16122021 first india new delhi

New Delhi: Several
leaders and Union Min-
isters paid homage to
Sardar Vallabhbhai Pa-
tel on his 71st death an-
niversary on Wednes-
day
. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi paid
tribute to former Depu-
ty PM and said that In-
dia will be grateful to
the latter’s efforts to
unite the nation.
“ R e m e m b e r i n g
Sardar Patel on his Pu-
nya Tithi. India will
always be grateful to
him for his monumen-
tal service, his admin-
istrative skills and the
untiring efforts to
unite our nation,” the
PM tweeted. Patel, who
is credited with unit-
ing all 562 princely
states of the pre-inde-
pendent country to
build the Republic of
India, passed away on
December 15, 1950.
Sardar Patel passed
away in 1950 in Mum-
bai (then Bombay) on
December 15.
“We will forever be
grateful to Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel for
his exemplary contri-
bution to unite India.
His leadership helped
the country overcome
communal strife,” Un-
ion Minister Pralhad
Joshi tweeted.
Modi, Shah pay tributes to Iron Man
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
SARDAR VALLABHBHAI PATEL’S 71st DEATH ANNIVERSARY
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
NEW DELHI lTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNITITLE NO.DELENG/2021/19840 lVol 1 l Issue No.107
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana warned the Enforcement Directorate against
“indiscriminate” use of the law to control money laundering, saying the law will
lose its edge. Remarking that the law is currently being used as a weapon even
in cases where small amounts of money are involved, the Chief Justice said,
“You can’t put all people behind bars. You have to use it reasonably”.
The Union Cabinet headed by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the
production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for semiconductors. Rs 76,000 crore
will be spent on this scheme in 6 years, Information and Broadcasting (I&B)
minister Minister Anurag Thakur informed. Thakur said that this scheme will
promote the manufacturing of semiconductor and display boards in country. P5
CJI WARNS PROBE
AGENCY OVER LAW
BEING “USED
AS A WEAPON”
CABINET APPROVES
`76,000 CR ORE
PLI SCHEME FOR
SEMICONDUCTORS
CORONA CATASTROPHE
NEW DELHI
INDIA
6,984
new cases
247
new fatalities
57
new cases
00
new fatalities
Opium
thrives
Mohd Fahad
A
fghanistan’s
opium indus-
try is acceler-
ating business as
drought and sanc-
tions cripple the
country’s economy
under Taliban rule.
Farmers who used
to grow wheat or corn
are planting poppies
on their land now be-
cause drought, inter-
national sanctions
and border closures
have made legal crops
unprofitable.
The multibillion-
dollar drug industry,
which when Taliban
seized control of the
country in August,
had vowed to eradi-
cate. But 4 months on,
business is blooming.
under Taliban
While farmers remain unfazed by regime
change, Taliban look towards international
community with alternative crop demands
Afghanistan’s
‘THEY COULD NOT FUND THEIR
WAR IF THERE WERE NO OPIUM’
If the international community does
not accept our many demands and the
demands of civilians, farmers and the
government, the farmers would go back to poppy
cultivation because we have no other option. The
international community should help in making
dams, provide seeds and help the farmers to grow
other crops —Taliban spokesperson
We are helpless. Water level is
depleting. We don’t have other
crop seeds. If we spend 100
Afghani on growing onions, we get 20
Afghani in return —Opium poppy farmer
2 lakhhectares of poppies
planted in Afghanistan last year
30%rate
of increasing
drug use in
country
15%rate of
growing HIV among
intravenous users
in Herat city
$10bnin Afghan gold, investments
and foreign currency reserves seized by
US since Aug 15
85%of worldwide
opium production comes
from Afghanistan
$8bnUS spent over 15 years destroy-
ing crops and labs, but made little headway
$350mnin opiate taxes collected
by Taliban and non-state players in 2017
STAGGERING
FIGURES
THE VIRAT CAPTAINCY
CHROMOSOME
KOHLI CONTRADICTS GANGULY, SAYS
CAPTAINCY NARRATIVE “INACCURATE”
According to Ganguly, the
BCCI had requested Kohli not
to relinquish his T20I captaincy.
However, Kohli contradicted that,
saying nobody had communicated
with him in that regard
Kohli said that he was
informed by selectors that
he won’t be ODI captain just one
and a half hours before Test
squad for South Africa series
was announced
Mumbai: Virat Kohli
contradicted BCCI
president Sourav Gan-
guly, saying that no
communication was
made to him as regards
to not relinquishing
the T20I captaincy.
He also rubbished
reports that he would
be opting out of the
ODI leg of the South
Africa tour. India’s
Test captain threw his
weight behind the new-
ly-appointed white-
ball captain, Rohit
Sharma.
“I was never told not
to give up T20I captain-
cy. The chief selector
discussed with me the
Test team, to which we
both agreed. And be-
fore ending the call, I
was told the five selec-
tors have decided I will
not be the ODI captain,
to which I replied,
‘okay, fine’. In the
selection call after-
wards, we chatted
about it briefly. That’s
what happened. There
was no communica-
tion prior to that at
all,” said Kohli.
“We (BCCI) had re-
quested Virat not to
step down as T20I cap-
tain. There was no
plan to change captain-
cy. But he stepped
down as T20I captain
and the selectors de-
cided not to split limit-
ed-overs captaincy, opt-
ing for a complete sep-
aration,” the BCCI
president had said.
MoS Mishra loses temper
when asked about son
Lakhimpur Kheri: A
purported video of Un-
ion Minister of State
(Home) Ajay Kumar
Mishra emerged in
which he is seen abus-
ing a journalist after be-
ing asked about his
jailed son Ashish, an
accused in the Lakhim-
pur Kheri violence case.
In the video, the min-
ister loses his cool and
gets involved in an an-
gry exchange where he
is heard saying, “Media
people are thieves. They
have sent an innocent
person to jail. Don’t you
feel ashamed? Switch
off your mic…What do
you want to know?” He
is seen grabbing jour-
nalist’s microphone.
Lone chopper crash survivor no more
POLL PILGRIMAGE IN AYODHYA!
BJP National President JP Nadda with wife Mallika, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal
Khattar and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan offer prayers on the
banks of the Saryu river at the Hanuman Garhi Temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday.
Bengaluru: Group
Captain Varun Singh,
who was rescued after
the helicopter crash
that killed Chief of De-
fence Staff General Bi-
pin Rawat and 12 others
on December 8, died on
Wednesday
.
He was being treated
for severe burns at a
Bengaluru military
hospital after being air-
lifted from Wellington.
He had been on life
support. The Indian Air
Force informed about
his death.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi expressed
his anguish at the de-
mise. “Group Captain
Varun Singh served the
nation with pride, val-
our and utmost profes-
sionalism. I am ex-
tremely anguished by
his passing away
. His
rich service to the na-
tion will never be forgot-
ten. Condolences to his
family and friends. Om
Shanti,” PM tweeted.
‘NO QUESTION OF TALKING
ON LAKHIMPUR IN PARL
AS MATTER IS IN COURT’
New Delhi: Speaking to
the media, Leader of the
House in the Rajya Sabha,
Union Minister Piyush Goyal
said there is no question of
discussion on the Lakhimpur
Kheri incident as the matter
is sub judice even as the
Opposition raised the issue
in Parliament over the latest
developments in the case.
2
1
Keeping room for specula-
tions wide open, Navjot
Sidhu posted a picture hint-
ing at possibilities triggering
speculation of Harbhajan
joining the Congress before
the Punjab election.
Hadn’t won ICC title, removing me as ODI skipper
“logical decision”, Virat Kohli said while extending
his full support to new captain Rohit Sharma.
Group Captain Varun Singh
B’desh Prez,
PM hold talks
with Kovind
Dhaka: President Ram
Nath Kovind held talks
with his Bangladeshi
counterpart M Abdul
Hamid on the first day
of his three-day visit
here on Wednesday, fur-
ther expanding bilater-
al ties based on sover-
eignty, equality, trust
and understanding that
transcend even a strate-
gic partnership.
President Kovind ar-
rived in Dhaka earlier
in the day on a maiden
3-day state visit at the
invitation of Hamid to
attendthegoldenjubilee
celebrations of Bangla-
desh’s independence
from Pakistan in 1971.
Bangladesh PM Hasina called
on President Ran Nath Kovind
and the two leaders discussed
several issues on Wednesday.

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021
02
New Delhi: Delhi Depu-
ty Chief Minister Man-
ish Sisodia Wednesday
launched the theme
song of a play based on
the life of Babasaheb
Bhimrao Ambedkar
which would be organ-
ised at the Jawaharlal
Nehru Stadium on Jan-
uary 5.
“Babasaheb laid the
foundation of modern
India. This play is an ef-
fort to express our grati-
tude towards Babasa-
heb’s contribution to-
wards the county in this
75th year of independ-
ence. Today, we are
launching the theme
song of the play with In-
dian Ocean band,” Siso-
diasaidwhilelaunching
the song at the Special-
ised School of Excel-
lence at Kalkaji.
He said the duration
of the song is 5.30 min-
utes. IndianOceanband
members performed the
song which goes as “Jab
tak Jan Gan Man ka
maan rahega, jab tak ye
samvidhan rahega, Jab
tak hindustan rahega…
Babasaheb ka naam ra-
hega”.
Sisodia said there is a
tradition to express
gratitude towards leg-
ends through big plays
or arts in foreign coun-
tries but such a big stage
play was never organ-
ised in India before this.
“This tradition is be-
ing started in India by
the Arvind Kejriwal
government. This play
will be very grand and
free for all. I appeal eve-
ryonetocomeandwatch
it,” Sisodia said.
Earlier this month,
paying tributes to
Ambedkar on his death
anniversary
, Chief Min-
ister Kejriwal had an-
nounced that an inter-
national level stage play
based on the life of
Babasaheb Ambedkar
will be organised at the
JLN Stadium on Janu-
ary 5.
He had said the play
will be staged by well-
known actors with in-
ternational level pro-
duction.
Kejriwal had said
there will be 50 shows of
the play on a 100 feet
long stage. —PTI
New Delhi: The pro-
cess of admissions for
nursery classes in pri-
vate schools across the
national capital began
on Wednesday
.
The application win-
dow will close on Janu-
ary 7.
The Directorate of
Education (DoE) had
last month notified the
admission schedule.
For the previous aca-
demic session, admis-
sions to entry-level
classes began in Febru-
ary this year after a de-
lay due to COVID-19.
However, this year,
the schedule is in line
with previous years.
“The first list of se-
lected children will be
out on February 4, fol-
lowed by a second list
on February 21 and a
subsequent list for ad-
missions, if any, on
March 15. The entire
admission process will
conclude on March 31,”
a Directorate of Educa-
tion official said.
Schools were asked to
notify their number of
seats and the admission
criteria by Tuesday
.
The Directorate of
Education has directed
that the number of
seats at the entry level
shall not be less than
the highest number of
seats in entry-level
classes during the last
three academic years--
2019-20, 2020-21 and
2021-22. —PTI
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court on Wednes-
day sought response of
the Delhi government on
a plea by BJP MLA chal-
lenging the appointment
of Chief Secretary as
Election Commissioner
of MCD from April 21,
next year.
A bench of Chief Jus-
tice DN Patel and Justice
Jyoti Singh issued notice
to the Delhi government
and the three MCDs on
the petition seeking di-
rection to the state to im-
mediately withdraw its
November 25 notifica-
tion. By its notification,
the Delhi government
has allegedly improperly
earmarked the appoint-
ment of serving chief
secretary of Govern-
ment of NCT of Delhi as
Election Commissioner
of Municipal Corpora-
tion of Delhi with effect
from April 21, 2022, the
plea filed by BJP MLA
Nand Kishore Garg said.
The plea, filed through
advocate Shashank Deo
Sudhi, claimed that the
appointment was made
in utter violation to the
settled principles of law
which mandates that im-
portant government post
like election commis-
sioner must be offered to
the neutral and apolitical
person and must not be
the party to the several
political as well as ad-
ministrative decision of
a particular government
as it can be capable of af-
fecting the free and fair
election process in the
MCD. —PTI
New Delhi: Delhi has
not been able to meet the
CPCB’s annual average
safe limit of nitrogen di-
oxide – 40 micrograms
per cubic metre – since
2013, according to a new
analysis by air pollution
policy tracking platform
NCAP Tracker.
