22042022_First India New Delhi.pdf

Will form govt in K’taka like we did in Delhi, Punjab: Kejriwal
AAP’S KARNATAKA PLANS
Bengaluru (PTI): The
Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) would form the
government in Karna-
taka like it did in Delhi
and Punjab, Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal said on Thursday
.
“We, the common
people, were challenged
to get into politics when
we demanded law
against corruption. We
formed a political party
.
Our first government
was formed in Delhi
and then in Punjab.
Now, we will form our
next government in
Karnataka,” he said ad-
dressing a farmers’
rally, organised by vari-
ous farmers’ body, led
by the Karnataka Rajya
Raitha Sangha (KRRS).
The KRRS convenor
KodihalliChandrashek-
ar joined the AAP and
called upon the KRRS
members to extend full
support to the party
.
Speaking about the al-
leged corruption in Kar-
nataka, Kejriwal said
the previous Congress
government was called
“20 per cent commission
government” and the
current BJP govern-
ment “40 per cent com-
mission government.”
Kejriwal referred to
the recent suicide by a
civil contractor who
had accused in a pur-
ported suicide note
Karnataka Rural Devel-
opment and Panchayat
Raj Minister KS Esh-
warappa of charging 40
per cent commission.
“Delhi has zero per
cent commission gov-
ernment because there
is a hardcore honest
government in Delhi.
Not a paise is taken as
bribe,” Kejriwal said.
Stating that he got a
certificate from PM Nar-
endra Modi of being the
most honest govern-
ment, Kejriwal said the
CBI, income tax and
Delhi police raids were
carried out against him,
hisdeputySisodiaand17
MLAs but the agencies
could not find anything
concrete to frame them.
Speaking about farm-
ers, Kejriwal said even
after 75 years of inde-
pendence their condi-
tion has not improved.
He congratulated farm-
ers for their massive
agitation, which forced
the Centre to scrap the
three farm laws 13
months after their
promulgation.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal being garlanded during
Raitha Samavesha (farmer convention), in Bengaluru on
Thursday. Farmer leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar also seen.
NEW DELHI l FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 232
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
A powerful explosion in a Shiite Muslim mosque in northern
Afghanistan on Thursday killed at least 10 worshippers and injured
another 40, according to a hospital official. The explosion in northern
Mazar-e-Sharif occurred as scores of worshippers knelt in prayer. P8
BLAST HITS SHI’ITE
MOSQUE IN NORTH
AFGHANISTAN, KILLS
10, INJURES 40
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases reported in some parts of India,
around 12 people have tested positive for the virus at IIT Madras.
Health secretary J Radhakrishnan will inspect the campus to direct
officials to sanitise locality and follow safety Covid-19 safety norms.
12 STUDENTS TEST
POSITIVE FOR
CORONAVIRUS AT
IIT MADRAS
ANURAG THAKUR
IN GUJARAT TODAY
CBI BOOKS ANIL
AMBANI’S RELIANCE
Union IB Minister
Anurag Thakur will be
in Gujarat on Friday,
where he will hold meet-
ing with PBI officials in
Gandhinagar. He will also attend
Global Ayush Investments Closing
Session and Innovation Summit.
Six months after ex-JK gover-
nor Satya Pal Malik claimed he
was offered Rs 300-crore bribes
to clear two files, the CBI has
booked Anil Ambani’s Reliance
General Insurance Company
and officials of Chenab Valley
Power Projects Pvt Ltd. P5
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi ad-
dressed the nation from
the Red Fort on Thurs-
day to mark the 400th
birth anniversary of
Guru Teg Bahadur.
The Prime Minister
addressed the nation
from the lawns of the
Red Fort and not its
ramparts.
“I felt at peace while
listening to the shabad.
I am happy that the
country is following
the path of our gurus.
When Guru Teg Baha-
dur was born, it was
said that this child will
eliminate sorrow of
the marginalised. Gur-
dwara Shish Ganj Sa-
hib, which is close to
the Red Fort, is a sym-
bol of Guru Teg Baha-
dur’s sacrifice,” said
PM Modi.
PM said the govern-
ment is making efforts
to connect pilgrimages
of Sikh tradition. He
lauded the dedication
of the Sikh community
and pushed for a self-
reliant India.
“India works for the
welfare of the world,”
he added.
PM also released a
commemorative coin
and postage stamp on
the occasion.
Guru Tegh Bahadur
is the ninth Sikh guru
who stood up against
forcible conversions by
the Mughals.
THE FATE OF THE BESIEGED PORT CITY OF MARIUPOL HAS BECOME TOTEMIC AS RUSSIA
BATTLES TO COMPLETE A LAND BRIDGE COVERING TERRITORIES OF UKRAINE ALREADY
UNDER ITS CONTROL, INCLUDING CRIMEA AND OTHER PRO-RUSSIAN REGIONS
DAGGER IN
UKRAINE’S
HEART!
Russia claims
Mariupol ‘liberated’,
leaves Ukrainian
defenders holed up
Moscow: President
Vladimir Putin
claimed victory in the
biggest battle of the
Ukraine war on Thurs-
day, declaring the port
of Mariupol “liberated”
after nearly two months
of siege, despite hun-
dreds of defenders still
holding out inside a gi-
ant steel works.
In a televised meeting
with his defence minis-
ter inside the Kremlin,
Putin said there was no
need for a final confron-
tation with the last de-
fenders who were boxed
in after surviving near-
ly two months of Rus-
sia’s siege.
“I consider the pro-
posed storming of the
industrial zone unnec-
essary,” he told Defence
Minister Sergei Shoigu
in a televised meeting
at the Kremlin. “I order
you to cancel it.”
“There’s no need to
climb into these cata-
combs and crawl under-
ground through these
industrial facilities,”
he said. “Block off this
industrial area so that
not even a fly can get
through.”
Shoigu estimated
2,000 Ukrainian fight-
ers remained inside the
steel plant.
Russian Prez Putin orders siege instead
of assault on a steel plant tunnels in
Mariupol where last Ukrainian troops are
suspected to be hiding
Putin orders blocking off tunnel paths so
tight that “Not Even Fly Can Escape”
1
2
NOT ENOUGH WEAPONS:
ZELENSKY TELLS WORLD
BODIES AFTER
BODIES FOUND
The Ukranian Presi-
dent said Ukraine still
did not have enough
weapons, despite
billions in Western
military aid that has
forced Russia to
re-focus its offensive
away from Kyiv and
towards the east of
the country.
In morgues around the
capital, the bodies of some
1,020 civilians are being
stored after Russian troops
withdrew from the region,
said Deputy Prime Minister
Olga Stefanishyna. The bod-
ies of nine civilians, some
showing signs of torture,
have been found in the town
of Borodyanka outside Kyiv.
India is following ideals of
Gurus: PM from Red Fort
Don’t lecture judiciary: Supreme
Court to Centre over Salem plea
New Delhi: Ongangster
Abu Salem’s petition
against his jail sentence
exceeding 25 years, the
Supreme Court today
used stern words while
rejecting the Union
Home Ministry’s stance
that the plea is prema-
ture. The Supreme
Court also objected to
the Centre asking it to
decide on the case.
“Don’t lecture the ju-
diciary. We do not take
it kindly when you tell
us to decide something
which you have to de-
cide,” Justice SK Kaul
told the Home Ministry
.
“The Home Secre-
tary is nobody to tell
us to decide the is-
sue,” the judge said.
Nat’l database on internal
security in works: Shah
New Delhi: Union
home minister Amit
Shah on
Thursday said
the Centre is
working on a
national data-
base related to
internal secu-
rity covering
bomb blasts,
terror funding,
fake currency, narcot-
ics, hawala, arms smug-
gling, and terrorism. He
said the database will
help the central agen-
cies and police in states
and union territories in
investigations.
Shah said the
database on
terrorism will
go a long way
in helping in-
vestigations
and securing
convictions of
terror ac-
cused. He add-
ed NIA, National Intel-
ligence Grid, and the
Intelligence Bureau
were working on this.
JOHNSON’S DAY OUT IN GUJARAT!
UK Prime Minister Boris
Johnson climbs onto
a JCB at the new JCB
Factory in Vadodara
on Thursday. (Left) PM
Johnson, center, poses
with Sadhus, or Hindu
holy men, in front of
the Swaminarayan
Akshardham temple,
in Gandhinagar. The
UK PM is scheduled
to meet PM Narendra
Modi in New Delhi on
Friday.
—PHOTOS BY PTI
SC WARNS OF
‘SERIOUS VIEW’ ON
JAHANGIRPURI
DRIVE THAT WENT
ON POST ORDER
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Thursday
stayed the Jahangirpuri
demolition drive for two
weeks and says it will
take a serious view if
found that the demoli-
tion drive continued on
Wednesday even after
the SC’s status quo order
was passed.
NIA RAISING DAY
The BJP has been
trying to reach out
to the Sikh
community ever
since it decided to
go it alone in the
Punjab Assembly
elections following
the breakdown of
the old alliance
with Akali Dal
over farm laws

z PM Modi is the first prime minister to deliver a
speech at the Mughal-era monument after sunset.

z The fort was chosen as the venue for the event as it
was from here that Mughal ruler Aurangzeb had given
orders for the execution of Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth
Sikh Guru, in 1675, as per culture ministry officials.
More on P5 P8
CRUCIAL READ
GUJARAT MLA
MEVANI ARRESTED
Gujarat MLA Jignesh
Mevani was arrested
by the Assam Police late
last night, reportedly on a
complaint by a BJP leader
over now-removed tweets
on Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi. He was arrested
in Palanpur at 11.30 pm
on Wednesday and taken
to Assam on Thursday.
SC TO HEAR PLEA
OF MALIK TODAY
The Supreme Court on
Friday will hear a plea
of Maharashtra Minister
Nawab Malik filed against
an order of the Bombay
High Court which had
rejected his interim appli-
cation seeking immediate
release in a case of money
laundering being investi-
gated by the ED.
PK’S PLAN FOR CONGR 2.0 INCLUDES
COUNTERING PREVALENT NEPOTISM
Prashant Kishor’s presentation on Congress
revival plan and strategy to win polls included
the creation of a new Congress for the masses.
Destroying a sense of entitlement and sycophan-
cy. Fixing the alliance conundrum. ‘One Family,
One Ticket’, to counter prevalent nepotism. He is
likely to meet party top brass again on Friday.

