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RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 86
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stops at a snacks stall at Hunar Haat at Rajpath in New Delhi on Wednesday.
PM MODI RELISHES ‘LITTI-CHOKHA’
DURING SURPRISE VISIT TO ‘HUNAR HAAT’
P
rime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday made a surprise visit to ‘Hunar Haat’ at Rajpath here, where he interacted with artisans and relished ‘litti-chokha’ and ‘kulhad’ tea. Soon after chairing the meeting of the Union Cabinet, Modi reached Rajpath where ‘Hunar Haat’ is being organised by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Sources in the gover nment said officials of the ministry were
Prime Minister Narendra Modi eats litti-chokha at a snacks stall at Hunar Haat in New Delhi on Wednesday.
PM to be chief guest at ET GBS 2020 Minister Narendra Modi will be Pnessrime the Chief Guest at the Global BusiSummit, presented by The Economic Times and Yes BankNSE 0.71 %. GBS 2020 will be held over March 6-7 in New Delhi. The Prime Minister’s keynote speech, the centrepiece of the two day event, is on March 6. The PM’s speech will be highly anticipated, given the context. His government has sought to address the slowdown in the Indian economy, with measures that range from corporate tax cuts to in-
surprised when they came to know about the prime minister’s visit. Modi, who was there for 50 minutes, ate ‘littichokha’, a dough ball made of whole wheat flour and stuffed with
novative choices for personal income tax payers. The government is also getting ready for a possibly mega IPO of LIC. Further, the PM and other senior ministers have repeatedly asserted the importance of wealth creators. There are also the problems facing the telecom sector that the government is closely monitoring. It is also considering possible measures that may be needed if the economic impact of Covid-19 on some sectors becomes more severe.
‘sattu’, and paid Rs 120 for it. The dish is popular in Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. He later had tea served in ‘kulhad’ with Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and paid
Rs 40 for two cups. Artisans participating in the event said the traditional arts were dying, but the ‘Hunar Haat’ programme has helped revive them. There was a surge in crowd when people
came to know that the prime minister was visiting the event. The ‘Hunar Haat’ here is based on the theme of ‘Kaushal Ko Kaam’ and will be held till February 23. Master artisans, craftsmen and culinary experts, including more than 50 per cent women, from across the country are participating at the Haat. A ‘bawarchikhana’ section has also been set up with traditional delicacies of several states available for people to savour. Similar ‘haats’ are being organised across India as part of an effort to empower master artisans.
Rupani govt allocates 30 acres of free land for Children University First India News Gandhinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 11-year-old dream of Children University will now flourish on 30 acres of land, with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s government allocating land at the Shahpur village on the outskirts of Gandhinagar city for the project at no cost. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel made the announcement on Wednesday after the cabinet meeting. The idea behind the university is to introduce Indian culture and phi-
losophy to babies in utero and, later, during their formative years through Tapovan and Shishu Vatika. Patel added that the university will play a very vital role in the upbringing of children. A 100% grant-in-aid university, Children University will receive a Rs5.33 crore grant in the current financial year from the state government, which will bear all expenses in developing the university. In 2008, then Chief Minister Narendra Modi had shared his dream to set up a chil-
STATE ATTRACTS IEM OF MORE THAN Rs 3 LAKH CRORE
nder the leadership of Chief Minister Vijay U Rupani, the state has successfully attracted Industrial Entrepreneurship Memoranda
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani along with Chief Principal Secretary to CM K Kailashnathan, Principal Secretary to CMO M K Das, Industries Commissioner Rahul Gupta, MSME Commissioner Ranjeeth Kumar and Neelam Rani Additional Industries Commissioner during the meeting with SBI officers.
dren’s university. The following year, his government passed Children University Act in the state assembly. However, it
took almost three years for it to take off. University officials and the vice-chancellor had to explain to bureaucrats that this
would be a university with a difference. Tapovan centres provide registered pregnant women knowledge about how to take care
of Rs3,43,843 lakh crore—51% of total memoranduma signed in the country. Each month, the state attracts 16,000 MSME (micro, small and medium enterprise) registrations, and is home to more than 43% of the nation’s start-ups. Gujarat has become holistic Industrial Development Role Model for the rest of India. Compared to past years, the state is likely to attract Rs50,000 crore in foreign direct investment.
of an infant, how long to feed them, and the kind of nutritious food they should eat during pregnancy. During their three-hour daily
sessions at the centres, these women are exposed to “appropriate” music, lullabies and positive stories in addition to being provided
healthy food. The university plans to launch Shishu Vatika this coming academic year, where children in the age group of three to five years will be taught aspects of traditional Indian culture. In addition, it will establish various programmes such as Masters of Arts, Masters of Education, M.Phil in Education and a PG Diploma in school counselling. It will be registered with the University Grants Commission under section 12(b) to avail of grants for courses and faculty.
