First india ahmedabad edition-25 february 2021

RECHRISTENING FACES BACKLASH FROM GUJ LEADERS
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The re-
naming of the newly
renovated Sardar Patel
Stadium (fondly known
as Motera Stadium) to
NarendraModiStadium
was opposed by political
leaders and citizens
from across the state on
Wednesday
.
Addressing the media
present at the inaugura-
tion ceremony
, Union
Home Minister Shah de-
clared that the stadium
had been renamed the
Narendra Modi Stadi-
um. The bhoomi pujan
(groundbreaking cere-
mony) of Sardar Vallab-
hbhai Patel Sports En-
clavewasalsoheldalong
with the inaugural cere-
mony of the stadium.
The event was attended
byUnionHomeMinister
AmitShah,UnionSports
Minister Kiren Rijiju,
Gujarat governor Dev-
vrat Acharya, Board of
Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) Secretary
Jay Shah, Deputy Chief
Minister Nitin Patel,
Chief Secretary Anil
Mukim, Minister of
State for Home
Pardipsinh Jadeja,
amongotherdignitaries.
Several state leaders
have openly criticized
the decision to rename
the stadium. Expressing
his outrage, Gujarat
Pradesh Congress Com-
mittee (GPCC) president
Amit Chavda stated,
“This is an insult to Gu-
jarat and Gujaratis. The
stadium was named
Sardar Patel Stadium
and removing the name
reflectsthedoublestand-
ards of the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) that
is known to seek votes in
the name of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel.”
Echoingasimilarsen-
timent, Congress work-
ing president and
Patidar Anamat An-
dolan Samiti (PAAS)
movementleaderHardik
Patel also called the re-
naming “an insult to
Sardar Patel.” “The BJP
shouldnotforgetthatthe
nation will give a befit-
ting response to this in-
sult,” he said. Independ-
ent MLA Jignesh Meva-
ni demanded that
Ahmedabad’s Kankaria
ZooberechristenedNar-
endra Zoo.
Interestingly
, Motera
Stadium’s groundbreak-
ing ceremony was con-
ductedbythenPresident
Giani Zail Singh in 1983.
Withineightmonthsand
13 days, construction of
the stadium was com-
pleted and it boasted a
capacityof 54,000specta-
tors.
It was opened for
cricket matches on No-
vember 12, 1983.In order
to make way for a better
structure, the stadium
was demolished in 2016
and was ready in time to
host former US Presi-
dent Donald Trump at
the ‘Kem Chho Trump’
event in February last
year.
With an increased ca-
pacity to house 1,32,000
spectators, the stadium
istoutedtobetheworld’s
largest cricket stadium
and second largest sta-
diumafterNorthKorea’s
RungradoStadium(with
a capacity of 1,50,000).
(L to R) President Ram Nath Kovind (centre) inaugurating the Narendra Modi Stadium as (right)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Savita Kovind (left) look on. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 91
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR,
AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
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11°C - 26°C
PREZ KOVIND
INAUGURATES
WORLD’S
LARGEST
CRICKET
STADIUM IN
AHMEDABAD
Ahmedabad: President
Ram Nath Kovind on
Wednesday inaugurated
the world’s largest crick-
et arena -- the refur-
bished Sardar Patel Sta-
dium in Motera -- a state-
of-the-art facility which
can accommodate an
awe-inspiring 1.32 lakh
spectators.
The President inaugu-
rated the stadium in the
presence of Home Min-
ister Amit Shah and
Sports Minister Kiren
Rijiju among a host of
other dignitaries. It
opens with the third
Test between India and
England, a day-night
game from Wednesday,
and will also host the
fourth and final game of
the series from March 4.
Spread over 63 acres,
the stadium has been
built at an estimated
cost of Rs 800 crore and
with a seating capacity
for 1,32,000 spectators, it
has surpassed the hal-
lowed Melbourne Crick-
et Ground which can ac-
commodate 90,000.
“The total area is
equivalent to 32 Olympic
size soccer fields put to-
gether,” stated a note
from the Press Informa-
tion Bureau giving spe-
cifics of the enormous
structure.
The facility, which
was closed for renova-
tion in 2015, was witness
to some major mile-
stones in Indian cricket
in its previous avatar.
These included Sunil
Gavaskar reaching the
10,000 runs mark in Test
cricket against Pakistan
in 1987 and Kapil Dev
claiming his 432nd Test
wicket to become the
highest wicket-taker in
the world in 1994, sur-
passing Sir Richard
Hadlee. Australian ar-
chitect firm Populous,
which designed the Mel-
bourne Cricket Stadium
among others, is the ar-
chitect of the new sta-
dium. Turn to P6
Ahmedabad: Indian
spinners shot England
out for just 112 inside
two sessions with
Ravichandran Ashwin
and Axar Patel sharing
the spoils after pacer
Ishant Sharma opened
the floodgates in his
milestone 100th match
on the opening day of
the day-night third Test
here on Wednesday.
England were all out
for 112 in 48.4 overs in
the second session on
a spin-friendly Motera
pitch with Patel (21.4-
6-38-6) grabbing his
second five-for in his
second Test while Ash-
win (16-6-26-3) took
three. At Stumps, India
were 99/3. Ishant, only
the second Indian fast
bowler after Kapil Dev
to play in 100 Tests,
fittingly took India’s
first wicket in the third
over as he dismissed
opener Dominic Sibley
for nought. Thereafter,
it was all Ashwin and
Patel show as the duo
bamboozled the Eng-
land batsmen to com-
plete the submission,
except for the other
opener Zak Crawley,
who hit a half-century.
MOTERA STADIUM RENAMED AFTER PM MODI
Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with President of India
Ram Nath Kovind and BCCI secretary Jay Shah presents Ishant
Sharma his 100th Test cap, before the start of the 3rd cricket test
match between India and England, at Narendra Modi Stadium in
Ahmedabad on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
SPINNERS SEND ENG
PACKING FOR 112
NSE glitch: Sensex ends 1030 pts up
in extended trade, Nifty at 14,982
Mumbai: India’s larg-
est stock exchange, the
National Stock Ex-
change (NSE), abruptly
shut its cash and deriv-
atives segment, follow-
ing a glitch which froze
stock prices, triggering
panic among investors.
Trading was halted at
11:40 am and resumed
only at 3:30 pm. The
glitch, which came a
day ahead of the month-
ly F&O expiry for the
February series, caused
massive volatility dur-
ing the last hour of
trade. The same is ex-
pected to continue on
Thursday as well.
“NSE has multiple tel-
ecom links with two ser-
vice providers to ensure
redundancyandwehave
receivedcommunication
from both the telecom
service providers that
there are issues with
their links due to which
there is an impact on
NSE system. We are
workingonrestoringthe
systems as soon as pos-
sible,” NSE said. Post re-
sumption of trade, both
theSensexandNiftywit-
nessedboutsof volatility
as investors scurried to
square off their posi-
tions, and execute morn-
ing trades. Turn to P6
PM Modi biggest rioter, worse
fate than Trump awaits him: Didi
Sahaganj: West Ben-
gal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee on
Wednesday lambast-
ed Prime Minister
Narendra Modi,
branding him as the
“biggest rioter”, who
will meet a fate “even
worse” than that of
former US President
Donald Trump.
Banerjee, speaking at
a rally at Sahaganj in
Hooghly district from
where the prime minis-
ter had addressed a pub-
lic meeting last week,
also alleged that Modi
and Home Minister
Amit Shah are spread-
ing lies and hatred
throughout the country
.
“He describes the
TMC as a ‘tolabaj’ (ex-
tortionist) party, but
what is he? Narendra
Modi is the biggest
‘dangabaaz’ (rioter), the
biggest ‘dhandabaaz’
(opportunist).
Turn to P6
New Delhi: The second
phase of the coronavi-
rus vaccination drive
will begin March 1,
with priority given to
people over 60 and
those over 45 with co-
morbidities, Union Min-
ister Prakash Javadekar
said on Wednesday
afternoon, adding that
details of what counted
as a comorbidity will
be released by the
Health Ministry. The
shots will be given at
10,000 government-
run centres (where it
will be free of cost) and
20,000 private centres.
Charges for vaccination
at privately-run centres
will be confirmed in a
few days. "Those who
want to get vaccinated
from private hospitals
will have to pay. The
amount they would
need to pay will be
decided by the Health
Ministry within three-
four days as they are
in discussion with the
manufacturers and
hospitals," he added.
Around 27 crore people
are expected to be
covered in the second
phase. Last month
sources said PM Modi
would be vaccinated in
the second phase, as
will all CMs, MPs and
MLAs above 50.
COVID SHOTS FROM MARCH FOR
60+, THOSE 45+ WITH ILLNESSES
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses a public
meeting, at Sahaganj in Hooghly on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021
02
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GUJARAT CONGRESS SET FOR AN
OVERHAUL POST LOCAL BODY POLLS
FIRST INDIA BUREAU
Ahmedabad: After
facing a humiliating
loss in the six munic-
ipal corporation
elections, the Guja-
rat Pradesh Con-
gress Committee
(GPCC) is likely to
receive a complete
overhaul post the
district/taluka pan-
chayat and nagarpa-
lika polls.
According to sourc-
es, as soon as the re-
sults of the local body
elections will be de-
clared, the top state
leadership will resign
from their positions.
Should the party not
fare well in the up-
coming polls, then it
may confirm the exit
of state incharge Ra-
jiv Satav, GPCC presi-
dent Amit Chavda and
leader of opposition
Paresh Dhanani. The
party has already lost
eight seats in the state
legislative assembly
by-elections held last
year. Since then, the
party high command
has not been pleased
with the work of lead-
ers in the state, they
added.
While Chavda and
Dhanani had both ac-
cepted moral respon-
sibility for the by-elec-
tion debacle and ten-
dered their resigna-
tions to the high com-
mand then, they were
not accepted.
If the grapevine is
any indication, the op-
position party is all set
to undergo numerous
changes in its struc-
ture. Party workers are
currently preparing to
crackdown on MLAs
Shailesh Parmar and
Himmatsinh Patel who
were instrumental in
the defeat of senior
and experienced coun-
cillors in the
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC)
election.
Post the announce-
ment of the munici-
pal corporation elec-
tion results, the city
presidents of five cit-
ies resigned from
their posts. In
Ahmedabad, city
Congress president
Shashikant Patel re-
signed after suspend-
ing people working
against the party’s
interests; while in
Rajkot, Congress
president Ashok Dan-
gar also resigned af-
ter admitting defeat.
Surat’s Babubhai
Rayka, Vadodara’s
Prashant Patel and
Bhavnagar’s Prakash
Wagan also vacated
their posts. Jamna-
gar’s Virendrasinh
Temubha Jadeja is
the only city presi-
dent who has not re-
signed.
GPCC prez Amit Chavda (R) and Cong leader Gyasuddin Shaikh campaigning in Dariyapur ward of AMC —FILE PHOTO
Dismal performance in the municipal corporation elections has prompted the move from party high command
Arvind Kejriwal in cahoots with the BJP?
First India Bureau
Surat/Ahmedabad:
Following the re-
sults of the munici-
pal corporation
elections, Delhi
Chief Minister and
Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) chief Arvind
Kejriwal thanked
the voters of Guja-
rat and promised to
work for the people.
The AAP leader
proudly copped to
defeating 27 Con-
gress candidates in
the Surat Munici-
pal Corporation
(SMC) polls but
tactfully, avoided
commenting on
trouncing Bharati-
ya Janata Party
(BJP) contenders.
