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NEW DELHI l MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 1
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday, August 29, arrested actor
Armaan Kohli in connection with a drugs case, an official said. Sources on
Sunday said a small quantity of cocaine was found at Kohli’s residence, fol-
lowing which a case was registered against him and he was arrested.
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya
on Sunday launched the first commercial batch of Bharat Biotech’s
COVAXIN manufactured in Gujarat’s Ankleshwar. He said that India is
focused on slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the country, and the key
to achieving this lies in the swift and efficient administration of vaccines.
ARMAAN KOHLI
ARRESTED BY NCB IN
CONNECTION WITH
DRUGS CASE
MANDAVIYA LAUNCHES
1ST COMMERCIAL
BATCH OF BHARAT
BIOTECH’S COVAXIN
CORONA CATASTROPHE
NEW DELHI
INDIA
45,083
new cases
460
new fatalities
29
new cases
00
new fatalities
Shah reviews development
works in his constituency
Ahmedabad: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Sunday re-
viewed development
projects underway in
parts of Ahmedabad
that fall within his Gan-
dhinagar Lok Sabha
constituency. On the
second day of his three-
day visit to Gujarat,
Shah met officials and
leaders of Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation
(AMC) as well as MLAs
of four Assembly seats
in Ahmedabad located
under his Lok Sabha
constituency and
stressed the need for
beautification of lakes
in the city
, said a release.
Officials told Shah that
nearly87percentbenefi-
ciaries had received the
first dose of COVID-19
vaccine in the Assembly
constituenciesof Naran-
pura,Sabarmati,Ghatlo-
dia and Vejalpur, which
arepartof Gandhinagar
Lok Sabha constituency
.
He was informed that
3.44 lakh trees have been
planted in these four
areas as part of a drive
thatwaslaunchedbyhim
duringhislastvisittothe
city
, the release said.
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi ad-
dressed the 80th edition
of his monthly radio
programme Mann Ki
Baat on August 29.
PM Modi begins his
address for the August
edition of ‘Mann ki
Baat’, heaping praises
on the Indian Hockey
team at the Tokyo Olym-
pics. He said, “Every
medal is special. When
India won a Medal in
Hockey
, the nation re-
joiced.Today
,MajorDhy-
an Chand Ji would have
been so happy
. India’s
youth wants to do some-
thing new and on a large
scale.”
India’s space sector
reforms have captured
the imagination of the
youth, who are giving
emphasis to quality
.
Prime Minister fur-
ther mentioned Jadura-
ni Dasi, a US citizen and
shared her conversation
with him.
Addressing the 80th
edition of his monthly
radio programme
‘Mann ki Baat’, Prime
Minister Modi said,
“The festival of Jan-
mashtami is the festival
of birth of Bhagwan
Shri Krishna.” He fur-
ther added, “Jadurani
Dasi ji is American and
is connected to ISKCON,
connectedtoHareKrish-
namovementandoneof
her major specialities is
that she is skilled in
Bhakti Arts. I had a long
chat with her, but I want
you to listen to some
parts of it,” he said.
“Friends, when the
people of the world pay
heed to Indian spiritual
systems and philosophy
today
, then we also have
a responsibility to carry
forward these great tra-
ditions,” he added. P8
Home Minister Amit Shah chairs a meeting at AMC office in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
PM Modi also said that today’s youths are breaking away from
the mould and embracing start-up culture in the country.
SANSKRIT HELPS
NURTURE
KNOWLEDGE,
STRENGTHENS
NATIONAL UNITY: PM
New Delhi: Urging the
citizens to cherish and
preserve Sanskrit, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on
Sunday said the language
helps nurture knowledge
and strengthens national
unity. Addressing the 80th
edition of his monthly radio
programme ‘Mann ki Baat’,
PM Modi said, “Through its
thoughts and medium of
literary texts, Sanskrit helps
nurture knowledge and also
national unity, strengthens it.
Sanskrit literature comprises
the divine philosophy of
humanity and knowledge
which can captivate anyone’s
attention.” He said the
efforts made in recent
times have brought a new
awareness about Sanskrit.
Facility will cater rising demand
for petroleum products: Pradhan
Dhenkanal (Odisha):
Union Minister Dhar-
mendra Pradhan on
Saturday laid founda-
tion stone of common
user petroleum facility
in Odisha’s Dhenkanal
district.
This is first common
user petroleum facility
of the country and the
aim of this facility is to
reduce the transporta-
tion cost of petroleum
products from Paradip
Port. Pradhan also con-
gratulated IOCL, BPCL
& HPCL for starting the
common facility. “The
facility is targeted to be
completed by August
2023,” the union minis-
ter added. —ANI
Mann Ki Baat: Skill devpt
need of the hour: PM Modi
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan lays the foundation stone of
common user petroleum facility in Odisha. —PHOTO BY ANI
KABUL ROCKED AGAIN
Rocket hits airport neighbourhood, kills child
Kabul: US officials said
a drone struck a vehicle
carrying multiple ‘sui-
cide bombers’ which was
on its way to attack the
Kabul international air-
port amid the American
military’s evacuation.
The terror threat, of
which the US had issued
warnings earlier in the
day
, is believed to have
been eliminated.
Days after two blasts at
Kabul airport claimed
closeto200lives,soundof
another powerful explo-
sion was heard in the Af-
ghan capital on Sunday
.
According to Afghan po-
lice chief, a rocket hit the
northwest neighbour-
hood of Kabul airport
killing a child. The two
strikes(droneandrocket)
initially appeared to be
separate incidents.
JAISHANKAR
DISCUSSES AF
WITH BLINKEN
New Delhi: The US and
India will continue to
work closely on Afghani-
stan and the United Na-
tions, the US
State Depart-
ment said in
a statement
after a meet-
ing between
Secretary of
State Antony J Blinken
and Foreign Minister
S Jaishankar. “Secre-
tary of State Antony J
Blinken spoke with Indian
External Affairs Minister
Dr S Jaishankar. They
discussed a broad range
of shared priorities,
including continued coor-
dination on Afghanistan,”
State Department spokes-
person Ned Price said.
Wellington (TN): Referring to Pakistan as
India’s “neighbour”, without explicitly nam-
ing the country, Union Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that the
ceasefire between the two countries is
successful today “only because of our
strength”. “In 2016, cross-border
strikes changed reactionary mindset
into proactive mindset, which was
strengthened by Balakot airstrike
in 2019,” Singh said.
‘INDIA-PAK CEASEFIRE SUCCESSFUL
BECAUSE OF OUR STRENGTH: SINGH
Photos and videos of a huge smoke in a congested residential
area near Kabul airport surfaced on social media soon after the
blasts were reported on Sunday.
Dear Readers
e are delighted to
introduce First In-
dia newspaper in
the cosmopolitan
city of Delhi, which is In-
dia’s Dil in every sense.
Being multi-ethnic and
multi-cultural due to pres-
ence of the vast bureau-
cracy and political system,
Delhi just needs a newspa-
per like First India, which
offers contemporary and
thought-provoking opin-
ion pieces on issues that
matter the most, hyper lo-
cal news and the insightful
happenings from the pow-
er corridors in India’s
Rajdhani.
On the editorial front,
the newspaper’s policy
will be fair and independ-
ent but with an intelligent
support to the popular
policies and programmes
of the centre and state gov-
ernments.
After making a mark in
the hearts of people of Ra-
jasthan, Gujarat and Uttar
Pradesh, we are sure that
Delhiites too will welcome
us wholeheartedly giving
us a place in their homes
in the same way that they
have incorporated all of
India and Indians at large.
Jai Hind!
—Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO & Editor-in-Chief, First India
W
CRUCIAL READ
THAKUR LAUNCHES FIT
INDIA MOBILE APP
New Delhi: To celebrate
the second anniversary of
Fit India Movement and
as part of Azadi ka Amrit
Mahotsav, Union Minister
of Youth Affairs and Sports,
Anurag Singh Thakur on
Sunday launched the Fit
India Mobile Application
at the Major Dhyan Chand
National Stadium in the
national capital on Sunday.
As Thakur demonstrated his
fitness by skipping rope,
everyone was awed and
MoS Nisith Pramanik added
that Sports Minister Anurag
Thakur is a true role model
for Fit India and he inspires
everyone.
OVER 63 CR DOSES
ADMINISTERED
New Delhi: Amid growing
concern over the third
covid wave, Health Min-
istrty on Sunday said that
India has administered
over 63 crore doses of
COVID-19 vaccine so far
across the country. P5
SC TO RESUME
PHYSICAL HEARINGS
FROM SEPTEMBER 1
New Delhi: Supreme Court
issued fresh procedures
for final hearing of cases
in physical mode from
September 1, and will go
for hybrid option from
Tuesday to Thursday. P5
BIRLA MEETS J&K LT GUV SINHA
Srinagar: Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla met Jammu and
Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG), Manoj Sinha, at Raj Bhawan
Grassroots democracy has strengthened in Jammu and Kashmir
and people positively participated in local body elections, Lok
Sabha Speaker Om Birla said as he began his four-day visit
to the union territory on Sunday. The visit is part of a ‘Parlia-
mentary Outreach Programme for Panchayati Raj Institutions’.
Addressing the media on his visit to the Kashmir Valley, Birla
said this is a beautiful place and people here are known for their
politeness and hospitality. The Speaker further said the higher
percentage of voting in local body elections this time shows that
the people have faith in democratic process and institutions.
CM KEJRIWAL IN
JAIPUR FOR
WELLNESS COURSE
Jaipur: Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal
arrived in Jaipur on
Sunday and will be
spending 10 days at a
wellness centre here.
He landed in Jaipur in
the afternoon, and went
straight to the Vipassana
Sadhna Centre located in
the Galtaji area. P2
PREZ KOVIND VISITS AYODHYA
President Ram Nath Kovind & First Lady Savita offer prayers at Ram temple on Sunday.P6
Bhavina, Nishad
win Silver, Vinod
clinches Bronze
Tokyo: Indian athletes
- paddler Bhavina Patel
(silver), high jumper
Nishad Kumar (silver)
and discus thrower Vi-
nod Kumar (bronze) on
Sunday won three med-
als for the country at
the ongoing Tokyo Par-
alympics. The 22-year-
old Nishad Kumar
made a jump of 2.06m to
win the silver medal in
the men’s high jump
T47 event and set an
Asian record. The per-
formance also saw the
world No 3 Nishad
match his personal best
in the event. P3
Sports Minister Anurag
Thakur demonstrates his
fitness by skipping rope.

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2021
02
Kejriwal in Jaipur for wellness prog
Jaipur: Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal on Sunday reached
Jaipur, where he will
spend 10 days at
Vipasana Sadhna Ken-
dra in the city for a
wellness programme.
After reaching
Jaipur, Kejriwal
wished Rajasthan
Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot, who had under-
gone an angioplasty
operation on Friday.
Kejriwal wished Ge-
hlot speedy recovery.
Later, in a tweet, Ge-
hlot welcomed Kejri-
wal and thanked him
for his wishes.
