164970265012042022_ First India New Delhi.pdf

PM Narendra Modi pays tribute to Mahatma
Jyotiba Phule on his 195th birth anniversary
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Prime Min-
isterNarendraModihas
paid tribute to the great
social reformer, philoso-
pher and writer Mahat-
ma Jyotiba Phule on his
195th birth anniversary
.
He said that Mahatma
Phule is widely respect-
ed as a champion of so-
cial justice and source
of hope for countless
people and worked tire-
lessly for social equality
,
women empowerment
and boosting education.
ThePMalsosharedhis
thoughts on great think-
er, Jyotiba Phule through
his Mann Ki Baat pro-
gramme where Modi had
said that Mahatma Phule
started schools for girls
and raised his voice
against female infanti-
cide and also carried out
campaigns to solve water
crisis.
In a series of tweets,
the the Prime Minister
said; “Mahatma Phule
is widely respected as a
champion of social jus-
tice and source of hope
for countless people. He
was a multifaceted per-
sonality who worked
tirelessly for social
equality, women em-
powerment and boost-
ing education. Tributes
to him on his Jayanti.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. —FILE PHOTO
TRIBUTE TO GREAT SOCIAL REFORMER
AMARNATH YATRA 2022 TO BE
‘MUCH BIGGER’ THAN BEFORE
Srinagar (PTI): This
year’s Amarnath Yatra
is expected to be twice
in size than before, with
the Jammu and Kashmir
administration prepar-
ing to welcome about
8 lakh pilgrims to the
cave shrine in the south
Kashmir Himalayas,
officials said on Mon-
day. The arrangements
for the yatra, to be held
after a gap of two years,
were discussed at a
meeting here chaired by
Union Information and
Broadcasting Ministry
Secretary Apurva Chan-
dra. P8
People get themselves registered for Amarnath Yatra 2022
as registrations begin, at Punjab National Bank, in Jammu
on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
NEW DELHI l TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 222
Rescue operations were underway to evacuate the stranded tourists on the rope-
way at Tirkut hill near Deoghar district of Jharkhand. The Indian Air Force tweeted
that 19 tourists had been rescued by the IAF Mi17 V5 and Cheetah helicopters and
Garud commandos. Two persons were killed and dozens were left stranded mid-air
after 12 ropeway trollies collided with each other on Sunday afternoon.
J’KHAND ROPEWAY
MISHAP: IAF
CHOPPERS CARRY
OUT RESCUE
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, accompanied by his deputies Keshav
Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Sunday to discuss various matters related to the development of the state. UP
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also took Twitter to extend greetings and thanked
PM Modi for giving time to meet the UP leadership.
CM YOGI, HIS
DEPUTIES MEET
PM MODI, AMIT
SHAH IN DELHI
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
‘Zero tolerance for violence,
refrain from disturbing
harmony: JNU to students
New Delhi: A day after
violence erupted on the
campus over serving
non-veg food, the Jawa-
harlal Nehru adminis-
tration warned stu-
dents against involving
in any activity that
might disrupt peace
and harmony
.
On Monday, the Vice-
Chancellor, Santishree
Dhulipudi Pandit, in an
official appeal to the stu-
dents reiterated its “re-
solve for the zero toler-
ance towards any form
of violence on campus.”
Meanwhile, Delhi Po-
lice on Monday regis-
tered an FIR against
unidentified people for
voluntarily causing
hurt, wrongful re-
straint, outraging the
modesty of women,
among others. P2
Telangana’s KCR sows new
farm challenge for PM Modi
Communal clashes rock Gujarat,
MP, J’khand, WB during Ram Navami
New Delhi: Telangana
Chief Minister K
Chandrashekar Rao
set up a fresh confron-
tation with Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
just months after the
central government’s
climbdown on new ag-
ricultural laws, as he
launched a sit-in pro-
test in Delhi on Mon-
day over a dispute in-
volving the purchase
of rice from farmers in
his state.
“If Modi has the
guts, let him arrest
me... With folded
hands, I tell the PM
and [Union Food Min-
ister] Piyush Goyal.
Please buy our food
grains. I give you 24
hours, after that, we
will take our decision,”
said the leader who
has been on the war-
path with PM Modi for
several months.
Ram Navami cele-
brations on Sunday
were marred by violent
communal clashes
in some parts in four
states — Gujarat, Mad-
hyaPradesh,Jharkhand
and West Bengal. While
the number of injured
have not been ascer-
tained yet, all the areas
in the aforesaid states
have been kept under
strict vigil.
In Madhya Pradesh,
at least 10 houses were
set ablaze and more
than two dozen people,
including Superinten-
dent of Police (SP) Sid-
dharthChoudhary
,were
injured in clashes that
erupted during Ram Na-
vami procession in vari-
ous areas of Khargone
in Madhya Pradesh on
Sunday, forcing the ad-
ministration to impose
curfew in some pockets
of the city
.
Islamabad: Shehbaz
Shari, the 70-year-old
brother of former
Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif and the
leader of opposition
PML-N, has been
elected unopposed as
the 23rd Prime Minis-
ter of Pakistan, suc-
ceeding Imran Khan,
who was removed by
a no-trust vote on Sat-
urday
.
PM-designate She-
hbaz Sharif said that
good has prevailed
over evil as he rub-
bished his predeces-
sor’s claims of a “for-
eign controversy”
behind the ongoing
political turmoil in
the country. “Dra-
ma,” Sharif said as
he refuted the allega-
tions.
The Pakistan’s Na-
tional Security Com-
mittee will be briefed
on the controversial
letter, he has assured.
Meanwhile, Paki-
stan’s President, Dr
Arif Alvi, fell ill just
hours away from
swearing in Sharif.
According to the
president’s official
Twitter account.
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
today reiterated India’s
neutral stance on the
war in Ukraine during
his virtual meet with
US President Joe Biden,
who spoke of India’s
contributions to war-
torn Ukraine in terms
of medicines and relief
material. PM Modi also
reminded the US Presi-
dent of New Delhi’s con-
demnation of the Rus-
sian aggression against
civilians in Ukraine’s
Bucha and expressed
hope that the “ongoing
talks between Russia
and Ukraine will pave
the way for peace”.
“I have spoken to the
leaders of both Ukraine
and Russia many times
andurgedthemtodirect-
ly talk,” PM Modi said
today
. “We hope that the
ongoing talks between
Russia and Ukraine will
pave the way for peace,”
he added.
The virtual meet --
which PM Modi said
was initiated by US -- co-
incides with the maiden
India-US 2+2 dialogue
under the Biden admin-
istration. It also comes
amid a fresh tranche of
US sanctions against
Russia and Washing-
ton’s efforts for a strong-
er line against Moscow
from New Delhi.
The US President
said, “I want to welcome
India’s humanitarian
support for the people
Ukraine, who are suffer-
ing a horrific assault”.
CM KCR staged a
day-long dharna
against the Centre
in Delhi, demanding
procurement of
15 lakh tonnes of
parboiled rice from
the state
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
boycotted voting, staged
a walkout from Assembly
Pak President ‘complains of
discomfort’ before swearing-in
Shehbaz Sharif as PM, advised rest
SHEHBAZ SHARIF ELECTED
PAK PM UNOPPOSED
1 2
WON’T SIT WITH ‘THIEVES’: IMRAN KHAN
RESIGNS FROM PAK NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Islamabad: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan decided
to tender his resignation as a member of the National
Assembly ahead of the election for the new prime
minister of Pakistan. This develop-
ment comes after Imran Khan said
that he will not sit in the assemblies
with ‘thieves’. “A man who has one
corruption case of 16 billion rupees
and another corruption case of 8
billion rupees against him...for that
person to be selected and elected as the Prime Minister,
there can not be a bigger insult to the country. We are
resigning from the National Assembly,” Imran Khan was
quoted as saying by PTI’s official Twitter account.
NAWAZ SHARIF TO
RETURN TO PAKISTAN
FROM LONDON NEXT
MONTH: PARTY LEADER
Islamabad: Deposed Paki-
stan prime minister Nawaz
Sharif is expected to return
from London next month
after Eid, a senior PML-N
leader Mian Javed Latif
has said, amid a whirlwind
of political developments
that have embroiled the
country following Imran
Khan’s ignominious ouster
from power.
INDIA TAKES NEUTRAL
STANCE ON UKRAINE: PM
During Modi-Biden virtual meet, US President declared that
two nations are going to continue ‘close consultation on how
to manage the destabilising effects of this Russian war’
Telangana CM Chandrashekar
Rao with BKU’s Rakesh Tikait.
A policeman at the site after a communal clash during the Ram
Navami procession, in Himmatnagar.
(Top) Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the India-US virtual summit with US President Joe
Biden in New Delhi on Monday. (Above) President Joe Biden India’s External Affairs Minister S
jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at White House in Washington on Monday.
We want
good
relations
with India
but a durable
peace can’t be
possible
without
Kashmir’s
solution
—Shehbaz
Sharif,
Pakistan PM
CRUCIAL READ
MAMATA HITS BACK
OVER GANGRAPE
Kolkata: Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee,
under pressure over the
death of a minor girl al-
legedly after gangrape, hit
back at critics The police
has taken action in the
case and made an arrest
“irrespective of (political)
colour,” she asserted. Son
of local TMC leader has
been held.
ED GRILLS KHARGE IN
NATIONAL HERALD CASE
New Delhi: The Enforce-
ment Directorate on
Monday questioned senior
Congress leader Mallikar-
jun Kharge in connection
with the National Herald
corruption case. Kharge,
the leader of the Opposi-
tion in Rajya Sabha, is
being questioned by the
central probe agency in the
money laundering case. P3
LANKA PM, IN ADDRESS TO CRISIS-HIT
NATION, EXPLAINS WHY MONEY RAN OUT
Colombo: Covid lockdown in a weak economy
depleted foreign reserves, Sri Lanka Prime Minister
Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Monday, in an effort to
explain worsening economic crisis and protests rag-
ing in the country. “The President and I are spending
every moment to formulate solutions on how to get
Sri Lanka out of this current crisis,” he said.

CRUCIAL READ
CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2022
02
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POLICE BOOK UNKNOWN ABVP MEMBERS
JNU CLASH
New Delhi (PTI): A
day after JNU students
clashed allegedly over
the serving of non-veg-
etarian food in a varsity
mess on Ram Navami,
Delhi Police on Monday
booked unknown ABVP
members and the insti-
tute’s administration
stepped in to curtail the
tension by warning stu-
dents against disrupt-
ing peace and harmony
.
Two groups clashed
attheJawaharlalNehru
University’s Kaveri
Hostel on Sunday, with
police saying six stu-
dents were injured in
the violence.
While security inside
the campus is being
taken care of by the uni-
versity’s guards, Delhi
Police has deployed its
personnel outside.
Several purported
videos of the violence
surfaced on social me-
dia, with one of them
showing a student,
Akhtarista Ansari,
bleeding from the head.
Officials have not con-
firmed the authenticity
of the videos.
RSS-affiliate Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi
Parishad (ABVP) on
Monday alleged that
students from Left-
backed outfits wanted
to disrupt a Ram Nava-
mi puja, and are using
diversionary tactics by
raising the issue of
serving of non-vegetar-
ian food.
However, the Left-led
JNU Students Union
(JNUSU) has accused
the ABVP of “orches-
trating the incident and
unleashing violence in
the name of food”.
Deputy Commission-
er of Police (Southwest)
Manoj C said that police
early Monday morning
received a complaint
against unknown
ABVP members from a
group of students who
are part of the JNUSU,
the Students’ Federa-
tion of India (SFI), the
Democratic Students
Federation (DSF) and
the All India Students
Association (AISA).
Security tightend at JNU
to maintain peace: Police
New Delhi (PTI): Se-
curity has been tight-
ened at the Jawahar-
lal Nehru University
to maintain peace and
ensure no untoward
incident takes place
again, a day after a
clash in the campus
over non-vegetarian
food, police said on
Monday
.
