22042022_First India_Ahmedabad.pdf

Johnson becomes first UK PM to visit Sabarmati Ashram
HISTORIC
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Visiting
British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson on
Thursday termed Ma-
hatma Gandhi an ex-
traordinary man who
mobilized the princi-
ples of truth and non-
violence to change the
world for the better.
Johnson became the
first prime minister of
the UK to visit the Sa-
barmati Ashram here,
the place from where
Gandhi led India’s
struggle for freedom
from the British colo-
nial rule for more than
a decade.
In fact, the Tory poli-
tician is also the first
British prime minister
to visit Gujarat after
1947.
It is an immense priv-
ilege to come to the ash-
ram of this extraordi-
nary man, and to under-
stand how he mobilized
such simple principles
of truth and non-vio-
lence to change the
world for better, John-
son wrote in the visi-
tors’ book at the Gandhi
ashram.
While the British PM
was effusive in his
praise for the Mahatma,
during the freedom
struggle such praise for
Gandhi from Britain’s
ruling class was rare.
Winston Churchill
famously called Gandhi
a “half-naked fakir” as
the latter opposed send-
ing Indian soldiers to
fight for Britain in the
Second World War and
launched the Quit India
movement in 1942.
The Mahatma’s call
to use the charkha
(spinning wheel) and
boycott foreign goods
including cloth hit the
textile industry in Man-
chester. Charkha be-
came a very potent sym-
bol of the anti-colonial
struggle.
During his visit,
prime minister John-
son tried his hand at the
charkha at Hriday
Kunj, the hut where
Gandhi lived. A replica
of charkha was also
presented to him.
Turn to P2
UK PM Johnson was received at the Ahmedabad airport by CM
Bhupendra Patel, Governor Acharya Devvrat and other senior
state officials and ministers.
Calls Gandhi an extraordinary man who
changed the world, gets Mahatma’s book
on how to live in London
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. P2
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.
AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 146
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad 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.
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. P6
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.
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.
ALL LIT UP FOR THE GURU
Illuminated
Golden
Temple on the
occasion of
the 400th birth
anniversary
of Guru Tegh
Bahadur, in
Amritsar,
Thursday
(Inset)
Devotees
throng
Harmandir
Sahib on the
occasion.

New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
on Thursday termed
as “undemocratic”
and “unconstitution-
al” the arrest of its
MLA Jignesh Meva-
ni, and said Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi cannot impris-
on the truth by try-
ing to “crush” dis-
sent.
“Modi ji, you can
try to crush dissent by
abusing the state ma-
chinery. But you can
never imprison the
truth,” Gandhi said
on Twitter, using
hashtag “#DaroMat”
and “#SatyamevaJay-
ate”.
He tagged a report
saying that Assam Po-
lice has taken Mevani
into custody over his
tweets on Prime Min-
ister Modi.
“The undemocratic
manner in which As-
sam Police has de-
tained Gujarat MLA
Jignesh Mevani, is
anti-constitutional
move and an insult to
the people who have
elected him as a public
representative. Con-
gress workers will
raise their voice
against oppression,”
the Congress said on
its official Twitter
handle in Hindi.
Congress leader KC
Venugopal also dubbed
Mevani’s arrest as un-
lawful and unconstitu-
tional and alleged au-
thoritarianism by the
BJP.
“The unlawful and
unconstitutional ar-
rest of Jignesh Mevani
at midnight by Assam
Police is the latest
proof of authoritari-
anism under BJP. Such
an arrest of a people’s
representative not
only betrays their fear
of criticism but also
attacks the founda-
tions of our democra-
cy,” he said in a tweet.
NEWS
AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Congress
MLA Jignesh Mevani
was arrested by Assam
Police from Palanpur
town in Gujarat on late
Wednesday night over a
tweetandtakentoAssam
by air in the early hours,
officials said here on
Thursday
.
The prominent Dalit
leader from Gujarat was
arrested soon after a
FirstInformationReport
(FIR) under section 153A
of theIndianPenalCode,
which deals with offenc-
es related to promoting
enmity between commu-
nities, was registered at
Kokrajhar police station
in Assam, said his aide
Suresh Jat.
“
As per a document
shared by the officials of
the Assam police, an FIR
has been lodged over a
tweetbyMevanifewdays
back. However, the tweet
has been withheld by
Twitter. It was about Na-
thuram Godse. Mevani
was first brought to
Ahmedabad by road and
then taken to Assam by
airearlytodaymorning,”
he added.
TheindependentMLA
from Vadgam seat in Ba-
naskantha who recently
joined the Congress was
arrestedbyAssampolice
from Palanpur circuit
House at 11.30 pm on
Wednesday
.
