First india lucknow edition-17 march 2021

Yogi Govt sets new
record in COVID-19
vaccination
Lucknow: Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath ld
government in Uttar
Pradesh has set a new
record by becoming the
first state in the coun-
try to vaccinate more
than three lakh people
in a single day. In fact,
UP did it twice.
It is only because of
thesuccessfulstrategyof
CM Yogi that the state’s
activecaseshavedropped
below 2000 which sug-
gests that the state is on
the path of bending the
curve.TheUttarPradesh
Government also states
that all the facilities are
being available to every
person in all the medical
colleges of the state. So
far, 3,29,48,378 samples
have been tested in the
state. See P3
45 DAYS MORE & ITS BYE-BYE FOR
MAMATA DIDI: CM YOGI IN BENGAL
First India Bureau
Purulia, Balrampur
(WB): Taking a dig at
West Bengal Chief Min-
ister Mamata Banerjee,
Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath on Tuesday said
that she was compelled
to visit temples and re-
cite ‘Chandi Path’ (a
system of chanting Hin-
du religious mantras)
in public after the BJP
came to power at the
Centre.
Starting March 27,
polling in WB assembly
elections would be held
in eight phases. “Mark
my words, only 45 days
are left for TMCs depar-
ture,” said the saffron
party’s star campaigner
on a whirlwind tour on
Tuesday during which
he addressed three
back-to-back election
rallies in Purulia, Mid-
napore and Bankura to
boost up the BJP cam-
paigns in the state.
Turn to P6
CM Yogi has warned Mamata Banerjee in strictest of words that
upcoming Bengal polls would be game-changer for the saffron brigade.
Change brought by BJP forced
Mamata, Rahul to visit temples,
chant ‘Chandi Path’, says UP CM
Mahaingripof2nd
COVIDwave,stepup
contacttracing:Centre
Mumbai: The Centre
warned Maharashtra
on Tuesday that the
stateiswitnessingthe
beginning of the sec-
ond wave of the Cov-
id-19 pandemic and
asked the state gov-
ernment to scale up
the pace of vaccina-
tion campaign, espe-
cially in districts wit-
nessing a sharp in-
crease in infections.
Issuing a letter to Ma-
harashtra’s Chief
Secretary Sitaram
Kunte, which is based
on the assessment of
the central team’s
visit last week, the
Union Health Secre-
tary Rajesh Bhushan
has urged Turn to P6
CM IN ASSAM TODAY
LUCKNOW l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 123
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD
& LUCKNOW
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FRUSTRATED SHAH HATCHING
CONSPIRACY TO KILL ME: DIDI New Delhi: Union Fi-
nance Minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman on Tues-
day said that the inter-
est of the employees of
the banks which are
likely to be privatized
will be protected.
FM said, “Interests
of workers of banks
which are likely to be
privatised will abso-
lutely be protected -
whether their salaries
or scale or pension, all
will be taken care of.”
“Evenforthosebanks
which are likely to be
privatized, the privat-
ized institutions too
will continue to func-
tion after privatization;
the interests of the
staff will be protected,”
the FM further added.
The Finance Minis-
ter made the Turn to P6
REFERRING TO ALLEGED ‘ATTACK’ ON HER IN NANDIGRAM, SHE SAID NO
ONE WILL STOP HER FROM TAKING FORWARD HER BATTLE AGAINST BJP
Meija: West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee on Tuesday
accused Union Home
Minister Amit Shah of
hatching a conspiracy
to harass TMC leaders
ahead of the assembly
elections in the state
and wondered whether
the Election Commis-
sion is working as per
his instructions.
Claiming that Shah is
getting “frustrated” by
“poorturnout”athisral-
lies, Banerjee also al-
legedthattheBJPisplot-
ting conspiracies to kill
herashersecuritydirec-
tor Vivek Sahay was re-
moved by the Election
Commission after she
sustained injuries last
week in Purba Medin-
ipur’s Nandigram.
Referring to the al-
leged “attack” on her in
Nandigram, Banerjee
said no one will stop her
from taking forward
her battle against the
BJP. Banerjee also won-
dered whether Turn to P6
Poverty, joblessness
rampant in WB: Singh
West Midnapore: De-
fence Minister and BJP
leader Rajnath Singh
on Tuesday slammed
the ruling governments
in West Bengal in the
past and at present, stat-
ing they are responsible
for destroying the state.
“Post-independence,
the kind of develop-
ment that should have
been done in West Ben-
gal, has not been done.
Ruling governments de-
stroyed the state. Be it
CPM or TMC, poverty
and unemployment are
rampant in the state,”
Singh said during a pub-
lic rally in West Mid-
napore. “I want to as-
sure the people that the
day we form the govern-
ment, we will prevent
attacks against every-
one, be it BJP, TMC or
CPM. There won’t be
any discrimination.
Strict action will be tak-
en against those propa-
gating violence,” the
BJP leader said.
“Whenever Sourav
Ganguly crossed the
crease, it was sure that
he would hit a six. Like-
wise, with your support
in Lok Sabha, we have
crossed the crease and
surelywewillhitasixin
Assemblypollsandform
BJP government here,”
he added. Turn to P6
YOGI: CHANGE BROUGHT BY BJP
BEHIND DIDI’S TEMPLE RUN
RLYS WILL NOT BE PRIVATISED,
WILL REMAIN WITH GOVT: GOYAL
NADDA’S JAB ON MAMATA! WHEN
ARE YOU QUITTING POLITICS?
Balarampur: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
on Tuesday said his West Bengal counterpart
Mamata Banerjee has been forced to take to
‘Chandi Path’ publicly and visit temples due to
the change in people’s mindset after BJP came
to power at the Centre. Speaking at an election
rally at Balarampur in Purulia, BJP’s star cam-
paigner said, a sect of people was created in the
country, before BJP-led government assumed
power at the Centre in 2014, who believed that
even visiting temples would pose a threat to their
secular credentials.“A change has come… EIsn’t
this a change? This is new India. Each and every
person has to go to God.
New Delhi: Clearing the air over
the privatisation of India Railways,
which has been opposed by several
leaders, Union Railway Minister
Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that
the national transporter will not be
privatised and it will always stay
with the government. Speaking on
the Demand for Grants of Ministry
of Railways 2021-22 in Lok Sabha,
Goyal said, Turn to P6
New Delhi: BJP president JP Nadda on Tuesday
asked WB CM Mamata Banerjee when she will be
quiting politics as she had earlier said that she
would quit politics if Batla House encounter is
proved to be true. Court has now sentenced death
penalty to Ariz Khan. I want to ask Mamata Ji
now, ‘When are you quitting politics?,”Nadda said
while holding a rally in Bengal’s Kotulpur. Nadda
said Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) slogan of ‘Maa,
Mati, Manush’ is now reduced to “torture against
women, killing of BJP workers and appeasement.”
Won’t privatise all banks;
will protect staff interest: FM
NEW DELHI WORLD’S MOST
POLLUTED CAPITAL FOR
THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
New Delhi was the world’s most polluted capital for the
third straight year in 2020, according to IQAir, a Swiss
group that measures air quality levels based on the
concentration of lung-damaging airborne particles known
as PM2.5. India was home to 35 of the world’s 50 most
polluted cities, according to IQAir’s 2020 World Air Qual-
ity Report, which gathered data for 106 countries. P6
EC announces bypolls in
2 LS, 14 Assembly seats
New Delhi: Election
Commission on Tues-
day announced by-
elections to Tirupati
Lok Sabha constituen-
cy in Andhra Pradesh
and Belgaum Lok Sab-
ha seat in Karnataka
and for 14 vacancies in
assemblies of different
states.
The polling will be
held on April 17 and
counting of votes will
takeplaceonMay2.As-
sembly by-election will
be held in Rajasthan’s
Sahara, Sujangarh and
Rajsamand, Telanga-
na’s Nagarjuna Sagar,
Gujarat’sMorvaHadaf,
Jharkhand’s Madhu-
pur, Karnataka’s Basa-
vakalyan, Karnataka’s
Maski, Madhya
Pradesh’s Damoh, Ma-
harashtra’s Pandhar-
pur, Mizoram’s Serch-
hip, Nagaland’s Noks-
en, Odisha’s Pipili and
Uttarakhand’s Salt.
Last date of filing
nomination is March
30. —ANI
GET MY SECURITY
CHIEF BACK,
MAMATA TO ECI
Kolkata: Hours after the
Election Commission of
India (ECI) ordered the
suspension of two sen-
ior IPS officers in West
Bengal Sunday for the
Nandigram incident that
left CM Mamata Banerjee
injured, she had written
to the poll body seeking
a suspension of the
order, stating that her
chief security officer was
“in no way Turn to P6
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses an election campaign rally at Saltora, in Bankura district on Tuesday.

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2021
02
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First India Bureau
Lucknow: Even though
the Yogi Adityanath
Government has per-
formed well on power
front in the state during
the last four years and
the supply situation has
also vastly improved
but the per capita elec-
tricity consumption
continues to be the low
as compared to 14 other
states of north-western
region of the country
.
As compared to these
14 states UP’s per capita
consumption of elec-
tricity is 629 units.
According to infor-
mation the per capita
consumption has much
to do with the paying
capacity of the people
and the tariff rate.
During the last
four year the state
has made headway in
per capita income,
employment and de-
velopment but overall
poverty index still
continues to be a mat-
ter of concern lead-
ing to low consump-
tion of electricity
said an officer of the
UPPCL.
“The paying capac-
ity of the people of
Uttar Pradesh is very
low resulting into the
low per capita power
consumption which is
not a good sign,” UP
Rajya Vidyut Upb-
hokta Parishad presi-
dent, Awadhesh Ku-
mar Verma said de-
manding the UP elec-
tricity regulatory
commission not to
increase the tariff for
domestic and agricul-
ture consumers.
He claimed tariff for
these categories had
been hiked by 400% dur-
ing the last seven years
affecting the per capita
electricity consump-
tion in the state. Do-
mestic consumers ac-
count for more than
88% of UP’s total 2.50
crore power consumers
and consume more than
43% of the total elec-
tricity
.
Verma said that per
capita consumption in
Chandigarh is 986 units,
Delhi (1572), Haryana
(2229), Himachal (1527),
Jammu and Kashmir
(1384), Punjab (2171),
Rajasthan (1317), Utta-
rakhand (1528), Gujarat
(2388), MP (1086), Maha-
rashtra (1418), Chattis-
garh (2044) Goa (2396)
and national average
(1208). But UP’s per cap-
ita consumption in UP
is just 629 units.
UP’s per capita in-
come is also Rs 95000 in
2020-21 as compared
Punjab’s Rs 167000. Oth-
er states with low per
capita consumption are
Assam (339), Manipur
(326), Meghalaya (523),
Mizoram (345), Tripura
(470) and A&N Islands
(370).
Verma has thus said
that the only way to fur-
ther increase the per
capita consumption
was to reduce tariffs for
the poor people.
During the last four
years there has been
improvement in power
services especially in
rural areas. Peak period
power crisis has also
been controlled. Gone
are the days when the
state used to witness
power riots during the
summers.
