20062022_First India Mumbai.pdf

Straight fight for additional votes between Congress and BJP
Renni Abraham
Mumbai: Monday’s
Vidhan Parishad elec-
tions will likely be a
straight fight between
the Bharatiya Janata
Party’s ambitious fifth
candidate and Con-
gress party’s Mumbai
president Bhai Jagtap
who is short of eight
votes for a comfortable
win.
A senior Congress
leader told First In-
dia, “Our party is un-
der tremendous pres-
sure but realistic. Our
first preference votes
will go to elect Chan-
drakant Handore. We
had sounded out Bhai
Jagtap right at the be-
ginning, that he would
have to try his luck
getting the eight votes
he’s likely to be
short of.”
With its 106 MLA
votes, the BJP can eas-
ily ensure the required
26 votes to each of its
first four candidates.
Meanwhile, the Na-
tionalist Congress
Party (NCP) with its 51
MLAs (as Anil Desh-
mukh and Nawab Ma-
lik are incarcerated)
and one vote promised
by the All India Majlis-
E-Ittehadul Musli-
meen (AIMIM) is con-
fident on the prospects
of its two nominees.
Following its formu-
la from the recent Ra-
jya Sabha polls, the
BJP is looking to sway
independent MLAs
and smaller parties to
vote for Lad, its fifth
candidate, and is not
above poaching votes
from the Congress and
Shiv Sena.
Similarly, the Shiv
Sena has fielded Sachin
Ahir and Amshya Pad-
vi. The party is expect-
ed to coast through
with its first prefer-
ence votes for both can-
didates with its 55 MLA
votes (down by one af-
ter the demise of Mum-
bai MLA Ramesh
Latke). That is, unless
the BJP manages to
poach its MLAs during
the secret ballot voting
process prescribed for
Vidhan Parishad elec-
tions.
The Sena, still
smarting from the in-
validated vote of MLA
Suhas Kande in the RS
polls, is expected to en-
sure the requisite 52
votes for its own candi-
dates, with one extra
vote, just in case.
The MVA govern-
ment had claimed a
strength of 170 MLAs
in the state legislature
in 2019 but five inde-
pendent MLAs let
them down in the Ra-
jya Sabha polls, leav-
ing the coalition with
161 MLAs in the Maha-
rashtra legislative
assembly.
Vidhan Parishad polls
may see Prasad Lad,
Bhai Jagtap go mano a
mano to ensure win
Plane catches
fire after take-off
from Patna;
passengers safe
New Delhi: A Delhi-
bound SpiceJet Boeing
737 aircraft from Patna
had to return as a bird
hit led one of its engines
to spark. The plane with
185 passengers and six
crew landed safely five
minutes after take-off
from Patna. “During
take-off, cockpit crew
suspected a bird hit one
of the engines. As a pre-
cautionary measure and
as per SOP, the pilot shut
down the affected engine
and decided to return to
Patna. The aircraft land-
ed safely in Patna and
passengers were safely
deboarded,” the airline
said in a statement.
Prasad Lad Bhai Jagtap
We already
have 24 votes
for our fifth
candidate and--in the
wake of the Rajya
Sabha elections--have
a virtual army of in-
dependents and
smaller parties. Lad
will win. He might
even get votes from
Sena and Congress
MLAs. Sanjay Raut
has alienated several
independent MLAs
with his unnecessary
and immature poli-
tics.
—Senior BJP leader
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: The Army
Navy and the Air Force
on Sunday came out
with a broad schedule
for recruitment of sol-
diers under the Ag-
nipath scheme while
asserting that it is being
implemented to bring
down the age profile of
the armed forces.
Lt General Puri also
said the centre did not
give concessions in ‘Ag-
nipath’ scheme because
of protests and arson,
but that those were al-
ready in works. He said
‘Agnipath’ planners did
not anticipate protests
because armed forces
stand for discipline and
only disciplined appli-
cants join former. P5
‘NO ROLLBACK OF AGNIPATH, ALL
CONCESSIONS ARE PRE-PLANNED’
l Recruitment
rallies under
Agnipath scheme
will be held
l The Army chief
officials to issue a
draft notice today
l Congress party said Agnipath
Scheme is not beneficial for the
youth of the country and also
jeopardises the national security
l Cong to continue peaceful stir
against Agnipath and Rahul’s ED
probe today; delegation will also
meet Prez Kovind during the day
(From L-R) Lt General CB Ponnappa, Lt General Anil Puri, Dinesh K Tripathi and Suraj Kumar Jha
during a press conference at South Block, Ministry of Defence Complex in New Delhi on Sunday.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Jai Ram Ramesh, Rajiv Shukla, Salman Khurshid, Alka Lamba,
Deepender Singh Hooda and others sit on Satyagraha at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday.
The naval headquarters
will come out with a
broad guideline for the
recruitment by June 25. The first
batch of recruits will join the training
programme by November 21.
—Dinesh Tripathi, Vice Admiral
The registration process
will start on June 24 and
the process for online
examination for phase one of the
recruitment will begin on July 24.
—SK Jha, Air Marshall
The first batch comprising 25,000
personnel will join the training programme
in the first and second week of December.
The second lot of recruits will join their training
around February 23.
—Lt Gen Bansi Ponnappa, Adjutant General of IA
All Agniveers will have to give a pledge
that he/she never took part in any arson,
protest. We had not anticipated the recent
violence over this scheme. There is no place for
indiscipline in Armed Forces. If there is any FIR
against any candidate they cannot be a part of
Agniveers.
—Lt Gen Anil Puri, Addl Secy, Dept of Military Affairs
Congress sits on ‘Satyagraha’
seeking rollback of scheme
New Delhi: MPs and
leaders of the Congress
party performed a sit-in
demonstration dubbed
‘Satyagraha’ at Delhi’s
Jantar Mantar on Sun-
day. The protest was in
solidarity with the
youths protesting the
newly announced Ag-
nipath scheme for re-
cruitment in the armed
forces by Centre.
Congress gen secy
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
and party leaders Jai
Ram Ramesh, Rajiv
Shukla, Sachin Pilot,
Salman Khurshid and
Alka Lamba took part
in the ‘Satyagraha’.
AGNIPATH: SEVERAL PROTESTING GROUPS CALL FOR A BHARAT BANDH TODAY
RAJNATH MEETS
CHIEFS OF ARMY,
NAVY AND IAF
Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh on Sunday met the
three service chiefs amid
escalating protests against
the ‘Agnipath’ military
recruitment scheme in
several parts of the coun-
try. It was Singh’s second
meeting with the chiefs of
the Army, Navy and the
Air Force for the second
straight day on the issue.
PRIYANKA: BE PEACEFUL, BUT DON’T STOP
PROTESTS AGAINST AGNIPATH SCHEME
PRIME MINISTER MODI PICKS UP LITTER
New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
has said the new plan will “finish Army”. Addressing
Congress’s Satyagraha, she said that This scheme will
kill the youth of the country, will finish
the Army. Please see the intent of
this government. Topple it through
democratic, peaceful and non-vio-
lent means. Your objective should
be to bring a government that is
true to the nation and protects the
country’s assets. I urge you to
protest peacefully, but don’t
stop. These are your rights,
this is your country
and it is your duty
to protect it. Every
leader and worker
of the Congress is
with you.
A staunch advocate of the Swachh Bharat campaign, PM Nar-
endra Modi on Sunday picked up litter at the newly launched
ITPO tunnel built under Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit
Corridor in the national capital. Modi was seen inspecting the
newly inaugurated tunnel and picking up an empty water bot-
tle and other pieces of trash as he walked along.
“ENGINEERING
MARVEL”: GOYAL
Union Minister of Com-
merce and Industry
Piyush Goyal termed
Pragati Maidan Tunnel as
an “engineering marvel”
and is a “first-of-its-kind
underground corridor” in
the country.
PM inaugurates `920 cr Pragati Maidan corridor project
New Delhi (ANI):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi inaugurated
the main tunnel and
five underpasses of the
Pragati Maidan Inte-
grated Transit Corridor
Project in New Delhi on
Sunday
.
According to PMO,
the Integrated Transit
Corridor project is an
integral part of the Pra-
gati Maidan Redevelop-
ment Project. The Inte-
grated Transit Corridor
project has been built at
a cost of more than Rs
920 crore, entirely fund-
ed by the central gov-
ernment.
It is part of the over-
arching vision of the
government to ensure
ease of living for people
through transforming
urban infrastructure.
6 High Courts
get new Chief
Justices
Justice SS Shinde
is new CJ of Raj HC
New Delhi (PTI): New
chief justices were ap-
pointed to 6 high courts
on Sunday including to
the Delhi HC. Dept of
Justice in the Union
Law Ministry tweeted
about these appoint-
ments.
While 5 HC judges
were elevated as chief
justices, CJ of the Tel-
angana HC, Justice Sat-
ish Chandra Sharma,
was transferred to Del-
hi HC in same capacity
.
Justice Vipin Sanghi
from Delhi HC was ap-
pointed as CJ of Uttara-
khand HC. Similarly,
Justice Amjad A Sayed
of Bombay HC was
made CJ of HP HC.
Justice SS Shinde of
Bombay HC was ap-
pointed as the chief jus-
tice of the Rajasthan
HC. Justice Rashmin M
Chhaya from Gujarat
HC was elevated as CJ
of Gauhati HC.
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan,
who is currently a
judge in Telangana HC,
was elevated as CJ
there. His parent HC
Gauhati.
KAILASH BLAMES
‘TOOLKIT GANG’
BJP nat’l gen secy Kailash
Vijayvargiya said on Sun-
day that if he
had to hire a
guard for his
party office
in Indore, he
would prefer
to hire an Ag-
niveer. After comment was
met with criticism from
Varun Gandhi, he shifted
blame to “toolkit gang”.
PM Narendra Modi picks up litter during inauguration on Sunday.
PM CALLS ON PREZ!
Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls on President Ram Nath
Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Sunday.
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
Our actions
reflect our commitment
towards a resolution.
PM @narendramodi Ji’s
devotion towards ‘Swacch
Bharat’ is truly inspiring.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Ministers Piyush
Goyal and Hardeep Singh Puri during inauguration of Pragati
Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor project in Delhi on Sunday.
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
MUMBAI l MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 45
In this 44th Chess Olympiad, over 2,000 players from 188
countries will participate. Till now no torch relay happened
in Chess Olympiad but FIDE took decision to do torch relay
for 1st time from India: Union Minister Anurag Thakur P6
RAHUL GANDHI TO APPEAR BEFORE ED FOR 4TH
TIME TODAY
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear before the ED
today. Rahul on Thursday, wrote to ED that he will join on Monday and not
on Friday and cited his mother’s health as reason for the deferred hearing.
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, LUCKNOW, NEW DELHI MUMBAI
On the successful completion of three years of his tenure,
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday stressed that he
has always strived to hold the discussions on bills with the
cooperation of all the members of the House P5

