21042022_ First India New Delhi.pdf

NEW DELHI l THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO.DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No.231
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition
of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The
case will now go to Britain’s interior minister for a decision, and the
WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal.
UK COURT
APPROVES
EXTRADITION OF
ASSANGE TO US
Delhi Capitals’ Tim Seifert has tested positive for COVID-19 just hours
before his team’s match against Punjab Kings. Seifert is the second
overseas cricketer in the Capitals after Mitchell Marsh to get infected.
Meanwhile, Delhi government made wearing mask compulsory.
ANOTHER DC
PLAYER TESTS +VE;
MASKS MUST IN
DELHI AGAIN
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
announced Wednesday
that the Centre would
soon introduce a special
Ayush visa category for
foreign nationals who
want to come to India to
take advantage of tradi-
tional medicine, as part
of initiatives to pro-
mote medical tourism.
“With this visa, it
will make travel easier
for accessing Ayush
therapies (in India),”
said PM Modi while
speaking at the inaugu-
ral session of the Glob-
al Ayush Investment
and Innovation Summit
2022 at Mahatma Man-
dir in Gandhinagar. He
added that the Centre
has a plethora of initia-
tives to encourage and
promote the Ayush sec-
tor, including the estab-
lishment of a digital
portal to connect me-
dicinal plant farmers
with Ayush product
manufacturers.
New Delhi: Halting the
demolition drive
launched by Delhi mu-
nicipal authorities in
Jahangirpuri area,
which witnessed com-
munal violence last
week, the Supreme
Court on Wednesday
asked authorities to
maintain status quo and
saiditwillhearpetitions
challenging the demoli-
tions on Thursday
.
“Maintain status quo.
List it before appropri-
ate bench tomorrow,”
orderedChief Justiceof
India NV Ramana as
Senior Advocate Dushy-
ant Dave brought up
the matter. P3
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Amid row-
over the use of bulldoz-
ers in BJP-ruled UP
,
Madhya Pradesh and
Gujarat and by party-
governed MCD in Delhi,
Union IB Minister An-
urag Thakur slammed
Rahul Gandhi for his ad-
vicetoModigovernment
to “switch off bulldozers
of hate” remark.
Accusing Rahul of
“sowing the seeds of ha-
tred”, Thakur said he
was “maligning the
name of the country”.
Kataria seems mentally disturbed: Gehlot
New Delhi: Rajasthan
Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot has stirred the
political debate yet
again by giving a new
statement on the debate
of Hindu and Hindutva.
Gehlot said on Wednes-
day that BJP leaders
talk of Hindutva and
nationalism. “Their
Hindutva and national-
ism are to win elections.
Our Hindutva is for reli-
gious belief. We are all
proud that we are Hin-
dus. Mahatma Gandhi
also said the same thing
that we are proud to be
Hindu. Being Hindu, we
respect all religions. By
respecting other reli-
gions, there will be love
in the society
. There will
be no violence and the
country will develop,”
Gehlot said while inter-
acting with the media in
Delhi.
The Chief Minister
also targeted Leader of
Opposition Gulabchand
Kataria for his state-
ment on Ravana and
Sita. “Gulabchand Ka-
taria first spoke about
MaharanaPratap;could
he only find Sita to give
an example on Ravana?
Kataria seems mentally
disturbed. It seems that
he is not getting respect
in the party, therefore
he is flabbergasted.
l Gehlot stresses that MPs like
Kirori Lal Meena have been directed
by PM to engage in ‘Dhamaal Patti’
l Their Hindutva and nationalism are
for winning elections. Our Hindutva is
for religious belief, stresses Gehlot
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot arrives at Congress chief Sonia
Gandhi’s residence, in New Delhi on Wednesday.—PHOTO BY ANI
AYUSH VISA SOON...
For foreign nationals who come
to India for treatment: PM Modi
Speaking at the inaugural session of the Global Ayush
Investment and Innovation Summit 2022 at Mahatma Mandir
in Gandhinagar, PM Modi said that the Centre has a plethora
of initiatives to encourage and promote the Ayush sector
Prime minister Narendra Modi, Director General of World health organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth during the Global Ayush Investment
and Innovation Summit, at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.
AYUSH SECTOR INCREASED TO OVER $18 BILLION
FROM $3 BILLION IN 2014, SAYS PM MODI
The Prime Minister
said, “We are already
witnessing unprecedented
growth in the production
of AYUSH medicines, sup-
plements and cosmetics.
In 2014, where the AYUSH
sector was less than USD
3 billion, today it has in-
creased to more than USD
18 billion.” He said that
the Ministry of AYUSH has
taken several major steps
to encourage a startup
culture in the field of
traditional medicines. A few
days back an incubation
centre developed by the All
India Institute of Ayurveda
has been inaugurated,
informed PM Modi.
Bulldozers in Jahangirpuri
apply brakes after SC order
Centre extends ceasefire
agreement with three Naga
insurgent groups for 1 year
New Delhi: The Centre
has extended ceasefire
agreement with three
Naga groups for further
period of one year. The
groups include National
Socialist Council of Na-
galand-NK (NSCN-NK),
NationalSocialistCoun-
cil of Nagaland-Refor-
mation (NSCN-R) and
NationalSocialistCoun-
cilof Nagaland-K-Khan-
go (NSCN-K-Khango).
All these groups are
breakaway factions of
NSCN-IM and NSCN-K
and signed the ceasefire
agreements with the
government over the
years. The development
comes even as NSCN-IM
leaders, led by General
Secretary Th Muivah,
Tuesday met with Cen-
tre’s representative for
Naga peace talks, AK
Mishra, at the outfit’s
headquarters, Camp
Hebron near Dimapur.
Thakur’s jibe at Rahul for
‘sowing seeds of hatred’
DELHI BJP LEADERS MEET AMIT SHAH
New Delhi: Top Delhi BJP leaders met with Union Home
Minister Amit Shah at the Union Home Ministry headquarters
in Delhi on Wednesday, hours after a controversial demoli-
tion drive in violence-hit Jahangirpuri that was halted by the
Supreme Court. Shah met with the Delhi leaders for an hour.
Those in the meeting were Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta, MP
Ramesh Bidhuri, MLA Ram Bir Bidhuri and leader Maninder
Singh Sirsa. “It was a routine meeting,” said Sirsa.
RAHUL: BULLDOZERS MUST BE USED
TO ANNIHILATE HATRED AMONG PEOPLE
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Wednesday sneered at the
Bharatiya Janata Party’s move to start
an encroachment drive in Jahang-
irpuri and said that the bulldozers
must be used to end hatred among
people. “This is a demolition of India’s
constitutional values. This is state-
sponsored targeting of the poor and minorities. BJP must
bulldoze the hatred in their hearts instead,” tweeted Gandhi.
CASE FILED
FOR DOCTORING
KEJRIWAL VIDEO
Punjab cops
knock on poet
Kumar’s doors,
he warns Mann
New Delhi: Early on
Wednesday morning,
former Aam Admi Par-
ty member and poet Ku-
mar Vishwas tweeted
pictures of Punjab Po-
lice personnel outside
his house.
The Punjab Police
came visiting Vish-
was’s house after a case
was allegedly regis-
tered against him un-
der the IT Act for alleg-
edly doctoring a video.
In a tweet, Vishwas
warned Punjab Chief
Minister Bhagwant
Mann that AAP nation-
al convener and Delhi
Chief Minister would
“betray him”.
“I am warning you
that the man sitting in
Delhi, whom you are al-
lowing to play with the
power given by the peo-
ple of Punjab, will one
day betray you and Pun-
jab also. The country
will remember my
warning,” he tweeted.
Vishwas’s comments,
which were allegedly
on Kejriwal, before the
Punjab election had cre-
ated a furore. BJP had
shared a video of Ku-
mar alleging that Kejri-
wal wanted to be “ei-
ther the Punjab CM or
the PM of Khalistan”.
DIDI, ADANI AT BGB SUMMIT
West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee and Adani
Group Chairman Gautam
Adani exchange greetings
during the inauguration of
6th Bengal Global Business
Summit in Kolkata on
Wednesday. (Inset) Adani
speaking during the event.
UK PM JOHNSON IN
AHMEDABAD TODAY
PM MODI LIVE FROM
RED FORT TODAY
British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson is scheduled to arrive
in India for a two-day visit begin-
ning on Thursday. The UK PM
will be in Ahmedabad on April
21, 2022 and leave for Delhi
the same day. He is expected to
meet PM Modi on Friday. P5
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
will address the nation from the
Red Fort on the 400th Parkash
Purab of Sikh guru Tegh Baha-
dur on Thursday. PM Modi will
also release a commemorative
coin and postage stamp on
the occasion.
UNDER HOME MINISTER
AMIT SHAH’S WATCH
...slams ‘bulldozers
of hate’ remark
OPPOSITION BARBS: AAP leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia said that the only way to end hooliganism in the
country was to bulldoze the BJP headquarters.
Congress will decide on Prashant
Kishor formula in 24-48 hours
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: The Con-
gress party held its
fourth round of meet-
ing on Wednesday re-
garding election strate-
gist Prashant Kishor.
According to the party
sources,inthenext24to
48 hours, the round of
meetings regarding PK
will end and an official
announcement will be
made. Interestingly
, Ra-
jasthan CM Ashok Ge-
hlot and Chhattisgarh
CM Bhupesh Baghel
also attended the meet-
ing held on Wednesday
.
Alongwiththecommit-
tee members, both the
CMs gave their opinion
regarding Prashant
Kishor.
After this meeting,
which lasted for about
five hours, Congress
General Secretary and
party’s chief spokes-
person Randeep Sur-
jewalasaid,“Thiscom-
mittee has been
formed by the Con-
gress President.
Kishor has become a brand in the country. It will be good if his
experience is used in uniting the opposition, stresses Gehlot
Union IB
Minister
Anurag
Thakur speaks
during press
conference
at BJP HQ, in
New Delhi
on Wednesday.

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022
02
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SEVERAL STRUCTURES DEMOLISHED
AMID HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE
New Delhi (PTI): Ma-
lika Bibi’s hopes to se-
cure a better future for
her children shattered
when her fruits and
vegetables shop, the
sole source of her in-
come, was razed by civ-
ic authorities at vio-
lence-hit Jahangirpuri
in northwest Delhi on
Wednesday
.
A similar tale of woe
was narrated by Naz-
ma, whose sister Rahi-
ma “lost everything” as
her tea shop near the
C-Block mosque at Ja-
hangirpuri was razed to
the ground by the North
Delhi Municipal Corpo-
ration (NDMC) during
an anti-encroachment
drive.
Bulldozers demol-
ished several structures
at Jahangirpuri on
Wednesday amid a
heavy paramilitary and
police presence during
the NDMC’s anti-en-
croachment drive that
was stopped within
hours following a Su-
preme Court order.
The drive continued
even after the
apex court directed
the authorities to stop
it.
Officials said it was
because of the absence
of a written order from
the court.
Malika Bibi said she
had been running the
shop for 25 years and it
was razed without any
prior notice from the
authorities.
VIOLENCE IN JAHANGIRPURI DURING THE HANUMAN JAYANTI PROCESSION
New Delhi (ANI): Del-
hi Environment Minis-
ter Gopal Rai alleged
that the BJP’s role in
the Jahangirpuri vio-
lence cannot be denied
and that BJP’s offices
should be bulldozed as
these are the epicentre
for orchestrating vio-
lence.