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Exams are loaded with stress for both students. They are highly busy with test papers, sample papers, extra classes, and important questions to perform their best. But this is also a time of vulnerability when it comes to their mind and body
TIPS TO BEAT EXAM STRESS SAY NO TO JOINT VENTURES Avoid your friends like plague! When four buddies get together, we all know the books feel ignored. But if you can arrange a group study session with the studious topper, that can be permitted.
DO NOT GET CARRIED AWAY Some students cannot bear the fact that others are getting ahead. May be someone else has completed a greater part of the syllabus, so what? Perhaps he is not doing it as seriously as you are! Don’t bother about others and stay focused.
DO NOT PUT PRESSURE ON YOUR HANDS Yes, one must practice writing to improve his speed and to remember things better, but one must not put too much pressure on their fingers or they might get stiff while writing the paper! That would be a pretty bad situation!.
ENSURE BETTER SLEEP Proper sleep is extremely important for everyone. Many students consume caffeine during exams to avoid sleepiness. A good night’s sleep is essential for your body and mind to ensure proper rest. You should also sleep properly for 6-8 hours a night before exams.
CRACK BOARD EXAMS, NOT YOUR HEALTH
T
he Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is conducting exams for the 10th and 12th standards in schools affiliated with the board, across the country and abroad. The exams will be held over a period of the next month and a half and 31 lakh candidates will reportedly appear for their board exams. Exams are loaded with stress for both students and parents. Students are highly busy to perform their best. With test
papers, sample papers, extra classes, important question etc. there is an endless list of tasks to be completed in a short span. CBSE exams 2019 began this week and with the exams came an atmosphere of stress, especially for those appearing for boards for the first time. Many students find it difficult to focus during exams due to various reasons. Increased stress can
also affect their performance as well as preparation. Examination stress can have multifarious effects on the body and mind. A lot of students indulge in stress-eating or develop unhealthy eating habits during the exams, which may not only result in weight gain, but may also trigger sluggishness. It is i m - portant for students to fo l l ow
a healthy diet and maintain a good eating schedule, in order to stay alert during the papers. Maintaining a healthy weight is important for the overall well-being of a student. But students’ diet may go for a toss in the months and weeks preceding examinations, due to excessive pressure from parents, teachers and peers, as well as due to internal stress. Stress fogs the brain and hampers clear thinking and cognition, which is important for scoring well.
DIET TIPS INCLUDE ENERGY BOOSTERS IN YOUR DIET Eat natural and healthy energy boosting foods in your exam diet like bananas, apples, eggs, brown rice. Eat more protein-rich foods like eggs, legumes, tofu, chicken, turkey breast etc. The protein-rich foods give you energy and help you stay satiated for longer. Healthy carbs from sweet potatoes can also help you stay energised and full for longer.
EAT MORE STRESS-BUSTING FOODS Foods like berries, almonds, milk and yogurt, fatty fish etc. help you beat stress. It’s important to recognise when you are eating too much and too often that you are doing that because of stress.
CONTROL YOUR CAFFEINE INTAKE
It is easy to drink multiple cups of coffee or tea during exams. But excessive caffeine intake may leave you dehydrated and more stressed. Instead sip on green tea, matcha tea or any caffeine-free herbal tea.
DON’T IGNORE YOUR HUNGER, SNACK OFTEN Avoiding your hunger pangs makes things worse. It may give you gas and may make you binge in your next meal. Eat when you feel hungry instead of putting your meals off. Keep a box of homemade trail mix with low sugar on your study table.
AVOID RUSHING THROUGH YOUR MEALS Stressed-out students often tend to rush through their meals, as they are more than eager to get back to their studies after eating. It is much healthier for you to instead slow down during your meals and eat more mindfully. You will not only feel more fulfilled, but it will also refresh you and make you feel prepared for long hours of studying.
MAKE A PLAN Planning helps you reduce more than half of the stress. Make a plan which can help you organise your study time, playtime and how you are going to study. It will help you prevent last-minute stress and confusion.
EAT ON TIME Eat your last meal as early in the evening as possible and follow a proper meal schedule. It saves time, and keeps your mind and body healthy.
Banish exam fear
While addressing the nation on the November 2019 ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, Modi said that the fear of exams needs to be banished completely. “I want to see my young friends smiling during examinations, their parents should be stress-free, teachers should be assured,” he said. In his 2017 Mann ki Baat address, he said that exams are not the test of a lifetime but a test of a year. Realise that marks
are not everything
Though good marks are still held as a benchmark by the majority of parents in India, the fact is that the world is a lot bigger and marks
are starting to matter lesser and lesser. PM Modi advised parents not to pressurize their students and reminded everyone that the world is full of opportunities. Take care of your
mental health
At the last Pariksha Pe Charcha session, PM Modi advised students to identify why they were feeling low or why their mood was feeling off. He said managing the mind and the mood was all about exerting self control. When asked about depression, he advised parents not to put undue pressure on their children to keep them in their full capacity like Spring. He told parents to accept their kids as they are.
