05052022_First India_Ahmedabad.pdf

OFFICIAL DUTIES
CM TO LAY FOUNDATION, DEDICATE
56 PROJECTS IN CHHOTA UDEPUR
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Bhupendra
Patel will lay the foun-
dation stone and e-dedi-
cate as many as 56 de-
velopmental projects,
mounted at a total ex-
penditure of Rs136
crore, in tribal areas of
Chhota Udepur district
on Thursday
.
He will dedicate
Rs86.21 crore group wa-
ter supply schemes,
three newly construct-
ed roads, and also new
Aanganwadis con-
structed at a cost of Rs2
crore in the day. The
programme will be held
at SM College campus
in Chhota Udepur by
the district administra-
tion. Minister of Water
Supply and Health and
Family Welfare Rushi-
kesh Patel as well as
Minister of State for
Health and Family Wel-
fare department Nimi-
sha Suthar will remain
present on the occasion.
CM Patel will also vir-
tually lay the founda-
tion stone of 15 roads to
be constructed at a cost
of Rs31.50 crore in
Chhota Udepur.
Turn to P2
He released a book titled
‘Sevayagna-222 Divas, 222 Nirnay’ in
G’nagar to mark 222 days in office
Ellisbridge BJP MLA Rakesh Shah, Chief Minister Bhupendra
Patel at an event organized by Shree Shantinagar Shwetambar
Jain Sangh in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 159
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI
ON FINAL LEG OF EUROPE TOUR: MODI PARTICIPATES IN SECOND INDIA-NORDIC SUMMIT
BOOSTING
INDIA’S TIES!
Moni Sharma
Copenhagen: PM Nar-
endra Modi on Wednes-
day said there is much
that India and the Nor-
dic countries can
achieve and contribute
to global prosperity
and sustainable devel-
opment.
The Prime Minister
said this after attending
the second India-Nordic
summit in Denmark
that primarily focused
on cooperation in post-
pandemic economic re-
covery, climate change
and renewable energy
.
“The India-Nordic
Summit will go a long
way in boosting India’s
ties with the region. To-
gether, there is much
that our nations can
achieve and contribute
to global prosperity and
sustainable develop-
ment,” Modi tweeted.
The summit saw the
participation of the
Prime Ministers of
Denmark, Finland, Ice-
land, Norway and Swe-
den. The 1st India-Nor-
dic summit was held in
Stockholm in 2018.
Modi arrived in Den-
mark on Wednesday af-
ter concluding his visit
to Germany where he
held extensive talks
with German Chancel-
lor Olaf Scholz and at-
tended the sixth India-
Germany Inter-Govern-
mental Consultations.
Modi said that India and the
Nordic countries can achieve and
contribute to global prosperity
and sustainable development
The 2nd India-
Nordic Summit
commences. A
boost to our
multifaceted
cooperation with the
Nordic region in areas like
emerging technologies,
investment, clean energy,
Arctic research and more.
Arindam Bagchi,
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson
PM’s last bilateral
summit meeting
was with PM of
Finland where focus
of conversation was
to build on existing strength that
India-Finland achieved. They
talked about cooperation in
digital innovation, digital goods
and platforms.
Vinay Mohan Kwatra,
Foreign Secretary
BILATERAL TALKS
NORWAY
SWEDEN
ICELAND
FINLAND
VIEWS ON REGIONAL AND
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
JT ACTION PLAN PROGRESS
BOOST TIES IN AREAS LIKE
TRADE, ENERGY FISHERIES
DEEPEN BILATERAL TIES
PM Modi met his Norwegian counterpart
Jonas Gahr Store and the two leaders took
stock of the full range of bilateral relations,
discussed ways to deepen developmental
cooperation and exchanged views on
regional and global developments.
PM Modi met his Swedish counterpart
Andersson, discussed ways to deepen bi-
lateral ties progress in Joint Action Plan.
PM Modi met his Iceland counterpart
Katrin Jakobsdottir and discussed ways to
boost ties in areas like trade, energy and
fisheries. ‘We talked about Yoga, it’s quite
popular in Iceland. A lot of people practice
it regularly,’ Jakobsdóttir said.
PM Modi met his Finland counterpart
Sanna Marin and discussed ways to
further deepen bilateral ties.
PM Narendra Modi with (L) PM of Finland Sanna Marin, PM of Sweden Magdalena Andersson, PM of
Denmark Mette Frederiksen, PM of Norway Jonas Gahr Store, and PM of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir,
during the India-Nordic Summit 2022, in Copenhagen, Denmark on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
presented gifts to leaders from
Nordic countries that reflect In-
dia’s diversity rich traditions,
in Copenhagen on Wednesday.
Amit Shah on a 2-day
WB visit starting today
New Delhi (ANI): Un-
ion Home Minister
Amit Shah is likely to
attend some public pro-
grams during his two-
day visit to WB from
Thursday. From flag-
ging off a floating boat
ambulance to laying of
Maitri Museum, Shah
is scheduled to attend 6
public events during
his visit.
On Friday, the Home
Minister will visit Teen
Bigha and interact with
BSF personnel at BoP
Jhikabari at around
9.30 am in WB’s Cooch
Behar district.
BIG SPENDER BMC COMMISSIONER
FOLLOWS CAN DO MANTRA
IQBAL SINGH CHAHAL SPENT
`65,000 CRORE IN 2 YEARS
BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal in an exclusive con-
versation with Associate Editor, Renni Abraham of First India
spoke about his ambitious spending targets for Mumbai city.
Mumbai: BMC Com-
missioner, Iqbal Sin-
gh Chahal caught
PMModi’s eye for his
tactical urbanisation
initiative (TUI) to
transform 105 bus
stops across Mumbai
city, to make a wait at
bus stop actually
healthy eco-friend-
ly. Confirming this
Chahal told First In-
dia, “We designed
green bus shelters
PMO evinced keen in-
terest in same. I sent
drawings of TUI pro-
ject over email to
PMO last week after
PM sought it himself.
Modiji liked my
work.” Turn to P5
MODI AND NADDA
MAY VISIT BENGAL
With 2024 LS polls in the
backdrop and considering
the drooping morale of
the common party work-
ers in West Bengal, the
state leadership is trying
hard to persuade PM
Modi national president
JP Nadda to visit the state
in coming months.
Modi to address
BJP meet in Raj
on May 20-21
LIC IPO DAY 1:
67 PERCENT
ISSUE BOOKED
New Delhi (PTI): The
BJP will hold a meeting
of its key organisational
leaders from across na-
tion in Jaipur on May 20-
21 to deliberate over its
strategy for upcoming
polls in states and dis-
cussthecurrentpolitical
situation, sources said
on Wednesday
. PM Modi
is scheduled to address
oneof thesessionsvirtu-
ally
,theyadded.BJPprez
JP Nadda will chair
meet, and its national
office-bearers besides
state party chiefs, in-
charges others will at-
tend meeting.
biggest IPO in the histo-
ry of Indian markets,
LIC IPO
was sub-
scribed
67% on
Wednes-
day
. LIC
policyholders lead ini-
tial bout of buying in
insurer’s IPO as they
have subscribed 1.99
times the portion re-
servedforthem.Theem-
ployee reserved portion
has been subscribed
117%, while retail inves-
tors portion has been
subscribed 60%.
CRUCIAL READ
BCCI BANS JOURNALIST FOR 2
YEARS FOR ‘INTIMIDATING’ SAHA
New Delhi: BCCI has banned journalist Boria
Majumdar for 2 years for “threatening and
intimidating” India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman
Saha. Ban includes not getting press pass for any
matches in India, an embargo on interviewing
centrally contracted players and no access to any
of cricket board’s and state units’ facilities.
SC DENIES BAIL TO
DAWOOD’S NEPHEW
SENSEX FALLS 1,307
PTS, NIFTY50 16,700
New Delhi: The SC on
Wednesday refused to
grant bail to Mohammad
Ibrahim Kaskar, nephew
of gangster Dawood Ibra-
him, in a 2019 case for is-
suing threats to a builder.
‘We see no reason to
enlarge applicant on bail
at this stage,’ bench said.
Mumbai: The Sensex
fell 2.29% (over 1,300
points) to 55,669.03. Nifty
declined by similar magni-
tude to 16,677.60. This is
the first time the 50-stock
gauge closed below
17,000 since April 25. Nifty
Sensex closed at lowest
level in 7 weeks. P7
NONSENSE
...says Kremlin over reports
of May 9 war declaration
London: Russia has no
plans to declare war
against Ukraine as part
of its Victory Day cele-
bration May 9, Kremlin
spokesmanDmitryPesk-
ov said Wednesday
, but
mounting Western intel-
ligence suggests Russia
may mark the commem-
oration with an escala-
tion of its military cam-
paign. Celebrated annu-
ally in Moscow, Victory
Day commemorates So-
viet Union’s 1945 victory
over the Nazis.
EU LEADER CALLS FOR RUSSIAN OIL
BAN IN NEW SET OF SANCTIONS
Brussels: European Union’s leader on Wednesday called
on the 27-nation bloc to ban oil imports from Russia in
6th package of sanctions targeting Moscow for its war in
Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen also proposed that Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank
2 other major banks be disconnected from payment system.
MAHA LOUDSPEAKER ROW
I will continue
playing Hanuman
Chalisa, says Raj
Mumbai has 1,104 mosques of which 135
used loudspeakers on Wednesday, he said
Mumbai (ANI): Main-
taininghisdefiantstand,
Maharashtra Navnir-
man Sena (MNS) chief
Raj Thackeray on
Wednesday said his par-
ty workers will continue
to play the Hanuman
Chalisa at higher vol-
umes as long as loud-
speakers at mosques are
not silenced.
Speaking at media,
he also hit out at Maha-
rashtra Police for de-
taining party workers
and `letting off’ those
who do not follow law.
Raj had warned of start-
ing agitation against
mosque loudspeakers
from Wednesday
. If any
temple is violating
norms laid down by SC,
thenitshouldalsofollow
norms, he said.
‘BLACK DAY’ FOR
HINDUS: RAUT
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
leader Sanjay Raut, on
Wednesday, slammed
Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena chief Raj Thack-
eray and said that it was
a ‘black day’ for Hindus
as people could not hear
Aartis because of BJP’s
politics ‘in cahoots with
the MNS’.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS

z Maharashtra cancels
all police leaves after Raj
Thackeray warning

z Heavy security
deployed in Mumbai,
neighbouring areas

z Shiv Sena’s school
of Hindutva is original,
says Raut dismissing
Thackeray’s ‘nautanki’
Dmitry Peskov Ursula von der Leyen
Raj Thackeray
ECONOMY FACES
HEADWINDS FROM
GLOBAL SPILLOVERS,
SAYS RBI GOVERNOR
P5
THE QUINTESSENTIAL
MAN ABHISHEK
BACHCHAN IN JAIPUR
P12
YET ANOTHER
CRACKDOWN ON
DRUGS BY THE BSF
ALONG KUTCH COAST P3
DESPITE REPEATED
ATTEMPTS, WATER
WOES OF KHERALU
CONTINUE, 25 YRS ON
P2

First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: National
general secretary of
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), BL San-
tosh, landed in Gujarat
on Wednesday for a
two-day visit to meet
with Rashtriya Sway-
amsevak Sangh (RSS)
pracharaks, senior
party leaders of vari-
ous communities and
BJP leaders. Accord-
ing to sources, he has
arrived to brainstorm
poll strategies for up-
coming Gujarat As-
sembly elections slated
for December.
Santosh visited the
RSS office in
Ahmedabad, where he
discussed feedback on
the state government
from citizens with
pracharaks and office-
bearers of ruling BJP’s
sister organizations.
Later in the evening,
Santosh had a closed-
door meeting with the
prant RSS pracharak,
Chief Minister Bhu-
pendra Patel and BJP
Gujarat unit President
CR Patil.
