20022022 first india new delhi

“India is your home”, Modi tells Hindu-Sikh
Afghan delegation who thank him for CAA
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Saturday met members
of the Sikh-Hindu del-
egation from Afghani-
stan at 7 Lok Kalyan
Marg and assured the
community of continu-
ous support in future to
resolve all issues and
difficulties.
In a statement, the
Prime Minister’s Office
(PMO) said the delega-
tionhonouredthePrime
Minister and thanked
him for bringing Sikhs
and Hindus safely to In-
dia from Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister
welcomed the delega-
tion and said that they
are not guests but are in
their own house, adding
that India is their home.
He talked about the im-
mense difficulties faced
by them in Afghanistan
and the help provided
by the government to
bring them to India
safely
.
In this light, PM Modi
also talked about the
significance of the Citi-
zenship Amendment
Act (CAA) and its ben-
efits for the community
.
He assured them of con-
tinuous support in fu-
ture as well to resolve
all issues and difficul-
ties faced by them.
Prime Minister also
talked about the signifi-
cance of the tradition
of honouring Guru
Granth Sahib, in light
of which special ar-
rangements were made
to bring back Swaroop
of Guru Granth Sahib
from Afghanistan. He
talked about the im-
mense love that he has
received from Afghans
over the years and fond-
ly recalled his visit to
Kabul. —ANI
BIG AND WARM WLECOME
PM Narendra Modi being felicitated by the Afghan Hindu-Sikh
delegation, in New Delhi on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
The Prime Minister
assures the
community of
continuous support in
future to resolve all
issues and difficulties
NEW DELHI l SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO.DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No.172
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
2 SOLDIERS, MILITANT
KILLED IN KASHMIR
Two soldiers were killed in a
gunfight in south Kashmir’s
Shopian on Saturday morn-
ing. A militant was also killed
in the exchange of fire that
started after a joint team of
forces launched an operation.
ON HIJAB ISSUE, 58
STUDENTS SUSPENDED
At least 58 female students
from a college in Karnataka’s
Shivamogga district were
suspended for wearing hijab
and also staging an agitation
demanding that they should be
allowed to attend classes. P3
estowed with the rare and exotic Himalayan flora, the
Valley of Flowers is a bouquet of nature peacefully
snuggled in the West Himalayan region of Uttarakhand.
The trek of Valley of flowers goes through dense forests,
along with Pushpawati river and can be reached by crossing
many bridges, glaciers and waterfalls on the way. “Preparation
is underway to build a ropeway to facilitate a visit to Hemkund
Sahib ji,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said during his visit
to Kedarnath on November 5 last year. Once built, it will also serve
the Valley of Flowers, which is UNESCO World Heritage Site, as the
Valley trek falls halfway to Hemkund Sahib.
B
SEAT-TO-SEAT CONTEST IN UP POLLS’ 3RD PHASE TODAY IN...
AKHILESH’S ‘ASHISH’
BARB AT BJP IN KHERI
Lakhimpur: SP chief
Akhilesh Yadav said Union
minister Ajay Mishra’s son
Ashish, accused of running
over farmers during a
protest in Lakhimpur Kheri,
was granted bail in a hurry
because the BJP knew
the government in Uttar
Pradesh is set to change.
EC SEEKS FIR AGAINST
KEJRIWAL, SUKHBIR
The State Election Com-
mission in Punjab has
directed Mohali adminis-
tration to register a case
against AAP’s Arvind
Kejriwal regarding video
allegation against SAD. In a
counter complaint by AAP,
Sukhbir Badal has been
charged with poll violation.
FIR AGAINST CHANNI,
SIDHU MOOSEWALA
Punjab Chief Minister
Charanjit Singh Channi and
Congress candidate Sidhu
Moosewala from Mansa
seat have been booked for
violating the model code
of conduct. The case was
lodged on a complaint by
Aam Aadmi Party candidate
Vijay Singla from Mansa.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Uttar
Pradesh is set for cru-
cial third phase of poll-
ing in Yadav land in 59
Assembly constituen-
cies on Sunday
.
In view of the high
sensitivity of the re-
gion, tight security ar-
rangements have been
made for free and fair
elections.
Third phase is in
fact gateway to remain-
ing four phases in
central-Awadh region,
Purvanchal and two re-
maining districts -Ban-
da, Chitrakoot- of Bun-
delkhand.
THE DEMOGRAPHIC
PROFILE IN REGION
While the region has OBC,
Upper castes and Dalit
domination, there are eight
districts Mainpuri, Etawah,
Etah, Kasganj, Firozabad,
Aurrayya, Kannauj and
Farrukhabad which are
Yadav dominated. It is for
this reason the area is called
“Yadav land”. Muslims are
scattered in pockets.
Yadav land crucial for power contenders
During last Assembly polls in 2017, BJP bagged 49 seats while Samajwadi Party got 8 and Congress, BSP clinched
one seat each in the region. All the 13 seats of Bundelkhand going to poll in this round were captured by the BJP
Will Amarinder be
king or kingmaker?
...or will AAP hurt Congress
prospects, Punjab decides today
2.14
crore voters
8am-6pm
Polling time
117
Constituencies
23
Districts
1,304
Candidates in the fray
PUNJAB
Drug mafia, liquor mafia,
transport mafia, cable
mafia, farmers’ distress,
corruption, illegal sand min-
ing and rising state’s debt
CRUCIAL ISSUES
Navjot Singh Sidhu (Amritsar
East), Bhagwant Mann (Dhuri),
Charanjit Singh
Channi (Bhadaur,
Chamkaur Sahib),
Sukhbir Singh Badal
(Jalalabad), Capt
Amarinder Singh (Patiala),
Parakash Singh Badal (Lambi)
KEY CANDIDATES
During last Assembly polls in 2017, Congress got
majority winning 77 seats while Aam Aadmi Party
clinched 20 and SAD-BJP got just 18 seats.
UTTAR PRADESH PHASE-3
59
Constituencies
16
Districts
2.16
crore voters
627
Candidates
in the fray
103
Candidates
face serious
criminal
cases
7am-6pm
Polling time
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Union
MoS SP Singh Baghel (Karhal),
Shivpal Singh Yadav (Jaswantnagar),
Industries Minister Satish
Mahana (Maharajpur-
Kanpur), Excise Minister
Ram Naresh Agnihotri
(Bhogaon-Mainpuri),
Higher Edu Minister Neelma Katiyar
(Kalyanpur-Kanpur), Hari Yadav
(Sirsaganj-Firozabad), Ajay Kapoor
(Kidwai Nagar-Kanpur)
KEY CANDIDATES
Law and order,
Stary cattle,
communal
polarisation,
farmers
problems,
unemployment,
Drinking water
problem in
Bundelkhand
CRUCIAL
ISSUES
Tensions run sky-high
as the Russian-backed
separatists in Ukraine
call to mobilise forces
Russian marines take position during Russia-Belarus military drills.
Moscow: Pro-Russian
separatist leaders in
eastern Ukraine or-
dered a full military
mobilization Saturday,
amid a spike in violence
that has heightened
fears that Moscow is
planning to use an esca-
lation in the conflict as
a pretext to invade.
The announcements
came ahead of planned
large-scale drills involv-
ing Russian nuclear
forces, overseen by
President Vladimir Pu-
tin, offering a timely
reminder of the coun-
try’s nuclear might, as
Europe faces its gravest
security crisis since
the Cold War.
KAMALA WARNS OF
ECONOMIC COSTS
US vice-president Kamala
Harris warned of “signifi-
cant and unprecedented
economic costs” if Russia
invades Ukraine. Harris
said, “Russia’s actions
simply don’t match their
words. We will target Rus-
sia’s financial institutions
and key industries.”
Ballistic and cruise
missiles were
launched from land,
air and sea with
President Putin
supervising drill
Dawood Ibrahim constitutes
special unit to target India
New Delhi: The Na-
tional Investigation
Agency (NIA) has re-
vealed that fugitive
gangster Dawood Ibra-
him has formed a spe-
cial unit to target India.
The names of political
leaders and famous
businessmen featured
on the hit list, as per the
probe agency
.
The FIR revealed that
Dawood Ibrahim along
with his special unit
was planning to launch
an attack on the coun-
try using explosives
and lethal weapons
with the aim of inciting
violence in different
parts of the country.
Apart from this, Da-
wood Ibrahim has his
focus on Delhi and
Mumbai, the probe
agency said.
The ED had recently
registered a money
laundering case against
Dawood Ibrahim and
his aides for their in-
volvement in financing
terror activities. The
ED will question Ibra-
him’s brother Iqbal
Kaskar, his aides and
gang members. On Fri-
day, Iqbal Kaskar was
sent to ED custody till
February 24 in a money
laundering case.
Political leaders, businessmen on unit’s hit list: NIA
Dawood Ibrahim

