First india ahmedabad edition-15 december 2020

No New Year’s Eve parties, night curfew to stay
Ahmedabad: The city
police has confirmed
that the night curfew
will remain in effect
even on December 31.
This means there will
be no parties on New
Year’s Eve. Ahmedabad
city police will be strict-
er and more vigilant to
ensure that people do
not break the curfew
put in place after the
city saw a surge in cases
following Diwali.
Surat, Vadodara and
Rajkot are also expected
to announce a similar
decision in the coming
days. Deputy Commis-
sioner of Police Har-
shad Patel told the me-
dia that city police will
be deployed at all the
major sites where peo-
ple used to gather to cel-
ebrate. Anyone who vio-
lates the night curfew
will be penalized, he
said. Celebrations dur-
ing the day are permit-
ted, provided all the
COVID-19 prevention
guidelines are strictly
followed.
Night curfew, which
bans movement from
9.30 pm to 6 am, was to
remain in effect until
midnite on December
07. It was later extended
in all four major cities
indefinitely.
The Ahmedabad po-
lice had imposed the
curfew after the city
saw a spike in COVID-19
cases after Diwali cele-
brations. The Munici-
pal Corporation had
first suggested a 48-
hour curfew. Turn to P6
City police to stay extra vigilant
to ensure no new surge in nCoV
People had taken to the streets in large numbers to ring in 2020 in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO
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AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 21
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
GMAIL & OTHER GOOGLE
SERVICES BACK ONLINE
AFTER 1 HR GLOBAL OUTAGE
Google’s services, including Gmail,
YouTube, Google Docs, Google Meet,
faced a global outage earlier on Mon-
day. Most the service were back online
after an hour. Users also took to Twitter
to complain about the issues. Google’s
Workspace Status Dashboard showed
an outage for all services appear of the
company. Google later shared a statement
explaining that the issue was caused by
an internal storage quota issue, and that
all services have now been restored. What
can only be termed as great the Google
blackout of 2020, the problem appears to
have started at 5.25 pm for Gmail.
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment is engaging
with farmer leaders to
decide on the next date
of talks, Union Agricul-
ture Minister Narendra
Singh Tomar said, as
unions intensified their
agitation against the
Centre’s 3 farm laws
and observed a day-long
fast on Monday.
“The meeting will
definitely happen. We
are engaging with farm-
ers,” Tomar told PTI.
The government is
ready for discussion
anytime. The farmer
leaders have to “decide
and convey” when they
are ready for the next
meeting, he added.
The farmers protest-
ing at Delhi’s borders
observed a day-long fast
on Monday even as the
agitation spread to dif-
ferent parts of the coun-
try with peasant unions
staging demonstrations
at district headquar-
ters.
Tomar is leading the
negotiations with 40
farmer unions, along
with Food Minister Pi-
yush Goyal and Minis-
ter of State for Com-
merce and Industries
Som Parkash.
“We tried to convince
farmers and farmer un-
ions leaders. Our wish
is that they come for
clause-by-clause discus-
sion. If they are ready
to express their views
clause by clause, we are
ready for discussion,”
he said. Turn to P6
New Delhi: Bharatiya
Kisan Union’s (BKU)
national spokesperson
Rakesh Tikait on Monday
said that there is no rift
among farmers after
the resignation of three
leaders of Bharatiya Kisan
Union (Bhanu) faction.
“There is no rift among
farmers. 3 leaders of
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(Bhanu) Turn to P6
Jaipur: Farmers from
Rajasthan on Monday
blocked Delhi-Jaipur
national highway at Shah-
jahanpur in Alwar after
police stopped them from
marching to Delhi. Due to
blockade, vehicular traffic
on Jaipur-Delhi highway
was diverted to Bansur and
other routes of Alwar.
TIKAIT DENIES RIFT
AMONG FARMERS
RAJ FARMERS
BLOCK DEL-JPR NH
FARMERS ON A FAST TRACK
AS GOVT HOPEFUL OF TALKS
Govt ready to hold dialogue
with farmers, says Rajnath
New Delhi: Defence
Minister Rajnath Sin-
gh on Sunday said that
thegovernmentiswill-
ing to hold dialogue
with farmers but as-
serted that the recent
reforms have been un-
dertaken with the best
interests of farmers.
“There is no ques-
tion of taking retro-
grade steps against
our agricultural sec-
tor ever. The recent
reforms have been un-
dertaken with the best
interests of India’s
farmers in mind”, Ra-
jnath Singh said while
addressing the annual
convention of the Fed-
eration of Indian
Chambers of Com-
merce and Industry.
As the farmers’ agi-
tation against the ag-
ricultural reforms
entered the 19th day,
Singh said the govern-
ment is “always will-
ing to listen to our
farmer brothers, alley
their misgivings and
provide them with as-
surances whatever
they can provide.
Turn to P6
Retail inflation declines
to 6.93% in November
New Delhi: Softening
prices of food items like
cereals, fruits and milk
pulled down retail infla-
tion to 6.93 per cent in
November, though it re-
mained above the com-
fort level of the Reserve
Bank of India.
Retail inflation based
on the Consumer Price
Index (CPI) stood at 7.61
per cent in October and
7.27 per cent in Septem-
ber. According to data
released by the National
Statistical Office (NSO)
on Monday, inflation in
the food basket was 9.43
per cent in November,
down from 11 per cent in
the previous month.
Inflation in the ‘cere-
als and products’ cate-
gory reduced to 2.32 per
cent from 3.39 per cent
in October.
The rate of price rise
in ‘meat and fish’ seg-
ment was 16.67 per cent
in November, as com-
pared to 18.7 per cent in
the previous month.
Similarly, inflation in
vegetables was lower at
15.63 per cent from 22.51
per cent.
Inflation in fruits and
‘milk and products’ was
also lower over October.
The rate of price rise
in the ‘fuel and light’
segment too moderated
to 1.9 per cent as against
2.28 per cent in October.
The RBI, which main-
ly factors in retail infla-
tion while arriving at
key policy rates, has
been mandated by the
government to keep in-
flation at 4 per cent (+,
- 2 per cent).
The central bank had
maintained status quo
in the policy rate earlier
this month due to high
inflation.
Commenting on the
data, Sachin Chhabra,
Founder of B2B grocery
business Peel-Works,
said it was heartening
to note that the infla-
tion subsided in No-
vember, riding primar-
ily on softer food prices.
“We expect inflation-
ary pressure to subside
even further in Q4 of
the current fiscal.
Turn to P6
Jio writes to TRAI,
says rivals portraying
it as anti-farmer
New Delhi: Reliance
Jio has written to the
Telecom Regulator Au-
thority of India (TRAI)
seeking strict action
against Bharti Airtel
and Vodafone Idea for
“unethical practices”
and “unscrupulous vio-
lations” and to stop
campaignsunderwhich
“false propaganda is be-
ing spread across the
country to get some ad-
ditional MNP port-ins”
by “capitalising on the
ongoing farmer protest
in the northern parts of
the country”.
In a letter to Secre-
tary, TRAI, Reliance Jio
said its letter was in fur-
therance of its letter of
September 28, 2020
“highlighting the un-
ethical and anti-compet-
itive MNP (mobile num-
ber portability) cam-
paign being run by Air-
tel and VIL to capitalise
on the ongoing farmer
protests in northern
parts of the country”.
“We submit that despite
the above submissions,
these companies con-
tinue to remain direct-
ly/indirectly involved
in supporting and fur-
thering the insinua-
tions and false and friv-
olous rumours of Reli-
ance being an undue
beneficiary of the farm
laws, for unethical pecu-
niary benefits in the
form of induced porting
of RJIL customers,” the
letter said.
It said that Airtel and
VIL “remain unabated
in pursuing this vicious
Turn to P6
Modi in Kutch on Dec 15 to lay
foundation stone of projects
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi is set to visit
Dhordo in Kutch, Guja-
rat on December 15 and
lay the foundation stone
of several development
projects in the State, the
Prime Minister’s Office
(PMO) said on Monday.
According to a state-
ment by the PMO, these
projects include a de-
salination plant, a hy-
brid renewable energy
park, and a fully auto-
mated milk processing
and packing plant.
Chief Minister of Guja-
rat will be present on
the occasion. Prime
Minister Modi will also
undertake a visit to the
White Rann, followed
by witnessing a cultural
programme. “Harness-
ing its vast coastline,
Gujarat is taking a sig-
nificant step towards
transforming seawater
to potable drinking wa-
ter with the upcoming
Desalination Plant at
Mandvi, Kutch. This
Desalination Plant,
with 10 crore litre per
day capacity (100 MLD),
will strengthen water
security in Gujarat by
complementing Nar-
mada Grid, Sauni net-
work and treated waste-
water infrastructure,”
the statement said. —ANI
Tatas bid for Air India
67 years after exit!
New Delhi: Salt-to-soft-
ware conglomerate
Tata Group was among
“multiple” entities that
on Monday put in pre-
liminary bids for buy-
ing the government’s
stake in loss-making
carrier Air India.
“Multiple expres-
sions of interest have
been received for strate-
gic disinvestment of
Air India. The Transac-
tion will now move to
the second stage,” De-
partment of Investment
and Public Asset Man-
agement (DIPAM) Sec-
retary Tuhin Kanta
Pandey tweeted.
Air India itself was
established as Tata Air-
lines in 1932, but sepa-
rated in 1946 and na-
tionalised in 1953, a fact
which prompts many to
consider the potential
buyout Turn to P6
KARNA IPHONE PLANT VIOLENCE
Bengaluru: Wistron
Infocomm Manufac-
turing India Pvt Ltd
has said it suffered
losses worth Rs 437.70
crore in the violence
where a section of
workers went on a
rampage at its facility
manufacturing Apple
iPhones and other
products in Bengalu-
ru’s Narasapura area
over non-payment of
promised wages.
According to the
complaint by Wistron
company executive
Prashanth TD, office
equipment, mobile
phones, production
machinery and relat-
ed gadgets worth Rs
412.5 crore was lost.
Infrastructure worth
Rs 10 crore, Rs 60 lakh
worth Turn to P6
160 held;
Company pegs
loss at `438 crore
Rajnath Singh
Farmers wash their clothes at Singhu border during their sit-in protest in New Delhi on Monday.
—PHOTO BY PTI

NEWSAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi will be invited to
lay down the foundation
stone of the Rajkot
Campus of the All India
Institute of Medical Sci-
ences (AIIMS), Deputy
Chief Minister Nitin
Patel--who is also Guja-
rat’s health minister-
-announced on Monday.
The state govern-
ment’s revenue depart-
ment has acquired land
andhandeditovertothe
health department, and
the roads and buildings
department has ap-
proved roads connect-
ing to the AIIMS site,
Patel also said, adding
that the Central govern-
ment has approved one
moremedicalcollegefor
Gujarat. The new medi-
cal college is set to come
up in Morbi district.
Patel told the media
that the COVID-19 situ-
ation in the state has
started to improve
thanks to public coop-
eration. Given that the
cases of Sars-CoV-2 in-
fection have been fall-
ing on a daily basis, and
the availability of beds
has improved in desig-
nated COVID-19 hospi-
tals, the health depart-
ment has decided to
start resume operations
in the out-patient de-
partment (OPD) in
Ahmedabad’s Civil Hos-
pital in Asarwa in the
evenings, Patel also
said.
The new Morbi medi-
cal college will have 100
seats, admissions to
which will begin from
the next academic year.
There are currently 29
medical colleges in Gu-
jarat’s 33 districts, with
medical colleges in Por-
bandar, Rajpipla, Navs-
ari and Godhra ap-
proved earlier this year.
With the additional 400
seats, the state now has
5,900 seats for medical
students.
The state plans to add
even more medical col-
leges, with proposals
for Veraval, Jam
Khambhaliya, and
Botad still pending.
At Khambhalia,
Botad, Morbi, and Ver-
aval, each civil hospi-
tal’s capacity will be
increased to 300 beds, to
meet the medical col-
lege criteria. These col-
leges will be set up at
the investment of
Rs2,600 crore, under the
Central government
scheme, in which the
Centre bears 60% of the
actual cost of the col-
leges and the state gov-
ernment bears the re-
maining 40%.
Also on Monday,
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani handed over su-
percomputer “Param ”
to 10 universities. Chief
Minister Rupani hoped
that these computers
will help students to
compete in internation-
al academics.
DYCM caption: Health Commissioner Jai Prakash Shivhare, Minister of State for Health Kishor Kanani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi.
CM Supercomputer caption: Science and Technology Secretary Harit Shukla, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, and Advisor to the Gujarat Council of Science and Technology Narottam Sahu, at the virtual supercomputer distribution.
SHREY HOSP
INQUIRY UPDATE
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: With the
terms of elected repre-
sentatives at panchay-
ats and municipal cor-
porations having end-
ed on Sunday and the
state handing over the
administration of
these bodies to chief
officers and municipal
commissioners from
Monday, both the Con-
gress and the Bharati-
ya Janata Party are on
all cylinders. Meetings
were held at both Ka-
malam and Rajiv Gan-
dhi Bhavan, the state
headquarters of the
BJP and the Congress,
respectively, on Mon-
day.
Sources in the BJP
say separate elections
may be held for pan-
chayats and the munic-
ipal corporations.
“The BJP is not in
any hurry to hold mu-
nicipal corporation
elections. At present,
in the urban area, the
party has dominance.
After the COVID-19,
the situation was some-
how not under control.
The party wants to re-
gain the faith of people
and then will hold the
election,” a person fa-
miliar with the issue
told First India.
The BJP has a strong
presence in cities,
where the party be-
lieves it has nothing to
lose. However, their
work is cut out for
them in rural areas.
Extra time to prepare
for panchayat elections
will give the party a
chance to strengthen
its grip in rural areas.
The state govern-
ment has submitted
before the Supreme
Court, that a meeting
of the state election
commission will be
held on January 12. It
has been assumed that
the election of six mu-
nicipal corporations,
56 municipalities, and
31 district panchayats
will be announced any
day after this meeting.
However, the BJP
source also said, “Par-
ty has decided district
in-charge for the up-
coming local body
polls. But there is no
announcement for the
urban areas. Clearly,
the party first wants to
settle the issue in ru-
ral areas. Then, after a
month or so, the elec-
tion for the municipal
corporations will be
announced.”
Corporations, panchayats
could have separate polls
Local body elections are expected to be held in February
MORBI TO GET
NEW MEDICAL
COLLEGE ALSO
PM TO LAY THE FOUNDATION
STONE OF AIIMS RAJKOT
Surat is one of the six municipal corporations where the term of the elected wing ended on Sunday.
Agriculture laws aims to
double farmers’ income:
Union Minister Rupala
Accuses Congress of misleading farmers for political gain
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Union
Minister of State for
Agriculture Parshot-
tam Rupala has ac-
cused the Congress
party--which he says
always treated farm-
ers as vote banks and
never bothered to
work for their--of
“making noises in
farmer’s name” and
misleading farmers
for its own political in-
terests.
Rupala on Monday
in Gandhinagar said
that the newly passed
Farmers’ Produce
Trade and Commerce
(Promotion and Fa-
cilitation) Act, Farm-
ers (Empowerment
and Protection)
Agreement of Price
Assurance and Farm
Services are aimed to
double farmers’ in-
come, as it will at-
tract a lot of invest-
ment in agriculture
infrastructure and in
the agriculture sec-
tor as a whole. Farm-
ers will also be free to
sign contracts with
corporate houses and
even lease their land,
he said.
“The Swaminathan
Commission had rec-
ommended these
measures in 2004 and,
by implementing
these recommenda-
tions, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi is
keeping his promise
to farmers,” Rupala
said.
“Although the UPA
government was in
power for 10 years
since the day the
commission submit-
ted its report, it nev-
er bothered to imple-
ment or act on the
recommendation. So
it has no right to
make any noises in
the name of farm-
ers,” he added.
If any company
fails to abide by the
MOU signed with
farmers, the latter
can take up the issue
with the sub-divi-
sional magistrate,
Rupala also said, add-
ing that this would
increase production.
“If production in-
creases, so will the
income of farmers.
Even exports will get
a boost,” he said.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala.

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020
COVID-19situation
improvinginthestate
Duplicate
watches
worth `61
lakh seized
First India News
Gandhinagar: After
registering more than
1,500 new cases every
day for a prolonged pe-
riod, the state has now
seen a steady decrease
in the number of new
COVID-19 cases for al-
most 10 days.
According to the daily
bulletin issued by the
statehealthdepartment,
Gujarat recorded 1,120
cases of COVID-19 in the
24 hours ending Monday
evening. So far, the state
has recorded 2,28,803
cases of Sars-CoV-2 in-
fection. Monday also
brought 11 new fatali-
ties—seven in
Ahmedabad, three in
Surat and one in Va-
dodara—taking the total
death toll to 4,182.
Once again,
Ahmedabad reported
the highest number
(247) of new daily cases.
Meanwhile, Surat had
175 cases, Vadodara had
151, Rajkot had 129, Gan-
dhinagar had 53,
Mehsana had 47, and
Surendranagar had 31
cases, among others.
At present, there are
13,018 active cases in the
state, with 63 patients on
ventilator support.
On Monday, the
state’s health depart-
ment claimed to
achieve a total recov-
ery rate of 92.48%
based on the number
of patients discharged.
The increase in the re-
covery rate coincides
with the lower number
of daily case numbers
thathavebeencomingin
lately.Atotalof 2.11lakh
people are believed to
have been cured of COV-
ID-19 so far in the state.
First India News
Surat: Local po-
lice on Monday
seized duplicate
watches worth
Rs61.23 lakh
from a godown
in Bhagal, offi-
cials said. Act-
ing on a tip-off,
the police team
raided the go-
down, allegedly
selling duplicate
wrist watches of
inter national
brands. The store
sold duplicate
watches of top In-
dian and interna-
tional brands like
Diesel, Hublot,
Tissot, Tag Heuer,
Rolex and Frank
Miller, officials
said.
Shop owner Ir-
fan Mallik has
been booked for
violation of the
Copyright Act. Po-
lice seized more
than 11,000 watch-
es worth Rs3.31
crore from the
same store earlier
this year.
COVID-19 testing in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO
STAYING
AFLOAT
A worker is seen
putting parts of
the ﬂoating jetty
in place at the
Sabarmati River
Front in Ahmedabad
on Monday.
Boating, which
was suspended at
the popular hang
out spot due to the
pandemic is set to
resume on January 1.
—PHOTO BY
HANIF SINDHI
Forced wife-swapping: Case filed against A’bad man
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A woman
in Ahmedabad’s
Prahladnagar area
has filed a complaint
against her husband,
who she said cheated
on her, demanded dow-
ry, tried to force her
into a wife-swapping
situation and then
harassed her when she
refused to sleep with
another man. She also
named her in-laws as
her husband’s accom-
plices.
Anupriya (name
changed)marriedRama-
vtaar in 2004, and has an
11-year-oldsonwithhim.
According to her police
complaint, Anupriya
told the police that her
husband and in-laws
treated her well for the
first 13 years of mar-
riage. However, in 2017,
she learnt that her hus-
band had been cheating
on her with two women.
“Life became a living
hell after I confronted
him about his extramar-
ital affairs,” she told the
police in her statement.
Later, her husband be-
gan to pressure her to
have sex with one
Gaurav Chaudhary, the
statement says. “When I
refused, my husband
andin-lawsbegantohar-
assme.Theyevenfalsely
accused me being in a
relationship with the
manservant,” she said.
The Women’s Police
(West) have registered a
complaintagainstRama-
vtaar and his parents
under various sections
of the IPC.Thecasehasbeenregisteredatthewomen’spolicestationinVastrapur.
First India Bureau
Rajkot: The Saurash-
tra Cricket Associa-
tion (SCA) has begun
a training camp at
the SCA Stadium in
the run-up to the up-
coming domestic sea-
son, which is likely
to begin in January.
The cricket body said
that none of the play-
ers tested positive
for COVID-19.
The SCA also held a
selection meeting at
the stadium on Decem-
ber 8 to pick the squad
for the upcoming Ranji
Trophy season. It was
the first meeting of the
selection committee
since the outbreak of
COVID-19. Saurashtra
are the reigning Ranji
Trophy champions,
having claimed the vic-
tory after drawing the
final against Bengal in
the 2019-20 season.
“All of the players
have tested negative.
There has been a great
deal of enthusiasm
among players for
cricketing activities
after a large gap due to
pandemic,” read SCA’s
press release.
Jaydev Shah, presi-
dent of the SCA was
optimistic about the
chances of the reign-
ing Ranji Trophy
champions winning
the Syed Mushtaq Ali
Trophy, the T20 nation-
al championship that
is likely to start on
January 10.
After the preparato-
ry camp, T20 practice
matches will be played
from December 17 to 22
at the SCA stadium.
Approximately six
practice matches will
be played, the release
added.
Prep camp starts at Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium
HEAD IN THE GAME

Cricket body
also held a se-
lection meeting
at SCA stadi-
um last week
to pick squad
for the upcom-
ing Ranji Tro-
phy season
State warns striking intern docs
against ‘arm-twisting’ during crisis
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Intern
doctors across the
state launched an in-
definite strike on
Monday demanding a
hike in stipend. They
claimed that the Gu-
jarat government
pays them considera-
bly less than what
their counterparts in
other states get paid
by their respective
state governments.
Meanwhile, Deputy
Chief Minister Nitin
Patel—who also holds
the health portfolio—
held a meeting with
deans and superinten-
dents of all medical col-
leges, following which
he issued a statement
demanding that the
doctors withdraw their
strike immediately.
“These interns can-
not arm-twist the gov-
ernment or the public
during this hour of cri-
sis. I have directed
deans and hospital su-
perintendents to start
marking them absent
from duty. If they re-
sume their duties with-
out any conditions, the
government may think
of increasing their sti-
pend. However, they
cannot pressure the
government by going
on strike,” Patel said
on Monday afternoon.
Intern doctors in Gu-
jarat are being paid
Rs12,800 per month as
stipend. They have been
serving at different hos-
pitals ever since the
pandemic hit Gujarat,
About 300 of them have
been infected so far.
The Congress party
has come out in support
of the striking doctors.
“The intern doctors
should get a monthly sti-
pend of Rs20,000 as per
their demand. The gov-
erning body of the Med-
icalCouncilof Indiahas
directed that intern doc-
tors of all colleges are to
receive a minimum of
Rs20,000 as stipend. Pri-
vate medical colleges
are charging hefty fees
for education but pay
hardly Rs5,000 a month
to intern doctors as a sti-
pend,” said Manish
Doshi, chief spokesper-
son of Congress.
BJP to publish
booklet on AMC’s
achievements
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: In prep-
aration for the up-
coming elections for
municipal corpora-
tions, municipalities,
district panchayats
and taluka panchay-
ats, the BJP is set to
publish a booklet de-
tailing the achieve-
ments of the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation
(AMC) under their
rule over the last five
years, a source said.
The post-holders, in-
cluding mayor Bijal Pa-
tel, standing committee
chairman Amul Bhatt,
and others, held a meet-
ing with chief minister
Vijay Rupani on Sun-
day evening and had
presented a draft of the
booklet.
“The draft has been
approved and a booklet
detailing the achieve-
ments of AMC will
soon be distributed to
the public. The achieve-
ments will include the
inclusion of
Ahmedabad as a UNE-
SCO world heritage
city,” said a source
privy to the develop-
ment.
It is to be noted that
back in 2017, Dinesh
Sharma, former leader
of the opposition, had
published a booklet ac-
cusing the BJP of cor-
ruption worth Rs5,000
crore in the AMC.
Sharma’s booklet had
detailed various al-
leged scams.
Dy CM issues statement saying govt might consider hike in pay if docs withdraw protest ‘immediately’ & unconditionally
The interns held up signs and shouted slogans at the BJ Medical Hospital Campus in Ahmedabad on Monday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
TOUGH TALKING
1,120 cases, 11
fatalities take state
tally to 2,28,803
cases, toll to 4,182
Players practising at the camp in Rajkot.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO

G Vol 2 G Issue No. 21 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. 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: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020
lobal emissions
are expected to
decline by
about 7% in
2020 (or 2.4 bil-
lion tonnes of carbon diox-
ide) compared to 2019 — an
unprecedented drop due to
the slowdown in economic
activity associated with
the COVID-19 pandemic.
To put this into perspec-
tive, the Global Financial
Crisis in 2008 saw a 1.5%
drop in global emissions
compared to 2007. This
year’s emissions decline is
morethanfourtimeslarger.
These are the findings
we show in the 15th global
carbon budget, an annual
report card of the Global
Carbon Project on the
sources and removals of
carbon dioxide, the prima-
ry driver of human caused
climate change.
It may sound like wel-
come news, but we can’t cel-
ebrate yet. A rapid bounce
back of emissions to pre-
COVID levels is likely, pos-
siblybyassoonasnextyear.
A recent study found emis-
sions in China snapped
backtoabovelastyear’slev-
els during late spring when
economic activity began to
return to normal.
These findings come
ahead of the Climate Am-
bition Summit on Satur-
day, where global leaders
will demonstrate their
commitments to climate
action five years since the
Paris Agreement. This
huge drop in emissions
should be taken as a unique
opportunity to divert the
historical course of emis-
sions growth for good.
EMISSIONS IN THE
PANDEMIC YEAR
Thetotalglobalfossilcarbon
dioxide emissions for 2020
areestimatedtobe34billion
tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Estimated emissions at
the beginning of Decem-
ber are lower than their
levels in December last
year, at least in the trans-
port sectors. However,
emissions have been edg-
ing back up since the peak
global daily decline of 17%
in early April.
The decline in emissions
in 2020 was particularly
steep in the United States
(12%) and European Union
(11%), where emissions
were already declining be-
fore the pandemic, mainly
from reductions in coal use.
Emissions from India
dropped by 9%, while emis-
sions from China, which
have returned to close or
above 2019 values, saw an
estimated drop of only
about 1.7%.
Australian greenhouse
gas emissions during the
peak of the pandemic lock-
down (the quarter of
March to June 2020) were
lower by 6.2% compared to
the previous quarter. The
largest declines were seen
in transport and fugitive
emissions (emissions re-
leased during the extrac-
tion, processing and trans-
port of fossil fuels).
Globally, the transport
sector also contributed the
most to the 2020 emissions
drop, particularly “surface
transport” (cars, vans and
trucks). At the peak of the
pandemic lockdowns, the
usual levels of transport
emissions were halved in
many countries, such as in
the US and Europe.
While aviation activity
collapsed by 75%, its con-
tribution to the total de-
cline was relatively small
given the sector only ac-
counts for about 2.8% of
the total emissions on an
average year. The number
of global flights was still
down 45% as of the first
week of December.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
Global emissions are down by an unprecedented 7%
G
he surrender at Dhaka on Dec
16, 1971, was a humiliating de-
feat for Pakistan and ended
with the largest surrender
since the second world war.
The operations led by Eastern
Command, in close coordina-
tion with the Mukti Bahini,
concluded in 13 days and led to
the creation of Bangladesh.
The seeds of defeat were sowed
from the time of Independence
in 1947, with India only ensur-
ing completion of the process.
Pakistan’s refusal to accept
Bengali as a state language in
the early years after Partition,
the economic disparity be-
tween the two parts, hegemony
of the West Pakistani ruling
elite over the country, regular
the imposition of martial laws,
and a demeaning attitude to-
wards Bengali culture and
population soured relations
between the two parts. Ten-
sions came to a peak in Decem-
ber 1970 when the Awami
League, led by Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, won the national elec-
tions but Bhutto led Pakistan
People’s Party (PPP), refused to
hand over power.
In March 1971, using violence
asanexcuse,thePakistanArmy
intervened to crush the move-
ment supported by the Jamaat-
i-Islami and pro-Pakistani ele-
ments. It resulted in millions of
refugees streaming into India.
India had no option but to get
involved in the region as it was
facing economic pressure sup-
porting millions of refugees
streaming across the border.
The war ended and the Shim-
la Agreement of Jul 2, 1972, led
to the repatriation of the 93,000
prisoners of war. The agree-
ment failed to resolve the basic
issue of Kashmir which was
the major bone of contention
between the two nations. The
agreement was the end of part
1 of the Indo-Pak conflict and
the commencement of the next.
Strategically, India removed
one threat from Pakistan. If
viewed in the current Indo-
China standoff as also during
Doklam, East Pakistan would
have been a major threat for
India as they with the Chinese
could pose a serious threat to
the Siliguri Corridor. Chinese
string of pearls would have
been far easier in the current
environment had East Paki-
stan remained.
Militarily, it was India’s fin-
est moment. It reflected the pro-
fessionalism, integration, op-
erational readiness, and high
morale of the forces that shat-
tered the Pakistani military
and inflicted serious losses to
its strategic assets. It was a dis-
play of perfect synergy between
the political and military lead-
ership backed by excellent civil-
military relations. India wiped
off its memory the defeat in
1962 and limited gains in 1965.
It also had a negative impact.
Pakistan became a viable and
cohesive entity with its Armed
Forces capable of defending a
smaller nation. By creating
Bangladesh, we have made an
implacable enemy of Pakistan
for whom Balkanisation of In-
dia by whatever means has be-
come an article of faith. Paki-
stan had realised that it could
never match India in a conven-
tional war and its only deter-
rence was to develop nuclear
weapons, for which it fell to
China and North Korea for sup-
port. It also took up supporting
radical and secessionist forces
within India.
Bhutto supported the Khal-
istan movement which ended
with operation Blue Star. He is
stated to have said, ‘Pakistan
will also have a Bangladesh
carved out of India, except that
it will be on Pakistan’s border.’
This was further pushed by
Zia-ul-Haq who also launched
his philosophy of bleeding In-
dia with a thousand cuts. The
Kashmir militancy com-
menced in that period and sup-
port to the Khalistan move-
ment continues.
Pakistan believed that its nu-
clear deterrence and policy of
first use would deter India
from commencing a conven-
tional war, opening doors for it
to launch terrorist strikes
across the country, impacting
India’s growth, development,
and internal stability. It also
hoped that terrorist strikes
would result in religious strife
breaking internal cohesion.
Mumbai and the parliament at-
tacks were a result of this. It
was only after this myth was
broken by the cross border and
Balakote strike did Pakistan
realize that its nuclear bluff
has outlived its utility.
These strikes also laid down
limitsof Indiantolerance,push-
ing Pakistan back. Pakistan’s
militaryestablishmenthasreal-
ised that it needs to be careful as
the next Indian action may not
be hidden from its public as
Balakote was. Recent Indian de-
cisionsonKashmirwereuncon-
tested by Pak proxies as there
remained a fear within their
establishment of Indian coun-
ter actions. It could only resort
todiplomaticprojections,which
were a global failure.
Part 2 of the Indo-Pak conflict
continues even today. It is un-
likely to end soon. However, due
to lessons from Indian cross-bor-
der strikes, these will be limited
tosupportingsecessionistforces.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
INDIA-PAKISTAN
POST-1971
T
In March 1971,
using violence as
an excuse, the
Pakistan Army
intervened to crush
the movement
supported by the
Jamaat-i-Islami
and pro-Pakistani
elements. It
resulted in
millions of refugees
streaming into
India. India had
no option but to
get involved in the
region as it was
facing economic
pressure
supporting
millions of refugees
streaming across
the border
PART 2 OF THE INDO-PAK
CONFLICT CONTINUES
EVEN TODAY. IT IS
UNLIKELY TO END SOON.
HOWEVER, DUE TO
LESSONS FROM INDIAN
CROSS-BORDER
STRIKES, THESE WILL BE
LIMITED TO SUPPORTING
SECESSIONIST FORCES
HARSHA
KAKAR
THE WRITER IS MAJOR
GENERAL (RETD)
STAR WAR ON TAMIL
NADU’S HORIZON
nybody who thought that there’ll be a
star war in TN’s political firmament
would be disappointed as Makkal Nee-
dhi Maiam president Kamal Haasan,
who launched his election bid with a
pitch for Madurai as the state’s second capital,
made a broad hint at an alliance with the to-be-
announced political party of Rajnikanth. “Alli-
ances will break and new combinations will
emerge,” he said while reminding people of for-
mer CM MG Ramachandran’s dream of making
Madurai the second capital. The two superstars
coming together appears an unlikely scenario as
Rajnikanth has been cosying up to the BJP which
is aware of the superstar’s stupendous popularity.
It is expected that the two will enter into an alli-
ance to keep the two Dravida parties out of power.
Kamal Haasan has been critical of PM Narendra
Modi on various issues, the recent one being his
comments on the Rs 1000-crore expenditure on a
new parliament building “when half of India is
hungry”. Considering that the project is close to
the prime minister’s heart, his criticism should
make him an untouchable for the BJP.
By invoking MGR Kamal Haasan also sought to
take on the AIADMK, a party founded by the late
celebrity CM but which has considerably weakened
after the death of Jayalalitha and the internal dis-
sensions that followed. Tamil Nadu’s politics is set
to become even more interesting with Jayalalitha’s
confidante Sasikala likely to throw her hat in the
ring to claim her mentor’s legacy.
A
IN-DEPTH
CYBER ATTACK FEAR AS
GOOGLE, YOUTUBE CRASH
oogle services took a hit with multiple
outages being reported around 5 pm,
Monday. YouTube, Gmail, and other
Google services like Google Docs,
GMaps, and Google Analytics stopped
working for a short while causing security con-
cerns among users. In the case of Gmail, the mes-
sage popping up on screens read, “…the system
encountered a problem, retrying.” On YouTube, a
monkey’s cartoon appeared to say that something
went wrong. The outage was unusual as YouTube
and Google seldom crash. For Twitter users, it was
their first experience of the platform’s crash.
The outage was global, including in the US
where some feared that the disruption was due to
a cybersecurity attack launched by a foreign na-
tion”. Google officially denied any cyberattack and
said that the outage was due to a technical glitch.
Downdetector, which tracks cyber disruptions,
said that outages were experienced in Brazil, Chile,
Santiago, and Argentina. In Europe, parts of Ger-
manyandtheNetherlandsexperiencedabreakdown.
Such outages lead to loss of user trust. In Octo-
ber the tech giant had said that there was an expo-
nential growth in cybersecurity threats like dis-
tributed denial of services (DDoS) which attack
websites and online services. In July Twitter ac-
counts of several public figures and celebrities
were hacked in a crypto-currency attack. Twitter
had said 130 accounts were hacked.
Circa 2020 has been terrible with Covid-19 af-
flicting and killing large numbers of people and
the economy going into a tailspin. The cyber out-
age was the least expected trouble to strike in these
times and hopefully, the year will end without any
more outages of any kind.
G
There is nothing so disobedient
as an undisciplined mind, and
there is nothing so obedient as
a disciplined mind. —Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
PM Sh @narendramodi’s call of
“Make In India”, is making India
an investment hub. Samsung
is set to invest `4,825 crore &
relocate it’s mobile production
unit from China to India. Our
government’s commitment
towards making “Atmanirbhar
Bharat” a reality, is for all to see.
Dr Harsh Vardhan
@drharshvardhan
India has crossed a landmark
milestone in its eHealth journey.
#eSanjeevani telemedicine service
of the @MoHFW_INDIA has
crossed 1 million (10 lakh) tele-
consultations today. eSanjeevani
is being used by patients in over
550 districts of India.

