RNI NO.

: DELENG/2005/15351
MILLENNIUMPOST.IN

PUBLISHED FROM DELHI | KOLKATA | SILIGURI VOL.19, ISSUE 42 | Monday, 12 February, 2024 | New Delhi | Pages 12 | Rs 5.00
No Half Truths

City: Pg 3 Nation: Pg 5 Film: Pg 12

BJP-led Centre has stalled AAP govt’s Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay ‘Watching Bigg Boss 17
doorstep ration delivery scheme: Atishi Yatra’ resumes in Chhattisgarh is traumatic’

BARBED WIRE, BARRICADES ON BORDERS AS CAPITAL BRACES FOR FARMERS’ MARCH
Ahead of ‘Delhi Chalo’ march, Haryana,
Delhi seal borders, impose restrictions
Opposition and farmers condemn border blockage, demand dialogue from authorities
OUR CORRESPONDENT
CHANDIGARH/NEW
DELHI: Ahead of the farmers’
proposed ‘Delhi Chalo’ march
on February 13, the Haryana
government has sealed the
state’s border with Punjab in
Ambala district and suspended
mobile internet and bulk SMS
services in seven districts.
Additionally, officials reported
that prohibitory orders under
Section 144, which bans large
gatherings, have been imposed
in the northeast district of
Delhi.
Besides imposing prohibi-
tory orders, authorities have
put up concrete blocks, road
spike barriers and barbed wires
to prevent the entry of vehi-
cles and deploying thousands
of police personnel.
Meanwhile, Opposition
parties and farmer groups
criticised the decision to block
borders and prevent protest-
ers from entering the national
capital on Sunday. Authorities,
however, justified the imposi-
tion of restrictions “to main-
tain law and order” and cited
the 2020-21 agitation against
Police barricades put up at Shambhu border (Punjab-Haryana)
the now-repealed three farm
laws that had stretched to over
a year.
Among their demands,
the farmers are advocating for
enactment of a law to guaran-
tee a minimum support price
(MSP), the implementation
of the Swaminathan Com-
mission’s recommendations,
pensions for farmers and agri-
cultural workers, farm loan for-
giveness, withdrawal of police
charges, and “justice” for the
victims of the Lakhimpur
Kheri violence.
At Shambhu near Ambala
district, Haryana authorities
have placed concrete blocks,
sandbags, barbed wire and
anti-riot vehicles on the road
to foil the farmers’ proposed
march to the national capital
on February 13.
Extraordinary steps were
taken to seal the borders by
installing iron sheets along the
two sides of the road on the
Ghaggar flyover to prevent pro-
testers from throwing police
Highlights
»»Haryana seals border,
blocks internet in 7
districts
»»Delhi bans gatherings,
deploys security
»»Farmers seek MSP
law and Swaminathan
Commission’s
recommendations
among other demands
»»Authorities fortify
borders with concrete,
barbed wire
»»Traffic advisories is-
sued, alternative routes
suggested
barricades off it. Water can-
nons and Vajra vehicles have
been stationed and the Ghag-
gar river bed has been dug up
so that tractors cannot be plied.
Police have also made elab-
orate arrangements at Hary-
na’s borders with Punjab in Jind
and Fatehabad districts to stop
the march. In Fatehabad, con-
crete blocks and spike strips
have been placed on a road in
the Jakhal area.
At the Tohana border in
the district, authorities have
placed sand-laden containers
and concrete barricades and
cemented three layers of nails
on the road. In Jind, two roads
near the Haryana-Punjab bor-
der have been shut for vehicu-
lar movement and restrictions
imposed on two more roads,
officials said on Sunday.
Apprehending the distur-
bance of peace because of the
proposed march, the Haryana
government has suspended
mobile internet services and
bulk SMS in seven districts —
Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal,
Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa
— from February 11 to 13.
Meanwhile, the Centre
has invited farmers’ organisa-
tions to hold another meeting
to discuss their demands on
February 12. The Samyukta
Kisan Morcha (Non-Politi-
cal) and the Kisan Mazdoor
Morcha had announced the
‘Delhi Chalo’ march by more
than 200 farmers’ unions on...
Continued on P4
BJP announces 14
names for RS polls,
relies on new faces
Former Congress leader R P N
Singh among nominees
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Key points
NEW DELHI: The BJP on
Sunday named 14 candidates
for the upcoming Rajya Sabha
polls, including former Union
minister R P N Singh and Sud-
hanshu Trivedi, the only out-
going MP renominated by the
party.
Union Minister Rajeev
Chandrasekhar, representing
Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha,
and BJP chief spokesperson
and media head Anil Baluni,
the outgoing MP from Utta-
rakhand, have been replaced
with fresh faces, indicating
their potential candidacy
in the upcoming Lok Sabha
polls.
Among the new can-
didates are Narayansa K
Bhandage from Karnataka
and Devendra Pratap Singh
from Chhattisgarh, individ-
uals relatively unknown but
recognised for their dedicated
service to the party, a qual-
ity esteemed by the current
BJP leadership. Singh, hailing
from the erstwhile Gond royal
family, replaces Saroj Pandey.
Besides RPN Singh and
Trivedi, other nominees for
the Rajya Sabha from UP are:
Chudhary Tejveer Singh, Sad-
»»Only one incumbent,
Sudhanshu Trivedi,
renominated from UP
»»No Union Ministers on list
»»New faces like
Narayansa K Bhandage
and Devendra Pratap
Singh on list
»»Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra
candidates yet to be
named
hana Singh, Amarpal Maurya,
Sangeeta Balwant and Naveen
Jain. The state has the high-
est number of vacancies of 10
seats.
With the exception of
Trivedi, none of the nine out-
going BJP MPs from Uttar
Pradesh, including Anil
Jain, Anil Agrawal, and G
V L Narasimha Rao, were
renominated.
RPN Singh, belonging
to the politically significant
Krumi caste, was formerly
with the Congress serving as
a minister in the UPA govern-
ment before joining the BJP.
Continued on P4

In today’s Trust vote in Bihar today; Cong MLAs arrive 'Education based on India's
paper in Patna, all parties keeping their flock intact core values is need of hour'
... OUR CORRESPONDENT
MPOST BUREAU
RJD and the Left, at Yadav’s ter Nitish Kumar’s surprise gathbandhan has a total of
City official residence 5, Deshratna return to the BJP-led NDA 114 MLAs in its favour - eight TANKARA (GUJARAT): In a virtual
THREE ARRESTED FOR ROBBERY  2 PATNA: With the crucial Marg. fold. short of the majority mark address marking the 200th birthday
trust vote scheduled for Mon- Bihar Congress CLP The NDA is comfortably of 122. of Arya Samaj founder and reformer
Nation day in Bihar, Congress legisla- leader Dr Shakeel Ahmed placed, having a combined Hectic political activity Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Prime Min-
tors who have been staying in Khan said the Congress is strength of 128 MLAs in the marked Sunday in Bihar’s ister Modi advocated for an overhaul of
DMK ANNOUNCES ‘WAR ROOM’ 5 Telangana for a week returned united. “The truth will win. 243-member state Assembly. capital on the eve of the trust India’s education system, arguing that
Edit to Patna on Sunday evening Khela hoga, our fight is for Nonetheless, the Con- vote. After the JD(U) meet- it should be grounded in the country’s
and went straight to the resi- social and economic justice,’’ gress, which has only 19 ing, JDU MLA Gopal Mandal core values. Indian values is the need of the hour.
CHARTING A STABLE COURSE 7 dence of former Deputy Chief he said. MLAs, feared that its legisla- said only two to three MLAs Modi hailed the social reformer Arya Samaj schools have been a centre
Minister and RJD leader The ‘Mahagathbandhan’ tors might split ahead of the could not attend the meeting. who had called for the Indian society to for this. The country is now expanding
International Tejashwi Yadav. as the Congress, RJD and trust vote and sent them over He asserted there will not be return to the Vedas at a time when peo- it through the National Education Pol-
The Congress legislators Left combine lost power in to Telangana, a state ruled by “any khela’’ and the NDA gov- ple were trapped in slavery and super- icy. It is our responsibility to connect the
45 DRONES LAUNCHED IN UKR 8 will be staying, until Monday, January as a result of JD(U) the party. ernment will win the trust vote stitions engulfed the country. society with these efforts,” Modi said.
Business with their counterparts from president and Chief Minis- The Opposition Maha- on Monday.  Continued on P4 “An education system based on Continued on P4

4 OF TOP-10 COS ADD `2.18L CR 10

HALDWANI VIOLENCE HEARTBREAK FOR INDIA
Uttarakhand govt seeks four
Sport
U19: AUS BEAT INDIA 11

Govt data shows 80% of companies of central forces

36,640 organ transplants MPOST BUREAU
Curfew remains
between 1995 and 2021 HALDWANI (UTTARA-
KHAND): Officials on Sunday
in force in
were performed on men said that the Uttarakhand gov-
ernment has requested additional
Banbhoopura area
but has been lifted
central forces for deployment in
MPOST BUREAU Haldwani following the outbreak from the outer areas
of violence on February 8, trig- of the town
NEW DELHI: More gered by the demolition of an
than 80 per cent of “unauthorised” madrassa. maintain law and order in the Banbhoolpura and the roads are
the total 36,640 organ They mentioned that Chief Banbhoolpura area, where the deserted.
transplants performed Secretary Radha Raturi has for- mob violence originated. Internet services also con-
between 1995 and 2021 warded a request to the Home Curfew remains in force in tinue to be suspended in the area
were received by men, Ministry for four companies, Banbhoopura area but has been to prevent rumour-mongering
according to govern- each comprising approximately lifted from the outer areas of the through social media platforms.
ment data presented in 100 personnel, of the Central town. Nearly 1,100 security per- Six rioters were killed while Australia’s U19’s Mahli Beardman celebrates the wicket of Uday Pratap Saharan during the ICC U19 men’s
Lok Sabha on February Paramilitary Forces. These forces sonnel are already deployed in 60 people were injured in Thurs- Cricket World Cup Final between India and Australia, in Benoni, South Africa, on Sunday See P11
9. This translates to a roughly 4:1 ratio in favour are intended to help restore and the town. Shops are still shut in day’s violence, officials said.
of men. While the government acknowledges
this disparity and has taken steps to address it,
the share of transplants received by women has
PAKISTAN FACES HUNG PARLIAMENT AFTER INCONCLUSIVE ELECTION RESULTS

Imran-backed Independents top Pak polls

only increased slightly from 27.6 per cent in 2019
to nearly 30 per cent in 2022.
In a written response to a question, Minister
of State for Health S P Singh Baghel said that of
the total transplants, 29,695 were performed on
men and 6,945 on women.
The answer came in response to a ques-
tion asked by YSR Congress Party MP Kuruva
Gorantla Madhav. Madhav had asked if the gov-
ernment has taken cognisance of the fact that
between 1995 and 2021, four out of five organ
recipients have been men in the country and
what are the steps taken to address the issue.
In his response, Baghel said the government
has implemented the National Organ Transplant
Programme under which steps have been taken
to raise awareness on organ donation.
In order to narrow down the trend of gender
disparity in organ transplants, the Ministry of
Health has been conducting regular awareness
and sensitisation sessions, he said.
Activities have been organised on various
ethical aspects of organ donation and trans-
plantation for different stakeholders such as
state government representatives, legal repre-
sentatives, police personnel, non-governmental
organisations, healthcare professionals of Insti-
tutions/hospitals, etc.
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Pak-
istan’s election commission on
Sunday declared the final result
of Thursday’s general elections
in which independent candidates
backed by jailed former prime
minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party got
the biggest piece of the cake by
winning 101 seats.
They were followed by three-
time former Nawaz Sharif ’s Pak-
istan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N) with 75 seats, which
technically is the single largest
party in Parliament.
The Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP) acquired 54 seats, while the
Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi
Movement Pakistan (MQM-P)
secured 17 seats. Other minor
parties clinched the remaining 12
seats. The three primary political
factions intensified their efforts
to forge a coalition government
following indications of a hung
Parliament after general elec-
tions fraught with allegations of
rigging.
Key players
»PML-N
» largest party with 75 seats, led by
former PM Nawaz Sharif. Seeking coalition
with MQM-P (17 seats) and others
»Former
» PM Bilawal Bhutto’s party PPP
claims 54 seats, demanding PM slot and key
ministries for support
»Imran
» Khan’s party PTI with 101 seats
ineligible for formal alliance due to symbol
issues, but claims right to form government
Although the general elec- Nawaz Sharif garnered sup-
tions took place on Thursday, port from the influential Paki-
the announcement of results stan Army chief, General Asim
faced an unusual delay, souring Munir, on Saturday, endorsing
the atmosphere as several parties Sharif ’s call for a unity govern-
raised accusations of malpractice, ment to address Pakistan’s ongo-
prompting some to stage protests. ing challenges.
Amid allegations of vote
tampering and prolonged result
announcements, the Elec-
tion Commission of Pakistan
(ECP) released results for 264
out of 265 contested seats in the
266-member National Assembly
on Sunday. The outcome of one
constituency was withheld due to
fraud complaints, while one seat’s
election was postponed following
a candidate’s demise.
For government formation, a
party must secure 133 seats out of
the 265 contested in the National
Assembly, or 169 seats out of the
total 336, including slots reserved
for women and minorities, to be
determined later through pro-
portional representation.
PML-N led the charge in
forming a coalition government,
akin to the one established after
Khan’s removal in April 2022.
Party leader Nawaz Sharif
entrusted his younger brother,
former Premier Shehbaz Sharif,
with negotiations on this matter.
PML-N leaders convened
with MQM-P counterparts in
Lahore on Sunday, reaching a
“principle agreement” to collab-
orate in the upcoming govern-
ment, as per a statement from
Sharif ’s party. They emphasised
working in the nation’s interest
and outlined fundamental agree-
ments between the parties.
MQM-P leader Haider Rizvi
indicated his party’s preference
for PML-N due to their non-
competing stance in Karachi,
unlike PPP and other parties.
Continued on P4
2 City millenniumpost
MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024 | NEW DELHI

TWO ARRESTED FOR MURDER Two minors killed 17-year-old

Body of 16-year-old boy found
in Gr Noida canal after 13 days
DIPIKA KIROLA
GREATER NOIDA: The
Gautam Buddh Nagar police
have recovered the body of a
16-year-old boy who was miss-
ing for the past 13-days, said
police officials on Sunday. Cops
said that the body was recov-
ered from a river in Rabupura
area of Greater Noida.
According to police, on Jan-
uary 30, the victim, Vaibhav
Bansal went missing and the
family lodged a missing com-
plaint. Nearly a week after,
police investigations rounded
up on the involvement of two
persons from another commu-
nity for killing the boy.
Police arrested Maaz
Pathan (18) and his 15-year
old associate and revealed
that the boy was killed follow-
ing an argument over pho-
tographs of a female in the
victim’s phone. Both of them
confessed to committing the
crime and informed police that
they dumped the body in the
Khareli river of Greater Noida
after murder.
Highlights
»»According to police,
on January 30, the
victim, Vaibhav Bansal
went missing and the
family lodged a missing
complaint
»»Nearly a week after,
police investigations
rounded up on the
involvement of two
persons from
another community for
killing the boy
»»Police arrested Maaz
Pathan (18) and his
15-year old associate
and revealed that the
boy was killed following
an argument over
photographs of a female
in the victim’s phone
Cops from Gautam Buddh
Nagar, Bulandshahr Agra,
Mathura and Aligarh districts
began tracing the body and
VICTIM VAIBHAV BANSAL
»»Both of them confessed to
committing the crime and
informed police that they
dumped the body in the
Khareli river of Greater
Noida after murder
»»Cops from Gautam Buddh
Nagar, Bulandshahr Agra,
Mathura and Aligarh
districts began tracing the
body and NDRF teams
were also roped in
»»‘During investigation, the
two accused told police
that they kidnapped the
NDRF teams were also roped
in. “During investigation, the
two accused told police that
they kidnapped the youth and
youth and dumped body
in the river. SDRF team
and 5 police teams were
formed to search for the
dead body’
»»‘On Sunday, a team was
searching in the bushes on
the opposite side of the
canal from when they saw
the dead body of a youth
floating on the surface.
The body has been
identified by the family
members and necessary
action is being taken’
dumped body in the river.
SDRF team and 5 police teams
were formed to search for the
dead body,” said Saad Miyan
Khan, Deputy Commissioner
of Police (DCP), Greater Noida.
“On Sunday, a team was
searching in the bushes on the
opposite side of the canal from
when they saw the dead body
of a youth floating on the sur-
face. The body has been iden-
tified by the family members
and necessary action is being
taken,” added DCP Khan.
Earlier this week, fam-
ily members and relatives
of the victim staged a pro-
test at the local police station
demanding actions. Several
traders and shopkeepers
closed their shops in Bilaspur
expressing their outrage over
the incident.
The matter was also
brought to UP Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath through
a letter written by Industry
Minister Nand Gopal Nandi
and MLA from Lucknow Dr
Neeraj Bora who demanded
strict actions. Several local
traders and shopkeepers who
were sitting in protest outside
the police station ended their
protest on Sunday.
as scooter crashes
into road divider
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Two minors
were killed and another suf-
fered serious injuries when their
scooter rammed into a road
divider near Kabutar market
in north Delhi, police said on
Sunday.
The accident took place on
the intervening night of Satur-
day and Sunday.
According to the police, they
got a PCR call regarding the
accident at 1.55 am on Sunday.
“A team was dispatched
to the spot and on reach-
ing there, one scooter was
found near Kabutar Market at
lower Subhas Marg. The team
got to know that three
juveniles were injured who were
rushed to hospital,” a senior
police officer said.
The officer said they got
information from the hospital
that two juveniles were declared
dead on arrival, while another
suffered serious injuries.
Police said the condition
of the injured was critical
and the bodies have been
handed over to their family
members after autopsy.
‘On local inquiry, it
was revealed that
the scooter which
collided with the
divider was being
driven recklessly
at a high speed’
“On local inquiry, it was
revealed that the scooter which
collided with the divider was
being driven recklessly at a
high speed. When we checked
the registration number of
the scooter, we found that the
scooter was stolen from Laxmi
Nagar area in August last year,”
the officer said.
An FIR has been registered
and further investigation into
the matter is underway, the
police officer added.
stabbed in city,
5 juveniles
apprehended
NEW DELHI: Five juveniles
have been apprehended in con-
nection with the stabbing of a
17-year-old boy in central Del-
hi’s Patel Nagar area, an official
said on Sunday.
The incident took place
when the boy was returning
home after tuition on Friday
night. The call about it was
received at the police control
room at 9:45 pm, police said.
The official said that a team
was dispatched to the spot and
the boy was rushed to a hospital
for treatment for stab injuries.
“He told police that when
he was returning home, seven
to eight boys thrashed him and
stabbed him. Our teams appre-
hended five minors later,” the
official said. The official said
that during questioning, the
accused told police that they
had an argument with the
boy a few days ago. “We have
recovered the knife used for the
crime. An FIR under sections
307 (attempt to murder) and 34
(common intention) of the
Indian Penal Code has been
registered. Further investiga-
tion into the matter is under-
way,” said the officer.  MPOST

DU PG aspirants to TULIPS IN FULL BLOOM

get helping hand
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Aspirants
eyeing admission to Delhi
University’s postgraduate pro-
grammes through the Com-
mon University Entrance Test
(CUET) will now receive a
helping hand from the Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
(ABVP) through its latest ini-
tiative — a comprehensive ‘Free
Crash Course’.
Covering a spectrum of 13
subjects including Commerce,
Political Science, Geography,
and more, ABVP pledges to
equip students with the neces-
sary tools for success. Lever-
aging the expertise of research
scholars and subject aficiona-
dos, the crash course will be
conducted digitally, ensuring
accessibility to a wide range of
learners. Seeking to democ-
ratize access to education,
ABVP has established a dedi-
cated helpline — reachable at
9568323279 — along with an
email address (cuetpghelp-
desk@gmail.com), providing
round-the-clock support to
aspiring candidates.
Soumya, Secretary of
ABVP’s DU Unit, affirmed
the organization’s commit-
ment to leveling the playing
field: “Our longstanding tra-
dition of offering free crash
courses underscores our ded-
ication to empowering stu-
dents, particularly those from
underprivileged backgrounds
and remote regions. This
year’s initiative aims to stream-
line the admission process
for postgraduate courses at
Delhi University, furnish-
ing students with invaluable
resources and mentorship.”
City Briefs
MAN INJURED IN ROAD ACCIDENT IN
DELHI’S CHHAWLA AREA
NEW DELHI: A 22-year-old Gurugram resident was
severely injured on Sunday morning when his car
collided with an SUV in the Chhawla area of Delhi’s
Dwarka, police said. They identified the man as Gan-
ga Ram Singh and said police were informed about
the incident around 9.30 am. “Initially, we got to know
that two vehicles a Santro and Scorpio collided due to
overspeeding. A team of police was sent to the spot,”
a senior officer said. Police said Ganga Ram Singh,
who was driving the Santro car, was injured and
rushed to a hospital for treatment. Further investiga-
tion is underway, the officer added.
THREE ARRESTED FOR ROBBERY
NEW DELHI: In a significant breakthrough, Delhi Police
have arrested three individuals in connection with a
robbery incident reported on Saturday at Harsh Vi-
har Police Station. The arrested accused were identi-
Tulips in bloom at a lawn near Shanti Path, on Sunday. The second edition of the ‘Tulip Festival’ of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has fied as Dinesh (36) son of Ram Avtar resident of Meet
commenced from Saturday on the lawns along Shanti Path in Chanakyapuri of the national Capital Nagar, Delhi, Amit Kumar alias Deepu (27) son of
Lajhan Singh resident of Pratap Nagar, Saboli, Delhi,

Driver held for stealing gold, cash from passenger Locals complain
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on
Sunday arrested an auto-rick-
shaw driver for stealing gold
and cash from a passenger in
Chandni Chowk.
The police received the
information about the incident
through a complaint registered
at Kotwali Police Station.
The arrested accused was
identified as Jay Prakash Mishra
(48) resident of Ghaziabad,
Uttar Pradesh.
According to the Police, on
February 3, Raja Babu from
STEPS UP SECURITY
Bihar, accompanied by his
family, was robbed of approxi-
mately 400 grams of gold orna-
ments and Rs. 1.5 lakh in cash
by Mishra, who sped away with
the valuables.
The theft led to the registra-
tion of an FIR on February 6,
under section 379 of the Indian
Penal at Kotwali Police Station.
Despite initial setbacks,
including non-functional
CCTV cameras due to a short
circuit, a dedicated police
team, under the leadership of
SI Satender Singh and guided
by ACP Vijay Singh, managed
to track down Mishra.
Using details obtained from
the Delhi Traffic Police and an
insurance company, along with
GPS locations from Mishra’s
mobile phones, the police appre-
hended him. The accused was
nabbed from his native village
in Azamgarh after he fled with
valuables meant for a passenger’s
daughter’s marriage.
Upon interrogation, Mishra
revealed that he fell in greed
and stole the gold and cash
and he had hidden the stolen
gold, worth approximately Rs.
28 lakh, in a sewage pipe at his
house, along with Rs. 17,000
in cash.
of ‘gas leak’,
eye irritation in
parts of north
and east Delhi
NEW DELHI: Panic gripped
some parts of north and east
Delhi when locals and commut-
ers complained of eye irritation
and suffocation on Saturday eve-
ning, officials said. Calls were
and Sachin Prajapati (19) son of Jaswant resident
of Gauspur, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. According to
the Police, in the early morning Ram Singh, a factory
worker, and his son were assaulted and robbed of
Rs 8 lakh by four attackers near Mahipal Ki parking,
Saboli. The incident occurred when Singh, returning
from Kathonda, MP, with a substantial amount of cash,
was intercepted and robbed. The police action has
led to the recovery of 5 lakh rupees of the stolen
amount alongside two motorcycles used in the crime.
The accused were all local food stall vendors. They
were apprehended following the registration of FIR
under sections 392/394/34 of the Indian Penal Code
at the Harsh Vihar Police Station. Delhi Police have
successfully recovered Rs 2.5 lakh and a motorcycle
from Dinesh, Rs 1.5 lakh from Sachin, and Rs 1 lakh
along with the robbed bag and documents from Amit.

