164935688608042022_First India_Ahmedabad.pdf

First India Bureau
New Delhi:
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
is likely to visit
Gujarat for
two days later
this month
d u r i n g
which he is expected to
address public rallies
in Saurashtra and
North Gujarat and oth-
er official programmes,
sources said on Thurs-
day. This will be the
prime minister’s sec-
ond visit to the state in
little over a month.
During his trip, Modi is
likely to visit the tribal-
dominated district of
Dahod.
Though the Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
claims that state assem-
bly elections will be
held as per schedule in
December this year, its
aggressive political
campaigns for polls
seem to indicate other-
wise.
According to the par-
ty sources, PM Modi
will address a rally in
Jamnagar on April 19
and another one in Ba-
naskantha on April 21.
“If the prime minister
covers the entire state
in four rallies, then that
will be the first indica-
tion of early elections,”
said a source.
Union Home and Co-
operative Minister
Amit Shah will be at-
tending three events in
the state capital of
Gandhinagar later this
week. Uttar Pradesh
Governor and former
Gujarat Chief Minis-
ter Anandiben Patel,
who is in Ahmedabad,
will dedicate an
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC)
school building built at
Shilaj today. Sources
from the party said
that she met with her
close confidants on her
two-day visit.
Meanwhile, Union
Health Minister Man-
sukh Mandaviya will be
laying the foundation
stone of the Global Cen-
tre for Traditional Medi-
cine in Kutch on April
13. Even President Ram
Nath Kovind will be vis-
iting the state on April
09 for the second time in
a month.
PM Modi likely to visit Guj for 2nd time in a month
EARLY CALL?
He will address public
rallies in Saurashtra and
North Gujarat as well as
tribal-dominated Dahod
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
—FILE PHOTO
AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 132
Air India cancels Delhi-Moscow flight over fears of insurance issues in Russia. Air
India on Thursday cancelled its Delhi-Moscow service over the fear that its flight
insurance may not be valid in Russian skies amid the ongoing Russian invasion of
Ukraine, sources said. Air India has reached out to the government of India seeking
its intervention in the matter so that flights to Moscow could be resumed.
AIR INDIA
SUSPENDS FLIGHT
TO MOSCOW OVER
SECURITY FEARS
The municipal corporation here passed a resolution on Thursday which states that
Chandigarh should remain a union territory, and should also get its own legislative
assembly. The development comes as Punjab and Haryana engage in a tussle to
stake claim over Chandigarh. Both Punjab and Haryana state assemblies recently
passed their respective resolution reiterating their claim over the Union Territory. P5
CHANDIGARH CIVIC
BODY PASSES
RESOLUTION FOR
CITY’S UT STATUS
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WHAT ‘POWER LIES IN THE ROOM’ LOOKS LIKE!
Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi greets Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during a meeting after the Lok Sabha is adjourned indefinitely on Thursday. SEE ALSO P6
Entire Andhra cabinet resigns
as CM Jagan revamps team
China hackers tried to hit
power grids near Ladakh,
unsuccessful, says Centre
Amaravati: Andhra
Pradesh Chief Minis-
ter YS Jagan Mohan
Reddy’s entire cabinet
resigned on Thursday
in a precursor to a
mega overhaul a little
over halfway through
his term, ahead of the
2024 state election.
Twenty-four minis-
ters handed in their
resignations after a
cabinet meeting, in the
first step towards the
big do-over. Jagan Red-
dy, the only cabinet
member to stay put,
received the resigna-
tions.
Only one or two min-
isters from the outgo-
ing team are likely to
be retained, sources
say. These ministers
are not being axed as
they are the only mem-
bers belonging to po-
litically vital commu-
nities that need to be
represented.
New Delhi: Chinese
state-sponsored hack-
ers targeted Indian elec-
tricity distribution cen-
tres near Ladakh over
the last eight months, a
report by private intel-
ligence firm Recorded
Future said on Wednes-
day, in a new potential
flashpoint following a
protracted military
standoff between the
two countries in the re-
gion. The government
said the attacks were
not successful.
‘’In recent months,
we observed likely net-
work intrusions target-
ing at least seven Indian
State Load Despatch
Centres (SLDCs) re-
sponsible for carrying
out real-time opera-
tions for grid control
and electricity dispatch
within these respective
states. Notably, this tar-
geting has been geo-
graphically concentrat-
ed, with the identified
SLDCs located in North
India, in proximity to
the disputed India-Chi-
na border in Ladakh,”
the group said.
ED grills Omar
in bank money
laundering case
Turkey suspends
Khashoggi killing
trial, case to be
transferred to Saudi
If SC takes up
all issues, what
are Lok Sabha,
Rajya Sabha
there for: CJI
I was angry over CAA, NRC,
atrocities against Muslims:
Gorakhnath temple attacker
New Delhi: Omar Ab-
dullah, former Jammu
Kashmir chief minis-
ter and National Confer-
ence vice president, was
questioned by the En-
forcement Directorate
(ED) in New Delhi on
Thursday
. According to
available information,
the NC leader was
probed in connection
with a money launder-
ing case in the Jammu
Kashmir Bank.
Istanbul: A Turkish
court ruled Thursday to
suspend the trial in ab-
sentia of 26 Saudis ac-
cused in the gruesome
killing of Washington
Post columnist Jamal
Khashoggi and for the
case to be transferred to
Saudi Arabia.
The decision comes
despite warnings from
human rights groups
that turning the case
over to the kingdom
would lead to a cover up
of the killing which has
cast suspicion on Saudi
Crown Prince Moham-
med bin Salman.
It also comes as Tur-
key
, which is in the
throes of an economic
crisis, has been trying to
repair troubled relation-
ship with Saudi Arabia.
New Delhi:
Chief Justice
of India N V
Ramana on
T h u r s d a y
voiced an-
guish over Supreme
Court being burdened
with the onus of decid-
ing politically sensitive
issues on which the
elected government
ought to take a call.
“If I agree all your
matters to be taken up
and orders that are
soughthavetobepassed,
what purpose are politi-
calrepresentativeselect-
edfor?…theLokSabha…
the Rajya Sabha?”, the
CJI asked, wondering if
the court will now have
to pass Bills too.
Lucknow: Gorakhnath
temple attacker Ahmed
Murtaza Abbasi, in his
confession, said that his
hatred spawned from al-
leged atrocities com-
mitted against Mus-
lims, as per UP Police.
He further said that
the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act was
also wrong.
Abbasi, an IIT gradu-
ate had attacked Uttar
Pradesh Provincial
Armed Constabulary
personnel stationed
at the Gorakhnath tem-
ple in Gorakhpur on
April 3.
Birbhum killings: CBI makes
first arrests, nabs 4 from Mum
Mumbai: The Cen-
tral Bureau of Inves-
tigation has arrested
four persons from
Mumbai in connec-
tion with the Ram-
purhat killings in
Bengal’s Birbhum
last month.
“Four persons have
been arrested from
Mumbai in connec-
tion with the case,”
the CBI confirmed on
Thursday
.
This is the first ar-
rest made by the CBI
since it took over the
case. The accused
persons will be
brought to Kolkata on
transit remand.
Islamabad: Quashing
Deputy Speaker Qasim
Khan Suri’s April 3 rul-
ing and the subsequent
dissolution of the Na-
tional Assembly, Paki-
stan’s Supreme Court
Thursday ordered the
revival of the no-confi-
dence motion against
embattled Prime Minis-
ter Imran Khan.
Imran Khan will now
face the no-trust motion
on Saturday (April 9).
Giving it’s verdict,
Pakistan’s apex court
said the prime minister
was bound by Constitu-
tion and therefore, he
could not advise the
president to dissolve as-
semblies, Pakistan’s
Geo News reported.
Further terming
President Arif Alvi’s
decision to dissolve the
National Assembly as
“illegal”, the verdict
was passed with all five
judges unanimously
voting against it.
SC asked the Presi-
dent’s advocate as to
how could there be a
constitutional crisis if
everything was happen-
ing according to the law.
The five-judge
SC bench
unanimously calls
Dy Speaker’s move
as “unconstitutional”
Reconstitutes National
Assembly, orders Speaker to
call Session. The no confidence
vote against Imran government
will now be held on Saturday
1 2
PAK SC STRIKES DOWN
DY SPEAKER’S DECISION TO
REJECT NO-TRUST MOTION
Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Reddy
DEMOCRACY IS
THE BEST FORM OF
REVENGE: BHUTTO
WILL ACCEPT SC’S
DECISION, SAYS
PM IMRAN KHAN
THIS IS A CASE OF
PUBLIC INTEREST,
SAYS CJ BANDIAL
Reacting to the Pakistan
Supreme Court’s verdict,
Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto
Zardari wrote on Twitter,
“Democracy is the best
revenge! Jiya Bhutto! Jiya
Awam! Pakistan Zindabad.”
Now, Opposition will use
full force to oust Imran.
Imran Khan on Thursday
said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-
Insaf will accept any verdict
of the Supreme Court on
the dismissal of the no-
confidence motion. Citing
sources, news agency ARY
reported that Imran Khan
sought legal counsel ahead
of the SC verdict.
Umar Ata Bandial, the
Chief of Justice, while
hearing the case involving
the dismissal of a no-
confidence vote brought
against the Imran Khan
government in the coun-
try’s national assembly,
said that this is a case
of public interest.
The attacks took place
between August last year and
March, sources said.
UNGA suspends Russia from Human Rights
Council after killings in Ukraine’s Bucha city
New York: The United
Nations General As-
sembly today suspend-
ed Russia from Human
Rights Council after
killings in Ukraine’s
Bucha, reports news
agency AFP
.
Evidence of civilian
killings in Bucha and
other towns around
Kyiv -- which Ukraine
has blamed on Russian
troops, allegations de-
nied by Moscow -- have
shocked the world and
triggered calls for new
sanctions on Moscow.
Ukraine said it was
“grateful” for the deci-
sion to suspend Russia
fromtheUnitedNations
Human Rights Council,
saying “war criminals”
shouldnotberepresent-
ed in the body
.
“War criminals have
no place in UN bodies
aimed at protecting hu-
man rights,” Foreign
Minister Dmytro Kule-
ba said on Twitter.
CRUCIAL READ
ED: ANIL DESHMUKH
UNABLE TO EXPLAIN
SOURCE OF WEALTH
Mumbai: While seeking
rejection of bail applica-
tion filed by former Ma-
harashtra Home Minister
Anil Deshmukh, ED stated
that Deshmukh was main
conspirator and is unable
to explain the source of
his huge wealth. P5
WITHDRAW CBI NOTICE
AGAINST EX-AMNESTY
INDIA CHIEF: COURT
New Delhi: A Delhi court
on Thursday directed the
CBI to withdraw a Look
Out Circular (LOC) issued
against the ex-Amnesty
India chief Aakar Patel
in a case of an alleged
violation of the Foreign
Regulation Act.
MAMATA MEETS GUV AFTER BITTER FUED
Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee finally had the
long pending meeting with Gov-
ernor Jagdeep Dhankhar over the
law and order situation in the state.
The Governor’s invitation — extended following the
Birbhum massacre — dates back to March 29.

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022
02
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WORLD BANK TO EXTEND
LOAN OF `3K CRORE TO AMC
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: A
high-level meeting of
officials from the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation’s
(AMC) urban develop-
ment department and
representatives of the
World Bank was held
in Gandhinagar on
Thursday, chaired by
Chief Minister Bhu-
pendra Patel. Under
the Gujarat Resilient
Cities Development
Programme, AMC was
granted a loan of ap-
proximately Rs3,000
crore by the World
Bank.