Take a leaf from NaMo’s book
Manage technology-
use well
It is no secret that mobile phones can be extremely distracting during exams. PM Modi told students to “not let technology rule you, rather, rule the technology.” Don’t be afraid of
failure
One of the top causes of exam stress is the fear if failing in exams. During the Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 session, PM Modi gave the example of Chandrayaan 2 and said, “Every failure is a step towards success.” He also advised students to culture confidence which can help battle the stress and improve their focus in the exam hall.
Do something
instead of becoming something
PM Modi told students in Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 that students face a lot of stress because they are worried about becoming a great person “You think that if you fail the exam, you’d fail to become that. It is this tension. We should never dream about becoming something rather we should dream of doing something,” said PM Modi. Take proper rest
Since adequate sleep and a balanced diet could improve one’s health to a great extent, PM Modi advised students in Mann Ki Baat 2017 to make sure they do not skimp on either.
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RITU PHOGAT IS CHARTING A NEW PATH AFTER MAKING AN EXPLOSIVE MMA DEBUT IN NOVEMBER
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BUDGET TODAY Ahead of visit, Trump US President says India not treating America well on the trade front; Opposition says remarks are an insult to India
Different sections of society have specific and wide-ranging expectations from the budget
CM Ashok Gehlot signing the state budget 2020-21 at the CMR on Wednesday. Niranjan Arya, Hemant Gera, Dr Prithviraj, Sudhir Sharma and Sharad Mehra are also seen.
First India News Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will present the second budget in the Assembly tomorrow. Different sections of society, including farmers, youths, and industrialists, have a lot of expectations from this budget. Here’s a look at what specific expectations people have of the budget:
FARMERS
The farmers of the are expecting new schemes from the Ashok Gehlot government with announcements related to offering new loans at a low interest rate and fertilizer and seeds. YOUTHS
The youth wants the government to initiate schemes that can create new jobs. A large number of youths are
so that treatment can be accessible to every person. Also, health services, insurance and pension facilities should be improved as much as possible.
unemployed and there are some who are not getting the jobs they want. WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT
The government should start new programmes for women’s empowerment, like making self-defence courses mandatory from the school level. Apart from this, women should have a special exemption for
Nritya Gopal Das elected Ram Temple Trust chief New Delhi: Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was elected president and Champat Rai general secretary of the Ram Temple Trust at its first meeting here on Wednesday. The meeting, held at the residence of senior lawyer K Parasaran, also elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s former principal secretary Nripendra Misra as the head of the temple construction committee of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust. The meeting was aimed at working
P9
STUDENTS
start-ups as well. HEALTHCARE
The government must look to expand the Nirogi Rajasthan scheme,
Students want the government to increase the budget in the field of education, along with a reduction in interest rates in education loans. Turn on P5
WHIPS UP A STORM
New Delhi/Washington: US President Donald Trump has complained that India has not treated his country “very well” on the trade front and indicated that a “very big” bilateral deal with New Delhi may not be signed before the American presidential election in November. “Well, we can have a trade deal with India, but I’m really saving the big deal for later on,” Trump, who is scheduled to visit India on February 24 and 25, told on Tuesday when asked whether he expects a trade deal with India before his trip. “We’re not treated very well by India,” the US president complained. The Congress alleged that the remarks made by Trump are an insult and affront to the country’s dignity and the government should respond accordingly. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the issue is serious as it seeks to undermine the progress made in the last many years as regards Indo-US ties. He also said that the tone and tenor of Trump’s visit seems
PAYING TRIBUTE TO CHHATRAPATI
Members of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the Trust set up to oversee construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, during its first meeting at New Delhi on Wednesday. Ram Janam Bhoomi Nyas chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das (centre) is also seen.
out modalities to speed up the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. It was also decided to open an account in Ayodhya’s
SBI branch for donations for the Ram temple construction, Chanmpat Rai told reporters after the meeting. Turn on P5
Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, on his Jayanti on Wednesday. The PM posted this photo on Twitter.
POTUS’ GROUSE American products z The US President
z Trump had previ-
ously described India as a “tariff king” for imposing “tremendously high” tariffs on
indicated that a “very big” bilateral deal with New Delhi may not be signed before the US presidential election in November.
z Says: “I’m really
saving the big deal for later on.”
