19032023_First India Mumbai.pdf

BJP-Shinde camp to jointly contest 288 seats, win
200; no decision yet on seat-sharing: Bawankule
Kartikey Dev Singh
Nagpur: The Bharati-
ya Janta Party and the
Shiv Sena led by Chief
Minister Eknath Shin-
de will contest all 288
Assembly and 48 Lok
Sabha seats in Maha-
rashtra in alliance with
other NDA constitu-
ents, BJP state presi-
dent Chandrashekhar
Bawankule said on Sat-
urday
.
He said no formal de-
cision had been taken
so far on sharing of the
seats.
His comments came
amid reports that
Eknath Shinde-led Shiv
Sena was getting a raw
deal regarding the allo-
cation of seats for the
upcoming polls.
“The BJP and the
Shiv Sena will contest
48 Lok Sabha seats and
288 Vidhan Sabha seats
in alliance with other
constituents of the
NDA,” Bawankule said.
The Assembly elec-
tions are due in Maha-
rashtra in October 2024.
He said BJP and Shiv
Sena have started prep-
arations to win 200
seats under the leader-
ship of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and in
coordination between
CM Shinde and Deputy
Chief Minister Deven-
dra Fadnavis.
Queried whether
BJP will contest 240
seats and Shiv Sena 48
(of 288), Bawankule
said, “There was a
meeting related to this
and there will be meet-
ings in future”.
“A clip was circulat-
ed by twisting it. BJP-
Shiv Sena alliance will
contest 288 seats and
win 200. No (seat-shar-
ing) formula has been
decided so far. Central
and state leadership
will decide on it,” he
said in response to
reports.
Maha govt planning to take help of agri
graduates to assess crop damage
First India Bureau
Beed: The Maharash-
tra government will
have to make alterna-
tive arrangements to
assess crop damage as
state employees are not
calling off the ongoing
strike, Agriculture
Minister Abdul Sattar
said on Saturday.
He said Chief Minis-
ter Eknath Shinde has
asked if agriculture
graduates and educat-
ed youths can be roped
intocarryoutpanchna-
mas or damage assess-
ments of crops affected
by hailstorms and un-
seasonal rains in vari-
ous regions of the state.
Lakhs of employees
of the Maharashtra
government have been
on strike since March
14 demanding the resto-
ration of the Old Pen-
sion Scheme.
“Farmers are in dis-
tress due to damage
caused to crops by un-
seasonal rains in the
state. The process of
panchnamas is affected
as agriculture assis-
tants, gram sevaks, and
talathis are on strike.
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde asked me if
B.Sc agriculture gradu-
ates and other educated
youths can do panchna-
mas if there is no avail-
ability of staff,” Sattar
said.
The BJP and
the Shiv Sena
will contest
48 Lok Sabha seats
and 288 Vidhan Sabha
seats in alliance with
other constituents of
the NDA.
—Chandrashekhar
Bawankule, BJP state
president
Agri Minister Abdul Sattar
READ
Crucial
Crucial
I&B MINISTER THAKUR
CAUTIONS THE MEDIA
AGAINST NARRATIVES...
Kochi: I&B Minister An-
urag Thakur on Saturday
urged media fraternity in
country to remain cautious
and desist from giving its
space to narratives that
threaten nation’s integrity.
Illogical opinions, could
not destroy democratic
nature of India, he added.
2 die, 5 others
missing after
being swept
away in Chambal
Manoj Jain
Karauli: Two persons
were killed and five oth-
ers were missing on Sat-
urday after a group was
swept away by a water
current while crossing
the Chambal river on
foot in Karauli district.
Police said that 10
people have been res-
cued out of the 17 be-
longing to two families
of MP’s Shivpuri dis-
trict who stepped into
the river thinking the
water level was shallow.
Superintendent of Po-
lice P Karauli Narayan
Togas said the bodies of
a man, identified as
Devkinandan, and a
woman, Kallo, were
fished out from the riv-
er while five persons
were still missing, were
feared drowned.
‘We must target to be
largest milk exporter’
HM Amit Shah felicitated by Indian Dairy Assn President RS Sodhi
in presence of CM Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar on Saturday.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Union
Home and Cooperation
Minister Amit Shah at
the final day of IDA
49th Dairy Industry
Conference in Gandhi-
nagar on Saturday, said
that India must not be
satisfied by becoming
the world’s largest milk
producer, but must also
aim to become the big-
gest dairy exporter.
Shah also reiterated the
central govt’s commit-
ment to strengthening
cooperative model. P5
Government
under the
leadership of PM
Narendra Modi is making
every possible effort for
360 degree development
of dairy sector in India so
that the country emerges
as the largest milk
exporter in the world.
—Amit Shah, Union HM and
Minister of Cooperation
Where is Amritpal Singh?
Arrest remains a suspense
Moni Sharma
Chandigarh: Situation
is tense across Punjab
withinternetconnection
beingsnappedinpartsof
the State till 12 noon on
Sunday
.Hoursafternews
reports of self-styled
preacher and Khalistan
sympathiser Amritpal
Singh being arrested af-
ter a high-intensity car
chase,PunjabPolicesaid
that Khalistan sympa-
thiser is still on the run.
Atotalof 78personshave
been arrested and sever-
al detained so far in con-
nection with crackdown
launchedagainst Amrit-
pal Singh and his aides,
added Punjab Police.
“Several others includ-
ing Amritpal Singh are
on the run and a massive
manhunt has been
launched to nab them,”
cops added.
However, a source,
close to Punjab Police
told First India that
Amritpal Singh has
been arrested and for
security reasons this
news is being kept con-
fidential from media.
n Huge drama in
Punjab over likely
arrest of Amritpal
Singh, internet shut
till today afternoon
n Hrs after reports of
Singh’s arrest, police
tells media that he is
on the run; however,
sources say he is held
A heavy police force deployed
at Mehatpur on Saturday.
WHO IS AMRITPAL SINGH,
CHIEF OF ‘WARIS PUNJAB DE’?
Amritpal Singh is the chief of the
separatist Khalistani pressure
group ‘Waris Punjab De’ which was
founded by actor and activist Deep
Sidhu, who died in a road accident
in February last year. Once Amritpal
Singh assumed control of ‘Waris
Punjab De’, Sidhu’s family distanced
themselves from Amritpal, claiming
that he was never nominated as the
leader of their son’s organisation.
Request all citizens to maintain peace,
harmony Police is working to maintain
Law Order. Request not to panic or
spread fake news or hate speech. —Punjab Police
MUMBAI l SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 309
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR MUMBAI
LAC SITUATION VERY
FRAGILE, CHINA
MUST COMMIT TO
RESOLVE ISSUE: EAM
New Delhi: Not every system is perfect but this is the best
system available, CJI DY Chandrachud said on Saturday while
defending the Collegium system of judges appointing judges,
a major bone of contention between the govt and judiciary.
New Delhi: The situation on the Line of Actual Control
(LAC) remains “very fragile” as there are points where
Indian and Chinese troop deployments are “quite
dangerous” and China needs to deliver on commitments
to resolve issue, EAM S Jaishankar said on Saturday. P6
MODI FOCUSING
ON ALL ROUND
DEVELOPMENT OF
NATION: NADDA
Tumkur: BJP nat’l president JP Nadda on Saturday
said, while his party led by PM Modi was focusing
on all round, inclusive development of the country,
Cong was still busy promoting dynastic politics with
repackaging after repackaging of its leader Rahul. P5
COLLEGIUM IS BEST SYSTEM WE HAVE DEVELOPED: CJI
Moni Sharma
New Delhi/Dhaka:
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi and Bangla-
desh PM Sheikh Hasina
on Saturday inaugurat-
ed the India-Bangla-
desh Friendship Pipe-
line, a cross-border en-
ergy pipeline, via video
conferencing.
“In the last few years,
under the able leader-
ship of PM Sheikh
Hasina, Bangladesh has
made remarkable pro-
gress. Every Indian is
proud of that we’re
delighted that we’ve
been able to contribute
to this development
journey of Bangla-
desh,” said PM Modi at
the inauguration of the
I n d i a - B a n g l a d e s h
Friendship Pipeline.
Modi said that India-
B’desh friendship pipe-
line was initiated in
Sept 2018, adding, rail
connectivity between
the two nations helped
in sending Covid vac-
cines to Bangladesh. It
is pertinent to note that
inauguration took place
a day after birth anniv
of BangabandhuSheikh
Mujibur Rahman.
NEW PARADIGM IN INDIA-BANGLADESH TIES...
FOSTERING FRIENDSHIP!
PMs Narendra
Modi, Sheikh
Hasina inaugurate
India-Bangladesh
Friendship Pipeline
This is the
first cross-
border energy
pipeline between
India Bangladesh
PM Narendra Modi Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurate
the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline via VC, on Saturday.
I am confident that this
pipeline will further speed
up the development of
Bangladesh and be an
excellent example of the
increasing connectivity
between both countries.
India supplying 1,100 MW
electricity to Bangladesh;
hydrocarbon trade with
Bangladesh crossed $1 bn.
—Narendra Modi, PM
The operation of India-
Bangladesh Friendship
Pipeline will put in place
a sustainable, reliable,
cost-effective and envi-
ronment-friendly mode
of transporting HSD from
India to Bangladesh and
will further enhance coop-
eration in energy security
between 2 countries.
—Sheikh Hasina,
Bangladesh PM
India’s Millet Mission!
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Saturday said India’s
Millet Mission will be-
come a blessing for 2.5
crore marginal farmers.
This was the first time
since Independence
that a government was
paying attention to the
needs of millet-produc-
ing farmers, he added.
Speaking at the inau-
guration of the Global
Millets (Shree Anna)
Conference in Pusa,
New Delhi, PM Modi
said,“India’sMilletMis-
sion will become a bless-
ing for 2.5 crore margin-
al farmers. After Inde-
pendence, this is the
first time that a govern-
ment was paying atten-
tion to the needs of mil-
let-producing farmers.”
“Today, millets con-
stitute only 5-6% of the
national food basket. I
urge India’s scientists
and farm experts to
work expeditiously to
increase the share. We
will have to set achiev-
able targets for it,” PM
Narendra Modi said.
The Millet Mission will be blessing for 2.5
crore marginal farmers, says PM Modi
After India’s proposal, the UN declared
2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets’
PM Narendra Modi being greeted by Union Minister Narendra Tomar
during 2-day ‘Global millets Shree Anna conf’ in Pusa on Saturday.
THE ‘ENERGY’ BOOSTER!
z 16 DISTRICTS: Rangpur and Rajshahi regions in
Bangladesh to be benefitted from the mega project
z `377 CRORE: Total estimated cost involved to built
z `285 CRORE: For Bangladesh portion of pipeline
was borne by the Government of India (GoI)
z 1 MILLION MT: High-speed diesel will be
provided to Northern West Bengal districts
In India, millets are primarily grown in
12-13 States. However, in these states,
the domestic consumption per person
was not more than 2-3 kgs per month. Today, it has
increased to 14 kg per month.
—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
US PRESIDENT JOE
BIDEN WILL HOST PM
MODI FOR A STATE
DINNER THIS SUMMER
US President Joe Biden
plans to host Indian
PM Narendra Modi for a
state dinner this summer,
people familiar with the
matter said. The White
House aims for the state
dinner to take place in
June but the timing could
slip. However, a spokes-
man for the National
Security Council declined
to comment.
PERSPECTIVE P4
SUBSTANTIAL SALE
OF BOOK ON GANDHI
Natwar Singh, Former
Minister of External Affairs
of India shares his views
on MJ Akbar and
his co-authored
book on Ma-
hatma Gandhi
his great moral
personality.

NEWS
MUMBAI | SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2023
02
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First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Shiv
Sena - Uddhav Balasa-
heb Thackeray recently
sought a thorough
probe in a case where
designer Anishka Jais-
inghani has been ac-
cused of offering a
bribe to Maharashtra
Deputy Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis’s
wife Amruta.