Two groups of stu-
dents clashed at the
Jawaharlal Nehru
University’s Kaveri
Hostel on Sunday al-
legedly over serving
of non-vegetarian
food on Ram Navami
in the mess, with po-
lice saying six stu-
dents were injured in
the violence.
According to police,
the security both in-
side and outside the
campus has been
stepped up. Police per-
sonnel have been de-
ployed only outside
the campus till now
while the security in-
side the campus is be-
ing taken care of by
the university’s secu-
rity guards.
“Our personnel
have not been de-
ployed inside the
JNU campus yet be-
cause the varsity has
not requested for
our security yet. How-
ever, we are monitor-
ing the situation,” a
senior police officer
said.
LEFT-LED JNU STUDENTS UNION HAS ACCUSED ABVP OF “ORCHESTRATING THE INCIDENT AND UNLEASHING VIOLENCE IN THE NAME OF FOOD”
Chhatra Rashtriya Janata Dal (CRJD) JNU members stage a protest over the alleged clash with Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Left Unions, outside Vasant Kunj police station in New Delhi —ANI
New Delhi (PTI): The
RSS-affiliated ABVP on
Monday alleged that stu-
dents from the Left
wanted to disrupt the
Ram Navami pooja and
are using diversionary
tactics by raising the is-
sue of non-vegetarian
food.
Two groups of stu-
dents clashed at the
JNU’s Kaveri Hostel on
Sunday allegedly over
serving of non-vegetari-
an food on Ram Navami
in the mess, with police
saying six students were
injured in the violence.
He claimed that seven
days back, there was a
General Body Meeting
of Kaveri Hostel mess
committee where it was
unanimously decided
that no non-vegetarian
food will be cooked in
the hostel mess on Sun-
day on the occasion of
Ram Navami.
“Muslim students
were also in agreement
with the decision. Three
days back when the post-
er for Ram Navami pooja
was shared, students
from the Left threatened
to throw meat bones to
disrupt the pooja,” he
said.
‘Left wing
wanted to
disrupt Ram
Navami pooja’
Police personnel stand guard at JNU entrance after a scuffle
broke out between two groups on Sunday —FILE PHOTO
CLASH OF STUDENTS AT JNU HOSTEL
UNFORTUNATE: DELHI HOME MINISTER
The clash of students at the JNU’s Kaveri Hostel was an “un-
fortunate” incident, Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain said
on Monday. Two groups of students had clashed at the varsity’s
Kaveri Hostel here allegedly over serving of non-vegetarian food
in the mess on Ram Navami on Sunday, with police saying six
students were injured in the incident. Asked about the incident by
reporters, Jain said, “I am the home minister of Delhi. You should
ask this question to the home minister under whom the Delhi
Police is.” He, however, added that the incident was “unfortunate”.
‘VIOLENCE AS MEANS OF ‘PUNISHING
DIFFERENCE’ HAS NO PLACE IN VARSITY’
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association has
condemned the violence that erupted in the Kaveri hostel mess
on Sunday and demanded that the VC intervene in the matter. In a
statement issued late Sunday night, the JNUTA said it will ascer-
tain the full sequence of events and the factual details and report
back to the campus community. “JNUTA expresses its outrage
at any effort to impose the food preferences of any group over
others. The use of violence as a means of punishing difference
has no place within a university community,” read the statement.
JNU STUDENTS PROTEST NEAR
DELHI POLICE HEADQUARTERS
Scores of Jawaharlal Nehru University students affil-
iated to the All India Students Association staged a
protest near Delhi Police headquarters here on Monday
and demanded the arrest of ABVP activists for their al-
leged role in the violence at the varsity. Two groups of
students had clashed at the university’s Kaveri Hostel
here on Sunday allegedly over serving of non-vegetari-
an food in the mess on Ram Navami, with police saying
six students were injured in the incident.
Delhi government will
launch a month-long
anti-open burning cam-
paign from Tuesday and
a drive to curb road dust
pollution from April 15,
Environment Minister
Gopal Rai.
A joint meeting of ex-
perts will be held on
April 21 to find out a
technological solution
to the problem of fires
at landfill sites, he said
at a press conference,
divulging Delhi’s ‘Sum-
mer Action Plan’ to
fight pollution.
He said ‘Green Delhi
Start-up Scheme’ will be
launched to encourage
start-ups to find solu-
tions to environmental
problems like single-use
plastic items.
The Public Works De-
partment will set up a
special taskforce to map
areas where green belt
is required to be devel-
oped on the roadside.
The government will
also develop all the ex-
isting parks in the na-
tional capital through
local resident welfare
associations or non-gov-
ernment organisations.
A financial aid of Rs
2.55 lakh will be given to
maintain these parks,
the minister said.
Rai said a special
drive will be launched
from April 20 to monitor
if industries in Delhi
are using cleaner fuels.
TWO MEN ARRESTED FOR SELLING
ADULTERATED DESI GHEE
New Delhi (PTI): Two men were arrested for alleg-
edly selling adulterated desi ghee in outer Delhi,
police said on Sunday. An-
shul Bansal (22) and Arjun
Kumar (30) were arrested
and 1,259 litres of adulter-
ated desi ghee of different
brands was seized from
them, they said. The ar-
rests were made on a complaint of Jitender Singh,
SMC Food Ltd and VRS food Ltd marketing intel-
ligence officer, regarding cheating and adulteration
of desi ghee, police said. The complainant alleged
that some people were playing with the health of the
public by selling spurious and adulterated desi ghee
in outer Delhi.
HEATWAVE KEEPS STRANGLEHOLD ON
DELHI FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT DAY
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi continued to wilt under a
heatwave on Sunday, with Safdarjung, the capital’s
base weather station,
recording a high of 41.8
degrees Celsius, six
degrees above normal.
It was only 0.6 degrees
lower than the 42.4 degree
high on Saturday, which
was the hottest April day in the past five years. The
maximum temperature on Monday is expected to
hover around 41 degrees Celsius, according to the
India Meteorological Department (IMD), which has
issued an orange alert. The heat might subside a bit
on Tuesday to a high of 40 degrees, which still trig-
gers a yellow alert, a notch lower.
New Delhi (PTI): Eight fresh cases of dengue have
been reported in the last one week in Delhi, taking
the tally to 69, according to a civic report released
on Monday. Till April 2 this year, 61 cases of
dengue were recorded in the
city. Eight fresh cases have
been reported in the last one
week, it said, adding that at
least 69 dengue cases have
been recorded this year. The
city had reported 23 cases
in January, 16 in February and 22 in March. Eight
cases have been recorded this month till April 9.
For the January 1-April 9 period, nine cases were
logged last year, six cases in 2020 and seven in
2019, while 12 cases were logged in 2018 and 15
in 2017, the report stated.
69 CASES OF DENGUE THIS YEAR
Delhi Govt to launch anti-open
burning campaign today: Rai
Environment Minister Gopal Rai. —FILE PHOTO
Delhi BJP demands dismissal
of AAP minister Satyendar Jain
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
BJP leaders and workers
staged a protest at the
Jantar Mantar here on
Monday demanding the
dismissal of AAP minis-
ter Satyendar Jain.
The Enforcement Di-
rectorate had last week
said it has attached prop-
erties worth Rs 4.81 crore
of the family and compa-
nies “beneficially owned
and controlled” by Jain
in connection with a
m o n e y - l a u n d e r i n g
probe.
During the protest,
Delhi BJP chief Adesh
GuptaclaimedthatChief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal was aware about the
“corruption” in which
Jain was indulged in and
yet maintained silence
on the matter.
An immediate reac-
tion was not available
from the AAP over BJP’s
allegation.
Earlier, the ruling par-
ty in Delhi had asserted
that Jain was a “very
honest man” and the
case against him will be
dismissed by the court.
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): The Delhi gov-
ernment is planning to
launch Rozgar Bazaar
2.0, a platform to con-
nect job seekers with
job providers by
mid-July, said officials
in the know of the mat-
ter.
The initiative is a key
part of the Delhi gov-
ernment’s ambitious
target of creating two
million jobs that it
outlined in the annual
budget for the fiscal
2022-23.
The platform will use
artificial intelligence to
draw up the best job
matches and will offer
end-to-end employment
related information to
those looking for jobs
in the national capital,
said officials.
According to docu-
ments, the government
has prepared
detailed timelines for
various aspects of
this ambitious project
and the authorities
engaged in the exercise
have been directed
to ensure the works
are completed within
the stipulated
deadlines.
Officials said the ten-
der for the online em-
ployment platform has
already been floated,
with April 19 set as the
last day for submission
of bids.
The documents will
be evaluated between
April 19-22; technical
presentation will be
made between April 25-
29; the commercial bids
will be opened in the
first week of May; ap-
proval for the project
will be granted by mid-
May and the work order
will be released by May
end.
Delhi Govt jobs portal to launch in mid-July
ROZGAR BAZAAR 2.0
lll
The initiative
is a key part
of the Delhi
government’s
ambitious target
of creating
two million
jobs that it
outlined in the
annual budget
for the fiscal
2022-23.
Delhi government is
keeping a watchful eye
over the COVID-19 situ-
ation and there is no
reason to worry until a
new variant of concern
is detected, Health Min-
ister Satyendar Jain
said on Monday
.
Interacting with re-
porters here, the minis-
ter also sought to allay
apprehensions over the
steady rise in daily cas-
es in Delhi and the posi-
tivity rate logging be-
yond one per cent in the
last few days.
“The count of daily
cases in Delhi is being
reported in the range of
100-200. We are keeping
an eye on hospital ad-
missions, and that is go-
ing down,” Jain said.
Covid: No reason
to worry, says
health minister
New Delhi (PTI): Hav-
ing “gifted” three gar-
bage hills to Delhiites,
the BJP-led municipal
corporation has asked
the Centre for land in
east Delhi to create an-
other dumping yard in
the national capital, the
AAP said on Sunday.
The ruling party said
it will not allow another
landfill site to come up in
the city and threatened
to launch a “massive agi-
tation” if the civic body
goes ahead with its plan.
East Delhi Mayor Shy-
am Sunder Aggarwal,
said the AAP was raising
a fuss and its allegations
“lack logic”.
‘MCD looking to
create another
dumping site’

INDIA
03
STABILITY IN NEIGHBOURHOOD IS
GOOD FOR US: MUFTI ON PAKISTAN
Srinagar (PTI): De-
mocracy is gaining
roots in Pakistan and
political stability in the
neighbourhood “is
good for us”, PDP chief
Mehbooba Mufti said
here on Monday.
The former Jammu
and Kashmir chief
minister said Pakistan
should decide whether
it wants a new govern-
ment or to hold fresh
elections so that de-
mocracy flourishes
there.
“(Former Pakistan
prime minister Zulfi-
kar Ali) Bhutto used to
say that India is alive
because of the hustle-
bustle of its democracy
.
Today, we are also see-
ing the hustle-bustle of
democracy in Pakistan
and the democracy in
that country is gaining
roots,” she told report-
ers outside her party
office here.
“It is our neighbour
and we want it to be a
stable country. They
should take a decision
soon whether have a
new government or
fresh elections, what-
ever they want — so
that the democracy
flourishes there in the
same way as it is in our
country. Stability in
our neighbourhood is
good for us,” she said.
Asked about the seiz-
ing of properties of
those charged with har-
bouring militants, Me-
hbooba Mufti said that
it was “wrong”.
She also called for
dialogue and reconcili-
ation with the people
of Kashmir.
Ex-JK Chief Minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.
AFGHANISTAN WILL REMAIN UNTOUCHED
BY PAKISTAN CRISIS, SAY TALIBAN
Kabul (Agencies): Taliban has issued a statement
saying the political crisis in Pakistan seeing a constant
soar, will have no effect on Afghanistan. However,
analysts predict an impact is inevitable on Afghanistan’s
situation due to changes in Pakistan’s administration.