‘I LIKE PRIME MINISTER MODI’ Washington: Though President Trump is not happy with bilateral trade ties with India, he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is looking forward to his visit to India. “I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot,” Trump said. “He (Modi) told me we’ll have seven million people between the airport and the event. And the stadium, I understand, is sort of semi under-construction, but it’s going to be the largest stadium in the world. So it’s going to be very exciting... I hope you all enjoy it,” he told reporters.
to be “transactional and not strategic”. “The president of the United States, on the eve of his visit for the first time to India, has made certain remarks. I think it is an insult and affront to the dignity of the country and the ministry of ex-
ternal affairs should respond to it,” he told reporters. Trump, forcefully pursuing his “America first” policy, has previously described India as a “tariff king” for imposing “tremendously high” tariffs on American products. Turn on P5
SHAHEEN BAGH
Mediators to protesters: Let’s work together New Delhi: Advocates Sanjay Hegde and Sadhna Ramachandran, who have been asked by the Supreme Court to speak to the anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh and find a solution to the road-block issue, visited the protest site on Wednesday. Hedge and Ramachandran met the protesters and spoke to them. “We have come here according Interlocutors Sanjay Hegde (left) to the order of the Su- and Sadhna Ramachandran preme Court. We hope to (centre) with the protesters. speak to everyone. We hope to resolve the matter with everybody’s cooperation,” said Hegde. Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Shah’s residence in the national capital. The meeting was earlier scheduled at the Home Ministry. Turn on P5
Govt refuses to give information about refugees in Gujarat Gargi Raval Ahmedabad: Amid the controversy of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Gujarat’s home department refused to disclose any information regarding the number of refugees and whether there is any state government Act or policy for their registration. According to CAA, minorities from three countries—Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan—can avail citizenship of India if
they have been living here since before December 31, 2014. Ahmedabad-based activist Yash Makwana had sought districtwise information about displaced people living in the state under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. “The home department said that my questions regarding refugees staying in Gujarat, was under the purview of the Central government. Hence the state government cannot give me any answers,”
Pakistani citizens living in India on long term visa and waiting for citizenship.
Makwana told First India. “I remember Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani organising rallies and promising Meghwal
—FILE PHOTO
Dalits staying in Kutch citizenship under CAA,” he also said, add-
ing, “If the state government does not have any information regarding these refugees, how could the State Assembly pass a resolution supporting CAA? I think there is no clarity in the department because the CM promises to provide citizenship to Dalits in public, but the home department does not want to reveal any information.” According to the home department, as many as 7,000 foreigners on long-term visas in Gujarat have filed applications for
citizenship by naturalisation. Some of these are sent to the Union Home Ministry for the required verification. Department sources revealed to First India that at least 7580% of these applicants could benefit from the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, under which foreigners living in India since before December 31, 2014, may be given citizenship in five years. According to the Home Department of-
ficer about 5,600, or 80%, of the 7,000 applications were filed before the end of 2014. Of these, at least 70% are from Pakistanis living here and include Hindus, Muslims, and others. The officer added that, with CAA, there is only one change made in the Citizenship Act of 1955: earlier, the minimum period prospective citizens were required to stay in India used to be 11-12 years. Now, this has been reduced to five years, this person said.
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BJP MP for scrapping of 2018 GR Bharatsinh Dabhi termed the General Resolution an injustice to SC/ST/OBC candidates
Jadeja convinces LRD women candidates to withdraw protest First India News
First India News Gandhinagar: The agitation against General Resolution 2018 found another supporter in BJP MP Bharatsinh Dabhi. The leader has openly stated that GR 2018 is an injustice to candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (SC/ ST/OBC) and should be scrapped. Dabhi was in Gandhinagar to appraise State Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama that the Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University was in violation of the women’s reservation policy. According to him, the university is currently
recruiting staff in violation of the policy and should discontinue the process with immediate effect. The state government’s decision to increase the number of positions for women candidates in the LRD recruitment process led to the withdrawal of their protest. Now, protests from male candidates demanding an increment in positions has ensured that the issue refuses to die down. The issue started with women candidates sitting on a dharna in Gandhinagar, in protest of the state government’s decision to adhere to the General Resolution 2018 for the LRD recruitment process.
—FILE PHOTO
Gandhinagar: Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja successfully convinced reserved category women candidates protesting against General Resolution (GR) 18 to withdraw their agitation on Wednesday. Jadeja met with the protesting women candidates in a 90-minute meeting. Aspiring candidates of Lok Rakshak Dal (LRD) from the reserved category were protesting against the state government’s GR 2018. Candidates felt the resolution was an injustice to women candidates. As a result of continued protests, the state government
VASAVA MEETS ST PROTESTERS Tribal Minister Ganpat Vasava met Adivasi leaders to convince them to withdraw their agitation, as the government is not going to entertain anyone with fake certificates. Scheduled Tribe members are currently protesting over the fake tribal certificate issue. They have demanded that the government should not review certificates of tribals whose certificates have been invalidated. increased the number of positions for women in the LRD recruitment process. It also announced that GR 2018 will not be implemented in the
current LRD recruitment process. Yet, the women candidates belonging to the reserved category had continued their protest which clocked 70 days.