He was flown to
Guwahati from Gujarat
around 11 am, a police
officialsaidonThursday
,
adding that Mevani was
then taken to Kokrajhar
byroad,over220kmfrom
Guwahati,asthecaseun-
der which he was arrest-
ed was registered there.
A case was lodged
against Mevani under
sections 120B (criminal
conspiracy), section
153(A) (promoting enmi-
ty between two commu-
nities), 29w5(A), 504 (in-
tentional insult with in-
tenttoprovokebreachof
peace), and sections of
the IT Act.
Gujarat Congress
president Jagdish Tha-
kor and other Congress
leaders rushed to
Ahmedabad Airport af-
terlearningabouthisar-
rest and shouted slogans
against the BJP govern-
ment.
Mevani’s supporters
have planned a protest
against his arrest in the
national capital on
Thursday
, officials said.
Gujarat MLA Jignesh
Mevani, who had been
arrested from the west-
ern state by the Assam
Police for a purported
social media post, was
brought here on Thurs-
day
, a police officer said.
Several Gujarat Congress
leaders, including GPCC chief
Jagdish Thakor, AMC LOP
Shehzad Khan Pathan, and
Gujarat Mahila Congress
chief Jenny Thummar were
detained while protesting
against Mevani's arrest, in
Ahmedabad on Thursday. Local
party members also created a
human to block traffic as part
of the protest.
—PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
Assam police arrests MLA
Jignesh Mevani over tweet
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: British
Prime Minister Boris
Johnson, who is on a
two-day India visit,
on Thursday held a
meeting with indus-
trialist Gautam Ada-
ni here.
The meeting took
place at the Adani
Group’s global head-
quarters at Shanti-
gram on the outskirts
of Ahmedabad city.
“Honoured to host @
BorisJohnson, the
first UK PM to visit
Gujarat, at Adani HQ.
Delighted to support
climate sustainabil-
ity agenda with focus
on renewables, green
H2 new energy. Will
also work with UK
companies to co-create
defence aerospace
technologies. #At-
manirbharBharat,”
Adani tweeted after-
wards.
Sources said the two
discussed, among oth-
er things, key sectors
such as energy transi-
tion, climate action,
aerospace and defence
collaboration.
With India set to
invest $300 billion by
2030 to modernize its
armed forces, sourc-
es said collaboration
in the defence sector
was one of the key
focus areas of the
meeting between
Adani and Johnson.
Discussions revolved
around how Adani
Group and British
companies can collabo-
rate to co-design and
develop aerospace and
defence technologies
as part of the At-
manirbhar Bharat ini-
tiative, sources said.
Adani also an-
nounced an academic
facilitation pro-
gramme for young In-
dians through the Ch-
evening Scholarship,
one of the most pres-
tigious international
scholarships offered by
the UK government. He
also invited the British
Prime Minister to the
India-UK Climate Sci-
ence and Technology
Summit, to be held in
London on June 28.
The Adani Group
Chairman had met
Johnson in October
last year at the Glob-
al Investment Sum-
mit in London where
the two leaders had
reiterated their com-
mitment to ongoing
transition to clean
energy.
UK PM JOHNSON MEETS INDUSTRIALIST GAUTAM ADANI
COMBINED EFFORTS
Adani and Johnson during their meeting in Ahmedabad on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Meeting took place at the Adani
Group’s global headquarters at
Shantigram on the outskirts of
Ahmedabad city on Thursday
IN SOLIDARITY
COPS SAY AN FIR HAS BEEN LODGED OVER A TWEET
‘ABOUT NATHURAM GODSE’ FROM A FEW DAYS AGO
The Dalit leader was arrested from the Palanpur circuit House at 11.30 pm on Wednesday.
MEVANI’S ARREST UNDEMOCRATIC: RAHUL GANDHI
Johnson becomes...
The Sabarmati Ashram
Preservation and Me-
morial Trust also gifted
two books to him.
“One of the books
gifted to Johnson was
“Guide to London”, an
unpublished book that
consists of Gandhi’s
suggestions on how to
live in London. It is the
first-ever book written
by Gandhi and never got
published. We gleaned
the content from the
Collected Works of Ma-
hatma Gandhi and com-
piled a book,” said the
Ashram’s spokesperson
Virat Kothari.
The other book was
“The Spirit’s Pilgrim-
age”, the autobiography
of Mirabehn or Made-
leine Slade, Gandhi’s
British-born follower.
Prior to the Ashram
visit, Johnson was re-
ceivedattheAhmedabad
airportbyGujaratChief
Minister Bhupendra Pa-
tel, Governor Acharya
Devvrat and other sen-
ior state officials and
ministers.
The British prime
minister was greeted by
troupes performing tra-
ditional Gujarati dances
and music at the airport
and along a 4km road-
show, which started out-
side the airport and
passed through Ashram
Road via Dafnala and
the Sabarmati River-
front.
