02022022 first india lucknow

LUCKNOW l WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 82
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in | www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ | twitter.com/thefirstindia | facebook.com/thefirstindia | instagram.com/thefirstindia
2022-23
NARENDRA MODI
Prime Minister
Budget this year has
come with a new con-
fidence of development
amidst the once-in-a-
century calamity. This
Budget will create new
opportunities for the
common people along
with providing strength
to the economy
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
M0di G0vernment’s Zer0
Sum Budget! Nothing
for - Salaried class -
Middle class - The poor
& deprived - Youth -
Farmers - MSMEs
Mamata Banerjee
@MamataOfficial
Budget has zero for
common people,
who are crushed by
unemployment &
inflation. Govt is lost
in big words signifying
nothing - a Pegasus
spin Budget
Top
QUOTE
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
The development of the
North-eastern region
has always been the
top priority of the Modi
govt. The announcement
of the ‘PM Development
Initiative’ for the
Northeast will go a
long way in realising
PM Modi’s vision of a
prosperous northeast.
Top
TWEETS
SENSEX SURGES 848
PTS, NIFTY AT 17,340
The domestic equity indices
on Tuesday continued to trade
higher after the Budget in a
highly volatile trading session.
Sensex surged 814 points
or 1.42 per cent to settle at
58,014. The broader Nifty had
moved 238 points or 1.39 per
cent to close at 17,340.
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment on Tuesday
appointedtwonewcom-
manders for the North-
ern and Eastern Army
commands. The North-
ern Army commands
look after the interna-
tional borders from Pa-
kistan in Jammu and
Kashmir and China in
Ladakh.
Lieutenant General
Upendra Dwivedi has
been appointed as new
Northern Army Com-
mander. Meanwhile,
Lieutenant General RP
Kalitahasbeenappoint-
ed as new Eastern
Army Command chief.
Lt Gen RP Kalita is Eastern Army
Commander,Lt Gen Dwivedi takes
charge of Northern Command
Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi
CRUCIAL READ
INK THROWN
AT KANHAIYA
IN LUCKNOW
SETBACK FOR
AMAZON AS SC
NIXES HC ORDERS
New Delhi: Supreme
Court set aside three
Delhi High Court orders
including refusal to grant
a stay on final arbitral
award which restrained
Future Retail Ltd from
merger deal with Reli-
ance Retail and ordered
fresh adjudication.
Lucknow: Ink was alleg-
edly thrown at Congress
leader Kanhaiya Kumar
at the party office in
Lko. Congress leaders
claimed that it was not
ink but a kind of acid
which was thrown at
Kumar, who was in city
to campaign for Assem-
bly elections. P8
LT GEN MANOJ PANDE ASSUMES CHARGE
AS THE VICE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF
New Delhi: Lt Gen Manoj Pande on
Tuesday took charge as the new Vice
Chief of the Indian Army, succeeding
Lt Gen C P Mohanty. Lt Gen Pande was
serving as the Eastern Army Com-
mander before assuming the new role.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shows the
digital tablet wrapped in a traditional ‘Bahi Khata’ style
pouch. She spoke for 1 hour and 30 minutes on Tuesday,
making it the shortest among the budget speeches.
First of all, I express my
condolences to those who have
suffered in the Covid. We are
celebrating Amrit Mahotsav and this is the
budget of Amrit Kaal, blue print from 75
years of independence to 100 years
—Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister
midst a wave of expectations, Fi-
nance Minister Nirmala Sithara-
manpresentedherfourthbudgeton
Tuesday
. As she started the 90-min-
ute budget speech in Parliament,
LokSabhaSpeakerOmBirlasmiled
and said, “The minister is reading the digital
budget today
.” Likewise, the biggest two an-
nouncements in the Budget were also from the
digital area. There were some disappointments
too as the tax slab this year too emianed un-
changed as well. It was also announed that the
RBI will launch digital currency
. Meanwhile,
30% tax was imposed on income earned from
cryptocurrencies through investment mode.
A
Tax on income from transfer of digital assets
like crypto, NFT to be charged at 30%; tax
slabs remained unchanged this time too
The government proposed
expanding highways by
25,000 kms under PM Gati Shakti
Master Plan, allocating `60K cr to
Nal se Jal scheme, 80 lakh houses
for `48K cr in PM housing scheme,
and boosting infra in the North East
Sitharaman expects a nominal
GDP growth rate of 11.1%
1
2
3
India@100
BUDGET BLUEPRINT
FORAMRIT KAAL
FISCAL DEFICIT
PEGGED AT 6.4%
PM E-VIDYA PROG
EXPANDED
ADDL `51,971 CRORE TO
SETTLE AIR INDIA’s DEBT
GAMING, ANIMATION
PART OF ECONOMY
MSP DIRECTLY IN
ACCOUNT OF FARMERS
Finance minister Nirmala Sithara-
man on February 1 pegged the
government’s fiscal
deficit for the financial
year 2022-23 at 6.4% of
gross domestic product
(GDP) as the budget recognised the
need to boost growth.
Due to the closure of schools dur-
ing COVID, kids of the village were
deprived of education
for two years. Under PM
e-Vidya, a class-one TV
channel programme for
such children will now be increased
from 12 to 200 channels.
The government allocated an addi-
tional Rs 51,971 crore towards the
settlement of outstand-
ing liabilities of Air India
and other sundry com-
mitments. This amount
has been accounted in the revised
estimates of total expenditure.
There are immense employment
opportunities in animation, visual
effects, gaming and
comics i.e. AVGC sector.
In such a situation, the
AVGC Promotion Task
Force will interact with all the stake-
holders associated with it.
Five kilometers from the banks
of Ganga, organic farming will be
promoted on the land.
There will be digitisa-
tion of agricultural land
documents. States will
be asked to change the syllabus of
Agriculture University.
NOW, CHIP-BASED
E-PASSPORTS
E-passports will be issued in 2022-
23, which will have chip. The min-
ister said the e-passport
will use Radio-Frequency
Identification (RFID) and
biometrics to verify the
identity of the people and will be an
upgrade from the traditional one.
`7.55 LAKH CRORE
FOR INVESTMENT
Capital investment helps both
large industries and MSMEs to
increase employment.
For this, a provision of
Rs 7.55 lakh crore has
been increased. Sov-
ereign Green Bonds will be issued
to deal with climate change.
ANNOUNCEMENT FOR
EMPLOYMENT & POOR
Expressways will be built under
PM Gati Shakti Master Plan. NH
network will be extended
to 25,000 km. A provi-
sion of Rs 20K crore
has been made for this
mission to create 60 lakh new jobs.
80 lakh houses will also be built.
RS 6,000 CRORE TO
STRENGTHEN MSME
New schemes will be started to
strengthen MSME. `6,000 crores
will be given in 5 years.
Udayam, E-Shram, NCS
and Aseem portal will
be interlinked. This will
provide credit facilities and create
possibilities for entrepreneurship.
400 NEW GEN VANDE
BHARAT TRAINS
During next 3 years, 400 new gen-
eration Vande Bharat trains will be
run. 100 Pradhan Mantri
Gatishakti Cargo Termi-
nal will also be devel-
oped during this period.
Innovative avenues will be adopted
to develop the metro system.
5G SPECTRUM
AUCTIONS THIS YEAR
GST COLLECTION
HIGHEST SINCE JAN
Sitharaman said auctions for 5G
mobile services will be rolled out
this year. 5G services
will be launched in
major cities includ-
ing Delhi, Mumbai,
Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru,
Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
The gross GST collections for the
month of January 2022 is at
Rs 1,40,986 crore,
which is the highest
since the inception of
GST, said Sitharaman
on Tuesday, while presenting an-
nouncing the Union Budget.
12 BIG TAKEAWAYS FROM THE BUDGET
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India@100
BUDGET BLUEPRINT
India@100
BIG DIGITAL PUSH FROM SITHARAMAN’S TABLET
First India Bureau
Meerut/Ghaziabad:
CM Yogi Adityanath
on Tuesday hailed the
Union Budget and said
UP would be the big-
gest beneficiary of
many of its provisions,
especially with regard
to employment for
youth, PM Awas Yoja-
na, and infrastructure.
Addressing voters at
Siwalkhas and Kithore
constituencies in
Meerut and at Modina-
gar in Ghaziabad, Yogi
said: “There are provi-
sions for building 80
lakh houses for the
poor under PM Awas
Yojanaandofferingem-
ployment to 60 lakh
youths in the Budget.
There are also provi-
sions for building mas-
sive infrastructural
network through 25,000
kilometres of roads,
highways, railways, air
as well as water ports
and installing optical
fibre network in the
countryside to provide
5Gnetworktovillagers.
UP being one of the
largest states stands to
gain the most from all
theseannouncements.”
UP will be biggest beneficiary of
Union Budget: Yogi Adityanath
CM Yogi Adityanath speaking
at Siwalkhas in Meerut on
Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
CM TO FILE
NOMINATION ON
FEBRUARY 4
Lucknow: CM Yogi
Adityanath will file his
nomination for the
Gorakhpur Urban as-
sembly constituency on
February 4. The Election
Commission of India
(ECI) will issue notifica-
tion for the sixth phase
poll in 57 assembly
constituencies in 10
districts of east UP,
including Gorakhpur,
on February 4. The BJP
plans to give momen-
tum to its election
campaign in east UP
with the filing of the
nomination papers by
the Chief Minister.
Yogi Adityanath
@myogiadityanath
I welcome the all-inclusive
and progressive Union
Budget 2022-23, which
realises the vision of ‘Self-
Reliant India’. This budget
will propel India as the
world’s largest economy.
Hearty congratulations to
respected Prime Minister
and Hon’ble Union Finance
Minister!

https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/
Union Budget
Vol 2 Issue No. 82 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi Industrial Area Kanpur Road Lucknow. Published at 98,
Friend’’s Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP). Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Vishal Srivastav responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
he Union Budget
lacks any tangi-
ble measures to
increase reve-
nue generation
even though the capital
expenditure plans have
gone up significantly and
the fiscal deficit estimate
suggests that the govern-
ment is relying too much
on strong growth to help
drive fiscal consolidation,
rating agency Moody’s
said in a note.The budget
underscoresgovernment’s
previous emphasis on
capex to sustain near-term
recovery from the pan-
demic, while simultane-
ously paving the way for
longer-term restructuring
of the economy, it stated.
But the various spending
initiatives are not offset by
any significant announce-
ments related to further
increase revenue genera-
tion; rather, the an-
nounced revenue-related
measures are aimed at
other objectives such as
fostering startup innova-
tion, ensuring more equi-
table treatment for coop-
eratives and state employ-
ees, and promoting tax
compliance through sim-
plification, Christian de
Guzman, a senior vice-
president, sovereign risk
group, Moody’s Investors
Service, said.
On the fiscal consolida-
tion front, he said the tar-
get for the central deficit
to narrow to 6.4 % in FY23
from a 6.9% in FY22 sug-
gests government is rely-
ing on strong growth to
help drive fiscal consolida-
tion in light of large bump
in capex, which is up by
35% for next fiscal and
this poses some uncertain-
ty given the prevalence of
the pandemic-related
risks. The wider-than-ex-
pected deficit in current
fiscal in part reflects high-
er spending on back of the
second wave as well as a
larger subsidy bill that
was driven by higher food
and commodity prices.
BUDGET LACKS
ANY SERIOUS
MEASURES TO BOOST
REVENUE: MOODY’S
The focus on
climate-related
initiatives in the
budget signals the
government’s
broadening
commitment
towards achieving
net-zero carbon
emissions by 2070
T
BUDGET: IN ALL ITS INCLUSIVENESS
A REALISTIC PARADIGM SHIFT
ver since the very incep-
tion of budget in 1860s, it
has shown a transforma-
tion from briefcase to bahi
khata, then to tablet for
now. The budget’22 depicts
these transformations
with a more realistic route.