“BJP is saying that
bulldozer should run
inside Delhi, then that
bulldozer needs to run
in BJP office because
riots have been born
from there and will hap-
pen and will happen in
future. There’s no new
history,” said Rai. He
also stressed that these
incidents were planned
to divert the public at-
tention from national
issues of inflation and
unemployment.
“The basic objective
is to make people devi-
ate from the main is-
sues, inflation and un-
employment are reach-
ing the peak, this is
happening in a system-
atic manner all over the
country and BJP is or-
ganizing riots in a
planned manner,” he
added.
After an altercation
between two groups
erupted during a reli-
gious procession in
Delhi’s Jahangirpuri
on April 16, NDMC
scheduled an “en-
croachment removal ac-
tion programme”.
‘BJP’s offices
needed to be
bulldozed first’
A bulldozer demolishes the structure during the anti-encroachment drive following the violence between
two groups during the Hanuman Jayanti procession on April 16 at Jahangirpuri in New Delhi. —ANI
This drama of breaking illegal en-
croachments is being done now. In
the past 15 years,
why did the MCD allow
these encroachments to come
up? The illegal constructions
that were cleared today…
Which neta of the BJP took
the money and made those
constructions? —Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister
Amit Shah,BJP want to disrupt peace: AAP MLA
New Delhi (PTI): Home
Minister Amit Shah and
the BJP want to disturb
the peaceful atmosphere
of Delhi, AAP leader
Amanatullah Khan on
Wednesday alleged, after
the NDMC scheduled an
anti-encroachment drive
in Jahangirpuri, which
saw violent clashes be-
tween two communities
last week.
In a video message on
Twitter, the Okhla MLA
said demolition of the
houses of “a particular
community” just to “har-
ass” them in the holy
month of Ramadan on
the pretext of an anti-
encroachment drive will
further spoil the atmos-
phere in the area.
He appealed to the
home minister and the
BJP leaders to refrain
from resorting to such
action, cautioning that
the country’s atmos-
phere has already been
vitiated.
“Such cheap politics
will ruin the country if
not stopped in time,”
Khan, also the Delhi
Waqf Board chairman,
said.
The BJP-ruled NDMC
has scheduled a two-day
anti-encroachment drive
in Jahangirpuri, starting
Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Delhi BJP
chief Adesh Gupta had
written to the NDMC
mayor to identify illegal
constructions of “riot-
ers” in Jahangirpuri and
demolish them using
bulldozers.
Amanatullah Khan
Omicronfoundin97%samples
takenfromdeceasedpatientsin
Capital fromJantoMarch
New Delhi (PTI):
Ninety-seven percent
of the samples taken
from those who died of
Covid in Delhi from
January to March had
the Omicron variant of
coronavirus, according
to government data.
Genome sequencing
of 578 samples collect-
ed from the deceased
showed 560 of them
had the Omicron vari-
ant.
The remaining 18
(three percent) had
other variants of COV-
ID-19, including Delta,
which fuelled the fero-
cious second wave of
infections in April and
May last year, and sub
lineages.
Overall, the Omi-
cron variant was found
in all the 504 samples
analysed at genome se-
quencing laboratories
in the capital in March.
The third wave of
infections driven by
the Omicron variant
saw lesser hospitalisa-
tions and severe cases
in the national capital
and government data
showed the virus isn’t
the primary reason in
most fatalities.
A maximum of 2,784
(17.96 percent) of the
15,505 COVID-19 beds
in hospitals were occu-
pied on January 17.
During the second
wave, 20,117 (92 per
cent) of the 21,839 beds
were occupied on
May 6.
Delhi is once again
seeing a spurt in the
number of infections,
with experts attribut-
ing it to a large number
of people not following
Covid-appropriate be-
haviour, including the
mask mandate.
In view of the spike
in cases, the Delhi gov-
ernment on Wednes-
day made wearing of
masks mandatory in
public places and im-
posed a fine of Rs 500
on violators.
Officials said the
Delhi Disaster Man-
agement Authority, in
its meeting, also decid-
ed not to shut schools,
but chose to come up
with a separate Stand-
ard Operating Proce-
dure in consultation
with experts.
SCHOOLS TO CONTINUE IN OFFLINE MODE, TO
ENSURE COVID PROTOCOLS ARE FOLLOWED
Schools in Delhi
will continue in
offline mode but they
will have to ensure
that Covid protocols
are strictly followed,
officials said on
Wednesday. Reports
of infections from
schools have triggered
concerns weeks after
they opened for offline
classes following a
two-year gap due to
the pandemic. Experts
have been warning
against closure of
schools yet again
citing learning losses.
“Schools will not
be closed and will
continue with offline
classes. Schools
have been asked to
report all cases to the
education department
and ensure that Covid
protocols are followed
strictly. Deputy Chief
Minister Manish Siso-
dia is constantly mon-
itoring the situation
in schools,” a senior
official said. The Delhi
Disaster Management
Authority(DDMA),
in its meeting on
Wednesday, decided
to come up with a sep-
arate SOP for schools
in consultation with
experts.
CRUCIAL READ
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT GHAZIPUR LANDFILL, 3RD
SINCE MARCH 28, 8 FIRE TENDERS RUSH TO SPOT
New Delhi (PTI): A fire broke out at the Ghazipur landfill in east
Delhi on Wednesday, Delhi Fire Service officials said. A call about the
fire was received around 4.07 pm and eight fire tenders were rushed to
the spot, said Atul Garg, Director,
Delhi Fire Service. The fire-fight-
ing operations are underway, he
said. A fire had broken out at the
Ghazipur dumping yard recently
following which a huge cloud of
smoke had enveloped the region
and its neighbouring areas. The
blaze was finally doused over 50 hours after it broke out. On April 10
night, there was a big fire at the landfill late that took three hours to
douse. The authorities blamed the fire partly on the high temperatures
prevailing in the region.
PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENT PEEPS OUT OF BUS
IN GHAZIABAD, DIES AFTER HEAD HITS POLE
New Delhi (Agencies): A third standard student at a private
school in Modinagar town of Ghaziabad died on Wednesday
morning after his head hit a pole when he peeped out of the
window of the school bus. After
preliminary investigation, the
police said the incident took place
when the child was on his way
to school today morning. School
authorities are being questioned in
connection with the incident. “The
child has succumbed to the injuries. Based on the allegations
of laxity levelled by his family against the school, we have
taken the authorities for questioning,” said Iraj Raja, superin-
tendent of police (rural). The police added that the child was
taken to a private hospital but was declared dead.
POLICE ARRESTS THREE FOR STEALING
DIESEL FROM TRUCKS IN GREATER NOIDA
Noida (Agencies): Gautam Budh Nagar police on Tuesday ar-
rested three suspects for allegedly stealing diesel from trucks in
Greater Noida. According to the police, the suspects belong to
a gang that steals diesel from large vehicles, especially trucks,
that are parked on highways at
night. The suspects have been
identified as Hadan, Nadeem, (both
residents of Greater Noida) and
Afzal, a native of Dhaulana in Hapur
district, police said. The suspects
had attached a mid-sized truck with
a tank having storage space of around 1,000 litres in which they
would store the stolen fuel, said police. “The accused were held
near the Faleda cut on the Yamuna Expressway by personnel
from Rabupura police station. The gang would target vehicles,
especially transport trucks, parked along roads,” said Vivek
Kumar Srivastav, in-charge of Rabupura police station.
Gurugram: Long wait-
ing time, surging prices,
last-minute cancella-
tions… city residents
looking to book app cabs
bore the brunt of the taxi
strike in Delhi.
With only a few cabs
plyingontheroad,people
needingtogotoDelhihad
a harrowing time getting
transport, especially dur-
ing the rush hours. Since
the demand was high, it
obviously led to surging
fares — at times even 5-6
times of the original rate.
“I had started looking
for a cab from 8am as I
had to go to Noida for
some work. The app cabs
were showing me a fare
of anything between Rs
2,400 and Rs 3,100. 1 kept
trying till 9.30am, but
failed to get any cab at a
reasonable rate. I was ex-
pecting a surge, but not
this much. So, I checked
with a travel agency.
They gave me a cab for Rs
1,800. It was still better
than Rs 2,400 that the app
cabs were showing,” said
Nitesh Goyal, a resident
of Sector 37.
Some, like Ekta Jain
of Sector 92, had to battle
long waiting time too. “I
had to travel to Rajeev
Chowk. It took me a long
time to get a cab. Finally,
when I got one, the fare
was Rs 200. It was double
the amount I pay on usu-
al days. But what option
did I have?” she asked.
The commuters’ strug-
gle to get a cab also bared
the lack of public trans-
port options in the city.
A number of cabs with
Delhi registration num-
bers come to Gurugram
with passengers. These
cabs form a sizeable
chunk of the transport
options for those looking
to go to the capital from
Gurugram. Since cabs
coming from Delhi were
few because of the strike
on Tuesday, the residents
were left with only cars
from Gurugram to
choose from.
Residents bear the brunt of taxi strike
LONG WAIT, SURGING FARES
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhi High Court
Wednesday sought the
stand of the Delhi gov-
ernment and Director
General Prisons on a
PIL to fill up various va-
cant posts in jails here
and asked the authori-
ties to initiate the pro-
cess of recruitment.
A bench of Acting
Chief Justice Vipin
Sanghi and Justice
Navin Chawla issued
notice on the plea by a
lawyer and sought a sta-
tus report from the re-
spondents concerning
the sanctioned strength
and status of vacancies
in prisons.
The respondents
must immediately initi-
ate the process of filling
vacancies, if not al-
ready initiated, and ex-
pedite the process, the
court said.
Advocate Amit Sahni
claimed that the Delhi
Prisons are facing a
staff shortage of over
20 per cent and urged
the court to issue direc-
tions to the authorities
to fill vacancies of med-
ical officers, welfare of-
ficers, counsellors,
teachers, vocational
counsellors, etc.
HC seeks Delhi
Govt stand on
various vacant
posts in jails
City Govt issues 21 notices
under anti-open burning drive
New Delhi (ANI): Af-
ter inspecting 1,915
sites under the anti-
open burning campaign
so far, Delhi Environ-
ment Minister Gopal
Rai on Tuesday in-
formed that 21 notices
and challans have been
issued to the violators.
As per Rai, 500 teams
from 10 different de-
partments have been
deployed to make the
campaign successful.
‘’So far around 1,915
garbage burning sites
and landfill sites have
been inspected by the
teams deployed under
the Anti-Open Burning
Campaign. Along with
this 21 notices/challan
have been issued to in-
dividuals,’’ he said.
Divulging more de-
tails on the report, the
Minister said that the
campaign will continue
in Delhi until May 12.
“During this time,
500 teams from ten de-
partments have been
deployed as part of the
anti-open burning cam-
paign. They are respon-
sible for taking immedi-
ate actions to monitor
and prevent open burn-
ing incidences in Delhi.
Also, MCD has been
given instructions to
take all necessary ac-
tions to control fire ac-
cidents at the landfill
site,’’ he added.
Wanted criminal held;
arms, ammunition seized
New Delhi (PTI): A
38-year-old man was ar-
rested with arms and am-
munition after a brief
encounter in Outer
North Delhi, police said
on Wednesday.
Eight country-made
pistols and seven live
cartridges were recov-
ered from him on Tues-
day night, they said.
