28042022_ First India New Delhi.pdf

JP Nadda to chair Madhya Pradesh BJP
unit’s core committee meeting today
New Delhi (ANI):
Bharatiya Janata Party
nationalpresidentJPNa-
dda will chair the Mad-
hya Pradesh party core
committee meeting in
New Delhi on Thursday
to deliberate on the strat-
egy for the upcoming As-
sembly elections in the
stateschedulednextyear.
MP CM Shivraj Singh
Chouhan will visit the
national capital to take
part in the meeting
which will also be at-
tended by National Gen-
eral Secretary (Org) BL
Santhosh at the BJP
headquarters. Sources
said the meeting has
beencalledtodiscussthe
upcoming Assembly
elections in the state in
2023. There will be a de-
tailed discussion about
establishing better coor-
dination between the or-
ganisation and the gov-
ernment. Discussion is
also likely to take place
onthecabinetexpansion
and appointments on
corporation boards.
A critical assessment
of the functioning of
the Madhya Pradesh
government will also be
discussed in detail.
The meeting is seen
as important because
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah recently was
on a visit to Madhya
Pradesh where he had
indicated the implemen-
tation of the uniform
civil code in the state.
Besides Nadda and
Chouhan, MP state
president VD Sharma,
state organisation Se-
certary Hitanand, Mad-
hya Pradesh in-charge P
Muralidhar Rao, Co-in-
Charge Pankaja Munde,
Union Minister Naren-
dra Tomar and others.
BJP National President JP Nadda. —FILE PHOTO
TO DELIBERATE
ON STRATEGY
FOR NEXT YEAR’S
ASSEMBLY POLLS
11dead,17injured
as chariot touches electric wires
Thanjavur: Eight men
and 3 teenage boys were
killed and 17 others in-
jured on Wednesday
due to electrocution
when a temple chariot
came in contact with a
High Tension electrici-
ty line during a proces-
sion, police said. The
tragic incident oc-
curred early on Wednes-
day when the Appar
temple’s chariot proces-
sion was passing
through the Thanjavur-
Boodalur Road.
The temple car, while
negotiating a turn came
into contact with the
overhead line and peo-
ple standing on the char-
iot were thrown away in
the impact. President
Ram Nath Kovind,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi, Tamil Nadu
Governor R N Ravi,
Chief Minister M K Sta-
lin expressed shock and
grief over the killings.
Police officials and local people at the incident site on Wednesday.
‘Injustice’: PM Modi
urges States to
reduce VAT on fuel
New Delhi: Flagging
higher fuel prices in
many opposition-ruled
states, PM Modi on
Wednesday urged them
to reduce VAT in “na-
tional interest” to ben-
efit the common man
and work in the spirit
of cooperative federal-
ism in this time of glob-
al crisis.
Modi raised the issue
of many states not ad-
hering to the Centre’s
call for reducing the
Value Added Tax (VAT)
on fuel after his govern-
ment slashed excise du-
ties on them in Novem-
ber last, and called it
“injustice” to people
living there.
PM MODI TO VISIT
GERMANY, DENMARK,
FRANCE FROM MAY 2-4
New Delhi: In his first
trip abroad this year,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi will embark on a
three-day visit to
Germany, Denmark and
France from May 2 amid
the crisis in Ukraine and
Europe’s firm approach
to dealing with it.
The ease of driving
business out of India.
7 Global Brands. 9
Factories.649 Dealerships.
84,000 Jobs. Modi ji, Hate-
in-India and Make-in-India
can’t coexist! Time to focus on
India’s devastating
unemployment crisis instead.
—Rahul Gandhi, Congress Leader
CONG REVAMPS
HARYANA UNIT
Hooda loyalist
Udai Bhan
replaces Selja
as president
New Delhi: The Con-
gress on Wednesday
revamped its Haryana
unit, appointing for-
mer legislator Udai
Bhan as president, re-
placing Kumari Selja,
and naming four work-
ing presidents.
As part of the reor-
ganisation that had
been on the cards for
the past few weeks, the
Congress appointed
Shruti Choudhary,
Ram Kishan Gujjar, Ji-
tender Kumar Bhard-
waj and Suresh Gupta
as working presidents
in a bid to strike a pow-
er balance in the par-
ty’s state unit.
DRI SEIZES `2 CR
GOLD ‘IRON PRESS’
AT JAIPUR AIRPORT
Jaipur: In yet another
major bust by the DRI,
second day in a row, gold
worth over two crore
rupees was seized by the
officials from Jaipur air-
port. The approximately 4
kilogram gold ‘iron press’
was recovered a smug-
gler’s bag. The depart-
ment is now looking for
the owner of the bag and
has taken passer record
from the airline company.
DRI officials said that
the gold smuggler had
already reached Jaipur
and left the bag behind
in Sharjah. The officials
checked the bag at Jaipur
airport where it reached
on Wednesday and re-
covered the gold. —FIB
NEW DELHI lTHURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNITITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 lVol 1 l Issue No. 238
OUR EDITIONS:
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24 HOURS ON, FIREFIGHTING
AT DELHI’S BHALSWA
LANDFILL SITE CONTINUES
NEW DELHI: TWENTY FOUR HOURS ON, EFFORTS TO DOUSE THE FIRE AT THE BHALSWA
LANDFILL SITE IN NORTH DELHI CONTINUE, AND IT WILL TAKE AT LEAST ANOTHER TWO
DAYS TO PUT IT OUT COMPLETELY, OFFICIALS SAID ON WEDNESDAY. EIGHT FIRETENDERS
ARE CURRENTLY WORKING TO BRING DOWN THE FLAMES AND MEANWHILE, THE RESIDENTS
HAVE STARTED COMPLAINING OF SORE THROAT, ITCHY EYES AND BREATHING PROBLEMS.

❍ UMAR KHALID BAIL PLEA
Is it right to use ‘jumla’
for PM, asks Delhi HC
New Delhi: While hear-
ing the bail application
of studentactivistUmar
Khalid in the larger con-
spiracy case of north-
east Delhi riots, the Del-
hi High Court on
Wednesday asked
whether it was proper to
use the term ‘jumla’ in
respect to the Prime
Minister of India and
said that there has to be
“a line” or a “Lakshman
rekha” when it comes to
criticism of the
government.“What he
says about the Prime
Minister in the speech?
Some ‘changa’ word was
used and after that …
this ‘jumla’ is used for
the Prime Minister of
India. Is that proper?”
observed the court after
listening to the speech.
More on P2
Umar Khalid
PM MODI INTERACTS WITH CMs
PM NARENDRA MODI LAUDED THE
CHIEF MINISTERS, OFFICERS ALL
CORONA WARRIORS FOR THEIR EFFORTS
1 DELHI, HARYANA, PUNJAB,
TELANGANA, UP AND KERALA
MAKE MASKS MANDATORY IN PUBLIC
2
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacting with state Chief Ministers on the Covid-19 situation in the country via video conferencing,
in New Delhi on Wednesday. Also seen here is Home Minister Amit Shah and other Chief Ministers. —PHOTO BY ANI
COVID CHALLENGE NOT FULLY
OVER YET, STAY ALERT!
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Wednesday said the
challenge of the Covid
pandemic is not fully
over yet, with the in-
crease in coronavirus
cases in the last two
weeks manifesting the
need to stay alert, and
underlined that vacci-
nation remains the big-
gest protective shield
against the virus.
Speaking at an inter-
action with chief minis-
ters on the emerging
COVID-19 situation in
the country, the prime
minister also said the
government’spriorityis
to vaccinate all eligible
children at the earliest
with special campaigns
needed in schools.
Asserting that India
has fought a long battle
against Covid in the
spirit of cooperative
federalism enshrined in
the Constitution, Prime
Minister Modi lauded
the chief ministers, of-
ficers and all corona
warriors for their ef-
forts. He said India has
been able to deal with
the situation better
than many countries. In
the third wave, none of
the states saw situation
going out of control,
Modi asserted.
There is a need to
follow the 'test, track,
treat, vaccinate'
strategy and ensure Covid-
appropriate behaviour.
—Amit Shah, Union Home Minister
PM’s mantra of life and livelihood
is being followed by the state. A
high number of cases are being
seen in the state’s cities in the National
Capital Region (NCR).
—Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
MASKS COULD BE MANDATORY IN MAHA AGAIN
Mumbai: Amid rising coronavirus cases in the country,
wearing of masks in crowded places could be made
mandatory again in Maharashtra, state Health Minister
Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday. He said Delhi has
made masks mandatory and is even imposing a fine of
Rs 500. Even masks restrictions are back in district of
Uttar Pradesh adjoining Delhi, he said.
DELHI MARKETS BRING BACK COVID PROTOCOLS
New Delhi: Worried about COVID cases in national cap-
ital, traders’ associations across Delhi have resumed
regular sanitisation, put up posters of dos and don’ts,
and are ensuring proper masking. The representatives
of markets’ associations have said that markets and
market complexes are the first ones to be impacted by
the COVID-led restrictions, so they have moved into ac-
tion preemptively to avoid facing the worst of them.
In the recent days the national
capital has witnessed a high
positivity rate, thus masks
having been made mandatory again.
—Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2022
02
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Eco-friendly features will be added to these four forests, says Environment Minister Gopal Rai
4 Delhi forests to be upgraded to
world-class standards: Minister
New Delhi (Agencies):
Delhi environment
minister Gopal Rai an-
nounced that the gov-
ernment is planning to
upgrade four existing
city forests to “world
class standards” so that
people will no longer
have to leave the capital
city to enjoy a “green
getaway”.
With that end in
mind, the environment
minister said the pro-
ject’s theme is “Prakriti
Ke Paas Parivar Ke
Saath (Closer to nature
with family)”.
Of Delhi’s existing 19
city forests, the four for-
ests chosen for the pro-
ject are Mitraon City
forest in south-west
Delhi, Alipur city forest
in north Delhi, Garhi
Mandu city forest in
east Delhi and Jau-
napur in south Delhi.
“These forests will
cover the four corners
of Delhi and are
spread over an area of
286 acres in total,” said
Rai.
“Under the project, 98
acres of pocket A and B
of the Mitraon city for-
est, 48 acres of Alipur
city forest, 42 acres of
the Garhi Mandu city
forest and 98 acres of
the Jaunapur city
forest will be devel-
oped,” the minister
said, adding that eco-
friendly features will
be added to these for-
ests.
The additions will in-
clude palm or bamboo-
based paths, drinking
water facilities, medita-
tion huts and amphi-
theatres that can be
used by the general pub-
lic.
“It has also been
recommended that the
forests be developed
into open museums or
some sort of a living
laboratory. Plants
will also be distributed
for free to all those
who visit from the
small nurseries present
at these city forests,”
said the environment
minister.
CRUCIAL READ
TWO DEAD AFTER FALLING INTO SEWER
PIT IN CAPITAL’S BAWANA AREA
MERCURY TO CROSS 42 DEGREES TODAY
IN DELHI, YELLOW ALERT ISSUED
New Delhi (PTI): Two men died after allegedly falling
into a sewer in Outer Delhi’s Bawana area on Wednes-
day. Officials said the men were working near the spot.
DFS chief Atul Garg said, “It
was a rescue call from Balaji
Chowk. We were told that two
men had fallen inside a sewer
pit. We sent two fire tenders to
the spot. The firemen pulled out
the men and sent them to the Maharishi Valmiki Hos-
pital where the doctors declared them brought dead.”