This budget came at a cru-
cial juncture for the public
and policy makers alike for
the following reasons: up-
coming elections in five
states; looming omicron
threat; nascent economic
recovery;keynumberslike
fiscal deficit, tax collec-
tion,andspendingoutlook.
Focus areas of Budget
were-PM Gati Shakti; In-
clusive Development; Pro-
ductivity Enhancement;
Sunrise Opportunities;
Energy Transition; Cli-
mate Action; Financing of
investments. Budget reit-
erates focus on public in-
vestment to modernize in-
frastructure over the me-
diumterm,leveragingtech
platform of Gati Shakti via
a multi-modal approach.
Standardization of Metro
rail systems would help in
loweringcostsandexports.
Budget proposes Rs 19,500
crore for PLI for manufac-
turing high-efficiency so-
lar modules which is a step
in direction of achieving
280 GW of installed solar
capacity by 2030.
How the extension of
ECLGS will help
medium, small firms
Extension of Emergency
Credit Line Scheme till
2023 up to is welcome step
but not enough at all. How-
ever this scheme has so far
been extensively used by
MSMEs since the onset of
the pandemic to avail
credit. This has helped
them during this tumultu-
ous period. This scheme
had prevented lakhs of
MSMEs from being down-
graded to NPA (non-per-
forming loan) category.
Separately, the govern-
ment will roll out a five-
year programme to accel-
erate MSME performance
bring in rating mecha-
nism for MSMEs. Under
ECLGS, which is for help-
ing companies tide over
liquidity crunch resulting
from Covid-19 curbs,
banks provide additional
loans to existing borrow-
ers without asking for ex-
tra collateral. To encour-
age banks, these loans are
fully guaranteed by the
government against credit
losses. This scheme will be
key to ensure that MSMEs
impacted by intermittent
lockdowns in states get
funding to stay afloat.
Sanctions and disburse-
ments under the facility
are relatively faster since
lenders have the Central
government guarantee in
case of default against
these loans. Companies
from hospitality, travel
and tourism as well as lei-
sure and sporting sectors
are expected to benefit
from the relaxation in the
scheme. Hotels, restau-
rants, canteens, caterers,
marriage halls, tour oper-
ators, as well as amuse-
ment parks and theatres
can avail the facility. Ac-
counts that are classified
as non-performing assets
or where over dues have
crossed 60 days (SMA-II)
are not eligible.
Why enhanced
capex allocation
The government has an-
nounced a sharp jump of
35.4 per cent in capital ex-
penditure to fund various
infrastructure projects in
2022-23.. The Union Budget
hasraiseditsallocationfor
capital expenditure to Rs
7.5 lakh crore in 2022-23, up
from Rs 5.5 lakh crore in
2021-22. Considering that
private sector investments
remain subdued, the gov-
ernment hopes that the
continuing focus on ramp-
inguppubliccapitalspend-
ing will help crowd in pri-
vate sector investments.
However, there is concern
over the ability to spend.
Data from CGA shows that
in the ongoing financial
year, the Centre’s capital
spending has not grown at
the rate it was hoped. The
targeted focus on capital
expenditure, with its re-
sulting multiplier effects,
will be vital in sustaining
the economic growth.
Tax on crypto work
Taxing virtual assets at
30% would formally bring
virtual assets such as
cryptocurrencies and
non-fungible tokens un-
der the tax net, thereby
according it the recogni-
tion by the government.
Other Areas
The Parvat Mala an-
nouncement with 8 rope-
way projects in 2022–23
will ease transport linked
congestion in hilly areas
and push tourism. Reduc-
tion of surcharge on un-
listed shares from 28.5% to
23% will likely facilitate
investor exits and invest-
ment churn
Introduction of central
bank digital currency to
boost digital economy lays
down a solid plan of the
government to have a pub-
lic digital currency
. With a
clear focus on education
andannouncementof dedi-
cated TV channels, EdTech
and content development
will see higher demand. E-
registrations and E-admin-
istration under several
schemes and regulations
will definitely ease and
speed governance. Howev-
er, its implementation
would be the key towards
ease of doing business
Despite a projected 9.2
per cent growth in GDP in
FY22 to above pre-pandem-
ic levels, the Indian econo-
my continues to face a slew
of structural challenges
that existed prior to the
pandemic and new chal-
lenges brought on by Cov-
id-19. Inflation is the most
important headwind. The
Survey notes that supply
chain disruptions and
slow economic growth
have contributed to an in-
crease in inflation. The
withdrawal of stimulus in
developed economies in
the upcoming fiscal is like-
ly to affect capital flows
into the country
.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Companies from
hospitality, travel
and tourism as well as
leisure and sporting sectors
are expected to benefit from
the relaxation in the
scheme. Hotels,
restaurants, canteens,
caterers, marriage halls,
tour operators, as well
as amusement parks
and theatres can avail
the facility
E
PROFESSOR
ND MATHUR
The writer is Dean School of
Humanities and Social Sciences
JECRC University, Jaipur
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds a
folder-case containing Budget 2022-23 as she leaves
from the North Block for Parliament on Tuesday.
Considering that private sector investments
remain subdued, the government hopes that
the continuing focus on ramping up public capital
spending will help crowd in private sector
investments. However, there is concern
over the ability to spend
PERSPECTIVE
NION
B DGET
2022-23 02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022
The happiness which comes from long practice, which
leads to the end of suffering, which at first is like
poison, but at last like nectar - this kind of happiness
arises from the serenity of one’s own mind.
—Bhagavad Gita
QUOTE-UNQUOTE
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
There is an impactful thrust
towards renewable energy
incentives with an increased
focus on reducing infrastructural
waste for a greener tomorrow.
We appreciate the
Government’s vision of
building the skilling ecosystem
for youth in India, which will
play a critical role in driving
innovation in the industry.”
—Venu Srinivasan,
Chairman, TVS Motor Company
We hail the new budget and
the capital infusions for the
MSME sector. A step forward
for the “Make In India” brigade,
the extension of the customs
duty exemption on steel scrap
and the additional allocation
for PLI in solar PV module
manufacturing is an exciting
move as the MSMEs warm up
to the alternative energy sector.
—R Narayan,
President FICCI-CMSME

Union Budget
I congratulate PM
@narendramodi ji,
FM @nsitharaman
ji and team for this
historic Budget.
This Budget will go
a long way to
strengthen economy
of the country,
reeling under Covid
infection era, and
will help in the
overall development
of the country.
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
I was astonished
that the Finance
Minister was
outlining a plan for
the next 25 years
which she called the
Amrit Kaal! The
government seems to
believe that the
present does not need
any attention and
the people living in
the present can be
asked to wait until
Amrit Kaal drawns.
P Chidambaram
@PChidambaram
Congratulations to
PM @modi Ji FM
@nsitharaman Ji
for a futuristic
#Aatma Nirbhar
BharatKaBudget
laying blueprint for
India’s Amrit Kaal.
Emphasis on multi-
modal infra and
newer avenues for
investment will
position India at the
center of emerging
global economy.
Smriti Irani
@smritiirani
Union Budget
presented in Parl
has been brought to
woo the public with
new promises, while
the implementation
of the promises of the
past years and old
announcements etc
has been forgotten,
how it can be
justified. Why is the
Centre not concerned
on rising poverty,
unemployment,
inflation and farmer
suicides?
Mayawati
@Mayawati
TOURISM
Hospitality and
tourism gets
ECLGS extension
Union Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman
while presenting Union
Budget on Tuesday said
that the hospitality and
related services, especially
those provided by micro
and small enterprises,
have yet to regain their
pre-pandemic level of
business. Considering this,
the ECLGS will be extend-
ed up to March 2023 and
its guarantee cover will be
expanded by Rs 50,000
crore to a total cover of
Rs 5 lakh crore, with the
additional amount being
earmarked exclusively
for hospitality and related
enterprises.
DEVP OF NE
‘PM-DevINE’ for
NE; `1,500
crore allocated
Anew scheme — Prime
Minister’s Development
Initiative for North-East
(PM-DevINE) was an-
nounced on Tuesday. The
latest scheme by the Cen-
tral government has been
allocated Rs 1,500 crore.
It will fund the infrastruc-
ture, in the spirit of Prime
Minister Gati Shakti, and
social development pro-
jects based on the needs
of the Northeast. This will
enable livelihood activi-
ties for youth and women,
filling the gaps in various
sectors. Sitharaman said
the new scheme will be
implemented through the
North-Eastern Council.
HEALTH/WOMEN/EDUCATION
NION
B DGET
2022-23 03
PRICES SLASHED
Govt rejigs customs duty
 Frozen mussels
 Frozen squids
 Asafoetida
 Cocoa beans
 Methyl alcohol
 Acetic acid
 Cut and polished diamonds
 Camera lens for cellular
mobile phone
PRICES HIKED
Govt increases customs duty
 Umbrellas
 Imitation Jewellery
 Loudspeakers
 Head earphones
 Smart meters
 Solar cells
 Solar modules
 X-ray machines
 Parts of electronic toys
60L JOBS
Production Linked Incentive
(PLI) Scheme of the Centre
has the potential to create
60 lakh new jobs during the
next five years
`30L CRORE
PLI Scheme has received
good response with potential
for addl production of `30L cr
‘Big win’ for edu,new
digi varsity announced
 One class-one TV channel
programme of PM eVIDYA
will be expanded from 12 to
200 TV channels. This will en-
able all states to provide sup-
plementary edu in regional
languages for classes 1-12
 750 virtual labs in science,
maths, and 75 skilling e-labs
for simulated learning envi-
ron, will be set-up in 2022-23
 High-quality e-content in
all spoken languages will be
developed for delivery via
internet, mobile phones, TV
radio through Digital Teachers
 Digital University for
world-class quality
 An International Arbitration
Centre to be set up for timely
settlement of disputes under
international jurisprudence
 World-class foreign
universities will set up in
Gandhinagar’s GIFT City, free
from domestic regulations,
to facilitate the availability
of skilled manpower in the
financial services space
EDUCATION
`37,383.36 given to
Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan
`40,828 crore given to
the Higher Education Dept
Booster dose for healthcare
inance Minister
Nirmala Sithara-
man on Tuesday
presented her
fourth Union
Budget with a focus on the
healthcare sector amid
coronavirus pandemic.
“We are in the midst of
the Omicron wave, the
speed of our vaccination
campaign has helped great-
ly
. With the accelerated im-
provement of health infra-
structure in the past two
years, we are in a strong
position to withstand chal-
lenges. I am confident that
with Sabka Prayas we will
continue our journey of
strong growth,” Nirmala
Sitharaman said.
Last year, Finance Minis-
ter Nirmala Sitharaman
while presenting budget
said the government will
spend Rs 64,180 crore over
the next six years to im-
prove healthcare services.
NAT’L TELE MENTAL
HEALTH PROGRAM
“Thepandemichasaccentu-
atedmentalhealthproblems
in people of all ages. To bet-
ter the access to quality
mental health counseling
andcareservices,aNational
TeleMentalHealthprogram
will be launched. This will
include a network of 23 tele
mental health centres of ex-
cellence with Nimhans be-
ingthenodalcentreandIIIT
Bangalore providing tech-
nology support,” Sithara-
man said.
NATIONAL DIGITAL
HEALTH ECOSYSTEM
“An open platform for the
National Digital Health
Ecosystem will be rolled
out. It will consist of digital
registries of health provid-
ers and health facilities,
unique health identity and
universal access to health
facilities,” Finance Minis-
ter Sitharaman said.
PROGRESS IN HEALTH
CARE, MED SECTOR
“95 per cent of 112 aspira-
tional districts have made
significant progress in
health, infracture,” Sithar-
aman said. “The income-
tax is not an allowable ex-
penditure for computation
of business income. This
includes tax as well as sur-
charges.
THE HEALTH AND
EDUCATION CESS
The ‘Health and Education
Cess‘ is imposed as an ad-
ditional surcharge on the
taxpayer for funding spe-
cific government welfare
programs.