From 2013 to 2020, Del-
hi’s average annual NO2
levels ranged from 61 mi-
crograms per cubic me-
tre to 73 micrograms per
cubic metre.
The capital recorded
an annual average NO2
concentration of 61 mi-
crograms per cubic me-
tre in 2020, the lowest in
the last 8 years.
This shows that de-
spite the complete na-
tionwide lockdown
which halted all trans-
port, industrial activity
and many other NO2
emitting sources for
three months, the year’s
average could not be any-
where close to the Cen-
tral Pollution Control
Board(CPCB) safe limit
of 40 micrograms per cu-
bic metre.
Nitrogen oxides are a
family of toxic, highly
reactive gases which
form when fuel is burned
at high temperatures.
NOx pollution is emitted
by automobiles, trucks
and various non-road ve-
hicles like construction
equipment, boats, etc.
Industrial sources of
NOx are essentially fos-
sil-fuel based power
plants, incineration
plants, wastewater treat-
ment facilities, glass and
cement production facili-
ties and oil refineries.
Delhi recorded a grad-
ual increase in average
annual NO2 levels from
2015 to 2018, with 2018
and 2019 recording 73.66
micrograms per cubic
metre and 71 micro-
grams per cubic metre,
respectively.
The analysis also re-
vealed that NO2 emis-
sion reduced significant-
ly (by up to 290 per cent)
during the COVID-19
lockdown period from
March 25 to April 30,
2020, compared to the
same period in 2019 due
to the reduced operating
capacity of the thermal
power plants in areas
surrounding Delhi.
During the lockdown,
the NO2 in the city out-
flow was also significant-
ly reduced due to restric-
tions on traffic move-
ment. —PTI
NO2 level way beyond safe limit since 2013: Report
HC seeks Delhi Govt’s reply on appointment of CS as EC
AIR POLLUTION
—Representative Image
SIEGE AT JAMIA
Author Arundhati Roy with other Jamia University
members addresses a press conference on the 2nd
anniversary of the alleged forceful entry of Delhi Police
in Jamia Millia Islamia, at the Press Club of India
—PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: A 20-year-old private tutor was
stabbed to death and his friend injured during
a fight with some people in northwest Delhi’s
Mangolpuri area, police said. According to the
police, they received information around 8.20 pm
about the fight and that two injured persons had
been taken to the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital. A police
team which reached the hospital was informed
that Amardeep, a resident of Mangolpuri, had been
declared dead on arrival.
New Delhi: A man was killed after he was acciden-
tally knocked down by a truck in Delhi’s Burari area,
police said. The truck driver is arrested. Mahender
Kumar, a resident of Tikri Khurd, was en route to his
house on his motorcycle after visiting a relative when
he came under the truck. He was driving a cab for
a living, they said on Wednesday. According to a
senior police officer, the truck driver took the Burari
flyover here only to realise that he was on the wrong
road and hence moved his vehicle backwards.
20-YEAR-OLD PRIVATE TUTOR STABBED TO
DEATH IN DELHI’S MANGOLPURI AREA
MOTORCYCLE-BORNE MAN DIES AFTER
COLLISION WITH TRUCK IN DELHI
CRUCIAL READ
DISMEMBERED BODY OF MAN FOUND
IN DELHI’S ROHINI AREA
THREE ARRESTED FOR DEFRAUDING MAN OF
OVER `11 LAKH IN DELHI
New Delhi: The body of a man with only his torso was
found stuffed inside a plastic jute bag at a secluded
area in Rohini’s Prem Nagar
area here on Wednesday,
police said. The body is yet to
be identified and a team from
the FSL is inspecting the spot.
Deputy Commissioner of Po-
lice (Rohini) Pranav Tayal said,
‘’The body was found in Prem Nagar police station area
with only the male torso. Legal action is being taken
and investigation taken up.”
New Delhi: The Delhi Police crime branch arrested
three people for allegedly defrauding a man of more
than `11 lakh, an officer said.
The arrested accused were
identified as Abhay Kishor,
Sunil Bedi and Anil Kumar.
According to the police, Ar-
jun Kumar filed a complaint
that he was tricked into transferring `11,44,000 to the
bank accounts provided by the accused for availing
overdraft against life insurance policies.
Sisodia launches theme song
of play on life of BR Ambedkar
HC SEEKS POLICE STAND ON ANSALS’ PLEA TO
SUSPEND JAIL TERM IN EVIDENCE TAMPERING CASE
New Delhi: The Delhi HC on Wednesday sought response
from Delhi Police on pleas by real estate barons Sushil
and Gopal Ansal seeking suspension of their seven-year
jail terms awarded for tampering with evidence in the
1997 case of Uphaar cinema fire which had claimed 59
lives. Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notice on the
petitions and also sought response from the complainant,
Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy. On December 3,
Additional Sessions Judge Anil Antil had rejected Ansals’
plea to suspend their conviction and jail term.
Maken: Almost all 864
liquorcontractsareillegal
Air Quality in Delhi, Noida in
‘Very Poor’ Category
Nursery admission begins in
pvt schools with Jan 7 deadline
New Delhi: The air
quality in Delhi con-
tinued to remain in
‘very poor’ quality,
with the overall AQI at
346 at 7:20 am on
wednesday.
According to the
SAFAR, the level of
PM 2.5 at 7:20 am
stands at ‘very poor’
category, while the PM
10 stands at ‘poor’ cat-
egory. With AQI at 344,
the air quality in Noi-
da too remains in the
‘very poor’ category.
Meanwhile, the air
quality in Gurugram
has slipped to the
‘poor’ category. The
AQI here stands at 269.
As per the govern-
ment agencies, an AQI
between zero and 50 is
considered ‘good’, 51
and 100 ‘satisfactory’,
101 and 200 ‘moder-
ate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’,
301and400‘verypoor’,
and 401 and 500 ‘se-
vere’. —ANI
DELHI GOVERNMENT IS
FOLLOWING TRADITION OF
FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO
PAY TRIBUTE TO LEGENDS
This play is an effort to express
our gratitude towards Babasaheb’s
contribution towards the county in
this 75th year of independence.
—Manish Sisodia, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister
First India Bureau
New Delhi: AICC Gen-
eral Secretary Ajay
Maken have slammed
CM Kejriwal’s Govern-
ment and alleges that all
the 864 Liquor Shops
opened under Delhi
Govt’s regime is illegal
under the new MPD-
2021 plan.
Maken took it to the
Twitter on Wednesday
and said, “Almost all 864
contracts opened by Ke-
jriwal are illegal! Under
the Master Plan, MPD-
2021 prepared by me as
Union Urban Develop-
ment Minister.”
“Whatever business
activities were allowed
in ‘Chapter 15- Mixed
Use Regulation’, it is for-
bidden to open liquor
contracts” he added.
Ajay Maken @
ajaymaken
Almost all 864
contracts opened by
Kejriwal are illegal!
Under the Master
Plan, MPD-2021
prepared by me
as Union Urban
Development
Minister—
Whatever business
activities were
allowed in ‘Chapter
15- Mixed Use
Regulation’, it is
forbidden to open
liquor contracts.

INDIA
03
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: On the
second day of Agro
and Food Processing
Summit, various ex-
perts in the fields of
agriculture, technolo-
gy presented their ide-
as on transforming
agriculture through
digital, biological and
technological medi-
ums. Under the
Bharat-2 project, inter-
net and broadband
reach to be expanded
to rural areas, said
NITI Aayog advisor Dr
Nilam Patel, while ad-
dressing the gathering
on Wednesday
.
Explaining the ob-
jective of the Bharat-2
project, Dr Patel stat-
ed, “The penetration
of internet and broad-
band in rural areas
will be expanded so
that farmers can
make maximum use
of the technology
. The
NITI Aayog has suc-
ceeded in bringing
changes.
Bharat-2 toprovidebroadband
connection in rural areas
Empowering rural youth with tech will equip them with knowledge.
New Delhi: India’s
Covid Task Force chief
VK Paul on Tuesday
said there is a potential
scenario that “our vac-
cines may become inef-
fective in emerging sit-
uations” and empha-
sized the need to be
ready to modify the
vaccines as per re-
quirement.
He also hoped that
Covid in India is possi-
bly moving in the direc-
tion of endemicity,
where there is a low or
moderate level of
transmission going on.
Speaking at an event
organised by industry
body CII, Paul also em-
phasised the need for
having vaccine plat-
forms that are adapta-
ble quickly with the
changing nature of the
variants. While noting
that the contribution
of the industry to sci-
ence is low in country,
Paul said, “Our nation-
al investment in sci-
ence is all public mone,
even during dev vac-
cines, a lot of testing
was done at national
laboratory”. Paul also
said effective strategy
should ensure India’s
adult population is ful-
ly vaccinated. —ANI
AMID OMICRON CONCERNS...
...OUR VACCINES MAY BECOME
INEFFECTIVE, SAYS VK PAUL
Paul also emphasizes the need to be ready
to modify the vaccines as per requirement
Medic collects swab sample of Women’s Hockey League players. (R) A 110-bedded quarantine isolation facility in Patna on Wednesday.
India is moving in direction of endemicity
with low or moderate transmission going on
We have experienced Delta shock
and now the Omicron shock…
there is a potential scenario that
our vaccines may become ineffective in
emerging situations in the wake of the
last three weeks of living
with Omicron, we have
seen how such doubts have
come up, some of them
may be genuine, we still
don’t have the final
picture.
—VK Paul, India’s
Covid Task Force chief
Kareena Kapoor’s house
help tests Covid positive
5 travellers from UK test
Covid positive in Noida
3 test positive for Omi-
cron in Hyderabad
Restrictions extended in
Mumbai till Dec 31
Mah govt slashes RT-
PCR rates to Rs 1,975
Kenya detects 3 cases
of Omicron variant
Philippines confirms
first 2 Omicron cases
Algeria confirms 1st
case of Omicron variant
China detects its second
case of Omicron
Australian PM tested for
Covid following casual
contact
Covid-19 third wave is
inevitable, roadmap for
booster dose should be
the focus: Top Expert
New Delhi: Expressing concern over Omicron variant,
Congress leader in LS Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on told
the House that Centre should review its stand on vac-
cinating children and adolescents. He also asked the
government to be fully prepared to avoid a repeat of
the crisis, as was seen during the second surge earlier
in the year. “Till now, 41 people have been infected with
Omicron variant, so its tentacles have spread in other
states also, much to the concern of all of us,” he said.
Kolkata: A seven-year-old boy from Murshidabad
district has become WB’s first resident to test positive
for Omicron variant, state health department said on
Wednesday afternoon. The child and his parents landed
in Hyderabad from Abu Dhabi late on night of Decem-
ber 10. They took a flight to Kolkata on December 11
and, according to reports received so far, travelled to
Farakka in a car.
APPROVE JABS FOR MINORS: ADHIR RANJAN
WB SEES 1ST OMICRON: 7-YR-OLD BOY +VE
New Delhi: Karan Johar,
his family members and
staff have tested negative
for Covid,
he said on
Wednes-
day. In
fact, KJo
also said,
he tested
himself
twice to be safe. He said
that his dinner for 8
guests could not be called
a “party” and denied that
his home was a Covid
“hotspot.”
MY HOME IS NO
COVID HOTSPOT:
KJo TESTS -VE
Vladimir Putin,Jinping
discuss US-organised
Summit for Democracy
9 dead, 22 hurt as bus falls in rivulet in
AP, CM announces `5L ex-gratia for kin
Pulwama: A militant
affiliated to Hizbul Mu-
jahideen was killed in a
gunfight with security
forces in Uzrampathri
of J&K’s Pulwama dis-
trict on the intervening
night of Tuesday &
Wednesday
, said police.
Police identified de-
ceased militant as Feroz
Ahmad Dar, a resident
of Heff-Shrimal in
Shopian. He was in-
volved in many inci-
dents since 2017, includ-
ing an attack in Shopi-
an in 2018, in which
four policemen were
killed. Cops described
Dar as an “A+ category
terrorist”. —ANI
Hiz Mujahideen
militant killed in
gunfight in J&K’s
Pulwama region
Moscow: Russian Pres-
ident Vladimir Putin
and his Chinese coun-
terpart Xi Jinping held
a virtual meeting on
Wednesday and dis-
cussed the recently held
US-organised Summit
for Democracy
.