Sources said that the
meeting lasted for two
to three hours and
leaders discussed vari-
ous issues, as well as,
party and state govern-
ment’s preparations
for upcoming elec-
tions.
Then, Santosh left
for Gandhinagar to
meet with BJP state
leaders at the party’s
state headquarters
‘Shree Kamalam’. He
secured feedback from
them, zonal heads and
also office-bearers of
various cells.
On Thursday, San-
tosh is also likely to
meet with former and
incumbent ministers,
MLAs in Gandhinagar.
On his return to Delhi,
he will be sitting down
with BJP National
President JP Nadda
and other senior lead-
ers to share his assess-
ment of the state and
then plan strategies
for the Gujarat elec-
tions.
Going by Santosh’s
remarks on the BJP
adhering to ‘no repeti-
tion’ theory in the
Delhi Municipal Cor-
poration (DMC) elec-
tions in Mysuru re-
cently, it may be so
that the formula may
be followed in Gujarat
polls too.
NEWS
AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2022
02
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Raising
their voices against
‘unsatisfactory’ imple-
mentation of the Forest
Rights Act, 2006, Ma-
hatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGN-
REGA), 2005 and the
National Food Security
Act, 2013, tribal com-
munities in Gujarat
have been trying to or-
ganize protests. How-
ever, their efforts of
keeping with the demo-
cratic process have
been undermined by
state police and govern-
ment. Their request for
permission to hold a
tribal rally at the River-
front East area at
Ahmedabad on May 05,
were denied by both on
Wednesday
.
According to a city-
based NGO, more than
10,000 unemployed and
underprivileged trib-
als wanted at the spot
to demand employ-
ment, food and land
rights. “The police
have also exposed their
dictatorial mindset by
not allowing tribals to
hold conventions and
peaceful rallies,” said
Paulomee, member of
the non-government or-
ganization.
When the govern-
ment claims that it has
done a lot of welfare
work for the tribals by
placing advertisements
worth crores of rupees,
then where is the jus-
tice denying tribals
their right to protest?,
she questioned.
Calling out the gov-
ernment for duplici-
tous practices, she add-
ed, “Can only political
leaders organize ral-
lies? Doesn’t the tribal
community have a right
to have their say? What
kind of democracy is
this? We had applied for
permission last month
with representations to
the police and office of
Ahmedabad police
commissioner. The an-
swer to this denial will
be given by the tribal
community in upcom-
ing elections.”
First India Bureau
Mehsana: Amid specu-
lations that incumbent
Patan MP Bharatsinh
Dabhi may retire from
electoral politics, he
has come out in support
of villagers in his na-
tive Kheralu taluka of
Mehsana district pro-
testing the lack of ade-
quate water supply
.
The Bharatiya Jana-
ta Party (BJP) leader
alleged that villagers
are now threatening to
boycott upcoming As-
sembly elections be-
cause the state govern-
ment has failed to ad-
dress water supply is-
sues in the region for 25
years. “For the past two-
and-a-half decades, me
and other party repre-
sentatives in the region
have made several at-
tempts to lay down
drinking water facili-
ties. But all our requests
have piled up in files, as
the issue has remained
unattended. Now, peo-
ple are angry and
threatening to boycott
elections,” he said.
Last week, more than
30 villages of the dis-
trict formed a coalition
to protest and boycott
polls if their demands
are met by the state. At
a recent meeting, one of
the local leaders had
stated, “If the govern-
ment and its officials do
not have the knowledge
to address the water is-
sues of the region, they
should simply extend
their support to the lo-
cal people. They will
resolve their problems
with traditional knowl-
edge of harvesting
lakes and wells.”
Incidentally, Dabhi’s
intent to retire from
electoral politics has
not surprised many
within the party and on
the Mehsana district
political circuit. This is
partly due to the induc-
tion of former Congress
leader Jayrajsinh Par-
mar into the ruling
party. “On realizing
that the party may not
give him the same im-
portance it used to till
the last election, Dabhi
must have decided not
to contest elections any-
more,” said a source.
The Patan MP had
won elections from the
Kheralu constituency
in 2007, 2012 and 2017
Assembly elections on
BJP tickets. He was
asked to resign and
then contest Lok Sabha
elections from Patan
constituency in 2019.
First India Bureau
Surat: Reports of elec-
tric vehicles self-com
busting have created
panic among potential
buyers, leading to a seri-
ous dent in sales over
the past few weeks.
The sale of e-bikes,
which averaged 500 ve-
hicles per month until
March, has now fallen to
about 200-250 in April.
As electric bike deal-
er Nainesh Patel ex-
plained, “Fire incidents
in e-bikes have in-
creased in recent times,
and this has hit the sales
graph badly
. Customers
are now demanding a
guarantee that the vehi-
cles won’t catch fire.
According to data
from the RTO, 4,305 of
the 5,846 electric two-
wheelers sold from June
2021 to March 2022 were
e-bikes, while 1,541 were
e-mopeds.
Experts say there are
ways to ensure that e-
bikes are safe. “You
should not charge the
bike immediately after
riding it for 25km or
more. If the bike is fully
charged, it should not be
kept in direct sunlight.
Also, it is helpful if the
battery is not charged
fully and since load mat-
ters,itisnotadvisableto
ride triples,” one person
said.
Yet, prospective buy-
ers like Yusuf Malik re-
main wary
.
“We don’t know if the
company will compen-
sate us if a bike ex-
plodes. If they don’t,
then it is a dangerous
waste of money
. There
are lots of unanswered
questions, so we have
decided to postpone our
e-bike purchase,” Malik
said.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: A special
campaign has been
launched by the Va-
dodara district adminis-
tration to reach out to
families deprived of
welfare schemes’ bene-
fitsextendedbythestate
government. Under the
drive, widows and the
elderly will be granted
the benefits they are
owed on the spot.
“Chief Minister Bhu-
pendra Patel is deter-
mined that not a single
eligible family in the
state should be deprived
of government
schemes,” said Va-
dodara Collector Atul
Gor on Wednesday
.
Families who have
been deprived of the
benefits for any reason
or omissions will be
tracked down at the
mamlatdar level
through inquiries and
assessments by clerks,
talatis and extension of-
ficers, in order to ascer-
tain the economic status
of families living in vil-
lages, he said.
“Officials will then
visit the homes of ben-
eficiaries who are left
out of the scheme to
complete registration
formalities. As biomet-
ric identification is a
requirement, it will be
arranged at the nearest
place for convenience,”
stated Gor.
So far, a total of 5,986
beneficiaries across 312
villages of the Vadodara
district have been ex-
tended the benefits of
various state and cen-
tral government
schemes at their door-
step.
As per official data,
1,369 cards have been is-
sued under the Gujarat
Ganga Swaroop Yojana,
313 for destitute old age
assistance, 31 in Sankat
Mochan scheme and
1,452 under the Ayush-
man Bharat Yojana.
Also,around2,709NFSA
cards have been issued
to beneficiaries.
Vadodara admin launches drive to
grant welfare benefits to all citizens
IMPLEMENTATION
Gor interacting with local kids during his inspection visit to a village.
Dist Collector
Atul Gor to
supervise efforts
to ensure widows,
the elderly are
covered under
state and central
govt schemes
BURNT BY FIRES, E-BIKE
SALES IN GUJ DIP 50%
LAUDING ‘HEROICS’
Workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) —who were in a scuffle with Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) members on May 02— were felicitated by fellow party members on their return home
after undergoing treatment for injuries at a hospital, on Wednesday.
Residents of 30 Mehsana dist villages met at Mandropur in
Kheralu taluka last week and threatened to boycott polls if their
water supply demands are not met. —FILE PHOTO
Tribals denied ‘right to
protest’ by govt, police
Their request to
hold a rally of
10K people in
A’bad on May 05
was not granted
permission by
officials
BL Santosh
BJP NAT’L GEN SECY ON
2-DAY VISIT TO GUJARAT
BL Santosh
met with RSS
members, CM
Patel, BJP Guj
chief Patil on
Wed to discuss
Assembly poll
strategies
‘GOVT HAS FAILED TO ADDRESS
WATER SUPPLY WOES IN KHERALU’
A public garden developed by Kheralu nagarpalika was inaugurated by BJP Patan MP Bharatsinh
Dabhi (in brown, center) and other leaders recently.
Patan MP
Bharatsinh
Dabhi stands
in solidarity
with Mehsana
dist villagers
threatening to
boycott state
Assembly
elections
CM to lay ...
Meanwhile, on Wednesday,
the chief minister released a
book titled ‘Sevayagna-222
Divas, 222 Nirnay’ in
Gandhinagar. The book is
a compilation of decisions
taken by various depart-
ments such as roads and
buildings, transport, tour-
ism, civil aviation, under the
guidance of Chief Minister
Bhupendra Patel. As the
CM completes 222 days in
office, the same number of
projects undertaken by the
state government has been
covered in the book.
FROM PG 1

GUJARAT
03
First India Bureau
Vyara: Leaders of the
Chaudhary Adivasi
(tribal) community
passed 33 new resolu-
tions on Wednesday
regarding practices
pertaining to wed-
dings. According to
them, some of the new-
age practices had be-
come “a nuisance and
financially burden-
some on many fami-
lies.” From June 01 on-
wards, members of the
community will not be
allowed to have pre-
wedding shoots, cake-
cutting at engagement
ceremonies.
Chaudhary Adivasi
community leaders
Ravindra Chaudhary,
Naresh Chaudhary and
other officer-bearers
met in Mahuva on May
01, when they decided
to amend the commu-
nity’s ‘Constitution.’
According to the
new amendments,
presentation of a gold
ring to grooms and cel-
ebrating engagements
with cakes were
banned, no feast (lunch
or dinner) will be al-
lowed in engagement
ceremonies. Members
of the community also
will not be permitted
to distribute wedding
invitation cards, and
only invite people to
their weddings by com-
municating the time
and venue to commu-
nity members and vil-
lagers verbally, as is
traditional.
No family will be al-
lowed to organize
lunch or dinner after
the death of a loved
one. Offerings of bidi,
tobacco and cigarettes
to attendees have also
been banned at social
functions. Brides will
only be given silver
mangalsutra at their
weddings.
On the promotion of
changes instigated by
the leaders, Mahuva
taluka Chaudhary Adi-
vasi community Presi-
dent Naresh Chaud-
hary said, “The com-
munity will print up a
new ‘Constitution’
with amendments and
circulate copies to
community members
in every village inhab-
ited by our members.”
Chaudhary tribal community amends its ‘Constitution’
CRACKING DOWN
lll
Pre-wedding
shoots, cake-
cutting at
engagements,
printed
invitations to
friends and
family banned
by community
leaders
An adivasi marriage ceremony in progress. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Kutch: A Border
Security Force
(BSF) personnel
was injured due to
accidental firing
from his own rifle
after he fell on the
floor of a floating
Border Out-Post
(BOP) in the Bhuj
area of Gujarat
due to turbulence
at sea.
The incident took
place on Tuesday
when the official was
depositing his weap-
on in the outpost af-
ter the patrolling.
“On May 3, around
12.30 pm, a creek-pa-
trolling party of BSF
Bhuj returned to the
floating BOP de-
ployed in the creek
area. While deposit-
ing the weapon in
Kote, due to extreme-
ly high turbulence
caused by the high
sea state, Constable
Pratap fell down on
the floor of the float-
ing BOP and, acci-
dentally one round
got fired from his ser-
vice rifle piercing the
right side of his ab-
domen causing seri-
ous injury,” said the
BSF Gujarat frontier
officer.
The Constable was
immediately given
first aid and was
evacuated to shore
for his treatment.
“He was evacu-
ated to shore and
from there by an
Indian Air Force
helicopter to GKG
hospital in Bhuj,”
the official said,
adding that the
constable is cur-
rently in a critical
condition.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The state
on Wednesday reported
18 new COVID-19 cases,
raising the tally of in-
fections to 12,24,404,
confirmed an official
from the state health
and family welfare de-
partment.
