13032023_First India Mumbai.pdf

‘National Film Heritage Mission giving
new lifeline to heritage of Indian cinema’
New Delhi: Union in-
formation and broad-
casting minister Anur-
ag Singh Thakur on
Sunday visited NFDC-
National Film Archive
of India (NFAI) during
his Pune visit and re-
viewed the progress
made under National
Film Heritage Mission.
The minister stated
that the mission is giv-
ing a new lifeline to the
heritage of Indian cin-
ema, where many films
which were not previ-
ously accessible at all,
will be made available
to audience worldwide
in the best quality avail-
able, while simultane-
ously ensuring the long
term preservation of
Indian cinema. “Na-
tional Film Heritage
Mission (NFHM) is
moving ahead at full
steam at NFDC-Nation-
al Film Archive of India
(NFAI), Pune. As part of
NFHM, 3 major projects
are ongoing at NFDC-
NFAI: Digitization of
Films, Conservation of
Film Reels and Restora-
tion of Films. All these
projects are colossal in
nature in the field of
film preservation and
have never been at-
tempted on this scale
globally,” the ministry
said in a release.
Till date, 1,293 fea-
tures and 1,062 shorts
and documentaries
have been digitized in
4K and 2K resolution.
Additional 2,500 fea-
tures and shorts and
documentaries are in
the pipeline to be digi-
tized.
6 dead in accident on Samruddhi
Expressway in Buldhana district
First India Bureau
Buldhana: Six persons
were killed after their
car met with an acci-
dent on Sunday morn-
ing on the Samruddhi
Expressway in Maha-
rashtra’s Buldhana dis-
trict, a police official
said.
The accident
took place at 8am
at Shivni Pisa vil-
lage when the car,
with 13 occu-
pants, was on
its way
from Au-
rangabad
to Shegaon here, Buld-
hana Superintendent
of Police Sarang Awhad
told PTI.
“The driver of the
car lost control, after
which the vehicle hit a
road barrier
andoverturned.
Six of the car’s occu-
pants, comprising a
man, four women and a
girl, have died. The in-
jured have been shifted
to Aurangabad for
treatment,” the SP said.
E a r l i e r,
some offi-
cials had
cited a
tyre burst
as the prima
facie cause of
the accident,
though they
had added
more details
were awaited from
the site.
MUMBAI l MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 303
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & MUMBAI
FORMER ANDHRA
CM KIRAN KUMAR
REDDY RESIGNS
FROM CONGRESS
New Delhi: Air India handed over an unruly passenger who allegedly smoked
in the lav of a London-Mumbai flight on March 10 and behaved aggressively
with other people on board, to security agencies on arrival. Mumbai Police
have registered a case against the passenger Ramakant (37), a US citizen.
New Delhi: Former Andhra Pradesh CM N Kiran
Kumar Reddy resigned from Congress on Sunday.
Sources said the veteran politician is likely to join
the BJP but only after getting an assurance that he
will be given a suitable position in national politics.
UNION IT MoS TO
MEET STARTUPS
AMID CONCERNS
OVER SVB ISSUE
New Delhi: Union minister of state for IT Rajeev
Chandrasekhar said on Sunday he will meet Indian
startups this week to asses the impact on them
following the collapse of US-based Silicon Valley
Bank. He shared this information on Twitter.
FLYER HANDED OVER TO COPS FOR SMOKING IN FLIGHT
ADANI GROUP PREPAYS
$2.15 BILLION LOANS
AHEAD OF DEADLINE
New Delhi: Adani Group
on Sunday said it has
repaid loans aggregating
USD 2.65 billion to
complete a prepayment
programme ahead of
March 31 deadline to
cut overall leverage in
an attempt to win back
investors’ trust.
WEAPONS, NARCOTICS
SEIZED NEAR LoC IN
J&K’S RAJOURI AREA
Rajouri/Jammu: Army
troops guarding the LoC
recovered small arms and
narcotics from Rajouri
district of J&K on Sunday,
officials said. Two pistols,
an Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) and heroin
was among the recoveries
made, they said.
READ
Crucial
Crucial
BRAHMOS TO BAG $2.5
BN CRUISE MISSILES
ORDER FROM NAVY
New Delhi: The Indian Navy
is going to place orders
for acquiring more than
200 BrahMos supersonic
cruise missiles worth over
$2.5 billion which would be
equipped on all the frontline
warships of maritime force,
the officials said on Sunday.
MODI,
SHAH
LEAD
BJP’S
MISSION
SOUTH
INDIA
I’M BUSY WORKING
FOR PEOPLE, SAYS PM
Congress party busy digging
Modi’s grave, PM stresses
PM inaugurates 118 km
long B’luru-Mysuru E-way
Moni Sharma
Mandya: PM Narendra
Modi on Sunday ac-
cused the Congress and
other Opposition par-
ties of being busy dig-
ging his grave, while he
was striving for the de-
velopment of the coun-
try and the welfare of
the poor, as he also de-
clared that blessings of
the people is his biggest
protection shield. On
his sixth visit this year
to Karnataka, where As-
semblyelectionsaredue
by May
, he also asserted
that the “double engine”
govt is a necessity for
the fast-paced develop-
ment of the state.
Congress never both-
ered about pains and
sufferings of the poor,
he alleged, adding that,
“it was a coalition gov-
ernment (at the Centre)
running with the sup-
port of various types of
people.” BJP govt has
made all efforts to serve
poor, to alleviate their
sufferings, PM said.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Centre
in a filing to the Su-
preme Court on Sunday
stuck to its earlier stand
that same-sex marriage
is not compatible with
the concept of an “Indi-
anfamilyunit”,whichit
said consists of “a hus-
band, a wife, and chil-
dren which necessarily
presuppose a biological
man as a ‘husband’, a
biological woman as a
‘wife’ and children born
out of union between
the two - who are reared
by the biological man as
father and the biological
woman as mother”.
It is submitted that
despite the decriminali-
sation of Section 377 of
IPC, petitioners cannot
claim right for same-sex
marriage to be recog-
nised under the laws of
the country, it said.
PM MODI DEDICATES
WORLD’S LONGEST
RAILWAY PLATFORM
IN KARNATAKA
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Sunday dedicated
to the nation the “longest
railway platform in world”
at Shree Siddharoodha
Swamiji Hubballi Station.
IT’S RAINING FLOWERS! Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives a grand
welcome on his arrival, in Mandya on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Bengaluru-Mysuru
Expressway and other developmental projects in presence of
Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai in Mandya district on Sunday.
PM HOLDS MEGA ROADSHOW AMID
‘MODI-MODI’ CHANTS IN KARNATAKA
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
AFFIDAVIT STATES...
Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
was showered with flower petals as he held a mega
roadshow in Karnataka’s Mandya with crowd chanting
‘Modi-Modi’ on both sides of the road. Modi threw flower
petals which got piled up on the bonnet of his car back
at the cheering crowd at several places as he was given
a rousing welcome during a massive road show in the
district headquarters city of Mandya.
`8,480 CRORE
The 118 Km long Bengaluru-
Mysuru Expressway project
inaugurated in Maddur
75 MINUTES
From over 3 hours to 75 mins,
Expressway will reduce the travel
time between the two cities
6-LANING
Bengaluru-Nidaghatta-Mysuru
section of NH-275 and will act
as development in the region
`4,130 CRORE
Foundation stone for Mysuru-
Kushalnagar 4 lane highway laid
by PM Narendra Modi
z Registration of marriage
of same sex persons also re-
sults in violation of existing
personal as well as codified
law provisions
z Parties entering into
marriage creates an institu-
tion having its own public
significance, as it is a social
institution from which sev-
eral rights & liabilities flow
z Family issues are far
beyond mere recognition
and registration of marriage
between persons belonging
to the same gender
z It will not be permissible
to pray for a writ of this
court to change the entire
legislative policy of the
country deeply embedded in
religious and societal norm
Central govt opposes
same-sex marriages
Second leg of Budget session from today;
Govt says our priority to pass Finance Bill
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The second
leg of Budget session
will commence on Mon-
day with the govern-
ment asserting that its
priority is to pass the
Finance Bill and the Op-
position planning to
raise issues like the ac-
tion of central agencies
against the BJP’s politi-
cal rivals and allega-
tions against the Adani
group. Rajya Sabha
Chairperson Jagdeep
Dhankhar sought views
of leaders of various po-
litical parties on ways to
curb disruptions in the
House at a meeting held
on Sunday
. Opposition
members raised the is-
sue of alleged misuse of
central agencies against
non-BJPgovtsandmove
to appoint Dhankhar’s
personal staff on parl
committees. More on P5
JK’S BUDGET TO BE
PRESENTED IN PARL BY
SITHARAMAN TODAY
Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman will table budget
for the Union Territory of
Jammu and Kashmir for the
year 2023-24 in Lok Sabha
today. The UT is at present
under the central govt rule.
Nirmala Sitharaman will also
present Supplementary De-
mands for Grants - Second
Batch for 2022-23.
First India Bureau
Thrissur: Union HM
Amit Shah on Sunday
urgedpeopleof Kerala
to support his party in
the 2024 general elec-
tions, make India a
secure and developed
country and ensure a
prominent place
amongst the nations.
Addressing the Jan
Shakti rally organised
by BJP in Thrissur, he
said although the peo-
ple of Kerala provided
opportunities alterna-
tively to the Congress
and the Communists
for the past several
years, both have failed
to deliver and could
not bring any develop-
ment in the state. He
said India’s economy
was in the 11th posi-
tion when PM Modi
took over, adding, Nar-
endra Modi govern-
ment took the fight to
Pakistan’s soil follow-
ing Pulwama and Uri
incidents. More on P5
Shah urges people of
Kerala to support BJP
in 2024 general polls
Congress doesn’t know that
the blessings of crores of
mothers, sisters, daughters,
and people is the biggest protection
shield for Modi. —Narendra Modi, PM
l Heterosexual marriages the norm: Centre
opposes pleas in SC over same-sex marriages
l An affidavit, filed by the Central govt
before the Apex court opposing the pleas
is scheduled over for the hearing today
l Over 4 gay couples in recent months have
asked SC to recognise same-sex marriages
The notion of
marriage itself
necessarily and
inevitably presupposes a
union between two per-
sons of the opposite sex.
—Centre
Amit Shah being felicitated by BJP workers in Thrissur on Sunday.
Anurag Singh Thakur
Mumbai ACP Nitin Bobde dies
on duty due to heart attack
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Assistant
Commissioner of Po-
lice (ACP) of Yellow
Gate Division, Nitin
Bobde, died after suffer-
ing a heart attack at his
office between 2 pm and
4 pm on Saturday
.
55-year-old Bobde
came on duty around 10
am, according to Mum-
bai police and rested in
his room after having
lunch around 2 pm.
However, when staff of
his office knocked on
the door, there was no
answer from inside.
Sensing that something
was not quite right, the
staff went inside but
found Bobde to be unre-
sponsive.
The staff rushed him
to St. George Hospital
for treatment, but the
officer could not be re-
vived. The post-mortem
is being conducted at St.
George Hospital.
Bobde was a Senior
Police Inspector at
Mankhurd Police Sta-
tion before taking
charge as Senior Police
Inspector of Matunga
Police Station. He was
then promoted as ACP
and posted at the Yellow
Gate Division.

NEWS
MUMBAI | MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2023
02
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Khadse calls Sanjay Pawar a ‘traitor’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Nationalist
Congress Party’s (NCP)
Ravindra Bhaiya Patil
was defeated by Maha-
vikas Aghadi for the
post of president in Jal-
gaon District Bank.