No Power Play: Uttar Pradesh lags behind in per capita use
LOW STATE
—REPRESENTATIVE PICTURE
UP CM highlights benefits of ‘double-engine’ govt at the Centre and state
Hey Ram! Yogi rips apart Mamata
for playing with Hindu sentiments
First India Bureau
Purulia/Bankura/
West Midnapore :
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath on Tuesday
lashed out at the TMC
government for playing
with the emotions of
the Hindus by “forcibly
opposing” anything as-
sociated with Lord
Ram. The UP CM
warned his West Bengal
counterpart Mamata
Banerjee to refrain
from doing so, else peo-
ple will remove her
from power.
Without naming
the Samajwadi Party
(SP), the UP CM said,
“There was a govern-
ment in my state
which opposed Lord
Ram. It is nowhere
now”. Addressing a
rally for the upcom-
ing assembly polls,
the UP CM said,
“those who have op-
posed Ram have failed
to be in power. People
have removed them.
And that is the reason
when there is a kind
of restriction to the
chanting of ‘Jai Shri
Ram’ in this state, all
the people here have
it on their lips.”
He asserted that ‘Jai
Shri Ram’ is not just a
slogan by BJP activists,
people also invoke Lord
Ram’s name as a greet-
ing and for other rea-
sons as well. “Even af-
ter a man dies we chant
‘Ram naam satya hai’
during the last rites.
(Lord) Ram is there in
our every breath. No-
body can separate us
from Ram,” he said.
The TMC’s rhetoric
opposing Lord Ram will
not succeed, the BJP
leader said. Highlight-
ing BJP’s achieve-
ments, he said, Article
370 accorded special
status to Jammu and
Kashmir in terms of
autonomy and its abili-
ty to formulate laws for
its permanent resi-
dents. “In 1952, the Con-
gress forcibly included
Article 370 in the Con-
stitution sowing the
seeds of terrorism in
the country. The BJP
government under Nar-
endra Modi(ji) scrapped
Article 370 from Jammu
and Kashmir to take the
country forward,” he
said. The UP CM re-
ferred to building of the
the Ram Temple in Ayo-
dhya.He said having
‘double-engine’ govern-
ment at the Centre and
state had its own advan-
tages and cited success-
ful completion of sev-
eral projects in Uttar
Pradesh. “In those
states where the BJP
government is in power,
with the help of the cen-
tral government they
are enjoying the advan-
tages of ‘double-en-
gine”, the CM said.
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
Week-long events
to mark four years
of Yogi Sarkaar
First India Bureau
Lucknow: To mark
its four-years in pow-
er, the Yogi Adity-
a n a t h - l e d - U t t a r
Pradesh government
will launch a week-
long publicity blitz-
krieg from March 19
to highlight its
achievements.
A 64-page docu-
ment containing var-
ious welfare schemes
and development
projects launched in
the past four years
has been recently re-
leased by the UP gov-
ernment.
The booklet titled,
“Sewa aur Sush-
ashan ke 4 Varsh”
laid down key devel-
opmental works done
by the UP govern-
ment. It stated that
UP is now the leading
state in 44 Central
government schemes
and has carried for-
ward the develop-
ment work as envi-
sioned by PM Naren-
dra Modi. The state
government in-
formed that the econ-
omy of the state has
increased from 10.90
lac crore to 21.73 lac
crore in last 4 years.
The government
emphasised that the
per capita income in
the UP has doubled
and that unemploy-
ment rate has de-
clined from 17.5% in
2017 to 4.1% in Febru-
ary 2021.
It said, “UP is on
its way to become
the biggest econo-
my in the country
and the per capita
income in the state
has also doubled.
As per the Centre
for Monitoring In-
dian Economy
(CMIE) report the
u n e m p l o y m e n t
rate in the state has
dropped to 4.1% on
February 28 this
year against 17.5%
in 2017.”
The document en-
lists, UP govern-
ment’s zero-toler-
ance policy against
criminals led to a
drastic drop in crime
rate. A total of 135
criminals were neu-
tralised while 10 cops
were martyred in
7,760 police encoun-
ters since March
2017. The encounters
led to arrest of 16,592
criminals. Around
3,028 accused and
1,086 policemen were
injured in the en-
counters, the docu-
ment informs.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with West Bengal BJP leaders in Purulia.
The Yogi government was also praised across the world
for its positive actions during the lockdown.
UP CM waves to the crowd at one of his rallies in West Bengal. Public at one of the Yogi rallies in West Bengal.
P’yat polls: Amended quota policy okayed
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In compli-
ance with the Alla-
habad High Court di-
rective on fixing rota-
tional quota in three-
tier Panchayat polls,
the State cabinet on
Tuesday cleared a fresh
proposal taking 2015 as
the base year for reser-
vation of seats.
The meeting presid-
ed over by Uttar
Pradesh Chief minister
Yogi Adityanath gave
its nod to amendments
suggested by the pan-
chayati raj department
in this regard.
Following a fresh notifi-
cation, to be issued in a
day or two, the reserva-
tion for all the posts of
zila panchayat and
kshetra panchayat
chairpersons and mem-
bers and village prad-
hans and members will
be done afresh.
According to sourc-
es, more than two dozen
proposals were cleared
by the State cabinet in-
cluding ongoing devel-
opment projects in Ayo-
dhya of Urban Develop-
ment, PWD and Indus-
trial Development de-
partments.
Subsequent to HC or-
der, the state govern-
ment has issued orders
to the panchayati raj
department and all dis-
trict magistrates to stop
the rotation of reserved
seats till further orders.
In its earlier order, the
Allahabad High Court
had slammed the state
government for inordi-
nate delay in holding
panchayat polls and
had directed it to com-
plete the rotation of re-
served seats by March
17 and finish the elec-
tion process of gram
panchayats by April 30.
BJP Headquarters in Lucknow. —REPRESENTATIVE PICTURE
KV Temple beautification
works to be over by Nov
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Chief Sec-
retary, Rajendra Ku-
mar Tiwari chaired a
meeting of the Project
Monitoring Group to
review the progress
of the development of
the Kashi Vishwanath
Corridor, the Metro
project, the Namami
Ganga scheme and
the AMRUT scheme.
During the review of
expansion and beauti-
fication project of
Kashi Vishwanath
Temple Corridor, Var-
anasi, he was in-
formed that 43% work
related to the Kashi
Vishwanath temple
was completed and
that all remaining
works involved in the
project will be com-
pleted by November
15, 2021.
CS RK Tiwari presides over the PMG meet on Tuesday.
CM Yogi has ex-
pressed deep shock
over death of five peo-
ple after they fell into
a septic tank in Agra.
Conveying his condo-
lence to bereaved fami-
ly-members, he has
announced a financial
assistance of Rs 2 lakh
each to the dead.
Yogi government has
shortlisted 9800
school buildings under
Kayakalp programme
which will be demol-
ished/ rennovated
across UP
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath said
Uttar Pradesh was
scripting a new saga of
economic transforma-
tion due to its ease of
doing business.
CM Yogi said UP
was no longer a
BIMARU State as its
GSDP has gone up in
past four years from
Rs 10.90 lakh crore
to Rs 21.73 lakh
crore.

UTTAR PRADESH
03
First India Bureau
Lucknow: For the first
time in the country, UP
inoculates over three
lakh people in a single
day
. Uttar Pradesh has
also become the first
state to inoculate over 30
lakh people
Under the visionary
leadership of Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath in Uttar Pradesh,
the state has set a new
record by becoming the
first state in the country
to vaccinate more than
three lakh people in a
single day
. In fact, UP
did it twice.
It is only because of
the successful strategy
of CM Yogi that the
state’s active cases have
dropped below 2000
which suggests that the
state is on the path of
bending the curve.
The UP Government
also states that all the
facilities are being avail-
able to every person in
all the medical colleges
of the state. So far,
3,29,48,378 samples have
been tested in the state.
Surveillance teams
and contract tracing
were important in the
strategy of the Yogi gov-
ernment in fighting the
COVID-19 pandemic in
the state. In a populous
statelikeUP
,contacttrac-
ing teams have reached
out to a population of 18
crores. As many as
3,36,963 people were in-
oculated on March 12
while 3,11,351 people
were vaccinated on Mon-
day
. So far, over 30 lakh
vaccinations have been
done in the state, again
the most in the country
.
Vaccination To Be
Conducted Six Days
As many as 5,94,993
people in Uttar Pradesh
have fought COVID-19
infection successfully
and only 288 new corona
cases have been report-
ed in the last 24 hours.
The UP government has
also announced step-
ping up inoculation by
making it mandatory
for community health
centres (CHCs) to con-
duct vaccination six
days a week. Earlier,
CHCs were vaccinating
peoplethreedaysaweek
i.e. Monday, Thursday,
and Friday
.
Vaccination is being
doneinallthestatemed-
ical colleges, district
hospitals, and commu-
nity health centers of
the state from Monday
to Saturday
.
Focus Testing
Focus testing is being
done across the state.
Corona infection is be-
ing investigated on a
war-footing with focus
testing in the state.
Keeping in view, the fes-
tival of Holi, samples of
colours, spray guns,
snacks, people in in
working in restaurants,
stalls, liquor shop, etc
are being taken.
Another Feather In Crown: Govt sets record of 3L vaccinations in a day
GOOD JAB
—FILE PHOTO
‘NAPPING’BABUSCELLSHOCKED
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow:Bureaucrats
beware! Next time your
cellphone rings take
the call. Or refuse it at
your own peril. And
this is exactly what
more than two dozen
truant ‘babus’ did when
they were put through
the (w)ringer by Chief
Minister Yogi. In a sur-
prise check, he asked
his additional chief
secretary SP Goyal to
make random calls
through an unknown
number to District
Magistrates and Com-
missioners last Satur-
day.
The result was a
mixed bag. According
to sources, while 25
DMs and five Commis-
sioners did not answer
the call, some officers
who did not respond
initially called back
while in few other in-
stances the phone was
picked up by the IAS of-
ficers’ orderlies. There
have been clear in-
structions from the
Chief Minister’s Office
(CMO)to the officers in
the districts and other
revenue divisions to re-
spond to the calls
promptly by picking
their CUG numbers
themselves.
An explanation has
been sought from these
not so ‘civil’ servants
and they have been giv-
en three days to submit
their reply. If the offi-
cials are not able to jus-
tify their absence and
explain the reasons for
not being able to take
the call, there could be
penalties, said an offic-
er of the personnel de-
partment.
Prominent among
those in the dock in-
clude Commissioners
of Varanasi, Gorakh-
pur, Prayagraj and Ali-
garh. Calls made to
commissioners of Agra,
Meerut, and Azamgarh
could not be connected.
The CUG number of the
Kanpur divisional com-
missioner was picked
up by his PRO.
Similarly, DMs of 25
districts did not re-
spond to the calls. The
PROs of another 16
DMs picked up the calls
while the DMs of Rae
Bareli, Lakhimpur
Kheri, and Sitapur
called back. Around 20
SPs faltered and failed
the reality check. The
notices to them would
be sent from the home
department to seek
their explanation.