To facilitate the de-
velopment of various
infrastructure de-
mands of the city till
2050, funds will be re-
leased by the interna-
tional entity
. Under the
programme, loans for
infrastructure devel-
opment projects are
provided by the World
Bank for developing
cities.
With the funds from
the programme, work
on various projects
will be carried out
and/or completed in
Ahmedabad. It will in-
clude increasing the
capacity of existing
Sewage Treatment
Plants (STPs) and sew-
age disposal technolo-
gy upgrade, construc-
tion of new STPs, con-
struction of tertiary
treatment plants for
industrial reuse, reha-
bilitation of existing
main drainage lines
and construction of
new micro-tunnelling
lines. Construction of
the Kharikat canal and
its conservation as
well as storm water
drains will also be ex-
ecuted with the aid of
this financial assis-
tance.
An outline of vari-
ous projects to be un-
dertaken by the civic
body with the funds
was presented at the
meeting. The projects
that receive the fund-
ing will be planned by
taking into considera-
tion the needs of
Ahmedabad residents
till the year 2050.
First India Bureau
Surat: The state’s
Goods Services Tax
(GST) department con-
tinued its investigation
into tax evaders by con-
ducting a raid at the of-
fices of two developers
on VIP Road on Wednes-
day
.
A team of more than
40 officers conducted
the raids at their offices
and seven residential
properties. Officials
suspect that the build-
ers have paid less GST
and to probe their theo-
ry, they seized docu-
ments for sale and pur-
chase of land, raw ma-
terials, steel, among
others.
Sources within the
department have con-
firmed that cash trans-
actions of the builders
are on the radar. As one
of the builder groups
also owns a jewellery
brand, Wednesday’s
raid was the second one
on his premises. The ex-
act amount of tax eva-
sion will only be re-
vealed when the confis-
cated documents are
inspected. Others
linked with these
groups will soon be
called for their state-
ments.
The state GST de-
partment recently cre-
ated a special wing of
sleuths, who look into
the high-value transac-
tions made by taxpay-
ers with the help of des-
ignated software. If any
taxpayer tries to make
an illegal transaction,
the software tracks
them and intimates the
team.
Interestingly, in 2017,
the state GST cell had
arrested 89 people in
connection with false
bills and had unearthed
GST evasion of more
than Rs34 crore.
First India Bureau
New Delhi/
Ahmedabad: Delhi
Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodiya on
Thursday took to his
Twitter handle to con-
demn Gujarat Educa-
tion Minister Jitu Va-
ghani’s statement ask-
ing Gujaratis to leave
and relocate to other
states or countries if
they are dissatisfied
with education in the
state.
In his tweet, Sisodia
appealed to the people
of Gujarat to change
the ruling party in the
state and let the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP)
come into power in up-
coming Assembly polls.
The minister, who
also holds the education
portfolio of Delhi,
tweeted, “Yesterday, the
Gujarat education min-
ister threatened the
people of Gujarat by
stating that those who
want good education,
they should relocate to
Delhi. The BJP has
ruled the state for the
past 27 years and it has
not been able to provide
quality education. The
people of Gujarat do not
need to leave the state.
They should elect AAP
to power in the state,
and then Gujarat will
have quality education
like Delhi.”
On Wednesday, while
addressing a gathering
after inaugurating a
school building in Ra-
jkot, Vaghani had said,
“People who do not like
the school education in
Gujarat should collect
their children’s certifi-
cates and go to which-
ever state or country
they like, instead of
criticizing the state
where they have lived
and grown up.”
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Amid
protests by members of
the Maldhari commu-
nity, the Gujarat gov-
ernment has decided
not to implement the
bill passed by the state
Assembly to tackle the
stray cattle menace in
urban areas, informed
government spokesper-
son Jitu Vaghani, on
Thursday
.
Chief Minister Bhu-
pendra Patel decided to
keep the bill in abey-
ance after meeting a
delegation of Maldhari
or cattle-rearer commu-
nity, led by former
MLAs Ranchhod Desai
and Bhawan Bharwad.
“The chief minister
and Urban Develop-
ment Minister Vinu
Moradiya held a meet-
ing with leaders of the
Maldhari community
over the issue. The for-
mer gave an assurance
that the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) gov-
ernment will not imple-
ment the bill,” Vaghani
told media persons in
Gandhinagar.
The Gujarat Cattle
Control (Keeping and
Moving) In Urban Are-
as Bill, which was
passed in the recently
held Budget session of
the Assembly, requires
cattle-rearers to obtain
a license to keep live-
stock in cities and
towns, failing which
they may face imprison-
ment.
Unhappy with the an-
nouncement, the Guja-
rat Congress demanded
that a special session of
the Assembly be held to
permanently scrap or
withdraw the bill.
“Only the Assembly
has the right to scrap or
withdraw an already
passed bill. Hence, we
demand that instead of
just putting the bill in
abeyance, the BJP gov-
ernment should call a
one-day Assembly ses-
sion to scrap or with-
draw it,” said Deputy
Leader of Opposition
Shailesh Parmar.
Since the passage of
the bill, members of
the cattle-rearer com-
munity have been up in
arms against the BJP
government in the
state, launching a pro-
test and submitting
memorandums for its
withdrawal.
Notably, Gujarat
BJP chief C R Patil
had earlier said that
he had requested the
chief minister to re-
consider the bill, as
the existing rules to
control cattle menace
in municipal corpora-
tion areas were suffi-
cient and there was no
need for a new law.
The bill was passed
in the early hours of
April 01 after a seven-
hour heated debate that
started around 6 pm,
with the Congress vehe-
mently opposing it and
threatening to launch a
statewide stir.
Gujarat govt decides not to implement bill on stray cattle menace
PAYING HEED
POLITICAL POWERPLAY
Taking cognizance of statewide
protests by Maldhari community,
CM Patel put the bill in abeyance
Prez Kovind to open Nat’l
Judicial Conference on April 09
Ahmedabad: President
Ram Nath Kovind will
inauguratetheNational
Judicial Conference, a
two-day event organ-
ized by the Gujarat
High Court, at Tent City
near the Statue of Unity
at Kevadia in Narmada
district on April 09.
The conference will
be attended by India’s
top judicial officers in
the presence of Gujarat
Governor Acharya
Devvrat, Chief Justice
of India Justice N V Ra-
mana, Gujarat High
Court Chief Justice
Aravind Kumar and
other judges of the Gu-
jarat HC, said Registrar
General of Gujarat
High Court R K Desai,
in a statement.
Gujarat Chief Minis-
terBhupendraPatel,Un-
ionMinisterforLawand
Justice Kiren Rijiju
along with Supreme
Court judges Justice L
Nageswara Rao, Justice
S Abdul Nazeer, Justice
M R Shah, Justice
Vikram Nath and Jus-
tice Bela M Trivedi
will also attend the
conference, to be
held on April 09
and 10.
Chief Justices as
well as senior-most
judges along with the
registrars of various
high courts would at-
tend the conference,
Desai said.
“There will be three
sessions on the subject
of Mediation on the
first day whereas on
April 10, there will be
two sessions on the sub-
ject of Information
Technology
. Justice D Y
Chandrachud of the Su-
preme Court will ad-
dress the gathering
through video confer-
encing on the subject of
‘Future of Justice-Tech-
nology and Judiciary’,”
he added.
The sessions on Me-
diation will cover as-
pects relating to court
annexed mediation as
well as commercial
mediation, and its
benefits to the
stakeholders. The
process and bene-
fits of pre-litiga-
tion mediation
and the online
mode of media-
tion would also
be deliberated,
the statement
said.
The two-day
event will be
held at Tent
City near the
Statue of Unity
in Kevadia
President Ram Nath Kovind. —FILE PHOTO
GST dept raids offices, homes
of two builder groups in Surat GUJARATIS DO NOT NEED TO LEAVE,
ONLY CHANGE RULING PARTY: SISODIA
NSUI DEMAND
VAGHANI’S
RESIGNATION
Members of the
National Students’
Union of India
(NSUI), Vadodara
condemned Edu-
cation Minister
Jitu Vaghani’s re-
marks about edu-
cation in the state
on Thursday, and
demanded his
resignation. They
burnt posters
of the minister
inside the main
building of the
Maharaja Saya-
jirao University of
Baroda’s com-
merce faculty and
shouted slogans
against him. Po-
lice reached the
spot and detained
10 members of
the student body
from the faculty.
Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia during his Guj visit in Feb last year.
—FILE PHOTO
Screenshot of Sisodia’s tweet
on Vaghani’s statement.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel (centre) flanked by Minister of State for Urban Development Vinod Mordiya (on the left),
Additional Chief Secretary to the CM Pankaj Joshi, Principal Secretary for Urban Development Mukesh Kumar and Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation Commissioner Lochan Sehra (on the right).
Fundswillbe
releasedfor
developmental
projects
plannedasper
needsof
Amdavadistill
2050
WHAT IT ENTAILED
Cattle roaming freely on roads has been a menace for citizens
in cities. —FILE PHOTO

GUJARAT
03
First India Bureau
Vadodara: Sheetal Sa-
gar Zalte, mother to con-
joined twins, has been
chosen to represent Gu-
jarat at the Grehlaksh-
mi Mrs India 2022 beau-
ty pageant. The event
will be held in New Del-
hi from April 12 to 15.
Born and raised in
Vadodara city, she cur-
rently resides in Surat
and has continued to
pursue her passion for
acting and showbiz.
After losing her fa-
ther at an early age, she
began helping her
mother by doing odd
jobs in short films and
video albums.
She took a four-year
break after her nuptials
and the birth of her
sons before deciding to
resume her passion for
the glam world.
“I was disappointed
when I learned that I
was carrying conjoined
twins. But it was the
most amazing moment
of my life when I saw
them for the first time
after delivery
. From the
front, they shared a liv-
er, pelvis, and other or-
gans. I sought advice
from experts at Mum-
bai’s Bai Jerbai Wadia
Children’s Hospital,
who told me that the
separation procedure
would be safe and that
they would be able to
have a normal life,”
said Sheetal.
“My sons are doing
well after two surgeries,
and I decided to pursue
my ambitions again by
entering the pageant,”
she added.
With a solid acting ca-
reer spanning 10 years,
Sheetal has acted in nu-
merous short films and
albumvideosinHindias
well as Gujarati lan-
guage. Remarkably, she
has appeared in around
60 short films since the
onset of the COVID-19
pandemic.
V’dara woman selected for nat’l beauty pageant
SPIRITED
Sheetal Sagar Zalte took a four-year
break after her wedding and birth of
her conjoined twins before resuming
passion for entertainment biz
HC RAPS GOVT OVER SCHOOL
INFRASTRUCTURE IN GUJARAT
Asks for info on state-aided schools in all talukas, districts in its suo motu PIL
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A day af-
ter Education Minister
Jitu Vaghani’s remarks
on education provided
in the state, the Gujarat
High Court slammed
the government over
school infrastructure. It
sent a notice to the gov-
ernment by filing a suo
motu public interest
litigation, asking it to
respond, at the earliest.
In a verbal order, the
court directed the state
government to submit
details of all govern-
ment schools in all the
districts and talukas of
the state. It has also
sought an answer on
how many of these gov-
ernment schools ran in
rented, open spaces or
other premises.
Taking cognizance of
the lack of proper infra-
structure, the court ob-
served, “It is a serious
matter. Young students
have to sit in the open
due to dearth of a school
building. The court is
looking into the issue.”