Earlier, Kejriwal
reached Jaipur by an
Indigo flight in the af-
ternoon and straight-
way headed to the Galta
Road situated Vipasana
Sadhna Kendra. Sourc-
es said that Kejriwal
was on a personal visit
to Jaipur and during
his stay in the city he
won’t attend any politi-
cal programme or meet
Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) officials.
Ashok Gehlot
@ashokgehlot51
I welcome Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind
Kejriwal on his arrival in Jaipur. I thank you
for esquiring about my well-being and for
your wishes. I am happy that you have chosen
Rajasthan for Vipasana and benefit of your
health. I pray for your good health.
Don’t throng temples on
Janmashtami: Delhi cops
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Amid con-
cerns over the spread of
coronavirus infection
due to lack of Covid-ap-
propriatebehaviourdur-
ing festive season, Delhi
Police has appealed to
devotees not to visit tem-
ples on Janmashtami
festivalasDistrictDisas-
terManagementAuthor-
ity (DDMA) guidelines
prohibit religious gath-
erings.
DCP South-East Del-
hi, RP Meena, said ac-
tion will be taken
against those found vio-
lating Covid-19 guide-
lines. “Devotees will not
be permitted to visit
temples on Jana-
mashtami as DDMA
guidelines prohibit reli-
gious gatherings. We
will urge people to cel-
ebrate it at their homes
and not to gather at
temples. Action will be
taken against those vio-
lating guidelines,” he
said.
As per DDMA guide-
lines, all social, politi-
cal, sports, entertain-
ment, cultural, reli-
gious, festival related
gatherings and congre-
gations are prohibited
in the national capital.
Meanwhile, the Cen-
tre has also asked all
states and union terri-
tories to ensure there is
no large gathering and
that they take pro-ac-
tive measures to check
the spread of coronavi-
rus. Extending the on-
going Covid-19 guide-
lines for one more
month till September
30, Union Home Secre-
tary Ajay Bhalla said
the overall pandemic
situation now appears
to be largely stable at
the national level, ex-
cept for the localised
spread observed in a
few states.
Delhi Police warn action against violators of Covid-related norms
Devotees will not be per-
mitted to visit temples on
Janamashtami as
DDMA guidelines prohibit reli-
gious gatherings. We urge people
to celebrate it at their homes and
not to gather at temples.
RP Meena, DCP South-East
Names of 3 top doctors
sent for Padma Awards
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Delhi
government has decid-
ed to recommend to the
Centre the names of
ILBS Director Dr SK Sa-
rin, LNJP Medical Di-
rector Dr Suresh Kumar
and Max Healthcare
Clinical Director (Inter-
nal Medicine) Sandeep
Budhiraja for Padma
Awards, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal said.
The names of the
three medical profes-
sionals were picked
from a list of 740 names,
which were suggested
by 9,427 people who re-
sponded to the call of
the Delhi government
to send their choices,
Kejriwal said. A com-
mittee led by Deputy
Chief Minister Manish
Sisodia, and Chief Sec-
retary Vijay Dev and
Divisional Commis-
sioner Sanjeev Khir-
war, as members, had
picked the names.
“Itwasaverydifficult
to pick three names. The
three names that will be
forwarded will in a way
represent all the doctors
of Delhi. The doctors
and paramedics served
us selflessly during the
entire pandemic, put-
ting their own lives at
risk. It is time to honour
them,” Kejriwal said.
Dr Sarin, who was
partof theDelhigovern-
ment’s expert commit-
tee on Covid manage-
ment, operationalised
the “world’s first plasma
bank, which came to the
aid of many people.
Over 8000 units of plas-
ma were sent out from
the ILBS plasma bank”,
Kejriwal said. At ILBS,
the Delhi government’s
firstgenomesequencing
lab was also opened.
Dr Kumar of LNJP
Hospital, which has
treated 20,500 Covid pa-
tients, among the high-
est in the country, start-
ed a unique initiative
which enabled attend-
ants and patients to in-
teract over video-con-
ferencing, which helped
particularly those who
don’t own smartphones.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The verti-
cal garden undone by
squatters in the vacant
space below the Africa
Avenue flyover near the
Outer Ring Road, has
now been restored by
the South Delhi Munici-
palCorporation(SDMC)
which has also put in
place iron grills to en-
close the garden and
prevent any encroach-
ment in the future.
A total of 970 plants
of eight different spe-
cies have been planted
in the space over this
month.
“The varieties plant-
ed are all shade-loving
trees. This is because
only minimal sunlight
reaches the space below
the flyover. Hence, we
had to pick such species
that grow well under
the shade. We are also
in the process of ap-
pointing an agency for
the maintenance of the
patch,” said an official
from the SDMC’s horti-
culture department.
Outer Ring Road vertical garden restored
NEW LEASE OF LIFE
Transgenders
get separate
toilets at
Delhi Metro
First India Bureau
New Delhi: With a view
to make metro accessi-
ble for transgender pas-
sengers, the DMRC has
allowed them to use toi-
lets which were till now
meant only for disabled
commuters, officials
said on Sunday
.
Transgender com-
muters who wish to use
gender-based toilet as
per self-identified gen-
der can also continue to
do so, they said. At pre-
sent, Delhi Metro has
347 such separate toi-
lets across its stations.
“In its efforts to pro-
vide safe space and pre-
vent gender discrimina-
tion against transgen-
ders, Delhi Metro on a
priority basis has desig-
nated its existing toilets
meant only for ‘Divy-
angjans’ so far, to be ac-
cessibleforthetransgen-
ders too,” the DMRC
said in a statement.
Toguidetransgenders
tothesetoilets,bilingual
signages (English and
Hindi), with symbols for
both categories – ‘Per-
sons with Disability’
and ‘Transgenders’ –
have been installed adja-
cent to these toilets.
Posing as EPFO men,
3 dupe govt retirees
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Three per-
sons have been arrested
by the Ghaziabad police
for allegedly scamming
retired government em-
ployees over the past
nine years by pretend-
ing to be employees of
the Employees Provi-
dent Fund Organisa-
tion (EPFO). Police esti-
mate that more than
10,000 people have been
victims of their fraud,
with the scam running
into crores.
Police identified the
accused as Rahul Singh
(25), Dharmendra Sin-
gh (30) and Ghanshyam
Singh (30).
“The accused were of-
fering investment op-
tions to retired people,
who would deposit
money in their bank ac-
counts with the prom-
ise of returns later on.
It is an inter-state scam
since they had data of
persons all over the
country,” police said.
Delhi fully prepared for possible
third Covid wave: Satyendar Jain
First India Bureau
NEW DELHI: Delhi
Health Minister Satyen-
dar Jain said the AAP
government is not tak-
ing any chances and
making “thorough”
preparations for an im-
pending third wave of
coronavirus.
The Delhi Health
Minister also thanked
doctors who sacrificed
their lives during Cov-
id-19 and said that their
names will be written
in golden words.
Jain urged people to
follow Covid-appropri-
atebehaviourandasked
them not become negli-
gent. The minister was
speaking at the sixth
felicitation ceremony
for healthcare workers
of government hospi-
tals -- Institute of Liver
& Biliary Sciences
(ILBS), Vasant Kunj;
Deep Chand Bandhu
Hospital in Ashok Vi-
har; Sanjay Gandhi Me-
morial Hospital in Man-
golpuri and Burari Hos-
pital.
“Their (healthcare
workers) dedicated ser-
vice saved precious
lives, their supreme
sacrifice cannot be for-
gotten and shall be writ-
ten in the pages of his-
tory in letters of gold.
“The Arvind Kejri-
wal government salutes
the selfless and dedi-
cated service of health-
care workers, who had
put their own lives at
stake and stood with the
Delhi government day
in and day out to fight
this deadly disease.”
Rains likely to revive
this week in Delhi: IMD
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Following
a ‘partial break’ in mon-
soon rains over north-
west, central and west
India for 3-4 days there
is likely to be gradual
revival of rains mainly
over central India, In-
dia Meteorological De-
partment said on Sun-
day. Its revival over
west and northwest In-
dia may take a few more
days, scientists said.
Monsoon entered a
‘break’ or a ‘partial
break’ phase thrice this
season, mainly between
June 29 to July 11. It was
very weak in the first
two weeks of August,
leading to a significant
deficit in rains across
the country
. While it re-
vived over northwest
India on August 19, it
weakened again from
August 24 onwards.
Even though the
weather body has said
that the partial breaks
cannot be compared to
complete “break” mon-
soon conditions that
have occurred in the
past, the monsoon rain
distribution appeared
to be extremely skewed
this year and is likely to
impact agriculture in
several parts of the
country
.

The space was
given a
makeover in
2017 to
improve the
aesthetics of
space under 12
flyovers
No ex parte injunction in Kailash
Gahlot defamation case: Delhi HC
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court has refused
to grant any ex parte
injunction in the defa-
mation suit filed by
Delhi Transport Minis-
ter Kailash Gahlot
against Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) MLA
Vijender Gupta for al-
legedly making scan-
dalous allegations
against him with re-
gard to alleged irregu-
larities in purchase and
maintenance of buses
by the Delhi Transport
Corporation.
Listing the suit for
hearing on September
20, Justice Asha Menon,
in an order released
Saturday evening, said,
“In the present case,
prima facie, no person-
al allegations appear to
have been specifically
made against the plain-
tiff except to the extent
of saying that the entire
transaction appears to
be a ‘scam’. At this
stage, therefore, no ex
parte injunction is
called for.”
THE SELECTION
HOMAGE TO DOCS
CM Arvind Kejriwal offers prayers at ISKCON Temple in Delhi last year on Janmashtami. —FILE PHOTO
Dr SK Sarin Dr Suresh Kumar Dr Sandeep Budhiraja

INDIA
03
Ladakh: Minister of
State for Home Affairs
Nityanand Rai on Sun-
day visited the ITBP
Border Outpost (BOP)
Lukung in Ladakh and
interacted with the of-
ficers and jawans there.
Rai also gave a de-
tailed briefing on vari-
ous administrative and
operational aspects
there, and inspected
their barracks, hospi-
tal, residential arrange-
ments, and Permanent
Integrated Building
(PIB) and took stock of
the situation.
Taking to Twitter,
Rai thanked Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
and Home Minister
Amit Shah for strength-
ening India’s border se-
curity
. “Under the lead-
ership of Hon’ble Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi ji, the country’s
border security has got
a new strength. Under
the guidance of honor-
able Home Minister
Amit Shah ji, ITBP has
further strengthened.
Aspertherequirements
of the ITBP, the Home
Minister has taken care
of making them strong-
er, capable, and empow-
ered,” he tweeted.
“I am fortunate to
have got an opportunity
to work on border secu-
rity under the leader-
ship of Hon’ble Prime
Minister and under the
guidance of Hon’ble
Home Minister. This re-
sponsibility is the most
important of the many
responsibilities of life,”
he said in another
tweet. —ANI
MoS for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai visits ITBP Border Outpost
(BOP) Lukung in Ladakh on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Nityanand visits ITBP border outpost in
Ladakh, interacts with officers, jawans
CRUCIAL READ
SANJAY RAWAL APPOINTED AS NEW
GUJARAT BJP MEDIA CELL MEMBER
Ahmedabad: Academician
Sanjay Rawal, principal
of Lok Niketan Higher
Secondary School, mem-
ber of the Higher Second-
ary Education Committee
and General Secretary of
the Rashtriya Shaikshik
Mahasangh has been
appointed as a member
of the Bharatiya Janata
Party’s (BJP) state-level
media cell.
