First India-Jaipur Edition-30 April 2021

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
JAIPUR l FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 322
FORMER PM MANMOHAN SINGH DISCHARGED
FROM AIIMS AFTER FULLY RECOVERING FROM
COVID-19. HE WAS ADMITTED ON APRIL 19
MAHA POLICE FILE FIR AGAINST FORMER
MUMBAI POLICE COMMISSIONER PARAM
BIR SINGH OVER CORRUPTION CHARGES
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
Jaipur: Rajasthan Hu-
man Rights Commis-
sion member Mahesh
Chandra Sharma died
of a cardiac arrest
here on Thursday. He
was 64. Sharma com-
plained of uneasiness
and was rushed from
his residence to the
SMS Hospital where
doctors declared him
dead on arrival, the
commission sources
said. He is survived by
his wife, son and other
family members. P8
Raj human rights
panel member
Mahesh Chandra
Sharma no more
COVAXIN DOWN AT `400
New Delhi: A day after
the Serum Institute of
Institute slashed the
rate of its Covishield
vaccine for states, Hy-
derabad-based Bharat
Biotech on Thursday
followed suit by an-
nouncing that its Cov-
id-19 vaccine — Covax-
in — will be made avail-
able to state govern-
ments at a reduced
price of Rs 400 per dose.
Expressing “deep
concern” over the criti-
cal pandemic situation
in the country, the vac-
cine maker said it rec-
ognises the enormous
challenges to the public
healthcare system.
Earlier, Bharat Bio-
tech had decided to
charge state govern-
ments Rs 600 for a dose
of its Covaxin vaccine
and Rs 1200 per dose for
private hospitals. As
per this rate, the states
would have had to pay
four times what the
Centre will be paying to
procure its shots.
The decision to slash
rates comes days after
the Central government
asked the Serum Insti-
tute of India and Bharat
Biotech to lower the
price of their Covid-19
vaccines amid criticism
from several states who
haveaccusedthecompa-
niesof profiteeringfrom
the crisis. Turn to P6
After SII, now Bharat Biotech reduces vaccine price for state govts
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
INDIA
RAJASTHAN
3,79,308
New cases
17,269
New cases
3,645
New fatalities
158
New fatalities
Health workers wearing PPE suits, sit on a bench during a break
from cremation of covid victims in Noida on Thursday.
Justify or make
amends: Court
on oxygen crisis
New Delhi: States like
Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra were giv-
en more oxygen than
they asked for, but
Arvind Kejriwal gov-
ernment’s repeated ap-
peals were not granted,
the Delhi High Court
said on Thursday, ques-
tioningtheCentreabout
the rationale involved.
The Central govern-
ment has to either show
justification for this or
“make amends”, said
the two-judge bench of
Justices Vipin Sanghi
and Rekha Palli.
“What’s happening in
Delhi? Why are we
struck in 490 metric
tonnes here? People
closetousarenotgetting
oxygen beds. You too are
aware of it. Turn to P6
Positive Gehlot takes covid on chin, will continue to serve
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Chief Minis-
ter Ashok Gehlot on
Thursday said he has
tested positive for
COVID-19. The 69-year-
old Congress leader
had isolated himself
on Wednesday after his
wife Sunita had tested
positive. “My COVID-19
test report too came
positive today. I have
no symptoms, and I am
feeling fine. I will con-
tinue working while in
isolation, following
COVID-19 protocols,”
the chief minister said
in a tweet in Hindi.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi, Governor
Kalraj Mishra, AICC
general secretary in-
charge of Rajasthan
Ajay Maken, PCC pres-
ident Govind Singh
Dotasra, state Trans-
port Minister Pratap
Singh Khachariyawas,
Rajasthan BJP presi-
dent Satish Poonia,
Leader of Opposition
Gulabchand Kataria
and others wished for
Gehlot’’s speedy recov-
ery. Notably, Gehlot
has been administered
both the doses of co-
rona vaccine and ex-
perts reveal that the
danger posed by the
virus after receiving
both the doses, be-
comes miniscule.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted to inform about the infection.
CM GIVES 'OXYGEN' TO SET
UP OXYGEN PLANTS IN RAJ
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Atatimewhen
the state is reeling un-
derthepressureof lack
of medical oxygen and
withaviewtomakeRa-
jasthan ‘
Atmanirbhar’
for medical oxygen,
Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot has announced
a special package for
medical oxygen manu-
facturing industries in
the state to overcome
the shortage caused by
the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under this, various
benefits and facilities
will be provided to en-
terprisesmakingmedi-
cal oxygen by making
new investment.
Under the package,
the entrepreneur re-
ceiving benefits will be
required to start pro-
duction by 30 Septem-
ber 2021 by investing at
leastRs1crore.Accord-
ing to the provisions of
Rajasthan MSME Act-
2019, these entrepre-
neurs will be given ex-
emption from the regu-
latory Turn to P6
Gehlot announces special package for medical
oxygen manufacturing industries in the state
After Kumbh fiasco, U’khand
suspends ‘Char Dham Yatra’
Dehradun: The Uttara-
khand government on
Thursday suspended
the ‘Char Dham Yatra’
in the wake of rising
Covid-19 cases across
the state.
“Conducting the
yatra amid the raging
pandemic is not possi-
ble. Only priests of the
four temples at Badri-
nath, Kedarnath, Yamu-
notri and Gangotri will
perform rituals and
puja,” Chief Minister
Tirath Singh Rawat said
while announcing the
decision.
This comes after Utta-
rakhand recorded the
highest single-day spike
of 6,054 Covid-19 cases,
taking the cumulative
tally to 1,68,616, while
108 deaths pushed the
toll to 2,417.
There are 45,383 ac-
tive Covid-19 cases in
the state, while 1,17,221
have recovered, a state
health department bul-
letin.
Speaking about
measures that are being
taken to contain the
pandemic, Rawat add-
ed, “We are conducting
as many tests as possi-
ble. I would like to urge
people to always wear
masks whenever they
step out.”
When asked regard-
ing the death rate that
has spiked in the last
few weeks, he said, “We
are surrounded by
Himachal Pradesh,
Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh from where
critical patients often
travel to Uttarakhand
for treatment. As such,
it becomes difficult for
us to save them. Hence,
people should get tested
as soon as they feel any
symptoms so as to avoid
severities.”
Conducting the yatra amid the raging
pandemic is not possible. Only priests of the
four temples at Badrinath, Kedarnath,
Yamunotri and Gangotri will perform rituals and puja.
—Tirath Singh Rawat, Uttarakhand Chief Minister
Will didi descend on Bengal again?
...or can Modi-Shah make big kill in 5 states, Exit Polls tell tale before verdict
T
ABP-C-Voter exit
poll survey has
predicted a re-
turn to power for
Mamata Banerjee-led
Trinamool Congress for
a third consecutive
term in West Bengal
with 152-164 seats in the
294-seat Assembly. In
Assam, the India Today-
Axis My India voter
s u r v e y
has pre-
dicted a
return to
power for
the BJP
with 75-80
seats. In
the southern states, the
CPM-led LDF is likely
to beat anti-incumben-
cy and retain the power
in Kerala. In Tamil
Nadu, the DMK-Con-
gress alliance is pre-
dicted to upstage the
ruling AIADMK-BJP
alliance in the state.
The exit polls were re-
leased after Turn to P6
MAMATA TO
RETAIN POWER;
BJP IN 3-DIGITS
SEE-SAWBATTLE
ON BETWEEN
NDA AND UPA
STALIN’S DMK
GEAR UP FOR
THUMPING WIN
BJP-LED NDA
FAVOURITE TO
GRAB POWER
COMBACK FOR
VIJAYAN’S LDF;
BJP NO SHOW
TMC 152-164
BJP 109-121
LF+INC+ISF 14-25
West Bengal 147 to Win
294
SEATS
NDA 58-71
UPA 53-66
OTHERS 0-5
Assam 64 to Win
126
SEATS
DMK 160-172
AIADMK 58-70
OTHERS 0-7
Tamil Nadu 118 to Win
234
SEATS
NDA 19-23
UPA 6-10
OTHERS 1-2
Puducherry 16 to Win
30
SEATS
LDF 71-77
UDF 62-68
BJP+ 0-2
Kerala 71 to Win
140
SEATS
EXIT POLLS
2021
BENGAL CLOCKS 76.07% IN EIGHTH PHASE
Kolkata: A voter turnout of 76.07 per cent was recorded in the eighth and final
phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, the Election Commission said on
Thursday. The commission said that “peaceful” polling was concluded across
11,860 polling stations in 35 assembly seats in the last phase of the elections.
7.6 TIMES MORE SEIZURE THAN 2016 POLLS
Kolkata: 11,860 Ballot Units (BUs), 11,860 Control Units (CUs) and 11,860 VVPATs
were used in last phase. During Bengal polls, seizure of Rs 339.45 crore were
reported. The figures, which includes seizure of cash, liquor, narcotics and freebies,
was 7.65 times of total seizure of Rs 44.33 cr in 2016 assembly polls.
COUNTING ON
MAY
2

