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Indian firms get bulk of `85,000 cr order
for weapons & equipment for armed forces
New Delhi (ANI): The
Defence Acquisition
Council (DAC) of the
Ministry of Defence
(MoD) on Thursday ac-
corded approval for Ac-
ceptance of Necessity
(AoN) for 24 Capital Ac-
quisition Proposals. Ac-
cording to Defence offi-
cials, the proposals in-
clude six for the Army,
six for the Air Force, 10
for the Navy and two for
the Coast Guard for a
total value of Rs 84,328
crore. Of these, 21 pro-
posals, worth Rs 82,127
crore (97.4 per cent), are
for procurement from
indigenous sources.
The AoNs accorded
will equip the Army
with Infantry Combat
Vehicles, Light Tanks
and Mounted Gun Sys-
tems. Approvals for
Navy include Anti-Ship
Missiles, Multi-Purpose
Vessels and High En-
durance Autonomous
Vehicles. IAF will be
strengthened with a
new range of missile
systems and Long
Range Guided Bombs.
‘ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT’
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.  —FILE PHOTO
5-YR-OLD GIRL
ABDUCTED, FOUND
IN PARK, RAPED
New Delhi: A 5-year-
old girl was allegedly
kidnapped and raped in
north Delhi’s Bhalswa
Dairy area, police said,
adding that a team of 50
personnel is at work to
find the culprit. Police
said the girl was kid-
napped on Wednesday
and was found Thursday
morning in a park not far
from her house.
Ex-Delhi Prisons chief Sandeep Goel
suspended month after Sukesh’s claim
New Delhi (ANI): For-
mer Delhi Prisons
chief Sandeep Goel has
been suspended from
service almost a month
after conman Sukesh
Chandrashekhar made
sensational claims that
he paid Rs 12.5 crore to
the Indian Police Ser-
vice officer as “protec-
tion money”.
The Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA) is-
sued an order on
Wednesday night sus-
pending Goel from ser-
vice. The action was
taken a month after the
IPS officer was trans-
ferred from the post of
Director General of
Prisons and asked to re-
port to Delhi Police
Headquarters.
Chandrashekhar had
claimed in his letter
dated October 7 to Delhi
LG VK Saxena that “a
total amount of Rs 10
crore was paid to Saty-
endar Jain (AAP minis-
ter jailed in Tihar) and
Rs 12.50 crore to DG
Prison Sandeep Goel.”
Chandrashekhar also
claimed he had dis-
closed about Goel run-
ning a racket in a peti-
tion in Delhi High
Court, besides telling it
to the CBI.
Aaftab’s bail plea withdrawn, dismissed
New Delhi (PTI): Aaft-
ab Amin Poonawala, ac-
cused of strangling his
live-in partner Shrad-
dha Walkar and chop-
ping her body into piec-
es, withdrew his bail
plea on Thursday
.
Poonawala appeared
before the court
through video-confer-
encing and said he
wished to withdraw the
bail application which
was filed before the
court on December 15.
Poonawala’s advo-
cate MS Khan informed
the court that the bail
application was moved
because of “miscom-
munication” between
him and the accused.
During the proceed-
ings that started around
11 am, the judge asked
Poonawala twice
whether he was willing
to file or withdraw the
bail application.
Khan also informed
the court that he met
Poonawala on Monday
for around 50 minutes
during which his client
told him about with-
drawing the plea.
“Bail petition dis-
missed as withdrawn
and not pressed,” Addi-
tional Sessions Judge
Vrinda Kumari said.
The Delhi Police
sought court’s permis-
sion for obtaining voice
sample of Aaftab. The
application is likely to
be heard on Friday
.
IN THE COURTYARD
JACQUELINE WITHDRAWS
PLEA FOR PERMISSION TO
VISIT BAHRAIN TO SEE MOM
KULDEEP SENGAR SEEKS
2-MONTH BAIL FOR
DAUGHTER’S WEDDING
New Delhi (PTI): Bollywood actor
Jacqueline Fernandez, accused in a
money laundering case, on Thursday
withdrew from a Delhi
court her plea for per-
mission to travel to Bah-
rain to see her mother.
The actor told the court
about her decision after
the judge said the question of charge
should first be decided. “You can
withdraw the application and let the
question of charge first be decided.
Otherwise I will pass a judicial order,”
the judge said. Thereafter, the actor
had a discussion with her lawyers.
New Delhi: A bench of the Delhi
High Court on Thursday sought the
stand of the CBI on a plea by expelled
BJP leader Kuldeep
Singh Sengar seek-
ing interim release for
two months to attend
wedding ceremonies
of his daughter which
would begin on January 18. Sengar
is serving life term for raping a minor
girl in Unnao in 2017. Senior counsel,
appearing for Sengar, said while the
marriage will take place on February
8, a ceremony related to it will be held
in January.
IPS officer Sandeep Goel,
ex-Delhi Prisons chief
BSE SENSEX 60,826.22 241.02 | NSE NIFTY 18,127.35 71.75
NEW DELHI l FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 114
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI  MUMBAI
With a belligerent China figuring
high on their radar screens, India 
Japan will conduct their first-ever
air combat exercise next month in a
significant developmental ties.
Leader of Opposition in Delhi
Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri
on Thursday alleged that lakhs
of ration card holders were ‘not
getting ration’ for last two months.
CHARLES
SOBHRAJ’S
RELEASE DELAYED
BY A DAY
Kathmandu: Charles Sobhraj, 78, will spend one
more day in Nepal’s prison as the immigration
authorities on Thursday expressed their inability to
arrange accommodation for the notorious serial killer
who is expected to be deported after his release.
ROBERT VADRA
FACES ARREST
AFTER HIGH COURT
REJECTS PLEA
Jodhpur: The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday
rejected a petition by Robert Vadra seeking
quashing of an ED probe into purchase of land in
Bikaner by a company linked to him. The court
extended stay on Vadra’s arrest by four weeks.
As India steps up Covid ‘Shield’...
‘CONCERNED’ PM TAKES A KNOW-HOW
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
chaired high-level meet-
ing in the backdrop of
spike in cases in some
countries on Thursday
to assess the Covid-19
situation in the country
,
preparedness of health
infrastructure and
emergence of variants
and their public health
implications and cau-
tioned against compla-
cency. Advising strict
vigil, he said Covid not
over yet and directed of-
ficials to strengthen the
ongoing surveillance
measures, especially at
the international air-
ports. The nasal vac-
cine has got a go-ahead
in meeting as India is
stepping up the vacci-
nation drive. He advised
states to audit COVID-
specific facilities to en-
sure the operational
readiness of hospital
infrastructure, includ-
ing oxygen cylinders,
PSA plants, ventilators
 human resources. P6
Modi urges people to follow the
Covid-appropriate behaviour 
asks States to audit medical facilities
No order has been issued by the
Central government to curb the
incoming flights from China: Sources
In a big move, Prime Minister
gives a go-ahead to the Bharat
Biotech’s Nasal Covid-19 vaccination
A MEGA SURGE! CHINA IS LIKELY SEEING 1
MILLION COVID CASES, 5,000 DEATHS/DAY
Beijing: China is most likely experiencing a whop-
ping 1 million Covid infections and 5,000 virus-related
deaths every day
as the country of
1.4 billion people
is experiencing the
worst outbreak the
world has ever seen,
according to a new
analysis. This current
Covid wave may see
the country’s daily
case rate rise to 3.7 million in January and 4.2 million
till March, according to British scientific information
and analytics company Airfinity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a high-level meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in India,
via VC, in New Delhi on Thursday. Union Ministers Amit Shah, Mansukh Mandaviya, Jyotiraditya Scindia
alongwith NITI Aayog CEO Parameswaran Iyer and other health  medical experts are also present here.
MAJOR
HAPPENINGS
They have now come
up with a new idea.
They wrote a letter to
me and said Covid-19 is coming
so stop “Bharat
Jodo Yatra”.
They are com-
ing up with ex-
cuses to stop the
yatra. Wear
masks, Covid is
spreading, these are all excuses.
 —Rahul Gandhi, Congress Leader
States to create aware-
ness about wearing the
face masks and admin-
ister precaution doses; especially
in view of up-
coming festivals
 new year cele-
brations. Centre
to test random
2% of int’l trav-
ellers for Cov-
id-19 amid new variant scare.
 —Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister
l Random testing of
international passengers
from Dec 24, airlines to
select flyers for screening
l Hours after suspen-
sion due to Covid-19,
Jan Aakrosh Yatra in
Rajasthan to continue
l IMA and other health
experts appeal for Covid
appropriate behaviour
with immediate effect
APPROVE COVOVAX
AS BOOSTER FOR
ADULTS: SII TO DCGI
The SII has sought the
DCGI’s approval for
market
authorisa-
tion of its
Covid-19
vaccine -
Covovax
as a booster dose for
those aged 18 years
who have been jabbed
with 2 doses of Cov-
ishield or Covaxin. It is
indigenous version of
vaccine by Novovax Inc
and made under SII.
DAY 12: WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
Sansad stormy again due to Tawang
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Both Hous-
es on Thursday saw a
stormy start as Opposi-
tion members demand-
ed a discussion on the
India-China border
clash in Tawang Sector,
Arunachal. While the
LS was adjourned till 12
pm, Opposition mem-
bers staged a walkout in
the Rajya Sabha after a
heated back-and-forth
with the Chairman.
Later in the day, RS
took up Constitution
(Scheduled Tribes) Or-
der (Second Amend-
ment) Bill, Constitution
(Scheduled Tribes) Or-
der(ThirdAmendment)
Bill and the Constitu-
tion (Scheduled Tribes)
Order(4thAmendment)
Bill, which modify the
scheduled tribes list. 
P5
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
l Didn’t intend to insult Bi-
har: Piyush Goyal withdraws
his remark in Parl
l Speaker Om Birla advises
MPs to wear masks, follow
Covid protocols
l RS passes Constitution
(Scheduled Tribes) Order
(Second Amendment) Bill
l Government introduces
Jan Vishwas Bill in LS
l Members have freedom
of speech in RS, but it’s not
free for all: Harivansh
‘Ukraine will never surrender’
Washington (FIB):
Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
told cheering US legis-
lators during a defiant
wartime visit to the na-
tion’s capital that
against all odds his
country still stands,
thanking Americans
for helping to fund the
war effort with money
that is “not charity
,” but
an “investment” in
global security and de-
mocracy. He also said
that Ukraine will never
surrender, democracy
is being tested.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla RS Speaker Jagdeep Dhankhar
(L) Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Joe Biden at White House on Wednesday.
Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris present signed Ukrainian flag to Zelenskyy.
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhi High Court has re-
strained the manufac-
ture and sale of sweet
beverage concentrate
'SharbatDilAfza'during
the pendency of a law-
suit for alleged trade-
mark infringement by
Hamdard Dawakhana
which sells 'Rooh Afza'.
A bench of justices
Vibhu Bakhru and Amit
Mahajansaidthatprima
facie, 'Rooh Afza' served
as the source identifier
for Hamdard for over a
century and has ac-
quired immense good-
will and it was essential
to ensure that the com-
petitors keep a safe dis-
tance from the mark.
The court's order
came on an appeal by
Hamdard (appellant)
against a single judge's
orderrefusingtopassan
interimordertorestrain
'Dil Afza' manufacture
Sadar Laboratories (re-
spondent) from alleged-
ly indulging in trade-
mark infringement.
It is not difficult to
conceive that a person
who looks at the label of
'DIL AFZA' may recall
the label of 'ROOH
AFZA' as the word
'AFZA' is common and
the meaning of the
words 'ROOH' and 'DIL',
when translated in Eng-
lish, are commonly used
in conjunction, said the
court in its order dated
December 21.
The court also noted
that both the products
have the same deep red
colour and texture and
structure of the bottles
is not materially differ-
ent and thus opined
thatthecommercialim-
pression of the im-
pugned trademark is
deceptively similar to
the appellants' trade-
mark. The court re-
corded that before the
singlejudge,astatement
hasbeenmadeonbehalf
of the respondent that it
would not manufacture
and sell syrups and bev-
erages under the mark
'DIL AFZA' and thus
made it absolute till
the disposal of the suit.
CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
New Delhi: Masks are
notasimportantforpeo-
ple as they are for those
walking in the Bharat
Jodo Yatra.
Union Health Minis-
terMansukhMandaviya
wrote a letter to Con-
gress MP Rahul Gandhi
and Rajasthan CM
Ashok Gehlot regarding
Covid norms to be fol-
lowed in Bharat Jodo
Yatra, citing a request to
ensure that masks are
worn by the Yatris.
“Only vaccinated peo-
ple should participate in
yatra. Follow rules or
suspend yatra,” read the
letter.
The guidelines for in-
ternationaltravelissued
by Mandaviya’s minis-
try on November 21 said
all travellers should
“preferably” be fully
vaxed, use of masks is
“preferable” and any
passengers “having
symptoms of Covid-19”
should be isolated.
Also, the concern did
not show up during ear-
ly 2021 when Covid pro-
tocol was violated at
election rallies and in
the Kumbh Mela.
During the Gujarat
campaign recently, the
BJP’s campaigners and
candidates gathered in
huge numbers without
masks, even when Eu-
rope, the United States
and China were strug-
gling to battle the Covid
surge.
Traders’ associations urge
shop owners to wear masks
New Delhi (PTI):
Many trader associa-
tions across Delhi have
asked shop owners to
wear masks, use sani-
tisers and follow social
distancing norms amid
concerns over the surge
in Covid cases in some
countries.
Fearing that the pos-
sible surge here will im-
pact their business yet
again, some of these as-
sociations have also
called meetings to dis-
cuss their future course
of action.
Ashok Randhawa,
president of Mini Mar-
ket Association, Saroji-
ni Nagar, said shop
owners have been asked
to start taking precau-
tions by wearing masks
and regularly using
sanitisers. Traders
had stopped wearing
masks, but now we have
asked them to wear
them for their own pro-
tection. As there is no
mandate from the gov-
ernment, we cannot ask
customers to wear
masks. People have be-
come a bit complacent
but we cannot force
them to wear masks,
Randhawa said.
Fearing that a possi-
ble surge may impact
business,Randhawahas
called a meeting of trad-
ers to discuss the fur-
ther course of action.
“We cannot afford
any more such situa-
tions. We have called a
meeting today to dis-
cuss what all precau-
tions should be taken,”
he added.
Similarly, at Palika
Bazaar, traders said
customers could not
care less about masks.
“We regularly ask
them to wear masks but
people have stopped us-
ing them altogether. We
cannot ask them con-
tinuously because it
might impact our busi-
ness. We can only ad-
vise,” said DL Kakkar,
president of Palika Ba-
zaar Association.
COVID CONCERN
Instructions issued to
use sanitisers, follow
social distancing  adopt
appropriate safety protocol
Associations claim
customers are lax
about wearing mask, not
listening to their advice
Traders fear another
wave of Covid would
ruin their businesses; to
chalk out action plan
Masks being distributed outside Parliament as precaution in view
of the surge in COVID-19 cases across the world, in New Delhi
on Thursday.  —PHOTO BY ANI
People have
become a bit
complacent
but we cannot force
them to wear masks,
especially since there
is no government
mandate yet
—Ashok Randhawa, President ,
Mini Market Assn, Sarojini Nagar
Taj Mahal on alert, no entry for tourists without testing
Agra (ANI): With the
surge in Covid cases in
China and other coun-
tries, one of the most
popular tourist attrac-
tions of the country
Taj Mahal in Agra is
put onalert,confirmed
the District Health In-
formation Officer in
Agra.
Domestic and for-
eign tourists come
every day in large
numbers to visit the
Taj Mahal in Agra.
Keeping the situation
in mind, they will have
to undergo a Covid test
before their visit as per
the official sources.
Anil Satsangi, the Dis-
trict Health Informa-
tion Officer (Agra)
said, The health de-
partment has already
started the tests to pre-
vent the spread of in-
fection. As the alert is
on, the tests have now
been made mandatory
for all the visitors.
CISF personnel with a sniffer dog inspect the Taj Mahal complex, as part of security
arrangements ahead of the new year and Christmas, in Agra on Thursday.  —PHOTO BY PTI
Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a road show in West Bengal Assembly election on April 19,
2021. ­ —PHOTO BY ANI
APRIL 19, 2021
z Active cases during Amit
Shah’s election rally in
Bengal – OVER 2 LAKH
z Case figures after mid-
night – OVER 2.5 LAKH
z Deaths that day – OVER
1500
DEC 21, 2022
z Active cases
during Cong’s
Bharat Jodo Yatra
– 3408 CASES
z Case figures after
midnight – 185
z Death that day - 1
THE DAMAGE REPORT
THE CHRONOLOGY
z Surge in cases
started in February –
March 2021
z The first phase of
the elections was held
on March 27 in West
Bengal and Assam
z Over 3 lakh cases
were being reported in
the last week of April
 the country went to
lockdown next month
z India recorded over
3 lakh new cases for a
week in April, breach-
ing the mark on April
22 for the first time
since the pandemic.
z The last round of
polling was held on
April 29.
z The WHO said that
the mass gatherings
have sparked the out-
break in the country.
z The Election Com-
mission was also criti-
cised for the breach
of Covid protocols
during campaigning
with Madras high court
terming it the most ir-
responsible institution
in India
Child pornography: More
than 100 FIRs,36 held
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
Police's Intelligence Fu-
sion and Strategic Op-
erations (IFSO) unit has
registered more than
100 FIRs and nabbed 36
people under a major
operation against child
pornography, officials
said on Thursday
.
The operation,
MASOOM(mitigation
of adolescent sexually
offensive online mate-
rial), was coordinated
by the IFSO and all the
districts were instru-
mental in making it
successful, they added.
Details of violations
pertaining to child por-
nographic material
(CTRs or cyber tipline
reports) were received
by the IFSO through the
NationalCrimeRecords
Bureau (NCRB), which
has signed a memoran-
dum of understanding
(MoU) with the Nation-
al Centre for Missing
and Exploited Children
(NCMEC), police said.
On the basis of these
CTRs, 105 cases were
registered at various
police stations across
Delhi and legal action
was taken against the
offenders. So far, 36 peo-
ple have been arrested
or apprehended during
the operation, Deputy
Commissioner of Po-
lice (IFSO) Prashant
Gautam said.
An MoU was signed
between the NCRB and
the NCMEC, a US-based
private, non-profit or-
ganisation that was es-
tablished in 1984 by the
United Nations Con-
gress. It has a tie-up
with social media plat-
forms such as Facebook
and Instagram. When-
ever it comes across any
content violating the
privacy or projecting
obscene material re-
garding children, it is
red-flagged. The IP ad-
dress details of the user
who had uploaded the
content is then pro-
cured, police said.
Under the MoU, the
NCMEC provides CTRs
or information about
sexually offensive con-
tent involving children
that has been shared or
uploaded on social me-
dia platforms to the
NCRB. These com-
plaints, along with the
details of the person
sharing or uploading
such sexually offen-
sive contents, are for-
warded by the NCMEC
to the NCRB, which
shares those with the
state nodal agencies,
police said, adding
that the IFSO is the
nodal agency in Delhi
for the same.
The IFSO has ana-
lysed the details re-
ceivedfromtheNCRBto
identify any organised
nexus in child pornog-
raphy
. After a technical
analysis of more than
10,000 CTRs, the action-
able reports were identi-
fied, the officials said.
New Delhi: A Kabbadi coach was arrested for
allegedly sodomising his pupil multiple times at
his academy, the police informed on Wednesday.
According to the
police, the inci-
dent took place in
Rohini's Kanjhawala
area. The police
registered the case
under sections 377,
506 of the IPC. A
senior police officer informed that the victim is a
15-year-old boy. All of a sudden, the boy refused
to go to the academy and when his father asked
him why, he told him about what his coach did to
him, the officer said. The accused used to impart
Kabbadi to students and sodomised the victim
while they were alone, the police said.
Kabbadi coach arrested
for sodomising minor
HC restrains sale of Dil Afza on lawsuit by Rooh Afza
WEBSITE RESTRAINED FROM PUBLISHING
PHOTOGRAPHS OF LOUIS VUITTON
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhi High Court has
granted relief to Louis
Vuitton Malletier, a French
high end luxury fashion
house, by restraining a
website from copying or
publishing photographs
which would infringe its copyright. The high court
said the plaintiff company has made out a clear
prima facie case of copyright infringement and as
such, it would be entitled to ex parte ad interim'
relief so that such infringement does not continue.
It issued summons to website www.haute24.com
on the suit and listed the matter on February 6,
2023 before the Joint Registrar (Judicial) for com-
pletion of the pleadings, including admission and
denial of documents and marking of exhibits.
... a person who looks at the label of ‘DIL
AFZA’ may recall the label of ‘ROOH
AFZA’ as the word ‘AFZA’ is common ....
 —Delhi High Court
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
HighCourtonThursday
dismissedaPublicInter-
est Litigation (PIL)
against the permission
accorded to Sikhs to car-
ry‘kirpans’whiletravel-
ling on civilian flights in
India.
“Dismissed,” a bench
of Chief Justice Satish
Chandra Sharma and
Justice Subramonium
Prasad said while pro-
nouncing the order.
The court rejected the
plea by Harsh Vibhore
Singhal, who had said
that a committee of
stakeholders should be
constituted to “apply its
mind” to the issue of
permitting kripan on
flights.
The petitioner, a law-
yer, challenged a March
4, 2022 notification by
the Centre which said
Sikh passengers shall
have exceptional regula-
tory sanction to carry
kirpans having blade
length of not more than
six inches and total
length of not more than
nine inches whilst on
board any civilian flight
inIndiathatisoperating
on all domestic routes.
The bench had earlier
orally remarked that it
was a policy of the gov-
ernment and the court
cannot interfere with it
unless it is arbitrary
.
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
Police has questioned
the officials of Flipkart
for allegedly selling acid
on its platform despite a
ban on the substance by
the Supreme Court.
Police on December 15
issued a notice to Flip-
kart after the prime ac-
cused in an acid attack
on a girl in Dwarka,
Delhi said he bought the
substance from the e-
commerce website.
Accordingtothepolice,
the officials were ques-
tioned on Wednesday
and they are not satis-
fied with the firm’s re-
ply
. The company had
responded to the notice,
saying that the acid was
sold by an Agra-based
firm. It had also earlier
stated it will cooperate
with the police.
According to sources,
the company responded
that it acted as a plat-
form between buyers
and sellers. To which,
they were asked about
the norms being fol-
lowed by the firm while
facilitating both parties.