BJP’s yatras is
leading to spike
in cases: Pawar
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar
on Sunday alleged that
BJP’s Jan
A s h i r v a d
yatras is
leading to a
spike in
Covid cases
said that such events
will ‘obviously’ lead to a
further increase in cas-
es. Pawar said that Cen-
tre is asking us to take
care, it is asking newly
inducted 4 ministers
from Maha to take out
rallies/Yatra. —ANI
CAN CONGRESS MAKE
A COMEBACK IN PUNJAB IN 2022?
Anita Hada
New Delhi: What is the
prospect for the Con-
gress party in the next
assembly elections in
Punjab? From state
leaders of Congress to
high command, there is
a general feeling in Con-
gress circles that the
party will form govt for
2nd time in a row.
However, informed
sources say that
Prashant Kishor, who
was the election and po-
litical advisor to CM
Captain Amarinder Sin-
gh, does not believe so.
Prashant Kishor felt
that Congress would not
be able to win the elec-
tion. It is also being said
that in their initial sur-
veys,theCongressparty
was behind at number
three and the Aam Aad-
mi Party was at the fore.
The Akali Dal was in the
second place. This situa-
tion existed even before
the feud between Cap-
tain Amarinder Singh
andStatePresidentNav-
jot Singh Sidhu started.
It was only after this
survey result that
Prashant Kishor got rid
of Punjab. He did not
want a setback in Pun-
jabbeforeabigbetcould
be made with Congress.
It is also being said
that CM Amarinder
Singh made a lot of ef-
fort to call them to
Chandigarh and get at
least one photograph
together. He felt that af-
ter the results of West
Bengal, a photo of him
with Prashant Kishor
would boost the morale
of Congress workers
and demoralize the op-
position. But Prashant
Kishor was not ready
for it. However, what-
ever be the results of
the survey conducted
by Prashant Kishor’s I-
PAC, the reality is that
Cong is not that weak in
terms of farmers’
movement the state’s
population structure.
The votes of Jat Sikhs
hardline Sikhs may
be tilting towards AAP
Akali Dal but OBC
Sikhs, who have largest
number in state, are
seen with Cong. Accord-
ing to surveys by anoth-
er reliable agency
, Cong
has traditional OBC
vote with it a large
section of Dalits, espe-
cially Sikh Dalits, may
go with Congress. The
Cong base, however, has
not been very strong
among Jat Sikhs.
Captain Amarinder Singh Navjot Singh Sidhu Prashant Kishor
INDIA’S STELLAR SHOW IN TOKYO PARALYMPIC
BHAVINA PATEL WINS
HISTORIC SILVER MEDAL
Tokyo: Indian table ten-
nis player Bhavina Patel
signed off with a his-
toric silver medal in her
maiden Paralympic
Games after going down
0-3 to world number one
Chinese paddler Ying
Zhou in women’s singles
class 4 final here on Sun-
day. 34-yr-old Patel’s im-
pressive run at Games
ended with 7-11 5-11 6-11
loss to Zhou, 2-time gold,
in women’s singles sum-
mit clash which lasted
19 minutes. —PTI
‘Sena promotes one who speak against me’
Sindhudurg (Maha-
rashtra): Terming his
arrest as a “bad omen”
and an “attempt to dis-
rupt” his ‘Jan Aashir-
vaad Yatra’, Union
Minister and BJP lead-
er Narayan Rane on
Sunday alleged that the
Shiv Sena promotes
those party leaders to
higher positions who
speak against him.
Addressing a press
conference here today,
Rane said, “A bad omen
happened during this
journey. Some minis-
ters who think them-
selves to be the Presi-
dent gave orders of my
arrest. They were try-
ing to stop my yatra. In
Shiv Sena, whoever
speaks against Naray-
an Rane is promoted.”
Mr Rane said that
those Shiv Sainiks who
wish to join the BJP
are welcome into the
party fold. —ANI
I will continue to do my work and I will
go to every district of Maharashtra and
communicate the Central Government’s
plans to the people. ‘Nothing’ is left in the
Maharashtra government’s treasury, adding that
people are finding it hard to make ends meet.
—Narayan Rane, BJP leader
Paddler Bhavina Patel shows her silver medal after winning at the
Tokyo Paralympics 2020, in Tokyo on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
President of India
@rashtrapatibhvn
Bhavina Patel
inspires the
Indian con-
tingent and
sportslovers winning
silver at #Paralympics.
Your extraordinary deter-
mination and skills have
brought glory to India.
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
The remark-
able Bhavina
Patel has
scripted his-
tory! She brings home a
historic Silver medal. Her
life journey is motivat-
ing and will also draw
more youngsters towards
sports.
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
India’s
daughter
has once
again created
history. And every Indian
is happy on this historic
achievement especially
on the day of National
Sports Day. Bhavina, the
whole country is proud
of you.
Rahul Gandhi @RahulGandhi
Congratulations to
Bhavina Patel for winning
the #Silver . India ap-
plauds your achievement.
You’ve done the nation proud.
NirmalaSitharaman@nsitharaman
Congratulations
#BhavinaPatel on win-
ning the Silver medal in
#ParaTableTennis. Your
perseverance and success shall shall
as motivation for many.
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Sunday
spoke to Para table
tennis player Bhavina
Patel and congratulated
her on winning a silver
medal at Tokyo Para-
lympics. PM lauded her
efforts and told Bhavina
that she has scripted
history. Bhavina Patel
hails from Sundhiya in
Vadnagar, Mehsana.
‘REMARKABLE’,
MODI TO PATEL
Tokyo: India’s Nishad Kumar
clinched a silver medal in the
men’s high jump T47 event
in Paralympics with an Asian
record effort in Tokyo on
Sunday. 21-year-old cleared
2.06m to set an Asian record.
NISHAD WINS SILVER
IN HIGH JUMP
2 PAK NATIONALS, LODGED IN INDIAN
PRISONS SENT BACK HOME VIA ATTARI
SECOND OF 188 WITNESSES IN 2008
MALEGAON BLAST CASE TURNS HOSTILE
Mumbai: In trial of 2008 Malegaon blast, a witness
who was claimed to have attended a camp with
accused Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit others,
was declared hostile on Saturday. The witness denied
contents of 2 of his statements recorded by Maha-
rashtra ATS in 2008 2011. Statements included a
claim that in camp, organised a month after the blast,
Purohit had given lecture mentioning terrorism in In-
dia on religious lines need to respond to it. This is
2nd witness who have deposed so far to turn hostile.
Attari: Two Pakistani nationals, who were lodged in
Indian prisons, were repatriated after completion of
their jail terms via Attari border on Saturday. Of the two,
one is a juvenile, who had inadvertently crossed Indian
border from Rajasthan two years ago. The Pakistan
nationals are Abbas Ali Khan (42) and Bhag Chand (17),
said Arunpal Singh, Protocol Officer, Attari border. Singh
told, “In 2005, Abbas Khan, who is from Rahim Khan in
Pakistan, had come to Delhi in Samjhauta Express on a
1 month visa. The Gwalior police arrested him and put
him in Gwalior Central Jail for 16 years.”

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 1
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: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
In the sky, there is no
distinction of east and west;
people create distinctions
out of their own minds and
then believe them to be true.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Local Goes Global! Over a dozen
homegrown agri-products from
India make their international debut.
Himalayan millet, Assam’s red rice
among in-demand items exported to
Europe and West Asia bringing bigger
markets and better income for farmers.
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh
Delivered a keynote address on ‘Defence
reforms in shifting National Security
paradigm’ at DSSC in Wellington. The
government under the stewardship of
PM Shri @narendramodi has not only
addressed immediate issues but also
unleashed several reforms in security
defence sector.
TOP TWEETS
PARALYMPIANS
HARVEST
MEDALS, DO
INDIA PROUD
t’s raining medals at
the Tokyo Paralym-
pics. Surely, if our
Olympians can win
laurels for the coun-
try
, can our paralympians be far
behind?Inanhistoricfirst,Bhav-
inaben Patel of Gujarat won a
silver medal for the country in
table tennis at the Tokyo Para-
lympics. She is the second wom-
an after Deepa Malik to have won
a medal at Paralympics.
On Wednesday Nishad Kumar
not only won a silver medal but
also created an Asian record in
high jump. He is the first athlete
to win a medal for the country in
athletics.Nishadbreached2.06m
heightbutcouldnotclearthe2.09
m mark after the bar was raised.
Later,VinodKumarpushedthe
medal tally higher with a bronze
medal in discus throw. Paralym-
piansaretrulymakingtheGames
as memorable as the earlier con-
tingent at the Olympics.
They deserve a big round of
applause for their grit and deter-
minationtopursuetheirdreams,
overcoming all odds.
I
igotry has taken
deep roots in the
country and Mad-
hya Pradesh is
gaining notoriety
with almost back to back in-
cidents of harassment of
Muslim men. About a month
ago Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS
chief, criticized the lynching
of Muslims and said that
those indulging in such acts
were against Hindutva. He
also told Muslims not be
afraid that Islam is in threat
in India. Unfortunately, the
lynch mobs have not taken
cognizance of Bhagwat’s
statement and have taken it
to mean that while they
should not kill, they can al-
ways brutally assault Mus-
lims, pull their beards or har-
ass in other ways to force
them to chant Jai Shri Ram.
As for Bhagwat’s assurance
to Muslims, the RSS chief
may have to address the big-
ots moving around un-
checked and tell them that
Hinduism is not under threat
in India. It is too strong and a
flourishing religion.
After a Muslim bangle-
seller was badly beaten up in
Indore, another man was
forced to chant Jai Shri Ram
in Ujjain. The victim was ac-
costed by two men who
threatened him that he would
not be able to do business in
the village if he refused to
obey them. The reluctant
man gave in and then asked
his tormentors, “Happy?”
Such acts create an atmos-
phere of fear and mistrust in
the minds of Muslims and
weaken the country. These
elements only aim at show-
ing Muslims their place even
when there is no such in-
struction from either the
RSS or the BJP. The govern-
ments should crack down on
bigots in the overall interest
of the country and also for
promoting communal har-
mony.
BIGOTRY SURFACES AGAIN
IN MADHYA PRADESH
As for Bhagwat’s
assurance to Muslims,
the RSS chief may
have to address the
bigots moving around
unchecked and tell them
that Hinduism is not
under threat in India
B
he unceremonious exit of the
US-led western powers from
Afghanistan amidst explo-
sions and reign of deaths has
snowballed into a worldwide
crisis. Apart from exposing
the “helplessness of the mus-
cle-flexing” only superpower,
the trail of death in the war-
ravaged country has adverse-
ly affected the American in-
fluence across the globe, es-
pecially in the South Asian
region, where Vietnam has
almost declined to be a part
of any anti-China alliance.
