17032023_First India Mumbai.pdf

Thackeray faction asks SC to annul Maha governor
order for floor test in 2022, says democracy in danger
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Thacker-
ay faction of the Shiv
Sena made an impas-
sioned plea before the
Supreme Court on
Thursday for setting
aside then Maharashtra
Governor B S Koshyari’s
June 2022 order to Chief
Minister Uddhav Thack-
eray to take a floor test,
asserting democracy
will be in danger if it is
not overturned.
Senior lawyer Kapil
Sibal, representing the
Thackeray bloc, urged a
five-judge constitu-
tion bench headed
by Chief Justice D
Y Chandra-
chud to re-
scind the
order, a day
after the
apex court
questioned Koshyari’s
conduct in calling for a
trust vote merely on the
ground of differences
between Shiv Sena
MLAs.
Concludinghisrejoin-
der arguments, Sibal
told the bench, also com-
prising Justices MR
Shah, Krishna Murari,
Hima Kohli and PS Nar-
asimha, it’s a moment in
the history of this court
when the future of de-
mocracy will be deter-
mined.
“I am abso-
lutely certain
that without
the inter-
vention
of this
court our
democracy will be in
danger because no elect-
ed government will be
allowed to survive. It is
with this hope I make
this plea to this court to
allow this petition and
set aside the order (of
floor test) of the gover-
nor,” Sibal said.
Sibal said if the Sena
MLAs had lost their
faith in the government,
they could have voted
against it in the House
when a money bill was
moved and reduced it to
minority
.
“It is not that the gov-
ernment cannot run in
minority
. Former Prime
Minister PV Narasimha
Rao ran a minority gov-
ernment. There is no
scope for the governor to
recognise those (rebel)
MLAs and call for the
floor test. Here, what
they want is to topple the
government and become
chief minister and depu-
ty CMs and use the posi-
tionof governorforthat.
I don’t want to say more,
everything is in the pub-
lic domain,” Sibal said.
Without the
intervention of this
court democracy
will be in danger,
pleads Sibal to SC
SHINDE ASKS
OFFICIALS TO
CREATE AWARENESS
ABOUT INFLUENZA
Mumbai: CM Eknath
Shinde chaired a meet-
ing to review the health
department’s prepar-
edness to tackle the
influenza virus H3N2 here,
an official release said.
“If treated early, influenza
can be cured. This should
be known to everyone,’’
he was quoted as saying.
Authorities should also
ensure that the ongoing
strike of government
employees for the Old
Pension Scheme does not
impact the treatment of
patients at government
hospitals, he said. The pri-
vate medical sector should
be roped in if needed, the
CM told officials.
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MUMBAI l FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 307
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & MUMBAI
RAMDEV: ANOTHER
PATANJALI FOODS
FPO WILL COME
UP IN APRIL
New Delhi: TCS chief Rajesh Gopinathan has put in his
papers, nearly 4 years ahead of completion of his tenure, and
will be replaced by company veteran K Krithivasan. Krithivasan
nominated as CEO designate with the immediate effect.
New Delhi: Baba Ramdev on Thursday said that
promoters’ share freeze by the stock exchanges will
not impact Patanjali Foods’ operation & company has
started process of launching a follow-on public offering
(FPO) in April to increase public shareholding to 25%.
ERIC GARCETTI IS
US AMBASSADOR
TO INDIA AFTER
20-MONTH FIGHT
Washington: Eric Garcetti, former Los Angeles
mayor and a close ally of President Joe Biden, has
been confirmed as the US’ ambassador to India by
the US Senate. The confirmation followed a lengthy
2-year nomination process that saw many allegations.
RAJESH GOPINATHAN RESIGNS AS TCS MD & CEO
CHEETAH
OPTER
RASHES
2 pilots die after the Indian Army’s Cheetah
helicopter crashes near Arunachal’s Bomdila
The helicopter had gone missing after it lost
contact with the ATC at around 09:15 am
Moni Sharma
Bomdila: The bodies of
the pilot and the co-pilot
of the Indian Army’s
Cheetah Helicopter that
crashed in Arunachal
Pradesh earlier on
Thursday have been
foundbythecivilians.As
per reports, their fami-
lies have been informed.
Thetwopilotswereiden-
tifiedasLieutenantColo-
nel VVB Reddy and Ma-
jor Jayanth A.
The Cheetah helicop-
ter had gone missing in
morning when it was
moving from Senge to
Missamari. The heli-
copter lost contact with
the ATC at around 09:15
AM. Later, it crashed
near Mandala, West of
Bomdila in Arunachal
Pradesh.
“Five search parties
of the Indian Army
, SSB
and ITBP were immedi-
ately launched. The
wreckage of the aircraft
was found near Village
BanglajaapEastof Man-
dala. With regret we in-
form that the pilot and
the co-pilot of the heli-
copter lost their lives in
the accident,” the Ar-
my’s Eastern Command
released statement con-
firming the deaths.
Will speak in Parliament
if allowed by chair: Rahul
Delhi Police issues a notice to Rahul Gandhi on
‘women are still being sexually assaulted’ remark
New Delhi (FIB): Un-
der attack from ruling
dispensation for his re-
marks on democracy
during his recent UK
visit, Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi on Thurs-
day said that if Indian
democracy is indeed
functioning then he will
be allowed to speak in
Parl and defend himself
against the allegations
made by BJP ministers.
“I am a Member of
Parliament and allega-
tions have been made
against me in Parlia-
ment by four ministers.
It is my right to have the
opportunity to speak in
House.Itismydemocrat-
ic right ,” he told media.
Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, and others during 2nd
phase of the Budget Session of the Parliament in Delhi on Thursday.
LS Speaker Om Birla conducts
House proceedings on Thursday.
I didn’t speak anything anti-
India in London seminar.
—Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader
RAHUL HAS A HABIT OF DEMEANING
INDIAN DEMOCRACY: RAVI SHANKAR
BJP slammed the Congress MP and stated that his
comments “cannot become the barometer for success or
failure of a democracy” and that
the former Congress president
has made it a habit to “demean
Indian democracy”. “How long
will Rahul Gandhi mislead the
country? The BJP again reiter-
ates that he said that ‘America
and Europe should take note of
India’s democratic backsliding’.
It’s his habit to insult the feelings
of Indians by criticising Indian democracy abroad,” said
BJP MP RS Ravi Shankar Prasad during a press confer-
ence. BJP leader added that the party would campaign
across the country for an apology from Rahul Gandhi.
l 8 MARCH Indian
ALH Dhruv ditched off
the cost of Mumbai
l 12 MARCH Indian
Mi-17 had emergency
landing in Jodhpur
TRAGIC MONTH
INDIAN ARMY ORDERS PROBE
INTO ARUNACHAL CRASH
Indian Army ordered an inquiry after a Cheetah heli-
copter crashed near the Mandala hills area in Arunachal
Pradesh in which two pilots were killed on Thursday.
Modi, Hasina to inaugurate
India-Bang F’ship Pipeline
First India Bureau
New Delhi: PM Naren-
dra Modi and his Bang-
ladeshi counterpart
Sheikh Hasina will in-
augurate the India-
Bangladesh Friendship
Pipeline on Saturday
via VC on March 18.
This is the first cross
border energy pipeline
between India and
Bangladesh, built at an
estimated cost of `377
crore, of which the
Bangladesh portion of
the pipeline built at a
cost of approx `285
crore, has been borne
by Indian government
under grant assistance.
BrahMos missiles, howitzers, Dhruv
choppers: `70,000 cr defence push
New Delhi (FIB): The
Defence Ministry has
approved proposals
worth over Rs 70,000
crore for buying differ-
ent weapon systems. De-
fence Minister Rajnath
Singh has given approv-
al on Thursday
.
Deal includes mega
order of `32,000 crore
for Indian Navy to buy
60 UH Marine choppers
from HAL, officials ad-
dded. BrahMos mis-
siles, Shakti EW sys-
tems & Utility helicop-
ters-Mariime, valued at
`56,000 crore have been
cleared for Indian Navy
.
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh
Persistent efforts are being
undertaken to bring self-reliance in
the defence sector. Proposals worth
Rs 70,500 crore were approved to-
day. Over Rs 2.71 lakh crore worth of
procurement cleared in FY23. 99%
to be sourced from Indian industries.
Wreckage of Cheetah helicopter of Indian Army which crashed
near Mandala in West Kameng on Thursday. The deceased have
been identified as (R) Lt Col VVB Reddy and (L) Major Jayanth A.
CBI registers FIR against
Sisodia in ‘snooping case’
First India Bureau
New Delhi: In a fresh
jolt to former Delhi dep-
uty CM Manish Sisodia,
CBI on Thursday filed
an FIR against him in a
‘snooping case’. CBI
had alleged in February
FBU was created and al-
legedly used for collect-
ing intelligence related
to “political activities
of persons, issues touch-
ing interest of AAP”.
ED’S FRESH SUMMONS
TO BRS LEADER KAVITHA
The ED has issued a fresh
summons for March 20 to
BRS leader K Kavitha in the
Delhi excise policy money-
laundering case, after she
skipped Thursday’s notice.
TEJASHWI TO APPEAR
BEFORE CBI ON MAR 25
CBI on Thursday assured
Delhi HC it will not arrest
Bihar Dy CM Tejashwi Yadav
this month, after which poli-
tician agreed he will appear
before the CBI on March 25.
CENTRE WRITES TO 6
STATES AMID RISE IN
COVID-19 CASES
New Delhi: Centre asked
6 States — Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Telangana, TN,
Kerala and Karnataka — to
follow a risk assessment-
based approach to prevent,
contain spread of infections,
citing a possible localised
spread of the virus.
RSS CHIEF MOHAN
BHAGWAT WILL VISIT
JAIPUR ON APRIL 7
Jaipur: The Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
Chief Mohan Bhagwat will
visit Jaipur on April 7.
Bhagwat will participate in
Seva Sangam event in the
city here. RSS Chief last
visited Jaipur for 5 days
from January 25, 2023.
READ
Crucial
Crucial
BOOKIE’S DAUGHTER
WHO OFFERED BRIBE
TO AMRUTA ARRESTED
Mumbai: The daughter of a
wanted bookie, who posed as a
designer and offered a crore as
a bribe to Devendra Fadnavis’s
wife Amruta Fadnavis to
intervene in a criminal case
involving her father, was
arrested by Mumbai Police.
Aniksha is daughter of wanted
bookie Anil Jaisinghani. P2

NEWS
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2023
02
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CRUCIAL READ
EX-BNMC SECY
MISLEADS LOCALS
FOR OWN PROFIT
WANT MORE COPS
IN THANE CITY’S
INDUSTRIAL AREAS
UTTAN COAST TO
HAVE THREE NEW
LIGHTHOUSES
Thane: A complaint
against the former
secretary of Bhiwandi-Ni-
zampura Municipal Cor-
poration (BNMC) Kader
Sattar Solanki was filed
after he misled citizens of
a residential building by
placing a signboard that a
well-maintained building
is dangerous for his own
financial benefit. Madan
Ballal, Senior Police
Inspector of Narpoli police
station said, “Kader Sattar
Solanki has painted red
paint on the facade of
a residential building in
Patel Nagar, claiming that
the said building is in a
dangerous condition for
his own financial gain.”
Thane: Police in Thane
city will increase surveil-
lance in industrial pock-
ets to curb harassment of
factory owners and their
staff, an official said on
Thursday. Senior police
officials were recently
met by representatives
from an association of
small-scale industries to
discuss the challenges
encountered by them.
