Shah sounds poll bugle in T'gana, expresses confidence of BJP storming to power in 2023

Shah sounds poll bugle in T’gana, expresses
confidence of party storming to power in 2023
Hyderabad (PTI):
Sounding the poll bugle
in Telangana, Union
Home Minister and BJP
veteran Amit Shah on
Saturday hit out at the
TRS government in the
state for alleged corrup-
tion and unkept prom-
ises and said his party
is ready to face the polls,
due in the state next
year.
Addressing a public
meeting in Thakkugu-
da, which marked the
culmination of state
BJP president Bandi
Sanjay Kumar’s second
phase of ‘padayatra’
(foot march), Shah ap-
pealed to the electorate
to defeat the ruling TRS
and make the saffron
party successful in the
2023 elections.
“Do we need to
change the Nizam of
Telangana or not,” he
asked the gathering, in
an obvious reference to
Chief Minister K Chan-
drasekhar Rao.
Accusing the TRS
government of failing
to fulfil the major
planks of separate Tel-
angana agitation of
“water, funds and jobs”,
Shah said BJP, if elect-
ed to power, would im-
plement them.
He also said his party
would end minority res-
ervations in the state
and increase the quota
for STs, SCs and back-
ward classes.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses a public meeting in
Telangana’s Thukkuguda on Saturday.
India’s -turn on
wheat exports
Modi govt prohibits wheat exports with
immediate effect to curb rising prices
THE DECISION COMES
JUST TWO DAYS AFTER
GOVT ANNOUNCED PLANS
FOR BIG EXPORT PUSH
WHAT INDIA TOLD THE
WORLD ON WHEAT?
THE EXEMPTIONS
New Delhi: India has banned
wheat exports with immediate
effect as part of its steps to con-
trol the spike in prices at home.
The notification issued by Di-
rectorate General of Foreign
Trade (DGFT) said that the gov-
ernment had taken the decision
“in order to manage the overall
food security of the country
and to support the needs of the
neighbouring and other vulner-
able countries”.
Global buyers had been bank-
ing on India - the world’s sec-
ond largest wheat producer af-
ter China - for supplies after
exports from the Black Sea re-
gion dropped since Russia’s in-
vasion of Ukraine in late Feb-
ruary.
The move to ban wheat
exports comes after huge crop
loss due to a heatwave in March.
The government is also under
pressure to rein in inflation
that surged to 7.79 per cent
in April.

z “There is no move to curb
wheat exports, as the country has
sufficient stocks of wheat,” Food
Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey
had told Reuters

z Notably, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has also boasted
about India’s ability to feed the
world through wheat exports

z During a recent visit to
Germany, he stated that Indian
farmers have come forward “to
feed the world” despite a global
wheat scarcity

z According to official estimates,
India has reduced its wheat output
expectation by 6.3 tonnes as a
result of heatwave
Only export shipments for
which letters of credit have
been issued on or before the
notification will be allowed. The
government will allow exports on
requests from other countries, the
notification issued by Directorate
General of Foreign Trade said.
After Deb resigns, Manik
Saha to be next Tripura CM
Agartala: Rajya Sabha
MP Manik Saha will be
the new chief minister
of Tripura, replacing
Biplab Deb, who re-
signed after four years
in office on Saturday
. In
a sudden move, Deb re-
signed just a year ahead
of 2023 state election.
Deb made the an-
nouncement after meet-
ing with the governor,
SN Arya, at the Raj
Bhavan in Agartala.
Saha is also the in-
cumbent Tripura BJP
chief.AsTripuraCM,he
will now lead the BJP
fight to retain the state
in the upcoming assem-
bly elections.
“We are taken by sur-
prise. Don’t know what
prompted him. But obvi-
ously, he had discus-
sions with the party’s
top central leadership.
The party may have
some plans and we are
confident that it will be
good for the party,” a
minister in Deb’s cabi-
net reportedly stated.
Later, during a legis-
lative meeting, Saha
was chosen as the next
CM candidate.
INCOMING: Manik Saha OUTGOING: Biplab Deb
Ex-Punjab Cong
chief Sunil Jakhar
quits party on Fb
Chandigarh: Con-
gress’s former Punjab
chief Sunil Jakhar an-
nounced his resigna-
tion from the party in a
Facebook Live post.
Jakhar was report-
edly enraged by the
Congress’s response to
his anti-party actions.
“Good luck and good-
bye Congress,” he said
before praising Rahul
Gandhi, but slamming
various party leaders.
Gyanvapi Mosque
survey in Varanasi
starts peacefully,
will resume today
Varanasi: The videog-
raphy survey of the
Gyanvapi Masjid com-
plex in Varanasi which
resumed on Saturday
following a local court
order was carried out
without any interrup-
tion as all parties coop-
erated, officials said.
All parties, their ad-
vocates, court commis-
sioners and videogra-
phers were present dur-
ing the survey
They said that the
survey work will con-
tinue on Sunday
.
Thesurveywasstalled
last week amid objec-
tionsbymosquecommit-
tee, which urged the
court to the advocate
commissionerappointed
by the court on ground
of being biased.
SC BENCH HEADED BY
JUSTICE CHANDRACHUD
TO HEAR PLEA AGAINST
GYANVAPI SURVEY
New Delhi: A bench headed
by Justice DY Chandrachud
in the Supreme Court will
hear the plea seeking a stay
on the survey of the Gyan-
vapi Mosque complex. The
order directing the registry
to list the matter before
Justice Chandrachud was
uploaded on the Supreme
Court website.
MODI TO VISIT
KUSHINAGAR TODAY
arendra Modi to visit Kushinagar in UP on
Sunday before his flight to Nepal. Dalits
(Scheduled Castes) had shrugged off
Mayawati and voted enmass for the BJP in UP,
more than the OBC community as
per a BJP
survey.
On May
17, Modi
will return via UP again where meet-
ing of all MLAs, MPs and MLCs
is convened at CM Yogi’s
residence to flag off 2024
effort from UP.
EXCLUSIVE
N
NEW DELHI l SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 255
OUR EDITIONS:
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NEW DELHI & MUMBAI
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NUKING PAK BETTER
THAN GIVING POWER
TO THIEVES: IMRAN
Issuing a confounding state-
ment, exPM of Pak Imran
Khan said that “dropping an
atomic bomb would have
been better than handing over
the helm to the thieves”.
CRUCIAL READ
SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN ZAYED
AL NAHYAN NEW UAE PRESIDENT
Abu Dhabi: The Supreme Council of the United Arab
Emirates on Saturday elected Sheikh Mohamed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan as the President of the
country. He has replaced Sheikh Khalifa
Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who died at the
age of 73 on Friday. Mohammed bin
Zayed (MbZ), the former president’s
half-brother, has been the de facto ruler
of the UAE for years now, particularly after Khalifa
suffered a stroke in 2014.
‘BETTING NETWORK INFLUENCED 2019
IPL RESULTS WITH INPUTS FROM PAK’
New Delhi: The CBI has filed two cases to probe the
betting network in the 2019 IPL on the allegations that,
“a network of individuals involved in cricket betting are
influencing the outcome of Indian Premier League (IPL)
matches based on input received from Pakistan.” The CBI
is conducting searches at four locations in 3 states. P3
CONGRESS' NAV SANKALP CHINTAN SHIVIR
RAHUL, YET AGAIN, DEMAND
CONGMEN IN UNISON!
Aditi Nagar, Yogesh Sharma
and Naresh Sharma
Udaipur: In a meeting
convened in the Con-
gress’s Chintan Shivir
(Nav Sankalp Shivir) go-
ingoninUdaipur,onSat-
urday
, all the leaders
raised the demand to
make Rahul Gandhi the
nationalpresidentagain.
According to sources, af-
ter the demand of the
leaders, Sonia
Gandhi called
ameetingof
state Congress presi-
dents, in-charges, lead-
ers of opposition of all
the states on Saturday
.
The issue of handing
over the command to Ra-
hul may also arise in the
CWCmeetingonSunday
.
In the meeting, all the
leaders raised their
voice that after becom-
ing the President, Ra-
hul should go on a tour
of the country and
stressed that this Jan
Jagran Yatra should be
taken out in all the
states. Through this
visit, Rahul Gandhi
should create an atmos-
phere for the Congress
in all the states regard-
ing the 2024 Lok Sabha
elections.
There was also
talk of preparing a
roadmap to make the
journey organized and
effective. It is notewor-
thy that elections for
the post of Congress
President are to be held
in August. It is believed
that Rahul Gandhi will
once again become the
President of the Nation-
al Congress and after
this, he can start the
Jan Jagran Yatra from
October.
Before the start of
the Nav Sankalp Shivir,
there was speculation
that there would be a
discussion on making
Rahul Gandhi the na-
tional president in the
camp. The Congress
high command was dis-
missing these specula-
tions, but now it has
been decided on the sec-
ond day of the camp
that the party is looking
at Rahul Gandhi as the
national president.
Sources say that this
issue was raised in the
meeting because the in-
fluence of Congress in
North India is decreas-
ing since the last several
elections. It is believed
thatRahulGandhi’svisit
is necessary to infuse en-
ergy back into the party
leaders and workers. In
the last elections, the
Congress has suffered a
lot not only in Uttar
Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi
but also in North India
andotherregionsinclud-
ing West Bengal, Goa.
Turn to P8
Rahul Gandhi
BJP WILL SOON FORM GOVT
IN PUNJAB: JP NADDA
Ludhiana (Agencies):
BJP National President
JP Nadda on Saturday
predicted that his party
would soon form govern-
ment in Punjab given the
“current situation” in the
state. He also lauded the
BJP for becoming the
first party in 37 years to
secure two consecutive
terms in Uttar Pradesh. At
a public rally here, Nadda
said, “We do not have our
government in Punjab,
but looking at the results
of Punjab and the current
situation here, I can say
that in the coming times,
BJP government will
be formed in the state.”
In the recent Punjab
assembly polls, the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) had
emerged victorious by
sweeping 92 out of the
117 Assembly seats. The
runner-up, Congress was
able to secure 18 seats,
while Shiromani Akali
Dal (SAD) won only three
seats and the BJP only
two. Nadda’s remarks
have come in the wake of
an RPG attack on Punjab
Police’s intelligence unit
in Mohali.
GEHLOT’S ‘CHAIR PE CHARCHA’
WITH MEDIAPERSONS!
A big change is about to
come in the party: Raj CM
Udaipur: The sec-
ond day of Congress’
NavSankalpChintan
Shivir brought a sur-
prise with it as Raj
CM Ashok Gehlot
along with national
spokesperson Ran-
deep Surjewala and
PCC Chief Dotasra
held an informal in-
teraction with the
journalistsintheme-
dia center over cup
of tea. During his in-
formal talks, Gehlot
said, “There is an ex-
tremely dire situa-
tion in the country
today
. The media of
the country is under
pressure from cen-
tral govt as ED, I-T,
CBI raids are carried
outonmediacenters.
The media of the
country is very
strong, it has the
power to change the
govt, like it did previ-
ouslyonmanyissues
like 2G Coalgate.”