The Summit for De-
mocracy was held last
week. Both Russia and
China were not invited
to the summit which
saw the participation
dozens of countries. At
the virtual summit,
both Putin and Xi said
that the summit was
“counterproductive”
and imposes new divid-
ing lines in the interna-
tional community
.
“[The leaders] were
unanimous in their as-
sessments that the
event was thought of as
a confrontational one
from the very begin-
ning, and that is what it
actually became,” said
Yuri Ushakov. —ANI
NEWS FROM AROUND WORLD
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. —FILE PHOTO
Hyderabad: At least
nine people died after
an APSRTC bus fell into
a reservoir in West Go-
davari district on
Wednesday afternoon.
The bus driver, seven
women, and one man
were among the dead.
More than 40 other pas-
sengers were rescued
by fishermen and pas-
sersby from the bus
half-submerged in the
Jalleruvagu reservoir.
The mishap hap-
pened near a bridge
while the bus was on its
way from Aswaraopeta.
AP CM YS Jagan Mo-
han Reddy has an-
nounced Rs 5 lakh ex-
gratia to the kin of de-
ceased and has ordered
dist collector to take
care of injured. —ANI
There were 47 passengers in the bus travelling from Velerupadu.
Nagaland Civilian Killings: Protests against Army grows
Kohima: The protests
in Nagaland against
the Armed forces over
last week’s killing of
14 civilians in a
botched operation are
now spreading across
the state.
After a boycott call
by Konyak Union, the
top body of the Kon-
yak Naga tribe that
dominated the dis-
trict, another organi-
sation that represents
Naga tribes of five dis-
tricts has declared
“non-cooperation”
with the security forc-
es until their demands
are fulfilled and jus-
tice is delivered to the
victims of the civilian
killings.
The organization
also asserted that
Home Minister Amit
Shah’s statement in
the Parliament on De-
cember 6 in regard to
the Oting killings,
where he had stated
that the security forc-
es fired in self-de-
fense, should be with-
drawn. —ANI
1 2
WILL BOLSTER IND’S
CAPACITY TO SECURE
ITS BORDERS: GARCETTI
INDIGO DIVERTED
WITHOUT INFORMING,
ALLEGES YSRCP MLA
Mumbai: A penalty of Rs 1.8 crore has been im-
posed on PNB by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
while ICICI Bank has been fined 30 lakh for
deficiencies in regulatory compliances. According
to a statement issued by the central bank, PNB
was found guilty of contravening provisions of the
Banking Regulation Act, 1949, related to pledge
of shares by it. Investigations by RBI found that
PNB had held shares in borrower companies, as
pledgee, of an amount exceeding thirty per cent of
paid-up share capital of those companies.
CRUCIAL READ
K’TAKA: PFI PROTEST
TURNS VIOLENT,
SECTION 144 IMPOSED
LADAKH GETS ITS
FIRST-EVER FM
RADIO STATION
Bengaluru: The police
resorted to lathi-charge
to disperse a crowd of
Popular Front of India
(PFI) supporters in the
coastal Dakshina Kan-
nada. The PFI supporters
were demanding the
release of three leaders
who were detained at
the Uppinangady police
station in connection to
an attempt-to-murder
case. Sources said that
9 cops, including Puttur
DSP Gana P Kumar &
over 10 PFI members
were injured in Uppinan-
gady under Puttur taluk,
53 km from Mangaluru.
Leh: Ladakh got its first
ever FM radio station
in its capital city Leh,
officials said. Advisor
Ladakh, Umang Narula
launched the first-ever
Top FM radio in Leh,
they said.The frequency
for Leh & Kargil will be
91.1 FM and it will cover
50 kilometres aerial
distance in radius, they
said. “Congratulating
the team of Sambhav
Media Group,” he said
and added that it is a
wonderful step and a
new source of entertain-
ment and information
for the people of Leh and
Ladakh.
New Delhi: A Eric
Garcetti, US President
Joe Biden’s nominee for
next envoy to New Delhi,
has said that he intends
to double-down on
Washington’s efforts to
strengthen India’s capac-
ity to secure its borders.
Stating that India is situ-
ated in a “tough neigh-
bourhood”, Garcetti said
that if confirmed as en-
voy, “I intend to double-
down on our efforts to
strengthen India’s capac-
ity to secure its borders
and deter aggression
through counterterror-
ism coordination.”
Renigunta (AP): Rajah-
mundry-bound IndiGo
flight for Tirupati was
diverted to Bengaluru
airport on Tuesday due
to a technical snag in the
aircraft. Actor-turned-
politician and YSRCP
MLA Roja Selvamani
and TDP senior leader
and former Finance
Minister Yanamala
Ramakrishnudu were on
board in flight. Roja said
that flight was diverted
without informing the
passengers on board.
She said that she will file
a defamation suit against
IndiGo for demanding
excess money.
RBI IMPOSES `1.8 CRORE PENALTY ON
PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK, ALSO FINES ICICI
HIGHLIGHTS
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment said on
Wednesday that it is
bringing key amend-
ments to reform the
electoral process based
on the Election Com-
mission’s recommen-
dations. According to
the EC, pilot projects
conducted by it have
been very positive and
successful. The gov-
ernment will introduce
these key electoral re-
forms in winter ses-
sion of the parliament.
Four major reforms
are being introduced to
strengthen the elector-
al rolls. Just like PAN-
Aadhaar linking, seed-
ing of Aadhaar with
one’s voter ID or an
electoral card will now
be allowed. However,
unlike the former, this
is being done on a vol-
untary basis, in ac-
cordance with the right
to privacy judgment of
SC and a test of propor-
tionality
.
EC has also decided
to make the law gen-
der-neutral for service
officers, allowing hus-
band of service officer
to vote as well. —ANI
4 major reforms soon to strengthen electoral rolls!
n To make
voting more
inclusive
n To give more
power to EC
n To weed out
duplicates
Chance to register
4 times in a year...
Another proposal is to
allow more attempts to reg-
ister in the electoral rolls.
Starting January 1 next
year, first-time voters turn-
ing 18 will have the chance
to register four times a year
with four different cut-off
dates. They could do this
only once a year till now.

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 1 Issue No. 107
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
Onewhoseesinactionin
action,andactionininaction,
isintelligentamongmen.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
The auspicious Durga Puja reflects
India’s splendid cultural heritage and
spirit of unity. It is great to learn that
this iconic festival has been inscribed
on UNESCO’s #IntangibleHeritage list.
Every Indian is immensely proud.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Group Captain Varun Singh will always
be remembered for his exceptional
gallantry, fortitude and service to
the nation. Deeply sorrowed by the
passing away of this braveheart. My
sincerest condolences to his family
and friends. Om Shanti
TOP TWEETS
ASPIRING INDIAN
WOMEN HAVE ONE
MORE ROLE MODEL
IN LEENA NAIR
eena Nair has joined
the ever-increasing
list of Indians head-
ing global compa-
nies. A mentee of
Indira Nooyi, the first Indian
woman global CEO, Leena is a
gold medallist from XLRI, Jam-
shedpur, Leena has, as a top hu-
man resource executive, become
a role model for other women
and HR executives to break the
proverbial glass ceiling. It is in-
deed a proud moment for all
women in India.
As the global CEO of the $10
billion luxury firm Chanel, Lee-
na’s appointment comes soon
after Parag Agarwal’s appoint-
ment as Chief Executive Officer
of Twitter. In the big league
ahead of her are: Satya Nadella,
Sundar Pichai, Shantanu Naray-
en, Puneet Renuen and nine oth-
ers. Some of these big names
adorning top positions in global
companies are also a testimony
to the quality of education in
some of India’s better known
educational institutions. Also,
their rise proves that if given
the right environment in a work-
place they have the potential to
rise to the highest position.
L
here’sanoverdose
of religion by the
BJP in the run-up
to assembly elec-
tions in Uttar
Pradesh. First there was the
grand opening of the Kashi
Vishwanath Dham corridor,
where Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modiremainedthecentre
of all media attention.
He invited criticism that in
a secular state the PM should
not be seen aligning with
only one religion. Modi fol-
lowed this up with a visit to
the Swarveda temple.
Making good use of Vara-
nasi as his parliamentary
constituency, the PM chaired
a meeting of all 11 chief min-
isters of BJP-ruled states
where he directed them to
give “topmost priority to de-
velopment and ease of liv-
ing” and fighting malnutri-
tion. A day from now the re-
ligious city will host a na-
tional conference of mayors
to be addressed by the prime
minister. These events are an
effective answer to Modi’s
critics who only saw the
country’s secular creden-
tials being compromised at
the KVD show.
But there is no denying that
there is a surfeit of religion in
the state. References to Au-
rangzeb, Shivaji, Jinnah, top-
ee waale, lungi waale have al-
ready figured in the political
discourse and that definitely
is not the end of it.
After all, real campaigning
isyettobegin.Withthe11chief
ministers moving from Vara-
nasi to Ram Janmabhoomi in
Ayodhya in an unprecedented
move, the state has become
more of a pilgrimage centre
with overt political intentions.
One significant lesson
which the BJP CMs should
learn from the PM is that of
taking a midnight stroll to
check the development work.
He has certainly transformed
Varanasi.
SURFEIT OF RELIGION
IN POLL-BOUND UP
One significant lesson
which the BJP CMs
should learn from the PM
is that of taking a
midnight stroll to check
the development work.
He has certainly
transformed Varanasi
T
he 75th year of Independence
is a time to introspect, work
and live for the nation in line
with the vision highlighted
by our forefathers. December
15 marks the death anniver-
sary of the great “unifier of
the nation”, Sardar Vallabh
Bhai Patel. The people of In-
dia will remain forever in-
debted to him for his leader-
ship during the freedom
struggle and his vision, wis-
dom, and statesmanship in
the post-Independence era.
Patel began his public life
as a municipal councillor in
Ahmedabad and went on to
become the Home Minister
and Deputy Prime Minister
of India. He had a granular
understanding of the vari-
ous stakeholders in govern-
ance and administration and
their relevance, roles, and
responsibilities. His stead-
fast approach while handling
the complexities of the coun-
try made him a responsible
voice of the masses. He ac-
tively strengthened the free-
dom struggle by mobilising
people to fly the national flag
at public places in 1922-23.
The non-violent Bardoli
Satyagraha turned out to be
a matchless victory for peas-
ants against the mighty Brit-
ish empire. His role in it led
women to bestow him with
the title of “Sardar”. As an
uncompromising discipli-
narian and advocate for uni-
ty, he made remarkable con-
tributions to the 1937 provin-
cial elections, individual
Satyagraha, the Quit India
Movement.
For this, he spent consider-
able time in prison. As chair-
man of the Advisory Com-
mittee on Fundamental
Rights, Minorities and Tribal
and Excluded Areas of the
Constituent Assembly, Patel
piloted important sections in
the Constitution related to
fundamental and minority
rights. He even emphasised
that rights and duties are two
sides of the same coin.
His meticulous handling
of the integration of the
princely states in a short
time bears testimony to his
zeal and steadfastness. Pa-
tel’s diplomatic manoeuvres
secured the “accession” of
princely states and provided
shape to the nation, bringing
these areas in line with the
constitutional framework.
The internal power strug-
gles and sheer lack of demo-
cratic values in the Congress
werevisiblewhilechoosingthe
first prime minister of inde-
pendentIndia.Itispertinentto
note that 12 out of 15 Congress
Committees preferred Patel as
leader. Nevertheless, Nehru
was selected prime minister at
this crucial juncture.
Sardar Patel’s letter to
Nehru on November 7, 1950,
clearly highlights his vigor-
ous criticism of Nehru’s han-
dling of Tibet, China, and
Kashmir. Nehru’s orientation
resulted in the India-China
and India-Pakistan wars in
later years. The 41-year delay
in posthumously awarding
the Bharat Ratna to Sardar
Patel is another matter that
underlines the Congress’s re-
luctance in giving Patel the
credit he deserves as a nation
builder. He was denied his
due thanks to Nehruvian and
leftist historians.