However, some courts have
allowed ‘Health and educa-
tion ‘cess’ as business ex-
penditure, which is against
the legislative intent. To
reiterate the legislative in-
tent, I propose to clarify
that any surcharge or cess
on income and profits is
not allowable as business
expenditure,” Finance
Minister Nirmala Sithara-
man said on Tuesday
.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday while announcing the
Budget, opened her speech stressing on strengthening the healthcare sector
HEALTH
F
A medic takes an elderly woman for treatment
at a government hospital in Delhi on Tuesday.
‘Nari Shakti’ schemes get a new look!
Mission Shakti, Mission
Vatsalya, Saksham
Anganwadi and Poshan
2.0 to provide benefits
New Delhi: The budget al-
located to the Women and
Child Development Minis-
try stood at `25,172.28 crore
in 2022-23, a slight increase
of 3 per cent from`24,435
crore that was given in
2021-22.
Sitharaman said recog-
nising the importance of
‘Nari Shakti’ as the harbin-
ger of India’s bright future
and for women-led develop-
ment during the ‘Amrit
Kaal’, the govt has compre-
hensively revamped the
schemes of the Ministry of
Women and Child Develop-
ment. The budget alloca-
tion for autonomous bodies
dropped from `188 crore in
2021-22 to `152 crore in 2022-
23. These autonomous bod-
ies include - Central Adop-
tion Resource Agency
(CARA), National Commis-
sion for Protection of Child
Rights (NCPCR) and the
National Commission for
Women.
`25,172 CR FOR WOMEN CHILD DEVP
Women contingents from India Reserve Battalion of Nagaland Arm Police.
SAKSHAM ANGANWADI
Two lakh anganwadis
will be upgraded
under the scheme. It
is a new generation
Anganwadi that has
better infrastructure
and audiovisual aids
covered by clean energy
and provides improved
environments for early
childhood developments.
ASPIRATIONAL BLOCKS
The program will focus
on the quality of
life of citizens in most
backward districts of the
country in key sectors
such as health, nutrition,
financial inclusion and
basic infrastructure.
WALK THE TALK ON BUDGET!
A woman speaks on the Mobile phone at Showroom as televisions displays live telecast of Union Budget 2022-23
presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in Mumbai on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Union Budget
DIGI RUPEE/RAIL/START-UPs/I-T/AGRI
All except RBI currency are assets.
Reserve Bank (of India) will be
issuing a digital currency. A
currency becomes, or, a currency
is a currency only when it is issued by
the central bank, even if it is crypto.
Anything outside of that, even loosely all
of it referred to as cryptocurrencies, they
are not currencies.
—Nirmala Sitharaman,
Finance Minister
04-05
NION
B DGET
2022-23
BUDGET AT
A GLANCE
l 2020-21 (ACTUALS) l 2021-22 (BE) l 2021-22 (RE) l 2022-23 (BE) IN `CRORE
REVENUE REVENUE
CAPITAL CAPITAL
RECEIPTS EXPENDITURE
16,33,920
30,83,519
18,75,916
4,26,317
17,88,824
29,29,000
16,94,812
5,54,236
20,78,936
31,67,289
16,91,064
6,02,711
22,04,422
31,94,663
17,40,487
7,50,246
GOVT EMPLOYEES’ TAX DEDUCTION LIMIT INCREASED TO
14 PER CENT; REDUCTION IN CORP SURCHARGE PROPOSED
hile presenting
the Union Budg-
et on Tuesday,
Finance Minis-
ter Nirmala Si-
tharaman pro-
posed no change in income
tax slabs. She, however, pro-
posed that both Centre and
states government employ-
ees’ tax deduction limit be
increased from 10% to 14%.
The move, she said, will help
the social security benefits
of state government em-
ployees and bring them at
par with the Central govern-
ment employees.
The FM also proposed a
reduction in corporate sur-
charge and said that the
transfer of any virtual digi-
tal asset shall be taxed at the
rate of 30%. “Corporate sur-
charge to be reduced from
12% to 7%. I propose to pro-
vide that any income from
transfer of any virtual digi-
tal asset shall be taxed at the
rate of 30%. No deduction in
respect of any expenditure
or allowance shall be al-
lowed while computing such
income, except the cost of
acquisition,” she said.
With the Budget propos-
ing taxing virtual assets at
30%, Sitharaman said that it
cannot be mentioned as a
replacement of any other
income and 1% TDS to be
charged further on pay-
ments made using digital
assets to keep a track on
transactions.
Sitharaman said that co-
operative societies can now
pay 18.5% alternate mini-
mum tax and companies pay
15%. From now, cooperative,
too, will have to pay only
15%.
W 10
KEY TAX-
RELATED
TAKEAWAYS
INCOME TAX
UNCHANGED
NO STANDARD
DEDUCTION
MAT REDUCTION FOR
COOPERATIVES
NPS FOR GOVT
STAFF
LONG-TERM
CAPITAL GAINS
UPDATED I-T
RETURNS
RELIEF FOR
DIVYANGS
RELIEF FOR
STARTUPS
CORPORATE
TAX
CRYPTO
TAX
Like last year, there was no
change in the income tax slabs
in this year’s budget, dashing
hopes of taxpayers. This re-
gime is optional for taxpayers.
There was no change in stand-
ard deduction either. A salaried
individual is allowed to claim a
standard deduction of Rs 50K
from his/her salary income.
The finance minister said that the
government proposes to reduce
Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) to
15 per cent for co-operative
societies, at par with corporates.
The government has proposed
to increase tax deduction from
10% to 14% on contribution
to NPS by state government to
employees. The benefit won’t
be available to non-govern-
ment staff.
Sitharaman announced that
surcharge on the long-term
capital gains (LTCG) will
be capped at 15%. LTCG
surcharge is available only
for listed shares and units
of mutual funds. The
government charges
a 10% long-term
capital gains tax
on profits of Rs 1
lakh and above
made on equity
investments if
held for more
than a year.
Govt to provide a one-time
window to correct omissions
in ITRs filed. Taxpayers can file
returns within two years from
the assessment years.
FM announced tax relief for
people with disabilities. “The
guardian of the differently-
abled can take an insurance
scheme for such a person.
An extension of 1 year for the
incentives provided to start-
ups. Tax incentives for startups
increased from 3 years to four
years of incorporation.
The corporate tax rate has
been kept at the same level.
However, concessional rate of
15 per cent would be available
for one more year.
FM Sitharaman proposed a 30 per cent tax on income
from transfer of virtual digital assets. One per cent tax
deducted at source (TDS) on transfer of virtual assets
above a threshold, gifts would be taxed, the minister said.
Separately, she announced that government will soon roll
out digital rupee based on blockchain technology.
1
7
2
8
9
10
3
4
5
6
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman on Tuesday an-
nounced that e-passports would be
rolled out from next year for more
convenience to the public. The e-
passports will use embedded chips
and futuristic technology, she said.
According to oficials, the e-pass-
ports will have more security fea-
tures and will use Radio-Frequency
Identification and biometrics. The
passports will be in line with inter-
national rules. The
passport jacket will
have an electronic chip
with security-related
data encoded on it. Pass-
ports are issued in booklets
currently. The e-passport is
expected to facilitate smooth
passage through immigration
posts globally and provide more
security as it hinges on biomet-
ric data.
The Union Budget
has a provision of
Rs 1.37 lakh crores
of the capital
investment support
for the Railways. It
will help complete
the stalled
Railways projects.
Thank you PM
Narendra Modi Ji
for higher
investment in
railways.
Ashwini Vaishnaw
@AshwiniVaishnaw
USIBC
congratulates the
FM and the GOI on
today’s Budget
announcement.
Overall, the
initiatives show
India’s continued
commitment to
enhancing
productivity,
creating jobs, and
capitalising on 9%
projected growth to
integrate into global
value chains.
Atul Keshap, USIBC
chief
@USAmbKeshap
Reflecting the hopes
and aspirations of
the new India, the
Budget is
encouraging,
predictable, growth-
oriented and
people-oriented. PM
Modi and Finance
Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman are
concerned about all
sections of society.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
This Budget is the
blueprint to fulfill
the aspirations and
hopes of a new
India in the 100th
year of
Independence.
Heartfelt gratitude
to respected PM
Modi and Finance
Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman for this
Budget that is
beneficial for 140
crore Indians.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
Substantial
amounts have been
allocated towards
research and
development in
several sectors
including defence.
The proposal to
reserve 25 per cent of
the RD Budget for
startups and private
entities is an
excellent move.
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh
Presented by
Finance Minister
Nirmala
Sitharaman under
the guidance of
respected Prime
Minister Shri
Narendra Modi,
this Budget 2022
will encourage
latest infrastructure
that will lay the
foundation of new
India and will
make 130 crore
Indians’ life
better.
Nitin Gadkari
@nitin_gadkari
E-PASSPORTS USING EMBEDDED CHIPS
TO BE ROLLED OUT IN 2022-23
RBI set to launch digital rupee in FY23
F
inance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman an-
nounced that the Re-
serve Bank of India will use
block-chain and other tech-
nology to bring out a digital
currency in the coming fi-
nancial year 2022-23.
“TheGovernmentproposed
tointroduceDigitalRupee,us-
ingblockchainandothertech-
nologies, to be issued by the
RBI starting 2022-23 for more
efficient and cheaper curren-
cy management system, “ Si-
tharaman said.
With this, India will join
the ranks of countries issu-
ing their own Central bank
Digital Currency (CBDC).
CBDC is the legal tender is-
sued by a central bank in a
digital form.
REFORMING SEZ ACT TO ENHANCE
COMPETITIVENESS OF EXPORTS
 A new legislation will
replace the SEZ Act that will
cover all large existing and
new industrial enclaves to
enhance competitiveness of
exports.
 The budget has paved
the way for faster resolution
of bankrupt companies by
proposing amendments to en-
hance the resolution process’s
efficiency and cross-border
insolvency resolution.
 Sitharaman announced
revoking of anti-dumping
duties on certain steel prod-
ucts imported from countries
including China, a move aimed
at containing high prices of
metals and promoting domes-
tic manufacturing.
 India outlined plans to
spend an additional $2.6 bil-
lion to boost local manufactur-
ing of solar modules, stepping
up a campaign to cut imports
from China. The country,
which has an ambitious plan
of generating 280 gigawatts of
sun-fired electricity by 2030,
imports nearly 80% of the
components for solar power
from China.
 India sharply reduced its
asset-sale targets, raising
questions about how much
it plans to raise from the
marquee initial public offering
of LIC. But the FM in a presser
clarified that it will not impact
the listing.
 Startups will be promoted
to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’
through varied applications
and for Drone-As-A-Service
(DrAAS). In select ITIs, in all
states, the required courses
for skilling, will be started.
 Skilling programmes and
partnership with the industry
will be reoriented to promote
continuous skilling avenues.
BANKING INDUSTRY MATTERS
MSME AGRICULTURE
 Udyam, e-shram, NCS and
ASEEM portals to be inter-
linked.
 130 lakh MSMEs provided
additional credit under Emer-
gency Credit Linked Guaran-
tee Scheme (ECLGS)
 ECLGS to be extended up
to March 2023.
 Guarantee cover under
ECLGS to be expanded by Rs
50000 Crore to total cover of
Rs 5 Lakh Crore.
 Rs 2 lakh Crore additional
credit for Micro and Small
Enterprises to be facilitated
under the CGTMSE.
 Raising and Accelerating
MSME performance (RAMP)
programme with outlay of Rs
6000 crore to be rolled out.
 `2.37 lakh crore direct payment
to 1.63 crore farmers for procure-
ment of wheat and paddy.
 Chemical free Natural farming to
be promoted throughout the county.
Initial focus is on farmer’s lands
in 5 Km wide corridors along river
Ganga.
 NABARD to facilitate fund with
blended capital to finance startups
for agriculture rural enterprise.
 ‘Kisan Drones’ for crop assess-
ment, digitization of land records,
spraying of insecticides and nutri-
ents.
KEN BETWA PROJECT
 1400 crore outlay for imple-
mentation of the Ken – Betwa link
project.