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2022
02
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Mundka fire: 29 missing; toll likely to rise
New Delhi (PTI): A day
after a massive fire in a
building in outer Del-
hi’s Mundka claimed 27
lives, frantic relatives
were still searching for
their loved ones with
police saying that 29
people remained unac-
counted for.
According to the fire
department, the death
toll could increase to 30
as charred human re-
mains were found in
the building during
cooling operations on
Saturday morning.
Twelve injured are un-
dergoing treatment at a
hospital here.
The fire department
saidthefour-storeybuild-
ing, which did not have a
firesafetycertificate,had
a single entry and exit
point. “The building had
a single escape route
which is why there were
so many casualties.
Twenty-seven people
havedied,”Chief FireOf-
ficer Atul Garg said.
He said it is suspected
that an explosion in an
AC may have triggered
the fire. Garg added it
was difficult to ascer-
tain whether the re-
mains found on Satur-
day morning were of
one person or more.
Harish Goel and his
brother Varun Goel,
owners of a CCTV cam-
era and router manu-
facturing and assem-
bling company, in
whose office the fire is
suspected to have start-
ed, have been arrested,
Deputy Commissioner
of Police (Outer) Sa-
meer Sharma said.
So far, the DCP said,
seven of the 27 deceased
have been identified --
Tania Bhushan, Mohini
Pal, Yashoda Devi, Ran-
ju Devi, Vishal, Drishti
and Kailash Jyani.
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal and his
deputy Manish Sisodia
visited the spot on Satur-
day. The chief minister
announced a compensa-
tion of Rs 10 lakh each
for the kin of the de-
ceased and Rs 50,000 for
those injured in the fire,
which started from the
first floor of the build-
ing.
Lieutenant Gover-
nor Anil Baijal said he
was “deeply pained”
by the loss of lives in
the tragedy, and called
for immediate steps to
prevent such incidents
in the future. He also
extended his condo-
lences to the bereaved
families.
Distraught relatives
of the missing persons
thronged the Sanjay
The fire started from first floor that houses office of a CCTV camera and router manufacturing and
assembling company. Charred bodies were found on second floor of the building during search
Fire tenders at the incident site as rescue operations underway at the four-storey building where a fire broke out leaving at least 27
persons dead and 12 injured near Mundka Metro station, in Delhi on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
NDMC seeks building plan approval, fire NOC
details from zonal authorities in 48 hours
CM Kejriwal announces compensation, orders inquiry
CHARRED HUMAN REMAINS FOUND DURING SEARCH
New Delhi (PTI): Charred human remains were found on Saturday on the
second floor of the building in outer Delhi's Mundka area where a massive fire
broke out a day back, Delhi Fire Service (DFS) officials said. It is suspected that
an explosion in an AC may have triggered the fire, DFS Director Atul Garg said.
Twenty-seven people have died so far in the blaze that ripped through the four-
storey building on Friday. The fire started from the first floor that houses the of-
fice of a CCTV camera and router manufacturing and assembling company, the
police have said. The owners of the company, Harish Goel and his brother Varun
Goel, who were detained earlier, have been arrested, Deputy Commissioner of
Police (Outer) Sameer Sharma said Charred human remains were found on the
second floor of the building during a search operation by our fire fighters.
New Delhi (PTI): The
North Delhi Municipal
Corporation on Satur-
day sought a detailed
report from Narela
Zone authorities, in-
cluding the type of
area and tentative year
of construction, of the
building in Mundka
where a massive fire
broke out claiming the
lives of at least 27 peo-
ple, officials said.
Frantic relatives
were still searching for
their loved ones as po-
lice said 29 people were
unaccounted for.
NDMC Commission-
er Sanjay Goel has
asked the local civic
authorities to treat the
issue with top priori-
ty.
The details have to
be submitted within 48
hours, the communica-
tion said, adding that it
is learnt that the fire
broke out reportedly
due to short circuit.
NDMC has asked
them to furnish details
about the type of area
-- whether it was in the
category of residen-
tial, agricultural or Lal
Dora -- where the build-
ing is located.
Single entry
exit made
escape difficult,
say officials
New Delhi (PTI):
The Mundka
building which
was ravaged by a
fire that claimed
27 lives had a sin-
gle entry and exit
point, which could
explain the reason
for the high num-
ber of casualties,
a senior fire de-
partment officer
said on Saturday
.
The building
also did not have a
no-objection cer-
tificate (NOC)
from the fire de-
partment, the of-
ficer added.
The fire started
from the first floor
of the building
that houses the
office of a CCTV
camera and
router manufac-
turing and assem-
bling company on
Friday
.
Long wait for families
of missing persons
New Delhi (PTI): Sit-
ting outside Sanjay Gan-
dhi Memorial Hospital
in Mangolpuri area here
since Friday night, Su-
man (name changed)
breaks down every now
and then as she anxious-
ly awaits an update
about the whereabouts
of her elder daughter
Pooja (19). Accompany-
ing the middle-aged
woman is her younger
daughter Pinky (18), her
eyes also swollen from
crying.
Pooja is among the 29
people who remain un-
accounted for after a fire
ripped through a four-
storey building in outer
Delhi's Mundka on Fri-
day evening. She recent-
ly started working with
a CCTV camera and
router manufacturing
and assembling compa-
ny that operated out of
the building. Pooja was
the sole breadwinner of
her family, Suman said.
She used to say you
don't have to work, I will
earn money. Her father
died in 2012. I used to
work as a house help
and earn a meagre
amount. But since she
got the job, she was han-
dling everything, said a
distraught Suman, wip-
ing her tears.
Hearing her mother
talk about Pooja, Pinky
too broke down and
said, Where is she? We
have been sitting here
since last night. I have
been asking the officials
for an update but they
have no answer.
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
CM Arvind Kejriwal an-
nounced a compensa-
tion of `10 lakh each to
the kin of the deceased
and `50,000 for those in-
jured in the Mundka
building fire incident
that claimed 27 lives. A
day after the massive
fire at a four-storey
building left distraught
relatives at the Sanjay
Gandhi Hospital here
were still looking for
their loved ones.
Among them, are
family members of
Praveen who said they
have been searching for
him since the fire broke
out at the building in
Mundka on 13 Friday.
We have no idea
where he is. The hospi-
tal authorities are also
not saying anything.
Praveen's phone is not
reachable. We are just
hoping that he is okay,
they said.Charred hu-
man remains were
found on the second
floor of the building
during a search opera-
tion by our fire fighters.
But we cannot say if it
is the remains of one
body or several bodies.
Though the fire has
been doused, the cool-
ing and search opera-
tions still continues,
DFS Director Atul Garg
said.
Delhi Govt approves
induction of 1,500
low-floor electric buses
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhi government on
Friday approved the in-
duction of 1,500 low-floor
electric buses in its pub-
lic transportation fleet,
an official statement
said.
The Delhi Transport
Corporation (DTC) also
decided to allocate 10
sites to various agencies
for setting up Electric Ve-
hicle (EV) charging sta-
tions and battery awap-
ping stations under Del-
hi EV Policy 2020, it said.
The city government
also gave its approval to
run 75 inter-state buses
along 11 routes across
five states and a Union
Territory
.TheDTCboard
also decided to enhance
the stipend paid to wom-
en during training for
engagement to the post
of drivers on contract ba-
sis from Rs 6,000 to Rs
12,000 per month with
HMV driving licence.
The board had already
dropped the condition of
holding an HMV driving
licence for at least three
years for women seeking
employment as bus driv-
ers in its fleet, the state-
ment said.
The 10 sites which
have been allocated to
various service provid-
ers for establishing EV
charging and battery
swapping stations are
Ambedkar Nagar Depot,
Jal Vihar Terminal, Dil-
shad Garden Terminal,
Karawal Nagar Termi-
nal, Shadipur Depot,
Mayapuri Depot, Bind-
pur Terminal, East Vi-
nod Nagar, Punjabi
Bagh, and Rohini Depot-
I. DTL has identified
four service providers
through a competitive
bidding process who will
soon sign an agreement
with DTC for setting up
the EV charging/battery
swapping stations in
these locations. The DTC
Board also resolved to
provide in-principle ap-
proval for procurement
of 75 (38 non-AC and 37
AC) CNG standard floor
buses for inter-state op-
erations, it said.
Kejriwal’s meeting with Delhi AAP MLAs on
BJP’s demolition drive cancelled: Sources
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal’s meeting with
his party’s MLAs, which
was scheduled for Satur-
day, has been cancelled
in the wake of a massive
fire in outer Delhi’s
Mundka in which 27
lives were lost, official
sources said.
Several other events,
including the inaugura-
tion of electric vehicle
charging points by Dep-
uty Chief Minister Man-
ish Sisodia, have been
cancelled as well, they
said.
Kejriwal, national
convenor of the Aam
Aadmi Party, was sched-
uled to hold a crucial
meeting with party leg-
islators here to prepare
a strategy to counter the
anti-encroachment
drives launched by the
BJP-ruled municipal
corporations in the na-
tional capital. The meet-
ing was scheduled to
begin at 11 am at the
chief minister’s official
residence in Civil Lines.
The fire in the four-
storey commercial
building on Friday start-
ed from the first floor
that houses the office of
a company which manu-
factures and assembles
CCTV cameras and rout-
ers, the police have said.
Kejriwal and Sisodia
visited the spot to take
stock of the situation.
The Delhi chief min-
ister announced a com-
pensation of Rs 10 lakh
each to the kin of the
deceased and Rs 50,000
for those injured in the
blaze.
New Delhi (PTI) The
Delhi University Friday
revised the program-spe-
cific eligibility for the BA
(Hons) multimedia and
masscommunicationun-
der the Common Univer-
sity Entrance Test, giv-
ing a choice to students
to select a subject from 27
listed ones. Earlier, it
was made mandatory for
the student opting for the
course of mass commu-
nication to give the Mass
Media/Mass Communi-
cation exam.
“It is hereby notified
that Program-Specific
Eligibility Criteria for
B.A. (Hons.) Multimedia
and Mass Communica-
tion is changed to: Any
one Language from List
A + Any one subject from
either List B1 or List B2
+ Section III (General
Test),” the university
said in a statement.
New Delhi (Agencies):
Avian migration in India
is usually assumed to be
a winter phenomenon as-
sociated mainly with wa-
ter birds making trans-
continental journeys to
arrive at our shores.
However, there’s a spe-
cial set of birds which
migrate to old forests of
Delhi and the surround-
ing areas in the summer.
On World Migratory Bird
Day today, we ask bird
watchers and city pho-
tographers for their in-
sights on migratory
birds which can still be
spotted in Delhi-NCR.
“Blue-tailed and
Blue-cheeked bee-eaters
kick off the summer mi-
gration of birds that
come to the region to
breed. One can see these
at Gurugram’s Aravalli
Biodiversity Park, Man-
gar Bani and Aravalli
Biodiversity Park in
Vasant Kunj,” shares
Anita Mani, a birder
from Delhi.
“Dense patches of na-
tive vegetation play an
important role in the
breeding ecology of
these migratory birds.
Some of these birds are
endemic and can only be
found in our country, and
it is a delight to see them
return year after year to
almost the same wooded
areas. These birds are
looking for abundance of
insects and nesting habi-
tats to raise their chicks
safely. We should protect
the forests for a holistic
approach towards bird
conservation,” says So-
hail Madan, assistant
director, Bombay Natu-
ral History Society. To
birding enthusiasts, he
advises, “If a chick is
found outside the nest, in
distress, provide water
for drinking. It’s best not
to remove it, and wait for
the parent bird.”
“Red-headed bunting
usually migrates to Del-
hi-NCR in rabi crop sea-
son... I spotted one at
Mangar Bani in April’s
last week,” shares wild-
life photographer Ram-
veer.
World migratory bird day: Spot these summer beauties
CUET:DU revises programme
specific eligibility for mass comm
Gandhi Hospital on Fri-
day night hoping to get
information about
them. One of them, Ajit
Tiwari, said his sister
Monika (21) had started
working for the compa-
ny just a month back.
“She received her first
salary on Thursday. We
gottoknowaboutthefire
at 5 pm, but had no idea
that the blaze broke out
at her office building.
When she did not return
home by 7 pm, we started
looking for her,” he said.
ILLEGAL STRUCTURES LED TO LOSS OF
LIVES IN FIRES IN DELHI
New Delhi (PTI): Scant regard for fire safety norms,
buildings functioning without required clearances and
illegal factories have led to loss of precious lives in
fire incidents in Delhi in recent years, with the blaze
in Mundka. In terms of casualties, Friday's fire at the
commercial building was the largest since the blaze at
a factory in the Anaj Mandi area and the second largest
since the Uphaar Cinema tragedy in 1997. The Mundka
factory blaze has so far claimed the lives of 27 people
while 29 people are still reported to be missing. Twelve
people were injured in the fire that ravaged the four-
storeyed building that had a single and narrow entry
and exit route making escape difficult.

