25122021 first india ahmedabad

CM reviews projects, asks govt institutions to improve ranking
He will flag off
BJP youth wing’s
Yuva Mitra
Abhiyan with state
unit president CR
Patil today
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Bhupendra
Patel on Friday re-
viewed several flagship
projects progress of the
state. In a bid to im-
prove credibility of uni-
versities in the educa-
tion sector, he instruct-
ed Children University,
Teachers’ University
and Institute of Infra-
structure, Technology,
Research and Manage-
ment (IITRM) to work
on securing accredita-
tion for courses and im-
proving their ranking.
Praising Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi’s
vision, Patel reminded,
“It is because of PM
Narendra Modi’s vi-
sionary leadership
that the state has a uni-
versity for teachers. It
has recently signed a
Memorandum of Un-
derstanding (MoU)
with the Defense
schools, which will en-
able their teachers to
seek training at the
Teachers’ University.”
The chief minister also
opined that the Chil-
dren University should
collaborate with an-
ganwadi centres and
train the kids.
Talking about IITRM,
CM Patel stated, “It
(IITRM) will also pro-
vide training for high
speed rail services. By
the time the project
commences, we will
have skilled and trained
staff for it. Engineering
students will be given
internships as well.”
Meanwhile, CM Patel
and Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) state unit
president CR Patil will
flag off the Bharatiya
Janata Yuva Morcha
(BJYM) Yuva Mitra Ab-
hiyan on December 25.
Around 1,800 youth
workers will embark
from the party’s state
unit office and travel to
other districts to induct
new voters.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel (centre) at the review meeting of
state’s flagship projects on Friday.
CURFEW HOURS EXTENDED
Owing to a surge in COVID-19 cases, particularly
of the Omicron variant, the state government has
revised night curfew timings to 11 pm to 5 am from
December 25 onwards. The extension will be en-
forced in eight cities of the state namely Ahmedabad,
Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar,
Bhavnagar and Junagadh. Commercial establish-
ments will only be allowed to operate till 11 pm.
AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 31
‘World witnessing 4th Covid
surge, can’t lower our guard’
Haryana declares night curfew; gathering over 200 banned
Mohd Fahad
New Delhi: The Union
Health Ministry on Fri-
day said that the World
is witnessing the fourth
surge in Covid-19 cases
and urged people to not
lower their guard.
“The World Health
Organisation on De-
cember 7 said that Omi-
cron has a significant
growth advantage over
Delta which means, it
has greater transmissi-
bility. Omicron cases
double within 1.5-3
days, so we have to re-
main vigilant with cov-
id appropriate behav-
iour,” Union Health
Secretary Rajesh
Bhushan said during a
briefing.
On case front, India
recorded 6,650 new cov-
id-19 cases and 374
deaths in the 24 hours
ending 8 am Friday
. The
tally of Omicron cases
in country rose to 358.
Maharashtra has re-
corded highest number
of the new variant cas-
es, at 88, followed by
Delhi with 67. P6
Pawan Lalchand &
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Ex-Uttara-
khand CM Harish Raw-
at will lead Congress’s
campaign in upcoming
Assembly elections. A
decision on next CM
will be taken by Con-
gress president Sonia
Gandhi after the elec-
tions. The decision was
taken at a meeting sen-
ior Congress leader Ra-
hul Gandhi had with
Rawat. Meanwhile, cr-
caks in BJP also sur-
facedwhenHarakSingh
Rawat, cabinet minister
of Uttarakhand, while
leaving cabinet meeting
midway
, resigned.
New Delhi: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah willinaugurateon
Saturday the ‘Bharat
Darshan Park’ in Delhi
which showcases attrac-
tive replicas of several
iconic monu-
ments of In-
dia built
with scrap
and waste
material. The recrea-
tional garden, built by
the South Delhi Munici-
pal Corporation on
‘waste-to-wealth’ model,
is being opened after
some delay and ahead of
civic polls in Delhi due
early next year.
WILL VISIT UP NEXT
WEEK, POLLS
DECISION AFTER
REVIEW, SAYS CEC
A day after Allahabad
High Court urged
Election Commission
of India to postpone
elections in UP,
Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC)
Sushil Chandra
on Friday said any
decision will be taken
only after a review of
the current situation.
The commission is
visiting Lucknow on
December 29-30 to
review the situation.
Omicron cases
double within 1.5-3
days, so we have to
remain vigilant with
covid appropriate
behaviour. It also has
significant growth
advantage over Delta
—Rajesh Bhushan
Union Health Secretary
UP CM ADITYANATH ANNOUNCES
NIGHT CURFEW FROM TODAY
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi
Adityanath on Friday announced the reintroduction
of night curfew from Saturday (11 pm to 5 am) after
chairing a Covid-19 review meeting. Adityanath
directed the reintroduction of restrictions on
gathering at weddings and other public events to
200 with adherence to Covid-19 safety protocols.
Home to replicas: Amit Shah to inaugurate
‘Bharat Darshan Park’ in Delhi on Saturday
HarishRawattoleadU’khandpoll
campaign,butnoCMfaceasofnow
Devendra Yadav
will remain in
charge of UPC
Cong chief Sonia
to decide on CM
after poll results
‘Disgruntled’
minister Harak
Singh resigns
WISH YOU
WISH YOU
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS
MERRY
Visitors take photos with Christmas tree in the
background amid the COVID-19 pandemic at a
shopping centre in Barcelona. Spain is reporting
almost 700 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over
14 days, more than double the accumulated
cases before last years Christmas holidays.
The omicron strain has soared from 5% of new
cases in Spain to 47% within one week. (Inset)
A man dressed as Santa Claus greets children
at a school to celebrate Christmas in Chennai.
—PHOTOS BY PTI
New Delhi: After Gujarat’s excellent assembly poll
performance in 2017, now Sonia and Rahul hand over
an additional responsibility of supervising coming up
Uttarakhand polls as an observer to ensure a likely
Congress victory in February-March Uttarakhand
assembly elections. An old Gandhi family loyalist -
Gehlot, who has virtually emerged as number one after
Rahul in the party, after the recent Jaipur rally, looks
like a last ray of hope for the Gandhi family to sort out
complicated issues like Harish Rawat. —Aditi Nagar
AN INDISPENSABLE ASHOK GEHLOT!
NIGHT CURFEW FROM 9 PM TO 6 AM
IN MAHA, CURBS ON GATHERINGS
Harish Rawat Ashok Gehlot
Kapurthala: Five days
after the lynching of a
youth at a gurdwara in
Kapurthala district,
police Friday booked
the gurdwara granthi,
Amarjit Singh, on
murder charges and
arrested him.
The arrest followed a
statement by Chief
Minister Charanjit Sin-
gh Channi that investi-
gations into the Ka-
purthala incident had
not found any evidence
of desecration.
GRANTHI HELD
FOR ‘MURDER’
INKAPURTHALA
LYNCHING CASE
PUNJAB SEEKS HELP IN
LUDHIANA BLAST PROBE
Punjab CM Charanjit
Channi said he had
reached out to Home
Minister Amit Shah for
help in getting equipment
to check the kind of
RDX used in the blast.
Meanwhile, Union Law
and Justice Minister
Kiren Rijiju visited
Ludhiana district court
and assured all help need
from Centre in probe.
CRUCIAL READ
HARBHAJAN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
FROM ALL FORMATS OF CRICKET
Veteran spinner Harbhajan
Singh, the first Indian bowler
to claim a Test hat-trick, has
announced his retirement
from all forms of cricket. He
bows out as the country’s
fourth-highest wicket-taker
(417) behind Anil Kumble,
Kapil Dev and R Ashwin.
MoS (HOME) AJAY MISHRA BLACKMAIL
ATTEMPT: FIVE BPO STAFF ARRESTED
New Delhi: Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni has alleged
an attempt to blackmail him with videos of the violence
in Lakhimpur Kheri, the police said as five people were
arrested on Friday. The arrested men, all BPO workers,
had tried to extort crores from Ajay Mishra, a junior
Home Minister, claiming they had incriminating videos
and other evidence on him linked to the violence in
Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, sources said.
Maharashtra government on Friday announced fresh
series of curbs beginning midnight. According to
government, not more than five people will be al-
lowed in public places from 9pm to 6am. Weddings
in closed spaces cannot have more than 100 people
and up-to 250 people in open to sky spaces. P6
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD,
LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
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NEWS
AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2021
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Follow-
ing the December 22 in-
cident of flyover col-
lapseonSPRingRoadin
South Bopal area of
Ahmedabad, Chief Min-
ister Bhupendra Patel
had ordered an inquiry
into the mishap. Accord-
ing to reports, it will be
headed by the urban de-
velopment secretary
and four technical ex-
perts will also be mem-
bers of the committee.
The Urban Develop-
ment Secretary (now
appointed as the
Ahmedabad Municipal
Commissioner) Lochan
Sehra will head the in-
quiry committee. Other
members on the com-
mittee will include
chief engineer of the
Gujarat Housing Board,
chief engineer or exec-
utive engineer (design
division) of the state’s
roads and buildings de-
partment, one engineer
from the Gujarat Engi-
neering Research Insti-
tute (Vadodara), and a
Forensic Science Labo-
ratory (FSL) officer.
The committee has
been asked to complete
the investigation with-
in 30 days. They will
ascertain the reason for
the flyover’s collapse,
the loss incurred and
party responsible for
the incident.
In the wee hours of
Wednesday morning, a
part of the flyover un-
der construction near
Mumatpura- South Bo-
pal area of Ahmedabad,
collapsed. Though
around 25 workers were
present on the site, no
injuries or casualties
were reported. As the
construction work was
ordered by the
Ahmedabad Urban De-
velopment Authority
(AUDA), its chief execu-
tive officer had ordered
an inquiry and request-
ed the state roads and
buildings department
to conduct it.
However, sources
from the state secretari-
at confirmed that the
Chief Minister decided
to constitute an inquiry
committee on a higher-
level due to those in-
volved in construction
of the flyover. “The con-
struction company Ran-
jitBuildconPrivateLim-
ited and the bridge de-
signing company Delf
Engineering Private
Limited are both under
scanner and their track
records are very poor,”
said the source. Earlier,
thestateroadsandbuild-
ings department had
blacklistedDelf forthree
years and yet it was
awarded the contract to
design the flyover.
URBANDVLPMTSECYTOHEADINQUIRY
INTOAHMEDABADFLYOVERCOLLAPSE
Flyover on SP Ring Road near South Bopal which collapsed on December 22. —FILE PHOTO
CM Patel constitutes committee
CM Patel constitutes committee
with technical experts to ascertain
with technical experts to ascertain
reason for incident, loss incurred
reason for incident, loss incurred
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
government on Friday
transferred seven IAS
officers in the state.
One of the senior most
IAS officers, Mukesh
Puri has been appoint-
ed as the managing di-
rector of the Gujarat
State Fertilizer
Chemicals Limited
(GSFC). Lochan Sehra
has been named the
next Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(AMC) commissioner.
Earlier, First India
had reported that there
was a race between
three IAS officers—
Lochan Sehra, M Then-
narasan and Milind
Torawane— to become
the next Ahmedabad
municipal commis-
sioner. As Sehra has
succeeded in bagging
the position, he will
take charge from Muke-
sh Kumar as the AMC
commissioner. Mean-
while, Kumar has been
appointed as the princi-
pal secretary in the ur-
ban development and
housing department
and Nirmal Gujarat.
Puri, who was serv-
ing as the additional
chief secretary of the
urban development
and housing develop-
ment since 2017, will
now head GSFC. Dur-
ing his tenure, he un-
dertook many good pro-
jects in the state’s mega
cities, and promoted
development in two-
tier cities and religious
places. Accustomed to
keeping a very low pro-
file, the officer did not
succumb to any politi-
cal pressure. That may
be the reason why he
was chosen to head
GSFC, which is consid-
ered a sideline posting
in bureaucratic circles.
