.
This has a direct link with the
pendency of cases and the ten-
dency of courts to deny bail for
minor offences.
T
nline games
played with real
money have been
a controversial is-
sue in the country
.
Several states have declared
online gaming a vice and
banned them. Dubbed gam-
bling because of real money
involved, it was banned in the
states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Telangana,
Andhra Pradesh, Assam and
Odisha. It was costly push-
back for the burgeoning gam-
ing industry, which includes
gaming platforms like Dream
11, owned by Dream Sports
and Virat Kohli-owned Mo-
bile Premier League. Both the
gaming platforms are valued
at billions of dollars and the
ban came as a shocker.
Karnataka amended its Po-
lice Act to ban all forms of
betting and made online gam-
ing to include “any act of
risking money, or otherwise
on the unknown result of an
event including on a game of
skill”. Online gaming was
made a non-bailable offense
and the police were allowed to
arrest without warrant. The
law was challenged by the All-
India Gaming Federation.
The Karnataka High
Court’s order striking down
provisions of the Karnataka
Police (Amendment) Act
which proscribe and “crimi-
nalise betting on and playing
games of skill, including on-
line games”. While striking
down “only the offending”
provisions, the court allowed
the government to bring in a
new law which is in conform-
ity with the constitutional
provisions against gambling.
Similar amendments
passed by Tamil Nadu and
Kerala to ban online gaming
platforms were quashed by
the respective high courts of
the two states. Last year the
Supreme Court had ruled
that the Dream11 fantasy
sports format was a game of
skill. Gambling being a state
subject, governments ought
to take a broad-minded view
on the subject.
GAMING INDUSTRY
GETS A FRESH LEASE
Online gaming was made a
non-bailable offense and
the police were allowed to
arrest without warrant. The law
was challenged by the All-
India Gaming Federation
O
ndia took a balanced stance at
the UN Security Council on
January 2022, when the
Ukraine Crisis discussion
was put to vote. India ab-
stained from voting in UNSC
demonstrating a balanced po-
sition. That reflects India’s
predicament in the current
East European standoff. In
2014, Russia got away with the
annexation of Crimea. But if
Moscow again takes military
action against Ukraine, it will
significantly complicate In-
dia’s foreign policy narrative.
India has been balancing its
equation with US and Russia
quite well but a conflict be-
tween two of its allies is likely
to hit India adversely
. Whoso-
everwins,Indialosesafriend.
GENESIS OF CONFLICT
Russia and Ukraine share a
centuries-old political, cultur-
al and linguistic history
, and
there are innumerable famil-
ial links, too. Before the USSR
broke apart, Ukraine was sec-
ond only to Russia politically
,
economically
, and culturally
.
Ukraine was an industrial
hub and millions of Russians
havefamilymemberslivingin
Ukraine, and vice-versa. It’s
somewhat similar to the Indo-
Pak relationship.
The genesis of the present
crisis has a historical angle
with relevance to the present.
Afterthecollapseof theUSSR,
Russia feels that Ukraine is
their natural ally due to its
friendlypastandculturalties.
Russia would always prefer a
neutral Eastern Europe
neighbourasabufferstatebut
geopolitics provides strange
combos. In 2014, Russia seized
Crimea, an important port re-
gioninUkraine.Ukrainethen
turned to NATO for help
against Russian aggression
and they were more than will-
ing to help.
Ukrainians, like an es-
tranged relative, feel their
sovereignty is threatened by
Russia’s claims of a shared
identity. The popular senti-
ment is that Russia is using
emotional appeal to misap-
propriate the heritage of
Ukraine. They have not for-
given Russia for the annexa-
tion of Crimea by force. The
present generation dislikes
Russia and now they have
found an ally in NATO.
The US, EU and key mem-
bers of NATO view Ukraine
as a buffer between Russia
and the western world. They
fear that if Moscow gets the
upper hand in Ukraine, it
will expand its hold over the
rest of Eastern Europe.
EMERGING
WORLD ORDER
US won the Cold War and be-
came the only superpower in
the world. In the last decade,
the dynamic world order has
changed, making China the
principal challenger to
American supremacy, rather
than Russia. Russia has been
essentially trying to project
itself as a regional power in
the new international order.
The existing NATO members
are keen on making inroads
intoEastEuropeandUkraine
is falling into the plan. Po-
tential Russian military ac-
tion against Ukraine and
western backlash would
mean that Moscow will need
Beijing’s diplomatic and mil-
itary support, even more.
Washington and Moscow
recognize that India is now an
indispensable global ally
. In-
dia will officially become the
world’s fifth-largest economy
this year, overtaking Britain.
India will also become an $8.4
trillioneconomyby2030,com-
ing close to China. Mean-
while, India’s rapid develop-
ment of military might with
battle-hardened fourth-larg-
est Army, blue water Navy,
strategic airpower, hyperson-
ic missiles and strong nuclear
deterrence make the country
relatively immune to extra-
territorial threats. This will
enable India to play a pivotal
role in world diplomacy
. India
and Russia will inevitably
emerge as the new powers in
the emerging multipolar
world, rubbing shoulders
with USA and China.
INDIA’S
DHARAM-SANKAT
Indian Govt had maintained
strong ties with USSR. After
collapse of the USSR, Indo-
Russian relations also wit-
nessed a new era of warmth.
It’s a mutually beneficial re-
lationship. However, India is
a traditional defender of na-
tional sovereignty. Russian
military action in Ukraine
would go against respect for
territorial integrity and sov-
ereignty that Delhi frequent-
ly advocates.
Incidentally, India’s rela-
tions with USA and Europe
started witnessing a rapid
improvement during the
post-cold war period. A Rus-
sia-Ukraine crisis could also
impede India’s move to deep-
en security and economic
ties with European partners.
A crisis next door could re-
duce NATO’s increased focus
on Asia and decide to im-
prove relations with China,
rather than act against its
hegemonic actions.
Moscow also slowly culti-
vated closer ties with China,
post-cold war era. Russia will
notbeabletofacethemightof
NATO including USA alone
and may naturally lean to-
wards China for diplomatic
and military support. Beyond
the strategic challenge that a
close Sino-Russian partner-
shipposesforIndia,aMoscow
that is more beholden to Bei-
jing would be particularly
problematic for India. If Bei-
jing will support Russia in the
Ukraine standoff/conflict
againsttheWest,itwillexpect
Russia for reciprocal favour
when it has a conflict with In-
dia which indebted Russia
will not be able to refuse.
CONCLUSION
India should play an active
role to diffuse the tensions, in
its own interest and as expect-
ed from it, by the world. For
the geopolitics of the world,
in general, and India, in par-
ticular, it makes sense if Rus-
sia remains a node of global
power, balancing the US and
China. Russia going into the
lap of China to counter NATO
has inherent dangers. China
has often displayed its own
hegemonic designs on other
countries, very clearly
. India’s
national interest lies in a
multipolar world, in which
India itself becomes an im-
portant pole of global power.
