First India Mumbai 22032023.pdf

MAHARASHTRA
LOGS 280 NEW nCOV
CASES, 1 DEATH
Mumbai (PTI): Maharash-
tra on Tuesday record-
ed 280 new cases of
COVID-19 and one fatality
due to the infection, taking
the tally to 81,40,145 and
toll to 1,48,429, an official
from the state health
department said. The
daily count of cases has
more than doubled since
Monday, when it reported
128 new cases. Accord-
ing to an official report,
with 7,845 swab samples
tested in the last 24 hours,
the total number of tests
conducted across the
state rose to 8,65,57,062.
Of the latest cases, Pune
circle reported the highest
133 infections, followed
by 101 from Mumbai,
14 from Nashik, 10 from
Kolhapur, 9 from Nagpur,
seven cases from Akola
and six from Aurangabad.
The only casualty of the
day was reported from
Latur circle, the report
said.
Maharashtra politics going the way of
UP, Bihar: MNS prez Raj Thackeray
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharashtra
NavnirmanSena(MNS)
president Raj Thacker-
ay has appealed to
youth of the state to
stake their claim in re-
viving politics in Maha-
rastra, or risk letting it
go the way of “Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar”.
In an interview on
Tuesday, the MNS chief
called the state of poli-
tics here “dirty” and
jibed that he would re-
frain from commenting
on the current political
scenario in his profile
as a cartoonist.
“A large section of so-
ciety has gone out of
politics. They got tired
of the situation here
and settled in other
countries after seeing
better jobs there. In my
mind, they should come
back. These things
should be taken care of.
Otherwise, the matter
will get out of control.
The political situation
of Maharashtra will be
similar to that of Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar,” he
said.
“Looking at the cur-
rent politics in Maha-
rashtra, I feel that I am
a misfit for politics. I
don’t want to say any-
thing as a cartoonist
looking at the current
situation. Today’s po-
litical situation in Ma-
harashtra is very dirty
,”
he added.
He also returned to
the issue of loudspeak-
ers in mosques--an is-
sue that seemed to have
quieted down in recent
months.
“Those who speak
about Hindutva, should
also show their Hindu-
ism once. If Saudi (Ara-
bia) can stop azaan on
loudspeakers, why can’t
(Prime Minister Naren-
dra) Modi stop them
here. I will present a de-
tailed position on the
matter tomorrow,” he
said.
LoI only after financial capability is established: Fadnavis
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Deputy
Chief Minister Deven-
dra Fadnavis on Tues-
day said the Adani
group which has won
the tender for Dharavi
redevelopment will re-
ceive the Letter of In-
tent (LoI) only after it
establishes that it has
the financial capabili-
ty to execute the pro-
ject.
He was replying in
the Legislative Assem-
bly after Congress
MLA Varsha Gaikwad,
whose constituency in-
cludes Dharavi, raised
concerns about the
project following the
allegations of stock
manipulation facing
the Adani group.
Gaikwad also asked
if a fresh tender would
be floated for the pro-
ject.
Fadnavis asserted
that the tendering pro-
cess was transparent.
There was a global
tender and three par-
ties responded to it.
The bids of two parties
were proper and the
highest bidder among
them was awarded the
contract, he said.
“So it is incorrect to
say that the process
was flawed. The LoI
has not been issued
yet. This is because it
is issued only after all
the departments take
that decision… There
is one decision (yet to
be made) from the Ur-
ban Development de-
partment after which
the LoI will be issued,”
Fadnavis said.
In November 2021,
the Adani group
emerged as the highest
bidder for the 259-hec-
tare Dharavi Redevel-
opment Project; its
winning bid of Rs5,069
crore was more than
double that of DLF’s
Rs2,025 crore.
The tender mentions
that the money would
be paid upfront and a
bank guarantee will be
given (by the winning
firm), Fadnavis said.
“Before issuing the
LOI, they (the compa-
ny which has won the
tender) have to show
whether they are fi-
nancially capable, they
have to show whether
the bank is ready to
give them money, and
deposit a certain
amount in a dedicated
account,” the deputy
CM said, adding, “If
they comply with eve-
rything, they can exe-
cute the project....If
they do not, they will
not get the LoI,” he
added.
READ
Crucial
Crucial
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MUMBAI l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 312
Dy CM responded
after Cong MLA
Varsha Gaikwad--
whose
constituency
includes Dharavi--
raised queries on
the project
following
allegations of stock
manipulation
facing the Adani
group
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
MNS president Raj Thackeray
MAHATMA GANDHI’S
GRANDDAUGHTER
USHA PASSES AWAY
Mumbai: Mahatma
Gandhi’s granddaughter
Usha Gokani passed away
in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Gokani, 89 years, was ail-
ing for the last five years
and was bedridden for last
two years, Mani Bhavan
executive secretary Megh-
shyam Ajgaonkar said.
Union Minister for I&B Anurag
Thakur speaks to media at the
Parliament House on Tuesday.
THAKUR CHANGES HIS
MINISTRY’S ‘FORTUNES’,
AUCTIONS SLOTS WORTH
`1,072CRORE!
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Known for
his management and
pragmatic approach to-
wards any mission that
is delegated to him, Un-
ion Minister of Infor-
mation and Broadcast-
ing Anurag Thakur has
created a record, of
sorts, regarding the rev-
enue collection from
DD free dish auction!
Renowned channel
Bharat24 also auc-
tioned for a slot for
over `17 cr! Turn to P5
Restore red
notice against
Choksi: CBI
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The CBI
has asked an Inter-
pol body to restore
the Red
N o t i c e
a g a i n s t
fugitive
diaman-
taire Mehul Choksi
terming its earlier
decision to drop his
name from the list
had “serious short-
comings, procedural
violations, over-
reach of mandate
and mistakes”.
HUNT FOR AMRITPAL SINGH ENTERS DAY 4
‘80,000 COPS,
HE STILL ESCAPED?’
Moni Sharma
Chandigarh: The Pun-
jab and Haryana High
Court on Tuesday
slammed Punjab police
and asked them to sub-
mit a status report in
their operation against
Khalistani leader Am-
ritpal Singh.
“You have 80,000 cops.
What were they doing?
How did Amritpal Sin-
gh escape?” the HC
asked Punjab govern-
ment. The court re-
marked that this is an
intelligence failure of
the state’s police. The
court’s remarks come
amid the Punjab Police
action against the Khal-
istan leader and mem-
bers of his outfit ‘Waris
Punjab De’.
Court asked the state
govt ‘how is everyone
held, except Singh’. P6
POSSIBLE AVATARS OF AMRITPAL...
From hirsute to clean shaven, Punjab Police on Tuesday released possible avatars or looks of fugitive
Amritpal Singh, Khalistani leader on run for last 4 days, and hoping that people could help spot him.
l HC raps Punjab govt,
says it big intel failure
l How are all arrested,
except Amritpal, asks HC
l The next court hearing
slated to be after 4 days
l 3 aides of Amritpal
brought to Dibrugarh jail
Days after crackdown against
radical preacher Amritpal
Singh, Punjab CM
Bhagwant Mann
on Tuesday said
action was taken
against those who
at the instance
of foreign forces
were speaking
about disturbing the state’s peace
and giving hate speeches.
ACTION TAKEN AGAINST
ELEMENTS DISTURBING
PEACE IN PUNJAB: MANN
The Punjab government
on Tuesday extended the
suspension of mobile internet
and SMS
services in
Tarn Taran,
Ferozepur,
Moga, San-
grur and Amritsar’s Ajnala
sub-division and a few areas
in Mohali till Thursday noon.
MOBILE INTERNET
SERVICES TO RESUME
IN SOME DISTRICTS
The Brezza car, in which
Amritpal Singh fled, has
been recovered by the
Police. He was helped by four
people. Arms act invoked against
4 who helped Amritpal Singh.
—Sukhchain Singh Gill, Punjab IGP
NSA INVOKED
AGAINST AMRITPAL,
PUNJAB GOVT
TELLS HC: LAWYER
Punjab government on
Tuesday informed the
Punjab and Haryana High
Court that the stringent
National Security Act has
been invoked against
radical preacher Amritpal
Singh, claimed a lawyer.
During a hearing on the
habeas corpus petition
seeking the preacher’s
production in court,
Justice N S Shekhawat
also pulled up the state
govt over Amritpal Singh
giving police the slip on
Saturday and called it an
intelligence failure.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks at the 148th Foundation
Day of Arya Samaj, at Talkatora Stadium, in Delhi on Tuesday. P5
SHAH’S HECTIC 8 DAYS
AHEAD IN 4 STATES
HM will inaugurate Sharda Devi temple in Kupwara district of JK today
New Delhi: Union Home
Minister Amit Shah will
attend a series of events in
next 8 days for which he
will travel to 4 States, in-
cluding twice to Karnataka,
officials said on Tuesday.
The home minister will
inaugurate the Sharda Devi
temple, located in Kupwara
district of Jammu and
Kashmir, on Wednesday
through video conference.
The temple has been built
by the Shri Sringeri Math
and Seva Sharda Samiti
Kashmir.
MARCH 23 Shah will inaugurate a vedic herit-
age portal and virtual music, based on 64 arts,
in New Delhi.
MARCH 24 He will travel to Karnataka where
he will attend conference of southern states and
UTs inaugurate various development on drug
trafficking and national security in Bengaluru.
MARCH 25 HM will travel to Chhattisgarh where
he will attend the 84th raising day celebrations of
the CRPF, launch the telecast of a news service by
Prasar Bharati at Jagdalpur. He will offer prayers at
the Aanchalkund Dada Darbar in Chhindwara, MP.
MARCH 26 Amit Shah will visit
Karnataka where he will inaugurate
the Gorata martyrs memorial and
memorial of the Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel in Bidar.
MARCH 28 He will attend the
annual day celebrations of the AS-
SOCHAM in New Delhi.
MARCH 29 Shah will attend the
convocation ceremony of 78 Assis-
tant Commandants of the CRPF at
the CRPF Academy in Gurugram.
6.6 magnitude quake in Af,
tremors scare India and Pak
Jaipur (FIB): Strong
earthquake tremors
were felt in northern
India including Delhi-
NCR, Rajasthan. As per
reports quake of 6.6 mag
hit countries including
Afghanistan, India, Ka-
zakhstan, Pak, China.
Epicenter is believed to
be 90 km from Kalafgan
in Afghanistan.There
was no immediate re-
port of any loss of life.
People rush out of their houses as strong earthquake tremors
were felt in Jaipur on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA
HAPPY
CHAITRA
NAVRATRI
HINDU
NAV VARSH
GREETINGS!
ODI WORLD CUP 2023 TO BEGIN ON OCT 5, FINAL NOV 19
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR MUMBAI BSE SENSEX 58,074.68 445.73 | NSE NIFTY 17,107.50 119.10
KANNADA ACTOR
ARRESTED FOR
‘OBJECTIONABLE’
TWEET ON HINDU
New Delhi: The 2023 ODI World Cup will start on October 5 with the final
taking place on November 19. The report further stated that the Board for
Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has shortlisted around 12 venues for the
tournament and final will be held at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Bengaluru: Popular Kannada actor, Chetan Kumar,
also known as Chetan Ahimsa, has been arrested
by Bengaluru police following a viral tweet he made
about Hindutva. The actor, who is also a Dalit and
tribal activist, faces charges of insulting a religion.
DELHI BUDGET
APPROVED BY
MHA, SAY LG
OFFICE SOURCES
New Delhi: Sources from the lieutenant governor’s
office on Tuesday said Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
had approved Delhi govt’s budget for fiscal 2023-24
communicated it to AAP administration. This comes
amid a disagreement between Centre and city govt.

NEWS
MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023
02
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First India Bureau
Pune: The second edi-
tion of the Africa-India
Field Training Exercise
(AFINDEX- 2023) be-
tween India and 23 na-
tions of the African
continent commenced
at Foreign Training
Node, Aundh, Pune on
Tuesday
.