The editorial in the
party mouthpiece
Saamana said that “Mrs
Amruta Fadnavis is
pure and pious”, but
how did somebody of-
fering a bribe of Rs1
crore reach her “kitch-
en”. “Even if Amruta
vahini (sister-in-law)
has registered an FIR,
there should be a de-
tailed probe of this be-
cause this is a serious
matter,” it said.
Anishka Anil Jaisin-
ghani was arrested by
police on Thursday af-
ter Amruta Fadnavis
accused her of offering
a bribe for intervening
in a criminal case and
also threatening her.
First India Bureau
Aurangabad: An ongo-
ing agitation to protest
the renaming of Au-
rangabad will be halted
ahead of a rally here on
Sunday, said All India
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Mus-
limeen (AIMIM) leader
Imtiaz Jaleel, claiming
that attempts are being
made to disturb commu-
nal harmony in the city
.
“People are coming
from outside (out of Au-
rangabad) to address the
rally organized by Sakal
Hindu Samaj here. We
have brought our agita-
tion to a halt. Now it is
the responsibility of the
police to maintain
peace,” Jaleel told re-
porters after meeting
city police chief Nikhil
Gupta on Friday
.
Jaleel said a relay hun-
ger strike, which began
nearly two weeks ago,
outside the collector’s
office will be paused
from Saturday
.
CRUCIAL READ
MUMBAI-BOUND
TRAFFIC ON SATARA
HWY TO BE CLOSED
NCB DISPOSES OF
855KG OF SEIZED
NARCOTICS
JACKAL RESCUED
FROM BUILDING
SITE PIT IN THANE
Pune: Mumbai-bound
vehicular traffic on the Sa-
tara-Mumbai Highway will
be closed for six hours on
March 18 and March 23
on account of installation
of some systems in a new
tunnel at Katraj near Pune,
officials said. As per the
officials, the vehicular
traffic from Satara to
Mumbai will be closed
from 11 pm (March 18)
to 2 am (March 19) and
similarly from 11 pm to
2 am on the intervening
night of March 23 and
March 24.
Mumbai: The Narcotics
Control Bureau (NCB)
disposed of 855.33kg of
seized drugs on its 38th
Raising Day, an official
said here. NCB Mumbai
also initiated a special
Anti Drugs Awareness
campaign, he said. Among
other places, it was orga-
nized at the CSM Terminus
in Mumbai, whose facade
was illuminated with the
NCB’s logo colours and
its motto “SAY NO TO
DRUGS, YES TO LIFE”.
Thane: An offence has
been registered against
four persons for allegedly
transporting cattle under
inhumane conditions in
a truck in Thane district,
police said on Saturday. A
patrolling team of the po-
lice spotted a truck loaded
with buffalos near Dapoda
village on Mumbai-Nashik
Highway in the early hours
of Friday, an official from
Narpoli police station said.
At least 25 buffalos were
found packed inside, he
said. The accused did not
have a permit to transport
animals, the official said.
Mumbai: State Forest De-
partment officials rescued
an adult golden jackal,
which had fallen into a pit
at a construction site in
neighbouring Thane city,
on Saturday. The jackal
was spotted near a con-
struction site on Thursday
morning and was later
found trapped inside the
pit, an official said. The
department reached
out to RAWW (Resqink
Association for Wildlife
Welfare) for assistance,
following which a three
member rescue team was
dispatched to the scene.
4 BOOKED FOR
TRANSPORTING
CATTLE IN THANE
It will be MVA versus BJP
in Maha 2024 polls: NCP
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Nationalist Congress
Party (NCP) President,
Jayant Patil, on Satur-
day said the 2024 As-
sembly polls in the state
will be a contest be-
tween the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and
the Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) coalition.
He further said that
there will be a question
mark on the existence
of the Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde’s Shiv
Sena faction.
Talking to reporters
here, Patil said he feels
the BJP will contest all
the 288 Assembly seats
on its symbol as he ex-
pressed confidence that
the Shinde group will
“cease” to exist.
“I don’t think the
Shinde group will re-
main intact and the
fight would be between
the BJP and the MVA,”
said the NCP leader.
The MVA government,
formed by the Uddhav
Thackeray-led group of
Shiv Sena, the NCP and
Congress, collapsed last
year after Shinde
walked out of the undi-
vided Shiv Sena.
He then joined hands
with the BJP to return
as the chief minister.
His group was recently
allotted the name “Shiv
Sena” and its “bow and
arrow” symbol by the
Election Commission.
Patil alleged that the
BJP doesn’t want to rec-
ognize the existence of
localpoliticaloutfitsand
allowtheirgrowth.“The
BJP has worked to de-
stroy smaller parties al-
lies or rivals. The BJP’s
single-point agenda is to
destabilize smaller par-
ties so that it can grab
their vote share,” said
the NCP leader.
If the Shinde group
manages to exist till
then, BJP will, at the
last minute, allow them
to contest 48 seats and
tell them only five to six
of their nominees can
win, said Patil.
When asked about
CM Shinde’s statement
on the demands of
farmers participating
in the long march, Patil
said the government
has increased the mon-
ey for onion procure-
ment to Rs350 per quin-
tal despite the demand
being Rs500 to Rs600
per quintal.
Jayant Patil —FILE PHOTO
Maha NCP chief
expresses doubt
on existence of
CM Shinde-led
Shiv Sena faction
in the future
I don’t
think the
Shinde
group will remain
intact and the fight
would be between
the BJP and the
MVA. If the Shinde
group manages to
exist till then (As-
sembly polls), BJP
will, at the last min-
ute, allow them to
contest 48 seats and
tell them only five to
six of their nominees
can win.
—Jayant Patil,
Maharashtra NCP chief
OVERLOOKED ON PURPOSE?
There was no word on the demand for availability of
12-hour uninterrupted electricity supply for farmers,
Patil said, adding that the chief minister ignored the
issue of 100% grant to aided schools and implemen-
tation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). A committee
has been set up to decide claims of forest land rights.
This is nothing but delaying tactics, he added.
First India Bureau
Nashik: Union Minis-
ter of Road Transport
and Highways Nitin
Gadkari on Saturday
expressed potential of
Nashik to become a de-
fence equipment manu-
facturing hub.
In his inaugural ad-
dress of “Know Your
Army”, a two-day arms
and equipment exhibi-
tion of the Indian Army
,
Gadkari cited the exam-
ple of the Multi-Model
International Passen-
ger and Cargo Hub Air-
port in Nagpur (MI-
HAN) and said Nashik
has a similar potential.
“Rafaleaircraftarebe-
ing manufactured at MI-
HAN, Nagpur. As many
as 450 engineers from
engineering colleges in
the area have got jobs
there. The Falcon jet air-
craft will also be manu-
factured there soon. As
many as 1,200 parts of
Airbus and Boeing are
manufacturedthere,”he
said.
Nashik also has a
plant of HAL, the state-
owned aerospace and
defence company, and
other defence manufac-
turing units and train-
ing facilities at Deolali,
Gadkari said.
“All these will give
scope for defence manu-
facturing here. It will
create new jobs in Na-
shik, help exports grow
and these equipment
will be used for the pro-
tection of our country,”
he said.
India used to import
modernweaponsbutthe
“Make in India” pro-
gramme under PM Nar-
endra Modi has changed
the dynamics. India now
exports defence equip-
ment, he said.
Lauding the “Know
Your Army” pro-
gramme, Gadkari said
it will provide citizens,
including students,
with an opportunity to
know more about the
force and its equipment.
‘Nashik has potential to be defence equipment manufacturing hub’
NATIONAL PRIDE
Nitin Gadkari —FILE PHOTO
Union minister Gadkari talks about
changing scene of India’s defence
sector at ‘Know Your Army’ event
LIKE SMART CITIES, WE NEED SMART
VILLAGES TOO, SAYS UNION MIN GADKARI
Nashik (PTI): Union Minister of Road Transport and
Highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said along with
smart cities, India also needs “smart villages”.He was
speaking after inaugurating a statue and memorial
of late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gopinath
Munde at Nandur Shingote in Sinnar taluka of Nashik
district.“Munde led from the front to do justice to
farmers....He worked for farmers through schemes
such as the Krishna Valley, Tapi Irrigation and Vid-
arbha Irrigation projects,” Gadkari said.“While taking
forward his legacy, various schemes will have to be
implemented for farmers’ children. Farmers should
become energy suppliers along with food. There is a
need to implement the ‘smart village’ concept along
with the smart city project,” he added.
THALAIVA COMES CALLING!
Actor Rajinikanth with Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray,
his wife Rashmi Thackeray and his son and party leader Aaditya Thackeray, at Matoshri (the
Thackerays’ private residence), in Mumbai on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Designer ‘offering bribe’ to Amruta
Fadnavis: Sena (UBT) seeks probe
Aaditya raises Mum
pollution issue
First India Bureau
Mumbai (PTI): Yuva
Sena leader Aaditya
Thackeray on Saturday
wrote to the Centre rais-
ing the issue of air pol-
lution in Mumbai, cit-
ing widespread con-
struction activities and
lack of effective super-
vision to control them.
In a letter to Bhu-
pender Yadav, Union
minister for environ-
ment, forest and climate
change, Thackeray said,
“In the past 6 months,
the air quality in Mum-
bai has consistently
been rated as ‘poor’ to
‘very poor’ on the AQI
(Air Quality Index).
Other cities in Maha-
rashtra are also posting
concerning air quality
numbers.”
The entire city is un-
dergoing construction,
causing a large amount
of dust and debris,
much of which is left
unattended and un-
checked. Measures are
needed to help the Ur-
ban Development De-
partment and local bod-
ies understand the con-
solidated impact con-
struction has on the
city’s environment, he
said.
Thackeray also urged
the Centre to evaluate
and relocate refineries
and fertilizer plants on
the state’s eastern
coast.
A view of Mumbai's skyline engulfed in smog. —FILE PHOTO
AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel. —FILE PHOTO
‘Bid to disturb peace, halting renaming protest’
AIMIM has
opposed
renaming of
Aurangabad and
Osmanabad
dists of Maha
SENA’S SHINDE FACTION
HOLDS RALLY IN PALGHAR
First India Bureau
Palghar: The Eknath
Shinde-led faction of
the Shiv Sena held a
rally in Maharashtra's
Palghar district and
called upon party work-
ers to prepare for the
upcoming elections.
Addressing the rally
at Nalla Sopara, the
party's Palghar district
in-charge Ravindra
Phatak asked party
workers from the Vasai-
Virar region to work
towards winning future
elections to the civic
bodies, state legislature
and the general elec-
tions scheduled for next
year.
He urged Shiv
Sainiks (party workers)
to approach each and
every household in the
region and work for the
party's victory
.
Phatak further said
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde will address a
mega rally in Vasai af-
ter the current session
of the state legislative
Assembly concludes.
Elections are due in
civic bodies of the state.
Appeal to promote Maharashtra’s
ACF dismissed by apex court
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Last week,
the Supreme Court dis-
missed an appeal for
promotion of an assis-
tant conservator of for-
est (ACF), not requiring
two years of ACF train-
ing and one year of field
training vis-a-vis ap-
pointments by nomina-
tion where such train-
ing is compulsory
.
It held that this was
another unending dis-
pute arising between
direct recruits and pro-
moters regarding their
seniority
. It further not-
ed that government res-
olutions in the matter
cannot override statu-
tory rules and the reso-
lutions neither speak
about promotions to the
post of divisional forest
officer (DFO) nor about
seniority conclusively
.
A bench of Justices
Sanjay Kishan Kaul and
Abhay S Okasaidtheap-
pellants were appointed
asACFthroughnomina-
tion in 2016. Challenging
their appointment on
probation,theappellants
moved the Maharashtra
Administrative Tribu-
nal to declare their ap-
pointments as ACF from
trainingcommencement
date, considering it as
period of service.