In its defense, the gov-
ernment said that it had
commenced work to
buildschoolroomsinthe
areas that did not have
one. And government
counselalsosubmitteda
report saying that not a
single school in the state
was in the open.
Meanwhile, when
Education Minister
Jitu Vaghani visited
Chhota Udepur district
last year, he had told
media persons that it
was nothing out of the
ordinary for students to
attend classes out in the
open. Recalling his own
memories as a child, he
had added that he too
had studied in the open
fields.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Over
27,000 students in the
city have sought ad-
mission to educa-
tional institutions
under the Right to
Education (RTE) Act.
In Ahmedabad, a
total of 27,524 appli-
cations have been
submitted for over
12,579 seats. In the
previous year, 25,000
forms were filled out
in the city. As the
form-filling process
continues, the num-
ber is sure to in-
crease even higher
this year.
Out of a total
27,500 submissions,
only 17,877 forms
have been accepted.
However, due to doc-
ument uploading is-
sues, 2,846 forms
were denied admis-
sion. In addition,
3,441 forms with
missing information
were rejected.
The process of fill-
ing out forms began
in March this year.
Parents, on the other
hand, will be able to
fill out online forms
until April 11. The
first round of admis-
sions will be an-
nounced on April 26.
Children from the
state’s economically
weaker and under-
privileged categories
will be admitted to
Class 1 under the
Right to Education.
Parents are re-
quired to upload the
relevant documents
on rte.orpgujarat.
com. All online appli-
cations will be veri-
fied at the district
level by April 16. Be-
tween April 17 and 19,
applicants will be of-
fered the opportunity
to upload missing
documents in invalid
applications. Re-veri-
fication of invalid ap-
plications with re-
uploaded documents
will take place from
April 17 to 21.
First India Bureau
Thane: A 10-year-old
boy who went missing
from Maharashtra’s
Thane district was
tracedtoaremandhome
in Gujarat and reunited
with his parents by local
police, an official said
on Thursday
.
The boy was found
alone at Kalupur rail-
way station last month
and was taken to a re-
mand home in Gandhi-
nagar, the official added.
OnMarch30,theman-
agement of the remand
home informed the
Thane city police’s child
protection unit (CPU)
about the boy who said
he was from Bhiwandi
area of Thane district
and gave his address.
The CPU tracked
down the boy’s parents
and got the child identi-
fied as theirs and re-
stored him to his family
.
The boy’s parents are
labourers and did not
know the procedure to
lodge a complaint and
did not have identity pa-
pers, he added.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: A 16-year-
old girl, who was miss-
ing for close to a year,
has been rescued from
Surat in Gujarat and a
man has been arrested
on the charge of kid-
napping and sexually
assaulting her, police
said on Thursday
.
The accused Santosh
Subhash Gamne (30)
was a native of Maha-
rashtra’s Bhandara dis-
trict and wanted by the
state police in multiple
cases, including that of
robbery and murder.
The girl’s mother had
complained to the police
on May 18 last year that
her daughter had gone
missing three days ear-
lier. Based on her com-
plaint, a case of kidnap-
ping was registered and
investigation initiated.
“With technical assis-
tance, our team visited
Surat and recused the
victim on April 04 and
arrested the accused,”
said Deputy Commis-
sioner of Police (South-
west) Manoj
After the medical ex-
amination of the girl,
she has been kept at
Nirmal Chhaya in Hari
Nagar. The Maharash-
tra Police has been in-
formed about the arrest
of Gamne there were
non-bailable warrants
issued against him.
Gujarat High Court. —FILE PHOTO
WANTED
27K students
seek admission
under RTE Act
46 BMC-run school bldgs
in dilapidated state: Survey
First India Bureau
Bhavnagar: Primary
surveys conducted by
a team of civil and
structural engineers
at schools run by
Bhavnagar Municipal
Corporation, has re-
vealed that several
buildings are in dilapi-
dated condition. Ex-
cluding a few new
school buildings, the
majority either have a
slab (roof) or walls or
pillars that are on the
verge of collapsing,
puttingthelivesof stu-
dents and staff at risk.
I n c i d e n t a l l y,
Bhavnagar is the city
represented by state
Education Minister
Jitu Vaghani and for-
mer Minister of State
for Education Vib-
havari Dave.
According to the
survey, 46 out of 55
school buildings are
in decay with over
24,250 students study-
ing in 700 classrooms.
For instance, at the
Kumbharwada Circle
schools number 1 and
2, the building is too
old, ground floor ceil-
ing plaster is on the
verge of collapse, and
water leaks from the
terrace into the class-
rooms during mon-
soon season. Similar-
ly, in the Hadanagar
school number 62, pil-
lars have separated
from walls, toilets are
in a decrepit state, and
one or two classrooms
have a tin roof with
holes in them.
Additionally, many
schools do not have
security staff which
has given free rein to
anti-social elements
that have stolen taps
and damaged school
property. It is also an
indication that girl
students are unsafe in
such an environment.
In its defense, the
corporation has stated
thatithasalsoconduct-
ed surveys of its own
and will begin remedy-
ing the problems soon.
BMC Executive Engi-
neer BM Advani said,
“After completing the
detailed survey and
primaryestimates,ten-
ders will be floated and
repair work will be un-
dertaken under the
Swarnim Jayanti
grant.”
Students in a severely damaged building.
Many
structures are
in immediate
need of repair
as they put
lives of
students and
teachers at risk
Only 17,877
forms have
been accepted
for admittance
so far with
3,441 forms
rejected for
missing
information
Missing Thane boy traced to
Gujarat, reunited with parents
CAUTIOUS OPERATIONS
SVPI Ahmedabad Airport’s runway recarpeting work was in progress on Wednesday even as the mercury levels soared high. —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
Missing minor rescued
from Surat, man arrested
He was found roaming alone at A’bad
Kalupur railway station last month, was sent
to G’nagar remand home
Sheetal on the ramp at a show.

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 3 l Issue No. 132
l RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf
of First Express Publishers.
Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet
Survey No.148P, Changodar-
Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist.
Ahmedabad. Published at D/302
3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium
Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej
Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Be strong and very
courageous. Be careful to obey
all the instructions Moses gave
you. Do not deviate from
them, turning to the right or to
the left. Then you will be
successful in all you do.
—Bible
IN-DEPTH
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
The Government of India is working
tirelessly to augment India’s health
infrastructure. The focus is on ensuring
good quality and affordable healthcare
to our citizens. It makes every Indian
proud that our nation is home to the
world’s largest healthcare scheme,
Ayushman Bharat.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Finished reading @PriyamGM ji’s best
selling book—‘A Nation to Protect’,
a brilliantly researched work on
how PM @narendramodi’s decisive
leadership, effective policy responses
and handholding helped India rise to
the challenge and effectively tackle the
Covid19 situation.
TOP TWEETS
GODS AND RAPE:
AMU PROFESSOR
TREADS A WRONG
TERRITORY
ligarh Muslim Uni-
versity’s Professor
Jitendra Kumar is in
the dock for teaching
obnoxious stuff
about Hindu gods to his medical
students at the university
. He is
said to have showed presentation
to suggest that rape was preva-
lent even in mythological times.
Prof Kumar has tendered an un-
conditional apology but he still
facesapolicecaseforhurtingthe
religious sentiments of Hindus.
What do third year MBBS stu-
dents attending a lecture in the
forensic medicine department
have to do with Rape: A Histori-
cal Perspective? And why did it
have to be about Hindu gods?
Professor Kumar called it an
“inadvertentmistake”buthehas
actually put AMU into problems.
As it is, the university faces trou-
ble over Jinnah’s portrait and
the demand to rename it after
Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh.
His action will only be a boost for
those branding the university as
communal. The professor should
have realised how sensitive the
times are before giving rape a
religious perspective.
A
fter the Chief Jus-
tice of India, Jus-
tice NV Ramana,
urged the CBI at
an event to be “im-
permeable” and “independ-
ent” because it was “an insti-
tution” which is permanent
while the “political execu-
tive” is not. He exhorted them
to “not allow any authoritar-
ian tendencies”. “They need
to function within the demo-
cratic framework…as they
have to reclaim social legiti-
macy and public trust”. Soon
after, the Union Minister for
Law and Justice responded
with the remark that “CBI is
no longer a caged parrot”.
The CBI’s look-out circular
against veteran journalist
and Amnesty International
India’s former chief to pre-
vent him from flying out of
the country suggests that it
has either not been uncaged,
or it is hesitant of moving out
of the cage. Patel was stopped
from flying out to the US even
after a Surat court ordered
the release of his passport on
February 19 and permitted
him to fly to the US. Patel
challenged the LOC in a Delhi
courtandtheadditionalchief
metropolitan magistrate or-
dered the CBI to withdraw the
circular. More significantly,
the ACMM Pawan Kumar
urged the CBI Director to
send a written apology to Pa-
tel to “restore public confi-
dence in the public”, words
that echo CJI’s remarks.
Similarly, journalist Rana
Ayyub, who wrote the book
“Gujarat Files” after the
Godhra riots, was stopped
from flying to London on the
basis of an LOC issued by the
EnforcementDirectorate.The
ED considered Ayyub a flight
risk as “she might not return
to India”. But the Delhi High
CourtallowedAyyubtoflyout
subject to some conditions.
JUNKING LOCs OF
A DIFFERENT KIND
Patel was stopped from
flying out to the US even
after a Surat court ordered the
release of his passport on
February 19 and permitted
him to fly to the US. Similarly,
journalist Rana Ayyub, who
wrote the book “Gujarat
Files” after the Godhra
riots, was stopped from
flying to London on the
basis of an LOC issued by the
Enforcement Directorate
A
n the recent emerging era of
new world order as well as
the resurfacing of economy
in post pandemic times, India
still holds a promising econ-
omy and remains a strategic
destination for financial de-
velopment of the region in
particular the world in gen-
eral. Today, India is ready to
compete with current global
standards of being a manu-
facturer, service provider or
a vibrant market. The emer-
gence of foreign companies
in our nation bears a testi-
mony that we indeed are a
potentially influential and an
emerging financial power.
According to me, profit
must be the main aim and
motto of every industry and
organisation because, if the
firmwillearn,thenonlyitwill
have courage to take higher
risks, reap better profit mar-
gins and help the society
, na-
tionandoverallinfrastructure
for a sustained development.
As a corporate trainer and
coach, I often wonder, why is
it that a few companies per-
form better than the others?
What exactly is the reason
for failure of some while oth-
ers succeed in the same envi-
ronment? After long deliber-
ations my conclusion is that
it is the governance of any
corporate that casts the die.
Corporate governance or CG
is no stranger and in fact it
refers to the checks and bal-
ances within an organiza-
tion, the rules, practices and
processes used to run a com-
pany
. Well, it also frames and
establishes the company’s
direction, integrity and fi-
nancial viability that brings
in trust with investors and
the community
.
So, should we believe that
both the aspects of a modern
industry, Man and the Ma-
chine qualify for CG? The
answer is not really. While
the machines need manage-
ment and maintenance the
human capital is driven by
good governance. It is often
observed that in this era of
technological advancement
and Robots, industries and
corporates tend to forget the
wealth of human resources
they may be sitting on for
generating what they all
need the most “PROFITS”.