PIL against Sikhs carrying
‘kirpans’ on flights dismissed
Police ‘not satisfied’
with Flipkart’s reply
BJPpickingonBharatJodo
hasnothingtodowithCovid
CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022
03
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Kunal Dutt  Saloni Bhatia
New Delhi: Business
closures, slashed men-
us, empty seats, fur-
loughed staff—restau-
rant and cafe owners in
Delhi wish to put these
unpleasant memories
behind them as they
prepare to welcome
guests for Christmas
and New Year after a
two-year lull.
The hospitality in-
dustry was one of the
worst-hit sectors as
multiple waves of the
deadly COVID-19 pan-
demic had broken its
back, forcing many res-
taurants to shut down.
However, owners of
several restaurants and
cafes and their associa-
tions feel, the “worst is
behind them”, hoping
that their businesses
will once again thrive
as “it is beginning to
look a lot like Christ-
mas again”.
In Connaught Place,
restaurants like Diggin
Cafe, Zen Cafe, Farzi
Cafe, Out of the Box
Cafe, Warehouse Cafe
and many other restau-
rants have put up
Christmas-themed dec-
oration, and toy shops
and apparel brands in
the old British-era shop-
ping arcade are also
wooing customers for
festive shopping.
Manpreet Singh,
owner of nearly 30-year-
old Zen Cafe, an Asian
cuisine restaurant,
said, “In our industry, a
lot of restaurants do
shut down on a normal
basis too, but in the last
two years, this figures
have been very high.
Even in CP, many res-
taurants have shut
down permanently,
about 30-40 restaurants
which have shut down
and not opened again”.
But the worst is be-
hind us, the industry is
recovering and this
Christmas and New
Year will see “happy
and cheerful faces
again,” says Singh, also
treasurer, National Res-
taurant Association of
India (NRAI).
“Right now, we are
doing quite well. Earli-
er there were many
challenges, but the cus-
tomers are back and
they wish to eat out. So,
we are happy. We are
selling well now,” he
said.  —PTI
After 2-yr Covid lull, restaurants in Delhi decked up for year-end
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR
‘LIFE IS NORMAL NOW’
Recalling the
pandemic and
its impact on the
industry, Rahul
Singh, founder
and CEO, The Beer
Cafe, said, “It was
devastating, these two years have been hell for us,
hospitality and the aviation sectors were the most
hit.” He said after the first lockdown, the supply
chain was hit and there was a lot of spoilage in his
company. “We sell a lot of beer. We had to drain
out a lot of beer, which is a perishable item, so we
suffered a lot of capital loss. As per our staff, we
had a furlough when the first wave hit us. Certain
staff didn’t join, they went out and probably got
another job. But, most of the staff came back. We
have gone through survival stage and revived our-
selves, and about to hit the thriving stage” he said.
People dine at a restaurant decorated in the theme of Christmas
and New Year in Connaught Place in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY PTI
In our
industry,
a lot of
restaurants do
shut down on a
normal basis too,
but in the last two
years, these figures
have been very
high.
—Manpreet Singh,
Owner,. Zen Cafe
New Delhi (ANI): Del-
hi-NCR is likely to wit-
ness dense fog for the
next two to three days
while Punjab, Haryana,
and north Rajasthan
may expect a decrease
in temperature by 1-2
degrees alongwith cold
wave conditions, Dr
Kuldeep Srivastava,
Head of Regional
Weather Forecasting
Centre, said Thursday
.
“If we talk about the
weather in Delhi, then a
thick blanket of fog is
seen in the morning
hours and visibility is
dropped by around 100
meters. In the Palam ob-
servatory, today morn-
ing the visibility was
till 100 meters, and later
around 8 in the morn-
ing there is an improve-
ment,” he said.
“In the next two days,
there are chances of
having dense fog in Del-
hi-NCR and the visibil-
ity will be around 100
meters. The tempera-
ture will remain be-
tween 6-7 degrees for
next 2-3 days,” he added.
“From Punjab up to
Bihar and till West Ben-
gal and Northern parts
of Rajasthan, the wind
speed in the morning
hours is less which is
2-3 km per hour along
with sufficient availa-
bility of moisture, and
during the day time, we
have a clear sky,” he
told ANI.
“There is no cold
wave condition as of
now in the plains, but in
the coming few days
from December 24 or
December 25, we are ex-
pecting a decrease in
temperature by 1-2 de-
grees. On a severely
cold day, you can see the
maximum temperature
stays 4.5 degrees less
than the normal tem-
perature. This situation
will remain for the next
2 days in Punjab, Hary-
ana, North West UP
, and
North Rajasthan. Now
you can say that winter
has started,” he said.
You can say winter has
started: Weatherman
‘From Dec 24 or
25, we are
expecting a
decrease in
temperature by
1-2 degrees’
Youngsters sit around a bonfire on a cold winter day in Gurugram on Thursday.  —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi (PTI): A
layer of dense fog en-
veloped the Indo-
Gangetic plains in-
cluding Delhi Thurs-
day morning, affect-
ing road and rail traf-
fic. A railway spokes-
person said 20 trains
were running late by
1:30 to 4:30 hours.
Flight operations re-
mained unaffected, an
airport official said.
The Met office said
the Palam and Safdar-
jung airports logged
visibility levels of 200
metres at 5:30 am. On
Tuesday, visibility
levels had plunged to
50 metres at both
these places. South
westerly winds and
increase in tempera-
tures had led to some
improvement in visi-
bility on Wednesday
.
The Sadarjung Ob-
servatory, the prima-
ry weather station in
Delhi, recorded a min-
imum temperature of
7.2 degrees Celsius, a
notch below normal.
Dense fog disrupts road, rail traffic
Commuters wait for train amid fog on a cold winter morning,
at Sahibabad Railway Station on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
From Punjab
up to Bihar
and till West
Bengal and northern
Rajasthan, the wind
speed in the morning
hours is less, about 2-3
km per hour .
—Dr Kuldeep Srivastava,
Head, Regional Forecasting Centre
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhi Police on Wednes-
day refuted claims
made in a viral video
that a church was at-
tacked and forcibly
evicted on suspicion
that religious conver-
sion was going on there.
“Therewasnochurch
and no forcible eviction
was reported,” Deputy
Commissioner of Po-
lice (North) Sagar Sin-
gh Kalsi said.
The building seen in
the video widely circu-
lated on social media is
not a church but a pri-
vate building in north-
ern part of the city, the
police said.
According to the po-
lice, a PCR call was re-
ceived in the morning
of December 11 about a
gathering at the build-
ing in Burari's Baba
Colony. Suspicion was
also raised about reli-
gious conversion there.
The ground floor hall
of the building was let
out to a Christian wom-
an. According to the po-
lice, it was used for
meetings and singing
carols between 10:30
and 12:30 hours.
On Tuesday, a video
became viral on social
media where a person
claimed that a church
in Burari area was at-
tacked by 400 people.
“A church in Delhi,
Burari been attacked by
around 400 people this
morning. They forcibly
vacated the church and
threatened them,” he
wrote in his tweet.
Police refute church attack
claim made in viral video
A screen grab from the viral video of the alleged attack.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: ‘Sardar te
gaddi chadhadi (Sardar
has been mowed)’ —
this was the intercepted
recording on the basis
of which Delhi Police’s
Special Cell sought to
get voice samples of
gangster Lawrence
Bishnoi and his associ-
ates tested at the Cen-
tral Forensic Sciences
Laboratory (CFSL).
Prime accused in the
assassination of Sidhu
Moosewala, Bishnoi is
suspected to have re-
ceived a call inside
Tihar Jail soon after
gunmen shot dead the
singer on 29 May
.
The police had filed a
plea in the MCOCA
court in November for
obtaining the voice
samples of Bishnoi and
his associates Deepak
alias Tinu, Sampath
Nehra and Bintu alias
Mintu. On 22 November,
the court gave its nod.
Sources in Delhi Po-
lice said that while Neh-
ra’s and Bintu’s voice
samples were collected,
Bishnoi refused to do so
upon reaching the
CFSL lab in Lodhi Colo-
ny on Wednesday
.
“Bishnoi refused to
talk when he was
brought to the lab. Due
to this, adverse infer-
ence will be drawn in
the case,” sources said.
Later, the Delhi Po-
lice moved an applica-
tion in court stating
that Bishnoi refused to
give his voice samples.
“One accused in his
discretion opted not to
give a voice sample. No
further directions are
warranted in the facts
of the present case,”
read the court order.
Lawrence Bishnoi refuses to
give voice sample at CFSL
Noida: With the ar-
rest of three people,
theNoidaPoliceinUt-
tar Pradesh on Thurs-
day claimed to have
busted a Delhi-based
inter-state gang of liq-
uor smugglers and
also seized around
4,500 litres of alcohol
estimatedworthmore
than Rs 20 lakh.
Additional Deputy
Commissioner of Po-
lice (Noida) Ashutosh
Dwivedi told report-
ers that among those
held is the son of Del-
hiliquormafiaKamal
Kishor Chaurasiya
alias KP
, who has over
two dozen cases
lodged against him.
The suspects were
held near the Rajni-
gandha Chowk on the
basis of a tip-off and
four vehicles, includ-
ing three cars and a
pickup truck, loaded
with liquor cartons
were also impounded.
“Three liquor
smugglers have been
arrested. Their base
network is Delhi and
they would bring liq-
uorfromGurugram,”
Dwivedi said.
While three people
have been arrested,
KP, the mastermind
of the gang, and three
more of his identified
associates are at large
and efforts are under-
way to arrest them
soon, Dwivedi said.
Those held have
been identified as
KP’s son Ashish, Ravi
Chauhan and Nakul
Nagar, all three resi-
dents of Delhi, the po-
lice said.
Delhi liquor mafia’s
son among 3 held
with illicit booze
New Delhi (PTI): Ja-
mia Millia Islamia is
likely to decide on the
implementation of the
Common University
Entrance Test (CUET)
for admission to all un-
dergraduate courses
from the next academic
session in January, a
senior official said on
Thursday.
The varsity has
formed a committee to
decide on the possibil-
ity of adopting the
CUET, said Jamia Mil-
lia Islamia Registrar
Nazim Husain Al-Jafri.
The report submit-
ted by the committee
will be presented dur-
ing a meeting of the
Academic Council in
January and thereafter
Executive Council,
which is the highest
decision-making body
of the university will
take up the matter.
Jamia to decide on CUET in January
New Delhi (ANI): Del-
hi Police on Thursday
said they have arrested
three men for allegedly
stabbing to death a man
with criminal history
in Badarpur area.
Police said on Decem-
ber 20 at 8:12 pm, a call
was received at police
station Badarpur in-
forming that a man had
been stabbed and ad-
mitted to AIIMS.
“Apolicestaff rushed
to the spot immediately
.
On local enquiry, it was
revealed that three per-
sons stabbed one per-
son, Keshav (29), a resi-
dent of Badarpur,” po-
lice said.
“A team was called
and the scene of the
crime was preserved.
The CCTV cameras
near the spot were thor-
oughly scanned. Three
suspects were captured
in the CCTV footage
and on analysis, two of
them were identified as
Vickey and Kohinoor,”
a Police official said.
Police said the de-
ceased Keshav had a
criminal history and
was found involved in 4
cases of Robbery,
Snatching and Arms
Act registered in three
police stations.
“After Call Data Re-
cords surveillance, ac-
cused persons were ar-
rested near a liquor
shop at Molarband Ex-
tension bypass road and
the weapon of offence
i.e knife was recovered
from them. They have
confessed their involve-
ment in the crime,” a
police official said.
3 arrested for stabbing to death history-sheeter in Badarpur
Deceased Keshav got
into a fight with
accused Kohinoor at a
marriage function
New Delhi (PTI): A
court here has granted
bail to former manag-
ing director and chief
executive officer of the
National Stock Ex-
change Chitra Ram-
krishna in a case relat-
ed to alleged phone tap-
ping of NSE employees.
Special Judge Sune-
na Sharma granted bail
on a personal bond of
Rs 1 lakh with two sure-
ties in the like amount,
and directed her to ap-
pear before court when
the matter is taken up.
Court grants
bail to ex-NSE
chief Chitra
Ramkrishna
l Vol 2 l Issue No.114
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: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022
04
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SPIRITUAL SPEAK
You should perform
your duty with a view to
guide people and for
universal welfare.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
Saddened to hear about the demise of
renowned Gamak Vidwan  Padmashri
awardee H R Keshavamurthy Ji. He
was a pioneer who mastered Gamak
 even taught children this great art
form for free. His legacy will live on
forever. My condolences to his family
 admirers. Om Shanti.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
India, led by PM @narendramodi
ji remains the biggest hope for the
world. An all-weather champion of
multilateralism, more of the world
today strongly acknowledge India’s
criticality in maintaining global peace.
‘Not an era of war’ has resonated
strongly and touched chords.
TOP TWEETS
REFORMED OR
NOT, THE ‘SERPENT’
TO BE OUT OF
PRISON SOON?
harles Sobhraj may
have spent two dec-
ades in jail; his re-
lease from a prison in
Nepal still makes
news. The serial killer, notorious
as Bikini Killer, is now 78 and
hopefully a changed man after
long incarceration. The French
national shot to infamy after he
killed 20 tourists on South and
Southeast Asia’s hippie trail be-
tween 1972 and 1976, most of
them backpackers. “Handsome,
charming and utterly without
scruple” women easily fell to his
charms and he ruthlessly fin-
ished them off after he was done
with them. What made Sobhraj
stand out as a criminal was his
ability to evade police and avoid
detection, which earned him the
nickname of “Serpent”.
He continued with his crimes
like drugging tourists and rob-
bing them to maintain a luxuri-
ous lifestyle even in prison. In
mid seventies he bribed Tihar
jail staff to live in comfort. Later
he drugged them to escape, but
was nabbed by Mumbai Police.
Is Sobhraj a reformed man now?
C
aliban are gradu-
ally showing their
true misogynist
and hard-line
character but the
world is a silent spectator. Af-
ter banning girls from at-
tending schools, Afghani-
stan’s Taliban government
has taken the regressive step
of telling women that the
doors of universities were
now shut for them, leaving
female students in tears. The
anguished students were left
with no future as other re-
gressive restrictions on wom-
en’s clothing and movement
are already in place. Instanc-
es of public flogging have
also been reported. All these
are dreadful reminders of
the old Taliban regime and
its brand of ruthless Islam.
President Joe Biden left
the Afghan people, especially
women, after the withdrawal
of Allied forces from Kabul
in 2021. In his White House
address Biden said that it
was “the right and the re-
sponsibility of the Afghan
people alone to decide their
future and how they want to
run their country”. He also
said the US will continue to
speak out for the rights of
women and girls. Does speak-
ing out for them makes them
less vulnerable to the attacks
on their psyche being wit-
nessed now? Reacting to the
latest Talibani firmaan the
US said the “move would
come with consequences for
Taliban”. Other than turn-
ing off the aid tap, which will
only starve the Afghan peo-
ple, the consequences have
not been spelt out.
Taliban stand out like a
sore thumb for the way they
treat women. In no other Is-
lamiccountryarewomensub-
jected to such treatment. Iran,
where women are protesting
against wearing hijab, does
not bar women from attend-
ing schools and colleges.
TALIBAN RETURN
TO OLD WAYS
Taliban are gradually showing
their true misogynist and hard-
line character but the world is a
silent spectator. After banning
girls from attending
schools, Afghanistan’s Taliban
government has taken the
regressive step of telling women
that the doors of universities
were now shut for them, leaving
female students in tears
T
MERKEL’S BOMBSHELL
WEST v/s WEST
uizzically enough, as I
chanced upon the recent in-
terview of Angela Dorothea
Merkel, ex chancellor of Ger-
many, it gave me a peep into
the pandora box of the West-
ern world’s political dynam-
ics. A seasoned politician and
a scientist, she was the first
and the only lady chancellor
of Germany and was referred
to as the de facto leader of the
European Union. Having
been brought up in erst while
East Germany under Krem-
lin’s influence, her control
over Russian language was
perfect yet, she was not in-
clined to communist ideology
.
Her actions and decisions
as the chancellor of her
country ensured a command-
ing position for Germany not
only in Europe but amongst
all NATO allies. Nonetheless,
today many find faults with
her for increasing Germa-
ny’s dependence on Russian
energy imports through
Nord Stream 1, without ac-
knowledging that the graph
of Germany’s industrial
growth was highest during
Merkel’s chancellorship.
All through her political
career, she professed that she
did not want to give advice
from the side-lines, and there-
fore, described Russia’s inva-
sion of Ukraine as a “brutal
war of aggression” which
constituted a far-reaching
turning point and the most
glaring violation of interna-
tional law in Europe since the
World War II. She further be-
lieved that European solidar-
ity goes out to Ukraine which
has been attacked and raided
by Russia, and that the
Ukraine’s right to self-de-
fence was incontestable.
Surprisingly
, a leader with
such clarity and frankness on
Russia – Ukraine war, sudden-
ly took a U turn and in an in-
terview in the second week of
Dec 22 to a newspaper Der Zeit
of Germany
,cameoutwiththe
facts that hitherto fore, were a
subject of confidentiality
amongst all NATO leaders
joining their hands to support
Zelenskyy and fight Russia.
In a dramatic style, Angela
confessed that there was no
real interest amongst the
Western powers to imple-
ment the provisions and con-
ditions laid down in Minsk 1
 2 Agreements signed by
Ukraine and Russia in 2014
and 2015 respectively. In-
stead, the intention of US
and allies reeked with con-
spiracies and deceits by the
West to give time to the NATO
and Ukraine to build up their
military capabilities for the
sole purpose of a confronta-
tion with Russia.
In other words, the West
planned and schemed for the
war against Russia since 2014
after they organized a coup to
forcibly remove a democrati-
cally elected Ukraine govern-
ment and replace it with a
puppet government loyal to
the West.
In my opinion, Angela has
proven herself to be Putin’s
friend as her confession is
almost a declaration to let
out NATO secrets. In simple
words, what Merkel said can
be taken as an announce-
ment that Putin is not the ag-
gressor but the victim of a
veiled Western conspiracy
against it. In fact, Angela has
provided Putin the defence
which he may need in the fu-
ture to protect himself from
Western actions at interna-
tional courts when the war
crimes are taken up.
Obviously
, the implications
from this interview are far
reaching. It shows that inter-
national agreements with the
WestspeciallytheUScarryno
value and remain in play only
till the time they favour the
West and allows them time to
turn the tide to suit their in-
terests. Yes, it is amply clear
that Western powers are like-
ly to dump treaties and agree-
mentslikeaHOTPotatowhen
theynolongerservetheirpur-
pose. It indeed is a lesson to
India, China, Pakistan and to
the rest of the developing
countries in international
politics. While negotiating
with west, countries should
choose friends with open eyes
Judging so called friends not
by what they say but by what
they do and their past reputa-
tionof honouringtreatiesand
agreements with other par-
ties in the agreement.
The numerous visits of
German Chancellor to Russia
between 2014 (in the after-
math of annexation of
Crimea by Russia) and 2021,
when Merkel vacated her of-
fice as the ultimate leader of
European Union and Chan-
cellor of Germany are being
looked at with suspicion of
delaying Russian onslaught
on Ukraine to buy time. She
out rightly mentioned that
she felt no regrets for her
handling of Vladimir Putin
during her time in power and
blocking the route of Ukraine
joining NATO membership
as Putin would have taken it
as a “declaration of war”
against Russia by the West. It
appears that in the opinion of
the West, democratically im-
mature Ukraine would have
been less prepared for an in-
vasion then what it was in
February 2022 and thus, hint-
ing at a global conspiracy
.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Q
It shows that international
agreements with the West
specially the US carry no
value and remain in play
only till the time they favour
the West and allows them
time to turn the tide to suit
their interests. Yes, it is amply
clear that Western powers are
likely to dump treaties and
agreements like a HOT Potato
when they no longer serve
their purpose. It indeed is a
lesson to India, China,
Pakistan and to the rest of the
developing countries in
international politics
Surprisingly, a leader with
such clarity and frankness
on Russia – Ukraine war,
suddenly took a U turn
and in an interview in
the second week of Dec
22 to a newspaper Der
Zeit of Germany, came
out with the facts that
hitherto fore, were a
subject of confidentiality
amongst all NATO
leaders joining their hands
to support Zelenskyy and
fight Russia
COL ANUPAM
JAITLY (RETD)
The writer is Defence expert,
Motivational Speaker  Corporate Trainer
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INDIA
NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022
05
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Shamsher Singh
New Delhi: The Aam
Aadmi Party has now
started preparing to
contest the Karnataka
assembly elections. As-
sembly elections are go-
ing to be held in May
and before that Arvind
Kejriwal’s party has
started making populist
announcements. The
party has promised that
it will implement the
old pension scheme if
its government is
formed in the state. The
Congresswasalsoabout
to say this, as it had
promised in Himachal
Pradesh and won the
election, but AAP made
the announcement even
before the Congress.
Not only this, the par-
ty’s state number two
leader Bhaskar Rao also
participated in the dem-
onstration of state gov-
ernment employees.
The employees were
demonstrating for the
restoration of the old
pension scheme. Senior
leader Brajesh Kalappa,
who left the Congress
and joined AAP, also
talked about restoring
the old pension scheme.
However, AAP’s
weakness is that it does
not have an organiza-
tion in the state and
does not have senior
leaders either. Then the
question is how will the
party contest the Kar-
nataka elections? Will it
fight in the way it fought
in Gujarat or will it
fight in the way it fought
in states like Himachal
Pradesh, Uttarakhand
etc.? If it fights like Gu-
jarat i.e. Arvind Kejri-
wal and Bhagwant
Mann and other leaders
work day and night then
Congress can suffer a
big loss. There Congress
party is hoping to re-
turn to power this time
but if AAP fights with
full force and JDS also
contests the elections
on its own, then BJP
would be benefited. But
if AAP contests elec-
tions like in Himachal
Pradesh, then Congress
will not be harmed. Five
months before the elec-
tions, it seems that AAP
does not have an organi-
zation and will fight just
for the sake of fighting.
But the real picture will
emerge after Arvind Ke-
jriwal’s first visit.
CanAAPdentCongandBJP’smoraleinK’takapolls?
AAP’S EXPANSION PLANS
AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal.  —FILE PHOTO
PANEL TO CONDUCT
ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT
OF SC PREMISES
CISF CONSTABLE
VS DMRC STAFFER:
HC QUASHES CASE
New Delhi: Chief Justice
of India DY Chandrachud
has constituted a commit-
tee headed by apex court
judge Justice S Ravindra
Bhat to conduct an audit
of “physical and function-
al access” of the top court
premises to make them
disabled-friendly. The ‘Su-
preme Court Committee
on Accessibility’ has been
given a broad mandate
to prepare and release a
questionnaire for persons
with disabilities, including
the apex court employees,
advocates, litigants and
interns, who visit the top
court premises.