 9.08 lakh hectares of farmers’
lands to receive irrigation benefits
by Ken-Betwa link project.
MSP
 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did men-
tion MSP in her fourth budget speech. She said, “The
procurement of wheat in rabi 2021-22 and the estimated
procurement of paddy in kharif 2021-22 will cover 1208
lakh metric tonnes of wheat and paddy from 163 lakh
farmers, and Rs 2.37 lakh crore direct payment of MSP
value to their accounts.”
75 DIGITAL BANKING
UNITS IN 75 DISTS
DIGITAL BANKING BY
POST OFFICES
IBC AMENDMENTS
NOT ANNOUNCED YET
75 Digital banking units will
be set up in 75 districts of the
country.
1.5 lakh post offices will
come under the core banking
system which will enable
access to accounts through
net banking, mobile banking,
ATMs, and also provide online
transfer of funds.
Changes in the IBC to en-
able seamless cross-border
insolvency.
No mention was made on
promises of privatisation of
public sector banks.
 80 lakh affordable houses
will be completed at `44,000
cr under PM Awas Yojna in
2022-23.
 The allocation for the trans-
port sector has gone up to `3.5
lakh crore in 2022-23 from
`2.3 lakh crore in 2021-22.
 There is a sharp increase in
the allocations for highways,
cargo terminals and potable
tap water connections, includ-
ing the Gati Shakti Master Plan
for multimodal connectivity
(which will build 25,000 km of
expressways) and five river-
linking projects.
 Border Infrastructure Man-
agement has been allocated
`2,744 crore.
 The Budget 2022 docu-
ments show that the railway
ministry has been allocated
`1,40,367.13 crore.
 100% electrification of
Broad Gauge Routes by the
year 2023. Also, indigenously
developed automatic train pro-
tection system to be launched
 2,000 km of network will be
brought under Kavach
 400 new-generation Vande
Bharat Trains with better en-
ergy efficiency and passenger
riding experience are planned.
 One hundred PM GatiShakti
Cargo Terminals for multi-
modal logistics facilities will
be developed during the next
three years.
 Mass Urban Transport in-
cluding Connectivity to Railways
 Multimodal connectivity
between mass urban transport
and railway stations will be
facilitated on priority.
 Design of metro systems,
including civil structures, will
be re-oriented and standard-
ized for Indian conditions
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEFENCE
TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
RAILWAYS
BATTERY-SWAPPING POLICY
 Government to release a policy on
battery swapping and standards for
interoperability of electric vehicles
(EVs) infrastructure that will acceler-
ate the shift from fossil fuel-burning
vehicles to EVs.
KISAN DRONES
 Villages will get more hi-tech,
with use of ‘Kisan Drones’ (drones
for farmers) for crop assessment,
digitisation of land records, spraying
of insecticides, and nutrients.
 Government aims to ensure that vil-
lages have the same access to online
services that are available in cities.
 Focus on building optic fibre net-
works under the Bharatnet project
to take broadband services closer to
more villages.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES
 Government to follow light-touch
regulatory approach in support of
startups and enterprises in AI, geo-
spatial systems and drones, semicon-
ductors, space economy, genomics
and pharmaceuticals, green energy,
and clean mobility systems.
 A task force is to be set up for the
animation and gaming industry.
 Overall, a three-year tax incentive
that was available to startups that
started before March this year, has
been extended to include ventures that
are incorporated before March 2023.
GOVERNMENT SPEND ON IT
 Investments in IT will be stepped
up in multiple areas, including agricul-
ture, education, health care, logistics
and procurement. Enhancements of
existing online portals and platforms
as well as developments of new ones.
 These are aimed at offering high-
quality e-content for education in
regional languages, setting up of a
digital university, tele-mental health
services, real-time logistics informa-
tion and end-to-end online procure-
ment management.
 One notable area of government
investment is fintech, a burgeoning
sector in India. The Finance Minister
has proposed to set up 75 digital
banking units in 75 districts across
the country, to mark India’s 75th year
of independence. The government
also plans to bring all the 1.5 lakh
post office branches in the country
onto a core banking system, enabling
them to offer internet banking and
mobile banking.
 As the
country moves
closer to the roll-
out of 5G wire-
less, manufactur-
ing of related
technologies will
be included in
India’s product linked incentive schemes,
the minister said.
 Spectrum auctions will be con-
ducted this year to roll out 5G services
 Scheme for design led manufactur-
ing in 5G will be launched as part of PLI
scheme, the FM said
 To enable affordable broadband
and mobile service proliferation
in rural and remote areas, 5% of
annual collections under the uni-
versal service obligation fund
will be allocated.
TELECOM
TAXES
This Budget is continuation of
last year’s holistic agenda: FM  Allocation of Rs
5,25,166.15 cr for FY23 as the
defence budget for the finan-
cial year 2022-23, up almost
10 per cent over Budget 2021.
 Defence RD will be opened
up for industry, startups and
academia with 25 per cent of
defence RD budget earmarked.
 Private industry will be
encouraged to take up design
and development of military
platforms and equipment in
collaboration with DRDO.
 An independent nodal um-
brella body will be set up for
meeting wide ranging testing
and certification requirements.
2,547.48
1,40,571
1,36,568
2,08,499
2,17,110
2,01,750
1,99,300
2,39,600
2,32,000
2020-21
2020-21
'21-22
'21-22
'21-22
'21-22
'22-23
'22-23
6,561
5,360
Excess
IN FIGURES
Working Results
875
In `crore
In `crore
(Actuals)
Gross Traffic Receipts
Total Working Expenses
(Actuals)
(BE)
(BE)
(RE)
(RE)
(BE)
(BE)
BLENDED FINANCE CGTMSE SCH REVAMP
Govt backed Funds NIIF and SIDBI
Fund of Funds have provided
scale capital creating a multiplier
effect. For encouraging important
sunrise sectors like Climate Ac-
tion, Deep-Tech, Digital Economy,
Pharma and Agri-Tech, govt
will promote thematic funds for
blended finance with the govern-
ment share being limited to 20%.
In a further move to help MSMEs
impacted by the pandemic, the
Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for
Micro and Small Enterprises will
also be revamped with required
infusion of funds, the FM said.
“This will facilitate credit of Rs 2
lakh crore for MSEs and expand
employment,” Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman said.
The Budget is
dedicated to the
poor, farmers and
youth. Additional
arrangements made
for road
construction
indicates
development-
oriented thought
process.
Keshav Prasad
Maurya
@kpmaurya1
“All the businesses
in India have come
to a halt... Income
of people has
reduced... Because
of the pandemic,
savings in banks
have come down...
Now, another
budget comes to
pick the pocket of
the common man...
With this, the sad
era of BJP is
beginning to end!”
Akhilesh Yadav
@yadavakhilesh

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New Delhi: The Indi-
an Air Force (IAF) on
Tuesdayreceivedthree
of the last four Rafale
fighter jets, as reported
by sources. The fighter
planes were handed
over by France at Is-
tres-Le Tube air base
of Rafale manufactur-
er Dassault Aviation,
and is situated north-
west of Marseille.
When they fly out of
France, these fighter
jets will receive mid-
air refueling by the air
force of India’s close
ally, the United Arab
Emirates, using Air-
bus multi-role trans-
port tankers.
After this, the IAF
will wait for the right
opportunity to take the
fighter jets to India be-
tween February 15 and
20. According to people
aware of the de-
velopments,
the handed
over planes will now be
test-checked for all the
details. The fighter jets
are expected to arrive
in India between Feb-
ruary 15 and 16, the
source said.
These Rafale fighter
jets are fully equipped
with India specific en-
hancements, which
will give them extra
teeth to fight any re-
gional adversary
.
The last fighter jet is
nearlyreadywithfresh
paint and enhance-
ments, but will arrive
in April due to the
r e a s o n s
b e s t
known to
IAF.
The last
of the 36
contracted
f i g h t e r s
fromFranceisactually
the first fighter used
for training IAF per-
sonnel after the deliv-
eries started from
France. This fighter
was inspected by De-
fence Secretary
Ajay Kumar at the
Istres air base dur-
ing his visit to
France for a high level
defence dialogue in De-
cember 2021.
On the arrival of the
fighter jets, the IAF
will test the spe-
cific en-
hance-
ments to their satisfac-
tion under Indian con-
ditions apart from
verifying the original
equipment manufac-
turers claims as per
agreement. After this,
work will begin in ret-
rofitting the remain-
ing 32 aircraft at Am-
bala and Hashimara
air base. The upgrada-
tion exercise will be
carried out at Ambala
air base which has the
maintenance cum re-
pair set up for the Ra-
fale in India.
—Agencies
INDIA
LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022
06
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
NEW OMICRON VARIANT SPREADING EVEN
FASTER THAN ORIGINAL: REPORTS
New studies are
emerging that sug-
gest the latest version
of the highly-infectious
omicron variant is trans-
mitting even faster than
the original, and mild
cases of the first may not
offer much protection
against future infections.
The findings cast doubt
on hopes that the wave
of omicron that’s sweep-
ing the world may help
in ending the pandemic.
Calls for govts to treat
Covid-19 as endemic
like influenza are rising
globally as people grow
stigma. According to one
report from researchers at the University of California,
San Francisco, that was published online, the protec-
tion from a natural infection was about one-third that
obtained through a booster shot, the study found.
FORMER CONGRESS MINISTER JAGMOHAN
SINGH KANG JOINS AAM AADMI PARTY
Chandigarh: Upset over denial of party ticket from the Kharar
Assembly segment, senior Congress leader and former
Punjab minister Jagmohan Singh Kang joined the Aam
Aadmi Party on Tuesday. Jagmohan Kang along with his two
sons Yadwindra Singh Kang and Amrinder Singh Kang joined
Arvind Kejriwal’s party. Voting for Punjab’s 117 Assembly
seats will be held on February 20 and the counting will take
place on March 10.
IN THE COURTYARD
Channi asks people to ensure his
victory from Chamkaur Sahib
Chandigarh: Punjab
CM and Congress candi-
date Charanjit Singh
Channi on Tues-
day asked people
of his constitu-
ency Chamkaur
Sahib to make
him win with a
margin of at least 50,000
votes in the February 20
state assembly polls. His
remarks came days af-
ter AAP leader and Del-
hi CM Kejriwal claimed
that Mr Channi was los-
ing from his home turf
Chamkaur Sahib seat.
Addressing people after
filing nomination pa-
pers from Chamkaur
Sahib seat (SC) in Rup-
nagar district, Channi
made an impassioned
speech and asked people
to ensure his win. —ANI
New Delhi: The Centre
on Monday extended
work from home ar-
rangement for 50% of
its employees below the
level of Under Secretary
till February 15, accord-
ing to a Personnel Min-
istryorder.Personswith
disabilities and preg-
nant women employees
would continue to be
exempted from attend-
ing offices.
The Personnel Minis-
try had on January 3 is-
sued an order allowing
work from home 50 per
cent of employees below
the level of Under Secre-
tary till January 31, be-
cause of the rise in Cov-
id cases. All officers of
the level of Under Secre-
tary and above are to at-
tend office regularly
, the
order stated. Personnel
Ministry also extended
the suspension of biom-
etric attendance for the
employees till Feb 15.
Centrehadearlierlast
month suspended the
markingof biometricat-
tendance for all its em-
ployees till Jan 31, as a
measure to stop the
spread of Covid-19. —PTI
Centre extends WFH
for 50% junior staffers
Centre’s non-senior staffers below Under
Secretary level to work from home till Feb 15
France hands over 3
Indianised jets to IAF
MORE RAFALE POWER IN QUIVER
Although IAF remains tight-lipped over what
India specific enhancements are on Rafale, it
is learnt that these relate to long range Meteor
air-to-air missile, low band frequency jam-
mers, advanced communication systems, more
capable radio altimeter, radar warning receiver,
high altitude engine start up, synthetic aper-
ture radar, ground moving target indicator and
tracking, missile approach warning systems
and very high frequency range decoys.