Rajan alias Rahul was
involved in around 70
cases, including Arms
Act, two previous cases
of encounters with the
police, and incidents of
snatching and theft. He
also faces cases under
the NDPS, 1985, they
said.
Rajan used to supply
weapons to criminals
based in Delhi-NCR, they
said, adding, he has been
labelled as a “bad charac-
ter” at Manhender Park
police station.
Constable Sandeep
Mann received a tip-off
that Rajan was arriving
with a consignment of
firearms to be sold to
criminals in Outer North
Delhi and adjoining dis-
tricts, DCP Outer North
Brijendra Kumar Yadav
said.

INDIA
03
‘CONSTITUTION
BULLDOZED’
CPM’s Brinda Karat blocks bulldozer in Delhi, waves court
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat stands in front of a bulldozer during the demolition of shops in New Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area on Wednesday.
New Delhi (Agencies):
CPM leader Brinda Kar-
at was seen blocking a
bulldozer at Delhi’s Ja-
hangirpuri and waving
the copy of a Supreme
Court order on Wednes-
day afternoon.
Within an hour after
the Supreme Court or-
dered to maintain the
status quo in the ongo-
ing demolition drive be-
ing carried out by the
North Delhi Municipal
Corporation in Delhi’s
Jahangirpuri, Brinda
Karat arrived in Jahan-
girpuri with the Su-
preme Court order ask-
ing the authorities to
stop the demolition pro-
cess immediately
.
However, the Delhi
police asked the contro-
versial Communist
leader to vacate the
demolition site and not
create any chaos.
“At 10:45 am, the SC
gave the order to main-
tain the status quo on
the demolition drive, I
have come here for the
implementation of the
order”, claimed CPIM
leader Brinda Karat.
“The law and the con-
stitution have been
bulldozed by illegal
demolitions. At least
the Supreme Court its
order should not be
bulldozed,” CPIM lead-
er further said.
The North Delhi Mu-
nicipal Corporation
sent nine bulldozers to
remove what it called il-
legal encroachments in
Jahangirpuri. In a let-
ter to the Delhi Police,
North Delhi Municipal
Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh
asked for 400 policemen
to maintain order in the
area, which has been
tense since the violence.
On Wednesday, more
than 1,500 cops and se-
curity personnel were
at the site.
BULLDOZE CHINESE
ENCROACHMENTS:
CONGRESS TO GOVT
New Delhi: The Congress
on Wednesday attacked
the Centre for not im-
mediately stopping the
demolition drive in Delhi’s
Jahangirpuri and termed
it as ‘brazen contempt
and defiance of SC order’,
and also asked for a
similar action against the
Chinese encroachments
in Arunchal Pradesh and
Ladakh. “India is not
banana republic yet, that
SC orders r defied like
this-Shocking,” Congress
spokesperson Jaiveer
Shergill tweeted.
BJP HAS DECLARED WAR AGAINST
POOREST, SAYS ASADUDDIN OWAISI
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday
alleged that the BJP has declared a war against
the poorest by destroying homes in Delhi like in Uttar
Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Hyderabad MP
was reacting to demolition of alleged illegal encroach-
ments in riot-hit Jahangirpuri in New Delhi. “BJP
has declared war against the poorest. In the name
of encroachment it’s going to destroy
homes in Delhi like UP MP. No
notice, no opportunity to go to court,
simply punishing poor Muslims
for daring to stay alive,” Owaisi
tweeted. Owaisi also demanded that
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
must clarify his adubious role’. Is
his government’s PWD part of this
demolition drive, he asked.
CRUCIAL READ
MAMATA BANERJEE ‘MOST SUITED’ OPPN
CANDIDATE FOR 2024 PM POST: RIPUN BORA
Kolkata: Veteran politician and TMC leader Ripun
Bora on Wednesday said that the West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee is the “most suita-
ble” opposition candidate for Prime Minister’s post
in the 2024 Lok Sabha General election because
she is fighting alone aggressively against BJP.
Speaking to media Ripun Bora said, “I have full re-
spect for all the opposition leaders but considering
the ground reality, I have seen Mamata Banerjee is
the only one fighting aggressively against Modi.” Mamata Banarjee
AL BADR CADRE
DESIGNATED AS
TERRORIST BY GOVT
New Delhi: The Ministry of
Home Affairs has declared
Arjumand Gulzar Dar, an
active associate of terrorist
outfit Al Badr, as a terrorist
under Unlawful Activity
(Prevention) Act, 1967.
The terror organisation ‘Al
Badr’ is listed as a terrorist
organisation under the First
Schedule to the said Act at
serial number 26. Accord-
ing to a Gazette notification
issued on Tuesday by the
MHA, Arjumand Gulzar Dar
alias Hamza Burhan alias
Doctor went to Pakistan
on valid documents where
he joined Al Badr. He has
been an active terrorist and
commander of Al Badr, and
since then and currently
has been operating from
Pakistan, said the Gazette
notification.
ASSAM, ARUNACHAL TO FORM DISTRICT
COMMITTEES TO SETTLE BORDER DISPUTES
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on
Wednesday announced that Assam and Arunachal Prdesh,
the two Northeastern states, will form dis-
trict-level committees to resolve the long-
standing border disputes in a time-bound
manner. The decision was announced after
the Assam CM met his Arunachal Pradesh
counterpart Pema Khandu on Wednesday.
This was the second chief ministerial-level
meeting between the two states over the
boundary issue, Sarma said in a series of tweets.
HUBBALLI VIOLENCE WAS PRE-PLANNED,
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION REVEALS
Hubballi: The preliminary investigation into the Hub-
balli violence has revealed that it was pre-planned, police
sources said. The police have collected videos which reveal
the planning for the violence that happened on April 16
in the commercial hub of north Karnataka. A violent mob
outside the police station sought the beheading of a youth,
who had put up an objectionable post in social media. The
mob shouted slogans that called for violence, like “What is
the punishment for the guilty” and “Beheading is the only
punishment for the guilty.”
Mumbai Police taps phones of
Sanjay Raut, Eknath Khadse
Mumbai (PTI): Mum-
bai police on Wednes-
day said that the phones
of Shiv Sena leader
Sanjay Raut and NCP
leader Eknath Khadse
were tapped on the pre-
text of them being anti-
social elements.
During the investiga-
tion, it was found, that
some other names were
also mentioned as anti-
social elements in State
Intelligence Dept (SID)
letter which was sent to
the Additional Chief
Secretary (ACS) Home
for phone tapping that’s
why the ACS gave the
permissionforthesame,
Mumbai police said.
Police informed that
the phone of Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP)
leader Eknath Khadse
was tapped for 67 days
while that of Shiv Sena
leader Sanjay Raut was
tapped for 60 days.
Reactingtothematter,
Raut said both leaders
were falsely labelled by
then SID commissioner
Rashmi Shukla.
“The then SID com-
missioner Rashmi
Shukla falsely labelled
all of us whose phones
were tapped as anti-so-
cial elements during
government formation
in 2019,” Raut said.
“Our privacy was
breached. Centre giving
protection to such police
officerswhoareworking
for one party
,” he added.
Sanjay Raut Eknath Khadse
K’taka to set
up commission
to review all
public works
Shivamogga (PTI): In
an apparent fallout of
the death of a civil con-
tractor who levelled
bribery allegations
against a former state
minister, the Karnataka
government on Wednes-
day announced forming
a three-member com-
mission comprising a
retired high court judge
tocleartenderproposals
for all public projects
worth Rs 50 crore and
above, in a bid to check
malpractices in award-
ing contracts.
Also, the government
has ordered a total ban
oninitiatingworksbased
on oral instructions of
ministers or higher offi-
cials. The commission
will be formed under the
Karnataka Transparen-
cy in Public Procure-
ment Act (KTPPA).
Basavaraj Bommai
TN: Sasikala to be grilled
in Kodanad murder case
Chennai (Agencies):
Aspecialteamof theTa-
mil Nadu Police will be
questioning AIADMK’s
former interim General
Secretary, VK Sasikala
in the Kodanad murder
and heist case on Thurs-
day
, officials said.
The 906-acre estate
wasjointlyownedbylate
CM and AIADMK chief
Jayalalithaaandheraide
Sasikala,andthemurder
and heist case took place
on April 24, 2017, four
months after the passing
awayof Jayalalithaaand
the arrest of Sasikala.
According to the
chargesheet, C. Kanaga-
raj, who was once the
driver of Jayalalithaa,
hatched a conspiracy to
break open the Kodanad
estateashebelievedthat
hugemoneywasstashed
in the estate bungalow.
On April 23, 2017, a gang
of tenpeople,ledbyhim,
brokeintotheestateand
killed guard, Om Bahad-
hurwhileanotherguard
Krishna Thapa was
beaten and tied.
InJuly3,2017,Dinesh
Kumar, a computer op-
erator at the estate, was
found dead in his home
leading to five deaths
altogether.
VK Sasikala
Jakhar not replying to notice‘gross
indiscipline’,action likely: Sources
New Delhi (PTI): For-
mer Punjab Congress
chief Sunil Jakhar not
replying to party’s
show-cause notice is
being considered an act
of “gross indiscipline”
and “strong action” is
likely to be taken
against him when the
Congress’ disciplinary
committee meets be-
fore the end of this
week, sources said on
Wednesday.
The Congress Disci-
plinary Committee had
on April 11 given a
show-cause notice to
Jakhar for alleged anti-
party activities and
sought a reply within a
week. At the end of the
deadline on Tuesday,
Jakhar said he would
not reply to the panel
notice and was ready to
face action.
“He (Jakhar) was
given a notice for indis-
cipline. His not reply-
ing to the party’s notice
is being considered an
act of gross indisci-
pline and strong action
would be taken against
him,” a high-level party
source told media.
“A decision in this re-
gard would be taken at
a meeting of the party’s
disciplinary committee
which is expected to
take place before the
end of this week,” the
source said.
Former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar
Not just to deny edu for a piece of cloth: Karnataka girl
Bengaluru (Agencies):
Almas AH, a second
PUC (Class 12) student
from Udupi Girl’s Pre-
University College, one
among the six
girls who start-
ed a protest on
hijab in Karna-
taka which
went on to become a ma-
jor crisis in the State,
has said that it was not
‘just to deny’ education
for a piece of cloth.
Her post, written on
Tuesday
, has again
raised a debate on hijab
in the State.
“Being Education
Minister, is it
just for you to
denyeducation
for a piece of
cloth?” Almas
has questioned Karna-
takaEducationMinister
BC Nagesh on social me-
dia. She further stated
that she had been pre-
paring for her exams
since long and all that
would go in vain.
Almas underlined:
“Don’t do this injustice
to us sir. Allow us.”
However, the Karnata-
ka govt is all set to con-
duct the second PUC ex-
ams (Class 12) without
allowingstudentstowear
hijab. Karnataka High
Court Special Bench has
dismissed the petitions
submitted by students,
including Almas to per-
mit hijab in classrooms.
Almas had earlier
slammed the state gov-
ernment on its decision
of not allowing hijab
protesters to write ex-
ams.Shehadquestioned
Minister Nagesh, ask-
ing, “Tell me Nagesh sir,
who made us miss our
exams?Ihavemissedmy
practicalexams,yourde-
cision is not only gonna
shatter my dreams but
also I am starting to lose
hope in the system.
Where is the justice sir?
Why do you want us to
suffer?” she said.