Outgoing AMC Com-
missioner Mukesh Ku-
mar was appointed to
the post in May 2020 to
deal with the COVID-19
pandemic. He was un-
der the impression that
his appointment was
only to tackle the cri-
ses, and once it was
over, he would be trans-
ferred back to Gandhi-
nagar. However, it took
him almost a year to
achieve that. Sources
from the state secre-
tariat believe that Ku-
mar had been lobbying
for a posting in the ur-
ban development de-
partment, and he got it
because of his political
connections.
Sehra, the new mu-
nicipal commissioner
has been discharging
duty as the secretary in
the urban development
housing department
and Nirmal Gujarat,
since May 2018. The
2002 batch IAS officer
is also empanelled as
the joint secretary or
equivalent posts in the
Centre. He will be re-
placed by 2004 batch
IAS officer Rakesh
Shankar, who is pres-
ently discharging duty
as the secretary of the
general administration
department (planning).
Other IAS officers
transferred include BR
Dave, who has been ap-
pointed as the manag-
ing director of the Gu-
jarat Livelihood Pro-
motion Company Lim-
ited, KC Sampath—who
will be the district de-
velopment officer of
Surendranagar-- and
Navnath Gavhane, who
is the next additional
rural development
commissioner.
Lochan Sehra is new Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner
Outgoing officer Mukesh Kumar to
head urban dvlpmt dept, Mukesh
Puri given charge of GSFC
IAS TRANSFERS
Lochan Sehra Mukesh Kumar Mukesh Puri
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
Gujarat High Court
on Friday suggested
that the state govern-
ment relocate indus-
trial units that have
been established in
the city. The court is
of the opinion that if
they are allowed to
function at their pre-
sent locations, they
will cause huge pol-
lution issues and
have an adverse im-
pact on citizens’
health down the line.
A division bench
comprising Justice
JBPardiwalaandJus-
tice Vaibhavi Nana-
vati has been hearing
asuomotupetitionon
pollution in the Sa-
barmati River. It has
appointed amicus cu-
riae (impartial advi-
sor) and even consti-
tuted a Joint Task
Force (JTF) to assess
the pollution level.
During the hear-
ing, the court ob-
served, “When these
industrieswereestab-
lished 50 years ago,
they must have been
outside the city lim-
its. But now that the
city limits have ex-
panded and the popu-
lation will soon touch
one crore, their pres-
ence in the middle of
the city can cause a
lot of problems. And
so, they should be re-
located outside the
city limits.”
It also sought de-
tails of the deep sea
pipeline project that
will carry effluent to
the deep sea, thereby
ensuring zero dis-
charge of effluents in
the river.
In a disclosure by
the Gujarat Pollution
Control Board
(GPCB), it stated that
closure notices had
been issued to CETP
operators. Out of
nine, two CETP oper-
ators have responded
to the board notice,
six CETP operators
havegivenbankguar-
antees to the board.
The court called
on Ahmedabad Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(AMC) to file crimi-
nal complaints
against industrial
units discharging ef-
fluents into the river.
“Industrialists who
are polluting the Sa-
barmati River must
be arrested. Why is
the municipal corpo-
ration not publiciz-
ing their names?”
questioned the court.
HC asks state to
relocate industrial
units outside cities
SAYSMAJORPOLLUTIONISSUES
ANDADVERSEEFFECTONHEALTH
OFCITIZENSACONCERN
Gujarat High Court. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Vadodara: During his
surprisevisitatthemam-
latdar office in Vadodara
on Friday
, state Revenue
Minister Rajendra Trive-
di found discrepancy in
online jantri rates col-
lected by officials.
According to calcula-
tions made by officers,
in four out of seven
cases, the amount col-
lected was found to
cause a loss of around
Rs11 to Rs12 crore to the
state. On making the
discovery, the minister
instructed officials to
recover money from
people after issuance of
notices. He also in-
structed them to check
their records of the last
six years and recover
the stamp duty owed,
particularly in Jambu-
va, Tandalja and Tar-
sali areas.
Trivedi had reported-
ly dropped by the mam-
latdar office to investi-
gate rates taken for
jantri. Talking to media
persons, he said, “We
came here with proof
about sale deeds and dis-
crepancyinonlinejantri
rates, which had led to
loss running into crores
to the government. Out
of seven, we uncovered
four cases where a lower
amountwasacceptedfor
jantri, causing a loss of
Rs11 to Rs12 crore.”
He added, “We
checked all documents
and issued instructions
for recovery of remain-
ing amounts. This dis-
crepancy in jantri rates
has caused huge losses
to the government. Of-
ficials are checking
past records to ascer-
tain the total damage.
In the records we
checked, instead of
Rs6,500, only Rs2,500
were accepted. I also in-
structed the office to
seek help from the state
revenue department in
this matter and ensure
recovery of the maxi-
mum amount.”
RevenueministerwenttoV’daramamlatdarofficeonsurprisevisit;discoveredlossof `11to`12crore
TRIVEDI UNCOVERS DISCREPANCY IN
JANTRI RATES
At the Vadodara mamlatdar office on Friday.
Trivedi supervising
officials checking records.

First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In re-
sponse to surging Omi-
cron cases of COVID-19
virus, a high-level meet-
ing was chaired by
Chief Minister Bhupen-
dra Patel to discuss po-
tential measures. As a
result, the night curfew
hours were increased
from four hours to eight
hours by the state gov-
ernment.
Currently, there is a
four-hour curfew en-
forced in eight metros
from 1 pm to 5 am. And
now, eight major cities
will have a curfew from
11 pm to 5 am. However,
there have been reports
of authorities review-
ing COVID-19 cases of
other municipalities for
extension of night cur-
few as well.
According to govern-
ment sources, the home
department will an-
nounce new restric-
tions soon. In addition,
a new policy is also be-
ing formulated to de-
clare a large number of
cases from a single area
as one containment
zone. Public celebra-
tions on December 31
may also be restricted
by the government. Ho-
tels and restaurants
may also be issued fresh
guidelines based on re-
view conducted by offi-
cials.
The Ahmedabad Hos-
pitals Nursing Homes
Association (AHNA)
has written to the gov-
ernment regarding the
rise in Omicron cases
across the state. Mem-
bers have recommend-
ed that the state begin
intensive checking and
testing of passengers
coming from abroad.
“Laxity at the airports
can cause trouble,” they
wrote.
The association also
suggested barring en-
try of patients’ relatives
in private hospitals, if
they have not been vac-
cinated against COV-
ID-19. “Entry will only
be available to relatives
of patients, if they have
taken two doses of the
vaccine,” they stated.
GUJARAT
03
Four dead, 11 injured
in blast at V’dara factory
First India Bureau
Vadodara: A four-year-
old girl and three oth-
ers were killed in a
powerful blast of a boil-
er at a chemical factory
located in Vadodara
GIDC area on Friday.
The accident also left 11
people injured.
A 65-year-old man, a
teenager and a 30-year-
old woman are among
the deceased, informed
an official. Most of the
people affected in the
blast were from the
residential colony in-
side the company,
which is under investi-
gation as per factory
norms.
“A powerful blast
ripped through the
area at around 9.30 am.
Fifteen persons were
found injured and
were rushed to nearby
hospitals. Four of
them were either de-
clared dead on arrival
or died while undergo-
ing treatment,” said
Inspector Sajid Baloch
of Makarpura police
station.
“The four deceased
either died due to
burn injuries or after
getting hit by flying
objects. A forensic
team has reached the
spot to investigate the
cause of the blast,”
said Baloch.
The incident oc-
curred at Canton Labo-
ratory located in the
Makarpura GIDC (Gu-
jarat Industrial Devel-
opment Corporation)
area of Vadodara city.
“A total of 14 people
were affected in the in-
cident. While four died,
10 are undergoing treat-
ment in hospitals.
Teams of police, fire
brigade, mamlatdar of-
fice, ambulance servic-
es, among others are at
the spot for rescue op-
erations and removing
the debris. Investiga-
tion is underway to as-
certain the exact reason
for the blast,” said Ra-
jendra Patel, District
Development Officer
(DDO) and in-charge
Collector Vadodara.
Revenue Minister
Rajendra Trivedi also
visited the blast site
and took stock of the
situation. He met fami-
ly members of those af-
fected and also the com-
pany owner to inquire
about compensation
and other expenses.
Boiler burst at Canton Labs on Friday morning; police begin probe into accident
A worker being taken to hospital for treatment.
UNFORTUNATE MISHAP
Six nabbed for Saurashtra
University exam paper leak
First India Bureau
Rajkot: Six people
were arrested by Ra-
jkot police in connec-
tion with the alleged
leak of Saurashtra
University’s Bachelor
of Commerce (B.com)
third semester exami-
nation question paper,
on Friday
. The princi-
pal of Sardar Patel
Law College of Babra,
Amreli district, was
also among the ac-
cused persons.
Members of the
Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) had com-
plained about the pa-
per leak to the uni-
versity on December
23. The paper in
question was of the
subject ‘Principles
of Macro Econom-
ics’. The exam took
place on the same
day, from 10 am to
12.30 pm.
According to AAP
members, the exam
was due to begin at 10
am, but the question
paper was leaked on
a WhatsApp group at
9.11 am, said police
officials.
The university was
notified and proceed-
ed to file a police re-
port.
“A total of six teams
were formed and sub-
missions of about 100
people were taken,
based on which, we
determined that the
mastermind of the pa-
per leak was Dilawar
Rahim Kureshi, the
college principal from
Babra,” Rajkot DCP
(Zone II) Mano-
harsinh Jadeja told
media persons.
“He (Kureshi) broke
theseal,photographed
the paper, and sent it
to college clerk Rahul
Bhupat Panchasara
via WhatsApp. It was
then forwarded to the
peon’s relative, Paras
Gordhan Rajgor, and
Alish Pravin Chovati-
ya made it viral by
sharing it on a What-
sApp group called
‘Lovely Yaaro’,” he
added.
Kureshi, Pan-
chasara, and Sejalani
of the law college, as
well as three stu-
dents Rajor, Divyesh
Dhaduk, and Cho-
vatiya from Suren-
dranagar, Rajkot,
and Amreli districts
respectively, were
among the six appre-
hended for their in-
volvement in the leak
by police.
All six accused in Rajkot police custody.
CHRISTMAS CHEER!
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Members
of National Students’
Union of India (NSUI)
and Akhil Bharatiya
Vidyarthi Parishad
(ABVP) clashed during
an on-campus member-
ship campaign at GLS
University in the city on
Friday
. According to re-
ports, ABVP members
allegedly told students
to wear scarves and
chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. On
the other hand, NSUI
members went to the
campus and asked that
the obligation to do that
be revoked. Their re-
quest was also support-
ed by students.
A few students even
complained about being
forced to wear an ABVP
scarf and chant ‘Jai
Shri Ram’ since they
were NSUI members.
As a result, students
and members of the
NSUI filed a police re-
port against ABVP
members.
An ABVP member
who works as a secre-
tary in the organiza-
tion, on the other hand,
accused an NSUI leader
of misconduct. She
filed a police report
against NSUI leader
Narayan Bharwad.
Takshat Rajvanshi, a
student, said that when
he arrived at college,
roughly 20-25 members
of the ABVP were sta-
tioned at the gate with
the intent of harassing
NSUImembers.“WhenI
got through the gate,
they inquired about the
reason I joined NSUI,
and threatened to expel
me from the organiza-
tion. Then, one of them
made me shout ‘Jai Shri
Ram’ and garlanded me
with an ABVP scarf,” he
alleged. He has filed a
complaint with police
againstABVPmembers.