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INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020
New Delhi: Even as the
winter season started
getting intensified in
the national capital,
protestors continued
with their agitation
against the three farm
laws at the Chilla bor-
der on Monday.
In the morning, a
thick layer of smog sur-
rounded parts of the
national capital leading
to decreased visibility.
Despite facing such ad-
verse weather condi-
tions, protestors
seemed determined to
protest against these
farm laws.
Kuldeep Pandey, a
protestor at the site,
said, “Due to light rain-
fall early in the morn-
ing, the cold weather
condition has intensi-
fied. We had tea and
snacks in the morning.
We are surviving in this
cold weather only by
the mercy of God.”
An old man, said,
“We are surviving here
only by looking at the
farmers’ determination
against these black
laws.”—ANI
FARMERSTIRCONTINUESATDELHI-
NOIDABORDERBRAVINGCOLD
Govt’s plan is to make all
kinds of good films in
India, says Javadekar
Farmers gather at Singhu border during their sit-in protest against the Centres farm reform laws, in
New Delhi on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: Informa-
tion and Broadcasting
Minister Prakash Ja-
vadekar on Monday
said the government
plans to promote all
kinds of good films, in-
cluding documentaries
and short films. Ad-
dressing a session at the
online International
Coronavirus Short Film
Festival, he also said it
was nothing short of a
“communication revo-
lution” that everyone
with access to a smart-
phone and a story to tell
is a filmmaker today.
“People have now be-
come citizen journal-
ists, where they shoot
on mobile phones and
even edit them and are
ready with their short
films. This is a commu-
nication revolution,”
the minister said.
From the Interna-
tional Film Festival of
India (IFFI) to the Mum-
bai International Film
Festival for Documen-
tary, Short and Anima-
tion Films, all reward
the best talent in the
business, Javadekar
said.
“At IFFI, we will
showcase 21 non-fea-
ture films, even at Na-
tional Film Awards, we
have several categories
for short films under 70
minutes. The Mumbai
International Film Fes-
tival also awards docu-
mentaries and film-
makers. This is the gov-
ernment’s plan…that
all kinds of films, good
films, films which move
people are made…,” Ja-
vadekar said.
He said a film festival
for short films based en-
tirely on the deadly dis-
ease is a novel idea.
Organised by the In-
dian Infotainment Me-
dia Corporation (IIMC),
the International Coro-
navirus Short Film Fes-
tival has received over
2,800 entries from 108
countries. The festival
aims at showcasing sto-
ries based on cure, safe-
ty measure and lives
affected during the cor-
onavirus pandemic.
—PTI
Union Ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (L) and Prakash Javadekar
during the inauguration of International Coronavirus Short Film
Festival, at NDMC Convention Centre in New Delhi on Monday.
Kailash Vijayvargiya’s vehicle was attacked on December 10.
MP: BJP TO ORGANISE
MEETINGS OF FARMERS
DELHI MINS, AAP MLAS
HOLD ‘HUNGER STRIKE’
Ujjain: The BJP will organise meet-
ings of farmers in various divisions
of Madhya Pradesh from Tuesday
to dispel “misconceptions” being
spread about the Centre’s three new
farm laws, state Agriculture Minister
Kamal Patel said. Enacted in Septem-
ber, the three farm laws have been
projected by the Centre as major
reforms in the agriculture sector
that will remove the middlemen and
allow farmers to sell anywhere in the
country. —ANI
New Delhi: Senior Delhi government
ministers and AAP MLAs, including
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Siso-
dia, are sitting on a ‘hunger strike’ in
support of farmers who are protest-
ing against the Centre’s farm laws.
Ministers Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai,
and party leader Aatishi Marlena are
also present at the strike organised
at party headquarters. This comes
after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had
announced a one-day fast in support
of farmers’ protest on Sunday. —ANI
Speak for
Maha farmers
first: Fadnavis
Mumbai: The war of
words between Maha-
rashtra chief minster
Uddhav Thackeray and
the former CM Deven-
dra Fadnavis continued
on Monday after the
Bharatiya Janata Party
leader fired another
shot. Reacting to Thack-
eray’s recent comments
on farmers’ protest in
Delhi, Fadnavis asked
the chief ministerto
first speak about agri-
culturists in his own
state.
“The CM must speak
of Maharashtra farm-
ers first instead of com-
menting on protests in
Delhi. Protesters are
being beaten up in their
homes here and the
state government is
talking of protesters’
rights in Delhi and call-
ing it an emergency
situation,” ANI quoted
the BJP leader as say-
ing. —Agencies
BJP Bengal in-charge
Vijayvargiya’s security
upgraded after attack
New Delhi: Security of
the Bharatiya Janata
Party’s (BJP’s) general
secretary and West Ben-
gal in-charge Kailash
Vijayvargiya has been
upgraded and he has
been given a bullet-
proof car, according to
news agency PTI on
Monday, days after his
vehicle came under at-
tack in the eastern
state. Vijayvargiya cur-
rently has Z-category
security.
“As per the order of
the Union home minis-
try, I have been provid-
ed with a bulletproof
vehicle,” Vijayvargiya,
who is in Kolkata for a
programme in Ma-
thurapur in South 24
Parganas, said accord-
ing to news agency PTI.
The vehicle of the
BJP general secretary,
who was travelling
along with party presi-
dent JP Nadda, was at-
tacked on December 10
when he was on his way
to Diamond Harbour to
meet party workers.
The windscreen of his
car was damaged in the
attack. Vijayvargiya,
who was not harmed in
the incident, told re-
porters that when he
was going to a local hos-
pital to meet injured
party workers, his vehi-
cle was damaged “by
lathi- wielding TMC
miscreants who along
withpolicemencharged
towards BJP workers.”
Vijayvargiya and V-P
Mukul Roy sustained
injuries. — PTI
MP SET TO BE AMONG MOST
DEVELOPED STATES IN 3 YEARS: MIN
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh
will emerge as one of the
country’s most developed
states in three years due
to the work it is doing as
part of the Atmanirbhar
Bharat scheme, state
PWD minister Gopal
Bhargava said on Monday.
Addressing the inaugural
session of CII Madhya
Pradesh Infrastructure
Conclave, Bhargava said
strong infrastructure and
industries will play a huge
role in the effort. “After
2003, MP has made re-
cord progress in the areas
of infrastructure, agricul-
ture, irrigation, industrial
development,” he said,
adding that Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
had prepared a roadmap
for “Atmanirbhar Madhya
Pradesh.”
EQUITY INDICES CLOSE IN THE
GREEN, ENERGY STOCKS GAIN
Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices traded with
mild gains on Monday with energy stocks wit-
nessing handsome profits.The BSE S&P Sensex
closed 154 points or 0.34% higher at 46,253
while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 44 points or
0.33 per cent at 13,558. Most sectoral indices at
the National Stock Exchange were in the green
with Nifty metal up by 1.38 per cent, PSU bank
by 1.77 per cent and private bank by 0.47 per
cent. Among stocks, ONGC was the top gainer by
moving up 5.9% to Rs 102.55 per share.
SITHARAMAN HOLDS PRE-BUDGET
CONSULTATIONS WITH TOP BIZMEN
New Delhi: Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman on Monday held
pre-Budget consultations
with top industrialists
in the national capital
ahead of the forthcoming
Union Budget 2021-22,
informed the Ministry of
Finance. Sitharaman has
concluded a compre-
hensive review of Aatma
Nirbhar Bharat Package
(ANBP) with the Secre-
taries of various Minis-
tries/Departments, the
Ministry of Finance said
on Sunday. In an ofﬁcial
release, Finance Ministry
said, the Ministries and
Departments concerned
have started implement-
ing announcements under
the three Aatma Nirbhar
Bharat Packages & pro-
gress is being monitored.
BJP RELEASES ‘TMC FAIL
CARD’, SAYS GOVT A FAILURE
Kolkata: Describing the report card released by
Trinamool Congress last week on its govern-
ment’s 10-year-rule as a bluff to fool the people
of West Bengal, the BJP on Monday brought
out the “TMC Fail Card” and accused the
Mamata Banerjee regime of peddling lies about
the development of the state. The “TMC Fail
Card - the true story of 10 years of TMC’s cor-
rupt and inept governance in West Bengal” was
released by senior BJP leaders Swapan Das-
gupta, Shishir Bajoria Shamik Bhattacharya.
IN THE COURTYARD
Delhi HC slams CBSE for
‘anti-student attitude’
Ban on online gambling
websites:HC notice to govt
New Delhi: Delhi HC
rapped the Central
Board of Secondary
Education (CBSE) for
its “anti-student atti-
tude”, saying it was
“treating students as
enemies” by dragging
them all the way to the
SC in certain matters.
A bench of CJ D N
Patel & Justice Prateek
Jalan made the obser-
vation while hearing a
plea moved by the
Board challenging a
single judge order,
which said CBSE’s reas-
sessment scheme for
students whose board
exams got cancelled due
to COVID-19 would ap-
ply to improvement
candidates also. “We
don’t like this anti-stu-
dent attitude of the
CBSE. You are dragging
students all the way to
SC. Should they be stud-
ying or going to court?
We should start impos-
ing costs on the CBSE.
They are treating stu-
dents as enemies,” the
bench added. “There is
no earthshaking emer-
gency for you to come to
court now all guns blaz-
ing,” the bench said,
adding that CBSE
should have gone to
apex court for a clarifi-
cation, instead of drag-
ging students to court.
—ANI
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court on Monday
issued notice to the Cen-
tral government on a
public suit seeking di-
rection to take steps to
ban and prevent online
gambling websites from
operatinginthecountry.
A division bench of
Chief Justice DN Patel
and Justice Prateek Ja-
lanaskedtheCentreand
other to file reply on the
publicinterestlitigation
seeking direction to the
Ministryof Information
Technology to exercise
its powers under sec-
tions of the Information
Technology Act, 2000, to
prevent online gam-
bling websites. The PIL,
filed by one Avinash
Mehrotra represented
through advocates
Awantika Manohar, Sid-
dharth Iyer and
PrashantKumar,sought
directions to the Minis-
try of Finance to take
steps to recover taxes
due from both persons
who played such online
gambling, and more im-
portantly, those who run
and operate these web-
sites. —ANI
SC to probe if
declaring
emergency
‘unlawful’
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Mon-
day agreed to examine
whether it would be fea-
sible or desirable, after
the passage of 45 years,
if the declaration of
Emergency in 1975 was
unconstitutional or not.
A three-judge bench
of Justices Sanjay Kis-
han Kaul, Dinesh Ma-
heshwari and Hrishi-
kesh Roy issued notice
totheCentreandsought
its response on the plea
filed by a 94-year-old
woman for the procla-
mation of Emergency
in 1975 to be declared as
unconstitutional. Dur-
ing the hearing, the
bench raised questions
about hearing the issue
after the passage of 45
years.
“This plea arises
from the passage of
time. It is Mr Salve’s
(senior advocate Harish
Salve appearing for pe-
titioner) submission
that ‘prayer A’ survives
and wrongs of history
must be corrected. We
asked Mr Salve whether
the petitioner is seek-
ing other reliefs too, the
bench said. —ANI
PIL seeking release of arrested Kerala journo adjourned
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Mon-
day adjourned for the
third week of January
a plea seeking immedi-
ate release of a senior
Kerala journalist Sid-
dique Kappan, who was
arrested along with
some others by the Ut-
tar Pradesh Police on
October 5 while on their
way to cover the Hath-
ras incident.
A bench, headed by
Chief Justice SA Bob-
de, adjourned the mat-
ter after the senior ad-
vocate Kapil Sibal, ap-
pearing for the Kerala
Union of Working Jour-
nalists (KUWJ), sought
time to file a reply to the
additional affidavit
filed by the Uttar
Pradesh government.
Earlier, the bench had
sought a response on
the plea from the Cen-
tre, the Uttar Pradesh
government, and its po-
lice chief on the matter.
An FIR had been reg-
istered under the Un-
lawful Activities Pre-
vention Act (UAPA) in
the case. Kappan is
lodged in the Mathura
jail, the court was in-
formed earlier.
The KUWJ had ap-
proached the Supreme
Court with a habeas
corpus plea to know the
whereabouts of its Del-
hi unit secretary and
senior journalist. But
earlier the court re-
fused to intervene while
advising the union to
move the Allahabad HC
instead. KUWJ has
sought fulfillment of
Kappan’s basic rights
such as legal help ac-
cess to family. —ANI

INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020
IS PM ANNOYED WITH A COUPLE
OF SECRETARIES?
Insiders say that PM Narendra Modi is quite
annoyed with the style of functioning of a couple
of Secretaries. One can guess the names.
CENTRE CAN ONLY DEBAR IPS
OFFICERS FROM DEPUTATION ON
DECLINING OFFER?
The IPS officers, whose services are taken on the
central deputation by the Government of India,
can’t be forced without the permission of the State.
However, the Centre can debar such officers from
central deputation postings for a certain period of
time on declining deputation, according to sources.
SUDHIR KUMAR SAXENA PROMOTED
AS SPECIAL DIRECTOR GENERAL, CISF
Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Additional Director Gener-
al, CISF, has been promoted to the rank of Special
Director General. He is a 1987 batch IPS officer of
MP cadre.
ARUN KUMAR SINHA PROMOTED
TO DG GRADE
Arun Kumar Sinha, Director, SPG, has been
promoted to the rank of Director General. He is a
1987 batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre.
SANJAY CHANDER APPOINTED
AS SPECIAL DG, CRPF
Sanjay Chander, ADG, CRPF, has been appointed
as Special Director General, CRPF. He is a 1987
batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre.
SURENDRA PAWAR APPOINTED
AS SPECIAL DG, BSF
Surendra Pawar, ADG, BSF, has been appointed as
Special Director General, BSF. He is a 1987 batch
IPS officer of Odisha cadre.
CHHATTISGARH CHIEF SECRETARY
TO HAVE LONGEST TENURE
Newly appointed Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh
Amitabh Jain will create history in the bureaucracy.
1989 batch IAS officer Jain will retire in July 2025.
P K SINGH IS MEMBER LAW, CERC
ACC has approved the appointment of Pravas
Kumar Singh, Member (Legal), Jharkhand, SERC,
to the post of Member (Law), Central Electricity
Regulatory Commission (CERC).
22 OFFICERS IN GRADE OF DEPUTY
DIRECTOR OF ENFORCEMENT SHIFTED
As many as 22 officers in the grade of Deputy
Director of Enforcement (on deputation) have
been shifted. Accordingly, Vikrant Bangotra
was posted at Jalandhar and Richa Jaiswal was
shifted to Ahmedabad; Amit Kumar to Chan-
digarh; Yogesh Kumar to Jaipur; Mallikarjun
V Mamani to Chennai; Manish Kumar Yadav
to Allahabad; Prakash Chaudhary to New Delhi;
Bhanu Priya Meena to Jalandhar; Manoj Mittal to
Bangalore; Abhijeet Kumar Gautam to New Delhi;
Divya Vashishtha to Kolkata; Sudhakar Verma
to Ahmedabad; Pugalia Chandan Rajendra to
Lucknow; Visakh K to New Delhi; Arjun Singh to
Surat; Chandra Mohan Singh to Kolkata; Kamal
Deep to New Delhi; Money Jain to Bangalore;
Pankaj Jha to New Delhi; Ajit Kumar Nirala to
Srinagar; Avinash Parashar to Patna and Purna
Kam Singh has been posted to Ahmedabad.
R SUBRAMANYAM APPOINTED ED, RBI
R Subramanyam has been appointed Executive
Director (ED) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
In this capacity, he will be responsible to look
after Foreign Exchange Department, Financial
Markets Regulation Department, Internal Debt
Management and International Department. Prior
to this, Subramanian was serving as Chief General
Manager-in-Charge, Enforcement Department.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
Farmers on...
Earlier in the day, Tomar
metHomeMinisterAmit
Shahanddiscussedabout
the way forward to end
the deadlock. Later, the
agriculture minister also
metadelegationof farm-
ers led by the All India
KisanCoordinationCom-
mittee (AIKCC) which
extended support to the
farm laws. This is the
fourth group of farmers
who have extended sup-
porttothelawsinlasttwo
weeks. —PTI
Govt ready...
He also said that his
government is always
open for discussion and
dialogue”. —ANI
Tikait denies...
faction resigned because
they were upset with
their President Bhanu
Pratap Singh, as to why
he compromised,” Rake-
shTikaittoldANIregard-
ing 3 BKU (Bhanu Fac-
tion)leaders’resignation.
National Spokesperson
of the Indian Farmers
Union (Bhanu) Mahen-
dra Singh Chauroli, na-
tional spokesperson Sat-
ish Chaudhary and a
womanfarmerleaderhas
resigned from their post.
“The farmers are not
going anywhere. Farm-
ers are at loss with
these laws and they will
only benefit compa-
nies,” he said. Farmers’
leadersincludingRakesh
Tikait of Bharatiya
KisanUnionsitonahun-
gerstrikefrom8am-5pm
at Ghazipur (Delhi-UP
border), where the pro-
test entered day 17 on
Monday. Alleging that
the Central government
is working in favour of
the corporate sector,
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU) spokesperson
RakeshTikaitonSunday
reiterated that farmers
will not end the agitation
till the three recently
passedagriculturesector
laws are repealed. —ANI
Tatas bid...
as Air India’s “return”
to the parent company.
Sources said Tata
Sons, the holding com-
pany of the Tata Group,
hasputinanExpression
of Interest (EoI) at the
close of the deadline on
Monday. It was not, how-
ever, immediately clear
if Tatas have bid alone
or in consortium with
an airline. An official
said transaction advisor
will inform bidders be-
fore January 6, if their
bidshavebeenqualified.
Jio writes...
and divisive campaign
through its employees,
agents and retailers”.
“They are inciting the
public by making pre-
posterous claims that
migrating Jio mobile
numbers to their net-
workswouldbeanactof
support to farmers’ pro-
tests,” said the letter
written on December 10.
The letter was accompa-
niedbypicturesof “mis-
leading and inciteful
campaign” across Pun-
jab and other northern
states. “We reiterate
that in order to reap
meagre gains in port-in
numbers, these service
providers are intention-
ally defacing RJIL by
depicting it as being
againstfarmersandpro-
jecting themselves as
farmer friendly, while at
the same time intention-
ally fanning the anti-
government protests”.
No New...
This was first extended
into a 60-hour curfew,
and then eased into a
night curfew. The night
curfew had become im-
perative as youngsters
were seen roaming at
night violating COV-
ID-19protocols,thusput-
ting themselves and oth-
ers at risk of infection.
Retail inflation...
This will provide elbow
room to RBI to continue
its accommodative
stance, which is critical
for sustained revival of
demand,” he added.
Sunil Kumar Sinha,
principal economist, In-
dia Ratings and Re-
search, said retail infla-
tion at is still outside the
comfort zone of the RBI.
However, core infla-
tion (non-food and non-
energy) and core-core
inflation (non-food,
non-energy and trans-
port and communica-
tion) are broadly stable
in the range of 5 per
cent to 5.79 per cent and
4.72 per cent to 4.95 per
cent, respectively, since
May 2020, he said.
Karna iPhone...
cars and golf carts,
smartphones and other
gadgets worth Rs 1.5
crore were among those
that were damaged,
were stolen or lost.
He stated in his com-
plaint that 5,000 contract
labourers and about
2,000 unknown culprits
carried out the vandal-
ism in the facility. Ac-
cording to police, a clear
picture regarding the
total loss will emerge
only after assessment by
the insurance company.
Superintendent of Po-
lice (SP) Karthik Reddy
said 160 people had been
arrested so far. Police
said the arrests were be-
ingmadebasedonCCTV
footage and after check-
ing the list of workers in
the shift to ascertain the
culprits.. —Agencies
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: Vaccinat-
ing 100-200 people in
each session per day,
monitoring them for 30
minutes after adminis-
tering the shots for any
adverse event and al-
lowing only one benefi-
ciary at a time are
among the guidelines
issued by the Centre for
the COVID-19 inocula-
tion drive.
According to the
guidelines issued to
states recently, the
COVID Vaccine Intelli-
gence Network (Co-
WIN) system—a digital-
ised platform—will be
used to track enlisted
beneficiaries for the
vaccination and anti-
coronavirus vaccines
on a real-time basis.
At the vaccination
site, only pre-registered
beneficiaries will be
vaccinated in accord-
ance with the prioriti-
sation, and there will be
no provision for on the-
spot registrations. The
states have been asked,
as far as possible, to al-
locate the vaccine from
one manufacturer to a
district to avoid mixing
of different COVID-19
vaccines in the field.
Govt issues guidelines
for vaccination driveIndia’s active caseload contracts to 3.52 lakh; lowest in 149 days
A healthcare worker collects a sample to conduct tests for the
COVID-19 at a Bus Depot in New Delhi on Monday.
New Delhi: Lauding
the "exemplary cour-
age" shown by the coun-
try's armed forces amid
the stand-off with Chi-
na, Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh said
there can be a debate on
the issue of military
might between the two
countries but as far as
soft power is concerned
India is "far ahead" of
China, in leading the
world with ideas.
"In these testing
times, our forces have
shown exemplary cour-
age and remarkable for-
titude. The coming gen-
erations of this nation
will be proud of what
our forces have man-
aged to achieve this
year," said Rajnath Sin-
gh while addressing the
'Valedictory Session' of
FICCI's Annual Con-
clave.
Talking about the on-
going military face-off
between the two coun-
tries, the Defence Min-
ister said, there can be
a serious debate on who
owns more military
might but when it
comes to soft power
there is no scope of am-
biguity. India is far
ahead of China when it
comes to leading the
world with ideas," he
said. —ANI
‘Indiaisfarahead
ofChinainleading
worldwithideas’
IIT-Madras under lockdown
after students,staff test +ve
Chennai: IIT-Madras
campus has been placed
under temporary lock-
down after 104 students
and staff members of
the institution tested
positive for coronavi-
rus. The state health
department and the IIT
management are yet to
identify the source of
the outbreak.
As per local reports,
the students had
claimed there had been
overcrowding in the
hostel mess and that
could have led the infec-
tion to spread. This is
one of the biggest clus-
ters that has emerged
in Chennai after the
state government per-
mitted educational in-
stitutions to function
from December 7. In the
last 10 days, 71 resi-
dents of IIT-Madras
tested positive for Cov-
id-19 and on Monday, 33
more were found to be
infected. According to
the officials, a total of
700 students are cur-
rently staying on the
campus and they are ac-
commodated across
nine hostels with less
than 20 per cent capac-
ity occupied in each.
India to establish
climate centre for
Himalayas: IMD
New Delhi: India is
planning to establish a
regional climate centre
for the Himalayan
mountain region which
will not only provide
weather-related advices
within the country but
also to its neighbours,
India Meteorological
Department (IMD) Di-
rector General Mrutun-
jay Mohapatra said on
Monday. Mohapatra
said the work for estab-
lishing such a centre
has already begun and
talks are also on with
the World Meteorologi-
cal Organisation.
China is also build-
ing a similar regional
climate centre on its
side of the Himalayas,
he said. Addressing a
webinar on ‘Weather
and Climate Services
over Mountains Re-
gion’, Mohapatra said
India has the eastern
ghats, western ghats
along the east and the
west coast and the My-
anmar hills in the
northeast.
Considering the size
of Himalayas and its
role in India’s hydrolo-
gy, meteorology, disas-
ter management, eco-
system and many other
activities, the world has
correctly recognised it
as the ‘third pole of the
world’, he noted.
New Delhi: Journalist
Priya Ramani on Mon-
day submitted before a
Delhi court that speak-
ing up on #MeToo is
not a crime and such
acts are of extreme
courage that requires
celebration and not
defamation cases.
Senior Advocate Re-
becca John, appearing
for Ramani in the defa-
mation case filed
against her by former
Union Minister MJ Ak-
bar, told Additional
Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate Ravindra
Kumar Pandey that she
felt #MeToo gave a plat-
form to women to un-
burden themselves.
"#MeToo came to In-
dia in 2018. It wasn't a
crime to speak up on
the #MeToo platform.
These are acts of ex-
treme courage that re-
quire celebration.
Kolkata: Chief of De-
fence Staff (CDS)
General Bipin Rawat
stated on Monday that
the People’s Liberation
Army (PLA) is carrying
out development activi-
ties in Tibet Autono-
mous Region of China,
amid the Sino-Indian
standoff at Ladakh.
He also underlined
that Indian forces are
well- equipped to deal
with any eventuality,
and similar activities
are being undertaken
in the country. “We are
locked in a stand-off in
Ladakh. There is some
development activity
which has been going
on in Tibet Autono-
mous Region of China.
Every nation will con-
tinue to make prepara-
tions to boost its secu-
rity based on its strate-
gic interests.
“I don’t think there
should be much con-
cern in that because
we, on our side, are also
carrying out similar
activities,” Rawat told
reporters after the
launch of indigenously
built state-of-the-art
stealth frigate ‘Himgi-
ri’ at Defence PSU Gar-
den Reach Shipbuild-
ers and Engineers here.
‘Speaking on MeToo
is an act of courage’
INDIA READY FOR ANY
EVENTUALITY: RAWAT
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Deputy Chief Minister
Ajit Pawar on Monday
said that the reports
about Rs 90 crores spent
on bungalow renova-
tion (of Ministers) is
not correct. Speaking to
reporters, the Deputy
Chief Minister said,
"The reports about Rs
90 crores spent on bun-
galow renovation (of
Ministers) is not cor-
rect. I don't know where
did they get this figure
from." "According to
the concerned depart-
ment, data on expendi-
ture has not been up-
dated yet," he said
Ajit Pawar
denies reports
on Rs 90 crore
1ST SHOT IN USA
A file photo of snow-capped mountain ranges of the Himalayas.
IIT (Madras) campus placed under temporary lockdown after 104
students & staff members tested positive for coronavirus.
Priya Ramani (L) MJ Akbar (R)
—FILE PHOTO
CLIMATE SERVICES
Rajnath Singh
—PHOTOBYANI