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022
02
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New Delhi (PTI): State-
owned NTPC has part-
nered with Delhi Jal
Board to convert sludge
produced in latter’s
sewage treatment
plants into energy. In
Delhi-NCR alone, Sew-
age Treatment Plants
(STPs) produce up to
800 MT of sludge per
day
. The disposal of the
sludge is a major chal-
lenge as it contributes
towards environmental
pollution.
“In an endeavour to
reduce the carbon foot-
print, NTPC Ltd, India’s
largest integrated ener-
gy company has come
together with Delhi Jal
Board (DJB) to utilise
the sludge produced in
the STPs of DJB,” a
statement said on
Thursday. Torrefied
waste sludge was fired
into NTPC’s unit 4 boil-
er at Dadri for power
generation.
Firing sludge into the
boiler will reduce net
CO2 emission as well as
water and land pollu-
tion. It will pave the
way to utilise the waste
and convert it to energy
in an environmentally
friendly manner, the
statement said. NTPC is
taking various steps to
make its energy portfo-
lio greener .
NTPC, DJB tie-up to convert waste into energy
REDUCING POLLUTION
lll
In Delhi-NCR
alone, STPs
produce up to 800
MT of sludge per
day. Disposal of
sludge is a major
challenge as it
contributes towards
environmental
pollution.
CRUCIAL READ
VIJAY KUMAR DEV TAKES OATH AS DELHI’S
NEW STATE ELECTION COMMISSIONER
New Delhi (ANI): The outgoing Chief Secretary of
Delhi and retired senior IAS officer Vijay Kumar Dev
was sworn in as the new State
Election Commissioner(SEC) of
the national capital on Thursday.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil
Baijal administered the oath of
office to Vijay Kumar Dev as
the new Election Commissioner of the (SEC) of the
National Capital Territory of Delhi in a ceremony held
at Raj Niwas today. “Administered the oath of office to
Vijay Kumar Dev, IAS (Retd.) as new Election Commis-
sioner of the (SEC) of the Delhi at a function held at
Raj Niwas,” Anil Baijal tweeted.
POLICE ARRESTS NIGERIAN DRUG PEDDLER;
SEIZES HEROIN WORTH `2.70 CRORE
New Delhi (ANI): Under the operation ‘Varchasva’, a
29-year old Nigerian national in Dwarka was ar-
rested by the Delhi Police on
Wednesday and high-quality
heroin worth Rs 2.70 crore was
recovered from his possession.
“We have arrested a 29-year-old
Nigerian national and recov-
ered 270 grams of high-quality heroin worth Rs 2.70
crores (2,70,00,000) in the international market,”
said Shankar Chaudhary, DCP Dwarka. Under the
operation ‘Varchasva’, in the last 72 hours, a number
of proceedings have taken place against street crime,
organised crime, informed DCP.
BLUE LINE METRO SEES UP TO AN HOUR’S
DELAY OVER SIGNAL PROBLEMS
New Delhi (Agencies): Services on the Metro’s Blue
Line was delayed for almost an hour due to inter-
mittent signalling issue this
morning, officials said. Delhi
Metro Rail Corporation took to
Twitter to inform commuters
about the delay. “Delay in ser-
vices between Dwarka Sector 21
and Noida Electronic City/Vaishali. Normal service on
all other lines,” DMRC tweeted. Later in a statement,
the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said train
services on the Blue Line were affected from 9:10 am
to 10 am due to irregular signalling, resulting in slow
movement of the trains.
Tense air, heavy security, barricading
day after demolition in Jahangirpuri
New Delhi (PTI): A
day after the NDMC’s
demolition drive follow-
ing communal clashes,
Jahangirpuri’sC-Block,
the epicentre of Satur-
day’s violence, wit-
nessed heavy security
deployment and barri-
cading as it remained
out of bounds for the
media, and residents
stayed indoors.
The air was tense in
the area as even the
usually bustling Kushal
Chowk was calm and
shops were shut.
The inward and out-
ward movement at the
C-Block was regulated
by the security person-
nel who have put in
place heavy barricad-
ing there. Kids going for
an exam or children in
uniform were allowed
to move in and out of
the area.
The police also car-
ried out surveillance
using drones.
“The media has been
barred to enter C-
Block residential area
because we have been
ordered to do so. We
are doing this to main-
tain law and order situ-
ation here,” a senior
police officer deployed
in Jahangirpuri told
PTI.
On Wednesday, BJP-
ruled North Delhi Mu-
nicipal Corporation’s
bulldozers razed sever-
al “illegal” structures
in violence-hit Jahang-
irpuri during an anti-
encroachment drive.
But it was stopped fol-
lowing a Supreme
Court order.
A large number of
police personnel, and
members of central
forces and Rapid Action
Force were seen guard-
ing the violence-hit
area on Thursday
.
The media has been barred to enter C-Block residential area, kids are allowed to for examinations
Violence-hit Jahangirpuri area, in New Delhi on Thursday. —ANI PHOTO
DELHI BJP CHIEF SAYS NO PLACE
FOR ROHINGYAS, BANGLADESHIS
IN DELHI, WANTS THEIR OUSTER
New Delhi (Agencies): Delhi BJP chief
Adesh Gupta said on Thursday that
there is “no place for Rohingyas and
Bangladeshis” in Delhi. He said he
would write to the South and East Delhi
municipal corporations and ask them
to “oust Rohingyas and Bangladeshis”.
Earlier, Adesh Gupta had alleged that
the Jahangirpuri communal clash that
occurred last week was a result of the
Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government
“aiding the illegal stay of Rohingyas and
Bangladeshi immigrants”.
ATISHI DEMANDS STRICT ACTION
AGAINST THOSE WHO ALLOWED
ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION IN CITY
New Delhi (ANI): Demanding action
against the civic bodies for letting
illegal construction take place in the
capital, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA
Atishi on Thursday said that the Su-
preme Court take strict action against
those who allowed illegal construction
in Delhi. Claiming that Bharatiya Janata
Party has been ruling the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi for the past 15
years, Atishi alleged that under their
supervision, illegal construction was
undertaken.
Srinagar (PTI): Na-
tional Commission for
Minorities (NCM) mem-
ber Syed Shahzadi on
Thursday said the panel
will submit a report to
the government on the
communal violence in
Delhi’s Jahangirpuri
area and recommend
appropriate action.
The chairman of the
NCM and other mem-
bers visited Jahangir-
puri, she said.
“A report will be sub-
mitted to the Centre and
the (Union) home minis-
try
. If there is anything
which warrants action,
then we will surely rec-
ommend action... If
there is anything, the
minority commission
will definitely respond,”
Ms Shahzadi said at a
press conference here.
Eight police person-
nel and a local were in-
jured in stone-pelting
and arson after clashes
broke out between two
communities.
Minority body
to submit its
report to Govt
PROTESTING IYC
ACTIVISTS DETAINED
New Delhi (PTI): Indian
Youth Congress activ-
ists were on Thursday
was detained by the
police while staging
a protest near Union
Minister Hardeep Singh
Puri’s residence against
the anti-encroachment
drive conducted by the
North MCD in vio-
lence-hit Jahangirupri
a day before, officials
said.
HC seeks report on construction
of toilets for transgenders in city
New Delhi (Agencies):
The Delhi High Court
has asked CM Arvind
Kejriwal-led AAP gov-
ernment to submit a
status report on the
construction of sepa-
rate toilets for transgen-
der persons.
HC asked the state
government to make
sure that new public
places have seperate
toilets for transgender
persons.
A division bench pre-
sided over by Acting
Chief Justice Vipin
Sanghi and Justice
Navin Chawla also in-
structed the state gov-
ernment to apprise
aboutthefreshconstruc-
tion of public places
with the creation of toi-
lets for third gender per-
sons. “If not, we direct
the GNCTD to look into
this aspect without any
delay
,” the bench stated.
The decision came
after a Public Interest
Litigation (PIL) was
filed by Jasmine Kaur
Chhabra.
Possibilities of new Covid -19
variants of Omicron in Capital
New Delhi (ANI): With
the latest spike of more
than 1000 COVID-19 cas-
es in the national capital
in a single day, the
health experts believed
that possibilities of new
variants of the Omicron
are emerging and they
are being sequenced.
Delhi on Wednesday
reported 1,009 fresh cas-
es,thehighestsinceFeb-
ruary 10, while the posi-
tivity rate is 5.70 per
cent. The top expert be-
lieves that there are
eight variants of Omi-
cron and amongst them,
oneisdominatingwhich
can be held responsible
for the surge in cases.
Speaking to ANI, Dr
SK Sarin, Director, In-
stitute of Liver and Bil-
iary Sciences (ILBS)
said that there is a pos-
sibility of new variants
of Omicron in Delhi
while adding that the
samples at the ILBS lab
have been sequenced.
“There is a possibili-
ty that new variants are
emerging of the Omi-
cron and they are being
sequenced,” said Dr Sa-
rin.
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Delhi reported
one death in last 24
hours due to Covid.
There were more than
1,000 new Covid-19 cases
recorded, the highest
since February 10 this
year, data released by
the state government
showed. Delhi had re-
ported1,104caseslaston
February 10.
Delhi government on
Thursday also an-
nounced its decision to
provide free precau-
tionary dose of Covid
vaccine for 18-59 age
group from April 21.
The number is the
highest in 69 days and
amounted to 5.70% of
the 17,701 samples test-
ed, coming at a time
when there is some con-
cern that the outbreak
may be spreading quick-
er than it has lately
.
The announcement
camethisevening,asthe
cases sugre in capital.
1 dead, over 1k cases
in city in single day
—REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO
A local BJP leader was
shot dead this evening
in east Delhi, said the
police. He was 42.
The man has been
identified as Jitu
Choudhary
.
A police constable
found the BJP leader’s
body in a pool of blood
in front of his house in
Mayur Vihar Phase 3.
“The victim had gun-
shot injuries,” the po-
lice said in a statement.
He was immediately
rushed to a hospital
where the doctors de-
clared him dead on ar-
rival. A few cartridges
have been recovered
from the crime scene,
said the police. The po-
lice are scanning the
CCTV footage. The ac-
cused are on the run.
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhi High Court
Thursday said that
while it cannot force
the women living in a
Rohini ashram under
shocking conditions to
live with their parents,
no institution has the
licence to conduct its
affairs in a manner
that violates the funda-
mental rights of the
inmates.
A bench headed by
Acting Chief Justice
Vipin Sanghi, which
was hearing pleas con-
cerning the state of af-
fairs at Adhyatmik Vid-
hyalaya founded by
self-styled spiritual
guru Virender Dev Dix-
it, said that it was in-
clined to direct the
Delhi government to
take over the institu-
tion’s management and
asked the government
counsel to seek instruc-
tions.
The bench, also com-
prising Justice Navin
Chawla, observed that
the ashram was run by
a baba who has been
charge-sheeted by the
CBI for the offence of
rape and is now ab-
sconding.
CAN’T FORCE ASHRAM INMATES TO LIVE WITH PARENTS,
BUT NO ONE CAN VIOLATE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: HC
PLEASANT CHANGE!
Students walk in the Mandi House area as clouds hover over it amid the sudden change in the weather, in New Delhi on
Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
BJP leader
shot dead
outside his
residence