New Delhi: The Delhi High
Court has agreed to quash
two cross FIRs against a
DMRC employee and a
woman CISF constable
involving an altercation
between them after they
reached a settlement
but imposed costs of Rs
10,000 each on both,
observing that consider-
able time of police and
judiciary has been wasted.
Cross FIRs were lodged in
2015 at Raja Garden Metro
Police Station for various
offences. The woman CISF
constable had also accused
the DMRC staff of outrag-
ing her modesty.
Kolkata: A CBI court on Thursday extended the judicial cus-
tody of former West Bengal Education Minister and ex-Tri-
namool Congress secretary
general, Partha Chatterjee and
six others for another 14 days
in connection with the teachers’
recruitment scam. All the seven
individuals will be presented
at the same court again on
January 5 next year. On Thursday, Chatterjee’s counsel Selim
Rahman made a fiery argument at the court, even going to
the extent of questioning CBI’s competence as regards to
producing concrete evidence in the matter. In his counter
argument, the CBI counsel said that although charges of
incompetence have been raised by the petitioner’s counsel.
PARTHA CHATTERJEE’S JUDICIAL
CUSTODY EXTENDED BY 14 MORE DAYS
IN THE COURTYARD
HC ALLOWS TEEN
GIRL TO DONATE
LIVER’S PART TO DAD
MADRAS HIGH
COURT ORDERS
NOTICE ON RSS PLEA
Kochi: The Kerala High
Court on Thursday granted
permission to a 17-year-
old girl to donate a portion
of her liver to her ailing
father. The High Court took
the decision even taken
after an expert committee
constituted by the Appro-
priate Authority under the
Transplantation of Human
Organs and Tissues Act,
1994 initially opined that
the daughter cannot be
exempted from the bar
imposed by the Act and
Rules on organ donation
by minors. Court asked it
to reconsider its stance.
Chennai: A division bench
of the Madras High Court
on Thursday ordered no-
tice on a batch of appeals
challenging the orders of
a single judge, which had
granted permission to the
RSS to take out “route
marches” and hold public
meetings in auditoriums
and open grounds alone.
A bench of the HIgh
Court ordered the notice
returnable by January 5,
when the appeals from
G Subramaniam of Anna
Nagar and 44 others came
up for further hearing on
Thursday.
New Delhi (Agencies):
Lok Sabha was ad-
journed for the day on
Thursday without any
business, owing to con-
tinuous protests by the
Congress-led Opposi-
tion, which sought dis-
cussion on the India-
China border clashes in
Arunachal Pradesh.
As Lok Sabha assem-
bled at 4 p.m. after sev-
eral adjournments
since morning, Opposi-
tion members led by the
Congress entered the
well of the House,
shouting slogans and
seeking Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s pres-
ence in the House.
Rama Devi, who was
in the Chair, adjourned
the House till 4.30 pm
amid chaos and slogan
shouting.
At 4.30 p.m. when the
Lower House reassem-
bled, protests and slo-
gan shouting by the Op-
position members re-
sumed. While Congress
and DMK members en-
tered the well of the
House, NCP, JD-U and
TMC members stood
near their seats.
Opposition members
shouted slogans seek-
ing PM Modi’s presence
in the House and called
for a discussion on the
India-China border
clashes issue.
Amid the pandemo-
nium, Commerce Min-
ister Piyush Goyal in-
troduced the Jan Vish-
was Amendment of
Provision Bill 2022 in
the House. He also im-
mediately referred the
bill to a joint Parlia-
mentary panel.
Soon after this, the
House was adjourned
for the day
.
Earlier in the morn-
ing,bothQuestionHour
and Zero Hour proceed-
ings were washed out
due to continuous pro-
tests by the Opposition
on the India-China bor-
der clashes issue.
LOK SABHA ADJOURNED AGAIN AMID
UPROAR BY OPPN ON BORDER ISSUE
Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra
resumes from Haryana’s Nuh district
Nuh (ANI): Congress’s
Bharat Jodo Yatra led
by Rahul Gandhi re-
sumed from Malab Vil-
lage in Nuh’s Haryana
on Thursday
.
People in large num-
bers were seen joining
the march holding ban-
ners and party flags.
The ongoing foot march
of the grand old party
entered the state of Har-
yana on Wednesday
. On
Wednesday, while ad-
dressing a gathering
here,RahulGandhitook
a swipe at the ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) and other parties
and said that the leaders
of these parties do not
listen to the public.
“Nowadays, there is a
gap between the leaders
of BJP, Samajwadi Par-
ty
, and the public. Lead-
ers think there is no
need to listen to the pub-
lic and give speeches for
hours. We have tried to
change this in this jour-
ney,” Gandhi earlier
said on Wednesday
.
On Tuesday the Yatra
observed its last day in
the Congress-ruled
state of Rajasthan. It is
the only Congress-ruled
state where the yatra
covered around 500 km
over 17 days before en-
tering Haryana.
BRS to hold
‘Maha Dharna’
against Centre
Panchamasali
Lingayats’ march
for quota in K’taka
Nizamabad (ANI):
Bharat Rashtra Samithi
will hold a ‘Maha Dhar-
na’ in all the district
headquarters on Friday
protesting against the
Centre’s “anti-farmer
policies”, MLC K Kavi-
tha said on Thursday
.
Kavitha, daughter of
CM KCR, alleged that
the BJP govt at the Cen-
tre is “forcing” Telan-
gana Govt to take back
schemes under MGN-
REGA. “Tomorrow the
party will launch Maha
Dharna in all district
headquarters, against
BJP Government’s anti-
farmer policies, in light
of the recent demand to
exclude agricultural ac-
tivities from MGNRE-
GA Scheme in Telanga-
na,” Kavitha said.
“Today it is a fact that
the BJP is an anti-farm-
er, anti-poor, and pro-
corporate Government.
On one hand, the Gov-
ernment is targeting
farmers and the poor,”
she alleged.
Belagavi (ANI): The
Panchamasali Lingay-
at community pady-
atra, demanding more
reservations to meet
the educational and
professional needs of
its people, reached Be-
lagavi in Karnataka on
Thursday.
The community is de-
manding they be in-
cluded in the 15 per cent
OBC category of 2A. A
heavy police force has
been deployed at Hire-
bagewadi in Belagavi
due to the Panchamasa-
li padayatra being held
under the leadership of
the Jagadguru Basava
Jaya Mruthyunjaya
Swamiji of the Kunda-
lasangama Peetha.
Karnataka Assembly
is currently holding its
Winter Session at the
Suvarna Vidhana Soud-
ha in Belagavi.
BJP SCARED
OF LOVE BJY
GOT: KHERA
Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Nuh.  —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi (ANI):
Union Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya’s
letter to Congress
MP Rahul Gandhi
and Rajasthan Chief
Minister Ashok Gehlot
asking them to follow
COVID-19 guidelines
strictly during the par-
ty’s Bharat Jodo Yatra
has elicited diverse
reactions from leaders.
Talking about the
issue, Congress leader
Pawan Khera said BJP
is scared of the love
Bharat Jodo Yatra
has received. He said,
“Their intent is clear.
They are only bothered
about the love the
Yatra has received.”He
also added, “If BJP
was worried about the
country, they would
have written a letter
to Satish Poonia as
well who is taking out
‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ in
Rajasthan.”
CHANDY’S SON TAKES JIBE AT BJP
Nuh (ANI): Former Kerala Chief Minister’s son Chandy
Oommen on Thursday aimed at the Centre government
over its letter to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, urging
him to consider suspending or postponing the Bharat
Jodo Yatra if Covid protocols could not be followed.
“When PM Modi took out a Yatra in Gujarat, a similar
situation was there but no action followed,” Oommen
said after joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra here.
WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
Lok Sabha adjourned amid commotion in the House, in New Delhi on Thursday.  —PHOTO BY ANI
RS PASSES THE
CONSTITUTION
(ST) ORDER BILL
GOVT INTRODUCES
JAN VISHWAS BILL
IN THE LOK SABHA
GOYAL TAKES
BACK REMARKS
‘AGAINST BIHAR’
New Delhi: The Rajya
Sabha has passed The Con-
stitution (Scheduled Tribes)
Order (Sec-
ond Amend-
ment) Bill,
2022 and The
Constitution
(Scheduled
Tribes) Order
(Fourth Amendment) Bill,
2022. Tribal Minister Arjun
Munda moved the bill.
New Delhi: Commerce 
industry Minister Piyush
Goyal on Thursday in Lok
Sabha intro-
duced Jan
Vishwas Bill,
which seeks
to decrimi-
nalise minor
offences by
amending 183 provisions
in 42 Acts with a view to
promote ease of business.
New Delhi (ANI): Union
Minister Piyush Goyal on
Thursday withdrew his
“demeaning” remarks on
Bihar, which triggered
protests in Parliament by
MPs from the state who
demanded an apology
from him.“Let me clarify
that I have no intention to
insult either Bihar or the
people of Bihar. If it has
hurt anyone’s sentiment,
I immediately withdraw
that statement,” he said in
Rajya Sabha. On Tues-
day while RJD member
Manoj Jha was speaking
on inflation in the Upper
House, Goyal had said
“Inka bas chale toh desh
ko Bihar hi bana de”.
2,841 selected as Khelo
India Athletes: Thakur
Mulling EC proposal on
political donations: Govt
New Delhi (FIB):
Khelo India Athletes
are selected on their
performance in the
Khelo India Games,
National Champion-
ships / open selec-
tion trials. The
Sports Authority of
India (SAI) provides
a platform for identi-
fication of talented
sports persons in pri-
ority Sports disci-
plines through the
National Sports Tal-
ent Search Portal.
This was stated by
Union Sports and
Youth Affairs Minis-
sterAnurag Thakur
in a written reply in
Rajya Sabha on
Thursday. Under
“Sports Competition
and Talent Develop-
ment” component of
Khelo India scheme,
athletes are selected
as Khelo India Ath-
letes based on their
performance in the
Khelo India Games,
National Champion-
ships / open selec-
tion trials.
New Delhi: The govt
on Thursday said the
Election Commis-
sion proposal to re-
duce anonymous po-
litical donations to
Rs 2000 from Rs 20,000
is uder examination.
On a question about
the government’s re-
sponse to the Com-
mission’s proposal
and whether such
measures would ush-
er in reforms and
transparency in do-
nations received by
political parties, Un-
ion Minister Kiren
Rijiju in a written
reply in Rajya Sabha
said, “The proposal is
under examination.”
Aiming for reforms
and transparency in
donations received
by political parties,
the poll panel had
proposed reducing
anonymous political
donations from Rs
20,000 to Rs 2,000.
‘ISRO SIGNED 4 CO-OP DOCUMENTS
FOR SPACE EXPLORATION TIE-UP’
OVER 40K WOMEN TRAINED IN INDIA
UNDER NAI ROSHNI SCHEME: IRANI
New Delhi (FIB): The
Minister of State (MoS),
Dr Jitendra Singh, on
Thursday
said In-
dian Space
Research
Organisa-
tion (ISRO)
has signed
04 (four) cooperative
documents specifically
to collaborate in space
exploration in the last
five years.In a written
reply to a question in the
Rajya Sabha on Thurs-
day, MoS Dr Singh said,
the agreement with the
USA is for accommodat-
ing USA instruments in
India’s Chandrayaan-2
and Chandrayaan-3. He
informed that the agree-
ment with Japan is to
conduct feasibility study
for a joint lunar polar
exploration mission.
New Delhi (FIB): Union
Minister of Minority
Affairs Smriti Irani in a
written reply
to a ques-
tion in Lok
Sabha on
Thursday
said during
last three
years, i.e., 2019-20 to
2021-22, around 40,000
women have been trained
all over India including
175 in Bihar. Nai Roshni
scheme has now been
merged as a component
of Pradhan Mantri Virasat
Ka Samvardhan (PM
VIKAS) scheme w.e.f
FY 2022-23, to improve
livelihoods of minorities,
particularly artisan com-
munities, through skill
development, education
and leadership training,
to support their entrepre-
neurship interventions.
New Delhi (ANI): Un-
ion Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya
on Thursday said that
the government has
started random RT-
PCR sampling among
the passengers arriv-
ing at International
airports in the country
amid the recent surge
of Coronavirus infec-
tion in various coun-
tries including China,
Japan, South Korea,
France, and the United
States.
“We have also started
the random RT-PCR
sampling among pas-
sengers arriving at In-
ternational airports in
the country. We are
committed to tackling
the pandemic and are
taking appropriate
steps,” Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya
said in his statement in
the Lok Sabha while ad-
vising the States to
make sure that people
wear masks, use sani-
tizers and maintain so-
cial distancing even
during the festive and
the New Year season.
He also encouraged the
states to increase
awareness towards pre-
cautionary doses
against Coronavirus.
“We are keeping an
eye on the global Covid
situation and are taking
steps accordingly. The
States are advised to in-
crease genome-se-
quencing to timely
identify the new vari-
ant of Covid-19,” Union
Health Minister Man-
daviya added.
He further said that
the health department
has been proactive in
managing the Covid
pandemic. The Centre
has also provided finan-
cial assistance to States
in the fight against the
pandemic, he added.
“So far, 220 crore cov-
id vaccine shots have
been given,” Union
Health Minister Man-
sukh Mandaviya men-
tioned. Mandaviya then
claimed that the num-
ber of Covid cases is
depleting in India de-
spite its surge across
the world.
“From the last few
days, Covid cases have
been rising in the world
but in India, the cases
are depleting. We are
seeing rising Covid cas-
es and deaths due to it
in China,” Union
Health Minister said.
STARTED RT-PCR SAMPLING
OF INT’L PASSENGERS: GOVT
Parliamentarypanelraises
concernsoverproduction
ofelectriclocomotives
New Delhi (PTI): Rais-
ing concerns over
missed targets in elec-
tric locomotive produc-
tion during this finan-
cial year, a parliamenta-
ry standing committee
has asked the Railway
Ministry to closely mon-
itor the manufacturing
capacity of production
units.
TheStandingCommit-
tee on Railways, in its
report presented in Par-
liament on Thursday
,
noted that with the na-
tional transporter head-
ing towards 100 per cent
electrification on broad-
gauge lines, the require-
ment of diesel locomo-
tives would reduce sub-
stantially
, while that of
the electric ones would
increasetoagreatextent.
The committee also
noted that the Banaras
Locomotive Works
(BLW) and the Patiala
Locomotive Works
(PLW) were given tar-
gets to manufacture 450
and 200 electric locomo-
tivesfor2022-23and2023-
24 respectively
.
Army doctors
save woman
badly injured
in bear attack
India wary of Taliban’s decision to
ban women from Afghan varsities
New Delhi (PTI): India
on Thursday said it is
concerned over reports
that the Taliban have
banned women from
universities in Afghani-
stan, and renewed its
call for setting up of an
inclusive government
in Kabul that ensures
the equal rights of wom-
en and girls in all as-
pects of the Afghan so-
ciety
.Several countries,
including the US, Aus-
tralia, Canada, France,
Germany
, Japan and the
United Kingdom, have
strongly condemned the
Taliban’s decisions to
ban women from uni-
versities. “We have not-
ed with concern the re-
ports in this regard.
India has consistently
supported the cause of
female education in Af-
ghanistan,” the MEA
spokesperson said.
Udhampur/Jammu
(PTI): Army doctors
have saved a 61-year-old
woman badly injured
in a bear attack in a vil-
lage here by perform-
ing a timely surgery to
repair her wind pipe
and blood vessels of the
neck.
“A 61 years old fe-
male resident of
Pancheri village was
brought barely breath-
ing to emergency of
Command Hospital af-
ter sustaining severe
injuries to her neck
and abdomen following
attack by a wild bear on
December 16,” an of-
ficer said She was im-
mediately attended by
trauma surgeons, who
found out that she has
got life threatening in-
juries to her wind pipe
and large blood vessels
of her neck.
Submarine corruption case: Nod
for prosecution of Naval officers
New Delhi (PTI) The
govt has given the go-
ahead to prosecute four
serving and retired
Navy officers in connec-
tion with alleged cor-
ruption in purchasing
spare parts to retrofit
Russian Kilo-class sub-
marines, officials said.
The CBI had filed its
chargesheets in Novem-
ber last year, within two
months of initiating a
probe into a corruption
case, following which it
had sought the govern-
ment’s sanction to pros-
ecute accused Navy of-
ficers Commander S J
Singh (retired) and
three serving com-
manders — Ajit Pandey
,
Abhishek Kumar Shar
and Jagdeesh Chander,
the officials said.
After more than a
year, the government
has finally given the
sanction to prosecute
the four accused figur-
ing in the CBI (CBI)
chargesheets.
Covid nasal vaccine to be
rolled out as booster dose
New Delhi: Paving
way for more options
for third or precau-
tionary doses in India,
Bharat Biotech, which
is the manufacturer
of Covaxin, will roll
out its nasal vaccine
as a booster dose after
receiving a final nod
from the authorities.
Sources said that
permissions are in
the final stage, and
they could be intro-
duced on the COWIN
platform by the up-
coming week.
Bharat biotech’s
Nasal vaccine, being a
needless jab, will be
India’s first such
booster dose. It can be
administered to those
above 18 years. Pric-
ing of the vaccine will
be decided soon and it
will be made available
in government and
private facilities.
ScienceMinistryrec-
ognised the vaccine as
the ‘World’s first intra-
nasal vaccine for COV-
ID developed by India’.
In December, it also got
approval from Central
Drugs Standard Con-
trol Organisation for
restricted use in emer-
gency situations in 18
and above age group.
HOW NASAL SPRAY WORKS
It is a vectored, needleless, intranasal Covid
vaccine. An intranasal vaccine stimulates a
broad immune response – neutralizing IgG,
mucosal IgA, and T cell responses. It comes
with ease as one does not require a health
practitioner or worker to give them a dose.
COVID SURGE
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya speaks in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
There won’t
be a lock-
down situ-
ation in the
country since
95% of the people
here are vaccinat-
ed. The immuni-
ty system of Indi-
ans is stronger
than that of the
Chinese...India
needs to go back
to Covid basics -
testing, treating,
tracing.
—Dr Anil Goyal,
Indian Medical Association
In India,
we have
sufficient
evidence to prove
that those who re-
covered from
Covid are best
protected. It’s im-
portant to moni-
tor all variants.
But it’s unlikely
that we’ll face
any serious prob-
lem due to the vi-
rus in the current
scenario.
—Dr Sanjay Rai,
Senior Epidemiologist,
AIIMS Delhi
“We have
also started
the random
RT-PCR sam-
pling among pas-
sengers arriving
at International
airports in the
country. We are
committed to
tackling the pan-
demic and are
taking appropri-
ate steps,”.
—Mansukh Mandaviya,
Union Health Minister
“Just like
last time
we had
conquered covid
with collective ef-
forts, similarly
we will succeed in
stopping this epi-
demic in the fu-
ture also.”
—Om Birla,
Lok Sabha Speaker
OM BIRLA ADVISES MPs TO WEAR
MASKS, FOLLOW COVID PROTOCOLS
New Delhi: Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla on
Thursday advised all the
MPs to wear
masks and
follow the
Covid proto-
col com-
pletely, in
view of the
increasing cases of Covid
19 in many countries
across the world. Birla
himself was operating the
House wearing a mask in
the House. Birla appealed
the MPs to be careful and
spread public awareness
regarding Covid before
the uproar by the op-
position MPs during the
Question Hour saying that
in view of the past experi-
ences, this time there is a
need for constant caution
and vigilance. The govt
has also advised follow-
ing the Covid protocol
across the country.While
advising all the MPs to
use masks, Birla appealed
to them to make efforts to
spread public awareness
in their respective areas.
GENOME TESTING
OF ALL POSITIVE
CASES IN J’KHAND
Ranchi: Concerned at the
reported spurt in Covid-19
cases in countries like
China, USA and Japan,
the Jharkhand govern-
ment has asked officials
to send for whole genome
sequencing of all positive
samples of Coronavirus
to track the variants, a top
Health department official
said on Thursday. The
development comes in
the wake of Union Health
Minister reviewing the
Covid situation.
PUNJAB CM MANN
HOLDS COVID
REVIEW MEETING
Chandigarh: Punjab CM
Bhagwant Mann held a
meeting of health of-
ficials over
Covid-19
situation.
“We just
have nine
active cases
of Covid. 16
districts do not have any
positive cases of Covid so
far. We have established
oxygen plants  have pre-
pared hospitals as well ac-
cordingly,” Health Minister
Chetan Jouramajra said.
“HAVEN’T GOT REQUEST FOR USE OF
GANGA WATER IN COVID TREATMENT”
New Delhi: The Centre
on Thursday clarified that
it has not received any re-
quest from
National
Mission for
Clean Ganga
to conduct
research
on the use
of Ganga river water as
a cure for the COVID-19
virus.In a written reply
in Lok Sabha, Jal Shakti
MoS Prahlad Singh
Patel said, “Govt has
not received any request
from National Mission for
Clean Ganga to conduct
research on the use of
Ganga river water as
a cure to the Covid-19
virus.” “However, NMCG
had sent two proposals
viz., ‘Ganga Sediments
could immunize against
COVID-19’ and ‘Treat-
ment of COVID-19 by
Ganga Jal’ on April 28,
2020, to the Indian Coun-
cil of Medical Research
for examination.
UP CM HOLDS
MEET TO ASSESS
COVID SITUATION
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh CM Yogi
Adityanath on Thurs-
day held
a meeting
to assess
Covid situ-
ation. Of-
ficials said
after the
meeting that though
face masks have not
been made compulsory
but should be encour-
aged at public places.
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
INDIA
NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022
06
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Srinagar (PTI): Secu-
rity forces on Thursday
busted a module of the
Hizbul Mujahideen and
arrested five militant
associates in Jammu
and Kashmir’s Kup-
wara district, officials
said. A joint team of po-
lice and army appre-
hended three terrorist
associates -- Abdul Rouf
Malik, Altaf Ahmad
Payer and Riyaz Ahmad
Lone, officials said.
During questioning,
the trio disclosed the
location of two hide-
outs constructed for ter-
rorists of Hizbul Muja-
hideen on the instruc-
tions of a Pakistan-
based terrorist handler
Farooq Ahmad Pir alias
Nadeem Usmani, who is
presently based in PoK,
officials said.
“One AK rifle, two
AK magazines, 119 AK
ammunition, one pistol,
one pistol magazine,
four pistol rounds, six
hand grenades, one
IED, two detonators,
two wire bundles and
one water tank of ap-
proximately 100 litre-
capacity has been re-
covered from the hide-
outs,” officials said.