According to the of-
ficial statement, 100
Participants from Bot-
swana, Cameroon,
Egypt, Equatorial
Guinea, Eswatini, Ethi-
opia, Ghana, Kenya,
Lesotho, Malawi, Mo-
rocco, Niger, Nigeria,
Republic of Congo,
Rwanda, Seychelles,
Senegal, Sudan, South
Africa, Tanzania, Ugan-
da, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
are attending this
unique field training
exercise. The partici-
pants were addressed
by Lt Gen Rakesh Ka-
poor, Corps Command-
er, Desert Corps.
The joint exercise is
in keeping with India’s
outreach to Africa,
which commenced in
2008 through the India-
Africa Summit and has
been thereafter held in
2015 and 2019. The
theme of the exercise is
focused on Humanitar-
ian Mine Action and
Peace Keeping Opera-
tions, the official state-
ment read.
The improvement of
interoperability and op-
erational readiness for
UN peacekeeping mis-
sions depends on mili-
tary engagement and
cooperation among the
participating member
countries.
The objectives of the
exercise are to continue
to build upon the initia-
tives taken to strength-
en India - Africa rela-
tions, with a focus on
enhancing peace and
security, to create op-
portunities to exchange
ideas perspectives,
learn from the African
experience in coopera-
tive security and man-
agement of security
crisis situations as well
as to promote a collabo-
rative approach in ca-
pacity enhancement of
African armies, the
press release read.
Notably, the Exer-
cise is categorically di-
vided into four phases.
Initially, the trainers
are trained. This is fur-
ther followed by a Hu-
manitarian Mine Ac-
tion and a Peace Keep-
ing Operations Phase;
finally, culminating in
a validation exercise to
assess the results of
the training conducted,
the release added.
Africa-India joint exercise AFINDEX- 2023 commences in Pune
DISPLAY OF STRENGTH
The second edition of Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX- 2023) between India and 23
nations of the African continent commenced at Foreign Training Node, Aundh, in Pune on Tuesday.
The joint exercise is in keeping with
India’s outreach to Africa, which
commenced in 2008 through the
India-Africa Summit
100 PARTICIPANTS
BODY OF 28-YEAR-
OLD MAN FOUND IN
PALGHAR DISTRICT
LATUR MUNICIPAL CORPORATION
LAUNCHES TAX COLLECTION DRIVE
Latur: The Latur Municipal Corporation has initiated a
special drive to collect pending property taxes from citi-
zens. The drive will continue until March 31, with the civic
body warning of property seizure for defaulters who fail
to pay. The corporation is waiving interest on property tax
dues during the special drive. On Monday, the corporation
disconnected two water connections in the Latur D zone
area for non-payment of property tax.
Palghar: Body of a 28-year-
old man was discovered
in the central park of
Nalasopara in Palghar. The
body was found lying on a
bench by local residents on
Monday, who informed the
police. The deceased has
been identified, and police
have registered a case of
accidental death. The cause
of death is currently under
investigation.
CRUCIAL READ
POLICE RESCUE THREE WOMEN FROM
PROSTITUTION RACKET IN THANE DIST
KALYAN ZONE OF THANE HAS PENDING POWER BILLS OF `127 CR
Thane: Police have rescued three women from a spa cen-
ter in Kashimira, Thane district, which was being used as
a front for a prostitution racket. Two men, who worked as
a manager and a sweeper at the facility, were arrested. The
owner of the spa center is also facing an FIR under various
sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of
Immortal Trafficking regulations.
Thane: The Kalyan zone
of Thane district has
pending power bills worth
Rs127 crore, according
to officials from the Ma-
harashtra State Electricity
Distribution Company
(MSEDCL). An MSEDCL
official said, Rs100.33
crore is pending with
3,31,275 consumers,
while Rs27.17 crore is
pending with 48,225 oth-
ers whose electricity sup-
ply has been disconnected
for non-payment. He also
added that MSEDCL offic-
es will remain open during
the weekend before March
31 to facilitate payment of
pending bills.
First India Bureau
Nagpur: Environmen-
tal activist Jadav Pay-
eng, popularly known as
the “forest man of In-
dia”, has said that chil-
dren across the globe
shouldbetaughttoplant
trees by schools and to
love mother earth. The
Padmashri awardee
rued that young minds
are not taught to love
and respect mother
earth at schools.
The school curricu-
lum across the world
should teach the chil-
dren to plant trees. Chil-
dren should get practi-
cal knowledge of plan-
tation as it will prove
helpful to turn the earth
green. While the new
National Education
Policy of India has in-
cluded this aspect, it
will take some time to
trickle down before it is
practised, he told on
the sidelines of the C-20
meeting in Nagpur.
Payeng said he and a
team of 50 people are
working on a project to
plant trees on 2,000 hec-
tares at the Majuli is-
land in Assam, which
will provide food to ele-
phants, rhinoceros and
deer in the forest. Ma-
juli is a river island in
the Brahmaputra river
in Assam.
Payeng had planted
and tended trees on a
sandbar of the river
Brahmaputra over dec-
adesturningitintoafor-
est reserve. The forest,
called Molai forest after
him,islocatednearKok-
ilamukh of Jorhat.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Maha-
rashtra government is
contemplating setting
up a network of inform-
ers to check illicit liq-
uor trade, the state leg-
islative Assembly was
told. Responding to a
question by Leader of
Opposition Ajit Pawar
on Monday, state Excise
Minister Shamb-
huraj Desai list-
ed various steps
being taken by
the govt in this
regard.
“We plan to
set up an in-
formers’ net-
work on
lines of
one the police have.
These informers will
give information about
illicit liquor trade oper-
ating in districts. Those
who supply informa-
tion may also receive
monetary rewards, De-
sai said.
While posing query
during question hour,
Pawar suggested that
the state excise depart-
ment can have a net-
work of inform-
ers to stop illicit
liquor trade
and a proposal
to this effect
had been under
discussion when
he handled the
depart-
ment.

—
PHOTO
BY
ANI
‘Forest man of India' wants tree
plantation to be taught at schools
Jadav Payeng said
that young minds are
not taught to love and
respect mother earth
Illicit liquor: Informers’
network on the cards
K’takaborderissueleadsto
ruckusinMaharashtraCouncil
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Karna-
taka government’s deci-
sion to block funds al-
located by the Maha-
rashtra government for
border villages with
significant Marathi
population located in
the southern state led to
a ruckus in the Legisla-
tive Council here on
Tuesday
.
The din occurred af-
ter Shiv Sena -Uddhav
Balasaheb Thackeray
(UBT) MLC Ambadas
Danve questioned the
silence of the ruling
coalition in Maharash-
tra over the Karnataka
government’s move.
While deputy chair-
person of the Legisla-
tive Council Neelam
Gorhe adjourned the
proceedings for 10 min-
utes to mark the pro-
test, she also observed
that the Opposition
leaders have behaved
“irresponsibly and im-
maturely”.
Earlier, Danve said
the Karnataka govern-
ment is stopping funds
worth Rs54 crore meant
for health benefits from
reachingMarathipeople
living inborder villages.
“The BJP is in power
in Karnataka, still no
one here in Maharash-
tra is objecting to this
move. The funds are
meant for extending
health benefits. It is
highly condemnable,”
the Leader of the Op-
position in the Council
said.
However, BJP legisla-
tors objected to Danve’s
remarks. Soon, mem-
bers from the treasury
benches and the Oppo-
sition started arguing
loudly over the issue.
When Gorhe’s repeat-
ed appeals for order
bore no fruit, she ad-
journed the proceed-
ings for 10 minutes at
around 1.45 pm.
“To mark the protest
against the Karnataka
government’s act of
blocking the funds, I
adjourn the Council for
10 minutes but the op-
position leaders have
behaved irresponsibly
and immaturely,” she
noted.
The Eknath Shinde-
BJP government re-
cently allocated Rs54
crore for the implemen-
tation of the Mahatma
Jyotiba Phule Jan Aro-
gya Yojana in Karnata-
ka’s border villages.
Amid criticism by
Opposition, Karnataka
Chief Minister Basa-
varaj Bommai had on
Wednesday said his gov-
ernment would take
measures to stop the
Maharashtra govern-
ment from offering its
health insurance
scheme in 865 border
villages.
Opposition leaders including Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal protest outside Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Row came after
oppn questioned
BJP’s silence on
southern state’s
move to block
Maha govt’s
benefits to the
border villages
AT THE CRUX
The Eknath Shinde-BJP government recently
allocated Rs54 crore for the implementation of the
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana in Karna-
taka’s border villages with a large Marathi-speaking
population. Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai has
said his government would take measures to stop
the Maharashtra government from offering its health
insurance scheme in 865 border villages.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A Bharatiya
Janata Party legislator
sparked a Hindi-Mar-
athi debate in the Maha-
rashtra Legislative
Council after he sought
to raise a job-related
matter by speaking in
Hindi. House proceed-
ings are usually con-
ducted in Marathi, the
state's official language.
BJP member Shree-
kant Bharatiya ex-
pressed concerns say-
ing some tech compa-
nies are issuing only
letters of intent to new-
ly recruited employees
but delaying their ac-
tual joining.
However, Maneesha
Kayande and Anil Parab
from the Shiv Sena
(UBT) objected to it on
the grounds that
Bharatiya was speaking
in Hindi instead of Mar-
athi. Kayande said,
Why is the legislator
speaking in Hindi when
he himself can speak
Marathi well? The en-
tire House functions in
Marathi, what is the rea-
son behind such an act?
Inhisdefence,Bharati-
ya said, Hindi is our
Rashtra Bhasha' (nation-
al language), there is
nothing wrong in speak-
ingit.Kayanderetorted,
Hindi has not been rec-
ognised as Rashtra Bha-
sha'. He should not pro-
vide such wrong infor-
mation in the House.
Parab said, If someone
speaks in Hindi and I fail
to understand, it is the
responsibility of the
speaker to translate it
into Marathi.
The eighth schedule
of the Indian Constitu-
tion recognises 22 lan-
guages. According to
Articles 344(1) and 351,
these are Assamese,
Bengali, Gujarati, Hin-
di, Kannada, Kashmiri,
Konkani, Malayalam,
Manipuri, Marathi, Ne-
pali, Oriya, Punjabi,
Sanskrit, Sindhi, Ta-
mil, Telugu, Urdu,
Bodo, Santhali, Maithi-
li and Dogri.
Mumbai (PTI): Neelam
Gorhe, the Deputy
Chairperson of the Ma-
harashtra Legislative
Council, on Tuesday
said state Health Minis-
ter Tanaji Sawant
should issue a state-
ment regarding the cur-
rent status of coronavi-
rus and use of masks.
Gorhe hinted at a re-
cent comment made by
the ex-chairperson of
thestate'sCOVID-19task
force, Dr. Sanjay Oak, re-
garding the compulsory
use of masks in state.
The state health
minister should make a
statement in the legisla-
tive Council regarding
the use of masks. Dr.
Oak has already issued
a statement asking peo-
ple to wear masks,
Gorhe said.
The House needs to
know the current status
of coronavirus, its se-
verity, and precautions
to be taken to avoid its
spread, she said.
The state on Monday
recorded 128 new cases
of coronavirus that
took the tally of infec-
tions to 81,39,865, which
includes 1,48,428 casual-
ties. While the current
active cases stand at
1,364 active cases.
BJPlegislatordraws
oppositioncriticism
overaddressinHindi
The eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution recognises 22
languages. —FILE PHOTO
Minister should
issue statement
on COVID-19
situation: Gorhe
—PHOTO
BY
BHUSHAN
KOYANDE

MAHARASHTRA
03
Mercury dips as Mum region
sees heavy unseasonal rains
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A spell of
heavy showers in Mum-
bai and satellite cities
such as Thane, Mira-
Bhayander, and Vasai-
Virar on Tuesday morn-
ing brought down the
temperature.
The India Meteoro-
logical Department at-
tributed the heavy un-
seasonal rains to west-
erly winds and moisture
incursion from the Ara-
bian Sea.
The Colaba observa-
tory recorded a mini-
mum temperature of
20.6 °C and Santacruz
observatory recorded
21.2 °C—a departure of
2.6 °C and 0.3 °C, respec-
tively—fromthenormal.
The Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation
(BMC) said that some
parts of Mumbai city
andsuburbsrecordedup
to 20-25mm of rain be-
tween 7 am and 8 am.
BMC said the Brihan-
mumbai Electric Supply
and Transport (BEST)
busoperationswerenor-
mal, and that bus routes
were not changed due to
rain or waterlogging an-
ywhere in the city
.
Railway authorities
said train services in the
city on all three subur-
ban corridors main line,
harbour line and west-
ern line were running
normally
.
“Heavy rain was re-
ported in various sec-
tions of the Mumbai di-
vision, but trains are
running smoothly
,” said
Shivaji Sutar, chief pub-
lic relations officer of
Central Railway (CR).
However, commuter
associations said trains
ran late as the day pro-
gressed. Local televi-
sion channels reported
that trains stopped at
Sandhurst Road sta-
tions of CR’s Kalyan
and Harbour Line for a
while due to a technical
snag at Ray Road. Mean-
while, trains between
Panvel and CST were
also running late by
half an hour. The sched-
ule of some trains were
also changed in Mum-
bai, channels reported.
RAINFALL BY AREA
Mandvi fire station 28mm
Memonwada fire station 25mm
Byculla fire station 23mm
BMC headquarters 19mm
Mulund 20mm
Bhandup Complex 19mm
Dahisar fire station 18mm
Chincholi fire station 14mm
IMD attributed
the wet spell to
westerly winds
and moisture
incursion from
the Arabian Sea
No hike in taxes as Thane
gets `4,370 crore budget
First India Bureau
Thane: In relief to
residents, the Rs4,370
crore budget for fiscal
2023-24 presented by
Thane Municipal
Commissioner Abhi-
jit Bhangar on Tues-
day does not propose
any hikes in taxes.
The budget focuses
oncleanliness,health-
care, education and
pothole-free roads,
the civic chief told re-
porters, adding that
the budget proposes
revenue expenditure
of Rs2,708.83 crore
and capital expenses
Rs1,660.00 crore.
The Thane Munici-
pal Corporation
(TMC) has decided to
float bonds worth
Rs50 crore in the open
market for funds, to
take advantage of the
13% government sub-
sidy available on
them, he added.
Under the Chief
Minister Matrutva
Surakasha Yojana,
Rs12 crore has been
set aside to strength-
en maternity homes,
he said.
The capacity of
Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj Hospital in
Kalwa will be in-
creased from 500 beds
to 1,000, he said, add-
ing that Rs10 crore
will be provided for
the expansion of Van-
daniya Balasaheb
Thackeray Hospital.
In order to boost
the educational infra-
structure, the civic
body plans to start
CBSC schools in its
limits, while Rs32
crore has been ear-
marked for facilities
in primary educa-
tion, he said.
The civic body has
allocated Rs77 crore
for cluster develop-
ment works and there
are plans to build tene-
ments on government
land to accommodate
people whose houses
will go under redevel-
opment, he said.
The transport budg-
et of Rs230 crore will
include introduction
of double-deckerbuses
and additional electric
air-conditioned buses,
the civic chief said.
The TMC will un-
dertake a mega pro-
gramme to revamp
toilets, which will cov-
er more than 900 toi-
lets in the city
.
INFLOW (IN ` CR)
Property tax 761.72
Development funds 565.00
Local bodies
tax 1,267.79
Water taxes 225.00
Fire taxes 132.00
Estate income 19.65
MAJOR ALLOCATIONS (IN ` CR)
Road repairs 300
Improved water supply 100
Zero garbage programme 80
Woman child welfare programmes 33
Integrated city beautification work 30
Disability welfare programmes 14
Maintenance of public toilets 10
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The 800-year-
old Mahim fort, has
now become free of en-
croachments as more
than 200 hutments in-
side it were demolished,
the Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(BMC) said on Monday
.
The civic body has an-
nounced the appoint-
ment of renowned ar-
chitect and archaeologi-
cal consultant Vikas
Dilawari as a consultant
for the restoration of
the fort. According to a
press release, the fort
will be transformed into
a tourist attraction.
The descendants of
King Bimbdev, who es-
tablished his kingdom
Mahikawati in
“Aparant” or north Kon-
kan belt of Maharash-
tra, built the fort some-
where between 1140 and
1241, the release issued
by the BMC stated.
Squatters have re-
portedly taken over a
fort on the west coast of
the city for several dec-
ades. The fort, which is
a state-protected monu-
ment under the Maha-
rashtra Ancient Monu-
ment and Archaeologi-
cal Sites and Remains
Acts, 1960, has been left
without security by the
excise department.
This has raised con-
cerns about the safety
and preservation of the
historical site.
People residing in
more than 260 hutments
inside the fort were
qualified for alternate
accommodation in a
survey conducted for
the restoration project,
the BMC said.
The release said that
approximately 3,000 in-
dividuals were residing
inside the fort. Howev-
er, they have now been
relocated to areas such
as Malad and Malvani.
As per the release,
some residents had not
vacated their huts even
after rehabilitation or-
ders and were forceful-
ly removed with the
help of the local police
who registered com-
plaints against them
before the demolition
last week.
Residents of more than 200
hutments qualified for alternate
housing in survey conducted before
restoration of 800-yr-old monument
The descendants
of King Bimbdev
had built the fort
somewhere
between 1140
and 1241
15,253 teen mothers found in 16
tribal districts in 3 years: Min Lodha
Mumbai (PTI): The
Maharashtra govern-
ment has come across
15,253 adolescent moth-
ers in the past three
years in 16 tribal-domi-
nated districts of the
state, Woman and Child
Development Minister
Mangal Prabhat Lodha
told the Legislative
Council on Tuesday.
The minister was re-
sponding to a question
in the House on child
marriages, which is a
crime in India.
In a written reply,
Lodha said: “In 16 trib-
al districts in Maha-
rashtra, the number of
pregnant girls aged less
than 18 years was found
to be 15,253 (in past
three years). The de-
partment has set up a
three-member commit-
tee to gather this infor-
mation.”
When asked whether
the state had reported
more than 15,000 child
marriages in the last
three years and if it
could prevent even
10% of it, Lodha in his
written reply said it
was “partially” true.
The minister said
child marriage is tradi-
tional in certain tribes,
making it difficult to
identify such cases.
The minister admit-
ted that according to
the National Family
Health Survey, Maha-
rashtra has reported
more incidents of
child marriage than
Kerala.
Between 2019 and
2021, Lodha said, 152
criminal cases have
been filed under the
Prohibition of Child
Marriage Act of which
136 are in court.
Latur: Timely intervention by government authori-
ties prevented at least three child marriages—one
each in Vadval in Chakur tehsil, Bamani village in
Deoni tehsil and Budhoda in Ausa tehsil of Latur
district—in one day, officials said. The state Wom-
en and Child Development Department said the
action was taken based on inputs from ChildLine
NGO and other sources, an official said on Mon-
day. He said the officials counselled the parents of
the three girls and also provided legal assistance.
3 CHILD MARRIAGES STOPPED IN 1 DAY
Mahim fort free of encroachments; to be restored as tourist attraction
Amruta Fadnavis extortion case: Cops
get custody of ‘bookie’ Anil Jaisinghani
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A court here
on Tuesday remanded
allegedbookieAnilJais-
inghani in police custo-
dy till March 27 in a case
related to alleged at-
tempt to blackmail and
bribe Amruta Fadnavis,
Maharashtra Deputy
Chief Minister Deven-
dra Fadnavis’s wife.
The court also ex-
tended the police re-
mand of Jaisinghani’s
daughter Aniksha Jais-
inghani till March 24.
Anil Jaisinghani was
nabbed from Gujarat on
Monday. He was pro-
duced before additional
sessions judge DD Al-
male here on Tuesday
.
Mumbai police had
on March 16 arrested
Aniksha Anil Jaising-
hani, a designer, after
Amruta Fadnavis ac-
cused her of offering a
bribe for intervening in
a criminal case in
which Anil Jaisinghani
was involved, and also
threatening her.
Aniksha was pro-
duced before the court
on Tuesday at the end
of her initial remand.
The court extended her
custody as police said it
was necessary for fur-
ther probe.
The father-daughter
duo have been booked
under Indian Penal
Code sections related to
criminal conspiracy
and extortion and also
under the Prevention of
Corruption Act.
FAMILY AFFAIR
13 hours 13
godowns later,
Thane fire
finally doused
First India Bureau
Thane: The fire that
broke out in a godown
complex in the Shil Diva
area of Thane district
on Monday afternoon
was doused after 13
hours on early Tuesday
.
While no casualties
were reported, as many
as 13 godowns were re-
duced to ashes as the
storage inventory com-
prised combustibles
including scrap, rub-
ber sheets, wood, plas-
tic, and cardboard, of-
ficials said.
The flames were put
out by five fire engines
and an equal number of
water tankers around 4
am on Tuesday, a disas-
ter management cell of-
ficial said.
Thecauseof theblaze
is under investigation.
Mumbaikars appeared unfazed by the odd weather as
they went about their day armed with umbrellas and
raincoats. —PHOTOS BY BHSUHAN KOYANDE PTI
Thane Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO
About 3,000 people
had been squatting
in the protected
monument. —FILE
PHOTO

FOR INDIAN CINEMA…FILM ABHI BAKI HAI
he party has just begun.
The night is still young.
Indian Cinema was BIG
and at the global podium…
be it Venice, Berlin or
Cannes… Indian Cinema
was always credited for its
make. However, with the
success at the Oscar 2023,
fully home-grown Indian
Cinema has finally tri-
umphedagainstall“odds”!
Since the Fifties, Indian
Cinema has created a rip-
ple in the celluloid world.
Today, we take a look at
the baby steps that Indian
cinema in general took
post-Independence, un-
knowingly that collective-
ly India would create a
niche (albeit small) in the
arena of world cinema.
We have several times
asked ourselves why was
the great dream merchant
icon Raj Kapoor so popu-
lar in Russia? The answer
is perhaps the optimism
of the charismatic actor
that inspired Russians to
brave through their trou-
bled times.
In the early fifties, just
after the devastating war
with Germany, the coun-
try was still in ruins and
people were poor and
their lives were full of pri-
vations and shortages.
But when they saw great-
er hardships being faced
by the poor from India and
too with a smile, it boosted
their sagging optimism.
So, after watching Awara
and Shri 420, Raj Kapoor
became a symbol of hope
and optimism for the peo-
ple of Soviet Union.
Also, the common man
shares perhaps the same
spiritual values as per-
haps all Indian movies
gives the message of ‘vic-
tory of good over evil’.
This is perhaps the yearn-
ing of every downtrodden
soul in the world and it is
so eternally bonded.
Believe it or not, in the
late Eighties this anecdote
reveals exactly how big B
Subhash’s Disco Dancer
was in Russia. When the
then USSR leader Mikhail
Gorbachev visited New
Delhi, Prime Minister Ra-
jiv Gandhi introduced
Amitabh Bachchan as the
‘biggest superstar from
India’, but Gorbachev ap-
parently said, “But my
daughter only knows
Mithun Chakraborty
.”
After Disco Dancer’s re-
lease in Soviet Union thea-
tres in 1984, Disco Dancer
grossed a whopping $76
millioninthatcountry
.For
the record, that is $100 mil-
lion more than what Pad-
maavatgrossedworldwide.
MithunChakraborty-star-
rer Disco Dancer was the
highest grossing foreign
film in the Soviet Union!
BUT THESE WERE IN
BITS AND PIECES…
Pather Panchali was re-
leased in Basusree, a Cal-
cutta cinema on August
26, 1955 and received a
poor initial response. The
screenings started filling
up within a week or two,
buoyed by word of mouth.
It opened again at another
cinema, where it ran for
seven weeks. A delay in
subtitling led to postpone-
ment of the UK release till
Dec 1957. It went on to
achieve great success in
the US in 1958, running
for eight months at Fifth
Avenue Playhouse in New
York.WB govt which pro-
duced the film earned a
profit of $50,000 from its
initial US release, and dec-
ades later the film grossed
$402,723 from its 2015 lim-
ited release.