NCP’s rebel Sanjay Pa-
war has won after se-
cret voting. Meanwhile,
this defeat has come at
the expense of NCP
leader Eknath Khadse.
Speaking to the me-
dia after this defeat,
Khadse said that
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) has got this suc-
cess because of the trai-
tor leader Sanjay
Pawar.
Khadse said, “He did
not deserve to win. Basi-
cally
, I strengthened the
Bharatiya Janata Party
in Jalgaon, so Girish
Mahajan and Mangesh
Chavan got a place in
the party. As one of us
became a traitor, he got
the district bank. Other-
wise, our defeat was not
possible. Whatever Ma-
hajan is saying after
this victory, it is only
because of his ego.”
Khadse said that win-
ning an election by
cheating is not a great
achievement. Fight and
win elections demo-
cratically, he added.
I strength-
ened the
Bharatiya
Janata Party
in Jalgaon, so Girish
Mahajan and Mangesh
Chavan got a place in
the party. As one of us
became a traitor, he got
the district bank. Oth-
erwise, our defeat was
not possible. Whatever
Mahajan is saying after
this victory, it is only
because of his ego.
—Eknath Khadse,
NCP
While addressing
media, Eknath
Khadse said that
‘he did not
deserve to win’
First India Bureau
Pune: Deputy Chief
Minister Devendra Fad-
navis on Sunday said
that the State Govern-
ment is putting efforts
to promote ground wa-
ter conservation. He
said that the govern-
ment is in process to
launchthesecondphase
of a campaign called
‘Jalyukt Shivar 2.0’ in
5000 villages. While
speaking to the media,
Fadnavis said, “we All
know that 50% of Maha-
rashtra witnesses less
rainfall therefore we
don’t have much op-
tions available. During
the previous govern-
ment, we had started
the Jalyukt Shivar pro-
ject by which we could
promote water conser-
vation in 20,000 villages
in Maharashtra. Today,
approximately 37 lacs
hectare of land has
come under irrigation
which is helping the
farmers to take two
crops in a year. Now we
are going to launch
‘Jalyukt Shivar 2.”
“In the first phase of
Jalyukt Shivar 2.0, we
have taken 5000 villages
under this scheme,” he
said.
Fadnavis also men-
tioned that this year ef-
forts will be taken for
the water conversation
in Maharashtra. “This
year is also very impor-
tant as some weather
model has predicted
that there will be limit-
ed rain during this time.
Therefore we have to do
water conservation and
we must save water
drop by drop,” he said.
Fadnavis also appre-
ciated the efforts taken
by the Pani foundation,
a non-profit, non-gov-
ernmental organization
whichworksfordrought
prevention and water-
shedmanagementinthe
state of Maharashtra. “I
also think the Pani
Foundation is working
well for this initiative;
they have engaged near-
ly 40,000 farmers till
now. Most importantly
they are training the
farmers. Therefore even
during my last govern-
ment, I was actively in-
volved to help the Pani
foundations with this
initiative,” he said.
‘Govt to launch Jalyukta Shivar 2.0 in 5000 villages of Maha’
SAVE WATER
The Maharasthra Government is
putting efforts to promote ground
water conservation, Dy CM said
‘DROP BY DROP’
Adani row: Maha
Congress to protest
outside Raj Bhavan
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Congress will stage a
protest outside the Raj
Bhavan in Mumbai to-
day to protest against
the recent Adani-Hin-
denburg row. During
the protest, questions
over the Modi govern-
ment’s silence on the
investigation of scam
by Adani industries
will be raised. Maha-
rashtra Congress chief
Nana Patole said, “The
Modi government has
remained silent and
been turning a blind
eye towards the scam by
Adani industries.
The country is going
through a financial cri-
sis due to Narendra
Modi’s dictatorial rule.
As of now, the financial
scam by Adani indus-
tries has come forth,
and the hard-earned
money of the citizens is
no longer safe. The NDA
government has given
people’s money to Ada-
ni on a platter. Rahul
Gandhi had alerted the
NDA government on
the possibility of a
scam in the Adani
group, but his warnings
were ignored for obvi-
ous political reasons.”
He further added
that Central agencies,
including the Enforce-
ment Directorate, CBI
and Income Tax de-
partment, have been
deployed exclusively
for harassing leaders
of Opposition parties.
“The NDA government
led by Narendra Modi
has a special spot for
industrialist Gautam
Adani. The Modi gov-
ernment is supporting
corrupt Gautam Ada-
ni. The Modi govern-
ment has remained si-
lent on the scam, but
the Congress party is
asking for answers in
the interest of the peo-
ple. ED has initiated
action against political
leaders like Hasan
Mushrif and Sadanand
Kadam, but not a single
word against the in-
dustrialist who has put
public money in jeop-
ardy. Raj Bhavan in
Mumbai will be gher-
aoed after the morcha
from Girgaon Chow-
patty to Raj Bhavan on
Monday at 3 pm. We
will mainly condemn
the misuse of the cen-
tral agencies,” Patole
added.
“Financial scam by
Adani industries has
come forth, and the
hard-earned money of
citizens is not safe”
‘They’ aren’t needed in
our alliance: Athawale
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Raj Thacker-
ay, Eknath Shinde and
Deputy Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis
have often appeared on
the same platform since
the change of power in
Maharashtra. It is be-
lieved that all three
share a very good rela-
tionship with each oth-
er. There are also talks
that the three will fight
the municipal elections
together. Now, Union
Minister Ramdas Atha-
wale has made a state-
ment in this regard.
Athawale said that
they are not needed in
ouralliance.Meanwhile,
Athawale has also de-
manded that the cabinet
should be expanded
while saying that it is
difficult to achieve suc-
cess in Maharashtra
alone. He has also de-
manded three seats in
the Lok Sabha and some
seats in the Legislative
Assembly
. Athawale
said, “We are not wor-
ried about the all-India
meeting being held in
Shirdi on May 27.”
As Shinde has been
given the name and
symbol of the Shiv
Sena by the Election
Commission, Athawale
has expressed the be-
lief that the verdict of
the Supreme Court will
also be in their favour.
Athawale said, “Both
Uddhav Thackeray and
Sanjay Raut are respon-
sible for the vertical
split in Shiv Sena. They
left our support and the
Congress went with the
NCP, which has led to
this situation.”
“Our alliance will
win 2024 Lok Sabha
elections under the
leadership of Narendra
Modi. Rahul Gandhi’s
Bharat Jodo Yatra will
not make any differ-
ence,” added Athawale.
Our alliance will win the 2024 Lok Sabha
elections under the leadership of Narendra
Modi. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra
will not make any difference. The people of Shirdi
will show full faith in me.
—Ramdas Athawale, Union Minister
‘Khadse was in the race for
CM, look where he is now’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Theelection
of Jalgaon District
Bank was held on Sat-
urday which shocked
theNCPleaderEknath
KhadsealongwithMa-
havikas Aghadi as
NCP’s Ravindra Patil
had filed an applica-
tion for the election of
thepresidentfromMa-
havikas Aghadi. How-
ever, NCP’s Sanjay Pa-
war has rebelled and
won by submitting an
application from the
Shinde group. Follow-
ing the same, Minister
Girish Mahajan has
criticized Khadse over
this.
Speaking to the me-
dia, Mahajan said,
“Khadsehadamiscon-
ception that the dis-
trict and the coopera-
tive are because of me.
Inthebank,inthemilk
union, in the assembly
and in the district, I
was the one who faced
the most arrogance of
Khadse. There can be
no other example than
how much a man falls
when he starts flying
in the air.”
“EverythingKhadse
used to say when he
was in BJP is because
of me. He could not re-
tain his own constitu-
ency after leaving the
party
. He was in the
race for the post of
Chief Minister, now
where has he fallen,”
added Mahajan.
“No one from
Khadse’s panel was
elected in the Dudh
Sangh elections. BJP
had boycotted the dis-
trict bank elections
last year. At that time,
Khadse criticized us
and showed how I am
Bahubali. Now, in the
elections held after a
year, BJP and Shiv
Sena (Shinde group)
showed him the posi-
tion,” commented
Mahajan.
Bonde slams Pawar after he
‘winks’ on Uddhav’s reaction
Farmers begin Nashik-to-Mumbai foot march
Nashik (PTI): A foot
march of farmers and
workers spearheaded by
the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) to draw
the government’s atten-
tion towards various
demands of these sec-
tions began from Din-
dori town in Maharash-
tra’s Nashik district to
Mumbai on Sunday
.
The organisers said
that thousands of farm-
ers and unorganised
sector workers are tak-
ing part in the ‘Long
March’ that has been
organised over de-
mands like the Mini-
mum Support Price
(MSP) for onions, ap-
propriate price for agri-
culture produce, elec-
tricity bill waiver for
farmers, speedy com-
pensation for crops
losses due to the unsea-
sonal rains and forest
land rights.
A number of Accred-
ited Social Health Ac-
tivists or ASHA work-
ers and tribals are also
taking part in the
march, they said.
Former MLA J P
Gavit is leading the
march that set off
around 12 noon from
Dindori, around 25 km
from Nashik city
.
The participants
were seen carrying red
flags of the CPI(M) and
placards with slogans
like “Give MSP to on-
ions” written on them.
First India Bureau
Nagpur: BJP MP Anil
Bonde criticized that
opposition leader Ajit
Pawar winked as Ud-
dhav Thackeray react-
ed on the budget. I was
also a Shiv Sainik but
such an insult was nev-
er done during Balasa-
heb’s tenure, said
Bonde while talking to
the media in Nagpur.
Bonde said that it is
sad that Ajit Dada had
to wink while Uddhav
Thackeray was speak-
ing and Shiv Sainiks
felt nothing. When Ajit
Pawar was going to
give 6,000 to the farm-
ers, he said that it
would be Rs 3 per day.
Isn’t this an insult to
the farmers? Did the
farmers get any sup-
port during their gov-
ernment?
“The era of Corona
and Mahavikas Aghadi
was slowing down Ma-
harashtra. But now Fi-
nance Minister Fad-
navis’ economic resolu-
tion is giving happi-
ness to everyone. The
budget is meant for the
balanced development
of the entire state. The
opposition cannot even
speak against this
budget, so they now say
that the electricity bill
of the farmer will in-
crease, but that is not
the case. Now, solar en-
ergy is being in-
creased,” said Bonde.
Isn’t this an
insult to the
farmers? Did the
farmers get any
support during
their
government?
said Bonde
Directors, ex-branch head
of Canara bank sentenced
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Two direc-
tors of fictitious com-
puter companies,
Pravin Bharathan and
Mahesh Nagarajan,
along with a former
branch head of Canara
Bank, S. Mahalingam
have been sentenced by
a special court in con-
nection with a high-
profile bank fraud case
dating back to 2001-
2002.
The offences related
to banking activities
were found to have
harmful effects on cus-
tomers and society at
large. The two directors
were found to have op-
erated fictitious compa-
nies dealing in comput-
ers and their spare
parts. The court has
observed that such of-
fences have far-reach-
ing consequences be-
yond just the banks in-
volved.
Rupture in
fuel pipeline
fixed after 48
hrs of damage
Thane (PTI): A fuel
pipeline in Thane dis-
trict, which ruptured
and caused a fire that
killed one person, has
been repaired after 48
hours.
The 18-inch line,
transporting diesel of
BPCL from Mumbai to
Manmad, was restored
by several agencies
working together. The
fire broke out due to an
underground cable ex-
plosion, and an inquiry
has been instituted to
ensure there is no re-
currence. The police
are also investigating if
fuel was being pilfered
from pipeline, as there
have been instances of
pilferage on this route.
