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1. First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Chief
Minister Bhupendra
Patel on Monday at-
tended the ‘Building a
Climate Resilient Guja-
rat’ outreach pro-
gramme organized by
the state climate change
department at Science
City in Ahmedabad.
Marking the occasion,
financial assistance
was distributed for bat-
tery-operated two-
wheelers to 12 benefi-
ciaries. Under an edu-
cational scheme,
Rs21.06 crore have been
allocated for 25,328 stu-
dents enrolled in Class
IX to XII as well as col-
leges for e-vehicles in
the last five years.
A 100 KW solar ener-
gy system was also vir-
tually inaugurated by
the CM at the Regional
Science Museum in Pa-
tan, along with a 100
KW system at GMERS
Medical College in Him-
matnagar and a 180 KW
system at Bhavsinhji
Polytechnic Institute in
Bhavnagar. Built at a
cost of Rs1.26 crore, this
solar energy system
will save 5,70,000 units
of power annually
.
Terming Gujarat--a
role model of develop-
ment—CM Patel said,
“The state has set a new
benchmark of develop-
ment with environmen-
tal protection prepared-
ness against the chal-
lenges of climate
change. Our govern-
ment has gradually in-
creased the budget of
the climate Turn to P6
CM inaugurates 3 solar energy systems
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel addressing the ‘Building a Climate
Resilient Gujarat’ event at Science City in A’bad on Monday.
Built at a cost of `1.26 crore, they will help state save 5,70,000 units of power annually
AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 88
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CORONA CATASTROPHE
Delhi High Court rejected the Centre’s request for more
time to respond to petitions seeking criminalisation of
marital rape and reserved its verdict. Centre, which did
not make any oral arguments, told the court that its
written stand of 2017 should not be treated as final.
DELHI HC RESERVES
JUDGMENT ON
CRIMINALISATION
OF MARITAL RAPE
The committee appointed to look into the Pegasus
spyware scandal -- where politicians, journalists,
judges and government officials were said to have
been targeted -- while submitting its interim report
has sought more time to complete its investigation.
PEGASUS ROW: SC
PANEL SUBMITS
INTERIM REPORT,
SEEKS MORE TIME
Russia to decide on recognising east
Ukraine’s breakaway regions: Putin
Moscow: President
Vladimir Putin said
Russia would decide
whether or not to recog-
nise two breakaway re-
gions in eastern
Ukraine as independ-
ent.He made the remark
at the end of a televised
meeting of his Security
Council.
Russian-backed sepa-
ratists have been bat-
tling Ukrainian govern-
ment forces in the re-
gion since 2014, in a
conflict that Kyiv
says has cost around
15,000 lives.
BIDEN ACCEPTS ‘IN
PRINCIPLE’ MEET WITH
PUTIN IF RUSSIA DOES
NOT INVADE UKRAINE,
SAYS WHITE HOUSE
RUSSIA CLAIMS ITS BORDER POST ATTACKED,
UKRAINE CALLS THE OFFENSE ‘FAKE NEWS’
Washington: President
Joe Biden has accepted
“in principle” a meeting
with President Vladimir
Putin provided Russia
does not invade Ukraine,
the White House has said,
in a last-ditch diplomatic
overture brokered by
French President Emma-
nuel Macron to ease one
of the worst security cri-
ses in Europe in decades.
ussian forces killed a group of five saboteurs who
breached the country’s southwest border from Ukraine
on Monday, news agencies quoted the military as say-
ing, in an accusation that Kyiv dismissed as the latest
in a series of fakes. The accusations escalated already
soaring tensions over a Russian military buildup.
PRIYANKA’S ROADSHOW IN LUCKNOW
AICC General Secretary and Incharge of UP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during a roadshow
in support of party candidate from Bakshi Ka Talab Lallan Kumar ahead of UP assembly
election in Chinhat area of Lucknow on Monday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Lalu gets 5 years in jail in fifth
fodder scam case, fined `60 lakh
Victims’ families challenge
accusedAshish’s bail in SC
Patna: Lalu Prasad Ya-
dav was sentenced to-
day to five years in jail
and fined Rs 60 lakh in
a fifth case linked to the
fodder scam.
The Rashtriya Janata
Dal (RJD) leader was
convicted in the case
last week.
The case involves the
illegal withdrawal of
Rs 139.5 crore from the
Doranda treasury, as
part of the fodder scam
that took place in the
1990s, when Lalu Yadav
was Chief Minister of
Bihar.
The three-time Chief
Minister was found
guilty along with 39 oth-
ers.
“I fight those who cre-
ate divides. They can’t
defeat us so they try to
trap us in conspiracies.
I have neither been
afraid, nor bent before
anyone. I will keep
fighting. The coward
will never understand
the struggles of a fight-
er,” Lalu Yadav tweeted
in Hindi.
Meanwhile, Rashtri-
ya Janata Dal (RJD)
chief and Lalu’s son
TejashwiYadavclaimed
that his father was tar-
geted because he re-
fused to shake hands
with the BJP.
Bengaluru: Vehicles
were set on fire and iso-
lated incidents of stone-
pelting were reported
as tension spread in
Karnataka’s Shivamog-
ga town over the mur-
der of a member of
right-wing outfit Ba-
jrang Dal.
Harsha, a 26-year-old
Bajrang Dal member
who worked as a tailor,
was stabbed by uniden-
tified persons around 9
pm on Sunday. He was
rushed to hospital but
could not survive. Po-
lice arrested three peo-
ple in connection with
the murder case.
After the attack, sev-
eral vehicles in the area
were set on fire and po-
lice deployed heavy
force to prevent a flare-
up. The administration
has imposed curbs on
public gatherings and
orderedthatschoolsand
colleges will stay shut.
Despite the curbs, a
large crowd of Bajrang
Dal supporters accom-
panied the youth’s body
as it was taken home.
State Home Minister
Araga Jnanendra has
said the probe so far has
not revealed any link
between the murder
and the hijab contro-
versy
.
New Delhi: Home Min-
ister Amit Shah said he
favoured students wear-
ing uniforms in school
rather than any reli-
gious attire, but that his
position might change
once a court decides on
the merits of a ban on
the hijab in schools in
the state of Karnataka.
The ban imposed by
Karnataka on February
5 has sparked protests
by Muslim students
and parents, and coun-
terprotests by Hindu
students, forcing au-
thorities to close
schools there earlier
this month.
Muslims, who form
about 13 per cent of the
country’s 1.35 billion
population, have de-
nounced the curbs on
the hijab - traditional
attire worn by Muslim
women which covers
the hair and neck.
Karnataka’s move
has also led to protests
in some other parts of
the country and drawn
criticism from the Unit-
ed States and the Or-
ganisation of Islamic
Cooperation.
New Delhi: Family
members of the victims
of the Lakhimpur
Kheri incident have
moved Supreme Court
challenging Allahabad
HighCourtorder,which
granted bail to the
prime accused in the
case, Ashish Mishra,
who is the son of Union
Minister of State for
Home Affairs Ajay
Mishra Teni.
The petition was filed
through advocate
Prashant Bhushan.
In the Special Leave
Petition, family mem-
bers of the deceased
have challenged the Al-
lahabad High Court or-
der dated February 10,
2022, wherein Ashish
Mishra has granted
regular bail.
Protesters burn vehicles;
Shivamogga town tense
BAJRANG DAL MEMBER MURDERED IN K’TAKA
SHAH SPEAKS ON HIJAB CONUNDRUM
UNION HOME MINISTER SAID THAT PEOPLE OF ALL
RELIGIONS MUST ACCEPT SCHOOL UNIFORMS
‘PREFER UNIFORMS BUT
WILL ACCEPT COURT ORDER’
3 held for
murder; police
believes past
criminal record
of deceased key
to case, motive
It is my personal belief that
people of all religions should
accept the school’s dress code.
Ultimately, it has to be decided
whether the country will function on the
Constitution or whims. My personal belief
only remains until the court makes a
decision. And once the court makes a
decision, then I should accept it, and
everyone should accept it
—Amit Shah, Union Home Minister
Unruly scenes during riots in Karnataka’s Shivamogga town on Monday.
Ashish Mishra, son of MoS
(Home) Ajay Mishra, is accused
of violence in Lakhimpur Kheri.
IF HIJAB IS ESSENTIAL TO ISLAM THEN
IT’S NOT OPTIONAL, STATE ARGUES
STATE MINISTER CONNECTS INCIDENT
WITH HIJAB ROW, MUSLIM GOONS
‘HIJAB SHOULD
BE KEPT OUTSIDE
EDU INSTITUTES’
STATE REFERS TO
SABRIMALA CASE
Bengaluru: For hijab to be a right under Article
25, it will have to be essential to religion, which
will make it make it binding for all women who
follow Islam, argued Advocate General Prabhuling
Navadgi appearing for the state. “The concept of
freedom of conscience is something which relates
to belief or non-belief. What you manifests your
conscience results in religious practice,” said
AG Navadgi. Meanwhile, Karnataka government
extended section 144 around colleges till March 8.
Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Rural Development min-
ister KS Eshwarappa has accused state Congress
chief DK Shivakumar of instigating the killing with
comments he made at the height of the hijab pro-
tests. The minister described Harsha as an honest
man. “Muslim goons murdered him. Recently,
DK Shivakumar claimed that the national flag was
replaced with saffron flag, and around 50 lakh saf-
fron shawls were ordered from a factory in Surat
for the anti-hijab protest,” he said.
Bengaluru: The Kar-
nataka government on
Monday told the high
court that hijab is not
an essential religious
practice and should be
kept outside educa-
tional institutions, news
agency PTI reported.
The hearing will re-
sume on Tuesday.
Bengaluru: Advocate
General Prabhuling
Navadgi said, “It is
impossible to define
what exactly is religion,”
AG Navadgi said, add-
ing, “This is especially
for Hindu religion. In
Sabrimala SC said that
you have to show that
the practice you want to
be protected has to be
essential to religion”.
Currently, Lalu is out on bail
in another fodder scam case.
Lalu’s lawyer told that further
application will be made for
bail. Now, whether Lalu gets
bail or jail will have to be seen.
Gujarat A’bad
NEW
CASES
132
NEW
CASES
347 NEW
DEATHS
06

2. First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The state
government has pre-
pared a draft law to ad-
dress the stray cattle
menace on the streets
of major as well as Tier
II cities in the state.
The Gujarat High
Court was informed
about the draft bill on
Monday. “Once it is
cleared by the state
cabinet, the bill will be
passed and law will be
enacted,” said the state
government during
proceedings.
The High Court is
hearing a contempt pe-
tition wherein the peti-
tioner has drawn its
attention to cattle men-
ace in cities and how
citizens were being af-
fected by it. After hear-
ing submissions of the
state government, the
court issued notices to
the state and the cen-
tral government,
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC)
and the Ahmedabad
Urban Development
Authority (AUDA) ask-
ing them to file a re-
sponse before the next
hearing.
“Cattle roaming
around on roads create
traffic nuisance, and
sometimes accidents
which lead to death or
serious injury. Such in-
cidents are reported on
a daily basis, but no
concrete action plan
has been enforced yet,”
stated the petitioner.
In a recent hearing,
Chief Justice Aravind
Kumar had pointed out
that he had to face stray
cattle peril himself,
when nearly a dozen bo-
vines blocked his entry
to the High Court prem-
ises. He also pulled up
law enforcement agen-
cies for not discharging
their duties with re-
gard to the issue.
A contempt petition
filed by Mustak Hus-
sain Mehndi Hussain
Kadri highlighted sev-
eral directions issued
by the High Court in a
public interest litiga-
tion of 2017 with re-
spect to traffic, road
safety and cattle men-
ace that were not being
complied with.
Meanwhile, AMC
had recently informed
the court that it had de-
clared a few areas and
zones in Ahmedabad
city as cattle-free zones.
This included Navrang-
pura, Ashram Road,
Gulbai Tekra Road to
CEPT University
Crossroad, Vijay Char
Rasta, Darpan Circle,
Navrang Six Roads,
Swastik Char Rasta,
Girish Cold Drinks
Char Rasta, inner area
of Panchvati Circle to
Parimal Garden and In-
come Tax Circle, among
others.