In addition to taking on the
mammoth task of unification,
the Iron Man of India was in-
strumental in strengthening
the steel frame of India — the
All India Services. In Novem-
ber 1947, he decided to cultur-
ally connect the shared herit-
age and ethos of Indians by
reconstructingthedemolished
Somnath temple that would
depict the story of India’s re-
surgence, the victory of con-
struction over destruction.
The current government,
under the visionary leader-
ship of Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi, has undertaken
several initiatives in line with
Patel’s ideals and example.
The steel frame of India is be-
ing further strengthened to
prepare future-ready civil
servants through Mission
Karma Yogi. This capacity-
building programme aims to
overcome the challenges of a
technologically-connected
world, facilitate ease of living
for citizens, provide the best
governance, and make India’s
the world’s best civil services.
The repeal of Article 370
was a well-thought-out move
of the Modi government to
correctahistoricblunder.The
government is also fulfilling
Patel’s dream with the overall
development of Somnath,
apartfrommakingthetemple
complex more attractive.
On Patel’s 143rd birth anni-
versary
, the Statue of Unity
,
the tallest statue of the world,
was dedicated to the nation.
From 2014 onwards, his birth
anniversary
, October 31, is ob-
served as “National Unity
Day”. The Ek Bharat-Shresh-
tha Bharat initiative further
strengthensthesustainedand
structured cultural connec-
tionbetweendifferentregions.
Itisworthrealisingthatthe
society we inherit owes every-
thing to our forefathers. They
worked hard to institutional-
ise the framework that em-
powers individuals to grow,
attaintheirpotentialandscale
new heights for the nation as
a whole. As a part of the ongo-
ing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav,
thedeathanniversaryof Sard-
ar Patel is an opportune mo-
ment to pay homage to the
supreme sacrifices of the
countless known and un-
known individuals who made
this possible, and pledge to
achieve the goal of building a
NewIndiaasatributetothem.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL
The writer is Union Minister of State for
Parliamentary Affairs and Culture
His meticulous handling of
the integration of the
princely states in a short
time bears testimony to his
zeal and steadfastness.
Patel’s diplomatic
manoeuvres secured the
“accession” of princely
states and provided shape
to the nation, bringing
these areas in line with the
constitutional framework
The current
government, under the
visionary leadership of
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, has undertaken
several initiatives in line
with Patel’s ideals and
example. The steel frame
of India is being further
strengthened to prepare
future-ready civil
servants through
Mission Karma Yogi
CELEBRATING
THE UNIFIER;
TRIBUTES TO
SARDAR PATEL

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INDIA
05
New Delhi: In a breath-
er for crypto trading
platforms, the Crypto-
currency and Regula-
tion of Official Digital
Currency Bill, 2021,
which was listed by the
Government as one of
the agenda items for the
Winter Session of the
Parliament, might not
be tabled in the ongoing
Session.
The Government is
mulling changes to the
proposed legislation’s
framework which
means it may not be in-
troduced in the Winter
Session.
Some of the issues
pertaining to the Bill
need more discussions
and comments from the
public. These include
matters such as the in-
clusion of the Central
Bank Digital Currency
(CBDC) in the current
framework or under the
RBI Act.
The Government felt
that any law around
cryptocurrencies needs
to be in synch with a
global framework
which is still evolving
after discussing the
matter at the highest
levels, the report said,
quoting official.
“It may be better to
wait and observe how
the situation pans glob-
ally, they added. How-
ever, for consumer pro-
tection and taxation of
cryptocurrencies, exist-
ing laws and regula-
tions could be tapped, it
was felt.
At US President Joe
Biden-hosted Democra-
cy Summit, Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
called for synchronised
efforts to shape social
media norms and cryp-
tocurrencies to ensure
they are used to “em-
power democracy and
not to undermine”.
The official further
said any potential cryp-
tocurrency framework
should be formed after
consulting all stake-
holders amid an
evolving global consen-
sus on the matter.
— Agencies
Dehradun: Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
on Wednesday said that
the Centre won't let
powers spoil India's
relations with Nepal.
Singh, addressing the
gathering on the occa-
sion of the Shaeed Sam-
man Yatra and founda-
tion stone laying cere-
mony of 'Sainya Dham'
in Dehradun, said,
There are powers that
want to spoil India's re-
lations with Nepal. I
want to tell you that if
we need to bow our
head, we will do it but
we won't let our rela-
tionsbreakwithNepal.”
The gathering at the
'Shaheed Samman
Yatra' event also ob-
served a minute's si-
lence and paid tribute
to Group Captain
Varun Singh who
passed away at Bengal-
uru Command Hospital
on Wednesday. —ANI
Anita Hada
New Delhi: 18 Chief
Ministers and Deputy
Chief Ministers of the
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty and its allies are
gathered in Varanasi
and not a single one of
them is a Dalit. The
BJP had announced
that it would make a
Dalit chief minister in
Punjab. But what will
happen to that promise
now? In Punjab, there
is an ‘alliance’ between
the Bharatiya Janata
Party and Captain Am-
arinder Singh’s Punjab
Lok Congress. This co-
ordination will be on
the same lines on
which Akali Dal and
BJP used to coordinate
earlier. That is, like the
Akali Dal, Captain’s
Punjab Lok Congress
will be a major player
and will fight on more
seats. BJP will fight on
fewer seats so obvious-
ly the chief ministerial
candidate will not be
from BJP.
Captain Amarinder
Singh, leader of Punjab
Lok Congress will con-
test on his own face.
This means that if the
situation arises to form
the government, then
the Chief Minister will
be Amarinder Singh.
This means that the
BJP will have to with-
draw its claim of a Dalit
Chief Minister in Pun-
jab. It can certainly
make as many Dalit
Deputy Chief Minis-
ters as possible, but this
promise has not been
made till now.
On the other hand,
Akali Dal has an-
nounced that if its gov-
ernment is formed, a
Dalit leader of Bahujan
Samaj Party will be-
come the Deputy Chief
Minister. Arvind Kejri-
wal’s Aam Aadmi Party
has also promised to
make Dalit Deputy
Chief Minister and
Congress is contesting
elections on its recently
appointed Dalit Chief
Minister.
What will happen to the Dalit CM of BJP?
DALIT POLITICS
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: So now,
former Congress
president Rahul
Gandhi has also
towed the line that
political observers
claim is originally
of the BJP i.e. form-
ing a 'Hindu Raj'. Af-
ter proving himself
as a 'Janeudhari'
Kashmiri Brahmin
and visiting many
temples, he has now
declared that the
' H i n d u t v av a d i s '
have to be removed
from power and Hin-
dus have to come to
power. Think, a few
days ago, could a
Congress leader talk
about establishing
'Hindus Raj? But the
BJP has made
caused such ripples
in the 'political
pool', by 'weaponis-
ing' the thought of
Hindu Rashtra and
has mentally condi-
tioned Hindus in
this name in such a
way, that even the
Congress has to talk
about Hindu Raj.
Rahul Gandhi has
given a long lecture
on Hindus and Hin-
dutvawadis but has
not explained how
the Hindu Raj he is
talking about will be
different from the
Hindu Rashtra of
the BJP.
Rahul Gandhi
called Mahatma
Gandhi a Hindu and
his assassin Na-
thuram Godse a Hin-
dutvawadi. Then he
said that Hindu in-
sists for truth and
Hindutva insists for
power. In this way,
Rahul Gandhi has
talked about making
a Hindu Raj envi-
sioned by Mahatma
Gandhi. Significant-
ly, Mahatma Gandhi
himself used to talk
about Ram Rajya,
but his Ram Rajya
was completely dif-
ferent and a glimpse
of it is found in his
book 'Hind Swaraj'.
If Rahul Gandhi is
talking about that,
then he will have to
put a theoretical
framework of this
before the citizens of
the country as mere-
ly giving speeches in
rallies will not be of
any use. He should
prepare a new pre-
amble on the basis
of Mahatma Gan-
dhi's vision of Ram
Rajya and keep it in
front of the people
of the country, mak-
ing a new Congress
by changing the ex-
isting Congress.
And if he con not do
this, then it seems,
Rahul has merely
employed a ruse to
extract 'religious
sentiment' for politi-
cal capital, which
incidentally, accord-
ing to Rahul, is what
BJP and its leaders
engage in.
WillRahulestablish
RamRajyaenvisioned
byMahatmaGandhi?
We won't let
‘powers’ spoil
relations with
Nepal: Rajnath
Ex-CJI reacts
over privilege
motion moved
against him
Rahul Gandhi
Rajnath Singh
New Delhi: React-
ing to the privilege
motion moved by
several Rajya Sabha
Members against
him, former Chief
Justice of India
(CJI) and Rajya Sab-
ha member Ranjan
Gogoi on Wednes-
day said that the
law will take its
own course.
Gogoi further in-
formed that he will
not be able to attend
Parliament’s pro-
ceedings today, but
was present there
on Monday and
Tuesday. This
comes as Shiv Sena
and IUML MPs, ear-
lier in the day, sub-
mitted privilege
motions against Go-
goi on his remarks
on attending the
House to a media
outlet. —ANI
GOVT GOES SLOW ON CRYPTO BILL!
Centre mulling changes to proposed legislation’s framework which means it may not be tabled in Winter Session
New Delhi: Amid de-
mand for the removal
of Union Minister Ajay
Kumar Mishra by the
Opposition, the Lok
Sabha was adjourned
till 11 am on Thursday.
Several Congress
leaders, including
Rahul Gandhi, moved
adjournment motions
in the House demand-
ing the removal of
Ajay Mishra Teni as
Minister of State (MoS)
for Home Affairs over
the Lakhimpur Kheri
incident.
The Lok Sabha was
earlier adjourned twice
in the day, first till
noon and then till 2
pm amid uproar in the
House. —ANI
RUCKUS IN LS OVER LAKHIMPUR INCIDENT; ADJOURNED
New Delhi: The Union
Cabinet on Wednesday
approved a budget of
Rs 76,000 crore for de-
signing and manufac-
turing semiconductor
chips in India.
Union Information
and Broadcasting Min-
ister Anurag Thakur
said the cabinet sanc-
tioned Rs 76,000 crore
for the ambitious pro-
ject, titled Programme
for Development of
Semiconductors and
Display Manufacturing
Ecosystem, to be spent
over a span of six years
According to the Gov-
ernment, the project
will have a multiplier
effect across different
sectors and will help in
deeper integration to
the global value chain.
It would contribute
significantly towards
achieving $5 trillion
dollar economy and $5
trillion GDP by 2025.
Elaborating on the
scheme, Union minister
for Telecom and Infor-
mation Technology (IT)
Ashwini Vaishnaw
said, “Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has tak-
en a historic decision in
the field of Electronics
in which the develop-
ment of a complete eco-
system could take place
within the country in-
cluding design, fabrica-
tion, testing and pack-
aging. It would take the
investment of Rs 76,000
crore. Today we have
reached USD75 billion
in electronics manufac-
turing in 7 years. With
the pace that we are
moving at, in the next 6
years, we will reach
USD300 billion in elec-
tronics manufactur-
ing.” —ANI
Cabinet OK’s `76k for
designing, manufacturing
of semiconductor chips
Ranjan Gogoi
MHA: No plan
to enumerate
caste census
New Delhi: The
Central Govern-
ment has reiterated
its stand that there
is no plan to enu-
merate caste-wise
data in Census 2021
other than Sched-
uled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes.
The Ministry of
Home Affairs in-
formed Rajya Sab-
ha that the decision
has been taken as a
matter of policy
.
“The Govern-
ment has not enu-
merated caste-wise
population other
than SCs and STs in
Census since inde-
pendence,” Minis-
ter of State Nity-
anand Rai stated.
The Ministry
also informed that
they are aware that
a resolution to con-
duct a caste-based
census has been
passed by Andhra
Pradesh Assembly
.
— Agencies
IN THE COURTYARD
COURT RELIEVES ARYAN FROM
APPEARING EVERY WEEK
Mumbai: The Bombay
High Court on Wednesday
relieved Aryan Khan, who
was arrested in the drugs-
on-cruise case, from
appearing before Narcot-
ics Control Bureau (NCB)
every week. However,
the court directed him to
appear before Delhi’s SIT
whenever summoned.