NCP leader Eknath Khadse
Girish Mahajan
Ramdas Athawale
BJP MP Anil Bonde
Nana Patole

MAHARASHTRA
03
US nat’l booked for smoking,
misbehaving on Air India flight
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A case has
been registered against
a US citizen for alleged-
ly smoking in the bath-
room and misbehaving
with other passengers
on Air India London-
Mumbai flight, said
Mumbai Police on Sun-
day
.
The 37-year-old Ram-
akant has been booked
by Mumbai’s Sahar Po-
lice Station for causing
inconvenience mid-
flight on March 11. Ac-
cording to the Mumbai
Police, a case has been
registered under Indian
Penal Code (IPC) sec-
tion 336 (whoever does
any act so rashly or neg-
ligently as to endanger
human life or the per-
sonal safety of others)
and Aircraft Act 1937, 22
(refuse to follow a law-
ful instruction given by
the Pilot-in-Command),
23 (Assault and other
acts endangering safety
or jeopardizing good or-
der and discipline) and
25 (for smoking).
“Smoking is not al-
lowed on the flight but
as he went to the bath-
room the alarm started
to ring and when we all
ran towards the bath-
room we saw he had a
cigarette in his hand.
We immediately threw
the cigarette from his
hand. Then Ramakant
started shouting at all
our crew members.
Somehow we took him
to his seat. But after
some time he tried to
open the door of the air-
craft. All the passen-
gers got scared because
of his behavior and he
started acting a gim-
mick on the flight. He
was not ready to listen
to us and was shouting.
Then we tied his hands
and legs and made him
sit on the seat,” the
crew member of Air In-
dia told the Sahar Po-
lice. The accused pas-
senger didn’t even stop
and started banging his
head.
“One person among
the passenger was a doc-
tor.Hecameandchecked
him. Then Ramakant
said that he has some
medicine in his bag. We
didn’t find any but an e-
cigarette was recovered
whilecheckingthebag,”
the police added.
The 37-year-old
Ramakant has
been booked by
Mumbai's Sahar
Police Station
for causing
inconvenience
mid-flight
Somehow we
took him to his
seat. But after
some time he tried to
open the door of the air-
craft. All the passengers
got scared because of his
behavior and he started
acting a gimmick on the
flight. He was not ready
to listen to us and was
shouting. Then we tied
his hands and legs and
made him sit on the seat.
—Air India Crew Member
Part of Dahisar bridge finally opens after two years of collapse
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The portion
of a reconstructed
bridge on the Dahisar
river, which is also a
crucial link connect-
ing Shrikrishna Naga-
rin Borivali leading to
the highway and rail-
way station, was inau-
gurated on Saturday.
The bridge was shut
down for the commut-
ers in 2021 after a por-
tion of the bridge col-
lapsed.
While one part of the
bridge has been com-
pleted, work on the oth-
er part is still awaiting
clearance from the for-
est department.
Last month, the Ud-
dhav Thackeray faction
of the Shiv Sena had
protested demanding
that the bridge be
opened to the public.
The bridge connects
the Western Express-
way to Srikrishna Na-
gar, Abhinav Nagar and
Shantivan.
The BMC had floated
a tender for the demoli-
tion and construction
of the bridge in Janu-
ary 2022. Work on wid-
ening and reconstruc-
tion of the bridge began
soon after.
“The bridge was re-
constructed using inte-
grated deck slabs. It is
41.5 metres long, and 22
metres wide. Of this,
work on 11 metres of
the bridge, comprising
two lanes has already
been completed,” said
an official from the
BMC. One part of the
bridge near SGNP, falls
under the forest depart-
ment. The BMC has ap-
pointed a consultant to
obtain a NOC. Work on
the second phase will
begin after that.
OFFICIAL SAYS…
lll
While one part
of the bridge
has been
completed, work
on the other part
is still awaiting
clearance from
the forest dept,
which the locals
are also
hopeful for
Zero-tolerance policy,says
AI after smoking incident
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Air India has
takennoteof thealleged
smoking by a passenger
in the lavatory on Sun-
day and subsequently
misbehaving with fel-
low passengers on its
London-Mumbai flight.
The 37-year-old has
been booked by Mum-
bai’s Sahar Police Sta-
tion for his causing in-
convenience mid-flight
on March 11. The Police
said that the accused is
of Indian origin but a
citizen of the United
States of America and
holds a US passport.
“A passenger on our
flight AI130, operating
London-Mumbai on
March 10 2023, was
found smoking in lava-
tory. Subsequently he
behaved in an unruly
and aggressive manner,
despite repeated warn-
ings,” an Air India
spokesperson said.
The spokesperson
added the person was
handed over to the secu-
rity personnel upon the
flight’s arrival in Mum-
bai and the regulator
was informed of the in-
cident. “We are extend-
ing all cooperation in
investigations,” he said.
“Air India follows a zero
tolerance policy for any
behaviour that compro-
mises the safety and se-
curity of passengers
and staff,” spokesper-
son added.
We are extending all
cooperation in
investigations, said
the spokesperson
Pharma firm COO
held by CIU for
smuggling ‘IS drug’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A top official
from a pharma compa-
ny in Bengaluru has
been arrested by the
Mumbai Customs de-
partment’s Central In-
telligence Unit (CIU) for
allegedly smuggling
Tramadol, a scheduled
drug in India, to Sudan
earlier this year.
A recent interception
by the Customs Intelli-
gence Unit (CIU) at the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Ma-
haraj International Air-
porthasrevealedamajor
drug smuggling attempt.
The consignment,
which was declared as
Tamol-X, a calcium car-
bonate tablet, was found
to contain 10.5 lakh tab-
lets of Tramadol, a high-
ly addictive pain medica-
tion. The interception
occurredonFebruary23,
and customs officials
statedthatthesmugglers
went to great lengths to
conceal the drugs.
A potent painkiller in
high demand on the
black market, Tramad-
ol carries the dubious
distinction of being
used by soldiers of the
Islamic State (IS) while
on the battlefield.
The consignment
was being exported to
Sudan by First Wealth
Solutions based in Vir-
gonagar, Bengaluru but
was intercepted. “Sam-
ples from the consign-
ment were sent for test-
ing to the Central Rev-
enues Control Labora-
tory (CRCL) in New
Delhi, which confirmed
the tablets to be Trama-
dol. Subsequently, Gu-
dipati Subramanyam,
the Chief Operating Of-
ficer of First Wealth
Solutions, was sum-
moned for inquiries,”
said a Customs officer.
He added that during
questioning,Subraman-
yam confessed to ille-
gally exported Tramad-
ol in past as well.
A potent painkiller,
Tramadol carries the
dubious distinction of
being used by IS men
in the battlefield
First India Bureau
Navi Mumbai: The
Navi Mumbai Munici-
pal Corporation’s
(NMMC) under-con-
struction elevated stor-
age reservoir (ESR) in
sector 1A, Shiravane,
has been leaking for
around 15 days. Locals
have raised serious con-
cerns over the poor con-
struction work leading
to the leakages.
The NMMC has con-
structed a 1.8 MLD ca-
pacity overhead water
tank in a garden at a
cost of Rs7.18 crore to
serve a population of
50,000. The construc-
tion began in July 2020,
and locals claim that
the garden area has
been permanently af-
fected and cannot be
restored.
Shiravane social ac-
tivist Santosh Sutar al-
leged, “The newly con-
structed water tank at
NMMC is leaking when
filled with water for
over 15 days, which
could reduce the tank's
shelf life due to corro-
sion of the steel. This is
seen as a failure on the
part of NMMC to learn
from a similar incident
at Cidco where an un-
der-construction water
tank collapsed, killing a
few in Kharghar.”
The ESR water tank
is constructed upon a
portion of an acre area
garden plot because of
space constraints. The
work includes a 1.375
MLD ground storage
reservoir, and pump
house, besides earth
filling as part of garden
restoration measures.
When asked about
the issue, the contract-
ing farm’s engineer
Harshad Patil said,
“The hydraulic testing
is on and leakages are
being arrested through
grouting. The leakage
arrest will be completed
soon.”
`7 crore under-construction water tank leaking: Locals
SERVING 50,000
Man allegedly assaults
Polish woman in Amboli;
accused on the run: Police
Mumbai (ANI): The
Mumbai Police have
registered a complaint
against a suspect for al-
legedly raping a foreign
national in the Amboli
area of Mumbai. The
incident took place re-
cently, and the police
are currently searching
for the accused.
The victim is a citi-
zen of Poland, accord-
ing to authorities. The
accused, Manish Gan-
dhi has been charged in
accordance with the rel-
evant sections of the
Indian Penal Code, ac-
cording to Mumbai po-
lice. A police official
investigating the case
said that during the
early questioning, it
was discovered that the
accused sexually as-
saulted the victim sev-
eral times between 2016
and 2022.
The official said,
“The accused used to
blackmail the girl after
capturing inappropri-
ate photos of her. He
used the images to in-
timidate the lady and
threatened to leak them
on social media,” The
police are looking for
the offender, he said.
Customs seizes gold worth `1.40cr
hidden in undergarments shoes
Mumbai (ANI): The
Bombay Customs de-
partment detained
three foreign citizens
who were found carry-
ing gold worth Rs1.40
crore in their footwear
and undergarments.
The suspects have been
taken into custody, and
further legal action
will be taken against
them.
Three foreign citi-
zens who landed in
Mumbai on Friday from
Addis Ababa were in-
tercepted by the cus-
toms department and
gold worth about Rs1.40
crore, weighing 3 kilo-
grams, was seized from
their possession.
The suspects alleged-
ly hid the gold in their
undergarments and the
soles of their shoes, ac-
cording to Bombay Cus-
toms officials.
The agency released
the details in a state-
ment. “Three foreign
citizens who had landed
in Mumbai from Addis
Ababa on March 10th
were detained by Mum-
bai Airport Customs
with more than 3 kg of
gold worth Rs1.40 crore.
The insoles of their
shoes and their under-
garments both con-
tained gold, which was
discovered “The state-
ment read. The matter
is still being investigat-
ed further.
Three foreign citizens
who landed in Mumbai
from Addis Ababa
were intercepted by
customs department

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 303
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe
MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial
Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C
of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville
Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Phone 022-46031417.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Kiren Rijiju
@KirenRijiju
North-East India is witnessing fast
development due to peace. People
who had taken up Arms are returning
back to mainstream due to the
Govt’s people friendly actions. @
PemaKhanduBJP Govt is actively
implementing the major schemes and
policies initiated by @narendramodi Ji.
Bhupender Yadav
@byadavbjp
Big day for the cheetah reintroduction
programme undertaken because of
the decisive leadership of PM Shri @
narendramodi ji! Two cheetahs (one
male and one female) have been
released into the wild in Kuno National
Park from their enclosures. Both
cheetahs are doing good.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid; do not
be discouraged, for the
Lord your God will be
with you wherever you go.
—Bible
IN-DEPTH
BBC, TORY GOVT
CRITICISED FOR
CURBING SOCCER
STAR’S REMARK
he BBC has been in
turmoil ever since
‘Match of the Day’
presenter Gary
Lineker’s suspension
for comparing the Tory govern-
ment’s policy on illegal migrants
with that of Nazi Germany
. The
former ace footballer’s suspen-
sion has led to a boycott of pro-
grammes by several other sports
presenters pushing the broad-
caster in turmoil. Lineker was
the leading scorer for England at
the 1986 soccer World Cup. The
boycotts have forced the BBC to
air only “limited” sports pro-
grammes. Analysts and soccer
players also extended support to
Lineker, once a national hero.
