21012022 first india ahmedabad (1)

First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: In a sud-
den move, the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) of-
fice instructed political
appointees in various
boards and corpora-
tions to resign with im-
mediate effect on Thurs-
day afternoon. There
are around 50 boards
and corporations in the
state, of which, 10 have
political appointees and
the remaining are run
by bureaucrats.
According to sources,
Gujarat Municipal Fi-
nance Board Chairman
Dhansukh Bhanderi,
Gujarat Industrial De-
velopment Corporation
(GIDC) Chairman Bal-
vantsinh Rajput, Guja-
rat Gram Gruh Nirman
Board Chairman Mu-
lubhai Bera, National
Minorities Develop-
ment & Finance Corpo-
ration Sajjad Hira, Gu-
jarat Agro Industries
Corporation Chairman
Madhu Srivastav and
others were asked to re-
sign. Those who were in
Gandhinagar at the
time submitted their
resignations to Chief
MinisterBhupendra Pa-
tel; the rest will follow.
For a long time, there
were high expectations
from the party cadre
and even MLAs and
MPs about securing
powerful positions.
However, for the past
few years, successive
chief ministers have
preferred not to make
any political appoint-
ments in boards and/or
corporations. It is due
to this reluctance that
dissent within the party
has been increasing.
Turn to P6
BJP ASKS POLITICAL BOARD, CORPORATION
OFFICE-BEARERS TO RESIGN FROM POSTS
ORDERED AWAY
Speculations are
rife that new faces
will get the
opportunity to hold
powerful positions
Balvantsinh Rajput Dhansukh Bhanderi Mulubhai Bera
IT’S YOGI v/s AZAD IN GORAKHPUR
Announcing its decision to field party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad in Gorakhpur Sadar
constituency for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) on
Thursday made it clear that it was ready to take on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the latter’s bastion
Gorakhpur Sadar is the seat
from where the BJP has
fielded CM Adityanath this time
AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 57
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Sensex ended at 59,464.62 points, which is 634.20 points or 1.06 per cent
lower from its previous day’s close. Nifty ended at 17,757.00 points, which
is 1.01 per cent or 181.40 points down from its previous day’s close. The
Nifty slumped to a low of 17,648.45 points after opening in the positive at
17,921.00 points. IT witnessed heavy selling pressure for third straight day.
The Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile was test-fired from Integrated Test
Range (ITR) off the coast of Odisha on Thursday morning validating several
new indigenous systems, the Defence Research and Development Organi-
sation (DRDO) said. The agency further said, “The highly maneuverable
missile cruised at supersonic speed and all mission objectives were met”.
FROM DALAL STREET:
SENSEX ENDS 630
PTS DOWN, NIFTY
SETTLES AT 17,757
BRAHMOS MISSILE
TEST-FIRED VALIDATING
SEVERAL INDIGENOUS
SYSTEMS: DRDO
1 2
Mohd Fahad
Meerut: For Uttar
Pradesh CM Yogi Adity-
anath’s first-ever state
election next month,
the first rival was de-
clared on Thursday -
Bhim Army chief
Chandrashekhar Azad,
also a debutant. Unlike
Yogi Adityanath, who is
a five-time MP, Chan-
drashekharAzadhasn’t
fought polls before.
The Dalit leader had
declared back in No-
vember that he would
challenge Yogi Adity-
anath. Today, his Azad
Samaj Party formally
announced it, just days
after the BJP revealed
Yogi Adityanath would
contest from Gorakh-
pur Sadar.
Yogi Adityanath’s
main rival will be the
Samajwadi Party can-
didate, not announced
yet. Azad said he wants
to fight the Chief
Minister anyway, no
matter how many op-
position candi-
dates there are.
YATI NARSINGHANAND
DENIED BAIL BY COURT
COURT REFUSES BAIL
IN BULLI BAI CASE
Haridwar: Arrested for making
derogatory remarks against
women of a particular com-
munity, Juna Akhara Maha-
mandleshwar and controversial
priest Yati Narsinghanand was
denied bail by a CJM court in
Haridwar on Thursday.
Mumbai: A Mumbai court
on Thursday rejected the bail
applications of Vishal Kumar
Jha, Shweta Singh, and Mayank
Rawat – all three of who were
accused in the controversial
‘Bulli Bai’ case and arrested by
the Mumbai Police.
3 KILLED, 25 HURT IN LAHORE
l A powerful blast on
Thursday ripped through
a crowded market where
Indian commodities are
sold in Pakistan’s cultural
capital here, killing at
least three persons and
wounding 25 others,
police said.
l According to police,
the blast took place near
the Paan Mandi in the
famous Anarkali market,
where Indian commodities
are sold. No group or
organisation has claimed
responsibility for the
blast so far.
l Lahore Deputy
Commissioner Umer
Sher Chattha said that the
explosive material was
planted in a motorcycle
which was parked outside
a bank in the area. Prime
Minister Imran Khan
condemned the blast.
Assam, Meghalaya
CMs meet Shah over
volatile border dispute
Absolute Shocker: 5 Covid
genome testing labs shut
due to paucity of funds
New Delhi: Amid the
interstate border dis-
pute between Assam
and Meghalaya, the
Chief Ministers of the
two northeastern states
met Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah in the
national capital in a bid
to resolve the long-
pending issue.
After the cabinet
meetings, the two CMs
had told the media sepa-
rately that they would
apprise the Union Home
Minister about the rec-
ommendations of the
ministerial committees
and their perspectives
abouttheinter-statebor-
derdisputesbetweenthe
two northeastern states.
A roadmap for amica-
ble settlement has also
been prepared.
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar
Azad (centre) addresses a press
conference in Meerut on Thursday.
PRIYANKA’S POSTER GIRL PRIYANKA MAURYA, ANOTHER
AKHILESH RELATIVE PRAMOD GUPTA JOIN BJP CAMP
Ahead of the Assembly elections, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh
Yadav’s brother-in-law and former Samajwadi Party MLA Pramod Gupta and the former
Congress leader Priyanka Maurya today joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Priyanka Maurya
was the face of Congress’s ‘Ladki Hun, Lad Sakti Hun’ campaign spearheaded by Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier on Wednesday, Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-
in-law Aparna Yadav had joined BJP in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Keshav
Prasad Maurya and BJP State president Swatantra Dev Singh.
AKHILESH ALL SET TO DEBUT IN ASSEMBLY
POLLS FROM BASTION KARHAL IN MAINPURI
UP: CONGRESS’ 2ND
LIST HAS 16 WOMEN
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will
contest from Karhal seat of Mainpuri, ac-
cording to party sources. SP has been winning
this seat continuously since 2007. In the 2017
elections, despite the Modi-Yogi wave, SP can-
didate Sobran Singh got 50% votes from here.
Earlier, there was talk of Akhilesh contesting
from Azamgarh. Akhilesh himself had said that
after asking the people of Azamgarh, he would
decide to contest the elections.
The Congress party on Thursday re-
leased its second list of candidates
for the assembly elections in Uttar
Pradesh. Out of the total 41 candidates
in this list, 16 are women. The party
has promised to give 40 per cent seats
to women candidates in this year’s Ut-
tar Pradesh election, which is reflected
in the second list. Some of the can-
didates are Haji Akhlaq from Kairana,
Sukhwinder Kaur from Saharanpur
Nagar, Kalpana Singh from Bilari and
Dr Yasmeen Rana from Charthawal
among others.
PARRIKAR’S SON
DENIED TICKET;
AAP WELCOMES
The BJP today announced 34
candidates in its first list for
Goa but a big name was miss-
ing - Utpal Par-
rikar, the son of
ex-CM Manohar
Parrikar, a party
veteran. The BJP
picked sitting
MLA Atanasio “Babush” Mon-
serrate on Panaji seat. Later,
AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal tweeted
‘welcoming’ him in his party.
Police officials examine the site of bomb explosion in Lahore on Thursday.
New Delhi: Delays in
genome sequencing
samples from Covid pa-
tients, to identify the
strain of virus in each
case, is due to a lack of
funds for chemical rea-
gents (which is a sub-
stance added to the sam-
ple to cause a chemical
reaction), top Health
Ministry sources said.
Five labs across the
country - part of INSA-
COG, or the Indian
SARS-CoV-2 Genetics
Consortium, a network
of 38 tasked with ge-
nome sequencing - have
closed because of this,
sources said.
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
GUJARAT
24,485
NEW CASES
‘VACCINATION REDUCED DEATHS’
Deaths are significantly less in the third wave of
the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison to the sec-
ond wave, and the current surge is not witnessing
increase in severe illness or death following high
vaccination uptake, the Centre said on Thursday.
9,837
NEW CASES
IN A’BAD
13
NEW
DEATHS
Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Assam Chief Minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad
Sangma, during their meeting in New Delhi.
I am the only politician in the last five years who has spent half that time in jail because
of this government. I will not let the Chief Minister of this government go to the assembly.
That is why I am fighting against him. The opposition is welcome to fight, but I am
going to fight against him anyway —Azad told reporters
‘Need a system with no
place for discrimination’
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Thursday kicked off the
“Azadi Ka Amrit Mahot-
sav” commemorating 75
years of India’s Inde-
pendence by stressing
the need for “a system
in which there is no
place for discrimination
andasocietythatstands
firmly on the founda-
tion of equality and so-
cial justice”.
He added that in last
75 years, the conversa-
tion has revolved
around “rights, fight-
ing for rights, fight-
ing, wasting time”.
“Speaking of rights, to
some extent, , maybe
true in any one cir-
cumstance but forget-
ting one’s duties com-
pletely has played a
huge role in keeping
India weak,” he said.
Light a lamp
in the heart of
every citizen
of the country - the
lamp of duty. Togeth-
er, we will take the
country forward
—Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister
PM to inaugurate
new circuit house
near Somnath Temple
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will inaugurate
a new circuit house near the
Somnath Temple on Friday
via video conferencing. The
Somnath Temple is visited by
lakhs of devotees from India
and abroad every year. Prime
Minister Modi will inaugurate
the new building on January 21
at 11 am via video conferenc-
ing, the Prime Minister’s Office
(PMO) said in a statement. The
need for the new circuit house
was felt as the existing govern-
ment facility was located far
off from the temple, the PMO
said. The new establishment
has been built at a cost of over
Rs30 crore and is equipped
with top class facilities includ-
ing suites, VIP and deluxe
rooms, conference room,
auditorium hall, among others.

First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) wants the 2022
state assembly elec-
tions to be held as
scheduled in December,
said party chief CR Pa-
til on Thursday
.
After addressing
40,000 party workers
virtually, Patil was ad-
dressing media per-
sons, where in response
to a poll schedule ques-
tion, he said, “Elections
are to be held in Decem-
ber, and we wish the
same. Large number of
workers, members of
page committees, shak-
ti kendra and mandal
membershadjoinedthe
virtual meeting from
579 locations. Senior
party leaders, MLAs,
and MPs were assigned
to guide workers on the
ground-level.”
Appealing to party
workers to complete
page committee forma-
tion, the state unit pres-
ident asked them to
begin approaching vot-
ers. He urged them to
enlighten electors
about the developmen-
tal projects completed
by the government. Pa-
til exuded confidence
that workers will be
able to win over voters
and be ready for polls.
