25122022_ First India New Delhi (1).pdf

❍ RAHUL GANDHI ADDRESSES BHARAT FROM RED FORT
‘Hindu-Muslim 24x7 on
TV, nowhere in country’
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Addressing
a large gathering out-
side the Red Fort after
the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’
arrived in Delhi on Sat-
urday, Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi said he
has not seen hatred any-
where in the country
but he sees it on televi-
sion all the time. Hatred
in the name of Hindu-
Muslim is being spread
through television 24x7
to divert the attention
of people from the real
issues, he alleged.
“After doing Hindu-
Muslim 24 hours, they
will hand over your
money and sell all your
ports, airports, roads
and other assets to their
crony friends.... They
try to divert your atten-
tion all the time,” he
said. “This is not a Nar-
endra Modi govern-
ment, it is the Ambani-
Adani government.”
Rahul Gandhi addresses
people outside the Red Fort on
Saturday. —PHOTO BY PTI
VOICE CAME FROM INSIDE
ME: KAMAL HAASAN
‘I stood in front of the mirror
and said to myself, this is when
the country needs me the
most. Then a voice came from
inside me - Kamal... do not
help break India, help unite.”
Tukde Tukde Gang walking in Yatra: Thakur
New Delhi (PTI): Un-
ion Minister Anurag
Thakur on Saturday
claimed that members
of the “tukde-tukde”
gang were walking
alongside Gandhi in the
Bharat Jodo Yatra,
which entered Delhi on
Saturday
.
“If any one is walk-
ing with the Yatra, they
are the members of the
tukde-tukde gang. How
can those, who wish to
see India disintegrate,
talk of uniting India.
Those who are known
to sow seeds of hatred,
how can they speak of
spreading love,”
Thakur said. The min-
ister alleged that the
Congress had spread
misinformation about
coronavirus when the
outbreak first happened
and also raised ques-
tions about the ability
of Indian scientists and
homegrown vaccines.
“I just want to remind
you all, these were the
same people who flout-
ed Covid protocols,
spread misinformation
that led to loss of sev-
eral lives. Today, when
the the world is facing
the danger of Covid
once again, Congress is
abdicating its responsi-
bility,” Thakur said.
THEY SHOULD HAVE STARTED IT FROM
LAHORE OR DHAKA: UP BJP CHIEF
New Delhi: UP BJP chief Bhupendra Singh
Chaudhary took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat
Jodo Yatra and said that the Congress should
have started it from Bangladesh or Pakistan. “The
Congress should have organ-
ised the Bharat Jodo Yatra from
Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi,
or Dhaka, which was separated
from India during their rule, but
it seems as if Congress itself is
confused,” Chaudhary said. “I
don’t understand which India are they trying to
reconnect when the partition during their govern-
ance separated Bangladesh as a part of West
Pakistan from us,” he added. Further, taking a
swipe at Rahul Gandhi, the UP BJP chief said that
if they really want to unify the country, they should
have started the yatra from Dhaka in Bangladesh
or from Lahore, Karachi, or Islamabad in Pakistan.
LEARNING@75
Forward-looking, futuristic education system
being created in country through NEP: Modi
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Saturday said
that through the new
NEP, a forward-looking
and futuristic educa-
tion system is being cre-
ated in the country for
the first time.
“You know very well
that for the bright fu-
ture of India, our exist-
ing education policy
and institutes have a
big role to play. IITs,
IIMs and medical col-
leges in country have
increased after 2014, the
year when Patel govt
came to power for first
time,” he said. More on P8
PM Narendra Modi greets during the 75th Amrut Mahotsav of Shree
Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot Sansthan via VC, in Delhi on Saturday.
NEP will
promote overall
development of
students. Vocational and
skill education has created
a major role in the NEP. It
is estimated that more
than 50% of students will
be linked with vocational
education before class 10.
—Amit Shah,
Union Home Minister
CHANDA
HUBBY IN
3-DAY CBI
CUSTODY
z Special Mumbai court
on Saturday granted
3-day custody of former
ICICI Bank CEO Chanda
Kochhar, and her hus-
band, Deepak Kochhar.
z The central probe
agency told the court
that both of them did
not cooperate during
the investigation and
hence were arrested
z CBI alleged cheat-
ing and irregularities in
loans sanctioned by the
bank to Videocon Group
companies. Chanda Koc-
char and her husband
z CBI prosecutor A
Limosine told court
that while Chanda was
heading bank, 6 loans
were sanctioned which
are under the scanner
TN: 8 SABARIMALA
DEVOTEES KILLED
Pathanamthitta: 8 devotees
were killed and two persons,
including a nine-year-old
boy injured in TN’s Theni
district after a car carrying
devotees plunged into a
40-feet-deep pit, officials
said. 10 devotees were
headed home when their car
met with an accident.
LINK PAN CARD WITH
AADHAAR BY MARCH
New Delhi: On Saturday,
the Government of India
had made the linking
of the two documents
mandatory for all citizens.
While the last date for
PAN-Aadhaar linking was
March 31, 2020 earlier,
the Centre had extended it
to March 31, 2023.
SOAP STAR TUNISHA,
20, FOUND DEAD ON
SET; CO-STAR NAMED
IN SUICIDE CASE
Mumbai: Tunisha Sharma,
20, a television actor, on
Saturday allegedly died by
suicide on the set of a serial
in Vasai in Palghar dist, and
her co-actor, Zeeshan Mohd
Khan, has been charged with
abetting suicide. She went to
washroom on set and did not
return for a long time. When
door was broken down, she
was found hanging inside.
SURVEY OF IDGAH
FROM JANUARY 2
Mathura: A local court in
UP’s Mathura on Saturday
ordered survey of Shahi
Idgah Mosque, said to
be built on the “Krishna
Janmabhoomi”by the
Archaeological Survey of
India after January 2. The
report will be submitted
after January 20. P6
READ
Crucial
Crucial
RT-PCR‘must’ for
foreign travellers
Centre’s six-point advisory to States
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Union
Health Minister Man-
sukhMandaviya,onSat-
urday, said RT-PCR test
is mandatory for inter-
national arrivals from
China, Japan, South Ko-
rea, Hong Kong, and
Thailandamidthesurge
in Covid cases in multi-
ple nations.
Meanwhile during
the day, ministry has
given a fresh six-point
advisory to the states to
face any Covid emer-
gency amid rising cases
in neighbouring China.
The availability of
LMO, in health facilities
and uninterrupted sup-
ply chain for their refill-
ing should be ensured
and added adequate in-
ventory of oxygen cylin-
ders with backup stocks
to be maintained.
Passengers coming from
abroad undergo testing at IGI
Airport, in Delhi on Saturday.
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ,
observed on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions
of people around the World. Meanwhile on Christmas eve, a couple dressed as
Santa Claus celebrates at snow-covered Ski Resort in Gulmarg.
NEW DELHI l SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 116
Happy
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New Delhi (PTI): Traffic was affected in parts of
Delhi on Saturday as the Bharat Jodo Yatra en-
tered the city. “We reached Nizamuddin area in
one-and-a-half hours from Ashram. There is so
much traffic,” said Hemant, an autorickshaw driv-
er who was ferrying passengers to drop them at
the New Delhi railway station.
Another commuter, Amit, said he might miss his
train to Ahmedabad. “You want to take out yatra,
do it, but think of the traffic and the problems peo-
ple face,” he said. Near Nizamuddin dargah, many
passengers were seen carrying their luggage and
walking to the railway station.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Former
Congress president So-
nia Gandhi, her daugh-
ter Priyanka, son-in-
law Robert Vadra, and
grandchildren Miraya
and Raihan joined Ra-
hul Gandhi in the
march in the national
capital. Sonia Gandhi
and her family mem-
bers walked with Rahul
for a short distance till
the yatra halted for the
morning break at the
Ashram Chowk.
This was the second
time Sonia Gandhi
joined the yatra that be-
gan in September from
Kanyakumari. She had
earlier taken part in the
march in October when
it was in Mandya in
Karnataka.
This is the first time
the entire family has
walked in the Bharat
Jodo Yatra together.
Wearing a mask, So-
nia Gandhi walked with
Rahul Gandhi, Priyan-
ka Gandhi Vadra, Rob-
ert Vadra and her
grandchildren and
waved to the public
waiting along the roads
to see the family
.
“The love that I have
received from her, I am
sharing the same with
the country,” Rahul
Gandhi tweeted in Hin-
di with a picture of a
warm hug with his
mother. The Congress
also shared the same
picture.
Aparna Bose and
Archana Prasad
New Delhi : Thousands
of supporters walked
behind former Con-
gress chief Rahul Gan-
dhi on Saturday as he
led the Bharat Jodo
Yatra from Badarpur
border to Ashram here,
with the entire stretch
decked up in tricolours,
balloons and banners
of the leader.
The Yatra entered
Delhi on Saturday
morning with scores of
people from Haryana
and Delhi joining it at
the Badarpur border
amid raising of Bharat
Jodo (unite India) and
Rahul Gandhi
Zindabad slogans.
With the beating of
drums and playing pa-
triotic songs, the enthu-
siasm of the Congress
Yatris was at its peak.
Waving tricolours,
thousands of party ac-
tivists walked behind
Gandhi.
Early in the morning,
Congress workers had
lined up along the route
and showered flower
petals on the Yatris.
Security from Badar-
pur to Ashram was
beefed up, with barri-
cades erected and teams
of police deployed at
multiple points.
Congress workers set
up camps at various
places, where song and
dance pro-
grammes were or-
ganised.
Party supporters
were seen chanting
slogans like Nafrat
Chhodo, Bharat
Jodo (Quit hatred,
unite India).
A large number
of youth support-
ers were also seen,
who claimed to be
p r o t e s t i n g
against “unem-
ployment”.
People were
also seen lin-
ing up to have
a glimpse of
the yatra.
Congress
leader Kan-
haiya Kumar
said the BJP
is scared of
Bharat Jodo
Yatra as it is get-
ting a huge response
from people.
A large number of
workers from Delhi
Congress, led by Delhi
unit chief Anil Chaud-
hary, welcomed Gandhi
and the Yatris at the Ba-
darpur border early in
the morning. The Yatra
entered Delhi from the
Faridabad side. Former
Haryana chief minister
Bhupinder Singh Hoo-
da was among senior
leaders present. —PTI
CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2022
02
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Thousands walk behind Rahul Gandhi
BHARAT JODO YATRA ENTERS CAPITAL
‘NAFRAT CHHODO, BHARAT JODO’ SLOGANS IN THE AIR
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi leads the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in New Delhi on
Saturday. (R) Rahul carries a girl on his shoulders during the Yatra. —PHOTOS BY PTI
Haryana Congress President Udai Bhan hands over the national
flag to Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary in the presence
of party leaders Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan
Chowdhury and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at Badarpur border in
New Delhi on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief and actor Kamal Haasan joins
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra,
in New Delhi on Saturday. Congress leaders KC Venugopal and
Shaktisinh Gohil are also seen. —PHOTO BY ANI
Boxer Vijender Singh poses for a picture with Rahul Gandhi
during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘They spread hate,
we spread love’
New Delhi (PTI):
Rahul Gandhi ac-
cused the RSS/BJP
of spreading fear in
the country and said
they convert this
fear into hatred but
the Congress will not
allow that to happen.