Aryan Khan along with
other accused Arbaaz
Merchant and Munmun
Dhamecha were granted
bail by the HC on October
28 in the drugs-on-cruise
case. An NCB team
busted an alleged drugs
party on the Cordelia
Cruise ship which was on
its way to Goa at mid-sea
on October 2 night. Eight
persons were detained for
questioning by the NCB in
connection with the case.
NOTIFY 27% OBC
SEATS AS GEN:
SC TELLS MAHA
SC ACQUITS
THREE DEATH
ROW CONVICTS
PAY COVID RELIEF
WITHIN 10 DAYS:
SC TO MAHA
SC RAPS ED OVER
INDISCRIMINATE
USE OF PMLA ACT
SC COMMUTES
DEATH PENALTY
OF CRIMINAL
SC GIVES RELIEF
FROM ARREST
TO RAJ KUNDRA
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court asked the Maha-
rashtra Government and
State poll panel to renotify
the 27 per cent seats re-
served for OBCs in the
local body polls and hold
elections to them along
with the polls to the re-
maining 73%. Earlier the
SC had stayed the elec-
tions to the 27% reserved
seats stating that the
decision to earmark the
quota was done without
following the triple-test.
Court acquitted three
murder accused who
were sentenced to death
by the Trial Court and the
Allahabad High Court.
The bench comprising
Justices L. Nageswara
Rao, BR Gavai and BV
Nagarathna observed that
the prosecution utterly
failed to prove the case
beyond reasonable doubt.
Momin Khan was accused
of murdering his parents,
brother and other rela-
tives following a dispute.
Jaikam Khan is a cousin
of Momin Khan. — ANI
New Delhi: While hearing
the Covid compensation
issue, the Supreme Court
raps the States once
again. The SC expressed
its displeasure and chas-
tised the States for their
lax attitude. Maharashtra
has been given ten days
to make the payment,
which includes both the
authorisation and the
actual payment. It is
regrettable that only 1600
out of 85,000 have been
granted says Supreme
Court to Maharashtra. The
SC has taken notice of the
States' failure. —ANI
Court on Wednesday told
the Enforcement Direc-
torate that indiscriminate
use of the Prevention of
Money Laundering Act
will dilute the relevance
of the legislation. A bench
of Chief Justice of India
NV Ramana, Justice AS
Bopanna and Justice
Hima Kohli made the
observation while hearing
two cases by petitioners
who had been named as
accused under the PMLA.
The first case pertains to
a man named Narender
Kumar Patel. —ANI
New Delhi: The top court
has commuted the death
penalty of a man convict-
ed for raping and killing a
three-year-old girl in 2016
and considered the pos-
sibility of his reformation
and rehabilitation. Com-
muting the death sen-
tence of a Chhattisgarh
resident to life imprison-
ment. The Bench passed
the order on an appeal
filed by Lochan Srivas
against the conviction and
death penalty. —ANI
NO COMMENT: APEX COURT
ON GUJARAT COVID DEATHS
New Delhi: Under-
reporting of Covid
deaths may or may not
have happened and the
only concern now is
ensuring that compen-
sations are paid to the
maximum number of
families who suffered,
the Supreme Court said
after Gujarat com-
plained that the media
has misreported the
issue. Gujarat had, in a
way, admitted 10,000
more Covid deaths
yesterday in its data
submitted to the court
on compensation paid
to the families who
lost a loved one to the
pandemic, which made
headlines. The SC
lauded the Gujarat's
adverts giving publicity
relating to disbursal of
the ex-gratia compen-
sation to the family of
the Covid victims in
compliance with its
earlier orders. —Agencies
Court on Wednesday
granted four weeks'
protection from arrest
to businessman and
Bollywood actor Shilpa
Shetty's husband Raj
Kundra in connection with
one of the cases involving
allegations of producing
and streaming porno-
graphic content.A Bench
headed by Justice Vineet
Saran granted immunity
to Kundra from arrest for
four weeks. —ANI

BIZ BUZZ
06
NTPCawardsIndia’s
1ST GREEN H2 PROJECT
New Delhi: State-run
power giant NTPC on
Wednesday said it has
awarded a standalone
fuel-cell based green
hydrogen microgrid
project at Simhadri, in
Andhra Pradesh.
“NTPC has awarded a
project of standalone
Fuel-Cell based Micro-
grid with hydrogen
production using elec-
trolyser in NTPC Guest
House at Simhadri
(near Visakhapat-
nam),” a power minis-
try statement said.
As per the state-
ment, this will be In-
dia’s first green hydro-
gen-based energy stor-
age project and one of
the largest in the
world.
The ministry said
that it would be a pre-
cursor to large-scale
hydrogen energy stor-
age projects and would
be useful for studying
and deploying multiple
microgrids in various
off grid and strategic
locations of the coun-
try. The hydrogen
would be produced us-
ing the advanced 240
kW Solid Oxide Elec-
trolyser by taking in-
put power from the
nearby Floating Solar
project. The hydrogen
produced during sun-
shine hours would be
stored at high pressure
and would be electri-
fied using a 50 kW Sol-
id Oxide Fuel Cell. —PTI
This
will be
India’s first green
hydrogen-based
energy storage project
and one of the largest
in the world
Sensexslipsfor4thday
straightinclosingbell
Mumbai: Equity
benchmark Sensex
dropped 329 points
on Wednesday, track-
ing losses in index
majors Infosys, Bajaj
Finance and HDFC
amid a mixed trend
in global markets.
The 30-share index
slumped 329.06
points or 0.57 per
cent to end 57,788.03.
Similarly, the NSE
Nifty fell 103.50
points or 0.60 per
cent to 17,221.40.
Bajaj Finance was
the top
loser
i n
the Sensex pack,
shedding over 3 per
cent, followed by Ba-
jaj Finserv, Power-
Grid, ITC and TCS.
On the other hand,
Sun Pharma, Kotak
Bank, MM, Maruti
andLTwereamong
the gainers.
According to ana-
lysts, weak global
cues and continued
foreign fund outflow
are weighing on
market sentiment.
Elsewhere in Asia,
bourses in Shanghai
and Hong Kong end-
ed with losses, while
Tokyo and Seoul
were positive.
Stock exchang-
es in Europe
were also
trad-
ing on a mixed note
in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, inter-
national oil bench-
mark Brent crude
fell 0.90 per cent to
USD 73.04 per barrel.
—PTI
TOP LOSERS
MFI loan portfolio grows 5.16% to `2.43 lakh crore as on Sept-end
New Delhi: The gross
loan portfolio (GLP) of
microfinance industry
grew by 5.16% to `2.43
lakh crore as on Sep-
tember 30, 2021 from
`2.31 lakh crore in the
year-ago period, ac-
cording to a report by
Microfinance Institu-
tions Network (MFIN)
on Wednesday
. MFIN is
an industry associa-
tion comprising of 58
NBFC-MFIs and 39 as-
sociates including
banks, small finance
banks (SFBs) and NB-
FCs.
The industry served
5.65 crore unique bor-
rowers, through 10.52
crore loan accounts as
of September-end.
As of September 30,
2021, 13 banks held the
largest share of portfo-
lio in micro-credit with
total loan outstanding
of `1.01 lakh crore,
which is 41.52% of to-
tal microcredit uni-
verse.
NBFC-MFIs (non-
banking financial com-
pany-microfinance in-
stitution) are the sec-
ond largest provider of
micro-credit with a
loan amount outstand-
ing of `82,749 crore, ac-
counting for 33.95% to
total industry portfo-
lio, the report said.
Small fi-
n a n c e
b a n k s
(SFBs) had
a total loan
amount outstanding of
`40,534 crore with a to-
tal share of 16.63%.
NBFCs accounted
for another 6.85% and
other MFIs account for
1.05% of the universe,
the report said.
The microfinance
active loan accounts
rose by 0.22% during
the past 12 months to
10.52 crore as on Sep-
t e m -
ber 30, 2021. In
terms of regional dis-
tribution of GLP, east
and northeast and
south accounted for
65% of the total portfo-
lio, it said.
The report said
gross loan portfolio of
NBFC-MFIs increased
by 15.45% to `81,408
crore as on September
30, 2021, as compared to
`70,512 crore as on Sep-
tember 30, 2020. The
GLP includes an owned
portfolio of `71,010
crore and managed
portfolio of `10,398
crore.
As on September 30,
2021, NBFC-MFIs, on
an aggregated basis,
had a network of 15,789
branches with 1,31,009
employees.
In the second quar-
ter of fiscal 2021-22,
NBFC-MFIs disbursed
a loan amount of
`19,672 crore through
54.26 lakh accounts, as
compared to `8,155
crore disbursed in Q2
of FY 2020-21 through
25.99 lakh accounts, the
report said.
Averageloanamount
disbursed per account
during Q2 FY 2021-22
was `36,251 which is an
increase of around
15.54% in comparison
to the same quarter of
last financial year.
NBFC-MFIs received
a total of `14,389 crore
in debt funding during
Q2 FY 2021-22, which is
a 46.86% increase from
the year-ago quarter.
Total equity of the
NBFC-MFIs grew by
12.16% year-on-year to
`19,139 crore as on Sep-
tember 30, 2021, the re-
port said. —PTI
As of Sept 30, 2021,
13 banks held the
largest share of
portfolio in micro-
credit with total
loan outstanding of
`1.01 lakh crore,
which is 41.52% of
total microcredit
universe
Paytm slides 13%
as investors lock-
in period expires
Mumbai: Shares of One 97 Com-
munications, the parent company
of digital payments platform Pay-
tm, fell as much as 13 per cent in the
early morning deals on Wednesday
after the lock-in period of its insti-
tutional investors expired.
Paytm had a disappointing debut
last month, listing at a 9 per cent
discount from its issue price and
hitting a lower circuit on the first
day
.
During the opening deals on
Wednesday, the scrip crashed 13.37
per cent to `1,296.00 apiece on the
National Stock Exchange (NSE),
while on the BSE, it declined 13.22
per cent to `1297.70.
However, the stock trimmed some
of its early losses and was down
around 9 per cent lower in the late
morning deals. At 10:32 am, it was
trading at `1358.00, down 9.19 per
cent while on NSE, it
was at ` 1,363.40,
down 8.87 per cent.
—Agencies
Mumbai: Ordering gro-
ceries, vegetables and dai-
ly essentials is just a What-
sApp away as billionaire
Mukesh Ambani’s e-com-
merce platform JioMart
taps into the popular
messaging app to scale
up online business in its
fight for dominance in
the giant Indian retail
market with Amazon and
Walmart-owned Flipkart.
Ambani’s twin chil-
dren, Akash and Isha
gave a preview of the or-
dering at Meta’s
second edition
of the Fuel for
India event on
Wednesday
.
A new ‘tap
and chat’ option
allows users to order gro-
ceries through WhatsApp.
Delivery is free and there
is no minimum order val-
ue. Customer can fill their
shopping carts
within the app
a n d
pay either via JioMart or
in cash on delivery
.
Also, prepaid users of
Reliance Jio can recharge
using WhatsApp.
“As Jio and Meta teams
work closely, we are open-
ing more and more ave-
nues of working to-
gether. One such
avenue is Jio
on What-
s A p p ,
which is
simplify-
i n g
t h e
entire
‘ p r e -
paid re-
charge’,” Akash said.
This, he said, will bring
consumers convenience
like they’ve never had be-
fore. —PTI
BURGER KING PLANS TO RAISE `1,500
CRORE VIA SECURITIES
TVS AND BMW TO EXPAND
PARTNERSHIP INTO EVs
GFM raises `3800 crore
to build office buildings
New Delhi: Godrej
group’s real estate pri-
vate equity arm
Godrej Fund Manage-
ment on Wednesday
said it has raised
`3,800 crore for devel-
opment of premium
office assets.
The compa-
ny an-
n o u n c e d
the fi-
nal
closure of its $500 mil-
lion office develop-
ment fund, GBTC II.