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi is predicted to face an extreme
heatwave in the next two days, the weather department
has said, sounding a yellow
alert warning for the residents
of the national capital. The
maximum temperature may
even leap to 46 degrees Celsius
in parts of Delhi, an official told
PTI. The temperature in Delhi is expected to breach the
42-degree mark on Wednesday and cross 44 degrees
Celsius by Thursday as per the IMD. “The heatwave
conditions are likely to prevail in isolated pockets in
Delhi till Thursday,” the Met Department said in a tweet.
MARKETS BRING
BACK COVID NORMS
AS CASES SURGE
LEGAL OPINION SOUGHT
ON ST.STEPHEN’S
ADMISSION PROPOSAL
New Delhi (PTI): Worried
about the rising COVID
cases in Delhi, traders’
associations have re-
sumed regular sanitisa-
tion, put up posters of
dos and don’ts, and are
ensuring proper masking
in the markets. The city
has been witnessing an
uptick in coronavirus
infections over the past
few days. The number
of active cases has now
increased to 4,168 from
601 on April 11, accord-
ing to health department
data. The hospitalisation
rate so far has been low,
accounting for less than
three per cent of the total
active cases, it said.
New Delhi (PTI): The Del-
hi University has sought a
legal opinion in the matter
regarding St. Stephen’s
College’s decision to give
weightage to interviews
in admissions for general
candidates, according to a
senior varsity official.
St Stephen’s College has
insisted that it will give
85:15 weightage to CUET-
scores and interviews
for candidates across
categories. The univer-
sity has said interviews
should only be conducted
for reserved category
students. DU VC Yogesh
Singh said the proposal
for the legal opinion was
sent on Monday.
These forests are
spread over an
area of 286 acres
in total.
—Gopal Rai,
Delhi environment minister
The Delhi Metro has be-
gun work on a fifth
bridge across the Ya-
muna river under phase
four expansion of the
Pink Line, which will
see the corridor extend-
ing from Majlis Park to
Maujpur, officials said
on Tuesday
.
According to offi-
cials, the bridge will
connect the Soorghat
Metro station and the
Sonia Vihar Metro sta-
tion on the corridor, and
is being built between
two existing bridges –
Wazirabad bridge and
Signature bridge.
The corridor is slated
to be opened by the mid-
dle of 2024 and the Delhi
Metro Rail Corporation
(DMRC) said the bridge
work was progressing
at a strong pace.
“The total length of
the bridge is 560 me-
tres... Pile foundation
work is near comple-
tion and approximately
50% of sub-structure
has been completed.
The construction of su-
perstructure by bal-
anced cantilever tech-
nique has also been
started,” said Anuj
Dayal, principal execu-
tive director, corporate
c o m m u n i c a t i o n s ,
DMRC. The Delhi Met-
ro has already built four
bridges across the Ya-
muna in the first three
phases, including the
Yamuna Bank Bridge
on the Blue Line, a
bridge at Nizamuddin
for the Pink Line, a
bridge at Kalindi Kunj
for the Magenta Line
and one at Shastri Park
for the Red Line.
Officials, however,
said this will be the first
bridge to be built using
the cantilever construc-
tion method. “A cantile-
ver is a rigid structural
element which extends
horizontally and is sup-
ported at only one end,”
said Dayal.
Delhi Metro starts building 5th bridge over river Yamuna
EXPANSION OF PINK LINE
KEY HIGHLIGHT
AAP holds protest against civic
bodies’ demolition programme
New Delhi (PTI): The
AAP on Wednesday held
a protest against the
BJP-ruled civic bodies’
a n t i - e n c ro a ch m e n t
drives in the city, alleg-
ing that the saffron party
leaders are “extorting”
people threatening them
of running bulldozers on
their houses.
Several AAP leaders
and workers, led by
Durgesh Pathak, held
their protest near their
party headquarters here,
holding placards in their
hands and raising slo-
gans like “stop hooligan-
ism”, “stop extortion”
against the BJP-ruled
civic bodies’ anti-en-
croachment drives in the
city.
“We have gathered
here to protest against
the BJP’s hooliganism
and extortion,” Pathak
told reporters. The party
had planned to hold the
protest outside the BJP
headquarters, located
about one kilometer
from the AAP head of-
fice, but it could not do so
because the police had
put up barricades on the
way.
Pathak alleged that
the Delhi BJP leaders
have been reaching out
to people across Delhi
and threatening them of
running bulldozers on
the “unauthorised” con-
structions done on their
properties if they do not
“pay money” to them.
Panel to keep watch
on Rohini Ashram
Former Puducherry
Lieutenant Governor
Kiran Bedi will super-
vise a six-member pan-
el to oversee the opera-
tions of the Rohini Ash-
ram and ensure no
woman or child there is
subject to any treat-
ment that violates their
fundamental or legal
rights, the Delhi high
court said.
A bench of acting
chief justice Vipin
Sanghi and justice
Navin Chawla observed
that women and chil-
dren are a vulnerable
class and vigilance is
needed to check the in-
stitute’s functioning.
“The committee shall
function to see and en-
sure that no woman in-
mate or child, if any,
found in the respondent
institution is subjected
to any such treatment
which may tantamount
to breach of her funda-
mental rights or other
legal rights,” the bench
said.
The six-member pan-
el will be led by the dis-
trict judge with juris-
diction of the area, or
their nominee who
holds the rank of ADJ.
It will also comprise,
said the high court, the
district magistrate con-
cerned, the deputy com-
missioner of police.
Fire department to audit
state-run hospitals
Delhi government on
Wednesday directed the
fire department to con-
duct an audit in state-
run hospitals across the
national capital amid
increasing fire inci-
dents in the city due to
rising temperature, of-
ficials said.
The direction comes
hours after Prime min-
ister Narendra Modi
asked states to under-
take fire audits, espe-
cially of hospitals, cit-
ing rising cases of such
incidents amid searing
heat in many parts of
the country
.
The Department of
Delhi Fire Services
said it has received
around 3,500 fire and
emerg ency-related
calls, including cases of
house collapses, since
April 1 and that it will
start the audit process
soon.
New Delhi (PTI): Gyan
Sarovar School, a child
resource centre for un-
derprivileged children
of rag-pickers living
near the Bhalswa land-
fill site in north Delhi,
has been closed for a
week due to a massive
fire in the area which
has been raging for over
20 hours.
Father Santhosh, Di-
rector of Deepti Foun-
dation, which runs the
school, told PTI that a
thick layer of smoke
has engulfed the area
making it difficult for
children to breathe.
“There is a thick lay-
er of hazardous smoke
in the area making it
difficult for children to
breathe and the whole
area is foggy and hence
the visibility is low. The
school has been closed
for a week,” he said.
The fire broke out at
the landfill site on Tues-
day. The fire depart-
ment received informa-
tion about the blaze
around 6 pm following
which 10 fire tenders
were rushed to the spot.
Later, three more fire
tenders were pressed
into service.
According to fire of-
ficials, efforts are still
on to douse the fire.
Environment Minis-
ter Gopal Rai on Tues-
day asked the Delhi Pol-
lution Control Commit-
tee (DPCC) to submit a
report on the fire that
broke out at Bhalswa
landfill within 24 hours.
Several videos of the
incident showed the
blaze engulfing the
mountain of garbage,
sending a dense plume
of smoke into the sky
and exacerbating the
already polluted air in
nearby areas.
The Ghazipur landfill
has seen three such
fires since March 28.
The wet waste
dumped in a landfill
produces methane
when it rots. In hot
weather conditions,
methane catches fire
spontaneously and the
blaze spreads as it feeds
on combustible materi-
al like textiles and plas-
tics.
Asked about how
does the school function
in case of frequent
fires, Father Santhosh
said, “Usually
, its on the
other side of the landfill
and not on the side
where the school is situ-
ated. We do see smoke
up in the air from a dis-
tance at times but it is
never this unbearable”.
‘Muhammadpur’
rechristened as
‘Madhavpuram’
BJP slams CM
for his posture
at PM’s meeting
New Delhi (PTI): BJP
leaders here on Wednes-
day renamed South Del-
hi’s ‘Muhammadpur’ vil-
lage to ‘Madhavpuram’,
claiming that locals did
not want to associate
themselves with any
“symbol of slavery”. The
party’s Delhi unit presi-
dent Adesh Gupta also
posed with workers and
locals in front of a fresh-
ly painted board that wel-
comed visitors to ‘Mad-
havpuram’. The develop-
ment comes even as the
AAP has maintained
that Delhi has a ‘State
Naming Authority’ for
all such matters, and if it
receives any such pro-
posals, it will appropri-
ately review them and
move forward following
the due procedure.
BJP criticised Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal on Wednesday
over his “mannerless”
posture during a meet-
ing with Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi and
questioned whether
this is how a chief min-
ister should behave at
an important meeting.
Tweeting a video of
Modi’s interaction with
chief ministers,
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty’s (BJP) IT cell head
Amit Malviya said,
“Arvind Kejriwal con-
tinues to disgrace him-
self with uncouth man-
nerism.”
In the video, Kejriwal
was seen sitting in a
relaxed manner with
his hands behind his
head.
Umar Khalid’s role in riots
can’t be isolated: Police
Delhi Police told the
Delhi high court that
looking at the role of
Umar Khalid in isola-
tion in the conspiracy
for the 2020 north-east
Delhi riots would be im-
permissible in law
while opposing the bail
plea moved by the stu-
dent activist. The police
submission was filed in
a challenge by Khalid to
a March 24 order in
which a trial court de-
nied him bail.
“The appellant
(Khalid), before the tri-
al court raised ipse dix-
it arguments seeking to
conduct a mini trial at
the stage of deciding
the bail application and
to view the appellant’s
role in isolation in the
case of conspiracy
which is impermissible
in law,” the police said
in its reply. The police
said that the trial court
has rightly dismissed
the bail application in a
well-reasoned order
dealing with each and
every speculative argu-
ments raised by
Khalid’s counsel.
School near Bhalswa landfill closed for
a week due to smoke from massive fire

INDIA
03
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Is the
Bharatiya Janata Party
going to focus solely on
North India and Hindi
speaking regions? In
view of the controversy
that started over Hindi,
it is believed that the
BJP has given up its
hope of expansion in
the states of South In-
dia. It is feeling that ex-
cept Karnataka, noth-
ing can happen in other
states at least in 2024
elections. Therefore, an
attempt has been made
to maintain its edge in
the states of the Hindi
belt and to consolidate
it more. Keep in
mind that there are a
little more than two
hundred seats in the
Hindi-speaking states
of North India, out
of which close to 90
per cent of the seats
are with the BJP and
its allies.
If BJP manages to
retain these seats, 2024
will be a cake walk be-
cause apart from the
Hindi belt states- Uttar
Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Himachal Pradesh, Bi-
har, Jharkhand, Ra-
jasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
and Delhi and Hary-
ana, the BJP is confi-
dent of winning all the
seats in Gujarat. Adi-
tionally, if it gets some
seats in Maharashtra,
Karnataka and West
Bengal, then it will get
majority. Possibly be-
cause of this, the de-
bate of Hindi has aris-
en and as the crescendo
to oppose Hindi in the
South would increase,
it will help the BJP to
strengthen its position
in North India and in
the Hindi belt.
IslanguagedisputeactuallyaNorth-Southdispute?
ARENA OF CONFLICT
Mumbai (Agencies):
Maharashtra's ruling
Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) hit out at the
Centre and Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
after he on Wednesday
pointed fingers at the
State Government for
pushing up petrol-die-
sel prices.