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
New Delhi: DelhiChief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal on Saturday said
his dispensation was
ready to help state gov-
ernments in improving
their education and
health infrastructure
without the considera-
tion of political ideolo-
gies for the welfare of
the country
.
He was speaking at
the launch of 12,430
classrooms in Delhi
government schools.
“I am making an offer
today. If any state gov-
ernment, irrespective
whether it is led by
BJP or Congress, wants
to improve its educa-
tion infrastructure, we
are ready to loan Educa-
tion Minister Manish
Sisodia to it,” Kejriwal
said.
“Similarly, if any
state government wants
to build mohalla clinics,
well-equipped govern-
ment hospitals, we are
ready to loan Health
Minister Satyendar
Jain to it,” he added.
“We do not fight the
elections in every state.
We want the country to
progress and we are
ready to help the state
governments. We want
corruption to end,” he
said.
Kejriwal has come
under attack from the
BJP and the Congress
after former Aam Aad-
mi Party (AAP) leader
Kumar Vishwas ac-
cused him of support-
ing separatists in poll-
bound Punjab. Kejriwal
has dubbed Vishwas’s
allegations as “laugha-
ble”.
Talking about the al-
legations, the Delhi
chief minister said he
was working to better
the education system
and the healthcare in-
frastructure.
“I have dedicated
these 12,430 classrooms
to the country
. The per-
son, whom they are call-
ing a terrorist, has
made such schools
where the children of
poor and rich people
study together,” the CM
said. —PTI
‘READY TO HELP STATE GOVTS TO
IMPROVE EDUCATION & HEALTH’
KEJRIWAL MAKES AN HONEST OFFER WITHOUT CONSIDERING POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
ALL CORRUPT PEOPLE HAVE TEAMED UP
AGAINST AAP, SAYS CHIEF MINISTER
Delhi CM Arvind
Kejriwal claimed
that all the corrupt
people have teamed
up against the AAP and
said they will get a
befitting reply with the
inauguration of 12,430
modern classrooms in
city schools. In a tweet
in Hindi, he also said
the country will not
bow down before these
corrupt people and
move ahead. “All the
corrupt people of the
country have teamed
up against us. Today,
we will give them a be-
fitting reply by inaugu-
rating 12,430 modern
classrooms in Delhi
schools. “This country
will not bow down
before these corrupt
people. The country
has decided. The
country will move
ahead,” the chief min-
ister said. –PTI
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses at the inauguration of 12,430 new smart classrooms
in 240 government schools of the national capital, at Rajkiya Kanya Vidyalaya, Rajokri in New Delhi
on Saturday. —ANI
New Delhi: A bike sus-
pected to have been
used to plant a bomb at
the capital’s Ghazipur
flower market last
month has been recov-
ered from near the Old
Seemapuri area, where
another improvised ex-
plosive device (IED)
was found in a house,
the Delhi police’s Spe-
cial Cell said. It sus-
pects the ammonium
nitrate and RDX bombs
had been made by the
same persons.
According to the po-
lice, a Special Cell team
probing the Ghazipur
bomb recovery raided a
house in Old Seemapuri
on Thursday afternoon
and found there a bag
containing an IED.
Teams of the National
Security Guard, Delhi
Fire Services and a fo-
rensic science lab as
well as a bomb squad
were called to the spot,
they said, and the im-
provised explosive de-
vice weighing 2.5-3 kg
was defused.
The police said they
were questioning the
owner of the house,
identified as Ashim,
and a property dealer,
adding that the tenants
of the house had man-
aged to escape before
they arrived. —Agencies
New Delhi: A man
from Assam was
held for allegedly
killing a fast food
vendor during a
robbery bid in West
Delhi’s Hari Nagar,
police said.
The Rajouri Gar-
den police station
was informed by
the Deen Dayal
Upadhyay hospital
on Thursday that
Ram Kishore, a res-
ident of Hari Nagar,
was declared
brought dead by the
doctors at the facil-
ity, a senior police
officer said, adding
that the deceased
had stab injuries.
The complainant
stated that she and
her husband were
walking in the Jas-
sa Ram Park in Hari
Nagar when a man,
armed with a knife,
asked for Rs 300
from them, the of-
ficer said. —PTI
1 held for
killing fast
food vendor
Police finds ‘bike
used to plant’
IED at Ghazipur
Delhi Police Special Cell recovers a bike stolen in 2020, from
Dilshad Garden metro station in New Delhi. —ANI
New Delhi: The stand-
ing committee of the
North Delhi Municipal
Corporation on Friday
approved a proposal to
build a park on the
‘waste-to-art’ theme on
the premises of the his-
toric Ajmal Khan Park
in Karol Bagh, officials
said.
The South Delhi civic
body had come up with a
‘Waste-to-Wonder’ Park
in Sarai Kale Khan in
February 2019.
It has replicas of sev-
en world-famous monu-
ments, including the Taj
Mahal and Eiffel Tower,
fashioned out of me-
chanical waste.
“The standing com-
mittee of the North Del-
hi Municipal Corpora-
tion in its meeting today
approved a proposal to
build a ‘waste-to-art’
park in the old Ajmal
Khan Park in Karol
Bagh area. The park is
spread over nine to 10
acres,” a senior official
said.
The approval now
awaits the nod of the
NDMC House. The move
comes ahead of the civic
polls in Delhi due in
April.
According to the pro-
posal, 13 sculptural mod-
els of world-famous her-
itage landmarks will be
set up in the park, in-
cludingtheGreatSphinx
at Giza, the Great Wall
of China, Opera House
in Sydney, Sagrada Fa-
milia of Barcelona and
Stonehenge of the Unit-
ed Kingdom.
Also, 12 artworks will
be done in relief, includ-
ing models of Angkor
Wat at Cambodia,
Chichen Itza of Mexico,
the Grand Mosque of
Abu Dhabi, London
Bridge, Mount Rush-
more in the US and Petra
in Jordan, it says.
According to the pro-
posal submitted in the
meeting of the NDMC
panel, the estimated cost
of the project is Rs 27.14
crore. On December 24,
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah had inaugu-
rated ‘Bharat Darshan
Park’, built by the SDMC
in Punjabi Bagh, with
the same concept. —PTI
NDMC panel gives nod to build ‘waste-to-art’ park
WASTE TO WONDER
Ghaziabad: Three men, including a Nigerian na-
tional, have been arrested here for allegedly duping
people after befriend-
ing them on social
media, police said on
Friday. According to
the police, the three
used to befriend peo-
ple on social media by
posing as non-resident Indians using fake IDs and
with a promise of marriage.
New Delhi: A 24-year-old woman was found dead
inside the house of her friend in north Delhi’s Burari
area, police said on Saturday.
The police received a call at
7.56 pm on Friday inform-
ing that a woman is killed in
B-Block of Burari’s Kaushik
Enclave, they said. According to DCP (North) Sagar
Singh Kalsi, caller Priyanka Bisht said that when she
reached her home in the evening, she found her friend
Priyanka Saha lying on the floor of her bedroom.
THREE MEN, INCLUDING NIGERIAN, HELD
FOR DUPING PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN FRIEND’S HOUSE
IN NORTH DELHI’S BURARI LOCALITY
CRUCIAL READ
Gurugram: A man was allegedly injured in cel-
ebratory firing in Sultanpur village here, police
said on Saturday.
Surya Pratap Singh,
a resident of Chang
village in Haryana’s
Bhiwani district, filed
a complaint with the
police stating that he
was attending a function of his friend in Sultan-
pur when a man fired his gun and injured him,
they said.
MAN INJURED IN CELEBRATORY FIRING
City police’s aspersions
vague, Khalid tells court
New Delhi: Former
Jawaharlal Nehru Uni-
versity (JNU) student
Umar Khalid, who is ac-
cused in the main con-
spiracy case of the
northeast Delhi riots,
on Friday told a city
court that the Delhi po-
lice has made vague as-
persions against him in
its charge sheet.
Responding to the
submissions made by
the special public pros-
ecutor in opposing
Khalid’s bail plea, his
counsel senior advocate
Trideep Pais said that
most of the allegations
did not have a legal ba-
sis, adding that the
charges were “pure im-
agination” without any
supporting evidence.
“Assertions without
a witness to support
it… Pure imagination
of the prosecution…
You first want to make
up a story and then
make evidence to com-
plete that story,” said
Pais. –Agencies
Ex-JNU student Umar Khalid. Representative Image
New Delhi: The Com-
mission for Air Quality
Management (CAQM) in
NCR and Adjoining Ar-
eas on Friday said that it
had issued closure no-
tices to 407 units across
the Capital — out of
4,890 sites inspected by
40 flying squads -- till
February 15, 2022.
“Out of the total sites
inspected by the com-
mission’s flying squads,
407 units and establish-
ments were issued clo-
sure notices by the ETF.
These flying squads are
inspecting all parts of
the Delhi-NCR to track
down violators and take
stringent actions
against them,” said the
CAQM on Friday, adding
that fresh inspections by
the teams found 392 of
these units had re-
mained shut until Feb-
ruary 15, 2022. —Agencies
CAQM closure
notices to 407
polluting units
DDA to hold sand art workshop, nature walk
New Delhi: A sand art
work, nature walk are
among the host of ac-
tivities that the Delhi
Development Authority
has planned in the com-
ing days to mark 75th
year of the country’s
Independence, officials
said on Friday
.
Nature-oriented ac-
tivities along the flood
plains of Yamuna are
planned from February
19 to March 6, involving
citizens of all age
groups, with an intent
to connect them to the
river and spread aware-
ness about its signifi-
cance, they said.
‘Azaadi Darshan’, a
sand art workshop, will
be organised on Satur-
day at Kalindi Aviral,
one of DDA’s Yamuna
projects near DND Fly-
way. Sand artist Manas
Kumar Sahoo, who has
taken India’s sand art to
the world stage, will
lead the event, which
will also engage school
children, the Delhi De-
velopment Authority
(DDA) said in a state-
ment.
Another event in the
series is a nature walk
being organised on Feb-
ruary 20 at Yamuna Bio-
diversityPark(phase-2),
away from the hustle
and bustle of the city
.
This is part of active
floodplains of river Ya-
muna and consists of
mosaic of wetlands to-
gether with the grass-
lands and floodplain
forest communities
where DDA wishes to
spot the flora of the
floodplains and birds
with the taxonomists
and ornithologists from
Delhi bird foundation,
officials said. This is a
group of bird experts
that explore open spac-
es around the city to
identify and spot the na-
tive and migratory
birds through partner-
ship and collaboration
with other leading or-
ganisations and local
communities. —PTI
HIGHLIGHT
Seek course accreditation from
foreign institutes: LG to IP varsity
New Delhi:DelhiLtGuv
Anil Baijal on Saturday
suggested the Guru Gob-
ind Singh Indraprastha
University seek accredi-
tationof itscoursesfrom
reputed foreign universi-
ties to enhance students’
employability
. Baijal
chairedthe11thmeeting
of the Court of the uni-
versity along with the
vice-chancellor and oth-
er members of the body
.
“Advised the University
authoritiestoseekinter-
national accreditation
of its courses from re-
puted institutions and
universities abroad to
enhancetheemployabil-
ity options for the stu-
dents and to capitalize
our demographic divi-
dend across the globe,”
he said in a tweet.
Gurugram: Days after
several houses at Chin-
tels Paradiso here col-
lapsed, the Department
of Town and Country
Planning has declared
four more apartment
towers unfit for living,
leaving many residents
in limbo.
Gurugram district’s
Town and Country Plan-
ner RS Bhath, who is
currently stationed in
the society to oversee
the repair and rehabili-
tation work, conducted a
survey and declared tow-
ers E, F, G and H unfit for
living. In some houses,
the iron roads in ceilings
are entirely visible. In
others, plaster is falling
and there are big cracks.
The residents are asked
to shift to alternative ac-
commodations.
Bhath said the cost of
rehabilitation of these
families will be borne by
the builder of Chintels
Paradiso. —PTI
Four more towers at Gurugram’s
Chintels Paradiso declared unfit