Addressing a gath-
ering as the Bharat
Jodo Yatra entered
Delhi, he said, They
spread hatred, we
spread love and em-
brace all Indians.
There is Hindu-
stan and 'Mohabbat'
(love) in this Bharat
Jodo yatra, which
does not see any
caste, creed, reli-
gion, rich or poor
and all embrace each
other, he told the
gathering.
RSS/BJP's all pol-
icies are to spread
fear. They want that
everyone should
have fear in them
and they convert this
'dar' into 'nafrat' (fear
into hatred). If there
is no 'dar', it will not
be converted into 'na-
frat'. We say 'daro
mat'. We spread Mo-
habbat. We embrace
all Indians, he said.
RAHUL HALTS YATRA TO GIVE
WAY TO AMBULANCE
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sat-
urday stopped his Bharat Jodo Yatra near Apollo
hospital here to give way to an ambulance.
He halted for a while to let the ambulance pass.
He also asked fellow Yatris to give way to the
ambulance. This incident occurred near Apollo
hospital in the national capital at around 8:30 am.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hurls candies towards media
persons near Jasola Metro Station. —PHOTO BY PTI
Gandhi family walks together in Delhi
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Robert Vadra and their daughter Miraya Vadra walk with Rahul Gandhi
during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, at Ashram Chowk, in New Delhi on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
The love that I have received from her, I
am sharing the same with the country.
—Rahul Gandhi, Sharing a photo with his mother
BJP should stop trying
to stall Yatra: Congress
New Delhi (PTI): Noth-
ing can prevent the
Bharat Jodo Yatra from
moving forward, the
Congress asserted and
asked the BJP to “stop
playing politics in the
garb of the Covid pan-
demic” and trying to
“stall” the march.
“Covid and health
are serious issues and
the BJP should not
make them a tool of
their politics,” AICC
media and publicity in-
charge Pawan Khera
told reporters at the
Ashram Chowk. “If you
have the courage to stop
the Yatra, do so. We will
follow all rules and pro-
tocols, if any with re-
gard to Covid.”
“We know our re-
sponsibilities and the
BJP should govern in-
stead of giving us ad-
vice. They are not de-
claring norms but their
concern is Bharat Jodo
Yatra which is getting
the support of people,”
Khera said.
Delhi Congress in-
charge Shaktisinh Go-
hil said the BJP is
scared of the Bharat
Jodo Yatra and not Cov-
id. “Using corona politi-
cally is sending the
wrong message to the
people of the country,”
he alleged.
Khera added, “They
are in government and
they should not need
the opposition to re-
mind them before act-
ing. If they are so con-
cerned, why don't they
stop their yatra in Ra-
jasthan... instead of
creating fear in the
minds of everyone.”
The prime
minister visits
Parliament
wearing a mask but
attends weddings in
the evening without a
mask. They should fo-
cus on governance.
—Pawan Khera,
AICC Media Publicity In-charge
Aparna Bose
New Delhi: A group of
blind students from
south Delhi's Lajpat
Nagar set up camp on
one of the routes of
Bharat Jodo Yatra in
Delhi on Saturday.
Around 15-20 students
gathered on the route
of Apollo hospital
holding banners and
chanting slogans “Na-
frat Chhodo, Bharat
Jodo” (Quit hatred,
unite India).
A 14-yr-old student,
Saransh, said they par-
ticipated to “protest
against rising unem-
ployment”. He said
there are several blind
students who have ex-
celled in education but
remained unemployed
for years.
Gulshan Kumar, 12,
said he participated to
“eliminate hatred be-
tween communities”
and raise his “voice
against inflation.” Ku-
mar's father is a farmer
and has to feed a family
of seven. He said infla-
tion has impacted his
family and despite hav-
ing degrees, several
family members could
not get a job. —PTI
Students join to raise voice
against hate,unemployment
Students hold up a banner during the yatra. —PHOTO BY ANI
TrafficmessduetoYatra
New Delhi (PTI): Chaud-
hary Charan Singh, an
84-year-old resident of
Dadri, braved the winter
chill to join the Bharat
Jodo Yatra at Nizamuddin.
“I am a follower of
Mahatma Gandhi and
worship him twice a day.
I will be going all the way
to the Yatra's final desti-
nation at Red Fort. I came
here along with others
and will return home once
it ends,” he said.
ELDERLY BRAVE
WINTER CHILL
Traffic snarl at ITO during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.—PHOTO BY PTI

CAPITOL
03
New Delhi (PTI): The
Aam Aadmi Party Sat-
urday claimed the BJP
will support an Inde-
pendent candidate for
Delhi mayor and chal-
lenged it to field its own
candidate for the top
MCD post.
At a press conference,
senior AAP MP Raghav
ChadhaclaimedtheBJP
has said it would not
field any candidate for
the mayor's post.
We have heard that
theBJPissupportingan
Independent candidate
forthemayorpost.What
are they scared of that
they are not fielding
theirowncandidate?he
asked.
TheAAPFridayfinal-
isedsixnamesasitscan-
didates for various MCD
posts, including that of
mayor and deputy may-
or, with Shelly Oberoi
emerging as the choice
for the top post in the
civic body
.
On December 7, AAP
won the MCD polls
with 134 seats, ending
the 15-year rule of the
BJP in the municipal
corporation.
New Delhi (ANI): A
rise in both maximum
and minimum tempera-
ture of about 2-3 de-
grees is very likely from
December 27-30, 2022 in
the national capital,
said India Meteorologi-
cal Department on Sat-
urday
.
Cold wave conditions
will prevail over most
places of Delhi during
the next two days, added
the IMD. Due to prevail-
ingnorthwesterlywinds
and less cloudiness in
the coming days over
Delhi, It is expected that
temperature may fall
about 2-3 degrees till 26
December 2022 and will
be in the range of 3-4 de-
grees, IMD said.
Coldwaveconditions
will prevail over most
places of Delhi during
the next two days (fol-
lowing the criteria of
cold wave condition;
minimum temperature
4 degrees or less), IMD
further said.
Delhi (Safdarjung)
has reported the lowest
minimum temperature
5.3 degrees on 23 Dec.
Today
, Delhi (Ridge) has
reported a minimum
temperature of 4.0 de-
grees, the IMD stated.
Max,mintemperaturemay
risefromDec27-30:IMD
AAP challenges BJP to field
own candidate for mayor
n BJPbacking
Independent
candidate:AAP
n What is BJP
scared of, asks
partyMPChadha
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann
attends the Mega Parent Teacher Meeting, at Government Senior
Secondary Smart School, in Patiala on Saturday.
—PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi (PTI): Fourteen AAP MLAs have been
nominated by the Delhi Assembly Speaker to the
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), according
to a notification issued on Friday. The nominated
members include Atishi (Kalkaji), Akhilesh Pati
Tripathi (Model Town), Dinesh Mohaniya (Sangam
Vihar), Durgesh Kumar (Rajinder Nagar), Gulab
Singh (Matiala), Jarnail Singh (Tilak Nagar) and
Mohhinder Goyal (Rithala). Pramila Tokas has
been nominated from RK Puram, Rajkumari
Dhillon from Hari Nagar, Rajesh Gupta from
Wazirpur, Rituraj Govind from Kirari, Sanjeev Jha
from Burari, Vinay Mishra from Dwarka and Anil
Kumar Bajpai from Gandhi Nagar.
14 AAP MLAs NOMINATED TO MCD
New Delhi (ANI): A
fugitive criminal in
Australia, Rajvinder
Singh, accused of mur-
dering a woman in
Queensland in 2018, on
Saturday in a Delhi
court expressed his de-
sire to contest the case
Down Under.
Singh is facing an ex-
tradition inquiry in In-
dia. He was arrested on
November 25, 2022. Ad-
ditional Chief Metro-
politan Magistrate of
Patiala House Court
NabeelaWalisaid,“You
(Rajvinder)don’thavea
legal counsel, therefore
cannot record your
statement today
.”
Later, the court pro-
vided a legal aid coun-
sel to him to legally rep-
resent the accused. Ad-
vocate Love Deep Gaur
will be the legal aid
counsel for Singh.
The case has been
listed for January 7, for
further hearing, where-
in the accused’s state-
ment is likely to be re-
corded. On November
25,Singhwasremanded
to judicial custody
. He
was arrested and pro-
duced before Patiala
House Court by Delhi
police special cell the
same day
.
Accused Rajvinder Singh expresses
desire to contest case Down Under
AUSTRALIAN WOMAN’S MURDER
MALE NURSE
IN AUSTRALIA
According to sources
Rajvinder was in Australia
for 10 years and was
working as a male nurse.
The woman who was
allegedly killed by him
was unknown to him. He
has a BSc degree. He also
got Australian citizenship
and he was married to a
woman who was also an
Australian citizen. On No-
vember 25 early morning,
Delhi Police Special Cell
arrested Rajvinder Singh,
who carried the largest
ever reward by Queens-
land police of 1 million
Australian dollars.
Fog covers the city on Friday evening. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi (PTI): A dense layer of fog en-
gulfed parts of the national capital Saturday
morning reducing visibility to 100 metres, and
affecting road and rail traffic.
The Safdarjung Observatory recorded the
minimum temperature at 5.4 degrees Celsius,
three notches below the season's normal, ac-
cording to the India Meteorological Depart-
ment (IMD).
A total of 14 trains were running late by 1.30
to 3.30 hours, railway officials said.
At5:30am,visibilitywas100metresatPalam
and 200 metres at Safdarganj, two Delhi weath-
er stations. Among other cities, it was 25 me-
tres at Patiala (Punjab) and Ganganagar (Ra-
jasthan), and 50 metres at Churu.
IMD officials said a layer of fog was seen
mainlyoverPunjab,northRajasthan,Haryana
and Delhi. Another layer is seen over some
parts of Bihar, while regions in Uttar Pradesh
are free from the fog cover, they said.
According to the IMD 'very dense' fog is
when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51
and 200 is 'dense', 201 and 500 'moderate', and
501and1,000'shallow'.AccordingtotheCentral
PollutionControlBoard(CPCB),theAQIof the
national capital stood at 364 at 9 am.