With 16 patients get-
ting discharged, the
count of recoveries
reached 12,13,351, while
the toll stood at 10,943,
as no new casualties
were reported during
the day
.
The state is now left
with 110 active cases,
with two patients on
ventilator support,
while 108 in stable con-
dition.
Of the latest infec-
tions, Ahmedabad re-
corded eight, Vadodara
seven and Bhavnagar,
Gandhinagar and Mor-
bi saw one case each.
As many as 38,215
people were vaccinated
against COVID-19 on
Wednesday, increasing
the total number of dos-
es administered so far
to 10.80 crore. The high-
est number of vaccina-
tions was recorded in
Ahmedabad at 6,255 in-
oculations.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat High Court grant-
ed the custody of a five-
year-old boy, who lost
his parents to COV-
ID-19 last year, to his
maternal aunt instead
of his paternal grand-
father, who had fought
for the same citing that
the child was more
comfortable living with
him.
In an order passed on
Monday, Justices Sonia
Gokani and Mauna
Bhatt observed that the
child’s unmarried ma-
ternal aunt--a Central
government employee
in her 40s who lives in
a joint family--will be
better suited to fulfil
his needs.
The paternal grand-
father of the orphaned
boy had moved a habe-
as corpus petition,
claiming that the
child’s maternal aunt
was not allowing him
to meet his grandson
since the parents died
in May and June last
year.
The child’s maternal
aunt has however al-
leged that the petition-
er’s family was unhap-
py with the love mar-
riage of the child’s
parents, as they be-
longed to different
castes and this caused
them hardships while
settling in Ahmedabad.
She further claimed
that she had given the
boy’s parents her house
to live in the city, and
also helped them with
medical expenses for
their COVID-19 treat-
ment.
The petitioner, on
the other hand, claimed
that being a retired
Central government
employee, he was bet-
ter placed to take care
of the child, who is
very attached to him
and his wife. He and his
wife are in good health,
with a son working in
Coimbatore and a
daughter settled in
Chennai.
While handing over
the child’s custody to
his maternal aunt, the
court said it expects
her to provide the pa-
ternal grandparents
the right to meet their
grandchild on a regu-
lar basis and allow him
to visit them during va-
cations and holidays.
“Needless to say, re-
spondents (maternal
side) are expected to
act as a bridge between
the corpus and his pa-
ternal grandparents so
that emotional bonding
remains intact,’ the
court observed.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: At least
18 packets of charas
were recovered by
security agencies in
the last two days
from different areas
along the coast of
Kutch district, an of-
ficial said on
Wednesday.
According to offi-
cials, security agen-
cies have seized at
least 1,400 such pack-
ets along the Kutch
coast since May 2020.
A patrolling team of
the Border Security
Force (BSF) on
Wednesday seized
eight packets of charas
from the shore near
Lakhpat village of
Kutch district, a sen-
ior BSF official said.
Earlier on Tuesday,
marine commandos of
the Gujarat police had
found 10 unclaimed
packets of charas on
Kaduli beach near Pin-
gleshwar village of the
district, said Pinakin
Parmar, the superin-
tendent of police, Ma-
rine Task Force.
“Such unclaimed
packets containing
narcotics were found
along the Kutch coast
at regular intervals
over the last two years.
Before the BSF’s sei-
zure of eight packets,
20 packets of charas
were recovered by the
Intelligence Bureau
last month,” Parmar
said.
Smugglers are sus-
pected to have dumped
a huge cache of drugs
in the Arabian Sea
when their boats were
intercepted by securi-
ty agencies. Over a pe-
riod of time, many of
these packets have
washed ashore and
reached the Kutch
coast, he said.
Since May 2020, over
1,400 unclaimed charas
packets have been re-
covered off the Kutch
coast by the local po-
lice, BSF and other
agencies, including
the Indian Coast
Guard, IB and Cus-
toms, a BSF official
said.
Generally, these
packets weigh a kilo-
gram each, it was stat-
ed.
18 packets of charas recovered
along Kutch coast in two days
Earlier on Tuesday, marine commandos of the Gujarat police had
found 10 unclaimed packets of charas on Kaduli beach.
BSF jawan injured
in accidental firing
Guj sees 18 cases;
active tally now at 110
GUJ HC GRANTS CUSTODY
OF nCoV ORPHAN TO AUNT
HC div bench cracks
down on state, AMC
over SVP Hospital fire
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
High Court on
Wednesday took se-
rious note of the
fire that broke out
on the fourth floor
of the city’s Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel
Hospital on Mon-
day evening. Ac-
cording to prelimi-
nary reports, the
fire was caused by a
short circuit.
The division bench
headed by Chief Jus-
tice Aravind Kumar
is hearing public in-
terest litigation on
fire safety, observed
that it was a lucky co-
incidence that no one
was injured.
Replying to the
court’s queries, Advo-
cate General Kamal
Trivedi submitted
that the fire was
doused within a few
minutes and that au-
thorities shifted 20-
odd patients to the
ground floor and also
rescued relatives
from the ward. The
fire team’s quick re-
sponse had averted a
major tragedy. State
and city authorities
are now inspecting
government hospi-
tals regularly to en-
sure such incidents
do not occur.
In 2020, a fire at a
COVID-19 hospital in
Navrangpuraclaimed
the lives of seven pa-
tients. Since then,
there have been at
least a dozen cases of
fires at hospitals
around the state.
With this in mind,
the court has expand-
ed the scope of the
PIL. It has now asked
the state to furnish
information on hospi-
tals, schools and oth-
er commercial build-
ings in Tier II and
Tier III towns as well,
on the grounds that
buildings without
fire NOCs and build-
ing-use certificates
should not be used.
The government,
in its reply, said that
it is collecting data
from 156 nagarpa-
likas, and issuing no-
tices to buildings that
are operating without
the necessary per-
missions. The matter
will next be heard on
June 06.
No one was injured in Monday’s fire at the AMC-run SVP
Hospital. —FILE PHOTO
Court
observed that
the child’s
unmarried
maternal
aunt will be
better suited
to fulfil his
needs rather
than
grandparents Gujarat High Court. —FILE PHOTO
TWO SIDES

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 3 l Issue No. 159
l RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf
of First Express Publishers.
Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet
Survey No.148P, Changodar-
Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist.
Ahmedabad. Published at D/302
3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium
Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej
Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The Lord is my strength and
my shield. My heart trusts
him. I was helped, my heart
rejoiced, and I thank him
with my song.
—Bible
IN-DEPTH
Nitin Gadkari
@nitin_gadkari
Guided by PM Shri @narendramodi
ji’s vision to provide enhanced
connectivity between the ports and the
domestic production and consumption
centres across the country, our
government is committed for port led
development through construction of
world class road network.
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
In a meeting with district officers in
Haridwar today, took stock of various
development works going on in
ambitious districts. Here education,
health, agriculture, employment and
increasing the basic facilities and its
benefits reached every person, for this
detailed discussion with all.
TOP TWEETS
INDIA’S WAIT TO
BECOME 5 TRILLION
DOLLAR ECONOMY
GETS LONGER
ndia has been aiming
to become a US $ 5
trillion economy by
2024-25 although it
does not have the 9
percent growth rate required to
reach the goal. Last year Petro-
leum and Urban Development
Minister Hardeep Puri said,
“Economic growth is accelerat-
ing. India is poised for growth to
become a USD 5 trillion econo-
my by 2024-25 and USD 10 tril-
lion economy by 2030. Well, that
may not happen in accordance
with the minister’s prediction.
Some economists said it was
“impossible”. One economist
drew attention to the fact that
the Indian economy which was
USD 2.7 trillion in 2019, was al-
most at the same level at the end
of March 2022. While much of
the earlier pushback came from
the pandemic, this time it is due
to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Now IMF data reportedly sug-
gests that India will have to wait
till 2029 to be able to reach the
goal, four years later than the
target year fixed by Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi.
I
heReserveBankof
India’s warning on
global headwinds
spooked the stock
markets and Nif-
ty50 crashed 391.50 and Sensex
tanked by 1,306.96 points on
Wednesday
. Governor Shakti-
kanta Das announced a 4.40
percent hike in repo rate, at
which the RBI lends money to
commercialbankstohelpthem
meet cash shortfall. For the
consumer it would mean high-
er outgo on home and auto
loans. But the scary part of the
suddenly organised press con-
ferencewasaboutthegalloping
inflation in the country
, Asia’s
third biggest economy which
was facing global headwinds.
India not being an island in to-
day’s global village is not unaf-
fected by the “seismic waves
emanating from the centre of
an earthquake” despite its
“strengths and buffers”.
In simpler words he said
that there “was a spike” in the
CPI inflation in March 22 and
is expected to be high in the
currentmonthtoo.TheMarch
inflation was pushed to 7 per-
cent due to high prices of food
items. The RBI Governor’s
gloomy prediction was that
there will be no let up in “food
price pressure in April”. The
increaseindomesticpricesof
petroleum products since the
second fortnight of March “is
feeding into core inflation”.
Sincethewarhasdisrupted
supplies of commodities and
alsoof containerswhichferry
thesupplies,itisacaseof sup-
ply side inflation. High infla-
tionwouldmeancommodities
going beyond the reach of the
poor and middle class who
will require more liquidity to
spend on goods. For that rea-
son alone the government
must consider lowering taxes
on petroleum products.
FOOD INFLATION
REMAINS IRKSOME
The Reserve Bank of India’s warning on global headwinds
spooked the stock markets and Nifty50 crashed 391.50 and
Sensex tanked by 1,306.96 points on Wednesday.
Governor Shaktikanta Das announced a 4.40 percent hike in
repo rate, at which the RBI lends money to commercial banks
to help them meet cash shortfall. For the consumer it would
mean higher outgo on home and auto loans
T
ommunal violence in Karau-
li and Jahangirpuri, Delhi
last month and in Jodhpur
now is a clear and strong
wake-up call for us Indians,
regardless of religion. The
arson has not only sullied the
image of the cities but has
also brought into sharp focus
the people’s inability to see
beyond their nose. Such vio-
lence has never solved any-
thing. But we don’t seem to
be in a mood to learn from
our own history
.
Looking at the visuals of
the violence, anyone with the
faintest idea about India
would be shocked to know
that things haven’t changed
much in over 70 years of our
Independence. Look at our de-
spondency: The Chief Minis-
ter of Rajasthan Ashok Ge-
hlot, was calling for peace as
nooneappearedtobother;the
police was baton charging a
mob here and there to no ef-
fect,almost.Thepoliceaction,
however, is secondary
. What
happened to our leaders from
both or in fact, all parties?
The auspicious occasion
of Akshay Tritiya and Eid –
falling the same day on May
3 – could have turned the cru-
elest day for many
. The main
casualty, however, was our
pretension to be a nation
where law of the land rules,
not of mobs masquerading as
Hindus and Muslims.
We are becoming insensi-
tive,morehypocriticalandless
even-handed. A selective and
pernicious sense of national-
ism has crept into our system
of things. How long will this
nonsense about one religion’s
supremacy over another con-
tinue? I am sure every law-
abiding citizen of Delhi, Jodh-
pur and Karauli would know.
Here’s something that
needs iteration each time the
monster of communalism ar-
rives at our doorstep: India is
the blessed land of so many
religious shades. Yet we Indi-
ans remain oblivious to the
depth and seriousness of joy-
ful events. Togetherness is
not invented; it is ingrained
in the idea of India.
Happiness associated with
festivals is to be distributed.
Imagine our share of happi-
ness – two great festivals of
Islam and Hinduism falling
the same day, May 3. If you
are a believer in God, you
could have taken it as Her/
His manifestation, and if you
are an atheist, you could have
found your happiness in
abundance of food and fun.