Russia- Ukraine conflict
would adversely affect the In-
dian interests, irrespective of
the outcome of the war.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
UKRAINE CRISIS AND
INDIA’S DHARAM-SANKAT
I
India should play an active
role to diffuse the tensions,
in its own interest and as
expected from it, by the
world. For the geopolitics of
the world, in general, and
India, in particular, it
makes sense if Russia
remains a node of global
power, balancing the US
and China. Russia going
into the lap of China to
counter NATO has inherent
dangers. China has often
displayed its own
hegemonic designs on other
countries, very clearly.
India’s national interest
lies in a multipolar world,
in which India itself
becomes an important pole
of global power. Russia-
Ukraine conflict would
adversely affect the Indian
interests, irrespective of the
outcome of the war
Indian Govt had maintained strong ties with USSR. After
collapse of the USSR, Indo-Russian relations also witnessed a
new era of warmth. It’s a mutually beneficial
relationship. However, India is a traditional defender of
national sovereignty. Russian military action in Ukraine
would go against respect for territorial integrity and
sovereignty that Delhi frequently advocates
MAJ GEN
CP SINGH, RETD
The writer is a scholar soldier accredited
with MA, MSc, LLB, MBA, M Phil (Def Mgt)
and M Phil (International Strategic Affairs)

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INDIA
05
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Bharatiya
Janata Party is the
first party, which,
against the spirit and
rules of the democratic
system of India, for the
first time started con-
testing elections by de-
claring candidates for
the post of Prime Min-
ister and Chief Minis-
ter. Under its pressure,
other parties, especial-
ly the Congress, also
started declaring con-
tenders. But this time
BJP is fighting in the
assembly elections of
five states without de-
claring any face. In Ut-
tar Pradesh, of course,
the face of Yogi Adity-
anath is being shown
and votes are being
sought on the function-
ing of his government,
but what will happen
after the elections,
there is a doubt about
it. There is also a lot of
speculation about the
importance being giv-
en to Keshav Prasad
Maurya and Baby Rani
Maurya.
Apart from Uttar
Pradesh, the BJP has
not put forward any
face in the remaining
four states. That’s
when Goa Chief Minis-
ter Pramod Sawant had
to say that the party is
contesting the elec-
tions under his leader-
ship and the people of
the state should believe
that the party will
make him the Chief
Minister after the elec-
tions. However, no sen-
ior leader of the party
has said that if BJP
wins the election,
Pramod Sawant will be
the CM.
Similarly, Uttara-
khand Chief Minister
Pushkar Singh Dhami
himself is saying that
there is talk about him
that he got less time.
But it is not being said
from the party that he
has been given less
time as CM and if the
party wins then he will
get full tenure. There
too, there are no right-
eous faces. In Punjab,
the BJP had once said
that it would make a
Dalit chief minister.
This time the saffron
party is also contesting
former Union Minister
Vijay Singh Sampla
but his name has not
been declared. In Ma-
nipur, N Biren Singh is
the Chief Minister, but
even there, the votes
are not being demand-
ed to make him the
Chief Minister again.
In a bizzare move, BJP contesting elections
without ‘formal’ face in poll-bound States!
PUNJAB CM CHANNI’S CHOPPER GROUNDED DUE TO MOVEMENT OF PM MODI
HAD CLEARANCE TO FLY, WHY
WAS I SUDDENLY STOPPED: CM
‘No-fly zone’ was enforced
because of the PM’s visit
Channi calls it electoral tactic
Chandigarh: On Mon-
day, Punjab Chief Min-
ister Charanjit Singh
Channi’s helicopter
was not permitted to
take off from Chandi-
garh’s Rajendra Park
as a ‘no-fly zone’ had
been imposed due to
the movement of Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi.
While Punjab CM
Channi had to go to
Hoshiarpur to partici-
pate in Congress lead-
er Rahul Gandhi’s poll
rally, BJP leader Nar-
endra Modi had to be
in Jalandhar in Pun-
jab to make an address
ahead of the Assembly
election.
Speaking to media
on the incident, CM
Channi said, “I had the
clearance to take off
from here at 11 am and
land in Hoshiarpur.
But when I went and
sat in my helicopter,
they said you cannot
fly. They kept telling
me wait for a while.
Now, I have been wait-
ing for 2.5 hours and
still they have not al-
lowed us. This is
wrong.”
He added, “It is clear
that it is an electoral
tactic. Had they told
me last night, I
would’ve reached Ho-
shiarpur by car by now.
But even this morning,
they kept asking me to
wait. Till now, the per-
mission has not come
through.”
CM Channi said,
“The Prime Minister
was visiting, that’s
okay. Let his chopper
land, but allow mine
too. Why was my heli-
copter stopped sudden-
ly? We had the permis-
sions. I had to speak at
Rahul Gandhi’s rally.”
He added that he had
to make another ad-
dress elsewhere in
Punjab on Monday and
was not being given
clearance for that ei-
ther. “No problem, I’ll
speak through video
conferencing. People
know me and listen to
me. But this is not
right,” he said.
Jalandhar: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday at-
tacked the Congress
and Rahul Gandhi
over a 2014 incident
when he said his heli-
copter was held up in
Punjab because “Yu-
vraj (prince)” was fly-
ing to Amritsar.
PM Modi said he
had gone to Punjab to
campaign for the 2014
nationalelection,after
beingnamedtheBJP’s
presumptive Prime
Minister, when the in-
cident took place.
“My name was an-
nounced for PM candi-
date. I had to visit
Pathankot and
Himachal to cam-
paign.Butmychopper
was not allowed to fly
because their yuvraj
(prince) was also in
Amritsar. So the Con-
gresshasahabitof not
allowing the opposi-
tion to work,” PM
Modi said at a rally in
Jalandhar ahead of
Sunday’s election in
Punjab.
The PM’s taunt was
significant on a day
PunjabChief Minister
CharanjitSinghChan-
ni’s helicopter was not
allowed to take off
fromChandigarh’sRa-
jendra Park, reported-
ly as a “no-fly zone”
had been enforced due
to the Prime Minis-
ter’s visit.
The Chief Minister
was flying to Punjab’s
Hoshiarpur for Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi’s poll rally
. Ra-
hul Gandhi’s chopper
was, however, allowed
to land in Hoshiarpur.
The Prime Minister
also accused the Con-
gress of “humiliating
Captain Amarinder
Singh” after trying to
obstruct his govern-
ment and run it by re-
mote control. —PTI
Jalaun: Congress
leader Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra on
Monday held poll
campaigns for party
candidates in the
Bundelkhandregion
of Uttar Pradesh
where Assembly
election is due on 20
February
. The Con-
gress general secre-
tary and party af-
fairsin-chargeinUP
sat atop an SUV as
she held door-to-
door campaigns in
Orai and Kalpi of
Jalaun district.
Flanked by party
workers and sup-
porters, Priyanka
also visited Mauda-
ha in Hamirpur dis-
trictforthepollcam-
paign.
Meanwhile, ac-
cording to sources,
Priyanka on Mon-
day reached Shim-
la on a three-day
personal visit.
1
2
They kept telling me wait for a while.
Now, I have been waiting for 2.5 hours
and still they have not allowed us. This
is wrong. It is clear that it is an electoral tactic.