INDIA
03
New Delhi (ANI): A
group of Congress lead-
ers, including general
secretary Ajay Maken,
on Thursday, reached
Delhi's Jahangirpuri to
meet the families affect-
ed by yesterday's demo-
lition drive in the area.
The delegation will
submit a report to the
party's interim presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi, said
a member of the
16-member group.
We have come to Ja-
hangirpuri to meet the
victims.Policehavebeen
cooperative. We have
come here to tell the peo-
ple that this should not
be seen from the prism
of religion, Maken told
media persons.
Congress leader Im-
ran Pratapgarhi, a del-
egation member, said,
We will meet the af-
fected families. Later,
we will submit a report
to Sonia Gandhi.
Former Congress
MLA Hari Shankar
Gupta, who arrived at
the site before the dele-
gation, said that permis-
sion for meeting the peo-
ple was sought from the
police. We do not want
todisturbthepeacehere
but only meet the affect-
ed families, he added.
Condemning the
demolition drive car-
ried out by BJP-ruled
North Municipal Cor-
poration of Delhi, Gup-
ta said, They did not
obey the SC's orders.
They shouldn't have
dared to carry on with
the demolition drive in
contempt of the apex
court. In the coming
days, this can set a dan-
gerous precedent.
The16-membergroup
of Congress includes
Delhi Congress chief
Anil Chaudhry and
AICC in-charge of Del-
hi Shakti Sinh Gohil
among others.
Ajay Maken on
Wednesday apologized
for not being able to
reach the area while the
demolition drive was
going on.
Jahangirpuri demo-
lition without notice/
procedure is entirely il-
legal...Tomorrowmorn-
ing, along with other
senior leaders, I will
visit the site. Sorry for
not being there today,
said Maken.
The visit of the Con-
gress delegation comes
after CPI(M) Politburo
member Brinda Karat
visited the demolition
site on Wednesday and
called the BJP-ruled
civic body's demolition
drive unconstitutional.
All India Majlis-e-It-
tehadul Muslimeen
chief Asaduddin Owai-
si also visited Jahangir-
puri on Wednesday and
termed it a targetted
drive against a particu-
lar community.
Oppn’s empathy reaches Jahangirpuri
VARIOUSPARTYDELEGATIONSINCLUDINGCONGRESSGROUPMEETFAMILIESAFFECTEDBYDEMOLITIONDRIVE
A Congress delegation led by Ajay Maken visits the violence-affected Jahangirpuri area in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
BULLDOZERS RUN
UNDER GUISE OF
ILLEGAL: MAYAWATI
Lucknow (PTI): BSP presi-
dent Mayawati on Thurs-
day came down heavily
on the use of bulldozers in
Delhi’s violence-hit Jahan-
girpuri area, and said using
religion as a tool in such
exercises can harm mutual
harmony and anti-national
forces can take advantage
of the situation. “Bulldozers
are being run under the
guise of illegal construc-
tion in different states
of the country including
Jahangirpuri in Delhi in
which poor people are also
being affected, whereas the
government should also
take strict action against
officials whose corruption
has led to illegal construc-
tions,” the BSP chief said
in a tweet in Hindi. Several
structures in Jahangir-
puri were razed during an
anti-encroachment drive
conducted by the NDMC.
TMC TO SEND FACT-FINDING TEAM
TO DELHI AFTER VIOLENCE: REPORT
Kolkata (ANI): With the Jahangirpuri violence stirring
the political pot, the Trinamool Congress has decided to
send a fact-finding team to the national capital on Friday,
party sources said. Trinamool MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar
is among the party members in the fact-finding team,
sources said. The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee-led Trinamool has joined the bandwagon of the
Opposition in stepping up the heat on the BJP following
the Jahangirpuri violence and the subsequent demolition
drive carried out by NDMC in the locality on Thursday.
The Trinamool’s move has come in the backdrop of CPM
Politburo member Brinda Karat visiting the area.
5-MEMBER SP DELEGATION TO VISIT
DELHI TO ‘PROBE’ DEMOLITION DRIVE
Lucknow (PTI): A five-member Samajwadi Party delega-
tion will visit Delhi on Friday to “investigate” the NDMC’s
demolition drive in violence-hit Jahangirpuri, they party
said. It said the delegation comprising sitting and former
members of parliament has been formed on the instruc-
tion of party chief Akhilesh Yadav. “BJP-ruled North Delhi
Municipal Corporation destroyed Jahangirpuri with bull-
dozers on April 20. A five-member delegation has been
constituted for its investigation,” chief SP spokesperson
Rajendra Choudhary said Thursday.
WE ARE ON ROAD TO HELL: CHIDAMBARAM ON JAHANGIRPURI
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader P Chidam-
baram on Thursday attacked the BJP over bulldozers
razing several structures in violence-hit Jahangirpuri
during an anti-encroachment drive, saying “we see
the rule of law break down everyday” and soon there
will be “no law and no rules”. Several concrete and
temporary structures close to a mosque were brought
down on Wednesday morning as part of an anti-
encroachment drive by the BJP-ruled North Delhi Mu-
nicipal Corporation (NDMC), days after the northwest
Delhi neighbourhood was rocked by violence.
TEJASHWI SLAMS CENTRE OVER ‘BULLDOZER CULTURE’
Patna (Agencies): RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday
slammed the “bulldozer culture” of Narendra Modi govern-
ment accusing it of demolishing the structures of a particular
community in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri and other BJP-ruled
states. “China built two villages in the Indian territory but the
Centre fear speaking two words about it, forget about demol-
ishing them. Are they concerned about national interest, unity
and integrity and the constitution or are just running bulldoz-
ers on a particular community?” Tejashwi said. “If those in
(Jahangirpuri) are illegal constructions, what was the govern-
ment and administration doing till now,” Tejashwi asked.
Seven electoral trusts received `258 cr in
donation, BJP got 82% of money: Report
New Delhi: Seven elec-
toral trusts received a
total amount of `258.49
crore from corporates
and individuals, and
the BJP bagged more
than 82% of it, poll
rights body ADR said.
Electoral trust is a
non-profit organisation
formed in India for or-
derly receiving of con-
tributions from corpo-
rate entities and indi-
viduals to political par-
ties. It aims at improv-
ing transparency in the
usage of funds for elec-
tion-related expenses.
The Association for
Democratic Reforms
(ADR), in a new report,
said 16 out of the 23
electoral trusts submit-
ted details of their con-
tribution for the finan-
cial year 2020-21 to the
EC, of which only seven
declared to have re-
ceived donations.
“Seven electoral
trusts which have de-
clared receiving contri-
butions during FY 2020-
21, have received a total
amount of `258.4915
crore from corporates
and distributed
`258.4301 cr to political
parties,” it said.
The BJP received
`212.05 crore or 82.05
per cent of these dona-
tions, while the JDU se-
cured `27 crore or 10.45
per cent of the amount.
Ten other political
parties — Congress,
NCP, AIADMK, DMK,
RJD, AAP, LJP, CPM,
CPI and the Loktantrik
Janta Dal together re-
ceived `19.38 crore.
According to the
rules formulated by the
central government,
electoral trusts are re-
quired to distribute at
least 95 per cent of the
total contributions re-
ceived during the finan-
cial year, along with the
surplus brought for-
ward from the previous
financial year, to eligi-
ble political parties be-
fore March 31.
The ADR report anal-
yses the details of do-
nors of seven electoral
trusts formed after Jan-
uary, 2013, and the con-
tributions made
through them to politi-
cal parties during a
given year.
BJD’s Subash
resigns from
Rajya Sabha
New Delhi: After being
elected as mayor of Cut-
tack Municipal Corpo-
ration (CMC), senior
BJD leader Subash
Chandra Singh re-
signed from the mem-
bership of Rajya Sabha
on Thursday
.
Speaking to media
here, Singh said he was
elected as CMC mayor
on March 26 and took
oath on April 7, 2020.
Now, he has decided to
serve as Cuttack mayor.
So, Singh has tendered
his resignation. He sent
his resignation letter to
chairman of the Rajya
Sabha, Venkaiah Naidu
on Thursday
.
CBI files charges
against ex-NSE
chief Chitra
CBI has filed its charge
sheet against former
NSE MD and CEO Chi-
tra Ramkrishna and ex-
Group Operating Offic-
er Anand Subramanian
in connection with its
probe into a co-location
scam case, officials said
Thursday
.
Ramkrishna and
Subramanian are both
in judicial custody fol-
lowing their arrest by
the CBI on March 6 and
February 25 respective-
ly, they said.
In its charge sheet
filed in their Special
Court here, the CBI has
alleged that Ramkrish-
na allegedly abused her
official position in key
decisions among other
charges.
Sasikala grilled for
over 6 hours by cops
Chennai (Agencies):
A team led by R Sudha-
kar , IG, west zone,
questioned VK Sasikala
at her house in T Nagar,
in connection with
heist-cum-murder inci-
dent happened at her
Kodanad estate, which
was a favourite retreat
of late CM Jayalalithaa,
in April 2017. Sasikala,
who owned the estate,
was in jail when the in-
cident happened.
The police team of
IG, Nilgiris SP Ashish
Rawat and ADSP
reached the house of
Sasikala in Habibullah
Road at around 11 am
and started the enquiry
with Sasikala, once a
powerful shadow of AI-
ADMK leader Jay-
alalithaa. The team left
the premise.
The police team is
trying to find out who
was in charge if Kodan-
ad bungalow in the ab-
sence of Jaya and Sasi-
kala.
VK Sasikala
PM cannot imprison
truth, Mevani’s arrest
undemocratic: Rahul
Congress on Thursday
termed as “undemo-
cratic” and “unconsti-
tutional” the arrest of
Gujarat legislator
Jignesh Mevani over
his tweets, with former
party chief Rahul Gan-
dhi saying PM Naren-
dra Modi cannot im-
prison the truth by try-
ing to “crush” dissent.
The Congress at-
tacked the BJP govern-
ment over Mevani’s ar-
rest by the Assam Po-
lice and alleged that
Prime Minister Modi
was “scared” and run-
ning “helter-skelter” by
such actions.
Mevani, an independ-
ent MLA from Gujarat
who has pledged his
support to the Con-
gress, was arrested
from Palanpur town in
Gujarat on Wednesday
night over a tweet and
taken to Assam by air in
the early hours.
Flaying the arrest of
Mevani, Gandhi said it
is an insult to the people
who elected him as a
public representative.
Rahul Gandhi
‘Rubber Doll’:
Sidhu in jibe
against Mann
Chandigarh: Congress
leader Navjot Singh
Sidhu on Thursday
d u b b e d
P u n j a b
C h i e f
Minister
Bhagwant
Mann as a
“ r u b b e r
doll”, alluding to the
Opposition charge that
the state government is
being run by the AAP
leadership from Delhi.
Sidhu, along with for-
mer MLAs Navtej Singh
Cheema and Ashwani
Sekhri, met Punjab
Governor Banwarilal
Purohit in Chandigarh
and raised several is-
sues, including the law
and order situation in
the state.
Big dare to
Akhilesh from
uncle Shivpal
Lucknow (PTI): Sulk-
ing socialist leader
Shivpal Singh Yadav on
Thursday
took on Sa-
majwadi
P a r t y
c h i e f
Akhilesh
Y a d a v
over a remark alluding
to his apparent close-
ness to the ruling BJP,
and dared him to expel
him from the SP legisla-
ture party
.
Shivpal Yadav was,
however, not invited for
a meeting of Samajwa-
di Party MLAs soon af-
ter the results came in.
Since then he has
thrown hints that he
might cross over to the
Bharatiya Janata Party
.
ED submits over 5,000-page
chargesheet against Nawab
Mumbai (Agencies):
The Enforcement Direc-
torate (ED) on Thurs-
day submitted a volumi-
nous charge sheet of
over 5,000 pages against
Maharashtra Minister
Nawab Malik, in an al-
leged money-launder-
ing case arising out of a
tainted 20-year-old land
deal having mafia links.
The charge sheet has
been submitted to the
Special PMLA Court
registry and after scru-
tiny of the documents.
Malik, 69, was arrest-
ed on February 23 by
ED sleuths from his
Mumbai home and is
currently in judicial
custody for nearly 60
days now. The ED
nabbed him following a
FIR filed by the Nation-
al Investigation Agency
against the fugitive
don, Dawood Ibrahim
Kaskar and others un-
der the Unlawful Activi-
ties (Prevention) Act.
The alleged money-
laundering case in-
volved the Goawala
Compound in Kurla,
which was allegedly
usurped by Malik with
help from the mafia, ac-
cording to the ED.
Nawab Malik. —FILE PHOTO
ED TO CHARGESHEET
NAWAB’S SONS
FARAZ, AAMIR
Mumbai: The ED
has decided to file a
chargesheet against
Faraz Malik and Aamir
Malik, sons of Maha-
rashtra Minister and NCP
leader, Nawab Malik, af-
ter they failed to appear
before the agency for
questioning in connec-
tion with Dawood Ibra-
him money laundering
case. According to ED,
Faraz and Aamir were
sent summon multiple
times asking them to ap-
pear for questioning. But
both skipped the sum-
mon. Earlier, the ED had
served the first notice to
Faraz on March 1, when
he did not appear before
the agency, following
which, another summon
was sent on March 16.