Yet, we failed to make a be-
ginning. That’s what May 3
hadbrought–asAkshayTriti-
ya marked the beginning of
good things to unfold. Some-
thing similar took place on
April 2 too. Gudi Padva in its
many forms across the coun-
try fell that day
. It also marked
the first evening of Ramadan
fasting. We were busy; we
were too gross in separating
the spirit of that day
. The ‘di-
vine intervention’ -- if at all
there is something of the sort
– took us across many more
days, as if India’s greatness
were striving to reveal itself.
There’s a lot of substance
in being community-con-
scious because there lies the
pride of who we are. In India,
this pride is reinforced by a
belief that not only ‘this’ but
also ‘that’ belongs to us. The
intermingling of mutually
contradicting thoughts has
repeatedly brought about an
equilibrium in our belief
system, for example, the con-
cept of one god and many
gods – the truth has not lost
itself to arguments; it has
caused us to accept the diver-
sity of truth. Which is what
a happy living is all about.
In an extremely moving
scene in Hollywood World
War-II movie ‘Saving Private
Ryan,’ the rescued American
soldier called James Ryan,
now apparently in his seven-
ties, is walking to the war
cemetery along with his ex-
tendedfamily
.Amidhundreds
of graves all painted white,
Ryan stops at one and breaks
down. The grave belongs to
CaptJohnHMiller,theofficer
who died while successfully
savingJamesRyan,thelastof
his four brothers.
The soldier, his eyes welled
up, looks at his wife and whis-
pers to her before the Cap-
tain’s grave: “Tell me I have
led a good life, tell me I am a
good man.” That was Ryan’s
way of paying tributes to
Capt Miller, who while dying,
tells him “earn it (freedom).”
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
HISTORY IS TESTING
US INDIANS!
So far, we seem to be failing, but will Rajasthan with its rich history of
communal harmony surrender to the monster of communalism?
Freedom isn’t acquired
easily and harmony isn’t
realized in good measure
because we forget the
sacrifices that our ancestors
made for us to live happily.
That’s why we keep harping
on diversity, seldom
realizing the unifying force
behind it. April 2 and May
3 have presented an
opportunity for us to look
within. Rajasthan has a
rich history of communal
harmony. The state must
not surrender to the
communal monster
C
PRASHANT SAXENA
The writer is a freelance
journalist and political analyst
The auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya and
Eid – falling the same day on May 3 – could
have turned the cruelest day for many. The main
casualty, however, was our pretension to be a nation
where law of the land rules, not of mobs
masquerading as Hindus and Muslims
JAHANGIRPURI
KARAULI
JODHPUR

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INDIA
05
Despite spendings, BMC reserves increased over `15K cr: Chahal
From Page1...
T
he BMC chief,
with his Can-Do
spirit, agrees
that over 23 municipal
bodies across Maha-
rashtra currently being
handled by state ap-
pointed administrators
is not ideal in a democ-
racybut,aconsequence
of the Covid pandemic.
Five municipalities
in Aurangabad, Navi
Mumbai, Vasai-Virar,
Kalyan-Dombivli and
Kolhapur (since 2020)
and another 18 includ-
ing the BMC, Thane,
Pune, Nashik, Latur,
Nagpur among others
(since 2022) have been
placed under adminis-
trators despite the end
of their respective ten-
ures when fresh elec-
tions became due. The
Supreme Court on
Wednesday directed
that the elections be
scheduledintwoweeks.
Chahal has exploited
his role as administra-
torof BMC(sinceMarch
2022) to execute major
projects.Chahalsaid,“It
is not good for democ-
racy like for instance,
tomorrowIhavetofinal-
iseRs21,000croreworth
of sewage treatment
plant (STP) projects
whereIamboththepro-
poser and disposer.
Luckily
, the Supreme
Court came on board
and took over the moni-
toring and supervisory
roles and, I will be effec-
tively submitting the
bidsreceivedtotheapex
court that will finalise
the same.” Chahal was
speaking to First India
moments before his vid-
eoconferencingwithSC
justiceDYChandrachud
on the project.
When queried on the
whopping Rs 46,000
crore civic budget he
presented in March
2022, the BMC Chief in-
sistsitisnotunrealistic,
“I will complete two
years of tenure as BMC
Commissioner on May
8, 2022. I have so far is-
sued work orders to the
tune of Rs 65,000 crore.
For example: Rs 13,000
crore for the coastal
road project which had
a zero-progress level
whenItookover.Rs8000
crore was spent in the
lasttwoyearsand61per
cent of the project work
is complete. Come July
2023 the project will be
fully complete.”
HealsocitestheSolar-
Hydro Vaitarna project
(Rs 1200 crore), Rs 21,000
crore work orders next
week for STP 7, Rs 8,500
croreGoregaon-Mulund
Link Road (work orders
before May 31 for the 92
metres underground
tunnel below Sanjay
Gandhi National Park),
work orders for Rs 4000
crore desalination plant
at Manori in July
, Rs
4000 crore work order
two months back for
1900 double decker ac
buses, Rs 2000 crore for
fivebrandnewhospitals
inMumbaioutof theRs
16,000 crore annual
health budget.
Says Chahal, “It can
be achieved if, you have
the will to do so. De-
spite the ambitious
spend being undertak-
en when I took over, the
reserves of the BMC
stood at Rs 77,000 crore
and is currently Rs
92,000 crore due to the
rebate on premium
payments introduced
that raised over Rs
15,000 crore in revenue
against an expected Rs
2000 crore.”
K’taka cabinet rejig shifts to Delhi,
party high command to take call
Bengaluru (Agen-
cies): The BJP will take
a decision on the long-
pending cabinet rejig in
Karnataka within a
week of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s return
from his foreign trip.
Speaking to reporters
on Wednesday, a re-
lieved Chief Minister
Basavaraj Bommai said
that Union Minister
Amit Shah had told him
that he would discuss
the matter in Delhi.
Amit Shah had cate-
gorically asked Bommai
to leave the matter of
cabinet expansion to the
high command. Sources
said that Amit Shah
comforted Bommai on
questions being raised
on his (Bommai) leader-
ship. Shah had asked
Bommaito‘justfocuson
work’, sources said.
Chief Minister Bom-
mai’s body language
seemed to be hinting a
relief after the visit of
Amit Shah. State Party
President Nalin Kumar
Kateel and former
Chief Minister BS Yedi-
yurappa have vehe-
mently defended the
leadership of Bommai
and stated that there
was no change of lead-
ership in the state.
Bommai clarified
that the creation of the
post of Deputy Chief
Minister in Karnataka
was a creation of the
media.
Party sources said
that Amit Shah, who
discussed the matter in
detail in the core com-
mittee meeting of the
party during his visit to
Bengaluru on Tuesday,
has asked CM Bommai
to focus on governance.
High Command is
likely to induct at least
10 new faces into the
state cabinet and drop
about five senior cabi-
net ministers. It is not
decided yet whether
there will be cabinet ex-
pansion and overhaul
like Gujarat.
Bommai clarified that the creation of the post of Deputy CM was a creation of the media.
K’TAKA CABINET
MEET POSTPONED
TO MAY 11
The state cabinet meeting
that was scheduled to
be held on May 5 has
been postponed to May
11. This has given rise
to speculations that the
postponement may be to
accommodate expan-
sion in the state cabinet
or reshuffling it, amid
reports that the BJP high
command is expected
to arrive at a decision in
this regard before May
10. Bommai is under
pressure from aspirants
to expand or reshuffle his
cabinet at the earliest.
After 12 days in jail, Court
grants bail to Rana couple
Mumbai (Agencies):
A Mumbai Court on
Wednesday granted
conditional bail to inde-
pendent MP Navneet
Rana and her MLA hus-
band Ravi Rana, who
were arrested in the
‘Hanuman Chalisa’ re-
cital case.
The couple was ar-
rested from their home
after giving a call for
recitingHanumanChal-
isa outside Chief Minis-
ter Uddhav Thackeray’s
private residence.
According to their
lawyer Rizwan Mer-
chant, the duo shall be
released on a bail of Rs
50,000 each, ordered not
to speak to the media
pertaining to the case
underinvestigationsand
refrain from tampering
with evidence, etc.
The Rana duo was
booked and arrested by
Khar Police Station on
April 23 and slapped
with several charges, in-
cluding sedition, breach
of public peace, making
inciting statements, and
other sections for their
plans to chant ‘Hanu-
man Chalisa’ outside
the Thackeray’s person-
al home, ‘Matoshri’ in
Bandra east.
The Special Public
Prosecutor Pradip
Gharat argued that
chanting of Hanuman
Chalisa could incite re-
ligious passions, which
was strongly opposed
by the Ranas’ lawyers.
Independent MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana.
BMC REACHES MAHA MP-MLA COUPLE’S
HOME OVER ‘ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION’
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)
officials has reached the residence of Maharashtra MP-
MLA couple Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana for investigation
over “illegal construction” at their place in Mumbai’s Khar.
The BMC had already sent a notice to the couple recently
arrested over the Hanuman Chalisa row under Section 488
of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, accord-
ing to which, officials can visit any building and ascertain
whether any illegal alterations have been undertaken.
‘Include Garo, Khasi in Constitution’s 8th Schedule’
Guwahati (Agencies):
Meghalaya Chief Minis-
terConradK.Sangmaon
Wednesdaysaidthatlan-
guage defines the iden-
tityof atribeasheurged
the President Ram Nath
Kovind to include the
Garo and Khasi lan-
guage in the 8th Sched-
ule of the Constitution.
Addressing the vale-
dictory function of the
61st annual conference
of the Bodo Sahitya
Sabha (BSS) in Assam’s
Tamulpur, Sangma said
that there are similari-
ties between Garo and
Bodo languages.
“Istronglyfeelthatin-
clusion of languages of
different tribes and dif-
ferent communities in
the constitution would
only lead to a stronger
integration of this very
diverse but great nation
of us,” he said.
President Kovind
was the chief guest in
the BSS meet while As-
sam Chief Ministers
Himanta Biswa Sarma
and Sikkim’s Prem Sin-
gh Tamang, among oth-
er dignitaries, also
spoke in the regional
language literary meet.
NotingtheMeghalaya
Language Act, 2005 rec-
ognises Khasi and Garo
as the states associate
official languages, Sang-
ma urged the President
to support the aspira-
tion of the northeast’s
people and to ensure
that languages from the
region are included in
the Eighth Schedule to
protect and promote the
language and identity
of the people.
“Not just Garo and
Khasi but all the differ-
ent communities and
tribesandtheirlanguag-
es in the northeast are
different. They may be
small but their identity
comesfromthelanguage
and the culture that they
have,” Sangma added.
“Your (President)
presence in a pro-
gramme like this is not
just an inspiration to the
peopleof Bodoareas,but
it shows your concern
and your respect for all
the tribes of the north-
east,” Sangma said.
PraisingthePresident
for his frequent visits to
the northeast, Sangma
said that this sent a very
powerful message to the
people of NE that every
single community is im-
portant.
SANGMA URGES PRESIDENT
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma
Not just Garo and
Khasi but all the
different commu-
nities and tribes and their
languages in the northeast
are different. They may be
small but their identity
comes from the language
and culture that they have.
Conrad K Sangma,
Chief Minister, Meghalaya
Pakistani
tunnel found
near int’l
border in JK
Jammu (Agencies): A
Pakistani tunnel has
been detected near the
International Border
(IB) near the Chak Fa-
quira border outpost in
the Samba sector of
Jammu, officials said
on Wednesday
.
“On Tuesday, a spe-
cial tunnel checking
exercise was carried
out in the AOR (Area of
Responsibility) of Chak
Faquira boredr outpost
by the BSF. During the
exercise, a freshly dug-
up tunnel was detect-
ed,” sources said.