RAJASTHAN
JAIPUR | FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021
02
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Despite a
strike by liquor licen-
sees who are demand-
ing relaxation in mini-
mum guarantee, the
sale of liquor is con-
tinuing in Jaipur.
The statewide strike
called by the licensees
entered the fourth day
on Thursday but con-
trary to the fact, nearly
25 percent of liquor
stock as compared to
normal days was
picked from four de-
pots of RSBCL in
Jaipur.
Due to the strike, the
demand for liquor
should have been
zero these days but
questions is being
raised about the strike
in Jaipur.
Liquor licensees are
on strike all over the
state since April 26 at
the call of Rajasthan
Liquor Welfare Society
.
The licensees are de-
manding that the sale
has dipped due to pub-
lic discipline fortnight
under which the shops
are allowed to open
from 6 am to 11 but and
they are suffering loss-
es due to which they
should be given 75 per-
cent discount in mini-
mum guarantee.
Liquor sales up despite strike!
MAKING THE MOST OF IT
Pratap Khachariyawas
@PSKhachariyawas
BJP MPs of the state
who are still missing
should go to Delhi
to get full ‘oxygen’
and ‘remedisiver’
injections on the
part of the people of
the state to prevent
deaths due to lack
of oxygen, other-
wise the people of
the state will never
forgive them.
Time
TWEET
CORONAHITSRAJHOTELS!
80% BOOKINGS CANCELLED
Both star & budget hotels suffer losses for want of tourists
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Nearly 80 per-
cent of the bookings of
hotels have been can-
celled due to the surge
in coronavirus cases
in Rajasthan where
the travel trade and
the hotel industry
were already suffering
huge losses due to the
corona pandemic. Af-
ter months of closure
during the first wave
last year, the industry
suffered a lot and
gradually started
coming back on track
but the second wave
has again hit the in-
dustry hard, making
it difficult for the ho-
tel owners to give sala-
ries to staffers.
The second wave of
corona has turned out
to be havoc across the
world as all the tour-
ism events from India
to Europe and Ameri-
ca to African countries
have been canceled.
In Jaipur, celebra-
tions like Elephant
Festival, Gangaur, and
Rajasthan Foundation
Day were cancelled
due to the spread of
the infection.
The state capital has
about 1100 star and
budget hotels with
more than 8000 rooms.
Till March, these ho-
tels had 60 to 70
percent bookings but
after the surge in covid
positive cases, book-
ings started falling
from the beginning of
March.
Chaudhary’seffortsbringOxyforBarmer
ASI hurt while
imposing
Corona SOPs
Appoint nodal
officers to monitor
pvt hosps: Rathore
Raj Royals donate `7.5 cr
to help India fight Covid-19
‘Govt must
give Oxy to
pvt hosps’
Durgsingh Rajpurohit
Barmer: The efforts of
revenue minister Har-
ish Chaudhary in pro-
viding relief to corona
patients in Barmer
yielded results on
Thursday as one tanker
of liquidoxygenreached
Barmer with help from
the Vedanta group.
Vedanta chairman
Anil Agarwal had as-
sured Chaudhary of all
possible help and as per
the assurance, the first
tankerof oxygenreached
Barmer on Thursday
.
On direction by
Chaudhary, Barmer ad-
ministration had ac-
quired 13 tankers for the
transportation of oxy-
gen recently
.
The minister had also
appealed to the Vedanta
group for help in the
pandemic following
which the group extend-
ed the helping hand.
Meanwhile, the dis-
trict hospital of Barmer
is facing a shortage of
Remdesivir injection
and the oxygen supply is
also not adequate.
Looking at the situa-
tion, Barmer MLA Me-
varam Jain met Kuldeep
Ranka, principal secre-
tary to CM on Thursday
and explained him the
situation in Barmer.
Jain demanded to pro-
vide 6-ton oxygen and a
minimum of 200 injec-
tions to Barmer. Ranka
assured Jain and direct-
ed officials concerned to
take the required action
in the matter.
First India Bureau
Chittorgarh: In Badi
Sadri of Chittorgarh
district, enforcing Cov-
id guidelines turned
out to be troublesome
for the ASI in-charge of
the Bansi outpost.
Many people were tak-
ing out bindoli by play-
ing DJ at night. When
the ASI reached the
spot, there was a stam-
pede. Meanwhile, peo-
ple took advantage of
the darkness and threw
stones. They also in-
jured the ASI. On get-
ting information about
stone pelting, Police
officer Ram Roop Mee-
na reached the spot
with force. As soon as
the news of the arrival
of the force spread,
people ran away in the
fields. The police have
started an investiga-
tion by registering a
case in 10 sections.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Deputy Leader
of the Opposition Ra-
jendra Rathore on
Thursday attacked the
state government over
covid management in
private hospitals saying
the government has re-
served beds for corona
patients but did not ap-
point nodal officers due
to which the private
hospitals are working
arbitrarily
.
“The government has
taken over the beds of
private hospitals but
did not appoint nodal
officers. Because of
this, these hospitals are
working arbitrarily,”
Rathore said.
He said that the co-
rona infection in the
state has become un-
controllable and the
government should
take more effective
steps to curb the spread.
“If the government had
taken precautionary
steps, in the beginning,
this situation probably
would not have hap-
pened. Now the govern-
ment should make a
plan by May 31, which
should mention all
types of medical needs
including injections,
oxygen, and work
should be done on the
basis of this plan,” he
said in a virtual press
conference.
Jaipur: Rajasthan
Royals announced a
contribution of Rs 7.5
crores ($1 million) to
help in providing aid
to people impacted by
the Covid-19 pandem-
ic in India.
“Players along with
the team owners and
team management
have come forward to
raise funds and
have been working
along with the Ra-
jasthan Royals’ phil-
anthropic arm Royal
Rajasthan Founda-
tion (RRF) in partner-
ship with the British
Asian Trust (BAT).
“BAT works closely
with the Indian Gov-
ernment on many ini-
tiatives – especially in
the area of skills and
education. The
Trust’s founder,
Prince Charles,
launched an emergen-
cy “Oxygen for India”
appeal, which is cur-
rently focused on ac-
quisition and distri-
bution of oxygen con-
centrators, devices
that can provide the
enriched gas straight
from the air, to treat
patients when hospi-
tal supplies are under
strain. —PTI
First India Bureau
Jaipur: BJP spokes-
person Ramlal Shar-
ma on Tuesday ac-
cused the Congress
govt of misleading
people on Remdesivir
injections used in the
treatment of corona
patients.
“For the last 4 days,
the government has
been claiming that
1100 injections have
been provided in
Jaipur but can the
government issue a
list of patients who
were given the injec-
tions?” he asked.
“The reality is
that the govt has no
resources. The gov-
ernment is issuing
only statements
to mislead the peo-
ple,” he said. Shar-
ma said that the gov-
ernment should ac-
cept the reality.
Rajasthan Royals
@rajasthanroyals
Rajasthan Royals
announce a contri-
bution of over $1
milion from their
owners, players
and management to
help with immediate
support to those im-
pacted by COVID-19.
This will be imple-
mented through @
RoyalRajasthanF and
@britishasiantst
SANITISING FOR SAFETY
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s Residence in Jaipur being sanitised on Thursday after both CM and his wife Sunita tested positive
of Covid-19. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA
Rajendra Rathore
—FILE
PHOTO
—FILE
PHOTO

RAJASTHAN
03
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Even after cur-
few in Rajasthan, there
has been no reduction
corona cases. In the past
twelve days, the cases
have in-
creased two
and a half
times. Tak-
ing under
view the
pace of in-
fection, the Rajasthan
government is now con-
sidering extending the
corona curfew cum
lockdown by 15 days.
Respiratory disease
specialist, Dr Virendra
Singh said the way the
cases of corona are
coming, the curfew will
have to be increased ac-
cordingly. There is no
way around this, people
should also be in disci-
pline and adopt the ba-
sic mantra of wearing
mask like clothes.
In the review meeting
held Wednesday night,
the PS of the home de-
partment, Abhay Ku-
mar, emphasized strict
observance of the cur-
few. Experts of the core
group have suggested to
continue strict restric-
tions till the cases are
brought under control.
‘PUBLIC DISCIPLINE FORTNIGHT’
Likely to extend with stringent norms
SINCE LAST 12 DAYS THERE HAS BEEN MULTIFOLD SPIKE IN FRESH CASES, GOVT
IS NOW CONSIDERING TO EXTEND CURFEW CUM LOCKDOWN BY 15 DAYS
SO FAR...
On April 15, the
Gehlot decided to
impose a weekend
curfew. After this,
from April 19 to
May 3, curfew was
imposed in the entire
state, like lockdown.
The restrictions were
further increased by
amending the guide-
line in between.
WHAT NEXT?
Experts suggested a
15-day strict curfew cum
lockdown. Rajasthan is
already undergoing a
mini lockdown. In such a
situation, restrictions like
the current lockdown are
supposed to stay in effect
by May 18. In the routine
corona review meetings of
CM Ashok Gehlot, officers
insisted on strict curbing
of curfew restrictions.
‘SUPER-SPREADER’ EVENTS
There is a churn in the government to limit the
number of people in marriages from both sides to
21 by limiting the number of wedding ceremonies
and strict legal action should be taken against
those who violate the rules. Along with this, the
number of devotees can also be limited to religious
places, temples and mosques.
ALSO ON TALKS...
Furthermore, word is that the government is prepar-
ing to completely ban private buses from movement
under the new guidelines. Corona infection is also
increasing due to the arbitrariness of private buses.
2nd surge puts kids, younger
adults at high risk: Experts
First India Bureau
Jaipur: The second
waveof coronainfection
is proving much deadli-
er than the first wave as
childrenandyoungaged
persons apart from el-
derlyandsickpeopleare
also falling prey to it.
The doctors are wor-
ried because there is
spurt in the number of
children, in the age
group of 5-14 years, in-
fected from the virus.
As per the figures of
the health department
from January this year,
five percent of the total
positive patients are
childrenwhichwas4per
cent by December last
year.
“Main reason behind
this is negligence. Peo-
ple started taking the
corona infection lightly
andthepracticeof wear-
ing face masks and so-
cial distancing was re-
duced.
As a result of it, the
infection increased,” an
expert of the health de-
partment said.
Shanti Dhariwal
warns officials of
action if cremation is
not done by wearing
PPE kits
HAPPY
NEWS!
In the state 10,964
corona infected
recovered
on Thursday
Shree Cement
Group donates 50
oxygen concentrators
at Radha Soami
Covid Care Center
Kota Varsity
centre starts
ops with 150 beds,
patients from Medical
College to be
referred here
Masks and hand
sanitizers will be
provided for
free to 13,000
roadways staffer
KEY
Highlights
ASSEMBLY SPEAKER DR CP JOSHI TO DONATE ONE-MONTH SALARY
IN CM’S RELIEF FUND, MIN MAMTA BHUPESH TO DONATE ONE-MONTH SALARY,
BJP STATE PRESIDENT SATISH POONIA APPROVES `20 LAKH FOR BiPAP, OXY CON-
CENTRATORS AT RUHS & JAIPURIA HOSP, EX-MLA’S ASSN MIGHT DONATE TODAY
COVID-19 UPDATE
TOTAL CASES
RECOVERED
ACTIVE CASES
TOTAL DEATHS
5,80,846
4,07,243
1,69,519
4,084
+17,269
+158
JAIPUR 3602
JODHPUR 2036
UDAIPUR 1105
ALWAR 1101
SIKAR 849
BIKANER 801
PALI 702
KOTA 701
HOME CARE FOR
ASYMPTOMATIC
PATIENTS: GOVT
Coronavirus pa-
tients with acute
symptoms should be
admitted to hospitals
while the asympto-
matic ones and those
with mild traits can
be treated at home
with their oxygen level
monitored regularly, ac-
cording to a Rajasthan
government guideline
issued on Friday. The
guidelines for Covid-19
patients, prepared after
consultation with senior
doctors, was issued by
Medical Education Sec-
retary Vaibhav Galriya
on the instruction of
state Health Minister Dr
Raghu Sharma.
SMS REFERRAL
TO DOWN INFLUX
RUHS
AT
EMOTIONS
AND RELIEF
BEHIND
THE MASK!
(Clockwise) A scared child
hugs her father before
giving swab sample for
Covid testing, man adjusts
the mask of his mother
while she reached CMHO
for Covid test, man gets
a relief after a long wait
for injection on Thursday
after Collector made online
application must to get
Remdesivir on Wednesday.
—PHOTOS BY
SUMAN SARKAR
ooking at
the load on
RUHS hospi-
tal, the Ra-
jasthan gov-
e r n m e n t
has decided
to make SMS hospital
as a referral hospital
where patients suffer-
ing from pneumonia
will be admitted in five
wards. The number of
pneumonia patients
has increased due to
covid infection
and looking at
the situation,
SMS medical
college prin-
cipal Dr Sudhir
Bhandari is-
sued orders to
admit such patients in
five wards of the hospi-
tal. Oxygen beds will be
provided to the patients
who require oxygen
support. Total 191 beds
have been reserved for
patients in five wards.
Of them, 143 have facil-
ity of oxygen. Patients
will be referred to SMS
hospital from RUHS.
The decision was taken
by CM Ashok Gehlot.
L
MAN ARRESTED
FOR BLACK
MARKETING OF
OXY CYLINDERS
The case of black
marketing of
Oxygen Cylinder
has come to light.
Thanadikari Mahavir
Singh said that sup-
plier Ramlal Mali,
a resident of Sawai
Madhopur, was
arrested. Accused
Ramlal works as an
oxygen cylinder
supplier at Ankit
Gas Agency locat-
ed at Imli Phatak.
The accused told
in the interrogation
that 6 days back oxy
cylinder was brought
from the PyoraSafe
company based in
Sitapura. Instead of
supplying to hospital,
he hid cylinders in his
house. He used to sell
to individuals for Rs
50,000-60,000/cylin-
der. The officers are
further interrogating
the accused on who
all are involved in this
black marketing?
O2
Shipra Path police caught a man with 26 oxygen cylinders hidden
for black marketing on Thursday. —PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR
Dotasra donates
month’s pay to CMRF
Education Minister Govind
s Dotasra on Thursday
announced to donate his one
month’s salary to the CM’s
Relief Fund & `1Cr for Covid
hosp in his constituency. He
also appealed to pvt edu in-
stitutions, coaching centres
and others to give financial
contribution in setting up
oxygen plants and other
facilities. Dotasra started the
campaign for public coop-
eration, he took to Twitter to
announce his contribution.
Vipra Foundation
donates 500 beds
The Vipra Foundation has
helped with 500 beds in
Bilwa on Thursday. Chief
Whip Dr Mahesh Joshi with
the officials of Vipra Founda-
tion reached Covid Care
Centre & handed the beds to
the administration. Mean-
while, the president of the
foundation, Rajesh Colonel,
Nathu Lal Sharma, Shashi
Prakash Sharma, Narendra
Harsh, Ajay Pareek, Sushil
Sharma, Dilip Bhardwaj and
other officials were present.
COVID GROWTH
PER CENT BY
AGE GROUPS
are below
14 yrs
5.1%
between
15-29 yrs
30.2%
between
30-44 yrs
31.3%
between
45-59 yrs
20.8%
are above
60 yrs
12.5%
Barmer: Union minister of state for agriculture
Kailash Chaudhary has sanctioned Rs 93 lakh
from MP LAD fund for the purchase of oxygen
concentrators and life saving medicines for
corona patients during the last three days.
Chaudhary is conducting back to back tours of
his Barmer-Jaisalmer constituency to review the
corona situation and has inspected almost all major
hospitals and health centers and held discussions
with officials and doctors. He has approved Rs 25
lakh for Nahta hospital Balotra, Barmer district hos-
pital and Jawahar hospital of Jaisalmer as well as
Rs 18 lakh for four health centers for the arrange-
ments of required resources and medicines.
KAILASH CHAUDHARY DONATES `93L
FROM MP LAD FUND FOR CORONA