MAHARASHTRA
03
Commuters have ‘near
death’ exp at MSRTC depot
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Passengers at
the Mumbai Central bus
depot of Maharashtra
State Road Transport
Corporation (MSRTC)
had a close escape after
pieces of plaster and
concrete fell from the
ceiling of bus stand.
The incident high-
lights the poor infra-
structureof theMSRTC,
one of India’s biggest
public transport under-
takings with a fleet of
over 15,000 buses. Ironi-
cally, the MSRTC head-
quarters are on the
Mumbai Central bus
depot premises and all
its officials sit there.
“We were sitting at
depot waiting for a bus
toNashik,when,around
11.05 pm, huge concrete
and plaster chunks fell.
Our colleagues were
luckily able to dodge in
time or else they would
have been injured. It is
high time government
pays attention to this,”
local politician Smita
Chaudhari said.
5 DIE AS UNSEASONAL RAINS,
hailstorms hit Marathwada
First India Bureau
Aurangabad: Unsea-
sonal rains and hail-
storms killed five per-
sons and damaged
crops spread across
nearly 4,950 hectare in
Maharashtra’s Marath-
wada region this week,
said the local adminis-
tration on Friday
.
According to a report
prepared by the divi-
sional commissioner’s
office, an average rain-
fall of 2.4 mm was re-
corded in the eight dis-
tricts of the Marathwa-
da region in central
Maharashtra.
The highest rainfall
was recorded in Nand-
ed (5.7 mm) on Friday, it
said.
Five persons--who in-
cidentally all belonged
to Parbhani district-
-lost their lives in differ-
ent incidents related to
unseasonal rains and
hailstorms that oc-
curred on Thursday
and Friday
.
Around 23 other resi-
dents in the region re-
ported injuries due to
the weather, it said.
The report recorded
22 large animals and
five small ones also per-
ished.
The unseasonal rains
and hailstorms also
damaged crops across
4,946.44 hectare.
The highest crop loss
was recorded in Nand-
ed district (4,794 hec-
tare) followed by Au-
rangabad (152.44 hec-
tare), it added.
Similarly, in Latur,
heavy rains coupled
with hailstorms and
stormy winds damaged
standing crops in sev-
eral villages.
Rains hit Nilanga,
Ahmedpur, Chakur and
Udgir talukas of the
district during the day,
said an official.
District Guardian
Minister Girish Ma-
hajan held a review
meeting at the collec-
tor’s office and directed
officials to conduct pan-
chanamas of the dam-
ages immediately
.
Renapur taluka and
Janwal village and sur-
rounding areas of
Chakur tehsil received
rains and hailstorm
along with lightning
and thunderstorm for
more than an hour.
Standing crops ready
for harvest were dam-
aged because of the
hailstorm, said Dat-
tatreya Gavsane, dis-
trict superintendent
and agriculture officer.
The hail also de-
stroyed crops in Janwal
of Chakur and Hali
Handarguli in Udgir, he
said.
STANDING CROPS READY FOR HARVEST DAMAGED IN NANDED, AURANGABAD AND LATUR DISTS
WEATHERFORECAST
Special court acquits 24-year-
old accused of raping minor
First India Bureau
Thane: A 24-year-old
man from Navi Mum-
bai, who was accused
of raping a minor girl,
has been acquitted by a
special court, with the
judge calling it a case
of consensual relation-
ship. The order by Spe-
cialJudge(POCSO)VV
Virkar was passed on
March15andwasmade
available on Saturday
.
The man was
booked under the Pro-
tection of Children
from Sexual Offences
(POCSO) Act in 2014
for allegedly eloping
with his neighbour to
Tuljapur and raping
her promising that he
would marry her.
In her order, the
judge said it appears
to be a case of consen-
sual relationship
“which is apparent
from the history given
by the prosecutrix to
the Medical Officer”.
Since it was not
provedthatgirlwasnot
below 18 years of age,
abduction charges can-
not be pressed against
the man, said court.
“When it is consen-
sual relationship, even
though it is assumed
for a while that the pro-
secutrix at that time of
incident was 17 years
plus6months,whichis
an age of understand-
ing and discretion and
the prosecutrix being
on the verge of attain-
ing majority
, the act of
sexual intercourse
with the prosecutrix
cannot be termed as
rape,” said court.
GIRL WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
FOUND PREGNANT, CASE FILED
Palghar: A case of rape has been registered
after a 15-year-old girl with intellectual disabil-
ities was found pregnant in Palghar district, an
official said on Saturday. Citing the complaint by
the teenager’s mother, an official from Virar po-
lice station said the girl had taken cattle out for
grazing some months ago when a person raped
her. But the mother learnt about the sexual
assault when the girl was four months pregnant.
She then approached the police. Police have
registered a case under Indian Penal Code sec-
tion 376 (rape) and the Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against an
unidentified person, said the official.
MACT gives `13.18L
compensation to fam
of man killed in crash
First India Bureau
Thane: The Motor Ac-
cident Claims Tribunal
(MACT) in Maharash-
tra’s Thane has award-
ed a compensation of
Rs13.18 lakh to the fam-
ily of a man who was
killed in a motorcycle
accident.
MACT member MM
Walimohammed or-
dered driver of errant
vehicle and the insur-
ance company Bajaj Al-
lianz Insurance Co Ltd
to jointly and severally
pay the compensation
to the claimants along
with 8% per annum in-
terest from the date of
filing of the claim. The
copyof theorderpassed
on March 08 was made
available on Friday
.
Appearing for the
claimants, advocate
SM Pawar informed
the MACT that on Feb-
ruary 1, 2018 the vic-
tim Suresh Madke and
his cousin were travel-
ling towards Shirgaon
on a motorcycle when a
jeep coming from the
opposite direction
dashed their vehicle.
The victim sustained
injuries and died while
undergoing treatment
at a hospital. The vic-
tim was a mason and
earned Rs30,000 per
month, the tribunal was
informed.
The compensation
amount includes
Rs40,000 towards loss of
consortium and
Rs15,000 each towards
loss of estate and funer-
al expenses, the order
stated.
MAN HELD FOR
POSING AS COP,
ROBBING BIKER
man has been arrested
for allegedly posing as a
policeman and robbing a
motorcyclist in Thane dis-
trict. The accused posing
as a policeman allegedly
intercepted a motorcyclist
in Kalyan town on Thurs-
day. He robbed him of his
belongings and decamped
with the two-wheeler, said
Senior Inspector Mahen-
dra Deshmukh. Based on
the CCTV footage from the
area, the police zeroed in
on the accused. Further
investigation is underway.
COPS COUNSEL
SOCIAL MEDIA-
CRAZY YOUTH
Latur: Police in state’s
Latur district have begun
tracking down and coun-
selling youngsters who
shoot videos with weapons
or make clips while per-
forming dangerous stunts
to show off on social
media, an official said. As
part of an initiative, Latur
police personnel speak to
youth and their parents
every Saturday to make
them aware of the legal
troubles one can invite due
to such videos, which can
also be life-threatening,
said the official
THANE MAN HELD
FOR POSSESSION
OF FIREARMS
Thane: A man was picked
up from near the Kopri
police station on Friday on
a tip-off, a property cell
official said. His inter-
rogation revealed that
the accused was facing
two cases of abetment of
suicide and illegal posses-
sion of firearms in Jalgaon
district of north Maharash-
tra, he said. A case was
registered under Arms Act
and further investigation is
underway, the official said.
MAN HELD FOR
CHAIN-SNATCHING
CASES IN THANE
man has been arrested in
connection with a series of
chain-snatching incidents
in Thane district, police
said on Saturday. Several
incidents of chain snatch-
ing were reported in Mum-
bra region in the last one
month and four of them
had taken place between
February 25 and March
11, Deputy Commissioner
of Police Zone I Thane
Ganesh Gawade said.
CIVIC CLERK ARRESTED FOR ACCEPTING
`15,000 BRIBE IN THANE DISTRICT
Thane: A civic clerk in Thane district was arrested on Friday
for demanding a bribe and receiving a part of it, the Anti-
Corruption Bureau (ACB) has said. Bala Jadhan (52) from
Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation had demanded
Rs30,000 from the complainant in the case who had applied
for a job in the civic body after his father took VRS (voluntary
retirement scheme) from there, ACB said in a statement.
The accused sought the money to give the complainant the
job under the “succession right” category, ACB said. He
was caught taking the first installment of Rs15,000 by ACB
officials.
CRUCIAL READ
Nagpur to host C-20 meet from March 20-22
First India Bureau
Nagpur: Ahead of the
civil society organiza-
tions (C-20) meeting in
Nagpur, the city has
been decked up with
decorative lights by lo-
cal authorities.
Along with street art,
major buildings in city,
such as Kasturchand
Park, have been deco-
rated with lights. Flags
of G20 nations have also
been put up at the Dr
Babasaheb Ambedkar
International Airport.
Around250represent-
atives of civil society
from G20 and other
countries will partici-
pate in conference to be
heldfromMarch20to22.
The first meeting of
the Development Work-
ing Group (DWG) under
India’s G20 presidency
was held in Mumbai on
December 13. Members,
guest countries and in-
vited international or-
ganizations had attend-
ed meeting.
Pune police books man for
cheating investors of `300 cr
First India Bureau
Pune: The Pune po-
lice has registered a
case against a man for
allegedly luring inves-
tors with a promise of
big returns and cheat-
ing them to the tune of
Rs300 crore, an official
said on Saturday
.
The Bundgarden
police on Friday regis-
tered an offence under
relevant provisions of
the Indian Penal Code
and Maharashtra Pro-
tection of Interest of
Depositors (MPID)
Act based on a com-
plaint lodged by an
investor who allegedly
lost Rs36 lakh in the
fraud, the official said.
Preliminary inves-
tigations into the com-
plaint revealed that
the accused had alleg-
edly cheated at least
200 investors by tak-
ing loans in their
names, he said. The
accused operated a
firm called Ashtavi-
nayak Investment in
the Camp area of the
city and lured people
with a promise of get-
ting them huge re-
turns on their invest-
ment, the official said.
Aurangabad’s heritage structure Soneri Mahal gets a new look with lights
First India Bureau
Aurangabad: Located
in the state’s Aurang-
abad city
, a 17th century
palace, Soneri Mahal
has acquired a brighter
and more attractive
look through a ‘light-
ing’ makeover.
The Maharashtra Ar-
chaeology Department
has installed lights at
the heritage structure
to illuminate it and at-
tract visitors.
The monument was
constructed by Bundel
king Pahadsingh when
he served the Mughals
during Shah Jahan’s
rule, an official said.
The illumination
work was undertaken
last month and has now
been completed, said
Amol Gote, Assistant
Director of the Archae-
ology Department.
The formal inaugura-
tion of this illumina-
tion will be done in mid-
April, Gote said. For
now, it is being illumi-
nated at regular inter-
vals.
“The palace, which is
located in the Pahadsin-
ghpura area (of the
city), is known after
king Pahadsingh. It had
golden colour on its
roof, therefore it is
known as Soneri Ma-
hal,” said Mayuresh
Khadke, Conservator.
“The illumination
will give the palace a
golden look from out-
side. We have also un-
dertaken work to re-
start fountains in the
long water tank which
is contemporary to the
palace construction,”
Gote said.
Officials said the ini-
tiative will draw more
visitors to the palace in
Aurangabad, which has
several tourist attrac-
tions, including the fa-
mous Ajanta and Ellora
caves, in and around it.
Built in the 17th
century, the
palace has been
decked up with
gold lighting by
Maharashtra
Archaeology Dept
EXTREME MAKEOVER
Nat’l flags of G20 countries put up at the entrance of Dr Babasaheb
Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur. —ANI PHOTO
Formal inauguration to take place
in mid-April. —FILE PHOTO
The victim died while undergoing treatment. —FILE PHOTO

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 309
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
The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness
has not overcome it.