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 232 l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Impressions Printing and Packaging Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59, Noida-201301.
Published at G-20, 3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Sharat K Verma responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
or those addict-
ed to online
streaming plat-
form Netflix the
news of its fall-
ing fortune must be disap-
pointing. Contrary to its
forecast of adding 2.5 mil-
lion subscribers in the first
quarter, Netflix has lost
200,000 of them and its
share prices also tanked on
the Wall Street for two days
in a row. Netflix has not pre-
dictedarosyfutureandsees
a further fall of 2 million
subscribers. The company
isfacingthisjoltforthefirst
time in over 10 years.
Netflix blamed tougher
competition, the Ukraine
war and inflation for the
loss.Itsdecisiontoincrease
subscription rates for add-
on viewers to stop pass-
word sharing is also be-
lieved to have pushed away
subscribers. It lost 700,000
subscribers after suspend-
ing operations in Russia.
The facility of password
sharing which Netflix al-
lowed for a household was
misused to include about a
100 million n0n-paying
viewers using others’ con-
nections. As Netflix
planned to monetize these
viewers to increase its rev-
enue and subscriber base,
the move did not get a fa-
vourable response.
Netflix viewership got a
boost during the Covid-19
lockdown but the real pic-
ture was revealed only af-
ter the opening of markets
and cinemas. Netflix is not
alone. Disney is also fac-
ing problems and intends
to introduce a lower priced
version to be supported by
advertising. Netflix may
have to take the same
route to shore up its for-
tunes. That would mean
TV commercials disrupt-
ing the fun of watching a
movie or serial seamlessly
may not be liked by view-
ers. With 222 million sub-
scribers still on its list, it
remains the biggest
streaming platform.
NETFLIX MAY HAVE
TO TAKE THE AD ROUTE
Contrary to its forecast of adding 2.5 million subscribers in
the first quarter, Netflix has lost 200,000 of them and
its share prices also tanked on the Wall Street for
two days in a row. Netflix has not predicted a rosy future
and sees a further fall of 2 million subscribers. The
company is facing this jolt for the first time in over 10 years
F
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
If you knew what I know about the power
of giving you would not let a single meal
pass without sharing it in some way.
—Buddha
Anurag Thakur @ianuragthakur
Have you visited the National
Museum of Indian Cinema in
Mumbai? Do visit for a journey
through Indian cinematic history and
experience our cinematic excellence
through the ages. You can also find
unique equipments used since the
advent of moving pictures.
Kiren Rijiju @KirenRijiju
On Civil Services Day, I convey my
greetings to all Civil Servants. The
civil service is the backbone of the
administration of a country. We must
appreciate all the public officers
who are strengthening working
tirelessly to run the administrative
machinery of the country.
TOP TWEETS
he above statement of the
thenPMSirimavoBandara-
naike in her address on
May Day crowd, was an ac-
curate description of the
then pathetic economic
condition of country
, as
wellasitsamessageforthe
policymakers of the nation
needstotakeconcretesteps
to build a self-reliant Sri
Lanka. Economy of the
country has always been in
crisis due to protracted ter-
rorism, civil wars, natural
disasters and short-sighted
policies.Thesituationaris-
ing out of the Corona pan-
demichascreatedaserious
crisis for the economy of
Sri Lanka at present.
Despite the declaration
of economicemergencyon
30 August 2021, the dread-
ful phase of the crisis con-
tinues.Thecountrysuffers
from severe food, power,
and fuel crises and a lack
of pharmaceuticals. In
fact, the short-sighted poli-
ciesof theRajapaksa΄sgov-
ernment have brought the
country to the brink of
bankruptcy
. The Covid-19
lock-down and subsequent
protocols almost brought
the country’s tourism in-
dustry to an end, trigger-
ing a period of pressure in
theeconomyduetoasharp
drop in foreign exchange
earnings.Significantly
,Sri
Lanka received a record $
4 billion in revenue from
thetourismindustryinthe
year 2018, which has come
down to just $ 682 million
in the year 2020. Due to
whichtherewasahugefall
in the Forex reserve of the
country
.Noteworthy
,when
Gotabaya Rajapaksa come
in power in November
2019,thecountryhadacur-
rency reserve of $ 7.5 bil-
lion, which was reduced to
just $ 1.5 billion in Novem-
ber 2021.
In such a situation, in
April 2020, President com-
pletely banned the import
of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides by taking a sui-
cidal decision of 100% or-
ganic farming in the coun-
try
.Theagriculturalsector
which had been dependent
onchemicalfertilizersand
pesticides for a long time
wasalmostruinedwithout
fertilizers. The annual av-
erage production of tea in
Sri Lanka is about 1 mil-
lion tonnes, with exports
earning the government
$1.25 billion annually,
which is 10 percent of the
gross export earnings.
Thiswasreducedtohalf in
the year 2021 and in the
samewaytherewasahuge
decline in paddy and rub-
berproduction.Asaresult,
the majority of the coun-
try’spopulationdependent
on agriculture became a
victim of starvation.
On January 4, FM Basil
Rajapaksa announced a $1
billion (229 billion Sri Lan-
kan rupees) relief package
that was expected to pro-
vide direct relief to 2 mil-
lion people. Efforts have
been made to reduce the
growing discontent of the
people by providing subsi-
dies to small tenants in-
cludingimportof essential
food items and medicines,
payment of wages and al-
lowances of employees.
Butitcouldnothappenand
the public is now protest-
ing furiously
. Foreign debt
of $500millionistobepaid
in January and $ 1 billion
byJuly
.TheRajapaksegov-
ernment closed its many
embassiesfromJanuaryto
save Forex, but the uncon-
trollable situation does not
seem to be improving yet,
because from January
many power generation
units of the country have
no fuel oil. Due to which a
new crisis of power supply
has arisen. A large part of
the food supply in Sri Lan-
kadependsonimports,but
depleted Forex reserves
and a 7.5 percent deprecia-
tion of the Sri Lankan ru-
pee against the dollar last
year, import conditions
worsened causes an unex-
pected rise in food prices.
In early 2020 Govern-
ment had imposed a board
import banned 360 other
non-essential items like
sugar, turmeric, tooth-
brush holders. In March,
inflationhit18.7percent.It
was the highest inflation
rate since October 2008.
Food inflation soared 30.2
percent. Rice is selling at
Rs500andacupof teaatRs
100. The hospitals are the
worst hit as the country
faces a 13-hour power cut.
The shortage of ink and
paper has necessitated the
postponementof examsfor
the students. The street
lightshavetobeturnedoff;
the darkness has filled the
people with great despair.
On the whole, the Sri Lan-
kans face a night-mare.
Desperate people staged
violent demonstrations at
the Presidential residence,
due to which President Go-
tabaya has declared a na-
tionwidepublicemergency
late on April 1. But now the
public anger at the boiling
point, Buddhist monks,
medicalhealthcommunity
,
student unions, trade un-
ions, cricketers and other
big national figures con-
tinuously demonstrating.
Due to the increasing pres-
sure of the public, the
Prime Minister dissolved
hiscabinetandmadeanew
cabinet of 17 ministers
along with the opposition
members. However, this ef-
fort of PM Mahinda can
save the government, not
the economic challenge.
The overall economic
situation in the country is
presenting a sight similar
to the economic crisis of
the seventies. Even at that
time the situation was so
dire that analysts even
called the economy of Sri
Lanka as ‘Ship to mouth
economy’. At that crisis
time PM Bandaranaike
hadsaid-“almostsqueezed
us-we are literally fighting
to survive.”
It is a matter of great
surprise that the govern-
ments of a country with a
populationof only2.5crore
which have been facing
food crisis for decades nei-
ther developed any public
distribution system (PDS)
nor any concrete plans for
agriculture - irrigation or
power generation were
madeandtheLankanwere
left on their fate.
It is to be hoped that the
Rajapaksa brothers will be
shed their traditional Chi-
nese fascination soon and
they will be able to get
theirpeopleoutof thisdire
economic crisis like other
crises with the help of in-
stitutions like IMF and
good allies like India.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
SRI LANKA UNDER A STATE OF EMERGENCY;
FACING AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS
T
DR SURESH YADAV
The writer is Freelancer and
Commentator on International Affairs
The overall economic
situation in the country is
presenting a sight similar to
the economic crisis of the
seventies. Even at that time
the situation was so dire
that analysts even called the
economy of Sri Lanka as
‘Ship to mouth economy’. At
that crisis time PM
Bandaranaike had said -
“almost squeezed us-we are
literally fighting to
survive.” It is a matter of
great surprise that the
governments of a country
with a population of only
2.5 crore which have been
facing food crisis for
decades neither developed
any public distribution
system (PDS) nor any
concrete plans for
agriculture - irrigation or
power generation were
made and the Lankan were
left on their fate
SORRY STATE OF SRILANKA

z New Delhi extended a $1
billion line of credit to
Sri Lanka, a $400 million
currency swap, and a $500
million credit line for fuel
purchases earlier year

z The fertiliser dispute with
China has exposed the re-
ality of the Chinese - debt
trap and increasing the
country’s troubles

z Sri Lanka has to pay $6.8
million instead of contami-
nated organic fertiliser, the
said incident has worked as
a scab in the leprosy

z In these difficult situations,
Sri Lanka has to repay
domestic and foreign debt
of about $ 7.3 billion this
year, of which 68% of the
debt i.e. about $-5 billion
has to pay China

z China had given a loan of
$1.2 billion to Sri Lanka
for the construction of
Hambantota Port under the
Belt and Road project, the
said project badly entangled
Sri Lanka in the debt trap
of China

z Eventually, in 2017 itself
Sri Lanka had given this
port to China on a lease of
99 years, but the situation
did not improve

z Country with a population
of only 2.5 crore which
have been facing food
crisis for decades
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
We are facing a crisis
such as the country
has never yet faced
in its history; the
only salvation lies in
making the country
self-Sufficient.
—Sirimavo Bandaranaike
(May, 1974)
On January 4, FM
Basil Rajapaksa an-
nounced a $1 billion
(229 billion Sri Lankan
rupees) relief package
that was expected to
provide direct relief to
2 million people