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 2 Issue No. 322 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur.
Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
he gap between
the number of
vaccines ad-
ministered in
rich countries
and in the developing
world “is growing every
single day, and becoming
more grotesque every day”,
declared Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, director-gen-
eral of the World Health
Organization, on March 22.
The latter statement re-
ferred to the fact that only
0.1% of the doses of vac-
cines distributed in the
world had been received by
the 29 poorest countries,
which represent 9% of the
global population.
AMBITIOUS
SCALING-UP PLAN
However, as early as April
2020, the Bill Melinda
Gates Foundation, the Eu-
ropean Commission and
France together with WHO
supported the implementa-
tion of Covid-19 Vaccines
Global Access or COVAX ,
an international solidarity
mechanism.
Led by the GAVI vaccine
alliance and Coalition for
Epidemic Preparedness In-
novations, in partnership
with UNICEF and Pan-
American Health Organi-
zation, COVAX’s mission is
to purchase vaccines for
equitable distribution in 98
participating high-income
countries and 92 low- and
middle-income countries.
At the end of February,
the first 504,000 and 600,000
doses were delivered to
Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana
respectively. At the begin-
ning of April, more than 38
million doses had already
been received by 100 coun-
tries, 61 of which benefit-
ingfromasubsidyfinanced
by a dedicated fund. In the
coming months, the expect-
ed scale-up of COVAX is
ambitious, with a stated
objective of 337 million
doses to 145 countries by
the end of June, and at
least 2 billion doses by the
end of 2021, including 1.3
billion at no cost to low-in-
come countries, where up
to 27% of the population
could be vaccinated.
Even if this objective is
met, it will not be sufficient
to bring the pandemic un-
der control. To achieve
this, a much higher per-
centage of the population
must be immunised. Re-
cent modelling has esti-
mated that if a vaccine
prevents transmission of
the virus in 90% of cases,
then nearly 67% of the pop-
ulation needs to be vacci-
nated to achieve – at least
temporarily – herd immu-
nity, and return to “nor-
mal” life. Such a threshold,
applied to a world popula-
tion of 7.7 billion people,
leads to a production target
of between 5.2 billion doses
in the most favourable situ-
ation of a single-dose vac-
cine, and twice as much, or
10.4 billion doses, if two
shots are needed.
VACCINE FOR ALL
In addition to producing
new vaccines at an unprec-
edented scale, it is neces-
sary to vaccinate every-
where in the world, in the
shortest possible time, be-
fore new variants compro-
mise the initial results.
This imperative is reiter-
ated by GAVI and CEPI, the
co-leads of COVAX, as well
as by UNICEF and PAHO,
in charge of procurement
and logistics. In the words
of Jeremy Farrar, director
of the Wellcome Trust: “If
left to spread unchecked in
large parts of the world,
the virus risks mutating to
an extent where our vac-
cines and treatments no
longer work – leaving us all
exposed.”
The distribution of vac-
cines is complicated by
early commercial agree-
ments concluded by gov-
ernments with the indus-
try, when no product was
yet approved, in some cases
for more doses than need-
ed. For example, by mid-
November 2020, pre-orders
from Australia, Canada
and Japan together exceed-
ed 1 billion doses. In total,
high-income countries
alone are estimated to have
pre-ordered 4.2 billion dos-
es for 2021.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
How Covid-19 vaccination can be accelerated globally
T
If you propose to speak
always ask yourself, is it true,
is it necessary, is it kind.
—Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Ravi Shankar Prasad
@rsprasad
Represented India at the G-7
Digital and Technology Ministerial
Meeting. Spoke about India’s
efforts to bring digital inclusion
and empower ordinary citizens
through the use of technology
under #DigitalIndia programme.
Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal
Had an engaging discussion
with Executive Vice President
of the European Commission @
VDombrovskis ahead of the Flag
of India Flag of European Union
Summit. India is committed to
mutual cooperation with the EU
on Trade Investment to ensure
greater integration between our
democratic economies.
t’s a matter of pride for India
that Indian Ocean is the only
ocean ontheplanetearthwhich
has been named after a country
.
The Indian Ocean is the hub of
sea trade and logistics routes
and India has the longest coast-
line on this ocean. These geo-
graphical features provide In-
dia an immense strategic and
locational advantage in Inter-
national trade and resultant
geopolitics. In British Era, In-
dia was the center of a huge
network of trade and communi-
cation. Unfortunately, post-in-
dependence, India squandered
this advantage due to its limited
ability to dominate the blue wa-
ters. India’s strategy for in-
creasing its influence in Asia
must be guided by its location
and consequently domination
of Indo Pacific region.
IMPORTANCE OF
INDO-PACIFIC REGION
Admiral Alfred T. Mahan said-
“Whoever attains maritime
supremacy within the Indian
Ocean would be a prominent
player on the international
scene”. India’s strategic loca-
tion at the center of the Indian
Ocean gives it a superb strate-
gic importance and helps in
maintaining contact with the
rest of the world. India is fortu-
nately also blessed with abun-
dant natural resources and
manpower reserves in EEZ.
India now acknowledges the
untapped growth and power
potential of this region. Pres-
ently, India has no major rivals
in this region, but China has
been making concerted efforts
to flag its presence in this area.
INCREASING
FOOTPRINTS

z ANDAMAN NICOBAR TRIS-
ERVICES COMMAND India has
positioned its first tri-services
command at Port Blair, Anda-
man Nicobar island. This
tri-services command will act
as a fulcrum for Indian Navy op-
erations and also friendly naval
forces, within the Indo-pacific
region. This Command also
becomes a pivot for India’s joint
operations within this region.

z OFFSHORE BASES India is
increasing its footprints within
the blue waters of the Indio-
Pacific Ocean region. Strategi-
cally located islands within the
Indian Ocean is suitably de-
veloped as bases on strategic
chokepoints and trading routes.
These islands will provide
advantages for strategic, logis-
tic, and joint anti-submarine
warfare missions.

z LISTENING POSTS The Indian
government has set up listen-
ing posts and established
Naval surveillance facilities in
Madagascar and Mauritius. A
small land ALAGELA, located
North of Mauritius is being
developed as a listening post
and offshore base by India and
Mauritius jointly. In recent
years, India has sought to fur-
ther develop its military access
to the south-west Indian Ocean
and Mozambique Channel by
building a replacement naval
and air facility on Seychelles’
remote, Assumption Island.