Lagan, on its part, made
it to a close call at cine-
ma’s biggest stage in the
world, but missed chance
to make the cut. Even as
the maestro Ray received
the Lifetime Achievement
from Oscar, home-gown
Indian cinema (as I
termed it earlier in this
column) had to wait in
general for some more
time before Naatu Naatu
“Trunk Call” of The El-
ephant Whisperers made
it big at Academy Awards.
This year’s unprece-
dented night at the Acade-
my Awards is a manifesta-
tion of years of cerebral
and emotive filmmaking
without the expectation of
any recognition from the
West. In recent times,
thanks to technology and
money power, India has
taken major strides in
globally communicating
through its popular medi-
um of cinema and Films
likeKantara(Telugu),RRR
(Telugu), Pariyerum Peru-
mal (Tamil), Sairat (Mar-
athi)Mandela(Tamil),and
Asuran (Tamil) The El-
ephant Whisperers have
been enough proof of this
trend which has finally ar-
rived. It is not that Indian
cinema has not received
recognition in the past
from the Academy
. But the
recent bumper successes
signify the Indian time-
tested interests in equality
,
fraternity, human liberty
and justice. These films
and recognition will take
Indiancinematotheglobal
stagewherethesepiecesof
art actually belong. After
years of sustainable ef-
forts, despite being
shunned several times,
people have sat up and no-
ticed our mettle.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
ROBIN ROY
The writer is Senior Journalist and
former Managing Editor, First India
SOME FILMS
THAT WON GLOBAL
ACCOLADES….
z SANT TUKARAM
(Directed by Vishnupant Govind
Damle and Sheikh Fattelal, 1937)
Bagged special prize at
the Venice Film Festival to
become the first film to get
global recognition
z DO BIGHA ZAMEEN
(Directed by Bimal Roy)
Won the prestigious Prix
Internationale at the 1954
Cannes Film festival
z PATHER PANCHALI
(Directed by Satyajit Ray)
Won a number of awards
including the Palme d’Or for
Best Human Document at the
1956 Cannes Film festival
z MOTHER INDIA
(Directed by Mehboob Khan, 1957)
Nargis won the best actress
award at the Karlovy Vary
International Film Festival
1958, it was 1st Indian film
which was nominated for
Academy Awards in the Best
Foreign Language film
z CHALCHITRO
(Directed by Mrinal Sen, 1981)
Film won the prestigious
Alitalia Prize and the film
also in the race for the
Golden Lion at the 1981
Venice Film Festival
z LAGAAN
(Directed by Ashutosh
Gowariker, 2001)
Apart from Mother India
Salaam Bombay, Lagaan
is the only other film which
made it to the final nomination
list for the Academy Awards
in the Best Foreign Language
film category
RISE AND RISE
OF SOUTH FILMS
While Indians did win
Oscars in the past, this
win was special as it was for
the first time that an Indian
production and film won
the Academy Award. ‘The
Slumdog Millionaire’ that
won the Best Original Song
in 2009 was a predominantly
British production. The Naatu
Naatu fever had gripped
people across the world and
the dance sequence have had
millions of views on YouTube,
Instagram, and TikTok.
OUR NATION’S “RAY” OF HOPE...
As India celebrates its historic wins at the Oscar, here's a look
at the global icon Satyajit Ray, whose films, literature and art
continue to have an impact on audiences across the world. Ray
(1921-1991), polymath, polyglot, novelist, short-story writer, il-
lustrator, designer and music composer, was one of the most emi-
nent film directors of world cinema. His 'Pather Panchali' (Song
of the Little Road, 1955) established his position as a major film
director, winning him the earliest of the many awards that he was
to win throughout his career, culminating in the Lifetime Academy
Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
at the Oscars in 1992. The award, which he could not receive in
person because he was ailing, was given to him in recognition of
his rare mastery of the art of motion pictures and for his profound
humanitarian outlook, which has had an indelible influence on
filmmakers and audiences throughout the world.
PERSPECTIVE
04
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become
what we think. When the mind is pure, joy
follows like a shadow that never leaves.
—Buddha
Narendra Modi @narendramodi
Navroz Mubarak! On this
auspicious occasion, I pray for
the happiness and good health
of everyone. May the year ahead
bring greater prosperity and
further the spirit of togetherness
in our society.
TOP TWEETS
Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda
Greetings to everyone on
the joyous occasion of Navroz,
may it bring new beginnings
and fresh opportunities to all.
Wishing everyone a blessed
Parsi New Year!
here has been a
spurt in anti-
Muslim senti-
ment in Maha-
rashtra with
Hindutva organisations
and some BJP leaders sup-
porting rallies organised
over the last four months.
At these gatherings the
Hindutva leaders have
been calling for an eco-
nomic boycott of Muslims
to push them to penury.
Early this week right wing
organisations held a rally
at Mumbai’s Mira Road un-
der the Jan Aakrosh Mor-
cha where leaders spoke of
Islamic aggression in the
form of love jihad, land ji-
had and conversion. They
specifically targeted the
Naya Nagar locality in
Mira Road for its sizeable
97-98 percent Muslim pop-
ulation. The speakers re-
ferred to the Muslims as
jihadis and asked “where
will Hindus seek refuge”.
Kajal Hindustani, one of
the speakers, explained
that the economic boycott
of Muslims is one weapon
the use of which “cannot
be stopped by the political
leaders, the Supreme Court
or even the media”. Al-
though Maharashtra’s BJP
government has distanced
itself from these rallies,
those present at Mira Road
included BJP MLA Nitesh
Rane, local BJP leaders
and members of VHP and
Bajrang Dal. Rane said he
supported calls for an eco-
nomic boycott of Muslims.
The Hindu hardliners
think that call for econom-
ic boycott will not attract
censor but it also amounts
to hate against a commu-
nity just as calling Mus-
lims jihadis and issuing
open threats to the commu-
nity members do. The eco-
nomic boycott would tanta-
mount to a social boycott
of Muslims. The Jan Aak-
rosh Morcha’s rallies pose
a threat to harmonious co-
existence. On the Supreme
Court’sordersthespeeches
are being recorded by the
police. Action will follow
based on legal advice.
HINDU GROUPS’ CALL
FOR ECONOMIC BOYCOTT
T
There has been a spurt in anti-
Muslim sentiment in
Maharashtra with
Hindutva organisations
and some BJP leaders
supporting rallies organised
over the last four months. At
these gatherings, the Hindutva
leaders have been calling for an
economic boycott of Muslims
to push them to penury
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 312 l RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Phone 022-46031417. Editor-In-Chief: DrJagdeesh Chandra Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

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05
INDIA
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha
were adjourned again
with the Opposition de-
manding a Joint Parlia-
mentary Committee
probe (JPC) probe into
theAdaniissue,andBJP
demanding an “unam-
biguous apology” from
Rahul Gandhi for his re-
marks in the UK that
democracy in India is
“under attack” Mean-
while, Opposition MPs
protested from the first
floor of the Parliament
House building on Tues-
day, demanding that a
Joint Parliamentary
Committee be constitut-
edtolookintotheallega-
tions of fraud and stock
manipulation against
the Adani Group.
BUDGET SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
BOTH HOUSES ADJOURNED TILL
THURSDAYAMIDRUCKUSAGAIN
Opposition MPs raise slogans in Lok Sabha demanding a JPC probe into the Adani issue, on Tuesday.
IRRESPONSIBLE
OPPN WILFULLY
STALLING PARL:
PIYUSH GOYAL
RAHUL IS PRESENT-DAY MIR
JAFAR OF INDIAN POLITY: BJP
BJP IS JUST A TENANT, NOT
OWNER OF DEMOCRACY: CONG
New Delhi: The BJP on Tuesday dubbed Con-
gress leader Rahul Gandhi as the “present-
day Mir Jafar of Indian polity” who went
overseas seeking help from foreign forces to
become a ‘nawab’ in India. Stepping up its
attack on Ganhi over his democracy in danger
remark in London, BJP spokesperson Sambit
Patra reiterated the demand for an apology. “It
would not be an aberration to say that Rahul
Gandhi is a present-day Mir Jafar of Indian
polity. What he has done in London is the
same thing that Mir Jafar did,” Patra said.
New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday said
the ruling BJP is just a tenant and not the
owner of democracy and asserted that hold-
ing the govt to account does not amount to
criticising the nation. Congress spokesperson
Pawan Khera said that the BJP was resorting
to “theatrics” and “drama” to divert country’s
attention from the Adani issue. He said the
BJP will be seen as “Jai Chands” in history
and claimed its ideological forefathers were
known apologisers of the British, after the
BJP attacked Rahul Gandhi as “Mir Jafar”.
New Delhi: Union Minister
Piyush Goyal on Tuesday ac-
cused the Opposition of will-
fully stalling Parliament with
its “irresponsible” comments
and “unfounded” allegations
to mislead the country amid
global recognition of PM
Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Goyal, joined by Parliamen-
tary Affairs Minister Pralhad
Joshi, accused the Opposition
of repeatedly insulting Rajya
Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep
Dhankhar by refusing to even
meet him. Even on Tuesday,
some parties including Con-
gress did not attend the meet-
ing called by him, he said.
New Delhi (PTI):
Home Minister Amit
Shah said on Tuesday
that Maharshi Day-
anand Saraswati fear-
lessly propagated
“swadharma, swabha-
sha and swaraj” in the
pre-independence era
when talking about
these was prohibited.
By establishing the
Arya Samaj, Maharshi
Dayanand awakened
the soul of the country
which had been in slum-
ber for years and was
the first one after Ved
Vyas to bring the Vedas
back to their original
form, Shah said at its
148th Foundation Day
.
In the pre-independ-
ence era when talking
about “swadharma,
swabhasha and swaraj”
was prohibited, Ma-
harshi Dayanand fear-
lessly propagated these
in the country, he said.
Shah said that in
spite of having Gujarati
as his mother tongue
and expertise in San-
skrit, he chose Hindi for
his writings. Shah said
PM Narendra Modi has
taken inspiration from
the life of Dayanand
Saraswati to take the
country forward on the
path of making it a
“vishwa guru”.
New Delhi (Agencies):
A Delhi court on Tues-
day listed, for March 25,
former Delhi Deputy
Chief Minister Manish
Sisodia’s bail matter in
connection with the
now-scrapped excise
policycasebeingprobed
by the Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI).
Special Judge MK
Nagpal of the Rouse Av-
enue Court asked the
probe agency to file
written submissions
and relevant judgments.
Appearing for CBI,
Special Public Prosecu-
tor DP Singh said: “It’s
not only the mobile
phones, files were also
destroyed.” The CBI op-
posedSisodia’sbailplea,
saying that this will
compromise and scuttle
their investigation.
Bhubaneswar (Agen-
cies): West Bengal
Chief Minister and Tri-
namool Congress
(TMC)PresidentMama-
ta Banerjee arrived in
Odisha on Tuesday on a
three-day visit.
Banerjee arrived at
Biju Patnaik Interna-
tional Airport where
she was received Odis-
ha’s Minister of State
for Home and Sports,
Tusharkanti Behera.
Soon after landing, she
left for Puri by road
with a police escort.
She is scheduled to
meet Biju Janata Dal
(BJD) President and
Odisha Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik here on
March 23.
“Naveen Patnaik Ji is
our senior leader. I will
meet him,” Banerjee
told reporters at the air-
port. She also informed
that she will offer
prayer at Lord Jagan-
nath temple in Puri.
New Delhi (ANI): The
BJP is the world’s most
importantforeignpoliti-
cal party and it may also
be the least understood
according to an opinion
piece in the Wall Street
Journal authored by
Walter Russell Mead.
“India’s ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party
is,fromthestandpointof
Americannationalinter-
ests, the most important
foreign political party in
the world. It may also be
the least understood,”
the WSJ piece read. BJP
,
aftersuccessivevictories
in 2014, and 2019 is also
headed for a repeat vic-
tory in 2024, the publica-
tion stated, adding that,
Indiaisemergingbothas
a leading economic pow-
er and, along with Ja-
pan, as the linchpin of
American strategy in
the Indo-Pacific.
“For the foreseeable
future the BJP will be
calling the shots in a
country without whose
help American efforts
to balance rising Chi-
nese power are likely to
fall short,” it added.