This begs the ques-
tion, why did Kejriwal
shy away from talking
about the BJP?
Political analyst
Prashant Gadhvi
strongly believes
that the reason for
this is that AAP is
the ‘B’ team of the
BJP
. The party was
created to replace
Congress on the op-
position bench, so
none of the AAP
leaders, including
Kejriwal, could criti-
cize BJP or their
leaders, he said.
According to Gad-
hvi’s assessment, the
think tanks behind
the BJP and AAP
have worked out a
strategy under which
the BJP will be the
ruling party while
AAP will play the role
of a ‘soft’ opposition
bench. He believes
that the political par-
ties may have collud-
ed together to harm
the existence of the
Congress party.
Citing the exam-
ples of Surat and
Rajkot polls to jus-
tify his assessment,
Gohil says that AAP
concentrated on Su-
rat, especially in
the Patidar-domi-
nated areas, where
Congress did well
in the previous elec-
tion. The Kejriwal-
led party also per-
formed well in Ra-
jkot, where Con-
gress gave BJP a
tough fight in the
2015 elections.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
Political
analyst
Prashant
Gadhvi
maintains
that the AAP
chief
strategically
avoids
commenting
on the BJP
‘Nobody will be
spared in Delkar
suicide case’
First India Bureau
Dadra & Nagar Have-
li/ Mumbai: Maha-
rashtra Minister of
Home Affairs Anil
Deshmukh on
Wednesday assured
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
citizens and late MP
Mohan Delkar’s sup-
porters that a fair in-
vestigation will be
launched into his sui-
cide.
Talking to Delkar’s
supporters in a virtual
meeting, Deshmukh
said, “No MP will ever
commit suicide because
of pressure or any kind
of harassment. But,
Delkar mentioned ad-
ministrator Praful Pa-
tel in his suicide note
and there may be a pos-
sibility that he may
have taken the extreme
step due to political
pressure.”
He added, “In his
note, Delkar also stat-
ed that he was com-
mitting suicide in Ma-
harashtra because he
is hopeful that the
Maharashtra govern-
ment will get him jus-
tice.”
The home affairs
minister promised
Delkar’s supporters
that police will look
into all aspects of the
case and that all those
responsible will be held
accountable.
Dadra & Nagar Have-
li MP Mohan Delkar
committed suicide in
the wee hours of Mon-
day, leaving behind a 15-
page suicide note. His
body was found in a ho-
tel room near Marine
Drive in Mumbai.
Anil Deshmukh
Maha Minister of Home Affairs
Anil Deshmukh assures fair
investigation; reveals Praful Patel’s
name was mentioned in final note
First India Bureau
Surat: Continuing its
winning streak in
the Surat Municipal
Corporation (SMC),
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) won 93
out of 120 seats in
the municipal corpo-
ration election. Ap-
plauding the efforts
put in by the work-
ers, state unit presi-
dent CR Patil on
Wednesday urged the
winning candidates
to work for the peo-
ple and not become
‘masters’.
Addressing a gather-
ing of party workers in
Surat on Wednesday,
Patil stated, “The entry
of the Aam Aadmi Par-
ty (AAP) in Surat is not
in people’s interest.
However, I would like to
extend my congratula-
tions to the winners and
call upon them to get
back to work like spi-
ders.”
He added, “There is
no blame game to be
played. All elected rep-
resentative must re-
sume their duties im-
mediately and the party
must not receive com-
plaints that councillors
are not approachable. If
such a complaint is re-
ceived, then appropri-
ate action will be taken.
I urge all councillors to
focus on solving prob-
lems instead of becom-
ing corporators or ‘mas-
ters’. If there is some-
thing that you do not
understand, seek the
guidance of senior lead-
ers.”
Patil also implored
female corporators to
work to the best of their
abilities. Comforting
losing candidates Lalit
Vekaria and Babu
Jirawala, he told them
not to consider them-
selves defeated. Lastly,
he thanked the people
for the historic win reg-
istered by the party
.
Patil urges new councillors to work with people
NEW ERA
BJP state unit prez addressed
party workers at a gathering
in Surat on Wednesday
CR Patil at the event in Surat on Wednesday.

GUJARAT
03
SUMULdirectordemands
GSTcutonice-cream&ghee
Man beat up for requesting payment
at pay-and-use toilet in Ahmedabad
Steep rise in nCoV continues; 380 cases,
1 death as state screens Maha visitors
First India Bureau
Surat: The director
of Surat District Co-
operative Milk Pro-
ducers’ Union Ltd
(SUMUL Dairy) has
written a letter to the
Union Ministry of Fi-
nance calling for a
reduction in the
Goods and Services
Tax (GST) rate on ice-
cream and ghee (clar-
ified butter). Jayesh
Patel Delad has de-
manded that the GST
on ice-cream be re-
vised to 5% from the
prevailing 18% and
the rate on ghee to be
decreased to 5% from
the current rate of
12%.
Speaking of the chal-
lenges faced by the
dairy co-operatives, he
said, “The co-operative
structure of dairies in
Gujarat is very active
and strong. There are
more than 15 lakh
women involved in the
animal husbandry
business across the
state. According to re-
ports, when the lock-
down was announced
last year, co-operative
dairies in the state had
suffered the brunt of
losses in the dairy in-
dustry. A high tax rate
has also affected the
income of these co-op-
eratives.”
The director also
suggested to the Min-
istry that ice-cream
and ghee must not be
classified as luxury
products. He further
said that a quick in-
tervention by the
Centre would be
needed in order to
prevent women from
leaving the animal
husbandry industry
in the state due to the
economic losses
caused by the COV-
ID-19 pandemic.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In a ter-
rible act of violence, a
35-year-old man was al-
legedly beaten up by an
unidentified person af-
ter he asked him to
make the requisite pay-
ment after using a pay-
and-use toilet, police
officials said. The inci-
dent took place at a pub-
lic toilet facility in Vas-
trapur on Wednesday
.
When the accused
was asked to pay Rs2
for the public toilet, he
got into a verbal alter-
cation with the man-
ager of the facility. Ac-
cording to the police,
half-an-hour later, two
other accomplices
reached the spot and
proceeded to thrash the
man. The victim suf-
fered injuries on his
lips and also reported
to have broken several
of his teeth.
The victim, who is
from Bihar, has been
working at the facility
since 2011. He was im-
mediately rushed to a
nearby hospital for
treatment. Police
sources say that he was
allegedly beaten with a
stick.
The complainant
claims that the accused
person even threatened
to kill him if he dared
to ask him for money.
The victim called the
police control room and
informed officials
about the incident. Vas-
trapur police have reg-
istered a case and start-
ed an investigation. Till
now, no one has been
arrested in the case, po-
lice sources said.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Over
the past four consecu-
tive days, all cities and
districts in the state had
been reporting cases be-
low the 50 cases mark in
a single day
. But a spike
in cases has been no-
ticed that has resulted
in case numbers closer
to the 100-mark. With
380 cases reported in
the state on Wednesday,
the total tally has risen
to 2,68,147, since March
2020. Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(AMC) witnessed one
death due to the Sars-
CoV-2 virus in the last
24 hours, taking the
death tally to 4,407.
The state also swiftly
imposed scanning of
travellers from Maha-
rashtra, citing the rise
in cases of the neigh-
bouring state. However,
non-adherence to the
Standard Operating
Procedure (SOP) even
in Gujarat may be a
cause for concern as
public gatherings, po-
litical rallies continue
to violate social distanc-
ing or mask protocol.
AMC reported the
highest number of cas-
es across the state at 81.
It was followed by the
Vadodara Municipal
Corporation (VMC) at
70, Surat Municipal
Corporation (57), Ra-
jkot Municipal Corpo-
ration (46) and Va-
dodara district (10),
among others.
On Wednesday, the
number of active cases
stood at 1,869, of which,
33 were on ventilator
support. Also, six dis-
tricts in the state did
not report a single
COVID-19 case in the
last 24 hours.
Petitionershaddemandedthatthecourtquashthenewruleandreinstateoneward,onecorporatornorm
First India Bureau
New Delhi/
Ahmedabad: The Su-
preme Court has dis-
missed the petition
challenging the Gu-
jarat High Court or-
der that had upheld
the state govern-
ment’s notification
of four councillors to
one ward. Petition-
ers’ plea was to rein-
state the one ward,
one councillor prac-
tice as prescribed un-
der the Bombay Pro-
vincial Municipal
Corporations Act,
1949.
Vadodara residents
Samantsinh Parmar,
Dinesh Limbachiya
and Ashvin Solanki
had challenged certain
provisions of the Guja-
rat Provincial Munici-
pal Corporations Act,
1949, the Gujarat Local
Authorities Laws
(Amendment) Act, 2009
and the Bombay Pro-
vincial Municipal Cor-
porations Act, 1949.
In their petition,
they had stated that the
Gujarat state urban de-
velopment depart-
ment’s notification had
amended the rule of
one ward, one council-
lor to one ward, four
councillors under the
Gujarat Provincial Mu-
nicipal Corporations
Act. The petitioners’
submission was based
on the reasoning that
the basic norms of the
Bombay Provincial
Municipal Corpora-
tions Act, from which
the Gujarat Provincial
Municipal Corpora-
tions Act is derived,
cannot be changed.
The petition asked that
the court quash the
state’s decision and re-
instate the original
rule of one ward, one
councillor.
After the plea dis-
missal, Congress lead-
er Narendra Rawat told
mediapersons that
they were still await-
ing the hard copy of
the court’s order and
that they will not be
able to share the obser-
vations made by the
apex court while dis-
missing the plea.
The petitioners
had challenged the
Gujarat High Court
order in 2015 and af-
ter primary submis-
sion the apex court
had even stayed the
HC order, but then,
the petition was not
heard for a while. It
only agreed to re-
sume hearing last
year after a second
petition was filed in
the case.
SC dismisses one ward, four
councillors challenge petition
Supreme Court of India —FILE PHOTO
ORIGINAL STATE
Jayesh Patel Delad, SUMUL director
First India Bureau
Surat: The Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)
may have won the ma-
jority in all six munic-
ipal corporations that
went to polls in the
state, but the results
of the Surat Munici-
pal Corporation (SMC)
have managed to cre-
ate ripples on the po-
litical circuit. While
the Congress party did
not manage to grab a
single seat in the SMC
body, the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) emerged
victorious in 27 seats
out of the 120 seats in
the body
. One the win-
ning councillors Payal
Sakharia at 22-years-
old may be the young-
est councillor in the
state.
Elected from SMC’s
ward 16, Payal defeated
her BJP rival by a mar-
gin of 9,669 votes. Hail-
ing from a modest back-
ground, Payal has
worked in Gujarati and
Hindi albums and also
in vernacular regional
films.
The youngest candi-
date nominated by AAP
,
Payal has completed
her high school educa-
tion and lives with her
family in Sakarta Soci-
ety in Puna area of the
city
.
After results were de-
clared on Tuesday, Pay-
al was greeted by fellow
residents with flowers
and sweets when she
reached her residential
society
. Vowing to “do a
good job”, the ward 16
councillor took the
blessings of her family
members to mark the
occasion and credited
her success to them and
the voters.
DIAMOND CITY ELECTS YOUNGEST COUNCILLOR FROM AAP
YOUNG BLOOD
Payal Sakharia, 22, won SMC’s
ward 16 seat by beating out a BJP
opponent by a margin of 9.6K votes
Payal Sakaria, councillor from SMC’s ward 16.