Mamata Govt’s ‘Dalal’: Cong
lawyers heckle Chidambaram
Kolkata (Agencies):
Congress leader P Chid-
ambaram faced a major
protest in Kolkata on
Wednesday when he vis-
ited the Calcutta high
court to appear as an ad-
vocate in a legal matter.
A group of lawyers,
whoreportedlybelonged
to the Congress cell at
the court, shouted slo-
gans against the Rajya
Sabha MP when he was
on his way to leave the
court, showed him black
robes and flags and
called him a sympathis-
er and agent (‘dalaal’) of
the Mamata Banerjee-
led Trinamool Congress
government. They also
blamed the former Un-
ion minister for the Con-
gress’ poor state of af-
fairs in the state.
A media report said
the senior advocate was
representing agro-pro-
cessing firm Keventer.
Chidambaram reached Kolkata to fight the Metro Dairy case
against his own Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury.
‘Anti-NEET Bill forwarded
to MHA for Prez assent’
Chennai (PTI): The Ta-
mil Nadu Assembly Bill
seeking exemption to
the state from the ambit
of the National En-
trance-cum-Eligibility
Test (NEET) has been
sent to the Centre for
presidential assent by
Governor RN Ravi,
Chief Minister M K Sta-
lin said on Wednesday
.
Stalintoldthestateas-
sembly that he has been
informed by the Gover-
nor’s secretary that the
Bill has been sent to the
UnionHomeMinistryto
enable President’ Ram
NathKovind’sassentfor
the same.
“As part of our strug-
gleforNEETexemption,
in the next step, we
should jointly take all ef-
forts to insist the Centre
for presidential assent
for the Bill,” he said.
The assembly had in
February adopted the
anti-NEET Bill for the
second time.
MK Stalin
Tejashwi: No census until
caste headcount is done
Patna (Agencies):
RJD leader Tejashwi
Yadav on Wednesday
said that his party will
not allow any census in
Bihar until caste head-
count is done.
“BJP is an anti jus-
tice party in the coun-
try. Union Minister of
State for Home Nity-
anand Rai has denied in
writing that the caste
based census will not
take place in the coun-
try. In that context, we
will not allow any cen-
sus to take place in Bi-
har,” Yadav said.
“The caste based
census’ resolutions
have been passed twice
in the Bihar Legislative
Assembly (Vidhan Sab-
ha). Even a delegation
of all parties led by
Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar had met Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi to press for the
demand of caste-based
census,” Yadav said.
Tejashwi Yadav
RBI GOVERNOR SAYS...
‘Economy faces headwinds
from global spillovers’
Mumbai (Agenies): Re-
serve Bank of India Gov-
ernor Shaktikanta Das
on Wednesday said that
even as the drivers of do-
mestic economic activity
are getting stronger, they
face headwinds from
global spillovers in the
form of protracted and
intensifying geopolitical
tensions along with ele-
vated commodity prices
andCovid-19relatedlock-
downs or restrictions in
some major economies.
He said, the economy
is also facing headwinds
from slowing external
demand and tightening
global financial condi-
tionsonthebackof mon-
etary policy normalisa-
tion in advanced econo-
mies. Das said, these
risks are evolving on the
lines anticipated in the
April statement after the
Monetary Policy Com-
mittee meeting and ap-
pear to be lingering.
Shaktikanta Das

INDIA
06
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: The presi-
dential election is to be
held in July and its pro-
cess is believed to start
in June. So far no party
has opened its cards in
this matter. Whom the
BJP will field and who
will be a contender for
the Congress-led UPA
has not been decided
yet. But before that
there is news that a
third front is also being
formed, on whose be-
half the presidential
candidate will be field-
ed. Although efforts are
on to form a third front
to give competition to
the BJP in the politics
of the country, but its
outline has not been de-
cided yet. Therefore,
the question is whether
any outline of the Third
Front will be made in
the name of the presi-
dential election itself?
It is being told that
Akhilesh Yadav, who is
angry with the Con-
gress, is taking the ini-
tiative. Samajwadi Par-
ty national president
Akhilesh Yadav is try-
ing to field non-Con-
gress and non-BJP can-
didates. If he takes the
initiative, he can create
a large group of leaders
who are currently an-
gry with the Congress.
Keep in mind that Sa-
majwadi Party is the
main opposition in UP
and Rashtriya Janata
Dal is also the main op-
position party in Bihar.
The two parties also
have prominent rela-
tives and in Bihar too,
the alliance between
the Congress and the
RJD is over.
So, it is possible that
the foundation of the
Third Front will be laid
by the Samajwadi Par-
ty and the Rashtriya
Janata Dal. If they get
in touch with Prashant
Kishor in any way, then
they can add many of
his client parties to this
group. Angry with Con-
gress, Mamata Baner-
jee and K Chandrashek-
har Rao can be a part of
it. However, both SP
and RJD have a choice
of Left parties. But if
there is talk with CPM,
CPI then Mamata Ba-
nerjee will not come
along. However, this is
a start. If this thing
goes ahead, then a big
front can be formed
and then there will be a
number two contest be-
tween the Congress
and the candidate of
this front.
Third Front will also contest the presidential election!
LankaseeksfertilisersfromIndia,
deferralofpaymentof$2.5billion
New Delhi (Agencies):
Sri Lanka has sought
the supply of fertilisers
from India and the de-
ferral of a payment of
$2.5 billion to the Asian
Clearing Union as part
of efforts to cope with
the island nation’s
worst economic crisis
in decades, people fa-
miliar with the matter
said on Wednesday
.
At the same time, an
amount of $200 million
from the $1-billion line
of credit provided by
India in March has been
set aside to fund the
purchases of fuel, the
people said. This will be
in addition to the
$500-million line of
credit provided by India
in February for fuel
purchases.
With Sri Lanka
switching back to the
use of chemical ferti-
lisers, there is a grow-
ing need for the com-
modity amid a global
shortage created by the
Ukraine crisis. It is in
this context that the
Sri Lankan side has
made the request for
the supply of fertilis-
ers, the people said.
The Sri Lankan gov-
ernment banned chem-
ical fertilisers last
year as part of a
phased transition to-
wards organic agricul-
ture. The sudden na-
ture of the change and
the dearth of adequate
supplies of organic
fertilisers affected ag-
ricultural output, es-
pecially rice and tea,
and the government
recently ended the ban
on several key crops.
“There is a growing
demand for fertilisers
since the use of chemi-
cal fertilisers was
cleared by the Sri Lan-
kan government. The
supply of other items
under the $1-billion line
of credit, including
food items such as rice
and pulses and medi-
cines, has already start-
ed,” one of the people
cited above said.
The Sri Lankan side
has also asked the Indi-
an side to defer the pay-
ment of $2.5 billion to
the Asian Clearing Un-
ion (ACU), an organisa-
tion with its headquar-
ters in Tehran that in-
cludes Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Iran, the
Maldives, Myanmar,
Nepal, Pakistan, and
Sri Lanka.
Earlier this year, In-
dia had deferred the
payment of $515 million
to the ACU at Sri Lan-
ka’s request. It had also
provided a currency
swap of $400 million un-
der the Saarc facility
.
With Sri Lanka switching back to use of chemical
fertilisers, there is a growing need for commodity
amid global shortage created by the Ukraine crisis
An anti-government demonstration demanding President Gotabaya’s resignation.
WHAT IS ASIAN
CLEARING
UNION (ACU)?
Asian Clearing
Union (ACU) is a
payment arrange-
ment whereby
member countries
settle payments for
intra-regional trans-
actions among the
participating central
banks. The main
objective of the
union is to facilitate
payments among
member countries
to economise on
the use of foreign
exchange reserves
and transfer costs.
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Italian Foreign
Minister Luigi Di
Maio's three-day visit
to India from Wednes-
day will provide an op-
portunity for both sides
to further expand bilat-
eral ties in trade and
investment, defence
and security, and clean
and green energy, the
Ministry of External
Affairs said.
It said the visiting
dignitary is scheduled
to hold talks with Exter-
nal Affairs Minister S.
Jaishankar on Friday
.
This will be Di Maio's
first visit to India, and
he will be accompanied
by a high-level official
andbusinessdelegation.
The foreign minis-
ter's visit will provide
an opportunity to dis-
cuss the entire gamut
of the bilateral rela-
tions and further ex-
pand and deliver on our
close partnership, espe-
cially in priority areas
like trade and invest-
ment linkages, defence
and security, clean and
green energy, and sci-
ence and technology
cooperation, the MEA
said in a statement. It
said Jaishankar and Di
Maio will review the
progress in the imple-
mentation of the 'Ac-
tion Plan 2020-24'
launched at a virtual
summit in November
2020 and also exchange
views on regional and
multilateral issues of
mutual interest.
The Ukraine issue is
likely to figure in the
talks. Di Maio will also
meet with Union Com-
merce and Industry
Minister Piyush Goyal
and co-chair a business
round-table.
Italian Foreign
Minister begins
3-day India visit
Luigi Di Maio
UP cop, who
allegedly
raped minor
survivor, held
Lalitpur (ANI):
The Station House
Officer (SHO) ac-
cused of rape in
the Lalitpur rape
of minor Dalit girl
has been arrested
in Prayagraj.
The SHO who
was accused for al-
legedly raping a
13-year-old girl, a
victim of gang
rape, and was in a
visit to the police
station to register a
complaint was ar-
rested on Wednes-
day
, the Additional
Director General
(ADG) of police
Prayagraj, Prem
Prakash, informed
media.
TheNationalHu-
man Rights Com-
mission (NHRC)
has also issued no-
tice to the Chief
Secretary and the
Director-General
of Police, Uttar
Pradesh. A report
has been sought
within 4-weeks per-
taining to the re-
ports of the rape of
the minor.
DRG jawan killed
in encounter with
Naxals in C’garh
Narayanpur (PTI):
A District Reserve
Guard (DRG) head
constable was killed
in an encounter with
Naxals in Chhattis-
garh’s insurgency-
hit Narayanpur dis-
trict on Wednesday,
police said.
The skirmish took
place around 8.15 am
at a forest in Tularg-
ufa-Mungari area un-
der Chhotedongar
police station limits
when a joint team of
various security forc-
eswasoutonasearch
operation, Inspector
General of Police
(Bastar range) Sund-
arraj P told media.
The joint squad of
personnel, belonging
to the DRG and the
Indo-Tibetan Border
Police (ITBP), had
launched the opera-
tion along the Palli-
Barsur axis on
N a r a y a n p u r -
Dantewada inter-dis-
trict border on Tues-
day, he said.
When a patrolling
team of the DRG was
cordoning off forests
between Tulargufa
and Mungari on
Wednesday morning,
it came under heavy
fire from a group of
ultras, leading to the
gun-battle, he said.
“DRG head consta-
ble Salik Ram
Markam (37) suf-
fered bullet injuries
in the face-off and
later died,” the offi-
cial said.
IN 2020, LADAKH
RECORDED
HIGHEST SEX
RATIO IN INDIA
The Union Territory of
Ladakh recorded the
highest sex ratio in the
country in 2020, fol-
lowed by Arunachal
Pradesh, Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, Tripu-
ra and Kerala, accord-
ing to the annual report
on Vital Statistics based
on 2020 Civil Registra-
tion System report.
“Highest Sex Ratio at
Birth (SRB) based on
registered events has
been reported by
Ladakh (1104) followed
by Arunachal Pradesh
(1011), AN Islands
(984), Tripura (974), and
Kerala (969),” the report
released by the Regis-
trar General of India
(RGI) on May 3 said.
Sex ratio at birth is
number of females per
thousand males.
Mumbai (Agencies):
The National Investiga-
tion Agency (NIA) has
named dismissed police
officer Pradeep Sharma
as the 'main conspirator'
inthecold-bloodedmur-
der of Thane business-
man Mansukh Hiran, in
its affidavit in the case
pertaining to planting a
SUV with 20 gelatin
sticks outside Antilia,
the home of industrial-
ist Mukesh Ambani.
