30042022_First India_Ahmedabad.pdf

Heroin worth `450 crore
recovered from Pipavav port
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In a joint
operation, the Gujarat
Anti-Terrorist Squad
(ATS) and the Directo-
rate of Revenue Intelli-
gence (DRI) have recov-
ered nearly 90kg of
heroin worth Rs450
crore from a shipping
container that arrived
at the Pipavav port in
Amreli district from
Iran, the state DGP said
on Friday
.
To dodge the authori-
ties, the drug syndicate
had applied a unique
modus operandi in
which threads were
soaked in a solution
containing heroin,
which were then dried,
made into bales and
packed in bags for ex-
port, said Gujarat Di-
rector General of Police
Ashish Bhatia.
“The container, hav-
ing large bags of
threads, arrived at the
Pipavav port from Iran
nearly five months
back. A forensic analy-
sis of four suspicious
bags having threads
weighing nearly 395kg
revealed that the
threads contained opi-
ate derivative or heroin.
In all, we found nearly
90kg of heroin worth
Rs450 crore from those
threads,” Bhatia told re-
porters in Gandhinagar.
In a release, the DRI
said these bags having
heroin-soaked threads
were shipped along with
other bags having bales
of normal Turn to P2
Entrepreneurs, experts to
suggest reforms: PM Modi
First India Bureau
Surat: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Fri-
day asked the business
community to form
groups of entrepreneurs
and experts to suggest
policy changes for re-
forms in banking and
other sectors, and also to
point out the shortcom-
ings.
He also said his gov-
ernmentwasworkingon
creating a conducive at-
mosphere to help people
from ordinary back-
groundstobecomeentre-
preneurs.
He was speaking after
virtually inaugurating
Global Patidar Business
Summit-2022,athree-day
event in Surat.
“I will urge you to
make 10 to 15 groups of
entrepreneurs, young
and old, who should take
up sectors in which you
thinkweneedtomakean
impact, study global
practices of those sec-
tors, how its market can
be developed, point out
shortcomings and sug-
gest changes in govern-
ment policies for it,”
Modi said.
Experts and academ-
ics should be included in
such groups, he said.
“Takebanking.Whyis
the banking sector not
growing? Find out the
problems. Every week, I
get representation from
Surat’s diamond indus-
try saying that banks do
notextendcredittothem
and request me to do
something. So where are
ourpoliciesgoingwrong,
why do we have such
questions of priorities
(in banking sectors),”
Modi said.
“In the same way
, you
can take up the fintech
sector. A thorough study
of that subject can be
taken up on the use of
technology in financial
servicesandhowtoover-
come our shortcomings.
Other sectors can be
taken up also,” he added.
Basedonthepresenta-
tions, the government
willthinkof changingits
policy to propel Turn to P2
Visitors and businessmen watch PM Modi inaugurate GPBS-2022 virtually, in Surat on Friday.
He was addressing
the Global Patidar
Business
Summit-2022, a
three-day event
in Surat
Officials found
395kg of
threads soaked
in a solution of
the narcotic
DRUG HAUL
Heroin-soaked bales of thread
were recovered at the Pipavav
Port.
AHMEDABAD l SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 154
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) 153/8 pulled a spectacular 20-run win
against Punjab Kings (PBK) 133/8 in the 42nd match of IPL in Pune on
Friday. For LSG, Quinton de Kock top scored with 46 off 37 balls. Punjab’s
Kagiso Rabada took 4 wickets giving away 38 runs in his quota of 4 overs.
IPL: LUCKNOW
SUPER GIANTS
DEFEAT PUNJAB
KINGS IN PUNE
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit Bengaluru on May 3 ahead of
the likely cabinet expansion in the state. “Amit Shah is likely to visit Bengaluru
on May 3 and I would try to use the opportunity to seek an audience to discuss
cabinet expansion,” said Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday.
K’TAKA CABINET
EXPANSION:
BOMMAI TO MEET
SHAH ON MAY 3
CRUCIAL READ
MAMATA MEETS
KEJRI IN DELHI
LT GEN RAJU NEW VICE
CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF
CHINA TO PERMIT
INDIAN STUDENTS
EXPLOSION AT
KABUL MOSQUE
New Delhi: At a time
when both AAP and
TMC are vying for the
Opposition space in
several states, Delhi
CM Arvind Kejriwal
met his West Bengal
counterpart Mamata
Banerjee on Friday. P5
Lt Gen Baggavalli Somashekar
Raju will take over as the next
vice chief of the Army Staff on
May 1, the defence ministry
said on Friday. Lt Gen Raju
will succeed incumbent Lt Gen
Manoj Pande who will take the
reins of Army from Naravane.
The Chinese government
announced on Friday that it will
allow ‘some’ Indian students
to return to China and continue
their education, after more than
two years since the onset of
the COVID-19 pandemic and
subsequent lockdowns. P6
Kabul: A powerful
explosion ripped through
a mosque during Alvida
namaz in the Afghan
capital of Kabul on
Friday, killing at least 10
people and wounding
more than 20, a Taliban
spokesman said.
Ex-CEC Sunil Arora: EVMs
can never be tempered
Dr Anita
Hyderabad: The
launch ceremony of Tel-
angana People’s Agenda
for Development (T-
PAD) took place at the
Institute of Engineers
India in Hyderabad’s
Khairtabad on Friday
.
Former Chief Elec-
tion Commission-
er Sunil Arora attended
the ceremony as chief
guest. The event was
presided by Prof T Tiru-
pati Rao, who is the
chairman of the T-PAD.
Arora,whilespeaking
during the ceremony
, re-
called his fond memo-
ries with Hyderabad.
He also said that Elec-
tronic Voting Machines
(EVMs) can have flaws
like any other machine,
but cannot be tempered.
“We faced various
courts on several occa-
sions, but none of them
ever doubted the integ-
rity of the election Com-
mission,” he added.
COALCRISIS
New Delhi: India’s se-
vere heat waves are ex-
pected to stretch into
early next month,
meaning millions of
people will have to en-
dure more days of dan-
gerous temperatures
and hours-long black-
outs.
The country is brac-
ing for temperatures to
rise to a record high,
according to Mrutyun-
jay Mohapatra, head of
meteorological depart-
ment. The agency is
working with states
and the government’s
disaster management
arm to get early warn-
ings to those on the
ground, he said in an
interview in New Del-
hi.
Thermometerread-
ingshavealready
reached 46
degrees Celsius (115 de-
grees Fahrenheit) in
central and northern
India, with two months
to go before the mon-
soon season that typi-
cally brings cooling
rains. They hit the
highest since 1901 last
month. The heat has
tested power grids as
airconditionersrunon
full blast and threat-
ened wheat crops. Lo-
cal authorities are im-
plementing action
plans to manage health
risks and even deaths,
Mohapatra said.
“Why is it exception-
ally warm this year?
Theonlyreasonisglob-
alwarming,”saidRoxy
Mathew Koll, a
climate
scientist at the Indian
Institute of Tropical
Meteorology
. “We have
looked at data for sev-
enty years and at the
intensity
, the number
of heatwavesisdirectly
in response to global
warming.”
India is expected to
suffer more frequent
andintenseheatwaves,
extremerainfallander-
ratic monsoons in the
coming decades as the
planet warms, accord-
ing to the United Na-
tions’Intergovernmen-
tal Panel on Climate
Change.
BLACKOUTS
LEADS TO POWER
Extreme heatwave, hours-long
powercuts to stretch into early May
CANCELLED 42 TRAINS MAKE WAY
FOR COAL TRANSPORTATION
Some 42 passenger trains have been cancelled
across India to allow faster movement of coal
carriages to tackle
critically low stocks
at power plants in the
middle of blackouts and
outages in many states.
These trains have been
cancelled indefinitely,
Railways officials said
today, with coal stocks depleting rapidly in thermal
power plants. The Railways is trying to take steps
“at war-footing” to transport coal and also cut down
the time it takes to move coal to power plants.
DELHI GOVT WARNS OF METRO,
HOSPITAL SERVICES DISRUPTION
The Delhi government on Thursday warned of a
possible power disruption at crucial establishments,
including metro and
hospitals. The warning
stemmed from an in-
creasing coal shortage.
Delhi Power Minister
Satyendar Jain has now
written to the Union gov-
ernment urging it to
ensure adequate coal supply to power plants
that provide electricity to the national
capital. Jain said, “The govern-
ment is trying to ensure
that people do not face
power outage”.
SEVERAL STATES HIT
BY ACUTE SHORTAGE
n PUNJAB: Farmers’ body Kisan Mazdoor
Sangharsh Committee staged a protest in
Amritsar on Friday in front of the house of the
power minister accusing him of not ensuring
adequate electricity supply to the farming
sector. Punjab power minister Harbhajan Singh
said that driven by the rising temperature, the
demand for electricity shot up by 40 per cent
compared to the corresponding period of last
year.
n ODISHA: The Orissa High Court was apprised
that the ongoing coal crisis of aluminium
major NALCO has been resolved following
a discussion among the stakeholders con-
cerned. The High Court, which on April 25 had
directed three Union secretaries (mines, coal,
and power), and the Chairman of the Railway
Board to sit together, in virtual or hybrid mode,
with the chairman-cum-managing directors of
the MCL and NALCO to find a way within 24
hours for resolving the crisis so that NALCO’s
smelter plant at Angul and its Alumina refinery
at Damanjodi were not pushed to the brink of a
shutdown, was informed about the outcome of
the discussion
n UTTAR PRADESH: Amidst the shortage of coal
in thermal power stations, the power crisis
may deepen in the densely populated state of
Uttar Pradesh as only one-fourth of the coal
stock is left in the state, which is way below
the required level. Sources said in the first
fortnight of April, the demand for electricity in-
creased due to scorching heat. The coal crisis
in the state-owned Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut
Utpadan Nigam continues as only 26 percent
of the coal that should be in stock is left.
n OTHER STATES: In Andhra Pradesh, Maha-
rashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Haryana, there
are powercuts ranging from 3 to 8.7 per cent.
Zelenskyy: Russian troops came
close to capturing me family
Kyiv: Ukraine’s Presi-
dent Volodymyr Zelen-
skyy said in a recent
interview that Russian
troops came very close
to capturing him and
his family
. He made the
revelation while speak-
ing to Time magazine,
while recalling the in-
tense early days of the
Ukraine war.
Russian President
Vladimir Putin an-
nounced the invasion
on February 24, and
Zelenskyy recalled from
the memories that exist
“in a fragmented way”
what happened that day
.
One of the most vivid
memories, the Presi-
dent said in the inter-
view, is he and his wife
Olena Zelenska waking
up their 17-year-old
daughter and 9-year-old
son to tell them that the
bombing had begun.
“It was loud. There
were explosions over
there,” Zelenskyy said.
Soon it became ap-
parent that Zelenskyy
was a target and presi-
dential offices were not
the safest place to be.
The President said he
was informed that a
Russian strike teams
had parachuted into
Kyiv to kill or capture
him and his family
.
Anti-Khalistan
protest: 2 groups
clash in Patiala,
curfew imposed
Patiala: Parts of Patia-
la in Punjab are tense
aftertwogroupsclashed
during an anti-Khal-
istan protest march to-
day. The police fired in
the air to disperse the
crowd. At least two peo-
ple are believed to have
been injured in the
clashes. A curfew has
been imposed in the
city from 7 pm today till
6 am tomorrow.
Punjab Chief Minis-
ter Bhagwant Mann
called the incident un-
fortunate and vowed his
government would not
let anyone create dis-
turbance in the state.
“The incident of
clashes in Patiala are
deeply unfortunate. I
spoke with the DGP (po-
lice chief), peace has
been restored in the
area,” CM Mann said.
Clashes broke out af-
ter the procession held
by the group which
identifies itself as Shiv
Sena (Bal Thackeray)
came face to face with a
Sikh group that is be-
lieved to be pro-Khal-
istan.
Later in the day,
Shiv Sena expelled
Punjab unit working
president, Harish Sin-
gla, after a clash.
Ex-CEC Sunil Arora
Ukraine’s President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy

NEWS
AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2022
02
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First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: BJP
president JP Nadda on
Friday said Gujarat is a
laboratory for the party
for the matters pertain-
ing to governance and
organisation.