Inabidtoretrieveitsworld-
wide prestige, US President
Joe Biden has reportedly pro-
posed a joint group compris-
ing Russia, China and Paki-
stan to work with the Taliban
for restoring peace in the
country
. However, it is yet to
be known whether this pro-
posal would be agreeable to
the concerned parties. Mean-
while, the visit of American
Vice-President, Kamala Har-
ris, to Vietnam, a first foreign
visit after being inaugurated
this January
, could not enlist
any substantial support from
Vietnam against the alliance
to challenge the much-Chi-
na’s much trumpeted ‘expan-
sionist policy’ in the South
Asian region.
These ‘policy disasters’
have triggered off a growing
noise for the “impeachment”
of President Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris’s
visit to Vietnam with a pack-
age of multi-million USD fi-
nancial assistance offers
could not persuade the host
government to allow US na-
vy’sregularvisittoitsshores.
It is likely to adversely affect
theUSsponsoredQUADoran
informal security alliance
comprising three other coun-
tries, Australia, Japan and
India in the South China Sea.
The shadow of the failure of
Biden’s Afghan Policy accom-
panied by a ‘trust deficit’ that
America abandons its allies,
is likely to adversely affect
the prospects of QUAD. Apart
from the reluctance of the
three major powers in the re-
gions, Vietnam, Singapore
and Philippines, which were
expected to be co-opted in the
QUAD, the American allies in
the Gulf, Latin America, Af-
rica and other parts of Eu-
rope would be assessing the
impact of the American with-
drawal from Afghanistan.
As many as 20 Republican
lawmakers have asked Biden
to ‘quit gracefully’ instead of
being impeached. The war
veterans from Afghanistan,
known to be a strong support-
er of the president, too have
criticised his policy of sud-
denly abandoning the Ameri-
can allies in the war-ravaged
country. The veterans like
Alex Plitsas, Greg Stube, and
Matthew Griffin have not
only blasted the administra-
tion for its military opera-
tions, they have also warned
that it would trigger ‘domino
effects’, which means that
‘unplanned exit’ would start
a huge chain of catalysts. As
soon as the first one is hit, the
rest keep following.
The reports percolating
down in the public domain
have revealed the nexus be-
tween America’s CIA and the
ISI of Pakistan that how they
had ensured to get the presi-
dential palace in Kabul
“cleaned” before inviting the
Taliban on August 15. Earlier,
Biden had announced a huge
financial package assuring
the fleeing Afghan president,
Ashraf Ghani, assuring full
support to his crumbling gov-
ernment facing Taliban’s ag-
gression. During the past one
month, the American air sup-
port to the Afghan forces too
were withdrawn; and the pro-
American Afghan command-
ers were told to give”walk-
over” to the Taliban forces.
Later, Biden accused the Af-
ghan government for ‘sur-
rendering “before the Tali-
ban! Apart from hurting the
self-respect of Afghans, the
US-led western powers have
lost respect in the region.
The First Vice President,
Amrullah Saleh has formed
an alliance with Ahmad Mas-
soud,thesonof Afghanresist-
ance hero Ahmad Shah Mas-
soud. They have formed a
formidable force in the Pan-
jshir Valley, just 130 kilome-
tres from the capital Kabul.
Massoud’s father was assas-
sinated by the Pakistan-spon-
sored al-Qaeda in2001. The
new alliance is called the Na-
tional Resistance Front of Af-
ghanistan (NRF). It has been
resisting the formidable Tali-
ban forces being helped by the
Pakistan army
. In this on-go-
ing fierce battle, over a thou-
sand men, including a sub-
stantial number of Pakistani
army men, have been killed.
Meanwhile, there are re-
ports that the Afghan air
force has shifted most of its
fighter and transport air-
crafts to the air bases of Uz-
bekistan and Tajikistan.
The reports of betrayal of
the Afghan people are pour-
ing in from various sources.
They reveal that how the Joe
Biden administration had de-
liberately retained the ser-
vices of American envoy for
peace talks in Afghanistan,
Zalmay Khalilz, an appointee
of the erstwhile US President
Donald Trump. Khalizad gets
the Taliban leader, Mullah
Ghani Baradar, released
from a Pakistani jail, and
thus making a “blood-less
takeover” of the country
. Few
are ready to accept Biden’s
innocence that he genuinely
believes that the Kabul blasts
engineered by the IS-K (Is-
lamic State of Khorasan) at
the Kabul airport are differ-
ent entities. However, Biden
reinforces the much-repeat-
ed observation of the histori-
ans that Afghanistan is the
graveyard of superpowers.
During 19th century
, the Brit-
ish suffered prestige as an
imperial power, and in the
twentieth century USSR’s
forces were defeated, which
led to the fragmentation of
the USSR.The American de-
cision to abandon Afghani-
stan finally appears to have
written the epitaph of Amer-
ica’s superpower status..
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
EFFORT TO ROPE
IN RUSSIA, CHINA AND PAKISTAN
Peace is elusive in Afghanistan, Vietnam refuses to endorse America’s anti-China alliance
T
In a bid to retrieve its
worldwide prestige, US
President Joe Biden has
reportedly proposed a joint
group comprising Russia,
China and Pakistan to work
with the Taliban for
restoring peace in the
country. However, it is yet to
be known whether this
proposal would be agreeable
to the concerned parties
The reports of betrayal
of the Afghan people
are pouring in from
various sources. They
reveal that how the Joe
Biden administration had
deliberately retained
the services of
American envoy for
peace talks in Afghanistan
GOPAL MISRA
The writer is accredited as a Journalist
of Long and distinguished service with the
Press Information Bureau of the Information
and Broadcasting Ministry

NEWS
05
DR TREHAN SEES 2-3 MONTHS
WAIT FOR SCHOOL REOPENING
Resumption of schools: Asks government to wait for two to three
months till the children get vaccinated against coronavirus
New delhi: Stating that
India approved Zydus
Cadila’s DNA vaccine
for emergency use in
adults and children,
Medanta Chairman and
Managing Director Dr
Naresh Trehan on Sun-
day cautioned against
the re-opening of
schools and said that
since the vaccine is
around the corner, the
government should
wait for two-three
months till the children
get vaccinated against
COVID-19. “I believe
that we should be a lot
more cautious. So, we
should be patient for an-
other two-three months
till the vaccine arrives,
children get vaccinated,
and then they should be
allowed to go to school
but it seems we are in a
rush right now to open
schools.” Dr Trehan’s
remarks came as the
Delhi govt announced
the re-opening of
schools in the national
capital from Sept 1 for
But, students will need
parents consent and no
one will be forced to at-
tend the classes. Some
groups of doctors, acad-
emicians called for an
immediate resumption
of in-person classes.
First batch of Covaxin
released from Bharat
Biotech’s new plant
New delhi: Union
Health Minister
Mansukh Mandavi-
ya launched the first
commercial batch of
Covaxin on Sunday
from Bharat Bio-
tech’s new plant in
Ankleshwar, Guja-
rat. Mansukh Man-
daviya said, “India is
focused on slowing
the spread of Cov-
id-19 in the country,
and the key to
achieving this lies in
the swift and effi-
cient administration
of vaccines. We want
to ensure equitable
access of the vaccine
to every Indian citi-
zen, and the expan-
sion of Covaxin pro-
duction facilities by
Bharat Biotech will
take us closer to this
goal.” The health
minister took to
Twitter to talk about
the importance of
vaccination drive in
fighting the pandem-
ic and said the
launch will in-
crease the supply of
vaccine in the coun-
try and will help in
reaching the vaccine
to every Indian. At
the launch, Man-
sukh Mandaviya
said that the produc-
tion of Covaxin has
started at the Ankle-
shwar facility and
one crore vaccines
will be received from
Bharat Biotech's
newplantpermonth.
Tamil Nadu: Union de-
fence minister Rajnath
Singh on Sunday said
that the situation in Af-
ghanistan has emerged
as a challenge for India,
with the Taliban set to
take charge after the
complete drawdown of
the US troops. Singh
also said that the chang-
es have led to the re-
thinking of strategy.
“The changing equa-
tion in Afghanistan is a
challenge for us. These
situations have forced
our country to rethink
its strategy. We are
changing our strategy
and the formation of
QUAD underlines this
strategy, says Singh t
the ministry of defence
is seriously consider-
ing the formation of it.
Bengaluru: The Indian
Space Research Organi-
sation on Saturday suc-
cessfully conducted the
first hot test of system
demonstration model
(SDM) of the Gagan-
yaan service module
propulsion system. The
system performance
met the test objectives
and there was a close
match with the pre-test
predictions. Further, a
series of hot tests are
planned to simulate
various mission condi-
tions as well as off-nom-
inal conditions,” Isro
said in an official state-
ment. The test was con-
ducted for a duration of
450 seconds at the test
facility of Isro Propul-
sion Complex, in TN.
New Delhi: A study by
CSIR-Max hospital said
that more evidence is
coming out which indi-
cate that the COVID-19
vaccines are less effec-
tive in preventing infec-
tion, especially against
emerging new variants
like Delta, officials said
here on Sunday
. The lat-
est study published in a
scientific journal on
Sunday, has found that
Serum Institute of In-
dia’s COVID-19 vaccine,
Covishield, is inade-
quate in preventing
breakthrough infec-
tions, reinstating the
need to continue follow-
ing preventive meas-
ures such as social dis-
tancing and masks.
“Initial data for SARS-
CoV2 vaccines suggest-
ed that break-through
infections would be in-
frequent and be associ-
ated with lower viral
loads, shorter duration,
and low likelihood of
transmission. But re-
cent data suggests that
Delta infections have
higher viral loads, with
no difference between
vaccinated and unvacci-
nated.The central govt-
run CSIR-is a sponsor of
the research study
.
Failure in Covishield against
preventing COVID: Study
Dehradun: A local
court in Haridwar is-
sued non-bailable war-
rants on Saturday
against three accused
in Covid-19 fake test-
ing in Haridwar Ma-
hakumbh 2021. The
warrants were issued
on special investiga-
tion team’s request
which conducted raids
on various locations
in connection with the
scam in Uttarakhand,
Delhi, UP, Punjab and
Haryana. “The war-
rants are gainst
Sharat Pant, Mallika
Pant, two partners in
Max Corporate Ser-
vices and partner in
Nalwa labs and Dr
Navtej Nalwa. We have
also conducted raids
at various locations,”
said an SIT official.
The scam took place
during Haridwar Ma-
hakumbh earlier this
year in which more
than 1 lakh tests have
turned out to be fake.
Last week, the state
government suspend-
ed two health depart-
ment officials who col-
luded with the firms
accused of conducting
fake tests in the mega
religious event. Inves-
tigatorsof fakekumbh
mela testing scam
have not been able to
verify over 22000 mo-
bile numbers men-
tioned in Covid-19 re-
ports. The Maha
Kumbh Mela was held
from April 1 to 30 this
year and was spread
over Haridwar district
and Rishikesh region,
which includes Rishi-
kesh in Dehradun dis-
trict, Muni ki Reti in
Tehri and Swargash-
ram in Pauri. Mean-
while, two officials in
Uttarakhand were
suspended on Thurs-
day for their alleged
involvement in the
scam We have also
conducted raids at
various location.
