First India Mumbai 12032023.pdf

Thakur hails youth’s role in progress; says Pune ideal for Y20 meet
First India Bureau
Pune: Pune is the ideal
location for the fourth
‘Y20’ consultation
meeting as the city has
been a beacon of
knowledge and culture
for generations, in the
process attracting stu-
dents and scholars
from across the world,
Union Minister for
Youth Affairs Anurag
Thakur said on Satur-
day.
‘Youth 20’ is an offi-
cial consultation forum
for youth from G20 na-
tions to have a dialogue
with each other. The
theme of the fourth Y20
consultation meet is
‘Peace building and
Reconciliation: Usher-
ing in an era of no war-
the philosophy of Vas-
udhaiva Kutumbakam
and the future of work’.
Thakur, who was the
chief guest at the meet
being held in Symbio-
sis International Uni-
versity (SIU) here, said,
“Young people are
equal stakeholders in
the present. Their role
is today, now and here.
Look around, India is
making headlines as it
is the world’s fastest
growing large econo-
my. From being among
fragile five economies
in 2014, we are now
among the top five
economies of the
world.”
“In a span of eight
years, we have become
third globally among
startups with over
77000 startups and
more than 107 uni-
corns. Whether it is so-
cial media led causes or
billion dollar startups,
our youth are leading
from the front,” he
added.
G20 PRESIDENCY
We have been a
strong advo-
cate for disar-
mament, non prolifera-
tion and have contribut-
ed to United Nations’
peacekeeping efforts.
—Anurag Thakur, Union
Minister for Youth Affairs
Chandrapur: Teakwood to be used in the con-
struction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in Uttar
Pradesh will be sent from Chandrapur, Maharash-
tra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said on Saturday.
A grand rally will be held on March 29 or 30 to
mark the dispatch of the teakwood consignment
from Ballarpur depot to Ayodhya, he said.
He asked people to participate in the rally in large
numbers to mark this contribution of Chandrapur
to the construction of the Ram Temple.
TEAKWOOD FOR AYODHYA’S RAM TEMPLE TO
BE SENT FROM CHANDRAPUR: MUNGATIWAR
ASIA’S LARGEST TULIP GARDEN IN SRINAGAR
MARCH 19
Srinagar’s Tulip Garden will open
for visitors from March 19. It is
divided into 36 plots, 16-18 beds.
3 PARKS
The visitors can sit in parks and have an
immersive experience in a sea of colours
flanked by the Zabarwan mountain range.
20 DAYS
The average life of a tulip flower can stretch
from 20 to 25 days with overall bloom getting
extended by adding late-blooming varieties.
TULIP MANIA!
60 GARDENERS
Many gardeners are shaping arrangements, which are in fi-
nal stage, to ensure the opening of garden on the due date.
1.6 MILLION
Tulips of 68 different varieties are expected to bloom. This year garden will
have flowers, including Cap Knowya, Hamilton, Sweet Heart and Christmas.
Blooming Tulips at the
Tulip Garden in Srinagar
on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
India & Australia
bond; up a notch!
India, Australia agree for early conclusion of talks
to expand trade pact; eye USD 100-billion trade
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: India and
Australia on Saturday
expressed their com-
mitment for concluding
the negotiations for ex-
panding the scope of
existing free trade
agreement by the end
of this year with an aim
to push the bilateral
trade to USD 100 billion.
The issue came up for
discussions during the
meeting of joint minis-
terial commission be-
tween commerce and
industry minister Pi-
yush Goyal and his Aus-
tralian counterpart Don
Farrell. Both mins said
they “will be much
more ambitious & aim
for USD 100-bn trade be-
tween the 2 economies.
Anthony Albanese speaking to media in Delhi on Saturday, before
heading to US to meet Joe Biden & Rishi Sunak over AUKUS deal.
Australian PM Anthony Albanese on Saturday said
that he has assured PM Modi that those responsible
for attacks on Hindu temples in Australia will “face the
full force of the law”. He said,”I told Modi that Aus-
tralia is a country that respects people’s faith, that we
don’t tolerate the sort of extreme actions and attacks
that we’ve seen on religious buildings, be they Hindu
temples, mosques, synagogues, or churches.”
ATTACKS ON HINDU TEMPLES HAVE
‘NO PLACE IN AUSTRALIA’: Oz PM
Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav has
been summoned by CBI for question-
ing in the land-for-jobs scam on Saturday.
Yadav was earlier summoned by CBI on
March 4 but he had not appeared. “Tejash-
wi won’t appear before CBI due to his wife’s
health. After ED raid, she was hospitalised
on Friday in Delhi. She is pregnant and after 12 hours of
interrogation she fainted due to BP issues,” sources said.
PREGNANT WIFE IN HOSPITAL,
TEJASHWI SKIPS CBI SUMMONS
LAND FOR JOB SCAM: RAIDS AGAINST LALU PRASAD'S FAMILY
`1 crore cash, `600 crore in crime
proceeds found in raids, says ED
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The En-
forcement Directorate
on Saturday said it has
seized “un-
accounted
cash” of `1
crore and
d e t e c t e d
proceeds of
c r i m e
worth `600 crore after it
raided RJD chief Lalu
Prasad Yadav’s family
in connection with a
money laundering case
linked to railways land
for job ‘scam’ linked
money laundering case.
In a statement on Sat-
urday, the ED said,
“Searches resulted in
the recovery of unac-
counted cash of `1
crore, foreign currency
including USD 1,900, 540
gms gold bullion and
more than 1.5 kg of gold
jewellery worth about
`1.25 crore.”
The ED team conducted searches at 24 locations on Saturday.
ED GRILLS KCR’S
DAUGHTER FOR 9
HOURS IN EXCISE
POLICY CASE
BRS MLC K Kavitha at ED
office in connection with the
Delhi excise policy case, in
New Delhi on Saturday.
BRS MLC and
Telangana CM K
Chandrashekhar Rao’s
daughter Kavitha
Kalvakuntla left ED’s
office in New Delhi,
after nearly 9 hours
of questioning in con-
nection with the Delhi
liquor excise policy
case. The ED has
summoned K Kavitha
again on March 16.
SV Bank heat
leaves billion
stranded...
California (FIB): Sili-
con Valley Bank (SVB),
a four-year-old US lend-
er and a cornerstone of
the tech startup scene,
collapsed on Friday af-
ter a stunning 48 hours,
making it 2nd biggest
bank failure since the
2008 financial crisis.
The bank served tech-
nology workers & ven-
turecapital-backedfirms.
California regulators
closed down tech lender
& put it under control of
US Federal Deposit In-
suranceCorp.SVBfailed
after depositors hurried
to withdraw money this
week amid anxiety over
the bank’s health.
Elon Musk shows in-
terest in buying SVB:
Razer CEO Min-Liang
Tan suggested, Twitter
should consider buying
SVB and turning it into
a digital bank. Interest-
ingly, Twitter chief
Elon Musk responded
to his tweet, saying,
“I’m open to the idea”
MUMBAI l SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 302
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & MUMBAI
MY FATHER
SEXUALLY
ASSAULTED
ME: DCW CHIEF
INFOSYS PREZ
MOHIT RESIGNS,
TO JOIN TECH
MAHINDRA
New Delhi: Wife of a Delhi-based bizman, has
claimed that her husband allegedly killed actor
Satish Kaushik for `15 crore which he took from
him for investment purpose in Dubai. Turn to P6
Bhopal: The two Namibian cheetahs, Oban and
Aasha, were successfully released in the wild of
Kuno National Park, Sheopur district in Madhya
Pradesh on Saturday.
New Delhi: DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal
on Saturday said she has been a victim of
sexual assault at the hands of her father
when she was a child. She narrated her life’s
ordeal and how she battled sexual assault.
New Delhi: Infosys president Mohit Joshi
has resigned from company to join rival Tech
Mahindra, 2 firms informed Stock Exchange.
Joshi, who was part of Infosys since 2000, has
been appointed as MD, CEO at Tech Mahindra.
‘MY HUSBAND KILLED SATISH KAUSHIK’ 1ST
CHEETAH COUPLE RELEASED INTO WILD

NEWS
MUMBAI | SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023
02
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First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra's Animal Husbandry
Minister Radhakrishna
Vikhe-Patil on Saturday
soughttohighlightwhat
he called inadequate
productionof cattlefeed
in the state and said
some of the big players
in the business occa-
sionally sell inferior
quality feed.
The minister was
speaking at a function
organized by a local ani-
mal feed manufacturer.
“There is not enough
productionof cattlefeed
inthemarket.The(year-
ly) deficit in the supply
and demand for the
same is around 30 lakh
tonnes to 40 lakh tonnes.
At times, the quality of
the cattle feed available
in the market is also
questioned,” he said.
About quality con-
cerns, he said, “The nu-
tritional value printed
on cattle feed sacks does
not match with the ac-
tual nutritional value. It
is a big challenge for the
state government.”
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Deputy Chief
Minister Devendra Fad-
navis said the state gov-
ernment will ensure the
proposed hike in elec-
tricity tariffs is not ir-
rational.
Fadnavis, who holds
the power portfolio in
the Eknath Shinde-led
government, was
speaking in the Legis-
lative Council.
“The tariff hike has
been proposed because
of the rising cost of coal
and other factors that
are unavoidable. Our
government will not im-
pose any extra charge
on consumers. If re-
quired, our government
will intervene to ensure
Maharashtra Electrici-
ty Regulatory Commis-
sion (MERC) does not
increase power tariffs
irrationally,” he said.
“There is going to be
some hike in power
rates because of factors
such as import costs,
transportation, wages
etc. We will ensure the
hike is linked with the
increased input cost for
power generation,” he
added.
Sources said the Ma-
harashtra State Elec-
tricity Distribution
Company Ltd has pro-
posed a 14% hike in
power tariff.
Fadnavis said the
MERC never accepts a
hike proposal as it is
and there would be
some reduction in it.
“The state government
will definitely inter-
vene in the matter and
try to keep the proposed
hike practical,” he said.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A rally will
be held by the Maha Vi-
kas Aghadi coalition,
comprising the Shiv
Sena - Uddhav Balasa-
heb Thackeray, Nation-
alist Congress Party
and the Congress, in
Maharashtra’sChhatra-
pati Sambhajinagar,
formerly known as Au-
rangabad, on April 02.
The opposition alli-
ance plans to hold joint
rallies in all seven rev-
enue divisions of the
state over the next two
months.
The components of
the MVA will meet on
March 15 for the third
time since the Budget
Session of the Assem-
bly began and promi-
nent leaders and office-
bearers from all seven
revenue districts will be
in attendance, said state
NCP chief Jayant Patil
on Saturday
.
“The message of uni-
ty needs to percolate to
the grassroots,”said Pa-
til, who admitted the
MVAfacesadoublechal-
lenge of defeating the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) by staying united
as well as strengthening
its own grassroot cadre.
This process will
smoothen after the
MVA holds joint rallies
in the state, Patil added.
MVA leaders, includ-
ing former Chief Minis-
ter Uddhav Thackeray
,
have met on two occa-
sions recently to discuss
the floor strategy in the
Budget Session and to
project unity outside.
Incidentally, Thack-
eray has asked his sup-
porters to reach out to
people and had also
held a rally in Khed in
Ratnagiri district, a
part of the state’s Kon-
kan region, which was
a stronghold of the un-
divided Shiv Sena.