“If they do not re-
spond to the calls from
CMO one can very well
imagine how they con-
nect with the people,”
said an officer of the
personnel department.
There are standing
orders to all the DMs,
SPs, SSPs and division-
al commissioner to re-
main available on their
CUG numbers during
the working hours to
connect with the com-
mon people in a better
way,” said a senior state
government official.
Does the move ring a
bell? Well, a similar ex-
ercise was undertaken
by the government last
year also. But appar-
ently our ‘babus’ are a
hard nut to crack. One
only hopes that the
‘call’, this time, serves
as a much-needed call
for introspection for
them.
CMO catches over two dozen truant ‘babus’ not picking phone calls, despite govt order mandating them to attend to calls from any number
Lok Bhawan, Lucknow —FILE PHOTO
OLD HABIT...
BHUstudents oppose
invite to Nita Ambani
MSME-ICICI sign MoU for better
business interface to investors
Over half a dozen UP cities
on ‘most polluted’ list
Janardan Misra
Varanasi: Students of
Banaras Hindu Univer-
sity (BHU) protested
against proposal of Nita
Ambani to be a visiting
professor in the Social
Sciences faculty of the
University
. Ms Ambani
is Reliance Foundation
Chairperson and Work-
ing Director of Reliance
Industries.
It was reported that a
proposal was sent to Ms
Ambani by the Women
Development Study
Centre of the Faculty of
Social Sciences, BHU
and it was verbally ac-
cepted by her office. The
BHU authorities are ea-
gerly awaiting a written
acceptance to schedule
her lectures for the ben-
efit of girl students in
the department.
To pacify the situa-
tion,seniorfacultymem-
ber Kaushal Kishore
communicated with agi-
tated students and said
Ambaniwasthebestper-
son to teach girl students
considering her vast ex-
perience in the fields of
business as well social
activities. “As per the
newpolicyof theCentre,
our aim is to link studies
with entrepreneurial
skills” claimed Kishore.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: To make
the benefits of the
schemes operated un-
der the Micro, Small
and Medium Enterpris-
es (MSME) Department
easily accessible to en-
trepreneurs, an MoU
was signed between the
MSME Department and
ICICI Bank in the pres-
ence of Minister for
MSME, Sidharth Nath
Singh and Additional
Chief Secretary, MSME
Navneet Sehgal at Kha-
di Bhawan in Dalibagh.
Singh said no scheme
can be successful with-
out the cooperation of
technology and bank-
ing and efficiency will
increase due to the link-
age of ICICI Bank. He
added over 50 lakh new
MSME units were es-
tablished in four years
under CM Yogi and they
have received loans
worth Rs. 2.5L crore
from banks.
Sehgal said ICICI
Bank will also help in
ODOP scheme along
with MSME as it will
provide software to
bring all process of Dis-
trict Industries and En-
trepreneurs Promotion
Centres online. He add-
ed that with all the ac-
tivities of the MSME
department being fully
online through e-gov-
ernance, it will prove
beneficial to the indus-
trialists of the state.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Twenty-two
of the world’s 30 most
polluted cities are in In-
dia, with UP having the
dubious distinction of
havingoverhalf adozen
cities on the list.
“India continues to
feature prominently at
the top of the most pol-
luted cities ranking,
with 22 of the top 30
most polluted cities
globally,” the report by
Swiss organisation,
IQAir said. Besides Del-
hi, the 21 other Indian
cities are Ghaziabad,
Bulandshahr, Bisrakh
Jalalpur, Noida, Greater
Noida, Kanpur, Luc-
know, Meerut, Agra and
Muzaffarnagar in UP,
Bhiwari (Raj),
Faridabad, Jind, Hisar,
Fatehabad, Gurugram,
Rohtak etc. in Haryana.
LDA officials thrashed while trying
to stop illegal construction
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Theteamof
Lucknow Development
Authority (LDA) was
thrashed when they
reached to stop illegal
encroachment in Moti-
jheel colony under Aish-
bagh area and they were
threatened to not come
back and disturb the il-
legal constructions.
Sources here said that
the team reached at the
spot, on information
and stopped the labour-
ers working there. The
workers informed Kul-
deep Gupta who was re-
sponsible for the illegal
construction. Gupta
came with goons and
thrashed LDA team of-
ficials.
A case was registered
oncomplaintof revenue
officer in Bazarkhala
police station. In com-
plaint it was alleged that
illegal encroachment
and construction was
underway near Moti-
jheel. LDA officials said
that the matter of en-
croachment was in
court and stay orders
were issued and special
instructions to main-
tain status quo were im-
posed.
The police have
launched an investiga-
tion and interrogated
nearby residents about
the incidents.
—FILE PHOTO
‘Priority of govt
to address
grievances of
general public’
Foundation Day
anniv of Setu
Nigam Engg Assn
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The 40th
Anniversary of Founda-
tion Day of Setu Nigam
Diploma Engineers’ As-
sociation was held in
the auditorium of the
headquarters of Sethu
Nigam, Lucknow.
AK Srivastava, MD,
SetuNigam,advisedeve-
ryone to make sure that
the construction of the
bridges is carried out in
timelymanneraswellas
with high quality
.
A seminar was or-
ganised to showcase the
importance of training
in safety, technology
and quality and to put
light on the ‘Guideline’
issued by the associa-
tion for the construc-
tion of bridges of high
standards.
Class 10 girl
dies in school
in suspicious
condition
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Sampoorna
Samadhan Divas was or-
ganised under the lead-
ershipof DistrictMagis-
trate Abhishek Prakash
in Sarojini Nagar tehsil
on Tuesday
.
TheDMsaiditwasthe
priority of the govern-
ment to address the
grievances of the gener-
alpublicatthelocallevel
which is why Samadhan
Divas is organised in the
tehsils and police sta-
tions. Samadhan Divas
is an event where locals
can attend to make the
officers aware of their
problems and get solu-
tions for the same.
The DM asked all the
officers to ensure that
the complaints of the
public be resolved in
quick and timely man-
ner. He added if there
is a delay in resolving
a complaint then the of-
ficer should provide
a clear reason for the de-
lay
.
TheDMinstructedthe
seniorofficerstoinvesti-
gate the complaints re-
ceived on Sampoorna
Samadhan Divas and re-
solve them on spot.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A Class 10
girl died in classroom in
suspicious condition,
police sources here said
adding that school ad-
ministrationclaimsthat
the girl fainted in class-
room when she reached
for pre-board exam.
It was reported that a
girl student fell uncon-
scious in classroom in
Saint Mary’s Inter Col-
lege in Cantonment
area. When she did not
recover after first aid
her parents Mohd. At-
eeq and Yasmine were
informed. Both rushed
the girl to the Civil Hos-
pital where doctors de-
clared her dead.
School management
andprincipalwasclaim-
ing that the deceased
was physically very
weak and she had faint-
ed several times in class
during 8 and 9th stand-
ard studies.
Dr S Sundariyal, di-
rector, Civil Hospital
saidthegirlwasbrought
dead while ACP (Cantt)
Archana Singh said the
cause of death could be
ascertained after the
post-mortem report.
DM Abhishek Prakash St Mary’s Inter College
NUMBERS SPEAK
Minister Sidharth Nath Singh, ACS MSME Navneet Sehgal and
others at the event on Tuesday.
Nita Ambani
—FILE PHOTO

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 123 l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi Industrial Area Kanpur Road Lucknow.
Published at 98, Friend’’s Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP). Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
04
tress affects us mentally,
physically
, and spiritually
. In
a time of crisis, the impulse
is to give in to fear, concern,
and panic, which engenders
soul sickness. The physical
response comes first, and
one tends to go into self-iso-
lation, and social distancing.
The second effect is realized
on our soul, that one experi-
ences personally with sel-
dom answers and advice. In
an event of failure, hopeless-
ness, death, defeat, and vari-
ous happening the soul
reaches its dark pit which
seems invincible. With the
growing materialistic ap-
proach to life, profiling com-
petition at the workplace,
shrinking family dynamics,
falling dialogues among
friends, and unhealthy life-
style, spiritual health is at
increased risk of decay
. How-
ever stressful the situation
and anxiety levels are, the
soul is the most intimate
part of us, and it isn’t found
by running away. Spiritual
well-being is alien to many
people’s daily lives, especial-
ly at the workplace. Millions
of people experience an un-
easy soul, however you want
to define it — the weariness
of heart, existential dread, a
sinking feeling that nothing
really matters, Negative out-
look towards life. — without
finding a way out.
Life forces us to work. We all
have different life lessons, and
while going through those dif-
ficult inner fires at a job there
is no need for the unhealthy
levels of competition and con-
flict that arise from the fear of
the unknown and the crippling
self-doubt that burdens need-
lessly. We should try to create
around us a world of connec-
tion, collaboration, and kind
compassion which involves our
co-workers. We must realize
that everyone and everything
else in the universe is a part of
ourselves. Recent scientific dis-
coveries have revealed that we
are not only deeply connected
to everything in the world
around us but also have unbe-
lievable capacities to outreach
and connect to others.
Fully embracing and un-
derstanding these profound
discoveries will allow one to
fundamentally change his/
her whole relationship to life
and rather than fearing oth-
ers and seeing them as rivals
or adversaries, one becomes
an inspiration to do every-
thing one can to help and
support others and be a part
of their winning journey.
And the truth is, we are a
part of them! Both east and
west have a long tradition of
understanding and examin-
ing spiritual well-being.
These approaches towards
spiritual enlightening give
us a sense of security and
control over our life path
and direction. By bringing
one close to one’s soul, and
increasing higher awareness
or deeper self-understanding
these solutions help us in
various ways and try to re-
verse the damaging effect on
our soul in modern society
.
The best workaround for this
challenge would be by connect-
ing with the immediate com-
munity and adopting relaxa-
tion techniques and attempting
to look around for joy at the
workplace. When we open up,
we realize everyone is experi-
encing stress. Nor is it neces-
sary to enter into metaphysical
speculation about what spirit-
ual awakening is all about.
Spirituality can only be experi-
enced in the fleeting moment.
With increasing competition at
the workplace, one can either
see colleagues as rivals or con-
vert it into an opportunity to
find that common connection
which recent scientific studies
claim that all of us share. A
simple relaxation exercise can
motivate us to perform an act
of kindness or inspire us to
show appreciation to some col-
league for their job, offer help
to those in need, or bring com-
fort to someone feeling lonely
and anxious. These simple hu-
man gestures we tend to over-
look can be overwhelmingly
satisfying and can provide us
with a sense of belongingness
at the workplace and be part of
our work community. Univer-
sal truths do not matter until
they are true for you personal-
ly. The secret imparted by the
world’s wisdom traditions is
that your sense of self, the sim-
ple experience of “I am,” is the
gateway to inner peace and joy
.
Resilience to negativity is
achieved when we ponder to
reflect upon our daily deeds
and there is unbreachable
integration between our ac-
tions and thought. Little
mindfulness about our work
habits or communication
style with colleagues can
prove a great tool for our
spiritual awareness. When
we reflect, we seek a higher
purpose and tend to see be-
yond the mundane pattern
of actions. We achieve peace
with our immediate sur-
roundings and that is the
moment of change. Trusting
this new form of knowledge
takes practice. Over time,
we may find these tips lead-
ing us into new work oppor-
tunities. With this not only
do we achieve an inner bal-
ance but also, we continue to
grow and inspires.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
SPIRITUAL HEALTH AT WORK PLACE
AND RESILIENCE TO NEGATIVITY!