The whole exercise is
being executed by the
party to keep the cadre
ready for elections. If
they toil hard, it will not
be difficult for the party
to achieve its target of
182 assembly seats set
by Patil, feel experts.
In response to a ques-
tion on Congress MLAs
joining the ruling par-
ty, Patil replied, “Ever
since I have taken
charge as the BJP state
unit president, not a
single Congress MLA
has joined the BJP. I
plan to stay this course
in the near future.”
However, he neglected
to acknowledge other
party workers and lead-
ers joining the BJP.
According to politi-
cal analysts, the BJP is
miles ahead in election
preparations than its
main opponent Con-
gress. If early elections
are held, the opposition
party is likely to be
trumped. But, if they
are held in December,
there is a possibility of
anti-incumbency going
against the BJP govern-
ment, which can ruin
its odds of winning.
The grin on Patil’s vis-
age at the Thursday
press meet was inexpli-
cable-- whether he re-
ally meant that the
party wants polls as
scheduled, or a sur-
prise is waiting in the
wings after
results of
the five
states set to hold polls
come in?—that re-
mains to be seen.
NEWS
AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2022
02
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BJP state chief CR Patil seemed confident of a thumping victory after virtual meet with 40K workers, leaders
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: A notifi-
cation issued by the Gu-
jarat Tribal Develop-
ment Corporation
(GTDC) for the tribal
community’s welfare
scheme has sparked out-
rage from Congress
Leader of Opposition
Sukhram Rathwa. The
word ‘Isam’ used in the
notice was objected to
by Rathwa as it means
accused, and was de-
meaning to the tribal
community
. He has
called for a bandh in
Chhota Udepur district
on January 25.
Speakingontheissue,
Rathwa told First India,
“The word ‘Isam’ be-
came very popular after
the 2002 riots, and it was
mainlyusedforculprits.
Whosoever has used the
word in an official noti-
fication has demeaned
the whole community
. It
is an insult to the tribal
community
. We seek an
apology from the man-
aging director of the
corporation or a mem-
ber secretary
.”
The Congress leader
also claimed that the
government had used
other such terms for the
tribal community in the
past as well.
Explainingtheconno-
tations of the word,
Rajesh Pandya, profes-
sor of Gujarati at Maha-
raja Sayajirao Universi-
ty of Baroda said, “Isam
means manas (human/
person) and nothing
else. The word has been
derived from the Arabic
language and has no
other meaning. In the
Saarth dictionary,
which was initiated by
Mahatma Gandhiji,
isam means a person.”
Pandya further elabo-
rated, “The Gujarati
language has derived
many words from other
languages. The Bhag-
vadgomandal (first Gu-
jarati dictionary) also
defines the word isam as
manas, which means a
person. Moreover, it can
be used for both male
and female genders.”
Senior journalist
Dhwani Pathak talked
about two terms popu-
larly used by cops. “In
Gujaratilanguagenews-
papers, the two terms
mainly for crime report-
ing are ‘isam’ and
‘shaksh’. It is done so to
avoid mentioning any
particular community,
but there is a hidden
meaning too. One term
is reportedly used for
Hindu culprits and the
other for Muslim cul-
prits. It is now limited to
the police vocabulary
only, while the term it-
self translates to a per-
son,” she said.
Rathwa takes offence on word ‘isam’ used in GTDC notification
REACTIVE POLICY
Congress Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathwa. —FILE PHOTO
Calls for Chhota Udepur
bandh on Jan 25; Guj
language experts clarify
meaning “not derogatory”
First India Bureau
Ahwa: Former Dang
MLA Mangal Gavit be-
gan an indefinite hun-
ger strike in protest
against the state forest
department’s actions
on Thursday. He also
threatened the depart-
ment to commit sui-
cide, if any action is
initiated against him.
According to the for-
mer people’s represent-
ative, he has been a
target of the forest de-
partment and facing
harassment at their
hands for the past eight
months. A portion of
land that he has owned
for the last 35 years was
undergoing renovation
when forest officials
showed up and claimed
it was an encroach-
ment. “I had bought
that piece of land from
a private citizen years
ago and there was a
dhaba being run under
a shed on it till now,”
Gavit told First India.
“A few days ago, I
started levelling the
landforrenovationand
repairs. On Thursday
morning, I was on my
way to a social engage-
ment when I received
word that a forest de-
partment team had ar-
rived.Theyallegedthat
Ihadencroachedonthe
department’s land,” he
informed.
Gavit lamented the
lack of action against
real criminals who
have, in reality
, en-
croachedonforestland.
Defending his owner-
ship of the land, he as-
serted, “I have all the
recordsof theland,and
yet, I am still being tar-
geted. Moreover, I have
notreceivedanyofficial
document or notice
(about encroachment).
Before the episode that
transpired, no notice
was issued to me.”
Despite multiple at-
tempts, Deputy Con-
servator of Forest Ag-
neeshwar Vyas was
not reachable for com-
ment.
‘BJP WANTS 2022 GUJ
ASSEMBLY POLLS IN DEC’
Patil addressing party workers, members at 579 locations across the state virtually on Thursday.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Doc-
tors working in gov-
ernment medical col-
leges on Thursday de-
cided to withdraw
their strike, after the
Gujarat Government
Doctors Forum ex-
pressed confidence in
the state’s willingness
to address pending is-
sues and demands put
forth by them.
The Gujarat Medical
Teachers Associations,
GMS CL-2 Medical Of-
ficer Association,
GMERS Faculty Asso-
ciation and Gujarat In-
Service Doctors Asso-
ciation had jointly—un-
der the umbrella of the
Forum—initiated a call
for strike that was slat-
ed to begin on the day
.
On Wednesday even-
ing, association office-
bearers were invited for
a meeting by the addi-
tional chief secretary
(health). It was held the
next day in the presence
of Finance Minister
Kanu Desai, Roads and
Buildings Minister
Purnesh Modi, Health
Minister Rushikesh Pa-
tel and health depart-
ment officials.
One of the main de-
mands presented by
doctors was filling va-
cant posts at the earli-
est. Another contention
was recruitment of doc-
tors on contractual and
ad-hoc basis. Dr Rajnish
Patel, member of the
Gujarat Government
Doctors Forum said,
“The government has
assured that it will fill
vacant posts with regu-
lar medical teachers.”
First India Bureau
Delhi: Congress MP
Shaktisinh Gohil on
Thursday appealed to
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi to break his si-
lence over the prevalent
border issue with China
and inform the citizens
about the situation.
In a press conference
held in the national cap-
ital, Gohil addressed the
kidnapping of a native
youth, who was alleged-
ly taken by Chinese sol-
diers in Arunachal
Pradesh on January 18.
“Interference of Chi-
na on the border is in-
creasing, so Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
has to break his silence
and allow the MPs of
other political parties
to inspect the real situ-
ation,” he said.
According to the Con-
gress leader, state presi-
dent of the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) in
Arunachal Pradesh and
senior MP Tapir Gao
had himself given in-
formation about the
youth abducted by the
Chinese army
.
“Rahul Gandhi (Con-
gress national leader)
has raised the China
border issue on several
occasions. But he has
been ignored by him
(PM Modi). He (Modi)
must speak now after
one of the MPs of his
own party raised the is-
sue in Arunachal
Pradesh,” he alleged.
Gohil also asserted
that he had been in-
formed by an army of-
ficer that patrolling had
ceased on the instruc-
tions of the government
at several places along
the China border. He
termed it “a matter of
great concern.”
His reaction came af-
ter MP Gao claimed that
a youth had been alleg-
edly abducted by the
People’s Liberation
Army (PLA) from Lung-
ta Jor area inside Indian
territory in Arunachal
Pradesh’s Upper Siang
district and his wherea-
bouts remained un-
known as of yet.
Docs withdraw strike as govt acquiesces to demands
PM must break silence on
China border issue: Gohil
Lack of adequate staff had forced doctors to balance heavy workloads with no respite. —FILE PHOTO
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil. —FILE PHOTO
Former Dang MLA threatens to commit suicide
Has alleged harassment from
forest dept as they seek to claim
‘encroached’ land owned by him
Mangal Gavit

GUJARAT
03
Sau Uni to speed up hiring
for 58 vacant teaching posts
First India Bureau
Rajkot: Authorities
at the Saurashtra
University say they
have begun to speed
up the process of re-
cruiting staff. How-
ever, given that 58
teaching positions
approved by the state
government since
2017 are still vacant,
students aren’t hold-
ing their breath—es-
pecially since the
university was re-
cently in the news af-
ter the state had to
intervene following
allegations of irregu-
larities in the re-
cruitment process.
Notably, the univer-
sity also received a lot
of bad press last month,
after a question paper
for a third-semester
BCom examination was
leaked and the exam
was declared void.
“The last recruitment
done at Saurashtra Uni-
versity was way back in
2015-16,” pro-vice-chan-
cellor of Saurashtra
University Dr Vijay De-
sani told First India.
“Over these many
years, these vacant po-
sitions have not been
filled due to various de-
lays and formalities
that are required to be
completed. So far we
had contractual teach-
ing staff but soon we
will try to fill the 58 va-
cant teaching positions
with permanent staff.”
The university was
given an extension un-
til February after the
state government can-
celled the previous re-
cruitments. However,
the delays have been
affecting the course of
education at the uni-
versity, one student
said, asking not to be
named.
On Wednesday, the
Akhil Bharatiya Vid-
yarthi Parishad gave
an ultimatum to the
university to fill the va-
cant posts permanently
or to hire teaching staff
on contractual agree-
ments for 11 months at
a time, at the earliest.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Brinda
Shinde, won laurels
for the city for Va-
dodara, after finish-
ing third in the re-
cently held All India
National Badminton
Championships held
at Panchkula in Har-
yana in the under-17
sub-junior group
doubles category.
Aiming to represent
India at the Olympics in
the future, badminton
started out as an exer-
cise routine for Brinda.
She later turned it into
her passion and now
wishes to make her ca-
reer as a professional
shuttler. “After winning
medals and receiving
good response for my
game, I joined the Gop-
ichand Academy in Hy-
derabad for training.
This is my first national
medal and it was a
learning experience for
me,” she said.
Brinda began play-
ing doubles after being
motivated by her
coaches. Perfecting a
balance between bad-
minton practice and
her education, Brinda
informed, “I want to
make a career in sports
and in order to achieve
that, I practice hard at
the academy for nearly
eight hours a day
. Being
a Class X student, I also
manage to study in be-
tween my sessions.”
Thanking her par-
ents for supporting her
and the Sports Author-
ity of Gujarat coach
and trainer Jayesh
Bhalawala for his guid-
ance, Brinda told First
India, “I am concentrat-
ing on how to better my
game and win medals in
national as well as in-
ternational competi-
tions.” Prior to joining
the Hyderabad acade-
my
, Brinda used to prac-
tice under Bhalawala at
the Waghodia Sports
Complex in Vadodara.
Seeking to inspire
other young girls, she
said, “A good career
can be made in sports.