Farmers’ protest march: Delhi Police blocks roads

OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Ahead of farm-
ers’ ‘Delhi Chalo March’, the
Delhi Police has intensified
security arrangements at Sin-
ghu, Ghazipur and Tikri bor-
ders and installed nails along
with barricades to prevent
vehicles carrying protesters
from entering the city, officials
said on Sunday.
Delhi Police Commissioner
Sanjay Arora visited different
borders of Haryana-Delhi
and Uttar Pradesh-Delhi with
police officials to check secu-
rity arrangements.
Police have deployed more
than 5,000 security personnel
while cranes and earthmov-
ers carrying large containers
to block the road were also at
work.
Multiple security barricades
have already been installed at
the borders to stop the farm-
ers from entering the national
capital. Nails have been erected
on roads so that if the protest-
ing farmers try to enter the city
on vehicles, their tyres can be
punctured, the officials said.
Several teams have been
formed to keep strict vigil on
bus stands, metro stations,
railway stations and roads to
ensure that farmers do not
enter the city using any other
mode of conveyance.
Farmers associa-
tions, mostly from Uttar
Pradesh, Haryana and Pun-
jab, have called for another
protest on February 13 to
demand a law guaranteeing
Minimum Support Price
(MSP) for crops, one of the
conditions they had set when
they agreed to withdraw their
agitation in 2021.
Meanwhile, prohibitory
orders under Section 144 of
the Criminal Procedure Code
(CrPC) have been enforced in
the northeast district of Delhi
to maintain law and order.
The ‘Delhi Chalo March’
organised by around 200 farm-
ers’ unions and a large number
of farmers is expected to reach
the national capital on Feb-
ruary 13 from Uttar Pradesh,
Haryana and Punjab.
“We have imposed Sec-
tion 144 of the CrPC (prohibi-
tory orders). Information has
been received that some farmer
organisations have given call
to their supporters to gather/
march to Delhi on February 13
for their demands of a law on
MSP. No one will be allowed
to breach law and order situ-
ation,” Deputy Commissioner
of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey
said in an order.
The order further said the
farmers are likely to sit on
the borders of Delhi till their
demands are met.
“Keeping in view, the kind
of behaviour and adamant
approach farmers showed dur-
ing protests in the past, there
is a possibility of mobiliza-
tion/activities of farmers/sup-
porters from their respective
districts to Delhi along with
tractor/trolleys/arms. Farmers
will also come from Haryana,
Punjab, UP, Rajasthan, Uttara-
khand, MP and other possible
areas. And whereas, in order to
avoid any untoward incident
and to maintain law and order,
a precautionary order of Sec-
tion 144 is required to be issued
to save the life and property in
the area,” read the order.
The order directs the pro-
hibition of gathering of general
public at all borders between
Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and
nearby areas in the jurisdic-
tional area of northeast district.
It also prohibits entering of
tractors, trolleys, buses, trucks,
commercial vehicles, personal
vehicles, or horses etc, carrying
protesters in Delhi from Uttar
Pradesh.
The order directs the north-
east district police to make all
efforts to prevent protestors
from entering Delhi.
It says no person or pro-
testor shall be allowed to bear
arms, including firearms,
swords, trishul, spears, lathi,
rods and the police shall make
all efforts to detain these per-
sons on the spot.
“We are in contact with our
counterparts in Haryana, Pun-
jab and Uttar Pradesh to know
how many farmers’ organisa-
tions will join the protest and
the number of people expected
to participate in the march. We
have proper arrangements to
deal with any law and order
situation,” said another senior
police officer.
made to the fire department
about a “gas leak”, but officials
could not confirm finding any
suspicious gas. Delhi Police said
anti-riots mock drill exercise
was conducted at Yamuna Kha-
dar, which falls between some
parts of east and north Delhi.
An officer said it appeared
that the smoke due to tear gas
shell might have been behind
the incident, but added that it
was not yet verified.
Two fire tenders
reached the spot
and tried to locate
the suspicious gas
they could not find it
Sources said that Delhi
Police has been preparing for
a potential farmers agitation
intended to be held on Febru-
ary 13. According to officials
of Delhi Fire Service (DFS), a
call of gas leak was received at
6.30 pm from near Geeta Col-
ony flyover. Two fire tenders
reached the spot and tried to
locate the suspicious gas they
could not find it.
Farmer groups have
announced a ‘Delhi Chalo’
march on February 13 to press
the Centre for accepting several
demands, including a guarantee
of minimum support prices on
food produce.  AGENCIES
DELHI COURT SUMMONS ZOMATO
NEW DELHI: A court here has issued a summons to food
delivery app Zomato in a civil suit seeking a restraining
order against the company from continuing its ser-
vices allowing users to order “hot and authentic food”
from “iconic restaurants” across the national Capital.
The court was hearing a plea filed by a Gurugram
resident, which claimed Zomato was engaging in the
“false and fraudulent” practice of delivering fresh food
from well-known restaurants under its sub-category,
‘Dilli ke Legends’. In an order passed recently, Civil
Judge Umesh Kumar said, “Issue summons of the suit
and notice of application.” According to the plea,
Sourav Mall placed an order on October 24 last year,
from three different eateries in Jama Masjid, Kailash
Colony and Jangpura, following which he tracked the
delivery partner and found that the order was picked
from the “unknown and unnamed” place and not from
the original restaurant. “Why was the food picked
up from a nearby location when there is no branch
of the restaurant partner there? Why is the food not
delivered in the original packaging of the restaurant
partner? What is the guarantee that the food has been
prepared by the restaurant partner? What is the guar-
antee that the food is prepared fresh and hot?” the
plea said. It was “inexplicable” how Zomato managed
delivery from Delhi’s iconic restaurants to locations in
Gurugram and Noida within 30 minutes, it added. The
plea said, “Such representation to users, customers or
patrons of Zomato, is indeed intended to deceive the
public at large.” The plea was filed as a “representa-
tive suit” for numerous affected individuals under the
Code of Civil Procedure (CPC).

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millenniumpost
NEW DELHI | MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024
‘ENSURE ALL SAFETY STANDARDS ARE STRICTLY FOLLOWED DURING CONSTRUCTION PHASE’
Delhi govt to upgrade major roads
from Akshardham towards Noida
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: In a bid to
enhance the quality of com-
muting experiences for Delhi’s
residents, the Delhi govern-
ment has sanctioned proj-
ects for the rehabilitation and
strengthening of major roads
from Akshardham towards
Noida.
This announcement came
from the Office of the PWD
minister, Atishi, highlight-
ing the government’s com-
mitment to establishing a
resilient and secure transpor-
tation network aligned with
global standards.
The approved project
encompasses the rehabilitation
and strengthening of signifi-
cant road stretches, includ-
ing NH24 to Link Road No
1, NH24 to Link Road No 2,
Noida Link Road, and Noida
More Flyover (Slip Road).
PWD Minister Atishi empha-
sized the importance of this
initiative, stating, “The Kejri-
wal Government’s emphasis is
on establishing a resilient and
Key Points
»»This announcement
came from the Office
of the PWD minister,
Atishi, highlighting the
government’s commitment
to establishing a
resilient and secure
transportation network
aligned with global
standards
»»The approved project
encompasses the
rehabilitation and
strengthening of
significant road stretches,
including NH24 to Link
Road No 1, NH24 to Link
Road No 2, Noida Link
Road, and Noida More
Flyover (Slip Road). PWD
secure transportation network
following global standards.”
These road stretches, vital
for daily commuters, have faced
gradual deterioration over time
due to heavy usage, particularly
Minister Atishi emphasized
the importance of this
initiative
»»‘The Kejriwal
Government’s emphasis is
on establishing a resilient
and secure transportation
network following global
standards’
»»These road stretches,
vital for daily commuters,
have faced gradual
during peak hours. Recognis-
ing the urgency of the situa-
tion, the PWD has conducted
a thorough assessment of these
roads with expert assistance,
paving the way for the initia-
deterioration over time
due to heavy usage,
particularly during peak
hours
»»Recognising the urgency
of the situation, the PWD
has conducted a thorough
assessment of these roads
with expert assistance,
paving the way for the
initiation of the upgrading
process
tion of the upgrading process.
Minister Atishi stressed the
significance of minimal dis-
ruption to commuters dur-
ing the construction phase,
directing officials to adhere
strictly to global standards for
high-quality roads. She reit-
erated the government’s com-
mitment to prioritizing the
well-being of Delhi’s citizens
and adhering to global stan-
dards, emphasizing, “Under the
leadership of Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal, the govern-
ment is working in ‘Mission
Mode’ to improve the roads of
Delhi.” The rehabilitation and
strengthening of these roads
hold promise for thousands
of residents and commuters,
promising reduced congestion
and enhanced interconnectiv-
ity from main roads to colo-
nies. This move underscores
the government’s vision of not
just building roads but creating
a robust and safe transporta-
tion network.
Furthermore, the minister
highlighted the need for main-
taining these roads under the
strengthening project to ensure
smooth traffic flow. She also
directed officials to ensure that
all safety standards are strictly
followed during the construc-
tion phase.
Min: Centre has stalled AAP govt’s
doorstep ration delivery scheme
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The BJP-led
Centre has stalled the imple-
mentation of the AAP govern-
ment’s doorstep ration delivery
scheme, Delhi minister Atishi
alleged on Sunday, appealing
to people to vote for her party
in the upcoming Lok Sabha
polls to fight for their rights in
Parliament.
She told a press confer-
ence here that the ‘Ghar Ghar
Ration’ scheme was launched
in Punjab on Saturday and it
aims to benefit more than 17
lakh people.
It was successfully launched
in the state as there is no lieu-
tenant governor there, Atishi,
whose party is in power in Pun-
jab and Delhi, said.
However in Delhi, “the
scheme was passed by the Cab-
inet in 2018 and was notified in
2021 but it has not been imple-
mented yet” as the “Centre,
through its representative the
lieutenant governor, has stalled
its implementation”, she said.
She appealed to people in
Delhi to vote for the AAP in
the upcoming Lok Sabha polls
— expected to be held in April-
May. The national Capital has
seven parliamentary seats and
all were won by the BJP in the
2019 polls.
City
Highlights
»»She told a press
conference here that
the ‘Ghar Ghar Ration’
scheme was launched in
Punjab on Saturday and
it aims to benefit more
than 17 lakh people
»»It was successfully
launched in the state
as there is no lieutenant
governor there, Atishi,
whose party is in power in
Punjab and Delhi, said
“I appeal to the people of
Delhi to vote for the AAP in
the Lok Sabha elections so
that their voice can reach Par-
liament and we can fight for
their rights. If you want that
this scheme should be imple-
mented in Delhi, please vote
for the AAP,” Atishi said.
The central government
must listen to the voice of the
people of Delhi, she said.
Ration card holders face
many difficulties in procuring
the 4 kg wheat, 1 kg atta and 1
kg sugar allocated to them each
month, Atishi claimed.
“When they go to collect
their ration, often the (ration)
shop is closed or there is a
3
»»However in Delhi, ‘the
scheme was passed by
the Cabinet in 2018 and
was notified in 2021 but it
has not been implemented
yet’ as the ‘Centre, through
its representative the
lieutenant governor, has
stalled its implementation’,
she said
»»She appealed to people
in Delhi to vote for the
AAP in the upcoming Lok
Sabha polls — expected
to be held in April-May
long queue outside it. When
they reach the shop’s counter
(after standing in the queue),
the shopkeeper either misbe-
haves or claims that items are
out of stock. Usually, ration
card holders do not get all the
items,” she said.
The AAP leader alleged that
ration shop operators work like
the “mafia”. The ‘Ghar Ghar
Ration’ scheme of the AAP
government will work like
shop-to-home grocery delivery
apps, Atishi said. The scheme
will provide a “dignified and
convenient way” for ration card
holders to receive their com-
plete allocated ration at their
doorstep, she said.

City Briefs RESCUE OP Cong: Pragati Maidan

tunnel has become a
FIRE BREAKS OUT IN COUPLE’S HOUSE
IN MAHIPALPUR, WIFE CRITICAL ‘monument of shame’
NEW DELHI: A married couple suffered serious burn in- OUR CORRESPONDENT
juries after a fire broke out in their house in the Mahipal-
NEW DELHI: Delhi Con-
pur area of southwest Delhi on Sunday, police said. The gress president Arvinder Singh
condition of Neha (30) is stated to be critical while her Lovely on Sunday targeted the
husband Ravi Kant (33) is stable, a senior police officer BJP government over alleged
said. A PCR call was received at 10.30 am regarding a “glaring infirmities” in the Pra-
fire on the fourth floor of a house in Mahipalpur, the of- gati Maidan tunnel, saying it
ficer said. “The fire department was informed and police has turned out to be “a monu-
ment of shame” and a “poten-
teams were rushed to the spot. Two people found injured tial threat” to commuters.
in the house, Kant and his wife, were rushed to a private Prime Minister Narendra
hospital,” a senior police officer said. “Prima facie the Modi had in June 2022 inau-
cause of the blaze seems to be LPG leakage. Further gurated the 1.3-km-long tun-
investigation is underway,” said the officer. nel and five underpasses as
part of the Pragati Maidan Inte-
INDIGO PLANE MISSES TAXIWAY AFTER grated Transit Corridor Project
that aims to ease connectiv-
LANDING AT DELHI AIRPORT ity between central Delhi with
NEW DELHI: An IndiGo aircraft from Amritsar missed the eastern parts of the city and
the taxiway after landing at the Delhi airport on the satellite towns of Noida and
Ghaziabad.
Sunday morning, leading to blocking of one of the In a statement, the Con-
runways for around 15 minutes, according to a source. gress leader said, “The BJP gov-
The A320 aircraft, operating flight 6E 2221, went to ernment whose latest mantra is
the dead end of the runway 28/10 after missing the Firefighters attempt to extinguish the fire that broke out at a shoe factory, at Alipur area in New Delhi, Sunday  PTI to make the country a ‘Viksit
designated taxiway at the Indira Gandhi Internation- Bharat’ should be ashamed of
the fact that the Pragati Maidan
tunnel, constructed at a whop-
ping cost of Rs 777 crore, has
now turned out to be a monu-
ment of shame...the tunnel has
become a potential threat to
commuters.”
Lovely also alleged that the
tunnel was the “finest exam-
ple of the Amrit Kaal of the
corrupt” under the BJP rule,
as a flawed design and hasty
construction of the tunnel
have made it unusable and
dangerous.
He said the tunnel’s flawed
design was clear when last
year’s monsoon rains and an
overflowing Yamuna river
flooded the tunnel and dam-
aged the costly murals on its
walls. The Delhi government’s
Public Works Department
(PWD) has issued a notice to
Larsen and Toubro over the
alleged “glaring infirmities” in
the project.

‘Pay `50K ex-gratia to kin of Covid victim’ City records min

al Airport (IGIA). The source said that due to the inci-
dent, the runway was blocked for around 15 minutes Bullion trader
and impacted some flight operations. Later, an IndiGo
towing van towed the aircraft from the dead end of
the runway to a parking bay, the source added. Com-
goes missing, car NEW DELHI: The Delhi High of the persons who passed away hospital. “Resultantly, respon-
temp of 7 deg C
ments from IndiGo on the incident are awaited. IGIA
is the country’s largest airport and handles around
found abandoned Court has directed the city gov-
ernment to pay Rs 50,000 ex
due to COVID-19.
In the judgment, the apex
dent no.3 (SDM concerned) is
directed to release the sum of NEW DELHI: The national
1,400 flights daily. It has four operational runways. near Noida: Cops gratia to the kin of a man who
had contracted coronavirus
court had made clear that irre-
spective of the cause of death
ex-gratia payment under the
MCPASY scheme to the peti-
Capital on Sunday recorded a
maximum temperature of 24.6
and died due to COVID-19 mentioned in the death certif- tioner herein forthwith within degrees Celsius, a notch above
TWO MEN FOUND DEAD INSIDE HOTEL OUR CORRESPONDENT complications. icate, if a family member sat- a period of two weeks from the season’s average, accord-
ROOM IN DELHI’S NANGLOI NOIDA: A bullion trader
The high court refused to
accept the state’s submission
isfies the requisite eligibility
criteria, he or she shall also be
today,” Justice Prasad said in a
February 6 order.
ing to the India Meteorological
Department (IMD).
NEW DELHI: Two men were found dead in a hotel has gone missing from the cause of the death was a entitled to the ex gratia pay- The Delhi government Delhi recorded a low of
room in west Delhi’s Nangloi area on Saturday, police Greater Noida while his car cardiac arrest and the man ment of Rs 50,000 on produc- counsel and the SDM submit- 7 degrees Celsius on Sunday
said. They said information was received at 2.47 pm was found abandoned on a passed away a month after on June 19, 2021. Just because tion of requisite documents ted that as per the death sum- morning, while the air qual-
that a room was locked in a hotel and two people in- road in the city, police said on a positive RT-PCR report the ultimate cause of death is and no state shall deny on the mary of the man, the cause of ity index remained in the ‘very
side the room were not responding. Police reached the Sunday. and was, therefore, not enti- shown to be cardiac arrest does ground that in the death cer- death was cardiac arrest and poor’ category.
spot and found the bodies of two men — Haryana According to his rela- tled to a compensation under not mean that the husband of tificate the cause of death is as per the notification for The humidity level oscil-
tives, Mohit Verma, a resi- the Mukhyamantri COVID- the petitioner did not pass away not mentioned as “Died due to grant of ex gratia payment lated between 100 per cent and
resident Jitesh Ghanghas (29) and Sachin (24) from dent of Dadha village, had 19 Pariwar Aarthik Sahayata due to the complications aris- COVID-19”. under the MCPASY scheme, 38 per cent during the day.
Nangloi — inside room number 304, a senior police left home on Saturday morn- Yojana (MCPASY). ing out of COVID-19,” Justice The high court said the either the deceased’s name The weather department
officer said. Some bottles of medicine and syringes ing for Delhi but did not return The court noted the hospi- Subramonium Prasad said. facts of the case clearly show should be in the list of has predicted mist on Mon-
were also found inside the room, police said. Police till night. tal’s death summary that the The court was dealing with that the woman’s husband had COVID-19 death cases day morning. The minimum
has indicated no foul play and suspects substance “He was carrying Rs 10 lakh petitioner’s husband contracted a woman’s petition seeking contracted COVID-19 and (MHA) or the death should be and maximum temperatures
abuse to be cause of death. The bodies have been cash along with some molten COVID-19 and was admitted direction to the state author- was admitted in the hospital within one month of an RT- are expected to hover around 8
gold and had left home for and remained at the hospital ities to release compensa- on April 25, 2021 and his health PCR positive report which is and 25 degrees Celsius respec-
sent to SGM Hospital for further proceedings, the of- Delhi. Around 2 pm, when till his death on June 19, 2021. tion under the MCPASY for condition did not improve to be certified by the Health tively on Monday, it said. The
ficer said, adding that further probe is on. I called him, his phone went “The death summary cat- her husband’s death due to and he passed away after two Department. Air Quality Index (AQI) of the
unanswered and we did not egorically points out that the COVID-19 in 2021. months in the hospital itself They said that the man’s national capital was recorded
GURUGRAM YOUTH HITS ACP WITH CAR hear from him after that. In man had contracted COVID- The high court also referred due to COVID-19 complica- name does not figure in the in the “very poor” category
GURUGRAM: Enraged by the slap he received from panic we started searching 19, and suffered aftereffects of to a Supreme Court’s 2021 tions, a fact which is evident list of deaths that occurred due with a reading of 313 at 6 pm,
his police officer father over car stunts here, a youth for him,” an uncle of Verma COVID-19, never improved judgment regarding grant of from the medical certificate of to COVID-19 and he was not according to the Central Pollu-
hit an ACP who caught him in the act on Dwarka claimed. and ultimately passed away ex gratia assistance to the kin the cause of death issued by the entitled for ex-gratia.  AGENCIES tion Control Board.  MPOST
“However, on Saturday
Expressway with his SUV, police said. The accused
was arrested on Thursday, more than three weeks
night we received an infor-
mation from local police that
COCAINE, ECSTASY PILLS SEIZED

3 foreign nationals held for peddling ‘party drugs’

after the incident, and his SUV was recovered, they his car has been found aban-
said. ACP (crime) Varun Dahiya suffered injuries in his doned in Omicron 3 sec-
knees and abdomen and had to be hospitalised. He tor. One of Mohit’s shoes was
remained on leave for several days for the treatment, found inside the car while
another outside it,” the uncle
police said. According to police, the incident took said, fearing something untow-
place on Dwarka Expressway near Garhi Harsaru in ard might have happened to his
Sector 10A police station area on the night of Janu- nephew.
ary 17 when ACP Dahiya and an inspector of the A police spokesperson said
crime unit were on patrol in their government vehicle. the car was found abandoned
The ACP saw a youth doing stunts in an SUV on the in the Surajpur police station
area.
road. The youth was asked to stop and then he was “On the basis of the com-
interrogated, police said. When the youth said that his plaint by his relatives, a missing
father was a special police officer (SPO) in Gurugram person’s case has been lodged
Police, ACP Dahiya asked him to call his father. The and investigation launched in
SPO reached the spot after some time, he slapped his the case,” the police spokesper-
son in front of the ACP and the inspector, police said. son said.
Angry over the slap, the youth, as he was leaving The police are also using
electronic surveillance
from the spot, hit the ACP with the side of the car. The methods, scanning CCTV
ACP fell down on the ground, while the inspector and footage of the area to find a
driver of the police car escaped narrowly, police said. clue about Verma, the official
added.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Three foreign
nationals have been arrested
here on the charge of peddling
drugs, and cocaine and ecstasy
pills seized from them, the Delhi
Police said on Sunday.
The accused have been
identified as David Narh and
Emmanual Owusu Nsiah, cit-
izens of Ghana, and Chimobi
David Okpara, a citizen of Nige-
ria, it said. Police said 64 grams
of fine quality cocaine and 20
pills of ecstasy were seized.
Action was taken on the
basis of information received
by the Trans Yamuna Range of
Following a search,
56.69 gram of
cocaine and 20
ecstasy pills were
seized: Police
the Special Cell, which among
its responsibilities has the task of
tracking the activities of “party
drug suppliers”, DCP (Special
Cell) Amit Kaushik said.
He said that Narh and
Nsiah, who were on a scooter,
were intercepted by a police
team near the SFS Flats Road
in Mayur Vihar Phase-3. “Fol-
lowing a search, 56.69 gram
of cocaine and 20 ecstasy pills
were seized,” the DCP said and
added that they were taken in
police remand after registration
of a case. During interrogation,
they mentioned that Okpara was
the source of the seized drugs,
the official said. He was eventu-
ally apprehended, Kaushik said.
He was produced before a
court and a warrant to search
his flat in a housing society in
Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh
was procured. “During the
search, 7.12 grams of cocaine
was seized. Efforts are on to
identify their forward and back-
ward linkages,” the official said.
4 Nation millenniumpost
MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024 | NEW DELHI