S
A simple
relaxation
exercise can
motivate us to
perform an act
of kindness or
inspire us to
show
appreciation to
some colleague
for their job,
offer help to
those in need, or
bring comfort to
someone feeling
lonely and
anxious.
RESILIENCE TO
NEGATIVITY IS
ACHIEVED WHEN WE
PONDER TO REFLECT
UPON OUR DAILY
DEEDS AND THERE IS
UNBREACHABLE
INTEGRATION
BETWEEN OUR
ACTIONS AND
THOUGHT
DR JYOTI
JOSHI
The author is a soft skill trainer,
business coach and English language
instructor in Germany, Europe
n March 10, the
credit-rating
agency Moody’s
placed Ethiopia
on review for a
downgrade. The problem
isn’t violence and repres-
sion in Ethiopia’s embat-
tled Tigray region. Rather,
Moody’s has concluded
that the Ethiopian govern-
ment’s commitment to en-
gage with private credi-
tors, as part of the G20
Common Framework for
Debt Treatments beyond
the Debt Service Suspen-
sion Initiative, raises the
risk that those creditors
will incur losses. For that,
the country apparently
must be punished.
Whereas the DSSI aims
to provide immediate re-
lief to low-income coun-
tries during the pandemic,
the Common Framework
was designed to help debt-
distressed sovereigns re-
schedule or reduce their
liabilities. For many coun-
tries, it offers the best
chance of making their
debt burdens sustainable.
But now, the threat of rat-
ings downgrades is casting
a shadow over these coun-
tries’ prospects.
This points to a systemic
problem in international
finance: the extraordinary
– and undeserved – power
wielded by a few private
credit-rating agencies. Just
three – Moody’s, S&P Glob-
al Ratings, and Fitch Rat-
ings – control more than
94% of outstanding credit
ratings. And there is sig-
nificant cross-sharehold-
ing among them.
These oligopolistic firms
are market movers and
makers, influencing finan-
cial portfolio allocations,
the pricing of debt and
other financial instru-
ments, and the cost of cap-
ital. Bolstering their au-
thority, the US Securities
and Exchange Commission
has recognized them as of-
ficial statistical rating or-
ganizations. And many in-
stitutional investors, re-
quired by law to hold only
“investment-grade” assets
in their portfolios, must
abide by the rating agen-
cies’ verdicts.
Concerns about ratings
agencies were first widely
expressed during the En-
ron scandal in 2001. Enron,
an energy-trading compa-
ny
, had been using account-
ing tricks and complex fi-
nancial instruments to
mislead investors, credi-
tors, and regulators about
its value. The ratings agen-
cies were certainly fooled:
The Big Three all issued
Enron investment-grade
ratings just days before the
company collapsed.
redit-rating agencies
have also been accused of
enabling the United States’
subprime-mortgage bub-
ble, which triggered the
global financial crisis
when it burst in 2008, and
of exacerbating the bust
through rapid reversals
and downgrades. And they
have been known to adjust
ratings in ways that seem
to reflect ideological posi-
tions, such as a commit-
ment to fiscal austerity
.
And yet, as Yuefen Li,
the United Nations Inde-
pendent Expert on Foreign
Debt and Human Rights,
points out in a new report,
ratings agencies face no ac-
countability for their mis-
takes or damaging behav-
ior. Their ratings are le-
gally described as “opin-
ions,” which are protected
under free-speech laws,
and they do not disclose
their methodology. In
short, ratings agencies do
not bear appropriate re-
sponsibility for the enor-
mous power they wield.
Moreover,asLialsonotes,
conflictsof interestabound.
Ratingsagenciesareprivate
businesses, funded largely
bytheinstitutionstheyrate.
And they are players in the
markets they purportedly
assess, meaning that self-
interest inevitably shapes
their decision-making. Rat-
ings agencies have, for ex-
ample, been involved in the
creation of financial prod-
ucts that they were then re-
sponsibleforrating–includ-
ing the mortgage-backed
securities that, flush with
AAA ratings, helped bring
about the 2008 crisis.
And yet, even as regula-
tors work to limit conflicts
of interest among most fi-
nancial-market players,
they seem content to leave
credit-rating agencies to
police themselves. The lack
of regulatory action partly
reflects the lobbying power
of the Big Three. And it is
generating serious risks,
which the coronavirus pan-
demic has intensified.
WWW.PROJECT-SYNDICATE.ORG/
Credit-rating agencies could derail Economic Recovery!
O
Whatever happened,
happened for the good.
Whatever is happening, is
happening for the good.
Whatever will happen, will
also happen for the good.
—Bhagwad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
GOI is privatising profit
nationalising loss. Selling PSBs to
Modicronies gravely compromises
India’s financial security. I stand
in solidarity with the striking bank
employees.#BankStrike
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Welcome the approval for revised
cost estimates of `9129.32 crore
for strengthening of transmission
distribution system in Arunachal
Pradesh Sikkim. This will boost
per capita power consumption in
these States, and contribute to their
overall economic development.
IN-DEPTH
PSB STAFF WARNS OF
A BIGGER STRUGGLE
fter the indefinite protest by farmers
against the three new farm laws it is now
the turn of employees of nationalised
banks to warn of indefinite strike if the
government presses ahead with its
banks privatization plan. The two-day strike by 10
lakh employees of public sector banks which ended
on Tuesday crippled banking services across the
country but the government is unfazed. Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was unequivocal
about the privatisation plans which were intended
for “scaling up” of public sector banks and wanted
them to “meet the country’s aspirations”. She also
sought to allay fears of employees saying that their
interests will be protected and they won’t lose their
jobs. Not all PSBs, she said, will be privatised. Like
in the case of farm laws, the government won’t give
its privatization plan a second thought as it expects
to earn Rs 1.75 lakh crore through divestment of
public sector units and banks.
There guessing games are on about which banks
will be put under the hammer and whether indus-
trial houses will be allowed to bid for them. In the
latter case concerns have been raised about conflict
of interests and could lead to lending for the own-
er’s own businesses. Former RBI governor
Raghuram Rajan and deputy governor Viral Acha-
rya raised the red flag, warning of bad lending in
spite of RBI’s proposed strict controls. The RBI in-
ternalgroup’ssuggestionfavouringPSBownership
by industrial houses could be a hint of what is to
come.Butwhowillbethebeneficiary of thegovern-
ment’s proposal? One has to wait for the answer.
A
SECOND COVID WAVE
GRIPS MAHARASHTRA
he second wave of Covid-19 is here, the
Union Health Ministry said in a grim
warning. The warning pertained to Ma-
harashtra which accounted for 15,051
fresh cases out of the total 24, 492 novel
coronavirus cases detected in the country on Mon-
day
. This was close to the peak touched in October
last year. Punjab came next with 1,818 cases. Mon-
day’s death toll stood at 131. The Maharashtra situ-
ation has forced the government to impose full/
partial lockdown in several cities of the State. As
lockdowns, partial or full, cannot be the solution,
a health ministry deployed in the State suggested
implementation of 14 public health measures to
check the virus from spreading. The measures in-
clude a strict containment strategy, proper moni-
toring of home isolation cases and contact tracing.
With the number of active cases in the country
increasingtomorethan2.23lakhandgiventhegrav-
ity of the Covid-19 upsurge, Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi may address a meeting of chief ministers
today
. Other than the Covid-19 numbers, the prime
minister may possibly also allay fears on adverse
effects Covid-19 vaccines in view of the scare in Eu-
rope over Astrazeneca shot developed by Oxford.
France, Italy
, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Denmark,
Iceland, Norway
, Bulgaria and several other coun-
tries halted the use of Astrazeneca. Some countries
said the vaccines caused clotting and “unspecified”
adverse effects. The vaccine is also used in India
under Covishield brand name but there have been
no complaints about its safety
. The World Health
Organisation has insisted that the shot is safe. Is the
scare in Europe more political than real?
T

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INDIA
05
CONG, GOVT ENGAGE IN WAR OF WORDS
IN LOK SABHA OVER SEDITION CASES
New Delhi: The Con-
gress and the govern-
ment engaged in a war
of words in Lok Sabha
on Tuesday over sedi-
tion cases with the op-
position party alleging
the stringent law is be-
ing misused, drawing a
sharp retort from Un-
ion minister G Kishan
Reddy who asked it not
to lecture others on de-
mocracy
.
During the Question
Hour, Congress mem-
ber from Telangana
Anumula Revanth Red-
dy sought the number
of cases registered un-
der the offence of sedi-
tion across the country
during the last 10 years,
the conviction rate and
the steps taken for their
speedy trial.
The focus of his ques-
tion was on climate ac-
tivist Disha Ravi who
was arrested in the
farmer protest toolkit
case earlier this year
and later granted bail,
and cases registered
against farmer union
leaders after the Janu-
ary 26 violence in the
national capital. —PTI
ED ATTACHES PROPERTIES OF
SHINDE’S DAUGHTER, SON-IN-LAW
Mumbai: ED has attached
two offices owned by the
daughter and son-in-law
of former Union Home
Minister and former
Maharashtra CM Sushil-
kumar Shinde in a money
laundering case. The of-
fices, located at a building
in Mumbai’s Andheri, are
in name of 2 companies-
Jindal Combines Pvt Ltd
and Orlando Trading Pvt
Ltd - in which Shinde’s
daughter Priti Shroff and
son-in-law Raj Shroff
are major shareholders.
“ED attaches commercial
properties worth Rs.
35.48 Crore belonging to
Raj Shroff and his wife,
owners of M/s Jindal
Combines Pvt. Ltd
M/s Orlando Trading Pvt.
Ltd. under PMLA in Bank
Fraud case.” ED tweeted.
AICC RELEASES LIST OF 6
CANDIDATES FOR KERALA
Thiruvananthapuram:
The AICC on Tuesday
released its list of
candidates in the six
remaining constituen-
cies in Kerala for the
April 6 assembly polls.
T Siddique has been
fielded from Kalpetta,
V V Prakash from
Nilambur, P C Vish-
nunath from Kundra,
Firoz Kunnumparambil
from Thavanur, Riyas
Mukkoli from Patambi
and Veena Nair from
Vattiyoorkavu, AICC
release said. Congress,
which is contesting in
92 of 140 seats, had
earlier released its can-
didates for 86 seats.
300+ COMPANIES FILED FOR
BANKRUPTCY IN 3 YEARS: GOVT
New Delhi: The
Ministry of Corporate
Affairs said more than
300 Indian companies
have filed for bankrupt-
cy between 2018 to
2020. Union Minister
of State for Finance and
Corporate Affairs Anu-
rag Singh Thakur in a
written reply in RS said
as per data provided by
the National Company
Law Tribunal (NCLT),
149 companies filed
for bankruptcy in 2018,
103 in 2019 and anoth-
er 72 in 2020 making
a total of 324 Indian
companies which have
filed for bankruptcy
during 3 years period.