INDIA
03
MUMBAI TO HOST 140TH
IOC SESSION IN 2023
Patna: At a time his fu-
ture with Mamata Ba-
nerjee’s Trinamool Con-
gress is the subject of
fierce speculation, polit-
ical strategist Prashant
Kishor dined with his
former boss Nitish Ku-
mar on Friday evening.
The two, meeting for
the first time since Nit-
ish Kumar sacked
Prashant Kishor as his
party’s number two in
2020, were reportedly
closeted for two hours at
the Bihar Chief Minis-
ter’s official home in
Delhi. Nitish Kumar
confirmed the dinner
meet to reporters in Del-
hi but said he has old
ties with Prashant
Kishor and not much
should be read into the
meeting.
Kishor,orPK,toldme-
dia it was a “courtesy
visit” stemming from a
casualchat.WhenNitish
Kumar caught an Omi-
cron infection, he ex-
plained, he had phoned
him to ask after his
health. Kumar had then
expressed his desire to
meet, and this material-
ised yesterday
, he said.
Kishor also ruled out
anyimmediatefalloutof
the meeting, insisting
that politically
, they are
poles apart. The strate-
gist has been proactive
in efforts to rally opposi-
tion forces against the
BJP for the 2024 nation-
al election. —Agencies
In Nitish Kumar’s surprise dinner
with Kishor, a message delivered!
NEW CHAPTER IN MODERN AGRI: PM
MODI FLAGS OFF 100 KISAN DRONES
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Saturday announced
that the central govern-
ment has set an aim to
convert mountains of
garbageintogreenzones
within three years.
Modi made the follow-
ingannouncementwhile
integrating the “Gobar-
Dhan (Bio-CNG) Plant”
in Madhya Pradesh’s In-
doreviavideoconferenc-
ing. According to an of-
ficialreleasefromPrime
Minister’s office, PM
Modi, in his address,
stressed the importance
of Gobar Dhan and said
wet urban household
waste and waste from
cattle and farm is Gobar
Dhan. Gobardhan from
waste, clean fuel from
Gobar Dhan, energy
from clean fuel is a life-
affirming chain.
The PM said that in
the coming two years,
Gober Dhan Bio CNG
plants will be estab-
lished in 75 big Munici-
pal bodies. “This cam-
paign will go a long way
in making Indian cities
clean, pollution-free
and in the direction of
clean energy”, he said.
“Not only in cities,
Gobar Dhan plants are
being set up in villages
also, getting extra in-
come for the farmers.
This will help in deal-
ing with the problem of
stray and unsupported
cattle along with meet-
ing India’s climate com-
mitments,” he said.
He underlined the
link between cleanli-
ness and tourism and
said that cleanliness
leads to tourism and
gives rise to a new econ-
omy
. He cited interest in
Indore’s success as a
clean city as an exam-
ple of this connection.
He added “It is govern-
ment’s effort to make as
many of Indian cities
water plus. This is be-
ing stressed in the sec-
ond phase of Swachh
Bharat Mission.”
The PM recently
launched the Swachh
Bharat Mission Urban
2.0, with the overall vi-
sion of creating “Gar-
bage Free Cities”. The
Mission is being imple-
mented under the over-
arching principles of
“waste to wealth”, and
“circular economy” for
maximising resource
recovery - both of which
are exemplified in the
Indore Bio-CNG plant.
The plant inaugurat-
ed has a capacity to
treat 550 tonnes per day
of segregated wet or-
ganic waste. It is expect-
ed to produce around
17,000 kg per day of
CNG and 100 tonnes per
day of organic compost.
It is based on zero-land-
fill models, whereby no
rejects would be gener-
ated. Additionally, the
project is expected to
yield multiple environ-
mental benefits, viz. re-
duction in greenhouse
gas emissions, provid-
ing green energy along
with organic compost.
In his address, PM
Modi also paid tributes
to Rani Ahilyabai by re-
calling her link with the
city of Indore. He said
that mention of Indore
reminds of Devi Ahili-
yabai Holker and her
sense of service. —ANI
‘No bahubalis,only
Bajrangbali in UP
under Yogi Govt’
Terror conspiracy case:
Fresh NIA raids in J&K
S Jaishankar meets
German counterpart
HIJAB ROW: 58 COLLEGE
STUDENTS SUSPENDED
Home Minister Amit Shah addressing a public meeting, at
Unchahar, in Raebareli on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
This will open the sky to unlimited possibilities, says PM
PM Modi flags off Kisan Drone yatra by Garuda Aerospace Pvt Ltd, via video conferencing.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar with political strategist Prashant Kishor.
Raebareli: Amid the
ongoing Uttar
Pradesh assembly
elections, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Saturday
promised that free
LPG cylinders would
be provided to people
on Holi and Diwali if
the BJP government
returns to power in
the State.
Addressing a pub-
lic meeting in Rae-
bareli’s Unchahar,
Shah said, “For so
many years SP-BSP-
Congress took votes
in the name of the
poor. But apart from
NarendraModi,there
has been no other PM
who has worked for
the poor. The bua-
bhatija (aunt-neph-
ew) government ran
for many years in Ut-
tar Pradesh. They
did nothing except
a p p e a s e m e n t ,
casteism and dynas-
tic politics. Rae Bare-
li has been the seat of
the Gandhi family.
Was there electricity
in Rae Bareli before
the BJP rule?” —PTI
Sultanpur: Lauding
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi for bringing in
law against Triple Talaq,
BJP national president
JP Nadda on Saturday
said that no other party
had the spine to remove
it they only indulged in
appeasement politics.
While campaigning for
the UP polls, Nadda in
Sultanpur said, “Su-
preme Court ordered
to stop triple talaq. No
other political party had
the spine to remove
it, they did politics of
appeasement. PM Modi
Ji brought the SC’s
order in the Parliament
to get rid of it & give
freedom to Muslim
sisters.”
JP NADDA LAUDS PM FOR TRIPLE TALAQ BAN
Bengaluru: At least 58
female students from a
college in Karnataka’s
Shivamogga district
were suspended on Sat-
urday for wearing hijab
and also staging an agi-
tation demanding that
they should be allowed
to attend classes.
The students were
from Government Pre-
University College of
Shiralakoppa. Although
the college manage-
ment, development
committee tried to ex-
plain to the hijab-clad
students the interim or-
der of the High Court,
they did not listen and
pressed for wearing of
hijab, according to the
principal.
Hence, they were
suspended from the col-
lege temporarily. The
enraged students got
into arguments with
college authorities,
leading to an interven-
tion by the police to dis-
perse them.
Tension also pre-
vailed in Belagavi, Yad-
gir, Bellary, Chitradur-
gam and Shiamogga
districts when students
wearing hijab demand-
ed entry into the class-
rooms.
While the adminis-
tration of Vijay Para-
Medical College in Bel-
agavi has declared a
holiday for an indefi-
nite period due to the
protests, students of the
SJVP College in Hari-
hara boycotted classes
after being denied entry
to classrooms for hear-
ing hijab. Hijab-clad
students also gathered
in the playground of
the Ballary Saraladevi
College after they were
turned out from classes.
They refused to speak
to the police and in turn
asked not to be dis-
turbed. —PTI
‘Positive results
in phase 3 trial
of Covid-19 pill’
New Delhi: Drug firm
Hetero on Saturday an-
nounced positive re-
sults of Phase III trials
of Movfor (Molnupira-
vir), an investigational
oral antiviral COVID-19
medicine.
Theresults,presented
as an Oral Abstract at
theConferenceonRetro-
virusesandOpportunis-
tic Infections (CROI)
held virtually February
12-16, 2022, demonstrat-
ed that Molnupiravir
along with standard of
care (SOC) reduced the
risk of hospitalisation
by over 65 per cent
compared to SOC
alone. No fatalities were
reported during the
study
, it added. —PTI
IOC member Nita Ambani with IOC president Dr Thomas
Bach. The city of Mumbai on Saturday was announced as
the host of the 2023 International Olympic Committee’s
(IOC) session after successfully bidding for it in the 139th
IOC being held in Beijing. This will be the second time
India will host an IOC session after hosting it in New Delhi,
1983. Leading the Indian presentation in Beijing were in
Beijing were Abhinav Bindra, Nita Ambani, IOA president
Narinder Batra and Youth Affairs and Sports Minister
Anurag Thakur.
New Delhi: Ravish
Tiwari, National
Political Editor
and Chief of Na-
tional Bureau of
The Indian Ex-
press, whose work
blended scholar-
ship with journal-
istic rigour to ex-
plain change in
politics and society,
died Saturday
morning. He had
been suffering
from cancer since
June 2020. He was
40 and is survived
by his wife, his par-
ents and a brother.
President Ram
Nath Kovind and
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
condoled Tiwari’s
demise.
“Destiny has
taken away Ravish
too soon. A bright
career in the me-
dia world comes to
an end. Om Shan-
ti,” PM tweeted.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
MP Sanjay Raut on
Saturday hit back at
BJP leader and Union
Minister Narayan Rane
for “threatening” the
Thackeray family and
the Maharashtra gov-
ernment.
In a stern
war ning
to Mr
Rane, the
Sena MP
a s k e d
him to
“stop giving threats”
and added a subtle
counterthreat of expos-
ing the “system of ex-
tortion” in Mumbai.
“You might be a Un-
ion Minister but this is
Maharashtra. Don’t
forget this. We are your
‘baap (father)’, you
very well know what
that means,” Mr Raut
said in Mumbai. Mr
Rane had on Friday
said he has “learnt”
that an Enforcement
Directorate notice is
ready for “four per-
sons” in ‘Matoshree’,
the private residence
of Maharashtra Chief
Minister Uddhav
Thackeray in suburban
Bandra. “Narayan
Rane is threatening us
that he has our horo-
scope...We too have
your horoscope,” the
Sena MP said. —ANI
Ravish Tiwari,
Express’ nat’l
bureau chief,
passes away
We are your
Baap: Sena’s Raut
after BJP Min’s
ED notice threat
Srinagar: The National
Investigative Agency
(NIA) conducted fresh
raids at eight locations
in Kashmir and Ra-
jasthan on Saturday in
connection with a ter-
rorism conspiracy case.
Aspokespersonof the
NIA said the premier
probe agency sleuths
carried out separate
raids in Sopore, Kup-
wara, Shopian, Rajouri,
Budgam, Ganderbal of
Kashmir and Jodhpur
district of Rajasthan,
with police and CRPF
personnel.
“The case relates to
planningandconspiracy
for undertaking violent
terroristactsinJ&Kand
othermajorcitiesinclud-
ing New Delhi by cadres
of proscribed terrorist
organisationsLaskhar-e-
Taiba(LeT),Jaish-e-Mo-
hammed (JeM), Hizb-
ul-Mujahideen (HM),
Al Badr and their affili-
ates such as The Resist-
ance Front (TRF), Peo-
ple Against Fascist
Forces (PAFF) etc. NIA
has arrested 28 accused
persons in the case so
far,” he said. —ANI
Berlin: External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar
hasmetwithhisGerman
counterpart Annalena
Baerbock and held a
widerangeof discussion
covering bilateral and
global issues, including
the Indo-Pacific, the de-
velopmentssurrounding
Ukraine and the situa-
tion in Afghanistan.
Jaishankar also met
his Iranian counterpart
H. Amirabdollahian and
held productive discus-
sions on bilateral eco-
nomic cooperation, Af-
ghanistan and the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA), also
known as the Iran nu-
clear deal. Jaishankar
arrived in Germany on
Friday to take part in the
MunichSecurityConfer-
ence (MSC) which is ex-
pected to extensively de-
liberate on escalating
tension between NATO
countries and Russia
over Ukraine. —ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Minister Piyush Goyal along with BJP leader from
Kota, Rajesh Jain meet Acharya Vidyasagar Ji Maharaj during the Panchkalyanak Maha
Mahotsav in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.
USE POWER TO QUASH CRIMINAL
PROCEEDINGS SPARINGLY: SC
SC SCRAPS GENDER CAP ON
MAHA BAR PERFORMERS
New Delhi: The power to quash criminal
proceedings should be exercised very
sparingly and with circumspection and that
too in the rarest of rare cases, the SC has
said. A bench of Justices BR Gavai and S
Ravindra Bhat made the observation while
quashing a case of forgery and cheating
against three individuals in a property
dispute. “This court has cautioned that,
power to quash criminal proceedings
should be exercised very sparingly and
with circumspection and that too in the
rarest of rare cases, it has specified certain
category of cases wherein such power can
be exercised,” the bench said.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has
scrapped the condition imposed by Maha-
rashtra authorities that limited the number
of female and male performers in orches-
tra bars to four each, saying rules based
on gender stereotypes have no place in
the society. “While the overall limit of
performers in any given performance
cannot exceed eight, the composition (i.e.,
all-female, majority female or male, or vice
versa) can be of any combination,” it said
in an order. The HC had rejected a plea
against the licence condition to keep only
4 women and 4 male singers or artistes
on the stage of the orchestra bars.
Ravish Tiwari