‘’GFM will develop
grade-A office assets
that will be valued in
excess of `11,000 crore
on completion and the
total value of the as-
sets including those
from previous funds
will take the portfolio
value on completion
to over `22,000
crore,’’ a
statement
said.—PTI
New Delhi: Restaurant chain Burger King
India on Wednesday said it plans
to raise up to `1,500 crore
through further issuance
of securities. The board of
directors of the company, at
its meeting, also approved
increasing the authorised
share capital to `600 crore
from `550 crore, along with
the changing of the name of
the company from Burger King India
Ltd to Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd. The
company said the board approved raising
of funds by way of further issuance of
securities through public and/or private
offerings, including preferential issue,
qualified institutions placement,
further public offer or any of the
permissible modes in one or
more tranches. This will be for an
aggregate amount not exceeding
`1,500 crore, subject to applicable laws
and necessary shareholder and regulatory
approvals, it added. —PTI
New Delhi: TVS Motor Company
and the BMW Group are likely
to announce an alliance for joint
development, manufacturing, and
exports of EVs from India, in their
bid to penetrate deeper into
the fast-growing EV space.
According to people in the
know, under the arrangements
deliberated by TVS and BMW
– the two partners intend to
co-develop an electric vehicle
platform for manufacturing a
range of EV two-wheelers for both
partners ranging from scooters
to motorcycles and even new
concepts. One of three people said
that the alliance discussions are
likely modelled around
the Bajaj-Triumph
partnership, which
has joint development
and manufacturing
collaboration but is
unlikely to include equity.
—PTI
JioMart taps WhatsApp to deliver groceries
TAP CHAT OPTION

07
NEWS
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: The Har-
yana Police has
emerged at the first po-
sition in the country in
Crime and Criminals
Tracking Network Sys-
tems. At a meeting
state’s Chief Secretary
Sanjeev Kaushal lauded
the officers and employ-
ees of Police Depart-
ment for being at the
first position in CCTNS.
The meeting was also
attended by Additional
Chief Secretary (Home)
Rajeev Arora.
While presiding over
the second meeting of
the State Level Commit-
tee constituted to imple-
ment the Inter-operable
Criminal Justice Sys-
tem (ICJS) in Haryana
directed the officers
concerned to explore
the possibilities of de-
veloping a system with
latest technologies un-
der which the entire
data of individual dis-
trict recorded by the
police is integrated un-
der one roof, making it
easily accessible. In the
first phase, this system
should be implemented
on a pilot project basis
in any one district, di-
rected Kaushal.
The Chief Secretary
also lauded the officers
and employees of Police
Department for being at
the first position in the
country under Crime
and Criminals Track-
ing Network Systems
(CCTNS).
In the meeting, Addi-
tional Director General
of Police, Administra-
tion, Arshinder Singh
Chawla said the Inter-
operable Criminal Jus-
tice System (ICJS) has
been made live from to-
day onwards to make
the justice delivery sys-
tem more expeditious
and transparent in Har-
yana.
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: Reiterat-
ing his government’s
firm commitment to en-
sure congenial atmos-
phere to the investors
and industrialists, Pun-
jab Chief Minister
Charanjit Singh Chan-
ni on Wednesday as-
sured the representa-
tives of various indus-
trial associations that
their entire genuine
grievances would be ad-
dressed on the priority
in fast track mode.
Addressing the mem-
bers of various indus-
trial associations, who
called on CM Channi
here in the presence of
Local Government Min-
ister Brahm Mohindra,
the Chief Minister said
that most of their de-
mands have already
been met as promised
by him during the Pun-
jab Investors’ Summit
and the remaining
would also be resolved
amicably soon after get-
ting these thoroughly
examined from the con-
cerned quarters. He
said that since the is-
sues flagged by the rep-
resentatives of the in-
dustry at this platform
are of diverse nature
viz. GST, Pollution and
Power, which need to be
tackled after due dili-
gence by taking the
views of respective ad-
ministrative secretar-
ies.
Taking note of the
SMS racket in the Steel
Market of Mandi Gob-
indgarh, CM Channi
ordered the SSP Fate-
hgarh Sahib to take ac-
tion against unscrupu-
lous elements. He also
asked the PSPCL au-
thorities to look into the
demand of various in-
dustrial associations
for waiver of fixed elec-
tricity charges of two
months.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: A multi-
disciplinary team from
the National Jal Jeevan
Mission is on a four-day
visit to Jharkhand from
December 14.
The team members
have been visiting vil-
lages in Ranchi, Serai-
kela Kharsawan and
Purbhi Singham dis-
tricts. The team mem-
bers will discuss vari-
ous aspects of progress
and implementation of
the mission in the State,
understanding ground
situation as well as dis-
cuss about the satura-
tion plan for 100% cov-
erage of all households
for making provision of
tap water connections.
They are interacting
with district officials,
local village communi-
ties, members of Gram
Panchayats, etc. Later,
they will also interact
with the State team to
apprise about various
aspects. Jharkhand
plans to make provision
of tap water connec-
tions to all rural house-
holds by 2024, as well as
schools, anganwadi
centres, ashramshalas
and other public insti-
tutions by March 2022.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister of Youth Affairs
and Sports Anurag Sin-
gh Thakur formally in-
augurated the first-ever
national level Khelo In-
dia Women’s Hockey
League (Under 21) at the
Major Dhyan Chand
National Stadium in
New Delhi on Wednes-
day
.
Thakur was joined by
Minister of State for
Youth Affairs and
Sports Nishith Praman-
ik, Indian Olympic As-
sociation President
Narendra Batra and
other dignitaries. The
league holds a cash
prize of Rs 30 lakh for
the winners, 15 lakh
from MYAS and 15 lakh
from Hockey India.
A total of 14 teams
are competing in the
first phase of the tour-
nament to be held from
December 15 to 21. As
many as 42 matches will
be played during the
first phase, while the
second and third phase
will be held early next
year.
Congratulating the
Sports Authority of In-
dia and Hockey India
for jointly organising
the first-ever national
level Khelo India
league, Thakur spoke
of the importance of
these leagues and said,
“All our athletes train
very hard through the
year, but it is very im-
portant for athletes to
also get enough compe-
tition exposure if they
have to prepare them-
selves for bigger compe-
titions in the future.
Therefore, having
leagues of this kind,
that give athletes com-
petition exposure
throughout the year, is
crucial.” Thakur said
that going forward,
leagues for other sports
disciplines will also be
held. He also mentioned
that after 2015 this is the
first big programme be-
ing held at the Dhyan-
chand stadium and wel-
comed the players to the
iconic venue.
Reiterating the vi-
sion of PM Narendra
Modi, Pramanik men-
tioned, “Led by the vi-
sion of PM Modi, we are
taking forward the cam-
paign of Cheer 4 India
through this league. I
believe there are many
such young players who
will always make sure
we keep our flag high in
the sporting arena.”
Batra said that the
league would do won-
ders in terms of taking
hockey to every part of
India.
1st
edition of Khelo India Women’s Hockey League begins in Delhi
PROMOTION OF HOCKEY
lll
Fourteen
teams are
competing in
the first phase
of the
tournament to
be organised
from
December
15 to 21
Haryana Police leads
in network systems
tracking criminals
Channi: Investors’
genuine plaints will be
addressed on priority
JHARKHAND SET TO BECOME
‘Har Ghar Jal’ state by 2024
FACELIFT WORK AT THE TAJ
Workers
pushing a
cart carrying
debris
while doing
renovation
work, at
Taj Mahal
premises,
in Agra on
Wednesday.
—Photo
by ANI
THIS COMES AFTER SIT’S DECISION TO SLAP ATTEMPT TO MURDER CHARGE ON ASHISH MISHRA AND 12 OTHERS
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Lakh-
impur Khiri incident
involving Union Minis-
ter Ajay Mishra’s son
Ashish Mishra has
once again come to
haunt the minister as
the Special Investiga-
tion Team (SIT) has
charged all the accused
with attempt to mur-
der.
Four farmers and a
journalist were killed
near Tokania village in
Lakhimpur Khiri on
October 3.
At a time when the
Khiri violence had al-
most disappeared from
headlines during the
last one month, the de-
cision of the SIT to slap
attempt to murder
charge on main ac-
cused Ashish Mishra
and 12 others has again
snowballed into major
political controversy
.
The SIT plea that in-
cident was “premedi-
ated conspiracy” has
provided fresh ammu-
nition to rival political
parties with the
stepped up demand of
the Union Minister’s
resignation.
Meanwhile, a video
went viral on social
media in which Ajay
Mishra can be seen
abusing and trying to
assault a journalist
when he asked ques-
tions about SIT report
in Lakhimpur on
Wednesday. The inci-
dent occurred when
the minister was com-
ing out of a mother and
child care centre after
inaugurating an oxy-
gen plant. A news
channel journalist
sought to know his re-
action on the SIT move.
Enraged over the que-
ry, the minister started
abusing him and tried
to assault him.
With the passage of
time, the BJP seems to
have veered round to
the view that the Khiri
storm has blown over
and Mishra has sur-
vived the political cri-
sis. But now the opposi-
tion has again mount-
ed attack on him ask-
ing the PMto sack the
union minister. The
BJP has been avoiding
any action against him
because of the “Brah-
min factor” in the run-
up to the 2022 election.
Political row over Khiri
incident resurfaces
MishrashouldbesackedifBJPhasanymorality:Akhilesh
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Union
Minister of State for
Home Ajay Mishra
should be immediate-
ly sacked if there is
any morality left in
the BJP, Samajwadi
Party chief Akhilesh
YadavsaidonWednes-
day
.
“The BJP cannot
save itself from the
responsibility of
murder of farmers in
Lakhimpur. BJP men
conspired and delib-
erately crushed farm-
ers. The truth has
come out,” Yadav, who
is taking out Sama-
jwadi Vijay Yatra to
woo voters for the as-
sembly polls, was
quoted as saying in a
party statement.
The SP and other
opposition parties
have stepped up de-
mand for Mishra’s re-
moval after a court on
Tuesday allowed the
SIT probing the Lakh-
impur Kheri violence
to replace lesser
charges in the case
like causing death by
negligence with an at-
tempt to murder
charge as the inquiry
team said it was a
“pre-planned conspir-
acy”.
Mishra’s son is
among those arrested
in connection with
the Khiri incident.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav addresses a rally in UP’s Jaunpur.
Four farmers and a journalist were killed near Tokania village in Lakhimpur Khiri on October 3.
The team members are visiting villages in Ranchi, Seraikela
Kharsawan and Purbhi Singham districts.
Chief Secy Sanjeev Kaushal CM Charanjit Singh Channi
Union Minister Anurag Thakur in New Delhi on Wednesday.
‘Village panchayats together in full force can boost devp’
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Utar
Pradesh CM Yogi Adi-
tyanath on Wednes-
day said that with the
cooperation of the
Gram Panchayats,
‘the triple engine’
power can transform
the state and make it
the number one econ-
omy in the country.
CM made a slew of an-
nouncements to em-
power gram panchay-
ats and governance at
grassroot level while
addressing the Pan-
chayat representa-
tives of the state at the
Uttar Pradesh Gram
Utkarsh Samaroh
held in the state
capital.“With the pow-
er of ‘triple engine’-
-the centre, the state
as well as the village
panchayats together
in full force can boost
the development pace
in UP and help mak-
ing it the number one
economy,” he said.
The CM also urged the
panchayat represent-
atives to maintain a
healthy competition
in development
works, according to
the vision of the PM
Modi, and insisted on
making efforts to
make ‘Smart Villages’
on the lines of ‘Smart
City’.
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath

08
2NDFRONT
If you cannot do anything to
help a man - listen to him -
even that helps.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
z How do you view De-
cember 12 Jaipur Ma-
harally as a whole
what message it has
for both Congress and
BJP?
Jagdeesh Chandra:
This rally has three big
messages. First, the au-
thority of Congress
High Command was re-
stored. Second, Rahul
Gandhi for the first time
decided the ideological
line of the party in a
bold move, on which the
party will contest future
elections. And the third
message is Rise and Rise
of Ashok Gehlot. As far
as the BJP is concerned,
it is a warning signal or
point of concern that
this rally will affect 2023
elections in Rajasthan.
This Maharally is an
alarm bell for the BJP.
z After amazing suc-
cess of this rally, has
Gehlot’s stature in-
creased so much that
he may be considered
an Opposition leader
in front of Modi
has he moved a step
closer towards becom-
ing Cong President or
Working Prez?