WHAT’S IN INDIA-SPECIFIC RAFALES?












COVID HIGHLIGHTS
 Uttarakhand BJP,
Congress Get 95
Rebel Candidates To
Withdraw Nomina-
tions
 Probe Agency
Officer Rajeshwar
Singh’s Retirement
Accepted, May Con-
test UP Polls For BJP
 Punjab BJP Chief
Ashwani Kumar Shar-
ma Files Nomination
From Pathankot
POLL HIGHLIGHTS
BJP PLANS TO WIN GANDHI
FAMILY’S BASTION RAE BARELI
Rae Bareli: After
thrashing the Congress
in neighbouring Ame-
thi, the BJP is working
flat out for a win across
the assembly segments
in Rae Bareli — the only
citadel left of the Gan-
dhi family in UP. The
BJP appears to have
worked to a plan, begin-
ning with the weaning
away of Congress MLC
and MLAs.
Rae Bareli was the
onlyLokSabhaseatwon
by the Congress in 2019
in UP
. In the 2017 assem-
bly elections, only two
Vidhan Sabha seats, Rae
Bareli (Sadar) and
Harchandpur, remained
loyal to the Congress.
They were won by Aditi
Singh and Rakesh Singh
for the party
.
Both winners from
the last time have now
switched sides to the
BJP and have been field-
ed against the Congress
from the same seats. Be-
sides Rae Bareli (Sadar)
and Harchandpur seats,
Rae Bareli has four as-
sembly constituencies
— Bachrawan, Saraini,
Uchahar and Salon.
The Congress and the
SP had contested the
2017 assembly polls as
allies, but are no longer
together. —PTI
UP POLLS
BRAHMIN COMMUNITY MEMBERS ASSURE SP OF SUPPORT
date Charanjit Singh
Channi on Tues-
day asked people
ency Chamkaur
Sahib to make
him win with a POLL HIGHLIGHTS
POLL HIGHLIGHTS
PUNJAB
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi’s YouTube
channel on Tuesday
crossed 1 crore
subscriptions and is
the highest amongst
top global leaders.
Brazil President Jair
Bolsonaro ranks
second after PM Modi
on the list of global
leaders with the high-
est subscriptions on
their YouTube channel
with a total of 36 lakh
subscribers. Steadily
following behind is
Mexico Prez Andres
Manuel Lopez Obra-
dor with 30.7 lakh.
The subscription
number list of global
leaders also includes
Indonesia President
Joko Widodo with
28.8 lakh subscribers.
In the decreasing
trend, the White
House has 19 lakh
subscribers, followed
by US President Joe
Biden with 7.03 lakh
subscribers. —ANI
PM Modi now
has 1 crore
YouTube fans
MINORITY-STATUS
PETITION: SC FINES GOVT
FOR NOT RESPONDING
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court have pulled up the
Centre for not taking a
stand on a plea seeking
that minority status of a
community be decided at
state level and not at the
national level and imposed
a fine of Rs 7,500. A bench
of Justices Sanjay Kishan
Kaul and M M Sundresh
pointed out that the court
had on January 7 granted
one last chance to the
Centre to file an affidavit
but the government again
failed to take a stand on the
issue. Additional solicitor
general KM Nataraj submit-
ted that the draft of the
affidavit is ready and there
was delay in filing because
of the pandemic. But the
bench was not convinced
and quipped, “Don’t make
excuses which we find very
difficult to accept.”
TARUN TEJPAL’S PLEA
FOR IN-CAMERA
HEARING TO BE LISTED
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Tuesday said it will
list for hearing the appeal
filed by former Editor-in-
Chief of Tehelka magazine
Tarun Tejpal challenging
the order of the Goa bench
of the Bombay High Court,
which has rejected his
application for in-camera
hearing in the 2013 sexual
assault case. A Bench of
Chief Justice of India NV
Ramana and Justices AS
Bopanna and Hima Kohli
said it will list the matter
for hearing after senior
advocate Siddharth Luthra,
appearing for Tejpal, men-
tioned the plea for listing
saying two judges have
recused from hearing the
case. Yesterday, Justice UU
Lalit recused himself from
hearing the case. Before
that Justice L Nageswara
Rao had recused himself.
FOR BULLET TRAIN PROJECT, AN IMPORTANT
RULING FROM SUPREME COURT
New Delhi: In a verdict pertaining to the Japan-funded Bullet
train project, the Supreme Court on Monday said no com-
pany and even the Republic
of India can be permitted to
deviate from any terms and
conditions of the agreements
including the loan deed about
the Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail
project. The Supreme Court set
aside the Delhi HC’s verdict in
favour of a firm called Montecarlo Limited. A bench compris-
ing Justices M R Shah and A S Bopanna said in their verdict.
WE’RE IN A DEMOCRACY, CAN’T STOP RIVALS
FROM CONTESTING POLLS: SUPREME COURT
New Delhi: The Supreme Court have protected SAD
functionary Bikram Singh Majithia from arrest in a drug
trafficking case till February 23 and told the Charanjit
Singh Channi-led Congress government in Punjab that
in a democracy governments must not slap election-eve
criminal cases on political opponents to prevent them
from contesting. A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and
Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli ordered reprieve to
Majithia, against whom the FIR under the NDPS Act was
registered on December 20 for offences that allegedly took
place between 2004 and 2015.
HC GRANTS JAILED GANGSTER ABU SALEM
TIME TO SUPPORT ILLEGAL DETENTION CLAIM
New Delhi: The Delhi HC on Tuesday granted time to extradited
gangster Abu Salem, serving life imprisonment for his role in
the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts
case, to file documents in sup-
port of his habeas corpus peti-
tion claiming that his detention
was illegal. A bench of Justices
Siddharth Mridul and Anup
Jairam Bhambhani said Salem
counsel should place on record
the electronic copy of the judgement on which he was relying
upon to show that his habeas corpus petition was maintainable.
AHMEDABAD SERIAL BLASTS CASE VERDICT
DEFERRED AS JUDGE TESTS COVID POSITIVE
Ahmedabad: A special court here on Tuesday deferred the
verdict in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case as
the judge concerned has tested positive for coronavirus,
a senior public prosecutor said. The court is now likely to
pronounce the verdict on February 8, but the judge would
confirm the date a few days in advance, he said. At least 56
people were killed and over 200 injured in 21 bomb blasts
that had hit Ahmedabad city within a span of 70 minutes
on July 26, 2008. “The verdict in the 2008 serial bomb
blasts case was to be delivered today, but special judge A
R Patel tested positive for the coronavirus on January 30
and is under home isolation,” said public prosecutor.
17 STATES HAVE PRE-PUBLISHED DRAFT
RULES FOR LABOUR REFORMS
New Delhi: Labour reforms are progressing steadily
as at least 17 states have pre-published draft rules for
four labour codes on wages, social security, industrial
relations and occupational safety, health and work-
ing conditions (OSH), according to the Economic
Survey 2021-22, tabled in Parliament. “As on Jan 11,
2022, 26 states/UTs have also pre-published the draft
rules under the Code on Wages, 22 states/UTs under
Industrial Relations Code, 20 states/UTs under Code
on Social Security, and 17 states/UTs under OSH WC
Code,” it said.
Itanagar: The Indian teenager
who was allegedly abducted
by the Chinese army from
Arunachal Pradesh who has
reunited with his family, was
given electric shocks in Chinese
custody. Miram’s father Opang
Taron said his son was tied and blindfolded while
in the custody of China’s People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) for more than a week, the father alleged. “He is
still in shock, was kicked in the back and given a mild
electric shock initially” said Taron to reporters.
Ahmedabad: A mob of 100
people torched two private buses
carrying employees of a com-
pany on the outskirts of Gujarat’s
Bharuch town after one of the
vehicles mowed down and killed
an elderly man, police said on
Tuesday.The incident took place on Dahej bypass road
on Monday night, but no one was injured in the mob
violence as all passengers of the two buses of the
Dahej-based firm got down before the vehicles were
set ablaze, Bharuch inspector AK Bharwad said.
ARUNACHAL TEEN GIVEN ELECTRIC SHOCKS
IN CHINESE CUSTODY, ALLEGES FATHER
100-PERSON MOB BURNS 2 BUSES IN GUJ
AFTER 1 RUNS OVER AN ELDERLY MAN
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Mumbai on
Tuesday reported 803
new Covid-19 cases
and seven deaths, the
Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(BMC) said in a re-
lease here. On the sec-
ond day in a row,
Mumbai reported less
than 1,000 new corona-
virus infections, while
daily fatalities fell to
single digit for the
first time since De-
cember 19, 2021.
Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation’s
Commissioner Dr
Iqbal Singh Chahal
while tweeting on the
dip in the covid cases
and rate of positivity
said,Mumbaiisalmost
back to normal with
positivity of 1.5 %.
With1.5%positivity
Mumbacktonormal
CRUCIAL READ
Iqbal Singh Chahal
@IqbalSinghChah2
Mumbai is almost
back to normal
with positivity of 1.5
percent.

UTTAR PRADESH
07
Bahubalisatbay,betterhalvesinfray
Bahubalis are facing criminals charges but are active in the poll battle through their wives close relatives
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Even
though some of the Ba-
hubalis are in jail, and
those outside is facing
several criminal
charges, they are still
active in the poll battle
through their wives
and close relatives
who have been fielded
by all most all major
parties in the
State. Not surprising
therefore as it mounts
a blistering attack on
the Samajwadi Party
for giving tickets to
criminals, the BJP it-
self has fielded the
wives of two convicted
criminals in the Uttar
Pradesh Assembly
polls. The wives have
been fielded on seats
that their husbands
won five years ago.
While the BJP has
fielded two such wives,
Congress has given a
ticket to one. The BJP
has fielded Sanjeev Ra-
ja’s wife Mukta Raja
from Aligarh City.
According to police,
Raja, a first-time MLA,
was convicted in a
22-year-old case of as-
saulting a policeman
last November and
sentenced to two years
in jail. He was, howev-
er, granted bail by the
court the same day.
BJP’s Aligarh district
president Rishi Pal
Singh said that since
Raja did not get relief
from the court in his
case, the party decided
to field his wife from
his seat. Indra Pratap
a.k.a Khabbu Tiwari
was sentenced to five
years of imprison-
ment by a Faizabad
court last December in
a case of forgery.
According to sourc-
es, the case was lodged
against him in 1992 by
a principal of a college
accusing him of tak-
ing admission using a
fake mark sheet in
1990. Two more per-
sons were convicted
along with Pratap.
Khabbu Tiwrai’s wife
Aarti has been given
the BJP ticket form
from Gosaiganj in Ayo-
dhya. BJP’s Ayodhya
district president San-
jeev Singh said, “This
is the party’s decision.
Selection of candi-
dates is done after con-
sidering several rea-
sons.” The third con-
victed MLA whose
wife has been given a
ticket is Ashok Singh
Chandel, who was con-
victed by the Alla-
habad High Court in a
22-year-old murder
case along with eight
others in April 2019.
Chandel, a four-time
MLA, and one-time
MP, was acquitted by
the lower court in 2002
for “lack of evidence”.
However, the High
Court set aside the ac-
quittal and sentenced
him to life imprison-
ment. The Congress
has now given a ticket
to his wife, Raj Ku-
mari, from Hamirpur
district.
Lakhimpur Kheri:
Farmers in Lakhim-
pur Kheri, who are yet
to come to terms with
the infamous October
incident, are consider-
ing using the NOTA’
option in the upcoming
Assembly polls. They
alleged that while the
two main political par-
ties in the state the BJP
and the Samajwadi
Party (SP) have cheat-
ed them, the other par-
ties are ineffective.
Farmers, that consti-
tute the bulk of the
population in Lakhim-
pur Kheri district lo-
cated in the Terai belt,
said while they have
decided not to vote for
the BJP owing to the
contentious farm laws,
they do not wish to sup-
port the SP either as
the previous Akhilesh
Yadav-led government
had waived off Rs 2,000
crore interest amount
payable by sugarcane
mill owners to the cul-
tivators.