Kumbh fake Covid
testing: Non-bailable
warrant against three
CHANGE IN AFGHANISTAN SITUATION
IS A CHALLENGE FOR INDIA: RAJNATH
Gaganyan
Propulsion
System tested
IN THE COURTYARD
Devotees gather to offer prayers during the third ‘Shahi Snan’.
New delhi: The income
tax department on Sun-
day extended the dead-
line for various compli-
ances, including the fil-
ing of statements for
equalisation levy and
remittances. The dead-
line for filing the Equali-
sation Levy statement in
Form-1 for the Financial
Year 2020-21 has been ex-
tended till December 31,
against the original due
date of June 30. The
quarterly statement in
Form 15CC to be fur-
nished by authorized
dealers in respect of re-
mittances made for the
June and September
quarter can now be filed
by November 30 and Dec
31respectively
.Theorigi-
nal due date for filing
this statement was July
15andOctober15respec-
tively
. In a statement, the
Central Board of Direct
Taxes (CBDT) said on
considerationof difficul-
ties reported by the tax-
payers and other stake-
holders in the electronic
filing of certain forms it
has been decided to fur-
therextendtheduedates
for e-filing of these
forms. In a separate
statement, the CBDT an-
nounced extending the
deadlineformakingpay-
ments under the direct
tax dispute resolution
scheme Vivad Se Vish-
was(VsV)byamonthtill
Sept 30.
Govt extends deadline for various
tax compliances, VsV payments
The deadline
for filing the
Equalisation
Levy statement
in Form-1 for
the year has
been extended
till Dec 31 Income tax dept extended the deadline for various compliances.
Rajnath Singh indicated that Pakistan, after losing
two wars to India, had started resorting to proxy war
and that terrorism had become an integral part of its
state policy. Addressing the faculty and students
of Defence Service Staff College Wellington on
Sunday, Singh said, After losing two wars, one of
our neighbouring countries has started resorting
to proxy war, and terrorism has become an integral
part of its state policy. It has started targeting India
by providing arms, funds, and training to terrorists.
Despite challenges at our borders, the
countrymen today
are confident that
there will be no
comprised with
India's national
security.
DEFENCE MINISTER SLAMS PAK FOR
RESORTING TO PROXY WAR
UP to invest `170 crore in sports infra, wrestling
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Days after
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanatah an-
nounced that Uttar
Pradesh will adopt
wrestling and one-yet-
to-be-named sports, the
state government has
given nod to a Rs 170
crore proposal for their
promotion including
setting up a dedicated
academy for the sports
in Lucknow.overnment
The amount would be
spent for the next 10
years until the 2032
Brisbane Olympics.
“The proposal was pre-
pared by the Wrestling
Federation of India
(WFI) and the UP CM
hasaccepteditalthough
we are yet to work out
the modalities,” con-
firmed a sports depart-
ment official. The mon-
ey, he said, would be
spent on strengthening,
supporting and build-
ing infrastructure for
wrestlers, a la Odisha
model, which similarly
invested in hockey
.
Under the proposal,
the state government
will provide support of
Rs 10 crore every year
till the 2024 Paris Olym-
pics — that is Rs 30
crore in total. For the
2028 Los Angeles Olym-
pics, the government
will provide Rs 15 crore
per year, that is Rs 60
crore in the Olympic
cycle. And in the final
phase, the state is to in-
vest Rs 20 crore per
year, i.e. Rs 80 crore un-
til the 2032 Brisbane
Olympics, according to
a report which quoted
WFI chief Brij Bhush-
an Singh on the issue.
The WFI will also be
renewing its collabora-
tion with Tata Motors
as the principal spon-
sor of Indian wrestling.
The deal signed in 2018
brought with it a finan-
cial support of Rs 12
crore, which enabled
the federation to ex-
tend central contracts
to wrestlers until the
Tokyo Olympics.
CM Yogi has also an-
nounced that the state
government will estab-
lish a sports university
in the name of Major
Dhyan Chand. Not only
this, the diet money of
the players in the sports
college will now be in-
creased from Rs 250 to
Rs 375 per day
, on Sports
Authority of India
(SAI) recommednation.
The WFI President
said this deal with the
UP government will al-
low them to plan expo-
sure trips to foreign
countries even for In-
dia’s cadet-level wres-
tlers. Now, the cadet-
level wrestlers will also
get sponsorship and
the national champi-
ons could also be re-
warded. The federation
is planning to set up
state-of-the-art wres-
tling academies in In-
dia. One academy is to
come up in Lucknow,
while another one is be-
ing envisioned in Noi-
da. The federation will
welcome private play-
ers if they are ready to
cooperate with the WFI
and function in a trans-
parent manner. The
private firms will, how-
ever, be barred from
signing secret agree-
ments with individual
wrestlers.
UP Governor Anandiben Patel and UP CM Yogi Adityanath felicitated Olympics medal winner Neeraj
Chopra and other Olympians in Lucknow on 19 August 2021. —FILE PHOTO
Pleaseeksexemption
forlawyersfrom
wearingblackcoats
New Delhi: A plea has
been filed in the Su-
preme Court seeking
exemption for lawyers
from wearing black
coats and gowns in the
apex court as well as the
high courts across the
countryduringsummer.
The plea has sought a
direction to state bar
councils to amend their
rules and decide the
time period when law-
yers would be exempted
from wearing black
coatsandgownsdepend-
ing upon the fact as to
when the summer peaks
in the particular state.
The plea has been filed
by lawyer Shailendra
Mani Tripathi. Wearing
coats during torrid sum-
mer makes it difficult
for lawyers to move
from one court to anoth-
er, it said.
Lawyers’dresscodeis
governed by the Bar
Council of India Rules
under the Advocates
Act, 1961, and they make
it mandatory for an ad-
vocate to wear a black
coat with a white shirt
and a white neckband.
Under the rules, wear-
ing an advocate’s gown
is optional except when
the lawyer is appearing
in the Supreme Court or
in a high court. —PTI

NEWS
06
KovindworshipsRamLallain
makeshifttempleinAyodhya
New Delhi: President
Ram Nath Kovind Sun-
day offered prayers to
Ram Lalla, visiting the
site where a Ram tem-
ple is being constructed
in Ayodhya, a city
which he said was noth-
ing without the deity
.
“Without Ram, Ayod-
hya is not Ayodhya.
Ayodhya exists where
there is Ram. Lord Ram
resides permanently in
this city, and hence in
the true sense, this
place is Ayodhya,” he
said while inaugurat-
ing a Ramayan Con-
clave, shortly before
visiting the temple con-
struction site and offer-
ing his prayers.
The president was ac-
companied by his fami-
ly members, Uttar
Pradesh Governor
Anandiben Patel, Un-
ion Minister of State
for Railways and Tex-
tiles Darshana Vikram
Jardosh, Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath,
and his deputies Kes-
hav Prasad Maurya and
Dinesh Sharma. They
also offered their
prayers to Ram Lalla
amid chanting of slo-
gans by priests at the
makeshift temple.
A shawl and a minia-
ture replica of the up-
coming Ram temple
were also presented to
Kovind who interacted
with the priests briefly
and planted a sapling.
Before he went there,
Kovind, who is on his
first visit to Ayodhya
after the landmark 2019
Supreme Court verdict
paved the way for the
construction of the
temple, also offered
prayers at the Hanu-
mangarhi shrine, about
2 km away
.
The president was
presented with a pink-
coloured turban at the
Hanumangarhi temple.
Earlier in the day, the
president reached Ayo-
dhya by a special train.
AYODHYA IS NOTHING WITHOUT LORD RAM: PRESIDENT
Bengaluru: Extended stretch
of Metro Line inaugurated
Bengaluru: Karnataka
Chief Minister Basa-
varaj Bommai and Un-
ion Minister of Hous-
ing and Urban Affairs
Hardeep Singh Puri in
Bengaluru on Sunday
inaugurated the extend-
ed Bengaluru Metro
line between Mysore
Road and Kengeri.
The 7.5 km long West-
ern Extension Line un-
der Phase-2 of Namma
Metro from Mysore
Road Metro Station to
Kengeri Metro Stations
will be open for the pub-
lic starting from Mon-
day
, according to Banga-
lore Metro Rail Corpo-
ration Limited (BMR-
CL) officials.
“The inauguration of
the western extension
metro line today is a
step towards the goals
of Bengaluru Mission
2022 to enable faster
commute and smart
mobility options in the
City,” Bangalore Metro
Rail Corporation Lim-
ited officials said.
According to Hard-
eep Singh Puri, Bengal-
uru metro is the busiest
metro network in the
country next to Mum-
bai and Delhi. Speak-
ing at the inauguration
event, Hardeep Singh
Puri said, “Journey of
Bengaluru metro start-
ed with the sanction of
phase one in 2006 which
is 42.3 km with an ap-
proved revised cost of
`13, 845 crores. The first
section of 7 km of phase
one was commenced in
October 2011.”
The 7.5 km long
Western Extension
Line will be open for
public from Monday.
AZADI KA AMRIT MAHOTSAV
Participants of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) cycle rally on Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav,
from Gogra to Rajghat, completed 121 km (via-Gogra-Bao Nala- Lukung-Pangong Tso-
Durbuk) distance till today. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: POSHAN
Abhiyaan is Govern-
ment of India’s flagship
programme to improve
nutritional outcomes
for children, adolescent
Girls, pregnant women
and lactating mothers.
Launched by the Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on the occasion of
International Women’s
Day on 8 March, 2018
from Jhunjhunu in Ra-
jasthan, the POSHAN
Abhiyaan directs the at-
tention of the country
towards the problem of
malnutrition and ad-
dress it in a mission-
mode.Focusing on the
aims of POSHAN Abhi-
yaan, Mission Poshan
2.0 (Saksham Angan-
wadi and Poshan 2.0)
has been announced in
the Budget 2021-2022 as
an integrated nutrition
support programme, to
strengthen nutritional
content, delivery, out-
reach and outcomes
with focus on develop-
ing practices that nur-
ture health, wellness
and immunity to dis-
ease and malnutrition.
POSHAN Abhiyaan
is a Jan Andolan or
“People’s Movement”
by in corporating in-
clusive participation
of public representa-
tives of local bodies,
government depart-
ments of the States/
UTs, social organiza-
tions and the public and
private sector at large.
In order to ensure com-
munity mobilisation
and bolster people’s
participation, every
year, the month of Sep-
tember is celebrated as
POSHAN Maah across
the country
.
This year, as India
celebrates the Azadi Ka
Amrit Mahotsav, to en-
sure speedy intensive
outreach, the entire
month has been subdi-
vided into weekly
themes for focused and
assimilated approach
towards improving Ho-
listic Nutrition. The
Ministry of Women and
Child Development has
planned a series of ac-
tivities throughout the
month in tandem with
the States/UTs.
‘Thematic’ POSHAN Maah to be obseved in country
FIGHTING MALNUTRITION
lll
To ensure
community
mobilisation and
bolster people’s
participation,
every year, the
month of Sept is
marked as
POSHAN Maah
across the
country.