The party carried out
“experiments” success-
fully in the state, and
the surprise replace-
ment of the Vijay Ru-
pani cabinet last year
was one such experi-
ment, he said at a press
conference here.
“Gujarat is a labora-
tory (for the BJP) for
governance and party
organization. We will
implement this model
across the country. As
party chief, it is also my
responsibility to take
this model ahead,” Na-
dda said.
Successful “experi-
ments” to develop the
party and make it a
“medium of change”
were conducted in Gu-
jarat under Narendra
Modi's leadership when
he was a BJP office-
bearer and later chief
minister of the state, he
further said.
The sudden change
of guard effected by the
party last year in the
state when the Rupani
cabinet resigned and a
new government under
Bhupendra Patel's lead-
ership replaced it was
also an “experiment”
carried out as part of
the party's strategy, Na-
dda said.
During a programme
where he addressed
party workers and lead-
ers in Ahmedabad, he
further said that the
BJP is a party that
moves in the right di-
rection with the right
ideology, taking the
country forward.
“Anyone who wants
to compete with our
party will have to toil
for 50-60 years. Our ide-
ology is gaining global
recognition...BJP is a
party that moves in the
right direction with the
right ideology, and a
party that will take the
country forward,” he
said.
Nadda received a
warm welcome from
party workers on his
arrival in Ahmedabad.
Responding to this
BJP national president
said, “This welcome is
not for me, it is for the
idealogy of the BJP. Un-
der the leadership of
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi, BJP's ideolo-
gy is not only getting
recognition in India
but also in the world.”
After the program,
Nadda along with state
Chief Minister Bhu-
pendra Patel visited Sa-
barmati Ashram where
he paid tributes to Ma-
hatma Gandhi and
tried his hand at the
'charkha' (spinning
wheel).
First India Bureau
Barpeta: Granting
bail to Gujarat MLA
Jignesh Mevani in a
case related to the al-
leged “assault” of a
woman police officer,
a court in Assam’s
Barpeta district on
Friday pulled up the
state police for lodg-
ing a “false FIR”.
Hearingthebailpe-
tition, Barpeta Dis-
trict and Sessions
judge Aparesh
Chakraborty also
urged the Gauhati
High Court to direct
the state police force
to “reform itself”, re-
ferring to the slew of
police encounters
over the last one year.
Mevani was grant-
ed bail on a Personal
Recognisance (PR)
bond of Rs1,000 in the
case filed at the Bar-
peta Road police sta-
tion.
He was arrested in
this case on Monday
forallegedly“assault-
ing” the woman po-
lice officer while he
was being brought by
a police posse from
Guwahati to Kokra-
jhar.
The court observed
that the intent to out-
rage the modesty of
the woman police of-
ficer in the presence
of two other police of-
ficials cannot be held
against the accused
while he was in their
custody and which
nobody else had seen.
The judge noted
that the high court
may consider direct-
ing the Assam Police
to reform itself to
“prevent registration
of false FIR like the
present case and the
police personnel fir-
ing and killing or in-
juring accused which
has become a routine
phenomenon in the
state”.
Mevani, a Con-
gress-backed Inde-
pendent MLA, was
picked up by a posse
from Assam Police
last week from Guja-
rat and arrested for a
purported tweet in
whichhehad claimed
that Prime Minister
Narendra Modi “con-
sidered Godse as
God”.
After being re-
leased on bail in that
case on Monday, he
was rearrested in the
case related to the as-
sault of the woman
police officer who
was part of the police
party which accom-
paniedhimtoKorkra-
jhar, a complaint
about which was reg-
istered in Barpeta.
First India Bureau
Vadodara: With a
strong batting line, the
Baroda Senior Women’s
cricket team beat Mum-
bai Team in their quar-
ter-final match of the
Senior Women’s T20
Tournament, 2021-22,
which was played at the
CK Pithawala Stadium
in Surat on Friday
. Now,
Baroda will play the
semi-finalmatchonMay
2, 2022.
Mumbai scored 171
runs for the loss of six
wickets after winning
the toss in the morning
and elected to bat. Baro-
da’s bowling turned av-
erage as Tarannum Pa-
than and captain Radha
Yadav gave away maxi-
mum runs in their four
overs.
Chasing a target the
Baroda top order played
brilliantly and won the
match in 18.4 overs with
eight balls remaining in
the innings. Tarannum
Pathan scored 55 in 40
balls, followed by Yasti-
ka Bhatia 33 in 22 balls,
captain Radha Yadav 31
in 17 balls and Hrutvi-
sha Patel scored an un-
beaten 42 in 28 balls.
Gujarat lab for governance,
organization experiments: Nadda
Nadda along with state CM Bhupendra Patel and BJP Gujarat President CR Patil visited Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Friday, where he paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and tried his hand at the ‘charkha’ (spinning wheel). —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
BJP National Prez JP Nadda writing in the visitors’ book.
‘BJP is a party that moves in the right direction with the right ideology’
First India Bureau
Vadodara: No genre of
music can be off-limit
when composing a
capella, and that’s what
three music composers
from Vadodara did. Mu-
sic composers Nikhil
Palkar, Pranav Mahant
and Shailesh Solanki
gathered 40 singers
from Vadodara on a sin-
gle platform and com-
posed a capella song for
Gujarat Sthapna Diwas.
‘Jai Garvi Gujarat’—A
Capella song has been
made keeping in mind
the Gujarat Foundation
Day, on May 1.
A cappella music is a
performance by a sing-
er or a singing group
without the accompani-
ment of instruments.
The trio said, “The
music was popular in
other countries, and we
decided to follow that
for the foundation day
song. We gathered 40
singers from the city to
compose the song. No
musical instruments
have been used in this
song. The rhythm,
sound effects and har-
monies were created us-
ing only the sound of
mouth. The lyrics of
this song are written by
Monali Dalvi Joshi,
while both Dakshesh
Patel and Manas Vora
gave rhythm to the
song. While Jainam
Shah and Het Patel shot
the video, it has been
edited by Chirayu
Surve. To complete the
song we worked tire-
lessly for 2-3 hours a day
for an estimated 35
days. The song gar-
nered good reviews af-
ter its launch on You-
Tube.”
GUJARAT’S FOUNDATION DAY SONG GOES SECULAR
A video grab of the 40 singers singing a capella song to
celebrate Gujarat Sthapna Diwas.
CHORAL TUNES
Court grants bail
to Mevani, pulls
up Assam Police
Baroda advance to semis
of Senior Women’s T20 series
Vadgam MLA is accused of assaulting
a woman officer who accompanied
him from Guwahati to Kokrajhar
Triumphant team posing after a match.
40 singers from Vadodara compose an
a capella Gujarati song for ‘Gujarat
Sthapna Diwas’ to be marked on May 1
Entrepreneurs, ..
business growth, he add-
ed. Modi also urged busi-
nesspersons from the
Patidar community to
also look into the ways to
modernise farming say-
ing most of them come
from the farming back-
ground, and asked them
to encourage farmers to
adopt organic
farming.“Thereisagreat
scope in the food process-
ing industry
,” he said
while urging Gujarat-
basedbusinesspersonsto
emerge as global leaders
in the food processing in-
dustryaswell.Hesaidthe
demandforAyurvedahas
grown exponentially in
the world due to the pan-
demic and good startups
are coming in that sector
aswell.“Thegovernment
is working to create an
atmosphere in which an-
yone coming from a very
ordinary family can be-
come an entrepreneur,
dream about being one
and take pride in it,” he
said.
Heroin worth....
threads to avoid detec-
tion by the authorities.
“The modus operandi,
in this case, would have
required the extraction
of heroin mixed in the
threads. Examination
and seizure proceed-
ings by the DRI under
the provisions of the
NDPS Act, 1985 are un-
derway,” said the re-
lease. The DRI’s crack-
down on drug smug-
gling syndicates has
resulted in the seizure
of more than 3,300kg of
heroin, 320kg of co-
caine and 230kg of
hashish between Janu-
ary and December 2021.
FROM PG 1
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A Con-
gress leader raised
serious questions
about the state gov-
ernment’s unclear
policy over the price
of BT cotton seeds on
Friday. He alleged
that farmers were be-
ing “looted by compa-
nies that pocket an
annual sum Rs368
crore from the sale of
seeds.”
Manhar Patel, who is
also an agriculture sci-
entist by profession, re-
vealed, “Several seed
companies have sur-
faced, and they are
charging high prices for
BT cotton seeds. Draw-
ing the line between
multinational compa-
nies and local ones,
when Monsanto was in
the market, the state
government had fixed
price of seeds at Rs730
per kilogram. But, in its
absence, domestic com-
panies have mush-
roomed, and even
though they do not have
to pay any royalty to
multinational compa-
nies, they are charging
Rs810 per kilogram for
BT cotton seeds.”
He further alleged,
“Around 80 lakh pack-
ets of seeds are sold in
the market by these
companies annually to
bank a net profit of
Rs368 crore, illegally. I
question whether the
state government has
any policy in place to
fix this discrepancy in
BT cotton seeds’ pric-
es?”
Patel also called on
the government to ex-
plain the perspectives
of agricultural scien-
tists with regards to
BT cotton seeds.
“When these seeds
are being sold in the
name of scientists,
why has the state gov-
ernment become a
mute spectator and
turned a blind eye to
looting by compa-
nies?” he questioned.
Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) cotton seeds are being sold at Rs810
per kilogram.
No policy to fix BT cotton
seeds price discrepancy?
Agricultural
scientist
Manhar Patel
called out the
govt for
overlooking
inflated
amounts
charged by
companies

GUJARAT
03
30villagestoboycottpollsoverwatercrisis
Mehsana villagers urged state to provide water for irrigation, passed a resolution on Thursday
First India Bureau
Mehsana: On Thurs-
day night, residents
of 30 villages in
Mehsana district
passed a resolution
not to exercise their
right to vote in the
upcoming Gujarat
Assembly elections,
if the government
does not remedy the
severe water crisis.
They demanded that
Chimnabai Lake be
filled to alleviate the
crises, and warned
that they will take
matters into their
own hands if the gov-
ernment fails to take
steps.
While addressing lo-
cal villagers, social ac-
tivist Sagarbhai said,
“Mandrapur, Fatehpu-
ra, Vithoda and other
villages fall in the com-
mand area of the Dhar-
oi irrigation project.
And yet, these villages
are not covered with
proper irrigation facili-
ties. The government
should, at the earliest,
provide water for irri-
gation purposes to
these 30 villages.”
There is no other sur-
face water source in
these villages, and, in
order to irrigate the
land, farmers are de-
pendent on under-
ground water. However,
for one borewell, a
farmer has to invest
anywhere from Rs60 to
Rs70 lakh. If it fails, and
they have to dig another
borewell, the total cost
then touches one crore
rupees, he added.
Elaborating on the
farmers’ plight, the ac-
tivist said, “Farmers
are never interested in
confronting the state
government. If the state
tells them that it cannot
fill the lake, it allows lo-
cal villagers to make a
waterway for the lake,
so that rainwater can be
preserved in the lake.
That will not only serve
the dual purpose of
drinking and irrigation
water, but preserved
water will also recharge
underground water. It
will bring down the cost
of digging a borewell
too.”
He demanded that
the government lift wa-
ter from the Narmada
Dam and fill the Muk-
teshwar Dam. “Once
the dam is filled, it will
address the water is-
sues of the region,”
said Sagarbhai.
The social activist
also reminded the farm-
ers about recent pro-
tests by farmers in
Palanpur, who led an
agitation to fill Malam
Lake. “If you do not
wake up and demand
solutions, the govern-
ment is not going to ad-
dress your issues,” he
asserted.
Residents met at Mandropur village of Kheralu taluka to discuss water woes.
COSTLY BIZ
Red alert for A’bad as
city set to sizzle at 45 °C
3 sentenced to death
for gang-rape, murder
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The blis-
tering heatwave
sweeping through vast
swathes of the state
intensified on Friday
with the mercury
touching the 45-degree
mark at several places.
The India Meteorolog-
ical Department (IMD)
issued a red alert
warning for tempera-
ture changes in
Ahmedabad.
Ahmedabad logged
an all-time high of 45 de-
grees Celsius, as the
summer heat prevailed
atisolatedpocketsinSu-
rat district of South Gu-
jarat region; in the dis-
tricts of Saurashtra-
KutchnamelyJunagadh
and Kutch.