Had they told me last night, I would’ve reached
Hoshiarpur by car by now.
—Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab CM
My chopper held up
by Yuvraj in 2014:
PM’s swipe at Rahul
PM Narendra Modi at a poll rally in Jalandhar on Monday.
Sharat K Verma
Lucknow: The Bharati-
ya Janata Party has re-
leased a huge list of star
campaigners for all the
election states like Ut-
tar Pradesh, Uttara-
khand, Punjab etc but
the party leaders see a
shortcoming, which
has been complained of
by many candidates.
They say that the BJP
has a shortage of star
campaigners this time.
Star campaigners
means film stars or
cricket stars or celebri-
ties from other fields
are not in the BJP cam-
paigners list. Apart
from star campaigners,
celebrities indepen-
dently are also not seen
in the campaign.
BJP definitely has
leaders like Hema Ma-
lini and Sunny Deol,
who are also MPs but
they are not going any-
where in the campaign.
Last year, when the
farmers’ movement was
going on, these two
leaders did not take a
stand in favor of the
farmers. That is why de-
spite the anger of the
Jats, the BJP is not
sending these two lead-
ers to the Jat dominated
areas. No Jat candidate
is even calling them for
campaigning. They are
not being called in other
areas except Jat areas.
The BJP had a perma-
nent star campaigner,
Shatrughan Sinha, who
has left the party and
due to his departure, the
BJP has lost two stars –
Shatrughan Sinha and
Sonakshi Sinha. Crick-
eter Kirti Azad left the
party and went to Con-
gress and then to Trina-
mool Congress, and
then Chetan Chauhan
has passed away
.
BJP lacks star campaigners
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath took a swipe
at Congress leaders
Rahul Gandhi and
Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra on Monday
— amid voting for
the second phase of
polls — declaring
that brother-sister
duo “are enough”
to bring down their
party and that the
GOP “should be
left to its fate”. “I
went to Uttarakhand
(to campaign for
today’s single-phase
poll) and said... No
one else needs to
work on ending
Congress... both
siblings will do
that themselves. I
appealed to people...
don’t make Con-
gress a burden on
the people of Uttara-
khand,” Adityanath
told media. Earlier,
while campaigning
in Uttarakhand’s
Pauri Garhwal, he
had said: “Where
there is little exist-
ence brother and
sister are enough
to push it down.
So it should be left
to its fate.” —PTI
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Monday tar-
geted Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi over unem-
ployment, saying he does
not talk about it and black
money in his election
speeches. Addressing a
poll rally, Gandhi targeted
the Narendra Modi-led
government over demon-
etisation and goods and
services tax, alleging that
only two-three billionaires
benefited from them.
Both siblings
will end
Congress;
don’t bother:
Yogi’s dig
CONG LEADER
RAHUL ATTACKS
MODI GOVT OVER
UNEMPLOYMENT
Patiala: Two-time Chief
Minister Punjab Lok
Congress supremo Ama-
rinder Singh feels that no
single party is going to get
a clear majority in the as-
sembly polls, and asserts
that his party’s alliance
with the BJP and SAD
(Sanyukt) is on the rise.
The 79-year-old scion of
the royal family of Patiala
and former Congress state
unit chief floated his own
party after resigning as
CM of Punjab last year.
Asserting that he is neither
retired nor tired, Singh
says the urge to make
Punjab and the country
a better place keeps him
going at this age.
Don’t see any
party getting
clear majority
in Punjab: Capt
Priyanka
campaigns
for Cong in
Bundelkhand
Dehradun: Aam Aad-
mi Party (AAP) candi-
date SS Kaler on Mon-
day accused Uttara-
khand chief minister
Pushkar Singh Dhami
and his wife of violating
the model code of con-
duct by visiting polling
booths wearing scarves
with the ruling Bharati-
ya Janata Party’s (BJP)
symbol and campaign-
ing by moving in a cav-
alcade of over a dozen
vehicles from one booth
to another.
Kaler, who is contest-
ing against Dhami
from Khatima, said the
couple’s violation of
the code was clear from
the photos that the BJP
shared on social media.
“I will again file a
complaint with the re-
turning officer... elec-
tion norms forbid
wearing of party sym-
bols or displaying prop-
aganda material near
polling booths. How
can he move in a caval-
cade of over a dozen
vehicles and campaign
from booth to booth?
On Sunday also, I filed
a complaint against
Dhami for campaign-
ing in the area and dis-
tributing money among
the voters.” —Agencies
U’khand CM Dhami accused of
violating model code of conduct
SCARVES WITH BJP SYMBOL
The CM and his wife could be seen openly donning BJP scarves
and badges in a photo shared online.
Rahul, Sonia Gandhi among 30 star
campaigners for Congress in Manipur
New Delhi: Congress
president Sonia Gan-
dhi, former chief Ra-
hul Gandhi and Jairam
Ramesh are among the
30 star campaigners
for the Manipur as-
sembly elections, ac-
cording to the list re-
leased by the party on
Monday.
The two-phased
assembly election in
Manipur will be held
on February 28 and
March 5.
Though Sonia Gan-
dhi is also the party’s
star campaigner for
other states, where
polls are being held,
neither she nor former
Prime Minister Man-
mohan Singh have ac-
tively campaigned any-
where so far.
The list of star cam-
paigners also include
names of former Ma-
nipur Chief Minister
Okram Ibobi Singh,
former Deputy Chief
Minister Gaikhangam,
youth leader Kanhaiya
Kumar, party’s minor-
ity department chief
Imran Pratapgarhi
and Mahila Congress
chief Metta D’Souza.
The Congress along
with five other ‘like-
minded’ parties
launched the Manipur
Progressive Secular
Alliance last week to
take on the ruling BJP
in the upcoming as-
sembly polls. —PTI
UP BJP MLA DEFENDS ‘MUSLIMS WILL WEAR TILAK’ REMARK
Lucknow: A BJP MLA in Uttar
Pradesh on Monday defended his
hate speech, littered with anti-
Muslim slur, that has gone viral in
the middle of elections. In a video,
Raghvendra Singh was heard saying
that if he was re-elected, Muslims
would switch from skull caps to
“tilak”. Facing a backlash over his
outrageous comments, the MLA
from Domariyaganj in eastern UP
said today he had meant it as a
“conditional speech” to counter what
he called “Islamic terrorism”. “When
there were Islamic terrorists here,
Hindus were forced to wear gol topis
(skull caps). I said ‘conditional’. I am
ready to sacrifice anything for Hindu
pride. I meant that if Muslims are
trying everything they can to defeat
me, I will not stay silent,” Raghven-
dra Singh said in a video.
Sonia Gandhi Rahul Gandhi
Captain Amarinder Singh
Punjab Chief Minister
Charanjit Singh Channi

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has agreed to
hear the police plea against a probe by the Central
Bureau of Investigation in the suicide of a 17-year-
old school girl in Tamil
Nadu. But the court said
that the central agency
can continue probe
in the case where the
student was allegedly
coerced to convert to
Christianity. The teen
had died by suicide after consuming poison at her
home in Thanjavur on January 9 and died 10 days
later. In a video, the girl alleged that the hostel
warden had forced her to clean the hostel and do
maintenance work. The hostel warden has been
arrested under the Juvenile Act apart from charges
of abetting suicide.