Girls can positively
choose to come for-
ward and pursue sport-
ing careers.”
Vadodara shuttler Brinda Shinde finishes
3rd in national badminton tournament
FIERCE AMBITION
Aiming for
Olympic glory,
the young
athlete has
been training
at Hyd-based
Gopichand
Academy
Brinda in action at the tournament.
Saurashtra University. —FILE PHOTO
36STUDENTS+VEATMSUHOSTELS
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Keeping
with surging cases at
the Maharaja Saya-
jirao University of
Baroda over the past
few days, 36 students
residing in four girls
hostel buildings
were found to be in-
fected with COVID-19
on Thursday. After
their Rapid Antigen
Tests (RATs) came
back positive, they
were shifted to spe-
cial isolation wards
set up inside the hos-
tel buildings. All stu-
dents are being kept
under strict observa-
tion, officials said.
In the wake of sig-
nificant rise seen in
cases on campus, the
university’s health de-
partment had organ-
ized an RAT camp near
the girls hostels run by
the Vadodara Mahana-
gar Seva Sadan
(VMSS). The testing
drive was open for stu-
dents from 10 am to 2
pm and a total of 175
students were tested.
Of them, 36 were found
to be positive with
mild or no symptoms.
They are being admin-
istered medication for
the virus infection in
accordance with gov-
ernment guidelines.
“The testing was
conducted at all four
hostels namely Saroji-
ni Devi, Pandita Gargi,
Kasturba Gandhi,
Hansa Mehta. We have
only allowed students
who have received both
vaccinations. The ones
who tested positive are
all fully inoculated. We
have informed their
parents about the posi-
tive test results and
put them all in special
isolation wards set up
in every hostel of the
university,” said Vijay
Parmar, Chief War-
den, MSU Baroda.
The testing drive for
all male students will
be conducted at all
boys hostel buildings
by university officials
on Friday.
RapidAntigentestdriveheldat4girls’hostelsofVadodaraUniv;infectedmovedtoisolationwards
‘Higher numbers due to greater testing’
First India Bureau
Rajkot: With the
city on high alert
amid a rise in COV-
ID-19 cases, more
and more Rajkoti-
ans are lining up at
testing booths set
up by Rajkot Munic-
ipal Corporation,
leading to longer
queues.
In response, the
civic body has now ex-
tended the timings of
these walk-in centres,
especially ones set up
at major crossroads
in the city. Whereas
these used to be oper-
ational from 9 am to 5
pm, they are now
open for voluntary
testing from 9 am to
6.30 pm, officials said.
The move comes on
a day when the city
reported 1,333 new
cases, taking the ac-
tive tally to 5,625.
With this, the city’s
total COVID-19 tally
has reached 50,852.
“There isn’t a single
locality in Rajkot that
is currently free of in-
fections,” a city health
official said. Officers
of various govern-
ment departments
both at the city and
district level have been
reported as being in-
fected with the novel
coronavirus. Besides,
about nine persons at
the State-Transport
bus port including sev-
en bus conductors
have tested positive, as
have some staff at the
Rajkot jail, this official
added.
A government doc-
tor says the rise in
numbers could be due
to the added testing
underway. Notably,
Gujarat’s positivity
rate—the percentage
of people who test
positive for the virus
of those overall who
have been tested—
stands at 15.11% on
Thursday.
Rajkot is seeing very long lines for nCoV testing.
ACTIVE CASES
PASS 1L, TOTAL
TALLY AT 10L+
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Gu-
jarat on Thursday
recorded 24,485
new cases, the
highest single-day
spike so far, push-
ing up its tally
above the 10-lakh
mark, while 13 pa-
tients succumbed
to infection, the
state health depart-
ment said.
The state’s COV-
ID-19 tally has now
risen to 10,01,563 cas-
es, while the death
toll reached 10,199.
The latest surge
also pushed up the
state’sactivetallypast
the one-lakh mark.
Ahmedabad city
recorded the highest
number of infec-
tions—9,837—during
the day, followed by
2,981 in Surat city,
2,823 in Vadodara
city, 1,333 in Rajkot
city and 728 in Surat
district.
As per the latest
data available on the
COVID-19dashboard,
more 1.30 lakh tests
are conducted every-
day in the state,
whose positivity rate
now stands at 15.11%.
The rate indicates
the percentage of
people who test posi-
tive for the virus of
those overall who
have been tested.
The tally of recov-
eries increased to
8,86,476 after 10,310
persons were dis-
charged during the
day, the release said.
Gujarat now has
1,04,888 active cases,
of which 156 patients
are on ventilators.
As many as 9.58
crore doses of the
vaccine have been
administered to the
eligible population
so far in the state, of
which, 2.47 shots
were given during
the day, the depart-
ment said.
Vaccination in A’bad. —FILE PHOTO
Surtis on
edge as
cough cold
cases rise
First India Bureau
Surat: With the media
likening the Omicron
variant of the novel
coronavirus to a flu,
government hospitals
are being overrun by
patients reporting
colds, coughs and vi-
ral infections that
may or may not be
COVID-19.
Doctors at Surat’s
New Civil Hospital say
that, in many cases,
these seemingly sea-
sonal infections are
just that. While they
laud people’s alertness,
doctors also say that
most cases can be treat-
ed at home.
Dr Parul Wadgama
of NCHsaidthatcoughs
and colds have in-
creased, and advised
anyone showing symp-
toms of COVID-19 to
“begin home quaran-
tine with immediate ef-
fect”, adding, “Testing
should be carried out as
soon as possible, but the
person should not wait
for the test or its result
to begin quarantining.”
Testing drive at Vadodara’s Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
COVID-19 UPDATE
8,86,476
TOTALRECOVERED
10,310 MORE
IN A DAY
10,01,563
TOTAL CASES
24,485 CASES
IN A DAY
9,837 MAX
CASES IN
A’BAD
ACTIVE CASES
10,199
TOTAL DEATHS
1,04,888
13 DEATHS
IN A DAY
SSG building up to become nCoV facility
As part of its prepara-
tions to convert a six-
storey building at the Sayaji
Hospital into a full-fledged
COVID-19 treatment unit,
the Vadodara hospital has
set up a water tank with a
storage capacity of 2 lakh
gallons near this building,
administrative nodal officer
Dr OB Belim said. He added
that they have more than 150
fire extinguishers and sprin-
klers in this building with
fire extinguishers as well
as a sprinkler system that
can spray a fire retardant
powder. In addition, smoke
detectors have been set up in
the ICU as a precaution. Dis-
play boards have also been
set up at various places to
provide guidance on how to
use fire extinguishers in case
of need. Arrangements also
include fire panels, hooters
and manual caller points.

PERSPECTIVE
04
lVol3lIssueNo.57
l RNINO.GUJENG/2019/79050.
Printed and published by Anita
Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Ex-
press Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar
Printing Planet Survey No.148P,
Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. San-
and, Dist. Ahmedabad. Publishedat
D/3023rdFloorPlotNo.35Titanium
Square,SchemeNo.2,ThaltejTaluka,
Ghatlodiya,Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
If with a pure mind a
person speaks or acts,
happiness follows them like
a never-departing shadow.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Hon’ble SC’s decision to uphold the
constitutionality of 27% 10%
reservations for OBCs and EWS
respectively in #NEET under the
AIQ quota is a welcome decision.
It vindicates the vision of PM @
narendramodi’s govt. of creating a new
paradigm of social justice in the country.
Smriti Z Irani
@smritiirani
Hearty congratulations to world’s
biggest party @BJP4India successful
national president of @JPNadda ji
on completing a successful two-year
tenure. Your role is exemplary in
motivating the workers for service and
in the excellence of the organization. I
wish that the organization continues to
flourish under your leadership.
TOP TWEETS
ONE JINX BROKEN,
YOGI SET TO BREAK
ANOTHER IN UP
ASSEMBLY ELECTION
ational Capital Re-
gion’sNoidawasano-
go place for any sit-
ting Chief Minister
of Uttar Pradesh as it
was believed to be jinxed. The su-
perstition was that any chief
minister visiting Noida will
bring bad luck and make his/her
re-electiondoubtful.Oversucces-
sive yearsthe jinx gained cre-
dence asVeer Bahadur Singh
in1998andNDTiwariin1989lost
the CM’s post. Subsequent chief
ministers, including Kalyan Sin-
gh, Rajnath Singh and Mulayam
Singh, avoided visiting Noida.
During his tenure as CM, Akh-
ilesh Yadav visited Ghaziabad
but did not go to Noida. Only
Mayawatidismissedthesupersti-
tion and became the first CM in
13 years to visit Noida as CM in
2007. After her it is Yogi Adity-
anath who has visited Noida
without any fear.
The other superstition which
Yogi Adityanath is set to break
is about the re-election of a
chief minister for a second
term. In the past, no UP chief
minister has achieved that feat.
N
t times technolo-
gy can be a nui-
sance too. Like the
5G technology
which was to be
deployed in the US from
Wednesday without taking
some key stakeholders into
confidence. Or, should we say
without alerting them about
the chaos the technology may
cause to the aviation sector.
5G is the fifth generation mo-
bile technology (after 1G, 2G,
3G and 4G) that “is designed
to connect everyone and eve-
rything” with the capacity to
“enable next generation user
experiences” with high
speeds and superior reliabil-
ity
. That’s really good for mo-
bile services but for the avia-
tion industry it is a bane as
experienced by Delta Airlines
and American Airlines. The
US Federal Aviation Admin-
istration warned on January
14 that the new technology
could interfere with radar al-
timeters which measure an
airplane’s height above the
ground, especially during
low visibility landings.
The US auctioned the C-
band radio spectrum band for
5G technology in 2021 and this
has caused worry in the avia-
tionsectorasitmaywithradar
altimeter range. The frequen-
cy range auctioned by the US--
-3.7 GHz to 3.98 GHz---comes
close to the 4.2 GHz-4.4 GHz
range used by the air planes.
The US case is different from
that of most European coun-
tries and South Korea which
useaslightlydifferentairwave
for their 5G technology
.
The US spectrum has now
spooked airlines, including
Air India, which cancelled
their flights between the US
and India. A temporary relief
has come in the form of some
“robust” altimeters installed
which are installed in large-
bodied Boeing 777 and 787. In
others, altimeters have to be
retrofitted or replaced.
THE 5G SPECTRUM GLITCH
WHICH HAS HIT AVIATION
US Federal Aviation
Administration
warned on January 14
that new technology could
interfere with radar
altimeters which measure
an airplane’s height
above the ground,
especially during low
visibility landings
A
THE SEASON OF
‘AAYA RAM GAYA RAM’
POLITICS IS BACK!
ver watched Anwar
Maqsood’s Loose Talk? His
was one of the most popular
Pakistani TV political satire
across the subcontinent, im-
mortalized by Moin Akhtar,
who appeared in over 350 epi-
sodes playing as many char-
acters in mock interviews
taken by Anwar. In one of the
most acerbic, stinging com-
ments, Akhtar distorts
Shakespeare: “Whoever
stands in an election has
nothing to do with quom (na-
tion).” With due apologies to
the ardent admirers of our
democracy and the thick-
skinned paramours of the
“will of the people,” let’s
learn to get our head around
the latest ‘Aaya Rams and
Gaya Rams.’