—Bible
IN-DEPTH
President of India
@rashtrapatibhvn
Visiting the iconic Vivekananda Rock
memorial is a memorable experience
for me. I marvel at the greatness of
the late Eknath Ranade Ji who was
behind the building of the spiritually
charged complex.
Bhupender Yadav
@byadavbjp
Reached Tamenglong in Manipur
and met with officials of the district
administration to take stock of the
development work. PM Shri @
narendramodi ji’s ‘Act East’ policy has
made visible positive difference on
ground. The meeting discussed ways
to accelerate growth in the region.
TOP TWEETS
PUNJAB POLICE
SCUTTLE
SEPARATISTS’
PLAN TO FOMENT
TROUBLE IN STATE
he Punjab Police
have acted in time to
cut radical Sikh Am-
ritpal Singh’s any
possible plans to re-
vive the pro-Khalistan move-
ment in Punjab. The police had
come in for scathing criticism
for buckling to protests from
Amritpal and releasing his close
aide in February
. Supporters ac-
companying Amritpal attacked
the police with swords and in-
jured many of them. It was a
meek surrender by the police
that shocked the state and sent
waves of concern as the memory
of Operation Blue Star was re-
vived. With today’s meticulously
planned action, the state police
have redeemed its honour.
The separatist leader’s village
Jallupur Khaira in Amritsar
district was sealed in apprehen-
sion of trouble while the police
chased and arrested Amritpal
while he was on his way to
Shahkot tehsil. The Internet re-
mained suspended.
Amritpal’s arrest hopefully
willstoptheseparatistmovement
fromtakingrootinPunjabafresh.
The action should also send a
strong message to the Khalistan
protagonists sitting in Pakistan,
Canada, UK and Australia.
T
f digital media’s
messaging plat-
forms have to be
categorised they
can befittingly be
called a nuisance because of
the trolls. Some trolls are
backed by the ruling party,
others by parties in opposi-
tion. Their purpose is the
same - to somehow vitiate the
atmosphere by attacking any-
one with vicious barbs. And
God forbid if the issue is po-
litical. Nothing is left unsaid
by trolls who can be as abu-
sive as one can imagine, and
they spare none. So long as
they target politicians it is
understandable but it be-
comes dangerous when they
begin to target judges with
the objective of influencing
judgments. In other words,
they attempt to sway judges.
The latest target of trolls is
DY Chandrachud, the Chief
Justice of India, heading the
Constitutional Bench hear-
ing the Sena versus Sena
case. Twelve Opposition lead-
ers and senior advocate
Vivek Tankha, who is also a
Congress MP in Rajya Sabha,
have written a letter to Presi-
dent Droupadi Murmu seek-
ing immediate action against
the trolls who have used
“filthy and deplorable” con-
tent against the CJI. Others
supporting Tankha’s initia-
tive include Ram Gopal Ya-
dav and Jaya Prada (SP) and
Raghav Chaddha (AAP),
Shakti Sinh Gohil and
Pramod Tiwari (Cong).
Tankha, who blamed the
“troll army presumably sym-
pathetic to the ruling party in
Maharashtra”, demanded ex-
emplary legal action against
the troll army
. Whether trolls
are good for democracy and
should be allowed to carry on
shooting barbs with impuni-
ty at the high and mighty, or
should one learn to live with
them? One thing is certain
they cannot be stopped from
being nasty
.
THE VICIOUS TROLLS
GO AFTER CJI
The latest target of trolls is CJI Chandrachud, heading
Constitutional Bench hearing the Sena v/s Sena case. 12 Oppn
leaders and senior advocate Vivek Tankha, who is also a
Congress MP in RS, have written a letter to President Droupadi
Murmu seeking immediate action against the trolls who have
used “filthy and deplorable” content against the CJI
I
arlier in the year, MJ Akbar
and I decided to co-author a
book on Mahatma Gandhi.
Why another book on him,
when eleven thousand al-
ready exist. Yet, Gandhiana
has not yet had its day. We
were both aware of the di-
minishing demand for books
on Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi. The sales are still
substantial. Our book is
aimed at the eighteen to
twenty five age group. They
are familiar with Gandhi’s
name and his fads, his fasts
and obsession with spinning
yarn, but not with his quali-
ties as a saintly politician.
Not one in a thousand or
even ten thousand of this
group would have read, “The
Story of My Experiment
With Truth”, his autobiogra-
phy. In many ways it is
unique. We also had to ad-
dress the question, “Was
Gandhi a saint among politi-
cians or a politician amongst
saints.” The answer is not
easy. Even George Orwell,
EM Forster, Nehru and Ein-
stein have not come close to
solving the riddle.
I got hooked on Gandhi in
my teens. The only time I set
eyes on him was in June 1945,
at the railway station at
Bharatpur, my home town.
The Frontier Mail, by which
he was travelling in a third
class compartment to Shimla,
made a five minute halt at
Bharatpur. When the train
stopped, the Gandhi cap wear-
ing Congress wallahs rushed
toward it. I too had acquired a
Gandhi cap against the wish-
es of my aristocratic father.
While he vaguely respected
Gandhi, he was not an enthu-
siastic admirer.
It was Gandhiji’s silence
day and that restrained the
boisterous of the crowd. My
attempts to get his autograph
failed. I was shooed off by the
humourless Pyarelal, his sec-
retary. I only have a vague
memory of the event. One
thing I do remember — I
thought he was darker than I
had imagined.
Now to the book. The most
gripping part is the exchange
of letters between Tagore
and Gandhi, during the non-
violent, non-cooperation
movement. Tagore was criti-
cal of some aspects and wrote
a long essay in the Modern
Review in September 1925.
“It is extremely distasteful
to me to have to differ from
Mahatma Gandhi in regard to
any matter of principle or
method.Notthat,fromahigh-
er standpoint, there is any-
thing wrong in so doing; but
my heart shrinks from it. For
what could be a greater joy
than to join hands in the field
of work with one for whom
one has such love and rever-
ence? Nothing is more won-
derful to me than Mahatma-
ji’s great moral personality
. In
him divine providence has
given us a burning thunder-
bolt of Shakti. May this Shak-
ti give power to India — not
overwhelm her — that is my
prayer. The difference in our
standpoints and tempera-
mentshasmadetheMahatma
look upon Rammohun Roy as
a pygmy — while I revere him
as a giant. The same differ-
ence makes the Mahatma’s
field of work one which my
conscience cannot accept as
its own. This regret which
will abide with me always. It
is, however God’s will that
man’s paths of endeavour
shall be various, else why
these differences of mentali-
ty
. How often have any per-
sonal feelings of regard
strongly urged me to accept at
Mahatma Gandhi’s hands my
enlistment as a follower of
the charkha cult, but as often
have any reason and con-
science restrained me, lest I
should be a party to the rais-
ing of the charkha to a higher
place than is its due, thereby
distracting attention from
other more important factors
in our task of all-around re-
construction. I feel sure that
Mahatmahimself willnotfail
to understand me, and keep
for me the same forbearance
which he has always had.
“If Swarajhadtobeviewed
for any length of time, only
as home spun thread, that
would be like having an in-
fantile leg to nurse into ma-
turity
. A man like the Mahat-
ma may succeed in getting
some of our countrymen to
take an interest in this kind
of uninspiring nature for a
time because of their faith in
his personal greatness of
soul. To obey him is for them
an end in itself. To me it
seems that such a state of
mind is not helpful for the at-
tainment of Swaraj.”
Tagore and Gandhi were
born in the same decade, the
former in 1861 and Gandhi in
1869.Bothdiedinthesamedec-
ade. Tagore passed away in
1941, Gandhiji was shot dead
byGodseon30thJanuary1948.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
MAHATMA GANDHI:
A TRUE INSPIRATION
E
“If Swaraj had to be
viewed for any length of
time, only as home spun
thread, that would be like
having an infantile leg to
nurse into maturity. A
man like the Mahatma
may succeed in getting
some of our countrymen
to take an interest in
this kind of uninspiring
nature for a time because
of their faith in his
personal greatness of soul.
To obey him is for them
an end in itself. To me it
seems that such a state of
mind is not helpful for the
attainment of Swaraj”
Not one in a thousand or even ten thousand of this
group would have read, “The Story of My
Experiment With Truth”, his autobiography. In
many ways it is unique. We also had to address the
question, “Was Gandhi a saint among politicians
or a politician amongst saints.” The answer is not
easy. Even George Orwell, EM Forster, Nehru and
Einstein have not come close to solving the riddle
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India

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05
INDIA
Lucknow (ANI): De-
fence Minister Rajnath
Singh on Saturday hit
out at Rahul Gandhi
stating that contrary to
allegation, the BJP had
not curtailed anybody’s
voice in the country as
was the case during the
1975 Emergency
.
Hisremarkscameata
Holi Milan event orga-
nized by Lucknow
Udyog Vyapar Mandal
inhisLokSabhaconstit-
uency Lucknow. The De-
fence Minister said, “If
anyone thinks that In-
dia’s democracy is in
danger, then it should be
discussed with the par-
liamentarians of the
country
. There is no de-
mocracy like India any-
where in the world. BJP
is not stopping anyone’s
voice. The voice was
stopped in 1975. The
voice was stopped by im-
posing an emergency
.”
Gandhinagar (ANI):
Union Home and Coop-
eration Minister Amit
Shah on Saturday said
that India must not be
satisfied by becoming
the world’s largest milk
producer, but must also
aim to become the big-
gest dairy exporter.
Shah also reiterated
the central govern-
ment’s commitment to
strengthening the coop-
erative model. The Un-
ion Minister was speak-
ing at the Indian Dairy
Summit, organised on
the third and final day
of the Indian Dairy As-
sociation’s (IDA) 49th
Dairy Industry Confer-
ence in Gandhinagar.
The theme of the con-
ferencewas“IndiaDairy
to the world: Opportuni-
ties Challenges”.
“Our milk processing
capacity is around 126
million litres per day,
which is the highest in
the world. From 1970 to
2022, India’s population
has increased fourfold,
but milk production
has increased by ten
times,” Shah said.
“We should not be
satisfied by being the
world’s largest milk
producer. We must also
strive to become the
world’s biggest dairy
exporter. A second
White Revolution is
needed and we are
working in that direc-
tion. The Narendra
Modi government will
not let any opportunity
go to waste,” he said.
“The Indian dairy
sector has grown by 6.6
per cent per year in the
past decade. The Cen-
tral government is set-
ting up 2 lakh dairy co-
operatives in villages,
and once that happens,
the dairy sector’s
growth will go up to
13.80 per cent. India’s
share of global milk
production will be 33
per cent. Our dairy ex-
ports will be at least five
times the current lev-
el,” said Shah.
The union minister
noted that dairy is a vo-
cation for the world, but
in India, where 9 crore
families are directly
connected with dairy-
ing, it is also a source of
livelihood, strengthen-
ing the rural economy,
addressing nutritional
challenges, and women
empowerment.
Gujarat CM Bhupen-
dra Patel also addressed
the occassion and said,
“Small dairy farmers
are the real strength of
the Indian dairy sector.
Gujarat has been a mod-
el of overall develop-
ment and is also a lead-
er in the dairy industry
with a 20 per cent share
in the country’s milk
production.”
Centre committed to strengthen
India’s cooperative model: Shah
Union Home Cooperation Minister addresses Indian Dairy Summit in Gandhinagar
Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation, Amit Shah attends the occasion of the 49th Dairy Industry Conference organized by
Indian Dairy Association, in Gandhinagar on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates various projects, at Kalvin Talukdar College, in Lucknow
on Saturday. UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak also seen. —PHOTO BY ANI
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami files his nomination
papers for party’s General Secy post, in Chennai, on Saturday.
Chennai (PTI): AIAD-
MK interim chief Edap-
padi K Palaniswami
(EPS) on Saturday filed
nomination for election
to the party’s powerful
General Secretary post,
setting the ball rolling
for his ultimate eleva-
tion, as rival leader O
Panneerselvanslammed
the“pickpocket-like”ap-
proach of the EPS camp
in holding the polls, al-
leging due party process
was not followed.
