First india ahmedabad edition-20 october 2020

P6P5
NITISH KUMAR’S BEHAVIOUR
HAS BEEN UNFAIR TOWARDS
PASWAN: TEJASHWI
CENTRE AND STATE ARE MAKING
EFFORTS TO PROVIDE RELIEF: MODI
PIL seeking action against politicians for nCoV SOP violations filed
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A Public
Interest Litigation
(PIL) to initiate action
against state political
leaders for violation
of the COVID-19
Standard Operating
Procedure (SOP) has
been filed in the Guja-
rat High Court.
With the state assem-
bly bypolls for eight con-
stituencies slated to be
held in November, can-
didates contesting the
elections have already
initiated their cam-
paign. The petition
mentions breaches of
the SOP by workers and
leaders of political par-
ties. It is likely to come
up for hearing this week
before first division
benchcomprisingChief
Justice Vikram Nath
and Justice JB Pardi-
wala. The High Court
has initiated suo motu
on novel coronavirus
and other PILs related
to the pandemic are be-
ing heard together.
The petitioner
raised a few major is-
sues before the court,
with the first and
foremost being the
lack of social distanc-
ing at political gath-
erings, in a blatant
violation of the nCoV
protocol. “If a com-
mon man violates the
COVID-19 SOP they
are required to pay
fines, then why are
the politicians not be-
ing fined for it?” men-
tioned the petition.
It added, “There is a
need to monitor politi-
cal meetings. Even
though the Election
Commission of India
has issued norms for
such gatherings, yet no
heed is being paid to
them by politicians.”
The petitioner also
drew the court’s at-
tention to the new
SOP rule for social
and religious events,
according to which,
100 people or 50% of
the community hall
capacity are allowed.
But no upper limit has
been stated in the SOP
and that needs to be
clarified by the state.
Earlier, in its interim
order, the High Court
had made note of the
SOP violation by politi-
cal leaders. On October
05, the court had direct-
ly instructed the gov-
ernment pleader that
the government must
take action Turn to P6Gujarat High Court
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AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 325
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
The petitioner wishes to
ensure that norms are
followed during campaigning
for state assembly by-elections
Ladakh: Indian Army
on Monday apprehend-
ed a Chinese soldier in
eastern Ladakh. The
Army said that the sol-
dier had “strayed across
LAC” and will be hand-
ed over to PLA soon.
In a statement, the
Army said, “a PLA sol-
dier identified as Cor-
poral Wang Ya Long
was apprehended in the
Demchok sector of
Eastern Ladakh on 19
October 2020 after he
had strayed across the
LAC.” “A request has
also been received from
the PLA about the
whereabouts of the
missing soldier,” the
Army said, adding that,
“as per established pro-
tocols, he will be re-
turned back to Chinese
officials at the Chushul
– Moldo meeting point
after completion of for-
malities”. Turn to P6
Mumbai: The Bombay
High Court on Monday
said if the Mumbai po-
lice crime branch pro-
poses to arraign Repub-
lic TV Editor-in-Chief
Arnab Goswami in the
TRP case, it should first
issue summons to him
as was done for eight
others in the case.
A division bench of
justices SS Shinde and
MS Karnik said if such
a summons is issued
then Goswami shall ap-
pear before police and
cooperate with probe.
The court also direct-
ed police to submit for
its perusal investiga-
tion papers pertaining
to the case in a sealed
cover by November 5
when it would hear the
matter. “The FIR is not
an encyclopedia. We
would like to peruse the
investigation papers
and see what probe has
been done from today
till the next date of
hearing,” the court said.
The court was hear-
ing a petition filed by
ARG Outlier Media Pvt
Ltd, Turn to P6
Chinese soldier ‘strays’ into Ladakh, held
Issue summons to Arnab
before arraignment: HC
All Puja pandals in WB
no-entry zones: HC
SAFETY
FIRST!
Farooq grilled
for 6 hrs by ED
Srinagar: Enforce-
ment Directorate on
Monday questioned
National Conference
chief Farooq Abdullah
for over 6 hrs in con-
nection with a multi-
crore scam in Jammu
& Kashmir Cricket
Association, prompt-
ing accusations of
“political vendetta”
by newly-formed
People’s Alliance
comprising several
mainstream parties.
CBI has already filed
a chargesheet against
him. P5
Siliguri: BJP national
president JP Nadda
Monday said the execu-
tion of the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act has
been delayed due to the
pandemic and asserted
that the law will be im-
plemented soon.
Nadda, who was
speaking at a meeting of
social groups of north
Bengal, accused the
Mamata Banerjee gov-
ernment in West Bengal
of indulging in “divide
and rule politics” in the
state to serve the politi-
cal interests of her par-
ty - the TMC, unlike BJP
which works for the de-
velopment of all.
All of you will get the
benefits of the Citizen-
ship (Amendment) Act.
It has been passed in
Parliament. We are com-
mitted to it,” he said at
the meeting.
“DuetoCOVID-19pan-
demic, implementation
of CAA got delayed. But
as the situation is slow-
ing improving, Turn to P6
NADDA IN WB: CAA TO
BE IMPLEMENTED SOON
JP Nadda reached Siliguri on Monday on a day-long tour of West Bengal where he and Kailash
Vijayvargiya communicated with party workers.
NADDA TO ADDRESS 4 RALLIES, NDA
MEETING IN BIHAR ON OCT 20, 21
New Delhi: BJP president JP Nadda will address four public rallies in poll-bound
Bihar on Tuesday and Wednesday and also speak at a meeting of leaders of the
ruling National Democratic Alliance during a two-day visit to the state. Nadda
will address election rallies in Buxar and Arrah on Tuesday afternoon, party
spokesperson Sanjay Mayukh said. The BJP president will then address the NDA
meeting in Arrah. District heads, MPs, district in-charges, assembly constitu-
ency in-charges, assembly convenors and candidates besides other important
leaders from the region will participate in the meeting, he said. On Wednesday,
Nadda will address election rallies in Bettiah and Motihari, Mayukh said.
Kolkata: In view of the COV-
ID-19 situation in West Bengal
and to contain the spread of the
virus, the Calcutta High Court
on Monday said Durga Puja pan-
dals would be no-entry zones for
visitors. Court also ordered that
people would not be allowed
within a five-metre distance for
small pandals and 10 metre for
big pandals.
The HC also asked each puja
committee to submit a blueprint
on crowd management and only
the organisers can enter the pan-
dal and for that names have to be
put up outside the pandals before-
hand. Only those people would be
allowed to enter whose names will
be mentioned outside the pandal.
Maximum 25 members are al-
lowed in the pandal premises and
the number of visitors is to be
fixed, which will remain the same
during the Durga puja celebera-
tions. The court’s order will apply
to all 34,000 registered Durga Puja
pandals in the state. Last week,
West Bengal CM Mamata Baner-
jee had urged Durga Puja Commit-
tees not to allow people without
masks in pandal.
This year, Durga Puja be cel-
ebrated from October 23 to Oc-
tober 26. —ANI

NEWSAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Go-
vind Parmar, the
Bharatiya Janata
Party’s MLA from
Umreth has decided
that he will not be re-
signing on Tuesday
after all. The deci-
sion, which came
barely 24 hours after
he had threatened to
quit his position in
the Assembly, fol-
lows the party’s ef-
forts to sort out his
grievances.
Parmar has been un-
happy with the local
leaders in Anand, par-
ticularly Anand Lok
Sabha member Mitesh
Patel. His anger is di-
rectly linked with the
recent cooperative
election at Amul Dairy,
in which he lost to Con-
gress MLA Kanti Sod-
ha Parmar.
In addition, the state
government recently
appointed two direc-
tors on the Amul board.
Parmar has alleged
that the state had nom-
inated people who had
worked against him
and the party’s interest
in the Amul elections.
He has also accused
Lok Sabha MP Patel of
controlling the party
organization and tak-
ing all the decisions,
and claimed that Patel
had once subjected him
to a casteist slur.
A source within the
BJP has claimed that
Patel community lead-
ers are angry with Par-
mar, who they say went
against their wishes to
field a Patel candidate
for the Umreth seat in
the cooperative elec-
tions by contesting
himself. As a result,
Bharat Patel contested
the election indepen-
dently, damaging Par-
mar’s prospects—and
his own in the process.
The BJP leadership
swung into action on
Monday, before Par-
mar’s grievances
caused any major
harm to the party.
Chief whip Pankaj
Desai set up a meeting
between MLA Parmar
and Chief Minister Vi-
jay Rupani on Monday
morning, before the
situation spun out of
control. He reportedly
complained to the Ru-
pani that he was being
sidelined and targeted
by the district leader-
ship, making it a point
to reference MP Mitesh
Patel by name.
After getting assur-
ance from the Chief
Minister, Parmar told
the media that his
grievances are being
addressed and that he
would now not be re-
signing as MLA.
PLACATED,UMRETHMLATAKES
U-TURNBARELY24HOURSLATER
BJP’s Govind Parmar had threatened to resign over the rise of other leaders
Cropinsuranceis‘Farmer
Fasaja’scheme:Congress
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Congress party has ac-
cusedtheBJPof work-
ing at the behest of the
corporate sector. Man-
ish Doshi, the party’s
chief spokesperson
had alleged that the
BJP government has
given private compa-
nies a free hand to
“loot farmers”.
Doshi alleged that
private companies have
collected more than
Rs2,822 crore from
farmers as insurance
premiums. “Private
companies collect hefty
sums as insurance pre-
miums from farmers.
Yet, hardly 40% of this
amount is given back
after crop damage.
Farmers are yet to re-
ceive money for dam-
age to their crops
caused by this year’s
rains,” he said.
He said that the gov-
ernment had promised
to pay compensation to
the farmers within 15
days. “Now, even after
two months, farmers
have not received a sin-
gle penny. On top of that,
the government is mak-
ing laws that are against
the farmers. With the
new laws, the day is not
far when the farmers
have to work as labour-
ers in the factories con-
structedbybusinessmen
on their fields,” he said.
Currently on the cam-
paign trail, Doshi ad-
dressed the media at
Surendranagar on Mon-
day, where he pointed
out that the BJP govern-
ment has shut 56 schools
in the district.
“There is no law and
order in the district. In
the past two years alone,
47 incidents of rape and
71 cases of attempt to
murder have been re-
ported in the district,”
he added.
 Opposition
claims state has
allowed private
firms to charge
farmers Rs2,822
cr in premiums
Manish Doshi —FILE PHOTO
Govind Parmar —FILE PHOTO
THE CRUX OF IT
—PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
The festive season
has taken a dive in the
state this year, with the
ban on public garba
events and weddings
having limited guests.
Workers at firecracker
factories say the slash
in demand has hit the
industry particularly
hard. Naim, a factory
owner, said the rush of
orders that his factory,
located in Vanch village
on the outskirts of
Ahmedabad city, usually
sees around this time,
is sorely missing. “I
usually employ around
24 workers for the
manufacture of crackers
but because the demand
is so low, I have kept
only seven workers on
the payroll. Usually, we
are engaged in making
crackers around the
year because people
buy them for any and
every special occasion.
However, ever since the
COVID-19 pandemic
hit, people have had
little to celebrate so our
sales have suffered.”
Luckily, Naim still has a
few out-of-state orders
from places such as
New Delhi, Jaipur and
Kolkata to keep his
business afloat.
MISSING
THE ‘FIRE’ IN
FIREWORKS
THIS DIWALI