z JOINT USAGE OF BASES India
has negotiated agreements
with several states within the
littoral IOR to get military
access to their bases. India
has also engaged with powers
outside the IOR, deepening co-
operation with France and USA
through logistics agreements,
which grant India access to
port facilities at the U.S. base
on Diego Garcia, Japanese
Djibouti base and French Re-
union Island. Agreements and
understanding with Australia
has been reached to use Cocos
islands for joint naval surveil-
lance of sea routes.
NEED FOR BLUE
WATER NAVY
Given the geopolitical nuances
within the Indian Ocean, the
Indian Navy must transform
itself into a blue water navy.
Atmanirbhar route is the ideal
way to achieve nation-building
through shipbuilding, in pur-
suit of our dreams of becom-
ing blue water navy
. Neverthe-
less, India still retains a fo-
cused desire to build a naval
force capable of fulfilling its
strategic goal of emerging as a
significant global player and
regional superpower.
WAY AHEAD
Increasing the footprints and
dominance in Indo-Pacific Re-
gion by having strategically
placed bases and an enhanced
role for Tri-Services Joint Com-
mand at Port Blair, is a move in
the right direction. The Indian
Navy should emerge as a multi-
dimensional, well-networked
bluewater naval force, which is
able to combat any maritime
challenge in the 21st century
.
Collaborationwithotherfriend-
lycountrieslikeQUAD willalso
pavethewayforIndiatoacquire
anexcellentpowerstatuswithin
the coming years. The Indian
Ocean is critical for India’s stra-
tegic interests and India should
work towards making it as the
‘INDIA’S OCEAN’.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
DOMINANCE
OF INDIAN OCEAN REGION
I
Given the
geopolitical
nuances within
the Indian
Ocean, the
Indian Navy
must transform
itself into a blue
water navy.
Atmanirbhar
route is the ideal
way to achieve
nation-building
through
shipbuilding, in
pursuit of our
dreams of
becoming blue
water navy.
Nevertheless,
India still
retains a focused
desire to build a
naval force
capable of
fulfilling its
strategic goal of
emerging as a
significant
global player
and regional
superpower
THE INDIAN NAVY
SHOULD EMERGE AS A
MULTI-DIMENSIONAL,
WELL-NETWORKED
BLUEWATER NAVAL
FORCE, WHICH IS ABLE
TO COMBAT ANY
MARITIME CHALLENGE
IN THE 21ST CENTURY
MAJ GEN
CP SINGH, RETD
The writer is a scholar soldier
accredited with MA, MSc, LLB,
MBA, M Phil (Def Mgt) and M Phil
(International Strategic Affairs)
IN-DEPTH
CLIMATE CHANGE VS.
TECHNO-UTOPIA
umanity has never faced a collective
challenge as daunting as climate change.
Net global greenhouse-gas (GHG) emis-
sions must be reduced to near-zero with-
in the next three decades to give us even
a fighting chance of keeping the temperatures
within 2° Celsius of pre-industrial levels. The fur-
ther we exceed that threshold, the more likely we
are to run into truly catastrophic scenarios. With
the United States back in the Paris climate agree-
ment, this is the time for the world to reengage
with these epochal challenges.
Bill Gates’s highly respected voice is thus a wel-
come addition to these efforts. In his new book,
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We
Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, Gates ar-
gues that we need more experimentation with new
ideas and technological innovations if we are to
find a solution. But his push for solar geoengineer-
ing is a step in the wrong direction, because it may
undermine the incentives that are needed to meet
the challenge of climate change.
The idea behind solar geoengineering is simple:
If we cannot limit the amount of GHGs in the at-
mosphere, perhaps we can block the sunlight that
generates heat, for example by creating a reflective
cover. Volcanic eruptions do this naturally
. Follow-
ing the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philip-
pines in 1991, large amounts of sulfuric acid and
dust settled into the stratosphere, temporarily re-
ducing the amount of sunlight that the Earth re-
ceived. Over the next three years, temperatures
dropped by about 0.5°C globally, and by 0.6°C in the
northern hemisphere. SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE
H
HIGH COURTS STEP
IN TO SAVE PEOPLE
fewdaysbackDushyantDavequestioned
the Supreme Court for its decision to
take a suo motu case over the Covid-19
situation in the country
. “I deprecate the
move by the Supreme Court to take these
matters into its own hands. Having slept over these
issues over the last several months, the Supreme
Court suddenly decides to take suo motu cogni-
zance when High Courts are in session of the mat-
ter,” Dave said. The CJI Justice SA Bobde, now re-
tired, countered the allegation with “you have im-
puted motives to us without reading our order”.
Compared to the Supreme Court, the high courts
are exhibiting a lot more spine than the Supreme
Court in flagging the system and some institutions.
One expected the Supreme Court to have the cour-
agetotake a pro-peoplestand which,allegedly
,itdid
not do. One will not recall any order of the Supreme
Court pulling up a state government for its mishan-
dling of the Covid-19 crisis. See what the Delhi High
Court observed on a day 20 people died at Jaipur
Golden Hospital recently
. The court said it would
“hang” anyone found obstructing oxygen supply
.
The Madras High Court went a step further and
castigated the Election Commission for allowing
political rallies during the Covid-19 surge. In a
stinging observation, the court said, “Your institu-
tion is singularly responsible for the second wave
of Covid-19. Election Commission officers should
be booked on murder charges probably
.” The court
warned that it will stop counting on May 2 if the
Election Commission does not prepare a proper
protocol for that day
.
A
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INDIA
06
CM gives...
approvals and inspec-
tions of the respective
departmentsof thestate
government in the first
three years of the estab-
lishment of the enter-
priseunderthepackage.
At the same time, the
state government will
give special support for
getting necessary ap-
provals from the con-
cerned departments of
the central government
andformakingavailable
arrangements for elec-
tricity and water con-
nections soon.
Similarly
, up to 25 per-
cent of the expenditure
onplant,machineryand
other equipment (maxi-
mum Rs. 50 lakhs) will
be given in two instal-
ments as capital grant.
The first installment of
the grant will be given
on submission of a copy
of the order issued for
the purchase of plant,
machinery or equip-
ment and the second in-
stalment on providing
the evidence of invest-
ment after commence-
ment of production.
Gehlot has instructed
the Department of In-
dustries to implement
this package.
Will didi...
thepollingfortheeighth
phase of West Bengal
electionsconcluded.The
lastphaseof theelection
was held amid an un-
precedented Covid
spike. West Bengal went
to polls in eight phases,
whereas Assam had
three phases. All eyes
would be on the 294-seat
West Bengal Assembly
where a straight contest
is expected between the
ruling Trinamool Con-
gress and main chal-
lenger BJP
. The CPI (M)-
Congress-ISF alliance is
also expected to give a
tough fight to the BJP
and TMC on some seats.
Covaxin down...
The issue of vaccine
pricing was discussed at
a meeting chaired by
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv
Gauba on Monday
.
Of the 15 crore people
vaccinated, just over 9
per cent have received
Covaxin. Its safety and
efficacy results from its
final analysis will be
available in June.
Both vaccines are
available to the Central
government at a rate of
Rs 150 per dose.
Under the govern-
ment’s new vaccine pol-
icy applicable from May
1, 50 per cent of doses
will be available in the
open market, from
wherebothstategovern-
ments and private vac-
cination centres would
have to procure to vac-
cinate the 18-44 age
group. Private vaccina-
tion centres will have to
dip into the same basket
for doses for the priority
group of 45+ as well.
Meanwhile, given the
limited doses available,
some Opposition states
have red-flagged differ-
ential pricing and the
silence of the Centre on
how private manufac-
turers will decide on dis-
tribution. The Congress
termedthenewpolicyas
“discriminatory and in-
sensitive”, and accused
the government of al-
lowing vaccine makers
to profiteer to the tune
of Rs 1.11 lakh crore.
Justify or...
We are getting calls for
oxygen beds, hospitals.
Even you must be get-
ting calls,” the court
said.
“We have to rise as In-
dians. This is the single
biggest challenge India
has faced,” the judges
pointed out.
Solicitor General
Tushar Mehta, who was
representingtheCentre,
said, “If there is any ex-
traallocationtoMadhya
Pradesh, it is because of
the surge in cases in two
of their districts. It is
not NDA government
versus others. It is the
Centrewhichisworking
with the states”.
Delhi had sought an
urgent order on the oxy-
gen allocation, saying
though its present allo-
cation was 490 metric
tonnes, it received only
400metrictonnesyester-
day
. This is up from the
300 metric tonnes re-
ceived last week, Delhi
said, adding, “Without
your lordships, we
wouldn’t have got it”.
The Delhi govern-
ment, which is logging
24,000 to 28,000 cases for
nearly two weeks, has
sought 780 metric
tonnes of oxygen. Del-
hi’s requirements were
projected at 700 metric
tonnes last week, but
the allocation was 480
metric tonnes, which
was later increased to
490.
The huge oxygen
shortage has brought
the city’s hospitals to
their knees since last
week. In at least one hos-
pital, doctors attributed
the deaths of 25 patients
to the shortage. Other
hospitals have periodi-
cally stopped new ad-
mission when the short-
age was grave.
In absence of oxygen
and beds, patients are
seen waiting outside
hospitals, in ambulanc-
es, autos and sometimes
even two-wheelers. Sev-
eral have died waiting
on the road.
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: Chief of
Army Staff General
MM Naravane called on
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Thursday
.
They discussed various
initiatives being taken
by the Army to help in
COVID management,
saidthePrimeMinster’s
Office (PMO).
According to the
statement released by
the PMO, General MM
Naravane informed the
PM that the medical
staff of the Army is be-
ing made available to
various state govern-
ments. He also briefed
the Prime Minister that
the Army is setting up
temporary hospitals in
various parts of the
country
, the PMO said.
It further informed
that General MM Nara-
vane apprised PM Modi
that Army is opening up
its hospitals for civil-
ians wherever possible,
adding that citizens can
approach their nearest
army hospitals.
General MM Nara-
vane informed the PM
that the Army is helping
with manpower for im-
ported Oxygen tankers
and vehicles where spe-
cialised skills are re-
quired to manage them,
the PMO said. —ANI
PMModireviewsArmy’sreadinessinCovidmgmt
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Thursday demanded
free Covid-19 vaccina-
tion for all Indians, add-
ing the dictionary
meaning and the usage
of the word ‘free’ to em-
phasise his point.
Calling the govern-
ment’s vaccination pol-
icy discriminatory,
Gandhi and other Con-
gress leaders have been
demanding free vac-
cines for everyone.
In his tweet on Thurs-
day
, the Congress leader
posted, “free /fri/ adjec-
tive, adverb — costing
nothing, or not needing
to be paid for,” and then
went on to illustrate the
usage of word “free”
through two examples
relevant to his de-
mands, “India must get
free Covid vaccine. All
citizens must receive
the inoculation free of
charge.” “Let’s hope
they get it this time”.
Gandhi’s tweet
comes a day after
the Centre started
registrations
for Phase 3
of the
vacci-
nation drive, which has
been opened up for all
adults. Over 11.6 mil-
lion people had regis-
tered for vaccination on
CoWIN, the govern-
ment’s vaccine registra-
tion website, on
Wednesday. The Way-
anad MP had attacked
Modi government just a
day ago, saying,
“People’s mon-
ey was given
to vaccine
companies to
develop Covid
vaccines,” he
had tweeted.
—ANI
Let’s hope all citizens
get free Covid vax
this time, says RaGa
FIR against Param Bir
Singh, 26 others over
corruption charges
Law students write to CJI over drug black marketing
New Delhi: Requesting
to pass immediate di-
rections and orders for
uniform guidelines on
certain matters related
to the Covid-19 pandem-
ic, a group of law stu-
dents from across India
has sent a combined let-
ter petition to the Chief
Justice of India (CJI)
Nuthalapati Venkata
Ramana.
The group led by Adi-
tya Kashyap, a final
year law student at Na-
tional Law University
(NLU), Punjab, has
pleaded to the CJI to
pass immediate appro-
priate directions
against rampant black-
marketing of critical
medicines, and how to
provide oxygen cylin-
ders to the people in
need.
“Scarcity of the life-
saving drugs namely
Remdesivir injections,
Tocilizumab and the
oxygen cylinders is a
major problem being
faced by the majority of
ailing patients during
this second wave of the
pandemic in India. In
the current situation,
black-marketing and il-
legal hoarding has be-
come rampant thereby
denying accessibility to
the needy and under-
privileged. This has fur-
ther added extra pres-
sure on the already bur-
dened supply chain,”
the letter petition said.
—ANI
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra police have filed an
FIR against former
Mumbai police com-
missioner Param Bir
Singh after a police in-
spector levelled cor-
ruption charges
against him, a senior
official said on Thurs-
day.
The FIR has been
registered at Akola in
Vidarbha against Sin-
gh, DCP Parag Manere
and 26 other police-
men.
The city Kotwali po-
lice in Akola registered
the FIR against the po-
lice personnel under
various sections rang-
ing from criminal con-
spiracy, destruction of
evidence and sections
of the Scheduled Caste
and Scheduled Tribe
(Prevention of Atroci-
ties Act), 1989.
Akola police filed a
Zero FIR (mode of lodg-
ing FIR in any police
station irrespective of
the offence committed
in that area or any oth-
er area) at the Kotwali
police station and it
has been transferred to
the Thane city police,
the official told PTI.
Police inspector
Bhimrao Ghadge in his
complaint had made a
series of allegations of
corruption against
Singh and other offic-
ers, in the period when
the former Mumbai CP
was posted with the
Thane police. —PTI
New Delhi: As voters
continue to exercise
their franchise in the
last phase of West Ben-
gal elections, the ruling
Trinamool Congress
has written to the Elec-
tion Commission of In-
dia (ECI) citing ‘inade-
quacies’ in its direction
for counting of votes on
May 2. The TMC has
stated that no provi-
sions have been made
for submission of nega-
tive RT-PCR test by poll-
ing officers and CAPF
personnel. This comes
aftertheECIonWednes-
day made it mandatory
for candidates and their
agents to show negative
RT-PCR test reports or
vaccination reports.
In the letter, TMC has
claimed that no provi-
sion has been made for
submission of negative
RT-PCR tests by polling
officers present in
counting halls. —PTI
Mumbai: Market
benchmarks Sensex
and Nifty ended mar-
ginally higher as
monthly derivatives ex-
pired on Thursday amid
a largely positive trend
in global equities.
After gyrating 840
points during the day,
the 30-share BSE index
finished 32.10 points or
0.06 per cent higher at
49,765.94.
Similarly, the broad-
er NSE Nifty advanced
30.35 points or 0.20 per
cent to 14,894.90.
Bajaj Finserv was the
top gainer in Sensex
pack, rallying nearly
7%, followed by Bajaj
Finance, Axis Bank, Re-
liance Industries and
IndusInd Bank. On the
other hand, Bajaj Auto,
HDFC, HCL Tech
LT were among the
laggards. Barring met-
als, financials phar-
ma, most of key secto-
ral indices were in red.
—PTI
THE UPDATE
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
free /fri/
adjective, adverb
costing nothing, or
not needing to be
paid for. e.g.-
• India must get
free COVID vaccine.
• All citizens must
receive the inocula-
tion free of charge.
Let’s hope they get it
this time. #vaccine
New Delhi: Former
Prime Minister Man-
mohan Singh has been
discharged from AIIMS
Trauma Centre in Del-
hi, after recovering
fromCovid-19,anAIIMS
Official said as reported
by ANI.He tested posi-
tive for covid-19 and was
admitted to AIIMS on
April 19. He had mild
symptoms of fever.
Manmohan Singh, 88,
had been admitted to
the AIIMS trauma cen-
tre, which is a dedicated
COVID facility
. Officials
had said that Singh had
a mild fever later test-
ed positive for COV-
ID-19. Dr Singh had
taken both the doses of
COVID-19 vaccine.
General Naravane apprised PM Modi that the army is opening up its hospitals for civilans wherever possible. —PHOTO BY PIB
Manmohan
discharged
from AIIMS
New Delhi: Depart-
ment for Empowerment
of PwDs requested
Health Ministry to issue
directions to states
UTs to make a special
provision in COVID-19
testing, vaccination,
treatment centres for
priority in attending to
treatment of per-
sons with disabilities.
Union Minister of Social
Justice Empowerment
Thawarchand Gehlot
tweeted. “#DEPwD
took up matter with @
MoHFW_INDIA to issue
appropriate instructions
to Central, State health-
care authorities to give
priority to #Divyangjan
in #COVID19 testing,
treatment, vaccina-
tion. #sabkasaathsabko-
vaccine @PIB_India.”
New Delhi: The govern-
ment allowed the import
of 17 medical devices
for three months with
mandatory declara-
tions immediately after
customs clearance and
before the sale of such
products in the domes-
tic market. An order in
this regard has been
issued by the Food and
Consumer Affairs Minis-
try. “Government under
the leadership of PM@
Narendra Modiji permits
importers of medical
devices for making
mandatory declarations
required under Legal
Metrology Rules, 2011
after custom clearance
and before sale,” Food
and Consumer Affairs
Minister Piyush Goyal
tweeted.
New Delhi: The government is fighting a danger-
ous pandemic and not doing dirty politics like the
Congress party and its allies, said Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Mukhtar Ab-
bas Naqvi on Thursday. “We are fighting a danger-
ous pandemic. It’s not the correct time for politics
so we are fighting Corona day and night and not
doing dirty politics with like the Congress and its
allies,” Naqvi said. This comes in response to Con-
gress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of Centre’s
management of the pandemic and vaccines.
PRIORITISE SPECIALLY-ABLED DURING
TESTING, VAX, TREATMENT: DEPWD
GOVERNMENT ALLOWS IMPORT OF 17
MEDICAL DEVICES FOR 3 MONTHS
CENTRE FIGHTING COVID, NOT INDULGING
IN DIRTY POLITICS LIKE CONG: NAQVI
Sonitpur: An earth-
quake measuring 3.3 on
the Richter Scale hit As-
sam’s Sonitpur on
Thursday evening. The
earthquake occurred at
4.17 pm and its coordi-
nates were 26.59 N and
92.47 E.Today’s earth-
quake comes a day after
an earthquake of mag-
nitude 6.4 hit Assam
with Sonitpur as its epi-
centre, followed by a
series of aftershocks,
causing widespread
damage in the region.
Officials said there
were no immediate re-
port of deaths, but three
people were injured as
the first quake of 6.4
magnitude struck
Dhekiajuli,nearTezpur,
.The impact was felt in
almost the entire North-
eastern region, parts of
WB, and neighbouring
countries of Bhutan
and Bangladesh. —PTI
A health worker wearing a PPE kit distributes food at a
temporarily converted isolation ward for COVID-19 patients, at a
banquet hall in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Param Bir Singh
Quake measuring 3.3
hits Sonitpur in Assam
Sensex, Nifty
end higher in
FO expiry
TMC writes to EC over ‘inadequacies’
in directions over counting of votes
Jagdeep Dhankhar shows an
inked finger after casting his vote.