MVA to hold rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on April 02
BIG GATHERING
MVA leaders during a protest at the Vidhan Bhavan. —FILE PHOTO
CRUCIAL READ
SIT TO PROBE EX-
RTO OFFICIAL FOR
DUPING PEOPLE
CBI ARRESTS RPF
OFFICIAL, AIDE
FOR BRIBERY
DISHA MEET
RESOLUTION SEEKS
PMAY GRANT HIKE
Nagpur: A special inves-
tigation team will probe
allegations against a
former Regional Transport
Office (RTO) staffer after
he promised transfers
and postings to people
by falsely claiming he
was close to Maharashtra
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde, a Nagpur police
official said on Saturday.
This ex-RTO staffer, along
with an associate, would
meet Transport Depart-
ment officials at a five-star
hotel here and seek
money for such transfers
and postings, he said.
Nagpur: The Central
Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) has arrested an
inspector of the Railway
Protection Force (RPF) for
allegedly accepting a bribe
of Rs1 lakh from a man for
releasing his father who
had been arrested in two
cases in Akola district, an
official said on Saturday.
The CBI’s Nagpur-based
anti-corruption branch
on Friday caught the RFP
inspector and his aide
through whom he had
demanded and accepted
the bribe, the official said.
As per the complaint, the
accused official allegedly
demanded Rs5 lakh from
the son of a furniture store
owner, who was arrested
in two cases for buying
and storing stolen goods
in his shop, he said.
Latur: A resolution passed
at the meeting of District
Development Coordination
and Monitoring Commit-
tee, also called ‘DISHA’, in
Latur on Saturday sought
hike in grant offered under
the Centre’s Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojana. It
asked that the amount be
increased to Rs4 lakh from
the present amount of
Rs1.5 lakh. Speaking at a
press conference following
the meeting at the col-
lectorate here, Dharashiv
(formerly Osmanabad)
Lok Sabha MP Omraje
Nimbalkar said the current
amount was not adequate
to build homes due to rise
in input costs.
AnilParab’s‘aide’remandedtoED
custody;claimstobescapegoat
He has been arrested in a money laundering case pertaining to a resort in Maha’s Dapoli
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A day after
hisarrest,aspecialcourt
in Mumbai on Saturday
remanded Sadanand
Kadam in the Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED)
custody till March 15 in
an alleged money laun-
deringcasepertainingto
aresortinthestate’sRat-
nagiri district.
Kadam, arrested by
the central agency on
Friday night, claimed
in the court that he was
only a “shoulder for the
ED to shoot someone
else.”
In January this year,
the ED had attached
Sai Resort at Dapoli in
coastal Ratnagiri dis-
trict of Maharashtra,
worth more than Rs10
crore, as part of a mon-
ey laundering probe
against Shiv Sena - Ud-
dhav Balasaheb Thack-
eray leader and former
state minister Anil
Parab and others.
Kadam,whoisknown
to be Parab’s close aide,
was produced before a
special holiday court of
judge SM Tapkire on
Saturday. The court re-
manded him in ED cus-
tody for five days.
The money launder-
ing case stems from a
complaint filed by Un-
ion Environment and
Forest Ministry. The
ED had earlier claimed
that Parab “in conniv-
ance” with Kadam got
“illegal permission”
from local sub-division-
al office for converting
agriculture-only land
into one for non-agri-
cultural use, and con-
structed a resort in vio-
lation of CRZ (coastal
regulation zone) norms.
The agency sought
Kadam’s remand for 14
days claiming that he
was the prime benefi-
ciary of the crime and a
vital cog in the wheel.
Kadam’s lawyer advo-
cate Niranjan Munder-
gi opposed the remand
plea and said, “Political
mileage is to be
achieved. They want to
reach somewhere, I’m
just a ladder....Kadam is
a scapegoat....A shoul-
der for ED to shoot
someone else.”
The court, after hear-
ing both the sides, re-
manded Kadam in the
ED custody
.
Sadanand Kadam exits special court premises with ED officials after his hearing in Mumbai on
Saturday. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
STEALTH CRIME
Aim to strengthen grassroot cadres and
stay united ahead of upcoming polls
NO ISSUES
Meanwhile, Patil dis-
missed speculation of a
rift with ally Congress on
the NCP’s support to the
Nationalist Democratic
Progressive Party-BJP
alliance government in
Nagaland, where As-
sembly polls were held
last month. The NCP’s
support was for the chief
minister (Neiphiu Rio)
who belongs to the NDPP,
Patil asserted. The NCP
won seven seats in the
60-member Nagaland
Assembly.
VROOM VROOM!
Thirteen-time Formula 1 Grand Prix champion David Coulthard and Red Bull Technology’s Chris Gregory during a press
conference ahead of the Red Bull F1 Showrun in Mumbai on Saturday. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
Power tariff: Govt will ensure hike isn’t irrational
According to sources,
the MSEDCL has
proposed a 14% hike
in electricity rates
PATIL RAISES CONCERN OVER STATE’S
CATTLE FEED PROD QUALITY QUANTITY
First India Bureau
Pune: Union minister
Nitin Gadkari on Sat-
urday conducted an
aerial survey of the
“palkhi marg” (palan-
quin route) between
Dehu in Pune and Pan-
dharpur in Solapur dis-
trict that thousands of
Vithoba devotees, also
known as “warkaris”,
traverse by foot.
The Union minister
of Road Transport and
Highways said the sur-
vey was to see first-
hand the progress in
the construction of the
route, comprising three
packages each for the
Sant Dnyaneshwar Ma-
haraj Palkhi Marg and
Sant Tukaram Maharaj
Palkhi Marg.
“Palkhi marg is a
matter of faith. This is
not just a road but an
attempt to create a
Bhakti marg (faith
path). We are design-
ing something so that
the feet of the devotees
who undertake this pil-
grimage by foot get re-
lief. The route is near-
ing completion,” the
Union minister told
reporters in Pune dur-
ing an event.
“Dehu, Alandi and
Pandharpur are three
important places. The
Union and state govern-
ments will develop
road-side amenities
jointly,” he added.
Gadkari conducts
aerial survey of
‘palkhi marg’
‘Oppn must stop playing politics
over issue of unseasonal rains’
Pune (PTI): Deputy
Chief Minister Deven-
dra Fadnavis on Satur-
day said the Opposition
leaders need to be sen-
sitive and must stop
playing politics over
the issue unseasonal
rains that affected
farmers in different
parts of the state.
The Opposition had
staged a walk out in
the state legislative As-
sembly on Thursday
demanding that the
state government give
immediate relief to
farmers whose crops
were destroyed in the
unseasonal rains ac-
companied by hail-
storms earlier this
week.
Leader of Opposition
Ajit Pawar criticized
the state government
for not comforting the
distressed farmers.
“Unseasonal rains
lashed several parts of
the day a couple of days
ago. We immediately or-
dered assessment of
agricultural losses. We
have already clarified
that even if a farmer
clicks a photograph of
his farm, the image will
be considered as an as-
sessment,” Fadnavis
told reporters here.
Accusing the Opposi-
tion of creating a ruck-
us, the deputy chief
minister said, “Have
they (opposition) ever
seen a quick assess-
ment being carried out
after rains? We should
be sensitive to the situ-
ation arising out of un-
seasonal heavy rains
and not play politics
over it.”
Unseasonal rains
along with heavy winds
and hailstorm hit sev-
eral districts of Maha-
rashtra earlier this
week damaging crops,
which were ready for
harvest.

MAHARASHTRA
03
Devise safety guidelines for
USE OF CRANES: HC TO BMC
First India Bureau
Mumbai: While direct-
ing the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation
(BMC) to formulate
safety guidelines for the
use of cranes in con-
struction of high-rises,
the Bombay High Court
said, “A person has the
right to move freely
without the fear of get-
ting killed or hurt.”
A division bench
comprising Justice
GS Kulkarni and
Justice RN Laddha
in its order on
Thursday noted that
it was “high time”
the BMC gave special
attention to the safety
requirements at con-
struction sites. The
court further stated
that it was certain the
civic chief would
look into these is-
sues so that ap-
propriate direc-
tives/guidelines are
formulated.
On February 14, a
large cement block
came crashing down
from the 52nd floor of
the under-construction
Four Seasons Private
Residences project at
Worli in central Mum-
bai, killing two persons
standing outside the
premises.
A petition was filed
by Lokhandwala Resi-
dency Towers Coopera-
tive Housing So-
ciety Ltd located next to
the under-construction
building alleging lack
of proper care by the
developer Provenance
Land Pvt Ltd in the use
of cranes at the con-
struction site. The high
court in its order said
the February 14 inci-
dent was “too unfortu-
nate” and that it was
“deeply pained” by it.
“It can never be coun-
tenanced that innocent
lives are lost even by ac-
cidents of
such nature,” the court
said.
The court wondered
if there was any inspec-
tion, approval and cer-
tification of the opera-
tion of such cranes by
any recognized special-
ized agency, which may
be appointed by the de-
velopers.
It directed the civic
body to within two
months to look into the
issues inter alia con-
cerning safety meas-
ures in the operation
and use of cranes in
high-rise constructions.
“We are certain that
in the event the munici-
pal corporation for-
mulates any guide-
lines and intends to
issue appropriate
directives, the ur-
bandevelopment
department of
the state govern-
ment shall act upon any
such proposal of the
municipal corporation
with utmost expedien-
cy
,” the court said.
Court hearing
petition over
death of two
people at the
construction
site of a high-rise
We firmly believe in the right of a
person to move freely, in places
which are not actual construction
sites. If they are threatened by a fear of be-
ing killed or hurt, this would certainly
amount to violation of one’s fundamental
right to livelihood, guaranteed under Article
21 of the Constitution.
—Bombay High Court
LEGAL INQUIRY
POCSO accused gets
bail even before cops
file charge sheet
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The sessions
court has granted bail
to a 45-year-old Vakola
resident in the Protec-
tion of Children from
Sexual Offences (POC-
SO) case even before the
charge sheet has been
submitted. As per the
court, both parties have
a history of animosity.
The three-year-old
child’s mother has filed
the case under POCSO.
As per the bail appli-
cation filed by the ac-
cused, the mother
lodged a complaint on
January 28 this year.
She said that her daugh-
ter used to go to the
house of the accused,
who lives in the neigh-
bourhood, to play with
his sons. On January 06,
at around 1.30 pm, the
child allegedly came
from the house of the
accused and com-
plained of pain in her
private parts and stom-
ach. The mother took
the girl to the hospital
where doctors diag-
nosed an infection.
On January 26, when
the complainant took
the child for a pooja
along with her husband
the child got scared on
seeing the accused and
insisted that her moth-
er take her back home.
On Jan 06, the
child allegedly
came from the
house of the
accused and
complained of
pain in her
private parts and
stomach
GRAM SEVAK HELD
BY ACB FOR `15K
BRIBE DEMAND
Thane: The Anti-Corruption
Bureau has arrested a gram
sevak for allegedly demand-
ing a bribe of Rs15,000
to facilitate property tax
assessment for a house in
a village in Thane district.
Based on a complaint, the
ACB’s Thane unit laid a trap
and caught the accused
while accepting Rs10,000
at the Ovli gram panchayat
office in Bhiwandi on
Thursday, an official said.
The accused had de-
manded Rs15,000 from the
complainant to facilitate the
tax assessment, he said. An
offence under the Preven-
tion of Corruption Act has
been registered.
MAN GETS SEVEN
YEARS RI IN RAPE
CASE IN THANE
Thane: A court in Thane
district has sentenced
a 37-year-old man to
seven years of rigorous
imprisonment for raping
a woman. Additional
sessions judge Dr Rachna
R Tehra on Wednesday
found the accused guilty of
charges under section 376
(rape) of the Indian Penal
Code. The accused was
sentenced to seven years
of rigorous imprisonment
and a fine of Rs500 was
imposed on him. On June
27, 2016, the accused
came to the victim’s house
and quarrelled with her.