Prarthna Amin, an
ABVP member, refuted
NSUI’sclaims.“Bharwad
misbehaved with Juhi
Shah, for which we have
filed a complaint. There
hasnotbeenanyragging
on our part,” she stated.
NSUI, ABVP file police complaints against each other
Members of both organizations
clashed over compulsion to chant ‘Jai
Shri Ram’ and wear ABVP scarves
enforced on students
CONFLICT
RESTRICTIONSLIKELYASSTATE
PREPARESFOROMICRONTHREAT
People with travel history are being detected with Omicron.
NEW CIVIL HOSPITAL TO IMPOSE
FINES FOR NOT WEARING MASKS
Surat: The authorities at New Civil Hospital in Su-
rat have decided to levy a fine of Rs1,000 on anyone
found on the hospital premises without a face mask.
Moreover, those who are seen wearing masks
incorrectly will also be fined a penalty of Rs500. A
notification to this effect has also been put at vari-
ous corners all around the hospital campus. Talking
about the move, Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC)
Leader of Opposition Dharmesh Bhandari stated,
“This is not about shaming but raising awareness.
Wearing masks should be promoted through a
public awareness campaign. Masks should be
given out, and it should be stressed upon the
citizens that this is not an issue of punishment,
but a question of raising awareness.”
3 deaths reported as Gujarat
records 98 cases; 13 of Omicron
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Staying just
below the 100-case mark,
Guj recorded 98 COVID-19
cases on Friday, informed the
state health family welfare
department. Unfortunately, it
added three casualties to its
death tally from the virus infec-
tion, reported in Ahmedabad,
Jamnagar and Porbandar; the
number is the highest reported
in the state this month. Among
the new cases were 13 Omi-
cron variant ones with travel
histories of different countries.
Only a 28-year man from
Kheda, who was detected with
the Omicron variant, had no
travel history. So far, a total
of 43 Omicron variant cases
have been reported in the
state. Of these, eight patients
have been discharged and no
casualties have been reported.
As for the number of cases,
Ahmedabad (32) topped
the chart of highest daily
COVID-19 cases, followed
by Surat (19), among other
districts. The state witnessed
69 people recovering from the
virus infection on the day.
COVID-19 UPDATE
32 MAX
CASES IN
A’BAD
ACTIVE CASES
694
8,18,198
TOTAL RECOVERED
69 RECOVERED
IN A DAY
8,29,003
TOTAL CASES
98 CASES
IN A DAY
10,111
TOTAL DEATHS
03 DEATHS
IN A DAY
On Christmas Eve, the Church of North India
located near Ellis Bridge in Ahmedabad was
illuminated with colourful lights. Meanwhile, a
man dressed up as Santa Claus was spotted
exiting Kasindra village on Friday, after
interacting with residents and informing them
about the importance of COVID-19 vaccination.
In Vadodara, doctors of Parul Sevashram
Hospital chose to spread awareness about
organ donation by dressing up as Santa and
fairy. They went around the hospital with a QR
code and asked people to make the pledge by
scanning it. —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
—FILE
PHOTO
One of the students wearing an ABVP scarf on GLS University campus.
Gutted boiler room of the factory.

PERSPECTIVE
04
tal Bihari Vajpayee ji is well-
known in politics and more than
thatalso.Perhapsbecauseasmuch
as he was deeply concerned with
politics, he was also concerned
with the sensitivity of literature. I
have felt many times that what he
could not say directly while in
politics, his poetic mind used to
say it. We can read his mind by po-
ems. This was the biggest quality
of his personality that he believed
in taking people of different ide-
ologies along. I had constant close-
ness to him. During this, I also re-
alizedthathewasverybigatheart.
Even if there was any dispute or
displeasurewithanyone,hewould
not keep it in his mind. I have al-
ways seen a feeling of respect in
his mind towards his opponents
and rivals too.
While taking everyone along
under the democratic vision, he
never cared about anyone in ex-
pressing his views. I think, not
everyone has the courage to tell
the truth, but Vajpayeeji had this
quality. He used to appreciate it
openly even if the leader of any
Opposition party did good work.
But he never shied away from op-
posing extremism.
Remember, when Bangladesh
was created in 1971, Atalji was
the leader of the front line in the
Opposition. He even gave the title
of ‘Abhinav Chandi Durga’ to the
then Prime Minister Indira Gan-
dhi in the House for the efforts
made for the creation of Bangla-
desh with the crushing defeat of
Pakistan. But on the intention of
concentrating power only in her
hands, he did not reduce the at-
tack on Mrs Gandhi by writing
poems in sarcasm on her in pub-
lic meetings in the eighties.
I still remember the poems re-
cited by him during that period,
‘Indira Gandhi number ek/ num-
ber do hai kaun? /Nari number ek
/ baki sab 10 numbari.’ He used to
do it. He didn’t keep anything in
mind. Whatever is there, if not
said, he used to convey it easily to
the people in impeccable poetry
.
Atalji had faith in the lofty val-
ues of life from the very begin-
ning. Be it politics or life outside,
he used to always stay away from
smallness. These lines of his
poem are very dear to me even
today, ‘Hey prabhu! Mujhe itni
unchain kabhi mat dena/ gairon
ko gale na laga saku/itni rukhai
kabhi mat dena.” I think he al-
ways kept himself attached to
himself. He was skilful and witty
.
He became a Member of Parlia-
mentforthefirsttimein1957atthe
age of 33. His speeches in the Lok
Sabhaarerememberedeventoday
because he used to delve into the
subject very deeply and speak his
words in the contexts of the time.
I still remember his speech in the
House in 1959, in which he talked
about China completely destroy-
ingthepersonalityof thepeopleof
Tibet and spreading a new type of
imperialism. This speech of his
later became very popular. We all
knowwhathismindsawthattime,
the same thing happened later.
China has not only captured Tibet
and made its right there, but has
also continuously exploited Tibet-
ans by making them a minority in
their own country
.
Dr. Shyamaprasad Mukherjee’s
energetic personality has had a
deep impact on Atalji from the
very beginning. Dr. Syamaprasad
Mukherjee’s speech on Kashmir,
hisideologyandthinkinginspired
Atalji probably from the very be-
ginning. That is why this glimpse
also emerges again and again in
his contemplation. After Pandit
Deendayal Upadhyayji, when he
got the post of President of Jana
Sangh,hetookeveryonealongand
did very important work for the
organisation. I have experienced
thathealsohadtheabilitytobring
those, who opposed him, towards
him. Perhaps the main reason for
this was that he used to go directly
to the opponent himself without
anyformalityandaskforcoopera-
tion. This vision and spontaneity
is not there in everyone, but Atalji
was full of this quality
.
A lot is being said and heard on
Hindu,HindutvaandIndiancul-
tureatthistime.Ataljiwasnot
only associated with the ide-
ology of Hindutva, he has
also made it public again
and again. Everyone
knows that ‘Hindu’ is
derived from the Vedic
word Sindhu. The
basis of word ori-
gin in Vedic gram-
mar is the science
of phonetics. On
the basis of this,
Sindhu is the Hin-
du of today
. At many levels in pro-
nunciation, the ‘s’ is changed to
the ‘h’ sound. On the basis of the
grammar of Vedic Sanskrit, we
can assume that there was a tem-
poral transformation of Hindu
from Indus itself. Atalji had once
written a poem with a coloured
mind in the concerns of Indian
culture and Hindutva. Voices
were raised on it, but he was al-
ways firm. I think his poem ex-
plains Hindutva in a way
.
Just a few days ago, when I was
re-reading his collection of fifty
one poems, his same poem came
to mind. In the rare shades of
meaning, he has said a lot in a few
words while transforming Hin-
dutva in Hindustan. See the lines,
‘Hindu tan-man, Hindu jeevan,
rag-rag mera Hindu mera
parichay / main akhil vishwa
guru mahan, deta vidya ka am-
ardan/samashti ke liye vyasti ka
kar sakta balidan’. Those who do
not understand the deep meaning
of the sublime of Hindutva, they
should understand that Hindu
means the tradition of tolerance
in which the values of Sanatan
culture are deeply embedded.
Another important aspect of
Vajpayeeji has always fascinated
me. That is, he was closely relat-
ed to healthy parliamentary tra-
ditions. Heard him many
times in the Lok Sabha and
every time I felt that he had
lived the sub-
ject deeply.
Not only this,
instead of cov-
ering himself
with serious-
ness in the par-
liamentary tradition, he believed
in being straight, simple. I used
to interact with him many times
on the traditions of the House. He
knew that I have a deep attach-
ment to the Constitution and cul-
ture, so if there was a discussion
on this subject, we used to talk for
a long time. Every time I also felt
that he was in favour of preserv-
ing the values of the Constitution
and its associated culture under
any circumstances.
I have also noticed several
times in my interactions with
him that he used to get distracted
when there was a lot of unneces-
sary noise in Parliament and im-
portant issues could not be de-
bated. He used to get disturbed
many times with members speak-
ing loudly in the House and with
their struggle to get a place in the
media. On this, sarcastic lan-
guage was also heard from his
mouth many times. When he was
the Leader of the Opposition in
the Lok Sabha, he used to say re-
peatedly, “The members of the
House consider making noise as
an easy means to get into the
limelight. That is not good. Do a
deep study on a topic, collect
facts, keep arguments and give
an effective speech even then
there is an apprehension that it
is not known how much will be
printed. That’s why the members
have started finding a simple way
to say something in the zero hour
at 11 o’clock or 12 o’clock which
will attract the attention of the
journalists sitting in the gallery
and get a good place in the news-
papers on the second day
.”
Healsousedtosayjokinglythat
as a man feels thirsty
, in the same
way politicians and public repre-
sentatives feel ‘Chhapas’ (a strong
desiretogetprintedinthemedia).
In the House, Vajpayeeji’s hu-
mour and sarcasm as well as wit
was always in the discussion.
When Vajpayee reached the Par-
liament from Balrampur, Uttar
Pradesh on the seat of Jana
Sangh, then Nehruji’s lot of dif-
ficult postures like Shirshasana
yoga used to get printed in news-
papers. One day, during the de-
bate in Parliament, Pt. Jawahar-
lal Nehru spoke very effectively
on some issues. Everyone appre-
ciated his speech. Looking at Va-
jpayeeji sitting in the Opposition,
Nehru ji smiled and said, now tell
me, what do you have to say?
Atalji was not going to remain
silent. He said, “I know that Pan-
ditji does Shirshasana yoga. It
should also be done but it does
not mean that he should also look
at the solution of problems in re-
verse.” I think the house used to
be always alive whenever he was
in the House.
Personalities like Vajpayeeji
are rare in this era. I wonder
where such personalities have left
in politics, who, while taking eve-
ryone along, always keep the
house illuminated with their
presence. He was such a personal-
ity associated with the sensitivity
of parliamentary traditions, cul-
ture and literature who despite
being in politics, kept herself
away from its quagmire. He made
his mark as a leader. I have been
fortunate enough to have such
closeness with him that every
now and then I used to communi-
cate with him on many subjects
other than politics. Whenever
there was a gap in our meeting, he
used to reprimand me. Sweet re-
bukes and listening to a lot. There
aresomanythingsandmemories
that if I write, I do not know
where it will reach. I will say only
one thing for a hundred things
that Atalji was ‘Atal’ in
politics and will always
remain so.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Another important aspect
of Vajpayeeji has always
fascinated me. That is, he
was closely related to
healthy parliamentary
traditions. Heard him
many times in the Lok
Sabha and every time I
felt that he had lived the
subject deeply. Not only
this, instead of covering
himself with seriousness
in the parliamentary
tradition, he believed in
being straight, simple. I
used to interact with him
many times on the
traditions of the House.
A
While taking everyone
along under the
democratic vision, he
never cared about anyone
in expressing his views. I
think, not everyone has the
courage to tell the truth, but
Vajpayeeji had this quality.