Panchayats to
spend `1.42
lakh crore on
water,sanitation
New Delhi: Rs. 1,42,084
Crore tied grant to ru-
ral local bodies (RLBs)/
panchayats for water
and sanitation for the
five years 2021–22 to
2025–26, which has been
recommended by the
15th Finance Commis-
sion, will have a huge
impact on ensuring
these services in vil-
lages and thus on public
health and quality of
life in rural areas.
The 15th Finance
Commission tied grants
will ensure more funds
to Gram Panchayats to
make their water sup-
ply and sanitation-relat-
ed plans implemented
and Gram Panchayats
can function as local
‘public utilities’ with a
focus on ‘service deliv-
ery. This is a big step
towards strengthening
the local self-govern-
ment in line with the
73rd Amendment to the
Constitution of India.
The Department of
Expenditure has issued
the guidelines for release
and utilisation of grants
recommended by the
Commission for RLBs/
PRIs during the period
2021–22 to 2025–26.
Other posters will have
Nehru’s image: ICHR official
New Delhi: Facing flak
from Opposition parties
for excluding Jawahar-
lal Nehru’s image from
a poster celebrating the
75th year of independ-
ence, the Indian Coun-
cil of Historical Re-
search (ICHR) said the
controversy over the
issue is “unnecessary”
as other posters being
released in the coming
days will feature the
first Prime Minister.
“We are not trying to
undermine anyone’s
role in the movement,”
a top ICHR official said,
dismissing criticism on
the issue, and added the
poster was one of the
many released as part
of the Azadi ka Amrit
Mahotsav celebrations.
The Congress, how-
ever, questioned the si-
lence of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on the
issue and demanded
that he rise above his
prejudices and inter-
vene. Opposition par-
ties had said the omis-
sion was deliberate.
CRUCIAL READ
IAF ORGANISES CYCLOTHON TO MARK
SWARNIM VIJAY VARSH CELEBRATIONS
Mumbai: Indian Air Force organised a cyclothon to
create awareness about the Swarnim Vijay Varsh
that celebrates the com-
memoration of 50 Years of
the 1971 War. The Cyclothon
will begin from RC Church
in defence Area Colaba and
will end at Air force station
in Cotton green. The Victory
Flame is scheduled to arrive in Mumbai on
September 1. —ANI
INDIA-BANGLADESH AIR BUBBLE
FLIGHTS TO RESUME FROM SEPT 3
New Delhi: Flights between India and Bangla-
desh air bubble arrangement will resume from
September 3, according to the civil aviation
ministry. With scheduled international passenger
flights to and from India remaining suspended
since March last year, India has entered into air
bubble arrangements with various countries,
including Bangladesh, for operating flights. In a
communication to the Civil Aviation Authority of
Bangladesh on Saturday, the ministry said the air
bubble can be restarted from September 3.
MOS V MURALEEDHARAN TO EMBARK ON
3-DAY VISIT TO BAHRAIN FROM AUGUST 30
New Delhi: Minister of State (MoS) for External
Affairs, V Muraleedharan will embark upon a three-
day visit to the Kingdom of
Bahrain from August 30 to
September 1, 2021. This
will be his first visit to the
country. During the visit, the
MoS will hold discussions
with Bahraini Ministers and
dignitaries. He will also meet a wide cross-section of
the Indian communities in Bahrain, including those in
health, education, business and social service, read
the Ministry of External Affairs press release.
VP calls for new ways to
promote Indian languages
New Delhi: The Vice
President M Venkaiah
Naidu called for innova-
tive ways to promote
Indian languages and
adapt them.
Observing that lan-
guage is not a static con-
cept, he stressed the
need to adopt a dynamic
and proactive approach
to enrich languages. He
said that a people’s
movement is needed to
preserve the ‘living cul-
ture’ of language. He
was happy that the cul-
tural, linguistic renais-
sance was getting sup-
port from the people.
SC will resume physical hearings
with hybrid option from Sept 1
New Delhi: Amid the
COVID-19 pandemic,
the Supreme Court had
been hearing matters
since March last year
through video confer-
encing, however, it will
resume its physical
hearings with the open-
ing of a hybrid option
from September 1 and
asked the lawyers to se-
lect between virtual
and physical hearings,
according to a SC’s noti-
fication.
The physical hear-
ings are to be conducted
in adherence with the
SOPs while conducting
the physical hearing,
further stated the noti-
fication.
“With a view to grad-
ually facilitate the re-
sumption of the physi-
cal hearing, the final
hearing/regular mat-
ters listed on non-mis-
cellaneous days may be
heard in the physical
mode (with hybrid op-
tion), as may be decided
by the Bench, consider-
ing the number of par-
ties in a matter as well
as the limited capacity
of the Courtrooms,”
said the notification.
Uttar Pradesh: President Ram
Nath Kovind and Uttar Pradesh
CM Yogi Adityanath offering
prayer at Hanuman Garhi
temple in Ayodhya on Sunday.
—PHOTO BY ANI
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, flag off the 7.5 km segment
of Bengaluru Metro Purple Line, in Bengaluru on Sunday —PHOTO BY ANI
Referring to the omission of Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru’s photo from the ICHR poster of the 75th
Independence day celebrations, Congress leader P
Chidambaram on Sunday termed the autonomous
body’s explanation on the matter “ludicrous”. The
senior Congress leader and former Union Minister
in a tweet today said, “ICHR Member-Secretary’s
explanation for the omission of Jawaharlal Nehru
from the first digital poster to celebrate 75 years of
independence is ludicrous.”
SLAMMED FOR OMITTING NEHRU FROM
‘AZADI KA AMRIT MAHOTSAV’ POSTER

eahorses have long been a popular
attraction in public aquariums, but
they remain mysterious. They are
a fish with a difference in that they
swim in an upright, vertical posi-
tion. They have flexible necks and long, tubu-
lar snouts that point downward, giving them
the appearance of a horse’s head. Their lower
bodies form a flexible, prehensile tail, which
is square in outline and can wrap around ob-
jects. There are at least 47 known species, all
belonging to the genus Hippocampus, a Greek
term that means “horse sea monster”. So what
else should we know about this creature?
NOTORIOUSLY POOR
SWIMMERS
Seahorses do not have the typical pelvic, anal
and caudal fins that provide thrust, lift and
steering on most fishes. Instead, they propel
themselves by fluttering their small dorsal fin
at about 35 beats per second. Steering is accom-
plished using even smaller pectoral fins on the
sides of their head. These pectoral fins look like
ears and add to the horse-like appearance of the
head. Their inability to swim well means that
they sometimes die of exhaustion in rough seas.
MASTERS OF CAMOUFLAGE
Seahorses typically inhabit shallow sea-
grass and algae beds and coral reefs in tem-
perate and tropical waters around the globe,
typically between 45 degrees north and 45
degrees south of the equator. They are mas-
ters of camouflage. They can change their
colour over time, and some species can even
grow filaments (called cirri) along their
body to help them blend in with their sur-
roundings.
AMBUSH THEIR PREY
Camouflage is critical to seahorses as they use
it to ambush their prey. They remain motion-
less and camouflaged, anchored to seagrasses,
corals or sponges by their prehensile tail, and
suck up any passing plankton or fish fry with
their long, tubular snout. Seahorses must be
within a few millimetres of their prey to cap-
ture them, so remaining undetected is para-
mount.
NO STOMACH
Seahorses have no teeth and no stomach – a
trait they share with a few species of wrasses,
a species of brightly coloured marine fish. Food
passes through their digestive tract so rapidly
that they need to eat almost constantly to live
and grow. A single seahorse can eat up to 3000
brine shrimp per day
.
MOVE THEIR EYES
INDEPENDENTLY
Seahorse eyes move independently
, giving them
a nearly 360-degree field of vision, so they can
literally keep one eye out for predators while
using the other to follow prey
. However, they are
bony and indigestible, and their only real pred-
ators are crabs, which grab seahorses with their
pincers, and humans who collect them for tra-
ditional medicine, curios, and aquarium pets.
MATE FOR LIFE
Most seahorses are monogamous and mate for
life, although a few species are polygamous
and change mates from one breeding cycle to
the next. However, all species of seahorse
mate with only one individual per breeding
cycle. Seahorses can often be seen swimming
in pairs with their tails linked together. They
engage in a courtship dance which includes
spinning around, swimming side by side and
changing colours. This can last up to nine
hours. This courtship dance is repeated daily,
strengthening the bond between the mated
seahorse pair.
MALES GIVE BIRTH
Seahorses are one of the few animal species on
Earth in which the male bears the unborn
young. During mating, the female deposits her
eggs into the male oviduct (yes, the males have
an oviduct), which sits in a pouch in the male’s
abdomen, called a brood pouch. The male car-
ries the eggs in his brood pouch until they hatch
into fully formed, miniature seahorses and are
released into the water. Males can give birth to
as few as five or as many as 1,500 young.
CONTINUOUSLY PREGNANT
Male pregnancy allows the females to continue
making eggs while the male is pregnant with
the young, allowing seahorses to reproduce
more quickly. As soon as the male gives birth,
the female will deposit more fertilised eggs in
his brood pouch.
IN TROUBLE
The life history and ecology of seahorses
make them particularly vulnerable to over-
fishing and environmental disturbance, in-
cluding climate change. Their exoskeleton
allows them to be dried and preserved easily.
Many cultures believe seahorses to hold me-
dicinal properties, especially traditional Chi-
nese medicine, in which their dried bodies are
believed to cure or prevent skin infections,
asthma, and impotence, despite no evidence
to support these claims. At least 25 million are
traded annually for Chinese medicine. Fisher-
ies harvest them faster than they can replen-
ish their populations, leading to alarming
declines in seahorse numbers.
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM
MARK TUPPER
Senior Lecturer, Marine
Biology (Fisheries),
University of Portsmouth
S
NINE
NINE
THINGS
THINGS
YOU DON’T
KNOW ABOUT
SEAHORSES
SEAHORSES
Many
seahorses
mate
for
life,
and
males
are
always
pregnant.
—STEVEN
L
GORDON/SHUTTERSTOCK
Seahorses are being fished extensively for Chinese herbal medicine.—EPA
Seahorses are one of the few animal species on Earth
in which the male bears the unborn young.
07
TALKING POINT

08
2NDFRONT
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: In the next
few days, come Septem-
ber, it will be 2 years
since Hudco, premier
govt organization for fi-
nancing housing needs
of weaker low-income
groups, has been without
regular CMD after depar-
ture of IAS officer Dr
Ravikanth in Sept 2019.
To avoid this situa-
tion, he could have been
retained till the age of
60, but mysteriously that
did not happen even
though he belonged to
the IAS resigned from
top civil service to take
the responsibility of
public housing company
.
Of course, in the in-
tervening period, the
govt has seen to it that
the organization keeps
getting stop-gap CMDs
by appointing IAS offic-
ers from the MoHUA.
But this is not seen as
good governance, much
less reflecting the govt’s
undoubted commit-
ment to meet the most
challenging housing
needs of the weaker and
low-income groups. The
failure of the MoHUA to
find a suitable candi-
date for CMD post has
triggered a lot of con-
spiracy theories. It is
said that a section of
the MoHUA officials
has been deliberately
not finding a candidate
for job to further its
agenda. What’s that
agenda is matter of ot
of speculation.