The weatherman said
the spell of heatwave
will persist in
Ahmedabad over the
next two days at least. “
A
rise in the maximum
temperature is very
likely over most parts of
Ahmedabad, Gandhina-
gar, Kheda, Surendrana-
gar, Rajkot, Jamnagar,
Junagadh, Amreli, and
Kutch for the next two
days,” it said.
An orange alert has
been issued for
Ahmedabad for May
01-03 and a yellow alert
for May 04.
The IMD uses four
colourcodesforweather
warnings. Green means
no action needed, yellow
refers to watch and stay
updated, orange means
be prepared while red
alert means take action.
IMD officials have
deemed the weather to
be tolerable for the gen-
eral public but ex-
pressedmoderatehealth
concern for vulnerable
groups such as infants,
elderly and those with
chronic diseases. They
have recommended that
citizens avoid exposure
to heat, cover their
heads while stepping
out and wear light-col-
oured, loose clothing of
organic fabrics.
First India Bureau
Kheda: A sessions
court in Gujarat’s
Kheda district on Fri-
day sentenced three
men to death for the
gangrape and murder
of a 30-year-old wom-
an in 2018.
The additional ses-
sions judge of Kapad-
vanj town, V P Agrawal,
found the trio guilty of
charges under sections
302 (murder) and 376(d)
(gangrape) of the Indi-
an Penal Code and sen-
tenced them to death.
As per the case de-
tails, on October 28,
2018, the woman was
first raped by the ac-
cused, one of whom is
related to her, and then
strangled her to death
at Nirmali village in
Kapadvanj taluka of
Kheda.
The accused Jayanti
Vadi and Lalabhai Vadi,
both residents of Shi-
hora village of Kapad-
vanj, abducted the vic-
tim on their motorcycle
and took turns to rape
her on a field.
On learning about
the abduction, another
accused who was relat-
ed to the woman ran
towards the field and
confronted the duo, it
was stated.
The victim’s relative
also raped her as the
duo had threatened to
kill him if he failed to
follow their orders, and
to hide their crime, the
trio then strangled the
woman and threw her
body in the nearby field
before fleeing the spot.
First India Bureau
Rajkot: Taking yet
another step towards
making menstrua-
tion safe and hygien-
ic for rural women,
the Rajkot district
panchayat launched
a pilot counselling
programme ‘Project
Dharti’ on Friday. Of-
ficials counselled
and educated over
200 women on usage
and benefits of using
menstrual cups in
Nagar Pipaliya vil-
lage, located around
30 kilometres from
Rajkot city. The pro-
gramme will contin-
ue for the next three
days.
The brainchild of
Anil Ranavasiya, Ra-
jkot district develop-
ment officer told First
India, “It is a chal-
lenge. While the use of
sanitary pads is still
an alien concept in
many parts of India,
focus on use of men-
strual cups will help
women have a safe pe-
riod. It will also be eco-
nomical and help save
the environment, as it
is eco-friendly.”
The project has been
launched under the
National Rural Liveli-
hood Mission (NRLM)
with Pipaliya Gram
Sakhi Sangh, in asso-
ciation with Lal Sakhi
Foundation (MP) and
Tata Institute of Social
Sciences through a
Memorandum of Un-
derstanding (MoU).
Currently, the men-
strual cups have been
made available to the
administration at
Rs200 each by Lal
Sakhi, to be supplied
free to these women.
Each cup can last for
over five years.
“The village organi-
zation is very active
here. The main idea is
to help these 200 wom-
en adapt the concept
and help them pass on
the knowledge to other
women. Regular video
conferencing will be
done after completion
of the training, in case
they have any queries.
Of the 311 villages in
the district, village or-
ganizations have been
formed in around 50%
of them. We will try to
gradually expand the
project across the dis-
trict,” said Virendra
Basiya, Rajkot district
Livelihood Manager.
Menstrual cup programme launched in Rajkot
ECO-FRIENDLY
Under ‘Project Dharti’, over
200 rural women will be
educated on benefits of the
alternative hygiene method
As the sun beats down on Ahmedabad, students are covering their heads with dupattas.
Women on the first day of the 3-day programme in Nagar Pipaliya village.
With 17 new cases, Guj
active tally is now at 105
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Gu-
jarat on Tuesday
reported 17 new
cases of COVID-9
that took the tally
of infections to
12,24,322, an offi-
cial from the state
health depart-
ment said.
As many as 11 pa-
tients were dis-
charged from hospi-
tals, taking the count
of recoveries to
12,13,274, while the
toll stood at 10,943 as
no casualties were
reported during the
day, he said.
The state is now
left with 105 active
cases, the official
said. Of the fresh
cases, nine were re-
ported from
Ahmedabad, four
were from Vadodara,
three from Gandhi-
nagar, and Rajkot
saw one new case.
With 1,12,878 peo-
ple getting vaccinat-
ed on Friday
, the total
number of doses ad-
ministered so far has
crossed 10.77 crore.
Teacher booked in
principal’s suicide
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Ba-
godara police have
booked Shiyal prima-
ry school teacher for
abetment to suicide,
criminal intimidation
and intentionally in-
sulting, and for pro-
voking the school
principal to commit
suicide. They are now
looking for the teach-
er, who fed as soon as
he learnt that a crimi-
nal complaint was
lodged against him,
Nilamben Nai’s hus-
band Prakash Nai (34),
was the school principal
of the Shiyal primary
school number 2 since
2015. The school operat-
ed in two shifts—morn-
ing and afternoon. In
her complaint, she
named husband and
wifeAlkabenandTinab-
hai Bharwad, who
worked in two different
shifts. Tinabhai often
pressured, abused and
threatenedtheprincipal
to allow them to work
together. He had written
to the seniors in the edu-
cation department, but
there was no response.
She told the police
that on March 22, when
he left for school,
Nilamben had request-
ed her husband to not
go to school and sub-
mit his resignation.
But the same after-
noon, he took poison
while he was on duty.
Although he was
rushed to a private
hospital in Bavla, he
couldn’t survive. Ac-
cording to their com-
munity tradition, she
can’t leave home for 40
days after her hus-
band’s death, so she
could not file a com-
plaint in March.
—PHOTO
BY
HANIF
SINDHI

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 3 l Issue No. 154
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
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
For the senses wander, and
when one lets the mind follow
them, it carries wisdom
away like a windblown ship
on the waters.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Ashwini Vaishnaw
@AshwiniVaishnaw
India is a Talent Nation. Our talented
engineers and designers are trusted
by the world to deliver solutions.
It is this foundation on which our
Semiconductor programme is built.
#SemiconIndia2022
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
I appreciate all the experts, academia
and intellectuals for making possible
this landmark day in our Indian
knowledge system. The mandate
document, India’s model of education
based on the NEP 2020 will act as a
benchmark for emerging economies
across the world.
TOP TWEETS
MAYAWATI WANTS
TO BE CM AGAIN
BUT REALISING
THE DREAM
WILL BE TOUGH
ne can always dream
and dream big. So
there’s nothing
wrong in Bahujan Sa-
maj Party president
Mayawati dreaming of once
again becoming the chief minis-
ter of UP and then the prime
minister. If only it was possible
to realise her dream in the face
of odds which are stacked
against her! From 19 seats her
party won in 2017, the BSP was
reduced to just one seat in 2022.
Mayawati wants to rise like a
phoenix when she dreams of be-
coming the chief minister again.
Mayawati has been the chief
minister of Uttar Pradesh on
four different occasions. Start-
ing under Kanshiram’s tutelage,
the BSP stuck to its core vote
bank of Dalits, mainly Jatavs.
Later her effort to include Brah-
mins, Thakurs and Muslims
also helped the party stay afloat.
The tide began to turn against
her after the I-T raid on her par-
ty office and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Amit Shah
began to wean BSP voters. Poli-
tics of UP has changed to
Mayawati’s disadvantage.
O
ast week Prime
Minister Naren-
dra Modi prom-
ised the youth of
Jammu and Kash-
mir a better future unlike
their parents. “You won’t
have to suffer like your par-
ents and grandparents as this
region will write a new chap-
ter of prosperity and develop-
ment in the next 25 years.”
For assimilating Kashmiri
youth in the mainstream our
mindsets have to stop looking
at them from the communal
prism as was done to India’s
ace fast bowler Mohd. Shami
when he went wicketless
against Pakistan in the T20
World Cup. Shami was bru-
tally trolled for his religion
but was stoutly defended by
the team captain Virat Kohli
who called “targeting some-
one for his faith the most pa-
thetic thing to do”. The entire
team rallied around Shami.
In the case of players like
the Jhelum Express Umran
Malik a greater amount of
sensitivity has to be observed.
He has to be treated with re-
spect for his talent and all reli-
gious bigotry has to be kept
aside. Then alone he will feel
part of the Indian team and
India, in case he is selected.
How we treat Umran will en-
courage the lanky 6’3” Basit
Bashir and Sharukh Ahmed
Dar to admire Indian ethos.
Bashir,allof 19,isanotherfast
bowlerwhoisverypromising.
The troll army of the Hin-
dutva brigade should not be
allowed to go around con-
demning a player or other
talents from Kashmir on reli-
gious ground. If the PM is
reaching out to them, they
must not scuttle his plans.
Encouraging the Muslim
youth from Kashmir to join
the mainstream is the best
way forward.
GIVE JK YOUTH CHANCE
TO JOIN MAINSTREAM
The troll army of the
Hindutva brigade should
not be allowed to go
around condemning a
player or other talents
from Kashmir on religious
ground. If the Prime
Minister is reaching out
to them, they must not
scuttle his plans
L
BEYOND
UKRAINE
WAR
WAR SCAN
ussia’s invasion of Ukraine
has led to the most important
clashindecadesbetweenMos-
cowandtheWest.Russiastart-
edinvasionof Ukraineon24th
of Feb 2022 thinking of creat-
ing shock and awe by its rapid
advance through Air, Sea and
land using it’s awesome mili-
tary power. President Putin
thought that Ukrainian popu-
lationwaspro-Russiaandthey
willwelcometheRussianforc-
es with open arms, like the
liberation of Bangladesh, by
the Indian armed Forces. It
wastheirconsideredviewthat
NATO forces and EU will not
come to save Ukraine. They
had planned to wrap up the
campaign in just two to three
weeks. None of their assump-
tionscametrueexceptinvolve-
mentof NATOtosaveUkraine.
However, it’s easy to start a
war but difficult to stop it.
The war in Ukraine has
been going on for two months
now. The Ukrainian forces or
Govthasnotsurrendered.The
war could well drag on, prov-
ing the existence of space
for conventional war,
in the nuclear
b a c k d r o p .
Russia is fac-
ing logistics
problems in
the battle-
field and
the economic sanctions will
begin to hurt soon. However,
in this short time, the conflict
has not only divided the world
but also given rise to fears of
World War III.
EMERGING WORLD
ORDER
The UN was established after
World War II to guide the
world in the right direction.
But it got bogged down in the
battle between two ideologies
in what became the Cold War.
Ukraine may be wake-up call
for the West. To wake up to
therealityof arapidlyemerg-
ing new international order,
driven by national interests.
All the developed coun-
tries have united under the
US banner, against Russia.
They are weaponizing trade
and finance and carefully
scrutinizing arms sales. Rus-
sia has been declared eco-
nomic pariah and all world
trade has been stopped with
Russia. There’s real concern
among Western leaders over
their failure to build a broad-
er coalition against Russia.
India’s neutral
stand has hit
them par-
ticularly
hard.Even
tradition-
al Western
allies like Israel, Saudi Ara-
bia, UAE, among others, have
refused to fall in line. As the
distinctly disjointed global
response to the Ukraine war
demonstrates, most develop-
ing countries would prefer to
forge their own path in a
global political economy
.
INDIA’S PRINCIPLED
STAND
NATOandRussiaarecompet-
ing to persuade some of the
world’s most powerful na-
tions, namely China and In-
dia, to take a side in the con-
flict. Both Russia and the U.K.
senttheirforeignministersto
India. One of the top U.S. ad-
visors, Daleep Singh, also
travelled to India in April.
PrimeMinisterof U.K. wasin
Indiarecently,callingNaren-
dra Modi as his ‘Khas Dost’.