He used to appreciate it
openly even if the leader
of any Opposition party
did good work
KALRAJ MISHRA
The writer is Governor of Rajasthan
REMEMBERING AB VAJPAYEE ON HIS BIRTH ANNIVERSARY TODAY
ATALJI WAS ‘ATAL’ IN POLITICS
AND WILL ALWAYS REMAIN SO!
l Vol 3 l Issue No. 31
l RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050. Printed and
published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing
Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway,
Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad. Published at D/302
3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2,
Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Haresh Jhala
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Projects dedicated to
memory of Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj, Maharana
Pratap, Veer Abdul Hameed
and General Bipin Rawat
were inaugurated in
Dodaicha, Maharashtra
today. I bow to the
memories of all these
majestic generals and
heroes who contributed for
the country.
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Jesus answered, ‘I am the
way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me.
—Bible
TOP
TWEETS
Addressed a women’s rally
in Imphal today. Manipur is
another name for women
empowerment. The social
and economic contribution
of the mother power
here is very deep. Be it
Commonwealth Games or
Olympic Games, the players
of Manipur have brought
laurels to the country by
flaunting medals.
Jagat Prakash
Nadda @JPNadda

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INDIA
05
Guwahati: Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla on
Firday expressed con-
cern over “continuous
disruption” of proceed-
ings and “lack of deco-
rum” in Parliament and
State legislatures.
Calling obstruction
of proceedings ethical-
ly and constitutionally
wrong, he said, it was
even more disturbing
when such disruptions
are pre-planned.
Addressing the As-
sam Assembly, Birla
said, “Democracy is
based on debates and
dialogue. But continu-
ous disruption in the
House and lack of deco-
rum is a matter of con-
cern.” While it is natu-
ral for treasury and op-
position benches to
disagree, “dissidence
should not lead to im-
passe”, he added.
The Speaker advised
political parties to hold
discussions on intracta-
ble issues and ensure
the House functions in
a manner that it can ful-
fil the hopes and aspira-
tions of the people.
“To obstruct the pro-
ceedings of the House is
not right, ethically and
constitutionally. Many
a time, disruptions are
not organic but pre-
planned. Such conduct
is even more disturb-
ing,” Birla said.
He said disruption
and adjournment of
proceedings are not
part of democratic tra-
ditions, and asked the
legislators to come true
to the hopes of
the people.
Birla said a diverse
country like India is
bound together by par-
liamentary democracy,
and as the nation cele-
brates 75 years of Inde-
pendence, it has become
necessary to revisit
how the House, which is
an integral part of the
system, functions.
The first Lok Sabha
Speaker to address the
Assam Assembly, Birla
said, the state is a vi-
brant example of unity
in diversity
.
“Assam is the bridge
that connects the richly
diverse North-East with
the rest of India. This
diversity makes our de-
mocracy even more re-
silient,” he added. —ANI
BIRLA VOICES CONCERN OVER
DISRUPTIONS IN PARLIAMENT
Democracy is based on debates and dialogue, says Lok Sabha Speaker
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla being felicitated with traditional Assamese Japi (hat) and Gamocha
by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at the official launch of the Assam Legislative
Digital TV Assam Legislative Assembly, in the Central Hall of the Assam Legislative Assembly in
Guwahati on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Mumbai: Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Narhari
Zirwal, on Friday asked the legislature secretary not to respond to the Supreme
Court’s notice on the plea filed by 12 BJP MLAs challenging their one-year
suspension. The 12 MLAs were suspended on July 5 this year after they al-
legedly misbehaved with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav. Zirwal directed the
government to apprise the SC of the developments that led to the suspension
of BJP MLAs. BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar wondered how the government
can hold the speaker’s election by keeping 12 voters suspended. Leader of
Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said the 12 MLAs have applied to the speaker’s
office requesting their suspension be reconsidered. “I hope their suspension is
revoked before the speaker’s election next week,” he said.
MAHA HOUSE SECRETARIAT NOT TO REPLY TO
SC NOTICE ON SUSPENSION OF 12 BJP MLAs
PMtochairCouncil
ofMinisters’meet
onDecember29
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi will be holding
a Council of Minis-
ters meeting on De-
cember 29. Mean-
whie,PMModiwould
virtually address the
Gurpurab celebra-
tions of Guru Nanak
Dev Ji at Gurudwara
Lakhpat Sahib in
Kutch of Gujarat on
December 25.
As per the PMO,
PM will address the
Gurpurab celebra-
tions at 12:30 pm.
Every year, from Dec
23 to Dec 25, Sikh
Sangat of Gujarat
celebrate the Gur-
purab of Guru
Nanak Dev Ji.
Guru Nanak Dev ji
had stayed at Lakh-
pat during the course
of his travels. Gurud-
wara Lakhpat Sahib
has his relics includ-
ing wooden footwear
and palki (cradle) as
well as manuscripts
and markings scripts
of Gurmukhi.
As per the PMO,
the Gurudwara had
suffered damages
duringthe2001earth-
quake. “The then Gu-
jarat CM, Narendra
Modi, had undertak-
en efforts to ensure
repair of the damag-
es,” the PMO said.
“This step showed
the deep reverence of
the PM for the faith,
as also reflected in
multiple recent en-
deavours, including
the celebrations of
550th Parkash Purab
of Guru Nanak Dev
Ji, 350th Parkash Pur-
ab of Guru Gobind
Singh Ji, and 400th
Parkash Purab
of Guru Tegh
Bahadur ji,”
it further
added.
—ANI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
NEW DELHI: Reacting
sharply to hate speech-
es allegedly made at a
‘Dharma Sansad’ held
recently in Haridwar,
Congress leader Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra on
Friday demanded the
strictest action against
those who incite vio-
lence, saying such acts
violate the Constitution
and the law.
All-India Trinamool
Congress national
spokesperson Saket
Gokhale has also de-
manded action against
the organisers and the
speakers of the ‘Dhar-
ma Sansad’ held in
Haridwar, where “hate
speeches” were alleged-
ly made. He has lodged
a complaint against it at
the Jwalapur police sta-
tion in Haridwar.
Hitting out at the re-
marks, Priyanka Gan-
dhi said, “Strictest ac-
tion should be taken
against those who in-
cite hatred and violence
of this kind.” —PTI
Priyanka slams
‘hate speeches’,
demands action
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Imphal: BJP president
JP Nadda on Friday
claimed that fear had
been dispelled from
among the people in
Manipur by the BJP
helmed Government of
N Biren Singh, which
has ensured “innova-
tion, infrastructure and
integration” in the
north eastern State.
Manipur had wit-
nessed “instability, in-
surgency and inequali-
ty” in the Congress re-
gime, he said at a rally
organsied by women ac-
tivists of the party here.
State poll in Manipur
is due in March 2022.
The government has
allayed the fear that
was prevalent among
the people, he said.
“There was an atmos-
phereof fearinthestate.
A mother used to fear
whether her son would
be return to the state
andasisterdidnotknow
whetherherbrotherwill
returnornot.Now,there
is no fear after the BJP
came to power.
“I now see a new Ma-
nipur which has pro-
gressed due to the
power of women,” Na-
dda said. —ANI
‘BJP has dispelled fear in Manipur’
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh (L), BJP national president
JP Nadda (2L sitting) and other dignitaries have lunch at Luxmi
Kitchen, in Imphal on Friday. — PHOTO BY ANI
Panaji: Nearly three
months after joining
the Trinamool Con-
gress, Goa's former leg-
islator Lavoo Mamledar
on Friday resigned
from TMC, accusing it
of being communal and
trying to create a divide
between Hindus and
Christians for votes
ahead of polls.
The former Ponda
MLA had joined the Tri-
namool Congress in the
last week of September.
He was among the first
few local leaders in the
state to join the TMC,
which has decided to
contest all 40 seats in
the Goa Assembly polls,
due in February 2022.
He also alleged that
the Trinamool Con-
gress was collecting the
data of people in the
name of rolling out a
welfare scheme for
women in the state if it
is voted to power after
the elections. —PTI
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister Anurag Thakur on
Friday slammed Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi by calling him
‘Raul Vinci’.
In a tweet, Thakur
wrote, “Afsarwaadi Hin-
du, Raul Vinci (loosely
translated as Opportun-
istic Hindu Raul Vin-
ci)” This tweet by
Thakur was in response
to a tweet by Gandhi to-
day. The Congress MP
wrote, “Hindutvawadi
always spread hatred
and violence. Hindu-
Muslim-Sikh-Christian
pay the price. But not
anymore! #IndiaAgain-
stHindutva #Harid-
warHateAssembly
.”
Referring to the re-
cently registered case
against Wasim Rizvi
aka Jitendra Tyagi and
others for ‘hate speech’
against Islam during an
event in Haridwar,
Uttarakhand DGP
Ashok Kumar on Fri-
day said that incidents
of ‘hate speech’ will not
be tolerated in the state.
— ANI
TMC ‘WORSE THAN BJP’:
GOA LEADER QUITS PARTY
ANURAG THAKUR CALLS
RAHUL ‘RAUL VINCI’
Sonia Gandhi holds
meet with Cong MPs
from poll-bound Punjab
New Delhi: Ahead of
Punjab Assembly polls,
the Congress MPs from
the State unit of the
party on Thursday met
Congress interim presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi and
raised several issues
including the bomb
blast in Ludhiana and
mob lynching incidents
in the state.
According to the
sources, the MPs also
criticised Punjab Chief
Minister Charanjit Sin-
gh Channi and the State
Home Minister for not
condemning the lynch-
ing incidents in the
State and the conse-
quent action to stem
such violent incidents.
The sources further
stated that MPs also
stressed the need to
maintain communal
peace in the State.
Apart from security
and law and order is-
sues dominated the dis-
cussion, governance
challenges, electoral
strategy for Assembly
elections. —ANI
Sonia Gandhi
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: The Janata
Dal-(United), an ally of
the BJP in the Bihar gov-
ernment, and the state’s
main Opposition party
,
RJD, are coming togeth-
er. While there are many
issues on which agree-
ment between the JDU
and the RJD is visible,
but such is not visible be-
tween the JDU and the
BJP
. On the contrary
, the
demand of the JDU,
which the BJP leaders
are opposing, is being
supportedbytheRJD.Al-
though it is not that any
political equation is be-
ingcreatedimmediately
,
but the possibility of a
miracle cannot be ruled
out in the coming days.
Especially after seeing
the attitude of two small
partiesinvolvedinNDA,
HUM and VIP
.
However, JDU and
RJD had already agreed
on the caste census.
When Nitish Kumar
had gone to meet Prime
Minister Modi with an
all-party delegation on
this issue, Tejashwi Ya-
dav had accompanied
him. Later, Nitish gave
credit to Tejashwi for
the idea of meeting the
Prime Minister with an
all-party delegation.
When the central gov-
ernment did not agree
to the caste census, Nit-
ish made a unilateral
announcement and said
that the state govern-
ment would get the
castes census done and
would bear its expenses.
On this issue, RJD-JDU
are together and the
BJP is in opposition.
Similar is the case of
specialstatestatusof Bi-
har, Nitish Kumar had
raised the issue long
back but was silent on it
for four years. Now he
hasagaindemandedthis
from the Centre, so RJD
has supported him. BJP
is also opposing this.
Renu Devi, deputy chief
minister in Nitish gov-
ernmentandBJPleader,
has opposed this and
said that the central gov-
ernment is giving more
funds to Bihar than un-
der the special state sta-
tus, so there is no need
for special state status.
The growing closeness of RJD and JDU!