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INDIA
05
MODI URGES CIVIL SERVANTS TO WORK FOR
‘NATION FIRST, INDIA FIRST’
New Delhi (ANI): On
the occasion of Civil
Services Day, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday
urged civil servants to
work on three goals to
align with ‘Nation
First, India First’ policy
.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi conferred
Awards for Excellence
in Public Administra-
tion 2021 on Civil Ser-
vices Day
.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, the Prime Minis-
ter said, “Today, on
Civil Services Day, I
would like to stress
three goals: Firstly,
bring Ease of Living to
each and every citizen
of the country. Second-
ly, we have to draft new
governance models
with the goal of making
India the best country
in the world.”
“Thirdly, maintain
the harmony and integ-
rity of the nation with
the underlying mantra
of ‘Nation First’. All
our efforts should be
aligned to one thing:
Nation First, India
First,” he said.
PM added that every
decision taken by the of-
ficials should be with
the goal of ensuring the
unity of the nation. He
said, “We have to uplift
our districts with multi-
pillar activities. Your
India@100 vision
should have your dis-
trict at the top,” he said.
“Our efforts should
be directed towards
making the dreams of
common man a reality
and create a positive at-
mosphere around this
mission,” he said.
“When you try to pro-
actively learn from peo-
ple, you will always find
something new to adapt
in your life,” he said.
Earlier in the day,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi also wished
all Civil Servants.
“Best wishes to all
Civil Servants on the
occasion of Civil Ser-
vices Day. In different
terrains and across dif-
ferent sectors, they are
working tirelessly to
help our citizens and
enhance national pro-
gress. May they keep
serving the nation with
the same zeal,” PM, said
in a tweet on Thursday
.
Every year, April 21 is
observed as Civil Ser-
vices Day
. The civil ser-
vice in India includes
Indian Administrative
Service (IAS), Indian
Police Service (IPS), In-
dian Foreign Service
(IFS) and the central
Group A and Group B
services in the country
.
The first National Civil
Service Day was ob-
served on April 21, 1947.
15TH CIVIL SERVICES DAY
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses during the valedictory
session and awards ceremony on the occasion of 15th Civil
Services Day in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Chalk out plans for Govt
schemes: PM to officials
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Thursday called upon the district officials to draw
an action plan to implement the government
schemes on the ground. On the occasion of
the Civil Services Day, PM Modi urged civil
servants of the country to select any one of
the government schemes and draft a plan to
implement it in districts where they’re posted.
PM Modi also conferred Awards for Excellence
in Public Administration 2021 on Civil Services
Day. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister
said, “Can the award winners share their stories
at training institutes related to civil services?
This will not only inspire others but will also give
practical exposure to them.”
Adani hosts Boris, first
UK PM to visit Gujarat
Ahmedabad: UK
Prime Minister Boris
Johnson, who is on a
two-day visit to India,
met industrialist Gau-
tam Adani on Thursday
.
“Honoured to host @
BorisJohnson, the first
UK PM to visit Gujarat,
at Adani HQ. Delighted
to support climate
sustainability agenda
with a focus on renewa-
bles, green H2 new
energy. Will also work
with UK companies to
co-create defence aer-
ospace technologies,”
Mr Adani tweeted.
According to sources
quoted by news agency
PTI, the two discussed,
among other things,
key sectors such as en-
ergy transition, climate
action, aerospace and
defence collaboration.
With India set to in-
vest $300 billion by 2030
to modernize its armed
forces, sources said col-
laboration in the de-
fence sector was one of
the key focus areas of
the meeting between
Adani and Mr Johnson,
PTI reported.
HAVE ALREADY RAISED UKRAINE ISSUE
WITH MODI AT DIPLOMATIC LEVEL: BORIS
Halol: Asserting that India strongly condemned atroci-
ties in Ukraine and that everybody understands India
and Russia’s “very different relationships historically”,
British PM Boris Johnson said the UK has already
raised the Ukraine war issue with PM Narendra Modi at
a diplomatic level. Johnson’s visit to India comes at a
time when India has taken a neutral stand on the Rus-
sian invasion of Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson places a garland around the
neck of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at his Sabarmati Ashram in
Ahmedabad during a cultural tour on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: Two days
after Prime Minister’s
interaction with Union
Secretaries (02.04.2022),
the Cabinet Secretariat
has shot letters to the
heads of various de-
partments and minis-
tries asking them to ini-
tiate immediate steps to
fill the existing vacan-
cies against sanctioned
posts.
While interacting
with Union Secretaries,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi had expressed
serious concerns over
continuing vacancies in
various departments.
Reportedly
, PM had
emphasizedthatemploy-
ment generation should
be given a high priority
and should be the focus
of Government inter-
ventions across public
and private sectors. Eve-
ry industry/ Depart-
ment should immediate-
ly take steps to fill the
existing vacancies
againstsanctionedposts.
As a matter of fact,
there is a shortage of of-
ficers at various grades
under the Central Sec-
retariat Service (CSS)
and Central Secretariat
Stenographers’ Service
(CSSS) in various de-
partments, thus ad-
versely impacting the
functioning of several
Departments and ham-
pering timelines and ef-
fectiveness in providing
the essential services to
the public and ensuring
good governance - one
of the poll promises of
NDA Govt since 2014.
Taking a look at the
vacancies against the
aforementioned servic-
es (CSS CSSS). Sourc-
es say that roughly all
put together hundreds
and hundreds of posts
are vacant in minis-
tries and departments
at various levels name-
ly; Senior Private Secre-
tary/Principal Staff Of-
ficer, Under Secretary,
Principal Private Secre-
tary, Section Officers,
Private Secretary, As-
sistant Section Officers,
Personnel Assistant,
Stenographer ‘D’, Sen-
ior Secretariat Assis-
tant and Junior Secre-
tariat Assistant.
In last few days many
Union Secretaries have
started responding to
Cabinet Secretariat’s
letter along with the de-
tails of sanctioned
strength and vacancies
in respective depart-
ments ministries at
various levels as afore-
mentioned.
For example the De-
partment of Food and
Public Distribution has
written a letter to Secre-
tary, DoPT requesting
filling up of vacant
posts; details of the va-
cancies are like this:-
Senior Private Secre-
tary/Principal Staff Of-
ficer 3 sanctioned posts
with one vacancy; Un-
der Secretary 31 sanc-
tioned posts with 3 va-
cancies; Principal Pri-
vate Secretary 13 sanc-
tioned posts with one
vacancy; Section Offic-
ers 59 sanctioned posts
with 26 vacancies; Pri-
vate Secretary 29 sanc-
cancies; Assistant Sec-
tion Officers 122 sanc-
cancies; Personnel As-
sistant with 21 sanc-
tioned post with 21 va-
cancies; Stenographer
‘D’ 26 sanctioned post
with 6 vacancies; Sen-
ior Secretariat Assis-
tant 8 sanctioned post
with 2 vacancies; and
Junior Secretariat As-
sistant 12 sanctioned
posts with 6 vacancies.
It may be underlined
that Central Secretariat
which comprises of
mainly three services
i.e. Central Secretariat
Service (CSS), Central
Secretariat Stenogra-
pher Service (CSSS)
and Central Secretariat
Clerical Service (CSCS)
is having hundreds of
vacancies.
The PM’s direction
has provided the much-
needed solace to CSS
CSSS cadre officers in
view of their long-pend-
ing attempts at seeking
decision-makers’ atten-
tion to the career pros-
pects and long-pending
issue of promotion of
CSS Cadre. They had
met Dr. Jitendra Singh,
MoS for Personnel
PMO, seeking his inter-
vention and getting
them justice. Though
their promotional is-
sues, subject to judicial
outcomes, are yet to be
addressed it seems that
their efforts are likely
to bear fruits. A section
of the CSS cadre looks
at the recent develop-
ment (filling up vacan-
cies with urgency) and
presumes that their col-
lective efforts have not
gone unheard and their
promotion issues may
soon gather momentum
in the backdrop of PM’s
latest direction to Un-
ion Secretaries.
PM’s direction filling vacancies provides solace to CSS CSS Cadre officers
DELHI HIGH COURT SEEKS CENTRE’S STAND
ON CHALLENGE TO NEW CRIMINAL LAW
SC TAKES UP PLEA
OVER MGNREGA
SC TO HEAR SAD
LEADER’S PLEA
Court on Thursday
has agreed to hear a
plea alleging a “grave
crisis” being faced by the
workers under the rural
employment guarantee
scheme, MNREGA, with
their pending wages piling
up with negative balances
in many states.
Court on Thursday posted
for hearing on April 26 a
plea filed by SAD leader
Bikram Singh Majithia
seeking quashing of cases
registered against him by
the Punjab Police under
the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances
Act, 1985.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought
the Centre’s response on a public interest litigation
claiming that the provisions of the Criminal Procedure
(Identification) Act. A bench headed by Acting Chief
Justice Vipin Sanghi stated that the plea “requires con-
sideration” and issued notice on the petition by lawyer
Harshit Goel who asserted that the law aids profiling.
India condemns Ilhan
Omar’s visit to PoK
Rajnath exhorts companies to join
India’s ‘Make for World’ drive
New Delhi (PTI): India
onThursdaycondemned
thevisitof USCongress-
woman Ilhan Omar to
Pakistan-occupied-
Kashmir(PoK),sayingit
reflected her “narrow-
minded” politics.
At a media briefing,
External Affairs Minis-
try Spokesperson Arin-
dam Bagchi criticised
Omar for visiting PoK.
The US Congress-
woman is currently on
a four-day visit to Paki-
stan.
“We have noted that
she has visited a part of
the Indian Union Terri-
tory of Jammu and
Kashmir that is cur-
rently illegally occu-
pied by Pakistan. Let
me just say that if such
a politician wishes to
practice her narrow-
minded politics... that
may be her business,”
Bagchi said.
New Delhi (ANI): Un-
derlining the impor-
tance of strengthening
the commercial and
economic pillars be-
tween India-US, De-
fence Minister Rajnath
Singh on Thursday
noted that both coun-
tries are expanding en-
gagements in critical
and emerging domains
of defence and exhorted
companies to take ad-
vantage of policy initia-
tives in India to steadily
march from ‘Make in
India’ towards ‘Make
for the World’.
Rajnath made these
remarks at the Ameri-
can Chamber of Com-
merce in India’s (AM-
CHAM) Annual Gener-
al Meeting.
This event took place
in the backdrop of the
recently concluded 2+2
dialogue, during which
the Defence Minister
stated the positive con-
versation between PM
Narendra Modi and
President Joe Biden has
enabled both nations to
look forward.
During his US visit,
the minister said he re-
ceived a positive re-
sponse from American
leadership for co-devel-
opment, co-production
and investments in re-
search and industry
.
India-UAE deal
effective from
May: UAE Min
Dubai: The “historic”
Comprehensive Eco-
nomic Partnership
Agreement between In-
dia and the UAE will
come into effect on May
1, an Emirati minister
said on Thursday
.
The agreement will
provide significant ben-
efits to Indian and UAE
businesses.
Minister of State for
Foreign Trade Thani Al
Zeyoudi took to Twitter
to announce that India
and the UAE’S CEPA)
will come into effect on
May 1.
INDIAN CINEMA CREATED IDENTITY FOR
INDIA IN WORLD,SAYS ANURAG THAKUR
Mumbai (ANI): Union
Minister of Informa-
tion and Broadcasting
Anurag Thakur on
Wednesday visited the
National Museum of
Indian Cinema (NMIC)
at the Films Division
Complex on Pedder
Road in Mumbai and
said that Indian cinema
has succeeded in creat-
ing an identity for India
in the world.
The Museum is housed
in two buildings — the
19th-century heritage
structure the Gulshan
Mahal and custom-built
New Museum Building.
Thakur will be on Gu-
jarat tour on Friday,
and hold meeting with
PBI officials in Gandhi-
nagar. Will participate
in Global Ayush Invest-
ments session and inno-
vation summit.
Union Minister for IB Anurag Thakur visits National Museum of
Indian Cinema, in Mumbai on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
ED raids Jindal Steel’s
offices in Delhi, Gurugram
CBI registers two cases on
graft charges made by Malik
New Delhi: The federal
financial crime fighting
agency raided offices of
Jindal Steel Power
Ltd (JSPL) in New Del-
hi on Thursday over
suspected violation of
foreign exchange regu-
lations, a source famil-
iar with the matter said.
The federal ED also
conducted searches in
Gurugram, a satellite
town near the capital’s
main airport. Jindal
Steel shares plunged as
much as 6% to a three-
week low in their big-
gest fall since mid-
March. Thecompanydid
not respond to a Reuters
request for comment.
“The searches have
been going on since
morning, maybe over
old cases,” the source
said, declining to be
identified due to the
sensitive nature of the
matter.
Srinagar: The Central
Bureau of Investigation
has registered two cas-
es — on a reference
from the Jammu
Kashmir government
following corruption
charges made by its for-
mer Governor Satya
Pal Malik — to probe
alleged malpractices in
the award of two con-
tracts related to civil
works worth about Rs
2,200 crore and a group
health insurance
scheme. Malik, who is
now the Governor of
Meghalaya, had alleged
corruption in these two
projects.
IN THE COURTYARD
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. —FILE PHOTO