Thecourthasalsostat-
ed that wearing of hijab
isnotanessentialpartof
Islam. The Muslim or-
ganisationsgaveabandh
call for business estab-
lishments against the
HighCourtorder.Hindu-
tva organisations later
called for banning Mus-
lim vendors from tem-
ples and religious fairs.
The entire matter has
taken a communal turn,
resulting in unrest type
situation in the state.
BAN
HIJAB

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 231
l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Sharat K Verma
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Whatever is not yours: Let
go of it. Your letting go of it
will be for your long-term
happiness and benefit.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s
government is constantly taking several
steps for promoting agriculture in India,
increasing the income of farmers and
facilitating export of agricultural products.
As a result of these steps, today India is
gaining ground in the global market by
exporting almost half of the world’s rice.
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Building a world class facility in a
New India! Visited the upcoming
India International Convention Expo
Centre in Dwarka, Delhi. It will serve
as a major economic driver helping
India capture a larger share of global
meetings, incentives, conferences
exhibitions market.
TOP TWEETS
BORIS JOHNSON
CASE OFFERS
A FEW LESSONS IN
DIGNIFIED CONDUCT
hatever one may hold
against the Brits,
their parliamentary
democracy and insti-
tutions are almost
above reproach. Last week Prime
Minister Boris Johnson paid a
fine of 50 pounds for attending his
own surprise birthday party
. He is
the first British PM to have been
penalised for breaking a rule
while in office. This week on Tues-
day he apologised “whole-hearted-
ly” for attending an illegal party
during Covid lockdown. Johnson
told the House that he unknow-
ingly broke the rules and misled
parliament. Opposition MPs de-
manded his resignation but John-
son refused to oblige. Labour
Party leader Keir Starmer called
the apology a “joke”.
The UK PM now faces a crucial
parliamentary vote this Thursday
to decide if he should be subjected
to further investigation for his
“misleading” statements on ‘par-
tygate’. Apparently confident of
winning the vote, Johnson will be
in India on a two-day visit. Irre-
spective of the outcome one must
appreciate the dignified manner
in which British parliamentari-
ans are conducting themselves.
W
ately, bulldozers
have been in use
to stamp the su-
premacy of the
majority commu-
nity around festival time and
before elections. Ram Navmi
processions led to violence in
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat,
Jharkhand, Rajasthan and
Delhi with the minority com-
munity being held directly
responsible in three of the
states and Delhi. The Ra-
jasthan government handled
the situation with maturity
but at other places bulldozers
werepressedintoactionwith-
out investigating who the real
instigator was. It was hardly
surprising that only one side
bore the brunt. It was also not
surprising that the reason for
bulldozing of tenements was
the illegality of construction.
Why did authorities wake up
to the illegality of construc-
tions only after the clashes
will remain a mystery
.
At least in Delhi the police
said that the Ram Navmi pro-
cession was taken out without
permission. That was a provo-
cation in itself but the MCD
decidedtodemolishstructures
in the Jahangirpuri area.
What’s more the demolition is
believed to have continued un-
tiltwohoursaftertheSupreme
Court stayed the action.
One cannot dispute that il-
legal constructions should be
demolished as they occupy
public land leading to numer-
ous social problems. However,
it is common knowledge that
everywheresquattersbribeof-
ficials for a roof over their
heads and hardly ever illegal
constructions are prevented
from coming up. But to use
bulldozers without following
the due process of law is a
mockery of the criminal jus-
tice system. It also makes the
Constitutionandthejudiciary
irrelevant.Whilewemayhave
a view on what happens in
other countries, we tend to
make light of strife within.
BULLDOZER POLITICS
FOR SUPREMACY
Ram Navmi processions led to
violence in MP, Gujarat,
Jharkhand, Rajasthan and
Delhi with the minority
community being held directly
responsible in 3 of states and
Delhi. Rajasthan government
handled situation with
maturity but at other places
bulldozers were pressed into
action without investigating
L
THE DRAGON DEBT TRAP
CHINA IS EMERGING AS THE NEO-
COLONIZER OF THE 21ST CENTURY
arvane ko nahi pata ki jis
shamaa se who lipat raha
hai, wahi usko jalaa kar
raakh kar degi.” Have you
heard of this famous Bolly-
wood line about fatal attrac-
tion of the moth to a flame?
Similar is the case of devel-
oping or poor countries that
are attracted by soft loans
from PRC with the hope of
developing their country’s
infrastructure and to provide
better life to their citizens.
Unfortunately, they are not
aware of this fatal attraction
and the debt trap, they are
unknowingly getting into.
It’s often too late before they
realize their mistake. More
and more countries are fac-
ing financial crisis after be-
ing trapped by the Dragon.
China is the only country
in the world having expan-
sionist policy to control other
countries. However, their in-
tention to dominate other
countries by luring them in
debt has come to the fore only
in the present Xi Ping re-
gime. China’s growing global
footprints and aggression is
shaping the world forum and
now, Chinese power rede-
fines geopolitics and geo-eco-
nomics of the globe.
RISE OF CHINA AS
ECONOMIC POWER
In the 21st Century, China is
playing a pivotal role in the
world economy and contrib-
utes nearly 20% to global
GDP, being just second high-
est after USA. Beijing is also
the world’s largest non-com-
mercial lender, more than the
International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank.
China’s share of bilateral
debt has risen from 45% to
63% last year. Along with
this, 65 % of all the loans dis-
tributed under bilateral rela-
tions in the world have been
distributed by China alone.
DEBT-TRAP
‘Debt-trap diplomacy’ is a
term which describes a cred-
itor country or institution
extending debt to a borrow-
ing nation partially, or solely
to increase the lender’s po-
litical leverage. The creditor
country is said to extend ex-
cessive credit to a debtor
country with the intention of
extracting economic or po-
litical concessions when the
debtor country becomes un-
able to meet its repayment
obligations. Presently, 42
countries have public debt
exposure to China in excess
of 10% of GDP. Poor nations
like the Republic of Djibouti,
Laos, Zambia, Nigeria and
Kyrgyzstan have Chinese
debts amounting to 20% of
their GDP.
China is using its econom-
ic heft by providing huge and
easy loans to developing and
underdeveloped countries
for infrastructure. Chinese
indirectly get access to the
country’s natural resources
through the market. This
leads to the economy of the
country being crippled. Eye-
ing the opportunity, China
demands acquisition of a
strategic asset of the country
to write off the debt in part.
China has taken control of
the strategic port City of
Hambantota in Sri Lanka,
Gwadar port of Pakistan, Le-
kki Deep Sea port in Nigeria,
Port of Sudan, Mombasa
Port in Kenya, Entebbe air-
port of Uganda and many
more. Subsequently, China
indirectly enters the politics
of that country and then
dominates its sovereignty
.
THE FUTURE
TRAPPINGS
The Dragon debt trap may
enhance further in the future
to trap countries like Nepal,
Afghanistan and Maldives in
South Asia. All these coun-
tries are in heavy Chinese
debt. India’s real concern is
growing Chinese presence
and economic instability in
the SAARC nations.
Post Ukraine conflict, Rus-
sia having been isolated from
the world trade by Western
sanctions, may look increas-
ingly towards China to help
them out. Economically weak
Russia, crippled by sanctions
will slowly be sucked into
same debt trap as developing
countries, albeit from a differ-
ent route. Moscow, which is
more beholden to Beijing,
would be drifting away from
India, in case, Sino-Indian
conflictbecomesunavoidable.
IMPLICATIONS
FOR INDIA
The reality is that majority of
smaller nations are increas-
ingly getting lured by Chi-
nese loans for infrastructure
development. Faced with no
other viable alternative, they
are getting trapped into the
Dragon’s debt trap. Pakistan,
Sri Lanka and the Maldives
in its neighbourhood, almost
falling into the ‘Dragon Debt
Trap’ is not a good sign for
India. It’s time for us to act
fast and protect our strategic
backyard from China’s mis-
adventures. The current nar-
rative by the Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi of
self-sustainability (At-
manirbhar Bharat) is the
right approach for any coun-
try, who wants to safeguard
its sovereignty
, in future.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
“
P
Pakistan, Sri Lanka
and the Maldives in its
neighbourhood, almost
falling into the ‘Dragon Debt
Trap’ is not a good sign for
India. It’s time for us to act
fast and protect our strategic
backyard from China’s
misadventures. The current
narrative by the Indian
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi of self-sustainability
(Atmanirbhar Bharat)
is the right approach
for any country, who
wants to safeguard its
sovereignty, in future
MAJ GEN
CP SINGH (RETD)
The writer is a scholar soldier accredited
with MA, MSc, LLB, MBA, M Phil (Def Mgt)
and M Phil (International Strategic Affairs)
China is the only
country in the world
having expansionist
policy to control other
countries. However, their
intention to dominate other
countries by luring them in
debt has come to the fore
only in the present Xi Ping
regime. China’s growing
global footprints and
aggression is shaping the
world forum and now,
Chinese power redefines
geopolitics and geo-
economics of the globe.
CHINA DISTRIBUTED
$5.6 TRILLION IN LOANS
TO VARIOUS COUNTRIES
https://www.thehansin-
dia.com/hans/opinion/
news-analysis/low-
income-nations-walk-
straight-into-dragons-
debt-trap-709110 A
report released in 2020
suggests that China has
distributed $5.6 trillion in
loans to various countries
in the name of develop-
ment. China has financed
bigger projects and taken
on higher levels of credit
risk with stronger repay-
ment safeguards, in place.

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INDIA
05
New Delhi (ANI): In-
dia has enough coal
stocks to meet more
than 30 days of de-
mands and there is no
need to panic, Govern-
ment sources told ANI.
Sources said 72.5 mil-
lion tonnes (mt) of coal
stocks are lying with
Coal India Ltd.
On average, power
plants in India is having
coal stock of 22 mt and
on an average daily 2.1
mt coal is replaced with
plants. So no shortage
of coal will arise in the
country
, sources said.
Power plants in India
still have 10 days of
stock and the country
has coal stock of more
than 30 days, the sourc-
es added.
Another top official
told ANI that there is no
coal shortage, especial-
ly in Maharashtra. The
government has direct-
ed the states to review
the PPA with power
plantsandMaharashtra
is already reviewing it.
Energy demand rose
due to early summer
and the recovery in the
economy
.
NO NEED TO PANIC, INDIA HAS COAL
STOCKS FOR OVER 30 DAYS: REPORT
SUFFICIENT TO MEET DEMAND
IN THE COURTYARD
HIGH COURT SEEKS CENTRE’S STAND ON PLEA
TO IMPLEMENT CLIMATE CHANGE PROMISES
HIGH COURT SEEKS CENTRE’S REPLY ON PLEA
AGAINST SPECIAL STATUS TO WAQF ASSETS
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court today sought the
Centre’s stand on public interest litigation seeking the
constitution of an expert committee for the realisation of
the promises made by India at the UNFCCC in 2021. A
bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice
Navin Chawla asked the Centre to file a status report on
the plea by lawyer Rohit Madan who has asserted that it
is the Indian government’s duty to honour its interna-
tional commitments. Additional Solicitor General Chetan
Sharma, appearing for the Centre, said that the Union
India is alive to the issue raised in the petition.
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday
sought a response from the Centre on public interest
litigation challenging certain provisions of the Waqf Act
which grant special status to Waqf properties. A bench
of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin
Chawla issued notice asked him to make the Waqf Board
a party to the plea. He told the court that the Act was
against secularism as there was no other law to admin-
ister the properties of other religions. Additional Solicitor
General Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Centre, said
that petition raises substantial questions.