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Wary
of taking any hasty
decisions about send-
ing children back to
school campuses
amid the COVID-19
pandemic, the gov-
ernment plans to con-
sult all stakeholders
before it comes to a
final call. In addition,
the issue will also be
discussed in the next
cabinet meeting, ac-
cording to education
minister Bhupen-
drasinh Chudasama.
Addressing the me-
dia on Monday, Chu-
dasama said, “The
health department’s
opinion will be very im-
portant in this regard.
However, we will take a
decision on when to reo-
pen schools and for
which classes only
when there is close con-
sensus among all stake-
holders.”
The minister’s an-
nouncement came after
a meeting of the health
and education depart-
ments in Gandhinagar
on Monday, where the
issues related to Stand-
ard Operating Proce-
dure (SOP) for COV-
ID-19 were discussed in
detail. They also dis-
cussed how the health
department would en-
sure that the SOP is fol-
lowing in schools once
they reopen, and which
age-group of students
to send back to campus-
es first.
The state education
department will also
consider the Centre’s
SOP for Unlock 6.0,
which is expected to be
announced by the end
of the month, before an-
nouncing a decision.
Sources say it is still
likely that schools
might reopen in a
phased manner after
Diwali, with Classes IX
and XI returning to
campus first, followed
by Classes X and XII. If
this goes off without
any hitches, the state
might decide to send
secondary students
back next. Primary
schools will be the last
to reopen.
The Gujarat chapter
of the Paediatric Asso-
ciation of India has sug-
gested that primary stu-
dents be kept out of
school campuses until
the city/district they in
which they are located
goes at least without re-
cording a single case of
COVID-19. They say
that unless SOPs are
strictly enforced, reo-
pening schools could
lead to a high number
of infections.
‘Schools will not be reopened until all stakeholders are consulted’

State education
minister
Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama’s
clarification
comes after
several schools
said they might
resume on-cam-
pus classes after
Diwali
NO HURRIED DECISIONS
Bhupendrasinh Chudasama. —FILE PHOTO
Four held in clash, private
firing incident in Vadodara
First India Bureau
Vadodara: The city’s
Dumad Chokdi on Na-
tional Highway 48
witnessed a dramatic
sequence straight out
of a Bollywood film
on Monday, when a
daylight car chase
ended with a group of
people jumping out of
a car and opened fire
on another group.
Five to six persons
were injured in the
clash which saw six
shots fired. One per-
son is said to be criti-
cal. They are all being
treated at the Sayaji
Hospital in Vadodara.
By evening, the po-
lice had picked up four
persons, who will be of-
ficially arrested once
their test for COVID-19
comes back negative.
According to an eye-
witness, three cars
chased a fourth, and
proceeded to attack its
occupants when they
caught up with it. One
person opened fire. Of
the six shots fired, three
missed and two hit two
persons. A total of six
people were rushed to
the Sayaji Hospital after
the melee that ensued.
As news of the inci-
dent began to spread,
senior police officers
and their teams rushed
to the spot. They first
controlled the situation
and later started col-
lecting evidence, dur-
ing which they found
two empty bullet shells.
Assistant Commis-
sioner of Police Bharat
Rathod told the media
that the clash was
about a missing cache
of cash amounting to
Rs1 lakh, which was to
have been disbursed to
brick kiln workers. He
said a Savli trader was
chased by a group in
three different cars.
They blocked his car at
Dumad Chokdi and at-
tacked the persons oc-
cupying the lead car.
He added that the po-
lice have identified one
Ayub Pathan as the per-
son who opened fire, us-
ing CCTV footage. Pa-
than is among the in-
jured receiving treat-
ment at the hospital.
Ayub later told media
that he has a licence for
the weapon from Uttar
Pradesh and that he had
used it in self-defence as
he and four of his other
associates had been un-
der attack.
Fourpersonsinvolved
in the incident have
been picked up by the
police. However, an of-
ficer at the Sama police
station told First India
that First Information
Report is yet to be filed
as all teams are still re-
cording statements.
Three of the men who were involved in the incident.
HIGH IMPACT
Five to six persons were injured as six rounds were fired during the clash at Dumad Chokdi
New cases fall below 1K
mark, 1st time since July
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Bol-
stering hope that the
tide might indeed be
turning, the state
has—in the past 24
hours—recorded less
than 1,000 fresh cases
of COVID-19 for the
first time since July
21, when Gujarat saw
its first four-digit
jump in new cases of
Sars-CoV-2 infection.
OnMonday,theHealth
and Family Welfare de-
partment said that the
state had recorded 996
new cases and eight fa-
talities. With this, the
statehasnowseenatotal
of 1,59, 631 cases of COV-
ID-19 and 3,637 deaths
related to the disease.
The department
claims to have dis-
charged 1,147 patients,
taking the state’s recov-
ery rate to 88.85%. In the
last 24 hours, the state
has tested conducted
52,192 samples, bring
the total so far to
54,26,621 tests. At pre-
sent, there are 14,277 ac-
tive cases in the state,
with 71 patients on ven-
tilator support.
Surat remains at the
top of the list in new in-
fections with 227, fol-
lowed by Ahmedabad
with 178. Cases also
emerged in Vadodara
(112),Rajkot(83),Jamna-
gar (66), Gandhinagar
(50),Mehsana(32),Patan
(26), Junagadh (23),
Kutch (21), Amreli (18),
Banaskantha (16),
Surendranagar (15), Sa-
barkantha (14), Morbi
(13), Gir Somnath (12),
Bharuch (11), Panchma-
hal (10), Narmada (9),
Kheda, Mahisagar and
Navsari (8 each), Anand
(7), Bhavnagar, Dahod
and Valsad (6 each),
Devbhumi Dwarka and
Tapi (five each), Botad
and Chhota Udepur
(four each) and Aravalli
(three).
Going by state data, medics might be able to take more breaks from COVID-19 soon. —FILE PHOTO
Farmer burns groundnut
crop damaged by rain
Car accident in Surat
leaves two youth injured
AMC LOP QUITS 2 MONTHS BEFORE HIS TERM ENDS
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Leader
of the Opposition in
the Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corporation,
Dinesh Sharma has
resigned from his just
two months before
the end of his tenure.
While he stated that
he was stepping down
for personal reasons,
insiders say the move
follows several com-
plaints against him
by both councillors
and local MLAs.
Two weeks ago, two
Congress MLAs—Him-
matsinh Patel and
Shailesh Parmar—had
approached state party
in-charge Rajiv Satav
requesting that he
change the leadership
at the civic body. Satav
took no action at the
time since the local
body elections were
still expected to be
held in November. The
MLAs had reportedly
insisted on the change
in leadership, even if it
was to have been just
for a month.
“He has been accused
of corruption, and there
have been complaints
that he was not raising
pertinent issues in the
civic body. Even during
the time of COVID-19,
he was never critical of
the inaction of the BJP-
run civic body. Moreo-
ver, he was always inter-
ested in the contractual
work of the AMC,” said
a source privy to the de-
velopment.
“If he hadn’t resigned
today, he would have
been expelled from the
post in the next week or
two. This way, he got to
save a little of his dig-
nity,” the person added.
It is to be noted that
Sharma has had issues
withhiscolleaguesforat
least three to four years.
First India Bureau
Surat: Two youths
were injured late on
Sunday night after a
speeding car slammed
into the moped on
which they were rid-
ing. The car driver
left his vehicle at the
scene of the accident,
which occurred
around 10.30 pm near
SVNIT road, and fled.
The two injured men
were taken to a private
hospital where they are
said to be in a serious
condition.
This is the second
such accident involving
a speeding car, which
the city is witnessing in
a span of less than 10
days. On October 11, a
speeding car killed two
men when it rammed
into them. Police arrest-
ed the accused in that
case and have launched
an investigation into
Sunday’s accident.
First India Bureau
Junagadh: Unseason-
al rains are worsen-
ing the lot of farm-
ers across the state,
who have already
lost about 30% of
their crops to the
monsoon. Now, with
crops rotting, farm-
ers are being left no
choice but to cut
their losses.
A video featuring a
heartbroken farmer in
Shahpur in Vanthali
of Junagadh who had
to set fire to his ground-
nut crop gained trac-
tion on social media,
on Monday.
In the video, the
farmer, Hasambhai,
said that he had to de-
stroy his crop, sown
over an area of 20
bighas (approximately
32374 square metres),
after it was left rotten
by unseasonal rain.
Junagadh district
has received more than
100% of its average an-
nual rainfall this year,
which has led to the
failure of cotton and
groundnut crops. Now,
farmers are facing a
double whammy, with
crops that survived the
monsoon falling prey
to the unseasonal rain.
On Sunday, 43 talu-
kas of the state re-
ceived a spell of rain.
Of these, Dhrol in Jam-
nagar received 109mm
of rainfall. On Monday,
till the evening, 11 ta-
lukas had received
rains. Tharad of Ba-
naskantha received
22mm which was the
highest across the
state.
A farmer in his field. —FILE PHOTO
NEED
FOR
SPEED
Officials from the
aviation department
and the fire department
held drills at the
Sabarmati River Front
on Monday to check the
landing and take-off
zone of the upcoming
seaplane service
between Ahmedabad
and the Statue of Unity.
—PHOTO BY
HANIF SINDHI
Dinesh Sharma. —FILE PHOTO
BACK STORY
996 cases, eight
deaths state tally to
1,59,631 cases, death
toll to 3,637