The arrested persons
told the police that they
also received Rs 6 lakhs
in June to procure arms
and ammunition and
also material for con-
struction of hideouts.
“Two more terrorist
associates, including
Budgam-resident Ab-
dul Majeed Beigh who
have been actively sup-
porting the trio in their
activities, have also
been detained,” they
added.
The officials said the
terrorist associates
were in touch with an-
other PoK-based han-
dler -- Fayaz Geelani,
also from Budgam.
Hizbul module busted, 5 associates held
IN KUPWARA
Security forces in action in Shopian district on Tuesday.
(L-R in the top row) AAP MP Raghav Chadha, BJP MP
Prakash Javadekar, Congress MP Rajeev Shukla, Union
Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar; and (L-R in the bottom
row) BJP MP S Phangnon Konyak, AAP MP Balbir
Singh Seechewal, BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani and
Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, wear a face
mask after authorities made it mandatory for parlia-
mentarians to wear masks, on Thursday.
NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022
07
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Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 55,241.00 59.00 0.02 (Per 10g)
SILVER 69,413.00 194.00 0.05 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.76 0.08 0.04
GBPINR 100.16 0.37 0.37
CURRENCIES
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Gold price
rose `59 to `55,241 per
10 grams in the national
capital on Thursday amid
gains in precious metal in
overseas markets, ac-
cording to HDFC Securi-
ties. In the previous trade,
the yellow metal had
touched `55,182 per 10
grams. Silver, however,
slipped `194 to `69,413
per kilogram. In the inter-
national market, gold was
trading in green at
$1,816.7 per ounce while
silver was marginally
down at $23.84 per
ounce.  —PTI
GOLD GAINS `59 BUT
SILVER PRICES GO
DOWN BY `194
New Delhi: Social media
giant Meta took action
against more than 2.29
crore pieces of content
created by Indian users
on Facebook and Insta-
gram in November. The
company took action on
over 1.95 crore pieces of
content on Facebook and
33.9 lakh pieces of con-
tent on Instagram, ac-
cording to the data
shared in the report. The
company actioned over
1.49 crore spam content,
followed by 18 lakh con-
tent related to “Adult Nu-
dity and Sexual activity”,
12 lakh pertaining to “Vi-
olent and Graphic Con-
tent” etc on Facebook on
its own.  —PTI
META ACTS ON 2.29
CR CONTENT PIECES
ON FB, INSTA IN NOV
New Delhi: Tata Commu-
nications will acquire New
York-based end-to-end
live video production
company The Switch En-
terprises in an all-cash
deal for `486 crore. Tata
Comm will support The
Switch customers with
global reach to over 190
countries and territories
and The Switch will bring
live production capabili-
ties helping organisations
to produce high quality
immersive content faster
and efficiently, Tata Com-
munications said.  —PTI
TATA COMM TO
ACQUIRE SWITCH
ENTERPRISES
New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki
India Ltd on Thursday
said it has signed a five-
year pact with Kamarajar
Port Ltd for export of its
passenger vehicles to in-
ternational markets. Un-
der the agreement start-
ing December 2022,
Kamarajar Port will be
used for exports to Africa,
Middle East, Latin Ameri-
ca, ASEAN, Oceania and
SAARC regions by the
company. The port will be
used to export around
20,000 cars annually. A
car-cum-general cargo
berth has been developed
and commissioned. —PTI
MARUTI SUZUKI
SIGNS PACT WITH
KAMARAJAR PORT
*Rates till the edition went to print.
PM TO TAKE CALL ON
EXTENDING PMGKAY
BEYOND DEC: MoS AGRI
New Delhi: Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi will take a call on
extending the PMGKAY scheme
to provide free
ration to the
poor beyond
December,
Union Minister
Shobha Karandlaje said on
Thursday said stressing that
the government has sufficient
foodgrains stock. If Pradhan
Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna
Yojana (PMGKAY) has to be
extended, the decision will be
taken by the Cabinet, headed by
the prime minister.  —PTI
5.86 GW COAL, LIGNITE
BASED THERMAL PROJ
NON-OPERATIONAL
New Delhi: Projects of 5.86
GW out of the total 210.6 GW
coal and lignite based thermal
power genera-
tion capacities in
the country are
non-operational,
Parliament was
informed on Thursday. “Out
of 210.6 GW (coal and lignite
based) monitored capacity of
thermal power plants, 5.86 GW
capacity is non-operational due
to various reasons such as no
PPA, under National Company
Law Tribunal (NCLT) etc,” Power
Minister R K Singh said. —PTI
ROOFTOP SOLAR INSTALLATIONS FALL DUE TO
SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS: MRME MINISTER
New Delhi: The rooftop solar capacity installations fell to 1.09
gigawatt during January-September 2022 due to reasons like supply
chain disruption in solar modules and delay in tenders by state im-
plementing agencies, Parliament was informed on Thursday. At 1.09
GW, the installation was over 4% lower compared to 1.14 GW in the
nine-month period of 2021, according to the data shared by Minister
for New and Renewable Energy R K Singh. The minister further said
that his ministry has taken several steps to enhance rooftop solar
installations in the country. —PTI
CIL CAN PURSUE OVERSEAS ACQUISITION OF COAL
MINES AFTER DETAILED STUDY OF BLOCKS: PAR
New Delhi: With CIL not buying out of any coal blocks abroad at pre-
sent, a Parliamentary panel on Thursday said the PSU can still pursue
overseas acquisition of mines after detailed study and analysis of the
blocks, especially low ash coking coal. “Considering the existing coal
resources in the country, the committee would like the coal ministry/
CIL to explore acquisition of coal blocks abroad. They would like to
be apprised of any developments in this regard.” —PTI
OTHER STORIES
EXPERTS AHEAD OF BUDGET
‘WIDEN TAX BASE AND
DO AWAY WITH CESS’
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Widening of
the tax base, doing away
with cess and surcharge,
improvement in compli-
ance and moderation in tax
for emerging sectors are
some of the suggestions
submitted to the Finance
Ministry ahead of the
Budget by TCF.
Experts are of the opin-
ion that there is a need to
grow tax revenues for the
government to drive eco-
nomic growth and make
investments in develop-
mental activities, TCF,
the think tank said in a
statement.
Towards this end, poor
compliance was identified
as a weak link in achieving
targeted collections lead-
ing to complex issues like
overtaxing, complicated
tax structures, rising liti-
gation, among others.
Experts during a delib-
eration stressed on better
compliance processes to be
put in place backed by tech-
nological support which in
turn will enable tax widen-
ing and need for strategies
to strengthen tax collec-
tions from Tier 2 towns and
cities to widen the tax net.
Former chairman of
CBIC PC Jha said “enforce-
ment agencies are working
hard to check the illicit
trade, but tax evaders are
ahead of curve and using
innovative techniques to
smuggle goods into our
country
. There is a need to
deploy modern technology,
install more scanners at
ports and use artificial in-
telligence to address the
counterfeiting issue.”
MAJOR
HIGHLIGHTS
z Experts are of the opinion
that there is a need to grow tax
revenues for the government
to drive economic growth
and make investments in
developmental activities, TCF,
the think tank said
z Experts during a
deliberation stressed on
better compliance processes
to be put in place backed by
technological support
z The estimated tax loss to
the government in two highly
regulated and taxed industries,
tobacco products is `28,500 cr
Taxonomy  clear
definitions
needed to prevent
greenwashing:Rao
Mumbai (PTI): Reserve
Bank Deputy Governor M
Rajeshwar Rao on Thurs-
day called for a taxonomy
on green finance to avoid
theriskof “greenwashing”.
Green financing refers to
lending to environmentally
sustainable economic
activities.
Rao said a formal defini-
tion of green finance along
with a taxonomy “is the
need of hour” and added
that it will enable more pre-
cise tracking of finance
flows to green sectors in
India.
The call for clear defini-
tions and a taxonomy or a
classification system, es-
tablishing a list of environ-
mentally sustainable eco-
nomic activities, comes at
a time when India is look-
ing at increasing green fi-
nance to help the climate.
“Greenwashing” refers
to dishonest practices de-
signed to deceive people.
Panagariya cautions
India against cutting
trade ties with China
New Delhi (PTI): Amid de-
mands for snapping trade
ties with China for its
transgressions on the bor-
der, former Niti Aayog Vice
Chairman Arvind Pana-
gariya has opined that cut-
ting trade with Beijing at
thisjuncturewouldamount
to sacrificing India’s poten-
tial economic growth.
Instead, Panagariya sug-
gested that India should try
to enter into free trade
agreements (FTA) with
countries such as the UK
and the European Union to
expand its trade.
“Engaging China in a
trade war at this juncture
will mean sacrificing a con-
siderable part of our poten-
tial growth... Purely on eco-
nomic grounds, it will be
unwise to take any action
in response to it (transgres-
sions on the border),” the
eminent economist said.
Panagariya said both
countries can play the trade
sanctions game but the abil-
ity of a $17 trillion economy
(China) to inflict injury on
a $3 trillion economy (In-
dia) is far greater than the
reverse. “Now there are
some who want trade sanc-
tions on China to ‘punish’ it
for its transgressions on the
border... If we try to punish
China,itwillnotsitback,as
amply illustrated by its re-
sponse to sanctions by even
the mighty United States,”
he observed.
‘ABILITY TO
INFLICT INJURY’
z Both countries can play the
trade sanctions game but the
ability of a $17 trillion eco
(China) to inflict injury on a
$3 trillion economy (India) is
far greater than the reverse
Reliance set to acquire Metro’s
India business for `2,850 crore
New Delhi (PTI): Reliance
Industries has agreed to
buy German firm Metro
AG’s wholesale operations
in India for `2,850 crore as
the conglomerate run by
Mukesh Ambani seeks to
strengthen its dominant
position in India’s mam-
moth retail sector.
Reliance Retail Ventures
Ltd (RRVL), a subsidiary of
the oil-to-telecom conglom-
erate, signed definitive
agreements to acquire a
100% equity stake in Metro
Cash  Carry India Pvt Ltd
for a total cash considera-
tion of `2,850 crore, subject
to closing adjustments, the
two firms said in a joint
statement.
Reliance is India’s big-
gest brick-and-mortar re-
tailer with over 16,600
stores, and a strong whole-
sale unit would further
deepen its operations in
India.
Metro started operations
in India in 2003 as the first
company to introduce a
cash-and-carry business
format.
JIO TO PROVIDE
MANAGED SERVICES
FOR IOCL
New Delhi (PTI): Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC), the nation’s
largest oil firm, has selected
Reliance Jio’s managed network
services to connect a fifth of its
petrol pump network. Jio will
connect 7,200 IOC sites with
SD-WAN managed service solu-
tion, zero-touch provisioning and
24x7 real-time monitoring, the
firm said in a statement Thurs-
day. JioBusiness, the enterprise
arm of Reliance Jio Infocomm
Ltd will be deploying and manag-
ing SD-WAN (Software Defined
Wide Area Network) for IOC
across its 7,200 retail outlets for
a period of 5 years. This will be
one of the largest deployments
of SD-WAN solutions in India.
JIO DEPOSITS ` 3,720
CR IN SBI ACCOUNT
TO ACQUIRE RITL
Mumbai (PTI): Reliance Projects
and Property Management
Services, a subsidiary of telecom
major Jio, has deposited `3,720
crore in an SBI escrow account
to acquire mobile tower and fibre
assets of Reliance Infratel. The
NCLT gave approval to Jio for the
acquisition of Reliance Infratel
(RITL) in November. “Reliance
Infratel transaction is complete.
Jio has deposited `3,720 crore
in a SBI escrow account as
directed by NCLT,” a source said.
Billionaire Mukesh Dhirubhai
Ambani-led Jio placed a bid of
`3,720 crore in November 2019
to acquire the tower and fibre
asset of debt-ridden subsidiary
of his brother’s company.
DoT forms task
forces to boost
telecom mfg
New Delhi (PTI): The De-
partment of Telecom (DoT)
has formed four task forces
to recommend to the gov-
ernment measures that
will boost the domestic tel-
ecom manufacturing eco-
system and remove the bot-
tlenecks, an official memo-
randum said
Under one of the task
forces, the DoT has sought
recommendation for a
phased manufacturing pro-
gramme for telecom gear
manufacturing to boost do-
mestic component supply
chain ecosystem as well as
attract global players.
This task force will be co-
chaired by state-run re-
search arm C-DoT CEO RK
Upadhyay, the memoran-
dum dated December 20
said.
Markets give up early gains,
decline for third straight day
Mumbai (PTI): Equity
benchmarks pared early
gains and ended lower for
the third straight session
on Thursday
, defying large-
ly positive global market
trends, amid the release of
minutes of the RBI’s MPC
meeting.
Despite a positive begin-
ning, the 30-share BSE
benchmark Sensex failed
to carry forward the gains
and declined 241.02 points
to finish at 60,826.22.
The broader NSE Nifty
dropped 71.75 points or
0.39% to settle at 18,127.35.
From the Sensex pack,
MM, Bajaj Finserv, In-
dusInd Bank, TaMo, Tata
Steel, Larsen  Toubro,
Axis Bank and NTPC were
among the major laggards.
RUPEE APPRECIATES
8 PAISE TO 82.76
AGAINST US DOLLAR
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee ap-
preciated by 8 paise to close
at 82.76 (provisional) against
the US currency on Thursday
following a weak greenback in
overseas markets. The local cur-
rency opened higher at 82.78 at
the interbank foreign exchange
market. The rupee moved in the
range from 82.64 to 82.79 in the
day trade before settling at 82.76
to a dollar, showing gains of 8
paise over the previous close.
Govt sees bright prospect of wheat crop
New Delhi (PTI): Agricul-
ture Secretary Manoj Ahu-
ja said there is a bright
prospect of wheat crop in
key growing states as the
current temperature re-
mains conducive for plant
growth and higher yield.
Till last week, there was
a 3% increase in wheat
acreage at 286.5 lakh hec-
tares in the ongoing rabi
season that began in Octo-
ber, according to the agri-
culture ministry’s data.
“Wheat crop prospect is
bright. The current weath-
er remains conducive for
the plant growth and better
yields,” Ahuja said.
Better weather condi-
tions and higher area un-
der the crop are expected to
lead to higher production
in the 2022-23 crop year
(July-June), he said.
Like last year, there have
been no reports of extreme
temperatures from wheat-
growing states so far. This
augurs well for the crop
prospects, he added.
‘CURRENT TEMP CONDUCIVE FOR HIGH YIELD’
MAJOR
HIGHLIGHTS
z According to the agri
ministry’s data, till last
week, there was a 3%
increase in wheat acreage
at 286.5 lakh hectares in the
ongoing rabi season that
began in October
z Like last year, there have
been no reports of extreme
temp from wheat-growing
states so far
NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022
08
2NDFRONT
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
A simple action with powerful
results is to say things you mean;
Be a person of your word and
watch your life change.
—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO  Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Several
roads and parks will be
beautified, trees illumi-
nated and public art in-
stalledatmanylocations
ahead of the G20 sum-
mit next year in Delhi.
“This will include im-
proving road infrastruc-
ture and walkability
, re-
furbishing signages,
beautifying areas be-
neath flyovers, good
LED lighting, illuminat-
ing trees, covering
drains and replacing
broken slabs, installing
public art at important
locations, developing
modern kiosks, taking
permanent measures to
preventwaterlogging,”a
seniorMCDofficialsaid.
Beatification work
would be done on roads
leading to Sunder Nurs-
ery, Tuglakabad Shoot-
ing Range, the park
near Qutab Minar, in-
ternal market road in
Lajpat Nagar, Greater
Kailash-I, Greater
Kailash-II, South Exten-
sion market and De-
fence Colony market,
officials said. Also, 55
public art will be in-
stalled at important lo-
cations. Trees will be
illuminated at the
Waste-to-Wonder Park
at Sarai Kale Khan,
Bharat Dharshan Park
at Punjabi Bagh and
Shaheedi Park, ITO as
well as in markets.
The MCD has also
identified locations for
the installation of wa-
ter fountains. These in-
clude Qutub Park, PVR
Saket, Greater Kailash-
II M Block Market,
Waste-to-Wonder Park,
Bharat Darshan Park,
Shaheedi Park ITO and
Ajmal Khan Park.
FOUNTAINS, PUBLIC
ART, ILLUMINATED
TREES IN NEW DELHI
PM Narendra Modi reviewing the model of the new exhibition complex at Pragati Maidan. —FILE PHOTO
55 art
installations will
be put up at
important
intersections,
key markets and
historical places
Womencarry‘occasionalguilt’inCongressyatra
Asim Kamal
Nuh: Some left behind
their husbands and chil-
dren, others their ailing
parents. Battling occa-
sional guilt but backed
by supportive families,
an intrepid band of Con-
gress’ women workers
have taken on the physi-
cally - and personally -
daunting challenge of
walking in the Bharat
Jodo Yatra.
As they march on
alongside former Con-
gress president Rahul
Gandhi in the 3,570 km
yatra from Kanyaku-
mari to Kashmir, stay-
ing in containers and
walking 20-25 km a day,
the women are scripting
storiesinempowerment
and the criticality of
supportive family struc-
tures that enable it.
The toast of the Con-
gress for their tenacity
and the difficult choices
they made to fulfil a
five-month political
commitment, their sto-
ries are many
.
There’s Lhinkim Ha-
okip Shingnaisui of
Manipur, the only wom-
an from the northeast
in the Congress’ cross-
country march, who left
her husband and 3 kids,
Sheeba Ramachandran
from Kerala who has a
teenage daughter, son
and husband, and Prat-
ibha Raghuvanshi from
Madhya Pradesh whose
father is recovering
from an eye surgery -
just three of the scores
of women marching on.
Overcome by guilt at
leaving her children,
Ramachandran one day
locked herself in a toilet
at a petrol pump, turned
on the water and cried
her eyes out. Her teen
daughter had phoned
asking how she could
ask her father to buy
sanitary napkins, and it
was just too much for
the mother in the Con-
gress worker to handle.
“Leaving behind my
teenage daughter to em-
bark on the yatra was
the toughest decision of
my life. We were walk-
ing in Bellary when she
called me crying,” Ra-
machandran told PTI.
It’s only after Ra-
machandran pressed
the teen that she came
out with her anguished
question. “At that
point, the mother in me
felt crushed and was
overcome with guilt,”
the 47-year-old from
Ernakulam said, re-
counting her near
breakdown at a road-
side petrol pump. “Lat-
er, I called up her fa-
ther and told him to
take her out to treat
her to her favourite
soup and buy her sani-
tary napkins,” she
said, stressing that her
husband was also play-
ing the role of mother
to the two children.
Crediting her hus-
band for her being able
to undertake this “life
changing” journey, Ra-
machandran said she
had never asked her
husbandforanyholiday
,
saree or jewellery after
marriage. Going on the
yatra was the first thing
she had asked of him
and he readily agreed
and also convinced
their children.
The choice of follow-
ing their conviction to
take on hate was clear,
said several of the wom-
en. Over 100 days into
the yatra, they said they
would do it again under
Rahul Gandhi’s leader-
ship if given the chance
and added that his slo-
gan of “Daro Mat (fear
not)” keeps them going,
mile after mile.  —PTI
Leaving behind my daughter to em-
bark on the yatra was the toughest
decision. We were walking in Bel-
lary when she called me crying.
 —Sheeba Ramachandran,
 yatri from Kerala
The only woman from the northeast
in the Congress’ cross-country
march, she left at home her hus-
band and three children.
 —Lhinkim Haokip,
Cong supporter from Manipur in the Bharat Jodo Yatra
I am unmar-
ried and I stay
with my par-
ents while my brother
works in another dis-
trict. I wanted to be
there for my father as
my mother is not that
literate and there were
eye drops to be given
12-13 times in a day.
 —Pratibha Raghuwanshi,
 a Congress supporter from MP
Party’s women supporters set
a brave new example
Many are staying in containers
and walking 20-25 km a day
The idea of travelling is changing with ‘revenge tourism’ after Covid
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Travel in
India is back on track
and it looks like India
has evolved as a tour-
ism hotspot for multiple
reasons, especially af-
ter the Covid pandemic-
induced disruption.
Recently, passengers
had posted pictures and
videos of long queues
and crowds at the Delhi
Airport. The industry
has termed it ‘revenge’
tourism. After being
confined for over 2 years
due to several restric-
tions, people have start-
edtorealizethattravelis
a much-needed break.
Delhi and Mumbai air-
ports are experiencing
high footfalls and the
check-in and boarding
timeislongerthanusual
due to Christmas  New
Year. The hospitality in-
dustry is gearing up to
make the most of the
festivaltime,withrooms
at many hotels and re-
sorts already sold out.
Tourists from differ-
ent countries have been
visiting India to wit-
ness its traditions and
cultural heritage,
which are the factors
that laid the foundation
of the Indian tourism
sector contributing
about 5 per cent to GDP.
DestinationslikeLon-
avala, Leh Ladakh, An-
daman, Kerala, Vizag,
DharamshalaandCoorg
are witnessing good de-
mand, unlike tradition-
al places like Goa,
Himachal  Shimla.
FOREIGN  DOMESTIC
TOURIST ARRIVALS IN
INDIA 2012 - 2021
Years Foreign Domestic
Tourist Tourist
arrivals Visits
(in millions) (in millions)
2012 6.58 1045.05
2013 6.97 1142.53
2014 7.68 1282.80
2015 8.03 1431.97
2016 8.80 1615.39
2017 10.04 1657.39
2018 10.56 1853.79
2019 10.93 2321.98
2020 2.74 610.22
2021 1.52 677.63
Source: Ministry of Tourism, India
TOP SPIRITUAL GROWTH
TOURISM IN 2022
DESTINATIONS VS 2021
Varanasi 56%
Tirupati 233%
Puri 117%
Amritsar 81%
Haridwar 78%
Shirdi 483%
Rishikesh 78%
Mathura 81%
Mahabaleshwar 149%
Madurai 127%
A zone-wise breakdown of spiritual
tourism in India indicates North
India as the most favoured spiritual
destination followed by South, West
and East regions.
Spiritual tourism leads travel recovery : The travel recovery in India is driven
by religious tourism, reveals the latest edition of OYO Cultural Travel 2022
Roundup Report. The report highlights that Varanasi is the top religious destina-
tion for bookers across India followed by Tirupati, Puri, Amritsar and Haridwar.
SPIRITUAL TOURISM
BOOMING IN INDIA
Kerala, which is known typically for its backwaters, marine drive, houseboats, and beaches, has
been included in TIME magazine’s ‘50 Extraordinary Destinations of the World’ to explore in 2022.