SC AGREES TO HEAR
PLEA SEEKING
PAYMENT OF WAGES
TO MNREGA WORKERS
New Delhi (ANI): The
Supreme Court on
Wednesday agreed to list
for hearing a plea seeking
directions to redress
the situation of workers
under the MNREGA in the
country claiming that their
pending wages are piling
up along with negative
balances in funds of most
of the states. A bench
headed by Chief Justice of
India NV Ramana agreed
to list the matter after ad-
vocate Prashant Bhushan
appearing for petitioner
NGO Swaraj Abhiyan
mentioned the matter for
urgent listing.
TV DEBATE ON COURT
MATTERS AMOUNTS
TO INTERFERENCE IN
ADMIN OF JUSTICE: SC
New Delh: The Supreme
Court has observed that
all matters connected
with a crime and whether
something is a “conclu-
sive piece of evidence”
must be dealt with by
a court of law, and not
through a TV channel. A
bench of Justices UU Lalit
and PS Narasimha said,
“All matters relating to
the crime and whether a
particular thing happens
to be a conclusive piece
of evidence must be dealt
with by a court of law and
not through a TV channel.
If at all, there was a volun-
tary statement.”
Boris to offer India back
up to Russia ties on visit
London (Agencies):
British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson will offer
to help India cut reli-
ance on Russian oil and
defence equipment
when he begins a two-
day visit this week that
will test his diplomatic
skills and provide brief
respite from a row rag-
ing at home.
On his first trip to In-
dia as PM, starting on
Thursday, Johnson will
discuss strengthening
security co-operation in
meetings with PM Nar-
endra Modi.
In the wake of Rus-
sia’s invasion of
Ukraine, Western allies
have called for India to
speak out against the
war. India, which is the
world’s biggest buyer of
Russia’s weapons and
imports its oil, ab-
stained in a United Na-
tions vote condemning
the invasion and has
not imposed sanctions
on Moscow.
Traffic moves past a hoarding placed for the welcome of United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris
Johnson ahead of his visit to India, in Ahmedabad on Wednesday
India visit will deepen strategic trade, defence
ties British PM Boris tells House of Commons
London (PTI): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said
on Wednesday that his two-day visit to India, starting
in Gujarat on Thursday, will deepen the strategic trade,
defence and people-to-people ties between the two coun-
tries. Addressing the House of Commons for his weekly
Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on the eve of his visit,
Johnson said the trip to Ahmedabad and New Delhi will
build on India being invited as a guest country for the G7
Summit hosted by the UK in Cornwall in June last year.
Need to address energy
security concern: India
United Nations (PTI):
With food and energy
costs spiralling, espe-
cially for many develop-
ing countries in the
wake of the Russia-
Ukraine conflict, India
has for the first time
told the UNSC that en-
ergy security is a “seri-
ous concern” and needs
to be “addressed with
cooperative efforts.”
India’s Deputy Per-
manent Representative
at the UN Ambassador
R Ravindra, speaking at
the UNSC meeting on
the humanitarian situ-
ation in Ukraine on
Tuesday, said that the
food security challeng-
es emanating from the
Ukraine conflict “re-
quires us to respond
creatively
.”
India has maintained
that the impact of the
crisis is being felt be-
yond the region with
increasing food and en-
ergy costs, especially
for many developing
countries.
INDIA SOAKS UP EVERY MAJOR RUSSIAN
OIL VARIETY AS FLOWS PERSIST: REPORT
New Delhi (Agencies): India
is doubling down on Russian
crude oil purchases despite
warnings from the US, snap-
ping up every major grade
from the OPEC+ producer
as its war in Ukraine nears
a third month. State-run oil
refiners are now looking at
privately negotiated deals
instead of buying through
public tenders in order to get
better prices, according to
Indian refinery officials and
traders. India has purchased
everything from flagship
Urals that ships from ports
in the west, to a rare cargo
of ESPO from the Far East,
typically favoured by China.
India has a longstanding
relationship with Russia that
includes weapons buying,
and purchasing of oil adds to
the Kremlin’s coffers while it
tackles financial sanctions.
President Joe Biden last week
told Prime Minister Narendra
Modi that the US was ready to
help India diversify its energy
imports, but self-sanctioning
of Russian crude by some is
making it cheap and alluring.
The meeting between to the
two leaders followed more
pointed commentary from
Biden’s top economic adviser
earlier this month, who said
that the US had warned India
against aligning itself with
Russia. The war has fanned
inflation and driven bench-
mark oil futures above $100
a barrel.
PM to confer
awards for
excellence in
public admin
SC asks ED to
file report on
homebuyers’
stashed money
New Delhi (PTI):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi will confer the
Prime Minister’s
Awards for Excellence
in Public Administra-
tion in Delhi on Thurs-
day on the occasion of
Civil Services Day
.
The Prime Minister
will also address civil
servants during the
event.
Exemplary work
done in five identified
priority programmes
will be given awards,
including promoting
people’s participation
in ‘Poshan Abhiyan’,
promoting excellence
in sports and wellness
through ‘Khelo India’
scheme, digital pay-
ments and good govern-
ance in ‘PM SVANidhi
Yojana’, holistic devel-
opment through ‘One
District One Product’
scheme and seamless,
end-to-end delivery of
services without hu-
man intervention.
New Delhi (PTI): The
Supreme Court on
Wednesday asked the
Enforcement Directo-
rate (ED) to file a status
report on steps taken to
bring back Unitech Ltd
homebuyers’ money
amounting to Rs 5,000
crore which has been
siphoned off and
stashed in a tax haven
like Cyprus.
It also appointed for-
mer SC Judge AM Sapre
to look into the policy
and finalization of
standard operating pro-
cedure for monetisation
of project land assets
and non-project land as-
sets of Unitech.
A bench of Justices
DY Chandrachud and
MR Shah told Addition-
al Solicitor General
Madhavi Divan, appear-
ing for ED, to file a sta-
tus report about steps
that could be taken to
liquidate the attached
properties, so that the
funds could be utilised
in the construction of
stalled projects.
No more man-days lost in Bengal due to
disruptions, Mamata tells industry tycoons
Vietnam important pillar of Act East
Policy,Indo-Pacific vision: Om Birla
Hanoi (ANI): Lok Sab-
ha Speaker Om Birla on
Wednesday said that
Vietnam is one of In-
dia’s closest partners
and an important pillar
of the country’s Act
East policy and Indo-
Pacific vision.
Birla’s remarks came
during his interaction
with the Secretary-Gen-
eral of the Communist
Party of Vietnam Nguy-
en Phu Trong. The Lok
Sabha speaker said that
India and Vietnam
share a common out-
look on issues of global
and regional peace.
Speaking about matters
of regional and global
importance, Birla said
that as countries facing
similar challenges and
sharing similar devel-
opmental perspectives.
Kolkata (PTI): West
Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee
Wednesday said her
government has
brought down man-
days lost in the state
due to strikes and dis-
ruptions to zero from 75
lakh per year during
the erstwhile Left re-
gime, as she wooed in-
vestors from across the
globe at a big-ticket
business summit here.
Mamata Banerjee
said the state will work
on eight pillars of de-
velopment going ahead,
including infrastruc-
ture, education, social
security, skill develop-
ment and ease-of-doing-
business.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee felicitates Governor Jagdeep
Dhankar during the inauguration of 6th BGBS in Kolkata.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla meets General Secretary of
Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong.
GUV: CENTRE-STATE
TIES TO IMPACT
INVESTMENTS
Kolkata (Agencies): The
state Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar reminded of the
need for a joint initiative
by the Union and state
government to work for the
economic development of
the state by attracting new
investments. Stressing on
the need for “development
bonhomie,” the Governor
reminded that what industri-
alists are looking for before
investment is political stabil-
ity and rule of law in a state
government.
India’s R-value crosses 1 for first
time in 3 months, says researcher
Blow to Lankan govt as
3 MPs withdraw support
Colombo (PTI): Sri
Lankan President Gota-
baya Rajapaksa, who is
under pressure to re-
sign, was dealt a further
blow on Wednesday
when three more parlia-
mentarians withdrew
their support to the gov-
ernment.
Earlier this month, 39
lawmakers out of 156
MPs pulled their sup-
port to Rajapaksa in the
225-member Parlia-
ment. The breakaway
group, which sits inde-
pendently, has declared
not to align. The inde-
pendentgroupdemands
the formation of an all-
party interim govern-
ment with the resigna-
tion of the Rajapaksa
family from power.
New Delhi: India’s ef-
fective reproduction
number (R) for Covid,
an indicator of how
quickly the infection is
spreading, has in-
creased to over one for
the first time since Jan-
uary, estimates a re-
searcher from Chen-
nai’s Institute of Math-
ematical Sciences.
The country’s R val-
ue, steadily increasing
over the last few weeks,
is 1.07 for the week be-
tween April 12-18, ac-
cording to Sitabhra
Sinha. In the preceding
April 5-11 week, it was
0.93.
The last time the R
was above 1 was in the
week between January
16-22, when the value
was 1.28, Sinha said.
“This increase in R-
value is not just because
of Delhi but also Hary-
ana and Uttar Pradesh,”
the mathematician,
who has been tracking
R for India since the be-
ginning of the pandem-
ic, told PTI.
An R value over 1 in-
dicates that the number
of active cases has in-
creased.
INDIA TO PROVIDE
ADDITIONAL $500M
FOR FUEL: LANKA
Colombo: India will
provide an additional
$500 million in financial
assistance to Sri Lanka
for it to buy fuel, Sri
Lanka’s foreign minister
said. “Assistance by
the IMF will take about
six months to come to
us and it will come in
tranches,” Sri Lankan
Foreign Minister GL
Peiris said.
CRUCIAL READ
FAMILY OF SEVEN CHARRED TO DEATH AFTER
HUT CATCHES FIRE IN PUNJAB’S LUDHIANA
BrahMos SCORES 2
DIRECT STRIKES
INS VAGSHEER
LAUNCHED IN MAHA
New Delhi: The BrahMos
supersonic cruise missile
on Tuesday scored two
successful direct hits
against the same target,
an abandoned ship, which
sank due to the impact.
The first test-firing was
done by the Navy warship
INS Delhi off the eastern
seaboard of the country.
Mumbai: The Mazagon
Dock Shipbuilders in
Mumbai on Wednesday
launched INS Vagsheer,
the last of the six Scor-
pene-class submarines
under Project 75. The
submarine was launched.
After launch, the subma-
rine will undergo tests and
trials for over a year.
Ludhiana: Seven members, including five children of
a family, were charred to death after a fire broke out in
their hut in Ludhiana. The incident occurred on Wednes-
day at around 2 am when all the family members were
sleeping in the shanty, said Baldev Raj, SI, police station
Tibba. While the bodies have been sent for post mortem,
the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
AMID RISING FOOD ENERGY COSTS
DUE TO UKRAINE CONFLICT

BIZ BUZZ
06
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
Indian equities snap
5-day losing run; Sensex
jumps 574 points
Mumbai (ANI):
Snapping five con-
secutive sessions
of losing run, the
Indian equities
markets benchmark
Sensex jumped 574
points on Wednesday
led by strong buying
support in the heavy-
weight firms like Reli-
ance Industries, TCS
a n d
Maruti Suzuki.