Whatever be the agen-
da, the MoHUA has suf-
fered as reflected in its
stock price movement
on the BSE and NSE.
While the Sensex
jumped 50.34% between
September 1, 2019, and
August 27, 2021, Hudco
posted measly rise of
16.12%about 35% points
lower than Sensex.
The application of
the stock market ma-
trix puts the fair value
of a Hudco share at
anywhere between 96
to 121, while it is cur-
rently priced at 42.15.
In the last 1 year, its
price fluctuated be-
tween high of 55.45
low of 30.60.
The cost of keeping
CMD post vacant looks
alarming. During this
period, Hudco shares
generated for the share-
holders a return of
11.36% versus sector re-
turn of 45.29% the
Sensex return of 43.49%.
Will not it be desira-
ble and legitimate to
hold someone account-
able for this poor perfor-
mance of Hudco shares?
On 116 days its shares
rose 282.75% and on 133
days it declined 270.05%.
This kind of surge and
decline in the price of a
share takes place only
when the market lacks
confidence. At a time
when govt is hard-
pressed to mobilize re-
sources through stock
market, keeping Hudco
top post may amount to
shooting in one’s own
foot by sending out to-
tally avoidable signal.
Fair play legitimacy
demand that govt at top-
level figure out why
Hudco top post has been
vacant for so long, why
PESB failed to pick up a
suitable candidate
why even search-cum-
selection panel has not
been able to discharge
its obligations. After Dr
Ravikanth’s un-cere-
monial departure stated
to have been orchestrat-
ed by someone who
thought of himself as
Godfather of Ministry,
may it be noted that 3
different ad-hoc CMDs
in M Nagaraj, Director
(Corporate Planning) of
company; Shiv Das Mee-
na (1989 batch IAS)
Ali Raza Rizwi (a 1990
batch IAS), both addi-
tional secretaries of
MoHUA have run Hud-
co. Since ad hoc appoint-
ments can’t be substi-
tute for full-time ap-
pointments, MoHUA
will favor itself tax-
payers shareholders
who own Hudco by fi-
nalizing its candidate
for Hudco’s CMD. Better
avoid such follies in in-
terest of PM’s promise
of good governance
people’s entitlement to
it. The term of HUDCO
CMD Dr M Ravikanth
ended on 20.12.2019,
when his normal retire-
ment (@ 60 Yrs) was on
30.11.2020, almost one
year he lost for no fault
at his end.
PUBLIC
ENTERPRISES
SELECTION BOARD
2-year-long CMD
VACANCY AT HUDCO RAISES EYEBROWS A
disturbing signal!
BJP’s special campaign
to outreach OBCs in UP
Gyanendra Shukla
Lucknow : In an effort
to increase foothold
among OBCs in Uttar
Pradesh, BJP is going to
hold OBC conventions
across the state in Sep-
tember-October, led by
UP Deputy Chief Minis-
ter Keshav Prasad
Maurya and BJP’s state
president Swatantra
Dev Singh. CM Yogi
Adityanath will also ad-
dress the conventions.
While talking to
FIRST INDIA Narendra
Kashyap, president
OBC Morcha UP BJP,
said, “We are launching
a campaign to tell the
people about our par-
ty’s several welfare ini-
tiatives for the back-
ward classes, we will
also explain that how
other political parties
have exploited and used
OBC communities for
petty vote bank poli-
tics.”
A closer look at the
demographic equations
in UP makes it clear
why there is such a
fierce fight for the OBC
votes. The number of
backward castes in the
population of UP is
about 54 percent.
Out of which Yadavs,
Kurmi and Lodh Rajput
are considered the three
most dominant OBC
castes, followed by oth-
er most backward
castes. Among these
castes mainly Kurmi,
Lodh, and Maurya have
rallied behind the BJP
since Jan Sangh era.
BJP has successfully
been able to add non-
Yadav OBC castes to its
side since 2014. Sources
said all efforts will be
made to take Kalyan
Singh’s legacy forward
to send the right signal
among OBCs.
SASIKALA : BJP’S TRUMP CARD?
Anita Hada
New Delhi: Politics is
a game of patience.
The Bhartiya Janta
Party
, which has a ‘mo-
mentum’ on its side, is
currently trying to
make headway in the
southern states, know-
ing well that there
would be a time in the
future when these
Southern states could
be banked upon to ful-
fill the electoral re-
quirements. In Tamil
Nadu, where the party
has been looking to
make a foothold since a
long time and wit-
nessed a defeat in the
last assembly elec-
tions, its hopes are
now pinned on a close
aide of the late Ta-
mil Nadu Chief
Minister Jay-
alalithaa, VK Sasi-
kala.
In the political cir-
cles of Tamil nadu
and New Delhi, word
is that BJP could
‘field’ Sasikala for fur-
ther politics. Though
elections in Tamil
Nadu are far away and
Lok Sabha elec-
tions are
also about
t h r e e
y e a r s
a w a y ,
but be-
fore that
BJP will
create a
n e w
social equation
through Sasikala, in
which Anna DMK and
BJP both benefit.
However, those ana-
lyzing the poll data in
Tamil Nadu say that if
the Anna DMK-BJP
alliance manages to
win more than 50
seats, it will be
due to Sasikala’s
release which
would appeal to
Jayalalithaa sup-
porters to vote
unitedly. Ac-
cording to in-
formed
sources, S Gurumur-
thy had laid out this
game for the BJP.
Although it did
not get the suc-
cess as expected,
but Sasikala, ‘the
card’, can still be
effective. She is
still the biggest
leader of Thevar
community and
through her BJP can
balance both Panneer-
selvamandPalaniswa-
mi. However, there are
reports that Sasikala
is getting active in
public life.
After her release
from jail before the
elections, she had said
that she would stay
away from politics
and would not contest
elections and her
health was also not
good. But now she is
healthy and has be-
come active in public
life and the rumour
mill claims that it is
BJP which is actively
working behind her
revival. That is why it
is being said that in
the next few days
some new stir will be
seen inside the main
opposition party of
Tamil Nadu.
Keshav Prasad Maurya Swatantra Dev Singh
New Delhi : Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Sunday hailed
the efforts of a Krishi
Vigyan Kendra in Bihar
and Kanjirangal Pan-
chayat in Tamil Nadu
for their initiative to-
wards village waste
management and self-
reliance.
Addressing the
80th edition of his
monthly radio pro-
gramme ‘Mann ki
Baat’, Prime Minis-
ter Modi said,
“Friends, before
me is an example
that has come
from Madhubani
in Bihar. Dr Rajen-
dra Prasad Agri-
cultural University
in Madhubani and
the local Krishi Vig-
yan Kendra have joint-
ly made a worthy effort.
Not only farmers are
accruing benefit from
this scheme but it has
also imparted renewed
vigour to the Swachh
Bharat Abhiyan.
PM HAILS BIHAR’S FARM
CENTRE, TN’S PANCHAYAT
PM LAUDS INDORE FOR CONTRIBUTION
TOWARDS ‘SWACHH BHARAT’
MODI URGES CITIZENS TO CARRY
FORWARD GREAT INDIAN TRADITIONS
New Delhi: Lauding the ongoing Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
in his 80th edition of ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme
lauded Indore city’s progress and talked about the city’s
decision to maintain a ‘Water Plus City’. Addressing the
radio programme, the Prime Minister said, “I also feel
that we should not let the cleanliness campaign diminish
even at the slightest amid COVID.”
New Delhi: Extending greetings for Krishna Jan-
mashtami, PM Modi urged the countrymen to carry
forward the great traditions of the nation. “The festival
of Janmashtami is the festival of birth of Bhagwan
Shri Krishna... So I felt I should talk about this to you.”
PM further mentioned Jadurani Dasi, a US citizen and
shared her conversation with him.
‘YOUTH AIMING TO
EXPAND INDIAN
TOY MARKET’
‘INDIA’S YOUTH IS
GIVING EMPHASIS
TO QUALITY’
New Delhi: Stating that
the toy industry has a big
market, PM Modi said the
country’s youth have re-
solved to make an impact
of Indian toys globally.
“Youth is focussing on
improving the processes,
variety and technology in
toy-making,” he said.
New Delhi: PM Modi also
applauded India’s Yuva
Shakti. “India’s youth is
giving emphasis to quality.
Today’s youth does not
want to walk on the pre-
decided road. They want
to step into the unknown
world. Their destination is
new, their goal is new...”
Modi showers praise for their village waste management and self-reliance Slow and steady: ECI’s
approach puzzles all
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Cen-
tral Election Commis-
sion is an example of
how the highest consti-
tutional institutions of
the country are losing
their dignity and rele-
vance with their irra-
tional decisions.
The image conjured
by conducting West
Bengal elections in
eight phases is slowly
getting worse.
The new feat of the
Election Commission is
that while more than
half-a-dozen Rajya Sab-
ha seats are lying va-
cant, the commission is
conducting elections
one by one. While on
one hand there was talk
of holding simultane-
ous elections all over
the country, the ECI is
not even interested in
getting these 6-7 vacant
seats filled simultane-
ously
.
The Election Com-
mission is conducting
the Rajya Sabha elec-
tions in the order of the
vacant seats. The first
elections are being held
on the seats which are
about to complete six
months and those
which are vacant for
three or four months
are kept vacant.
Political observers
feel that the Commis-
sion perhaps thinks as
if it is a constitutional
obligation to keep the
vacant seats vacant for
six months and elec-
tions can be held only
after the completion of
six months! Notably,
elections have to be
held within six months,
and not on completion
of six months! And the
biennial elections to the
Rajya Sabha are held
even before the mem-
bers retire. Therefore,
observers say that
someone should ex-
plain to the Election
Commission that if
elections are held with-
in three months of the
vacancy of a Rajya Sab-
ha seat, then the consti-
tution is not violated.
However, the learned
people of the Election
Commission have an-
nounced a by-election
to a Rajya Sabha seat in
Tamil Nadu.
As its six months are
being completed in Sep-
tember, the commission
has announced to hold
elections on this seat on
September 13.
Similarly, last month,
a by-election was held
on a seat in West Bengal
as it is also going to be
vacant for six months.
Notably, two more seats
in Tamil Nadu are va-
cant since May
.
In Tamil Nadu,
where the party
has been
looking to
make a
foothold, its
hopes are now
pinned on a
close aide of the
late Tamil Nadu
CM Jayalalithaa,
VK Sasikala
Life is made up of endings and
beginnings-There is beauty in
both!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
NEW DELHI, MONDAY
AUGUST 30, 2021
On the holy
occasion of Krishna
Janamashtmi,
City First beckons you into
the world of Lord Krishna, a
world of love, joy, togetherness,
loyalty and the sheer joy of
celebration of life! Krishna
epitomises life and it is time
to put the pandemic
behind and rejoice,
with care!
—PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA

10
ETC
Hathi Ghoda Paalki,
Jai Kanhaiya
Jai Kanhaiya
Laal Ki!