NEWS
07
Hem Singh Rajpurohit
Raisinghnagar: Be-
sides protecting the
borders, the Border Se-
curity Force has shown
examples of its human-
itarian side time and
again. The border of
Sriganganagar district
of Rajasthan shares
border with neigh-
bouring Pakistan.
The Border Security
Force set an example
of humanitarianism
by sending a Pakistani
citizen back to his
homeland. He was near
the zero line of the In-
do-Pak International
Border.
Two days ago a Paki-
stani citizen lost way
and came near zero
line of the Indian bor-
der near Pillar No. 354
of Prithisar check post
in Raisinghnagar sec-
tor of Indo-Pak inter-
national border. The
BSF officials and vari-
ous intelligence per-
sonnel interrogated
him for 6 hours. Be-
sides the clothes worn
by the Pak citizen, a
packet of cigarettes
and some medicines
were found with him.
The authorities also
questioned him near
zero line.
After a long interro-
gation, it was revealed
that 62-year-old Man-
zoor son of Allah
Baksh, resident of Ba-
hawalnagar, Pakistan
was going to the
mosque to offer early
morning prayers. He
wandered off the road
and reached the zero
line of the Indian bor-
der.
After flag meeting
with Pak Rangers, BSF
officials ‘pushed back’
the Pak civilian.
BSF sends back Pakistani elderly,
who strayed into Indian side
Why different rates for 1 vax? HC asks
2 days before start of vax drive for 18+ age group, Raj HC issues notice to Centre, state govt 2
vaccine manufacturers questioning them on why different rates are being fixed for one vaccine
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Rajasthan High
Court has sought an-
swers from the Center,
state government and
two vaccine manufac-
turers on a PIL filed re-
garding varying rates of
vaccine amidst corona
pandemic in the coun-
try. The court has given
this order on a PIL filed
by journalist Mukesh
Sharma.
Senior Advocate Ab-
hay Bhandari, appear-
ing for the petitioner,
told the court that it is
wrong to have three dif-
ferent rates for vaccine
made in the country. He
informed that the cen-
tral government has
made a provision of
Rs35,000 crores for vac-
cination in Budget.
Apart from this, people
have also donated huge
amounts in PM Care
Fund. This amount can
be used for purchase of
vax and other medical
supplies in this epidem-
ic. Despite this, the vac-
cine manufacturer is of-
fering vaccine in three
different rates in the
market with the aim of
making huge profit with
permission of central
government. He in-
formed that for the age
group above 45 years in
the state, the Centre is
giving free vaccines. In
such a situation, the gov-
ernment should also
provide free vaccine for
age group 18 to 45 years.
After hearing this pe-
tition, the bench of Jus-
tice Sabina issued a no-
tice to the Central Gov-
ernment, the State Gov-
ernment and the vaccine
manufacturers Bharat
Biotech and Serum In-
stitute and sought their
response.
The next hearing is
scheduled on May 12.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Governor
Kalraj Mishra has an-
nounced to give ‘Chal
Vaijayanti Shield’ for
the outstanding work
done by the State Scout
and Guide Organisa-
tion for public service
during the corona pan-
demic.
Mishra announced
this while addressing a
review meeting of the
Scouts and Guides
through a video confer-
ence.
The Shield will be
awarded to Scout-man-
dals on the basis of ex-
cellent works done for
public service during
the pandemic.
He called upon the
volunteers associated
with the Scout and
Guide Organisation to
work in coordination
with the local adminis-
tration, police and
health department to
control the second
wave of pandemic
while ensuring their
own safety
.
Mishra said that the
Scout and Guide volun-
teers should take care
of the food, medicines
etc of Corona infected
patients living in home
isolation, the poor,
helpless, living alone
and elderly people.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Two persons
were held taking bribe
in the state by the ACB
on Thursday. The
Bharatpur team con-
ducted a raid on a pri-
vate college named
Jagdish College in An-
gai town in Dhaulpur
district on Thursday
and arrested college
director for taking a
bribe of Rs25,000. The
accused man had de-
manded a bribe from
BEd second-year stu-
dent for increasing the
attendance by 75%. He
hid the bribe amount
under a brick. The
ACB team is currently
interrogating him.
ACB ASP Mahesh
Meena said that on
April 28, complainant
had lodged a complaint
against Pramod Ku-
mar Sharma, 37, direc-
tor of Jagdish College,
for demanding bribe of
Rs25,000.
In another case,
Jodhpur ACB team
took action against the
sanitation inspector of
Jodhpur Nagar Nigam.
He took this amount
from a marriage gar-
den operator. ASP Bho-
pal Singh Lakhawat
said complainant Om
Singh said that clean-
liness inspector of the
area Surendra Barsa
demands Rs10,000 for
each event held at his
rented marriage gar-
den in Prithviraj Na-
gar. He even threatens
Om to seize the gar-
den.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Shree Rajput
Sabha president
Giriraj Singh Lot-
wara died in Jaipur
on Thursday due to
corona infection. Lot-
wara, aged around 60
years, was admitted
to RUHS hospital and
he died early on
Thursday morning.
Governor Kalraj
Mishra, Chief Minis-
terAshokGehlot,PCC
chief Govind Singh
Dotasra and other
leaders cutting
across party lines
and social organisa-
tions expressed grief
over the demise of
Lotwara.
Former CM
Vasundhara Raje, Ra-
jsamand MP Diya Ku-
mari and a host of
politicians took to
twitter to express
their condolences on
Lotwara’s demise.
Dotasra informed
on Twitter that Ra-
jput Sabha president
and his close friend
Lotwara has died due
to corona infection.
Chief whip Dr Ma-
hesh Joshi also said
that Lotwara contrib-
uted for all communi-
ties throughout his
life.
Guv to Scouts Guides: Help
local admn to control Corona
Pvt College
director, JMC
staff in ACB
net for bribe
Rajput leader Giriraj Lotwara
passes away due to COVID-19
The Centre has provided free vaccine for all people above 45 years of age.
THE
PRICING
COVID
VACCINE
COVID
VACCINE
` 400 per dose the cost of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for
states as against the earlier ` 600
`35,000 crore have provisioned in the Union Budget
for corona vaccinations
RECENTLY CHIEF MINISTER ASHOK GEHLOT HAD ANNOUNCED
THAT STATE GOVERNMENT SHALL BEAR THE COST OF
VACCINATION OF ALL THOSE ABOVE THE AGE OF 18 YEARS
` 150 per dose cost of both Covaxin and
Covishield to Centre
` 900 to 1,000 crore is an estimated fund
collection in PM Cares
` 1,200 per dose is the cost of vaccine for private
hospitals
` 300 per dose is the cost of Serum Institute of
India’s Covishield for states as against earlier `400
In such a scenario, the government should run
a free vaccination drive across the nation as
the government had made preparations for
vaccinations quite early
WHAT
FREE
the
petition
says
for all
Governor Kalraj Mishra taking review meeting of Scouts and Guides through a video conference.
Giriraj Singh Lotwara
First India Bureau
Jodhpur: In a tragic ac-
cidentthreechildrenand
their father died late on
Wednesday night when a
car and a trolley collided
head on at Bhandu Nar-
nadi Road near Jodhpur.
The collision was so se-
vere that two children
died on the spot, while
the father and a son died
on way to hospital.
Policeofficialsreached
the spot on getting the
information. Boronada
Police Officer Kishanlal
said that the deceased
man is one Mahipal Sin-
gh’s son Chail Singh.
The age of two chil-
dren is around 4-5 years,
while the third is around
ten years.
On getting informa-
tion about the incident,
Boronada Police Officer
Kishanlal Vishnoi, ACP
Mangilal Rathore and
others reached the spot.
The badly damaged car
was removed from the
spot.
The car was badly hit
from the front. The bod-
ies have been kept in
MDMH’s mortuary
. Fur-
theractionisbeingtaken
in this regard.
Father, 3 sons killed in mishap as their
car collides with a trolley in Jodhpur
2 WOMEN DIE IN ACCIDENT IN BHILWARA