The 30 stock
SP BSE
S e n s e x
j u m p e d
574.35 points
or 1.02 per
cent to
57,037.50 points
against its previ-
ous day’s close at
56,463.15 points.
The Sensex closed in
the positive after five
straight sessions of
losses. The index had
lost 703.59 points or
1.23 per cent on Tues-
day
. Snapping five
straight sessions of
losses, the broader Nif-
ty 50 of the National
StockExchangesurged
177.90 points or 1.05 per
cent to 17,136.55 points.
Equity
benchmark
indices opened in
green on Wednesday
with Sensex up by
513.07 points and
Nifty by 157.50
points
Crude oil output
misses target by
12.49% in March
Cheap Indian wheat
faces quality checks
for Egypt export
dia’s crude oil produc-
tion in March 2022 fell
to 2,526.11 thousand
metric tonnes (TMT),
which is 12.49 per cent
lower than the target
for the month and 3.37
per cent lower than
the output recorded
during the same
month in 2021, the gov-
ernment data showed
on Wednesday
.
Cumulative crude
oil production during
April-March, 2021-22
stood at 29,690.78 TMT,
which is 11.67 per cent
and 2.63 per cent lower
than target for the pe-
riod and production
during the corre-
sponding period of the
last year, respectively,
according to data re-
leased by the Ministry
of Petroleum Natu-
ral Gas. Crude oil pro-
duction by Oil and
Natural Gas Corpora-
tion (ONGC) in nomi-
nation block during
March 2022 was
1,681.60 TMT, which is
12.62 per cent lower
than the target of the
month and 1.84 per
cent lower when com-
pared with production
of March 2021.
Cumulative crude
oil production by
ONGC during April-
March, 2021-22 was
19,451.23 TMT, which
is 13.82 per cent and
3.62 per cent lower
than the target for the
period and production
during the corre-
sponding period of
last year respectively
.
Crude oil produc-
tion by Oil India Ltd
(OIL) in the nomina-
tion block during
March 2022 was 257.43
TMT.
Cairo (Agencies): In-
dian wheat could offer
a cheaper option for
top importer Egypt but
will have to overcome
quality controls set by
the country’s agricul-
ture ministry as well
as higher freight costs.
Last week, Egypt’s
agriculture ministry
announced it had ap-
proved India as a
wheat import origin
but has placed several
conditions including
inspection for pests
prior to export and the
use of only a specific
pesticide, according to
a ministry document
seen by Reuters.
“Just because we
approved the origin
doesn’t mean we ac-
cept anything. There
are technical condi-
tions set by the plant
quarantine depart-
ment,” Ahmed El At-
tar, the department’s
head, told Reuters.
Quality concerns
linked to the fungal
disease Karnal Bunt
and the overuse of pes-
ticides have previous-
ly plagued wheat ex-
ports from India, with
some suppliers receiv-
ing complaints a few
years ago. Traders and
government officials
in India, however, have
said it had not received
any complaints when
exporting large quan-
tities this year to coun-
tries such as Bangla-
desh, South Korea, Sri
Lanka, Oman and Qa-
tar and others.
Traders also said
freight costs would be
a challenge for Indian
suppliers.
FALLING SHORT
Non-basmati rice exports
more than double in 8 years
dia’s non-basmati rice
exports surged to $6.11
billion in 2021-22,
which is 109 per cent
higher when compared
with $2.92 billion re-
corded in 2013-14, the
government data
showed on Wednesday
.
As per data released
by the Directorate
General of Commer-
cial Intelligence and
Statistics (DGCIS),
India exported rice to
over 150 countries
across the globe in
2021-22. Out of
these, exports
to 76 countries
were valued at
one million
USD or more.
“India’s rice
export takes
an astound-
ing growth
of 109 per
cent. Modi Govt poli-
cies help farmers get
access to the global
market and also en-
sure food security,”
Union Minister
for Com-
merce and
I n -
dustry Piyush Goyal
said in a tweet.
According to the
DGCIS data, India
had exported non-bas-
mati rice worth $2.01
billion in 2019-20,
which rose to $4.79 bil-
lion in 2020-21 and rose
further to $6.11 billion
in 2021-22.
Registeringagrowth
of 27 per cent in 2021-
22, export of non-bas-
mati rice was the top
forex earner among all
agri-commodities, at
$6.11 billion.
TOP FOREX EARNING IN AGRI PRODUCTS
‘We should aspire to become high-income nation’
New Delhi (PTI): In-
dia should aspire to be-
come a high-income
country by 2047 and
this would need sus-
tained economic
growth year after year,
NITI Aayog CEO Am-
itabh Kant said on
Wednesday. Kant fur-
ther said that India will
grow if the country can
use power of its private
sector. “Our per capita
income is approximate-
ly USD 2,000. India is a
lower middle income
country. Our aspira-
tion should be to be-
come a high-income
country by 2047 and
this would need sus-
tained growth year af-
ter year,” he said at an
event in New Delhi.
Noting that China
and South Korea re-
corded 10 per cent
growth year after year,
Kant said, “If India
won’t grow at higher
rate then it will be
caught in low income
growth scenario.” The
NITI Aayog CEO la-
mented that bureau-
crats have made it dif-
ficult for businesses to
grow.
“We have build rules
and regulations which
have killed entrepre-
neurship,” he said, add-
ing that bureaucrats
should learn the art of
restructuring public-
private partnership
projects, de-risk pro-
jects and ensure more
participation from pri-
vate sector.
Kant pointed out that
in 1947, per capita in-
come of South Korea,
China and India were
more or less equal.
“Seventy-five years lat-
er South Korea’s per
capita income is 7 times
of India,” he added.
Adani Group commits
to invest `10,000 cr
in West Bengal over
next decade
Kolkata (PTI): The
Adani Group on
Wednesday commit-
ted to invest Rs 10,000
crore in West Bengal
over the next decade,
group chief Gautam
Adani announced on
Wednesday
.
At the inaugural
session of Bengal
Global Business
Summit 2022 (BGBS)
here, Adani said the
group’s investments
will span world-class
port infrastructure,
state of art data cen-
tres and undersea
cables that will con-
nect them across the
oceans, centres of
excellence in digital
innovation, ware-
houses and logistics
parks.
Group company
Adani Wilmar cur-
rently has an edible
oil plant in Haldia.
“Over the next dec-
ade, we expect our
total investment in
Bengal to exceed Rs
10,000 crore. Thereaf-
ter, as we continue to
expand here, we will
bring into Bengal
our world-class ex-
pertise across the
green energy value
chain,” Adani said at
the sixth edition of
BGBS. This is Gau-
tam Adani’s first ap-
pearance in the
state’s business sum-
mit. Adani is also the
highest bidder for
the Tajpur deep sea
port but the state is
yet to announce Ada-
ni Port as the L1 bid-
der.
Foodgrain production up 25%, oilseeds 42% in 6-yrs: Govt
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Over the last six
years, foodgrain pro-
duction in the country
increased by 25 per
cent, while oilseed pro-
duction went up by 42
per cent, a top Agricul-
ture Ministry official
said on Tuesday
.
Asserting that the
country is maintaining
an increasing trend in
foodgrain production
since 2015-16, Manoj
Ahuja, Secretary, Agri-
culture and Farmers’
Welfare, said, “The to-
tal foodgrain produc-
tion increased by 25 per
cent in the last six
years from 251.54 mil-
lion tonnes to 316.01
million tonnes. Oil-
seeds have followed the
same trend and have
shown a growth of 42
per cent from 25.25 mil-
lion tonnes in 2015-16 to
37.15 million tonnes in
2021-22.”
Ahuja was making a
presentation at the na-
tional conference on
Agriculture for Kharif
Campaign 2022-23.
India’s exports of ag-
ricultural products
have grown by 19.92 per
cent during 2021-22 to
touch $50.21 billion (Rs
3,76,575 crore).
India’s exports of
agricultural products
have grown by
19.92% during
2021-22
Netflix loses 200,000 paid
subscribers in first
quarter, shares tank 20%
Centre’s nod mandatory
for Nidhi companies,
Govt amends rules
San Francisco (Agencies): Stream-
ing giant Netflix saw its stock tum-
bling by 20 per cent after it reported
a loss of 2 lakh paid subscribers in
the first quarter of 2022 -- its first
subscriber loss in over a decade.
Moreover, Netflix forecasts a global
paid subscriber loss of 20 lakh for
the second quarter (Q2) of 2022.
The decline has brought Netflix’s
subscriber base to 221.6 million.
New Delhi (ANI): The Ministry of
Corporate Affairs said on Wednes-
day Nidhi Rules, 2014 has been
amended to safeguard the interests
of the general public. Under the
Companies Act, 2013, initially,
there was no need for a company to
get a declaration from the Central
Government to function as a Nidhi
Company, now it has been made
mandatory.
CIL gains 4%, hits over 2-yr high on hopes of strong earnings
Mumbai (agencies): Shares of Coal India
(CIL) hit an over two-year high of Rs 205.55,
up 4 per cent on the BSE in Wednesday’s in-
tra-day trade, surging as much as 10 per cent
in the past three trading days on expectation
of strong earnings. The stock of state-owned
mining company traded at its highest level
since January 2020. In past three months, the
stock has rallied 25 per cent, as compared to
a 5.4 per cent decline in the SP BSE Sensex.
Amid the spiraling power generation, CIL has raised its supplies to thermal
power stations by 14.2 per cent during the first half of April 2022 compared
to same period last April.
Mumbai (PTI): Welcoming India’s stance
on the Ukranian crisis, a senior Rus-
sian diplomat on Tuesday said Moscow
and New Delhi are attempting to find a
solution on the payments front amid the
sanctions imposed on Russia by western
countries. The “complicated situation”
created by the sanctions following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, where western countries and companies have
ceased trade ties with Russia creates room for Indian exports, Aleksei Vladi-
mirovich Surovtsev, the Consul General of Russia in Mumbai, said.
AMID SANCTIONS BY WEST RUSSIAN OFFICIALS IN
TALKS WITH RBI TO FIND SOLUTION ON PAYMENTS
Gautam Adani
WORLD-CLASS

07
NEWS
Violationofloudspeakerban:
NoidaPoliceserve900notices
Noida: Gautam Buddh
Nagar Police served no-
tices to around 900 reli-
gious temples for the vi-
olation of the ban on the
use of loudspeakers at
religious places, police
said on Wednesday
.
On Tuesday
, Commis-
sionerate officials gave
notices to 602 out of 621
temples, 265 out of 268
mosques, 16 other reli-
gious places as well as
217 procession houses,
and 175 out of 182 DJ op-
erators.
Commissioner of Po-
liceof GautamBudhNa-
gar area instructed the
religious gurus, mar-
riage homeowners and
DJ operators to comply
with the guidelines giv-
en by the High Court re-
garding sound amplifi-
ers to religious places,
marriage homes and DJ
operators.
The notices were giv-
en to follow the sound
instructions given. “If
any religious place, DJ
operator does not follow
theinstructionsgivenby
the High Court regard-
ing sound, then strict ac-
tionwillbetakenagainst
them,” said the notice.
According to Uttar
Pradesh Pollution Con-
trolBoard,loudspeakers
should not be allowed to
be operated after 10 pm
andbefore6amandthey
should be fitted with a
‘sound limiter’.
COMPLY GUIDELINES
Chhattisgarh (ANI):
Addressing a press con-
ference, Delhi Environ-
ment Minister, Gopal
Rai, on Wednesday gave
a new slogan ‘We will
change Chhattisgarh’
and said that there will
be Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) led government
in Chhattisgarh after
2023 elections.