He raped the victim in the
presence of her daughter.
28-YEAR-OLD YOUTH KILLED IN MISHAP
AFTER CAR RAMS INTO TREE IN PALGHAR
Palghar: A 28-year-old man died after the car he was travel-
ling in rammed into a tree in Palghar district, police said
on Saturday. The accident took place at around 3 am on
Friday, they said. “Khaif Israil Khan and his relatives were
returning to Palghar from Boisar in the district when their
car rammed into a tree on Sarpada-Umroli road,” a police
official said. Khan suffered grievous injuries in the incident
and was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
His body was then sent to a government facility for post-
mortem, he said.
CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS ON ROADS:
OFFICIALS ASKED TO TAKE STRICT ACTION
Navi Mumbai: Rajesh Narvekar, the municipal commission-
er again made a surprise visit to public toilets and market
premises to check the cleanliness status. He directed
officials to check construction debris being dumped along
the road. Narvekar visited various sectors and provided
suggestions for improvement. Narvekar directed officials to
be more vigilant that debris should not be dumped in open
spaces or on open plots. He also asked to take strict action.
DENIED MARRIAGE,
COUPLE JUMPS OFF
HILLTOP IN CITY
Mumbai: A man and a
16-year-old girl died by
suicide allegedly after
jumping off the top of
a hill in Samta Nagar
area, the police said on
Saturday. According to
the police, both were
neighbours and lived in
Kandivali East Janupada
area. The 21-year-old man,
identified as Akash Jhate
was a housekeeper, while
the 16-year-old girl was
a student. “Their families
opposed their idea of
getting married,” Mumbai
police said. The police
have recovered the bodies
and sent them for post-
mortem examination.
NMMC TO HOLD
CYCLATHON TODAY
FOR AWARENESS
Navi Mumbai: In order
to spread the message
of environment protec-
tion through bicycles,
an innovative initiative
called Cyclathon 2023
has been organized on
Sunday March 12, 2023
in association with the
Cyclist Club of India. A
bicycle is a non-polluting
vehicle that is beneficial in
terms of health protection
and conservation. In Majhi
Vasundhara Abhiyan 2.0,
NMMC secured the first
rank as an eco-friendly city
in the state. Now, the civic
body has decided to main-
tain it in Majhi Vasundhara
Abhiyan 3.0.
Couple’s mysterious death:
Experts hint geyser inspection
First India Bureau
Mumbai: After the
death of a couple whose
bodies were found in
the bathroom of their
flat in the Ghatkopar
building that remains a
mystery, the city’s fo-
rensic experts now give
inputs on possible clues
to solving the case as
one of them has sug-
gested inspecting the
geyser in the bathroom.
The post mortem of
Deepak Shah (45) and
Tina Shah (39) was in-
conclusive, making the
police look for all the
possible angles to
crack the case and find
the cause of their
death. The bodies of
the duo were found on
March 08.
“The geyser has been
checked by experts and
it didn’t show any leak-
age. To get more clarity
on the death of the cou-
ple, chemical analysis
of the samples is cru-
cial. We are going to
write to the Forensic
Science Laboratory, Ka-
lina to analyze the sam-
ples on priority and
give a report as soon as
possible,” DCP (Zone 7)
Purushottam Karad
said. “The couple re-
turned home around
3.55 pm to 4 pm, which
is after the Holi party,”
DCP Karad. “However,
it’s still unclear wheth-
er they left home again.
There is another
statement of a watch-
man who says he saw
them returning home
around 9.30 pm, so there
is a possibility that they
had gone out again,” he
added. Police have re-
corded the statements
of 10 people, including
their parents, house
help, an uncle and
friends who were with
the couple at the Holi
bash, the DCP said.
Woman’s menstrual blood used
for Aghori ritual; seven booked
First India Bureau
Pune: Seven people,
including the husband
and in-laws of a
28-year-old woman
have been booked in
Pune for allegedly
forcing her to indulge
in black magic rituals.
SeniorPoliceInspec-
tor Dattatraya Bhapka
of Visharant Wadi po-
lice station said the ac-
cused took menstrual
bloodof victimagainst
her will as a part of a
Aghori practice.
Following a com-
plaint by woman, a
case was registered
against her husband,
her mother-in-law, fa-
ther-in-law, brother-in-
law, and nephew under
sections 377 ( unnatu-
ral offences), 354 ( mo-
lestation ), 498 (entic-
ing or taking away or
detaining with crimi-
nal intent a married
woman) and relevant
sections of the Maha-
rashtra Prevention
and Eradication of
Human Sacrifice and
other Inhuman, Evil,
and Aghori Practices
and Black Magic Act,
officials said.
In her complaint,
the women alleged
that she had been sub-
jected to mental and
physical harassment
since her marriage in
2019. “She said that
some of the accused
including her broth-
ers-in-law, nephew and
neighbour forcibly
took her menstrual
blood in August 2022.
They used cotton to fill
a bottle to perform
some black magic act,”
stated the complaint.
Police further added
that the accused broth-
er-in-lawwassupposed
to get Rs50,000 in re-
turn for the menstrual
blood of a woman.
INCONCLUSIVE
Deceased couple Deepak Shah and Tina Shah
Incident occurred in
Beed district of state
at residence of
victim’s in-laws
Class X students fooled by viral fake exam schedule
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Several class
X students, in the midst
of their Maharashtra
SSC board exam,
have fallen victim to
a fake exam timetable
that went viral on the
web. Seeing it as the
final timetable, the stu-
dents reportedly failed
to turn up for the Sec-
ond Language (Hindi)
exam, according to re-
ports.
As per Maharashtra
State Board of Second-
ary and
Higher
S e c -
ondary Education (MS-
BSHSE) official timeta-
ble, the Hindi exam as a
second language was
scheduled for March 08.
However, the
s a m e
exam was listed for
March 09 in fake sched-
ule that went viral, con-
fusing many students
who did not appear for
their Hindi paper.
The parents of these
students made a re-
quest for a
s p e c i a l
e x a m i -
n a t i o n
w h i c h
was de-
clined by
t h e
school educa-
tion minis-
ter, Deepak
K e s a r k a r,
while saying
that the exam board is
not at fault in this case.
Later, parents of
these students
sought nod for
special exam,
which school edu
minister declined
Mumbai: Amid
complaints of
parents of kids
appearing for the
ongoing Board
examinations, the
Maharashtra State
Board of Secondary
and Higher Second-
ary Education (MSBSHSE) has decided to change
the exam centre of 170 SSC students who were
allotted seating in Ganesh Vidyalaya. Situated in
the middle of noisy shanties and shops, parents of
students had said that the school lacks sufficient
fans and ventilation. Action from the Board came
after a Shiv Sena legislator raised the matter in the
Assembly on Friday, prompting School Education
Minister Deepak Kesarkar to change the exam
centre.
170 SSC STUDENTS TO GET NEW
BOARD EXAM CENTRE FROM MONDAY
Tyre shop fire:
Smoke still
emerging from
chambers
First India Bureau
Thane: A day after a
fire in underground
power supply lines
claimedthelifeof aman
sleeping in a tyre shop
at Shil in Thane city,
smoke continues to
emerge from nearby
manhole chambers. In-
vestigators are trying to
find out its source, an
official said on Saturday
.
A 35-year-old man
was charred to death
and another one got in-
jured after the fire
broke out in under-
ground power cables
and engulfed the tyre
shop at around 6.30 am
on Friday. The fire was
completely doused by
12.30 am on Saturday
.
“Below the under-
ground power cables
lies a diesel pipeline of
Bharat Petroleum com-
pany, which suffered
damage due to the fire
and explosions. But
even 24 hours after the
incident, smoke contin-
ues to emanate from the
chambers and the au-
thorities are trying to
find out the source,”
Avinash Sawant, chief
of the Regional Disas-
ter Management Cell
(RDMC) of the Thane
Municipal Corporation
(TMC), said.
CRUCIAL READ

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No.302
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe
MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial
Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C
of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part)
Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Phone 022-46031417.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Be truthful; do not yield
to anger. Give freely, even
if you have but little. The
gods will bless you.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
Double Engine Govt working 24×7 and
365 days. This grand overbridge built
at Sanathal Junction in Ahmedabad
was dedicated to the public. This
overbridge will further boost the
development of the city and will relieve
the people from traffic problems and
make their lives more convenient.
Nitin Gadkari
@nitin_gadkari
Shri Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj
Palkhi Marg, which connects
two important religious places in
Maharashtra, Alandi and Pandharpur,
was inspected today along with MP
Shri Ranjit Singh Naik Nimbalkar ji
and officials. #PragatiKaHighway
#GatiShakti #PalkhiMarg
TOP TWEETS
DIPLOMATIC DEAL
BETWEEN SAUDI
AND IRAN IS BAD
AUGURY FOR US
hina is emerging as a
dominant player in
geopolitics, slowly
trying to dislodge the
US from its pedestal.
Its latest diplomatic move to
help revive diplomatic ties be-
tween Saudi Arabia and Iran,
the two powerful adversaries in
the Gulf region, marks USA’s
receding influence. The two
countries have not had diplo-
matic relations for the past sev-
en years. Iran is already against
America and Israel because of
their attempt to isolate Teheran
over its nuclear weapons pro-
gramme. Iran and Saudi Arabia
will also revive a security co-
operation pact. Israel must be as
concerned over this diplomatic
coup by China as the US which
is being increasingly marginal-
ized in global politics.
For the peace process to sus-
tain, the two Islamic nations will
have to stop their proxy war in
Yemen’s sectarian hostilities. It
could then bring peace between
IranbackedHouthirebelsandthe
Saudi-backedexiledgovernment.
Ramifications of this deal may
also be felt in Syria and Lebanon.
C
he collapse of a
bank located fara-
way in the famous
Silicon Valley on
Friday night sent
tremors across the globe, in-
cluding India. Shares of the
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)
crashed by about 60 percent
after it incurred a huge loss
on its bond holding of $21 bil-
lion dollars. The estimated
loss was of around $1.8 bil-
lion. This was not unexpect-
ed as the central banks have
been raising interest rates to
fight inflation. In the last 12
months the US Federal Re-
serve has hiked the interest
rates by 4.5 percentage
points. The panic led to a
huge fall in global stock mar-
kets with Sensex falling by
900 points.
Before the rate hike pro-
cess began, several US-based
Indian start-ups had parked
huge amounts of money in
the SVB which has now been
shut down by the US regula-
tors. Some of the deposits
were more than $250,000. The
SVB began investing in Indi-
an ventures in 2003 and about
20 start-ups are exposed to the
risk now posed by the col-
lapse, much like the collapse
of Lehman Bank and closure.
The SVB, however, has
enough funds to pay off its
insured depositors. The
SVB’s custodian has been
quoted as saying that the
bank has $175 billion in de-
posits and $209 billion assets.
The collapse has come as a
rude shock in the world of
tech start-ups. The main con-
cern of Indian startups is
over transfer of their assets.
Pinterest board member
Gokul Rajaram summed up
the situation: “India-based
founders don’t know who to
turn to as an alternative to
SVB. Likely true for found-
ers in other countries too…”
INDIAN START-UPS
FEEL SVB TREMORS
Shares of the Silicon
Valley Bank (SVB)
crashed by about 60
percent after it incurred a
huge loss on its bond
holding of $21 billion
dollars. The estimated
loss was of around
$1.8 billion
T
SILICON VALLEY BANK
BIGGEST US LENDER...