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 325 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020
A dishonest man spreads
strife, and a whisperer
separates close friends.
—Proverbs 16:28
Spiritual
SPEAK
ave you ever
used Google As-
sistant, Apple’s
Siri, or Amazon
Alexa to make
decisions for you? Perhaps
you asked it what new mov-
ies have good reviews, or to
recommend a cool restau-
rantinyourneighbourhood.
Artificial intelligence
and virtual assistants are
constantly being refined,
andmaysoonbemakingap-
pointmentsforyou,offering
medical advice, or trying to
sell you a bottle of wine.
Although AI technology
has miles to go to develop
social skills on par with
ours, some AI has shown
impressivelanguageunder-
standing and can complete
relatively complex interac-
tive tasks.
In several 2018 demon-
strations, Google’s AI made
haircut and restaurant res-
ervations without recep-
tionists realising they were
talking with a non-human.
It’s likely the AI capa-
bilities developed by tech
giants such as Amazon and
Google will only grow
more capable of influenc-
ing us in the future.
BUT WHAT DO WE
ACTUALLY FIND
PERSUASIVE?
My colleague Adam Duh-
achek and I found AI mes-
sages are more persuasive
when they highlight “how”
an action should be per-
formed, rather than “why”.
For example, people were
more willing to put on sun-
screen when an AI ex-
plained how to apply sun-
screen before going out,
rather than why they
should use sunscreen.
We found people gener-
allydon’tbelieveamachine
can understand human
goals and desires. Take
Google’s AlphaGo, an algo-
rithm designed to play the
board game Go. Few people
would say the algorithm
can understand why play-
ing Go is fun, or why it’s
meaningful to become a Go
champion. Rather, it just
follows a pre-programmed
algorithm telling it how to
move on the game board.
Our research suggests
people find AI’s recommen-
dations more persuasive in
situations where AI shows
easy steps on how to build
personalised health insur-
ance, how to avoid a lemon
car, or how to choose the
right tennis racket for you,
rather than why any of
these are important to do
in a human sense.
DOES AI HAVE
FREE WILL?
Most of us believe humans
have free will. We compli-
ment someone who helps
others because we think
they do it freely, and we pe-
nalise those who harm oth-
ers. What’s more, we are
willing to lessen the crimi-
nal penalty if the person
was deprived of free will,
for instance, if they were
in the grip of a schizo-
phrenic delusion.
But do people think AI
has free will? We did an ex-
periment to find out.
The fact people could ac-
cept unfair offers from AI
concerns me, because it
might mean this phenome-
non could be used mali-
ciously.Forexample,amort-
gage loan company might
try to charge unfairly high-
interestratesbyframingthe
decision as being calculated
byanalgorithm.Oramanu-
facturing company might
manipulateworkersintoac-
ceptingunfairwagesbysay-
ing it was a decision made
by a computer.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
HOW AI CAN AFFECT OUR DECISIONS
H
Top
TWEET
Ravi Shankar Prasad @rsprasad
Digital Payments have
revolutionized the financial
inclusion ecosystem in India. In the
last 4 years, the number of digital
payments have grown 55% every
year showing the rising acceptance
of the use of various modes of
digital payments. #DigitalIndia
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
During the last 3 years, more
than 3.37 lakh beneficiaries from
the scheduled Tribes section
in Odisha benefitted from
#ModiGovt’s scheme of grant-
in-aid to voluntary organisations
working for the welfare of STs
while several thousands benefited
under other schemes for tribals.
magine a mother’s eyes beam-
ing as she waits with open
arms for her daughter to take
herfirststeps.Whenthedaugh-
ter suddenly topples, the moth-
er supports her to try again.
She knows that her daughter
will soon gain her balance and
strength.
Similarly, a new job or busi-
ness may need time and sup-
port before it attains the bal-
ance needed to succeed. A per-
son requires constant effort to
keep pace. Some are thrown off
balance by unexpected changes
in their circumstances due to
poor health, financial needs, or
various other demands.
Balance means a state in
which no one part, factor, or
influence overweighs another
or is out of proportion to the
other. It is a state of mental and
emotional steadiness and calm
behaviour. A balanced person
strives to be orderly and sys-
tematic in daily activities.
Such a person plans ahead and
shows self-control in all areas.
It is a challenge to sort out
priorities, juggle responsibili-
ties, and devote time and ener-
gy to the more important as-
pects of life. It is like walking
on a thin wire; loss of balance
can be disastrous. Those lack-
ing good organising skills tend
to procrastinate thus compli-
cating their lives. By not doing
things in haste, they accom-
plish more without severe
stress. Setting realistic goals
contributes to stability.
Modestly acknowledging
that we cannot accomplish eve-
rything ourselves, keeps one
from being opinionated, and
shows the balance on our part.
Learning the balance will help
us not to push ourselves be-
yond our limits but budget our
energies.
Our body does not have flash-
ing red lights and alarms that
tell us to stop or slow down. But
it does give us warning signals,
like tiredness or mood changes,
and a tendency to get infected
by viruses. If one has these
symptoms, it is time to re-ex-
amine one’s lifestyle and re-
serve some personal time for
oneself.
Everybody everywhere
seems to be busy. They find it
hard to meet the demands of
both, their work life and their
home life. When we constantly
try to do more than what time
may allow, we become stressed
and victims of ‘time pressure.’
Continuous overexertion leads
to exhaustion and undermines
our determination to carry on.
A balanced person establish-
es a practical schedule for all
activities. A frantic pace may
set records but cannot be main-
tained for long. Moving ahead
steadily in a routine protects
us from losing control. Reason-
ableness would require that we
take care of our health, with
enough sleep and exercise.
An enquiring mind makes us
eager to find out about things.
We are driven to explore the
world around us. Like many
other things in life, curiosity
can be a blessing or a curse, if
properly directed, it can un-
cover gems of knowledge.
Unbalanced thinking can
make one arrogant thus dam-
aging relationships with oth-
ers. A distorted view of self-
importance will prevent us
from having a fair and accurate
perspective of people and
events. Not taking ourselves
too seriously, allows for recon-
ciliation and mutual respect.
Like spices in appetizing
food, vacations achieve the best
results when used sparingly.
Extreme indulgence in work
and entertainment can leave us
dissatisfied. People, in their
normal lives, have jobs and
routines to diffuse emotions.
Vacations can be a pleasant ex-
perience only when the inter-
ests of everyone are balanced
out.
Hobbies prevent boredom
during leisure time and help to
develop skills. By determining
how much spare time can be
“hobby time”, we can handle
family responsibilities effec-
tively. All family members can
cooperate and support each
other.
Many of us are prone to ex-
tremes. Following the middle
course, helps us to achieve
more. Carrying out our duties
diligently helps us to gain expe-
rience and acquire skills that
may be useful in other areas of
life. Many mature persons ac-
cept that it took them time to
achieve balance in fulfilling
their responsibilities in an out-
standing way. They became an
asset to their organisation and
an example for everyone. Their
impression can be profound
and long-lasting.
Having much to do does not
mean that we cannot be happy.
The busiest people are amongst
the happiest if they are reason-
able, maintain a fine outlook,
and use good judgment to re-
main well-balanced.
To sum up, being organized,
having realistic goals, a practi-
cal schedule with quality “me
time”, and following modera-
tion in everything, are step-
ping stones towards leading a
balanced life.
Living life in a balanced way
is good for our mental, physi-
cal, and emotional health. It
would be wise to ask ourselves,
‘what do I want out of life?’
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
CAN BALANCED
LIFE BE ACHIEVED?
I
Balance means
a state in which
no one part,
factor, or
influence
overweighs
another or is out
of proportion to
the other. It is a
state of mental
and emotional
steadiness and
calm behaviour.
A balanced
person strives to
be orderly and
systematic in
daily activities.
Such a person
plans ahead
and shows
self-control in
all areas
REKHA
KUMAR
LIKE SPICES IN
APPETIZING FOOD,
VACATIONS ACHIEVE
THE BEST RESULTS
WHEN USED SPARINGLY.
EXTREME INDULGENCE
IN WORK AND
ENTERTAINMENT CAN
LEAVE US DISSATISFIED
The writer is a personal development
trainer working with corporate sector
and government departments
AUSTRALIATO JOIN
QUAD EXERCISE
iven China’s intransigence on resolving
the LAC issue and President Xi Jinping’s
asking the People’s Liberation Army to
be prepared for war, it became impera-
tiveforIndiatodemonstrateitsstrengths
and preparedness on all fronts. It is in this context
that the Malabar Exercise of Quad navies has to be
viewed. India, which was initially reluctant to in-
vite Australia to the Malabar Exercise for fear of
annoying Beijing, has thumbed its nose at the ex-
pansionist Communist giant. At the second minis-
terial-level Quadrilateral Security Dialogue held
in Tokyo recently the member countries - India, US,
Japan, and Australia - it was decided that navies of
all the four nations will take part in the Malabar
Exercise. The Malabar Exercise was earlier
planned to be bilateral between India and the US.
China’s hackles were raised when India invited
Japan to take part in the naval exercises. Reacting
sharply to the move, China said that it was hopeful
that Tokyo will not “provoke confrontation and
heighten tensions” in the region. By inviting To-
kyo, India took the naval exercise to a trilateral
level. India was hesitant to invite Australia to join
the important naval exercise because of its eco-
nomic relations with China. Canberra, which had
earlier wanted Quad to be focused on trade and
culture, described the Malabar Exercise 2020 as “a
milestone”. Australia’s Minister for Defence Lin-
da Reynolds even said that the “high-end military
exercises like Malabar Exercise are key to enhanc-
ing Australia’s maritime capabilities…”
G
IN-DEPTH
MISOGYNY IS NOT
CONFINEDTO CONG
isogynist remarks by politicians do not
shock top leaders of any party anymore.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
KamalNath’sderogatoryremarkagainst
Imarti Devi, a Bharatiya Janata Party
leader, should be unequivocally condemned and the
party is justified in attacking the Congress. On its
part, Congress needs to chastise its senior leader
for the remark and warn others against disrespect-
ing women. But BJP’s Jyotiraditya Scindia, Smriti
Irani, and other leaders certainly can’t take high
moral ground on the issue. Before sermonizing the
Congress, these leaders would do well to recall
Kailash Vijayvargeey’s “chocolatey face” remark
against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. They should also
recall the highly objectionable and casteist remark
which Daya Shankar Singh, its leader in UP, made
against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. The
party did expel Daya Shankar but only until the
elections. After the elections, he was made a vice-
president in the state unit.
At a rally in Meerut BJP’s Jayakaran Gupta re-
ferred to Priyanka Gandhi as “skirt waali bai has
now started wearing sari and visiting temples,
those who hate Ganga jal are now visiting the Gan-
ga”. He got away by saying that the remark was not
intended against anyone in particular.
Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan’s remark against
actress Jaya Prada besides being sexist was the
cheapest of them all. He said it took him only 17
days to recognize that she wears khaki underwear.
Over the years sexist remarks have become part
of politicians’ lexicon. Criticism of one political
party by another is only a political gimmick. Poli-
ticians’ tongues can’t be leashed.
M