The brave conquer the odds and
the reality if that one becomes
brave only by battling great
odds, problems and pain.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
POSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21
Rajendra Chhabra
Jaipur: Taking a major
decision in boosting the
fight against Covid, the
state government on
Thursday, handed the
additional charge of
Principal Secretary of
Medical and Health de-
partment to Akhil Aro-
ra, to aid Siddharth Ma-
hajan. To overcome this
crisis, now there are
two senior ‘Corona
Warriors’ in the Medi-
cal and Health Depart-
ment.
First India has been
raising the issue. for the
past several days, that
expecting Siddharth
Mahajantocarryoutthe
roles and responsibili-
ties in such gargantuan
crisis is not the right ap-
proach. Mahajan be-
came a Secretary three
years back and it has
merelybeenfivemonths
sincehestartedworking
in the current position
and therefore, there was
a need for a senior offic-
er to be posted to give a
shot to the work being
done.
1993 batch IAS Akhil
Arora, is currently han-
dling the Finance De-
partment’s reins, how-
ever last year from July
to October 2020, he has
served as Principal Sec-
retary of Medical and
Health department and
therefore he has experi-
ence and knowledge in
handling the crisis.
Till now, the services
of 31 IAS and 24 RAS of-
ficers have been handed
to Medical secretary
through ten orders for
IAS between April 16 to
April 29 and for RAS of-
ficers, seven orders
were released between
April 18 and April 24.
This administrative
system appears to be a
little weird wherein of-
ficers are ‘picked’ up
like daily wage work-
ers. Rather, there
should be a comprehen-
sive plan and the assess-
ment of officers should
be done according to
which they should be
deputed. It is also un-
clear as to how are the
services of 31 IAS and
24 RAS being ascer-
tained, where will they
be posted and who is
ascertaining this ‘job
chart’. Then again, who
is guiding them and
who is given direction
is still not clear and it
appears that the entire
responsibility is on Sid-
dharth Mahajan.
Now, that Akhil Aro-
ra has also been direct-
ed to discharge his du-
ties for the Medical and
Health department, so
there are now two offic-
ers who will guide and
direct these 55 IAS and
RAS officers. Surely,
this move will bring
down the work pres-
sure on Siddharth Ma-
hajan and it is being
said that the way Coro-
na is still spreading its
tentacles, services of a
few more IAS and RAS
will be taken to combat
the virus.
According to sources,
keeping in mind out-
standing and result ori-
ented performance of
Arora in Finance De-
partment, Gehlot, ap-
parently in consulta-
tion with Health Minis-
ter Dr Raghu Sharma,
Niranjan Arya and Kul-
deep Ranka, has given
this additional respon-
sibility to Arora. In this
way, now under a close
Gehlot supervision, Dr
Sharma will be leading
his team of key per-
formers i.e. Akhil Aro-
ra, Vaibhav Galeriya
and Siddharth Ma-
hajan.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Justice Mahesh
Chandra Sharma, the
member of Rajasthan
Human Rights Commis-
sion,diedhereonThurs-
day due to cardiac ar-
rest. He was 66.
Sharma felt uneasi-
ness and was rushed
from residence to SMS
hospital where doctors
declared him dead on ar-
rival, the commission
sources said. Cremation
willtakeplaceonFriday
at the cremation ground
near Chungi naka at
Ajmer road.
CM Ashok Gehlot,
RHRC chairman GK
Vyas, member Mahesh
Goyal and others ex-
pressed grief over the
demise of Sharma. As a
mark of mourning, ad-
vocates have decided to
suspend work in high
court and subordinate
courts on Friday
. Born
in Dausa on June 1, 1955,
Sharma graduated in
Science from the Gov-
ernment College, Dausa
and studied law in the
Rajasthan University,
Jaipur. He registering
with Bar Council in 1979
andstartedpracticingin
civil, criminal, revenue
matters. From 2000 to
2003, he was the Addi-
tional Advocate General
of the state government
andseniorcounseltothe
Government of India
from 2004 to 2007. He
served as a judge in Ra-
jasthan HC from 2007 to
2017. He was made a
member of the RHRC in
October 2018 and was
made the acting chair-
man of the commission.
He had suggested that
thecowbedeclaredana-
tional animal.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Two days after
speaking to Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
phone regarding the
deepening corona crisis
in Rajasthan, on Thurs-
day, Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot spoke to
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah as well as top
bureaucrats like cabi-
net secretary Rajeev
Gauba, Principal secre-
tary to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, PK
Mishra and National Se-
curity Advisor Ajeet
Doval. The Chief Minis-
ter informed the union
minister and bureau-
crats of the current
deficit of oxygen and
medicines in Rajasthan.
Gehlot said, “The situa-
tion in Rajasthan is ex-
tremely fragile and the
state should be provided
oxygen and necessary
medicines in propor-
tion to the active cases
so that this crisis can be
averted. Active cases
are increasing quickly
here as the number of
active patients have
crossed 1.70 lakh. Allot
oxygen and medicines
quickly so that relief
can be provided to peo-
ple,” CM Gehlot said.
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Former Con-
gress President Rahul
Gandhi is quite active in
his efforts to tackle Co-
rona infection spread-
ing rapidly across the
country
. Despite being
infected by Corona,
Gandhi is working on
preparing an army of
Congress ‘Covid Sevaks’
to help the people across
the country
. For this,
Rahul Gandhi is also
sending a message to
them. If sources are to
be believed, Gandhi is
busy preparing an army
of about 10 lakh Con-
gress ‘Covid Sevaks’
across the country
through which, he is ap-
pealing to people to pro-
vide all possible help to
the nation, leaving the
politics aside.
In Rajasthan, 15,000
Congress workers have
received Rahul’s mes-
sage. In the message,
the Congress workers of
Rajasthan have been in-
structed to give a missed
call to a number high-
lighted with a message
of Gandhi scion, so that
they can become Con-
gress ‘Covid Sevaks’ in
their respective dis-
tricts.TheGandhi scion
has used Congress’
Shakti App to interact
with the activists
‘Covid Sevaks’ will be in
direct contact with Ra-
hul Gandhi via this app,
who would contact the
workers and take feed-
back about services ren-
dered during the period
through this app.
Another low profile performer Akhil Arora gets addl charge of Health Dept!
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot has said
that the state govern-
ment is deeply con-
cerned about the sec-
ond deadly wave of Co-
rona infection. He has
instructed the officials
to mobilise resources
however and from
where ever possible for
the survival of the peo-
ple of the state. “In this
hour of crisis, with full
courage and determina-
tion, let us devote all
our strength to saving
the lives of the people
of the state. Every ef-
fort should be made to
overcome this crisis,”
Gehlot said while re-
viewing the status of
Covid-19 through video
conference at the CMR
late on Wednesday
night. He said that the
deaths in the second
wave of Covid indicate
the dreaded state of in-
fection. “It is seen for
the first time that the
youth are also dying an
untimely death from
this dangerous virus.
Also, most of the pa-
tients admitted are in
need of high flow oxy-
gen. In this case, this
time is worrying for us
as well as challenging,”
he said.
The Chief Minister
directed that if there is
a need to import other
essential resources in-
cluding oxygen concen-
trators, cylinders, flow
meters and medicines,
then officials should
plan for it and execute it
quickly. “In addition,
the Centre should con-
stantly contact local
sources companies
and fulfil the needs of
the state as soon as pos-
sible. Also, keeping in
mind the appre-
hension of the
third and
f o u r t h
wave ex-
p r e s s e d
by the ex-
perts, ad-
equate ar-
rangements
should be
e n s u r e d
from now. The State
Government will not let
any lack of financial
resources in it,” he
said. Taking a view for
the betterment of the
people, Gehlot has di-
rected officials to ap-
proach other countries
to provide relief in the
form of oxygen concen-
trator. The officials had
been mulling on ap-
proaching China
for the re-
quired items,
however, Ge-
hlot has
asked them
to talk to all
c o u n t r i e s
possible.
Gehlot in-
structed
that
proper and better man-
agement of resources
including beds, oxygen,
remdesivir, tocilizumab
should be done in hos-
pitals. “According to the
assurance given by the
Centre for supply of re-
sources as per require-
ments, keep constant
coordination with the
Union Ministers and of-
ficials to allocate re-
sources and make them
constantly aware of the
needs of Rajasthan,” he
said.
The CM said that
medical protocols
should be taken care of
in patients being admit-
ted to the hospital. “Ar-
rangements should be
made to keep patients
in normal condition in
home isolation so that
serious patients get pri-
ority treatment imme-
diately and do not
create unnecessary
pressure on hospitals.
In such difficult times,
the nodal officers have
an important role, they
should carry out their
responsibilities with
full sincerity,” he said.
Gehlot instructed to ef-
fectively handle the
control rooms set up at
the state and district
levels. In-depth moni-
toring of the control
room should be ensured
and 181 helpline should
be widely disseminated.
Health Minister Dr
Raghu Sharma said,
“Keeping in mind the
upcoming needs, we are
also trying to provide
oxygen facilities for
treatment of Covid pa-
tients in 50 bedded CHC
level hospitals in the
state. It would be appro-
priate to make efforts
for the production of
drugs like Remdesivir
in the state itself,”
Do not keep any shortage in mobilising resources for saving lives: CM
Jaipur: Chief Min-
ister Ashok Gehlot
has taken a sensi-
tive decision in the
direction of ap-
pointment of unem-
ployed candidates
for Junior Clerk Re-
c r u i t m e n t - 2 0 1 8 ,
even in odd circum-
stances arising out
of Covid-19 pan-
demic.
The compassion-
ate Chief Minister
has approved the
appointment of 689
candidates in the
waiting list for this
recruitment exami-
nation and allocat-
ed the department
on the basis of pref-
erence and merit,
informed a few reli-
able sources.
With the approv-
al, the candidates
included in the
waiting list, will get
an opportunity to
join the government
service on the post
of junior clerk. Af-
ter this prudent de-
cision of the Chief
Minister, the offi-
cials of Administra-
tive Reforms De-
partment have start-
ed the process of
allocation.
Sensitive CM’s nod to
recruit junior clerks
amid Corona Crisis
“In this hour of crisis, with full courage and determina-
tion, let us devote all our strength to saving the lives of
the people of the state. Every effort should be made to
overcome this crisis.” —Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot@
ashokgehlot51
Sad to know of
sudden untimely
demise of Justice Ma-
hesh Chand Sharma,
member of Rajasthan
Human Rights Com-
mission. May God
give strength to his
family members to
bear this loss. May
his soul rest in peace.
RHRC panel member Justice Mahesh
Sharma dies at 66 due to cardiac arrest
Cong’s 10L‘Covid
sevaks’tohelpmasses
Gehlot red flags Raj’s situation, speaks to Shah,
Doval and Gauba demanding oxygen, medicines
Late Justice MC Sharma
Gehlot’s confidante,
Rathore tests +ve
First India Bureau
Jaipur: The day CM
Ashok Gehlot tested
Corona positive, one
of his trusted aides
and lieutenant Dhar-
mendra Rathore also
tested positive.
Rathore had been do-
ing all in his power
for the past several
months to help peo-
ple combat Corona.
He had also formed
Covid Help Groups to
extend a helping
hand to Covid-19 pos-
itives. Now, Rathore
himself tested posi-
tive on Thursday and
as this news spread,
Congress leaders
started calling
Rathore to wish him
a speedy recovery.
CM Gehlot also held
a long telephonic
conversation with
Rathore wishing him
a speedy recovery
.
Dharmendra Rathore
Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma Akhil Arora Siddharth Mahajan
Rahul Gandhi
The message of Rahul Gandhi reads, “I request
my Congress colleagues to abandon all political
programmes, and concentrate only to help the
public. In a way, remove the grief of the country-
men, this is the religion of the Congress. If you
want to become a Congress Covid Sevak in your
district, give a missed call at this number- 8184
922221. We will contact you - Rahul Gandhi
THE GANDHI SCION’s MESSAGE
COMBATING CORONA
S
S
S
CONCERNED CM’s RELIEF TO MASSES
CM Ashok Gehlot