NEWS
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Patidar
leader Hardik Patel on
Monday said that state-
wide agitations will be
launched in Gujarat af-
ter March 23 if the rul-
ing Bharatiya Janata
Party(BJP)government
fails to withdraw all the
remaining criminal cas-
es lodged against pro-
testers during the 2015
Patidaragitationforres-
ervation under the Oth-
er Backward Class
(OBC) category
.
Addressing media
persons, Patel, who is
Gujarat Congress work-
ing president, said that
he was raising the de-
mand for the withdraw-
al of the remaining cas-
es as a quota agitator
and not as a Congress-
man.
Playing down
Hardik’s threat to
launch protests, Gujarat
BJP spokesperson Rut-
vij Patel said Hardik
and his party have lost
their political base in
Gujarat and they are do-
ing such ‘stunts’ only to
grab the attention of the
media.
“
Atpresent,nearly200
cases involving nearly
4,000 youths, who are
shown as accused, are
pending,” claimed
Hardik.
Heclaimedthatprom-
inent Patidar leaders
and MPs from the com-
munity made a repre-
sentation before Bhu-
pendra Patel after he
became chief minister
of Gujarat a few months
back on this issue.
“Patidar youths are
getting harassed due to
the false cases lodged
against them. Despite
such representation
from various quarters,
the CM has not taken
any steps yet,” Hardik
said.
Hardik, who had led
the protests for inclu-
sion of Patidars under
the OBC quota in 2015,
said he has been facing
30 cases in Gujarat, in-
cluding two FIRs for se-
dition.
“I won't mind if the
government decides
against withdrawing
FIRs against me. If the
government does not
make a final decision by
March23,wewilllaunch
a state-wide agitation to
build pressure. From
March 1 to 23, we will
hand over memoran-
dums at all taluka and
district centres. From
March 10 to 15, we will
approach all the MLAs
and MPs to seek their
support. If they refuse
to support our cause, we
will stage a sit-in,” said
the Patidar leader.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: After deal-
ing with pre and post-
natal depression,
weight gain and other
issues herself, a woman
has started an online
platform called ‘Moms
of Vadodara’, to con-
nect with other moth-
ers facing similar prob-
lems. Aimed at finding
positive solutions to-
wards achieving a bet-
ter and healthy life, the
group has been joined
by 4,000 active mem-
bers.
Founded in 2018 by
Priyanka Kapur, who
shifted to Baroda after
her marriage in 2012,
‘Moms of Vadodara’ is
a virtual platform
where women help
each other with life
problems. Solving que-
ries, building business
networks, motivating
each other to pick fit-
ness as a lifestyle and
getting ‘me time’
through cultural
events, are few of the
areas women consult
on the platform.
“I realized that there
must be a lot of moth-
ers going through the
same phase that I was.
They must also need to
share their problems,
and/or give sugges-
tions to fellow mothers.
With this vision in
mind, ‘Moms of Va-
dodara’ came into ex-
istence. My initial chal-
lenge was to convince
mothers and make
them understand what
I was trying to convey.
Slowly they realized
that it would help them
and joined,” Priyanka
told First India.
Making fitness as her
biggest tool, Priyanka
began running and en-
gaged other moms in
the activity as well. “I
started with 8 to 10
moms, a number which
has now grown to 4,000,
and includes 300 wom-
en runners. I organize
various events such as
seminars, webinars
throughout the year on
relevant topics. Our fo-
cus is primarily on
physical fitness, mental
health and entrepre-
neur mothers,” she
said.
She plans to open
similar groups in Del-
hi, Indore, Punjab and
Pune in the future. Inci-
dentally, Priyanka also
organizes ‘Red Saree’
run, on Women’s Day
each year to promote
menstrual hygiene.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Taking
the opportunity of In-
ternational Mother
Language Day, Manish
Doshi, chief Congress
spokesperson on Mon-
day said that the state
government was re-
sponsible for the dete-
riorating use of the Gu-
jarati language in peo-
ple’s day-to-day lives.
Talking about the
role of educational in-
stitutions, Doshi said,
“The government-run
schools in the state are
in shambles, and they
are the institutions that
can teach language to
children. The struc-
tures of many grant-
aided institutions were
demolished. A total of
5,612 schools in rural
Gujarat are being
merged and closed.
More than 1 lakh stu-
dents failed in Class X
examination and there
are over 20,000 vacan-
cies for teachers that
have not been filled.”
Holding the Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)-
led government ac-
countable, the Congress
leader added, “There
has been no recruit-
ment for librarians held
in more than 15 years.
No grants have been
given to libraries. How
will Gujarat read and
learn like this? Teach-
ers of subjects includ-
ing the Gujarati lan-
guage in government-
granted colleges have
not been appointed with
full pay since 1998.”
Criticizing Patan-
based Hemchandracha-
rya North Gujarat Uni-
versity, Doshi informed
that it does not have a
Gujarati subject depart-
ment. “The government
has held on to most au-
tonomous institutions.
The Gujarat Sahitya
Akademi needs full au-
tonomy from govern-
ment influence in order
to strengthen our moth-
er-tongue and take it in
the right direction,” he
added.
Kids drifting away from native language, says research
Masuma Bharmal Jariwala
Rajkot: In a survey
conducted by the head
of psychology depart-
ment of Saurashtra
University Dr Yogesh
Jogsan and Professor
Dr Dhara Doshi, it was
revealed that most par-
ents were consciously
or unconsciously ena-
bling their children to
drift away from their
mother tongue. A total
of 978 parents --who
were part of the re-
search sample--admit-
ted to emphasizing on
the importance of the
English language and
not Gujarati.
The academicians
posed a total of 12 ques-
tions to the parents and
their analysis revealed
that 100 % respondents
agreed to give impor-
tance to learning the
mother tongue. Howev-
er, despite knowing the
importance, 71 % re-
spondents accepted the
fact that English often
outweighed Gujarati in
that regard.
Around 85% of re-
spondents also admit-
ted that it was easier for
them and their kids to
communicate effective-
ly and express them-
selves in their native
language.
However, over 60% of
respondents opined
that not knowing a for-
eign language (English)
“was a shame.” Joining
the English bandwag-
on, 79% parents agreed
that their children
could not converse in
Gujarati properly be-
cause they preferred
them to speak in a for-
eign language.
“According to UNE-
SCO, linguistic diversi-
ty is increasingly
threatened as more and
more languages disap-
pear. Globally 40% of
the population does not
have access to an educa-
tion in a language they
speak or understand.
Nevertheless, progress
is being made in mother
tongue-based multilin-
gual education with
growing understanding
of its importance, par-
ticularlyinearlyschool-
ing, and more commit-
ment to its development
in public life. Multilin-
gual and multicultural
societies exist through
their languages which
transmit and preserve
traditional knowledge
and cultures in a sus-
tainableway
,”statedthe
research.
INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY
lll
Two professors
of Saurashtra
University
spoke with 978
parents who
admitted to
giving more
importance to
English
A senior citizen who was knocked down by two bovines in Jamnagar on Sunday; stray cattle on roads has been a bone of contention
for citizens in cities. —FILE PHOTO
Congress Chief Spokesperson Manish Doshi. —FILE PHOTO
BJP-led govt responsible for
Guj language waning: Cong
HARDIK PATELTHREATENS PROTESTS IF
PATIDAR CASESARE NOTWITHDRAWN
Several
cases
against
youths,
leaders that
participated
in the 2015
Patidar
Anamat
Andolan
Samiti
(PAAS) are
pending
Congress working President Hardik Patel. —FILE PHOTO
Vadodara woman helping
moms navigate life problems
‘DRAFT BILL TO ADDRESS
CATTLE MENACE READY’
Members of the platform pose after a running session (inset) Priyanka Kapur.
Priyanka Kapur’s
virtual platform
‘Moms of
Vadodara’ helps
women consult
with their peers on
health, fitness and
mental health
Assuring Guj
HC on Mon,
the state said
that it will be
passed post
clearance
from cabinet
soon

3. Attributes it to devolving La Nina events that may later
turn neutral, says rainfall could get a robust start
GUJARAT
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
03
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First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Students
in schools across Guja-
rat were back to their
classrooms on Monday
,
after the state govern-
ment decided to do
away with the online
system of education.
Many students ex-
pressed happiness at
meeting their class-
mates and friends after
alongtime,andsaidthe
offline mode of studies
was much better than
taking classes on com-
puters and mobile
screens.
The school authori-
ties ensured strict ad-
herence to COVID-19
guidelines and allowed
entry to students after
checkingtheirtempera-
ture. Most of the stu-
dents were seen wear-
ing face masks in the
classrooms.
“It is a positive devel-
opment. There is a big
difference between on-
line and offline classes.
The kind of education
one gets offline is not
possible through the
virtual mode,” said the
principal of a private
school in Vadodara.
Officials from some
schools said that due to
the prolonged online
mode of education,
many students have
been out of the habit of
writing properly
.
“Physicalinteraction
amongstudentswillfos-
ter competition, ex-
changeof ideasandwill
ensure their education-
al and social growth,”
opined the principal of
aschoolinAhmedabad.
Theschoolswilltryto
makeupfortheacadem-
iclossesandotherprob-
lems that the students
faced in the last two
years due to the COV-
ID-19pandemic,hesaid.
Students Toral Patel
and Hina Patel ex-
pressed their pleasure
at being back in school.
“We are happy to be
back again in school
andmeetingourfriends
and teachers after al-
most two years. Online
education is stressful,
butnowwewillstudyin
class and clear our que-
ries with the teachers
instantly
.”
Some of the parents
also said they were hap-
pywiththestategovern-
ment’s decision to re-
sume classes offline.
But,theyalsodemanded
thatvaccinationagainst
COVID-19 for students
below the age of 15 be
started at the earliest.
Students back in schools as
Gujarat resumes offline classes
REUNION
Fenil intended to kill Grishma with
AK-47,reveals forensic evidence
First India Bureau
Surat: The 20-year-old
youth, who was arrest-
ed for murdering
Grishma Vekariya in
Surat on February 12
by slitting her throat,
had planned to buy an
AK-47 gun on the inter-
net to carry out the
crime, said police on
Monday
.
The district police
filed a 1,000-page
chargesheet against Fe-
nil Goyani in the mur-
der case. A marathon
meeting of top police
officials, including
range IG, was held on
Sunday to gather evi-
denceincluding150wit-
nesses, 25 punchnamas,
evidence from Fenil’s
mobile phone, FSL re-
port of his audio clip,
among others.
After the victim re-
fused to enter into a
relationship with the
accused, he killed her
in front of her family
in broad daylight. Fol-
lowing the incident,
Goyani attempted sui-
cide by hacking at his
wrists with the murder
weapon.
The accused had also
searched the internet
for ways to murder and
obtain deadly weapons,
according to a report
by Gandhinagar’s Fo-
rensic Science Labora-
tory (FSL). According
to the report, he also
talked to a friend before
committing the crime.
Fenil Goyani
Kids were happy to be back in school after a long hiatus.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Skymet,
India’s leading weather
forecast and agriculture
risk solutions company
has come out with pre-
dictions of weather pat-
terns this year in its re-
port titled ‘Preliminary
MonsoonForecastGuid-
ance for 2022’.
The meteorologists at
Skymetanticipatea‘nor-
mal’monsoonthisyear.It
intends to release a de-
tailedreportonprospects
of monsoon this year in
April. The weather com-
pany is in the process of
gathering data sets perti-
nentforacomprehensive
monsoon forecast. “
As-
certaining authenticity
is absolutely essential
and that is a long-drawn
procedure,”saidaSkym-
et notification.
It added, “The past
two monsoon seasons
have been driven by
back-to-back La Nina
events, which has start-
ed shrinking now. It also
means that monsoon
seasonin2022isgoingto
be a devolving La Nina
to start with and turn
neutral later. Negative
sea surface temperature
anomaliesintheequato-
rial Pacific Ocean are
weakening. This warm-
ing inclination of the
Pacific Ocean, albeit
within neutral limits,
may not lead to an above
normal or excess rain-
fall but chances of a
‘corrupt’ monsoon are
also ruled out.”