SEEKS TIME Candidates from unreserved class category have moved the High Court pleading to direct the state to issue appointment orders to 254 candidates. According to them, the state has not issued appointment orders to those who have cleared the exams and are on the merit list. HC has asked the state to file a reply before March 11.
It seems that the state government wishes to resolve all matters before the arrival of US President Trump on February 24.
04
33 councillors demand removal of LoP Sharma First India News
Ahmedabad: Councillors of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) have written another letter asking for the removal of leader of opposition, Dinesh Sharma. The letter, written by 33 councillors, was sent to the state in-charge Rajiv Satav by AMC councillors of the Congress party. A similar letter was sent to the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee in 2018 as well. The councillors stated in the letter, which was written nine months ahead of local body elections in the state, that even after four years, there has not been any change in leadership. This is the second time that Congress councillors have expressed unhappiness with the LoP’s leadership.
The party leadership is aware of some miscreants. Those who have signed the letter were forced to do so. There were also many people, who gave in writing that they are not against me —Dinesh Sharma Leader of Opposition
“As per the civic body’s rotation policy, the LoP must be changed every two and a half years. People of other communities and castes should be given a chance. The local body election is due by the end of the yearend and there is dire need to strengthen party,” the letter says. It also says that the signatories will “accept anyone whom the top leadership announces as the next leader.”
Patel: 10L ha rabi crop Infibeam Avenues expands business to US in Narmada command Gandhinagar: India’s digital payment solutions and enterprise software platform provider Infibeam Avenues Ltd said on Wednesday it has made inroads into the United States, the world’s second largest digital payments market by revenue. The company will offer digital payment solutions to web and mobile based small and medium enterprises largely operating in the online retail, education, hospitality and travel and tourism industry
First India News
RECORD SOWING
Three IAS officers promoted to ACS sowing has taken place on 32,857 hectares of land, while in Kutch and Banaskantha districts, crops were sown on 28,403 hectares and 15,143 hectares of land respectively. These are water-scarce areas of the state. As per the data of the Agriculture, Farmer’s Welfare & Cooperation department for the month of January, sow-
GUP SHUP BUGGED? Or is it the grapevine... . First India begins a column that brings to you gossips or tete-e-tete from the corridors of power
ing has taken place on 37,97, 585 hectares of land in the entire state. This number is 121.74% higher than the average for the last three years. Over the last three years, on average 31 lakh hectares of land was covered during rabi season, whereas in 2018-19, crops were sown on 28 lakh hectares of land.
Gandhinagar: The state government on Wednesday promoted three IAS officers of the 1989 batch to the grade of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS). General Administration Department’s Principal Secretary Kamal Dayani through a wide order granted promotion to Srinivas Katikithala as Additional CS. Kathikithala is currently Additional Secretary, Department of
ON A CLIFF’S END
wake of the agitation by reserved Ithenandthereservation unreserved category regarding issue, MLAs are in two minds: whether to toe the party line or support either agitation group. It seems to be a Catch-22 situation for these MLAs, who are fearful of the consequences if they don’t support the protesters. And rightly so. Their constituents have raised their voice against an issue and the elected leaders have not come out in support of their cause. With elections coming soon, it should be interesting to see how the voters fare. Very few of the leaders have actually taken a stand, but those who have, probably think that it will disappoint party seniors and they will have to face their ire. What to do indeed, leaders?
Personnel and Training, Government of India, New Delhi. Principal Secretary Amrendra Kumar Rakesh, who will continue to discharge his duties as Additional Chief Secretary, Panchayats, Rural Housing and Rural Development Department. Sunaina Tomar, Principal Secretary, Energy and Petrochemicals Department will take charge as Additional CS at the same post.
NO FAVOURS!
senior politically wellA connected officer in the local police is set to retire soon
but is not keen to do that early. The officer believes that he has more to offer and can serve the state for a few more months, if not years. He sought the advice of a colleague on whether he should explore political options to extend his tenure or not. His colleague strongly advised him to retire and not ask for a favour from a political connection and become obligated to grant favours. Which is how favours work, right? But, it’s always better to steer clear of political mumbo jumbo and leave with your dignity intact, isn’t it?
E-COMMERCE RETAIL GROWS 14.4%
“To strengthen our position in the region, we will explore opportunities to partner and collaborate with large financial institutions including selective ac-
quisitions to extend our digital payments solution reach to merchants and customers in the United States,” he said in a statement. Executive Director
Vishwas Patel said CCAvenue has been by far the most technologically advanced payment gateway in India catering to over a million merchants over the last two decades. “We are looking forward to launching our advanced real time payment gateway solutions in the United States which is a huge market with over 280 million electronic payment users doing over 450 transactions per capita per year,” he said.