SPIRITUAL SPEAK
No one should abandon duties
because he sees defects in them.
Every action, every activity, is
surrounded by defects as a fire
is surrounded by smoke.
—The Bhagwad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoya
Senior journalist Ravish Tiwari’s
untimely death is a big loss to the
media fraternity. His perspectives
on issues affecting & shaping our
society reflected his deep knowledge
& learning. I extend my condolences
to his grieving family. Prayers for the
departed soul.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
To address the issue of drop-out after
class VIII and ensure continuity of
education at the secondary stage, PM
@narendramodi ji’s govt. has approved
the continuation of Means-cum-Merit
Scholarship Scheme with an outlay of
`1827 crore for the next 5 years.
TOP TWEETS
WHAT IS PK’S NEXT
POLITICAL MOVE: A
DINNER MEETING
SETS OFF RUMOURS
hat’s cooking be-
tween political strat-
egist Prashant
Kishor and Bihar
Chief Minister Nit-
ish Kumar who recently met
over dinner? Kishor dismissed
rumours about any political
move in association with Nitish
Kumar. But coming as it does on
the back of PK’s reported rift
with Mamata Banerjee’s Trina-
mool Congress, it is hard to be-
lieve that it was just a “courte-
sy” dinner meet between the
strategist and his former JD-U
boss after he was shown the
door in 2020. Kishor was num-
ber two in the JD-U. Despite his
denial, it is possible that the
meeting was to further Kishor’s
plan to forge a national alterna-
tive against the BJP.
Significantly
, the TMC has re-
futed speculations of a rift with
Kishor’s I-PAC over a tweet. “We
work as one team and will con-
tinue to collaborate in the fu-
ture,” said a tweet by the TMC.
The I-PAC retweeted the tweet by
TMC. Kishor is definitely not re-
treating from his national objec-
tive. Will Nitish be a part of it?
W
umar Vishwas is a
great poet of our
times and also has
the ability to mes-
merise audiences
with his renditions. Kumar’s
foray in politics proved to be
a failure as he and Kejriwal
couldn’t get along on various
issues. Politically
, Kejriwal is
street smart and understood
the intricacies of politics ear-
ly in his career. He and the
BJP used Anna Hazare to
their advantage and ascended
to power. That is why he is
where he is, and Vishwas is
enjoying his fame as a poet-
story-teller. But for him to
havewaitedforsomanyyears
to talk about Kejriwal being a
threat to the nation’s security
makesonesuspecthismotive.
According to Vishwas, Kejri-
wal shared his separatist
ideaswaybackin2017. Bynot
informing the government
about this earlier, Vishwas
can also be made accountable
for concealment of crime
against the nation. Earlier
Navjot Singh Sidhu was per-
ceived to be a security threat.
Does Vishwas have suffi-
cient proof of the allegation
which he has levelled a cou-
ple of days prior to voting on
February 20? Or has he done
this to help whichever party
he is batting for? The imme-
diate reaction has come from
the BJP, Congress and Akali
Dal, the three parties who
are predicted to lose elec-
tions. Akali Dal is some-
where behind in the race.
Congress fears being voted
out of power as predictions
show the Aam Aadmi Party
leading the race. Together
they have found it agreeable
to be bedfellows against the
common enemy---AAP---to
thwart it from coming to
power. The NIA must swing
into action now.
KUMAR VISHWAS AND
HIS BIG ALLEGATION
According to Vishwas,
Kejriwal shared his
separatist ideas way back
in 2017. By not informing
the government about this
earlier, Vishwas can
also be made
accountable for
concealment of crime
against the nation
K
OF UKRAINE, RAJASTHANI
AND ALAN NAZARETH...
he war clouds are hovering
overtheEuropeansky-itsend
of the European Union to
Ukraine. The U.S. President
Joe Biden is the leader of the
European, whom he tells eve-
ryday that Russia will attack
Ukraine. Mr. Biden even
named the date February 16.
He was proved wrong.
Indian diplomacy has dis-
played wisdom and sure-foot-
edness.OurPermanentRepre-
sentativeattheU.Nspeakingin
the Security Council said on
Thursday
, that India’s interest
was in finding a solution that
provided for “Immediate de-
escalation of tensions. Any
steps that increase tension
maybestbeavoidedbyallsides
inthelargerinterestsof secur-
ing international peace and
security
. Quiet and construc-
tive diplomacy is the need of
the house.” He informed the
Security Council that India
“hasbeenintouchwithallpar-
tiesconcerned.Itisourconsid-
ered view that the issues can
onlyberesolvedthroughdiplo-
matic dialogue…….
“India’s interest is in find-
ing a solution that can pro-
vide immediate de-escalation
of tensions taking into ac-
count the legitimate security
interests of all countries and
aimed towards securing long-
term peace and stability in
the region and beyond.”
It is not widely known that
20,000 Indian students and
nationals live and study in
different parts of Ukraine.
Their well-being and safety
must be our priority
.
Earlier in the week a wide-
ly read newspaper, on its front
page, carried a depressing
news item. It gave the number
of days the State Assemblies
and the Parliament met.
The Punjab and Haryana
Assemblies in 2021 met for 11
and 17 days respectively
. Del-
hi for 8 days. Andhra Pradesh
8 days. Goa 13 days. Odisha
52, Kerala 11, Karnataka 40,
Madhya Pradesh 33, Maha-
rashtra 15, Tamil Nadu 7 days
and Uttar Pradesh 14 days.
The Lok Sabha met for 63
days. The U.S House of Repre-
sentatives was in session for
166 days. The Senate for 192
days, both in 2020 and 2021.
The House of Commons met
for 147 days in 2020. Japan’s
Diet meets for 150 days a year.
On Thursday February 15,
First India carried the follow-
ing news item. The reporter’s
name Aishwary Pradhan. I
quote, “Jaipur: Former Chief
Minister Vasundhara Raje
has written a letter to CM
Ashok Gehlot demanding
that Rajasthan language be
declaredtheofficiallanguage.
“Raje mentioned that the
mother tongue of Rajasthan
is one of the richest languag-
es of the world” Then follows
direct quote from Vasund-
haraji. “It signifies our cul-
ture and feelings. Every per-
son wants Rajasthani to be
made the official language.”
Vasundhara Raje Ji was an
admired Chief Minister of
Rajsthan for ten years. What
steps did she take to make Ra-
jasthani the official lan-
guage? She is among the most
experienced legislatures in
the country. She has been a
member of the Lok Sabha.
If she has been quoted cor-
rectly then, certain funda-
mental questions need be ad-
dressed. First “Every person”
does not ask for making Ra-
jasthani as the official lan-
guage. The people of Bharat-
pur and Dholpur speak Braj
Bhasha and Hindi. Alwar has
its own dialect. The Bhils also
have their own dialect.
How many books are pub-
lished in Rajasthani? how
many newspapers, text
books in schools on physics
or chemistry are written in
this language? Is noting of
government files done in
Hindi or Rajasthani?
Does Rajasthani have its
own alphabet? How many dic-
tionaries are written in Ra-
jasthani. Is Rajasthani richer
than Hindi or Bengali?
I shall give the former
Chief Minister the benefit of
doubt. She was misquoted.
Alan Nazareth joined the
Indian Foreign Service in
1959, retiring in 1994. He is a
public spirited man. He has
written a widely read book
on Gandhiji, which has been
translated in 12 Indian and 23
foreign languages.
OnJanuary31,heorganised
a webinar on “The Great Per-
tinence of Gandhi to India in
the 75th year of its Independ-
ence.”Itwasavirtualone,and
hosted by the India Interna-
tional Centre, New Delhi. For-
mer Justice M.N. Venkatacha-
liah delivered the inaugural
address. Others who spoke,
included former Vice-Presi-
dent of India, Hamid Ansari,
Lord Bhikhu Parekh and Raj-
mohan Gandhi.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India
Alan Nazareth joined the
Indian Foreign Service in
1959, retiring in 1994. He
is a public spirited man. He
has written a widely read
book on Gandhiji, which
has been translated in 12
Indian and 23 foreign
languages. On January 31,
he organised a webinar on
“The Great Pertinence of
Gandhi to India in the 75th
year of its Independence.”
Indian diplomacy has
displayed wisdom and
sure-footedness. Our
Permanent
Representative at the
U.N speaking in the
Security Council said
on Thursday, that India’s
interest was in finding a
solution that provided for
Immediate de-
escalation of tensions.
Any steps that increase
tension may best be
avoided by all sides in
larger interests
Alan Nazareth
Vasundhara Raje
Vol 1 Issue No. 172
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
PERSPECTIVE
04

To Receive Free Newspaper
PDF Daily
Whatsapp:
http://bit.ly/whatsappdelhi
Telegram:
https://t.me/firstindianewdelhi
Click the above link☝ subscribe us on your
preferred platform.