Dy Police Superintendent
Ganesh KC of Nepal, who
arrested Charles Sobhraj.
Passengers carried by domestic airlines during Janu-
ary-November 2022 were at 1,105.10 lakh as against
726.11 lakh during the corresponding period of previous
year, registering an annual growth of 52.19%, as per Direc-
torate General of Civil Aviation data. In terms of domestic
visits, the top states are Tamil Nadu at 115.33 million, Uttar
Pradesh at 109.70 million, Andhra Pradesh at 93.27 million
and Karnataka at 81.33 million. Taj Mahal became the
most-visited ticketed ASI Site for Domestic tourists in FY
21-23, followed by the Red Fort and the Qutub Minar, which
received the second and third most visitors. Kerala, one of
the top tourist destinations in India, registered over 1.33
crore domestic travellers between January and September
this year, an official of state’s tourism department said.
DOMESTIC PASSENGER TRAFFIC UP 52%
Sight of half-burnt body of US woman as child spurred
him to become cop, says officer who arrested Sobhraj
Shirish B Pradhan
Kathmandu: A former
Nepalese police officer
who was instrumental
inthehigh-profilearrest
of the notorious French
serial killer Charles
Sobhraj in 2003 on
Thursday said it was the
painful childhood mem-
ory of the sight of a half-
burnt body of a slain
American woman in a
river that spurred him
to become a detective.
Ganesh K.C. was 40
and the Deputy Police
Superintendent in 2003
when he nabbed
Sobhraj from a casino
in Kathmandu.
Nepal’s Supreme
Court on Wednesday or-
dered the release of
Sobhraj, 78, a French-
man of Indian and Viet-
namese parentage, who
has been in jail here for
close to 2 decades on
murder charges. For
Ganesh, it was the pain-
fulchildhoodmemoryof
the sight of a half-burnt
body of American tour-
ist Connie Jo Bronzich
that encouraged him to
become a seasoned 
hardened detective.
“I was barely 12 when
I saw people rushing
near the Manahara riv-
er in Kathmandu to get
a glimpse of the dead
body of Connie Jo Bron-
zich, the US backpacker
who was killed by
Sobhraj,” he said. Bron-
zich  Canadian friend
Laurent Carriere were
the 2 backpackers killed
by Sobhraj in 1976. It
was only ironic that 27
years later, Ganesh
would be entrusted with
the task of hunting
down the serial killer.
Ganesh recounted with
glee the chain of events
that lead to Sobhraj’s
sensational arrest.
“He (Sobhraj) landed
in Kathmandu on the
pretext of filming a doc-
umentary
. He was spot-
ted in Durbarmarg  a
newspaper published
hisphotographaman-
hunt was launched,”
he recollected.  —PTI
NIF TO OFFER FELLOWSHIPS ON
POST-INDEPENDENCE INDIA BOOKS
Bengaluru (PTI): The
New India Foundation
(NIF) has announced
the 11th edition of its
fellowships that sup-
port books document-
ing various aspects of
the dynamic and rich
landscape of India
post-Independenceera.
The last date of sub-
mission of applica-
tions is December 31.
About 20-25 propos-
als will be shortlisted
to meet with a jury
consisting of eminent
people from the world
of scholarship, busi-
ness, and social ser-
vice and 5-10 fellow-
ships will be awarded.
With an annual sti-
pend of Rs 18 lakh to
each recipient, the
New India Foundation
Book Fellowships will
also offer editorial and
administrative guid-
ance throughout its
course, from proposal
to publication. The fel-
lowships are open to
Indian nationals, in-
cluding those current-
ly living abroad, and
will be awarded for a
period of one year.
The jury this year
includes social scien-
tist and author Niraja
Gopal Jayal, historian
Srinath Raghavan,
and entrepreneurs
Nandan Nilekani and
Manish Sabharwal.
Police escort Charles Sobhraj
from court in Kathmandu on
Aug 12, 2004.
About 20-25
proposals will
be shortlisted
to meet with a
jury. The last
date to submit
applications is
December 31
—PHOTO
BY
PTI
FOR G20 SUMMIT
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 23, 2022
strong woman knows she
has strength enough for
the journey
, but a woman
of strength knows it is in
thejourneywhereshewill
become strong, believes
Ritu Sharma from the
beautiful place of ‘Pilani’.
She is also a perfect example of
influential woman. While sharing
herbittersweetjourneytoCityFirst,
the diva expressed, “ I have completed
my post-graduation and am always
seeking opportunities where I can utilise
my skills  ability to show my talent to
the world. I am a multi-talented girl who
is working in one of the top 10 compa-
nies“
Accenture”undertheaccountsand
finance profile with my favourite pas-
sion modelling. I always wanted to keep
my parents proud and become an inde-
pendent girl who always aims high.
The modelling industry demand indi-
viduals who have the ability to organise
their time and workload, to be flexible
and open to change and most important
ability to work well with others. Also, a
model should be brave to try new things
and not be too afraid to express them-
selves model should be original, creative
and have the courage to do modelling.”
According to the ravishing beauty
, “My
inspiration is my father “Surya Prakash
Sharma”. He faced so many problems in
his life but he never give up and so hard
work for us, so here I am and following the
same what my father is doing work hard.
While sharing about her memorable mo-
ment, “ I have so many memorable and
rewarding movements but the most beau-
tiful movement is becoming top 15 Elite
Miss Rajasthan 2022. When I took the tro-
phy for the top 15 Elitemissrajasthan that
movement changed my life and it brings
me to the top of Rajasthan and feel very
beautiful and confident. This also makes
my father happy and proud and this makes
me the happiest daughter in the world. I am
truly grateful to Jagdeesh Chandra sir and
Gaurav Gaur for supporting me during my
journey
.”
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
A
ONE
WOMAN
ARMY!
RITU SHARMA,
A SUPERMODEL
FROM THE BEAUTIFUL
PLACE OF PILANI,
SHARES HER
JOURNEY WITH
CITY FIRST!
—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO
23122022_ First India New Delhi (1).pdf
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23122022_ First India New Delhi (1).pdf

  • 1. Indian firms get bulk of `85,000 cr order for weapons & equipment for armed forces New Delhi (ANI): The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Thursday ac- corded approval for Ac- ceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 24 Capital Ac- quisition Proposals. Ac- cording to Defence offi- cials, the proposals in- clude six for the Army, six for the Air Force, 10 for the Navy and two for the Coast Guard for a total value of Rs 84,328 crore. Of these, 21 pro- posals, worth Rs 82,127 crore (97.4 per cent), are for procurement from indigenous sources. The AoNs accorded will equip the Army with Infantry Combat Vehicles, Light Tanks and Mounted Gun Sys- tems. Approvals for Navy include Anti-Ship Missiles, Multi-Purpose Vessels and High En- durance Autonomous Vehicles. IAF will be strengthened with a new range of missile systems and Long Range Guided Bombs. ‘ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT’ Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. —FILE PHOTO 5-YR-OLD GIRL ABDUCTED, FOUND IN PARK, RAPED New Delhi: A 5-year- old girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped in north Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy area, police said, adding that a team of 50 personnel is at work to find the culprit. Police said the girl was kid- napped on Wednesday and was found Thursday morning in a park not far from her house. Ex-Delhi Prisons chief Sandeep Goel suspended month after Sukesh’s claim New Delhi (ANI): For- mer Delhi Prisons chief Sandeep Goel has been suspended from service almost a month after conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar made sensational claims that he paid Rs 12.5 crore to the Indian Police Ser- vice officer as “protec- tion money”. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is- sued an order on Wednesday night sus- pending Goel from ser- vice. The action was taken a month after the IPS officer was trans- ferred from the post of Director General of Prisons and asked to re- port to Delhi Police Headquarters. Chandrashekhar had claimed in his letter dated October 7 to Delhi LG VK Saxena that “a total amount of Rs 10 crore was paid to Saty- endar Jain (AAP minis- ter jailed in Tihar) and Rs 12.50 crore to DG Prison Sandeep Goel.” Chandrashekhar also claimed he had dis- closed about Goel run- ning a racket in a peti- tion in Delhi High Court, besides telling it to the CBI. Aaftab’s bail plea withdrawn, dismissed New Delhi (PTI): Aaft- ab Amin Poonawala, ac- cused of strangling his live-in partner Shrad- dha Walkar and chop- ping her body into piec- es, withdrew his bail plea on Thursday . Poonawala appeared before the court through video-confer- encing and said he wished to withdraw the bail application which was filed before the court on December 15. Poonawala’s advo- cate MS Khan informed the court that the bail application was moved because of “miscom- munication” between him and the accused. During the proceed- ings that started around 11 am, the judge asked Poonawala twice whether he was willing to file or withdraw the bail application. Khan also informed the court that he met Poonawala on Monday for around 50 minutes during which his client told him about with- drawing the plea. “Bail petition dis- missed as withdrawn and not pressed,” Addi- tional Sessions Judge Vrinda Kumari said. The Delhi Police sought court’s permis- sion for obtaining voice sample of Aaftab. The application is likely to be heard on Friday . IN THE COURTYARD JACQUELINE WITHDRAWS PLEA FOR PERMISSION TO VISIT BAHRAIN TO SEE MOM KULDEEP SENGAR SEEKS 2-MONTH BAIL FOR DAUGHTER’S WEDDING New Delhi (PTI): Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez, accused in a money laundering case, on Thursday withdrew from a Delhi court her plea for per- mission to travel to Bah- rain to see her mother. The actor told the court about her decision after the judge said the question of charge should first be decided. “You can withdraw the application and let the question of charge first be decided. Otherwise I will pass a judicial order,” the judge said. Thereafter, the actor had a discussion with her lawyers. New Delhi: A bench of the Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the stand of the CBI on a plea by expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar seek- ing interim release for two months to attend wedding ceremonies of his daughter which would begin on January 18. Sengar is serving life term for raping a minor girl in Unnao in 2017. Senior counsel, appearing for Sengar, said while the marriage will take place on February 8, a ceremony related to it will be held in January. IPS officer Sandeep Goel, ex-Delhi Prisons chief BSE SENSEX 60,826.22 241.02 | NSE NIFTY 18,127.35 71.75 NEW DELHI l FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 114 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI MUMBAI With a belligerent China figuring high on their radar screens, India Japan will conduct their first-ever air combat exercise next month in a significant developmental ties. Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri on Thursday alleged that lakhs of ration card holders were ‘not getting ration’ for last two months. CHARLES SOBHRAJ’S RELEASE DELAYED BY A DAY Kathmandu: Charles Sobhraj, 78, will spend one more day in Nepal’s prison as the immigration authorities on Thursday expressed their inability to arrange accommodation for the notorious serial killer who is expected to be deported after his release. ROBERT VADRA FACES ARREST AFTER HIGH COURT REJECTS PLEA Jodhpur: The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday rejected a petition by Robert Vadra seeking quashing of an ED probe into purchase of land in Bikaner by a company linked to him. The court extended stay on Vadra’s arrest by four weeks. As India steps up Covid ‘Shield’... ‘CONCERNED’ PM TAKES A KNOW-HOW Moni Sharma New Delhi: Prime Min- ister Narendra Modi chaired high-level meet- ing in the backdrop of spike in cases in some countries on Thursday to assess the Covid-19 situation in the country , preparedness of health infrastructure and emergence of variants and their public health implications and cau- tioned against compla- cency. Advising strict vigil, he said Covid not over yet and directed of- ficials to strengthen the ongoing surveillance measures, especially at the international air- ports. The nasal vac- cine has got a go-ahead in meeting as India is stepping up the vacci- nation drive. He advised states to audit COVID- specific facilities to en- sure the operational readiness of hospital infrastructure, includ- ing oxygen cylinders, PSA plants, ventilators human resources. P6 Modi urges people to follow the Covid-appropriate behaviour asks States to audit medical facilities No order has been issued by the Central government to curb the incoming flights from China: Sources In a big move, Prime Minister gives a go-ahead to the Bharat Biotech’s Nasal Covid-19 vaccination A MEGA SURGE! CHINA IS LIKELY SEEING 1 MILLION COVID CASES, 5,000 DEATHS/DAY Beijing: China is most likely experiencing a whop- ping 1 million Covid infections and 5,000 virus-related deaths every day as the country of 1.4 billion people is experiencing the worst outbreak the world has ever seen, according to a new analysis. This current Covid wave may see the country’s daily case rate rise to 3.7 million in January and 4.2 million till March, according to British scientific information and analytics company Airfinity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a high-level meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in India, via VC, in New Delhi on Thursday. Union Ministers Amit Shah, Mansukh Mandaviya, Jyotiraditya Scindia alongwith NITI Aayog CEO Parameswaran Iyer and other health medical experts are also present here. MAJOR HAPPENINGS They have now come up with a new idea. They wrote a letter to me and said Covid-19 is coming so stop “Bharat Jodo Yatra”. They are com- ing up with ex- cuses to stop the yatra. Wear masks, Covid is spreading, these are all excuses. —Rahul Gandhi, Congress Leader States to create aware- ness about wearing the face masks and admin- ister precaution doses; especially in view of up- coming festivals new year cele- brations. Centre to test random 2% of int’l trav- ellers for Cov- id-19 amid new variant scare. —Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister l Random testing of international passengers from Dec 24, airlines to select flyers for screening l Hours after suspen- sion due to Covid-19, Jan Aakrosh Yatra in Rajasthan to continue l IMA and other health experts appeal for Covid appropriate behaviour with immediate effect APPROVE COVOVAX AS BOOSTER FOR ADULTS: SII TO DCGI The SII has sought the DCGI’s approval for market authorisa- tion of its Covid-19 vaccine - Covovax as a booster dose for those aged 18 years who have been jabbed with 2 doses of Cov- ishield or Covaxin. It is indigenous version of vaccine by Novovax Inc and made under SII. DAY 12: WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT Sansad stormy again due to Tawang First India Bureau New Delhi: Both Hous- es on Thursday saw a stormy start as Opposi- tion members demand- ed a discussion on the India-China border clash in Tawang Sector, Arunachal. While the LS was adjourned till 12 pm, Opposition mem- bers staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha after a heated back-and-forth with the Chairman. Later in the day, RS took up Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Or- der (Second Amend- ment) Bill, Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Or- der(ThirdAmendment) Bill and the Constitu- tion (Scheduled Tribes) Order(4thAmendment) Bill, which modify the scheduled tribes list. P5 KEY HIGHLIGHTS l Didn’t intend to insult Bi- har: Piyush Goyal withdraws his remark in Parl l Speaker Om Birla advises MPs to wear masks, follow Covid protocols l RS passes Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill l Government introduces Jan Vishwas Bill in LS l Members have freedom of speech in RS, but it’s not free for all: Harivansh ‘Ukraine will never surrender’ Washington (FIB): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told cheering US legis- lators during a defiant wartime visit to the na- tion’s capital that against all odds his country still stands, thanking Americans for helping to fund the war effort with money that is “not charity ,” but an “investment” in global security and de- mocracy. He also said that Ukraine will never surrender, democracy is being tested. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla RS Speaker Jagdeep Dhankhar (L) Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Joe Biden at White House on Wednesday. Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris present signed Ukrainian flag to Zelenskyy.
  • 2. New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court has re- strained the manufac- ture and sale of sweet beverage concentrate 'SharbatDilAfza'during the pendency of a law- suit for alleged trade- mark infringement by Hamdard Dawakhana which sells 'Rooh Afza'. A bench of justices Vibhu Bakhru and Amit Mahajansaidthatprima facie, 'Rooh Afza' served as the source identifier for Hamdard for over a century and has ac- quired immense good- will and it was essential to ensure that the com- petitors keep a safe dis- tance from the mark. The court's order came on an appeal by Hamdard (appellant) against a single judge's orderrefusingtopassan interimordertorestrain 'Dil Afza' manufacture Sadar Laboratories (re- spondent) from alleged- ly indulging in trade- mark infringement. It is not difficult to conceive that a person who looks at the label of 'DIL AFZA' may recall the label of 'ROOH AFZA' as the word 'AFZA' is common and the meaning of the words 'ROOH' and 'DIL', when translated in Eng- lish, are commonly used in conjunction, said the court in its order dated December 21. The court also noted that both the products have the same deep red colour and texture and structure of the bottles is not materially differ- ent and thus opined thatthecommercialim- pression of the im- pugned trademark is deceptively similar to the appellants' trade- mark. The court re- corded that before the singlejudge,astatement hasbeenmadeonbehalf of the respondent that it would not manufacture and sell syrups and bev- erages under the mark 'DIL AFZA' and thus made it absolute till the disposal of the suit. CAPITOL NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 02 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia First India Bureau New Delhi: Masks are notasimportantforpeo- ple as they are for those walking in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Union Health Minis- terMansukhMandaviya wrote a letter to Con- gress MP Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot regarding Covid norms to be fol- lowed in Bharat Jodo Yatra, citing a request to ensure that masks are worn by the Yatris. “Only vaccinated peo- ple should participate in yatra. Follow rules or suspend yatra,” read the letter. The guidelines for in- ternationaltravelissued by Mandaviya’s minis- try on November 21 said all travellers should “preferably” be fully vaxed, use of masks is “preferable” and any passengers “having symptoms of Covid-19” should be isolated. Also, the concern did not show up during ear- ly 2021 when Covid pro- tocol was violated at election rallies and in the Kumbh Mela. During the Gujarat campaign recently, the BJP’s campaigners and candidates gathered in huge numbers without masks, even when Eu- rope, the United States and China were strug- gling to battle the Covid surge. Traders’ associations urge shop owners to wear masks New Delhi (PTI): Many trader associa- tions across Delhi have asked shop owners to wear masks, use sani- tisers and follow social distancing norms amid concerns over the surge in Covid cases in some countries. Fearing that the pos- sible surge here will im- pact their business yet again, some of these as- sociations have also called meetings to dis- cuss their future course of action. Ashok Randhawa, president of Mini Mar- ket Association, Saroji- ni Nagar, said shop owners have been asked to start taking precau- tions by wearing masks and regularly using sanitisers. Traders had stopped wearing masks, but now we have asked them to wear them for their own pro- tection. As there is no mandate from the gov- ernment, we cannot ask customers to wear masks. People have be- come a bit complacent but we cannot force them to wear masks, Randhawa said. Fearing that a possi- ble surge may impact business,Randhawahas called a meeting of trad- ers to discuss the fur- ther course of action. “We cannot afford any more such situa- tions. We have called a meeting today to dis- cuss what all precau- tions should be taken,” he added. Similarly, at Palika Bazaar, traders said customers could not care less about masks. “We regularly ask them to wear masks but people have stopped us- ing them altogether. We cannot ask them con- tinuously because it might impact our busi- ness. We can only ad- vise,” said DL Kakkar, president of Palika Ba- zaar Association. COVID CONCERN Instructions issued to use sanitisers, follow social distancing adopt appropriate safety protocol Associations claim customers are lax about wearing mask, not listening to their advice Traders fear another wave of Covid would ruin their businesses; to chalk out action plan Masks being distributed outside Parliament as precaution in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases across the world, in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI People have become a bit complacent but we cannot force them to wear masks, especially since there is no government mandate yet —Ashok Randhawa, President , Mini Market Assn, Sarojini Nagar Taj Mahal on alert, no entry for tourists without testing Agra (ANI): With the surge in Covid cases in China and other coun- tries, one of the most popular tourist attrac- tions of the country Taj Mahal in Agra is put onalert,confirmed the District Health In- formation Officer in Agra. Domestic and for- eign tourists come every day in large numbers to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. Keeping the situation in mind, they will have to undergo a Covid test before their visit as per the official sources. Anil Satsangi, the Dis- trict Health Informa- tion Officer (Agra) said, The health de- partment has already started the tests to pre- vent the spread of in- fection. As the alert is on, the tests have now been made mandatory for all the visitors. CISF personnel with a sniffer dog inspect the Taj Mahal complex, as part of security arrangements ahead of the new year and Christmas, in Agra on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a road show in West Bengal Assembly election on April 19, 2021. ­ —PHOTO BY ANI APRIL 19, 2021 z Active cases during Amit Shah’s election rally in Bengal – OVER 2 LAKH z Case figures after mid- night – OVER 2.5 LAKH z Deaths that day – OVER 1500 DEC 21, 2022 z Active cases during Cong’s Bharat Jodo Yatra – 3408 CASES z Case figures after midnight – 185 z Death that day - 1 THE DAMAGE REPORT THE CHRONOLOGY z Surge in cases started in February – March 2021 z The first phase of the elections was held on March 27 in West Bengal and Assam z Over 3 lakh cases were being reported in the last week of April the country went to lockdown next month z India recorded over 3 lakh new cases for a week in April, breach- ing the mark on April 22 for the first time since the pandemic. z The last round of polling was held on April 29. z The WHO said that the mass gatherings have sparked the out- break in the country. z The Election Com- mission was also criti- cised for the breach of Covid protocols during campaigning with Madras high court terming it the most ir- responsible institution in India Child pornography: More than 100 FIRs,36 held New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police's Intelligence Fu- sion and Strategic Op- erations (IFSO) unit has registered more than 100 FIRs and nabbed 36 people under a major operation against child pornography, officials said on Thursday . The operation, MASOOM(mitigation of adolescent sexually offensive online mate- rial), was coordinated by the IFSO and all the districts were instru- mental in making it successful, they added. Details of violations pertaining to child por- nographic material (CTRs or cyber tipline reports) were received by the IFSO through the NationalCrimeRecords Bureau (NCRB), which has signed a memoran- dum of understanding (MoU) with the Nation- al Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), police said. On the basis of these CTRs, 105 cases were registered at various police stations across Delhi and legal action was taken against the offenders. So far, 36 peo- ple have been arrested or apprehended during the operation, Deputy Commissioner of Po- lice (IFSO) Prashant Gautam said. An MoU was signed between the NCRB and the NCMEC, a US-based private, non-profit or- ganisation that was es- tablished in 1984 by the United Nations Con- gress. It has a tie-up with social media plat- forms such as Facebook and Instagram. When- ever it comes across any content violating the privacy or projecting obscene material re- garding children, it is red-flagged. The IP ad- dress details of the user who had uploaded the content is then pro- cured, police said. Under the MoU, the NCMEC provides CTRs or information about sexually offensive con- tent involving children that has been shared or uploaded on social me- dia platforms to the NCRB. These com- plaints, along with the details of the person sharing or uploading