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Express will start
operating flights on
Indore-Sharjah route
from March 27 next
year, Aviation Minister
Jyotiraditya Scin-
dia said on Friday. On
October 8, the Centre
had announced that
Talace Private Limited
— a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Tata Sons
— has won the bid to
acquire Air India and
its subsidiary Air India
Express. —PTI
Mumbai: Photo-
journalist Danish
Siddiqui, who died
in Afghanistan, will
be posthumously
awarded as the ‘Jour-
nalist of the Year’ for
2020 by the Mumbai
Press Club.Siddiqui,
who had a long stint of
working, was the chief
photographer for the
news agency Reuters.
GOLD CLIMBS `57; SILVER GAINS `183
New Delhi: Gold price in the national Capital on Friday
gained Rs 57 to Rs 47,263 per 10 gram tracking firm
international trends, according to HDFC Securities. In
the previous trade, the precious metal settled at Rs
47,206 per 10 gram. “Spot gold prices for 24 carat at
Delhi were trading up by Rs 57 in line with global gold
prices,” HDFC Securities, Senior Analyst (Commodi-
ties), Tapan Patel said.
MAHA PLANS TO DEVELOP KOREGAON
Mumbai: A high-level committee has been set up to
prepare a draft plan for the development and beautifi-
cation of the Koregaon Bhima memorial in Pune dis-
trict, the Maharashtra government told the Legislative
Assembly on Friday. Social Justice Minister Dhananjay
Munde made this announcement. “The social justice
department has set up a high-level committee. Its
report is expected in two months,” he said.
NC TO APPROACH SC AGAINST DELIMITATION: FAROOQ
New Delhi: National Conference president and former Jammu and
Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said on Friday that his
party is preparing to approach the Supreme Court against the
Delimitation Commission’s recommendations as it believes
that the very basis of the exercise is “illegal”.
SC REJECTS APPEAL IN 38-YR-OLD CASE!
New Delhi: The SC has dismissed an appeal filed
against a verdict of the Patna HC modifying the
conviction and sentence awarded to a man from life
term to five years in a 38-year-old case in which a
person had died after fight over grazing of crops.
NALINI AND PERARIVALAN GET PAROLE
Tamil Nadu: Rajiv Gandhi assassination convicts Nalini
Sriharan and AG Perarivalan were granted one month of
parole by the Tamil Nadu Government. Nalini was given
a month of parole, while her fellow convict Perarivalan
received an extension on his one-month parole. Perari-
valan’s parole had been extended twice in succession.
PLEA SEEKS UNIFORM
JUDICIAL CODE
New Delhi: A petition
has been filed in the
SC seeking directions
to HC across India to
adopt a uniform judi-
cial code. The plea filed
by advocate Ashwini
Kumar Upadhyay said
such step will contrib-
ute to access to justice
for the citizenry.
IN THE COURTYARD
CAPT’S WIFE
PRENEET KAUR
SKIPS MEET
WITH SONIA
New Delhi: Con-
gress MP and wife
of former Punjab
Chief Minister
Captain Amarinder
Singh, Preneet
Kaur missed a
crucial meeting
called by Congress
interim president
Sonia Gandhi at
10 Janpath on
Thursday. Congress
MP Preneet Kaur
remained absent in
meeting where all
MPs from Punjab
were present. —ANI

INDIA
06
New Delhi: Noting that
the world is witnessing
a fourth surge in Covid
-19 cases, the govern-
ment on Friday cau-
tioned people against
lowering the guard, par-
ticulary during year-
end festivities.
It urged people to
avoid crowding and un-
necessary travel and
stressed on COVID-
19-appropriate behav-
iour and expedited vac-
cination.
Addressing a joint
press conference on the
pandemic, a senior of-
ficial said the predomi-
nant strain in India
continued to be Delta,
including in recently
identified clusters.
India has so far re-
ported 358 cases of the
Omicron variant, of
which 183 were ana-
lysed and 121 of them
were found to have for-
eign travel history
.
The Health Ministry
on Friday said that 61
per cent of the adult
population is fully vac-
cinated, while 89 per
cent has received their
first COVID-19 vaccine
dose.
Addressing a joint
press conference on the
pandemic, Union
Health Secretary
Rajesh Bhushan said,
“89 per cent of the eli-
gible population in In-
dia have received at
least the first vaccine
dose. 61 per cent of the
eligible population has
received the second
dose.” He further said
that the cause of con-
cern is 11 states where
vaccination is less than
the national average.
The 11 states are Odi-
sha, Maharashtra, Ta-
mil Nadu, Bihar, Pu-
ducherry, Uttar
Pradesh, Meghalaya,
Jharkhand, Manipur,
Punjab, and Nagaland.
The national average
of the first dose is 88.7
per cent, while of the
second dose is 60.7 per
cent. On a policy for
booster dose, the Indi-
an Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) said
that deliberations are
underway and it is re-
viewing scientific data.
“Deliberations are
underway. We are re-
viewing scientific data
to formulate a policy,”
said Dr Balram Bhar-
gava, Director General
of ICMR on vaccine
booster shots.
He said that the
world is witnessing the
fourth surge in COV-
ID-19 cases and the
overall positivity rate
stands at 6.1 per cent.
—PTI
358 Omicron cases in India,
114 have recovered, says government
New Delhi: The government will
conduct a medical study - on 3,000
fully vaccinated individuals - to
assess the efficacy of a Covid vac-
cine booster against the Omicron
variant, Health Ministry sources
said Friday. To be carried out by the
Translational Health Science and
Technology Institute in Haryana’s
Faridabad, news of the study comes
amid increasing global worry over
the Omicron strain, which the
World Health Organization has said
is more transmissible than Delta
and reduces vaccine efficacy.
GOVT TO STUDY BENEFIT OF
BOOSTER DOSE: SOURCES
Beed: In a goof-up, the names of
two persons, who are still alive,
have figured in the list of those who
died due to COVID-19 infection in
Ambejogai tehsil of Maharashtra’s
Beed district, an official said on
Friday. The list of the deceased has
been prepared by revenue depart-
ment based on the information given
by the district health department, the
official said. The Maha govt had an-
nounced that a financial assistance
of Rs 50,000 would be provided to
the families of each of those who
succumbed to coronavirus infection.
NAMES OF LIVING FOUND ON
LIST OF COVID-19 DEAD
Mumbai: Amid rising Omicron cases in the state, the Maharashtra government has prohibited the gathering of
more than five people in public places between 9 pm to 6 am. In the new guidelines, only 100 people are allowed
in indoor weddings and not more than 250 in outdoor weddings. Gyms, spas, hotels, theatres and cinema halls in
the state can only allow 50 per cent of the full capacity. Maharashtra reported 23 new cases of the Omicron variant
of Covid-19 on Thursday, taking the state’s tally to 88, the highest in India. Of the 23 new cases, 13 are from Pune
district, including three each from Pune city and Pune Rural, and seven from Pimpri-Chinchwad. The BMC on Friday
made a 7-day home quarantine compulsory for all passengers taking a flight from Dubai and arriving in Mumbai,
said BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal. The civic body said that an RT-PCR test will be done on the seventh
day of home quarantine. If the test is negative, the traveller needs to self-monitor for seven more days.
—Agencies
MAHA ANNOUNCES FRESH CURBS, LIMITS OVERNIGHT GATHERING; 50% CAP FOR CINEMA HALLS, RESTAURANTS
Image for representational purpose only
Third Covid wave
may peak in early
Feb: IIT-Kanpur
New Delhi: The third
wave of the COVID-19
pandemic in India may
peak by February 3,
2022, claims a model-
ling study by research-
ers at Indian Institute
of Technology Kanpur.
However, the forecast
is based on the assump-
tion that India will fol-
low the trends of rise
in cases seen in many
countries globally driv-
en by the Omicron var-
iant of coronavirus.
The yet-to-be peer-
reviewed study, posted
on the preprint reposi-
tory MedRxiv on De-
cember 21, used a sta-
tistical tool named the
Gaussian Mixture mod-
el to forecast the third
wave.
In their study, the re-
searchers used data
from countries such as
the US, UK, Germany,
and Russia that are al-
ready facing the third
COVID-19 wave.
They modelled the
daily data of cases in
these countries to pre-
dict the impact and
timeline for the third
wave in India.
The study also used
the data from the first
and second waves in In-
dia, considering the
number of cases with
respect to time.
“The cases start ris-
ing around 15 Decem-
ber 2021 and the peak
of the third wave will
occur on Thursday, 3
February 2022,” they
wrote in the research
paper.
The authors of the
study noted that the
conclusions are based
on the assumptions
that “a third wave of
COVID-19 may hit the
country, and will follow
the trends happening
around the world. —PTI
Mumbai: Kareena
Kapoor’s genome
sequencing report for
Omicron is negative, the
Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) said
on Friday, according to
news agency ANI. She
is currently recovering
from Covid-19 and is on
day 13 of her quarantine.
Earlier this month, Ka-
reena and her best friend
Amrita Arora tested posi-
tive for the virus.
KAREENA KAPOOR
TESTS -VE FOR COVID
Channi rules out sacrilege in Kapurthala
No evidence of sacrilege has been found in the Kapurthala wherein a man was lynched
New Delhi: Punjab
Chief Minister Charan-
jit Singh Channi on Fri-
day said that no evi-
dence of sacrilege has
been found in the Ka-
purthala case, wherein
a man was lynched.
Channi also said that
the FIR in the case will
be amended and probed
accordingly
.
Addressing a press
conference,Channisaid,
“In Kapurthala (killing
of a man for alleged sac-
rilege), no evidence that
sacrilege was done. The
matter is being probed...
FIR to be amended.”
The postmortem of
the unidentified man
has revealed an attack
with a sharp weapon.
“It has been revealed
in the postmortem that
he was attacked over
with a sharp weapon
leading to multiple inju-
ries. There are over 30
sharp cut marks on the
body including neck,
head and hip,” execu-
tive Senior Medical Of-
ficer (SMO) Dr Nar-
inder Singh informed
on Thursday
.
“There is also a mark
of inserting a sharp ob-
ject into the chest,” he
added while also saying
that the cut mark on the
left side of his throat
reveals that his breath-
ing tube was cut.
“We have taken DNA
samples for identifica-
tion of the body,” he
added. The last rites of
themanwereperformed
by the Municipal Corpo-
ration after the post-
mortem. —Agencies
Haryana govt to withdraw FIRs registered against farmers
Chandigarh: TheHary-
ana govt Friday initiat-
ed a state-wide move to
withdraw the FIRs reg-
istered against farmers
from September 9 last
year during the agita-
tion against the three
contentious central
farm laws. Additional
Chief Secretary (Home)
Rajeev Arora sent a let-
ter to all district magis-
trates in this regard.
“You are requested to
send your comments on
FIRs registered against
farmers in Haryana
during farmer agitation
from 09.09.2020 to till
date, along with full
facts, stage of the case
and specific recommen-
dation whether the FIR
registered so, can be
withdrawn in public in-
terest along with inde-
pendent opinion/report
of District Attorney/
Superintendent of Po-
lice concerned to the
Government immedi-
ately
,” the letter read.
In his reply on the
floor of the House on the
concluding day of the
state Vidhan Sabha’s
winter session, Chief
Minister Manohar Lal
Khattar had said, “As
per the police records,
276 cases have been reg-
istered during the farm-
ers’ agitation so far. Of
these, four cases are reg-
istered under serious
offences. Out of 272 cas-
es,chargesheethasbeen
prepared in 178 cases.
The cancellation report
of eight cases has been
prepared and cancella-
tion report of four cases
has been filed. The pro-
cess of cancellation of
29 cases is going on. The
state govt will withdraw
all the cases registered
against farmers except
cases involving heinous
crimes such as rape,
murder, etc.” —ANI
J-K: Budgam
Police arrests
2 Lashkar terror
associates
Srinagar: Budgam Se-
curity forces on Friday
(December 24) arrested
two individuals linked
with the terror outfit
Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT)in
JK`s Budgam district.