“The Islamic Emirate seeks good economic and political
relations between the two countries”, said the deputy
spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, Inamullah Samanga-
ni. “The current political crisis in Pakistan will not have
any particular impact on relations between Afghanistan
and Pakistan,” he said in a further statement, reported
TOLO News. Meanwhile, political analysts claimed that
there will be some impact on Afghanistan’s situation as
there will be a major change in the administration in Pa-
kistan. In a statement, Tahir Khan, a Pakistani journalist
explained “There is a possibility that the consultation
between the two sides will increase”.
3 BJP teams to begin K’taka
poll prep tour from today
Bengaluru (PTI): The
BJP has formed three
teams, led by senior
leaders to travel across
Karnataka from Tues-
day, to prepare the
ground for the state as-
sembly elections next
year, party strongman
and former chief min-
ister B S Yediyurappa
said on Monday.
Making an appeal to
end the flare-up of
communal issues in
the state, he said Hin-
dus and Muslims
should lead their lives
as “children of one
mother.”
“From April 12 to 24,
in three teams, we will
be travelling across the
state. BJP state presi-
dent Nalin Kumar Ka-
teel will be in the first
team, our national gen-
eral secretary (Arun
Singh) and I will be to-
gether in the second
team and Chief Minis-
ter Basavaraj Bommai
will be in the third
team,” Yediyurappa
said.
Talking to reporters
here, he said this tour
is aimed at strengthen-
ing the party, holding
discussions with party
workers for drawing
up strategies and pre-
paring for the polls.
“Such tours will con-
tinue here...in the first
phase we will be travel-
ling in three teams,”
he added.
BJP sources in Delhi
said every team will
have seven to eight
members.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai
Hate, violence weakening country:
Rahul on clashes during Ram Navami
New Delhi (Agencies):
After reports of vio-
lence in many parts of
the country during Ram
Navami processions,
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Monday said
that hate was weaken-
ing the country
.
In a tweet, he said,
“Hate, violence and ex-
clusion are weakening
our beloved country.
The path to progress is
paved with the bricks of
brotherhood, peace and
harmony
. Let’s stand to-
gether to secure a just,
inclusive India.”
Communal violence
erupted in at least two
districts of Madhya
Pradesh during the
Ram Navami celebra-
tions on Sunday
.
The first incident of
violence was reported
in Khargone district,
where nearly half-a-doz-
en police personnel got
injured while a similar
incident occurred in
the Sendhwa town of
Barwani district. A
similar incident took
place in Gujarat’s Sa-
barkantha.
Rahul Gandhi
CONGRESS DISCIPLINARY PANEL ISSUES
NOTICES TO KV THOMAS, SUNIL JAKHAR
New Delhi: The disciplinary action committee of the
Congress on Monday issued show-cause notices to
former Punjab Congress president
Sunil Jakhar and former Union min-
ister KV Thomas for their comments
and actions that were not in tune with
the party line. Both have been asked
to reply to the notices within a week.
The A K Antony-headed panel’s move
against Thomas comes after the party
leadership in Kerala sought action against him.
CONG CALLS STATE IN-CHARGES, GENERAL
SECYs MEET TO DECIDE ON ‘CHINTAN SHIVIR’
New Delhi: The Congress has called a meeting of
the party general secretaries and state in-charges on
Tuesday to discuss the issue of the membership drive
and proposed ‘Chintan Shivir’ on the poll debacle in five
states. The Congress working committee has decided
to organise a brainstorming session to derive a forward
path for the party. The Chintan Shivir has been neces-
sitated since the dissidents have been raising voices
against the present functioning of the party, particularly
the G-21 have been up against Rahul Gandhi and team.
Upset with Akhilesh,
Azam Khan may
soon walk out of SP
Lucknow (Agencies):
The Samajwadi Party
(SP) may soon face an-
other major jolt as spec-
ulations about senior
party leader Mohd
Azam Khan leaving the
party and, possibly,
forming his own party,
gained ground.
Azam Khan’s media
in charge Fasahat Khan
Shanu said, “Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
was right when he said
that Akhilesh does not
want Azam Khan to be
out of jail.”
Fasahat made the re-
mark at a meeting of
Khan’ssupportersatthe
party office in Rampur,
late on Sunday night.
As per sources, Azam
Khan has been upset
over the fact that Akh-
ilesh did not visit him in
Sitapur jail-except
once–whereheislodged
since February 2020.
Will enter
politics if
people want:
Robert Vadra
Indore(PTI): Congress
president Sonia Gan-
dhi’s son-in-law Robert
Vadra has said he is
ready to enter politics
“if people want” and
this will allow him to
serve them in a major
way
.
Speaking to a local
YouTube channel on
Sunday after offering
prayers at the Ma-
hakaleshwar Temple in
Ujjain, Robert Vadra
(53),thehusbandof Con-
gress general secretary
Priyanka Gandhi, said
he understands politics.
“If people wish I
should represent them
and if I can bring some
change for them, then I
will definitely take this
step,” he said, adding
that by doing so, he will
be able to serve people
“in a major way”.
“My charitable
works are going on for
more than 10 years and
will continue in future
also. Whether I enter
politics or not, works
will continue as it is my
way of serving people,”
he said.
CRUCIAL READ
‘WILL TAKE ACTION
OVER AL-QAEDA
PRAISING STUDENT’
Bengaluru: Karnataka
Chief Minister Basavaraj
Bommai said on Monday
that he would consider
appropriate action against
Karnataka student Muskan
Khan, who was recently
praised by Al-Qaeda ter-
rorist Ayman al-Zawahiri
over the hijab row. The
row erupted after Zawahiri
praised Muskan for raising
the slogan ‘Allahu Akbar’
to counter a mob chanting
‘Jai Shri Ram’.
AFRAID THAT KIRIT
SOMAIYA, SON WILL
FLEE COUNTRY: RAUT
Mumbai: Shiv Sena MP
Sanjay Raut on Monday
claimed that BJP leader
Kirit Somaiya and his
son Neil Somaiya, “who
committed a scam” under
the pretext of saving the
decommissioned aircraft
carrier Vikrant, may es-
cape from the country and
hence, a lookout notice
should be issued against
them. The Shiv Sena
leader has been accusing
Somaiyas over funds.
TAMIL NADU CM STALIN MOVES RESOLUTION
IN TN ASSEMBLY SEEKING REMOVAL OF CUET
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Monday
“unanimously” adopted a resolution urging the Union gov-
ernment to withdraw the proposal of con-
ducting of Common University Entrance
Test (CUET). All politicial parties except
the BJP supported the resolution moved
by Chief Minister MK Stalin. The Assembly
resolution said the people of Tamil Nadu
felt the CUET would only favour further
mushrooming of coaching centres and
enforcing such an entrance examination along with regular
schooling would lead to mental stress among students.
Guwahati: Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla, who is on a five day
tour to Assam, inaugurated the 8th Commonwealth Parliamentary
Association (India Region) Conference at Assam Legislative
Assembly in Guwahati on Monday.Assam Chief Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh
among others were also present during the occasion.
Jagan’s cabinet rejig triggers rebellionin YSRC
Amravati (PTI):
Andhra Pradesh chief
minister YS Jagan Mo-
han Reddy will contin-
ue to have five deputies
along with 20 other
ministers in his recon-
stituted Cabinet.
On Monday
, Reddy re-
constituted the state
cabinet, inducting 13
new faces and re-in-
ducting 11 from his first
team. Governor Biswa
Bhusan Harichandan
administered the oath
of office and secrecy to
25 members of the cabi-
net at a public function
near the state secretari-
at in Amaravati. The
reconstitution of the
state cabinet, however,
triggered a rebellion in
the ruling YSR Con-
gress on an unprece-
dented scale as the par-
ty cadre took to the
streets and organised
protests in many dis-
tricts.
According to PTI,
former home minister
M Sucharita, who was
denied a second term,
submitted her resigna-
tion as MLA. She held a
meeting with the party
workers in Guntur, at
the same time the new
Cabinet was being in-
ducted, and told them
she was resigning as a
legislator “due to per-
sonal reasons.”
Sucharita was report-
edly upset over not be-
ing re-inducted into the
cabinet when fellow Dal-
its such as T Vanita and
others were taken back.
Sucharita, however,
claimed she was not un-
happy over not getting a
second chance and
maintained she would
continue in the party
.
PTI reported that an-
other former minister
Balineni Srinivasa Red-
dy, who was the first to
trigger the rebellion on
Sunday, sent a message
to the YSRC leadership
that he would resign
from his MLA post. Ba-
lineni’s supporters or-
ganised road blockades
in Ongole and some
otherpartsof Prakasam
district, demanding
that he be re-inducted
into the cabinet.
YSRC party chief and Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Tej Pratap invites Nitish Kumar
to re-enter Mahagathbandhan
Patna (Agencies): RJD
chief Lalu Prasad’s el-
der son Tej Pratap Ya-
dav has invited Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar
to re-enter the ‘Maha-
gathbandhan’.
Taking to Twitter, Tej
Pratap has shared a
poster with his picture
on one side of the frame
and “Entry Nitish Cha-
cha (Uncle)” written on
the other.
Tej Pratap’s move
comes at a time when
the BJP and JD-U are at
loggerheads over sev-
eral issues, including
caste-based census,
leadership of NDA in
Bihar, liquor ban, law
and order situation.
Recently, BJP leader
and minister Janak
Ram had claimed that
the BJP is the single
largest party in Bihar
Assembly with 77 seats
while JD-U has only 45
seats. Hence the chief
minister should come
from the BJP quota. He
also advocated for the
ban on loudspeakers for
Azan (prayers in
mosques).
Several netizens took
a dig at Tej Pratap for
the post as few years
ago, he had stood out-
side Rabri Devi’s resi-
dence with a placard
reading “No entry for
Nitish Chacha.”
Notably, Nitish Ku-
mar led JD-U contested
the Assembly elections
with RJD and Congress
party in 2015 and
formed the govern-
ment.
Tej Pratap Yadav Bihar CM Nitish Kumar
Congress’s Kharge questioned
by ED in National Herald case
New Delhi (Agencies):
Congress leader Mall-
ikarjun Kharge was ex-
amined on Monday in
the National Herald
corruption case by the
Enforcement Directo-
rate. The 79-year-old
leader of opposition in
the Rajya Sabha,a re-
lentless BJP critic, was
summoned to appear
before the officials.
His statement will be
recorded under the Pre-
vention of Money Laun-
dering Act (PMLA) as
the agency wants to un-
derstand some issues in
the investigation.
The probe in the Na-
tional Herald corrup-
tion case - linked to the
Congress and the Gan-
dhis - has been going on
for years. There have
been accusations of
cheating, conspiracy
and criminal breach of
trust in the acquisition
of the Associated Jour-
nals Limited or AJL by
Young Indian Pvt. Ltd
(YI).
The National Herald,
started by former prime
minister Jawaharlal
Nehru, was published
by the AJL. The daily
was said to be a Con-
gress mouthpiece.
In 2010, the AJL -
dealing with financial
challenges - was taken
over by a newly-floated
company called Young
Indian Private Limited
(YIL) with Suman
Dubey and technocrat
Sam Pitroda as direc-
tors, both of them Gan-
dhi loyalists.
Mallikarjun Kharge

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 222
l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Sharat K Verma
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The Lord is my strength
and my shield. My heart
trusts him. I was helped, my
heart rejoiced, and I thank
him with my song.
—Bible
IN-DEPTH
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule ji not only
gave the right of respect and equality
to women in the society by giving the
mantra of women empowerment through
education but also created a progressive
and prosperous society by organizing the
deprived and backward class against the
evils. His ideas will always be the center
of inspiration of the nation.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Deeply shocked and disturbed by the
selective targeting and continued string
of attacks, including hurling of bombs at
the residence of Smt. Jayanti and Shri
Ramchandra Patra in Dhenkanal. The
voice of BJP leaders’ will not be silenced
with such acts of terror intimidation.