Several farmers said
they will choose NOTA’
(none of the above) on
February 23, if neces-
sary, as all parties pay
themlipserviceduring
elections but do not
take any concrete steps
to address their griev-
ances. Jagpal Dhillon,
a farmer in Maraucha
village located in Palia
tehsil told PTI that all
political parties the
BJP, SP, Bahujan Sam-
aj Party Congress
give them false assur-
ances and use them as
commodities during
the elections. We have
no hope from any polit-
ical party, he said, add-
ing, the BJP will have
to bear the brunt of the
October 3 Tikoniya in-
cident. On October 3,
eight people, including
four farmers, were
killed in violence
during the farmers’
protest at Tikoniya vil-
lage in Lakhimpur
Kheri. Union Minister
of State for Home Ajay
Mishra Teni’s son Ash-
ish Mishra is named as
the prime accused and
is in jail. Kewal Singh,
who along with his two
brothers owns 45 acres
of land in Palia, says
the farmers will not
forget how the previ-
ous Akhilesh Yadav
government waived
off the interest amount
of Rs 2,000 crore which
the sugarcane farmers
were entitled to receive
from mill owners. The
condition of the farm-
ers turned worse un-
der the BJP regime,
which ironically had
promised to double our
income, he said.
As per Cane Control
Order 1966, in case of
non-payment of the
outstanding cane price
within 14 days, sugar
mill owners will have
to pay an interest of 15
per cent to the farmers.
However, the SP govt
waived off this interest
amount, which swelled
up to about Rs 2,000
crore citing that the in-
dustry was going
through a lean phase.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: State has so
far administered over
96,22,474 vaccine doses
to children between 15
to 18 years of age. The
immunisation drive
for teens has picked up
pace in the state to pro-
vide‘protectiveshields’
to eligible children at
the earliest. UP has so
far given out over 14.21
lakh ‘precaution dos-
es’. It has started ad-
ministering booster
shots(precautiondose)
to the frontline and
healthcare workers as
well as senior citizens
from January 10.
The govt has expe-
dited its vaccination
coverage in the state.
As per the latest fig-
ures on CoWin, UP has
administered15.72first
doses of the vaccine so
far. As a result of swift
measures, micro-plan-
ning, alertness and an
aggressive approach to
contain the virus, the
active covid caseload
in UP now stands at
47,198, out of which
nearly 98% of the peo-
ple are recovering in
home isolation.
First India Bureau
Agra: Samajwadi Par-
ty’s candidate Gyanen-
dra Gautam from Agra
(North) constituency is
continuouslyengagedin
public relations cam-
paign. On Tuesday, his
convoy reached Om
Nagar from JP Nagar,
Khandari via Mau Road
in Agra. Gautam, en-
gagedinpublicrelations
campaign, did public re-
lations from Agra’s Day-
al Bagh, Mau Road, JP
Nagar, Khandari to Om
Nagar on Tuesday
whereGautamSPsup-
porters were given a
grand welcome by the
people of Diwakar soci-
ety in Om Nagar. Gau-
tam said that the busi-
ness class has suffered
the most in the BJP gov-
ernment the business
class, which is already
facing the wrath of Co-
rona, has been torn
apart by the arbitrary
taxes being collected by
the BJP govt and rising
inflation.Duetothis,the
businessclassisveryan-
gry with BJP that is
whytheynowwantsuch
a government that does
maximum work in the
interest of the traders
and that is why the SP is
getting the full support
of the traders.
Prayagraj: Nearly 1.50
crore devotees took
holy dips in the Ganga
river here in Paryagraj
on the occasion of the
rare two-day mauni
amawasya ending
Tuesday amid the on-
going Magh fair on the
river bank. The fair au-
thorities on Tuesday
said the number of
devotees taking dips in
the confluence of the
Ganga, Yamuna and
mythical Saraswati
rivers here reached
1.47 crore on Tuesday
with over 50 lakh peo-
ple taking the bath by
Monday night itself.
The mauni
amawasya, falling on
the moonless day of
the Magh month under
the Hindu calendar, is
considered a pious day
with devotees taking
dips in the Ganga amid
the month-long fair on
river banks in
Prayagraj. As per the
Hindu calendar, the
mauni amawasya fell
on two days this year
-- January 31 and Feb-
ruary 1. Performing
the pind daan’ rituals
here at the behest of
devotees for securing
the salvation of depart-
ed souls of their family
members, priest Bhola
Nath Tripathi said the
muhurat’ (pious peri-
od) of the mauni
amawasya began at
2.20 pm on Monday and
lasted till 11.16 am on
Tuesday
. The devotees,
however, kept taking
holy dips in the rive till
evening, he said. Fair
authorities said the
people had begun ar-
riving at the fair site
since Sunday itself and
began taking dips from
Monday
. They said the
fair is being held amid
strict observance of
the Covid protocol and
over 300 people were
penalised for violating
it. The officials also
said the fair is being
held amid various se-
curity and safety mea-
sures including the
deployment and pa-
trolling of policemen,
horse-mounted jawans,
anti-terror and bomb
disposal squads, state
disaster management
personnel besides div-
ers to avert any untow-
ard incident. A total of
150 CCTV cameras
have been installed at
various crucial points
for monitoring various
activities in the fair-
ground, they said.—PTI
Khabbu Tiwari and Arti at their wedding.
Devotees at the Ganga river on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
SP’s Gyanendra Gautam during
door-to-door campaign
Corona testing and booster dose given ahead of the four-day
workshop of state employees going on election duty at Jawahar
Bhawan in Lucknow on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
ANSARI GETS BAIL BUT STAYS IN JAIL
COVID-19
Active cases fall
below 50k-mark;
fresh infections
below 5,000
MAUNI AMAVASYA
Nearly 1.50 cr devotees take
holy dips in Ganga in Prayagraj
Bahraich: A human
trafficking racket was
busted and five people
were arrested while a
woman held by them
was freed in the Nan-
para area here, police
said on Tuesday.
Bahraich Senior Su-
perintendent of Police
Keshav Choudhary
said a joint operation
was launched on Mon-
day evening by the Sa-
shastra Seema Bal
(SSB) and the Uttar
Pradesh Police with
the help of an NGO af-
ter learning about the
activities of the gang.
He said the team ar-
rested four women --
Sudha, Usha Devi,
Lakshmi and Kusuma
-- and one man Ramdal
Yadav during the oper-
ation.
The NGO had in-
formed the anti-hu-
man trafficking unit
of the SSB and the lo-
cal police officers re-
garding the activities
of the gang, he said.
Acting on the infor-
mation, an operation
was conducted by the
police and the SSB, po-
lice said.
On Sunday, an NGO
member posed as a
customer and contact-
ed the women mem-
bers of the gang. The
member made a deal
with them to buy the
widow for Rs 70,000,
they said.
On Monday, the
gang members were
caught when they
reached a pre-deter-
mined spot to hand
over the widow for
cash to the NGO work-
er posing as a custom-
er, police said.
All the accused have
been sent to jail, they
said. —PTI
Human trafficking gang busted in UP; 5 held
EXPLOITATION ENDS
Traders angry with BJP are now
with SP, says Gyanendra Gautam






100% VACCINATION
BJP,SP left us in lurch,will
choose‘NOTA’,say farmers
in Lakhimpuri Kheri
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
VM Singh, head of the
Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor
Sangathan, alleged that
SP BJP cheated the
farmers. The SP-Rash-
triya Lok Dal alliance
BJP are fooling the
farmers. Why should we
support either of them,
he sought to know.
‘SP-RLD ALLIANCE, BJP
FOOLING FARMERS’
About 75 per cent of
the farmers in Lakh-
impur Kheri district
cultivate sugarcane.
Nine sugar mills, run by
co-operative organisa-
tions and the private
sector, crush about 15
lakh quintals of sugar-
cane here.
SUGARCANE FARMING
DOMINANT IN DISTRICT
Budget’s focus on
infra will benefit
Northern States: CII
DISAPPOINTED
WITH BUDGET:
GOLDIEE MD
First India Bureau
Lucknow: “The
Union Budget pre-
sented today has pre-
sented a growth-ori-
ented, expansionary
budget and has clear-
ly indicated the gov-
ernment’s focus on
sustainable growth
through enhanced
capital expenditure”,
said Abhimanyu
Munjal, Chairman,
CII Northern Region.
At CII, we appreciate
the fine balancing
done to soothe the
economyboostitby
way of increased cap-
ital expenditure.
First India Bureau
Kanpur: Som Goenka, Managing Director,
Goldiee Industries Group, described the Union
Budget as a disappointment to the business com-
munity
. He said that no relief package has been
announced even though the whole world has
been struggling with the corona pandemic and
business community has had to face many diffi-
culties. Goenka said that the business commu-
nity had hoped that the government would an-
nounce a relief package in the general budget,
but it was not to be. He appealed to the govern-
ment to bring about a special relief package so
that the business community gets some respite
till the country’s economic situation improves.
The State Emp Joint Council described the Union
budget a disappointment. Council Prez Suresh,
Gen Secy Atul Mishra, Principal Vice Prez Sunil
Yadav said that even during the preliminary study
of the budget, the employees had demanded the
restoration of the old pension scheme but there has
been no such action taken by the finance minister.
‘BUDGET A DISAPPOINTMENT’



WIDOW RESCUED
Live telecast of the Budget at CII campus Gomti Nagar in
Lucknow Tuesday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR

What did you choose to do today,
will define what you will do
tomorrow-Break the boundaries
or crack the comfort zone- today!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor, First India
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Enforce-
ment Directorate offi-
cer Rajeshwar Singh
was granted voluntary
retirementfromservice
by the Union govern-
ment on Monday night,
and on Tuesday eve-
ningtheBJpannounced
his name as its candi-
date from Lucknow’s
Sarojini Nagar seat, a
constituencyrepresent-
ed by Women and Child
Welfare Minister in the
Yogigovernment,Swati
Singh. Her husband
Dayashankar Singh
was also trying to bag
the BJP ticket for this
hotly contested seat.
Singh, who was serv-
ing as the joint director
of the Enforcement Di-
rectorate (ED) in Luc-
know so far, tweeted to
announce that he was
‘hanging up his boots’.
“Today, my request
for voluntary retire-
ment (VRS) from the
service of the Govern-
ment of India has been
approved. The caravan
of 24 years of tireless
and conscientious
hard work, carried out
in a relentless manner,
has reached a point of
transition today,” he
stated in a letter at-
tached with the Twit-
ter post on Monday
night. The officer be-
gan his civil service
career with the UP Po-
lice, where he served
for about 10 years,
while the rest were in
the ED, a federal probe
agency that investi-
gates money launder-
ing and foreign ex-
change violation
crimes. “As my profes-
sional journey of 24
years turns to a transi-
tion today, on this occa-
sion, I express my deep
seated gratitude to the
Hon PM Shri @naren-
dramodi ji, Hon HM
Shri @AmitShah ji and
FM Smt @nsithara-
man ji, CM Shri @myo-
giadityanath ji, Shri S
K Mishra, Director ED
and Uttar Pradesh Po-
lice. I have learned a lot
while working with
these organizations for
so many years,” he
wrote on Twitter after
announcing the accep-
tance of his VRS. “I
join the PM’s mission
to make India a Vishwa
Guru, as a participant,
to contribute with con-
viction and integrity
in this process of na-
tion-building,” he fur-
ther stated. Rajeshwar
Singh met ED Director
Sanjay Kumar Mishra
and other senior offi-
cers at the headquar-
ters of the agency here
on Tuesday
. The officer
had applied for VRS
late last year. A BTech
and PhD in police, hu-
man rights and social
justice, Singh joined
the ED in 2007 on dep-
utation.