No doubt, we are in the
midst of yet another wave of
change (the fourth industrial
revolution), driven by cloud
computing, AI, advanced
digitalisation and the Inter-
net. But does this imply that
hence forth the industry will
perhaps shorten or reduce
the space for human re-
source. Needless to mention
that technologies can re-
trieve information, handle
inventories and logistics,
prepare briefs, provide finan-
cial services, translate docu-
ments, audit statements and
diagnose diseases but still,
the man behind the machine
could not be replaced.
It is worth mentioning that
2018 World Economic Forum
study said that 75 million
jobs will be lost in the next
five years as companies adopt
automation. But, another 133
million new jobs will emerge
in the same time as business-
es develop a new division of
labour between humans and
machines.
In view of the above, it’s
important for companies to
strike a healthy balance be-
tween remaining profitable
and Good CG for employees.
If history has taught us any-
thing, it’s only that the dis-
ruptive paradigm shifting
business models lay the very
foundation for future busi-
ness models.
Yes, robots, machines and
AI will replace humans for
many jobs, just as innovative
farming equipment replaced
humans and bullocks during
the first industrial revolu-
tion. Yet, in spite of these
changes, humans will be re-
quired to deliver value in
various new ways for brand
new business models. Obvi-
ously, technology is no an-
swer for roles that dictate
emotions like empathy, crea-
tivity and intuition in spe-
cific contexts.
The ideal mix therefore, is
one that combines the best of
both worlds. While efficiency
and productivity fall in the
court of technology; creativ-
ity, emotion, complexity
management and close rela-
tionships remain within the
domain of the workforce.
The human touch is indis-
pensable to creativity and to
manage the unpredictable.
Its only for this reasons that
organisations like Google
and Facebook are now creat-
ing spaces and environments
for people to hang out and
talk and the key reason for
that is to bring about cross-
fertilisation of new ideas.
I would say that in globali-
zation of business the only
constant in the corporate
workplace from first to fourth
industrial revolution is the
human resource and there-
fore it needs to be nurtured
very carefully
. It is mandatory
for the organizations to intro-
duce new motivational needs
of employees to meet the en-
vironmentalrealities.Thetop
management should carry
out new methodologies of de-
veloping strong and durable
bond with the employees to
achieve the selected goals of
profitability and long-term
sustenance. For whatever
may be the wonders in digiti-
zation and automation, MAN
remains the ULTIMATE!
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
I
I would say that in
globalization of business the
only constant in the
corporate workplace from
first to fourth industrial
revolution is the human
resource and therefore it
needs to be nurtured very
carefully. It is mandatory
for the organizations to
introduce new motivational
needs of employees to meet
the environmental realities.
The top management should
carry out new methodologies
of developing strong and
durable bond with the
employees to achieve the
selected goals of profitability
and long-term sustenance.
For whatever may be the
wonders in digitization and
automation, MAN remains
the ULTIMATE!
Today, India is ready to
compete with current
global standards of
being a manufacturer,
service provider or a
vibrant market. The
emergence of foreign
companies in our nation
bears a testimony that we
indeed are a
potentially influential
and an emerging
financial power
COL ANUPAM
JAITLY (RETD)
The writer is Defence expert,
Motivational Speaker Corporate Trainer
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Profitability–EmployeeInterface–Machines

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INDIA
05
PROCESS INITIATED TO AMEND
IPC, CrPC, EVIDENCE ACT: GOVT
MHA seeks suggestions from Governors, Lt Guvs, CMs, MPs, CJI, and Bar Council
New Delhi (PTI):
Seeking to make com-
prehensive changes in
criminal laws to pro-
vide affordable and
speedy justice and cre-
ate a people-centric le-
gal structure, the gov-
ernment has initiated
the process to amend
the Indian Penal Code,
the Code of Criminal
Procedure and the In-
dian Evidence Act in
consultation with
stakeholders, the Rajya
Sabha was informed on
Thursday.
The Ministry of
Home Affairs has also
sought suggestions
from governors, chief
ministers, Lt gover-
nors and administra-
tors of Union Territo-
ries, chief justice of
India, chief justices of
various high courts,
Bar Council of India,
bar council of various
states and members of
Parliament regarding
comprehensive amend-
ments in criminal laws,
Law Minister Kiren Ri-
jiju said in a written
reply.
The minister also in-
formed that a commit-
tee headed by the vice
chancellor, National
Law University, Delhi
and four other mem-
bers was constituted on
March 2, 2020 by the
MHA to suggest re-
forms in the criminal
laws of the country.
The committee had
invited suggestions
through a question-
naire based on second-
ary research and in-
puts from experts up-
loaded on its website
which received re-
sponse from various
organisations, re-
search centres, aca-
demics, lawyers, and
civil societies from
across the country.
After extensive
stakeholders consulta-
tion and research, the
committee submitted
its recommendations
on February 27, 2022 on
the three criminal laws
- IPC, CrPC and the In-
dian Evidence Act.
146th report of
Parliamentary
Standing
Committee said
that there is a
need for a
comprehensive
review of
India’s criminal
justice system
India bans import of
another 101 military
items for self-reliance
Get your own Capitals: Chd
Civic body to Pb, Haryana
New Delhi (Agencies):
From lightweight
tanks, naval utility heli-
copters to drones, India
has banned the import
of yet another 101 mili-
tary equipment and sys-
tems in a bid to promote
indigenisation in de-
fence manufacturing.
Defence Minister Ra-
jnath Singh on Thurs-
day released the third
positive indigenisation
list of 101 items, com-
prising major equip-
ment and platforms.
The list, notified by
the Department of Mili-
tary Affairs, Ministry
of Defence (MoD), lays
special emphasis on
equipment/systems
which are being devel-
oped and are likely to
translate into firm or-
ders in the next five
years.
These weapons and
platforms are planned
to be indigenised pro-
gressively with effect
from December 2022 to
December 2027.
These 101 items will,
henceforth, be procured
from local sources as
per provisions of the
Defence Acquisition
Procedure (DAP) 2020.
Chandigarh (PTI):
The municipal corpora-
tion here passed a reso-
lution on Thursday
which states that Chan-
digarh should remain a
union territory, and
should also get its own
legislative assembly
.
The development
comes as Punjab and
Haryana engage in a
tussle to stake claim
over Chandigarh.
Both Punjab and
Haryana state assem-
blies recently passed
their respective resolu-
tion reiterating their
claim over the Union
Territory of Chandi-
garh, their joint capi-
tal. The resolution also
said the Centre should
intervene and direct
Haryana and Punjab
governments “to devel-
op their own independ-
ent capital cities”.
Only BJP councillors
were present in the Mu-
nicipal Corporation
House when the resolu-
tionwaspassed,withthe
councillors of the Aam
Aadmi Party
, Congress
and Shiromani Akali
Dal staging a walkout.
Chandigarh Munici-
pal Corporation Mayor
Sarabjit Kaur, who is
from the BJP, had called
a special meeting of the
general House of the
corporation.
Le Pen vows
headscarf fines
in tight French
election battle
Paris (Agencies):
French far-right presi-
dential candidate
Marine Le Pen vowed
Thursday to
issuefinesto
M u s l i m s
who wear
headscarves
in public, as
candidates made a final
pushforvotesthreedays
ahead of an election
seen as increasingly
close.
President Macron
builtwhatseemedanun-
assailable lead ahead of
the first round of polls
on Sunday but Le Pen
has eroded the margin
and feels she has a real
chance of winning the
run-off on April 24.
“People will be given
a fine in the same way
that it is illegal to not
wear your seat belt. It
seems to me that the po-
lice are very much able
to enforce this meas-
ure,” Le Pen said.
BJP wants Anurag Thakur as
new Himachal CM: Sisodia
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia on
Thursday claimed that
theBJPwasconsidering
replacing Jai Ram
ThakurwithUnionMin-
ister Anurag Thakur as
the chief minister of
Himachal Pradesh
ahead of the assembly
elections in the state.
Addressing a press
conference, he said the
BJP wanted to make the
big change as it feared
defeat in the elections
with the growing “popu-
larity” of Aam Aadmi
Party national convenor
Arvind Kejriwal.
“We have learnt from
very reliable sources
that the BJP wants to re-
place Chief Minister Jai
Ram Thakur with Anu-
ragThakurasitisscared
of the popularity of
Arvind Kejriwal and his
model of governance in
Delhi,” Sisodia claimed.
All must comply with High Court order: Kharge
New Delhi (PTI): Sen-
ior Congress leader
Mallikarjun Kharge on
Thursday said every
community should
abide by the order of
the Karnataka High
Court on the use of
loudspeakers in reli-
gious institutions.
Speaking to news
agency media, Kharge
said, “Everyone should
comply with the orders
of the High Court.”
The Congress leader
said that the Central and
the state governments
should “keep things un-
der control” and “take
everyone along”.
“Everyone should
follow High Court’s or-
der but it’s awful if
such issues (Azaan is-
sue) are brought up
merely for the political
purpose of polarisa-
tion while creating
communal fissures in
society. It’ll be adver-
sarial both socially
and economically. So
the Central and state
governments should
keep things under con-
trol and take everyone
along,” he said.
COURTESY MEET
Chhattisgarh Governor Anusuiya Uikey called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in New
Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Don’t need
lessons on law
and order from
Amit Shah:TMC
Kolkata (PTI): The
TMC on Thursday
slammed Union Home
Minister Amit Shah for
his remarks on the law
and order situation in
West Bengal and said
that the party doesn’t
need lessons from him.
Senior TMC leader
Sougata Roy said that
neitherthepartynorthe
state Govt needed les-
sonsfromShahonmain-
tenanceof lawandorder.
“Amit Shah should be
the last person to talk
about law and order. We
are very well aware of
his track record as a
minister in Gujarat and
in the Centre,” Roy said.
Two civilians injured in Handwara
as soldiers fire after altercation
Jammu (PTI): Pro-
tests broke out in north
Kashmir’s Handwara
in Kupwara district on
Thursday where two
civilians were injured
after some Army per-
sonnel allegedly
opened fire following
an altercation with
people near a mosque.
The injured persons
have been identified as
Abdul Ahad Mir from
Rajwar and Mujeeb Ah-
mad Sofi from Hand-
wara who sustained in-
juries in their lower
limbs. They were shift-
ed to the hospital where
their condition is sta-
ble, reports said.
Reports said that
there were arguments
between the civilians
and soldiers after the
former objected to vid-
eography of the wor-
shippers. Gunshots
were heard amidst the
arguments.
This was followed by
stone pelting at the se-
curity forces by angry
demonstrators. Army’s
side of the report on the
incident is awaited.
Former Chief Minis-
ter and PDP chief Me-
hbooba Mufti con-
demned the incident.
PUNJAB DRIVER
SHOT AT BY
MILITANTS IN
JK’S PULWAMA
Srinagar (Agencies):
A driver from Punjab
was shot and injured
by militants in JK’s
Pulwama district on
Thursday, police said.
“A non-local driver,
identified as Sonu
Sharma of Pathankot,
was shot and injured
by militants in Yader
village of Pulwama.
“He was shifted to
hospital for treatment
and the area has
been cordoned off,” a
source said.
Security forces during search operation. —FILE PHOTO
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia
ED SEEKS DISMISSAL OF BAIL PLEA
‘Deshmukh mastermind behind
money laundering conspiracy’
Mumbai (Agencies):
The Enforcement Di-
rectorate (ED) recent-
ly told the Bombay
High Court that for-
mer Maharashtra
home minister Anil
Deshmukh is the
“mastermind and
brain” behind the
money laundering
conspiracy and mis-
used his official posi-
tion to create unac-
counted assets. He
also exercised “un-
due influence over
transfers and post-
ings of police offi-
cials and on perfor-
mance of those police
officials,” it added.