SEARCH ON FOR 3 WORKERS

Solan factory fire: Two more bodies
recovered, death toll rises to seven
SHIMLA/SOLAN (HP): Two
more bodies were recovered on
Sunday from a Solan-based fac-
tory where a massive fire broke
out nine days ago, while a search
was underway for three missing
workers, according to officials.
With the recoveries, the
death toll in the incident at the
perfume manufacturing factory
in Himachal Pradesh’s Baddi
Industrial Area has risen to
seven, they said.
Debris of parts of the fac-
tory that collapsed during the
fire are being removed to find
the missing workers, officials
said, adding that personnel of
several agencies, including the
NDRF, the SDRF and the police,
are engaged in the search opera-
tion and removal of large quan-
tities of chemicals.
Both the bodies were recov-
ered from the second floor of
the factory and sent to the Nal-
agarh Civil Hospital for post-
mortem, they said.
Officials said that though
Highlights
»»‘Debris of parts of the
factory that collapsed
during the fire are being
removed to find the
missing workers’
»»‘Personnel of several
agencies, including the
NDRF, the SDRF and the
police, are engaged in
the search operation
and removal of large
quantities of chemicals’
»»‘Both the bodies were
recovered from the
they have the names of those
who were missing and whose
bodies were recovered on Sun-
day, identity would be ascer-
tained through DNA matching.
For the process, samples of fam-
ily members will be used, they
said.
Baddi Superintendent of
Police (SP) Ilma Afroz con-
second floor of the
factory and sent to the
Nalagarh Civil Hospital
for postmortem’
»»‘Officials said that though
they have the names of
those who were missing
and whose bodies were
recovered on Sunday,
identity would be
ascertained through DNA
matching’
»»‘For the process, samples
of family members will
be used’
firmed the recovery of the bod-
ies and told PTI that chemicals
in huge quantities are being
taken out from the factory
complex.
Besides the police, the
National Disaster Response
Force (NDRF) and the State
Disaster Response Force
(SDRF), officials said, personnel
of the pollution, public works
and health departments are also
engaged in operations.
Two people — Chander
Shekhar, the factory head of N
R Aromas Company, and Vinod
Bilwa — have been arrested in
connection with the February
2 fire, in which 37 people were
also injured.
They were arrested after an
FIR was registered under Indian
Penal Code (IPC) sections 285
(negligence), 336 (endanger-
ing life), 337 (causing hurt)
and 304 (culpable homicide
not amounting to murder),
according to police.
Police said a special inves-
tigation team (SIT), which is
probing the case, is conduct-
ing searches to apprehend the
factory’s owners against whom
non-bailable warrants have
been issued.
During his visit to the fac-
tory on February 7, Himachal
Pradesh Chief Minister Sukh-
vinder Singh Sukhu had said
that negligence and violations
of norms would be probed
and industrial laws would be
amended suitably to prevent
recurrence of such accidents.
Industry Minister Harsh-
vardhan Chauhan had con-
stituted a joint task force of
various departments to carry
out a safety audit of all factories
in the Baddi, Barotiwala and
Nalagarh (BBN) industrial belt
following the incident.
There were violations
of norms related to fire and
labour safety, and the incident
occurred due to criminal neg-
ligence of the company, he had
said.
Of the five bodies recov-
ered earlier, four were iden-
tified while one was not. The
deceased were Pinki, Rahnuma,
Shashi and Rakhi.
Champo, Kajal, Kajal
Bharti, Kalpana and Vijay
Dubey were missing and bodies
of two of them were recovered
on Sunday.  AGENCIES
Modi govt destroyed ‘jawan’,
‘kisan’: Congress president
OUR CORRESPONDENT
LUDHIANA: Congress pres-
ident Mallikarjun Kharge
Sunday hit out at the Modi gov-
ernment, accusing it of “destroy-
ing” ‘kisan’ and ‘jawan’ in the 10
years of its regime.
Extending his party’s sup-
port to farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’
call, Kharge claimed that the
central government has not
issued any notification on
repealing the three farm laws
yet. In 2020, a large number of
farmers, mainly from Punjab,
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh,
held a year-long protest on Del-
hi’s border points — Singhu,
Tikri and Ghazipur — against
the three now-repealed farm
laws. These laws were — The
Farmers’ Produce Trade and
Commerce (Promotion and
Facilitation) Act, The Farmers
(Empowerment and Protec-
tion) Agreement of Price Assur-
ance and Farm Services Act,
and The Essential Commodi-
ties (Amendment) Act.
Kharge was addressing the
convention of Punjab Congress
workers here ahead of the Lok
Sabha elections.
In his address, Kharge said
former prime minister Lal Baha-
dur Shastri’s slogan, “Jai Jawan,
Jai Kisan” fits best in Punjab. He
said the state is unique as it is
only here that both ‘jawan’ and
‘kisan’ are found. He said that at
some places there are ‘kisan’ but
no ‘jawan’, and in some places
there are ‘jawan’ but no ‘kisan’.
“But the Modi government
destroyed both ‘jawan’ and
‘kisan’ in the last 10 years,” he
alleged.
He said that farmers had
protested at the Delhi borders
against the farm laws. “But they
(the Centre) suspended the
three farm laws. They did not
issue any notification of repeal-
ing it,” he claimed. “Where is the
notification of repealing these
laws?” he asked.
The Congress president
accused Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi of calling farmers’
names and describing them as
“terrorists” and “andolan jeevis”
(those who thrive on agitation)
in a derogatory manner.
Referring to the farmers’
‘Delhi Chalo’ call on Febru-
ary 13, Kharge congratulated
farmers for heading to the
national capital for their rights
and extended his party’s sup-
port to them. The Samyukta
Kisan Morcha (Non-Political)
and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha
had announced ‘Delhi Chalo’
march by more than 200 farm-
ers’ unions on February 13 to
press the Centre for accepting
several demands, including
enactment of a law to guaran-
tee a minimum support price
(MSP) for crops. Kharge alleged
that Rs one lakh crore allocated
for the agriculture sector had
“lapsed” as the Modi govern-
ment did not spend it on agri-
culture. He said Rs 40,000 crore
allocated for the ‘Fasal Beema
Yojana’ was “pocketed” by pri-
vate insurance companies.
Besides, for the first time
in independent India’s history,
farmers were paying tax of Rs
25,000 per hectare, he claimed.
Kharge further alleged that
the Modi government was not
filling about 30 lakh vacan-
cies in various government
departments and public sector
undertakings.
He alleged that Prime Min-
ister Modi does not want the
scheduled castes, the sched-
uled tribes and the backward
classes to get 50 per cent reser-
vation in jobs.

Prez to visit Guj, Gzb police arrests ex-husband of UP Police
Rajasthan from
DSP in case of domestic violence & fraud
February 12-14
NEW DELHI: President Drou-
padi Murmu will visit Gujarat
and Rajasthan from February
12 to 14, the Rashtrapati Bha-
van said on Sunday.
The president will grace the
200th Janmotsav-Gyan Jyoti
Parv Smaranotsav Samaroh on
the occasion of the birth anni-
versary of Maharshi Dayanand
Saraswati at Tankara in Gujarat
on Monday.
“On the same day, she will
grace and address the 20th con-
vocation of Sardar Vallabhbhai
National Institute of Technology
at Surat,” a statement issued by
the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.PTI
DIPIKA KIROLA
GHAZIABAD: Ghaziabad
police have arrested ex-hus-
band of UP Police DSP Shres-
tha Thakur in connection with
a case of domestic violence and
fraud with her, said cops on
Sunday.
As per the FIR accessed by
MillenniumPost, the accused
Rohit Raj Singh, a resident of
trans Hindon area in Ghazi-
abad introduced himself as an
IRS officer posted as deputy
commissioner in Jharkhand.
Shreshthta in her com-
plaint told police that she met
Rohit through a matrimonial
site where he introduced him-
self as a 2008-batch IRS offi-
cer. “Both tied knots in 2018,
and it was after marriage only
when she came to know the
truth that Rohit took advantage
of an officer in Jharkhand who
has the same name” the com-
plaint reads.
However, the senior lady
police officer decided to con-
tinue marriage thinking of fam-
ily even after knowing the truth
but was subjected to domestic
violence for years. “The man
used to demand money from
her and she also took a loan of
Rs 15 lakhs from bank to fulfil
his family’s monetary demands.
The couple too had a child
when they were together” the
FIR stated.
Later the accused fre-
quently started to beat her up
and threaten to kill the child.
He also started doing illegal
works in her name and extort
money. However, in 2021 they
finally decided to get separated
and took divorce.
She started living with
her child while the man got
married to another woman
but continued to trouble her.
Recently, DSP Thakur came
to know that the accused still
keeps on extorting money from
people in her name and when
OLD IS GOLD
she questioned him, he threat-
ened to kill her son.
Finally she decided to lodge
a case against him and his fam-
ily. “Following the complaint
received, an FIR was filed
under section 323 (criminal
assault), 498-A (cruelty against
woman), 420 (fraud and cheat-
ing), 467, 468, 471, 506 and 67c
IT act against Rohit Raj, his
father Vakeel Sharan Singh and
brother Sanjeet Singh. Rohit
has been arrested by police
while police investigations are
underway and more persons
are likely to be arrested” said a A participant rides his vintage car during the 57th edition of the Statesman Vintage & Classic Car
senior police officer of Ghazi- Rally, at Connaught Place, in New Delhi on Sunday PTI
abad police commissionerate.

A few switching sides won’t impact INDIA bloc, says Sachin Pilot
NEW DELHI/RAIGARH:
Amid some INDIA bloc con-
stituents switching sides to the
NDA, Congress leader Sachin
Pilot on Sunday said the oppo-
sition alliance is “strong” and
the BJP is attempting a “frantic
rejig” of the political landscape
as it is worried over the collec-
tive strength of the coalition.
In an interview with PTI,
Pilot also said West Bengal
Chief Minister and TMC chief
Mamata Banerjee is very much
part of the Indian National
Developmental Inclusive Alli-
ance (INDIA), and expressed
confidence that a way forward
will be found in seat-sharing
talks with her party. He also
said the BJP talking about 370
seats for itself and 400-plus for
the NDA was more of “bravado
and rhetoric” than a practical
assessment on the ground.
As the Rahul Gandhi-led
Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra trav-
els through Chhattisgarh, the
AICC general secretary in-
charge of the state dismissed
suggestions that the yatra was
adversely affecting the poll
preparations of the party and
asserted that talks for seat-shar-
ing with allies were going on
simultaneously. “As we speak,
we are finalising seat-sharing
agreements with most of our
allies in different states. So it
is not a question of either/or.
The yatra is going on but other
things are being handled by
the AICC leadership and the
state in-charges. The Congress
president (Mallikarjun Kharge)
is himself overseeing all these
meetings and negotiations that
are being held,” Pilot said.
“Our attempt is to make sure
we fight unitedly. Yes we have
had some that have left our alli-
ance but largely the alliance is
intact and very soon we will be
announcing the seat sharing
and a future roadmap that the
alliance will come up with,” the
Congress general secretary said.
Asked about suggestions
that the INDIA bloc is unrav-
elling with JD(U) chief Nitish
Kumar crossing over to the
NDA, RLD’s Jayant Chaud-
hary’s imminent switch-over
and Banerjee attacking the Con-
gress, Pilot said, “Look at the
amount of partners that left the
NDA ‘? Akali Dal, Shiv Sena,
PDP, AIADMK. So the num-
ber of those leaving the NDA
is far larger than some of those
people who may not be with us
today.” AGENCIES

From Page 1 Dallewal said, adding, “What the Khat-

‘Delhi Chalo’
...February 13 to press the Centre
into accepting several demands, includ-
ing the enactment of a law to guarantee
a MSP for crops.
The Haryana Police has issued a
traffic advisory asking commuters to
take alternative routes given the restric-
tions imposed.
In the traffic advisory, police asked
commuters going from Chandigarh
to Delhi to take alternative routes via
Derabassi, Barwala/Ramgarh, Saha,
Shahbad, Kurukshetra, or through
Panchkula, NH-344 Yamunanagar
Indri/Pipli, Karnal.
Similarly, passengers travelling from
Delhi to Chandigarh have been asked
to reach their destination via Karnal,
Indri/Pipli, Yamunanagar, Panchkula,
or Kurukshetra, Shahbad, Saha, Bar-
wala, Ramgarh, according to police.
The farmers have planned to head
to Delhi from the Ambala-Shambhu
border, Khanauri-Jind and the Dabwali
border.
Ambala and Kaithal districts have
imposed section 144 of the CrPC, pro-
hibiting the assembly of five or more
people.
Police have also been holding meet-
ings with village panchayat heads and
khap panchayats, asking them not to
participate in the march. In several vil-
lages, police were reportedly making
announcements, warning farmers of
seizure of their tractors and cancella-
tion of passports if they participated in
the march.
SKM (Non-Political) leader Jagjit
Singh Dallewal slammed the Haryana
government for making arrangements
to stop farmers from going towards
Delhi.
“We are ready for talks and will
never run away from dialogue,” he said.
On one hand, talks are going on
with the Centre and on the other hand,
the state government is creating terror,
tar government is doing is unfortunate
and condemnable.”
He said the government had “prom-
ised” a legal guarantee on minimum
support price during the stir against
the farm laws which were later repealed
by the Centre. The farmer leader said
the government had “promised” the
withdrawal of cases registered against
farmers.
Farmers were forced to move
towards Delhi as their demands were
not accepted by the Centre. “Why is the
government scared? Huge barricad-
ing is being done. Is this democracy,”
Dallewal asked.
“If the situation turns bad, it will be
the responsibility of the Khattar gov-
ernment,” he said in a video message.
The Congress, meanwhile, also
attacked the central government with
Rahul Gandhi urging people to uproot
those from Delhi “who put nails in the
path of farmers”.
Party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
shared a video of spike barriers on a
road and said, “Is laying nails-thorns
in the path of farmers ‘amritkaal’ or
‘anyaykaal’?”
Punjab Chief Minister and AAP
leader Bhagwant Mann likened the
roads to Delhi and Haryana to the
India-Pakistan border.
“I urge the Centre to hold talks
with farmers and accept their genuine
demands... There are as many wires put
up on the roads (Punjab-Haryana bor-
ders) to go to Delhi as there are at the
border with Pakistan,” said Mann.
In 2020, a large number of farm-
ers from Punjab and nearby areas of
Ambala gathered at the Shambhu bor-
der and broke police barriers to march
towards Delhi. The farmers, mainly
from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh, held a year-long protest on
Delhi’s border points — Singhu, Tikri
and Ghazipur — against the three farm
laws which were repealed later.
In the national Capital also, prohibi-
tory orders under Section 144, which
bars large gatherings, were imposed in
the northeast district of Delhi on Sun-
day in view of farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo
March’ on February 13, officials said.
“We have imposed Section 144 of
the CrPC (prohibitory orders). Infor-
mation has been received that some
farmer organisations have given a call
to their supporters to gather/march
to Delhi on February 13 for their
demands of law on MSP. No one will be
allowed to breach law and order situa-
tion,” according to an order issued by
the Deputy Commissioner of Police
(northeast) Joy Tirkey.
The order said the farmers are
likely to sit at Delhi borders till their
demands are met.
“Keeping in view the kind of behav-
iour and adamant approach farmers
showed during protests in the past,
there is a possibility of mobilisation/
activities of farmers/supporters from
their respective districts to Delhi along
with Tractor/Trolleys/Arms. Farmers
will also come from Haryana, Punjab,
UP, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, MP and
other possible area,” it said.
A precautionary order of section
144 is required to be issued to save life
and property in the area, avoid any
untoward incident and maintain law
and order, the communication said.
Police have prohibited the entering
of tractors, trolleys, buses, trucks, com-
mercial vehicles, personal vehicles, or
horses etc, carrying protestors in Delhi
from Uttar Pradesh.
Bracing for the agitation, police are
fortifying Delhi’s border with Uttar
Pradesh and Haryana with barricades
and by deploying more than 5,000
security personnel.
On Thursday, farmers from Uttar
Pradesh went on a sit-in demonstration
on the Noida-Greater Noida Express-
way as police blocked their protest
march to Delhi, resulting in massive
traffic chaos.
WITH AGENCY INPUTS
BJP announces
Amarpal Maurya, the party’s state
general secretary, is a prominent leader
from the Koeri community, while
Tejveer Singh, from the Jat community,
is a former MP from Mathura actively
involved in the cooperative movement.
Sangeeta Balwant, former Minister of
State for Cooperation in Uttar Pradesh,
and Sadhna Singh, a former MLA from
Chandauli district, are also among the
candidates, along with Naveen Jain,
a former mayor of Agra Municipal
Corporation.
Given the BJP’s reduced strength
compared to the previous Assembly,
it can secure the victory of seven of its
candidates for the ten vacancies.
Elections to the 56 seats of the Upper
House of Parliament are scheduled to
take place on February 27. The votes for
all the seats will be counted the same
day.
In Bihar, which has six seats and
where the BJP-led NDA is again in alli-
ance with JD(U) of Chief Minister Nit-
ish Kumar, the party has nominated
Dharmsheela Gupta and Bhim Singh.
The fate of senior Bihar leader Sushil
Kumar Modi hangs in the balance as his
name did not appear among the party’s
candidates.
Union ministers whose terms are
ending were not included in the list,
hinting at their probable participation
in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. How-
ever, the party is yet to announce can-
didates from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,
and Maharashtra.
Subhash Barala, former Haryana BJP
president and a Jat, will contest from
Haryana, while Samik Bhattacharya will
represent West Bengal. Mahendra Bhatt,
Uttarakhand BJP president, is the party’s
nominee for the lone Rajya Sabha seat
from the state.
In addition to introducing new faces,
many of whom have long served in the
party organisation, the BJP has priori-
tised maintaining a balance of caste rep-
resentation in its candidate selection.
Education based Trust vote
He said Swami Dayanand Saraswati
was born at a time when Indians were
trapped in slavery and social evils.
“Swami Dayanandji then told the
country how our stereotypes of ortho-
doxy and superstitions had engulfed the
country, and weakened our scientific
thinking. These social evils had attacked
our unity,” Modi said.
“A section of the society was con-
tinuously moving away from Indian
culture and spirituality. In such times,
Swami Dayanandji called for returning
to the Vedas,” he said.
The PM said Maharshi Dayanand
was “not only a world sage, but also a
sage of national consciousness.”
“At a time when the British rulers
tried to make our people look inferior
by using our social evils as a pawn and
their rule was justified by some people
citing social evils, the arrival of Day-
anand Saraswati shocked such conspira-
tors,” he said.
The Arya Samaj founder gave a logi-
cal explanation on the Vedas, openly
attacked the stereotypes of orthodoxy
and explained what is the real nature of
Indian philosophy, he said.
“The result was that confidence
started returning in the society. People
started knowing the Vedic religion and
started connecting with its teachings,”
Modi said.
Revolutionaries like Lala Lajpat Rai,
Ram Prasad Bismil and Swami Shrad-
dhanand among others stood up who
were influenced by the Arya Samaj, he
said.
The PM said the milestone of 200
years of Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s
birth has come at a time when India is
in the initial years of its “Amrit Kaal”.
Modi appealed to the Arya Samaj,
which runs more than 2,500 schools,
colleges and universities in the coun-
try and abroad and teaches students in
more than 400 gurukuls, to take up the
task of nation building in the current
decade of the 21st century with renewed
vigour.
Former Bihar CM and Hindustani
Awam Morcha (HAM) leader Jitan Ram
Manjhi held a meeting of his legislators
at his residence. He said that everybody
is intact in NDA and all MLAs of BJP,
JD(U) and HAM will remain present on
Monday.
Imran-backed
Meanwhile, PML-N President She-
hbaz Sharif met senior PPP leaders Asif
Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
to discuss potential coalitions. Sources
disclosed Zardari’s demand for the
prime ministerial position for Bilawal
and significant ministerial portfolios in
exchange for PPP’s support to PML-N,
though no final decision was made.
If negotiations with PPP falter,
PML-N is considering forming a coali-
tion with MQM, JUI-F, and other minor
parties, including independents. Sources
suggested that Shehbaz Sharif would
become Prime Minister, with Maryam
Sharif as Chief Minister of Punjab, given
Shehbaz’s favor among military officials
and PML-N’s parliamentary strength.
However, Bilawal, the 35-year-old
former foreign minister, emphasised
PPP’s pivotal role in government forma-
tion, highlighting the party’s openness
to dialogue with all political entities for
reconciliation.
Meanwhile, PTI leader Gohar Khan
claimed his party would form the gov-
ernment, but analysts doubted its feasi-
bility. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob from the
Pakistan Institute of Legislative Devel-
opment and Transparency (PILDAT)
explained PTI’s need to align with major
parties like PML-N or PPP due to insuf-
ficient parliamentary seats for a major-
ity. The PTI rebuffed attempts to form
PDM 2.0, blaming the group for Paki-
stan’s crises and demanding the resig-
nation of election officials. Army Chief
Gen Munir endorsed a unified govern-
ment representing Pakistan’s diversity
and pluralism, urging political maturity
and unity among parties.
Pakistan President Dr. Arif Alvi
urged recognition of voters’ mandates,
especially from women and youth. The
PPP will convene a Central Executive
Committee meeting to discuss govern-
ment formation decisions.
In an editorial, Dawn newspaper
highlighted Pakistan’s political uncer-
tainty, emphasizing the challenges ahead
for PML-N in coalition-building and
governance.  AGENCIES
millenniumpost
NEW DELHI | MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024
Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay
THE PM LAUNCHES DEVELOPMENT
PROJECTS WORTH RS 7,500 CRORE IN MP
Congress remembers villages, Yatra’ resumes in Chhattisgarh
poor people and farmers only Congress leader also offered garland at Mahatma
Gandhi’s statue at the Gandhi Chowk
during polls, says PM Modi
SATYAPRAKASH SHARMA
BHOPAL: Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi on Sunday said his
government was working for
the welfare of tribals, while the
opposition Congress remem-
bered villages, poor people and
farmers only during elections.
The Prime Minister was
addressing a mega tribal con-
vention, ‘Janjatiya Mhasam-
melan’ in the Jhabua district of
Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua.
During his visit, PM Modi
inaugurated and laid the foun-
dation stone of development
projects worth about Rs 7500
crore. The PM said that the pur-
pose of this visit is to express
gratitude to the people of the
state who honoured the com-
mitment towards development
in the recently held Assembly
polls. The Central Government
is determined to live up to the
public trust, he said.
“The Congress remembers
villages, the poor and farmers
only during elections whereas
our party is working for the
welfare of the tribals”, the Prime
Minister attacked the INDIA
bloc.
Aware of their imminent
defeat, the Congress and its
allies were resorting to last-
ditch tactics, the PM said, add-
ing that “loot and divide” is the
motto of the Congress.
Even the opposition leaders
in Parliament are now saying
‘abki baar 400 paar’ for the rul-
ing National Democratic Alli-
ance (NDA), he said.
PM Modi reiterated claim
that BJP’s ‘lotus’ symbol will
bag more than 370 seats in the
Lok Sabha elections.
“Congress was defeated in
the 2023 Assembly polls and it
is certain to be wiped out in the
2024 Lok Sabha poll”, PM Modi
‘The yatra, a
claimed. He said that the proj-
ects inaugurated in the state
will lead the better rail con-
nectivity in the tribal districts.
The funds released under PM
Adarsh Gaon Yojana will bring
the betterment of villages.
Development works like
modernisation of the railways
and providing Rs 1,500-1,500
in the accounts of two lakh
tribal women show the double
engine government is working
double fast in Madhya Pradesh.
“The credit for this mega
campaign of development goes
to the public. Modi announced
Krantisurya Tantya Bhil Uni-
versity after the name of Tantya
Mama, a tribal icon.
The PM interacted with the
tribal people and visited the
exhibition focused on devel-
opment works. People from
adjoining states Gujarat, Raj-
asthan and Maharashtra par-
ticipated in the event.
Addressing the conven-
tion, the PM said that Madhya
Pradesh is moving fast on the
path of development. Earlier
it was counted as a BIMARU
state. The govt of former PM
Atal Bihari Vajpayee formed a
new ministry for tribal welfare
and made special provisions
in the budget prioritising the
development of tribal areas and
tribal people, the PM also said.
“Tribal society is the pride
of the country and the guar-
antee of the country’s bright
future. The development of
tribals is our guarantee and it
is the government’s resolve to
make their dreams come true”,
PM Modi said.
Modi said that his govern-
ment made a record increase
in the MSP on forest produce,
covering the products from
10 to 90. Van Dhan Kendras
would be opened in the coun-
try so that tribal products could
get good markets, he also said.
It is not acceptable to the
govt that tribal children are left
behind due to lack of educa-
tion keeping in view, Eklavya
residential schools are being
started across the country for
tribal students, the PM fur-
ther said. Attacking the pre-
vious Congress governments,
PM Modi said that they had put
legal safeguards on the rights
of tribal people while his govt
has ensured the rights related
to forest land to the tribal
communities.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
RAIGARH: The ‘Bharat Jodo
Nyay Yatra’ led by Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi resumed
in Raigarh district of Chhat-
tisgarh on Sunday after a two-
day break.
Gandhi offered garland at
Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at
the Gandhi Chowk here and
the yatra further proceeded for
Kharsia Assembly constituency
in the district.
A huge crowd of Congress
leaders and supporters gath-
ered at the square and followed
Gandhi, who was in an open
jeep accompanied by state
Congress in-charge Sachin
Pilot, state party chief Dipak
Baij and Leader of Opposition
Charan Das Mahant.
The yatra, a mass outreach
programme, had entered Rai-
garh on Thursday from Odi-
sha and after a two-day break it
resumed on Sunday afternoon
Mann, Kejriwal dedicate Sri Guru Amar Dass Thermal Plant
MPOST BUREAU
CHANDIGARH: Punjab has
created new history as the Chief
Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann
and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal on Sunday dedicated
the Sri Guru Amar Dass Ther-
mal Plant to the masses.
The state government had
scripted a new success story by
purchasing Goindwal power
plant earlier owned by a private
company GVK Power at a cost of
Rs 1,080 crore. For the first time
a reverse trend was witnessed
in the state as the government
purchased a private power plant
whereas in the past the state
governments used to sell their
assets to the favorite individu-
als at ‘throw away’ prices. This
power plant is the cheapest pur-
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, in
Chhattisgarh, on Sunday 
afternoon, a Congress func-
tionary here said.
According to Congress
leaders, the yatra will boost
the morale of the party work-
ers after the Congress suffered
a massive defeat at the hands
of the BJP in the state assem-
chase made by any state/private
company as other power plants
like Korba West, Jhabua Power
and Lanco Amarkantak of capac-
ity 600 MW have been purchased
at Rs 1,804 crore, Rs 1,910 crore
and Rs 1,818 crore respectively.
The Punjab government has
purchased this 540 MW power
plant at Rs 2 crore per MW. This
is much less than other power
plants whose acquisition has
been made at Rs 3 crore per
MW. The Power plant has been
renamed as Sri Guru Amardass
Thermal Power plant after the
third Sikh Guru.
The available capacity
of power plant is 61 per cent
whereas it was used only upto
34 per cent but now it will be
run to 75-80 per cent thereby
augmenting the power genera-
Nation
mass outreach
programme, had
entered Raigarh on
Thursday
from Odisha’
dhi had alleged that the ruling
party’s two-point programme
is to encourage injustice and
spread hatred and violence.
He had also targeted Prime
Minister Narendra Modi,
claiming he was not an OBC
by birth as his caste “ghan-
PTI chi” was included in the Other
Backward Classes list in 2000
bly elections held in November in Gujarat by the then BJP gov-
last year. The yatra entered the ernment there.
state at Rengarpali check post The yatra will cover 536 km
in Raigarh district on Chhattis- in Chhattisgarh while passing
garh-Odisha border on Thurs- through Raigarh, Sakti, Korba,
day and Gandhi addressed a Surajpur, Surguja and Balram-
public meeting there. pur districts before entering
Hitting out at the BJP, Gan- Jharkhand on February 14.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann with Delhi Chief Minister and
AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal during a rally to dedicate the Guru
Amardas Thermal Power Plant to people, in Tarn Taran, on Sunday PTI
tion in the state. As coal from purchase will help in reduction
Pachwara coal mine, allotted to in overall Tariff by over Rs. 1 per
Punjab, can be used only for gov- unit and it will lead to Savings
ernment power plants so with of Rs 300- 350 crores on power
purchase of this power plant purchase thereby benefiting the
this coal can be aptly utilised for consumers of the state.
producing power to provide it This power plant will also
to every sector of the state. This help in higher (More than Dou-
5
‘EC snatched
NCP from
hands of its
founders and
gave to others’
PUNE: Senior politician Sha-
rad Pawar on Sunday said the
Election Commission’s deci-
sion to allot the NCP name
and symbol to Ajit Pawar-led
group was “surprising” as the
poll body has “snatched” the
party from the hands of those
who founded it and gave it to
others.
Pawar said the programme
and ideology are important for
the people while a symbol is
useful for a limited period.
‘I am confident that people
will not support the Election
Commission ruling against
which we have approached the
Supreme Court,’ he said. The
Election Commission not only
snatched our symbol but also
handed over our party to oth-
ers, he said. ‘The EC snatched
the party from the hands of
those who founded and built
it and gave it to others; such a
thing never happened before,’
said Pawar, who founded the
NCP in 1999.  AGENCIES
ble) power generation due to
availability of coal from Pachh-
wara Coal Mine as Plant Load
Factor (PLF) is likely to go up to
75 to 80 per cent against aver-
age Plant Load Factor (PLF) 34
per cent so far. The operation-
alisation of this plant will also
open new Employment oppor-
tunities for the youth of the State
of Punjab thereby making them
an equal partner in the growth
and prosperity of the state. Per-
tinently, 540 (2x270) MW GVK
Goindwal Sahib Thermal plant,
a MOU route cost plus basis
project was envisaged in 1992.
Initially, a PPA for a 500 MW
plant was signed in 2000, there-
after a MOU for a 540 MW plant
was signed in 2006 followed by
an amended PPA for 540 MW
in 2009.