PROGNOSIS
Astheconflictgrindsonamid
meandering negotiations in
search of a mutually accept-
able face-saving diplomatic
formula. Sooner or later, the
war will come to an end, but
Ukraine will be damaged be-
yondimmediaterepair.There
islikelytobebarteratthebar-
gaining table where Ukraine
will be declared a buffer state
between Russia and NATO.
The Eastern parts of Ukraine
and Crimea could be declared
Independent with Russia
friendly Govts. Russia will
agree to phased withdrawal
from Ukraine along-with lift-
ing of sanctions. There may
be regime change in Kyiv, in-
spite of all the bravery on so-
cial media by Zelensky
.
A new world order will
emerge post Ukraine War,
with multi polar dimensions.
It will see degradation of Eu-
rope further in global order
and image of USA as the only
superpowerwillgetabeating.
Regional alliances and super
powerswillemergewithcoun-
tries like China, India, Japan,
Russia and Australia having
their own influences. On the
economic front, supremacy of
dollar as world trading cur-
rency will decline and many
alternatives of direct trade
will emerge. Interdependence
on other countries will reduce
with PM Modi’s call of ‘
At-
manirbhar Bharat’ gaining
momentum. The relevance of
strongarmedforcesasthelast
instrument of foreign policy
will be established again. All
developing countries like In-
dia will have strong ‘Force of
Deterrence’ to safeguard it’s
frontiers and as guarantee to
safety
, progress and growth. .
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
R
NATO Russia are
competing to persuade some
of the world’s most powerful
nations, namely China
India, to take a side in
conflict. Both Russia U.K.
sent their foreign ministers
to India. One of the top U.S.
advisors, Daleep Singh, also
travelled to India in April.
PM of U.K. was in India
recently calling Narendra
Modi as his ‘Khas Dost’.
MAJ GEN
CP SINGH (RETD)
The writer is a scholar soldier accredited
with MA, MSc, LLB, MBA, M Phil (Def Mgt)
and M Phil (International Strategic Affairs)
Clean-up crews prepare to work at the site of an explosion in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Inset): A view of a hall in museum of Arkhip
Kuindzhi, destroyed after shelling in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol. —PHOTOS BY PTI
India has taken a path of principled neutrality. The key reasons
for this stand are old connections, Russian concessions
following oil price spikes, the reliance on Moscow for
60% of military supplies, and the current government’s
resolve. PM NARENDRA MODI’S ‘NATION FIRST’ THEORY
APPLIES TO STRATEGIC INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, AS
WELL. POTUS has taken a mature stand and stated that
US understands India’s specific needs and neutral stand
due to it’s own compulsions.

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INDIA
05
Opp unity among key points in
Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee meet
New Delhi (Agencies):
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal and his
WestBengalcounterpart
Mamata Banerjee held a
meeting in the national
capital today
, the first af-
ter their parties contest-
ed the Assembly Elec-
tions in Goa recently
.
There was buzz over
ties souring between
the two Chief Minis-
ters, after the Trina-
mool Congress decided
to contest in Goa, where
Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi
Party, or AAP, had al-
ready been preparing to
enter the electoral bat-
tle. The Trinamool’s en-
try into the Goan arena
was seen as a hurdle for
Kejriwal then.
The meeting that
lasted half-an-hour be-
tween Kejriwal and Ba-
nerjee indicated the
buzz over worsening
political ties between
the two would be put
firmly in the past tense.
The AAP or the TMC
haven’t made public
whatthetwoleadersdis-
cussed in their meeting.
Sources said it is under-
stood both spoke about
opposition unity for the
2024 Lok Sabha polls
and the upcoming presi-
dential election.
“Itwasacourtesycall,”
media reported quoting
an unnamed Trinamool
leader. Ms Banerjee con-
gratulated Mr Kejriwal
on his party’s victory in
Punjab, the leader said.
The two met at the
Delhi home of Trina-
mool MP and Ms Ba-
nerjee’s nephew Ab-
hishek Banerjee.
Sharat Kumar Verma
New Delhi: In Maha-
rashtra, the controver-
sy involving MP
Navneet Rana and her
MLA husband Ravi
Rana started with the
public recitation of Ha-
numan Chalisa, but
now the matter seems to
be gaining momentum.
After the arrest of both,
many things have start-
ed to come out in open
and new cases are being
expected. It is reported
that the agencies have
got information about
the relationship with
the underworld and
wires are being connect-
ed from a bar in Mum-
bai to a spiritual insti-
tute in Haridwar. How
much truth is there in
these ‘claims’ or is it
merely heresy
, it will be
known after investiga-
tion, but it seems that
the problems of both
are going to increase.
There are also allega-
tions of money launder-
ing but it has to be inves-
tigated by the ED, so
nothing can be said
about that right now.
Sena MP Sanjay Raut
has tweeted and alleged
that MP Navneet Rana
had taken a loan of Rs 80
lakh from Yusuf Lak-
dawala. Keep in mind
that Lakdawala was ar-
rested by the ED in the
money laundering case
and he died in jail. Raut
has said that Lakdawala
had links with Dawood
Ibrahim gang and called
it a matter related to na-
tional security
. Now the
ED and other central
agencies are also under
pressure to investigate
from this aspect. What-
ever happens in the in-
vestigation, but now the
Ranacouple’sdifficulties
may increase. The state
police is also looking for
some new cases which
could lead to trial.
Rana couple’s troubles may increase, substantially!
HANUMAN CHALISA ROW
Is Azam Khan
really distancing
himself from SP?
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Samajwadi
Party MLA Azam Khan
is leaving no chance to
express his displeasure
towards his party and in
thisregardheismeeting
leaders of all parties ex-
cept SP’s. He has ex-
pressed his intention by
gettinghisspokesperson
to make a statement
againstSPanditsnation-
al president Akhilesh
Yadav. He has given the
message that he wanted
to give to the BJP
, and
nowhehopestogetsome
relief. But it’s not like he
is merely pretending to
be against the party and
its leader. In fact, Azam
Khan actually believes
that that by staying with
theSP
,thereisnothingto
be gained and now his
first priority is to some-
how get out of jail.
So, he will continue to
give the message that he
is distancing from SP
. It
is thus that he refused to
meet SP MLA Ravidas
Mehrotra, who came to
meet him in jail. But he
met Congress leader
Pramod Krishnam and
also met Shivpal Yadav.
His son Abdullah Azam
welcomedRashtriyaLok
Dal leader Jayant Singh
to his home. Asaduddin
Owaisi’s party has sent
an invitation to him to
join forces with AIMIM.
On the other hand,
the SP is also not giv-
ing much importance
to the developments
now. However, the true
color of Azam Khan’s
politics will be known
when the by-election
will be announced on
the Rampur Lok Sabha
seat vacated by his res-
ignation. Owaisi’s par-
ty is hoping to estab-
lish a foothold in UP
and open an account
with his support.
ED files FIR against Kolkata
Police over ‘forged’ order
Kolkata (Agencies):
The Kolkata Police has
been accused of “for-
gery and fabrication of
a court order” in an FIR
filed by the Enforce-
ment Directorate
against the force.
In 2021, an audio clip,
purportedly of ED offi-
cials discussing the coal
smuggling case against
TrinamoolCongressMP
Abhishek Banerjee, sur-
faced. Mamata Baner-
jee’s nephew had then
filed an FIR against the
agency over the audio
clip. The matter was tak-
en up by a magistrate’s
court in Kolkata.
However, trouble be-
gan when the court
asked for voice samples
of theEDofficersreport-
edly heard in the conten-
tious clip. The Kolkata
Police, which reports to
Mamata Banerjee - Ben-
gal’s Home Minister,
sent the court order to
the ED but allegedly
with certain edits.
Although the court
asked for the voice sam-
ple, it also mentioned an
important aspect - con-
sent. Kolkata’s Alipore
court asked ED officials,
especiallyJointDirector
Kapil Raj, to appear be-
fore the Kolkata Police
and provide voice sam-
ples with their consent.
Kapil Raj is also super-
visingtheinvestigations
in the coal and cattle
smuggling cases in
which Banerjee is under
the scanner of the finan-
cial probe agency
.
“The Kolkata Police
sentthecourtordercopy
multiple times through
different channels.
When we approached
the court and got the
original order copy
, it
was mentioned that a
voice sample can be tak-
en only provided the of-
ficer gives his consent.
Theconsentpartwasnot
in the order copy sent by
theKolkataPolicewhich
amounts to forgery
,” an
ED source told media.
The ED said that the
ordersentbytheKolkata
Policehadnomentionof
consent — a subterfuge,
the ED alleged, to force
its officials to comply
with the Kolkata Police.
CENTRE-BENGAL BATTLE ESCALATES
Naidu calls for further
simplifying tax system
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Vice Presi-
dent M Venkaiah Naidu
on Friday called for
simplifying the tax sys-
tem further to promote
voluntary compliance
and reduce litigation.
Appreciating the gov-
ernment’s efforts to do
away with complex and
tedious processes,
Naidu stressed the need
for intensifying the ef-
forts toward creating a
stable, user-friendly and
transparent tax regime
in the country
. Address-
ing the Valediction Cer-
emony of the 74th Batch
of Indian Revenue Ser-
vice (Income Tax) at the
National Academy of
Direct Taxes (NADT) at
Nagpur, the Vice Presi-
dent observed that tech-
nology can be a great
enabler in our endeav-
our toward creating a
transparent and taxpay-
er-friendly administra-
tion.
“Leveraging digital
technology is crucial for
financial inclusion, ease
of service delivery and
plugging leakages from
various welfare
schemes,” Naidu said.
Observing that the
country expects a high
order of efficiency and
integrity from all civil
servants, the Vice Presi-
dent asked the officers
to set a high benchmark
and improve the system
to make a positive dif-
ference in the lives of
people.
“We are not content
with the status quo. We
want to convert our
Swaraj into Suraj or
good governance,”
Naidu stressed.
Recognising the im-
portant role of the Indi-
an Revenue Service in
nation-building through
tax collections, Naidu
wanted them to demys-
tify the tax laws and pro-
cedures so that tax com-
pliance becomes the
norm and citizens pay
taxes on time, willingly
and effortlessly
.
Citing an analogy
from Mahabharata, the
Vice President said that
“a ruler should extract
taxes from the people in
the same way as honey
bee extracts nectar
from the flowers with-
out harming the flower
itself.”
Cong revamps
Punjab unit
after assembly
poll debacle
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): The Congress on
Friday appointed five
new vice presidents, a
treasurer and a general
secretary in the Punjab
unit of the party.
“Congress president
has approved the pro-
posal of appointment of
treasurer, vice presi-
dents and general secre-
tary of Punab Pradesh
Congress Committee,”
an official statement
from the party said.
While Amit Vij was
appointed as the treas-
urer of the PPCC, Aru-
na Chaudhary, Inder-
bir Singh Bolaria,
Kushaldeep Singh Kiki
Dhillon, Pargat Singh,
Sunder Sham Arora
have been made as vice
presidents.
Chennai (Agencies): Tamil Nadu Assembly on
Friday passed a unanimous resolution urging
the central government to
permit the state to send es-
sential items, medicines to Sri
Lanka on humanitarian basis.
The resolution was moved
by Chief Minister MK Stalin
signalling the government’s
changed stance. Earlier, the
DMK government in the state had asked the
central government’s permission to send the
essential items to only Sri Lankan Tamils.
New Delhi: Amid the tactical firing at the security
forces’ camps in Chhattisgarh since the last 10 days,
the intelligence agencies have sounded an alert that
the Maoists may execute a bigger attack in the state.
Sources quoting the intelligence inputs said that the
ultras have initiated more than 10 incidents of firing
and shelling at the security forces’ camps, the latest
being on the CRPF’s Milpa and Amalgunda camps in
Chhattisgarh. Sources also said that the ‘Maoists may
be planning to execute a bigger attack on the security
forces in coming weeks’.
TN PASSES RESOLUTION TO SEND
ESSENTIAL ITEMS TO SRI LANKA
MAOISTS PLANNING BIGGER ATTACK:
INTEL AGENCIES SOUND ALERT
ANIL DESHMUKH’S
CUSTODY EXTENDED
TILL MAY 13
NO HOMEMADE
FOOD FOR RANA
COUPLE IN JAIL
CRUCIAL READ
Mumbai: A special
PMLA court on Friday
has extended the judi-
cial custody of former
Maharashtra Minister Anil
Deshmukh for 14 days in
a money laundering case.