TESTED POSITIVE
The coronavirus pandemic seems to have hit Bollywood hard as the latest actor to have contracted the virus are Sonu Sood,
Manish Malhotra, Rahul Roy, Nikita Dutta, Akshay Kumar, Vicky Kaushal, Alia Bhatt, Sachin Tendulkar among others. The
actor took to social media to declare their health update and also added that they immediately isolated themselves and are
now under home quarantine.
JAIPUR, FRIDAY
APRIL 30, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
THE MONTH THAT WAS...
THE
EMOTIONAL LIFE
OF AN ACTOR
Priyanka Chopra Jonas virtually
launched Kabir Bedi’s autobiography,
‘Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Life
of an Actor’, on April 19. PeeCee, who is
in London, will also be part of a tête-à-
tête with the veteran actor. ‘Stories
I Must Tell’ is said to be about
the “highs and lows of Kabir
Bedi’s professional and
personal life.
IRRFAN’S SON
BABIL’S DEBUT
Anushka Sharma
and brother
Karnesh’s next
production, Qala,
marks the debut of
Irrfan’s son Babil.
The Netflix film,
helmed by Anvitaa
Dutt, also features
Tripti Dimri and
Swastika Mukherjee.
REMAKE ALERT!
Kiara Advani will star
alongside Ranveer Singh
in S Shankar’s remake of
his Tamil psychological
thriller Anniyan (2005).
She is said to have inked
the deal on April 16. The
project has been courting
controversy after producer
V Ravichandran claimed
that he owns the rights to
the Vikram-starrer.
ALBUM LAUNCHED
Lata Mangeshkar
launched her
album, Bhavartha Mauli,
to mark Gudi Padwa on
April 13. It consists of
10 devotional Marathi
tracks rendered by the
legend, and composed
by brother Pandit
Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
The songs are based
on the works of Marathi
saint and 13th-century
poet Sant Dnyaneshwar.
‘DIL HAI DEEWANA’
Arjun Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh shot for their
first music video Dil Hai Deewana by Bhushan
Kumar’s T-Series sung by Darshan Rawal and Zara
Khan. The romantic dance track that was recently
shot in Mumbai by director duo Radhika Rao and
Vinay Sapru, will have your feet tapping away with
its upbeat tunes.
‘EK VILLAIN
RETURNS’ IN GOA
After wrapping the first
schedule of ‘Ek Villain
Returns’ in Mumbai
recently, the makers are
all set for the second
schedule. While the
first schedule was shot
extensively across multiple
locations in Mumbai, the
second schedule goes
on-floors in Goa with Arjun
Kapoor and Tara Sutaria.
GOOD NEWS
Dia Mirza and Vaibhav Rekhi tied
the knot earlier in February this
year and the actress has now
announced her pregnancy on
her Instagram account with
a deep and poetic post. She
wrote, “Blessed to be...
One with Mother Earth...
One with the Life Force
that is the beginning
of everything...Of all
stories. Lullabies.
Songs. Of new
saplings. And the
blossoming of
hope. Blessed
to cradle this
purest of all
dreams in my
womb.”
FILM
HERITAGE
FOUNDATION
Sonam Kapoor Ahuja put up multiple
pictures in one post, along with a
video to show the work and the need
to preserve film heritage. She also
hopes that future generations see
the kind of efforts veterans
have put into the art of
cinema.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Soonam Kapoor Ahuja
Diya Mirza
Rakul Preet Singh and Arjun Kapoor
Poster of the film
Kiara Advani and
Ranveer Singh
Lata Mangeshkar
Late Irrfan Khan and Babil Khan
CITY FIRST BRUSHES UP THE HAPPENINGS OF THE MONTH OF APRIL IN BOLLYWOOD, COME WHAT MAY… LIFE GOES ON!

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
MARY, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You will be able to remain
in saving mode despite
temptations. New contracts
and deals may be signed,
but their implementation can take
some more time. Focus on health will
become your priority and will have a
positive outcome on your fitness.
Take initiative on the property front.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You may get motivated to
plan finances for going in
for something big. You are
likely to enjoy good health
as you resolve to take up some
physical activity seriously. A family
member may be forthcoming in
extending a helping hand, but may
need guidance.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You remain secure, as
previous investments keep
you financially strong.
Reputation on the
professional or academic front gets
boosted as your performance is
lauded by all. You maintain good
health through your determination to
continue regular workouts.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Financially worries are set to
disappear as you are about
to come into big money.
Chances of winning a deal
become bright through your efforts on
the business front. You are likely to
resolve to come back in shape and
start an exercise regimen. Someone
you are working may attract you.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Those learning something
new on the work front will
finally get the hang of it.
Financially, you will be very
well off and continue to add to your
wealth. You will be more inclined to
shed bad habits in the interest of
health. Much caring and sharing at
home is likely to keep you happy.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Your excellent showing on
the professional front will
help climb up the corporate
ladder. You will be able to
curb wasteful expenditure without
affecting your quality of life. Slowing
the pace will have a beneficial effect on
health. You will spare no efforts in
making your love life fulfilling.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You will be able to put your
best foot forward before
higher ups at work. A
decision on the property
front is likely to be given in your
favour. On the academic front, things
may begin to turn in your favour
soon. Meeting people you get along
with well is likely to make the day.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You will be able to
effectively curb expenses
by taking some drastic
measures. New clientele
and soaring reputation promises to
give young professionals a new high.
You will be able to buy the property
you had been wanting for long. A
good phase begins for you.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
A new line of treatment for
an old ailment is likely to
work wonders. The day will
remain satisfactory as you
get a chance to enjoy the company of
your friends and relatives. Setting up
a new house or getting one built will
give an immense sense of achieve-
ment.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You are likely to enjoy
good health by managing
to keep bad habits under
check. You can derive
immense satisfaction by making the
home front aesthetically appealing.
Constructing a house or acquiring an
apartment cannot be ruled out for
some.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Regular workouts and
eating right is your mantra
for keeping fit. Against all
odds, you will be able to
manage your finances well. Today,
you must give a thought to property
issues. Academic front looks bright
for those appearing for some
competition.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Your professional stars are
on the ascendant and will
help make your mark on
the career front. Condition
of those ailing is set to improve by
leaps and bounds and get them
firmly on the road to good health.
Family life will cruise along smoothly
amid these hard times.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
third coronavirus
vaccine has been
approved for use
in India amid a
deadly second
wave of infec-
tions. Russia’s
Sputnik V has been
deemed safe and works in
a way similar to the Ox-
ford-AstraZeneca jab
made in India as Cov-
ishield. Sputnik V gives
around 92% protection
against Covid-19, late-
stage trial results pub-
lished in The Lancet re-
vealed.
India has so far given
more than 100 million dos-
es of two approved vac-
cines - Covishield and Co-
vaxin. Sputnik V’s ap-
proval came as India over-
took Brazil to become the
country with the second-
highest number of cases
globally.
With a total case tally of
more than 13.5 million
cases, India is now only
behind the United States
which has reported more
than 31 million cases.
With 13.4 million cases,
Brazil is now at number
three. India aims to vacci-
nate 250 million “priority
people” by the end of July.
But experts say that the
pace of vaccination has
been slow and unless the
drive is scaled up, the tar-
get could be missed.
On Tuesday the govern-
ment decided to give emer-
gency approvals to vac-
cines already in use in
other countries. It said the
decision was taken to “ex-
pand the basket of vac-
cines for domestic use and
hasten the pace and cover-
age of vaccination”.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT
SPUTNIK V?
The vaccine, developed by
Moscow’s Gamaleya Insti-
tute, initially generated
some controversy after be-
ing rolled out before the
final trial data had been
released. But scientists
say its benefits have now
been demonstrated. It uses
a cold-type virus, engi-
neered to be harmless, as
a carrier to deliver a small
fragment of the coronavi-
rus to the body.
Safely exposing the
body to a part of the vi-
rus’s genetic code in this
way allows it to recognise
the threat and learn to
fight it off, without the
risk of becoming ill. After
being vaccinated, the body
starts to produce antibod-
ies especially tailored to
the coronavirus. This
means that the immune
system is primed to fight
coronavirus when it en-
counters it for real. It can
be stored at temperatures
of between 2 and 8C de-
grees (a standard fridge is
roughly 3-5C degrees)
making it easier to trans-
port and store.
Unlike other similar
vaccines, the Sputnik jab
uses two slightly different
versions of the vaccine for
the first and the second
dose - given 21 days apart.
They both target the coro-
navirus’s distinctive
“spike”, but use different
vectors - the neutralised
virus that carries the spike
to the body
. The idea is that
using two different formu-
las boosts the immune sys-
tem even more than using
the same version twice -
and may give longer-last-
ing protection. As well as
proving effective, it was
also safe with no serious
reactions linked to the vac-
cine during the trial.
Some side effects to a
vaccine are expected, but
these are usually mild, in-
cluding a sore arm, tired-
ness and a bit of a temper-
ature. There were no
deaths or serious illnesses
in the vaccinated group
linked to the jab. Sputnik
V has been approved so far
in 60 countries, including
Argentina, Palestinian
territories, Venezuela,
Hungary, UAE and Iran.
SO WHAT DO WE KNOW
ABOUT COVAXIN?
Covaxin is an inactivated
vaccine which means that
it is made up of killed coro-
naviruses, making it safe
to be injected into the body
.
Bharat Biotech, a 24-year-
old vaccine maker with a
portfolio of 16 vaccines
and exports to 123 coun-
tries, used a sample of the
coronavirus, isolated by
India’s National Institute
of Virology. When admin-
istered, immune cells can
still recognise the dead vi-
rus, prompting the im-
mune system to make anti-
bodies against the pan-
demic virus. The two doses
are given four weeks apart.
The vaccine can be stored
at 2C to 8C. The vaccine
has an efficacy rate of 81%,
preliminary data from its
phase 3 trial shows. India’s
regulators gave the vac-
cine an emergency approv-
al in January while the
third phase of the trial was
still underway, sparking
scepticism and questions
from experts.
Bharat Biotech says it
has a stockpile of 20 mil-
lion doses of Covaxin and
is aiming to make 700 mil-
lion doses out of its four
facilities in two cities by
the end of the year.
WHAT ABOUT COVISHIELD?
The Oxford-AstraZeneca
vaccine is being manufac-
tured locally by the Serum
Institute of India, the
world’s largest vaccine
manufacturer. It says it is
producing more than 60
million doses a month.
The vaccine is made from
a weakened version of a
common cold virus
(known as an adenovirus)
from chimpanzees. It has
been modified to look
more like coronavirus - al-
though it can’t cause ill-
ness. When the vaccine is
injected into a patient, it
prompts the immune sys-
tem to start making anti-
bodies and primes it to at-
tack any coronavirus in-
fection. The jab is admin-
istered in two doses given
between four and 12 weeks
apart. It can be safely
stored at temperatures of
2C to 8C and can easily be
delivered in existing
health care settings such
as doctors’ surgeries. The
jab developed by Pfizer-
BioNTech, which is cur-
rently being administered
in several countries, must
be stored at -70C and can
only be moved a limited
number of times - a par-
ticular challenge in India,
where summer tempera-
tures can reach 50C. Inter-
national clinical trials of
the Oxford-AstraZeneca
vaccine showed that when
people were given a half
dose and then a full dose,
effectiveness hit 90%.
India has shipped 64
million doses of vaccines
to 86 countries in Latin
America, the Caribbean,
Asia and Africa. The re-
cipient countries include
UK, Canada, Brazil and
Mexico. Both Covishield
and Covaxin have been ex-
ported - some in the form
of “gifts”, others in line
with commercial agree-
ments signed between the
vaccine makers and the
recipient nations, and the
rest under the Covax
scheme, which is led by
the World Health Organi-
zation (WHO) and hopes to
deliver more than two bil-
lion doses to people in 190
countries in less than a
year. But in March, India
placed a temporary hold
on all exports of the Ox-
ford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
The government said ris-
ing cases meant domestic
demand was expected to
pick up, so the doses were
needed for India’s rollout.
What we know about India’s Covid-19 vaccines?
Sputnik V, Covishield, Covaxin:
A
Source: Wellcome Trust,
BBC Research (https://www.
bbc.com/news/world-asia-
india-55748124)