BIZ BUZZ
06
BASICS OF CREDIT CARD YOU MUST KNOW
Whether you’re paying for groceries or shopping online, using a credit card is an integral part of everyday life for many people. But how well do
you know and understand the terms of your credit card—and what do they even mean? Understanding this common information, as well as
how to use your credit card, are essential if you want to get the most out of all your card has to offer and avoid debt and mistakes detrimental
to your credit. Here’s a mini glossary of some basic terms you may come across when using your credit card.
Credit card information
Credit cards are financial tools,
and understanding how they work
will help you maintain and build
upon your experience while using
them. There is important informa-
tion found on the card itself that
you’ll be asked for when making
purchases, logging into accounts
and adding cards to digital wallets.
Here are some of the key pieces of
credit card information you may
be asked to provide and where to
find each one.
Credit card number
Your credit card number is a 15-
or 16-digit number that is usually
embossed or printed on the front
of your credit card toward the bot-
tom, though it’s becoming increas-
ingly common for issuers to print
the card number on the back.
Cardholder name
The cardholder name is also
embossed or printed on the front
of the credit card toward the bot-
tom. The name on the card should
match a government-issued ID
for the cardholder. Most often it
is a complete name, but it may
appear as the first initial and the
last name.
Expiration date
The expiration date is generally
found on the front of the card
between the card number and
cardholder name. Expiration dates
display the month and year the
credit card expires, but the actual
expiration date is usually the final
day of the month listed.
CVV or security code
This is the three-digit number
located on the back of your credit
card (near the signature box) un-
der the magnetic strip. If you have
an American Express card, the
CVV is a four-digit code located
on the front of your card.
Important credit card
terms
Besides the terms we’ve
already discussed, it’s
important to understand
certain credit card ter-
minology to be able to
manage your credit cards
wisely. Take a look at the
following terms to gain a
better understanding of
what they mean.
Balance transfer
When you move a balance
from one card to another,
you’re doing a balance transfer.
Balance transfer credit cards typi-
cally offer an intro APR on balance
transfers, which can be an excel-
lent method of debt consolidation.
Billing cycle
A billing cycle is the length of time
between the last and the current
statement dates. A typical billing
cycle is 30 days. According to the
CARD Act, your due date must be
at least 21 days from the end of
the billing cycle.
Cash advance
Not all transactions on your
credit card are treated equally. For
example, you have an option to
withdraw cash from your credit
card, but this type of withdrawal
will be considered a cash advance.
A cash advance begins accruing
interest immediately and
has its own terms,
APR and fees.
Grace
period
The period
between
the end
of a
billing
cycle and
the pay-
ment due
date is the
grace period.
During this
time, an is-
suer doesn’t
charge you
interest. If
you pay off your
balance by the due
date, you’ll avoid interest charges.
Minimum payment
The minimum payment is the low-
est amount that you can pay on a
balance to keep your account in
good standing. Paying less than the
minimum amount will be reported
as a missed payment to credit
bureaus. Minimum payments are
determined based on your current
balance and interest rate.
Rewards
Rewards can come in the form
of points, miles or cash back.
The amount of rewards you earn
will depend on the bonus cat-
egories for your rewards credit
card and the points structure.
Generally, the rewards you earn
will pool together in your ac-
count until you choose
to redeem them.
Your total rewards
balance and the
amount of rewards
available for re-
demp-
tion will
appear on your
statement.
Account
information
In addition to the
identifying infor-
mation found on
the card itself and
the general terms,
you should be famil-
iar with your card’s
account information.
You can find your
account information on
your paper billing state-
ment or when you log in to your
online account. This information
can help you know when to make
payments, keep you updated with
your account balance and credit
limit and redeem any rewards you
may have earned. Some of your
account information is reported
to credit bureaus as a part of your
credit report, which shows your
active account history and helps
determine your credit score.
Credit limit
Your credit limit is the amount of
credit you have been approved
for by your card issuer. To keep
your account in good stand-
ing, your balance should remain
under your credit limit. It’s a best
practice to use no more than 30
percent of your credit limit at
a time to keep a healthy credit
score. However, keeping your
credit card balances as low as
possible is ideal.
Current balance
Your current balance is the total
amount of credit you have used
at the time of billing. It will in-
clude charges you’ve made,
balance transfers,
cash ad-
vanc-
es and
convenience
checks. Interest is applied
to your balance if you don’t pay
in full each statement cycle and
may be different for various kinds
of charges.
Interest (APR)
Your interest rate is determined
by your APR (or annual percent-
age rate) and added to your
balance at the end of a billing
cycle. You can check your billing
statement to keep up with your
current interest rate. Note that it’s
called an APR because it is the
total annual amount you would be
charged in interest, so your actual
interest rate on a given month is
usually only about a twelfth of this
number. It can be complicated to
calculate exactly how much you’ll
owe on your own, but your state-
ment should outline it clearly—or
you can use a credit card payoff
calculator to do the math for you.
It is important to note that when
we speak about a card’s APR, we
usually mean purchase APR—the
interest you pay on regular pur-
chases. However, there are other
types of interest rates to be aware
of, including:
Introductory APR:
This is a promotional APR that
can apply to purchases or balance
transfers for a limited period.
Zero-interest credit cards usu-
ally give you between 12 and 18
months of 0 percent intro APR.
Cash advance APR:
As we’ve mentioned, cash
advances come with their own
terms, including APR. Generally,
the cash advance APR is higher
and doesn’t offer a grace period.
Penalty APR:
This is typically the most ex-
pensive APR and applies
to missed and returned
payments. As you may have
guessed, this is the APR you
want to avoid ever getting
charged. Note that an APR
can be variable or fixed. A vari-
able APR is more common and
changes based on the prime rate
(the interest rate banks use to cal-
culate how much to charge their
best, most trustworthy clients). A
fixed APR, on the other hand, is
locked.
Credit card fees
You’ll also come across various
types of credit card fees. It’s best
to get acquainted with all of them
to avoid unexpected charges.
We’ve compiled a list of the differ-
ent types of fees below.
Annual fee
Premium credit cards (and even a
few not-so-premium ones) often
come with annual fees. An issuer
charges an annual fee each year
for holding the card, although
some cards may waive it for the
first year.
AUBank’sCreditCard
wins hearts of
1st-time Card users
Jaipur: AU Small Fi-
nance Bank, the first
Small Finance Bank
in India to launch its
own range of credit
cards, has issued
more than 1.25 lakh
Credit Cards, of
which, more than 50%
are issued to first time
Credit Card users.
The benchmark was
set in a short period
of time when the card
was released in April
2021. With this initia-
tive of the Bank, cus-
tomers in more than
150 districts, includ-
ing cities and distant
areas of the country,
have easy access to
credit cards.
With the underlying
philosophy of offer-
ing limitless living
to its customers, the
Bank has curated
exclusive benefits
for them. AU Bank’s
exciting range of
Credit Cards caters
to all sections of so-
ciety with its in four
variants — Altura,
Altura Plus, Vetta and
Zenith.
The Bank has intro-
duced a few unique
benefits, such as com-
plimentary access to
railway lounges, to
cater to the demands
of consumers from
different walks of life.
It has also launched
an industry-first De-
vice Protection Plan,
which includes free
screen damage and an
extended warranty
plan for eligible elec-
tronic devices pur-
chased with AU Bank
Credit Cards.
AU Bank has a special
Altura Plus Credit
Card to empower
women to live a limit-
less life. The Bank also
has on offer limited-
edition Credit Cards
featuring actors
Aamir Khan and Ki-
ara Advani, the Bank's
brand ambassadors.
Mayank Markanday, Head of Credit Cards, AU
Small Finance Bank, said, “At AU Bank, we pas-
sionately live our brand philosophy of ‘Badlaav
Humse Hai’. With our Credit Cards, besides the
suave urban populace, we aim to empower the
customers at rural and semi-urban locations. We
are consciously working towards providing them
this limited liability instrument to experience a
sense of accomplishment. Like all our products,
with our Credit Cards we are delighted to win the
trust of our customers, especially many first-
time users. We take pride in going the extra mile
by doing small things differently and bringing
value to our customers by making banking more
convenient for them. Having enrolled more than
50% customers as first-time credit card users in
such a short span, I believe we are on our way to
a new beginning.”
Many of us use credit cards irresponsibly and
end up in debt. However, contrary to popular
belief, if you use the plastic money responsibly,
you're actually much better off paying with a
credit card than with a debit card and keeping
cash transactions to a minimum.
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
Disclaimer: This is general information for the readers. For the features and services being
provided by a particular credit card, readers are advised to contact the concerned bank.