Leading the attack
from the front, Chief
Minister Uddhav
Thackeray reiterated
that despite being the
highest contributor to
the national exchequer,
Maharashtra has been
given step-motherly
treatment by the
Centre.While Maha-
rashtra gets only 5.5 per
cent of Central taxes, it
contributes as high as
38.3 per cent in direct
taxes, 15 per cent of
GST which is the high-
est in the country
. If di-
rect taxes and GST are
combined, Maharash-
tra is a leading state in
giving taxes. Yet, even
today, we are waiting to
get our Rs 26,500 GST
share, Thackeray said.
State Congress presi-
dent Nana Patole's pos-
er was what happened
to the Bharatiya Janata
Party's promise in 2014
to reduce petrol price to
Rs 40, but now, it has
more than tripled.
Since the time of
Atal Behari Vajpayee, a
Re 1/litre Road Develop-
ment Cess was being
collected, it went upto
Rs 2 during the tenure
of UPA PM Manmohan
Singh, and under the
present Modi govern-
ment, it stands at Rs 18/
litre, besides a Rs 4 agro
cess, he said.
He pointed out that
the Centre always hikes
cess instead of excise,
but when the rates are
reduced, only excise is
slashed,aswasdonedur-
ing the recent elections
in five states - since all
the states are entitled to
a certain revenue share
- thus depriving the
states of their due share.
Nationalist Congress
Party Minister
Chhagan Bhujbal
slammed the Centre for
repeatedly raising fuel
prices and then blam-
ing the states while not
reimbursing the GST
dues of the states.
Thackeray also said
that the MVA has re-
peatedly asked the
Centre to expand
the narrow defi-
nitions of the
NDRF criteria to
help victims of
disasters, though
the state has con-
tributed more than
the stipulated
amount.
CENTRE-MAHAPOLITICALFEUDREIGNITES
AFTER PM’S REMARKS ON FUEL PRICES
Uddhav claims Centre owes `26,500 cr to Maha; alleges ‘step-motherly treatment’
New Delhi (PTI): Trina-
mool Congress (TMC)
on Wednesday called the
Chief Ministers meet-
ing with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi a “gyan
baato” session and
demanded that the Centre
clear dues it owes to the
West Bengal government.
The Mamata Banerjee-led
party also criticised Modi
over his comments that
opposition-ruled states
should reduce VAT in
“national interest”. Flag-
ging higher fuel prices in
many opposition-ruled
states, Modi on Wednes-
day urged them to reduce
VAT to benefit the
common man
and work in
the spirit of
“cooperative
federalism
in this time
of global
crisis”.
PM’S MEETING
WITH CMs ‘GYAAN
BAATO’ SESSION,
SAYS TRINAMOOL
Bengaluru (Agen-
cies): After hijab row,
Karnataka is in for an-
other controversy in-
volving with the State
Education Department
issuing direction to
block education officers
to inspect the syllabus
of all Christian schools
over making reading of
Bible compulsory
.
The direction came
from Education Minis-
ter BC Nagesh in the
wake of a case against
Clarence High School
which alleged to have
been making reading of
the Bible compulsory
.
The Minister’s conten-
tion was that no school
in the state can preach
religion, including mi-
nority institutions.
He said if any insti-
tute has made preaching
of religion compulsory
,
it amounts to violation
of the Education Act. He
has warned of strict le-
gal action against the
schools found guilty of
violating the syllabus.
There is no room for
schools teaching central
syllabus to include reli-
gious matters, he added.
K’taka move to inspect
syllabus of christian
schools kicks a row
Srinagar (Agencies):
An Army-run school
in Kashmir’s Baram-
ulla district on Mon-
day asked its staff to
stop wearing hijab
during school hours so
that “students can feel
comfortable and are
forthcoming to inter-
act with teachers”,
News18 reported.
The circular was is-
sued by the administra-
tion of the Dagger Pari-
vaar School, meant for
disabled children.
The school is run by
the Indian Army along
with a Pune-based non-
governmental organi-
sation called Indrani
Balan Foundation, the
Kashmir Observer re-
ported. Around 70 stu-
dents are enrolled in
the school.
In circular issued on
Monday, the school’s
principal said that the
institution was a place
to learn and grow emo-
tionally.
“As the staff of
school, the main pur-
pose is to provide the
fullest possible develop-
ment of each learner,”
the circular added. “For
the same, the trust must
be established with the
students to make them
feel welcome, safe and
happy. The staff is
hereby instructed to
avoid hijab...”
KASHMIR SCHOOL ASKS STAFF
TO AVOID WEARING HIJAB
Hyderabad (Agencies):
As Telangana's ruling
Telangana Rashtra
Samiti steps formally
into adulthood, celebrat-
ing 21 years of its forma-
tion, party president K
Chandrashekar Rao has
decided it’s time for par-
ty to step out of its do-
mestic turf and venture
into national politics.
Addressing party
leaders at the TRS ple-
naryinHyderabadtoday
,
Mr Rao said some legis-
latorshaveexpressedthe
view that it is time for
TRS to change into BRS
(Bharatiya Rashtra
Samiti). It was met with
loud cheers from the
3000-odd party leaders
who had gathered at the
Hyderabad Internation-
al Convention Centre,
HICC at Hyderabad.
As though taking a
step in that direction,
one of the 11 resolutions
being moved at the ple-
narytodaywasanintent
for the TRS to play a cru-
cial role in national poli-
tics.Raohasalreadysaid
he intends to play a role
in national politics.
The TRS, he said, has
already acquired land
and is building an im-
pressive party office in
the national Capital.
Rao, however, dis-
missed the idea of politi-
cal fronts, saying there
have been multiple
fronts in the past which
have not yielded much.
KCR hints at converting TRS into BRS
ON 21ST FORMATION DAY
Srinagar (Agencies):
The Jammu and Kash-
mir High Court ruled on
Wednesday that calling
Kashmir occupied
Kashmir and its resi-
dents as slaves does
not enjoy protection un-
der the Constitution's
Article 19 (A), on right
to freedom of speech
and expression.
A bench of Justice
Sanjay Dhar, hearing a
petition filed by advo-
cate Muzamil Butt
seeking quashing of an
FIR against him under
the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, re-
marked: It is one thing
to criticise the govern-
ment for its negligence
and express outrage on
the violation of human
rights of the people,
but it is quite another
to advocate that the
people of a particular
part of the country are
slaves of the govern-
ment of India or that
they are under the oc-
cupation of armed
forces of the country,
online portal Bar and
Bench reported.
Police had registered
an FIR against Butt for
his Facebook post in
which he criticised
the killing of seven ci-
vilians in an explosion
at the encounter site
in Larnoo village in
October 2018.
‘Calling Kashmir‘occupied’ does not
enjoy protection under Article19(A)’
UP: 6,000 LOUDSPEAKERS REMOVED
FROM RELIGIOUS SITES IN LAST 72 HRS
Lucknow: In a statewide drive to ensure com-
pliance with government directives over the
use of loudspeakers at
religious sites across Uttar
Pradesh, 6,031 loudspeak-
ers were removed from
religious sites of different
communities in the past
72 hours. Besides, the
volume of 30,000 loudspeakers was lowered in
accordance with the prescribed decibel levels.
Prayagraj: Justice Rajeev Singh of the Lucknow
bench of the high court, who had granted bail to
Ashish Mishra earlier, recused
himself from hearing it again
after the Supreme Court can-
celled his bail order last week
on April 18. While cancelling
Mishra’s bail, the Supreme
Court had also asked the high
court to decide his bail plea afresh and the plea came
up for hearing before Justice Singh’s bench.
ALLAHABAD HC JUDGE RECUSES
HIMSELF FROM ASHISH MISHRA CASE
Mumbai: In the latest development in the inquiry
against former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh, the
CBI has registered three
Preliminary Enquiries
(PEs) against him and
others following directions
from the apex court. The
PEs are not FIRs but a
process to collect and
check prima faice evidences on the basis of witnesses'
account, documents etc. If prima facie a case is made
out, the CBI will then convert these PEs into FIRs.
CBI REGISTERS THREE PEs AGAINST EX-
MUMBAI TOP COP PARAM BIR, OTHERS
CRUCIAL READ
Section 144 imposed in
Roorkee, 33 detained
Haridwar: The Utta-
rakhand administra-
tion imposed Section
144 CrPC that prohib-
its assembly of more
than four persons in
RoorkeewhereaDhar-
am Sansad was sched-
uled on Wednesday
.
The police have de-
tained around 33 per-
sons associated with
the event.
A day ago, the Su-
preme Court directed
the Uttarakhand
Chief Secretary to
placeonrecordthatno
untoward statement
would be made at the
event at Dada Jalalpur
village and warned
that it would hold top
officials responsible
in case of any hate
speech is made.
The village was
witness to a commu-
nal tension on April
16 when a Hanuman
Jayanti procession
was allegedly pelted
with stones.
On Tuesday, a
three-judge Bench of
the apex court head-
ed by Justice AM
Khanwilkar said,
“We will hold the
Chief Secretary,
Home Secretary and
the IG concerned re-
sponsible if any un-
toward situation hap-
pens despite your as-
surance. We are put-
ting it on record.”
Speaking to media,
Uttarakhand Director
General of Police
Ashok Kumar said,
“the programme
could not take place as
we imposed Section
144 (CrPC) in the area.
Around 33 persons
have been detained
under Section 151
CrPC. We ensured
that the restrictions
are imposed strictly.”
Anand Swaroop, the
main organiser of the
religious conclave,
has been taken into
preventive detention.
PERMISSION DENIED FOR DHARAM SANSAD
Heavy police force deployed at Dada Jalalpur. —PHOTO BY PTI
Srinagar: Former
JK Chief Minis-
ter and PDP chief
Mehbooba Mufti on
Wednesday objected
to an order on hijab
issued by the Dag-
ger Parivaar School
in north Kashmir
Baramulla, which is
jointly run by the In-
drani Balan Founda-
tion and the Army’s
Chinar Corps. the
school authorities
had asked the staff
“to avoid hijab dur-
ing school hours”.
MUFTI TAKES
UMBRAGE AT
HIJAB ORDER
PM Narendra Modi Maha CM Uddhav
Mamata Banerjee
Nagesh said if
any institute has
made preaching
of religion
compulsory, it
amounts to
violation of State
Edu Act.

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 238
l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Sharat K Verma
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
A person can rise through
the efforts of his own mind;
or draw himself down, in
the same manner because
each person is his own
friend or enemy.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Pleased to meet Dr Gayathri Vasudevan,
Co-founder CEO, LabourNet Services
India Pvt. Ltd. She has made a far
reaching impact in scaling livelihood
opportunities and enhancing quality of
life through education, employment
and entrepreneurship through her
social enterprise.
Hardeep Singh Puri
@HardeepSPuri
Invoking the spirit of cooperative
federalism, PM Modi Ji hits the nail
on its head. Instead of protesting,
the opposition states which have not
decreased taxes on petrol diesel,
even after centre reduced excise on
such products, should do it now
offer relief to citizens.
TOP TWEETS
WHY DO GOVTS
WAIT FOR APEX
COURT ORDER ON
CURBING HATE?
fter the Supreme
Court’s warning the
Uttarakhand govern-
ment swung into ac-
tion to stop the dhar-
ma sansad where Muslim bash-
ing is preached as a new dharma.