Aware of the entire
conspiracy
, the NIA told
the Bombay HC that Hi-
ran was considered the
'weak link' in the larger
conspiracy to terrorise
the billionaire Ambani
family
, when the SUV
wasdiscoveredonFeb25,
2021, sending shock-
wavesacrossthecountry
.
Opposing the bail
plea of Sharma - nabbed
on June 17, 2021 and cur-
rently in judicial custo-
dy - the NIA affidavit
saidhewasnotinnocent
and had committed of-
fences of criminal con-
spiracy
, murder and ter-
ror acts. The NIA also
claimed that Hiran was
eliminated after he re-
fused to take the blame
for parking the SUV out-
side Antilia.
Antilia case: Pradeep Sharma plotted
Mansukh Hiran’s murder, says NIA
Pradeep Sharma
TKF:Agnihotri accuses PCI
of ‘suppressing’ free voice
The Press Club of India
(PCI) has landed in a
controversy after ‘The
Kashmir Files’ director
Vivek Agnohotri ac-
cused it of denying
booking to him for a
press conference.
Agnihotri said his
booking was first can-
celled by the Foreign
Correspondent Club
(FCC) allegedly over ob-
jections raised by some
of the members and
later, the Press Club of
India followed suit.
Now, the event is be-
ing held in a hotel on
Thursday
.
Taking to Twitter, Ag-
nihotri said: “Wow! @
PCITweetsalsocancelled
me. The watchdogs of
democracy and messiah
of free speech not only
bannedmeundemocrati-
cally but are also lying
through their teeth. 1.
Encl are the facts.
2. They have booked
earlier through our
agency without any
member’s recco. Re-
ceipt encl.”
TMC appoints Kirti Azad
as party’s Goa in-charge
Kolkata (Agencies):
The Trinamool Con-
gress (TMC) on Wednes-
day appointed Kirti
Azad as the new in-
charge for its Goa unit.
Azad, a cricketer-
turned-politician, had
switched over to the
TMC from Congress in
2021. He was earlier a
BJP MP from Bihar.
Azad replaced TMC
MP Mahua Moitra who
was the in-charge of the
Goa unit.
The appointment will
come into force with im-
mediate effect, the par-
ty said in a statement.
Even as the TMC in-
ducted several senior
leaders from the Con-
gress ahead of the as-
sembly polls in the
coastal state earlier this
year, it drew a blank.
Mumbai (PTI): The
Bombay High Court on
Wednesday dismissed a
petition filed by Vara-
vara Rao and two other
activists, arrested in the
Elgar Parishad-Maoist
links case, seeking a re-
view of an earlier order
of the high court which
refused them default
bail.
The high court said it
finds it difficult to hold
there was any factual er-
ror in its earlier judge-
ment and requires a re-
view.Nocaseforreview
is made out, a division
bench of Justices SS
Shinde and NJ Jamadar
said. The high court re-
jected the petition filed
by the three accused:
VaravaraRao,ArunFer-
reira and Vernon Gon-
salves. Rao is currently
out on medical bail,
while the other two peti-
tioners are in jail.
Thethreeaccusedhad
challenged a Dec 1, 2021
order passed by the
bench led by Justice
Shinde that granted de-
fault bail to lawyer Sud-
ha Bharadwaj, a co-ac-
cused in the case, but
denied default bail to
eight other accused per-
sons,includingthethree
petitioners. In their
pleas, the accused said
theHC'sorderwasbased
on a factual error. If
the high court, in grant-
ing bail to Bharadwaj,
set aside the lower court
order of November 6,
2019, the others, too,
were entitled to relief.
The NIA had opposed
the plea on the ground
that the accused were
seeking the same prayer
of default bail under the
guise of review.
Varavara Rao is currently out in medical bail.
Rao, 2 others’ plea seeking default bail junked
ELGAR CASE

BIZ BUZZ
07
Mumbai (PTI): The
RBI on Wednesday cau-
tioned that while the
Indian economy ap-
pears capable of weath-
ering the deterioration
in geopolitical condi-
tions amid the ongoing
Russia-Ukraine war, it
faces headwinds from
global spillovers from
geopolitical tensions,
elevated commodity
prices and moderating
external demand.
The RBI, however,
did not tinker with the
GDP growth projection
made in April. It had
slashed the GDP
growth projection for
the fiscal 2022-23 to
7.2% from its earlier
forecast of 7.8%.
The Reserve Bank’s
rate-setting panel Mon-
etary Policy Commit-
tee (MPC) decided to
hold an off-cycle meet-
ing on May 2 and 4, and
raised the benchmark
lending rate (repo) by
40 basis points and
hiked CRR by 50 basis
points to contain the
rising inflation.
The committee said
that in this high-volt-
age global environ-
ment, it is useful to
take stock of the do-
mestic macroeconomic
and financial condi-
tions.
The rebound in do-
mestic economic activ-
ity that took hold with
the ebbing of the Omi-
cron wave is turning
out to be increasingly
broad-based.
“As regards the out-
look for domestic eco-
nomic activity
, the fore-
cast of a normal south-
west monsoon bright-
ens the prospects for
kharif production. The
recovery in contact-in-
tensive services is ex-
pected to be sustained,
with the ebbing of the
third wave and the
growing vaccination
coverage,” the central
bank said.
Also, investment ac-
tivity should get an up-
lift from the robust gov-
ernment capex, im-
proving capacity utili-
sation, stronger corpo-
rate balance sheets and
congenial financial
conditions.
“On the other hand,
the worsening external
environment, elevated
commodity prices and
persistent supply bot-
tlenecks pose formida-
ble headwinds, along
with volatility spillo-
vers from monetary
policy normalisation
in advanced econo-
mies,” the committee
said.
On balance, the In-
dian economy appears
capable of weathering
the deterioration in
geopolitical conditions,
but it is prudent to con-
tinuously monitor the
balance of risks, said
the six-member panel
headed by Governor
Das. The governor also
said even as the drivers
of domestic economic
activity are getting
stronger, they face
headwinds from global
spillovers in the form
of protracted and in-
tensifying geopolitical
tensions; elevated com-
modity prices; COV-
ID-19 related lock-
downs or restrictions
in some major econo-
mies.
Mumbai (PTI): Home,
auto and other loan
EMIs are likely to in-
crease after the RBI
hiked its key interest
rate by 40 bps in a sur-
prise move on Wednes-
day in an effort to tame
inflation that has re-
mained stubbornly
above target in recent
months.
The increase in repo
rate to 4.40% from a re-
cord low of 4% is the
first since August 2018
as well as the first in-
stance of the RBI Gov-
ernor-headed MPC
holding an unsched-
uled meeting for rais-
ing interest rates. The
RBI also hike the cash
reserve ratio (CRR) by
50 basis points to 4.5%,
which will now require
banks to park more
money with the central
bank and leave them
with less to loan to con-
sumers.
This would drain
`87,000 crore of liquid-
ity from the banking
system, RBI Governor
Shaktikanta Das said
in a video address an-
nouncing the rate hike
decision. He, however,
did not mention any-
thing about the reverse
repo rate and hence it
remains the same at
3.35%.
The standing depos-
it facility rate is now at
4.15% while the mar-
ginal standing facility
rate and bank rate
stand at 4.65%.
RBI FLAGS RISKS FROM GLOBAL SPILLOVER
Indian economy face headwinds from geopolitical tensions, elevated commodity prices and moderating external demand
India may not become a $5 tn economy before FY29
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): The gross domes-
tic product (GDP) of
India will hit the target
of $5 trillion not before
FY29, the International
Monetary Fund’s (IMF)
updated database
shows.
Indian Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi in
2019, before the COV-
ID-19 pandemic rattled
the global economy,
had sought to make In-
dia a $5 trillion econo-
my by FY25.
But as per the IMF
database, India’s nomi-
nal GDP may rise to
$4.92 trillion in FY28
(the database has not
forecasted beyond this
period). The latest fore-
cast hints that the tar-
get of $5 trillion may
fructify with a mini-
mum delay of four
years.
The IMF in April in
its World Economic Re-
port slashed its growth
forecast for India for
FY23 to 8.2% owing to
the impact of Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, as
it expects the higher oil
prices to weigh on pri-
vate consumption and
investment. IMF’s ex-
pectation is higher
than that of the RBI,
which sees growth at
7.2% in the current fis-
cal and 6.3% in the
next.
Earlier in February,
Chief Economic Ad-
viser V Anantha Nag-
eswaran had expressed
hope that India would
become a $5 trillion
economy by FY25 or the
next year on the back
of 8-9% sustained
growth.
Some experts had ar-
gued that the target
was beyond reach in
the current circum-
stances. Former Re-
serve Bank Governor C
Rangarajan late last
year said that India
needs to grow at 9% per
annum for the next five
years in order to
achieve that.
PM’S TARGET
Mumbai (PTI): Equi-
ties went into a tail-
spin on Wednesday
after the Reserve Bank
surprised the market
with a mid-cycle rate
hike in a bid to tame
soaring inflation.
The move came just
ahead of the Federal
Reserve’s policy deci-
sion, with analysts ex-
pecting a similar move
by the US central bank
as well as the focus
shifts to combating
runaway price rise, ex-
acerbated by geopoliti-
cal tensions.
After a choppy start,
the 30-share BSE
Sensex came under
massive selling pres-
sure following RBI’s
interest rate hike, clos-
ing 1,306.96 points or
2.29% down at a two-
monthlowof 55,669.03.
This was its third
straight session of
loss. On similar lines,
the broader NSE Nifty
tanked 391.50 points or
2.29% to finish at
16,677.60.
Bajaj Finance was
the biggest loser in the
Sensex pack, tumbling
4.29%, followed by Ba-
jaj Finserv, Titan, In-
dusInd Bank, HDFC
Bank, Maruti and RIL.
Only three constitu-
ents managed to finish
higher.
LIC IPO Day 1: 67% issue booked;
employees portion fully subscribed
New Delhi (PTI):
LIC’s public offer, the
country’s biggest-ever
IPO, saw the policy-
holders’ portion being
oversubscribed on the
first day itself on
Wednesday, though
overall subscription
stood at 67%.
The government
aims to generate about
Rs 21,000 crore by sell-
ing 3.5% stake in the
insurance behemoth.
LIC’s initial
public offering
(IPO), open for
retail and in-
stitutional in-
vestors, is set to
close on May 9.
The issue period
also includes
bidding on Sat-
urday, May 7.
The portion reserved
for policyholders was
subscribed 1.9 times,
while that for employ-
ees was fully subscribed
during the first day it-
self, as per data availa-
ble on the BSE.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. —PHOTO BY ANI
RATES RAISED
EMIs to rise as RBI hikes
repo rate by 40 bps
Sensex plummets
1,300 points
INVESTOR WEALTH
TUMBLES `6.27
LAKH CRORE
New Delhi (PTI): In-
vestors became poorer
by over `6.27 lakh
crore on Wednesday
as markets crashed
after the RBI hiked
the policy rate by
40 bps in a surprise
move. The 30-share
BSE benchmark
Sensex tumbled
1,306.96 points or
2.29% to settle at
55,669.03. During
the day, it plummeted
1,474.39 points or
2.58% to 55,501.60.
In tandem with the
slump in equities, the
market capitalisation
of BSE-listed firms
tumbled `6,27,359.72
crore to stand at
`2,59,60,852.44 crore.
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): India is trying
togetdeeperdiscounts
on Russian oil to com-
pensate for the risk of
dealing with the
OPEC+ producer as
other buyers turn
away, according to
sources.
The South Asian na-
tion is seeking Rus-
sian cargoes at less
than $70 a barrel on a
delivered basis to com-
pensate for additional
hurdles such as secur-
ing financing for pur-
chases in high level
talks between the two
countries, said the
people, asking not to
be identified as discus-
sions are confidential.