Dense fog affects rail traffic
New Delhi (PTI):
Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal on
Saturday announced
he is going for Vipas-
sana meditation,
while advising people
to go for it once.
Vipassana is an an-
cient Indian medita-
tion technique in
which practitioners
abstain from any com-
munication, either by
talking or via ges-
tures, for an extended
period to restore their
mental well-being.
It was not immedi-
ately clear as to where
he would practise
Vipassana. Kejriwal, a
regular practitioner
of Vipassana, has
made use of the tech-
nique with sessions in
Dharamkot, Nagpur,
Igatpuri and Bengalu-
ru in the past.
Today, I am going
for Vipassana medita-
tion. I try and go for it
once a year. I will re-
turn on January 1...
Have you practised
Vipassana? If not, you
should definitely do it
once. It has a lot of
physical, mental and
spiritual benefit. Good
luck to all, he said in
a tweet in Hindi on
Saturday
.
New Delhi(PTI):
DyCM Manish Siso-
dia has written to
Delhi LG VK Saxena
seeking renewal of
agencies providing
free lab tests at the
city government hos-
pitals and mohalla
clinics.
“Contract for lab
services in Delhi gov-
ernment hospitals
and mohalla clinics
ends on December 31,
2022. New contract
needs to be signed im-
mediately to enable
new service provider
to start working from
Jan 1. It will cause
huge inconvenience
to the people if there
is a gap,” he said.
“Delhi government
has completed all for-
malities for awarding
new contract. The file
was sent to you on 12-
12-2022 to decide
whether you would
like to differ from the
decision of the gov-
ernment and referthe
matter to the Presi-
dent under proviso to
Article 239AA(4). I
would urge you to
kindlydecidethemat-
ter soon..,” the letter
added.
Fire at supermarket in Vikaspuri
New Delhi (PTI): A
major fire broke out at
a supermarket at DDA
Lal market in west Del-
hi's Vikaspuri area Sat-
urday morning, offi-
cials said.
A call regarding a
fire incident was re-
ceived at around 5.50
am, following which 18
fire tenders were
rushed to the spot, they
said.
The fire was in a
supermarket on
ground, first and sec-
ond floors of a building,
they said, adding it was
doused around 10 am.
No injury or causali-
ty was reported, the of-
ficials said.
Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena meets a homeless
person during his visit to a night shelter on Saturday.
—PHOTO BY ANI
Sisodia wants LG to
renew free lab tests
at hospitals, clinics
The fire which broke out at a supermarket at DDA Lal market in
Vikaspuri area Saturday morning. —PHOTO BY PTI
CM Kejriwal to go for
Vipassana session
New con-
tract for lab
services
needs to be signed
immediately to en-
able new service
provider to start
working from Jan 1.
—Manish Sisodia,
DyCM, Delhi

l Vol 2 l Issue No.116
l RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
04
Bhupender Yadav
@byadavbjp
Addressed the Graduation Day Ceremony
of @esichq Medical College Hospital
in KK Nagar, Chennai. Stated that health
is at the core of our nation-building
strategy. The students receiving their
degrees awards today represent India’s
investment capital for a better tomorrow.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
Heartiest congratulations to our
talented female wrestler Antim Panghal,
who has just been nominated for the
#UnitedWorldWrestlingRisingStar
of the Year honour. As a rising star
in the wrestling world, she has won
gold medal at #NationalGames2022
#WorldU20WrestlingChampionship.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
As a mother comforts her
child, so I will comfort
you; in Jerusalem you
shall find your comfort.
—Bible
IN-DEPTH
A PHARMA FIRM
IN THE DOCK,
BUT INDIA WANTS
CLINICAL PROOF
aiden pharmaceuti-
calcompanyhasbeen
held accountable by a
Select Committee of
the Gambian Nation-
al Assembly for the death of 70
children due to contaminated
syrup made by the company
. The
committee recommended that
the Maiden’s products be banned
in the Gambian market and legal
action be pursued against it. The
syrups were contaminated with
diethylene glycol and ethylene
glycol. Surprisingly, India has
come to the defence of Maiden.
Although the Central Drugs
Standards Control Organisation
allegedly found irregularities in
its processes and ordered its clo-
sure, India has refused to take
any action on the plea that nei-
ther Gambia nor WHO shared
clinical data linking the deaths
with the syrup.
The pharma company does not
have a clean record and that
should prompt the government to
act against it. The WHO also
raisedanalertbecauseof thepres-
ence of diethylene glycol and eth-
yleneglycolinsyrups.Bothcanbe
fatal for humans. Bihar, Kerala
and Gujarat had also warned
against Maiden’s products.
TOP TWEETS
M
heCentralgovern-
ment turned San-
ta Claus for the
poorest of the
poor when it an-
nounced free foodgrains for
themundertheNationalFood
Security Act (NFSA) starting
January 1, 2023. This will be
above the earlier entitlement
of 5kgfoodgrainunderNFSA.
Theearlierscheme,PMGarib
Kalyan Anna Yojna, which
was launched in April 2020,
has been discontinued as the
Finance Ministry’s Expendi-
ture Department had advised
against its continuation. The
free foodgrain plan will cost
the exchequer about Rs 2 lakh
crore.
Coming at a time when in-
flation is making life hard for
the 81 crore poor, the gift of
free ration for one more year
will be a big relief for the
country’s poverty-stricken
population. Since the out-
break of Covid the Centre has
been providing free ration to
the poor under the.
Thepro-poorconcernisnot
theonlycriteriaforextending
the free ration scheme,
though it is the more impor-
tant one. The extra 5 kilo free
ration will continue to be dis-
tributed till the end of 2023,
just before the nation goes to
poll in 2024. As it will be given
irrespective of caste or reli-
gion, it would have a huge im-
pact on BJP’s popularity
among the masses.
One may talk of the signifi-
cance of India getting G20
presidency for Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi but for the
poor getting free foodgrain is
more important. The G20
presidency being rotational
wouldhavecometoIndiaany-
way as it is an important
member of the group. State
governments have to ensure
fair distribution by ration
shop owners.
WELFARE POLITICS
DRIVES GOVERNMENT
Central government turned Santa Claus for the poorest
of the poor when it announced free foodgrains for them
under the National Food Security Act (NFSA)
starting Jan 1, 2023. This will be above earlier
entitlement of 5 kg foodgrain under NFSA
T
CRAZY MOMENTS FROM
FIFA WC 2022 IN QATAR
oramanapproaching94years
of age, excitement is a rarity
.
From November 20th to De-
cember 18th a boyish enthusi-
asm took over. I was one
among the three billion fans
who sat glued to the TV to
watchtheFootballWorldCup.
The first shock was Saudi
Arabia defeating Argentina.
Lionel Messi looked more
than bewildered. Saudi Ara-
bia beating Argentina!! No. it
could not be real. But it was.
The Crown Prince and Prime
Minister of Saudi Arabia pre-
sented Bentley cars to each
Saudi player. Soon Germany,
Belgium, Brazil, England
were out. Little known Afri-
can countries became giant
killers. Morocco played with
amazing skill. They had their
opponents in a daze. Africa
had arrived onthefootballbig
league.Doha’sLusailStadium
did not have a vacant seat.
Fans were left breathless.
What was the great Cris-
tiano Ronaldo doing? He was
not in the field till half time.
Hisarrivalonthewonderfully
manicured green turf but
some pep into the Portuguese
team. He even scored a pen-
alty goal. Here was the second
best footballer in the world
fumbling. He had, a few days
before the World Cup began,
left the Manchester team un-
der unpleasant circumstanc-
es. As Cristiano’s game dete-
riorated, Messi’s picked up.
Soon Portugal was out of the
World Cup. Ronaldo’s grief
was all too visible.
From the first day I had
backed France. The country
hadwontheCupfouryearsago.
Argentina and France met in
the final. The former was two
goals ahead when the French
wizardsKylianMbappescored
two stunning goals. Two all. In
the thirty minutes extra time
no goals were scored.
Penalty time. Mbappe
scored the first goal. His class
wasalltooevident.Hispaceis
stunning. He suddenly ap-
pears from nowhere, sending
the football into the goal.
Speed, over 38 kilometres an
hour!! Mbappe was heartbro-
ken when his two teammates
made a mess by missing two
penalty goals. Argentina won
the World Cup. Even Presi-
dent Macron could not con-
sole Mbappe. I too was very
disappointed. But the better
side won. A few words about
theorganizers.Qatarexcelled
itself. Everything went like
clockwork. No misbehaviour
in stands, none in the hotels
and hostels.
For tourist too life was a
ball but discipline was not
flouted. Qatar is not a democ-
racy
. You step out of line, you
got it in the neck. When World
Cup was allotted to Qatar the
widespread reaction was not
in favour. Doha proved them
wrong. The Hindustan Times
of December 20 selected the
best XI of the 2022 World Cup.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
F
For tourist too life was a ball
but discipline was not
flouted. Qatar is not a
democracy. You step out
of line, you got it in the
neck. When World Cup
was allotted to Qatar the
widespread reaction was not
in favour. Doha proved
them wrong. The Hindustan
Times of December 20
selected the best XI of
the 2022 World Cup
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India
l GOALKEEPER: Emiliano Martinez - Argentina:
Without him, it is unlikely Argentina would
have won the World Cup. He is the best goal-
keeper in the World.
l LEFT BACK: Theo Hernondez - France: He was
called to replace his brother, who suffered an
injury. Theo did not let the side down.
l CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Sofyan Amrabat - Mo-
rocco: The most impressive skill he brings to
the game is his ability to dictate the pace of the
game.
l LEFT WINGER: Kylain Mbappe - France:
The future is his. Once Messi has retired and
Ronaldo too, Mbappe will undoubtedly the
best player in the game. He is 23 years of age.
Messi is nearing 36, Ronaldo is 37.
l ATTACKING MIDFEILD: Lionel Messi - Argen-
tina: By winning the World Cup he is as of now
the greatest footballer of all time.
l RIGH BACK: Achraf Hakimi - Morocco: He
was solid at the back as well as effective going
forward.
l CENTRE BACK: Cristiano - Romero: Only 24,
he can only improve. Takes pressure and with
confidence.
l CENTRE BACK: Josko Guardiol - Croatia: He
is only 20. Top clubs in Europe have their eyes
on him.
l CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Luca Modric - Crotia:
Age 37. Captain of team. His last world cup.
l RIGHT WINGER: Antonoine Griezmann -
France: He is 37. Did very well in this world
cup. Unlikely to play in 2026.
l STRIKER: Julian Alvarez - Argentina: Age
22, his goal against Croatia when he ran from
almost the halfway line will be remembered for
years to come.

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Shamsher Singh
New Delhi: Several
party leaders, including
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi and party na-
tional president Mall-
ikarjun Kharge, need to
work on their language.