The association said it
raised traffic and parking
issues, problems faced
on account of “Mathadi
contracts, harassment
by locals for scrap con-
tracts, forceful collection
of donations, etc.” The
officials assured all
support from the police
department, it said.
Mumbai: The Maharash-
tra Maritime Board has
proposed installing three
new lighthouses along the
Dongri-Pali-Uttan coast
to improve navigation
safety for vessels. The
plan has been submitted
to the Union Ministry of
Environment by the state
administration and is
awaiting endorsement.
The expected cost of
the project is Rs358
lakh. Locals have been
requesting the beacons
for at least four years
due to navigation issues
and accidents involving
damaged boats. The new
lights will provide safer
navigation for boats and
vessels along the coast in
Mira-Bhayander, Thane,
extending up to Daman
and Diu.
Bid to bribe, blackmail wife
will be probed: Fadnavis
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Deputy Chief
Minister Devendra Fad-
navis on Thursday said
an appropriate inquiry
will be done into the
first information report
(FIR) registered in con-
nection with an attempt
to bribe and blackmail
his wife Amruta Fad-
navis.
Fadnavis spoke about
the matter in the As-
sembly after it was
raised by Leader of Op-
position Ajit Pawar
who sought to know the
details of the case re-
ported in the media.
The deputy CM said
that the designer,
against whom the com-
plaint has been filed,
hinted about her politi-
cal connections and
how she could get him
into trouble if the cases
against her absconding
father were not with-
drawn.
The designer has so
far not responded to the
allegations against her.
On Amruta’s com-
plaint, a FIR was regis-
tered on February 20 at
the Malabar Hill police
station against the
woman, identified by
her as Aniksha, and her
father, an official said.
No one has been arrest-
ed in the case so far, the
official said.
Fadnavis said the de-
signer was in touch
with his wife for nearly
one and a half years
and was a frequent visi-
tor to their home.
The designer frst
came in contact with
Amruta in 2015-16 and
won her trust and confi-
dence, said Fadnavis.
“In 2021, she resumed
contact with Amruta
and even asked her to
wear the clothes de-
signed by her. She spoke
about her father claim-
ing that he was impli-
cated in false cases and
asked for help. My wife
said she should give a
memorandum which
would be forwarded to
me,” Fadnavis said.
The deputy CM told
the House, “After the
change of government,
the designer spoke
about her contacts with
bookies. She claimed
that she would share in-
formation and after the
authorities conducted
raids, she would get
money from both par-
ties.”
The designer hinted
that if the cases are not
withdrawn, she could
implicate him (Deven-
dra Fadnavis), said the
deputy chief minister.
Fadnavis addresses the state Assembly.
Police complaint
filed against city-
based designer by
Amruta Fadnavis,
the deputy chief
minister’s wife
Ajit Pawar
raises Amruta
Fadnavis’ case
in Assembly
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Leader
of the Opposition in
Maharashtra Assembly
,
Ajit Pawar, raised the
matter of the FIR filed
by Amruta Fadnavis,
wife of Deputy Chief
Minister Devendra Fad-
navis, alleging threat
and offer of a bribe on
Thursday
.
The NCP leader de-
manded details of the
lawsuit in the Assembly
to which Devendra Fad-
navis alleged the matter
was an attempt to trap
him and his family
.
“Many names are com-
ing to the fore in this
matter. How low can
people stoop in politics
to win over others?”,
asked Fadnavis while
responding to the LoP in
Assembly
.
Earlierintheday
,Am-
ruta Fadnavis filed a
complaintwithMumbai
police alleging she was
threatened and offered a
bribe of Rs1 crore by an
acquaintance named
Anishka, a designer.
The designer alleg-
edly offered to provide
Amruta with informa-
tion on some bookies
who could help her earn
money, police said.
AUDIO/VIDEO EVIDENCE?
The deputy CM said the designer tried
to blackmail his wife with some audio
and video recordings from unknown
numbers. A forensic audit of the
recordings has proved that they are
false, he said. One of the video clips
shows the designer handing over a
“bag full of money” to the house help
in the Fadnavis residence, the deputy
CM. The forensic audit proved that the
bag with money in one frame and the
bag handed over to the house help in
the other are different, he added.
The woman dropped
names of police officials
and politicians to boast of
her contacts. There were attempts
to get the cases dropped during the
tenure of the last police commis-
sioner. She hinted that if the cases
are withdrawn, she and her father
would speak in favour of Amruta
and her husband.
—Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Deputy CM
First India Bureau
Mumbai: As thousands
of farmers continued
their march on Thurs-
day to press their de-
mands, Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde said his
meeting with their rep-
resentatives went well
and the government
would make a state-
ment in the legislature
on the issue.
Shinde and his depu-
ty Devendra Fadnavis
met a delegation of
farmers leaders in the
city on Thursday
.
“There was a detailed
discussion and it was
positive. There will be a
statement on this in the
Legislature (on Fri-
day),” the chief minis-
ter told reporters later.
The government had
urged ministers Dada
Bhuse and Atul Save to
hold a discussion with
the protesting farmers
who entered Thane dis-
trict yesterday.
Farmers are de-
manding financial re-
lief of Rs600 per quin-
tal for onion growers,
12-hour uninterrupted
electricity supply, and a
waiver of agriculture
loans. On Sunday, pro-
testers began their foot
march from Dindori
town in Nashik dis-
trict, around 200 km
from Mumbai, holding
red flags.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: An applica-
tion has been filed in
the Bombay High Court
seeking immediate
withdrawal of the ongo-
ing strike of the state
government employees,
saying it has hit pa-
tients and students. It
could come up for hear-
ing on Friday
.
The state govern-
ment employees de-
clared an indefinite
strike from March 14,
seeking restoration of
the Old Pension Scheme
that was scrapped in
2005.The application,
filed by advocate Gun-
ratan Sadavarte, said
the strike has affected
health services at gov-
ernment-run hospitals
and education in
schools and colleges.
Patients in govern-
ment hospitals are suf-
fering due to the agita-
tion, it said. Sadavarte
claimed that the strike
overlapped with the
Class X and XII board
examinations.
“Not getting the treat-
ment well in time and
postponement of sur-
geries due to the strike
is against Article 21 of
the Constitution of In-
dia,” the plea said.
It added that while
the petitioner was not
against the rights of the
employees, going on
strikes affects common
citizens and students.
The application said
the government em-
ployees went on an “il-
legal strike” without
looking into the “posi-
tive/affirmative steps”
taken to look into the
demand.
“Due to this, services
in hospitals, education-
al institutes, govern-
ment establishments,
tax offices and even dis-
trict collector offices
have completely shut,”
the plea stated.
Sadavarte also
claimed that the strike
was in violation of the
provisions of the Maha-
rashtra Essential Ser-
vices Maintenance Act,
2023 (MESMA).
Plea filed in HC
against state govt
employees’ strike
Bombay High Court —FILE PHOTO
Agri workers rest at a stop during their march. —FILE PHOTO
Farmers’ protest march towards
Mumbai: CM says talks positive
Gadkari to inaugurate
‘Know Your Army’
exhibition in Nashik
Nashik (PTI): Vari-
ous weapons and
equipment used by
the Indian Army will
be on display at an ex-
hibition which will
be inaugurated by
Union minister Nitin
Gadkari in Maha-
rashtra's Nashik city
on March 18.
The two-day exhibi-
tion, “Know Your
Army”, will have the
presence of Chief
Minister Eknath
Shinde during the in-
augural ceremony,
and Deputy CM Dev-
endra Fadnavis will
attend the concluding
function on March 19.
“Various weapons
and equipment used
by the Indian Army
will be on display at
the exhibition. These
include 105 Indian
Field Gun/Light Field
Gun system,155 MM
Bofors, 120 MM Mor-
tar, 130mm M-46 Sol-
tam and 155 MM
Dhanush,” Lt Col SK
Panda of the Artillery
Centre in Nashik
Road said at a press
conference on Thurs-
day. In all, 19 big and
other small equip-
ment will be on dis-
play, he said.
Mumbai (PTI): A spe-
cial CBI court on Thurs-
day acquitted two ac-
cused in a 1989 murder
case pertaining to an
alleged attempt on the
life of businessman
Nusli Wadia.
The accused, Ivan Se-
queira and Ramesh Jag-
othia, were acquitted for
lack of evidence by spe-
cial judge SP Naik Nim-
balkar.Theduohadbeen
booked for conspiring to
kill the industrialist.
Advocate Wahan
Khan, who represented
the accused, said, “The
court held that the pros-
ecutionmiserablyfailed
to prove its case beyond
a reasonable doubt.” In
2003, the court charged
four persons Kirti Am-
bani, Arjun Babaria,
Ivan Sequeira and
Ramesh Jagothia for
“criminally conspiring
to murder Wadia, then
the chairman of Bom-
bay Dyeing”. Kirti Am-
bani and Babaria died
during the trial.
A first information re-
port was registered on
July 31, 1989, for alleg-
edly conspiring to kill
Wadia due to some busi-
ness rivalry
. The govern-
ment transferred the
probe to the Central Bu-
reau of Investigation on
August 02, 1989.
Chandrapur (PTI):
Congress Lok Sabha MP
fromstate’sChandrapur
Suresh alias Balu Dha-
norkar on Thursday re-
quested Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman to stop the
pension of former Mem-
bers of Parliament who
are financially well off.
Dhanorkar, in a letter
to Sitharaman, said
there are a total of 4,796
former members of the
LokSabhaandtheRajya
Sabhawhoarereceiving
pension for which an
amount of Rs70 crore is
spent per year.
Dependent families
of nearly 300 former
MPs also get this finan-
cial benefit, he said.
Those receiving the
centrally-funded pen-
sion include business-
men Rahul Bajaj (who
died in 2022), Sanjay
Dalmiya, prominent
politicians like
Mayawati, Sitaram
Yechury, Mani Shankar
Iyer and actors Rekha
and Chiranjeev, the
Congress lawmaker
said in the letter.
Many well-known
and financially wealthy
former MPs also avail
this benefit, said the
sole Congress Lok Sab-
ha MP from Maharash-
tra. Dhanorkar request-
ed the finance minister
to discontinue the pen-
sion of former MPs who
are wealthy
.
Former Members of
Parliament who fall in
above 30% income tax
slab should not get this
financialbenefit,hesaid
in the letter. “I am very
much confident that no
patrioticformerMPwill
object to this request,”
Dhanorkar said.
Two acquitted
in 1989 Nusli
Wadia murder
attempt case
DECKED UP!
Ahead of the upcoming G20 meet in Nagpur, the Kasturchand Park has been illuminated with
colours of the national flag. —PHOTO BY ANI
Stop pension of former MPs who are
financially well off: Cong LS member
Chandrapur MP Balu Dhanorkar —FILE PHOTO

MAHARASHTRA
03
‘Nearly 218 Mumbai pvt schools
running without RTE approval’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Nearly 218
primary unaided
schools under the juris-
diction of the Brihan-
mumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) Ed-
ucation Department
without the Right to
Education (RTE) ap-
proval, as revealed in a
Right to Information
Act (RTI) request.
Reportedly, the
schools have failed to
renew recognition cer-
tificates, which are
mandated under the
RTE Act. Schools are
required to renew their
RTE approval every
three years, according
to the Right of Children
to Free and Compulsory
Education Act.
Failure to obtain the
same makes schools lia-
ble for a fine of Rs10,000
per day until they meet
the standards, as well as
for operating the school
without recognition.
