17122022_ First India New Delhi.pdf

SHALIMAR BAGH MURDER & ROBBERY
To marry and settle abroad, couple killed wealthy relative
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Madhur
Kundra, 31, and his
partner Amarjot Kaur
Sandhu, 28, were ar-
rested from a hotel in
Amritsar on charges of
killing a 56-year-old
woman and decamping
with cash and jewellery
worth more than Rs 1
crore in Shalimar Bagh
on December 13.
Both the accused
wanted to marry each
other and settle abroad.
said Ravindra Yadav,
Special Commissoner
of Police (Crime). He
said Kundra, who is the
son of the sister-in-law
of the deceased, identi-
fied as Rajni, knew that
the woman was wealthy
and decided to rob her.
The officer said that
after one of the sus-
pects was identified, a
team immediately
rushed to Amritsar,
raided a hotel and ap-
prehended Kundra and
Sandhu there.
Kundra is married
and has a seven-year-
old child. He has an
MBA degree from
Meerut and works as a
medical products dis-
tributor. The co-accused
is a nurse at a hospital
in Amritsar. She got
married in January
2021 but soon after, her
husband left her and
went to Dubai.
“Kundra had good re-
lations with Rajni’s son
Chetan. On November
27, Chetan visited him
and during their con-
versation, Kundra
learnt that Rajni was a
wealthy woman. To ex-
ecute his plan, Kundra
stole the keys of Rajni’s
house from Chetan’s
bag,” the police officer
said.
“On December 13,
they reached her house,
smothered her to death
with a pillow and took
off with jewellery and
cash,” he said.
Accused has MBA degree, is married and
has a child; partner is a nurse who got
married last year but her husband left her
Delhi Police Crime Branch team with the two arrested accused, Madhur Kundra and Amarjot Kaur
Sandhu, in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
RS ADJOURNED AMID
UPROAR BY OPPOSITION
Chhapra: As toll rises to 65, now
Hooch kills 5 in Siwan, 1 in Begusarai
Siwan: Days after the
hoochtragedyinBihar’s
Chhapraclaimedover65
lives, at least 5 people
died after allegedly con-
suming spurious liquor
in the adjoining Siwan
district in the state.
All five deceased are
residents of Brahsthan
and Sondhani villages
of Bhagwanpur Police
Station area. According
to sources, the death
toll is expected to rise.
Angry family members
of the deceased ob-
structed the Siwan-
Chapra Malmalia main
road and undertook a
protest. Meanwhile, in
the Begusarai district,
administration swung
into action after one
person reportedly died
allegedly after consum-
ing liquor. P5
INDIA-CHINA BORDER ROW
JUDICIARY
HOOCH DEATHS
New Delhi: Rajya Sab-
ha was adjourned till
12 noon on Friday
amid uproar as the Op-
position’s request to
hold a discussion on
the India-China border
situation was disal-
lowed by the chair.
Rajya Sabha Deputy
Chairman Harivansh
repeatedly urged
House members to al-
low the proceedings,
citing rules. Congress
MP Randeep Singh
Surjewala earlier gave
a Suspension of Busi-
ness Notice under Rule
267 in Rajya Sabha to
discuss the border sit-
uation with China.
He also asked the
Chairman to ask the
Prime Minister and
the Government to
make a statement on
the issue.
Congress President
and Leader of Opposi-
tion in Rajya Sabha
Mallikarjun Kharge
also sought to raise the
issue in the House.
More on P6
PLA PATROL
WAS ‘FIRMLY
CONTESTED’
BHUTTO’ PAKISTAN’S ‘PAPPU’: BJP
COURT TO HEAR AAFTAB’S
BAIL PLEA ON DECEMBER 17
SC RELEASES MAN SENTENCED
TO 18 YRS FOR POWER THEFT
MLAs CREATE
RUCKUS IN HOUSE
PIL IN SC SEEKS SIT
PROBE IN BIHAR
Kolkata: GOC-in-C
Eastern Command, Lt
Gen Rana Pratap Kalita on
Friday said that the trans-
gression by the People’s
Liberation Army (PLA)
patrol was “contested
firmly”. He also informed
that a flag meeting at the
delegation level at Bumla
has helped in further
resolving the matter. “The
PLA patrol transgressed
and which was contested
very firmly,” he said.
New Delhi: The BJP on Friday slammed Pakistan’s Bilawal
Bhutto for his objectionable comments against Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he represents a “mor-
ally, intellectually and financially bankrupt” nation which
has no credibility due to its support to terrorism. Union
minister Anurag Thakur said Bhutto’s comments might be
an outcome of the pain in Pakistan of its loss to India.
New Delhi: Shraddha Walkar murder case
accused Aaftab Poonawala on Friday moved
an application in Delhi’s Saket Court seeking
bail, which the
court is likely to
hear on Saturday.
Poonawala, who
has been arrested
based on his con-
fession of killing
Walkar and chop-
ping her body into
35 pieces to dispose it of, was arrested last
month and is currently lodged in Tihar jail.
On December 9, he was produced before a
court via video conferencing and his judicial
custody was further extended by 14 days.
New Delhi: The SC on Friday said if it were
not to interfere in matters of personal liberty,
then “what are we here for”, as it ordered
the release of a
man sentenced
to 18 years in jail
for electricity theft
in nine separate
cases.During
the hearing, a
bench headed by
Chief Justice D.Y.
Chandrachud said, “No case is too small for
the Supreme Court and no case is too big
because we have to answer the call of con-
science and the cry of liberty of our citizens,
that is why we are here.”
Patna: Opposition MLAs
created ruckus in the
Bihar Assembly on Friday
as Deputy Chief Minister
Tejashwi Yadav was speaking
in the House on Friday. One
of the Legislators could be
seen carrying a chair.
New Delhi: A petition has
been filed in the Supreme
Court, seeking an inde-
pendent probe by a special
investigation team (SIT) into
a recent hooch tragedy in
Bihar, in which at least 30
people have lost their lives.
Modi Cabinet
approves bill to
decriminalise
minor offences
New Delhi: The Union
Cabinet has approved a
bill to decriminalise mi-
nor offences by ration-
alising related provi-
sions under different
ministries to ensure
ease of doing business,
sources said on Friday
.
Sources said that the
Cabinet discussed the
Ease of Doing Business
and Ease of Living
(Amendment of Provi-
sions)Bill,2022inameet-
ing and has approved it.
The bill proposes to ra-
tionaliseabout110provi-
sions across 35 Acts ad-
ministered by 16 minis-
tries/departments.
One of the sources
said that taking the re-
form agenda to the next
level, the government is
focussing on reducing
the overall compliance
burden for businesses
and citizens.
BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha with legislators shouts slogans
during a protest against Bihar government over the Chhapra
Hooch tragedy, in Patna on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Congress members protest in the well of the Rajya Sabha during Winter Session of Parliament, in
New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
BSE SENSEX
61337.81 461.22
NSE NIFTY
18269.00 145.90
CENTURIAN:
100 DAYS OF
‘UNITING
INDIA’
I was also a little distant from public,
I personally benefited a lot from the Yatra: RaGa
Our Yatra is
another way of
doing politics.
This is
Gandhiji’s way,
and we have
had the best
response in
Rajasthan,” he
said.
Kartikey Dev Singh
Jaipur: Walking his
wayfromKanyakumari
to Kashmir, Rahul Gan-
dhi and his ‘brain-
chaild’ -the Bharat Jodo
Yatra- has completed a
milestone of 100 days
crossing the length of
the nation. During this,
the yatra, which was
launched on September
7 in Kanyakumari, and
its ‘yatri’ Rahul, have
traversed eight states
Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Karnataka, Telangana,
AndhraPradesh,Maha-
rashtra, Madhya
Pradesh and now, Ra-
jasthan. With over 2,800
kilometres under his
belt, Gandhi has man-
aged to catch the atten-
tion of his supporters
as well as detractors.
On completion of 100
days of Bharat Jodo
Yatra, the Gandhi scion
addressed a presser in
Jaipur gave advice to
the Foreign Minister on
the issue of China. He
asserted that Foreign
Minister Jaishankar
should broaden his
thinking and under-
standing. “China is pre-
paring for war. The gov-
ernment is ignoring
this issue and trying to
hide information relat-
edtoit,”hesaid,adding,
“Our government hides
thepreparationsof Chi-
na. The Government of
India does not work
strategically
,itworkson
an event basis. When it
comes to geo politics,
events do not work
there, strength does.”
Rahul said that no
one is asking questions
on China. “China occu-
pied 2 thousand square
kilometersof land.Mar-
tyred 20 soldiers of In-
dia. They are beating
ourjawansinArunachal
Pradesh,” he said.
The day Congress
understands itself,
it will win every
election
Rahul Gandhi said that
there are many reasons
for BJP winning the
elections. “They have
huge money, they
threaten people. We do
not do this and we do
not have these resourc-
es. We don’t have that
much money
. Turn to P8
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, NEW DELHI
MUMBAI
www.firstindia.co.in
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NEW DELHI l SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 108
Bharat Jodo Yatra is getting
strong support in Rajasthan
as lakhs of people from all over
the state are reaching for the
yatra. Rahul Gandhi wants to remove fear
and hatred from the country. This is not a
political yatra
—Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister
Rahul Gandhi walks during the yatra’s leg in Rajasthan
as CM Ashok Gehlot, Govind Singh Dotasra, Sachin Pilot,
Pratap Singh and Danish Abrar accompany him.
EASE OF DOING
BUSINESS
On this day in 1971, India defeated
Pakistan’s army and after that crushing
defeat, his (Bilawal) maternal grandfather
wept bitterly. It seems that Bilawal Bhutto is
probably still in his pain.Such a statement does not
suit the Foreign Minister of Pakistan. The world has
seen the real face of Pakistan
—Anurag Thakur, Union Minister

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2022
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Police have
arrested three men for
allegedly running ille-
gal call centres here
and duping senior citi-
zens in the US .
Accused Jatin Lamba,
Harshad Madaan and
Vikas Gupta trapped US
citizens in the pretext
of providing them tech-
nology support against
“malfunctioning” of
their computers, offi-
cials said Friday
.
Delhi police conduct-
ed overnight raids and
nabeed the accused
whereas their counter-
part Jayant Bhatia was
arrested by Canadian
Law Enforcement
Agency from Toronto
and Kulwinder Singh
was arrested by FBI,
USA from New Jersey,
they said.
Police said Jatin
Lamba with his brother
Gagan Lamba was run-
ning a company from
Ganesh Nagar here
camouflaging as a tech
support company and
used to run call centres
that targeted US citi-
zens. DCP (IFSO, Spe-
cial Cell) Prashant Gau-
tam said Gupta has
been involved in the
scam as calling agent to
provide tech support to
fix the glitch in the com-
puter of the victim.
According to police,
the matter came to light
after Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) ap-
proached Delhi Police
through Interpol Wing
of CBI with details of
cyber criminals operat-
ing full-fledged call cen-
tres from Delhi and ad-
joining areas to defraud
senior citizens of the
US on the pretext of
providing them tech
support against mal-
functioning of their
computers.
According to the in-
formation shared by the
US, there are over 20,000
victims fallen prey to
such schemes of crime
devised and executed by
the criminals based in
India, causing revenue
loss of USD 10 million
to America between
2012 and 2020, police
said.