TO FAIL SINCE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS — A FINANCE EXPERT EXPLAINS THE IMPACT
While these losses are just on
paper - meaning they’re not
realized until the assets are
sold – they still can increase
a bank’s overall risk. How
much the risk will go up will
vary from bank to bank.
The good news is that most
banks currently have
enough capital to absorb
these losses – however large –
in part because of efforts
taken by the Fed after the
2008 financial crisis to
ensure financial firms can
weather any storm. So rest
easy for now, the banking
system is sound
ilicon Valley Bank, which ca-
tered to the tech industry for
three decades, collapsed on
March10,2023,aftertheSanta
Clara, California-based lend-
er suffered from an old-fash-
ioned bank run. State regula-
tors seized thebank andmade
the Federal Deposit Insur-
ance Corporation its receiver.
SVB, as it’s known, was the
biggest U.S. lender to fail
since the 2008 global finan-
cial crisis – and the second-
biggest ever. We asked Wil-
liam Chittenden, associate
professor of finance at Texas
State University, to explain
what happened and whether
Americans should be wor-
ried about the safety of their
financial system.
WHY DID SILICON
VALLEY BANK COLLAPSE
SO SUDDENLY?
The short answer is that SVB
did not have enough cash to
pay depositors so the regula-
torsclosedthebank.Thelong-
eranswerbeginsduringinthe
pandemic, when SVB and
many other banks were rak-
inginmoredepositsthanthey
couldlendouttoborrowers.In
2021, deposits at SVB doubled.
But they had to do some-
thing with all that money
. So,
what they could not lend out,
theyinvestedinultra-safeU.S.
Treasury securities. The
problem is the rapid increase
in interest rates in 2022 and
2023 caused the value of these
securitiestoplunge.Acharac-
teristic of bonds and similar
securities is that when yields
or interest rates go up, prices
go down, and vice versa.
The bank recently said it
took a US$1.8 billion hit on
the sale of some of those se-
curities and they were unable
to raise capital to offset the
loss as their stock began drop-
ping. That prompted promi-
nent venture capital firms to
advise the companies they
investintopulltheirbusiness
from Silicon Valley Bank.
This had a snowball effect
that led a growing number of
SVB depositors to withdraw
their money too.
The investment losses,
coupled with the withdraw-
als, were so large that regula-
tors had no choice but to step
in to shut the bank down to
protect depositors.
ARE THE DEPOSITS
NOW SAFE?
From a practical perspective,
the FDIC is now running the
bank. It is typical for the FDIC
to shut a bank down on a Fri-
day and have the bank reopen
the following Monday
. In this
case, the FDIC has already an-
nounced that the bank will
reopen on March 13 as the De-
posit Insurance National
Bank of Santa Clara. At the
endof 2022,SVBhad$175.4bil-
lion in deposits. It’s not clear
how much of those deposits
remainwiththebankandhow
muchof thoseareinsuredand
100%safe.Fordepositorswith
$250,000 or less in cash at SVB,
the FDIC said that customers
will have access to all of their
money when the bank reo-
pens. For those with unin-
sured deposits at SVB – basi-
callyanythingabovetheFDIC
limit of $250,000 – they may or
may not receive back the rest
of their money
.
WHAT WAS THE LAST
US BANK TO FAIL?
Prior to the failure of SVB,
the most recent bank failures
occurred in October 2020,
whenbothAlmenaStateBank
inKansasandFirstCityBank
of Florida were taken over by
the FDIC. Both of these banks
were relatively small – with
about $200 million in deposits
combined. SVB was the big-
gestbanktofailsinceSeptem-
ber 2008, when Washington
Mutualfailedwith$307billion
in assets. WaMu fell in the
wake of investment bank
Lehman Brothers’ collapse,
which nearly took down the
global financial system. On
the whole, U.S. bank failures
aren’t all that common. For
example, there were none in
2021 and 2022.
IS THERE ANY RISK
THAT MORE BANKS
MIGHT FAIL?
At the end of 2022, SVB was
the 16th-largest bank in the
United States with $209 bil-
lion in assets. That sounds
like a lot – and it is – but that’s
just 0.91% of all banking as-
sets in the U.S. There is little
risk that SVB’s failure will
spill over to other banks.
Having said that, SVB’s col-
lapse does highlight the risk
that many banks have in
their investment portfolios.
If interest rates continue to
rise, and the Federal Reserve
has indicated that they will,
the value of the investment
portfolios of banks across the
U.S. will continue to go down.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
S
SVB, as it’s known,
was the biggest US
lender to fail since
the 2008 global
financial crisis – and
the second-biggest ever.
We asked William
Chittenden, associate
professor of finance at
Texas State University, to
explain what happened
and whether Americans
should be worried
about the safety of
their financial system

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05
INDIA
New Delhi (PTI):
‘Maa’, a micro-site on
PM Narendra Modi’s
official website, that
pays tribute to the
memory of his mother
and celebrates the un-
wavering spirit of
motherhood has been
launched.
Heeraba Modi, moth-
er of PM, passed away
on December 30, 2022.
Condolences and
heartfelt sympathies
poured in from around
the world following her
passing away.
The microsite ‘Maa’,
which is dedicated to
Heeraba, celebrates
the unwavering spirit
of motherhood and
pays tribute to her
memory.
The website captures
the love and unbreak-
able bond shared be-
tween a mother and
her son. The microsite
carries videos and se-
lected quotes of Heera-
ba that convey the
teachings she imparted
to her children.
The site also features
Prime Minister Modi’s
special blog, which he
wrote for his mother as
she approached her
100th year.
There is also an au-
dio version of the blog
narrated in Hindi.
Heeraba Modi’s life
and journey are cap-
tured in four sections
of the website – life in
public domain, nation
remembers, the world
condoles and celebrat-
ing motherhood.
In the section ‘life in
public domain’, photo-
graphs and videos illus-
trate the humble and
simple life of Heeraba.
This section also con-
tains quotes from vari-
ous blogs and inter-
views with PM Modi on
his mother as well as
public artwork cele-
brating their bond.
Microsite on PM’s website remembers ‘Maa’
SPIRIT OF MOTHERHOOD
PLEAS ON SAME-SEX
MARRIAGES IN APEX
COURT ON MONDAY
HAND CHOPPING CASE:
NIA ANNOUNCES `10L
REWARD FOR INFO
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court is scheduled to
hear on Monday a batch
of pleas seeking legal
validation for same-sex
marriages on Monday.
According to Monday’s
(March 13) cause list
uploaded on the apex
court’s website, the pleas
are listed for hearing
before a bench. The apex
court had, on January 6,
clubbed and transferred
to itself all such petitions
pending before different
high courts, including the
Delhi High Court.
Kochi: The National
Investigation Agency
(NIA) has announced a
reward of Rs 10 lakh for
providing information on
the whereabouts of one
Sawad the prime accused
in the 2010 Kerala hand
chopping case, an official
said on Saturday. Sawad
is a resident of Ernakulam
district in Kerala. The case
pertains to the chopping of
a professor, T.J. Joseph’s
right hand in July 2010
by the activists of the
now-banned organisation,
Popular Front of India.
Prayagraj: A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal here has asked
the Delhi Police to register an FIR against a litigant and probe
her for placing on record a fake court order to claim Rs
23.50 lakh as compensation. The tribunal’s Presiding Officer
Ekta Gauba Mann said the attempt by the litigant Pooja to
wrongfully claim the compensation awarded to the petitioner
in another case was a “very serious issue”. “It appears the
applicant Pooja has prepared a fake order of this court dated
December 1, 2021, by getting it fabricated by mentioning in
place of Pushpa Rajwar vs Nawab Ali as Pooja vs the State
and others and by mentioning in place of the name of this
court the wrong name of the court as Ekta Gautam Mann,”
the judge said.
Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has denied bail to
a member of Mukhtar Ansari gang in a 2010 murder
case in Mau in which the jailed gang-
ster-turned-politician is also an accused.
The court said Ansari’s gang is the “most
dreaded criminal gang of India” and it is
possible that the accused, Ramu Mallah,
could influence witnesses and their
deposition in the case if allowed to come
out of jail. Mallah, who is being tried in several other cases,
had moved the bail application.
LITIGANT GIVES FAKE CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION,
COURT DIRECTS DELHI POLICE TO REGISTER FIR
COURT SAYS MUKHTAR ANSARI’S IS THE MOST
DREADED GANG, DENIES BAIL TO ITS MEMBER
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi (ANI):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Saturday
addressed a post-Budg-
et Webinar on the sub-
ject of ‘PM Vishwakar-
ma Kaushal Samman’.
The webinar was the
last and final of a series
of 12 post-budget webi-
nars organized by the
government to seek
ideas and suggestions
for effectively imple-
menting the initiatives
announced in the Union
Budget 2023. Address-
ing the gathering, the
Prime Minister said
that for the last three
years, a tradition of a
post Budget dialogue
with the stakeholders
has emerged.
The PM expressed
happiness that all stake-
holders have partici-
pated productively in
these discussions.
He noted that instead
of discussing the mak-
ing of the Budget, the
stakeholders have dis-
cussed the best possible
ways of implementing
the provisions of the
Budget.
The Prime Minister
remarked that the se-
ries of post-budget we-
binars is a new chapter
where the discussions
held inside the Parlia-
ment by Parliamentar-
ians are being held by
all stakeholders where
getting valuable sugges-
tions from them makes
for very useful practice.
The Prime Minister
said that today’s webi-
nar is dedicated to the
skill and expertise of
the crores of Indians.
Referring to skilling
and creating job oppor-
tunities for crores of
youth through Skill In-
dia Mission and Kaush-
al Rozgar Kendra,
Prime Minister Modi
emphasized the need
for a specific and tar-
geted approach.
PM Vishwakarma
Kaushal Samman Yoja-
na or PM Vishwakar-
ma, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said is a
result of this thinking.
Explaining the need for
the scheme and the ra-
tionale of the name
‘Vishwakarma’, the
Prime Minister talked
about the exalted status
of Lord Vishwakarma
in the Indian ethos and
a rich tradition of re-
spect for those who
work with their hands
with implements.
The Prime Minister
said while a few sectors’
artisans received some
attention, many classes
of artisans such as car-
penters, ironsmiths,
sculptors, masons and
many others that are an
integral part of society
have been adapting to
the changing times to
fulfill the needs of the
society that were ig-
nored.
Skilled craftsmen symbols
of self-reliant India: Modi
It was the last of a series of 12 post-budget webinars organized by the govt to seek ideas and
suggestions for effectively implementing the initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2023
POST-BUDGET WEBINAR
Same happened in 2017:
Nitish on CBI, ED action
Patna (PTI): Bihar
Chief Minister Nit-
ish Kumar on Satur-
day hinted that he
agreed with the con-
tention of ally
Rashatriya Janata
Dal (RJD) that the re-
centcrackdownonits
president Lalu Pras-
ad Yadav and his fam-
ily members by the
CBI and ED was “po-
litically motivated”.
This was in con-
trast to the stand he
took in 2017, when he
hadwantedtheallyto
come clean on charg-
es of corruption.
The CM and JD(U)
leader also rub-
bished speculations
that he was main-
taining an eloquent
silence on the issue
because of anxieties
about tarnishing his
own image for probi-
ty by aligning with
“tainted” politicians
and could even be
thinking of breaking
away with the “Ma-
hagathbandhan”,
which besides RJD,
also includes Con-
gress and the Left.