BIZ BUZZ
06
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
INDIA'S HIGH GROWTH RATE
positivenewsforworld:IMF
Washington (PTI): A
high growth rate for In-
dia, as projected in the
latest World Economic
Outlook, is not only
healthy for the country
but also positive news for
the world, Managing Di-
rector of the Internation-
al Monetary Fund
Kristalina Georgieva has
said.
The IMF, early this
week, projected a fairly
robust growth of 8.2 per
cent for India in 2022,
making it the fastest-
growing major economy
in the world, almost twice
faster than China’s 4.4
per cent.
The global
growth has been
projected at 3.6 per
cent in 2022, down
from 6.1 per cent in 2021.
“India is one of the
economies that are grow-
ing at a high rate. Even
with the small down-
grade, growth is project-
ed for this year to be 8.2
percent. Healthy for In-
dia, but also positive in a
worldwheregrowthslow-
down is creating a major
problem, Georgieva told
reporters at a news con-
ference here on the side-
lines of the annual spring
meeting of the IMF and
the World Bank on
Wednesday
.
On Monday, she met
the visiting Indian Fi-
nance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman.
She said India already
plays a very important
international role.
IMF urges India
to give top priority
to food security
Washington (PTI):
Applauding India for
prioritising public in-
vestment in its annual
budget, the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund
has urged the country
to prioritise food secu-
rity and expand trans-
fers to the vulnerable
in the wake of the
global economic crisis
triggered by the war in
Ukraine.
Paolo Mauro, Depu-
ty Director, Fiscal Af-
fairs Department of
the IMF told reporters
during a news confer-
ence held here on the
sidelines of the annu-
al Spring meeting of
the IMF and the World
Bank that the chal-
lenges coming from
the economic conse-
quences of Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine
were quite sever.
Observing that in-
flation in India is
somewhat elevated, he
said that it is a little
bit above the comfort
zone for the Central
Bank, which is already
addressing that issue.
On the fiscal front,
the budget is approxi-
mately neutral, which
seems to be sensible at
this time, he said .
Given the price rise,
clearly this is a situa-
tion in which house-
holds are feeling the
pain of the situation,
Mauro said.
India’s move
to sell oil from
its stockpiles
welcomed
Washington (PTI):
World Bank Presi-
dent David Malpass
has welcomed India’s
move to begin selling
oil from its stock-
piles, asserting that
the world needs to
take important steps
to address the cur-
rent set of crises.
Speaking on the
sidelines of the an-
nual Spring meeting
of the IMF and the
World Bank held
here, Malpass told re-
porters that allowing
more trade and open-
ing of markets were
“very important”
steps.
“I was intrigued to
see and welcomed In-
dia’smovesyesterday
and today to begin to
sell from its stock-
piles. I think market
opening steps by
manyof theadvanced
economies could add
a lot to the global sup-
plies and alleviate
someof theimpacton
the poor countries, he
said on Wednesday
.
Fertiliser subsidy set to touch
a record high of `1.65 lakh cr
New Delhi (ANI): The
Indian government’s
fertiliser subsidy bill is
set to touch an all-time
high of Rs 1.65 lakh
crore this fiscal against
Rs 1.05 lakh crore budg-
eted, due to an unprec-
edented rise in the cost
of raw materials and
prices of fertilisers
globally
, according to a
CRISIL Ratings report.
The report noted
that the government
has been proactive in
addressing the situa-
tion. In the past two
fiscals, the govern-
ment has paid an addi-
tional Rs 1.2 lakh crore
and increased the
budgetedsubsidy
.How-
ever, the steep rise in
raw material prices
has been negating this,
and another interven-
tion may be needed in
this fiscal. Not doing so
would take the subsidy
arrears to an all-time
high of over Rs 75,000
crore by end of this fis-
cal, it said.
Over 85 per cent of
the subsidy arrears
could be contributed
by urea. This is be-
cause pooled gas prices
-- a blend of domestic
gas and imported LNG
considered for billing
to fertilisers plants --
had shot up more than
75 per cent last fiscal.
Reliance, TCS, HDFC lift
Sensex 874 points higher
Mumbai (ANI): The In-
dian equities markets
key indices, Sensex and
Nifty
, surged by around
1.5percentonThursday
led by strong buying
support in heavy-
weights Reliance Indus-
tries, TCS, HDFC and
Infosys.
The 30 stock SP BSE
Sensex surged 874.18
points or 1.53 per cent to
57,911.68 points against
its previous day’s
close at 57,037.50
points. This is the
second consecu-
tive day of strong
rally in the mar-
kets. The Sensex
had gained 574.35
points or 1.02 per
cent on Wednes-
day
.
RIL m-cap nears
`19-tn mark;
stock surges
10% in 3 days
Agencies (Mumbai):
Mukesh Ambani-led
Reliance Industries
(RIL) is set to become
India’s first company
to hit market capitalisa-
tion (m-cap) of Rs 19
trillion after a strong
rally over the past
three trading days.
RIL’s m-cap hit Rs
18.85 trillion intra-day
today after the stock
price of the company
touched a new high of
Rs 2,787.10. The stock
surpassed its previous
high of Rs 2,750 that it
touched on October 19,
2021. According to the
BSE data, RIL m-cap
stood at Rs 18.84 tril-
lion at 01:16 PM, just a
per cent away from the
Rs 19-trillion feat.
NITI Aayog releases
battery swapping policy
New Delhi (PTI):
Government think
tank Niti Aayog on
Thursday released a
draft battery swap-
ping policy under
which all metropoli-
tan cities with a
population above 40
lakh will be priori-
tised for develop-
ment of battery
swapping network
under the first
phase.
The Aayog in its
draft policy further
said all major cities
such as state capi-
tals, UT headquar-
ters and cities with
population above 5
lakh will be covered
under the second
phase, given the im-
portance of the two-
wheeler and three-
wheeler vehicle seg-
ments in growing
cities.
According to the
draft policy, vehicles
with swappable bat-
teries will be sold
without a battery,
providing the benefit
of lower purchase
costs to potential EV
owners.
Vehicles with
swappable
batteries will be
sold without a
battery
STRONG RALLY
5G auction process on track,
says Ashwini Vaishnaw
New Delhi (PTI): New
Delhi: Just days after
the telecom regulator
came out with its rec-
ommendations on
spectrum pricing and
auction modalities,
Telecom Minister Ash-
wini Vaishnaw on
Thursday said that
things are moving “as
per schedule” on 5G.
The comment as-
sumes significance as
the Indian market is
gearing up for the next-
generation 5G servic-
es, that will usher in
ultra high-speeds and
spawn new-age offer-
ings and business mod-
els. The 5G spectrum
auction is expected to
be held in June-July
time frame.
To a question on
TRAI’s recent 5G rec-
ommendation and
what will be the next
course of action for the
telecom department,
Mr Vaishnaw said,
“Things are moving on
track, things are mov-
ing on 5G as per the
schedule.”
The minister de-
clined to make any spe-
cific observations on
the 5G recommenda-
tions and said, “Please
wait for few more
weeks, I think we
should be coming up
with good solution.”
Mumbai (PTI): Telecom service operator Airtel on
Thursday urged the government not to charge high
fees for allotting 5G spectrum, saying a faster roll
out of the next-generation telecommunication net-
work can have more benefits than collecting reve-
nue in upfront cost. Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of
Bharti Enterprises which runs the country’s second
largest telco, said that there are a variety of appli-
cations across sectors ranging from healthcare to
video interactions, which will make 5G a technol-
ogy to be introduced as soon as possible. “5G is
important and that’s why we keep on requesting
the government to make the 5G as an enabler for
hundreds of things that we develop in the country,
to keep the spectrum at affordable pricing, to not
load the industry too much,”Mittal said.
AIRTEL URGES GOVERNMENT TO KEEP
5G SPECTRUM ALLOTMENT FEES LOW
New Delhi (Agencies): Various waves of Covid
could not sweep off India’s growth story com-
pletely. Showing resilience India has registered
1.67 lakh companies in the financial year 2021-
22 (April-March), according to a report by Min-
istry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The increase
is significant considering that
number of companies incor-
porated during Financial Year
2020-21 were the highest
in any of the previous
years. The MCA had reg-
istered 1.55 lakh compa-
nies in 2020-2021.
RECORD NUMBER OF COMPANIES
REGISTERED IN FY22 DESPITE COVID
Individuals seek more loans to celebrate festivals
Mumbai (PTI): Origi-
nation of personal
loans, where a borrow-
er avails credit without
any security, doubled
during the 2021 festive
season as compared to
three years ago, indi-
cating an increased
propensity among peo-
ple to celebrate using
such instruments, a
report said on Thurs-
day
.
Personal loan origi-
nation in value terms
doubled to over Rs 1.47
lakh crore in December
2021 quarter as com-
pared to Rs 75,000 crore
in 2018, the report by
Crif High Mark, a cred-
it bureau, said.
It can be noted that
typically, banks charge
higher interest rates
for such loans due to
non-availability of any
security. Defaults are
also higher in the seg-
ment.
There was an in-
crease in origination
share in value terms
for the state-owned
lenders and the non-
bank lenders in the
three year-period,
while private sector
lenders witnessed a de-
cline for the same.
However, when com-
pared in volume terms,
there was a decline in
the share of public sec-
tor banks while the
same for private banks
and NBFCs saw an in-
crease during the peri-
od under review, the
report said.
Inlinewithsalesdata
showing demand resist-
ance in the segment,
two-wheelerloanssawa
declineinoriginationin
value terms to Rs 15,281
crore in the third quar-
ter of FY22 from Rs
16,393 crore in FY19, the
report said.
With respect to vol-
umes in origination,
there was a sharp 29
per cent decline to 20.4
lakh accounts in Q3
FY22, from 28.7 lakh ac-
counts in Q3FY19, the
report said.
Govt may revisit BPCL privatisation,
including revising the terms of sale
government may take
a fresh look at BPCL
privatisation, includ-
ing revising the terms
of sale, an official
said.
“We need to go back
to the drawing board
on BPCL. There are is-
sues in terms of con-
sortium formation,
geopolitical situation
and energy transition
aspects,” an official
said.
The government is
selling its entire 52.98
per cent stake in BPCL
for which three expres-
sions of interest (EoIs),
including one from bil-
lionaire Anil Agarwal-
led Vedanta Group,
have been received.
Financial bids are
yet to be invited.
The official said the
transition towards
green and renewable
fuel has made privati-
sation difficult in ex-
isting terms.
The Government is
selling its entire
52.98 per cent stake
in BPCL