—FILE PHOTO
Post the inauguration ceremony of the Narendra Modi Stadium
in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, President Ram Nath Kovind and
Union Home Minister Amit Shah toured the sports gallery and paid
homage to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel before heading to the ground
for a meet and greet with the India and England cricket teams.The
third Test match between the two teams commenced on the day
as players powered on well into the night.They were cheered on
by enthusiastic spectators who showed up to see the historic pink
ball day/night Test in the newly renovated stadium. —PHOTOS BY
GUJARAT CRICKET ASSOCIATION (GCA) & HANIF SINDHI
MEMORABLE CONFLUENCE OF SPORTS & POLITICS

For we live by faith,
not by sight.
—Corinthians 5:7
Spiritual
SPEAK
Vol 2 Issue No. 91 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
PERSPECTIVE
04
ith a change in market condi-
tions and an expected rise in
yields, earning returns from
long term debt funds would be
a challenge for investors in the
short term. So, a bond investor
shouldn’t expect quick gains in
a constant maturity gilt fund or
staying put in a gilt fund to
achieve short-term goals if the
yields continue to spike.
Why is this shift in an inves-
tor’s portfolio so important
today?
As India reels from the impact
of the Covid-19 crisis, what the
economy really needed from
the government was to spend;
Spend for revival, to bring the
economy right back on track,
and to foster growth. That’s ex-
actly what the Finance Minis-
ter, Nirmala Sitharaman con-
veyed with her budget presen-
tation. The budget for FY 2021-
22 indicated a fiscal deficit of
9.5% for FY21 which would
gradually be brought down at
6.8% of GDP for FY 21-22.
The government aims to
meet this deficit with the help
of a string of operations such
as leasing out of infrastructure
projects related to roads, rail-
ways, and airports, asset mon-
etization, and the sale of other
assets that are owned by them.
Privatization of two public sec-
tor banks, as well as the long-
awaited Initial Public Offering
(IPO) of the Life Insurance Cor-
poration of India (LIC), would
also be taking place in FY 22.
Furthermore, the government
plans to disinvest its holdings
in CONCOR, SAIL, and BPCL.
Along with the above-men-
tioned divestments, the govern-
ment plans to borrow an addi-
tional Rs.80,000 crore from the
market in the financial year.
What is the impact of a high
fiscal deficit?
A fiscal deficit explains how
much the government would
have to borrow funds from the
market to meet its expendi-
tures. This borrowing is done
by issuing and selling bonds.
Borrowing by the government,
however, has a crucial impact
on bond yields.
The impact on short-term
yields is minimum, as they re-
flect the effect of the monetary
policy and as well as cyclical
conditions. For long term
yields, two factors would come
into play. One factor that is
known to all would be inflation.
The second factor would be the
anticipation of higher fiscal
deficits and hence, more debt.
As the government borrow-
ingincreases,bondyieldsgoup.
What does this mean for
debt fund holders?
An increase in bond yields
means a reduction in the prices
of the bonds. This reduction in
the price of the bond would
broadly affect debt fundhold-
ers, as there would be an ero-
sion in the Net Asset Values
(NAVs) of these funds.
Furthermore, this would also
lead to a reduction in wealth for
retail as well as institutional
investors. The higher impact
would be seen on funds that
hold bonds with longer maturi-
ties versus those who hold
short term bonds that are clos-
er to maturity. An increase in
yields would also, in turn, in-
crease the yields for corporate
debt funds as well; they usually
offer yields higher than those
on government securities.
GOVERNMENT STEPS
The government has proposed
to introduce a framework to
buy debt securities that are of
investment-grade to deepen the
corporate bond market. This
would instill further confi-
dence in market participants
as well as increase liquidity in
secondary markets. Such a
move will contribute towards
pushing down yields, further
benefitting debt fund investors.
NEXT STEP FOR
INVESTORS
Investors should think about
considering short-term, ultra-
short, liquid bond funds to
park their money in. Increas-
ing yields combined with the
impact of inflation could lead
to a potential loss of capital.
Debt funds that invest in
shorter maturity securities,
can manage to escape the im-
pact of longer-term deprecia-
tion of yields. They will help
protect investors from the vola-
tility in the market.
However, it is important to
note that a short-term debt
fund is not always a safe instru-
ment to invest in. The classic
case in this category is that of
the various debt funds that
were closed for redemption by
Franklin Templeton due to the
underlying defaults. Therefore,
consulting a SEBI Registered
Investment Adviser is neces-
sary during every investment.
Moreover, if an investor has a
long-term goal (of more than 4-5
years), he/she should continue
investing in constant maturity
gilt funds for risk-free returns.
BUDGET 2021 CAN AFFECT
YOUR DEBT FUND RETURNS:
WHERE TO INVEST?
W
The government
aims to meet this
deficit with the
help of a string of
operations such as
leasing out of
infrastructure
projects related to
roads, railways,
and airports, asset
monetization, and
the sale of other
assets that are
owned by them.
Privatization of
two public sector
banks, as well as
the long-awaited
Initial Public
Offering (IPO) of
the Life Insurance
Corporation of
India (LIC), would
also be taking
place in FY 22.
Furthermore, the
government plans
to disinvest its
holdings in
CONCOR, SAIL,
and BPCL
INVESTORS SHOULD THINK
ABOUT CONSIDERING
SHORT-TERM, ULTRA-
SHORT, LIQUID BOND
FUNDS TO PARK THEIR
MONEY IN. INCREASING
YIELDS COMBINED WITH
THE IMPACT OF INFLATION
COULD LEAD TO A
POTENTIAL LOSS OF
CAPITAL
s the world en-
ters the second
year of the cor-
onavirus pan-
demic, vaccina-
tion has moved front and
center in policymakers’
responses. But while vac-
cines offer the surest way
out of the crisis, countries
are approaching them in
different ways. Some are
racing to vaccinate their
populations, while others
await longer-term efficacy
data before beginning. Still
other countries find them-
selves in a long line to re-
ceive or purchase desper-
ately needed doses.
Many have noted the
rapid rate of Israel’s vac-
cination drive, the ambi-
tion of the United King-
dom, which was the first
country to approve a COV-
ID-19 vaccine for emergen-
cy use, and the stumbles to
get supplies distributed in
the United States and the
European Union. But for
those seeking lessons on
how to protect a population
through vaccination,
there’s another country to
watch: India.
With 1.3 billion people,
and an estimated 11 million
cases of COVID-19 to date,
India faces a seemingly
mammoth vaccination
challenge. But the govern-
ment recently announced a
plan to vaccinate around
300 million people by early
August. And, judging by
the country’s preparations
and actions so far, it may be
well equipped to handle the
task.
That’s because India can
meet the challenges of
scale with massive manu-
facturing capacity
, a strong
public-health infrastruc-
ture with experience in
vaccine delivery, an army
of frontline workers, and
meticulous planning. Add
to that some innovative
digital tracking, and the
results could put the coun-
try in an enviable position
by later this year.
Frontline health work-
ers are central players in
India’s vaccination roll-
out, and the first in line to
receive the shots. The
drive to vaccinate around
30 million frontline and
other health workers be-
gan on January 16, and in
the first 34 days, India
achieved ten million vac-
cinations. The US took 31
days to vaccinate the same
number after it author-
ized vaccines (the rate of
China’s vaccine rollout is
unclear).
After India’s health
workers are vaccinated,
frontline workers and peo-
ple aged over 50 – and
younger people with seri-
ous health conditions –
will be next in line. That’s
a further 260 million peo-
ple that the government
plans to vaccinate in under
seven months.
India has the capacity to
manufacture all its COV-
ID-19 vaccines domestical-
ly. The Serum Institute of
India, the world’s largest
vaccine producer, has
boosted its capacity in or-
der to manufacture one bil-
lion doses of the AstraZen-
eca-Oxford vaccine (known
locally as Covishield),
while Bharat Biotech will
produce the government-
backed Covaxin shot. This
should be enough to vacci-
nate the country’s priority
groups this year. And, be-
cause the vaccines pro-
duced domestically are
priced to be the cheapest in
the world, India has al-
ready supplied vaccines
worth $47 million to 13
countries.
India will rely heavily on
its public-health infra-
structure to scale up its
vaccination drive. Three
thousand COVID-19 vacci-
nation centers have been
established across the
country, along with 27,000
cold chain points to keep
supplies cool en route to
and at their destinations.
About 150,000 staff people
in 700 districts have been
specially trained to admin-
ister the vaccines.
India already runs the
world’s largest public-
health immunization pro-
grams, targeting 27 million
infants and 29 million preg-
nant women each year.
Since a national campaign
to vaccinate children
against measles and rubel-
la began four years ago,
severalstateshaveachieved
coverage rates of over 90%.
The COVID-19 vaccination
push is certainly ambi-
tious, but its scale is not
fundamentally different.
SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE
How India could win its COVID vaccination race
A
Top
TWEET
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
The name of the Sports Complex is
Sardar Patel Sports Enclave. Only
the name of the Cricket Stadium,
within the complex has been named
after Narendra Modi. Ironically, “The
Family” , which never respected
Sardar Patel, even after his death, is
now making hue and cry.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Thank the #Cabinet led by
PM Shri @narendramodi
for approving PLI scheme
pharmaceutical sector for a
period of 2020-21 to 2028-29
to strengthen #MakeInIndia,
promote production of high-value
products and enhance value
addition in exports.
GOVT. TO MONETIZE
ABOUT 100 PSUS
ndia under Prime Minister Modi is
changing and how. The socialist form of
development has long been buried and
mourned. This is the era of privatization
and private enterprises, the new wealth
creators. The Union Budget outlined the roadmap
for giving private companies greater importance in
the government’s pursuit for a high trajectory
growth. The prime minister, who has been batting
for a bigger role for the private sector in economic
development with big-ticket reforms, has repeat-
edlysaidthatthegovernmenthasnobusinessbeing
in business. As part of this thinking, several loss-
making public sector units are on the chopping
block. Partial privatization of the railways shows
how serious the government is about letting the
private sector have a bigger say
. Air India is anoth-
er entity that the government wants to hive off but
has not got a suitable buyer yet. The sale of a couple
of private sector banks is also on the cards.
Addressing a webinar on privatization the prime
minister again stressed that the government was
committed to privatizing all PSUs barring those in
four strategic sectors. He said that sick PSUs were
a burden on the exchequer, which they indeed are.
About 100 assets are intended to be monetized to
raise Rs 2.5 lakh crore which could be used for var-
iousdevelopmentpurposes.Anotherstepwastaken
in that direction when Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharamanannouncedthatprivatebanks“cannow
be equal partners” in the country’s economic devel-
opment. So far there was an embargo on a grant of
government business to private sector banks.
I
IN-DEPTH
MOTERA RENAMED
AFTER PM MODI
efore the start of the third cricket Test
between India and England got off to an
exciting start for India and nearly 50000
spectators, President Ram Nath Kovind
inaugurated the Motera Stadium in
Ahmedabad after naming it as Narendra Modi sta-
dium. Modi, who is credited with conceptualizing
thestadium,wasearlierthepresidentof theGujarat
Cricket Association. The stadium which was earlier
known as Sardar Patel stadium and had a seating
capacity of 49,000 has been transformed into one of
the biggest and the best stadiums in the world with
a seating capacity of more than 100,000. It has state-
of-the-art facilities and complexes for some other
sports as well. President Kovind said that 1,32,000
peoplecansitandwatchcrickethere.HomeMinister
said that another sports complex is to be built in
Naranpura and together with Sardar Patel Sports
Enclave and the Narendra Modi stadium will equip
Ahmedabad to host international events like the
Asian and Commonwealth Games, even Olympics.