Guwahati: Assam’s
Cacher district police
recovered 30,000
tablets of Yaba, a mix
of methamphetamine
and caffeine, and
apprehended three
persons from the
Bagpur area under the
Joypur police station.
Taking to Twitter,
Cachar police wrote
‘In a major overhaul,
30,000 YABA tablets
recovered and three
persons apprehended
by Joypur Police Sta-
tion. The war against
drugs continues and
will not stop short of
any stops.”
New Delhi: Amid grow-
ing tension between
the BJP-led Centre and
the DMK government
in Tamil Nadu, a phone
call from Union Home
Minister Amit Shah to
Kanimozhi more than
a month ago has now
become a topic of fierce
discussion, sources
said. Shah called DMK
MP M Kanimozhi to
wish her on her 54th
birthday on January 5.
IN MAJOR HAUL,
30K DRUG TABLETS
SEIZED IN ASSAM
SHAH’S B’DAY CALL
TO KANIMOZHI
RINGS LOUD BELLS
INDIA
06
NATION PAYS TRIBUTE TOPULWAMA MARTYRS
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday paid
homage to the Central
Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) personnel who
lost their lives in a ter-
rorist attack in Pul-
wama in 2019, and
said their bravery and
sacrifice
motivate
every In-
dian to
work to-
wards a
strong and prosperous
country. In the attack
by Pak sponsored ter-
rorists in the south
Kashmir, 40 CRPF per-
sonnel made the su-
preme sacrifice.
PM tweeted, “I pay
homage to all those
martyred in Pulwama
on this day in 2019 and
recall their outstand-
ing service to our na-
tion. Their bravery
and supreme sacrifice
motivates every Indi-
an to work towards
a strong and
prosperous
country
.” —PTI
CRPF pays homage to
40 jawans killed in ’19
THIRD ANNIV OF
DEADLY ATTACK
Lethpora (JK): The
CRPF on Monday paid
floral tributes to its
personnel martyred in
the Pulwama terror at-
tack on this day three
years ago.
Additional Director
General (ADG), CRPF,
DS Chaudhary, led the
officers and jawans of
the paramilitary force
in paying their trib-
utes at the martyr’s
memorial here. ADG
Chaudhary and other
CRPF personnel laid
floral wreaths at the
memorial. —PTI
The security
forces elimi-
nated the
module be-
hind the Pulwama at-
tack within 100 hours of
the attack. After forces’
operations against JeM,
their ultras were so
scared of dying that no-
body wanted to take the
leadership role.
— Lt Gen
(Retd)
KJS
Dhillon
Jhansi (UP): Union Home
Minister Amit Shah on Mon-
day said that the defence
corridor project in Uttar
Pradesh’s Jhansi will help
India “teach a lesson to Pa-
kistan”. Addressing a public
rally in Mauranipur, Shah
said, “PM has
laid the founda-
tion stone for
the defence
project in
Jhansi.
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi said
the sacrifice of jawans will
not go in vain. “We can
never forget the martyrs of
Pulwama. Their sacrifice and
that of their families will not
go in vain — we
will ensure
answers are
given. Jai
Hind,” Gan-
dhi tweeted
in Hindi. —PTI
Kochi: The Kerala High Court
allowed the State govern-
ment’s appeals and set aside
a single judge order defer-
ring a survey in connection
with the SilverLine project.
A bench of Chief Justice S
Manikumar and Justice Shaji
P Chaly set aside the single
judge’s order deferring the
survey till February 7. The
single judge, thereafter, had
further deferred the survey
till February 18. The single
judge’s orders had come on
several pleas, some of which
have opposed the survey be-
ing conducted and the others
were against the laying of
concrete poles. —PTI
New Delhi: The SC on
Monday issued a notice
on a petition challeng-
ing the Gujarat HC’s
order staying Section 5
of the Gujarat Freedom
of Religion (Amend-
ment) Act, 2021, which
mandated permission of
DMs for religious conver-
sion. A bench of Justices
Abdul Nazeer and Krishna
Murari, while hearing an
appeal filed by the state
govt, against staying Sec-
tion 5 of the Act issued
notice to Jamiat Ulama
E-Hind Gujarat and the
other on whose petition
HC order had come.
Kashmir: Farooq Abdullah, MP
from Srinagar, said that he has
been placed under house arrest
and has been disallowed from
visiting Jammu. “I was sched-
uled to visit Jammu today. This
morning, I was informed by
security officials that I cannot
step out of my house,” he said.
The ex-JK CM said that police
cited the anniversary of the
Pulwama terrorist attack for not
allowing his travel to Jammu.
SHAH: DEF PROJECT
IN JHANSI WILL HELP
CRPF personnel pay tribute to those who
were killed in the Pulwama terror attack, on
its third anniversary, at a memorial, Lethpora,
in Pulwama on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
RAHUL: WILL ENSURE
ANSWERS ARE GIVEN
KERALA HC SETS
ASIDE ORDER
DEFERRING SURVEY
SC NOTICE ON PLEA
AGAINST RELIGIOUS
CONVERSION
FAROOQ STOPPED FROM
VISITING JAMMU
Manila: External Af-
fairs Minister S Jais-
hankar on Monday
held “productive dis-
cussions” with his
Philippines counter-
part Teodoro L Locsin
during which they cov-
dealing with mutual
national security
.
Jaishankar's three-
day maiden visit to the
Philippines comes over
two weeks after the
Southeast Asian coun-
try signed a $375 million
deal with India to buy
three batteries of
BrahMos cruise missile.
“Held productive
discussions with FM @
teddyboylocsin of Phil-
ippines. We are enter-
ing a new phase of our
partnership. Its basis
is the mutuality of na-
tional security and de-
velopment aspirations.
Our conversation cov-
dealing with both,”
EAM tweeted. —PTI
EAM holds talks with Philippine counterpart
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Philippine counterpart
Teodoro L Locsin in Manila on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: Finance
minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman on Monday
said the ABG Shipyard
account turned NPA
during the erstwhile
UPA regime and the
banks took lesser than
normal time to detect
the fraud perpetrated
by the shipping firm.
...in this particular
case with that kind of a
measurement,actually
,I
should say to the credit
to the banks, they've
takenlesserthanwhatis
normally an average
time to detect these
kinds of frauds, FM
said at a Press confer-
ence after addressing
the members of the RBI
board.Theministersaid
normally banks take 52-
56 months of time to de-
tect such cases and initi-
ate follow-up actions.
LoanstoABGturned
NPAspriorto2014:FM
Kolkata: Mamata Ba-
nerjee, after reaching
out to regional heavy-
weightsMKStalinandK
Chandrasekhara Rao,
reserved a grand snub
for the Congress as she
said no regional party is
on good terms with it
anditcangoitsownway
.
The Bengal Chief
Minister pinged her Ta-
mil Nadu and Telanga-
na counterparts and
discussed a meeting of
opposition Chief Minis-
ters to protect the
country's federal struc-
ture. She made it clear
today that the Congress
is not invited.