He was permanently
absorbed into the ED
cadre in 2014 and he
headed some high-pro-
file investigations into
the 2G spectrum alloca-
tion case, the 2010 Com-
monwealth Games, the
money laundering cas-
esagainstformerUnion
finance minister P Chi-
dambaram and his son
Karti Chidambaram,
Andhra Pradesh CM Y
S Jagan Mohan Reddy
and former Jharkhand
CM Madhu Koda, the
Aircel Maxis and VVIP
choppers case.
All in a day: Government grants VRS, BJP bestows ticket
SPECIAL OFFICER
lll
Ex-ED Joint
Director
Rajeshwar Singh
edges out
Minister Swati
Singh to bag the
ticket from
Sarojini Nagar
seat in Lucknow,
within 24 hrs of
his VRS being
accepted
Rajeshwar Singh. —FILE PHOTO
Haze lifts over picture of
BJP’s capital candidates
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: Although
there is a tough contest
in all the 403 assembly
seatsinUP
,alleyeswere
ontheassemblyseatsof
the state capital. While
Congress,BSPandAAP
had already announced
the names of candi-
dates, the BJP and SP
camps were maintain-
ing suspense. On Tues-
day
, after the names of
Lucknow candidates
were announced by the
SP
,theBJP
,too,revealed
all its cards, announc-
ing candidates for all
the seats in the capital.
The process of nomi-
nation for the nine as-
sembly seats of the cap-
ital Lucknow was head-
ing towards its final
round, but the BJP and
the SP camp were seem-
inglynotreadytounveil
the mystery of the
names of the candi-
dates. In fact, for the
BJP
, which had bagged
eight out of nine seats
inthelastelections,this
timeaverycomplicated
situationhadarisen.On
the one hand, the party
was faced with the chal-
lenge of adjusting the
three mini of the Yogi
govt, Brajesh Pathak,
Ashutosh Tandon and
Swati Singh, who be-
long to the capital Luc-
know, and on the other
hand,thecontendersfor
theseats,whicharecon-
sidered safe for the BJP
,
posed a tough challenge
to the party strategists.
The tussle between
minister Swati Singh
and her husband and
influential BJP leader
Dayashankar over get-
ting the ticket from Sa-
rojini Nagar seat was
creating a humiliating
situation for the party
.
The situation was fur-
ther complicated due to
a large number of con-
tenders for the Cantt
seat.BJPMPRitaBahu-
guna Joshi was keen to
field her son Mayank
Joshi from here but
could not get a nod from
the high command. Mu-
layam’sdaughter-in-law
and BJP’s new member
Aparna Yadav was also
being considered as a
contender for this seat.
ReshuBhatia,daughter-
in-law of the Mayor of
Lucknow,andalsomany
office-bearersof BJPor-
ganisation had also ex-
pressed their desire to
contest from this seat.
The BJP candidates
announced are Jaya
Devi from Malihabad,
Yogesh Shukla from
Bakshi Ka Talab, Anja-
ni Srivastava from Lko
West, Neeraj Bora from
Lko North, Rajneesh
Gupta from Lko Cen-
tral, Amresh Kumar
from Mohanlalganj.
Among the ministers,
Ashutosh Tandon will
contest from Lko East
and Brijesh Pathak will
contest from Lko Cantt.
Rajeshwar Singh, for-
mer officer of the ED,
bagged the ticket from
Sarojini Nagar seat.
Neeraj Bora
From Congress, Pankaj
Tiwari is contesting from
the East assembly seat,
Ajay Srivastava Ajju from
North assembly seat and
Shahana Siddiqui from
West assembly constit-
uency. Other candidates
are, activist Sadaf Jafar
from Lucknow-madhya
Assembly seat, Mamta
Chaudhary from Mohan-
lalGanj, Dilpreet Singh
from Lko Cantt, Lalan
Kumar from Bakshi Talab,
Ramkaran Pasi from
Malihabad and Rudra Da-
man Singh from Sarojini
Nagar. For BSP, Jagdish
Rawat is contesting from
Malihabad, Salauddin
Khan Siddiqui from Bak-
shi Ka Talab, Mohd Jalis
Khan from Sarojini Nagar,
Kayam Raza Khan from
Lko West, Mohd Sarwar
Malik from Lko North,
Ashish Sinha from Lko
East, Ashish Srivastava
from Lko Central, Anil
Pandey from Lko Cantt
and Devendra Saroj
from Mohanlal Ganj
reserved seat.
MAJOR NAMES
FROM CONG, BSP
ATTACK FOILED
Youth tries to throw ink at
Kanhaiya, party calls it acid
Congress leader and star campaigner Kanhaiya Kumar during door-to-door campaign for
Congress candidate Sadaf Jafar in Gola Ganj, Lucknow on Tuesday.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A youth reportedly
tried to throw ink at Congress
leader Kanhaiya Kumar at
the party office here on
Tuesday
. The youth identi-
fied as Devansh Vajpayee
was caught by NSUI activ-
ists as he tried to throw
ink at the CPI-turned-Con-
gress leader at the UP Con-
gress office.
A Congress leader
claimed that it was not ink but a
kind of acid which was thrown at
Kumar, who was in the city to cam-
paign for the upcoming UP polls.
“The accused tried to throw acid
at Kanhaiya but failed. However,
some drops fell on 3-4 youth stand-
ing nearby,” he said. The party
workers caught the ac-
cusedbuthavenotrevealed
any details about him. Ku-
mar had reached to do
door-to-door campaigning
for Congress candidates.
“Since the incidents of Ha-
thras, Unnao and Lakhim-
pur Kheri, Congress has
been on the streets seeking
justice. Those who didn’t build the
country are selling it. Congress has
built India, so it is saving the coun-
try from such people,” Kumar said.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Sama-
jwadi Party has re-
leased another list of
candidates including
the much-awaited can-
didates for assembly
seats of Lucknow bar-
ring one Sarojini Nagar
assembly seat.
Ten candidates have
been announced, of
whichsixareforassem-
bly seats in Lucknow.
Suspense looms over
the Sarojini Nagar seat
where both SP and BJP
have not yet announced
thecandidateswhilethe
final date of nomina-
tion for assembly seats
of Lucknow is Febru-
ary 3, and the voting
will be done on these
seats on February 23 in
the fourth phase.
The SP has fielded
RajuGandhifromCantt
putting an end to specu-
lations of Rita Bahugu-
na Joshi’s son Mayank
Joshi’s candidature
from SP on this seat.
SP Spokesperson An-
urag Bhadauria has
been fielded from Luc-
knowEastwhileformer
MLA Gomti Yadav has
been once again fielded
from Bakshi Ka Talab.
The SP has given a
ticket to student leader
Puja Shukla from Luc-
know North, who shot
to limelight for being
jailed after showing
black flag to CM Yogi.
Arman Khan has
been fielded from Luc-
know West instead of
former MLA Rehan
Naim. Former MLA
Ravidas Mehrotra has
once again been fielded
from Lucknow Central.
Sumit Awasthi
Kanpur: Thearrivalof
Madhu Gautam in Bil-
haurseatof Kanpurhas
heateduptheraceinthe
ten assembly seats in
Kanpur district.
Madhu Gautam,
BSP’s candidate from
Bilhaur spoke to First
India about the chal-
lenges in the upcoming
elections.
She said she was a
humble woman while
alsobeinganinfluential
one with the policies of
BSPsupremoMayawati
ingrained in her. She
saidshedecidedtojump
into politics after being
impressed by the poli-
cies of Mayawati and
that Mayawati herself
had blessed her before
naming her as the par-
ty’s candidate. She said-
she wanted to represent
the people of the con-
stituency as they had
been deprived of devel-
opment, feel cheated
and the development in
the area had not been
what was promised.
Gautam said even af-
ter having a lot of popu-
lation in the area, no
bus stands had been
built. She said even
though there was a hos-
pital in the area, there
were no doctors and
people from the region
had to go to Kanpur city
to get treated. She fur-
ther said women here
had to be educated and
made self-reliant.
CONG FIELDS SIS-IN-LAW
OFGANGSTER AMAR DUBEY
URUSA THANKS PGV,PARTY
LEADERS FOR SUPPORT
Lucknow: Sister-in-law of slain gang-
ster Amar Dubey on Tuesday filed her
nomination papers from Kalyanpur
assembly constituency as a Congress
nominee for the coming UP elections.
Neha Tiwari, the Congress candidate, is
sister of Khushi Dubey, whose husband
Amar Dubey was gunned down in an
encounter with UP
Police. Amar Dubey
was an associate of
gangster Vikas Dubey
who had led the
ambush that killed
eight policemen in
Kanpur’s Bikru village
in July 2020. Vikas
Dubey and Amar
Dubey were killed in separate encounters.
The Congress had earlier announced that
Khushi Dubey’s mother Gayatri Tiwari
will contest from the Kalyanpur assembly
seat, but it later chose Neha Tiwari in her
place. Gayatri also reportedly refused to
contest the polls from Kalyanpur.
Lucknow: After Urusa Rana, daughter
of poet Munnavar Rana filed nomination
from Sadar constituency of Unnao district,
the Congress declared her candidate
from Purwa seat of the district. Speaking
to First India Urusa said, “I was actively
working for elections and strengthening
party and in Sadar constituency I had
huge support but
party senior leaders
have faith that I
should contest from
Purwa seat and I am
thankful for the party
leaders, especially
Priyanka Gandhi who
supported me. Purwa
is new to me but I
am gaining support from here too and I
am confident that people who are against
hatred and divisive politics will support
me overwhelmingly. BJP is known for
divisive politics. It wants to gain power
by creating rifts in society while Congress
always supports unity, she said.
NEW ROLE
Congress candidate Sadaf Jafar on way to file her nomination from Lucknow Central at
district collectorate office in Lucknow on Tuesday.
SPannounces10morepollcandidates,including 6forLko
The list of the party candidates
BSP’s Madhu Gautam during a door-to-door campaign.
People deprived of
development: Gautam
Devansh Vajpayee
Ashutosh Tandon
Brijesh Pathak Rajeshwar SIngh
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR

LUCKNOW, WEDNESDAY
FEBRUARY 2, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
THE TRUE
WOMAN ICON
Never felt safe in UP, but it is
different under Yogi ji: Jaya Prada
CITY FIRST
he has played
many roles in real
life just like in the
reel. From an ac-
tress in the South
switching to Bol-
lywood and mak-
ing a mark for herself, Jaya
Prada carved a niche for her-
self in politics too. From
NTR to N Chandrababu
Naidu, from MSY to Congress
and now to BJP
, her life has come
full circle. In a free-wheeling in-
terview with Ayushi Vi-
jayvargiya of First
India News, Jaya
Prada talked
about her rise
in every role
she essayed
on and off-
screen!
Q: Your ca-
reer has been
a motivation
for many wom-
en in our coun-
try. Tell us about
your journey.
A: I was just 13 and
new to the industry
then, but with the
support of the
d i r e c t o r s ,
producers and immense love and
appreciation of the audience, I
have been able to make a mark in
the industry
. People always ac-
cepted me in the roles I essayed.
Q: Being from a middle-class
family, what kind of challeng-
es did you have to face in Bol-
lywood?
A: Indeed, it was a challenge as I
wasfromSouthIndiaandaspired
for Bollywood, where the lan-
guage used was Hindi. I did a lot
of practice to get my accent right
and I must say that the heroes op-
posite me always supported me.
Q: You were a star in the 80s
and 90s, how was the feeling?
A: It was a proud moment for me
to be able to get acceptance in
every house. The characters I
played were mostly homely and
it was a nice feeling that even the
women appreciated me.
Q: What was the turning point
in your life when you decided
to become a political leader?
A: It was accidental. NTR was a
big leader at that time and he was
incrisis.Iwashisheroineinmany
movies and he was like a father
figure. He was contesting for the
postof CMfromTDPandhecalled
meup.Ijoinedhimwithoutthink-
ing of the consequences of quit-
ting acting and joining politics
when my career was in its prime.
Q: How did you then decide to
join Samajwadi Party in UP?
A: I like to take up challenges.