The management of
these schools will also
face a Rs1 lakh fine.
Maharashtra Rajya
Vidyarthi, Palak, Shik-
shak Mahasangh, a par-
ent organization that
filed the RTI, claims
that the government’s
inaction has provided
an easy escape for many
private schools.
Lawyers stop work
to protest assault
of colleague by cop
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Hundreds of
lawyers at the Metro-
politan Magistrate
court in Borivali sub-
urb went on a strike on
Thursday after one of
their colleagues was al-
legedly assaulted by a
cop inside a police sta-
tion, an official said.
According to Rajesh
More, president of the
court’s bar association,
a lawyer named Prithvi-
raj Zhala was on Tues-
day hit at Kandivali po-
lice station, where he
had gone with a client,
following an argument
with Assistant Police
Inspector (API) Anant
Gite.
“Without any reason,
API Gite slapped our
lawyer four times and
behaved very arrogant-
ly
. The same day, we vis-
ited the police station
and demanded action
against the officer. We
also met top officials of
Mumbai police who as-
sured us that action will
be initiated,” said More.
Justifying the pro-
test, More said, “Today,
we have stopped work-
ing in the court. No ad-
vocate will take up any
case. We want that API
Gite be booked and the
Advocates Protection
Act be enacted.”
An official said API
Gitehasbeenassignedto
the office of the Deputy
Commissioner of Police
(DCP) Zone XI till an in-
quiry report on the mat-
ter is submitted. The in-
quiry will be conducted
by the assistant commis-
sionerof police(ACP)of
the Goregaon division.
At the time of the in-
cident, the official said,
lawyer Zhala was in
plain clothes. “We are
looking into the mat-
ter,” a senior police of-
ficial said.
‘Stop levying transfer premium, it doubles taxes’
First India Bureau
Navi Mumbai: The
Navi Mumbai wing of
the Maharashtra State
Housing Federation
states that CIDCO
should stop levying
transfer premium on
flats and commercial
outlets on resale prop-
erties, as it doubles
taxes on the buyer.
CIDCO has entered
intoaleaseagreementof
60 years with most hous-
ing societies in Navi
Mumbai, as a town plan-
ner for decongesting
Mumbai,andaflatbuyer
already pays a transfer
premium of Rs25,000 to
the cooperative housing
society as per the Maha-
rashtra Co-operative So-
cieties (MCS) Act, 1960
and its bylaws, but CI-
DCO is levying a trans-
fer premium as per slab
rate ranging from over
Rs23,000tooverRs8lakh,
excluding 18% GST,
whichislegallyandethi-
cally wrong of CIDCO,
claims the federation.
A writ petition is al-
ready filed in the Bom-
bay High Court, chal-
lenging these dual
transfer premium
charges. The matter is
slated for a hearing be-
fore the month-end.
Advocate Shreepras-
ad Parab, expert direc-
tor, Maharashtra State
Housing Society Limit-
ed, said, “CIDCO, acting
as an agent of the state
government, provides
land to co-operative
housing societies/de-
velopers only on lease
of 60 years in accord-
ance with the land dis-
posal regulations.”
“CIDCO charges
transfer premium
from individuals who
sell their flat/commer-
cial outlet and transfer
their membership in
the society,” added
Parab.
‘4patientsadmitted with H3N2virus’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Amid a rise
in H3N2 influenza virus
cases in Maharashtra,
the Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation on
Wednesday said 32 pa-
tients were admitted in
Mumbai. Of these four
have been diagnosed
with H3N2 and the re-
maining 28 with H1N1.
“All of the patients
are currently in a stable
condition,” the BMC
said a statement. Amid
the spike in influenza
cases, the state govern-
ment will hold a meet-
ing on Thursday in the
presence of Chief Min-
ister Eknath Shinde
and his deputy Deven-
dra Fadnavis.
“A meeting regarding
H3N2willbeheldtomor-
row in the presence of
the chief minister and
the deputy chief minis-
ter,” state Health Minis-
ter Tanaji Sawant in-
formed the Assembly on
Wednesday
. Sawant in-
formed further that 352
patientsinthestatehave
been diagnosed with the
H3N2 virus so far.
“A total 352 patients
are afflicted with the
H3N2 virus so far. They
are currently under
treatment and all hospi-
tals have been put on
alert.H3N2isnotfatal.It
can be cured through
proper medical treat-
ment.Thereisnoneedto
panic,”saidtheminister.
Two deaths from sus-
pected H3N2 influenza
virus infection have
been reported from
Nagpur while another
was reported from
Ahmednagar district.
Till March 13, 2023,
the total number of pa-
tients tested for influ-
enza in Maharashtra
was at 2,56,424. The to-
tal number of suspect-
ed patients has been
reported at 1,406.
The number of pa-
tients suffering from
swine flu virus, H1N1,
was 303 while those suf-
fering from H3H2 was
58. The number of pa-
tients admitted hospi-
talised so far is 48.
Seasonal influenza is
an acute respiratory
tractinfectioncausedby
4 distinct types--Influen-
za A, B, C and D belong-
ing to the Orthomyxo-
viridae family
. Among
these types, Influenza A
is the most common
pathogen for humans.
According to Union
Health Ministry
, cases
arising from seasonal
influenzaareexpectedto
decline from March end.
The total number
of patients
tested for the
influenza in
Maha till March
13 stood at
2,56,424: BMC
Pune (PTI): A 73-year-old man with comorbid-
ities, who had also tested positive for the H3N2
virus, died on Thursday in a civic-run hospital in
Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial town in Pune district,
health officials from the local municipal corpora-
tion said. The patient was admitted to the civic-run
hospital on March 07, said the officials from the
Pimpri- Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
The elderly person had other comorbidities along
with the H3N2 virus, they said. “The man was
already suffering from asthma, COPD (chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease) and atrial fibrilla-
tion (an irregular rapid heart rate that commonly
causes poor blood flow). Two days ago, he tested
positive for H3N2 (subtype of seasonal influenza),”
Dr Laxman Gophane, Medical Officer at PCMC,
said.
73-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO TESTED
POSITIVE FOR H3N2 VIRUS DIES
z In most cases, the
disease is self-limiting
with symptoms of
cough and cold, body
ache and fever etc.
and usually resolves
within a week or so.
z However, potentially
high-risk groups such
as infants, young
children, pregnant
women, elderly above
the age of 65 years
and people with
comorbidities might
experience more
symptomatic illnesses
requiring hospitaliza-
tion also.
z Disease transmission
is mostly airborne
from person to
person, through large
droplets generated by
the act of coughing
and sneezing. Other
modes of transmis-
sion include indirect
contact by touching a
contaminated object
or surface (fomite
transmission), and
close contact includ-
ing handshaking.
WHAT HAPPENS IF INFECTED...
CIDCO OFFICIAL
HELD WHILE
TAKING BRIBE
Thane: An official of the
state government’s plan-
ning agency CIDCO was
on Thursday allegedly
caught red-handed while
taking a bribe in Navi
Mumbai. The 57-year-old
official had demanded
Rs7 lakh for facilitating
the grant of a plot to a lo-
cal resident whose house
had been acquired for
the upcoming Navi Mum-
bai airport, an Anti-Cor-
ruption Bureau (ACB)
release said.
THREE KILLED IN
COLLISION B/W
MOTORCYCLES
Akola: Three persons
including a couple were
killed in a collision be-
tween two motorcycles in
Akola district on Thurs-
day afternoon, police
said. The incident took
place near Wai village
on Akot-Anjangaon road
around 1 pm, said inspec-
tor Nitin Deshmukh of
Akot rural police station.
Both the two-wheelers
were completely crushed
in the collision, the police
officer said.
MAN CRUSHED TO
DEATH AFTER
FALLING OFF BUS
Mumbai: A 41-year-old
man, Mohammed Naseem,
died after falling off a
crowded BEST bus and
being hit by a tempo on
Tuesday. Naseem was
standing on the footboard
of the bus when the
incident occurred. His
colleague, Pramod Shar-
ma, also fell off the bus
but suffered only minor
injuries. The Samta Nagar
police have registered a
case of rash driving, death
due to negligence, and
endangering life.
DOCTOR HELD FOR
FAKE `2 CRORE
INSURANCE CLAIM
Mumbai: Police have
arrested a doctor and two
accomplices for assisting
an Ahmednagar resident
in a fraudulent claim of
Rs2 crore insurance by
faking his death. A police
constable is also sus-
pected to have aided the
main accused in fabri-
cating documents and is
currently on the run. The
doctor issued a fake death
certificate claiming that e
person who died in a road
accident in Ahmednagar
was the main accused.
COLLECTOR, UNIV VC TO GET JAL PRAHARI’S
AWARD FOR WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS
Aurangabad: Nanded Collector Abhijeet Raut and
Vice-Chancellor of Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada
University, Dr Uddhav Bhosale, will be given the central
government’s Jal Prahari award for water conservation,
an official said. Raut has been chosen for the award for
his work on water conservation and irrigation when he
was posted in Jalgaon. Raut and Bhosale will receive the
honour in Delhi on March 29, the official said.
CRUCIAL READ
‘SAME-SEX MARRIAGES AGAINST TEACHINGS OF FAITH’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The human
race would cease to ex-
ist over a period of time
if same-sex marriages
were to become the
norm, said representa-
tives of most religious
faiths, adding that
same-sex marriages are
not encouraged and are
undesirable.
The Supreme Court
has already transferred
the matter to a Consti-
tution bench.
“The church has nev-
er accepted same-sex
marriage and that
stand has not changed.
Same-sex marriages go
against the teachings
of our faith. There is
something called natu-
ral law and it goes
against that. There are
a lot of things that we
take a moral stand for.
This is a moral stand
we have taken. You can
choose to agree with it
or disagree with it,”
said Fr. Nigel Barrett,
spokesperson of Arch-
diocese of Mumbai. For
some of the representa-
tives, this was categori-
cal while for others it
came across as implied.
“Religions are mil-
lennia old. Our (Zoroas-
trian) ancient religious
text does not speak of
same-sex marriages.
There was no same-sex
that time. However, it
talks about a marriage
ceremony between a
boy and a girl. It is a
contract between them.
Whatever judgement
comes by the Supreme
Court should be as per
the law of land. If he or
she has to marry, they
will as per law which
will be established or
not be established by
the Supreme Court.
However, if people of
the same sex come to a
Fire Temple, their cer-
emonies will not take
place,” said Dasturji
Khurshed Dastoor, high
priest of Iranshah
Atash Behram, Udvada.
UNACCEPTABLE
‘The church has
never accepted
same-sex
marriage and
that stand has
not changed.
There is
something
called natural
law and it goes
against that’
Human race
would cease
to exist over a
period of time
if same-sex
marriages
were to
become the
norm, says
Fr. Barrett
Club card scam: Accused used
brother to park scam money
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Mum-
bai Cyber Cell, which
is investigating the
Diners Club card
scam, has arrested
the brother of the
mastermind from
Ahmedabad. The
main accused master-
mind is still at large.
According to the cy-
ber cell, the brother of
the main accused was
the beneficiary of the
scam, and last year he
had received more
than Rs95 lakh in his
accounts, transferred
by the accused. The
accused, identified as
Aakran Ravindrana-
than (28), is the broth-
er of the mastermind
and IIT dropout Ash-
ish Ravindranathan.
“Ashish Ravin-
dranathanisverytech-
savvy and has not left
any footprints after
committing fraud. He
hasbeenusingvarious
international num-
bers and apps to com-
municatewithhisfam-
ily
,” an officer said.