such sexually offen- sive contents, are for- warded by the NCMEC to the NCRB, which shares those with the state nodal agencies, police said, adding that the IFSO is the nodal agency in Delhi for the same. The IFSO has ana- lysed the details re- ceivedfromtheNCRBto identify any organised nexus in child pornog- raphy . After a technical analysis of more than 10,000 CTRs, the action- able reports were identi- fied, the officials said. New Delhi: A Kabbadi coach was arrested for allegedly sodomising his pupil multiple times at his academy, the police informed on Wednesday. According to the police, the inci- dent took place in Rohini's Kanjhawala area. The police registered the case under sections 377, 506 of the IPC. A senior police officer informed that the victim is a 15-year-old boy. All of a sudden, the boy refused to go to the academy and when his father asked him why, he told him about what his coach did to him, the officer said. The accused used to impart Kabbadi to students and sodomised the victim while they were alone, the police said. Kabbadi coach arrested for sodomising minor HC restrains sale of Dil Afza on lawsuit by Rooh Afza WEBSITE RESTRAINED FROM PUBLISHING PHOTOGRAPHS OF LOUIS VUITTON New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court has granted relief to Louis Vuitton Malletier, a French high end luxury fashion house, by restraining a website from copying or publishing photographs which would infringe its copyright. The high court said the plaintiff company has made out a clear prima facie case of copyright infringement and as such, it would be entitled to ex parte ad interim' relief so that such infringement does not continue. It issued summons to website www.haute24.com on the suit and listed the matter on February 6, 2023 before the Joint Registrar (Judicial) for com- pletion of the pleadings, including admission and denial of documents and marking of exhibits. ... a person who looks at the label of ‘DIL AFZA’ may recall the label of ‘ROOH AFZA’ as the word ‘AFZA’ is common .... —Delhi High Court New Delhi (PTI): Delhi HighCourtonThursday dismissedaPublicInter- est Litigation (PIL) against the permission accorded to Sikhs to car- ry‘kirpans’whiletravel- ling on civilian flights in India. “Dismissed,” a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said while pro- nouncing the order. The court rejected the plea by Harsh Vibhore Singhal, who had said that a committee of stakeholders should be constituted to “apply its mind” to the issue of permitting kripan on flights. The petitioner, a law- yer, challenged a March 4, 2022 notification by the Centre which said Sikh passengers shall have exceptional regula- tory sanction to carry kirpans having blade length of not more than six inches and total length of not more than nine inches whilst on board any civilian flight inIndiathatisoperating on all domestic routes. The bench had earlier orally remarked that it was a policy of the gov- ernment and the court cannot interfere with it unless it is arbitrary . New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has questioned the officials of Flipkart for allegedly selling acid on its platform despite a ban on the substance by the Supreme Court. Police on December 15 issued a notice to Flip- kart after the prime ac- cused in an acid attack on a girl in Dwarka, Delhi said he bought the substance from the e- commerce website. Accordingtothepolice, the officials were ques- tioned on Wednesday and they are not satis- fied with the firm’s re- ply . The company had responded to the notice, saying that the acid was sold by an Agra-based firm. It had also earlier stated it will cooperate with the police. According to sources, the company responded that it acted as a plat- form between buyers and sellers. To which, they were asked about the norms being fol- lowed by the firm while facilitating both parties. PIL against Sikhs carrying ‘kirpans’ on flights dismissed Police ‘not satisfied’ with Flipkart’s reply BJPpickingonBharatJodo hasnothingtodowithCovid
  • 3. CAPITOL NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 03 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Kunal Dutt Saloni Bhatia New Delhi: Business closures, slashed men- us, empty seats, fur- loughed staff—restau- rant and cafe owners in Delhi wish to put these unpleasant memories behind them as they prepare to welcome guests for Christmas and New Year after a two-year lull. The hospitality in- dustry was one of the worst-hit sectors as multiple waves of the deadly COVID-19 pan- demic had broken its back, forcing many res- taurants to shut down. However, owners of several restaurants and cafes and their associa- tions feel, the “worst is behind them”, hoping that their businesses will once again thrive as “it is beginning to look a lot like Christ- mas again”. In Connaught Place, restaurants like Diggin Cafe, Zen Cafe, Farzi Cafe, Out of the Box Cafe, Warehouse Cafe and many other restau- rants have put up Christmas-themed dec- oration, and toy shops and apparel brands in the old British-era shop- ping arcade are also wooing customers for festive shopping. Manpreet Singh, owner of nearly 30-year- old Zen Cafe, an Asian cuisine restaurant, said, “In our industry, a lot of restaurants do shut down on a normal basis too, but in the last two years, this figures have been very high. Even in CP, many res- taurants have shut down permanently, about 30-40 restaurants which have shut down and not opened again”. But the worst is be- hind us, the industry is recovering and this Christmas and New Year will see “happy and cheerful faces again,” says Singh, also treasurer, National Res- taurant Association of India (NRAI). “Right now, we are doing quite well. Earli- er there were many challenges, but the cus- tomers are back and they wish to eat out. So, we are happy. We are selling well now,” he said. —PTI After 2-yr Covid lull, restaurants in Delhi decked up for year-end MERRY CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR ‘LIFE IS NORMAL NOW’ Recalling the pandemic and its impact on the industry, Rahul Singh, founder and CEO, The Beer Cafe, said, “It was devastating, these two years have been hell for us, hospitality and the aviation sectors were the most hit.” He said after the first lockdown, the supply chain was hit and there was a lot of spoilage in his company. “We sell a lot of beer. We had to drain out a lot of beer, which is a perishable item, so we suffered a lot of capital loss. As per our staff, we had a furlough when the first wave hit us. Certain staff didn’t join, they went out and probably got another job. But, most of the staff came back. We have gone through survival stage and revived our- selves, and about to hit the thriving stage” he said. People dine at a restaurant decorated in the theme of Christmas and New Year in Connaught Place in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY PTI In our industry, a lot of restaurants do shut down on a normal basis too, but in the last two years, these figures have been very high. —Manpreet Singh, Owner,. Zen Cafe New Delhi (ANI): Del- hi-NCR is likely to wit- ness dense fog for the next two to three days while Punjab, Haryana, and north Rajasthan may expect a decrease in temperature by 1-2 degrees alongwith cold wave conditions, Dr Kuldeep Srivastava, Head of Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said Thursday . “If we talk about the weather in Delhi, then a thick blanket of fog is seen in the morning hours and visibility is dropped by around 100 meters. In the Palam ob- servatory, today morn- ing the visibility was till 100 meters, and later around 8 in the morn- ing there is an improve- ment,” he said. “In the next two days, there are chances of having dense fog in Del- hi-NCR and the visibil- ity will be around 100 meters. The tempera- ture will remain be- tween 6-7 degrees for next 2-3 days,” he added. “From Punjab up to Bihar and till West Ben- gal and Northern parts of Rajasthan, the wind speed in the morning hours is less which is 2-3 km per hour along with sufficient availa- bility of moisture, and during the day time, we have a clear sky,” he told ANI. “There is no cold wave condition as of now in the plains, but in the coming few days from December 24 or December 25, we are ex- pecting a decrease in temperature by 1-2 de- grees. On a severely cold day, you can see the maximum temperature stays 4.5 degrees less than the normal tem- perature. This situation will remain for the next 2 days in Punjab, Hary- ana, North West UP , and North Rajasthan. Now you can say that winter has started,” he said. You can say winter has started: Weatherman ‘From Dec 24 or 25, we are expecting a decrease in temperature by 1-2 degrees’ Youngsters sit around a bonfire on a cold winter day in Gurugram on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI New Delhi (PTI): A layer of dense fog en- veloped the Indo- Gangetic plains in- cluding Delhi Thurs- day morning, affect- ing road and rail traf- fic. A railway spokes- person said 20 trains were running late by 1:30 to 4:30 hours. Flight operations re- mained unaffected, an airport official said. The Met office said the Palam and Safdar- jung airports logged visibility levels of 200 metres at 5:30 am. On Tuesday, visibility levels had plunged to 50 metres at both these places. South westerly winds and increase in tempera- tures had led to some improvement in visi- bility on Wednesday . The Sadarjung Ob- servatory, the prima- ry weather station in Delhi, recorded a min- imum temperature of 7.2 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal. Dense fog disrupts road, rail traffic Commuters wait for train amid fog on a cold winter morning, at Sahibabad Railway Station on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI From Punjab up to Bihar and till West Bengal and northern Rajasthan, the wind speed in the morning hours is less, about 2-3 km per hour . —Dr Kuldeep Srivastava, Head, Regional Forecasting Centre New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police on Wednes- day refuted claims made in a viral video that a church was at- tacked and forcibly evicted on suspicion that religious conver- sion was going on there. “Therewasnochurch and no forcible eviction was reported,” Deputy Commissioner of Po- lice (North) Sagar Sin- gh Kalsi said. The building seen in the video widely circu- lated on social media is not a church but a pri- vate building in north- ern part of the city, the police said. According to the po- lice, a PCR call was re- ceived in the morning of December 11 about a gathering at the build- ing in Burari's Baba Colony. Suspicion was also raised about reli- gious conversion there. The ground floor hall of the building was let out to a Christian wom- an. According to the po- lice, it was used for meetings and singing carols between 10:30 and 12:30 hours. On Tuesday, a video became viral on social media where a person claimed that a church in Burari area was at- tacked by 400 people. “A church in Delhi, Burari been attacked by around 400 people this morning. They forcibly vacated the church and threatened them,” he wrote in his tweet. Police refute church attack claim made in viral video A screen grab from the viral video of the alleged attack. First India Bureau New Delhi: ‘Sardar te gaddi chadhadi (Sardar has been mowed)’ — this was the intercepted recording on the basis of which Delhi Police’s Special Cell sought to get voice samples of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his associ- ates tested at the Cen- tral Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL). Prime accused in the assassination of Sidhu Moosewala, Bishnoi is suspected to have re- ceived a call inside Tihar Jail soon after gunmen shot dead the singer on 29 May . The police had filed a plea in the MCOCA court in November for obtaining the voice samples of Bishnoi and his associates Deepak alias Tinu, Sampath Nehra and Bintu alias Mintu. On 22 November, the court gave its nod. Sources in Delhi Po- lice said that while Neh- ra’s and Bintu’s voice samples were collected, Bishnoi refused to do so upon reaching the CFSL lab in Lodhi Colo- ny on Wednesday . “Bishnoi refused to talk when he was brought to the lab. Due to this, adverse infer- ence will be drawn in the case,” sources said. Later, the Delhi Po- lice moved an applica- tion in court stating that Bishnoi refused to give his voice samples. “One accused in his discretion opted not to give a voice sample. No further directions are warranted in the facts of the present case,” read the court order. Lawrence Bishnoi refuses to give voice sample at CFSL Noida: With the ar- rest of three people, theNoidaPoliceinUt- tar Pradesh on Thurs- day claimed to have busted a Delhi-based inter-state gang of liq- uor smugglers and also seized around 4,500 litres of alcohol estimatedworthmore than Rs 20 lakh. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Po- lice (Noida) Ashutosh Dwivedi told report- ers that among those held is the son of Del- hiliquormafiaKamal Kishor Chaurasiya alias KP , who has over two dozen cases lodged against him. The suspects were held near the Rajni- gandha Chowk on the basis of a tip-off and four vehicles, includ- ing three cars and a pickup truck, loaded with liquor cartons were also impounded. “Three liquor smugglers have been arrested. Their base network is Delhi and they would bring liq- uorfromGurugram,” Dwivedi said. While three people have been arrested, KP, the mastermind of the gang, and three more of his identified associates are at large and efforts are under- way to arrest them soon, Dwivedi said. Those held have been identified as KP’s son Ashish, Ravi Chauhan and Nakul Nagar, all three resi- dents of Delhi, the po- lice said. Delhi liquor mafia’s son among 3 held with illicit booze New Delhi (PTI): Ja- mia Millia Islamia is likely to decide on the implementation of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to all un- dergraduate courses from the next academic session in January, a senior official said on Thursday. The varsity has formed a committee to decide on the possibil- ity of adopting the CUET, said Jamia Mil- lia Islamia Registrar Nazim Husain Al-Jafri. The report submit- ted by the committee will be presented dur- ing a meeting of the Academic Council in January and thereafter Executive Council, which is the highest decision-making body of the university will take up the matter. Jamia to decide on CUET in January New Delhi (ANI): Del- hi Police on Thursday said they have arrested three men for allegedly stabbing to death a man with criminal history in Badarpur area. Police said on Decem- ber 20 at 8:12 pm, a call was received at police station Badarpur in- forming that a man had been stabbed and ad- mitted to AIIMS. “Apolicestaff rushed to the spot immediately . On local enquiry, it was revealed that three per- sons stabbed one per- son, Keshav (29), a resi- dent of Badarpur,” po- lice said. “A team was called and the scene of the crime was preserved. The CCTV cameras near the spot were thor- oughly scanned. Three suspects were captured in the CCTV footage and on analysis, two of them were identified as Vickey and Kohinoor,” a Police official said. Police said the de- ceased Keshav had a criminal history and was found involved in 4 cases of Robbery, Snatching and Arms Act registered in three police stations. “After Call Data Re- cords surveillance, ac- cused persons were ar- rested near a liquor shop at Molarband Ex- tension bypass road and the weapon of offence i.e knife was recovered from them. They have confessed their involve- ment in the crime,” a police official said. 3 arrested for stabbing to death history-sheeter in Badarpur Deceased Keshav got into a fight with accused Kohinoor at a marriage function New Delhi (PTI): A court here has granted bail to former manag- ing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock Ex- change Chitra Ram- krishna in a case relat- ed to alleged phone tap- ping of NSE employees. Special Judge Sune- na Sharma granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sure- ties in the like amount, and directed her to ap- pear before court when the matter is taken up. Court grants bail to ex-NSE chief Chitra Ramkrishna
  • 4. l Vol 2 l Issue No.114 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: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act PERSPECTIVE NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 04 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia SPIRITUAL SPEAK You should perform your duty with a view to guide people and for universal welfare. —Bhagavad Gita IN-DEPTH Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda Saddened to hear about the demise of renowned Gamak Vidwan Padmashri awardee H R Keshavamurthy Ji. He was a pioneer who mastered Gamak even taught children this great art form for free. His legacy will live on forever. My condolences to his family admirers. Om Shanti. Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp India, led by PM @narendramodi ji remains the biggest hope for the world. An all-weather champion of multilateralism, more of the world today strongly acknowledge India’s criticality in maintaining global peace. ‘Not an era of war’ has resonated strongly and touched chords. TOP TWEETS REFORMED OR NOT, THE ‘SERPENT’ TO BE OUT OF PRISON SOON? harles Sobhraj may have spent two dec- ades in jail; his re- lease from a prison in Nepal still makes news. The serial killer, notorious as Bikini Killer, is now 78 and hopefully a changed man after long incarceration. The French national shot to infamy after he killed 20 tourists on South and Southeast Asia’s hippie trail be- tween 1972 and 1976, most of them backpackers. “Handsome, charming and utterly without scruple” women easily fell to his charms and he ruthlessly fin- ished them off after he was done with them. What made Sobhraj stand out as a criminal was his ability to evade police and avoid detection, which earned him the nickname of “Serpent”. He continued with his crimes like drugging tourists and rob- bing them to maintain a luxuri- ous lifestyle even in prison. In mid seventies he bribed Tihar jail staff to live in comfort. Later he drugged them to escape, but was nabbed by Mumbai Police. Is Sobhraj a reformed man now? C aliban are gradu- ally showing their true misogynist and hard-line character but the world is a silent spectator. Af- ter banning girls from at- tending schools, Afghani- stan’s Taliban government has taken the regressive step of telling women that the doors of universities were now shut for them, leaving female students in tears. The anguished students were left with no future as other re- gressive restrictions on wom- en’s clothing and movement are already in place. Instanc- es of public flogging have also been reported. All these are dreadful reminders of the old Taliban regime and its brand of ruthless Islam. President Joe Biden left the Afghan people, especially women, after the withdrawal of Allied forces from Kabul in 2021. In his White House address Biden said that it was “the right and the re- sponsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country”. He also said the US will continue to speak out for the rights of women and girls. Does speak- ing out for them makes them less vulnerable to the attacks on their psyche being wit- nessed now? Reacting to the latest Talibani firmaan the US said the “move would come with consequences for Taliban”. Other than turn- ing off the aid tap, which will only starve the Afghan peo- ple, the consequences have not been spelt out. Taliban stand out like a sore thumb for the way they treat women. In no other Is- lamiccountryarewomensub- jected to such treatment. Iran, where women are protesting against wearing hijab, does not bar women from attend- ing schools and colleges. TALIBAN RETURN TO OLD WAYS Taliban are gradually showing their true misogynist and hard- line character but the world is a silent spectator. After banning girls from attending schools, Afghanistan’s Taliban government has taken the regressive step of telling women that the doors of universities were now shut for them, leaving female students in tears T MERKEL’S BOMBSHELL WEST v/s WEST uizzically enough, as I chanced upon the recent in- terview of Angela Dorothea Merkel, ex chancellor of Ger- many, it gave me a peep into the pandora box of the West- ern world’s political dynam- ics. A seasoned politician and a scientist, she was the first and the only lady chancellor of Germany and was referred to as the de facto leader of the European Union. Having been brought up in erst while East Germany under Krem- lin’s influence, her control over Russian language was perfect yet, she was not in- clined to communist ideology . Her actions and decisions as the chancellor of her country ensured a command- ing position for Germany not only in Europe but amongst all NATO allies. Nonetheless, today many find faults with her for increasing Germa- ny’s dependence on Russian energy imports through Nord Stream 1, without ac- knowledging that the graph of Germany’s industrial growth was highest during Merkel’s chancellorship. All through her political career, she professed that she did not want to give advice from the side-lines, and there- fore, described Russia’s inva- sion of Ukraine as a “brutal war of aggression” which constituted a far-reaching turning point and the most glaring violation of interna- tional law in Europe since the World War II. She further be- lieved that European solidar- ity goes out to Ukraine which has been attacked and raided by Russia, and that the Ukraine’s right to self-de- fence was incontestable. Surprisingly , a leader with such clarity and frankness on Russia – Ukraine war, sudden- ly took a U turn and in an in- terview in the second week of Dec 22 to a newspaper Der Zeit of Germany ,cameoutwiththe facts that hitherto fore, were a subject of confidentiality amongst all NATO leaders joining their hands to support Zelenskyy and fight Russia. In a dramatic style, Angela confessed that there was no real interest amongst the Western powers to imple- ment the provisions and con- ditions laid down in Minsk 1 2 Agreements signed by Ukraine and Russia in 2014 and 2015 respectively. In- stead, the intention of US and allies reeked with con- spiracies and deceits by the West to give time to the NATO and Ukraine to build up their military capabilities for the sole purpose of a confronta- tion with Russia. In other words, the West planned and schemed for the war against Russia since 2014 after they organized a coup to forcibly remove a democrati- cally elected Ukraine govern- ment and replace it with a puppet government loyal to the West. In my opinion, Angela has proven herself to be Putin’s friend as her confession is almost a declaration to let out NATO secrets. In simple words, what Merkel said can be taken as an announce- ment that Putin is not the ag- gressor but the victim of a veiled Western conspiracy against it. In fact, Angela has provided Putin the defence which he may need in the fu- ture to protect himself from Western actions at interna- tional courts when the war crimes are taken up. Obviously , the implications from this interview are far reaching. It shows that inter- national agreements with the WestspeciallytheUScarryno value and remain in play only till the time they favour the West and allows them time to turn the tide to suit their in- terests. Yes, it is amply clear that Western powers are like- ly to dump treaties and agree- mentslikeaHOTPotatowhen theynolongerservetheirpur- pose. It indeed is a lesson to India, China, Pakistan and to the rest of the developing countries in international politics. While negotiating with west, countries should choose friends with open eyes Judging so called friends not by what they say but by what they do and their past reputa- tionof honouringtreatiesand agreements with other par- ties in the agreement. The numerous visits of German Chancellor to Russia between 2014 (in the after- math of annexation of Crimea by Russia) and 2021, when Merkel vacated her of- fice as the ultimate leader of European Union and Chan- cellor of Germany are being looked at with suspicion of delaying Russian onslaught on Ukraine to buy time. She out rightly mentioned that she felt no regrets for her handling of Vladimir Putin during her time in power and blocking the route of Ukraine joining NATO membership as Putin would have taken it as a “declaration of war” against Russia by the West. It appears that in the opinion of the West, democratically im- mature Ukraine would have been less prepared for an in- vasion then what it was in February 2022 and thus, hint- ing at a global conspiracy . THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL Q It shows that international agreements with the West specially the US carry no value and remain in play only till the time they favour the West and allows them time to turn the tide to suit their interests. Yes, it is amply clear that Western powers are likely to dump treaties and agreements like a HOT Potato when they no longer serve their purpose. It indeed is a lesson to India, China, Pakistan and to the rest of the developing countries in international politics Surprisingly, a leader with such clarity and frankness on Russia – Ukraine war, suddenly took a U turn and in an interview in the second week of Dec 22 to a newspaper Der Zeit of Germany, came out with the facts that hitherto fore, were a subject of confidentiality amongst all NATO leaders joining their hands to support Zelenskyy and fight Russia COL ANUPAM JAITLY (RETD) The writer is Defence expert, Motivational Speaker Corporate Trainer
  • 5. 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.