More than a dozen BJP
MLAs, including three sen-
ior ministers -- Swami Pras-
ad Maurya, Dara Singh
Chauhan, Dharam Pal Saini
– have resigned the Yogi Adi-
tyanath-led BJP dispensation
in Uttar Pradesh. Many ana-
lysts have interpreted their
exit as a sad commentary on
Yogi’s five-year governance.
That could be partly true.
These ‘gentlemen of nerve’
said goodbye to BJP after en-
joying five years in power
and landed in Akhilesh Ya-
dav-led Samajwadi Party
.
Maurya was gross and
grandiose: “ab dekhta hu kya
hota hai….ham jis party me
hote hain vohi Sarkar banati
hai.”Maurya comes from east
UP, Poorvanchal, a region
known to be the expressway
to power in Lucknow. His
companions had more or less
the same attitude. Most of
these leaders had joined BJP
after leaving Mayawati’s BSP
in the previous polls in 2017.
The other example came
from Punjab. Congress MLA
Balwinder Singh Laddi
joined the BJP and days later
joined back Congress and
was quoted as saying, “I have
come back to Congress as my
workers compelled me not to
go with the BJP. I have ac-
cepted their wish and joined
back my old party
.” His party
projected Laddi’s revelation
as an achievement while de-
nying him the ticket. In Goa,
the goings and comings con-
tinue as a shining mascot of
the state’s political scenario.
What do you make out of
these instances? Would peo-
ple, being represented by
those leaders trying to make
a complete circle of their po-
litical tour through all major
parties, embrace them? One
wouldn’t be surprised if they
are back in the reckoning
when the results are out. Be-
cause people love their
castes, sub-castes and reli-
gions, we could see a repeat
of “the more things change,
the more they stay the same.”
The rage of the moralistic
debate on turncoats began in
1967 a year after Haryana was
born. Gaya Lal, a member of
the Assembly from Hodal in
Haryana, won elections as an
independent and joined the
Indian National Congress. He
changed his political loyal-
ties thrice in a fortnight, first
by defecting from the Con-
gress to the United Front,
then defecting back to INC,
and then going back all over
again to United Front. When
Gaya Lal quit the United
Front and join the INC, then
INC leader Rao Birender Sin-
gh, who had orchestrated
Gaya Lal’s defection to INC,
brought him to a press confer-
ence and declared “Gaya Ram
is now Aya Ram.” The debate
has remained inconclusive as
elections have come and gone
with the law on defections
making little sense for the
fair-weather friends turning
foes in elections.
A flipside of political deser-
tionsisthestateof theparties
– ruling as well as in the op-
position – that tend to rely
more on the migrant leaders.
In Punjab AAP, for example,
at least 56 nominees out of 104
already announced by the
party are ‘imports’ with 13 of
them having joined the party
only a few days ago. Grass-
roots AAP workers have ac-
cused the party of ignoring
their claims for the ticket.
Then, in Uttar Pradesh,
SP’s Akhilesh Yadav is said
to be facing the problem of
plenty following ‘migrations’
into the party
. With each one
of them expecting a ticket,
the grassroots workers ac-
tively involved with the party
for years feel let down at the
time of ticket distribution.
Democracy is the voice of
thepeople,whoarelikelytobe
influenced by those who aim
at petty short-term and re-
gional gains. In numerous in-
stances, parties with almost
impossible goals to achieve
havepromisedtheearth.Loan
waivers, freebies and caste
quotas are some of them. The
migrations from one party to
another,daysbeforeelections,
seem to justify politics’ “ulti-
mate” aim of usurping power.
Such “imports” may be no-
gainer for parties that seek to
thrive on them and could re-
sult in a conspiracy-driven
battle where settling personal
scores would overtake the
contestof democraticideas.It
couldalsomeansubversionof
theentiredemocraticprocess.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
E
PRASHANT SAXENA
The writer is a political analyst
and freelance journalist
A flipside of political
desertions is the state of the
parties – ruling as well as in
the opposition – that tend to
rely more on the migrant
leaders. In Punjab AAP, for
example, at least 56
nominees out of 104 already
announced by the party are
‘imports’ with 13 of them
having joined the party only
a few days ago. Grassroots
AAP workers have accused
the party of ignoring their
claims for the ticket
In Uttar Pradesh, SP’s
Akhilesh Yadav is said
to be facing the problem
of plenty following
‘migrations’ into the party.
With each one of them
expecting a ticket, the
grassroots workers
actively involved with
the party for years
feel let down at the
time of ticket
distribution

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INDIA
06
New Delhi: Amid the
surge in Covid-19 cases
in India, the Central
government on Thurs-
day said Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Kerala, Delhi and
poll-bound UP are
among the 'States of
Concern'. Central
health teams have been
sent to these states and
situation was reviewed,
Union Health Secretary
Rajesh Bhushan said.
In terms of active
Covid-19 cases, Maha-
rashtra, Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
West Bengal, UP,
Gujarat, Odisha, Delhi
Rajasthan are the
top ten states. Asia is
witnessing a sharp
surge in global contri-
bution from 7.9 % to
around 18.4 % in just
four weeks, Bhushan
said. —PTI
POLL-BOUNDUP,MAHA,DELHI,AMONG
COVID-19‘STATESOFCONCERN’:CENTRE
A healthcare worker inoculates a senior citizen with precautionary
dose of COVID-19 vaccine, in Chennai. —PHOTO BY ANI
MAHA SCHOOLS
TO REOPEN
FROM JAN 24
Mumbai: Maha
School Edu Min Var-
sha Gaikwad said that
schools for Classes
1 to 9 in state can be
reopened for offline
classroom sessions
from January 24.CM
Uddhav Thackeray
has approved a re-
lated proposal sent to
him by school educa-
tion department.
HIGHLIGHTS
l PM Modi speaks to
Parkash Singh Badal,
enquires about his health
l COVID-19 jab for
children below 15 yrs
to begin after scientific
evidence: Centre
l Vaccination in India
surpasses 160 cr mark’
WILL REVIEW COVID-19 CURBS IN
K’TAKA WITH EXPERTS: CM BOMMAI
Bengaluru:Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said
that he would review restrictions imposed in the
state on Friday.“On Friday I will hold a meeting with
experts. We will review all restrictions. The number
of Covid infections is going up but there is no load
on hospitals and no admissions. We have to pay
more attention towards OPD (outpatient depart-
ment),” Bommai said in Bengaluru. —ANI
Chandigarh: The AAP
has announced that its
chief ministerial face,
Bhagwant Mann, will
contest the
Punjab As-
s e m b l y
elections
from the
Dhuri con-
stituency in Sangrur
district.
“We are quite sure
that the people of Dhuri
will shower their love
on him this time too,”
AAP co-in-charge Ra-
ghav Chadha said on
Thursday, adding that
Mann, currently the
MP from Sangrur, had
won most of the votes
in Dhuri, which falls
under the constituency
that he won in the 2014
and 2019 Lok Sabha
elections.
When asked if Mann
would fight from a sec-
ond Assembly seat also,
Chadha said he would
win from any seat in
Punjab. Chadha said
AAP was the only party
to contest the polls with
a chief ministerial face
as the Congress, SAD,
BJP and Sanyukt Samaj
Morcha “were not in po-
sition” to declare their
chief ministerial candi-
dates.
Mann, who was not
present at the time of
the announcement, was
busy campaigning in
the field, according to
the AAP co-in-charge.
Dhuri is among nine
Assembly segments
that constitute Sangrur
LS constituency which
Mann is representing
for the second time.
Lehra, Sunam, Dirba,
Barnala, Malerkotla,
Sangrur, Bhadaur
Mehal Kalan are other
segments. —ANI
AAP’sCMfaceBhagwant
ManntocontestfromDhuri
Dhuriisamongthe9AssemblysegmentsthatformSangrurLSseat
New Delhi: The
BJPon Thursday an-
nounced that Goa
Chief Minister
P r a m o d
S a w a n t
will con-
test the
state As-
sembly polls
from Sanquelim con-
stituency while Depu-
ty CM Manohar Aj-
gaonkar will be pitted
from Margao seat.
BJP Gen SecyArun
Singh Goa poll in-
charge Devendra Fad-
navis released a list of
34 candidates. —ANI
CM Pramod Sawant to contest
from SANQUELIM IN GOA
‘CONCRETE OFFER
MADE TO CONG’
SENA’s RAUT
SUPPORTS UTPAL
New Delhi: The TMC
rebutted Cong leader
P Chidambaram on
his comment on “no
concrete offer for an
alliance” for Goa polls.
“I met him in Delhi in
December, Varma said.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
leader Sanjay Raut
came out in support of
Utpal Parrikar after BJP
refused him an election
ticket. Utpal is Ex-CM
Manohar Parrikar’s son.
New Delhi: BJP on
Thursday announced
names of can-
didates for
59 out of 70
seats in Ut-
tarakhand for upcom-
ing assembly polls.
CM Pushkar Singh
Dhami will contest the
upcoming elections
from Khatima. Dhami
is two-time MLA
from Khatima con-
stituency. In the
first list issued by
the party
, there
are six women
candidates.
—ANI
U’khand polls: BJP declares 59
candidates, drops 10 Sitting MLAs
ASSEMBLY POLLS 2022
contest the
Punjab As-
s e m b l y
elections
from the
Dhuri con-
PUNJAB
We do not want to tie
Mann saheb down to
any one place, so we
have carefully chosen
his constituency. We
want to make the
maximum utilisation
of the capabilities of
Bhagwant Mann in the
Assembly polls.
—Raghav Chadha,
AAP co-in-charge
P r a m o d
S a w a n t
will con-
test the
state As-
sembly polls
GOA
GOA
HIGHLIGHTS
l Chhattisgarh: Nearly
70% voter turnout in
general, by-elections
for panchayat bodies
l Last date of
registration for
‘Pariksha pe Charcha
2022’ extended till
January 27
l Amar Jawan Jyoti flame
to be merged with
National War Memorial
flame on Friday
l VVIP Chopper Scam:
Michel at ‘flight risk’:
CBI to Delhi HC
names of can-
didates for
59 out of 70
U’KHAND
U’KHAND
EX CM TRIVENDRA
RAWAT OFFERS
NOT TO CONTEST
Dehradun: In a letter to
BJP President JP Nadda,
Former Uttarakhand CM
Trivendra Singh Rawat
asked him to accept his
request for not contesting
the polls so he could de-
vote all his time towards
working to ensure the
party’s victory.
We have always
believed in a good
and stable govern-
ment. From Par-
rikar ji to Sawant
ji, we can see the
journey of Goa.
—Devendra Fadnavis,
Senior BJP leader
Pushkar Singh Dhami
Pramod Sawant
Bhagwant Mann
Anita Hada
New Delhi: The Con-
gress party has given a
very clear message that
CM Charanjit Singh
Channi is the face of
the party in the elec-
tions and if the Con-
gress govt is formed
then he will become the
CM. Despite this, Sidhu
is not understanding or
is pretending not to un-
derstand. Sunil Jakhar,
the second contender
for the chief minister’s
post, has understood
this, and that is why he
did not contest from
Abohar seat this time.