Officials said that
Aakran had never
been caught by the po-
lice as he used to work
as a gym trainer and
only his salary is re-
flected in his bank ac-
counts that are in his
name. “We tracked his
two other accounts
thatareinafakename
and found transac-
tions.” officer added.

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 307
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe
MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial
Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C
of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part)
Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Phone 022-46031417.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit.
Rather, in humility value
others above yourselves.
—Bible
IN-DEPTH
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
Compliments to all our healthcare
workers for their efforts towards keeping
India healthy. On National Vaccination
Day we also recall India’s strides in
vaccinating people and reaffirm our
commitment to building a healthy India.
Nitin Gadkari
@nitin_gadkari
From the eradication of diseases through
Mission Indradhanush to the attainment
of self-reliance in vaccine development,
we, as a nation, are at the forefront of
the global healthcare industry with our
#Swadeshi technologies.
TOP TWEETS
MOVE OVER
SAGES AND
KHALIL GIBRAN,
MONEY CAN
BUY HAPPINESS
conomists, social sci-
entists and sages of
yore have always dif-
fered over what con-
stitutes happiness
and if money can buy happi-
ness. As the story goes, for a
sage by the roadside happiness
was about the sun’s warmth
which a king with all his wealth
and army could not encroach
upon. And in that lay a life’s les-
son for the king: Happiness is
not about power or pelf but spir-
itual enlightenment. Khalil Gi-
bran said, “Happiness is a myth
we seek”. Economists and social
scientists find happiness in
money and some are convinced
that money can even buy happi-
ness. Can real happiness be
found in material wealth? Or, is
it to be found only in spiritual
pursuits?
A Nobel-Prize winning econo-
mist has concluded that happi-
ness tends to rise with increase
in income. The economist Dan-
iel Kahneman and his fellow
economist Matthew Killings-
worth have arrived at this con-
clusion based on a survey of
33,391 people with an income of
at least $10,000.
E
ole of governors
in BJP-ruled
states has come in
for some sharp
criticism in re-
cent years for what the Oppo-
sition claims is unhealthy for
democracy. Governors of
Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maha-
rashtra and Telangana have
all been in the news for clash-
ingwithelectedgovernments
over issues of gubernatorial
powers as laid down in the
Constitution of India.
Governors and elected gov-
ernments have been at log-
gerheads over appointment
of vice-chancellors, devia-
tion from the text of speech
provided by a government,
differences over calling for
floor test and summoning of
a session. Sitting over bills
passed by the legislature for
months is another conten-
tious issue between gover-
nors and governments in
some states. Telangana’s pe-
tition against the state gover-
nor Tamilisai Soundararajan
for delaying her assent to
bills is scheduled to come up
in Supreme Court next week.
A five-judge bench of the
Supreme Court is at present
hearing a petition against the
former Maharashtra gover-
nor BS Koshyari for ordering
floor test after Eknath Shinde
led a revolt to cause the down-
fall of Uddhav Thackeray-led
MVA government.
Thebenchaskedsomeprob-
ing questions on the gover-
nor’s role and made signifi-
cant observations. Asking for
the material on the basis of
which Koshyari called for a
trust vote, Chief Justice of In-
dia DY Chandrachud said that
members of a legislature par-
ty losing confidence in a lead-
erisaninternalpartyaffair.A
Governor should not precipi-
tate the fall of a government.
Uddhav Thackeray
, besides
chief ministers of Opposi-
tion-ruled states, would be
keenly awaiting the court’s
verdict. Telangana’s petition
too would also settle a dis-
pute which affects a govern-
ment’s functioning.
ROLE OF GUVs BEFORE
SUPREME COURT
A five-judge bench of the
Supreme Court is at
present hearing a petition
against the former
Maharashtra governor BS
Koshyari for ordering floor test
after Eknath Shinde led a revolt
to cause the downfall of
Uddhav Thackeray-led
MVA government
R
Downing of US drone in Russian
jet encounter prompts counter
...claims of violations in the sky — an international law expert explores the arguments
he details are disputed, but
either way the result was the
same: On March 14, 2023, a
U.S. drone crashed into the
Black Sea after an encounter
with Russian aircraft.
AccordingtotheU.S.version
of events, the unarmed MQ-9
surveillance drone was flying
ininternationalairspacewhen
two Russian fighter jets
dumped fuel on the drone be-
fore colliding with it in viola-
tion of international law.
The Russian Defense Min-
istry denied that its aircraft
made contact with the U.S.
drone. Instead, Russia assert-
ed that the drone was flying
in the direction of Russia’s
borders with its transponder
off, suggesting that Russia
found the flight suspicious. In
addition, Russia said, the U.S.
drone violated the “tempo-
rary boundaries” that Russia
had established for its opera-
tions against Ukraine and
crashed on its own.
Inlightof Russia’spastmis-
representations about its mili-
tary activities during its inva-
sion of Ukraine, I view Rus-
sia’s assertions with skepti-
cism. Moreover, as someone
who studies international law
andformerlyservedintheU.S.
State Department as a lawyer
advising on issues related to
armed conflict, I see this epi-
sode as highlighting the right
of countriestooperateaircraft
and drones in international
airspace – even for the purpos-
es of spying on another state.
SHOWING ‘DUE
REGARD’
If the U.S. characterization
of the facts is correct, then
Russia did indeed violate in-
ternational law by interfer-
ing with the U.S. drone.
Under Article 87 of the U.N.
Convention on the Law of the
Seas, the high seas – basically
,
waters that are not any coun-
try’s territorial sea or exclu-
sive economic zone – are open
to all states. And the right of
a country to operate on the
high seas includes the free-
dom of overflight. The con-
vention also states that the
freedoms “shall be exercised
by all states with due regard
for the interests of other
states in their exercise of the
freedom of the high seas.”
The United States is not a
party to the convention,
which was signed in 1982 and
currently has 168 parties, in-
cluding Russia. Nevertheless,
the U.S. recognizes many of
its provisions as customary
law; indeed, a key U.S. naval
handbook recognizes that
“the aircraft of all states are
free to operate in internation-
al airspace without interfer-
ence by other states.”
As such, Russia violated
international law when it
failed to act with “due re-
gard” for the U.S. right to en-
gage in freedom of overflight.
In fact, based on the U.S. ac-
count, Russia directly inter-
fered with that right. And it
is presumably on this basis
that the State Department
spokesman called the drone’s
downing a “brazen violation
of international law.”
AIRCRAFT IN
CONFLICT ZONES
Russia appears to be taking
the position that it was enti-
tled to set up boundaries for
its “special military opera-
tion” in Ukraine and that the
United States disregarded
those boundaries. Russia
may be referring here to a
“maritime exclusion zone”
that Russia set up in Febru-
ary 2022 to prohibit naviga-
tion in the northwest portion
of the Black Sea.
In general, the United
States considers such zones
to be lawful if their purpose
is to direct neutral ships and
aircraft away from conflict
areas – they can play an im-
portant role in reducing the
risk that such vessels are
mistakenly attacked. The
United States itself estab-
lished a “maritime safety
zone” in Mediterranean Sea
in 2003 in connection with its
invasion of Iraq.
However, neutral ships and
aircraft do not become lawful
targets merely because they
enter such zones. Russia
would only have had a rea-
sonable claim to use force
against, or interfere with, the
U.S. drone if it posed an im-
minent threat of an armed
attack or was otherwise a le-
gitimate military target dur-
ing an armed conflict.
ON SOLID GROUND
IN THE SKIES
Assuming the U.S. account is
correct,itwouldnotbethefirst
time that a country has inter-
fered with a U.S. surveillance
aircraft in an unsafe manner
and effectively downed it.
In 2001, a Chinese fighter
jet bumped into a U.S. signals
intelligence aircraft that was
operating 70 miles from Chi-
na’s Hainan Island. The U.S.
aircraft was damaged in a
way that forced it to make an
emergency landing on Hain-
an, while the Chinese fighter
jet itself crashed. At the time,
US asserted that int’nal law,
including “due regard” prin-
ciple, permitted US to con-
duct surveillance flights in
China’s exclusive economic
zone, which US considered to
be international airspace.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
T
China didn’t and detained
the 24 U.S. crew members,
demanding an apology from
Washington. Since then,
China has intercepted
Australian and Canadian
aircraft that were engaged in
routine surveillance in
international airspace,
prompting complaints
similar to those the United
States is making now. In
both the China case and the
recent Black Sea incident, the
United States has taken a
consistent, widely shared
position on the use of
international airspace. As
such, I believe it is on solid
ground in objecting to
Russia’s actions as unlawful
According to the US
version of events, the
unarmed MQ-9
surveillance drone was
flying in international
airspace when two
Russian fighter jets
dumped fuel on the
drone before colliding
with it in violation of
international law

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05
INDIA
New Delhi (ANI):
Ahead of the Karnata-
ka Assembly elections,
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) National Presi-
dent Jagat Prakash Na-
dda will visit the poll-
bound state on Friday
and Saturday, said
sources on Thursday.
The BJP National
President will attend
multiple events and
meetings in Karnataka,
added the sources. “Na-
dda will hold a rath
yatra and address rally
on March 17 in Chitra-
durga district. Next day
,
he will again hold a rath
yatra and address a
public rally in Tumkur,
Karnataka.”
Nadda will also meet
Karyakartas to moti-
vate them ahead of the
state elections.
Senior BJP leaders
like Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Un-
ion Home Minister
Amit Shah had visited
Karnataka in February
.
Karnataka is slated to
go for Assembly elec-
tions this year.
Nadda on 2-day K’taka visit from today
MISSION KARNATAKA
lll
The BJP chief
will attend
multiple events
and meetings in
Karnataka and
will also meet
Karyakartas to
motivate them
ahead of the
state elections
New Delhi (ANI):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Thursday
held a meeting with his
top Cabinet Ministers
in the Parliament.
The Minister includ-
ed Union Ministers
Pralhad Joshi, Piyush
Goyal, Narendra Singh
Tomar, Kiren Rijiju and
Anurag Thakur. Thurs-
day was the fourth day
of the second leg of the
Budget session of Par-
liament.
Later, Parliament
was adjourned for the
day amid a ruckus.
While Congress and
other Opposition par-
ties insisted on their
demand for a Joint Par-
liamentary Committee
probe into the Adani-
Hindenburg row, the
BJP members demand-
ed an apology from Ra-
hul Gandhi over his re-
marks made in London.
Meanwhile in the Up-
per House, the Trina-
mool Congress MPs en-
tered the Well of the
Rajya Sabha with a
black cloth tied around
their mouths as they
registered a unique pro-
test which led to the ad-
journment in both
Houses. A similar pro-
test was seen in Lok
Sabha as well.
Modimeetswithtopministers
Both Houses of Parliament witness ruckus by Opposition members demanding JPC in the Adani issue
Proceedings of Lok Sabha underway during Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
DELHI CONGRESS PROTESTS NEAR LG
SAXENA’S HOUSE, DEMANDS JPC PROBE
LOGJAM IN PARL TO CONTINUE UNTIL
JPC SET UP TO PROBE ADANI ISSUE: AAP
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Congress staged a protest near
Lt Governor VK Saxena’s office here, demanding a Joint
Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue.
Several leaders and workers led by party president Anil
Chaudhary gathered near Raj Niwas with placards and
raised slogans against the BJP and the Centre. Chaud-
hary alleged that instead of accepting the demand for a
JPC probe, the BJP has been creating “roadblocks” for
MPs raising the issue in Parliament.