TOP TWEETS
IS ELON MUSK’S
NO TO JOINING
TWITTER’S BOARD
END OF STORY?
esla and SpaceX
chief Elon Musk’s
decision to not join
Twitter’s board may
not be the end of the
story
. The billionaire, who is the
richest person in the world, re-
cently sprang a surprise by an-
nouncing that he has become
Twitter’s largest stakeholder
with a 9.2 percent stake. After
becoming the social media gi-
ant’s biggest shareholder, Musk
said he will be joining Twitter’s
board of directors as a member
but chose not to when the posi-
tion was offered to him. Twit-
ter’s CEO Parag Agarwal said
that Musk was offered a seat but
he declined the offer.
As soon as Musk’s sharehold-
er status became public, he be-
gan tweeting his ideas about the
social media platform. One of
them was to have an edit button
to change tweets. His other ideas
included banning advertising
and the option to pay in crypto-
currency
.
It is now being wondered if
Musk will raise his stake in
Twitter to gradually buy it off,
something which he is fully ca-
pable of.
T
pposition parties
in Uttar Pradesh
are in a self-de-
structive mood.
After allegations
of Mayawati playing footsie
with the BJP
, the Bahujan Sa-
maj Party came a cropper in
the recent state assembly
elections. The party is now
making an effort at restruc-
turing by infusing fresh
blood but for now it is as good
as finished, a pale shadow of
its glorious days. The Sama-
jwadi Party which put up a
reasonably good perfor-
mance finds its age-old Ya-
dav-Muslim formula is fall-
ing apart. The surprising
part is that SP chief Akhilesh
Yadav has not spoken a word
to dismiss suggestions that
his party was not doing
enough for Muslims.
The first criticism came
from Shafiqur Rehman Barq,
party’sMPfromSambhal,who
said that the SP was not work-
ingfortheinterestof Muslims.
For some reason, Akhilesh Ya-
dav did not react to Barq’s re-
mark. Now a more serious
charge against Akhilesh has
been levelled by Azam Khan’s
camp. Azam’s close aide Fasa-
hat Ali alias Shanu found CM
Yogi Adityanath’s statement
that Akhilesh Yadav does not
want Azam to come out of jail
to be “correct”.
Akhilesh Yadav has sacri-
ficed Azam Khan. We have
been made enemies of the
BJP. Akhilesh Yadav did not
even go to jail to meet Azam
Khan,” Fasahat said while
giving Muslims credit for the
111 seats won by the SP
. If this
disenchantment of Muslims
spreads, the SP will meet the
same fate as the BSP. The
older he gets the more he
comes across as one still
needing mentoring in poli-
tics. The uncle he listens to
isn’t sagacious either.
AKHILESH YADAV IS
ALIENATING MUSLIMS
The Samajwadi Party
which put up a reasonably
good performance finds
its age-old Yadav-Muslim
formula is falling apart.
The surprising part is
that SP chief Akhilesh
Yadav has not spoken
a word to dismiss
suggestions that his
party was not doing
enough for Muslims
O
SINO INDIAN RELATIONS
POST GALWAN THE PATH AHEAD
ndia and China, the 2 ancient
civilisations had a rich histo-
ry of cultural exchanges and
other historical lineage in-
cluding spread of Buddhism
to China, mutual visits of
many scholars, monks and
tradeexchangesviaSilkRoad.
Post-independence Sino Indi-
anrelationsstartedwellonan
optimistic note where Nehru
and Zhou Enlai articulated a
vision governed by the ethics
of the 5 Principles of Peaceful
Coexistence-Panchsheel.Asit
stands today
, China and India
are the two most populous
countriesintheWorld,second
and fifth largest economies
(Nominal GDPs of $18,013bn /
$3312bn)withbalanceof trade
tilted towards China. China is
almost 2.9 times India’s size
with defence spending thrice
that of India. In today’s global
scenario China has emerged
as World Power and India is
making big progress as amili-
tary and economic power.
However,overaperiodof time
the Panchsheel between two
countries has almost got re-
placed by‘Panchshool’ (Irri-
tants/Thorns).
Border Disputes: India and
China share about 3440 km
long border separated by
mighty Himalayas but not
fully delineated. Both nations
have fought a war in 1962, bor-
der skirmishes in Sikkim in
1967, Sumdorong Chu Valley
1987, Daulat Beg Oldie 2013,
Doklam in 2017 and Galwan
in 2020. Border dispute re-
mains a major irritant and a
potential source of conflict
between the two neighbours.
The Strings of Pearls and
Sino Pak Nexus: China has
undeclared policy of Strings
of ‘Pearls to encircle’ India
and has been building ports
and naval bases around In-
dia’s maritime reaches. India
on the other hand has im-
proved relations with Chi-
nese neighbours. China con-
sidersPakistanasall-weather
friend and despite Indian ob-
jections is constructing Chi-
na- Pakistan-Economic-Cor-
ridor(CPEC)passingthrough
Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
River Water Dispute and
Conflicting Economic Inter-
ests: Water sharing of Brah-
maputra River is a major
flashpoint between India and
China. China has been build-
ings dams after dams in up-
per reaches of Brahmaputra
also called Tsangpo. Lack of
information sharing from
China on river waters has ex-
posed Indian states to sudden
and huge floods. Both the
countries are fast growing
economies of the World with
huge domestic markets and
potential in tapping foreign
markets. Being competitors
in the World market, both
have conflict of interests in
trade and commerce.
Belt and Road Initiative
(BRI) and Indo Pacific Initia-
tive: A Chinese initiative to
spread its influence in neigh-
bourhood in the form of BRI
less India and India joining
the US policy of free and open
Indo- Pacific region with four
QUAD nations is a thorn in
eye of both countries.
The Dalai Lama / Tibet and
Arunachal/StapledVisa:Chi-
na occupied Tibet in 1950 that
led to mass uprising by locals.
The 14th Dalai Lama fled to
Indiain1959withhisfollowers
and took political asylum
much against Chinese wishes.
Chinabeganthepracticeof is-
suingstapledvisastoresidents
of Arunachal and JK. On In-
dian objection China stopped
this practice for residents of
JK but continues to do for
people living in Arunachal.
Galwan Valley Dispute: In
Jun 2020, on differing percep-
tions on LAC, Indian and Chi-
nese troops got engaged in a
brawl in Galwan Valley that
left casualties on both sides.
This border dispute marked
an implacable decline in In-
dia-China ties. In reality it is
not the border technicalities
but rising tempers on both
sides alongside more robust
nationalism in each country
that frames the other as an
antagonistic power.
Russia-Ukraine War: India
and China took a similar
stance and abstained from
votingonaUNSecurityCoun-
cil resolution condemning
Russia’s assault on Ukraine’s
sovereignty
. The conflict has
given both countries proxim-
ity to a common friend Russia
and similarities of views on
this international conflict.
Post Galwan - The Path
Ahead: As the snow melts in
Himalayas, India will have to
make a move of high deter-
rence value. The bilateral
discussions between India
and China post Galwan con-
flict need to pick up common
grounds and require a recon-
ciliatory approach rather
than confrontational one.
India will have to carefully
craft its way to use Russia as
moderating influence on Chi-
na and US as countervailing
partner. India will also have
to strengthen its position in
Shanghai Cooperation Or-
ganisation (SCO), BRICS,
Indo Pacific Initiative and
other global fora.
Bigger stress on “Aatm
Nirbhar Bharat” and bal-
anced trade and economic
relationship with China
might lay a solid foundation
for future relations, given the
size of both economies.
The commonality of stand
between India and China on
Russia- Ukraine war and suc-
cessful Modi - Xi Ping sum-
mit meetings should be fur-
ther explored to build mutual
trust and arrive at mutually
acceptable solutions to nor-
malise bilateral relations..
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
I
RAJESH BHUKAR
The writer has served JK for
over 5 years and is a keen follower
of Kashmir socio-political scene
India will have to carefully
craft its way to use Russia as
moderating influence on
China and US as
countervailing partner. India
will also have to strengthen its
position in Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation
(SCO), BRICS, Indo Pacific
Initiative and other global
fora. Bigger stress on “Aatm
Nirbhar Bharat” and
balanced trade and economic
relationship with China
might lay a solid foundation
for future relations, given the
size of both economies. The
commonality of stand between
India and China on Russia-
Ukraine war and successful
Modi - Xi Ping summit
meetings should be further
explored to build mutual trust
and arrive at mutually
acceptable solutions to
normalise bilateral relations
China is almost 2.9 times
India’s size with defence
spending thrice that of
India. In today’s global
scenario China has
emerged as World
Power and India is
making big progress
as a military and
economic power.
However, over a period
of time the Panchsheel
between two countries
has almost got replaced
by‘Panchshool’
(Irritants/Thorns)
PERSPECTIVE
04

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INDIA
05
New Delhi (PTI): Expo-
sure to air pollution has
been linked to 1,00,000
excessprematuredeaths
in the Indian cities of
Mumbai, Bangalore,
Kolkata, Hyderabad,
Chennai, Surat, Pune
and Ahmedabad be-
tween 2005 and 2018, ac-
cording to a study
.
The international
team of scientists
aimed to address data
gaps in air quality for 46
cities in Africa, Asia
and the Middle East us-
ing space-based obser-
vations from instru-
ments onboard NASA
and European Space
Agency (ESA) satellites
for 2005 to 2018. The
study, published last
week in the journal Sci-
ence Advances, shows
rapid degradation in
air quality and increas-
es in urban exposure to
air pollutants which are
hazardous to health.
The researchers
found significant annu-
al increases in pollut-
ants directly hazardous
to health of up to 14 per
cent for nitrogen diox-
ide (NO2) and up to 8 per
cent for fine particles
(PM2.5).Theyalsofound
increase in the level of
up to 12 per cent for am-
monia and up to 11 per
cent for reactive volatile
organic compounds.
The team, including
researchers from the
Harvard University in
the US, attributed this
rapid degradation in
air quality to emerging
industries and residen-
tial sources like road
traffic, waste burning,
and widespread use of
charcoal and fuelwood.
“Open burning of bi-
omass for land clear-
ance and agricultural
waste disposal has in
the past overwhelm-
ingly dominated air pol-
lution in the tropics,”
said study lead author
Karn Vohra from Uni-
versity College London.
1L premature deaths in 8 Indian cities
AIR POLLUTION KILLS
Man from Bihar’s Buxar released
from Pakistan jail after 12 years
Patna (Agencies): The
Pakistan government
has released from its
jail a man from Bihar’s
Buxar district, 12 years
after he accidentally
strayed into the neigh-
bouring country, a po-
lice official said.
Chavi Kumar, a na-
tive of Khilafat Pur un-
der Mufassil police sta-
tion in the district, had
gone to Punjab as a la-
bourer to earn his live-
lihood. One night, while
returning from an agri-
cultural field after
work, he lost his way
and reached Pakistan.
He was arrested by
the rangers for illegally
entering the territories
of Pakistan.
“We received a letter
from a special branch in
the month of December
last year regarding him.
We immediately went to
the village and gathered
the information about
him and cross checked
the details mentioned in
the letter. The villagers
said that a person had
been missing for 12
years. Accordingly, we
met Chavi Kumar’s
mother who immediate-
ly identified him,” said
Amit Kumar, SHO of
Mufassil police station.
“Following the confir-
mation, we submitted
the report with a special
branch which further
communicated to exter-
nal affairs ministry
.
ED attaches assets of Indians
working to ‘resurrect’ LTTE
Enforcement Directo-
rate on Monday said it
has attached assets
worth Rs 3.59 crore of
four Indians allegedly
involved in drugs and
arms smuggling as part
of a plan to ‘revive’ the
banned Sri Lankan ter-
ror group LTTE that
was militarily defeated
by the island nation in
2009. The accused are
being probed by the fed-
eral agency in a case
linked to the seizure of
3,000 kgs of heroin,
arms and ammunition
from a Sri Lankan boat
that was intercepted by
the Coast Guard in In-
dian waters on March
18 last year.