In its notification on
Monday, the weather
company stated, “This
could be one of the ‘nor-
mal’ monsoon years
making a robust start
and finishing around
the midway mark of the
normal range. Normal
rainfall range is 96-104%
of LPA (880.6mm).”
According to AVM GP
Sharma, President – Me-
teorology and Climate
Change, Skymet Weath-
er,“
Afterobservingback-
to-back La Nina during
2020 2021, the chances
of yet another episode
hasbeenruledout,statis-
tically
. The sea surface
temperatures in the
equatorial Pacific Ocean
arelikelytorisesoonand
theprobabilityof contin-
ued La Nina will fall.”
SKYMET PREDICTS
‘NORMAL’
MONSOON IN 2022
First India Bureau
Surat: Local police
on Sunday regis-
tered a case against
an eunuch for alleg-
edly drugging a fam-
ily and fleeing with
gold jewellery, cash
and other valuables
worth Rs1.40 lakh.
On the basis of
CCTV evidence, po-
lice have filed a theft
report. According to
the police, the inci-
dent occurred at a
Prakash Zaverbhai’s
home on Lambe Ha-
numan Road. His
daughter-in-law and
wife were both
drugged by the ac-
cused.
The accused ar-
rived at their home
at 11 am and de-
manded Rs21,880
from Vilasben,
Prakash’s wife for a
ritual.
The accused alleg-
edly offered them
both a drink of wa-
ter, which she told
them was part of the
ritual, said an offi-
cial. However, as
soon as they drank
the water, they were
rendered uncon-
scious.
Taking advantage,
the accused then
stole gold, cash and
other valuables in
the house and es-
caped.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A mi-
nor drop in cases was
recorded in the state,
after it reported 347
fresh COVID-19 cases
on Monday, raising
its overall tally to
12,20,909. Six more
deaths linked to the
infection, while 887
patients were dis-
charged following
recovery, informed a
state health family
welfare department
bulletin.
With six more
deaths in the last 24
hours, the number of
coronavirus fatali-
ties rose to 10,902.
At the same time,
887 new recoveries
pushed up the num-
ber of such cases to
12,05,543. The num-
ber of active cases in
the state fell further
to 4,464, out of which
40 patients are on
ventilator support.
D i s t r i c t - w i s e ,
Ahmedabad reported
132 new cases, Va-
dodara (59), Rajkot
(25), Gandhinagar
(18), and Surat (15),
among others. Va-
dodara reported the
highest number of
three fresh fatalities,
Jamnagar (2) and
Ahmedabad (01).
As many as 1.60
lakh patients were
vaccinated against
COVID-19 in the last
24 hours, raising
the number of doses
administered so far
in Gujarat to 10.22
crore.
Eunuch drugs two
women, steals gold,
cash worth `1.4 L
347newCOVID-19
cases,6deaths;active
tallydropsbelow5K
12,05,543
TOTALRECOVERED
887 MORE
IN A DAY
12,20,908
TOTAL CASES
347 CASES
IN A DAY
132 MAX
CASES IN
A’BAD
ACTIVE CASES
10,902
TOTAL DEATHS
4,464
06 DEATHS
IN A DAY
COVID-19 UPDATE
Meteorologists at Skymet anticipate a ‘normal’ monsoon this year. It intends
to release a detailed report on prospects of monsoon this year in April. The
weather prediction company is in the process of gathering data sets pertinent
for a comprehensive monsoon forecast. “Ascertaining authenticity is absolute-
ly essential and that is a long-drawn procedure,” said a Skymet notification.
PREDICTION
She entered
their home by
offering to
perform a ritual
for `21,880
Rainfall in A’bad city has been a rollercoaster experience for locals over past few years —FILE PHOTO

4. PERSPECTIVE
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
04
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Vol3IssueNo.88
RNINO.GUJENG/2019/79050.
Printed and published by Anita
Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Ex-
press Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar
Printing Planet Survey No.148P,
Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. San-
and, Dist. Ahmedabad. Publishedat
D/3023rdFloorPlotNo.35Titanium
Square,SchemeNo.2,ThaltejTaluka,
Ghatlodiya,Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Get rid of all bitterness,
rage and anger, brawling
and slander, along with
every form of malice.
—Bible
IN-DEPTH
Nitin Gadkari
@nitin_gadkari
This election will decide the future of
the people of Manipur. Reiterated that
under the visionary leadership of PM
Shri @narendramodi ji we have given
highest priority for the development
of North East region. #BJP4Manipur
#Vote4BJP
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Both nations are looking at mutual
recognition of our professional bodies
educational institutions. UAE has
shown interest to engage with IITs
to see if they can set up a campus
in their country. Student exchange
programmes are also a part of our
discussions.
TOP TWEETS
CONTROVERSY
OVER HIJAB LANDS
GOVT, BJP IN AN
UNHAPPY SITUATION
he Karnataka gov-
ernment finds itself
in a corner over the
hijab row which has
only grown during
the course of hearing in the state
high court. Did the state govern-
ment bite more than it can chew?
Until the high court decides the
case, the government has to ei-
ther rescind its order and allow
students inside classrooms
wearing hijab or continue with
the ban ruining the future of de-
fiant students. It has hinted at
opting for the former move.
What has given the controversy
a new twist is the reported sus-
pension of 58 protesting stu-
dents of a college in the Shi-
vamogga district even after the
government indicated a rethink.
Suspension of students will
only add fuel to the ongoing agi-
tation and the BJP is not com-
fortable with that development.
The government should have
looked at symbolism in other
religions, like the holy cross and
Sikh turban to take a tolerant
stand on hijab as well.
T
RAJ DHARMA 3
‘ECONOMICS IS NOT ONLY ABOUT
WORLD TRADE, BUDGETS BUT ALSO
ABOUT IMPACT ON FOOD, LIVELIHOOD’
WORKING FOR A
LARGER CAUSE
he message is
clear: The indi-
vidual academ-
ic brilliance of
the individuals
who constitute
the civil ser-
vices is the
means to the
much larger end of societal
development. As such, in ad-
dition to the academic inputs
on law, economic policy
, man-
agement, public administra-
tion, IT skills and languages,
the major focus is on ‘work-
ing together’, ‘solving prob-
lems’, and looking at issues
with multiple perspectives
and lateral thinking. Thus,
economics is not only about
world trade and budgets but
also about the impact on food
and livelihood security on
rural economies. History is
not just about the achieve-
ments of heroes on whom
stamps and first-day covers
have been issued: It is also
about sheroes and the free-
dom fighters who languished
in the Cellular jail. These are
collaborative and group
learning projects in which of-
ficers re-enact their stories,
dig out local histories, oral
narratives, and curate exhi-
bitions. The emphasis on the
development of an ‘esprit de
corps’ – a lifelong camarade-
rie- is fostered and strength-
ened through the Himalayan
trek, the Village visit, the
celebration of state, zonal
and India Days, theatre and
literature festivals.
EMBEDDING ‘AARAMBH’
AT SoU IN THE FC
However, from 2019, the high-
lightof theFoundationCourse
(FC) has been the Aarambh
program, held at the Statue of
UnityatKevadiainGujarat.in
his review of the training of
civil servants, the Prime Min-
ister was not entirely pleased
tolearnthateventhoughLBS-
NAA was the anchor institu-
tion for CSE training, officers
were spread across three cam-
puses–theothertwobeingthe
MCHRDI at Hyderabad and
the RCVP Noronha Academy
of Administration at Bhopal.
He felt that ‘approach to train-
ingcivilservantsinthreeloca-
tions was reflective of the silo-
basedmindsetwhichmustend
immediately
.’ It was decided
that all civil servants of the
2019 batch should be trained
togetherforatleastfourweeks,
at the innovative module ‘
Aar-
ambh’ to make civil servants
‘future ready’. From 2020, the
FC is being held only at LBS-
NAA. While Aarambh for the
2020 batch was a virtual event
onaccountof Covid,Aarambh
for the 2021 was held at Keva-
dia on January 11 and 12.
AnchoringAarambhatSoU
was also symbolic of the con-
nect which Sardar Patel had
with the civil services. Often
called the ‘Bhishma Pitamah’
of the civil services on ac-
count of his defence of the
civil services and insistence
on Article 311, Aarambh is
mean to coincide with his of-
ficialbirthdayon31stOctober,
whichisalsocelebratedasthe
Rashtriya Ekta Divas– to
marktheintegrationof allthe
562 princely states into India
within the first eighteen
months of India’s independ-
ence. Not only did he get the
Rulersof theprincelystatesto
sign the Instrument of Acces-
sion (which gave the Union
only powers over defence,
communications and foreign
affairs),hecoaxed,cajoledand
took decisive action when re-
quired to get them to sign the
Merger agreements through
which the administration of
the princely states was taken
over in lieu of a privy purse.
Thus, the theme of ‘unity and
integrity’ of India was an im-
portantleitmotif of Aarambh.
AARAMBH 2019: FROM
INCREMENTAL TO
EXPONENTIAL
Aarambh – literally ‘the be-
ginning’ ‘was an event that
dismantled the artificial bar-
riers between technology
, hu-
man resource and the envi-
ronment’. It was designed to
be sync with a new and resur-
gent India: An India in tech-
nology had to be the driving
force in all domains – from
agriculture to health to
school education and urban
mobility. In all the key sec-
tors of economy, officers
were expected to interact
with global thought leaders,
learn from global best prac-
tices, and delve into case
studies from the leading
management institutions
and policy think tanks. It was
not just about incremental
interventions in a particular
field – it was to be the expo-
nential game changer.
The Academy worked with
the World bank team to curate
aprogramthatbroughttogeth-
er the ‘best of the best’- from
the World Bank President Da-
vid Malpass addressing the of-
ficers on the need to balance a
high growth trajectory with
equity
. ‘India has been a devel-
opment success story
. This
countrycutextremepovertyin
half withinagenerationandis
transformingitself intooneof
theworld’sfast-growingecono-
mies. The goal of becoming a
$5 trillion economy by 2025 is
both worthy
, and achievable
withstrongeconomicreforms.
to stay in the forefront, India’s
civilserviceneedstoshiftfrom
a focus on enforcing compli-
ance to finding ways to ensure
high-qualityservicesandregu-
lation.’ He went on to add ‘you
willneedskillsincommunica-
tions and negotiations, and to
workacrossunitsandministe-
rial boundaries to address the
complex challenges that you
will face in your careers.’
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
SANJEEV CHOPRA
The writer is Distinguished Fellow, USI Delhi
and Historian Policy Analyst. Also former
Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy
of Administration, Mussoorie
Raj Dharma is an exclusive
fortnightly column that ad-
dresses issues salient to the
country's
govern-
ance. After
discussing
the current
ecosystem
of training of civil servants,
it will ask critical questions
about the challenge of match-
ing citizens' expectations
for a fair and transparent
administration.
ABOUT
RAJ
DHARMA
This time we shall talk about how the institution is keeping pace with the times. This is best illus-
trated from this extract from the Academy publication: Karmasu Kaushalam: Skill- in- Action. ‘The
core structure from the initial years is yet relevant, especially the daily physical
fitness regime, the much-awaited Winter study Tour (still fondly referred to as the
Bharat Darshan) with its various attachments and the involvement in various activi-
ties. However, the subjects, contents and the methods of learning have undergone
a tremendous change to become more interactive and inclusive. The new approach
has looked at minimising lectures and incorporating case studies, role play and
field visits to enable greater empathy towards prevalent issues. A changing world has necessitated
an engagement with issues such as acid attack victims, transgenders, sex workers, victims of forced
marriages and child sexual abuse, among others’.
RAJ
DHARMA
3
The last col-
umn focused
on how dif-
ficult it was to
make it to the
LBS National
Academy of
Administration.