Modi has worked to secure respect for India’s

cultural heritage on world stage: Amit Shah
OUR CORRESPONDENT
MYSURU: Union Home
Minister Amit Shah on Sun-
day credited Prime Minister
Narendra Modi with securing
respect for India’s cultural heri-
tage on the world stage, citing
the construction of the Ram
temple in Ayodhya and the pro-
motion of other key pilgrimage
centres as examples.
Speaking at ‘Sutturu Jathra’
(fair) event near here, he lauded
Modi for promoting the preser-
vation of Yoga, Ayurveda, and
Indian languages, along with
making the country secure and
prosperous.
‘Narendra Modi has worked
to gain respect for the country’s
cultural heritage on the world
stage. Modiji has worked for
the revival of several of our
cultural centres such as Ram
Mandir in Ayodhya, Kashi
Vishwanath Corridor in Kashi,
Mahakal Corridor (Mahakal
Lok Corridor in Ujjain), and
resurrection of Kedarnath and
Badrinath Dham,’ Shah said.
Sutturu Math on the banks
of river Kapila, located in Nan-
jangud taluk in this district, is
one of the prominent spiritual
centres in the state that prop-
agates Veerashaiva/Lingayat
faith.
Jagadguru Sri Shivarathri
Deshikendra Mahaswamiji of
Sutturu Math, Union Minis-
ter Pralhad Joshi, former chief
minister Basavaraj Bommai,
Leader of Opposition in the
Karnataka Legislative Assem-
bly R Ashoka, and state BJP
President B Y Vijayendra,
were among those present at
the event.
Shah lauded Sri Shivarathri
Deshikendra Mahaswamij for
deciding to open a branch of
the Sutturu Math in Ayodhya,
and start working there.
Offering tributes to 12th
century social reformer and
philosopher Basaveshwara, he
also acknowledged the contri-
butions on Sutturu Math and
its seers in promoting the wel-
fare of society.
“I want to tell Mahaswamiji
that I myself and every worker
of the BJP will always respect
the contributions of Sutturu
Math to the society and, in the
coming days, will in every way
support the efforts to take it
forward amidst the people,” he
added.

RCF aims to roll out first prototype of

Vande Metro coach by April, says its GM
‘A total of 16 such coaches are expected to be ready
by the later part of 2024-25 financial year’
KAPURTHALA: The Rail
Coach Factory (RCF) in
Kapurthala in Punjab is aiming
to roll out the first prototype of
Vande Metro coach for inter-
city travel by April this year,
its general manager S Srinivas
has said.
A total of 16 such coaches
are expected to be ready by the
later part of 2024-25 financial
year, he said. Vande Metro,
which is designed on the con-
cept of India’s first indigenous
semi-high-speed train Vande
Bharat, will cater to intercity
passengers covering up to a
distance of 250 km. A Vande
Metro train will have 16 air-
conditioned coaches and can
run at a maximum speed of
130 km per hour. ‘This train
is meant for intercity traffic,’
Srinivas told news agency, add-
ing, ‘We are aiming that the first
prototype is ready by April.’
Vande Metro trains will
enhance passenger experience
and accessibility, he said, add-
ing each coach will have the
capacity to carry 280 passen-
gers -- 100 seating capacity and
180 standing capacity.
The 3x3 bench-type seating
arrangement maximises pas-
senger capacity, providing a
comfortable medium-distance
commute, he said.Vande Metro
coaches will be equipped with
a passenger talkback system to
communicate with the train
driver in case of an emergency.
Each coach will be equipped
with 14 sensors for fire and
smoke detection.
There will be a wheelchair-
accessible lavatory in coaches,
he said. The train will be
equipped with the Kavach sys-
tem, which is a pivotal measure
to prevent collisions, he said.
Highlights
»»Vande Metro, which is designed on the concept of India’s first
indigenous semi-high-speed train Vande Bharat, will cater to
intercity passengers covering up to a distance of 250 km
»»Vande Metro trains will enhance passenger experience
and accessibility, he said, adding each coach will have the
capacity to carry 280 passengers -- 100 seating capacity
and 180 standing capacity
The gangway, which joins tance train on the Udhampur-
two coaches, will be wide like Srinagar-?Baramulla section.
corridors to provide a smooth RCF engineers added a spe-
walk-through in the train, cial feature in these coaches to
Srinivas said. provide hot water in lavatories
Windows and doors are during winter months, he said.
designed for both safety and He said the next rake of 24
convenience with wider open- coaches will be rolled out in
able hopper-type windows for March this year and two more
emergency situations and spa- rakes will be ready in the next
cious entrances featuring wider financial year.
doors. For passenger comfort, On Vistadome coaches
automatic plug doors at the for the heritage Kalka-Shimla
entrance and touch-free doors route, the general manager said
in the compartment area will trials had been successfully
be provided, he said. completed and these coaches
Srinivas also said the RCF would run soon on this nar-
rolled out 24 special Rajdhani row gauge section after clear-
sleeper coaches in December ance from the commissioner
last year for running a long-dis- of railway safety.  AGENCIES
6 Nation millenniumpost
MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024 | NEW DELHI

PARL PANEL RECOMMENDS CAPF constable exam being

Ayush-Health Ministry collaboration to
establish pluralistic healthcare system
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: A parliamen-
tary committee has recom-
mended the Ayush Ministry
to collaborate with the Union
Ministry of Health to imple-
ment measures ensuring that
the health workforce compre-
hends the importance of inte-
grating systems.
The collaboration aims to
establish a pluralistic health
system that caters to the pop-
ulation’s diverse needs, the
Department-related Parlia-
mentary Standing Committee
on Health and Family Wel-
fare said in its report “Review
of National Ayush Mission in
India”, presented in Parliament
on Friday. The committee also
suggested incorporating the
awareness of Ayush systems
into school curricula, a signifi-
cant step towards minimising
knowledge barriers between
Ayush and modern medicine.
‘Facilitating a dialogue
among health providers from
various systems becomes
imperative for optimising
patient outcomes. Substantial
reforms in Indian medical edu-
cation are essential to instil in
medical students and practi-
tioners an attitude supportive
of the integration of modern
medicine and traditional medi-
cine,’ it said in the report.
The committee noted
that like China, the Ministry
of Ayush’s efforts to establish
12,500 Health and Wellness
Centres (now renamed as Aro-
gya Mandirs) go a long way in
establishing Ayush as a medici-
nal system with the potential to
fulfil the objectives of the uni-
versal health program.
‘Like China, the govern-
ment of India should also
devise ways to integrate the
Ayush system with poverty
alleviation initiatives to boost
community engagement,’ it
said.
The committee also recom-
mended the government inten-
sify its focus on implementing
the National Ayush Mission
(NAM) by strategically align-
ing its objectives with main-
conducted in 13 regional languages
Around 48 lakh candidates are appearing
in 128 cities across the country
OUR CORRESPONDENT across the country.
The MHA and Staff Selec-
Key Points NEW DELHI: For the first tion Commission have signed
»»The committee also suggested incorporating the time, the constable recruit- an MoU to facilitate the con-
ment examination in the Cen- duct of the examination in
awareness of Ayush systems into school curricula, a tral Armed Police Forces such the 13 regional languages in
significant step towards minimising knowledge barriers as the CRPF, BSF and CISF will addition to Hindi and English.
between Ayush and modern medicine be conducted in 13 regional Accordingly, the SSC has issued
»»‘Like China, the government of India should also devise languages apart from Hindi notification in this regard.
and English. The decision will result
ways to integrate the Ayush system with poverty The examination are being in lakhs of youth taking part
alleviation initiatives to boost community engagement’ conducted from February the home minister to increase in the examination in their
10-March 7 and around 48 the participation of local mother tongue or regional lan-
stream healthcare delivery. ment plans for patients, consid- lakh candidates are appearing youths in the Central Armed guage and improve their selec-
‘The collaboration between ering both Indian and Western in 128 cities across the coun- Police Forces and to promote tion prospects. As a result, the
traditional and modern medi- medical perspectives,’ it said. try, according to an official regional languages, it said. reach of this examination will
cal practitioners will be crucial The committee recom- statement. In addition to Hindi and increase among the candidates
in the effective implementation mended the ministry ensure Under the leadership of English, the question papers in the entire country and every-
of NAM,’ it said. there is at least one special- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now be prepared in the fol- one will get an equal opportu-
Additionally, investing in ist practitioner in Ayurveda, and the guidance of Union lowing 13 regional languages: nity for employment.
robust research and develop- homoeopathy, yoga or Siddha Home Minister Amit Shah, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, With this initiative of the
ment, enhancing educational in these co-located facilities. the Ministry of Home Affairs Marathi, Malayalam, Kan- central govt, the youths across
institutions and promoting ‘The committee hopes that (MHA) had decided to conduct nada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, the country, have got a golden
awareness will contribute to this initiative may result in inte- the constable (general duty) Urdu, Punjabi, Manipuri and opportunity to participate in
establishing Ayush as a viable grating the Ayush system of examination for recruitment Konkani. the constable (GD) exami-
and integral part of the health- medicine for managing chronic in CAPFs in 13 regional lan- Constable examination is nation in the Central Armed
care system, the report stated. conditions like respiratory ail- guages in addition to Hindi and one of the flagship recruitment Police Forces conducted by the
‘Physicians from both sys- ments, digestive problems, and English from January 1, 2024. tests conducted by the Staff SSC in their mother tongue and
tems can work together to musculoskeletal disorders,’ the This “historic decision” has Selection Commission (SSC) make a career in the service of
develop comprehensive treat- report said. been taken on the initiative of attracting lakhs of youths from the nation, the statement said.

Kerala to form inter-state panel to monitor
movement of wild animals across state borders tanker ploughs into crowd in Sikkim
OUR CORRESPONDENT
THRISSUR: A day after a
42-year-old man was trampled
to death by a wild elephant at
Wayanad’s Mananthavady, the
Kerala government on Sunday
decided to form an inter-state
coordination committee to
monitor the movement of wild
animals across state borders.
State Forest Minister A K
Saseendran, after an evalua-
tion meeting held here, told the
media that Wayanad district,
which has been witnessing
higher number of man-animal
conflicts recently, will receive
two more Rapid Response
Teams (RRT) in addition to
the one it has now.
‘An inter-state coordina-
tion committee will be formed
3 dead, 16 injured as speeding milk
before February 15 which will
discuss the further course of
action. As of now, there are
three forest divisions in Way-
anad. A special cell for these
three divisions will be formed
and a nodal officer will coor-
dinate the functions,’ Saseen-
dran said.
He added that of the 500
beat forest officers from today’s
passing out parade, 170 will be
posted in Wayanad.
The minister also informed
that the elephant which tram-
pled Payyampally resident Aji,
was currently somewhere near
the Kerala-Karnataka border.
He said the forest depart-
ment officials have been
directed to tranquilise the ani-
mal if it was found in a suit-
able place.
‘As far as we understand
there was a delay in receiving
information from the Karna-
taka department regarding
the movement of the elephant.
We don’t have the facility to
receive information from the
chip installed by Karnataka or
Tamil Nadu. Hence, we have
decided to form an inter-state
coordination committee to
avoid such instances,’ Saseen-
dran said. To control the man-
animal conflict, which includes
the venturing of wild animals
into human habitat, amend-
ments need to be made to the
concerned Forest Act, which
only the union government can
do, the minister pointed out.
Meanwhile, BJP leader
and Union Minister of State
V Muraleedharan on Sunday
sought the resignation of the
state Forest Minister.
He alleged that despite
the presence of a radio col-
lar, the Kerala Forest Depart-
ment failed to warn the people
about the venturing of the wild
elephant. Muraleedharan also
attacked Wayanad MP and
senior Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi and asked whether he
was aware of the incidents in
his constituency.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
GANGTOK: Three persons
were killed and 16 injured
when a speeding milk tanker
ploughed into a crowd at Rani-
pool in Gangtok district, police
said on Sunday.
A crowd had gathered at the
mela ground Ranipool, about
11 km from here, to play tom-
bola when the speeding milk
tanker ploughed into them
around 7.30 pm on Saturday,
the police said.
The driver of the tanker has
been arrested, they said.
All the injured persons were
rushed to Central Referral Hos-
pital where doctors declared
two persons were brought dead
and one succumbed to injuries
at the hospital, they said.
Doctors at the hospital said
the condition of the five of the
injured was “serious”.
Sikkim Chief Minister
Prem Sing Tamang said he
was deeply saddened by the
tragic accident that occurred
in Ranipool.
‘The driver of the
tanker has been
arrested’
He announced a compen-
sation of Rs 5 lakh to the next
of kin of those who died in the
tragic accident.
“We are committed to pro-
viding every possible support
during this difficult time. My
thoughts are with the injured
and their families, and I sin-
cerely pray for their swift recov-
ery. I also extend my deepest
condolences to the families of
those who lost their lives in
this tragedy, and I pray for the
departed souls to rest in eternal
peace”, the CM said in a post on
Facebook.
No subsidised
power to
Ministers, govt
staff: Assam CM
GUWAHATI: No subsidised
power will be provided to any
minister, officer or government
employee in Assam, Chief Min-
ister Himanta Biswa Sarma said
on Sunday.
He has instructed the power
department to install prepaid
meters in government quar-
ters, including residences in the
ministerial colony.
Himanta Sarma, in a post
on X, said that he was informed
by power department officials
during a recent interaction
that a very nominal amount on
account of the monthly power
bill is deducted from the sala-
ries of the ministers and senior
officers.  AGENCIES

India records 114 new
cases of Covid
NEW DELHI: India has reg-
istered a single-day rise of 114
new COVID-19 infections
and the number of active cases
of the disease in the country
stands at 870, the Union Health
Ministry said on Sunday.
One fresh fatality due to the
disease was reported in Maha-
rashtra, according to the min-
istry’s data updated at 8 am.
The number of daily cases
had dropped to double dig-
its till December 5, but cases
began to increase after the
emergence of a new variant
and cold weather conditions.
India has witnessed three
waves of COVID-19 in the
past with the peak incidence
of daily new cases and deaths
being reported during the delta
wave in April-June 2021.
At its peak, 4,14,188 new
cases and 3,915 deaths were
reported on May 7, 2021.
Since the pandemic began
in early 2020, more than
4.5 crore people have been
infected and over 5.3 lakh
deaths reported across the
country due to disease. AGENCIES
5-year-old CM Khattar interacts with eminent Cross-party pilgrimage
boy killed in citizens at Jain Bhawan in Panchkula to Ayodhya unites MLAs
celebratory
firing in UP MPOST BUREAU
BANDA: A five-year-old boy
was killed in a celebratory fir-
ing here, police said.
The incident took place in
Banda district’s Mataundh area.
ASP Lakshmi Niwas Mishra
said, ‘A minor boy Shambhu
Shukla who had gone to attend
a family function was killed in
a celebratory firing on Satur-
day. The firing was done with
a country-made pistol by one
Prateek Shukla during the fam-
ily function.’ Police have lodged
an FIR against the accused
under relevant sections of the
IPC and sent the body for post-
mortem examination, officials
said.  AGENCIES
world’s largest democratic
party. There are many politi-
in spiritual journey
CHANDIGARH: Haryana
Chief Minister, Manohar Lal
Khattar said that by rising
above caste politics, the pres-
ent government is working for
the welfare of the poor, youth,
women and farmers. He said
that only with their welfare,
India will become a developed
nation.
Khattar said this while
addressing the eminent citi-
zens at Jain Bhawan, Sector 15,
Panchkula on Sunday. Haryana
Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Gian
Chand Gupta was also present
on this occasion.
Earlier, the Chief Minister
paid obeisance at Kalyani Mata
Temple in Sector- 15 and gave
cal parties in the country but
if there is any party that runs
democratically then it is the
Bharatiya Janata Party. He said
that we have unwavering faith
in democratic values and the
state government is working
in the interest of every citizen.
Khattar said that the pres-
Haryana Chief Minister, ent state government believes
Manohar Lal Khattar addresses in doing experiments in pub-
gathering during a programme, in lic interest and thus has made
Panchkula on Sunday several new experiments for
the welfare of the people and
the message of keeping the reli- to make their lives easier. While
gious places clean by cleaning initiating changes in any sys-
the main gate of the temple. tem, few challenges have to be
Khattar said that Bharatiya faced, he said while referring
Janata Party (BJP) is not only to the Parivar Pehchan Patra
the country’s but also the (PPP) programme.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
LUCKNOW: In response to
the call of Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath and Assembly
Speaker Satish Mahana, MLAs
from various political parties,
excluding the Samajwadi Party,
embarked on a spiritual jour-
ney to Ayodhya to offer prayers
to Lord Ram.
Expressing gratitude for the
opportunity, the MLAs lauded
CM Yogi and Speaker Satish
Mahana for extending the
invitation.
“I am overwhelmed to be
present at the `Darbar’ of Lord
Ram. My dream has come
true,” said Mahana, emotion-
ally sharing his sentiments
with reporters after visiting
the temple.
He recounted the journey
of witnessing the evolution of
the site, from a mere structure
to the grand temple it stands as
today. “I never imagined that
the temple would be such a
majestic structure that reflects
the religious and cultural ethos
of the country,” he added.
Accompanied by ministers
and legislators from the ruling
coalition, members of opposi-
tion parties, including the BSP,
RLD, and Congress, set aside
political differences to partake
in the collective reverence for
Lord Ram.

Third offshore
campus of IIT
likely to be set
up in Sri Lanka
NEW DELHI: The third off-
shore campus of the prestigious
Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT) is likely to be set up in Sri
Lanka, according to sources.
The proposal for an IIT in
Sri Lanka was announced last
November in the 2024 Budget
unveiled by Sri Lankan Presi-
dent Ranil Wickremesinghe,
who also serves as the finance
minister.
According to sources, the
Sri Lankan government is in
touch with IIT Madras for the
ambitious project.
‘A high-level delegation had
recently visited the Chennai
campus to discuss the future
roadmap. The talks are on and
the campus is likely to come up
in Kandy,’ a source said.
‘The delegation also visited
the Research Park at the cam-
pus and interacted with offi-
cials about possible areas of
engagement,’ the source added.
The Indian government
had announced that oppor-
tunities for admission to the
IITs in India will be provided
to meritorious Sri Lankan stu-
dents from the 2017-18 aca-
demic sessions onwards. AGENCIES
A bank in Ayodhya where only transaction Nation Briefs
is ‘spirituality, inner peace and faith’ 5 KILLED, 15 INJURED IN TWO ROAD
The bank has a collection of 20,000 crore ‘Sitaram’ booklets from the devotees of Lord Ram
AYODHYA: There is a unique
bank here in the land of Lord
Ram where money does not
matter and the only return its
35,000 account-holders get
is peace of mind, faith and
spirituality!
Catching the attention of
the devotees and tourists visit-
ing the newly constructed Ram
temple is “International Shree
Sitaram Bank”. The deposits
here are booklets with “Sita-
ram” scribbled on all pages.
The spiritual bank, which
was set up in November 1970
by Mahant Nritya Gopal Das,
the chief of the Shri Ramjan-
mabhoomi Teertha Kshetra
Trust, has over 35,000 account-
holders in India and abroad
including the US, the UK, Can-
ada, Nepal, Fiji, the UAE and
other countries.
The bank has a collection of
20,000 crore ‘Sitaram’ booklets
from the devotees of Lord Ram.
According to Punit Ram
Das Maharaj, the manager
of the bank, the number of
daily visitors at the bank has
increased after the consecra-
ACCIDENTS IN ODISHA
tion ceremony of the grand
temple last month.
‘The bank provides free
booklets and red pens to dev-
otees and keeps track of each
account. One has to write ‘Sita-
ram’ at least 5 lakh times to get
an account opened in the bank
and then a passbook is issued.’
“There are 136 branches of
the bank across India and even
abroad. The account holders
also send us the booklets by
post and we maintain the led-
ger here,” Puneet Ram Das told
news agency.
He said the visitors also
question the benefits of writing
Sitaram and depositing it into
bank. “I tell them that the way
we visit temples of gods and
goddesses for inner peace, faith
and virtue, in the same way,
writing ‘Sitaram’ and deposit-
ing the same into the bank is a
form of a prayer. Don’t we say
that God has his own account
of everyone’s good and bad
deeds? This is something simi-
lar. “The devotees find solace
and profound spiritual enrich-
ment in writing, chanting and
reminiscing Lord Ram’s name,”
he added.
Puneet Ram Das explained
that it is believed that by writ-
ing the name 84 lakh times, one
can attain ‘Moksha’.
Jeetu Nagar, from Gaya in
Bihar, who has been visiting the
BHUBANESWAR: At least five people were killed
and 15 others injured in two separate road accidents
in Odisha on Sunday. In the first incident, four people
Highlights were killed and nine injured when a pick-up van car-
»»Catching the attention of the devotees and tourists visiting rying them collided head-on with a truck on NH-49
near Lakhanpur in Jharsuguda district around 10.30
the newly constructed Ram temple is “International Shree
Sitaram Bank”. The deposits here are booklets with am, a police officer said. The coal-laden truck over-
“Sitaram” scribbled on all pages turned after hitting the pick-up van. The injured pas-
»»‘The bank provides free booklets and red pens to sengers were taken to Lakhanpur Community Health
devotees and keeps track of each account’ Centre. Later, the seriously injured were shifted to the
district headquarters hospital, Jharsuguda, the officer
»»‘One has to write ‘Sitaram’ at least 5 lakh times to get an said. Police sent the bodies for autopsy and initiated
account opened in the bank and then a passbook is issued’ an investigation. The second accident took place near
Aradi Chhak in Bhadrak district in the early hours of
bank for 14 years, said this is his neighbour about the bank, he
only form of prayers. thought I must be crazy but I Sunday, another police officer said. One person died
“Instead of praying at a tem- have strong belief. Whenever I while six others were critically injured, he said.
ple, I practice this and it has do the writing, I feel lighter and
always worked for me when- I feel that my prayers are being TWO KILLED AS MOTORCYCLES COLLIDE
ever I have felt low or have been listened,” he said. HEAD-ON IN RAJASTHAN’S BARAN
in a trouble. I write it through- A new idol of Lord Ram
out the year and deposit at the was consecrated at the grand KOTA: Two people riding on separate motorcycles
bank once a year. There is an temple in a consecration cer- were killed on the spot after their two-wheelers col-
option to send by post too but emony on January 22 led by lided head-on in the Baran district. The incident took
I prefer to visit myself,” he said. Prime Minister Narendra place in the Matiyakhara village under the Kas-
Nagar said he has already Modi. Lakhs of people watched
deposited booklets with a name the “pran pratishtha (consecra- bathana police station in on Saturday late evening.
count of 1.37 crore. tion)” ceremony on television The two deceased in the accident were identified as
Suman Das, another in their homes and neighbour- Parth (25) and Sadhu Sahariya (32) of the Mati-
account holder from Bareily hood temples, becoming part yakhara village. Two motorcycles had a massive
in Uttar Pradesh said, he of the historic event held just head-on collision on in the village on Saturday eve-
has scribbled ‘Sitaram’ 25 months before the Lok Sabha ning, killing riders on the spot, ASI Vijay Singh said.
lakh times. “When I told my elections.  AGENCIES
millenniumpost
NEW DELHI | MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024 Opinion 7
Missing ingredients
Talking Shop We have some great cooks in our land, but most are in a fix. With utensils and
condiments missing from the kitchen, stirring up a life-saving broth is a tall ask
Charting a
stable course