FIR AGAINST CHANDRABABU NAIDU,
AIDE IN AMARAVATI LAND CASE
Amaravati: In a major
setback to Telugu Desam
Party (TDP) Supremo and
former Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister, Nara
Chandrababu Naidu, the
Crime Investigation De-
partment (CID) has filed
an FIR against him and
a former cabinet minis-
ter for being allegedly
involved in a case of
land-grabbing from the
Dalit community in the
state capital Amaravati.
The other accused min-
ister is education baron,
Ponguru Narayana,
who owns the Narayana
group of educational
institutions. Narayana
had served as the Andhra
Municipal Administration
and Urban Development
Minister when Naidu was
the Chief Minister.
Parl panel bats
for simultaneous
elections
PARL PANEL ASKS
GOVT TO VEST MORE
POWER TO CBI
SWAPAN DASGUPTA
RESIGNS AS RAJYA
SABHA MEMBER
Bill passed to raise upper
limit for legal abortions
PAR PANEL TO GOVT: CONSIDER REDUCING
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AGE TO 16 YRS
New Delhi: Batting for holding
of simultaneous elections, a
parliamentary committee said
this will reduce the burden on
the exchequer, expenditure
of political parties and also
ensure that human resources
are optimally utilised. ‘The
committee also believes
that simultaneous elections
will reduce voters apathy of
frequent elections and will
enthuse general population
and voters in particular which
will ultimately enhance voters
participation in the electoral
process,’ the department-
related standing committee on
law and justice, and personnel
ministries said. The report
was tabled in both Houses on
Tuesday. The committee said
it is of the view that the idea
of ‘One Nation, One Election’
or simultaneous elections is
not new to the country as the
first three Lok Sabha elec-
tions in 1952, 1957 and 1962
were held simultaneously only
and it can be brought into
the mainstream with suitable
amendments to Constitution.
New Delhi: A parlia-
mentary committee
on Tuesday asked the
government to assess
the need for amending
existing laws or bring
out a new legislation to
clearly define the man-
date of the Central Bureau
of Investigation and vest
more power in it. The
recommendation came
after the Central Bureau
of Investigation apprised
the panel that its inves-
tigations are impeded
by the withdrawal of
“general consent” by
states, mainly those ruled
by opposition parties.
New Delhi: Nominated
RS member Swapan
Dasgupta tendered his
resignation from the
upper house of Parlia-
ment after being named
as a BJP candidate in the
West Bengal assembly
elections. Dasgupta, who
became a RS member on
April 25, 2016, has been
named by the saffron par-
ty as its candidate from
Tarakeshwar constituency
in the poll-bound state. “I
have resigned from Rajya
Sabha today to commit
myself totally to the fight
for a better Bengal, Das-
gupta said on Twitter.
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to
raise the upper limit for permitting abortions from
the present 20 weeks to 24 weeks for ‘’special cat-
egories of women’’ including rape survivors, victims
of incest, minors, the differently-abled. The Medi-
cal Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill,
2020 to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnan-
cy Act, 1971 was passed by voice vote. The bill was
passed by Lok Sabha a year ago. A demand to send
the bill to a select committee of RS was defeated by
voice vote, along with other amendments proposed
by members. ‘’The bill as amended is passed,’’ RS
deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh said.
New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has recommended to
the government to consider bringing down juvenile de-
linquency age from 18 to 16 in cases under POCSO Act,
noting that minor sexual offenders may commit more
serious and heinous crime if left untreated and uncoun-
selled. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home
Affairs, headed by Congress MP Anand Sharma, in its
report submitted to Rajya Sabha, observed that there
has been a large number of cases under the POCSO Act
where the age of juvenile offenders has been below the
threshold age for applicability of the law.
Centre
privatising
profit: RaGa
No plan to appoint
panel to revisit state,
centre powers: MHA
Bank strike continues to impact PSB services
New Delhi: The Minis-
try of Home Affairs
(MHA) on Tuesday in
the Lok Sabha said that
there is no proposal of
appointing any com-
mission to revisit the
distribution of powers
between Centre and
states as of now.
MHA denied any pro-
posal of the above-said
commission in its reply
to a question from MPs
NK Kateel and Sumala-
tha Ambareesh that
said,“Whetheranycom-
mission would be ap-
pointed to revisit distri-
bution of Centre-state
powers in view of objec-
tions raised by various
statesonthelegislations
relating to electricity,
agriculture and if so,
the details thereof?”
The MHA said that a
Commission on Centre-
State Relations, headed
by Justice Punchhi, had
submitted its report in
2010 in seven volumes.
“It (report) contains
273 recommendations
covering broad subjects
evolution of Centre-
State relations in India,
constitutional govern-
ance and the manage-
ment of Centre-state
relations, Centre-state
financial relations and
planning, local self-gov-
ernments and decen-
tralized governance in-
ternal security, crimi-
nal justice and Centre-
state cooperation, envi-
ronment, natural re-
sources infrastruc-
ture, socio-economic
development, public
policy and good govern-
ance,” MHA said. —ANI
Mumbai: Bank em-
ployees continued with
their nationwide strike
on Tuesday, for the sec-
ond day, following the
call of the United Fo-
rum of Bank Unions
(UFBU). Like all other
parts of the country, it
has impacted services
and operations in Mum-
bai, Panchkula and
Siliguri.
The strike called by
the UFBU against priva-
tisation of Public Sec-
tor Banks and ‘retro-
gradebankingreforms’.
Services such as depos-
its and withdrawal at
branches, cheque clear-
ance, and loan approv-
als got affected due to
the strike. However,
ATMs are likely to re-
main functional.
The United Forum of
Bank Unions had called
a two-day nationwide
strike on March 15 and
16, against privatisa-
tion of Public Sector
Banks and ‘retrograde
banking reforms’. The
United Forum of Bank
Union, an umbrella
body of nine bank un-
ions, with over 10 lakh
bank employees and of-
ficers are participating
in the strike.
The strike came after
Union Finance Minis-
ter Nirmala Sithara-
man’s Budget an-
nouncement where she
announced the privati-
sation of two public
sector banks (apart
from IDBI Bank) as
part of the govern-
ment’s disinvestment
drive to generate Rs
1.75 lakh crore. —ANI
New Delhi: The central
government has no in-
formation on the leak
of WhatsApp chats re-
lated to confidential
and sensitive informa-
tion, including the
scrapping of Article
370, which surfaced
during the investiga-
tion of TRP scam by the
Mumbai Police, Lok
Sabha was informed on
Tuesday. A 500-page
transcript of a purport-
ed WhatsApp conversa-
tion, containing details
of the Balakot air
strikes and abrogation
of Article 370, went vi-
ral in January this year
after it was submitted
by the Mumbai Police
before a court as part of
its chargesheet in a case
of misuseof TRP
,which
led to a political storm.
“No such informa-
tion has come to the no-
tice of the govern-
ment,” Union Minister
of State for Home G
Kishan Reddy said in a
written reply
. —PTI
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
lashed out at the Centre
on Tuesday and alleged
that the BJP was “priva-
tising profit” and “na-
tionalising loss”.
His comments come
amidanation-widebank
strike. The two-day
strike, which came into
force on Monday, has
been initiated by nine
public sector bank un-
ions,whichareopposing
the government’s policy
to privatise the lenders.
Taking a dig at the
BJP, Rahul Gandhi said
that selling public sec-
tor banks to “cronies”
will compromise the
country’s financial se-
curity
.
“Government of In-
dia (GOI) is privatising
profit and nationalising
loss. Selling PSBs to
Modicronies gravely
compromises India’s fi-
nancial security,” Gan-
dhi tweeted. —PTI
No info on leaked
WhatsApp chats: Govt
IN THE COURTYARD
SC posts next hearing in
Zakia Jafri plea on April 13
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Tues-
day posted the plea of
Zakia Jafri, widow of
late Congress Member
of Parliament (MP)
Ehsan Jafri, challeng-
ing the clean chit given
by the Special Investi-
gation Team (SIT) to
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi and several
others in 2002 Gujarat
riots, for hearing on
April 13.
A bench, headed by
Justice AM Khan-
wilkar, adjourned the
matter for April 13,
saying there will be no
adjournment on that
date.
Senior advocate Ka-
pil Sibal, appearing for
Jafri, asked the Bench
to post the matter for
hearing in April.
Ehsan Jafri was
among 69 people killed
in the Gulbarg Society
massacre.
The SIT appointed
by the apex court had
conducted the investi-
gation into the case
and gave a clean chit to
the then Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra
Modi, other top politi-
cians and bureaucrats.
The clean chit was giv-
en citing lack of “pros-
ecutable evidence”
against them. —ANI

INDIA
06
45 Days More...
BJP’s top brass is leav-
ing no stone unturned
in order to topple the
Mamata Banerjee-led
government in the
state. Yogi also criti-
cised Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi over his
visits to temples in poll-
bound states.
Speaking at an elec-
tion rally at Balaram-
pur in Purulia district,
he said, a particular
section of people before
the BJP-led govern-
ment assumed power at
the Centre in 2014, be-
lieved that visiting tem-
ples would jeopardise
their secular creden-
tials. “But all that has
changed and now even
Mamata Didi has start-
ed visiting temples and
taken to ‘Chandi Path’.
Isn’t this a positive de-
velopment? This is new
India. Each and every
person has to go to God.
He alleged that Ben-
gal which was once the
land of luminaries such
as Nobel laureate Ra-
bindranath Tagore,
Swami Vivekanand and
Jan Sangh founder Sy-
ama Prasad Mookerjee,
had now become the
land of “tolabaji” (ex-
tortion) because of the
TMC.
Taking potshots at
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi, Yogi said even
he too goes to temples
now in poll-bound
states. “Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi also goes
to temple during elec-
tion time. And a priest
had to tell him to sit in
a correct posture when
he (Rahul Gandhi) went
there,” he quipped.
Urging the people to
vote for the BJP in the
approaching assembly
polls in West Bengal,
Adityanath said, if vot-
ed to power, the BJP
will punish those be-
hind the “killing of
party activists in the
state”.
Frustrated Shah...
the Election Commis-
sion has lost its inde-
pendence, and alleged
that the poll panel is
working as per Shah’s
instructions.“Is Amit
Shah running the EC?
He is giving instruc-
tions to the EC. What
happened to their inde-
pendence? My director,
security (Vivek Sahay)
was removed (by EC) as
per his instructions,”
she alleged. —PTI
Rlys will...
“It is our endeavour that
Indian Railways has be-
come the engine for the
country’s future
growth.”Hesaid,wheth-
er it is economy
, conven-
ience of passengers, or
any other area, govern-
ment is listening to the
demands of everyone
with sensitivity
, and un-
derstanding their re-
quirements.The Minis-
ter said that roads are
also the property of the
government but does
anyone say that only
government vehicles
will run on the roads.
Poverty, joblessne ...
Singh said the BJP will
form the government in
WestBengalwithaclear
majority
. “The numbers
in 2019 Lok Sabha polls
is an indication of the
change that is going to
happen in Bengal with
the upcoming state Leg-
islative Assembly elec-
tion,” Singh said.