No regional party
shares good terms with
Congress. The Con-
gress party will go its
way, we will go our
way, Mamata Banerjee
told reporters.
—Agencies
Amid outreach to
MK Stalin, KCR,
Mamata’s snub
for Congress
New Delhi: As a virus-
weary world limps
through the third year
of the outbreak, experts
are sending out a warn-
ing signal, Don't expect
omicron to be the last
variant we have to con-
tend with — and don't
let your guard down yet.
In the midst of a vast
wave of milder infec-
tions, countries around
the world are dialing
back restrictions. Many
people are starting to
assume they've had
their run-in with Cov-
id-19 and that the pan-
demic is tailing off.
That's not necessarily
the case. —Agencies
Covid-19‘may never go away’,will
likely trigger new waves,say experts
Hyderabad: After the
Ram Janmabhoomi de-
bate was settled by the
Supreme Court in No-
vember 2019, a new con-
troversy has erupted -
this time over Hanu-
man Janmabhoomi.
This, however, is not
between two religions
but between two Hindu
trusts (one in Andhra
Pradeshandtheotherin
Karnataka) claiming
differentlocationsasthe
birthplace of Hanuman.
TheTTD,orTirumala
Tirupati Devasthanam,
in Andhra Pradesh has
planned a ceremony to
develop facilities at An-
janadri, a temple and
pilgrimage site in the
Tirumala Hills. —Agencies
Two religious bodies fight
over Hanuman’s birthplace
NOT PRESTIGE ISSUE: SC TO
TN ON SUICIDE PROBE BY CBI
ISRO SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES
EOS-04, TWO OTHER SATELLITES
INDIA, MALDIVES HOLD DIALOGUE TO
EXPAND DEFENCE COOPERATION
ASSAM LIFTS ALL
COVID CURBS
CASE AGAINST BIHAR BJP MLA FOR
ALLEGEDLY KIDNAPPING WOMAN: COPS
New delhi: The Indian Space Research Organ-
isation (Isro) successfully launched its earth
observation satellite EOS-4 and two co-passenger
technology demonstrator and scientific satellites
at 5:59 am Monday from the first launch pad at
the country’s only spaceport in Sriharikota, Andhra
Pradesh. “After a flight of about 17 minutes 34
seconds three satellites namely EOS-04, INSPIRE-
sat-1 and INST-2TD were injected successfully.
New Delhi: Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has held
very productive talks with the top military brass
of the Maldives to further bolster bilateral defence
and security cooperation amid concerns over
China's increasing footprint in the Indian Ocean.The
Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours
in the Indian Ocean Region and the bilateral defence
and security ties have been on an upward trajectory
in the last few years. Delighted to be in Maldives
for the 3rd Defence Cooperation Dialogue. Had
very productive discussions. Deeply appreciate
warm hospitality of @cdfofmndf Maj Gen Abdulla
Shamaal, Kumar tweeted on Monday, a day after
the talks in Male. In November, India, the Maldives
and Sri Lanka held a two-day maritime operation.
New Delhi: Assam
to withdraw all
Covid-19 curbs in the
state from February
15, said CM Himanta
Biswa Sarma. Notifi-
cation in this regard
issued on Monday.
The curb that will be
lifted include manda-
tory testing facilities
at airports.
Patna: A case was filed against BJP MLA Vinay
Bihari in Patna for allegedly kidnapping a 25-year-
old woman, police said. The case was registered
at the Agam Kuan police station of the city based
on a complaint filed by the woman’s mother, they
said. “An FIR has been registered against the MLA
from Lauriya in West Champaran and two others
in connection with the kidnapping of a 25-year-old
woman,” said Bipin Bihari, the SHO. —PTI
New Delhi: Driven by rising prices certain food items,
retail inflation soared to a seven-month high of 6.01
per cent in January, breaching
the upper tolerance level of the
Reserve Bank. According to the
Consumer Price Index (CPI) data
released by the government, the
retail inflation in ‘oils and fats’
category stood at 18.7 per cent
Several other segments, including fuel and light,
clothing and footwear and transport and communica-
tion witnessed over 9 per cent price rise.
RETAIL INFLATION SPURTS TO SEVEN
MONTH HIGH OF 6.01% IN JANUARY
CRUCIAL READ
PM pays tribute to CRPF jawans
martyred in Pulwama terror attack
Imphal: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
on Monday paid tributes to CRPF jawans
killed in the dastardly Pulwama terror
attack on this day three years ago. Singh
said that the Centre is ready to talk with the
militant outfits of the Northeastern region
to resolve their problems as the govern-
ment always wants to end the violence per-
manently. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
also had lunch at the residence of Kargil
War martyr Yumnam Kalleshor Kom, in
Imphal. Addressing an election meeting at
Langthabal Mandal in Imphal West district
of Manipur, the Defence Minister said
that the government is always prepared
to talk with the extremist outfits for a
lasting solution of the insurgency prob-
lem and to stop violence in Manipur and
other Northeastern states permanently.
RAJNATH PAYS TRIBUTE TO CRPF JAWANS,
SAYS OPEN TO TALK WITH MILITANTS OF NE
HIMANTA SLAMS KCR FOR
SEEKING PROOF ON STRIKE
New Delhi: The sparring between Telangana CM
K Chandrashekar Rao and his Assam counterpart
Himanta Biswa Sarma continued, with the Sarma
presenting “videographic evidence” of the surgical
strike. Rahul Gandhi’s comments, demanding
evidence of the surgical strike, had snowballed
as Rao came out in his support. Sarma posted a
video on Koo, captioned, “Dear KCR garu, here is
the videographic evidence of the surgical strike by
our brave Army. In spite of this you question the
valor of our forces and insult them. Why are you
so desperate to attack and malign our Army? New
India will not tolerate insults against our Army.”
IN THE COURTYARD
PM Narendra Modi

BIZ BUZZ
07
Tata Sons appoints Ilker Ayci as CEO MD of Air India
New Delhi: Tata Sons
on Monday said for-
mer chairman of Turk-
ish Airlines Ilker Ayci
has been appointed the
CEO and MD of Air In-
dia.
The Air India board
met on Monday after-
noon to consider the
candidature of Ayci,
with Tata Sons Chair-
man N Chan-
drasekaran as a spe-
cial invitee, and ap-
proved his appoint-
ment, subject to requi-
site regulatory approv-
als, Tata Sons said in a
statement.
Ayci will assume his
new responsibilities
on or before April 1
this year, it said. The
statement also added
that Ayci’s appoint-
ment to the new posi-
tion is subject to requi-
site regulatory approv-
als.
“Ilker is an aviation
industry leader who
led Turkish Airlines to
its current success
during his tenure
there. We are delighted
to welcome Ilker to the
Tata Group where he
would lead Air India
into the new era,” said
Chandrasekaran.
A 1994 alumni of Bil-
kent University, after a
research stay on politi-
cal science at the Leeds
University in the UK in
1995, he completed a
Master’s Programme
in International Rela-
tions from Istanbul’s
Marmara University
in 1997, according to
the statement.