Lefttoitself,thestategovernment
may have allowed the event to be
held as it did in the past. It is this
silence and perceived complicity
on the part of various govern-
ments, including the one at the
Centre, on blatantly hate-filled
speeches that 108 former bureau-
crats have written a letter to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to break his “deafening silence”
over the issue. Not just speeches,
they also expressed concern over
“escalation of violence against
the minority communities, espe-
cially Muslims”. They called this
escalationof violenceagainstmi-
norities in BJP-ruled states a
“frightening new dimension”.
The PM may or may not order
a halt to such acts but how long
will governments shirk their
constitutional duty is what re-
quires serious consideration,
especially when some courts
also go soft on perpetrators. It
seems SC is the only saviour.
A
he much-awaited
public offering of
the Life Insurance
Corporation of In-
dia has set in mo-
tion the Union government’s
exercise to meet its disinvest-
ment target of Rs 65,000 crore.
On offer are 22.13 crore shares
worth3.5percentof thecorpo-
ration’s capital base. With the
offloading of 3.5 percent the
government aims to make
around Rs 21,000 crore to-
wards its fiscal requirement.
ThisislowerthantheRs50,000
crore planned earlier. The
stock market’s choppy state
dissuaded the government
from selling even 5 percent of
its stake which would have
raised around Rs 30,000 crore.
However, coming after Air In-
dia, the LIC divestment has
confirmed the government’s
commitment towards privati-
sation of some of its assets.
The government has had
to cut its estimate on pro-
ceeds from stake sale to Rs
78,000 crore this year, lower
than the projected Budget es-
timate of Rs 1.75 lakh crore.
Two public sector banks are
on the government’s to-be-
sold list. It is still not certain
if the government will be
able to meet even its scaled-
down disinvestment target
but it surely is striving for it.
The divestment process is
necessary for the government
to cover its estimated fiscal
deficit of 6.4 percent in 2022-
23. Revenue from divestment
is the cushion which the gov-
ernment needs against rising
fuelpricesandinflationwhich
are predicted to spike further
as the Ukraine war drags on.
Given the turbulent state
of the market and reduced
appetite of investors there is
doubt over the kind of wel-
come investors will give to
the LIC IPO even though it is
bigger and better than the
Paytm IPO.
GOVT ON COURSE TO
MEETING FISCAL GOAL
The much-awaited public
offering of the Life Insurance
Corporation of India has set in
motion the Union government’s
exercise to meet its
disinvestment target of
`65,000 crore. On offer are
22.13 crore shares worth
3.5 percent of the
corporation’s capital base
T
eta (Facebook) CBSE have
collaborated to train a million
teachers and students in vir-
tual/augmented reality
. Re-
cently, Australian Open (AO)
had partnered with Decentra-
land, an online virtual reality
platform where users can cre-
ate avatars of themselves and
interact,to provideanimmer-
sive experience to its viewers
worldwide of the tennis tour-
nament. These are the bright,
innovativereal-timeusecases
of the metaverse, a nebulous
concept broadly seen as 3D
extension of internet.
Now premise superim-
pose some future/speculative
use-case of Metaverse on
these very initiatives for the
sake of game theory! ‘Decen-
traland’ is selling real estate
like hot potatoes (It actually
is). Imagine that exact repli-
ca of Central Vista, coming
up in Lutyens Delhi, is avail-
able in Decentraland and
Geeks are selling plots, gar-
dens and office spaces, a pro-
ject they have democratically
vetted in their virtual socio-
political construct, and
meshed it up as a virtual
game to the traverse the maze
to reach Raisina Hills to win
a handsome piece of real es-
tate or equivalent NFTs.
Ostensibly again, it dawns
that facade behind this drool-
worthy visual endeavour
hides sinister plan of terror
groups with their foothold in
decentral and, armed with
detailed maps of the vista, to
train their cadres and sleep-
er cells in simulation exer-
cises behind feel-good–show-
your-silver gaming experi-
ence and at once remaining
indistinct and innocuous.
Booby trap for detailed
maps could have been laid in
the Meta and CBSE collabo-
ratedonlineclasswhereagul-
lible a student was asked to
part away his pedagogic data
of case study on vista archi-
tecture on CAD/Architectur-
al skill class (future use case
assuming full-spectrum col-
laboration), by operatives of
terror sleeper cells masquer-
ading as a attractive member
of the opposite sex and being
a cyber crush of the student,
all under the oculus maze. All
this is not so distant future,
out from the game theory
.
Welcome to Metaverse. Be-
ing marketed as heady con-
coction of new-age technolo-
gies like 3D VR, Augmented
Reality, AI, Internet Of
Things, Edge Computing, the
Blockchain, Crypto-assets
like Nonfungible tokens and
Creator hubs, is out there for
money to be made as Web-3.0
conceptually evolves. But its
dark alleys and backstreets
may soon be soon inundated
by wicked digitization, mani-
festing as frauds, money
laundering especially of ter-
ror groups, child exploita-
tion, dis-information and
cyber attacks.
This un-policed territory
needs urgent attention of
policy makers to induce equi-
librium, lest it is manifested
with cartels, terrorists and
otherfringeelements.Aview-
ing of Steven Spielberg’s di-
rected 2018 movie ‘Ready
Player One’ is essential to
bring the clairvoyant effort
and import of the phenome-
non. The use of gaming plat-
forms as conduits of cryptic
messages by modern-day
criminals (and even ISIS’s
documented use of video
games for covert communica-
tion and recruiting youth) is
so rampant that it has been
laid bare in subaltern cultur-
al exposition in the popular
hindi movie ‘Suryavanshi’.
We will also not want sex
slaves to be traded by traffick-
ers over metaverse surrepti-
tiously in digital avatars, se-
cure in crypto-asset transac-
tions, neither pedophile pred-
ators using anonymity and
innovation by offsetting real
and virtual world at choice,
scouting gullible victims, as
an extension of dark web.
How does one statutorily
regulate this scenario, bal-
ancing innovation with regu-
lation. The writ of a country
runs large on every inch of
the soil through its Constitu-
tion, Major Criminal acts like
CrPC IPC, Revenue Acts
and right upto the innocuous-
looking The Treasure Trove
Act 1888 where every dime
found under the soil or act
conducted over it is fully ac-
countable to the rule of law.
How does one define the juris-
diction of metaverse in simi-
lar comprehensive manner?
Are the current laws of finan-
cial regulation, money laun-
dering, IT Act and others of
the ilk sufficient to regulate
this ecosystem? What inter-
national mechanism will
have to put up in place for
countering deviant offshoots
of metaverse?Action against
dark web operated cartels
was recently possible only by
concerted stings orchestrated
by FBI, Interpol EU police
forces in multi-country, mul-
ti-continent operations.
Self regulation will call for
concerted effort of all stake-
holders. In the Connect Con-
ference where Mark Zucker-
berg introduced his refur-
bished endeavour-META, he
extolled that “meta is going
all the way on open standards
and interoperability” and
“privacy and safety net need
to be built into the metaverse
fromthedayone”;butthepre-
vious conduct of Facebook to
enforce user integrity has
been Achilles heel for the
wholeconceptof digitaltrust.
The brand new Data Pro-
tection Bill on the anvil and
the forthcoming amend-
ments to refurbish the Major
Acts- CrPC, IPC Evidence
Act provides opportune time
to suggest policy interven-
tions to create the elusive
safety net. The writ of sover-
eign must run large- under,
on and above the ground.
Every vista in real world and
metaverse should stand pro-
tected secure. Pleasant
company, appropriate vocab-
ulary and valuable motive
always made a good verse.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
SECURING EVERY VISTA-REAL METAVERSICAL
Challenges for law enforcers
but opportunity upfront
M
DR AMANDEEP
SINGH KAPOOR (IPS)
The writer is Director-CDTI, Jaipur
The key to regulation is a
very robust safety ecosystem
which decides who goes as
whom on metaverse
platforms, what is
uploadedand what is
experienced,without spurious
content entry, fully ensuring
process sanitisation.This
has to be much stringent
than present KYC norms
lest we face fraudulent
accounts due to lax platform
integrity standards.
Recently, Australian Open
(AO) had partnered with
Decentraland, an online
virtual reality
platform where users
can create avatars of
themselves and
interact to provide
immersive experience to
its viewers worldwide of
the tennis tournament.
These are the bright,
innovative real-time
use of metaverse, a
nebulous concept
broadly seen as 3D
extension of internet
SOME SUGGESTIONS CITED
BY EXPERTS INCLUDE AI DRIVEN
CONTENT MODERATION, TRANSACTION
MONITORING, PRODUCT AUTHENTICITY
AND LEGITIMACY OF USER ACCOUNTS

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INDIA
05
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: The ongo-
ing politics in Maha-
rashtra and other parts
of the country has also
increased the concern
of Shiv Sena. Bulldozer
politics and the politics
of recitation of Hanu-
man Chalisa are taking
a toll on Sena’s own
brand of politics. Party
leaders are feeling that
if this politics of BJP
continues, then the core
Hindu vote of Shiv Sena
will veere away from it.
Its allies Congress and
NCP will not suffer
much because their po-
litical ground is far
from Mumbai and there
already exists a precon-
ceived notion about
them. But Shiv Sena
has not given up its Hin-
dutva agenda yet.
That is why the Shiv
Sena is worried about
the politics of Raj
Thackeray and Navneet
and Ravi Rana reading
Hanuman Chalisa or
distributing free loud-
speakers in Mohit
Kamboj’s temples.
Meanwhile, an NCP
leader has written a let-
ter to the Central Gov-
ernment seeking per-
mission to offer Namaz
outside the Prime Min-
ister’s residence in
Delhi which is in re-
sponse to the politics of
reading Hanuman
Chalisa in front of the
Chief Minister’s resi-
dence. Shiv Sena is con-
cerned that the issue of
Hanuman Chalisa ver-
sus Namaz should not
embroil the party’s im-
age in line with that of
NCP and Congress and
Shiv Sena should not
be called ‘Namazwadi
Party’. That is why its
leaders want this dis-
pute to end in some
way. But it looks like
this controversy will
not end as it is believed
that soon the cacopho-
ny of Hijab and Halal
meat will also start in
Maharashtra.
Shiv Sena may have set itself in BJP’s ‘political trap’!
IN THE COURTYARD
SUPREME COURT TO BEGIN FINAL HEARING ON
PLEAS CHALLENGING SEDITION LAW ON MAY 5
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the
Centre to file its response by the end of the week on a batch
of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the sedition
law. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and
justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said it would commence
the final hearing in the matter on May 5 and would not
entertain any request for adjournment. We direct the Centre
to file reply by end of this week. Reply to the affidavit be
filed by Tuesday. List the matter for final disposal without
any adjournment on May 5, the bench said. The top court
also noted in its order that senior advocate Kapil Sibal will
lead the arguments from the petitioner’s side in the matter.
During the hearing, senior advocate Sanjay Parikh said the
plea filed by PUCL has not been listed.
CBI MOVES DELHI HC AGAINST TRIAL COURT ORDER
ON WITHDRAWAL OF LOC AGAINST AAKAR PATEL
New Delhi : The CBI Wednesday challenged before
the Delhi High Court the trial court order directing the
withdrawal of the lookout circular against Amnesty Inter-
national India Board chair
Aakar Patel in connection
with a case for the alleged
violation of the Foreign Con-
tribution (Regulation) Act,
The investigating agency
told the court that it was not
against the relief granted to
Patel and its grievance was directed towards the reason-
ing adopted by the trial court and apprehended that the
same would be used against it in other cases.