New Delhi (PTI): The Parliament will continue to witness
logjam and Opposition will carry on its protest until a joint
parliamentary committee (JPC) is set up to probe alleged
irregularities by the Adani Group, the Aam Aadmi Party said
on Thursday. At a press conference, AAP Rajya Sabha MP
and spokesperson Sanjay Singh alleged a nexus between
Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and as-
serted that the Opposition will not spare those “who looted
the country’s assets worth lakhs and crores of rupees”.
New Delhi (ANI): Un-
ion Law Minister Kiren
Rijiju on Thursday hit
out at Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi over his
remarks on India in the
UK and said that citi-
zens cannot remain si-
lent over the “defama-
tion” of the country
.
In a veiled attack
against Congress, Rijiju
said that India is not
their“fiefdom”anymore
and the grand old party
cannot digest this fact.
He said, “If Rahul Gan-
dhi says something and
Congress gets into trou-
ble because of that, we
have nothing to do with
it. But if he defames our
country
, then as the citi-
zens of this country
, we
can’t be quiet.”
He added, “ Abuse us
as much as you want
but we can’t let you in-
sult the nation. Rahul
has insulted the judici-
ary, our judicial system
is a robust one. The only
demand is that Rahul
will have to apologize to
the country for insult-
ing it. India is not their
fiefdom anymore, they
can’t digest this fact.”
He further added that
Rahul can say whatever
he wants but nobody
can insult the country
.
“I’m an MP elected to
the Parliament so how
can I keep quiet,” he
further added.
“Congress and Rahul
have been rejected by
the people of this coun-
try
. He has undermined
the reputation of our
democracy and Parlia-
ment..it is not accepta-
ble,” he stated.
Rijiju alleged that Ra-
hul lied that he wasn’t
allowed to speak in Par-
liament. “He (Rahul)
led a yatra as per the
wishes - then he is say-
ing, he wasn’t allowed
to speak?”
“Being an MP in Par-
liament he (Rahul) has
shamed the Parliament,
that’s most unfortu-
nate,” Rijiju said.
IndiaisnotCong’s
fiefdom,partycan’t
digestit,saysRijiju
Shimla (ANI):
Himachal Pradesh CM
Sukhvinder Singh
Sukhu on Thursday pre-
sentedtheStateEconom-
ic Survey 2022-23 in the
Legislative Assembly
.
The document was
prepared by the Eco-
nomic and Statistics
Department, Govern-
ment of Himachal
Pradesh. The economic
survey revealed that the
state’s real GDP or GDP
at Constant Prices will
grow by over Rs 18,143
crore during the cur-
rent Financial Year
2022-23 as compared to
the previous FY2021-22.
As per first advance
estimates of State In-
come, this translates
into growth in real GDP
during Financial Year
2022-23 at 6.4 per cent as
compared to 7.6 per cent
in Financial Year 2021-
22, the Himachal govt
said in a statement.
“The State’s Real
Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) or GDP at Con-
stant Prices (2011-12) in
Financial Year 2022-23 is
estimated to attain a
levelof Rs1,34,576crore,
as against the provision-
al estimate of GDP for
Financial Year 2021-22
of Rs 1,26,433 crore,” the
statement said.
“Nominal GDP or
GDP at Current Prices
in Financial Year 2022-
23 is estimated to attain
a level of 1,95,404 crore,
as against the provision-
al estimate of GDP for
Financial Year 2021-22
of 1,76,269 crore show-
ing an absolute increase
of Rs 19,135 crore. The
growth in Nominal GDP
during Financial Year
2022-23 is estimated at
10.9 per cent as com-
pared to 13.5 per cent in
Financial Year 2021-22,”
it said further.
As per the statement,
the government of Hill
State have outper-
formed in various sec-
tors ranging from tour-
ism to social services.
“After COVID-19 pan-
demic domestic tourist
arrivals [in Himachal
Pradesh] have in-
creased from 32.13 lakh
in 2020 to 56.37 lakh in
2021 and further to
150.99 lakh in 2022 in ab-
solute terms,” it said.
Himachal CM Sukhu tables Economic Survey 2022-23
Guwahati (PTI): The
Assam govt on Thurs-
day presented a Rs 3.22
lakhcrorebudgetforthe
2023-24 financial year,
announcing funds for
promoting micro-entre-
preneurship and 40,000
fresh recruitments in
different departments.
Presenting the budg-
et, Finance Minister
Ajanta Neog said the
govt will invest Rs 5,000
croreoverthenextthree
years to “transform”
over 2 lakh unemployed
youths into job creators.
For the purpose, Rs
1,000 crore was allocat-
ed in the next fiscal.
Neog said 40,000 peo-
ple will be recruited in
various departments by
May 10 to mark the com-
pletion of two years of
the Himanta Biswa Sar-
ma-led govt and fulfil the
BJP’spollpromiseof giv-
ing one lakh govt jobs.
“Our government al-
ready provided employ-
ment to about 42,000
youths across various
departments... The re-
maining 18,000 are at
various stages of re-
cruitment, and this will
also be completed very
soon,” Neog said.
Assam budget: Funds for
2 lakh entrepreneurs,
40,000 new govt hirings
Mufti snubs critics after temple visit
Jammu (PTI): PDP
chief Mehbooba Mufti
on Thursday defended
her recent visit to a
Shiv temple in Jammu
and Kashmir’s Poonch
and performing a ritual
there, saying “we live in
a country that is home
to the Ganga-Jamuni
tehzeeb” and there is no
need to discuss the mat-
ter further. A video of
the former CM offering
water to Shivling inside
Navgraha temple, Man-
di-Ajote in Poonch on
Tuesday has gone viral,
drawing criticism from
some quarters.
“We are living in a
secular country that is
home to Ganga-Jamuni
Tehzeeb. The temple
was built by Yashpal
Sharma (former PDP
leader who died last
year) and his sons want
me to visit the place. I
went inside and some-
one gave me a small ves-
sel filled with water
with a lot of belief and
love,” she said.
Raipur (PTI): The Op-
position BJP on Thurs-
day hit out at the Con-
gress govt in Chhattis-
garh Assembly over
“barbaric” police action
against its leaders and
workersduringaprotest
on “poor” implementa-
tion of the Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojana
(PMAY) in the state. Po-
lice fired tear gas shells,
used water cannons and
resorted to lathicharge
as several BJP workers
tried to lay siege to the
Assembly building in
Raipur during an agita-
tion over implementa-
tion of the Centre-spon-
sored housing scheme
on Wednesday
. Raising
the issue in Zero Hour,
BJP members claimed
the police used tear gas
shells to target r party
workers and even wom-
en protestors were treat-
ed with barbarity
.
CHHATTISGARH:BJPACCUSES
POLICEOF‘BARBARIC’ACTION
Kiren Rijiju at Parliament.
PAWAN KHERA
SLAMS BJP
OVER RUCKUS IN
PARLIAMENT
New Delhi (ANI): Con-
gress leader Pawan
Khera on Thursday
slammed the BJP over
continuous ruckus in
the Parliament, amid
the demands of a JPC
probe into the Adani
issue, and said that
the BJP is “scared”.
While talking to ANI,
Khera said,” Whenever
Congress raises the
demand for a JPC
probe in the Adani is-
sue, to divert attention,
they (BJP) won’t let
the session continue.
BJP is scared that
somebody will raise
Gautam Adani’s name
in the Parliament.” On
Thursday, Opposition
MPs protested outside
Parliament by forming
a human chain and
demanded a Joint Par-
liamentary Committee
(JPC) probe into the
Adani issue.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma with Finance Minister Ajanta
Neog (R), briefs media, in Guwahati on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Himachal CM Sukhvinder Sukhu in State Assembly in Shimla.
Mehbooba Mufti offers prayers at Navagraha temple, in Poonch.
BJP terms it a poll
“gimmick” as PDP
chief visits temple
in Poonch district
IN THE COURTYARD
KOTKAPURA FIRING:
ANTICIPATORY BAIL OF
SUKHBIR DISMISSED
Chandigarh: A court
in Punjab’s Faridkot on
Thursday dismissed the
anticipatory bail plea of
former deputy chief min-
ister Sukhbir Singh Badal
in the 2015 Kotkapura
police firing incident but
granted relief to his father
and former chief minister
Parkash Singh Badal. Both
the Akali leaders last week
had moved the Faridkot
court for anticipatory bail.
DESIGNATING Sr ADVOCATES: SC RESERVES
ORDER WHETHER GUIDELINES NEED TWEAKING
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its
order on whether its 2017 verdict laying down guidelines
for itself and high courts for designating lawyers as senior
advocates requires any tweaking. Additional Solicitor
General (ASG) K M Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, told
a bench headed by Justice S K Kaul that the 2017 verdict
needs reconsideration.
“CHAKKA JAM NOT
VIOLENT PROTEST”
DELHI EXCISE: PILLAI’S
REMAND EXTENDED
New Delhi: Defending his
discharge in a 2019 Jamia
Nagar violence case, JNU
student Sharjeel Imam
Thursday told the Delhi
High Court he only cam-
paigned in favour of peace-
ful protest and ‘chakka jam’
cannot be termed a “violent
method of protest”.
New Delhi: The Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED)
on Thursday got remand
of Hyderabad-based
businessman Arun Ram-
chandra Pillai till March
20, in connection with its
ongoing probe in Delhi Ex-
cise Policy 2021-22 money
laundering case. Pillai was
arrested on March 6.
BUDGET SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
BJP chief JP Nadda
Pawan Khera
AAP MP Sanjay Singh (L)
and RJD MP Manoj Jha.
A Congress supporter
tries to cross barricade.
ADANI ISSUE STILL SIMMERS

06
INDIA
First India Bureau
Kochi: President Drou-
padi Murmu arrived
Kerala on Thursday as
part of her six-day visit
to the state, Tamil
Nadu, and Lakshad-
weep. Governor Arif
Mohammed Khan and
CM Pinarayi Vijayan
welcomed the president
at Kochi airport.
Murmu visited INS
Vikrant, country’s first
indigenously built air-
craft carrier on Thurs-
day evening. Later, she
presented the Presi-
dent’s Colour to INS
Dronacharya, the Gun-
nery School of the In-
dian Navy here.
On Friday, Murmu
will visit spiritual guru
Mata Amritanan-
damayi’s Math in Kol-
lam and she will attend
a civic reception to be
hosted in her honour in
Thiruvananthapuram.
She will also dedicate
to the nation the Tech-
nical Books of Diploma
and Engineering that
have been translated
into Malayalam by Digi-
tal University Kerala
(DUK) in a function be-
ing organised at Kow-
diar.
Following two-day
visit in Kerala, Murmu
will leave for Kanyaku-
mari in Tamil Nadu on
March 18 and pay trib-
ute at Vivekananda
Smarak and the statue
of Thiruvalluvar.
On March 18 evening,
she will attend a civic
reception to be hosted
in her honour at Ka-
varatti, the capital of
Union Territory of Lak-
shadweep.
On March 19, the
President will interact
with members of Self
Help Groups at Kavarat-
ti, the officials said.