The former Maharashtra
Minister will stay in judicial
custody till May 13. Earlier,
a Special CBI court refused
to grant further custody
of the former Maharashtra
Home Minister to the Cen-
tral Bureau of Investigation
after it sought his custody
for a further three days.
Mumbai: A magistrate’s
court in Mumbai on Friday
rejected independent MP
Navneet Rana and her
MLA husband Ravi Rana’s
applications seeking home
food in jail. The couple,
who were arrested last
Saturday after their call to
chant Hanuman Chalisa
outside Shiv Sena supre-
mo and Maharashtra chief
minister Uddhav Thacker-
ay’s family residence ‘Ma-
toshree’, filed applications
for homemade food on
Thursday.
MAMATA MEETS KEJRIWAL
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee being presented a bouquet by Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a meeting, in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY PTI
Maha Cong
in-charge
meets Sonia
Post poll violence:
BJP delegation
meets Prez Kovind
Nitish to skip meet
called by Law Min
New Delhi: Amid the
loudspeaker row and
the controversy over
‘Hanuman Chalisa’
recitation, Maharash-
tra in-charge of the
Congress, HK Patil met
Sonia Gandhi on Fri-
day and briefed her
about the situation in
the state where the
Congress is a part of
the MVA government.
Sources said that the
issue of the appoint-
ment to the Maharash-
tra Assembly Speaker’s
post also came up dur-
ing the meeting. After
the Assembly elections
of 2019, Nana Patole of
the Congress was elect-
edSpeakerof theHouse.
New Delhi (ANI): A
10-member delegation,
including lawyers repre-
senting victims of post-
poll violence in West
Bengal, on Friday called
on President Ram Nath
Kovindandurgedforim-
position of presidential
rule citing “complete
breakdown of law and
order in the state”.
“Today we (BJP lead-
ers) along with lawyers
from Supreme Court,
Delhi HC and district
court met President and
demandedtoimposeArt
356, that is, presidential
rule due to complete
breakdown of law and
order in the state,” a top
court lawyer said.
Patna (Agencies): Ni-
tish Kumar has report-
edly decided to skip a
meeting of Chief Min-
isters called by the Un-
ion Law Ministry in
Delhi on Saturday. The
Bihar Chief Minister
has, instead, asked his
Law Minister to stand
in for him.
Nitish Kumar’s re-
fusal to join the meet-
ing is being read as a
sign that he is upset
with ally BJP after re-
cent statements by
various leaders ap-
peared to suggest his
replacement by a “BJP
Chief Minister”. Offi-
cially, he is flying to
Purnia to launch an
ethanol factory.
ILLEGAL COAL MINING CASE INVOLVING
MAMATA’S NEPHEW ABHISHEK BANERJEE
Kolkata: An intense battle is being fought between the
Bengal police and the central agencies over investi-
gations into illegal coal mining operations allegedly
involving TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is being
investigated for receiving payoffs from illegal mine
operators. Banerjee and his wife Rujira have been
summoned multiple times by the ED for questioning
in the case. Although the TMC MP did appear before
the agency, he also skipped a few.

INDIA
06
Moni Sharma
Ranchi: On papers, the
Bharatiya Janata Party
is an extremely strong
opposition in
Jharkhand with 26
MLAs and ‘all weather
allies’ also in the House.
Despite this, the BJP is
unable to play the role
of a strong and effective
opposition, the reason
is that since the forma-
tion of the Jharkhand
Mukti Morcha-Con-
gress Government in
State at the end of 2019,
the BJP leaders are
waiting for its fall, as
and when. But Con-
gress is finding it diffi-
cult to come back to
power the next time. On
the one hand, even in
the BJP
, most of the sen-
ior leaders are of the
opinion that now there
should be no effort to
form the BJP govern-
ment for two-and-a-half
years. Their intention
is that if the govern-
ment falls, President’s
rule should be imposed
and then mid-term elec-
tions should be held.
But bringing down
the State Government
is not easy either since
the issues, which BJP
leaders think are
enough for the govern-
ment to fall, are in real-
ity not ‘enough’. The
BJP may try to play up
the issue of Chief Min-
ister Hemant Soren
getting a mining license
issued in his own name
or the land bought in
the name of his wife or
his brother’s company
or his media advisor
Abhishek Prasad re-
ceiving mining license;
but will they lead to the
ultimate goal of bring-
ing down the govern-
ment? The alleged cam-
paign of the BJP to
break the Congress to
topple the government
has failed. Now BJP
leaders are hoping to
bring down the govern-
ment on the basis of
internal strife within
the JMM Shibu Soren
family. But all the old
leaders know that the
internal strife in the
Soren family like any
other political family
has been going on for
years and it does not af-
fect party politics.
As far as the matter of
office of profit against
the Chief Minister is
concerned,thepartyhas
presentedacasewiththe
Governor and a reply
will also be sent to the
ElectionCommissionon
behalf of the govern-
ment. The mine, which
was allotted in the name
of the Chief Minister,
was already in his name.
The government says
thatCMdidnotapplyfor
Consent to Operate
(CTO),whichmeansthat
he did not intend to prof-
it from it. Despite this,
even if the Election
Commission terminates
the membership, it does
notaffectthemajorityof
the government. If this
happens, someone else
will become the Chief
Minister in place of He-
mant Soren.
BJP can’t topple J’khand Govt, even if it tries its best!
PM: Sikhs a ‘strong link’
in India’s ties with world
New Delhi (PTI): As-
serting that the new In-
dia is leaving its mark
on the whole world,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Friday said
the Sikh community
has been a strong link
in relations between In-
dia and other countries.
Addressing a Sikh
delegation at his resi-
dence, he said the en-
tire country feels grate-
ful to Sikhs for their
contributions in the
freedom struggle as
well as in the post-inde-
pendence era.
The prime minister
hosted the Sikh delega-
tion which included
people from different
walks of life.
Modi said the gurus
inspired people and the
Sikh tradition is indeed
a living tradition of 'Ek
Bharat, Shreshtha
Bharat'.
The new India is
touching new dimen-
sions and leaving its
mark on the whole
world, Modi said, add-
ing that the period of
the coronavirus pan-
demic is the biggest ex-
ample of this.
“At the beginning of
the pandemic, people of
an old mindset were ex-
pressingconcernsabout
Indiabutnowpeopleare
giving examples of the
country
,” he said.
Earlier it was being
said that with such a
large population, from
where will India get the
vaccine, how will peo-
ple’s lives be saved? But
todayIndiahasemerged
as the manufacturer of
the biggest protective
shield of vaccines,” the
Prime Minister said.
Lauding the Indian
diaspora across the
globe, Modi said he has
always considered them
as the country's ambas-
sadors.
“All of you who are
out of India are the
loud voice of ‘Maa
Bharati’, its lofty iden-
tity,” he said. The peo-
ple of India went to dif-
ferent parts of the
world without any re-
sources and achieved
success through their
labour, he said.
INDIA HAS WORLD’S FASTEST GROWING STARTUP
ECOSYSTEM, HEADING FOR ROBUST GROWTH: PM
Bengaluru (PTI): Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Friday said India is
headed for a
robust econ-
omy and the
country’s
consumption
of semi-
conductors is expected to cross $110
billion by 2030 and has the world's
fastest growing start-up ecosystem.
He said India is set to lead the next
technology revolution and investments
are being made in developing capabili-
ties in 5G among other things. “We
are paving the way for India to lead
the next technology revolution. We
are on our way to connect six hundred
thousand villages with broadband. We
are investing in developing capabili-
ties in 5G, Internet of Things and clean
energy technologies,” PM Modi said.
Beijing (PTI) : China
on Friday announced
plans to permit the re-
turn of “some” Indian
students stranded in In-
dia for over two years
following the visa and
flight restrictions im-
posed by Beijing due to
the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chinese Foreign Min-
istry spokesman Zhao
Lijian told a media
briefing here that Chi-
na attaches high impor-
tance to Indian stu-
dents' concerns about
returning to China for
studies. We have shared
with the Indian sides
the procedures and ex-
perience of other coun-
tries' students return-
ing to China .
Actually, the work for
Indian students' return
has already been start-
ed. All that remains to
be done is for the Indian
side to provide the list
of students who really
need to come back to
China, he said.
Asperearlierreports,
over 23,000 Indian stu-
dents, mostly studying
medicine in Chinese
colleges, are stuck in In-
dia after they returned
home as the coronavi-
rus broke out in China
in December 2019. They
could not return to Chi-
na due to the restric-
tions imposed by the
Chinese government to
arrest the spread of the
contagion.
After over 2 yrs, China to permit
‘some’ Indian students to return
Colombo: Sri Lanka’s
President on Friday
agreed to replace his
older brother as Prime
Minister in a proposed
interim Government to
solve a political crisis
caused by the country’s
worst economic crisis.
“President Gotabaya
agreed that a council
will be appointed to
name a new PM com-
prised of all parties,”
lawmaker Maithripala
said after meeting with
the President.
New Delhi (ANI): Na-
tional Technical Advi-
sory Group on Immuni-
sation (NTAGI) on Fri-
day approved Serum
Institute of India’s Co-
vovax Covid-19 vaccine
for the age group 12-17,
said sources. This
comes after Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
stressed vaccination for
all eligible children at
the earliest with “spe-
cial campaigns” in
schools is a priority for
the Government.
However, no decision
has been taken by NTA-
GI on vaccinating 5 to
12-year-old kids against
Covid-19, said sources
Covovax has already
been approved by the
Drugs Controller Gen-
eral of India (DCGI) for
children above 12 years
of age.
New Delhi (ANI):
Chief Justice of India
NV Ramana, while ad-
dressing a conference
of the Chief Justices on
Friday, said that 126 ju-
dicial vacancies were
filled in various High
Courts in less than a
year, expressed expecta-
tions of 50 more ap-
pointments.
Highlighting the is-
sue of vacancies, CJI
Ramana said, “Due to
our collective efforts,
we could fill 126 vacan-
cies in various High
Courts, in less than a
year. We are expecting
50 more appointments.
This remarkable feat
could be achieved be-
cause of your whole-
hearted co-operation
and commitment to the
institution.”
CJI Ramana request-
ed the Chief Justices of
High Courts, which are
still having a number of
vacancies, to forward
the names for elevation
at the earliest.
He also expresses
happiness about the re-
sponse from some of
the High Courts, which
according to him, has
been extremely encour-
aging.
“In the past one year,
we have got nine new
judges to the Supreme
Court and 10 new Chief
Justice for High Courts.
I thank my brothers in
the Collegium for their
cooperation.
New Delhi
(Agencies): Rus-
sia has offered In-
dia a dual-pay-
ment mechanism
to allow more
trade in local cur-
rencies as pres-
sure mounts on
the sanction-hit
nation over its
war in Ukraine,
according to peo-
ple with knowl-
edge of the matter.
The latest offer
from Moscow in-
volves payment
for Indian oil im-
ports from Russia
in dollar or euro
while the rest of
the trade will be
settled using a ru-
pee-ruble-denomi-
nated mechanism,
the people said.
Russian central
bank officials
along with repre-
sentatives of Sber-
bank of Russia
PJSC discussed
the proposals with
their Indian coun-
terparts and also
with officials at
the finance minis-
try last week, the
people said.
India’s Finance
Ministry and the
centralbankdidn’t
immediately re-
spond to emails
seeking comment.
Lanka President
Gotabaya agrees
to remove brother
Mahinda as PM
India-Bhutan development
cooperation unique: Jaishankar
Thimphu (PTI): The
India-Bhutan rela-
tionship is based on a
genuine concern for
each other’s welfare
and interests, Exter-
nal Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar said here
on Friday, asserting
that New Delhi’s de-
velopment coopera-
tion paradigm with
the Himalayan nation
is unique, prompted
by moral principles
and emotional bonds.
Jaishankar, who is
here on an official
visit at the invitation
of his Bhutanese
counterpart Lyonpo
Tandi Dorji, is Bhu-
tan’s first high-level
visitor from abroad
since the onset of the
pandemic in the coun-
try in March 2020.
He met the coun-
try’s top leadership,
including King
Jigme Khesar Nam-
gyel Wangchuck and
Prime Minister Ly-
onchhen Lotay
Tshering.