First India Bureau
Palghar: On the eve
of the Maharashtra
Legislative Council
polls, NCP nominee
Eknath Khadse on
Sunday met Bahujan
Vikas Aghadi (BVA)
leader and Vasai MLA
Hitendra Thakur to
seek the support of
his party in the tight
contest between oppo-
sition BJP and Shiv
Sena-led tripartite
Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA).
Recently, nominees
of NCP, Congress, and
BJP had called on
Thakur separately to
seek the support of the
BVA, which has three
MLAs in the Legislative
Assembly, in the June
20 elections that will see
11 candidates contest
for 10 seats.
Khadse later admit-
ted to reporters that he
had asked for the BVA’s
votes in the polls.
“I have known Hiten-
dra Thakur for more
than 32 years. We share
good relations. We
know each other be-
yond politics. Today, we
discussed family mat-
ters and didn’t talk
much about politics,”
he said.
Khadse said it is
Thakur’s prerogative
whom to vote for.
“I hope he will take
the right decision,”
Khadse said, adding
that Thakur cited dif-
ferent issues in his con-
stituency during their
discussion.
Khadse said the
MVA—comprising the
Shiv Sena, NCP, and
Congress—will win all
the six seats it is con-
testing.
Thakur is non-com-
mittal on the stand of
the BVA in the polls.
The quota for first
preference votes per
candidate to win is 26.
Given its strength in the
Assembly, the BJP can
get four of its five can-
didates elected, the
Sena and the NCP two
each, and the Congress,
one.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Maha-
rashtra Legislative
Council polls have a
history of shock de-
feats due to the com-
plex arithmetic of
preferential votes,
and the distribution
or transfer of these
votes will determine
if the 11th candidate
will win on Monday.
The stage is set for an
intense battle between
the ruling Maha Vi-
kas Aghadi coalition
and the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) in
the election.
Like the Rajya Sabha
polls, preferential votes
will play a key role in
determining who reach-
es the magic figure of 26
votes based on the
strength of total MLAs
who manage to cast
their votes. Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP)
leader Ajit Pawar said
that given 11 candidates
are in the fray for 10
council seats, not just
the first and second
preference votes will
play a role, but how the
votes transfer corre-
spondingly to third and
fourth preference will
also be crucial in deter-
mining who wins.
Shiv Sena’s incum-
bent Transport Minis-
ter Anil Parab lost the
election in 2010 despite
receiving more first
preference votes than
independent candidate
Vijay Sawant backed by
the Congress.
The Congress and the
NCP had fought the
polls separately with
three candidates each,
the BJP and the Shiv
Sena had two candi-
dates each in the fray
then. Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena’s 13
MLAs and four MLAs
who were suspended
earlier were allowed to
vote. And the way these
votes were distributed
made all the difference.
NEWS
MUMBAI | MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022
02
LOW-COST AIRLINE INDIGO LAUNCHES
MANGALURU-MUMBAI FLIGHT
FIRE BREAKS OUT IN RESIDENTIAL
BUILDING IN MUMBAI, 14 RESCUED
MAN HELD FOR THEFT ALSO BOOKED
FOR MURDER OF HIS ACCOMPLICE
Mangaluru: Leading low-cost flyer IndiGo on Sunday
started the regular operation of its new flight in the
Mumbai-Mangaluru-Mumbai sector on Sunday. The
daily flight leaves Mumbai at 8.50 am and reaches
Mangaluru at 10.20 am. It then leaves Mangaluru at
11 am to reach Mumbai at 12.40 pm. IndiGo is using
Airbus A320 for the new service, trial operations of
which began on Friday, the airline said in a release. In
the first operation of the regular flight on Sunday, 55
passengers arrived at Mangaluru while 143 passen-
gers, including an infant, flew out of Mangaluru.
Thane: A man arrested for theft has also been booked for
allegedly murdering an associate, an official from Kinha-
vali police station said on Sunday. The accused, Jayesh
Khadke, was nabbed on June 15 for allegedly stealing
jewellery from a house in Sahapur taluka of Thane district
on June 01. During questioning, Jayesh told the police
that he and his associate Vishal Khadke had committed
the theft, but the latter asked him to return the valuables.
However, Jayesh refused to return the loot and allegedly
killed Vishal by hitting him with a stone before trying to
pass it off as a case of suicide, the official said.
CRUCIAL READ
Mumbai: Fourteen people were rescued after a fire
broke out on the 14th floor of a building in Mumbai’s
Borivali on the intervening night of Saturday and Sun-
day. Six fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the
fire brigade rescued 14 people trapped in two apart-
ments. No casualties were reported in the incident and
the fire has been brought under control. The cause of
the fire is yet to be ascertained.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Chief Min-
ister Uddhav Thack-
eray has hit out at the
Centre over its ‘Ag-
nipath’ military re-
cruitment scheme,
saying it was wrong
to play with the lives
and ambitions of the
country’s youth.
Addressing Shiv
Sena MLAs and senior
leaders on the occasion
of the party’s 56th
foundation day on Sun-
day, Thackeray said if
the youth do not have
jobs, there is no use of
speaking only about
Lord Ram.
He said farmers were
the first to take to the
streets against some
the of the Centre’s
farm laws.
“You must assure
only what you can de-
liver,” the chief minis-
ter said.
Why give names like
‘Agniveer’ and ‘Ag-
nipath’ to schemes
which have no mean-
ing? What will the
youth aged 17-21 get af-
ter four years?” he
asked.
“Having soldiers on
contract is dangerous,
and playing with the
ambitions and lives of
youth is wrong. There
is no use of only speak-
ing about Lord Ram, if
the youth do not have
jobs,” the Sena presi-
dent said.
He said Maharashtra
was calm, despite vio-
lent protests in some
parts of the country
against the ‘Agnipath’
scheme.
“Today may be my
day
, tomorrow some one
else will emerge as a
better alternative,” he
added.
The Centre had on
Tuesday announced the
scheme, saying youth
between the ages of 17.5
and 21 years would be
inducted for a four-year
tenure in the armed
forces, while 25% of
them will be subse-
quently inducted for
regular service.
The youths recruit-
ed under the new
scheme would be called
‘Agniveer’.
Later, in an attempt
to pacify the protesters,
the government on
Thursday increased the
upper age limit for re-
cruitment under the
‘Agnipath’ scheme to 23
years for 2022.
As the protests inten-
sified in various parts
of the country, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
on Saturday approved a
proposal to reserve 10%
of jobs in various or-
ganizations under the
ministry for recruits
under the ‘Agnipath’
scheme if they meet the
requisite eligibility cri-
teria.
CM Thackeray slams Centre’s ‘Agnipath’ recruitment scheme
STRONG OPPOSITION
‘Having soldiers on contract is
dangerous, and playing with
ambitions, lives of youth is wrong’
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Mumbai (PTI): The
CBI on Sunday con-
ducted searches at
three locations in
Mumbai after it regis-
tered an FIR against
Pune Buildtech Pvt
Ltd and its directors
for alleged bank
fraud of Rs30 crore in
Punjab National
Bank in the 2013-16
period, said officials.
The searches were
conducted at the prem-
ises of promoters Ishaq
Yusuf Balwa and Ja-
vardhan Vinod Goenka
and Pune Buildtech Pvt
Ltd, earlier known as
Dynamix Balwas Re-
sorts Pvt Ltd in Mum-
bai, they said.
The Dynamix Balwas
Group had faced a CBI
probe in the 2G spec-
trum allocation case,
but all the accused were
acquitted by a special
court.
The fresh case per-
tains to Pune Buildtech
Pvt Ltd, which was set
up in 1997 to build five-
star hotels and resorts.
The company is a whol-
ly-owned subsidiary of
DB Hospitality Pvt Ltd
which is promoted by
the Balwas Group and
the Dynamix Group,
Punjab National Bank
had said in its com-
plaint, which is now
part of the FIR.
It had planned a five-
star hotel in Pune’s Yer-
wada, financed by PNB
(Rs102 crore) and Alla-
habad Bank (now Indi-
an Bank) (Rs102 crore).
PNB had disbursed
Rs30.50 crore till 2011
after which further dis-
bursement was stopped.
“Thereafter the pro-
ject has been delayed
due delay in obtaining
clearance from Pune
Municipal Corporation
and also the promoters
of the company were al-
legedly involved in 2G
spectrum case. Further
disbursement was
stopped by the bank,”
the bank alleged.
After the account
turned into a non-per-
forming asset (NPA) in
2016, the bank declared
it fraudulent and com-
plained to the CBI.
NCP nominee Khadse
meets BVA's Thakur
Arithmetic of preferential
votes key in MLC polls
CBI books Pune Buildtech,
promoters for `30 cr fraud
Investigating
agency carried
out searches at
three Mumbai
locations
IN SHORT
The firm had first planned a five-star hotel,
financed by PNB and Allahabad Bank (now Indian
Bank). PNB had disbursed Rs30.50 crore till
2011 after which disbursement was stopped as
the project was delayed over clearances from
Pune civic body, and the promoters' alleged
involvement in the 2G spectrum case. The project
was later converted into a residential tower pro-
ject but eventually turned into a non-performing
asset in 2016.
MLC elections
today will see 11
candidates
contest for 10
council seats
It will be a tough
battle between
the MVA coalition
comprising Shiv
Sena, NCP
Congress against
the BJP
Eknath Khadse
Sena’s Anil Parab had lost the election in 2010, despite receiving
highest first preference votes. —FILE PHOTO
Hitendra Thakur
CMTHACKERAYRULESOUT
CHANCESOFCROSS-VOTING
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Chief Min-
ister and Shiv Sena
President Uddhav
Thackeray on Sun-
day said the Maha-
rashtra Legislative
Council elections
will show that there
will be no split in his
party-led Maha Vi-
kas Aghadi (MVA)
and ruled out chanc-
es of cross-voting.
They are slated to be
held today.
“We have kept all
our MLAs together for
the Legislative Council
polls. This is called de-
mocracy in today’s
time,” said Thackeray,
addressing the Sena
Shiv MLAs and senior
party leaders on the oc-
casion of the Sena’s
56th Foundation Day
.
The party has to
work hard to get more
MLAs elected in fu-
ture, said Thackeray,
whose party shares
power with the Nation-
alist Congress Party
(NCP) and Congress in
the state.
“The defeat in the
Rajya Sabha polls (held
on June 10 for six seats
in Maharashtra) was
unfortunate. The Shiv
Sena votes were not
split in the RS polls. We
have an idea of what
went wrong. Hence,
there is no question of
cross-voting tomor-
row,” he said.
The Shiv Sena
doesn’t have traitors in
its midst. Tomorrow’s
election will show that
there is no split among
us, he asserted.
Thackeray ex-
pressed confidence
that both the Shiv Sena
candidates --Sachin
Ahir and Amshya Pad-
vi--in the MLC polls
will emerge as new
leaders.
The CM also said he
had spoken to sitting
Sena MLCs and senior
leaders Subhash Desai
and Diwakar Raote,
who readily agreed to
step aside.
Thackeray said he
has not re-nominated
Desai and Raote for an-
other term in the Leg-
islative Council.
“But, they are com-
pletely committed to
the Shiv Sena’s cause
since they belong to
the original team of
(late Sena supremo)
Balasaheb Thackeray
when they formed the
party. I will not allow
them to retire. I want
them to strengthen the
Shiv Sena,” he said.
A total of 11 candi-
dates are in the fray for
the 10 Council seats up
for grabs, with the
MVA allies - Shiv Sena,
NCP and Congress -
fielding two candidates
each. The BJP has
nominated five candi-
dates.
Shiv Sena MP San-
jay Raut described
Balasaheb Thackeray
as the “father of Hin-
dutva”.
When Uddhav
Thackeray garlanded
the portrait of late Bal-
asaheb, Aaditya
Thackeray (the chief
minister’s son and pre-
sent state cabinet min-
ister) reminded CM
that ‘Father’s Day’ was
being celebrated on
Sunday, the Rajya Sab-
ha member said.
MAHA LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL POLLS
Says there will not be
any split in the Shiv
Sena-led MVA alliance
during polling today
RAJYA SABHA DEBACLE
In the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls for a total of six
seats, the BJP led by Devendra Fadnavis clinched
all three seats despite the numbers appearing in
favour of the MVA on paper. In a setback to the
MVA, BJP’s third candidate Dhananjay Mahadik
defeated Sena’s second nominee Sanjay Pawar.