As a controversy started brewing over the al-
leged slighting of Sardar Patel after the naming of
Motera, the Centre clarified that only the stadi-
um’s name was changed and the entire sports com-
plex continues to bear Sardar’s name.
Motera Stadium was unofficially opened by for-
mer US President Donald Trump when Modi show-
caseditforthegrand“NamasteTrump”inFebruary
2020. Overwhelmed with the welcome, Trump de-
scribeditas“spectacular”.Themannerinwhichthe
entireprojectwascompletedwithoutanycomplaints
of bribery or favoritism in purchases sets it apart
from similar projects undertaken in New Delhi.
B

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INDIA
05
SASIKALA PAYS TRIBUTES TO
FORMER TN CM J JAYALALITHAA
Chennai: Paying tributes
to state’s former chief
minister J Jayalalithaa
on her birth anniversary,
expelled AIADMK leader
VK Sasikala said that
(AIADMK and AMMK)
should contest elections
together.“As our
Amma (J Jayalalithaa)
wished, our government
(AIADMK) should be
there even after 100
years. For that to
happen, we should
contest elections
together (AIADMK
and AMMK).
I wish for the same. I
will meet the cadres
and people soon,” VK
Sasikala said. Sasikala
paid tribute to former
Tamil Nadu CM J
Jayalalithaa on her birth
anniversary today.
MP DELKAR’S SUICIDE NOTE
WRITTEN ON OFFICIAL PAD
Mumbai: Mumbai
Police have said that
MP Mohan Delkar’s
suicide note was
written on his official
letter pad.Police will be
recording statements
of his family members
in the coming days, the
police said. The body
of Delkar was found
in a hotel in Mumbai
and has been sent for a
postmortem. The lead-
er is survived by his
wife and two children.
The seven-time MP
was born in Dec 1962
in Silvassa in Dadra
and Nagar Haveli.
Delkar, the LS MP from
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
has died, allegedly by
suicide.
V ADM HARI KUMAR TO HEAD
WESTERN COMMAND
New Delhi: In a major
reshuffle in the Indian
Navy, Vice Admiral
R Hari Kumar is the
new chief of force’s
sword arm Western
Command in Mumbai.
He will take over as the
Commander-in-Chief
on March 1 on retire-
ment of incumbent
Ajith Kumar on Feb 28.
Meanwhile, Eastern
Navy chief Vice Admi-
ral Atul Jain has been
shifted to Delhi to head
integrated defence staff
and is being replaced
by Vice Admiral AB
Singh. Rear Admiral V
Srinivas will take over
Advanced Technology
Vessel project and IG
Nuclear Safety.
2 JEM TERRORISTS ELIMINATED IN
ONGOING ENCOUNTER
Anantnag: Two terror-
ists belonging to the
Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JEM) terror outfit have
been killed in an ongoing
encounter in Anantnag,
Vijay Kumar, Inspector
General of Police, Kash-
mir Zone said on Wednes-
day. “Two terrorists of
JeM killed during Sriguf-
wara forest, Anantnag en-
counter. Search operation
underway,” Kumar told
ANI. Earlier today, Jammu
and Kashmir Police said
that four unidentified
terrorists have been killed
in an ongoing encounter
in Anantnag, but later
rectified the number to
two. On February 19, two
policemen were killed
in a terrorist attack in
Srinagar’s Baghat area of
Barzulla.
Kollam: Congress lead-
er Rahul Gandhi on
Wednesday turned sea-
farer and pulled the net
with local fisherman in
high sea here to get a
taste of their life.
In an emotional talk
with thousands of fish-
erfolk, including wom-
en gathered at the
Thangassery beach in
this southern coastal
district, the Nehru sci-
on said he admired and
respected what the fish-
ermen do.
“I understand and re-
spect what you do. I ad-
mire what you are do-
ing. Many times, we eat
the fish but we will not
understand the hard
work behind and how it
reached our plate,”
Gandhi said.
Earlier, the Wayanad
MP ventured into sea
with some fishermen in
their boat from Vadi
beach here by 4.30 am
and spent nearly an
hour with them before
reaching the venue of
interaction.
The Wayanad MP
also cast the net with
them but could only
catch one squid.
Clad in blue t-shirt
and khaki trousers, the
Congress leader could
be seen waving hands to
the onlookers from the
boat while reaching
back to the shores.
Addressing the fish-
ermen as “brothers”
throughout his talk, he
said he wanted to get a
sense of what many of
them go through every
day
. “I went to sea early
in the morning with my
brothers. From the mo-
ment the boat left the
shore and till the mo-
ment it reached back
the shore, every force
was trying to fight my
brothers,” he said.
Sharing his experi-
ence of sailing with the
fishermen, Gandhi said
they take the entire
risk.
“They put their en-
tire labour and fight the
sea. They buy the net
and somebody else gets
the profit,” he said.
They threw the net
and pulled it back out
and there was one squid
in it, he said.
“So the whole invest-
ment that was put into
the boat, into the jour-
ney, the petrol within
one minute, we saw
there was no return.
In my mind, I was
expecting a net full of
fish and the net came
back empty,” Gandhi
added.
I admire what you do: Rahul
tells fishermen of Kerala
Wayanad MP ventures into sea with some fishermen in their boat; spends an hr
New Delhi/Thiru-
vananthapuram: Sen-
ior BJP leaders, includ-
ing party chief JP Na-
dda and External Af-
fairs Minister S Jais-
hankar, lashed out at
Rahul Gandhi on Tues-
day night, accusing the
Congress MP of disre-
specting north Indians,
and seeking to “divide
and rule”, during an
election rally in Kera-
la’s Thiruvanan-
thapuram. Gandhi, who
is in the southern state
to campaign ahead of
Assembly polls due in a
few weeks, had said:
“For first 15 years I was
a MP in the north. So I
had got used to a differ-
ent type of politics.
Coming to Kerala was
very refreshing as sud-
denly I found that peo-
ple are interested in is-
sues... and not just su-
perficially, but going
into details. “And re-
cently I was telling stu-
dents that I enjoy Kera-
la and Wayanad. Its is
not just affection but it
is the way you do your
politics. There is intel-
ligence with which you
do your politics,” he
added.However, the BJP
was quick to hit back at
his remarks, with some
of its leaders criticising
Mr Gandhi for trying to
“divide” the country”.
The man who
ran to Kerala:
BJP hits out
at Rahul
New Delhi: Asserting
that nobody wants an
unsettled border, the
Chief of Army Staff
(COAS), General MM
Naravane on Wednes-
day said relationship
with China would de-
velop along the path as
per India’s wishes.
“Whatever we did as
a government, as a na-
tion has shown that re-
solve that we have in
maintaining our inter-
est foremost. I think
with this Whole-of-Gov-
ernment approach, our
relations with China
would develop along the
path that we wish to de-
velop,” Naravane said at
a virtual conference.
‘Relations
with China to
develop as
India wishes’
United Nations: In-
dia on Tuesday said
that the idea of a cli-
mate action should
not be to move the
goal post to 2050 and
countries must fulfil
their pre-2020 com-
mitments, calling on
the global community
to view climate
change as a “wakeup
call” to strengthen
multilateralism and
seek equitable
solutions.
Minister for Envi-
ronment, Forests and
Climate Change
Prakash Javadekar,
addressing the UN
Security Council’s
open debate on ‘Main-
tenance of interna-
tional peace and secu-
rity: Addressing cli-
mate-related risks to
international peace
and security’’ said the
delivery on the com-
mitment by developed
countries to jointly
mobilise USD 100 bil-
lion per year by 2020
in support of climate
action in developing
countries has been
elusive.
“The idea of cli-
mate action should
not be to move the cli-
mate ambition goal
post to 2050. It is im-
portant for countries
to fulfil their pre-2020
commitments. Cli-
mate Action needs to
go hand-in-hand with
the framework for fi-
nancial, technical and
capacity building sup-
port to countries that
need it,” he said.
The year 2050 is
when nations have
been called on to
achieve net zero CO2
emissions. Emissions
must fall by half by
2030 and reach net-ze-
ro emissions no later
than 2050 to reach the
1.5 Celsius goal of the
Paris agreement.
He said as nations
prepare to meet for
the 26th UN Climate
Change Conference of
the Parties (COP26) in
Glasgow in Novem-
ber, there is a “signifi-
cant opportunity” for
countries to integrate
low-carbon develop-
ment in their COV-
ID-19 rescue and re-
covery measures and
long-term mitigation
strategies that are
scheduled to be an-
nounced at the sum-
mit, which will bring
parties together to ac-
celerate action to-
wards the goals of the
Paris Agreement and
the UN Framework
Convention on Cli-
mate Change.
“Let us then make
the transition to a
more climate-friendly
lifestyle by adapting
to a low carbon-devel-
opment pathway
based on our needs.
Let us view climate
change as a wakeup
call and an opportu-
nity to strengthen
multilateralism and
seek equitable and in-
clusive solutions to
leave a greener world
for our future,” he
said. —PTI
Countries must fulfill
climate commitments:
India at UNSC debate
Javadekar addressing the UN Security Council’s open debate.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi catches fish with fishermen, at Thangassery Beach in Kollam.
WAKEUP CALL
AFTER RALLY, RAGA VISITS
PROTESTING JOB SEEKERS
RAHUL’S GAFFE MISLEAD
FISHERMEN: GIRIRAJ SINGH
Thiruvananthapuram: Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi, who was in Kerala ahead of the assembly
polls in the state, visited a group of Public Service
Commission rank holders protesting outside the
state secretariat, in an unexpected change of
schedule. Gandhi, during a rally in Thiruvanan-
thapuram, hit out at the Left government in Kerala
and claimed jobs in the state were only available
for the CPI(M) workers. “I want to tell you about
what’s happening in the country and the state. I
want to speak not only to the Congress workers,
but to all. To students who are educated but are
protesting in front of the legislature and wonder-
ing why they are not able to get jobs,” he said.
New Delhi :Slamming Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi for his repeated gaffe of having no
dedicated ministry to deal with the issues of
fishermen, Union Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Minister Giriraj Singh on Wednesday said it is
Wayanad MP’s well-thought strategy to mislead
the people of the country. “He (Rahul Gandhi)
should know that there is a fisheries department
for which an investment of Rs 20,050 cr has been
made by the Centre,” the Minister said.
5statesawardedforeffective
implementationofagrischeme
New Delhi: On the sec-
ond anniversary of the
PM-Kisan scheme on
Wednesday
, Union Agri-
culture Minister Naren-
dra Singh Tomar
awarded the best per-
forming states for ex-
emplary work in imple-
menting the scheme.
For the highest per-
centage of Aadhaar au-
thenticated beneficiar-
ies, Karnataka has
topped the chart with 97
per cent of beneficiar-
ies authenticated under
the scheme. According
to official data, more
than 90 per cent of ben-
eficiaries in Karnataka
are being paid the ben-
efits of the scheme. Ma-
harashtra has received
the award for good per-
formance in physical
verification and griev-
ance redressal. The gov-
ernment’s data shows
that the state has com-
pleted 99 per cent physi-
cal verification and has
redressed 60 per cent of
grievances.
Uttar Pradesh was
awarded for the fastest
implementation of the
scheme in the state.
“Nearly 1.53 crore farm-
ers were registered dur-
ing the period of Decem-
ber 18 to March 19,” read
the government’s data.