The arrests were
made in a joint opera-
tion by the police, coun-
ter insurgency force
Rashtriya Rifles, and
the CRPF in Chadoora
area of Budgam, offi-
cials said.“The arrested
persons are Imran Ma-
jeed Khandey and Aqib
Amin, both resident of
Mochwa in Budgam.
Two hand grenades,
two AK-47 magazines,
30 AK-47 rounds and in-
criminating material of
LeT were recovered
from them,” said police.
Friday`s arrests have
been made a day after
two persons were ar-
rested as terror associ-
ates in Magam area of
the same district.
During preliminary
investigation, it sur-
faced that both the ar-
rested terrorist associ-
ates have been in touch
with LeT commanders
and were involved in
providing logistics,
shelter ad transporta-
tion of arms and am-
munition. —ANI
CRUCIAL READ
INDIAN ENGINEERING EXPORTS TO
CHINA DOUBLES IN NOVEMBER 2021
New Delhi: Engineering goods shipments to China has
more than doubled in November, 2021 to USD 434.6
million (Rs 32,60 crore approximately) as compared to
USD 205.3 million (Rs 1540 crore) in the same month
last year, sector export
promotion body EEPC
said on Friday. The US,
however, remained the
top importer of Indian
engineering goods at
USD 1196 million during
this period, registering a
growth of 36.6 per cent over USD 875 million in No-
vember, 2020. The UAE was the third biggest market
for Indian engineering goods with a total shipment
value of USD 404.4 million in the previous month.
RAILWAYS TO
MONETISE NEW
JALPAIGURI
New Delhi: Indian
Railways invited bids for
the redevelopment of the
existing railway housing
complex and develop-
ment of the commercial
and residential space lo-
cated at Barrack Colony,
New Jalpaiguri in West
Bengal. The RLDA said
in a statement today that
the bid carries a reserve
price of `26.7 crore for
the area of 16,222 square
metre to be leased out
for 99 years. The online
pre-bid meeting was held
where prominent national
and local level develop-
ers participated. The
proposed plot of land is
square in shape and well
connected to the rail and
road network.
Image for representational purpose only

z Kerala reports 8 new
cases of Omicron, total
rises to 37

z Health ministry: 3 out
of 183 Omicron+ve cases
had taken 3d vax dose

z IT biggies TCS, HCL,
Infosys to continue work
from home as Omicron
scare looms large.
Blast case: NIA
chargesheet
against LeT
New Delhi: Pakistan-
based LeT operative Ha-
feez Iqbal along with
two other associates
fabricated the Darb-
hanga railway station
IED blast that occurred
in mid-June this year, a
chargesheet filed by the
National Investigation
Agency (NIA) reveals.
Chargesheet mentions
name of Hafeez Iqbal
and 4 associates. —ANI
Will night curfew and other restrictions
mar electoral ‘atmosphere’?
Aditi Nagar
Dehradun: A day after
the Allahabad HC sug-
gested deferring the Ut-
tar Pradesh assembly
elections due to a possi-
ble Omicron-led third
Covid wave, Chief Elec-
tion Commissioner Su-
shil Chandra onFriday
saidanappropriatedeci-
sion will be taken on the
issue after his UP visit
next week.“I will be vis-
iting UP next week. An
appropriate decision as
required by the situa-
tion will be taken after
we review it,” Chandra
told reporters here.
Meanwhile, with the
suspicion that election
buglemaybeblownsoon
as ECI may announce
dates on December 30
and on the other hand
the cases of corona are
increasing continuously
,
politicalobservers,party
leaders and general pub-
lic alike is raising one
pertinent question, as to
howwillpollactivitiesbe
carried out at night after
night curfew has been
imposedinUP
.Generally
poll strategies are made
in night and banners,
posters too are put up by
workersinnightbutnow
night curfew may prove
a dampener.
EC WILL VISIT UP NEXT WEEK,
TAKE APPROPRIATE DECISION: CEC
Man Killed In Ludhiana Court Blast Was Bomber, An Ex-Cop: Sources
Chandigarh: The body of the man who was
killed in the blast at a court in Punjab’s Lu-
dhiana has been identified and is believed to
be that of the bomber, and more startlingly,
a former police officer, sources said on
Friday. According to sources, the body of
the bomber was identified as Gagandeep
Singh, a former cop. A head constable, he
was dismissed from service in 2019 and
spent two years in jail following his arrest
in a drug-trafficking case. He was released
in September. His SIM card and a wireless
dongle helped identify him and the family
too have confirmed that the body was of
Singh, sources said. The disclosure bol-
stered CM Charanjit Singh Channi’s state-
ment that there appeared to be no evidence
of the involvement of Pakistani agencies or
Khalistani groups in the blast. “It is a possi-
bility. The blast happened in Ludhiana when
the hearing in the Majithia case was taking
place in Mohali,” the CM said. —Agencies
NO COLD WAVE CONDITION OVER ANY PART
OF INDIA, RAIN LIKELY IN NORTHERN STATES
New Delhi: There is no cold wave condition over any
part of India, but there are chances of rain in the plains
particularly in Punjab, Haryana, North Rajasthan,
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, said the Indian Meteorological
Department on Friday. As
per IMD, all these areas
will receive rainfall from
the intervening night of
December 26 and 27 and
the spell will continue till
December 28. IMD said,
“As of December 24, the
temperature has been normal or above normal, both
night and day temperature. There is no cold wave
over any parts of India and as we have predicted from
December 22, mostly it has been withdrawn.
CAUGHT ON CCTV,
MAN’S RAMPAGE
OVER ICE CREAM
Mumbai: How far can
one go if children are
denied ice-cream? A man
in Mumbai suburb Vasai
gave a shocking answer
to this when he damaged
a shop’s entire ice cream
stock after the owner re-
fused to sell them dessert
two hours after midnight.
The episode, which took
late night ice cream
craving to a whole new
level, was captured by a
CCTV camera installed
next to the medical store
in Vasai’s Kaul Heritage
City that also stocked
ice cream. In the foot-
age from 2.11 am on
December 19, a man
is seen speaking to the
shop owner from across
the counter.

07
Mumbai: The coun-
try’s monetary policy
is, by design, financial-
ly inclusive and this
strategy will result in
policy effectiveness and
welfare maximisation
going ahead, Reserve
Bank of India’s Deputy
Governor Michael D
Patra said on Friday
.
Financial inclusion
appears to have gone
up, with the level of the
RBI’s financial inclu-
sion index rising from
49.9 in March 2019 to
53.1 in March 2020 and
further to 53.9 in March
2021, Patra said at an
event organised at In-
dian Institute of Man-
agement, Ahmedabad.
“The evidence is still
formingandstrongcon-
clusions from its analy-
sis may be premature,
but India’s monetary
policy is, by design, fi-
nancially inclusive and
it will reap the benefits
of this strategy in the
future...,” he stated.
An economy with all
consumers financially
included would expect
to experience less out-
put volatility due to
lower consumption
volatility
. In an econo-
my with financially ex-
cluded consumers,
monetary
policy has to
assign a greater
weight to stabilis-
ing output, he said.
Patra said going
ahead as financial in-
clusion rises even fur-
ther in India, consump-
tion volatility as a
source of output vola-
tility can be expected to
wane.
This will provide
headroomformonetary
policy to remain fo-
cused on minimising
inflation volatility,
which brings welfare
gains for all, he added.
—PTI
New Delhi: Depart-
ment of Telecom (DoT)
has extended the dura-
tion of archiving call
data and internet usage
records of subscribers
to two years from one
year due to security rea-
sons.
The amendments in
the licences were issued
on December 21 and ex-
tended to other forms
of telecom permits on
December 22.
“The licensee shall
maintain all commer-
cial records/call detail
record/exchange detail
record/IP detail record
with record to the com-
munications exchanged
on the net-
work. Such re-
cords shall be
archived for at
least two
years for
scrutiny by
the licensor
for securi-
ty rea-
s o n s . . . , ”
the DoT cir-
cular said. —PTI
New Delhi: After wit-
nessing cloudy skies
this year, the coun-
try’s renewable ener-
gy sector is expected
to boom with a likely
investment of over $15
billion in 2022 as the
government focusses
on electric vehicles,
green hydrogen, man-
ufacturing of solar
equipment as well
as achieving
the am-
bitious 175GW renew-
able capacity target.
India, which has an
installed renewable
energy generation ca-
pacity of a little over
150GW, aims to reach
175GW in 2022. Out of
the total mix, 100GW
would be from solar,
60GW from wind,
10GW from bio-power
and 5GW from small
hydropower pro-
jects. “In 2022, we
expect the in-
vestment in re-
newable ener-
gy to cross at
least $15 billion,”
Power and New and
Renewable Energy
said. According to
BNEF reports, new
investment made
in the clean ener-
gy sector in the
country stood at $6.2
billion in 2020. —PTI
Mumbai: The BSE
benchmark Sensex
tumbled 191 points on
Friday, tracking losses
in index-heavyweights
HDFC twins, Kotak
Bank and Axis Bank
amid mixed cues from
global markets.
After a choppy ses-
sion, the 30-share index
ended 190.97 points or
0.33%lowerat57,124.31.
Similarly, the NSE Nif-
ty declined 68.85 points
or 0.40% to 17,003.75.
NTPC was the top
loser in the Sensex
pack, shedding around
3%, followed by MM,
Axis Bank, PowerGrid,
Kotak Bank, Dr Red-
dy’s, Bajaj Finserv and
HDFC. On the other
hand, HCL Tech, Tech
Mahindra, Asian
Paints, Wipro, Infosys
were among gainers.
Elsewhere in Asia,
bourses in Hong Kong
and Seoul ended with
gains. —PTI
New Delhi: Microfi-
nance industry (MFI)
is one of the most im-
portant paradigms of
the Indian financial
sector due to its grass-
root coverage and its
overarching vision of
providing credit to the
relatively unbanked
sections of the society
.
This transformative
effort constitutes an
integral part of the
mainframe economics
and the well-being
of the overall soci-
ety
. The amount of
loan disbursed, dipped
in the wake of the dev-
astating COVID pan-
demic. However, the
num-
ber o f
SHG’s with saving
linkage increased
from about 100 lakhs to
about 112 lakhs.
The All-India NPA
as percentage to loan
outstanding under
SHG-BLP declined
from 5.19% in 2018-19
to 4.73% in 2020-21.
West Bengal re-
tained its
spot as
the larg-
est state in
terms of portfo-
lio outstanding
(`34,587 crore). —PTI
New Delhi: India’s
startup ecosystem has
notched up record in-
vestment of nearly $ 36
billion in privately
held companies this
year as demand for dig-
itisation grew mani-
fold amid the Covid-19
pandemic. UK-based
Investment data plat-
form Preqin estimates
that venture and pri-
vate equity invest-
ments increased three-
fold during the year up
from the $11 billion
mopped up by Indian
startups in 2020.
This year, the vol-
ume of seed-stage
deals dominated with
nearly 396 deals aggre-
gating to $705.86 mil-
lion while about 166
investments at series A
amounted to about
$1.67 billion, data until
Dec 20, showed. How-
ever, the bulk of the
investments were di-
rected towards pre-IPO
financing rounds. —PTI
BIZ BUZZ
New Delhi:
India’s first
5G technolo-
gy trials for
rural broad-
band began on
Thursday at
Ajol village in
Gujarat with a
base trans-
c e i v e r
sta-
tion (BTS) installed
17km away at Unava
town in the Gandhi-
nagar district.
A team of repre-
sentatives from the
department of tele-
com (DoT) and two
private mobile ser-
vice providers visited
the village to meas-
ure speeds, recording
a 105.47 Mbps down-
load speed and a
58.77 Mbps
u p l o a d
speed.