The BBC has come in for
scathing criticism for political
bias and curbing free speech.
Known for unbiased reporting,
the BBC has a Conservative Par-
ty supporter Richard Sharp as
Chairman. In 2021 Sharp helped
arrange a loan for Boris Johnson
who was then the prime minis-
ter. So far there seems to have
been no effort to resolve the cri-
sis. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
has urged the BBC and Lineker
to settle their differences.
TOP TWEETS
T
sraelis in tens of
thousands have
beenprotestingon
Saturdays against
Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s pro-
posed judicial reforms for
greater accountability of the
country’s SC. The protests
have been going on since Jan-
uary
. Israelis are opposing the
proposal which they fear will
mark end of democracy
.
Netanyahu heads a right-
wing coalition which came to
power on December 29, 2022.
Soon after, on January 4, 2023,
the law minister Yariv Levin
announced plans to reform
the judiciary
. The reform pro-
posed to limit the Supreme
Court’spowerstoruleagainst
the legislature and the execu-
tive and to grant majority to
the right-wing coalition on
the judges’ appointment com-
mittee. Following this pro-
posal, weekly protests began
tobeorganizedinthecountry
.
The last of them on March 11,
the protesters’ count was esti-
mated to be around 5 lakh.
Netanyahuisfacingtrialfor
corruption and wants to over-
haul the system to restore bal-
ance between the different
wings of the government as,
in his view, the judiciary en-
joys too much power over the
legislature. Many in India
would be keenly watching the
developmentsasjudiciaryver-
susthelegislatureandjudicial
accountability have been the
subject of much debate. Vice
President Jagdeep Dhankhar
has attacked SC for its judg-
ment in Kesavananda Bharati
case which said that Parl can
amendConstitutionbutnotits
basic structure. The SC has
stoutly defended its powers.
Vice President Dhankhar
and the Union Law Minister
Kiren Rijiju, on the other
hand, have also questioned
the Supreme Court’s power
to quash the National Judi-
cial Accountability Bill
passed by the Parliament.
PROTESTS IN ISRAEL
TO SAVE DEMOCRACY
Israelis in tens of
thousands have been
protesting on Saturdays
against Prime Minister
Benjamin’s proposed
judicial reforms for
greater accountability
of the country’s
Supreme Court
I
INDIA COULD BE THE NEW
CHINA OF THE 2020s
his could be India’s decade if
it plays its cards right. The
subcontinentalstateispoised
to be the next China, even if
its path will likely be less
straightforward than that of
China and more of a Leninist
two steps forward, one step
backwards.
Leaving aside the multiple
domestic issues India will
have to address to realize its
full potential, it is already, in
the words of an Indian ana-
lyst, in a “geopolitical sweet
spot.” Recently concluded
defense and technology
agreements with the US con-
stitute a milestone. The
agreements acknowledge re-
ality, including that one un-
derestimates the US at one’s
peril and that, despite their
domestic travails, the US and
the UK still produce 50% of
the global wealth as opposed
to China and Russia’s com-
bined 20%.
“For India, the West is the
most important trading part-
ner, the dominant source of
capital and technology, and
the major destination for the
Indian diaspora,” said col-
umnist and former member
of India’s National Security
Advisory Board C. Mohan
Raja in a Foreign Policy arti-
cle, titled ‘It’s Time to Tie In-
dia to the West.’ With India
set to become the world’s
third largest economy, Raja
advocated turning the Group
of 7 (G-7), which groups the
world’s foremost democratic
economies, into a G-8 with
India as its newest member.
The agreements reinforce
the notion that supply chain
security and geopolitics
have become as important as
economics and pricing in
creating and/or managing
global value chains. Fur-
thermore, they are a step
towards enabling India to
redress its trade imbalances
skewed in China’s favor. Fi-
nally, the agreements consti-
tute a building block for a
potential future multilateral
security arrangement in the
Gulf in which India would
be a key player.
INDIA AS A
PLAYER IN THE GULF
Gulf security was not fore-
most in the minds of Indian
and US policymakers when
they conceived the agree-
ments. However, inevitably,
that is where the Gulf is go-
ing for multiple reasons.
These include a US desire to
rejigger America’s commit-
ment to Gulf security and
share the burden with region-
al players. The US is not yet
at a point where it is willing
to share control of Gulf secu-
rity commitments with other
external powers. Still, it is
something that policymakers
in both the Trump and Biden
administrations have at vari-
ous times considered.
It’s an option that the US
has not pursued, but neither
has either administration re-
jected it out of hand. “I don’t
think we are ever again going
to see a position where the
United States is prepared to
be the primary security pro-
vider and bear any burden or
pay any price to uphold order
in the Middle East,” said for-
mer Singaporean diplomat
and chairman of the Nation-
al University of Singapore’s
Middle East Institute Bila-
hari Kausikan.
A NEW MULTIPOLAR
WORLD ORDER
India’s regional relation-
ships, ability to get its domes-
tic house in order, and grow
its economy will likely shape
its place in a new 21st centu-
ry world order. This year’s
Indian chairmanship of the
Group of 20, which brings
together the leaders of the
world’s 20 largest economies,
is an opportunity for Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to
showcase where India is
heading.
One focus will be the im-
pact of the rise of Hindu na-
tionalism, the country’s in-
creasingly strained inter-
communal relations, and
what India’s motto for its
chairmanship, “One Earth
One Family One Future”
means in practice. So far, In-
dia, like China, has benefit-
ted from Muslim-majority
states emphasizing national
interests rather than commu-
nal and identity concerns.
However, that may prove to
be a fragile proposition.
The US may have suffered
the least, given its ability to
marshal its allies in Europe
and some in Asia to forcefully
support Ukraine while re-
maining focused on its rival-
ry with China in Asia. Even
so, as former Indian national
securityadvisorShivshankar
Menon notes, “worries re-
main… about the United
States being distracted by
Ukraine from its roles else-
where, particularly in the
Middle East and Africa.”
Thoseworriesarecompound-
ed by the bungled US with-
drawal from Afghanistan in
2021 and concern about the
impact of deep polarization
in the US that is likely to be
reflected in the campaign for
the 2024 presidential election.
SOURCE: FAIR OBSERVER
T
JAMES M DORSEY
The writer is an award-winning journalist
and commentator on foreign affairs who has
covered ethnic and religious conflict and
terrorism across the globe for over 3 decades.
“India….can work with
neighbors to build the
peaceful and more
prosperous periphery that
its own development
demands. It can participate
in the remaking of the rules
of the international system
now underway… And it can
reengage economically with
the dynamic economies of
Asia, participating in
global value chains, to
further its own
transformation,” Menon
said. The decade of India
might finally have arrived.
Leaving aside the
multiple domestic
issues India will have
to address to realize
its full potential, it is
already, in the words of
an Indian analyst, in a
“geopolitical sweet spot.”
Recently concluded
defense and
technology
agreements with the
US constitute a
milestone
The Russia-Ukraine War, China’s intransigent rise, American fixation with
China and Russia and other new geopolitical developments present a
unique opportunity for India to step up in an emerging multipolar world

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05
INDIA
MODI GOVT’S ZERO-TOLERANCE TO
CONTINUE AGAINST TERRORISM: HM
First India Bureau
Manama (Bahrain):
Lok Sabha Speaker Om
Birla has said that India
has a robust participa-
tory democracy along
with a vibrant multi-
party system where
hopes and aspirations
of the citizens find ex-
pression through the
elected representatives.
“All members (MPs)
enjoy the freedom to ex-
press their views and
thoughts in Lok Sab-
ha,” Birla said during
the General Debate at
the 146th Assembly of
Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) here. The
146th Assembly of the
IPU is being held in Ma-
nama from March 11-15.
Birla’s remarks are
being seen as a response
to Congress leader Ra-
hul Gandhi, who had al-
leged that mics were put
off when Opposition
members speak. He,
however, did not men-
tion the former Con-
gress president’s name.
Reiterating India’s
long-standing view that
all “global issues should
be resolved peacefully
through dialogue”, he
said “the Parliament of
India has always held
extensive and meaning-
ful debates and deliber-
ations on contemporary
global challenges such
as climate change, gen-
der equality, sustaina-
ble development and the
Covid-19 pandemic”.
He emphasised that
global institutions
propagating peace, har-
mony and justice are
crucial for peace, pros-
perity, sustainability
and a just world order.
Birla said that in
global institutions like
the UN Security Coun-
cil, there is a broad con-
sensus among many na-
tions to bring about re-
forms to reflect the re-
alities of a rapidly
changing world order.
TheLokSabhaSpeak-
er also stressed that “re-
form in the UN Security
Council cannot be de-
layed any further”.
He said that it is cru-
cial that the subject is
included in future glob-
al agendas so that “we
could contribute more
and more to addressing
challenges such as cli-
mate change, sustaina-
ble development, pov-
erty, gender equality
and terrorism”.
He said India is lead-
ing the world in the ar-
ticulation of Global Cli-
mate Action Plan to
combat the issue of cli-
mate change.
Members have freedom to express views in House: LS Speaker
LS Speaker Om Birla delivers speech on “Promoting peaceful co-existence inclusive societies:
Fight against intolerance” at General Debate during #IPU146, in Manama, Bahrain, on Sunday.
BIRLA IN BAHRAIN
First India Bureau
Hyderabad: Union
Home Minister Amit
ShahsaidonSundaythat
the Modi government’s
policy of zero-tolerance
towards terrorism will
continue in the times to
come and the separa-
tism, terrorism and anti-
nationalactivitiesinany
part of the country will
be dealt with firmly
.
Hesaidtheviolenceis
coming down substan-
tially in Kashmir, while
insurgency in North-
east and Left Wing Ex-
tremism-affected areas
has also reduced.
Addressing a 54th
CISF Raising Day pa-
rade at National Indus-
trial Security Academy
(NISA) here, Shah laud-
ed Central Industrial
Security Force (CISF)
for its work in strength-
ening India’s economy
and said that Naxalities
and terrorists are un-
der control due to CISF.
The UnionHomeMin-
ister said that the CISF
will safeguard crucial
ports and airports in
the country as it has
been doing for the past
53 years. This is the first
time that CISF is hold-
ing the ‘Raising Day’
celebrations outside the
National capital, New
Delhi. It used to be held
at CISF ground located
on the outskirts of Del-
hi, in Ghaziabad.
“CISF has a very im-
portant contribution in
the economic progress
of the country because
any country can pro-
gress only when the se-
curity of its industries,
security of airports and
seaports is ensured.
CISF has fulfilled all the
objectives of the estab-
lishment of CISF in 53
years,” Shah said.
“PM Modi has pro-
posed the vision of a 5
trillion-dollar economy
for which the safe-
guarding of ports, air-
ports, etc is very impor-
tant. CISF will safe-
guard them as they
have been doing for the
past 53 years,” he said.
He further said that
the Home Ministry will
strengthen the CISF
with all technologies in
the upcoming times to
protect the ports, air-
ports and others.
The UnionHomeMin-
ister said that CISF
worked as a first re-
sponder during the
COVID-19 pandemic cri-
sis at airports and rail-
way stations.
At CISF Raising Day, Shah lauds Force’s work in strengthening India’s economy
Union HM Amit Shah at the inauguration of first baffle range ‘Arjuna’ on the 54th Raising Day of CISF,
in Hyderabad on Sunday. CISF Director General Sheel Vardhan Singh (R) also seen. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: During the
firstphaseof Budgetses-
sion, Opposition parties
created ruckus in both
Houses of Parliament
— Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha
— over the
Hindenburg
report on
the Adani
group.