If these leaders have to
give speech in Hindi,
then they will have to
learn Hindi. It will not
happen that every time
they say some nonsense
and say that the lan-
guage is weak or they
are Kannada speaking,
Bengali speaking, that’s
why the problem has
arisen. It is okay once in
a while, but if this is
happening again and
again, then this mes-
sage will be go among
masses that the Con-
gress leaders do not give
such statements be-
cause of their language
problem, but deliber-
ately do wrong things.
Kharge is the Nation-
al President of Con-
gress, so he needs to be
more careful about his
words. If he wants to
speak Hindi, then learn
it well or avoid its idi-
oms, proverbs etc. be-
cause there is a danger
of ruining the meaning.
Similarly, Rahul Gan-
dhi said in a press con-
ference in Jaipur that
Chinese soldiers are
beating up Indian sol-
diers. If he wanted to
say something else, but
due to lack of words, he
said the word ‘pitai’
then that is a different
matter. But if that’s
what he really meant,
then that’s too bad. This
is also factually wrong
as Chinese soldiers are
not beating Indian sol-
diers anywhere. Even if
there has been a clash
between the two, Indian
soldiers have also beat-
en up Chinese soldiers.
There are videos of this
as well and army offi-
cials also confirm this.
Even if this is true, no
leader should publicly
question the valor of
the army and the brav-
ery of the soldiers. So,
here comes the matter
of both language and
understanding of the
matter.
A few days ago a big
mistake was made by
Adhir Ranjan Chowd-
hary, leader of the Con-
gress in the Lok Sabha.
He had used the word
‘Rashtrapatni’ for Pres-
ident, which is an inde-
cent remark. He later
apologized for this and
said that his Hindi is
not good. But in the
name of bad Hindi, he
has committed these
types of mistakes ear-
lier also. He is the lead-
er of the largest opposi-
tion party in the Lok
Sabha and thus has a
big responsibility. He
cannot make mistakes
like this again and
again. On the other
hand, in Madhya
Pradesh, former Con-
gress minister Raja Pa-
tria talked about PM.
Did he not understand
the difference between
defeating and killing?
Congress top leaders should mind their language!
NEED OF THE HOUR
NIA RAIDS MULTIPLE
LOCATIONS IN
CHANDIGARH, JK
HOUSE OF LATE SEPARATIST LEADER SYED
ALI SHAH GEELANI IN SRINAGAR SEALED
Srinagar (ANI): The State Investigation Agency (SIA) on
Saturday sealed a house of late Kashmiri separatist and Hur-
riyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani at Barzulla in Jammu and
Kashmir’s Srinagar.The house of the former president of All
Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was sealed on the orders
of Srinagar’s District Magistrate (DM). Geelani passed away
on September 1, 2021, after a prolonged illness. His death is
believed as the second major setback for the separatists in
JK after August 5, 2019 (abrogation of article 370), while
some observers believe that separatism is over in Kashmir.
New Delhi (ANI): The
National Investigation Agency
(NIA) on Saturday morning
conducted raids at multiple
locations in Chandigarh, and
Jammu and Kashmir in two
separate cases having links to
terror activities.The raids are
still on at the premises and
hideouts of some suspects
in these cases, sources said.
The moves come a day after
the central counter-terror
agency carried out searches
at 14 locations in Jammu
and Kashmir against people
involved in the spreading
of terrorist activities by the
various proscribed terrorist
outfits in the Union Territory
(UT) by targeting minorities,
security personnel.
Yogi,PM meet in Delhi,discuss
UP Global Investors Summit
New Delhi (Agencies):
Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath met Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi here
on Saturday during
which they discussed
the UP Global Investor
Summit slated to be
held in Lucknow from
February 10-12, 2023.
Sources said: “As the
summit is nearing, mul-
tiple meetings are tak-
ing in Uttar Pradesh as
well as with Central
leadership. The Chief
Minister extended an
invitation to the Prime
Minister for the sum-
mit and shared the up-
dates on the prepara-
tions so far.”
The sources added
that Adityanath and
Modi was spoke about
the MLC polls in UP.
With just a few weeks
left for the summit, Ut-
tar Pradesh has man-
aged to get investment
proposals worth almost
Rs 7 lakh crore, accord-
ing to official updates.
The state’s represent-
atives have also been
travelling abroad to get
their hands on a variety
of investment propos-
als under the Chief
Minister’s leadership.
MP: Ex-Congress MLA
BB Pateriya joins BJP
Bhopal (Agencies) Brij
Bihari Pateriya, a for-
merCongressMLAfrom
Madhya Pradesh, joined
the BJP on Saturday
.
Pateriya, is consid-
ered a strong leader in
Sagar district, joined
the saffron party in
Bhopal in the presence
of Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chou-
han. Political turmoil
in Sagar has escalated
after Rajya Sabha MP
Digvijaya Singh held a
meeting with district
leaders and workers
last week. Sources said
that Pateriya was side-
lined and he was plan-
ing to contest the 2023
Assembly elections on a
Congress ticket. How-
ever, there was minimal
chances of his candida-
ture, they added.
Bhagwat to attend 2-day
RSS meet in Guj from today
Ahmedabad (PTI):
RSS chief Mohan Bhag-
wat will be in Gujarat
on December 25 and 26
to attend a meeting of
workers of the outfit’s
Saurashtra zone and
guide them about ex-
panding its base in the
region.
The closed-door meet-
ing, to be held in Anjar
town of Kutch, will be
attended by nearly 300
RSS workers of Sau-
rashtra and Kutch re-
gions and the focus will
be on establishing
shakhas (branches) in
each and every village
of the state, a function-
ary of the outfit said.
“RSS is completing
100 years in 2025, and a
target has been set of
establishing shakhas in
each and every village.
We also plan to cover all
the cities and towns
through our shakhas.
On December 25 and 26,
Bhagwat will provide
guidance to the workers
of Saurashtra and
Kutch region,” he said.
JK:Bighaulofarmsammunition
Srinagar (Agencies):
The JK Police along
with the Army have re-
covered a large cache of
arms and ammunition
in a joint operation at
Uri in north Kashmir’s
Baramulla district, of-
ficials said on Saturday
.
The police said that
the arms and ammuni-
tion recovered include
eight AK 74 assault ri-
fles with 24 magazines
and 560 rounds, 12 pis-
tols (Tokarev type) with
24 magazines and 244
rounds, 14 grenades and
81 balloons with Paki-
stani flag imprint.
The police have
launched a probe into
the matter after regis-
tering a case.
The JK Police have started investigation in the matter.
Mohan Bhagwat
Rahul Gandhi with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge. —FILE PHOTO
Jamshedpur (PTI): Two persons were arrested on the
charge of slaughtering cows and selling their meat in
Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district, the police said on
Saturday. The police also
seized 500 kilograms of beef
from the spot during a raid in
Haldipokar under Kowali police
station, about 30 kilometres
from here, and arrested three
customers on Friday. Besides,
the police personnel rescued
17 cows from there. Slaughter of bovine animals and
selling their meat are banned in Jharkhand.
Kolkata (Agencies): Guddu Kumar, a suspected ISI-spy,
who was arrested by the Special Task Force from New
Jalpaiguri on December 21, has informed the interrogating
sleuths that he was trapped by the Pakistani intelligence
agency through a pornograph-
ic website. Kumar, an original
resident of Champaran in
Bihar, is currently under the
custody of STF, whose sleuths
are interrogating him to get
additional information about
his nexus. State police sourc-
es said that during interrogation, Kumar had admitted
to the police that during his days in Bihar, despite being
married, he was keenly addicted to pornographic websites
especially those having explicit Indian contents.
JHARKHAND: 2 HELD FOR SLAUGHTERING
COWS; 500 KG OF BEEF SEIZED
ARRESTED ISI SPY IN WB WAS TRAPPED BY
PAK AGENCY THROUGH PORN SITE: POLICE
NEWS DIGEST
CASTE-BASED
CENSUS FOR OBCs:
SC NOTICE TO GoI
“MONEY CAN’T
ERASE TRAUMA OF
ACCIDENT VICTIM”
New Delhi (PTI): The
Supreme Court has
sought response from
the Centre and others on
a plea seeking directions
for a caste-based census
for Other Backward
Classes (OBCs) in the
upcoming Census. A
bench of Chief Justice DY
Chandrachud and Justice
PS Narasimha issued
notices to the Centre,
Ministry of Social Justice
and Empowerment and
others while seeking their
replies. It also tagged the
matter with a similar case
pending before it.
New Delhi (PTI): Money
cannot erase trauma of
a serious accident, the
Supreme Court has said.
“Whilst no amount of
money or other material
compensation can erase
the trauma, pain and
suffering that a victim
undergoes after a serious
accident, monetary com-
pensation is the manner
known to law, whereby
society assures some
measure of restitution to
those who survive, and
the victims who have to
face their lives,” a Su-
preme Court bench said.
INDIA
06
Bagdogra/Gangtok
(PTI): The mortal re-
mains of the 16 Army
personnel who were
killed in a road accident
in Sikkim were sent to
their respective homes
after a solemn wreath-
laying ceremony was
held at Bagdogra air-
port on Saturday
.
Post the wreath-lay-
ing ceremony, 15 of the
bodies were flown by
special Air Force air-
craft to various airports
in the country, from
where they will be tak-
en to the victims' towns
or villages, the Army
said.
The body of Naib
Subedar Chandan Ku-
mar Mishra, who be-
longed to Khagaria in
Bihar, was taken to his
native place by road.
After the bodies
reach the native places
of deceased soldiers, lo-
cal Army authorities
will coordinate the
handing over of mortal
remains to the family
members and conduct
of funeral with full mil-
itary honours, an
Army official said.
The 16 bravehearts
lost their lives when the
Army truck they were
travelling in skidded
down a steep slope at
Zema in North Sikkim
on Friday morning.
Wreaths were laid on
the mortal remains af-
ter the bodies reached
the Bagdogra airport
shortly after 12.30 pm
from Libing helipad in
East Sikkim, an Army
official said.
The deceased were
accorded a gun salute.
Sikkim Governor
Ganga Prasad, Chief
Minister Prem Singh
Tamang, General Of-
ficer Commanding
(GOC) of Trishakti
Corps Lt General VPS
Kaushik, and other
Army and Air Force of-
ficials paid last respects
to the deceased.
Mathura court seeks survey
report of mosque complex
Mathura (PTI): A dis-
trict court here has
sought a survey report
by a revenue depart-
ment official of the
Shahi Idgah mosque
complex on January 20,
according to the coun-
sel for petitioners who
have sought its shifting
claiming it was built at
the birthplace of Lord
Krishna.