I
n its recent Monetary Policy Committee
(MPC) meeting, the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has once again opted for stability, main- RAJEEV NARAYAN
taining the policy repo rate at 6.5 per cent for
the sixth consecutive meeting. This decision, cou-
pled with the RBI’s continuance of its withdrawal
of accommodation stance, underscores the central
bank’s unwavering dedication to aligning inflation The world and its people are learning to live without rules, doing whatever they want to within and outside the proverbial kitchen
with the ideal target of four per cent. RBI Governor
Shaktikanta Das reiterated the significance of stable “Instead of going outside for palate and mind. Be it house- are turning to innovations, tling for some rasping paper being even more game-chang-
and low inflation at 4 per cent as the cornerstone dinner, get good ingredients. holds, politics or business for- freebies and offers to tide over tigers when we have many ing and ruthless. Back to the
for sustainable and long-term economic growth. Cooking shows affection. In a tunes, things are topsy-turvy the brutal sales storm. Fac- who have ushered in change choice we need to make—we
We are bad economy, it’s important in the fare being dished out. ing a near-all-time-low in the and advancement with lit- can embed democratic val-
Despite a temporary easing from July’s peak, scrambling to to make yourself feel good.” As I end the paragraph, let’s offtake of products, there is tle noise? As a nation and a ues and human rights into
headline retail inflation has rebounded to a four-  —Ina Garten damn the argots, idioms and little option but to improvise. Planet, we have followed those the design and implementa-
put together a

P
month high of 5.69 per cent in December. The patois—it is time to get down Freebies and discounts rule who embrace opportunity tion of tomorrow’s systems,
MPC has adjusted the projection for average retail fitting recipe ilot, White House to brass-tacks and tackle the roost in every segment. and selflessly pave the path or we can scoff at them and
inflation in the January-March quarter to 5.0 per which can economist and Bare- things head-on and dead-cen- You get more weight at the for future generations. As a live at our peril. We can create
cent, maintaining the inflation aim unchanged at foot Contessa cook- tre if we want to become a US old price, or a plus-one offer race, homo sapiens are said to inclusive societies, where net-
5.4 per cent for the current fiscal year. Of particu- satisfy palate show host Ina Garten $5-trillion economy. to coax you. In some cases, have been born only to assim- worked communities define
lar concern to the RBI and policymakers is the per- and mind. Be knows more than many give What stirred this thought? the price is slashed, but so are ilate, learn, procreate and pass the future, or we can create
sistent food inflation, which spiked to 9.53 per cent her credit for—be it how to The trigger for today’s ver- the contents. ‘More for less’ or on the learning. In the pro- tools for mass surveillance and
according to the Consumer Food Price Index, sig- it households, push or pull back the aircraft bal volley is as blasé as it is ‘less for less’ is the new eco- cess is created a smarter next population control, breeding
nificantly above the October figure of 6.61 per cent. politics or rudder, drive forward the personal. I was in my kitchen nomics diktat. That, inciden- generation; a process that has inequalities between people
The RBI’s recent bulletin suggests that food infla- world’s largest economy or the other day. Trying to put tally, is what happened to my seen us evolve from roam- themselves, both locally and
tion sometimes mirrors core inflation, raising ques- business futures, just prance her ladle around together a sumptuous Denver cheese. ing the Earth on bare soles across the world.
tions about its true impact on the Indian economy. things are quite in a pot to stir up intense and Omelette, I opened a pack of More to it than cheese to riding in bullet trains and Japanese ‘Iron Chef ’ Masa-
oft-whacky culinary concoc- cheese slices and was flabber- It is not just in my cheese flying in supersonic aircraft, haru Morimoto said: “No
Conversely, core inflation, excluding food and topsy-turvy. tions. She is known for being gasted: “Who took my (damn) where the contents are less even traipsing the unknowns rules. Don’t be afraid to do
fuel prices, has shown signs of softening in recent However, in life outspoken, yet thrifty with cheese?” I wasn’t quoting than promised or the price in outer space and beyond. whatever you want. Cooking
months, indicating positive outcomes from the words, earning her untold from Dr Spencer Johnson’s more than we planned or Let us not subjugate ourselves doesn’t have to have rules. I
RBI’s inflation-focused monetary policies and and the future, sobriquets and monikers, book or being a dilettante; I bargained for. It is happen- to the tangential analogy of don’t like it that way.” For some
affirming the stability of the economy. Looking far greater none more endearing than was just peeved at my missing ing in other life-walks as well, moving from bow and arrow reason, more of the world
ahead, challenges persist, including the sustained that of being “as much at cheese, with the packet con- like politics and economics to RPGs, laser-guided missiles than not seems enamoured
rise in food prices, uncertainties surrounding challenges home in the kitchen as in the taining only 5 slices, as against (as iterated above). Today’s and sharper-than-knives ver- of Morimoto-san’s thoughts
crude oil costs, and the possibility of a slowdown in confront us cockpit and in boardrooms”. the normal 10. I sniffed the air stalwarts on these two criti- biage and vitriol. That would and has embraced them
domestic growth momentum. These factors could Therefore, when Garten tells and looked around to locate cal fronts are anything but, be historically criminal. quite wholeheartedly (there’s
exacerbate demand pressures on inflation, particu- us to try and feel good in a rats, if any, man-type or the and their vocabulary and sub- Choice: Moore or Murphy? nothing called ‘whole-stom-
larly considering the current state of private con- bad economy, you had bet- four-legged rodent-kind. stance is lacking in the most We live in a world steeped achedly’, is there?). And that
sumption in India. Despite these challenges, the ter try and feel good in a bad There were none. The mystery basic of ingredients and con- in technology and the over- is perhaps why the world and
RBI remains optimistic about the country’s eco- economy. Don’t diverge from was only solved when I looked diments. As we are talking whelming advancement of its its people are learning to live
nomic prospects, projecting a real GDP growth of 7 good advice coming from a at the packing closely, which kitchens, we should accept composites. Going by Moore’s without rules, doing whatever
per cent for the upcoming financial year 2024–25, smart person. read ‘5 SLICES’ in bold. What that, much like florid veins, Law, technology (read ‘transis- they want to within and out-
an increase from the previous projection of 6.6 per Intrinsically, though, we happened to the other five, I we have resigned ourselves to tors on a circuit’) will double side the proverbial kitchen.
cent. This forecast includes growth rates of 7.2 per have a problem in following was left wondering. Well, the empty shells creating superfi- every two years at minimal Life doesn’t always give you
cent in Q1, 6.8 per cent in Q2, 7 per cent in Q3, and her advice. While we have slowdown and stringent cost- cial cacophony and all-round cost. A corollary is Murphy’s what you want when you want
6.9 per cent in Q4. Additionally, inflation readings great cooks in our land, most cutting at India’s FMCG firms clutter, not deep-seated finan- Law, which says that “any- it; things change unexpectedly.
for Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 of FY25 are projected at 5 of them are in a fix as utensils did, I found out soon enough. cial and industrial growth, or thing that can go wrong will We can find ways to adapt and
per cent, 4 per cent, 4.6 per cent, and 4.7 per cent, and key condiments are miss- Some research led me societal togetherness. Thus, go wrong”. It is a choice we overcome our fears, and good
respectively, assuming a normal monsoon next ing from the kitchen, mak- deeper into the supply mal- we have economic numbers have to make, an option for things may just come around.
year. ing it well-nigh impossible to aise that surrounds us. As that defy even the essential us to choose from. Technol- You have a choice—I leave it
stir up an invigorating, life- I wrote recently, a double- demands of any financial ogy is neither good nor bad; to you to take your best pick.
In light of these projections and the prevailing saving broth. It is due to this whammy confronts Indian juggernaut, overshadowed by nor is it neutral. In the last 50 The writer is a veteran
economic conditions, the RBI’s decision to main- that in humble Indian kitch- businesses, with sales slith- raucous verbal vomiting that years, the Internet has been journalist and communications
tain the status quo on interest rates appears prudent. ens or societal cook-fests, we ering and profits dwindling. nixes true camaraderie. transformative and disruptive. specialist. He can be reached on
By prioritising inflation control while supporting find ourselves scrambling to With no recourse or let-up in That brings us to a burn- Going forward, communica- narayanrajeev2006@gmail.com.
economic growth, the central bank aims to strike put together a recipe to satisfy sight, even leading companies ing question—why are we set- tion and AI show every sign of Views expressed are personal
a delicate balance that fosters stability and resil-

Fraught with perils

ience in India’s economy. However, it is imperative
for policymakers to remain vigilant and proactive
in addressing challenges such as food inflation and
external uncertainties to ensure sustained economic
recovery and progress. Additionally, structural
reforms aimed at enhancing supply chain efficiency
and bolstering domestic production could help mit-
igate inflationary pressures in the long run. Overall,
Pakistan and Iran must settle their disputes amicably to prevent further
the RBI’s cautious approach reflects a commitment
to strengthen India’s economic landscape, ensuring
stability, and laying the groundwork for sustainable
growth in the years ahead. escalation in already volatile conflict-ridden West Asia

I
n these very columns, it that. This view does not seem
SHANTANU MUKHARJI was explicitly written some to be wide off the mark.
time back that Iran was Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud,
very likely to be drawn into who is a director at The Kho-

DearEditor the ongoing military turmoil in

West Asia after the terror attack,
allegedly by Islamic State of Iraq
and Syria (ISIS), in Kerman on
ALARMING REVELATIONS the occasion of the death anni-
versary of former military and
India has made a steep slide in Transparency intelligence chief General Qas-
International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) sem Soleimani. However, what
2023 even when there are claims in the country that is now significant is that the Ira-
corruption has gone down. As per their recent report, nians struck (January 16) targets
the country has fallen by eight places from 85 in 2022 inside Pakistani territory, which
to 93 in 2023, among 180 countries. Its overall score was described by Iranian author-
has dropped from 40 to 39 on a scale of 100. The score ities as a stronghold of the Jaish-
puts India in the highly corrupt category, with countries al-Adl — a Sunni terrorist group
like Lesotho and Kazakhstan. Corruption is a fact of Iran’s attack claiming the lives of two minors.
Intriguingly, earlier, on January
daily life in the country and most people have not seen inside Pakistani 15, Iran had undertaken similar
any improvement in the conduct of people in public life,
including politicians and bureaucrats. It is a reality that
territory, coming strikes in Iraq and Syria, hitting
what it said were spy headquar-
those in the top echelons are above the law and cannot be at a time ters and terrorist bases hostile
brought to account with existing laws against corruption. when Israel’s to Iranian security interests.
It is mostly the middle and lower level officials who Reacting rather sharply, in a
are caught, that too only in some circumstances. Many war on Gaza visibly retaliatory move, Paki-
get away after being caught, again using corrupt could escalate stan recalled its Ambassador
means. Elections are a fountain of corruption, with in Tehran and suspended all
large amounts of money from anonymous donors
regional tensions, high-level bilateral visits that
being used to win them. Transparency International deserved a were in the pipeline. Also, bilat-
says the weakening of justice systems has reduced the mature response eral ties between Iran and Paki-
accountability of public officials. Both authoritarian and stan reached a new low when
democratic leaders undermine justice, and bribery and Pakistan expelled the Iranian
abuse of power have entered courts also. It has noted that Ambassador in Islamabad and,
there is a narrowing of public space in India, posing a in a blatant show of ire, stated
threat to fundamental rights. It has cited the passage of that the Iranian envoy would
the Telecommunications Bill as such a threat. It has also not be allowed to return to Paki-
stan. Meanwhile, the ongoing
noted that the crackdown on civil society and attacks
escalation between the two war-
on freedom of the press and other freedoms weaken ring neighbouring countries is
transparency and accountability. The best antidote to clearly engaged in the escalation,
corruption is transparency, and that is at a huge discount and there are no chances of any
in government, administration and organisations, abatement in the near future.
including political parties. Pakistan’s initial reaction was
that the violation of Pakistani
— KHOKAN DAS, KOLKATA via email territory was totally indefen-
sible; such unilateral actions—
millenniumpost.in especially resulting in the loss of
innocent lives—may do irrepa-
Log on to write letters to the editor or send them to rable harm to bilateral ties. This
letter2editor.mp@gmail.com. You can also send your comments to The Editor, was the statement issued by the
Millennium Post, Pratap Bhawan, 5 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110 002 Pakistani Foreign Office (FO).
Furthermore, the activity of mili-
rasan Diary, a news and research
portal that tracks and analyses
security issues in the region,
expressed his surprise at the
escalation by Iran despite the
continuing security conflict in
the Middle East region. He said
Iranian actions would have a
long-lasting effect and impli-
cations on bilateral relations, in
the realms of both politics and
security. Further, according to
Tipu, by carrying out attacks
inside Pakistan, it has given a
kind of justification to Paki-
stan to follow the same path in
response to target the sanctu-
aries of anti-Pakistan militant
outfits, which Pakistan consid-
Iran’s action against Pakistan could be part of a larger muscle-flexing exercise ers are based in Iran or even
tant groups on both sides of the misadventurism of Iran. With Arguably, Iran’s attack inside elsewhere. Also, Pakistan may
border is one of the biggest irri- the election in Islamabad just Pakistani territory, coming at be seeking “greater alignment”
tants in the bilateral relationship, concluded, this military retalia- a time when Israel’s war on with the United States, Saudi
and Pakistan and Iran need to tion may provide some succour Gaza could escalate regional Arabia, and Turkey according
address this issue in a “mature” to the Pakistani populace too, tensions, perhaps deserved a to some analysts on the pre-
manner to ensure the situation who are already seen to be losing mature response, according to text of Iran’s action. On its part,
does not worsen further. Ira- credibility in the Pakistani secu- Mosharraf Zaidi of the Islam- Tehran sees Pakistan as a pawn
nian officials had claimed the rity agencies for facing repeated abad-based Tabadlab think tank. in this high-risk brinkmanship
assailants entered from Paki- terror attacks. Zaidi opined that Pakistan’s with Washington.
stan. There were also two attacks Against the backdrop of the response so far is exactly what In the foregoing, Iran’s action
last year, apparently originating escalation of tension in Islam- it should be, as the Iranians were against Pakistan could be part
from Iran, in which several Paki- abad-Tehran ties, Pakistan has looking to provoke an unneces- of a larger muscle-flexing due to
stani troops were killed. China, started strict monitoring of all sary reaction. The real risk right the ongoing Israel-Hamas long-
which enjoys cordial relations flights from the West, includ- now is the wider dangers of Paki- drawn confrontation. It is also
with both states, has urged “both ing Iran. The Pakistan Civil stan being drawn into a conflict possible due to intensified anti-
sides to exercise restraint” and Aviation Authority (CAA) is that it is not a primary actor in, Iran (also anti-Shia) activities by
has offered to mediate to end monitoring air activities over and will be distracted further, as Jaish-al-Adl. Whatever the case,
the standoff. the western border, and the claimed by Zaidi. unless both sides agree to peace
Interestingly, what added authorities have been directed Another viewpoint shared and resolve the tension amica-
fuel to the fire was Pakistan’s to remain alert. Obviously, Paki- by Kamran Bokhari, senior bly, the region will be fraught
retaliation in targeting the ‘ter- stan is reeling under an appre- director for the Washington with peril, threatening peace and
rorist’ hideouts inside the Ira- hension of likely onslaught or DC-based New Lines Institute further adding more gunpow-
nian border, killing nine persons covert action by Iran-sponsored for Strategy and Policy, feels this der to the inflamed West Asia
and further heightening the acts of deadly strikes. Air traffic escalation may lead to poten- military conflict with dangerous
tension. Pakistan’s Operation, control has also been directed tially longer-term conflict for ramifications.
codenamed “Marg Bar Sarm- to gather details of all Western Pakistan. After Afghanistan on The writer is a retired IPS
achar,” has given some conso- flights, including from Iran. Pre- the West and India on the East, officer, Adviser NatStrat, and a
lation to Pakistan’s polity and viously, there was no monitor- this could possibly open conflict former National Security
security establishment, showing ing of flights coming to Pakistan on a third border, and Pakistan Advisor in Mauritius.
that it had not caved in to the from the West. does not seem to be ready for Views expressed are personal
8 World
POLITICAL TURMOIL DEEPENS IN PAKISTAN WITH NO CLEAR MAJORITY
Pak parties intensify efforts to form
coalition govt after split verdict
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The
three main political parties in
Pakistan on Sunday intensi-
fied their efforts for the forma-
tion of a coalition government
after it became clear that the
coup-prone country faced a
hung Parliament after general
elections marred by allegations
of rigging.
The general elections were
held on Thursday, but the
unusual delay in the announce-
ment of results vitiated the
atmosphere as several parties
cried foul and some resorted
to protests.
Former prime minister and
the Pakistan Muslim League-
Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif
received the backing of the
powerful Pakistan Army chief
General Asim Munir on Satur-
day for his call for a unity gov-
ernment to pull Pakistan out of
its current difficulties.
Amidst allegations of vote
rigging and inordinate delay
in announcing the results, the
Election Commission of Pak-
istan (ECP) on Sunday pub-
lished the results of 264 out
of 265 contested seats in the
266-member National Assem-
bly. The result of one constitu-
ency was withheld by the ECP
due to complaints of fraud.
Election to one seat was post-
poned after the death of a
candidate.
Independent candidates, a
vast majority of them backed
by jailed former prime minis-
ter Imran Khan’s Pakistan Teh-
reek-e-Insaf (PTI), won 101
seats in the National Assembly.
They were followed by
three-time former Sharif ’s Pak-
istan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N) with 75 seats, which
technically is the single largest
party in Parliament.
The Pakistan Peoples Party
of Bilawal Zardari Bhutto got
54 seats, and the Karachi-based
Muttahida Qaumi Movement
Pakistan (MQM-P) of Urdu-
speaking people who migrated
from India during the Parti-
tion, got 17 seats. Other smaller
2 killed as Israeli strikes IS terrorist ringleader
hit outskirts of Damascus killed by security Iran marks 45th anniv of Islamic Revolution to suspend peace
BEIRUT: An Israeli drone vessels passing through the Red
struck a car near Lebanon’s Sea.
southern port city of Sidon on
Saturday, killing at least two peo- coastal town of Jadra took place banned outfit Daesh, was killed gripping the wider Middle East over
ple and wounding two others,
security officials said.
The strike came as tensions
across the Middle East grow
with the Israel-Hamas war, a
drone attack last month that
killed three US troops in north-
eastern Jordan near the Syrian
border, and attacks by Yemen’s
Iran-backed Houthi rebels on
Supporters of religious party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam block road as they protest against the delaying result of
parliamentary election by Pakistan Election Commission in Karachi on SundayAP/PTI
parties won the rest of the 12
seats. To form a government,
a party must win 133 seats out
of 265 contested seats in the
National Assembly.
Overall, 169 seats are
needed to secure a sim-
ple majority out of its total
336 seats, which include the
reserved slots for women
and minorities which will be
decided later based on propor-
tional representation.
The PML-N was leading
the push to form the coalition
government on the pattern of
one it set up after Khan, 71,
was removed as prime minister
through a no-confidence vote
in April 2022. Party supremo
Sharif, 74, tasked his younger
brother former premier Sheh-
baz Sharif to hold talks on the
issue.
The PML-N leaders on
Sunday held a meeting with
MQM-P leaders in Lahore.
After an hour-long meet-
ing, they have reached a “prin-
ciple agreement” to work
together in the upcoming gov-
ernment, according to a state-
ment released by Sharif ’s party.
forces in Pakistan
PESHAWAR: A militant ring- day the 45th anniversary of the 1979
The drone strike near the leader, associated with the Islamic Revolution amid tensions
about 60 kilometres from the
Israeli border, making it one
of the farthest inside Lebanon
since violence erupted along the
Lebanon-Israel border on Octo-
ber 8. An Israeli security official
said the target of the strike in
Sidon was Hamas official Basel
Saleh, who was “injured to an
unknown extent”.  AGENCIES
Pakistan Pres Arif Alvi says citizens
shouted out loud their will in election
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan
President Dr Arif Alvi on
Sunday said the voters, par-
ticularly women and youth,
have “not only spoken but
shouted out loud their will”
in the general elections and
urged all political parties and
institutions to “respect and
recognise” the huge mandate
of the citizens.
Alvi was a senior member of
the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) party before former
prime minister Imran Khan
made him the country’s Presi-
dent in 2018.
“I must congratulate the
people of Pakistan, especially
the women for coming out in
“We will work together in
the interest of the country and
public,” the statement said,
adding that basic points had
been agreed upon by the two
parties. MQM-P leader Haider
TEHRAN: Iran marked on Sun-
by Pakistani security forces dur-
ing an intelligence-based opera-
tion in the restive Khyber district
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prov-
ince, the military said on Sunday.
The security forces conducted
an operation after getting infor-
mation on the reported pres-
ence of a “high-profile terrorist”
in the area, according to the
Inter-Services Public Relations
(ISPR), the media wing of the
Pakistan Army. After an intense
exchange of fire, the “high-value
terrorist ringleader” Surat Gul,
alias Saifullah, of Daesh (Islamic
State) was eliminated, the mili-
tary said in a statement.
Weapons, ammunition and
explosives were also recovered
from the “terrorist commander”,
who remained actively involved
in numerous terrorist activi-
ties, including “targeted killing
of innocent civilians as well as
extortion”.  AGENCIES
Highlights
»»The ECP has announced
the results of 264 out of
265 contested seats in the
266-member National
Assembly
»»To form a government, a
party must win 133 seats
out of 265 contested
seats in NA
»»Overall, 169 seats are
needed to secure a
simple majority out of its
total 336 seats
parties. PML-N President She-
hbaz on Saturday met senior
PPP leaders Asif Ali Zardari
and his Bilawal on Friday night
and discussed the future coali-
tion. Shehbaz told the party
leaders that former president
and PPP leader Asif
Zardari has demanded
the prime minister’s slot for
PPP Chairman Bilawal and
major ministerial portfolios in
exchange for support for the
PML-N to form the govern-
huge numbers, withstanding ment, sources said.
all pressures and standing up Party sources added that
for democracy. so far making a coalition with
The youth deserve a spe- Zardari was the first option
cial mention, and I praise the PML-N was exploring but
them for having decided didn’t want to give away the
to take charge of the coun- slot of prime minister. Sources
try by participating peace- claimed the meeting decided
fully in the voting process,” that in case the negotiations
Alvi wrote on X, three with the PPP failed, the PML-N
days after the general election would make a coalition govern-
ended, resulting in a hung ment with MQM, JUI-F and
Parliament. other smaller parties, includ-
“They have put their faith ing independents.
in democracy. This belief is They further claimed that
very precious, it will write his- in this scenario, the PML-N
tory and must be recognised,” would make Shehbaz Sharif the
the president, known for his prime minister and Maryam
pro-PTI actions in the past, Sharif the Chief Minister of
said in a post. AGENCIES Punjab.
“Shehbaz Sharif is the
Rizvi earlier told Geo News favourite for the PM office for
in an interview that his party being more close to the mili-
would be more comfortable tary establishment besides the
with the PML-N as the “two PML-N has more seats in Par-
parties don’t compete in Kara- liament than the PPP,” sources
chi” unlike the PPP or other said. AGENCIES
AS TENSIONS GRIP WIDER MIDDLE EAST Egypt threatens
treaty if Israel
pushes into Gaza
Israel’s continued war on Hamas in
the Gaza Strip.
Thousands of Iranians marched
through major streets and squares
decorated with flags, balloons and
banners with revolutionary and reli-
gious slogans.
In Tehran, crowds waved Iranian
flags, chanted slogans, and carried
placards with the traditional “Death
to America” and “Death to Israel”
written on them. Some burned US
and Israeli flags, a common practice
in pro-government rallies.
There was a heavy security pres- Iranians attend the annual rally commemorating their 1979 Islamic Revolution
ence in the major cities across the as domestically-built missiles and a satellite carrier are displayed at the Azadi
country. The anniversary came a (Freedom) Sq. in Tehra on Sunday
month after a deadly attack by the
extremist Islamic State group in the offensive in the Gaza Strip contin-
central city of Kerman that left at ued. The Islamic Republic launched
least 95 people dead during the com- missile attacks on Iraq and Syria. It
memoration for prominent Iranian then struck alleged anti-Iran Sunni
general Qassem Soleimani whom militant group Jaish al-Adl targets
the US killed in a 2020 drone strike. in nuclear-armed Pakistan, which
Iran has tried to blame the US responded with its own strikes on
and Israel for the attack as the Israeli Iran, further raising tensions in a
Russia
launches 45
drones in
mass barrage
of Ukraine
KYIV: Russian forces launched
45 drones over Ukraine on
Sunday in a five-and-a-half-
hour barrage, officials said, as
Ukrainian President Volody-
myr Zelenskyy continued the
reshuffle of his war cabinet as
the war enters its third year.
In a statement, the Ukrai-
nian air force said it had shot
down 40 of the Iranian-made
Shahed drones over nine dif-
ferent regions, including on the
outskirts of the country’s capi-
tal, Kyiv.
The five-and-a-half-hour
attack targeted agricultural
facilities and coastal infra-
structure, officials for Ukraine’s
southern defense forces wrote
on Telegram. They said that a
strike in the Mykolaiv region
had injured one person, spark-
ing a fire and damaging nearby
residential buildings.
Another person was injured
in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk
region. AGENCIES
Rishi Sunak says totally up for the
‘fight’ to win UK general election
LONDON: British Prime
Minister Rishi Sunak has said
he is “totally up for the fight”
of pitching his policies to the
electorate to win another term
for the governing Conserva-
tive Party as he prepares for a
general election expected to
take place in the second half
of the year.
In an interview with The
Times this weekend, the
43-year-old British Indian
leader said he had reasons to
be optimistic because the econ-
omy was “pointing in the right
direction” and that the “future
is going to be better”.
“At the beginning of this
year there is a sense that the
country is pointing in the right
direction,” he told the newspa-
per. “Because economic condi-
tions have improved, because
the plan is working, you are
region inflamed by the Israel-Hamas
war. Earlier in January a drone
attack killed three US troops in Jor-
dan which an umbrella group for
Iran-backed factions known as the
Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed.
The US said it held Tehran respon-
sible. AGENCIES
US POLITICAL TURMOIL
Trump mocks Haley for absence of
her military husband; she hits back
WASHINGTON: Former
US president Donald Trump
has mocked his Republican
rival Nikki Haley over the
absence of her husband, who
is deployed overseas, draw-
ing a sharp reaction from
the Indian-American politi-
cian who said the person who
disrespects military fami-
lies has no business being
commander-in-chief.
Haley’s husband Major
Michael Haley, a commis-
sioned officer with the South
Carolina National Guard,
is currently on a year-long
deployment with the 218th
Maneuver Enhancement
Bridge, which is providing
support in the Horn of Africa.
He deployed in June.
The war of words between
two Republican presiden-
tial candidates started with a
millenniumpost
MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024 | NEW DELHI
Philippines: 54 dead in
landslide that buried a
gold-mining village
MANILA: The death toll from were gold miners who had
a massive landslide that hit a been waiting in two buses to
gold-mining village in the be driven home when the land-
southern Philippines has risen slide struck and buried them.
to 54 with 63 people still miss- The search operation
ing, authorities said Sunday. has been hampered by poor
The landslide hit the moun- weather and fears of more land-
tain village of Masara in Davao slides. More than 1,100 families
de Oro province on Tuesday have been moved to evacuation
night after weeks of torrential centres for their safety, disaster
rains. response officials said.
Davao de Oro’s provincial The area has been swamped
government said in a Face- by heavy rains in the weeks
book post that 54 bodies had before the landslide struck.
been recovered. At least 32 Earthquakes also damaged
residents survived with inju- houses and buildings in the
ries but 63 remained missing, region in recent months, offi-
it said. Among those missing cials said. AGENCIES
erated his plan to cut taxes for
the hardworking people of the
country. “It’s because those are
my values, those are the values
of my party. It’s one where hard
work should be rewarded. And
actually, the best way to express
that through the tax system is
to cut people’s taxes so when
they are working hard they get
to enjoy more of the rewards
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of that for themselves and their
family,” he said.
starting to see mortgage rates “Because economic condi-
come down and we have been tions have improved, because
able to cut taxes. I do believe the plan is working, you are
those pressures are starting to starting to see mortgage rates
ease and that hopefully over come down and we have been
the course of this year, we can able to cut taxes,” he added.
continue to make even more “I’m totally up for the
progress,” he said. fight,” he said. However, Sunak
In a message as much for appeared to echo his Chancel-
the voters as for the rebels lor Jeremy Hunt despite senior
within his own Tory ranks, Tories publicly indicating they
the Conservative leader reit- are coming. AGENCIES
RAFAH: Egypt is threatening to suspend its
peace treaty with Israel if Israeli troops are sent
into the densely populated Gaza border town
of Rafah, where it says fighting could force
the closure of the besieged territory’s main
aid supply route, two Egyptian officials and a
Western diplomat said on Sunday.
The threat to suspend the Camp David
Accords, a cornerstone of regional stability
for nearly a half-century, came after Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said sending
troops into Rafah was necessary to win the
four-month war against the Palestinian mili-
tant group Hamas.
Over half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 mil-
AP/PTI lion have fled to Rafah to escape fighting in
other areas, and they are packed into sprawl-
ing tent camps and UN-run shelters near
the border. Egypt fears a mass influx of hun-
dreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees
who may never be allowed to return. The
standoff between Israel and Egyp took shape
as aid groups warned that an offensive in
Rafah would worsen the already catastrophic
humanitarian situation in Gaza. AGENCIES
Former US president Donald Trump and Republican rival Nikki Haley
Trump rally on Saturday in this year.
South Carolina where the Haley, 52, the only can-
77-year-old former presi- didate against Trump in the
dent, seemingly unaware of Republican Party’s nomina-
his deployment, when started tion race, fired back at Trump’s
questioning his whereabouts comments later on Saturday.
“Where’s her husband? Oh, “Donald, if you have
he’s away. What happened to something to say, don’t say
her husband? Where is he? it behind my back; get on a
He’s gone,” Trump said at his debate stage and say it to my
rally in Conway in South Car- face,” she told a crowd in
olina, his first visit to the state South Carolina.  AGENCIES
millenniumpost
NEW DELHI | MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024 Business mp 9
Govt examining FDI from China Paytm gets merchants’ backing,
assures service continuity
in Paytm Payments Services Ltd Paytm said its merchant partners can continue to benefit
from Paytm QR codes, Soundbox, and card machines
One97 Communications has investment from Chinese firm Ant Group OUR CORRESPONDENT blog said.
Leading companies have
OUR CORRESPONDENT “Since then the ownership NEW DELHI: Fintech firm expressed their satisfaction