“I am delighted and
honored to accept the
privilege of leading an
iconic airline and to
join the Tata Group.
Working closely with
my colleagues at Air
India and the leader-
ship of the Tata Group,
we will utilize the
strong heritage of Air
India to make it one of
the best airlines in the
world with a uniquely
superior flying experi-
ence that reflects Indi-
an warmth and hospi-
tality,” said Ayci.
—PTI
The Air India board
met on Monday to
consider the
candidature of Ayci,
withTata Sons
Chairman and
approved his
appointment
Discussions on with RBI
over digital currency: FM
New Delhi: Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman on Monday
said discussions with
regard to central bank-
backed digital curren-
cy have been going on
with the Reserve Bank
and a decision will be
taken after due delib-
erations.
Sitharaman in her
Budget speech on Feb-
ruary 1 had announced
that Digital Rupee or
Central Bank Digital
Currency (CBDC)
would be issued by the
RBI in the coming fis-
cal year. She had also
announced the govern-
ment will levy 30% tax
on gains made from
any other private digi-
tal assets from April 1.
Replying to ques-
tions after addressing
theRBI’sCentralBoard
of Directors here on
Monday, Sitharaman
said the central bank
and the government
are on board regarding
digital currencies.
She said the discus-
sions with the RBI re-
garding the CBDC were
going on prior to the
Budget announcement,
and they are continu-
ing.
RBI Governor Shak-
tikanta Das added that
like several other is-
sues, this particular is-
sue is internally under
discussion between the
RBI and the govern-
ment.
“Whatever points we
have we discuss with
the government,” he
added.
CBDC is a digital or
virtual currency but it
is not comparable to
the private virtual cur-
rencies or cryptocur-
rency that have mush-
roomed over the last
decade.
Last week, Das had
said the central bank
does not want to rush
and is carefully exam-
ining all aspects before
introduction of the
CBDC. —PTI
New Delhi: Days
after the Union
Budget proposed
taxing cryptocur-
rencies, which gave
rise to apprehen-
sions of legitimising
them, an Reserve
Bank of India (RBI)
official has asked
for a complete
ban on such virtual currencies citing threat to
macroeconomic stability. In a speech to bankers
on Monday, RBI deputy governor T Rabi San-
kar demolished all the arguments for allowing
cryptocurrencies in India as none of them pass
basic scrutiny. On the argument that advanced
economies (AE) have not resorted to banning
such currencies, the deputy governor said it is in
the interest of those economies not to ban cryp-
tos because they are not a threat to convertible
currencies (most cryptos are priced in dollar) as
they are to rupee. — Agencies
RBI DG RABI SANKAR ASKS FOR
COMPLETE BAN ON CRYPTOCURRENCIES
FM Nirmala Sitharaman RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das —ANI
WPI inflation eases to
12.96% in January
New Delhi: The
wholesale price-based
inflation eased for the
second consecutive
month in January at
12.96%, even though
food prices hardened,
the government said
on Monday
.
WPI inflation has re-
mained in double dig-
its for the tenth con-
secutive month begin-
ning April 2021. Infla-
tion in December 2021
was 13.56%, while in
January 2021, it was
2.51%.
Inflation in food arti-
cles, however, spiked to
a 10.33% in January
2022 from 9.56% in De-
cember 2021. Vegetable
price rise rate jumped
to 38.45%, against
31.56% in the previous
month.
In the food articles
category, pulses, cere-
als and paddy wit-
nessed a month-on-
month price rise, while
inflation in egg, meat
and fish stood at 9.85%
and in potato and on-
ion at (-)14.45 and
(-)15.98%, respectively
.
“The high rate of in-
flation in January 2022
is primarily due to rise
in prices of mineral
oils, crude petroleum
and natural gas, basic
metals, chemicals and
chemical products,
food articles etc as
compared the corre-
sponding month of the
previous year,” the
Commerce and Indus-
try Ministry said in a
statement.
Inflation in manu-
factured items was
9.42% in January,
against 10.62% in the
previous month.
In fuel and power
basket, the rate of
price rise was 32.27 in
Jan, a tad lower than
32.30% in Dec. —PTI
New Delhi: India’s benchmark inflation rate,
measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
rose to 6.01% year-on-year in January 2022,
data released by the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation on Monday indi-
cated. Retail inflation was 5.66% (revised) in
December and 4.91 % in November 2021. RBI
Governor Shaktikanta Das had noted that CPI
reading for January 2022, is expected to move
closer to the upper tolerance band, largely due to
adverse base effects. —PTI
RETAIL INFLATION RISES TO 6.01%
Reliance Jio,
Luxembourg’s
SES ink
broadband JV
New Delhi: Digital
services company
Jio Platforms on
Monday announced a
joint venture with
SES to provide satel-
lite-based broadband
services in India, a
joint statement said.
The two compa-
nies have formed a
joint venture, Jio
Space Technology
Limited, in which Jio
Platforms and SES
will own 51% and
49% equity stake, re-
spectively
. “The joint
venture will be the
vehicle for providing
SES’s satellite data
and connectivity ser-
vices in India, except
for certain interna-
tional aeronautical
and maritime cus-
tomers who may be
served by SES.
“It will have avail-
ability of up to 100
Gbps capacity from
SES and will lever-
age Jio’s premiere
position and sales
reach in India to un-
lock this market op-
portunity,” the state-
ment said. —PTI
Dabur becomes India’s 1st plastic neutral company
New Delhi: FMCG
company Dabur India
Ltd announced on Mon-
day that it has become
a 100% ‘Plastic Waste
Neutral company’ in
India. The FMCG firm
said that it has collect-
ed, processed and recy-
cled around 27,000 MT
of post-consumer plas-
tic waste from across
India in the financial
year 2021-22.
“It is a matter of
great pride for the en-
tire Dabur family, who
have worked towards
not just collecting plas-
tic waste from our cit-
ies, towns and villages,
but also preventing the
waste from reaching
our landfills and
oceans. This includes
all types of plastic
waste, from PET and
HDPE bottles, PP caps
and labels to multi-lay-
ered plastics and bever-
age cartons,” said
Shahrukh A Khan, Ex-
ecutive Director-Opera-
tions, Dabur.
Dabur had set itself a
target that it will col-
lect, process and recy-
cle over 22,000 MT of
post-consumer plastic
waste in the year 2021-
22. Khan said, “We sur-
passed that target three
months ahead of sched-
ule and have enhanced
our full-year target to
26,956 MT. We work
with government-regis-
tered recycling part-
ners across the country
and have taken pro-
gressive actions to re-
duce plastic waste in
cities, town, villages,
while also raising
awareness about plas-
tic waste management
within the community.