The order by Civil
Judge Senior Division
(III) Sonika Verma
came in the suit Bal
Krishna and others Vs
Intezamia committee
and others, petitioners’
counsel Shailesh Dubey
said on Saturday
.
“The learned judge
had ordered Amin
(term used to refer to a
revenue department of-
ficial) on December 8 to
inform both the parties
and submit a survey re-
port on the next hear-
ing”, the counsel said.
The hearing in the
case could not take
place on December 22 as
the judge was on leave
on that day. The court
has now fixed January
20, 2023 as the next date
of hearing.
The “compromise”
between Sri Krishna
Janmasthan Seva San-
sthan and Shahi Masjid
Idgah made in 1968 was
also challenged in the
suit, according to the
case’s lawyers.
Dehradun (PTI): A for-
mer forest official was
arrested for his alleged
involvement in the ille-
gal tree felling and con-
struction in the Corbett
Tiger Reserve, officials
said on Saturday
.
Former DFO Kishan
Chand was arrested
from Vaishali in Ghazi-
abad on Friday, SP vigi-
lance (Haldwani) Prahl-
ad Meena said.
Chand was accused
of being involved in il-
legal felling of trees
and constructions in
Morghatti and Pakhro
ranges in Kalagarh for-
est division of the tiger
reserve.
The suspended DFO
who is now retired was
on the run since Octo-
ber. The Uttarakhand
High Court had turned
down his anticipatory
bail plea earlier in the
case.
Chand is accused of
being involved in the
construction of build-
ings in Morghatti For-
est Rest House and a
bridge in Pakhro with-
out taking clearance.
Former DFO at Corbett
Tiger Reserve arrested
SIKKIM ACCIDENT
Bodies of 16 Army men sent
home after laying of wreaths
Army personnel laying wreaths at the mortal remains of the 16 dead soldiers, at Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri on Saturday. (R) Air Force
personnel pay tribute to the killed soldiers. —PHOTOS BY ANI/PTI
PLEA IN COURT
TO BRING BACK
DEITY FROM
AGRA MASJID
Mathura (PTI): A
plea has been filed in
a court here to bring
back the principal
deity of the Thakur
Keshav Dev temple
which the petitioner’s
counsel claimed has
been buried under
the stairs of the Be-
gam Sahiba Mosque
in Agra. It has been
claimed in the peti-
tion, filed on Friday,
that Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb in 1670
buried the deity
under the stairs of
the Masjid. The court
will hear the suit on
January 23.
Lucknow (PTI): The
weekly holiday in the
madrassas of Uttar
Pradesh will continue
to be on Fridays, the
state madrassa educa-
tion board said.
Board chairman If-
tikhar Ahmed Javed
said that in a meeting
convened by the board
last Tuesday, several
suggestions came up,
including shifting the
weekly holiday of mad-
rassa to Sundays in-
stead of Fridays. “We
are not sure that this
suggestion will be dis-
cussed in the board
meeting to be held in
January,” he said.
Fridays remain
weekly holidays
in madrassas

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 54,530.00 150.00 0.27 (Per 10g)
SILVER 71,100.00 1000.00 1.40 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.86 0.00 0.00
GBPINR 99.95 0.00 0.00
CURRENCIES
Gems jewellery industry achieves its export target
Jaipur (PTI): India’s gems
and jewellery industry has
achieved its annual export
target of $48 billion till the
last quarter of the current
financial year, an official
said.
He said that after Covid
pandemic, the industry is
back on track and keeping
its fingers crossed amid the
current surge in number of
coronavirus cases across
the globe.
“The present chairman
of the gems and jewellery
council has informed that
the industry has achieved
the yearly target of 48 bil-
lion of exports from the
country till the last quarter.
We have achieved what he
had to achieve,” secretary
of the JJS Rajiv Jain said.
The 20th edition of the
four-day jewellery show
kicked off on Friday at the
JECC here, which is host-
ing over 900-plus booths
and 500-plus exhibitors
from different parts of the
country and abroad.
Jain said that the domes-
tic gems and jewellery
market is also growing be-
cause of heavy gold buy-
ing. He said that focus of
jewellery traders has now
shifted from international
consumers to the domestic
buyers.
He said that the industry
is back on track after the
Covid pandemic and keep-
ing its fingers crossed that
a China-like situation
doesn’t happen in India.
“We are keeping our fin-
gers crossed. If it remains
limited to China then it will
be a windfall gain for the
Indian market,” Jain said.
$48 BILLION TILL LAST QUARTER OF FY23
MAJOR
HIGHLIGHTS
z After Covid pandemic, the
industry is back on track and
keeping its fingers crossed
amid the current surge in
number of coronavirus
cases across the globe
z Domestic gems and
jewellery market is also
growing because of heavy
gold buying
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Equity inves-
tors have become poorer
by `15.77 lakh crore in
four consecutive days of
market rout where the
benchmark Sensex has
tumbled over 3%. Accord-
ing to market analysts, in-
vestors remained cautious
due to rising Covid cases
around the globe sparking
fears of another global
outbreak of the virus. In
four days, the benchmark
has slumped 1,960.9. The
continuous decline in eq-
uity markets eroded
`15,77,850.03 crore from
investors wealth as the
mcap of BSE-listed firms
now stands at
`2,72,12,860.03 cr. —PTI
INVESTORS’ WEALTH
ERODES BY `15.77
LAKH CR IN 4 DAYS
New Delhi: Around 11.82
lakh new members joined
the ESIC-run social secu-
rity scheme in October
2022, according to official
data released on Friday.
The data is part of a report
— Payroll Reporting in
India: An Employment
Perspective - October
2022 — released by the
National Statistical Office.
It showed that the gross
new enrolments with the
Employees’ State Insur-
ance Corporation (ESIC)
rose to 1.49 crore in
2021-22, from 1.15 crore
in 2020-21. It was 1.51
crore in 2019-20 and 1.49
crore in 2018-19. —PTI
ESIC SCHEME ADDS
11.82 LAKH NEW
MEMBERS IN OCT
New Delhi: Hinduja
Group, promoter of In-
dusInd Bank, made an at-
tempt to revise upward its
bid for taking over debt-
ridden Relinace Capital to
`9,500 crore with upfront
cash outgo of `8,800
crore, sources said. The
group had made an offer
of `8,110 crore in the
auction that was held on
December 21, sources
said. Earlier this week, the
Ahmedabad-based Torrent
group emerged the high-
est bidder by putting a bid
of `8,640 crore. —PTI
HINDUJA GROUP UPS
ITS BID TO ACQUIRE
RELIANCE CAPITAL
New Delhi: Public sector
lender Punjab National
Bank (PNB) has raised
`582 crore by issuing
bonds on a private place-
ment basis. The bank has
issued and allotted Basel
III compliant Additional
Tier I bonds at a coupon
of 8.40 per cent per an-
num, aggregating to `582
crore on a private place-
ment basis, the bank said
in a regulatory filing on
Friday. The bank said the
non-convertible taxable
bonds will qualify as Tier I
capital. —PTI
PUNJAB NATIONAL
BANK RAISES `582
CR THROUGH BONDS
*Rates till the edition went to print.
=
=
OVER 10 LAKH E-SHRAM
REGISTRANTS ON NCS
PORTAL: OFFICIALS
New Delhi : Over 10 lakh e-Sh-
ram registrants have registered
on the National Career Service
(NCS) portal
and are getting
jobs accord-
ingly, an official
statement said.
The portal of the Ministry of
Labour and Employment was
launched by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on July 20,
2015. “So far, more than 10 lakh
e-Shram registrants have regis-
tered on NCS portal and eShram
workers are getting decent jobs
through NCS,” the ministry said.
The portal is also integrated
with 27 states and many private
portals like Monster India,
Naukri.Com, Freshersworld,
Merajob etc. —PTI
20% ETHANOL-BLENDED
PETROL TO DEBUT
WITHIN DAYS, SAYS PURI
New Delhi: After achieving the
target to sell petrol doped with
10% ethanol, India will in the
next couple
of days start
experimental
supplies of
20 per biofuel
mixed petrol, oil minister Har-
deep Puri said. He said India
achieved 10% ethanol blended
petrol (petrol 90%, ethanol
10%) in June, well ahead of
the deadline of Nov 2022. “E20
(petrol mixed with 20% ethanol)
will come in select markets on
a pilot basis in a day or two,”
he said. E20 is being rolled out
in 11 states/UTs of Delhi, Bihar,
UK, HP, UP, Haryana, K’taka,
Maha, Punjab, Daman Diu
Dadra Nagar Haveli. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
GOYAL LAUNCHES RIGHT-TO-REPAIR PORTAL NEW
PREMISES OF NATIONAL CONSUMER HELPLINE
New Delhi: Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on
Saturday launched a host of new initiatives, including the right to
repair portal and an NTH mobile app
and opened new premises of National
Consumer Helpline centre in the national
capital. A memorandum of understanding
was also signed between the Consumer
Affairs Department and IIT (BHU), Vara-
nasi as well launched a capacity building
programme of consumer commissions.
These initiatives were launched on the
occasion of the National Consumer Day. —PTI
INDIA WILL TAKE
‘20 years to be a
developed nation’
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Noting that
the achievement of $5 tril-
lion economy is a short
term “aspirational goal,”
former RBI Governor C
Rangarajan on Saturday
said that even after it, India
will still be known as mid-
dle income country with
per capita income $3472.
Rangarajan further said
in order to reach the level
of an upper middle-income
country, it will take anoth-
er two years and to be clas-
sified as a developed coun-
try, the per capita income
will have to be at a mini-
mum of $13,205 and that
will take more than two
decades of strong growth
of between 8 to 9% to
achieve it.
He said at aggregate out-
put level, India is the fifth
largest economy in the
world now. That by itself is
an impressive achieve-
ment. But in terms of per
capita income, India’s rank
according to IMF is 142 out
of 197 countries.
“The immediate focus
of policymakers must be
to raise the growth rate of
the economy
. Achievement
of a $5 trillion economy is
a good short term aspira-
tional goal. This will take
a minimum five years of
sustained growth of 9%.
Even then, at the end of it,
India’s per capita income
will be only $3472 and we
will still be classified as a
lower middle income coun-
try,” he noted.
“We have thus to go a
long way. This only shows
we must certainly need
to run fast,” the former
chairman, Economic
Advisory Council to the
Prime Minister said.
‘SHORT-TERM
ASPIRATION’
z Former RBI Governor
C Rangarajan said that
achievement of $5 trillion
economy is a short term
“aspirational goal,” as even after
that India will still be known as
a middle income country
z Rangarajan said in order
to reach the level of an upper
middle-income country, it will
take another two years
z And to be classified as a
developed country, it will take
more than two decades of
strong growth of between 8%
and 9% to achieve it
Free foodgrain scheme
extended for one year
First India Bureau
New Delhi: In a pro-poor
move, the government has
decided to provide free
foodgrains to 81.35 crore
people for one year under
the National Food Security
Act (NFSA) at an estimated
cost of `2 lakh crore.