Six plots, a dozen ve-
hicles, cash and bank
deposits of Suresh Raj
A, Satkunam alias
Sabeshan, Ramesh A
and Soundararajan ali-
as Sounder have been
provisionally attached
under the Prevention of
Money Laundering Act
(PMLA), the agency
said.
INDIA ADDS NAME
TO DESIGNATED
TERRORISTS LIST
HUGE CACHE OF
ARMS RECOVERED
IN KOKRAJHAR
New Delhi: The Centre
on Monday designated
Jaish-e-Mohammed’s
Mohiuddin Aurang-
zeb, involved in the
Pulwama terror attack,
as a terrorist under
the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, 1967.
The Home Ministry
said Mohiuddin Au-
rangzeb Alamgir was
designated a terrorist
after it was ascertained
that he was involved in
the terror attack on a
CRPF bus in Pulwama
in Jammu Kashmir
in 2019.
Guwahati: The Assam
police has recovered
huge cache of so-
phisticated arms and
ammunition in Assam’s
Kokrajhar district in a
major breakthrough,
the police said on Mon-
day. Acting on a secret
information that some
weapons are kept
hidden forest areas of
Kokrajhar district, and
recovered three AK-56,
one AK-47, one Sniper
Rifle, one M-16 Rifle,
one Serili Rifle, four
magazines and 130
rounds of AK series.
Seoni: A tiger was found dead at Pench Tiger
Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district,
with officials suspecting that it was killed by another
feline during a territorial fight. This is the fifth tiger
death in the state in a fortnight. A forest patrolling
team on Sunday spotted the carcass of the tiger,
around two years old, in Kurai range. Following an
inspection of the spot, it appears the tiger was killed
in a fight with another adult tiger.
Ghaziabad: At least 20 cows died after a massive
fire took place in Kinauni village near Ghaziabad’s
Indirapuram on Monday, officials said. DM of
Ghaziabad, Rakesh Kumar Singh, while interacting
with the reporters said that prima facie it looked like
around 15-20 cows have been charred to death.
People present at the site claimed that over 50 cows
were charred to death, although the exact number of
cows burned in the incident remains unknown.
1 MORE TIGER FOUND DEAD IN MADHYA
PRADESH RESERVE; 5TH IN 14 DAYS
20 COWS CHARRED TO DEATH IN
DEADLY INFERNO IN GHAZIABAD
CRUCIAL READ
Lankan parties seek interim Govt
with new PM as IMF talks loom
Colombo (Agencies):
Three parties that re-
cently withdrew from
Sri Lanka’s ruling coa-
lition have proposed
forming an interim gov-
ernment with a new
prime minister replac-
ing President Gotabaya
Rajapaksa’s brother,
they said on Monday, as
the country’s economic
crisis rolls on.
Dragged down by
debt, the island nation
of 22 million people is
running short of power,
fuel, food and medicines
due to a lack of money
for imports. It has
reached out to the Inter-
nationalMonetaryFund
(IMF) and countries like
India and China for ur-
gent financial help.
Rajapaksa dissolved
his cabinet last week
and called for a unity
government to help
tackle the crisis, as 41
lawmakers walked out
of the ruling coalition
to become independ-
ents in the 225-seat par-
liament.
Three parties that 16
of those lawmakers be-
long to told reporters
that they had met the
president and the prime
minister, Mahinda Ra-
japaksa, and that more
talks were scheduled
for Tuesday. The prime
minister is expected to
address the nation later
on Monday
.
“The main proposal
is to have an all-party
committee to make key
decisions and the ap-
pointment of a new
prime minister and a
limited Cabinet,” said
Udaya Gammanpila,
chief of the Jathika
Hela Urumaya party
.
“We want this before
a new election. We have
to reverse shortages
and stabilise the econo-
my.” The Sri Lanka
Freedom Party (SLFP),
with 14 lawmakers, said
the independents would
speak with other politi-
cal parties to come to a
consensus, as the gov-
ernment prepares to
hold loan discussions
with the IMF next week.
“Talks with the IMF
will need a stable gov-
ernment capable of im-
plementing clear poli-
cies,” SLFP General-
Secretary Dayasiri
Jayasekera said. “This
is necessary to repair
the economy and bring
relief to the people.”
In his address, the
prime minister said the
government would re-
introduce a critical fer-
tiliser subsidy to assist
farmers who have been
hit by crop losses after
a ban on chemical ferti-
lisers last year.
A protestor holds a Sri Lankan national flag in front of the Presidential Secretariat during a protest
against Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. —FILE PHOTO
Moscow-backed
separatists claim
control of key port
Moscow (Agencies): A
Moscow: A pro-Russia
rebel leader said Mon-
day that separatist forc-
es in eastern Ukraine
have taken control of
the port of the strategic
city of Mariupol.
“Regarding the port
of Mariupol, it is al-
ready under our con-
trol,” Denis Pushilin,
leader of the separa-
tists in the breakaway
Donetsk region, said in
televised remarks.
AFP could not inde-
pendently verify these
claims.
Russian troops have for
over a month besieged
Mariupol on the shores
of the Sea of Azov.
Thousands of civilians
are believed to have
died there since the
start of Russia’s mili-
tary operation in
Ukraine.
Eduard Basurin, a
senior official in the re-
bel stronghold of
Donetsk, said the re-
maining Ukrainian
forces in Mariupol were
concentrated in the
city’s large Azovstal
metallurgical plant.
Come,‘makeinIndia’:Rajnath
exhorts aerospace giants in US
Massive
forest fire in
U’khand’s
tehri district
New Tehri: A massive
fire broke out in the
jungles above Tiwar-
gaon in Uttarakhand’s
Tehri district, destroy-
ing forest wealth worth
lakhs of rupees, a vil-
lage head said on Mon-
day
. The blaze broke out
on Sunday afternoon
and engulfed the whole
forest by the evening,
village head Vinod
Rawat said. Some crim-
inal elements seem to
have set fire to the for-
est, he said. The villag-
ers informed the au-
thorities while they
tried to extinguish the
fire themselves.
Washington: Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
has met senior execu-
tives of American aero-
space and defence ma-
jors Boeing and Raythe-
on and asked them to
take advantage of poli-
cy initiatives in India to
steadily march from
‘Make in India’ towards
‘Make for the World’.
Rajnath Singh along
with External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar
arrived in the US capi-
tal yesterday to attend
the India-US 2+2 minis-
terial dialogue in Wash-
ington on Monday —
the first under the US
President Joe Biden
administration.
NTAGI chief says‘nothing to
panic’ as India confirms‘XE’
New Delhi: New Cov-
id-19 variants will keep
coming, however, the
new variants aren’t
causing severe diseases
or increasing the num-
ber of cases said Chair-
man of the Covid-19
working group of India,
National Technical Ad-
visory Group on Immu-
nisation (NTAGI), Dr
NK Arora.
Dr Arora said,” vari-
ants will keep coming
but at the moment
these aren’t causing se-
vere disease or in-
crease in the number
of cases.”
“So, I would like to
tell people that these
variants will keep on
occurring,” he added.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh meets with the US aerospace
and defence majors in Washington on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
2 GHAZIABAD SCHOOLS SHUT AS 5
STUDENTS ‘FOUND’ COVID POSITIVE
SHANGHAI COVID
CASES TOP 26,000
CENTRE: SC FIXES
TIME FOR RELIEF
EAM S JAISHANKAR TO MEET US
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE TODAY
NIA COURT TO
FRAME CHARGES
AGAINST YASIN
SC NOTICE TO
CENTRE ON TMC
LEADER’S PLEA
CHOPPER CASE:
COURT SUMMONS
EX-CHIEF AUDITOR
New Delhi: Two schools in Ghaziabad have been shut
after five students were claimed to be found infected
with Covid-19. The health department officials said that
they have set up camps which will test school staff and
children for next three days. The officials said that the
school in Indirapuram reported two children infected
while three were reported from the school in Vaishali.
Shanghai: China’s largest
Covid outbreak contin-
ues to spread despite
an extended lockdown
of Shanghai’s 25 million
people. There were 26,087
new daily infections re-
ported in Shanghai. Resi-
dents have been locked
down for weeks now, with
frustration building.
New Delhi: The Union
Health Ministry in a state-
ment on Monday said that
the Supreme Court vide its
order dated March 24 in
the Miscellaneous Applica-
tion No. 1805 of 2021 in
Writ Petition (C) No. 539
has fixed the a timeline to
file claims for the payment
of ex-gratia assistance.
Washington: India’s External Affairs Minister S Jais-
hankar will meet United States Trade Representative
(USTR) Katherine Tai on Tuesday.“Ambassador Tai will
meet with India’s Minister of External Affairs Dr Sub-
rahmanyam Jaishankar. This meeting is closed press,”
US Trade Representative said in a statement on Sunday.
New Delhi: A Special NIA
Court on April 18 will frame
formal charges against Yasin
Malik and others in connec-
tion with the Jammu and
Kashmir terror funding case.
Earlier the court had ordered
the framing of charges
against several separatist
leaders under UAPA and IPC.
Special NIA Judge Praveen
Singh on Monday deferred
the framing of formal
charges against the accused
persons in this case.
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Monday issued
notice to the Centre and oth-
ers on TMC leader Sushmita
Dev’s plea seeking issuance
of Aadhaar numbers to
persons included in the final
supplementary list of the
National Register of Citizens
(NRC) in Assam. A three-
judge Bench led by Justice
UU Lalit asked the Centre,
Assam Government and the
UIDAI to respond to the peti-
tion by May 17.
New Delhi: A Special Court
on Monday issued summons
against former Defence
Secretary and former CAG,
Shashi Kant Sharma and
four IAF retired officials
in AgustaWestland VVIP
Chopper alleged scam case.
Special Judge Arvind Kumar
issued summons against
all accused named in the
chargesheet. The court took
cognizance and directed all
the accused to appear before
it on April 28, 2022.
IN THE COURTYARD

BIZ BUZZ
06
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
Adani Green is now India’s
10th most valued company
Mumbai (Agencies):
Adani Green Ener-
gy entered the list of
top-10 most valued
companies, in terms of
market captialisation,
in the country on Mon-
day after the stock
price of the company
zoomed 20 per cent to
hit a new high of Rs
2,788.70 on the BSE.
Adani Green Ener-
gy’s m-cap now stands
at Rs 4.22 trillion, sur-
passing telecom ser-
vices major Bharti Air-
tel that has a market-
cap of Rs 4.16 trillion.
With today’s rally,
the stock has zoomed 29
per cent in the past two
trading days after
UAE’s International
Holding Company
(IHC) agreed to invest
Rs 3,850 crore in Adani
Green Energy through
preferential issue.
On Friday, the com-
pany’s board approved
allotment of up to 20.02
million equity shares
at Rs 1,923.25 per share,
aggregating up to Rs
3,850 crore, to IHC Cap-
ital Holding LLC incor-
porated under the Laws
of Abu Dhabi, UAE or
a subsidiary or an af-
filiated special purpose
vehicle of IHC Capital
Holding LLC for cash
consideration by way
of a preferential issue
on a private placement
basis.
Adani Green Ener-
gy has one of the
world’s largest renew-
able portfolios, with
locked-in growth of
20.4 gigawatts (GW)
across operational, un-
d e r- c o n s t r u c t i o n ,
awarded and acquired
assets, catering to in-
vestment-grade coun-
terparties.
The company devel-
ops, builds, owns, oper-
ates and maintains
utility-scale grid-con-
nected solar and wind
farm projects.
The company’s key
customers are Solar
Energy Corporation of
India (SECI), National
Thermal Power Corpo-
ration (NTPC) and var-
ious State Discoms.