HAVING A BALL —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
Gandhinagar: According to satellite pictures of the rabi crop cultivation, taken by the state government, a recordbreaking cultivation area of 10.81 lakh hectares can be seen in the Narmada command. With good rainfall in the monsoon season, sufficient quantity of water has been stored in small and large water reservoirs, for the agriculture sector. This had facilitated a bigger yield of cultivation area in the Narmada command. Addressing the media, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said, “In 73 villages of 17 districts, cultivation of around 10.81 lakh hectares of rabi crop has taken place. In January 2019, rabi crop was sown on 9.34 lakh hectares of land. But, owing to the availability of sufficient water, an increase of 1.47 lakh hectares area has been seen. The state government expects a good rabi crop this year.” In Patan district,
apart from other industry verticals under the brand CCAvenue. Infibeam said its twodecade of track record in the domestic market and successful launches in the Middle East provides it with the confidence to launch in one of the world’s most developed digital commerce market. “The United States market presents a trillion dollar digital payments processing opportunity,” said Managing Director Vishal Mehta.
Children jump to catch ball as they play inside Sarkhej Roza in Ahmedabad.
‘Listing on Stock Exchange will boost growth of IT industry’ First India News Surat: Recently an IPO meet was held in the Surat to encourage promoters & CEOs of citybased IT (Information Technology) companies to list their companies on stock exchanges. The seminar was organised by Chetan Patel. World and 78 CEOs of IT companies attended this very informative session. On this occasion Chief Guest, Anand Chari, DGM,
BSE explained the importance and benefits of IPO. He also noted that ethical practice will make Surat’s future bright. On the other side, Chetan Patel urged all the leaders to work hard to make Surat IT-hub and provide job opportunities to the youth so they do not have to go outside Gujarat. Dhiren Dave, eminent company secretary shared his knowledge of IT company
compliance. He emphasized on the internal control system and governance. Then, Rakesh Doshi, Financial Advisor presented an effective performance for the leaders. Punit Gajera and Alpesh Vaghasiya had created a group of IT people to make this event successful. Many leaders have joined the hand to bring IT culture and bring IPO in Surat.
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TRUMP TOYS COVER CITY SKY First India News
—PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE
Ahmedabad: The second aircraft of the United States Air Force arrived today at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here in Ahmedabad. While the first one brought cars and equipment to be used for President Donald Trump’s motorcade during his a few hours long visit on February 24, the second aircraft that arrived today has brought Trump’s official helicopter. Called
Marine One when the President on board, the chopper usually reverts to the call sign of Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) when he is not on board. Trump might use the Sikorsky VH-92A helicopter to travel from the world’s largest cricket stadium at Motera to SVPI airport, where he will board Air Force One to travel further in the country. The current Marine One can fly more than 150 miles (241 km) per hour and fea-
tures ballistic armour and antimissile countermeasures. Helipads have already been built at the Motera stadium, where Trump will arrive with First lady Melania Trump. He will be received at the airport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders will participate in the India Road Show on the airport road to Motera stadium where ‘Namaste Trump’ event is being organized.
Only Prez, no other guests in Motera The city police have asked Motera residents to not entertain guests on February 24 First India News Ahmedabad: In the latest addition to the list of restrictions being put in place ahead of the visit of US President Donald Trump, the city police have asked Motera residents to not entertain guests on February 24. Rashami Mistry, a resident of Motera, said, “For the last two to three days, the police have been asking us to avoid inviting guests to
The police or any authority cannot ask people to shut them in their homes. If the state is welcoming an international guest, then what is the harm in people inviting their guests? —Dinesh Sharma, LOP Workers prepare a hoarding with the images of the US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and First Lady Melania Trump ahead of Trump’s visit in Ahmedabad. —PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE
our homes on February 24. This is just the latest. For the last two
weeks, police personnel in plain clothes have been visiting our homes and questioning us on how long we’ve lived here and where we work. They’ve also asked to see our house papers. Now, they’re also saying roads will be blocked. Civilians will not be allowed on roads from Sabarmati Janpath Hotel to Motera village on the day of Trump’s arrival. Only invited visitors can visit the area in
government vehicles. “Some emergency routes will be kept open, but movement will be restricted on February 24. The authority has not yet announced any alternate route. There is a possibility that on one side, roads will be kept open only for emergency purposes,” said a senior traffic police officer who asked for anonymity since he is not authorized to talk to the media.
US officials, CS Mukim discuss security details
Gandhi Ashram gets a new lawn
First India News
Ahmedabad: The Gandhi Ashram on Wednesday received a new lawn, even as the city is getting a hasty facelift ahead of US President Trump’s visit. “What was the need for a new lawn near Gandhiji’s statue? There was already a proper one there. All they have done is create a new slope and increase the height of the ground,” said Shailesh Rathod, a resident of the ashram.
Gandhinagar: A fourmember team of the United States administration met Chief Secretary Anil Mukim, in a closed-door meeting at the secretariat. Sources say the meeting was more of a courtesy visit to discuss plans for Trump’s visit to the city. It covered discussions on protocol, such as who would be at the airport to receive the US President. Whereas in Ahme-
Chief Secretary Anil Mukim
dabad, Indian and American security service teams also conducted a meeting which covered preparations of the roadshow route and other security details. Both teams will conduct a reconnaissance of the route.