A
ctress Shrad-
dha Kapoor
has been busy
amplifying im-
portant resources and
needs of people amid
COVID 19 second wave
and now, she has
shared a photo of
her brother Sid-
dhanth Kapoor to
encourage plasma
donation. Siddhanth
also had battled COV-
ID 19 and hence, he
went ahead and donated
plasma amid the COVID
19-second wave. The Stree ac-
tress shared a photo of her
brother smiling away while do-
ing the needful and urged every-
one to do the same if they were
eligible. —Agency
T
here has been a lot of hype about Mar-
vel’s Eternals, especially after director
Chloe Zhao won multiple Oscars at
Oscars 2021 with
her movie Nomadland
even winning the
coveted Academy
Award for Best Pic-
ture. Marvel Stu-
dios president
KevinFiegeopened
up about one of
these characters
playing the cen-
tral role in the
project. He also
revealed that
Sersi will be the
lead of the film,
to be played by
Gemma Chan.
—Agency
STILL GOT
FEELINGS?
K
im Kardashian filed for divorce from
Kanye West in February this year. While
the couple hasn’t made any official state-
ment regarding their divorce yet, it looks
like the rapper is still considering reconcilia-
tion with Kim and fans have taken one of his
recent pictures as a hint of that. In an Insta-
gram story shared by DJ Khaled, eagle-eyed
fans spotted Kanye West wearing his wedding
ring. —Agency
I
n the year 2020, many Bollywood
gems left for heavenly abode includ-
ing actor Rishi Kapoor. The veteran
actor passed away on April 30 leav-
ing behind a big void. He won many
accolades for his acting including four
Filmfare Awards, three Zee Cine
Awards and a National Film Award.
The late actor is considered one of the
most successful actors in Bollywood.
Many actresses have worked with him
including Juhi Chawla. And ahead of
his first death anniversary
, the actress
recalled her shooting days with him.
In an interview, the actress said,
“When working with him (Rishi Ka-
poor),onewouldfeellikeheisshouting
at you. But that was not exactly the
case. Once I got used to his behaviour,
I started enjoying it. One day while
shooting he called me an insecure
actor. I had a habit of see-
ingthemonitoraftergiv-
ing every shot. I used to
be a little worried if my act-
ing is not up to the mark. This
irritated him a lot and then one day
he shouted at me saying that the
monitor is for the director and
not for you insecure actor.”
“The late actor had a tough
exterior but was a softie
from inside,” she added.
Both actors have worked in
films Bol Radha Bol and
EenaMeenaDeeka.Thelate
actorandactresswillbenext
seen in Sharmaji Namkeen.
The film is also is the last film
of Rishi.Itisdirectedbydebutant
Hitesh Bhatia and is
produced by Ritesh
Sidhwani and
FarhanAkhtar
in association
w i t h
MacGuffin
Pictures.
ETC
11
The true ‘lead’
Hitesh Bhatia and is
produced by Ritesh
Sidhwani and
FarhanAkhtar
in association
irritated him a lot and then one day
he shouted at me saying that the
monitor is for the director and
“The late actor had a tough
actorandactresswillbenext
seen in Sharmaji Namkeen.
The film is also is the last film
of Rishi.Itisdirectedbydebutant
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
Remembers Baba Irrfan
10thweddinganniversary
Happy Birthday
Anne Heche revealed
The Tomorrow War
O
n the death anniversary of Irrfan
Khan, Babil Khan took to social media
to pen a note for his ‘baba’ Irrfan
Khan. Recalling his ‘last days of evo-
lution’ during his chemo in London, Babil
shared sweet memories of his father as he
remembered him. Further, Babil even shared
a photo of the late actor from his chemother-
apy days and showed everyone how Irrfan
found joy in a simple thing such as building
his table or writing his journals. —Agency
I
t has been 10 whole years since the royal
wedding craze around Prince William and
Kate Middleton’s big day. The Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge celebrated 10 years
of marital bliss on Thursday and royal fans
across the world are flooding social media
with wishes for the couple. Over the last dec-
ade, Kate and William have taken on roles and
responsibilities as one united front and are
also doting parents to three adorable little
children. —Agency
A
ctor Siddhant
Chaturvedi
turned 28 on
Thursday
. De-
clared the ‘national
crush’ after the be-
loved Vicky Kaushal,
the Gully Boy actor
has slowly and stead-
ily climbed the ladder
of success. From
making an impres-
sive mark in the web series Inside Edge to his
breakout performance as Sher in Gully Boy,
Siddhant has stood out, make the right kind
of noise. —Agency
A
nne Heche
and Ellen
DeGeneres
dated from
1997 until 2000 and in
a recent TikTok vid-
eo, the actress
opened up about her
relationship with the
television host and
comedian while re-
viewing her old fash-
ion looks on the red carpet. As for their re-
lationship, after breaking up with DeGe-
neres, Anne married Coleman Laffoon in
September 2001. —Agency
C
hris Pratt has
emerged as the
new action star
in Hollywood in
the last decade. The
funny guy from Parks
and Recreations built
some muscles and exer-
cised his tough dude ac-
tion skills in Guardians
of the Guardians of the
galaxy Vol.1. The son in
law to Mr Action Ar-
nold Schwarzenegger
himself, Chris is hold-
ing huge guns as goes
through the time, blast,
and aliens in the up-
coming “The Tomor-
row War.
—Agency
ctress Ileana D’Cruz says almost
all her roles made her wonder
how she would pull it off, and that
is what pushes her forward. Ile-
ana said that the unknown chal-
lenges her to do better. “I think in
most films that I have done I con-
stantly question how I will do it, and that
is what pushes me forward because I
think if I walked into a film completely
cocky and confident, I wouldn’t be really
able to do justice in a way
,” Ileana shared.
—Agency
Confidence
is the key
A
Dil De Diya Teaser
T
he highly anticipated
film, Radhe: Your Most
Wanted Bhai featuring
Salman Khan, Disha Pa-
tani and Randeep Hooda is all
set to release in May 2021 and
ahead of it, the songs have start-
ed to come out. After the raging
success of Seeti Maar, Salman is
gearing up for the second song,
Dil De Diya with Jacqueline
Fernandez. The superstar took
to social media and shared a
teaser of the song that is all set
to drop on April 30. —Agency
50 million
milestone
ingthemonitoraftergiv-
ing every shot. I used to
be a little worried if my act-
ing is not up to the mark. This
Remembering
THE STAR
Roots for
donation
J
acqueline
Fernandez,
who is quite
active on so-
cial media, crossed
the milestone of
50 Million follow-
ers on Instagram.
She keeps updating
her fans about her
daily routine and also
gives a glimpse of
her pets. Express-
ing her gratitude,
Jacqueline said,
“I am immensely
grateful to my family
of 50 million for their
constant love and
support. Everything
I am is because of
them.” —Agency
Ileana D’Cruz
Jacqueline Fernandez
Babil Khan’s post
Kate Middleton and Prince William
Kim Kardashian
Gemma Chan
Siddhant Chaturvedi
Anne Hechen
Chris Pratt
Shraddha Kapoor
...her post
Juhi Chawla and
Late Rishi Kapoor

First India-Jaipur Edition-30 April 2021

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