Taking to Twitter,
Jaishankar said that
he was privileged to
meet the Bhutanese
King.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar calls on Bhutan Prime
Minister Lotay Tshering. —PHOTO BY PTI
Russia offers
dual-payment
plan for oil
with India
‘NTAGI OK’s Covovax
for 12-17 age group’
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
HIGHLIGHTS
CJI: Filled 126 vacancies
in HCs in less than a year
Chief Justice NV Ramana and others at the Chief Justices
conference in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
PM Narendra Modi during an interaction with a Sikh delegation at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg on Friday.
New Delhi: Secretary of Department of Biotech-
nology Rajesh S Gokhale on Friday was given
additional charge of
the post of Direc-
tor-General, Council
of Scientific and
Industrial Research
(CSIR)-cum-Secretary,
Department of Sci-
entific and Industrial
Research. Gokhale will
handle the new responsibility from April 30 to the
appointment of a regular incumbent or until further
orders. Born in 1967, Gokhale is an Indian chemical
biologist. He obtained his PhD from IISc and Post-
doctoral studies from Stanford University, USA.
RAJESH S GOKHALE GETS ADDITIONAL
CHARGE OF DIRECTOR-GENERAL CSIR
BSF SHOOTS
DOWN DRONE IN
AMRITSAR SECTOR
OVER 14K B’DESHI
NATIONALS SENT
BACK SINCE 2019
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: The Border
Security Force (BSF) said
it on Friday shot down
a drone, coming from
the Pakistani side, in
Punjab’s Amritsar sector.
According to the BSF
officials, the drone had
entered Indian territory
in the area falling near
village Dhanoe Kalan
in Amritsar sector at
around 1.15 am The BSF
personnel, deployed at
the international border,
heard the humming
sound of a flying object
and as per the standard
operating procedure.
New Delhi: Nearly 14,000
Bangladeshi nationals
were sent back and avert-
ed to enter at Indo-Ban-
gladesh border in India
since 2019, said a BSF
report accessed by ANI.
According to the report,
as many as 9,233 Bangla-
deshis have been held at
IB while they were trying
to flee back after their ‘il-
legal’ stay in the country.
“At least 4,896 Bangla-
deshi nationals were held
while trying to enter India
during the same period
i.e. 1 January 2019 to 28
April 2022,” it said.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant calls on PM Narendra
Modi to discuss various issues and sought guidance from
PM for Goa’s development, in New Delhi on Friday.

BIZ BUZZ
07
Promoted by
AU Small Finance Bank
Feasible GDP growth over the
medium term is 6.5-8.5%: RBI
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): The feasible
range for medium-
term steady state
GDP growth in India-
works out to 6.5-8.5 per
cent, the currency
and finance report of
the Reserve Bank of
India.
The report for 2021-
22 year has the theme
“Revive and Recon-
struct” in the context
of nurturing a durable
recovery post-Covid
and raising trend
growth in the medium
term.
“Reducing general
government debt to be-
low 66 per cent
of GDP over the next
five years is important
to secure India’s medi-
um-term growth pros-
pects,” the report said.
The report priori-
tised inflation over
growth as it said price
stability is a necessary
precondition for
strong and sustainable
growth.
RBI has clarified
that the report reflects
the views of the con-
tributors and not of
the Reserve Bank.
RBI governor Shak-
tikanta Das said, “the
resilience of certain
sectors like agricul-
ture and allied activi-
ties, information
technology services,
exports, digitalisa-
tion and renewable
energy during the
Covid-19 crisis gives
us the confidence that
the Indian economy
can stage a strong
comeback.
“What adds to this
confidence is the way
certain other sectors
used this crisis to re-
build and reconfigure.
These sectors would
include the organised
corporate sector; the
financial sector; start-
ups; and more recently,
the manufacturing
sector,” he said.
Das said the chal-
lenge is to generate a
virtuous cycle of
greater opportunity
for entrepreneurs to
innovate and invest –
businesses to attract
more capital and tech-
nology; and fiscal
space to manage the
distributional effects
of the pandemic while
expanding public in-
vestment in physical
infrastructure and hu-
man capital.
What adds to this confidence is the way
certain other sectors used this crisis to re-
build and reconfigure. These sectors would
include the organised corporate sector; the finan-
cial sector; start-ups; and more recently, the man-
ufacturing sector
—Shaktikanta Das, RBI governor
SteelMinisterdedicates
1.4MTrebarmilltoNation
Angul (PTI): Steel
Minister Ram Chan-
dra Prasad Singh ded-
icated JSPL’s 1.4
MTPA TMT rebar mill
located at the steel
unit here to the na-
tion.
The rebar mill is
one of the world’s larg-
est rebar making units
and the only producer
of 50 mm width TMTs
in India, Jindal Steel
and Power Ltd (JSPL)
said in a statement.
“Union Steel Minis-
ter Ram Chandra Pras-
ad Singh dedicated one
of theworld’slargest1.4
MTPA capacity rebar
mill to the Nation on
Thursday
,” JSPL said.
The ultra-modern
rebar mill of 1.4 MTPA
(million tonne per an-
num) capacity is locat-
ed at JSPL’s 6 MTPA
plant in Angul, Odis-
ha.
The minister also
visited JSPL’s 2 MTPA
coal gasification plant
(CGP) located within
the steel unit. JSPL is
the only company in
India which is using
coal gasification
technology to produce
steel at its plant in An-
gul.
The coal gasifica-
tion plant is equipped
with carbon capture
technology. It cap-
tures approximately
2,000 tonnes of CO2
per day, helping re-
duce carbon footprint
significantly, it said.
JSPL Chairman
Naveen Jindal said,
“We are privileged
that India’s largest
TMT rebar mill is be-
ing dedicated to the
nation. Keeping in
line with our sustain-
ability focus, we com-
missioned India’s
first CGP based DRI
plant at Angul. We
are aligned with the
government’s climate
commitment at
COP26 to become a
carbon-neutral Na-
tion by 2070”.
JSPL MD VR SHARMA SAYS
Maruti Suzuki
consolidated
Q4 net up 58%
India’s largest carmak-
er, Maruti Suzuki
India Ltd, reported a
58% rise in fourth-quar-
ter net profit on Friday,
of Rs 1,839 crore.
The firm had report-
ed a net profit of Rs
1,166 crore in the corre-
sponding period last
year.
Consolidated total
revenue from opera-
tions was up 11.29 per
cent at Rs 26,749.20
crore, from Rs 24,034.50
crore a year ago, it add-
ed.
Total vehicle sales
in the quarter under
review stood at
488,830 units, lower by
0.7 per cent from the
same period previous
year.
Wipro Q4
consolidated net
profit rises 4% to
`3,087 crore
IT major Wipro on Fri-
day reported a 4 per
cent rise in its consoli-
dated net profit to Rs
3,087.30 crore for the
quarter ended March,
from Rs 2,972.30 crore
posted in the same
quarter last year.
The consolidated rev-
enue from operations
stood at Rs 20,860 crore,
up 28.4 per cent from Rs
16,245.4 crore in the
year-ago quarter.
Wipro reported an at-
trition rate at 23.8 per
cent.
Wipro said it ex-
pects revenue
from our IT ser-
vices business to
be in the
range of $2,748
million to $2,803
million.
This translates
to a sequential
growth of 1% to
3%.
Sensex plunges
460 pts,Nifty
settles at 17,100
Mumbai (PTI): The
benchmark equity indi-
ces fell nearly a percent
and closed in the red
wiping off earlier gains
on the last trading of
April.
At close, the Sensex
was down 460.19 points
or 0.80 percent at
57,060.87. Thhe Nifty
was down 142.50 points
or 0.83 percent at
17,102.50. About 1,265
shares have advanced,
2,035 shares declined,
and 117 shares
are un-
changed.
Among top Nifty lag-
gards were Axis Bank,
Coal India, Adani Ports,
Power Grid and Bajaj
Auto. Gainers were
HDFC Life, Tata Con-
sumer. The Indian eq-
uity benchmarks
trimmed all of their
gains in late afternoon
session and ended in
red. Benchmark index
closed with the loss of
0.83 percent, said Mohit
Nigam, Head - PMS,
Hem Securities. Weak-
ness in select Energy
and Oil and Gas shares
dragged key gauges
lower, while buying was
seen in Healthcare and
metal stocks. Sector
wise, telecom sector re-
mained in focused, as
Telecom Minister Ash-
wini Vaishnav has said
the government is like-
ly to hold 5G spectrum
auction in early June.
‘Global smartphone market
declined by 7% YoY in Q1 2022’
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): There has been a
7 per cent decline in the
global smartphone
market YoY (year-on-
year) to 328 million
units in Q1 2022, as the
recent Counterpoint
Market Monitor report
revealed.
The report points
out that the decline has
been caused by the “on-
going component
shortages”, the resur-
gence of Covid-19 that
occurred at the begin-
ning of the quarter,
andtheRussia-Ukraine
war that broke out to-
wards the end of the
quarter.
The global smart-
phone market also wit-
nessed a seasonal de-
cline of 12 per cent
QoQ (quarter-on-quar-
ter).
“The global smart-
phone market present-
ed a mixed bag in the
first quarter of 2022.
Samsung seems to
have overcome compo-
nent shortages that af-
fected its supply last
year, as evidenced by
higher-than-expected
growth in its ship-
ments despite a late
flagship launch.
Major Chinese
OEMs such as Xiaomi,
OPPO and Vivo, mean-
while, faced a greater
component supply
crunch, resulting in
their shipments falling
by 20 per cent, 19 per
cent and 19 per cent
YoY respectively,”
Counterpoint’s senior
analyst Harmeet Singh
Walia said. Research
Director Jan Stryjak
noted that, “While
component shortages
are expected to ease
soon, the Russia-
Ukraine war poses a
new challenge to the
recovery of the global
smartphone market”.
EV fires: Boom Motors recalls Corbett
bikes, stops production temporarily
Chennai (Agencies): Coimbatore-based electric
two-wheeler manufacturer Boom Motors has decided
to recall its bike Corbett and stop production temporarily.
Boom will be the fourth company to recall its E2W
brands involved in fire incidents, after Okinawa, PureEV
and Ola Electric. Gurugram-based Okinawa Autotech had
recalled 3,215 vehicles and Hyderabad-based-Power
Using Renewable Energy (PURE) EV another 2,000 early
this month. Later, Ola Electric recalled 1,441 S1 Pro
scooters, in a specific batch. Last week, a 40-year-old
man was killed and three others injured in Nizamabad
after a fire incident in which a Boom Motors’ bike was
involved. There were media reports that the government
had asked electric two wheelers to refrain from new
launches.
Varroc signs Euro 600 mn deal with
Omnium SE to focus on EV, other segments
Mumbai (Agencies): Varroc Engineering has signed a
Securities Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Compagnie
Plastic Omnium SE of France to divest its four-wheeler
lighting systems operations in the Americas and Europe,
the Aurangabad-based company said in a statement. The
Euro 600 million transaction will see Varroc divesting its
lighting System operations in the USA, Brazil, Mexico,
Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Turkey, and Morocco.
The move is part of the larger strategy to transform Var-
roc into a high-tech company and focus on the existing
growth of electronics, connectivity, EVs product lines and
the two-wheeler segment globally, it said. This divest-
ment will help the company to align its resources with
the high value and high growth primary markets in China,
India, and the two-wheeler sector globally, it added.
‘TATA MOTORS HAS GLOBAL
AMBITIONS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES’
‘INDIAN REFINERS NEGOTIATING 6-MONTH
DEAL WITH RUSSIA TO IMPORT OIL’
Mumbai (Agencies):
Tata Motors has global
ambitions for its electric
vehicles (EVs) and will look
at serving many markets
outside India with the
range of EVs it plans to
bring over the next few
years, N Chandrasekaran,
chairman of Tata Mo-
tors and Tata Sons, said
at the unveiling of Avinya,
Tata Passenger Electric
Mobility’s (TPEM) first
pure electric car concept
in Mumbai on Friday. “Our
goal is to go global eventu-
ally and we are benchmark-
ing to be the best whether
it is in terms of software,
electric and electronic
architecture or the intuitive
experience. We have re-
ally high aspirations,” said
Chandra without divulging
details on the markets the
company would be keen to
tap into with its range. This
will mark the beginning of
the globalisation strategy
of Tata Motors passenger
vehicle business.