Taking the Himachal
Pradesh government to
task, the National
Green Tribunal (NGT)
has stayed the contro-
versial Shimla Draft
Development Plan
(SDP), 2041, which was
cleared by the state cab-
inet last month, and
also issued a notice to
the chief secretary, ask-
ing him to file a reply
within a month.
An NGT bench, head-
ed by chairperson Jus-
tice Adarsh Kumar
Goel, in its May 12 or-
ders, held the proposals
and observations in the
SDP to be illegal. Re-
buking the state gov-
ernment, the NGT ob-
served that the
Himachal Pradesh gov-
ernment was “trying to
assume jurisdiction of
appellate authority
over the NGT in breach
of rule of law”. “(It’s)
not expected from a law-
ful government which
has to work as per law
and the Constitution,
and not at its fancies as
appear to be the case,”
states the order while
further stating that the
chief secretary will be
“personally held liable
for prosecution for such
patent illegal acts of the
state authorities”.
The SDP, which in
violation of the NGT
orders of 2017, proposes
to allow constructions
in Shimla’s most vul-
nerable areas, includ-
ing the green belts, the
core area and even the
sinking zone, was an-
nounced by the state
government in Febru-
ary this year and then
cleared by the cabinet
on April 27.
The SDP also pro-
poses to allow relaxa-
tions in the building
height and number of
storeys.
The NGT orders have
come on a fresh petition
filed by Yogendra Mo-
han Sengupta, an envi-
ronmentalist and the
original petitioner in
the landmark NGT rul-
ing that had banned all
constructions in Shim-
la in 2017.
Sengupta, in his peti-
tion filed before the tri-
bunalearlierthismonth,
pleaded that the SDP
was contrary to the sus-
tainable development
principle and destruc-
tive of environment and
public safety
.
NGT stays Shimla development plan, 2041
RAMPANT CONSTRUCTION IN HILLS
Stuttgart (Agencies):
Agriculture ministers
from the Group of Seven
industrialisednationson
Saturday condemned In-
dia’s decision to ban un-
approved wheat exports
after the country was hit
byapunishingheatwave.
“If everyone starts to
impose export restric-
tions or to close markets,
that would worsen the
crisis,” German agricul-
ture minister Cem Oz-
demirsaidatapresscon-
ference in Stuttgart.
India on Saturday
banned wheat exports
without prior govern-
ment approval after re-
cent scorching tempera-
tures hit production, in
a blow to countries af-
fected by supply short-
ages because of the war
in Ukraine.
India, the world’s
second-largest wheat
producer, said that fac-
tors including lower
wheat production and
sharply higher global
prices because of the
war meant that it was
now worried about its
own “food security”.
Allexportdealsagreed
before the directive is-
suedonFridaycouldstill
be honoured, but all fu-
tureshipmentsneededto
have government ap-
proval. However, exports
could also take place if
New Delhi approved a
request by other govern-
ments“tomeettheirfood
security needs.”
The decision came as
global agricultural mar-
kets were under severe
stress due to Russia’s in-
vasion of Ukraine.
The traditional
bread basket has seen
shipments disrupted,
with the Ukrainian ag-
riculture minister trav-
elling to Stuttgart for
discussions with G7
colleagues on getting
its produce out. Some
“20 million tonnes” of
wheat were sitting in
Ukrainian silos and “ur-
gently” needed to be ex-
ported, Ozdemir said.
G7 NATIONS CRITICISE INDIA’S
MOVE TO STOP WHEAT EXPORTS
If everyone starts to impose export restrictions or to close markets,
that would worsen the crisis, says German Agriculture Minister
Chamba (Agencies):
Union Information and
Broadcasting,YouthPro-
gram, and Sports Minis-
ter Anurag Singh
Thakur chaired a meet-
ing with the officers of
various departments of
the district at Bachat
Bhawan and issued in-
structionstostartaware-
ness activities under the
JanJagaranAbhiyanfor
the eradication of mal-
nutrition in the district.
The Union Minister
also asked officers to
prepare an action plan
within the time-bound
frame under the stand-
ard points of the inspi-
rational district related
to the agriculture sector.
While reviewing the
work being done under
the Pradhan Mantri
Gram Sadak Yojana, he
asked to give priority to
road expansion in the
Scheduled Castes domi-
nated areas and villag-
es having populations
of less than 250.
Chennai (Agencies):
Central intelligence
agencies have issued
warnings against the
possibility of former
cadres of the now-de-
funct Liberation Ti-
gers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) trying to re-
group and carry out at-
tacks during the Tamil
Genocide Remem-
brance Day on May 18,
sources in the Tamil
Nadu Home Depart-
ment said.
The Tamil Genocide
Remembrance Day is
marked annually by the
Sri Lankan Tamils
on May 18, the date
on which the over
25-year-old Civil War in
the island nation ended
in 2009.
With Sri Lanka un-
dergoing the worst-ev-
er economic crisis
since it gained inde-
pendence in 1948 as
well as the recent vio-
lence that erupted in
the island nation, the
possibility of certain
Tamil groups, includ-
ing the former LTTE
cadres, regrouping and
planning attacks is
worrying the Indian in-
telligence agencies, the
sources told media.
A network of individu-
als involved in cricket
betting in the Indian
Premier League (IPL)
influenced matches
held in 2019 based on in-
puts received from Paki-
stan, said the Central
Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) on Saturday, add-
ing that a case has been
filed in the matter.
“This network is in-
fluencing outcome of
Indian Premier League
matches based on in-
puts received from Paki-
stan. In the garb of bet-
ting related to IPL
matches, they are cheat-
ing the general public
by inducing them for
betting,” said the pre-
mier investigation
agency
.
The agency has listed
one Dileep Kumar,
based in Rohini, Delhi,
and Gurram Vasu and
GurramSatishfromHy-
derabad in its FIR as ac-
cused. For betting pur-
poses, the said network
opened bank accounts
using fake IDs in collu-
sion with unknown
bank officials, said the
central agency
.
Poonch (Agencies):
Former Jammu and
Kashmir Chief Min-
ister and National
Conference leader
Omar Abdullah on
Saturday slammed
the Centre for abro-
gating Article 370,
while reiterating his
stand that the move
was“unconstitution-
al and unlawful”.
Omar said, the
BJP leaders had
claimed about nor-
malcy in Kashmir
while scrapping Ar-
ticle370,butitdidn’t
happen. “They said
if we remove Arti-
cle 370, there would
be peace. I don’t see
it. Yesterday, our
brother (SPO Riyaz
Ahmad) was killed.
24 hours before that,
our brother (Rahul
Bhat) was shot in
his office.”
Udaipur (Agen-
cies): The Congress
said on Saturday that
the situation of the
Indian economy is a
source of grave con-
cern because foreign
exchange reserves
have dwindled, and
that economic poli-
cies must be re-set.
Mentioning that in
the ongoing ‘Chintan
Shivir’ the state of
the economy featured
prominently in the
deliberations, Chid-
bambaram, the con-
venor of the commit-
tee on economy said,
“Our group has 60
members.” Over the
course of four hours
yesterday, 37 mem-
bers voiced their
opinions. Today and
tomorrow, the de-
bates will continue.”
Thepartyhascome
to the conclusion that
the status of the In-
dianeconomyisquite
concerning. In the
last eight years, the
current government
has emphasised a
slowerrateof growth.
The government is
essentially fuelling
inflation with its bad
policies,”Chidambar-
am added, citing high
taxes on petrol and
diesel, high charged
prices, and high GST
tax rates as examples.
Govt fuelling rise of
inflation with
wrong policies: PC
P Chidambaram during a press conference in Udaipur on
Saturday. —PHOTO BY SUNIL SHARMA
India on Saturday banned wheat exports.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur.
CONGRESS CHINTAN SHIVIR
CBI says IPL
betting network
took inputs from
Pak, files case
Before the invasion,
Ukraine exported
4.5 million tonnes of
agricultural produce
per month through its
ports - 12 per cent of
the planet’s wheat, 15
per cent of its corn and
half of its sunflower oil.
But with the ports of
Odessa, Chornomorsk
and others cut off from
the world by Russian
warships, the supply
can only travel on con-
gested land routes. At
this critical juncture, G7
nations urged countries
around the world not to
take restrictive action
that could pile further
stress on the produce
markets.
WORLDWIDE
FOOD CRISIS
DEEPENS
Where is peace
promised after
abrogation of Art
370, asks Omar
Anurag Thakur orders malnutrition
awareness campaign in Himachal
Intel agencies on high alert ahead of
Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day
Gupkar parties to meet
LG over KPs’ security
Srinagar (PTI): The
People’s Alliance for
Gupkar Declaration
(PAGD) has sought an
appointment with Jam-
mu and Kashmir Lieu-
tenant Governor Manoj
Sinha to raise the issue
of safety and security of
Kashmiri Pandits in the
valley, a spokesperson
said here on Saturday
.
Briefing reporters
outside the residence
of the PAGD president
Farooq Abdullah after
a meeting of the group,
spokesperson M Y Tari-
gami, said the killing
of Kashmiri Pandit
government employee
Rahul Bhat in Budgam
has shaken the Kash-
miri society.
Bhat, who had got the
job of a clerk under the
special employment
package for migrants in
2010-11, was gunned
downbyterroristsinside
the tehsil office in Cha-
doora town on Thursday
.
ED RAIDS IN BENGAL
B’deshi fugitive PK
Halder among six
arrested in Kolkata
Kolkata (ANI): As
many as six persons
including former
managing director of
NRBGlobalBankand
Reliance Finance
Limited Prashanta
Kumar Halder, also
known as PK Halder,
have been arrested
from North 24 Parga-
nas by Enforcement
Directorate, officials
said on Saturday
.
Proshanta Kumar
Halder has been pos-
ing himself as an In-
dian citizen in the
nameof Shibshankar
Halder after having
managed to fraudu-
lently obtain various
government identi-
ties like Ration Card,
Indian Voter ID card,
PAN and Aadhar
card.Thesamecaseis
with other associates
of Halder, the official
added.
“The ED has found
out that these Bangla-
desh nationals have
also managed to float
companiesinIndiaon
the basis of fraudu-
lentlyobtainedidenti-
ties and have even
purchased immova-
ble properties at vari-
ous places including
some posh areas in
Kolkata. Halder and
other associate per-
sons are accused in a
multi-million finan-
cial fraud in Bangla-
desh,” officials said.
PK Halder being escorted by ED officials.
INDIA
03
Gyanvapi dispute: Partial survey done
amid tight security, rest to resume today
Janardan Misra
Varanasi: After Court’s
orders, 52 members of
both parties including
the advocate general ini-
tiated a survey of Gyan-
vapi premises again
amidst huge security
. It
was reported that the
team has completed a
surveyof morethanhalf
premises and gathered
evidence from there.
The survey team also
entered the premises af-
ter security checks with
all electronic equipment
except cameras, as they
were not allowed by the
court inside premises.
The members confirmed
that remaining survey
will be completed in next
2days. Theplaintiff and
other party members
along with their lawyers,
anddistrictofficialswere
present during the legal
proceedings. The survey
proceedingsof restprem-
iseswillbeginonSunday
morning at 8, Kaushal
RajSharma,districtmag-
istrateunderlined. Raees
Ahmad, advocate Anju-
man Intejamia Commit-
teesaidthe proceedingof
thecommissionwascom-
pleted in a peaceful man-
ner.
A Survey of the left
premises will be com-
pleted tomorrow, he
pointed out adding that
bothpartiescoordinated
for the legal proceed-
ings. Earlier, Court had
ordered to complete a
survey of the premises
by May 17 and dismissed
the plea of Masajid com-
mitted to changing the
advocate commissioner.
Security personnel move towards Gyanvapi Masjid complex, for
a videographic survey, in Varanasi, Saturday.