FROM PG 1
Clockwise from left: Johnson paid his respects to Gandhi at the Ashram, visited
the Akshardham temple, the Sabarmati Riverfront, a JCB plant in Gandhinagar
during his day-long visit to the state. —PHOTOS BY PTI

GUJARAT
03
FATAL STRIKE
Dead fishes were spotted floating on the surface of the Sursagar Lake in Vadodara on
Thursday. According to opposition leaders of the local civic body, beautification of the water-
body has lowered oxygen levels and proved to be deadly for aquatic creatures inhabiting it.
5-year-old succumbs to nCoV in
Jamnagar, death toll at 10,944
Gondal POCSO court awards man 20
years imprisonment for sodomizing minor
First India Bureau
Rajkot: A specially des-
ignated POCSO court in
Gondal convicted a man
of sodomizing a minor
and sentenced him to 20
years imprisonment on
Wednesday
.
Based on the victim’s
witness statement, sci-
entific evidence, and
statements of medical
professionals, the Pre-
vention of Children
from Sexual Offences
(POCSO) court found
accused Dilip Saroj
guilty of the crime.
While spelling out the
verdict, the presiding
judge said, “Consider-
ing the serious offence,
the accused can prove to
be dangerous if he is al-
lowed to roam free in
the society
.”
The seven-year-old
minor who was targeted
by Dilip belongs to a Ne-
palifamily
.OnFebruary
16, 2021, he was playing
outside his rented resi-
dence at around 8 pm,
when the accused lured
him away with the
promise to buy him a
chocolate. He took him
to a cold storage office
and sodomized the mi-
nor.
An hour later, Dilip
dropped him off back to
his house, where the vic-
tim narrated his ordeal
to his parents. They
promptly lodged a com-
plaint against the ac-
cused with Gondal po-
lice station the same
night. Police registered
a case against Dilip for
kidnapping, carnal in-
tercourse, under vari-
ous sections of the POC-
SO Act. The boy was
sent for medical exami-
nation and officials ar-
rested Dilip as he was
the primary suspect.
In another case, a
man accused of raping a
six-year-old who was
sentenced to 25 years
imprisonment, has been
awarded life imprison-
ment by a Surat POCSO
court. While convicting
Dharmendra Raidas,
the court observed,
“Theaccusedismarried
and the father of a child,
and so, his plea for mer-
cycannotbeconsidered.
His act is shameful.
However, instead of giv-
ing him capital punish-
ment, he has been sent
to jail till the last breath
of his life.”
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: A five-
year-old girl was report-
ed to have died from
COVID-19 infection in
Jamnagar’s Gulab Na-
gar area on Thursday,
taking the death toll to
10,944, as one other
death was recorded in
Vadodara. While the
child’s father has been
put under home isola-
tion, her sample has
been sent to Gandhina-
gar for testing of the
variant.
Gujarat reported 19
new COVID-19 cases in
the past 24 hours, to
take the total case tally
to 12,24,214 since the
pandemic first hit the
state.
So far, 12,13,173 peo-
ple have been dis-
charged post-recovery,
including 12 during the
day, leaving the state
with an active caseload
of 98. None of these pa-
tients are in a critical
condition, he added.
Of the day’s new ad-
ditions, Ahmedabad
witnessed 10 cases, fol-
lowed by Vadodara with
five, Jamnagar with
two, and Gir Somnath,
Rajkot with one each.
A government re-
lease said 82,661 people
werevaccinatedagainst
COVID-19 on Thursday,
taking the total number
of doses administered
so far to more than 10.70
crore.
The state now has a
recovery rate of 99.10%.
Youth convicted of killing GrishmaVekaria by slitting her throat in February
‘Whyshouldyounotbegiven
deathpenalty?’CourtasksGoyani
First India Bureau
Surat: A Surat court
convicted Fenil Goyani
(20) in the murder of
the Grishma Vekaria in
February, for turning
down his romantic
overtures. The Surat
District Sessions Court
of judge VK Vyas was
meant to have pro-
nounced its verdict last
Saturday, but deferred
it by a week as the de-
fence attorney could
not be present at the
time.
Fenil has been con-
victed under various
sections of IPC, includ-
ing section 302 which
outlines the punish-
ment for murder, after
a trial which began on
February 28 and con-
cluded April 13.
Before sentencing,
the judge asked the con-
vict why he should not
be put to death for his
crime, according to
those present in court.
Goyani remained si-
lent.
Vekariya (21), was
murdered near her res-
idence in the Pasodara
area in Surat’s Kamrej
taluka on February 12.
Kamrej police start-
ed an investigation into
the case and arrested
Goyani (20) on Febru-
ary 16, for allegedly slit-
ting her throat in front
of her family members
and local resident. He
also attacked Grish-
ma’s uncle, Subhash
Vekariya, and her
brother when they tried
to save her, police had
said.
A charge sheet was
submitted before the
Judicial Magistrate of
First Class at Kathor in
Surat on February 21.
In addition to state-
ments from 190 witness-
es, the charge sheet also
includes 188 pieces of
documentary evidence
including call records,
purported videos of the
murder recorded by
one of the eyewitness-
es, medical reports,
FSL reports, and docu-
ments proving that Go-
yani purchased the
knife used in the mur-
der.
The trial saw 105 wit-
nesses being examined,
while 85 witnesses were
dropped.
District Government
pleader Nayan Sukhad-
wala said, “The case is
clear as video footage
shows Goyani slitting
the throat of Grishma
Vekariya. We have sub-
mitted a copy of extra-
judicial statements of
Goyani who called up
his cousin and told him
that he had killed
Grishma.”
THE CASE
The victim had spurned Fenil Goyani’s (in picture) amorous advances. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Surat: In collaboration
with Diamond and Re-
search Mercantile
(DREAM) City, the Su-
rat Municipal Corpora-
tion (SMC) on Thurs-
day issued a tender of
Rs260 crore for the first
phase of a bridge con-
struction project over
Mindhola River. Touted
to be mounted at a total
expense of Rs593.66
crore, the bridge will be
paid for by the SMC
and DREAM City joint-
ly by shelling out
Rs322.41crore, while
the roads and buildings
department will pay
Rs271.25 crore.
The four-lane river
bridge, which will con-
nect the districts of Su-
rat and Navsari, is a
big-ticket project in Gu-
jarat. It will cut down
travel time between Su-
rat and Ubhrat from 50
minutes to 20 minutes
by reducing the dis-
tance from 40 km to 15
km.
The total length of
the bridge with the two
approach roads will be
13.72 km. It will con-
nect the villages of
Khajod, Abhava, Bhim-
pore, Dumas, Magdalla,
Gaviyer, and Sultan-
abad with Maroli and
Ubhrat located in Jalal-
pore taluka of Navsari.
According to the pro-
ject’s survey report,
there is a need for pri-
vate land acquisition
of 41.69 hectares—in-
cluding 21.47 hectares
under SMC and 20.22
hectares under the
roads buildings de-
partment. Forest land
to be acquired for the
project is 16.20 hec-
tares, while govern-
ment land is 24.73 hec-
tares. A total of 82.26
hectares of land will be
acquired for the river
bridge.
SMC, DREAM City issue joint tender for
`593 crore Mindhola River bridge project
AMBITIOUS
Bridge over the Mindhola River will be 13.72 km long.
It will cut down
travel time
between Surat
and Ubhrat of
Navsari by 30
minutes and
reduce distance
by 25 km
On Feb 16, 2021, the child was
playing outside his home, when the
accused lured him away with the
promise to buy him a chocolate
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A gar-
bage collection dump-
er of the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corpora-
tion (AMC) mowed
down a six-year-old
boy near Sahjanand
College on Wednes-
day morning. Accord-
ing to city traffic po-
lice, the driver is at
large but they have
registered a case of
negligent driving
against him and be-
gun a manhunt.
The boy Dahar was
on his way to his school
with his mother Surbhi
Bhatt when they
reached Sahjanand
College. An AMC
dumper which was
coming from Nehruna-
gar circle hit their two-
wheeler vehicle. As it
was speeding, both
Surbhi and Dahar fell
on the road and the
back wheels ran over
the child’s head, killing
him on the spot.
Following the inci-
dent, the dumper driv-
er immediately parked
his vehicle near the
Sahjanand College gate
and fled from the crime
scene.
Sources from the
Bhatt family said that
normally Ronak, the
child’s father, dropped
him to school. But, as
he was ill and sched-
uled to undergo a sur-
gery on Wednesday,
Surbhi was tasked with
getting Dahar to school
that day.
The child lived with
his parents in Azad So-
ciety located in west-
ern Ahmedabad. Da-
har was studying in
Junior KG grade at
Amrit-Jyoti School in
Ambawadi area of the
city.
After carrying out a
panchnama of the
scene, police sent the
child’s body for post-
mortem. Traffic police
have been tasked with
investigating the case.
First India Bureau
Valsad: The weather de-
partment claimed that in
thenext24hours,Gujarat
is likely to receive unsea-
sonalrains.OnThursday
morning, light showers
wereexperiencedinKhe-
da and Valsad districts.
Dark clouds loomed over
Kheda, Bhavnagar and
Anand districts, leaving
farmers tense as they
feared the worst for their
mango farms.
Sincetheweehoursof
the morning, dark
clouds loomed over the
Valsad district. Scat-
tered and non-seasonal
rainfall in Dharampur
and Kaprada areas had
farmers worrying about
theirmangofarmsasthe
rainfall could damage
thefirstfruitof theman-
go trees, thus, affecting
their livelihood.
For two days, farmers
at Kheda district have
been tense and anxious
as they fear that wet
roads and the unseason-
alweathercoulddamage
summer crops.
As per the meteoro-
logical department,
thunderstormswerewit-
nessed along the coastal
belts of the Amreli dis-
trict, Rajula Shiyal Bet
and Pipavav and Amreli
witnessed rainfall at
midnight. On the other
hand, 35-year-old fisher-
man Bharatbhai Solan-
ki, fishing in a creek
near logic park situated
atthePipavavPortFour-
way near Rajula area,
died on the spot when
lightning struck him.
AMC dumper runs over six-
year-old boy, driver absconding
Unseasonal rains lash Kheda
Valsad; lightning kills 1 in Amreli
State to receive unseasonal showers for next 24 hours.
Dahar Bhatt, the victim.

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 3 l Issue No. 146 l RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist.
Ahmedabad. Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Haresh Jhala 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
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
VARIOUS PARTY DELEGATIONS INCLUDING CONGRESS GROUP MEET FAMILIES AFFECTED BY DEMOLITION DRIVE
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
New Delhi (PTI): The
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
‘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.
India sends another
40K MT of diesel to
crisis-hit Sri Lanka
Colombo (Agencies):
India on Thursday said
it has delivered one
more consignment of
40,000 MT of diesel to
Sri Lanka under the In-
dian credit line to help
ease the acute power
crisis in the island na-
tion.
A total of close to
400,000 MT of various
types of fuel have been
delivered with Indian
assistance in two
months, the Indian
High Commission said
here.m The High Com-
mission said that 40,000
MT of diesel under the
Indian credit line
reached Sri Lanka on
Wednesday.
Earlier, India deliv-
ered 40,000 MT of die-
sel to Sri Lanka on
April 2. This was In-
dia’s fourth consign-
ment of fuel delivered
to Sri Lanka under the
Line of Credit.
India and Sri Lanka
signed a USD 500 mil-
lion Line of Credit
Agreement for pur-
chase of petroleum
products on February
2, 2022.

INDIA
06
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.”
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
POWER OUTAGE
RISK INCREASES!
New Delhi (Agencies):
India risks a repeat of
lastsummer’spowerout-
agesassoaringtempera-
tures boost demand for
coal that’s used to gener-
ate about 70 per cent of
the country’s electricity
.
The hottest March in
more than a century has
heraldedanearlystartto
summer, increasing
power consumption by
air conditioners and re-
frigerators.
Whilestate-runminer
Coal India is producing
at record levels this
month, that may not be
enough to replenish
power plant stockpiles
thatdwindledtobarelya
third of required levels
at the start of this week.
Coal India, which ac-
counts for four of every
five tons of the fuel
mined in the country
,
boosted its output by 27
per cent in the first half
of April from a year ear-
lier. Still, escalating de-
mand seems to “dwarf”
that supply increase, the
Kolkata-based company
said in a stock exchange
filing on Tuesday
.
EIGHT-HOUR BLACKOUTS HIT INDIA
AFTER HOTTEST MARCH SINCE 1901
New Delhi: An already
sweltering summer and
acute coal shortages
are triggering blackouts
across parts of India,
raising fears of a new
power crisis that could
roil Asia’s third-biggest
economy. A surge in
demand for electricity has
prompted states including
Punjab and Uttar Pradesh
in the north and Andhra
Pradesh in the south to
cut off supply. The disrup-
tion, as long as eight
hours in some places,
is forcing customers to
either endure the heat or
look for costlier back-up
options. Although out-
ages aren’t uncommon
in India, the situation this
year particularly points to
a “looming power crisis,”
said Shailendra Dubey,
chairman of All India
Power Engineers Federa-
tion, an advocacy group.
The blackouts sparked by
the scarcity of coal — the
fossil fuel that accounts
for 70% of India’s elec-
tricity generation — are
threatening to hobble the
$2.7 trillion economy.
They are also fanning
inflation at a time when
policy makers are strug-
gling to rein in runaway
energy prices fueled by
Russia’s war in Ukraine.

BIZ BUZZ
07
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
New Delhi (PTI): The
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
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank

08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The row
over succession of the
Sokhada Dham Swa-
minarayan sect
reached Gujarat High
Court on Thursday, af-
ter a group of monks
and their followers
moved a habeas cor-
pus and interlocutory
application before it.
After hearing sub-
missions made from all
parties, the court di-
rected the male monks
to Bakrol Ashram in
Anand district and fe-
male monks to Nir-
naynagar Sant Niwas
Campus. Further, the
court has directed Sad-
hu Tyag Vallabh Swa-
mi, Prem Swarup Das
Swami and his Secre-
tary JM Dave to not
visit Bakrol Ashram or
the Nirnaynagar cam-
pus without the court’s
permission. It has also
asked both the swamis
to reach a compromise,
“without stretching
things too far.”
The whole issue
erupted, after the sect’s
founder monk
Hariprasad Swami
passed away in July
2021, leading to the for-
mation of two groups
of monks warring to
become the late swa-
mi’s successor. The
court has asked all
monks to submit their
passports and other
documents for inspec-
tion and verification.
Sokhada Swaminarayan succession row reaches
Guj HC, as two factions lobby for top post
ANOTHER MAJOR DRUG BUST
First India Bureau
Gandhidham: In yet
another major drug sei-
zure at the Kandla sea-
port, the Directorate of
Revenue Intelligence
(DRI) and Gujarat Anti-
Terrorist Squad (ATS)
on Thursday intercept-
ed containers laden
with drugs smuggled
into India through the
Gujarat coast, in a joint
operation.
According to sourc-
es, they seized around
260 kgs of heroin,
worth Rs 1,300 crore,
after conducting a raid
at a container station
near Kandla port in
Kutch district of the
state, said an ATS offi-
cial.
“Based on a tip-off
received by the ATS, of-
ficials of this agency
along with those from
the DRI raided a con-
tainer station near
Kandla port and found
260 kg of heroin, which
is sold at Rs5 crore per
kilogram in the inter-
national market, hid-
den inside a container
kept there,” said the
senior official, seeking
anonymity.“It is too
early to disclose infor-
mation about the im-
porter and exporter
parties, but around 17
containers were im-
ported from Afghani-
stan by one single par-
ty, which are being in-
spected by the DRI,”
said a source.
Indian soil is being
used by Afghanistan or
Pakistan-based cartels
to avoid the attention
of international anti-
drug agencies. These
drugs are either meant
to be smuggled into In-
donesia, or Thailand,
but are sometimes also
sent to Madagascar as
well as other African
countries, where their
consumption is very
high, added the source.
Unfortunately, even
after seizing drugs
worth Rs3,000 crore at
Mundra port earlier
this year, crackdown
agencies have only been
able to catch small-time
players in the drug
smuggling game. They
have not succeeded in
busting any drug cartel
or made any major ar-
rests yet.
DRI had seized 3,000 kg of heroin at Mundra port in Sept last year. —FILE PHOTO
Going by estimated
market value of `5
cr, the haul is worth
`1,300 crore
Yadav on two-day visit to
Guj, to meet office-bearers
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) Incharge
and Union Minister
for Labour and Em-
ployment Bhupender
Yadav landed in the
state capital on
Thursday morning to
assess the on-ground
situation with feed-
back from state lead-
ers. While state unit
President CR Patil
met with leaders of
various sections of
the society in Vyara
town of Tapi district,
as part of ‘One Day,
One District’ pro-
gramme to reach out
to voters.
According to party
sources, Yadav will be
in Gujarat till Friday
and will be meeting
with office-bearers of
the party’s media cell,
booth management
committees, as well as
other cells and sister
organizations. He will
primarily seek feed-
back about the peo-
ple’s perception of
the state and central
governments. On Fri-
day, he will be meet-
ing with the council
of ministers at the
chief minister’s offi-
cial residence.
On his return to
Delhi, Yadav will
brief the party’s Na-
tional President JP
Nadda about his visit.
Incidentally, Nadda is
likely to visit the state
on April 26 to meet
state leaders, as the
BJP gears up for the
upcoming Assembly
elections.
Meanwhile, in Vy-
ara, Patil met traders,
professionals, saints
of religious sects, so-
cial activists, and
party office-bearers
on Thursday. He dis-
cussed the effective-
ness of the central
and state govern-
ments in implement-
ing various policies
and programmes.
Mob attacks police to
help Sajju Kothari’s
brother Arif escape
First India Bureau
Surat: A mob pelted
stones and attacked the
police, who went to ar-
rest Arif, brother of
Nanpura gangster Sajju
Kothari and helped him
escape. The incident
happened late on Tues-
day night. A complaint
was lodged against
three, including Sajju
Kothari and his brother
Arif at the Sachin police
station. The sub-inspec-
tor of D-staff of Rander
police station had gone
to arrest Arif in Sub-
hashnagar slum under
Jilani bridge.
The policemen arrest-
ed Arif and were taking
him to the police van
when a mob from the
nearby area attacked
them and helped Arif es-
cape.On March 26, the
Surat City Police Crime
Branch apprehended no-
torious criminal Sajju
Kothari (real name Sajid
GhulamMohammadKo-
than)fromasecretcham-
ber built at his residence
in Jamrukh Gali in the
Nanpura area.
As per reports, the op-
eration was executed by
40 police personnel, in-
cluding seven sub-in-
spectors, three police
inspectors and ACP Sar-
vaiya. Kothari was hid-
inginafive-storeybuild-
ing, locked from the out-
side and walls laden
with steep spikes. The
police used a ladder to
reach the first floor.
5,000 health certificates issued
in Surat; highest ever in 5 years
Now, UNICEF guide to
covering kid’s issues
Guwahati (PTI): A Me-
dia Handbook, which
looks into various poli-
cies, schemes and
guidelines available for
the protection of chil-
dren while also focus-
ing on how the COV-
ID-19 pandemic has im-
pacted violence against
them, was launched as
part of UNICEF’s
Suraksha campaign
here on Thursday
.
Speaking about the
Handbook, UNICEF As-
sam’s Chief of Field Of-
fice Madhulika Jona-
than said, “The hand-
book has been designed
to provide information
and government data
concerning the issue. It
also looks into the vari-
ous policies, schemes
and guidelines availa-
ble for the protection of
children.”
Given the sensitive
nature when it comes to
reporting on children’s
issues, the Handbook is
expected to help all
journalists to examine
how their issues can be
covered, prioritizing
the needs of our chil-
dren, she added.
First India Bureau
Surat: The new civil
hospital at Majuragate
has set up a benchmark
for recording the high-
est number of health
certificates issued for
the Amarnath pilgrim-
age. Daily, around 200 to
250 people visit NCH for
medical health certifi-
cates. Till now, 5,000
health certificates have
been issued. The man-
agement said it was in
the year 2019 when 3,000
medical fitness certifi-
cates were issued. In
the past two years, be-
cause the pilgrimage
was closed, the applica-
tion for fitness certifica-
tion was also shut.The
superintendent of NCH
Dr Ganesh Govekor
said, “Daily, around 200
to 250 people in the age
group 13 to 75 come to
the hospital for a fitness
assessment, of which 40
people get rejected due
to hypertension and
heart and lung issues.
The assessment work is
done from Monday to
Friday
, from morning to
evening.”
The work for making
medical certificates
started on April 1. The
medical department
has made separate ar-
rangements for certifi-
cation on the ground
floor of the kidney hos-
pital.
Guj BJP Incharge Bhupender Yadav being welcomed at A’bad Airport by city BJP President
Amit Shah, senior leader Mahesh Kashwala and former MLA Bhushan Bhatt.
Members of both factions were at HC premises on Thursday.
Gangster Sajju Kothari.
—FILE
PHOTO
VADAJCOP
SUMMONEDBYHC
The Gujarat High
Court on Thursday
ordered the Vadaj
police inspector to
appear before it in
a minor elopement
case. Petitioners --the
minor’s parents-- sub-
mitted before the court
that two-and-half-years
ago, their daughter had
eloped with a man. De-
spite informing Vadaj
police about it, they did
not register a case or
hunt for her.
—FILE
PHOTO
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
DRI, GUJ ATS SEIZE 260 KG HEROIN
AFTER RAID AT KANDLA SEAPORT
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.

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/ahmedabad I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
AHMEDABAD , 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!

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022
10
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
ELLIE ZAID, Model
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Dietary control
will benefit.
Assistance of
colleagues will
help complete
a project much
before time. A
family youngster
is likely to make
you proud. Don’t be hasty in matters
pertaining to property. An entertaining
time with near and dear ones is foreseen.
An expected raise is on cards for some.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Your desire to
increase earning
may need to
be put on hold
temporarily till
the time is right.
Your health
consciousness
will keep you hale
and hearty. Pending things on the home
front may hinder official work. Those
looking to buy property are likely to get
one at bargain price.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Someone may
do for you more
than what was
expected on
the social front.
Your life will
turn better if
you accept the
changes with
ease. Fingers may be pointed at you for
something you are not responsible for
at work. You can find yourself fitter with
regular exercises.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Peak physical
fitness will make
even strenuous
activities seem
like child’s
play. Bad mood
of a family
member may
spoil domestic
environment. A thing you had been
apprehensive about will turn in your
favour. Romance can distract you from
other important pursuits.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You will manage
to showcase your
professional skills
to those who
matter. Playing
your cards well in
a family situation
will get you the
support and
attention you crave for. Taking possession
of a new house may become a reality. You
may not keep a regular exercise routine.
You will grab opportunities.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Inculcating
physical
workouts in
your lifestyle will
benefit health.
A family get
together can find
you into your
element. You
will have enough to invest in a suitable
property. Interest in whatever you have
undertaken on the academic front may
wane, so find ways to remain focused.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
A new project will
proceed smoothly
as you get help
from all quarters.
You will need to
handle a tensed
family member
with sympathy. A
property dispute
can pit you against someone close. A
misunderstanding with someone close
will be cleared. Positive results of your
hard work will be seen on health front.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
A family event
will raise your
spirits. Those
dealing with
property issues
may need to be
careful not to get
into legal hassles.
A get together
will prove refreshing. Lack of energy may
make you postpone important tasks.
Those struggling to find a solution to a
workplace problem will succeed.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Whatever you
deal in today
is likely to turn
to gold! Those
experiencing
a cash crunch
will manage to
overcome it by
tight budgeting.
A family member may prove annoying.
Good returns can be expected by those
investing in property. Adhering to a good
routine will help you in negating ill health.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Settling down
in a new house
is indicated
for some.
You can feel
overworked on
the professional
front. Spouse can
expect a helping
hand. An invitation to a party may provide
you an opportunity to meet someone
special. An attempt at saving is the only
way you can repay your loans.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Those ailing
can expect their
condition to
improve. Not
much gains on
the monetary
front are
indicated. Those
feeling restless in
a particular job will be able to settle down
in time. Interruptions are foreseen that
will not allow you to do your own thing.
Young couples can expect togetherness.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Work front may
appear a bit too
demanding, but
you will be able
to handle it well.
Problems faced
on the health
front show signs
of disappearing
completely. A family get-together will
provide an excellent opportunity to meet
people you have not met in years. Social
front will be good, but may waste time.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
Hangxiety: Do You Feel
Anxious After Drinking?
he morning after a
night of drinking
with friends, and
family is never fun
if you have a hango-
ver. For most people,
hangovers involve a
headache, fatigue, thirst or
nausea. But some people also
report experiencing what
many have dubbed “hangxi-
ety” – feelings of anxiety dur-
ing a hangover. To know
more about hangxiety First
India brings you in conversa-
tion with Jinee Jain, a Psy-
chologist from Indore.
Jineesaysalcoholconsump-
tion often leads to disruption
in rational thinking and deci-
sion-making. This explains
whyitiscommonforpeopleto
make the wrong choices. Be it
spending money excessively;
exposing oneself to strangers;
orevenputtingoneself indan-
gerous situations- these are
decisions that our sober self
would not easily make. Later,
when one starts obsessing or
ruminating over regrets of
past decisions, anxiety kicks
in. ‘Hangxiety’, thus, is the ex-
perience of both physical and
psychological stress and dis-
comfortpostalcoholconsump-
tion. “And for people who are
already prone to depression
and anxiety
, alcohol can wors-
en symptoms of those condi-
tions,” says Jinee Jain.
WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO
DEVELOP HANGXIETY?
People who suffer from de-
pression and anxiety are
more likely to experience
anxious feelings after drink-
ing. Though alcohol can sup-
press anxious feelings while
a person is imbibing, the re-
bound effect can be far worse
than their baseline level of
anxiety
. Unfortunately, those
uncomfortable emotions can
drive people straight back to
the culprit: alcohol.
TIPS TO PREVENT HANGXIETY
n
There’s one obvious an-
swer to preventing hango-
ver anxiety: Drink less al-
cohol. “Consuming an ex-
cessive amount of alcohol
can place anyone at risk of
experiencing unpleasant
physical and emotional, “
Jinee explains. And here
are some tips and tricks to
manage the Hangxiety
.
n Eat anxiety-reducing foods-
Opt for fibre-filled and nu-
trient-dense foods like
Sprouted grain toast
topped with avocado or a
refreshing smoothie with a
banana, a handful of
greens and coconut water.
And in beverages green or
black teas. Eggs are also a
good choice, as they have a
compound called choline
that can aid in breaking
down alcohol.
n Stay hydrated- Drink plen-
ty of water and include
electrolytes if you can.
There are lots of great elec-
trolyte powders out there.
n Sleep it off- Sufficient sleep
helps the brain to detoxify,
promotes a healthy mood
and can allow your mind to
most efficiently get back to
its healthy functioning and
help reduce anxiety-induc-
ing inflammation.
n Eat something before you
drink- Brown’s biggest rule
is never to drink on an
empty stomach. Go for
something with healthy
fats, like olives or nuts.
n Go one for one- After each
drink, sip water or spar-
kling water, advises Jinee.
This will help you feel more
hydrated the next day and
slow you down from drink-
ing too much at the mo-
ment.
n Practising mindfulness
-Focusing on the present-
not only post hangover but
if we make it a routine
practice, we can signifi-
cantly reduce anxiety
.
n Get moving -The more you
procrastinate, the more
you get into rumination or
overthinking. So get mov-
ing! Focus on what the rest
of the day has for you. This
is a very important tech-
nique- it’s very commonly
used in therapy work.
n Remind yourself what as-
pect of the situation is in
your control. This takes us
closer to reality and in-
stead of beating ourselves
up for our actions, we learn
to focus on what can be
done now.
A few drinks might be relaxing but they get on to your
nerves on the next day by playing tricks with brain
SHIVANI SHRIVASTAVA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T

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