First India News
However, there are rumours that Trump may not even visit the ashram at all. “If you look at the preparation done by the government near Motera, nothing of that sort is
being done in or around Gandhi Ashram. A few changes have been done, but compared to the arrangements made for previous VVIP visits,” added Rathod.
Hriday Kunj, the place where Gandhiji stayed, has also been painted and its roofs cleaned. The ashram premises has also been thoroughly cleaned and a stage erected.
during an interaction with reporters at the Joint Base Andrews outside Washington. The US and India could sign a “trade package” during Trump’s maiden visit, according to media reports. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the point-person for trade negotiations with India, may not accompany Trump to India, sources said. However, officials have not ruled it out altogether. Multiple rounds of talks have taken place between Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Lighthizer in the past few weeks over telephone. India is demanding exemption from high duties imposed by the US
on certain steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under their Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), greater market access for its products from sectors including agriculture, automobile, auto components and engineering. On the other hand, the US wants greater market access for its farm and manufacturing products, dairy items and medical devices, and cut on import duties on some ICT products. The US has also raised concerns over high trade deficit with India which was $16.9 billion in 2018-19. Meanwhile, the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF)
in a report said the latest quarterly data depict continuation of overall positive bilateral trade trends. The third quarter data reflects some downslide in growth rates. “It may be due to several reasons, including the unexpected economic slowdown in India’s economic growth, impact of US-China trade war, GSP withdrawal from the US side and retaliatory tariffs on specific US goods from the Indian side,” it said.
AMC lays road overnight ahead of ‘Namaste Trump’ —PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE
A general view of VVIP road out side Motera stadium.
First India News Ahmedabad: United States President Donald Trump’s arrival has the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation on all cylinders. It has built a new 200 meter by x 16 meters road in Motera literally overnight, to ease traffic for the “Namaste Trump” event next Monday. It will also finish another 12m road on Wednesday night. Assistant city engineer Rushi Pandya says the civic body will finish the road from Naranarayan party plot to Asaram Ashram by Wednesday night. “We will resurface the stretch from the Ashram onward.” Sources say the AMC will a second 12-metre town-planning road
from Menghi Ba crossroads to Asaram Ashram on Wednesday night at a cost of Rs30 lakh. “A new fountain near the Ashram and other embellishments may also be added,” a senior official said. According to a local resident, “The new road, which is near the Asaram Ashram, is all in vain. Local people do not use stretch to commute.” Even as the city receives its makeover, AMC officers are also busy making lists of invitees to gather public for the February 24 event. According to sources, very few officials and elected members of the civic body will be allowed inside Motera stadium.
FROM PG 1 Nritya Gopal... Swami Govind Dev Giri of Pune was appointed as treasurer of the trust at the meeting. Among those present at the meeting were the central government representative, additional secretary in Home ministry Gyanesh Kumar, UP government’s representative Avinash Awasthy and Ayodhya District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha. The Trust was constituted by the Narendra Modi government. Modi had announced the formation of the 15-member trust in Parliament on February 5. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has seven members, five nominated members and three trustees. The trust
was formed in adherence to the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya dispute in November last year. Senior lawyer Parasaran was named as the head of the Trust and its other members include Jagatguru Shankracharya, Jyothishpeethadheeshwar Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati Ji Maharaj from Allahabad, Jagatguru Madhavacharya Swami Vishwa Prasannatheerth Ji Maharaj, Pejawar Math in Udupi, Yugpurush Paramanand Ji Maharaj from Haridwar, Swami Govinddev Giri Ji Maharaj from Pune and Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra from Ayodhya.
Mediators to... “Met Hon’ble Home Min-
ister Sh Amit Shahji. Had a very good and fruitful meeting. Discussed several issues related to Delhi. Both of us agreed that we will work together for development of Delhi,” Kejriwal tweeted. Responding to a query, he said there was no discussion on Shaheen Bagh. Ramachandran, echoing the Supreme Court order, said, “The Supreme Court has said that you have the right to protest. The law (CAA) has been challenged in the SC.”
Ahead of... “We’re doing a very big trade deal with India. We’ll have it. I don’t know if it’ll be done before the election (in November), but we’ll have a very big deal with India,” he said
HOPES RIDE... INDUSTRIALISTS : The business class is hoping for further simplification of rules regarding investment, so that maximum invest-
ment can come and Rajasthan’s industrial sector can grow. DRINKING WATER: Even today, there are many villages where there is no drinking water. The government should be focused on making water reach such villages.
ROADS If we look at villages, there are no roads even today. In such a situation, the common man is hopeful for road construction from the government. EDUCATION The Gehlot government is expected to open new colleges and schools in many places, so
that students do not have to travel much for basic education.