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 255
l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Sharat K Verma
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Delight in heedfulness!
Guard well your thoughts!
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
Visited Mohalla Naughara, the
birthplace of the great revolutionary
martyr Sukhdev Thapar ji and paid
homage to the great hero of the Indian
freedom struggle for sacrificing his
life for the country. The sacrifice of
Shaheed Sukhdev ji will be a source of
inspiration for every Indian for ages.
Nitin Gadkari
@nitin_gadkari
Facilitate access to large markets
for agricultural produce, local and
other products. Under Prime Minister
Shri Narendra Modi ji’s leadership we
are committed to empowering every
city and every village in Bihar with
better connectivity.
TOP TWEETS
SRI LANKA GETS
NEW PM BUT HAS
NO RESPITE FROM
DEVASTATION
anil Wickremesing-
he has become Sri
Lanka’s prime min-
ister for the fifth
time after his prede-
cessor Mahinda Rajapaksa was
forced to step down and seek
refuge in the naval headquar-
ters. His appointment comes at
a time when the island nation is
in turmoil following economic
devastation. Serpentine queues
outside fuel stations, high unaf-
fordable prices of commodities
have angered the common man
who struggles for survival. For
Prime Minister Ranil Wickrem-
esinghe the road ahead is ardu-
ous. He has to shore up his
country’s foreign exchange re-
serves, seek a bailout package
from international funding
agencies and win the confi-
dence of people.
India has backed Colombo in
seeking the IMF’s bailout pack-
age. Until the package is cleared,
Sri Lanka is looking at India for
bigger financial funding to part-
ly tide over the crisis. Realising
how its proximity with China
and wrong policies led to its eco-
nomic failure, Sri Lanka is now
wooing India. For India there is
an opportunity to wield a great-
er influence on its southern
neighbour.
R
fter Ukraine, the
NATO alliance is
seeking to encir-
cle Russia with
Finland and Swe-
den, both neutral states,
seeking membership of the
transatlantic military bloc.
Russia sees this eastward ex-
pansion of NATO as a pro-
vocative move and has
warned of military action.
Finland and Sweden explain
it as a defensive act against
the threat which President
Vladimir Putin poses. Fin-
land’s President Sauli Niinis-
to and Prime Minister Sanna
Marin want to join the bloc
“without delay”. Sweden’s
foreign minister Ann Linde
said that her country too will
join the alliance “without de-
lay”. Linde said that NATO
membership will have a
“conflict preventing effect”.
A similar move by NATO in
UkraineiswhatledtoRussian
invasion of its neighbour, al-
though Russia had been slow-
ly expanding its footprint. An-
nexation of Crimean Penin-
sulaintheRussianFederation
in 2014 was an example and
Kyiv feared that Ukraine was
thenexttarget.Itwasthisfear
which prompted Ukraine to
seek NATO membership,
though it is yet to fructify
. If
Finland is granted member-
ship, Russia’s land border
with NATO member nations
will stretch 800-miles (1300
km).Moscowviewsthis“radi-
cal change in Finland’s for-
eignpolicy”asa“clearthreat”
to its security and has threat-
ened Helsinki with “retaliato-
ry steps”, including military
.
If Finland and Sweden
move their applications, the
NATO expects them to be
processed quickly
. Moscow’s
military response could pose
a new, graver threat to global
peace. Russian invasion of
Ukraine has lasted longer
than expected. If trains its
guns on the two countries, it
will be truly embroiled in a
long drawn war.
PROVOCATIVE OR
DEFENSIVE MOVE
Finland’s President Sauli
Niinisto and PM Sanna Marin
want to join the bloc
“without delay”. Sweden’s
foreign minister Ann Linde
said that her country too will
join the alliance “without
delay”. Linde said that NATO
membership will have a
“conflict preventing effect”
A
TAJ MAHAL IS AMONG
7 WONDERS OF WORLD!
tallbegan30yearsago.In1989
a self-appointed ‘historian’,
wrote a book, “Taj Mahal: The
True Story”. According to
Oak, the author the “Taj Ma-
hal” was actually a temple of
Shivji and a palace named
Tejo Mahal. No concrete his-
torical evidence was pro-
duced. Nothing sticks like a
falsehood. It took a little time
to dismiss the Oak fiction, but
notbeforeOakapproachedthe
Supreme Court to declare that
the Taj Mahal was built by a
Hindu King. The Supreme
Court rejected his petition.
A few days back, Rajneesh
Singh of the BJP filed a plea
in the Lucknow branch of the
AllahabadHighCourt,asking
it to direct the Archaeological
Survey to probe 22 closed
rooms in the Taj Mahal to as-
certain the existence of idols
of Hindu deities there.
ThecourtrejectedRajneesh
Singh’s plea, giving him a
dressing down and asked him
not to make a ‘mockery’ of the
PIL system. He was told to do
research on the topic. Justices
DK Upadhayay and Subhas
Vidyarthi, said to Rajneeshji,
“Tomorrow you will come to
askustogotothechambersof
honourable judges…..Go and
research. Do a MA, do Ph.D.
Then choose such a topic and
if any institute disallows you
to research on such a topic,
then come to us. Please enrol
yourself inM.Aandif anyuni-
versitydeniesyouresearchon
such a topic then come to us.”
The petitioner’s lawyer
asked the court to allow him
to withdraw the petition and
file a new one. This the judges
did not accept. The court
“pulled up” Rajneesh Singh
for filing the PIL in a “casual”
manner. It further said the
petitioner should point out
which legal or constitutional
rule had been infringed.
There is more to this fairy
tale. A BJP, Member of Par-
liament, Diya Kumari from
Jaipur supported Rajneesh
Singh. She claims that the
land on which the Taj Mahal
was built belonged to her
forefathers. Apparently, the
relevant documents are in
the “Pothikhana” in one of
the Jaipur palaces. Diya Ku-
mari should ask for these to
be made public. This is not a
private matter.
The Taj Mahal is among
the 7 wonders of the World. It
is visited by people from all
parts of the globe. Every de-
tail about its construction is
documented-where did the
marble come from, and the
craftsmen. Yes, it did take a
very long time to build. It was
never a temple.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
I
Justices DK Upadhayay
and Subhas Vidyarthi, said
to Rajneeshji, “Tomorrow
you will come to ask us to go
to the chambers of
honourable judges…..Go and
research. Do a MA, do Ph.D.
Then choose such a topic
and if any institute
disallows you to research on
such a topic, then come to
us. Please enrol yourself in
M.A and if any university
denies you research on such
a topic then come to us
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India
A MAN
SAYS QUTUB
MINAR WAS
NOT BUILT BY
QUTUBUDDIN
arlier in this
month, one wise
man announced
that the Qutub
Minar was not built by
Qutubuddin but by a
Hindu King. He even took
a group of people chant-
ing Hanuman Chalisa on
his way to the monument.
If I am not mistaken they
were stopped by the po-
lice. All this was reported
in the newspapers. Some
years ago the 400th an-
niversary of the battle of
Haldighati was observed
with much fanfare. It
was not clear to me and
all genuine historians
whether the defeat of Ma-
harana Pratap was being
observed or the Victory of
Emperor Akbar. Maha-
rana Pratap is among the
great heroes India has
produced. He never bent
or bowed before Emperor
Akbar. But he did not win
the battle of Haldighati.
Akbar did. One of the
commanders in Akbar’s
army was none other than
Raja Man Singh of Jaipur.
Rana Pratap died in 1597.
His son Amar Singh finally
surrendered to Jahangir
in 1615, who treated him
“with great courtesy….
And never made to attend
the Mughal Court or offer
a daughter in marriage”
I have quoted this from
Ira Mukhoty’s superb
book on Akbar.
E
CHINTAN SHIVIR: LITTLE
FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
The Congress Chintan Shivir
held in Udaipur displayed no
signs of austerity. Gastronomi-
cally it must have been a treat.
9 chefs were brought from
various parts of India. Plenty of
food. Little food for thought!
Finland Sweden have more
or less decided to join NATO.
Putin was far from amused said
he would invade Finland. Turkish
Prez Recep has threatened to
exercise his Veto if Finland and
Sweden are to be made members.
FINLAND AND SWEDEN
DECIDES TO JOIN NATO
PERSPECTIVE
04