New Delhi (Agenceis):
Indian refiners are ne-
gotiating a six-month oil
deal with Russia to import
millions of barrels per
month, multiple sources
with knowledge of the
matter said, as the world’s
third largest importer
seeks more Russian crude
despite Western sanctions.
India has already bought
over twice as much crude
from Russia in the two
months since its invasion
of Ukraine on Feb 24 as it
did in the whole of 2021.
Russia calls the attack a
“special military operation”.
Western sanctions against
Russia have prompted
many oil importers to
shun trade with Moscow,
pushing spot prices for
Russian crude into record
discounts against other
grades. Rosneft is in talks
with Indian and Chinese
companies about supply
deals after the company
lost Western term buyers,
two sources said.
Startup firms let Indian retail
investors buy corporate debt at $130
New Delhi (Agen-
ceis): Start-up firms
selling corporate
bonds to retail inves-
tors are booming in In-
dia.
At least 10 new finan-
cial technology plat-
forms have sprung up
during the pandemic
with the aim of grab-
bing a share of the $1.9
trillion market for bank
time deposits. They
promise much higher
interest rates through
putting money into
company bonds, which
are generally seen as
riskier higher-yielding
debt.
The firms are riding
on efforts by the Re-
serve Bank of India to
encourage retail invest-
ment in sovereign debt
as it grapples with the
government’s record
borrowing plan. The
risks, of course, are
larger for those inves-
tors who chose to ven-
ture into corporate
bonds and with lightly
regulated platforms
that allow investors
to take part
with as lit-
tle as
10,000 rupees ($131).
Thenewstartupsare
seeking to reassure in-
vestors they are doing
all they can to protect
their clients. The coun-
try has seen
its share of
credit
crises, with previous
events including the
collapse of infrastruc-
ture financier ILFS in
2018, Franklin Temple-
ton’s decision to wind
u p some of
its I n d i a
d e b t
funds in 2020, and the
restructuring of Yes
Bank in the same year
that resulted in bond
holders losing their en-
tire investments.
“We handpick bonds,
study the cash flow of
the issuing company,
make a thorough risk
assessment before of-
fering any corporate
bond,” said Ajay Man-
glunia,managingdirec-
tor and head of institu-
tional fixed income in
Mumbai at JM Finan-
cial Products Ltd.,
which runs BondsKart.
com. Manglunia was
formerly head
of the bond markets
team at Edelweiss Fi-
nancial Services Ltd.,
one of India’s largest
non-bank financial
firms.

08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Batting stal-
wart Virat Kohli’s
wretched form would
once again come under
scrutiny when Royal
Challengers Bangalore
face table-toppers Guja-
rat Titans in an Indian
Indian Premier League
match starting 3.30 pm
here on Saturday
.
Kohli has scored a
mere 128 runs in nine
matches for RCB this
season with 48 being his
highest score. His pro-
motion to opening slot
in RCB’s previous
match after scoring
back-to-back ducks too
did not yield results as
he was out for 9.
Kohli’s form has been
one of the reasons for
the inconsistent show
of RCB who are cur-
rently at fifth spot with
five wins from nine
matches.
The Bengaluru-based
team, though, is hoping
that the former India
captain would return to
form soon with captain
Faf du Plessis backing
him after their last
match.
On the other hand,
the Titans have been
the side to watch this
IPL. Whatever they
have touched have
turned to gold with un-
likely match winners
emerging every time
they were in trouble.
With seven wins from
eight matches and on a
five-match winning
steak, the Titans are the
clear favourites to win
Saturday’s match. If
they do that, they will
virtually book a play-
off berth.
In their previous
match against Sunris-
ers Hyderabad, the Ti-
tans were struggling in
a stiff chase of 196 but
Rashid Khan, known
more for his leg-spin ex-
ploits, and proven fin-
isher Rahul Tewatia
struck four sixes in the
last over to steal the
match from their oppo-
nents.
The Titans have
shown that if their top-
order fails, there is as-
surance that the lower
order can bail the team
out, though captain
Hardik Pandya was
hoping that his side’s
luck does not run out
later in the tournament.
For the Titans, Pan-
dya has been the top
scorer with 305 runs
from seven matches and
under his “relaxed” ap-
proach the team seems
to be flourishing. He
will once again be the
top man to get the runs,
along with the likes of
Shubman Gill, David
Miller and Wriddhiman
Saha.
It is not that RCB do
not have the batting
depth but the problem
for them is that they
have not fired as a team
on many occasions.
Only captain Faf du
Plessis, Dinesh Karthik
and Shahbaz Ahmed
have done well so far
and they have to once
again take the responsi-
bility of scoring the
bulk of runs against a
balanced bowling at-
tack of the Titans.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A divi-
sion bench of Guja-
rat High Court com-
prising Justice JB
Pardiwala and Jus-
tice Nisha Thakor on
Friday directed Ori-
ental Insurance
Company Ltd not to
deduct income tax on
interest of vehicular
insurance claim
amounts. They were
of the view that in-
terest on insurance
claims was not tax-
able under the In-
come Tax Act, 1961.
During the hearing,
the court observed,
“The interest awarded
in the motor accident
claim cases from the
date of the claim peti-
tion till the passing of
the award, or in the
case of appeal, till the
judgment of the High
Court in such an ap-
peal, would not be eli-
gible for tax, as it is not
an income.”
Elaborating on the
legal caveats of the
case, the division bench
stated, “This position
would not change on
account of clause (b) of
Section 145A of the Act
as it stood at the rele-
vant time amended by
Finance Act, 2009,
which provision now
finds place in sub-sec-
tion (1) of Section 145B
of the Act. Neither
clause (b) of Section
145A, as it stood at the
relevant time, nor
clause (viii) of sub-sec-
tion (2) of Section 56 of
the Act make the inter-
est chargeable to tax,
whether such interest
is income of the recipi-
ent or not. The ques-
tion of deduction of tax
at source would arise
only if the payment is
in the nature of income
of the payee.”
Oriental Insurance
Company wishes to re-
cover Rs16,28,008 from
respondents with a
running rate of inter-
est of 8% from the date
of the petition, till the
realization of the
amount along with the
proportionate costs of
the petition.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A spe-
cial judge on Friday
sentenced three per-
sons employed at the
New India Assurance
Company Limited
(NIACL) in Vadodara,
to undergo five years
rigorous imprison-
ment with a fine of
Rs70,000 each. Two
other private persons
were also sentenced
to seven years of rig-
orous imprisonment
and fined one lakh ru-
pees each, for causing
losses of Rs6.61 lakh
to the company.
After receiving a
complaint from NIA-
CL, the agency had be-
gun probing the case.
JH Rusat, then senior
divisional manager of
the firm, was alleged
to be involved in fraud.
Public servants of NI-
ACL namely Rusat,
Pradeep J Pradhan,
then AO and CK Patni,
then development offi-
cer, in conspiracy with
private persons Ketan
H Thakkar, surveyor
and Lala Fida Hussain,
proprietor of
Opthilens Exports, is-
sued marine open poli-
cies in the name of
non-existing firms. In
furtherance to the said
conspiracy, the ac-
cused submitted the
false/bogus claims and
obtained payments on
the basis of fake pa-
pers including invoic-
es, FIR, documents re-
lated to transport,
among others. An al-
leged loss of Rs6,61,536
(approx.) was caused
to NIACL.
It was further al-
leged that a marine car-
go specific policy was
issued by the accused
in the name of a non-ex-
isting firm, covering
the consignment of
spectacle lenses for dis-
patch to other consign-
ee at Dubai. The in-
voice for USD 54,000
(approx) was found to
be fake and bogus.
It was also alleged
that a false claim was
lodged for damage to
the consignment
during transit from
Baroda to Mumbai
Port. Thakkar, who
surveyed and assessed
the loss, was again ap-
pointed as investigator
and he gave a report
confirming false docu-
ments as genuine.
New Delhi (PTI): The
Delhi University will
commence a year-
long centenary cele-
bration on Sunday
with the launch of a
c o m m e m o r a t i v e
stamp, a coin, and a
website to mark the
completion of 100
years of the varsity,
said officials.
The inaugural cere-
mony on Sunday will be
held in the multipur-
pose hall, University of
Delhi Sports Complex.
Vice President M.
Venkaiah Naidu, who is
the chancellor of the
university, will be the
chief guest at the event
and Dharmendra Prad-
han, Minister of Educa-
tion, will be the guest of
honour.
To mark the occasion,
DU registrar Vikas Gup-
ta said Vice President
Naidu will launch a
commemorative coin of
a hundred-rupee de-
nomination,acommem-
orative centenary
stamp, and a commemo-
rative Centenary Vol-
ume (booklet) - a pictori-
al representation of the
historical journey of
the university
.
The varsity has
planned events till next
May 1 to celebrate the
100th year of its birth. It
has also allocated Rs10
crore for these celebra-
tions.
Titans look to continue streak, RCB seek Kohli's return to form
Titans are the clear favourites to
win today’s game against
inconsistent Royal Challengers
Gujarat Titans, seen here celebrating the wicket of Kane Williamson in their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on
Wednesday, have won 7 of their 8 games so far. —PHOTO BY PTI
Gujarat High Court. —FILE PHOTO
Presiding judges Pardiwala, Thakor deny petition by Oriental Insurance
Company Ltd, which sought to recover `16,28,008 from respondents with
a running rate of interest of 8% from the date of the petition
Interestoninsuranceclaim
nottaxableunderI-TAct:HC
3get5yrsRIfor
causing`6.61L
losstopvtfirm
Video of
‘massage’
lands Bihar
cop in soup
DU to issue commemorative
stamp, `100 coin on centenary
SC directs release of 62-year-old
Pak national in detention centre
Kumar Prabodh
Saharsa: A po-
liceman in Bihar
was suspended
on Friday after a
video of him get-
ting massage
from a woman,
who had ap-
proached him in
connection with
a case, went viral
on the Internet.
Saharsa Super-
intendent of Po-
lice Lipi Singh or-
dered the suspen-
sionof Shashibhu-
shan Sinha, who
was in charge of
Darhatta outpost
in the north Bihar
district.
“The conduct
of the police offi-
cial is tantamount
to indiscipline
and wanton be-
havior. We have
taken suo motu
cognizance and he
has been placed
under suspension
pending inquiry,”
the district police
chief said.
In the clip, about
half a minute long,
thebare-chestedof-
ficial can be seen
with two women,
one of them sitting
next to him and the
other massaging
hisneck,shoulders
and back.
According to po-
lice sources, the
women were relat-
ed to an accused in
the rape case of a
nine-year-old girl.
They had allegedly
sought the cop’s
help to secure bail
for their relative.
In the video, the
official can be seen
talking languidly
over his mobile
phone, apparently
to a lawyer.
He can be heard
saying “I am send-
ing to you two
women with some
money
, Aadhar
card and copies of
documents. They
are very poor.
Please help them”.
Delhi University. —FILE PHOTO
New Delhi (PTI): The
Supreme Court on
Friday directed the
release of a 62-year-
old Pakistan national
who has been lan-
guishing in a deten-
tion centre here for
more than seven
years as Islamabad
refused to accept him
as its citizen.
A bench of Justices
DY Chandrachud and
Hima Kohli directed
the Centre to decide on
granting him a long-
term visa, to enable
him to apply for Indian
Citizenship.
The top court said
that the Centre should
place its decision be-
fore the court in four
months.
The bench said that
Mohammad Qamar,
who has been declared
aforeignerbythetribu-
nal will be released on
thebondof Rs5000,and
suretiesof likeamount
will have to report to a
policestationinMeerut
once a month.
The court noted that
Qamar had married an
Indian citizen and had
five children. His
daughter and son have
filed a plea seeking his
release from the deten-
tion centre. The bench
also took note that as
per the Uttar Pradesh
government, his wife
had divorced him and
nowstaysinDelhiwith
her children. However,
no document pertain-
ing to the divorce has
been produced before
the court, the bench
said in its order.
Senior advocate San-
jayParikhsaidthatQa-
mar should be released
as there is precedent in
the case of Assam de-
tention centres where
detenues who have
been lodged for more
than two years were di-
rected to be released.