Adani Green has set
a target of achieving 45
GW renewable energy
capacity by 2030, 10 per
cent of the Govern-
ment of India’s 450 GW
countrywide renewa-
ble energy target.
Last month, Adani
Green had extended its
construction financing
framework to $1.64 bil-
lion by raising $288 mil-
lion facility for its un-
der-construction re-
newable asset portfolio
through definitive
agreements signed
with group of
leading international
lenders.
ON A HIGH
Adani Green
Energy’s m-cap
now stands at
`4.22 trillion,
surpassing
telecom services
major Bharti
Airtel
Mumbai (Agen-
cies): Shares
of ITC hit an over
two-year high of Rs
273.10, up nearly 2
per cent on the BSE
on Monday in an
otherwise weak
market. The stock
has rallied 6 per cent
in the past two ses-
sions on expectation
of strong earnings
due to improved cig-
arette volumes.
The share price of
the cigarettes to fast
moving consumer
goods major was
trading at its highest
level since July 2019.
In comparison, at
01:11 pm, the SP
BSE Sensex was
down 0.42 per cent at
59,196 points. Thus
far in calendar year
2022, ITC has outper-
formed the market
by surging 25 per
cent, as compared to
a 1.6 per cent rise in
the SP BSE Sensex.
It had hit a record
high of Rs 353 on
July 3, 2017.
ITC is better-placed
than peers with im-
proving cigarette per-
formance and strong
earnings visibility.
Analysts expect ITC
to report a relatively
stronger quarter,
with improvement in
cigarettes and other
divisions and lesser
margin pressure
compared to FMCG
peers. Analysts at
Emkay Global Finan-
cial Services estimate
steady cigarette per-
formance with sales/
EBIT growth of 9 per
cent/10 per cent.
FMCG sales growth
will be 9 per cent with
margins staying flat
year-on-year (YoY).
“We estimate
strong performance
in paper and agri
with EBIT growth of
11 per cent/38 per
cent and EBIT break-
even for hotels. Profit
after tax growth is
lower at 8 per cent
due to lower other in-
come and higher ef-
fective tax rate
(ETR),” the broker-
age said in a Q4 pre-
view. Analyst at ICICI
Securities expect
cigarette companies
to see 7 per cent 10
per cent volume
growth, respectively,
with volumes sur-
passing pre-Covid
levels given offices,
restaurants, pubs are
completely open after
lifting of all mobility
restrictions.
ITC hits over 2-year high
ITC hits over 2-year high
on strong earnings hope
on strong earnings hope
Sensex drops 483 pts as
yields hit 3-year high
Mumbai (Agencies):
Benchmarkindiceswere
back in the red after a
one-day hiatus on Mon-
day as tepid global senti-
ment and rising bond
yieldsdentedtherallyin
equities. European and
Asian markets traded
lower on Monday
, mark-
ing the beginning of a
week with key central
bank meetings and US
inflation prints.
Meanwhile, yields on
10-year government se-
curities hit their 3-year
high of 7.192 per cent in
the money market, re-
flecting inflationary
concerns and expecta-
tions of faster rate
hikes by the RBI in
months ahead.
Against this bac drop,
the BSE Sensex index
fell 483 points, or 0.8 per
cent, to end the day at
58,965. On the NSE, the
Nifty50 index closed at
17,683, down 101 points
or 0.6 per cent. Both the
indices had hit a low of
59,356 and 17,651, re-
spectively.
More than 20 of the
30 Sensex stocks and 30
of the 50 Nifty counters
ended in the negative
zone. These included
HCL Tech, Infosys, LT,
Wipro, SBI Life, Asian
Paints, HDFC, HDFC
Bank, and Axis Bank,
falling up to 2.7 per cent.
On the upside,
Grasim, Adani Ports,
JSW Steel, UPL, Cipla,
Apollo Hospitals, and
BPCL were the top
large-cap gainers,
adding between 1 and
3 per cent.
In the broader mar-
kets, though,
the BSE Midcap and
SmallCap indices ad-
vanced 0.4 per cent
each. Among sectors,
the Nifty IT and Finan-
cial Services indices
were the worst hit, fall-
ing 1.4 per cent and 0.5
per cent, respectively.
On the flipside, the Nif-
ty Oil and Gas, and Re-
alty indices gained the
most in a weak market,
rising up to 1.8 pc.
More than 20 of the 30 Sensex stocks and 30 of
the 50 Nifty counters ended in the negative zone.
These included HCL Tech, Infosys, LT, Wipro, SBI
Life, Asian Paints, HDFC, HDFC Bank, and Axis
Bank, falling up to 2.7 per cent.
Crypto exchange Coinbase suspends UPI payments
Bengaluru (Agen-
cies): Within days of
announcing its launch
in India with much fan-
fare, Coinbase has halt-
ed payments via united
payments interface
(UPI) on its app.
The company, how-
ever, declined to com-
ment on the matter.
Last week, the Na-
tional Payments Coun-
cil of India (NPCI) said
it was not aware of any
crypto exchanges us-
ing the UPI after Coin-
base revealed it to be
the payment mecha-
nism on its platform.
“As we enter the In-
dian market, we are ac-
tively experimenting
with a number of pay-
ment methods and part-
ners to enable our cus-
tomers to seamlessly
make their crypto pur-
chases. One of these
methods is UPI, a sim-
ple to use and rapid pay-
ment system,” a Coin-
base spokesperson said
in response to
the NPCI statement.
“We are aware of the
recent statement pub-
lished by the NPCI re-
garding the use of UPI
by cryptocurrency ex-
changes. We are com-
mitted to working
with NPCI and other
relevant authorities to
ensure that we are
aligned with local ex-
pectations and industry
norms,” it added.
The company’s India
tech hub employs 300
full-time staff and the
company plans to hire
over 1,000 people in the
country this year.
India among top priority markets: Oriflame
New Delhi (PTI): In-
dia is among one of
the “priority markets”
for the direct selling
Swedish beauty brand
Oriflame, where it ex-
pects to continue its
double-digit growth
over the next 3-5 years,
a top company official
has said.
The company which
sells cosmetic and
wellness products in
India also expects a
double-digit growth in
its sales force, adding
more direct sellers in
the coming years.
Amid the COVID-19
pandemic, Oriflame
has witnessed an up-
swing in the wellness
products business,
contributing to around
20 per cent of its India
business from the ear-
lier 4 per cent, and ex-
pects this trend to con-
tinue with some minor
corrections.
“We have an expec-
tation to continue the
double-digit growth
over next 3-5 years
and I do not see it as a
huge challenge,”
Frederic Widell, Vice
President Head of
South Asia MD, Ori-
flame India, told PTI.
The company will
continue to grow here
for the next decades be-
cause of the growing
population and would
continue to invest in
India and build the
business, he added.
“One of the priority
markets for Oriflame is
India,” he said
Widell said though In-
dia’s growth slowed
down in the last two
years of the pandemic,
his company managed
to make sure that prof-
itability is increased.
When asked about
the ranking of the In-
dian market in Ori-
flame’s global business,
he said: “It’s number
one or two.”
“It depends. It is be-
tween India and Chi-
na. Both the markets
are neck to neck and
are of the almost same
size,” Widell said.
Besides Indonesia
and Turkey, Mexico
and Poland are the oth-
er leading markets for
Oriflame globally
.
Oriflame Holding
AG’s net sales for 2021
were 1,016.5 million
euro (over Rs 8,400
crore).
Widell refused to
share the revenue of
the Indian entity, but
said the company is
having a “very
solid growth” in the
country.
Oriflame had en-
tered India in 1995 and
was among the first di-
rect selling firms here.
“We are here for the
last 26 years and we are
very happy with the
progression of our
business here,” he said,
adding, “now we have a
good amount of experi-
ence, understand the
country and have rele-
vant products.”
HIGHLIGHT
Mumbai (ANI): Share price of India’s largest IT
firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose on
Monday ahead of the earnings announcements.
Trading in TCS shares started on a positive note
at Rs 3698 against its previous session’s close at
Rs 3686.85. At 2.29 pm, TCS was trading 0.45
per cent higher at Rs 3703.50. The scrip surged
to a high of Rs 3711.25 and touched a low of Rs
3656.85 in the intra-day. India’s second most
valuable firm TCS is scheduled to announce its
earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2022,
later in the day. TCS result is keenly watched as it
sets the earnings trend of India Inc.
New Delhi (Agencies): The price of 10 gram of
24-carat gold remained unchanged on Monday at
Rs 53,020, while silver (per kg) became costlier
by Rs 4,400 to trade at Rs 71,500. Ten gram of
22-carat gold is trading at Rs 48,600. The price
of 10 gram of 24-carat gold in Delhi and Mumbai
stood at Rs 53,020. Ten gram of 22-carat gold in
Mumbai and Delhi is trading at Rs 48,600. The
price of 10 gram of 24-carat gold in Bangalore
and Hyderabad is on par with the price of 24-car-
at gold in Mumbai and Delhi i.e. Rs 53,020
Mumbai (ANI): The board of directors of
FMCG major Ruchi Soya Industries Limited
has decided to change the company’s name to
‘Patanjali Foods Limited’. In a regulatory filing
to the stock exchanges on Monday, Ruchi Soya
Industries Limited said the company’s board
of directors have “decided to change the name
of the Company to Patanjali Foods Limited or
any other name as may be made available by
Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra, Mumbai
subject to all other applicable approval.” The
company’s board meeting was held on 10th
April. Ruchi Soya Industries Limited is a part of
Yoga Guru Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurveda.
TCS SHARES RISE AHEAD OF
EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENT
GOLD TRADING AT `53,020 PER 10
GM; SILVER SELLING AT `71,500 A KG
RUCHI SOYA TO BE RENAMED
PATANJALI FOODS LIMITED
Bengaluru (PTI): India’s fuel demand rose 4.2% to a three-year peak in
March, compared with the year-ago period, data from the Petroleum
Planning and Anal- ysis Cell of the oil ministry showed on Monday.
Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand,
totalled 19.41 million tonnes, its highest since
March 2019. Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were
6.2% higher at 2.91 million tonnes
from a year earlier. Cooking
gas or liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG) sales increased
9.9% to 2.48 million
tonnes, while naphtha
sales fell 13.2% to 1.11
million tonnes.
India’s March fuel demand jumps
4.2 per cent, hits 3-year high

First India Bureau
New Delhi: Gujarathas
topped Niti Aayog’s
State Energy and Cli-
mate Index-Round 1
(SECI) among larger
states, which is aimed at
ranking states and UTs
on six parameters-- dis-
coms’ performance; ac-
cess affordability and
reliability of energy;
clean energy initiatives;
energy efficiency; envi-
ronmental sustainabili-
ty; and new initiatives.
Gujarat was followed
by Kerala and Punjab,
according to the gov-
ernment think tank’s
report. States like
Chhattisgarh, Madhya
Pradesh and
Jharkhand were placed
at the bottom.
Among the smaller
states, Goa topped the
Aayog’s index, followed
by Tripura and Ma-
nipur.Among union ter-
ritories (UTs), Chandi-
garh topped the index,
followed by Delhi and
Daman Diu/Dadra
Nagar Haveli (DD and
DN).
Punjab was the best
performer in discom
performance parameter
among larger states,
whileKeralaemergedas
top performer in access,
affordability and relia-
bility category among
larger states.
Likewise, Haryana
was the best performer
when it comes to clean
energy initiative among
larger states, while Ta-
mil Nadu emerged as
top performer in the en-
ergy efficiency category
.
The index is based on
2019-20 data.
Releasing the report,
NITI Aayog Vice Chair-
man Rajiv Kumar said
that this index that com-
pares states and UTs
across many indicators
will encourage them to-
wards energy transi-
tion, and all the neces-
sary steps must be taken
to achieve this.
Kumar further said
there is a need to con-
vert the country’s ef-
forts towards achieving
the ‘Panchamrit’ targets
announcedbythePrime
Minister at COP-26,
Glasgow into a peoples’
movement.