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF
G
IFT
GIVING
C
hristmas is a
time of celebra-
tion, relaxation
and gift-giving. But
choosing gifts can also
make it a time of stress
and anxiety. The wrong
gift can actually do
more harm than good.
Here is some advice,
based on decades of re-
search, on how to side-
step such pitfalls.
Why do we
give gifts?
Research into the psy-
chology of gift-giving
suggests there are two
goals to consider when
giving someone a gift.
The first is to make
the recipient happy.
That mostly depends on
whetherthegiftissome-
thing they want.The
second is to strengthen
the relationship be-
tween giver and recipi-
ent. This is achieved by
giving a thoughtful and
memorable gift—one
that shows the giver re-
ally knows the recipi-
ent. Usually, this means
figuring out what some-
one wants without di-
rectly asking.
You can see the
conundrum.
To get someone the gift
they most desire, the
obvious thing to do is
ask. This approach can
achieve high marks on
desirability. But it is
set up to fail on com-
municating thought-
fulness.
The graphic illus-
trates the problem
(with myself as the ex-
ample recipient).
The best kind of gift is
one both desired by the
recipient and is
thoughtful. For me,
this might be a custom
t-shirt printed with an
in-joke.
The worst kind of
gift, on the other hand,
is neither desired nor
thoughtful. For me,
this might be a pair of
socks.
Then there are desir-
able but unthoughtful
gifts, such as cash, and
undesired but very
thoughtful gifts, which
for me would be offi-
cially naming a star in
my honour. I love as-
tronomy but this just
isn’t for me.
Navigating
social risk
This is why buying a
gift can be so anxiety-
inducing. There is a
“social risk” involved.
A well-received gift
can improve the quali-
ty of the relationship
between giver and re-
cipient by increasing
feelings of connection,
bonding, and commit-
ment. A poorly re-
ceived gift can do the
opposite.
This has been shown
by research. A 1999
study asked 129 people
to describe in detail a
situation in which they
had received a gift. Ten
people reported gifts
that weakened the rela-
tionship. Two people
actually ended the rela-
tionship after the gift.
How much
does the
thought count?
Research also shows
people tend to overesti-
mate their ability to
discern what a recipi-
ent will like, and there-
fore what gifts will lead
to a strengthening of
the relationship.
A 2011 study asked
respondents to think
back to either their
own wedding or a wed-
ding to which they
were a guest. Gift re-
cipients were asked to
rate how appreciative
they were of gifts ei-
ther listed on the gift
registry or not. Guests
were asked to estimate
how well they thought
gifts were received.
Gift recipients
strongly preferred gifts
on their list. However,
gift-givers tended to
wrongly assume unso-
licited gifts (those not
on the registry) would
be considered more
thoughtful and consid-
erate by their intended
recipients than was the
case.
Gift givers also tend
to overestimate that
more expensive gifts
will be received as be-
ing more thoughtful.
But it turns out gift re-
cipients appreciate ex-
pensive and inexpen-
sive gifts similarly. In
reality, they actually
feel closer to those who
give convenient gifts,
such as a gift certifi-
cate to a nearby ordi-
nary restaurant rather
than a distant upscale
restaurant.
Psychology
of giving cash
What about simply
giving cash?
After all, the recipi-
ent can buy exactly
what they most desire.
But cash is considered
unthoughtful because
it requires no effort
and seems to put a dol-
lar value on the rela-
tionship.
In Chinese cultures,
cash is given in a red
envelope to decommod-
ify the money by liter-
ally enveloping it in a
symbol of good luck. If
you’re going to give
cash, think about do-
ing it creatively, such
as through clever ori-
gami or in some other
way that personalizes
it. This will show a de-
gree more thoughtful-
ness.
The closest alterna-
tive to cash is the gift
card. The main benefit
is that it requires some
effort and allows some
thoughtfulness in the
selection of which gift
card to purchase. Nev-
ertheless, the research
suggests the gift card is
often reached for as a
last resort.
The best
gift of all
If you want to have a
wrapped gift under the
Christmas tree and
haven’t been tipped off
on exactly what the re-
cipient wants, go for
something practical
with a personalized
touch. If you really are
struggling, then a
thoughtful card togeth-
er with a flexible gift
card is a safe option.
But the main takea-
way from the psycholo-
gy of gift-giving re-
search is that, if your
goal is to strengthen
your relationship with
the recipient, give them
an experience.
A 2016 study asked
people to give a friend
either a “material” or
“experiential” gift (val-
ued at $15). Material
gifts included things
such as clothing. Expe-
riential gifts included
things such as movie
tickets. Recipients of
the experiential gifts
showed a stronger im-
provement in relation-
ship strength than re-
cipients of the material
gifts.
The most precious
gift you can give a loved
one, though, is actually
quite simple: quality
time. In a 2002 study in-
volving 117 people,
more happiness was re-
ported from family and
religious experiences
than from events where
spendingmoneyandre-
ceiving gifts was the fo-
cus.
So this Christmas,
grab a drink, sit down
and have a conversa-
tion. Get to know each
other.If donewell,come
next Christmas, you’ll
both know exactly what
gift to get each other.
How to choose the
right Christmas gift:
tips from research
Source:
THECONVERSATION.COM
Two dimensions to consider when buying someone a gift: thoughtfulness and desirability.
—IMAGES FROM PIXABAY.COM
The thought doesn’t count as much as you think. Gift givers tend to overestimate how well unsolicited gifts will be received.
ADRIAN R. CAMILLERI
Senior Lecturer in Marketing,
University ofTechnology Sydney