Mohammed Shami has been the
best bowler for the Titans with 13
wickets and with fast bowler Lockie
Ferguson and premier leg-spinner
Rashid Khan — though he went
wicketless for 45 runs in the previous
match — in their ranks, the Titans have
a lethal bowling attack which can
decimate any opposition. RCB also
have firepower in bowling in death-
over specialist Harshal Patel, who has
taken 12 wickets so far, the equally
successful Sri Lankan Wanindu
Hasaranga de Silva (13 wickets) and
quality pacers like Mohammed Siraj
and Josh Hazlewood, they can stop the
Titans’ batters on their tracks.
BALANCED ATTACK
A true designer creates for people
in real time; Fashion to sustain,
has to be practical.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

AHMEDABAD | SATURDAY,
APRIL 30, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/ahmedabad I twitter.
com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
ANJALI KHANDAL, ONE OF THE UPCOMING
SUPERMODELS OF INDIA AND AN INNOCENT FACE ON
THE GLAMOUR SCENE IS THE FACE OF THE FIRST
MISS INDIA SEASON 2. IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
WITH CITY FIRST, THE DIVA SHARES HER JOURNEY
AND HER ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR!
INNOCENCE
INNOCENCE
PERSONIFIED
PERSONIFIED
few years into her
fashion and model-
ling career, Anjali
Khandal is an adven-
turer and a seeker of
creativity, one who
has navigated her wind-
ing path through fash-
ion by being thorough-
ly and unapologetical-
ly herself!
Born and brought
upintheTonkdistrict
of Rajasthan, Anjali
comes from a sim-
ple grounded
family
. Daugh-
ter of a
proudfarm-
er and a
homemak-
er, Anjali
is a true
source
o f
in-
spiration what sets her apart
from the crowd is not just her
beauty but her passion and
hard-working nature.
The queen of the catwalk
when asked about how she
ended up in modelling said,
“When I was in my college, I
bagged the ‘Queen of Hearts’
award during a program and
since then my confidence was
boosted pretty much. I then
came across one beauty pag-
eant, more of a style fest, ‘Ra-
jasthan Style Fest’ by Ab-
himanyu Singh Tomar, Style
Skool Director. Since then
there was no looking back. I
decided to work hard and cre-
ate my own identity
.”
When asked about her in-
spiration in life, the young
diva said, “My mom is my big-
gest motivation who inspires
me each day
. Apart from com-
ing from a small town, she
gave wings to my dreams. Not
only my family supports my
dream of becoming a model
and actress but they also
stood by my side when socie-
ty ranted about this decision.
Besides my parents, Ab-
himanyu Singh Tomar has
played a huge role. He has
helped me tap my potential
always.” She further added,
“I believe that one should
seek inspiration from their
everyday life around. From a
6 years old kid to a 60 years
old man, anyone in life can
inspire. People who work
hard every day, from labour-
ers to big businessmen, I be-
lieve each one has their own
share of struggles and chal-
lenges that can inspire us.”
Anjaliwithherdebutanten-
try in fashion week was show-
stopping for designer Tarun
Tahilliani at India Couture
Week. She has walked for
all national designers and
has shot National In-
ternationalCampaigns
and has worked with
choreographers like
Aparna. Lokesh
Sharma, Anu Ahu-
ja among others.
Her experience
with Suneet
Varma has
been one of
the most
fascinat-
ing ones
so far.
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
A

10-11
ETC
City First brings
to you some
more glimpses
of the poster and
crown unveiling
ceremony
followed by the
official website
launching of
First Miss
India Season
2 by
Jagdeesh
Chandra
held at Hex
High
Energy
Xperience
Mumbai on
Wednesday!
Adding
excitement to the
party spirits were
the high-profiled
guests who came
in to mark the
celebration
along with
B-town celebs,
prominent
personalities
from the fashion
and glamour
industry,
supermodels
and members
of the First
India family!
..OF GLITZ, GLAMOUR
..OF GLITZ, GLAMOUR
RAZZMATAZZ
RAZZMATAZZ

FIRST MISS INDIA SEASON 2
FIRST MISS INDIA SEASON 2
Jagdeesh Chandra with Reyhnaa Pandit and Zeeshan as they appreciate the First India annual calendar.
Also seen are Ashish Tiwari, Jaskaran Gandhi and Ridhiema Tiwari
Jagdeesh Chandra in conversation with Kriti Garg and Alina Rai. Also seen is Akanksha Bhalla
Jagdeesh Chandra with Jaskaran Gandhi and Ridhiema Tiwari
Jagdeesh Chandra with Ashish Tiwari and Vishal Kotian
(L-R) Parimal Mehta, Tashveen Sehgal, Jaspal Kaur, Kavita Kharayat, Iris Maity, Pooja Vaidya,
Raya, Akriti Anand, Tushar Gupta, Vijaya Dey, Salman Khan and Khalid Ansari
Jagdeesh Chandra with Brand Ambassador Anjali Khandal
Sakshi Mago, Simmi Kaur and Medha Barui
Zeeshan Khan, Ashish Tiwari and Reyhnaa Pandit
Jagdeesh Chandra launches the website to ecstatic applause. Also seen are (L-R) Astha Khandelwal,
Muskan Moolchandani, Lekh Uthaiah, Anjali Khandal, Pearl Agarwal and Shreya Gupta
Jagdeesh Chandra addressing the media. Also seen are (L-R) Kanggana Malik, Shubhi Dhaneta, Muskan Moolchandani, Pearl Agarwal, Anjali Khandal, Chahak Bhandula, Anita Hada, Astha Khandelwal, Akanksha Bhalla, Srishty Khatri, Shreya Gupta and Tanvi
Jagdeesh Chandra with Giorgia Andriani,
Akanksha Bhalla, Ashish Tiwari and Gaurav Gaur
Akanksha Puri
A glimpse of the website
Khushi Ajwani and Bhawna Ajwani Aditi, Nanda and Ria from FI Mumbai Digital Team

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
CITY FIRST
G
allery Art Positive
celebrated the
opening of a solo
show titled The Pil-
grim’s Progress by
artist Ankon Mitra at
the Bikaner House in
New Delhi recently.
The show will continue
till May 5. Anu Bajaj,
director at the Gallery
Art Positive, celebrated
the 15 years of being in
contemporary art prac-
tices through the show
with the award-win-
ning artist. The show
was curated by art
critic Uma Nair.
“The Pilgrim's
Progress is an alle-
gory brought forward
in the language of de-
sign in the unending
quest of weaving to-
gether form, space and
order, time and all en-
ergies, ” Nair said.
“This show is integral
to forging new direc-
tions and continuing
on the journey of serv-
ing Indian art in
unique and novel ways
by bringing Ankon’s
original work and ide-
as to an Indian audi-
ence. He has already
made a mark for him-
self on the internation-
al art stage,” Bajaj said.
In a coincident Mitra
also reflected on the
completion of 15 years
in this field. He un-
veiled 15 diverse mate-
rials to accompany this
celebration. The event
was attended by Ad-
waita Gadnayak, Jenya
and Sanjiv Verma, Am-
ita Soni Tongaria, etc.
CITY FIRST
P
adma Bhushan Dr
Raja and Dr Radha
Reddy, legendary
Kuchipudi choreogra-
phers, presented the
painting exhibition of
Contemporary Gold-
en Krishna, inaugu-
rated by Padma Shri
Krishn Kanhai recent-
ly. The exhibition will
continue till May 1
from 11 am to 8 pm at
Nandjeet Khemka Art
Gallery of Natya
Tarangini in New Del-
hi.
Krishn Kanhai is a
great and devoted
painter. His paintings
make me recollect my
memories of the
unique paintings at
Ajanta and Ellora
caves. We are im-
mensely happy that his
paintings are being ex-
hibited in our Natya
Tarangini's Nandjeet
Khemka Art gallery,
Reddy said.
“I am elated to pre-
sent my 45 years of
hard work in the form
of 40 rare paintings
showcasing Contempo-
rary Golden Krishna
with the help of Drs
Raja and Radha Reddy
.
My artworks carry the
essence of traditional
techniques into con-
temporary art,” Kan-
hai said. The guests
who attended the
event were Abhishek
Singhvi, KL Ganju,
Aayush Mohan, Mani-
sha Gawade, Jayant
Chaudhary with wife
Charu Singh Chaud-
hary, Chef Gunjan
Goela and Madhavi
Advani, etc.
CITY FIRST
K
angana Ranaut's
fearless reality
show 'Lock Upp' is
heading towards its fi-
nale and Munawar
Faruqui is the second
contestant to win a
ticket to the finale.
'Lock Upp' is one of the
most highly viewed
shows on OTT since its
launch and has kept
audiences hooked with
the constant twists and
turns. Faruqui had an
exciting journey in
the show where he
won the hearts of the
audiences through his
personality and game.
MX Player and ALT-
Balaji even live-
streamed the pro-
gramme on their re-
spective platforms and
allowed the audiences
to interact directly with
the contestants. The
programme started
streaming live on MX
Player and ALTBalaji
from February 27.
The Twitter handle of the Police Families Welfare Society
(PFWS) shared glimpses of the health camp organised
at Shalimar Bagh and Ashok Vihar Welfare Center in
association with Rufaida Nursing College. During the
camp, street plays and comedy sessions on healthy
lifestyle were also organised along with various free
investigations.
The Twitter handle of the Police Families
Welfare Society (PFWS) shared glimpses of
an eye check-up camp organised by PFWS in
association with the Udyat Foundation, with the
help of the ophthalmologists, at Narela Wellness
Center in Delhi. It had simple eye examination to
complex examination, visual acuity and thorough
evaluation of eye health to assess the problems.
After an eye examination, spectacles were also
given to the police families as per the need.
The Pilgrim’s Progress
‘Contemporary Golden Krishna’
EYE CHECK-UP
HEALTH CAMP
2nd finalist of
the Lock Upp
he book titled
“India - Japan
Relations @
70 Building
Beyond the
B i l a t e r a l , ”
commemorat-
ing the 70 years of cul-
tural and civilization-
al bedrock of India-
Japan diplomatic rela-
tions, was launched
on Friday at the India
International Centre
in New Delhi. The
book was launched by
the chief guest Sa-
toshi Suzuki, Ambas-
sador of Japan and
the guest of honour
Prof Santishree
Dhulipuli Pandit Vice-
Chancellor, Jawahar-
lal Nehru University,
New Delhi.
The session was
chaired by Shyam Sa-
ran, former Foreign
Secretary and Life
Trustee of IIC, and
Deepa Gopalan Wad-
hwa, former Ambas-
sador to Japan, who
offered her special re-
marks highlighting
the significance of
India-Japan diplomat-
ic ties in the contem-
porary times. The
event began with the
welcome address and
concluded with a vote
of thanks by Koji Sato
and Sudhakar Vaddi
respectively.
While celebrating
the traditional areas
of cooperation be-
tween the two coun-
tries, the book offers a
glimpse of existing
and emerging areas of
cooperation which
thoroughly redefine
the contours and com-
ponents of India-Ja-
pan bilateral ties.
The book was edit-
ed by Prof Srabani
RoyChoudhury, Dr
Shahana Thankachan
and Parul Bakshi. The
contributors to this
volume are all young
Japanologists of the
Centre for East Asian
Studies, School of In-
ternational Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi.
Their analytical views
on different aspects of
India-Japan bilateral
ties are the essence of
the book.
BuildingBeyondthe
BuildingBeyondthe
Bilateral
Bilateral
DHANUSHREE VYAS
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
The book ‘India-
Japan Relations
@ 70 Building
Beyond the
Bilateral’
commemorating
India-Japan
diplomatic
relations was
launched on
Friday at the
India
International
Centre in
New Delhi.
T
Uma Nair and Anu Bajaj
Adwaita Gadnayak Ankon Mitra
Amita Soni Tongaria
Vani Bajaj and Poonam Bajaj
Krishn Kanhai, Abhishek Singhvi, Dr Raja Reddy, Dr Radha Reddy, Kaushalya Reddy with a guest
Jayant Chaudhary and Charu Singh Chaudhary
KL Ganju and Aayush Mohan
Munawar Faruqui
—PHOTOS
BY
SHAZID
CHAUHAN
—PHOTOS
BY
SHAZID
CHAUHAN
Shyam Saran and Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa
Satoshi Suzuki
Koji Sato
Parul Bakshi joins the launch online from Tokyo
Prof Srabani Roy Choudhury, Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, Satoshi Suzuki, Shyam Saran, Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit and Koji Sato during the book launch
—PHOTOS
BY
SHAZID
CHAUHAN

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