The collected plastic
waste is being sent to
different Recyclers,
Waste-to-Energy Plants
Cement Kilns.” —PTI
RECYCLES
New Delhi: Gold prices in the national
capital on Monday rallied `478 to `49,519
per 10 grams, reflecting overnight gains
in international precious metal prices and
sharp rupee depreciation. In the previous
trade, the yellow metal settled at `49,041
per 10 grams. Silver zoomed by `932 to
`63,827 per kg, from `62,895 per kg in
the previous trade. In the international
market, gold was trading marginally lower
at $1,857 per ounce and silver was flat at
$23.02 per ounce. —PTI
GOLD CLIMBS `478; SILVER
JUMPS `932
Mumbai: The In-
vestors lost 8.5 lakh
crore in a single day
on Monday as do-
mestic equity mar-
kets tumbled 3%
amid geopolitical tension shrouding Russia and
Ukraine among multiple factors. Against `263.89
lakh crore market capitalization of BSE listed
companies on Friday, the market cap of these
companies on Monday came down to `255.38
lakh crore. JSW Steel and Tata Steel declined the
most on Monday and other top losers were HDFC
Life, Tata Motors, HDFC ltd, State Bank of India,
ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, Marut, IndusInd Bank,
LT and Wipro. —Agencies
INVESTORS LOSE `8.5 LAKH CRORE
ON MANIC MONDAY
ZOMATO, PAYTM, NYKAA STOCKS HIT
RECORD LOW
Mumbai: Shares of recently listed companies
came under heavy selling pressure with food
delivery company Zomato, cosmetics-to-fashion
retailer Nykaa, fintech major Paytm, and 12 other
stocks hitting their respective all-time lows on the
BSE in Monday’s intra-day trade. Shares of food
delivery company Zomato dropped 8% to `82,
falling 13% in the past two
trading days. Shares of
One97 Communications,
the parent company of
digital payments major
Paytm, on the other hand,
was down 4% to `872 in
intra-day trade. —Agencies
Mumbai: The rupee plunged by 22 paise
to close at 75.58 (provisional) against
the US currency on Monday, as geopo-
litical tensions pushed investors towards
safe-haven assets. At the interbank foreign
exchange, the rupee opened at 75.53
against the $, and later witnessed an
intra-day high of 75.37 and a low of 75.64
against the greenback. The local unit finally
ended the day at 75.58, down 22 paise
from the previous close. —PTI
` SLUMPS 22 PAISE TO CLOSE AT
75.58 AGAINST $
Sensex sinks 1,747 points in D-street bloodbath
Mumbai: The BSE gauge Sensex crashed over 1,700 points while the
NSE Nifty ended below the 17,000-level on Monday amid escalating
Russia-Ukraine tensions. The 30-share Sensex nosedived 1,747.08
points to settle at 56,405.84 and the broader Nifty plummeted 531.95
points or 3.06% to 16,842.80. On the Sensex chart, barring TCS, all
shares closed with steep to moderate losses -- with Tata Steel, HDFC
and SBI tumbling over 4%. Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research,
HDFC Securities, said, “US stocks closed sharply lower on Friday as
heightened concern that Russia may soon invade Ukraine sent oil
prices spiking and investors to dump risky assets like equities”. —PTI
Coal India Q3
Results show
47.7% increase
New Delhi: State-owned
Coal India Ltd on Monday
reported a 47.7 per cent rise
in consolidated net profit to
Rs 4,558.39 crore for the quar-
ter ended on December 31,
2021, on the back of higher
revenue from operations.
The PSU’s consolidated
net profit was at Rs 3,085.39
crore in the year-ago period,
Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a
filing to BSE.
The consolidated revenue
from operations of the com-
pany during October-Decem-
ber period increased to Rs
28,433.50 crore from Rs
23,686.03 crore. — Agencies

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
58,36,879
TOTAL DEATHS
33,34,12,868
TOTAL RECOVERED
7,35,67,664
ACTIVE CASES
41,28,17,411
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
5,09,043
TOTAL DEATHS
4,16,77,641
TOTAL RECOVERED
4,78,850
ACTIVE CASES
4,26,65,534
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
If you can’t leap, jump or run for
now, just keep taking small steps
in the right direction, it’s enough.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A gang
of illegal immigra-
tion agents, which
had kidnapped 15 Gu-
jarat residents, alleg-
edly held some of
them at gun-point
and even took away a
minor girl from her
mother in a bid to ex-
tort money, the vic-
tims have revealed.
Shital Patel, her hus-
band and their minor
daughter, all residents
of Mehsana’s Vasai-
Dabhla village, were
among the victims res-
cued by police from
Delhi and brought here
on Sunday
.
“We left for Kolkata
“We left for Kolkata
on November 12 as the
on November 12 as the
agents promised to
agents promised to
take us to the US from
take us to the US from
there. But, they kid-
there. But, they kid-
napped us in Kolkata.
napped us in Kolkata.
They took away my
They took away my
daughter and asked me
daughter and asked me
to arrange for money to
to arrange for money to
save her,” Patel said,
save her,” Patel said,
narrating her ordeal.
narrating her ordeal.
Talking to reporters
Talking to reporters
in Gandhinagar after
in Gandhinagar after
arriving in Gujarat, the
arriving in Gujarat, the
woman said they were
woman said they were
illegally kept in custo-
illegally kept in custo-
dy by the agents for
dy by the agents for
three months.
three months.
“Though we had giv-
en them money after
selling our house and
farm, the agents did
not send us to the US.
When they learnt that
police had started an
investigation, the
agents took us to Delhi,
from where we were
rescued by the Gujarat
Police,” she said.
Gandhinagar police
on Sunday said the 15
people, including a one-
and-a-half-year-old girl,
were allegedly kid-
napped, held hostage
and tortured by a gang
of these agents over
the past few months for
extorting money from
their families on the
pretext of sending
them abroad.
All the victims were
rescued from Delhi and
brought to Gujarat.
The state police have
arrested one such agent
so far in this connection.
Another victim Ni-
sha Patel, from Kharna
village in Gandhina-
gar, claimed she and
her husband Tejas Pa-
tel were tortured at
gunpoint for nearly
three months.
“The agents had
promised that my hus-
band and I would reach
the US via Canada in
just two weeks. They
took us to Kolkata in De-
cember, where they kid-
napped us and extorted
money from our family
,”
she said, adding that the
agents would put a gun
to her husband’s head
and force him to call his
father to say they had
reached Canada.
Another person,
Akash Patel, from New
Ranip area of
Ahmedabad, said he
and his wife allegedly
lost Rs5.35 lakh, which
they had paid as ad-
vance to some fraud
agents to reach the US
via Canada.
He added that he had
wanted to go to the US
because of “unemploy-
ment and lack of gov-
ernment jobs here”.
‘SEPARATEDFAMILIES,HELDUSATGUNPOINT’
15 victims from
Guj rescued
from ‘agents’
who were
extorting them
Vivek Prabhakar Singh
Bengaluru: All eyes
will be on the fitness of
Hardik Pandya, who is
set to captain the Guja-
rat Titans team as the
new franchise debuts in
the Indian Premier
League 2022.
Due to a lower-back
injury, the star Indian
all-rounder is yet to
play any competitive
match post the ICC T20
World Cup 2021 in UAE
which got over in No-
vember 2021.
According to Gujarat
Titans' spin bowling
coach Aashish Kapoor,
Pandya has begun prac-
tice and even started to
bowl in the nets.