New Delhi: Minister of State for Electronics and IT
Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday that despite
the Twitter board accepting Elon Musk’s $44 billion
takeover offer, the Indian guidelines for social media
platforms will not change in order to protect users’
data privacy and safeguard them from any harm.
Speaking at the ‘Raisina Dialogue 2022’ here. “Despite
Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, IT guidelines gov-
erning the social media platforms remain the same.
Social media needs to go beyond mere criminality and
also expand focus on user harm,” Chandrasekhar said.
New Delhi: The ED on Wednesday said it has attached
funds worth Rs 6.17 crore of various fintech compa-
nies in a case linked to dishing out mobile-app based
loans at exorbitant interest rates to gullible people
during the Covid-19 crisis. A provisional order to
attach the money was issued under the PMLA, it said.
“The accused, along with Chinese nationals, opened
various companies in the name of various persons for
the purpose of illegal transactions, issuing loans and
raising investments through mobile apps like Cash
Master, Cashin, Rupee Menu etc,” the ED said.
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on
Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with his Maldivian
counterpart Mohamed Nasheed, stressing that regular
dialogue between the parliaments
of two countries is helpful in
effective functioning of democratic
institutions. Speaking on the need
for further enhancing parliamen-
tary diplomacy between the two
countries, Birla said that a bilateral Parliamentary
Friendship Group would be constituted soon.
Kochi (PTI): Well-known Malayalam producer-ac-
tor Vijay Babu has been charged for allegedly
sexually assaulting a female actor and disclosing
the survivor’s identity through a Facebook live
session. Vijay Babu, who is reportedly untrace-
able since the police charged him with rape
following the woman’s complaint, appeared in
a Facebook live session and claimed innocence,
saying he is the “real victim”. As the producer,
who is also the founder of the production compa-
ny Friday Film House.
MIN: INDIA’S SOCIAL MEDIA NORMS WON’T
CHANGE WITH MUSK’S TWITTER TAKEOVER
PROBE AGENCY ATTACHES ASSETS
WORTH `6.17 CRORE OF FINTECH FIRMS
BIRLA: INDIA-MALDIVES PARLIAMENTARY
FRIENDSHIP GROUP TO BE CONSTITUTED
FILM PRODUCER VIJAY CHARGED WITH
RAPE, REVEALING SURVIVOR’S IDENTITY
CRUCIAL READ
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Mumbai (PTI): Coun-
try’s largest life insurer
LIC on Wednesday set
the price band at Rs 902-
949 per share for its Rs
21,000 crore initial pub-
lic offering (IPO), which
will open for subscrip-
tion on May 4.
At the upper end of
the price band the gov-
ernment will garner
around Rs 21,000 crore.
With this IPO, which
is through an offer-for-
sale (OFS) route, the
government is looking
to divest its 3.5 per cent
stake in the insurer by
selling 22.13 crore
shares.
Focus should be on stopping the
fighting: Jaishankar on Ukraine
best way to deal with
the conflict in Ukraine
would be to focus on
“stopping the fighting
and getting the talk-
ing” to move forward,
and India’s position on
the crisis is best placed
to advance such an ap-
proach, External Af-
fairs Minister S Jais-
hankar said on
Wednesday.
His comments came
in response to a ques-
tion at an interactive
session at the Raisina
Dialogue, India’s pre-
mier foreign policy
and geo-economics
conference.
Jaishankar on Tues-
day countered criti-
cism of India’s posi-
tion on Russia’s ac-
tions in Ukraine, say-
ing Western powers
have been oblivious to
the pressing challeng-
es in Asia including
last year’s develop-
ments in Afghanistan.
“We spent a lot of
time yesterday on
Ukraine and I have
tried to explain what
our views are but also
explained that in our
minds the best way for-
ward is to focus on stop-
ping the fighting, get-
ting the talking and
finding ways of moving
forward. We think our
choices, our positions
are best placed to ad-
vance that,” he said.
India has not yet pub-
licly condemned the
Russian attack on
Ukraine and has been
calling for the resolu-
tion of the conflict
through dialogue and
diplomacy
.
In his address, Jais-
hankar talked about
India’s 75-year-long
journey after Inde-
pendence and high-
lighted how the coun-
try played a key role in
promoting democracy
in South Asia.
Reflecting on areas
where India came up
short, the external af-
fairs minister listed a
lack of adequate atten-
tion to human resourc-
es and manufacturing.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar speaks during the panel
discussion: Chasing the Monsoon: Life@75 at Raisina Dialogue,
in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
EAM countered criticism of India’s position on Russia’s actions,
saying Western powers oblivious to pressing challenges in Asia
New Delhi (PTI): EAM S Jaishankar will begin
a three-day visit to Bangladesh and Bhutan on
Thursday focusing on enhancing bilateral coop-
eration and exchanging views on key issues. In
Dhaka, Jaishankar will call on Bangladeshi PM
Sheikh Hasina and hold discussions with Foreign
Minister AK Abdul Momen, the Ministry of Ex-
ternal Affairs said on Wednesday. It is learnt that
Jaishankar’s trip to Bangladesh is aimed at pre-
paring the grounds for a visit to India by Hasina.
“The forthcoming visit of the EAM to Bangladesh
may be seen in the context of frequent bilateral
high-level visits and exchanges particularly
as both sides commemorate 50 years of the
establishment of diplomatic ties,” the MEA said
in a statement. The last visit by Mr Jaishankar to
Bangladesh was in March last year. The external
affairs minister will be Bhutan's first high-level
visitor from abroad since March 2020, the MEA
said, adding it reflects the great importance both
countries attach to the relationship.
JAISHANKAR TO VISIT
BANGLADESH, BHUTAN
FROM APRIL 28-30
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Wednesday said that the shared legacy of India-Fiji
relations is based on the sense of service of human-
ity. India could fulfil its obligations during the pan-
demic based on these values as we could provide
medicines to 150 countries and about 100 million
vaccines to about 100 countries. Fiji has always
been prioritised in such efforts, he said.PM Modi
addressed the opening of Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani
Hospital in Fiji via a video message. Speaking on the
occasion, the PM thanked people of Fiji.
MODI: INDIA-FIJI RELATIONS BASED ON
MUTUAL RESPECT AND STRONG TIES
New Delhi: No major global problem can be
solved without India and the country is an
important partner of Germany, Minister of State
at the German Federal Foreign Office Dr Tobias
Lindner has said. “We want to have cooperation
in technology, education, security and climate
change with India. No major problem can be
solved without India. Looking forward to deep-
ening Germany-India relations,” Linder said.
NO MAJOR GLOBAL PROBLEM CAN BE
SOLVED WITHOUT INDIA: GERMAN MIN
Centre released `11,092 cr
for migrant workers: MHA
New Delhi (ANI): The
Centre had released in
advance an amount of
Rs 11,092 crore on April
3, 2020, to all States
ahead of an exodus of
migrant workers due to
the Covid-19-induced
first lockdown, the an-
nual report for the year
2020-21 released by the
MHA reads. It says the
MHA, in coordination
with respective states,
had also set up around
41,000 relief camps and
shelters where more
than 14 lakh people
were sheltered.
The annual report for
the year 2020-21 has ac-
knowledged that the
migrantworkersamong
many others were
stranded in different
parts of the country
due to the lockdown.
New Delhi (PTI): The government is likely to
soon reduce the gap between the second dose of
Covid-19 vaccine and the precaution dose from
the current nine months to six months, official
sources said on Wednesday. A recommenda-
tion on lessening the gap is expected to be made
by the NTAGI which is set to hold a meeting on
April 29. Studies at ICMR and other international
research institutions have suggested that anti-
body level wanes after about six months from the
primary vaccination with both doses.
GOVT MAY REDUCE GAP BETWEEN 2ND
DOSE, BOOSTER JAB TO SIX MONTHS
New Delhi: The Centre
on Wednesday defended
its control over trans-
fers and postings of of-
ficers in Delhi, telling
the Supreme Court that
it needs to have special
powers over the admin-
istration. Soon after, the
Delhi government ob-
jected to the Centre’s
stance.
“Since Delhi is the
national Capital, it is
necessary that the Cen-
tre has powers over ap-
pointments and trans-
fers of public servants.
The world views India
through Delhi,” the
Centre told the SC.
The SC is hearing the
Delhi government's pe-
tition against the Cen-
tre over the control of
the civil services.
“The essential fea-
ture about Delhi's laws
was guided by how the
great capital of this na-
tion would be adminis-
tered. It was not meant
to be about any particu-
lar political party, the
Centre argued.
NEED CONTROL AS DELHI
IS CAPITAL: CENTRE IN SC
The Union Cabinet,
chaired by Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi,
onWednesdayapproved
a USOF project for up-
grading 2G mobile ser-
vices to 4G at security
sites in Left Wing Ex-
tremism (LWE) areas.
Briefing the media,
Information and Broad-
casting Minister Anur-
ag Thakur said that the
project envisages up-
grading 2,343 LWE
Phase-I sites from 2G to
4G services at an cost of
Rs 1,884.59 crore.
Cabinet approves
communication
upgradation to
4G in LWE areas
LIC IPO to open
on May 4 in
price band
of `902-`949
DURING FIRST LOCKDOWN
NCB,ATS bust Afghan-India
drug ring; 35kg heroin seized
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The NCB
and the Gujarat ATS
seized 35kg heroin af-
ter they busted an
Afghanistan-India
narcotics smuggling
ring being operated
from Uttar Pradesh’s
Muzaffarnagar dis-
trict, officials said on
Wednesday.
In a statement, the
Narcotics Control Bu-
reau said the initial in-
put about the syndicate
was shared by the Guja-
rat anti-terrorist squad
following which the two
agencies intercepted
two Muzaffarnagar res-
idents in Delhi and
about 1kg heroin was
recovered from their ve-
hicle.
A probe found that an
Afghan-India drug syn-
dicate has been active
for the last few months,
the NCB said in a state-
ment.
“They have been
smuggling goods to In-
dia through maritime
and land border route
wherein heroin was
concealed. The narcot-
ics was later extracted
from those goods by the
Indian counterparts
with the help of Afghan
mules in the Muzaffar-
nagar store house,” the
statement said.
A cache of 34kg of
heroin and 2.75kg of
acetic anhydride (a
chemical used to manu-
facture drugs) was re-
covered from the Mu-
zaffarnagar store house
following raids by the
two agencies, it said.
The total seizure of
heroin is about 35kg
in this operation and
further investigation
is being conducted to
identify other links
and people involved, a
senior officer said.

BIZ BUZZ
06
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
Direct tax collections surged
to `14.09 lakh cr in 2021-22
Bhubaneswar (ANI):
Direct tax collections
surged to `14.09 lakh
crore in 2021-22 regis-
tering a year-on-year
growth of 49.02 per
cent on the back of
strong growth in mop-
up from income and
corporation tax, Cen-
tral Board of Direct
Taxes (CBDT) Chair-
man J B Mohapatra
said.
Net direct tax collec-
tions for 2021-22 surged
to `14,09,640.83 crore,
showing a growth of
49.02 per cent. Gross
direct tax collections
for the financial year
ended March 31, stood
at `16,34,454.95 crore
showing a growth of
32.75 per cent.
R e f u n d s
a m o u n t i n g
to `2,24,814.12
crore have been is-
sued in 2021-22.
More than 7.14
crore income tax re-
turns for assessment
year 2021-22 have been
filed on the new e-fil-
ing portal, Mr Mohapa-
tra told reporters.