EPS filed his nomina-
tion at the party head-
quarters, nearly a
month after the Su-
preme Court green-
flagged his continuance
as the AIADMK interim
chief, dealing a blow to
Pannerselvam (OPS) in
his running feud with
his rival over the lead-
ership issue.
Congress had curtailed people’s
voice with emergency: Rajnath
Don’t see any
‘middle path’ to
break Parliament
logjam: Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Sen-
ior Congress leader
Jairam Ramesh on
Saturday said he does
not see a “middle path”
to end the logjam in Par-
liament as the Opposi-
tion’s de-
mand for a
JPC probe
into the
Adani issue
was “non-
negotiable”
and the question of an
apology over Rahul
Gandhi’s remarks in
the UK does not arise.
He said the govt is rat-
tled by 16 Opposition
parties coming together
to demand a joint parlia-
mentary probe into the
Adani issue and is re-
sorting to a “3D orches-
trated campaign — dis-
tort,defameanddivert”.
He also hit out at BJP
MP Nishikant Dubey’s
efforts to seek termina-
tion of Rahul Gandhi’s
Lok Sabha membership
over his remarks in the
UK, saying all this was
“intimidation” and part
of efforts to distract
from the real issues.
AIADMK sets the
ball rolling for EPS’
ultimate elevation
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister of State (MoS) Dr
JitendraSinghsaidhere
onSaturdaythatthepre-
vious governments nev-
er cared to explore In-
dia’s vast ocean resourc-
es and it is for the first
time, after Narendra
Modi took over as Prime
Minister that there is a
serious effort to explore
and harness the ocean
resourcesandgiveprior-
ity to the Blue Economy
of India.
The MoS recalled the
not once but in two of
his Independence Day
addresses to the nation,
PM Modi had referred
to the Deep Ocean Mis-
sion thus underlining
its importance.
Dr Jitendra Singh
was talking to a high
level Goa official dele-
gation led by Union
Minister, Shripad Yes-
so Naik and Goa State
Tourism Minister, Ro-
han Khaunte. The del-
egation called on him
to discuss the various
potential projects to
promote tourism and
ocean related economy
in Goa.
The Tourism Minis-
ter of Goa, Rohan
Khaunte and his team
placed before Dr Singh
some of the proposals
for different schemes
under the Ministry of
Earth Sciences.
Govt exploring India’s ocean resources: MoS
BLUE ECONOMY OF INDIA Samajwadi Party’s 2-day nat’l
exec meet begins in Kolkata
Kolkata (ANI): The Sa-
majwadi Party on Satur-
day began its two-day
national executive meet-
ing in Kolkata during
which it will discuss the
party’spoliciesandstrat-
egies for the elections in
three Hindi states due
this year and Lok Sabha
polls next year.
SP chief Akhilesh Ya-
dav, party leader Shiv-
pal Singh Yadav, MP
Jaya Bachchan and
state unit chiefs from 20
states, and several oth-
er leaders were present
at the meeting.
Talking to ANI, party
leader Kiranmoy Nan-
da said, “The prepara-
tions are done. The
meeting will take place
under the leadership of
Akhilesh Yadav. The
meeting is taking place
on Friday and Saturday,
and a rally with the
party workers will take
place on March 17.”
Dr Jitendra Singh talking to a delegation led by Union Minister
Shripad Yesso Naik and Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte.
Akhilesh Yadav with SP leaders Kiranmoy Nanda, Jaya Bachchan
and others at National Executive Meeting, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
New Delhi: Alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar on
Saturday filed a petition seeking the transfer of the case
to another judge in Rs 200 crore money
laundering case. He alleged that the judge
was biased. Meanwhile, Patiala House Court
refused to hear Sukesh Chandrasekhar’s
expressing displeasure over the filing of a
petition by Sukesh. The court said that the
accused does not have the right to comment
on the presiding officer. The court has also extended the
judicial custody of Sukesh Chandrasekhar till March 31.
New Delhi: Former Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit
Saturday said the collegium was the “ideal system” for ap-
pointment of judges to the top court and high courts in the
country. His comments come in the backdrop of Union Law
Minister Kiren Rijiju raising questions over the collegium
system. Justice Lalit, who demitted office as the 49th CJI on
November 8, 2022, also said judiciary was completely inde-
pendent of the executive and while the Supreme Court was
“fantastic”, there is “tremendous area for improvement”.
CONMAN’S REQUEST SEEKING TRANSFER OF
CASE TO ANOTHER JUDGE REJECTED
COLLEGIUM SYSTEM IDEAL FOR JUDGES
APPOINTMENT, SAYS EX-CJI U U LALIT
IN THE COURTYARD
RAHUL GANDHI AN IMMATURE LEADER,
SAYS MP CM SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has
made a fresh attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi say-
ing that he is an immature leader. Talking to
the media here on Saturday, Chouhan said,
“Rahul Gandhi is not mature, his mental
age is like that of children. He is immature.
But the Congressmen are determined to
forcefully make this immature leader a
national leader.” “It is surprising that Rahul
Baba is saying that unfortunately he is a Member of Parlia-
ment (MP). What does it mean to be the MP unfortunate-
ly? Is this not an insult to the Parliament?” the CM said.
HIGH COMMAND
WILL DECIDE ON
POLL TIE-UP: BJP
Chennai (ANI): Tamil
Nadu Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) state vice
president Nainar Na-
genthiran on Saturday
said that the party would
follow the orders of
the top leadership on
forming an alliance with
the AIADMK. Nainar Na-
genthiran was respond-
ing to news of a possible
BJP-AIADMK alliance in
Tamil Nadu.
NGT LEVIES `100 CR
PENALTY ON KOCHI
MUNICIPAL CORP
HC QUASHES KERALA
GUV'S ORDER ON
KTU RESOLUTION
New Delhi: The National
Green Tribunal (NGT) has
directed the Kochi Munic-
ipal Corporation to pay a
compensation of Rs 100
crore for the damage to
the environment because
of its failure to handle
solid waste. It said that the
concerned authorities have
been “utter failure” and
have “rampantly violated
the statutory solid waste
management rules.
Kochi: The Kerala High
Court quashed order of
Governor, issued in his ca-
pacity as chancellor of APJ
Abdul Kalam Technological
University, suspending res-
olutions of the Syndicate
and the Board of Gover-
nors, respectively. The
Chancellor had recently
suspended the University
syndicate’s decision to
constitute a, “Syndicate
Standing Committee”.
GOA DELEGATION
Our milk processing capacity is around
126 million litres per day, which is the
highest in the world. From 1970 to
2022, India’s population has increased four-
fold, but milk production has increased by ten
times. —Amit Shah, Home Affairs and Cooperation Minister
BJP chief JP Nadda, former Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa and other Karnataka BJP leaders
participate in a road show in Chikkanayakanahalli, Karnataka, on Saturday.
Tumakuru (ANI):
Ahead of Karnataka
assembly polls, BJP
chief JP Nadda held a
roadshow in Tumaku-
ru on Saturday
.
BJP leader and for-
mer Karnataka CM
BS Yediyurappa was
also present. On Fri-
day, Nadda had hit out
at Congress leader Ra-
hul Gandhi over his
recent remarks in
London on Indian de-
mocracy saying that
the latter’s party is in
danger, not the coun-
try’s democracy
.
“The actions of
Congress and Rahul
Gandhi are highly
condemnable. Con-
gress only knows
to divide people. It’s
not democracy that is
in danger but your
party,” Nadda had
said while address-
ing a public rally in
the Chitradurga dis-
trict of poll-bound
Karnataka.
He further said that
Rahul raised ques-
tions in a foreign land
because people have
“ignored” his party
here in the country
.
Ahead of polls, JP Nadda
holds roadshow in K’taka
RaGa INSULTED INDIA IN UK: NADDA

06
INDIA
Srinagar (PTI): The
State Investigation
Agency(SIA)of theJam-
mu and Kashmir Police
carriedoutraidsateight
places on Saturday in a
case related to collection
of funds by Maulvi Sar-
jan Barkati, the face of
“anti-national” protests
in 2016, and using the
same for personal gains,
officials said.
The SIA, a subsidiary
of the Crime Investiga-
tion Department (CID)
of the Jammu and
Kashmir Police, regis-
tered a case against Bar-
kati earlier this year to
probe the collection of
funds as well as his “an-
ti-national” speeches.
According to the of-
ficials, it is alleged that
more than Rs 1.5 crore
were generated through
crowdfunding and from
suspected terror sourc-
es, and utilised for per-
sonal benefits, profi-
teering and in further-
ance of secessionist-
terrorist campaigns.
Barkati and others
are alleged to have made
a huge amount of mon-
ey by making emotional
appeals to the public to
support them for their
day-to-day needs.
Under this garb, Bar-
kati not only generated
huge funds but prima
facie, also laundered
moneycomingfromuni-
dentified sources, sus-
pected to have originat-
ed from terror outfits,
for further use in sus-
taining the secessionist-
terrorist campaigns, the
officials said.
It is alleged that Bar-
kati used to openly in-
vite and incite young-
sters to take to violence
and pull down the Indi-
an State in Jammu and
Kashmir.
Preliminary investi-
gations have shown
Barkati has diverted a
substantial part of the
funds for his personal
benefits and purchased
a piece of land worth Rs
45 lakh in Anantnag
town in the name of his
wife, which he subse-
quently sold for Rs 72
lakh, making a profit of
Rs 27 lakh, and also
built a palatial house
using public money
.
Hehasalsopurchased
five kanals of land to es-
tablish a madrassa,
whichaccordingtocred-
ible information is
meant for making mon-
ey and providing a plat-
form to anti-national el-
ements and also aimed
at being a breeding
groundforluringyoung-
sters towards terrorism.
A large chunk of
such ill-gotten money
has allegedly been de-
posited in several FDRs
in the name of Barkati’s
family members.
Not only has the ac-
cused breached the pub-
lic trust through emo-
tional blackmailing by
building a personal for-
tune with the funds do-
nated to him by people
for daily sustenance, he
also camouflaged mon-
ey coming from suspi-
cious sources under the
garb of crowdfunding
for the furtherance of
the secessionist-terror-
ist campaigns, the offi-
cials said.
Chennai (Agencies):
President Droupadi
Murmu, who is on a six-
day visit to Kerala, Lak-
shadweep and Tamil
Nadu, on Saturday
reached Kanyakumari.
The President was
accorded a warm wel-
come at the Vivekanan-
da rock memorial
where she will spend
time at the meditation
hall.
She will also pay a
visit to the iconic Tiru-
vallur statute and re-
turn to Thiruvanan-
thapuram. Heavy secu-
rity is in place in Kan-
yakumari and traffic is
diverted in many plac-
es of the district near
the beach road.
President Murmu reaches Kanyakumari
6-DAY SOUTH VISIT
lll
Tamil Nadu
Governor R.N.
Ravi, Minister
Mano
Thangaraj,
district collector
Sridhar and
other officials
welcomed her at
the airport
Patna (Agencies):
AIMIM chief Asadud-
din Owaisi on Satur-
day blamed Chief Min-
ister Nitish Kumar for
strengthening the BJP
in Bihar, and also ar-
geted Tejashwi Yadav
for poaching his MLAs.
Owaisi began his two-
day visit to Bihar’s See-
manchal. He said, “Nit-
ish Kumar said that
AIMIM is a party of the
Muslim community
. I
want to tell him that his
capacity is limited only
to Kurmi and Kushwa-
ha. Nitish was responsi-
bleforhelpingmaking
BJP stronger in Bihar..”
New Delhi (Agencies):
The Aam Aadmi Party
on Saturday alleged
that BJP is trying to
topple its government
through bringing a mo-
tion of no-confidence in
the Delhi Assembly
.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP
Raghav Chadha said
that the BJP was trying
to topple the AAP gov-
ernment in Delhi by in-
troducing a no-confi-
dence motion.
“BJP is luring and
threatening AAP MLAs
to join their party
. BJP
hasalsoapproachedsev-
eral AAP MLAs to sup-
port the no-confidence
motion,” he claimed.
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar
Pradesh’sEnergyMinis-
terAKSharmaonSatur-
day issued a stern warn-
ing to striking electrici-
ty department employ-
ees to join their duties
by 6.00 pm, or face dis-
missal. Services of 1,332
contractual employees
have already been ter-
minated, he said.
Speaking to reporters
here, Sharma said, “A
decision has been taken
toinitiateactionagainst
22 persons from the de-
partment under the
ESMA (Essential Ser-
vices Maintenance Act).
Apartfromthis,instruc-
tions have also been is-
sued to lodge FIR
against those who are
damaging the govern-
ment property, and ob-
structing others from
discharging duties. FIR
has been registered
against 29 persons in
this regard.” “Services
of 1,332 contractual em-
ployeeshavebeentermi-
nated. I once again re-
quest all the contractual
employees to resume
their duties by 6.00 pm,
otherwise they will be
dismissed from service
tonight,” he said.
New Delhi (PTI): Th
“W A day after Punjab
DGP Gaurav Yadav
claimed that an inter-
view of gangster Law-
rence Bishnoi was not
recorded inside any jail
of the state, another
surfaced on Friday. It
was run by a private
news channel that had
run the first interview
on March 14.
Bishnoi, who is cur-
rently lodged in the
high-security Bathin-
da jail, in the latest
video can be seen in an
orange T-shirt and
with short hair and
beard. There was no
immediate reaction
from the state govern-
ment to the undated
interview. In the latest
interview, Bishnoi can
be heard speaking
about the Goindwal
jail incident that took
place last month and in
which two gangsters
were killed.
This interview sur-
faced a day after Yadav
claimed that the first
interview of Bishnoi by
the private news chan-
nel was not recorded
inside the Bathinda jail,
or any other prison of
the state.
New Delhi (Agencies):
The situation on the
Line of Actual Control
(LAC) remains “very
fragile” as there are
points where Indian
and Chinese troop de-
ployments are “quite
dangerous” and China
needs to deliver on com-
mitments to resolve the
issue, external affairs
minister S Jaishankar
said on Saturday
.
In the context of the
Ukraine conflict, the In-
dian side is working on
getting the G20 to refo-
cus on its original man-
date of challenges to
global development and
growth,includingrising
debt and food shortages,
Jaishankar said at the
Conclave of a media or-
ganisation on Saturday
.
“This is a very challeng-
ing and abnormal phase
in our ties with China,”
he said, adding China’s
violation of agreements
and protocols for border
managementhadresult-
ed in the clash at Gal-
wan Valley in June 2020
that resulted in the
death of 20 Indian sol-
diers and at least four
Chinese troops.
“Now we have de-
ployed our troops, we
have stood our ground
and the situation to my
mind still remains very
fragile because there
are places where our de-
ployments are very
close up. And in the
military assessment ac-
tually, therefore, quite
dangerous,” he said.
New Delhi (PTI): Law
Minister Kiren Rijiju
on Saturday invoked
the constitutional “Lak-
shman Rekha” guiding
different institutions,
including the executive
and the judiciary, and
wondered that if judges
become part of admin-
istrative appointments,
who would carry out
judicial work.
Rijijuwasresponding
to a question on a Su-
preme Court bench di-
recting the government
to set up a panel com-
prising the prime min-
ister, the chief justice of
India and the leader of
opposition in the Lok
Sabha to select the chief
election commissioner
(CEC) and election com-
missioners till a law is
in place for the same.
“The appointment of
election commissioners
is prescribed in the
Constitution. Parlia-
ment has to enact a law.
Accordingly, the ap-
pointment has to be
done. I agree that there
is no enactment for that
in Parliament, there is
a vacuum,” the minis-
ter said at the India To-
day Conclave. Rijiju
said he is not criticising
the apex court judg-
ment or talking about
its “repercussions” or
what the government is
going to do on the issue.
Vijayapura (Agen-
cies): An incident of
barricades collapsing
during the landing of a
helicopter carrying Un-
ion Minister Pralhad
Joshi was reported
from Vijayapura dis-
trict on Saturday
.
According to author-
ities, the incident
raised security con-
cerns, and the authori-
ties were looking into
it. The Union minister
reached Vijayapura to
attend a public rally of
the beneficiaries of
state and central gov-
ernment projects in the
premises of the Sainik
School.
When the chopper
was in the landing pro-
cess in the premises of
the school, the barri-
cades erected to protect
the perimeter came off
and collapsed due to the
force of the wind that
was generated during
the landing.
Another interview of
Bishnoi surfaces from jail
‘LAC situation very fragile,
China must resolve issue’
Kiren Rijiju invokes
‘Lakshman Rekha’
for SC order on EC
Barricades collapse as
Union Min’s chopper
lands in Karnataka
President Droupadi
Murmu during her visit to
Vivekananda Rock memorial, in
Kanyakumari on Saturday.
Bishnoi is currently lodged in
the high-security Bathinda jail
President Droupadi Murmu paying homage at the Vivekananda
Kendra, in Kanyakumari, on Saturday. —PHOTOS BY ANI
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addresses during
the inaugural session of the National Convention on India’s
International Relations. —PHOTO BY ANI
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju
Huge crowd gathers after barricades collapse.
OWNERS OF COLD
STORAGE WHICH
COLLAPSED HELD
CBSE WARNS SCHOOLS AGAINST STARTING
ACADEMIC SESSION BEFORE APRIL 1
New Delhi: The CBSE has warned schools against
starting the academic session before April 1, saying it
poses the risk of causing anxiety and burnout among
students. The warning by CBSE comes after several
schools commenced their academic session, espe-
cially for Classes 10 and 12. “Attempting to complete
an entire year’s worth of course work in a reduced
timeframe poses risks for students who may get
overwhelmed and struggle to keep up with the pace of
learning, leading to anxiety and burnout,” CBSE said.
Sambhal: Police have ar-
rested the two owners of
a cold storage here where
14 people were killed and
several injured after the
building’s roof collapsed,
a senior official said on
Saturday. The two were
arrested from Haldwani
district in Uttarakhand, he
said. Twenty-four people
were pulled out of the
rubble of the collapsed
structure on Indira Road
under Chandausi police
station limits and 14 of
them died, according to
officials. Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath has set
up a committee to probe
the reasons behind the
collapse, which took
place on Thursday.
CRUCIAL READ
YOUTUBER ARRESTED FOR FAKE VIDEOS
OF MIGRANT WORKERS ATTACKED IN TN
4 KILLED, 28 INJURED AS BUS OVERTURNS IN JK’S PULWAMA
Patna: YouTuber Manish Kashyap from Bihar, who has
several cases filed against him by the Bihar and Tamil
Nadu police for allegedly making fake videos of Bihari
migrant workers in the southern state, was arrested on
Saturday. Kashyap was arrested at the Jagdishpur police
station of Bettiah in the West Champaran district, where
he surrendered after the Bihar Police, and it’s Economic
Offences Unit, reached his home to attach his proper-
ties. He is accused of circulating false and misleading
videos about residents of Bihar working in Tamil Nadu.
Srinagar (PTI): Four
people hailing from
Bihar were killed and 28
injured when their bus
overturned in Jammu
and Kashmir’s Pulwama
district on Saturday,
officials said. The inci-
dent took place on the
Srinagar-Jammu National
Highway in the Barsoo
area of the south Kashmir
district, they added. Four
passengers, all residents
of Bihar, were killed in
the accident, the officials
said, adding that 28
passengers were injured,
of whom 23 were rushed
to various hospitals for
treatment. LG Manoj
Sinha expressed anguish
over the incident and
directed the district
administration to provide
all necessary assistance
to the affected people.
INVESTIGATION
STILL GOING ON
The SIA has so
far identified 10
suspects whose in-
volvement has sur-
faced in the initial
investigation. The
early morning raids
spread over many
districts of Kashmir
are still underway.
With the seizures
of electronic gadgets, incriminating material and
other corroborative evidence, the SIA is hopeful
that the searches would enable it to extract some
vital leads, including on whether these funds had
anything to do with terror and Hurriyat finances.
TERROR-FUNDING CASE
SIA CARRIES OUT RAIDS AT
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS IN JK
Searches were
conducted in
places connected
to Sarjan Barkati
Police personnel stand guard as State Investigation Agency (SIA)
conduct raids at various locations, on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Police personnel during raids at
various locations, on Saturday.
UP Energy Minister warns striking
workers to join back or face dismissal
Electricity Department workers perform ‘havan’ during their three-
day strike, in Varanasi. —PHOTO BY ANI
Owaisi accuses
Nitish of helping
BJP in Bihar
BJP trying to
topple Delhi govt
via no-confidence
motion, says AAP
—PHOTO
BY
ANI

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 59,430 1424 2.45 (Per 10g)
SILVER 68,630 2099 3.15 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Nippon Energy,
the Japanese solar compa-
ny that provides financing,
engineering, and contract-
ing solutions for various
solar projects, has recently
announced the promotion
of Muhammad Haris Khan
to Chief Operating Officer
and Board Member. Mu-
hammad Haris Khan is an
experienced professional
with over 10 years of
experience in the renewa-
ble energy industry. He
started his journey with
Nippon Energy as a Re-
newable-Hydrogen Expert
in January 2018. —ANI
KHAN BECOMES
NIPPON ENERGY’S
YOUNGEST COO
New Delhi/Varanasi: A
sense of wonder filled the
carriage as the Vande
Bharat Express raced
through the flatlands of
Uttar Pradesh, bound
from Varanasi to Delhi, at
130 kph (81 mph). That is
a shade faster than the
Northeast Regional ferries
passengers between New
York and Washington-
-and, by Indian locomo-
tive standards, revolution-
ary, according to the
Economist.The train cov-
ers its 759-km route 130
minutes faster than the
next-quickest service.
“It’s so much more com-
fortable!” says M Afzal,
42, a cloth dealer from
Varanasi. —ANI
‘INDIA GETTING AN
EYE-WATERINGLY BIG
TRANS UPGRADE’
New Delhi: Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) and Central
Bank of the United Arab
Emirates (CBUAE) have
signed an MoU for innova-
tion in financial products
in Abu Dhabi, to enhance
cooperation and jointly en-
able innovation in financial
products and services. Un-
der the MoU, two central
banks will collaborate on
various emerging areas of
fintech, especially central
bank digital currencies
(CBDCs) and explore inter-
operability between CBDCs
of CBUAE and RBI. —ANI
CROSS-BORDER CBDC
TRANSACTIONS:
RBI,UAE SIGN MOU
New Delhi: MG Motor In-
dia on Saturday said it has
bagged an order to supply
100 units of its various
models to WTiCabs India.
The fleet of 100 vehicles,
including Hector and ZS
EV, will be used for the
rent-a-car division of WTi-
Cabs India. “Our partner-
ship will further make MG
vehicles more accessible
to SUV and EV enthusiasts
in India. We are deeply
grateful to WTiCabs for
having chosen the MG
Hector and ZS EV as their
choice of vehicle for their
business,” MG Motor’s
Rakesh Sidana said. —PTI
MG MOTOR TO GIVE
100 VEHICLES TO
WTICABS INDIA
*Rates till the edition went to print.
MARKETS THIS WEEK
ed continues to
play the role of a
party pooper
just when our in-
vestors had
started recover-
ing from the Adani dam-
age. Steep rate hikes may
be back as hinted by Pow-
ell to tackle the stubbornly
high inflation. Neverthe-
less, hope your holi cele-
brations were far more
colourful than your portfo-
lios currently.
As much as we try mov-
ing away from Musk and
give new and fresh in-
sights every week, he just
simply keeps crawling
back in our wrap. Try and
remember the worst boss
you’ve had and multiply
that times infinity. That’s
Elon for you. He indulged
in an ugly back-and-forth
with a now-former em-
ployee who hadn’t even
been informed that he was
laid off. It’s hard to find
anyone remotely close to
this inhumane “genius.
Hope your equation with
your boss is doing good, its
appraisal time after all. In
case you are looking for
ways to put those fat bonus
cheques to use, do give our
latest blog a read.
Now, let’s grab some
cool shake and dig into
some of the important
news that made headlines
this week
BYE BYE EVS?
Pulling the plug: GoI may
discontinueits`10,000crore
Faster Adoption and Manu-
facturing of Electric Vehi-
cles or FAME-II scheme be-
yond FY24. It is also holding
back subsidies worth `1,100
cr while it investigates al-
leged misappropriation of
fundsbyTVSMotors,Ather
Energy, Ola Electric, and
many others. It may move
the unspent FAME-II funds
to electric buses during this
investigation. As per FY24
budget, subsidy under the
FAME scheme is projected
at `5,172 cr, compared with
`2,897 cr in FY23.
Scheme scam: EV makers
have been relying on FAME
to make electric scooters
cheaper than the regular
conventional ones. Under
the scheme, companies
could offer a discount of up
to 40% on the cost of locally
manufactured vehicles and
claim it as a subsidy from
the government. But, sev-
eral EV players were in-
dulging in foul play by pro-
viding misleading infor-
mation and declaring im-
ported components as lo-
cally sourced so that they
could qualify for subsidies.
A whistleblower popped up
and suggested that the in-
dustry claimed subsidies
worth at least`300 crores
with 0 value added in India.
What next? FAME subsi-
dies had anyway fallen
short of target. Fyi, FAME-
I had barely doled out one-
third of the planned budg-
et, and looks like FAME-II
could see a similar fate.
Government wants to in-
stead focus on Production
linked PLI schemes. While
FAME scheme is disbursed
at the point of sale, PLI ben-
efits are directly given to
manufacturers and much
harder to dupe.
OUR TAKE
While the decision is still
hanging in air, this could
spell serious trouble for not
just EV stakeholders but
also India’s green mission.
This negative publicity at
such early stages could put
brakes on the transition.
EVs currently have a mi-
nuscule share – (5% in 2W
and 1% in PVs). They need
support to bring down costs
andboostacceptability
.Gov-
ernment could have tried
plugging loopholes rather
than pulling the plugs off
completely
, we feel.
GovtlikelytodiscontinueFAME-2subsidy
UNCERTAINTY LURKING AHEAD FOR EV DEALERS AS
EV MAKERS
RELYING ON
FAME TO
MAKE E-
SCOOTERS
CHEAPER
F
Sensex
MARKET
MOVEMENT
THIS WEEK
Nifty
Nifty
Midcap
Nifty
Smallcap
309.9
0.5%
0.5%
0.3%
0.2%
19.3 128.2
54.4
WHAT ELSE MADE THE NEWS?
z MASK
UP? India has
recorded several
cases of the new
H3N2 variant of
influenza. It may
be time to get
vaxxed and mask
up again.
z ENDORSE-
MENT SCAN:
Government
released endorse-
ment guidelines
for celebrities and
influencers which
require them to
use the product
or service before
endorsing it.
z MENDING TIME: Mr. Adani is look-
ing to sell 4-5% stake in Ambuja Ce-
ment to international lenders as part
of its debt reduction plan to restore
investor confidence, as per reports.
z UNDER WATCH: RBI is keeping a
tab on country’s top 20 business con-
glomerates for any signs of financial
stress amidst the Adani row.
z TAX SLASHED: Maharashtra
slashes jet fuel tax to 18% from 25%
to help promote the variation industry.
z MONEY BREW: India’s fav beer
giant Bira 91 raised $10 mn from
Japan’s MUFG bank in its series D
funding round.
TECH-DATE
CRYPTO:
PREVENTION
BETTER THAN
CURE
Another strike: Regula-
tory net continues to
tighten around cryptos in
India. This time the govt
has brought the trading
of cryptocurrencies and
other digital assets under
the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act (PMLA).
Last year, it introduced a
30% income tax on gains
made from crypto trading.
An additional tax deducted
at source of 1% came
into effect in July’22.
Following this, crypto
trading volumes collapsed
by 60%-90% in Indian
exchanges. This was fol-
lowed by an investigation
from the Enforcement
Directorate across local
crypto exchanges. Cryptos
had a disastrous last year
with major global cryptos
losing at least two-thirds
of their value while several
went bust.
What will PMLA mean?
This would require all enti-
ties dealing with cryptos
to implement mandatory
KYC processes, reporting
of suspicious activities,
and will require financial
entities/crypto firms to
maintain client details for
five years. These rules
already apply to banks,
financial institutions, and
other intermediaries. All
in all, crypto entities and
trading will now come
under increased scrutiny.
Government’s stand: RBI
has had a tough stance
on private cryptos and
firmly believes if private
currencies are regulated
and allowed to grow, the
next financial crisis will
come from them. Crypto
regulation is one of the
key agendas for G20 and
as India is holding the G20
presidency, crypto regula-
tions will naturally take the
forefront in India. Mind
ya, US, European Union
already use anti-money
laundering provisions to
regulate crypto.
‘Packaging industry growing at 15-17%’
New Delhi (PTI): The
packagingindustryisgrow-
ing at 15-17% and the sector
has the potential to create
employment opportunities
in the country
, industry ex-
perts said.
The experts also called
for the promotion of do-
mestic players and setting
up the packaging industry
in every district on the
lines of the ‘one district
one product’ initiative to
create jobs at the local level.
“Presently, the demand
for packaging of all things
has increased a lot and
there is a lot of scope for
employment in this sector,”
Prof Tanveer Alam, Direc-
tor of the Indian Institute
of Packaging (IIP) Delhi,
said at the Asian Packaging
Congress here on Saturday
.
The event was organ-
ised by the Indian Insti-
tute of Packaging (IIP), an
autonomous body under
the Union Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, a
release said.
EXPERTS SAY...
‘ONE DISTRICT
ONE PRODUCT’
z The experts also called for
the promotion of domestic
players and setting up the
packaging industry in every
district
z The development and
setting up of the packaging
industry on lines of ‘one
district one product’ initiative
to create jobs at the local
level
Mumbai (PTI): The coun-
try’s forex reserves fell by
USD 2.39 billion to a three-
month low of USD 560.003
billionforweektoMarch10,
the Reserve Bank said in its
latest weekly data release.
In week to March 03, re-
serves rose by USD 1.46 bil-
lion and stood at USD 562.40
billion. On an annualised
basis, RBI said, reserves are
down by USD 47.31 billion
during the week under re-
view while on a fiscal year
basis, the same plunged by
USD 62.23 billion.
With this erosion, the fo-
rex kitty is at the lowest
since early-December, ac-
cording to the weekly sta-
tistical supplement re-
leased by the RBI on Friday
.
The loss in the reserves
is due to the revaluation of
the foreign currency as-
sets, which are the largest
component of the forex
kitty, to the tune of USD 2.2
billion to USD 494.86 billion
for the week to March 10.
On a year-on-year basis,
the value of foreign cur-
rency assets fell by USD
45.86 billion and from a fis-
cal year perspective, they
lost USD 59.49 billion.
Expressed in dollar
terms, foreign currency as-
sets include the effect of
appreciation or deprecia-
tion of the non-US units
like the euro, the pound
and the yen held in the for-
eign exchange reserves.
Forex kitty down by USD 2.39 billion
Washington (PTI): Time
is running out for laid off
H-1B professionals as un-
der the existing laws they
need to leave the country
within 60 days of losing
their employment status,
giving sleepless nights to
the thousands of Indian
tech workers and their
family members.
“Thishasahumanitarian
impact on them as their
families,includingtheirUS-
born children are uprooted
abruptly
, and those who
were laid off in the earlier
months are now running
outof time,”theFoundation
For India and Indian Dias-
pora Studies (FIIDS), which
tookuptheircaseswithlaw-
makers and federal admin-
istrationsaidinastatement.
While the US Citizenship
and Immigration Services
is considering their re-
quest to extend the existing
time window to 180 days,
the process is likely to take
up some time, leaving no
other option for these pro-
fessionals other than to
leave the country
.
“FIIDS appeals to the US-
CIS, and Department of
Homeland Security (DHS)
to consider a request to ex-
pedite the extension of
grace period. FIIDS also ap-
peals to the elected offi-
cials, tech executives, and
community leaders to em-
phasise the need and ur-
gency to increase the grace
period,” the foundation
said in a media statement.
Since last year, more
than 2,50,000 such profes-
sionals have been laid
off in the United States,
FIIDS said.
‘Time running out for laid
off H-1B professionals’
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.58 0.18 0.00
GBPINR 100.13 0.22 0.00
CURRENCIES

08
2NDFRONT
Life is beautiful because of the
different experiences, different people,
varied languages, culture and
traditions that we come across. Let us
celebrate our diversity.
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Farmers call off long protest march to Mumbai
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Members of
the farming and tribal
communities, who were
on their way to Mumbai
from Nashik district of
Maharashtra, called off
their long protest
march on Saturday
. The
move came after their
demands were taken
into consideration and
ground-level officials
received orders to exe-
cute the government’s
directives, a CPI(M)
MLA said.
The march had start-
ed from Dindori town,
located around 195 km
away from Mumbai, on
March 12. Farmers de-
manded relief of Rs600
per quintal to onion
growers hit by price
crash, 12-hour uninter-
rupted power supply to
farmers, and waiver of
farm loans.
On Friday, Chief
Minister Eknath Shin-
de told the Assembly
that onion cultivators
will be given a financial
relief of Rs350 a quintal
and appealed to them to
call off the protest.
“Our demands have
been met. All the de-
mands by the farmers
were taken into consid-
eration in the state leg-
islature and collectors
and tehsildars have
been issued orders. We
received calls from our
activists that work (im-
plementation of the
government order) has
begun. So we have de-
cided to call off the
march,” Communist
Party of India (Marxist)
MLA Vinod Nikole said.
Meanwhile, a 58-year-
old participant in the
long march died on Fri-
day. The deceased Pun-
dalik Ambo Jadhav was
declared brought dead
at a Shahpur hospital.
Farmers have begun heading home from Vasind in Thane district,
the location they reached before the foot march was called off.
Govt agrees to dispense aid of `350
per quintal to onion growers, orders
officials to execute other directives
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
HCjunksIranpleaagainstorder
US$35 LAKH PAYOUT TO INDIAN FIRM
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bombay
High Court has dis-
missed an appeal filed
by the government of
Iran challenging an ex-
parte order directing
the nation to pay more
than USD 35 lakh to an
Indian company in a
dispute over sale of rail-
way wagons.
In a ruling earlier
this week, a division
bench comprising Jus-
tice KR Shriram and
Justice Rajesh Patil
also imposed a cost of
Rs10 lakh after dismiss-
ing the Iran govern-
ment’s plea. It ruled
that the fine amount
would be payable to the
Indian company, KT
Steels, within four
weeks.
The Islamic Republic
of Iran (IRI), through
the Iranian Islamic Re-
public Railways (RAI),
had floated a global ten-
der for purchase of rail-
way wagons. The Indi-
an government, back in
the 1970s, was exporting
wagons through the
State Trading Corpora-
tion (STC).
KT Steels submitted
its bid through STC and
the Indian public sector
company entered into a
purchase contract with
the Iranian government
on March 16, 1970. In
1972, due to a spike in
international oil prices,
there was an increase in
freight charges for ship-
ment of wagons and in
August 1976, the con-
tract was amended.
With this modification,
the export continued
until 1977.
However, KT Steels
claimed that the Islamic
Republic of Iran failed
to pay the freight charg-
es as agreed for 306 wag-
ons in 1973 and 94 wag-
ons shipped in 1977. The
Indian firm filed a suit
the HC in September
1996, but the govern-
ment of Iran never ap-
peared before the court.