NEW DELHI: The govern-

ment is examining foreign
direct investment from China
in Paytm Payments Services Ltd
(PPSL), the payment aggregator
subsidiary of One97 Commu-
nications Ltd, sources said.
In November 2020, PPSL
had applied for licence with the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
to operate as a payment aggre-
gator under the guidelines on
Regulation of Payment Aggre-
gators and Payment Gateways.
However, in November
2022, RBI rejected PPSL’s appli-
cation and asked the company
to resubmit it, so as to com-
ply with Press Note 3 under
FDI rules.
One97 Communications
Ltd (OCL) has investment from
Chinese firm Ant Group Co.
Subsequently, the com-
pany filed the required appli-
cation on December 14, 2022
with Government of India for
past downward investment
from OCL into the company
in order to comply with Press
Note 3 prescribed under FDI
guidelines.
An inter-ministerial com-
mittee is examining invest-
ments from China in PPSL
and decision would be taken
on the FDI issue after due con-
An inter-ministerial committee is
examining investments from China in
PPSL and decision would be taken on
the FDI issue after due consideration and
comprehensive examination, sources said
sideration and comprehensive
examination, sources said.
Under Press Note 3, the
government had made its prior
approval mandatory for foreign
investments in any sector from
countries that share land bor-
der with India to curb oppor-
tunistic takeovers of domestic
firms following the COVID-19
pandemic.
Countries which share
land borders with India are
China, Bangladesh, Pakistan,
Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and
Afghanistan.
When contacted, a Paytm
spokesperson said PPSL
applied for an online Payment
Aggregator (PA) application for
online merchants and the regu-
lator subsequently asked PPSL
to seek necessary approvals for
past downward investment and
resubmit the application.
“This is part of the regu-
lar process where everybody
applying for a payment aggre-
Highlights
»»In November 2020,
PPSL had applied for
licence with the RBI to
operate as a payment
aggregator
»»During the pending
process, PPSL was
allowed to continue
with its online payment
aggregation business
for existing partners
»»A Paytm spokesperson
said PPSL followed
the relevant guidelines
and submitted all
relevant documents to
the regulator within the
stipulated time
gator licence has to get FDI
approval,” the spokesperson
said.
The spokesperson said PPSL
followed the relevant guidelines
and submitted all relevant doc-
uments to the regulator within
the stipulated time.
During the pending pro-
cess, PPSL was allowed to con-
tinue with its online payment
aggregation business for exist-
ing partners without onboard-
ing any new merchants.
structure has changed. The
Paytm founder remains the
largest stakeholder in the com-
pany. Ant Financial reduced
its stake in OCL to less than
10 per cent in July 2023. Sub-
sequently, it does not qualify
for beneficial company owner-
ship. OCL founding promoter
now holds a 24.3 per cent stake.
Therefore, your understanding
of FDI from China in PPSL is
incorrect and misleading,” the
spokesperson said.
The Reserve Bank last
month barred Paytm Payments
Bank Ltd (PPBL), an associ-
ate company of OCL, from
accepting deposits or top-ups
in any customer account, pre-
paid instruments, wallets, and
FASTags, among others after
February 29, 2024.
The Reserve Bank’s action
against PPBL follows a compre-
hensive system audit report and
subsequent compliance valida-
tion report of external auditors.
RBI had said that these
reports revealed persistent non-
compliances and continued
material supervisory concerns
in PPBL, warranting further
supervisory action.
On March 11, 2022, RBI had
barred PPBL from onboarding
new customers with immedi-
ate effect.
One97 Communications,
which owns the Paytm brand,
has received support from mer-
chants, and it assured them of
continuity of services without
any disruption, the company
said in a blog on Sunday.
The blog post came amid
the recent crisis around
Paytm Payments Bank Lim-
ited (PPBL), an associate com-
pany of Paytm, which has
been barred by the RBI from
accepting deposits or top-ups
in customer accounts, wallets,
FASTags and other instruments
after February 29.
Withdrawal or utilisation
of balances by its customers
from their accounts, including
savings bank accounts, current
accounts, prepaid instruments,
FASTags, and National Com-
mon Mobility Cards, are to be
permitted without any restric-
tions up to their available
balance.
“We assure our users and
merchant partners that the
Paytm app and services con-
tinue to operate at full capacity.
In instances, where our asso-
ciate Paytm Payments Bank
acts as a back-end bank, we
can seamlessly transition these
services to other partner banks.
This ensures that our merchant
partners face no disruptions,
Leading companies
have expressed
their satisfaction
with their prolonged
association
with Paytm, the
company’s blog said
no need to revisit existing set-
ups, and no additional effort,”
the blog said.
Paytm said its merchant
partners can continue to ben-
efit from solutions like Paytm
QR codes, Soundbox, and card
machines, just as before.
“Leading industry players
across retail, entertainment,
and beyond, such as Arvind
Limited, Smaaash, BIBA, and
more’ stand testament to the
strength of our partnerships,
having experienced firsthand
the benefits of our seam-
less payment solutions,” the
with their prolonged associa-
tion with Paytm, it added.
“We have been working
with Paytm for two years, and
they have always been at par
when it comes to their inno-
vative products and services. I
strongly recommend everyone
to continue using Paytm ser-
vices as before,” the blog quoted
Hotspot Retail Private Limited
Chief Operating Officer Satya
N Satyendra as saying.
The blog shared testa-
ments from Advaith Hyun-
dai, Smaash, BIBA Fashion,
and Arvind Limited, which
runs brands like Calvin Klein,
Tommy Hilfiger etc, around
the service being offered by
Paytm.
“This endorsement under-
scores our significant contri-
bution to advancing India’s
fintech revolution.
“The strong support from
enterprise leaders under-
scores our key role in reshap-
ing India’s digital payment
sector and solidifies us as
a reliable partner for busi-
nesses nationwide. Inspired
by this support, our dedicated
teams continue to work tire-
lessly, providing unparalleled
service and support to our
partners and customers,” the
blog said.

ONGC reports standalone net profit of LIC expects I-T refund of `25,464 crore in Q4
`9,536 crore for FY24 December quarter
NEW DELHI: State-owned Oil
and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC) on Sunday reported
14 per cent drop in net profit for
the third quarter ended Decem-
ber 31 as oil and gas prices fell.
Standalone net profit of Rs
9,536 crore in October-Decem-
ber 2023 (third quarter of 2023-
24 fiscal year) was 13.7 per cent
lower than Rs 11,045 crore earn-
ing in the same period of previ-
ous financial year, the company
said in a statement.
The earning was lower as
price realised for crude oil the
firm produced and sold in
the quarter fell 6.4 per cent to
$81.59 per barrel. Gas price too
was 24.2 per cent lower at $6.5
per mmBtu.
Also contributing to lower
profit was a decline in produc-
tion of crude oil, which is con-
verted into fuel like petrol and
diesel at refineries, and natural
gas which is used to generate
electricity, produce fertilizer,
turned into CNG and piped to
kitchens for cooking.
Crude oil production
dropped 3.3 per cent to 5.22
million tonne while gas output
was 4.3 per cent lower at 5.12
billion cubic meters.
Gross revenue was down
10 per cent at Rs 34,789 crore
in Q3.
The board of the company
approved a second interim div-
idend of 80 per cent or Rs 4 a
share. “The total payout on this
account will be Rs 5,032 crore,”
the statement said.
Last month, the
This is in addition to the first
interim dividend of Rs 5.75 per
share declared in November
last year.
ONGC’s standalone net
profit in the first nine months
of the current fiscal fell 24 per
cent to Rs 29,767 crore as oil
price realised dropped to $75.55
a barrel from $97.10. Gas price
realised too was 5 per cent lower
at $6.57 per million British ther-
mal unit.
The nine-month production
too was lower.
“The reduction in ONGC’s
production output in first nine
months of FY 2023-24 was due
to shutdown in Panna-Mukta
offshore platforms for commis-
sioning of new crude oil pipe-
line to modernise its evacuation
facilities, and Cyclone Bipar-
joy (in June 2023) disrupting
offshore and onshore produc-
tion,” ONGC said adding crude
oil production of a southern
field was hampered as a refinery
stopped receiving oil, following
a leakage in their pipeline.
To counter the decline in
production from some of the
matured and marginal fields,
ONGC is taking proactive steps
by implementing well interven-
tions and advancing new well
drilling activities.
“The decline in produc-
tion from matured fields will
be compensated in upcoming
quarters with commencement
of additional production from
upcoming projects, which are
under various stages of devel-
opment,” the firm said add-
ing crude oil production has
already commenced from KG-
DWN-98/2 Block on January
7, 2024.
ONGC said it made nine
oil and gas discoveries in the
current fiscal. Five of these dis-
coveries are offshore and the
remaining are onland.  MPOST
NEW DELHI: Life Insur-
ance Corporation of India has
received an income tax refund
order of Rs 25,464 crore, and it
is likely to be realised during
the current quarter, its chair-
man Siddhartha Mohanty said.
Last month, the Income
Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT),
Income Tax Department,
issued intimation for a refund
of Rs 25,464.46 crore.
The refund is related to
interim bonuses to policyhold-
ers in the past seven assessment
years.
“We are pursuing the mat-
ter, and we are hopeful of get-
ting a refund from the Income
Tax Department during
this quarter itself,” Mohanty
said during the post-result
interaction.
During the quarter, he said,
the Life Insurance Corpora-
tion of India (LIC) would be
launching more new products,
including child protection.
In the third quarter, LIC
launched Jeevan Utsav, Index
Plus and some more products,
helping it to increase the value
of new business (VNB) margin
levels to 16.6 per cent.
The refund is likely to boost
the bottom line of the corpora-
tion in the fourth quarter.
The state-owned insurer
last week reported a 49 per
cent jump in net profit to Rs
9,444 crore for the third quarter
ended December 2023 against
Rs 6,334 crore in the year-ago
period.
Its net premium income
improved to Rs 1,17,017 crore
in the third quarter of the cur-
rent fiscal from Rs 1,11,788
crore in the same period a year
ago.
LIC’s total income also rose
to Rs 2,12,447 crore in the latest
December quarter compared to
Rs 1,96,891 crore in the year-
ago period.
The LIC board has approved
an interim dividend of Rs 4 per
equity share of face value of Rs
10 each for FY24.
The profit for the nine
Income Tax
Appellate Tribunal
(ITAT), Income
Tax Department,
issued intimation
for a refund of Rs
25,464.46 crore
months that ended December
2022 was Rs 22,970 crore is not
comparable since it included an
amount of Rs 4,542 crore (Net
of Tax) pertaining to the accre-
tions on the Available Solvency
Margin for the last quarter of
2021-22, which was trans-
ferred from Non-Par fund to
shareholders account on
September 30, 2022, Mohanty
had said.
The total premium income
for the nine-month period
ended December 31, 2023, was
Rs 3,22,776 crore compared to
Rs 3,42,244 crore a year ago. PTI

‘Commissioning of India-assisted
refinery in Mongolia by 2026’
NEW DELHI: Mongolia’s
ambassador to India Damba-
jav Ganbold has said the India-
funded greenfield oil refinery
project in South Gobi is on
track and will be operational
by 2026.
However, he acknowledged
some delays from the Indian
side in delivering products for
the refinery plant.
“Of course, there are some
delays from the Indian side in
delivering the products, but
overall, the project is progress-
ing well,” he said. “It is crucial
for our relations, and we eagerly
look forward to its completion.”
With a USD 1.2 billion line
of credit announced by India
during Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi’s visit to Mongolia in
2015, the refinery’s construction
has been delayed by 1.5 years
due to COVID-19.
“The work on the refinery
project is going well. Because of
COVID, it has been delayed by
one and a half years. We believe
that it will be operational by
2026,” Ganbold said.
The refinery aims to reduce
Mongolia’s reliance on Russian
oil imports. Upon completion,
it will have a capacity of 30,000
barrels per day or 1.5 million
tonnes annually, helping the
country meet its demand for
gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel,
and liquefied petroleum gas.
Mongolia anticipates a visit
by the Indian Prime Minis-
ter in 2025, coinciding with
the 70th anniversary of dip-
lomatic relations between the
two countries.
“We expect our President
to visit India in the second half
of this year, and we will cel-
ebrate 70 years of diplomatic
relations in 2025. Therefore, we
hope Prime Minister Modi will
visit Mongolia to commemo-
rate this milestone and the 10th
anniversary of his first trip,” the
ambassador said.
Ganbold, along with Union
Ministers Kiren Rijiju and
Meenakshi Lekhi, on Satur-
day, launched the song “Duur”,
marking the first musical col-
laboration between India and
Mongolia. The song features
renowned Indian singer Mohit
Chauhan and Mongolian artist
Baataraj Erdenetsogt.  PTI
Mideast growth to slow in 2024 on oil cuts & Gaza: IMF
DUBAI: The International
Monetary Fund said on Sunday
Middle East economies were
lagging below growth projec-
tions due to oil production cuts
and the Israel-Gaza conflict,
even as the global economic
outlook remained resilient.
Despite uncertainties, “the
global economy has been sur-
prisingly resilient,” IMF man-
aging director Kristalina
Georgieva told the Arab Fiscal
Forum in Dubai, while warn-
ing of a potential wider impact
on regional economies of con-
tinued conflict in Gaza, Reuters
reported.
In a regional economic
report last month, the IMF
revised its GDP growth forecast
for the Middle East and North
Africa down to 2.9 per cent this
year, lagging below October
projections, due in part to short
term oil production cuts and the
conflict in Gaza. The IMF last
month edged its forecast for
global economic growth higher,
upgrading the outlook for both
the United States and China and
citing faster-than-expected eas-
ing of inflation.
Georgieva said economies
neighbouring Israel and the
Palestinian territories saw the
conflict weighing on tourism
revenues, while Red Sea attacks
weighed on freight costs glob-
ally. Those factors compounded
“the challenges of economies
that are still recovering from
previous shocks,” she told the
forum on the sidelines of the
World Governments Summit
in Dubai.
The Iran-aligned Houthis
in Yemen have been targeting
IMF Managing director Kristalina
Georgieva
commercial vessels with drones
and missiles in the Red Sea since
mid-November, and say their
attacks are in solidarity with
Palestinians as Israel strikes
Hamas militants in Gaza. But
the US and its allies character-
ize them as indiscriminate and
a menace to global trade. Sev-
eral global shippers have been
diverting traffic to the Cape of
Good Hope, a longer route than
through Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Egypt’s Finance Minister
Mohamed Maait told Reuters
on the sidelines of the summit
that part of the impact of the
diversion on Suez Canal rev-
enues could be absorbed due
to good growth in “the period
before the events.”
The IMF will publish on
Monday a paper that shows
phasing out energy subsidies
could save $336 billion in the
Middle East, equivalent to the
economies of Iraq and Libya
combined, Georgieva said.
Georgieva said that elimi-
nating regressive energy subsi-
dies also “discourages pollution,
and helps improve social spend-
ing.” In the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) region,
fossil fuel subsidies made up 19
per cent of GDP in 2022, the
IMF has said.
It has recommended the
gradual unwinding of energy
subsidies for the region’s econ-
omies, including oil exporters,
and suggested targeted support
as an alternative.
Advanced technology,
including Artificial Intelligence,
is a key theme of focus at the
World Governments Summit,
with several top executives from
major global tech firms due to
speak, including Sam Altman,
CEO of OpenAI. Georgieva said
globally, 40 per cent of jobs are
exposed to AI, and countries
that lack the infrastructure and
a skilled workforce to invest
could fall behind. Regional
economies such as the UAE
and Saudi Arabia have signifi-
cantly increased investment in
AI as part of strategies to diver-
sify income sources.  AGENCIES