BJP world’s most important
party: Wall Street Journal
“Maharshi Dayanand gave
first call for independence”
Destruction of evidence constant
practice, CBI tells Delhi court
Union HM Amit Shah during the 148th Foundation Day of Arya
Samaj, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Guj Guv Acharya Devvrat also seen.
Manish Sisodia being taken to
the court. —FILE PHOTO
WB CM Mamata Banerjee
It is matter of pride for me that I
was born in the region from where
Maharshi Dayanand came. When
the country is celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav, we must know it was Ma-
harshi who had given the first call for In-
dependence. —Amit Shah, Union Home Minister
EXCISE POLICY CASE
NO INCRIMINATING
EVIDENCE FOUND,
MANISH SISODIA
TELLS COURT
New Delhi: Ex-Delhi Deputy
CM Manish Sisodia on Tues-
day told a court he has coop-
erated with the CBI investiga-
tion into the excise scam case
and none of the searches
have revealed any incriminat-
ing material against him.
Sisodia’s counsel, making
submissions on his bail plea
said his custodial interroga-
tion was no longer required
and he was not a flight risk.
“I am public servant but two
other public servants, against
whom allegations are graver
have not been arrested,” his
counsel contended.
Didi reaches Odisha,
to meet CM Patnaik
Chennai: Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi will
visit Chennai on April 8
and inaugurate railway
projects, worth Rs 294
crore, including the
Chennai-Kovai Vande
Bharat express and
Tambaram-Sengottai
Express. The visit of the
PM was announced by
the state Public Rela-
tions Department on
Tuesday but the full de-
tails of his itinerary
was not yet available.
PM Modi had visited Ta-
mil Nadu on November
11, 2022 to participate in
theGandhigramTrust’s
platinum jubilee cele-
brations at Dindigul.
PM Modi inTN on
April 8 to inaugurate
railway projects
S.No. Auction Auction Round Channels Format Period Period Term Status Language Genre Bucket Reserve Price Auction-
No. Date (From) (To) as per Notice Closed Price
1 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Manoranjan TV MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.1
2 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Manoranjan Grand MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.8
3 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Shemaroo MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.7
4 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 The Q MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.9
5 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Dangal 1 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.6
6 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Big Magic MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.65
7 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 B4U Kadak MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 16.15
8 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Star Utsav Movie MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 16.9
9 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 B4U Movie MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 17.55
10 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Colors Cineplex Superhits MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 17.35
11 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Dhamaka Movies B4U MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 17.35
12 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zee Anmol Cinema MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 24.05
13 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Sports 18 Khel MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Sports B 10 17
14 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 MTV Beats MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 17.5
15 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zee Bioskope MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Bhojpuri Regional B 10 21.1
16 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Mastii MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 20.25
17 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zing MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 17.2
18 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Big Ganga MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 16.65
19 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 News18 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 19.75
20 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 R Bharat MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 16.55
21 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 TV9 Bharatvarsh MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 14.55
22 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zee News MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 15.5
23 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 NDTV India MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 16.55
24 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 ABP News MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 17.1
25 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zee chitramandir MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Marahi Movie D 6 13.4
26 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zee Punjabi MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Punjabi GEC D 6 12.35
27 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Fakt Marathi MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Marathi GEC D 6 12.65
28 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Shemaroo Marathibana MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success English Movie D 6 13
29 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Manoranjan Movies MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Punjabi Movie D 6 13.4
30 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Sanskar MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Devotional D 6 14.6
31 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Unique MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Marathi GEC D 6 15.5
32 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Russia Today MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success English International D 6 16
33 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Popular TV MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Assamese Regional R1 3 3.05
34 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Sony Wah MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 20.25
35 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Star Gold Thrill MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 17.85
36 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Colors Cineplex Bollywood MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 17.5
37 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Azaad MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17
38 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Dangal 2 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 16.8
39 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Shemaroo Umang MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 16.65
40 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Nazara MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 16.6
41 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Manoranjan Prime MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 16.7
42 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Goldmines MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 16.7
43 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Ishara MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 16.75
44 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Goldmines Bollywood MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 16.9
45 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 B4U Music MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies B 10 17.05
46 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Showbox MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 17.05
47 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 ABZY Cool MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies D 6 17.05
48 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Filamchi MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Bhojpuri Movie B 10 16.7
49 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Dil Se Movies MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 15
50 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Aastha MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music D 6 15.05
51 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Times Now Navbharat MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 15.15
52 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Dhinchaak 2 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Bhojpuri Movie A 12 15.35
53 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 B4U Bhojpuri MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Bhojpuri Movie B 10 15.05
54 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Bhojpuri Cinema MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Bhojpuri Movie B 10 15.1
55 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 News Nation MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 15.05
56 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 AajTak MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 15.1
57 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 9xm MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 15.2
58 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Goldmines Movies MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 15.2
59 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Bharat 24 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 17.15
60 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Movie Plus MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 16
61 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 ABZY MOVIES MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 17
62 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Enter10 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 18.7
63 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 India TV MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 18.65
64 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Good News Today(Tez) MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 17.9
65 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Sun Marathi MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Marathi Marathi D 6 18.5
Thakur changes...
Under Thakur’s lead-
ership, a total of 65
channels took part in
the auction and a rev-
enue collection of Rs
1,072 crore was gener-
ated by the Ministry
through auction to
these channels. Nota-
bly, in the year 2022,
the revenue collection
was only Rs 657 crore.
In fact, such was the
excitement around
the auction that even
though it was held on
weekend - Saturday
and Sunday - the auc-
tion received wide-
spread participation.
Moreover, on Sunday
itself, 13 slots were
auctioned while on
Saturday, 14 slots
were auctioned. Re-
nowned channel
Bharat24 also auc-
tioned for a slot for
over Rs 17 crore!
Thus, probably for
the first time in the
history of DD FREE
DISH, such a huge rev-
enue jump has been
registered and as a re-
sult, individuals asso-
ciated with the media
industry are congratu-
lating Anurag Thakur!
FROM PG 1

06
INDIA
GUJ: DOLPHINS’
POCHING SHOCKS
FOREST OFFICIALS
Gandhinagar: Days
after 10 fishermen
from other states were
nabbed for poaching
dolphins and sharks
off Gujarat coast, state
Forest Department has
decided to conduct
regular patrolling in the
coastal waters. It will
be done in coordination
with the Indian Coast
Guard, Marine Police
and Customs, Forest
Minister Mulubhai
Bera said in Assembly
on Tuesday. Congress
MLA Arjun Modhwadia
sought to know what
steps state govt was
taking to save species.
14 COWS KILLED
IN TELANGANA
ROAD ACCIDENT
Hyderabad: Fourteen
cows were killed when
a bus rammed a cattle
herd in Nalgonda dis-
trict on Tuesday. The
accident occurred on
Addanki-Narketpally
highway near Bugga-
bavigudem village.The
coming to Hyderabad
from Chennai hit the
cattle herd when it was
crossing the road.The
coming to Hyderabad
from Chennai hit the
cattle herd when it was
crossing the road.The
farmer has suffered a
loss of Rs 7 lakh.
First India Bureau
Devasthal: Union Min-
ister of State (MoS) Dr
Jitendra Singh on Tues-
day inaugurated Asia’s
largest 4-metre Interna-
tional Liquid Mirror
Telescope at Devasthal
in Uttarakhand in the
presence of Uttara-
khand Governor Lt Gen
(Retd) Gurmeet Singh.
Speaking after the
launch, Dr Singh said, it
is primarily the patron-
age, promotion and pri-
oritization from PM
Narendra Modi that has
enabledandemboldened
the scientific fraternity
to successfully try new
initiatives, one after the
other, in the field of sci-
ence, technology and in-
novation, which are be-
ing rated as world class.
Not only PM Modi has
given us the motivation
to move ahead but also
given the freedom to ex-
plore hitherto lesser ex-
plored areas like Space
which has been opened
up for private players or
India’s oceans whose
vast resources are wait-
ing to be unfolded.
Today’s landmark
event, Dr Singh said,
places India at a differ-
ent and a much higher
level of capabilities to
study the mysteries of
the skies and astrono-
my, and to share the
same with the world.
Aryabhatta Research
Institute of Observa-
tional Sciences (ARIES)
announced that the
world-class 4-metre In-
ternational Liquid Mir-
ror Telescope (ILMT) is
now ready to explore
the deep celestial sky
. It
achieved its first light
in the 2nd week of May
2022. The telescope is
located at an altitude of
2450 metre at the Dev-
asthal Observatory
campus of ARIES, an
autonomous institute.
India gets Asia’s largest 4-mtre ILMT
WORLD-CLASS
Chandigarh (ANI):
Fugitive pro-Khalistan
leader Amritpal Singh
used several vehicles
and changed his outfits
while he was fleeing the
police net during the
crackdown on Saturday
.
As the hunt to arrest
Khalistan sympathiser
Amritpal Singh is un-
derway, Punjab IGP
Sukhchain Singh Gill
addressed the media
and said the Brezza car,
in which Amritpal Sin-
gh fled, has been recov-
ered by the police.
He said Arms Act has
been invoked against
four people who helped
him. “An important fact
has come to light that
Amritpal Singh, after
fleeing, visited the Gu-
rudwara in Nangal Am-
bian village (in Jaland-
hardistrict)andchanged
hisclothesbeforefleeing
again. This came to be
knowninquestioningof
thefourpeoplewhohave
been nabbed.”
Givingupdate,hesaid,
“National Security Act
(NSA) has been invoked
against Amritpal Singh.
A non-bailable warrant
has been issued against
him on March 18.”
“Police is working as
per law. People have
suspicions, but the
prime accused (Amrit-
pal Singh) has not been
arrested yet. As soon as
the arrest is made, we
will inform you,” he
concluded.
Earlier on Tuesday,
the Punjab and Hary-
ana High Court
slammed the Punjab po-
lice and questioned how
Amritpal Singh had
given them the slip re-
peatedly. “You have
80,000 cops. What were
they doing. How did
Amritpal Singh es-
cape?,” the High Court
asked the Punjab gov-
ernment. The court
called it an intelligence
failure.The Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA)
instructed the chiefs of
the Border Security
Force (BSF) and the Sa-
shastra Seema Bal
(SSB) to be vigilant in
the international bor-
der regions of Punjab,
India-Nepal, among
others, in an effort to
halt Amritpal Singh’s
escape.
The development
took place Punjab Po-
lice on March 18
launched a statewide
search operation to nab
Amritpal Singh and his
close aides who at-
tempted to disrupt the
law and order situation
in the state.
CARINWHICHWPDCHIEFFLEDFOUND
Punjab Police said that Amritpal visited Gurdwara and changed clothes before fleeing again; Police said that
Amirtpal was helped by four people and they have been booked under the Arms Act, hunt is on for Amritpal
MAOISTS TORCH
VEHICLES AT BRICK
KILN IN JHARKHAND
AP COP FETED FOR
SAVING WOMAN
FROM DROWNING
RADICALS HECKLE
INDIAN-ORIGIN
JOURNALIST KAUSHAL
Medininagar: Five tractors
at a brick kiln were set
ablaze by LWEs in Mao-
ist-affected in extremist-hit
Palamu district, a police
official said. A group of
about 40 armed members
of the banned Tritiya Sam-
melan Prastuti Committee
(TSPC) forced their way
to the kiln at Kanda village
on Monday night and took
away several workers
as hostages before they
torched the tractors,
Palamu superintendent
of police Chandan Kumar
Sinha said. The Maoists,
who had their faces cov-
ered, fled the scene after
the crime. It is suspected
that the incident took place
to extort money, he said.
Amaravati: A police
constable was feted by
the Andhra Pradesh
government for gallantly
rescuing a woman who
jumped into the Godavari
river to commit suicide
recently. Andhra Pradesh
director general of police
(DGP) K. V. Rajendranath
Reddy felicitated con-
stable Angani Veerababu
from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Konaseema district on
Monday for this act with a
cash award as well.“Veer-
ababu’s name has also
been recommended for
‘Prime Minister’s Police
Medal for Life Saving’,”
said an official in a state-
ment on Monday night.