Of course, this rally
has proved that Ashok
Gehlot is the confidant
and the most powerful
person for the Gandhi
family and after Rahul,
in entire party, he can
challenge Modi openly
.
z Congress has, in
last 15-20 years, held
such a big rally prob-
ably for the first time.
Who would you to
give credit for this?
We have declared in
an article that it was a
‘One Man Show’ and ba-
sic message of the rally
is that only. Along with
Ashok Gehlot, the credit
goes to his colleagues
Ajay Maken and Govind
Singh Dotasra. So, this
was a team of three per-
sons headed and super-
vised by Ashok Gehlot.
Then there were the
Cabinet ministers,
MLAs and KC Venugo-
pal also joined later. One
thing I noticed is that
MLA Rafik Khan re-
mained stationed at the
airport till late night as
he was responsible for
hosting leaders coming
from other states. It was
basically a team work.
z For the first time,
during a political ral-
ly, the life of the com-
mon man did not
come to a standstill.
There were no long
traffic jams etc. What
is your take on this?
It was a miracle in-
deed.Duringmyservice,
I have seen several ral-
lies and was even called
the rally expert. It was
probably for the first
time that no shop or ven-
dor was looted, there
were no traffic jams, ex-
cept on a part of Sikar
Road. So credit goes to
the CM, who is also the
home minister. CS and
DGP were involved.
Then Jaipur police
team, headed by Anand
Srivastava who is a man
of all seasons, per-
formed very well. It was
because of this Gehlot,
after seeing off guests at
the airport, reached
OTS patted Srivasta-
va’s back for being an
execution miracle.
z What is your assess-
ment of the crowd
gathered at the rally?
Guessing about num-
ber of people in rallies is
an enigma, a mystery
. In
a fair assessment, we
reached the number of
around 1.25 lakh even
though the BJP leaders
are claiming that chairs
were only 24,000, some
said 40,000 or 60,000. So
leaving numbers aside,
the rally was a hit and
even from numbers
point of view, it was a
great success.
z You mentioned ear-
lier that rally was a
‘One Man Show’?
The ‘One Man Show’
because the entire plan,
right from the selection
of venue to formation of
teams and to garner re-
sources, CM Ashok Ge-
hlot was behind it. Fur-
ther, there was a task of
inviting leaders to send
a message of united
Congress. So, the whole
A-Z scenario indicated
towards Gehlot that is
why it was called a ‘One
Man Show’.
z Sometimes praise,
sometimes attack.
Just two days ago, Ge-
hlot said that PM
does not even reply to
many of his letters.
What is your analysis
of relation between
the two?
Both Modi and Gehlot
are masterminds of hu-
man relationships. Dur-
ing the last 4-5 years, the
PM has praised Gehlot 4
times, twice during co-
rona times and then dur-
ing inauguration of en-
gineering colleges, and
earlier when Gehlot
went to meet the PM af-
ter becoming the CM.
They have had good rela-
tions when both were
CMs. So, their equations
keep changing as per po-
litical requirements. As
far as responding to let-
ters is concerned, Ashok
Gehlot writes a lot of let-
ters and tries to corner
the PM on all issues. Be-
sides, he is an aware per-
son who reacts to issues
and he got political mile-
age from statement that
the PM does not respond
to his letters.
z Rahul Gandhi spoke
on Hindu, Hindutva
Hindutvavadi in
the rally. CM Gehlot
endorsed Rahul’s phi-
losophy on December
13 through 3 tweets.
How do you perceive
it?
Gehlot is avowedly the
most loyal person of
Gandhi family. Rahul
usually has issue that
whatever line he takes,
no party leader supports
it. But this time Gehlot
supported him and tried
to convey Rahul’s mes-
sage to the masses in
simplified terms and
rushed to Rahul’s res-
cue. Gehlot has been de-
fending the Gandhi fam-
ily whenever they are
attacked by the oppo-
nents. He emerged as a
natural troubleshooter
or a supporter of Rahul.
z Was this rally a
launching pad for Ra-
hul to be made Con-
gress President? After
all, when will Rahul
take over the charge
of Congress Presi-
dent?
Rahul’s projection on
posters was just because
of Gehlot who wanted
his face to be in focus
prominently as the lead-
er. About Rahul, even
Lok Sabha Speaker once
told me he is a brilliant
person. But my analysis
about Rahul is that he is
a reluctant bridegroom.
He has been seeking a
free hand in the party,
which is not possible for
now. If he is fated to
head the party, some day
news will come that Ra-
hul has become Presi-
dent of Congress.
z After many months,
Sonia Gandhi came
out of Delhi who
persuaded her to come
to Jaipur for rally.
She did not give any
speech here, how do
you see this whole in-
cident?
It is true that she was
not well and not willing
to come. It seems Pri-
yanka talked to Sonia on
Gehlot’s request. Rahul
had talked to her earlier.
I think Gehlot used veto
as he has strong moral
influence on the Gandhi
family
. She must be sus-
picious of numbers in
the rally as there have
been instances of less
crowd in the past. As far
as her speech is con-
cerned, I think she had
brought written speech
and was willing to de-
liver it but the way Ra-
hul dominated the stage
and spoke effectively she
dropped the idea of her
speech. And the line of
her speech must have
been different from that
of Rahul. This sent a
message that Sonia has
declared that Rahul is
the boss and he will call
the shots.
z How excited will Ge-
hlot be with the suc-
cess of this grand ral-
ly, only 5 days before
the 3rd anniversary of
his government on De-
cember 17?
Of course, Gehlot
must be excited as he
has performed excel-
lently well in the last 3
years and the govern-
ment is successful at
every front. Among the
Congress ruled states,
Rajasthan is perhaps the
best—politically and ad-
ministratively—man-
aged state. In Punjab, the
change of guard hap-
pened because Rahul
had got a survey done in
which only 6% voters
were with Captain Ama-
rinder Singh. Chhattis-
garh and Punjab must
be doing well, but Ashok
Gehlot is doing the best.
z Gehlot govt faced
crisis from within,
then there was Corona
challenge. Now, the
rally was shifted from
Delhi to Jaipur. Do
you perceive it as a
blessing for Gehlot?
200%, blessing in dis-
guise. Even Gehlot
would not have thought
that he would emerge
taller in stature after the
rally, he was a natural
choice for the rally due
to his skills and he
proved it.
z A few months ago,
there was a discussion
in Delhi that on lines
of Punjab, elections
of 2023 in Chhattis-
garh and Rajasthan
would also be fought
by putting forward a
new face, but after
this rally, Gehlot’s
stature has risen.
Even after this, do you
see any leadership
change in Raj just be-
fore 2023?
Not at all. Once
Prashant Kishor had
suggested introducing
new faces in the three
states and there was a
thought on this. But now
the situation has
changed and that sug-
gestion is completely
ruled out. Ashok Gehlot
is bound to continue not
only in 2023, his claim is
till 2028. No change of
leadership, no change of
face.
z How was Pilot, who
is called another
power centre in
Rajasthan Congress,
treated in this rally of
Gehlot and how was
the response of Sonia,
Rahul, Priyanka to-
wards Sachin?
His treatment was
good. Expectations are
the tragedy of life!
Sachin has nothing to
express his anger or dis-
content. He was made to
sit in the front row in the
rally even though he is
just an MLA now while
AICC general secretar-
ies sat in the back rows.
Rahul addressed Pilot in
his speech and his sup-
porters rejoiced. Priyan-
ka did not take his name,
which is not a big issue
as Pilot is close to her
already
. Pilot seems to be
the most contended for
now.
z Some political ob-
servers believe that
the gap between the
stature of Gehlot and
Pilot after this rally
has widened. Do you
think so too?
Apparently, it was not
a rally but Gehlot’s Tsu-
nami in which all were
washed away, including
Pilot. The gap in stature
of both is visible and
practical after the rally.
Political analysts and
experts also feel that Ge-
hlot has grown too tow-
ering.
z Then what will be
Pilot’s role in 2023
elections? Will he be
able to play an active
role in election?
Certainly, he will be
visible in an active role.
He may become general
secretary in AICC but he
is a part of active poli-
tics in Rajasthan, a sen-
ior Congress leader told
me. In 2023, he may get
the responsibility of
PCC chief or chairman
of the election campaign
committee.
z Gehlot did not even
mention Pilot’s name
in his speech. Did the
distance between the
two not reduce even
after an hour-long
meeting before rally?
The meeting was an
initiative from Pilot side,
courtesy Ajay Maken
who has been trying to
bridge gaps between the
duo. Pilot had called and
sought time. He had
sought time a week ago
also but it could not ma-
terialise. Both were keen
for reconciliation and
the meeting was fruitful.
Pilot’snottweetingabout
it does not matter much.
z What do you think
about Priyanka’s role
in the rally?
Her role was as an ob-
server to assess the rally
and she was happy to see
presence of large num-
ber of women.
z “Kahin pe nighein,
kahin pe nishan” as
some political observ-
ers said about Rahul’s
political agenda at
Jaipur rally. What
does this mean?
It is absolutely cor-
rect. The issue of infla-
tion was to be raised but
BJP’s Hindu agenda was
targeted. It, however,
disappointed many who
wanted to hear about
price rise. Rahul men-
tioned about price rise
but 53 times he men-
tioned about Hindu and
Hindutva.
z Will Rahul be able
to match the kind of
Hindu card that PM
Modi played in the
midst of a huge crowd
at the inauguration
ceremony of the Kashi
Corridor in Varanasi
on December 13?
Tough, very tough.
Not only Rahul, it is
tough for anyone else.
Narendra Modi is a
Hero. What has hap-
pened in Kashi is un-
precedented. I visited
there recently when fin-
ishing touches were be-
ing given, unprecedent-
ed work. PM Modi’s pro-
jection has been of Hin-
du Samrat in Kashi and
he is ruling over the
hearts of the people.
Modi is perfectionist
and it is very tough to
match him.
z What will be the re-
sults of philosophy of
Hindu and Hindutva
explained by Rahul
in his speech and will
the Congress party
get its benefit in the
elections of 5 states?
Efforts are there to
derive benefit. In the
long term, Rahul has set
a line of ideology of the
party, official or unoffi-
cial, for the future. It
will give some benefit.
z The attempt by Ra-
hul to take a soft line
on Hinduism has got
negative reaction
among Muslim voters
of Congress. How will
Rahul balance it?
Rahul Gandhi will
balance it but he has not
much to do as trust and
faith of minority com-
munity is still with the
Congress and alterna-
tives are not there.
There is initial resent-
ment among minority
section but time is a big
healer and there is not
much need for balanc-
ing here.
z Apart from Gehlot,
what was the exact
role of Venugopal,
Maken, Dotasra, Ran-
deep Surjewala, Pi-
lot in this rally?
Venugopal’s role was
ceremonial. Maken was
very active. After Gehlot,
the person who has
gained prominence in
Gandhi family
, is Maken.
Hisrolewastobridgegap
between Gehlot and Pilot
for which he camped
here and faced all up-
heavals. Dotasra has
gained a lot in this pro-
cess as he keeps visiting
Delhi and he is a grass-
roots worker. Surjewala
and Sandeep Chaudhary
remained in limelight.
Surjewala set the line for
the media. He is the third
beneficiary of this rally
.
Pilot’s role was balanced
and even got chance to
speak there.
z Senior Congress
leader Dr CP Joshi
did not attend the
rally?
He is a natural ally of
Gehlot. Dr CP Joshi is on
a constitutional post as
such he did not attend
the rally but he was pre-
sent at CMR during the
dinner. He was given due
credit within limita-
tions. I missed the name
of Dharmendra Rathore
among people who made
the rally successful but
his contribution was im-
mense.
z In Jaipur, Amit
Shah had said that
BJP will never topple
Gehlot government
and will form its gov-
ernment in 2023 by
taking two-thirds ma-
jority. What does this
mean?
The big message it
sent was that Amit Shah
is a great democrat also.
He filled enthusiasm in
the BJP that party will
form government in
2023 with two-thirds ma-
jority
. For Congress, the
message is all doors are
closed for those leaving
the Gehlot government.