Chief Minister Ni-
tish Kumar was ap-
proached with que-
ries by journalists
who wanted to know
about his views on
the questioning of
Lalu Prasad and his
wife Rabri Devi by
CBI earlier this
week, followed by
raids conducted on a
number of premises,
including houses of
his three daughters
and a daughter in
law by ED on Friday
and a fresh summons
issued by the CBI to
younger son and Bi-
har Deputy CM
Tejashwi Yadav.
LALU FAMILY FREE TO MOVE COURT IF
HAVE PROOF AGAINST US: BIHAR LoP
PGV CONDEMNS
ACTION AGAINST
TEJASHWI
KHARGE RAPS
SEARCHES AT
YADAV HOUSES
Patna (Agencies):
Amid RJD na-
tional president Lalu
Yadav’s family and
associates allega-
tion that the BJP is
misusing the central
agencies, Leader of
Opposition in the
state Legislative As-
sembly Vijay Kumar
Sinha on Saturday
said such statement
will not be of any
help, and if they have
any proof, they are
free to move court.
Issuing statements
in the media would
not help them, he
claimed.“Instead of
blaming the BJP, the
Lalu family should
disclose how they
have obtained such
a big amount of
money. They are
misleading people.
If they have any
proof against BJP of
misusing the central
agencies or have any
proof against any
BJP leaders, they
are free to go to the
court,” Sinha said.
New Delhi (PTI):
Congress leader
Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra on Saturday
alleged that the
BJP-led govern-
ment is indulg-
ing in politics of
“suppressing” the
unyielding voices
of the Opposition,
and claimed that
the action by probe
agencies against
Bihar Deputy Chief
Minister Tejashwi
Yadav was part of
this.
MY STATEMENTS
FORGED, FORCED
ME TO SIGN: PILLAI
New Delhi: Hyderabad-
based businessman Arun
Ramchandra Pillai, arrest-
ed in a money laundering
case related to the alleged
Delhi excise scam, has
moved a city court accus-
ing the ED of forging his
statements in the matter.
The ED had claimed that
he is a close aide of BRS
MLC and Telangana CM
K Chandrashekar Rao’s
daughter K Kavitha.
New Delhi (PTI):
Congress President
Mallikarjun Kharge
on Friday accused
the Narendra Modi
govt of making
“sinister attempts
to kill democracy”
by misusing probe
agencies against
Opposition lead-
ers, as he slammed
the Centre over
the ED searches
on the premises of
former Bihar CM
Lalu Prasad Yadav’s
family.
Will KCR’s daughter be arrested?
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Aam Aad-
mi Party leader Manish
Sisodia was called by
the CBI for the second
time when the party
leaders started saying
that he would be arrest-
ed. And literally in the
second appearance it-
self, the central agency
arrested him. In the liq-
uor scam case in which
Sisodia has been arrest-
ed by the CBI, the ED
called Kavitha, daugh-
ter of Telangana Chief
Minister K Chan-
drasekhar Rao and a
member of the state
Legislative Council, for
questioning. Earlier the
CBI has questioned her.
So, it can be said that
she too has a ‘second
calling’. However, till
now her party has not
started saying that she
too can be arrested. But
this matter is being dis-
cussed.
Bengaluru (Agencies)
Chief Election Com-
missioner (CEC) Rajiv
Kumar said on Satur-
day that the term of fif-
teenth legislature in
Karnataka will end on
May 24.
“There are 5,21,73,599
voters in Karnataka. I
have discussed with all
party representatives,
election officers and
BBMP staff in connec-
tion with poll prepara-
tion,” the CEC said.
Addressing a press
conference Kumar said
that he had discussed
with the representa-
tives for three days on
holding elections trans-
parently
.
Chief Election Com-
missioner expressed
his displeasure over
low rate of voter
turn-out especially in
Bengaluru in 2018 gen-
eral assembly elections.
Bengaluru has emerged
as the IT hub and de-
spite this, lower per-
centage of voting is dis-
heartening, he said.
The voter’s turnout in
urban areas has come
down, he stressed.
PM Modi to inaugurate
B’luru-Mysuru E-way
Bengaluru (ANI): PM
Narendra Modi is sched-
uled to visit Karnataka
on March 12 where he
will dedicate the Bengal-
uru-Mysuru Express-
way to the nation. The
118 km long project has
been developed at a total
cost of around Rs 8,480
crores. It will reduce the
travel time between
Bengaluru and Mysuru
from around 3 hours to
about 75 minutes. Be-
sides,hewillinaugurate
and lay foundation
stones of various pro-
jects of Hubballi-Dhar-
wad smart city
.
Tripura: 3 held
over attack on
Cong-Left MPs
Sepahijala (ANI):
Three persons have
been arrested in con-
nection to an attack on
the joint team of Con-
gress and Left Front
MPs in State’s Nehal-
chandranagar, Tripura
Police said on Saturday
.
According to the po-
lice, the joint delegation
was allegedly attacked
by a mob, while they
wereonavisittoBishal-
garh to meet affected
families by post-poll vi-
olence. The Tripura Po-
lice safely escorted the
delegation.
DELHI EXCISE SCAM
KARNATAKA ASSEMBLY POLLS
BJP govt’s term to end on May 24: CEC
SENIOR CITIZENS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY
TO GET VOTE-FROM-HOME OPTION: ECI
CREDIT WAR OVER
K’TAKA EXPRESSWAY
INTENSIFIES
Bengaluru (ANI): CEC Rajiv Kumar on Saturday said
all senior citizens above 80 and people with disability
will get a vote-from-home option in the Karnataka
Assembly elections.“For the first time, we are going
to provide in Karnataka the facility to all 80 plus and
Persons with Disabilities (PwD) voters, if they so
desire, to vote even from their homes. There is a form
12D which will be available within five days of the no-
tification so that any 80 plus or PwD voter, desirous
of voting from home, can be facilitated,” he added.
Bengaluru: Credit war
on Bengaluru-Mysuru
Expressway intensified in
with BJP stepping up its
attack on JD(S) accusing
it of attempting to claim
credit for the project.
BJP MLA KS Eshwarappa
dubbed the “attempts” of
JD(S) to “claim” credit for
the project.
PM Narendra Modi with his mother Heeraba. —FILE PHOTO
BRS MLC K Kavitha arrives at ED office in New Delhi on Saturday.
PM Narendra Modi addresses post-budget webinar on ‘PM
Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman’ on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Bihar Guv Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar with CM Nitish Kumar.
The site also features Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s special blog, which
he wrote for his mother as she
approached her 100th year

06
INDIA
New Delhi (PTI): “In
your excellence, the
world saw a glimpse of
India’s sporting prow-
ess,” PM Narendra Modi
told Sania Mirza while
congratulating the leg-
endry athlete for her glo-
riouscareerinwhichshe
illustrated that “more
women can pursue ten-
nis and excel in it”.
Sania, who won six
Grand Slam titles in her
career, bid adieu to the
game last month in
Dubai, where she played
her final tournament.
In his congratulatory
message to Sania, the
PM conveyed that Sania
has left an indelible
mark on Indian sports,
inspiring the coming
generation of athletes.
Sania posted the let-
ter, dated March 9, on
her twitter handle.
“Tennis lovers will
finditdifficulttofathom
that you will not be play-
ing professionally now
onwards,” he wrote.
“…..In your excel-
lence, world saw a
glimpse of India’s sport-
ing prowess. When you
began playing, India’s
tennis landscape was
very different. What you
did was to illustrate that
morewomencanpursue
tennis and excel in it.
“But, beyond that,
your success also gave
strength to several other
women who wanted to
pursueacareerinsports
but for some reason or
the other were hesitant
to do so,” wrote the PM
adding that Sania’s suc-
cessfilledeveryIndians’
heart with pride.
The PM also recol-
lected the time Sania
went through a tumul-
tuous phase, when a
wrist injury almost
jeopardised her career,
before she emerged a
strong double player.
In you, world saw glimpse of India’s sporting prowess: PM to Sania
SALUTE TO THE TALENT
lll
India’s Tennis
sensation Sania
Mirza has
posted Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi’s letter,
dated March 9,
on her Twitter
handle
SANIA THANKS PM FOR HIS INSPIRING
WORDS AFTER HER FAREWELL MATCH
New Delhi (ANI): Indian
tennis ace Sania Mirza on
Saturday thanked Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
for his kind and inspiring
words after the player bid
an emotional adieu to the
sport in her hometown of
Hyderabad at the venue
where it all started for
her as a 16-year-old. PM
Modi in a letter to Mirza
said that as India’s best
tennis player, she had
left an indelible mark on
Indian sports, inspiring
the coming generations
of athletes. “I would like
to thank you Honor-
able Prime Minister @
narendramodi Ji for such
kind and inspiring words.
I have always taken great
pride in representing our
country to the best of my
ability and will continue
to do whatever I can to
make India proud. Thank
you for your support,”
tweeted Sania.
SMUGGLER HELD NEAR
INDO-B’DESH BORDER
WITH YABA TABLETS
1.3 KG DRUGS SEIZED
NEAR ASSAM-
MIZORAM BORDER
PRAMOD TIWARI IS
CONG’S RS Dy LEADER,
RAJANI PATIL WHIP
FIRE BREAKS OUT AT
BANQUET HALL IN
FARIDABAD
Guwahati: The Border
Security Force (BSF)
Guwahati Frontier foiled a
smuggling bid and appre-
hended one narcotic smug-
gler along with prohibited
Yaba (Methamphetamine)
tablets on the Indo-Bangla-
desh international border,
officials said on Saturday.
They further said based on
reliable input, on March 11,
BSF troops apprehended
one Indian smuggler and
seized 718 Nos prohibited
Yaba Tablets worth Rs 3.59
lakh from his possession.
Guwahati: Assam Police
have seized 1.3 kg drugs
near border with Mizoram,
officials said on Saturday.
The seizure was made
from a vehicle on Friday,
which also led to the ar-
rest of three persons on
charges of drugs ped-
dling. The vehicle was
reportedly coming from
Mizoram.“Yesterday (Fri-
day), we got a tip-off that a
car heading from Mizoram
was transporting drugs. We
deployed a naka to monitor
the route and stopped a
car. We discovered 100
drug-filled soap containers
totaling 1.3 kg during the
check,” the police said.
New Delhi: The Congress
on Saturday approved the
appointment of Pramod
Tiwari as deputy leader of
the party in Rajya Sabha. He
has taken over the post left
vacant by Anand Sharma.
The party also approved
the appointment of Rajani
Patil as the party’s whip in
the Upper House. Sources
said the appointments were
made by the Congress
president to fill the vacan-
cies following the retirement
of Anand Sharma and the
demise of Rajeev Satav.
Faridabad (ANI): A fire
broke out at Summer
Grand Banquet Hall, Sector
10, Faridabad, officials said
on Saturday. “Short circuit
is likely to be the reason for
the fire at the Banquet Hall.
Fire brigade team is present
on the spot,” informed
officials. Firefighting efforts
are underway to douse the
fire. Earlier on March 10,
a fire broke out at a shop
next to Mesco School in
the Mumbra area of Maha-
rashtra’s Thane, informed
the officials. Reportedly,
the fire broke out on the
ground floor of the building
and spread to the upper
floors.
CRUCIAL READ
Bengaluru: An air hostess, who flew down to the city from
Dubai to meet her male friend, reportedly jumped to her
death on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.
According to police, the incident took place on the prem-
ises of Renuka Residency in Koramangala locality. The
deceased has been identified as 28-year-old Archana from
Himachal Pradesh. She had jumped from the fourth floor
of the apartment. Preliminary investigations reveal that
she worked for a reputed airline company and had come
down from Dubai to meet her friend Adesh, a software
professional. Adesh hailed from Kerala and is working in
Bengaluru. Police state that both were in a relationship for
the past several years.