“I have been in Bah-
rain for the past two
months since I was
coaching the national
team, but Nehra has
been in constant touch
with him. He has also
spoken about how to
arrange and where to
arrange practice ses-
sions for him and get
those things done,” Gu-
jarat Titans’ spin bowl-
ing coach Aashish Ka-
poor said.
Pandya did not bowl
much in IPL 2021 for
Mumbai and he even
did not bowl much for
India in ICC T20 World
Cup 2021 due to injury.
Pandya's contribution
to his franchise as
both batter and bowl-
er will give his team
management more op-
tions and certainly
will add variety to the
bowling attack. —ANI
IPL 2022
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION RACKET
Hardik Pandya back, bowling
well: Coach Aashish Kapoor
RAJKOT INTACH TO HOLD
COMPETITION ON HERITAGE SITES
Masuma Bharmal
Jariwala
Rajkot: The Rajkot
chapter of the Indian
National Trust for Art
and Cultural Heritage
(INTACH) on Monday
announced the ‘Hug
the Heritage- Tell the
Tale’ competition. Par-
ticipants will have to
submit photographs,
stories and/or video
narratives of heritage
sites they feel have
been neglected in the
district.
According to a notifi-
cation released by the
body, “Any person liv-
ing in Rajkot district,
who is proud of its her-
itage and has rare and
unique stories or infor-
mation to share, can be
a part of this competi-
tion. Participants can
upload heritage photo-
graphs, stories and
video narratives of the
local heritage site that
they are proud of. They
can choose to take a pic-
ture with it, write
about it (in not more
than 100 words), or take
a video (of less than 1
minute) of the heritage
site and mail them on
intachrajkot@gmail.
com by February 20.
It further added,
“Heritage is an integral
part of our lives and its
loss is irreplaceable.
This competition will
lead to an awareness
drive for our lesser
known and neglected
heritage sites. They can
be anything that shows
a connection with the
years gone by including
architectural, natural,
artistic, material and
intangible cultural her-
itage. It may include lo-
cal public buildings,
markets, towers, reli-
giousinstitutions,land-
forms, flora/fauna,
grasslands, trees, water
bodies, sacred grooves,
art objects, paintings,
performing arts, crafts
traditions, textiles, cui-
sines and much more.”
The move has been
lauded by Rajkot dis-
trict Collector Arun
Mahesh Babu. The
competition will be pro-
moted by Rajkot Mu-
nicipal Commissioner
Amit Arora. Moreover,
each participant will
receive a tag of ‘Herit-
age Warrior’, an e-cer-
tificate,andbestentries
will win prizes. The re-
sultswillbedeclaredon
March 15 through so-
cial media platforms.
Jam Tower, one of the
heritage places in Rajkot city.
Amdavadis
marked
Valentine’s Day
by celebrating
their love with a
romantic boat ride
on the Sabarmati,
red roses and
fluffy teddy bears.
—PHOTOS BY
HANIF SINDHI
The recruitment exams for which I
was preparing got cancelled. My
wife had cleared an exam, but it
was also cancelled by the govern-
ment. I used to ferry school chil-
dren in the past. The business was
going well. But, with schools shut
down due to the pandemic, I did
not have any work.
—Akash Patel, Victim
The rescued persons were brought to Ahmedabad on Monday.
Valentine’s
Valentine’s
All eyes will be on Hardik
Pandya’s fitness as he leads
the newly formed Guj Titans.
—FILE
PHOTO
Day
Day
Participants in
‘Hug the Heritage-
Tell the Tale’ will
have to submit
photo, stories or
videos of local
places in the
district
STEP TO CREATE AWARENESS
Chief Justice of Madras High Court Munishwar Nath
Bhandari with Justice DK Singh of Allahabad High Court.
From Pg 1...
Chennai: CM MK Stalin and his
cabinet colleagues attended the
swearing-in of Justice Bhandari
who will be CJ of Madras HC till
September 2022. After his transfer
in November 2021, Justice
Bhandari was functioning as the
additional CJ of Madras HC in his
capacity as senior-most judge
following transfer of CJ Sanjib to
Meghalaya HC. Bhandari, who was
appointed as judge of Rajasthan
HC in July 2007, was transferred
to Allahabad HC in March 2019.
After swearing-in, Stalin presented
Bhandari with a book on Keeladi,
an ancient Tamil urban settlement
on banks of River Vaigai which
is at least 2,600 years belonging
to the Sangam Era. Apart from
CM, former TN CMs and AIADMK
leaders, K Palaniswami and O Pan-
neerselvam also greeted Bhandari.
LEADERS,FRIENDS,FAMILY GATHER TO WITNESS CJ BHANDARI TAKE OATH
CJ Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Karuna
Bhandari with their grand children Avika
and Viraansh Bhandari and Nishka Jain.
CJ MN Bhandari with (From Left) Mahima Jain,
Rekha Doogar, Karuna Bhandari, Ujjwal and
Anupama Bhandari with their kid Viraansh.

AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY
FEBRUARY 15, 2022
SONAL KUKREJA, MISS DIVA 2021, FIRST
RUNNER-UP MADE HER WAY TO EVERYONE’S
HEART WITH HER CHARMING SMILE AND
HUMILITY. IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
WITH CITY FIRST, SHE OPENED UP ABOUT
HER REMARKABLE NATIONAL VICTORY, HER
VISION FOR THE BETTERMENT OF SOCIETY,
FUTURE PLANS, AND MORE!
fter being in
the spotlight
for a while,
Sonal Kukreja
has become
much more
than an inspi-
ration. She’s a cultur-
al force who has rou-
tinely defied expecta-
tionsandtransformed
the way we under-
stand the power of art
andglamourtochange
how we see ourselves
and each other. But at
such a young age, she
feels like she’s just
scratched the sur-
face
and we can’t agree more.
When asked about her jour-
ney, she said, “I was born in
Delhi and brought up in the
Pink city, Jaipur. My child-
hood was wholesome, full of
love and care, and taught me
all the values and principles
that are deeply ingrained in
me. My family includes my
parents, an older sister and a
younger brother. Growing up,
we were taught how to be
grateful for everything in life,
big or small and to believe that
we are the most extraordinary
creation of the universe. After
moving to Jaipur, I studied at
Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’
school. After which I pursued
my bachelors at the Pennsyl-
vania State University, USA
where I studied Marketing
and Digital Media Trends and
Analytics.”
Talking about her goals, the
diva said, “My biggest goal in
life is to fulfil my purpose of
enabling happiness for all. I
want to transform the finan-
cial landscape of India by ena-
bling opportunities for every
person to be financially inde-
pendent.” She further
added, “In the next
5 years, I see
myself run-
ning a billion-dollar company,
allowing millions of people
across India to be self-suffi-
cient by providing jobs
and investment opportu-
nities through my
crypto startup,
Unicas.” Asked
about how she felt
after winning the
crown, Kukreja said,
“Winning the crown
was an absolutely
surreal feeling. I’m
truly grateful for
the love and re-
spect I’ve received
in the past few
months. It is an
honour to be
able to inspire
someone and
make a dif-
ference in
their lives
through
y o u r
story
.”
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
A
BIG DREAMS
BIG DREAMS
A WOMAN WITH

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