On his behest, his
nephew Sandeep
Jakhar has been given
a ticket from that seat.
Deputy CM Sukhjinder
Randhawa is contest-
ing the election, but he
knows that he is out of
the race for the post of
CM.
It is Sidhu alone, who
is stubborn. He along
with Sunil Jakhar and
Sukhjinder Randhawa,
put pressure on the par-
ty high command, after
which the party did not
announce Channi’s
name. As such, Con-
gress never contests
elections by declaring
its chief ministerial
candidate. This has
been the tradition of
the BJP and other re-
gional parties. Then in
an informal conversa-
tion with reporters af-
ter a recently held TV
channel’s programme,
Congress’s media in-
charge Randeep Sur-
jewala said that there
are two faces from the
Congress side, one who
is the CM and the other
of the State President.
In this sense, there are
two faces in Punjab,
Channi and Sidhu.
But now Congress
has ‘expelled’ Sidhu
through a video. In this
video released from the
Twitter handle of Con-
gress, film actor Sonu
Sood is telling people
that such a person can-
not be the CM, who him-
self says that he should
be made the CM. “In-
stead of that, such a
person should be made
the CM, who is a back-
bencher. It is better if
the one who is behind is
brought and made CM,”
Sood said. In this entire
video, Channi is being
shown alone. He has
also been a backbench-
er and suddenly he has
been brought from be-
hind and made to sit on
the CM’s chair. So the
message is clear.
But Sidhu repeatedly
fails to understand such
a clear message and is
trying to stop that de-
velopment from hap-
pening. He also does not
understand that the
party high command is
proceeding on the basis
of vote arithmetic and
that Sidhu’s ambition
has no meaning in that.
Channi is the only hope
of Congress in Punjab.
Secondly, Congress
leaders also understand
that once the AAP’s feet
are established in Pun-
jab, then Congress will
be wiped clean from
Punjab like Delhi.
That’s why Congress is
not coming under pres-
sure from Sidhu or any
other Jat or Jat Sikh
leader. The sooner Sid-
hu understands this,
the better it will be for
his political future.
Why does Sidhu not understand the message of the party?
BEING LOUD CLEAR
Charanjit Singh Channi Navjot Singh Sidhu
New Delhi: Union Fi-
nance Minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman on
Thursday, authorised
the release of Rs 47,541
crore advance instal-
ment of tax devolution
to states, which is in
addition to regular de-
volution for January
this year.
“This is in line with
the commitment of
Government of India
to strengthen the
hands of states to ac-
celerate their capital
and developmental ex-
penditure to amelio-
rate the deleterious ef-
fects of Covid-19 pan-
demic,” a finance min-
istry statement said.
Thus, states would re-
ceive a total of Rs
95,082 crore or double
their respective enti-
tlement during the
month of January
2022, it said. —ANI
CENTRE RELEASES `95,082 CR TO
STATES AS JAN TAX DEVOLUTION
Nirmala Sitharaman
'MERIT SHOULD BE SOCIALLY CONTEXTUALISED':
SC UPHOLDS 27% OBC QUOTA IN NEET
AVANTHA GROUP
LOAN CASE: COURT
DENIES BAIL TO
RANA KAPOOR
MURDER CASE:
INTERIMPROTECTION
TOWBCMMAMATA’S
POLL AGENT
New Delhi: A Delhi
court dismissed bail
application
of former
MD CEO
of YES
Bank, Rana
Kapoor,
in a money laundering
case related to wrongful
loss of Rs 466.51 crore
to the bank. Special
Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal
denied relief to Kapoor,
noting that allegations
against him were most
grave in nature. —PTI
New Delhi: SC granted
interim protection from
arrest to TMC leader
SK Supiyan, who was
the election agent of
CM Mamata Banerjee in
Nandigram, in connec-
tion with a murder case
being probed by CBI.
A bench of Justices L
Nageswara Rao and B
R Gavai was hearing an
appeal filed by Supiyan
challenging an order of
the Calcutta HC which
rejected his anticipatory
bail plea. —PTI
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said
that reservation for backward classes is not at
odds with merit but furthers
its distributive impact while
upholding the 27% quota for
OBC in NEET UG/PG medical
admissions (all-India quota). In
order pronounced, the bench said that merit should
be socially contextualised.” —ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
MONEY LAUNDERING CASE: DESHMUKH'S
JUDICIAL CUSTODY EXTENDED
Mumbai: Maharashtra's ex-Home Minister Anil
Deshmukh's judicial custody extended by another
14 days. He was arrested by ED on November
2, 2021 in connection with extortion and money
laundering allegations against him. He is currently
lodged at Arthur road jail in Mumbai, reported ANI
Earlier on Tuesday, a special court here rejected a
plea filed by Anil Deshmukh seeking default bail in
an alleged money laundering case. —ANI
‘BRIDGE AT PANGONG TSO BUILT 25 KM
INSIDE CHINESE CONTROLLED AREA’
BAJRANG DAL
LEADER, 4 OTHERS
HELD FOR
STABBING YOUTH
DIDI WRITES TO
PM OVER
AMENDMENT TO
IAS CADRE RULES
Bengaluru: Two days
after a group of men
stabbed two youths,
leading to death of one,
in Nargund taluk of Gad-
ag district, Karnataka
Police arrested four of
the accused, including a
Bajrang Dal leader. The
accused were identified
as Bajrang Dal leader
Sanju Nalvade mem-
bers of the outfit Gundya
Muttappa Hiremath,
Channu Chandrashekar
Akki and Sakrappa Ha-
numanthappa Kakanur.
Kolkata: WB CM
Mamata Banerjee wrote
to PM Modi, asking him
to withdraw proposed
changes to rules for IAS
cadre. Calling Centre's
draft amendment more
“draconian” than the
former, she said it will
create a “fear psychosis”
among officers. —ANI
New Delhi: The bridge at Pangong Tso, pictures
of which were shared by a news channel and then
tweeted by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to ques-
tion Centre’s silence over its construction, is built
by Chinese Army, around 25 km inside the territory
controlled by them. The disputed area was captured
by People’s Liberation Army even before the 1962
war. The bridge is around 25 km inside the Chinese-
occupied territory near Khurnak Fort, sources said.
CRUCIAL READ
BJP asks...
The news of mass resig-
nations has already bol-
stered political leaders
and many have begun
lobbying for high-rank-
ing positions in boards/
corporations.
Sources say that this
‘exercise’ was executed
keeping in mind the up-
coming state assembly
elections. The party
plans to assign assembly
constituencies to minis-
ters and senior leaders,
especially of those re-
gions where the party
performed poorly in the
2017 elections, they said.
FROM PG 1

BIZ BUZZ
07
Healthcare will be top priority
in Budget 2022
As many as 47%
of the respondents in the
ASSOCHAM survey
pointed towards the FM
giving the most attention to
healthcare in her Budget
New Delhi: Health-
care would receive the
maximum priority in
the ensuing Union
Budget in the wake of
continuing challenges
posed by Covid-19 and
the imperative need for
scaling up public
health infrastructure,
an ASSOCHAM survey
on Thursday said.
As many as 47% of
the respondents in the
ASSOCHAM survey
pointed towards the Fi-
nance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman giv-
ing the most attention
to healthcare in her
Budget for 2022-23. MS-
MEs, energy and infra-
structure and technol-
ogy followed the expec-
tation chart of the AS-
SOCHAM survey done
amongst 400 respond-
ents across 40 cities
from different sectors.
The COVID-19 pan-
demic tested the limits
of the global health-
care system. While the
Government’s proac-
tive measures and the
frontline workers’ tire-
less efforts have helped
tide the way, the pan-
demic also brought
forth certain gaps in
the public healthcare
system.
In terms of the pri-
orities which India Inc
would like to be reflect-
ed in the budget, the
government spend on
infrastructure tops the
chart. ‘’ Government
should first focus on
increasing investment
in infrastructure, fol-
lowed by enhancing job
creation through high-
er incentivized expan-
sion of manufacturing
capabilities,’’ ASSO-
CHAM said.
ASSOCHAM secre-
tary general Deepak
Sood said the economy
had shown tremendous
resilience to deal with
the intermittent bouts
of Covid 19 variants,
however, to sustain this
trajectory, there was a
need to incentivise con-
sumption-led growth
and that meant provid-
ing relief for the com-
mon man and woman.
Nearly 40% of the
ASSOCHAM survey re-
spondents said the Fi-
nance Minister should
reduce the income tax
amongst other meas-
ures to boost private
demand and consump-
tion. About 31% said
the Direct Benefit
Transfer to the poor
households could be a
demand driver at the
bottom of the pyramid.
Though the Goods
and Services Tax does
not fall under the do-
main of the Union
Budget, the industry
expected rationalisa-
tion of rates by the GST
Council headed by the
Union Finance Minis-
ter. Besides, rising cost
of petrol and diesel
makes it imperative for
the Centre and states to
agree on bringing the
petroleum products un-
der GST. —Agencies
in Budget 2022
in Budget 2022
in Budget 2022
in Budget 2022
in Budget 2022
in Budget 2022
in Budget 2022
in Budget 2022
in Budget 2022
in Budget 2022
in Budget 2022BRING EV UNDER PRIORITY
SECTOR LENDING: SMEV
New Delhi: Electric ve-
hicles must be consid-
ered for priority lending
by the government to
accelerate their adop-
tion, while sufficient
funds must also be
allocated for RD in a
public-private partner-
ship mode for devel-
opment of batteries,
industry body SMEV
said on Thursday.
In its Budget wish
list, the SMEV also
said there is a need to
amend the PLI scheme
for automobile and
auto components, as
in its current form
there is an “unfair price
disadvantage” for small
and medium-size EV
players in the industry.
“To create a robust
ecosystem for electric
vehicles and give a
boost to the EV market,
the government could
look at putting EVs in
the priority lending sec-
tor. It will help citizens
afford EVs at lower
interest rates,” it said.
Stressing on the
need for RD in bat-
tery manufacturing, it
said, “unless we work
seriously and diligently
on EV batteries, we will
end up in a situation
similar to, if not worse
than, our dependence
on crude oil.”
The current level
of research is abys-
mally low, diluted,
and scattered, it said
adding, “the govern-
ment could allocate
sufficient funds for
RD in a public-private
partnership mode with
a time-bound objective
to create EV batteries
that are less dependent
on offshore minerals
and best suited to the
Indian condition.”
The PLI scheme for
Advanced Chemistry
Cell (ACC) can be
suitably amended to
incentivise the RD
efforts, it added. —PTI
Share Jet resolution plan: NCLAT to consortium
New Delhi: The Na-
tional Company Law
Appellate Tribunal
(NCLAT) on Thursday
directed the Kalrock-
Jalan consortium, the
winning bidder for
bankrupt Jet Airways,
to share portions of the
resolution plan per-
taining to claims of
employees with the
airline’s workmen.
The Association
of Aggrieved Work-
men of Jet Airways
(India) Ltd had
sought a copy of the
approved resolution
plan and the latest di-
rection has come on a
plea filed by the asso-
ciation.