Asked if going to elec-
tions without a Chief
Minister candidate face
will cause a loss to the
BJP, he said, “No. Ours
is a democratic party
.
The elected MLAs will
choose their leader.”
Won’t privatise...
statements during a me-
dia briefing on Union
Cabinet approving a bill
to set up a Development
Finance Institution
(DFI) to generate funds
for investment in the in-
frastructure sector.The
statement assumes sig-
nificance amid an ongo-
ing two-day strike called
by the bank unions to
protest against the pro-
posed privatization of
banks by the union gov-
ernment.
Maha in...
the state to bring down
its positivity rate and
step up contact-tracing.
The team noted the lack
of Covid-19-appropriate
behaviour and tracking
and testing of cases as
theprimereasonbehind
the infection surge,
apart from the apathy of
the district administra-
tion to implement al-
ready prescribed meas-
ures for transmission
control.” Maharashtra
is in the beginning of a
second wave of COV-
ID-19 pandemic. Efforts
to track, test, isolate
cases and quarantine
contacts are limited
there with no adherence
to COVID-19 appropri-
ate behaviour among
people both in rural and
urban areas,” Bhushan
wrote in the letter.
Get my...
directly involved in the
incident”. In a two-page
letter dated 14 March,
CM Mamata had said
there was a “pragmatic
and impromptu re-
sponse for ensuring bet-
ter and more efficient
security”. —Agencies
FROM PG 1
WILL BARUAH SUCCEED JAIN
IN CBIC ?
S R Baruah is likely to succeed Ajay Jain as
Member of the CBIC. He is 1987 batch IRS(CCE)
officer.
LALMALSAWMA PACHUAU TO JOIN
MIZORAM GOVT ON DEPUTATION
Lalmalsawma Pachuau is joining the State
Government of Mizoram on deputation basis. He is
an IRS-IT officer.
STATE OF AFFAIRS IN NHRC !
At present, there is no Member and Chairman in
the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
SHUKLA LIKELY TO GET EXTENSION
Anil Shukla is likely to be given an extension for six
months to one year. Presently he is posted as IG,
NIA. He is an AGMUT cadre IPS officer.
ATUL KUMAR TO BE SP CBI ?
Atul Kumar is likely to be appointed as SP in CBI.
He is 2008 batch IPS officer of UT cadre.
IS IT A CONSPIRACY AGAINST DG,
JAILS ?
Suddenly the name of Tihar jail has come up in
the Antilla weapon case of Mumbai. Sources say
that it seems the conspiracy has reportedly been
hatched against the present DG , Jail. He is an
AGMUT cadre IPS officer. Will there be a thorough
investigation in this matter ?
SC LEFT WITH ONLY ONE WOMAN
JUDGE
With Supreme Court Judge Justice Indu Malhotra
- the first woman judge to be elevated directly
from the Bar – demitting office on March 13, 2021,
the apex court has been left with just one woman
judge. Now, Justice Indira Banerjee is the lone
woman judge in the top court, which was working
with 30 judges at the time of Justice Malhotra’s
retirement.
ORDERS OF MOHAPATRA AS ED
NEXT MONTH ?
Orders for the elevation of P K Mohapatra as ED
in a nationalized bank are likely to be issued next
month.
S N TRIPATHI IS NOW DIRECTOR IIPA
Former Secretary in the GoI S N Tripathi is now
Director Indian Institute of Public Administration
(IIPA). He is former 1985 batch IAS officer of
Odisha cadre.
H S SOHAL POSTED AS PCCF IN
DELHI SEGMENT
H S Sohal has been posted as Principal Chief
Conservator of Forests (PCCF) in Delhi segment
of the AGMUT Cadre on being relieved from
deputation. He is a 1987 batch IFS officer of
AGMUT cadre.
P K SINHA LIKELY TO BE NEW LG,
PUDUCHERRY
Principal Advisor to PM Narendra Modi, PK Sinha
is likely to be appointed as LG Pudhuchery.
SC COLLEGIUM TO MEET ON
WEDNESDAY ?
Supre Court Collegium is likely to meet on
Wednesday to clear a couple of names for the
Judges in the Apex Court.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
MODERNA BEGINS TESTING VACCINE
ON KIDS AS YOUNG AS 6 MONTHS
Study will assess safety effectiveness of doses of mRNA-1273 given 28 days apart
Bengaluru: Moderna
Inc has begun dosing
patients in a mid-to-late
stage study of its Cov-
id-19 vaccine, mRNA-
1273, in children aged
six months to less than
12 years, the company
said on Tuesday
.
The study will assess
the safety and effective-
ness of two doses of
mRNA-1273 given 28
days apart and intends
to enroll about 6,750
children in the United
States and Canada.
The vaccine has al-
ready been authorized
for emergency use in
Americans who are
aged 18 and older.
In a separate study
which began in Decem-
ber, Moderna is also
testing mRNA-1273 in
adolescents between 12
and 18 years old.
The latest study is be-
ing conducted in col-
laboration with the Na-
tional Institute of Al-
lergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID) and
the Biomedical Ad-
vanced Research and
Development Authority
(BARDA). —Agencies
A cyclist without a face mask rides past through a billboard depicting picture of MP CM Shivraj Singh
Chouhan making an appeal to wear face masks due to surging of cases, in Bhopal on Tuesday.
‘Vaccines not being exported
at the expense of Indians’
New Delhi: Union
Health Minister Harsh
Vardhan on Tuesday
said that the central
government is not ex-
porting vaccines to for-
eign nations at the ex-
pense of the people of
India.
At the Rajya Sabha
today
, Vardhan said that
“experts at the highest
level” and a “committee
of the government” are
keeping a check on vac-
cine requirements in
the country
.
India administers
over 30 lakh vaccines in
a day
. —PTI
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan
SAD PREZ SUKHBIR SINGH BADAL TESTS POSITIVE
New Delhi: Shiroma-
ni Akali Dal president
Sukhbir Badal said he
had tested positive for
COVID-19 on Tuesday
.
Badal, a former dep-
uty CM of Punjab,
asked people who
came in touch with
him in the last few
days to isolate them-
selves and get a COV-
ID test done. “I would
like to inform every-
one that I have tested
Covid positive,” he
said in a tweet. “My
health is fine as per
protocol I have isolat-
ed myself. I request
those who came in
contact with me dur-
ing the last few days to
isolate themselves.”
22 of world’s 30 most
polluted cities are in India
New Delhi: Twenty-
two of the world’s 30
most polluted cities are
in India, with Delhi be-
ing ranked as the most
polluted capital city
globally. The report is
prepared by Swiss or-
ganisation, IQAir, in
the form of the ‘World
Air Quality Report,
2020’, which has re-
leased globally
.
“India continues to
feature prominently at
the top of the most pol-
luted cities ranking,
with 22 of the top 30
most polluted cities
globally,” the report
said. Besides Delhi, the
21 other Indian cities
among the 30 most pol-
luted cities in the world
are Ghaziabad, Buland-
shahar, Bisrakh Jalal-
pur, Noida, Greater
Noida, Kanpur, Luc-
know, Meerut, Agra and
Muzaffarnagar in Uttar
Pradesh, Bhiwari in Ra-
jasthan, Faridabad,
Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad,
Bandhwari, Gurugram,
Yamuna Nagar, Rohtak
and Dharuhera in Har-
yana, and Muzaffarpur
in Bihar. —PTI
Ghaziabad is the second most polluted city in the world.
Mumbai cop ‘seized’
own housing society’s
CCTV footage: Sources
Mumbai: Suspended
Mumbai policeman
Sachin Vaze, arrested
for his suspected role in
the placement of an ex-
plosives-laden car out-
side industrialist Muke-
sh Ambani’s residence,
is found to have seized
his own housing socie-
ty’s digital video re-
corder while he was
probing the case under
the Crime Intelligence
Unit. The NIA which
later arrested him, is
probing if the CCTV
footage from the DVR
had been tampered
with. It is also looking
into the possibility of
Mr Vaze having brought
the SUV to his own resi-
dential compound. The
Scorpio carrying gela-
tin sticks was found on
Mumbai’s Carmichael
Road, near Mr Amba-
ni’s Antilia building.
‘We will block Delhi-Noida border’
New Delhi: Bharatiya
Kisan Union (BKU)
leader Rakesh Tikait on
Tuesday warned of
blocking the Delhi-Noi-
da border, amid the on-
going farm protest.
Rakesh Tikait along
with other farmer-lead-
ers have been camping
at Ghazipur border
near Delhi for months
now, demanding the re-
peal of new reforms in
the agriculture sector.
The BKU spokesper-
son Rakesh Tikait said
they will block the bor-
der (Delhi-Noida bor-
der). The committee is
yet to decide the date.
Earlier, before Janu-
ary 26 mayhem in Del-
hi, Chilla Border at
Delhi-Noida crossing
was blocked by other
farmer unions. Howev-
er, after January 26 vio-
lence in the national
capital, some farmer
leaders ended their pro-
test and vacated the
border, taking moral
responsibility for the
violence that took place
during the tractor
march.
Farmers plan to
strengthen protest digi-
tally
. —Agencies
Rakesh Tikait at Ghazipur border during their protest in New Delhi.
Former Cong leader Chacko,
who left party, joins NCP
5 injured as Air Force bus
meets with accident in Mum
Mumbai: 5 passengers
were injured after an
Air Force bus met with
an accident in Vikhroli
area of Mumbai on
Tuesday, police official
said. The accident took
place when the bus driv-
er applied brakes sud-
denly due to some tech-
nical fault in the vehi-
cle, the official said.
There was 24 passen-
gers in the bus of the
Thane Air Force Sta-
tion, he said. After be-
ing alerted, local police
rushed to the spot and
shifted the injured per-
sons to hospital, he said.
New Delhi: Senior lead-
er PC Chacko, who re-
signed from Congress
last week, is all set to
join Sharad Pawar-led
Nationalist Congress
Party(NCP).PCChacko,
who quit the party after
being a part of it for dec-
ades, said it was “diffi-
cult” to be in the party.
The resignation left the
Congress and its leader
Rahul Gandhi red-faced
as it came just ahead of
the Kerala Assembly
election. The former
Congress leader will be
meeting NCP chief
Sharad Pawar at his of-
ficial residence where
he will be formally in-
ducted into the party
. In
his resignation letter,
Chacko said, “I have
quit Congress and sent
my resignation to par-
ty’s interim chief Sonia
Gandhi. I worked hard
for the party
, but it is dif-
ficult to work with the
Kerala Congress team.”
Police officer Sachin Waze
being taken to court in Mumbai.