Global benchmark
Brent is currently
trading near $105 a
barrel.
Both state and pri-
vate refiners in the
world’s third-biggest
oil importer have
bought more than 40
million barrels of Rus-
sian crude since the
invasion of Ukraine in
late February, the peo-
ple said. That’s 20%
more than Russia-to-
India flows for the
whole of 2021, accord-
ing to data.
India wants Russia
to sell oil below $70
PLI APPLICATION DEADLINE
FOR STEEL EXTENDED
government has ex-
tended the deadline to
submit applications
under the production-
linked incentive
scheme for speciality
steel till May 31.
The deadline has
been extended for the
second time. Initially,
March 29 was the last
date for manufactur-
ers to apply for the
benefits under the PLI
scheme for speciality
steel. It was later ex-
tended till April 30.
“...The application
window (for scheme)
will be kept open up
till May 31, 2022,” ac-
cording the steel min-
istry notification dat-
ed April 28.
The move is expect-
ed to attract an addi-
tional investment of
about `40,000 crore
and create 5.25 lakh
job opportunities.
LIC IPO to stay open on
Saturday for retail investors
Life Insurance Corp. of India’s initial public of-
fering will take subscriptions even on Saturday,
an unusual move aimed at attracting investors in-
cluding retail buyers for the nation’s biggest share
sale.The IPO, which kicked off on Wednesday, will
remain open until May 9, including on Saturday,
a notification on the National Stock Exchange of
India Ltd. said. The Indian government is selling
221.4 million LIC shares at between 902 rupees
and 949 rupees each, which would raise as much
as 210 billion rupees ($2.7 billion) at the top end
of the range. “This is a bit unusual for a share
sale. However, this exception has been given
to LIC IPO considering its sheer size and
humongous interest from retail investors,”
said Kranthi Bathini, chief market strategist
at WealthMills Securities in Mumbai. “This
can put some additional pressure on the
system. However the Indian capital market
infrastructure is geared to facilitate
bidding on Saturday too.” —Agencies
IndiGo appoints V Sumantran
as chairman of the Board
New Delhi (ANI): In-
terGlobe Aviation,
which runs IndiGo air-
lines, on Wednesday
said it has appointed
Venkataramani Suman-
tran as chairman of its
Board of Directors.
Sumantran, who has
been an independent
non-executive director
of the Board since May
28, 2020, succeeds Me-
leveetil Damodaran,
who stepped down on
May 3, 2022, on attain-
ing the age of 75 years.
Sumantran is a busi-
ness leader, technocrat,
and academic, having
worked in the USA, Eu-
rope, and Asia through
a career spanning over
37 years. He is currently
the Chairman and Man-
aging Director of Cel-
eris Technologies, a
strategic advisory firm
engaged in the domains
of automotive, mobility
.
INDIGO STARTS NEW
FARE FOR SPECIAL
SERVICES
New Delhi (PTI): IndiGo on
Wednesday launched an ex-
clusive fare category called
“Super 6E” that will provide
special services like extra 10
kg baggage, free seat selec-
tion, reduced cancellation
fee as well as in-flight meal.
Passengers will be able to
opt for ‘Super 6E’ fare only
at the time of booking, it
said. The ‘Super 6E’ fare has
been designed to provide
the most sought-after
services under a single fare
for passengers who want
to have all services bundled
in single fare, the airline’s
statement said.
government has revised
downwards the esti-
mate for wheat produc-
tion by 5.7% to 105 mil-
lion tonnes in the 2021-
22 crop year ending
June from the earlier
projection of 111.32 mil-
lion tonnes, as the crop
productivity has been
affected due to the early
onset of summer.
Addressing a press
conference, Food Secre-
tary Sudhanshu Pan-
dey said the agriculture
ministry has revised
the wheat production
estimate downwards to
105 million tonnes for
the 2021-22 crop year
from 111.3 million
tonnes earlier.
India’s wheat produc-
tion stood at 109.59 mil-
lion tonnes in the 2020-
21 crop year (July-
June).
The lowering of esti-
mates has been attrib-
uted to “early summer”.
Govt revises wheat
production estimate
Chandigarh (PTI):
Global engineering
and product develop-
ment digital services
firm Tata Technolo-
gies has shown inter-
est in setting up an
electric vehicle pro-
duction centre in
Punjab, a state gov-
ernment release said
on Wednesday
.
A delegation of
Tata technologies
called on Punjab
Chief Minister Bhag-
want Mann on
Wednesday here at
his official residence.
Tata Tech may
set up EV centre
in Punjab

As a parent, do not lecture on
what your child must or musn’t
do, lead by example-that is the
only way.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
Congress leadership
reaches out to ‘upset’
Gujarat working prez
Party sources say Rahul Gandhi has sent a
message to Patel asking him to stay in the party
HAIL THE GODS!
The Hare Krishna Mandir in Bhadaj concluded its five-day Patotsav, 2022 with a grand abhishek
(purification ritual) ceremony of Lord Krishna, Radha, Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Vishnu’s fourth
avatar Narsimha Dev. As part of the celebration, 108 types of bhog (offerings) were presented to
the deities with devotees chanting Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda called ‘Purusha Sukta’ during
the maha aarti.
New Delhi (ANI): Con-
gress leader Rahul Gan-
dhi has reached out to
disgruntled Gujarat
Congress Committee
working president
Hardik Patel to sort out
differences in the party
unit ahead of state as-
sembly polls, said
sources.
Party sources claim
that Rahul Gandhi has
himself sent a message
to Hardik Patel asking
him to continue in the
party
. He has also asked
the party in-charge and
other leaders to reach
out to Patel to sort out
the differences.
Congress General
Secretary Randeep Sur-
jewala has also con-
firmed that party lead-
ership has spoken to
Hardik Patel.
“The details of that
conversation can be
shared only by state in-
chargeRaghuSharma,”
said Surjewala.
However, Raghu
Sharma was unavaila-
ble for a reaction on the
development.
Angered by the lack
of preference given to
him by state leadership,
Hardik on Monday re-
moved “Congress” from
his Twitter bio and a
picture of the party
symbol from his profile
picture.
A senior Congress
leader told ANI that if
Hardik leaves the party
it will be a loss for Con-
gress.
Speculations were
rife about Patel joining
the BJP which the Con-
gress leader repeatedly
dismissed stating that
he has no such plans,
while also adding that
he is upset with the
state party leadership.
He recently lauded
the BJP government
for revoking Article 370
and the construction of
Ram Mandir. He has is-
sued a clarification
that he is not upset
with party leaders Ra-
hul Gandhi or Priyan-
ka Gandhi but he is
upset with the state
leadership.
“I am not upset with
Rahul Gandhi or Pri-
yanka Gandhi. I am up-
set with the state lead-
ership. Why am I up-
set? Elections are com-
ing up and in such
times work should be
done together with
honest and strong peo-
ple. They should be
given positions,” he
added.
By Rajnish Singh
New Delhi (ANI): For
rapid development in
the Left Wing Extrem-
ism (LWE) or Naxal-af-
fected states, the Cen-
tral government gave
approval for the diver-
sion of forest land for
infrastructure-related
projects in 14 categories
in 2020-2021. The ap-
proval was granted by
the Ministry of Envi-
ronment, Forest and
Climate Change and
mentioned in the Minis-
try of Home Affairs’’
recently published an-
nual report 2020-2021.
“Ministry of Envi-
ronment, Forest and
Climate Change has
given general approval
for diversion of forest
land for infrastructure-
related projects in 14
categories relating to
schools, dispensaries,
hospitals, electrical and
telecommunication
lines, drinking water
projects, water and rain
harvesting structures,
minor irrigation ca-
nals, non-conventional
sources of energy, skill
upgradation and voca-
tional training centre
as well as rural roads,”
said the report.
The general approval
was earlier for diver-
sion of up to five hec-
tares of forest land,
which has been in-
creased to 40 hectares
for LWE areas, with va-
lidity up to December
31, 2020, in terms of sec-
tion 2 of the Forest
(Conservation) Act,
1980.
The report also said
that the Government of
India has also been im-
plementing the Road
Requirement Plan
(RRP-I) since February
26, 2009, for improving
road connectivity in 34
LWE affected districts
of eight states. The
scheme envisages the
construction of 5,362
km of roads and eight
critical bridges at an
estimated cost of
Rs78,673 crore.
New Delhi (PTI): In-
dia’s ranking in the
World Press Freedom
Index has fallen down
to 150th position from
last year’s 142nd rank
out of 180 countries,
according to a report
by a global media
watchdog.
Reacting to the RSF
2022 World Press Free-
dom Index, three Indian
journalists bodies said
in a joint statement,
“While the job insecuri-
ties have grown so have
the attacks on press
freedoms seen an expo-
nential rise. India does
not fare too well in this
regard, ranking 150 out
of 180 countries in the
World Press Freedom
Index. The ranking of
our neighbours-- with
the exception of Nepal,
which climbed 30 points
to 76th position-- also
slid down.
Hardik Patel —FILE PHOTO
LONG TIME COMING
First India Bureau
Navi Mumbai: The de-
cision to go against the
trend and bat first did
not pay off but it is
something Gujarat Ti-
tans needed to do to get
out of their comfort
zone ahead of the big-
ger battles that await
them in the IPL, said
skipper Hardik Pandya.
Titans, who lead the
IPL points table with
eight wins from 10
games and are set to
reach the play-offs, lost
to Punjab by eight wick-
ets here on Tuesday
.
Titansstruggledto143
for eight which Punjab
chased down in 16 overs.
“We weren’t even
close to a par score. 170
would have been ideal,
but we kept losing wick-
ets regularly and never
came anywhere near it.
I backed us with the bat,
batting first wasn’t a
wrong call, we needed
to come out of our com-
fort zone,” said Hardik.
“We have chased well
in this tournament, if re-
quired (later in the tour-
nament),wehadtoknow
howtosettargets.Thisis
part of a learning curve,
butthisisallaboutlearn-
ing to come out of our
own comfort zone. We
were always talking
about getting better even
when we were winning,
we would talk about
things that didn’t go our
way today and would
look to come back better
in the coming games.”
Punjab skipper Ma-
yank Agarwal lauded
his team after the much-
needed win. He decided
to drop himself down
the order to accommo-
date Jonny Bairstow at
the top alongside Shi-
khar Dhawan.
Explaining the move,
he said: “We are trying
to get the best out of
Jonny. He’s done well
opening. I said, ‘It’s
okay, I’ll bat at four, I’ll
anchor the innings at
four’. With Livi it was
clear; Shikhar was to
bat through and Livi
could go out and play
the way he wants to
play
. It was nice the way
he played, got the score
quickly,” said Agarwal.
He also said his team
must gain some consist-
ency as the race for a
play-off spot gets more
intense. “We would like
to string a few (wins),
no better time than get-
ting a few wins back-to-
back.”
We wanted to come out of our comfort zone: Hardik Pandya
LOSING GAMBLE
lll
Gujarat
Titans, the
first team to
opt to bat first
on winning
the toss this
season, lost
to Punjab by
8 wickets
Punjab Kings players greet the Gujarat Titans players after their win during Tuesday’s match.
Centre gives nod for forest land
diversion in Naxal-affected states
India slides to 150th in
World Press Freedom Index
Surat: A
sanitation
worker died
at the Khajod
disposal
plant on
Wednesday
after a JCB
machine’s
tyre explod-
ed. Shailesh
Sonawadia,
who had
got mar-
ried three
months ago, had been
employed as a cleaner at
the site. However, his fam-
ily has alleged negligence
on part of municipal
authorities as he was
given other departmental
work to do as well. “My
brother died as a result
of the municipal corpora-
tion’s incompetence. It is
our demand that justice
be served by prosecuting
those culpable,” said the
victim’s sister.