AIR HOSTESS JUMPS TO DEATH FROM FLAT ON
4th FLOOR IN BENGALURU APARTMENT
GoI writes to States, UTs
over H1N1, H3N2 cases
Union Health Secy says special care should be taken in case of young kids and elderly
New Delhi (ANI): Un-
ion Health Secretary
Rajesh Bhushan in a let-
ter to the States and Un-
ion Territories on Satur-
day expressed his con-
cerns over the rising
trend in other Influenza-
like Illnesses Severe
Acute Respiratory Ill-
nesses (ILIs/SARIs) be-
ing witnessed in some
States/UTsacrossIndia.
The letter said that it
is important to raise
community awareness
regarding adherence to
respiratoryandhandhy-
giene, promoting early
reporting of symptoms,
and limiting the contact
of those people who are
suffering from respira-
tory illness. “In the pre-
sent season, a variety of
weather conditions and
behavioural reasons
(like less than adequate
attention to personal hy-
giene, sneezing and
coughing without prop-
er protection in close
proximity of other peo-
ple, closed indoor gath-
erings of people, etc.)
make the environment
conducive to the circula-
tionof anumberof viral
respiratory pathogens
like Influenza A (H1N1,
H3N2 etc.), Adenovirus-
es, etc,” the letter reads.
He added that special
care should be taken in
the case of young chil-
dren, old age people and
peoplesufferingfromco-
morbiditieswhoarepar-
ticularly at risk and vul-
nerable to H1N1, H3N2,
Adenoviruses, etc.
The letter said gradu-
al rise in COVID-19 test
positivity rates in some
States is a concerning
issue that needs to be
promptly addressed.
“Despite low number
of new cases, equally
low number of hospi-
talisations and signifi-
cant advances made in
terms of COVID-19 vac-
cination coverage, there
is a need to remain vigi-
lant and focus on the
five-fold strategy of test-
track-treat-vaccination
andadherencetoCOVID
appropriate behaviour.”
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. —FILE PHOTO
Kaushik death: Police to
examine CCTV footage
“OBJECTIONABLE MEDICINE
FOUND FROM FARMHOUSE”
New Delhi (ANI):
After receiving the
detailed post-mortem
report of Bollywood
actor Satish Kaushik,
the Delhi Police is ex-
amining seven hours
of CCTV footage at
the farmhouse in Del-
hi where he celebrat-
ed Holi. The detailed
post-mortem report
of Kaushik confirms
that the death was a
“natural” one and oc-
curred due to cardiac
arrest. According to
the post-mortem re-
port, the cause of
death was cardiac ar-
rest due to coronary
artery blockage
which is associated
with coronary artery
diseases. Death ap-
pears to be natural in
manner, sources said.
New Delhi: Delhi Police
have found packets of
‘objectionable medicine’
from the farm house in
Bijwasan where Satish
Kaushik fell ill after play-
ing Holi, and later died
on the way to hospital.
The farm house belongs
to Kaushik’s friend Vikas
Malu. Police are now
trying to find out who the
medicines were meant for.
It will be clear after inves-
tigation if Satish Kaushik
had anything to do with it,
sources said. The police
have also discovered that
there was an old rape case
against Vikas Malu.
People stand near a sand art of actor-director Satish Chandra
Kaushik created by sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik, in Puri.
WBSSC case: Kin of
Didi, Min in black list
Kolkata: The West Ben-
gal School Service Com-
mission (WBSSC) has
published a list 842 non-
teaching staff in the
Group-C category of dif-
ferent state-run schools
whose services have
been terminated follow-
ing an order from a sin-
gle-judge bench of the
Calcutta High Court.
Of names figuring in
list, two names are cur-
rently in focus as they
are relatives of CM
Mamata Banerjee and
Minister Srikanta Ma-
hata. The 155th name on
the list is that of Bristy
Mukherjee posted the
at Bolpur High School
in Birbhum district. It
is learnt that she is a
niece of the CM and her
father Nihar Mukher-
jee happens to be the
maternal cousin of CM
Mamata Banerjee.
Admitting about the
family ties, Nihar
Mukherjee told medi
persons that his con-
nections with the ad-
ministrative head of
the state are extremely
limited these days.
Anurag Thakur inaugurates 4th
Y20 Consultation Meet in Pune
First India Bureau
Pune: The fourth Y20
Consultation Meeting
was held at the Symbio-
sis International Uni-
versity (SIU) in Pune on
Saturday Union Minis-
ter for Youth affairs
Sports and Information
Broadcasting Anurag
Thakur was the Chief
Guest for the inaugura-
tion ceremony
.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, Union Minister
Anurag Thakur said “I
am delighted to be in
Pune, a city known for
its thriving manufac-
turing industry, which
is home to some of the
world’s largest automo-
bile engineering and
electronics companies.
Pune’s reputation as
the cultural capital of
Maharashtra and a
leading education hub
cannot be overstated.
With over 10 universi-
ties and 100 institutes,
the city has been a bea-
con of knowledge and
culture for generations,
attracting students and
scholars from across
the world. Institutions
like Symbiosis provide
quality education to
thousands of students
across the globe. There
could not be a better
place to organize this
Y20 event. Such institu-
tions sow and nurture
the seeds of change.”
Kerala’s church body
seeks ban on drama
Kochi (PTI): Kerala
Catholic Bishops’
Council (KCBC), the
apex body of the Catho-
lic Church in the state,
has urged the state gov-
ernment to ban the
staging of a Malayalam
drama alleging that it
portrayed Christianity
along with its congre-
gations and convents in
a bad light.
A recent meeting of
bishops and heads of
various congregations,
chaired by KCBC presi-
dent Cardinal Baselios
Cleemis here, con-
demned the play ‘Kak-
kukali’ and opined that
its staging was a blot
on the culture of Kera-
la. A play based on the
story of Malayalam
writer Francis Noron-
ha, ‘Kakkukali’ re-
volves around a young
nun and her struggles
and challenges which
she comes across in a
convent.
Alappuzha-based
Neythal Nataka Sang-
ham gave the story a
stage adaptation under
the direction of Job
Madathil.
Anurag Thakur lights a camp to inaugurate the event in Pune.
Tennis player Sania Mirza and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
NPCL’s new
initiatives for its
consumers
Noida: The NPCL has
announced installation
of additional supply in-
dication lamps at the
point of supply for its
consumers residing in
group housing societies.
“Weunderstandthatour
consumers face difficul-
ties determining wheth-
er the grid supply is
available or not, espe-
cially during power out-
ages. To address this, we
haveinstalledadditional
indication lamps at the
point of supply, which
will help consumers
verify whether grid sup-
ply is available or not
when there is no supply
intheirindividualdwell-
ing unit,” NPCL said.
COURTESY MEET!
President Droupadi Murmu with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on Saturday.
FROM P1...
My husband...
Shemadetheclaimin
a complaint she
lodged with the Delhi
Police Commission-
er’s office, alleging
that Kaushik was de-
manding the money
back which her hus-
band didn’t want to
repay
.Sheallegedthat
Kaushik was mur-
dered with some pills
which were arranged
by her husband. The
woman claimed that
she got married to the
businessman on
March 13, 2019, add-
ingthatshewasintro-
duced to Kaushik by
her husband and the
late actor met them
regularlyinIndiaand
Dubai. She claimed
that on August 23,
2022 Kaushik had vis-
ited their house in
Dubai and demanded
Rs 15 crore from her
husband.

Rise by USD 1.46 bn to USD 562.4 bn: RBI
Mumbai (PTI): India’s for-
eignexchangereservesrose
by USD 1.46 billion to USD
562.4 billion as of March 3,
arresting the four succes-
sive weeks of fall, the Re-
serve Bank of India said.
The forex reserves had
fallen by USD 15.8 billion
during preceding four
weeks. In previous week
ending February 24, re-
serves had declined by USD
325 million to USD 560.942
billion, and the week before
by a whopping USD 5.68 bil-
lion, showed Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) data. The
worst drop was in week to
February 10 when reserves
plunged by a steep USD 8.32
billiontoUSD566.95billion.
The reserves have been
falling as the rupee has
been under pressure and
monetary authority has
been taking measures to
defend currency from ex-
treme volatility. In 2022,
cost of defending a falling
rupee was over USD 115 bil-
lion of the reserves.
INDIA’S FOREX RESERVES
THE WORST
DROP
z The forex reserves had fallen
by USD 15.8 billion during
preceding four weeks
z The worst drop was in
week to February 10 when
reserves plunged by a
steep USD 8.32 billion to
USD 566.95 billion. The
reserves have been falling
as the rupee has been under
pressure
business
BRIEFS
Bengaluru: Amidst the
plethora of films created
by brands to celebrate
women, one film that
clearly stands out from
the rest is the unique
video made by Cycle
Pure Agarbathi. The film
was created using artifi-
cial intelligence. Elabo-
rating about the idea, Ar-
jun Ranga, MD, Cycle
pure Agarbathi says,
“Since 1948, women
have defined and shaped
the course of our com-
pany. Over 75% of our
workforce comprises of
women.” —PTI
CYCLE PURE
CREATES WOMEN'S
DAY FILM USING AI
New Delhi: PingPong, a
pioneer in providing end-
to-end payment solutions
for global cross-border
businesses, has an-
nounced the names of its
loyalty programme win-
ners. PingPong offers
global e-commerce sell-
ers the ability to manage
multiple currencies on a
single, secure platform
across the US, Europe
and Asia. PingPong Pay-
ments celebrated its 7th
global anniversary with a
virtual expo, called ‘Soul
of India’, and announced
a loyalty programme to
thank and honour its
clients. —PTI
LOYALTY PROG
WINNERS DECLARED
BY PINGPONG
New Delhi: TB Alliance, a
New York-based global
not-for-profit organiza-
tion, has appointed Ratan
P Watal to its Board of Di-
rectors. Welcoming Ratan
Watal, CEO, Melvin Spi-
gelman, said, “We are ex-
tremely delighted to wel-
come Ratan P Watal as a
Board Member of TB Alli-
ance. Ratan’s deep experi-
ence and knowledge in
the healthcare ecosystem,
especially in India, will be
invaluable for TB Alliance
as we work to ensure uni-
versal access to break-
through TB drugs.” —ANI
RATAN P WATAL NOW
INTO THE BOARD OF
TB ALLIANCE
New Delhi : Realty firm
SKA Group on Saturday
said it will invest Rs 140
crore to develop a com-
mercial project at Ghazi-
abad. The project ‘SKA Ar-
cadia’ will have around 2.5
lakh square feet of high-
street retail spaces. Delhi-
NCR based SKA Group
has majorly focused on
development of affordable
group housing projects in
Ghaziabad, Noida and
Greater Noida. This will be
SKA’s first commercial
project. Group director
said there is strong de-
mand for high-street retail
projects. —PTI
GHAZIABAD: `140 CR
TO DEVELOP HIGH-
STREET RETAIL PROJ
07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 56,111 810.00 1.46 (Per 10g)
SILVER 62,847 863.00 1.39 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.02 0.00 0.00
GBPINR 98.01 0.00 0.00
CURRENCIES
*Rates till the edition went to print.
=
=
Two Indian-Americans in US advisory
panel for trade policy and negotiations
Washington (PTI): US
President Joe Biden on Fri-
day named two Indian-
Americans -- Revathi Ad-
vaithi, CEO of Flex, and
Manish Bapna, CEO of the
Natural Resources Defence
Council -- to the Advisory
Committee for Trade Poli-
cy and Negotiations.