“AAP government
will also be formed
in Chhattisgarh. AAP
is preparing for the
2023 elections here,
after the formation
of AAP’s government
in Delhi and Punjab,
the same effort is
being made in Chhattis-
garh. We also took out a
victory rally in Raipur,
Bilaspur with a resolve
of ‘Badalbo Chhattis-
garh’ (we will change
Chattisgarh),” said Rai.
He also highlighted
that from May 25 to
June 25, there will be a
public dialogue in vari-
ous villages and areas
to discuss the problems
of the locals.
Emphasising the
state of affairs in
Chhattisgarh, he men-
tioned that there were
numerous cases of cor-
ruption in transferring
the employees to vari-
ous postings.
“Even transfer post-
ings are not being done
without money. The
number of protesters
has increased under
Congress’s rule. The
Congress government
forgot the promises
made to the tribals. In
Chhattisgarh, Con-
gress was given a
chance twice and the
BJP three times. Now
public will give a
chance to AAP,” he con-
cluded.
AAP will win 2023 polls
in Chhattisgarh, says Rai
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai
Kolkata (PTI): Bangla-
desh Commerce Minis-
ter Tipu Munshi on
Wednesday praised
West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Ba-
nerjee and said that his
country is keen to make
investments in the
state.
Munshi, who was
speaking at the inaugu-
ral session of Bengal
Global Business Sum-
mit, 2022 here, said that
Indian investors should
reciprocate and invest
in Bangladesh.
“Mamata Banerjee is
leading here and
Sheikh Hasina in Bang-
ladesh as the country’s
prime minister. The
Bangladesh economy is
growing under Hasi-
na’s leadership. We
want to invest in the
state,” he said.
B’desh Minister
says want to
invest in WB,
praises Mamata
New Delhi (ANI): Un-
ion Minister Anurag
Thakur on Wednesday
said a total of 25,000 pro-
grammes have taken
place till April 18 under
“
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahot-
sav”.
Addressing a press
conference at BJP head-
quarters in New Delhi,
Thakur said, “A total of
25,000 programmes have
taken place till April 18
under Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav. Out of which
8,616 programs have
been done so far by the
ministries and depart-
ments, and 9,516 pro-
grams have been con-
ducted by the States and
Union Territories.”
The Union Minister
said the Ministry of Ex-
ternal Affairs and other
organizations have or-
ganised as many as 2,347
programs in other coun-
tries. “About 50 pro-
grams are held daily un-
der the Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav,” he said.
Speaking further,
Thakursaidthisfestival
is of national awaken-
ingandrealizingdreams
of good governance and
also for global peace.
Govt organises 25,000 programmes
AZADI KA AMRIT MAHOTSAV
lll
Speaking
further, Anurag
Thakur said
this festival is
of national
awakening and
realizing
dreams of
good
governance
and also for
global peace
Union Minister Anurag Thakur
Akhilesh writes to FM; demands justice
for victims of Kanpur bank locker theft
Lucknow (PTI): Sama-
jwadi Party chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav on Tuesday
called for strict action
against those responsi-
ble for the alleged theft
of valuables worth over
Rs 2.5 crore from lockers
of the Central Bank of
India’s Karachikhana
branch in Kanpur.
He met the victims
whose valuables were
stolen from nine lockers
of the bank. Yadav said
he has written to Union
FM Nirmala Sithara-
man and urged her to
ensure that the custom-
ers get justice and ap-
propriate action is initi-
ated against the guilty
bank officials. “The sen-
ior bank officers did not
pay any heed to custom-
erscomplaintandatleast
11 lockers were found
broken,” a statement is-
sued by the party said.
Four people, includ-
ing a bank manager,
have been arrested in
connection with the in-
cident, police had said.
At least nine custom-
ers of the bank branch
had found valuables
worth crores of rupees
missing from their lock-
ers, they said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav
A total of
25,000 pro-
grammes have
taken place till April
18 under Azadi Ka
Amrit Mahotsav. Out
of which 8,616 pro-
grams have been done
so far by the minis-
tries and departments.
—Anurag Thakur, Union Minister
First India Bureau
Gujarat: The govern-
ance of Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath has come in
for a huge praises from
his Gujarat counter-
part.
Applauding efforts of
the Uttar Pradesh gov-
ernment, Gujarat Chief
Minister Bhupendra Pa-
tel in his letter to jour-
nalist cum writer Shan-
tanu Gupta said that the
Chief Minister made
‘remarkable success’ in
transforming the sce-
nario of the state which
was very well depicted
in the biography
. He was
acknowledging the ef-
fort of the author whose
book on CM Yogi has, of
late, earned a wide rang-
ing appreciation.
“I am thankful to re-
ceive your informative
creation of “The Monk
who Transformed Uttar
Pradesh” How Yogi Adi-
tyanath changed ‘UP
waala Bhaiya’ abuse to a
Badge of Honour, an ob-
vious effort to make un-
derstand the situation
handled by Shree Yogi
Adityanath after taking
chargeastheChief Min-
ister of Uttar Pradesh.”
Patel in his letter fur-
ther said that Adity-
anath’s remarkable suc-
cess with his achieve-
ments including mak-
ing the state feature at
the second position in
GSDP
, 2nd in Ease of Do-
ingBusinessandNo.1in
45+CentralGovernment
Schemes etc. have been
covered in this book. “I
applaud your effort to
highlight the achieve-
ments for a state once
considered as the syno-
nym of BIMARU,” he
wrote. The Gujarat CM
also extended his grati-
tude towards PM Modi
for his emphasis on ex-
tending the benefit of
welfare schemes to the
eligible beneficiaries
ever since he took
chargeastheChief Min-
ister of Gujarat.
GujCMpraisesYogi
forgoodgovernance
Writes letter to the author of ‘The Monk
who Transformed Uttar Pradesh’
Chandigarh: On the
second and third days
of the National Confer-
ence on the theme ‘Cre-
ating Future Path of
Scientific Development
in 75th Year of Inde-
pendence’ in context of
Celebrating Azadi ka
Amrit Mahotsav being
conducted jointly by
NITTTR, Chandigarh
and Vigyan Parishad
Panchnad from April
18-22, 2022. Several emi-
nent experts delivered
their keynote presenta-
tions thereby interact-
ing with the conference
participants during the
five days.
Prof. (Dr.) S.S.
Pattnaik, Director,
NITTTR Chandigarh
while welcoming the
keynote speakers on the
second and third day of
the conference empha-
sized among the re-
searchers the need and
importance on consid-
ering the social prob-
lems while choosing
their research topics.
Namita Jaspal, Herit-
age Conservator and
Museum Consultant,
Chandigarh Heritage
Preservation Atelier -
Expert speaker for the
second day of the con-
ference shared with
participants different
Scientific Methods for
Preserving Historical
Archives along with il-
lustrations from the
prominent preserva-
tion works she has car-
ried out especially in
the Northern Region.
Sanjeev Duggal,
Member Executive, Vig-
yan Parishad Panchnad
- Expert speaker for the
first session on the
third day shared about
the sacrifices of vari-
ous freedom fighters of
the Country. He pro-
pounded that our Inde-
pendence is not only
based on the non-vio-
lence moment. In fact,
approx. 10,000,00/- mar-
tyrs have sacrificed
their lives for getting us
independence. He
shared the observations
made by Macaulay and
how he had rolled out
interventions to shake
the roots of Bharat
through disrupting the
already existing educa-
tion system. He also
highlighted the exist-
ence and the merits of
the Gurukul system
that was prevalent by
that time. He also
shared the contribution
of P.C. Ray in setting up
of Bangal Chemicals
which contributed sig-
nificantly to the coun-
try growth. He also
shared excerpts from
the life of C.V
. Raman.
Dr. Varinder Garg,
OSD to President,
PGIMER Chandigarh -
Expert speaker for the
second session on the
third day strongly em-
phasizes on “Why India
needs technology in
healthcare?”. He high-
lighted that the health-
care in India is current-
ly faces financial impli-
cations.
5-day meet on‘Future Path of Scientific Development’ held
RLD’s Chaudhary
meets Azam’s family
NEW POLITICAL ALIGNMENT EMERGING IN UP
First India Bureau
Lucknow: With the As-
sembly elections over,
new political realign-
ments have started tak-
ing place in Uttar
Pradesh.
Rashtriya Lok Dal
(RLD) President Jayant
Chaudhary, on Wednes-
day, made a surprise
visit to Rampur to meet
the family of Samajwa-
di Party leader Mohd
Azam Khan, who is
presently lodged in jail.
Jayant met Azam
Khan’s wife and former
MLA Tanzeen Fatima
and son Abdullah Azam
Khan, who is MLA from
Suar Assembly seat.
Jayant’s meeting as-
sumes significance in
view of the fact that a
number of Muslim lead-
ers from the Samajwadi
Party have come out
against the party presi-
dent Akhilesh Yadav’s
refusal to take a stand
on Muslim leaders be-
ing targeted by the BJP
government. Akhilesh
is facing flak for not
supporting Azam Khan,
who has been targeted
by the Yogi Adityanath
government.
WEF names Raghav Chadha in Young Global leaders list
New Delhi: AAP leader
Raghav Chadha, Edel-
weiss Mutual Fund CEO
Radhika Gupta and
Ukrainian Vice Prime
Minister and Minister
of Digital Transforma-
tion Mykhailo Fedorov
were named by the
World Economic Forum
in its 2022 list of Young
Global Leaders.
The list also includes
professor Yoichi Ochiai,
musician and composer
Wissam Joubran, health
justice advocate Jessica
Beckerman and NGO
founder Zoya Lytvyn.
Chadha, who was re-
cently elected to Rajya
Sabha after AAP’s mas-
sive victory in Punjab,
was earlier his party’s
MLA in the national
capital. His fellow Indi-
ans on the list include
athleteManasiJoshi,In-
nov8 Coworking found-
er Ritesh Malik, Bharat-
Pe CEO Suhail Sameer,
Sugar Cosmetics CEO
Vineeta Singh and Glob-
al Himalayan Expedi-
tion CEO Jaideep
Bansal.
Releasingthelistdays
ahead of its annual
meeting of the rich and
powerful from across
the globe in Swiss ski
resort town Davos from
May 22-26, the WEF de-
scribed the members of
the list as “the world’s
most promising 109
Young Global Leaders
under the age of 40, in-
volved in activities from
green energy and health
equity to refugee rights
and education reform”.
“Today
, there are over
1,400 members and
alumni from more than
120 countries. Notable
members include prime
ministers Jacinda
Ardern and Sanna Ma-
rin, President Carlos
Alvarado Quesada of
Costa Rica, entrepre-
neurs Iyinoluwa Aboye-
ji and Rhea Mazumdar
Singhal, peace activist
Victor Ochen, and econ-
omist Esther Duflo,” it
added.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel
Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha
Dr S.S. Pattnaik, Director, NITTTR Chandigarh addressing the Conference Participants.

08
2NDFRONT
Don’t be in a position where you
merely endure change or profit
by it - cause the change!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
11 days after riots, curfew
relaxed for 6 hrs in Khargone
Bhopal/Khargone,
(PTI): For the first
time in the last 11 days,
the curfew in Madhya
Pradesh’s riot-hit
Khargone city was re-
laxed for six hours in
one go on Wednesday
morning, officials
said.