The ED, in its re-
sponse to Desh-
mukh’s bail plea, said
that the probe is at
nascent stage and
Deshmukh being an
influential person, if
released, may tamper
with evidence and
witnesses. And since
he has not cooperated
with the investiga-
tion, he should not be
granted bail.
Deshmukh, who
was arrested by ED
last November, had
moved HC after the
special PMLA court
on March 14 had re-
jected his bail plea,
holding that there is
prima facie proof to
indicate that he had
exercised “undue in-
fluence” over trans-
fers and postings of
police officers.
Deshmukh was ar-
rested by the ED last
November. The cen-
tral agency had al-
leged that he was the
beneficiary of bribes
received by co-ac-
cused Mumbai police
officer Sachin Waze,
who has since been
dismissed.
Deshmukh, in his
bail plea filed through
advocates Aniket Ni-
kam and Inderpal
Singh, said that state-
ments including the
one given by former
Mumbai police com-
missioner Param Bir
Singh be tested on
“different yard-
sticks” by ascertain-
ing their credibility
as Singh himself is
accused of several se-
rious offences, in-
cluding extortion.
Former Maharashtra Home
Minister Anil Deshmukh
EKNATH KHADSE
APPEARS BEFORE
POLICE IN PHONE
TAPPING CASE
Mumbai (PTI): Na-
tionalist Congress
Party (NCP) leader
Eknath Khadse
appeared before
the Colaba police
in Mumbai on
Thursday to record
his statement in
the phone tapping
case. The phones of
Khadse along with
his personal assis-
tant were allegedly
tapped during the
2019 Maharashtra
assembly elections.
Senior IPS officer
Rashmi Shukla,
who formerly
headed the State
Intelligence Depart-
ment of Maharash-
tra Police, is an
accused in the case.
MAINTAIN DECIBEL LEVEL:
BENGALURU POLICE ISSUE NOTICES
Senior Congress leader
Mallikarjun Kharge
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
LOUDSPEAKER ROW

INDIA
06
New Delhi (PTI): The
Centre has told the Su-
preme Court that there
are 83 missing defence
personnel including 62
Prisoners of the War of
1965 and 1971 for whom
India is seeking their
release and repatriation
from Pakistan through
diplomatic and other
available channels.
The government
through the Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA)
has filed an affidavit on
a plea filed by the moth-
er of an Army officer
Captain Sanjit Bhat-
tacharjee seeking direc-
tion to the Centre to
take immediate steps
through diplomatic
channels for repatria-
tion of her son, who is
lodged in jail in Paki-
stan for over 24 years.
The plea said the pe-
titioner had received
information that Sanjit,
who was commissioned
as an officer of Gorkha
Rifles Regiment of the
Indian Army in August
1992, was lodged in La-
hore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.
The petitioner said
that her family was in-
formed in April 1997
that her son, who had
gone for patrolling duty
at night time on a joint
border in Gujarat’s
Rann of Kutch, was ap-
prehended by the Paki-
stan authorities while
carrying out operation
reconnaissance.
The government in
its affidavit attached
the annexure of Note
Verbale, in which it re-
ferred to several Notes
Verbales issued by the
High Commission of
India in Pakistan and
the list of 83 missing In-
dian defence personnel
requesting to look into
their whereabouts, and
for the early release of
missing Indian defence
personnel.
Out of 83 missing de-
fence personnel, four
are Prisoners of War
who went missing in
1965, and most are from
the 1971 war. A total of
21 Defence personnel
are missing from 1996
till 2010.
India pursuing release of 83 missing personnel from Pak
SEEKING REPATRIATION CRUCIAL READ
MIN: INDIA PLANS TO
ISSUE E-PASSPORTS
STARTING THIS YEAR
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister of State for External
Affairs V Muraleedharan
said that the government
is planning to issue e-
passports to its citizens,
starting in 2022-23.
Muraleedharan’s remarks
came in Rajya Sabha in
reply to a question on the
government’s plans.
BSF SIGHTS PAK
DRONE NEAR
GURDASPUR
Gurdaspur: A Pakistani
drone was sighted enter-
ing the Indian territory
near Punjab’s Gurdaspur
around 1.30 PM on
Wednesday. The drone
returned back to Pakistan
after the soldiers of 89
battalion of BSF threw
light bombs and con-
ducted 16 fires over it.
ASKED TO STRIP BY COPS: JOURNALIST
WHO WENT TO COVER BJP MLA STORY
Bhopal: A group of men, including a journalist and
theatre artists, were seen stripped down inside a
police station in Madhya Pradesh in a post that has
gone viral now. A local journalist and YouTuber, who
was identified in the photo, alleged he was abused
and asked to strip by some police personnel when
he went to cover a protest against a local BJP MLA.
PAK ISSUES 2,200
VISAS TO PILGRIMS
New Delhi: Pakistan has
issued 2,200 visas to
Indian pilgrims for attend-
ing Baisakhi celebrations
to be held in various Sikh
shrines in Pakistan from
April 12-21. “During their
visit to Pakistan, the pilgrims
would, inter alia, go to Panja
Sahib, Nankana Sahib and
Kartarpur Sahib. They would
enter Pakistan on April 12
and would return to India on
April 21, 2022,” a statement
from Pakistan official.
IN THE COURTYARD
GOVT SHOULD CONSIDER FINANCIAL IMPACT
WHEN COMING UP WITH SCHEMES: TOP COURT
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday has ob-
served that government should take note of the financial
impact on the state exchequer while coming up with any
welfare schemes or laws. A bench of Justices UU Lalit,
S Ravindra Bhat and PS Narasimha observations came
while hearing a plea seeking proper implementation of the
mandatory provisions of the Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act. The court remarked to Central
Government that whenever it comes up with any such
schemes, then it must take note of its financial impact.
The court also pointed out the budget constraints shown
by the government while dealing with such welfare
schemes and suggested the work in this direction.
MULLAPERIYAR DAM’S SAFETY REQUIRES
IMMEDIATE ATTENTION: SUPREME COURT
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday said, “immedi-
ate attention” is required to be given to the safety of the
126-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam and the supervisory com-
mittee will be strengthened to take steps that are required
to be taken by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA)
under the Dam Safety Act 2021. The Supreme court,
which asked both Kerala and Tamil Nadu not to go into
the history and concentrate on the future of the dam, said
the supervisory committee will issue directions that will
be complied with by both the states. The top court, which
appealed to both the states to “let the water flow” safely,
said it would pass the order in the matter on Friday.
Modi meets Sonia, Farooq, MSY
on conclusion of Budget Session
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
met Congress chief So-
nia Gandhi, Samajwadi
Party leader Mulayam
Singh Yadav, National
Conference chief Fa-
rooq Abdullah and oth-
er opposition leaders in
the chamber of Lok
Sabha Speaker Om Bir-
la after the conclusion
of Parliaments’ Budget
Session on Thursday
.
Speaker Om Birla,
Defence Minister Ra-
jnath Singh and Parlia-
mentary Affairs Minis-
ter Pralhad Joshi were
also present during the
meeting. Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha were ad-
journed sine die a day
before the schedule,
marking the culmina-
tion of the Budget Ses-
sion 2022 during which
the two Houses passed
key legislations, includ-
ing the Bill to unify the
municipal corporations
in the national capital.
The second part of
the Budget Session be-
gan on March 14 while
the sittings were to con-
clude on April 8.
Key Bills were passed
in the Parliament dur-
ing the second part of
the session, including
the Criminal Procedure
(Identification) Bill,
2022, Delhi Municipal
Corporation (Amend-
ment) Bill, 2022 among
others. On the last day
of the session, Lok Sab-
ha Speaker Om Birla
acknowledged the par-
ticipation of MPs and
said that the Session
was “going well with
everyone’s support”.
“In this Session, pro-
ductivity has been 129
per cent, with every-
body’s participation…
Productivity till the 8th
session has been 106 per
cent. Compared to the
previous experiences,
the ongoing session
went well with every-
one’s support,” Birla
said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh,
Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Farooq Abdullah in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
SAVINGS FOR POOR,
MIDDLE-CLASS: PM
ON HEALTHCARE
New Delhi (PTI): On the
occasion of World Health
Day, Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi on Thursday
said the Government
is working tirelessly to
augment India’s health
infrastructure with a
focus on ensuring good
quality and affordable
healthcare to all citizens.
Declared by the WHO,
World Health Day is cel-
ebrated on April 7 every
year. On this year’s World
Health Day, the WHO is
focussing global attention
on urgent actions needed
to keep humans and the
planet healthy and foster
a movement to create
societies focused on
well-being.
PM MODI TO GO ON A
TWO-DAY VISIT TO
GUJ FROM APRIL 19
New Delhi (PTI): Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
will be on a two-day
visit to Gujarat starting
April 19. This will be his
second visit to Gujarat in
the last two months. Elec-
tions are due in the state
in December and the BJP
is getting ready to seek
another term in the state
they have been ruling
since 1995. Union Home
Minister Amit Shah will
also visit Gujarat for two
days on April 10 and 11.
While there are no details
about his programme yet,
the state BJP earlier said
the Prime Minister will
visit the tribal-dominated
Dahod area and was likely
to speak at a rally.
PM WANTS ‘IMMEDIATE ACTION’ TO HELP
PVT SECTOR CREATE JOBS: TOP OFFICIAL
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
suggested to secretaries of the Central Government
to hand-hold the private sector to give impetus to
manufacturing and job creation and stressed that
employment should be focus of all interventions in
the public and private sectors, Cabinet Secretary
Rajiv Gauba said. Gauba wrote to the secretaries
requesting them to initiate “immediate action” on the
suggestions made to them by the PM at the meeting
on April 2. Stating that the Government should act
as a “facilitator” and “catalytic agent”, Gauba said,
“It is imperative to hand-hold the private sector to
give impetus to manufacturing and job creation and
help Indian companies become world leaders.”
Risk of serious clots up to 6 months after Covid: Study
London (PTI): People
infected with SARS-
CoV-2, the virus that
causes Covid-19, have
an increased risk of de-
veloping serious blood
clots for up to six
months after the infec-
tion, even in mild cases,
according to a study
published in The BMJ.
The researchers
found an increased risk
of deep vein thrombo-
sis — a blood clot in the
leg — up to three
months after Covid in-
fection, pulmonary em-
bolism — a blood clot in
the lung — up to six
months, and a bleeding
event up to two months.
The researchers from
Umea University in
Sweden noted that these
results support meas-
ures to prevent throm-
botic events, especially
for high risk patients,
and strengthen the im-
portance of vaccination
against Covid-19.
Using national regis-
tries in Sweden, they
identified more than
one million people with
confirmed SARSCoV-2
infection between Feb-
ruary 1, 2020 and May
25, 2021, matched by
age, sex, and county of
residence to more than
four million people who
had not had a positive
SARS-CoV-2 test result.
The researchers first
calculated the rates of
deep vein thrombosis,
pulmonary embolism,
and bleeding in Covid-19
individuals during a
control period — before
and long after Covid-19
diagnosis — and com-
pared it to the rates in
different time intervals
afterCovid-19diagnosis.
HIGHLIGHTS

z Tamil Nadu advises
authorities to intensify
surveillance at interna-
tional airports

z India reports 1,033
new Covid-19 cases, 43
deaths in last 24 hours
No poll symbol shall be deemed
as religious,national symbol:Min
government on Thurs-
daytoldRajyaSabhathat
no election symbol re-
served or allotted by the
Election Commission
shall be deemed as a reli-
gious or national sym-
bol. Law Minister Kiren
Rijijuwasaskedwhether
a national symbol such
asnationalbird,national
animal or national flow-
er can be used as an elec-
tionsymbolbyanyregis-
tered political party
.