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BIZ BUZZ
06
AU Small Finance
Bank, Tata Elxsi and
Adani Power soar
on MSCI foray
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Shares
of AU Small Fi-
nance Bank, Tata
Elxsi and Adani
Power jumped on
Friday after index pro-
vider MSCI included
them in its global in-
dex. From the Asia Pa-
cific region, MSCI has
added 48 stocks and
deleted 76, with the
most changes in
China. India saw four
additions and one
deletion. The additions
were Tata Elxsi (esti-
mated inflows of $170
million), Jindal Steel
and Power, Adani
Power ($135 mn)
and AU Small Finance
Bank ($72 mn).
Delhivery’s IPO
fully subscribed
on final day
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): The IPO of lo-
gistics firm Delhivery
was fully subscribed
on the final day of
bidding, thanks to
demand from institu-
tional investors. The
issue was subscribed
1.6 times, garnering
bids for 101.6 million
shares, against 62
million on offer. The
public offer had been
subscribed only 23%
until the second
day of the offering.
Despite challenging
market conditions,
last-minute bids from
mutual funds and
foreign institutional
investors helped the
issue go through.
Omnichannel
platform Fynd to
hire over 1,200
engineers
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Reliance
backed Fynd is
India’s largest om-
nichannel platform
that also creates cut-
ting-edge technology
with solutions across
industries., They
have announced their
plan to onboard a
30% workforce from
Ahmedabad as part
of its recruitment
drive. Apart from
being applicable for
all levels with no
age limitations, the
recruitment drive
is in line with the
company’s total re-
quirement of 1200+
engineers.Paving the
way for its upward
growth trajectory,
Fynd aims to conduct
skill-based hiring in
areas like Python,
Full stack.
Radhakishan Damani-
led Avenue Su-
permarts (DMart) on
Saturday reported a 3.14
per cent year-on-year
(YoY) rise in consolidat-
ed net profit at Rs 427
crore compared with Rs
414 crore in the same
quarter last year.
The consolidated
revenue for the food
grocery retailer rose
18.53 per cent YoY to Rs
8,786croreintheMarch
quarter compared with
Rs 7,412 crore in the
corresponding quarter
last year.
Ebitda for the quarter
rose to Rs 739 crore from
Rs 613 crore YoY. Ebitda
margin came in at 8.4
per cent compared with
8.3 per cent in the year-
ago quarter. PAT margin
stood at 4.8 per cent
against 5.5 per cent YoY.
CEO Managing Di-
rector, Neville Noron-
ha said January start-
ed extremely well but
the Omicron wave of
Covid-19 reduced the
momentum in the mid-
dle of the month.
“These waves typi-
cally hurt the high mar-
gin and discretionary
items more. As is the
trend of the past, recov-
ery does take 40-50 days
after restrictions are
removed or anxiety of
a Covid wave recedes.
Omicron was a milder
wave and hence had a
significantly lower neg-
ative impact. March
2022 month again had
robust recovery and
very satisfactory like
for like growth vis-a-vis
March 2021,” he said.
“In general, the quarter
performance and past
two waves of stop-start-
stop give us extreme
confidence on the resil-
ience of the business to
recover in the short
term,” Noronha said.
Avenue Supermarts’ Q4 profit rises 3 per cent
‘THEREAREMOUNTAINSTOCLIMB’
New Delhi (Agen-
ceis): Campbell Wilson
has termed his appoint-
ment as Air India CEO
and MD as a fantastic
opportunity to lead a
historic airline and
mentioned that there
are “mountains to
climb” in his new stint.
Wilson was the Chief
Executive Officer of
the Singapore Airlines’
wholly-owned subsidi-
ary Scoot Air.
Singapore Airlines
(SIA) is a joint venture
partner of Tata Group
in full service carrier
Vistara.
On Thursday, Tata
Sons had announced
the appointment of
Wilson as the Manag-
ing Director and Chief
Executive Officer of
Air India.
In a communique
sent to Scoot employees
on Friday, he said,
“This afternoon I in-
formed the executive
team and your union
leaders of my resigna-
tion from Scoot and the
SIA Group.” He said it
was by no means an
easy decision to leave
and SIA was his first
professional job and
has been his home for
the last 26 years.
Wilson noted that
across three conti-
nents, six countries
and more than 12 roles,
SIA has accorded him
many more opportuni-
ties and experiences
than he could ever have
dreamed of.
“It is especially hard
to leave Scoot which, in
two chapters, I have
had the honour and
pleasure of nurturing
– together with a won-
derful, wonderful
group of people, past
and present – from a
mere spreadsheet to,
amongst many other
things, the World’s Best
Long-Haul, Low-Cost
Airline,”hementioned.
Through the initial
years of start-up and
rapid growth, to the
depths of aviation’s
worst-ever crisis and
now the accelerating
recovery, Scoot has tru-
ly been a labour of love,
he said.
“But there are other
mountains to climb,
and I am humbled to
have been selected by
Air India’s board as
that airline’s new
CEO,” he mentioned.
“It is a fantastic op-
portunity to lead a his-
toricairline,nowowned
by the Tata Group, to
new heights, and I am
grateful to embark on
that exciting challenge
with the full blessings
of the SIA management
team,” he noted.
AIR INDIA CEO-DESIGNATE CAMPBELL WILSON SAYS
Wilson was the Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Airlines’ wholly-owned subsidiary Scoot
Air. Singapore Airlines is a joint venture partner of Tata Group in full service carrier Vistara
Campbell Wilson
Three issues worth
`2,387 crore to hit
primary market
NEW DELHI (Agen-
cies): Three initial pub-
lic offerings (IPOs) will
hit the primary mar-
ket next week to raise a
total of Rs 2,387 crore.
First initial public of-
fering is from a fertiliz-
er company Paradeep
Phosphateswhich will
open on Tuesday, May
17. The IPO of the luxu-
ry watch retailer dis-
tinctive character It
will open on Wednes-
day, May 18. And the
IPO by MudhraIndia’s
largest licensed certifi-
cation authority, will
open on Friday, May 20.
In the case of the Rs
1,502 crore from Pa-
radeep Phosphates, the
company has already
raised Rs 450 crore from
anchor investors, in-
cluding Goldman Sachs.
The issue comprises
a new issue of equity
shares worth Rs 1,004
crore and an offer for
sale (OFS) component
of Rs 11.85 crore of eq-
uity shares. As part of
the OFS.
Maroc Phosphates
will sell 60,18,493 shares
of equity and the Gov-
ernment of India will
sell up to 11,24,89,000
shares of equity. The
government will divest
its entire 19.55 percent
stake in the company.
NEW ROLE
But there are other mountains to climb, and I am humbled
to have been selected by Air India’s board as that airline’s
new CEO —Campbell Wilson
Prepared for all situations:
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal
Twitter CEO Parag
Agrawal said the deal
with Tesla CEO Elon
Musk for the platform’s
buyout was not an ex-
cuse to avoid making
important decisions for
the company’s health.
In a thread on the
platform, Agarwal said
the deal with Musk was
expected to be closed
despite the tech billion-
aire putting the acqui-
sition on hold on a tem-
porary basis while he
awaits data on the pro-
portion of its fake ac-
counts. Agarwal added
that Twitter needed to
be prepared for all sce-
narios and do what was
right for it.
Musk announced his
$44-billion takeover of
the micro-blogging plat-
form last month.
Agrawal said ques-
tions might be raised
about a “lame-duck
CEO” making these
changes ahead of Twit-
ter’s acquisition, but he
needed to take decisions
to be prepared for all
scenarios and do what’s
right for the company.
“We announced
changes to our leader-
ship team and opera-
tions yesterday
. Chang-
es impacting people
are always hard,” the
CEO tweeted.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal
Tata Motors’ `32k cr capex
plan aims to go big on EVs
Homegrown carmaker
Tata Motors has in-
creased its capital ex-
penditure or capex by 30
per cent to Rs 32,000
crore in FY23 as against
Rs 23,000 crore in FY22.
The automaker plans to
use this capex to acceler-
ate its shift toward elec-
tric vehicles (EV) across
all its – commercial vehi-
cle (CV), passenger vehi-
cles (PV) segments and
its subsidiary Jaguar
Land Rover.
The automaker will be
making its highest ever
domestic investment of
up to Rs 6,000 crore for
the expansion of its
portfolio capacity. On
the other hand, Jaguar
Land Rover would be
getting around Rs 26,000
crore or 2.6 billion
pounds.
Tata Motors had also
planned to launch
around ten new EVs
over the next five years.
HIGHEST EVER DOMESTIC INVESTMENT
Legal backing for RoW by
Dec: Ashwini Vaishnaw
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Telecom Min-
ister Ashwini
Vaishnaw on May 14
said legal backing for
Right of Way (RoW)
will be in place by De-
cemberandlaunched
the GatiShakti San-
char portal that will
centralise and speed
up approvals for lay-
ing of fibre and tow-
er installations, as
the country gears up
for 5G roll-out.
The GatiShakti
Sanchar portal will
facilitate centralised
Right of Way (RoW)
approvals. An online
platform for the in-
dustry to apply for
RoW approvals as
they build telecom
infrastructure, in-
cluding for 5G ser-
vices, the GatiShakti
Sanchar portal offers
a unified, integrated,
centralised approach
covering all States
and UTs and Central
government Minis-
tries.
For players, it
promises to reduce
the days involved in
getting stipulated
permissions, lower
costs and facilitate
ease of doing busi-
ness. Launching the
portal, Vaishnaw as-
serted the need for
legal provisions for
Right of Way and
promised that a
strong legal backing
will be put in place
by December this
year.
At present, RoW
rules are based on
administrative pro-
cess and a strong le-
gal backing is re-
quired to empower
local officials, bring
clarity on the fee
structure and fix ac-
countability, he ex-
plained.
“That will be our
next step. Moreover,
all the portals that
are there, especially
Gati Shakti portal,
railway portal, high-
way portal and oth-
ers...integration of
those...We will be
working on these
two technological
and legal aspects,”
Vaishnaw said.
Work has started
on these two fronts
already and the inte-
gration of portals is
expected in the next
3-4 months while the
timelines for provid-
ing legal backing is
December-end.
Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
WORK IS ON
PMI Electro to
set up EV plant
in Maharashtra
PMI Electro Mobility So-
lutions Private Limited,
one of India’s leading
manufacturers of elec-
tricbuses,hasannounced
that it will set up its larg-
est electric commercial
vehicle manufacturing
plantinPune,Maharash-
tra.The35-acrefacilityis
said to come up in MIDC,
Chakan, and it will em-
ploy 1,500 personnel. The
company says that it will
have an annual produc-
tion capacity of 2,500
units.
‘NFTs will be considered as assets in near future’
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Belfrics Group,
one of the early adop-
ters of blockchain and
cryptocurrency in In-
dia, recently launched
its own NFT exchange
platform – BelNFT.
The company says it
is a part of a larger
business strategy of
Belfrics Group which
recently announced an
investment of USD 15
million in their block-
chain and crypto opera-
tions in India.
The company says
that BelNFT platform
would help users to to-
kenize their real-world
assets and help them to
buy, sell or trade the
NFTs in a safe and se-
cured manner. In an e-
mail interaction with
an online publication,
Praveen Kumar, Found-
er and CEO of Belfrics
Group, shares what
makes BelNFT differ-
ent from other NFT
marketplaces in India
and more about the
platform.
He said that most
NFT platforms in India
are directly creating
digital NFTs for their
customers, while we at
BelNFT will be tokenis-
ing an existing physi-
cal form to
digital assets and con-
verting them into
NFTs.
Belfrics is also one of
the only platforms in
India with a unique
verification process
that validates every
NFT trade to ensure
that the customers buy
an authentic digital as-
set at the right price.
‘In general, the quarter performance and past two
waves of stop-start-stop give us extreme
confidence on the resilience of the business’