RAJ
DHARMA
2
YOU READ IT FIRST IN FIRST INDIA
FEBRUARY 8, 2022
undamental du-
ties as enshrined
in Article 51A of
the Constitution
have been sought
to be enforced vide a writ pe-
tition in the Supreme Court.
The petitioner has requested
for laws to make fundamen-
tal duties enforceable
through “adherence to Arti-
cle 51A”.
Article 51A was added to
the Constitution by Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi
through the 42nd Amend-
ment which, among the
sweeping changes, gave Par-
liament absolute power and
emasculated the judiciary.
The amendment changed the
Preamble to describe India as
“a sovereign, socialist, secu-
lar democratic republic”.
Earlier description said “sov-
ereign democratic republic”.
The addition of “secular”
continues to be debated in
the wake of demand to de-
clare India as Hindu rashtra.
It was the first time that
citizens were told that their
duties towards the country
and society were as impor-
tant as their fundamental
rights. Some of the 11 rights
were: “To abide by the Consti-
tution and respect its ideals
and institutions, the National
Flag and the National An-
them; To cherish and follow
the noble ideals which in-
spired our national struggle
for freedom; To uphold and
protect the sovereignty
, unity
and integrity of India; To pro-
mote harmony and the spirit
of common brotherhood…;
To safeguard public property
and abjure violence”.
Nothing wrong with these
and other duties except that
the list is not exhaustive as it
leaves out paying taxes as a
duty. The duties may not be
enforceable the way funda-
mental rights are but courts
have held that fundamental
rights have to be read with
fundamental duties. Even if
they cannot be enforced, the
duties should be respected in
the interest of the country
.
F A PETITION IN SC ON STATUTORY DUTIES
Article 51A was added to the Constitution
by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi through the
42nd Amendment which, among the
sweeping changes, gave Parliament absolute
power and emasculated the judiciary. The
amendment changed the Preamble to
describe India as “a sovereign, socialist,
secular democratic republic”.

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6. Mahesh Sharma
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
MP and party’s national
spokesperson Sanjay
Raut has broken an un-
declared rule. From
Delhi to the capitals of
the states, all the par-
ties know which leaders
in the opposing parties
will become powerful
when the said party
comes to power.
Everyoneknowsabout
the people who do the
work of getting people’s
work done, recovering
money
,arrangingmoney
from behind the scenes.
In the same way
, every-
one has information
about the hobbies and
pastimes of the leaders.
But no one speaks about
it publicly
. Sanjay Raut
has broken this unde-
clared rule. He has
named half a dozen pri-
vate people away from
party politics and said
that they extort money
and engage in money
laundering.Hedidnotgo
furtherthanthisbutsaid
thathewasalsoawareof
everyone’s plans. Just
imagine,if itisdisclosed
then how many people
will be stripped bare?
However,thereis
no need to go into
the debate on
whether Sanjay
Raut has actually done
any thing wrong or not,
as everyone knows that
neither he will be inves-
tigated nor any truth is
to come out. But he has
takenthenameof SNar-
warof Haryanaandsaid
that how a milkman be-
cametheownerof seven
thousand crore rupees
infiveyears?Hetookthe
name of Jitendra Nav-
lani and said that four
people together with
himhaverecoveredhun-
dreds of crores from the
builders of Mumbai.
Raut also named Amol
Kale, Vijay Dhamgale
and Ladani and accused
them of being involved
in alleged corruption
during the BJP govt.
They took many other
names but they are lead-
ersof BJPorwellknown
magnates. But it hap-
pened for the first time
that the names of the
people working behind
thescenesweredisclosed
in this way by a leader.
Raut has broken an undeclared rule!
INDIA
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
05
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PM comes here with a sense of
‘superiority’: Rahul in Manipur
Guwahati: Congress
MP Rahul Gandhi today
ripped into PM Modi
and the BJP in poll-
bound Manipur, accus-
ing the ruling party of
being arrogant and
coming to the state with
an “air of superiority”.
He argued that Con-
gress respects the
state’s ideas, languages
and culture while the
BJP wants to impose
uniformity in the coun-
try. “UP is bigger than
Manipur but the people
of UP and Manipur are
the same for us. We will
equally protect the lan-
guage, diversity, histo-
ry, culture of UP and
Manipur. There is no
double standard for us,”
he said at an election
rally in capital Imphal.
“There is also the
BJP vision that we
fight. They have one
ideology, one idea, one
language and one cul-
ture, and they think
that is superior,” he
said and added that the
ruling party is “attack-
ing” the state’s demo-
cratic values by not
holding council elec-
tions in the last five
years.
“When BJP, RSS
comes to Manipur, they
come without a sense of
understanding. They
come with a sense of
superiority. When I
come here I don’t come
with a sense of superi-
ority but with humani-
ty
. That is the difference
between us. I am here to
learn to grow your idea,
culture, and language.
The Prime Minister
comes here with an air
of superiority
, he comes
to tell you what he
thinks,” he said.
The Wayanad MP
took a dig at the Prime
Minister for making
many promises “wher-
ever he goes” but avoid-
ing core issues like un-
employment, farmers’
incomes, demonetisa-
tion, GST and the prom-
ised `15 lakh to all citi-
zens. He also accused
PM Modi of helping
Yoga teacher Baba
Ramdev’s company Pa-
tanjali and “two-three”
large companies by
palm plantations.
“Now he is going to
destroy your future by
palm oil plantations. He
wants to destroy your
beautiful state. By palm
oil plantations, they
want to help Patanjali
and 2-3 large companies.
Thisisnotourvisionfor
Manipur. We are not
helping baba Ramdev
and punishing the peo-
ple,” he said. —PTI
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during a rally for the upcoming Manipur assembly polls, in Imphal.
BJP govt not for poor,
but for rich: Akhilesh
Raebareli: Samajwadi
Party chief Akhilesh
Yadav on Monday hit
out at the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party over the re-
cent bank fraud involv-
ing the ABG Group and
alleged that the govern-
ment is not for the poor
but for the rich as the
poor do not get loans
easily whereas the “big
industrialists loot the
banks and run away
.”
Addressing a public
rally here, Yadav said,
“Thisgovernment(BJP)
isn’t a government for
the poor, but for the rich.
We won’t get a loan eas-
ily, will have to put our
land and house for a
mortgage, but big indus-
trialists ran away after
looting banks.”
The SP chief said
that the pedestrians on
the streets of Uttar
Pradesh know that the
BJP is losing the ongo-
ing Assembly polls in
the state and the Sama-
jwadi Party is winning.
“Ask anyone on road,
everyone will say SP is
coming,” he said.
Yadav claimed that
the youth did not get the
1 crore smartphones
and tablets as promised
by Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath.
“Be alert, BJP can do
anything as they’re go-
ing to lose #Ut-
tarPradeshElections...
bulldozer baba (UP CM)
said he distributed 1
crore smartphones
tablets, no one received
them here (in Raebare-
li),” he said.
The polling for the
fourth phase of the UP
Assembly polls will be
held on Feb 23. —ANI
SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav during a poll rally. —FILE PHOTO
CASE AGAINST AKHILESH YADAV IN
SAIFAI FOR VIOLATING POLL CODE
Etawah: A case has been filed against Samajwadi Party
Chief Akhilesh Yadav in Safai town of Uttar Pradesh’s
Etawah district for violating the Model Code of Conduct
outlined by the Election Commission of India. The com-
plaint was registered against the Samajwadi Party Chief
for interacting with media outside polling booth in Safai on
Sunday during the third phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh.
Caste Census: Nitish
to call all-party meet
Patna: Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar
on Monday said that the
State Government will
conduct the caste Cen-
sus. He said that the gov-
ernment will seek a po-
litical consensus before
taking up the Census.
Speaking to report-
ers, Nitish said, “We are
committed to doing a
caste Census in the
state. We want to hold
an all-party meeting to
take everyone’s ideas
and experiences. It will
benefit all.”
The Chief Minister
also said that it will en-
able the government to
work for the develop-
ment of various sec-
tions of the society
.
“We will start it soon
and will also ensure it is
implemented properly
,”
he added. —PTI
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar
Blast in poll-bound
Manipur, two ITBP
personnel injured
Imphal: Two personnel
of the Indo-Tibetan
Border Police (ITBP)
were injured in an im-
provised explosive de-
vice (IED) blast in poll-
bound Manipur on Sun-
day, officials said.
The incident was re-
ported around 8 pm in
the Wangoo Tera area
of Kakching district,
about 45 kms from state
capital Imphal.
Constables Gaurav
Rai and Girija Shankar
have been injured in the
blast, they said. An
ITBP party along with a
state police personnel
were conducting an
area domination patrol
when the blast took
place, they said.
The troops were part
of the ‘E’ company of
the 610 ITBP election
battalion deployed for
poll duties in the state.
The injured troops are
stated to be out of dan-
ger and have been ad-
mitted to the Kakching
civil hospital.
Assembly elections
in the northeastern
state will be held in two
phases on February 28
and March 5. Counting
of votes will be held on
March 10. —PTI
—Representational
image
YOUNGEST CANDIDATE
WITH ZERO ASSETS
Imphal: Twenty-six-year-
old Ningthoujam Popilal
Singh is the youngest
candidate contesting the
polls. Not only that, but
he is also the only candi-
date who has zero assets.
Singh filed his nomina-
tion for the state gen-
eral election as an NCP
candidate from Sekmai
Assembly constituency
(AC) at the office of RO
16-Sekmai AC. According
to the affidavit submitted
by him, Singh, origi-
nally from Phayeng Mayai
Leikai, Imphal West, is a
cultivator by profession
and does not have any
source of income, said a
media report.
Akhilesh will remain a Babua: Yogi on‘Baba’ barb
New Delhi: Akhilesh
Yadav “will remain a
babua (little boy)” all
his life, Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath says about
his main rival, stung by
the charge that he de-
layed the distribution
of tablets and smart-
phones because he can’t
operate gadgets.
Talking to media,
Yogi Adityanath said
that the Samajwadi Par-
ty chief had no idea he
has been using an e-
dashboard to monitor
government schemes.
Akhilesh Yadav had
said recently that the
BJP’s poll promise in
2017 to distribute lap-
tops and tablets were
delayed because Yogi
Adityanath - whom he
called ‘Baba Mukhya
Mantri” - didn’t know
how to operate them.
Calling it a “child-
ish” comment, Yogi
Adityanath said: “Akh-
ilesh Yadav will remain
a ‘babua’ throughout
his life. Such comments
are devoid of sanskar
and sanskriti” (value
and culture).”
“Babua” is a nick-
name often used for
Akhilesh Yadav, an allu-
sion to his father and
Samajwadi Party
founder Mulayam Sin-
gh Yadav.
The Chief Minister
said his government
had been using IT as
part of good govern-
ance. “The government
has adopted an e-tender
procedure to end mal-
practices during previ-
ous governments when
middlemen used to
swallow larger chunks
of the development pro-
jects money,” he said,
apparently referring to
his predecessor Akh-
ilesh Yadav.
“Online monitoring
helped the government
streamline the Public
Distribution System
and in the effective mon-
itoring of Covid cases,”
said Yogi Adityanath.
The Uttar Pradesh
PDS system is the most
transparent in the
country because of the
use of the e-platform,
he asserted.
The chief minister
said the state govern-
ment will continue to
distribute one crore tab-
lets among the youth as
part of its 2017 poll
promise. —PTI
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addresses a public gathering.
Such com-
ments are de-
void of san-
skar and sanskriti”
(value and culture).
Let him cry. We will
distribute one crore
tablets among the
youth and this figure
will double to two
crores after March 10.
Yogi Adityanath,
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
All eyes on Ajay Mishra’s ‘den’ Kheri as it goes to poll tomorrow
Lakhimpur Kheri:
Lakhimpur Kheri,
which caught national
attention in October last
year for the alleged kill-
ing of the farmers, will
go to the polls on Febru-
ary 23 in the ongoing As-
semblyelectionsinUttar
Pradesh.
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty’s Yogesh Verma had
won the Lakhimpur seat
in the 2017 Assembly
polls by defeating Sama-
jwadi Party’s Utkarsh
Verma Madhur with a
formidable margin of
more than 37,000 votes.