07
NEWS
SP KA HAATH, AATANKWADIYON KE SAATH: YOGI
First India Bureau
Pilibhit: Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister on Sat-
urday launched a sear-
ing attack on Samajwa-
di Party for ‘extending
support to the terror-
ists’, alleging that the
family member of one
of the convicts of
Ahmedabad blasts was
seen campaigning for
the Samajwadi Party
.
Making a reference to
the 2008 serial blasts in
a rally at Puranpur as-
sembly constituency of
Pilibhit district, the CM
stated, “38 people have
been sentenced to death
together in the serial
blast case in the verdict
announced by the
Ahmedabad court.
They included some ter-
rorists from UP too, and
the family of one of
them was seen with SP
chief asking for votes
for SP.”
He asked people to re-
member what was the
first thing done by the
Samajwadi Party when
it came to power in 2012.
“immediately after
coming to power, the SP
withdrew cases against
a dozen of terrorists.
‘Nayi hawa hai, wahi
SaPa hai. SP ka haath,
aatankwadiyon ka
saath’.This has been
proven once again,”
said the chief minister.
Maintaining that no
riots took place in the
last five years, the CM
also attacked the previ-
ous SP government for
instigating riots and
creating lawlessness in
the state. Before 2017,
the law and order situa-
tion in UP was bad, fes-
tivals were never al-
lowed to be held peace-
fully and anarchy was
at its peak, the chief
minister said, adding
the women and girls did
not feel safe in the state.
Now, curfew has been
replaced by Kanwar
Yatra.”
The Chief Minister
also said that the previ-
ous governments fired
bullets at the devotees
of Lord Ram. “Our gov-
ernment is building a
grand temple. Could it
be expected from SP
BSP, and Congress?”he
asked.
Listing the develop-
ment works done by his
government in Pilibhit,
Yogi Adityanath said
that Pilibhit would soon
have a medical college.
He announced to devel-
op and beautiful the
Ramlila Maidan as re-
quested by the MLA
Baburam Paswan.
Kaushambi: Dis-
missing any challenge
to the BJP from rival
political parties in the
Uttar Pradesh Assem-
bly polls, Deputy CM
Keshav Prasad Mau-
rya on Saturday said
all other ‘dals (par-
ties)’ will be confined
to a ‘daldal (swamp)’
after the results are
declared and the lotus
will bloom in it.
The BJP will win
over 300 of the 403 as-
sembly seats, he as-
serted.
Dubbing himself as
the “son of Sirathu”,
the assembly seat in
Kaushambi from
where he is contesting
elections, Maurya
also countered the Op-
position’s claims that
the BJP is indulging
in politics of polarisa-
tion, saying all the
poor are equal for the
party, irrespective of
their religion.
“Almost all the par-
ties had united
against the BJP in the
earlier (2019 Lok Sab-
ha) elections. Now,
they are fighting indi-
vidually against the
BJP.
“Yeh jo 3-4-5 dal hai,
woh daldal mein sim-
mat jayenge aur
daldal mein hi kamal
khilta hai (These
three-four-five parties
will be confined to a
swamp after the elec-
tions and the lotus
blooms in a swamp),”
Maurya told PTI in an
interview, referring to
the BJP’s election
symbol.
“The BJP will win
over 300 seats in the
UP Legislative As-
sembly,” he said.
Taking a swipe at
the BJP’s rivals, the
deputy chief minister
said, “The cycle (SP’s
symbol) has flown to
Saifai, the ‘panjaa’
(palm — Congress’
symbol) has gone to
Italy and the elephant
(BSP’s symbol) has
gone to the bungalow
of Mayawati ji.” —PTI
Allrival‘dals’willbeconfinedto
‘daldal’afterUPpolls:Maurya
AHM BLASTS: BJP ALLEGES LINK
BETWEEN SP KIN OF CONVICT
The BJP on Saturday dubbed SP as “friends of
minority appeasement” and “anti-social”, and
alleged that it has links with terrorists involved
in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts. A special court on
Friday sentenced to death 38 members of terror
group IM in the Ahmedabad serial blasts which
killed 56 people and injured over 200. It also gave
life term to another 11 IM convicts in the case.
Union minister Anurag Thakur showed a photo-
graph in which the father of one of the convicted
in the Ahmedabad blasts was seen with SP chief
Akhilesh Yadav. —PTI
Lucknow: With the
Election Commission
relaxing COVID-19-in-
duced curbs on physical
electioneering, the sale
of campaign parapher-
nalia such as party
flags, banners, badges
and caps has picked up
pace in Uttar Pradesh.
According to some
traders, there has been
a 50 per cent increase in
sale of campaign mate-
rial ahead of the third
phase polling on Sunday
as compared to the first
phase that took place on
February 10.
With the COVID-19
situation improving in
thecountry
,particularly
in the five poll-bound
states,theElectionCom-
mission has relaxed
guidelines on physical
campaigning by candi-
dates and parties.
Raju Shukla who
runs Sheela Enterpris-
es, located opposite the
Samajwadi Party office
in Lucknow, heaved a
sigh of relief that the
pandemic situation has
improved and his sale
grew.
“The sale of posters,
banners and flags have
picked up some pace.
Among Samajwadi Par-
ty candidates, the maxi-
mum demand is for the
party’s trademark red
cap and miniature bicy-
cle (its election symbol).
The cost of 100 medium
flags is around Rs 600.
The cycle badge costs in
the range of Rs 300 to Rs
500 for 100 pieces,” he
told PTI.
As compared to the
first phase, the sale has
now grown by 50 per
cent, he said.
Shukla, however,
rued that major parties
such as the SP and the
BJP are distributing
many campaign mate-
rial from their head-
quarters, denting their
sale.
Raghuraj Pal who
runs a shop near the
BJP office said the sale
has gone up but not to
the level that used to be
earlier.
As the BJP is giving
its candidates some
campaign material, the
sale is not what it used
to be, he added.
Saf fron-coloured
gamcha is selling in
good numbers, besides
party flags, banners
and badges, he said.
Surendra Awasthi,
whose shop on Mall Av-
enue is near the Con-
gress office, said ‘Ladki
Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon’
badges are being sold
the most, in addition to
wrist bands.
Awasthi said the sale
of election material has
picked up pace after the
second phase with the
Covid situation improv-
ing and the Election
Commission relaxing
its campaign guide-
lines. —PTI
Sale of campaign paraphernalia rises in Uttar Pradesh
CURBS ON PHYSICAL ELECTIONEERING
EASY GUIDELINES ON PHYSICAL CAMPAIGNING
Centremustremove
50%caponreservation
toMarathas,saysPawar
Pune: Maharashtra
Deputy Chief Minister
Ajit Pawar on Saturday
said there is a need to
remove the Supreme
Court-mandated 50 per
cent cap on quota so that
the Maratha communi-
ty can be granted reser-
vation, and urged the
central government to
make changes in law to
facilitate it.
The Maratha commu-
nity should get reserva-
tion, but it should be
donewithoutdisturbing
the existing quota of
other communities, the
senior NCP leader said.
He was speaking at
the Shivneri fort in Jun-
nar tehsil of Pune dis-
trict on the occasion of
the birth anniversary of
Chhatrapati Shivaji Ma-
haraj. The Maratha
warrior king was born
on this fort in 1630.
Hesaid,“Weallareon
the same page for the
reservation to the Mara-
tha community
. We
(state government) had
also formed a commis-
sion for that purpose.
TheBombayHighCourt
had given a favourable
decision, but it was re-
jected by the Supreme
Court.” “Just as there is
a demand for the Mara-
tha reservation in Ma-
harashtra, other com-
munities are seeking
quota for themselves in
some other states. The
Maratha community
should get reservation,
but it should be done
without disturbing the
quota of other commu-
nities,” he said. —PTI
RIGHT DECISION
Chandigarh: All is set
for the multi-cornered
Punjab Assembly polls
on Sunday with over
2.14 crore voters to de-
cide the fate of 1,304
candidates, including
93 women, on 117 seats.
Polling will be held
from 8 am till 6 pm, said
an official of the chief
electoral office here.
The counting of votes
will take place on
March 10.
Punjab is witnessing
a multi-cornered con-
test among the Con-
gress, AAP, SAD-BSP
alliance, BJP-PLC-SAD
(Sanyukt) and the Sany-
ukt Samaj Morcha, a
political front of vari-
ous farmer bodies.
The ruling Congress,
which is seeking to re-
tain power, has come
under severe attack
from its political oppo-
nents over various is-
sues, including drug
menace and corruption.
TheCongressisbank-
ing on decisions like re-
ducing electricity tariff
and fuel prices, taken
during current CM
Charanjit Singh Chan-
ni’s 111-day tenure. —PTI
All set for Punjab polls; 2.14 cr voters
to decide fate of 1,304 candidates
Punjab CEO Dr Raju briefing media about poll preparations in state, in Chandigarh on Saturday.
Ashok Kaura
Chandigarh: Punjab
is all set for polls with
the Office of CEO Pun-
jab making all ar-
rangements to ensure
free, fair and peaceful
elections in the state.
Briefing the media,
Chief Electoral Offic-
er Dr S Karuna Raju
informed the media
that total State ma-
chinery is working
round the clock to en-
sure peaceful, free and
fair elections. He said
that as many as
21499804 electorates
including 11298081
Male, 10200996 Female
and 727 Transgenders.
There are 1304 candi-
dates—1209 male, 93
women and two
transgenders, are in
fray in 117 constituen-
cies, he added.
He said that of total
1304 candidates-- 231
are from National par-
ties, 250 from State
Parties, 362 from Un-
recognised Parties,
while 461 are Inde-
pendent Candidates.
He said that as many
as 315 contesting can-
didates are with Crim-
inal Antecedents.
Dr Raju said that
24689 polling stations
and 51 auxiliary poll-
ing stations have been
established at 14684
polling station loca-
tions of which 2013 are
identified as critical,
while 2952 are vulner-
able pockets.
Punjab all prepared to conduct free and
fair election, says CEO Dr S Karuna Raju
Imphal: Armed mis-
creants shot at the fa-
ther of the National
People’s Party (NPP)
candidate contesting
from Andro assembly
constituency in Imphal
East district on Friday
night.
The incident took
place around 11 pm
near the residence of
candidate Lourembam
Sanjoy Singh.
The NPP candidate
said his father, Lourem-
bam Samjai Singh, was
having a conversation
with some of his sup-
porters near his resi-
dence when the inci-
dent took place.
The 74-year-old re-
ceived a bullet injury on
his right shoulder and
is currently undergoing
treatment at a hospital
in Imphal. He is report-
ed to be out of danger.
The NPP candidate
has accused supporters
of the rival BJP candi-
date of carrying out the
attack. He said a formal
complaint has been
lodged at the local po-
lice station.
“This is an act of
cowardice targeting in-
nocent people. This is
not the first time that
BJP supporters have
targeted us,” said Son-
joy Singh, adding that
he was in Imphal when
the attack took place.
He also claimed that
his convoy was alleged-
ly attacked near Tulihal
by BJP supporters
when he returned home
after getting the news.
NPP candidate’s dad
shot at in Imphal
MANIPUR POLLS
New Delhi: The ED has
arrested Md Enamul
Haque, the prime ac-
cused in a multi-crore
cross-border cattle
smuggling racket, in
connection with a mon-
ey laundering investiga-
tion into the illegal
trade that takes place
across the India-Bangla-
desh border in West
Bengal. Haque was tak-
en into custody under
sections of the PMLA.
He will be produced be-
fore a local court in New
Delhi and the Enforce-
ment Directorate will
seek his custody, they
said. Haque was arrest-
ed by the CBI in Novem-
ber 2020 as part of its
independent probe into
the same case. —PTI
ED arrests
Enamul in
cross-border
cattle case