Hindu man buried
in Saudi due to
consulate mistake
New Delhi: A peculiar
case came up before the
Delhi HC on Tuesday
wherein the body of a
Hindu man, an Indian
citizen, was wrongly
buried in Saudi Arabia
as per Muslim rites due
to incorrect translation
of his religion on the
death certificate by In-
dian Consulate officials
in Jeddah. The wife,
who has been running
from pillar to post to get
the body, has ap-
proached the high court
seeking direction to the
MEA to take steps to ur-
gently exhume the re-
mains and repatriate
them to India in a time-
bound manner. —PTI
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
—PHOTO
BY
ANI

NEWS
07
KILLING TWO
BIRDS WITH
ONE STONE
SSupport for farmers
protesting against
new farm laws is
coming from unexpected
quarters. After
Meghalaya Governor
Satyapal Malik’s open
advice to Centre to pay
heed to their demands,
Union Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh too has
made a strong pitch for
breaking the impasse by
inviting them for across-
the-table dialogue sans
any pre-conditions. The
Lucknow Member of
Parliament’s pain over
the agrarian crisis at the
BJP’s State executive
panel meet on Monday
was not just an Olive
branch for farmers, it
was also intended to
pacify veterans within
the party aspiring for a
berth in the government.
“Patience always pays.
Have faith. Justice may
be delayed but it will
never be denied to you
in BJP,” he told aspiring
party workers and
office-bearers.
Similarly, Singh’s
outreach to farmers
comes at a time when
a section of them
have gone on record
saying that he is the
Centre’s best bet for
breaking the deadlock.
Having been Union
Agriculture Minister in
Modi-I government,
his proximity and close
links to several farmers
leaders, specially
Rakesh Tikait, are all
too well-known. Except
of course the Centre,
which has not shown
any inclination so far in
availing his (Singh’s)
services to end the
impasse.
—M Tariq Khan
KISMAT STRIKES
LUCK WITH
CONTRACT
RENEWAL
M onkey handler
Kismat whose voice
would drive away the
monkeys of the Charbagh
Railway Station has been
re-employed at the railway
station. He was working
in the station until his
contract ended last year.
Kismat was a monkey
handler who 4 years ago
with the help of 2 Langurs
was given a contract to
drive away the monkeys
from the railway station.
Unfortunately, after
sometime complaints
from wildlife based
organizations forced
the banning of bringing
Langurs to the railway
station. This ban though
didn’t deter Kismat, who
started imitating the voice
of Langur to drive away
the monkeys and at which
he was quite successful
too. He was given
monthly remuneration
of Rs. 21,000 from the
railway for the job.
He was employed by
the Cantonment council
two years ago to drive
away the monkeys but
was soon terminated.
This time around, the
increasing number of
monkeys at Charbagh
Railway Station has
forced Railways to
again employ him under
Contract to drive away
these monkeys and this
time around though
his remuneration has
dropped him to Rs.
15000. His work timing
pans from morning 6 to
evening 6 and he goes
about his business by
imitating the voice of
Langur which is quite
effective in keeping the
monkeys away from the
station as well as the yard
and washing line.
—Amit Baliyan
Scheduled UP Board exams inApril to clash with revised election dates;security roadmap to be revised
HCquotaorderdisturbs SECpoll
planning, candidates’ equations
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The High
Court order quashing
the state government
decision of February
11, 2021 about reserva-
tion of seats in Pan-
chayat election has not
only disturbed the
planning of the State
Election Commission
(SEC) to complete the
electoral process by
April but has badly af-
fected the prospective
contestants in the rural
areas where the candi-
dates as per the reser-
vation had already
started the preparation
for the election.
Since the state gov-
ernment would now
have to decide the res-
ervation afresh by
March 27, the commis-
sion would then start
chalking out the strat-
egy. The SEC keeping
in view the forthcom-
ing month of Ramazan
from April 14 and UP
Board examination
which the government
had scheduled after the
panchayat election,
had planned the entire
electoral exercise ac-
cordingly.
The poll would now
stretch to May.
The High Court, while
setting aside the gov-
ernment decision
about reservation on
1995 as base year, has
asked the government
take 2015 as base year.
This would upset apple-
cart of large number of
candidates planning to
contest village Prad-
han posts and member-
ship of other rural bod-
ies.
Immediately after
the verdict election
commissioner Manoj
Kumar held a meeting
with two additional
commissioners Ved
Prakash Verma and JP
Singh to chalk out re-
vised action plan. The
UP board examinations
were to start from April
24 to May 11.
The SEC had then de-
cided to complete the
process before April 24.
However, now the poll
may clash with the ex-
amination creating lo-
gistical issues includ-
ing the availability of
the school buildings
and teachers for the
poll. It is not yet clear
whether the govern-
ment would revise ex-
amination schedule.
Sources said the SEC
may also review its se-
curity plan afresh.
Similarly, it would in-
fluence the electoral
calculations of a large
number of candidates
who had already start-
ed the campaigning af-
ter the seat reserva-
tion. But making 2015
as base year would af-
fect the seats as the gov-
ernment on the basis
of 2015 rotation would
reserve them.
It would bring new
candidates and dash
the hopes of those who
had planned to contest.
The then Akhilesh Ya-
dav government made
reservation in 2015 in a
way as if it was being
done for the first time.
The then government
did not reservation in
previous election into
account.
The state govern-
ment now had taken
1995 as base year. Now
only categorisation
done in 2015 will be
taken into considera-
tion while reserving
the seats through rota-
tion method.
Man held for raping
minor, pressuring
her to convert
First India Bureau
Fatehpur: A young
man has been arrest-
ed for allegedly rap-
ing a teenaged Dalit
girl and putting pres-
sure on her to change
her religion in
Fatehpur district, the
police said on Tues-
day
.
According to the
police, 23-year-old
Raju Ansari took the
17-year-old girl to his
house in the Lalauli
police station area on
Friday night and al-
legedly raped her.
The girl was rescued
from his house on
Saturday morning,
Lalauli police station
SHO Sandeep Kumar
Tiwari said
According to a
complaint filed with
the police, Ansari
also put pressure on
the girl to change her
religion.
A case was regis-
tered against Ansari
on Sunday under rel-
evant sections of the
Indian Penal Code
andtheUttarPradesh
Prohibition of Un-
lawful Conversion of
Religion Act, the po-
lice officer said, add-
ing that he was ar-
rested on Monday
evening from his
house.
The girl has been
sent for medical ex-
amination, the police
officer added.
Panchayatpolls:Congressstateunit
starts brainstorming on strategy
Police harassing Vikas
Dubey’s family: MLC to CM
‘Elect honest
leaders in
P’yat polls’
First India Bureau
Lucknow: BJP State
President Swatantra
Dev Singh on Tuesday
attacked Samajwadi
Party and BSP during a
Gram Chaupal Pro-
gramme held at
Kudawat in Sultanpur.
Singh said the casteism
of SP-BSP sets a very
bad example and hence
the public should elect
honest and knowledge-
able leaders in the Pan-
chayat elections under
whom the country can
move forward. The BJP
state president said the
Modi government
works to serve the poor
and will not allow the
exploitation of the poor.
Praising Modi govern-
ment, Singh said taht
that only SP is making
allegations of corrup-
tion in the six years of
Modi government. He
added that under the
leadership of Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, more than 2 crore
toilets have been con-
structed in country and
the country has been
able to recover from the
impact of the Covid
pandemic.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Legislative
Council member Umesh
Dwivedi from the BJP
has written a letter to
CM Yogi Adityanath on
Tuesdaycomplainingof
mental harassment be-
ingmetedouttothefam-
ily members of the noto-
rious gangster Vikas
Dubey who was killed in
an encounter.
Dwivedi has alleged
that the family mem-
bers of Vikas Dubey
, are
being harassed by the
police to pay up money
and in the event of non-
payment of money, the
family members are be-
ing unnecessarily tor-
tured by the police.
Dwivedi had met CM
and alleged that the po-
lice are harassing the
women and children of
Dubey’s family includ-
ing the gangster’s broth-
erDipuDubey
.Acopyof
the memo he had given
to the CM in this regard
is also doing rounds.
The CM has assured
that no innocent will be
framed in the case and
he will ask officials to
look into the matter.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Con-
gress has been making
serious preparations to
make a big impact in
the upcoming Panchay-
at elections in Uttar
Pradesh. With the up-
coming Panchayat elec-
tions in mind, Uttar
Pradesh Congress Com-
mittee President Ajay
Kumar Lallu, Legisla-
tive Party leader Arad-
hana Mishra Mona and
Legislative Council
President Deepak Sin-
gh and other party offi-
cials had a meeting on
Tuesday in Lucknow.
The marathon meet-
ing was chaired by Ajay
Kumar Lallu and took
place at the Congress
state office, Mall Ave-
nue. There was intense
brainstorming for the
preparation of the Pan-
chayat elections and
had in attendance MLA,
former MLA, former
MP, MLC and Congress
Panchayati Raj Cell’s
key officials.
It was decided in the
meeting that the Con-
gress will participate in
the three-tier Panchay-
at elections with full
strength. All the attend-
ees of the meeting were
of the opinion that the
Congress should try to
regain its lost ground in
the state by conquering
the rural areas of the
state and a plan has to
be finalised to select
strong candidates for
the upcoming Panchay-
at elections
State Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, Aradhana Mishra and
Deepak Singh along with others at the session on Tuesday.
BJP MLC Umesh Dwivedi
Govttowaiveoffinterestonpre-GSTduesofstate’straders
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Yogi
Adityanath Govern-
ment of the state has
provided a big relief to
the traders of the state
by introducing an Inter-
est Waiver Scheme for
2021 which will waive
the interest on pre-GST
arrears of the traders.
The scheme was in-
troduced on March 3
and will be available for
aperiodof threemonths
i.e. till June 2.
The state’s Finance
Minister, Suresh Kumar
Khanna said that that
100 percent of the inter-
est amount will be
waived on the deposit of
the original outstanding
arrear of up to one lakh
rupees under the
scheme and 90per cent
of the interest amount
will be waived if the
trader deposits his out-
standing due which is in
range Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1
crore along with 10%
the interest.
For traders with out-
standing due above 1
crore rupees and below
5 crore rupees, a waiver
of 50%of the interest
will be applicable if the
trader deposits the out-
standing arrear along
with 50% of the interest
due. Those whose out-
standing arrear is above
5 crore rupees, they will
have to deposit the origi-
nal outstanding arrear
and 90% of the interest
as the rest 10% of the
interest will be waived.
Under the scheme,
100% of the penalty im-
posed for not depositing
the arrear will also be
waived off.
Finance Minister Suresh Khanna
PENALTY WAIVER

08
2NDFRONT
The leader has the Intelligence
to have a vision for the team and the
capacity to make the vision into reality.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
New Delhi: PK Sinha,
the former Cabinet Sec-
retary and Principal Ad-
visor in the Prime Min-
ister’s Office (PMO) has
resigned from his post
on personal grounds.
Theretired1977-batch
IAS officer of the Uttar
Pradesh cadre put in his
papers on Monday even-
ing, said the sources.
Sinha was appointed
in the PMO in Septem-
ber 2019 following the
general elections after
he retired as the Cabinet
Secretary
. The veteran
former bureaucrat was
earlier made the Officer
on Special Duty (OSD)
in the PMO on August
30, 2019, after Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi accepted the re-
quest of his Principal
Secretary Nripendra
Misra to be relieved
from the post.
After Misra, Sinha
became the second
high-profile official to
exit the PMO. Misra
had resigned in August
2019 after the Lok Sabha
elections, prompting a
rejig in the PMO.