On the
last day of the
first phase of
session on February 13,
the Lok Sabha proceed-
ings went on smoothly
throughout the day, but
the uproar continued in
the Rajya Sabha, follow-
ing which Chairman
Jaideep Dhankhar ad-
journed the House pro-
ceedings till March 13.
Therelationsbetween
the ruling party and the
Opposition have soured
further in the month-
long break, which will
likely affect the Parlia-
ment proceedings.
Former Deputy Chief
Minister of Delhi has
been arrested by the
Central Bureau of In-
vestigation (CBI) and
the Enforcement Direc-
torate (ED). K Kavitha,
daughter of Telangana
Chief MinisterKCRand
involved in the expan-
sion campaign of
Bharat Rashtra Samithi
(BRS), has been ques-
tioned by the ED in Del-
hi. The investigating
agency is continuously
tightening its grip on
RJD supremo Lalu Ya-
dav’s family as well.
❍ 2nd LEG OF PARLIAMENT’S BUDGET SESSION
Rahul, ED-CBI actions to
heat up both the Houses
Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar chairs an all-party meeting before the
second part of the Budget Session, at VP House, in New Delhi, on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Nagaland
was without an Opposi-
tion before assembly
polls. All the parties in
the state were with the
ruling coalition. Al-
though they were not a
part of the government,
but their support was to
the government. After
the elections, it seemed
that there would be an
Opposition in the state
and perhaps a strong
one. But within a week
of poll results, it has be-
come clear that this
time also Nagaland will
be without Opposition.
The Opposition will not
have a single MLA in
the 60-member assem-
bly as all 60 MLAs will
support the govt. Think,
the MLAs of the parties
opposing the BJP at na-
tional level have also
won, but they will also
support the govt.
The two parties of
the ruling coalition,
the NDPP and the BJP,
got 25 and 12 seats re-
spectively, and an abso-
lute majority. Despite
this, all other parties
have supported the
government. Its old ri-
val NPF has five MLAs
and has not got the sta-
tus of the main Opposi-
tion party and it too
has already supported
the government.
Nagaland will be without Oppn,again!
Kolkata (Agencies):
Trinamool Congress
leader Santanu Bando-
padhyay, who was ar-
rested by the Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED)
on Friday in the teach-
er’s recruitment scam
in West Bengal, was re-
manded to three-day ED
custody by a special
PMLA court here on
Monday. Although the
ED counsel had made a
plea for 14-day custody
of Bandopadhyay, the
principal nodal officer
of Hooghly district Zil-
la Parishad, the judge
granted remand till
March 13. Bandopad-
hyay on Saturday
claimed that he has
been framed in this
matter and that it had
been done purposefully
by those who are al-
ready in judicial custo-
dy in relation to the
multi-crore scam. How-
ever, he did not name
anyone specific on this
count. Meanwhile, ED
sources said that the
agency has got definite
proof that Bandopad-
hyay had direct links
with TMC legislator
and the former presi-
dent of West Bengal
Board of Primary Edu-
cation (WBBPE), Manik
Bhattacharya, who is
currently in judicial
custody along with his
wife and son for their
alleged involvement in
the recruitment scam.
Santanu involved in
‘money for transfer’
racket also, says ED
Chennai: Tamil Nadu
Policehaveregisteredan
FIR against former Ta-
mil Nadu CM and inter-
im general secretary of
AIADMK, Edappadi K
Palaniswami (EPS). The
case has been registered
on a complaint by an
Amma Makkal Munnet-
ra Kazhagam (AMMK)
functionary that he was
assaulted by AIADMK
men led by EPS.
EPS was travelling
from Chennai to Ma-
durai and when he was
travelling in an airport
bus to the airport, a
person was making de-
rogatory remarks
against him. Then this
incident happened.
FIR against Palaniswami for
‘assault’ of AMMK worker
CISF ‘RAISING DAY’ CELEBRATIONS
HELD OUTSIDE NEW DELHI FOR 1st TIME
KHARGE MEETS VP DHANKHAR AHEAD
OF 2nd PHASE OF BUDGET SESSION
Hyderabad (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on
Sunday attended the 54th CISF Raising Day parade at
National Industrial Security Acad-
emy (NISA) here. The CISF was set
up under the act of the Parliament
of India on March 10, 1969. Since
then, CISF Raising Day is being
celebrated on March 10 each year.
This year the CISF’s annual Raising
Day celebrations in being held here.
As per officials, this is the first time
that CISF is be holding the ‘Raising
Day’ celebrations outside the National capital, New Delhi.
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president and Leader of
Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge met
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar here on Sunday,
after which he asserted that opposition parties
want a discussion during the second leg of
the Budget session on every burning issue
facing the nation. Kharge also asserted
that opposition parties are keen to play a
constructive role in making the govern-
ment accountable.Kharge met Dhankhar,
who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairman, at
the Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas. “Met @VPIn-
dia, ahead of the forthcoming session of the
Parliament to seek his cooperation,” the Leader of
Opposition in Rajya Sabha said in a tweet.
BUDGET
SESSION
Hyderabad (ANI): The
Bharat Rashtra Samithi
(BRS) leaders set up a
hoarding of ‘Washing
Powder Nirma’ giving
sarcastic welcome to
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah in Hy-
derabad on Sunday.
In continuation to
various posters that
surfaced on the walls
of Hyderabad against
BJP leaders and Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Saturday, an-
other hoarding giving
Amit Shah a sarcastic
welcome has come
up at JBS junction
in Hyderabad today.
Posters against BJP
continue to surface
in Hyderabad since
Saturday when the
BRS MLC and Telan-
gana Chief Minister K
Chandrashekar Rao’s
daughter and MLC
K Kavitha appeared
before the Enforce-
in connection with
the case pertaining to
the now-defunct Delhi
excise policy. The BRS
leaders have put up
a hoarding that read
‘Welcome Amit Shah’.
BRS ‘GREETS’ HM
WITH ‘WASHING
POWDER NIRMA’
POSTERS
Santanu Bandopadhyay was held
in teacher’s recruitment scam.
Edappadi K Palaniswami
PM Narendra Modi with Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio during latter’s
swearing-in ceremony, in Kohima last week. —FILE PHOTO
Dimple Sharma
Samalkha: The RSS
paid tributes to late Sa-
majwadi Party (SP)
leader Mulayam Singh
Yadav, socialist leader
Sharad Yadav, senior
advocate Shanti
Bhushan and Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi’s mother Hira-
ben Modi at its annual
general body 3-day
meeting that began
here on Sunday
.
Around 1400 RSS
workers are participat-
ing in this meet that is
being held in Haryana
after a long gap
of 12 years.
The Sangh
also paid trib-
utes to late
Biju Janata
Dal (BJD)
l e a d e r
and for-
mer Od-
isha minister Na-
bakishore Das,
whowaskilledby
a police officer.
The list also
included the
names of
S a g a r
Sahu
a n d
Budhram Kartam, the
BJP leaders from
Chhattisgarh who
were “martyred in
Naxalite violence”.
The list of noted per-
sonalities who were
paid tributes included
the names of the prime
minister’s mother, Hi-
raben Modi, actor-film-
maker Satish Kaushik,
actor Javed Khan Am-
rohi and singer Vani
Jairam.
Sangh functionar-
ies also paid homage
to industrialists Jam-
shed J Irani and
Vikram Kirloskar.
RSS annual 3-day meet begins in Haryana’s Samalkha town
Birla’s remarks
are being seen
as a response to
Rahul Gandhi,
who alleged that
mics were put
off when Oppn
members speak

06
INDIA
New Delhi (PTI): In-
formation and Broad-
casting minister Anur-
ag Thakur has said that
nearly 1,300 feature and
1,062 short films and
documentaries have
been digitised under
the National Film Her-
itage Mission (NFHM).
Thakur,whoreviewed
the progress made un-
der the Mission during
his visit to the National
Film Archives of India
in Pune, said an addi-
tional 2,500 feature and
shorts films documen-
taries were in the pipe-
line to be digitised.
NFHM is giving a new
lifeline to the heritage
of Indiancinema,where
many films which were
not previously accessi-
ble at all, will be made
available to audience
worldwide,Thakursaid.
Giving new lifeline to cinema: Thakur
NATIONAL FILM HERITAGE MISSION
Srinagar (PTI): At-
tempts are being made
round-the-clock to wipe
out the remnants of ter-
ror in Jammu and Kash-
mir and the “enemy” is
finding it hard to digest
the prevailing peace,
the Union Territory’s
police chief Dilbag Sin-
gh said on Sunday
.
Singh was speaking
to reporters on the side-
lines of the opening cer-
emony of the 71st BN
Mullik Memorial All
India Police Football
Championship at the
Bakshi Stadium.
Asked about the tar-
geted killings, especial-
ly of minorities, in the
Valley, Singh said while
some incidents are tak-
ing place, violence has
largely come down.
“Targeted killings
have also come down.
Some incidents take
place sometimes but we
take those seriously
and counter measures
are being taken. At-
tempts are on day and
night to wipe out the
remnants of terror and
these will continue,”
Singh, the Jammu and
Kashmir director-gen-
eral of police, said. The
police chief also ex-
pressed happiness that
youngsters who used to
“play with grenades”
are today taking part in
sporting activities.
Raipur (PTI): Con-
gress government in
Chhattisgarh has given
out-of-turn promotion
to 77 police jawans post-
ed in different districts
of Bastar division to
recognise their service
in the fight against
Naxalites, an official
said on Sunday. The or-
der for their promotion
was issued by Chhattis-
garh DG) Ashok Juneja
on Saturday on the oc-
casion of Holi.
New Delhi (ANI): In-
dian Navy’s indigenous-
ly built guided missile
frigate, INS Sahyadri
participated in a Mari-
time Partnership Exer-
cise with French Navy
(FN) ships FS Dixmude,
a Mistral Class Amphib-
ious Assault Ship and
FS La Fayette, a La Fay-
ette Class Frigate, in the
Arabian Sea.
As per Defence Minis-
try, the exercise wit-
nessed a wide spectrum
of evolutions at sea
which included cross-
deck landings, boarding
exercises seamanship
evolutions. The seam-
less conduct of the exer-
cise reaffirmed the in-
teroperability and high
level of cooperation be-
tween the two navies.
New Delhi (PTI): The
CBI has brought back a
kidnapping-and-mur-
der accused wanted by
the Kerala Police
through extradition
from Saudi Arabia, the
33rd fugitive extradited
since last year, under
“Operation Trishul” on
Sunday, officials said.
Mohammed Haneefa
Makkata, a fugitive
with an Interpol Red
Corner Notice (RCN) is-
sued against him, was
wanted by the Kerala
Police in connection
with the abduction and
killing of one Karim in
2006, a case that was
probed by the Kunna-
mangalam police sta-
tion in Kozhikode, the
officials said. He was
located in Saudi Arabia
on the basis of the RCN,
they added.
The Interpol unit of
Saudi Arabia informed
the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI)
about Makkata’s loca-
tion and sought a team
to take him back to In-
dia, the officials said.
New Delhi (Agencies):
The collapse of Silicon
Valley Bank, a key lend-
er to US startups since
the 1980s, has also af-
fected several startups
in India, hitting their
daily cash needs and
other running expens-
es. US authorities
swooped in and seized
the bank’s assets after a
run on deposits made it
no longer tenable for the
medium-sized bank to
stay afloat on its own.