The local administra-
tion has been relaxing
the curfew every day
either in the morning
or in two shifts since
April 14, but this is for
the time when the re-
laxation is granted
from 10 am to 4 pm on
Wednesday
.
In the past couple of
days, the curfew was re-
laxed in two shifts from
8 am to 12 noon and
from 3 pm to 5 pm as the
situation improved in
the city
. The curfew was
clamped after commu-
nal clashes erupted in
Khargone city on Ram
Navami on April 10 dur-
ing which shops and
houses were damaged,
vehicles torched and
stones hurled.
On Wednesday, post
offices and banks will
be allowed to remain
open during the relaxa-
tion of curfew. Vehicles
will not be allowed on
roads and only the
stores selling milk, veg-
etables, medicines, and
barber’s shops among
others are allowed to
remain open.
A government order
(GO) said that people
can purchase essential
items from shops locat-
ed in their neighbour-
hood as vehicles are not
allowed on roads.
Petrol pumps will re-
main closed and the
sale of kerosene will
remain suspended at
the fair price shops, it
added.
Police have so far ar-
rested 153 people and 65
First Information Re-
ports (FIRs) registered
in connection with the
communal violence, a
police officer had said.
RELAXATION GRANTS
Yogi Govt mulls‘cow
sanctuaries’ in 30 districts
Four men stuck in
sewage treatment
plant die in Hisar
Lucknow, (PTI): The
Uttar Pradesh govern-
ment is mulling over
setting up “cow sanctu-
aries” in 30 districts and
adding to its existing
capacity to keep aban-
doned cattle, a senior
official said on Wednes-
day
.
The move aims at
tackling the stray cattle
menace, which had
snowballed into a major
issue in the recently
held Assembly polls.
The Yogi Adityanath
government plans to
provide shelter to 50,000
stray cattle within 100
days of its second term,
according to Animal
Husbandry Department
Director Indramani. In
addition to “cow sanctu-
aries”, the capacity of
the existing cow shel-
ters will be increased,
he said.
“We are going to build
sanctuaries in 30 dis-
tricts in the state de-
pending upon the avail-
ability of land, especial-
ly in those districts
wherethereareforests,”
he said. “A boundary
wall will be erected
around them. Besides,
there will be provision
for water and four feed-
ing spots,” Indramani
told PTI.
When asked about the
districts where the sanc-
tuaries may come up, he
said, “Some of the dis-
tricts are Unnao, Lakh-
impur Kheri, Bahraich
and Pilibhit.”
“Our endeavour is
that maximum cattle
should be preserved,”
he added. The stray cat-
tle menace across UP
was a major poll narra-
tive in the recent elec-
tions.
The opposition par-
ties had prominently
raised the issue of aban-
doned cattle damaging
crops.
Hisar (Agencies):
Four young men were
killed in a sewerage sys-
tem in Hisar district of
Haryana on Tuesday
night. Their bodies
were removed from the
50-foot-deep tank late on
Tuesday night by their
families and villagers.
After that, they de-
manded Rs 1 crore fi-
nancial aid and a gov-
ernment job for each of
their relatives.
Hisar’s Deputy Com-
missioner Priyanka
Soni has ordered a mag-
isterial probe to inquire
into the circumstances
and reasons that led to
the death of your young
men.
The incident oc-
curred in Budhakhera
village, Hisar. Surender
and Rahul, both con-
tracted employees, got
into the tank of Sewer-
age Treatment Plant in
order to fix a motor that
had apparently devel-
oped an issue.
As they got trapped
inside the tank and
didn’t come out for ap-
proximately two hours,
Rajesh and Mahender
also entered the tank to
save them. All four of
them were trapped in
the tank.
Rajender Kumar, the
sub divisional magis-
trate of Barwala and
DSP Rohtash Sihag
reached the spot as well.
The villagers began
gathering at the
spot.
The spot was reached
by police and fire bri-
gade personnel, who
initiated the rescue op-
eration that lasted until
around 1 AM.
All four were eventu-
ally removed from the
tank, but they had al-
ready breathed their
last.
MoS Anoop Dhanak
also reached the spot in
the wee hours today and
tried to pacify the agi-
tated villagers who had
threatened to lodge a
protest and not cremate
the bodies today until
the government as-
sured the deceased’s
families adequate fi-
nancial assistance and
a government job to one
of the family members
of each of the four de-
ceased.
PLANS FOR STRAY CATTLE
Scientist feels closure of schools not imperative as Omicron is mild variant
New Delhi (ANI):
With the rising con-
cerns around the safety
of students amid the
fear of possible another
fourth wave due to the
surge in COVID-19 cas-
es, the top scientist clar-
ified that the Omicron is
mild than other vari-
ants and it will be unjus-
tified to shut down
schools.
“The nation depends
on the education we pro-
vide to children. It
would be unjustified to
shut down schools be-
cause Omicron is mild-
er than the rest of the
COVID-19 variants,”
former Chief Scientist
of the Indian Council of
Medical Research
(ICMR), Dr R Gan-
gakhedkar told ANI.
“I don’t think we
should now shut down
the schools. We must re-
member Omicron vari-
ant is comparatively
mild as compared to the
rest of the variants. So
essentially closure of
schools is not right.
When there is very little
risk of hospitalisation
or emergence of similar
COVID surge but per-
haps closure of schools
would be unjustified be-
cause their future de-
pends on education, the
nation depends on the
education that we pro-
vide to children. I don’t
find any reason why we
should close schools
now,” the former head
scientist of epidemiol-
ogy and communicable
disease at ICMR added.
Speaking on the
World Health Organiza-
tion’s (WHO) methodol-
ogy of claiming 4 mil-
lion COVID deaths in
India, Dr Gangakhed-
kar said, ” They (Minis-
try) are right. Actually,
I do not know what
methodology they have
adopted. I have not gone
through that. If the
Ministry has said that
the methodologies like-
ly are different, I would
always think that they
are right because there
is no reason why we
should have a different
methodology than the
rest of the world we
couldn’t apply, perhaps
is questionable.” Since
the beginning of April,
India has been continu-
ously registering a rise
in COVID cases daily
.
PROBE ORDERED
The nation depends
on the education. It
would be unjustified to
shut down schools
because Omicron is
milder than the rest of
the COVID-19 variants
UP boy shot
dead in Canada:
Father demands
study loan waiver
Ghaziabad (UP) (PTI):
The father of the man-
agement student, who
was shot dead in Toron-
to earlier this month,
has demanded that the
government waive the
loan that he has taken
to send his son to study
in Canada.
Several people, in-
cluding his friends and
old classmates, on so-
cial media platforms
have also been demand-
ing the waiver.
Kartik Vasudev was
shot dead in Toronto on
April 7 outside the Sher-
burne subway station.
He had gone there in
January to study MBA.
“We mortgaged our
house and ornaments to
send him to Canada for
MBA. The Indian con-
sulate in Canada helped
us to bring his body
back,” Kartik’s father
Jitesh Vasudev told PTI
on Tuesday. Jitesh Vas-
udev also handed over a
demand letter, which
was addressed to Dis-
trict Magistrate RK
Singh, to the sub-divi-
sional magistrate, who
visited his house.
U’khand transfers 22 IAS officers, IPS Kumar
retains position as Special Principal Secy to CM
SC likely to take up
JUH petition against
bulldozer politics today
First India Bureau
Lucknow: With use of
bulldozer becoming
rule of law in crime
control in some BJP-
ruled states the Jamiat
Ulema Hind (JUH) has
sought intervention of
the Supreme Court
against politics of bull-
dozers. The petition is
likely to be taken up for
hearing in Supreme
court on Thursday
.
The JUH president
Maulana Arshad Mad-
ni, welcoming the apex
court order of main-
taining status quo in
Jehangirpuri case, said
minorities, especially
Muslims were being
targeted under the
guise of crime preven-
tion in BJP ruled states.
Arshad Madni said
“not only minorities
but also the constitu-
tion and democracy in
the country is in dan-
ger”. The petition has
been filed by senior ad-
vocate Kabir Dixit on
behalf of the JUH.
It is likely to come up
for hearing today along
with Jehangirpuri dem-
olition case. The JUH
has also appealed the
court to issue guide-
lines for the proper
training of police force
in handling communal
riots.
Dehradun (ANI): In
another major adminis-
trative rejig, Chief Min-
ister Pushkar Singh
Dhami-led Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) gov-
ernment in Uttara-
khand on
Tuesday transferred 22
Indian Administrative
Service (IAS)
officers.
Former IPS Abhinav
Kumar, who was a key
aide in the first team of
Dhami, has retained his
position as a Special
Principal Secretary to
the Chief Minister
again.
Radha Raturi, IAS,
who was earlier Addi-
tional Chief Secretary,
Higher Education, now
has been given the
Home Department in
the state government.
Pankaj Pandey has
been divested of his re-
sponsibility as the
Health Secretary in the
state government and
given the charge of the
industry department as
a Secretary
.
Besides, Manisha
Panwar, IAS, has been
given charge of estab-
lishment development
commissioner and
Nitesh Kumar Jha has
been appointed as ru-
ral development Secre-
tary.
TheJUHhasalso
appealedSCtoissue
guidelinesforproper
trainingofpoliceforcein
handlingcommunalriots.
COURTESY MEET
Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Satish Mahana called on Union Minister for
IB and Youth Affairs Sports Anurag Thakur in New Delhi on Wednesday. In a courtesy
meeting between the two leaders, the political issues of UP were discussed.

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirst-
india facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
appiness lies in
the action, not in
the victory be-
cause without
s t r u g g l e ,
n o t h i n g
flourishes.
Priyanshi Rathore, a
gorgeous diva who rose to
the top through scrabble
and perseverance, re-
vealed her success story
with City First.

z Tell us something
about yourself.
I come from a conservative
background where women
are not allowed to think of
this glamour world. My
mother and sister always
supported me. I have done
graduation in Spanish
Hons.Ialwayswant-
ed to do model-
ling so I tried in
this industry and
because of elite
miss Rajasthan and
Gauravguarsir,Ilived
this dream.

z How do you see your-
self 5 years down the
line?
I am a learner and in the
coming 20 years, I will be a
learner as learning never
ends. I am working on my-
self physically
,mentallyand
emotionally I will be con-
tinuing this in future too.

z How did your journey
begin?
My journey started with
Elite miss Rajasthan, giv-
ing an audition and getting
selected. Really grateful to
Gaurav Gaur and the
whole team of Elite Miss
Rajasthan for their im-
mense support.

z What were some of
the battles you
fought and are still
fighting in your
journey?
As we all know that
our society still doesn’t
consider modelling and
acting as a prestigious
work, so I’m fighting
with all these dogmas
and conservative mind-
sets of society but one
thing I learnt. If you
candreamthenyoucan
achieve it. Apart from
all those materialistic
things, one of the
achievements is that I
fought with society and
I overcame my fears.
HERO
HERO OF
OF
HER
HER LIFE
LIFE!
!
COURAGEOUS
DIVA, DYNAMIC
SOUL AND
EXCEPTIONAL
WOMAN, PRIYANSHI
RATHORE FROM
AJMER, IN A
CANDID
CONVERSATION
WITH CITY FIRST,
SHARES HER
JOURNEY AS A
MODEL, DREAMS,
ASPIRATIONS,
STRUGGLES AND
FUTURE PLANS!
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
H
NEW DELHI, THURSDAY
APRIL 21, 2022

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