On Friday, Biden an-
nounced his intent to ap-
point 14 people to the Advi-
sory Committee, which pro-
vides overall policy advice
to the United States Trade
Representative on matters
of development, implemen-
tation, and administration
of the US trade policy
.
Among these include ne-
gotiating objectives and
bargaining positions be-
fore entering into trade
agreements, the impact of
the implementation of
trade agreements, matters
concerning the operation
of any trade agreement
once entered into, and oth-
er matters arising in con-
nection with the develop-
ment, implementation, and
administration of the trade
policy of the United States,
the White House said.
Revathi Advaithi is CEO
of Flex, global manufac-
turing partner of choice
that helps a diverse custom-
er base design and build
productstoimprove world.
Since assuming the role
in 2019, Advaithi has been
responsible for architect-
ing the company's strategic
direction and leading Flex
through a transformation
that is defining a new era
in manufacturing, the
White House said.
Prior to Flex, Advaithi
waspresidentandChief Op-
erating Officer for the elec-
trical sector business for
Eaton,acompanywithmore
than USD20 billion in sales
and 102,000 employees. She
has also worked at Eaton's
electrical sector, Americas,
and Honeywell, and serves
on the Board of Directors
of Uber and Catalyst.org.
Advaithi is a Co-Chair of
the World Economic Fo-
rum (WEF) Advanced Man-
ufacturing CEO Commu-
nity and joined the WEF
Alliance of CEO Climate
Leaders.
INTENT TO
APPOINT 14
z Biden announced his intent
to appoint 14 people to the
Advisory Committee
z Which provides overall
policy advice to the United
States Trade Representative
on matters of development,
implementation, and
administration of the US
trade policy
Aethleti Circle signs
Kabbadi star Naveen
for multi-year deal
New Delhi (ANI): Indian
sports management com-
pany Aethleti Circle has
signed Kabaddi star, Indian
raider Naveen Kumar Goy-
at to its athlete representa-
tion vertical. Naveen, who
plays for Dabang Delhi in
the Pro-Kabbadi League,
has signed a multi-year con-
tract with Aethleti Circle.
The company will exclu-
sively manage all of the ath-
lete’s commercial interests.
Aethleti Circle is one of
the fastest growing sports
start-ups in India and has a
number of international
athletes in its roster. The
addition of a star athlete
like Naveen is certainly a
big boost to the company’s
ambitions as it aims to rev-
olutionise the Indian
sports industry. Aethleti
Circle has a number of ver-
ticals and assists athletes
with sponsorship, sports
science, PR, legal aspects
and many other areas.
Naveen is a household
name in the Indian sport-
ing fraternity. He won the
‘Most Valuable Player
award’ in season 8 of the
PKL and his team Dabang
Delhi KC were crowned
the champion in the same
season. The 23-year-old is
very excited to have signed
up for Aethleti Circle. “As
a player, it will help me
concentrate more on my
game and take my career
to the next level. I can fully
focus on what I am doing
on the mat while Aethleti
takes care of my commer-
cial interests”, he said.
Naveen made his PKL de-
but in 2018 with Dabang
Delhi and in Season 8 of
the league, he became the
fastest player to reach 600
points in the history of
the league.
FASTEST
GROWING
z Aethleti Circle is one of
the fastest growing sports
start-ups in India and has
a number of international
athletes in its roster
z The addition of a star athlete
like Naveen is certainly a
big boost to the company’s
ambitions as it aims to
revolutionise the Indian
sports industry
Kolkata (PTI): The RBI
should pause and think if
it can continue mirroring
the US Federal Reserve
stroke by stroke in terms
of rate hikes or decouple
from the American central
bank, SBI group chief eco-
nomic adviser Soumya
Kanti Ghosh said.
Ghosh said he does not
see an end to the rate hike
cycle of the Fed in the
short-term, which makes a
case for the RBI to contem-
plate about decoupling.
Mypointiscanwematch
the Fed stroke by stroke? At
some point of time we need
to pause and think whether
the impact of the earlier
rate hikes (by the RBI) has
percolated down into the
system... I don't see any end
to the Fed's cycle soon, it
could be three or more rate
hikes going ahead, Ghosh
said. He was speaking at a
session organised by the
Bharat Chamber of Com-
merce here.
In January 2023, the
country’s inflation jumped
up to 6.52 %, above the
RBI’s tolerance level of
6%. This came after infla-
tion remaining above 6%
for 10 out of twelve months
in 2022.
Most economists believe
that the RBI will hike rates
to soften inflation, which
in recent times has been
spurred by food prices.
The US Federal Reserve
has also been raising rates
and has actually been more
aggressive than the RBI,
raising policy rates by 4.5
% since March 1, last year.
If you look into the 2008
cycle, you will see that cen-
tral banks raised rates in
unison but when they cut
rates, they did so based on
country-specific factors...
The RBI needs to think if
we can decouple from the
Fed or see if we are keep-
ing pace with them, Ghosh
told PTI on the sidelines of
the event.
He said the RBI has
raised interest rates by 250
basis points since May
2020, and this cycle is still
underway
. The repo rate at
present stands at 6.50 %.
We need to ensure there is
an end to this rate hike cy-
cle and that should be data-
dependent, otherwise at
some point of time, this
could hurt India's econom-
ic recovery, the senior SBI
official said.
On speculations of a pos-
sible global recession and
its impact on India, Ghosh
said there have been talks
of a slowdown of exports
in such a situation, but a
recent SBI report suggests
otherwise.
‘RBIshouldthinkaboutdecouplingfromFed’
JUMP IN
PERCENTAGE
z In January 2023, the
country’s inflation jumped
up to 6.52%, above the RBI’s
tolerance level of 6%. This
came after inflation remaining
above 6% for 10 out of twelve
months in 2022
z Most economists believe
that the RBI will hike rates to
soften inflation. which in recent
times has been spurred by
food prices
z The US Federal Reserve has
also been raising rates and has
actually been more aggressive
than the RBI
‘STROKE BY STROKE’
New Delhi (PTI): Net di-
rect tax collection so far
this fiscal grew 17 % to
reach Rs 13.73 lakh crore,
which is 83 % of the re-
vised target for the full fi-
nancial year, the Central
Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) said on Saturday.
The growth in direct tax
mop-up, which comprises
personal income tax and
corporate taxes, was driven
by PIT collections.
On a gross basis, the col-
lection grew 22.58 % to Rs
16.68 lakh crore.
Refunds amounting to Rs
2.95 lakh crore have been is-
sued during April 1, 2022 to
March 10, 2023, which are
59.44 % higher than refunds
issued during the same pe-
riod in the preceding year.
Direct tax collection, net of
refunds, stands at Rs 13.73
lakh crore which is 16.78 %
higher than the net collec-
tions for the corresponding
period of last year.
This collection is 96.67
% of the total budget esti-
mates and 83.19 % of the
total revised estimates of
direct taxes for the finan-
cial year 2022-23, the CBDT
said in a statement.
After adjustment of re-
funds, the net growth in
CIT (Corporate Income
Tax) collections is 13.62 %
and that in PIT (Personal
Income Tax) collections in-
cluding STT (Securities
Transaction Tax) is 20.06
%, it said.
Net direct tax collection
reaches `13.73 L cr
New Delhi (ANI): According to a recent report released
by DappRadar, a web3 data platform, NFT trading volume
reached 2 billion dollars in February. Though the NFT
sales in the market decreased by 32% from January, the
trading volume saw a whopping rise of 120%.
In 2014, Kevin Mckoy
, a digital artist, made a video clip
andregistereditontheNamecoinblockchain.Hethensold
it to Anil Dash, an American technology executive, for 4
dollars. It was the first ever NFT created and sold. Now, the
global market size of the NFT is expected to reach more
than 211 billion dollars by 2030. The global market capi-
talization of the NFT market has seen a massive hike.
NFT TRADE VOLUME HIT USD 2 BN,
SALES DECREASE BY 32% FROM JAN

08
2NDFRONT
Mobile Lok Adalat imparts legal
know-how to Maha villagers
First India Bureau
Mumbai: To provide
cheap and speedy justice
to people, mobile Lok
Adalats are preventing
petty cases from piling
up in courts. Sessions
areconductedinvillages
and tribal areas to im-
part knowledge about
basic legal rights and
how to exercise them.
On March 09, a mo-
bile Lok Adalat van
from Mumbai region
was flagged off by
Raigad district judge
Ashok Billare, princi-
pal district and sessions
judge Shailaja S
Sawant, and judge and
secretary of Raigad
District Legal Services
Authority Amol Shinde.
Explaining its modus
operandi, Mahesh Day-
ma, court manager at
Raigad district court in-
formed, “The mobile
Lok Adalat will visit re-
mote villages in Raigad
district, including Uran
and Panvel talukas.
Apart from resolving
compoundable criminal
cases and civil cases, in-
cluding settling of com-
pensation for motor ve-
hicle accidents, will also
be imparting basic legal
knowledge to villagers.”
“Maharashtra has
three mobile Lok Ada-
lat facilities, one each
for Mumbai, Nagpur
and Aurangabad re-
gions. And the entire
year’s programme for
these adalats has been
planned by the respec-
tive High Court Legal
Services Committees
and executed by the re-
spective District Legal
Services Authority for
the last three years,”
pointed out a Maha-
rashtra State Legal Ser-
vices Authority official.
On March 10, the mo-
bile Lok Adalat reached
Telwade village, Murud-
Janjira taluka, Raigad.
The preceding officer to
chair the hearing was
district judge (retired)
Shrikant Upadhye.
A mobile Lok Adalat hearing underway. —PHOTO BY ANI
Aims to ensure
speedy legal
recourse and
prevent petty
cases from piling
up in courts
Lok Adalat
is seen as a
successful
tool of dispute re-
dressal, which takes
place by discussion,
counselling and con-
ciliation and gives
speedy justice as it
can be organized at
any place and can
be arranged very
fast.
—Mahesh Dayma, Court
Manager, Raigad district court
CASE
STATISTICS
As per National
Judicial Data Grid
Statistics, over
15.80 lakh civil and
33.16 lakh criminal
cases are pending in
various courts across
Maharashtra. Data
from the Maharashtra
State Legal Services
Authority, states that
between April 2022
and January 2023,
over 4,666 Lok Adalat
sessions were held.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The footage
of a leopard on the ter-
race of a bungalow in
Malad East has scared
residents of areas sur-
rounding the Sanjay
Gandhi National Park
(SGNP). This comes
days after a big cat was
spotted in Marol area of
Mumbai.
In response, MLA
Sunil Prabhu has writ-
ten a letter to state For-
est Minister Sudhir
Mungantiwar asking
him to instruct the For-
est Department to take
appropriate measures.
The recent sighting
occurred in the vicini-
ty of New Dindoshi
Royal Hills Co-opera-
tive Society, which
houses 77 bungalows.
Approximately 500 res-
idents stay in the hous-
ing society.
On Friday, Surendra
Patil, an official from
the Mumbai Range of
the Thane Forest De-
partment (Territorial)
visited the bungalow
where the leopard was
spotted. Range Forest
Officer (RFO) Rakesh
Bhoir and his team are
also in touch with locals
and three camera traps
have been installed.
As per a report by
Midday, on March 07
and 08, the CCTV cam-
eras installed on the
premises of one of the
bungalows captured
something unusual.
The leopard was even
captured leaping from
one terrace to another
in the middle of the
night.
Local residents have
urged authorities to
take action and relieve
their mental stress.