Currently, the benefi-
ciaries covered under the
NFSA pay `1-3 per kg.
Under the Act, foodgrain
is allocated at 5 kg per per-
son per month for priority
households category and at
35 kg per family per month
for Antodaya Anna Yojna
(AAY) families at highly
subsidised prices of `1, `2
and `3 per kg for coarse
cereals, wheat and rice,
respectively
.
With the Cabinet deci-
sion on Friday, beneficiar-
ies under NFSA will get
foodgrains free of cost for
one year till December
2023.
The decision comes days
ahead of the Pradhan Man-
tri Garib Kalyan Anna Yo-
jana (PMGKAY) ending on
December 31, 2022.
Under the PMGKAY,
which was launched in
April 2020 to provide relief
to the poor during the COV-
ID-19 pandemic, 5 kg of
foodgrain is being provid-
ed free of cost to about 80
crore people over and
above the NFSA quota.
“The Prime Minister has
taken a historic decision of
providing foodgrain to the
poor free of cost. A total of
81.35 crore people would
benefit,” Food Minister Pi-
yush Goyal told reporters
after the Cabinet meeting.
The move will entail an
expenditure of about `2
lakh crore for the excheq-
uer, he said, adding the en-
tire cost will be borne by
the Union government.
LAUNCHED IN
APRIL 2020
z The government has decided
to provide free foodgrains to
81.35 crore people for one
year under the National Food
Security Act (NFSA)
at an estimated cost of
`2 lakh crore
z Under the Act, foodgrain is
allocated at 5 kg per person
per month for priority
households category
New Delhi (PTI): The gov-
ernment has projected re-
cord wheat production in
the ongoing 2022-23 crop
year (July-June) as total
area sown to the winter
crop has increased by 3.18%
to 312.26 lakh hectares so
far in the ongoing rabi sea-
son. Sowing of wheat be-
gins in October while har-
vesting starts in April.
The country’s wheat pro-
duction had declined to
106.84 million tonnes dur-
ing 2021-22 crop year due to
a heatwave in some key
growing states, as against
109.59 million tonne in
the previous year, as per
official data.
According to the minis-
try’s latest data, wheat has
been sown in 312.26 lakh
hectares (ha) in the ongo-
ing rabi season as of De-
cember 23, as against
302.61 lakh ha in the year-
ago period.
“Thus 9.65 lakh hectare
more area has been covered
compared to last year,” the
ministry said.
For this year, govt
projects record
wheat production
MSP can only
guarantee
stable price,
not best: Chand
New Delhi (PTI): The min-
imum support price (MSP)
of crops can guarantee sta-
ble prices but not always
the best rates, which can
only be ensured through
fair competition in the mar-
ket, Niti Aayog member
Ramesh Chand said.
Chand noted that cultiva-
tors want it to get the best
price for their produce and
also to protect themselves
from price fluctuations.
“In my view, MSP is not
the best price in all situa-
tions. It is definitely a sta-
ble price but not the best
price. Best price comes
from competition. If there
is competition in the mar-
ket, farmers can get the
best price,” he said.
ACCORDING TO FINMIN REPORT
New Delhi (PTI): Global
economic developments
are expected to complicate
the outlook further for the
Indian economy next year
and there is a need to main-
tain vigilance on the exter-
nal front, a finance minis-
try report said. The exter-
nal sector continues to face
the headwinds emanating
from the global slowdown.
However, it said, the
downside to a widening
current account deficit is
expected to be limited by a
robust services export per-
formance through the rest
of the year and by inward
remittances, which are ex-
pected to touch $100 bn this
fiscal, as per World Bank.
“As we head into 2023,
global economic develop-
ments are expected to com-
plicate the outlook further,
and therefore continued
vigilance is a critical aspect
in maintaining India’s ex-
ternal resilience,” it said.
No country can afford to
sit on its laurels, India in-
cluded, it said, adding that
continued commitment to
macroeconomic stability
will underpin both econom-
ic performance and inves-
tor interest in India.
Global developments can
complicate India’s outlook
India seeks
more balanced
trade with
Russia: Envoy
Moscow (PTI): India
welcomes the growth
of trade with Russia
which has reached $27
billion this year mainly
due to its purchasing of
large volumes of oil
and fertilisers from
Moscow, but New Delhi
wants it to become
“more balanced”, In-
dia’s Ambassador to
Moscow Pavan Kapoor
has said.
Russia has become a
major oil supplier to In-
dia. India’s appetite for
Russian oil swelled
ever since it started
trading on discount as
the West shunned it to
punish Moscow for its
invasion of Ukraine.
Russia emerged as
India’s fifth largest
trading partner during
April-September this
fiscal year with a bilat-
eral trade of $22.7 bil-
lion during the six-
month period.
“Trade has risen con-
siderably this year
since April, mainly due
to our country’s pur-
chasing large volumes
of oil and fertilisers,”
Kapoor told a forum.
“Trade reached $27
bln. This is a positive
trend, though [we]
would like it to be bilat-
eral, as [trade] from
Russia was worth $25
bln while [trade] from
India only equalled $2
bln,” the diplomat said,
adding that the Indian
side “would like it to be
more balanced.”

08
2NDFRONT
A Merry Christmas to one
and all. May we find joy
and peace in all we do!
—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
‘Educationinmothertonguewill
raiseabilitytoreason,analyse’
Mehsana (PTI): Educa-
tion imparted to a stu-
dent in his mother
tongue as provided un-
der the new National
Education Policy (NEP)
will increase his ability
tothink,reason,analyse
and research, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah said on Saturday
.
Addressing an event
atShethGCHighSchool
at Vijapur, Shah said
work was underway to
translate into regional
languages the syllabi of
technical, medical, and
higher education cours-
es, and added that the
NEP will make India the
number one country in
the next 25 years.
Under the British ed-
ucation policy for pre-
Independent India, rote
learning was a sign of
intelligence, he said,
adding that students did
not have the power to
think, research, reason,
analyse, decide and un-
derstand, which created
many issues in society
.
“The new education
policy, which has made
fundamental changes,
including laying em-
phasis on the mother
tongue, will make India
numberoneintheworld
in 25 years,” Shah said.
“If a student reads,
speaks, and thinks in
the mother tongue, then
it will increase his abil-
ity to think, his reason-
ing power, the capabili-
ty of analysis, and re-
search will naturally
emerge within this
child,” Shah added.
“The fundamental
change in the NEP is to
educate students in
their mother tongue at
the primary and second-
ary level as far as possi-
ble. I am confident in
another 2, 5, 7 years, stu-
dents in the country will
be imparted education
in their mother tongue
and their mothers will
be able to teach them in
their language,” he said.
The syllabi of techni-
cal, medical, higher
education are being
translatedintothemoth-
er tongue, Shah said.
“NEP has created a
big role for commercial
skill education. Over
50% of students will be
connected to commer-
cial education before
Class 10, this will help
to take them towards
self-employment, micro
and cottage industry,”
Shah asserted.
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah addressing the programme organised to celebrate
95 years of Sheth GC High School at Vijapur in Gujarat.
n UnionHome
Ministersays
textbooksbeing
translatedinto
manyregional
languages
z “Gujarati, Telugu,
Odia, Punjabi, Bengali
- higher and medical edu-
cation courses will begin
in all these languages.
From there, India will
begin to contribute sig-
nificantly to research and
development,” Shah said.
z Shah said a person
is able to have original
thinking only when the
subject to ponder over
is taught in the mother
tongue, and the new
education policy will help
provide a platform for a
child’s inherent capacities
like art and music, etc.
‘ORIGINAL
THINKING’
First India Bureau
New Delhi: When ICICI
chief executive Chanda
Kochhar got Padma
Bhushan in 2011, who
would have imagined
the reversal she would
face 11 years later?
Chanda Kochhar
joined ICICI as a trainee
in 1984, rose through the
ranks, and became its
CEO and MD. She was
the first woman to head
a major bank in India
and was long consid-
ered by many aspiring
women as a role model.
She was ranked as the
most powerful business-
woman in India in
Forbes’ list of ‘The
World’s 100 Most Power-
fulWomen2013’andwas
selected in Time maga-
zine’s list of the 100
Most Influential People
in the World 2015.
Her chapter at ICICI
ended abruptly in 2018
when the board of direc-
tors approved a request
from Kochhar to seek
early retirement follow-
ingallegationof corrup-
tion and quid pro quo
while extending loans to
theVideoconIndustries.
❍ THE RISE AND FALL OF CHANDA KOCHHAR
FROM PADMA BHUSHAN
GLORY TO ARREST BY CBI
z October 2016: It all
started when an investor
alleged loan irregularities.
z March 2018: Word
spreads again after a
whistleblower complains
against ICICI bank. Later,
the CBI files an internal
inquiry and questions
Deepak Kochhar.
z April 2018: The ICICI
Bank board comes out
in support of Chanda
Kochhar and denies most
of the allegations, but the
Serious Fraud Investiga-
tion Office seeks to probe.
z May June 2018: The
whistleblower makes fresh
allegations against Chanda
Kochhar ICICI suspects
some wrong-doing and
launches own probe.
z October 2018: Chanda
submits her resignation
and officially steps down
as the MD and CEO of
ICICI Bank.
z January 2019: The
CBI files an FIR against
Deepak Kochhar, Chanda
Kochhar over alleged
irregularities in the
loans sanctioned
to the Videocon Group.
Later, ICICI Bank finds that
Chanda violated the bank’s
code of conduct while
sanctioning these loans.
z February 2019: The
CBI issues a lookout
notice against Chanda.
z January 2020: The ED
provisionally attaches as-
sets of Chanda Kochhar.
z November 2020: The
ED files a chargesheet
against Chanda Kochhar.
z March 2021: Deepak
is released on a personal
bond of Rs 3 lakh.
z May 2022: The CBI
files FIR against Chanda.
z December 23, 2022:
The CBI arrests Chanda
Kochhar and her husband.
VIDEOCON LOAN FRAUD CASE — TIMELINE
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh addresses a press briefing with
Delhi party chief Anil Chaudhary, party leaders Pawan Khera and
Shaktisinh Gohil, at Ashram Chowk in New Delhi on Saturday.
Strong Congress will be
beneficial for ‘Gadkari
Rajnath’, quips Ramesh
New Delhi (ANI): As
the Congress’ Bharat
Jodo Yatra entered the
national capital on Sat-
urday, party leader
Jairam Ramesh took a
swipe at senior BJP
leaders like Union Min-
isters Nitin Gadkari
and Rajnath Singh say-
ing “a strong Congress
will benefit Gadkari Ji
and Rajnath Singh”.