The officer said pop-
ups were sent to a large
number of targeted sen-
ior citizens who are not
tech-savvy. They would
be alerted to a Microsoft
issue or some type of
fraudulent activity that
must be addressed im-
mediately by calling a
designated telephone
number on the pop-up
advertisement.
3 held for running illegal call centres to dupe US-based sr citizens
MAJOR SUCCESS
lll
The matter came
to light after the
FBI approached
Delhi Police
through Interpol
Wing of the CBI
with details of
cyber criminals
operating
call centres
from Delhi
The team of the Cyber Crime Unit, Intelligence Fusion and
Strategic Operations Unit (IFSO) and Delhi Police Special Cell with
the three arrested accused, Jatin Lamba, Harshad Madaan and
Vikas Gupta, in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
FIRM TRACKED
New Delhi (PTI): A
teacher allegedly hit a
Class 5 girl with a pair
of scissorsandflungher
from the first-floor bal-
cony of a municipal
school, fracturing her
facial bone, officials
said on Friday
.
The teacher was sus-
pended and arrested.
According to the po-
lice, the teacher locked
herself inside a class-
room with students and
“violently” threw water
bottlesbeforeshepicked
up the girl, chop ped her
hair and tossed her from
the balcony
.
According to doctors,
the girl, aged around 11,
has sustained fracture
in a facial bone.
Theincidenttookplace
at around 11 am at the
Delhi Nagar Nigam Ba-
lika Vidyalaya. Papers,
books and bags lay scat-
tered in the classroom
as students ran out in
panic, as she allegedly
eventhreatenedtoharm
some of them, police
said.
Police said the accused
teacher, identified as
Geeta Rani Deshwal
(26), has been arrested,
and added the motive
behind the incident is
not clear yet.
The girl’s father said
his daughter was bleed-
ingaftershewasthrown
by the teacher, and she
sustainedinjuriestoher
jaw and legs.
“We received informa-
tion from the school
about the assault. The
teacher picked up my
daughter and threw her
from the balcony
. She
also cut my daughter’s
hair,” he said
He alleged the teacher
allegedly beat up other
children and even used
belts to harass students.
However, there was no
confirmation from the
police to these allega-
tions.
A senior doctor at the
Hindu Rao Hospital
said the girl had suf-
fered “small injuries in
the scalp region”.
“We conducted a CT
scan of her skull and
brain which has come
normal, and the ultra-
sound too has come nor-
mal. But, there is swell-
ing on her face, so we
repeated the CT, and
found she has sustained
a fracture in a facial
bone. Hence, the patient
has been referred to the
maxillofacial depart-
mentof SafdarjungHos-
pital,” he said.
The girl, otherwise, is
stable and further treat-
ment is on, he added.
The tests and scan re-
ports of the girl are
“normal, and the child
is safe, stable and re-
sponding well,” accord-
ing to the municipal
corporation.
DCP (Central Delhi)
Shweta Chauhan said
Deshwal came to the
class first, then locked
the door from inside and
started threatening stu-
dents.
“She also broke bottles.
She then caught hold of
a girl and hit her head
with a pair of small scis-
sors. She then...threw
her off the balcony,”
Chauhan said.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Conman
Sukesh Chandrashek-
har has once again
claimed that he had paid
money (Rs 60-cr) to Aam
Aadmi Party’s Satyen-
dar Jain for protection
in jail and a promised
Rajya Sabha seat to him.
Sukesh reiterated this
in a statement before a
3-membercommitteeset
by LG VK Saxena and
headed by the principal
secretary (Home) of
Delhi government
Jain in Tihar jail in a
money laundering case
registered by the En-
forcement Directorate,
while Sukesh is current-
ly lodged in Mandoli
jail. The committee
members met Chan-
drashekhar in Mandoli
jail and recorded his
statement, sources said.
As per a report by the
committee, Chan-
drashekhar reiterated
his charge of giving Rs
60 crore to Satyendar
Jain -- Rs 50 crore for se-
curing a Rajya Sabha
seat from AAP and Rs 10
crore as protection
money
.
He has also claimed to
have paid Rs 12.50 crore
to the then Director
General (Prison), Sand-
eep Goel, it said.
He told the commit-
tee that he had all the
Whatsapp chats be-
tween him and Jain con-
firming the amount, its
time of delivery and lo-
cation, and he would
provide this evidence if
needed, sources said.
The conman also
claimed talking to CM
Kejriwal through Jain’s
phone to confirm deliv-
ery of installments of
money paid by him.
Sukesh reiterates giving
`60 cr to Satyender Jain
before LG-appointed panel
Hitting girl with scissors,
teacherthrowsheroffbldg
The accused
teacher also
broke bottles.
She then caught hold
of a girl and hit her
head with a pair of
small scissors. She
then...threw her off the
balcony
—Shweta Chauhan,
DCP, Central Delhi
n Class 5 girl left
with fractured
facial bone
n Police arrest
teacher, MCD
suspends her ACCUSATIONS AGAINST KEJRIWAL
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
High Court directed the
government on Friday
to ensure admission to
children of weaker sec-
tions of society in pri-
vate unaided schools,
observing that it is high
time the judiciary
reaches out to people in-
stead of waiting for
them to reach out to it.
It said these kids are
being forced to knock on
the doors of the court
for availing their funda-
mental right to educa-
tion. The court said all
private unaided schools
concerned shall ensure
no student belonging to
the weaker sections as
defined in Right To Edu-
cation Act and recom-
mended by the Directo-
rate of Education (DoE)
for being admitted in an
academic session shall
be denied admission or
treatedwithconductun-
welcoming of them on
any pretext whatsoever,
including that of suspi-
cion of credentials.
The counsel repre-
senting the children
who were denied admis-
sions by several schools
submitted that to add
insult to injury, the
school gates were liter-
ally shut on the faces of
the shortlisted students
and their parents.
One can just imagine
the humiliation faced by
the young children and
their parents. This
court, as a custodian of
theConstitution,cannot
remain a mute spectator
to the outright bulldoz-
ing of human rights by
those in the noble ser-
viceof impartingeduca-
tion,thusbringingabad
name and repute to the
same, Justice CD Singh
said in an 85-page judg-
ment.
The court further
said: These children
have committed no oth-
er crime but that they
were born in poverty.
This court's conscience
is laden with the woes
of the poor children
and their parents. The
state of affairs is appall-
ing, anguishing and
agonising.”
HCasksgovtto ensureadmissiontoEWSkidsinpvtschools
It is a travesty
of justice ...
failure on the
part of the State... De-
spite the children pos-
sessing confirmed ad-
mission letters, schools
refused to admit them.
—Delhi High Court
New Delhi (PTI):
Stating that the city
government ought
not to resile from the
clear announcement
made for ex-gratia
payment, the Delhi
High Court has asked
the authorities to
take a decision on
payment of Rs 1 crore
compensation to the
family of a city police
constable who died
due to COVID-19.
Justice Prathiba M
Singh, while dealing
with a petition by the
wife of the deceased,
said there was a
“clear communica-
tion” by the authori-
ties as well as press
clippings, which
leave no manner of
doubt that the ex-gra-
tia amount of Rs 1
crore was announced
for the deceased by
Delhi government.
The petitioner’s
husband passed away
on May 5, 2020 when
she was expecting a
child. The deceased, a
young Delhi Police
Constable, was post-
ed at Deep Chand
Bandhu Hospital to
ensure adherence to
COVID-19 lockdown
measures.
Delhi govt can’t resile from
CM’s announcement of
`1cr for Covid death: HC
Noida (PTI): Three for-
eignersstayinginGreat-
er Noida have been ar-
rested allegedly for be-
ing involved in cyber
fraudsandwerefoundto
have in their possession
a fake passport made in
the name of filmstar
Aishwarya Rai Bach-
chan, a senior police of-
ficer said on Friday
.
The police had lodged
an FIR of fraud on the
complaint of a retired
Army colonel who was
duped of Rs 1.81 crore.
The investigation led
to the three accused two
from Nigeria and one
from Ghana, police said.
DCP (Greater Noida)
Abhishek Verma said
during the arrest, police
alsorecoveredUSD3,000
(around Rs 2.5 lakh) and
10,500 pounds (around
Rs 10.60 lakh) from the
three men’s possession.
The police also seized
fake Indian currency
notes worth Rs 10.76
crore, in addition to doz-
ens of bundles of fake
US dollar and British
pound bills, he said.
“The case of fraud
with the retired Army
officer was thoroughly
probed and three main
accused in the case all
foreign nationals were
arrested,” Verma said.
“When their comput-
ers were examined dur-
ing probe, we found fake
visa and fake passport
copies from them. One
of the fake passports
purportedly had the pic-
ture of a popular ac-
tress,” the officer said.
New Delhi (PTI): The
board of Delhi Metro
RailCorporationhasap-
provedtheraisingof the
equity share capital of
DMRC by way of the
rights issue, to be sub-
scribed equally by both
the stakeholders -- the
Centre and the Delhi
government.
The funds raised will
be to meet the liability
arising out of an arbi-
tral award of 2017 in fa-
vour of Delhi Airport
Metro Express Private
Ltd (DAMEPL). A rights
issue is an invitation to
existing shareholders to
purchaseadditionalnew
shares in the company
.
New Delhi (PTI): A
court here on Friday ac-
quitted four people ac-
cused of rioting in 2020,
saying charges against
them were not proved
beyond a reasonable
doubt.
The court was hear-
ing a case regarding the
2020 northeast Delhi ri-
ots against Dinesh Ya-
dav, Babu, Sandeep, and
Tinku, which was regis-
tered on the basis of five
complaints.
Theaccusedwerepart
of the mob which com-
mitted rioting in the
Johripur Puliya locality
on February 25, 2020, the
prosecution said.
“I find that charges
against the accused, in
this case, are not proved
beyonddoubt.Hence,ac-
cused persons are ac-
quittedof allthecharges
levelled against them in
thiscase,”AddlSessions
Judge Pulastya Pra-
machala said.
The court said though
formation of unlawful
assembly, riot, and van-
dalism along with inju-
ries to several people
were “well established,”
as far as identification
of the accused in the ri-
otous mob was con-
cerned, several witness-
es did not support the
prosecution’s case.
Court acquits 4 of rioting
with Hindu mob in 2020
‘NO MORE
DELAY’
The court said the
present case was
“hard” and required
an empathetic con-
sideration and pay-
ment of compen-
sation cannot be
delayed further. The
deceased cop’s wife
has submitted that
she ran from pillar
to post to secure
the compensation
promised by CM
Kejriwal in a tweet
on May 7, 2020
after the death of
her husband.
Cyberfraud:3foreignersheldwith
fake passport of Aishwarya Rai
The arrested were identified as Eke Uferemvukwe,
Okoloi Damion, both from Nigeria, and Adwin
Collines, who is from Ghana, police said.
To pay DAMEPL,
Metro to raise
equity share cap
DCP, Central Delhi, Shweta Chauhan at the MCD-run Prathmik
Vidyalaya in Model Basti area on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI

CAPITOL
03
New Delhi (PTI):
Scores of BJP leaders
and workers staged a
protest near Pakistan
High Commission here
on Friday over Pakistan
Foreign Minister Bila-
wal Bhutto's remarks
against Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
The protesters also
demanded an apology
for Bhutto's 'insensible'
remarks.