Vadodara: Mahaman-
daleshwar Hariharanand
Swami Bharti Maharaj , the
presiding seer of the Bharti
Ashram trust, who went
missing from Vadodara
last month, was located by
his followers on Wednes-
day, according to police
officials. The seer was
discovered in Nashik by
his followers, said V’dara
Crime Branch officials. His
supporters then took him
to a crime branch office
in the city.During police
questioning, he stated
that he was under mental
duress as a result of a
land dispute and that he
had been threatened by a
group of people.
Vadodara: An unidentified
conman allegedly duped a
man to the tune of Rs2.7
lakh under the pretext of
claiming his winnings in
an online lottery. Accord-
ing to police, the victim
borrowed money from
his relatives and friends
to pay the amount and is
now in debt after getting
cheated. The victim, Nazuk
Ingle, currently lives on
Waghodia Road and runs
a sugarcane juice cart in
Khodiyar Nagar. On April
01, he had received a mes-
sage on his mobile saying,
“Congratulations, you have
won the lottery of Rs25
lakh in Jio Kaun Banega
Crorepati All India.”
SANITATION WORKER DIES
AFTER JCB TYRE BURST
BHARTI ASHRAM
CHIEF LOCATED,
BROUGHT BACK
CONMAN DUPES
SUGARCANE JUICE
SELLER OF `2.7L
CRUCIAL READ
—PHOTO
BY
PTI

wonder if I
would have
liked Pretty
Woman if not
for Julia Rob-
ertsandRich-
ard Gere, not
to mention Hector Eli-
zendo- all in the hands
of Garry Marshall
who in his signature
style underlined the
goodness and ro-
mance. The movie is
sweet and innocent if
a little unbelievable
but there is a warm-
heartedness to it that
will hold you.
I fell in love with Ju-
lia Roberts’ smile- it
was real- full-lipped,
wide and gleaming, it
was pure sunshine
and spring rolled into
one. Julia is the key to
Pretty Woman though
Richard Gere with his
drop-dead good looks
withouttheswaggeris
super in this movie.
Julia is straightfor-
ward and strong-
willed and looks it
with her look which is
now iconic but at the
time came across as
bold and brassy, set-
ting the tome for her
character - Red thigh-
highboots,XXLhoops,
a blond wig, no subtle
about it definitely
.
IquitelikeHectoras
the manager, who
takes Julia under his
wing, though the fact
is that he is moulding
hertobecomemoreac-
ceptable in the high
society, moving her
away from who she is?
If the chemistry be-
tween Julia and Gere
holds the movie to-
gether and makes it
watchable then the
scenes with Hector
and Julia come a close
second.
The love story is
fragile, in a glass case
surrounded by betray-
al, consumerism, com-
promise and cynicism
and the comedy ele-
vates it, giving it an
edge. I could not have
borne it to be a soppy
love film, totally unbe-
lievable and stereotyp-
ical, it is after all a mix
of Cinderella and Pyg-
malion.
Julia Roberts is
beautiful throughout,
astheharshandsmart
street-walker and as
the charming woman
perfectlycoiffuredand
dressed for the opera
orthepolomatch.And
I liked her as both, as
long as she was true to
herself and the char-
acter which withers
away in the end. But
deep down we all like
the underprivileged
making good, we want
to believe in fairy
tales, happy endings –
so Pretty Woman is
watchable. In the
words of Garry him-
self, “What I enjoy do-
ing are films that in
some way celebrate
the human spirit —
where we see the good
side of a human being
or where the down-
trodden rise.”
The movie has a
feel-good factor which
frankly is unconvinc-
ing but then we are
talking romance in
movies, reality is not
what we are looking
for, are we?
Pretty Woman
could go either way
and for millions of
women out there, it
does. Life is a harsh
reality and one keeps
waiting for ‘someone’
to come and change it
but that someone has
to be you… remem-
ber, there are no
Prince Charmings’
in real life and the
best is to take the
sword yourself
and fight your
own battles.
AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY,
MAY 5, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
THIS THROWBACK
THURSDAY, WE GO
BACK A MERE 30
YEARS TO THE
1990 MOVIE
PRETTY WOMAN
AND REVISIT A
ROMANTIC
COMEDY THAT
WAS A HUGE
SUCCESS. TILL
YOU WATCH IT,
LISTEN TO THE ROY
ORBISON CLASSIC,
IT WILL HAVE YOU
HOOKED!
I
NOT
JUST
A
PRETTY
PRETTY
WOMAN!
WOMAN!

10
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/jaipur I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
VAISH,
Model
FACE
OF
THE
DAY!
Aries
MARCH 21 - APRIL 20
All property matters will
be resolved favourably.
Adding to your comfort
on the domestic front
can be one of your aims
today. Your suggestions at work are
likely to be appreciated and imple-
mented too. Joining a gym or
meditation/yoga classes is possible in
the quest for a healthy body and mind.
Gemini
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Good preparation will
keep you in contention
in a competition.
Money comes from
unexpected sources .
Hiring party agreeing to the terms and
conditions for a payment will be like a
financial coup for those freelancing.
You will take up an exercise regimen
that suits your lifestyle.
Leo
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
A social obligation may
make you waste your
time. Financial front
looks okay but don’t let
up on savings. Excellent
man management skills will help you
in managing many things at once on
the professional front. Eating right and
remaining active will help maintain
good health, despite irregular hours.
Libra
SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 22
Keeping a tab on
others will help
strengthen your
position on the
academic front. Peace
prevails on the home front. Your bank
balance is likely to swell and make
you financially secure. Good
performance is likely to get recogni-
tion for you on the professional front.
Sagittarius
NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22
Converting a freehold
property into builder
floors is possible and
will prove a win-win
situation for all. Doing
exceptionally well on the academic
front will add to your prestige. Some
award or recognition awaits those in
a government job. A new health
product may benefit.
Aquarius
JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19
Financially, you will feel
more secure now, than
before. Judicious
spending will help you
save much. Don’t pick
up an argument at workplace as it can
go against you. Wayside food is best
avoided, especially during this season.
Family life will be immensely fulfilling.
Your health remains fine.
Taurus
APRIL 21 - MAY 20
Parents are likely to
give you a free hand in
something you wanted
to do all by yourself.
Whatever preparations
you have done for an exam or
competition will be enough to see
you through. Someone may be
planning to take you out for a meal,
so remain available.
Cancer
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Don’t expect any
concessions on the
promotional front, but
the system will not be
unfair to you. Those
suffering from a lifestyle disease will
succeed in getting it under control.
Your innovations on the home front
will be much appreciated. Possession
of a property may be given to some.
Virgo
AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23
A function at home is
likely to keep you busy
and entertained. You can
be invited to a social
function. Less workload
at work will give you adequate time to
pursue some personal commitments.
Joining a gym or starting an exercise
routine is indicated on the fitness front.
Health will be satisfactory.
Scorpio
OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Marital relationship will
get strengthened by
mutual give and take.
Those travelling by road
are likely to make good
time. You may find yourself growing
financially strong. Your inputs on the
professional front will be much
appreciated. Becoming health
conscious should be your first step.
Capricorn
DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20
You will find someone
knowledgeable enough
to discuss a complex
property matter.
Financially, you could
not have been on a sounder wicket, as
money flows in. A new deal is in the
offing for businessperson and is likely
to prove lucrative. It is time to get
going on the fitness front.
Pisces
FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20
Getting a suitable
accommodation is
foreseen for those
desperate for it. Good
earning will keep your
coffers brimming and keep you in high
spirits. Financially, you are likely to find
yourself on the top of the world. You
will find things moving favourably at
work. Health remains satisfactory.
hat is rheumatoid
arthritis (RA)?
RA is a chronic
(long-term) disease
that causes pain,
stiffness, swelling
and limited motion
and function of many joints.
While RA can affect any joint,
the small joints in the hands
and feet tend to be involved
most often. Inflammation
sometimes can affect organs
as well, for instance, the eyes
or lungs.
Who gets rheumatoid ar-
thritis?
RA is the most common form
of autoimmune arthritis. Over-
all prevalence is approximately
1%, of these, about 75% are
women. 1–3% of women may
get rheumatoid arthritis in
their lifetime. The disease most
often begins between the fourth
and sixth decades of life. How-
ever, RA can start at any age.
How is rheumatoid arthri-
tis diagnosed?
RA can be hard to detect be-
cause it may begin with subtle
symptoms, such as achy joints
or a little stiffness in the morn-
ing. Diagnosis of RA depends
on the symptoms and results of
a physical exam, such as
warmth, swelling and pain in
the joints. Some blood tests also
can help confirm RA.
X-rays can help in detecting
RA, but may not show anything
abnormal in early arthritis.
Even so, these first X-rays may
be useful later to show if the
disease is progressing. Often,
MRI and ultrasound scanning
are done to help judge the se-
verity of RA.
There is no single test that
confirms an RA diagnosis for
most patients with this disease.
(This is above all true for pa-
tients who have had symptoms
for fewer than six months.)
Rather, a doctor makes the
diagnosis by looking at the
symptoms and results from
the physical exam, lab tests
and X-rays.
How is rheumatoid arthri-
tis treated?
Therapy for RA has improved
greatly in the past 30 years.
Current treatments give most
patients good or excellent re-
lief of symptoms and let them
keep functioning at, or near,
normal levels. With the right
medications, many patients
can achieve “remission” — that
is, have no signs of active dis-
ease. There is no cure for RA.
The goal of treatment is to less-
en your symptoms and poor
function. Doctors do this by
starting proper medical thera-
py as soon as possible before
your joints have lasting dam-
age. No single treatment works
for all patients. Good control of
RA requires early diagnosis
and, at times, aggressive treat-
ment. Thus, patients with a di-
agnosis of RA should begin
their treatment with disease-
modifying antirheumatic
drugs — referred to as
DMARDs. Ask your rheuma-
tologist about the
need for DMARD therapy and
the risks and benefits of these
drugs. Patients with more seri-
ous diseases may need medica-
tions called
biologic response modifiers
or “biologic agents.” FDA-ap-
proved drugs of this type in-
clude Abatacept, Adalimumab,
Anakinra, Certolizumab,
Etanercept, Golimumab, Inf-
liximab, Rituximab and Tocili-
zumab. Most often, patients
take these drugs with metho-
trexate, as the mix of medi-
cines is more helpful.
The best treatment for RA
needs things other than medi-
cines alone. Patient education,
such as how to cope with RA, is
also important. Proper care re-
quires the expertise of a team
of providers, including rheu-
matologists, primary care phy-
sicians, and physical and
occupational therapists.
What is the broader health
impact of rheumatoid ar-
thritis?
Research shows that people
with RA, mainly those whose
disease is not well controlled,
have a higher risk for heart dis-
ease and stroke and die early.
LIVING WITH RHEUMATOID
LIVING WITH RHEUMATOID
ARTHRITIS:
ARTHRITIS:
The most common inflammatory joint disease
DR ANU DABER
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
W
Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis
I
t is important to be physi-
cally active most of the
time, but sometimes to
scale back activities when
the disease flares. In gener-
al, rest is helpful when a
joint is inflamed, or when
you feel tired. At these times,
do gentle range-of-motion
exercises, such as stretch-
ing. This will keep the joint
flexible.
When you feel better, do low-
impact aerobic exercises,
such as walking, and exer-
cises to boost muscle
strength. This will improve
your overall health and re-
duce pressure on your joints.
A physical or occupational
therapist can help you find
which types of activities are
best for you, and at what
level or pace you should per-
form them.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
n Newer treatments are effective.
RA drugs have greatly improved
outcomes for patients. For most
people with RA, early treatment
can control joint pain and swell-
ing, and lessen joint damage.
n Start treatment early. Studies
show that people who receive
early treatment for RA feel better
sooner and more often, and are
more likely to lead an active nor-
mal life. They also are less likely
to have the type of joint damage
that requires joint replacement.
YOUR DAY Horoscopeby
SaurabbhSachdeva
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