07
NEWS
IS YOGI ALL SET TO JOIN BJP’S HIGH-TABLE?
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: After his
spectacular win in the
UP assembly elections,
is UP Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath all set
toascenttothenational
political centre stage?
Speculations about
the Yogi’s induction
into the Bharatiya Ja-
nataParty’sParliamen-
tary Board gained mo-
mentum following his
impromptu visit to
New Delhi on Monday
.
The parliamentary
board is the apex body
of the BJP which takes
allimportantdecisions,
be it finalising policy,
choosing candidates in
elections or CMs.
What has given cre-
dence to Yogi Adity-
anathjoining the elite
11-member panel is the
fact that there are four
vacancies on the par-
ty’s high-table.
Apart from Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, the six existing
members are BJP na-
tional chief JP Nadda,
Union Defence Minis-
ter Rajnath Singh, Un-
ion Minister, Nitin
Gadkari, Madhya
Pradesh chief minster
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
and party’s organisa-
tional general secre-
tary B L Santhosh. For
quite sometime now
the BJP high-command
has been on the look
out for ‘worthy’ party
heavyweights to fill up
the four vacancies
which have arisen due
to the deaths of former
Union Ministers Arun
Jaitley
,SushmaSwaraj,
elevation of Venkaiah
Naiduasvice-president
and retirement of
Thaawarchand Gehlot
as leader of the Rajya
Sabha. Not all mem-
bers get their say in
policy or decision-mak-
ing but nonetheless be-
ing on the board is
much coveted. Being a
chief minister of an
important state that
sends 80 members to
the Lok Sabha, not to
mention the support
he enjoys of the top
RSS leadership, Adity-
anath fits the criteria
to the T.
CREDENCE TO YOGI
NOT SP, BJP FACED TOUGH FIGHT
FROM INDEPENDENT CANDIATES
UPPER HOUSE POLLS IN UP
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: After the an-
nouncement of the re-
sults of the counting of
votes for the MLC elec-
tions on Tuesday, the
BJP is set to cross the
majority mark in the
Upper House of the UP
Legislature as well.
Significantly
, the pro-
cess of election is going
on for three dozen seats
of the hundred mem-
bers UP Legislative
Council. These 36 seats
are spread across 35 lo-
cal authorities’ constit-
uencies. Out of this,
BJP candidates have
been declared elected
unopposed in nine
seats. After the voting
for the remaining 27
posts, the fate of 95 can-
didates has been record-
ed in the EVM, about
which the announce-
ment will be made today
.
Intherecentassembly
polls,theSPhadsucceed-
ed in making a clean
sweep in Azamgarh,
Ambedkar Nagar, Ghaz-
ipur, Shamli and Kaush-
ambi. Apart from these,
there were many other
districts where the SP
had performed better in
the Panchayat elections
held last year. But in all
such places, the SP could
not seem to compete ef-
fectively in the elections
fortheseatsof theUpper
House. In Azamgarh,
Mau, Pratapgarh and
Varanasi, the BJP was
seen to be getting more
challenges from inde-
pendents than from the
SP
.SP’spositioninGhaz-
ipur, Ayodhya-Ambed-
karnagar, Basti-Sid-
dharthnagarwasconsid-
ered strong, but this
trenddidnotappeartobe
sustained when voting
for MLC seats was held.
In assembly polls, the
SP had won all 10 seats
in Azamgarh. But in the
MLC polls, independent
candidateVikrantSingh
wasseenfightingstrong-
lyagainstBJPcandidate
Arun Kant Yadav here.
The former is the son of
outgoingMLCYashwant
Singh, expelled from the
BJP. In Ghazipur, SP
candidate Bholanath
Shukla withdrew his
nomination at the last
moment, forcing the SP
to support independent
candidate Madan Singh.
Here BJP candidate
Vishal Singh Chanchal
has the upper hand.
From Ayodhya-Ambed-
karnagar seat, instead
of outgoing MLC and SP
candidate Hiralal Yadav,
only BJP candidate Dr
Hari Om Pandey was
seen getting an edge.
ELECTION IS GOING ON FOR 3 DOZEN SEATS OF THE HUNDRED MEMBERS UP LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
z
z
z
z
MUNICIPAL LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS
First India Bureau
Lucknow: After Sama-
jwadi Party MP from
Sambhal Shafiqur Re-
hman Barq openly criti-
cised the party and al-
leged that it has stopped
working for Muslims,
voices of dissent have
emerged from the office
of SP leader Azam
Khan, party MLA from
Rampur.
At a meeting held in
Rampur on Sunday, it
was said that Azam
Khanwassacrificedand
Muslims were made en-
emies of the BJP
.
Azam Khan’s media
in charge Fasahat Khan
Shanu said, “CM Yogi
was right when he said
that Akhilesh does not
want Azam Khan to be
out of jail.”Fasahat
made the remark at a
meeting of Khan’s sup-
porters at the party of-
fice in Rampur, late on
Sunday night.
According to sources,
AzamKhanhasbeenup-
set over the fact that
Akhilesh did not visit
him in Sitapur jail-ex-
cept once-- where he is
lodged since February
2020.PragatisheelSama-
jwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-
L) chief Shivpal Yadav’s
rift with Akhilesh and
his possible shift to the
ruling BJP has strength-
enedreportsaboutAzam
Khan also quitting SP
.
AzamKhanfoughtthe
2022 UP Assembly elec-
tions and won the Ram-
purseatforthe10thtime
from behind the bars in
Sitapur jail. Fasahat
said, “On the indication
of Khan, the Muslims
not only in Rampur, but
also in several districts
voted for the SP
. But the
SP national president
did not take the side of
Muslims.
AfterShivpal,voicesof
dissentemergefrom
Azam’scampinSP
First India Bureau
Hyderabad: A group of
scientistshavecomputa-
tionally designed a hy-
brid material which can
absorb greenhouse gas
methane, converting it
to clean Hydrogen and
also simulated a process
of capturing carbon di-
oxide in-situ and con-
verting it to high purity
hydrogen from non-fuel
grade bioethanol. They
have also designed a fa-
cility that can test such
materials and help fur-
ther carbon capture re-
search at the institute.
Given the global
warming potential of
greenhouse gases, sci-
entists are trying to ex-
plore innovative meth-
ods of absorbing these
gases and converting
them to useful sub-
stances. New materials
that can play dual role
of absorption as well as
conversion is the new
challenge area for sci-
entist in carbon cap-
ture innovation.
Responding to the
challenge, in a series of
researches on carbon
capture and utilization
scientists from Indian
Institute of Chemical
Technology (IICT), Hy-
derabad have not only
computationally de-
signedahybridmaterial
that can capture meth-
ane and also act as cata-
lyst to convert it to high
purity hydrogen, but
also simulated and de-
signed a process for in
situ capture of carbon
dioxide and its conver-
sion to high purity hy-
drogen from non-fuel
grade bioethanol
through a mechanism
called the optimized in-
tensified chemical loop-
ing reforming. The later
research has been pub-
lished in the Elsevier
journal Chemical Engi-
neering and Processing.
They researchers
have also fabricated a
facility that can further
carbon capture and con-
version research at the
institute. The facility, a
dual operational fixed
cum fluidized bed reac-
tor system (FBR) can
carry out sorption en-
hanced steam methane
reforming (SESMR) for
high purity H2 produc-
tion based on the model-
ling and preliminary
experimental studies.
The FBR facility has
been successfully com-
missioned recently in
Jan 2022 at CSIR-IICT,
Hyderabad, under a
Mission Innovation Pro-
ject supported by De-
partmentof Scienceand
Technology to IICT Hy-
derabad.
New materials for carbon capture could show new light for global warming
CLIMATE CHANGE
lll
IICT scientists
design a hybrid
material that
can capture
methane and
also act as
catalyst to
convert it to
high purity
hydrogen
Shafiqur Rehman Barq
New Delhi (PTI): The,
an initiative to provide
free yoga training on
demand in neighbour-
hoods has seen over
15,000 enrolments
since its launch in De-
cember last year, with
over 9,500 people avail-
ing the service in dif-
ferent parts of Delhi
everyday.
A Delhi govt official
said that so far, over
15,200 people from
across Delhi have reg-
istered for the yoga
classes and currently,
around 9,500 people
are getting trained in
yoga everyday. “Initial-
ly, there was a lot of
buzz when the initia-
tive was first launched
on Dec 14, 2021. How-
ever, the Capital was
hit by a Covid-19 wave
driven by the Omicron
variant and the city re-
ported a large number
of cases.”
‘15k in Delhi
have signed
up for yoga
programme’
Guj tops NITI’s SECI-Round 1 among larger states
Kerala and Punjab round up the top 3
states, with Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh
Jharkhand languishing at the bottom
HC notices to SDMC, DJB over
maintenance of ‘Westend Greens’
New Delhi (ANI): The
Delhi High Court has is-
sued notice to South
Delhi Municipal Corpo-
ration (SDMC) and Del-
hi Jal Board (DJB) on a
plea moved by a society
Westend Greens, seek-
ing directions to take
over and maintain the
civic amenities and oth-
er facilities and other
statutory and public
services of the colony
‘Westend Greens’, situ-
ated in revenue areas of
Villages Rajokari, Rang-
puri, and Samalka, New
Delhi.
The bench of Justice
Manoj Kumar Ohri last
week sought a response
and listed the matter for
July 25, 2022. The peti-
tioner society through
Advocates Sumit Gahla-
wat and T.S. Thakral
has also sought re-
straint against the re-
spondents from levying
property tax unless the
said services are per-
formed by the respond-
ents as well as compen-
sation from respond-
ents in failing to per-
form their statutory
duties is given.
Advocate Sumit
Gahlawat, appearing
for the petitioner socie-
ty submitted that the
society had been in ex-
istence for the last three
decades and the Corpo-
ration had not provided
any civic services de-
spite the fact that the
residents have been pay-
ing house/property tax.

Srinagar (PTI): This
year’s Amarnath Yatra
isexpectedtobetwicein
size than before, with
the Jammu and Kash-
mir administration pre-
paringtowelcomeabout
8 lakh pilgrims to the
cave shrine in the south
Kashmir Himalayas, of-
ficials said on Monday
.
The arrangements for
theyatra,tobeheldafter
a gap of two years, were
discussed at a meeting
here chaired by Union
Information and Broad-
casting Ministry Secre-
tary Apurva Chandra.
Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Secretary Arun
Kumar, divisional com-
missioners of Jammu
and Kashmir regions,
and deputy commis-
sioners, participated in
the meeting.
Talking to reporters
here, Chandra said the
meeting was informed
that this year’s Amar-
nath Yatra is expected
to be the biggest and
best ever.
“Expectations are
that this year’s yatra
will be twice the size
than ever before. They
expect about 6 lakh to 8
lakh yatris to visit the
cave shrine,” the secre-
tary said.
He said the arrange-
ments put in place for
the yatra will also be
twice the size than the
previous years.
Be it drinking water,
lodging or sanitation,
the whole administra-
tion is equipped to wel-
come such a huge num-
ber of pilgrims, he said.
Chandra also said
that these measures
taken by the Union
Territory administra-
tion will be publicised
in every state in differ-
ent languages to at-
tract the yatris.
“We have also sug-
gested a one or two-min-
ute short-film showcas-
ing not only the yatra,
but other things about
Kashmir, which will be
shown across theatres
in the country,” he said.
08
2NDFRONT
There is more beauty in an open
smile and a happy face than in
the world’s most expensive dress.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Jagdeesh Chandra was on a one day visit to Srinagar on Monday and visited the renowned Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, the largest in Asia spread over 30 hectares, to enjoy the unique
arresting beauty of Tulips in full bloom. The Tulip festival is open till April 30. He also visited the Dal Lake area and interacted with locals, who told him that Kashmir tourism is touching new heights
after the abrogation of Article 370 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and life is back to normal in Jammu and Kashmir.