MAHARASHTRA
03
Mumbai topcopalters
notice on POCSO FIRs
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Mumbai Po-
lice Commissioner
Sanjay Pandey has is-
sued a revised order
directing city police to
register First Infor-
mation Reports (FIRs)
immediately in cases
of molestation and of-
fences under the Pro-
tection of Children
Against Sexual Of-
fences (POCSO) Act,
where they do not sus-
pect any foul play
. The
move comes after he
faced criticism over a
circular that mandat-
ed that no FIR for mo-
lestation or offences
under the POCSO Act
be registered without
the zonal DCP’s per-
mission.
The revised order, is-
sued on Friday, further
stated, “Sometimes po-
lice complaints of mo-
lestation and under the
POCSO Act are filed
due to property issue,
financial dispute or
personal enmity
.”
In such cases, a sen-
ior police inspector
should contact the as-
sistant commissioner
of police and deputy
commissioner of po-
lice (DCP) concerned
to take directives to
register an FIR, the or-
der said.
Officers in charge of
the police station should
maintain a station diary
,
mentioning to whom
they have spoken (about
permission to register a
case). The ACP or the
DCP giving order to reg-
istertheFIRshouldkeep
in mind the Supreme
Court’s order in the Lal-
ita Kumari case (Section
154 of the CrPC).
Before making any
arrest in such cases, of-
ficials should take nod
of the ACP, and the
zonal DCP has also
been instructed to per-
sonally supervise the
investigation in those
cases, it added.
On June 06, Mumbai
Police Commissioner
Sanjay Pandey had is-
sued a circular, which
said a FIR for molesta-
tion or under the POC-
SO Act should be regis-
tered only upon a rec-
ommendation by an
ACP and after receiv-
ing permission of the
DCP of the zone. The
reason then cited for
the directive was that
many times false cases
of such offences are
registered due to dis-
putes over property,
money or because of
personal feuds.
However, the Nation-
al Commission for Pro-
tection of Child Rights
(NCPCR) had sought
withdrawal of the or-
der, saying it will vio-
late the rights of sexual
abuse victims.
Pandey had later said
if majority feels other-
wise, the directive can
be reconsidered.
The Bombay High
Court on June 09 asked
the state government if
the controversial circu-
lar issued by the Mum-
bai police commission-
er could be withdrawn.
ORIGINAL CIRCULAR
2heldformurder,
rapeoftribalminor
First India Bureau
Palghar: Police
have arrested two
men for allegedly
raping and killing a
16-year-old tribal
girl who was found
dead a few days ago
at a farm in Palghar
district, an official
said on Sunday.
The girl had left her
house in Jawhar ta-
luka here on Tuesday
morning to take care
of her family’s cash-
ew and mango farm
located nearby, but
did not return home.
On Wednesday
evening, some pas-
sers-by had spotted
her body, with the
head smashed, in a
pit at another agri-
culture field in the
area and alerted po-
lice, he said.
The police later
sent the body to a gov-
ernment hospital for
post-mortem which
confirmed she was
raped, Jawhar police
station inspector Ap-
pasaheb Lengre said.
A police team sub-
sequently started a
probe into the case
and worked on intel-
ligence inputs. They
arrested two men,
aged 19 and 21, from
the same area on Sat-
urday, he said.
The police learnt
that the two accused
had followed the girl
and intercepted her
midway. They alleg-
edly raped her and
then killed her, and
dumped the body in
the farm pit and cov-
ered it with stones
and grass, the official
said.
The accused, aged
19 and 21, followed
the girl before
raping and killing
her. They dumped
the body in a pit
and covered it with
stones and grass.
Leopard kills goats,
hens in cattle shed;
caught released
First India Bureau
Gondia: A leopard
broke into a villager’s
cattle shed in Maha-
rashtra’s Gondia dis-
trict on Sunday and
killed a few goats and
hens, causing panic in
the area, a forest offi-
cial said on Sunday
.
According to range
forest officer Sunil Ma-
davi, the incident took
place on Saturday night
in Sindhipaar village,
Sadak Arjuni tehsil, and
the feline was later
caught and released into
the wild.
The leopard entered
Suresh Kapgate’s cattle
shed around 9.30 p.m.
on Saturday
. The big cat
killed five goats and
hens belonging to a vil-
lager. Hearing some
noise, Kapgate went to
the cattle shed, the leop-
ard attacked him as
well. The villager sus-
tained minor injuries
but managed to alert
forest personnel.
Officials managed to
catch the animal after
about four hours, and
released it in a forest
area nearby in the wee
hours of Sunday
.
The carnivore had
been moving near the
village for eight days
and had previously
killed some goats and
hens. As a result, he
said, the forest depart-
ment had increased pa-
trolling in the area.
Kapgate has demand-
ed compensation for
losses sustained in the
leopard attack.
Asks police to
file case if no
foul play is
suspected, or
else contact
ACP/DCP
The big cat had been
moving near the
village for past eight
days and had killed
some goats and hens
earlier as well
First India Bureau
Mumbai: One of the
oldest places of wor-
ship in Mumbai, St
Michael’s Church
popularly known as
the Mahim Church,
will soon become the
first church in India
to embrace carbon
neutrality.
It involves calculat-
ing the carbon footprint
and finding ways to
make it zero to reduce
global warming.
Initiated in 2018, St
Michael’s Church in-
corporated six environ-
mental initiatives in its
activities—solar pan-
els, solar water heaters,
energy efficient lights
and fans, composting
organic waste, biogas
from flower waste, and
planting trees in the
church area.
The Mahim Church’s
decision to become car-
bon neutral is signifi-
cant in view of the
Mumbai Climate Action
Plan (MCAP) to achieve
neutrality by 2050—20
years ahead of India.
MCAP, which was re-
leased in March 2022,
has the support of the
Maharashtra govern-
ment as well as the Bri-
hanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC).
The church’s carbon
footprint for 2021 was
44 metric tonne. “The
figure is small by inter-
national standards, but
our efforts to reduce
this to zero is a big
step,” noted Father
Lancy Pinto, the Parish
Priest at St Michael’s.
Dr Emmanuel
D’Silva, who is an envi-
ronmental scientist,
calculated the church’s
carbon footprint. It was
independently verified
by Zenith Energy Ser-
vices of Hyderabad,
which specializes in cli-
mate services.
“While electric power
consumption contribut-
ed to 86% of emissions,
transport footprint was
just11%becausemostof
the church employees
lived nearby and walked
to work,” explained Dr
D’Silva.
The church had in-
stalled solar panels in
2019 which reduced elec-
tricity use substantially
.
“Going solar is one of
the best decisions one
can make because Mum-
bai has one of the high-
est electricity tariffs in
thecountry
,”heclaimed.
“The construction of
a 20-kilowatt-hour solar
grid has cut down the
church electricity bill
substantially and re-
duced the carbon foot-
print by 15 tonne per
year,” claims Oswald
Rodrigues,supervisorof
Green Project at the St
Michael’s Church.
The church plans to
expanditssolarcapacity
by another 10 or 20 kilo-
wattsperhourtoachieve
net zero emissions. The
church as well as the
school attached to it has
a large terrace for instal-
lation of solar panels.
The church plans to
invest in emission-re-
ducing community pro-
jects, such as planting
trees,supportingconser-
vation agriculture and
biogas projects.
Mahim Church to become 1st carbon-neutral religious place
ADMIRABLE STEP
lll
Decision is
significant in
view of the
Mumbai Climate
Action Plan
(MCAP) to
achieve
neutrality by
2050, 20 years
ahead of India;
plans include
expanding solar
energy capacity
by 10-20 KW/hr
Maha has re-
corded a seven-
fold increase in
drought events and a six-
fold rise in the frequency
of extreme floods events
over the last 50 yrs. Ef-
forts of St Michael’s
Church are a small con-
tribution to the state’s
ambitious plan. It will
help reduce India’s total
projected carbon emis-
sions by 1 billion tonne
by 2030 and reduce the
carbon intensity of the
economy to less than 45%
by the end of the decade
as promised at COP26.
—Anthony Gomes, church
parishioner
600 cases of fake news, rumours,
hate speeches registered in 1 year
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Maha-
rashtra Cyber Cell
Department said that
it has registered 600
cases of fake news,
rumours or hate
speeches in the state
in the past one year.
Cyber Cell ADG
Madhukar Pandey on
Saturday said that the
state has a “robust so-
cial media monitoring
system” to keep an eye
on sensitive posts in-
stigating communal
tension or misinforma-
tion related to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have a robust
social-media monitor-
ing system where we
keep a watch on hate
speech, posts disturb-
ing communal harmo-
ny, spreading rumours,
COVID-19-related mis-
information, etc. In the
past year, 600 cases
were registered re-
garding fake news, ru-
mours and hate speech
over social media in
Maharashtra in vari-
ous units based upon
these inputs,” he said.
According to official
data provided by the
department, 384 ac-
cused in these in these
registered offences
have been arrested so
far, while preventive
action as per the Code
of Criminal Procedure
(CrPC) has been car-
ried out against 145.
Also, so far, 138 posts
have been removed by
issuing take-down no-
tices to the social me-
dia platforms wherev-
er they were not re-
moved by the posting
individual himself.
Not all of-
fensive posts
are of the
same gravity, so we
take graded action.
In most of these cas-
es, the author is is-
sued notice to take
down the post but,
in some cases, posts
are so offensive and
disturbing that an
FIR is registered di-
rectly.
—Cyber Cell ADG
Madhukar Pandey
WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the most
common platforms on which offensive messages are found.
Mumbaiseesmoderateshowers,IMD
predictsheavyrainfallinnext4days
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Most parts
of Mumbai on Sun-
day experienced light
rain through the ear-
ly hours and into the
late morning as the
advancing south-
western monsoon
made its presence
felt.
However, this could
soon change with the
India Meteorological
Department (IMD)
predicting heavy rain-
fall in the city over the
the next four days.
Since the beginning
of the monsoon period
on June 01, the inac-
tive phase of the mon-
soon has resulted in
Maharashtra record-
ing only 40.3mm of
rainfall so far this
month—a 57% deficit
compared to its long-
term average for the
period between June
01 and June 18, which
stands at 93.4mm.
With the rains ex-
pected to pick up this
weekend, the state-
wide precipitation fig-
ures are expected to
reach normal by the
end of the month.
The season’s
first heavy rain
spell is expected
to lash multiple
subdivisions
this week
—FILE
PHOTO
—FILE
PHOTO
—FILE
PHOTO
Commisioner Sanjay Pandey. —FILE PHOTO