The protesters held
BJP flags and placards
some of which read: 'Pa-
kistan aukaat ma aao
and maafi mango' (Paki-
stan stay in your limits
and apologise) and 'Pa-
kistan hosh mein aayo'
(Wake up Pakistan).
Lashing out at Bhutto
for his personal remark
against Modi, a party
leader said, “We con-
demn Bhutto's remarks.
How could he use such
a language against
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi. He should al-
ways remember that his
grandfather begged In-
dia for forgiveness. Pa-
kistanshouldbethrown
out of the United Na-
tions for attacking the
Indian leader. They har-
bour terrorists, said a
party leader.
Another leader said
Bhutto should not have
used such words for In-
dian leaders.
We won't tolerate
such insensible state-
ment against our lead-
er. Pakistan should
apologise, said Tahir
Khan. Bhutto made the
comments following In-
dia's External Affairs
minister S Jaishankar's
sharp attack on Paki-
stan over its support to
terrorism at the UN Se-
curity Council meeting.
Bhutto claimed it has
lost more lives to terror-
ism than India and thus
there is no reason for
Pakistan to support ter-
rorism. He further said
that while Osama Bin
Laden is dead, the
butcher of Gujarat is
still alive and was even
banned from entering
the USA before becom-
ing the PM of India.
“Political parties,
civil society and com-
mon people in Pakistan,
have been victims of
perpetrators of terror-
ism. We have lost far
more lives to terrorism
than India had. Why,
why, would we want our
own people to suffer?
We absolutely do not....I
would like to remind
Minister of External
Affairs of India that
Laden is dead but the
butcher of Gujarat lives
and he is the prime min-
ister of India. He was
banned from entering
this country until he be-
came prime Minister.
This is the PM of RSS
and the foreign minis-
ter of RSS. What is
RSS? It draws inspira-
tion from Hitler's SS,
said Bhutto.
BJPprotestsagainstBhutto’sremarksonPM
Demands apology for Pak foreign minister’s ‘insensible’ remarks against Modi in which he had called him the butcher of Gujarat
BJP supporters being stopped by police during a protest over the remarks by Pakistan Foreign
Minister Bilawal Bhutto on PM Modi, outside Pakistan High Commission on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
This is the PM of RSS and the foreign
minister of RSS. What is RSS? It draws
inspiration from Hitler’s SS.
—Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pak Foreign Minister
Labourers prepare food at roadside before leaving for work during a cold winter morning, in New Delhi on Friday. (R) Homeless people have a meal at a night shelter (Rain Basera) on Friday
morning. Ahead of the G20 summit, homeless people will reportedly be shifted to shelter homes run by the government. —PHOTOS BY PTI
New Delhi (PTI): Newly-elected AAP municipal
councillors are cleaning every nook
and corner of Delhi along with san-
itationworkers,CMArvindKejriwal
said on Friday and asserted that all
councillors should get involved in
sanitation activities.
In a tweet he also shared a post by
acouncillorfromhispartywhohadtakentoTwitter
to share an image of a spot in her ward, before and
after its cleaning.
For a few days, such pictures are being received
from many areas. The newly elected councillors of
'AAP' are cleaning every nook and corner of Delhi
alongwiththesanitationworkers.Theseemployees
were earlier called bad. They are doing such a good
job today
. All councillors should get involved in
cleaning their area like this, Kejriwal tweeted.
Sanitationwasoneof themajorpollplanksof the
AAP in the keenly-watched municipal elections.
SURVIVAL OF THE HOMELESS
‘Councillors cleaning
nook corner of Del’
Gang of 3 kidnaps man for dog,
frees him as police start search
First India Bureau
Noida: An unusual
case has emerged from
Greater Noida where a
man was kidnapped be-
cause the kidnappers
wanted his dog. Three
men were charged in
the case, which took
place in Greater Noi-
da's Alpha2 area on
Wednesday evening.
The kidnappers have
been identified as
Vishal Kumar, Lalit
andMonty
,allresidents
of Aligarh, according
to sources. The men
used a Mahindra Scor-
pio SUV to kidnap Ra-
hul Pratap, who was
taken to Aligarh.
His brother Shub-
ham told the police
that the three men
reached their house in
Unitech Horizon soci-
ety and demanded that
Rahul hand over his
pet to them, which he
declined.
This resulted in an
argument between
themandthethreemen
then forced Rahul into
their Scorpio and sped
away
.
Reports said one of
the kidnappers used
Rahul's phone to call
his family
. He told them
to hand over the dog or
they will kill him.
Sources said the gang
released Rahul on the
road near Aligarh after
learning that a case has
been filed and cops are
looking for them.
Rahul made it to
Greater Noida in morn-
ing and reached the
Beta-2 police station
and filed a complaint
against the three.
The police launched
an investigation after
registering a case un-
derSection364(kidnap-
ping) of IPC. The cops
are looking for the men
who are on the run.
The police said they
will look at the motive
behind the incident.
Delhi government has
prepared a new school
cabpolicythatwillallow
private cars to be regis-
tered as commercial ve-
hicles and ferry school-
children, sources said.
Under the policy, the
transport department
plans to allow owners of
private cars to operate
their vehicles as com-
mercial ones by making
modifications like in-
stalling speed gover-
nors, and roof carriers.
The policy shall be
placed in the public do-
main after it is vetted by
all departments. Cur-
rently
, if someone wants
to run a cab for school
children, they are sup-
posed to buy a new vehi-
cle and register it under
the school cab category
.
New Delhi (ANI): Po-
lice arrested a man for
allegedly killing his
brotherandattempting
to dispose of his body
in Mangolpuri area.
The 26-year-old man,
Lalit Kumar, on
Wednesdaywalkedinto
a police station and
confessed to killing his
brotherJaikishanalias
Jaichand, 23, and dis-
posing of his body with
the help of their father,
policesaid.“OnDecem-
ber 14 at about 2.15 am,
one Lalit Kumar came
to police station Man-
golpuri and disclosed
that he murdered his
brotherJaikishanalias
Jaichand, son of Om-
parkash of Mangolpu-
ri, and offered to locate
the body which he had
thrown in a park near
his house,” Police said.
According to Lalit,
his brother was a drug
addict and used to fre-
quently pick up quar-
rels with family mem-
bers over money
.
After noting Lalit’s
confession, the Station
House Officer of Man-
golpuri police staton
rushed to the spot with
a team and found Jaik-
ishan’s body wrapped
in a plastic sheet near
Lalit’s house.
According to Lalit’s
confession, On Decem-
ber 12 evening, Jaikis-
han beat up his moth-
er after which she left
the house. The next
morning after his fa-
ther Omparkash (60)
and another brother
left for work at the
shoe factory where
they were employed,
Lalit hit the deceased’s
head with a hammer
and hid the body un-
der the bed.
Upon Omparkash’s
return home, Lalit and
heattemptedtodispose
of Jaikishan’sbodybut
failedandhadtoreturn
home. His mother also
returned home on
Tuesday evening and
upon her request Lalit
went to the police sta-
tion and confessed, po-
lice said.
New govt policy:
Pvt cars can be
converted into
school cabs
Man kills drug addict brother,
comes to police stn to confess
The father helped to
dispose of his son’s
body, which was found
near their house
The police expressed confidence that the three
men will be caught soon. Rahul, the victim,
meanwhile, is back with his family

PERSPECTIVE
04
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
One who sees inaction in action, and
action in inaction, is intelligent
among men. —Bhagavad Gita
Rajnath Singh@rajnathsingh
Visited the War Memorial on Vijay
Diwas today. Paid homage to
Indian Armed Forces personnel
who courageously fought in the
1971 War and laid down their lives
in service to the nation.
TOP TWEETS
Nitin Gadkari@nitin_gadkari
Congratulations to Team @
DRDO_India for successfully
carrying out the night trials of
nuclear-capable ballistic missile
#Agni5. This is another important
step in the direction of Prime
Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji’s
clarion call for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
Will 2023 Be a Year of Economic Crisis?
ar in Ukraine.
Protests in Chi-
na and Iran. En-
ergy shortages
in Europe. Pro-
tectionism in the United
States. Skyrocketing debt
in developing countries.
And soaring inflation and
slowing growth almost eve-
rywhere. The last 12
months have piled one
challenge for the global
economy on top of another.
Multiple plausible sce-
narios may trigger what
would qualify as an “eco-
nomic crisis” in 2023. If the
war in Ukraine escalates
further, or tensions with
China – for example, over
Taiwan – intensify, supply
chains may be affected,
causing shortages and
price increases. Cyberat-
tacks can disrupt key infra-
structure at any time and
anywhere, with potentially
significant repercussions.
And since the financial sys-
temisasfragile,dangerous,
and distorted as it has ever
been (perhaps even more
so), a crisis there is certain-
lypossible.Regulatorshave
repeatedly missed opportu-
nities to reform the system
since the 2007-2009 crisis,
making it clear that “fur-
ther crises will come.”
An enormous buildup of
risks across the financial
system – often ignored by
regulators and investors,
onlytoemergesuddenly–is
concerning. Many Europe-
an banks already appear
quite weak. According to a
2018 study, “off-balance-
sheet” debt levels have
grown since 2007. A recent
report shows that there is
$65 trillion in hidden US-
dollar debt in foreign-ex-
change markets – a much
larger sum than prior to
2008 – and points to other
risks. According to the
World Bank, since 2000, the
world’s poorest countries
have been spending the
highest share of their ex-
port revenues on debt-ser-
vice payments to rich coun-
tries, and debt-related risks
are rising in low- and mid-
dle-income economies as
well. Central banks rou-
tinely intervene to calm
turbulent markets, as the
Bank of England recently
did to prop up the govern-
ment-bond (gilt) market
and protect pension funds.
But a crisis involving mul-
tiple jurisdictions and key
institutions with unsus-
tainablecommitmentsmay
not be easily contained.
SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE
W
A recent report shows that there is $65 trillion in
hidden US-dollar debt in foreign-exchange markets
– a much larger sum than prior to 2008 – and points
to other risks. According to the World Bank, since 2000,
the world’s poorest countries have been spending the
highest share of their export revenues on debt-service
payments to rich countries
l Vol 2 l Issue No.108 l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Impressions Printing and Packaging Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59, Noida-201301.
Published at G-20, 3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474. Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
CHINA’S NEW SPACE STATION
OPENS FOR BUSINESS
The International Space Station is no longer the only place where humans can live in orbit
n Nov. 29, 2022, the Shen-
zhou 15 mission launched
from China’s Gobi Desert
carrying three taikonauts
– the Chinese word for as-
tronauts. Six hours later,
they reached their desti-
nation, China’s recently
completed space station,
called Tiangong, which
means “heavenly palace”
in Mandarin. The three
taikonauts replaced the
existing crew that helped
wrap up construction.
With this successful mis-
sion, China has become
just the third nation to op-
erate a permanent space
station.
China’s space station is
an achievement that so-
lidifies the country’s posi-
tion alongside the U.S. and
Russia as one of the
world’s top three space
powers. As scholars of
space law and space policy
who lead the Indiana Uni-
versity Ostrom Work-
shop’s Space Governance
Program, we have been
following the develop-
ment of the Chinese space
station with interest.
Unlike the collabora-
tive, U.S.-led International
Space Station, Tiangong
is entirely built and run
by China. The successful
opening of the station is
the beginning of some ex-
citing science. But the sta-
tion also highlights the
country’s policy of self-
reliance and is an impor-
tant step for China toward
achieving larger space
ambitions among a chang-
ing landscape of power
dynamics in space.
CAPABILITIES OF A
CHINESE STATION
The Tiangong space sta-
tion is the culmination of
three decades of work on
theChinesemannedspace
program. The station is
180 feet (55 meters) long
and is comprised of three
modules that were
launched separately and
connected in space. These
include one core module
where a maximum of six
taikonauts can live and
two experiment modules
for a total of 3,884 cubic
feet (110 cubic meters) of
space, about one-fifth the
size of the International
Space Station. The station
also has an external ro-
botic arm, which can sup-
port activities and experi-
ments outside the station,
and three docking ports
for resupply vehicles and
manned spacecraft.
Like China’s aircraft
carriers and other space-
craft, Tiangong is based
on a Soviet-era design – it
is pretty much a copy of
the Soviet Mir space sta-
tion from the 1980s. But
the Tiangong station has
been heavily modernized
and improved.
The Chinese space sta-
tion is slated to stay in
orbit for 15 years, with
plans to send two six-
month crewed missions
and two cargo missions to
it annually. The science
experiments have already
begun, with a planned
study involving monkey
reproduction commenc-
ing in the station’s bio-
logical test cabinets.
Whether the monkeys
will cooperate is an en-
tirely different matter.
SCIENCE AND A
STEPPINGSTONE
The main function of the
Tiangong station is to per-
form research on life in
space. There is a particu-
lar focus on learning
about the growth and de-
velopment of different
types of plants, animals
and microorganisms, and
there are more than 1,000
experiments planned for
the next 10 years.
Tiangong is strictly
Chinese made and man-
aged, but China has an
open invitation for other
nations to collaborate on
experiments aboard Tian-
gong. So far, nine projects
from 17 countries have
been selected.
Although the new sta-
tion is small compared to
the 16 modules of the In-
ternational Space Station,
Tiangong and the science
done aboard will help sup-
port China’s future space
missions. In December
2023, China is planning to
launch a new space tele-
scope called Xuntian. This
telescope will map stars
and supermassive black
holes among other pro-
jects with a resolution
about the same as the
Hubble Space Telescope
but with a wider view. The
telescope will periodically
dock with the station for
maintenance.
China also has plans to
launch multiple missions
to Mars and nearby com-
ets and asteroids with the
goal of bringing samples
back to Earth. And per-
haps most notably, China
has announced plans to
build a joint Moon base
with Russia – though no
timeline for this mission
has been set.
ASTROPOLITICS
A new era in space is un-
folding. The Tiangong sta-
tion is beginning its life
just as the International
Space Station, after more
than 30 years in orbit, is
set to be decommissioned
by 2030.
The International
Space Station is the clas-
sic example of collabora-
tive ideals in space – even
at the height of the Cold
War, the U.S. and the So-
viet Union came together
to develop and launch the
beginnings of the space
station in the early 1990s.
By comparison, China
and the U.S. have not been
so jovial in their orbital
dealings.
In the 1990s, when Chi-
na was still launching U.S.
satellites into orbit, con-
cerns emerged that China
was accidentally acquir-
ing – or stealing – U.S.
technology. These con-
cern in part led to the
Wolf Amendment, passed
by Congress in 2011,
which prohibits NASA
from collaborating with
China in any capacity.
China’s space program
was not mature enough to
be part of the construc-
tion of the International
Space Station in the 1990s
and early 2000s. By the
time China had the ability
to contribute to the Inter-
national Space Station,
the Wolf Amendment pre-
vented it from doing so.
It remains to be seen
how the map of space col-
laboration will change in
the coming years. The
U.S.-led Artemis Program
that aims to build a self-
sustaining habitat on the
Moon is open to all na-
tions, and 19 countries
have joined as partners so
far. China has also recent-
ly opened its joint Moon
mission with Russia to
other nations. This was
partly driven by cooling
Chinese-Russian relations
but also due to the fact that
because of the war in
Ukraine, Sweden, France
and the European Space
Agency canceled planned
missions with Russia.
As tensions on Earth
rise between China, Rus-
sia and the West, and
some of that jockeying
spills over into space, it
remains to be seen how
the decommissioning of
the International Space
Station and operation of
the Tiangong station will
influence the China-U.S.
relationship.
An event like the fa-
mous handshake between
U.S. astronauts and Rus-
sian cosmonauts while
orbiting Earth in 1975 is a
long way off, but collabo-
ration between the U.S.
and China could do much
to cool tensions on and
above the Earth.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
China’s space station is an
achievement that solidifies
the country’s position
alongside the U.S. and
Russia as one of the world’s
top three space powers. As
scholars of space law and
space policy who lead the
Indiana University Ostrom
Workshop’s Space
Governance Program, we
have been following the
development of the Chinese
space station with interest.
Unlike the collaborative,
U.S.-led International Space
Station, Tiangong is
entirely built and run by
Chinahe successful opening
of the station is the
beginning of some exciting
science But the station also
highlights the country’s
policy of self-reliance
O

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INDIA
05
Chhapra (ANI): The
toll of dead in Bihar’s
Chhapra Hooch tragedy
has soared to 65, with
more people succumb-
ing after consuming
spurious liquor in Sa-
ran district.
Masrakh Station
House Officer (SHO)
Ritesh Mishra and Con-
stable Vikesh Tiwari
were suspended imme-
diately after the Tues-
day night tragedy on
the recommendation of
Marhaura Sub-Divi-
sional Police Officer,
Yogendra Kumar. Most
deaths have occurred
over Wednesday and
Thursday creating an
uproar both at the state
and national level as
sale and consumption
of alcohol have been
banned in Bihar by the
Nitish Kumar govern-
ment since April 2016.
Nitish Kumar’s for-
mer ally
, BJP
, have come
down heavily on him
with MPs of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
from the state raising
the issue in the Rajya
Sabha on Thursday.
Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar, when ques-
tioned regarding the
Chhapra Hooch tragedy
,
on Thursday told media
that “if someone con-
sumes liquor, they will
die”, that has not gone
down well with victim
families among others.
“The liquor ban has
benefitted several peo-
ple. A large number of
people have given up al-
cohol...This is good.
Several people have
happily accepted this.
But there are some trou-
blemakers. I have told
officers to identify the
actual troublemakers
and nab them,” Kumar
told the media in Patna.
Bihar Excise Minis-
ter Sunil Kumar have
also promised stringent
action against the cul-
prits responsible for the
deaths. “Process of fill-
ing an FIR is underway
.
I have spoken over the
phone with SP,” Sunil
Kumar had said on
Wednesday
.
Hours after the first
few deaths were report-
ed from Chhapra, the
opposition had on
Wednesday attacked the
Bihar Chief Minister in
the state assembly lead-
ing Kumar to lose his
cool and scream back at
the BJP leaders.
The Chhapra Hooch
tragedy was one of the
issues raised in the Ra-
jya Sabha on Thursday,
leading to the adjourn-
ment of the House
thrice within a short
span of 40 minutes as
both the Treasury
benches and the opposi-
tion raised their issues
together with the com-
mencement of the Zero
Hour.
Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha and BJP leaders march to Raj Bhawan to protest over the Bihar
hooch tragedy during the Winter Session of the State Assembly, in Patna on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
DEATH TOLL RISES TO 65
BIHAR HOOCH TRAGEDY
Most deaths occurred on Wednesday Thursday
creating an uproar at the state and national level
In similar incident, 6 people died due to hooch
in Siwan and Begusarai districts of Bihar
Now, spurious
liquor kills 5 in
Siwan, 1 in
Begusarai
Siwan (ANI): Days af-
ter the hooch tragedy in
Bihar’s Chhapra
claimed over 50 lives, at
least 5 people died after
allegedly consuming
spurious liquor in the
adjoining Siwan dis-
trict in the state.
All five deceased are
residents of Brahsthan
and Sondhani villages
of Bhagwanpur Police
Station area. According
to sources, the death
toll is expected to rise.
Angry family members
of the deceased ob-
structed the Siwan-
Chapra Malmalia main
road and undertook a
protest. The distance
between Siwan and
Chhapra is around 10
kilometers. The de-
ceased have been identi-
fied as Mahesh Rai (40),
Sambhu Yadav (36),
Amir Manjhi (45), and
Awadh Manjhi (36) of
Brahmasthan Village
while Ramendra Pandit
hailed from Sondhani
village. According to lo-
cals, the death toll is
expected to go up and
the condition of some
people are stated to be
serious.
The bodies of the de-
ceased are being trans-
ported to Sadar Hospi-
tal in Siwan. Police Cir-
cle Inspector reached
the Sadar Hospital with
a large police posse. He,
however, refused to
comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, in the Be-
gusarai district, admin-
istration swung into
action after one person
reportedly died alleg-
edly after consuming
liquor. Two persons
identified as Deepak
Kumar and Shivam Ku-
mar- who consumed al-
coholwiththedeceased,
are being interrogated
by police.
BIHAR IS UNDER ‘POLICE RAJ’,
FAMILIES ARE HIDING BODIES: SKM
New Delhi: Former Deputy CM and BJP MP Sushil
Kumar Modi lashed out at Nitish Kumar-led Bihar govt
over the hooch tragedy in Chapra, and said the state
was under ‘police raj’ and the number
of deaths in the recent hooch tragedy
was much higher. While speaking to a
section of media, Modi said, “More than
100 people died after drinking spurious,
illicit liquor. But, the numbers are being
hidden. Even in Bihar, the media has
put the death toll at around 50. The people are hiding
the bodies of their kins fearing police inquiry. There is
police raj in Bihar. This is not the first tragedy in Bihar.”
MP RUDY HOLDS BIHAR
GOVT RESPONSIBLE
FOR HOOCH TRAGEDY
Chhapra: Bharatiya Janata
Party MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy
visited the village in his
parliamentary constitu-
ency of Chhapra in Bihar and
met with family members
of those who died in the
hooch tragedy that has so
far taken at least 50 lives, as
he accused the Nitish Kumar
government’s policy for the
lives lost.
NHRC NOTICE TO BIHAR
GOVT, STATE POLICE
New Delhi: The National Hu-
man Rights Commission has
issued notices to Bihar govt
and state’s police chief over
the Saran hooch tragedy in
which at least 30 people have
died, officials said on Friday.
The sale and consumption
of alcohol was completely
banned in Bihar in April 2016.
NO COMPENSATION TO THOSE WHO DIE AFTER
CONSUMING LIQUOR: BIHAR CM NITISH IN ASSEMBLY
Patna: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Friday said no com-
pensation will be given if a person dies after consuming
spurious liquor. The CM’s remark comes amid severe
criticism from the Opposition, led by the BJP, in the
wake of the rising hooch deaths in the Chhapra district.
“No compensation will be provided to people who die
after consuming spurious liquor. We have been appeal-
ing to you not to drink. If you drink, you will die. Those
who speak against prohibition will not bring any good
to the people,” the CM said in the Assembly on Friday.
PLEA SEEKS SIT PROBE INTO HOOCH
TRAGEDY, COMPENSATION FOR KIN
New Delhi: A petition has been filed in the Supreme
Court, seeking an independent probe by a special
investigation team (SIT) into a recent hooch tragedy in
Bihar, in which several people have lost their lives. The
Saran hooch tragedy toll climbed to 60 on Friday, the
highest since Bihar went dry more than six years ago.
However, about the death toll, Saran District Magis-
trate Rajesh Meena told PTI over the phone that the
number of people who have died in the tragedy since
Tuesday night has gone up to 30.
Liquor ban has
benefitted several.
A large number of
people have given up
alcohol... Several people have
happily accepted this. There
are some troublemakers. I
have told officers to identify
the actual troublemakers
and nab them.
—Nitish Kumar,
Bihar chief minister
IN THE COURTYARD
SC GRANTS BAIL TO
MAN ACCUSED OF
RAPING MINOR
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court has granted bail
to a 20-year-old man
who has been accused
of kidnapping and raping
a minor girl. A bench of
justices BR Gavai and
Vikram Nath noted that
the accused has been in
jail for more than two
years.
PILs USED TO TARGET
INFRASTRUCTURE
PROJECTS: SC
New Delhi: Public
interest litigation (PIL)
matters are being in-
creasingly used to target
infrastructure projects,
the Supreme Court
observed on Friday while
refusing to entertain a
plea challenging the re-
development of a plot of
land in Mumbai.
HC REFUSES TO STAY ADHIKARI’S
PROTECTION AGAINST FIRs
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday refused to
stay the immunity of the Leader of Opposition in West
Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari against future FIRs
granted earlier by a single-judge bench of the same
court. On Thursday, the West Bengal government first
approached the Supreme Court with the plea to vacate
the immunity granted to Adhikari on December 8, by
Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice
Rajasekhar Mantha.
Women at top positions will boost
India’s resolve for development: Prez
First India Bureau
New Delhi: President
Droupadi Murmu on
Friday said more wom-
en at senior positions
and in leadership roles
will strengthen India’s
resolve for inclusive de-
velopment.
She was addressing
the probationers of the
Indian Statistical Ser-
vice who had called on
the president at Rash-
trapati Bhavan here.
She asked them to do
their duty with sinceri-
ty and commitment.
“Your contribution in
steering India towards
greater progress and
development is going to
be huge. The informa-
tion and data analysis
that you provide will be
instrumental in making
and implementing
policies which ensure
that no one is left be-
hind in the journey of
development,” the pres-
ident said.
Murmu said she was
also delighted to know
that lady officers com-
prise over 40 per cent of
the officers present at
the ceremony
.
“More women at sen-
ior positions and in
leadership roles will
definitely strengthen
India’s resolve for in-
clusive development,”
the president added.
Murmu said India is
at the cusp of a new
phase of socio-econom-
ic transformation.
“Increased penetra-
tion of digital technolo-
gies has brought trans-
parency and efficiency
in the government func-
tioning and has trans-
formed the e-govern-
ment landscape. The
flow of data through
these initiatives pro-
vides support to the gov-
ernment in taking effec-
tive decisions,” she said.
Addressing the offic-
ers, the president said
policy formulation and
execution cannot be ef-
fective without the right
statistical analysis.
—With PTI inputs
President Droupadi Murmu meets with probationers of Indian Railways, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in
New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Now, Mizoram
Dy Speaker
Lairinawma
resigns, too
Aizawl (Agencies):
FourdaysafterMizoram
Social Welfare and Trib-
al Affairs
Minister K
B e i ch h u a
re s i g n e d ,
Assembly
D e p u t y
Speaker Lairinawma
also quit his post on Fri-
day
. Though officially
no reason was cited
about the resignations,
sources in the CM’s of-
fice said that Mizoram
cabinet is likely to be
reshuffled soon.
Beichhua, who was
also holding Excise and
Narcotics, Sericulture,
Animal Husbandry and
Veterinary Depart-
ments, had said that he
was told by Chief Min-
ister Zoramthanga, who
is also the ruling Mizo
National Front (MNF)
President, to resign as
he wanted to reshuffle
the cabinet.
Newly elected HP MLAs to
take oath on December 22
Shimla (PTI): The
newly elected Himachal
Pradesh MLAs will take
oath on December 22
when the three-day win-
ter session of the state
assembly begins, a noti-
fication issued here on
Friday said.
This would be the
first session of the 14th
Vidhan Sabha.
According to the no-
tice, the Speaker will be
elected on December 23,
which will be followed
by the Governor’s ad-
dress, a debate on which
wouldbeheldonDecem-
ber 24 and it would be
passed on the same day
.
Senior most member
of the newly-elected as-
sembly Chander Ku-
mar, who is a six-time
MLA and former Lok
Sabha member, was ap-
pointed as pro-tem
Speaker on Wednesday
.
He would administer
the oath to the newly
elected MLAs and func-
tion as the chairman of
Vidhan Sabha till the
new speaker is elected.
Himachal Pradesh
Governor Rajendra
Vishwanath Arlekar
had allocated portfolios
to the newly-elected
Chief Minister Sukh-
vinder Singh Sukhu
and his deputy Mukesh
Agnihotri. Meanwhile,
the cabinet expansion
is awaited.
In the November 12
elections, the Congress
wrested the hill state
from the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) by
winning 40 seats in the
68-member assembly,
whereas the Bharatiya
Janata Party won 25
seats with three inde-
pendent candidates also
emerging victorious.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu being
welcomed during his visit to Himachal Sadan, in New Delhi on
Wednseday. —FILE PHOTO
Shah to chair
EZC meet in
Kolkata today
New Delhi (PTI): Un-
ionHomeMinisterAmit
Shah will chair a meet-
ing of the Eastern Zonal
Council (EZC) in Kolka-
ta on Saturday where is-
sues like security along
the inter-state borders,
smuggling along the In-
dia-Bangladesh border,
and connectivity will be
discussed, officials said.
The EZC comprises
West Bengal, Bihar,
Jharkhand, and Odis-
ha. It will be attended by
CMs, ministers, chief
secretaries, principal
secretaries, and senior
officers of the member
states and senior offic-
ers of central govern-
ment, a home ministry
official said.
The meeting of the
council is also expected
todiscusspowerandoth-
er issues of common in-
terests, the official said.
As per the established
procedure and practice,
the zonal council meet-
ing is preceded by a
standing committee of
the council, in which the
agenda items to be
placedbeforethecouncil
are scrutinised and list-
ed in order of priority
.
SHAH REVIEWS GUJ’S
PREPAREDNESS FOR
2036 OLYMPICS
Ahmedabad: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Friday held a
meeting with Gujarat
Chief Minister Bhu-
pendra Patel and top
government officials
to review the state’s
preparedness to host the
2036 Summer Olympic
Games. Notably, the BJP
government in Gujarat
had earlier announced it
was aiming to bag host-
ing rights for the 2036
Olympic Games.
Amit Shah

INDIA
06
PM holds telephonic conversation with Russian Prez
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Friday had a
telephonic conversa-
tion with Russian Pres-
ident Vladimir Putin,
where he reiterated
that dialogue and diplo-
macy is the only way
forward to resolve the
ongoing conflict with
Ukraine. Theconversa-
tion between the two
leaders was a follow-up
to their meeting in Uz-
bekistan’s Samarkand,
on the sidelines of the
Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO)
Summit, in Sept this
year. Both the leaders
reviewed several areas
of bilateral coopera-
tion like energy coop-
eration, trade and in-
vestments, defence and
security cooperation.
Modi also briefed Pu-
tin about the key focus
areas of India’s ongo-
ing G20 presidency,
sources said. The PM
also looked forward to
both countries working
together during India’s
chairship of the SCO.
New York: India looks
forward to being back
in the UN Security
Council, External Af-
fairs S Jaishankar said
here on Thursday as he
declared the country’s
candidature as non-
permanent member for
the 2028-29 term.
Jaishankar arrived
here on Tuesday to pre-
side over two signature
events on counter-ter-
rorism and reformed
multilateralism held
under India’s current
Presidency of the UN
Security Council, be-
fore the curtains come
down this month on the
country’s two-year ten-
ure as elected member
of the 15-nation top or-
gan of the world body
.
“I’m glad to inform
you that we have de-
clared our candidature
for our next tenure at
the Council for 2028-29
and we look forward to
being back, he said as
India prepares to wrap
up its 2021-22 tenure as
elected Council mem-
ber on December 31.
Jaishankar said that
December is the last
month of India’s cur-
rent membership of
the Security Council,
the eighth time that In-
dia sat at the powerful
horse-shoe table.
“During this eighth
innings of ours, we
have attempted to bring
many themes of con-
temporary relevance
like maritime security,
technologyinUNpeace-
keeping, reforms of the
UN and counterterror-
ism to the center of the
agenda and of the de-
bate in the UN, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Vladimir Putin. —FILE PHOTO
India announces candidature for UNSC membership for 2028-29
United Nations Security Council.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The clash
along the Line of Actual
Control (LAC) in
ArunachalPradesh’sTa-
wang between Indian
and Chinese troops has
yet again trigger more
disruptions in Parlia-
ment on Friday after
both houses saw several
adjournmentsthisweek.
The opposition has been
accusing the govern-
ment of refusing a dis-
cussion on the matter.
On Thursday
, Opposi-
tionpartiesinLokSabha
had staged a walkout fol-
lowing Union minister
Hardeep Puri’s response
tothequestionsonpetrol
price rise. Discussions
on women’s safety
, petrol
price hike are among the
otherissuesthatarelike-
ly to take place on the
eighthdayof thesession.
The winter session
that began on Decem-
ber 7 will continue till
December 29, with a to-
tal of 17 working days.
Sixteen new bills have
on the Centre’s agenda
in this session.
Earlier on Friday, Ra-
jya Sabha was ad-
journed till 12 noon on
Friday amid uproar as
the Opposition’s re-
quest to hold a discus-
sion on the India-China
border situation was
disallowed by the chair.
Rajya Sabha Deputy
ChairmanHarivanshre-
peatedly urged House
members to allow the
proceedings,citingrules.
Congress MP Ran-
deep Surjewala earlier
today gave a Suspen-
sion of Business Notice
under Rule 267 in Rajya
Sabha to discuss the
border situation with
China. He also asked
the Chairman to ask the
Prime Minister and the
Government to make a
statement on the issue.
Congress President
and Leader of Opposi-
tion in Rajya Sabha
Mallikarjun Kharge
also sought to raise the
issue in the House.
Earlier on Tuesday,
Defence Minister Ra-
jnath Singh informed
both Houses that Chi-
na’s People’s Libera-
tion Army (PLA) troops
tried to transgress the
Line of Actual Control
in Yangtse area of
Arunachal Pradesh Ta-
wang Sector and unilat-
erally change the status
quo but they went back
to their locations due to
timely intervention of
Indian military com-
manders.He assured
that “our forces are
committed to protect-
ing our territorial in-
tegrity and will contin-
ue to thwart any at-
tempt made on it”.
VIJAY DIWAS
VicePrezDhankhar
remembersbravery
New Delhi (ANI): Vice
President Jagdeep
Dhankhar on Friday
paid tributes to those
who lost their lives in
the service of the na-
tion on the occasion of
Vijay Diwas.
“On Vijay Diwas, I
join the nation in re-
membering the bravery
and sacrifice of our
armed forces, who led
to our triumph in the
1971 war.
I pay my tributes to
the martyrs, who lost
their lives in the ser-
vice of our nation.
#VijayDiwas2022,”
Vice President
Jagdeep Dhankhar
tweeted on Friday.
JK DGP LAYS
WREATH AT
BALIDAN STAMBHA
Jammu: Director Gen-
eral of JK Police (DGP)
Dilbag Singh on Friday
laid wreath at the Balidan
Stambha in Jammu on the
occasion of Vijay Diwas,
commemorating India’s
victory over Pakistan in
the 1971 Bangladesh
Liberation War. The Union
Territory’s top cop was
accompanied by the ADGP
Mukesh Singh during the
wreath-laying ceremony.
Mahesh Sharma
Contrary to the popular
belief that Priyanka
Gandhi did not have say
in selection of HP
Chief Minister Sukh-
vinder Singh Sukhu,
the informed sources
now reveal that Sukhu
was actually Priyanka’s
candidate.
“Sukhu has been
very close to the Gandhi
family and Priyanka.
IN fact, Sukhu has the
power of attorney of
Priyanka’s five-acre
house in Shimla. Not
only this, Sukhu has
been involved in the
purchase of this land
from the beginning,”
said sources.
This five acre land
was in the name of 42
people belonging to one
or two families. Some
of them were in Shimla,
some in Mumbai and
some abroad. It was al-
most impossible to
gather all these people
at one place and get the
registry done but
Sukhu completed this
work with great hard
work and honesty
.
This story is 10-12
years old and thus
Sukhu has been close to
the Gandhi family ever
since. The 5-acre land
was close to the Presi-
dent’s residence, where
the President stays dur-
ing summer. As such,
this land could not be
sold to Priyanka due to
the security reasons.
The then President
Pratibha Patil gave
NOC for this endorse-
ment and Sukhu was
always involved in this
whole work. This loy-
alty and hard work de-
livered and the son of
a bus driver and grass-
root worker Sukhu be-
came the new Chief
Minister of Himachal
Pradesh.
Sukhu had full backing of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra!
SELECTION OF HIMACHAL CM
Insiders say that
Sukhu is very
close to Gandhis
and Priyanka
NPCL’s weapon to check
power theft in Noida
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Noida Pow-
er Company Ltd has
found a unique weapon
to check power theft in
Greater Noida. Now
NPCL will know imme-
diately when and how
much power is being
stolen from which
transformer in which
area. NPCL has in-
stalled smart devices on
all power distribution
equipment and trans-
formers in Greater Noi-
da, make it possible to
determine how much
power is being stolen.
Under this special cam-
paign, NPCL has identi-
fied about 300 such
transformers in differ-
ent villages, from which
more than 50 percent of
the power is being sto-
len. Besides, in those
areas where power theft
is more prevalent at
night, it is also being as-
certained which con-
sumer is stealing power.
Rajnath Singh, Anil Chauhan, Manoj Pande, VR Chaudhari and
SN Ghormade pay tribute to the Armed Forces personnel in New
Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
CRUCIAL
READ
KOCHI CUSTOMS
SEIZES GOLD
WORTH `46 LAKH
RAKUL PREET
SUMMONED BY ED
IN DRUG CASE
FRESH FIRs
AGAINST MEHUL
CHOKSI, OTHERS
Kochi: The Customs
Department on Friday
seized over 1000 gram of
gold worth Rs 46.50 lakh
from a passenger at the
Kochi airport. As per offic-
ers of the Kochi Customs
Air Intelligence Unit (AIU)
batch, the passenger was
intercepted at the green
channel with gold capsules
concealed in his body.
New Delhi: The ED
on Friday summoned
actress Rakul Preet
Singh in connection with
a four-year-old drug traf-
ficking and consumption
case.Her statement was
recorded by the ED in
this connection last year
too. “The actress has
been asked to appear
before the investigating
agency on December 19.
New Delhi: The Central
Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) on Friday registered
two fresh FIRs against fu-
gitive businessman Mehul
Choksi, Gitanjali Gems
and Nakshatra Brands
for allegedly defrauding
a consortium of banks to
the tune of Rs 6,300 crore.
The FIRs have been lodged
by Mumbai branch.
WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
BOTH HOUSES ADJOURNED TILL
MONDAY AMID OPPN’S UPROAR
‘RULES IN
PLACE’, SAYS
CENTRE ON
ONLINE GAMING
NO PLAN FOR
SEPARATE LAW
TO REGULATE
DIGITAL MEDIA
New Delhi: Union
MoS for Electron-
ics and Information
Technology, Rajeev
Chandrasekhar in
a written reply to
a question in the
RS said rules on
the regulation of
online gaming were
in place. “These
rules cast specific
obligation on inter-
mediaries, including
intermediaries offer-
ing online games,”
the reply said.
New Delhi: Union
Minister of State
for Electronics
and Information
Technology Rajeev
Chandrasekhar in
a written reply to
a question in the
Rajya Sabha on
Friday said there
was no proposal
to enact a separate
law to regulate the
digital media.“No
proposal to enact
a separate law to
regulate the digital
media is currently
under consideration
of the government,”
said the minister
Proceedings of the Rajya Sabha adjourned due to a ruckus created by the Opposition MPs in the
Wall of House during the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
IRANI, CHOWDHURY SPAR IN LS
OVER ‘GENTLEMAN’ REMARK
New Delhi: Women
and Child Develop-
ment Minister Smriti
Irani and Congress
leader Adhir Ranjan
Chowdhury indulged
in a spat in Lok Sabha
on Friday over the use
of the word ‘gentle-
man’.
Irani said Chowd-
hury was interrupt-
ing her reply to im-
press his ‘’political
masters’’. Chowdhury
was supported by an-
other Congress mem-
ber, K Suresh. Con-
gress leader Sonia
Gandhi was also pre-
sent in the House.
‘’I would...request
the member who
stands here trying to
ensure that I do not
speak to score politi-
cal brownie points....
For him to presume
that the gentleman is
not a gentleman is an
issue to deal (with) be-
tween the gentleman
and the so-called
member,’’ Irani said.
Priyanka Gandhi with Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. —FILE PHOTO
VIJAY DIWAS CELEBRATIONS
Students perform a dance during the Vijay Diwas celebrations, in Prayagraj, on Friday.
—PHOTO
BY
PTI
CM PUBLICLY
SUSPENDS
OFFICIALS
Shivpuri: With Assembly
elections only a year
away, Madhya Pradesh
Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan on Friday
took non-performing
officials to task and an-
nounced the suspension
of two officers for neg-
ligence while speaking
at a function in Shivpuri
district.

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 54,222.00 107.00 0.19 (Per 10g)
SILVER 68,001.00 120.00 0.17 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.85 0.09 0.04
GBPINR 100.77 1.34 1.31
CURRENCIES
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Japanese car
maker Honda on Friday
said it is planning to in-
crease prices of its entire
model range by up to
`30,000 from January to
partially offset the impact
of rising input costs and
prepare products in com-
pliance with upcoming
stricter emission norms.
The company joins the
likes of market leader
Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai,
Tata Motors, Mercedes-
Benz, Audi, Renault, Kia
India and MG Motor, who
have also announced to
hike prices. —PTI
HONDA TO HIKE
PRICES BY UP TO
`30K FROM JAN
Mumbai: Hong Kong-
based airline Cathay Pa-
cific on Friday said it will
scale up its flight services
to and from India, includ-
ing on Delhi and Mumbai
routes, to 14 services per
week, starting Jan 2023.
From Feb, the number of
per week flights to and
from India will go up to
15 from nine at present.
The full service carrier
also announced it will op-
erate an Airbus A350-900
aircraft on its B’lore-Hong
Kong route, first time by
the airline in the country,
offering 280 seats, com-
prising 38 in business, 28
in premium economy and
the remaining 214 in
economy class. —PTI
CATHAY PACIFIC TO
SCALE UP INDIA
FLIGHT SERVICES
New Delhi: Gold prices
rose `107 to `54,222 per
10 grams in the national
capital on Friday amid
gains in prices of pre-
cious metal in overseas
markets, according to
HDFC Securities. In the
previous trade, the yellow
metal had settled at
`54,115/10 grams. Silver,
however, declined `120
to `68,001/kg. In the in-
ternational market, gold
was trading in green at
$1,783.80 per ounce
while silver was down at
$23.07 per ounce. —PTI
GOLD PRICES SEE A
RISE OF `107; SILVER
DECLINES BY `120
Mumbai: Investments by
private equity and venture
capital funds have de-
clined by 42% year-on-
year to $4 billion in No-
vember, a report said on
Friday. By the number of
deals, November’s 88
transactions were 15%
lower than the year-ago
period and 13% higher
than the preceding Octo-
ber. From a sectoral per-
spective, infrastructure
was at the top in Novem-
ber 2022, driven by in-
vestments in clean ener-
gy, with $1.6 billion in PE/
VC investments across
six deals, it said. —PTI
PE/VC INVESTMENTS
DROP 42% TO FOUR
BN DOLLARS IN NOV
*Rates till the edition went to print.
FOREX RESERVES
SWELL BY $2.91 BN TO
$564.06 BN AS OF DEC 9
Mumbai: India’s forex re-
serves rose by $2.908 billion
to $564.06 billion for the week
ended on
December 9,
according to
the Reserve
Bank data
released on Friday. In the
previous reporting week, the
overall reserves had soared by
$11 billion to $561.16 billion.
This is the fifth consecutive
week of an increase in the
reserves. In October 2021, the
country’s foreign exchange
kitty had reached an all-time
high of $645 billion. —PTI
INDIGO SEEKS DGCA
NOD FOR WET LEASING
BOEING 777 AIRCRAFT
New Delhi: IndiGo on Friday
said it has sought aviation
regulator
DGCA’s ap-
proval to wet
lease Boeing
777 aircraft,
which will be utilised for
operating flights on the Delhi-
Istanbul route. This will be the
first time that the carrier will
be inducting wide-body planes
into its fleet and the move also
comes against the backdrop
of global supply chain issues
impacting aircraft deliveries.
The airline will wet-lease two
aircraft. —PTI
NON-FOSSIL SOURCES
TO MEET 62% OF IND
TOTAL ENERGY DEMAND
New Delhi: India is expected
to source about 62% of its en-
ergy require-
ments from
non-fossil
sources by
2030, about
12% more than the target,
according to a senior power
ministry official. “Going by the
current pace and trajectory,
India is likely to source about
62% of its energy require-
ments from non-fossil sources
by 2030, exceeding the target
it has set for itself for sourcing
about 50% of energy require-
ments,” Tiwari said. —PTI
WHEAT SOWING UP BY
THREE PER CENT SO
FAR THIS RABI SEASON
New Delhi: Wheat acreage
has increased 3% so far in the
ongoing rabi season at 286.5
lakh hectare
mainly on
higher sowing
area in MP
and UP, the
government data showed. The
area under coverage for wheat,
which is the major crop in rabi
(winter-sown) season, stood
at 278.25 lakh hectare in the
same period last year. Sowing
of rabi crops starts from Octo-
ber. Higher area under wheat
has been reported mainly from
MP, UP, Rajasthan. —PTI
WINDFALL PROFIT TAX ON CRUDE SLASHED; TAX
ON DIESEL, ATF EXPORT CUT
New Delhi: The government has slashed the windfall profit tax
levied on domestically-produced crude oil as well as on export of
diesel and ATF following a decline in global oil prices, according to
an official order. The levy on crude
oil produced by companies such
as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC) has been cut steeply to
`1,700 per tonne from `4,900, the
order dated December 15 said.Crude
oil pumped out of the ground and
from below seabed is refined and
converted into fuel like petrol, diesel and ATF. The government has
also cut the tax on export of diesel to `5 per litre from `8 and the
same on overseas shipments of ATF to `1.5 a litre from `5. The
new tax rates are effective from December 16. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
Budgettofollowspiritofearlierones:FM
New Delhi (PTI): Finance
Minister Nirmala Sithata-
man on Friday indicated
that her forthcoming Budg-
et will continue to push
growth on the back of pub-
lic spending as she said it
will “follow the spirit” of
earlier Budgets.