07
NEWS
After EV scooters catch fire,
Gadkari talks heavy penalty
Union Minister also promises new quality-centric guidelines for electric vehicles
Noting that several in-
cidents involving elec-
tric scooters have taken
place over the last two
months, Transport
Minister Nitin Gadkari
on Thursday said an ex-
pert committee will
probe the accidents and
also talked about heavy
fines, among other
measures, sending out a
strong message.
“Several mishaps in-
volving Electric Two
Wheelers have come to
light in last two months.
It is most unfortunate
that some people have
lost their lives and sev-
eral have been injured
in these incidents.
We have constituted
an Expert Committee to
enquire into these inci-
dents and make recom-
mendations on remedi-
al steps,” the Union
Minister said in a string
of tweets.
Earlier this month, a
video of an Ola e-scoot-
er engulfed in flames
went viral online, trig-
gering a government
probe. A scooter from
startup Pure EV also
caught ablaze and a
burning Okinawa Auto-
tech Pvt bike killed two
people. The companies
say they are investigat-
ing the incidents.
“If any company is
found negligent in their
processes, a heavy pen-
alty will be imposed
and a recall of all defec-
tive vehicles will also be
ordered,” said Gadkari.
The Minister has
urged the companies to
take proactive action in
the matter, underlining
that the government is
committed to ensure
safety of commuters.
C’garh will have roads‘like those
inAmerica’ in 5 years:Gadkari
Raipur (PTI): Chhat-
tisgarhwillhaveroads
like those in America
in the next five years,
Union minister Nitin
Gadkari assured on
Thursday as he inau-
gurated and laid the
foundation stone of 33
road projects worth Rs
9,240 crore in the state.
Addressing a func-
tion in the Congress-
ruled state, Gadkari
also said that “politics
of development is dif-
ferent from politics of
party”, and added that
development of the
country
, village, farm-
er and poor should be
the priority
.
State Chief Minis-
ter Bhupesh Baghel
presidedoverthefunc-
tion held at the audito-
rium of Pt Jawahar
Lal Nehru Medical
College Raipur, where
the Union Road Trans-
port and Highways
minister dedicated the
two road upgradation
projects - two-lane
Manendragarh to
Surajpur and two-lane
Chilpi to Kawardha
having a length of
78.10 km and 50.8 km
respectively
.
Gadkari laid the
foundationstonefor31
other projects, includ-
ing an overbridge at
Kachna-Khamardih
railway crossing in
Raipur.
Underlining the im-
portance of water,
transport, power and
communication for
the growth of any
state, he said, “The
balanced development
of these four sectors
accelerates the agri-
culture and industry
growth and result in
creation of employ-
ment.”
Based on the
reports, we will
issue necessary
orders on the
defaulting compa-
nies. We will soon
issue quality-cen-
tric guidelines for
Electric Vehicles.
—Nitin Gadkari,
Transport Minister
UPbringsdownhighdecibel
soundofFaithtocontrolnoise
First India Bureau
Lucknow, April 21:
Blaring sound of loud-
speakers from religious
shrines in UP have al-
most fallen silent or
considerably lowered
down to avoid noise pol-
lution in the state.
While hour-long Man-
galacharan Arati at Sri
Krishna Janmabhoomi
in Mathura was not
played through the
loudspeaker at Bhag-
wat Bhawan, in Gora-
khpur Gorakhnath tem-
ple trust has lowered
the volume of loud-
speakers in the temple
premises. Moreover,
loudspeakers installed
outside the temple have
been removed.
The move has fol-
lowed the instructions
of UP Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath that
high sound of loud-
speakers should not
cause inconvenience to
people. While issuing
instructions for peace
and communal harmo-
ny during forthcoming
festival seasons Yogi
asked the officers that
“loudspeakers can be
used but they should
ensure that sound does
not come out of the
premises. Other people
should have any prob-
lem”.
While in Meerut the
management of Rajesh-
wari temple has decid-
ed to keep the volume
low, Mandi Mutt coor-
dination committee
Kanpur has taken off
loudspeakers from the
temple. Kali Paltan
temple Meerut has also
taken similar decision.
Not to lag behind all
the prominent saints in
Ayodhya have an-
nounced to strictly ad-
here to Yogi’s guide-
lines to keep a check on
loudspeakers.
Image for representational purpose only.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union min-
ister Jitendra Singh
said on Thursday that
next generation reforms
in governance will be an
important milestone to
achieve the vision of ‘
At-
manirbharBharat’(self-
reliant India).
Speaking during an
event at the Vigyan Bha-
wan here to mark the
15th civil services day,
he said the ultimate ob-
jective of good govern-
ance is to bring ease of
living in the life of a
common man.
There is a need for
choosing right kind of
indices for Vision In-
dia@2047’, he said and
urged civil servants also
to deliberate upon tech-
nology-driven growth
that lies ahead.
The Minister of State
for Personnel said that
soon after becoming
Prime Minister in 2014,
Narendra Modi had giv-
en a mantra of maxi-
mum governance, mini-
mum government’.
He said that within
three months of coming
to power in 2014, the
first Modi dispensation
abolished the century
old colonial practice of
attestation of docu-
ments by a gazetted of-
ficer.
This gave a message
to the people that now
there is a government
which has courage and
capacity to trust the
youth and citizens of its
own country
, he said.
He said that in his In-
dependence Day speech
from the ramparts of
the Red Fort in 2015,
Prime Minister Modi
had suggested the aboli-
tion of interview, and
making job selection to-
tally on the basis of a
written test for provid-
ing level playing field.
Since 2016, the De-
partment of Personnel
and Training (DoPT)
subsequently abolished
interviews for Group-B
(non- gazetted) and
Group-C posts in the
central govt, Singh said.
He said that similarly
in the last eight years,
the government has
done away with around
1,500 rules which had
become obsolete.
He said that in 2014, at
the time of formation of
the government at the
Centre, the grievance
cell of the government
of India used to receive
two lakh complaints in a
year, but today this has
gone up to 25 lakh,
which means that the
government is prompt
and follows a timeline
and our disposal rate is
95-98% per week.
Singh said, with the
support of PM Modi, a
path-breaking initiative
has been taken to shift
the working and func-
tioning of the civil serv-
ants from rule to role’,
through the govern-
ment’s most ambitious
reform Mission Kar-
mayogi’, so that they are
confident and able to
perform the task as-
signed to them.
‘Next Gen governance reforms important to achieve Atmanirbhar Bharat’
ACHIEVING MISSION
Union minister Jitendra Singh. —FILE PHOTO
LAUDS PM MODI
UP SHOULD HAVE SPECIAL INVESTIGATING
AGENCY LIKE THE CBI: ADITYANATH
Lucknow, April 21: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi on Thursday said
that UP should have a Special Police Establishment Act and
agency on the lines of CBI. He said this during the presen-
tation of the action plan of Home, Prison, Home Guard,
Secretariat Administration, Appointment and Personnel
department. “To strengthen the system of investigation a
UP Special Police Establishment Act should be prepared
on the lines of the CBI. Process should be started in this
direction within 100 days.” He directed to arrange training of
ATS team by foreign agencies. “To increase the professional
skill of the ATS team it should be trained by investigation
or secret agencies like FBI and Homeland Security along
with different agencies in the country,” he said. Yogi said
the facility of depositing the amount of prescribed challan in
violation of traffic rules on the spot should be given.
New Delhi (PTI): A
parliamentary panel
chaired by Congress
leader Jairam Ramesh
has cautioned against
encouraging the sale
and purchase of captive
elephants and recom-
mended the need to
strike a careful balance
between tradition and
conservation.
The committee, in its
report on the Wild Life
(Protection) Amend-
ment Bill, 2021, said it is
“deeply conscious” of
the fact that a number
of religiousandcultural
institutions in some
states own elephants
whichplayacrucialrole
in daily worship and
rituals.
It said it is in “broad
agreement” with the
amendments proposed
for the improved care
for seized and surren-
dered wild animals.
However, an amend-
ment that provides for
transfer or transport of
elephants as per condi-
tions prescribed by the
central government
“has raised serious con-
cern in the wildlife con-
servation community
includingamongstsome
state governments,” the
report, which was sub-
mitted to Rajya Sabha
Chairman M Venkaiah
Naidu virtually
, stated.
The Wild Life (Protec-
tion) Amendment Bill
2021 was introduced in
the Lok Sabha on De-
cember 17, 2021, and was
referred to the parlia-
mentary panel on De-
cember 25.
“The committee is
deeply conscious of the
fact that a number of
religious and cultural
institutions in some
states own elephants
whichplayacrucialrole
in daily worship and
rituals.
“That is why it has at-
tempted to strike a care-
ful balance to ensure
that age-old traditions
are not interfered with
while at the same time
addressing widespread
concerns that nothing
should be done to even
give an impression that
private ownership of el-
ephants and trade in
them is going to be en-
couraged,” the report
said. The committee cat-
egorically suggested
amending all those
clauses which may re-
sult in encouraging the
sale and purchase of
captive elephants.
Italsostronglyrecom-
mended the deletion of
a clause as proposed in
the Bill in order to en-
sureafuturepathwayof
acquisitionof elephants
byreligiousinstitutions.
Parlpanelcautionsagainstsale,
purchaseofcaptiveelephants
Bihar govt blacklists 91
contractors for failing
to complete projects
Kumar Prabodh
Patna: The Bihar gov-
ernment has blacklist-
ed 91 contractors and
debarred 1,490 others,
engaged in construc-
tion of rural roads un-
der PMGSY and MMG-
SY, after they failed to
complete the projects
on time and in some
cases for not following
terms and conditions of
the agreement, Rural
Works Department
(RWD) Minister Jayant
Raj said.
“The blacklisted and
debarred contractors
not only violated the
agreement but also ig-
nored the government’s
repeated request to
speed up works related
to rural roads under the
schemes like Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yo-
jana (PMGSY), Mukhya
Mantri Gram Sampark
Yojana (MMGSY) and
Gramin Tola Sampark
Nischay Yojana
(GTSNY), the RWD min-
ister said.
These contractors
(blacklisted 91 and de-
barred 1,490) were reg-
istered with the RWD of
the state government,
he said, adding that
there are around 8,000
contractors who are
listed with the RWD in
the state.
The minister further
said, “Decision to debar
and blacklist them was
taken on the basis of
their performance re-
port pertaining to the
projects which they
handled in 2021-22. Not
completing projects on
time itself is a sort of
corruption as it causes
cost escalation and puts
extra financial burden
on the exchequer. There
is no compromise with
our Chief Minister Nit-
ish Kumar’s policy of
zero tolerance against
corruption”.
The department will
not give any construc-
tion work to the de-
barred contractors till
the expiry of the speci-
fied period, he said.
Delhi HC on Thursday
sought the stand of
court authorities on
public interest litiga-
tion against the fraudu-
lent use of ‘Judge’ park-
ing stickers on vehicles.
A bench headed by
Acting Chief Justice Vi-
pin Sanghi issued no-
tice to the administra-
tion of the Delhi HC and
Tis Hazari courts on the
petition by lawyer San-
ser Pal Singh and asked
the authorities to file
their response specifi-
cally dealing with cer-
tain instances men-
tioned by the petitioner
concerning the infrac-
tion of the guidelines on
issuance of such park-
ing stickers and to take
remedial steps where
required.
The petitioner has
claimed that there have
been instances when he
noticed presence of cars
with a ‘Judge’ parking
sticker but it was subse-
quently found that no
such sticker was issued
by authorities against
the registration num-
bers of those vehicles.
Use of‘Judge’
parking sticker:
HC issues notice
Guwahati (PTI): A Me-
dia Handbook, which
looks into various poli-
cies, schemes and guide-
lines available for the
protection of children
while also focusing on
how the COVID-19 pan-
demic has impacted vio-
lence against them, was
launched as part of
UNICEF’s Suraksha
campaign here on
Thursday
.
The Handbook is ex-
pected to help journal-
ists in coverage of is-
sues relating to children
in print, broadcast and
digital media, a release
said. Releasing the
Handbook, Assam Infor-
mation and Public Rela-
tions Minister Pijush
Hazarika said, The
COVID-19 pandemic has
affected lives of chil-
dren violence against
them in different forms,
malnutrition resulting
from severe economic
hardshipinfamiliesand
inequality in receiving
education have hin-
dered their growth and
development leading to
severe long-term conse-
quences in their future.
It is essential to ad-
dress these issues so
that every child is able
to prosper in a safe and
secure environment,
and we do not lose out
on the progress that we
have made in securing
the rights of our chil-
dren, Hazarika added.
Pijush Hazarika launching the handbook.
Hazarikareleases‘Media
HandbookonSuraksha’