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 45
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.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
Glad to have received several inputs
for this month’s #MannKiBaat
scheduled for the 26th. Do keep your
ideas coming either on MyGov or the
NaMo App.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
Today a large number of jawans are in
30s and officers are getting command
much later than in the past. The age
factor has become worrisome... Ageing
COs leading ageing jawans into battle
is not a prospect to enthuse any
commander.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Should you find a wise
critic to point out your
faults, follow him as you
would a guide to hidden
treasure. —Buddha
IN-DEPTH
LANKA, PAKISTAN
IN DIRE STRAITS
WITH DEEPENING
ENERGY CRISIS
or how to run a coun-
try’s economy, Sri
Lanka and Pakistan
must take a lesson
from India which is
stoically warding off global
headwinds to avert a crisis. Sri
Lanka’s worse than that of Paki-
stan which has had problems
with economic development due
to its greater patronage to ter-
rorists than entrepreneurs. As a
consequence of which a Paki-
stan minister advised people to
stop drinking tea in order to
save foreign exchange. In anoth-
er development, all shopping
malls, wedding halls and mar-
kets in the Sindh province have
been asked to close down early
to save on fuel and energy
.
Sri Lanka’s fuel crisis is going
from bad to worse. From next
week government offices and
schools will shut down from
Monday if the fuel and energy
supply do not improve. Lankan
government is looking at the
IMF for succour. An IMF delega-
tion is expected to visit Sri Lan-
ka soon to work out lending ar-
rangements.
India, in comparison, is in a
very comfortable situation.
TOP TWEETS
F
iolent protests by
Agniveers have al-
ready done a lot of
damage to govern-
ment property be-
sides causing inconvenience
to the people. The anger of
Agniveer aspirants was justi-
fied, but certainly not the
widespread arson and dam-
age to property
. The extent of
violence has been such that
an impression has been cre-
ated about protesters not be-
ing aspirants for jobs in the
armed forces. It is now be-
lieved that other troublemak-
ers have tried to take advan-
tage of the movement. The
crackdown and police cases
on the agitators that followed
the violence would leave the
angry youth facing a dark al-
ley
. Their entry in the defence
forces is as good as blocked.
The government is reach-
ing out to the angry youth by
announcing concessions in
the scheme. Even as Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh held
another meeting with the
three Services chiefs on Sun-
day, the government prom-
ised a 10 percent job quota for
Agniveers in paramilitary
forces to address employment
concerns of the youth at the
end of four years. The reser-
vationwillalsobeprovidedin
Coast Guard, the 16 defence
public sector undertakings
and defence civilian posts.
Union Home Minister’s said
in a tweet that Agniveers will
be given three-year age relax-
ation beyond the prescribed
upper age limit for recruit-
mentinCentralArmedPolice
Force and Assam Rifles.
The angry youth must look
at these developments and
prepare for the recruitment
process. Eschewing violence
for some stability in career,
even if it is short lived, is
what the youth must seri-
ously consider. The govern-
ment may not be willing to
give in to pressure.
VIOLENCE WILL NOT
WORK FOR YOUTH
Even as Defence
Minister held another
meeting with the three
Services Chiefs on
Sunday, govt promised a
10 per cent job quota for
Agniveers in paramilitary
forces to address
employment concerns of
youth at end of 4 years
V
Reacting Mindfully!
INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY — JUNE 21
ith the moment ushering on
21st June as International
Yoga Day, it is the time to sit
back and reflect and acknowl-
edge that we all experience
suffering, discontent, or dis-
satisfaction. Acceding this
predicament is the first step
towards understanding the
painful experience which is
more relevant than ever be-
fore in the current excruciat-
ing times that we all are ex-
periencing. With everything
that is currently going on in
the world, our stress levels
may likely be heightened.
For some people, the uncer-
tainty of this time causes a
lot of anxiety, especially the
younger segment such as
small children and teenag-
ers. It’s important to realize
and practice healthy ways of
de-stressing as we learn how
to deal with normal everyday
life. While the world is gasp-
ing in bewilderment to save
itself from the agonizing Ef-
fects of home -office and in-
creasing stress on the young-
er generation which seem
rhapsodical, looking back
may hand us an enshrined
solution in the form of yoga
which may equip us to fight
this battle.
International Yoga day is a
reminder that from the an-
cient scripture to the Middle
Ages until the very recent
studies which are supported
by scientific evidence, it is
becoming very apparent that
yoga is not only the strength-
ening of the body but also
stabilizing the mind and
heart through various
breathing techniques. It is
one form of physical exercise
that works in synchroniza-
tion with the mind and soul.
There is ample literature
available on yoga not only in
India but also across Europe.
What makes yoga exclu-
sive is, it’s being inclusive.
People of all age groups, na-
tionalities, and social back-
grounds can practice it be-
cause yoga is accessible to
all. There are various kinds
of yoga practices, so it’s pos-
sible for anyone to start. Size
and fitness levels don’t mat-
ter, there are modifications
for every yoga pose. Apart
from the real physical effect
of stress and anxiety on our
younger population, the men-
tal health implications of
this can be felt just as strong-
ly. For those already suffer-
ing from mental health con-
ditions or anxiety, the added
stress can feel overwhelming
and unmanageable. Anxiety
thrives on uncertainty and
being in a constant state of
waiting for something to hap-
pen will only increase this.
Anxiety and the manner in
which we breathe are co-
joint. The principles of yoga
offer a wonderful, logical ex-
planation to regulate stress.
Studies have shown how, if
practiced in moderation
from an early age, yoga teach-
es you to train your brain for
healthy emotional outlets
and handle stress which
seem almost crucial to teen-
agers.
Breathing and yoga are of-
tentimes associated with the
same umbrella. While both
activities encourage mind-
fulness, health, and relaxa-
tion. Yoga can get intense
and serve as a workout de-
pending on the level. Breath-
ing, however, is effortless and
can be practiced everywhere
with being a little mindful.
Often, when we are in a
stressful situation, we get
anxious and do not give our
minds a chance to think logi-
cally. This is the situation
where mostly the people of
age group between 12 to 20
react frantically to the situa-
tion from day to day life.
Breathing rightfully sup-
ports our emotional health
by stamping out the informa-
tion overload that we all ex-
perience daily. It allows us a
clean space in our mind
which in turn can cast us to-
wards positivity
. We not only
feel revamped but we also
become mindful of people
and situations which lead us
to a deep consciousness of
life -force. Which the youth
needs to invest in the future.
Yoga fosters empathy and
larger understanding, and it
is worth observing that sym-
pathy and receptivity lie at
the very root of yoga’s first
principle- helping others by
helping oneself.
Yoga practice can help
young people, especially stu-
dents to develop a non-impul-
sive reaction to events. As
Krishnamurti states “You
can perceive totally, com-
pletely only when the mind is
wholly quiet. So the profes-
sionals, the teachers, the gu-
rus say you must sit in a cer-
tain posture, control your
thought, breathe properly,
and so on.” This will lead one
to handle contradicting emo-
tions. Do not take your
breathing for granted, it’s
magical when you know how
to breathe right. Taking the
time to breathe mindfully
and deeply for a few minutes
or so can already help you to
see an improvement without
even moving a muscle. The
power of being still is just as
important as the power of
movement. Children need to
be active but also they need
mindful emotional clarity
.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
W
Over time, yoga can help
you to regain that sense of
control and allow your
mind and your body to
sharpen each other, which
in turn gives you the tools
to better manage those
moments when you feel
anxious over a situation,
you can’t control be it
school assignment pressure
or a feeling of isolation.
Sometimes our biggest
enemy is our own mind, so
give yourself some time to
relax your mind and focus
on yourself. It is doing
more good for your body
than you know. On this
international day of yoga
let’s embark on this self-
fulfilling journey of yoga
and peaceful joy
International Yoga day is a reminder that from the
ancient scripture to the Middle Ages until the very
recent studies which are supported by scientific
evidence, it is becoming very apparent that yoga is not
only the strengthening of the body but also stabilizing the
mind and heart through various breathing techniques
DR JYOTI JOSHI
The writer is a soft skill, yoga trainer,
business coach and English language
instructor in Germany, Europe

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05
INDIA
New Delhi: On the suc-
cessful completion of
threeyearsof histenure,
Lok Sabha Speaker Om
BirlaonSundaystressed
that he has always
strived to hold discus-
sions on bills with the
cooperation of all House
members.
He also said that the
last three years of his
tenurewerehistoricalin
terms of productivity
and discussions in Par-
liament. “The last three
years were historical in
terms of productivity
and discussions held in
Parliament. I thank PM
and all MPs for their co-
operation which has in-
creasedthepublic’sfaith
inpublicrepresentatives
and Parliament,” Birla
told.Speaking about
dealing with the chal-
lengesposedbytheCOV-
ID pandemic, he said,
“COVID was a big chal-
lengeforallof us.Wefol-
lowed maximum health
protocols to ensure eve-
ryone’s safety
. By follow-
ing all health protocols
and cooperation of MPs
and staff the Parliament
could be run smoothly
.”
He asserted that Parlia-
mentary Standing Com-
mittees give their sug-
gestions on bills and
should hold discussions
in a time-bound manner.
‘LS productivity has been max in last 3 yrs’
BIRLA RECALLS LOK SABHA JOURNEY
lll
Total productivity
of the Budget
Session of the
17th Lok Sabha
this year was
129% while the
total productivity
of the 17th Lok
Sabha was 106%
IAFreleasesnewrecruitmentplan
The IAF document said that all Indians are eligible for the ‘new HR management
scheme for Armed Forces’ as long as they are between 17.5 to 23 years (this yr) of age
AGNIPATH ROW
New Delhi (ANI): The
Indian Air Force (IAF)
on Sunday released de-
tails on the recruitment
plan under the Centre’s
new Agnipath Scheme
including eligibility cri-
teria, age limit, educa-
tional qualifications,
period of service, ca-
reer options for Ag-
niveers after comple-
tion of service, train-
ing, and more.
Agniveers once en-
rolled into the Indian
Air Force, will be gov-
erned under the Air
Force Act 1950, for a pe-
riod of four years. En-
deavour will be made to
enroll candidates as Ag-
niveers from all parts
of the nation, utilising
contemporary technol-
ogy, specialized rallies
and campus interviews
at recognized technical
institutes such as In-
dustrial Training Insti-
tutes, NSQF etc, said
the statement issued by
the IAF.
It further stated that
Agniveers would form a
distinct rank in the IAF,
different from any oth-
er existing rank. For
personnel below the age
of 18 years, the enrol-
ment form will need to
be signed by the parents
or guardians, in accord-
ance with extant provi-
sions. As per the state-
ment, “After four years,
all Agniveers will go
back to the society
. How-
ever, based on organiza-
tional requirements
and policies promulgat-
ed by the IAF.
Lt General Anil Puri addresses media in New Delhi on Sunday.
Rahul Gandhi slams Vijayvargiya’s statement
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Sunday questioned prime
minister Narendra Modi’s
silence on the Agnipath
scheme controversy, as
he reacted to BJP leader
Kailash Vijayvargiya’s
statement that he (Vi-
jayvargiya) would give
preference to ‘Agniveers’
if he could hire people
to protect BJP’s offices.
“Those who did not hoist
the tricolour for 52 years
after independence, they
cannot be expected to
respect our soldiers,”
Gandhi said. “Youngsters
are passionate about
joining the army because
they want to protect the
country, and not because
they want to be chowk-
idars at BJP’s offices. The
PM’s silence is a stamp on
this insult,” Rahul added.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
K’TAKA TWO GROUPS
CLASH FOLLOWING
DEATH OF LOCAL LEADER

z 9 arrested, 8 detained in 3 UP
districts over Agnipath protests

z Secunderabad violence mas-
termind arrested including 46
others over violence: Police