As far as North East and
Hilly Terrain states are
concerned, Arunachal
Pradesh became the
state with the highest
percentage of Aadhaar
verification with 98 per
cent of beneficiaries be-
ing verified. Himachal
Pradesh also received
the award for good per-
formance in physical
verification and griev-
ance redressal.
Apart from this, 15
districts from various
states were given
awards for different cat-
egories. —ANI
Narendra Singh Tomar
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: The SC dis-
missed the petition filed
by a UPSC civil services
aspirant seeking an ex-
tra attempt for candi-
dates who appeared for
their last attempt of the
exam in October. The
petitioner had sought
an extra chance for can-
didates who have ex-
hausted their number
of attempts but were
otherwise eligible from
appearing in CSE-2021.
SC no to PIL
on extra UPSC
attempts
2 new judges take oath in Delhi HC
Court asks police to reply on Muluk’s plea
New Delhi: A Delhi
Court on Wednesday
asked Delhi Police to
file a reply on an an-
ticipatory bail plea
moved by Shantanu
Muluk, co-accused in
the ongoing ‘toolkit’
document case related
to the farmers’ protest.
Additional Sessions
Judge Dharmender
Rana deferred the mat-
ter for Thursday after
the public prosecutor
sought adjournment.
The court also noted the
submission of the pub-
lic prosecutor that
Shantanu has interim
protection till February
26. A non-bailable war-
rant was issued against
Shantanu by a Delhi
Court and thereafter, he
had moved the Bombay
High Court. —ANI
New Delhi: Two new
judges took the oath of
office in the Delhi High
Court on Wednesday
.
Chief Justice of Del-
hi High Court, Justice
D N Patel administered
the oath of office to
Justices Jasmeet Singh
and Amit Bansal, who
were appointed as
judges of the Delhi
High Court on Febru-
ary 22 by the Union of
India. The working
strength of the court
has now risen to 31 af-
ter the oath of two new
judges.
President Ram Nath
Kovind, in exercise of
the power conferred by
clause (1) of Article 217
of the Constitution of
India, had appointed
Singh and Bansal as the
judges of the Delhi High
Court from the date
they assume charge. A
notification in this re-
gard was also issued on
February 22. —ANI

INDIA
06
New Delhi: The Centre
has lifted the embargo
on grant of government
business to private
banks, enabling banks
to participate in all de-
velopmental activities.
“Private banks can now
be equal partners in de-
velopment of the Indian
economy
, furthering the
government’s social
sector initiatives and
enhancing customer
convenience,” Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman tweeted.
With the lifting of the
embargo, private banks
will be able to conduct
government-related
banking transactions
such as taxes and other
revenue payment facili-
ties, pension payments
and small savings
schemes. The RBI could
also, in due course, au-
thorize private sector
banks to undertake any
other government busi-
nesses. The Nifty Bank
index surged nearly per
cent to 36,493.80 on the
back of the announce-
ment by the Finance
Minister as the markets
resumed trading re-
sumed post the techni-
cal snag on NSE. Pri-
vate sector banks are in
the limelight, with
HDFC Bank, Axis Bank,
ICICI Bank have surged
4-5%. The BSE Sensex
soared more than 1,050
points as a result.
According to a report
on February 15, the gov-
ernment has filtered
out four state-run banks
- Central Bank of India,
Bank of India, Bank of
Maharashtra, and Indi-
an Overseas Bank for
privatisation. —PTI
Hooghly: India crick-
eter Manoj Tiwary on
Wednesday joined Tri-
namool Congress
(TMC) in the presence
of Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee.
This comes ahead of
the Assembly elections.
Elections for the Legis-
lative Assembly of West
Bengal that comprises
294 seats are set to be
held this year as the
current tenure ends on
May 30. After joining
the party, Mr Tiwary
said Mamata Banerjee
is trying to unite people
together.
“BJP is playing divi-
sive policy and Mamata
Banerjee is trying to
unite people together.
When I play cricket, I
play for the country, not
on the basis of reli-
gion,” he said.
The bio of this Insta-
gram profile reads:
“Politician | AITMC |
Proud Indian | Joy
Bangla!” Mr Tiwary
has represented India
in 12 ODIs, amassing
287 runs which includes
a century and a half-
century
. In the shortest
format of the game, Mr
Tiwary played three
games for India and
scored 15 runs. —ANI
New Delhi: Union
AYUSH Minister Shri-
pad Naik on Wednesday
said there is no concept
of “mixopathy”, as
claimed by a section of
allopathic doctors, and
asserted that ayurvedic
practitioners are also
trained to perform sur-
geries. The idea behind
allowing ayurvedic
practitioners to per-
form medical surgeries
and other functions is
aimed at supporting the
allopathic practice,
Naik told PTI shortly
before his discharge
from the Goa Medical
College and Hospital,
where he was undergo-
ing treatment after an
accident.
To a question on the
Indian Medical Associ-
ation (IMA) opposing
the Centre’s decision to
allow ayurvedic doctors
to perform surgeries,
Naik said there is no
term like “mixopathy”.
“We are introducing
an Indian system of
medicine to support the
practice of allopathy,”
he said, adding that it is
not a competition as
both the medical prac-
tices would compliment
each other. Naik further
said that ayurvedic doc-
tors are educated at par
with allopathic practi-
tioners and they are
even trained to perform
surgeries.
“After completing
their studies, the ayur-
vedic doctors undergo
internship for one year.
They are trained sur-
geons, he said.
Naik said the Indian
system of medicine has
been forwarded to peo-
ple of the country since
centuries and its for-
mula has not changed
since then. Allopathic
doctors in some parts of
the country recently
protested against the
Centre’s decision to al-
low ayurvedic physi-
cians to perform cer-
tain types of surgeries.
The IMA has been op-
posing the Central
Council of Indian Medi-
cine’s decision to allow
ayurvedic doctors to
conduct certain surgi-
cal procedures after
completion of their
three-year post-gradu-
ate course. —PTI
Motera stadium...
It has 11 pitches made of
both red and black soil
and is the only stadium
in the world to have
same soil surfaces for
the main and practice
pitches.
“As children, we used
to dream about the
world’s largest stadium
in India. And now as
sports minister, my hap-
piness knows no bounds
that this has finally hap-
pened,” said Rijiju at
the inaguration.
“It is one of the most
modern sports facilities
in the world,” he added.
Players from both the
India and England
teams, who have been
training here for the
past few days, have ex-
pressed their admira-
tion for what they have
experienced at the are-
na. The ground claims
to have a drainage sys-
tem which will take just
30 minutes from the
time it stops raining to
drain out the water.
Instead of high mast
floodlights, the field of
play has LED lights
fixed along the perime-
ter of the roof provid-
ing shadow-less light -- a
first of its kind arrange-
ment in India.
This is the only crick-
et stadium in the world
to have four dressing
rooms for the players so
that back-to-back games
can be played on the
same day
.
It also has a cricket
academy, indoor prac-
tice pitches, and two
separate practice
grounds with small pa-
vilion area.
The President per-
formed the ground-
breaking ceremony for
a sports complex in the
stadium for disciplines
like football, hockey,
basketball, kabbadi,
boxing, and lawn tennis
among others.
NSE glitch...
The benchmark SP
BSE Sensex zoomed to
day’s high during the
fag-end of the session,
soaring 1,130 points in
the intra-day trade. The
index ended 1,030
points, or 2 per cent,
higher at 50,782 levels.
HDFC Bank, Axis Bank,
ICICI Bank, SBI, and
HDFC, up in the range
of 3 per cent and 5 per
cent, were the top gain-
ers among the 23 stocks
that ended in the green.
On the contrary, Dr
Reddy’s Labs, TCS, Sun
Pharma, Asian Paints
and Power Grid de-
clined between 0.5 per
cent and 1.4 per cent and
closed as top laggards
on the index.
We i g h t a g e - w i s e,
HDFC Bank, Reliance
Industries, HDFC, ICICI
Bank, and Axis Bank
supported the index.
PM Modi biggest...
“You are selling the en-
tire country for crores
of rupees, what is that
for? Cat money or rat
money,” Banerjee said,
referring to the BJP’s
repeated allegations of
‘cut money’ (commis-
sion) against the Trina-
mool Congress.
The TMC boss exuded
confidence that her par-
ty will come back to
power after the assem-
bly elections. “It will be
game on (‘khela hobe’)
in the assembly polls... I
will be the goalkeeper
and you (BJP) will not
be able to score a single
goal. All shots will fly
above the goal post,” Ba-
nerjee said, invoking
the Bengali sentiment
for football, the state’s
most popular sport.
Attacking the BJP,
Banerjee said nothing
can be gained from vio-
lence that is practised
by the party
.
“He (Modi) had gone
to win the elections for
Donald Trump. Every-
one knows what hap-
pened with him. Naren-
dra Modi will meet an
even worse fate, she
said. Trump lost the
2020 US presidential
election to Joe Biden.
The chief minister
also said that women in
the BJP party are not
safe and are “being
made” to stay quiet.
“There are several
women in the BJP who
cannot speak a single
word about what is hap-
pening to them. In our
party, we give proper
respect to women,” she
said.Banerjee con-
demned the recent CBI
interrogation of TMC
MP Abhishek Baner-
jee’s wife in connection
with a coal pilferage
scam, saying it was an
“insult to our women”.
“You are against me
because I protest
against your wrongdo-
ings. You can kill me or
do whatever you feel
like...
but you are insulting
women... getting into
my house and alleging
that a girl who is only
22-23 years of age, a
housewife, is a coal
thief. Don’t you feel
ashamed?” the TMC
boss thundered.
She also accused the
central government of
not allowing her gov-
ernment to acquire sick
factories of Dunlop and
Jessop in 2016, and
claimed that BJP lead-
ers stay at residences of
Dunlop owner Pawan
Ruia, against whom sev-
eral cases are pending.
FROM PG 1
Coronil has been awarded the CoPP
licence as per WHO-GMP: Patanjali
Cricketer Manoj Tiwary joins TMC
ahead of Bengal Assembly Polls
Centre lifts embargo on granting
businesses to private banks: Nirmala
Shripad Naik
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
ManojTiwary said Mamata Banerjee is trying to unite people together.
NEGATIVE REPORT MANDATORY
BEFORE ENTERING DELHI: GOVT
New Delhi: The Delhi
government on
Wednesday made it
mandatory to carry
COVID-19 negative test
reports for people com-
ing from Maharashtra,
Kerala, Chhattisgarh,
Madhya Pradesh and
Punjab in the wake of a
surge in coronavirus
cases in those states.
According to Delhi
Government official
sources, this order will
be in force from mid-
night of February 26 to
noon of March 15.
“Delhi government
took the decision be-
cause in the past one
week, 86 per cent of the
new virus cases have
emerged from these
states.
Nodal officers in
these states will be
asked to verify COV-
ID-19 negative reports
from tests taken up to
72 hours before the
flight, prior to allowing
passengers to leave for
Delhi,” according to the
sources.
A formal order re-
garding this will be is-
sued today. This order
will be applicable to the
passengers coming to
Delhi by flight, train
and bus while the pas-
sengers coming by car
will be excluded.
New Delhi: Coronil
has been awarded the
CoPP licence as per
WHO-GMP. Dr Harsh
Vardhan didn’t endorse
any ayurvedic medi-
cine, neither, did he un-
dermine the modern
medicines, said Achar-
ya Balkrishna, General
Secretary, Patanjali Re-
search Foundation
Trust, Haridwar over
IMA on Coronil.