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020
TejashwisympathiseswithChirag
NITISH’S BEHAVIOUR UNFAIR TOWARDS PASWAN
Patna: Mahagathband-
han’s chief ministerial
candidate Tejashwi Ya-
dav expressed sympa-
thy towards LJP presi-
dent Chirag Paswan
and said that Bihar CM
Nitish Kumar’s behav-
iour has been unfair
towards Paswan when
he needed his father the
most. “What Nitish Ku-
mar Ji did with Chirag
Paswan is not good. Chi-
rag Paswan needs his
father today more than
ever before but Ram Vi-
las Paswan Ji is not
among us and we are
sad about it. Nitish Ku-
mar did injustice with
Chirag Paswan, his be-
haviour is unfair,”
Tejashwi said.
Yadav scion also
threw a challenge to Ni-
tish Kumar for a debate
on any achievement by
the JD(U) government
in the past 15 years.
“I would request Nit-
ish Kumar to debate on
any of his achieve-
ments in past 15 years.
We can debate on his
achievement and we
should start a new de-
bating trend. There
should be a Chief Min-
ister candidates’ de-
bate. Nitish Ji should
accept my challenge,”
he added.
Tejashwi spoke
about feedback from
his rallies, “People
are angry with in-
cumbent govt & we
will be voted to power
comfortably. Many
people are coming to
my rally.” —ANI
Bodh Gaya: In an ef-
fort to reach out to
the maximum possi-
ble people amid ongo-
ing COVID-19 pan-
demic, (BJP) will tel-
ecast Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s
election rallies digi-
tally in Bihar.
Devendra Fadnavis,
former Maharashtra
Chief Minister and
Bihar Assembly elec-
tion in-charge lead-
ing a strategy meet in
Bodh Gaya on Sun-
day, said that Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi’s rally will be
telecast through a
digital medium in the
view of COVID-19
pandemic. —ANI
BJP to telecast PM Modi’s
election rallies digitally
Even single vote to JD(U) can spoil
future of Bihar: Chirag targets Nitish
Patna: Lok Janshakti
Party (LJP) President
Chirag Paswan said
that even a single vote
for the Janata Dal
(United) can spoil the
future of the entire
state.
Criticising Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar, the LJP leader
further said, “We can
actually imagine the
upcoming five years
by looking at the Nit-
ish Kumar’s tenure of
the last five years.
We have to take ur-
gent measures to
bring Bihar out of
this state of helpless-
ness. —ANI
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Monday highlighted
that the Central govern-
ment has established a
number of higher edu-
cation institutes, in-
cluding IITs, IIMS, IIITs
and AIIMS across the
country.
“A total of seven new
IIMs have been estab-
lished in the last five to
six years. Before this,
there were only 13 IIMs
in the country. Similar-
ly, for seven decades
only seven All India In-
stitute Of Medical Sci-
ence (AIIMS) were serv-
ing the country. After
the year 2014, more than
double i,e, 15 AIIMS
have been established
in the country or are in
the process of start-
ing,” the Prime Minis-
ter said, while virtually
addressing the cente-
nary convocation of the
University of Mysore.
He said that there were
16 Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs) in the
country till 2014, even
after so many years of
independence.
“In the last 6 years,
on average, a new IIT
has been opened every
year. One of these is
also open in Dharwad,
Karnataka. As of 2014,
there were 9 IIITs in In-
dia. In the subsequent 5
years, 16 Indian Insti-
tutes of Information
Technology (IIITs) have
been established,” he
added.
Prime Minister Modi
further said that a lot of
focus has been put into
the development of in-
frastructure and struc-
tural reforms in higher
education.
“In the last 5-6 years,
we have continuously
tried to help our stu-
dents to go forward in
the 21st century by
changing our education
system. Efforts in high-
er education aimed not
only towards opening
new institutes but also
to ensure governance
reforms and gender, so-
cial participation. At
every level of educa-
tion, gross enrolment
ratio of girls is higher
than boys across the
country. Even in higher
education, and in rela-
tion to technology, the
participation of girls
has increased. NEP will
change the education
setup of the country,”
he said. —ANI
‘Several IIMs, IITs & other
institutes opened in last few yrs’
KAMAL NATH’S ‘ITEM’ REMARK
CM Chouhan, Mishra,
Scindia, observe silent protest
Bhopal/Indore: Mad-
hya Pradesh Chief Min-
ister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan and Home
Minister Narottam
Mishra are observing a
two-hour silent protest
in Bhopal against for-
mer Chief Minister Ka-
mal Nath’s alleged re-
marks, referring to BJP
leader Imarti Devi as an
“item”.
Another BJP leader,
Jyotiraditya Scindia, is
leading a silent protest
in Indore, where sever-
al ministers of the state,
are also present.
The two-hour silent
protest started at 10 am
on Monday.
Earlier on Sunday
also, Chouhan had ex-
pressed his objections
overthechoiceof words
by the Congress leaders
for a “daughter who
served the Congress for
so long”.
“It is an insult not
only to Imarti Devi, but
also to Madhya
Pradesh’s daughters
and sisters. Kamal Nath
is using objectionable
words for a daughter
who served the Con-
gress for so long. It is a
country where Mahab-
harat took place when
Draupadi was disre-
spected. People won’t
tolerate it. Shame on
him,” Chouhan told
ANI, while speaking
about the incident.
On Sunday, former
chief minister Nath
had allegedly referred
to BJP leader Imarti
Devi as an “item”,
sparking a controversy.
“Suresh Raje ji
hamare ummeedvar
hai...yeh uske jaise
nah hai...kya hai uska
naam ... main kya uska
naam lun? ...apko toh
mujhe pehle savdhan
karna chahiye tha
...yeh kya item hai...
(Our candidate is not
like her... what’s her
name? You should have
warned me earlier...
What an item!),” Ka-
mal Nath had said in
Hindi, while the crowd
called out Imarti De-
vi’s name.
Twenty-eight as-
sembly seats will go
to bypolls in Madhya
Pradesh on Novem-
ber 3. —ANI
Kochi: The Kerala High
Court has ordered the
Customs Department
not to arrest the former
Principal Secretary to
Kerala Chief Minister,
M Sivasankar, till Octo-
ber 23, on the day when
it will consider his an-
ticipatory bail applica-
tions in cases registered
by the Customs as well
as by the Enforcement
Directorate (ED).
JusticeAshokMenon,
who heard the plea, also
directed the Customs to
file a counter affidavit
in this case before Octo-
ber 23. Senior Advocate
P Vijayabhanu, who ap-
peared for the former
PrincipalSecretary,sub-
mitted that “He is will-
ing to appear before any
investigating authority
and has also done so in
the past. 600 hours of
travelling for the pur-
pose of investigation
has taken a toll on the
health of M Sivasankar
(IAS). Every attempt is
being made to over-
reach the order passed
by the court in the ED
case. IAS officer being
prosecuted like a com-
mon criminal.”
Counsel who ap-
peared for the Customs,
opposed this plea and
sought time to get in-
structions in the matter.
“He (Sivasankar) is
playing politics, he is
now contradicting
Chief Minister’s state-
ment, as stated by him,”
the Counsel said.
Sivasankar, had today
moved a petition seek-
ing anticipatory bail in
the case registered by
the Customs in relation
to the gold smuggling
case. Earlier, the High
Court had granted him
interim protection from
arrest till October 23 in
the case registered by
the ED. The case, which
is currently being
probed by the ED, Na-
tional Investigation
AgencyandtheCustoms
department, pertains to
the smuggling of gold in
the state through diplo-
matic channels.
The matter had come
to light after 30 kg gold
worth Rs 14.82 crores
smuggled in a consign-
ment camouflaged as
diplomatic baggage was
bustedbytheCustomsin
Thiruvananthapuram
on July 5.—ANI
Kerala HC rejects
state govt’s plea
against airport lease
to Adani group
Thiruvananthapuram:
The Kerala high court
on Monday rejected
the state government’s
plea questioning the
Centre’s decision to
lease out Thiruvanan-
thapuram internation-
al airport to the Adani
Enterprises.
While rejecting plea
of state govt and five
others, the court said it
did not want to inter-
fere with what it called
a policy decision of the
Centre. Bench also ob-
served that government
had participated in bid-
ding earlier & lost & it
was not proper on its
part to question the de-
cision now.—ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
Don’t arrest M Sivasankar till Oct 23: Kerala HC
‘Gandhis
won’t act
against
Kamal Nath’
New Delhi: Smirti
Irani said, “I find
absolutely no justi-
fication that Kamal
Nath ji can give for
using such deroga-
tory word against a
female political ac-
tivist. For the life of
me, I cannot under-
stand why Gandhi
family chooses to be
absolutely silent on
this issue.”—ANI
Srinagar: The ED
questioned National
Conference (NC) presi-
dent and former Chief
Minister of Jammu
and Kashmir Farooq
Abdullah in Srinagar
in connection with his
alleged involvement in
the J-K Cricket Associ-
ation scam.
The questioning is in
connection with alleged
misappropriation of Rs
43 crores when Farooq
Abdullah was the chair-
man of Jammu and
Kashmir Cricket Asso-
ciation. Omar Abdul-
lah, son of Farooq Ab-
dullah said that the Na-
tional Conference (NC)
will be responding to
ED summons.
“The party will be re-
sponding to this ED
summons shortly. This
is nothing less than po-
litical vendetta coming
days after the formation
of the People’s Alliance
for Gupkar Declara-
tion. To set the record
straight no raids are be-
ing conducted at Dr Sa-
hib’s residence,” tweet-
ed Omar Abdullah.
On October 15, Fa-
rooq Abdullah con-
vened an all-party
meeting at his home to
chalk out future course
of action on “Gupkar
Declaration” with re-
gard to the special sta-
tus of J&K which was
revoked by the Centre
last year.—ANI
ED questions Farooq in JKCA scam
POLITICAL
VENDETTA: NC
MAHA: AFTER MURDER OF 4
SIBLINGS, POLICE SUSPECTS RAPE
Mumbai: There is mas-
sive anger in north Maha-
rashtra’s Jalgaon over the
murder and alleged rape
of four young siblings -
two girls aged 13 and 6
years and two boys aged
11 and 8 years old. The
children, who belonged
to a tribal community,
were allegedly hacked
to death with an axe by
unidentified accused, the
police said. Four days
after the incident, the po-
lice are yet to make any
arrests. However, they
have added rape charges
to murder case, based on
circumstantial and sci-
entific evidence, sources
said. “We are verifying
the evidence. Our probe
is progressing well. We
should be able to make
arrests soon,” IG of
Police Pratap Dighavkar
told reporters.
SOME PEOPLE MALIGN POLICE
FOR POLITICAL GAINS, SAYS DIDI
Kolkata: West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee, without taking
names, said that the state
police and the adminis-
tration, despite toiling
hard day in and day out
to overcome crises, were
being maligned by some
people for political gains.
Banerjee, who inaugu-
rated several Durga puja
pandals in Kolkata during
the day, was apparently
referring to BJP lead-
ers, who had said that
the police, in collusion
with the government,
were trying to suppress
evidence i recent cases
of unnatural death of BJP
camp leaders. Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar has
also expressed concern
over the law& order
situation in frequent
tweets, citing incidents of
murder, kidnapping, rape.
HEAVY RAINS LIKELY TO LASH
PARTS OF SOUTH KARNATAKA
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Natural Disaster
Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) predicted heavy
rains likely over south interior Karnataka (SIK),
Malnad and parts of north interior Karnataka re-
gions, and light to moderate rains over coastal re-
gions. In a detailed prediction valid till 8.30 am on
October 20, the KSNDMC said that there will be
widespread light to moderate rains with isolated
heavy to very heavy rains over Ramanagara, Man-
dya, Mysuru, Chikkaballapura, Chamrajanagara,
Tumakuru and Chitradurga districts of SIK like
Kolar, Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural.
‘DON’T INTERFERE’: NADDA’S
TOUGH WARNING FOR MLA
New Delhi: An UP BJP MLA who has been
staunchly defending an aide accused of shooting
dead a man in public in Ballia last week has been
asked by the party chief for an explanation.
Sources say BJP president JP Nadda has also
warned the party’s UP chief over the conduct of
BJP MLA Surendra Singh. The BJP’s notice to
MLA comes four days after his aide, former army
man Dhirendra Singh, allegedly shot a villager
dead during a Panchayat meeting in presence of
officials & police. Dhirendra Singh, missing since
shooting on Thursday, was arrested on Sunday.
PM MODI SPEAK
Shivraj Chouhan along with senior BJP leaders, sits on a silent
protest against Kamal Nath’s remarks, in Bhopal on Monday.
Tejashwi Yadav

INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020
INDIA 06www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CAA to...
work has started and
rules are now being
framed. It (CAA) will be
implemented very soon.
Nadda added.
He exuded confi-
dence that the BJP will
form the next govern-
ment in West Bengal
after the state assembly
polls in 2021 as the peo-
ple of the state are fed
up with the violence
and cut-money culture
of the TMC govern-
ment.
Nadda, who is on a
day-long visit to take
stock of organisational
matters ahead of 2021
assembly elections,
held separate meetings
with BJP leaders of
north Bengal region
and social and religious
groups.
Issue summons...
which owns Republic
TV, and Goswami seek-
ing to quash the FIR
lodged on October 6.
The petition has also
sought a direction to
transfer the case to CBI
to ensure transparent
probe.
The plea said the HC
should restrain police
from taking any coer-
cive action.
Appearing for peti-
tioners, senior counsel
Harish Salve sought the
court to grant Goswami
protection from arrest.
“The police have been
targeting Goswami and
there is apprehension
that he may be arrest-
ed,” Salve said.
Senior counsel Kapil
Sibal, appearing for Ma-
harashtra government
and police, said since
Goswami has not been
named as accused in the
case as of now.
Sibal said till now po-
lice have issued sum-
mons to eight persons
in connection with the
TRP case and ques-
tioned them. —PTI
Chinese soldier...
The soldier, the Indian
Army said, “has been
provided medical assis-
tance including oxygen,
food and warm clothes
to protect him from the
vagaries of extreme al-
titude and harsh climat-
ic conditions”.
The incident comes
as around 50,000 sol-
diers from each side
are stationed in east-
ern Ladakh as part of
the military standoff
that began in early
May. —Agencies
PIL seeking...
against such leaders
and recover suitable
fines for violating the
COVID-19 protocol.
On September 16, the
court had observed,
“The political leaders
of the state are expect-
ed to lead their masses,
not flout rules and regu-
lations prescribed to
combat the pandemic.”
FROM PG 1
POSTING OF 1988 BATCH IAS
OFFICERS THIS MONTH END ?
Posting of a couple of 1988 batch IAS officers as
Secretary in the Government of India is expected
October end. Half a dozen Empanelled IAS officers
of this batch in the GoI are currently waiting in the
wings for posting.
WILL BARUA BE NEW CHIEF
SECRETARY OF ASSAM ?
Jishnu Barua is likely to be appointed new Chief
Secretary of Assam. He is 1988 batch IAS officer.
TWO INDIAN POSTAL SERVICE
OFFICERS QUIT TO JOIN IAS
Two officers of Indian Postal Service, Katta Ravi Teja
and Abhinav Kumar Singh, have resigned from the
service after their selection in Indian Administrative
Service (IAS).
VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER TO
RETIRE THIS MONTH
Vigilance Commissioner in the CVC Sharat Kumar is
retiring on October 28. He is 1979 batch IPS officer
of Haryana cadre.
TENURE OF AJAY KUMAR BHALLA
AS HOME SECRETARY EXTENDED
The tenure of Ajay Kumar Bhalla as Home Secretary,
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has been extended
from November 30, 2020 to August 22, 2021. He is
a 1984 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
DR. TIWARI LIKELY TO RETURN TO
PARENT CADRE
Dr. Brahma Deo Ram Tiwari, serving with the
Uttar Pradesh Government on inter cadre deputa-
tion (ICD), is expected to return to parent cadre in
November this year. He is a 2006 batch IAS officer
of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
TWO MORE ITS OFFICERS GET
EXTENSION
DoT has given extension to two more ITS officers
who are on deutation to different departments.
Accordingly, Anshuman Gupta to continue as DD,
AIIMs, Rishikesh till Oct 5, 2022 while Rajev Sharma
has been given extension till Oct 9 next year. He is
presently Dy Secretary in the MEA.
D S DHESI APPOINTED AS CHIEF
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO CM,
HARYANA
Former Haryana Chief Secretary D S Dhesi, has
been appointed as Chief Principal Secretary to Chief
Minister, Haryana, against a newly created post. He
is a former 1982 batch IAS officer.
PRAVEEN ADHITHYA APPOINTED
PROJECT OFFICER, ITDA
Praveen Adhithya has been appointed as Project Of-
ficer, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA),
Rampachodavaram, Andhra Pradesh. He is an IAS
officer of 2017 batch.
ADDITIONAL CHARGE FOR 3 IFS
OFFICERS IN MOEF & CC
Three IFS officers of the Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) have been
handed over additional charge. Accordingly, Pankaj
Asthana, IGF (NAEB), was given additional charge
of CEO, National Authority, CAMPA, while Ms Bharti,
IGF (SU/IFS), will hold additional charge of IGF (FC)
and MS VL Roul Kullai, DIGF (FP) of DIGF (RT).
MS NIRUPMA CHADHA PROMOTED
TO CHIEF ARCHITECT GRADE IN
CPWD
Ms Nirupma Chadha has been promoted to the
grade of Chief Architect in the Central Public Works
Department.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
‘Centre & state are making efforts to provide relief’
New Delhi: PM Naren-
dra Modi on Monday
expressed his sympa-
thies to flood-affected
families in Karnataka
and assured that Cen-
tral government and
state government are
making efforts to pro-
vide relief.
“There might be re-
strictions due to COV-
ID-19 but enthusiasm
for celebration (of the
festival) is still the
same. Heavy rains have
dampened the spirit of
festivities. I express my
sympathies to affected
families. Centre and
state are making ef-
forts to provide relief,”
PM said. Several parts
of Karnataka have
been severely affected
by incessant rain in the
last week. As per the
Karnataka Disaster
Management Authori-
ty, a total of 20,269 peo-
ple, including 15,078 in
badly hit Kalaburgi,
have been evacuated so
far by the personnel of
the Army, the NDRF
and the SDRF besides
local police and district
authorities.—ANI
PM Modi lauds Mysore Varsity for
its rich edu & future aspirations
New Delhi: Ad-
dressing the cente-
nary convocation of
the University of
Mysore on Monday,
PM asserted that the
institution was an
amalgamation of
the rich education
system of ancient
India and the aspira-
tions of the future.
Addressing the stu-
dents, PM Modi
said, “Now you are
moving from a for-
mal university cam-
pus to big campus of
real life. This will be
such a campus
where, along with
degree, your appli-
cability of knowl-
edge that you have
acquired will work,”
he added. —ANI
India invites Australia to
join Malabar naval exercises
India’s covid
tally breaches
75 lakh mark
New Delhi: Corona-
virus cases in India
crossed75-lakhmark
on Monday as new
cases dropped below
60,000 for the second
time this month. In
the last 24 hours, In-
dia recorded 55,722
new COVID-19 cases
and 579 new deaths
as per the Ministry
of Health data.
Thereare7,72,055ac-
tivecases,recoveries
have surged to
66,63,608 and case fa-
tality rate due COV-
ID-19 stands at 1.52
per cent.
New Delhi: In a signifi-
cant move that comes
amid a Sino-India bor-
der row, India on Mon-
day announced Austral-
ia’s participation in the
upcoming Malabar ex-
ercise along with the US
and Japan, effectively
making it the first mili-
tary-level engagement
between the four mem-
ber nations grouping
the Quad.
The invitation by In-
dia to the Australian
Navy for the exercise
next month came two
weeks after the foreign
ministers of the Quad
held extensive talks in
Tokyo with a focus on
enhancing their coop-
eration in the Indo-Pa-
cific, a region that has
been witnessing in-
creasing Chinese mili-
tary assertiveness.
It also said the par-
ticipants of the exercise
collectively support
free, open and inclusive
Indo-Pacific, remarks
which reflecteda subtle
change in India’s ap-
proach towards the drill
as well as larger mes-
saging. The exercise is
expected to be held in
the Bay of Bengal and
the Arabian Sea.
Australian Defence
Minister Linda Reyn-
olds CSC termed the
participation of her
country as a “milestone
opportunity” and said it
will showcase the “deep
trust” between 4 major
Indo-Pacific democra-
cies, their will to work
together on common se-
curity interests.
By Feb, 50% of Indians may
have had coronavirus: Panel
New Delhi: At least
half of India’s 1.3 bil-
lion people are likely to
have been infected with
the new coronavirus by
next February, helping
slow the spread of the
disease, a member of a
federal government
committee tasked with
providing projections
said on Monday.
India has so far re-
ported 7.55 million cas-
es of the coronavirus
and is second only to
the United States in
terms of total infec-
tions.
But Covid-19 infec-
tions are decreasing in
India after a peak in
mid-September, with
61,390 new cases report-
ed on average each day,
according to a Reuters
tally. “Our mathemati-
cal model estimates
that around 30% of the
population is currently
infected and it could go
up to 50% by February,”
Manindra Agrawal, a
professor at the IIT in
Kanpur and a commit-
tee member, said.
The committee
warned that their pro-
jections would not hold
up if precautions were
not followed, and cases
could spike by up to 2.6
million infections in a
single month.
Twitter team calls
‘technical issue’
on showing J&K
as Chinese area
New Delhi: Microblog-
ging site Twitter on
Monday called it ‘techni-
calissue’,saidthatteams
have worked swiftly to
investigate and resolve
geotag issue, a day after
it landed in a controver-
sy as the location tag in
live broadcast showed
J&K as a part of China.
Themicrobloggingsite’s
lapse was brought to at-
tention by a national se-
curity analyst, Nitin
Gokhale, who went live
from Leh’s popular war
memorial,Hallof Fame.
“Twitter folks, I just did
a live from Hall of Fame,
guess what it is saying
J&K, People’s Republic
of China! Are you guys
nuts?,”Gokhalesaidina
tweet.—ANI
Equity benchmarks
makes a winning
start to the week
Mumbai:Equitybench-
marks made a winning
start to the week on
Monday as banking and
financial counters saw
robust buying amid
largely positive cues
from global markets.
The 30-share BSE
Sensex ended 448.62
points or 1.12 per cent
higher at 40,431.60. The
broader NSE Nifty
surged 110.60 points or
0.94 per cent to finish at
11,873.05.
ICICI Bank was the
top gainer in the Sensex
pack, jumping 5.33 per
cent, followed by Axis
Bank, Nestle India, SBI,
HDFC, IndusInd Bank,
ONGC and Kotak Bank.
On the other hand,
Bajaj Auto, TCS, M&M,
Bharti Airtel and Maru-
ti were among the lag-
gards, shedding up to
2.12 per cent.
In the Sensex pack, 23
constituents logged
gainswhilesevenclosed
in the red. The domestic
market opened on a pos-
itive note tracking
largely positive cues
from global markets,
traders said.—PTI
IN QUAD SNUB TO CHINA
A file photo of the Malabar Exercise in 2015.
Assessing impact of pandemic
on economy: Nirmala Sitharaman
New Delhi: Union Fi-
nance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman on
Monday said that the
Centre has not closed
the option for another
stimulus package and
has started doing
‘some kind of’ assess-
ment on gross domes-
tic product contrac-
tion.
Speaking at the
launch of a book by
NK Singh, Chairper-
son of the 15th Fi-
nance Commission,
the Finance Minister
said, “We have not
closed the option for
another stimulus
package. We have now
started doing some
kind of assessment on
GDP contraction. We
will have to come up
with the assessment,
whether in parlia-
ment or in public.”
Earlier today, Sithara-
man held a VC with
Secretaries of Minis-
try of Petroleum and
Natural Gas, and Min-
istry of Coal, along
with the chairman
and managing direc-
tors of 14 central pub-
lic sector enterprises
belonging to these
Ministries, to review
the capital expendi-
ture in this financial
year. “The meeting is
to accelerate the eco-
nomic growth in the
background of COV-
ID-19 pandemic,” she
added.—ANI
TO MONITOR
Nirmala Sitharaman
PM Narendra Modi greets as he addresses during the convocation
of Mysore University via VC on Monday. — PHOTO BY ANI
Don’t arrest M Sivasankar till
Oct 23, Kerala HC tells Customs
Kochi: The Kerala High
Court has ordered the
Customs Department
not to arrest the former
Principal Secretary to
Kerala Chief Minister,
M Sivasankar, till Octo-
ber 23, on the day when
it will consider his an-
ticipatory bail applica-
tions in cases registered
by the Customs as well
as by the ED.
JusticeAshokMenon,
who heard the plea, also
directed the Customs to
file a counter affidavit
in this case before Octo-
ber 23. Senior Advocate
P Vijayabhanu, who ap-
peared for the former
PrincipalSecretary,sub-
mitted that “He is will-
ing to appear before any
investigating authority
and has also done so in
the past. 600 hours of
travelling for the pur-
pose of investigation
has taken a toll on the
health of M Sivasankar
(IAS). Every attempt is
being made to over-
reach the order passed
by the court in the ED
case. IAS officer being
prosecuted like a com-
mon criminal.”
Counsel who ap-
peared for the Customs,
opposed this plea and
sought time to get in-
structions in the matter.
“He (Sivasankar) is
playing politics, he is
now contradicting
Chief Minister’s state-
ment, as stated by him,”
the Counsel said. —ANI
Kerala HC rejects
state govt’s plea
against airport lease
to Adani group
Thiruvananthapuram:
The Kerala HC on
Monday rejected state
government’s plea
questioning Centre’s
decision to lease out
Thiruvananthapuram
international airport
to the Adani Ent.
While rejecting plea
of state govt and five
others, the court said it
did not want to inter-
fere with what it called
a policy decision of
Centre. —ANI

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020
I
n the absence of
an official analysis of
the impact of the
budget by gender
the National Founda-
tion for Australian
Women has this
morning published
its own gender
analysis of the
budget, across
multiple di-
mensions.
It finds the
government
has invested
heavily in things that
will mainly benefit men,
including apprenticeships and train-
eeships (two-thirds of which are
taken by males), the construction of
physical infrastructure, and tax
breaks for the purchase of assets that
will primarily assist the male-domi-
nated industries of mining and man-
ufacturing. The female-dominated
care sector was largely overlooked,
despite the
Royal Com-
mission into
Aged Care and
the Disability
Royal Commis-
sion highlighting
shortcomings in the
current system.
Childcare workers
were among the first to
lose JobKeeper. The ex-
tra funding inject-
ed into the aged
care following
tragic impacts
of COVID was
insufficient to bring
the sector to a four star quality rat-
ing. The experts believe the budget
is a lost opportunity to maximise
employment growth, to invest in the
(social) infrastructure that will
most boost the economy and to ad-
dress the problems with female-
dominated paid and unpaid work
exposed by COVID-19.
THE CHANGING
SHAPE OF
CHILD
CARE
NEW MODELLING FINDS INVESTING IN CHILDCARE
AND AGED CARE ALMOST PAYS FOR ITSELF
Published with the National
Foundation for Australian
Women’s analysis is new modelling
by the Victoria University Centre
of Policy Studies on government
investment in the care sector.
It examines what would happen
if the government increased fund-
ing enough to boost the wages of
personal and child care workers
and to lift capacity to the point
where it met unmet demand.
More than 900,000 Australians
who provide unpaid care to the el-
derly, disabled, and children aged
under five say they would like more
hours in paid employment.
The modelling finds that
the investment in the care
economy needed to enable each of
these unpaid carers to work an
extra 10 hours a week
in paid employ-
ment has a sig-
nificant eco-
nomic payoff,
increasing
labour supply by 2%.
By 2030 the extra labour supply
would be fully absorbed into em-
ployment. Annual GDP per person
would be $1,270 higher, or more
than $30 billion in aggregate.
Women’s paid employment
would be 3.75% greater than
it would have been if no ac-
tion had been taken. Men’s
employment would be
more than 0.75% above
the no-action base case.
The average incomes
of both women and men
would be higher, al-
though women’s incomes
would be higher by a
greater margin.
CARE BOOSTS EMPLOYMENT
A BOOST WOULD
ALMOST PAY FOR ITSELF
The budgetary cost of
the policy would be
largely offset by increased
economic growth which
would underpin greater
revenue collection from in-
come taxes and the goods
and services tax.
When fully running, the
net cost to the budget would
be less than one fifth of the
direct cost.
Government investment
in physical infrastructure
helps in two ways – it pro-
vides construction jobs and
a useful piece of infrastruc-
ture to support future eco-
nomic activity.
INVESTMENT IN
CARE HELPS IN
THREE WAYS
Itstimulatesjobsand
better conditions in
the care sector, a wor-
thyoutcomeinitself.It
provides economic
stimulus to all sectors
byfreeingpeopleupto
participate in the la-
bour market, an im-
pact that cannot be
achieved by providing
stimulus to other sec-
tors, such as manu-
facturing, for exam-
ple. And it addresses
female economic dis-
advantage by reduc-
ing the wage gap and
changing the circum-
stances that often set
limits on what wom-
en can achieve in
their careers.
THERE’S A NEW BUDGET
AROUND THE CORNER
While the analysis shows
the population on aver-
age would be better off with an
expanded care sector, it says
nothing about how to reform
access to subsidised or govern-
ment-funded care. The system
is complicated, as are the (dis)
incentives to work resulting
from the present tax and charg-
ing arrangements.
However charged for, extra
spending on childcare, aged
care and disability care would
produce an bigger bang for the
buck than most of the extra
spending announced in the
budget, as well as producing
better outcomes for women.
There’s a budget update around
the corner, in December, and a
new budget due in May. If extra
spending is needed, there’s an
opportunity to do it in a way
that would really help and al-
most pay for itself.
SOURCE:THECONVERSATION
CONCEPT:MONISHARMA
DESIGN:CPSHARMA

The man who can balance the
realms of fantasy and reality
can achieve any degree of
success! Dreams to fuel reality and reality
to curb dreams is the perfect combination.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Life was
a veritable abyss for
35-year-old Chetna,
who was on a regular
dialysis thrice a week
for the last 5 years.
And to add to her ago-
ny was frequent
checks to maintain
sugar levels every sin-
gle day due to Type-1
diabetes.
A school teacher from
Morbi district, Chetna
had Type-1 diabetes
since childhood which
led to kidney failure 5
years ago. Since then
she was on external in-
sulin dose and dialysis.
All that became his-
tory after a team of doc-
tors at Institute of Kid-
ney Diseases and Re-
search Centre (IKDRC)
performed dual kidney-
pancreas transplant on
her last month.
The rare dual kid-
ney-pancreas trans-
plant at one go was
performed by Dr Ja-
mal Rizvi and Dr De-
vanshu Patel in a sur-
gery that lasted for 7
hours. Chetna is now
recuperating and may
be ready for discharge
anytime in a fort-
night.
“She is doing ex-
tremely well after the
transplant. Her sugar
levels are maintained
and kidney functions
are normal,” said Dr
Rizvi from Urology De-
partment-IKDRC. He
added the dual kidney-
pancreas transplant
had not only improved
quality of her life but
ensured long term sur-
vival of the transplant-
ed kidney.
Despite a successful
dual transplant, IKDRC
delayed her discharge to
ward off any chances to
pick infection due to
Covid-19 pandemic.
Kidney-pancreas
dual transplant is a rar-
ity in India as it re-
quires young and non-
obese cadaver donor.
IKDRC has performed
only 8 dual transplant
surgeries in the last 3
years since it takes long
to find a perfect cadaver
match.
According to Dr
Rizvi, Type-1 diabetes
aided kidney-pancre-
as malfunction occurs
1 in 10,000 persons.
The prevalence of dia-
betes among trans-
plant patients admit-
ted at IKDRC is
around 20% while pa-
tients with Type-1 dia-
betes are 0.5%.
Marathon dual surgery leads chronic sugar patient to recovery
Doctors at Institute of Kidney Diseases
and Research Centre (IKDRC) perform
dual kidney-pancreas transplant
RARE FEAT
35-year-old Chetna got a new lease of life after her dual transplant
at the IKDRC,Ahmedabad.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan holds meeting with DyCM but asks direct posers to Collectors
Darshan Desai
Gandhinagar: When
a high-profile central
health team, led by
AIIMS Director Ran-
deep Guleria, last vis-
ited Gujarat in mid-
July the State Gov-
ernment was con-
ducting an apologeti-
cally low daily Cov-
id-19 tests -- in 4 digits
-- while several other
States were doing so
in the thousands.
When the team left,
official press releases
claimed they were satis-
fied with Gujarat’s han-
dling of the pandemic
and appreciated it. But,
suddenly, the State Gov-
ernment immediately
stepped up corona test-
ing to an aggressive
level. This, after telling
the Gujarat High Court
that the tests were ac-
cording to the ICMR
guidelines as well as
that more cases could
create a scare among
the population.
And now, 3 months
later, when Gujarat has
over 1.6 lakh positive
cases after increased
testing, Union Health
Minister Dr Harsh Var-
dhan on Monday held a
meeting with Deputy
Chief Minister and
Health Minister Nitinb-
hai Patel not only in the
presence of senior bu-
reaucrats but also the
Collectors of districts
that have shown a spike
in the cases.
He interacted direct-
ly with the district col-
lectors of Ahmedabad,
Gandhinagar, Rajkot,
Vadodara and Surat,
which were the most af-
fected districts. And he
also took stock of the
preventive steps taken
in Junagadh and Jam-
nagar districts, which
have been reporting a
surge in positivity dur-
ing the last few weeks.
He also said, “We
should all be vigilant
during the next 3
months. The Prime
Minister’s message of
wearing a mask/face
cover, maintaining so-
cial distance and fre-
quent handwashing
should reach the last
citizen. Steps should be
taken to monitor their
non-compliance.”
Exactly like the
central team in July,
he also said the State
was doing well,
though tacitly indi-
cating that things
could have been bet-
ter earlier. “From be-
ing one of the top af-
fected States earlier,
Gujarat has made re-
markable strides to
have a recovery rate
of 90.57%. against the
national average of
88.26%. And the num-
ber of tests at 77,785
per million against
the couutry’s 68,901.”
COVID-19: ‘GUJ BETTER, BUT
CAUTION MUST NEXT 3 MONTHS’
BETTER DAYS?
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and MoS (Health) Ashwini Kumar Choubey interacting with
Gujarat DyCM Nitin Patel and State health officials on Monday.
Copsenterhousingcolony,
collectno-masksfine
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Angry
residents in Asarwa
area have dashed off a
complaint to
Ahmedabad Police
Commissioner Sanjay
Srivastava against the
high-handed behav-
iour of policemen who
entered their housing
colonyandstartedask-
ing for fine for not
wearing masks.
In their complaint
moved through Sanjay
Patel of Asarwa Youth
Circle,theresidentsal-
leged that some police-
men, led by ASI SS
Chavda of the Sha-
hibaug Police Station,
enteredthecolonyand
fined people at the
common plot of the so-
ciety for not wearing
masks.
Notonlythis,thepo-
licemen collected Rs
100 from a youth in the
verandah of his home
whowashangingdeco-
rative lights and was
not wearing a mask.
They alleged that one
person was fined Rs
1,000andinbothcases,
they did not give any
receipt.
The complaint to
the Police Commis-
sioneralsogavedetails
like the Shahibaug po-
lice team reached Ma-
haprabhuji Society in
Asarwa in a Bolero
SUV and rudely start-
ed collecting fines.
The Asarwa Youth
Circle said strict im-
plementation of the
mask rule was fine,
but randomly penalis-
ingpeopleintheirown
premises was going a
bit too far. The com-
plaint also wondered
that the police were
turning a blind eye to
illicit liquor sales in
that area, while “har-
assing others.”
Complaint against cops for barging into residential colony and penalising people.
Nigeria blacklists Guj pharma
firm for ‘substandard’ drugs
Gandhinagar Police
seize `7 lakh worth
MDMA drugs
‘BJP’s RMC rule spent Rs
3,888 cr in 5 years for city’
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: National
Agency for Food and
Drug Administration
and Control (NAFDAC),
the drug regulator of
west African country
Nigeria, is learnt to
have blacklisted Guja-
rat-based pharmaceuti-
cal company Mars Rem-
edies for manufacturing
“substandard and falsi-
fied” antibiotic tablets.
In a letter written to
the firm on October 9
with a copy to Dr V.G.
Somani, Drugs Control-
ler General of India
(DCGI), the NAFDAC
said the company manu-
factured “falsified” Cip-
rofloxacin 500mg tab-
lets.
“We wish to formally
bring to your notice the
recent incident of phar-
maceutical products in-
spection violation by
your company with re-
spect to the manufac-
tureof 8batches of falsi-
fied Pinnacle Ciproflox-
acin 500mg film coated
tablets for export to Ni-
geria,” the letter said.
Ciprofloxacin is a
common antibiotic and
India is among the
world’s largest export-
ers of antibiotics, while
Nigeriaisthe5thlargest
export importer of
pharma products from
India. The letter says,
“In fulfilment of this
regulatory obligation of
safeguarding the health
of the nation, the agen-
cy has taken a position
of zero tolerance for
substandard and falsi-
fied medicines prepon-
derance in Nigeria.”
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
Gandhinagar Police
on Sunday arrested a
person with Rs 7.47
lakh worth MDMA
drugs. Further inves-
tigations are on as to
the source of the ma-
terial after primary
questioning of the ac-
cused yielded the
name of an
Ahmedabad-based
personasthesupplier.
This was following
a specific intelligence
received by Special
Operation Group
(SOG) of the Gandhi-
nagar Police. While
searchingacarowned
by Rushik Dave on
Sundaynightbetween
G-0andGh-0,theteam
recovered 151 tablets
MDMA drugs weigh-
ing 151 gram.
Dave lives in Sector
2-C in Gandhinagar.
Police seized his 2 cell
phones and the car
used to carry the
drugs. Mobile and car
value stands to be
around Rs. 3.5 lakh.
The informed the
SOG’s Police Sub-In-
spector R B Parmar
that the drug supplier
wasPiyushSalvewho
lives in Ahmedabad’s
Motera area. He
wouldbeproducedbe-
fore a court late Mon-
dayeveningwithaple
for remand.
First India Bureau
Rajkot: The ruling
BJP in the Rajkot Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(RMC) has claimed
that the incidence of
Covid-19 in the city is
much less than
Ahmedabad, Va-
dodara and Surat,
thanks to the efficient
working of the RMC’s
health department.
This was stated by
RMC’s Standing Com-
mittee chairman Uday
Kangad at the last Gen-
eral Board meeting held
on Monday, while givng
a report of its perfor-
mance during the last 5
years. He said Rs
3,888.18 crore spent for
the development work
in Rajkot between 2015
and 2020.
Kangad said, “The
PM and the CM have
given everything that
Congress could not give
to Rajkot in 60 years.
The chief minister has
not only provided what
was asked for, but also
what was not asked for.”
He said 19,933 houses
were given and 12 more
town planning schemes
sanctioned. “In the past
5 years, 7 new villages
have been merged in
the civic limits, but de-
velopment work has not
suffered,” Knagad said,
adding that the water
problem was now his-
tory.
“Every single pen-
ny paid by the citi-
zens has been effi-
ciently utilised” Kan-
gad added.
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
3,646
DEATHS
1,60,722
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
1,760 DEATHS 1,75,226 CASES
DELHI
6,040 DEATHS 3,33,171 CASES
WORLD
11,21,231
DEATHS
4,05,20,685
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
75,93,886
CONFIRMED CASES
1,15,232
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
42,240 DEATHS 16,01,365 CASES
TAMIL NADU
10,694 DEATHS 6,90,936 CASES
KARNATAKA
10,542 DEATHS 7,70,604 CASES
—FILE PHOTO —FILE PHOTO

AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY
OCTOBER 20, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Everyone has their own sense of style as
per the occasion, let’s take a glance at the
B’Town actresses and how they pull off the
traditional and Mod-look effortlessly!
laying ‘dress-up’ is
probably the favour-
ite memory of al-
most every grown-up
woman, and choos-
ing between Indian
and Western outfits
has always been the big-
gest point of confusion.
There are women who
slay equally in both In-
dian and western at-
tires, whereas, there are
a few who can carry
only one of them and
pull it off in the best
way possible.
Talking about the
Bollywood industry,
there are various
versatile actresses,
who have pulled
off the look in both
the attires and a
few of them are
mentioned below.
KANGANA RANAUT:
Starting off with the ‘Queen’
herself, it is safe to say that
may it be an Indian or a West-
ern attire, this woman can
pull off anything that comes
her way. But after seeing her
in movies like ‘Manikarnika’
and ‘Queen’, we would say
that Indian is something that
suits her the most. But not to
forget her outstanding fash-
ion sense in the movie ‘Fash-
ion’- she absolutely nailed it
in western outfits too.
DEEPIKA PADUKONE:
In her debut film ‘Om Shanti
Om’,Deepikahadslayedinthe
Indian attire, as well as west-
ern-thedoublerolehaditsben-
efits of course. But later in the
movies like ‘Ram-Leela’, ‘Bad-
jirao Mastani’ and ‘Padmavat’,
she looked as royal as ever in
Indian outfits. But in movies
like‘Cocktail’,herwesternout-
fits had become a major fash-
ion statement of the year.
PRIYANKACHOPRAJONAS:
Having her feet in both Bolly-
wood and Hollywood indus-
tries,Priyankaisasversatileas
ever, and can rock any look
that comes her way. But
not to forget the fact
that she is going to be
the ‘Desi Girl’ forever.
KAREENA
KAPOOR KHAN:
Bebo, as people call
her, is known for pull-
ing off every look that
is styled on her. May it
be doing her pregnan-
cy, a film promotion or
a film itself, there is
nothing this one can-
not carry.
ALIA BHATT:
Lastbutnottheleast,
thisbubblyoneslays
both the looks ex-
tremelyeffortlessly
and looks adorable
in everything she
wears. But yes,
one has to accept
the fact that she
looks much more
elegant and grace-
ful when she puts
on Indian attire.
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
P
EAST OR WEST

ear PM, we have
tried knocking on
many doors. They
remained shut.
Yours is now the
only one left. I
hope it opens and
you let us in.
Most humans believe
that it’s so easy to be an
animal, to be one of us.
But it isn’t all hunky-dory.
You do not want our life
for it is far from cool. I
hear so from my peers in
other developing coun-
tries too, perhaps because
their government too has
other priorities. But I live
in India and you are my
PM, and I haven’t lost
faith.
Dear PM, no one takes
us seriously. My peers are
attacked every day and
brutally at that. We are
tortured and killed. The
police refuse to file re-
ports of my peers being
abused. We are trafficked
and sold. We are subjected
to innumerable and unim-
aginable brutality. We are
made to entertain your
vote bank at the expense
of our mental and physi-
cal wellbeing. We are
locked down for life.
We are not your vote
bank. But the people
who love us are. We are
not the beneficiaries of
PM Cares, but you can
help us in kind. How about
you show you care by
changing the archaic
laws, followed by proper
implementation, and rec-
ognize our rights official-
ly in your speeches and
through your people in
different states? We can-
not express our pain, but
we are as sentient as you
are. I swear.
On October 1st, one of
my fellow brothers was
beaten to death by farmers
in West Bengal’s Malda
district. His only crime
was trespassing in search
of food. I didn’t realize
that we have to be issued
with passes too? I thought
that was for humans only.
I ask if this was right? I
ask if humans have lost
their minds during the
COVID pandemic? I ask
why the nation does not
rally for our beating
hearts just as they do
when a horrendous crime
like rape takes place? If
you ask me, in my opinion,
both should be tried as
harshly as harsh can be!
I say rape the rapists and
beat the beaters. I say hang
those who hang us, and
slaughter in cold blood
those who slice my
friends. But who
am I to speak?
Many even
c o n s i d e r
us voice-
less. But
we are
n o t .
This let-
ter is
proof of
it.
Just yesterday the lady I
have come to adopt as my
guardian angel during the
lockdown, received a call
about a momma dog and
her pups being poisoned.
She receives such calls
every day. It breaks my
heart to see her cry after
every call. And she is your
vote bank. Does that count?
Dear human PM, please
hear our voices. Feel our
pain. And do something
substantial about it. If you
are unable to come up
with a solution for miti-
gating our suffering, I can
help. In 1960, there was an
act authored by an ac-
claimed dancer and ani-
mal lover, Rukmini Devi
Arundale (God bless her
soul) for the Parliament of
our country. Its main aim
was to prevent the inflic-
tion of unnecessary pain
or suffering on us. She un-
derstood that animals,
similar to human beings,
have the capability of
comprehending physical
and mental pain. It is true
that we can understand
the severity of any physi-
cal or mental harm that is
inflicted on us. This earth
belongs to us as much as it
belongs to you, sir.
But the act is not pre-
venting crimes from hap-
pening. I have no under-
standing of law and poli-
tics. But I bet I know the
reason why. How can a 50
rupees fine deter anyone
from committing a crime?
We are not a favorite and
we become the first line of
attack of any frustration
well just because we are
an easy target for reasons
I have explained above
and crimes against us car-
ry the least severe penalty.
I am aware that you have
more pressing issues like
COVID, but trust me this
is not rocket science. And
we are not party to any po-
litical party. So you can be
assured that what you do
for us won’t upset your
supporters or favour your
opponents.
How about I make you
an offer? You make the
penalty stricter and pre-
ventive, and I guarantee
the votes of animal lovers.
Deal?
I want you to be the PM
that leaves a positive lega-
cy within the animal king-
dom and the people who
endorse it!
Yours Truly,
Jasmine
(I am the pup who survived a hit
and run. Now healing in the home
of Mariam Abuhaideri)
10
ETCAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
MRUNAL PANCHAL, Content Creator
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
If you want any relationship
to grow, you need to talk
more and meet more often.
So do not quit making
efforts half way no matter what. You
feel interested in changing so many
things at home all at once but others
may not be on the same radar. Give
time to your close ones.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You must increasing your
tolerance power when it
comes to your new office
or else you may likely
experience a little more discomfort.
Some of you may go for a new side
business with specific purpose of
more income. You can expect
relatives’ call who will cheer you up.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
If Somebody try to
intentionally target you at
your workplace, just ignore
as karma will reveal this
person’s true self sooner or later. You
do not need to necessarily voice out
your opinions. It would be better for
you to avoid giving any unsolicited
advices. Please be kind.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Don’t be a Jack of all trades
and master of none, too
much work on your platter
may prevent you from doing
justice to all, do one thing at a time and
give your best to it. If you do not find
new ways to promote yourself, your
fame will start to dwindle. Academically
do not leave any stone unturned.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You will be catapulted into
a position of eminence.
You must continue with a
fixed routine and a
balanced diet for a healthy body.
“Ask and you shall receive” , well you
will get what you want or what you
may attract in your life. Your kid will
make you proud on academic front.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Forget about your personal
plans for today as you need
to deal with work related
matters on priority. On
academic front, read everything
without skipping anything at all.
Financially your good times are here
and you will make more money than
you use to. Maintain peace at home.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Your finances will be easily
managed and you need not
worry at all. You can
expect some changes as
far as your office is concerned. It
would be easy for you if you adapt
faster. It may be difficult for you to
spare time to socialize today at home
but you must not be upset.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
If you decide to choose
sides, not only it will bring
more harm but will also
take away those whom you
didn’t support so best thing to do is
to remain neutral. Your boss is
impressed with you and will put your
ideas to implementation. You must
not take little things to your heart.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Enjoy each moment of
your life with you near and
dear ones. You may find
yourself in a big mess if
you don’t stop making fake
promises. You may experience the
burden of domestic chores on due to
lack of any help. Some of you may
choose to renovate your house.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You will accomplish all that
you want just give some
time to it and never lose
hope because its just about
time. You will spend your day
productively during office hours
today. Professionally your capabili-
ties will be put to best use as no one
can beat you.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Covid has injected so
much fear in people’s
heart, don’t let it play with
your mind as there isn’t
much to worry if you are doing your
best to keep safe by taking
precautions . Forgive and forget
about those who have hurt you in the
past. You mustn’t ignore your family.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You will crack a deal that
will change your life
forever. You have become
more calm and tolerant in
life and your opinion towards other
people have really changed a lot. You
may focus on getting short term
profits in professional life. You may
not necessarily get what you want.
An APPEAL
MARIAM ABUHAIDERI
thepersianladki@gmail.com
D