He further said that
Mumbai is the leading
city in India with a tax
collection of `4.4 lakh
crore. Bengaluru is
number two fol-
lowed by Delhi,
C h e n -
n a i ,
H y -
d e -
rabad, P
une, and Ahmadabad.
Net direct tax collections for 2021-22 surged
to `14,09,640.83 crore, showing a growth of 49.02
per cent. Gross direct tax collections for the
financial year ended March 31, stood
at `16,34,454.95 crore showing a growth of 32.75
per cent.
Power Minister tells
states to step up coal
imports for 3 years
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): India’s power
ministerhastoldstates
to step up coal imports
for the next three
years,foursourcestold
Reuters, reporting re-
marks that imply pro-
longed support for al-
ready elevated global
prices for the fuel.
The statement by
Power Minister R K
Singh puts a long time-
line on a major policy
reversal suggested this
month, when the fed-
eral government asked
utilities run by state
governments to step
up coal imports.
That move was con-
trary to a long-stand-
ing national objective
to buy less coal from
abroad but widely seen
as a temporary meas-
ure to address short-
fallsamidrisingpower
demand caused by
soaring temperatures
and a pickup in indus-
trial activity
.
But Singh’s remarks
in a meeting with state
government officials
on Tuesday mean In-
dia,alreadytheworld’s
second-largest coal im-
porter, could signifi-
cantly add to global
demand until 2025.
“The states were
asked to continue im-
porting because the
private sector will take
till at least early 2025 to
produce significant
output and there is
also a consistent trains
shortage to move do-
mestic coal around,”
said a power ministry
official who attended.
Another power min-
istry official who did
not attend the meeting
but was briefed on it
said states were asked
to sign long-term deals
to ensure supply and
secure lower prices.
13.5 MT
finished steel
worth `1 tn
exported in
FY22: Minister
New Delhi (PTI)):
India exported 13.5
million tonne (MT)
of finished steel val-
uing Rs 1 lakh crore
in the last financial
year, Minister of
Steel Steel Faggan
Singh Kulaste has
said.
According to offi-
cial data, India’s fin-
ished steel exports
were at 10.78 million
tonne in 2020-21.
“India exported
13.5 MT finished
steel amounting to
Rs 1 lakh crore and
imported steel of
around Rs 46,000
crore during FY22,”
Kulaste said at Steel
and Engineering Ex-
ports organised by
Metalogic PMS on
Tuesday
.
ONGC struggling to move Russian oil: Report
New Delhi/ London (Agen-
cies): India’s Oil and Natural
Gas Corp (ONGC) is strug-
gling to find a vessel to ship
700,000 barrels of crude from
Russia’s Far East, in a growing
sign that complex trades in-
volving one of Moscow’s big-
gest partners are being in-
terrupted by West-
ern sanctions,
sources say
.
Several Indian
companies includ-
ing ONGC have stakes in Rus-
sian oil and gas assets, and
India has been buying more
Russian crude since Moscow
invaded Ukraine, snapping up
the popular Urals crude grade,
while other buyers have
shunned Russian exports.
ONGC has a 20% stake in the
Sakhalin 1 project that produc-
es a Russian grade known as
Sokol, which ONGC exports
through tenders. Sokol is most-
ly bought by North Asian buy-
ers and loaded from South Ko-
rea.However, Moscow’s ability
to ship that grade, which re-
quires vessels that can break
through ice, is becoming hard-
er due to concerns from ship-
pers over reputational risk
and the increasing difficulty
for Russian assets to find in-
surance coverage.
Capital expenditure
in manufacturing
up by 150% in 2022
New Delhi (ANI): Pri-
vate sector capital ex-
penditure (capex) in
manufacturing surged
by around 150 per cent
in 2021-22 year-on-year
backed by mega pro-
ject announcements
in steel, cement and
auto sectors, Goldman
Sachs said in a report.
New investment/
capex announcements
by the private sector
saw a 145-150 per cent
increase in FY22, com-
pared to FY21/FY20,
Goldman Sachs report
showed.
“New investment/
capex announcements
and ordering activity
have seen a sharp
pick-up in FY22 (both
over last year and pre-
COVID levels),” Gold-
man Sachs noted in
the report titled ‘Make
In India’ tracker.
The manufacturing
sector, which has
lagged for multiple
years, saw an increase
of 210 per cent/460 per
cent in FY22, com-
pared to FY21/FY20.
While the increase
was aided by mega pro-
ject announcements
(especially in the Steel
sector), the number of
projects announced
also increased by 80
per cent/140 per cent
in FY22, compared to
FY21/FY20, the report
said.
Retail industry to grow 10% a year, reach
$2 trillion by 2032: BCG-RAI report
Mumbai (PTI): As the
country recovers from
the pandemic, the retail
industry h as resumed
its growth trajectory
and is likely to witness
10 per cent annual
growth to reach approx-
imately USD 2 trillion
by 2032, according to a
report.
According to a BCG-
RAI report titled “Rac-
ing towards the next
wave of Retail in India”,
while certain industry
segments like food and
grocery, restaurants
and Quick service res-
taurant (QSR), and con-
sumer durables have
recovered to pre-COVID
levels, others like jewel-
lery and accessory, ap-
parel, and footwear re-
main on track to a full
recovery
.
“The Indian econo-
my continues to be
driven by consumption
and we are observing
that consumption
growth is back in the
positive territory after
the two-year COVID
pause,” BCG Managing
Director and Senior
Partner Abheek Singhi
said.
Noting that India’s
retail industry will
grow to approx USD 2
trillion in the next 10
years, Singhi said “the
next decade will see or-
ganised retailers focus
on footprint expansion,
across all formats - of-
fline and online - to fuel
future growth”.
As per the report In-
dia’s consumption,
which was growing at
approximately 12 per
cent pre-pandemic,
went into negative ter-
ritory during the pan-
demic but has now re-
covered to surpass pre-
pandemic growth levels
at 17 per cent.
WAVE OF RETAIL
Air India
proposes to
acquire AirAsia
India
New Delhi (PTI): Tatas-
owned Air India plans to
acquire no-frills carrier
AirAsia India and has
sought approval from the
Competition Commission
for the proposed deal.
AirAsia India is majority-
owned by Tata Sons
Private Ltd with a share-
holding of 83.67 per cent
and the remaining stake
is with AirAsia Invest-
ment Ltd (AAIL), which is
part of Malaysia’s AirAsia
Group. Full service carrier
Air India and its low-cost
subsidiary Air India
Express were acquired by
Talace Private Limited, a
wholly-owned subsidiary
of Tata Sons Private Ltd,
last year.
Reliance Industries inks
pact for $2-bn UAE deal
New Delhi (PTI): Bil-
lionaire Mukesh Am-
bani’s Reliance Indus-
tries has signed a
shareholder agree-
ment for the $2 billion
TA’ZIZ chemical joint
venture in the UAE
and inked a pact to col-
laborate with ADNOC
in finding and produc-
ing conventional and
unconventional re-
sources.
“Abu Dhabi Chemi-
cals Derivatives Com-
pany RSC Ltd (TA’ZIZ)
and Reliance Indus-
tries Ltd (RIL), have
signed the formal
shareholder agree-
ment for the TA’ZIZ
EDC and PVC pro-
ject,” the company
said. “The TA’ZIZ EDC
PVC joint venture
will construct and op-
erate a Chlor-Alkali,
Ethylene Dichloride
and Polyvinyl Chlo-
ride production facili-
ty, with an investment
of over $2 billion.
Reliance inked a pact
with ADNOC in,
producing
conventional,
unconventional
resources.
Container prices fall in India amidst supply chain disruptions
New Delhi (ANI): Con-
tainer xChange, the
world’s leading neutral
marketplace for ship-
ping containers and a
technology logistics in-
frastructure company,
released the findings of
its container logistics
analysis for the Indian
container logistics mar-
ket.
Keyfindingsfromthe
analysisshowthatthere
has been a general de-
cline in average prices
of 20 ft DC and 40 ft HC
standard shipping con-
tainers across the ports
of Chennai, Nhava She-
va and Mundra from
Mid-January 2022 till
date, after having
peakedinthemonthsof
August-September2021.
However, the prices
are much higher than
the prices from Janu-
ary 2021 (40 per cent
higher in Chennai, 36
per cent higher in
Nhava Sheva and 36
per cent in Mundra for
40 ft HC containers).
The average prices
have increased by 41
per cent from USD 1341
on 1st January 2021 to
USD 2269 as on April 23
2022 at the port of
Nhava Sheva for 20 ft
DC cargo-worthy con-
tainer.
The average price of
40 ft HC container in
Chennai were USD 5127
in mid-January 2022
which fell to USD 4297
on April 18, 2022. A fall
of 16 per cent since
January 17, 2022.
Another key finding
is the rise in Container
Availability Index
(CAx) values from week
14 (April 4 till date).
Sensex slumps 537 points;
Bajaj Finance tumbles 7.24%
Mumbai (ANI): The Indian stock markets’
key indices, Sensex and Nifty, slumped
by around one per cent on Wednesday,
dragged by heavy selling pressure in bank-
ing and financial stocks. The 30 stock SP
BSE Sensex slumped 537.22 points or 0.94
per cent to 56,819.39 points against its
previous day’s close at 57,356.61 points.
Tracking weakness in the global equities,
the Sensex opened deep in the red at
56,983.68 points and slumped to a low of
56,584.04 points in the intra-day. Sensex
has registered losses in three out of the
last four trading sessions. Bajaj Finance
tumbled 7.24 per cent to Rs 6716.65.
Airtel acquires strategic 7%
stake in Cnergee Technologies
New Delhi (ANI): Telecom operator Bharti
Airtel on Wednesday said it has acquired
a strategic minority stake in cloud-based
networking solutions provider Cnergee
Technologies under the Airtel Startup
Accelerator Programme. The percentage
of shareholding or control acquired is
nearly 7 per cent, Bharti Airtel said in a
regulatory filing to the stock exchanges.
The stake acquisition will enable Airtel
to sharpen its Network as a Service
(NaaS) proposition for Small and Me-
dium Businesses (SMBs) who are looking
to accelerate their shift to cloud-based
applications.
Rules simplified for procedure
for transmission of securities
New Delhi (PTI): With an aim to simplify
the procedure for transmission of securi-
ties, Sebi has revised the existing threshold
limit for simplified documents to Rs 5 lakh
from Rs 2 lakh currently for securities held
in physical mode per listed issuer. Also, the
threshold in this regard for securities held
in the dematerialised mode for each ben-
eficiary account has been increased to Rs
15 lakh from the present level of Rs 5 lakh.
Legal Heirship Certificate or its equivalent
certificate issued by competent government
authority will be an acceptable document
for transmission of securities, the regulator
said in a notification issued on Tuesday.
`820 cr support for India Post
Payments Bank approved
New Delhi (PTI): The Union Cabinet has
approved financial support of Rs 820 crore
for India Post Payments Bank, a source
said on Wednesday. The support will help
state-run payments bank to penetrate
deeper into the country, especially in
the rural area and work towards finan-
cial inclusion. “There was a proposal to
provide Rs 820 crore financial support to
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB). It has
been approved by the Cabinet,” the source
told PTI. IPPB has over five crore accounts
at present and operates through 1.36 lakh
branches. Around 48 per cent of its ac-
count holders are women.

07
NEWS
First India Bureau
Howrah: In a bid to
keep the river Ganga
clean and pollution free,
the Zilla Parishad of
Howrah district in West
Bengal organised a plas-
tic removal programme
in 18 Ganga bordering
Gram Panchayats (GPs)
with the support of the
local Panchayat Samitis
and GP communities.