Sinha had served as the
Cabinet Secretary from
June 13, 2015, to August
30, 2019.
The Appointments
Committee of the Cabi-
net (ACC) approved the
appointment of Sinha
as the Principal Advisor
to the PM with effect
fromSeptember11,2019.
Hisappointmentwasco-
terminus with the term
of thePrimeMinisteror
until further orders,
whichever came earlier.
Sinha has also held
senior positions at the
Centre. He had served
as the Secretary in the
Ministries of Power
and Shipping and as a
Special Secretary in the
Ministry of Petroleum
and Natural Gas. He
also held various as-
signments in UP.
Sinha did his gradua-
tion in economics from
St. Stephen’s College in
Delhi, before doing his
post-graduation from
the Delhi School of Eco-
nomics. He also ob-
tained a Diploma in
Public Administration
and an M. Phil in Social
Sciences. His areas of
specialisation include
energy, infrastructure
and finance.
Principal Advisor, PMO, Sinha quits citing ‘personal grounds’
UNTIMELY EXIT

The retired
1977-batch IAS
officer of the UP
cadre PK Sinha
became the
second high-
profile official to
exit the PMO
PK Sinha
YOGIMOSTSOUGHTAFTERCAMPAIGNER
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Assembly
elections in five states
of the country are to be
held in the upcoming
months and while the
preparations for the
elections are fast un-
derway in these states,
there has been an in-
creased demand for Ut-
tar Pradesh Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
as the star campaigner.
CM Yogi Adityanath
had attended three
election campaigns in
Purulia, Medinipur
and Bankura in West
Bengal on Tuesday and
challenged TMC Presi-
dent and West Bengal
Chief Minister Mama-
ta Banerjee to show-
case the work she has
done in the state. Yogi
also has plans to attend
12 rallies in West Ben-
gal and he had already
attended a rally in Mal-
da on March 2.
In the election rally
in Purulia, Medinipur
and Bankura, Chief
Minister Yogi while
targeting the opposi-
tion said that Mamata
didi despises the slo-
gan of Jai Shree Ram
and that the goons of
TMC will be punished
severely after May 2.
He also claimed that
the TMC government’s
departure after May 2
is certain and that will
mark the end of anar-
chy in Bengal.
The Ram temple of
Ayodhya is being con-
structed at a rapid pace
as both Ram Mandir
and Ayodhya are
among the top priori-
ties for Chief Minister
Yogi.
The opposition has
been targeting the Ram
temple in their election
campaign but the BJP
is presenting it in a dif-
ferent way.
The BJP has been
showcasing the image
of development of Ayo-
dhya by the construc-
tion of the Ram temple
as well as how the law
and order situation is
maintained even
amidst a sensitive situ-
ation like the one in-
volving Ram Temple.
The Yogi Govern-
ment has also been
working hard to pro-
vide employment to the
people of the state and
as November, 2020, the
state has provided em-
ployment to about 23
lakh people.
According to the RBI
report, Uttar Pradesh
is among the top 5
states in the country
providing employment
through MSMEs.
With employment be-
ing a major issue in
Bengal and Assam, the
work of Yogi Govern-
ment will be a great ex-
ample for the BJP to
seek votes.
In the Covid era, the
Government with its
Corona virus manage-
ment earned praise not
only in the country but
also from abroad with
notable praise from the
World Health Organi-
zation.
The Yogi govern-
ment has taken strong
action against goons
and mafias in Uttar
Pradesh to confiscate
or demolish assets
with illegal possession
of about Rs 950 crore.
Bengal’s law and order
situation which has al-
ways been a talking
point can come in fa-
vour of BJP who can
showcase the success
of the Yogi Model
while seeking votes.
CM attends three election campaigns in West Bengal, will take part in 12 rallies; claims TMC govt’s departure after May 2 is certain
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
FOCUS ON EMPLOYMENT
Woman seeks `1 cr
from pizzeria for
serving non-veg pizza
FIR against ex-Waqf Board chief for
moving SC to remove Quran verses
First India Bureau
Bareilly: An FIR has
been registered in Ba-
reilly against former UP
Shia Waqf Board Chair-
man Waseem Rizvi for
allegedly hurting the
religious sentiments of
Muslims with his peti-
tion in the Supreme
Court seeking to remove
some verses of the
Quranwhichheclaimed
promoted terrorism.
The FIR was regis-
tered at the Kotwali po-
lice station on Monday
evening following com-
plaints by Anjuman
Khuddam-e-Rasool sec-
retary Shan Ahmed and
an organisation known
as Ittehad-e-Millat
Council, the police said.
The case was registered
under relevant sections
of the IPC for “deliber-
ate and malicious acts
intended to outrage reli-
gious feelings of any
class by insulting its re-
ligion or religious be-
liefs”, SSP, Bareilly, Ro-
hit Singh Sajwan said.
The Chairman of the
Raja Action Committee,
Maulana Afroz Raja
Qadri, claimed sectari-
anforceswereoperating
behind Waseem Rizvi,
and that time has come
to unmask them.
On Sunday
, members
of the Muslim commu-
nity held a protest in
Lucknow against Rizvi.
Shia cleric and senior
member of the All-India
Muslim Personal Law
Board Maulana Kalbe
Jawwad and a large
number of people took
part in the protest.
First India Bureau
Ghaziabad: A vegetar-
ian woman has ap-
proached the consumer
court complaining that
an American pizza res-
taurant chain outlet de-
livered her a non-vege-
tarian pizza and has
sought compensation of
Rs 1 crore from the res-
taurant chain.
On March 21, 2019,
Deepali Tyagi placed an
order for a vegetarian
pizza from the pizza out-
let at her residence at
Ghaziabad. She said
that the pizza was deliv-
ered late and when she
took a bite she realised
that there were pieces
of meat instead of
mushroom, the com-
plainant said.
Her lawyer Farhat
Warsitoldtheconsumer
court that Deepali im-
mediately called cus-
tomer care and raised a
complaint on their
‘gross’ negligence. Then
on March 26, 2019, a per-
son who referred to him-
self as the district man-
ager of the pizza outlet,
gave an offer of serving
pizzas to the whole fam-
ily of the complainants
at the outlet free of cost.
However, the com-
plainant told him that
this is not a simple case,
as they are assuming it
since the (opposite par-
ty) has spoiled the reli-
gious practices of the
complainant and gave
her a permanent mental
agony
, she would have to
gothrough“severallong
and expensive rituals”
which will cost her
lakhs of rupees during
her entire life.
She said that the na-
ture of the response
from the opposite party
was “very casual”, an
offer of serving pizza
free of cost was noth-
ing but a “mockery an
insult to the social and
financial status” of the
complainant.
—FILE PHOTO
Over 1L police posts vacant in UP
First India Bureau
New Delhi: There are
over 5 lakh vacancies in
police departments
across states and Union
territories in the coun-
try, with the maximum
posts lying vacant in
Uttar Pradesh, Parlia-
ment was informed on
Tuesday
.
UP had the maximum
1,11,865 posts lying va-
cant in the state police
against a sanctioned
strength of 4,15,315
while its actual strength
was 3,03,450. West Ben-
gal had 55,294 police
posts lying vacant fol-
lowed by Bihar (47,099),
MP (31,488), Telangana
(29,492), Maharashtra
(28,550), Gujarat (27,349),
it showed. Delhi had
9,767vacantpoliceposts,
as per the data. Naga-
land was the only state
in the country to have
an actual strength more
than the sanctioned
strength.It had 28,113
policepersonnelagainst
a sanctioned strength of
26,738, the data showed.
As per data compiled
by the Bureau of Police
Research Develop-
ment (BPRD), the
sanctioned strength of
police was 26,23,225
whiletheactualstrength
was 20,91,488 and
5,31,737 vacancies were
there as on January 1,
2020, Minister of State
for Home Affairs G Kis-
han Reddy informed the
Lok Sabha.
Reddy tabled these
figures in response to a
query by DMK MP T R
Paarivendhar, who had
sought to know details
of police posts lying va-
cant across the country
.
While presenting the
data, Reddy in his writ-
ten response stated that
“police” is a state sub-
ject and it is primarily
the responsibility of the
state governments to fill
up the vacancies in the
police force in the states.
—FILE PHOTO
Wasim Rizvi
EARS TO THE GROUND
Minister of Industrial Development Satish Mahana making Pooris during a Devi Jagran
at Jarauli in Kanpur on Monday.
Armyrecruitmentfraud:
CBIregisterscaseagainst23
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The CBI has
registered a case against
23 persons including of-
ficers under the Preven-
tion of Corruption Act
and Criminal Conspira-
cy
, based.
The complaint given
to the CBI by the Army
Headquarters consists
of names of officers
rangingfromLieutenant
to Major. The CBI based
on the complaint raided
as many as 30 locations
and has also made ar-
restsinthecase.Inaraid
conducted late on Mon-
day night, a team of CBI
Lucknow raided a house
in Padrauna after it re-
ceived information that
money was being col-
lectedinthehouseunder
the pretext of recruit-
ment to the army
.
Thehousebelongedto
a girl from Jagdish
Puramof Padraunawho
is accused of collecting
money in return for re-
cruitment to Army
. The
team though was unable
to find the girl in ques-
tion in the house but the
team found an iPhone in
the premises which was
taken into possession by
the team. The accused
girl is a student who is
pursuing her studies in
Delhi.

rench-style consist-
ently appeals to so
many of us because
it’s an effortlessly el-
egant vibe that can
make us feel like our
truest selves. It’s all
about ease, and most
women across the At-
lantic don’t care for
throwaway, high
street styles. What
do they care about
is clothing that’s
well-made and ver-
s at i l e — p i e c e s
that read pol-
ished without
trying too hard.
BE EFFORTLESSLY CHIC
The most cardinal of all
French style rules is to ap-
pear effortlessly chic. You
should never look like
you’ve spent more than 30
minutesinfrontof amirror
and that goes for both your
outfit and your make-up!
START WITH THE BASICS
When it comes to dress-
ing, the French go back
to basics. Classic
French style clothing
includes lots of simple de-
signs and neutral colours.
Start by developing a closet
of basics like t-shirts, but-
ton-ups, and simple pants.
Stick to neutral colours
like black, white and nude.
INVEST IN QUALITY
OVER QUANTITY
French girls always invest in
a few pieces of quality
clothing over a large ward-
robe filled with low-cost
items. Start by purging any
low-quality or deteriorat-
ing items of clothing you
own. Replace them with
high-quality pieces you
know will last longer than
one season.
ONE STATEMENT PIECE
PER OUTFIT
Once you have a good closet
of basics and carefully cu-
rated statement pieces, you
can easily put together
many different outfits.
Pick one statement piece
per outfit to add some per-
sonality to your look.
LUCKNOW, WEDNESDAY
MARCH 17, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
The Mademoiselle look
Want to know the secret to dress your best every day?Take a hint from the French. It
seems like every woman in Paris is so effortlessly elegant, even if her outfit is nothing
special. City First brings you French style rules to look stunning!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
F

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First india lucknow edition-17 march 2021

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