The prestige of the Un-
ion Minister of State for
the Home Affairs Ajay
Mishra Teni will also be
at stake in the Lakhim-
pur Kheri constituency
.
He’s a local MP
, besides
havingbeenatthecentre
of controversy after his
son was named in the
FIR in the incident lead-
ing to the deaths of the
farmers.
Interestingly
, both the
BJP and the SP have re-
peated their candidates.
Theconstituencycaught
the eyeballs in the ongo-
ing polls because of the
political heat generated
by the Lakhimpur Kheri
violence in the Parlia-
ment and also outside.
In 2012, Utkarsh Ver-
ma Madhur from the SP
had won the seat defeat-
ing the Bahujan Sama-
jwadi Party’s Gyan
Prakash Bajpai.
Congress has fielded
Ravi Shankar Trivedi
whereas the BSP has
fielded Mohan Bajpai
from the seat. Khushi
Kinnar from the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) is
also in the fray along
with AIMIM’s Moham-
mad Usman Siddiqui.
Eight Assembly con-
stituencies in the Kheri
LSseatareMohammadi,
Gola Gokarannath, Kas-
ta,Lakhimpur,Srinagar,
Nighasan, Dhaurahara,
and Palia Kalan. A total
of 28,02,835 will cast
their vote out of which
there are 1495069 male
voters and 1307623 fe-
male voters. As many as
42,911 first-time voters
have been added to the
list of voters in the con-
stituency
. The BJP had
swept all the seats in the
district in 2017.
On October 3, eight
people, including four
protesting farmers, died
after allegedly being
mowed down by an SUV
belonging to Union Min-
ister Ajay Mishra Teni’s
son Ashish Mishra. A lo-
cal journalist was also
killed in the violence.
The incident hit na-
tional and international
dailies. Ashish Mishra
was arrested and was in
jail. Allahabad HC re-
cently granted bail to
Ashish Mishra in Kheri
violence. —ANI
IN 2017 ASSEMBLY POLLS, BJP
HAD WON ALL 8 SEATS IN
LAKHIMPUR KHERI REGION
Campaign ends for the fourth phase in 9 districts, 60 assembly seats on Monday. —FILE PHOTO
POLITICAL HEAT
RISES IN THE REGION
On Oct 3, eight people,
including four protesting
farmers, died after alleg-
edly being mowed down
by an SUV belonging to
Minister Ajay Mishra’s
son Ashish Mishra. Since
the 1977 election, the SP
has won the polls here
four times whereas the
BJP has won thrice. The
counting of votes of the
UP Assembly polls will
take place on March 10.

7. INDIA
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
06
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Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Trinamool
Congress National
President and West
Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee is
like a double-edged
sword. Neither her
friendship is good nor
her enmity. In fact,
sometimes she even
harms her friends with
her politics. As she
reached Uttar Pradesh
for campaigning, SP
chief Akhilesh Yadav
gave her a grand wel-
come, but since then
she has been giving
statements, which are
likely to harm the SP
itself. Keep in mind that
Akhilesh Yadav or any
opposition leader does
not make personal at-
tacks on Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath. Akh-
ilesh even says that he
will send Yogi packing
to Gorakhpur, but he
does not say anything
derogatory because he
knows that there will be
a reaction among Hin-
dus. However, Mamata
Banerjee said that Adi-
tyanath is not a Yogi,
rather a ‘Bhogi’ and is
scared.
Earlier, when she was
holding a joint press
conference with Akh-
ilesh Yadav, she did not
know the name of RLD
leader Jayant Chaud-
hary, an ally of SP. She
sat in the press confer-
ence without any prepa-
ration and during the
conference she asked
Akhilesh the name of
Jayant Chaudhary on
the stage itself, which
did not go down well
with Jats. Then Mama-
ta said that her party
did not fight in Uttar
Pradesh because she
did not want to harm
Akhilesh. What harm
could she do? Was she
alluding to the division
of Muslim votes? Earli-
er, her party’s MP Ma-
hua Moitra said in Goa
that her party was pre-
venting Hindu votes
from consolidating so
that the BJP would suf-
fer, an issue which
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi raised it in the
election campaign.
‘DOUBLE EDGED SWORD’ MAMATA HARMS
NOT JUST ‘ENEMIES’, BUT FRIENDS TOO!
Visakhapatnam: In-
dia’s maritime defence
might was on full dis-
play as President Ram
Nath Kovind on Mon-
day conducted the Fleet
Review off the Vi-
sakhapatnam coast in
Bay of Bengal.
Sailing on the indig-
enously designed Naval
Offshore Patrol Vessel
INS Sumitra, designat-
ed as the Presidential
Yacht, President Ko-
vind sailed past 44 ships
anchored in four col-
umns in the Bay of Ben-
gal and received the
ceremonial salute from
each of them.
The theme of the
President’s Fleet Re-
view-2022 was ‘Indian
Navy — 75 years in Ser-
vice of the Nation’, com-
memorating the Azaadi
Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
The crew of each ship
presented a salute with
the traditional ‘Three
Jais’, a symbolic act
called “Man and Cheer
Ship,” in a demonstra-
tion of the uncondition-
al allegiance of Navy
personnel to the coun-
try and the Supreme
Commander. —PTI
DIGITAL DIVIDE IS RAPIDLY
SHRINKING IN INDIA: PM MODI
New Delhi: Highlight-
ing the initiatives taken
by the Union govern-
ment to tackle the prob-
lems posed by the digi-
tal divide in the coun-
try, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Mon-
day expressed confi-
dence that the digital
divide is rapidly shrink-
ing in India.
With the call for hav-
ing innovation for en-
suring ‘inclusion’, the
PM mentioned that the
budget will help in im-
plementing National
Education Policy. Fos-
tering Strong Industry-
Skill Linkage’, the PM
said, “Digital connec-
tivity is what kept our
education system alive
in this time of a global
pandemic. We are see-
ing how the digital di-
vide is rapidly shrink-
ing in India.”
The PM also spoke on
World Mother Lan-
guage Day
.
“Today is also World
Mother Language Day.
Education in the moth-
er tongue is related to
the mental development
of children. The teach-
ing of medical and tech-
nical education in local
languages has started
in many states,” he
said. In order to facili-
tate efficient and speedy
implementation of
Budget announce-
ments, the Centre is
holding a series of we-
binars across various
key sectors. —ANI
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday
hailed the Union
Budget presented in
the Parliament on
February 1 and said
on Monday that a lot
of emphasis has been
laid on the education
sector.
The Prime Minister
today highlighted five
points that can help
the young generation
become the future
leader of the country.
Addressing a webinar
virtually on ‘Post
Budget Seminar:
Fostering Strong In-
dustry-Skill Linkage’,
the PM said, “Our
young generation
is the future leader
of the country. So
empowering today’s
young generation
means empowering
India’s future.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a webinar on the positive impact of Union Budget 2022 on
the education and skill sector in New Delhi on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
India’s naval might in full
display at Prez’s fleet review
‘Dhruv’ helicopter on display during the Presidential Fleet Review
2022, in Visakhapatnam on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
President Ram Nath Kovind being welcomed by Chief of
the Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar. —PHOTO BY ANI
Visakhapatnam: Presi-
dent Ram Nath Kovind
on Monday said the
Indian Navy’s constant
vigil, prompt response
to incidents and untir-
ing efforts have been
highly successful in
maintaining the safety
of the seas as India be-
lieved in security. The
Supreme Commander
of the Armed Forces
said the excellent pa-
rade of ships, aircraft
and submarines show-
cased the professional
competence of the
maritime services. The
parade also showcased
the preparedness of
the Indian Navy. —PTI
SELF-RELIANT, PROMPT, PREPARED:
PRESIDENT KOVIND COMMENDS NAVY
PM MODI LAUDS
BUDGET 2022
FOR EMPHASIS
ON EDU SECTOR
Abu Dhabi: Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla, was
received at the Abu Dha-
bi International Airport
by the Member of the
Federal National Coun-
cil(FNC)AyshaMoham-
med Saeed Al Mullah
from Asian Parliamen-
tary Friendship Group.
Indian Ambassador
to UAE, Sunjay Sudhir
also welcomed the
Speaker and the accom-
panying delegation
from the Parliament of
India, in Abu Dhabi,
ahead of his historic
address. Indian Embas-
sy in UAE tweeted,
“Amb @sunjaysudhir
welcomed Hon. @
loksabhaspeaker Shri
Om Birla, and the ac-
companying delegation
from the Parliament of
India, in Abu Dhabi,
ahead of his historic
address at the @fnc_
uae on 22 February. In-
dia-UAE friendship go-
ing from strength to
strength.”
This is the first-ever
visit under the bilateral
exchange of parliamen-
tary delegations from
either side. —ANI
Paris: External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar
held wide-ranging and
productive talks with
his French counterpart
Jean-Yves Le Drian
here during which he
discussed bilateral co-
operation, Indo-Pacific
and Ukraine situation.
Jaishankar reached
France on Sunday after
concluding his visit to
Germany where he at-
tended the Munich Se-
curity Conference 2022.
“Arrived in Paris.
Held wide-ranging and
productive talks with
FM @JY_LeDrian. Dis-
cussions on bilateral
cooperation, Ukraine
situation, Indo-Pacific
and JCPOA reflected
our deep trust global
partnership. Look for-
ward to participating in
EU Ministerial Forum
on Indo- Pacific,” Jais-
hankar said on Twitter.
Islamabad: A leak of
data from a leading
Swiss bank has re-
vealed information
about 600 accounts
linked to 1,400 Paki-
stani citizens. Account-
holders include several
key politicians and gen-
erals, including the ex-
ISI chief, General
Akhtar Abdur Rahman
Khan, according to data
leaked from Credit Sui-
sse. A report published
in The New York Times
said Khan helped fun-
nel billions of dollars in
cash and other aid from
the United States. —ANI
Hyderabad: Andhra
Pradesh Industries
Minister Mekapati
Goutham
R e d d y
p a s s e d
away fol-
lowing a
heart at-
tack on Monday morn-
ing at a private hospital
in Hyderabad. He was
50. Reddy was rushed to
Apollo Hospitals after
he collapsed at his
home in the early hours
of Monday
.
IN THE COURTYARD
CRUCIAL READ
ABG SHIPYARD CASE: EX-CHAIRMAN
QUESTIONED BY CBI FOR SECOND TIME
EAM discusses
key issues
with French
counterpart
Billions stashed
by Pakistanis in
Swiss accounts
Andhra Minister
MG Reddy dies
of heart attack
SC SEEKS CENTRE’S STAND ON PIL SEEKING
ENFORCEMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
16-YEAR-OLD PRAGGNANANDHAA STUNS
WORLD CHAMPION MAGNUS CARLSEN
LANKA RETURNS
3,000 TONNES OF
GARBAGE TO UK
CYRUS MISTRY VS
TATA DISPUTE TO
BE HEARD AGAIN
SIT TO PROBE
ANISH KHAN’S
DEATH: MAMATA
SC SCRAPS GENDER
CAP ON MAHA BAR
PERFORMERS
New Delhi: Former Chairman and Managing Director
of ABG Shipyard Ltd. Rishi Agarwal appeared before
the CBI on Monday for questioning in connection with
the `22,848 crore alleged banking fraud, the biggest
such case registered by the central agency, officials
said. The CBI had questioned him last week as well and
would continue to record his statement in the coming
days on various aspects of alleged diversion of funds
as pointed out in the forensic audit conducted by
banks, they said.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought Centre and
others response on a petition seeking to enforcement of fun-
damental duties as enshrined in the Constitution and to frame
guidelines for taking appropriate adequate steps to sensitize
the people and spread general awareness among the citizens
in relation to the performance of fundamental duties under
the Constitution of India. The petition has sought direction to
the Respondents Union of India and State Governments to the
effect of ensuring performance of the Fundamental Duties.