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
5,895,475
TOTAL DEATHS
347,361,245
TOTAL RECOVERED
69,419,701
ACTIVE CASES
422,676,421
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
511,262
TOTAL DEATHS
42,037,536
TOTAL RECOVERED
253,707
ACTIVE CASES
42,802,505
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
Thankfulness is greatly
underestimated, it can paint your
life in the brightest colours. Try it!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
New Delhi: A Public
Interest Litigation has
been filed in the Su-
preme Court seeking
direction to the Centre
and the Election Com-
mission to take steps to
regulate poll manifesto
and make political par-
ties accountable for
promises made therein.
Filed by advocate
Ashwini Kumar Upad-
hyay, the PIL seeks di-
rection to the Election
Commission to seize
the poll symbol and de-
register/derecognise
the political parties
that fail to fulfil their
promises made in man-
ifesto.
The plea, filed
through advocate
Ashwani Kumar Dubey,
contended that the Cen-
tre and the ECI have
not taken steps to regu-
late political parties’
manifesto.
“Petitioner submits
that the election mani-
festo is a vision docu-
ment to achieve the
particular goals if the
political party gets
elected. It is a pub-
lished declaration of
the intentions, motives
and views of the politi-
cal party and govern-
ment...
“The political par-
ties must refrain from
giving exaggerated
promises as it may bur-
den the public money
kept in state funds, dur-
ing times of financial
distress. It also agreed
that not all promises
are corrupt, but many
are and so guidelines
must be given by the
election commission,”
the plea said. —PTI
Regulate poll manifestoes,
make them enforceable: PIL
EV charging stations expand
2.5 times in 9 mega cities
New Delhi: Electric ve-
hicle (EV) charging sta-
tions have expanded by
two-and-a-half times
across nine mega cities,
including Delhi, Mum-
bai and Chennai, in the
last four months, the
power ministry said on
Saturday
.
Efforts by the govern-
ment resulted in a 2.5
times increase in charg-
ing stations in Surat,
Pune, Ahmedabad, Ben-
galuru, Hyderabad,
Delhi, Kolkata, Mum-
bai, and Chennai in the
last four months, a pow-
er ministry statement
stated.
According to the
statement, additional
678 public EV charging
stations were installed
between October 2021
and January 2022 in
these nine cities. About
940 of India’s 1,640 pub-
lic EV chargers are lo-
cated in these cities.
The government has
increased its focus ini-
tially on the nine mega
cities with a population
of over 4 million.
The Ministry of Pow-
er recently issued the
revised consolidated
Guidelines and Stand-
ards for EV charging
infrastructure on Janu-
ary 14, 2022.
The Government of
India has undertaken
multiple initiatives to
promote the manufac-
turing and adoption of
electric vehicles in the
country
.
With the considera-
ble expansion in the
public EV charging in-
frastructure, the elec-
tric vehicles have start-
ed penetrating the In-
dian market, it stated.
The government has
made 360-degree efforts
to enhance public
charging infrastructure
by involving private
and public agencies
(BEE, EESL, PGCIL,
NTPC, etc.). Many pri-
vate organisations have
also come forward to
install EV charging sta-
tions to develop conven-
ient charging network
grid to gain consumers’
confidence. —PTI
The cities include Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.
THERE IS NO ANTI-INCUMBENCY
AGAINST OUR GOVT: GEHLOT
Naresh Sharma
Jaipur: Rajasthan CM
Ashok Gehlot on Satur-
day reiterated that there
is no anti-incumbency
againsttheCongressgov-
ernment in the state and
thegovtwillrepeatinthe
next assembly polls.
He said that Congress
lost elections due to dis-
pleasure of govt employ-
ees (2003) and due to the
Modiwave(2014)butthis
time, the govt has intro-
duced such schemes
which are directly bene-
fiting the public.
Addressing the Con-
gressparty’sconvention
here, in which 3 resolu-
tions were passed, he
said a wonderful budget
willbepresentedonFeb-
ruary 23, which will be
telecast live and the par-
ty workers and leaders
should make maximum
peoplewatchthebudget.
He said the district
president should go to
officers with delegation
regarding the problems
and they will get respect
from the officers. Gehlot
said that such conven-
tions should be organ-
ised at district level also
a resolution should be
passed. Targeting BJP
RSS, Gehlot said that
RSS didn’t play any role
in freedom struggle and
the same guilt lies in
their top leadership.
RAJASTHAN CONGRESS CONVENTION
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra
during the Congress convention at Birla Auditorium on Saturday.
SHIVAJI’S BIRTH ANNIVERSARY
People pay respects
to the first full-
length statue of
Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj at Jejuri
Fort in Maharashtra.
It was 11 years ago
when this statue
was dedicated
on Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj’s
birth anniversary.
Mahendra Thopte,
the sculptor of this
replica, saluted and
spread holy turmeric
powder over the
statue, on Saturday.
—PHOTO BY
VIJAYKUMAR
HARISHCHANDRE
WILL MAYAWATI
BECOME THE
PRESIDENT
OF INDIA?
Atal Bihari govern-
ment at the Centre
hadfallenduetoonevote
of BSP supremo
Mayawati. But imitless
doors of possibilities
haveopenedfor‘Behenji’
in the modern-day BJP
.
If sources are to be be-
lieved, Mayawati may be
the country’s first wom-
an Dalit President. It is
said that BJP top leader-
ship is seriously consid-
ering her name for the
same. Now, the question
arises that ‘what will
BJP get in return?’
Sources claim that she
may merge Bahujan Sa-
maj Party with BJP
. The
name of UP Governor
AnandibenPatelisdoing
rounds for as Vice Presi-
dent of In-
dia. That
is, in the
light of
2024 elec-
tions,by
p u t -
ting women in the top
two posts of the country
,
BJP wants to prove how
big a ‘women-friendly’
partyitis.Whilemaking
fun of Priyanka Gan-
dhi’s famous slogan ‘lad-
kihun,ladsaktihun’,UP
DeputyCMKeshavPras-
ad Maurya had mocked
Priyanka by calling an
‘aunty
, not a girl’. It is
saidthattheSaffronPar-
ty’sHighCommandtook
Maurya’s class and
scoldedhimsaying,“You
have Keshav in your
name, please don’t make
fun of women like this.”
Womenandyoungvoters
played a vital role in re-
electing Narendra Modi
as PM as BJP very well
understands the gravity
of this aspect.
WHY IS KEJRIWAL
BEING TARGETED
BY A POET?
When the election
campaign was on
in full swing in Punjab,
poet Kumar Vishwas in
an interview to news
agency ANI, brought
skeletons out of Ke-
jriwal’s closet. This
time in Punjab As-
sembly polls, the
people of Punjab
are looking forward to
adopt AAP’s ‘Delhi mod-
el’. So right from Chan-
ni, Modi, Akali Dal to
Rahul and Priyanka are
targeting Kejriwal and
hehadtoadoptandefen-
sive attitude. Actually,
AAP’s massive impact
can be seen in Malwa
and Doaba regions this
time. Malwa has always
been a centre of Pun-
jab’s politics. If Parkash
Singh Badal, Captain
Amarinder Singh and
current CM Channi’s
names are taken out of
this list, then since 1966
till now 17 Punjab CMs
were from Malwa. This
time AAP’s ‘broom’ is
creating positive effects
in Malwa. Talking about
Doaba, it is an area of
influence of NRIs,
who have
been sup-
p o r t i n g
Kejriwal
for a long
time. There are 23 seats
here. It is believed that
once the Jat- Sikh core
vote bank in Malwa re-
gion was part of Akali-
BJP but has shifted to
AAP and Congress after
the farmers’ movement.
The constituency of
AAP’s CM face Bhag-
want Mann, who is MP
from Sangrur, also
comes in Malwa. Most
of the farmers who
were martyred in farm-
ers’ movement were
also from Malwa region.
So, this seems to be a
well-thought-out tactic
of Vishwas.
WHY IS RAHUL
ANGRY WITH
LOVED ONES?
AtatimewhenRahul
and Priyanka were
busy in elections in five
states,withtheblessings
of Sonia Gandhi, Mad-
husudan Mistry
, who
moved forward in Con-
gress politics with bless-
ings of Late Ahmed Pa-
tel, stepped forward to
boosttheCongressmem-
bership campaign by ap-
pointing State-wise PRO
i.e. State Returning Of-
ficer APRO at a mas-
sivescale.Sourcesreveal
that after March 10, both
Rahul and Priyanka can
jointlyreviewandrepair
Mistry’s list. The names
of many PRO-APROs
can be removed from the
listandmanynewnames
can be added. Since Con-
gress President is to be
elected in August-Sep-
tember, Rahul doesn’t
want any challenge for
himself from within the
party
.
WILL CONGRESS
‘EKLA CHALEGI’ IN
BIHAR TOO?
Both Rahul and Pri-
yanka want that
like in UP
, now the Con-
gressshouldbeputonits
own feet in Bihar. For
this, the Gandhi siblings
don’t want Lalu or Nit-
ish’ssupport.Underthis
strategy
, the Congress
has released its first list
of 8 candidates for the
election of 24 seats for
the Bihar Legislative
Council. At the same
time, big Congress lead-
ers of Bihar were busy
visiting Lalu-Nitish to
get tickets for their rela-
tives. Without talking
to Lalu, Rahul sent his
confidant K. Raju to Bi-
har as an observer and
only after Raju’s report,
the Congress has also
released its first list of
candidates.
SONIA GANDHI
WON’T CONTEST
ELECTIONS
In view of her
deteriorat-
ing health,
Sonia Gan-
dhi is refus-
ing to con-
test the next
LS polls.
Sources re-
lated to 10 Janpath re-
veal that there has been
almost a consensus in
Gandhi family that this
time in general elec-
tions in 2024, Priyanka
Gandhi may contest
from Rae Bareli in place
of Sonia. There is also a
possibility that in 2024,
Priyanka contests
against Smriti Irani
from Rahul’s Amethi
seat and Rahul may
shift to Rae Bareli, his
mother’s seat. At the
same time, BJP is try-
ing to convert Rae
Bareli’s condition like
that of Amethi, when
in 2017 UP assembly
polls, Congress could
win only 2 out of 5
seats in Amethi and
later both the Con-
gress MLAs joined the
BJP.
WHY IS MADAN
ENGAGED IN
CRUSHING
DOWN BJP?
All is not well in Ut-
tarakhand BJP
these days as the mu-
tual tussle between
BJP leaders
couldn’t end even
during polls. The
BJP High Com-
mand was forced
to summon
Pushkar Singh
Dhami and
M a d a n
Kaushik
to Del-
hi. Kaushik’s tweet is
also being attributed
behind this, in which
he had openly said that
‘BJP is losing in Uttara-
khand’. Anyway, the of-
ficials of Uttarakhand
have been troubled for
last five years due to
Kaushik’s obstinate at-
titude. He didn’t stop
even during the elec-
tions. It is said that
Kaushik spent money
like a spendthrift in
polls. He got the poll
campaign material
printed in such a huge
quantity that he be-
came obviously visible
to the ECI.
...AND FINALLY
BSP has made Mee-
sam Ammar Rizvi
its candidate from
Mahmudabad. Mees-
am’s father was a vet-
eran Congress leader,
who had also been UP
CM’s caretaker. In 2019,
he had joined the BJP.
Now Meesam’s dilem-
ma is that his father be-
ing in BJP, he isn’t able
to attack BJP directly
in his campaign.
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB
RAMAN
The author is a journalist
and political commentator
and views expressed are
his personal
RAHUL GANDHI
MAYAWATI ARVIND KEJRIWAL SONIA GANDHI
MADAN KAUSHIK