While Congress work-
ers appeared upbeat
even amid the biting
Delhicold,BJPMinister
AnuragThakurremind-
edthegrandoldpartyof
therenewedCovidsurge
across the globe and ad-
vised: “mask up”. Walk-
ing alongside Congress
MP Rahul Gandhi dur-
ing the foot march, par-
ty’s General Secretary
in-charge Communica-
tions Jairam Ramesh
said, “The Bharat Jodo
Yatra’s result will be a
‘Majboot Congress’
(Strong Congress) and a
strong Congress will be
beneficialforGadkariJi
and Rajnath Singh.”
New Delhi (PTI): From
its humble beginning in
December 2002 with a
corridor of just 8.2 km
spanning six stations on
the Red Line, the Delhi
Metro has grown into a
network of over 390 km
in 2022, completing an
eventful journey of 20
years of operations.
A special commemo-
rative ceremony was
held at the Welcome
metro station which
was attended by Ja-
pan’s Ambassador to
India Hiroshi Suzuki,
Delhi Metro Rail Cor-
poration’s Managing
Director Vikas Kumar,
among others.
The envoy in his ad-
dress emphasised the
diplomatic and cultural
ties between the 2 coun-
tries and how Delhi
Metro exemplified it. A
special permanent exhi-
bition marking 20 years
of Delhi Metro opera-
tions was later opened
at Welcome station by
the Japanese envoy
.
To a question on
the list of MPs
joining the Yatra,
Jairam said all
party leaders
have been invited
Delhi Metro completes 20 years of operations
OLD TRAIN FLAGGED
OFF BY VAJPAYEE
Delhi Metro on Saturday
ran a special train, which
was first flagged off by
PM Atal Vajpayee on
December 24, 2002.
“It is an exciting mile-
stone for the DMRC, and
the special run of the
six-coach train took place
today between Kashmere
Gate station and Welcome
station on the Red Line,”
a senior official said.
Hiroshi Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan to India, and DMRC MD
Vikas Kumar at an exhibition to celebrate the landmark moment
of completing 20 years of metro operations in the national capital
region, in New Delhi on Saturday. —PHOTO BY PTI
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
Sadhvi Uma Bharti is fighting for
favourite seat for herself in the 2024
general elections, but her party men
aren’t allowing her
to enter MP. She has
the option of Bun-
delkhand, but the local
saffron brigade there
isn’t that enthusiastic
about her. So,she met
veteran BJP leader Ni-
tin Gadkari revealed
her pain. Gadkari
spoke to BJP High Command saying, “It
would be a big advantage to field Umaji
from UP, as there is a large number of
Lodh votes of Sadhvi’s cognate.” He got
reply, ‘in UP we get votes not on caste
equations but on Modi’s face alone, so
we have no interest in playing the caste
card in the 2024 polls.’ So what is Sad-
hvi’s political future? Only time will tell.
Mirch Masala
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB RAMAN
The author is a journalist and political
commentator and views expressed are his personal
...AND FINALLY
It has been reported that
PM Modi is very serious
about CR Patil’s candi-
dature. Sources claim
that the PM had met
Dattatreya Hosabale,
number two of the Sangh,
to know the Sangh’s mind
in this regard, and while
expressing his feelings to
Dattatreya, he wanted to
know the Sangh’s opinion
about making Patil the
next BJP President.
Hosabale also praised
Patil and said that ‘he can
prove to be a successful
president of BJP, because
he is a good organizer,
tactful and approachable.’
But Hosabale’s opinion
was that it would be bet-
ter to wait for a while for
Patil’s coronation because
right now, the top two
positions are occupied by
Gujarat leaders. In such
a situation, it wouldn’t
be fair to make the BJP
president a leader of such
a state. Even though Patil
was born in Maharash-
tra, his workplace has
always been Gujarat.’ So,
Dattatreya opined that
at least till the elections,
only JP Nadda should
carry on as Party Presi-
dent only after that any
reshuffle at the top will be
apt.’ But the final decision
in this regard has to be
taken by the BJP High
Command (Modi-Shah).
When the behind-the-scenes gossip
starts taking shape in politics, then
the political ‘road map’ ahead can be
fathomed. Recently, when a few BJP MPs
gathered at the Parliament House Annexe,
PM Modi himself heaped praises
on Gujarat State President CR
Patil, giving him credit for the
unprecedented victory in the
Gujarat elections for some five-
seven minutes. By the way, Patil
has also handled the re-
sponsibility of the PM’s
parliamentary constitu-
ency Varanasi. Every
BJP MP who came out of this meeting of
the parliamentary session had a little idea
that Patil is going to get something big in
the party in the coming days. Soon after,
Patil hosted a dinner for NDA allies and
BJP MPs at the Delhi Gymkhana Club and
the most important thing is that he invited
the MPs to the dinner with the request
that the ‘PM wants the MPs to attend this
dinner’. But it is said that Patil, using his
political acumen, had invited leaders like
Sharad Pawar to this dinner. However,
it is another matter that Pawar
refused to attend this dinner
citing his health.
According to an intelligence report, China is setting
up its espionage network on a large scale in India.
China is looking for such Nepali and Tibetan citizens
having knowledge of Hindi language, who can
gather intelligence for them by staying in India. In
the past, Indian agencies have arrested many Nepali
citizens on the charges of espionage, after which such beliefs have become even
stronger. Indian agencies are also keeping a close watch on organizations like
‘Nepal Study Centre’ operating in different parts of the country.
Bihar remains the biggest ordeal for Rahul Gandhi
even today. Despite extensive reshuffle in the Con-
gress organization of Bihar, the party’s graph is still
not rising there. The loyalty of big
leaders of Bihar Congress is more
towards Nitish or Lalu than their
Party High Command. While Bhakt
Charan Das, Congress in-charge of
Bihar, is said to be a ‘Nitish bhakt’,
the newly appointed State Prez
Akhilesh Singh is more dear to Lalu
and Tejashwi. Now Bihar Youth
Congress has got a new president
in form of Garib Das, his loyalty is also reportedly with
Lalu-Tejashwi. Party High Command is continuously
receiving complaints that bidding is being done for
various posts in organization. Money is being sought
in the name of making District Prez even Block
Prez. In the name of strengthening the party, there is a
demand of Rs 25,000 from AICC members, Rs 60,000
from former MLAs, Rs 1 lakh from MLAs and Rs 10
lakh from ministers, and yet, no action is visible.
CHIRAG TO ‘LIGHT-UP’ SOON?
These days Chirag Paswan’s spirits are high. The
BJP forgot him by siding with Nitish, but today
after Nitish dumped BJP, the same BJP is crying foul.
BJP’s number two also inquires
about Chirag’s well-being these
days. If sources are to be believed,
soon Chirag may get the chair of
Delhi. There is going to be a major
reshuffle in the Modi cabinet in the
coming days, and if sources are
to be believed, Chirag has been
promised that he will be given an
important ministry in this reshuffle.
The BJP is trying to get Chirag to spit his anger with
his uncle and get the Paswan family to reunite so that
a new wave can be raised against Nitish in Bihar.
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury had an
informal meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah
during the Winter Session of Parliament. Expressing
his pain in front of Shah, Yechury said, “You have
made such a person the chairman of the Rajya Sabha,
who does not allow the Leader of the Opposition to
speak in the House. Sometimes even the basic senti-
ments of the member get hurt.” On this, Shah laughed
and said that “we have fielded our wrestler from
Haryana in the political arena, who will impress even
the bigots. You have already seen its fate in Bengal.
Yechury could not say anything on this.”
DIRECTIONLESS CONGRESS IN BIHAR
YECHURY SHARES HIS ‘PAIN’ TO SHAH
In Chhapra district of Bihar, more than
80 deaths due to alcohol have created
a ruckus even in Nitish Kumar’s party
JDU. His MLAs are
also angry with Nitish
for his ‘liquor policy’.
A JDU MLA bluntly
says that ‘if elections
are held in Bihar today,
not even 10 JDU MLAs
will win.’ MLAs wanted
that compensation
should be announced
by State Govt to those who died of spuri-
ous liquor, but Nitish was adamant on his
‘no’, because of which even Tejashwi is
feeling helpless. The women of the state
have also started getting disillusioned
with Nitish, they say that ‘if liquor ban is
implemented in a state like Gujarat, there
are also large scale de-addiction centres,
which aren’t there in Bihar.’
WHY IS SADHVI UMA BHARTI
SAD NOWADAYS?
NITISH’s OWN MLAS ARE
ANGRY WITH HIM
WHAT IS SANGH
THINKING
REGARDING PATIL?
WILL CR PATIL BE THE NEXT BJP PRESIDENT?

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
NEW DELHI, SUNDAY,
DECEMBER 25, 2022
t’s that time of year - the party invites start
dropping and it’s time to get your glam on.
Designer collections seemed to hope for some
sense of normalcy as we close out the year
with celebrations filled with friends and
family. So what better opportunity to wear
the season’s most opulent feathers, luxe vel-
vets, and, of course, exquisite sequins and shine
than this Christmas?
You can stick with Christmas colours and plenty
of ruffles to really make a statement. You
won’t fail to make an entrance if you choose
a dramatic red ballgown for your Christ-
mas party. One can even go simple and
silky, adding some drama to your Christ-
mas look with some fun accessories. Se-
quins and sparkles bring all the party
vibes and never go amiss when won-
dering what to wear. Nowadays you
can purchase sequin dresses in
an array of different colours
and styles.
If you like something a
little more simple
and fuss-free then
satin dresses,
as well as
s t r e t c h
dresses,
are the
p e r f e c t
attire to
wear.
They can
be subtle yet
eye-catching (look
for relaxed shapes and stretch fabrics
for ultimate comfort) and you can al-
ways add a little diamante jewellery for
some extra Christmas bling. If you’re
going for a dress, you should pick one
that’s knee-length or longer. Though a
slit down the side is perfectly fine if you
want to reveal a bit more skin. Pair the
look with nice heels and a clutch to com-
plete your outfit, and you’ll look fabulous.
The Cocktail attire dress code calls for an
elegant dress that sits on or above the knee.
Also, keep in mind that heels are a must. If
you’re unsure of what to choose, a little red
or white dress will be your best friend.