In an ex-parte judg-
ment passed in 2008 the
HC directed IRI to pay
an amount of USD
1,387,727 for 304 wagons,
USD 1,696,722 for 94
wagons and USD 484,840
towards damages- all
totalling USD 35,69,289.
It also ordered an in-
terest payment at the
rate of 9% per annum
on the freight charges.
We observe
that the
Iranian
government has cho-
sen not to appear be-
fore this court and
still refuses to com-
ply with its orders.
Applicant has not
made any submis-
sions, but only RAI,
which is not even a
party, has engaged
a counsel to appear.
—Bombay High Court
THE VERDICT
The HC accepted KT
Steels’ arguments that
the Islamic Republic of
Iran did not pay heed
to the court’s orders till
a disclosure order was
passed. It found no
satisfactory explanation
for this delay. In view
of these observations,
the HC dismissed the
plea filed by the Islamic
Republic of Iran and
imposed a `10L fine.
Slaps `10L cost, to be paid within 4 weeks; pulls up foreign govt for ‘oversight’
The case dates back to a 1970 sales contract between KT Steels and the Iranian Islamic Republic
Railways. —FILE PHOTO
ODE TO THE MARATHA KING!
Artists during a performance of ‘Janata Raja’, a Marathi play based on the life of 17th
century warrior king Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, at Shivaji Park in Dadar area of Mumbai.
—PHOTO
BY
PTI
Mumbai cops issue
notice to organizers
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Mumbai po-
lice on Saturday sent a
notice to the organizers
of Bageshwar Dham’s
DhirendraShastrievent
to be held on Mira Road
here under Section 149
of the Code of Criminal
Procedure (CrPC).
The move comes after
cops received a com-
plaint from the Maha-
rashtra Andhashrad-
dha Nirmoolan Samiti.
“Baba should not say
anything that hurts the
sentiments of any saint
or any other religious
belief inhiscourt.Inthe
notice, it has been asked
nottoinsultanyreligion
or faith. The police will
take cognizance of the
spread of any supersti-
tion during the program
and will take action
against the organizers,”
the notice reads.
Suresh Khandelwal,
organizer of Baba
Dhirendra Shastri Dar-
bar said, “In SK ground
the Darbar will be held
and around one lakh
people are expected (to
attend).”
“All devotees have
been asked to maintain
discipline. Police force
and around 100-150
bouncers have been de-
ployed. We have over
2,000 volunteers along
with CCTV cameras. We
have made all the ar-
rangements,” he added.
As many as 1 lakh people are expected to attend the two-day
darbar that began in Mumbai on Saturday. —FILE PHOTO
❍ BAGESHWAR DHAM EVENT
Peddlers who shipped drugs to UK,
Aus nabbed; in custody till Mar 22
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Two drug
peddlers were arrested
for allegedly supplying
drugs to Australia and
the UK through a cou-
rier service, police said
on Saturday
.
Officials said that the
accused were arrested
during a drug bust in
Mumbai. They were
produced in the court
which sent both the ac-
cused to police custody
till March 22.
Earlier on March 16,
Mumbai police’s Anti-
Extortion Cell was said
to have recovered
15.743kg of ketamine
drug, worth Rs8 crore,
from the Andheri area.
Two persons were ar-
rested in connection
with the haul. During
the police interroga-
tion, the accused ped-
dler said, “Around 10kg
of ketamine drugs were
sent abroad every week
from Mumbai.”
According to the po-
lice, the peddlers sent
drugs and medicines to
Australia and the UK
through couriers.
“The arrested ac-
cused used to send
drugs to Australia and
the UK through couri-
ers, along with medi-
cines. Every week 10kg
of ketamine drug was
sent from Mumbai.
They used to bring
drugs from Gujarat,
which were packed
along with medicines
and shipped abroad,”
said the Mumbai police.
Accused with Anti-Extortion
Cell officials. —PHOTO BY ANI
Mirch Masala
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB RAMAN
The author is a journalist and political
commentator and views expressed are his personal
Unlike his cousin Rahul
Gandhi, BJP leader
Varun Gandhi is being
a little more careful in
projecting the new face
of India at international
forums. On the one hand,
while Rahul Gandhi, on
three other occasions,
including at the University
of Cambridge in London,
spoke about the threat to
democracy in India, Varun
turned down the invitation
to the Oxford Union in
which he had to debate
how successful India is
under Modi’s leadership.
This invitation was sent
to Varun from the office
of Oxford Union President
Matthew Dick. Varun first
received the invitation
through an e-mail, after
which Mathew’s assistant
Sultan Khokhar contacted
him over the phone. At
a time, when Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi is
going to London and
living there with the idea
that democracy in India
is under threat, Varun’s
refusal to speak against
the Oxford Union proposal
can be dismissed for
many political reasons.
As Varun also said in
his reply to the Oxford
Union, “I believe that such
issues should be raised
within the periphery of
the country and between
the policy makers here.
Foreign forums are not the
appropriate place for it.”
In fact, Varun reiterated in
his private conversation
that ‘it is a form of treason
to say such negative and
misleading things about
India on a foreign soil.’’
And this ‘thing’ pleased
his party ‘top’ too.
Recently, the important representa-
tive meeting of the Sangh has ended
in Samalkha, Haryana, and there was a
round of intense brainstorming about the
functioning of the BJP governments in
the meeting. But on the other hand, one
or two big leaders of the party in Delhi
have complained
about the work of
Union Ministers
and Chief Ministers,
claiming that they
are constantly being
accused of corrup-
tion and adminis-
trative failure. Two
Chief Ministers of
the states and more
than half a dozen Union Ministers have
been suggested to be replaced, which
may have been the reason why Utta-
rakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh
Dhami was summoned to Delhi in the
middle of the Assembly Session. Simi-
larly, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar
Lal Khattar, who has almost completed
his two terms, came to Delhi and met the
top leadership. Some people have said to
consider several other options including
Subodh Uniyal to replace Dhami and Kar-
nal MP Sanjay Bhatia to replace Manohar
Lal Khattar. Sources say that Acharya
Devvrat, the current Governor of Gujarat,
is also being floated as an alternative to
Manohar Lal. He has been associated
with the Sangh for a long time and is one
of the senior leaders of the Arya Samaj in
Haryana. It is believed that there may be
a change of leader-
ship in both these
states sometime
before March 31.
On the other hand,
knowledgeable
sources have denied
the change of leader-
ship in Haryana
because Manohar
Lal is in the ‘good
book’ of the High Command and now the
state elections are also round the corner.
At least, he is not accused of corruption.
Similarly in Uttarakhand too, no other
name is emerging as a strong alternative
to Pushkar Singh Dhami. So according
to sources, status quo will remain in
Haryana and Uttarakhand between these
conflicting reports. In addition to this,
there are preparations to send about 8
Union Ministers to the BJP organisation
and this work can also be done sometime
before May 15.
There has been controversy over Rahul Gandhi’s speech in
London, while Rahul met his Party President Mallikarjun
Kharge before going to London. Kharge told Rahul that ‘when he
returns from London to Delhi after three-four days, then he will
send a few leaders, from states where elections are to be held, to
meet Rahul.’ However, Rahul’s response stunned Kharge as the
Gandhi scion said, “I will come back later. You know that even a
good car has to be sent for servicing after 3 months.’’
Recently, Vasundhara Raje Scindia called an
important meeting of her core group. If sources are
to be believed, in that meeting it was decided that the
process of selecting candidates for all 200 assembly
seats of Rajasthan should start from now on. First of
all, a list of strong contend-
ers should be prepared seat-
wise and on this 5-7 names
may be considered on a seat.
After this, a ‘ground survey’
should be conducted for
each seat and the name of
the most suitable candidate
should be brought forth.
Then, a final list of candi-
dates for 200 seats should
be prepared and sent to Delhi High Command. And
after this, the final decision on the list should be taken
by the Delhi High Command. On the other hand, the
High Command has also kept the Vasundhara factor in
full consideration. In this connection, Vasundhara Raje
may soon meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home
Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda.
The General Secretary (GS) of the BJP has a lot
of power. Recently, a woman MP from Madhya
Pradesh reached the house of the BJP GS to meet
him on some work, however ‘Netaji’ was in a detached
mood. He looked at that female MP and said, ‘I have
always seen you in Sarees, why don’t you try some
modern dresses?” Hearing this, the woman MP
became furious and told the General Secretary bluntly
that ‘his bad behaviour will be reported to the top
leadership.’ Meanwhile, realising that the matter could
turn sour for him, the ‘Netaji’ went directly to the Party
President JP Nadda and complained to the Party Presi-
dent about the woman MP saying that ‘she was being
rude to me, hence I scolded her.’ Interestingly, Netaji
also requested Nadda to handle the matter saying, “
Please see that the matter does not reach till ‘top’.”
Priyanka Gandhi may get more important respon-
sibilities in the Congress organisation in days to
come. It seems that in Congress President Mallikarjun
Kharge’s new team, Priyanka
Gandhi can be retained as
General Secretary. Apart
from this, she can also be
made the election in-charge
of an important state like
Madhya Pradesh. Along
with this, she can also be
entrusted with the coordina-
tion of Himachal Pradesh. In
fact, Kharge wants ‘Priyanka
to be made more effective in the organisation by mak-
ing her the ‘General Secretary’, but Sonia and Rahul
fear that this will give the BJP an opportunity to attack
them that ‘Congress has merely changed the face of its
topmost leader, otherwise, all the important decisions
are still being taken by the Gandhi family’.
VASUNDHARA RAJE SCINDIA STARTS
HER PREPARATION!
WHAT WAS ‘NETAJI’ THINKING?
PRIYANKAWILLGETBIGRESPONSIBILITIES
WHY DID VARUN
SAY ‘NO’ TO
OXFORD?
COMPLAINTS ABOUT SEVERAL UNION MINISTERS AND CMsOF BJP!
...AND FINALLY

09
MUMBAI | SUNDAY,
MARCH 19, 2023
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
DESCENDINGFROMTHE
HEAVENS
The fields of fashion, beauty and design are
cloud-filled. This free-spirit fashion is the latest
in trend and catching the attention of fashion
enthusiasts. City First gives you some insights
into this cloud-inspired fashion!
very now
and then, an
i n t e r n e t
trend is
born that
we’re sim-
ply en-
thralled by. When it
comes to fashion es-
pecially, trends are
always emerging.
While they might be
hard to keep up
with, there’s one in
particular that
we’ve been obsessed
with lately and it is
none other than the
dreamy cloud-in-
spired fashion
trend.
M o r e o v e r ,
clouds are be-
coming more
popular in
pop culture,
especially among
Millennials who are
drawn to this style.
Taste makers on so-
cial media have ar-
gued that clouds
bring back memo-
ries of our innocent
childhood. Not only
this but make-up
artists also today
are having fun creat-
ing “cloud art” for
the nails and eyes in
the beauty industry.
On social media,
hashtags like
#cloudnails, #cloud-
eyeshadow, and
#cloudmakeup are
trending, attesting
to an upsurge in im-
agination and inven-
tiveness. The dar-
ing, avant-garde
makeup looks devel-
oped for the well-
liked American TV
show “Euphoria”
are largely respon-
sible for the new
style. The latter
highlights the
uniqueness of a
younger age that ap-
preciates unre-
strained, unabashed
self-expression and
serves as inspira-
tion for several run-
ways.
This exquisite
fashion gives relax-
ation to the eyes
with its soothing
hue which is the
best choice for sum-
mer clothing.
The “puffy” style
has taken over our
social media feeds
in everything from
dresses and jackets
to headbands and
shorts and we can’t
get enough of it.
The mesmerizing
fashion holds the
ability to uplift your
mood and make you
the talk of the town.
Wear a blue cloud
print top with a
white skater skirt
and white sneakers
to add the cherry
on the top wear
cloud theme
earrings and
bracelets with
a white
cloud bag.
MRIDULA SHARMA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
E

19032023_First India Mumbai.pdf

19032023_First India Mumbai.pdf

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