Telecom licence fee collection rises 8.23% Large-cap MFs garner `1,287 crore in Jan
to `5,326 crore in September 2023 quarter The latest inflow helped push the asset base of large-cap equity category by
NEW DELHI: The govern-
ment’s licence fee collection
from telecom service provid-
ers increased 8.23 per cent year-
on-year to Rs 5,326 crore, while
spectrum usage charge mop up
declined about 40 per cent to
Rs 836 crore in the September
2023 quarter, according to the
latest Trai report.
According to the perfor-
mance indicator report released
by regulator Telecom Regula-
tory Authority of India (Trai),
operators’ gross revenue (GR)
declined by 1.22 per cent to
Rs 82,741 crore, but adjusted
gross revenue (AGR) increased
by 7.43 per cent year-on-year
(YoY) to Rs 66,583 crore dur-
ing the reported quarter.
“On a YoY basis, GR
decreased by 1.22 per cent,
ApGR (applicable gross rev-
enue) increased by 6.74 per
cent, and AGR increased by 7.43
per cent in the quarter ended
September 2023,” the report
released on Friday said.
Reliance Jio recorded the
highest AGR of Rs 24,217.13
crore with a 9.12 per cent
year-on-year rise. Bharti Air-
tel posted the highest AGR
growth rate of 10.88 per cent
at Rs 19,840.84 crore during
the quarter.
The AGR of debt-ridden
Vodafone Idea remained almost
flat at Rs 7,507.65 crore during
the reported quarter.
State-owned BSNL’s AGR
grew 1.93 per cent to Rs
1,966.44 crore, while MTNL’s
AGR declined 16.35 per cent
on a year-on-year basis to Rs
168.69 crore.
The government calculates
its share of revenue from the
telecom sector in the form of
licence fees and spectrum usage
charges (SUC).
Access service providers or
mobile operators like Reliance
Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Voda-
fone Idea accounted for 81.67
per cent of the total AGR. “The
License Fee (LF) increased
from Rs 5,246 crore for the QE
(quarter ended) June 2023 to Rs
5,326 crore for the QE Septem-
ber 2023. The quarterly and the
Y-O-Y rates of growth in license
fees are 1.53 and 8.23 per cent,
respectively, in this quarter,” the
report said.  PTI
26% to Rs 3 lakh crore at January-end from Rs 2.38 lakh crore a year ago
NEW DELHI: Investors flocked
to large-cap oriented mutual
funds with influx of Rs 1,287
crore in January, making it the
highest fund infusion in 19
months, as a significant run-up
in small and mid caps prompted
them to book profit.
This is a huge turnaround
following a net outflow of Rs
281 crore in December. Also,
the quantum was 80 per cent
higher than inflows of Rs 716
crore in January last year. The
latest inflow helped push the
asset base of large-cap equity
category by 26 per cent to Rs 3
lakh crore at January-end from
Rs 2.38 lakh crore a year ago.
According to latest data by
Association of Mutual Funds
in India (Amfi), equity mutual
funds focused on large-cap
received inflow to the tune of
Rs 1,287 crore in January. This
was the highest level since July
2022, when the category saw an
inflow of Rs 2,052 crore.
Given the significant run-up
in small and mid caps, inves-
tors are booking some profits
and rebalancing into large-caps,
Kaustubh Belapurkar, Director
- Manager Research at Morn-
ingstar Investment Research
India, said.
Akhil Chaturvedi, Chief
Business Officer, Motilal Oswal
AMC, said,”Large- caps demon-
strated positive contributions in
January, reversing the net out-
flows experienced in December
2023. This shift in trend is in
line with valuation differentials
among large v/s mid and small
caps, suggesting that large caps
or flexi caps oriented schemes
may attract higher flows in the
future”.
Before the outflow in
December 2023, the cate-
gory attracted Rs 307 crore in
November and Rs 724 crore in
October.
Overall, equity schemes
saw an inflow of 21,780 crore
in January this year making it
the highest monthly infusion in
nearly two years. The latest flow
was about 28 per cent higher
than inflows of Rs 16,997 crore
in December.
Besides, mid-cap oriented
funds and small-cap focused
funds continued to attract
investors with inflows of Rs
2,061 crore and Rs 3,257 crore,
respectively.  PTI
10 mp
Direct tax mop-up reaches
80% of revised FY24 target
Direct tax collection, net of refunds, till February 10
of current financial year stands at Rs 15.60 lakh crore
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Net direct tax
collection so far in current fis-
cal grew 20 per cent year-on-
year to Rs 15.60 lakh crore,
which is 80 per cent of revised
budget estimates for full fis-
cal year.
“The provisional figures
of direct tax collections con-
tinue to register steady growth.
Direct tax collections up to
10th February, 2024 show that
gross collections are at Rs 18.38
lakh crore, which is 17.30 per
cent higher than the gross col-
lections for the corresponding
period of last year,” Central
Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
said in a statement.
Direct tax collection, net
of refunds, till February 10 of
FY24 stands at Rs 15.60 lakh
crore, which is 20.25 per cent
higher than the net collections
in the corresponding period
last year.
This collection is 80.23
per cent of the total revised
estimates of direct taxes for
2023-24.
Four of top-10 most valued cos Modi, Lankan Prez & Inflation, factory output data, to
add `2.18 lakh crore in mcap Mauritius PM to watch drive markets this week: Analysts
NEW DELHI: Four of the top-
10 most valued firms together
added Rs 2.18 lakh crore in
market valuation last week,
with Life Insurance Corpora-
tion and State Bank of India
emerging as the biggest gainers.
From the top-10 pack, Reli-
ance Industries, Tata Consul-
tancy Services (TCS), Life
Insurance Corporation of India
(LIC) and SBI were the gain-
ers. They collectively added
Rs 2,18,598.29 crore in market
capitalisation.
On the other hand, HDFC
Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys,
Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unile-
ver and ITC faced erosion from
their valuation to the tune of Rs
1,06,631.39 crore.
Last week, the BSE bench-
mark declined by 490.14 points
or 0.67 per cent.
Market valuation of LIC
jumped Rs 86,146.47 crore
to Rs 6,83,637.38 crore. The
share price of LIC on Monday
jumped nearly 6 per cent to hit
the Rs 1,000 mark for the first
time.
SBI added Rs 65,908.26
Jeff Bezos sells nearly
12 mn Amazon shares Maruti Suzuki expects some impact on costs Adani Ports and SEZ
worth at least $2 billion may
NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki
see some increase in costs
SEATTLE: Jeff Bezos filed a
statement with federal regula-
tors indicating his sale of nearly
12 million shares of Amazon
stock worth more than $2
billion.
The Amazon executive
chairman notified the US Secu-
rities and Exchange Commis-
sion of the sale of 11,997,698
shares of common stock on
February 7 and February 8.
The collective value of
the shares of Amazon, which
is based in Seattle where he
founded the company in a
garage about three decades
ago, was more than $2.04 bil-
lion, according to the listed
‘Duty concession on gold to be major concern for India under FTA with Peru’
‘In 2023, India’s global imports of unwrought gold are estimated at $43 billion, with Switzerland accounting for 40 per cent of these imports’
NEW DELHI: Duty conces-
sions on gold, which accounts
for 80 per cent of India’s imports
from Peru, is the most challeng-
ing issue for New Delhi under
the proposed free trade agree-
ment with the South American
nation, a report said on Sunday.
Economic think tank
Global Trade Research Initia-
tive (GTRI) said that gold, a
high-value product with low
volume, attracts a 10 per cent
basic customs duty in India,
and even minor tariff conces-
sions could lead to a signifi-
cant increase in imports. India
and the South American nation
Peru are negotiating a free trade
Business
‘Direct tax collections up to 10th February,
2024 show that gross collections are at Rs
18.38 lakh crore, which is 17.30 per cent
higher than the gross collections for the
corresponding period of last year,’ Central
Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement
Refunds amounting to (CIT) and Personal Income
Rs 2.77 lakh crore have been Tax (PIT) also showed a steady
issued during April 1, 2023 to growth.
February 10, 2024. Growth rate for CIT was
Gross revenue collections 9.16 per cent while for PIT, it
for Corporate Income Tax was 25.67 per cent (PIT only).
19,77,136.54 crore.
Shares of TCS jumped 4 per
cent on Tuesday, taking its mar-
ket valuation to above Rs 15
lakh crore.
However, market capi-
talisation (mcap) of HDFC
Bank declined by Rs 32,963.94
crore to Rs 10,65,808.71 crore.
The valuation of ITC eroded
by Rs 30,698.62 crore to Rs
5,18,632.02 crore.
Mcap of Bharti Air-
From the top-10 tel fell by Rs 16,132.15 crore
pack, Reliance to Rs 6,31,044.50 crore and
that of Infosys went lower
Industries, Tata by Rs 10,044.09 crore to Rs
Consultancy Services 6,92,980.35 crore.
The valuation of ICICI
(TCS), Life Insurance Bank dipped Rs 9,779.06 crore
Corporation of India to Rs 7,09,254.77 crore and that
(LIC) and SBI were of Hindustan Unilever dimin-
ished by Rs 7,013.53 crore to Rs
the gainers 5,69,587.91 crore.
In the ranking of top-10
crore, taking its valuation to most valued firms, Reliance
Rs 6,46,365.02 crore. Industries continued to rule
Market valuation of TCS the chart followed by TCS,
climbed Rs 61,435.47 crore HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Info-
to Rs 15,12,743.31 crore and sys, LIC, State Bank of India,
that of Reliance advanced Rs Airtel, Hindustan Unilever
5,108.09 crore to reach Rs and ITC.  PTI
RED SEA CRISIS
with Europe passes through out to be a good market, and
this route. for several reasons, the Middle
due to the rerouting of vessels
price totals. amid the ongoing Red Sea cri-
The stocks were grouped sis, according to a senior com-
in five blocks between 1 mil- pany official.
lion and more than 3.2 million. The auto major, which
In a separate SEC filing, exported around 2.7 lakh cars
Bezos listed the proposed sale last calendar year, however,
of 50 million Amazon shares noted that it does not expect
around February 7 with an the issue to have a very big
estimated market value of $8.4 impact on the company’s over-
billion. seas shipments.
Bezos stepped down as “We are seeing some logis-
Amazon’s CEO in 2021 to tical challenges because of the
spend more time on his other Red Sea issue. And there may be
projects, including the rocket some increase in costs because
company, Blue Origin, and his of risk or because of rerouting
philanthropy. His address on of vessels but it should not be
the stock filings is listed as Seat- significant,” MSI Executive Offi-
tle, although he reportedly has cer (Corporate Affairs) Rahul
relocated to Miami.  AGENCIES Bharti said in an analyst call.
agreement to promote bilateral concessions under the India-
trade and investments between UAE free trade agreement, gold
the two countries. imports from the UAE, India’s
In such pacts, two trading second-largest gold supplier,
partners either significantly doubled in 2023 compared to
reduce or eliminate customs 2022. “Peru, the fifth-largest
duties on the maximum num- supplier to India, could see a
ber of goods traded between similar surge in gold imports
them, besides easing norms to if concessions are made,” the
promote trade in services. The report said.
next round of talks is expected In 2023, India’s global
to start this week in Lima, Peru. imports of unwrought gold are
“Tariff concessions on gold, estimated at $43 billion, with
accounting for $1.8 billion or 80 Switzerland accounting for 40
per cent of India’s imports from per cent of these imports, it
Peru in FY23, is the most chal- said, adding that given Peru’s
lenging issue for India,” GTRI gold mines, its gold would eas-
founder Ajay Srivastava said. ily meet any Rules of Origin
He argued that after tariff criteria.
Highlights
»»Direct tax collection till
February 10 of FY24
is 20.25% higher than
net collections in the
corresponding period
last year
»»Refunds amounting to Rs
2.77 lakh cr have been
issued during April 1,
2023 to Feb 10, 2024
»»Gross revenue
collections for Corporate
Income Tax (CIT) and
Personal Income Tax
(PIT) also showed a
steady growth
»»Growth rate for CIT was
9.16% while for PIT, it
was 25.67% (PIT only)
After adjustment of
refunds, the net growth in Cor-
porate Income Tax collections
was 13.57 per cent and that in
PIT was 26.91 per cent (PIT
only), it added.
UPI services launch
COLOMBO: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi, Sri
Lankan President Ranil Wick-
remesinghe and Mauritius
Prime Minister Pravind Jug-
nauth will witness on Mon-
day, via video conferencing,
the launch of Unified Payment
Interface (UPI) services in Sri
Lanka and Mauritius, it was
announced here on Sunday.
The launch will enable the
availability of UPI settlement
services for Indian nationals
travelling to Sri Lanka and
Mauritius as well as for Mau-
ritian nationals travelling to
India, the Indian High Com-
mission said in a statement.
“India has emerged as a
leader in Fintech innovation
and Digital Public Infrastruc-
ture. Prime Minister has placed
a strong emphasis on sharing
our development experiences
and innovation with partner
countries. Given India’s robust
cultural and people-to-peo-
ple linkages with Sri Lanka
and Mauritius, the launch will
CLIMATE ACTIONS
secures top position
The lead time of dispatches
might change, and there may
be some uncertainty in vessels
coming and picking up their
consignments, among others,
he noted. That is a small issue,
which is quite common in the
export business, Bharti said.
Red Sea strait is crucial
for 30 per cent of global con-
tainer traffic and 12 per cent of
global trade. About 80 per cent
of India’s merchandise trade
“FTAs offer concessions on
effective duties rather than on
the bound duty. Excluding gold
from an FTA would violate the
World Trade Organization’s
Article XXIV, which requires
duty cuts on substantial trade
for FTAs,” Srivastava said.
He also said that India’s
bound duty on gold is set at 40
FPIs continue to remain bullish on
debt mkt, infuse over `15K cr in Feb
On the other hand, foreign portfolio investors pulled out more than
Rs 3,000 crore from equity markets during the period under review
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Foreign Port-
folio Investors (FPIs) contin-
ued their bullish stance on the
country’s debt markets with a
net infusion of over Rs 15,000
crore so far this month, on the
back of inclusion of Indian gov-
ernment bonds in the JP Mor-
gan Index along with relatively
stable economy.
This followed a net invest-
ment of Rs 19,836 crore in
January, making it the highest
monthly inflow in more than
six years. This was the highest
inflow since June 2017, when
they infused Rs 25,685 crore.
On the other hand, foreign
investors pulled out more than
Rs 3,000 crore from equities
during the period under review.
Before this, they withdrew a
massive Rs 25,743 crore in Janu-
ary, data with the depositories
showed.
“The main trigger for this
divergent trend in equity and
debt is the high valuation in
the Indian equity market and
the rising bond yields in the
US,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief
Investment Strategist, Geojit
Financial Services, said.
benefit a wide cross-section of
people through a faster and
seamless digital transaction
experience and enhance digi-
tal connectivity between the
countries,” the statement said.
Earlier this month, India
formally launched UPI at the
iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris,
terming it as taking global
Modi’s vision of the Indian
instant payment system devel-
oped by the National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI)
in 2016.
Modi had earlier this month
said: “Great to see this- it marks
a significant step towards tak-
ing UPI global. This is a won-
derful example of encouraging
digital payments and fostering
stronger ties.”
UPI is a system that powers
multiple bank accounts into a
single mobile application (of
any participating bank), merg-
ing several banking features,
seamless fund routing and
merchant payments into one
hood, according to NPCI.  PTI
The situation around the
Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a cru-
cial shipping route for traders
connecting the Red Sea and
the Mediterranean Sea to the
Indian Ocean, has escalated
due to attacks by Yemen-based
Houthi militants since Decem-
ber 2023.
Because of this, the ship-
ping costs have jumped, and
the consignments are taking
more time to reach Europe and
the US, as the ships are taking
the Cape of Good Hope route,
encircling Africa.
Maruti Suzuki has set an
aim to export at least 7.5 lakh
units by the end of this decade,
Bharti said. Africa is turning
During 2022-23,
the bilateral trade
between India
and Peru stood at
$3.12 billion
per cent, but the current applied
tariff is 10 per cent.
“FTAs allow concessions
in effective duties and not on
bound duty. If the FTA does not
include gold, it may not meet
the WTO Article XXIV con-
dition for FTAs to have duty
cuts on substantial trade,” Sriv-
astava said.
‘The main trigger for this divergent
trend in equity and debt is the high
valuation in the Indian equity market
and the rising bond yields in the US’
Himanshu Srivastava,
Associate Director - Manager
Research, Morningstar Invest-
ment Research India, attributed
the outflow from equities to the
uncertainty surrounding the
interest rate environment, both
domestically as well as globally.
According to the data, FPIs
made a net investment of Rs
15,093 crore in the debt markets
in this month (till February 9).
With this, the total invest-
NEW DELHI: Stock mar-
kets would take cues from the
upcoming macroeconomic
data announcements and
global trends besides keeping a
watch on the trading activity of
foreign investors, analysts said.
The last batch of the ongo-
ing earnings calendar would
trigger stock-specific action,
traders said.
“This week, we have to deal
with macroeconomic data on
both the domestic and global
front. Our IIP and retail infla-
tion numbers will be released
on February 12, while WPI
will be released on February
14. The US CPI numbers will
be released on February 13,
while their retail sales num-
bers will be announced on
February 15.
“Amid these numbers,
the movement in US bond
yields and the dollar index
will be watched. Apart from
this, movement of crude oil
and flows from institutional
investors will be other impor-
tant factors. The last batch
of Q3 earnings can lead to
East region has picked up quite
well recently, he noted.
The government is also sign-
ing some FTAs, where the com-
pany might get some relief in
duty, Bharti said.
He noted that the automaker
is also gearing up to commence
production of battery electric
vehicles (BEV) this year.
The first model, a mid-sized
SUV, would be exported to
Japan and Europe while cater-
ing to the domestic market.
“In addition to serving the
domestic market, this mid-
SUV segment product will be
exported to developed mar-
kets, such as Japan and Europe,”
Bharti said.  PTI
Peru has a bilateral trade
pact with major economies
like the US, EU, China, Aus-
tralia, and Singapore. It also
has multi-country agreements
with the Pacific Alliance (Chile,
Colombia, and Mexico) and the
Andean Community (Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador).
These FTAs allow tariff-
free imports of most products
imported into Peru.
“A notable aspect of Peru’s
trade regime is its low tariff bar-
riers, with a significant portion
of items being duty-free. 70.4
per cent of items in Peru’s tar-
iff schedule are duty-free. The
simple average tariff is 2.2 per
MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024 | NEW DELHI
ment by FPIs reached over Rs
34,930 crore in 2024.
They have been injecting
money in the debt markets for
the past few months.
FPIs infused Rs 18,302 crore
in the debt market in December,
Rs 14,860 crore in November,
and Rs 6,381 crore in October.
“The Indian debt markets
witnessed a reversal in FPI
flow trend last year after the
announcement of inclusion of
The last batch of the
ongoing earnings
calendar would
trigger stock-specific
action, traders said
stock-specific movements,”
said Santosh Meena, Head of
Research, Swastika Investmart
Limited.
NHPC, SAIL, BHEL, Hin-
dustan Copper, Mahindra
& Mahindra, among others
would announce their quar-
terly earnings this week.
“This week, market will
react to the global and domes-
tic economic data, FII (For-
eign Institutional Investors),
NEW DELHI: Adani Ports
and Special Economic Zone
Ltd (APSEZ) on Sunday said it
has secured top position for its
climate actions and environ-
mental performance in assess-
ments done by four global
rating agencies.
The assessments were done
by CDP, S&P, Sustainalytics and
Moody’s .
While the company secured
‘leadership band’ in CDP Cli-
mate Assessment 2023, it
ranked first on the environ-
mental dimension among 324
companies in the transport and
transport infrastructure sec-
tor by S&P Global CSA 2023,
cent. This means tariff elimina-
tion will not result in substantial
market access for Indian prod-
ucts,” the report said.
Negotiations for the agree-
ment started in 2017, and the
fifth round concluded in August
2019. The talks were paused due
to the coronavirus pandemic.
During 2022-23, the bilat-
eral trade between India and
Peru stood at $3.12 billion
(exports $866 million and
imports $1.4 billion).
India exported goods worth
$865.91 million to Peru, and
imported goods valued at $2.25
billion. Key Indian exports to
Peru include motor vehicles/
millenniumpost
Indian government bonds in
the JP Morgan Index. This was
one of the major drivers for the
robust flows from FPIs, along
with relatively stable economy,”
Srivastava said.
JP Morgan Chase & Co. in
September last year announced
that it will add Indian govern-
ment bonds to its benchmark
emerging market index from
June 2024. This landmark inclu-
sion is anticipated to benefit
India by attracting around $20-
40 billion in the subsequent 18
to 24 months. This inflow is
expected to make Indian bonds
more accessible to foreign inves-
tors and potentially strengthen
the rupee, thereby bolstering the
economy, he added.
Overall, the total FPI flows
in 2023 stood at Rs 1.71 lakh
crore in equities and Rs 68,663
crore in the debt markets.
Together, they infused Rs
2.4 lakh crore into the capital
market. The flow in Indian equi-
ties came following a worst net
outflow of Rs 1.21 lakh crore in
2022 on aggressive rate hikes
by the central banks glob-
ally. Before the outflow, FPIs
invested money in the last three
years.
DII (Domestic Institutional
Investors) investment pattern,
crude oil inventories, ongoing
quarterly earnings, movement
of the rupee against the dollar,
trend in the global stock mar-
ket. Domestic economic num-
bers will also be in focus such
as inflation data and industrial
production,” Arvinder Singh
Nanda, Senior Vice President,
Master Capital Services Ltd,
said.
Last week, the BSE bench-
mark declined by 490.14 points
or 0.67 per cent, and the Nifty
dipped 71.3 points or 0.32 per
cent.
“We expect the market to
turn cautious and consoli-
date in the near term amid key
macro data to be announced
and the last leg of Q3 results,”
said Siddhartha Khemka,
Head - Retail Research, Motilal
Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
“Caution prevails in the
market ahead of the release of
US, UK, and Indian inflation
data,” said Vinod Nair, Head
of Research, Geojit Financial
Services.  PTI
a statement said.
The company also secured
the top rank in the marine ports
sector on a low carbon transi-
tion rating by Sustainalytics.
It also received the
‘advanced’ rating in Moody’s
Energy Transition Rating and
the first rank in the overall
ESG Assessment and Strategy
review in their last update.  PTI
cars ($282 million), cotton yarn
($101 million), electrical and
electronics ($51.3 million),
machinery ($50.2 million),
tyres ($17 million), and phar-
maceuticals ($87.3 million),
while imports items include
gold ($1.77 billion), copper ores
and concentrates ($391 mil-
lion), silver ($14.5 million).
Peruvian businesses are also
looking to export agricultural
products like avocados, fresh
grapes and blueberries, and
natural resources like calcium
phosphates to India.
India and Peru (34.2 million
population) are over 17,000 Km
apart.  PTI
millenniumpost
NEW DELHI | MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024
U19 WC final: Australia dash
Indian dreams with 79-run victory
BENONI: A fresh chapter was
added to the script of Austra-
lia’s domination over India in
the ICC World Cup finals when
they bagged the Under-19 title
with a 79-run victory here on
Sunday.
Batting by choice, the Aus-
sies posted a healthy 253 for
seven as India were forced to
mount the highest chase in
a youth World Cup summit
clash.
But Uday Saharan’s side
floundered in the final step to
glory, stumbling to 174 all out
as the relentless Aussie bowlers
led by the furious Mahli Beard-
man (3/15) and the crafty off-
spinner Raf MacMillan (3/43)
did not give them any breath-
ing space.
This was Australia’s fourth
U19 title and first since 2010
and, in a way, they also washed
away the pain of losing to India
in two title matches in 2012 and
2018. Many would view this
result as a continuation of Aus-
tralia’s win over India in the
senior World Cup last year at
Ahmedabad.
Pacer Callum Vidler started
Australia’s victory march by
packing off Indian opener
Arshin Kulkarni, inducing an
edge to stumper Ryan Hicks.
From that point, India
simply failed to stitch together
any meaningful partnerships
as frontline batters including
skipper Saharan (8), Musheer
Khan, who received a reprieve
on zero, and Sachin Dhas (9)
Boxing: Amit, Sachin Bengaluru FC, Jamshedpur FC stuck
strike gold; Nikhat
in mid-table tussle after 1-1 draw
signs off with silver
SOFIA: World Champion-
ship medallist Amit Panghal
and Sachin Siwach won a gold
each, while Nikhat Zareen and
three other Indians signed off
with silver medals at the 75th
Strandja Memorial tourna-
ment here on Sunday. The 2019
worlds silver medallist Panghal
(51kg) pulled off a dominat-
ing 5-0 triumph over Kazakh-
stan’s Sanzhar Tashkenbay in
the men’s flyweight final.
Sachin (57kg), a world
youth champion, changed the
colour of his medal from the
last edition from bronze to gold
as he out-punched Uzbeki-
stan’s Shakhzod Muzafarov by
a 5-0 verdict. However, two-
time world champion Zareen
(50kg), Arundhati Choud-
hary (66kg), Barun Singh
Shagolshem (48kg) and Rajat
(67kg) settled for silver med-
als after going down in their
respective bouts. In a com-
manding performance, Pang-
hal landed powerful punches
and Tashkenbay simply had no
answers. Panghal had clinched
the bronze medal in 2017 while
winning back-to-back titles in
2018 and 2019.
However despite his dom-
inant run here, the Army-
man from Haryana, who
has lost his spot in the
Indian team to 2023 worlds
bronze medallist Deepak Bho-
Puneri Paltan hammer Thalaivas
to enter Pro Kabaddi League semis
Players of Puneri Paltan (in orange) and Tamil Thalaivas during their Pro Kabaddi League match
KOLKATA: The impres-
sive Puneri Paltan thrashed
a below-par Tamil Thalaivas
56-29 to enter the semifinals of
the Pro Kabaddi League Season
10 here on Sunday.
Aslam Inamdar picked up
a few raid points as the Puneri
Paltan raced away with a six-
point lead within the third
minute.
However, Mohammadreza
IT WAS AUSTRALIA’S FOURTH U19 TITLE
Australia celebrates winning the ICC U19 men’s Cricket World Cup Final between India and Australia in Benoni on Sunday,
departed without making any
real contributions.
Beardman broke through
the defence of Musheer (22)
with a delivery that kept a tad
low, while the pacer tempted
Saharan, the tournament’s
highest run-getter, with a
slightly wide delivery on off-
stump, but his slash ended in
the hands of Hugh Weibgen at
Nikhat Zareen
ria, will not be competing at the
Paris Olympic qualifiers later
this month. Zareen went down
to 20-year-old Sabina Bob-
okulova of Uzbekistan, who
beat Asian Games champion
Wu Yu in the light flyweight
semifinals.
The first six minutes of the
bout were intense with both
boxers going at each other.
However, Zareen wasn’t to tight
with her defence and Boboku-
lova was able to land decisive
punches on counter attack.
Trailing after the first two
rounds, Zareen came out all
guns blazing in the final three
minutes. She was able to land
clean and precise punches and
won the third round.
But Bobokulova had done
enough and the judges ruled
in her favour.  National cham-
pion Arundhati went down
1-4 to reigning world cham-
pion Liu Yang of China in the
66kg final, while Barun lost to
Khodzhiev Anvarzhan of Kyr-
gyzstan. AGENCIES
Kaboudrahangi helped the
Tamil Thalaivas get on board
through a SUPER TACKLE
on Pankaj Mohite. But Mohit
Goyat effected a raid and Abi-
nesh Nadarajan tackled Vishal
Chahal as the Pune side
inflicted the first ALL OUT of
the match to take a big lead
at 12-2.
Mohite pulled off a bril-
liant raid in the 10th minute
point. Beardman later added
the wicket of opener Adarsh
Singh, who was India’s highest
scorer on the day with a 77-ball
47, to bulldoze the Indian bat-
ting unit with pace and bounce.
If the Indian batters could
not cope with the hostility of
Beardman, a disciple of legend-
ary Dennis Lillee, they could
not counter the guile of Mac-
JAMSHEDPUR: Jamshed-
pur FC held Bengaluru FC to
a 1-1 draw as the visiting team’s
attempts to reclaim a spot in
the top-six of the Indian Super
League met a hurdle here on
Sunday.
Suresh Singh Wangjam
opened the scoring for the vis-
itors with a screamer in the
14th minute, but Javi Siverio
equalised in the second half to
ensure that both teams settled
Kajol’s double strike helps Sethu Hockey: Sreejesh
FC cross East Bengal bridge
over Netherlands
VASCO: Kajol D’Souza scored
a brace to help Sethu FC earn
their third win in the IWL
2023-24 campaign, defeating
East Bengal 2-0 at the Tilak
Maidan on Sunday.
This much-needed victory
meant that Sethu can now put
their three-match losing streak
behind them.
The Madurai-based club,
playing out of Goa this season,
have now accrued 10 points
from eight games, but remain
rooted to fifth in the IWL table,
behind HOPS, who are on the
same number of points, but
ahead due to a better head-to-
head record.
However, neither team
PTI
as the Paltan continued to forge
ahead. Ajinkya Pawar tried a
counterattack for the Thalaivas,
but he couldn’t find a way to
breach the Puneri defence. The
Pune outfit inflicted another
ALL OUT to lead 28-10 at the
end of the first half.
In the second half, Goyat
took out Abishek as the Pune
side continued to put relentless
pressure on their rivals.AGENCIES
Millan, Australia’s lone spin-
ner this day.
MacMillan was introduced
in the 20th over and he dis-
missed Dhas off his first ball,
a regulation catch to Hicks
behind the stumps.
India were reduced to 68
for four then, and ouster of the
free-flowing Dhas was a body
blow to their chances.
for a point each from this lively
contest. The Blues were chasing
their fifth straight win against
the Red Miners in the league,
and they couldn’t have gotten
off to a better start for the same.
Chingambam Shivaldo
Singh earned a place in the
starting XI and he was tireless
on the right flank, launching in
a fierce delivery that was flicked
by Sivasakthi Narayanan onto
the path of Sunil Chhetri inside
hands India win
looks likely to take its battle
into the championship zone
since Gokulam Kerala FC,
Kickstart FC, and Odisha FC
stand way ahead in the table --
the three-way battle for the title
taking place nine points ahead
of the Madurai club.
East Bengal, on the other
hand, continue to languish
deep into the bottom half, just
ahead of Sports Odisha with
only four points in their pocket.
Sunday’s defeat was their sev-
enth in nine outings.
Sethu FC are not having a
great season either, but against
East Bengal, they looked far
more cohesive and definitely
initiated better penetrative
Maxwell’s blistering ton lifts Australia to
34-run victory in 2nd T20 against West Indies
The West Indies chase was derailed by the loss of five wickets in the first seven overs
ADELAIDE: Glenn Max-
well blasted a record-equal-
ing century as Australia beat
West Indies by 34 runs on
Sunday and took an unassail-
able 2-0 lead in its three-match
Twenty20 series.
Maxwell smashed an
unbeaten 120 off 55 balls, with
eight sixes and 12 fours, and
shared a 92-run stand with Tim
David (31 off 14 balls) to pro-
pel Australia to 241-4 and the
highest T20 international score
at Adelaide Oval.
“We’re extremely lucky to
have (Maxwell) in our team,”
Australia captain Mitch Marsh
said.
“He’s a match winner, game
changer and people come to
watch him.”
The West Indies chase was
derailed by the loss of five wick-
ets in the first seven overs, but
a rally led by captain Rovman
AP/PTI
The strapping offie later
also bagged the wickets of
Aravelly Avanish and Raj
Limbani, preventing any late
Indian punch back. Muru-
gan Abhishek (42, 45b) tried
gamely in the company of
Naman Tiwari adding 46 runs
for the ninth wicket, highest of
the innings, but the task proved
beyond his reach.  AGENCIES
the box. Sivasakthi and Chhetri
were positioned parallel to each
other a few yards away from
Jamshedpur FC goalkeeper TP
Rehenesh.
However, Chhetri was
in a very acute angle to the
goal, and hence refrained
from taking the onus upon
him to unleash a shot at
goal. He instead laid up the
ball for the onrushing Suresh,
who showed sharp instincts to
moves. Their forwards, Malvika
P, Kajol D’Souza, and Kaviya
Pakkirisamy, who had to leave
the pitch in the second half
because of an injury, did a good
job of keeping the rival defence
busy on a regular basis.
They could have added a
few more but missed chances
and their tendency to attempt
unrealistic long rangers
restricted them to a couple.
Kajol D’Souza scored
the first goal of the match,
neatly converting a penalty-
kick in the seventh min-
ute after an East Bengal
defender handled the ball
inside the
area. AGENCIES
Maxwell smashed an unbeaten 120 off 55 balls
Powell (63 off 36 balls) and
Andre Russell (37 off 16 balls)
briefly gave the tourists hope of
reeling in the mammoth target.
But the weight of the chase
ultimately proved too much
Sport
Akram Afif’s hat-trick of penalties
secures Qatar back-to-back titles
Asian Cup: Qatar defeat Jordan 3-1
LUSAIL: Akram Afif dropped
to his knees. Pretty soon he was
being thrown into the air by
his joyous teammates after the
forward’s hat trick of penalties
secured back-to-back Asian
Cup titles for Qatar.
Afif, the outstanding player
of the tournament and lead-
ing scorer with eight goals, was
nerveless when converting his
spot kicks in a 3-1 win against
Jordan at Lusail Stadium on
Saturday.
Just over a year ago it had
been Lionel Messi and Kylian
Mbappe who had lit up this
spectacular venue in arguably
the greatest World Cup final
of all time.
On this occasion it was Afif
taking center stage and becom-
ing the first player to score a hat
trick in the Asian Cup final.
He had been his country’s
standout performer from the
start of the tournament and
did not disappoint when it fell
to him to produce the deci-
sive moments against Jordan
as Qatar became the first back-
to-back winner since Japan in
2000 and 2004. In front of more
than 86,000 fans and with the
pressure on, Afif never looked
likely to miss from the spot and
he sparked wild celebrations
with each goal.? (I scored) the
penalties because of the con-
fidence my teammates had in
me. It is not about technique,
it is about the feeling that peo-
ple awre behind me - my team,”
Afif said.
He won and converted his
first penalty in the 22nd min-
ute. And after Yazan Al Naimat
leveled the game in the 67th
deposit the ball in the top cor-
ner of the net and immersing
in a jubilant celebration with
the captain.
Jamshedpur FC didn’t
let the goal get the better of
them though. Their dynamic
frontline kept pushing the
buttons of the Bengaluru
FC backline, getting into dan-
gerous spots inside the box to
test their luck against Gurpreet
Singh Sandhu. AGENCIES
BHUBANESWAR: Vet-
eran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh
turned out to be the saviour as
the Indian men’s hockey team
defeated world number one
Netherlands 4-2 via a shoot-
out in the FIH Pro League here
on Sunday.
Sreejesh made three fine
saves in the shoot-out to hand
India the bonus two points after
both the teams were locked at
2-2 at the end of regulation 60
minutes. Netherlands took one
points from the match. In the
shoot-out, skipper Harman-
preet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh,
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and
Shamsher Singh scored for
world number 3 India.  AGENCIES
as Marcus Stoinis (3-36) and
debutant Spencer Johnson
(2-39) led Australia’s bowlers
in restricting the West Indies
chase to 207-9 in its 20 overs.
“Yeah, I think the boys
Qatar's Akram Afif during the Asian Cup final football match 
Just over a year ago
it had been Lionel
Messi and Kylian
Mbappe who had lit
up this spectacular
venue in arguably
the greatest World
Cup final of all time
he struck again from the spot
in the 73rd and sealed the win
in the fifth minute of stoppage
time.
Afif had spoken earlier in
the tournament of his wish
to return to European soc-
cer after spells in Spain and
Belgium at the start of his
career. His performances,
which also earned him the
award for the Asian Cup’s most
valuable player, will likely have
caught the attention of clubs far
and wide.
While this was a per-
Sumit Nagal wins Chennai
Open, set to enter top-100
CHENNAI: India’s top singles
player Sumit Nagal on Sunday
won his fifth Challenger-level
singles title, outplaying Italian
Luca Nardi in the final of the
Chennai Open -- an achieve-
ment which will propel him
into the top-100 for the first
time in his career.
Nagal’s 6-1 6-4 win is likely
to take him to 98 when the
fresh rankings will be issued
on Monday.
Nagal will be first Indian to
feature in singles top-100 since
left-handed Prajnesh Gun-
neswaran made the cut in 2019.
It has been a terrific
start to the 2024 season
for the 26-year-old Indian,
who qualified for the Aus-
tralian Open main draw and
knocked out top-30 player
Alexander Bublik in the first
round. Nagal has been in tre-
mendous form as he won the
Bengaluru Open: Karan, Mukund
lose in singles qualifiers
BENGALURU: Indian tennis players endured a tough day
at the Bengaluru Open as five home players made an early
exit from the men’s singles qualifying event, including Karan
Singh, Niki Poonacha and Sasikumar Mukund, here Sunday.
While wild card entrant 20-year-old Karan fought his heart
out against second seed Dan Added of France before losing
6-7(3), 7-5, 6-7(9) in the opening round that lasted two hours
and 46 minutes, Mukund fell 4-6, 3-6 to fourth seed Italian S
Vincent Ruggeri.
show courage, you know, that
we would just start aggressive
but we kept losing wickets,”
Powell said. “We also need to
get big partnerships just as the
Aussies did.”
Earlier, Australia slipped
to a precarious 64-3 after 6.4
overs after being asked to bat
first, with Josh Inglis (four),
Marsh (29 off 12 balls) and
David Warner (22 off 19 balls)
all holing-out playing expan-
sive shots.
Maxwell started slowly with
his first four runs coming off
five balls, before his innings
exploded into life with a rush
of boundaries.
He shared an 82-run stand
with Stoinis (16 off 15 balls)
and then a 92-run partnership
with Tim David, which reaped
25 runs from the final over
bowled by Russell.
Maxwell’s century came
11
AP/PTI
sonal triumph for him,
it was redemption for
Qatar, which had endured
a miserable World Cup on
home soil in 2022 when exit-
ing the tournament after three
straight defeats in the group
stage.
Even as host and defending
champion, Qatar had been an
unexpected finalist, let alone
winner. Captain Hassan Al-
Haydos noted on the eve of the
final how critics had expected
little of the team ahead of the
tournament.
How satisfying for him,
then, to be draped in the same
type of black Qatari ceremo-
nial robe that Messi had worn
to lift the World Cup. After the
pain of that tournament, here
was a moment of national cel-
ebration as the Emir of Qatar
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
handed Al-Haydos the tro-
phy and shortly after there
was an eruption of tickertape
and fireworks. AGENCIES
Sumit Nagal celebrates after
winning the singles final match
against Italy’s Luca Nardi at the
ATP Challenger Chennai Open
2024 tennis tournament, in
Chennai on Sunday PTI
Chennai Open without drop-
ping a set. AGENCIES
AGENCIES
off 50 balls and was the fastest
hundred in a T20 international
in Australia beating South Afri-
can Rilee Rossouw’s 52-ball
effort against Bangladesh dur-
ing the 2022 World Cup.
It was also Maxwell’s fifth
T20 international century,
equalling the record held by
India’s Rohit Sharma.
“I feel really comfortable in
this format. I think over the
last probably 18 months, I’ve
felt really good about my bat-
ting and really good about my
game,” Maxwell said.
Australia beat West Indies
by 11 runs in the first match
in Hobart on Friday. The third
game of the three-match series
will be played on Tuesday at
Perth.
Australia, which is playing
six T20s over the next three
weeks, routed West Indies 3-0
in the ODI series.  AGENCIES
12 Leisure millenniumpost
MONDAY, 12 FEBRUARY, 2024 | NEW DELHI