07
NEWS
YADAV ADDRESSES BRICS MEETING ON CLIMATE CHANGE
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union
Minister of Environ-
ment, Forest and Cli-
mate Change Bhu-
pender Yadav partici-
pated in the BRICS
High Level Meeting
held virtually on Fri-
day. Speaking at the
BRICS high-level meet-
ing on Climate Change,
the minister highlight-
ed the relevance of the
forum to jointly address
climate change, to ex-
plore approaches to ac-
celerate low-carbon and
resilient transition,
and to achieve sustain-
able recovery and de-
velopment.
The BRICS High Lev-
el Meeting was chaired
by Huang Runqiu, Min-
ister of Ecology and En-
vironment of the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China
and was attended by
Environment Ministers
of BRICS nations in-
cluding Brazil, Russia,
India and South Africa.
He, in his address,
underscored India’s
commitment to strong
climate action includ-
ing the promotion of
sustainable lifestyles
based on mindful con-
sumption and reduc-
tion of waste. The Envi-
ronment Minister in-
formed the BRICS Min-
isterial that under the
visionary leadership of
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi how India is
today leading by exam-
ple by taking several
robust steps in the field
of renewable energy,
sustainable habitats,
creation of carbon
sinks through addition-
al forest and tree cover,
transition to sustaina-
ble transport, e-mobili-
ty, mobilizing the pri-
vate sector to make cli-
mate commitments, etc.
Yadav mentioned
how India has progres-
sively continued de-
coupling economic
growth from green-
house gas emissions.
Yadav mentioned that
ambitious implemen-
tation of climate ac-
tions by developing
countries is contingent
on the ambitious and
adequate delivery of
climate finance, tech-
nology transfer, and
other implementation
support, as mandated
by the UNFCCC and
the Paris Agreement.
He expressed optimism
towards the delivery of
the climate finance as
per the Glasgow deci-
sion and the Climate
Finance Delivery Plan
released by the COP 26
Presidency
.
BRICS Environment
Ministers expressed
commitment to
strengthen collabora-
tion on climate change,
and broaden and deep-
en the contents of coop-
eration. Further, the
countries agreed to
carry out policy ex-
changes and coopera-
tion in areas of environ-
ment and climate
change. A Joint State-
ment was also issued.
MINISTER INFORMS BRICS MEMBERS THAT HOW INDIA IS TODAY LEADING BY EXAMPLE UNDER THE VISIONARY LEADERSHIP OF PM NARENDRA MODI
Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Bhupender Yadav participated in the BRICS High Level Meeting.
IMPLEMENTATION
New Delhi (PTI): With
the Yamuna drying up
under the blazing sun
and Haryana not re-
sponding to SOS calls,
authorities in Delhi are
barely meeting the
drinking water demand
in several areas, offi-
cials said on Saturday
.
The level in the Wa-
zirabad pond has
dropped to 670.70 feet,
the lowest this year. It
was671.80feetonThurs-
day
.
The pond level had
dropped to 667 feet on
July11lastyear,prompt-
ing the Delhi Jal Board
(DJB) to move the Su-
preme Court seeking
directions to Haryana to
release additional water
in the Yamuna.
The DJB has thrice
written to the Haryana
Irrigation Department
in this connection in a
fortnight — on May 12,
May 3 and April 30.
“Even flow via CLC
(Carrier-Lined Chan-
nel) and DSB (Delhi Sub-
Branch) is fluctuating...
The lifting of 120 cusec
of water from the Wa-
zirabad pond is affected
due to low pond level.
This will affect water
production adversely.
Due to peak summer, the
water requirement is
more,” the SOS sent on
Thursday read.
“It is requested to
supply 150 cusec of raw
water additionally
through DD-8/river
route, so as to ensure
that 120 cusec of raw
water reaches the Wa-
zirabad pond in this
time of crisis, till the ar-
rival of monsoon,” it
read.
According to offi-
cials, there has been no
response from the
neighbouring state
whatsoever, leaving Del-
hi to fend for itself.
The production ca-
pacity at Wazirabad,
Chandrawal and Okhla
water treatment plants
has reduced to 85 per
cent. It could further de-
crease to 75 per cent on
Sunday, a DJB official
said on condition of
anonymity
.
“We have resorted to
water rationing and
have been able to meet
the demand so far. How-
ever, the situation could
turn worse if Haryana
does not respond and
release additional water
in the river,” the official
said. Adhering to its
Summer Action Plan,
the DJB has deployed
extra tankers to cater to
areas facing water
shortage and is trying
to augment water sup-
ply through tube wells.
The Delhi govern-
ment last month said it
will supply around 1,000
million gallons of
drinking water every
day during the summer
season as against 935
MGD earlier to meet the
rising demand.
It had said 1,198 water
tankers will be deployed
across the capital dur-
ing the peak season
(April-July) to prevent
water scarcity
.
DELHI GRAPPLES WITH WATER
SHORTAGE AMID SEVERE HEATWAVE
Haryana supplies a total of 610 million gallons of
water a day to Delhi through two canals — CLC
and DSB — and the Yamuna.The CLC and the DSB
are supplied water from Hathni Kund via Munak
canal and the Bhakra Beas Management Board.
Besides, Delhi receives 253 MGD from UP through
the Upper Ganga Canal, and 90 MGD is drawn from
ranney wells and tube wells installed across the
city.The Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment
plants have a capacity of 90 MGD and 135 MGD.
DELHI RECEIVES 253 MGD FROM UP
THROUGH THE UPPER GANGA CANAL
DELHI SECTT
TO BAN
SINGLE-USE
PLASTIC ITEMS
New Delhi (PTI):
Single-use plastic
items will be
banned in the Del-
hi Secretariat from
June 1, a month
before the nation-
wide ban on SUP
comes into force,
Environment Min-
ister Gopal Rai
said on Saturday
.
It will be en-
sured that only al-
ternatives to sin-
gle-use plastic
(SUP) items such
as paper plates,
cups, straws are
used in the Delhi
Secretariat prem-
ises, he said.
Staff will be
asked to avoid use-
and-throw pens,
SUP water bottles
and use kulhads,
stainless steel
glasses or paper
cups to drink wa-
ter, the minister
said. Single-use
banners and post-
ers will be banned
at the secretariat.
In August last
year, the Union en-
vironment minis-
try had issued a
notification pro-
hibiting manufac-
ture, import, stock-
ing, distribution,
sale and use of
identified SUP
commodities, in-
cluding polysty-
rene and expanded
polystyrene from
July 1, 2022.
Srinagar (PTI): A
group of Kashmiri Pan-
dit employees staged a
protest here on Satur-
day against targeted
killings and demanding
their relocation to safe
places outside Kashmir
Valley
, days after a com-
munity member was
killed by terrorists in
his office in Budgam
district.
Alleging that camps
housing Kashmiri Pan-
dit employees have
been locked following
the killing of Rahul
Bhat, the protesters de-
manded that the au-
thorities remove such
restrictions on them.
The community
members are posted in
Kashmir Valley under
the prime minister's
special employment
package.
Such employees liv-
ing in the Vessu transit
camp threatened to
march to the transit ac-
commodations at
Sheikpura in Budgam,
where Bhat lived along
with others, and Veer-
wan in Baramulla if
the authorities did not
lift the restrictions by
Sunday
.
We, the employees
of Vessu transit camp,
have decided to march
to Sheikhpura and
Veerwan colony in soli-
darity with our broth-
ers and sisters tomor-
row morning, the All
PM Package Employees
Forum said in a letter to
Divisional Commis-
sioner P K Pole.
Kashmiri Pandits
demand relocation
to safe places
Kashmiri pandit employees
hold placards during a protest.
Kumar Prabodh
Patna: Senior BJP lead-
er Syed Shahnawaz
Hussain has asserted
that there was “nothing
objectionable” in the or-
der of Yogi Adityanath
administration making
recitation of the nation-
al anthem compulsory
at madrasas across Ut-
tar Pradesh.
He is one of the most
prominent Muslim fac-
es of the party associ-
ated with Hindutva
politics, also claimed
that ‘Jana Gana Mana’
was “sung gladly and
readily” at the semi-
nary where he had
studied.
“Was the national an-
them not being sung at
UP madarsas so far? If
that is so, I am hugely
surprised,” exclaimed
Hussain when asked by
journalists about the UP
madarsa board order.
“I have studied at a
madarsa myself. There,
we used to recite the na-
tional anthem gladly
and willingly. There
can be nothing objec-
tionable in showing
reverence for the na-
tion,” Hussain said.
This has been taken
exception to by some
lslamic scholars and
clerics who claim the
wordings of the poem,
penned by Rabindra
Nath Tagore, went
against the grain of
their religious tenets.
—With PTI inputs
New Delhi (PTI): Inde-
pendent lawmakers
Navneet and Ravi Rana
on Saturday recited the
Hanuman Chalisa at the
Hanuman temple here
and claimed to have
prayed for removal of
the biggest danger loom-
ing over Maharashtra in
the form of Shiv Sena.
The couple was ar-
rested last month on
sedition charges after
a call for reciting the
Hanuman Chalisa out-
side Maharashtra CM
Uddhav Thackeray's
residence in Mumbai
and released on bail 12
days later.
Dressed in a saffron
sari and accompanied by
her husband and scores
of supporters, Navneet
Rana, the independent
LS member from Amra-
vati, walked on foot from
her North Avenue resi-
dence to the Hanuman
temple in Connaught
Place to offer prayers.
Rana couple pray at
Hanuman temple
First India Bureau
New Delhi/Lucknow:
The National Green
Tribunal has directed
Uttar Pradesh Chief
Secretary to look into
the river polluting in-
dustrial activities and
take action against the
discharge of untreated
sewage in River Bhella,
which ultimately meets
the river Ganga.
NGT chairperson
Adarsh Kumar Goel-led
bench was dealing with
the execution of a tribu-
nal order passed last
year, in which direc-
tions were issued for
remedial action against
the pollution in the riv-
er Bhella which meets
Kosi river in Rampur, a
tributary of Ramganga
that reaches Ganga.
The tribunal noted
that there is a high level
of faecal coliform and
other waste in the river.
Imbalance, as is be-
ing caused today, needs
to be remedied to pre-
vent threatening reduc-
tion of flow in the riv-
ers. This may be done by
a joint Committees in
the atates of UP and Ut-
tarakhand, headed by
Additional Chief Secre-
tary, Agriculture with
nominees of Depart-
ments of Soil Conserva-
tion, Forest, Water Re-
sources and Panchayati
Raj and Rural Develop-
ment, it directed.
The green court said
there are three issues
for consideration --pre-
venting pollution,
checking illegal ex-
traction of groundwa-
ter, and recovering
compensation for past
violations.
NGT seeks action against industries polluting Ganga
ACTING TOUGH
lll
The Tribunal
noted that there
is a high level
of faecal
coliform and
other waste in
the river and it
is not meeting
the bathing
criteria
MoS Singh reviews
68 roads completed
under PMGSY
First India Bureau
Jammu: Union Min-
ister of State (Inde-
pendent Charge)
Ministry of Earth
Sciences, Minister of
State (Independent
Charge) Ministry of
Science and Technol-
ogy, MoS PMO and
Minister of State
Ministry of Person-
nel and Public Griev-
ances Dr Jitendra
Singhtodayreviewed
a record 68 roads
completed under
Pradhan Mantri
Gram SadakYojana
(PMGSY) at Kathua
in Jammu, and de-
ferred the formal in-
auguration due to
State mourning ob-
served on Saturday
as a mark of respect
to passing away of
UAE President
Sheikh Khalifa bin
Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Dr Jitendra Singh
informed that built
at a cost of over ₹547
crore, all-weather
roads measuring up
to 526 kilometres is
likely to benefit a
population of over
one lakh 20,000 peo-
ple, most of them liv-
ing in far-flung hilly
areas. He said, de-
spite serious chal-
lenges posed by the
Covid19 pandemic,
barring few all the
projects were com-
pleted within stipu-
lated timeframe.
Dr Jitendra Singh at the review meeting.
—REPRESENTATIONAL PHOTO
‘Yogi govt right in making national
anthem mandatory at madarsas’
Shahnawaz Hussain
Amravati MP Navneet Rana with
her husband MLA Ravi Rana.
The Minister reviewed the completion
work of 22 bridges constructed at a cost
of `29.50 crores and the same will be
dedicated to the people soon