The bargain game is
over now. Gehlot is an-
other gainer with this
statement. I hope with
this Gehlot’s political
compulsions will be re-
moved and he will focus
on good governance
now.
z Where has the inter-
nal factionalism in
the BJP or the fight
for the CM’s post
reached now? Has
high command been
able to find a solution
to Raje factor?
After Amit Shah’s
visit there is no question
of anyone using posters
with claims for the CM
post. As far as Raje fac-
tor is concerned, it is a
challenge and a big ques-
tion. Shah tried to han-
dle it by calling her ‘Ya-
shaswi Mukhyamatri’
and Raje camp is elated
over this. Shah did not
mention about works of
GS Shekhawat. Without
sorting out Raje factor,
with or without CM
post, there is no chance
of winning election, it is
my analysis. Her sup-
porters have already
made a plan of 200 con-
stituencies in case she is
not made CM candidate.
But all this is just for
show off, for bargain. I
do not think Raje will
form a new party al-
though her supporters
may instigate her. There
may be ED and IT inves-
tigations against some
and they will go on a
backfoot. Raje has threat
from people who insti-
gate her to form a new
party
. She will not do so.
But I agree the BJP has
to sort out Raje factor to
win elections and the be-
ginning was with Shah’s
‘Yashaswi Mukhy-
amatri’ address.
#TheNewJCShow
trended all
India during the
telecast on Tuesday
Read full analysis on www.
firstindia.co.in
For Cong, after Rahul, it’s Gehlot as second in
command who can actually fight Modi-Shah
GEHLOT WILL CONTINUE TO BE FACE OF THE PARTY IN 2023 POLLS BUT PILOT MAY BE
APPOINTED EITHER PCC CHIEF OR CHAIRMAN OF ELECTION CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE!
L-R: Jagdeesh Chandra with Vijendra Solanki, Aditi Nagar, Sudhanshu Mathur, Divisha Paliwal Aakriti Anand during The New JC Show. —PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO
Presenting an analysis of the recently concluded Congress ‘maha-rally’, Editor-In-Chief of
First India, Jagdeesh Chandra, in The New JC Show, highlights the prime takeaway from
the rally-Sonia’s handing over the party’s ‘baton’ to Rahul, who will now call the shots and
take major decisions, leading up to his rechristening in August-September 2022

NEW DELHI, THURSDAY
DECEMBER 16, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
This Throwback Thursday, walk the lanes of ‘Bazaar’ with us as we
observe hopes and dreams jostle with the reality of poverty, in the
crowded alleys of life - love blooms only to shrivel and die!
ekh lo aaj humko jee bhar
ke … There is something
so undeniably beautiful
about this song…your
heart will break a little as
you listen to it … but then
Bazaar driven with the
passion that only Smita Patil could
bring to her role will do that to you
when you watch it, leave a lump in
your throat.
The performances of all of the
actors Smita, Supriya Pathak and
Farooque Sheikh will bind you to
the movie but the ‘realistic’ story
woven with top-rate acting, dia-
logues, music, songs is something
which will make Bazaar a memora-
ble film…years down the line. Na-
seeruddin Shah plays the role of an
observer – a theatrical throwback!
Phir Chhidi Raat baat phoolon
ki, Dikhai Diye Yun Ke Bekhud
Kiya and Karoge Yaad To Har Baat
Yaad Aayegi …each song is a mas-
terpiece. Dikhai Diye yun… watch
this song for almost every emotion
known to humankind across the
faces of the characters as a young
innocent Supriya sings it.
Bazaar is a fact check on how
love, principles, relationships lose
the war against money. The Hy-
derabadi atmosphere with the
rocky outcrops and beautiful
mosques is perfect and Mumbai
forms an excellent backdrop of
hope and despair, the feelings
which Bazaar excites in the viewer.
My favourite is Supriya Pathak
with her beauty, innocence, hope,
passionate fight and final de-
spair- and becomes a symbol for
so many young girls who are
even today part of the ‘bazaar’
of ‘marriage’ – who kill their
dreams themselves in the name
of family and tradition.
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
D
KAROGE
YAAD TO...

10
ETC
alf a century ago, on
this day, in the largest
military surrender af-
ter World War II, Paki-
stan lost half its terri-
tory by signing the In-
strument of Surrender
after a 13-day war, instating the
formation of East Pakistan as
the new nation of Bangladesh.
Over a thousand miles of In-
dian terrain separated West
Pakistan from the East whose
population was predominantly
Bengali. Since Pakistan gained
independence, a condescend-
ing attitude towards the Ben-
gali people was evident. With
political and industrial power
being concentrated in West Pa-
kistan, the rejection of Bengali
as an official language and all
currency and official docu-
ments, including postal stamps
and railway tickets being print-
ed in Urdu, the imposition of
martial law, the economic dis-
parity between the two parts,
and the government’s indiffer-
ence as seen during the calami-
tous ‘Bhola’ cyclone in 1970, the
people of East Pakistan had
endured enough.
In December 1970, the Awami
League party, led by Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman won the na-
tional election but wasn’t per-
mitted to form the government.
Rising political discontent-
ment and cultural nationalism
in East Pakistan was met by
barbaric oppression when Pa-
kistan launched ‘Operation
Searchlight’ against the people
of the East on March 25, 1971,
which killed over 7,000 Bengali
civilians in a night. The follow-
ing day, Rahman declared East
Pakistan independent with the
support of the underground
liberation army called the
Mukti Bahini.
In the subsequent months,
about 20 million Bengalis were
internally displaced, a large
section of East Pakistan’s intel-
lectual community were mur-
dered, between 3 to 5 hundred
thousand people died (the
Bangladesh government puts
the figure at 3 million), approx-
imately 4 hundred thousand
Bengali women were molested,
and over 10 million refugees
entered India in search of safe-
ty.
Indira Gandhi permitted a
government in exile by the
Awami League and the Indian
Army’s Eastern command
launched ‘Operation Jackpot’,
to train, equip, and advise the
Mukti Bahini fighters. India
joined the war on 3rd Decem-
ber 1971, when Pakistan
launched airstrikes on 11 Indi-
an airbases. Gandhi addressed
the nation stating that “War
has been forced on us”. India
quickly responded by captur-
ing around 15 thousand kilome-
tres of Pakistan’s territory
. The
Indian Army under then Gen-
eral Sam Manekshaw, Major
General Inder Gill, the Direc-
tor of Military Operations, Ma-
jor General JFR Jacob, the
Chief of Staff in the Eastern
Army Command, and Lieuten-
ant General Sagat Singh, who
was commanding IV Corps in
Tezpur, organised three Indian
corps supported by three bri-
gades of the Mukti Bahini, and
many others fighting irregu-
larly, and raced to Dacca, the
geopolitical and geostrategic
centre of Pakistan.
Pakistan had faith in its mil-
itary’s abilities and relied on
China’s support and US’s inter-
vention. While China took a
neutral stand, the US moved its
Seventh Fleet towards the Bay
of Bengal which was countered
by the USSR’s fleet. The Indian
aircrafts dominated the East
Pakistan sky by the end of the
first week, and a heliborne ma-
noeuvre put troops across the
Meghna river, which had until
then given Dacca a natural de-
fence while INS Vikrant de-
stroyed the Eastern wing of the
Pakistan Navy and effectively
blocked the East Pakistan
ports.
By the afternoon of Decem-
ber 16, 1971, Pakistan had sur-
rendered. In 1972 the Shimla
Agreement was signed between
India and Pakistan to ensure
Pakistan’s recognition of Bang-
ladesh as an independent state
in exchange for 93 thousand
Pakistani prisoners of war.
The liberation of Bangladesh
from Pakistan’s barbaric op-
pression is a glorious story of
valour for India.
The Liberation of
BANGLADESH
DEVESHREE SHEKHAWAT
Senior Law Student
H
PM Indira Gandhi with her three Chiefs
Indian PM Indira Gandhi (left) and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sign treaty of friendship in Dhaka on March 19, 1972
Chief of Staff of the Indian Army General Jagjit Singh Aurora and Lt. General AAK Niazi of the Pakistani Army sign the
papers on December 16, 1971 that ended the war between the two countries and led to the creation of Bangladesh
The Mukti Bahini advancing into Khulna
Then prime minister Indira Gandhi with General S H F J Manekshaw,
then the chief of the army staff
Pakistani soldiers surrender in Bangladesh in 1971
‘You surrender or We wipe you out’ was the message given by Field Marshal Sam
Manekshaw to Pakistan on 13th December 1971
Lieutenant General Sagat Singh and then Major General K V Krishna Rao,
later the army chief with Havildar Dil Bahadur Chettri at Sylhet
during the 1971 War
Refugees seeking shelter in 1971

I am a CA by profession and baking is my
passion. Besides being an obvious means to an
end (a baked good), the act of baking is a form
of my self-expression. I create what I want to
create, however little or magnificent that baked
good maybe. I was passionate about cooking
and baking since my childhood. When I worked
a 9-5 job in a corporate environment, coming home and
baking helped me relax and unwind. In a job where I didn’t
have much creative freedom, baking truly kept me fulfilled
and energized. And, not to mention, it’s a double whammy
of awesomeness– baking makes me happy and baked goods
make everyone happy. Spreading joy is immensely powerful.
—-HARSH KOOLWAL
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021
11
Home Bakers steal the show
Got a sweet Tooth?
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
h! Christmas! It’s
time to hang up
the stockings,
deck up the tree
and get your
hands on the
most creative fes-
tive hampers and cakes.
Away from the glitter and
glitz of high-profile cake
mixing sessions at star ho-
tels and the flurry of cakes
and cookies at commer-
cial bakeries, the tradi-
tional home bakers with
their array of the yummi-
est, richest cakes and
goodies are capturing the
hearts of many in the city
.
This Christmas, home
bakers take the cake. Ear-
lier this year, while the
pandemic wrecked big
and small businesses, the
world took comfort in
sweet baked goodies. Es-
tablished home bakers in
the city took it upon them-
selves to conduct virtual
classes thereby leading to
an influx of aspiring bak-
ers who have no qualms in
exhibiting their new tech-
niques on Instagram.
City First brings to you
some of the home bakers
and Chefs from Jaipur,
Lucknow and Delhi who
are pepping up the Christ-
mas goodies and adding
some jazz to those cakes
with their creativity!
IT’S AIN’T ABOUT BAKING CAKES, IT’S ABOUT THE JOY AND CALM THAT COME WITH
IT. AHEAD OF CHRISTMAS, CITY FIRST BRINGS TO YOU SOME AWESOME HOME
CHEFS AND BAKERS THAT ARE READY TO SERVE MOUTH-WATERING DESSERTS!
A
My mother is an avid baker and I’ve grown
up with the smell of freshly baked cake in
our house. I fell more in love with patisserie
and breads during my year abroad in Paris,
where I was working as an English professor,
at the age of 21. I am now a professional-
ly trained pastry chef. I worked at the prestigious Taj
Mahal Palace Hotel before starting Crème, in the wake
of Covid-19 last year. For Christmas, we’ll be making the
quintessential Fruit Rum cake, a decadent Chocolate
Cheesecake with Fresh Strawberries and Blueberries, and
Nutella-Strawberry Brownies!
—AYUSHI AGARWAL
Being a home baker, I
get a lot of specific re-
quests for cakes and
pastries, especially,
around the holiday
season. This year, I’ve come up
with gluten-free cakes, plum cakes
made out of healthier versions of
flour apart from that I’ve also come
up with healthy, carrot cake with
raisins and walnut (sugar-free). I
also do traditional plum cakes and
fondant cakes.
—-GITA BHARGAVA
Is there anything better than
having a house that smells like
baking chocolate chip cookies?
Usually, we don’t make a whole cake or batch
of cookies just for ourselves. Instead, we
tend to embark on baking with the intention
to share what we’re making. Ahead of Christ-
mas, I have already soaked the fruits and
preparations are in full swing. Can’t wait!
—-MONIKA SHAH
My love for food and everything
delicious developed from an early age. For
the upcoming festive season, I am launching
a variety of non-traditional Christmas des-
serts that take the spirit forward, but leave
the boundaries behind. Traditional Christmas
flavors and cheers in desserts that are not
so conventional. Its comfort food elevated.
—-SEJAL PARNAMI

16122021 first india new delhi

16122021 first india new delhi

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