Chennai: 16-year-old Indian Grandmaster R Pragg-
nanandhaa stunned world champion, Magnus Carlsen,
in the eighth round of the ongoing Airth-
ings Masters — an online rapid chess
competition. Carlsen’s revival after a
tough first day of the Meltwater Champi-
ons Chess Tour was pegged back by the
youngest player in the field. Carlsen had
racked up three wins in a row as he ominously cranked
up the gears.
Colombo: Sri Lanka
shipped out to Britain on
Monday the last of sev-
eral hundred containers
filled with thousands of
tonnes of illegally import-
ed waste. Several Asian
countries have in recent
years been pushing back
against an onslaught of
refuse from wealthier
nations. The waste from
Britain arrived in Sri
Lanka between 2017 and
2019 and was listed as
“used mattresses, carpets
and rugs”.
New Delhi: Former Tata
Sons Ltd chairman Cyrus
Mistry’s ples for a review
of the Supreme Court’s
order last year, which
backed his removal by
the $100 billion salt-to-
software conglomerate,
will be heard in an open
court on March 9. Tata
Sons had replaced Mistry
as Chairman, less than
four years after he took
charge. Cyrus Investments
had requested the SC to
reconsider its March 2021
order, which was in favour
of Tata group.
Kolkata: West Bengal
has set up a Special
Investigation Team (SIT)
to probe the death of
student leader Anish
Khan. The SIT, under
the Chief Secretary, has
been asked to finish its
probe within 15 days
and submit the report to
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee. Apart from
Gyanwant Singh, the ad-
ditional director general
(ADG) in West Bengal
Police’s Crime Investiga-
tion Department (CID).
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court has scrapped the
condition imposed by
Maharashtra authorities
that limited the number of
female and male perform-
ers in orchestra bars to
four each, saying rules
based on gender stereo-
types have no place in the
society. “While the overall
limit of performers in any
given performance cannot
exceed eight, the composi-
tion (i.e., all-female, ma-
jority female or male, or
vice versa) can be of any
combination,” it said.
Omicron BA.2 sub variant will not
cause another Covid surge: Expert
New Delhi: As India
reports a high number
of Omicron BA.2 cases,
a top health expert has
said it is not a cause of
concern because it will
not lead to another Cov-
id surge in the country
.
Co-Chairman Nation-
al IMA Covid task force
Dr Rajeev Jayadevan
said that BA.2 is a sub-
lineage of Omicron
variant, which fuelled
the third wave in the
country. According to
him, BA.2 cannot infect
those who have previ-
ously had BA.1 sub-var-
iant of Covid-19.
“It will not cause an-
other surge. BA.2 is not
capable of infecting
people who had BA.1.
It’s not a new virus or
strain. BA.2 is a sub-
lineage of Omicron,”
Dr Jayadevan said.
The Expert further
said that BA.2 will be
more transmissible
than BA.1 and it has
mutated to increase its
transmissibility
. —ANI
z Biological E. Covid
shot gets India emer-
gency approval for
12-18 age group
z India records
16,051 fresh Covid
cases, positivity rate
at 1.93%
z Covid test, double
vaccination not need-
ed to visit Odisha’s
Jagannath Temple
z Hong Kong to
launch vaccine pass
as Omicron outbreak
rages
HIGHLIGHTS
LS Speaker Om Birla received
by FNC member in Abu Dhabi
Om Birla with HE Saqr Gobash,
Speaker, FNC in Abu Dhabi.
S Jaishankar with his French
counterpart Jean-Yves.
A staff member checking the vaccination certificates of the
arriving passenger in Mumbai. —FILE PHOTO
Mamata Banerjee
CM Patel...
change department in
the last 12 years. This
year,thebudgetallocated
to the department is
Rs910 crore.” The CM
also bestowed financial
assistance of Rs10,73,082
to Valinath Akhada
Gaushala Charitable
Trust located at Tarabh
and Nand Gaushala lo-
cated in Kadi. A Morbi-
based Takshashila Self-
HelpGroupandwomen’s
organization were also
givenaidof Rs2.5lakhfor
plastic waste collection.
FROM PG 1

8. BIZ BUZZ
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
07
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GOVT AIMS SUSTAINED
RECOVERY, SAYS FM
Mumbai: Union Fi-
nance Minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman on Mon-
day said the govern-
ment wants a sustained
recovery and the budg-
et proposals on infra-
structure building are
an attempt to create the
multiplier effect to help
the economy.
Speaking at a post-
budget interaction
with the industry in
the financial capital of
the country, Sithara-
man said the budget
has been prepared at a
time when the econo-
my is coming out of the
impact of the pandem-
ic.
“A sustained recov-
ery is what we would
want. The budget has
growth revival as a pri-
ority along with mes-
sages for sustainability
as a priority and on
predictable tax regi-
men,” she said.
Stating that technol-
ogy has helped the gov-
ernment make pay-
ments to the affected
people during the pan-
demic, Sitharaman
said it is also looking at
how digital solutions
can be deployed in the
education and the
farming sectors.
The government
wants to push innova-
tion and the support to
help the startups will
continue, Sitharaman
added.
—PTI
FINANCE MINISTER ASKS BANKS TO
BE MORE CUSTOMER-FRIENDLY
New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman on Monday said banks need to focus
more on being customer-friendly so that the
process of availing credit becomes more hassle-
free for borrowers. However, the minister made
it clear that banks do not have to be lenient on
credit underwriting standards by taking any ad-
verse risks on a proposal. Sitharaman had a few
suggestions for the banking community and also
spoke out against their attitude. “Initially, Mr
Khara gave a very bland answer. And then after
being prompted somewhat, he went into talking
about a scheme which has a lot of government
support, the CGTMSE,” she said. “Banks will
have to be a lot more customer friendly. Not
to the extent of taking adverse risks which you
don’t need to take, but you need to be a lot more
friendly to customers,” the minister said.
—PTI
FinSecy:Healthcare
isprimarilystates’
responsibility
Air traffic to cross
pre-Covid levels
soon: Scindia
New Delhi: The num-
ber of daily air pas-
sengers is expected to
cross pre-COVID lev-
els in the next two
months, Civil Avia-
tion Minister Jyotira-
ditya Scindia said on
Monday and also
urged states to reduce
tax on jet fuel to boost
the country’s aviation
sector. During the pre-
COVID times, domes-
tic airlines carried
around 4 lakh passen-
gers per day and the
number began climb-
ing up after second
wave but again de-
clined after the emer-
gence of Omicron in-
fections late last year.
Scindia said capac-
ity and fare caps were
put in place to make
sure that there was a
“little bit of an insu-
lated environment in
which the industry
can function to ensure
that all our players
survive and all of
them
get some decent mar-
ket share and some
levels of revenue”.
Airlines were al-
lowed to operate at full
capacity from October
18, 2021.
Scindia said that on
Sunday
, the traffic was
at 3.5 lakh. “All things
remaining equal, in
the next 2 months or
so, you should see us
crossing pre-Covid
levels in terms of dai-
ly passengers... that
will herald new de-
mand, new capacity
coming in, both at air-
ports and airlines...,”
—PTI
New Delhi: Finance
Secretary T V Som-
anathan on Monday
said healthcare is pri-
marily the responsi-
bility of the states,
amid suggestions of
the budgetary alloca-
tion to the sector still
being low at 1.3% of
GDP. He said the Cen-
tre provides for some
“cross-cutting health
infrastructure” and
also spends on the
Pradhan Mantri Jan
Arogya Yojana, which
helps people from low-
er strata of the society
to access healthcare.
According to the
budget proposals for
FY23, the government
is planning to spend
about `83,000 crore on
healthcare, the same
as it did in FY22,
even as the pan-
demic is
still on.
“The
f i g -
ures have to be seen in
the context of it being
primarily a state gov-
ernment responsibili-
ty,” Somanathan said.
“Anytime we dis-
cuss targets on the
percentage of GDP to
be spent on various
sectors such as health,
education, defence -
we have to remember
that any increases
there will require
increases in the tax-
to-GDP ratio and
I request the
cooperation
of the in-
dustry to
increase
t h a t
also,” So-
m a n a -
than add-
ed. —PTI
3% EXPECTED
LIC may not
sell entire
stake in IBDI
bank, says
chairman
New Delhi: State-run
Life Insurance Corp Of
India (LIC), which is
planning the country’s
largest IPO next month,
may not sell its entire
stake in IDBI Bank and
can use its large net-
work of branches to
market its insurance
services, its chairman
said.
LIC, the country’s
biggest insurance com-
pany, is planning to
float a 5% stake to raise
about $8 billion next
month, which could
make it India’s largest
IPO by far.
Its majority stake in
IDBI Bank, which it res-
cued in 2019, is seen as
a risk to its balance
sheet. “I would like to
have some stake in IDBI
Bank. It has been the
strongest contributor to
the bancassurance
channel for us. This
will help us to grow that
part of the channel,”
said M R Kumar in a
press conference with
reporters on Monday
.
India’s government
and LIC hold over 90%
stake in IDBI Bank,
which had assets of
over 2,900 billion ru-
pees at the end of De-
cember and over 1,800
branches across the
country. LIC took over
the lender when it was
weighed down by bad
loans and needed a new
infusion of capital.
—Agencies
New Delhi: Organisa-
tions need to adapt to
new models and uncon-
ventional thinking go-
ing ahead as a volatile
and uncertain environ-
ment has undermined
the effectiveness of tra-
ditional ways of oper-
ating businesses, Hero
MotoCorp Chairman
and CEO Pawan Mun-
jal said on Monday
.
Munjal noted that
the COVID-19 pandem-
ic and the resultant un-
precedented challeng-
es and uncertainties in
the supply chain call
for sea changes in oper-
ating procedures.
“In the recent past,
the incredibly volatile
and uncertain environ-
ment has undermined
the effectiveness of
long term forecasting
and traditional strate-
gic planning. The
change in the world
ecosystem has been
disruptive, pushing
people, organisations
and economies to the
brink. Thus, achieving
goals now requires a
sea change in our mod-
els of operations,”
Munjal stated in his
keynote address.
He noted the ability
to thrive in uncertain
times requires uncon-
ventional thinking and
calculated risks, in-
cluding delivering dif-
ficult or unpopular de-
cisions.
“In the current sce-
nario, where uncer-
tainty characterizes
ties, economic and so-
cial structures, it is a
race for organisations
to move away from the
traditional approaches
of strategy and adopt
evolved models,” Mun-
jal said. —PTI
BhartiAirteljoinsundersea
cableconsortium
New Delhi: Bharti
Airtel on Monday
said it has joined the
‘SEA-ME-WE-6’ un-
dersea cable consor-
tium in a bid to scale
up its high-speed
global network capac-
ity to serve India’s
fast-growing digital
economy. Airtel said
it is participating as a
“major investor” in
the SEA-ME-WE-6
and is anchoring 20%
of the overall invest-
ment in the cable sys-
tem, which will go
live in 2025.
The 12 other con-
sortium members of
SEA-ME-WE-6 in-
clude Bangladesh
Submarine Cable
Company, Dhiraagu
(Maldives), Djibouti
Telecom, Mobily
(Saudi Arabia), Or-
ange (France), Sing-
tel (Singapore), Sri
Lanka Telecom, Tele-
com Egypt, Telekom
Malaysia, and Telin
(Indonesia).
The 19,200 Rkm
(route kilometres)
SEA-ME-WE-6 will
connect Singapore
and France, and will
be among the largest
undersea cable sys-
tem globally
.
In a statement, Air-
tel said it has joined
SEA-ME-WE-6 under-
sea cable consortium
to scale up the high-
speed network for In-
dia’s emerging digital
economy
.