  • 6. INDIA NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 05 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Shamsher Singh New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party has now started preparing to contest the Karnataka assembly elections. As- sembly elections are go- ing to be held in May and before that Arvind Kejriwal’s party has started making populist announcements. The party has promised that it will implement the old pension scheme if its government is formed in the state. The Congresswasalsoabout to say this, as it had promised in Himachal Pradesh and won the election, but AAP made the announcement even before the Congress. Not only this, the par- ty’s state number two leader Bhaskar Rao also participated in the dem- onstration of state gov- ernment employees. The employees were demonstrating for the restoration of the old pension scheme. Senior leader Brajesh Kalappa, who left the Congress and joined AAP, also talked about restoring the old pension scheme. However, AAP’s weakness is that it does not have an organiza- tion in the state and does not have senior leaders either. Then the question is how will the party contest the Kar- nataka elections? Will it fight in the way it fought in Gujarat or will it fight in the way it fought in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand etc.? If it fights like Gu- jarat i.e. Arvind Kejri- wal and Bhagwant Mann and other leaders work day and night then Congress can suffer a big loss. There Congress party is hoping to re- turn to power this time but if AAP fights with full force and JDS also contests the elections on its own, then BJP would be benefited. But if AAP contests elec- tions like in Himachal Pradesh, then Congress will not be harmed. Five months before the elec- tions, it seems that AAP does not have an organi- zation and will fight just for the sake of fighting. But the real picture will emerge after Arvind Ke- jriwal’s first visit. CanAAPdentCongandBJP’smoraleinK’takapolls? AAP’S EXPANSION PLANS AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal. —FILE PHOTO PANEL TO CONDUCT ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT OF SC PREMISES CISF CONSTABLE VS DMRC STAFFER: HC QUASHES CASE New Delhi: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has constituted a commit- tee headed by apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat to conduct an audit of “physical and function- al access” of the top court premises to make them disabled-friendly. The ‘Su- preme Court Committee on Accessibility’ has been given a broad mandate to prepare and release a questionnaire for persons with disabilities, including the apex court employees, advocates, litigants and interns, who visit the top court premises. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has agreed to quash two cross FIRs against a DMRC employee and a woman CISF constable involving an altercation between them after they reached a settlement but imposed costs of Rs 10,000 each on both, observing that consider- able time of police and judiciary has been wasted. Cross FIRs were lodged in 2015 at Raja Garden Metro Police Station for various offences. The woman CISF constable had also accused the DMRC staff of outrag- ing her modesty. Kolkata: A CBI court on Thursday extended the judicial cus- tody of former West Bengal Education Minister and ex-Tri- namool Congress secretary general, Partha Chatterjee and six others for another 14 days in connection with the teachers’ recruitment scam. All the seven individuals will be presented at the same court again on January 5 next year. On Thursday, Chatterjee’s counsel Selim Rahman made a fiery argument at the court, even going to the extent of questioning CBI’s competence as regards to producing concrete evidence in the matter. In his counter argument, the CBI counsel said that although charges of incompetence have been raised by the petitioner’s counsel. PARTHA CHATTERJEE’S JUDICIAL CUSTODY EXTENDED BY 14 MORE DAYS IN THE COURTYARD HC ALLOWS TEEN GIRL TO DONATE LIVER’S PART TO DAD MADRAS HIGH COURT ORDERS NOTICE ON RSS PLEA Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted permission to a 17-year- old girl to donate a portion of her liver to her ailing father. The High Court took the decision even taken after an expert committee constituted by the Appro- priate Authority under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 initially opined that the daughter cannot be exempted from the bar imposed by the Act and Rules on organ donation by minors. Court asked it to reconsider its stance. Chennai: A division bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday ordered no- tice on a batch of appeals challenging the orders of a single judge, which had granted permission to the RSS to take out “route marches” and hold public meetings in auditoriums and open grounds alone. A bench of the HIgh Court ordered the notice returnable by January 5, when the appeals from G Subramaniam of Anna Nagar and 44 others came up for further hearing on Thursday. New Delhi (Agencies): Lok Sabha was ad- journed for the day on Thursday without any business, owing to con- tinuous protests by the Congress-led Opposi- tion, which sought dis- cussion on the India- China border clashes in Arunachal Pradesh. As Lok Sabha assem- bled at 4 p.m. after sev- eral adjournments since morning, Opposi- tion members led by the Congress entered the well of the House, shouting slogans and seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pres- ence in the House. Rama Devi, who was in the Chair, adjourned the House till 4.30 pm amid chaos and slogan shouting. At 4.30 p.m. when the Lower House reassem- bled, protests and slo- gan shouting by the Op- position members re- sumed. While Congress and DMK members en- tered the well of the House, NCP, JD-U and TMC members stood near their seats. Opposition members shouted slogans seek- ing PM Modi’s presence in the House and called for a discussion on the India-China border clashes issue. Amid the pandemo- nium, Commerce Min- ister Piyush Goyal in- troduced the Jan Vish- was Amendment of Provision Bill 2022 in the House. He also im- mediately referred the bill to a joint Parlia- mentary panel. Soon after this, the House was adjourned for the day . Earlier in the morn- ing,bothQuestionHour and Zero Hour proceed- ings were washed out due to continuous pro- tests by the Opposition on the India-China bor- der clashes issue. LOK SABHA ADJOURNED AGAIN AMID UPROAR BY OPPN ON BORDER ISSUE Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra resumes from Haryana’s Nuh district Nuh (ANI): Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi re- sumed from Malab Vil- lage in Nuh’s Haryana on Thursday . People in large num- bers were seen joining the march holding ban- ners and party flags. The ongoing foot march of the grand old party entered the state of Har- yana on Wednesday . On Wednesday, while ad- dressing a gathering here,RahulGandhitook a swipe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other parties and said that the leaders of these parties do not listen to the public. “Nowadays, there is a gap between the leaders of BJP, Samajwadi Par- ty , and the public. Lead- ers think there is no need to listen to the pub- lic and give speeches for hours. We have tried to change this in this jour- ney,” Gandhi earlier said on Wednesday . On Tuesday the Yatra observed its last day in the Congress-ruled state of Rajasthan. It is the only Congress-ruled state where the yatra covered around 500 km over 17 days before en- tering Haryana. BRS to hold ‘Maha Dharna’ against Centre Panchamasali Lingayats’ march for quota in K’taka Nizamabad (ANI): Bharat Rashtra Samithi will hold a ‘Maha Dhar- na’ in all the district headquarters on Friday protesting against the Centre’s “anti-farmer policies”, MLC K Kavi- tha said on Thursday . Kavitha, daughter of CM KCR, alleged that the BJP govt at the Cen- tre is “forcing” Telan- gana Govt to take back schemes under MGN- REGA. “Tomorrow the party will launch Maha Dharna in all district headquarters, against BJP Government’s anti- farmer policies, in light of the recent demand to exclude agricultural ac- tivities from MGNRE- GA Scheme in Telanga- na,” Kavitha said. “Today it is a fact that the BJP is an anti-farm- er, anti-poor, and pro- corporate Government. On one hand, the Gov- ernment is targeting farmers and the poor,” she alleged. Belagavi (ANI): The Panchamasali Lingay- at community pady- atra, demanding more reservations to meet the educational and professional needs of its people, reached Be- lagavi in Karnataka on Thursday. The community is de- manding they be in- cluded in the 15 per cent OBC category of 2A. A heavy police force has been deployed at Hire- bagewadi in Belagavi due to the Panchamasa- li padayatra being held under the leadership of the Jagadguru Basava Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamiji of the Kunda- lasangama Peetha. Karnataka Assembly is currently holding its Winter Session at the Suvarna Vidhana Soud- ha in Belagavi. BJP SCARED OF LOVE BJY GOT: KHERA Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Nuh. —PHOTO BY ANI New Delhi (ANI): Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s letter to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot asking them to follow COVID-19 guidelines strictly during the par- ty’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has elicited diverse reactions from leaders. Talking about the issue, Congress leader Pawan Khera said BJP is scared of the love Bharat Jodo Yatra has received. He said, “Their intent is clear. They are only bothered about the love the Yatra has received.”He also added, “If BJP was worried about the country, they would have written a letter to Satish Poonia as well who is taking out ‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ in Rajasthan.” CHANDY’S SON TAKES JIBE AT BJP Nuh (ANI): Former Kerala Chief Minister’s son Chandy Oommen on Thursday aimed at the Centre government over its letter to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, urging him to consider suspending or postponing the Bharat Jodo Yatra if Covid protocols could not be followed. “When PM Modi took out a Yatra in Gujarat, a similar situation was there but no action followed,” Oommen said after joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra here. WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT Lok Sabha adjourned amid commotion in the House, in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI RS PASSES THE CONSTITUTION (ST) ORDER BILL GOVT INTRODUCES JAN VISHWAS BILL IN THE LOK SABHA GOYAL TAKES BACK REMARKS ‘AGAINST BIHAR’ New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha has passed The Con- stitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Sec- ond Amend- ment) Bill, 2022 and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2022. Tribal Minister Arjun Munda moved the bill. New Delhi: Commerce industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday in Lok Sabha intro- duced Jan Vishwas Bill, which seeks to decrimi- nalise minor offences by amending 183 provisions in 42 Acts with a view to promote ease of business. New Delhi (ANI): Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday withdrew his “demeaning” remarks on Bihar, which triggered protests in Parliament by MPs from the state who demanded an apology from him.“Let me clarify that I have no intention to insult either Bihar or the people of Bihar. If it has hurt anyone’s sentiment, I immediately withdraw that statement,” he said in Rajya Sabha. On Tues- day while RJD member Manoj Jha was speaking on inflation in the Upper House, Goyal had said “Inka bas chale toh desh ko Bihar hi bana de”. 2,841 selected as Khelo India Athletes: Thakur Mulling EC proposal on political donations: Govt New Delhi (FIB): Khelo India Athletes are selected on their performance in the Khelo India Games, National Champion- ships / open selec- tion trials. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) provides a platform for identi- fication of talented sports persons in pri- ority Sports disci- plines through the National Sports Tal- ent Search Portal. This was stated by Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minis- sterAnurag Thakur in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Under “Sports Competition and Talent Develop- ment” component of Khelo India scheme, athletes are selected as Khelo India Ath- letes based on their performance in the Khelo India Games, National Champion- ships / open selec- tion trials. New Delhi: The govt on Thursday said the Election Commis- sion proposal to re- duce anonymous po- litical donations to Rs 2000 from Rs 20,000 is uder examination. On a question about the government’s re- sponse to the Com- mission’s proposal and whether such measures would ush- er in reforms and transparency in do- nations received by political parties, Un- ion Minister Kiren Rijiju in a written reply in Rajya Sabha said, “The proposal is under examination.” Aiming for reforms and transparency in donations received by political parties, the poll panel had proposed reducing anonymous political donations from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000. ‘ISRO SIGNED 4 CO-OP DOCUMENTS FOR SPACE EXPLORATION TIE-UP’ OVER 40K WOMEN TRAINED IN INDIA UNDER NAI ROSHNI SCHEME: IRANI New Delhi (FIB): The Minister of State (MoS), Dr Jitendra Singh, on Thursday said In- dian Space Research Organisa- tion (ISRO) has signed 04 (four) cooperative documents specifically to collaborate in space exploration in the last five years.In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Thurs- day, MoS Dr Singh said, the agreement with the USA is for accommodat- ing USA instruments in India’s Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3. He informed that the agree- ment with Japan is to conduct feasibility study for a joint lunar polar exploration mission. New Delhi (FIB): Union Minister of Minority Affairs Smriti Irani in a written reply to a ques- tion in Lok Sabha on Thursday said during last three years, i.e., 2019-20 to 2021-22, around 40,000 women have been trained all over India including 175 in Bihar. Nai Roshni scheme has now been merged as a component of Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) scheme w.e.f FY 2022-23, to improve livelihoods of minorities, particularly artisan com- munities, through skill development, education and leadership training, to support their entrepre- neurship interventions.
  • 7. New Delhi (ANI): Un- ion Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said that the government has started random RT- PCR sampling among the passengers arriv- ing at International airports in the country amid the recent surge of Coronavirus infec- tion in various coun- tries including China, Japan, South Korea, France, and the United States. “We have also started the random RT-PCR sampling among pas- sengers arriving at In- ternational airports in the country. We are committed to tackling the pandemic and are taking appropriate steps,” Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in his statement in the Lok Sabha while ad- vising the States to make sure that people wear masks, use sani- tizers and maintain so- cial distancing even during the festive and the New Year season. He also encouraged the states to increase awareness towards pre- cautionary doses against Coronavirus. “We are keeping an eye on the global Covid situation and are taking steps accordingly. The States are advised to in- crease genome-se- quencing to timely identify the new vari- ant of Covid-19,” Union Health Minister Man- daviya added. He further said that the health department has been proactive in managing the Covid pandemic. The Centre has also provided finan- cial assistance to States in the fight against the pandemic, he added. “So far, 220 crore cov- id vaccine shots have been given,” Union Health Minister Man- sukh Mandaviya men- tioned. Mandaviya then claimed that the num- ber of Covid cases is depleting in India de- spite its surge across the world. “From the last few days, Covid cases have been rising in the world but in India, the cases are depleting. We are seeing rising Covid cas- es and deaths due to it in China,” Union Health Minister said. STARTED RT-PCR SAMPLING OF INT’L PASSENGERS: GOVT Parliamentarypanelraises concernsoverproduction ofelectriclocomotives New Delhi (PTI): Rais- ing concerns over missed targets in elec- tric locomotive produc- tion during this finan- cial year, a parliamenta- ry standing committee has asked the Railway Ministry to closely mon- itor the manufacturing capacity of production units. TheStandingCommit- tee on Railways, in its report presented in Par- liament on Thursday , noted that with the na- tional transporter head- ing towards 100 per cent electrification on broad- gauge lines, the require- ment of diesel locomo- tives would reduce sub- stantially , while that of the electric ones would increasetoagreatextent. The committee also noted that the Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) and the Patiala Locomotive Works (PLW) were given tar- gets to manufacture 450 and 200 electric locomo- tivesfor2022-23and2023- 24 respectively . Army doctors save woman badly injured in bear attack India wary of Taliban’s decision to ban women from Afghan varsities New Delhi (PTI): India on Thursday said it is concerned over reports that the Taliban have banned women from universities in Afghani- stan, and renewed its call for setting up of an inclusive government in Kabul that ensures the equal rights of wom- en and girls in all as- pects of the Afghan so- ciety .Several countries, including the US, Aus- tralia, Canada, France, Germany , Japan and the United Kingdom, have strongly condemned the Taliban’s decisions to ban women from uni- versities. “We have not- ed with concern the re- ports in this regard. India has consistently supported the cause of female education in Af- ghanistan,” the MEA spokesperson said. Udhampur/Jammu (PTI): Army doctors have saved a 61-year-old woman badly injured in a bear attack in a vil- lage here by perform- ing a timely surgery to repair her wind pipe and blood vessels of the neck. “A 61 years old fe- male resident of Pancheri village was brought barely breath- ing to emergency of Command Hospital af- ter sustaining severe injuries to her neck and abdomen following attack by a wild bear on December 16,” an of- ficer said She was im- mediately attended by trauma surgeons, who found out that she has got life threatening in- juries to her wind pipe and large blood vessels of her neck. Submarine corruption case: Nod for prosecution of Naval officers New Delhi (PTI) The govt has given the go- ahead to prosecute four serving and retired Navy officers in connec- tion with alleged cor- ruption in purchasing spare parts to retrofit Russian Kilo-class sub- marines, officials said. The CBI had filed its chargesheets in Novem- ber last year, within two months of initiating a probe into a corruption case, following which it had sought the govern- ment’s sanction to pros- ecute accused Navy of- ficers Commander S J Singh (retired) and three serving com- manders — Ajit Pandey , Abhishek Kumar Shar and Jagdeesh Chander, the officials said. After more than a year, the government has finally given the sanction to prosecute the four accused figur- ing in the CBI (CBI) chargesheets. Covid nasal vaccine to be rolled out as booster dose New Delhi: Paving way for more options for third or precau- tionary doses in India, Bharat Biotech, which is the manufacturer of Covaxin, will roll out its nasal vaccine as a booster dose after receiving a final nod from the authorities. Sources said that permissions are in the final stage, and they could be intro- duced on the COWIN platform by the up- coming week. Bharat biotech’s Nasal vaccine, being a needless jab, will be India’s first such booster dose. It can be administered to those above 18 years. Pric- ing of the vaccine will be decided soon and it will be made available in government and private facilities. ScienceMinistryrec- ognised the vaccine as the ‘World’s first intra- nasal vaccine for COV- ID developed by India’. In December, it also got approval from Central Drugs Standard Con- trol Organisation for restricted use in emer- gency situations in 18 and above age group. HOW NASAL SPRAY WORKS It is a vectored, needleless, intranasal Covid vaccine. An intranasal vaccine stimulates a broad immune response – neutralizing IgG, mucosal IgA, and T cell responses. It comes with ease as one does not require a health practitioner or worker to give them a dose. COVID SURGE Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya speaks in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI There won’t be a lock- down situ- ation in the country since 95% of the people here are vaccinat- ed. The immuni- ty system of Indi- ans is stronger than that of the Chinese...India needs to go back to Covid basics - testing, treating, tracing. —Dr Anil Goyal, Indian Medical Association In India, we have sufficient evidence to prove that those who re- covered from Covid are best protected. It’s im- portant to moni- tor all variants. But it’s unlikely that we’ll face any serious prob- lem due to the vi- rus in the current scenario. —Dr Sanjay Rai, Senior Epidemiologist, AIIMS Delhi “We have also started the random RT-PCR sam- pling among pas- sengers arriving at International airports in the country. We are committed to tackling the pan- demic and are taking appropri- ate steps,”. —Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister “Just like last time we had conquered covid with collective ef- forts, similarly we will succeed in stopping this epi- demic in the fu- ture also.” —Om Birla, Lok Sabha Speaker OM BIRLA ADVISES MPs TO WEAR MASKS, FOLLOW COVID PROTOCOLS New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday advised all the MPs to wear masks and follow the Covid proto- col com- pletely, in view of the increasing cases of Covid 19 in many countries across the world. Birla himself was operating the House wearing a mask in the House. Birla appealed the MPs to be careful and spread public awareness regarding Covid before the uproar by the op- position MPs during the Question Hour saying that in view of the past experi- ences, this time there is a need for constant caution and vigilance. The govt has also advised follow- ing the Covid protocol across the country.While advising all the MPs to use masks, Birla appealed to them to make efforts to spread public awareness in their respective areas. GENOME TESTING OF ALL POSITIVE CASES IN J’KHAND Ranchi: Concerned at the reported spurt in Covid-19 cases in countries like China, USA and Japan, the Jharkhand govern- ment has asked officials to send for whole genome sequencing of all positive samples of Coronavirus to track the variants, a top Health department official said on Thursday. The development comes in the wake of Union Health Minister reviewing the Covid situation. PUNJAB CM MANN HOLDS COVID REVIEW MEETING Chandigarh: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann held a meeting of health of- ficials over Covid-19 situation. “We just have nine active cases of Covid. 16 districts do not have any positive cases of Covid so far. We have established oxygen plants have pre- pared hospitals as well ac- cordingly,” Health Minister Chetan Jouramajra said. “HAVEN’T GOT REQUEST FOR USE OF GANGA WATER IN COVID TREATMENT” New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday clarified that it has not received any re- quest from National Mission for Clean Ganga to conduct research on the use of Ganga river water as a cure for the COVID-19 virus.In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Jal Shakti MoS Prahlad Singh Patel said, “Govt has not received any request from National Mission for Clean Ganga to conduct research on the use of Ganga river water as a cure to the Covid-19 virus.” “However, NMCG had sent two proposals viz., ‘Ganga Sediments could immunize against COVID-19’ and ‘Treat- ment of COVID-19 by Ganga Jal’ on April 28, 2020, to the Indian Coun- cil of Medical Research for examination. UP CM HOLDS MEET TO ASSESS COVID SITUATION Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Thurs- day held a meeting to assess Covid situ- ation. Of- ficials said after the meeting that though face masks have not been made compulsory but should be encour- aged at public places. —REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE —REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE —REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE INDIA NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 06 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Srinagar (PTI): Secu- rity forces on Thursday busted a module of the Hizbul Mujahideen and arrested five militant associates in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kup- wara district, officials said. A joint team of po- lice and army appre- hended three terrorist associates -- Abdul Rouf Malik, Altaf Ahmad Payer and Riyaz Ahmad Lone, officials said. During questioning, the trio disclosed the location of two hide- outs constructed for ter- rorists of Hizbul Muja- hideen on the instruc- tions of a Pakistan- based terrorist handler Farooq Ahmad Pir alias Nadeem Usmani, who is presently based in PoK, officials said. “One AK rifle, two AK magazines, 119 AK ammunition, one pistol, one pistol magazine, four pistol rounds, six hand grenades, one IED, two detonators, two wire bundles and one water tank of ap- proximately 100 litre- capacity has been re- covered from the hide- outs,” officials said. The arrested persons told the police that they also received Rs 6 lakhs in June to procure arms and ammunition and also material for con- struction of hideouts. “Two more terrorist associates, including Budgam-resident Ab- dul Majeed Beigh who have been actively sup- porting the trio in their activities, have also been detained,” they added. The officials said the terrorist associates were in touch with an- other PoK-based han- dler -- Fayaz Geelani, also from Budgam. Hizbul module busted, 5 associates held IN KUPWARA Security forces in action in Shopian district on Tuesday. (L-R in the top row) AAP MP Raghav Chadha, BJP MP Prakash Javadekar, Congress MP Rajeev Shukla, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar; and (L-R in the bottom row) BJP MP S Phangnon Konyak, AAP MP Balbir Singh Seechewal, BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani and Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, wear a face mask after authorities made it mandatory for parlia- mentarians to wear masks, on Thursday.