The initiative held
during April 2022 is in
keeping with Phase II of
Swachh Bharat Mission
Grameen (SBM-G) to en-
sure ODF sustainability
and visual cleanliness
through solid and liquid
waste management
(SLWM).
In addition to the
State interventions,
Howrah Zilla Parishad
together with all Blocks
situated adjacent to the
River Ganga and the
GPs therein have come
forward to keep the sa-
cred river clean and pol-
lution free with the sup-
port of community sup-
port organization -
Aamra Susama Jalapra-
pat.
In an effort to achieve
the aforesaid goals, the
Howrah Zilla Parishad
has launched SLWM
and plastic removal
programmes in the
GPs, the latter with the
support of SHGs in 18
of the Ganga adjacent
GPs in Howrah in the 3
Blocks of Sankrail (Vil-
lages: Banupur-I, Ban-
upur-II, Sankrail, Dak-
shin Sankrail,
Raghudevbati, Saren-
ga, Manikpur, Jhore-
hat, Panchpara, Than-
amakua); Uluberia-1;
and Shampur-1.
The various initia-
tives were launched dur-
ing a workshop conduct-
ed at the Block level
earlier to generate
awareness on the inter-
ventions taken up by
Howrah Zilla Parishad.
The enthusiasm and
voluntary participa-
tion of a large number
of PRI elected repre-
sentatives, panchayat
employees, village
communities, mem-
bers of Self-Help
Groups, and market
vendors in implement-
ing the programme in
the Ganga adjacent GP
areas was noteworthy.
Drivetoclean18GangaborderingGramPanchayats
SWACHH BHARAT MISSION-GRAMEEN IN HOWRAH
The initiative is in keeping with Phase II of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen.
With an eye on next General Election, ruling BJP plans Muslim outreach programme to split rivals’ vote bank
2024 LS POLL: BJP EYES MUSLIM VOTES
First India Bureau
Lucknow: With
around eight per cent
Muslim community
voting for the BJP in
recent assembly elec-
tions in UP the saffron
brigade has planned to
reach out to the com-
munity in the country
to widen its base in the
run up to the 2024 Lok
Sabha elections.
According to infor-
mation the BJP has pre-
pared an outreach plan,
which is yet to be ap-
proved by the central
leadership, for booth
level interaction with
the community across
the country. Under the
fresh initiative the BJP
leaders will visit Mus-
lim-dominated areas
and hold interaction
with them to know
their problems.
Sources said the BJP
national president JP
Nadda may launch the
programme in next few
months, mainly in poll-
bound states like Guja-
rat, Himachal, MP and
Rajasthan. While ap-
proaching the male
constituency of the
community, moves are
also afoot to target ef-
fectively female mem-
bers of the community
.
During UP elections the
dra Modi had repeat-
edly mentioned about
the elimination of men-
ace of “triple Talaq”
which had badly affect-
ed the Muslim women
in the country
.
A four-member team
of the BJP has been
working on the draft in
this connection. The
party had also identified
90 Lok Sabha constitu-
encies in country where
it could not perform
well in 2019 election and
large number of them
minority dominated.
Uttar Pradesh is a
test case for Muslim
mobilization for the
BJP as results of previ-
ous elections (2017, 2019
and 2022) have given
enough indications
about some tilt of the
community if their is-
sues are addressed
sympathetically
.
However, politically
the community had
gathered around the Sa-
majwadi Party and alli-
ance in 2022 assembly
giving it 125 seats.
SC asks clarification on AG Perarivalan
New Delhi (ANI): The
Supreme Court on
Wednesday asked the
Centre to clarify its posi-
tion on the release of
AG Perarivalan, one of
the convicts serving life
imprisonment in con-
nection with the assas-
sination of former
Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi.
A bench headed by
Justice L Nageswara
Rao also pulled up the
Central government
and said that it “will re-
lease”Perarivalanif the
government does not
take a stand on the con-
vict’s mercy plea within
a week. “He has already
spent 36 years in jail
then why not we release
him,” said the bench.
The apex court also
took strong exception
on the action of the Ta-
mil Nadu Governor for
sitting on the Cabinet’s
release recommenda-
tion for more than three
and half years and then
forwarding it to the
President. “Why don’t
you just agree to have
him released? People
who have served over 20
years are released... We
are also offering you an
escape route. Your argu-
ment that the Governor
does not have the juris-
diction to take a deci-
sion on the mercy plea
underArticle161strikes
a blow on the federal
structure of the Consti-
tution... Under which
provision can the Gov-
ernor refer the decision
of the State Cabinet to
the President?” the apex
court bench told Addi-
tional Solicitor General
KM Nataraj, appearing
for the Centre.
“If atalltheGovernor
disagrees with the State
Cabinet decision to re-
lease him, the proper
course for him would be
to refer it back to the
Cabinet and not forward
it to the President, who
is bound by the aid and
advice of the Centre...
That cannot simply be
done. We prima facie
find the Governor’s ac-
tion wrong and you are
arguing against the
Constitution,” it added.
Haryana Guv awards 92
officers with Police Medal
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: Haryana
Governor Bandaru Dut-
tatraya awarded 92 of-
ficers and officials of
Haryana Police with
the President’s Police
Medal/Police Medal for
rendering distin-
guished and meritori-
ous services during the
Investiture ceremony
organized at Indrad-
hanush Auditorium in
Panchkula.
During the ceremony
,
the Haryana Governor
bestowed the Presi-
dent’s Police Medal for
distinguished service
on 11 officers/officials
and the Police Medal for
meritorious service on
81 officers/officials of
Haryana Police.
Haryana Vidhan Sab-
ha Speaker Gian Chand
Gupta, Deputy Chief
Minister Dushyant
Chautala, Home Minis-
ter Anil Vij, Additional
Chief Secretary (Home)
Rajiv Arora, DGP Hary-
ana PK Agrawal, Man-
aging Director, Hary-
ana Police Housing Cor-
poration RC Mishra,
DG State Vigilance Bu-
reau Shatrujit Singh
Kapoor, ADGP CID
Alok Mittal, ADGP
(Crime) OP Singh and
ADGP Ajay Singhal
were amongst the other
senior dignitaries pre-
sent at the ceremony.
The family members of
the awardees were also
seen participating in
the function.
FOR A CAUSE
World Immunization
Week calls for fresh
impetus for children
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Every
year World Immuni-
zation Week (WIW)
is observed globally
from April 24 to 30.
In observance of the
week in 2022, today
UNICEF along with
the Ministry of
Health and Family-
Welfare (MoHFW),
the Government of
India held an inter-
active engagement
session with health
journalists to rein-
force media support
toward increased
uptake of Routine
Immunization of
children.
The theme for this
year’s immunization
week is ‘long life for
all,’ (#longlifeforall)
with ‘long life’ re-
flecting the impor-
tance of vaccina-
tions for a long and
healthy life and the
importance of vac-
cine equity.
India annually
targets approximate-
ly 2.9 crore pregnant
women and 2.7 crore
children for vaccina-
tion through the Uni-
versal Immuniza-
tion Programme.
As per latest Na-
tional Family Health
Survey (NFHS)-5
data, Full Immuniza-
tion Coverage (FIC)
among children aged
12-23 months has re-
corded substantial
improvement from
62 per cent to 76 per
cent at all-India
level.
The seminar being by UNICEF along with MoHFW.
Muslim community has a sizable voters in Uttar Pradesh. —FILE PHOTO
(From L to R). ACS Rajeev Arora, Home Minister Anil Vij, Haryana Guv Bandaru Duttatraya and others.
A PROUD MOMENT
EXPLANATION
‘QAUMI CHAUPALS’ TO BE HELD
TO TELL PEOPLE MERITS OF UCC
UP GOVT ORDERS PHYSICAL
VERIFICATION OF MADRASAS
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Yogi
Adityanath government
in Uttar Pradesh will
undertake a physical
verification of infra-
structural facilities
in madrasas.Under
the Modern Madrasa
Scheme, instructions
have been given for
the investigation of the
physical infrastructure
facilities of madrasas
in the state. A circular
issued by the Uttar
Pradesh (UP) Sub
Secretary, Shakeel
Ahmad Siddiqui,
directed the formation
of a committee for the
examination of physical
infrastructure facili-
ties of madrasas in the
state.According to a
government circular,
Sub-Divisional Magis-
trate, Block Education
Officer, and Block
Development Officer
will investigate through
district magistrate.
The committee has
to send the investiga-
tion reports on the
physical examination
of buildings, land, rent
demands, teachers,
students etc regarding
the Madrasas in the
state by May 15.
Lucknow (PTI): To ac-
quaint people, especially
the Muslims, with the
“merits” of the Uniform
Civil Code (UCC), the Ut-
tar Pradesh government
will organise “Qaumi
Chaupals” all over the
state, Minister of State
for Minority Welfare and
Waqf, Danish Azad An-
sari, said on Wednesday.
With discussions on the
UCC taking centrestage,
he said the BJP govern-
ment in the state will
move towards imple-
menting one law for all,
“only after talking to all
the parties”.“As the soci-
ety is progressing, some
new requirements arise
and they should be ad-
dressed. Every decision
of ours will be for the
benefit of the public only
and their opinion is most
important to us,” Ansari,
the lone Muslim minister
in the Yogi Adityanath
government, told PTI in
an interview.“We will go
to the grassroots and tell
the people, especially the
Muslim society, about
the merits of the Uniform
Civil Code. We will
keep the government’s
intention before them
by organising ‘Qaumi
Chaupals’ all over the
state,” he added. The
issue gains prominence
as the newly-formed
BJP government in
Uttarakhand recently
constituted a commit-
tee to prepare a draft of
the UCC.Deputy Chief
Minister Keshav Prasad
Maurya had recently said
the state government is
seriously considering the
implementation of the
UCC.
RAISINA DIALOGUE!
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani at the “Raisina Dialogue”
2022, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

08
2NDFRONT
Sustainability is a global
concept, it has to enclose the
entire Earth, Environmental
degradation knows no political borders.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Mumbai (ANI): Releas-
ing the Marathi trans-
lated book ‘Amit Shah
and BJP’s journey’ at
Rabindra Natyamandir
in Mumbai’s Dadar,
BJP leader Devendra
Fadnavis said that
Shah’s inspiring jour-
ney will guide the new
generation.
Fadnavis said that
Shah has a unique art
of converting challeng-
es into opportunities,
adding that he always
insists that the most
backward people of the
society should be the
centrepiece of the par-
ty
. Addressing the book
launch event, Shah
said, “Devendra Fad-
navis said that the book
‘Amit Shah and BJP’s
journey’ written on Un-
ion Home Minister
Amit Shah is an impor-
tant graph of his jour-
ney
. It tells how an ordi-
nary worker grows in
the Bharatiya Janata
Party. Amit Shah’s per-
sonality cannot be un-
derstood just by win-
ning or losing elections.
Many chapters have
emerged from this
book, such as the newly
formed disciplined
structure of the BJP,
Sangh’s values at the
grassroots level, his
journey across the
country to expand the
party, and his constant
interactions with the
party workers.”
He further said, “Op-
ponents often try to tar-
get Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi by target-
ing Amit Shah. Howev-
er, the strong and sensi-
tive Amit Bhai over-
powered the opposition.
His appreciation as a
modern Chanakya is
significant. He consid-
ers Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj, Chanakya
and Savarkar as his in-
spiration. He has writ-
ten a book in Gujarati
after studying the his-
tory of Marathas and it
will be published soon.