— PTI
Jio’s IAX undersea cable
to land in Maldives
New Delhi: India’s
largest mobile
operator Reliance
Jio Infocomm will
land the multi-terabit
India-Asia-Xpress
(IAX) undersea cable
system in Hulhumale,
Maldives, according
to a statement on
Monday. The high
capacity and high-
speed IAX system will
connect Hulhumale
directly with world’s
major internet hubs
in India and Singa-
pore. Jio’s IAX project
will land in the Mal-
dives in collaboration
with Ocean Connect
Maldives, the state-
ment said. The IAX
system originates in
Mumbai in the west
and connects directly
to Singapore, with
branches including
additional landings
in India, Malaysia,
Thailand. India-Eu-
rope-Xpress system
connects Mumbai to
Milan. — PTI
Tata Power, RWE tie up for wind projects
New Delhi: Tata Pow-
er on Monday said it
has collaborated with
Germany-based RWE
Renewable GmbH to
explore potential for a
joint development of
offshore wind projects
in India. A correspond-
ing MoU has been
signed between Tata
Power Renewable En-
ergy Limited and RWE
R e n e w a b l e s
GmbH.
India is an
unexplored
and highly
attractive
market to
develop op-
portunities for
offshore wind as
it has a large coastline
of about 7,600 kilome-
tres.
The MoU
b e t w e e n
Tata Pow-
er Re-
newable
Energ y
and RWE
becomes
significant
in the light of
the Government of
India’s announcement
of achieving 30 giga-
watts (GW) of offshore
wind installations by
2030 to meet the coun-
try’s growing power
demands, it added.
RWE and Tata Power
Renewable Energy pos-
sess complementary
strengths and will en-
able the establishment
of a competitive off-
shore wind market in
India. —PTI
New Delhi: Wego, an online
travel marketplace in the Middle
East, said
that it has
signed an
agree-
ment with
Flipkart Group to acquire
Cleartrip’s Middle East business.
The Boards of directors of Wego
and Flipkart have approved the
transaction, which is expected
to close in the second half of
2022, the statement said. As
part of the transaction, Flyin.
com, a Saudi-based travel com-
pany Cleartrip acquired in 2018,
will be sold to Wego. The deal
also involves a technology-shar-
ing agreement between Flipkart
and Wego. After the deal, Flip-
kart’s Cleartrip will be operating
only in the Indian market. —PTI
FLIPKART SELLS
CLEARTRIP’S MIDDLE
EAST BIZ TO WEGO Mumbai:
Domestic
equity
gauges
Sensex and
Nifty logged
their fourth
straight
session of
fall on Mon-
day as participants remained
cautious over lingering geopolit-
ical tensions in eastern Europe.
The Sensex ended 149.38
points or 0.26% lower to settle
at 57,683.59, while the broader
NSE Nifty slipped 69.65 points
or 0.40% to 17,206.65. Of the
Sensex constituents, 21 shares
ended in the red, with Sun
Pharma, TCS and ITC emerging
as top laggards. In contrast, IT
majors Wipro and Infosys were
major gainers. —PTI
SENSEX, NIFTY SUFFER
4TH STRAIGHT LOSS
Mumbai: Shares of InterGlobe
Aviation Ltd declined nearly 2%
on Monday after its co-promoter
Rakesh Gangwal resigned from
the company’s board. On BSE,
the shares ended at `2,080,
lower by 1.9% over the previous
close. On NSE, the scrip closed
at `2,079, a loss of 1.78%.
IndiGo’s co-promoter Rakesh
Gangwal on Friday resigned
from the board
of directors of
parent company
InterGlobe Avia-
tion. —PTI
INTERGLOBE AVIATION’S
SHARES FALL 2% AFTER
GANGWAL’S RESIGNS
Businesses need to adapt to new models: Pawan Munjal
During the pre-
COVID times,
domestic airlines
carried around four
lakh passengers
per day
Union Finance
Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman rued that
women are reluctant
to join company
boards and she has
herself struggled to
convince candidates.
COVID-19 pandemic
and uncertainties in
the supply chain call
for sea changes in
operating procedures
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
PHOTO
CREDITS:
@FINMININDIA/TWITTER

9. COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
59,08,685
TOTAL DEATHS
35,12,14,533
TOTAL RECOVERED
6,83,41,398
ACTIVE CASES
42,54,64,616
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
5,12,141
TOTAL DEATHS
4,21,24,284
TOTAL RECOVERED
2,02,099
ACTIVE CASES
4,28,38,524
TOTAL CASES
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A day af-
ter Twitter removed a
caricature tweeted by
the Gujarat Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) unit
on a court verdict sen-
tencing 38 people to
death in the 2008
Ahmedabad serial
blasts case, the ruling
party on Monday
claimed the cartoon
was based on real pho-
tographs and did not
target any particular
religion or community
.
But, the opposition
party Congress and
some social activists
hailed Twitter’s deci-
sion to remove the car-
toon, and claimed the
BJP was trying to gain
political mileage out of
the court’s judgement.
The cartoon depicted
a group of bearded men
wearingskullcapshang-
ing by a noose. It had a
tricolour and a drawing
depicting the scene of a
bomb blast in the back-
ground, with ‘Satyamev
Jayate’writtenonitstop
right corner.
The caricature is not
available on either the
Instagram or Facebook
social media pages of
the state BJP unit.
“The sketch was
based on real photo-
graphs of the convicts
published by newspa-
pers a day after the ver-
dict. The Gujarat BJP or
its social media team
had no intention to tar-
get any particular reli-
gion or community
through the sketch,”
state party unit spokes-
person Dr Rutvij Patel
said.
Gujarat BJP’s media
coordinator Yagnesh
Dave on Sunday said
Twitter removed the
caricature after “some-
onehadreportedagainst
it”. Meanwhile, state
Congress spokesperson
ManishDoshiwelcomed
Twitter’s action.
“We firmly believe
that terrorism has no
religion. The Congress
had lost two if its lead-
ers - Rajiv Gandhi and
Indira Gandhi - fighting
terrorism. The verdicts
of courts must not be
seen through a political
prism,” he said.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The High
Court has issued notic-
es to the state govern-
ment and other re-
spondents asking them
to file a reply before the
next hearing on the
fluctuating prices of
Urea fertilizers.
In a public interest
litigation moved in HC,
the petitioner has sub-
mitted that the privati-
zation of tug services at
the Sikka seaport was
affecting the Urea pric-
es. Petitioner has sub-
mitted that the Urea
raw material was im-
ported into India
through Sikka port. If
the tug service to tow
merchant vessels is
handled by the Gujarat
Maritime Board, it
would hardly cost Rs2
lakh. But the board,
even after having
enough tugs, has privat-
ized the tug service,
which tows the big ves-
sel into the port leading
the cost to Rs12 lakh.
It has a cascading ef-
fect on the Urea prices
in the domestic market.
Petitioner has taken up
the matter with respec-
tive authorities, but no
action taken, till now. If
an inquiry can be con-
ducted, it could save the
public crores of rupees
per annum.
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
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08
2NDFRONT
Police have arrested one while the accomplice is being questioned
Cong hails its
removal by
Twitter,
claims ruling
party tried to
gain political
mileage
First India Bureau
Surat: A 12-year-old
girl was kidnapped,
raped and brutally mur-
dered on Sunday near
Palsana, Surat district,
after which a man was
arrested while his ac-
complice is being ques-
tioned, police said on
Monday. They added
that the victim was pri-
ma facie brutalised
causing serious inju-
ries to her private parts.
Police are investigating
whether the girl was
raped by one man or
more persons were in-
volved.
“The victim was
taken to a flat near her
residence when her
parents were away
and raped there. When
her parents returned
home and noticed she
was missing, they
started looking for her
and found her lying
grievously injured in-
side a room that was
locked from outside,”
said an official from
the Palsana police sta-
tion.
“They rushed her to a
private hospital, where
she was declared dead
by doctors. A case was
registered under Indian
Penal Code sections 302
(Punishment for mur-
der), 376 (Punishment
for rape), 341 (wrongful
restraint), 342 (wrong-
ful confinement), 361
(kidnapping) and provi-
sions of the Protection
of Children from Sexu-
al Offences (POCSO)
Act,” he said.
On Monday, Surat
Range Inspector Gen-
eral of Police Rajkumar
Pandian said, “We have
arrested one Dayaram
based on CCTV footage
and he has “confessed,”
to the crime.” His ac-
complice in the crime is
being questioned.
12-YR-OLDGIRLRAPEDAND
MURDEREDINPALSANA
POLICE ARREST COUSIN
FOR RAPING AND
BLACKMAILING SISTER
First India Bureau
Bhuj: Physical at-
traction and love be-
tween cousins put a
family in trouble in
the Mundra Taluka
of Kutch district,
forcing the family to
file a complaint
against their son for
raping and black-
mailing his cousin
sister. Mundra Po-
lice have arrested
the boy under vari-
ous sections of the
Indian Penal Code
for rape, blackmail-
ing and under the
Information Tech-
nology Act.
Mundra Police In-
spector MR Barot
said, “Siddharthgiri
was arrested and
will be produced be-
fore the court. Sid-
dharth, 21-years old
and 20-years-old
cousin sister Savita
(name changed), are
children of blood
brothers. Accused
Siddharthgiri and
Savita entered into
physical relations a
year ago. He had re-
corded the act on his
mobile and also took
photos.”
When the family
learned about their
relations, they asked
them to break all ties.
Savita stopped all
c o m m u n i c at i o n ,
which irked Sid-
dharth who uploaded
their intimate photos
on social media. Left
with no option, on
Sunday, Savita’s fam-
ily complained
against Siddharth
with the police.
Relief for family after
MBBS student returns
safely from Ukraine
First India Bureau
Vadodara: In the
wake of a war-like sit-
uationbetweenRussia
and Ukraine, the Indi-
an government has
asked Indian students
to return home. The
Sindha family in Va-
dodarabreathedasigh
of relief on the safe
return of their daugh-
ter Aastha from
Ukraine on Monday
.
Aastha started pursu-
ing her MBBS in
Ukraine only three
months ago.
“There was no war-
like situation in
Ukraine at present,
but we lived under
constant tension
about our exams and
families were worried
back home. We re-
ceived immense sup-
port from the Indian
Embassy in Ukraine,
and they also issued
letters for students
who wanted to return
home temporarily
.
The college has in-
formed us that online
education will contin-
ue, and I will study in
the same mode until I
return to Ukraine,”
said Aastha.
A state of war has
erupted between Rus-
sia and Ukraine, and
arrangements are
made by the Indian
government to bring
home the Indian stu-
dents, safely. Aastha
was one among many
students who are re-
turning home from
Ukraine.
Aastha’s father and
social worker Arvin-
dbhai Sindha said,
“We were worried
about her but now re-
lievedassheishome.”
He thanked the Indi-
an government for
their efforts and will
not send his daughter
back till the situation
is eased.
Aastha Sindha with her father Arvindhbhai Sindha.
In the wake of a war-like situation between
Russian and Ukraine, thousands of Indian
students studying in Ukraine have been
trying to return home
First India Bureau
Gir Somnath: Two in-
cidents reported from
two corners of the state
indicate that people
fear little of policing or
believe that violating
laws will not invite
strict actions. In the
Kalapan village of Gir
Somnath District, a liq-
uor party was held to
celebrate the wedding
of the newly-elected
Sarpanch. While, dur-
ing the folk singing pro-
gramme in a Dharma
Sammelan, an enthusi-
ast opened fire in the
air using his revolver.
In the liquor party
case, Una Taluka police
registered a case of vio-
lation of the prohibi-
tion act, after a video
clip of “cheers up” with
liquor bottles was cir-
culated on social media.
Local sources said that
the party was organized
to celebrate the mar-
riage of the newly elect-
ed Kalapan village sar-
panch.
Una Assistant Super-
intendent of Police Om
Prakash told the media
that two suspects, Vijay
Solanki and Rana Solan-
ki, are detained. He also
added that the police are
investigating to find if
the bottles had liquor or
something else.
Meanwhile, an en-
thusiast opened fire in
the air, using his re-
volver at a folk singing
program held on Sun-
day at Rushikul Gaud-
ham near Ankleshwar
highway. At this event,
the BJP state unit pres-
ident CR Patil was
weighed with blood-
-collected during the
blood donation pro-
gram. After Patil left,
young enthusiasts
showered folk singer
Kirtidan Gadhvi with
money, followed by the
firing. Under the arms
license rule, a person is
not supposed to use a
licensed weapon for
brandishing or show-
ing off. It is purely for
self-defence. Yet, no ac-
tion taken against the
youth so far.