J
agdeesh Chandra met Dr Jitendra
Singh, Union Minister of State (Ind.
Charge) Science Tech, PMO,
PP/DoPT, Atomic Energy and Space at
his residence on Thursday evening, to
congratulate him on the wedding of his
son. Arunoday, son of Manju and Dr
Jitendra Singh wed Parul, daughter of
Dr Meenakshi and Dr Rajive Kotwal on
April 17 at 4, Kushak Road, New Delhi.
Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh, Rajasthan
Governor Kalraj Mishra, former
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara
Raje, and many other dignitaries
attended the wedding. Jagdeesh
Chandra, who was on a day’s visit to the
national capital, blessed the newlyweds
and wished them all happiness.
MEET
GREET
Jagdeesh Chandra in conversation with Dr Jitendra Singh. Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Dr Jitendra Singh, Arunoday Singh, Parul Singh and Manju Singh.
08
2NDFRONT
The pursuit of truth and beauty
is never-ending and hence we
are permitted to defy age.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
British PM Boris Johnson favours more skilled visas for Indians
London (PTI): British
Prime Minister Boris
Johnson has expressed
his support for more
skilled visas for Indi-
ans as part of the ef-
forts to expedite the
ambitious free trade
agreement (FTA) being
negotiated between the
two countries.
Speaking to reporters
from the UK on the
prime ministerial flight
to Ahmedabad on
Wednesday night, John-
son acknowledged a
massive shortage of ex-
pertsinITandprogram-
ming sectors and said
Britain needed “hun-
dreds of thousands of
workerswithin-demand
skills.
He was responding to
questions around visas
and free movement of
people, which has been
a key demand on the In-
dian side to clinch any
FTA with the UK.
“I have always been in
favour of having people
coming into this coun-
try,” Johnson was quot-
ed as saying by The In-
dependent’ newspaper.
“We have a massive
shortage in the UK, not
leastinexpertsinITand
programming. We are
short to the tune of hun-
dreds of thousands in
our economy
. We need to
have a professional ap-
proach, but it has got to
be controlled,” he said.
According to the lat-
est UK Home Office sta-
tistics, Indian profes-
sionals continue to ac-
count for the largest
number of UK skilled
work visas granted with
67,839 issued last year,
which is 14 per cent
higher than 2019.
Indian student num-
bers have also regis-
tered a steady rise since
the introduction of post-
study work options un-
der the UK’s post-Brexit
points-based visa sys-
tem.
Meanwhile, the third
round of FTA negotia-
tions is scheduled in
Delhi for next week and
Johnson has expressed
his hope of concluding a
deal by the end of this
year, indicating autumn
2022 as a sped-up time-
line while in India.
“Both countries have
set out an intention to
reach an agreement by
the end of this year. It’s
not a fixed deadline, we
won’t rush it. We would
take as long as it takes to
reach a good deal for
both countries, his offi-
cial spokesperson at 10
Downing Street said on
the eve of his visit.
AGREEMENT
Rajnath asks Army
to prepare for
every challenge
New Delhi(PTI): In the
backdrop of the Russia-
Ukraine war, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
on Thursday asked the
top commanders of the
Army to prepare for
every possible security
challenge that India
may face in the future
including that of un-
conventional and asym-
metric warfare.
Singh made the re-
marks at the biannual
Army Commanders’
Conference that began
on Monday
. The defence
minister also compli-
mented the Army for its
operational readiness
to deal with any possi-
ble eventualities. The
commanders carried
out an extensive review
of India’s national secu-
rity challenges along
the borders with China
and Pakistan as well as
assessed possible geo-
political implications
of the Russia-Ukraine
war for the region.
“Addressed the Army
Commanders Confer-
ence today. Compli-
mented the Indian
Army for their opera-
tional preparedness and
capabilities. Exhorted
the Military leadership
to prepare for every pos-
sible challenge in fu-
ture, including the chal-
lenge of unconvention-
al asymmetric war-
fare,” Singh tweeted.
The Army said the de-
fence minister appreci-
ated the force for “self-
less and unflinching”
service to the nation
and its relentless efforts
towards modernisation
through indigenisation.
The five-day confer-
ence will come to an end
on Friday
. The Army
Commanders’ Confer-
ence is an apex level bi-
annual event that is held
in April and October
every year. The confer-
ence is an institutional
platform for conceptual
level deliberations, cul-
minating in making im-
portant policy decisions
for the Indian Army
.
Officials said the con-
ference held detailed
deliberations on possi-
ble implications of the
war in Ukraine for re-
gional security as well
as various military as-
pects of the conflict.
The commanders
also carried out a com-
prehensive review of
India’s military prepar-
edness along the
3,400-km-long Line of
Actual Control (LAC) in
view of the lingering
military standoff with
China in certain fric-
tion points in eastern
Ladakh, they said.
The anti-terror oper-
ation in Jammu and
Kashmir as well as the
overall situation in the
Union Territory was
also deliberated upon
extensively at the con-
ference, officials said.
Explosions in north Afghanistan kill at least 10
Kabul (AP): A series
of explosions across
Afghanistan on Thurs-
day killed at least 10
people and wounded
scores more, according
to police and hospital
officials.
No one immediately
took responsibility for
the deadly explosions,
but they mostly target-
ed the country’s minor-
ity Shiite Muslims and
hadallthehallmarksof
a deadly Islamic State
affiliate known as Is-
lamic State in Kho-
rasan Province, or IS-K.
The worst of the
three attacks occurred
in northern Mazar-e-
Sharif where at least 10
worshippers were
killed as they knelt in
prayer, said Dr. Ghaw-
suddin Anwari, head of
the main hospital in
northern Mazar-e-Sha-
rif. Another 40 were in-
jured. They were
brought in ambulances
and private cars. The
explosion at the Sai Do-
ken mosque in north-
ern Mazar-e-Sharif oc-
curred as Muslims
mark the holy month of
Ramadan, when the
faithful fast from sun-
rise to sunset.
Earlier Thursday, a
roadside bomb explod-
ed and injured two chil-
dren. That bomb also
targeted the country’s
minority Shiites, strik-
ing in the Dasht-e-
Barchi neighborhood
of Kabul, dominated by
Afghanistan’s minority
.
Two days earlier in
the same area, multiple
explosions targeting
educational institu-
tions killed at least six
people,mostlychildren,
and wounded 17 others.
Kashmir weather:
Snowfall in higher
reaches, rains in plains
Srinagar (PTI): Many
areas in the higher
reaches of Kashmir re-
ceived fresh snowfall on
Thursday while the
plains were lashed by
rains, bringing respite
from the unusual warm
temperature, officials
said.
Many areas includ-
ing the famous tourist
destination of Gulmarg
in north Kashmir’s Bar-
amulla district, Gurez
in Bandipora, Machil in
Kupwara, and Son-
amarg in Ganderbal,
received fresh snowfall,
the officials said.
They said snowfall
was reported from Zo-
jila axis on the Srina-
gar-Leh highway as
well as in the higher
reaches of Srinagar.
There were reports
of hailstorm from some
areas of Pulwama in
south Kashmir.
The plain areas in the
Kashmir Valley re-
ceived rainfall, they
added. The wet weather
spell brought down the
temperature across the
valley, bringing respite
from the unusual warm
temperatures prevalent
there, the officials said.
Pakistan PM Sharif orders foolproof
security for Imran Khan over threats
Islamabad (PTI): Paki-
stan’s new Prime Min-
ister Shehbaz Sharif on
Thursday directed the
Interior Ministry to
take effective and im-
mediate steps to pro-
vide foolproof security
to ousted premier Im-
ran Khan in the wake
of threats.
The threat was issued
by the security agencies
ahead of his planned
participation in a rally
in Lahore on Thursday
.
Khan, who was asked to
address his supporters
virtually
,hasdeclinedto
do so.
A statement issued by
the Prime Minister’s Of-
fice on Twitter said that
premier Sharif has di-
rected the Interior Min-
istry to take measures.
“Shehbaz Sharif has
directed the Interior Di-
vision to take effective
and immediate steps for
provision of foolproof
security to ex-premier
Imran Khan. He further
said that peaceful public
meetings are part of de-
mocracy and instructed
that no hurdle should be
created,” it said.
Earlier, the Lahore
administration asked
the organisers of the
rally to install a bullet-
proof shield for him and
also advised the former
prime minister to use a
bulletproof vehicle with
a sunroof and windows
shuttomovetoandfrom
the venue of the rally
.
Imran Khan’s
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
has been asked to in-
stall a backup electrici-
ty generator to avoid
any untoward incident
in case of power failure.
Beijing (PTI): A worried China on Thursday called
on Pakistan and the Taliban-led interim government
in Afghanistan to resolve their “concerns” through
talks after Pakistani air raids reportedly killed 47
Afghans, prompting Kabul to lodge a “strong
demarche” to Islamabad. “Afghanistan and Pakistan
are close neighbours with traditional friendship with
China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang
Wenbin told a media briefing here when asked about
the recent border skirmishes.
CHINA CALLS FOR TRUCE AS PAKISTAN,
AFGHAN TALIBAN TIES TURN VIOLENT
British PM Boris Johnson
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif
Rajnath Singh
(@rajnathsingh)
Addressed the
Army Commanders
Conference today.
Complimented the
Indian Army for their
operational prepared-
ness and capabilities.
Exhorted the Military
leadership to prepare
for every possible
challenge in future,
including the challenge
of unconventional
asymmetric warfare

he 2022 edition of
Glamanand Super-
model India 2022
comes with an op-
portunity to repre-
sent India at a few
of the biggest in-
ternational pageants. Gla-
manand Supermodel India
recently acquired the fran-
chise of Miss Grand Inter-
nationalandmadethelistof
Franchisees stronger. The
three major titles at stake
will be Miss International
India, Miss Grand India and
Miss Multinational India.
Glamannand Supermod-
el India 2021, held at the
Kingdom of Dreams in Au-
gust 2021 witnessed the
grand event where Zoya
Afroz (Miss International
India), Divija Gambhir
(Miss Multinational India)
and Tanya Sinha (Miss
Globe India) won the titles.
Asmita Chakraborty and
Anisha Sharma were
crowned as the First and
Second Runners-up Re-
spectively
.
Talking to the Nation-
al Director, Nikhil
Anand said, “I am look-
ing forward to meeting
the aspirants at the audi-
tions this year
where we will
get to wit-
ness the tal-
ents. I am
l o o k i n g
for candi-
d a t e s
who have the zeal to win
international titles
for India. It will
be exciting to
see the aspir-
ants back to
the physical
auditions this year.”
The Glamanand Super-
model India 2022 applica-
tions are now live on the
website www.supermode-
lindia.in The Applicants
can fill in the registration
form and submit their 3
pictures. The shortlisted
candidates will be called
for the physical auditions
in the final week of May
.
The selected finalists
will be asked to stay
back for 2 days where
their official photo-
shoot shall be done and
they’ll be sent back for
their online training
sessions. The pageant
will be held in the
month of September
once the online training
sessions are complete.
T
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirst-
india facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY,
APRIL 22, 2022
FIRST INDIA JOINS HANDS WITH ONE OF THE TOP 3 BEAUTY PAGEANTS OF INDIA,
GLAMANAND SUPERMODEL INDIA. FIRST INDIA COMES ON BOARD AS THE PRESENTING
PARTNER MAKING THE OPPORTUNITIES THIS YEAR MORE ATTRACTIVE AND STRONGER!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
GLAMANAND SUPERMODEL INDIA 2022
(L-R) Anisha Sharma, Divija Gambhir, Zoya Afroz, Simran Abuja, Aayushi Dholakia, Tanya Sinha and Asmita Chakraborty
Asmita Chakraborty and Trisha Shetty
Anisha Sharma and Aparna Jha Tanya Sinha and Nishi Bhardwaj
First India is pleased to partner with
GLAMANAND SUPERMODEL INDIA
2022, an all-India beauty pageant which
will open the gates of employment
in the entertainment and fashion
industry for many deserving girls!
We wish all our contestants Best
of Luck!’
—JAGDEESH CHANDRA
Zoya Afroz
MAGNIFICENT
MAGNIFICENT
SHOWS AHEAD!
SHOWS AHEAD!

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