Ruchit G Garg, the
chief executive of Har-
vesting Farmer Net-
work, was among the
startup owners in India
whose business felt the
ripple effect of Silicon
Valley Bank’s (SVB)
collapse, the biggest
since 2008 when Wash-
ington Mutual sput-
tered and died.
“We have been bank-
ing with SVB for over 10
years. We have deposits
that are right now stuck
with them. Thankfully
for us, the situation is a
little bit better as most
of our operations are in
India,” Garg said.
“Just by sheer plan-
ning and luck we have a
lot of money already
made as FDI in Indian
entities. But still a large
portion of our money is
sitting in SVB,” he said.
Many other startups,
however, may be in a
much worse situation,
Mr Garg said, citing
young companies that
carry out a bulk of their
operations abroad, es-
pecially in the US.
“Multiple startups
have their money stuck
in SVB, the most seri-
ous being the ones oper-
ating in the US. If they
have been working
mostly in India, they
would have funds
parked in Indian banks
too. The problem is
magnified for startups
that have SVB as the
only main banking
partner,” said Garg.
UTTAR PRADESH GOVERNMENT
TRANSFERS 8 IPS OFFICERS
Dr. Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: The Yogi
Adityanath government
in Uttar Pradesh has
transferred eight senior
IPS officers. Many DIG
and IG rank officers,
including those in Luc-
know and Kanpur have
also been transferred.
IPS Piyush Mordia
Joint CP Law Order
Police Commissioner
Lucknow has been
made the new ADG
Zone of Lucknow
Range. Until now, he
was posted as Joint
Police Law and Order
Lucknow Commission-
er in Lucknow.
Besides, DIG IPS
Upendra Kumar Agar-
wal of Devipatan Range
has been made the new
Joint CP in Lucknow
Police Commissioner-
ate, while DIG IPS
Amarendra Kumar of
Ayodhya Range has
been made the new DIG
of Devipatan.
IG Range Meerut
IPS Praveen Kumar
IG of Ayodhya. IG IPS
Nichketa Jha of Agra
Range has been made
the new IG of Meerut
while DIG IPS of
Aligarh Deepak Kumar
DIG of Agra Range Kan-
pur Commissionerate.
IPS Suresh Kulkarni
posted in Aligarh has
been made the new DIG
while IPS Amit Verma
posted in SIT has been
posted as Additional
Police Commissioner in
Kanpur Police Commis-
sionerate.
ADMINISTRATIVE RESHUFFLE
IPS Praveen Kumar
IPS Piyush Mordia
Indian France Navy conduct
MaritimePartnershipExercise
Wanted murder accused brought
back from Saudi Arabia, says CBI
StartupCEOdecodeseffects
ofUSbank’ssuddencollapse
The ship is a part of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet based at
Visakhapatnam, under the operational control of FOCinC (East).
Mohammed Haneefa Makkata
Ruchit G Garg
Anurag Thakur reviewing National Film Heritage Mission’s progress.
Tapan Kumar, Director, Intelligence Bureau, with JK DGP Dilbagh
Singh and Syed Javaid Mujtaba, ADGP Armed, JK, during 71st
All India Police Football Championship, in Srinagar on Sunday.
Union Minister for Information Broadcasting Anu-
rag Thakur visited NFDC- National Film Archive of
India (NFAI) during his Pune visit and reviewed the pro-
gress made under National Film Heritage Mission. Anu-
rag Thakur stated that National Film Heritage Mission
(NFHM) is moving ahead at full steam at NFDC-National
Film Archive of India (NFAI), Pune. As part of NFHM, 3
major projects are ongoing at NFDC-NFAI: Digitization
of Films, Conservation of Film Reels and Restoration
of Films. All these projects are colossal in nature in the
field of film preservation and have never been attempted
on this scale globally. Till date, 1,293 features and 1,062
shorts and documentaries have been digitized in 4K and
2K resolution. Additional 2,500 features and shorts and
documentaries are in the pipeline to be digitized.
New Delhi (Agencies): Union Minister of State
for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar will
meet representatives of Indian start-ups affected
by the collapse of the troubled Silicon Valley
Bank (SVB) to understand how it has impacted
them and how the government can help. “A few
start-ups have reached out to me, and there is a
general worry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
vision of India’s ‘techade’ has a big role for the success of our start-ups and innovation
ecosystem. We want to be supportive of our young Indians in whatever way we can.
We won’t let the SVB failure slow their growth,” Chandrasekhar said.
UNION IB MINISTER VISITS NFAI, PUNE
AND REVIEWED PROGRESS OF NFHM
UNION MIN CHANDRASEKHAR TO MEET REPRESENTATIVES OF
INDIAN START-UPS HIT BY SILICON VALLEY BANK COLLAPSE
CRUCIAL READ
MADHURI’S MOTHER
SNEHALATA DIXIT
DIES AT AGE OF 90
4 TN FISHERMEN
ARRESTED BY SRI
LANKAN NAVY
Mumbai (PTI): Film star
Madhuri Dixit’s mother
Snehalata Dixit died
here on Sunday. She
was 90. The Bollywood
actor shared the news
in a statement issued to
the media. “Our beloved
Aai, Snehalata Dixit, died
peacefully this morning
surrounded by her loved
ones,” the statement said.
Snehalata Dixit’s last rites
will be performed at Wor-
li’s Vaikunth Dham. Mad-
huri, who is the youngest
of the four siblings, had
shared a heartwarming
post on her mother’s 90th
birthday last year.
New Delhi (Agencies):
Four fishermen from
Pudukottai district of
Tamil Nadu were arrested
by the Sri Lankan Navy for
trespassing into their wa-
ters. The arrest was made
at 4.30 a.m. on Sunday.
The arrested were taken
to the Sri Lankan Naval
base at Paruthithurai
in the island nation for
further questioning. The
arrested fishermen are L.
Arokiaraj (54), A. Ashok
(28), A. Karuppu (22)
and S. Sakthi (21). All the
arrested are from Kottai-
pattanam coastal village in
Pudukottai district.
Muzaffarnagar (Agencies): A young couple have allegedly
died by suicide in Muzaffarnagar. Pankaj (23) and Shivani
(20) were pulled up by the girl’s family over their relation-
ship. Moments later, Pankaj killed himself by consuming
poison and his girlfriend, Shivani also followed suit. Circle
Officer (Budhana), Vinay Kumar Gautam, said, “The two
victims were distant relatives. They consumed poisonous
substances and died during treatment. Further probe is on.”
Guwahati (Agencies): A probe into the death of a person, sus-
pected to be a dacoit, in a police encounter in Assam’s Udalguri
district confirmed that it was a case of “mistaken identity”. The
CID probe concluded that the person killed in the shootout was
not dacoit Kenaram Boro (also known as Kenaram Basumatary)
but a person identified as Dimbeswar Muchahary, who his
family asserted was a “small-time farmer”. The police, however,
claimed he was also a “hardened criminal”. The police claimed
that two policemen were also injured in the “shootout”.
COUPLE ENDS LIFE AFTER FAMILY
DISAPPROVES THEIR RELATIONSHIP
SUSPECTED ‘DACOIT’ SHOT DEAD IN POLICE
ENCOUNTER WAS A FARMER, FINDS PROBE
Attempts being made
to wipe out remnants
of militancy in JK: DGP
77 C’garh cops
receive out-of-
turn promotion
Canberra (ANI): Aus-
tralian Prime Minister
Anthony Albanese on
Sunday said that India
and Australia have
forged a deeper connec-
tion in education, cul-
ture, defence and trade.
“We’ve forged a deep-
er connection between
Australia and India,
from education and cul-
ture to defence and
trade,” Albanese tweet-
ed on Sunday
.
The Australian PM
also shared a video
showing highlights of
his India visit. Alba-
nese on Wednesday ar-
rived in Ahmedabad on
a state visit to India.
The Australian PM
was on an official visit
to India from March
8-11. During the visit,
the Australian PM met
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi at the Hy-
derabad House in New
Delhi to hold bilateral
talks.
The Australian PM
also met External Af-
fairs Minister S Jais-
hankar. The EAM said
Albanese’s visit and to-
day’s annual summit
will take India-Austral-
ia ties to a higher level.
“Delighted to call on
Prime Minister @Al-
boMP of Australia
this morning. His visit
and today’s Annual
Summit will take our
ties to a higher level,”
Jaishankar tweeted on
Friday.
Albanese on Satur-
day thanked Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi for the “extraordi-
nary effort” to make his
Australian delegation
feel welcome in India.
He tweeted, “Thank
you to Prime Minister
@narendramodi for the
extraordinary effort to
make my Australian
delegation feel welcome
in India. Having the
pleasure of hearing
The Triffids and The
Go-Betweens on the si-
tar was unexpected and
extremely touching.”
INDIA, AUS HAVE DEEPENED TIES
IN VARIOUS FIELDS: ALBANESE
THE AUSTRALIAN PM SHARES HIGHLIGHTS OF HIS INDIA VISIT
Aus Prime Min Anthony Albanese shares a
picture of him hugging PM Narendra Modi. Aus PM Albanese shares a picture of bilateral discussions on his Twitter on Sunday.
l We have forged
stronger links in
education, culture,
defence: Aus PM
New Delhi (PTI) : India and Australia have agreed to
conclude the negotiations for a comprehensive free trade
agreement “as soon as possible” as there is huge potential
to enhance bilateral commerce in the next 5 years, as per
joint statement issued on Sunday. The statement was
released after the meeting of Union Minister Piyush Goyal
and Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell
here on March 11. Both countries have already implement-
ed an economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA)
in December 2022 and are now negotiating to widen
the scope of that pact into a comprehensive economic
cooperation agreement (CECA). “Ministers look forward to
concluding CECA as soon as possible,” the statement said.
TALKS FOR COMPREHENSIVE FREE TRADE
AGREEMENT ‘AS SOON AS POSSIBLE’

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 56,890.00 00.00 0.00 (Per 10g)
SILVER 65,700.00 00.00 0.00 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.05 0.00 0.00
GBPINR 98.01 0.00 0.00
CURRENCIES
Two-wheeler PV exports decline in Feb
New Delhi (PTI): Exports
of two-wheelers, passenger
vehicles and three-wheel-
ers from India declined by
35% in February mainly
due to the weakening of
currencies against the US
dollar in destination coun-
tries, especially in the Afri-
can continent.
According to data re-
leased by industry body
SIAM, shipments of two-
wheelers, passenger vehi-
cles and three-wheelers
declined to 3,01,561 units
last month from 4,63,025
units in February 2022.
Two-wheeler exports
dropped by 37% to 2,35,087
units last month from
3,75,689 units in the year-
ago period.
Motorcycle shipments
units in the year-ago
period.
Scooter exports, howev-
er, rose to 33,378 units as
compared with 24,830 units
in February 2022.
ACCORDING TO DATA BY SIAM
DATA IN
NUMBERS
z Two-wheeler exports
dropped by 37% to
2,35,087 units last month
from 3,75,689 units in the
year-ago period
z Motorcycle shipments
units in Feb 2022 period.
Scooter exports, however,
rose to 33,378 units
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Bank of Ma-
harashtra (BoM) on Sun-
day announced a reduc-
tion in the interest rate on
home loans to 8.4% from
the existing 8.6%. The
new rate is effective from
March 13, 2023, BoM
said. The home loan at
8.4% makes it one of the
lowest in the banking sec-
tor. Besides, it said, the
bank has also a special
rate of interest (ROI) for
defence personnel, in-
cluding paramilitary forc-
es, benefiting salaried and
pensioner categories for
home loans. —PTI
BoM CUTS HOME
LOAN RATE TO 8.4%
FROM EXISTING 8.6%
New Delhi: After witness-
ing the withdrawal of
funds in the last three
months, Gold exchange-
traded funds (ETFs) at-
tracted a net flow of `165
crore in February, mainly
due to a slight correction
in gold prices. This was in
comparison to a net out-
flow of `199 crore regis-
tered in January, `273
crore in December and
`195 crore in November.
Prior to that, Gold ETFs
attracted `147 crore in
October, data from Asso-
ciation of Mutual Funds in
India showed. The de-
mand for physical Gold in
India is largely driven by
festival and wedding
season. —PTI
GOLD ETFs RECORD
`165 CRORE INFLOW
IN FEBRUARY 2023
New Delhi: Eight of the
top 10 valued firms faced
a combined erosion of
`1,03,732.39 crore in
market valuation last
week, with Reliance In-
dustries and ICICI Bank
taking the biggest hit
amid an overall weak
trend in equities. Barring
Bharti Airtel and ITC,
eight firms suffered ero-
sion from their mcap. RIL
remained the most valued
firm, followed by TCS,
HDFC Bank, Infosys, ICICI
Bank, HUL, SBI, ITC,
HDFC Airtel. —PTI
8 TOP COMPANIES
LOSE `1.03 LAKH
CRORE M-CAP
New Delhi: Reversing
their selling trend, foreign
investors have infused
over `13,500 crore in the
Indian equities so far in
March primarily driven by
bulk investment from US-
based GQG Partners in
the Adani Group. This
came following a net out-
flow of `5,294 crore in
February. Prior to that,
FPIs made a net invest-
ment of `11,119 crore in
December, data with the
depositories showed.
According to the data,
FPIs invested `13,536
crore in Indian equities till
March 10. —PTI
ADANI BLOCK DEAL
HELPS FPI INFLOWS
TURN POSITIVE
*Rates till the edition went to print.
=
=
=
=
INDIA’S CHEMICAL DEMAND LIKELY TO JUMP TO
$1,000 BILLION BY 2040: MCKINSEY REPORT
New Delhi: India is likely to account for more than a fifth of incre-
mental global consumption for chemicals over the next two decades
as domestic demand is projected
to rise to $1,000 billion by 2040,
McKinsey said in a report. In the
report titled ‘India: The next chemi-
cals manufacturing hub’, McKinsey
said the country’s chemical industry
has been a global outperformer in
demand growth and shareholder
wealth creation over the last decade. The sector is projected to grow
at 11-12% during 2021-27 and 7-10% during 2027-40 -- tripling its
global market share by 2040. —PTI
INDIA AGREES TO RUSSIA OPERATING MORE
PASSENGER FLIGHTS CONNECTING 2 COUNTRIES
New Delhi: India Russia have “in principle” agreed to revise
their bilateral air services agreement whereby Russian carriers will
be allowed to operate as many as
64 weekly flights to various Indian
cities. Presently, Russia can oper-
ate up to 52 weekly civilian flights.
India has “in principle” agreed to
increase the number of weekly
flights that Russian carriers can
operate to India to 64 from 52. In
this regard, the bilateral air services agreement will be amended in
due course, an official said. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
GOVT TO PROVIDE
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
TO PROMOTE GI
New Delhi: The government
will provide financial assis-
tance to eligible agencies for
undertaking initiatives for the
promotion of Geographical In-
dications (GIs) products. The
Department
for Promotion
of Industry
and Internal
Trade (DPIIT)
has issued operational guide-
lines for financial assistance
for undertaking the initiatives
for the promotion of GIs. A GI,
a kind of IPR, is primarily an
agricultural, natural or manu-
factured product (handicraft
and industrial goods) originat-
ing from a definite geographi-
cal territory. —PTI
LAMBORGHINI EYES
TIER I, TIER II CITIES
FOR INDIA BIZ GROWTH
New Delhi: Having established
a presence across top cities in
India, Automobili Lamborghini
is now eyeing customers in
smaller centres to generate
additional volumes. The Italian
automaker is
bullish on the
country’s eco-
nomic growth,
a rise of first-
generation entrepreneurs and
large-scale road infrastructure
development to fuel future
business growth. Lamborghini
India Head Sharad Agarwal
said India is already one of the
biggest markets for the Italian
brand and the country has
huge potential for growth in
the coming days. —PTI
SAYS RBI MPC MEMBER
INFLATION LIKELY TO
FALL OVER THE YEAR
New Delhi (PTI): Infla-
tion is expected to come
down over the year, RBI
Monetary Policy Commit-
tee (MPC) member Ashima
Goyal said on Sunday, as-
serting that the govern-
ment’s supply-side action
coordinated with a flexible
inflation-targeting regime
has kept the rate of price
rise lower than that in
other countries.
Goyal said that India has
successfully dealt with
‘pluri-shocks’ over the past
three years, showing con-
siderable resilience.
“Inflation rates are ex-
pected to come down over
the year. “Government
supply-side action coordi-
nated with a flexible infla-
tion targeting regime has
kept Indian inflation rates
lower than other countries
and our own past averages
even in this period of ma-
jor adverse external supply
shocks,” she said. She was
asked whether high infla-
tion become the norm in
India.
“Since nominal policy
rates rise with inflation to
maintain an expected real
positive rate under infla-
tion targeting this prevents
demand over-heating and
anchors inflation expecta-
tions,” she noted.
Goyal said policy rates
had been cut steeply dur-
ing the pandemic, so they
had to be raised fast after
recovery was established.
“But policy rates must
not rise too much at pre-
sent because of slowing
external demand. Domes-
tic demand must be al-
lowed to compensate,” she
emphasised.
According to Goyal, as
long as the expected future
real policy rate does not
rise much above unity, RBI
is not over-tightening.
Tax mop-up may fall
short of RE: Official
New Delhi (PTI): The gov-
ernment may not achieve a
revised tax collection tar-
get of `30.43 lakh crore for
the current financial year,
a top official said.
Revised estimate was
raised steeply by over 10%
from the budget estimate in
the FY24 Budget presented
last month, the official said.
The revised estimates
(RE) for the current fiscal
pegged gross tax revenues
at `30.43 lakh crore, higher
than the budget estimates
of `27.57 lakh crore.
On the direct tax side,
the official said, “The RE
was quite steep. We are ex-
pecting a shortfall. The net
collections could be be-
tween `15-15.5 lakh crore.”
In the current fiscal, the
revenues from direct tax
(which includes income
and corporate taxes) are
projected to grow by over
17% at `16.50 lakh crore
compared to 2021-22 fiscal
when the collection was
`14.20 lakh crore. In the
current fiscal, the revenue
from corporate tax is ex-
pected to come in at `8.35
lakh crore. This is project-
ed to rise by 10.4% to over
`9.22 lakh cr in next fiscal.
Personal income tax col-
lections this fiscal are esti-
mated at `8.15 lakh crore
and are projected to rise by
10.4% to over `9 lakh crore
next year.
DATA IN
NUMBERS
z The revised estimates (RE)
for the current fiscal pegged
gross tax revenues at `30.43
lakh crore, higher than the
budget estimates of `27.57
lakh crore
z In the current fiscal (2022-
23), the revenues from direct
tax are projected to grow by
over 17% at `16.50
lakh crore
Global cues and
inflation trends
to drive maket
New Delhi (PTI): Domes-
tic equity investors are
likely to keep a close watch
on global cues, especially
the fallout of the US-based
Silicon Valley Bank fail-
ure, inflation trends and
foreign fund flows in the
coming week after days of
volatile trading sessions.
Analysts opined that in-
vestors will be waiting for
the consumer price infla-
tion data for February to be
released on Monday
.
“Poor global cues were
major contributors to the
weakness in the Indian eq-
uity markets, and they will
continue to be significant
next week,” Santosh Mee-
na, Head of Research at
Swastika Investmart Ltd,
said ahead of the start of
new week.
India, Aus to conclude talks for CECA soon
New Delhi (PTI): India
and Australia have agreed
to conclude the negotia-
tions for a comprehensive
free trade agreement “as
soon as possible” as there
is huge potential to en-
hance bilateral commerce
in the next five years, ac-
cording to a joint statement
issued on Sunday
.
The statement was re-
leased after the meeting of
Commerce and Industry
Minister Piyush Goyal and
Australia’s Minister for
Trade and Tourism Don
Farrell here on March 11.
Both countries have al-
ready implemented an eco-
nomic cooperation and
trade agreement (ECTA) in
December 2022 and are now
negotiating to widen the
scope of that pact into a
comprehensive economic
cooperation agreement
(CECA).
“Ministers look forward
to concluding CECA as
soon as possible,” the state-
ment said.
The CECA will create
new employment opportu-
nities, raise living stand-
ards and improve the gen-
eral welfare in both coun-
tries, it added.
“India-Australia bilater-
al trade exceeded $31 bil-
lion last financial year.
Both agreed that given the
trade complementarities
between the two countries,
there is considerable po-
tential for significantly en-
hancing bilateral trade
within the next 5 years,”
the statement said.
Centre to infuse more
capital in public sector
general insurers
New Delhi (PTI): The gov-
ernment may have to in-
fuse more capital in the
three public sector general
insurance companies to
improve their financial
health, a senior govern-
ment official said.
The government last
year provided `5,000 crore
capital to three insurers
--National Insurance Com-
pany Limited, Oriental In-
surance Company Limited
and United India Insur-
ance Company
.
Based on the perfor-
mance in the FY23, the fi-
nance ministry would take
a call as to how much capi-
tal they would require to
meet regulatory require-
ment, the official said.
They are not in good fi-
nancial health and fund
would be infused in these
entities to augment their
solvency margin, the offi-
cial added.
The solvency margin is
the extra capital the com-
panies must hold over and
above the claim amounts
they are likely to incur.
It acts as a financial
backup in extreme situa-
tions, enabling the compa-
ny to settle all claims.
As per the regulator IR-
DAI’s mandate, the mini-
mum solvency ratio insur-
ance companies must
maintain is 1.5 to lower
risks.
In terms of solvency
margin, the required value
is 150%.
MAJOR
HIGHLIGHTS
z The government may have
to infuse more capital in the
three public sector general
insurance companies to
improve their financial health
z The govt last year provided
`5,000 crore capital to
National Insurance Company
Limited, Oriental Insurance
Company Limited and United
India Insurance Company
INDIAN SOFT DRINK MARKET
TO GROW: PEPSICO BOTTLER
New Delhi (PTI): The Indian soft drink market is expect-
ed to see “significant growth” as consumption is antici-
pated to increase steadily
, which will deliver sustainable
and healthy volume
growth across all prod-
uct categories, said
Varun Beverages Ltd
(VBL), PepsiCo’s larg-
est franchise bottler.
This would be driv-
en by factors such as
shifting population de-
mographics, the rising
spending power of
young consumers, accelerated urbanisation, and growing
rural consumption. The company is in the process of fur-
ther expanding its capacities to meet the higher demand
expectations. Its distribution model and on-the-ground
end-to-end infrastructure facilities continue to be the key
growth drivers and VBL remains committed to extending
it to newer areas and under-penetrated regions.

08
2NDFRONT
If one has to progress in life, we
must take out time to introspect
on our present and learn from
our past, on a daily basis.
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Enforce-
raided the house of Na-
tional Congress Party
(NCP) leader Hasan
Mushrif at 5 am on Sat-
urday. Also, the ED has
arrested Shiv Sena
Thackeray group MLA
Anil Parab’s close asso-
ciate and businessman
Sadanand Kadam in
the Sai Resort case.
These two incidents
have made the Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
face dark clouds and
come under. Sanjay
Raut has referred to
Kirit Somaiya as Popat-
lal and Chandrakant
Khaire has now alleged
that Somaiya gets mon-
ey from ED.
After the ED action
against Sadanand Kad-
am and Hasan Mush-
rif, Khaire has alleged
that Kirit Somaiya gets
commission from ED.
“Kirit Somaiya is the
broker of ED. Somaiya
gets commission from
ED money. That is why
Somaiya already
knows about the En-
forcement Directorate
action,” said Khaire.
“How does a BJP per-
son knows about ED’s
action? Who will be at-
tacked? Who will be ar-
rested? How does So-
maiya know this?”,
commented Khaire.
On the other hand,
Sanjay Raut criticized
Somaiya as the parrot
of Mulund. In response,
Somaiya said that both
Sanjay Raut and Ud-
dhav Thackeray are co-
medians like Kapil
Sharma. The reaction
of both of them makes
me laugh.
Kirit Somaiya gets commission from ED: Khaire
Kirit Somaiya —FILE PHOTO
VERBAL ATTACKS
After action
against Kadam
and Hasan
Mushrif, Khaire
has alleged that
Kirit Somaiya
gets commission
from ED
WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE
Mumbai Indians bowler Amelia Kerr with teammates celebrates the wicket of UP Warriorz player Kiran Navgire during the Women’s Premier League (WPL) T20
cricket match, at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Bachhu Kadu’s ‘dog ’ remark
creates row in Assam assembly
First India Bureau
Mumbai: It seems like
Achalpur MLA Bach-
chu Kadu does not stay
far from the limelight
as the MLA from Maha-
rashtra is now current-
ly in political discus-
sions in Delhi and As-
sam. A statement made
by him in the Maha-
rashtra Assembly
caused confusion in the
Assam Assembly
. Along
with this, MLAs of op-
position parties in As-
sam have also demand-
ed Kadu's arrest while
opposing his 'dog state-
ment' passed against
Assamese people.
Independent MLA
from Achalpur and
President of Prahar
Janshakti Party Bach-
chu Kadu had given a
controversial statement
regarding Assam while
speaking regarding
back stabbing legisla-
tors of Maharashtra.
Kadu had said, “Send
all the stray dogs of Ma-
harashtra to Assam.
They have value there.
People in Assam eat dog
meat. The people there
eat dog meat like we eat
deer. These dogs will be
traded. We came to
know about it when we
went to Guwahati.
Meanwhile, Kadu's
statement has heated
up the atmosphere in
the Assam Assembly
and faced a huge uproar
over Kadu's statement
in the budget session of
the Assam Legislative
Assembly. Because of
this, Governor Gulab
Chand Kataria also had
to stop his speech. Con-
gressMLAKamalakhya
Purkayastha raised the
issue and said, Why is
the government silent
on this after such a con-
troversial statement re-
garding Assam? Mean-
while, the opposition
legislators have also
demanded the arrest of
Kadu.
KADU APOLOGIZES
Don’t be loyal to
leaders, but Shivaji
Maharaj: Bachhu
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Shiv Sena,
Nationalist Congress
Party, Congress along
with allied parties
formed the Mahavi-
kas Aghadi and
formed the govern-
ment in 2019. But 7
months ago, 40 MLAs
from the party split
with Shiv Sena MLA
Eknath Shinde and
formed a new group
of MLAs. As a result,
the coalition govern-
ment in the state col-
lapsed. Eknath Shin-
de's new group
formed a new govern-
ment with the BJP.
When Shinde re-
belled,BachchuKadu,
an MLA from Prahar
Jan Shakti Party
, Shiv
Sena's ruling ally
, also
stood with Shinde.
Shiv Sena chief Ud-
dhav Thackeray
, Yuva
Sena president and
MLA Aditya Thacker-
ayareconstantlycriti-
cizing all these MLAs.
Rebel MLAs are being
called 'traitor' MLAs.
Meanwhile, Bachchu
Kadu has responded
to Uddhav Thacker-
ay's criticism.
Achalpur MLA
Kadu said, “Some call
us traitors. Absolute-
ly, we are traitors. We
are traitors to lead-
ers, not people. This
Bachchu Kadu is not
one of those who en-
slave the leaders.”
Meanwhile, Kadu
also gave the basic
mantra of loyalty to
the workers by say-
ing, “You should not
be loyal to leaders.
Don't take sides. Be
loyal only to your fa-
ther, be loyal to
Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj.”
“Absolutely, we are
traitors. We are
traitors to leaders,
not people”
First India Bureau
Mumbai: While the
H3N2 flu virus, which
has been increasing res-
piratory illnesses
across the nation, has
prompted the union
health ministry to urge
states to be vigilant, it
has only been found in
a few cases at the BMC's
Kasturba Hospital over
the past few months, ac-
cording to civic health
officials on Saturday
.
We have been receiv-
ing one or two cases of
H3N2everymonthinthe
flu panel tests done pri-
marily for H1N1 virus,
BMCchief healthofficer
Dr Mangala Gomare
said on Saturday
.
According to Sanjay
Khandare, the state
health secretary, there
are currently no H3N2
cases. He said, We will
increase our monitor-
ing and perform ge-
nome sequencing in ac-
cordance with the Un-
ion government's in-
structions. However,
doctors claim that there
is proof of constant vi-
ral attacks at different
outpatient clinics and
hospitals, where pa-
tients are arriving with
fevers caused by the flu
as well as other viruses
like adenoviruses and
the respiratory syncyt-
ial virus. Poor data is a
result of high costs; The
reason for poor data are
costs; while the first flu
panel with the H1N1 test
costs `8,000, the other
panels (if the first panel
is negative) could range
from `1,500 to `20,000.
Our statistics indi-
cate that influenza A
and H3N2 cases are on
the rise across the na-
tion, said Dr Nilesh
Shah of Metropolis
Laboratory. Every
month, the facility runs
hundreds of flu panel
tests, and in January
and February, the
amount of H3N2 has
been increasing.
According to the un-
ion health ministry,
H3N2 instances began
to increase in the mid-
dle of December 2022
and may begin to de-
cline in March, when
the flu season will have
ended in many regions
of the nation.
In Mumbai, where flu
cases typically start ris-
ing in June, doctors
blame the “strange
weather patterns” for
high viral activity
.
Not only H3N2, but others too take Mum by storm
Mumbai (ANI): A For-
mula 1 car caught fire
during the Oracle Red
Bull racing event in
Mumbai's Bandra on
Sunday, officials have
confirmed. The inci-
dent occurred at Band-
stand in Mumbai's Ban-
dra where the car rac-
ing was taking place.
The rescue team ar-
rived promptly and
managed to extinguish
the fire. Fortunately, no
casualties have been re-
ported in the incident
and further details are
awaited in the case.
Oracle Red Bull Rac-
ing runs billions of
race-strategy simula-
tions on Oracle Cloud
Infrastructure (OCI),
helping give drivers get
their best chances to
win. The event marked
the return of Oracle Red
Bull racing to India af-
ter an eight-year hiatus.
F1 car catches fire during
Oracle Red Bull racing
The rescue team arrived promptly managed to extinguish fire.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Flagging ris-
ing air pollution in
Mumbai and bad air
quality, the city civic
body has set up a panel
to suggest dust control
measures. The commit-
tee comprising seven
members under the
chairmanship of Addi-
tional Municipal Com-
missioner (Western
Suburbs) Sanjeev Ku-
mar, will suggest dust
control measures,
which will be strictly
implemented in BMC
(Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation)
areas from April 01, an
official statement said
on Sunday.
As per the directions
given by Municipal
Commissioner I S Cha-
hal, the panel shall sub-
mit a report within
seven days. The dust
control measures will
be strictly implemented
in the BMC area from
April 01, 2023, and strict
action will be taken
against violators, said
the statement issued by
the BMC.
The municipal com-
missioner on Sunday
reviewed the Mumbai
Beautification Project,
air pollution control
measures, and the pre-
paredness for the up-
coming G20 meeting.
The air quality in
Mumbai region includ-
ing the city is currently
bad due to changes in
the wind speed condi-
tions combined with
dust arising from vari-
ous development and
construction works,
which are going on a
large scale.
In view of this, dust
is the main factor re-
sponsible for air pollu-
tion. To control it, a
committee comprising
seven members has
been constituted under
the chairmanship of
Additional Municipal
Commissioner(Western
Suburbs) Sanjeev Ku-
mar, it said, adding
stringent action includ-
ing stopping the
construction work will
be taken against viola-
tors of dust control
measures.
The air pollution sit-
uation has arisen like
never before in the
Mumbai metropolitan
city. In the post-COV-
ID-19 period, the dust
generated by large-
scale construction as
well as various develop-
ment works, and chang-
es in the wind speed are
the two main factors,
the statement said.
Civic body sets up
dust control panel
AIR POLLUTION IN MUMBAI
As per the directions given by
Municipal Commissioner I S
Chahal, the panel shall submit
a report within seven days.
The dust control measures will
be strictly implemented in the
BMC area from April 01, 2023.

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MUMBAI | MONDAY,
MARCH 13, 2023
GLOW LIKE A
THE RAINBOW ARE THE STANDARD
ICON OF HAPPINESS AND HOPES.
CITY FIRST BRINGS TO YOU RAINBOW
FASHION IDEAS THAT WILL BRIGHTEM
UP YOUR WARDROBE!
ressing in vibrant
hues is always a risk,
and not every lady is
brave enough to try it.
Wearing multicol-
oured clothing re-
quires bravery and a
powerful personality
. Because
colours have tremendous pow-
er in our minds, they can al-
ter our moods and emotions
the moment we see them.
And if are talking about
colours, the great VIB-
GYOR is no behind.
With the growing
fashion trend, it’s no
wonder that rainbow
fashion has become an enor-
mous trend these days, from
colourful sweaters and coats to
rainbow miniskirts, dresses,
purses, and even shoes! This
year, designers are certainly
embracing the rainbow style.
The rainbow hues remind
us of all of the most beautiful
objects in the world, which are
typically found in nature. We
venerate hues like red, yellow,
orange, blue, purple, indigo,
and green, and we are smitten
by all the bright colours
around us!
BEAUTIFUL VIBRANT
SLEEVELESS DRESS
With spaghetti
straps, a V-neck-
line, a floor-
length skirt
with ruffles,
and a mix of
various paral-
lel and pike
stripes, this vi-
brant dress
paired with a
matching hat
is perfect for those who want to
be the centre of attention!
TRADITIONAL MULTICOLORED
SHORT SLIT DRESS
This traditional dress is ideal
for wearing during the day and
has a tube form, V-neckline,
delicate straps, and multicol-
oured, shiny sequin patterns.
Because of its refined tones, it
pairs well with muted shoes
and handbags.
EXQUISITE MULTICOLOR
SHORT DRESS
This incredibly stunning gown
is perfect for those who adore
shine. It had a round closed
neckline, a pucker design
around the waist, long, semi-
puffed arms, and gorgeous
broad patterns that were all
covered in multicoloured se-
quins. This ensemble looks
fantastic when paired with a
gold purse.
DAZZLING VIBRANT
STRIPED SKIRT
If you want to make a state-
ment, this long skirt is an ex-
cellent choice for you. This
gorgeous knee-length gown
has a high waistline and beau-
tiful, breathtaking patterns
that finish in a pike. With such
a lovely gown, some black or
white shoes would be ideal!
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
D

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