When you heal others with
compassion, you heal
yourself too. Love within is
the best dose.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
UNDER-5 AGE CHILDREN
HEALTH MATTER OF CONCERN
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Mortali-
ty rate among infants
and those under five
years of age fell in 18
states and union
territories,includingin
Gujarat, out of a total
22surveyed,while16of
them registered a rise
in the percentage of
under-five children
who are underweight
and severely wasted,
according to the fifth
NationalFamilyHealth
Survey (NFHS-5).
Health Minister
Harsh Vardhan said
while releasing the
fifth National Family
Health Survey (NFHS)
which contains de-
tailed information on
population, health,
and nutrition for India
and its states and Un-
ion Territories.
Thirteen states and
UTs out of the 22 sur-
veyed recorded a rise
children under five
years who are stunted
in comparison to 2015-
16,surveydatashowed.
According to NFHS-
5, Goa, Gujarat,
Himachal Pradesh,
Kerala, Maharashtra,
Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, Telangana,
Tripura, West Bengal,
Lakshadweep and
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
and Daman and Diu
recorded a rise in the
percentage of children
under five years who
are stunted in compar-
ison to NFHS-4 (2015-
16).
Twelve states and
UTs out of the 22 sur-
veyed recorded a rise
children under five
years who are wasted
in comparison to
NFHS-4, while two
states recorded the
same percentage as in
NFHS-4, the data
showed.
Assam, Bihar,
Himachal Pradesh,
Kerala, Manipur, Miz-
oram, Nagaland, Tel-
angana, Tripura, Jam-
mu and Kashmir,
Ladakh and Lakshad-
weep showed a rise in
the percentage of chil-
dren under five years
who are wasted, while
Maharashtra and West
Bengal had the same
percentage, according
to the data.
13 states and UTs out of the 22 surveyed recorded a rise in the percentage of children
under five years who are stunted in comparison to 2015-16, survey data showed
Woman complains
hubby beating her for
giving birth to stillborns
Jaishankar defends in SC
his election to Rajya Sabha
First India Bureau
New Delhi: External
Affairs Minister S Jais-
hankar told the Su-
preme Court on Mon-
day that there was no
provision in the Consti-
tution or the election
law which prescribed
for mandatory require-
ment of conducting
election through single
by-election.
The submission was
made in an affidavit
filed by the minister in
response to a petition
by Congress leader
Gaurav Pandya assail-
ing his election to the
Rajya Sabha.
‘There is no provi-
sion in the Constitution
or under the Represen-
tation of Peoples’ Act
which prescribes for
the mandatory require-
ment of conducting
election through single
by-election in the Con-
stitution of India or un-
der the Representation
of People Act and there-
fore there is no viola-
tion of any law in the
facts and circumstanc-
es of the present case,”
the minister said in an
affidavit filed before a
bench headed by Chief
Justice S A Bobde.
The court then ad-
journed the case for de-
tailed hearing in the
third week of January
2021.
Jaishankar, who de-
fended his election to
Rajya Sabha, further
submitted that the right
to contest election or to
question the election by
means of election peti-
tion is a statutory right
regulated by the statuto-
ry provisions of the Rep-
resentation of People
Act and therefore out-
side the statutory provi-
sions there is no right to
dispute the election.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A24-year-
old woman from Na-
khatrana in Kutch dis-
trict has filed a com-
plaint against her hus-
band alleging that he
had been harassing her
after she delivered 3
stillborn babies.
An FIR lodged with
the Bhuj Mahila Police
Station , Bhuj, by Mani-
sha Harpaliya, her hus-
band Babulal Harpaliya
used to beat her without
any reason. She alleged
she was also being har-
assed mentally.
She suspected that
her husband was hav-
ing an affair with an-
other woman and so
didn’t get her back from
her maternal house.
The woman married in
2015 had gone to her
parents’ house on Sep-
tember 9 this year.
On the day, he beat
her in front of her in-
laws and then took her
to her maternal home.
He told his father-in-law
that he will return in 4
or 5 days to take her
back.
But that never hap-
pened, she said, claim-
ing that her husband
used to beat her since
they didn’t have a child.
Earlier too, she ran
away to her parents’
home because of the
violence.
Later, the family in-
tervened and the couple
reached a compromise
but the violence contin-
ued. She said she had
given birth thrice to
stillborn babies and
that was also the reason
why he abused her.
Guj Univ
semester 3 &
5 exams begin
on Dec 29
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat University on
Monday said it would
conduct exams for
graduate and post-
graduate students in
two phases beginning
on December 29.
According to a circu-
lar issued by the Univer-
sity, the semester 3 and 5
exams of various gradu-
ate and post-graduate
courses will begin in
two phases on Decem-
ber 29 and January 7
next year.
The varsity has re-
leased the list of exam
centersin45citiesof the
state. A student who
wants to appear for of-
fline exams has to select
the appropriate centre.
If a student is unable to
select the exam centre,
the university will pro-
vide the student with an
exam centre.
The university had
asked the students to
fill up the online
forms if they wanted
to opt for online ex-
ams. The online ex-
ams will have multi-
ple-choice questions.
—FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Gu-
jarat Government’s
GSPC is expecting a
sharp increase in gas
demand at Morbi, the
coutry’s biggest ce-
ramic tiles produc-
ing centre in western
Gujarat, as new mod-
ern ceramic factories
are likely to be set up
in the first half of
calendar 2021.
“Morbi is on fire,” a
well placed GSPC
source tells First India,
excitedly. “We expect
R-LNG supplies to Mor-
bi to climb up by at
least another 2m cm/d
(30%) by November
(2021).” Most of the
Morbi gas require-
ments are met by LNG
imports by GSPC at the
5m t/y Mundra LNG
terminal.
“By Diwali next year
(2021) R-LNG demand
at Morbi will cross the
9m cm/d mark,” GSPC
tells First India.
“Morbi ceramic
manufacturers are
making money which
they never ever imag-
ined to make in their
lives or in their
dreams,” a senior
Gandhinagar source
tells us. “And this
also holds true for
other stakeholders
like GSPC and Guja-
rat Gas.”
GSPC’s hopes on the
massive surge in gas
demand is based on the
52 new ceramic units
which will be set up in
a phased manner in
Morbi. “These are big
units using sophisti-
cated imported ma-
chinery and will use
gas as fuel to produce
ceramic tiles,” our
Gandhinagar source
tells us.
R-LNG consump-
tion at Morbi has
been on the rise since
the National Green
Tribunal (NGT) on
March 6, 2019,
slammed down on
the highly polluting
goal gasifiers and
banned their use in
Morbi. From just be-
low 2m cm/d in
March 2019, R-LNG
consumption in Mor-
bi today stands at 7m
cm/d plus. The NGT
decision came follow-
ing a recommenda-
tion made by an ex-
pert committee that
was tasked to investi-
gate the situation.
The panel found that
“coal gasification is a
dangerous process”
that generated high-
ly carcinogenic
waste of 8,000 kg/
day.
MORBI IS LAST GAS DESTINATION: GSPC CLIMBS UP
GAS MATTERS

GSPC’s hopes
on the massive
surge in gas de-
mand is based
on the 52 new
ceramic units
which will
be set up in a
phased manner
in Morbi —FILE PHOTO
CHILD RISE
LIFE IN A SQUARE?
Thousands of migrant construction workers leave city, some back, as the city life returns to life. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
—FILE PHOTO
COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
4,182
DEATHS
2,28,803
CONFIRMED CASES
RAJASTHAN
2,555 DEATHS 2,92,539 CASES
DELHI
10,074 DEATHS 6,08,830 CASES
WORLD
16,22,818
DEATHS
7,28,59,198
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
99,04,096
CONFIRMED CASES
1,43,710
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
48,269 DEATHS 18,83,365 CASES
UTTAR PRADESH
8,083 DEATHS 5,66,728 CASES
KARNATAKA
11,954 DEATHS 9,02,240 CASES
—FILE PHOTO

AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY
DECEMBER 15, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
The Sash Ceremony of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020 was held on Monday, where a total of
31 finalists were announced, who will further compete for the title
ALL SET TO COMPETE
fter audi-
tioning for
months in
order to se-
lect the best,
the team of
Elite Miss
Rajasthan 2020 final-
ly announced the top
31 finalists at Hotel
Hilton on Monday.
Jagdeesh Chandra
was the chief guest
of the event, and con-
gratulated the final-
ists on attaining the
finalists’ positions.
On talking about
the arrangements
made for the finale,
showdirectorGaurav
Gaur said, “We were
thrilled to the excite-
ment amongst girls
of Udaipur, Jodhpur,
Kota, and Jaipur.
Girls from small
towns, rural estab-
lishments and even
villages participated
in the auditions, and
now, 31 of the best
ones have been se-
lected. To bring them
at the same level of
preparation, a train-
ing and grooming
session of 7 days will
be conducted, where
famous celebrities
will give the girls a
few tips on fashion,
glamour, publicity,
etiquettes and style.”
He added, “The
grand finale of the
program will be held
on 20 December in
the Samskara Resort
at Ajmer Road. Keep-
ing the safety of the
contestants in mind,
all 31 girls, mentors,
directors and addi-
tional teams had to
undergo a COVID
test. Keeping the pan-
demic in mind, all the
guidelines issued by
the government will
also be followed.”
More on Pg 12
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
A
—PHOTOSBYSANTOSHSHARMA
Jagdeesh Chandra with the top 31 finalists of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020
Jagdeesh Chandra with Charvi Tanya Dutta
Daisy Chaudhary
Isha Agarwal
Riya Sain
Shabnamistan JabeenPriyanka Mathur
Gaurav Gaur

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
UNNATI MALHARKAR, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
It is best to make some
lifestyle changes to save
money rather than become
monetarily tight. You will
manage to pick up the threads from
where you left on the professional
front. Much happiness is foreseen on
the home front. A trip with friends will
not only be exciting.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Money is hard to come by
for everyone, so contribute
your share if someone is
spending on you. A lot of
activity is foreseen on the work front
and you will be right in the midst of
it. Some issues that seem unlikely to
get resolved on the family front will
begin to move towards a solution.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Becoming a confidante of
someone important cannot
be ruled out for some.
Something included in
your diet is likely to have a positive
effect on your overall health. A glib
talker may try to confuse you so be
aware. Disturbances at home will
need to be curtailed.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Keeping a close tab on
spending will leave you with
much to splurge later. You
may take some time in
bouncing back on the work front. No
problems are foreseen on health and
financial fronts. You manage to play
your cards well and avoid getting
involved in a contentious issue.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Window shopping is all
that you can do in order to
conserve money. You are
likely to swim with the tide
on the professional or academic
front. Indulging in excesses may
prove bad for health. Issue regarding
an ancestral property is likely to be
settled amicably.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You may spend on
something not previously
catered for. You can struggle
to keep pace on the work
front. Condition of those ailing is set to
improve by leaps and bounds and get
them firmly on the road to good health.
Students will be able to keep pace on
the academic front and perform well.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Money loaned may take
some more time to be
returned. You will need to
keep your priorities right
on the professional front. Joining
health conscious people in daily
workouts is likely to keep you fit and
energetic. Someone can irritate you
and spoil your mood.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You can become con-
cerned about a recent
heavy expenditure incurred
on something that you just
couldn’t help. Something important
may be entrusted to you at work
today. You may take up some activity
or sport just to keep trim and slim.
Good news may greet you.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
You will need to follow the
directions in letter and
spirit in discharging a task.
Some of you can face a
medical problem on the health front,
but it will be nothing serious. Family
will prove to be a pillar of support for
those facing something important.
You may feel financially secure.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Repayment of a loan may
force you to make
adjustments. Changes
happening on the
professional front can have you
worried, but will turn out favourable.
More interest is required on the
health front. Family life will cruise
along smoothly.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Financially you may need
to be more secure than you
are now. There is a need to
come up with something
original, if you are in a creative field.
You will be motivated to get back into
shape and may even join a gym.
Those thinking of selling a property
will be able to get buyers.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
It is best to take the
opinion of others before
you put in your money. A
household remedy may
come in handy for those suffering
from body aches and pains.
Something that you wanted to get
done on the home front is likely to be
initiated now.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
he meaning of age has
become elusive. The vis-
ual clues of age are now
untrustworthy- children
dresslikeadultsandpar-
ents in figure-hugging
jeans and Ts. Some peo-
ple in their 50s are trying to re-
main transcendently youthful
while some 20-something are
showing signs of premature age-
ing. The rules of age-appropriate
behaviour drummed into us by
parents and teachers, religion
and state, no longer hold sway.
Madonna adopted children at the
age of 50 while John Elton fa-
thered a child at 62! What to talk
about Hugh Hefner......! Look at
the true agelessness of Meryl
Streep, Rekha, Jane Fonda, Simi
Grewal, Mithun and Milkha Sin-
gh. Not to forget the classical im-
mortality of Woody Allen - turn-
ing out 37 films in 40 years while
performing regularly at a jazz
band.
How do these people slow down
the process of ageing? Age is the
period you are alive while ageing
is what you look at a particular
age- you may look 60+ in your
early 50s or vice versa. Ageing is
both mental and bodily. Mental
ageing isn’t visible on the surface
butitstartsmuchearlierthanthe
bodily ageing. By the time you
reach 45-49 on your birth chart,
you lose about four per cent of
your reasoning ability. It is seen
more so in people with a seden-
tary lifestyle and in those who
don’tindulgeinmentalactivities.
It is not that everyone loses the
mental power but you have to put
some effort to stay mentally fit.
The brain, too, should be cared
like your heart whenever you
reach your 40th birthday.
Does natural curiosity arise?
How and why does a body age?
How and why we change in our
looks are per age? Why don’t we
stay young forever in our looks?
Is there a method to control or
slow down ageing? Is there a drug
which can slow down the ageing
process of our body?
We are not made to survive for-
ever. Nature has created a system
which causes an imperceptible
degeneration of body over a pe-
riod which finally reaches a state
at which its survival is impossi-
ble. There is an “ axis of ageing “
in our cells which takes care that
the body ultimately slows down
andthenstopsregenerating.This
axisstartswithspecialstrandsof
DNAcalledtelomeresthatcapoff
our chromosomes, each chromo-
some having its telomere. These
telomeres prevent mutation in
our chromosomes when they di-
vide.
As we progress in age, these
telomeres get shortened and
frayed. Once these telomeres
shorten to a critical length, our
cells can not divide, the regenera-
tion of cells stops, the power-
house of cells called mitochon-
dria starts losing energy and the
wholebodystartsdegenerating-it
is then a downhill course all the
way.
Once again a natural question,
a curiosity arises. Can we restore
telomeres? No, not at present but
still, we are capable to revitalise
our telomeres to some extent.
Regular meditation increases the
blood level of an enzyme called
telomeres which helps preserve
telomeres. A 10-15 minutes’ ses-
sion two to three times in a day
canpreserveyourtelomereslong-
er, you stay younger for more
length of time. Meditation is a
type of leisure- a relaxation of
body, its muscles, the mind, drop-
ping of thoughts, decluttering of
the brain.
Learn to relax, don’t work like
a junky. Every material gain ulti-
mately depreciates and so do you
andyourbody.Trytolearntheart
of no accumulation and enjoying
yourgains.Youarenotamachine
whoissupposedtoworkandwork
alone. You are here to understand
andenjoynatureandlife.Philoso-
pher Bertrand Russell, though
criticisedathistime,wasafterall
right when he advocated life lei-
sure. Leisure is your natural
right, a way of natural living, get
is back from forces and attitudes
who have conspired to turn you
into an aimless working zombie.
Work hard during your work-
ing hours but learn to say NO at
a stage and then enjoy your lei-
sure, solitude and relaxation.
Words alone can’t describe what
I’m trying to convey, do it and feel
the difference.
One can add 6.2 years to one’s
lifebyslowjogging,cycling,brisk
walketcforabout2hoursaweek.
Dying is certain but can be de-
layed.
If you drink 2-3 cups of coffee
per day, you increase your chanc-
es of living a bit longer provided
you drink for leisure rather than
stimulation to work more. Al-
ways remember, you are human,
not horse.
If you sleep less, if you sleep
poorly,youincreaseyourchances
of ageing fast and dying early.
Sleep deep, sleep adequately.
Sleep well even if you have to
buy it with a pill on medical
recommendation.
There is a natural age-
related decline in your
memory but you can
delayit.Readbooksand
eat berries whenever
you can. Mushrooms
contain some anti-
ageing ingredients,
try to make them part
of your menu.
Go for heart-
friendly fats like co-
conut oil, olive oil
etc. Also, go for an-
tioxidant-packed
and anti-inflamma-
tory foods like red
bell peppers. Nuts
havesignificantanti-ageingprop-
erties if consumed in modera-
tion, they contain omega-3. The
leafy green vegetables are your
great source to preserve your tel-
omeres and so is the vegetable
from the ocean- the fish.
At a certain stage of life,
preferably your late 50s, you
should let go of your attach-
ments to material things
and move towards living
life and it’s inherent lei-
sure. You are born for
that but have forgot-
ten. Some day in
your life you should
hail Bertrand Rus-
sell or that ancient
Indian concept
Charvak.
AGE AND ART
OF AGEING
DR RAMAWTAR SHARMA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T

ETCAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020
11
razilian bombshell Adriana Lima
took to her Instagram stories during
her coffee run to share something.
Starbuckshilariouslymisspellingher
name on her coffee order.
Insteadof “Adriana”or“Lima,”the
super model’s coffees got a mixture
of the two: “ELIMA”. That hon-
estly sounds like some form of
medication!
Adriana even clarified that
asshewasordering,shetook
the time to spell out her
nameforthemtogetitright
but alas, that did not work.
And it seems as though this
isn’t the first time this has
happened to Adriana.
Before getting her cof-
fees, she asked her
followers, “you
think they will
get my name
this time?”,
apparently
not.
—Agency
Hilarious
Moment
B
K
aran Johar is one of the ace filmmakers in Bollywood who
have given us some of the most iconic movies. Amitabh
Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol,
Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor Khan starrer Kabhi
Khushi Kabhie Gham completed 19 years of its theatrical release
on Monday. KJo penned a sweet note reliving the memories of
this blockbuster family drama. Calling K3G the biggest bless-
ing in his filmography, Karan expressed his gratitude towards
fans for showing love on the movie. He even shared a video reliv-
ing the aura of K3G and wrote, “#19yearsofK3G. I continue to be
eternally grateful for the abundant love that continues to come
our way... this film will always be a blessing in my filmography....
thank you for all memes, memories and moments in the past 19
years!” followed by heart emoticons. —Agency
19 YEARS OF K3G!
C
ome March
2021 and Ka-
reena Kapoor
Khan will
soon be a mommy of
two. The actress,
who gave birth to
Taimur in 2016, is
now expecting her
second child with
Saif Ali Khan. She
revealed her secret
to staying fit during
Taimur’s pregnancy
in a video.
The video is from a
book launch and Karee-
na stressed on the impor-
tance of staying fit even
before getting pregnant. She
also revealed that when she
was planning for her first
child, one of the first few
people she told about it was
her dietician Rujuta Di-
wekar.
Revealing her secret to a
happy pregnancy, Kareena
said, “It is Your fitness lev-
els. Eating right, exercising,
it has been a combination of
that even pre-pregnancy. “
—Agency
SECRET
REVEALED!
T
he year 2020 witnessed one of the
most shocking moments when the
news of Sushant Singh Rajput’s
unfortunate demise surfaced. The
34-year-old actor was found dead in his
Mumbai residence under mysterious cir-
cumstances. And while it’s been six
monthssincethisheartbreakingincident,
Sushant’s fans across the world took to
social media to remember him and took a
pledge to continue to fight for justice.
Hashtagslike#Oath4SSRand#Justice-
ForSushantSinghRajputhavebeentrend-
ing on social media with fans tweeting
messages like, “We want justice for Sush-
antSinghRajputassoonaspossible.”An-
other user tweeted, “I promise you @
itsSSRIwillroaritEveryday“JusticeFor
Sushant Singh Rajput”. —Agency
FansrememberSSR
Adriana Lima
Kareena Kapoor Khan
and Taimur Ali Khan
Late Sushant Singh Rajput
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

12AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY BUZZ
IAS Vandana Singhvi and
IPS Dr Ravi celebrated their
birthdays on Monday, 14
December. We wish them
all the best!
HAPPY B’DAY!
T
he final of “Sternhagen
Bhavnagar Polo Trophy”, was
held on Sunday at Rajasthan
Polo Club. The match was
played between Sahara Warriors
and Sona Polo Team. Sahara War-
riors scored 7 goals and won the
match whereas Sona Polo Team
scored 5.5 (Five and a half) goals.
The match was followed by high tea
where the players and the guests en-
joyed a relaxed evening. —CITY FIRST
ROYAL POLO DELIGHTS!
Gauravi Kumari and Padmanabh Singh. Victory Lap- Dhananjai, Allan, Padmanabh Singh and Daniel Otamendi.
Chirag Parekh, Shetal Parekh, Rhea
Parekh and Ashley Parekh.Karan Mehra, Sanjiv Bali, Sunjay Kapur, Narendra Singh and Adhiraj Singh.
Vikram Rathore, Shetal Parekh, Chirag Parekh, Parul Rai, Daniel Otamendi,
Padmanabh Singh,Allan, Dhananjai Chaudhry and Narendra Singh.
Kuldeep Singh, Phil Seller, Padmanabh Singh and Siddant Sharma.
Jagdeesh Chandra congratulated Ashish Sangwan of Jaipur,
on holding the record in the India Book of Records, for being
the only kidney transplant recipient to complete a seven-day
bicycle ride with a distance of 1,250 kms across Rajasthan, that
took place between 14 March and 20 March.The group started
and finished their bicycle trip in Jaipur, covering the cities of
Kota, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Ajmer. 30 years old
Ashish underwent a kidney transplant two years ago and has
devoted his life to send a motivational message of his own life
of Sports and fitness after the transplant.
Chief Justice Indrajeet Mahanty sent a box of sweets to all the
people who had attended the joint reception of his son and
daughter held at his residence on 12 December.
CONGRATULATIONS!
MARKING TERRITORY
WITH STYLENEHAL NAYAR
osa Nostraa, an
Italian term,
signifies a clan
of people who
claim sover-
eignty over a
territory. The
ethos of the company is
the same, i.e, to mark
territory in men’s ac-
cessories by offering a
range of impeccably
crafted accessories.
Established in 2019,
their focus is on bring-
ing wearable art to the
world, each handcraft-
ed with precision by
highly skilled local arti-
sans of Rajasthan.
Each piece goes
through antique oxidi-
zation and texturing to
give them a vintage
look. While they hold a
lot of pride in our
craftsmanship, their
unconventional de-
signs remain our USP.
Inspired by the world
around and within,
past and the present -
the country’s majestic
wildlife, diverse cul-
ture, roots and values
and architecture act as
their muse every
day.
From everyday
wear to occasion
wear, from exqui-
site cufflinks to con-
temporary brooches,
from vintage buttons to
luxe lapel pins, they
have something for eve-
ry man.
Cosa Nostraa is also
the accessory partner
of The Fashion Con-
nect by First India,
which will be taking
place at Rambagh Pal-
ace tomorrow, 16 De-
cember.
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
C
Colours of Joy
CITY FIRST
D
igital Baal
Mela wit-
nessed a crea-
tive painting
session on Monday.
Anamazingresponse
could be seen on so-
cial media. Amaya of
Jaipur and Kapil
Vashistha gave the
message of aware-
ness about social dis-
tancing, masking
and hand wash.
Neelam Gamti of
Jodhpur saluted
the corona war-
riors by paint-
ing and boosted
its morale. Neha
Kalawa called for a
refrain from Corona
and made others
aware through a
beautiful painting.
UrmilaPrajapatgave
the message of being
aware of the corona
by using the charac-
ter of the child artist
Meena’s story.
Given the enthusi-
asm of children, the
last date of Digital
BaalMela,sponsored
by LIC, has been ex-
tended till December
21. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
BIG RELEASECITY FIRST
I
n the corona era, Bolly-
wood’s first Hindi film
“Sayonee” is being released
nationwide on December
18th.
Cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s fa-
therYograjSinghandUpasana
Singh are playing the role of
parents in the film along with
actor, Tanmay Singh and Tel-
egu Actress Muskan Sethi.
The special thing is that
“Aashiqi’s hero Rahul Roy will
appear as a villain in “SAY-
ONEE”.
The title song “say-
onee......sayonee” is be-
coming very popular in the
voice of the legendary singer
ARIJIT SINGH and Punjabi
singer Mika Singh has put
Punjabi tadka in the film
with the song , EK PAPPI.
The story is full of adventure
and suspense.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
LIVE BROADCAST SERIES!
I
n the Facebook Live Broad-
cast Series of Rajasthan
Progressive Writers Associ-
ation, the program “Kisan-
saga” discussed the questions
arisingoutof thefarmermove-
ment on Monday. Writer, jour-
nalist Ish Madhu Talwar spoke
to farmers leader Tara Singh
Sidhu, writer and farmer Ra-
jendra Kaswa and noted critic
Rajaram Bhadu on ques-
tions related to farmers.
Everyoneinthediscussion
agreed that the already
troubled farmer will get
crushed by the new laws.
Rajaram Bhadu said that the
new law will end government
mandis and farmers will be
forced to sell their crops at
one-off prices. Tara Singh
Sidhu said that it is a prep-
aration to hand over the
business of crops in the
hands of private corporate
companies. —City First
FROM PG 09
ALL SETTO COMPETE
—PHOTOSBYRAJKUMARSINGH
Kapil
Urmila
Neelam
Neha
Amaaya
—PHOTOSBYSANTOSHSHARMA
Ajit Soni Yasheel Pandel Amit Bhattar Tripti Sharma

First india ahmedabad edition-15 december 2020

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