Surrey (Candada): Sameer
Kaushal, an Indian-origin
journalist in Canada, was
heckled by
pro-Khalistan
protesters in
Surrey, Brit-
ish Columbia
on Monday
evening.
Kaushal, in a
Twitter post,
said he was in Surrey to
cover the Indian High Com-
missioner’s visit when a
pro-Khalistani group threat-
ened and roughed him up.
“The Surrey RCMP [police]
remained mute spectators
to this whole affair, even as
the protest turned violent.
Instead of stopping them,
the police kept asking me
to leave for my own safety,”
Sameer Kaushal tweeted.
CRUCIAL
READ
CRACKDOWN AGAINST AMRITPAL SINGH
MoU to enrich lives of 70,000
rural women small farmers
First India Bureau
Patna: A new partner-
ship between Harvest-
Plus and Heifer Inter-
national (Heifer) will
enrich the diets and
lives of 70,000 rural
women and smallhold-
er farmers in Bihar.
HarvestPlus and Heif-
er will work to improve
the nutrition and in-
come generation poten-
tial of rural women and
smallholder farmers.
“Heifer International
believesthatendinghun-
ger and poverty begins
with agriculture, and
smallholder farmers are
attheheartof thiseffort.
I am hopeful that biofor-
tified seeds provided by
HarvestPlus will help
BiharSustainableLiveli-
hood Development pro-
ject farmers increase
their income, improve
their families’ nutrition,
and provide more food
forthelocalmarketplace,
and leading to an end to
hunger and poverty in
Bihar,” said Mahendra
Lohani, Sr Vice Prez,
Asia, Heifer.
IN FULL BLOOM!
Visitors at Tulip Garden after it reopened for the public, in Srinagar on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel flag march amid crackdown against ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh and his aides, in
Jalandhar, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
WILL TAKE SEVEREST ACTION AGAINST THOSE
CONSPIRING TO DISTURB PEACE: PUNJAB CM
Chandigarh (Agencies):
Asserting that the state is in
safe and firm hands, Punjab
Chief Minister Bhagwant
Mann on Tuesday said
severest of severe action is
being taken against those
conspiring to disturb peace,
amity, communal harmony
and brotherhood in the
state. In a video message,
the Chief Minister said Pun-
jab symbolises peace and
progress as from this sacred
land the great Sikh gurus
have given the message
of universal brotherhood
and well-being of every
section to the people. He
said right from the national
freedom struggle to making
the country self-reliant in
foodgrain production and
then in safeguarding the
borders of the nation, people
of Punjab have always led
the country in every field
during the crisis. Mann said
people of Punjab are known
for extending helping hand
to anyone who is in trouble
adding that this land has
shown the path of love and
peace to the world.
Indian envoy in Canada cancels
event due to security concerns
Toronto (PTI): Anevent
to be attended by the In-
dian envoy to Canada in
British Columbia prov-
ince had to be cancelled
due to security concerns
after a violent protest by
Khalistan supporters.
The event had been or-
ganisedonSundayatthe
Taj Park Convention
Centre Surrey to wel-
come the high commis-
sioner of India, Sanjay
Kumar Verma’s first
visit to the west coast.
The event was ulti-
mately cancelled for se-
curity reasons, Global
News, the news and cur-
rent affairs division of
theCanadianGlobalTel-
evisionNetwork,report-
ed.High Commissioner
Verma was scheduled to
attend the event.
Indian-origin jour-
nalist Sameer Kaushal,
who was at the venue to
cover the protest, was
also assaulted by pro-
testers. Kaushal, said
when he arrived at the
venue, he found a large
protest and said demon-
strators would not al-
low him to access the
event.
Sanjay Kumar Verma
Heifer’s Surita Sandosham poses with rural women from Bihar.
THREE MORE ASSOCIATES OF AMRITPAL
BROUGHT TO DIBRUGARH CENTRAL JAIL
Dibrugarh: Three more associates of radical preacher Amrit-
pal Singh, including his uncle Harjit Singh, were brought to
the high security Dibrugarh jail on Tuesday, an Assam Police
official said. Altogether seven members
linked to Amritpal Singh’s ‘Waris Punjab
De’ (WPD) have been brought here since
March 19, including Harjit Singh who was
brought on Tuesday.Two WPD members
identified as Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal and
Gurinder Pal Singh were brought here by
a flight from Delhi and whisked to the Dibrugarh Central Jail
amidst tight security later in the day , the official said. Harjit
Singh was moved to the Dibrugarh jail by road from Guwa-
hati. A cavalcade of seven security vehicles took Harjit Singh
from the Guwahati airport to the Dibrugarh Central Jail.
MAN BOOKED FOR
SUPPORTING
AMRITPAL SINGH
Udham Singh Nagar:
Amid ongoing crackdown
against ‘Waris Punjab
De’ chief Amritpal Singh
carried out by the Punjab
Police, the police in the
nearby state of Uttara-
khand has also registered
a case in Mandhi Chowki
police station of Udham
Singh Nagar district for
sharing a post in support
of Amritpal Singh, said
the police.
RAF, POLICE TAKE
OUT FLAG MARCH
IN JALANDHAR
Jalandhar: Amid the
crackdown against Am-
ritpal Singh, the Punjab
Police and Rapid Action
Force conducted a flag
march to maintain the
law and order at the PNB
Chowk in Punjab’s Jaland-
har on March 21. The se-
curity in the area has been
tightened. Punjab Police
launched the operation
against Amritpal and his
aides on March 18.
KEJRIWAL LAUDS MANN FOR MAINTAINING
LAW ORDER AMID HUNT FOR AMRITPAL
New Delhi (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on
Tuesday lauded Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for
maintaining the law and order situation in Punjab amid the
ongoing hunt against the Khalistani radical Amritpal Singh.
While addressing the mediapersons, Kejriwal said, “I want to
congratulate Punjab CM hagwant Mann for maintaining the
law and order situation in a patient and mature way.”
2 more aides of Amritpal being brought to Dibrugarh Central Jail
amid tight security, in Dibrugarh, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
MoS Dr Jitendra Singh

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 59,480.00 470.00 0.79 (Per 10g)
SILVER 68,550.00 420.00 0.61 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.66 0.10 0.12
GBPINR 101.28 0.52 0.51
CURRENCIES
Domestic tyre industry back on growth path
New Delhi (PTI): Domes-
tic tyre industry is expect-
ed to witness double-digit
growth next fiscal with the
automobile industry back
on full swing, JK Tyre
Chairman and MD Raghu-
pati Singhania said.
JK Tyre, which on Tues-
day introduced a tyre
brand -- Levitas Ultra -- to
cater to the luxury car seg-
ment, is also expected to
follow the industry growth
path and report a double-
digit sales growth next fi-
nancial year, he noted.
“Tyre industry had un-
dergone a bit of a rough
patch in the last couple of
years back when the auto
industry was in a bit of a
slowdown due to Covid and
all that... Now with the eco-
nomic activity improving
the tyre industry is coming
back on full swing,” Sing-
hania said. He noted that
demand remains strong
across most segments of
the domestic automobile
industry
.
SAYS JK TYRE MD
MAJOR
HIGHLIGHT
z According to JK Tyre
Chairman and Managing
Director, Tyre industry had
undergone a bit of a rough
patch in the last couple of
years back when the auto
industry was in a bit of a
slowdown due to Covid
and all that... Now with the
economic activity improving
the tyre industry is coming
back on full swing
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Bank of Baro-
da promoted IndiaFirst
Life Insurance Company
(IndiaFirst Life) has re-
ceived capital markets
regulator Sebi’s approval
to float Initial Public Of-
fering (IPO). The IPO
comprises a fresh issue
of up to `500 crore along
with an offer for sale
(OFS) of up to
14,12,99,422 equity
shares by the promoters
and existing shareholders
of the company. Bank of
Baroda will sell
8,90,15,734 equity
shares. —PTI
INDIAFIRST LIFE
INSURANCE GETS
SEBI’S NOD FOR IPO
New Delhi: State-owned
NMDC on Tuesday said it
has hiked price of iron ore
lumps by `100 to `4,500
per tonne with immediate
effect. The country’s larg-
est iron ore miner has
also increased rate of iron
ore fines by `200 to
`4,110/tonne, NMDC
said. The prices are effec-
tive from Tuesday and ex-
clude royalty, district min-
eral fund (DMF), National
Mineral Exploration Trust
(DMET), cess, forest per-
mit fee and other taxes,
the company said. Lump
ore or high-grade iron ore
contains 65.53% Fe
(iron), while fines are in-
ferior grade ore with 64%
and less Fe content. —PTI
NMDC HIKES IRON
ORE LUMP RATE BY
`100 PER TONNE
Kolkata: Japanese car
maker Honda will intro-
duce one new product
every year for the next
three to five years to raise
its market share in the In-
dian market, a company
official said. Honda Cars
India presently has two
models in the country, a
compact sedan and a se-
dan. “We are going to
launch one new model
every year for the next
three to five years. These
could be either new mod-
els or variants”, a Honda
Cars official said. —PTI
HONDA TO LAUNCH
NEW CAR EVERY YR
TILL 2028 IN INDIA
New Delhi: Gold price
plunged by `470 to
`59,480 per 10 grams in
the national capital on
Tuesday amid weak global
trends, according to
HDFC Securities. In the
previous trade, the yellow
metal had closed at
`59,950 per 10 grams.
Silver also declined `420
to `68,550 per kilo-
gramme. “Spot gold pric-
es in the Delhi markets
traded at `59,480 per 10
grams, down `470 per 10
grams,” Saumil Gandhi,
Senior Analyst - Com-
modities at HDFC Securi-
ties, said. —PTI
GOLD PLUNGES BY
`470/10 GM; SILVER
DECLINES `420/KG
*Rates till the edition went to print.
TURKISH AIRLINES
LOOKING FOR
COOPERATION WITH AI
New Delhi: Turkish Airlines is
looking for cooperation with
Air India as the carrier looks to
expand in the
Indian market.
At present,
Turkish Air-
lines is closely
cooperating with IndiGo.
Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi
pitched for more cooperation
with Indian carriers and said
that it can cooperate with Air
India as that will also support
both counties as well as
tourism. “We are not getting
enough (of Indian market)...
We are trying to expand. This
is the time for Turkish Airlines
to expand operations in India,”
he said. —PTI
INDIA EXPLOITED 29%
OF HYDROPOWER
POTENTIAL: POWER MIN
New Delhi: India has exploited
29% of its hydropower poten-
tial against over 80% and 70%
developed by
the US and
European Un-
ion respective-
ly, Parliament
was informed on Tuesday.
The assessed hydropower po-
tential in the country is about
1,45,320 MW (for projects
with capacity above 25 MW),
Power Minister R K Singh
said in a written reply to Rajya
Sabha on Tuesday. Singh said
that 42,104.6 MW (29%) out
of 1,45,320 MW has been
developed and 15,023.5 MW
(10.3%) is under construction.
—PTI
AT `10.89 LAKH, HYUNDAI’S NEW VERNA HOTS UP
COMPETITION IN MID-SIZE SEDAN SEGMENT
New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India on Tuesday introduced a new
version of its mid-sized sedan Verna in the country priced between
`10.89 lakh and `17.37 lakh (ex-show-
room), hotting up the competition in the
segment. The new Verna competes with
the likes of Honda City, Skoda Slavia,
Volkswagen Virtus and Maruti Suzuki
Ciaz in the domestic market. The 1.5
litre trims of the 6th generation Verna
are priced between `10.89 lakh and Rs
16.19 lakh while the 1.5 litre turbo petrol variants, which come
with enhanced power, are priced between `14.83 lakh and `17.37
lakh (all prices ex-showroom). —PTI
UNTIMELY RAINS, HAIL NOT IMPACTED STANDING
RABI CROPS MUCH: AGRICULTURE MINISTER
New Delhi: Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on
Tuesday said there is not much impact on standing rabi crops like
wheat due to the current untimely rains
and hailstorm, as per preliminary report.