Sitharaman, scheduled
to present her fifth straight
Budget on February 1 for
the fiscal starting April,
had unveiled a massive
public spending pro-
gramme to support the
economy, emerging out of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the Budget, the fi-
nance minister had raised
capital expenditure by
35.4% for the financial year
2022-23 to Rs 7.5 lakh crore
to boost demand, while the
capex last year stood at Rs
5.5 lakh crore.
“It is very inspiring and
motivating for me, espe-
cially at a time when we are
readying the next budget
for the country, a budget
which will follow the spirit
of the earlier Budgets. We
are going to set the tem-
plate, which was set to ear-
lier but follow it and take it
further for India’s next 25
years...,” she said.
The GDP growth has
slowed in recent months
due to global headwinds
and rising interest rates
globally to control spiral-
ling inflation. This has
prompted some to seek a
further government push
to revive the growth rate.
The Budget 2023-24 will
be presented in the back-
drop of many institutions,
including the Reserve
Bank, slashing India’s
growth forecast to 6.8% or
so for the current fiscal.
The RBI projected the
real GDP growth for 2022-23
at 6.8%, with the third
quarter at 4.4% and the
fourth at 4.2%.
Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) growth is projected
at 7.1% for the April-June
period of 2023-24 and at
5.9% for the following quar-
ter. The budget for the next
year will have to address
critical issues of elevated
levels of inflation, boosting
demand, job creation and
putting the economy on a
sustained 8% plus growth
path. It will be the fifth
budget of the Modi 2.0 gov-
ernment and Sitharaman,
and the last full budget be-
fore the general elections.
WORK OUT STRATEGIES TO DRAW GLOBAL
MANUFACTURERS TO INDIA: SITHARAMAN
New Delhi (PTI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday
asked Indian industry to work out strategies as to how busi-
nesses operating in developed countries can look at India as a
production or sourcing hub amid recession fears in the western
countries. India has brought in a lot of facilitation and tweak-
ing of rules to attract foreign investment into India and is also
engaging with industries who want to co-locate in the country,
the minister said.“As much you are preparing yourself for a long-
drawn recession in the Western world, in the developed world,
I think it is also the best time for you to work out strategies for
drawing those manufacturers from there to India. “Even as they
are headquartered there, it might be useful for them to think of
sourcing many things from here and producing from here at
least for markets in this part of the globe,” Sitharaman said.
Countries eager to sign free
trade pacts with India: Goyal
New Delhi (PTI): Coun-
tries across the world are
looking at India as a trust-
ed partner and want to sign
free trade agreements with
it after its emergence as a
strong force in the world,
Textile Minister Piyush
Goyal said on Friday
.
He said talks are under-
way with the European Un-
ion, Gulf countries, Cana-
da and the United Kingdom
for FTA and the FTAs with
two developed economies
of the UAE and Australia
will be enforced in this
year alone.
Goyal said after the
prime minister’s efforts, In-
dia is emerging as a strong
force across the world and
once again the world is
keen to increase trade with
India and sign FTAs.
“Iamhappytosharewith
you that in one year alone,
FTA with two developed
countries - UAE and Aus-
tralia will be enforced. With
the UAE, the FTA has come
into force from May 1 this
year, which is a record time,
and the FTA with Australia
will enter into force from
December 29 this year,” the
minister said.
“There are six Gulf Co-
operation Council nations
with which FTAs are being
discussed. Besides there
are talks going on with the
European Union, Canada
and United Kingdom for
FTA agreements. This
shows that the entire world
is looking towards India
and they are seeing that In-
dia will be a trusted part-
ner in the coming times.”
India to become
$5 tn economy
by FY25: Gadkari
New Delhi (PTI): India is
the fastest growing major
economy in the world and
is all set to achieve $5 tril-
lion GDP by 2024-25, Union
Minister Nitin Gadkari
said on Friday
.
Gadkari said the central
government is aiming to
boost growth and employ-
ment to achieve sustaina-
ble development.
The road transport and
highways minister said In-
dia will play a key role in
achieving global Sustaina-
ble Development Goals
(SDGs) 2030. Gadkari noted
that India needs to increase
its exports and reduce im-
ports. “We are also working
on developing alternative,
clean and green fuel like
bio ethanol, bio-CNG, bio-
LNG and green hydrogen,”
he said.
Mkts fall for 2nd day amid weak global trends
Mumbai (PTI): Equity
benchmarks Sensex and
Nifty declined nearly 1%
on Friday
, in tandem with a
weak trend in overseas
markets amid hawkish
tone of global central
banks.
The 30-share BSE Sensex
fell 461.22 points or 0.75% to
settle at 61,337.81. During
the day, it tumbled 506.5
points or 0.81% to 61,292.53.
The broader NSE Nifty
declined 145.90 points or
0.79% to end at 18,269.
From the Sensex pack,
Mahindra Mahindra,
Asian Paints, Dr Reddy’s,
Tata Consultancy Services,
State Bank of India, Wipro,
PowerGrid and Titan were
the major laggards.
Hindustan Unilever,
HDFC Bank and Nestle
were among the winners.
Elsewhere in Asia, equi-
ty markets in Seoul, Tokyo
and Shanghai ended lower,
while Hong Kong settled in
the green.
Equity exchanges in Eu-
rope were trading in the
red in mid-session deals.
The US markets had ended
sharply lower on Thursday
.
International oil bench-
mark Brent crude dipped
2.25 per cent to $79.38 per
barrel.
RUPEE FALLS 9 PAISE
TO SETTLE AT 82.85
AGAINST US DOLLAR
Mumbai (PTI): The value of
Indian rupee dropped 9 paise
to close at 82.85 (provisional)
against the United States dollar
on Friday amid heavy selling
pressure in domestic equities
and a strong greenback over-
seas. However, receding crude
oil prices capped the rupee’s
loss, forex traders said. At the
interbank foreign exchange mar-
ket, the rupee opened sharply
lower at 82.84 against the
greenback and witnessed a high
of 82.73 and a low of 82.89. It
finally settled at 82.85 against
the greenback, down 9 paise
over its previous close
of 82.76.
SENSEX AND
NIFTY ON FRIDAY
z The 30-share BSE Sensex
fell 461.22 points or 0.75%
to settle at 61,337.81.
During the day, it tumbled
506.5 points or 0.81% to
61,292.53
z The broader NSE Nifty
declined 145.90 points or
0.79% to end at 18,269
Vehicle registrations: Govt
tweaks BH series rules
Ministry of Road Trans-
port and Highways
(MoRTH) has allowed the
conversion of regular vehi-
cle registrations into
Bharat Series (BH) num-
bers as part of measures to
widen the scope of the BH
series ecosystem.
Earlier, only new vehi-
cles could opt for the BH
series mark.
In an official statement,
the MoRTH said over the
course of the implementa-
tion of BH series registra-
tion mark rules, several
representations have been
received towards strength-
ening the BH series ecosys-
tem. “Vehicles currently
having regular registration
mark can also be converted
to BH series registration
mark, subject to payment
of requisite tax, to facili-
tate persons who subse-
quently become eligible for
BH series registration
mark,” the statement said
released on Friday
.
India’s textile industry faces tough times
First India Bureau
New Delhi: India’s $200
billion textile and apparel
industry is facing a crisis
as consumers in the United
States, Europe and other
big markets have cut spend-
ing on clothing following a
surge in inflation after the
war in Ukraine, industry
officials said.
While the overall econo-
my is relatively strong and
is outperforming major
economies, the textile sec-
tor is a notable exception
and orders suggest the
downturn will continue
well into 2023, raising the
risk of layoffs.
Exports, which consti-
tute about 22% of the in-
dustry, have fallen for five
months in a row - declining
over 15% year-on-year in
November to $3.1 billion.
Domestic sales are slug-
gish despite strong growth
in the overall economy be-
cause of high costs and
cheap imported garments,
manufacturers say
.
After bumper sales ear-
lier this year, local textile
factories are now cutting
production - contributing
to a 4.3% contraction in
manufacturing output in
July-September quarter
that has raised concerns.
AS CONSUMERS CUT SPENDING
NOTABLE
EXCEPTION
z While the overall economy
of the country is relatively
strong and is outperforming
major economies, the textile
sector is a notable
exception and orders
suggest the downturn
will continue well into 2023

08
2NDFRONT
This generation has the most amazing
power to learn from and befriend the
best and wisest, who have ever walked
the earth-History is ours’ at a click!
—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
‘1971 WAR WAS TRIUMPH OF
HUMANITY OVER INHUMANITY’
First India Bureau
New Delhi: On the oc-
casion of Vijay Diwas
that marks India’s deci-
sive victory over Paki-
stan which led to the
birth of Bangladesh,
Defence Minister Ra-
jnath Singh said that
the 1971 war was the tri-
umph of humanity over
inhumanity and of jus-
tice over injustice.
Defence minister Ra-
jnath Singh on Friday
tweeted, “Today, on Vi-
jay Diwas, the Nation
salutes the exemplary
courage, bravery and
sacrifice of India’s
Armed Forces. The 1971
war was the triumph of
humanity over inhu-
manity
, virtue over mis-
conduct and justice over
injustice. India is proud
of its Armed Forces.
Every year, India cel-
ebrates December 16 as
Vijay Diwas to remem-
ber its historic victory
overPakistaninthe1971
war.Around 93,000 Paki-
stani troops surren-
dered before the joint
forces of the Indian
Army and the “Mukti
Bahini” on Dec 16, 1971,
which paved the way for
the birth of Bangladesh.
EAM S Jaishankar
also saluted the brave
Indian Armed Forces
whose valour led to the
victory in the war. “On
Vijay Divas, join the na-
tioninsalutingourbrave
Indian Armed Forces
whose valour led to a de-
cisive victory in the 1971
war. We will always be
grateful for their service
sacrifices,”hetweeted.
Army Chief Gen
Manoj Pande hosted an
‘At Home’ event on the
eve of the Vijay Diwas
which was attended by
President Droupadi
Murmu and PM Naren-
dra Modi among others.
Says Def Min Rajnath Singh on
the occasion of Vijay Diwas to
celebrate India’s victory over Pak in
the 1971 war to liberate Bangladesh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hands over Raksha Mantri Awards for Excellence to Delhi
Cantonment Station Commander Brigadier RC Katoch during the Defence Estates Day function, at
Raksha Sampada Bhawan, in New Delhi on Friday. Director General of Defence Estates Ajay Kumar
Sharma, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and other dignitaries also present.
Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh
hands over Raksha
Mantri Awards
for Excellence to
a specially-abled
student during the
Defence Estates Day
function, at Raksha
Sampada Bhawan,
in New Delhi on
Friday. Union
Minister of State for
Defence Ajay Bhatt
also present.
—PHOTOS BY ANI
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The NIA,
investigating the mur-
der case of Amravati’s
pharmacist Umesh Kol-
he, filed a chargesheet
against the 11 arrested
accused. Kolhe was bru-
tally murdered for a so-
cial media post support-
ing former BJP spokes-
person Nupur Sharma
over her controversial
remarks about Prophet
Mohammad.
A charge sheet was
filed before the Mumbai
NIA court. The NIA reg-
istered a case on July 2
on the directions of the
Ministry of Home Af-
fairs under IPC sections
120-B (criminal conspir-
acy), 302 (murder), 153-A
(promoting enmity be-
tween different groups
on grounds of religion,
race, place of birth, resi-
dence, etc) 153-B (im-
putations, assertions
prejudicial to national
integration), provi-
sions of Unlawful Ac-
tivities(Prevention)Act.
The court had in Sept
grantedthecentralagen-
cy 90 days extension to
file the charge-sheet.
NIA charge-
sheet against
11 in Amravati
pharmacist’s
murder
Shraddha Walkar’s
father meets new
MBVV police chief
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Vikas
Walkar, father of Shrad-
dha Walkar, met Mad-
hukar Pandey, the new
Police Commissioner
of Mira Bhayandar-Va-
sai Virar (MBVV), to
discuss the case with
him on Friday. In the
meeting, the new Police
Commissioner assured
that the proper investi-
gation will be done for
their complaint and ac-
tion will be taken.
Walkar demanded ac-
tion against the then
police officer for not
acting on Shraddha’s
November 2020 com-
plaint against her live-
in partner Aftab Poona-
walla in which his
daughter alleged that
Poonawala abused her,
beat her up, tried to kill
her and also threatened
to cut her into pieces.
Walkar raised the issue
of delay in action by the
local police.
Walkar was accompa-
nied by Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) Kirit
Somaiya, and Pandey
.
MBVV police chief
Pandey assured the del-
egation that the police
will not spare anyone
and appropriate action
would be taken against
the guilty
.
On Dec 9, Vikas
Walkar met Maharash-
tra Deputy Chief Minis-
ter Home Minister
Devendra Fadnavis to
discuss the case.
Vikas Walkar (R) with newly-appointed police commissioner of
Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) Madhukar Pandey.
THE LAST LIGHT
A view of Taj Mahal during sunset, in Agra on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
ELGAR CASE: HC grants 4-day bail to Hany
Babu for cataract surgery, medical check-up
Mumbai (PTI): The
Bombay High Court on
Friday granted tempo-
rary bail of four days to
former Delhi Universi-
ty professor Hany Babu,
an accused in the Elgar
Parishad-Maoist links
case, to undergo cata-
ract surgery and a med-
ical check-up at a city-
based hospital.
Babu, who has been
lodged in Taloja jail in
Navi Mumbai since al-
most the last two years,
had moved the high
court earlier this month
seeking temporary bail
on health grounds.
The activist, in his
petition, had said that
he needed bail for three
months for undergoing
cataract surgery and
getting treatment for
upper abdominal pain
and osteoarthritis at
the private Breach Can-
dy Hospital here.
A division bench of
Justices AS Gadkari
and PD Naik, after hear-
ing the arguments of
both sides, allowed
Babu to undergo treat-
ment at the hospital in
Mumbai for four days.
The court directed
that Babu be taken to a
hospital for the surgery
and health check-up on
Dec 20 and be brought
back to the prison on
December 24, his lawyer
Yug Chaudhry said.
New Delhi (ANI): The
Central Bureau of In-
vestigation (CBI) on
Friday registered a case
against 6 people, includ-
ing 2 earlier working in
the Visa Department of
the Embassy of France
in New Delhi, on allega-
tions of visa fraud in
the embassy
.
The arrested accused
have been identified as
Shubham Shokeen, Aar-
ti Mandal, Navjot Singh,
Chetan Sharma,
Satwinder Singh Pure-
wal, Manpreet Singh
and others. Shubham
and Aarti worked in the
Visa Department of the
Embassy of France in
New Delhi and it was al-
leged that they con-
spired with others and
perpetrated visa fraud
during the period be-
tween January 1, 2022,
and May 6, 2022.
It was further alleged
that in pursuance to the
said criminal conspira-
cy
, applicants from Pun-
jab and Jammu submit-
ted fake and forged let-
ters purportedly writ-
ten by a private compa-
ny based at Bengaluru
to the Consulate Gener-
al of France, Bengaluru
for issuing Entry Visas.
VISA FRAUD:
CBI ARRESTS
6 INCLUDING
2 WORKING
IN FRENCH
EMBASSY
Applicants from
Punjab and
Jammu
submitted fake
and forged
letters to the
French Embassy
Jamia Masjid Srinagar prohibits
photography, men and women
from sitting together in its lawns
Srinagar (PTI): The
management of the his-
toric Jamia Masjid here
has issued a notifica-
tion banning photogra-
phy inside the mosque
and asking men and
women to not sit togeth-
er on its lawns.
Entry of photogra-
phy equipment is also
prohibited, the Anju-
man Auquaf Central
Jamia Masjid said in
the notification put up
all around the mosque
complex.
“Photographers or
camera persons are pro-
hibited to take any kind
of photos or clicks in-
side the mosque. Even
equipment used to click
any kind of photos are
totally disallowed and
need to be stopped at
the gate forthwith,” it
read.
It also prohibited the
carrying of eatables
into the mosque prem-
ises. “Nobody is allowed
to have lunch or any
kind of eatables inside
the mosque. As such,
visitors need to be
stopped at the gate it-
self,” the notification
read.
The management of
the 14th-century
mosque directed its se-
curity guards to imple-
ment the instructions
immediately
.
Women can enter a
mosque if there is a des-
ignated place for them,
separate from men.
A man reads a notification put up by Anjuman Auquaf at the main
gate of Jamia Masjid regarding the ban on photography and
videography inside the mosque and sitting of ‘ladies and gents’
together at its park, in Srinagar on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
FROM P1…
Another reason why
BJP came to power is
that they spread hatred,
they divide the country
.
The day Congress un-
derstands what it is,
that day Congress will
win every election. Re-
gional parties do not
have a vision of the
country. Regional par-
ties represent caste,
class, state.
I was also a little
distant from the
public, I personally
benefited a lot from
the journey
Rahul Gandhi said that
he has personally ben-
efited a lot from the
yatra. “I got to learn a
lot. I also had a little dis-
tance from the public;
that has ended. When
we walk on the streets,
there is some fatigue
and pain, we meet and
talk to millions of peo-
ple. When we meet the
farmer, he understands
that the person who has
come here has come
with pain and has not
come in vain. Then he
speaks from the heart
and not from the mind.
If the people of India
speak from their heart
then it is a different
matter,” Gandhi said.
Rahul Gandhi said
that a distance has de-
veloped between the
leaders and the public.
“Ego has come in be-
tween. I thought that
the distance between
the public and the lead-
er has to end. The aim
of the yatra was also to
understand the pain
among the public. I
have received a lot of
love from the public, I
cannot explain to you.
Our yatra is another
way of doing politics.
This is Gandhiji’s way,
and we have had the
best response in Ra-
jasthan,” he said.
We give each state
the freedom to
decide
On the old pension
scheme, Rahul Gandhi
said that we do not tell
every state what has to
be done. “We leave it to
the states to implement
the OPS. They have the
freedom to take deci-
sions according to their
circumstances. This
(Rahul) person is roam-
ing because he wants to
eradicate fear and ha-
tred. It’s not the first
person walking around.
I am not the first and
not the last person. This
is not my journey but
people’s journey
. People
have done marches be-
fore against hatred,”
Rahul stressed.
People love
Congress
Rahul said that from
Kanyakumari to Ra-
jasthan, one thing has
been understood from
the ground that there is
no dearth of party
workers. “The response
we got in MP, Maha-
rashtra was amazing.
People talk about two-
three schemes in Ra-
jasthan. People are talk-
ing about Chiranjeevi
scheme that it is a good
scheme. A lot has been
said about the MGNRE-
GA that it has minor
problems. People in Ra-
jasthan also complain.
There is a problem of
water here,” he said.
If we give place to
grassroots worker
then we will win
On the party’s CM face
in Rajasthan, Rahul
said the strength of the
workers here is un-
matched. If the lower-
rung leaders are used
well then elections will
be won, he said.
There is no
dictatorship in our
party
On factionalism in the
party, Rahul said that
there is no dictatorship
in the Congress. “There
is discussion in the
Congress, which is a
good thing. We think
that there should not be
much loss to the party.
If there is loss, then we
take action. The general
ideology is that if the
party people want to
speak, we do not silence
by intimidation.”
When asked under
whose leadership will
the next elections be
fought, Rahul said that
Congress President
Kharge should be asked
this. “He’s the presi-
dent, not me,” he said.
I was...

NEW DELHI, SATURDAY,
DECEMBER 17, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
he bow is a
shape that
h o l d s
reams of
s i g n i f i -
cance and
consistent-
ly elicits a strong
response. Some
bows convey sweet
girlishness, while
others reflect prim
prep style.
A variety of de-
signers, including
Giambattista Valli,
M o s c h i n o ,
Rochas, Bat-
sheva, Comme
des Garçons,
R i c h a r d
Quinn, and
many more, de-
buted the bow
for the forth-
coming season.
Additionally,
rising compa-
nies have
embraced
the bow
with open
arms.
The novels
and movies
we have always
liked as a child
comes to our mind
when we see rib-
bons and bows.
Earlier also, a
hair ribbon
was al-
ways a
v e r y
unique and expen-
sive item, frequent-
ly made of the fin-
est silk and in the
most exquisite
hues, in tales like
Anne of Green Ga-
bles or Little House
on the Prairie. We
always adore the
way a bow can com-
plete an ensemble.
It seems to sense
that designers are
drawing influence
from the Marie An-
toinette style given
that the cottage
come subculture
took over TikTok
last year and that
royal care and love
core aesthetics are
currently popular.
Consider Instagram
star Selkie, who just
debuted her Petit
Trianon collection,
which features bows
all throughout, in-
cluding on the
sleeves of the cloth-
ing and in the mid-
dle of low-plunging
necklines that were
modelled after Ma-
rie Antoinette’s bil-
lowing dresses.
The bow as we
know it now gained
popularity in the
16th and 17th centu-
ries as a hair orna-
ment used by both
sexes. Wearing a
bow attached to a
long strand of hair
was termed a “love
lock”; the lock of
hair was often
grown out longer
than the rest of the
hair, then braided
and lay upon the
chest, and fastened
with a bow. Due to
its near proximity
to the heart, the bow
also stood for pas-
sion.
MRIDULA SHARMA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T
PERHAPS NO OTHER FASHION
ELEMENT IS AS CONTENTIOUS AS
THE BOW. THE BOW ITSELF IS A
RELIC FROM THE DISTANT PAST.
LET’S EXPLORE THE WORLD OF
BOW FASHION WITH CITY FIRST!
BOWS,
BLINGSPARKY
THINGS

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