z 35 whatsapp groups banned
for spreading fake news

z Eastern Railway cancels,
reschedules several trains

z Former Haryana CM Hooda
demands withdrawal of Scheme
Bengaluru: A 36-year-old man
died during a fight over car park-
ing in Karnataka’s Belagavi district
Saturday night. Following the
death, clashes broke out between
two groups in the northern Karna-
taka district, the police said. The
deceased has been identified as
Satish Patil, a resident of Gound-
wad village. The police said there
was an existing dispute between
the two groups over land .
PRASHANT KISHOR SAYS ON AGNIPATH: BIHAR
BEARING BRUNT OF THE BJP-JDU CONFLICT
New Delhi: Poll strategist
Prashant Kishor Sunday
weighed in on the protests
against the Centre’s Agnipath
sch, which have been raging
in Bihar, as he talked about
the war of words between
the JD(U) and the BJP, who
are in alliance in the eastern
state. “There should be agitation against Agnipath, not
violence and sabotage. The people of Bihar are bearing the
brunt of the conflict between JD(U) and the BJP. Bihar is
burning,” tweeted Kishor.
BABA RAMDEV
SUPPORTS
AGNIPATH SCHEME
IS MNREGA FOR EDUCATED YOUTH: TEJASHWI YADAV
JD(U) HITS OUT AT‘Y’ SECURITY TO BIHAR BJP LEADERS
Ahmedabad: Speak-
ing at the Vishv Umiya
Foundation campus in
Ahmedabad on Sunday
Baba Ramdev came out
in support of Agnipath
sch and said damage
to national property by
agitators who are against
the Centre’s policy was a
“rashtra droh”. “I support
Agnipath scheme but
don’t burn trains.
New Delhi: RLD leader Tejashwi
Yadav on Sunday said the govt is
introducing ‘No Rank-No Pension’
instead of One Rank One Pension
while asking the centre whether
Agnipath is an MNREGA for
educated youth. Yadav said, “The
central govt should inform the
youths who would be reinstated
for 4years whether they will get
regular leave like the personnel
who join the army regularly.
New Delhi: JD(U) on Sunday
hit out at ‘Y’ category security
to 10 leaders of it’s coalition
party BJP in Bihar, saying,
“securing the future of youth is
more important than providing
security cover to BJP leaders.”
JD(U) spokesperson and MLC
Neeraj Kumar said the youth
and students protesting against
the Agnipath scheme, are the
future of this country.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla
CRUCIAL READ
Hyderabad: Telangana IT and Industries Minister
KT Rama Rao has alleged that the NDA
government is trying to sell assets of several
central public sector units (PSUs) worth Rs40,000
crore in the State. In a letter to Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, he flayed
the attempts to sell PSUs in the guise of
disinvestment. “I appeal to the Union Government
to reconsider these plans, failing which the
Telangana Government will strongly obstruct the
moves,” he said.
GOVT SELLING PSU ASSETS WORTH RS
40,000 CR IN TELANGANA: KTR
Mumbai: After the gruesome murder of Sidhu
Moose Wala and a threat letter to Salman Khan,
gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang members
came under the radar of police. Many got arrested
from different parts of the country. Among them
was Siddhesh Kamble, alias Mahakal. Now, in an
interrogation, Mahakal revealed that the filmmaker
Karan Johar was on their hit list. A police official has
said that the gangster told investigators that they
were planning to target the filmmaker for extortion.
Reportedly, the gang had allegedly planned to extort
Rs 5 crore from Karan Johar by threatening him.
KARAN JOHAR WAS ON THE HIT LIST
OF GANGSTER LAWRENCE BISHNOI
Misfortune that good
things..., says Modi
Panchayatpolls:Inclusionof
children’sissuesinmanifestos
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
on Sunday said it is In-
dia’s “misfortune” that
good intentions get
trapped in politics. His
remarks come amid na-
tionwide protests
against Centre’s new
military recruitment
scheme ‘Agnipath’. The
prime minister, howev-
er, made no direct refer-
ence to the scheme in
his speech which was
largely focused on the
infrastructure and de-
velopment work his
govt has been doing for
Delhi-NCR region.
Bhopal(ANI): The peo-
ple of Madhya Pradesh
have demanded that
both the BJP and the
Congress include is-
sues concerning chil-
dren and women in
their manifestos for the
upcoming urban body
elections which will be
held simultaneously
with panchayat elec-
tions in the state.
Children are not en-
titled to vote in elec-
tions so they are not
considered a votebank
for the political parties
but the issues concern-
ing them pose a grave
challenge.The pan-
chayat elections are
non-party based while
urban body elections
are held on a party ba-
sis.
Both the BJP and the
Congress will release
their manifestos for the
urban body elections
and preparations are
going on in full swing.
The people in Madhya
Pradesh have demand-
ed that issues concern-
ing children and wom-
en should be given
equal importance by
both the parties in
their manifestos.
Several children and
women’s rights organi-
sations are holding de-
liberations on issues
related to children and
women.
—PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATION
Ask ex-ministers to vacate
govt bungalows: Congress
to Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani
Ahmedabad: When the
BJP dissolved its entire
council of ministers fol-
lowing the resignation
of the then Gujarat
chief minister Vijay
Rupani last year in Sep-
tember, all ministers
vacated the allotted
bungalows, but soon 15
former ministers were
given govt accommoda-
tion outside minister’s
enclave at subsidized
rates.
Now, the Cong has de-
manded that the govt
ask all these former
ministers to vacate govt
bungalows, as none of
their children are stud-
ying in schools or col-
leges in Gandhinagar.
In a letter addressed to
CM Bhupendra Patel,
Congress party spokes-
man Manish Doshi said
that 15 former minis-
ters were allotted ‘K’
and ‘Kh’ type of govt
bungalows at Rs 4,800
monthly rent in Oct
2021.Then the reason
cited was that their
children’s education
should not suffer.
Vijay Rupani
Amit Shah
to attend
cyber safety
conf today
Ahmedabad: Un-
ion Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah will
be the chief guest
at the national
conference on cy-
ber safety and na-
tional security to
be held at Vigyan
Bhawan on Mon-
day (today).
The Indian Cy-
ber Crime Coordi-
nation Centre
(I4C), in the MHA
in coordination
with the Ministry
of Culture, Gov-
ernment of India
in the run up to-
day conference
had also organised
functions at 75
places in different
States/Union Ter-
ritories on Cyber
Hygiene, Preven-
tion of Cyber
Crimes, Cyber
Safety and Nation-
al Security under
the banner “Azadi
Ka Amrit Mahot-
sav” from June 8
to 17.
‘INTAKE OF
AGNIVEERS TO GO
1.25 L IN FUTURE’
New Delhi: A top
military officer on
Sunday informed that the
recruitment of soldiers
will increase to over one
lakh in the future under
the Agnipath. He said
that the Centre will start
with the recruitment of
46,000 Army aspirants to
‘analyse’ the scheme. “In
next 4-5 years, our intake
will be 50k- 60,000.
HM Amit Shah
Om Birla@ombirlakota
Birthday greetings to
Sh. Rahul Gandhi Ji,
Hon’ble Member of
Parliament from Way-
anad. I wish you good
health and long life.
Assam CM Biswa unfazed
by retirement, assures
job to 75% Agniveers
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Assam
Chief Minister Him-
anta Biswa Sarma
has already ruled out
any agitation against
theAgneepathplanto
recruit in the army
.
He announced that 75
percent of the Ag-
niveers who would be
retiring after four
yearsof serviceinthe
army would be rein-
stated in the Assam
Police. Earlier, states
likeUttarPradesh,Ut-
tarakhand etc. had
said that the retiring
Agriveers would be
given priority in the
appointments of po-
lice and disaster man-
agement department,
but Himanta said that
all the retiring youths
wouldbegivenjobs.If
you look at it, it’s not
even a big deal.
If on an average,
GoI appoints 50 thou-
sand Agniveers every
year and out of them
37k people retire eve-
ry 4 years, then in a
small state like As-
sam, the number of
Agniveers retiring
will be around one
thousand or so. Ad-
justing 1000 people in
jobs every year is not
a big deal. Even from
big states, number of
Agniveers who retire
every year will not be
very high.
4 TERRORISTS KILLED AS ENCOUNTERS
BREAK OUT IN KUPWARA, KULGAM
Srinagar: 4 terrorists were killed in two separate encoun-
ters with security forces Sunday in JK’s Kupwara and
Kulgam districts, police said. While two terrorists were
killed in Kupwara as many were eliminated in Kulgam,
they said, adding some more terrorists are hiding and
operation was still underway in both the areas. One of the
terrorists killed in the Kupwara encounter was identified
as a Pakistani affiliated with the proscribed LeT, they said.
EXTENSION FOR
EXAMINING CHILD
MARRIAGE BILL
New Delhi: RS Chairman
M Venkaiah Naidu has
granted an extension to
Parl Standing Committee
on Edu, Women, Children,
Youth for Prohibition of
Child Marriage (Amend-
ment) Bill 2021, which
proposes to raise age of
marriage for women to 21.
MHA CLEARS VISAS
FOR 111 AFGHAN
HINDUS AND SIKHS
New Delhi: A day after
the deadly terror attack
in Kabul, MHA decided to
grant e-emergency visas
to over 100 Afghan Sikhs
and Hindus on ‘priority,
said people familiar with
the matter. The e-visas will
facilitate the evacuation of
Sikhs and Hindus from Af.

06
INDIA
Renni Abraham
Mumbai: Desperate
times call for desperate
measures and Janta Dal
(United) Chief Minister
of Bihar Nitish Kumar
knows this only too
well. Kumar had an-
nounced his last elec-
toral venture before
coming to power in alli-
ance with the BJP but,
now, his alliance gov-
ernment is slowly but
surely crumbling in Bi-
har.
Last week, he sacked
party spokesperson
Ajay Alok, general sec-
retaries Anil Kumar
and Vipin Yadav, and
party leader Jitendra
Neeraj from the prima-
ry membership, in a
move to pre-empt BJP
efforts to effect a virtual
split in his party. All
four were close to
JD(U)’s sole Union Min-
ister in the NDA gov-
ernment, RCP Singh,
who has been a close
friend of the Bihar CM
for over 24 years.
The endgame is in
sight in Bihar, given
that the JD(U) chief did
not re-nominate Singh
for the Rajya Sabha,
where his term expires
on July 07.
The last four days
have also witnessed sus-
tained incidents of ar-
son and disruption of
law and order over the
Centre’s Agnipath re-
cruitment scheme for
the armed forces, with
the Railway Ministry
pegging the collateral
damage at Rs200 crore.
That Kumar holds the
Home portfolio is not in
small measure being
blamed for the un-
checked violence and
mayhem in the state.
JD(U)’s alliance part-
ner, the BJP believes
the Bihar CM wants to
provoke it into bringing
down the government,
thus opening up his
path to formally tie up
with Lalu Prasad Ya-
dav’s Rashtriya Janata
Dal.
As president of the
BJP’s Vyapari Aghadi
in Mumbai Mahendra
Jain tells First India,
“What we are witness-
ing is stat-sponsored
violence in Bihar. The
Agnipath scheme was
the brainchild of the
late General Bipin Raw-
at but was kept under
wraps for two years due
to the pandemic. Over
40 countries including
Israel have successfully
implemented a similar
a r m y - r e c r u i t m e n t
strategy to nurture its
people into an elite seg-
ment of militarily
trained professionals.”
Further, the Union
government is also in-
vestigating the alleged
role played by private
coaching classes across
not only Bihar but also
Uttar Pradesh to foment
violence over the Ag-
nipath scheme, with
central agencies likely
to take over the investi-
gation if the Bihar CM
fails to stem the current
crisis.
Clearly, the days of
the JD(U)-BJP govern-
ment in Bihar are num-
bered.
Agnipath fire : Endgame of JD(U)-BJP alliance plays out in Bihar
Cost of arson,
destruction
pegged at
`200 crore
Nitish Kumar
Bengaluru: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi will visit
Karnataka on Monday
and Tuesday to
inaugurate and lay the
foundation stone of
multiple rail and road
infrastructure projects
worth over Rs 27,000
crore in Bengaluru,
said a press release.
Prime Minister will
visit the Indian
Institute of Science
(IISc) Bengaluru on
June 20.
PM ON A 2-DAY
VISIT TO K’TAKA
STARTINGTODAY
Flood situation in Assam remains critical
State has been witnessing floods and landslides for the last six days that has claimed the lives of people
Villagers catch fishes at a
flooded area after heavy rains,
in Nalbari district on Sunday.
(Inset) Locals inspect the flood-
damaged on road following
heavy rains on Sunday.
Guwahati: The flood
situation in Assam re-
mained extremely criti-
cal on Sunday with
many new localities
coming under the im-
pact of the deluge in
several districts of the
state and overnight in-
cessant rain inundating
more areas in Guwaha-
ti, officials said.
According to the lat-
est updates by the As-
sam State Disaster
Management Authority
(ASDMA), the state was
witnessing floods and
landslides for the last
six days, leaving behind
a huge trail of destruc-
tion everywhere.In the
last 24 hours, 32 dis-
tricts, comprising 118
revenue circles and
4,291 villages, have re-
ported flooding, it said.
Around 31 lakh people
have been impacted,
and 1.56 lakh of them
have taken shelter in
514 relief camps across
the state. Relief materi-
als were also distribut-
ed among people who
are affected by the
floods and have not tak-
en shelter in relief
camps, the ASDA said.
44 ANTI-POACHING CAMPS OF KAZIRANGA PARK INUNDATED
Kaziranga : As many as
44 anti-poaching camps
have been inundated at
the Kaziranga national
park due to floods.
According to the park
authority, the flood
water has submerged
15 per cent of Assam’s
Kaziranga National
Park and Tiger Reserve
areas. The authority has
informed that 44 out
of 223 anti-poaching
camps of the park have
been inundated by the
flood waters of the
Brahmaputra river. The
authority further took
adequate measures to
protect the wild animals.
Out of 44 camps, 14 are
under the Agratoli wild-
life range, eight under
the Biswanath wildlife
division, range.
FOUR MISSING AS BOAT CAPSIZES IN
BRAHMAPUTRA: ASSAM POLICE
IMD PREDICTS RAIN, THUNDERSTORMS IN
CHENNAI FOR NEXT 48 HOURS, SAYS MeT
Dibrugarh: At least four persons were missing after
a boat capsized in the Brahmaputra river in Assam’s
Dibrugarh district on Sunday, police said.Nine people
were travelling in the country boat, fitted with a motor,
when it capsized at Rahmaria near Chabua, they said.
“Five persons swam to the bank, while four are still
missing. We have called the NDRF, which is carrying
out an extensive search in the entire area and down-
stream,” Dibrugarh’s SOP Bitul Chetia told.
Chennai: The Regional Centre of the IMD has predicted
rain and thunderstorms in Chennai and its suburbs
for the next 48 hours. The Centre also predicted
cloudy sky in the same period, with the maximum and
minimum temperatures dropping to 33 degrees and
26 degrees Celsius, respectively. IMD officials said that
the light spell over some suburban areas was due to
convergence closer to coastal areas.
EIGHT MORE KILLED
IN ASSAM AS RAIN
CONTINUES
THREE KILLED AS
RAIN LASHES
KARNATAKA
New Delhi: As rains
continued to wreak havoc
in Assam, at least eight
more people died on
Sunday. With this, the
death toll due to floods
and landslides has gone
up to 70 in the north-
eastern state. More than
37,17,800 people have
been affected due to the
floods in 4,462 villages
across 30 districts.
Bengaluru: At least three
people were killed as
incessant rain lashed
Karnataka in the last
48 hours, with the IMD
predicting downpours
across the state till June
22. A yellow alert has
been issued from Sunday
till June 22 in Bengaluru,
Chamarajanagar, Chikka-
ballapur, Hassan Kodagu,
Tumakuru, Mandya.
MAMATA UNLIKELY TO ATTEND
OPPOSITION MEET ON JUN 21
IS MAMATA
DOOMED TO FAIL
YET AGAIN ?
BJP LEADERS
GO INTO A
HUDDLE
Kolkata: CM Mamata Banerjee is unlikely to
participate in the opposi-
tion meeting convened
by NCP chief Sharad
Pawar on June 21 on the
upcoming Presidential poll
due to prior engagements,
a TMC functionary said on
Sunday. A senior TMC leader will be present at
the proposed meeting, he said.
New Delhi: Before
every Presidential
election in the coun-
try since 2012, the
politician who jumps
forward for the ‘king-
maker’ tag is CM and
All India Trinamool
Congress supremo,
Mamata Banerjee.
This time also she
has come forward to
project herself as a
key catalyst in uniting
the opposition parties
against the NDA.
New Delhi: A meeting
of BJP leaders was
held at party chief JP
Nadda’s residence
ahead of the presi-
dential elections. The
meeting was called to
discuss preparations
for the upcoming
presidential polls. In
order to coordinate
with its state units
and allies, the BJP has
also formed a coordi-
nation committee of
14 members.
PM LAUNCHES
HISTORIC
TORCH RELAY
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi launched the historic
torch relay for 44th Chess
Olympiad on Sunday at In-
dira Gandhi Stadium in New
Delhi. This torch will then be
taken to 75 cities in a span
of 40 days before the final
culmination at Mahabali-
puram near Chennai.
PM Narendra Modi, Arkady
Dvorkovich, Vishwanathan
Anand, Anurag Thakur, Sanjay
Kapoor and others during
launch of torch relay for the
44th Chess Olympiad in New
Delhi on Sunday.
MUSLIM GIRL OVER 16 YEARS OF AGE
CAN MARRY MAN OF HER CHOICE: HC
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana HC has held
that a Muslim girl over 16 years of age is com-
petent to enter into a contract of marriage with a
person of her choice. The bench of Justice Jasjit
Singh Bedi passed the order while disposing of a
protection plea of a Muslim couple.
New Delhi: Students have challenged Karnataka
High Court’s conclusion that wearing hijab is not an
essential practice in Islam.
Appeals filed in the Supreme
Court challenging Karnataka
High Court’s conclusion that
wearing hijab is not an
essential practice in Islam has been in limbo for
several months. The petitions, filed mostly by
affected girl students.
HIJAB ROW: PETITIONS FILED BY
STUDENTS IN LIMBO IN SUPREME COURT
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: Dr Jiten-
dra Singh on Sunday
reviewed the Amar-
nathYatra preparation
and arrangements
with District Adminis-
tration Ramban. Dur-
ing the review meet-
ing, Dr.Jitendra Singh
emphasized that a
dash board must be
prepared for the Yatris
for the real-time infor-
mation related to
weather forecasts,
highway updates, num-
ber of Yatris arriving,
traffic updates etc. The
Minister also stressed
upon the district ad-
ministration that so-
cial media should be
used for updating Ya-
tris with reliable re-
lated information by
creating separate han-
dles exclusively for
this year’s Amarnath-
Yatra, tagging impor-
tant handles.
During the meeting,
Dr.Jitendra Singh said
that the latest technol-
ogy like RFIDs which
have been made com-
pulsory in this year’s
AmarnathYatra will
help in the real-time
monitoring of Yatris by
tracking them enroute
to the cave.
Dr Jitendra Singh reviews
AmarnathYatra arrangements
New Delhi: India re-
ported 12,899 new Cov-
id-19 infections on Sun-
day (June 19), 2.4 per
cent lower than yester-
day, according to data
shared by the Union
Health Ministry. This
brings the country’s cu-
mulative caseload to
4,32,96,692. Total recov-
eries were at 4,26,99,363
across the country
, after
8,518 patients recovered
in the last 24 hours. The
recovery rate is now at
98.62 per cent.ndia's ac-
tive caseload stands at
72,474. In the last 24
hours, active cases in-
creased by 4,366.
India logs 12,899
new Covid-19
cases, 15 deaths
New delhi: Cong has
taken a step back for
the sake of opposition
unity in the presiden-
tial polls as the opposi-
tion parties will meet
on June 21 to discuss
the candidate for Prez
election.
The meeting will be
chaired by NCP chief
Sharad Pawar. The
Congress is not push-
ing anybody’s candi-
dature and will go
with the opposition’s
choice for the sake of
opposition unity
.
Sources say that Con-
gress leader Mallikar-
jun Kharge made the
point in the meeting
convened by Mamata
Banerjee on June 15
that the party is aware
that many of the par-
ties around this table
compete with each
otherinassemblyelec-
tions. But that has not
prevented this meet-
ing from taking place.
Cong takes a step
back for oppn
unity on Prez poll
PREZ POLL
Dr Jitendra Singh reviewing the Amarnath Yatra preparation and
arrangements with District Administration on Sunday.
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
Thank you all for the
wonderful wishes.
Humbled by the love,
affection support
from each one of you.

BIZ BUZZ
07
New Delhi (PTI): The
Employees’ State Insur-
ance Corporation
(ESIC) on Sunday de-
cided its health insur-
ance scheme ESI will be
implemented through-
out the country by the
end of 2022.
Presently, the Em-
ployees’ State Insur-
ance (ESI) Scheme is
fully implemented in
443 districts and par-
tially implemented in
153 districts. A total of
148 districts are not cov-
ered under the ESI
Scheme. The ESIC, un-
der the chairmanship
of Minister of Labour
and Employment Bhu-
pender Yadav, in its
188th meeting held on
Sunday has taken sig-
nificant decisions to
augment the medical
care and service deliv-
ery mechanism across
the country, a labour
ministry statement
said.
It has been decided
that the ESI Scheme
will be implemented in
the entire country by
the end of 2022, it add-
ed. By the end of the
year, the districts which
are partially covered
and not covered under
the scheme will be fully
brought under the am-
bit of the ESI Scheme,
the statement said. The
medical care services
will be provided
through establishing
new DCBOs (dispensa-
ry cum branch offices),
by empanelling mIMP
(Modified Insurance
Medical Practitioner)
and tie-up hospitals of
Ayushman Bharat
Pradhan Mantri Jan
Arogya Yojana (PM-
JAY).
Besides, the ESIC has
decided to set up 23 new
100-bedded hospitals
across the country
.
These include six
hospitals in Maharash-
tra at Palghar, Satara,
Pen, Jalgaon, Chakan
and Panvel; four in Har-
yana at Hisar, Sonepat,
Ambala and Rohatak;
two hospitals each in
Tamil Nadu, Uttar
Pradesh and Karnata-
ka. ESIC will also set up
one hospital each in
Andhra Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gu-
jarat, Madhya Pradesh,
Odisha and West Ben-
gal.
Besides these hospi-
tals, five dispensaries at
62 places will also be
opened. Further, 48 dis-
pensaries in Maharash-
tra, 12 dispensaries in
Delhi and 2 dispensa-
ries in Haryana will be
opened.
ESIC to cover entire India under ESI Scheme
BY YEAR END
New Delhi (PTI): A
combination of normal
rainfalls aiding bump-
er agriculture output
and the RBI further
hiking interest rates to
cut easy money in the
system hold key to
bringing down multi-
year high inflation trig-
gered by surging food
and fuel prices, econo-
mists said.
Although the gov-
ernment has room to
further reduce excise
duty on petroleum
products to contain in-
flation from the fiscal
side, emphasis will be
on monetary policy to
control price pres-
sures, they added.
While retail inflation
rose 7.04% in May year-
on-year, slightly down
from 95-month high of
7.79% in April, whole-
sale or WPI inflation
rose to a record high of
15.88% in May. Three-
fourth of the price rise
is coming from food
items and a normal
monsoon will help cool
it down as it will boost
production and replen-
ish stockpiles.
The RBI has already
raised interest rates by
90 basis points after in-
flation remained above
its 2-6% target band for
a fifth straight month
and is expected to hike
interest rates by anoth-
er 80 bps, they said.
For the common
man, the price hike is
drilling a hole in pock-
et. Edible oil prices,
which had been a ma-
jor factor contributing
to the inflation, have
started to ease a bit
with leading players
announcing some re-
duction. Economic af-
fairs secretary Ajay
Seth on June 16 said
inflation in India is
mainly because of high
energy and food prices
and hoped that it would
moderate in the com-
ing months. “We are all
aware that summer
months are difficult
months in terms of
vegetables and other
items,” he said. “High
crude prices are cer-
tainly a challenge and
whatever measures are
needed and feasible are
being taken.”
SP Global Ratings
economist Vishrut
Rana said higher glob-
al commodity prices
are a key driving factor
for inflation and the
outlook for food infla-
tion, which has a heavy
weightage in the over-
all CPI basket, will
depend on the mon-
soon – sufficient rains
will help agricultural
produce and help rein
in prices.
Sellingfuelsatloss:
Pvtretailerstogovt
New Delhi (PTI):
Selling diesel at `20-25
a litre below cost and
petrol at `14-18 per li-
tre below cost, as a re-
sult of a price freeze
despite soaring crude
rates is unsustainable,
an industry body rep-
resenting private fuel
retailers like Jio-bp
and Nayara Energy
has told the Oil Minis-
try and has sought its
intervention to create
a viable investment
environment.
On June 10, the Fed-
eration of Indian Pe-
troleum Industry,
which besides private
fuel retailers also
counts state-owned
firms such as IOC,
BPCL and HPCL as its
members, wrote to the
Petroleum Ministry
saying losses on petrol
and diesel will limit
further investments
in retailing business.
“With effect from
March 22, 2022, the re-
tail selling prices were
revised on 14 occa-
sions at an average of
80 paise per litre per
day, leading to an over-
all increase of `10 per
litre on both petrol
and diesel.
“However, the un-
der-recoveries (losses)
continue to be very
high in a range of Rs
20-25 per litre for die-
sel and `14-18 per litre
for petrol,” FIPI direc-
tor general Gurmeet
Singh wrote.
“This resulted in
rapid diversion of
bulk diesel (direct con-
sumers) sales to retail
outlets amounting to
widening of losses in-
curred by private fuel
retailing companies,”
Federation of Indian
Petroleum Industry
wrote.
DoT’s licencing reforms report
to submitted by month-end
telecom department is
moving ahead in full
stream towards usher-
ing the next round of
reforms in the sector
and a committee, set
up to make sugges-
tions on licencing re-
forms, is expected to
submit its report to the
Department by the
month-end, a senior of-
ficial said. Even as hec-
tic preparations are on
in the DoT for the up-
coming spectrum auc-
tions, work on the sec-
ond set of reforms is
going on in parallel.
The reforms span
multiple areas includ-
ing licencing, wireless
WPC, satellite telepho-
ny, and other areas.
A DoT committee
headed by Member
Technology is deliber-
ating on the licencing
terms and conditions
reforms, and is expect-
ed to submit its report
by the month end, fol-
lowing which DoT will
assess which measures
involve reference to
TRAI.
428 INFRA PROJECTS SHOW COST
OVERRUNS OF `4.98 LAKH CRORE
New Delhi (PTI): As
many as 428 infrastruc-
ture projects, each en-
tailing an investment of
`150 crore or more, have
been hit by cost over-
runs of more than `4.98
lakh crore, according to
a report.
According to the
Ministry of Statistics
and Programme Imple-
mentation, which mon-
itors infrastructure
projects of `150 crore
and above, out of 1,559
projects, 428 projects
reported cost overruns
and as many as 647 pro-
jects were delayed.
“Total original cost
of implementation of
the 1559 projects was
`21,73,907.11 crore and
their anticipated com-
pletion cost is likely to
be `26,72,201.26 crore,
which reflects overall
cost overruns of
`4,98,294.15 crore
(22.92% of original
cost),” the ministry’s
latest report for April
2022 said.
According to the re-
port, the expenditure
incurred on these pro-
jects till April 2022 was
`13,50,610.98 crore,
which was 50.54% of
their anticipated cost.
However, the number
of delayed projects de-
creases to 525 if the de-
lay is calculated on the
basis of latest schedule
of completion.
Further, for 619 pro-
jects neither the year of
commissioning nor the
tentative gestation pe-
riod has been reported.
ZEE5 eyes
double-digit
growth this yr
Opt for lowest
air fare: Govt
to employees
New Delhi (PTI):
Home-grown video
streaming platform
ZEE5 is aiming for
high double-digit to
triple-digit revenue
growth this year, rid-
ing on the momen-
tum built over the
last two years during
the Covid pandemic,
which acted as a cata-
lyst for people to ex-
plore content online,
according to a top
company official.
The platform,
which had recently
unveiled 11 original
series in Telugu as
part of its strategy to
cater to different lan-
guages in the coun-
try, is also making
investments in terms
of “hundreds of
crores” this year for
content creation.
“We have big aspi-
rations and want to
ensure we are achiev-
ing high double-digit
or triple-digit growth
this year as well,”
ZEE5 chief business
officer Manish Kalra
said. In FY22, ZEE5’s
revenue stood at
`549.6 crore, up 31%
from `419.1 crore in
the previous fiscal.
New Delhi (PTI):
The Finance Minis-
try has asked govern-
ment employees to
opt for ‘cheapest fare
available’ on their
entitled travel class
and book air tickets
at least three weeks
prior to their date of
travel for tours and
LTC, as it looks to cut
down on unneces-
sary expenditure.
The Ministry further
said that employees
should book only one
ticket for each leg of
intended travel,
make bookings even
if approval of the
tour programme is
under process and
also avoid “unneces-
sary cancellations”.
Any booking made
within less than 72
hours of intended
travel on tour or any
cancellation made
less than 24 hours be-
fore intended travel
will require the sub-
mission of self-de-
clared justification
by the employee, as
per the modified in-
structions regarding
booking of air tick-
ets on the govt ac-
count.
‘Normal monsoon, interest rate
cut key to bring down inflation’
EMPHASIS WILL BE ON MONETARY POLICY TO CONTROL PRICE PRESSURES
Canara Bank
to improve
bottom line
New Delhi (PTI):
Recording over
two-fold jump in
its net profit in fis-
cal year ended
March 2022, Ca-
nara Bank aims to
improve its bot-
tom line further
with balanced fo-
cus on advances to
retail, big and
small businesses,
coupled with
greater focus on
digitisation. Dur-
ing 2021-22, the
state-owned lend-
er recorded a ro-
bust growth of
122% in its net
profit at `5,678 cr.
Global trends, oil prices
to guide mkt this week
Top 10 firms lose `3.91
lakh crore in m-cap
equity markets focus is
expected to shift to glob-
al trends in the absence
of any major domestic
event scheduled this
week, while investors
are likely to continue to
keep a tab on foreign
fund movement and
crude oil prices, ana-
lysts said. Progress of
monsoon would also be
monitored, they added.
“Relentless selling by
FIIs is a key concern for
the Indian markets. Ru-
pee movement and de-
velopment of monsoon
will be other important
factors for the market,”
said Santosh Meena.
“In absence of any ma-
jor domestic event,
global cues will contin-
ue to dictate the trend.
Participants will also
be eyeing COVID cases
trend and progress of
monsoon,” Ajit Mishra,
VP - Research said.
market valuation of the
top-10 most valued
firms plunged by a
whopping `3.91 lakh
crore last week, in tan-
dem with a steep sell-
off in equities, with
TCS and and Reliance
Industries taking the
biggest hit.
The market valuation
of the 10 most valued
domestic firms eroded
by `3,91,620.01 crore last
week.
From the top-10
firms, TCS was the top
loser, as its market valu-
ation tumbled
`1,01,026.4 crore to
stand at `11,30,372.45
crore. The market capi-
talisation (mcap) of RIL
tanked `84,352.76 crore
to reach `17,51,686.52
crore.
In the ranking of top-
10 firms, Reliance In-
dustries continued to
remain the most valued
company, followed by
TCS, HDFC Bank, Info-
sys, HUL, ICICI Bank,
LIC, SBI, HDFC Bhar-
ti Airtel.
FPIs pull out `31,430
crore in June so far
New Delhi (PTI): Ag-
gressive rate hike by
the US Federal Re-
serve, coupled with el-
evated inflation and
high valuation of equi-
ties continued to keep
foreign investors at
bay from the Indian
stock market as they
pulled out `31,430 crore
in this month so far.
With this, net out-
flow by Foreign Portfo-
lio Investors (FPIs)
from equities reached
`1.98 lakh crore so far
in 2022, data with de-
positories showed.
Going forward, For-
eign Portfolio Inves-
tors flows to remain
volatile in the emerg-
ing markets on ac-
count of rising geopo-
litical risk, rising in-
flation, tightening of
monetary policy by
central banks, among
others, Shrikant Chou-
han, Head - Equity Re-
search (Retail), Kotak
Securities, said.
According to the
data, foreign investors
withdrew a net amount
of `31,430 crore from
equities in the month
of June (till 17th).
The massive selling
by FPIs continued in
June too as they have
been incessantly with-
drawing money from
Indian equities since
October 2021.

08
2NDFRONT
The power of imagination is the most
amazing power a human has!
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
BESTgreensheltersmaysoon
sportsolarpanelsonrooftop
Renni Abraham
Mumbai: The Brihan-
mumbai Electric Sup-
ply and Transport
(BEST) Undertaking
plans to take its green
bus stops initiative a
notch higher by in-
stalling solar panels
on their rooftops.
They will not only
light up the space for
passengers, but also
provide mobile phone
recharging options as
they wait for trans-
portation to arrive.
Confirming this de-
velopment, BEST Gen-
eral Manager, Lokesh
Chandra, told First In-
dia, “We have decided to
take up 350 (bus stop)
locations and model
them around the green
bus stop concept that
has been implemented
at the Mahalaxmi race-
courseprecinctinSouth
Mumbai and also near
Famous Studios in Ban-
dra. We will also con-
sider installing solar
panels on these green
bus stops to offer fur-
ther amenities to pas-
sengers.”TheUndertak-
ing may scale up to 1,000
bus stops, it is learnt.
Chandra rescinded
the tenders for market-
ing and advertising
rights of approximately
2,400 bus stops across
Mumbai city on Thurs-
day
. But, he is now confi-
dent that when fresh
bids are invited again,
they will be bereft of
anomalies that were dis-
covered in the last bid-
ding process. They will
also ensure that a much
higher revenue stream
isgeneratedforthecash-
strapped BEST.
“While we had fixed a
base price of `20 crore
for the bus stops, we re-
ceived two fresh bids for
thebusstops(marketing
and publicity rights).
That compelled us to en-
hance this base price in
forthcoming bids for the
green bus stops in Mum-
bai,” said Chandra.
He refuted claims
that additional time is
needed to invite and fi-
nalize fresh bids, which
would mean a revenue
loss for the BEST. “Only
around 60 to 700 bus
shelters out of the 2,400
are currently available
for marketing. A major
segment is still con-
tracted till the end of
the year and earning
revenue for the BEST.
There is no such accru-
ing loss till the fresh bid
is finalized,” he said.
With additional as-
pects such as solar pan-
els, phone battery
chargersbeinginstalled
at the green bus shel-
ters, immense potential
will open up in terms of
advertising and market-
ing rights. And that is
likely to be reflected in
the vastly enhanced
bids that will be re-
ceived in coming days.
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking may scale up to 1,000 bus stops
SHOUTOUT BY PM
Bus stops will also be equipped with charging points for passengers waiting for transportation.
—FILE
PHOTO
Nagpur rural police tops in
project to cut response time
Nagpur (PTI): The
Nagpur (Rural) Police
stood first in the ‘Dial
112’ project across
Maharashtra by
clocking the response
time of 7.58 minutes
in May and nine min-
utes in April this year,
a senior official said.
This technology-driv-
en project launched ear-
lier this year by the
state government seeks
to help the police bring
down the response time
to 10 minutes in cities
and 15 minutes in rural
areas in cases of crimi-
nal activities and emer-
gencies. The system has
a state-of-the-art mecha-
nism installed in the
control rooms of all 45
commissionerates and
offices of district super-
intendent.
Under the project, the
Nagpur rural police re-
sponded quickly to 1,076
calls in May and
reached the distressed
persons for their help
within 7.58 minutes on
average. In April, police
personnel had received
923 distress calls and
the response time was
nine minutes, a state-
ment said.
The average response
time of Raigad police
was 9.55 minutes, fol-
lowed by 10.04 of Sind-
hudurg police, 10.13 of
Aurangabad police,
10.17 of Mira Bhay-
andar (Thane district)
police and 10.41 of
Chandrapur police.
The system has a
GPS-fitted police vehi-
cle and the tracking can
be done from both dis-
trict control rooms and
the contact centres to
monitor the time it
takes for help to reach
those in need of it.
Vijay Kumar Magar,
Superintendent of Po-
lice, Nagpur (Rural)
said the police person-
nel were working hard
to maintain the re-
sponse time.
“Regular meetings
and coordination with
beat marshals and po-
lice station in-charge
helped to achieve the
success,” he said.
Nagpur rural police responded to 1,076 calls, averaging a
response time of 7.58 minutes in May. —FILE PHOTO
State govt’s ‘Dial 112’ project launched this
year seeks to use technology to help cops
respond to emergencies within 10 minutes
in cities and 15 minutes in rural areas
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A 43-year-
old man from Pune
and his son both
appeared for the
Class X Maha-
rashtra board
examina-
tions this year, but
the results brought
mixed feelings
for the family as the
father cleared the
exam, while the
son failed.
The results
of the annual
Class 10
exams con-
ducted by
the Maha-
rashtra State
Board of
S e c o n d a r y
and Higher
S e c o n d a r y
E d u c a t i o n
(MSBSHSE)
were declared
on Friday
.
B h a s k a r
Waghmare, who had
to give up studies
after Class VII and take
up a job to sustain
his family, was keen
to resume studies.
He appeared for the ex-
ams after a gap of 30
years this year, along
with his son.
“I always wanted to
study more, but could
not do so earlier be-
cause of family respon-
sibilities and to earn to
sustain our livelihood,”
Waghmare said.
“Since some time, I
have been keen on re-
suming studies and do-
ing some courses which
would help me in earn-
ing more. Hence, I had
decided to appear for
the Class 10 exams.
My son was also ap-
pearing for the exams
this year, and this
helped me,” he said.
Waghmare said he
used to study every day
and prepare for the ex-
ams after work.
Although he is now
happy to have cleared
the exams, he is sad
that his son failed in
two papers.
“I will support my
son in taking up the
supplementary exams
(conducted for students
who have failed in some
subjects) and I am
hopeful he will clear
them,” he said.
His son Sahil also
had mixed feelings.
“I am happy that my
father did what he al-
ways wanted to do. But,
I will also not give up. I
will prepare for the sup-
plementary exams and
try to clear the papers,”
he added.
As per the results an-
nounced on Friday, the
overall pass percentage
this year was 96.94%.
43-yr-old man clears Class X board exams in Pune, but son fails
BITTERSWEET JOY
lll
Bhaskar
Waghmare
vows to
support
son for
supplementary
exams in the
two subjects
he did
not clear
Since some time, I have been keen on re-
suming studies and doing some courses
which would help me in earning more.
Hence, I had decided to appear for the Class 10
exams. My son was also appearing for the exams
this year, and this helped me.
—Bhaskar Waghmare, Sahil’s father
Maharashtra logs 4,004 new
COVID-19 cases, one fatality
One killed, 22 injured
as truck hits tractor
First India Bureau
Pune: A ‘warkari’, dev-
otee of Lord Vitthal,
was killed and 22 oth-
ers were injured after
a vegetable-laden tem-
po rammed into their
tractor-trolley on
Pune-Bengaluru high-
way Satara district on
Sunday
, police said.
The warkaris from
Kolhapur were on their
way to Pune to partici-
pate in the annual
‘palkhi’ procession,
which is part of the
‘wari’traditioninwhich
the ‘padukas’ (holy foot-
wear) of saints Tukar-
am and Dnyaneshwar
aretakentoPandharpur
in Solapur district.
The accident took
place around 3 am near
Shirval village, when 43
warkaris were on their
way to Alandi in neigh-
bouring Pune.
“
Aspeedingvegetable-
laden tempo heading to-
wards Pune rammed
into the tractor-trolley
carrying warkaris from
behind. The warkaris
fell on the road and the
tempo also got dam-
aged,”Shivralpolicesta-
tion inspector N Madne
said, adding that at least
23‘warkaris’sufferedin-
juries and were rushed
to a hospital, where one
of them succumbed dur-
ing treatment.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra on Sunday wit-
nessed 4,004 fresh
cases of COVID-19, in-
cluding 2,087 in Mum-
bai, and one fatality
,
taking the tally to
79,35,749 and the toll
to 1,47,886, the health
department said.
On Saturday, Maha-
rashtra had reported
3,883 cases and two fa-
talities related to the
pandemic.
The state is now left
with 23,746 active cases
after 3,085 patients were
discharged on Sunday,
taking the tally of re-
coveries to 77,64,117, the
department said in a
statement.
A total of 41,823 tests
wereconductedthrough
the day, raising the
number of samples test-
ed so far in the state to
8,16,03,506.
Maharashtra’s COV-
ID-19 case recovery rate
now stands at 97.84%
while the fatality rate is
1.86%, it said.
The sole COVID-19 fa-
tality in the state was
reported from Mumbai
which saw 2,087 new
cases. Mumbai’s overall
tally of cases has risen
to10,93,722andthedeath
toll, to 19,583. Mumbai
divisionadded3,358new
cases, pushing the tally
to 22,84,103; the death
toll here is 39,858.
Nashik division saw
60 cases, Pune division
had 408, Kolhapur divi-
sion had 43, Aurang-
abad division had 11,
Latur division had 13,
Akola division had 24,
and Nagpur division
had 87 new cases.
COVID-19 UPDATE
23,746
in the state
ACTIVE CASES
3,358
added in Mumbai
NEW CASES
The state has
so far tested
8,16,03,506
samples for
COVID-19. —
FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Following the suc-
cess of the Restau-
rant-on-Wheels con-
cept in Mumbai and
Nagpur, the Central
Railways (CR) is
planning more such
restaurants in old
coaches and investi-
gating their feasibil-
ity in the Mumbai
and Pune divisions.
The Restaurant-on-
Wheels is a unique din-
ingexperienceinarail-
themed setting. On
October 18, 2021, the
first of CR’s Restau-
rant-on-Wheelsopened
at Mumbai’s Chhatra-
pati Shivaji Maharaj
Terminus, a modified
coachmountedonrails
located at Heritage
Gully, opposite plat-
form no 18 at CSMT.
“The railway plans
to explore the possibil-
ity of opening similar
restaurantsatLokman-
ya Tilak Terminus in
Mumbai, Neral, Lon-
avala and Igatpuri sta-
tions on Mumbai divi-
sion and at Akurdi,
Baramati, Chinchwad
and Miraj stations on
the Pune Division,” CR
officials said.
The fine-dining es-
tablishment, named
Boogie-Wogie, offers
diners a one-of-a-kind
experience and can ac-
commodate 40 patrons
inside each coach,
which has 10 tables.
The restaurant’s inte-
rior has been designed
sothatdinerscanenjoy
the experience of ‘rail
dining.’Ithasbecomea
landmark eating estab-
lishment in the area,
with over 60,000 visi-
tors since its inception.
More Restaurant-on-Wheels
to come up in Mumbai, Pune
The exact look of a railway coach has been
provided to the restaurant coach. The restaurant
which can accommodate 40 patrons at a time
has had approximately 30,000 visitors till date

D
eepika
P a d u -
kone and
Ranveer Singh are
one of the hottest couples in
Bollywood. Recently Ran-
veer won yet another award
at the Pinkvilla Style Icons
Awards and shares his
happiness on social me-
dia. But what caught
our attention was his
wife Deepika’s com-
ment on his post.
Taking to his Insta-
gram handle, Ran-
veer Singh shared a
couple of pictures
of him receiving an
award from Kabir Khan
himself at the Pinkvilla
Style Icons Awards. In
the pictures, we can see
Ranveer looking dapper
in his black suit and pos-
ing with a smile with his
83 directors as he re-
ceives the award. Re-
acting to this, Deepika
wrote, “Our shelves
are full cookie! But
who cares…Keep em
coming!.”
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
J
anhvi Kapoor is one of the fittest and
stunning actresses of the current genera-
tion. She never fails to make our heads
turn with her fashion game. Janhvi often
shares pictures and videos of her workout ses-
sions to motivate her fans. We also often see
the star kid hitting the gym to maintain her
perfect figure and today too, she was spotted
coming out of her pilates session. The
Dhadak actress looked radiant and was
glowing as she was seen in her gym wear.
In the pictures, we can see Janhvi
Kapoor wearing black shorts that she
paired with a pink coloured sports bra.
She tied her hair in a single ponytail
and carried an off-white coloured
bag on one shoulder. The actress
completed her look with cream-
coloured flip-flops. The Roohi
actress looked pretty even
without makeup and had a
smile on her face as she
walked towards her car. Be-
fore sitting in her car, she
posed for the paps.
P
riyanka Chopra
wrappeduptheshoot-
ing of Citadel. The
actress who was al-
ready posting updates from
the sets recently shared a
video featuring all the spe-
cialfilmingmomentsafter
finishing the shoot of the
show in Atlanta. In the
note announcing the
shoot wrap, Priyanka
wrote,Thankyoutoeve-
ryone who made this
mammoth task possible
and fun. Priyanka posted
a reel that consisted of sev-
eralbigmomentsfromherfilm-
ing journey
. From giving a
glimpse of her character's
name, Nadia which was posted
on her vanity van to her on-set
chair featuring her full name,
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the ac-
tress added some fun moments
in her video. She also gave a
glimpse of her special visitor
on set, her pet dog Diana.
nushka Sharma, Virat Kohli, and
Vamika are one of the most ador-
able families in the tinsel town of
Bollywood. The family of three
recently jetted off to the Mal-
dives for a quick getaway on
the tropical island. Although
it has just been a few days since they
have been back, Anushka is already
missing the quality time she spent
there with her loved ones. Her
latest Instagram post is proof
of the same. Anushka took to
Instagram and posted a
video showcasing her mo-
ments from the Maldives
vacation. In the video, the
Pari actress could be seen
riding a bicycle where
they stayed. She also
penned a sweet cap-
tion that read, “Best
memories with my
beloved two (family
of three emoji) (red
heart emoji), pedal
me back! (wave emoji)
(palmtreeemoji)#Miss-
i n g A l -
ready
.”
A
FLASHBACKS!
PC WRAPS UP
CITADEL SHOOT
MUMBAI, MONDAY,
JUNE 20, 2022
A
s Aditya Roy Kapur and
Sanjana Sanghi are
gearing up for the re-
lease of their action
film OM The Battle Within, a
brand new song from the film
was dropped on Sunday
. Titled
'Saasein Dene Aana', the love
ballad features the two lead
stars in a soulful romantic
number. The music video fea-
tures Aditya and Sanjana in a
striking avatar as their sizzling
chemistry stands out. In the
song, the duo can be seen ro-
mancing to the tunes composed
by Chirantan Bhatt and chore-
ographed by producer Ahmed
Khan. The song showcases Adi-
tya Roy Kapur in a stunning
black outfit romancing and
dancing with Sanjana Sanghi
who is seen donning an electri-
fying blingy attire.
OMTHE
BATTLE
WITHIN
H
rithik Roshan and Saba Azad have
been all over the news of late for
their booming romance. Saba has
released her new single and
shared the news on her Instagram ac-
count. She wrote, “#ihearyourvoice is
yours now!! Ten years after its birth -
finally free!! If ever there was a time
machine for the use of man it must
be a song.. music has such a way of
transporting you to another time
- I’m here in Serbia, shooting an
indie film, looking at this video
and thinking of little Saba - her
dreams, her hopes for herself
and the world and my head spins
at how little we know of the fu-
ture and I’m so so thankful it sur-
prised me and continues to”. Soon,
Hrithik shared the song on his Ins-
tagram story and sent love to Saba.
He wrote, “This is beautiful” along
with a heart emoticon.
HRITHIK HEAPS
PRAISES
DEEPIKA’S
NICKNAME
FOR
RANVEER
PILATESSESSION
Deepika Padukone
Janhvi Kapoor
Saba Azad
Sanjana Sanghi
Priyanka Chopra
Anushka Sharma

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