—With PTI inputs
President Murmu arrives in Kerala for 2-day visit
PREZ’S SOUTHERN SOJOURN
lll
The President
visited INS
Vikrant and
later, presented
the President’s
Colour to INS
Dronacharya,
the Gunnery
School of the
Indian Navy
CONGRESS LEADER
EVKS ELANGOVAN
RECOVERING WELL
K’TAKA: WOMAN’S
BODY FOUND IN DRUM,
RAILWAY COPS NAB 3
COUPLE ARRESTED
WITH DRUGS, CASH
NEAR KOLKATA
SEPTUAGENARIAN
OPENS FIRE AT RIVAL
IN DELHI, ARRESTED
Chennai: Congress leader
EVKS Elangovan, admitted
for mild chest infection,
is recovering well, a
hospital treating him said
here on Thursday. “EVKS
Elangovan was admitted
yesterday evening (March
15, 2023) with mild chest
infection. His vitals are sta-
ble. He is recovering well,”
Sri Ramachandra Medical
Centre said in a press
release. He emerged vic-
torious in the bypoll held
recently to Erode (East)
Assembly constituency.
Bengaluru: The Karna-
taka Railway Police have
cracked the murder case
of a woman, whose body
was dumped in a drum and
abandoned near one of the
railway stations in the state
capital. The police stated
on Thursday that three
persons have been arrested
in connection with the
case. The search is on for
another five persons. The
killers were known persons
to the deceased woman,
police said. The arrested
persons have been identi-
fied as Kamaal, Tanveer and
Shakeeb. The hunt is on
for Nawab, Jamal, Majhar,
Assab and Sabool.
Kolkata: A couple was
arrested on Thursday after
3.5 kg of illegal drugs was
found in their apartment
in Salt Lake near Kolkata,
police said. Acting on a tip-
off, the West Bengal Special
Task Force (STF) raided the
apartment in Sukantanagar
on Wednesday evening and
it continued overnight, they
said. In the raid, Rs 5.5
lakhs in cash and 3.5 kg of
illegal drugs were found in
the apartment. From an ad-
jacent flat, some goats were
also seized, they added.
New Delhi: A 70-year-
old man opened fire at a
legal rival outside the Delhi
Finance Commissioner’s
office here on Thursday, po-
lice said. According to po-
lice, at around 11.15 a.m.,
KK Sharma opened fire
with his licenced firearm at
Pradeep Behel outside the
office. “An arbitration mat-
ter was underway regard-
ing PanchDeep Housing
Society, Vikas Puri and
today Sharma, a resident
of the society, lost the case
against Behel and others,”
said a senior police official.
Legal action has been initi-
ated and the accused has
been apprehended.
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: Cyber Police Team of Delhi Police have arrested
9 members of an interstate gang for allegedly duping
people in the national capital on the pretext of giving them
jobs. Arrested accused are involved in cybercrime and
duped unemployed youths on the pretext of giving them
jobs in Private Airlines, officials said on Thursday. Arrested
members have been evading police for more than 8 months
after police identified them with the technical investigation.
The gang had been operating from different locations in
Noida, UP and Uttam Nagar, Dwarka and Nawada, Delhi.
POLICE ARREST 9 GANG MEMBERS FOR DUPING
PEOPLE ON PRETEXT OF GIVING THEM JOBS
MEAwelcomesGarcetti
asUSA’senvoytoIndia
New Delhi (PTI): In-
dia on Thursday wel-
comed confirmation
of Eric Garcetti as the
US Ambassador to
New Delhi and said it
looks forward to
working with him to
take forward the mul-
tifaceted bilateral re-
lations.
Considered a close
aide of President Joe
Biden, Garcetti re-
ceived the confirma-
tion to the post from
the US Senate over
two years after he was
nominated to the key
position.
“We welcome the
confirmation of Eric
Garcetti as the US
Ambassador to India.
We look forward to
working with him to
take forward the mul-
tifaceted bilateral re-
lations,” External Af-
fairs Ministry spokes-
person Arindam
Bagchi said at a me-
dia briefing.
The Senate voted 52-
42 to confirm the for-
mer Los Angeles may-
or’s nomination on
Wednesday
. His nomi-
nation was pending
before the US Con-
gress since July 2021
when he was nominat-
ed by President Biden.
Last week, the Sen-
ate Foreign Relations
Committee voted 13-8
in favour of his nomi-
nation.
Kenneth Juster,
the last US envoy in
New Delhi, stepped
down in January 2021
after Biden became
President.
Zojila Pass opened after 68 days
Ladakh (ANI): After
closure of 68 days, Bor-
der Roads Organisation
(BRO) opened the stra-
tegic Zojila Pass on the
Greater Himalayan
Range on Thursday
.
As per Defence Minis-
try
, the pass at 11,650 feet
which acts as a gateway
between Union Territo-
ries of Ladakh and JK
was kept open for traffic
till January 6, 2023
through relentless snow
clearance operations
amidst tough weather
conditions, ensuring
that the Pass remained
closed for only 68 days
this year as compared to
73 days last year and 160-
180 days in earlier years.
Since the first week
of February, the snow
clearance operations
were undertaken from
both sides of the pass by
Project Beacon and Vi-
jayak, located in J-K and
Ladakh respectively
.
After sustained ef-
forts, the connectivity
across Zoji La Pass was
initially established on
March 11. Thereafter, ef-
forts were made to im-
prove road conditions to
create safe passage of
vehicles. Likewise,
Razdan Pass which pro-
vides the only road con-
nectivity between the
Gurez Sector and the
Kashmir Valley has also
beenreopenedonThurs-
day after a gap of just 58
days. Other important
passes at Sadhna, Phar-
kiyan Gali and Zamind-
ar Gali were kept open
throughout winters.
Zojila Pass was opened on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
`10L given to
kin of youth
killed in firing
Indore (ANI): In-
dore Collector Ila-
yaraja T on Thurs-
day announced
thatanex-gratiaof
Rs 10 lakh was be-
ing given to the
family of the tribal
youth who died in
policefiringtocon-
trol a crowd of pro-
testors at Dongar-
gaon outpost in the
district of Madhya
Pradesh on
Wednesday night.
The youth who
died was identi-
fied as Bherulal
(18). The crowd
was protesting fol-
lowing the death
of a 22-year-old
tribal woman who
was found dead al-
legedly due to elec-
trocution on
Wednesday in
Dongargaon vil-
lage located in
Mhow locality of
the district.
After the death
of the woman, her
family members
along with other
people of the trib-
al community
staged a protest by
placing the body
on the road out-
side Dongargaon
police outpost de-
manding that the
accused be handed
over to them.
PM: HEALTHCARE STAFF DOING
BEST TO KEEP INDIA HEALTHY
Modi recalls India’s strides in vaccinating people on the National Vaccination Day
First India Bureau
New Delhi: PM Naren-
dra Modi on Thursday
complimented all the
healthcare workers for
their efforts towards
keeping India healthy
.
OnNationalVaccination
Day
, PM reiterated com-
mitment to building a
healthy India and also
recalled India’s strides
in vaccinating people.
Responding to a tweet by
Union Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya,
the PM tweeted; “Com-
pliments to all our
healthcare workers for
their efforts towards
keeping India healthy
.
OnNationalVaccination
DaywealsorecallIndia’s
strides in vaccinating
people and reaffirm our
commitment to building
a healthy India.”
“GROWING PORT SECTOR CONTRIBUTING TO ECONOMIC PROGRESS”
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi has
lauded the achievements
of Tuticorin VOC port a
Y-o-Y growth of 11.35%.
The Port has handled
36.03 Million Tonnes of
cargo, as on 14.03.2023
and surpassed the target
of 36 Million Tonnes,
set by the Shipping
Ministry 17 days ahead
in the FY 2022-23.In a
reply to a tweet by V.O.
Chidambaranar Port
Authority, Tuticorin, the
Prime Minister tweeted;
“Good! India’s port sec-
tor is growing rapidly and
contributing to economic
progress.” —(FIB)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. —FILE PHOTO
NEW RECORDS
BY WOMEN IN
ALL FIELDS: PM
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi has said that
new records of
women in water,
land and sky will
prove to be mile-
stones in build-
ing a developed
India. PM Modi
was responding to
a tweet by Ministry
of Ports, Shipping
and Waterways
wherein Ministry
has informed that
Serang Sandhya’
has taken command
of a ferry which will
take people to their
destination.
REFLECTION AFTER RAIN!
People walk down a road after rainfall, in Shimla, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Not working for
forming next govt:
Punjab CM Mann
Chandigarh (FIB): As-
serting that the state
has successfully com-
pleted the first lap of
unprecedented develop-
ment in the last one
year, Punjab Chief Min-
ister Bhagwant Mann
on Thursday said the
government is working
not for forming the next
government but for
prosperity of the next
generation. In a video
message on the occa-
sion of completion of
one year in office, Mann
said the people of the
statehadgivenathump-
ing verdict in favour of
the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) during the As-
sembly elections held
last year.
Malalimosquerow:
VHP holds yagna
Mangaluru: The Mala-
li mosque row here in
Karnataka’s Dakshina
Kannada district has
surfaced again as Vish-
wa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) activists on
Thursday performed a
special ‘yagna’ seeking
divine blessing and in-
tervention for a temple
to come up.
The activists per-
formed ‘Maha Gana
Yaga’ or ‘Ganapathy
Homa’ to pray for con-
struction of a temple at
the site of the mosque,
as per the advice of
tantris. When the ques-
tion was asked whether
the temple will be con-
structed at the site of
Malali mosque, tantris
(foretellers) had ad-
vised that the work
needs divine blessings.
TSPSC paper
leak: BRS, BJP
play blame game
Hyderabad: Leaders of
Telangana’s ruling BRS
andOppositionBharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
are blaming each other
for the exam paper leak
that has rocked Telan-
gana State Public Ser-
vice Commission (TSP-
SC). Both the parties
are targeting each other
in what is being seen as
an attempt to take po-
litical mileage from the
issue ahead of Assem-
bly elections scheduled
towards the end of 2023.
President Murmu with Navy Chief R Hari Kumar and others during
a visit to the INS Vikrant, in Kochi, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
Compliments to all
our healthcare work-
ers for their efforts
towards keeping
India healthy. On
National Vaccination
Day we also recall
India’s strides in vac-
cinating people and
reaffirm our commit-
ment to building a
healthy India.
We welcome the confirmation of
Eric Garcetti as the US Ambassador
to India. We look forward to work-
ing with him to take forward the multifacet-
ed bilateral relations.
—Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson, External Affairs Ministry

DLF sells 1,137 flats for over `8,000 crore
New Delhi (PTI): Realty
major DLF Ltd on Thurs-
day announced the sale of
its entire luxury project in
Gurugram, comprising
1,137 flats each costing `7
crore and above, for over
`8,000 crore within 3 days,
reflecting a strong demand
for premium flats across
major cities.
DLF Chief Executive Of-
ficer Ashok Tyagi and
group executive director
Aakash Ohri described the
sales bookings of $1-billion
within such a short span as
“historical’ and “a record”
in Indian residential real
estate market.
Asked about the overall
sales bookings of DLF in
the current fiscal, Tyagi
said it would be around
`15,000 crore as against
`7,273 crore in the previous
year. DLF, which is India’s
largest realty firm in mar-
ket cap, will most likely be-
come the biggest player
during this fiscal in terms
of sales bookings as well.