In a written reply
, Rij-
iju quoted a provision of
the Representation of
the People Act to explain
the legal position.
These include appeal
by a candidate or his
agent or by any other
person with the consent
of acandidateorhiselec-
tion agent to vote or re-
frain from voting on the
ground of his religion,
race, caste, community
orlanguageortheuseof,
or appeal to, religious or
national symbols “such
asthenationalflagorthe
national emblem, for the
furtherance of the pros-
pects of the election of
that candidate”.
Rajya Sabha
clocks 99.8%
productivity
Rajya Sabha clocked
99.80 per cent productiv-
ity during the Budget
Session that concluded
onThursday
,missingthe
100 per cent landmark
just by 10 minutes, offi-
cials said.
As against the sched-
uled 29 sittings, the Up-
per House held 27 that
included 10 during the
first part of the Budget
Session and 17 during
the second part that
concluded, two sittings
were given up.
Ensure disaster alerts reach
remote areas timely: Shah
New Delhi (PTI):
Agencies involved in
disaster management
should ensure that
alerts generated for ca-
lamities should reach
the remotest panchayat
location in the country
timely and organisa-
tions like NCC, women
groups and home
guards should be
brought on board for
this task, Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
said today
.
He asked the Nation-
al Disaster Response
Force (NDRF), the fed-
eral agency to train and
undertake operations
during such emergen-
cies, to take a leader-
ship role in this context
so that whenever such
an emergency strikes, a
trained personnel can
work as a “stop gap ar-
rangement” till profes-
sional rescuers reach
the spot.
He was speaking
while inaugurating a
two-day ‘annual confer-
ence on capacity build-
ing for disaster re-
sponse 2022’ being held
here. The meeting has
been organised by the
NDRF with representa-
tives of various central
and state disaster re-
sponse forces and other
related agencies par-
ticipating. The NDRF
should make sure that
the alerts generated for
an impending disaster
reach the intended loca-
tion, village and pan-
chayat in time, he said.
The Minister said
special focus should be
given to cases of light-
ning strikes where time
is less and it should be
ensured that accurate
alert reaches the in-
tended village and its
inhabitants.
“We have made many
apps for a variety of dis-
asters but a definite
mechanism should be
made so that the alerts
reach in time to the re-
motest location,” Shah
said.
For this, the minister
said, volunteers of the
NCC (national cadet
corps), NSS (national
service scheme), home
guards, women self
help groups should be
involved in the disaster
management protocol.
The literature and
training module should
also be prepared in lo-
cal languages, he said.
Union Home Minister, Amit Shah addressing the conference on
capacity building for disaster response in New Delhi on Thursday.
We have made
many apps (mo-
bile applications)
for a variety of disasters
but a definite mechanism
should be made so that the
alerts reach in time to the
remotest location.
—Amit Shah,
Union Home Minister
‘INDIA-US TIES
ENTERING NEW
TERRITORY’
Washington: Due to the
“problematic” position taken
by India on the Russian
invasion of Ukraine, the
India-US bilateral relation-
ship is “entering uncharted
territory”, a top former of-
ficial of the Trump Adminis-
tration said. Lisa Curtis, who
was the Trump Administra-
tion’s point person for India
during his four years of
presidency, it would become
increasingly difficult for the
India and United States of
America to expand their
defence and security ties
beyond a certain level.
US: Ready to support India in
diversifying its energy imports
Washington (PTI):
The United States is
ready to support India
in diversifying its ener-
gy imports, the White
House said, reiterating
its desire that New Del-
hi does not purchase oil
from Russia amid
American sanctions on
Moscow.
“We do not think In-
dia should accelerate or
increase imports of
Russian energy and
other commodities even
as, obviously, those de-
cisions are made by in-
dividual countries,”
White House Press Sec-
retary Jen Psaki told
reporters at her daily
news conference.
Jen Psaki

BIZ BUZZ
07
Sensex ends 575 pts down;
Nifty skids below 17,700
Mumbai (ANI): The
Indian equities mar-
kets key indices,
Sensex and Nifty,
slumped for the
third straight
day on Thurs-
day dragged by
heavy selling
pressure in
heavyweights
Reliance In-
dustries, TCS,
and HDFC
Bank.
The 30 stock SP
BSE Sensex
closed 575.46
points or 0.97
per cent
down at 59,034.95
points against its pre-
vious day’s close at
59,610.41 points. Earli-
er, the Sensex opened
in the negative at
59,402.61 points and
slumped to a low of
58,977.35
points in the
intra-day
.
This is the third
straight day of
loss in the bench-
mark index. The
Sensex had lost
566.09 points or
0.94 per cent
on Wednes-
day
.
HDFCand
H D F C
B a n k
f e l l
sharp-
ly for
the third
straight day after the
announcement of
merger deals. HDFC
slumped 2.91 per cent
to Rs 2462.65. HDFC
Bank dipped 2.19 per
cent to Rs 1516.90.
The share price of
HDFC Bank and HDFC
had surged by around
10 per cent on Monday
shortly after the merg-
er deals were an-
nounced. However, in
the last three days,
these stocks have lost
the gains made on the
day when merger deals
were announced.
The broader Nifty 50 of
the National Stock Ex-
change slumped 168.10
points or 0.94 per cent
to 17,639.55 points. The
Nifty had lost 149.75
points or 0.83 per cent
on Wednesday
.
Titan slumped 3.24 per
cent to Rs 2458.95.
Wipro slipped 2.13 per
cent to Rs 580.90.
The index heavyweight
Reliance Industries
Limited (RIL) fell 1.82
per cent to Rs 2571.75.
Tata Consultancy Ser-
vices (TCS) fell 1.90 per
cent to Rs 3684.95.
Axis Bank surged 2.31
ICICI Bank rose 1.12
Hindustan Unilever,
Mahindra Mahindra,
Dr Reddy’s Laborato-
ries, Tech Mahindra
and Sun Pharma were
among the major
Sensex gainers.
This is the third straight day of loss in the
benchmark index.The Sensex had lost 566.09
points or 0.94 per cent onWednesday. HDFC
and HDFC Bank fell sharply for the third
straight day after the announcement of merger
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): India said on
Wednesday that its
approach to the
Ukraine crisis re-
mains to promote dia-
logue to end the con-
flict; mitigate eco-
nomic distress for it-
self and for the world;
and to work with its
partners to these
ends.
External Affairs
Minister S Jais-
hankar, while reply-
ing to a discussion on
the situation in
Ukraine in Parlia-
ment, admitted that
the conflict has had
significant conse-
quences for the global
economy and for In-
dia’s national econo-
my
.
At the same time,
he revealed that after
delivering vaccines
to countries all over
the world, India has
been approached by
many nations for the
supply of wheat and
sugar by many na-
tions during the on-
going crisis.
‘We will step for-
ward where global
demands for food,
grains and other ma-
terials are concerned
and we will do it in a
manner that is help-
ful to the global econ-
omy; which will not
take undue advan-
tage of countries in
distress,’ the minis-
ter said.
The EAM said
that, like all other
countries, India too
is assessing the im-
plications and decid-
ing what is best for
the national interest.
‘At a time when en-
ergy costs have
spiked, clearly we
need to ensure that
the common person
in India is not sub-
ject to an additional
and unavoidable bur-
den.
Guidelines on setting
up of Digital Banking
Units released by RBI
Mumbai (ANI): The
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) on Thursday is-
sued guidelines for
the establishment of
‘Digital Banking
Units’ as announced
in the Union Budget
2022-23 by Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman earlier this
year.
In the Union Budget
2022-23 the finance
minister made an-
nouncements for set-
ting up of 75 Digital
Banking Units (DBUs)
in 75 districts to com-
memorate the 75 years
of independence of
the country. In pursu-
ance of the budget an-
nouncement a ‘Com-
mittee for the estab-
lishment of Digital
Banking Units
(DBUs)’ was set-up by
the Reserve Bank to
outline a roadmap for
the establishment of
DBUs.
The Committee af-
ter necessary consul-
tations and delibera-
tions gave its recom-
mendations on differ-
ent aspects of DBU
viz., the digital bank-
ing unit model, facili-
ties to be offered in
DBUs, monitoring of
functioning of DBUs,
cyber security and
other IT related as-
pects, role of DBU in
the spread of digital
banking awareness,
etc.
“Based on the rec-
ommendations of the
Committee, the guide-
lines on ‘Establish-
ment of Digital Bank-
ing Units’ have been
finalised,” RBI said in
a statement.
DIGITAL BANKING
Reverse migration during COVID hit real estate projects: Govt
New Delhi (ANI):
Real estate projects
across the country
were adversely im-
pacted due to the re-
verse migration of
construction workers
during COVID-19 pan-
demic lockdowns, Un-
ion Minister of State
for Housing Urban
Affairs Kaushal
Kishore said on Thurs-
day.
In view of the situa-
tion created by the
pandemic COVID-19
reverse migration of
labourers, including
construction workers,
to their native places
and break in supply
chains of construc-
tion material, con-
struction activities of
real estate projects
across the country
were adversely im-
pacted, the minister
said in a written reply
in the Lok Sabha.
“However, exact de-
tails of the quantum
of job loss and finan-
cial loss in the Real
Estate Sector are not
maintained centrally
by the Ministry of
Housing and Urban
Affairs (MoHUA),” the
minister added.
The minister in-
formed the lower
house of the parlia-
ment that the govern-
ment has taken a num-
ber of steps to support
the real estate
sector.
The Ministry of
Housing and Urban
Affairs had issued an
advisory to all States
and Union Territories
(UTs) and their Regu-
latory Authorities for
extension of comple-
tion date or revised/
extended completion
date for all real estate
projects registered un-
der Real Estate (Regu-
lation and Develop-
ment) Act, 2016
[RERA] for a period of
6 months, and further
extension of 3 months,
if the situation so de-
mands.
COVID IMPACT
Huge opportunities for students in India-Aus pact: Goyal
Sydney (PTI): India
and Australia would
help expand the econo-
mies of both countries,
thus providing huge
opportunities for stu-
dents.
He said education is
an important element
both in the current and
future engagements
with Australia.
So as trade and econ-
omy expand, the op-
portunities for stu-
dents also naturally
expand and that’s what
we have aimed for, he
said while interacting
with students here at
the University of New
South Wales.
He called for taking
India-Australia part-
nership in education
to greater heights and
invited the university
to expand its footprints
in India.As we expand
our services offerings
to each other. As we ex-
pand trade in goods, in
startups, obviously
there is going to be a
need for all of you (In-
dian students in Aus-
tralia) in a bigger way,
Goyal added.
Australia has over
one lakh students from
India.
Speaking at the
event, Australian
Trade Minister Dan
Tehan said whether In-
dian students studying
in Australia should
also get opportunities
to work here, is a very
popular issue and they
are working to address
it.
So as part of the
agreement, what we
have reached is that if
a student is from STEM
(science, technology,
engineering and math-
ematics) or working in
IT as part of their de-
gree and if you get a
first class honours,
then you will get extra
post study work (visa).
So you will be able to
stay here, work and
work for longer.
We have to make
sure that our educa-
tion leads to employ-
ment outcome. We
hope that in the com-
ing 6 months, you will
have much more op-
portunity than what
you have at the mo-
ment, he added.