“There is not much impact on rabi crops
as per the preliminary assessment. We
are yet to receive a ground report from
the state governments,” Tomar said.
Wheat is the main rabi crop, harvesting
of which is underway in some states.
Mustard and chickpea are other major rabi crops. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
CUSHION IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
GDP at 7%; inflation to level out
New Delhi (PTI): Indian
economy is expected to
grow at 7% in FY23 despite
global headwinds while re-
tail inflation would moder-
ate in line with wholesale
inflation which fell to a
25-month low in January,
the Finance Ministry said.
Supported by the gains
from high services exports,
the moderation in oil pric-
es, and the recent fall in
import-intensive consump-
tion demand, India’s cur-
rent account deficit is esti-
mated to fall in FY23 and
FY24, providing a buffer to
the rupee in uncertain
times, Monthly Economic
Review by the ministry
said.
This will provide a much-
needed cushion to India’s
external sector at a time
when the Fed is likely to
raise rates further and en-
sure that India’s external
finances are not a major
cause of concern, it said.
The jump in net service
exports over the previous
year is a critical develop-
ment as India increases its
market share in both IT and
non-IT services, whose de-
mand has been triggered by
the pandemic, it said, add-
ing, imports are also less
costly now with the easing
of globalcommodityprices.
“With a manageable cur-
rent account deficit and a
growth rate highest among
the major economies in
FY23, the Indian economy
has shown a new-found re-
silience in sailing through
the turbulence caused by
the pandemic and geopo-
litical stress,” it said.
Macroeconomic stability
is likely to receive a further
boost in FY23 as the cur-
rent account deficit is set to
narrow from the year-be-
ginning estimates, it add-
ed. With regard to growth,
the report said, real GDP
estimates for Q3 of 2022-23
reaffirm the ability of the
Indian economy to grow on
the strength of its domestic
demand even as a rise in
global uncertainties slows
global output.
Indian economy wit-
nessed a growth of 4.4% in
the third quarter that end-
ed in December 2022.
Growth momentum
gathered in Q3 of 2022-23 is
likely to be sustained in Q4,
as reflected in the perfor-
mance of High-Frequency
Indicators for January/
February 2023, it said.
TOP TALKING
POINTS
z Indian economy is expected
to grow at 7% in FY23
despite global headwinds
while retail inflation would
moderate in line with
wholesale inflation which
fell to a 25-month low in
January
z India’s current account
deficit is estimated to fall in
FY23 and FY24
Govt not in favour
of putting caps on
airfares: Bansal
New Delhi (PTI): The gov-
ernment is not in favour of
interfering in a free market
economy by putting caps
on airfares, Civil Aviation
Secretary Rajiv Bansal
said on Tuesday amid con-
cerns over possible preda-
tory pricing of air tickets.
“Fundamentally, putting
(fare) caps and interfering
in the market economy is
not good and we are not in
favour of it. We are not in
favour of putting lower or
upper caps. I don’t think
the government should in-
terfere in a free market
economy at all...,” he said.
India’s 1.7% spend on transport
upgrade to set stage for $5 tn eco
New Delhi (PTI):Indiawill
spend a whopping 1.7% of
its GDP on transport infra-
structurethisyear--around
twice the level in America
and most European coun-
tries -- a feat that has been
noticed even by The Econo-
mist which called it ‘eye-
watering’ upgrade that will
set stage to achieve a $5 tril-
lion economy
.
The Modi government
has allocated `2.4 lakh
crore for railways capital
expenditure, nine times
higher than the amount in
the financial year 2013-14.
The funds will mostly be
spent on building tracks,
new coaches, electrifica-
tion, and developing facili-
ties at stations.
Allocation for roads has
jumped 36% to `2.7 lakh
crore for 2023-24. There is
also the focus on reviving
50 additional airports, heli-
ports, water aerodromes
and advance landing
grounds for improving re-
gional air connectivity
.
The unprecedented in-
frastructural makeover at
such sheer scale and speed
will help India fulfil its am-
bition to turn into a $5 tril-
lion economy by 2025-26, up
from $3.5 trillion today
, The
Economist said in its issue.
Windfall tax on diesel
export hiked to `1/L
New Delhi (PTI): The gov-
ernment has hiked the
windfall profit tax on ex-
port of diesel to `1 per litre
while the levy on domesti-
cally produced crude oil
has been cut by a fifth, ac-
cording to an official order.
The levy on crude oil
produced by companies
such as Oil and Natural
Gas Corporation (ONGC)
has been reduced to `3,500
per tonne from `4,400 per
tonne, the order dated
March 20 said.
The government raised
the tax on export of diesel
to `1 per litre from Rs 0.50,
and the same on overseas
shipments of ATF remains
at nil.
The new tax rates come
into effect from March 21,
the order said.
Crude oil pumped out of
the ground and from below
the seabed is refined and
converted into fuels like
petrol, diesel and aviation
turbine fuel (ATF). The tax
rates are reviewed every
fortnight based on average
oil prices in the previous
two weeks.
RE capacity
reaches 168.96
GW till Feb 2023
New Delhi (PTI): India’s
total installed renewable
energy capacity touched
168.96 GW mark by Febru-
ary 2023-end, Parliament
was informed on Tuesday
.
Out of the total 168.96
GW
, 64.38 GW is solar power
capacity, 51.79 GW hydro,
42.02 GW wind and 10.77
GW bio power, R K Singh,
Union Minister for Power,
New and Renewable Ener-
gy, said. Another 82.62 GW
of green energy capacity is
under implementation and
40.89 GW of capacity is un-
der various stages of ten-
dering, he said.
A total of 3,16,754.86 MU
of electricity has been gen-
erated from renewable en-
ergy sources.
6 Indian start-ups
among world’s
top 100 unicorns
New Delhi (FIB): India,
which has the third-largest
startup ecosystem in the
world, is home to 6 of the
world’s top 100 unicorns, ac-
cording to a report released
by the Credit Suisse Re-
searchInstitute onTuesday
.
The 6 Indian startups
that feature on the global
top 100 unicorns’ list in-
cludes BYJU’s, Swiggy,
OYO Rooms, Dream11, Ra-
zorpay, and Ola Cabs. Val-
ued at $22 billion at the end
of December 2022, edtech
platform BYJU’s is India’s
most valued startup and
world’s 12th.
Sensex, Nifty rebound nearly 1%
Mumbai (PTI): Bench-
mark Sensex and Nifty re-
bounded nearly 1% at close
on Tuesday amid firm
trends in global equities
and buying in index major
Reliance Industries and
banking stocks.
The 30-share BSE Sensex
climbed 445.73 points or
0.77% to settle at 58,074.68.
During the day, it rallied
504.38 points or 0.87% to
58,133.33. The broader NSE
Nifty advanced 119.10
points or 0.70% to settle at
17,107.50.
Among the Sensex
stocks, Reliance Industries
climbed the most by 3.11%
Bajaj Finance, Titan, Axis
Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj
Finserv, IndusInd Bank,
UltraTech Cement, Larsen
Toubro, HDFC Bank,
HDFC and Kotak Mahin-
dra Bank were among the
other major winners.
Power Grid, Hindustan
Unilever, Tech Mahindra,
TCS, Infosys and Asian
Paints were among the big-
gest laggards.
In Asia, Seoul, Hong
Kong and Shanghai mar-
kets ended higher.
` FALLS 10 PAISE TO 82.66 AGAINST US $
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated by 10 paise to 82.66 against the
US dollar on Tuesday amid a rise in crude oil prices and unabated for-
eign fund outflows from the domestic equity market. At the interbank
foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened strong at 82.54 against the
dollar. During the day, it went as high as 82.53 and hit the lowest level
of 82.70. It finally settled at 82.66 (provisional) against the American
currency, registering a fall of 10 paise against its previous close.

08
2NDFRONT
Leadership and true success is
about doing what’s right not
about what’s easy.
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Shiv Sena -
Uddhav Balasaheb
Thackeray (UBT) leader
Sanjay Raut has termed
the Legislative Assem-
bly’s disciplinary panel
“against natural justice
and parliamentary
democracy”.
The 15-member
breach of privilege
committee was formed
after Bharatiya Janata
Party leader Atul Bhat-
khalkar submitted a
breach of privilege no-
tice to Speaker Rahul
Narwekar after the
Thackeray camp MP al-
legedly called the “vi-
dhimandal” (legisla-
ture) a “chormandal”
(a body of thieves), up-
setting lawmakers
across party lines.
The privilege com-
mittee members served
a breach of privilege
notice to Raut and also
asked him to file a reply
to them in the incident.
In response to the no-
tice, Raut earlier by-
passed the privilege
committee and sent his
reply in a letter direct-
ly to the Speaker.
In his reply to the
breach of privi-
lege notice
against him, Raut
said, “The govern-
ment is unconsti-
tutional and those
who are part of
the committee
have disqualifica-
tion notice against
them pending be-
fore the Supreme
Court. Those who
objected and com-
plained against me
are part of the panel,
who are also my politi-
cal opponents. This is
against natural justice
and parliamentary
democracy
.”
Raut in his letter to
Narwekar said that he
has been a Rajya Sabha
MP and knows the im-
portance of the Assem-
bly, adding that his
statements were direct-
ed towards only a spe-
cific group (Shinde
camp) and not all
MLAs.
Raut said he has the
highest regard and re-
spect for Maharashtra
Legislature and will
never make any com-
ments which will affect
the prestige of the Ma-
harashtra Legislature.
Raut objects to Assembly disciplinary
panel, calls it against ‘parl democracy’
MP bypasses panel, sends reply
directly to Speaker Narwekar in
breach of privilege inquiry
Sanjay Raut —FILE PHOTO
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee —FILE PHOTO
The government is unconstitutional
and those who are part of the committee
have disqualification notice against
them pending before the Supreme Court. Those
who objected and complained against me are
part of the panel, who are also my political op-
ponents. This is against natural justice and
parliamentary democracy.
—Sanjay Raut, MP, Shiv Sena - UBT
First India Bureau
Mumbai: State minis-
ter Dada Bhuse on
Tuesday claimed Shiv
Sena - Uddhav Balasa-
heb Thackeray (UBT)
MP Sanjay Raut’s loyal-
ties lie with NCP chief
Sharad Pawar.
Speaking in the Leg-
islative Assembly,
Bhuse said Raut be-
came a Rajya Sabha MP
on votes of “gaddars”
(traitors)—the term Ud-
dhav Thackeray led-
Shiv Sena faction uses
to taunt Eknath Shinde
and 39 rebel MLAs—
and dared the parlia-
mentarian to resign.
Bhuse is part of the
Shiv Sena led by CM
Shinde. The minister
was referring to a tweet
in which Raut alleged
Bhuse collected shares
worth Rs178.25 crore
from farmers in the
name of a company, but
its website shows only
Rs1.67 lakh shares
against 47 members.
Bhuse said he would
quit politics if he is
foundguilty
,butif theal-
legationsarewrongthen
Raut should quit as Ra-
jya Sabha MP and editor
of Saamana.
Nationalist Congress
Party leader and Leader
of Opposition, Ajit Pa-
war, objected to Bhuse’s
reference to his uncle
and party chief Sharad
Pawar, and demanded
theremarksbeexpunged
from the record.
Raut’s loyalties are
with Sharad Pawar:
Sena’s Dada Bhuse
Dada Bhuse —FILE PHOTO
Bhuse dared
Raut to resign as
the votes of
‘gaddars’—a
UBT taunt for
Shinde-group
MLAs—had
made him MP
National anthem
‘disrespect’ case:
Mamata moves HC
First India Bureau
Mumbai: West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee on Tuesday
movedtheBombayHigh
Court against a special
court’s order which di-
rected a magistrate to
decide afresh a plea
seeking that a First In-
formation Report (FIR)
be registered against
her for allegedly disre-
specting the national
anthem.
Ametropolitanmagis-
trate’s court here had in
March 2022 issued a
summonstoBanerjeeon
acomplaintfiledbylocal
BJP functionary Vive-
kanand Gupta, who
claimed that the WB CM
had remained seated
when the national an-
them began during a
functionattheYashwan-
traoChavanAuditorium
here in December 2021.