There was a rift between Chan-
drababu (Naidu) and NTR. I had
totakeacallandIwentwithChan-
drababuji because it was for my
state Andhra Pradesh. After elec-
tions, after elections, no one re-
membered me and I decided to
make Satta, for which I ap-
proached Amar Singh and
through him I met Mulayam Sin-
gh.Thoughnotkeenoncontesting
election, Netaji called on me to do
so and my UP journey started.
Q:Howwouldyoudescribeyour
journey from ‘Cycle to Kamal’?
A: I was a Rajya Sabha Member
but I was not being given respect
due to me. I feared for my life. Be
it Chandrababu or Azam Khan,
they both did not give me my
due. I was very pained. When I
joined BJP and met Modi ji,
Amit Shah and Yogiji, I was so
encouraged by the way they
treated women. I now feel safe
and want to live and work for the
country
.
Q: So the fight was not just
yours but for women in general?
A: At that time when indecent
language was used for me, even
Praiyankaji and Soniaji did not
support me. It was Sushmaji
who supported me then, not
even Jaya Bachchan who sup-
ported Azam Khan or Dimple
Yadav. It was very painful for me,
I feel even the general public
would not support women who
keep silent when another wom-
an is being targeted.
S
Jagdeesh Chandra accords a floral welcome to Jaya Prada at his residence, also seen are Dhirendra Raghav and Rishee Miglani
Jaya Prada appreciates the beautiful flowers
Jagdeesh Chandra gifts the First India
traditional annual calendar to Jaya Pradha and Dhirendra
Ayushi Vijayvargiya interviewing Jaya Prada
Bhupendra Yadav welcomes Jaya Prada to BJP
Renowned actress
and BJP leader Jaya
Prada who was in
Jaipur on Monday,
paid a courtesy visit
to the residence of
Jagdeesh Chandra
where she greatly
appreciated the
beautiful garden and
flowers and also
gave an exclusive
interview to First
India News!
—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO

F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
KOMAL KHANCHANDANI, ARTIST
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Health tips from an expert
will enable you to get closer
to your fitness goals.
Chances of being misled by
competitors in business are high.
Your generous behavior would enable
to enjoy some lovely moments with
family. Love comes your way as
friendship turns into romance
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Yoga would help in
raising energy levels and
improve your metabolism.
Place emphasis on
domestic affairs to enhance the
domestic tranquility and harmony.
Associating yourself with
humanitarian group on social front
would benefit you.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Investment antiques and
jewellery would bring
handsome financial gains.
On professional front,
recognition for good work would
motivate you to work harder. Efforts
made to improve looks or personality
will bring desired results. May get
lucky today on romantic front.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Your hard work and
dedication are likely to be
noticed by seniors, paving
way for promotion or
increment. Family will be supportive of
career aspirations. A promising day
overall as you stay in limelight without
any efforts. Harsh words may create a
rift in your romantic relationship.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
A sound financial health of
businessmen would enable
to give monetary benefits
to employees. Your sole
dependency on friends may fail to
bring any respite from loneliness
today. It is good day to confess your
love as stars appear favourable for
positive reply.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You will succeed in resolving
misunderstanding with
family members. Seek
proper valuation of the
property you are planning to buy. You
will remain much in demand on social
front. You need to stand by romantic
partner during testing times to make
the relationship stronger.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You succeed in completing
an important project well
before deadline.
Disagreements on the
family front are foreseen. Be careful
about the legal apprehensions in the
property you are planning to buy.
Your intuition will save you from a
tricky spot today.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Those suffering from
chronic ailments may find
remarkable improvement
in their health with home
remedies. You will enjoy the trust of
senior management. Minor domestic
disputes may snowball into a major
row. Recognition will come your way
for your social endeavour.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Implementation of new
ideas and projects would
add to your prestige on the
professional front. A sound
monetary position would enable you
to keep pace with changing times.
Avoid raising controversial issues at
home to maintain harmony. It is a
wonderful day for you.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You will have an awesome
day today .Continue to put
in efforts at work and you
will see promising
opportunities coming your way.
Matrimonial match for siblings will
bring happiness for entire family. You
will get a good price for your
property.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Paying special attention to
plan your career would
give immense joy. You are
likely to get clearance or
approval for your construction plans.
You find things moving in the way
you want them. Gifting something to
your beloved is likely to make the day
memorable.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Seek the opinion of your
family before finalizing a
property deal. An
impromptu invitation to a
function from an unexpected friend is
likely to be received. Your bold
initiatives on romantic front bring
back passion and spark in romantic
relationship.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
10
ETC
avratrey is
dedicated to
the feminine
nature of
the Divine.
Ma Durga,
Lakshmi and
Saraswati- ie energy,
wealth and knowledge
are symbols of the
three dimensions of
the divinity. They also
represent the three
basic qualities of ex-
istence- tamas, rajas
and sattva.
As per the Mahaka-
la Samhita, there are
four Navratrey in the
Vedic calendar named
Sharad Navratrey,
Chaitra Navratrey,
Magh Gupt Navratrey
and Ashadha Gupt
Navratrey.
The Magha
Navratrey, ie the Gupt
Navratrey, is a nine
days period dedicated
to the nine forms of
Shakti- Mother God-
dess. It falls in the
month of Magha- Jan-
uary/February. It’s
also called Shishir
Navratrey due to the
cold weather. It’s
mainly observed in
the North Indian
states of Punjab, Har-
yana, Rajasthan,
Himachal Pradesh, Ut-
tar Pradesh, and Utta-
rakhand.
In 2022, the
Navratrey start
Wednesday, 2nd Feb-
ruary- ie Pratiprada
of Shukla Paksha of
Magha month. The
Kalash Sthapna ma-
hurata is 8:34 to 9:59
AM and 12:13 to 12:58
PM. The last day of
Navratrey is Thurs-
day, 10th February
2022. The Kalash with
Jal and coconut, Kum-
kum, red Hibiscus
flowers, fruits, along
with a raw bowl for
the sprouting of Ja-
war is kept in pooja.
An Akhand Jyot is lit
for Ma Bhagavati.
Prayers are dedicat-
ed to Lord Ganesh,
Varun Dev, Vishnu
Dev, Mahadev Shiva,
the Navgraha and Ma
Shakti. Devi Paath is
recited and fast is ob-
served.
The Gupt Navratrey
is meant for saadhaks
who perform special-
ized tantric rituals,
V a s h i k a r a n s ,
Uchaatans, Stamb-
hans, Videshan and
Maran rituals. The
prayers are offered in
secrecy. The saadhak
worships to enhance
the power of sadhana
and tantra- the whole
ritual is steered to en-
hance the understand-
ing and mechanics of
the esoteric aspects of
spirituality, tantra,
the wisdom of the self
and to gain Riddhi-
Siddhi, ie- wealth,
prosperity and wis-
dom.
According to Bhag-
wat, there are 10 Ma-
havidyas that origi-
nate from the aggres-
sive and subtle forms
of goddess Mahakaali.
Every Mahavidya is
capable of solving
all the problems
of her worship-
per, in her various
forms and mani-
festations. The
Dus Mahav-
idyas are-
Devi Kaali,
Devi Tara,
Maa Lalita,
Maa Bhu-
vneshwari,
T r i p u r
Bhairavi,
Mata Chin-
namastika,
M a a
D h o o m a -
vati, Maa
B a g l a -
m u k h i ,
Devi Ma-
tangi, Mata Kamla.
It is considered
‘shubh’ to chant
scriptures like ‘Durga
Saptshati’, ‘Devi Ma-
haatmya’, ‘Shrimad
Devi Bhagwat’.
As per Mahab-
hagavata Puran, once
Lord Shiva disagreed
with Ma Sati on her
insistence to visit her
father Daksh’s yajna
and started walking
away. Ma felt offended
and manifested her-
self into Dus Mahav-
idyas and blocked all
the ten directions to
stop Shiva.
Each form of the
Devi has its own man-
tra, legend, direction,
shakti and blessing.
Dus Mahavidyas are
also related to Vedic
astrology and are
worshipped to pacify
the malefic effects of
the nine planets. As
per Guhyatiguyha
Tantra, they are the
powers behind the ten
incarnations of Lord
Vishnu.
Navaratri is the
best time to reflect
upon one’s actions
and thoughts through
the worship of the
Dus Mahavidyas,
along with the nine
forms of Maa Durga.
Jai Maa!
N
DEEPAK
deepaklifemusings@gmail.com
DEEPAK’S CORNER
GUPT
GUPT
GUPT
NAVRATREY
NAVRATREY

ETC
11
BUDGET 2022!
FROM BITCOINS TO
STABLECOINS
inance Minister
Nirmala Sithara-
man announced
that the country
will be taxing all
digital assets at a
rate of 30% — no
deductions or exemptions
apply. This includes every-
thing from cryptocurren-
cies to non-fungible to-
kens (NFTs) to other ways
that people earn from
digital assets, like yield-
ing, farming and mining.
The country moves closer
to recognizing cryptocur-
rencies as legal tender in
the world’s second-largest
internet market.
To capture details of all
such crypto transactions,
she also proposed a 1% tax
deduction at source on
payments made related to
the purchase of virtual as-
sets. India also plans to go
live with its central bank
digital currency (CBDC),
the ‘digital rupee’, by
March 2023.
The proposal comes at a
time when the purchase of
cryptocurrencies and
NFTs are quickly making
inroads in India despite
regulatory uncertainty in
the nation. India’s propos-
als have somewhat created
more confusion among en-
trepreneurs, venture capi-
talists, and the general
public alike about how
traders and investors plan
to tackle cryptocurrencies.
By introducing a tax sys-
tem for crypto-related
transactions, people ap-
pear to be either recognis-
ing such virtual assets as
legal tender or as an inves-
tor wondered aloud, “take
their pound of flesh from
all the action.”
F
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
“A country would have
never been so excited
about the government
introducing a tax on any-
thing! But personally, as a
crypto enthusiast, I am so
excited by this move. It will
give India a chance to be-
come the Web3 innovation
hub in the coming decade.”
—ABHAY KHANDELWAL
“The magnitude and
frequency of these vir-
tual currency transactions
have made it imperative
to provide for a specific
tax regime. India’s central
bank will also introduce a
digital currency in the next
financial year. The intro-
duction of a central bank
digital currency will give
a big boost to the digital
economy. Digital currency
will also lead to a more ef-
ficient and cheaper curren-
cy management system.”
” —SOUMYA SHARMA
“While clearing the specula-
tions about legalisation of
crypto in India, FM’s new
proposal will scare the mil-
lennial investors, who can’t
be ignored cause they are a
large part of Indian crypto
run, they will have to do a
lot of paperwork.”
—AMAR MISHRA
“Although 30% tax might be
a little too high for the crypto
community, it’s better than
a complete ban on trading.
In a way crypto traders will
be legitimised and work
towards a more transparent
ecosystem which will reduce
scams and frauds in the
crypto space.”
—RAHUL RAMKRISHNA
“I think popular crypto-as-
sets like Bitcoin, Ethereum
will be pre-approved by
the regulators for getting
listed on the exchange. I
think including Cryptocur-
rency in the tax bracket will
definitely boost market
which will also be revived.”
—AKARSHAN JAISWAL
“There are several ways in
which Digital Rupee could
be transacted but without a
formal RBI announcement
judging its impact will
be speculative. We have
a long way to go but the
steps seems to be in the
right direction. ”
—PRANAV VERMA
India may not have any laws to govern
cryptocurrencies yet, but it doesn’t want to miss out
on the gold rush. As the 30% tax surprise looms for
NFT investors who use crypto, many see the proposed
tax on the transfer of virtual digital assets as a step
forward to remove some of the uncertainty in the
market, while some others still wait for the detailed
guidelines to determine how the tax will actually be
implemented. City First spoke to a few netizens to
know their take on the big decision!
NFT Drop art by Norman O’ Flynn
Trending tweets
Trending tweets
Mural art on the Ethereum blockchain

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