If you decide that all
experiences are actually arches
to build upon, soon you will
have a tall building.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
WHY IS NITISH A
‘COMPULSION’
FOR BJP?
The BJP is already
gearing up for the
2024 general elections,
so the Saffron Party’s
effort to somehow ‘per-
suade’ Nitish Kumar is
going on these days.
Many state BJP leaders
were openly engrossed
in peddling a rhetoric
against Nitish Kumar,
due to which, Nitish
was reportedly angry
with the BJP. The party
High Command has en-
trusted the responsibil-
ity of persuading Nit-
ish to Dharmendra
Pradhan. Thus, Prad-
han suddenly reached
Patna to meet Nitish,
and if sources are to be
believed, the two lead-
ers talked for hours in a
‘closed room.’ Nitish
has been assured by the
BJP High Command
that “he will run the
government in Bihar on
his own terms, and
there will be no inter-
ference from the BJP’s
side.” Nitish has de-
manded replacement of
two people, one of them
is from the BJP i.e. State
President Sanjay Jaisw-
al whom Nitish doesn’t
like at all the other
person is the State As-
sembly Speaker Vijay
Kumar Sinha. Nitish
has been assured that
these two will be re-
placed in times to come.
It is said that Pradhan
has told Nitish that
‘Jaiswal will be re-
placed after the Presi-
dential election.’ Sourc-
esrevealthatBJPwants
to place a young leader
from a ‘forward com-
munity’ on the position
of State Chief and
Vivek Thakur, who is
CP Thakur’s son and
hails from Bhumihar
community, could be
the new BJP State Chief
for Bihar. In the recent
past, Tejashwi Yadav
has succeeded in break-
ing the traditional Bhu-
mihar vote bank of BJP
,
and this time in the Leg-
islative Council elec-
tions, three Bhumihar
leaders have won the
election on Tejashwi’s
initiative. The BJP is
also worried that if Nit-
ish is left open, he may
join hands with Lalu
again like in 2015,
which could eclipse the
BJP’s prospects in Bi-
har in the 2024 general
elections.
‘MAHARAJ’ IN A
NEW AVATAR
Several ministers of
the Modi govern-
ment are extremely ac-
tive on social media,
but it seems that Jyoti-
raditya Scindia, who
has shifted to the BJP,
is different. Recently, a
passenger, who was
travelling by a SpiceJet
plane, boarded the
plane and found that
his window was
partially damaged.
He immediately
clicked a photo of
that broken window
and tagged Civil
Aviation Min-
ister i.e.
Scindia on
T w i t t e r
and wrote that ‘this is a
serious security lapse.’
Scindia saw the tweet
and immediately took
the top most SpiceJet
officials on the line.
The Minister gave clear
instructions that ‘till
the time window is not
fixed, the aircraft will
not takeoff ’. The com-
pany officials tried to
make the Minister un-
derstand their point
that the window glass
has a minor damage
and they will get it
fixed. But Scindia
didn’t agree, as a re-
sult, the airline had to
send its engineers on
that runway itself to
get the window re-
paired. The entire pro-
cess took 10-12 hours,
and only then the plane
was allowed to take-
off from there. Af-
ter this, the Min-
ister has instruct-
ed that after
checking all the
aircraft of this
airline, a re-
port should
be sent to
him.
WHO IS POOJA
SINGHAL?
Jharkhand’s IAS of-
ficer, Pooja Singhal
is a picture of the de-
sired mixture of poli-
tics and bureaucracy,
which tries to tell to
what extent the bureau-
cracy itself is involved
in it, showing the path
of corruption to the
leaders. In Jharkhand,
when the so-called hon-
est Chief Minister of
BJP was ‘in power’,
Pooja Singhal used to
‘have her say’. Although
Pooja has been the mas-
termind behind count-
less scams, but when
there was a massive
MGNREGA scam in
Khunti, an inquiry
committee was set up
regarding the involve-
ment of ‘Madam IAS.’
That committee was
headed by the then CS
of Jharkhand, Rajbala
Verma and Principal
Secretary AP Singh,
who gave a clean chit to
Pooja Singhal in this
matter. While Nidhi
Khare, who was a Secre-
tary in the government,
openly opposed giving a
clean chit to Pooja. To-
day, Nidhi Khare is
posted in New Delhi
and Nidhi’s husband
Amit Khare, who is also
an IAS officer, is a very
powerful officer in the
PMO. It should be noted
that during that period,
there were serious alle-
gations of corruption
on Rajbala Verma and
AP Singh and then the
PMO had asked Raghu-
bar Das to get both Ver-
ma and Singh investi-
gated. But Raghubar
Das, a master in side-
lining ‘trouble’, sup-
pressed the matter
with some clever
moves. Hemant Sor-
en has been a tar-
get of BJP
since the
beginning and Pooja
Singhal had become an
important member of
Hemant’s kitchen cabi-
net, so preparations are
being made to ‘target’
Soren as well, on the
pretext of Singhal. As
for Raghubar Das, he
was thrashing his
hands and feet to come
to the Rajya Sabha, his
eyes were also on the
CM’s chair. It is said
that the ED in its rigor-
ous interrogation, has
uncovered many impor-
tant secrets from Pooja
Singhal. It has also been
revealed that Singhal
had made her relation-
ship a little too sweet
through the ‘baniya
connection’ with
Raghubar Das.
THE REAL CONCERN
OF CHINTAN SHIVIR
Many senior party
leaders were ab-
sent from Congress’s
Chintan Shivir in
Udaipur as they weren’t
even invited to the
camp. Congress has its
own government in Ra-
jasthan and
C h h a t t i s -
garh, be-
sides, it is
involved
in coali-
tion gov-
e r n -
ments in Maharashtra
Jharkhand. None of
the ministers in these
governments were in-
vited to the Chintan
Shivir. Even working
presidents of state
units many party
spokespersons were
also not invited. Every-
one was perplexed as to
who had prepared the
list of invitees? Leaders
like Jignesh Mevani
and Kanhaiya Kumar
may not have got any
post in the party, but
both of them are very
dear to Rahul, so they
were invited to the
camp. Mevani is an in-
dependent MLA from
Gujarat, many Con-
gressmen were sur-
prised to see him at the
camp, however, he is
close to Rahul and
hence, was given an in-
vitation. Sonia Gandhi
was also aware of this
camaraderie, which she
referred to in her inau-
gural address and said,
“Many party leaders
wanted to stay in this
camp, but due to some
reasons, we have had to
limit our participation.
But I am sure that these
leaders will understand
our compulsions. I
want to tell them that
just by not being pre-
sent in Udaipur, their
role or ability in the or-
ganisation has not been
devalued.”
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB
RAMAN
The author is a journalist
and political commentator
and views expressed are
his personal
POOJA SINGHAL
SONIA GANDHI
NITISH KUMAR
JYOTIRADITYA SCINDIA
Thakur inaugurates
Himachal’s first
Science Centre
First India Bureau
Palampur: Union Min-
ister for Information
and Broadcasting and
YouthAffairsandSports
Anurag Thakur inaugu-
rated a science centre at
Palampur on Saturday
.
This has been devel-
oped under the Scheme
for Promotion of Cul-
ture of Science (SPoCS)
by National Council of
Science Museums
(#NCSM), an autono-
mous organization un-
der the Ministry of Cul-
ture. The National
Council of Science Mu-
seums is engaged in es-
tablishment of Regional
Science Centres/Sci-
ence Cities throughout
the country
. The Science
Centre at Palampur is
Himachal’s first science
centre and it aims to
popularize science and
technology for the ben-
efits of students and for
the common man.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurating the Science Centre in
Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, on Saturday.
New Delhi (PTI): At
least 12,000 paramili-
tary troops and hun-
dreds of Jammu and
Kashmir Police person-
nel, with the help of
drone cameras, will
guard the Amarnath
yatra which is sched-
uled to begin on June 30
after a gap of two years,
officials said.
Earlier this week at a
meeting, Union Home
Secretary Ajay Bhalla
already reviewed the
security preparedness
for the annual pilgrim-
age to the cave shrine
located in south Kash-
mir at an altitude of
3,888 metres.
The Amarnath yatra
could not be carried out
in 2020 and 2021 due to
the coronavirus pan-
demic, while it was cut
short in 2019 just before
the abrogation of Arti-
cle 370.
The pilgrimage will
be a big security chal-
lenge for the govern-
ment as Jammu and
Kashmir has been wit-
nessing a number of
targeted killings by ter-
rorists in recent weeks.
The home secretary
reviewed the security
preparedness for the
Amarnath Yatra with
top officials of paramil-
itary forces and the
Jammu and Kashmir
administration, the of-
ficials said.
About 12,000 paramil-
itary personnel (120
companies) in addition
to Jammu and Kashmir
Police are expected to
be deployed along the
two pilgrimage routes
via Pahalgam and Bal-
tal, they said.
Drone cameras will
hover over the pilgrim
routes to help the secu-
rity forces ensure the
protection of pilgrims,
officials said.
Drone cameras, 12K paramilitary troops to guard
AMARNATH YATRA
lll
The yatra could
not be carried
out in 2020 and
2021 due to the
coronavirus,
while it was cut
short in 2019
just before the
abrogation of
Article 370
The Amarnath Yatra will begin on June 30. —FILE PHOTO
Naiducallsforincreasing
spending on agri RD
VP calls for redoubling all-round efforts to make agriculture profitable for farmers
First India Bureau
Hyderabad: Vice Presi-
dent M Venkaiah Naidu
has called for enhancing
the quality and capacity
of agricultural research
inthecountrytoachieve
substantial gains in ag-
ri-productivity in the
long term. Noting that
no advanced country
can improve agri pro-
ductivity without exten-
sion activities, Naidu
suggested increasing
the RD expenditure –
which is ‘less than one
percent of our agricul-
tural GDP’, he said.
Further, Naidu called
for ‘every effort by the
agricultural research-
ers, policy makers, en-
trepreneurs and scien-
tiststomakeagriculture
climate-resilient, profit-
able and sustainable for
farmers and to ensure
nutritional security’.
Vice President was at-
tending the Graduation
ceremony of the Agri-
Business Management
programme of ICAR –
National Academy of
Agricultural Research
Management (NAARM)
in Hyderabad on Satur-
day
. Naidu also present-
ed a few select students
with Gold medals and
Director’s medals.
NAARM is a specialised
institution of the Indi-
an Council of Agricul-
tural Research (ICAR),
established to build ca-
pacity in agricultural
research, education and
extension education
systems.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, Naidu emphasised
that agricultural uni-
versities must consider
it their bounden duty to
not only develop new
techniques and meth-
ods of sustainable pro-
duction, but also to take
these developments to
the last farmer in every
part of the country
.
VP Naidu at the 4th graduation ceremony of Agri-Business
Management programme of NAARM in Hyderabad, on Saturday.
DIVERSIFICATION
DAY 2: NAV SANKALP SHIVIR
FROM P1…
Rahul, yet...
Notably, although all
the leaders gave
their views regard-
ing the yatra, how-
ever, Sonia Gandhi
has not yet given her
opinion in this
regard.
Congress leaders
said that such a trav-
el plan should be
made, in which most
of the major dis-
tricts can be touched
along with the
states.
Rahul Gandhi
should get a chance
to discuss not only
with the leaders of
the state but also
with the leaders
of the district and
understand the
‘grassroot’ atmos-
phere. Party leaders
admitted in infor-
mal conversation
that BJP National
President JP Nadda
is also touring con-
tinuously across the
country and is al-
ready engaged in
creating atmosphere
for the 2024 Lok Sab-
ha elections and
therefore, the Con-
gress high command
should also do the
same.
First India Bureau
Udaipur: Acharya
Pramod Krishnam on
Saturday said Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra is the
“most popular” face of
the party and should
take over its leadership
in case Rahul Gandhi is
not willing to accept the
responsibility
.
Krishnam, who is
considered close to Pri-
yanka, said that every-
one wants Rahul Gan-
dhi to become the party
president but he has
been refusing to take up
this post for the last two
years. “It is time Rahul
should take over party
reins if for some rea-
sons he is not ready to
accept the role, Priyan-
ka should come forward
lead as youth of coun-
try want her,” he said.
He also expressed
hope that change would
be brought about in
Cong in Raj ahead of
2023 Assembly polls.
He, however, said that
this does not mean that
people do not love Ge-
hlot. As Acharya raised
demand in favour of
Priyanka, Kharge si-
lenced him. Pramod
raised demand to make
Priyanka the president
in middle of meeting.
Priyanka should take over
Cong leadership: Acharya
Acharya Pramod and Sudhir
Sharma at Nav Sankalp Shivir
in Udaipur on Saturday.

THE SCORCHING SUMMER JUST GOT HOTTER AS FIRST INDIA WELCOMES ALL
THE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN TO REGISTER FOR THE FIRST MISS INDIA SEASON 2,
AN INITIATIVE OF JAGDEESH CHANDRA WHICH HAS CHANGED THE
WORLD OF BEAUTY PAGEANTS, GLAMOUR AND ENTERTAINMENT!
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
irst Miss India,
an initiative of
J a g d e e s h
C h a n d r a ,
launched its
Season 2 on 27
Aprilinaglam-
orous affair in Mum-
bai. After the huge
success of Season 1
which culminated on
Oct 31, 2021 in Goa
with the crowning of
Pearl Agarwal as
Miss First India’21
and Rayna Sikri as
First Miss India
Teen’21, the 2022
season was much
awaited by young
aspirants across
India. Season 2
promises to be
even more en-
riching,power-
ful, alluring
and fascinat-
ing with its
finale sched-
uled in Mum-
bai in the
first week of
October and auditions
across India, before
that.
Anjali Khandal has
been selected as the
Face of First Miss In-
dia, the young innocent
beauty from Rajasthan
is the symbol of the
lakhs of young girls
who hope to make it big
in the world of enter-
tainment and glamour.
This is the promise of
FirstIndiathroughthis
all-India Beauty Pag-
eant and the vision of
Jagdeesh Chandra to
bring opportunity and
employment to the
doorstep of all deserv-
ing candidates.
The interest antenna
among young beauties
perked up even more
by the two major an-
nouncements by
Jagdeesh Chandra that
the Winners of the
First Miss India will
not be under any exclu-
sive contract and thus
will be free to partici-
pate in any pageant or
event; and the second
that the participants of
Season 1 (except for the
winners Pearl and Ray-
na) are welcome to try
a second time for the
coveted crown.
First Miss India Sea-
son 2 will be curated by
Blanckanvas Media
and the finale will be
choreographed by Pari-
mal Mehhta.
Apart from cash in-
centives, and gorgeous
crowns by SVAR Fine
Jewellery
, the winners
will also win Brand en-
dorsements and SM in-
fluencer contracts, cal-
endar shoots and more.
The First Season wit-
nessed Supermodel
and influencer Hina
Khan, celebrity Fash-
ion Designer Ken
Ferns, Actress, VJ and
supermodel Deepti Gu-
jral, Supermodel and
Miss Universe
India 2015 first
runner up
Natasha As-
sadi as the
jury
.
W i t h i n
two weeks
of online
r e g i s t r a -
tions being
o p e n e d
(https://
www.first-
m i s s i n -
dia.in) en-
tries have
a l r e a d y
crossed
1000 plus
with the
highest
numbers
coming in
from Mum-
bai and Delhi,
though Banga-
lore and Chan-
digarh are fol-
lowing closely
.
Audition in
Mumbai will be
held in the first
week of July
with Jaipur,
Pune, Bangalore,
Chandigarh, Del-
hi, Indore, Kolkata
and Ahmedabad
planned by the end
of August. Keep
watching this
space for the
upcoming
gala event
toannounce
the star-stud-
ded jury for
the auditions.
F
BIENVENUE
BELLES FILLES
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
Jagdeesh Chandra with the winners of First Miss India Season 1. From left Rayna Sikri (Winner First Miss India Teen), Mrunmayi Barve (First Miss India Teen 2nd Runner up),
Pearl Agarwal (Winner First Miss India), Lekh Uthaiah (First Miss India 2nd Runner up), Shreya Gupta (First Miss India 1st Runner up) and Shubhi Dhaneta (First Miss India Teen 1st Runner up)
Anjali Khandal and Natasha Assadi Hina Khan and Deepti Gujral
—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
NEW DELHI, SUNDAY,
MAY 15, 2022