H
ollywood veteran Johnny
Depp has been ordered to
attend a deposition in his
defamation lawsuit in-
volving ex-wife Amber Heard.
Deadline recently reported that
the order states the 57-year-old
actor to “appear for three succes-
sive days in counsel for Defend-
ant’s offices in Virginia …or at
such other place in Northern
Virginia designated by counsel
for Defendant, from November
10-12, 2020, beginning at 10:00
a.m. each day.”
The lawsuit was filed in 2019
by Johnny, who is seeking
damages after Amber wrote
an op-ed for The Washing-
ton Post in which she
claimed to be a victim of do-
mestic violence. —Agency
E
va Mendes recently
opened up about her life
at home with partner
Ryan Gosling and their
two daughters--Esmeralda, 6,
and Amada, 4. “Sometimes it
feels like we are running some
kind of bed-and-breakfast with
very drunk and aggressive
guests,” Eva said with a laugh.
“We really do feel like we are
working in a hotel, and the
guests are angry and bossy and
demand food brought to them.
And by the time they go to sleep,
we’re left to just clean up and
talk about how they’ve treated
us that day,” she added. —Agency
H
ailey Bieber and
Justin Bieber
are as madly in
love with each
other as they were
when they first began
dating. Now, Hailey has
inked her love for the
international singer on
her finger. The model
has gone under the nee-
dle to tattoo a J in the
honour of the Lonely
crooner. The new finger
tattoo was revealed by
tattoo artist Mr K on his
Instagram account a
few hours ago.
—Agency
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020
11
New in the squad
uicide Squad ac-
tress Margot Rob-
bie recently wel-
comed a new pup-
py into her home
and she just
shared the cutest
photo of the little pup! The
30-year-old two-time Oscar-
nominated actress took to
Instagram on Saturday
(October 17) to share a pho-
to of her holding the dog,
who was wrapped in a
white sweater.
Margot captioned the
post with the dog emoji and
the heart emoji. Margot‘s
longtime hairstylist Bryce
Scarlett was one of the first
commenters, leaving a few
heart emojis. Actress Kate
Bosworth also commented,
“OMG.” —Agency
S
AAMIR RESUMES
SHOOTING
TRAILER OUT
A
amir Khan is currently
shooting in Delhi for his much
awaited movie ‘Laal Singh
Chaddha’. It was on Sunday when
Kareena took to her social media
announcing that she has wrapped up
the shooting of the movie. A source
said, “While shooting for some ac-
tion sequences, Aamir khan suffered
a rib injury. However this did not stall
the shoot of the film. The actor just
took stock of his condition and in
no time resumed shoot by popping
some pain killers.” All necessary pre-
cautions and safety measures have
been followed by LSC team to have a
smooth shooting experience. Even in
the past, the actor suffered exertion
due to constant running. —Agency
T
he makers of the much-antic-
ipated film ‘Ludo’ on Monday
dropped an action-packed
trailer of the film, that featured an
ensemble star cast. The interesting
visuals and an impressive cast are
the two things that stand out in Lu-
do’s trailer dropped by Netflix India
on Twitter. The two-minute-forty-
eight-second trailer revolves around
the lives of four people who cross
paths with each other due to some
twist of fate. The trailer is a blend
of visuals - including gunshots, kid-
napping, and a lot of action, which
indicates that something is up with
our protagonists. —ANI
Coming together for
CIRKUS
Sunny turns 64
A
fter the great success of Simmba and
Sooryavanshi, actor Ranveer Singh
and director Rohit Shetty team up
for another project titled ‘Cirkus’.
The shooting will begin next month, that
is, November, and is expected to be released
in Winter 2021, confirmed film critic and
trade analyst Taran Adarsh on Monday.
“Cirkus starts next month in Mumbai... Win-
ter 2021 release,” tweeted Adarsh.
The primary cast of the upcoming film
includes Ranveer Singh, Jacqueline Fernan-
dez, Pooja Hegde and Varun Sharma. —ANI
INKED!
GREAT
Comeback O
n the occasion of
actor and Member
of Parliament
Sunny Deol’s 64th
birthday, his father Dhar-
mendra Deol and brother
Bobby Deol extended
their best wishes to him
on Monday. Taking it to
Twitter, veteran actor
Dharmendra in a tweet
(translated), wrote, “
Love you Jelly, live on.
You are the voice of my
soul.” Whereas brother
Bobby attributed the
‘Ghayal’ actor as father
and a friend. The father-
Son trio has shared the
screen together in movies
like ‘Apne’ and ‘Yamla
Pagla Deewana’. —ANI
Defamation lawsuit update
Margot Robbie
...poster of the film
...poster of the film
Sunny Deol
Eva Mendes
Amber Heard
& Johnny Depp
Team ‘Cirkus’
...her post
Justin & Hailey Bieber
...her post

12AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY BUZZ
C
inema halls have
been closed since
the lockdown was
announced in
March. On Wednesday, the
Centre announced that cin-
emas, multiplexes and the-
atres would be permitted to
open with 50% capacity
from October 15. However,
the State government has
decided to keep recreation-
al public places shut till
October 31 despite Centre’s
nod to open them as part of
the phased resumption of
economic activities under
its Unlock 5 guidelines.
“Swimming pools, Cinema
halls, theatres, multiplex-
es, entertainment parks
and similar places will re-
main closed for activities
till October 31,” the state
guidelines state.
s the global pandemic
continues, people have
moreorlessaccept-
ed the fact that
they have to live
with the corona-
virus, with all
the precautionary meas-
ures,of course.Aseverythingis
slowly getting back to normal,
with a few twists and turns, In-
dia’s biggest Fashion Week by
the Fashion Design Council of
India (FDCI) was organised dig-
itally from 14-18 October.
Talking to the Show Director
Lokesh Sharma, who directed
shows of designers like Neeta
LullaandSamantChauhan,
City First got to know a
few insights on the show.
“Before getting every-
oneonboard,wegotallthe
crew member’s COVID tests
done, just to be sure about eve-
rything we were doing. To be
more cautious, we had allotted
separate makeup kits for all the
models who were walking the
ramp,” said Lokesh. He added,
“Since everything was going
digital, we had the advantage of
taking re-shoots, to make sure
the outcome of the show turns
out to be just perfect.”
Lokesh also stated that one
drawback of going digital was
that no one could connect to the
live audience, and find out their
views about the collection,
which is something that gives
the team a great boost. There
were set-ups made for each de-
signer, according to their de-
signs, to make it look more mag-
ical and appealing.
CINEMA THEATRE OR THREAT?
MITALI DUSAD
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
My submission is that we can return to
normalcy only with certain precautions.
We have started our routine in other walks
of life. Not only the people but even the
owners of the theatres are well aware of
this pandemic and of course, they are
going to take all precautions required for
this. So I feel that reopening theatre is a
well come gesture by the government.
— PROF. SHIVANI D DESAI
It’s good that the state government de-
cided to keep theatres shut for a little
long. Though I and my husband, Pradeep
Khandelwal are fond of watching movies
on big screens in the first week of their
release still we are scared of visiting movie
theatres for a couple of months due to
safety reasons. Also, I have started to enjoy
watching movies with my family at home.
— KAVITA KHANDELWAL
Our prepara-
tions on the
hygiene and
disinfection
front will set
new bench-
marks for any
public prem-
ises, whether
inside the
auditorium or
in our lobbies and F&B coun-
ters. In addition to the govern-
ment’s guidelines, we will keep
PPE kits available for purchases,
which would include a mask, a
pair of gloves and sanitizer.” He
adds, “There will be pedal oper-
ated touch-free hand sanitizers
placed at important locations
across the cinema. Our shows
will be programmed in such a
manner that there are no simul-
taneous entries, intermissions
and exits. We will completely
rely on e-tickets instead of paper
tickets. We are also looking to
innovate with private screenings.
—ALOK TANDON,
CEO - INOX Leisure
DIGITALLY YOURSAccepting the ‘New Normal’, the Fashion Design
Council of India organised a virtual fashion show
recently, and here are a few glimpses of the same!NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
A
DURING THE DAY!
CITY FIRST
V
imukti Girls
School (VGS),
Jaipur distributed
nearly 400 tablets to its
students for free. The tablets
willenablethegirlstocontinue
with their studies, which had
been disrupted by the Covid
pandemic. VGS has made ar-
rangements to equip its stu-
dents with tablets that are
loaded with NCERT’s Diksha
educational app, and other rel-
evant software. The tablets
have been secured with Mo-
bile Device Management
softwareaswell,sostudents
can access only permitted
content.
Vimukti Girls School is
runbyVimuktiSanstha,an
NGO devoted to providing
free education to under-
privileged girls from the
slumsof Jaipur.Starting
with 20 students in 2004,
it now serves over 600 stu-
dents. “We are thankful to
Edu-Girlsof theUSA,whohave
been our major supporter over
thepastseveralyears.Weshare
a common vision of seeing our
girls gain financial independ-
ence. This initiative would not
have been possible without the
support of Edu-Girls,” said
Lavalina Sogani, founder of
Vimukti Sanstha.
EDUCATION TO
UNDERPRIVILEGED
CITY FIRST
T
he election of the
Shooting Ball Fed-
eration (SBF) of
India was suc-
cessfully held at Hotel
Fortune Plaza Ghazi-
abad, Uttar Pradesh, unop-
posed by President Anjul Ag-
garwal; General Secretary,
Ravindra Singh Tomar;
Treasurer JP Kadayan and
Technical Chairman Rafiq
Mohammad.
In the election, Rajasthan
Shooting Ball Association got
two posts in which Rafiq Mo-
hammed was appointed as the
Technical Chairman, OP
Machra as Executive Member.
OP Machra is the General Sec-
retary of Rajasthan Shooting
Ball Association. The
elections were held in
the presence of two for-
mer judges, RK Singh
and NK Modi. An observ-
er of Asian Shooting ball
Federation, Dharmapal Singh
was also present. Representa-
tives of 24 states of SBF of
India participated in this elec-
tion. Officials and players of
Rajasthan Shooting Ball As-
sociation have expressed hap-
piness over the appointment
of OP Machra from Rajasthan
as an executive member.
IAS Dr Ravikumar Supyar
and IAS Shilpa Singh
celebrated their birthdays
on 19 October, Monday.
We wish them all the best!
RAJ: Congress Youth leader Sagar Sharma visited the Gram Panchayats of Kushayta, Baad
ka jhoopda, & gram panchayat Sadariin in Kekri assembly area to congratulate the newly
elected panchs and sarpanchs. He has been visiting the gram panchayats across and also
spreading the message of safety in Corona times.
Sanjay Dutt was being
treated in Mumbai
hospital for cancer
past few months.
On Monday evening,
Sanjay Dutt’s close
friend Raj Bansal
posted a picture of
Dutt on Facebook and
wrote, “So happy for
you my friend, Sanju is
finally cancer-free.”
GUJ: Garba enthusiastic women were seen in traditional attire, playing Garba inside their
home on the third day of nine-day long Navratri Festival near Bilkeshwar Mahadev road in
Ahmedabad on Monday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
RAJ: A
Navratri
special
photoshoot
was organised
at the
Destination
of Pictures in
Vaishali Nagar,
Jaipur, where
model Bidya
Shukla, Anoop
Choudhary
and Himanshu
Kumawat
shared
that shoot
focused on
the traditional
theme.
HAPPY B’DAY!
ELECTION TIME
Lokesh Sharma

First india ahmedabad edition-20 october 2020

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