2 INCIDENTS IN THE STATE POINT AT WANTON DESTRUCTION
BREACH OF RULES
Violation of state rules and laws is
alarmingly on the rise, with people
having little or no fear of police at all
NoharmmeantbyA’badblastsverdictcartoon:BJP
‘Shri Kamalam’, BJP Gujarat headquarters in Gandhinagar. —FILE PHOTO
Privatization of tug services at the
Sikka seaport affects Urea prices
Una liquor party held to celebrate the marriage of sarpanch Man was spotted firing a gun at a ‘Dharma Sammelan’
One of the best methods to make
your life positive is to stop
responding to negative people.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

10. City First brings to you Luttna, a unique
concept music video by Manmeet
Singh which combines the world of
music, glamour, jewellery and fashion
directly for the first time as it
honours the heritage of Rajasthan!
t is truly said that
“Music gives a soul
to the universe,
wings to the mind,
flight to the imagi-
nation, and life to
everything.” The video of
the song ‘Luttna’ by Man-
meet Singh, launched by
Jagdeesh Chandra on Sun-
day evening amid the perfect
ambience of Once Upon a
Time at Bagh resort in
Jaipur, truly made life a lit-
tle more beautiful.
Manmeet, who has to his
credit popular music releas-
es like Chaska, Chand lam-
ho ki Baatein, Sufi and
many more already, loves
music with a deep abiding
passion and for him, it is
not his livelihood but
rather his life.
Jagdeesh Chandra
complimented Man-
meet and the team
of Luttna for the
breath-taking
visuals and
music and
w i s h e d
t h e m
a l l
the best for future endeav-
ours. The launch was at-
tended by Satya Narayan
Mosun and Jatin Mosun
from JKJ Jewellers, Gaurav
Gaur and Akanksha Bhalla
from Elite Miss Rajasthan,
Ashok Singh from Studio Big
Boss and friends and family
.
Luttna is a perfect amalga-
mation of music and fashion
and Manmeet has created an
amazing impact in both medi-
ums- audio and visual with
his team. He has been accom-
panied by Anushka on guitar,
Ashish Mahajan on Bass Gui-
tar, Tushar on drums, Rajen-
dra Soneri on Tabla and Ra-
meen Khan on Sarangi. It
features supermodels Vania
Chaudhary
, Nupur Jhankal,
MeghaShyamandTriptiAro-
ra in gorgeous outfits by Mo-
hitFalodandjewellerybyJKJ
Jewellers with Aditi Dhabhai
and Sunil Parihar giving the
models a magical makeover.
Malhar Mahavir and Dee-
pu Jwada are the music pro-
ducers and Luttna was di-
rected by Shaan with Hitesh
Saini as the associate direc-
tor. The Palace by Park Jew-
els was the perfect
backdrop for the mes-
merising song.
Lakshay and Kush Agar-
wal the owners of Once
Upon a Time at Bagh said
that they loved the song and
it was a matter of privilege
that the launch was at their
restaurant. Luttna cele-
brates Rajasthani culture,
heritage and jewellery
which is unique to the
desert state.
The song is the lyrical
poetry of Saif-Ul-Maluk
set to music explained
Manmeet in an exclu-
sive interview to First
India and when he
heard it for the first
time, the words
spoke of the unsur-
passed heritage and
the unique beauty
and culture of Ra-
jasthan. “ I dreamt
that I would make
this poetry come
alive through the
rich hues of Ra-
jasthan and with
Luttna, my dream has come
true,” said Manmeet.
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I
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
Main Nadiyan Tu paani...
YAAR DIL LUTTNA From
top:
Sapna
Bundwal,
Nupur
Jhankal
and
Megha
Shyam
Vania
Chaudhary
and
Tripti
Arora
Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Vasudha Tiwari, Megha Shyam, Akanksha Bhalla,
Gaurav Gaur, Upadhi Jolotia, Ashok Singh, Shaan and Manmeet Singh
(L-R) Vania Chaudhary, Tripti Arora, Megha Shyam and Nupur Jhankal in a still from Luttna
—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY,
FEBRUARY 22, 2022

11. City First shares some
glimpses from the
launching ceremony of the
Music video ‘Luttna’ by
Mamneet Singh along with
some exclusive stills
from the song!
Jeh main tenu baahar dhoonda
Jeh main tenu baahar dhoonda
Teh mere andar kaun samaaya?
Teh mere andar kaun samaaya?
10-11
ETC
AHMEDABAD,TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
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—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
(L-R) Sunil Mosun, Jatin Mosun, Satya Narayan Mosun and Jai Mosun
Shaan and Deepali Nanda
Tripti Arora, Tripti Sharma with Ahaan
Manmeet Singh, JD Maheshwari and Shaan
Ashish Mahajan and Anushka Vania Chaudhary, Jyoti Saini and Nupur Jhankal
Vania Chaudhary and Tripti Arora flaunt the royal traditional lehengas
Manmeet Singh with (L-R) Megha Shyam, Vania Chaudhary, Tripti Arora and Nupur Jhankal
Manmeet Singh with Anushka on Guitar, Ashish Mahajan on Bass Guitar, Tushar on Drums, Rajendra Soneri on Tabla and Rameen Khan on Sarangi and other artists

12. 12
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
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CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
CITY FIRST, DELHI
he HMCI hon-
oured two
outstanding
Senior Mem-
bers of the
HMCI, admit-
ted them to
the HMCI ‘Automotive
Hall of Fame’ and pre-
sented them with the
HMCI Motoring Leg-
end Plaques in Delhi
on Sunday
. While both
V. P. Singh Badnore
and K. T. S. Tulsi are
veteran leaders and
have facilitated en-
lightened discourse
on issues of contem-
porary relevance to
the common people as
well as the challenges
with which our nation
is confronted, each of
them has made a pro-
found impact on the
historic vehicle move-
ment in India and con-
tributed to our motor-
ing brotherhood.
Not only have they
assembled some of
the finest collections
of historic automo-
biles but each has in-
dependently and to-
gether consistently
worked for over a dec-
ade to accomplish
policy and law chang-
es both within and
outside Parliament
for the recognition,
protection, use and
registration of his-
toric vehicles in In-
dia.
Diljeet Titus said,
“We at the HMCI are
proud that Badnore
and Tulsi are recipi-
ents of the prestigious
HMCI Automotive
Hall of Fame - historic
vehicle Motor-
ing Legends”!
cityfirstdel@gmail.com
Jaivik International Limited organised a Product Showcase event at Hotel Novotel and
invited its esteemed dealers and guests from all across Gujarat on Sunday. Amit Nenwani,
founder of Jaivik International shared, “ With this Product Showcase display, Jaivik
International wants to show its preparations for the forthcoming Summer Season and we
have come up with some amazing new schemes for our customers. The company was
started with a vision to improve the lives of people by giving them easy access to the latest
technology and smart value products.”
The official handle of
DCP South-Delhi shared
glimpses of an interactive
session that was held on
Sunday. The session was
regarding all the issues
which the people are
facing in North-Eastern
regions. Hibu Tamang,
Joint CP, Delhi Police
graced the occasion with
his presence.
HALL
FAME!
OF
THE POWER SHE HOLDS!
CITY FIRST, DELHI
ekha Mody,
founder Trus-
tee of Stree
Shakti - The
Parallel Force
will organise a train-
ing programme titled,
'SHE LEADS' to
strengthen the status
of Indian women in
the country’s political
scene, with a Certifi-
cate Distribution Cer-
emony on February 28,
India International
Centre, New Delhi.
In their second co-
hort from February
23rd to 27th, She will
train 50 aspiring wom-
en leaders from 18
states. Sharing their
journey, challenges
and breakthroughs to
encourage these aspir-
ing women leaders,
Priyanka Chaturvedi
(Shiv Sena), Sunita
Duggal MP (BJP), Ku-
mari Selja (INC), Dr
Amar Patnaik, MP
(BJD) will be present
to motivate the leaders
to take on their politi-
cal career in an organ-
ised manner.
SHE LEADS is a
Joint initiative
of Stree Shakti - The
Parallel Force, Indian
School of Democra-
cy and Shakti co-
founded by Hemakshi
Meghani-dynamic or-
ganisations dedicated
to political empower-
ment. The programme
is designed to help
women become effec-
tive political leaders
and to increase their
engagement at
higher levels of
governance.
TRADING EXHIBITION!
A GET-TOGETHER!
SHADES OF SPRING!
INTERACTIVE SESSION!
BIZZARE FOOD COMBINATIONS ACROSS DELHI
e all have
e x p e r i -
e n c e d
some ex-
t r e m e l y
weird food combina-
tions at least once in
our lives. Be it because
of our love to experi-
ment with food and cre-
ate something new or
during hunger pangs
and sometimes just be-
cause a particular food
item is trending on so-
cial media.
Thereafter, some
turned out to be sur-
prisingly tasty while
others were a com-
plete disaster.
Lately, social me-
dia has been show-
casing some bizarre yet
viral food combina-
tions being prepared
across Delhi. Several
Food bloggers have can-
didly reviewed these
weird dishes too. City
First brings you some
bizaare food combina-
tion across Delhi.
NITIKA PANJWANI
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
W
R
DOSA ICE CREAM, AMAR COLONY
ROOH AFZA MAGGI
A food outlet in Amar Colony is serving weird ice cream rolls made of vada pav, Maggi and
the worst of all masala Dosa. No dosa lover would have ever imagined its prospect of being
rolled into ice cream but a Delhi vendor has done it, leaving netizens disgusted.
A Vendor from Delhi offers our all-time comfort food - Maggi
with a twist. He drizzles the popular Rose Syrup- Rooh Afza over
Maggi instead of water. The netizens couldn’t stop displaying
their disappointment in the comments when a video of this
recipe went viral.
MANGO
STRAWBERRY
GOL GOPPA
Our all-time favourite street
food- Gol gappas are now
being served as a dessert.
Gol Gappas at Café Lota,
Pragati maidan is being
served with creamy Mango
mousse and mint.
Actors-politicians Jaya Bachchan and Hema Malini got
together at the wedding of Anmol Ambani, son of Anil
Ambani and Tina Ambani. Taking to Instagram, Hema shared
a photo as she posed with Jaya and NCP leader and Lok
Sabha MP Supriya Sule. In the picture, Hema held Jaya
as the trio smiled for the camera. Sharing the post, Hema
wrote, Good friends outside Parliament - Jaya Bachchan,
Supriya Sule me happily hobnobbing together, our
camaraderie going absolutely beyond party lines!
Lodhi Gardens, Nehru Park, Sunder Nursery, and Garden
of Five Senses, are some of the public places in Delhi
that are blooming with seasonal, springtime flowers.
And, it’s a delight to be here at this time of the year. It’s
a riot of colours at most of the popular public parks and
gardens in the city. The months of February and March are
nothing short of paradisical for Nature lovers in Delhi. City
residents used to witness many flowers shows, around
this time of the year, in the pre-pandemic era. Those
events have not resumed at a large scale yet, but there’s
still a great opportunity to look around and soak in the
beauty of flowers this spring season.
—PHOTOS
BY
MANOJ
KESHARWANI
At the unveiling of the ex Maharani of Baroda 1937 Rolls-Royce
Phantom 3 coachbuilt by Kellner, France VP Singh Badnore, Alka Singh
Badnore,Mallika Jain, Asheesh Jain, Suman Tulsi and KTS Tulsi
Ranjai Singh Badnore, Divija Singh and Archana Kumari
Saba Ali and Anurita Titus
Aditya Arya and Piyali Dasgupta
Diljeet
Titus
with
Justice
SK
Misra
Sandeep Katari, SB Jatti and Tutu Dhawan
KTS Tulsi felicitating
VP Singh Badnore
Asheesh Jain in his 1937 Rolls Royc
Rekha Mody (centre) with fellow aspiring women
Dosa Ice cream
Mango Gol Gappa
Rooh Afza Maggi
T