Laal Ki!
anmashtami marks the birth of
Lord Krishna. People celebrate the
festival with enthusiasm every
year. Hindus are celebrating the
auspicious festival on Monday, Au-
gust 30. Janmashtami celebrations
witness lakhs of devotees visit
various temples to offer their prayers
and seek blessings. This year due to the
COVID-19 pandemic situation in the
country, devotees are advised to avoid
large gatherings and maintain social dis-
tancing in the temples or market. Most
of the temples are going to remain closed
for the public therefore the devotees will
be staying at home and virtually observ-
ing the joyous celebration. On this day,
devotees decorate their house temple and
deck up Lord Shree Krishna with beauti-
ful colourful cloths and flower jewellery.
To make your day special at home, City
First brings to you some timeless Bolly-
wood songs that showcase the zeal of the
festival and also describe various shades
of Lord Krishna. So, celebrate Jan-
mashtami with these tracks and don’t
resist yourself from chanting ‘Hare
Rama Hare Krishna’.
RADHE RADHE
Radhe Radhe from Dream Girl features
Ayushmann Khurrana and Nushrratt
Bharuccha. The song has a setting simi-
lar to that of Lord Krishna’s birthplace
Gokul, Mathura.
RADHA KAISE NA JALE
Radha Kaise Na Jale is from the film La-
gaan and featured Aamir Khan and Gra-
cy Singh. It depicts the feeling of jealousy
that Radha had when Krishna talks with
other gopis.
GO GO GO GOVINDA!
Prabhudheva and actress Sonakshi Sin-
ha danced to the beats of Go Go Go Go-
vinda. It was from the film Oh! My God.
The catchy track describes the Matki Tod
ritual.
MAIYYA YASHODA
Maiyya Yashoda was from the film Hum
Saath Saath Hain and featured many
stars. It talks about the complaints that
Radha had from Krishna.
MOHE RANG DO LAAL
This song from the film Bajirao Mastani
was loved by one and all. The song fea-
tures Deepika Padukone in lead and was
released in 2015.
RADHA TERI CHUNRI
Radha is one of the famous songs among
the performers. It is from the film Stu-
dent Of The Year and was released in
2012.
SOJA ZARA
This song is from the film Baahubali 2:
The Conclusion and is still loved by eve-
ryone. It was released in 2017.
As we celebrate the
birth of Lord Krishna,
devotees have started
with the preparations.
However, there is one
thing that you must
not miss on this day,
and that is music and
bhajans. Lord Krishna
loved music, his
leelas with Radha
and Gopis are popular
in Hindu mythology.
City First brings to
you some Bollywood
tracks that describe
the eighth incarnation
of Lord Vishnu
perfectly!
MITALI DUSAD
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
J
A still from Radhe Radhe
Akshay Kumar
A still from Soja Zara
A still from Radha Kaise na Jale
A still from Maiyya Yashoda
Alia Bhatt
Deepika Padukone
Nushrratt Bharuccha
A still from
Go Go Go Govinda

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia NEW DELHI | MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2021
11
ir imbued with the sweet
scent of marigold, ‘jhaanki’
graced with baubles galore,
sweet treats lined up to pam-
per Nanha Kanha, dance
with joy, Nand Laala aala!
With celebrations so extrava-
gant, we really need to get our fash-
ion game on.
Nothing exudes charm like a
monochromatic ethnic outfit in a
festive shade. Trust the good ol’
classics and opt for a graceful saree
with dainty motifs or Gotta detail-
ing. From Leheriya to Silk, Band-
hej to Benarasi, pick a fabric you
fancy
. Couple it up with a blouse in
the same colour family and add
some classic gold jewellery to sign
off your look.
Lehenga Cholis are making a
bang, and how! Ditch those bulky,
wedding lehengas and stick to the
simpler ones in cotton or silk. Add
a floral dupatta or a Gotta chunni
for a tinge of elegance. As Ahuja
production’s Devesh captures Ni-
shi Singh in her graceful avatar, we
get an absolute look to match! Keep
the skirt full of flare and tie up
some OTT tassels as you dance
awayintheloveof lord.Spice
things up with a floral
Maang Tikka and colourful
bangles to immerse in the
festivities with a dash of
style.
For the simple souls, I
suggest sticking to your
Kurtis while jacking it
up with some playful
palazzo pants and an
embroidered dupat-
ta. Stack up some
gold rings and add
a pair of minimal-
ist hoops to go has-
sle-free to that
Nandotsav.
HAPPY KRISHNA
JANAMASHTMI,
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!
DEVOTE YOURSELF TO
THE HAPPY TUNES OF
BAAL GOPAL AS YOU
PREP UP TO WELCOME
HIM IN STYLE. OPEN UP
THE TRUNK OF JOY AND
PICK OUT THOSE
GORGEOUS INDIAN
ATTIRES THAT YOU HAD
BEEN DYING TO WEAR
ALL AROUND THE YEAR.
IT’S YOUR TIME TO
FLAUNT THOSE BRIGHT,
VIBRANT COLOURS AS
YOU EVOKE YOUR LOVE
FOR BABY KRISHNA!
POORVI SINGHAL
A
Deepika Sharma
Swati Jangid
Divya Choudhary
Khushboo Dahiya
Nishi Singh
Tripti Arora
Sharon
Alexander
Akshita Anulika
Immerse in Krishna
Immerse in Krishna
BHAKTI IN STYLE!
BHAKTI IN STYLE!

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
ourri Shar-
ma, a Disc
Jockey, influ-
encer, Cabin
Crew and Avi-
ation and
Grooming in-
structor reveals how
she manages multiple
careers with élan and
why women love her
so much in a free-
wheeling tête-à-tête.
Q : What is so spe-
cial about your mu-
sic that gets you this
huge female follow-
ing on Insta, FB and
Twitter?
A: Girls just wanna
have some fun and so
do I. (laughs) Well eve-
ry time I am into the
groove, I am complete-
ly in sync- mind, body
and soul- with people
tapping their feet to
the BPM (beats per
minute). And I have a
special connection
with the girls because
I look at ensuring they
have the best time of
their lives when in a
gig with me.
Q : You have multi-
ple vocations. You
are an Air Hostess
and a DJ. How do
you do that?
A: I am a multitasker
and working two jobs
makes me happier
and leaves me more
fulfilled. I have been
flying for the last 15
years and airlines
have been extremely
supportive of my ca-
reer as a DJ. While I
travel the world on
weekdays, weekends I
do the DJ. And yes,
twinning my career
has been very reward-
ing financially as well
as mentally. These are
professions I love,
therefore, working is
just fun for me.
Q : Coming from
Pathankot to Delhi,
are your career
choices, in any way,
against the wishes
of your family?
A: On the contrary,
my parents and my
siblings are my big-
gest supporters. We
are five siblings and I
must say, it’s a blessing
to have your parents at-
tention divided
amongst all of us. I
have no family pres-
sures to face- be it on
the personal front (I
am lucky to be single
and beautiful) or be it
my professional deci-
sions. I have my fami-
ly’s back and no inter-
ference.
Q : What has been
your favourite out-
ing so far as DJ
Gourri?
A: A DJ night with the
Indian Navy, months
before COVID struck! I
have done big projects
in the last 7 years, but
my gig for the In-
dian Navy
has been
the most
memora-
ble one for
me. I was
p re s e n t e d
with a trophy
for my perfor-
mance and that re-
mains my most cher-
ished possession. Once
the event was over, I
was flooded with friend
requests (smiles). I am
grateful for the love
and encouragement I
received and that
makes my outing with
the Men in White my
favourite so far.
Q : When at home,
what keeps you ma-
niacally busy?
A: Dusting and cook-
ing. I am a cleanliness
freak (chuckles). Be-
fore I move out of the
house for a gig or a
flight, I make sure
everything’s in order
and not a speck of
dust is visible to the
naked eye. As for
cooking, I am experi-
mental. Every cuisine
has its own nuances
and indulging in var-
ied flavours is my cup
of tea.
Q : Enlighten your
fans with a bit of ad-
vice, as the curtain
falls on this delight-
ful conversation.
A : The day is over
and the night has
come. Forget all
your worries and
have some fun
(laughs). Life’s
all about enjoy-
ing what you
are doing. I
am a Control-
lerist and
mashups are
my thing. That’s
my philosophy for life
too. Don’t play by the
recordings. Continue
to scratch, juggle and
sample and create
something new that’s
completely You! So
love yourself and do
the gig.
G
A LITERARY MASHUP @ DJGOURI
SHWETA
SHARMA
OUR LITTLE
KRISHNA
CITY FIRST
T
he book, “Shyam,
Our Little Krish-
na” by Devdutt
Pattanaik has
been published by Pen-
guin Random House
imprint Puffin to coin-
cide with Janmashta-
mi. Designed in an ac-
cessible format, this
book will help parents
introduce their child
to stories about Krish-
na and also act as an
ideal engagement for
bedtime reading.
According to Puffin,
“Shyam, Our Little
Krishna” is a great
Janmashtami gift, will
make for a perfect fam-
ily reading experience
and a great compan-
ion to “Shyam: An
Illustrated Retell-
ing of the Bhagav-
ata”. Curated with
fascinating bite-
sized stories,
myths and
t r i v i a
a b o u t
t h e
young
g o d ,
t h e
b o o k
f e a t u r e s
over 40
colourful
artworks
accompanied by pages
dedicated for colour-
ing. The illustrations
are by the author and
the colour rendering is
done by Sasi Edavarad.
The book tells in
very lucid language the
story of Krishna’s
childhood and as he
grew up, how every-
body realised that he
was no ordinary boy.
“He was god on Earth.
A god who tried
to teach hu-
man beings
to share love
and to stand
up to bullies
without hat-
ing them.
Everyone
b e g a n
worship-
ping Shy-
am in dif-
f e r e n t
lands, using
d i f f e r e n t
n a m e s , ”
writes Pat-
tanaik.
NATURE BAZAAR-THE
NAME SAYS IT ALL!
CITY FIRST
I
f you are a lover of
all things eco-friend-
ly, natural, organic,
recycled and sustain-
able, The Comeback Ba-
zaar is totally the best
place to visit. People
can get all their health
and skincare needs cov-
ered with a variety of
organic and natural
products. One can re-
fresh their senses with
natural herbs, honey,
salts, soaps, juices, oils
and much more, revive
their souls with the cre-
ative energy of craft-
speople brought togeth-
er in one place from 11
am to 7 pm on its last
day today, August 30, at
Nature Bazaar, Andhe-
ria Modh, New Delhi.
FEELS ON WHEELS! PREPPING UP FOR JANMASHTAMI
REMEMBERING THE LEGEND
Delhi Capitals are all set to make a bang this IPL season. With their fierce blue team buses,
the boys are ready to give it their all.
In order to minimize the crowd on the occasion of Janmashtami, preparations are being
made at Radha Krishna Temple, Chhatarpur following the norms of Covid-19.
Former MLA Haroon
Yusuf visited an
exhibition showcasing
the legacy of Bharat
Ratna Rajiv Gandhi at
Indian Youth Congress
Headquarters on Sunday.
Devdutt Pattanaik
Comeback Bazaar
Gourri Sharma
aka DJ Gouri

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