A press release from
Patanjali Research
Foundation Trust read,
“Patanjali Research
Foundation Trust,
Haridwar is appalled
by the press release is-
sued by the officials of
the Indian Medical As-
sociation, on COR-
ONIL. It is dishearten-
ing to observe the lack
of understanding of
scientific research con-
cepts by such well
trained doctors.”
“In the press confer-
ence held on February
19, 2021, honourable
Health Minister Dr
Harsh Vardhan jee
communicated about
the integration of
Ayurveda with the na-
tional healthcare sys-
tem, which was in-line
with recent initiatives
of WHO, as stated by
Dr Tedros Ghebreye-
sus. —ANI
New Delhi: The
government today
sent high-level
teams to 10 states
and Union Terri-
tories that have
seen a surge in
Covid cases,
warning that
slacking off on
rules and meas-
ures to check in-
fection will esca-
late the crisis,
given the emer-
gence of new vi-
rus strains.
The Health Sec-
retary has also
written to seven
states and Union
Territories on the
recent spurt in vi-
rus cases and has
advised specific
steps.
Three-member
multi-discipli-
nary teams have
been sent to Ma-
harashtra, Kera-
la, Chhattisgarh,
Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat, Punjab,
Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, West Ben-
gal and Jammu
and Kashmir.
Each team is
headed by Joint
Secretary-level of-
ficers in the
Health Ministry.
The states have
been asked to car-
ry out a regular
critical review of
the emerging situ-
ation with offi-
cials of the dis-
tricts concerned.
Bengaluru: Days af-
ter 10 people tested
positive for Covid
in an apartment in
Bengaluru, another
10 residents of SJR
Watermark Apart-
ment in Ambalipura,
Bellandur ward,
were diagnosed.
With this, Bengaluru
city now has three
Covid-19 clusters.
The apartment con-
sists of nine towers
with approximately
504 total flats. Ac-
cording to BBMP
officials, out of the
total, only 470 flats
are occupied.
Centre warns
against laxity
as Covid
cases rise
No ‘mixopathy’,
Ayurvedic doctors
well trained, says
AYUSH minister
Those from Maha, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, MP Punjab have to carry reports
MAHARASHTRA, KERALA, CHHATTISGARH PUNJAB ARE THE MOST AFFECTED STATES
10 RESIDENTS
TEST POSITIVE
Students undergo thermal screening as the school reopens for Classes 3-5 after the Covid-19
pandemic, at Government Model Sanskriti Primary School in Gurugram on Wednesday. —ANI
Union minister Harsh Vardhan with Ramdev at the launch of Patanjali’s
Coronil medicine, in New Delhi on 19 February. —FILE PHOTO

MYANMAR’S
DEMOCRACY
BIODIVERSITY
MYANMAR’S
MYANMAR’S
MILITARY COUP IS A BLOW TO
THE NATION’S STUNNING
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRACY

T
he military take-
over in Myan-
mar this month
is a serious setback for
democratic reform.
But the coup also
threatens to perma-
nently damage the
Southeast Asian na-
tion’s precious envi-
ronment, and harm the
people who rely on it.
Myanmar is re-
nowned as a biodiver-
sity hotspot, and sup-
ports more than 230
globally threatened
species.
But the nation’s nat-
ural resources have
been heavily exploited
in pursuit of econom-
ic growth. In particu-
lar, logging, hunting
and fishing have cre-
ated serious environ-
mental problems.
The transition to ci-
vilian rule in 2011
meant conservation ef-
forts could be de-
ployed. It allowed re-
searchers and practi-
tioners such as our-
selves to work in My-
anmar, from the village
to government level, to
help manage protected
areas. But the coup
means this vital work
may not continue.
NARISSA BAX
Marine Biologist,
University of Tasmania
ZAU LUNN
PhD candidate, University
of New Brunswick
AN
ECOLOGICAL
GEM
Myanmar’s forested val-
leys are home to tigers, el-
ephants and other rare
animals. The country hosts
the largest tiger reserve in
the world and is home to
newly described primates
such as the Myanmar
snub-nosed monkey and
the Popa langur monkey.
The mighty Irrawaddy
River is the nation’s life-
blood. It flows from north
to south, feeding a vast
floodplain that forms the
country’s agricultural
heart.
Myanmar’s coasts, ma-
rine islands, seagrass beds,
coral reefs and mangrove
forests are considered
globally important. Man-
groves, for example, are
nursery grounds for fish
and crabs, protect the coast
from storms and store car-
bon dioxide, helping miti-
gate climate change.
A NATION
PLUNDERED
From the time of inde-
pendence from British
rule in 1948, Myanmar’s
many ethnic groups were
plunged into civil war.
The struggle for control
over natural resources
has been central to these
ongoing armed conflicts.
After the previous mili-
tary coup, Myanmar was
isolated from 1962 until
2011. During this time, the
military and other armed
groups over-exploited nat-
ural resources. Social
welfare was neglected,
meaning vulnerable citi-
zens were forced to fur-
ther exploit natural re-
sources to survive.
According to the World
Bank, between 1990 and
2015 (part of which covers
the period of civilian
rule), Myanmar’s forest
cover declined at an aver-
age rate of 1.2% a year.
Over-fishing meant fish
stocks have declined by as
much as 90% since 1980.
Mass destruction of
mangrove forests along
Myanmar’s coastline in-
creased its vulnerability to
storms. This exacerbated
the damaging effect of Cy-
clone Nargis in 2008, which
killed about 150,000 people
and devastated the nation.
THE BUMPY
ROAD OF
CIVILIAN RULE
Under the civilian rule of
democratic leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, some environ-
mental gains were made.
However they were at the
rudimentary stage and ma-
jor challenges persisted.
For example, the opening
up of Myanmar allowed
bodies such as the United
Nations, the World Bank
and aid organisations to
provide financial and tech-
nical support for commu-
nity development projects.
These projects are vital,
because environmental de-
struction in Myanmar, as in
other developing nations, is
closely linked to poverty
.
The democratic transi-
tion also meant non-gov-
ernment organisations
could establish programs
to document, understand
and support biodiversity
conservation, working in
close collaboration with lo-
cal communities.
These discussions led to
initiatives such as Locally
Managed Marine Protected
Areas. These areas inte-
grated conservation and
sustainable development
and were managed by the
community
.
However systemic social
and political issues in My-
anmar meant such gains
were often undermined.
For example, even under
civilian rule, persistent
corruption in Myanmar’s
fisheries sector meant fish-
ery crime flourished, un-
dermining conservation
efforts.
The Meinmahla Kyun
Wildlife Sanctuary in the
Irrawaddy Delta is another
good example of the com-
plexities involved under
democratic rule. The sanc-
tuary was legally protected
to preserve its significant
mangrove habitats, as well
as crocodiles, fishing cats,
bats, crabs and birds.
But the restrictions were
weakly enforced and at
odds with the needs of lo-
cals to earn a livelihood
from fishing and logging.
To address this, we helped
develop a five-year manage-
ment plan which included
sanctuary patrols and
small-scale income-gener-
ating activities such as hor-
ticulture and eco-tourism.
But without sufficient
resourcing and effective
law enforcement, the plan
was not fully implemented
and unsustainable illegal
activity in the sanctuary
continued.
MUCH WORK
TO BE DONE
Many Myanmar people
want to earn livelihoods
that don’t harm nature. But
achieving this requires
large amounts of funding
that, to date, have not been
made available.
Countries that provided
aid to Myanmar are recon-
sidering their aid programs
in the wake of the coup.
It’s understandable that
the international aid com-
munity wants to distance
itself from the military re-
gime. But it’s important
that development and con-
servation programs con-
tinue to be funded.
The military rulers have
declared a one-year state of
emergency, and it’s unclear
when, or if, Myanmar will
return to civilian rule.
If the coup is defeated,
short-term measures will
be needed. This might in-
volve cash transfers, condi-
tional on sustainable liveli-
hood practices, similar to
those used in disaster re-
lief programs.
In the longer term, fund-
ing for community-based
conservation and scientific
partnerships in Myanmar
should be prioritised.
HOPE FOR
THE FUTURE
Even if Myanmar returns
to a democratic govern-
ment, significant change
would be required before
the nation completes the
transition – one that em-
powers vulnerable people
and protects the environ-
ment they depend on.
Myanmar is clearly at a
troubling crossroads. But
under the right political
conditions, and with ade-
quate international sup-
port, Myanmar could set a
precedent for developing
nations the world over:
showing how a biologically
diverse, resource-rich na-
tion can conserve nature
while providing a liveli-
hood for its people.
Much of Myanmar has been cleared for agriculture. —SHUTTERSTOCK
Myanmar’s vulnerable population needs support to transition to sustainable livelihoods. —SENG MAI/AP The transition to Aung San Suu Kyi’s leadership did not solve Myanmar’s environmental woes. —KYDAP/PL KYODO
SOURCE:
THECONVERSATION.COM
TALKING POINT
07

We think that the world will be
changed by our opinion but it is
only by our actions that we can
change anything
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor, First India
08
2NDFRONT
‘ABDANGALHOGA:Wearen’tCongress,
won’tallowapathytowardsMuslims’
Having opened account in A’bad, AIMIM’s Owaisi asserts ‘sabka vikas’ can’t be lopsided
Darshan Desai
Ahmedabad: Embold-
ened by his All India
Majlis-e-Ittehadul
Muslimeen (AIMIM)
walking away with
eight seats from the
Congress strong-
holds in the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation,
AIMIM chief Asa-
duddin Owaisi has
warned the BJP not
to ignore issues fac-
ing the Muslims.
Facing the charge of
being the BJP’s B-team,
Owaisi was at his ag-
gressive best at elec-
tion rallies in Godhra
and Modasa towns in
central Gujarat, assert-
ing, “If those in power
in AMC think they can
merrily continue to ig-
nore Muslim areas, I
warn them that you
may have been engaged
in a friendly duel with
Congress, but it won’t
happen now.”
“Ab dangal hoga vi-
kas ke liye (there will
be a fight for develop-
ment), we will not toler-
ate this apathy,” Owaisi
thundered, to a huge
applause.
The AIMIM won 8
seats from Jamalpur
and Maktampura
wards, while it has
fielded candidates for
the Godhra and Moda-
sa municipalities,
which are going to the
polls on February 28.
He wondered that the
ruling BJP spoke of
“Sabka saath, sabka vi-
kas” but was practising
a lop-sided develop-
ment model ignoring
the minorities.
Addressing a rally in
Godhra on Tuesday
evening, Owaisi said,
“We all know no devel-
opment work happens
in the Muslim majority
areas in Godhra. On
one side of the railway
line that cuts through
the city is a tale of apa-
thy and on the other
one can see “sabka vi-
kas.”
He demanded to
know why trains like
Garib Rath and Au-
gust Kranti did not
halt at Godhra rail-
way station, while
these trains stopped
at Dahod. “If Godhra
had a large Muslim
population, then
doesn’t it also have
Hindus brothers?
The BJP government
wants Dahod to de-
velop. What kind of
justice is this,” Owai-
si wondered.
‘DOUBLE’ VIGIL!
Taking no chances in the seaplane security, a “Double Security Layer’’ CCTV has been installed on the Sardar Bridge near
the seaplane takeoff site since many people stand on the bridge to have a view of the aircraft. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
High caste men pelt stones at Dalit’s
wedding party for wearing ‘saafa’
First India Bureau
Bayad (North Guja-
rat): A wedding proces-
sion of a Dalit man was
on Tuesday evening at-
tacked by a group of
higher caste men object-
ing to the traditional
headgear worn of some
of the relatives and use
of DJ music system.