The complaint also says
that Banerjee later stood
up, and sang two verses,
butstoppedabruptlyand
left the venue.
The West Bengal
chief minister chal-
lenged the issuance of
summons before a spe-
cial court for cases
against MPs and MLAs.
This past January,
specialjudgeRNRokade
set aside the summons
on procedural grounds
and asked the magis-
tratetoconsiderGupta’s
complaint afresh.
Banerjee, in her plea
before the high court,
contended that the spe-
cial court should have
quashed the summons
once and for all, and not
remanded the case back
to the magistrate.
Her application is
likely to be heard by a
single judge of the high
court on March 27.
Gupta’s contention is
that Banerjee commit-
ted an offence under
the Prevention of In-
sults to National Hon-
our Act, 1971.
Man attempts to extort `10 crore from
Union Min Gadkari via call to his office
FOCUSED ATTACKS?
First India Bureau
Nagpur: Security was
increased at Union
minister Nitin Gadka-
ri’s home and office in
Nagpur on Tuesday af-
ter a man made three
calls threatening to
harm the senior BJP
leader if Rs10 crore
was not paid to him, a
police official said.
The caller identified
himself as one Jayesh
Pujari, alias Jayesh
Kantha, the same per-
son whose name had
been used to make sim-
ilar calls to the minis-
ter’s office in January,
he said.
Rahul Madane, Dep-
uty Commissioner of
Police (zone II), said
three calls, two in the
morning and one
around 12 noon, were
made to Gadkari’s pub-
lic relations office, op-
posite Orange City Hos-
pital in Nagpur.
The person demand-
ed Rs10 crore and
threatened to harm the
minister, who holds the
portfolio of road trans-
port and highways, if
the money was not
paid, he said. After be-
ing alerted by Gadka-
ri’s staff, the city police
have started an investi-
gation, he said. Securi-
ty has been beefed up at
the minister’s home
and office, said the DCP.
On January 14, a
man identifying him-
self as Pujari had made
threat calls to Gadka-
ri’s public relations of-
fice, demanding Rs100
crore. The caller
claimed that he was a
member of the Dawood
Ibrahim gang.
Pujari, who is lodged
in Hindalga jail in Kar-
nataka’s Belagavi after
being sentenced to
death in a murder case,
had denied his involve-
ment in the calls.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari
with BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma and BJP leader Ramvir
Singh Bidhuri during a visit to inspect the progress of the Urban
Extension Road Project (UER-II), last week. —FILE PHOTO
Man booked for
circulating posts
with references
to Nitin Gadkari
Nagpur: The cyber
cell of Nagpur police
has registered a case
against a man for
allegedly posting of-
fensive comments on
social media which had
references to Union
Minister Nitin Gadkari.
According to the police,
the accused, Dattatray
Joshi, made certain
references to Gadkari in
the posts circulated on
WhatsApp. On learning
about this, Gadkari's
office, through Twitter,
urged the cyber police
to register a case. A
representative of the
senior BJP leader's of-
fice in Nagpur later filed
a complaint with the
police and demanded
strict action against the
person who circulated
the posts. Accordingly,
a case was registered
under the Indian Penal
Code and the Informa-
tion Technology Act.
Mumbai (PTI): Wing
Commander Jag Mohan
Nath (retd), the Indian
Air Force veteran who
flew numerous recon-
naissance sorties over
Tibet and Pakistan in
his Canberra aircraft in
the 1962 and 1965 wars,
passed away in Mumbai
on Tuesday
.
The octogenarian,
called “Jaggi” by his Air
Force colleagues, was
twice the recipient of
Maha Vir Chakra gal-
lantry honour.
Six decades ago, when
he leapt into his Can-
berra, a twin-engine jet
bomber fitted with cam-
eras, and flew into Paki-
stan on a top-secret mis-
sion, then Squadron
Leader Jag Mohan Nath
already had a Maha Vir
Chakra awarded to him
for his 1962 war opera-
tions. He won his second
three years later.
First India Bureau
Nashik: Many districts
have been hit hard due
to unseasonal rains and
hailstorms, leaving
farmers in a financial
crisis. While the ques-
tion was being raised as
to who will assess the
loss of the farmers, Ag-
riculture Minister Ab-
dul Sattar visited
Niphad taluka of Na-
shik district on Tuesday
evening.
However,thevisithad
farmes asking what the
minister--who arrived
after dusk--could in-
spect in the dark.
According to the
claims of farmers, the
Agriculture Minister
did not take this visit
seriously
.
On one hand, the
farmers have expressed
their displeasure about
Sattar’s visit in the
evening. On the other
hand, there were talks
of Sattar joining the rul-
ing alliance after taking
a bribe of Rs50 crore.
Therefore, this visit of
the Agriculture Minis-
ter has become a hot
topic of discussion.
Farmers up in
arms over
Min’s visit to
affected area
Abdul Sattar —FILE PHOTO
‘Jaggi’ was a two-time Maha Vir Chakra recipient.—FILE PHOTO
Air Force veteran Wing
Cmdr JM Nath dies
First India Bureau
Mumbai: In the face of
criticism from the Shiv
Sena - Uddhav Balasa-
heb Thackeray (UBT)
and Nationalist Con-
gress Party (NCP), In-
dustries minister Uday
Samant on Tuesday said
civic official Mahesh
Aher would be stripped
of his responsibilities
untiltheinquiryagainst
him is complete.
In addition to corrup-
tion,Aher—anAssistant
Commissioner in the
ThaneMunicipalCorpo-
ration—has been ac-
cused of threatening the
family of NCP MLA Ji-
tendra Awhad.
Before Samant an-
nounced his removal in
the House, Shiv Sena -
UBT legislator Anil Par-
ab and Shashikant Shin-
de of the NCP claimed
that the state had admit-
ted to Aher’s involve-
ment in corruption, but
had not taken any action
against him.
The silence over
Aher’s claim that he can
could call Chief Minis-
ter Eknath Shinde “any
time” sparked doubts
about the latter, Shinde
said, adding that Aher
had also hired expensive
private bodyguards.
“There have been
several complaints
against Aher, includ-
ing allegations that
his degree certificate
is fake. There should
be a thorough investi-
gation,” Parab said.
To this, Samant said,
“Aher is holding some
additional charges. His
additional charges will
be removed. The state
government is carrying
out various inquiries
against him and those
will continue.”
‘Corrupt’ civic official to be stripped of addl charge: Min
CAUSE EFFECT
Uday Samant —FILE PHOTO
An Assistant Municipal Commissioner in
the Thane civic body, Mahesh Aher has
also been accused of threatening the
family of NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad
VIRAL AUDIO CASE

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
aks Ibn Battuta Gate
Hotel, the crowned
jewel of Dubai, host-
ed one of India’s pre-
mier single-day fash-
ion events called
Fashion Connect,
season 14, Presented by First
India News and Bharat24-Vi-
sion of New India on Sunday
,
March 19. Jagdeesh Chandra
graced the magical evening
and appreciated the designer,
Anju Modi for her timeless
collection designed with per-
fectionandtailoredtolast.His
Highness Sheikh Juma Bin
Maktoum Al Maktoum was
present as the Chief Guest
and Yakoob Al Ali, Executive
Director and Private Advisor
inHisHighnessOfficeattend-
ed the show as the special
guest. Asia’s most loved and
India’s favourite fashion de-
signer,AnjuModi,showcased
her scintillating couture col-
lection ‘Gul Bahaar’ at Fash-
ionConnect-Season14.While
describing her beautiful col-
lection,thedesignersaid,“My
new couture collection, ‘Gul
Bahaar’ is inspired by the cy-
clic nature of life. It is a beau-
tiful curation of elegant en-
sembles that are built upon
the strong foundations of tra-
ditionalIndiancraftsmanship
and yet prove their relevance
in the modern world.
The collection represents
the beauty of metamorphosis
innaturethatoccurswithsea-
sonal shifts. I believe these
changes also add sparks of
creativity to our lives and
we’ve tried to display those
emotions artistically through
our outfits. I am glad to show-
case my collection at Fashion
Connect in Dubai.”
Her work takes a more con-
scious, progressive interac-
tive approach with her love
for textiles and the Indian
craftservingasthemaincata-
lyst and foundation of her
designing philosophy whilst
continuing to push bounda-
ries for a unique experience.
Each dimension of Modi’s
personalitycanbeseeninher
body of work, which
displays the passion
and gentleness of an
artist.
The 32-year-old la-
bel’s guiding prin-
ciples are Time-
less, Vintage
Handicraft with a
deep influence
from the found-
er’s passion for
textiles and
Indian crafts-
m a n s h i p .
Anju Modi is
best known
for her
work in
the mov-
ies Ba-
jirao
M a s -
t a n i
Ram
Leela.
The magnificent Fashion Connect presented by First India and Bharat24-
Vision of New India held at Oaks Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel Dubai on March 19
gave way to a fresh splash of fashion, leaving everyone in awe with
astounding trends. City First highlights the outstanding collection of the
highly acclaimed and multi-faceted designer Anju Modi, reviving age-old
Indian crafts and textiles showcased at Fashion Connect Season 14!
KAVITA CHAUHAN
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
O
International models: Poppy, Mudit, Marie,
Eva and Natalia showcasing designer collection by Anju Modi
Nancy, Alina T and Marie showcasing
collection ‘Gul Bahaar’ by Anju Modi
Jagdeesh Chandra and Yakoob Al Ali with Anju Modi,
Rishee Miglani and Lokesh Sharma during the show
FacetsofFashionDreams
MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY,
MARCH 22, 2023
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA

10-11
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FASHION LUXURY PERSONIFIED
THE FIRST INDIA FASHION CONNECT SEASON 14, PRESENTED BY FIRST INDIA AND BHARAT24- VISION OF NEW INDIA, HELD AT OAKS IBN
BATTUTA GATE HOTEL, DUBAI ON SUNDAY WAS A UNIQUE FUSION OF TRADITIONAL AND MODERN COLLECTIONS WHICH CELEBRATED THE
HERITAGE OF INDIA. BESIDES THIS, A RAVISHING MERGING OF THE CULTURES OF UAE AND INDIA WAS ALSO SEEN ON THE RAMP. DURING THE
SHOW, LUXURY LIFESTYLE AWARDS 2023 WERE ALSO HELD, WHEREIN THE WHO’S WHO OF THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES WERE FELICITATED.
CITY FIRST HIGHLIGHTS SOME MAGICAL GLIMPSES CAPTURED BY OUR SENIOR PHOTOJOURNALIST SANTOSH SHARMA!
Jagdeesh Chandra with Sheikh Yaqoob Al Ali felicitating
Ashwin Thadani for Most Promising Event Management Company
Jagdeesh Chandra with HH Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum
felicitating Dr Swati for Most Promising Dentist and Esthetician
felicitating Vandana Chandna for Most Promising Production House
felicitating Nitika Panjwani for Best Lifestyle Brand for Aromatic Products
felicitating Kamla Poddar for Best Design Institute
Jagdeesh Chandra with HH
Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum
Al Maktoum felicitating
Vineet Rajpal for Most
Promising Entrepreneur
Nimit Mathur and Shaan
Jagdeesh Chandra enjoying the sights of Dubai
Kavita Chauhan with her
adorable daughter Gauravi
Designer Aishwarya Jain walking the ramp with the models Designer Michael Cinco
Tomaz, Kristina, Dari and Oleksa showcasing grand finale designer Anju Modi’s collection
Jagdeesh Chandra with HH Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum and Sheikh Yaqoob Al Ali. Also seen are Persiana, Astha, Renu and Harsh
From Top: Dari and Daria
(L-R) Poppy, Muskan Moolchandani, Astha Khandelwal and Soni Yadav
Sheikh Yaqoob Al Ali, Lokesh Sharma,
HH Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum and Rishee Miglani
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA
Jagdeesh Chandra with Sheikh Yaqoob Al Ali felicitating Harsh
in the categories of ‘Best Luxury Builder For FS Realty’
Best Architect for Gyanendra Singh Shekhawat

First India Mumbai 22032023.pdf

First India Mumbai 22032023.pdf

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