Both the ministers
were replying to a
question from an Indi-
an student named
Mushkan, studying fi-
nance and financial
technology here.
Education is an
important element
both in the current
and future
engagements with
Australia.
10 states to get `28,204
crore more for power
sector reforms: FinMin
New Delhi (ANI): The
central government
granted additional
borrowing permission
of Rs 28,204 crore to 10
states for undertaking
the stipulated reforms
in the power sector
during the financial
year ended March 31,
Union Finance Minis-
try said on Thursday.
The Ministry of Fi-
nance, based on the
recommendations of
the Fifteenth Finance
Commission, had de-
cided to grant addi-
tional borrowing space
of upto 0.5 per cent of
the Gross State Domes-
tic Product (GSDP) to
the states every year
for a four year period
from 2021-22 to 2024-25
based on reforms un-
dertaken by the states
in the power sector.
This was announced
by the Finance Minis-
ter in the Budget
speech of 2021-22.
New Delhi (Agencies):
Jet Airways India Ltd.,
which is undergoing a
court-monitored restruc-
turing, plans to return
with a hybrid of premium
and no-frills services
that would allow the
former top local airline to
claw back market share
while managing costs in
the fiercely competitive
Indian aviation market.
The bankrupt airline,
now helmed by a new
set of owners, will have a
two-class configuration
where business class
passengers will be of-
fered services including
free meals, its new Chief
Executive Officer Sanjiv
Kapoor said in an inter-
view near New Delhi on
Wednesday. The econo-
my class will, however,
be modeled similar to
low-cost carriers where
flyers pay for meals and
other services, he said.
JET AIRWAYS PLANS TO RETURN WITH A
MIX OF PREMIUM, NO-FRILLS SERVICES
New Delhi (PTI): Tata Motors on Thursday said
it has bagged an order for 1,300 commercial
vehicles from VRL Logistics. The order compris-
es medium and heavy commercial vehicle and
intermediate light commercial vehicle range,
suited for logistics operations of VRL Logistics,
the Mumbai-based automaker said in a state-
ment. The vehicles were selected on the basis of
superior drivability, high fuel efficiency and low
total cost of ownership, which will enable VRL Lo-
gistics to increase its fleet efficiency, it added. Tata
Motors said its commercial vehicles are designed
and engineered on the Power of 6’ philosophy,
which delivers driveability, total cost of opera-
tions, comfort and convenience, and connectivity.
Kolkata (PTI) Diversified PSU Balmer Lawrie
Co is targeting a revenue of Rs 6,000 crore by
2025-26, Chairman and Managing Director Adika
Ratna Sekhar said. The company hopes to touch
a sales figure of Rs 2,000 crore in 2020-21 as
against Rs 1,592 crore in the previous fiscal, he
said. “We are expecting to be a Rs 6,000-crore
company by the year 2025-26, Sekhar told
PTI. Sekhar said due to onset of the COVID-19
pandemic, the travel and vacation vertical has not
been doing well, incurring losses to the tune of
Rs 15 crore on a revenue of Rs 27 crore in the
2020-21 financial year. Till December 2021, the
division clocked a revenue of Rs 35.7 crore, and
losses pared to Rs 8.5 crore.
Mumbai (Agencies): The Supreme Court (SC)
will soon decide on the conflict over applica-
bility of two circulars for resolution of stressed
assets—one issued by banking sector regu-
lator RBI and the other by securities regula-
tor Sebi. Under the RBI circular, any decision
agreed by lenders representing 75 per cent by
value of total outstanding credit facilities (fund
based as well non-fund based) and 60 per cent
of lenders by number shall be binding upon all
the lenders. Meanwhile, a Sebi circular man-
dates that casting of votes by debenture holders
take place at the ISIN-level. An International
Securities Identification Number (ISIN) is a 12
-digit alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies
a specific security.
TATA MOTORS BAGS ORDER FOR 1,300
VEHICLES FROM VRL LOGISTICS
PSU BALMER LAWRIE AIMS AT
` 6KCR TOPLINE BY FY26: CMD
SEBI OR RBI CIRCULAR FOR STRESSED
ASSETS’ RESOLUTION? SC TO CHOOSE
UKRAINE CONFLICT
India aims to mitigate
economic crisis, says MEA
Piyush Goyal
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank

08
2NDFRONT
AlongwiththemissionoferadicatingTB,RishikeshPatelalsoinaugurated11newdialysiscentres
HEALTH MIN LAUNCHES ‘TB
PREVENTIVE THERAPY’ IN GUJ
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: On the
occasion of ‘World
Health Day’, state
Health Minister Rishi-
kesh Patel reiterated
the government’s com-
mitment to setting up
dialysis centres in eve-
ry taluka of Gujarat. He
launched “TB Harega,
Desh Jitega”, a state-
wide campaign for the
implementation of ‘TB
Preventive Therapy’ to
eradicate tuberculosis.
Addressing a gather-
ing at Becharaji on
Thursday, Patel said,
“Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi has decided to
eradicate tuberculosis
from the country by the
year 2025. The TB pre-
vention therapy has
been started in various
states to protect the
families of TB patients
from contracting the in-
fection themselves.”
He also urged citi-
zens to avail maximum
benefits of the Pradhan
Mantri Jan Arogya Yo-
jana (PMJAY-MA) card
withdrawal campaign
launched at primary
health and community
health centres across
the state from April 07
to 15. To make the cele-
bration more meaning-
ful, various health-ori-
ented initiatives were
launched by the state
health department in
the presence of the
health minister on the
day. The minister also
inaugurated 11 new di-
alysis centres to
strengthen Gujarat’s
initiative of “One State,
One Dialysis”. The
number of dialysis cen-
tres run by the Gujarat
Dialysis Programme
has increased to 80.
A fact sheet of Global
Youth Tobacco Survey-4
(GYTS-4) Gujarat-2019
was also released by the
minister on Thursday.
It was aimed at reduc-
ing the prevalence of
tobacco or smoking ad-
diction among the
youth and freeing them
from addiction so that
they participate in na-
tion-building.
Mumbai: Gujarat Ti-
tans’ lethal pace attack
is all set to ask some
probing questions to the
dynamic Punjab Kings
top-order when the two
teams lock horns in an
Indian Premier League
(IPL) match on Friday
.
In terms of composi-
tion and balance, both
Gujarat and Punjab are
very different and that
makes for an enticing
contest on a Brabourne
Stadium track where
runs are always on offer.
Punjab in their three
games have shown that
the approach this year
would be to go hammer
and tongs during the
Powerplay overs and set
the tempo for the rest
of the innings.
In the IPL however,
there are some in-
triguing sub-
plots that
make it an
engaging
Friday
. It
will be
a battle
between Punjab’s costli-
est buy (apart from skip-
per Mayank Agarwal’s
retention) Liam Living-
stoneandNewZealand’s
speed merchant Lockie
Ferguson.Having liter-
ally terrorized Delhi
Capitals’ Mandeep Sin-
gh with his pace and
steepbounceinthe
earlier game,
expect Fer-
guson to unleash his
thunderbolts on Living-
stone, who had taken
the CSK attack to the
cleaners in the previous
game with his 32-ball-60.
Ferguson and Moham-
medShamimakeforthe
most potent new ball
pair after the first two
weeks.Withhead
coachAnilKumble,they
would like to devise a
strategy to keep Punjab
Kings under check dur-
ingthePowerplayovers.
Hardik Pandya again
bowling full tilt and
touching 140 clicks also
adds to the potency of
the Gujarat attack but
their batting still looks
a bit questionable save
Shubman Gill and skip-
per Pandya.In case of
Punjab, they have two
match-winning bowlers
in Kagiso Rabada and
leg-spinner Rahul Cha-
har but Arshdeep Sin-
gh, debutant Vaibhav
Arora and Livingstone
himself didacommend-
able job against Chen-
nai.
GUJARAT TITANS V/S PUNJAB KINGS
FERGUSON AGAINST LIVINGSTONE COULD
BE ONE OF IPL’S HOTTEST BATTLES
Both teams are set to clash in
an exciting match at Mumbai’s
Brabourne Stadium today
First India Bureau
Jamnagar: A youth
died by suicide on
Wednesday, after an in-
timate video of him and
a young woman, was
circulated on social me-
dia. The youth took his
life by injecting poison.
The victim’s family
have requested author-
ity for action against
the shop owners who al-
legedly circulated the
video clip. Jamnagar A
division of police re-
corded the statements
of the shopkeepers who
reportedly distributed
the youth’s video clip on
social media. Police In-
spector MJ Jalu and his
team conducted the in-
vestigation. On Sunday,
March 13, Sabbir (name
changed) and his girl-
friend were looking for
a quiet place to spend
some time together.
They went to the jewel-
lery market looking for
the location because all
the shops were closed.
Their act got recorded
on the CCTV camera of
a jewellery shop.
When the market
opened on Monday, the
jewellery shop owner
viewed the couple’s
clip and shared it on
social media. The cou-
ple was also unaware
that they were under
the CCTV radar, ac-
cording to the police.
The victim’s family
members said that Sab-
bir first lost his job be-
cause of the clip and
later died by suicide.
Youth commits suicide
after intimate video finds
its way on social media
Punjab Kings batsman Liam Livingstone
Gujarat Titans pacer Lockie Ferguson.
COURTESY MEET
Jagdeesh Chandra calls on Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur in
New Delhi on Thursday. Also present here is Shashikant Sharma, Consulting Editor, First India.
PM Modi plans to eradicate TB from India by 2025.
First India Bureau
Surat: Two men suffo-
cated to death after in-
haling toxic gases when
they entered a sewer to
look for gold particles
in Surat city on Thurs-
day. The incident took
place in Bhagal area at
around 1 am, when the
duo entered a sewer
through a narrow man-
hole, said Chief Fire Of-
ficer Basant Pareek.
“After getting infor-
mation from locals, our
team rushed to the spot
and pulled both the two
men out after cutting a
pipe in the sewer which
was hindering the res-
cue operation. They
were rushed to a hospi-
tal in an unconscious
state, but were declared
dead,” confirmed Pa-
reek.
Locals have claimed
that the victims had en-
tered the sewer line
passing from a residen-
tial area to extract gold
powder from muck, as
many jewellery-making
units are located there
and gold particles get
washed into the sewer
line. “When one of
them started shouting,
we tried to pull them
out using cloth pieces.
Since we could not, we
called the fire brigade.
However, it was too late,
as they had died due to
toxic gases in the sew-
er,” said a local.
An accidental death
report has been regis-
tered at Athwalines po-
lice station and further
probe is underway
.
Two men suffocate
to death from toxic
gases in Surat sewer
Porbandar admin rescinds bus
supervision order for teachers
First India Bureau
Porbandar: Less than
24 hours after issuing a
circular notifying gov-
ernment-run primary
school teachers to su-
pervise buses for the
Madhavpur Ghed fair,
the Porbandar district
administration was
compelled to withdraw
it after meeting with op-
position from the Teach-
ers’ Association and
media reports.
In a notification, the
Porbandar district de-
velopment officer had
instructed 81 teachers
to supervise bus routes
of 72 villages of Por-
bandar taluka for the
Madhavpur Ghed fair.
The five-day fair, which
will be inaugurated by
President Ram Nath Ko-
vind on April 10, is held
to celebrate the wedding
of Lord Krishna and his
consort Rukmini.
Opposingthecircular,
Porbandar Shaikshik
Mahasangh President
Lakhabhai Chunda-
vadra, in a letter to the
DDO, stated, “The circu-
lar is in violation of the
Right to Education Act.