NEW DELHI, SUNDAY,
FEBRUARY 20, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
CITY FIRST SHARES
SOME MORE GLIMPSES
OF THE GALA EVENING
ON FRIDAY WHERE THE
FIRST INDIA QUEEN OF
COSMOS, INDIA WAS
CROWNED. NOW,
THE WAIT FOR
THE FINALE AT
DUBAI ON
MARCH 10
HAS STARTED!
t is truly said
that ‘Beauty
is being the
best possible
version of
yourself, on
the inside and out’.
We believe that
beauty is like a pre-
cious gem, a jewel
beautiful on it’s
own but it needs
a bit of polish-
ing and the cor-
rect setting to
shine to its
b e s t .
This is exactly what
beauty pageants do and
we at First India take
great pains to groom,
guide and counsel our
bevy of blooming flow-
ers - fleurs en floraison.
For the Queen of Cos-
mos India auditions
also, the 26 beauties from
across India participat-
ed in online and offline
grooming sessions for
public speaking, make-
up, walking the ramp,
conduct in public, hold-
ing conversations and
many more day-to-day
issues which are a daily
part of Beauty Queen’s
life and times.
During the glittering
gala evening on Friday
at Fairmont Jaipur,
where Sanskriti Negi
was elected as India’s
representative to the
First India Queen of
Cosmos being held in
Dubai on March 10
at the Ibn Batuta ho-
tel a very important
announcement was
also made by Jag-
deesh Chandra that
First India would
take care of the
Dubai of travel
and stay expenses
of Sanskriti. A
highly motivated
Sanskriti thanked
Jagdeesh Chan-
dra for the gesture
and also for the
fabulous opportu-
nity of represent-
ing India on the
inter national
stage. “I will
work very hard
so that I can
make my na-
tion proud. I
understand the re-
sponsibility and will
never wear this crown
lightly”, she added.
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA

MUKESH
KIRADOO
I
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
Rayna Sikri, Simran Mahendrawal, Palak Shah and Amisha Rana,
Sanskriti Negi (Winner), Sanskriti Sharma (1st Runner-up) and Khushi Verma Angela Kumar (2nd Runners-up)
Jagdeesh Chandra addressing the guests
FLEURS EN
FLORAISON
Akansha Bakshi and Amrita Khurana

The totally spectacular evening at Fairmont on Friday
was a huge success, First India as usual upped the
benchmark for beauty pageants.The evening
was a culmination of months of hard work
by the Brand Ambassador Rishee Miglani
and Show Director Lokesh Sharma along
with the First India team, not to mention
all our sponsors, supporters, friends and
partners in the Queen of Cosmos
International Beauty Pageant.We bring
you some more glimpses of the
beautiful evening.
10-11
ETC
A MAGICAL EVENING
Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Aditi Jaggi.
Also seen is Rupa Khurana
Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Akansha Bakshi.
Also seen is Rishee Miglani
Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Dhirendra Raghav.
Also seen is Rupa Khurana
Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Nupur Kapoor. Also seen
are Rupa Khurana and Rishee Miglani
Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Manju Sharma.
Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Usha Punia.
Also seen are Rupa Khurana and Rishee Miglani Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Vanish Chugh. Also seen is Rupa Khurana
Hiteshi, Khushi, Muskaan
and Jayshree
Deepak Sankit
Neeta Joshi and Sanjay Sardana
Rupa Khurana, Aarti Mishra,
Vioma Sharma, Khushi Adesra
and Rukmini Chaudhary Ayushi Banasia, Akanksha Kumari,
Simran Mahendrawal, Khasika Bassi and Simran
Arvind and Puja Arya VS Tanwar
Saloni, Mitali and Priyatam Sogani Deepak Sharma and Amitabh Jain
Jagdeesh Chandra with Muskaan Moolchandani,
Tripti Arora and Rayna Sikri
JD Maheshwari, Vanish
and Deepali Chugh
with Pawan Goyal
Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates JD Maheshwari.
Also seen are Rupa Khurana and Rishee Miglani
Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Priyatam Sogani
Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Ruchika Sodhi.
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA

MUKESH
KIRADOO

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
A BLESSED COUPLE INDEED!
The wedding of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav’s daughter was a super VIP affair which proved the social and political connect of the dynamic Minister
AISHWARY PRADHAN
New Delhi: A wed-
dingisalwaysaspecial
occasion and the wed-
ding of Shubha and
Raman was all the
more so as they re-
ceived personal bless-
ings from the who’s
whoof thenation.The
wedding of the
daughter of Union
Minister Bhu-
pender Yadav,
Shubha with Ra-
man Yadav, son of
Ram Kumar Yadav
was conducted under
high security and
strict Covid protocol
asPresidentRamNath
Kovind, Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi,
Chief Justice of India
N V Ramana, Lok Sab-
ha Speaker Om Birla,
BJP President JP Na-
dda along with other
political stalwarts
reached to congratu-
late the high-profile
minister and bless the
newly-weds.
On Friday evening
almost the entire cabi-
net reached 9, Motilal
Nehru Marg, the resi-
dence of Bhupender
Yadavforthewedding.
Themarriagecelebra-
tionswerespreadover
theperiodof oneweek
which saw BJP stal-
warts, media icons
and VIPs from other
fields reaching to
greettheYadavfamily
.
The officers from
both his ministries
had attended
Shubha’s en-
gagement while
guests from Ra-
jasthan and Haryana
reached the village
for the godh bharai
ceremony on Monday
.
On Tuesday, col-
leagues from Bihar
and Jharkhand were
invited for lunch
while the party mem-
bersfromGujaratand
Maharashtra attend-
ed dinner. Keeping in
tunewiththeworking
profile of Modi’s cabi-
net, in the midst of
the celebrations the
Bhupender Yadav
also attended a cabi-
net meeting and gave
a speech at the World
Sustainable Develop-
ment Summit too.
PM Narendra Modi with the newly weds Shubha Raman, along with ML Khattar,
Bhupender Babita Yadav, Ram Kumar and Mrs Yadav, bride’s sister Pragya,
groom’s sister Shivani and her husband Akhilesh Kumar
Saudan Singh (centre) with Bhupender Yadav and Prahlad Patel
Baba Ramdev and Rajendra Rathore
caught in a candid moment
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with Bhupender Yadav,
Om Mathur and Parshottam Rupala Baba Ramdev with Diya Kumari
PM Narendra Modi greets and blesses the bride and groom Shubha and Raman, also seen are Bhupender Yadav and Ram Kumar Yadav
During the wedding ceremony on Friday
JP Nadda and Mallika Nadda with Bhupender and Babita Yadav and the newly wed couple
Bhupender Yadav welcomes Sharad Pawar
Nitish Kumar and Prahlad Patel
bless the newly weds Dushyant Chautala with Bhupender Yadav, Ram Kumar Yadav and the newly weds
Digitalising ages-old stories!
CITY FIRST
‘S
uno Story’ by
Peehu Agar-
wal, a Delhi
based stu-
dent, is a platform to
share and narrate sto-
ries imbibing the cul-
ture of India for the
children of today
.
Suno Story has culti-
vated a diverse selec-
tion of content, across
multiple regional lan-
guages and created
a special series of
videos on Indian
festivals and holi-
days to celebrate
multiculturality
.
She later mentioned
that her work started
with taking the stories
to children who do not
have grandfathers or
grandmothers around
them.
More than seven
thousand chil-
dren have benefit-
ted from this cam-
paign and more than
three hundred stories
have been uploaded for
the public to watch.
TRASH INTO TREASURE
CITY FIRST
A
t its standing
committeemeet-
ing on Friday
,
the North Delhi
Municipal Corporation
approved a plan to build
a waste-to-art theme
park on nine acres at Aj-
mal Khan Park in Karol
Bagh. Inspired by the
South Delhi Municipal
Corporation’s attempts
to make copies of re-
nowned structures out
of waste materials, the
northcorporation’spark
will have 25 reproduc-
tions of worldwide mon-
uments, 13 of which will
be three-dimensional,
and the rest will be two-
dimensional. The local
government has budget-
ed ` 27.2 crore for a pri-
vate business to develop,
finance, run, and trans-
fer the theme park.
The three-dimension
attractions will be repli-
cas of the Great Sphinx
at Giza, Great Wall of
China, Great Buddha of
Kamakura in Japan,
Sydney Opera House,
Little Mermaid of Co-
penhagen, Sagrada Fa-
miliacathedralinBarce-
lona, Brandenburg Gate
in Berlin, Stonehenge in
England), Pompeii in It-
aly
, Louvre of Paris,
Easter Islands and
Rome’s Trevi Fountain.
The rest of the sculp-
tures will be of Angkor
Wat in Cambodia,
BorobudurTempleinIn-
donesia, Capitol Hill in
Washington DC,
Chichen Itza in Mexico),
Forbidden City in Bei-
jing, Hagia Sophia of Is-
tanbul, London Bridge,
MountRushmorememo-
rial in the US, Machu
Picchu in Peru), Petra in
Jordan and Saint Basil’s
Cathedral in Moscow.

20022022 first india new delhi

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to 20022022 first india new delhi

Similar to 20022022 first india new delhi (20)

More from FIRST INDIA

More from FIRST INDIA (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (6)

20022022 first india new delhi