Among the tech-
nologies being tested
are 360 degrees vir-
tual reality content
playback, a virtual-
reality connected
classroom, 5G immer-
sive gaming. —Agencies
New Delhi: Pre-
owned vehicle market
in India is expected to
reach 8.2 million
units by FY’26 from
around 4 million
units in the financial
year ended March
2021, driven by higher
demand from smaller
cities coupled with
increasing new vehi-
cle prices and cus-
tomers’ changing
preferences, a report
said on Friday
. It also
said that the market
size is expected to
grow to $70.8 billion
by 2030 at a Com-
pounded Annual
Growth Rate of 14.8
per cent between 2021
and 2030.
The cost of owner-
ship for a pre-owned/
used vehicle is sig-
nificantly less in com-
parison to a new one,
mainly due to high
depreciation, higher
taxes, RTO/ registra-
tion fee, and expen-
sive vehicle insur-
ance policies,
Grant Thorn-
ton Bharat said.
Noting that with
increased new vehi-
cleprices,pre-owned/
used vehicles are ex-
pected to become a
more popular choice
among Indian con-
sumers, the report
said, “the pre-owned
vehicle market in In-
dia is expected to
reach 8.2 million
units by FY26, a two-
fold increase from ap-
proximate 4-million
units in FY21.”
—PTI
India’s first rural 5G
trial starts at Ajol
Huge potential for
pre-owned car market
record/IP detail record
with record to the com-
munications exchanged
on the net-
work. Such re-
cords shall be
archived for at
least two
years for
scrutiny by
the licensor
the DoT cir-
—PTI
said that the market
size is expected to
ance policies,
Grant Thorn-
units in FY21.”
—PTI
New Delhi: Santa ar-
rived early at the In-
dian Institute of
Technology campus-
es this year, where
crore-plus offers dur-
ing final placements
at 185-odd marked a
new all-time high.
For the first time
ever, domestic offers
accounted for a sig-
nificant chunk of
these crore-plus pack-
ages, as companies
went all out in their
bid to bag the best of
tech talent.
Among the IITs of
Delhi, Bombay, Kan-
pur, Madras, Kharag-
pur, Roorkee, Guwa-
hati, the highest do-
mestic packages were
`1.8 crore a year. In-
ternational packages
ranged as high as
`2.15-2.4 crore.
Students at IIT-Del-
hi received around 60
offers with salaries of
more than `1 crore,
while other IITs with
crore-plus packages
included Kanpur (49),
Madras (27), Bombay
(12), Roorkee (11),
Guwahati (5) and
BHU (1). IIT-Kharag-
pur said it had 22-plus
packages in the `90
lakh-2.4 crore range,
of which 1-2 were in
the `90 lakh-1 crore
range. —PTI
IITs SEE RECORD
CRORE-PLUS OFFERS
MFI LOAN PORTFOLIO
STOOD AT `2,37,369 CR
BRIGHTER DAYS
AWAIT RENEWABLE
ENERGY SPACE
INDIAN STARTUPS BAG
RECORD $36 BN IN 2021
SENSEX DROPS 191 POINTS;
NIFTY ENDS NEAR 17K LEVEL
New Delhi: SBI
Cards and Payment
Services (SBI Card)
on Friday said it has
raised Rs 650 crore
by issuing bonds on
a private placement
basis. We hereby
inform that stake-
holders' relation-
ship and customer
experience commit-
tee of the company
has approved the
allotment of 6,500
fixed rate, unse-
cured, rated, taxable,
redeemable, senior,
listed non-convertible
debentures (NCDs)
aggregating to Rs
650 crore on private
placement basis, SBI
Card said in a release
The bonds, bearing
interest at 5.82 per
cent, have a tenure
of three years and
are set for matu-
rity on December 24,
2024.—PTI
Telecom companies to archive
data for two years: DoT
financially inclusive: RBI
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India will
conduct another three-day Variable Rate Reverse
Repo (VRRR) auction on Monday when it will aim
to suck out up to Rs 2,00,000 crore. The move is
in line with the central bank’s stated policy as the
RBI governor earlier hinted at unwinding excess
cash through auctions. Earlier in the week in a
surprise move, it conducted a similar auction
through which it removed Rs 81,160 crore liquid-
ity from the system on December 20.—Agencies
MONETARY
POLICY
India’s
RBI ANNOUNCES ANOTHER
3-DAY VRRR AUCTION FOR `2 L CRORE
SBI CARD RAISES `650 CR
THROUGH PVT PLACEMENT

A Merry Christmas to
all of us!
—Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Di-
rectorate of Central
Goods and Service Tax
(CGST-Intelligence)
wing, while searching
for tax evasion of
Trimurti Fragrance
Pvt Ltd, found Rs 150
crore cash—collected
from tax evasion. Sa-
majwadi Party leader
Piyush Jain, consid-
ered a close aide of
Akhilesh Yadav, owns
the company.
CGST-Intelligence
had initiated raids for
tax evasion. On un-
earthing details, they
also informed the In-
come Tax Department.
CGST officials said the
money was linked to the
dispatch of goods via
fake invoices and the
absence of e-way bills.
Fake invoices created
on names of imaginary
firms were Rs 50,000
each. Officials found
over 200 such invoices-
-created without GST
payments--in four
trucks inside the trad-
er’s warehouse.
The factory premises
and the premises be-
longing to a pan masala
manufacturer and a
transporter, Ganpati
Road Carriers--involved
in the transportation of
goods under the garb of
fake invoices, without
generating e-way bills--
were raided. Searches
were carried out at
Ahmedabad, Kanpur,
Mumbai, and other
places of the tobacco
manufacturer and
transporter.
CGST team had also
carried out searches at
Odochem Industries in
Kannauj in UP
. The com-
pany supplied perfum-
ery compounds to
Trimurti Fragrance Pvt
Ltd and dealt mostly in
cash. CGST has already
recovered Rs 3.09 crores
towards tax dues from
TrimurtiFragranceLtd.
Officials of Income
Tax are further investi-
gating Rs 150 crore cash
seized from Piyush
Jain’s residence, facto-
ries and offices.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: As many
as 125 private hospitals
in Ahmedabad have de-
cided to discontinue
cashless facilities for
insurance holders of
The New India Insur-
ance, The Oriental In-
surance, National In-
surance and United In-
dia Company from
January 15, 2022.
The four government
insurers have not made
any revisions of hospi-
tal charges in the last
five years, according to
AHNA. Hospitals in
Ahmedabad and nurs-
ing homes will close
their cashless facility
without any redressal
despite numerous rep-
resentations from gov-
ernment insurers.
AHNA President Dr
Bharat Gadhvi said that
these insurance compa-
nies have clumsy ad-
ministration. ”They
don’t want to renew the
agreement. Payment
against claims by gov-
ernment insurers is
very late. Despite the 30-
day limit, no timely pay-
ments are made by any
government insurance
companies,” he said.
He added this is a seri-
ous offence under the
MSME Act. ”If people
wantgoodfacilities,stop
taking insurance from
these four companies. If
questions are unan-
swered, cashless facili-
ties will be closed by pri-
vate hospitals in
Ahmedabad from Janu-
ary15,2022,”heasserted.
Government insurers
have not revised their
charges in the last five
years. In five years, the
premiums of insurance
companieshavedoubled
or tripled. The costs of
all services in the hospi-
tal and that of the staff
has steeped, making the
cost of treatment of the
insured patients of the
government insurance
companies an unafford-
able task as against the
charges.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: She Team 1
of Harni police station,
Harni, saved the life of
a person who attempted
suicide after swallow-
ing sleeping pills. The
team on getting the ex-
act mobile location
reached the spot. They
rushed the man, lying
in an unconscious state,
to a hospital just in time
to save his life.
As per details, a girl
reached Harni police
stationandinformedthe
police inspector about
her father Arunkumar
Mishra. Mishra had left
home without giving in-
formation about his
whereabouts. He later
messaged the daughter
about his intentions of
committing suicide. PI
VK Desai immediately
contacted the PCB PI, JJ
Patel. With the help of
technical surveillance,
PIwithSheTeam1could
track the exact mobile
location of the person
and found him lying in
an unconscious state in-
side a jeep near Fate-
hgunj bridge.
They immediately
rushed him to a hospital
where the doctor in-
formed them that he had
swallowedabout30sleep-
ing pills and was in a se-
rious condition. Howev-
er, after receiving treat-
ment,Mishra’scondition
is currently stable.
First India Bureau
Surat: Around 40 to 50
lakh people die of car-
diac arrest yearly in the
country. However, after
Covid-19 the number
has increased by 30%
claims doctors of
Vrudam Institute of
Medical Science.
Interventional Cardi-
ologist and cardiac elec-
trophysiologistDrRahul
Katariya said, a decade
ago the heart ailments
were mostly found in
people aged between 50
to 55. Now, even the
younger lot suffers a car-
diacarrest.Therecanbe
a possibility that people
don’t feel the blockage
despite it affecting them
by 80% to 90%.
COVID-19 patients,
especially women, have
the highest risk of dy-
ing. They are nine times
more likely to die after
suffering a cardiac ar-
rest in hospital.
He said that Covid-19
causes inflammation in
the arteries supplying
blood to the heart mus-
cles with an increase in
a blood clot. It leads to
sudden blocking of
these arteries followed
by a heart attack. “Fur-
ther, inflammation and
infection of heart mus-
cles called myocarditis
leads to weakening of
pumping of heart lead-
ing to heart failure. The
virus can also make the
heartbeat very fast or
very slow. All these
conditions can contin-
ue for many weeks af-
ter recovery from COV-
ID-19 and, only rarely
can it be life-threaten-
ing,” he said.a
First India Bureau
Surat: The Surat RTO
(road transport au-
thority) has stopped
dispatching licens-
es at the applicant’s
residence for the
past 15 days. The
move upsets over
4,000 applicants
whose learning li-
censes have already ex-
pired. They had applied
for the final license but
due to management is-
sues, they were unable
to procure it. Nearly 200
people visit the RTO on
a daily basis amid Cov-
id-19 to inquire about
their license. Officials
from the RTO office
have informed that the
contract of the printing
agency hired to print
the license has expired.
Till a new tender is is-
sued, the printing of
all licenses will be
stalled. Such is the
state of all RTOs
across Gujarat. Sa-
meer Patel, an ap-
plicant said, “My
learning license
expired more than
two weeks ago. Each
time I am caught, I
don’t have a license to
show and end up pay-
ing the penalty. It was
only when I reached
the RTO office did I re-
alize that I was not the
only one. I found sev-
eral people queuing up
to find the status of
their licenses.”
Income Tax and State Bank of India’s team counting approximately `150 crore seized from the
owners of Trimurti Fragrance Pvt Ltd.
Government insurance cards of four companies suspended by
125 private hospitals.
She Team 1 with Arunkumar Mishra in the hospital.
CGST Intelligence Guj unit seizes
` 150 crore cash from UP SP
Cashless facilities to
suspend at 125 hosps
SHE TEAM OFFICIALS SAVE MAN’S LIFE
TALE OF FOGGY WINTER NOON
As mercury continues to dip in Ahmedabad, a fog was observed at 3.30 pm in the city.
Commuters and pedestrians can be seen crossing the Jamalpur APMC junction, against the
backdrop of heavy winter fog. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
COVID-19 increased
the number of heart
patients by 30%
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The
standing committee of
the Ahmedabad Munic-
ipal Corporation (AMC)
has approved different
works worth Rs 235
crore for the Gandhi
Ashram Precinct Devel-
opment project, an offi-
cial said Friday
.
The AMC’s standing
committee on Thursday
granted permission for
the works, which in-
cludes the construction
of roads, drainage net-
works and filling of
land, the official said.
To go ahead with the
development works, the
civic body started de-
molishing structures,
coming in the way of
the project, he said.