Police said a group of
Rajputs pelted stones at
the procession that was
headed for Linch village
near Bayad town.
AnFIRwasregistered
against 9 men of the Ra-
jput community
, inspec-
torRMDamorfromAm-
baliyara police station
said. He said according
to the complaint some
people from Linch alleg-
edly threw stones at the
marriage procession
when it entered the vil-
lage. “The accused ob-
jected to Dalit men and
women in the proces-
sion wearing ‘’saafa’’
(traditional headgear).
They allegedly threw
stones at the procession
and also hurled casteist
slurs,” Damor said.
When the complain-
ant and other family
members tried to reason
with the accused and
urged them to stop the
stone pelting, one of
themallegedlyassaulted
a relative of the bride,
the FIR stated.
“The accused also al-
legedly warned the
groom’s family and oth-
ers to refrain from wear-
ing the traditional head-
gear and playing music
on DJ systems during
the wedding. They also
gave death threats to the
complainant and his
family members,” Da-
mor said.
Guj annual exams for class
9 11 to be held in June
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The Gu-
jarat Education Board
on Wednesday declared
that the annual exams
for standard 9th and
11th for the academic
year 2020-21 will be con-
ducted in June 2021.
The state education
board, in a circular, also
stated that the first term
exams for the academic
year 2020-21 for class 9 to
12 would be conducted
between March 19 to
March 27, 2021.
The annual exams for
standard 9 and 11 will
take place between June
7 to June 15 this year.
The board further said
the question papers for
the first term exams of
class 9 to 12 would be
prepared by schools ac-
cording to the paper
style issued by the
board.
The respective
schools should only in-
clude the syllabus in
question papers for
which the teaching has
been imparted.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: BJP
leader Alpesh Tha-
kor, who went into
hibernation after his
humiliating defeat in
the 2019 assembly by-
elections, has claimed
many Congress MLAs
are keen to join the
BJP
, even as the rul-
ing party has intensi-
fied campaign for the
rural panchayat elec-
tions.
Speaking at a cam-
paign rally in Dehgam,
Thakor, who had quit
the Congress to join the
BJP
, claimed many Con-
gress MLAs are doing
“penance to enable
them to enter the BJP.”
The Congress has al-
ways performed better
in taluka and district
panchayat elections
and so the BJP is pull-
ing out all stops to en-
sure a repeat of its bril-
liant performance in
the 6 municipal corpo-
ration elections.
The BJP won all the
six municipal corpora-
tions of Ahmedabad,
Surat, Vadodara, Ra-
jkot, Jamnagar, and
Bhavnagar. Congress
put up its worst perfor-
mance in the six corpo-
rations.
BJP won 483 of the
575 seats, while Con-
gress won 55, AAP 27,
AIMIM 7, BSP 3, and
one seat went to an
independent. The
AAP and the All-In-
dia Majlis-e-Ittehad-
u l - M u s l i m e e n
(AIMIM) were con-
testing for the first
time in Gujarat and
the former won 27
seats in Surat while
the latter won seven
in Ahmedabad.
The panchayat elec-
tions will be held on
February 28 and the re-
sults would be out on
March 2.
First India Bureau
Surat: After 28 years of
gifting the world with
some incredible elec-
tronic pop music, iconic
duo Daft Punk broke
many hearts by an-
nouncing the group’s
break up. For 2 days
straight, all social me-
dia platforms were
flooded with posts from
saddened fans all across
the globe.
And riding on the
wave of the same, Surat
Police department has
shown a major upgrade
in their meme-game.
While Mumbai Police
usually takes the cake in
capitalising on viral
popular culture trends
to create public-aware-
nessmemes,othershave
also started following
suit.
The latest in this
trend is Surat City Traf-
fic Police department.
As Daft Punk was trend-
ing, they quickly used
the duo to create a pub-
lic traffic safety an-
nouncement on their
Facebook page.
The duo is famous for
their iconic helmets,
which they never re-
move. Their identity
isn’t their face, but their
cyber-punk costumes
andhelmet.Surattraffic
police thought their hel-
met is a great way to re-
mind people of traffic
rules. In a poster featur-
ing the helmet-clad duo,
the department had the
statement: “No more in-
stant Crush Crash”
You don’t need to ‘Get
Lucky’, when you’re
wearing a helmet
#DaftPunk #WearHe-
lmet #SuratCityTraf-
ficPolice #SuratPolice
#GujaratPolice #Safe-
ty” they wrote in the
captions. The oddly flir-
ty and sexual innuendo
“get lucky” was used to
equate the poster with
road safety
.
Surat traffic cops use Daft Punk helmet to create awareness
MEME GAMES
As Daft Punk
was trending,
the traffic cops
quickly used the
duo to create a
public safety
announcement
on their
Facebook page
‘It was tsunami’,
says elated Rupani
over BJP victory
First India Bureau
Rajkot: A day after
his party swept the
municipal corpora-
tion elections, Guja-
rat Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani ad-
dressed a Vijay Utsav
in his hometown to
celebrate the BJP’s
victory in Rajkot Mu-
nicipal Corporation.
Addressing a huge
gathering, he thanked
the people of Rajkot
and Gujarat for it.
“The results are like
a tsunami which has
given a befitting answer
to Congress heavy-
weights. There is no
anti-incumbency in Gu-
jarat,” Rupani said.
“In terms of various
development projects,
what Rajkot has re-
ceived in the past 4
years is just the begin-
ning,” he said, and add-
ed, “Now it is time to
digest the win and be
polite and take addition-
al responsibilities to
make it a modern city
.”
Except for five
years, the BJP has
ruled RMC for the
past 45 years. The BJP
bagged a whopping 68
seats out of the total
72, leaving 4 for the
Congress which had
won 34 seats in 2015.
Many Cong MLAs want to join BJP: Alpesh
AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi was in his elements while campaigning in Godhra.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani
addressing a Vijay Utsav in
Rajkot on Wednesday.
A Dalit’s man wedding procession was attacked for the
participants were wearing “saafas”.
SABKA SAATH?
—FILE PHOTO
BJP leader Alpesh Thakor
—FILE PHOTO

t was an evening full of
glitz and glamour when
the Grand Finale of Glam-
monnMr/Miss/MrsIndia
season 4 took place on
Tuesday in Hotel Clarks
Amer, Jaipur. The mag-
nificent show was organised by
Mann Dua Director of Glammonn.
The show witnessed the captivat-
ing designer collections, flaunted
by various models on the ramp.
Shefali Singh won the title of Miss
India; while Pallavi won the title of
Glammonn Mrs India and Mr
Devrishi won the title of Glam-
monn Mr India.
Jagdeesh Chandra was the Chief
Guest of the event. The Finale wit-
nessedthepresenceof guestof Hon-
our Dr BU Abdullah, KC Bokadia,
Amin Kagzi (MLA), Aman Verma,
Ameeta Nangia, Rishee Miglani,
Amit Jalan, Vijay Golecha among
others.“Theeventaimedtoprovide
a unique platform to all the contest-
ants, to showcase their talent,” said
Mann Dua Director Glammonn.
GLAMOUR-ON
Pink City got its slice of glitz, glamour and fashion on Tuesday
evening, as the Glammonn Mr/Miss/Mrs India hosted the Grand
Finale of its fourth-season at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur!
KARISHMA GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
I
Lokesh Sharma and Mann Dua
Mann Dua with winners and runner-ups
Roshni during the ramp walk. —PHOTOS BY SUMAN SARKAR
Aman Verma, Rishee Miglani and Mann Dua
Lalit Sharma
Sanjay, Kanya and Karan
AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 25, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
CLOCKWISE: Prachi, Sanjana, Shinella and Anupama

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
SHAINA, Model
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You can become concerned
about a recent heavy
expenditure incurred on
something that you just
couldn’t help. lYou may take up some
activity or sport just to keep trim and
slim. Good news may greet you on
the family front as a suitable match is
found for the eligible.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Financially you may need
to be more secure than you
are now. There is a need to
come up with something
original, if you are in a creative field.
You will be motivated to get back into
shape and may even join a gym. On
the academic front, you are likely to
leave your competitors, way behind.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Family will prove to be a
pillar of support for those
facing something
important. You may feel
financially secure, but take a reality
check before arriving at any
conclusion. Only a little effort will be
able to resolve the problems faced by
students on the academic front.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Joining health conscious
people in daily workouts is
likely to keep you fit and
energetic. Someone on the
home front can irritate you and spoil
your mood. You may become
instrumental in getting a property issue
settled amicably. Marriage may be on
the minds of the eligible.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
It is best to take the
opinion of others before
you put in your money. A
household remedy may
come in handy for those suffering
from body aches and pains.
Something that you wanted to get
done on the home front is likely to be
initiated now.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Changes happening on the
professional front can have
you worried, but will turn
out favourable. More interest
is required on the health front. Family
life will cruise along smoothly as you
resolve to remain positive. Steps taken
on the property front are likely to bring
you near your goal.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
A lot of activity is foreseen
on the work front and you
will be right in the midst of
it. Some issues that seem
unlikely to get resolved on the family
front will begin to move towards a
solution. Good options will be found
by those searching for property that
fits their pocket.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Window shopping is all
that you can do in order to
conserve money. You are
likely to swim with the tide
on the professional or academic
front. Indulging in excesses may
prove bad for health. Issue regarding
an ancestral property is likely to be
settled amicably.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You may spend on
something not previously
catered for. You can
struggle to keep pace on
the work front. Condition of those
ailing is set to improve by leaps and
bounds and get them firmly on the
road to good health. A suitable
matrimonial match can be expected.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Keeping a close tab on
spending will leave you
with much to splurge later.
You may take some time in
bouncing back on the work front. No
problems are foreseen on health and
financial fronts. You manage to play
your cards well and avoid getting
involved in a contentious issues.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You will manage to pick up
the threads from where
you left on the professional
front. Much happiness is
foreseen on the home front. A trip
with friends will not only be exciting,
but refreshing too. This is a good
time to finalise property as stars are
poised favourably.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Something included in
your diet is likely to have a
positive effect on your
health. A glib talker may try
to confuse you, be aware. Distur-
bances at home will need to be
curtailed to retain a peaceful
environment. You will get the
motivation to push yourself at work.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
oringa oleifera is a
drought-resistant
rapid growing tree.
Its common names
include moringa,
drumstick tree,
horseradish tree
and ben oil tree. It is culti-
vated in varied regions for
its young seed pods and
leaves and is used as a veg-
etable and for traditionally-
made herbal medicine.
GEOGRAPHY
India is known to be the
largest producer of morin-
ga, it is called a native su-
perfood in the country
. The
vegetation is grown in the
sub-Himalayan tracts of In-
dia, Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Afghanistan along
with South Asia and South-
east Asia including the
Philippines, Indonesia and
Taiwan. There is also sig-
nificant vegetation done in
central America and the
Caribbean as well as north-
ern countries of South
America and Africa.
POPULARITY
It gained considerable pop-
ularity in Europe since the
Britishers lived in India.
Besides that, the life-chang-
ing benefits of moringa are
also responsible for its ris-
ing global demand.
Since the past couple of
years, moringa is in rage
amongst the super trends.
It has a lot to do with the
growing awareness of the
health benefits of moringa
products, especially in Eu-
rope and American states.