  • 8. NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 07 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Commodity Price Change % Chg GOLD 55,241.00 59.00 0.02 (Per 10g) SILVER 69,413.00 194.00 0.05 (Per 1kg) COMMODITIES Currency Price Change % Chg USDINR 82.76 0.08 0.04 GBPINR 100.16 0.37 0.37 CURRENCIES business BRIEFS New Delhi: Gold price rose `59 to `55,241 per 10 grams in the national capital on Thursday amid gains in precious metal in overseas markets, ac- cording to HDFC Securi- ties. In the previous trade, the yellow metal had touched `55,182 per 10 grams. Silver, however, slipped `194 to `69,413 per kilogram. In the inter- national market, gold was trading in green at $1,816.7 per ounce while silver was marginally down at $23.84 per ounce. —PTI GOLD GAINS `59 BUT SILVER PRICES GO DOWN BY `194 New Delhi: Social media giant Meta took action against more than 2.29 crore pieces of content created by Indian users on Facebook and Insta- gram in November. The company took action on over 1.95 crore pieces of content on Facebook and 33.9 lakh pieces of con- tent on Instagram, ac- cording to the data shared in the report. The company actioned over 1.49 crore spam content, followed by 18 lakh con- tent related to “Adult Nu- dity and Sexual activity”, 12 lakh pertaining to “Vi- olent and Graphic Con- tent” etc on Facebook on its own. —PTI META ACTS ON 2.29 CR CONTENT PIECES ON FB, INSTA IN NOV New Delhi: Tata Commu- nications will acquire New York-based end-to-end live video production company The Switch En- terprises in an all-cash deal for `486 crore. Tata Comm will support The Switch customers with global reach to over 190 countries and territories and The Switch will bring live production capabili- ties helping organisations to produce high quality immersive content faster and efficiently, Tata Com- munications said. —PTI TATA COMM TO ACQUIRE SWITCH ENTERPRISES New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Thursday said it has signed a five- year pact with Kamarajar Port Ltd for export of its passenger vehicles to in- ternational markets. Un- der the agreement start- ing December 2022, Kamarajar Port will be used for exports to Africa, Middle East, Latin Ameri- ca, ASEAN, Oceania and SAARC regions by the company. The port will be used to export around 20,000 cars annually. A car-cum-general cargo berth has been developed and commissioned. —PTI MARUTI SUZUKI SIGNS PACT WITH KAMARAJAR PORT *Rates till the edition went to print. PM TO TAKE CALL ON EXTENDING PMGKAY BEYOND DEC: MoS AGRI New Delhi: Prime Minister Nar- endra Modi will take a call on extending the PMGKAY scheme to provide free ration to the poor beyond December, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje said on Thursday said stressing that the government has sufficient foodgrains stock. If Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) has to be extended, the decision will be taken by the Cabinet, headed by the prime minister. —PTI 5.86 GW COAL, LIGNITE BASED THERMAL PROJ NON-OPERATIONAL New Delhi: Projects of 5.86 GW out of the total 210.6 GW coal and lignite based thermal power genera- tion capacities in the country are non-operational, Parliament was informed on Thursday. “Out of 210.6 GW (coal and lignite based) monitored capacity of thermal power plants, 5.86 GW capacity is non-operational due to various reasons such as no PPA, under National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) etc,” Power Minister R K Singh said. —PTI ROOFTOP SOLAR INSTALLATIONS FALL DUE TO SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS: MRME MINISTER New Delhi: The rooftop solar capacity installations fell to 1.09 gigawatt during January-September 2022 due to reasons like supply chain disruption in solar modules and delay in tenders by state im- plementing agencies, Parliament was informed on Thursday. At 1.09 GW, the installation was over 4% lower compared to 1.14 GW in the nine-month period of 2021, according to the data shared by Minister for New and Renewable Energy R K Singh. The minister further said that his ministry has taken several steps to enhance rooftop solar installations in the country. —PTI CIL CAN PURSUE OVERSEAS ACQUISITION OF COAL MINES AFTER DETAILED STUDY OF BLOCKS: PAR New Delhi: With CIL not buying out of any coal blocks abroad at pre- sent, a Parliamentary panel on Thursday said the PSU can still pursue overseas acquisition of mines after detailed study and analysis of the blocks, especially low ash coking coal. “Considering the existing coal resources in the country, the committee would like the coal ministry/ CIL to explore acquisition of coal blocks abroad. They would like to be apprised of any developments in this regard.” —PTI OTHER STORIES EXPERTS AHEAD OF BUDGET ‘WIDEN TAX BASE AND DO AWAY WITH CESS’ First India Bureau New Delhi: Widening of the tax base, doing away with cess and surcharge, improvement in compli- ance and moderation in tax for emerging sectors are some of the suggestions submitted to the Finance Ministry ahead of the Budget by TCF. Experts are of the opin- ion that there is a need to grow tax revenues for the government to drive eco- nomic growth and make investments in develop- mental activities, TCF, the think tank said in a statement. Towards this end, poor compliance was identified as a weak link in achieving targeted collections lead- ing to complex issues like overtaxing, complicated tax structures, rising liti- gation, among others. Experts during a delib- eration stressed on better compliance processes to be put in place backed by tech- nological support which in turn will enable tax widen- ing and need for strategies to strengthen tax collec- tions from Tier 2 towns and cities to widen the tax net. Former chairman of CBIC PC Jha said “enforce- ment agencies are working hard to check the illicit trade, but tax evaders are ahead of curve and using innovative techniques to smuggle goods into our country . There is a need to deploy modern technology, install more scanners at ports and use artificial in- telligence to address the counterfeiting issue.” MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS z Experts are of the opinion that there is a need to grow tax revenues for the government to drive economic growth and make investments in developmental activities, TCF, the think tank said z Experts during a deliberation stressed on better compliance processes to be put in place backed by technological support z The estimated tax loss to the government in two highly regulated and taxed industries, tobacco products is `28,500 cr Taxonomy clear definitions needed to prevent greenwashing:Rao Mumbai (PTI): Reserve Bank Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao on Thurs- day called for a taxonomy on green finance to avoid theriskof “greenwashing”. Green financing refers to lending to environmentally sustainable economic activities. Rao said a formal defini- tion of green finance along with a taxonomy “is the need of hour” and added that it will enable more pre- cise tracking of finance flows to green sectors in India. The call for clear defini- tions and a taxonomy or a classification system, es- tablishing a list of environ- mentally sustainable eco- nomic activities, comes at a time when India is look- ing at increasing green fi- nance to help the climate. “Greenwashing” refers to dishonest practices de- signed to deceive people. Panagariya cautions India against cutting trade ties with China New Delhi (PTI): Amid de- mands for snapping trade ties with China for its transgressions on the bor- der, former Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Pana- gariya has opined that cut- ting trade with Beijing at thisjuncturewouldamount to sacrificing India’s poten- tial economic growth. Instead, Panagariya sug- gested that India should try to enter into free trade agreements (FTA) with countries such as the UK and the European Union to expand its trade. “Engaging China in a trade war at this juncture will mean sacrificing a con- siderable part of our poten- tial growth... Purely on eco- nomic grounds, it will be unwise to take any action in response to it (transgres- sions on the border),” the eminent economist said. Panagariya said both countries can play the trade sanctions game but the abil- ity of a $17 trillion economy (China) to inflict injury on a $3 trillion economy (In- dia) is far greater than the reverse. “Now there are some who want trade sanc- tions on China to ‘punish’ it for its transgressions on the border... If we try to punish China,itwillnotsitback,as amply illustrated by its re- sponse to sanctions by even the mighty United States,” he observed. ‘ABILITY TO INFLICT INJURY’ z Both countries can play the trade sanctions game but the ability of a $17 trillion eco (China) to inflict injury on a $3 trillion economy (India) is far greater than the reverse Reliance set to acquire Metro’s India business for `2,850 crore New Delhi (PTI): Reliance Industries has agreed to buy German firm Metro AG’s wholesale operations in India for `2,850 crore as the conglomerate run by Mukesh Ambani seeks to strengthen its dominant position in India’s mam- moth retail sector. Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), a subsidiary of the oil-to-telecom conglom- erate, signed definitive agreements to acquire a 100% equity stake in Metro Cash Carry India Pvt Ltd for a total cash considera- tion of `2,850 crore, subject to closing adjustments, the two firms said in a joint statement. Reliance is India’s big- gest brick-and-mortar re- tailer with over 16,600 stores, and a strong whole- sale unit would further deepen its operations in India. Metro started operations in India in 2003 as the first company to introduce a cash-and-carry business format. JIO TO PROVIDE MANAGED SERVICES FOR IOCL New Delhi (PTI): Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation’s largest oil firm, has selected Reliance Jio’s managed network services to connect a fifth of its petrol pump network. Jio will connect 7,200 IOC sites with SD-WAN managed service solu- tion, zero-touch provisioning and 24x7 real-time monitoring, the firm said in a statement Thurs- day. JioBusiness, the enterprise arm of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd will be deploying and manag- ing SD-WAN (Software Defined Wide Area Network) for IOC across its 7,200 retail outlets for a period of 5 years. This will be one of the largest deployments of SD-WAN solutions in India. JIO DEPOSITS ` 3,720 CR IN SBI ACCOUNT TO ACQUIRE RITL Mumbai (PTI): Reliance Projects and Property Management Services, a subsidiary of telecom major Jio, has deposited `3,720 crore in an SBI escrow account to acquire mobile tower and fibre assets of Reliance Infratel. The NCLT gave approval to Jio for the acquisition of Reliance Infratel (RITL) in November. “Reliance Infratel transaction is complete. Jio has deposited `3,720 crore in a SBI escrow account as directed by NCLT,” a source said. Billionaire Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani-led Jio placed a bid of `3,720 crore in November 2019 to acquire the tower and fibre asset of debt-ridden subsidiary of his brother’s company. DoT forms task forces to boost telecom mfg New Delhi (PTI): The De- partment of Telecom (DoT) has formed four task forces to recommend to the gov- ernment measures that will boost the domestic tel- ecom manufacturing eco- system and remove the bot- tlenecks, an official memo- randum said Under one of the task forces, the DoT has sought recommendation for a phased manufacturing pro- gramme for telecom gear manufacturing to boost do- mestic component supply chain ecosystem as well as attract global players. This task force will be co- chaired by state-run re- search arm C-DoT CEO RK Upadhyay, the memoran- dum dated December 20 said. Markets give up early gains, decline for third straight day Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmarks pared early gains and ended lower for the third straight session on Thursday , defying large- ly positive global market trends, amid the release of minutes of the RBI’s MPC meeting. Despite a positive begin- ning, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex failed to carry forward the gains and declined 241.02 points to finish at 60,826.22. The broader NSE Nifty dropped 71.75 points or 0.39% to settle at 18,127.35. From the Sensex pack, MM, Bajaj Finserv, In- dusInd Bank, TaMo, Tata Steel, Larsen Toubro, Axis Bank and NTPC were among the major laggards. RUPEE APPRECIATES 8 PAISE TO 82.76 AGAINST US DOLLAR Mumbai (PTI): The rupee ap- preciated by 8 paise to close at 82.76 (provisional) against the US currency on Thursday following a weak greenback in overseas markets. The local cur- rency opened higher at 82.78 at the interbank foreign exchange market. The rupee moved in the range from 82.64 to 82.79 in the day trade before settling at 82.76 to a dollar, showing gains of 8 paise over the previous close. Govt sees bright prospect of wheat crop New Delhi (PTI): Agricul- ture Secretary Manoj Ahu- ja said there is a bright prospect of wheat crop in key growing states as the current temperature re- mains conducive for plant growth and higher yield. Till last week, there was a 3% increase in wheat acreage at 286.5 lakh hec- tares in the ongoing rabi season that began in Octo- ber, according to the agri- culture ministry’s data. “Wheat crop prospect is bright. The current weath- er remains conducive for the plant growth and better yields,” Ahuja said. Better weather condi- tions and higher area un- der the crop are expected to lead to higher production in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), he said. Like last year, there have been no reports of extreme temperatures from wheat- growing states so far. This augurs well for the crop prospects, he added. ‘CURRENT TEMP CONDUCIVE FOR HIGH YIELD’ MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS z According to the agri ministry’s data, till last week, there was a 3% increase in wheat acreage at 286.5 lakh hectares in the ongoing rabi season that began in October z Like last year, there have been no reports of extreme temp from wheat-growing states so far
  • 9. NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 08 2NDFRONT www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia A simple action with powerful results is to say things you mean; Be a person of your word and watch your life change. —Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India First India Bureau New Delhi: Several roads and parks will be beautified, trees illumi- nated and public art in- stalledatmanylocations ahead of the G20 sum- mit next year in Delhi. “This will include im- proving road infrastruc- ture and walkability , re- furbishing signages, beautifying areas be- neath flyovers, good LED lighting, illuminat- ing trees, covering drains and replacing broken slabs, installing public art at important locations, developing modern kiosks, taking permanent measures to preventwaterlogging,”a seniorMCDofficialsaid. Beatification work would be done on roads leading to Sunder Nurs- ery, Tuglakabad Shoot- ing Range, the park near Qutab Minar, in- ternal market road in Lajpat Nagar, Greater Kailash-I, Greater Kailash-II, South Exten- sion market and De- fence Colony market, officials said. Also, 55 public art will be in- stalled at important lo- cations. Trees will be illuminated at the Waste-to-Wonder Park at Sarai Kale Khan, Bharat Dharshan Park at Punjabi Bagh and Shaheedi Park, ITO as well as in markets. The MCD has also identified locations for the installation of wa- ter fountains. These in- clude Qutub Park, PVR Saket, Greater Kailash- II M Block Market, Waste-to-Wonder Park, Bharat Darshan Park, Shaheedi Park ITO and Ajmal Khan Park. FOUNTAINS, PUBLIC ART, ILLUMINATED TREES IN NEW DELHI PM Narendra Modi reviewing the model of the new exhibition complex at Pragati Maidan. —FILE PHOTO 55 art installations will be put up at important intersections, key markets and historical places Womencarry‘occasionalguilt’inCongressyatra Asim Kamal Nuh: Some left behind their husbands and chil- dren, others their ailing parents. Battling occa- sional guilt but backed by supportive families, an intrepid band of Con- gress’ women workers have taken on the physi- cally - and personally - daunting challenge of walking in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. As they march on alongside former Con- gress president Rahul Gandhi in the 3,570 km yatra from Kanyaku- mari to Kashmir, stay- ing in containers and walking 20-25 km a day, the women are scripting storiesinempowerment and the criticality of supportive family struc- tures that enable it. The toast of the Con- gress for their tenacity and the difficult choices they made to fulfil a five-month political commitment, their sto- ries are many . There’s Lhinkim Ha- okip Shingnaisui of Manipur, the only wom- an from the northeast in the Congress’ cross- country march, who left her husband and 3 kids, Sheeba Ramachandran from Kerala who has a teenage daughter, son and husband, and Prat- ibha Raghuvanshi from Madhya Pradesh whose father is recovering from an eye surgery - just three of the scores of women marching on. Overcome by guilt at leaving her children, Ramachandran one day locked herself in a toilet at a petrol pump, turned on the water and cried her eyes out. Her teen daughter had phoned asking how she could ask her father to buy sanitary napkins, and it was just too much for the mother in the Con- gress worker to handle. “Leaving behind my teenage daughter to em- bark on the yatra was the toughest decision of my life. We were walk- ing in Bellary when she called me crying,” Ra- machandran told PTI. It’s only after Ra- machandran pressed the teen that she came out with her anguished question. “At that point, the mother in me felt crushed and was overcome with guilt,” the 47-year-old from Ernakulam said, re- counting her near breakdown at a road- side petrol pump. “Lat- er, I called up her fa- ther and told him to take her out to treat her to her favourite soup and buy her sani- tary napkins,” she said, stressing that her husband was also play- ing the role of mother to the two children. Crediting her hus- band for her being able to undertake this “life changing” journey, Ra- machandran said she had never asked her husbandforanyholiday , saree or jewellery after marriage. Going on the yatra was the first thing she had asked of him and he readily agreed and also convinced their children. The choice of follow- ing their conviction to take on hate was clear, said several of the wom- en. Over 100 days into the yatra, they said they would do it again under Rahul Gandhi’s leader- ship if given the chance and added that his slo- gan of “Daro Mat (fear not)” keeps them going, mile after mile. —PTI Leaving behind my daughter to em- bark on the yatra was the toughest decision. We were walking in Bel- lary when she called me crying. —Sheeba Ramachandran, yatri from Kerala The only woman from the northeast in the Congress’ cross-country march, she left at home her hus- band and three children. —Lhinkim Haokip, Cong supporter from Manipur in the Bharat Jodo Yatra I am unmar- ried and I stay with my par- ents while my brother works in another dis- trict. I wanted to be there for my father as my mother is not that literate and there were eye drops to be given 12-13 times in a day. —Pratibha Raghuwanshi, a Congress supporter from MP Party’s women supporters set a brave new example Many are staying in containers and walking 20-25 km a day The idea of travelling is changing with ‘revenge tourism’ after Covid First India Bureau New Delhi: Travel in India is back on track and it looks like India has evolved as a tour- ism hotspot for multiple reasons, especially af- ter the Covid pandemic- induced disruption. Recently, passengers had posted pictures and videos of long queues and crowds at the Delhi Airport. The industry has termed it ‘revenge’ tourism. After being confined for over 2 years due to several restric- tions, people have start- edtorealizethattravelis a much-needed break. Delhi and Mumbai air- ports are experiencing high footfalls and the check-in and boarding timeislongerthanusual due to Christmas New Year. The hospitality in- dustry is gearing up to make the most of the festivaltime,withrooms at many hotels and re- sorts already sold out. Tourists from differ- ent countries have been visiting India to wit- ness its traditions and cultural heritage, which are the factors that laid the foundation of the Indian tourism sector contributing about 5 per cent to GDP. DestinationslikeLon- avala, Leh Ladakh, An- daman, Kerala, Vizag, DharamshalaandCoorg are witnessing good de- mand, unlike tradition- al places like Goa, Himachal Shimla. FOREIGN DOMESTIC TOURIST ARRIVALS IN INDIA 2012 - 2021 Years Foreign Domestic Tourist Tourist arrivals Visits (in millions) (in millions) 2012 6.58 1045.05 2013 6.97 1142.53 2014 7.68 1282.80 2015 8.03 1431.97 2016 8.80 1615.39 2017 10.04 1657.39 2018 10.56 1853.79 2019 10.93 2321.98 2020 2.74 610.22 2021 1.52 677.63 Source: Ministry of Tourism, India TOP SPIRITUAL GROWTH TOURISM IN 2022 DESTINATIONS VS 2021 Varanasi 56% Tirupati 233% Puri 117% Amritsar 81% Haridwar 78% Shirdi 483% Rishikesh 78% Mathura 81% Mahabaleshwar 149% Madurai 127% A zone-wise breakdown of spiritual tourism in India indicates North India as the most favoured spiritual destination followed by South, West and East regions. Spiritual tourism leads travel recovery : The travel recovery in India is driven by religious tourism, reveals the latest edition of OYO Cultural Travel 2022 Roundup Report. The report highlights that Varanasi is the top religious destina- tion for bookers across India followed by Tirupati, Puri, Amritsar and Haridwar. SPIRITUAL TOURISM BOOMING IN INDIA Kerala, which is known typically for its backwaters, marine drive, houseboats, and beaches, has been included in TIME magazine’s ‘50 Extraordinary Destinations of the World’ to explore in 2022. Dy Police Superintendent Ganesh KC of Nepal, who arrested Charles Sobhraj. Passengers carried by domestic airlines during Janu- ary-November 2022 were at 1,105.10 lakh as against 726.11 lakh during the corresponding period of previous year, registering an annual growth of 52.19%, as per Direc- torate General of Civil Aviation data. In terms of domestic visits, the top states are Tamil Nadu at 115.33 million, Uttar Pradesh at 109.70 million, Andhra Pradesh at 93.27 million and Karnataka at 81.33 million. Taj Mahal became the most-visited ticketed ASI Site for Domestic tourists in FY 21-23, followed by the Red Fort and the Qutub Minar, which received the second and third most visitors. Kerala, one of the top tourist destinations in India, registered over 1.33 crore domestic travellers between January and September this year, an official of state’s tourism department said. DOMESTIC PASSENGER TRAFFIC UP 52% Sight of half-burnt body of US woman as child spurred him to become cop, says officer who arrested Sobhraj Shirish B Pradhan Kathmandu: A former Nepalese police officer who was instrumental inthehigh-profilearrest of the notorious French serial killer Charles Sobhraj in 2003 on Thursday said it was the painful childhood mem- ory of the sight of a half- burnt body of a slain American woman in a river that spurred him to become a detective. Ganesh K.C. was 40 and the Deputy Police Superintendent in 2003 when he nabbed Sobhraj from a casino in Kathmandu. Nepal’s Supreme Court on Wednesday or- dered the release of Sobhraj, 78, a French- man of Indian and Viet- namese parentage, who has been in jail here for close to 2 decades on murder charges. For Ganesh, it was the pain- fulchildhoodmemoryof the sight of a half-burnt body of American tour- ist Connie Jo Bronzich that encouraged him to become a seasoned hardened detective. “I was barely 12 when I saw people rushing near the Manahara riv- er in Kathmandu to get a glimpse of the dead body of Connie Jo Bron- zich, the US backpacker who was killed by Sobhraj,” he said. Bron- zich Canadian friend Laurent Carriere were the 2 backpackers killed by Sobhraj in 1976. It was only ironic that 27 years later, Ganesh would be entrusted with the task of hunting down the serial killer. Ganesh recounted with glee the chain of events that lead to Sobhraj’s sensational arrest. “He (Sobhraj) landed in Kathmandu on the pretext of filming a doc- umentary . He was spot- ted in Durbarmarg a newspaper published hisphotographaman- hunt was launched,” he recollected. —PTI NIF TO OFFER FELLOWSHIPS ON POST-INDEPENDENCE INDIA BOOKS Bengaluru (PTI): The New India Foundation (NIF) has announced the 11th edition of its fellowships that sup- port books document- ing various aspects of the dynamic and rich landscape of India post-Independenceera. The last date of sub- mission of applica- tions is December 31. About 20-25 propos- als will be shortlisted to meet with a jury consisting of eminent people from the world of scholarship, busi- ness, and social ser- vice and 5-10 fellow- ships will be awarded. With an annual sti- pend of Rs 18 lakh to each recipient, the New India Foundation Book Fellowships will also offer editorial and administrative guid- ance throughout its course, from proposal to publication. The fel- lowships are open to Indian nationals, in- cluding those current- ly living abroad, and will be awarded for a period of one year. The jury this year includes social scien- tist and author Niraja Gopal Jayal, historian Srinath Raghavan, and entrepreneurs Nandan Nilekani and Manish Sabharwal. Police escort Charles Sobhraj from court in Kathmandu on Aug 12, 2004. About 20-25 proposals will be shortlisted to meet with a jury. The last date to submit applications is December 31 —PHOTO BY PTI FOR G20 SUMMIT
  • 10. www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/ thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09 NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey , but a woman of strength knows it is in thejourneywhereshewill become strong, believes Ritu Sharma from the beautiful place of ‘Pilani’. She is also a perfect example of influential woman. While sharing herbittersweetjourneytoCityFirst, the diva expressed, “ I have completed my post-graduation and am always seeking opportunities where I can utilise my skills ability to show my talent to the world. I am a multi-talented girl who is working in one of the top 10 compa- nies“ Accenture”undertheaccountsand finance profile with my favourite pas- sion modelling. I always wanted to keep my parents proud and become an inde- pendent girl who always aims high. The modelling industry demand indi- viduals who have the ability to organise their time and workload, to be flexible and open to change and most important ability to work well with others. Also, a model should be brave to try new things and not be too afraid to express them- selves model should be original, creative and have the courage to do modelling.” According to the ravishing beauty , “My inspiration is my father “Surya Prakash Sharma”. He faced so many problems in his life but he never give up and so hard work for us, so here I am and following the same what my father is doing work hard. While sharing about her memorable mo- ment, “ I have so many memorable and rewarding movements but the most beau- tiful movement is becoming top 15 Elite Miss Rajasthan 2022. When I took the tro- phy for the top 15 Elitemissrajasthan that movement changed my life and it brings me to the top of Rajasthan and feel very beautiful and confident. This also makes my father happy and proud and this makes me the happiest daughter in the world. I am truly grateful to Jagdeesh Chandra sir and Gaurav Gaur for supporting me during my journey .” UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in A ONE WOMAN ARMY! RITU SHARMA, A SUPERMODEL FROM THE BEAUTIFUL PLACE OF PILANI, SHARES HER JOURNEY WITH CITY FIRST! —PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO