16122022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

Mumbai Police’s EOW closes INS Vikrant
fund case against Kirit Somaiya, his son
Mumbai: As reported
by First India in its edi-
tion dated December
14; on Thursday, the
Mumbai Police’s Eco-
nomic Offences Wing
(EOW) has closed a case
of cheating and crimi-
nal breach of trust reg-
istered against BJP
leader Kirit Somaiya
and his son
Neil for al-
leged diver-
sion of
funds col-
lected un-
der their
‘Save INS
Vi k r a n t ’
campaign, an official
said on Thursday
.
The EOW officials,
who probed the case,
submitted a closure re-
port before a local court
on Wednesday, he said.
“In the investigation,
the police did not find
any criminality in the
case against Somaiya
and his son, following
which the C-Summary
(closure) report was
filed,” he said.
MEETING IN DELHI ACHIEVED NOTHING,
FAVOURED KARNATAKA, CLAIMS UDDHAV
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
president Uddhav
Thackeray on Thurs-
day said that nothing
came out of Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah’s meeting
with the CMs
of Maharash-
tra and Kar-
nataka over
the border dis-
pute.
Speaking at a
p r e s s
c o n -
fer-
ence after a meeting
with his Maha Vikas
Aghadi allies Congress
and NCP, he also said it
was difficult to believe
that some tweets from
the verified handle of
Karnataka Chief Min-
ister Basa-
v a r a j
Bommai
on the is-
sue were not ac-
tually posted by
him.
“What was
achieved
by yes-
t e r -
day’s meeting? It was
rubbing of salt into our
wounds. As always, the
deliberations favoured
Karnataka,” Thackeray
said.
The former chief
minister demanded to
know why Kar-
nataka holds
legislature ses-
sions in Bela-
gavi (the north Karna-
taka city which is the
main bone of conten-
tion between the two
states) and accorded it
the status of second
capital when the border
dispute was before the
Supreme Court.
‘’Belagavi, Karwar,
Nipani and other sur-
rounding areas (of
northern Karnataka)
want to join Maharash-
tra. Why are there no
answers to this de-
mand,” he asked.
He also sought to
know why Karnataka
chief minister waited
till Wednesday’s meet-
ing in Delhi to clarify
that some `fake’ Twitter
handles were posting
tweets in his name that
fuelled tensions.
BORDER
ROW
RESPITE ON CARDS FOR KIRIT, SON AS EOW
LOOKS TO CLOSE VIRAT DONATION CASE
Sandeep Shukla
Mumbai: BJP leader
Kirit Somaiya has got
relief in the case relat-
ed to the donation scam
filed against him and
his son, Neil. The Bom-
bay High Court has
stayed his arrest for the
time being.
The EOW is prepar-
ing to give a major re-
lief in the alleged 57
crore fraud
case on BJP
leader and for-
mer MP Kirit
Somaiya. It is
reported that
the EOW is go-
ing to present
its report in
this matter, in which
Kirit Somaiya is going
to be cleared of all
charges and
the investiga-
tion file would
be closed.
N o t a b l y,
there is an al-
legation that
he raised
funds to save
INS Vikrant, but then
misused that fund. This
case has been regis-
tered on the complaint
of a 53-year-old ex-ser-
viceman.Thecomplain-
ant alleged that he gave
donations to Somaiya to
save the ship and the
former govt initiated
probe against Kirit and
his son for misusing
funds.
Mumbai: On Tuesday, the Mumbai police arrested one Narayan
Soni from Patna for issuing death threats to NCP President
Sharad Pawar. However, one day after the arrest, Mumbai police
spilled the beans as to why did the man issue death threats.
“Narayan Kumar Soni has been arrested from Bihar. He
called NCP president Sharad Pawar’s residence in Silver Oak
area yesterday (Tuesday) and threatened to kill him. He will be
produced in court. The accused is mentally unstable. He lived
in Pune for ten years, during which his wife
left him and married another man. After
this he approached Sharad Pawar and
requested him to mediate in the matter,”
officials said. According to the cops,
the accused confessed, “Sharad
Pawar did not make any effort to solve
his conundrum.” On this, Narayan
Soni got angry and started issuing
threats.
Mumbai: Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh
on Wednesday withdrew a defamation suit filed against TV
journalist Arnab Goswami and ARG Outlier Media which owns
Republic TV. Additional sessions judge V D Kedar allowed the
withdrawal but imposed a nominal cost of Rs 1,500 on Singh
which will be paid to Goswami. “It is not
in dispute that due to filing of the suit the
defendant has to engage an advocate.
I feel cost needs to be imposed for
withdrawal of the suit unconditionally,”
the judge said. Singh had filed a
defamation suit in 2021 against
Goswami and the owners of
Republic TV seeking damages
of Rs 90,00,000 for
allegedly defaming him.
MAHARASHTRA - KARNATAKA BORDER ROW
Shahi 'firman' subdues 'land wars' in neighbouring states!
Kartikey Dev Singh
New Delhi: With the
crescendo around the
border row between Ma-
harashtra and Karna-
taka rising to a new
high, Union Home Min-
ister Amit Shah, on
Wednesday evening,
‘brokered’ peace be-
tween the two neigh-
bouring states as he
chaired a meeting with
Chief Minister of Ma-
harashtra and Karna-
taka - Eknath Shinde
and Basavaraj Bommai
respectively - in New
Delhi. During the meet-
ing, Maharashtra depu-
ty CM Devendra Fad-
navis and Karnataka
Home Minister Araga
Jnanendra were also
present.
Shah has strictly told
the leaders that no state
will make claim to an-
other’s territory untill
the time the Supreme
Court makes a decision
on the issue. Notably,
Shah has also dictated
to the leaders that “Both
states have agreed to
form a committee head-
ed by one senior IPS of-
ficer regarding this mat-
ter so that constitution-
al norms are followed
and law and order is
maintained in both
states so that outsiders
and locals don’t face any
problem.”
It has been learnt that
Shah clearly told the
leaders that six minis-
ters, three from each
state,willsitanddiscuss
the various issues that
are present between the
neighbouring states.
Moreover the Union
Home Minister also
commented on the role
of the opposition par-
ties in both the states
and claimed that the so-
cial media played ama-
jor role in stoking emo-
tions. “Some fake Twit-
ter (handles) mention-
ing top leaders were
spread… and this issue
is very serious… It has
been decided that wher-
ever these cases have
come out, FIR will be
registered and those
who have done it will be
exposed in front of the
public,” he said.
He also appealed to
the opposition parties
not to make the matter
into a political issue,
‘for the welfare of peo-
ple of both the state’.
Amit Shah holds meeting with Maha CM Shinde, Dy CM Fadnavis, K'taka CM Bommai and K'taka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, directs them to wait till SC makes its decision
After K'taka, dispute may escalate
BETWEEN MAHA AND TELANGANA
Mumbai: After the Maha-
rashtra-Karnataka border
row, a Maharashtra-Telan-
gana border dispute may
escalate as 14 villages of
Chandrapur district in the
western state bordering the
Telugu one, have expressed
interest to join the latter
alleging continuous neglect
and lack of development by
the former.
Although, all these 14
villages--geographically lo-
cated in remote Jivati tehsil
of Chandrapur dis-
trict -- are part of
Maharashtra; the
dependence of
these villages is
more on Telangana.
These 14 hamlets
have lagged behind
in development due
to the government’s
negligence and lack
of developmental
projects. The villages have
to struggle for basic facili-
ties like roads and water;
because of this, the local
people resent the Maha-
rashtra government.
The Telangana govern-
ment is providing facili-
ties like Gram Panchayat
building, school, water
tanks and other basic facili-
ties. The administration of
Telangana is constantly
reaching out to these peo-
ple, and villagers are taking
advantage of the social
welfare scheme of the
Telangana government.
All these 14 villages
figure in the voter’s list
of both the states and the
people there enjoy dual
identity, entitling them
to take benefits of all the
basic facilities including
political status from both
Telangana and Maharash-
tra.
NOW LAWYER RAISES DEMAND FOR
MARATHWADA
Mumbai: Advocate Gunaratna Sadavarte, who is famous
for making various statements, has raked up the demand
for an independent Marathwada. He has also criticized MPs
Udayanraje Bhosale and Sanjay Raut. “Sanjay Raut opposes
independent Vidarbha and independent Marathwada. What
is Sanjay Raut doing in a drunken state while Home Minister
Amit Shah is holding a meeting on the border issue? How
much land does Udayanraj own? How much property tax
does he pay? I will unearth all this at the right time,” he said.
UHM Amit Shah with K’taka
CM Basavaraj Bommai, Maha
CM Eknath Shinde and dy CM
Devendra Fadnavis during
a meeting in New Delhi on
Wednesday —PHOTO BY PTI
“Pawar did nothing to bring back my wife”
PARAM BIR WITHDRAWS DEFAMATION
SUIT AGAINST ARNAB GOSWAMI
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI & MUMBAI
‘MESSI’AH
 Lionel Messi said FIFA
World Cup 2022 final will
be his last for Argentina
 Argentina captain, who
scored from a penalty and
played equally important in
the other two goals scored
by Julian Alvarez against
Croatia to take his country
to the FIFA WC 2022 final
 The 35-year-old cham-
pion is playing at his fifth
World Cup this year
 Messi will earn his
172nd cap as he tries to
bring the country its first
World Cup since 1986
 France meets Morocco
in the other semi-final later
on Wednesday
BSE SENSEX 62,677.91 144.61 | NSE NIFTY 18,660.30 52.30
I feel very happy to be able to
achieve this, to finish my World
Cup journey by playing my last
game in a final. —Lionel Messi
of MILLIONS!
Messi
confirms
retirement
PARLIAMENT WINTER SESSION
CHINABORDERCLASH
ISSUEECHOESINPARL
17 Opposition parties stage walkout from the
Rajya Sabha accusing the govt of not holding
a discussion over Dec 9 India-China border clash
Sonia Gandhi led the Congress MPs out of the Lok
Sabha after the Speaker did not accept yet another
request for a discussion on “Indo-China border” situation
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: The ruckus
continued during the
Winter Session of Par-
liament on Wednesday
with the Opposition
seeking to corner the
ruling BJP-led govern-
ment over a host of is-
sues including border
issues with China, un-
employment and the
economy
. As many as 17
Oppn parties staged a
walkout from the Rajya
Sabha accusing the gov-
ernment of not holding
a discussion over Dec 9
clashes along the LAC
between Indian & Chi-
nese forces at Tawang
sector of Arunachal
Pradesh. The Congress,
RJD, AAP, MDMK,
Communist Party of In-
dia (Marxist), CPI, JD
(U), DMK, TMC, and
TDM were among the 17
parties that walked out
from the House during
‘Zero Hour’. More on P6
LoP KHARGE CONVENES A
OPPN LEADERS’ MEETING
OVER INDO-CHINA TUSSLE
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha
Malikarjun Kharge convenes a
Opposition leaders’ meeting to chalk
out a joint strategy on the Indo-
China tussle and other issues, at his
chambers, in Parliament, in New
Delhi on Wednesday. The leaders
also discussed important issues to be
raised and formulated their joint future
strategy in both houses of Parliament.
Opposition MPs stage a walkout from Rajya Sabha over India-China border clash during the Winter Session of Parliament on Wednesday.
INDIA-CHINA TROOPS CLASH IN ARUNACHAL
‘PLA wanted to set up the
observation post on LAC’
First India Bureau
Itanagar: China’s Peo-
ple’s Liberation Army
(PLA)wasplanningtoset
up an Observation Post
on LAC at Yangtze in Ta-
wang, Arunachal, an In-
dian Army officer said.
Officer claimed that as
extreme winter is ap-
proaching Chinese side
wants to get information
aboutpreparationsof In-
dian troops deployed at
forwardpostsattheLAC.
IA said unlike 2020, this
time our soldiers were
prepared and thwatrted
attempts of Chinese
who tried to access our
higher ground to set up
Observation Post, were
stopped, forced to leave.
WHITE HOUSE, PDP PREZ SPEAK
l Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) President Mehbooba
Mufti on Wednesday
described the recent tension
between India and China on
the border in Arunachal as
“a very sorry state of affairs”
saying it was unfortunate
that the BJP was doing
nothing about it.
l The White House on
Wednesday commented
on the recent face-off
between the Indian and the
China troops at Tawang
in Arunachal Pradesh on
December 9 and said it is
glad to note that there was a
quick disengagement of the
tension.
CHINA CONSTRUCTS
NEW MILITARY CAMP
MANY PLATFORMS
BEING MISUSED: EAM
Reports have emerged that
China has constructed a new
military base near LAC close
to strategically important
Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh,
satellite images reveal it.
In a veiled attack on China,
EAM S Jaishankar at the
UN Security Council said
Multilateral platforms are being
misused to justify and protect
perpetrators of terrorism.
EXCLUSIVE
YOU READ IT FIRST IN FIRST INDIA
DECEMBER 15, 2022
Uddhav Thackeray
Kirit Somaiya
PM pays tribute to ‘Iron
Man’ on death anniversary
DNA from bones
matches with
Shraddha
Walkar’s father
New Delhi: PM Naren-
dra Modi on Thursday
paid homage to Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel on his
72nd death anniversary
and recalled everlasting
contributionof the‘Iron
Man’toIndia.ThePrime
Minister said, “I pay
homage to Sardar Patel
on his Punya Tithi and
recall his everlasting
contribution to India,
especiallyinunitingour
nation and giving impe-
tus to all-round develop-
ment.” Patel was born
on October 31, 1875 in
Nadiad, Gujarat and
rose to become one of
the most influential
leader.
New Delhi: The DNA
samples extracted from
some bones recovered
from the forests of Meh-
rauli and Gurugram
have matched with
Shraddha Walkar’s fa-
ther, sources said on
Thursday
. Senior offic-
ers believe that the find-
ings will be crucial to
theinvestigation. Sourc-
es reveal that the bones
were from limbs and
other parts with assault
marks from a sharp
weapon.
INDIA CARRIES OUT SUCCESSFULLY NIGHT
TRIALS OF AGNI-5 WHICH CAN REACH BEIJING!
Bhubaneswar: Amid simmering
tensions with China following the
clashes between the two countries
in Tawang sector of Arunachal
Pradesh, India on Thursday suc-
cessfully carried out the night
trials of the Agni-5 nuclear-capable
ballistic missile, which is capa-
ble of striking targets at ranges
up to 5,000 kilometres with very
high degree of accuracy. The test
was carried out to validate new
technologies and equipment on the
missile that are now lighter than
before, and has proved that the
missile can now hits targets further
away than before.
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI & MUMBAI
NIRAV MODI
LOSES BID TO
APPEAL AGAINST
EXTRADITION
New Delhi: SC’s Constitution bench on
Thursday held that direct evidence of demand
for bribe by public servants is not necessary to
convict them under the (PC) Act and it can also
be proved through circumstantial evidence.
New Delhi: Diamond merchant Nirav Modi suffered
another setback in his legal battle against his
extradition to India. The High Court in London
denied Nirav Modi permission to appeal against his
extradition order in the UK Supreme Court.
DELHI HC
RESERVES
ORDER ON
UDDHAV’S PLEA
New Delhi: Delhi HC on Thursday reserved orders
in Uddhav Thackeray’s appeal against an order of
HC dismissing his plea challenging the Election
Commission of India’s decision to freeze claim over
the “Shiv Sena” party name and symbol.
PUBLIC SERVANTS’
CONVICTION ON
CIRCUMSTANTIAL
EVIDENCE
New Delhi: Congress
chief Mallikarjun
Kharge on Thursday
took a dig at the Union
government for trying
to dodge a discussion in
Parliament over the In-
dia-China Tawang clash
of December 9.
Using terms like “lal
aankh” and “Chinese
glasses”, Kharge’s tweet
in Hindi could roughly
be interpreted as “the
once glaring eyes of the
Modi government have
been covered with Chi-
nese glasses”. Kharge
alsoquestionedwhether
permission was needed
to speak against China
in Sansad Bhawan. Op-
position leaders raised
the issue to hold a de-
tailed discussion on the
clash when the House
assembled on Wednes-
day and Deputy Chair-
man Harivansh allowed
‘Zero Hour’. But when
Chair disallowed a dis-
cussion on the issue, the
17 parties staged the
walkout.
PARLIAMENT SESSION
Oppn walks out hearing
Puri’s claims on VAT
New Delhi: Dissatisfied
with the reply of Petro-
leum Minister Hardeep
Puri on the increased
prices of petrol and die-
selinthecountry
,opposi-
tion parties staged a
walkout from the Lok
Sabha on Thursday
. Re-
sponding to a question
during the Question
HouronThursday
,Union
PetroleumMinister said,
“While the average price
of Indian basket of
Crude oil increased be-
tween November 2020
and November 2022, the
retailpricesof Petroland
Diesel have increased in
Indiabyonly18.95%and
26.5 % during this peri-
od.” “To insulate the In-
dianconsumersfromthe
impact of high interna-
tional crude oil prices,
Central Government re-
duced the Central Excise
duty twice on 21 Novem-
ber2021and22May2022,”
the Minister informed.
To insulate the Indian consumers from the impact,
Government reduced the Central Excise duty twice
‘WHY GOVT WAS NOT SHOWING ‘LAAL ANKH?’
CONGRESS SEEKS WHITE PAPER ON CHINA
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday demanded a white paper on China, including the
recent transgressions, and taunted the Central government by saying “why it was not show-
ing ‘laal ankh’ (angry eyes) to the neighbouring country”. Leader of the Congress party in the
Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury raised the matter during Zero Hour. Trinamool Congress
leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay also sought a discussion on the China issue. Chowdhury was
alluding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 remark, when he had talked about showing
“laal ankh” to the Chinese over repeated transgressions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC)
and had also spoken about the might of a “56-inch chest”.
“CHINESE GLASSES” COVERING
“RED EYE” OF MODI GOVT: KHARGE
CHINESE TROOPS
RESORTING TO
HOOLIGANISM
BEIJING GAINED
LOT OVER TIME:
GEN NARAVANE
New Delhi: Former Army
General MM Naravane hit
out at the Chinese Army
for descending to the level
of “prehistoric times” by
using “clubs and barbed
wires” in the scuffle and
said that the Indian Army
in warfare would rather
open fire than resort to
such ridiculous tactics.
He said that based on
assessments, the Indian
Army felt that threat from
India’s northern borders
is increasing.
New Delhi: General Nara-
vane said that China’s at-
tempts to change status
quo on LAC by resorting
to “salami slicing” tactics
led to a “more assertive”
response from Indian
Army. He said that the
Chinese army has been
trying to alter status quo
along the LAC in very
“small incremental steps”
and over a period of time
Beijing has gained a lot.
Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Winter Session of
Parliament, in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY PTI
BIHAR HOOCH DEATHS: BJP MPs PROTEST
RS ADJOURNED TWICE AMID UPROAR
Several BJP MPs from Bihar in Lok Sabha on Thurs-
day sought strict action against those responsible for
sale of illicit liquor in the state, while blaming the state
government for deaths of more than 20 persons.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, BJP
MP from Paschim Champaran Sanjay Jaiswal alleged
that fake liquor is being distributed in Bihar through the
local administration, which has led to deaths. P5
RS was adjourned twice for 15 minutes on Thursday
following an uproar by the opposition members after
being denied notices. Seven Opposition members had
given notices to the chairman on various issues, but
were not allowed. In reaction, the opposition members
indulged in sloganeering and the House was adjourned
twice, first from 11.12 a.m. for 15 minutes and second
time from 11.35 a.m. to 11.50 a.m.
PM TO START
TRIPURA POLL
CAMPAIGN
New Delhi: On December
18, PM Modi will kick-
start 2023 Tripura Assem-
bly elections campaign
in the state and also hold
a BJP core committee
meeting. He will also ad-
dress a public gathering
in Agartala and inaugurate
some projects.
With the landing of the 36th and the final fighter
jet, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday
received the delivery of all the aircraft for which it
had entered into a Rs 58,000-crore deal with France’s
Dassault Aviation in 2016. “The pack is complete. The last of
the 36 IAF Rafales landed in India after a quick enroute sip from a
UAE Air Force tanker,” the IAF said in an official statement.
THE PACK IS
COMPLETE, SAYS IAF
AS LAST OF 36 RAFALE
JETS LAND IN INDIA
‘Jo piyega woh marega’:
Nitish as hooch toll rises
Patna: After Bihar’s
hooch toll climbed,
Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar on Thursday
warned that if people
drink spurious liquor,
they may well die, as
the prohibition policy
of his government
came under attack from
various quarters. “Jo
piyega woh marega”
(those who drink spuri-
ous alcohol will die),
thundered Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar
who stood his ground
maintaining that prohi-
bition was “not my per-
sonal wish but a re-
sponse to the cries of
the women of the
state”.
PRESIDENT’S RULE SHOULD BE IMPOSED IN
BIHAR, SAYS BJP MP SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH
BJP MP Sushil Kumar Singh said that there is anarchy in
Bihar. “Liquor and sand mafia are dominant and there is
nothing left in the name of law and order, so the government
of the Grand Alliance should be dismissed and President’s
rule should be imposed in Bihar,” Singh said.
States ruled by the
saffron party had
the worst track
records in terms of spurious
liquor deaths. Madhya
Pradesh and Karnataka
stood at the top in terms of
the number of hooch deaths
while even Gujarat, a dry
state, fared much worse
than Bihar which is under
the spotlight over the Saran
hooch tragedy that has killed
over 20 people
—Tejashwi Yadav,
Deputy CM Bihar
Mallikarjun Kharge
@kharge
It seems that the
“red eye” of the
Modi government
is covered with
Chinese glasses.
Is it not allowed
to speak against
China in the Indian
Parliament?

NEWS
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2022
02
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Aurangabad bizmen wish for ease of
doing business at ‘Friends of BJP’ meet
First India Bureau
Aurangabad: Busi-
nesspersons in Aurang-
abadaskedtheBharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) to
take more efforts to in-
crease the ease of doing
business. They were
speakingatafunctionor-
ganized by the BJP in
which state BJP unit
chief, Chandrashekhar
Bawankule, was the
main speaker.
“Installationtaxbeing
levied by the local body
must be discontinued. A
ministry must be made
for merchants,” said
Adeshpalsingh Chabda,
head of Marathwada
Vyapari Mahasangh.
There should be law to
prevent public money
being used for subsidies,
said Mansingh Pawar, a
local businessman.
Pramod Khairnar,
state President of Con-
federation of Real Es-
tate Developers Associa-
tion of India (CREDAI)
soughta“singlewindow
mechanism”forthecon-
struction sector.
Bawankule said is-
sues raised by the busi-
ness community would
be conveyed to the rele-
vant authorities for ac-
tion. The meeting was
organized by the
‘Friends of BJP’, a plat-
form for those people
who cannot make it to
theparty’sfunctionsdue
to their busy schedules,
Bawankule said.
When a speaker ex-
pressing disappoint-
ment at Devendra Fad-
navisbeingmadedeputy
chief minister and not
CM, state minister Atuk
Save said it was a “po-
litical compromise” to
ensure the MVA dispen-
sation was dislodged.
“If we would have
thought about it, the
MVA government
would have continued,”
Save said.
‘Civicpollsmustbeheldimmediately’
First India Bureau
Thane: Maharashtra
NavnirmanSena(MNS)
chief Raj Thackeray on
Thursday said elections
to various civic bodies
in the state, including
Thane, must be held im-
mediately. While the
terms of several mu-
nicipal corporations
and councils have end-
ed, polls have not been
held so far due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
He also opposed the
multi-member panel
system in civic polls but
said the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party and the Na-
tionalist Congress Par-
ty were supporting it
for reasons best known
to them.
Slamming the Thane
Municipal Corporation,
he said several civic ser-
vices were being given
by builders, who are
earning from them, in-
stead of authorities.
The city is being run by
builders and not the
civic body, he alleged.
Interestingly, the
Thane civic body has
been traditionally con-
trolled by Shiv Sena and
the party is currently
split into two factions.
The Shiv Sena section
led by Uddhav Thack-
eray is the ally of NCP
and Congress in Maha
Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
Will ensure farmers get `1K
crop insurance: Abdul Sattar
Mumbai (PTI): Farm-
ers eligible for crop in-
surance will get at least
Rs1,000 against their
claims, said state Agri-
culture Minister Abdul
Sattar on Thursday
.
He told reporters 50
lakh applications have
been received for crop
insurance and are be-
ing scrutinized.
“We will ensure each
eligible farmer gets at
least Rs1,000 against his
claim. The crop damage
assessment has been
completed and a sum of
Rs1,902 crore has been
disbursed. The total
amount to be disbursed
isRs2,313crore,”hesaid.
When asked about
crop loss due to post-
monsoon showers, he
said the problem did not
exist much earlier but
was getting frequent in
recent years.
“The state govern-
ment has proposed that
a committee be set to ad-
dress this issue. Earlier,
such showers that dam-
aged Rabi production
were not frequent. We
have disbursed Rs760
crore to farmers so far
for crop loss due to this
reason,” he said.
The committee’s
scope and structure will
be finalized after CM
meet, he added.
BKS to hold ‘Kisan Garjana’ protest
march over farmers’ issues in Delhi
First India Bureau
Nagpur: Bharatiya
Kisan Sangh (BKS), an
affiliate of the Rashtri-
ya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS) on Thursday said
it will hold a national
level ‘Kisan Garjana’
protest march in Delhi
on December 19. The
farmers’ organization
will seek various relief
measures for cultiva-
tors to improve their
condition.
BKS’s executive com-
mittee member Nana
Aakhre said in a release
that farmers, who pro-
vide food grains, vege-
tables, fruits, milk, etc,
are “very disappointed”
today due to lack of re-
turns to their farm pro-
duce, and are commit-
ting suicide due to it.
“In order to address
the woes of the farmers,
the BKS demands prof-
itable prices on all farm
produce. Also, Goods
and Services Tax (GST)
should not be levied on
the farm produce and
the financial relief pro-
vided under the Kisan
Samman Nidhi should
be increased,” it said.
Aakhre said that
lakhs of farm workers
from across the country
will participate in the
‘Kisan Garajna’ rally in
the national capital on
Monday
.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: According to
cops, Dr Anahita Pan-
dole, who was booked on
the charge of rash driv-
ing that resulted in the
death of industrialist
CyrusMistryinSeptem-
ber, was issued challans
for over-speeding on sev-
eraloccasionssince2020.
Palghar police, who
are investigating the
Mistrycaraccidentcase,
have uncovered her his-
tory of traffic rules vio-
lationduringtheirinves-
tigation.
Former Tata Sons
Chairman Mistry (54)
and his friend Jehangir
Pandolewerekilledafter
the Mercedes-Benz car
hit the railing of the
Surya river bridge in
Palghar district on Sep-
tember 04 this year. Dr
Anahita, who was at the
wheel, and her husband
Darius suffered serious
injuries in the accident.
All of them were return-
ing to Mumbai from
Ahmedabad.
Thepoliceofficialsaid
that during the probe, it
was found that the car
wasinvolvedinviolation
of varioustraffic-related
norms in the past.
“There were at least sev-
eninstancesinwhichDr
Anahita was found be-
hind the wheel and over-
speeding, which was
captured on speed cam-
eras,” said Palghar Su-
perintendent of Police
Balasaheb Patil.
These instances were
from 2020 till the day of
the accident in Septem-
ber 2022, he said, adding
the e-challans against
her will now be made
part of the charge sheet,
he said.
“Those challans were
issued for over-speeding
involving the same car
that was involved in the
Palghar accident,” he
said.
The car was regis-
tered in the name of JM
Financials and was used
by Anahita Pandole, the
official said.
Patil said the Palghar
police would submit the
charge sheet in the case
by the end of this week
before the local court, he
said.
“Police have not re-
corded Dr Anahita’s
statement in connection
with the accident so far,”
he said.
Multiple challans issued to Pandole for speeding since 2020
CYRUS MISTRY DEATH CASE
At least seven instances of over-
speeding recorded; cops to include
challans in case charge sheet
Dr Anahita Pandole was driving the car (wreckage in picture) at
the time of the accident. —FILE PHOTO
THE CHARGES
CRUCIAL
READ
ACTOR FILES
COMPLAINT OVER
‘FAKE’ DEATH NEWS
BJP LEADER
CAMPAIGNING FOR
WIFE IN POLLS,DIES
LIFETIME AWARD
TO VETERAN
JOURNO BY MPC
NMMC CONDUCTS
ANTI-PLASTIC
CAMPAIGNS IN CITY
COMMITTEE TO
TACKLE MANJARA
RIVER POLLUTION
Mumbai: Actor Veena
Kapoor (73) has filed a
non-cognizable case for
defamation saying her
photograph was used in
a news report in place of
that of a senior citizen who
was murdered allegedly by
her son in Mumbai’s Juhu
area, a police official said
on Thursday.
Latur: A Bharatiya Janata
Party worker died while
campaigning for his wife
for the sarpanch polls
in Latur district. The
deceased, Amar Nade,
was the party’s district
secretary. While addressing
a gathering in Murud on
Wednesday night, he felt
‘uneasy’ and was declared
dead on arrival by doctors,
an official said. Nade was
cremated on Thursday and
most parties halted their
campaigning for the day.
Mumbai: Senior journal-
ist TJS George (94) has
been selected for Mum-
bai Press Club’s National
RedInk Award for lifetime
achievement for his
distinguished career as
an editor and columnist.
George was the editor of
the Patna-headquartered
newspaper “The Search-
light” in the 1960s.
Navi Mumbai: The Navi
Mumbai Municipal Corpo-
ration (NMMC) has started
an anti-plastic campaign
and is taking action against
the use of banned plastic
in the city. The campaign is
also a part of the prepara-
tions for the “Swachh
Survekshan 2023”(cleanli-
ness survey 2023).
Aurangabad: A com-
mittee of government
officials and experts
has been formed in
Latur to investigate the
causes of pollution in
the Manjara river and
suggest remedies. The
district administration
will undertake a ‘Know
Your River’ campaign
from January 08.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray —FILE PHOTO
Agri Min Abdul Sattar
—FILE PHOTO
Bharatiya Kisan Sangh members during a rally. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘Findmastermindbehind‘fake’tweets’
NCP leader also urged govt to engage services of advocate Harish Salve in border row case
Mumbai (PTI): Na-
tionalist Congress Par-
ty (NCP) leader Ajit Pa-
war on Thursday de-
manded that the Union
government find out
the “mastermind” be-
hind the ‘fake’ Twitter
accounts which alleg-
edly fuelled tensions
over the boundary dis-
pute between Maha-
rashtra and Karnataka.
He was responding to
Maharashtra Chief
Minister Eknath Shin-
de’s claim that tweets in
the name of Karnataka
Chief Minister claim-
ing some areas of Ma-
harashtra were not ac-
tually posted by Basa-
varaj Bommai.
On Wednesday
, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah, who met the chief
ministers of both the
states, had said that
fake tweets in the name
of top leaders also esca-
lated the issue.
Talking to reporters
in Mumbai, Pawar, who
is the Leader of Opposi-
tion in Maharashtra As-
sembly, said the border
dispute is before the
Supreme Court, and if
Karnataka CM Bommai
had not made unwar-
ranted comments, ten-
sions would not have
risen.
“This led to residents
of border villages in
Maharashtra talking
about joining Karnata-
ka due to lack of devel-
opment,” he said.
“The mastermind be-
hind the fake Twitter
accounts, whose tweets
hurt the sentiments and
sparked protests,
should be found out,”
Pawar added.
The NCP leader also
demanded that senior
lawyer Harish Salve be
engaged to represent
Maharashtra in the
casebeforetheSupreme
Court.
On Wednesday, UHM
Shah had asked chief
ministers of the two
states to set up a six-
member joint ministe-
rial panel to deal with
the dispute and not
make any claims till
the SC pronounces its
verdict.
The border row be-
tween Maharashtra and
Karnataka recently
heated up with inci-
dents of violence being
reported from border
areas of both states.
The dispute dates
back to 1957 after the
reorganization of states
on linguistic lines. Ma-
harashtra laid claim to
Belagavi, which was
part of the erstwhile
Bombay Presidency, as
it has a sizeable Mar-
athi-speaking popula-
tion. It also staked
claim to 814 Marathi-
speaking villages
which are currently
part of Karnataka.
Maha BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule. —FILE PHOTO
Issues
raised by the
business
community would be
conveyed to the
relevant authorities
for action.
Chandrakant Bawankule,
President, Bharatiya Janata
Party Maharashtra unit
NCP’s Ajit Pawar addresses media persons in Mumbai.
—PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
BATTLE ON
‘Shivaji batted for
Indian democracy’
First India Bureau
Satara: Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) MP
Udayanraje Bhosale
on Thursday said peo-
ple have forgotten the
contribution of
Chhatrapati Shivaji Ma-
haraj to the democratic
India we see today
.
During a media inter-
action in Satara, Bho-
sale said, “Life has be-
come hectic and these
days thoughts of
Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj are being for-
gotten. This is happen-
ing despite the fact that
it was Shivaji who had
given the idea of equal-
ity of all religions back
then (17th century).”
“Democracy came
into existence after
monarchy. Islamic
countries still have
monarchy. If Shivaji
Maharaj had decided to
keep monarchy in exist-
ence here then, India
would not be a democ-
racy,” he said.
But Shivaji Maharaj
was of the opinion that
people should partici-
pate in governance of
a nation. And so, he
introduced the concept
of democracy to the
people. Had dynastic
rule came into exist-
ence, only people from
a certain family could
have ruled in India, he
added.

MAHARASHTRA
03
MAN POSING AS
LAND OFFICIAL
ARRESTED BY ACB
FIRE BREAKS OUT
IN HIGH-RISE, 2
FIREMEN INJURED
Thane: The state Anti-
Corruption Bureau (ACB)
has arrested a man, who
allegedly posed as a Land
Department staffer and
tried to dupe a plot seller
in Raigad district. The
45-year-old accused got in
touch with a man who sold
his land in Dhotregaon,
pretending to be a “land
record officer” and wanted
the plot to be measured.
“The accused demanded
Rs3 lakh to measure the
land and issue a certificate.
He was held on Wednes-
day while accepting Rs1
lakh,” said an official.
Mumbai: A fire broke out
in a flat on the 22nd floor
of a 61-storey residential
building in Currey Road
area of central Mumbai
on Thursday. In response,
more than ten fire brigade
vehicles were dispatched
to the site. Two firefighters
Ramdas Shivram Sanas
(37) and Mahesh Ravindra
Patil (26) sustained minor
injuries while dousing the
flames. They were rushed
to KEM Hospital for treat-
ment and were discharged
later. “The fire that started
in a flat of One Avighna
Park building at around
10.45 am was doused
after three hours. Two fire
brigade personnel suffered
minor injuries while extin-
guishing it,” officials said.
FOUR DIE OF
ELECTROCUTION IN
DAM BACKWATER
MAN HELD FOR
SEXUALLY
EXPLOITING GIRL
Pune: Four persons got
electrocuted and died
while they were trying to
place a water pump mo-
tor in the backwater of a
dam in Pune, police said
on Thursday. The incident
occurred near Nigde vil-
lage in Bhor tehsil, they
said. “The four victims
were trying to place a
motor pump in the Gun-
jawani dam backwater.
While doing so, they got
electrocuted and drowned
in the water. Their bodies
are being fished out,”
said an official from
Rajgad police station.
Mumbai: Mankhurd police
have arrested a man for al-
leged sexual assault, forced
unnatural intercourse and
mental torture of a 22-year-
old girl since 2018. The
accused Abdul Hamid Khan
(31) befriended the victim
on social media in 2018
and promised to marry,
after which he repeatedly
raped her and also forced
her into having unnatural
intercourse with him. The
victim got pregnant in
2019 and was forced into
an abortion, police said.
Khan has been charged
with rape, forcible unnatu-
ral intercourse, cheating,
causing hurt by means of
poison, assault and other
relevant sections, said
a senior cop.
2 SIBLINGS HELD FOR ATTACK ON POLICE,
RESISTING ARREST FOR DRUG POSSESSION
Thane: Two persons were arrested for allegedly attacking
policemen in Bhiwandi of Thane district, said an official on
Thursday. “The incident took place near Gamdevi temple
in Sangampada on Wednesday afternoon. The siblings had
knives with which they attacked two policemen while resist-
ing arrest for alleged possession of codeine phosphate,
a banned drug,” said a Nizampura police station official.
They have been arrested under relevant Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act for possession of codeine
phosphate and other Indian Penal Code provisions for at-
tacking police and resisting arrest.
COPS SEIZE BANNED GUTKHA WORTH
`7.11 LAKH; TWO HELD FOR SMUGGLING
Thane: Police have arrested two persons for allegedly
smuggling banned gutkha worth Rs7.11 lakh in Bhiwandi of
Thane district, a police official said on Thursday. The police
got a tip-off that two tempos would be smuggling gutkha,
acting on which police arrested the suspects from Mankoli
bridge. “The gutkha was packed in 38 big bags in the two
vehicles. A case has been registered under Indian Penal
Code provisions and other Acts,” said Senior Inspector
Madan Ballal of Narpoli police station.
BMC CHANGES NAME OF BYCULLA
ZOO, ADDS WORD ‘BOTANICAL’ TO IT
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)
has changed the name of ‘Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan
and Zoo’ located at Byculla in the city by adding the word
‘vanaspati’ or ‘botanical’ to it. Municipal Commissioner and
administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal on December 12 passed
a resolution to change the name of the 160-year-old zoo to
‘Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Vanaspati Udyan va Pranisangra-
halaya’. The word ‘vanaspati’, which means botanical, has
been inserted before ‘udyan’ or garden in the earlier name.
The garden, which is spread over 5,200 sq m, houses more
than 6,611 trees of over 291 species that comprises 80% of
the city’s flora.
CRUCIAL READ
1.3K VEHICLES ‘CHALLANED’
onMumbai-PuneE-way,oldhighway
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The flying
squads of the Regional
Transport Office (RTO)
have issued challans or
traffic violation notices
to nearly 1,300 vehicles
for various offences, in-
cluding over-speeding
and lane cutting, on the
Mumbai-Pune Express-
way this month so far.
The squads issued
challans to 268 others
for over-speeding, 448
vehiclesforlanecutting,
218 vehicles for wrong-
side driving and 365 oth-
ers for driving without
wearing seat belts, said
a release issued by the
Maharashtra Motor Ve-
hicles Department.
The action was taken
as part of a special on-
going drive “Suraksha”.
The department
launched this initiative
from December 01 on-
wards on both the high-
ways--the Mumbai-
Pune Expressway and
the old highway con-
necting the two cities-
-with an aim to curb the
rising road accidents
and inculcate discipline
among drivers.
Deputy Transport
Commissioner (Road
Safety Cell) Bharat
Kalaskar said,
“The penalty
for without
seat belt driv-
ing is Rs500, for
w r o n g - s i d e
parking is
Rs500. The
charge for
lane cutting
is Rs1,000 and the same
for over-speeding is
Rs2,000 in case of cars
and Rs1,000 in case
of two-wheel-
ers.”
The flying
squads also is-
sued challans
for 57 cases of lane
c u t t i n g ,
162 cas-
e s
of driving without seat
belt, 95 cases of over-
speeding and 47 cases
of wrong-side parking
on the old Mumbai-
Pune highway
(NH-48).
Navi Mumbai: In order to create awareness among
motorists to use seatbelts while driving or co-driv-
er in the front seats of a four-wheeler, the Panvel
traffic unit of Navi Mumbai police offered flowers to
those motorists who did not wear seatbelts. “While
traveling in a four-wheeler, it is mandatory for the
driver and the passenger on the front seat to wear
seat belts. There is also a traffic rule in this regard.
Both the traffic police as well as RTO can take penal
action against drivers who do not wear seatbelts,” an
official from the traffic unit said. Despite the traffic
department collecting huge fines from violators,
some drivers do not follow this rule. “Seatbelt is very
helpful and beneficial from a safety point of view. If
the seat belt is not worn, airbags do not work in the
event of an accident in many vehicles. They come
out only if the belt is being used,” said the official.
PANVEL TRAFFIC UNIT OFFERS FLOWERS
TO SEATBELT RULE VIOLATORS
CRACKDOWN MODE
The penalty for without seat belt
driving is Rs500, for wrong-side
parking is Rs500. The charge for
lane cutting is Rs1,000 and the same for
over-speeding is Rs2,000 in case of cars
and Rs1,000 in case of two-wheelers.
—Bharat Kalaskar,
Deputy Transport Commissioner (Road Safety Cell)
Action taken under special road
safety drive ‘Suraksha’ launched on
December 01 to curb accidents
Railways’ BMC water bill crosses
`500-crore mark, services still on
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Central
Railway (CR) and West-
ern Railway (WR) owe
the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corpora-
tion (BMC) over Rs568
crore in the form of
unpaid water bills
spanning decades. The
information was re-
vealed in a response to
an RTI query.
As per the corpora-
tion records, as of No-
vember 01 this year, the
Central Railway has
Rs2,59,93,79,418 dues
while the Western Rail-
way has Rs3,08,85,65,247
unpaid bills.
The railway officials,
however, said that they
are making regular pay-
ments and that old ar-
rears have snowballed
into the huge amount.
There is a BMC rule
that allows the civic
body to disconnect wa-
ter connections if the
bill amount is not paid
within the due date.
However, the list shows
that some bills are
pending since 2002.
This raises the ques-
tion as to why BMC did
not disconnect supply
and take legal action
to recover the out-
standing amount.
Civic officials said
they had disconnected
and restored supply to a
number of railway
units, and added that
it was a continuous on-
going process.
RTI response
reveals that CR and
WR have pending
water bills spanning
decades
Condonation of delay
in filing appeal: Pillai
opposes Paes's plea
Mumbai (PTI) : Tennis
player Leander Paes’s
former live-in partner
Rhea Pillai on Thurs-
day opposed his plea for
“condonation of delay”
in filing an appeal
against a magistrate’s
court’s order in the do-
mestic violence case. In
February this year, the
Bandra metropolitan
magistrate’s court held
that Paes, an Olympics
bronze medal winner,
had committed various
acts of domestic vio-
lence against Pillai.
It also directed him to
pay monthly mainte-
nance amount of Rs1
lakh to Pillai, the moth-
er of his daughter,
along with monthly
rent of Rs50,000 on the
condition that she left
his flat on Carter Road.
The former tennis
player moved the ses-
sions court in Novem-
ber seeking quashing
of the magistrate’s or-
der. He also prayed for
condonation of delay in
filing appeal as the mag-
istrate’s court had
passed the order on Feb-
ruary 11, 2022. In her
reply filed through ad-
vocate Sana Usman, Pil-
lai said the condonation
of delay plea was “de-
void of any substantial
and genuine grounds”.
The statutory period for
filing appeal is 30 days
under section 29 of the
Protection of Women
from Domestic Violence
Act, 2005, the reply said.
Paes had been travel-
ling with his current
girlfriend Kim Sharma
to various holiday des-
tinations and social
events during the seven
months when he failed
to move the court, it al-
leged. It also claimed
that Paes’s claim that
he was busy taking care
of his father was false.
The sessions court will
hear the matter further
on January 12, 2023.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE
VEIL OF SHAME?
Green curtains put up outside Jogeshwari slums along the Western Express Highway, as Mumbai city plays host to several G20
meetings on Thursday. India secured the G20 Summit’s presidency last month. —PHOTO BY PTI
Patole slams Centre for rise
in drug addicts, smuggling
House divided among two states, 4 rooms in
Maha, 4 rooms in Telangana; taxes paid to both
First India Bureau
Chandrapur: This may
sound strange but it is
true. The Pawar family
whose house happens to
standalongtheborderof
Maharashtra and Telan-
ganainthevillageof Ma-
harajaguda in Simavarti
Jivati tehsil of Chan-
drapur district, has been
paying property tax to
bothstatesforyears.Rea-
son: Four rooms in the
housecomeinsideTelan-
ganawhilefourroomsin
Maharashtra.
Pawar enjoys the ben-
eficiary schemes of both
states and even own ve-
hicles with registration
numbers of Maharash-
tra and Telangana.
While the kitchen is
in Telangana, the bed-
room and hall are in Ma-
harashtra. A total of 13
members of families of
two brothers Uttam Pa-
war and Chandu Pawar
have been living in this
10-room house for years.
In 1969, when the dis-
pute on the border issue
was finally fixed, the Pa-
war family’s land was di-
videdintotwostates.The
house was also divided.
However, no problem has
been faced to date by the
family as they pay prop-
erty taxes in both states.
Speaking on the mat-
ter, Uttam Pawar said,
“Our house is divided
between Maharashtra
and Telangana, but till
today we have not had
any problem with it, we
pay property tax in both
the states and take ad-
vantage of the schemes
of both the states.”
Both states have laid
their claims on 14 vil-
lages along the Maha-
rashtra-Telangana bor-
der. Even though the Su-
preme Court has ruled
that the villages belong
to Maharashtra, Telan-
gana continues to claim
the villages as its part.
Among them, one of
the 14 villages is Maha-
rajaguda village, which
is divided between the
two states.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Pradesh Congress Com-
mittee (MPCC) Presi-
dent Nana Patole on
Thursday criticized the
Central government for
the increase in number
of drug addicts among
youths across the coun-
try
. He also blamed it for
higher frequency of
drug smuggling.
Talking to media, Pa-
tole said, “India is seen
as a ‘young’ nation,
with around 50% of the
population falling in
the age group of 16 to 40
years. This generation,
which is considered the
future of country, is be-
coming drug addicts.”
An affidavit submit-
ted by the Central gov-
ernment to the Su-
preme Court states that
1.5 crore children in the
age group of 10 to 17
years are addicted to
drugs. This clearly
shows how serious the
situation is and it has
worsened due to mas-
sive increase in smug-
gling since the Bharati-
ya Janata Party govern-
ment came to power in
the Centre, he asserted.
Talking about drug
smuggling crackdowns,
the Congress leader
said, “The younger gen-
eration getting addicted
to drugs is not good for
the future of our coun-
try
. Drug trafficking has
increased significantly
in the last few years.”
TWO STATES
The house is divided between
Telangana and Maharashtra.
—PHOTO BY ANI

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 219
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe
MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial
Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C
of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part)
Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Phone 022-46031417.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Work done with anxiety about
results is far inferior to work
done without such anxiety, in the
calm of self-surrender. Seek
refuge in the knowledge of
Brahma. They who work
selfishly for results are
miserable.” —BhagavadGita
IN-DEPTH
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
75 handwoven Saris commemorating
75 years of Independence.Be a part
of this unique month-long celebration
beginning tomorrow and show your
support for our handloom weavers.
#MySariMyPride
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Accompanied the delegation of MPs
from @BJP4Odisha to seek the personal
intervention of Shri @mansukhmandviya
for pursuing the Govt. of Odisha to
implement #AyushmanBharat in the
state for the larger benefit of 4.5 core
people in Odisha.
TOP TWEETS
REVIEWING DELHI
AIRPORT INFRA
TO END WOES OF
PASSENGERS
he frustration of be-
ing confined to their
homes because of
the travel restric-
tions due to the pan-
demic is being let out now with
people rushing to catch the first
flight to execute their travel
plans. Lack of infrastructure is
another reason for the over-
crowding. So heavy is the foot-
fall that Delhi international air-
port’s Terminal 3 has been wit-
nessing chaotic scenes for the
last few day. The seemingly un-
ending breakdown of arrange-
ments at the airport forced the
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotira-
ditya Scindia to personally visit
the airport to find out what the
bottlenecks were. Other major
airports also are witnessing
scenes which some flyers com-
pared with a ‘fish market’.
After the minister’s visit a
slew of measures were an-
nounced. It was found that more
counters of different airlines
were needed and the process of
security check at the entry point
and baggage clearance needed
to be expedited in view of long
queues of travellers. The plans
have not worked so far.
T
ow quickly eco-
nomic interests
take over national
sentiments is best
illustrated by In-
dia’s relations with China. In
a burst of justifiable anger
after the violent clashes in
Galwan in 2020, there were
callstoboycottChinesegoods.
The boycott call, strongly
backed by the Confederation
of All-India Traders (CAIT),
especially targeted decorative
lights, idols of Lord Ganesh
and goddess Lakshmi and
firecrackers which register
brisk sale during Diwali. The
CAIT expected a business loss
of about 75, 000 crore to Chi-
na. The response was signifi-
cant as Chinese goods disap-
peared during that year’s fes-
tive season.
The patriotic fervour of
2020 didn’t last long. Chinese
fancy lights were back to
swarm Indian markets. De-
spite the after-effects of pan-
demic and inflation, demand
was at its peak. China is un-
derstood to have exported
$710 million worth of LED
light related products, about
135% more than the corre-
sponding period in 2020.
Stronger national sentiments
are needed for decoupling
with China by replacing Chi-
nese products with those
made in India. Cost is one
factor which makes Indian
products uncompetitive in
comparison to those from
China. Besides import of
fancy lights, China remains
India’s 2nd biggest trading
partner after US. While India
exported $21.25 billion worth
of goods to China in 2021-22,
imports stood at $94.57 bil-
lion. These figures may wrongly
be interpreted to suggest that
China’sdesignsonIndia’sterrito-
rial integrity are being ignored.
With Indian economy now on a
brisk march, it will take some
time to reduce the country’s de-
pendence on Chinese products.
THE DISSIPATION
OF GALWAN ANGER
Stronger national
sentiments are needed for
the decoupling with China
by replacing Chinese
products with those made
in India. Cost is one
factor which makes Indian
products uncompetitive
in comparison to
those from China
H
MISSION POK
(Bangladesh Victory Season 2.0)
ndia celebrates VIJAY DI-
WAS on 16 Dec to commemo-
rate 51 years of Victory in
Bangladesh. Last month,
Hon’ble Raksha Mantri Ra-
jnath Singh was on a day’s
visit to the India-China bor-
der in Eastern Ladakh. This
was his second visit during a
span of a few weeks. He made
a specific mention of the part
of the State of Jammu and
Kashmir under Pakistan’s il-
legal occupation and said
that India will take back POK
in accordance with a resolu-
tion passed unanimously in
Parliament in 1994. Is India
preparing for Bangladesh
War Season 2? Let’s have a
reality check.
POLITICAL WILL
India had gone to UN in 1948
with the Kashmir issue and
thereafter in various forums,
India has always reiterated
that sanctity of ‘Line of Con-
trol (LC)’ should be main-
tained. Pakistan leaves no
opportunity to keep the
Kashmir issue alive in inter-
national forum. LC is now
accepted as ipso facto border
between India and Pakistan.
Even during Kargil war the
sanctity of LC was honoured
by India. India had 4 golden
chances that Pakistan pre-
sented in the form of four
wars they lost, but we didn’t
do it that time. However, the
Hon’ble Raksha Mantri’s
statement on POK manifests
the changed political will of
New Bharat.
India is progressing well
as the fastest growing econo-
my in the world and today we
are a power to reckon. Any
misadventure will derail the
economic progress and take
the country back by more
than a decade or so. War is a
costly hobby and the price of
war in terms of economy and
human lives will have to be
clearly weighed by the deci-
sion makers, before we un-
dertake such bold action.
MILITARY CAPABILITY
India Armed Forces are
among the world’s largest de-
fence forces with experience
of four wars. However, to un-
dertake an offensive of the
magnitude of taking POK
back will need a detailed
thought. The following as-
pects merit consideration-
l India and Pakistan have
formidable defence system
along the ‘Line of Control
(LC)’ in JK. The pace of
operations will therefore
be slow in such obstacle
ridden rugged terrain.
l Any initiative of India in
the context could result in
a two front war with Chi-
na and Pakistan.
l China has heavily invested
in POK and won’t let it slip
out. It will provide all
help to Pakistan thereby
keeping India embroiled
in the conflict without any
tangible gains.
l Even if China doesn’t open
up the Eastern Borders of
India actively take part
with Pakistan, China will
certainly deploy it’s forces
on LAC with India and tie
down a large amount of
Indian forces, in the East-
ern theatre of war.
l India has three strike
corps, as offensive forces.
One is poised for China
Sector, the second for de-
serts of Western Sector
and only one strike corps
is left for offensive in Jk.
Therefore, taking entire
POK with one strike corps
may not be feasible and
committing more troops
in POK will unbalance the
entire western front.
l Support of local popula-
tion is essential for such
operations but it’s not
likely in the case in POK.
INTERNATIONAL
OPINION
India’s stand of principled
neutrality during Russia’s
aggression in Ukraine has
also not been taken kindly by
the west and the USA. The so-
called free world has framed
a negative impression of In-
dia. India has also made it
clear in the Ukraine conflict
that it does not favour war as
a means to resolve interna-
tional disputes. PM Modi is
on record to say-“This is not
an Era of war.”
China being member of
UNSC will take the lead to
declare India as an aggressor.
Large no of economic and
diplomatic sanctions will be
slapped on India. Presently,
India is a fragile economy
with large portion of war
equipment and oil being ex-
ported. After Ukraine war
and prolonged sanctions,
Russia will be too weak to
support India and veto such
resolutions, against the wish-
es of China. Therefore, India
will be throttled to stop war,
by the West and China.
CHAOS IN PAKISTAN
Pakistan is in utter chaos to-
day due to economic crisis
and political turmoil. Nature
has also not been kind and
ravaging floods have also add-
ed to its woos. Hardliners and
extremist organizations are
calling the shots over weak-
ened Govt and non assertive
Pak Army
. Pakistan society
today is almost on the brink
of a civil war. Further rise in
tempers will lead to more
violence and civil unrest.
The POK region has also
been linguistically and cul-
turally marginalized by Paki-
stan rulers, for nearly 75
years. People of POK are be-
ing deprived of all basic
rights by Pakistan and it
remains an underdeveloped
territory. China is making
inroads into this territory to
fulfill its ambitions. POK is
presently at the crossroads
of Conflicting Interests of
India, China and Pakistan.
CONCLUSION
Crystal gazing into future in-
dicates that there is consider-
able anti-China feeling
spreading in Pakistan. USA
is already alienated with
Pak. India is making new
friends in the Arab world and
Pakistan has been snubbed
many a times. It is possible
that Pakistan may be isolated
from its closest allies - USA,
China and the Arab world. In
the time-frame that this
change comes about, India
would be militarily powerful
to take back POK by force,
economically strong to with-
stand sanctions that will ac-
crue and politically strong to
justify the actions in the in-
ternational forum. Once that
is done, taking POK will be
a cakewalk. It’s a ‘feel good’
factor whose time has not yet
come but we can keep the pot
boiling.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
I
India is progressing well as
the fastest growing economy
in the world and today we
are a power to reckon. Any
misadventure will derail
the economic progress and
take the country back by
more than a decade or so.
War is a costly hobby and
the price of war in terms of
economy human lives
will have to be clearly
weighed by decision makers
MAJ GEN
CP SINGH (RETD)
The writer is a scholar soldier accredited
with MA, MSc, LLB, MBA, M Phil (Def Mgt)
and M Phil (International Strategic Affairs)

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05
INDIA
Will Rahul Gandhi take command
in South and Priyanka in North?
Shamsher Singh
New Delhi: Rahul Gan-
dhi started his Bharat
Jodo Yatra from South
India. It was not a spon-
taneous decision, but it
was done after a lot of
thought. Priyanka Gan-
dhi Vadra also did not
participate in the yatra
anywhere in South In-
dia, but as soon as the
yatra left the south, she
joined the yatra in Mad-
hya Pradesh with her
husband and son, and
traveled with her hus-
band and daughter in
Rajasthan. In future
too, the states where
Congress will go on
Bharat Jodo Yatra, she
can join there. She cam-
paigned fiercely in the
hill state of Himachal
Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh and also got
the party to victory in
the Himachal elections.
So, it looks like the Con-
gress is going to divide
the responsibility be-
tween Rahul Gandhi
and Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra in the next Lok
Sabha elections.
Rahul Gandhi will
contest the Lok Sabha
elections from the Way-
anad seat in Kerala and
will lead the party in
South India, while Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra
will contest from the
Rae Bareli seat and will
lead the party in North
India. However, this
does not mean that Ra-
hul will not campaign
in the states of North
India. He has emerged
as the supreme leader
of the party from the
Bharat Jodo Yatra and
the party will make full
use of his new image in
the campaign.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with his sister and party General
Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during Bharat Jodo Yatra.
COURTYARD
in the
in the
AGNIPATH SCHEME:
HC RESERVES
ORDER ON PLEAS
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court Thursday
reserved its judgment
on a batch of petitions
challenging the Centre’s
Agnipath scheme for
recruitment in armed
forces. Besides pleas
directly challenging
Agnipath, the high court
also reserved its verdict
on petitions concerning
the recruitment processes
for the armed forces.
GODHRA TRAIN
BURNING ACCUSED
GETS BAIL FROM SC
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Thursday gave
bail to a convict serving
life imprisonment in the
2002 Godhra train coach
burning case, noting that
he has been in jail for 17
years. A bench took note
of the submission of a
lawyer of for one of the
convicts, Faruk, that he
be granted bail consider-
ing the period undergone
till now.
COURT TELLS COPS
TO LODGE FIR
AGAINST MP AJMAL
Guwahati: A court in
Kamrup Metropolitan
district of Assam has
ordered Guwahati Police
to register an FIR against
Lok Sabha MP Badrud-
din Ajmal for his alleged
controversial remarks
on women and Hindu
men. The court asked
the officer-in-charge of
Hatigaon Police Station
in Guwahati to register
the FIR.
100 DAYS OF BHARAT JODO YATRA
Rahul Gandhi, leaders walk
on road to Congress revival
Jaipur (PTI): As the
‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ en-
ters its 100th day Friday
,
Congress watchers feel
it has found some an-
swers the party had
been looking for on the
road to 2024 but ques-
tions remain whether it
will yield electoral divi-
dends going forward.
The Kanyakumari to
Kashmir foot march
has also courted many
controversies in the last
three months and led to
several fiery exchanges
between the Congress
and the BJP including
on Rahul Gandhi’s ever-
growing grey beard and
his Burberry T-shirt.
With over 2,800 km
under his belt, Gandhi
has managed to catch
the attention of his sup-
porters as well as de-
tractors and seen quite
a few celebrities includ-
ing from the tinsel town
and academia walking
alongside him from
time to time.However,
some political pundits
feel the party should
have had more tangible
political objectives for
the yatra and ques-
tioned the party for
skipping poll-bound
states of Gujarat and
Himachal Pradesh.
Amid questions over
the yatra translating
into any electoral divi-
dend, two recently- con-
cluded assembly elec-
tions turned out to be a
mixed bag for the Con-
gress as it was drubbed
in Gujarat to its lowest-
ever tally while won in
Himachal.
A clearer picture of
the impact on the par-
ty’s electoral fortunes
would emerge in the as-
sembly polls next year,
including in Karnata-
ka, Madhya Pradesh
and Rajasthan, which
were covered well by
the Yatra.
Rahul Gandhi with athletes from Rajasthan during the party’s
Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Dausa district on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
AICC TO MEET WITH SENIOR LEADERS;
CMs OF CONG-RULED STATES INVITED
New Delhi: All India Congress Committee decided to hold a
meeting, scheduled on December 23, with senior party lead-
ers, including Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states under
the rubric of ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhiyan’, party’s general
secretary KC Venugopal said on Thursday. In a letter to party
leaders, the party’s general secretary and MP Venugopal
said, “Dear Friend, A meeting of AICC General Secretaries/
In-charges, PCC Presidents and CLP Leaders is scheduled to
be held on December 23, 2022, at AICC Office at 1430 hrs.”
“The party will discuss “Hath se Hath Jodo Program and
other Organizational issues,” the statement read.
BJP chief JP Nadda takes jibe at
BRS, says it will soon get VRS
Karimnagar (PTI):
BJP chief JP Nadda on
Thursday attacked the
BRS government in Tel-
angana for alleged cor-
ruption and said the
time has come to bid
goodbye to Chief Minis-
ter K Chandrasekhar
Rao, also addressed as
KCR. Addressing a pub-
lic meeting here to
mark the conclusion of
the fifth phase of the
State-wide ‘padayatra’
by State BJP president
and MP Bandi Sanjay
Kumar, Nadda said the
TRS which has recently
been renamed as BRS
would soon get VRS
(voluntary retirement).
JP Nadda, senior leader BS Yediyurappa, Karnataka CM Bommai
and State BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel, in Koppal, on Thursday.
Gujarat Assembly
to elect Speaker
on Monday
Gandhinagar: The Gu-
jarat govt will hold As-
sembly session on Mon-
day to elect the new
Speaker and Deputy
Speaker.Protemspeaker
Yogesh Patel will chair
the proceedings, till the
Speaker and Deputy
Speaker are elected. The
BJP has nominated
Tharad MLA Shankar
Chaudhary and Shehra
MLA Jethabhai Bhar-
wadasSpeakerandDep-
utySpeakerrespectively
.
BIHAR HOOCH TRAGEDY
DEATH TOLL
SOARS TO 39
In the wake of tragedy, SHO
Ritesh Mishra and Constable
Vikesh Tiwari were suspended in
Chhapra with immediate effect
There is prohibition in Bihar as
sale and consumption of alcohol
were banned in Bihar by the Nitish
Kumar government since April 2016
Saran (ANI): The death
tollintheChhaprahooch
tragedy
, due to the con-
sumption of spurious
liquor, in Bihar’s Saran
district has soared to 39.
In the wake of the
Hooch tragedy in
Chhapra, the Station
House Officer (SHO)
Ritesh Mishra and Con-
stable Vikesh Tiwari
were suspended with
immediate effect on the
recommendation of
Marhaura Sub-Divi-
sional Police Officer,
Yogendra Kumar. Bihar
excise Minister Sunil
Kumar on Wednesday
had “confirmed” six
people have died after
allegedly consuming
spurious liquor in the
Chhapra area of state's
Saran district. The min-
ister vowed that govt
would take “strict ac-
tion” against culprits
responsible for deaths.
“Process of filling an
FIR is underway
. I have
spoken over the phone
with SP. He confirmed
the death of six people
sofar,”SunilKumarhad
said after being asked
about police taking any
action in this case.
EarlieronWednesday
,
Bihar Minister SK Ma-
haseth urged the people
of state to give up drink-
ing alcohol. “Best if you
give up drinking. Poi-
son and not liquor are
coming here. If we build
strength via sports, we
might tolerate it but
people will have to build
that strength. Give it up!
It’s prohibited being
wrongly pushed here,”
said Mahaseth.
BJP MLAs holding placards shout slogans as they stage a protest over the Chhapra hooch tragedy
during the ongoing Winter Session of Bihar Assembly, in Patna on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘JO PIYEGA WOH MAREGA’, SAYS
NITISH AFTER HOOCH TOLL RISES
Patna: After Bihar’s hooch toll climbed, Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar on Thursday warned that if people drink
spurious liquor, they may well die, as the prohibition
policy of his government
came under attack from
various quarters. Political
strategist turned activist
Prashant Kishor described
the state's prohibition law
as a farce and demanded
scrapping of the prohibi-
tion law. Jo piyega woh marega (those who drink
spurious alcohol will die), thundered Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar who stood his ground maintain-
ing that prohibition was “not my personal wish but a
response to the cries of the women of the state”.
BJP’S BIHAR ALLY DEMANDS ENDING
PROHIBITION, SLAMS NITISH KUMAR
New Delhi: BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, headed
by Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, on Thursday
demanded ending prohibition in Bihar, claiming that the
policy has been a failure with a
large number of people dying
due to supply of spurious
liquor. The party alleged that
over 40 people have died in
the hooch tragedy in Saran
and said a delegation of its
MPs led by Paras will meet Bi-
har Governor Phagu Chauhan over the incidents of deaths
in the state due to consumption of spurious liquor and also
the “deteriorating” law-and-order situation. Rashtriya Lok
Janshakti Party spokesperson Shravan Kumar Agrawal
said party members, including its four MPs from the state,
will organise a protest in Patna on December 17 over the
tragedy in Saran. “Prohibition should be ended,” he said.
CRORES DRINK, SHOULD
THEY DIE: SUSHIL MODI
SLAMS BIHAR CM NITISH
New Delhi: Crores of people
drink liquor in the country,
should all of them die, senior
BJP leader
and Rajya
Sabha MP
Sushil Kumar
Modi asked
on Thursday,
slamming
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar for his “jo piyega, woh
marega” jibe as political heat
rises in the state amid mount-
ing toll in a hooch tragedy.
TAKE ACTION AGAINST
BIHAR GOVT: BJP LOK
SABHA MPs TO CENTRE
New Delhi: BJP Lok Sabha
MPs on Thursday termed
the deaths in Bihar due to
the hooch tragedy as “mass
murder” and urged the Centre
to take immediate action
against the government under
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,
holding it responsible for the
incident. Raising the issue
during Zero Hour, BJP’s
Paschim Champaran MP
Sanjay Jaiswal claimed that
spurious liquor sale has been
flourishing in Bihar under the
protection of police officers
despite a prohibition in place.
(Top) Family members and
relatives of people, who died
after allegedly consuming
spurious liquor, mourn near
their mortal remains, at
Ishuapur police station area in
Bihar’s Saran district. (Left) A
victim of Saran hooch tragedy
being treated in Patna Medical
College and Hospital in Patna
on Thursday.
—PHOTOS BY PTI
SIT formed to
probe case;
whip cracked on
errant officials
Chhapra/Patna (PTI):
A special investigation
team (SIT) has been set
up to crack the hooch
case in Saran district of
Bihar, where 26 people
have died and at least 12
others have taken ill
since Tuesday night.
During a press con-
ference in Chhapra, the
district headquarters,
Saran DM Rajesh Mee-
na on Thursday said
that action has been
taken against officials
concerned.
“We have also con-
ducted intensive raids
across the district in the
last48hoursandnabbed
126 hooch traders. More
than 4,000 litres of illicit
liquor have also been
seized,” he said.
Superintendent of Po-
lice Santosh Kumar, who
was also present at the
press conference, de-
clinedtodivulgewhether
the arrested persons in-
cluded those directly in-
volvedinthelatesthooch
case, saying that “the
matter is still under in-
vestigation and disclos-
ing much at this stage
couldhampertheprobe”.
BJP-RULED STATES HAVE ACCOUNTED FOR
MOST HOOCH DEATHS: TEJASHWI YADAV
Patna: Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday launched a
counterattack on the BJP, claiming that states ruled by the saffron
party had the worst track records in terms of spurious liquor deaths.
The RJD leader gave a statement before the media, outside the Assem-
bly which is in session, claiming that Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka
stood at the top in terms of the number of hooch deaths while even
Gujarat, a dry state, fared much worse than Bihar which is under the
spotlight over the Saran hooch tragedy that has killed over 20 people.
“I am reading out from a statement given on the floor of Parlia-
ment by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, who
incidentally hails from Bihar, on July 19... BJP leaders here
may do well to wear this on their chests,” he remarked.

06
INDIA
New Delhi (PTI): The
Indian Air Force, bol-
stered by its full com-
plement of Rafale com-
bat jets, on Thursday
launched a major exer-
cise covering the
Northeastern region
amid a fresh spike of
border tension with
China along the Line of
Actual Control in
Arunachal Pradesh.
The two-day mega ex-
ercise is involving al-
most all its frontline
fighter jets and other
assets deployed in the
region, people familiar
with the drill said. In a
tweet, the IAF said the
last of the 36 Rafale jets
joined the force. The
IAF inducted the Rafale
aircraft into its 101
Squadron of the East-
ern Air Command at
the Hasimara last year.
Al Khor(ANI): Theo
Hernandez and Randal
Kolo Muani’s goals
guide defending cham-
pions France to a 2-0
win over Morocco in
the semi-final being
played here at the Al
Bayt Stadium and set
up a final clash with
two-time champions
Argentina in the FIFA
World Cup 2022.
France started off ag-
gressively as in the fifth
minute Antoine Griez-
mann’s assist helped
Kylian Mbappe take a
left-footed shot from the
centre of the box but it
was blocked.
Theo Hernandez’s
left footed shot from the
left side of the six yard
box went on to hit the
bottom left corner giv-
ing the 2018 champions
a 1-0 lead in the fifth
minute of the match.
Morocco weren’t too
far behind as Noussair
Mazraoui’s assist
helped Azzedine Ouna-
hi’s right-footed at-
tempt from outside the
box was saved in the
bottom right corner.
In the 11th minute,
Antoine Griezmann
tries a through ball, but
Kylian Mbappe was
caught offside.
In the 17th minute,
Achraf Hakimi’s right-
footed shot from outside
the box was blocked
coming from Selim
Amallah’s assist. Ten
minutes later Sofiane
Boufal of Morocco was
shown a yellow card for
a bad foul.
In the 31st minute, So-
fiane Boufal tried a
throughballforMorocco
but Noussair Mazraoui
was caught offside.
Two minutes later
Kylian Mbappe’s assist-
ed Aurelien Tchoua-
meni of France’s right-
footed shot from outside
the box was blocked.
There were numer-
ous attempts made by
defending champions
France but they could
not double their lead go-
ing into half-time with
a solitary goal lead.
France had much
lesser possession of 39
per cent in comparison
to Morocco who had 61
per cent while both
teams had the same
number of shots on tar-
get of three each.
France beat Morocco to set final clash with Argentina
FIFA WORLD CUP 2022
New Delhi (Agencies):
The Lok Sabha on
Thursday passed the
Constitution (Sched-
uled Tribes) Order (Sec-
ond Amendment) Bill,
2022. The Bill will
amend the Constitution
(Scheduled Tribes) Or-
der, 1950, with respect to
its application to Tamil
Nadu. The Order lists
the tribal communities
deemed to be Scheduled
Tribes in states and un-
ion territories.
The bill includes
Narikoravan and Kuri-
vikkaran communities
in the list of Scheduled
Tribes in Tamil Nadu.
Replying to the discus-
sion on the Bill, Union
Minister for Tribal Af-
fairs Arjun Munda said
that under the leader-
ship of PM Modi many
schemes have been ini-
tiated by government
for benefit of tribals.
Expenditure on
scholarship for tribals
has been increased and
government has al-
lowed all applications
which come for scholar-
ship. Many other mem-
bers including Malook
Nagar of BSP, Saugata
Ray of Trinamool con-
gress participated.
LOK SABHA PASSES (ST) ORDER (2ND
AMENDMENT) BILL
The Order lists Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran tribal communities deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in States and Union territories from now on
Proceedings of Lok Sabha underway during the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI/SANSAD TV
New Delhi (PTI): The
government on Thurs-
day asserted that nu-
clear plants in the coun-
try are ‘well protected’
from intrusions includ-
ing from cyber attacks.
Minister of State (Inde-
pendent Charge), De-
partment of Atomic
Energy, Jitendra Singh
also said the govern-
ment has entered into
I n t e r- G ove r n m e n t
Agreements with the
Russian Federation for
setting up Kudankulam
Nuclear Power Project.
He was asked about
the steps being taken by
the government to pre-
vent cyber attacks on
nuclear plants. Cer-
tainly there was one
such report last year
following which we
have put in place a
mechanism whereby
different levels of
screening is done and
monitoring is done.
I can assure this
House that the nuclear
plants are well protect-
ed from all kinds of in-
trusions including the
cyber attacks, Singh
said in Rajya Sabha.
Nuclearplantsare‘wellprotected’fromallintrusions:Govt
New Delhi (PTI): An
additional 1,400 CISF
personnel have been
sanctioned to secure ex-
panding terminal areas
of Delhi Airport and
also to meet the chal-
lenge of its growing
passenger traffic, offi-
cials said on Thursday
.
This was conveyed at
high-level meeting
chaired by Union Home
Secretary Ajay Bhalla
along with the repre-
sentatives of the Civil
Aviation Ministry, the
Bureau of Civil Avia-
tion Security (BCAS),
Bureau of Immigration
among others.
Meeting was called to
review measures taken
to ease the recent con-
gestion reported at
large airports, particu-
larly in Delhi, Mumbai
and Bengaluru.
It was informed dur-
ing the meeting that an
additional force of 1,400
Central Industrial Se-
curity Force personnel
would soon be deployed
at the Indira Gandhi In-
ternational Airport
where expansion is go-
ing on at three termi-
nals — 1, 2 and 3 — apart
from its cargo area.
1,400 more CISF
personnel to be
deployed at IGI
CISF personnel at New Delhi airport. —FILE PHOTO
French team celebrates after France qualifies for the FIFA World
Cup 2022 finals, at Al Bayt Stadium, in Al Khor on Thursday.
Indian Air Force’s ‘Surya Kiran’ team performs during the ‘Air Fest
2022’, in Nagpur on Saturday. —PHOTO BY ANI
GROWING TRAFFIC
IAF carries out air exercise in N-E region
1 DEAD, 41 HURT
AS TWO BUSES
COLLIDE IN INDORE
2 KILLED BY
ELEPHANTS IN
JHARKHAND
Indore (PTI): A 25-year-
old passenger died, while
41 others were injured,
four of them seriously,
in a collision between
two private buses on the
Indore-Khandwa road in
MP on Thursday, police
and health officials said.
Accident took place under
Simrol police station limits
in Indore district when two
buses coming from op-
posite directions collided
with each other, a police
official said.
Jharkhand: Two villagers
were trampled to death at
different places by a wild
elephant in Dumka district
on Tuesday, a forest
department official said.
Thirty-five-year-year-old
Sibudhan Hansda was
caught by the elephant
and trampled to death in
Fatehpur village under
the jurisdiction of Maslia
police station in the
morning, Divisional Forest
Officer (DFO) Abhirup
Sinha said.
Raipur: A 14-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly
raping and killing an eight-year-old girl in Raipur, a police
officer said on Thursday. The boy
lives in the same building where the
minor girl was staying. Raipur SSP
Prashant Agarwal said, “A missing
complaint on the eight-year-old
girl was received on December 7
evening. Acting on the complaint,
the police registered a case and started searching for the
girl.” “Five days later, the minor girl was found dead at a
deserted place just behind the colony where she lived.”
Jammu: Security forces have busted a Pak ISI-run narcot-
ics trafficking racket with arrest of a school-going girl
living along the Line of Control
(LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir,
official sources said Thursday.
Juvenile, a student of class ten,
lives in a village ahead of LoC
fence in the Mendhar sector
of the Poonch district and has
been apprehended with 400
grams of “suspected heroin” in a joint operation conduct-
ed by the BSF and Police.
TEEN HELD FOR RAPING, ABDUCTING
KILLING 8-YR-OLD GIRL IN CHHATTISGARH
ISI-RUN DRUGS NEXUS BUSTED WITH
ARREST OF JUVENILE GIRL FROM LOC
CRUCIAL READ
WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
MAN KILLS LIVE-
IN PARTNER IN
TRIVANDRUM
MAULVI BOOKED
FOR RAPING
MINOR IN DELHI
Thiruvananthapuram
(Kerala) (ANI): Kerala Po-
lice on Thursday took into
custody a man accused of
killing his live-in partner
in broad daylight in Kerala
capital Thiruvananthapur-
am. Rajesh, the accused,
allegedly attacked his part-
ner Sindu with a machete,
a sword-like weapon, on
Thursday morning. The
victim was rushed to the
hospital but was declared
brought dead.
New Delhi: A cleric
(Maulvi) has been booked
for allegedly raping a
12-year-old minor in Sarai
Rohilla area. The accused
has been identified as
Mohammad Isran. Going
by a report, Muslim cleric
sedated the minor and
had unnatural sex several
times. “A 12-year-old boy
was raped by an Ulema of
a Madrasa. The accused
is absconding,” said DCP
North Delhi, Sagar S Kalsi.
New Delhi (PTI): Opposition members in RS on Thurs-
day said the government should take a holistic approach
by coordinating across various ministries
and bringing agencies together to tackle
the effects of global warming. Tiruchi
Siva of the DMK, Pramod Tiwari of the
Congress and Sandosh Kumar P of the
Communist Party of India (CPI) raised a
short duration discussion in the Upper
House of Parliament on the serious effects of global
warming and the need for remedial steps to tackle those.
Siva said global warming is threatening not just India
but the entire planet and humanity.
OPPN ASKS GOVT TO TAKE MEASURES TO
TACKLE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING
‘DURING LAST 7
YRS, 6 MORE
AIRPORTS
CONSTRUCTED’
‘60L PLUS
COMPLAINTS
AGAINST STATES,
UTs IN PAST 3 YRS’
New Delhi (FIB): There
were 24 international air-
ports in the country before
2014. During last seven
years, 6 more airports
have been constructed/
declared as international
airports. During the last
seven years, four Green-
field airports namely,
Kannur in Kerala, Shirdi in
Maharashtra, Kushinagar
in Uttar Pradesh and Mopa
in Goa have been con-
structed as international
airports. In addition, two
existing airports namely,
Vijayawada and Tirupati
in Andhra Pradesh were
declared as international
airports in the year 2017,
said MoS (Civil Aviation)
Gen VK Singh (Retd).
New Delhi (PTI): Over
60 lakh public grievances
were received against
various states and Union
territories between 2020
and November this year,
the Rajya Sabha was
informed on Thurs-
day. “About 60,15,388
complaints have been
received on Central-
ized Public Grievance
Redress and Monitoring
System (CPGRAMS)
during the last three
years from 01.01.2020 to
30.11.2022,” Union Minis-
ter of State for Personnel
Jitendra Singh said in a
written reply, “CPGRAMS
allows filing of public
grievances against central
States govt Dept.”
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth
Sciences Jitendra Singh speaks in Rajya Sabha during the Winter
Session of Parliament on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
177 FOREIGN SATELLITES LAUNCHED BY ISRO
Noida: Noida Power
Company Limited has
granted net-metering
connections of around
24 MW to various con-
sumers under the Roof-
top Solar PV Regula-
tions of the Hon’ble U.P.
Electricity Regulatory
Commission (UPERC).
Under the net-metering
arrangement, consum-
ers can inject surplus
generation of their so-
lar plants into the grid,
which can be utilised by
them on needed.
NPCL formed a dedi-
cated roof-top solar PV
cell to facilitate residen-
tial and agricultural
consumers' applica-
tions for net metering
connections. Consum-
ers may seek informa-
tion on procedure for
the installation of a net
meter for their roof-top
solar PV plants through
e-mail (rooftopsolar@
noidapower.com). Con-
sumers may aapproach
NPCL’s Customer Care.
NPCLformsdedicatedroof-topsolar
PV cell to facilitate consumers
NPCL BECOMES
STRICT ON
MULTI-POINT
CONNECTIONS
Noida Power Compa-
ny Limited will now
deal strictly with those
builders and societies
that are reluctant to
convert single point
connections into
multipoint connections.
The company has sent
notices to 9 builders
in Greater Noida and
Greater Noida West,
asking them to install
multipoint connections
at the earliest.
5 RAFALE PARTS
MADE IN DRAL TO
BE INTEGRATED
Nagpur (PTI): Five Rafale
parts being manufactured
in the Dassault Reliance
Aerospace plant in Nagpur
are sent to France to get fit-
ted in all the Rafale jets, not
just the Indian ones. Consul
General of France in Mumbai
Jean-Marc Sere-Charlet and
a delegation of regional eco-
nomic service of embassy
visited two French compa-
nies (DRAL) Air Liquide.
—PHOTO
BY
ANI

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 55,554.00 420.00 0.75 (Per 10g)
SILVER 68,254.00 869.00 1.27 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.76 0.27 0.32
GBPINR 102.28 0.08 0.08
CURRENCIES
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Electronics
manufacturing services
company Elin Electronics
on Thursday fixed a price
band of `234 to `247 per
share for its `475 crore
IPO. The initial share-sale
will open for public sub-
scription during Decem-
ber 20-22, the company
said in a statement. The
company has cut the pub-
lic issue size to `475
crore from `760 crore
planned earlier. Now, the
IPO comprises fresh is-
sue of shares aggregating
up to `175 crore and an
offer for sale of up to
`300 crore by promoters
and other selling share-
holders. —PTI
ELIN ELECTRONICS’
IPO PRICE BAND AT
`234-247/SHARE
New Delhi: Gold price fell
`420 to `54,554 per 10
grams in the national cap-
ital on Thursday amid
weak global trends, ac-
cording to HDFC Securi-
ties. In the previous trade,
the precious metal had
closed at `54,974 per 10
grams. Silver also tum-
bled `869 per kg to
`68,254 per kilogram. In
the international market,
gold was trading in red at
$1,788 per ounce while
silver was down at $23.14
per ounce. —PTI
GOLD FALLS `420;
SILVER ALSO
TUMBLES `869
New Delhi: Hyundai Mo-
tor India Ltd on Thursday
said it will increase prices
of its vehicles across
models from next month
citing rising input cost.
The company joins the
likes of market leader
Maruti Suzuki India, Tata
Motors, Mercedes-Benz,
Audi, Renault, Kia India
and MG Motor, who have
also made the year-end
announcements to hike
prices from next month to
partially offset the impact
of rising input costs. In a
statement, Hyundai Motor
India Ltd (HMIL) said on
Thursday. —PTI
HYUNDAI TO HIKE
VEHICLE PRICES
FROM JANUARY
Mumbai: Led by retail-fo-
cused players, non-bank-
ing financial companies
(NBFCs) are likely to
close the current fiscal
and the next with a loan
growth of 10-12% and
see around 50 basis
points improvement in
profitability, a report said.
According to Icra Ratings,
retail-focused NBFCs are
expected to grow 12-14%
while the housing finance
companies may grow at
10-12%. The forecast is
based on the asset quality
improvement and the
overall pick up in credit
demand. —PTI
REPORT SEES NBFCs
GROWING AT 10-12%
THIS FISCAL NEXT
*Rates till the edition went to print.
GOVERNMENT’S SHARE
SALE IN IRCTC
OVER-SUBSCRIBED
New Delhi: The sale of gov-
ernment’s up to 5% stake in
IRCTC got over-subscribed on
the first day of
the offer, with
institutional
investors
putting in
bids worth `3,800 crore. In
the two-day OFS, the govt is
selling 4 crore shares or 5%
stake in IRCTC at a floor price
of `680 a share. The OFS
consists of base issue size of
2 crore shares or 2.5% stake,
with an option to retain over-
subscription. —PTI
IREDA TO LEND RUPEES
4,444 CRORE TO SJVN
GREEN ENERGY
New Delhi: IREDA on Thurs-
day said that it has inked a
loan pact with SJVN Green
Energy for
financing Rs
4,444.71 crore
for latter’s
1,000MW so-
lar power project at Bikaner in
Rajasthan. “Indian Renewable
Energy Development Agency
Ltd signed a historic loan
agreement for Rs 4,444.71
crore with SGEL, a subsidiary
of SJVN Ltd, today for a 1,000
MW solar power project at Bi-
kaner,” a statement said. —PTI
‘BUILDING, OTHER CONSTRUCTION WORKERS
BOARDS HAVE `38,209 CR LYING WITH THEM’
New Delhi: Building and other construction workers’ boards in
states and UTs have `38,209.59 crore lying with them which was
collected through cess from construc-
tion firms as on November 1, 2022. The
BOCW Welfare Cess Act, 1996 provides
that state/UT governments are mandated
to collect the cess. State/UT BOCW-
WBs are also mandated to maintain the
data of financial status (cess details),
registered workers etc. MoS for Labour
Rameswar Teli said state BOCWWBs collected `87,478.79 crore
cess and spent `49,269.20 crore till November 1, 2022. —PTI
COUNTRIES WITH THRIVING ONLINE GAMING
INDUSTRY LEVY GST ON GROSS GAMING REVENUE
New Delhi: Most countries with a thriving online gaming industry
levy tax on ‘Gross Gaming Revenue or the fees charged by online
gaming portals, said a report by law
firm Lakshmikumaran Sridharan. It
said countries, like the United Kingdom
and France, that are following the turno-
ver tax model currently, are proposing
to shift to the GGR tax model. In India,
the online gaming industry currently
pays GST at the rate of 18% on GGR
amounting to over `2,200 crore per year, firm said. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
SAYS CREDIT SUISSE
Upgrade: India
growing faster than
official data shows
Mumbai (PTI): India is
growing faster than what
is captured by the coun-
try’s official data, and it
presents a case for an up-
grade of equities outlook,
a Swiss brokerage said on
Thursday
.
Upgrading Indian equi-
ties to ‘benchmark’ from
‘underweight’, Credit Sui-
sse said there is a scope for
a growth of up to 14% on
the benchmark indices.
The brokerage firm’s
head of research Neel-
kanth Mishra said the
country will grow at 7% in
FY24, as against the con-
sensus estimates which
peg the real growth to slip
below 6%.
Mishra told reporters
that the consensus esti-
mates are based on official
data alone, whereas the
brokerage analysis has
taken into account a broad
data set to arrive at its ex-
pectation.
Mishra said the growth
in dense fuels — which is
typically below the real
GDP growth as fuel effi-
ciencies go up — is over 4%
per annum for the last
three years.
Similarly, revenue
growths of the BSE500
companies also point out to
a faster growth, he said.
MAJOR
HIGHLIGHTS
z Upgrading Indian equities
to ‘benchmark’ from
‘underweight’, Credit Suisse
said there is a scope for a
growth of up to 14% on the
benchmark indices
z The brokerage firm’s head of
research Neelkanth Mishra
said the country will grow at
7% in FY24
‘Govt focusing on last-mile
connectivitytoTier-IIIcities’
New Delhi (PTI): Civil
Aviation Minister Jyotira-
ditya Scindia on Thursday
said the government is con-
centrating on last-mile con-
nectivity to Tier-III cities to
ensure democratisation of
civil aviationinthecountry
.
Scindia said India has
tremendous connectivity
between Tier I-II cities.
“What needs to be
strengthened is last-mile
connectivity to Tier-III cit-
ies. Our government is
concentrating on last-mile
connectivity to make sure
the democratisation of
civil aviation does truly
take place in the country,”
Scindia said.
The minister said the
government is looking at
the small aircraft scheme
launched last year under
which sub-20 seater air-
craft are being used to pro-
vide last-mile connectivity
.
In the last round of
UDAN, 132 routes have
been awarded of which in
the major sectors, 16 are
helicopter routes.
PAR PANEL GRILLS
DELHI AIRPORT
OFFICIALS OVER
CONGESTION
New Delhi (PTI): Members of a
Parliamentary panel on Thursday
questioned officials of Delhi
airport operator DIAL about
congestion at the airport. The
officials assured that the issues
will be resolved by the end of
this month. DIAL Deputy MD K
Narayanarao told reporters after
the meeting, “We are working
with the government (to deal
with congestion). We have been
increasing the number of screen-
ing machines at the airport.
Everything will be resolved by
the end of this month.” He also
said there is no conflict between
private security guards and CISF
personnel.
New Delhi (PTI): India’s civil aviation market is poised for a double-digit growth
in the next decade and the country’s carriers should have more wide-body planes
to capture the long haul segment, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia
said on Thursday. “We have 86 international carriers coming into India and only
5 national carriers taking people to international destinations outside India. How-
ever, these 5 carriers that fly overseas hold 36% market share. We have to look at
increasing international to international traffic. That is why I have been urging all
our carriers that we need to have more wide-body aircraft so that we can capture
the long haul route market,” he said. He also said that Indian carriers’ share of
international to international traffic is only around 2% compared to flag
carriers of different countries.
INDIAN CARRIERS NEED TO HAVE MORE WIDE-BODY
PLANES TO CAPTURE LONG-HAUL SEGMENT: SCINDIA
Sensex slumps 879
points as hawkish Fed
floors global markets
Mumbai (PTI): Equity
benchmarks Sensex and
Nifty faced heavy drubbing
on Thursday, falling over
1% each, in tandem with
weak global markets fol-
lowing the US Federal Re-
serve’s interest rate hike
and its hawkish stance.
The 30-share BSE Sensex
tanked 878.88 points or
1.40% to settle at 61,799.03.
During the day, it tumbled
962.3 points or 1.53% to
61,715.61.
The broader NSE Nifty
plummeted 245.40 points or
1.32% to end at 18,414.90.
From the Sensex pack,
Tech Mahindra, Titan, In-
fosys, HDFC, ITC, Tata
Steel, HDFC Bank, Tata
Consultancy Services, and
State Bank of India were
the major laggards.
NTPC and Sun Pharma
were the only winners.
INDIAN RUPEE FALLS 27 PAISE TO END AT
82.76 AGAINST AMERICAN CURRENCY
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee declined by 27 paise to close at 82.76
(provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday after the US Federal
Reserve’s interest rate hike and its hawkish stance dented investor
sentiments. At the inter-
bank foreign exchange
market, the rupee
opened sharply lower at
82.63 against the green-
back and witnessed a
high of 82.41 and a low
of 82.77. It finally settled
at 82.76, down 27 paise
over its previous close
of 82.49.
Elon Musk sells $3.58 bn worth of Tesla stock
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Elon Musk
sold another $3.58 billion
worth of Tesla stock this
week, but it wasn’t clear
where the proceeds were
being spent.
The Tesla CEO, and new
owner of Twitter, sold the
shares from Monday
through Wednesday, ac-
cording to a filing posted
Wednesday night by the US
Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Musk has sold nearly $23
billion worth of Tesla stock
since April, with much of
the money likely going to
help fund his $44 billion ac-
quisition of Twitter.
The sale comes as shares
of the electric vehicle and
solar panel maker have col-
lapsed, losing over half
their value since Musk
first disclosed in April that
he was buying up Twitter
stock. The falling shares
have bumped Musk from
his status as the world’s
wealthiest person, with his
net worth falling to $174 bil-
lion, according to Forbes.
He was passed last week
by Bernard Arnault.
The takeover of Twitter
has not been smooth, and
some big companies have
halted advertising on the
social media platform.
Musk has said that Twit-
ter had “a massive drop in
revenue” due to the adver-
tiser losses.
SOLD SHARE
ON MON-WED
z The Tesla CEO, and new
owner of Twitter, sold
the shares from Monday
through Wednesday,
according to a filing posted
Wed by the US Securities
and Exchange Commission
Wheat stocks seen at 159 lakh
tonnes on Jan 1, 2023: Govt
New Delhi (PTI): The gov-
ernment on Thursday said
wheat stocks in the central
pool will be about 159 lakh
tonnes on January 1, 2023
as against the buffer norm
of 138 lakh tonnes.
“Government of India
has sufficient food grain
stocks under central pool
to meet the requirement of
NFSA and its other welfare
schemes as well as for ad-
ditional allocation of PMG-
KAY,” an official statement
said. About 159 lakh tonnes
of wheat will be available
asonJanuary1,2023,which
is well above the buffer
norm requirement of 138
lakh tonnes. As on Dec 12,
around 182 lakh tonnes of
wheat is available in the
central pool. “Govt of India
is well aware of the price
scenario of wheat and is
constantly monitoring it
regularly on weekly basis
along with other commodi-
ties and taking corrective
measures, as and when re-
quired,” it said.
Avg construction cost stable since March
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The total con-
struction cost of residen-
tial buildings has remained
stable since March this
year but it has risen 28%
from the pre-pandemic lev-
els, according to property
consultant Colliers India.
In its report, the consult-
ant has done analysis on
prices of key construction
materials and also the over-
all average construction
costs for standard Grade-A
residential buildings of 15
floors and also for standard
pre-engineered Grade A in-
dustrial buildings.
The average cost of con-
struction for residential
buildings increased from
`2,200 per square feet in No-
vember 2021 to `2,300 per
square feet in March 2022.
The construction cost re-
mained stable at `2,300 per
square feet in November
this year as well with a sof-
tening of prices of many
raw materials.
UP 28% FROM PRE-PANDEMIC LEVEL
DETAILED
ANALYSIS
z In its report, Colliers India
has done analysis on
prices of key construction
materials and also the
overall average construction
costs for standard Grade-A
residential buildings of 15
floors. Colliers India has
also analysed for its report
standard pre-engineered
Grade A industrial buildings

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