The development
comes almost seven
months after the Mum-
bai bench of the NCLT
approved the Jalan-
Kalrock Consortium’s
resolution plan in June
2021.
A two-member
NCLAT bench, headed
by Chairman Justice
Ashok Bhushan, said
a s the
c o n - sorti-
um’s resolution plan
for the airline has al-
ready been approved
by the NCLT, the plan
“is no more confiden-
tial” and a copy should
be provided to the ag-
grieved person.
“We are not inclined
to issue a direction to
provide the entire reso-
lution plan to the ap-
pellant for hearing. We,
however, are fully satis-
fied that the appellant
is entitled for the rel-
evant part of
the resolution
plan to the
claims of the
workmen and
employee,”
the NCLAT
said.
—PTI
New Delhi: In a major
relief to HCL Technol-
ogies, the NCLAT has
stayed the insolvency
proceedings initiated
against it on a plea
filed by a creditor. A
two-member NCLAT
bench, while admitting
the petition filed by
HCL Tech MD and CEO
C Vijayakumar stayed
the NCLT order of Jan
17, 2022, to initiate
insolvency against the
IT major. The appellate
tribunal also issued
notice to Sahaj Bharti
Travels, which had
claimed a default of
`3.54 crore by HCL
Tech, to file its reply
within two weeks and
also granted one week
to the IT firm to file
a rejoinder to it. The
NCLAT has directed to
list the matter on Feb
16 for the next hearing.
—PTI
NCLAT STAYS INSOLVENCY AGAINST HCL
India, Tesla in a ‘weird
stalemate’ on tax cut demands
New Delhi: Talks be-
tween India and Tesla
Inc over potential tax
benefits are dead-
locked as the govern-
ment is not keen to
give the company any
breaks without a com-
mitment to manufac-
ture locally, sources
said.
Tesla is desperate
to import and sell its
electric vehicles in In-
dia and has for nearly
a year lobbied offi-
cials in New Delhi to
reduce tariffs, which
the company’s bil-
lionare CEO Elon
Musk says are among
the highest in the
world.
But Indian official
sources said they
have been uncon-
vinced by Tesla’s lob-
bying as the company
has not yet shared
any firm plan to in-
vest in the country,
something that would
boost local manufac-
turing create jobs.
A third person with
direct knowledge of
Tesla’s thinking said
the discussions with
the Indian govern-
ment have reached a
“weird stalemate situ-
ation”.
“Things are not
moving ahead (for Te-
sla),” said the person.
—Agencies
Demand for luxury properties high despite Covid
New Delhi: Around
75% wealthy people
will look to buy luxury
properties, worth more
than `5 crore, over the
next two years in big
cities as well as holiday
destinations, accord-
ing to a survey. India
Sotheby’s Internation-
al Realty has conducted
a survey of over 200
HNIs (High Net worth
Individuals) and ultra-
HNIstogaugethemood
of the luxury real es-
tate buyers across In-
dia’s top 8 cities/re-
gions -- Delhi-NCR,
Mumbai, Kolkata, Ben-
galuru, Hyderabad,
Pune, Chennai Goa.
“An overwhelming
76% respondents said
they would look to buy
real estate in the com-
ing two years,” accord-
ing to the report ‘Luxu-
ry Housing Out-
look-2022’. This signals
a very strong turna-
round in sentiments
for real estate amongst
the wealthy in India, it
added.
Out of the 76% want-
ing to buy real estate,
89% would prefer luxu-
ry homes (city apart-
ments, city bungalows
and holiday homes),
while the rest 11% pre-
fer premium commer-
cial real estate.
Around 26% of the
respondents did pur-
chase real estates dur-
ing the last 18 months,
mainly to upgrade
their lifestyle and en-
cash good investment
opportunity
.
In the 2-3 years pre-
ceding the COVID pan-
demic, the consultant
noted that HNIs and
UHNIs were mostly
buying luxury homes
for self-use. —PTI
HUL Q3 Results:
Profit jumps 17%
YoY to `2,243 cr
New Delhi: FMCG ma-
jor Hindustan Unilever
on Thursday reported
17% jump in net profit
at `2,243 crore for the
quarter ending Dec 31,
2021 as it gained market
share in both urban and
rural areas as India
emerged from Covid-19
related lockdowns. It
posted net profit of
`1,921 crore in 2020.
Growth in the quar-
ter was competitive and
profitable with domes-
tic consumer growth of
11%. Business funda-
mentals remained
strong with handsome
market share gains in
all divisions, both ur-
ban and rural markets
and across price seg-
ments. —Agencies
SENSEX DIPS FOR THIRD
STRAIGHT DAY, DOWN 634 PTS
INDIA’S FY23 GDP TO RISE
BY 7.6%: INDIA RATINGS
New Delhi: India Ratings
and Research on Thursday
said it expects India’s gross
domestic product (GDP)
to grow 7.6% on-year in
FY23. “After a gap of two
years, the Indian economy
will show a meaningful
expansion, as the real GDP in FY23 will be 9.1% higher
than the FY20 (pre-Covid level) GDP level,” said Sunil
Kumar Sinha, Principal Economist, India Ratings and
Research. However, the size of the Indian economy in
FY23 will be 10.2% lower than the FY23 GDP trend value,
according to the ratings agency. —Agencies
Mumbai: Falling for the third straight session, equity benchmark Sensex
tumbled 634 points on Thursday to close below 60,000-mark, tracking
losses in index majors Infosys, TCS and RIL amid a fresh sell-off in
European markets. The continued flight of foreign capital from Indian
markets also affected the market sentiment, traders said. The 30-share
BSE index ended 634.20 points lower
at 59,464.62. Similarly, the NSE Nifty
plunged 181.40 points or 1.01% to
17,757.00.Bajaj Finserv was the
top loser in the Sensex pack,
shedding 4.57%, followed by
Infosys, TCS. —PTI
The
Associationof
AggrievedWorkmen
ofJetAirways(India)
Ltdhadsoughtacopyof
theapproved
resolutionplan
Adani Wilmar IPO to open
for subscription on Jan 27
New Delhi: Edible oil
major Adani Wilmar
Ltd initial public of-
fering (IPO) will open
for subscription on
January 27, Adani En-
terprises said in an
exchange filing on
Thursday
.
“With reference to
our earlier intimation
dated 2 August, 2021 in
relation to the IPO of
Adani Wilmar, Adani
Enterprises has been
informed that the red
herring prospectus
filed with the Regis-
trar of Companies on
19 January and ap-
proved by it on 20 Jan-
uary”, it said.
Adani Wilmar is a
50:50 joint venture
company between the
Adani group and the
Wilmar group.
The issue will be
open for subscription
by the public on Janu-
ary 27 and shall close
on January 31.
Further, the price
band for the issue,
which will be decided
by AWL in consulta-
tion with the book
running lead manag-
ers, will be advertised
at least two working
days prior to the issue
opening. —Agencies

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
55,85,843
TOTAL DEATHS
27,33,49,113
TOTAL RECOVERED
6,09,64,358
ACTIVE CASES
33,98,99,314
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
4,87,719
TOTAL DEATHS
3,58,07,029
TOTAL RECOVERED
19,24,025
ACTIVE CASES
3,82,18,773
TOTAL CASES
Reason and logic are the roots
of life but belief and faith are
the flowers which bring joy to
us and others.
—Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
NGT FORMS 9-MEMBER TEAM
FOR SURAT GIDC CHEM TRAGEDY
Committee to probe, submit report on incident compensation owed
First India Bureau
Surat: The National
Green Tribunal on its
order dated January 18,
2022, regarding the Su-
rat GIDC tragedy has
formed a nine-member
committee.
OnJanuary6,inSurat
Sachin GIDC six people
were killed and, 26 peo-
ple were hospitalized in
an accident where a pol-
luted chemical tanker
was dumped in an open
bay area. The chemical
in the tanker was alka-
line while, the chemical
in the bay was acidic.
The reaction between
the two turned into cya-
nide and sulphur-con-
taining gases, leading to
the death of workers
working at the nearby
VishwapremDyeingand
Printing Mill.
Following that, MSH
Shaikh of Brackish
Water Research Center
had filed a PIL with the
NGT and, the final
judgment was deliv-
ered on January 18. Ac-
cording to the judge-
ment a joint committee
of nine people has been
formed--former Chief
Justice BC Patel, Mem-
bers of Ministry of En-
vironment, CPCB,
GPCB, Industrial De-
partment, State Disas-
ter Management Com-
mittee, Department of
Chemical Engineering,
IIT, SSP Surat, and Dis-
trict Collector. The re-
port will also include
compensation for the
damage done to the en-
vironment and the
lives of the people.
The committee will
investigate who is re-
sponsible for the acci-
dent, sequence of inci-
dents, causes, failures,
amount of damage--to
the ecosystem, to the
environment--meas-
ures for compensation
and rehabilitation of
victims, environmen-
tal rehabilitation
costs, remedial meas-
ures to prevent acci-
dents, and any other
accidental issues.
Nodal agencies CPCB
and GPCB will coordi-
nate, comply and report
in two months. The Dis-
trict Collector will per-
form the work of com-
pensation recovery and
rehabilitation.
REPORT REQUIRED TO BE SUBMITTED IN 4 MONTHS
Man ends life,
leaves behind
suicide note
First India Bureau
Rajkot: A case of
mysterious suicide
has been reported
in Jasdan town of
Rajkot district.
Freelance photog-
rapher, Ashok
Ravji Dholeriya’s
body was recovered
from Aatkot road
near SPS school
with a suicide note.
According to in-
formation, three
days ago, Ashok, a
resident of the Gang-
abhavan area, made
a video call and was
crying. He reported-
ly told his nine-year-
old daughter not to
take anything from
anyone. Later, he
went missing under
mysterious condi-
tions. His family re-
ported a missing
complaint with local
police.
On Thursday,
Ashok’s body with a
suicide note was re-
covered by Aatkot
police. The suicide
note read, “Yogen
Dhanji Bhuva has
cheated me by taking
Rs20 lakh in instal-
ments and has
bought a car. The
documents of the car
are inside the car
and, he has not put
the number plate of
the car. The number
of the car is GJ03
ME125A. He was
with me while buy-
ing the car. But since
three months, he has
avoided my calls, so I
have to die.”
The deceased in
the suicide note has
also mentioned the
share of his shop as a
partner to be given to
his father. Aatkot po-
lice are investigating
the matter.
First India Bureau
Surat: The 63rd Mass
Wedding Ceremony or-
ganised by Saurashtra
Patel Samaj will be held
virtuallythisyeardueto
COVID-19. All the brides
and grooms will partici-
patefromdifferentparts
of the city through a
video conference. The
community will also
make a fixed deposit of
Rs20,000 for the newly
wedded couple.
“The mass marriage
will be held on Febru-
ary 20, from 4 to 8 pm,
and each couple will ar-
range a wedding pavil-
ion as per their conven-
ience. The wedding will
be held, in the presence
of 50 people from both
sides. There will be pa-
vilions at 121 different
places. The mass wed-
ding will be broadcast
live in over 100 coun-
tries,” said Kanji Bha-
lala, president of the
community
. Theorgani-
zation will provide
Rs20,000 for the couple.
The girl will be given an
FD of Rs10,000. An esti-
mated three lakh people
willwitnesstheprogram
sitting at home. Of the
121 girls, 21 don’t have a
father. Nitin Borawala,
a member of the samaj,
will give `5,000 addition-
al FD to the 21 girls
without a father.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Two drug
seizures were reported
in less than 24 hours in
the state. On Thursday,
Banaskantha police
seized Rs1.46 crore
worth of charas from
the Gujarat-Rajasthan
border and the Narcot-
ics Control Bureau, on
Wednesday, intercepted
a container from Cana-
da at the Mundra sea-
port and seized 90 pack-
ets of marijuana. The
consignment was im-
ported by a Punjab-
based industry
.
According to BR Gad-
hvi, PI of the Special
Operation Group (SOG),
on Thursday morning,
in a joint operation with
the local police team, a
car was intercepted at
the Gujarat-Rajasthan
border travelling from
Himachal Pradesh to
Goa. During the check,
police found charas
weighing 14.6 kilo-
grams, worth Rs1.46
crores.
But the accused’s
statement is still being
recorded. So, it is too
soon to name which
syndicate is behind the
smuggling and wheth-
er the person arrested
is just a peddler or a
drug mafia.
In another incident
on Wednesday, NCB in-
tercepted a container at
the Mundra seaport on a
tip-off. The container
was shipped from On-
tario in Canada by one
Amarjit Singh and, the
importer was a Punjab-
based industrialist. The
container was carrying
American Marijuana,
the first case of weed
importedfromAmerica.
First India Bureau
Surat: A major fire
broke out at a dyeing
and printing mill at
Palsana GIDC area
of Surat in the wee
hours of Thursday,
killing three and in-
juring several oth-
ers. According to re-
ports, the fire offi-
cials took around
five hours to control
and douse the fire.
The intensity of the
fire was so high fire-
fighters from Surat,
Bardoli, Vyara,
Sachin, Gandevi,
Navsari and Bilimo-
ra were called.
Sources in the fire
department said the
fire broke out on the
ground floor of
Soumya Dyeing and
Printing Mill and
soon engulfed the
three-storey building
due to the presence of
chemicals and print-
ed fabrics. It took
around 11 hours for
the fire officials to
take out the dead bod-
ies of the labourers
who died in the fire.
Fire official Vijay-
kant Tiwari said, “As
soon as we received
the call, we reached
the spot in no time.
Over 300 labourers
were working in the
factory. With the help
of locals, they man-
aged to escape. But
while speaking we got
to know of the three
labourers making fur-
niture in the office of
the mill.” Unfortu-
nately, they couldn’t
be saved on time.
The prime investi-
gation revealed there
were traces of flam-
mable substances and
chemicals near the
boiler chamber, Ti-
wari added.
But Palsana police
inspector CM Gadhvi
said, “At present, the
cause of the fire is un-
known but the fire of-
ficials suspect that it
might be due to a short
circuit in the ground
floor of the unit. We
are still investigating
the matter.”
A video grab from the call
deceased Ashok Ravji
Dholeriya had made to his
family.
The three-storey Soumya Dyeing and Printing Mill engulfed
in fire early Thursday morning.
121 COUPLES TO TIE THE
KNOT IN VIRTUAL CEREMONY
Vadodara boy in Top 20 of Swarna Swar Bharat show
SPIRITUALLY TUNED
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Vadodara
boy Priyansh Shah
will represent Guja-
rat in the first-of-its-
kind devotional sing-
ing reality show
Swarna Swar Bharat.
He is selected in the
top 20 and is excited
to perform on stage
this weekend.
The show celebrates
Indian values and takes
one back to their roots
through soulful devo-
tional music. Veteran
singers Kailash Kher,
Suresh Wadkar with
poet Dr Kumar Vish-
was will be seen as
judges, evaluating per-
formances of the con-
testants on parameters
of “sur”, “bhaav” and
“saar”.
Shah said, “I have
been interested in mu-
sic since childhood
and started training in
Indian traditional mu-
sic early on. So far, I
have done over 100 live
shows and have 11,000
followers on my Insta-
gram under the name
Music.Priyansh. Only
20 artists from India
have been selected for
the spiritual reality
show Swarna Swar
Bharat starting this
weekend. The selec-
tion process has been
on for the last three
months. The organiz-
ers of the show con-
tacted me through so-
cial media. My effort is
to come in the top five
positions.”
The 22-years-old
Shah said that the
youth of Gujarat
should turn to classi-
cal music and make
efforts in preserving
the heritage of Indi-
an culture and bring-
ing it to the masses.
Having practised clas-
sical music for 16
years, Shah and his
family are proud of
the achievement.
Three killed in a fire at
textiledyeingmillatPalsana
2 drug seizures in 24 hours in Gujarat
21 GIRLS WITH NO
FATHERS WILL GET
FDS OF `15,000 AS
BLESSINGS
Priyansh Shah will represent
Gujarat at the national level,
devotional singing reality show
American marijuana seized from Mundra seaport. (Inset) Charas
seized from the Gujarat-Rajasthan border.
Freelance
photographer
Ashok Ravji
Dholeriya in his
last video call
requested his
daughter ‘to
never borrow
anything from
anyone’

ur lives seemed to
be turning tire-
some in our previ-
ous fields of medi-
cine and interior
design, when we
both made up our
minds to follow our hearts
against all odds, and turn
to fashion as a way of ex-
pressing ourselves and our
talent,” said owners of
Shivayu, the designers,
Shivani and Ayush.
They further added, “We
started our business online,
in a small room without
much equipment or infra-
structure. Within a quick
span of time, our business
grew into the fancy fashion
studio we run together to-
day
.Ourdesignscarryparts
of both of our personali-
ties, and so does our brand
name – Shivani and Ayush
are in fact, ‘Shivayu’. Our
first international fashion
show at the Colombo Fash-
ion Week 2017 paved the
way for more to come. “
“Shivayu Fashion Studio
has brought us much suc-
cess and many accolades,
with the recent feather in
our cap being the prestig-
ious ‘The Fashion Connect
Season 11: Dubai Edition’,
where we will be showcas-
ing traditional Indian wed-
ding attires with a touch of
the indigenous Dubai fash-
ion style, “ they added. The
duo is ecstatic to be a part
of this new venture which
will allow them to work
with a fresh range of de-
signs.
Ayush said, “Even
though being twins, we
have always had completely
different natures and inter-
ests, with the exception be-
ing our professional life.
At Shivayu, we coordi-
nate as if we can read
each other’s minds and
create beauty in our
kinship in the form
of our art. If our ex-
perience together
has taught us any-
thing, it is the
sheer value of
being commit-
ted to our
work and be-
lieving in
ourselves
and our
l o v e d
ones.”
Leavingnostoneunturned
AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY
JANUARY 21, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Shivani and Ayush from Shivayu productions, who
will be showcasing traditional Indian wedding attires
with a touch of the indigenous Dubai fashion style, at
FC Season 11, got candid with City First and talked
about their journey so far!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
O
Shivani and Ayush

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
PREETI SINGH, Model
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Satisfaction is
foreseen for the
image conscious
people trying to
achieve perfect
figure and
physique. Your
efforts on the
academic front
will keep you in contention. You are likely
to spend an enjoyable time with a close
relation today. Your helping hand to
someone in need will be appreciated.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You will have an
awesome day.
Continue to put
in efforts at work
and you will
see promising
opportunities.
Matrimonial
match for siblings
will bring happiness for entire family. You
will get a good price for your property.
You may receive invaluable guidance
from a spiritual leader.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Implementation
of new ideas
and projects
would add to
your prestige on
the professional
front. A sound
monetary
position would
enable you to keep pace with changing
times. Avoid raising controversial issues
at home to maintain harmony. It is a
wonderful day to build new connections.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Paying special
attention to plan
your career would
give immense joy
and happiness.
You are likely
to get clearance
or approval for
your construction
plans. You find things moving in the
way you want them. Gifting something
to your beloved is likely to make the day
memorable.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Some of you
are going to
experience
emotional
fulfillment on
romantic front.
Yoga would help
in raising energy
levels. Place
emphasis on domestic affairs to enhance
the domestic tranquility and harmony.
Associating yourself with humanitarian
group on social front would benefit you.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
A sound
financial health
of businessmen
would enable to
give monetary
benefits to
employees. Your
sole dependency
on friends may
fail to bring any respite from loneliness
today. It is good day to confess your
love as stars appear favourable for
positive reply.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Those suffering
from chronic
ailments may
find remarkable
improvement in
their health with
home remedies.
Today you will
enjoy the trust
of senior management. Minor domestic
disputes may snowball into a major row,
so give attention to the family. Rewards
and recognition will come your way.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Those suffering
from chronic
ailments may
find remarkable
improvement
in their healt.
Minor domestic
disputes may
snowball into
a major row, so give attention to the
family. Rewards and recognition will
come your way for your involvement in
a social endeavour.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You will succeed
in resolving
misunderstanding
with family
members,
normalizing ties.
Seek proper
valuation of the
property you are
planning to buy. Keep a close tab on what
you eat if you want to remain healthy.
Your colleagues may not like your
upfront nature.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Paying special
attention to
plan your career
would give
immense joy.
You are likely to
get clearance or
approval for your
construction
plans. You find things moving in the
way you want them. Gifting something
to your beloved is likely to make the day
memorable. Love comes your way.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Implementation
of new ideas and
projects would
add to your
prestige. A sound
monetary posi-
tion would enable
you to keep pace
with changing
times. It is a wonderful day to build new
connections. Your relationship requires
you to be tactful. It is time to get going on
the fitness front to improve health.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
A sound financial
health of busi-
nessmen would
enable to give
monetary benefits
to employees.
Your sole
dependency on
friends may fail to
bring any respite from loneliness today.
It is good day to confess your love as
stars appear favourable for positive reply.
Health remains satisfactory.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
RICH
RICH
TRADITIONAL
TRADITIONAL
INDIAN
INDIAN
CULTURE
CULTURE
IN FOOD!
IN FOOD!
7 INTERESTING FOOD SUPERSTITIONS
IN INDIA AND POSSIBLE REASONS
BEHIND THEM!
ave you ever
seen lemon
and chillies
hanging on
the entrances
of shops and
stores and
wondered why they
are up there and not in
a kitchen? We bet you
have!
Indian culture is
rich in traditions, ritu-
als, and superstitions
that our forefathers
passed down to future
generations as a warn-
ing or to instil a habit
for the welfare of the
community. Whether
you believe in them or
not, you cannot deny
that superstitions have
found a place in our
daily lives in some way
or the other. In fact,
knowingly or unknow-
ingly you might be fol-
lowing or believing a
few of them.
Below we give you 7
fascinating food super-
stitions in India and
the possible logic be-
hind them.
EK SPOON LUCK
WITH DAHI AUR
CHEENI
Remember how our
mothers would run af-
ter us with a small
bowl of ‘dahi shakar’
(curd with sugar) be-
fore any exam, test, or
interview? This popu-
lar superstition actu-
ally has a logical expla-
nation. According to
the Vedas, when you
are anxious, your
stomach tenses, mak-
ing you feel nauseated.
Since yoghurt con-
tains probiotics, it
keeps your stomach
cool, and the glucose
present in sugar pro-
vides you with the en-
ergy you need to get
through the day with-
out feeling tired or un-
easy
.
EK SE BHALE DO
ANDE!
If you’ve got a two-
yolked egg on your
plate, you’re in for
some major life chang-
es. According to an an-
cient Indian supersti-
tion, you may soon
hear wedding bells in
your family or be gift-
ed with adorable
twins!
NIMBU, MIRCHI,
AUR DARWAZA!
You must have spotted
a cluster of lemons and
chillies strung to-
gether on a cotton
thread at the en-
trance of numer-
ous stores. Ac-
cording to our
grandparents,
lemon and chil-
lies ward off the
‘evil eye.’ If this
explanation does
not convince you, we
also have scientific
logic. The mix of lem-
on and chillies produc-
es a pungent smell that
repels insects and
keeps your environ-
ment pest-free.
DOODH KE TOTKE
There are many super-
stitions attached to
milk. The most com-
mon is that spilled
milk is a bad omen, as
it may be a sign that
you may lose some of
your hard-earned
wealth. Another myth
holds that lending
milk after sunset is in-
auspicious. This su-
perstition derives
from the pastoral and
farming community’s
belief that lending
milk after sunset re-
duces the milk pro-
duced by cattle.
NAMAK BHARE
JAZBAAT
Just like spilled milk
is considered inauspi-
cious, spilling of salt
is also believed to
bring misfortune. If
you do spill some salt
on the floor, don’t
sweep it with a broom,
as another su-
perstition
holds that
y o u
s h o u l d
not dis-
card salt directly. In-
stead, dissolve it in a
bowl of water. The
bowl will absorb all
the negative energies
and protect you from
evil.
GHEE KE DIYE
Every Diwali, we light
up our houses with
several diyas. While
you can always burn
diyas with oil, a com-
mon Indian supersti-
tion advises against it.
In place of oil, use
ghee even if it is more
expensive. This is be-
cause Hindus believe
that lighting diyas
with ghee attracts pos-
itive energy and repels
evil forces.
SABSE PEHLE BHOG
LAGAO PHIR KHUD
KHAAO
You’ve probably seen
several Indians serve
the first bite of every
meal to the almighty.
This is their way of
showing reverence to
God and expressing
gratitude for food. The
superstition stems
from the concept that
making an offering to
God can dispel nega-
tive energy that may
attract evil spirits.
Some believe that
sharing a bite with
God brings good for-
tune into the home.
CONCLUSION
While some Indian su-
perstitions have sci-
entific reasoning hid-
den beneath layers of
interpretation, others
have emerged as a re-
sult of our ancestors’
habits, fears and con-
victions. Let’s not he-
sistate with dishes,
let the mouth water-
ing savouries not stop
us from listening to
our hearts and well,
stomach!
ABOUT CAULDRON
SISTERS
Ratika Richa
Khetan, two sisters,
started Cauldron
Sisters in 2015.
It started as an
exotic food gift
hamper business,
but their love for
food encouraged
them to start
culinary workshops,
food deliveries,
and slowly and
gradually it turned
huge as restaurants
and cafes started
approaching them
for consultancy.
H

ETC
11
MANSI AGARWAL
s the pan-
demic tak-
ing a toll on
your fashion
mood? 2022
has got some
a m a z i n g
trends awaiting to
get into the closet.
It’s 2022 and the
new trends can’t
wait to get imbibed
into our so frosty
wardrobes.
Although the cov-
id 19 has weathered
the enthusiasm of
the entire world. So
at this point, who do
the shoppers want?
Don’t worry! The
trendsetters are all
set to get the chic to
your doorsteps. Pep
up !! Make them
your own with a
pinch of your
clever person-
alisation.
So blow
away the
cobwebs
and set
foot into
the latest
fashion
trends of 2022….
The two years of
sluggishness with
this pandemic has
madeusdiveintoour
relaxed and over-
sized closet. Let that
oversized closet
make you appear su-
per stylish in 2022.
The loose-fitting
jeans with a well-tai-
lored oversize coat
will do it all !!
If straight-leg
jeans are more your
vibe, slipping into a
morevoluminoussil-
houette can be a
somewhat scary
idea.
Is your creativity
hoping to get out of
your zone? Relax!
And let it sink on a
white tee with col-
ours of your imagi-
nation.
Yes, you guessed it
right. Tie-dye is the
newtrendmakingits
way in 2022. Go
trendy with just a kit
of colours of your
choice from your
nearest craft stores
with a white old T-
shirt. What a low-
cost fashionable
piece.
So don’t let this
pandemic ruin your
style mode and be-
come the go-to fash-
ion choice. Get
these trends into
your closet and
match the walk of
2022…
I
THE 022
VOGUE
THE 022
THE 022
THE 022
THE 022
THE 022
VOGUE
VOGUE

12
CITY BUZZ
Mayank Austin Soofi wrote an inspiring story on twitter about Ravindra Kumar, a milk
booth attendant who used to work in a delivery company`s warehouse near his hamlet of
Alwar, Rajasthan. Later he moved to Delhi, established his booth and is now working with
a colleague as the sole manager of the booth. He prepares his own meals and sleeps on
the mattress inside the booth. He dreams of a government job in the future.
Businessman Juned Qazi
made history when he was
elected to the Marlboro
Township Council, N.J.,
last November. And he
made it again when he
was voted in as President
of the Council on January
6. He now oversees
the proceedings of a
Republican majority town
council after nearly two
decades of Democratic
government.
Aditya Choudhary of
Manalapan-Englishtown
Middle School in New Jersey
won the 2021 Congressional
App Challenge (CAC) for
developing the winning
app ‘Trackie’. The app was
created with ‘ingenuity and
creativity’ according to Rep.
The app is aimed at being of
help during the winter times
when waiting outdoors for
the bus becomes difficult
due to inclement weather.
Food-lovers in the greater New York area and beyond will
be glad to know that the Varli Cook-Off Live event, named
after its creator Varli Singh, is back after a pandemic hiatus
and will be held in association with Martinsville Gardens,
New Jersey, recently. The Celebrity Chef and James Beard
Honoree, Chef Prasad Chirnomula, who, alongside Famed
Restaurateur and Celebrity Chef KN Vinod and Restaurateur
Vishal Bakshi, will judge the Varli Cook Off Live, 2022.
Delhi Government’s Guru Gobind Singh Hospital’s new block
will start running soon. It will add 472 Beds to 100 Bedded
Hospital. This project will increase the capacity by 2.5 times
in the four hospitals. Massive Expansion for Delhi Government
Hospitals is going on of 657-crore to add 1,716 beds in 4
Delhi government hospitals.
osmo Foun-
dation, New
Delhi or-
ganised a
free blanket
and woollen distribu-
tion camp, in associa-
tion with South Delhi
Police. During the
program, 1000 blan-
kets and 200 wool-
lens were distribut-
ed to the underprivi-
leged. The drive was
commenced by DCP
South Delhi, Benita
Mary Jaikar in the
presence of, ACP
Ram Sundar, SHO
Vijay Pal Khatri,
SHO Surendra Ku-
mar Rana and Ra-
jnish Choudhary.
Benita Mary Jaiker
told that We are hap-
py to be a part of
this initiative and
this is a commenda-
ble appeal by Cosmo
Foundation.
CITY FIRST
outes 2 Roots,
a non-profit
NGO engaged
in cultural ex-
change pro-
grams in India and
abroad announced the
results of the 10th All
India Virsa Inter-School
Competition recently.
The 10th VIRSA marked
the entries of thou-
sands of schools like
Kendriya Vidyalaya,
Jawahar Navodaya Vid-
yalaya, Haryana Gov-
ernment Schools, Pun-
jab Government
Schools, BSF Schools
and other Private
Schools.
VIRSA is a cultural
education initiative of
the organisation, which
is the first of its kind in
the world providing cul-
tural education to stu-
dents through the digi-
tal medium to make the
future generations
aware of their heritage
thereby strengthening
the social and cultural
bondsamongeachother.
“It’s a wonderful ex-
perience hosting VIR-
SA because of the over-
whelming response
from the participants.
This type of education
has grown over the last
few years and has expe-
rienced mainstream ac-
ceptance in art and cul-
ture, especially online
education looks promis-
ing, and opens up new
doors of opportunities
for all.” said Rakesh
Gupta, founder, Routes-
2Roots. The event was
graced by a panel of
judges who are taking
regular classes In dif-
ferent Disciplines.
YASHASVI
SHRIVASTAVA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
very beauty
pageant has
a National
Costumeround,
with participants
promoting the cul-
tural/spiritual as-
pects of their home country
through their costumes.
This year, India’s Navdeep
Kaur has won the award for
theBestNationalCostumeat
the prestigious Mrs World
2022 pageant in Nevada, Las
Vegas. She is the winner of
MrsIndiaWorld2021,wasrep-
resenting the country at Mrs
World2022. The“avant-garde”
outfit was inspired by Kunda-
lini Chakra, which “symbol-
ises the movement of energy
in chakras of the body from
the base to the spine up
through the crown”. Cobra
embellishments on the shoul-
der were added to represent
the “mystical serpent native
to India”, while the golden
colour was chosen as it rep-
resents novelty, power and
glory
. According to Eggie Jas-
min, who is the designer of
the costume, the extravagant
costume was sprinkled with
over 50,000 diamond rhine-
stones. Brocade, tulle and
Korean sequin fabric were
used to craft the costume,
while pearls and crystals
were added as a final
touch for a regal look.
E
Results Announced!
Warmth of Humanity!
R
C
STRAIGHT FROMTHE GROUND!
MAKINGAMARK!
PRIDEOFINDIA! QAZI MAKES HISTORY IN NEW JERSEY
MASSIVE EXPANSION!
SHRIVASTAVA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Costumeround,
with participants
promoting the cul-
tural/spiritual as-
pects of their home country
through their costumes.
This year, India’s Navdeep
Kaur has won the award for
theBestNationalCostumeat
the prestigious Mrs World
2022 pageant in Nevada, Las
Vegas. She is the winner of
MrsIndiaWorld2021,wasrep-
resenting the country at Mrs
World2022. The“avant-garde”
outfit was inspired by Kunda-
lini Chakra, which “symbol-
ises the movement of energy
in chakras of the body from
the base to the spine up
through the crown”. Cobra
embellishments on the shoul-
der were added to represent
the “mystical serpent native
to India”, while the golden
colour was chosen as it rep-
OF
SHINE
SHINE
GLORY
GLORY
Navdeep Kaur
Navdeep Kaur’s
Costume
Rakesh Gupta with winner Kiwi Kachhawa
Benita Mary Jaikar
Benita Mary Jaikar with Ram Sundar, Vijay Pal Khatri,
Surendra Kumar Rana and Rajnish Choudhary
People in queues to collect Blankets and Wollens During the camp
During the camp
—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN
—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

21012022 first india ahmedabad (1)

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