‘Watching Bigg Boss 17 Celina addresses

online trolling
is traumatic’ C elina Jaitly recently
slammed a troll who said
that she should only wear
bikinis and not talk about impor-
tant things like international
affairs. She replied with a video
She slammed a troll
who said that she
should only wear bikinis

Actor Ankita Lokhande recently opened

on social media, saying everyone their emotions better and make
should be allowed to talk about firm decisions about their actions.

up about her tumultuous journey on the

serious topics, no matter what they
wear. Reflecting on the same, she
shared that it’s important to stand
show with her husband Vicky Jain up for yourself and help others if
possible.
Jaitly pointed out the ongoing
struggles women face in today’s
society. She emphasised that
women are still viewed as outsiders
in a predominantly male society.

A
nkita
Lokhande,
who emerged
as the third runner-
up of Bigg Boss 17,
recently opened up
about her tumultuous
journey on the show with
her husband, Vicky Jain. In
a new interview, the ‘Pavi-
tra Rishta’ fame shared how
watching the show now is
‘traumatic’ for her. The actor
also opened up about facing
anxiety issues after coming
out of the ‘Bigg Boss’ house
and said that she is trying to
recover.
In an interview with Sid-
dharth Kannan, Ankita shared
how she feels when people com-
ment on her relationship with
Vicky. The actor said, “It still hurts.
I am not recovering from it and it’s
not because of anybody else. It’s
because of us. I saw some of my
scenes and I was just telling Vicky
yesterday that you know we have
fun and we say things like, ‘I will
hit you’ in jest.”
“But on TV, it looked so exag-
gerated. Now when I see it, it
impacts me so much that I do not
like it because we talk to each other
as friends, so it feels okay. But it’s
come with such force on TV that
it’s traumatic. It’s not healthy to
watch. It’s not nice to watch. What-
ever we did, we did it ourselves. No
one else was there. We were fight-
ing there, but somewhere there’s a
lot of love in that fight too,” Ankita
continued.
Ankita recently skipped ‘Bigg
‘It’s not healthy to
watch. It’s not nice
to watch. Whatever
we did, we did it
ourselves. No one else
was there. We were
fighting there, but
somewhere there’s a
lot of love in that fight
too,’ she says
Boss 17’ runner-up Abhishek
Kumar’s party. When asked about
the reason behind it, Ankita said,
“I was feeling unwell. I’m not keep-
ing well. You can hear my voice. I
had some anxiety issues, so I’m
trying to recover a bit from that
by keeping a bit away from these
things. I’m just trying to balance
things.”
Ankita ended up as the third
runner-up of ‘Bigg Boss 17’.
Munawar Faruqui took home the
trophy. On Friday, all the contes-
tants, including Ankita, Abhishek,
Isha Malviya, Mannara Chopra and
others were spotted at the success
bash of the show. AGENCIES
Celina told a leading media She mentioned, “We’re constantly
house, “Sometimes, it’s important required to justify our views and
to stand up for yourself. If you can face criticism for all our actions.”
stand up through that process for Additionally, she remarked on the
many others, it’s indeed a bonus. negative attitudes towards inde-
I specifically did it as a comedy pendent women, which often lead
reel. I am an actor and I like to to harmful behaviour like bullying
use that power within to reach out and name-calling. She suggested
with occasional lessons of impor- that sometimes it’s necessary to
tance to my circle of overlook insignificant criticisms,
impact.” She also while other times, it’s important
stated that artists to address them directly. Address-
and storytellers are ing the stereotype often imposed
really important on actresses, Jaitly questioned,
nowadays because “Why do you think actresses
of all the fighting are stereotyped by such peo-
and problems ple? How can one stay away
happening. from this negativity?”
She thinks She said that women
their work have to defend them-
helps peo- selves and are judged for
ple feel more everything they do, no
connected matter how much they
to the world, achieve. AGENCIES
understand

Mariah Carey among 2024 nominees MEXICAN FOOD FESTIVAL

for ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ A culinary celebration of authentic,

T he ‘Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame Foundation’ very
recently announced
The 2024 ceremony delectable Mexican cuisine
this year’s slate of nominees,
will stream live on OUR CORRESPONDENT we celebrate the vibrant fla-
‘Disney+’

with 10 first-timers. On Satur-
day (Pacific Standard Time),
the Cleveland Museum and
‘Hall of Fame’ revealed a list of
15 artistes eligible for induc-
tion at this year’s ceremony:
Mary J Blige, Mariah Carey,
Cher, Dave Matthews Band,
Eric B and Rakim, Foreigner,
Peter Frampton, Jane’s Addic-
tion, Kool and the Gang,
Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Sinead
O’Connor, Ozzy Osbourne
and Sade, reported ‘People’
magazine.
“This remarkable list of
nominees reflects the diverse
artists and music that the ‘Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame’ hon-
ours and celebrates. Continu-
ing in the true spirit of ‘Rock
and Roll’, these artists have
created their own sounds that
have impacted generations and
influenced countless others
that have followed in their foot-
steps,” said John Sykes, chair-
man of the ‘Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame Foundation.
As per ‘People’, eligibility for
nomination requires an artiste
to have released their first com-
mercial recording 25 or more
years ago or by 1999, as per the
foundation.
10 of the 15 nominees are
appearing on the ballot for
the first time, including Carey,
Cher, Kravitz, Osbourne,
Sade and the late O’Connor.
13 artistes made last year’s
class of inductees into the
‘Hall of Fame’. Among them
were George Michael posthu-
mously, Chaka Khan, Missy
Elliott, Kate Bush and Sheryl
Crow.
An international voting
body of more than 1,000 art-
ists will partake in selecting
the 2024 inductees. Voters will
evaluate potential inductees
based on factors ranging from
impact and influence on others
to longevity and superiority in
style or skill. In late April, the
foundation will hold its induc-
tion ceremony in Cleveland,
with additional information
to be revealed. For the sec-
ond year, the 2024 ceremony
will stream live on ‘Disney+’,
air as a special on ABC at a
later date and be available to
stream on ‘Hulu’ the day after
the telecast. AGENCIES
H
ilton Garden Inn New
Delhi/Saket presents
the much-anticipated
‘Mexican Food Festival’, a culi-
nary celebration of authentic
Mexican cuisine that will tan-
talise the taste buds of food
enthusiasts in Delhi by Chef
Tania Tovar, coming from
Mexico, along with our Exec-
utive Chef Biswarup Chatter-
jee. The festival will take place
from today until February 19,
2024, at the acclaimed Hilton
Garden Inn New Delhi, Saket,
located in the heart of the city.
The festival promises to be
a delectable journey through
the diverse and vibrant fla-
vours of Mexico, showcasing
the rich culinary heritage of
the country. Guests will have
the opportunity to savour an
array of traditional Mexican
dishes meticulously prepared
by our team of talented chefs,
who have drawn inspiration
from the distinct regional cui-
sines of Mexico.
Federico Salas, the Ambas-
sador of Mexico to India, will
inaugurate the festival, bring-
ing an international touch to
the event. Throughout the
festival, attendees can expect
to feast on an assortment of
mouthwatering dishes, includ-
ing but not limited to Tajin
clásico fruit-tequila infusion,
Texas cowboy-frijoles charros,
ceviche, sopa de tortilla, chili
bean nachos, Lentejas ‘One Pot
Vegan Meal’, Gobernor style
tacos, churros, tetelas, chicken
quesadillas, pescado zaran-
deado and much more.
Chef Biswarup Chatter-
jee said, “Join us for our Mex-
ican Food Festival, where
vours and rich culinary her-
itage of Mexico. Experience
the warmth and hospitality of
Mexican cuisine as we show-
case a diverse array of authen-
tic dishes crafted with passion
and artistry.”
“We’re excited to announce
our ‘Mexican Food Festi-
val’, where guests can savour
authentic dishes and embrace
the vibrant flavors of Mexico.
Join us for a culinary journey
filled with traditional cuisine,
live music and warm hospi-
tality,” added Joyjit Chakra-
vorty, General Manager of
HGI Saket.
Chef Tania shared, “Mex-
ican food is far more varied
than people think. It varies
from region to region. My
job is to present the real food
of Mexico and I hope people
understand it’s not just nachos
and tacos.”

‘Women should see their Shahid opens up

femininity as a strength’ about embracing his
A spiritual journey
ctor and soon-to-
be bride Rakul Preet
Singh, who’s all set to
marry actor-producer Jackky
Bhagnani, opened up about
her mantra for a healthy rela-
tionship. She opened up about He recently shared about going
insecurities in a relationship
and said that she and Jackky down a spiritual path when he
discussed these things even
before they started dating. felt uncertainty in his life

In an interview with ‘Cos-
mopolitan’, Rakul said that
there is no ‘mantra’ for a suc-
cessful relationship, but some-
thing important is: “Being
complete in yourself first to
be able to complete someone
else. And that’s something that
both Jackky Bhagnani and I
have spoken about.”
Rakul Preet Singh is
set to marry Jackky
Bhagnani
She continued, “Even
before we started dating, we
spoke about it - the under-
standing that you know your
shortcomings and work on
your relationship with abso-
lutely no insecurities. If one
of the partners is insecure, the
relationship cannot be healthy.
And it boils down to being
complete in yourself as a per-
son to be able to be more giv-
ing in a relationship.”
Rakul was also asked about
the importance of having the
right partner for a woman.
She replied, “All those women
who are ambitious should be
smart enough to take their
time and find a partner who
understands them and their
dreams so that they can share
responsibilities.”
The actor said that women
should see their femininity as
a strength and stay positive.
She stressed the importance
of finding a supportive partner
who understands their ambi-
tions. According to her, both
men and women can achieve
their goals, but women can
do even more. According to
reports, Rakul and Jackky will
tie the knot in a grand wed-
ding ceremony on February
21 in Goa. Recently, the couple
was spotted in Mumbai with
their parents. AGENCIES
S
hahid Kapoor, currently
starring in the film ‘Teri
Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha
Jiya’, recently shared about going
down a spiritual path when he
felt uncertainty in his life. He
follows the Radha Soami faith
and discussed how he became
connected to it in a recent
interview.
During a conversation with
‘Quint Neon’, Shahid Kapoor
was asked about an incident
that shaped his life and he said,
“It is my spiritual path. I always
had a spiritual leaning. I was
always very curious about life,
about the source of life, about
why we are here and what’s the
point of it all and I was very
lost because I didn’t have any
answers so I couldn’t make sense
of anything.”
“I follow the Radha Soami
path. I really connected with it
and I think that helped me set
the context for everything. I
think that helped me understand
things much better and under-
stand myself better. And I think,
among other things, like being an
actor, being a parent and being a
child, I am actually on the quest
of finding myself and my relation-
ship with God,” the actor added.
‘I was always very
curious about life
and the source
of life,’ says the
Bollywood actor
Shahid, in an earlier conver-
sation, had confessed that he
shares the same spiritual faith
with Mira Rajput, but they met
through family. Shahid and Mira
spent two years living with Mira’s
parents in Punjab during the pan-
demic. Shahid and Mira were
married in 2015. They have two
children: Misha, aged 7 and Zayn,
aged 5. AGENCIES