It is said that millennials
are amongst the largest de-
mographic of consumers
of moringa and the derived
products. It is analysed that
moringa, or for that reason
any other trend, grows
widely amongst this age
group because they can
shell out for a growing and
beneficial trend. Another
reason may be they belong
to the age group which re-
members their grandmoth-
ers telling them how drum-
stick is super useful.
BENEFITS
Moringa is used to combat
malnutrition, especially
among infants and nursing
mothers. It is said that mor-
inga tree thrives in arid and
semiarid environments
(drought resistant) which is
why it may be used as a nu-
tritious food source
throughout the year. Fresh
as well as dried moringa
leaves are used as a
nutrition source
for meals in
A f r i c a n
countries
such as
Ghana, Ni-
geria, Ethi-
opia, East Af-
rica and Malawi.
Moringa has an abun-
dance of Protein, Vitamine
A-E-C, Potassium, Calcium
and Iron. The polyphenols
present in it protect the liv-
er and kidneys whereas the
glucosinolates act as anti-
cancer agents. Moringa is
essentially good for hair
and skin (anti-damage) as it
is said to be rich in antioxi-
dants. The aforementioned
calcium and phosphorus
are good for the bones.
Numerous reasons are
researched for using mor-
inga like treating anaemia,
bacterial and viral infec-
tions, high blood pressure,
gastrointestinal distress,
constipation, asthma, ar-
thritis, and inflammatory
diseases, etc.
THE MORINGA FLOWER
Out of all the moringa tree
parts, the flowers is the only
one that is considered a deli-
cacy
. When cooked it can be
usedinsaladsorcanbefried
also eaten raw on their own.
Having moringa flower
tea is very common as well
as it is said to cure a com-
mon cold in Ayurvedic
practice (brewing into a
medicinal tea or pressing
for its juice). It is said to
treat urinary tract infec-
tions and is also given to
women as a supplement
while breastfeeding, to in-
crease lactation.
THE MORINGA LEAVES
But out of all the moringa
tree’s parts, most user-
friendly and nutritious are
the leaves. These protein-
rich leaves are used as al-
ternatives for meat, fish,
and eggs. Moringa leaves
have been proposed as an
iron-rich food source as
well. In present times, mor-
inga leaf powder in juices,
smoothies, capsules, etc. is
globally consumed.
ABOUT CAULDRON
SISTERS
Ratika Richa Khetan,
two sisters, started
Cauldron Sisters in
2015. It started as an
exotic food gift hamper
business, but their love
for food encouraged
them to start culinary
workshops, food
deliveries, and slowly
and gradually it turned
huge as restaurants
and cafes started
approaching them for
consultancy.
Moringa Tree: The Growing Trend,
Benefits And Nutritious Recipes
M
Ingredients:
2 cups Moringa leaves or chopped drumsticks
¾ cup Chana dal split chickpea, soaked for an hour
¼ cup yellow moong dal, soaked for an hour
2 (or more) cups water
1-2 green chilies, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1.5 teaspoon grated ginger
1-2 tomato, chopped
½ cup onions, chopped
1 tablespoon oil or ghee
Pinch of hing
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon Garam masala
Salt to taste
Method:
Heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker, add hing, cumin
seeds and onion.
After sautéing, add tomatoes. Cook for a couple of
minutes.
Add the dal, stir well.
Add salt, turmeric, chili, coriander and garam masala.
Add water and stir well until it comes to a boil.
Secure the cooker with the lid and cook for 4-5
whistles.
Meanwhile, sauté Moringa leaves in a pan with 2
teaspoons oil, some salt and a pinch of red chili
powder. (If you’re using the Moringa drumsticks, add/
cook them along with the dal in the pressure cooker)
Once the dal is cooked well, add the moringa leaves
and cook for a couple of minutes.
To garnish, add chopped coriander leaves on the top.
MORINGA DAL RECIPE

SWEET BOY
TRUE ICON
ONLY EDITION
ETC
11
T
wo of bollywood’s beloved celebrities
Shahid Kapoor and
Dhanush celebrate
their birthdays to-
day! We admire their contri-
bution to the world of
cinema and enter-
tainment! The two
stars convey a varied
journeyof hardwork.
We wish them all
the best! We hope
that they contin-
ue to deliver
power-packed
performances
in the near fu-
ture. —Agency
HUGEIMPACT
R
apper Travis Scott and
Kylie Jenner are dot-
ing parents to their
daughter Stormi de-
spite not being together. As
co-parents, Kylie and Travis
have always kept Stormi the
centre of their attention and in a lat-
est interview with i-D magazine, the
rapper revealed that daughter Stor-
mi has changed his life and approach
towards music. Travis said, “Father-
hood influences my job. It has a huge
impact.” —Agency
E
llie Goulding and her hus-
band Caspar Jopling will
soon be welcoming a new
member into their lives.
The 34-year old star has recent-
ly revealed that she is 30-weeks
pregnant with her first child.
Ellie also stated that she
found out the same during her
one-year marriage anniver-
sary with Jopling and that
this piece of news left them
surprised. —Agency
rew Barrymore was admitted to a
psychiatric ward as a teenager when
she went out of control. She recalls
the time she spent in a padded room.
Drew’s mother, Jaid Barrymore had her
admitted to a facility when she was 13
because she had “too many resourc-
es” and her behaviour was getting out of
control. —Agency
Birthday surprise!
A
film that has been the talk of the
town since the first look was re-
leased back in 2019 is Sanjay
Leela Bhansali’s directorial,
Gangubai Kathiawadi. The film fea-
turing Alia Bhatt in the lead role is
based on an infamous Mafia Queen
of old times named Gangubai
Kothewali. The teaser of the film
was finally out on the occasion
of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s birth-
day and it will hit the big screens
on July 30. —Agency
K
angana Ranaut is opening a restaurant
and cafe in hometown Manali. On Tues-
day
, the actor shared photographs from
the picturesque location with team
members,includingsisterRangoli.Apartfrom
movies, Kangy’s other passion is food. She’s
taking the first step towards it. Actor, direc-
tor, poet, and now restaurateur. —Agency
MONICA PRABHAKAR
O
n the fifth
day of the
virtual edi-
tion of the
Jaipur Literature
Festival (JLF),
Jaipur’s poet,
Jagdeep Singh was featured
onWednesday
.Avideoof him
reading some of his poems
from the first collection ‘My
Epitaph’ was shown in the
category of ‘New Writers
Short Series’. The anthology
,
published by Writers Work-
shop in Kolkata, comprises
poems, which are about a va-
rietyof topicslikevagariesof
life,theinevitabilityof death,
the pangs of love and the
struggle of writing poetry
.
The reading featured 3 po-
ems from the anthology –
‘My Epitaph, ‘Birth of a
Verse’ and ‘How to With-
stand Pain’. The first poem is
also the title of the antholo-
gy. It is a poem that reflects
on failing in life. The second
poem, ‘Birth of a Verse’ de-
notes that poetry will be
born from the daily rub of
circumstances. The third
poem, ‘How to Withstand
Pain’ outlines the fact that
anguish and suffering are es-
sential parts of life but can
be met head-on. The anthol-
ogy will also be officially
launched at physical book
events both in Jaipur and
New Delhi.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
MY EPITAPH The trajectory of books
SUSHMITA AIND
A
s a part of live
and virtual in-
teraction, which
happenedatDig-
gi Palace, Jaipur, JLF fea-
tured Vikas Swarup in a
conversation with
Shubhra Gupta. The writer of
three tales that look into contem-
porary India and displays the
extraordinary lives of ordinary
people, through, Q A, The Ac-
cidental Apprentice and Six Sus-
pects. During the dialogue ex-
change, Swarup marks, “I call
myself an accidental writer! It is
true that books have a different
trajectory than the screen. How
Danny Boyle perceived Q A as
Slumdog Millionaire, was with a
lotof respect.Itwaspovertyporn
aspeopleoftencallit.Iwroteitin
a manner that I witnessed. Al-
though there were scenes, which
I haven’t written in the book but
are there in the film, because of
the different dynamics. Through
Q A, my motive was to send
acrossthemessagethatthegreat-
est teacher of life is life itself.”
Talking more about his novel Six
Suspects, which will soon be in
production as an OTT feature, he
shared that, the book isn’t based
on Jessica Lal, although it is in-
spired by the incident. The story
featuresthemurderof VickyRai,
son of the wealthy Home Minis-
ter, who has been celebrating his
victory of winning over the case
of shooting a bartender, is shot
dead at his own party and there
follows the story of the Six Sus-
pects, he concluded.
MITALIDUSAD
D
rGulabKothariwhoiswide-
ly known for his contribu-
tion in the field of Vedic
Studies has rendered an-
othereditionthroughhisupcoming
book which was launched on the
sixthdayof theongoinggrandliter-
aryfestival, JLF! DrGulabKothari
throughhisbook,Maanas:OurBe-
haviour(Truth/ Untruth),
explores the two sides of
ourbrain.Accordingtosci-
ence,ourbrainfunctionsin
twodiverseways,onebeing
responsibleforourrational
decisions, the other, which
sets light on our judge-
ments, our feelings. The book pros-
pectsatthevariouscomplexitiesof
our brain and the illusion of ulti-
matereality
.
During the virtual program, Dr
GulabKothariwasaccompaniedby
eminent educationist and former
director of Rajasthan Hin-
di Granth Academy
, Prof
Vedprakash and senior
journalist Sukumar Ver-
ma, associated with the Vedic Re-
searchInstituteof RajasthanPatri-
ka. The book release program was
seen live on all all the social media
handles of Rajasthan Patrika
Group.
Reason vs Emotion
Out of
control
D
BIRTHDAY
New member?
Cafe in the hills!
T
he lead actress of the hit show
This Is Us, Mandy Moore took
to social media to announce
the birth of her son with her
husband Taylor Goldsmith. The cou-
plealsosharedthefirstphotoof their
son and revealed his name as well to
all their fans and followers. Sharing
anadorablephoto,MandyandTaylor
called their little one a ‘sweet boy’.
The caption read, “Gus is here. Our
sweet boy
, August Harrison Gold-
smith.” —Agency
B
ollywood’s Chandni, Sridevi
was an icon in the true sense.
She had acted in more than
300 films and thus, she was
considered to be the first woman
superstar in Bollywood. Marking
the 3rd death anniversary of the
legendary actor as she passed away
in Dubai on February 24, 2018, twit-
terati shared their love for the late
actress. Sridevi was born in 1963,
and when she was just four-year-old
she had already started acting in
films as a child artist. —Agency
K
nown to be one of the rock
steady couples in Bollywood,
Ajay Devgn and Kajol have
completed 22 years of their
marital union on
Wednesday
. As
they celebrated
their 22nd anniver-
sary, Kajol and
Ajay picked a
uniquewaytowish
each other. Often,
they share cute
photos on social
media with each
other that leave
fans in awe. And today
, on the special
occasion, the Singham star added a
touch of his humour to his sweet an-
niversary wish for Kajol and it is
bound to leave you in awe. —Agency
During the virtual session
Virtual launch of the book:
‘Maanas, Our Behaviour’
Dr Gulab Kothari
Vikas Swarup during the virtual session
Caspar Jopling and Ellie Goulding
Drew Barrymore
...her post
Kangana Ranaut Alia Bhatt
...still from the teaser
...Ajay Devgn’s
post
Late Sridevi
...Mandy Moore’s post
Travis, Stormi and Kylie
Shahid Kapoor
Emma Stone
Dhanush

First india ahmedabad edition-25 february 2021

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