Assigning non-teaching
work to primary school
teachers is also in viola-
tion of a Supreme Court
judgement.”
The Mahasangh had
also expressed concern
over teaching that
would have been affect-
ed if teachers accepted
the assignment to su-
pervise buses like gov-
ernment representa-
tives.
Primary school staffers had been asked
to oversee buses for the Madhavpur
Ghed Fair to be held fromApril 10
The fair is held to commemorate Lord Krishna’s wedding to Rukmini. —FILE PHOTO
They were
searching for
gold particles
washed into the
drainage pipes by
nearby jewellery-
making units
CongressrallyinVadodara
over rising fuel prices
First India Bureau
Vadodara: As part of
the campaign against
inflation, Vadodara
Congress on Thurs-
day took out a rally in
the city starting from
Mahalaxmi temple,
Mandvi. The mem-
bers visited all the
temples en route and
prayed that the God-
dess prevail good
sense into the govern-
ment to control infla-
tion. The foot rally
was organized under
Congress’s Inflation
Free India campaign.
The rally, started with
anti-inflation posters
and banners, from the
Mahalaxmi Temple at
Mandvi to the Veraim-
ata Temple at Khand-
erao Market. City
party president Rutvij
Joshi, leader of Oppo-
sition in VMC Ami
Ravat and several oth-
er senior leaders and
workers joined the
rally to protest
against inflation and
request the govern-
ment to control it.
“It’s difficult for peo-
ple to survive in a sit-
uation where prices
are continuously ris-
ing. We wish that the
Goddesses give some
sense to the govern-
ment and push them
into controlling infla-
tion rates,” said Rut-
vij Joshi.
Members of the Congress party in Vadodara on foot rally protesting rise in prices.
There is much to learn in life:
Accept the inevitable, bear the
intolerable and do without the
indispensable.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY,
APRIL 8, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
ately
, I wonder if
we’re living
through a mass
psychosis ex-
pressing itself
through trend
reporting. If it
felt a year ago like any-
thing goes that the re-
strictions and trauma
of the pandemic high-
lighted fashion and self-
expression as a new out-
let for freedom, increas-
ingly it seems
that a thou-
sand trends
are happening
at once.
The second day
of Jaipur Couture
Show 2022 was a bit
more pleasing to the eye,
though no less out there.
Jagdeesh Chandra
graced the occasion as
the Chief Guest. While
addressing the audience,
he felicitated the de-
signers for promot-
ing the rich culture
of Rajasthan,
especially Pink
City via their
costumes. He
also encouraged more
local artists to show-
case their talent. Be-
sides this, while
walking the ramp,
he motivated the
audience to care
for the pets as
members of
their own fami-
ly, especially af-
ter First India and Inter-
national Dog Bazaar
came together to cele-
brate ‘man’s best friend’
with a Mega Dog show in
March which saw a huge
turnout, both of humans
and their beloved four-
legged pets.
Along with this, the
show’s founder Gaurav
Gaur, Patron JD Mahesh-
wari, show directors Ajit
Soni, Ankur Jain, Nakul
Vijay and Virendra Singh
were also present.
Superstar and model
Vaishali Thakkar was
the showstopper for the
Council of Weavers and
Artisans during this
period. On the other
hand, actress Sonali
Raut walked the ramp
for designer Surb-
hi Sabnani.
The show kicked off
with supermodels walk-
ing the ramp showcasing
designer Himmat Sin-
gh’s Mens’ Wear Collec-
tion, ‘Royal Rajasthan’
with the incorporation
of Khadi. On the other
hand, designer Farha
Ansari presented her
Khadi Women’s Collec-
tion on the stage. While
handicrafts were pre-
sented by craftsmen
from Anwa,Tonk as well
as the famous ajrakh
prints of Rajasthan and
Gujarat printed on hand-
woven sarees.
Designer Shalini
Naruka presented hemp
fabrics in the form of
handwoven garments.
The evening party gowns
styled with orchid bird
feathers were the high-
light of the collection by
designer Heena Belani.
Also looking at the wed-
ding season, Indo West-
ern lehengas for modern
brides were graced with
hand sequences, stones
and diamonds work. In
the next sequence of
the show, Jassi
Chhabra showcased
the most trending
hairstyles of 2022
with warm and
nude makeup looks.
The glamorous
night concluded
with designer
Surbhi Sabnani
showcasing lehen-
gas and saris keep-
ing the big fat
Indian weddings
in mind.
THE FASHION
THE FASHION
BONANZA
BONANZA
RAJASTHAN'S EXQUISITE FASHION
FESTIVAL, JAIPUR COUTURE SHOW
2022 SHOWCASED A LAVISH
COLLECTION ON ITS SECOND DAY ON
THURSDAY AT THE PALACE, JAIPUR!
JAIPUR COUTURE SHOW 2022
L
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
(L-R) Upadhi Jolotia, Rutvi Tiwari, Tanu Choudhary, Divisha Paliwal and Astha Khandelwal
—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
Jagdeesh Chandra walks the ramp with ‘Misri’, his NEW LOVE
Heer Verma
Gaurav Gaur Vaishali Thakkar
From Top: Sonali Raut,Astha Khandelwal,Tanu Choudhary,Akanksha Bhalla and Swati Jangid

t is rather ludicrous to
imagine the visage of
Rajendra Shekhar IPS
(RETD), Director CBI
and Director General
Rajasthan to be a caged
parrot for his acumen
as an upright police officer re-
mains a celebrated fact in the
annals of police history
. Non the
less the poetic title of the book
by him could be a tongue in
cheek ironic comment on the
reality a senior police officer is
privy to and the fact that he is
supposed to keep the truth un-
der wraps. With the onus of se-
crecy, Rajendra Shekhar re-
mained honest to the core in
being truthful and uncompro-
mised. Living in high proximity
to high political and bureaucrat-
ic powers he remained the cho-
sen officer to solve difficult, sen-
sitive and high voltage cases in
the country. His education at
Mayo College and St. Stephens
and his avid reading habit
honed his natural flair for writ-
ing. Before the current book, he
had penned down three books –
two in English and one in Hindi.
As the blurb on the back cov-
er of ‘Songs of an Uncaged Par-
rot’ from Konark Publication
says ‘ the compilation of real
cases will surprise, delight and
enthral’ the reader, ‘each one is
as riveting as any top class
crime mystery and yet replete
with humour’ albeit on the dri-
er side. His narrative takes the
reader away from conjectural
journalism to the murky reality
of local, national and interna-
tional crimes times with highly
political overtones that at times
seemed to be jeopardizing the
very seat of the ruling govern-
ments. With no shackles of job
secrecy, Shekhar the reticent
and duty-bound officer with a
warm human heart can talk
now. It is amazing though how
he balances truth with popular
perceptions, honesty with te-
merity, bravery with analysis
and excellent teamwork. In
dealing with cases like Bofors,
Nirankari Baba Murder case,
General Vaidya murder case,
and the antedated L. N. Mishra
Bomb Blast case any which way
his factual narrative goes, he
never stops being honest to his
conscience and duty. His per-
ceptions and dealings with peo-
ple remain very sensitive.
The writer has a journalistic
and factual narrative style in
writing which is punctuated
with his side observations
about situations, his colleagues,
senior and junior officers and
public figures. These observa-
tions give a savoury warmth to
the book. The personal anec-
dotes give the reader a peek and
a perspective into the human
side of the rather glorified,
power tinged and at times
heartless image perceptions
about police officers.
To this day the Bofors case
remains a mystery
. While read-
ing the case titled ‘Grey Area:
The Bofors Case’ the reader is
introduced to the high political
drama that was being played
behind the scene. The purchase
of high-quality artillery guns
from Sweden had deliberately
been soft-pedalled by the con-
gress government, the writer
tells us. The case was ordered
to be treated as a Foreign Ex-
change Regulation infringe-
ment case. A deeper probe by
the Central Bureau of Investi-
gation was shot down by Swe-
den, obviously to the relief of
the congress government. The
most meticulously candid in-
vestigation by Chitra Subra-
maniyam from The Hindu
shook the very ground from
under the feet of political pow-
ers. Yet history tells us there
are no permanent enemies and
allies in politics. After Rajeev
Gandhi, V
. P. Singh’s ouster fol-
lowed by Chandra Shekhar be-
coming the Prime Minister had
an internal, subversive pact of
supporting congress and slow-
ing down of Bofors investiga-
tion. The conscientious resolu-
tion of a Police Officer clashing
with high-end politics with in-
ternational ulterior motives in
play does not bring positive re-
sults. The seemingly simple
procedure of transfer and con-
venient incumbent postings fol-
lowed such instances. The
caged parrot as a writer is free
to analyze and write now what
he knew so well then.
The truth coming from the
most direct and authentic
source of CBI Chief Rajendra
Shekhar, the erstwhile Direc-
tor General of Police of Ra-
jasthan is satisfying for the
reader but were sad for the
short shrift officer. As the writ-
er tells us, ‘it does not pay to be
upright and professional in a
system dominated by syco-
phants and time servers.’
The book narrates General
Arun Kumar Vaidya’s case
showing how precarious the
line of duty could be for an of-
ficer caught in the vicious web
of duty and retribution. As
Chief of Army Staff, General
Vaidya carried out Operation
Blue Star. After the operation,
he retired and decided to live in
his home town Pune peacefully
with his wife. It is difficult to
decide if he could have survived
the attempt on his life if his se-
curity had not been scaled down
by the government. We all know
how the General was shot down
by terrorists. Wars are not the
only ground where soldiers die!
Regretfully, one cannot trace
the vivid outlines of all the blaz-
ing cases handled by the writer
in the limited space of a col-
umn. In the middle of the ruth-
less developments of local, na-
tional and international crimes,
one cannot forget the home
where the writer’s wife Shiela
with three children, Sanjeev,
Bharat and Arjun lived at times
scooped up in the basement in
the border town of Barmer. As
I know the couple, one can see
the easy comfort and snuggled
bonhomie the couple shares to
this day
. Not all Miranda college
products and Mayo and St. Ste-
phenites live in cities of their
choice with sprawled lawns and
cool comforts. It is heartwarm-
ing to mention the fun-filled
case of young Arjun who was
with his parents in Ganga Na-
gar, a border town of Rajasthan.
The child along with his grand-
mother loved to watch the
change of guard ceremony with
‘Salaami Shashtra’, the stiff-
ened salute and the impeccably
uniformed guards. His ‘Bombi-
ta’ days when he used to eat the
delicious though heavily spiced
food of the revered guards, de-
nying to eat home food and soon
enough falling ill due to stom-
ach ailment, are recorded in a
fun-filled narrative.
The book spans its real-life
stories to include most simple
characters like sepoys, civil-
ians, youth icons of the writer’s
college days, his casual mention
of his love for his college mate
Shiela, the happy LIC agent, col-
lege time friends and of course
the most close-knit family mem-
bers. These episodes show the
loving and humane side of the
writer officer Rajendra Shek-
har while providing regular
comic relief in the middle of
tense criminal episodes.
The hundred eighty-page
books by Konark Publications
are priced at rupees 297 and
make interesting reading as it
gives the reader a rare peek into
the hidden workings of the sys-
tem, politics and human nature.
DR MRIDUL BHASIN
(Writer and social activist)
I
SONGS OF AN
SONGS OF AN
UNCAGED PARROT
UNCAGED PARROT
IPS Rajendra Shekhar
Shiela Shekhar: the woman behind the man
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022
10

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