The Rs 1,200 crore-
worth Gandhi Ashram
Memorial and Precinct
Development Project is
jointly undertaken by
the state and central
government. The pro-
ject will be developed
over an area of 55 acres
from the existing five
acres by bringing to-
gether heritage build-
ings and restoring the
surrounding.
On Thursday, the
AMC started razing
buildings near the Ash-
ram. The demolition
started after the fami-
lies residing there ac-
cepted compensation
offered by the govern-
ment for their reloca-
tion. The families are
provided with a one-
time settlement either,
money to buy a house or
new houses elsewhere.
Many residents are
descendants of the peo-
ple who came to settle
here with Mahatma
Gandhi.
For the project, the
government has formed
a committee to relocate
over 200 families--living
on the land owned by
six different trusts that
are part of the original
Ashram.
But the AMC’s plan
to demolish a slum lo-
cated on the trust prem-
ises without any com-
pensation or rehabilita-
tion prompted the
dwellers to move to the
Gujarat High Court.
The slum dwellers
claimed that they have
been living there for 15-
20 years, and have the
protection of their
slums and livelihood
and compensation un-
der the Regulations for
the Rehabilitation Re-
development of the
Slums, 2010 Act; the
matter is sub-judice.
The project has also
faced resistance from
the Gandhians, who as-
sert that the govern-
ment’s plan to develop
the area into a world-
class memorial is unac-
ceptable. They have
openly rejected the pro-
posal, saying that this is
against Gandhi’s ideas.
Houses razed near Sabarmati Ashram precinct
REVAMPING THE ASHRAM
lll
Works worth
` 235 cr
okayed for
Gandhi
Ashram
development
project;
demolition of
houses begins
4,000 APPLICANTS WAIT FOR
LICENSE, RTO CANNOT PRINT
Entrance of Sabarmati Ashram.
Piyush Jain evades tax by generating fake invoices, doing away with e-way bills
Cancelled learner's license
of 4,000 applicants.
CRORES OF TAX EVASION
Younger lot and
women are at a
higher risk of
cardiac arrest
after suffering
from COVID-19

elebrating the be-
ginning of the In-
ternational pag-
eant Queen of
Cosmos, an initia-
tive by Jagdeesh
Chandra to be
held on March 10,
2022 in Dubai and
Fashion Connect
Season 11 curated by
brand ambassador
Rishee Miglani which
is also marking its
second international
venture in March 2022
in Dubai, a pre-launch
bloggers meet was
held at PitStop- the
riders cafe on Fri-
day
. Show Director
Lokesh Sharma
was also present.
Jagdeesh Chan-
dra also graced the
occasion.Hefelici-
tated the entire
team of PitStop
for their new
venture and
wished them
great suc-
cess.
The sumptuous desserts
which were enjoyed by the
who’swhoof thePinkcity
,as
well as ingenious entrepre-
neurswashostedbytheown-
ers of Pitstop, Nishant Lohi-
yaandAbhishekChoudhary
.
Nishant Lohiya and Ab-
hishek Choudhary
, owners,
PitStop said, “We care as
much about what is on the
table in front of us as what
is around us. We got this
unique concept when we
travelled to Jammu and
Kashmir.PitStop,theriders
cafe is our brainchild and
was born out of our sheer
passion for bikes. Unfortu-
nately, we didn’t come
across such a place in Pink
City and wanted a remedy
for the food and caffeine
lovers in Jaipur. We are
grateful to our friends and
family for their support
and are beyond excited to
host the lovely crowd.”
Sports-themed cafes are
popular choices because
they have a ready-made
customer base; sports fans
love to congregate in
drinking and eating estab-
lishments with friends.
Major sports leagues’ sea-
sons overlap, making it
possible for this riders
cafe to be popular through-
out the year.
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
CHRISTMAS EVE BECAME MEMORABLE
AS THE FASHION BLOGGERS GATHERED
AT PITSTOP- THE RIDERS CAFE, JAIPUR
FOR THE PRE LAUNCH OF FIRST INDIA
FASHION CONNECT SEASON 11!
Rishee Miglani and Ayan Chugh
AHMEDABAD, SATURDAY
DECEMBER 25, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
The riders Cafe
The riders Cafe
PIT
PITS
STOP
TOP
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA
Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Neha Choudhary, Aaliya Seth, Pankhuri Nag, Shaina Ahuja,
Lokesh Sharma, Rishee Miglani, Khushi Sonkhiya, Shreya Jain and Juhi Agarwal
Neha Choudhary, Abhishek Choudhary, Juhi Agarwal and Nishant Lohiya
(From top) Khushi Sonkhiya and Aasawari Sahni
Apoorva Sharma
Twinkle Sethi
(From top) Shaina Ahuja and Payal Samal
C

10-11
ETC
WITH A PINCH
OF GLAM!
POORVI SINGHAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
s a kid, Christmas
was always about
exchanging (ma-
jorly receiving)
presents, thrust-
ing chocolates in
stockings, decking
up the tree and reluctantly
dressing up as Santa for
school celebrations. Talk-
ingof dressingup,theterm
gets redefined for adults,
especially for the Holiday
season, courtesy cinema.
Think: skimpy red dress,
white garters, scarlet lips
and bralette.
FromKardashiansisters
to Urvashi Rautela, Ariana
GrandetoSunnyLeone,we
have enough spicy Santas
to draw inspiration from.
Withcandycanes,reindeer
tentacles and mesh stock-
ings as their partners in
debauchery, they serve us
the ultimate Christmas
looks for holiday parties,
not necessarily for the
church.
However, come to think
of it, adulting has also re-
defined the way we look at
Christmas, way beyond
donning reds and whites. I
remember doing secret
santa with a group of
friends in ’20 and the year
before that, being a part of
the cake-making process
with a friend’s family
. I re-
alised that indulging in
such experiences and shar-
ing a piece of warmth can
bring us so much joy, just
what we need for the Holi-
days, right?
JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS,
JINGLE ALL THE WAY…
Gorgeous chics from movie
world are finally here to slay!
A
Lea Michele, Naya Rivera and Chris Colfer as Santa’s elves
Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Kiara Advani and Diljeet Dosanjh
Jacqueline Fernandez Tara Reid
The
iconic
‘Mean
Girls’
Selena Gomez
Katy Perry Sherlyn Chopra Ariana Grande Bethany Mota Christiana Milan
Sunny Leone
Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner
Diana Penty
Kylie Jenner and Michael Buble
Miley Cyrus
Khloe Kardashian, Kendal Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner
Dove Cameron

12
CITY BUZZ
APEEJAYKOLKATALITERARYFESTIVAL
CITY FIRST
T
he Apeejay Kol-
kata Literary
Festival (AKLF),
organised by Ox-
ford Bookstore, will be
held from January 21
to 23. At the AKLF
Curtain Raiser
held at ‘The Park’
New Delhi on Fri-
day, Maina Bhagat,
Director, Apeejay Kol-
kata Literary Festival,
gave a sneak peek into
the three-day literary
feast, followed by the
announcement of the
Longlist for the sev-
enth edition of the Ox-
ford Bookstore Book
Cover Prize. 21 book
covers were an-
nounced during the
event by Jurors Dr
Shashi Tharoor and Dr
Alka Pande.
A book discussion on
Dr Shashi Tharoor’s
newly released book
Pride, Prejudice, and
Punditry, published by
Aleph Book Company,
was also held during
the evening. Dr Shashi
Tharoor was in con-
versation with Sa-
garika Ghose, a
well-known journal-
ist, writer, and author.
‘Pride, Prejudice, and
Punditry’ explores
current Indian history,
politics, cricket, di-
plomacy, Hinduism,
and humor. Sagarika
Gosh, Aman Nath,
Rama Pandey, Alka
Pande, Maina Bhagat,
Bhai Chand Patel,
Vandana Kohli, San-
jay Arora, Dolly Sin-
gh and Poonam Sahi
graced the occasion
with their presence.
—PHOTOS
BY
SHAZID
CHAUHAN
COLLECTIVELY
INDEPENDENT
CITY FIRST
T
he preview of the
art show, Collec-
tively Independ-
ent 2021, curated
by Ruchi Chadha and
Gaurav Chawla of Inner
Konnect Art, was held on
Thursday at Visual Art
Gallery
, India Habitat
Centre, Lodhi Road. Col-
lectively Independent
2021 is an annual show
dedicatedtoexploringthe
delicate threads of affini-
ty between creativity and
its versatile approach to-
wards the realistic world,
in diverse emotions. This
exhibition is made up of
constructive styles by dif-
ferent artists, through a
variety of mediums.
Theexhibitionwasinau-
gurated by Rajesh
Tailang, Sharan Lowen,
Naresh Kanpuria.
Guests attending the
event included Manisha
Gawade, Aarti Zaveri,
Sangeetha Murthi and
participating artists
were Bharti Verma, Ab-
hinav Goyal, Soumick
Nag, Siddharth Jharia,
SonaliChaudhari,Sonia
Sareen, and Vrinda Jha-
ria were all present at
the gallery
.
BOWLED OVER BY 83!
T
he film 83 is the
re-creation of
the Indian
cricket team’s
first ever world cup
championship victory
led by Kapil’s devils. 83
recounts the doughti-
ness and buoyancy of
the Indian team to
overcome not just its
adversaries but also
the critics references
to the team as the un-
derdogs.
Kabir Khan effort-
lessly transports the
cheering viewers to
the 80’s participating
in the Indian team’s
phenomenal triumph.
The happenings on the
screen look real most
of the times, due to the
wonderful cast.
Ranveer is fan-
tastic as Kapil Dev
and this is easily
one of his top 3 perfor-
mances. He is ably
supported by the en-
tire team of actors.
Theylookgenuineand
real. 83 relives
through Ranveer
and his team.
For the love of
films, for the love of
cricket, for the love of
honor, WATCH IT.
KAVITA CHAUHAN
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
DIRECTOR
Kabir Khan
CAST CREW
Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone,
Jiiva, Harddy Sandhu, Tahir Bhasin,
Pankaj Tripath, Saqeb Salim etc.
83
RATING:
—PHOTOS
BY
SHAZID
CHAUHAN
THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS!
Christmas being the most awaited time of the year is
celebrated with utmost zeal and happiness. The bright lights,
the twinkling stars, Santa Claus and the joy of being present
with our family, all of these add up to the spirit of Christmas.
City First brings to you some snippets of how the people of
Delhi celebrated this season!
Children's Meditation Camp
CITY FIRST
F
or a wholesome
growth of chil-
dren Osho Dham
organised Chil-
dren’sMeditationCamp
that is scheduled FROM
December 24 to 26 at the
Osho Dham premises.
Facilitated by Prem
Devyani and Swami
Amit Saraswati, the
camp is designed to
children a taste of med-
itation with fun activi-
ties coupled with silent
ones; so while they will
see themselves laugh-
ing, dancing or creating
beautiful artworks and
crafts, they will also be
practising the
unique Kundalini,
breathing techniques,
Nadabrahma, yoga and
listening to Osho Dis-
courses.
Kalyani Chawla with her daughter Tahira
Santa Claus’ dummy inviting everyone to shop at
the INA Delhi Market
Women buying decorative items at INA Delhi Market
The grand Christmas tree at the Select Citywalk
Its gift time!
A corner of hope
Kalyani Tahira deck up their Christmas tree as their furry kido lies on
the ground being pet by Kalyani
—PHOTOS BY MANOJ KESHARWANI, SHAZID CHAUHAN AND NITIKA PANJWANI
During the event Maina Bhagat and Shashi Tharoor
Shabri Prasad and Kena Shree Shashi Tharoor addressing the gathering
Aman Nath
Artworks at the exhibition
Ruchi Chadda and Gaurav Chawla
Naresh Kapuria and
Rajesh Tailang Sharan Lowen
A still from the movie
—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

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