Shah’s inspiring journey will guide the next
generation, says Fadnavis at book launch event
GUIDING LIGHT
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu calls for responsible media
First India Bureau
Nellore: Vice President
M Venkaiah Naidu has
called upon the media to
follow values of ethical
journalism and be re-
sponsible in their cover-
age of news. Expressing
his concern over the ten-
dency to exaggerate and
sensationalise news,
Naidu said that it is tan-
tamount to misinform-
ing the public. At times,
such misinformation
can cause panic, he said
and added “be closer to
the truth and stay away
from sensation”.
He inaugurated a 100
Metre Tower for 10 KW
FM Operation at the All
India Radio FM Station
in Nellore on Wednes-
day. Soon after arriving
at the AIR studio, Naidu
gave a special address
through live broadcast
and dedicated the FM
tower to the people of
Nellore. He expressed
happiness that the sta-
tion he laid the founda-
tion for when he was the
Minister of Information
Broadcasting is opera-
tional today
.
Naidu stressed that
freedom of press is in-
dispensable in a democ-
racy. He said the media
plays a vital role in edu-
cating the people on
various issues and
strengthening democra-
cy
. In this context, he un-
derlined the critical role
of broadcast media in
national development.
Noting the wide-
spread reach of the me-
dia in the digital age,
Naidu advised the media
to reflect the realities of
society and always re-
main wedded to cardinal
principles of journal-
ism. There is also a need
for the media to intro-
spect and self-regulate.
He also suggested that
people should encour-
age media organisations
that follow honest and
ethical journalism.
Reflecting on the fall-
ing standards in TV de-
bates, he called for more
meaningful and respect-
ful discussions on im-
portant national issues.
Reminding that India
has 60% rural popula-
tion, he called upon all
media organisations to
focus more on the issues
of rural India.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has called upon the
youth to imbibe the spirit of service and regularly de-
vote some time to helping the needy and underprivi-
leged sections in society. Inaugurating the Devireddy
Sarada Charitable Trust in Nellore of Andhra Pradesh,
Naidu underlined that ‘service’ is an integral part of
Indian culture and reiterated that India’s civilisational
value is that of ‘Share and Care’. He said one gets
immense satisfaction in helping others. He said
that youth in particular should take up the cause of
serving the poor and hlp them take advantage of govt
sponsored schemes and programmes. He urged
charitable organisations to also focus on skill devel-
opment of youth and women and empowering them.
VENKAIAH NAIDU URGES YOUTH TO
IMBIBE THE SPIRIT OF SERVICE
Army Chief, Australian CDF discuss
ways to boost bilateral defence ties
New Delhi (ANI): Aus-
tralian Chief of De-
fence Force General
Angus Campbell called
on Indian Army chief
General MM Naravane
on Wednesday and dis-
cussedwaystostrength-
en the defence coopera-
tion between the two
countries.
India-Australia de-
fence cooperation con-
tinued to expand during
the year 2021-22. Aus-
tralia participated in
Exercise Malabar along
with India, US and Ja-
pan. India was invited
for the first time to ob-
serve the bi-annual Aus-
tralia-USA bilateral Ex-
ercise Talisman Sabre
2021. For the first time,
the Indian Navy partici-
pated along with the na-
vies of France, Japan,
the United States and
Australia in the multi-
lateral maritime exer-
cise La Perouse in the
Eastern Indian Ocean
from April 5-7 2021.
A ‘Joint Guidance for
the Australia - India
Navy to Navy Relation-
ship’ was signed be-
tween the Indian Navy
and Royal Australian
Navy on August 18 2021.
Consequent to this, the
‘Terms of Reference for
the Conduct of Navy-to-
Navy Talks’ was signed
on September 29 2021.
The Australian Indus-
try and Defence Net-
work (AIDN) and the
Society of Indian De-
fence Manufacturers
(SIDM) signed a Memo-
randum of Understand-
ing on September 23,
2021, establishing a
framework of coopera-
tion between the two
defence industry asso-
ciations.
New Delhi (ANI): Commander of US Indo-Pacif-
ic Command, Admiral John Aquilino, called on
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on
Wednesday. This comes in the wake of the In-
dia-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on April 11 where
the US had supported India as a defence industry
leader in the Indo-Pacific and a net provider of
security in the region, said US Defence Secretary
Lloyd Austin. Addressing a press conference after
the dialogue, he said that the US has identified a
new opportunity (India) to extend the operational
reach of our military to coordinate more closely
together across the expanse of the Indo-Pacific.
“We all understand the challenges that we are
facing. The People’s Republic of China is seeking
to refashion the region in the international system
more broadly. In ways that serve its interest,” he
said. “So we have identified a new opportunity to
extend the operational reach of our military to co-
ordinate more closely together across the expanse
of the Indo-Pacific. We walked on the Indian Navy’s
decision to join the combined maritime forces in
Moraine Bahrain and we have also committed to
more high-end exercises together,” Austin added
during the conference.
COMMANDER OF US INDO-PACIFIC
MEETS DEFENCE MINISTER RAJNATH
Union Cabinet approves
merger of CSIR and
Consultancy Devt Centre
Union Cabinet on
Wednesday approved
the amalgamation of
Consultancy Develop-
ment Centre (CDC)
along with its manpow-
er, moveable assets and
liabilities with the
Council of Scientific
and Industrial Re-
search (CSIR).
CSIR and CDC are
two separate autono-
mous bodies under the
Department of Scien-
tific and Industrial Re-
search (DSIR), Minis-
try of Science and
Technology. The Union
Cabinet was chaired by
dra Modi.
An official statement
said the amalgamation
of two societies will not
only streamline in de-
partment but CSIR will
be befitted by experi-
enced staff of CDC in
the field of consultancy
in education, export of
technologies etc.
The amalgamation is
expected to add value to
CSIR needs for techno-
commercial assessment
of projects, socio-eco-
nomic impact analysis
of CSIR technologies
deployed in the field, se-
lection of appropriate
consultants for carry-
ing out detailed designs.
Lankan Prez says he’s ready
to for all-party government
Rajasthan CM Gehlot attends
PM’s Corona meet with CMs
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Rajasthan
CM Ashok Gehlot has
expressed concern re-
garding the corona in-
fection. Gehlot said
through a tweet that the
cases of Covid are in-
creasing continuously
in all countries includ-
ing Britain, Germany
and China.
“There has also been
anincreaseininfections
in some parts of the
country
. In view of its
seriousness, I took part
intheVCof alltheChief
Ministers being chaired
by Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi on the cir-
cumstances of Covid.
Taking the rising cases
of Covid as a warning,
all of us should start fol-
lowing the Covid proto-
col again,” Gehlot said.
Colombo (ANI): Sri
Lankan President Go-
tabaya Rajapaksa on
Wednesday said that he
in principle is willing
to form an all-party
government with the
political parties repre-
sented in Parliament.
He conveyed this
message to the leaders
of political parties
aligned with the Sri
Lankan government.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
said that the structure,
the tenure and the port-
folios of this all-party
government have to be
agreed upon after dis-
cussions, Xinhua News
Agency reported.
Rajapaksa said the
proposed all-party gov-
ernment is to be estab-
lished after the resig-
nation of the Prime
Minister and the Cabi-
net.
COURTESY MEET!
Jagdeesh Chandra in conversation with Former IB Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Prakash
Javadekar at the VIP Lounge during a courtesy meet at Jaipur International Airport on
Wednesday. After the meeting, Prakash Javadekar, who was on a one-day visit to the Pink
City to attend a private function, returned to New Delhi.
Cong leader Lamba appears before Pb
Police for remarks against Kejriwal
First India Bureau
Rupnagar: Congress
leader Alka Lamba, who
was summoned for al-
legedly making false
statements against AAP
national convenor
Arvind Kejriwal before
the Punjab Assembly
polls, appeared before
Rupnagar police on
Wednesday.
A case has also been
lodged against former
AAP leader Kumar
Vishwas in Rupnagar
town’s Sadar police sta-
tion on April 12.
Vishwas alleged that
Kejriwal had connec-
tions with separatists in
Punjab, and those hav-
ing sympathy with sepa-
ratists used to come to
his house for meetings
during the last assem-
bly polls. Lamba has
beenaccusedof backing
the remarks made by
Vishwas.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.
Alka Lamba along with Congress delegation at Rupnagar police.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Army Chief MM Narvane with Australian Chief of Defence Minister Angus Campbell.
Rajasthan CMAshok Gehlot on a visit to Mumbai attends a meeting
chaired by PM Narendra Modi on Covid-19 through video conferencing.

NEW DELHI | THURSDAY,
APRIL 28, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirst-
india facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
f the initial
season of
First Miss In-
dia and First
Miss India
Teen was
b e a u t i f u l ,
then the second sea-
son will be excep-
tionally glamorous.
This is what the post-
er launch of the sec-
ond season of First
Miss India promised.
The launch that was
held on Wednesday,
April 27, took place at
the pumping hotspot
of young party go-
ers, Hex - High en-
ergy Xperience,
Mumbai.
Jagdeesh Chandra
unveiled the poster
and the top 3 crowns
for the winners of
Season 2, along with
beauty queens of the
First Miss India Sea-
son 1 and brand am-
bassador for season
2, Anjali Khandal.
A new fresh inno-
cent face on the glam-
our screen, Anjali
Khandal is the SYM-
BOL of all the young
girls of the future
generation, the aspir-
ants and future par-
ticipants of First
Miss India season 2
who have dreams in
their eyes to make it
big in the world of
entertainment and
fashion industry.
First Miss India is
a one-of-a-kind com-
bination of splen-
dour and refinement
that stands in stark
contrast to the typi-
cal status of pag-
eantry in India. The
goal of this beauty
pageant is to empow-
er young ladies
while also allowing
them to grow and
build a healthy self-
image.
The online regis-
tration of First Miss
India has begun, one
can register and
learn more about the
contest on the official
website of First India
https://www.first-
missindia.in/ as the
website was also
launched on the occa-
sion.
Auditions for the
same will be held of-
fline in 8 cities across
India, starting from
Mumbai in June.
Show Director of
Season 2 Parimal Me-
hhta- Founder and
CEO of Blanckanvas
Media Pvt Ltd also
graced the glitzy
evening.
Gaurav Gaur, Di-
rector Elite Miss Ra-
jasthan, Ashok Singh
from Big Boss Studio
along super model,
actress and multi tal-
ented beauty Akank-
sha Bhalla were pre-
sent as special guests
on the occasion.
FIRST MISS INDIA SEASON 2
THE AWE-INSPIRING LAUNCH OF
BEAUTY GLAMOUR
AFTER THE HUGE SUCCESS OF THE FIRST MISS INDIA SEASON
1 HELD AT DONA SYLVIA RESORT IN GOA ON OCTOBER 30,
2021, THE POSTER OF SECOND SEASON WAS LAUNCHED ON
WEDNESDAY AT HEX HIGH ENERGY XPERIENCE MUMBAI
I
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
Georgia Andriani
Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Kangna, Chahak, Aastha, Muskaan, Lekh, Aditi, Pearl, Shreya, Shubhi, Tanvi and Kavya
Jagdeesh Chandra unveils the top 3 crowns of First Miss India Season 2.
Also seen are Parimal Mehta, Khalid Ansari, Anjali Khandal and Rajendra Jain
Raya and Akriti Anand
—PHOTOS
BY
KRISHNA
MISHRA

SUSHIL
GUJAR

28042022_ First India New Delhi.pdf

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