10
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
t is amazing and par-
tial to remain a stu-
dent of English litera-
ture and not know
one’sindigenoustradi-
tion and current writ-
ings in Hindi which is
our mother tongue. It’s like
being an anglophile with a
passionwithnoculturalback-
ground to support one as a
scholar or lover of language.
The knowledge equips one to
know one’s strengths. It saves
one from sustaining a coloni-
al mindset. Why does A Ra-
bindraNathTagorestandtall
even today amongst world
literati? It’s because he knew
the Indian historical and cul-
tural strengths and felt sec-
ond to none during the Brit-
ish Raj in terms of being a
poet. In fact Shanti Niketan,
the university has a unique
position in the world of aca-
demics as it was so holistic in
its approach then. It was
grounded in India while nur-
turing a universal out-
look too. It is
with this in
mind that I am
i n t r o d u c i n g
Surya Bala, an
eminent Hindi
writer who be-
lieved in the in-
nate and deep val-
ues a woman gave
to her home and
society
. She started
writing as an adolescent and
was published first in well-
known journal ‘ Dainik Aaj’
as a teenager. She narrates
how as a young reader she
had written a critique of a
story in Sarika, an eminent
literary magazine. Kamlesh-
warwhowastheeditorof the
magazine and later became
the Director-General of
Doordarshanhadappreciated
her writing skills and in a let-
ter written in his hand had
asked her to do creative writ-
ingtoo.Sincethenherfiction-
al pieces, satire and novels
have been published in ‘Sari-
ka’, ‘Hans’ and ‘Dharmyug’
and so many other prestig-
ious publications. Her first
novel ’Mere Sandhipatr’
whichmeansthecompromis-
es,theoliveleavesinone’slife,
was published in 1975. Since
then Her other novels have
been ‘Subah ke Intazar tak
(The Wait till Morning);
Yamini Katha (The Night’s
Story); Deekshant, (The In-
duction); Agni Pankhi (The
Wingsof Fire)havebeenpub-
lishedbyeminentPublication
Houses. As a satirical writer,
she was awarded The Hari
ShankarParsaiAwardforthe
genre. Besides she has re-
ceived iconic awards like
Vagdevi Puruskar, Priya-
darshini Award and Ghan-
shyam Das Saraf Award for
excellence in writing. Many
of her stories have been tele-
vised and made into films.
Shehas150workstohercred-
it and has completed 50 years
asawriter.Shetoldthewriter
rather shyly that she has
completed fifty years of
creative writing and Pa-
khi, a famous literary
magazine has devoted
itsMay2022issuetoher.
Surya Bala’s books are
either women-centric
or talk of the struggle
of the poorer sections
of societywhoforsake
their homes in sub-
urbs and far off villages
to fulfil the dreams of a
brighter future. The migra-
tionof apoorfarmer‘ssonsto
a metro city is so much akin
to the aspirational passage of
a middle class profes-
sional to a foreign
land. Their strug-
gles, alienation and
memories of the
homelandaresimilar.
This alienation some-
where connects with
the shift a woman has
to undergo after her
marriage. Her satirical
work is incisive and of-
fers critical commen-
taryonIndiandemocracyand
society and it gives a sad nar-
rative of the way we take the
human tragedies. With all the
female characters thronging
her writings she is not an
Avant Guard feminist with
sharp divides. Her female
charactersarefree-mindedyet
not ultra-revolutionary
. They
are sensitive to the values of a
home and work around build-
ing an entity for themselves.
Thewriterisaccusedof being
anon-feminist.SuryaBalathe
writer laughs these away as
she does not believe in demol-
ishing social structures to re-
build new ones. A certain si-
lent revolution exists in her
narratives that bring out the
ironiesanddichotomiesof the
male-dominated world. Still
another recurring theme in
herwritingsisthatof shifting
-themigrationof thelabourer
to a sterile metro city
, the mi-
gration of an ambitious pro-
fessional from a humble back-
ground to the land of Dreams,
anAmerica,AustraliaorEng-
land. ‘Venu Ki Diary’ and ‘
Ag-
nipankhi’ exemplify this. It
amazes a reader how Surya
Bala can capture the most
fleeting emotions of a labour-
er, a household help, a house-
wife living with unrealized
aspirations and a widowed
motherwithdreamstoseeher
son becoming a Babuji. She
uses her command over re-
gional language and imagery
most aptly to portray the two
worlds- the shiny
, rich, glossy
world of the affluent and the
world of the regional expatri-
ates existing on the
side in Jhuggi and
jhopad pattis.
Her characters
are deprived yet
not crushed. They
stand as protago-
nistsof therecent
migratory shift
the labourers of
our country did
duringtheCovid
pandemic. The unforget-
table image of the labourers
walking on foot to their vil-
lages thousands of miles
awayisinsyncwithwhatthis
writer had written years ago.
The image stands stark and
dark against Covid borne cir-
cumstances.Evenwhenthou-
sands of labourers perished
onwaytotheirhomesorthey
finally reached their homes,
a comment on the divide be-
tween the rich and the poor
dug itself deep into the na-
tion’s psyche. The ever com-
plaining affluent and the
barely complaining poor, the
reality of keeping the pre-
tence of being respectable
brings to the fore the deep so-
cialcomplexesweallnurture.
A tragic scenario is enacted
silently behind closed doors,
the fake smiles, social fronts
that deny the impoverish-
ment, empty stomachs and a
hopeless future wasted in
making two ends meet. The
comment on the human situ-
ations emerges rather than
stated. The inherent cruelty
of social and political reality
is undeniable in Surya Bala’s
works. The onlooker, the
news watcher, the reader and
the consumer, in short, We
have all come to realize the
tragedy our system causes.
Jai Shankar, the protagonist
of the novel Agnipankhi is
disillusioned, poor and de-
feated yet he keeps claiming
to be a winner in his mind.
JaiShankar’smother’sdeath
is the death of a dream. It is
avividsymbolof arecurring
tragedy enacted in poorer
homes in our country
. Read-
ing and grasping reality
through fiction does make a
reader a more empathetic
person. Surya Bala has
achieved a prime position in
literature today yet she re-
mainscuriouslyunambitious
to put it differently
, she is not
ready to make an effort to be
recognized. She is too proud
toapproachpowersthatbefor
an award. She remains the
messiah of the deprived
though she has a substantial-
lycomfortablelifeinMumbai
where she lives with her hus-
band. Her popularity rests in
thefactthatsheisread,appre-
ciated and published widely
.
(The article is based on an
intimate conversation the
writer had with Surya Bala
when she was in Jaipur re-
centlytoreceiveanawardand
facilitate the function).
I
DR MRIDUL BHASIN
Writer, and social activist
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
HARSHIL KALIA, Model
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Rewards and
recognition
will come your
way for your
involvement in a
social endeavour.
It’s a very good
day to take
calculated risks
in financial matters. Those suffering
from chronic ailments may find
remarkable improvement in their health
with home remedies.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
It is a good
day to confess
your love as the
stars appear
favourable
for a positive
reply. Your sole
dependency on
friends may fail
to bring any respite from loneliness
today. The sound financial health of
businessmen would enable them to give
monetary benefits to employees.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You will succeed
in resolving
disputes with
family members,
and normalizing
ties. You will
remain much
in demand
on the social
front. You need to stand by a romantic
partner during testing times to make the
relationship stronger. Seek the opinion
of an expert.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
A sound
monetary
position would
enable you to
keep pace with
changing times.
Avoid raising
controversial
issues at
home to maintain harmony. Successful
implementation of new ideas and projects
would add to your prestige on the
professional front.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Develop good
adaptability
to handle the
pressurized
situation on a
professional
front. Paying
special attention
to planning your
career would give you immense joy. You
are likely to get clearance or approval for
your construction plans. You find things
moving in the way you want them.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Distant relatives
may drop in for
a surprise visit.
Investment in
antiques and
jewellery would
bring handsome
financial
gains. On the
professional front, recognition for good
work would motivate you to work harder.
Those awaiting an affirmation on the
romantic front are to get lucky today.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Avoid being
indulgent in
your spending
to balance
the budget.
Continue to put
in efforts at work
and you will
see promising
opportunities coming your way. A
matrimonial match for siblings will bring
happiness to the entire family. You will
get a good price for your property.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Chances of
being misled
by competitors
in business are
high, so remain
alert. You may
get a chance to
pursue an old
hobby. Health
tips from an expert will enable you to
get closer to your fitness goals. Your
generous behaviour would enable you to
enjoy lovely moments with your family.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Don’t give a firm
commitment
in financial
matters before
considering
the viability
of the project.
You succeed
in completing
an important project well before the
deadline. Disagreements on the family
front are foreseen. Be careful about the
legal apprehensions.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Senior
management will
be appreciative
of your creative
input on the
professional
front. Seek
the opinion
of your family
before finalizing a property deal. An
impromptu invitation to a function
from an unexpected friend is likely to
be received.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Yoga would
help in raising
energy levels
and improving
your metabolism.
Some of you
are going to
experience
emotional
fulfilment on the romantic front.
Emphasize domestic affairs to enhance
domestic tranquillity and harmony.
Associate yourself with social groups.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Your hard work
and dedication
are likely to
be noticed
by seniors,
paving way
for promotion
or increment.
Better to consult
an expert in financial matters before
investing. The family will be supportive of
my career aspirations. A promising day
overall as you stay in limelight.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
SURYA BALA THE WRITER:
SURYA BALA THE WRITER:
A PERSPECTIVE
A PERSPECTIVE
ON HUMAN
ON HUMAN
CONDITION
CONDITION

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia NEW DELHI | SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2022
11
t’s easy to say, “I
love my family,”
but family love is
about more than
these simple
words. Family
love is a special
type of love that comes
with its unique feel-
ings, behaviors, chal-
lenges, and rewards.
Once you understand
what it truly is, you can
learn how to build fam-
ily relationships by
genuine love and care.
Every year, on May
15, the International
Day of the Family is
celebrated throughout
the World.
Family is the basic
unit of society. This
day provides an oppor-
tunity to raise aware-
ness about the issues
related to the families
and to increase knowl-
edge about the social,
economic and demo-
graphic processes that
affect them. This day
provides an opportu-
nity to promote aware-
ness of issues relating
to families and to in-
crease the knowledge
of the social, econom-
ic and demographic
processes affecting
families.
The importance of
family love for emotion-
al wellbeing cannot be
underestimated. The
quality of family love
experienced by a per-
son affects them all the
way from infancy
through adolescence
into adulthood. Love, as
it occurs in the context
of family, is unlike any
other. Your family mem-
bers are the people you
surround yourself with
the most, who give your
life meaning, and who
you would do anything
for. They're the people
that you can't live with-
out, who you turn to
when something good
or bad happens.
Of course, this is
painting a perfect-
sounding picture when
no family is perfect.
You may have a
strained or negative re-
lationship with your
blood family or not
have any living family
that you know of, but
that does not mean you
can never experience
positive family love.
You may have past ex-
periences where you
received a lot of healthy
family love but don't
right now. If not, re-
member that you can
always choose who
your family is (at least
when you're old enough
to understand and
make that choice).
When one member
of a family experiences
a profound loss, the
other members of the
family are usually af-
fected by that person’s
distress. A family mem-
ber who has lost their
job or a friend typically
expresses their emo-
tion in some way,
whether they intend to
or not. Their behavior
might change, and they
may have less capacity
to manage daily living.
The other family mem-
bers feel the effects di-
rectly or indirectly.
Tedi Hai Par Meri Hai
FAMILY
HAVING SOMEWHERE TO GO
IS HOME. HAVING SOMEONE
TO LOVE IS FAMILY. AND
HAVING BOTH IS A BLESSING.
AS WE CELEBRATE
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF
FAMILIES WITH THE 2022
THEME “FAMILIES AND
URBANIZATION”, CITY FIRST
BRINGS TO YOU SOME
HAPPENING PICTURES FROM
PEOPLE ACROSS RAJASTHAN
, DELHI,LUCKNOW AND
MUMBAI WHO STRONGLY
BELIEVE THAT “FAMILIES ARE
LIKE FUDGE – MOSTLY
SWEET WITH A FEW NUTS.”
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
I
It all starts with the
family, for better or
for worse. We all
have families, but
we don’t all think of
them in the same
ways, and they have
varying degrees of
influence on what we
become, sometimes
aligned, sometimes
not. I have been
blessed with a huge
loving family. We
make sure to stand
tall by each other’s
side in all the good
and bad times. I still
feel nostalgic each
time I go on a trip
with my family.

—SUSHILA JHALANI
Family means having someone to love you unconditionally in spite of you and your shortcomings. I am
blessed with two loving sons Abhay and Tanishq and my better half Pradeep. I live in a joint family where
we make sure that we celebrate every occasion together. The pandemic hit as a blessing in disguise for us.
We all got more close and could cherish small moments of life. —KAVITA KHANDELWAL

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