WITHIN 3 DAYS
MAJOR
HIGHLIGHTS
z DLF Ltd on Thursday
announced the sale of its
entire luxury project in
Gurugram, comprising
1,137 flats each costing `7
crore and above, for over
`8,000 crore within 3 days
z The project comprises 1,137
identical 4 BHK apartments,
each of 3,950 sq feet, with
various luxury amenities
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Mining mogul
Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta
Resources Ltd (VRL) has
repaid $250 million in
loans that the company
took from Barclays Bank
and Standard Chartered
Bank, according to regu-
latory filings. The compa-
ny had earlier said it has
enough means to meet
debt repayment liabilities
in the coming quarters as
it looked to assuage in-
vestor concerns around
its financial position. VR-
Lrepaid $150 million bor-
rowed from Barclays
Bank. —PTI
VEDANTA RESOURCES
REPAYS $250 MILLION
IN LOANS
New Delhi: Gold price
jumped `380 to `57,450
per 10 grams in the na-
tional capital on Thursday
amid gains in rates of the
precious metal overseas,
according to HDFC Secu-
rities. In the previous
trade, the yellow metal
had ended at `57,070 per
10 grams. Silver, howev-
er, declined `90 to
`66,535 per kilogramme.
“Spot gold prices in the
Delhi markets traded at
`57,450 per 10 grams, up
`380 per 10 grams,”
Saumil Gandhi, Senior
Analyst - Commodities at
HDFC Securities, said. In
the overseas market, gold
was trading higher at
$1,922 per ounce. —PTI
GOLD JUMPS `380
PER 10 GM; SILVER
DECLINES `90/KG
New Delhi: Bharti-backed
OneWeb on Thursday
said it plans to launch 36
satellites with the ISRO to
complete its global LEO
constellation. Last month,
OneWeb Executive Chair-
man Sunil Bharti Mittal
said the company will be
ready to provide services
in India by July-August.
“OneWeb, the Low Earth
Orbit (LEO) satellite com-
munications company,
will now target its launch
of 36 satellites with ISRO
for no earlier than 26
March, 2023. —PTI
ONEWEB TO LAUNCH
36 SATELLITES WITH
ISRO: BHARTI MITTAL
New Delhi: Luxor Writing
Instruments and Germa-
ny’s Schneider Pen on
Thursday announced a
collaboration to launch
co-branded products in
the Indian market. Under
the partnership, Schnei-
der will provide technolo-
gy and transfer it to Luxor
in India for manufactur-
ing. Through the partner-
ship, Luxor is looking to
accelerate its growth and
touch the revenue of
`1,000 crore over 3-5
years, while Schneider
Pen is looking to increase
its revenue by around 10
million euros. —PTI
LUXOR AIMS TO BE
`1,000 CR COMPANY
IN NEXT 3-5 YEARS
07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 57,450.00 380.00 0.66 (Per 10g)
SILVER 66,535.00 90.00 0.13 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.77 0.12 0.14
GBPINR 99.85 0.22 0.22
CURRENCIES
*Rates till the edition went to print.
NTPC COMMISSIONS
GREEN COAL PLANT IN
VARANASI
New Delhi: State-owned
power giant NTPC has com-
missioned first-of-its-kind
commercial
green coal
project in
Varanasi,
which will
make torrefied charcoal from
municipal waste. Nearly three
years ago NTPC had planned
to make green coal from
municipal waste. NVVNL had
awarded the project on an
EPC (engineering procure-
ment construction) basis to
Macawber Beekay. —PTI
TRUECALLER OPENS
ITS FIRST EXCLUSIVE
INDIA OFFICE IN B’LURU
Bengaluru: Caller ID verifica-
tion platform Truecaller on
Thursday announced the
opening of its
first exclusive
office space
outside of
Sweden, in
Bengaluru. A press release
issued by the company on
Thursday said the Bengaluru
facility occupies a renovated
space of 30,443 square feet
and can accommodate up
to 250 employees, offering
top-of-the-line technology and
amenities. —PTI
GOVT SAYS 1,20,279 PERSONS APPLIED TO OPT
FOR HIGHER PENSION TILL MARCH 09
New Delhi: As many as 1,20,279 persons have applied online to
opt for higher pension under Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995
(EPS-95) till March 09, 2023. In Novem-
ber last year, the Supreme Court had
asked the Employees’ Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) to give four months
time to subscribers as well as pension-
ers to contribute on their actual salaries
towards EPS-95. “Till 09.03.2023,
1,20,279 applications/ joint options were
applied online at Unified Portal of EPFO by the employees,” Minis-
ter of State for Labour and Employment Rameswar Teli said. —PTI
DOMESTIC PHARMA INDUSTRY REVENUES
EXPECTED TO GROW 6-8% NEXT FISCAL: ICRA
New Delhi: Domestic pharmaceutical industry is expected to
witness a revenue growth of 6-8% in the next fiscal, rating agency
Icra said on Thursday. Despite several
disruptive events, the Indian pharmaceu-
tical market (IPM) witnessed a healthy
CAGR of 10.9% between FY2012 and
FY2022. “Going forward, ICRA expects
revenues for its sample set to increase
by 6-8% in FY2024 against 3-4% growth
in FY2023,” Icra Assistant Vice President
Sector Head - Corporate Ratings Mythri Macherla said. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY ON A
RISING TREND, SAYS CEA
New Delhi (PTI): Chief
Economic Advisor V Anan-
tha Nageswaran on Thurs-
day said the global uncer-
tainty has been rising after
the recent developments in
the United States and gov-
ernments, businesses and
individuals should keep
'margins of safety' in fiscal,
corporate and savings ac-
count planning.
He said the global
growth estimates of the In-
ternational Monetary
Fund (IMF) given in Janu-
ary looks outdated and
countries will have to
watch what the develop-
ments in the US over the
last week would do to con-
fidence, bank lending
growth and the subsequent
chain effects.
Two banks in America
have gone belly up over the
last week.
Signature Bank, New
York, which lent mostly to
crypto industry was shut
down by the regulators on
Sunday after there was a
run on their deposits.
Besides, the failure of
Silicon Valley Bank last
week left many startups,
tech companies, entrepre-
neurs and VC funds nerv-
ous and jittery
.
Nageswaran said uncer-
tainty has been on a rising
trend and has gone up a few
notches in the last week
and this is something
which countries need to
live with, not only this year
but for the next year and
beyond.
And the important
thing to remember is that
when you are facing un-
certain times, the key
thing to do is to make sure
that we have margins of
safety in our operations,
whether it is for corpo-
rates or for investors.”
“The only guidance one
can think of is to allow for
margins of safety, whether
it is in fiscal planning, cor-
porate planning or house-
hold balance sheet or sav-
ings account planning, he
said.
TOP HIGHLIGHT
FROM INTERVIEW
z Chief Economic Advisor V
Anantha Nageswaran said
the global growth estimates
of the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) given in January
looks outdated and countries
will have to watch what the
developments in the US over
the last week would do to
confidence, bank lending
growth and the subsequent
chain effects.
Economy likely to log
in a tepid 6% growth
Mumbai (PTI): The econ-
omy is likely to log in a
tepid 6% growth next fis-
cal, in line with the consen-
sus estimates, rating agen-
cy Crisil said on Thursday
.
The agency also sees the
economy averaging a
growth rate of 6.8% over
the next five fiscals.
Crisil further said it ex-
pects the corporate reve-
nue to log in double-digit
rise again next fiscal.
The National Statistical
Organisation (NSO) had
pencilled in a 7% growth
for the outgoing fiscal --
something most analysts
consider to be an ambi-
tious number because for
the economy to close the
year with 7% growth, it
will have to grow at over
4.5% in the present quarter
of fiscal 2023, which looks
ambitious.
In its annul growth fore-
cast, Crisil chief economist
D K Joshi said a complex
interplay of geopolitical
events, stubbornly high in-
flation -- and sharp rate
hikes to counter that -- have
turned the global environ-
ment gloomier.
On the domestic front, he
said, the peak impact of the
rate hikes -- 250 basis points
since May 2022, which has
pushed interest rates above
pre-Covid levels — will
play out more in the next
fiscal.
SAYS UDAY KOTAK
India can navigate well financial market turmoil
New Delhi (PTI): Kotak
Mahindra Bank CEO Uday
Kotak said on Thursday
saidthatwithmacrofactors
turning positive, India can
navigate well the current
turmoil in the global finan-
cial market and stand out.
India, he said, will bene-
fit from low oil prices in the
international market and
the country's current ac-
count deficit (CAD) is ex-
pected to decline to below
2% in 2023-24.
The global markets have
roiled over the last week
after two banks in the Unit-
ed States went belly up.
Even as the global tur-
moil continues in financial
markets, the macro factors
are turning better for In-
dia. The current account
deficit looks below 2.5% in
FY 23 and going below 2%
in FY 24. Lower oil helps. If
we walk our talk and navi-
gate well, India can stand
out in this turbulence,
Kotak tweeted.
Signature Bank, New
York, which lent mostly to
the crypto industry, was
shut down by the regula-
tors on Sunday
.
SENSEX SNAPS FIVE
DAY LOSING STREAK
Mumbai (PTI): The do-
mestic equity market on
Thursday snapped the
five-day losing streak as
the benchmark Sensex re-
couped its lost ground and
closed 78 points higher on
fag-end value buying
in banking, energy and
financial stocks.
Halting its five-day los-
ing streak, the 30-share
BSE benchmark rose 78.94
points or 0.14% to close at
57,634.84 points. During the
session, it touched a high
of 57,887.46 points and a
low of 57,158.69 points.
The 50-share NSE Nifty
advanced 13.45 points or
0.08% to settle at 16,985.60
points. As many as Nifty 32
stocks closed in the green.
Equity benchmarks
bounced back to end in the
positive territory after
trading lower for the most
part of the volatile session.
Nestle India was the big-
gest gainer in the Sensex
pack, rising 2.54 per cent,
followed by Asian Paints,
HUL, Titan, Sun Pharma,
SBI, PowerGrid and Bajaj
Finserv.
On the other hand, Tata
Steel, IndusInd Bank,
Bharti Airtel, Infosys,
Wipro, HCL Tech and Reli-
ance were among the los-
ers, slipping up to 3.31%.
` FALLS 12 PAISE TO 82.77 AGAINST US $
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee fell for the fourth day in a row on Thursday
and depreciated by 12 paise to 82.77 (provi-
sional) against the US dollar amid mixed global
equity market cues and foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic
unit opened lower at 82.77 against the dollar. It
traded between 82.60 and 82.80 levels, and set-
tled at 82.77 (provisional) against the American
currency, registering a fall of 12 paise against its
previous close.
FUEL SALES DROP AFTER
FEBRUARY FIREWORKS
New Delhi (PTI): India's fuel demand fell in the first half
of March after posting a record growth in the previous
month, preliminary industry data showed on Thursday
.
March saw the seasonal
slowdown kicking in with
rise in temperatures. Petrol
sales decreased by 1.4% to
1.22 million tonnes in the
first half of March when
compared with the same pe-
riod of last year. Sales fell
0.5% month-on-month, the data showed.
Diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country, saw de-
mand slip 10.2% to 3.18 million tonnes during March 1 to
15 when compared with 3.54 million tonnes sales in the
same period a year back.

08
2NDFRONT
A true leader and a successful one
understands the balance between
maintaining a professional distance and
ensuring a personal bond, with his team.
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Govt employees’ strike
for OPS enters 3rd day
First India Bureau
Mumbai: As the strike
of Maharashtra gov-
ernment employees
seeking restoration of
the Old Pension Scheme
entered the third day on
Thursday, the state gov-
ernment appointed pri-
vate agencies to fill up
vacancies on a contrac-
tual basis.
The umbrella body of
the unions coordinat-
ing the strike blamed
the government’s “stub-
born attitude” for the
continuance of their
agitation. An applica-
tion seeking end to the
strike was filed in the
High Court, and it could
be heard on Friday
.