PARADISE REVISITED!
Amarnath Yatra 2022 to be ‘much bigger’ than before: Officials
Amarnath Yatra 2022 to be ‘much bigger’ than before: Officials
BJP should accept it
cannot provide good
edu in Guj: Sisodia
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Delhi Ed-
ucation Minister Man-
ish Sisodia on Monday
saidheiskeentoseeand
understand what chang-
es and improvements
the BJP has brought in
Gujarat government
schools over the last 27
years of its rule in the
state. He also called on
the ruling party to ac-
cept its failure to pro-
vide quality education
to students in the state.
The Aam Aadmi Par-
ty (AAP) leader and
Delhi’s deputy CM was
talking to reporters
while on way to visit a
school in Bhavnagar
district of Gujarat,
ahead of the state As-
sembly elections due in
December this year.
The Arvind Kejriwal-
led AAP is keen to dem-
onstrate changes in the
education sector
brought in Delhi and
promise the same in Gu-
jarat. It is looking to
contest all 182 Assembly
seats in Gujarat by pre-
senting itself as a viable
alternative to both the
ruling BJP and the op-
position Congress.
On Monday, after ar-
riving at the
Ahmedabad airport,
Sisodia headed to a
school in Bhavnagar,
the home district of Gu-
jarat Education Minis-
ter Jitu Vaghani.
Sisodia, who had re-
cently challenged Va-
ghani for a debate on
school education,
claimed the AAP gov-
ernment in Delhi
changed the face of gov-
ernment schools after
Arvind Kejriwal be-
came its chief minister.
“After Kejriwal came
to power, we changed
the face, the picture of
government schools in
Delhi. The BJP has been
in power in Gujarat for
27 years. I am keen to
see and understand
what changes and im-
provements the BJP has
made in these 27 years
of its rule,” he said.
Sisodia’svisitcomesa
day after Kejriwal in a
Twitter post said, “Peo-
ple in the BJP are also
raising questions on the
crumbling education
system in Gujarat. Ris-
ing above the party line,
theyhavestartedraising
voices for good educa-
tion in Gujarat. The BJP
could not provide good
education in 27 years.
WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN AAP AND BJP
6 CHARRED TO DEATH
in Gujarat chemical factory blast
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad:Sixwork-
erswerekilledinablast
whichtriggeredafirein
a chemical factory in
Gujarat’s Bharuch dis-
trict on Monday
. The
incident took place
around 3 am at Om Or-
ganic manufacturing
plant located in Dahej
industrial area — a hub
of chemical and petro-
chemical manufactur-
ing units — around 235
km from Ahmedabad.
PM Narendra Modi an-
nounced an ex gratia of
Rs2 lakh to the kin of
the deceased and
Rs50,000 to those in-
jured in the incident.
The six victims were
working near a reactor,
which suddenly blew
during the solvent dis-
tillation process, in-
formed Bharuch Su-
perintendent of Police
Leena Patil.
“Theblastinthereac-
tor caused a fire in the
factory
. All the six per-
sons working near the
reactordied.Thebodies
were later recovered
and sent for post-mor-
tem examination. The
fire was also brought
under control by the lo-
cal fire department. No
one else was injured in
the incident,” she said.
A team of the indus-
trial safety and health
department, Gujarat
Pollution Control
Board (GPCB) and fac-
tory inspectors rushed
to the site and began
their probe.
The brother of a
worker who died in the
explosion, Vasant
Vasava, told local me-
dia persons, “Around 4
am, I was informed by
the chemical company
about the accident.
They told me that my
brother is missing and
when I reached the fac-
tory, I was asked to go
to Civil Hospital. Upon
my arrival there, I was
informed that my
brother was one of the
five people who died in
the accident.”
Haryana to upgrade
CCTNS for better
policing; ranked 1st
in Pragati Dashboard
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: Haryana
Governmenthasdecided
toupgradetheCrimeand
Criminal Tracking Net-
work System (CCTNS) to
further enhance the ef-
fectiveness of policing.
Chief Secretary San-
jeev Kaushal gave a nod
for its upgradation
while presiding over
the 20th State Apex
Committee Meeting of
the CCTNS. Additional
Chief Secretary(Home)
Rajeev Arora and Hary-
ana Director General of
Police (DGP) PK Agraw-
al were also present.
It was informed in
the meeting that Hary-
ana Police has ranked
first in the Pragti Dash-
board ranking in the
country by scoring
100% marks, first time
ever in June and it has
maintained the position
in six of nine months so
far. For this, Kaushal
lauded the collective ef-
forts of the Police De-
partment for ensuring
smooth functioning of
the CCTNS and for
maintaining its rank-
ing at the first place.
ACS Rajeev Arora
gave suggestions for im-
proving the existing
working of the CCTNS
so as to ensure trans-
parency in the system.
Among others pre-
sent in the meeting in-
cluded ACS (Informa-
tion Technology) Anil
Malik, MD HARTRON
Mandeep Brar, Advisor
to the Finance Depart-
ment, Sofia Dahiya and
other senior officers.
Irani to chair West Zonal Conference
of States/UTs of in Mumbai today
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Women and
Child Development
Minister Smriti Irani
will chair Zonal Con-
ference of States and
Union Territories and
stakeholders of West-
ern region in Mumbai
onTuesday
.Theconfer-
ence aims to sensitize
State Governments
and UT Administra-
tions to facilitate prop-
er implementation of
the Umbrella Schemes
of Mission Poshan 2.0,
Mission Shakti and
Mission Vatsalya over
the next 5 years.
In order to ensure
optimum impact of re-
cently launched Mis-
sions, the Centre has
initiated a series of
zonal consultations
with state govern-
ments in each region
of the country
.
The meeting in
Mumbai is the fourth
in the series in which
Maharashtra, Ra-
jasthan, Goa, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh,
Dadra and Nagar
Haveli and Daman and
Diu will participate.
Chief Secy Sanjeev
Kaushal said the
police should continue
to brush up its skills

NEW DELHI, TUESDAY,
APRIL 12, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirst-
india facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
atisfaction lies in the
effort, not in the at-
tainment because
without labour, noth-
ing prospers. Sapna
Bundwal, a beautiful
diva who rose to the
top through hard work and
determination, revealed her
success story with City First.
Tell us something about
yourself.
I am a rebel who wants
to look good and still
stand up for the
equality of women.
But beneath the makeup
and behind my smile I am an
18-year-old girl fighting for
my dream life. I consider my-
self to be a positive, adapta-
ble, artistic, and lifelong
learner.
Where do you see yourself af-
ter the next 20 years?
Well! Nothing is in our hands,
the future has different
shades and we can’t predict it
but for now, I see myself 100
times a better confident and
empowered woman. I
want to make my loved
ones proud of myself
and I am trying my best
for this goal of mine. I
want to motivate young girls
who want to pursue model-
ling as their career.
How did your journey be-
gin?
My true journey to the path of
success started with one and
only Elite Miss Rajasthan. I
am grateful to Gaurav Gaur
and the entire team for his
support and guidance, he has
been a major support system.
Miss Elite Rajasthan has giv-
en me wings and I want to fly
and conquer the world.
What were some of the bat-
tles you fought and are still
fighting in your journey?
I started working at a very
young age, I was just 16 when
I got my first break as a model,
It was very magical but chal-
lenging, I had to manage my
academics. I am still working
on myself to improve my tal-
ents and prove to my parents
my love and enthusiasm for
modelling.
Talk to us about your
achievements?
I was in the top 15 Finalists of
Elite Miss Rajasthan 2021.
And I feel so proud of it as it
has made me an independ-
ent self earning girl. My
mother is my back-
bone. She is the one
standing behind
me in every situ-
ation of my
life. Whatever
I am today is
because of
her she
motivated
me at every
stage.
S
VALIANT AND
VALIANT AND
VIBRANT DIVA!
VIBRANT DIVA!
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
A VALIANT DIVA, VIBRANT SOUL AND WONDERFUL
WOMAN, SAPNA BUNDWAL FROM CHITTORGARH, IN
A CANDID CONVERSATION WITH CITY FIRST, SHARES
HER MODELLING JOURNEY AND FUTURE PLANS!

hewa is derived from
two local dialect terms,
‘Tharna’ – meaning to
hammer to get thin foils
of gold from a very tiny
quantity of the metal,
and‘Vada’–meaningsil-
ver wire, which in the loop shape
forms the resting foundation for
the main piece, both of which are
crucial parts of the art.
While the pioneers of this
craft only manufactured chests
and boxes, today’s experts have
expanded their talent to include
photo frames, mirrors, cuff
links, brooches, trays, plates,
and personal accessories like
rings and necklaces that are
worn by both men and women.
This work is inspired by Mughal
miniature paintings with con-
ventional design subjects span-
ning from mythical genres to
more secular ones. In 2002, the
Government of India produced
a stamp with an awe-inspiring
piece of thewa on a plate.
Small chunks of gold are
pounded into multiple slender
sections, about one-tenth of a
millimetre thick, and placed on
the lac plate like a canvas mat.
The metal becomes somewhat
embedded in the lac when the
plate is warmed. The design is
then sketched and carefully
carved out on the gold foil using
tools such as ‘Hummaney’ (for-
cep), ‘Katya’ (cutter), and
‘Tankale’ (to cut out the jaali).
Thedesignseithercontainlocal
histories of hunting adven-
tures inside small vegetation
and streams, animals and birds,
or they represent the nature of
indigenousmythssuchasimages
of Radha Krishna, Sri Ram, or
Hanumanji. It is critical to regu-
larly inspect the lac bed for air
bubbles, since these may cause
unavoidable denting of the deli-
cate gold foil. Master artisans, on
the other hand, do not draw but
instead immediately penetrate
the plan with delicate chisels and
sharp tools. However, because
of the intense concentration re-
quired, any error or deviation in
the process of separating the pat-
tern might result in the waste of
the entire piece of foil.
All of the jail’s leftover pat-
tern sheets and cutouts are melt-
ed down and made ready for new
production. To reduce the pos-
sibility of damage, the entire jali
is then set out in a silver wire
frame known as “vaada.” The
silver wire frame utilised in this
operation is precisely construct-
ed on brass dies and soldered.
The entire framed artwork is
then laid down on a mica sheet
using forceps and very calm and
steady hands. The two metals
may be readily soldered together
after being pinned together over
the mica, and the mica can then
be removed. The tiny substance
so formed is then mounted on a
piece of col-
oured Belgian
glass using a bonding
procedure that is a fam-
ily secret. The entire com-
position, including the Bel-
gian glass, is then encased in a
solid silver shell known as
‘Chandi ki dibiya.’
The art has remained
a well-guarded secret;
even the family’s
daughters are kept
in the dark about the
masterstroke meth-
od, assuming that
they would ulti-
mately leave the
clan. The boys of the
household, on the oth-
er hand, are schooled in
pattern drawing from the
age of ten, so that when they
eventually begin to practise
the art, the language and ex-
pression of these jaali scener-
ies unconsciously and readily
flow out of their hands, right
onto the foil.
Every art form in India has a
cultural background that may be
noticed in the designs of that art
form. Its origins may be traced
back 400 years when the mon-
archsof Pratapgarhgrantedland
grants to the families of crafts-
men.Itsoriginsmaybetraced
back 400 years to when the
monarchs of Pratapgarh
grantedlandgrantstothe
families of the artisans
who practised the pro-
fession. This type of
jewellery is distin-
guished by its dis-
tinctive and colour-
ful patterns. They
are adaptable and
perfect for a
s t y l i s h
s t y l e ,
thanks to
their elabo-
rate work-
manship.
T
SHUBHANSHI PATHAK
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
THEWA THE EXQUISITE
THEWA THE EXQUISITE
ART OF RAJASTHAN
ART OF RAJASTHAN
10
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

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