The time has arrived to get dressed up
to the nines. As we celebrate
Christmas today, who can resist a flash
of red, a touch of velvet or a sparkle of
glitter? Whether the event calls for a
casual, semi-formal, business,
cocktail, or festive dress code, City
First got the best Christmas party outfit
ideas for a stylish celebration!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
I

10-11
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
A CHRISTMAS TALE
The movie has made an emotional connection with its audience due to
the depiction of the harsh reality of life. French auteur Arnaud Desplechin
crafts a sprawling, spellbinding portrait of familial dysfunction and
reconciliation and togetherness. The story talks about a clan reuniting,
uneasily, at Christmas only to learn that their matriarch (Catherine
Deneuve) is dying of leukaemia.
HOME ALONE
Oh yes, we can't say no to Home Alone, a
notorious kid and his incredible Christmas
celebration are worth watching no matter how
many times. Home Alone is indeed the Best
Christmas Movie of All Time because it covers
all the season-specific bases, is replete with
jingle bell spirit and effectively embodies the
Four Fundamental Principles of Christmas.
THE PRINCESS SWITCH
Remember your favourite High School Musical star, Vanessa
Hudgens? If so, I am sure you have to calm your horses
because, her film debut film of what ultimately becomes a
Netflix Christmas trilogy, about a small-town baker who
looks exactly like the duchess (also played by Hudgens) of
a fictional country called Belgravia. Switching places for
a day, the two run into a cheesy Christmas catastrophe.
KRAMPUS
Can we talk about some dark
Christmas mania? Christmas
horror doesn’t come around
nearly as often as romantic
Christmas entanglements,
making Krampus a welcome
addition to the holiday movie
canon. Based on the scary
German Santa who beats
children with sticks, Krampus
is a big, scary, monster who
punishes those who have lost
their Christmas spirit.
LAST CHRISTMAS
Just like its name the movie
did not make a rightful place
in the hearts of its audience.
The Emilia Clarke and
Henry Golding rom-
com from director Paul
Feig got some harsh
criticism in 2019, but
the thing is, the movie has
more to offer than critics first
assumed. Despite a climax twist ending
that still doesn't totally sit right, this is
a Christmas film based entirely around
George Michael songs. The movie is a
great combination of great chemistry
between the leads and a completely
irrational Eastern European character
played by Emma Thompson. C'mon into
the rotation, Last Christmas.
OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY
Just like the name goes, the movie
depicts a happening office Christmas
party but with a twist, the bash gets
out of control after
Clay, the branch
manager, throws
a party to impress
a client and retain
his branch and
employees from
his sister.
BAD SANTA
Definitely not an ideal
Santa, who loves to spread
happiness and good cheer,
Willie, a swindler on the
other hand dressed up as
Santa, and his elf partner
Marcus try to rob a
mall. Their motive
fails when the thief
befriends an
eight-year-old
boy.
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
CELEBRATING THE SEASON
PERPETUAL HOPE!
PERPETUAL HOPE!
OF
OF
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
Christmas is the season of family and friends one can spend his entire holidays with family members at
home decorating the house and baking sweets cakes, dancing to the tunes ofThe Red Festival and singing
our all-time carols. Spending Christmas with the fam is everyone's favourite Christmas routine and watching
movies is one of them, so once again sing for Christmas cheers and Hallmark holiday movie jeers. City First
brings to you some magical Christmas Movies which will plop your down on the couch with your loved ones.
So here are some finest Christmas movies to ever climb down your chimney.

City First
D
elhi’s 26th Book
Fair is being or-
ganised at the
Pragati Maidan
from December 22 to
December 26 will have
Prints Publications
and Advit Toys exhib-
iting their new range
of products. This
‘Book Bonanza’ is
conducted by the In-
dia Trade Promotion
Organisation (ITPO).
Pranav Gupta, the
Managing Director of
Prints Publications
Private Limited says,
“Prints Publications
has always tried to be a
one-stop solution to
every literary write-up
whichisinformational
to society in any way.
We see that since this
fair is the first physical
book fair after 2019 in
Delhi, the footfall to the
event is expected to be
quite good.
Prints Publications
Pvt Ltd formerly
Prints India is one of
the most recognised
and trusted names as
an exporter of Indian
Publications. While,
Advit Toys is one of
the leading manufac-
turers of ‘Educational
Toys.’ Its sole concept
is to make
books enthralled
with fun learning
along with games.
Nowadays, the com-
petitive scenario is
full of expectations.
12
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CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
City First
enownedmake-
over expert Ri-
cha Agarwal
s h o w c a s e d
“Professional
Beauty,” which
features the
hottest and trendiest
bridal makeover trends
for the year 2023. In a
spectacular showcase,
beauty trends for 2023
were revealed along
with glimpses of what
brides of 2023 will look
like.
A touch of glamour
was added to the fashion
show by models Ba-
haar Chawla and
Anisha while they
showcased the latest
trends in bridal makeo-
vers. Women were seen
asking for makeup tips
from experts Richa
Agarwal, Arpita Das
and Harveen Kathuria
who were seen giving
them advice on their
makeup concerns. They
also unveiled bridal
beauty trends for 2023.
In addition to western
hairstyles and minimal-
ist make-up,
traditional jew-
ellery and fashion
concepts were
also incorporated
into curating the
looks of the brides.
According to Ri-
cha Agarwal, Every
year we see the evolu-
tion of fashion and
makeup and the year
2023 is also going to wit-
ness the mega transi-
tion in
terms of looks.
The fashion looks pre-
sented today will be the
most popular looks for
brides in 2023 and will
be the most in style. As
for the upcoming bridal
trends, she added, “The
brides of 2023 will look
for customized looks
that suit their person-
ality, skin texture,
and face shape. They
will no longer follow the
old, traditional ways
but will pick contempo-
rary trends that are in-
spiring and inspiring.
Additionally
, pastel and
nude colours will be-
come the preferred
choice of brides in the
new year. Instead of
bold and heavy makeup,
they will wear nude,
glossy looks, with crea-
tive eye makeup.
It is well known that
bridal lehenga cholis
have been a popular
trend for many years in
a row now. However, we
will now see the return
of the stylish Indian sa-
ree that brides will wear
with their stylish long
veils. They will be in
pastel to dark colours.
However, the fabric and
type of sarees vary
from culture to culture
and will also be influ-
enced by the city, con-
cluded Richa Agarwal.
She also along with her
team showcased inno-
vative makeup includ-
ing airbrush makeup
and mineral makeup.
R
A TOUCH OF GLAMOUR
CHRISTMAS PARTIES WORTH
CHRISTMAS PARTIES WORTH
VISITING IN DELHI-NCR
VISITING IN DELHI-NCR
City First
P
eople anxiously
a n t i c i p a t e
s p e n d i n g
Christmas with
their loved ones. It’s
the Christmas season.
The fact that Christ-
mas falls on a week-
end this year makes
many happy since
they can
spend their lengthy
vacationswithfriends
and family and per-
haps go on a trip.
Delhi has been
working nonstop to
get ready for the holi-
days and the new
year. View these
locations in Delhi-
National Capital
Region where you
may enjoy
C h r i s t m a s
this year.
Best
locations
in Delhi
for
Christmas
parties
LE MERIDIEN
NEW DELHI
Le Meridien sched-
uled an event on De-
cember 24 called Mem-
oirs of Christmas -
The Lawns as this
year’s Christmas cele-
bration.
BERGAMO
Christmas parties are
being organised at
Bergamo in Vasant
Kunj on December 24
and December 25.
This location is
among the top spots to
hang out with your
friends since it has in-
triguing live music.
PLAKA
COCKTAIL BAR
Christmas parties
are being held at
this location in
Gurugram from
December 23 to De-
cember 25. O’ Santa!-
A Christmas Carnival
redefined is the name
of the event.
TIME MACHINE
RESTAURANT
This venue, which
can be found in Noi-
da’s Gardens Galleria
Mall, hosts spectacu-
lar Christmas and
New Year’s festivities.
This location is ideal
for Christmas gather-
ings since it offers a
delectable dinner and
music.
MINISTRY OF SOUND
This location is also in
Noida’s Gardens Galle-
ria Mall. On December
24 and 25, Every year
they hold a special
Christmas eve events.
Ministry of sound is
famous for their
unique party themes.
BOOK BONANZA
BOOK BONANZA
—PHOTO BY SHAZID CHAUHAN
Glimpse of an exbition
Glimpses of an event
Christmas celebrations were held at the NOIDA office of Bharat24-vision of New India, a National Hindi News channel during the festive season. Jagdeesh Chandra was also
congratulated by Managing Editor Shamsher Singh and Senior Editor Syed Umar for Bharat24 now being available on DD Free Dish (Channel No. 074). The entire team joined in
the celebrations wherein Jagdeesh Chandra also felicitated Anchor Shazia for garnering 2.6 million viewership for her popular 5 pm debate show, ‘Public hai sab jaanti hai’!
X-MAS
CELEBRATIONS
Jagdeesh Chandra felicitates Shazia as Santa Claus strikes a joyful pose
Jagdeesh Chandra with Shamsher Singh, Syed Umar and the team of Bharat24, (L-R) Amit Baliyan, Niraj Kumar Singh, Raj Kumar Pathak,
Ankit Kumar as Santa Claus, Shazia Nazir, Arvind Singh, Amit Ojha, Anu Shridhar, Kshama Tripathi, Pratham Soni, Abhishek Rao and Aarif Khan
CITY FIRST
I
sha Ambani, daugh-
ter of billionaire
Mukesh Ambani re-
ceived a grand wel-
come as she arrived in
Mumbai with her hus-
band Anand Piramal
and their newborn
twins at Karuna Sind-
hu (her opulent resi-
dence in Worli) from
Piramal and Ambani
families on Saturday
.
The families came
together with the big-
gest smiles on their
faces to welcome the
newborn twins at their
residences.
This is the first time
that the Ambani scion
has come to India after
the birth of her twins in
the US last month.
Isha was seen with
one of the twins in her
arms. Karuna Sindhu
(Worli residence) was
seen beautifully deco-
rated with flowers.
Whereas Isha's moth-
er-in-law Swati Piramal
was seen waiting at the
entrance along with the
priests to welcome the
couple and their twins.
Nita Ambani also ar-
rived at the residence to
welcome the family
.
Grandparents Nita
and Mukesh Ambani
looked super happy and
also clicked with one of
the babies. Mukesh
Ambani's daughter
Isha Ambani and her
husband Anand Pira-
mal were blessed with
twins on 19th Novem-
ber, informed the Am-
bani family through an
official release.
Ambani family wrote
in the statement, We
are delighted to share
that the Almighty has
blessed our children
Isha and Anand with
twins on 19th November
2022. Isha and the baby
Aadiya and baby boy
Krishna are doing well.
We seek your blessings
and good wishes for
Aadiya, Krishna, Isha
and Anand in this most
important phase of
their life.
A DAY TO CELEBRATE!
Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal
Isha Ambani spotted
with her twins
Grandparents Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani with newly born

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