Leopard spotted in
Malad East society
BEAUTIFICATION
Students walk by a roadside wall decorated for the upcoming G20 summit, scheduled for
March 19-20, in Nagpur city. —PHOTO BY ANI
BEST set to procure 2,100 e-buses
First India Bureau
Mumbai: TheBESTun-
dertakingissettoinduct
around 2,100 electric
buses to its fleet. Under-
lining its plan, the au-
thority has already be-
gunthetenderprocessto
facilitate the addition,
which will be completed
by September 2023.
Buseswillbeinducted
into the BEST fleet over
a period of 1.5 years. Ac-
cording to a BEST offi-
cial, currently
, there are
around 1,700 e-buses in
the BEST fleet. Recently
,
an air-conditioned dou-
ble-decker was pressed
into service by the un-
dertaking.
The undertaking has
decided to replace all of
its 1,200 conventional
buses with electric vehi-
cles (EVs). “After their
shelf life ends, they will
be replaced with electric
models,” said an official.
The cost of procuring
2,100 e-buses has been
pegged at Rs4,000 crore.
Earlier, the Central
and state governments
had announced plans to
convert vehicles used
for public transport
into EVs to crack down
on carbon emissions.
As of now, there are only six
electric vehicles in its fleet.
—FILE
PHOTO
Defence forces halt HAL Dhruv fleet operations
SAFETY CONCERNS
Ajit K Dubey
New Delhi: In the wake
of the accident off the
Mumbai coast two days
ago, the defence forces
have halted the opera-
tions of the HAL Dhruv
helicopters. Decision to
wait for investigators to
find the reason for the
incident and conduct-
ing precautionary
checks has been taken
by defence authorities.
The ALH choppers
are operated by all three
defence forces includ-
ing the Army, Navy and
Air Force along with
the Indian Coast Guard.
All operations have
been halted till the time
investigatorsfindoutthe
reason for the incident
off the Mumbai coast
and precautionary
checks are carried out
defence forces’ officials
told ANI.
TheHALDhruvchop-
pers are used in multi-
ple roles by the Indian
defence forces including
transportation of men
and material. It has be-
come one of the impor-
tant parts of helicopter
missions.
Defence officials said
they were hopeful of re-
suming the HAL Dhruv
operations very soon.
During the incident,
two days back, an Indi-
an Navy HAL Dhruv on
a routine flying mission
off Mumbai coast expe-
rienced a sudden loss of
power and rapid loss of
height.
The Navy stated that
the pilot carried out
controlled ditching
over water and all three
aircrews exited the hel-
icopter safely and were
recovered as part of a
swift rescue operation.
Theditchedhelicopter
had deployed its emer-
gency flotation gear and
efforts are underway to
salvage it.
The copters are used by all three armed forces. —FILE PHOTO
Move comes after
Navy helicopter
experienced
sudden loss of
power and height
two days ago
Mirch Masala
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB RAMAN
The author is a journalist and political
commentator and views expressed are his personal
The BJP High Com-
mand has, in a way,
decided that in coming
assembly polls in MP and
Raj, polls will be fought
on face of Narendra Modi
strategy of Amit Shah.
However, sources reveal
that according to reports
received by party, party
will have to field Shivraj
in MP and Vasundhara
Raje in Rajasthan as a
functional face in upcom-
ing polls. Till now, it was
being speculated that
the formula of U’khand,
Gujarat and Tripura would
be implemented in MP
the present CM Shivraj
Chauhan would be called
to Delhi and given some
important responsibil-
ity at the Centre. But if
reliable sources are to be
believed, in a high-level
core committee meet
of BJP, top leadership
rejected the idea outright
saying, ‘the CM is doing a
very good job, has come
up with many good and
new schemes. These
schemes should be pub-
licised among people.’
This clearly indicates
that Shivraj will be given
important responsibility
in the election campaign
in Madhya Pradesh itself
in the Madhya Pradesh
assembly elections to be
held on November 23. As
far as Rajasthan is con-
cerned, Vasundhara Raje
almost stunned her oppo-
nents in the party by a big
show of strength on the
occasion of her birthday
in Salasar on March 4.
The presence of about 55
out of 72 BJP MLAs and
12 MPs was recorded in
this show of strength by
Vasundhara, which was a
surprise. BJP’s Rajasthan
in-charge Arun Singh also
specially came to Salasar
to participate in this func-
tion, which was an indica-
tion that Vasundhara’s
rapprochement with Delhi
has increased. In that
ceremony, Vasundhara
supporters also raised an
interesting slogan saying,
‘Kesariya mein Hara Hara,
Rajasthan mein Vasund-
hara.’
On the one hand, where K’taka polls
have become a barb for BJP, a former
BJP Minister mining baron G Janard-
hana Reddy broke ties with BJP and
launched his new party ‘Kalyana Rajya
Pragati Paksha’ on December 25, 2022
which is causing displeasure to the Saf-
fron Party. CBI has not only started tight-
ening its noose on the Reddy brothers,
but in the recent past, the Special Court
of CBI has written letters to the govern-
ments of four countries i.e. Switzerland,
Singapore, Aile of Man and UAE to arrest
the Reddy brothers since 2008.
Details of all transactions done
during 2012 have been sought. In
fact, BJP is facing a tough fight in
upcoming polls in Karnataka, while
it has received reports that ‘the
Reddy brothers are favouring
Congress in at least 15 as-
sembly seats in the State’.
Janardhana Reddy himself
is likely to contest from
Koppal’s Gangavathi seat and his wife Aru-
na Lakshmi from Bellary city. Karnataka
BJP leaders have conveyed this to Amit
Shah, who has asked them to keep calm.
Soon after this, Karnataka CM Bommai’s
statement came that ‘Reddy will return to
his old party i.e. BJP’, but Janardhan Red-
dy called this claim, a rumour. It should be
noted that both the brothers of Janard-
hana are currently MLAs in BJP. Janard-
hana Reddy has decided that ‘he will give
his party ticket to big rebels of BJP and
Congress and will also give financial
assistance of Rs 5 crore to contest
elections’. Reddy feels that ‘BJP
didn’t support him when he was
under pressure from investigative
agencies over illegal mining’. He
also feels that he has unknowingly
been a victim of BL Santhosh vs
Yeddiyurappa battle in party,
because he was always
counted among Yeddi’s
loyal soldiers.
BJP is preparing for a grand celebration of
construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya from
January 1, 2024 to January 31, 2024, as any
day after January 14, this grand Ram temple
is to be inaugurated by Narendra Modi, and
BJP’s intention is to make the country to convey
the message that ‘If there is any real savior of
Hindutva then it is our PM Narendra Modi!’
Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as the National
President of the Congress on October 19, 2022
and a week later on October 26, he also took charge.
It has been five months since then, but Kharge has
not been able to form his new team. Kharge had
dissolved all the existing committees of the party as
soon as he became the President saying that ‘the
new team will now sit there’, but till now the work of
the party is going on with the help of the 47-member
Steering Committee. When asked, a close friend of
Kharge says, ‘since the Gandhi family has clearly said
that there will be no interference of Sonia, Rahul or
Priyanka in the formation of new committees, Kharge
is meeting different groups of the party and seeking
their opinion. We are contemplating.” Sources reveal
that the blueprint of Kharge’s new team is almost
ready and that Kharge is setting up a relatively small
team, which is somewhere inspired by the team size
of late Rajiv Gandhi. Only
six General Secretaries
can be made, one General
Secretary can have the
charge of usually 5 states.
There will be a network of
secretaries below them,
and one secretary can get
the responsibility of one
state. The Secretary shall
report to the General Secretary concerned. Keeping
in view the general elections of 2024, the formation
of an election management committee is also under
consideration and after that an Election Department
will also be formed. This Election Department will
be entrusted with the responsibility of Lok Sabha as
well as Assembly polls. There are already murmurs
in the party that ‘where the BJP has already shelled
out for the assembly elections, no such preparation is
visible at the Congress’ side.’ Kharge is neither visiting
the poll-bound states nor is he sending senior party
people there. Kharge went to Nagaland with Shashi
Tharoor only for one day during the North East elec-
tions. Kharge has gone to Karnataka, his home state,
where elections are due, for just a day. Congress has
been able to win only 8 seats out of 180 seats in the
Northeast, which is a matter of concern for the Party.
Recently, the State Disciplinary Committee of Bihar
Congress, under the chairmanship of Kripashankar
Pathak, issued show cause notices to 5 state leaders
- Siddharth Kshatriya, Prabhat Kumar Chandravanshi,
Arshad Abbas Azad, Shakiur Rahman and Praveen
Sharma. These leaders are accused of making some
audio and video clips viral on social media regarding
some alleged financial transactions about their State
President Akhilesh Prasad Singh. Now, a section of
the Bihar Congress is raising questions on this disci-
plinary committee itself that ‘this committee is fake,
it is a disbanded committee.’ They argue that ‘when
the party’s National President Kharge first dissolved
all the elected committees of the party, then how does
this disciplinary committee exist?’ Congress’s Bihar
in-charge Bhakta Charan Das constituted this 5-mem-
ber disciplinary committee in December 2021, which
no longer exists legally. These days, there is a lot of
hue and cry on the social media regarding Akhilesh
Prasad’s ‘closeness’ with BJP leader Rajiv Pratap
Rudy. While some party leaders claim that ‘this entire
matter is related to making delegates in Congress,’
Akhilesh is being accused that ‘he has put 70% names
of his close people in the list of delegates’.
WHEN WILL CONGRESS NAT’L PREZ
KHARGE’S NEW TEAM BE FORMED?
UPROAR IN BIHAR CONGRESS
BET ON MODI’S
FACE AND AMIT
SHAH’S
STRATEGY!
WHY HAS JANARDHANA REDDY BECOME A HEADACHE FOR BJP?
...AND FINALLY
If we really wish to enjoy life and
learn from it, one should
understand early on about what to
skim on and what to drown in.
—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

09
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
MUMBAI | SUNDAY,
MARCH 12, 2023
It’s time to start planning your beach looks for
your summer in the sun! City First brings to you
the significance of the sexiest trend of
bikinis in the fashion world...
omen are ex-
tremely lucky
to have access
to such a broad
selection of
s w i m w e a r.
The ocean is
the perfect place to un-
wind on a pleasant,
sunlit afternoon
while wearing your
favourite bikini.
Your attractive-
ness will definitely
be enhanced by a
chic swimsuit. These
days, donning a sexy
tiny string bikini is
in fashion. The
beach is the perfect
place to show off
your physique in an
exhilarating way.
Every woman as-
pires to appear stun-
ning in a swimsuit.
The swimsuit
trend has ad-
vanced consider-
ably. Bikinis
were previously
thought of as
one- or two-piece
bathing outfits.
Most people
could only find
a few colours in
the same tradi-
tional patterns. You
will be captivated by the
high-quality and ap-
pealing bikini wear,
though, thanks to the
current fashion.
On the shore, the wom-
en are coming up with
fantastic methods to
show off their suntanned
bodies. The tops and bot-
toms that are offered in-
dividually can be mixed
and matched. The swim-
suits come in a variety of
hues and fabrics as well.
Modern bikini fashion is
all about displaying your
figure in a fashionable
way. Your body is sup-
ported by cleverly de-
signed swimwear, which
helps to give it a fantastic
form. Bikinis give a strik-
ingly different look to
your shapely bottoms. In
many ways, bikinis have
led the way in the fash-
ion world. The designers
have given us some great
designs of bikinis.
LET’S SUIT UP
DIVE IN
AND
SHUBHANSHI PATHAK
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
W

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