Government hospi-
tals were the worst af-
fected by the strike
which also took a toll on
the functioning of the
administration.
As per a Government
Resolution (GR) issued
by the Industries, En-
ergy and Labour de-
partment on March 14,
the day the strike be-
gan, nine private agen-
cies have been appoint-
ed to hire “highly
skilled, skilled, semi-
skilled and non-skilled”
personnel on contract.
The GR or the gov-
ernment order came to
light on Thursday
.
Notably, one of the
demands of the striking
employees is that some
2,37,000 vacant posts in
the government be
filled up, contract em-
ployees be regularised
and the superannua-
tion age be increased to
60 years from 58 years.
Vishwas Katkar, con-
venor of the committee
of some 35 unions of
state government em-
ployees, semi-govern-
ment employees and
teachers, said the strike
will continue on Friday
“because of the stub-
born attitude of the
government.”
“Our strike will con-
tinue until the Maha-
rashtra government
implements the Old
Pension Scheme. We do
not accept the three-
member committee ap-
pointed by the govern-
ment (to look into the
issue),”he said.
Meanwhile, in Akola,
union leader Rajendra
Nerkar said MLAs who
serve for five years get
pension, but the em-
ployees who serve for
30-35 years do not get
any pension which is
gross injustice. In Na-
shik, striking employ-
ees took out a huge rally
from Golf Club ground
to Shivaji Road.
State appoints
agencies to hire
three categories
of skilled
personnel on
contract basis
State government employees at a protest in front of the Thane Collector’s office on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
OFFICIAL ORDER
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Continuing
its upward trend, Ma-
harashtra on Thursday
logged 226 new COV-
ID-19 cases--up from
176 a day ago--taking
the overall tally to
81,39,055. No fresh
deaths linked to the in-
fection was recorded in
the state, said the state
Health Department.
As the gap between
the rising new detec-
tions and patient recov-
eries widened, the ac-
tive tally crossed the
900-mark in the state.
The coronavirus
death toll remained un-
changed at 1,48,426 with
no fresh addition to the
tally since the previous
day, said a department
bulletin. On Wednes-
day, Maharashtra re-
ported 176 COVID-19
cases and zero fatality
.
The Pune adminis-
trative circle reported
the highest 88 new cas-
es followed by 86 in
Mumbai circle, 21 in
Nashik,12 in Akola, 11
in Kolhapur, four in La-
tur, 3 in Nagpur and one
in the Aurangabad cir-
cle, said the bulletin.
An administrative
circle consists of multi-
ple districts and Maha-
rashtra has eight such
circles.
According to the de-
partment, Mumbai re-
corded 35 COVID-19
cases, pushing up the
overall tally to 15,4,744,
while the death toll re-
mained unchanged at
19747.
The number of re-
coveries rose to
79,89,703 after 87 pa-
tients recuperated from
the viral infection, leav-
ing the state with 926
active cases, said the
bulletin.
Of the 926 active cas-
es, the highest 278 are
in Pune district, fol-
lowed by 185 in Mumbai
and 153 in Thane,
among other districts.
According to the bul-
letin, 8,243 COVID-19
tests were conducted in
the last 24 hours, taking
their state-wide count
to 8,65,28,298.
Maharashtra’s recov-
ery rate from the viral
infection stood at
98.17% while the case
fatality rate was 1.82%.
Maha’s COVID-19 active tally crosses 900-mark with 226 cases
REARING ITS HEAD
lll
A sharp incline
takes the
number of
cases to
81,39,055; no
fatalities
reported due to
the viral
infection on
Thursday
As many as 8,243 coronavirus tests were conducted in the last
24 hours. —FILE PHOTO
BIG NUMBERS
z New Cases: 226
z Total Cases: 81,39,055
z Deaths: 00
z Death Toll: 1,48,426
z Recoveries: 79,89,703
z Active Cases: 926
PLEASANT EXCHANGE
Colonel Arabi Belhamed and Commandant Takia Fouad of Algerian Navy Patrol Ship El
Moutassadi calls on Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Chief of Staff, Headquarters
Western Naval Command during the Algerian ship’s visit to Mumbai from March 13 to 16.
The ship docked at the Mumbai Western Naval Command on Thursday. —PHOTOS BY PTI
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Six separate
FIRs against six super-
intendents of the Cus-
toms department and
private clearing agents
have been registered by
the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI),
who were allegedly in-
volved in clearing of
goods without payment
of proper Customs duty
by resorting to the un-
fair practice of using
passports of people who
have lived abroad for
more than two years.
The frauds came to
light after the investiga-
tion agency raided the
residence of one of the
suspects Deepak
Parekh, who works as a
clearing agent at Nhava
Sheva. The agency
seized documents con-
taining records of cash
and banking transac-
tions of Parekh with
some officials of Cus-
toms and several others.
The agency has
booked the customs of-
ficials identified as
Alok Kumar, Vinod Ku-
mar, Keshav Pandit, He-
mant Gethe, Dinesh
Kumar and Brijesh Ku-
mar. All were posted as
preventive officers,
Customs at UB centre at
Nhava Sheva between
2020 to 2021.
The private clearing
agents booked in the
case are identified as
Deepak Parekh and his
nephew Ashish Kam-
dar and other unknown
persons. Booked Cus-
toms officials are cur-
rently posted in differ-
ent airports in India
while Alok Kumar is
under suspension as he
was arrested last month
in another case.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Former Ma-
harashtra minister and
Nationalist Congress
Party leader Hasan
Mushrif, who faces a
money laundering case
registered by Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED),
said that he has been
asked by the agency to
come back on March 20
for further inquiry
.
While speaking to re-
porters on Wednesday
,
Mushrif said, I spent
eight hours in the ED of-
fice on Wednesday and
tried to give satisfactory
answers to their ques-
tions. They have asked
me to come back for the
inquiry on Monday
.
Mushrif served as rural
developmentministerin
the previous Maha Vi-
kas Aghadi (MVA) gov-
ernment. He is an MLA
from Kolhapur's Kagal
Assembly constituency
.
The ED conducted
searches at the premis-
es of former Maharash-
tra Home Minister, Anil
Deshmukh. The agency
also issued a summon
to Deshmukh to appear
before them.
The ED claimed that
there was a suspicious
flow of crores of rupees
from two companies,
which did not have sub-
stantial business, to the
Sar Senapati Santaji
Ghorpade Sugar
Factory Ltd.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Mira
Bhayandar Municipal
Corporation (MBMC)
has taken on the task of
revitalizing eight dry
ponds in the twin cities,
following the comple-
tion of retaining walls
and renovation of 10
natural ponds.
The civic administra-
tion expects 100% fund-
ing from the Ministry
of Housing and Urban
Affairs (MoHUA), offi-
cials from the MBMC's
garden department
said.
An expert in environ-
mental matters has
been enlisted by the mu-
nicipal authorities to
create a comprehensive
plan for revitalizing
the area.
The plan will be pre-
sented to Maharashtra
Jeevan Pradhikaran
(MJP) for technical re-
view. There are a total
of 18 natural ponds
across the twin cities.
While 10 have already
been beautified, the re-
maining will be brought
back to life by the civic
administration soon.
According to civic of-
ficials, the rejuvenation
process envisages exca-
vation work, recharg-
ing groundwater, purifi-
cation, the addition of
greenery around the
water body, oxygenat-
ing the pond water and
cultivation of a natural
ecosystem by evolving
food chains.
CBI books Customs officials,
agents for unfair practice
Central agency has registered six separate cases. —FILE PHOTO
Come back for
inquiry on
Monday: ED
tells Mushrif
Mira Bhayandar
civic body to facelift
eight dry ponds
Administration expects 100% funding from Ministry. —FILE PHOTO
Fountains
would be
installed to add
visual appeal to
the ponds and
increase water
movement
(aeration)

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MUMBAI | FRIDAY,
MARCH 17, 2023
The Fashion Connect by First India and
Bharat24- Vision of New India, set the bar
high with the completion of its very
successful previous seasons. The Fashion
Connect season 14 will be held on March 19
at Oaks Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel Dubai.
ith the huge response
and netizens going
gaga over the exem-
plary lineup and digi-
tal readiness, the first
international Fash-
ion Connect scored
an amazing win over the
fashion industry
. Oaks
Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel,
Dubai is all set to host
the Fashion Connect
Season 14 to be held
on March 19, 2023!
Jagdeesh Chan-
dra while con-
g r a t u l a t i n g
brand ambas-
sador Rishee
Miglani and Show director
Lokesh Sharma said “Along
with our endeavour to show-
case the beauty and talent of
charismatic ladies, with Sea-
son 14, we also strive to em-
power women by transform-
ing them into stronger indi-
viduals who are aware of
their credentials. This pag-
eant will be a great contribu-
tor to the welfare of society,
while also working in the
fashion and entertainment
industry. I congratulate the
entire team.”
Fashion Connect is orches-
trated twice a year in March
and September. While the last
season was organised in Lon-
don with the most well-known
designers exhibiting their
magnificent collections, the
latest season is all set to
achieve another milestone in
Dubai! Turn to P10
Fashion Connect Dubai
Wheretradition
meetsfashion!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
W
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA
Stills from the previous seasons of Fashion Connect
Throwback moment: Jagdeesh Chandra greets Sheikh Jumabin Maktoum Al Maktoum.
Also seen are Rupa Khurana and Rishee Miglani during Fashion Connect Season 11 at Dubai

10-11
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
To honor the fascinating
show, renowned designers
Arpita Sulakshana, Wrickie
Angrish, ItsAish by Ishita
Gupta, Escape by Aishwar-
ya and Anju Modi will be
spreading the magic with
their exquisite designs.
Gorgeous beauty Sonal
Sharma will be hosting the
magical evening.
To appreciate the work of
hardworking designers a
felicitation show titled
‘Luxury Lifestyle Awards
2023’ will also be organised.
The fashion event is
known for raising the bar
high each season by a notch.
Where the previous edition
in Dubai saw many celebrat-
ed designers such as Mi-
chael Cinco this season is
expected to be no less.
The season 12 had grand
and opulent collection of
Manish Malhotra who is a
celebrated Indian designer,
costume stylist, entrepre-
neur, revivalist, and coutu-
rier of international repute.
Filmfare Middle East,
Jewelry Partner-Nandita
Shekhawat, Health Partner
- JNU Hospital, Gifting
Partner-Brands For You,
Styling Partner- Shades are
a few among various spon-
sors for Fashion Connect
Season 14 that are looking
forward to make this season
a huge success too.
Rishee Miglani, brand
ambassador, Fashion Con-
nect said, We've worked
really hard to come this far.
So grateful to all our team
and people who've support-
ed us and showered im-
mense love. This wouldn't
have been possible without
the support the of Jagdeesh
Chandra Sir. We're pretty
excited and look forward to
another successful season
of Fashion Connect. I con-
gratulate all the designers
and team.
City First highlights
glimpses of the previous sea-
sons held in Dubai, London
andIndiawhichweregreatly
appreciated by one and all!
FROM PG 1
RECALLING THE BEST
of THE FASHION DAYS
Urvashi Rautela, Michael Cinco and Sunil Grover during the rampwalk
Designer Shalini Naruka with models
Lokesh Sharma
Rishee Miglani
Designer Manish Malhotra walks the ramp during the Fashion Connect Season 12
Rupa Khurana, Rishee Miglani, Suneet Varma and Lokesh Sharma with models
Stills from the previous seasons of Fashion Connect
Sunil Grover
—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

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