NEW DISTRICTS ANNOUNCEMENT This is an issue which has been pending for many years. Last time, Pratapgarh was declared a district, but since then, there are many areas where people are demanding to make a district. Also, there have been many protests regarding it in Kotputli, Beawar and Bandikui.
PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
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IN-DEPTH
ADAPTING TO A FAST-FORWARD WORLD
06
PORNOGRAPHY RULES IN INDIA
The world is going through a period of accelerating change, as four secular developments illustrate
F
irms and governments must increasingly internalize possibility of an acceleration of four secular developments that influence what business and political leaders do and how they do it. Decision-makers should think of these trends as waves, which, especially if they occur simultaneously, could feel like a tsunami for those who fail to adapt their thinking and practices in a timely manner. First and most important trend is climate change, which has evolved from a relatively distant concern, on which there is ample time to take remedial action, to an imminent and increasingly urgent threat. Second, privacy concerns have grown alongside technical innovations involving AI and big data. Third secular force involves disruptions to multi-decade process of economic and financial globalization. Final trend is demographic and concerns more than aging of societies in Europe and Asia and this trends economic and political implications. For starters, businesses need to be smarter about “anywhere, any place, any time” delivery. Furthermore, job loyalty and tenure are decreasing, while expectations of comprehensive job fulfillment and engagement are rising. Self-mobilisation for political and other causes, often with no visible leadership structure, has become a lot easier, yet often is less durable and raises tricky questions about what comes afterward. And all of this is taking place amid continued migration of an ever-expanding range of interactions from physical to virtual spaces. Each of these secular forces will have an important impact on the effectiveness and success of companies and governments alike. And while being challenging overall, the four trends involve a diverse and geographically dispersed set of winners and losers. Executives and policymakers therefore must make timely revisions to both their tactical and strategic mindsets. Getting this right will require cognitive diversity, openness to constructive criticism, repeated scenario analyses, and multi-disciplinary approaches. And this is even before one considers unanticipated periodic shocks such as the COVID-19 outbreak. Consider another aspect of demographic change: migration and humanitarian challenges with it. The combination of de-globalization and misuse of AI and big data to infringe individual privacy is similarly troubling. This could lead to questionable behavior by governments. The world is in a period of accelerating change, leading edge of which is ever-growing list of developments that have gone from impossible to inevitable. Many challenges facing business and political leaders may be broken down into four secular changes that can help anchor the timely formulation of required responses at the local, national, regional, and global levels. The faster that companies and governments recognize this, the likelier they will be to alter the balance of benefits, costs, and risks in their favour. —MOHAMED A. EL-ERIAN
NITISH CHANDAN
T
if you publish anything containing a sexually explicit act, even if it is an image, you are liable for the same punishment. The same goes for transmitting in private messages, Facebook Chats, WhatsApp messages etc.
his is another one of those posts which I am writing because of a heavy amount of search queries. “Pornography rules in India”, are there any? If you ask a straightforward question, the answer is no. The reason so many people (not just youngsters) want an answer to this question is because they are consuming pornography and are afraid whether watching porn is legal in India. To break the ice for yet another time, it is legal. Nobody in this country will put you in jail for watching porn unless you are doing it in public. Well, there is the whole public morality law in question. But generally speaking, it is definitely legal to watch porn in India until and unless it is child pornography. For that even if you are afraid about the Pornography rules, you are as sick as this gets. No vigilante groups, hackers, state bodies etc. anywhere in the world support the idea of child pornography. The very fact that child pornography exists is a failure of the entire ecosystem of morals, internet, values and the law. Even in USA and UK where possession of pornography has never been an offence, Child Pornography is condemned and is a penal offence. That said, coming back to the topic of Pornography rules in India, it is apt to mention some things here. Though watching porn is legal yet making someone else watch it is a crime punishable by up to 5 years of imprisonment. Making someone else watch it might sound a little loose. Trust me when I say this, there are several cases where guys have often forced upon girls to watch porn. It has been while they have been in relationships or just friends as well. Within this ambit of “making someone watch” as I put it, the legal words are publishing, transmitting or causing any of the two. This means that if you publish anything containing a sexually explicit act, even if it is an image, you are liable for the same punishment. The same goes for transmitting in private messages, Facebook Chats, WhatsApp messages etc.
WHAT ARE THE RELEVANT LEGAL PROVISIONS? Section 67, 67A, and 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 are the relevant provisions. Section 67 talks about punishment for publication or transmission of obscene material in electronic form. Though the definition of obscenity is mostly vague in the Indian context, we have tried to trace the developments. It prescribes imprisonment up to three years or fine up to `5 lakh or both on first conviction. As for second and subsequent convictions, imprisonment up to five years and fine up to `10 lakh have been prescribed. Section 67A criminalises the publication or transmission of any material depicting sexually explicit act or conduct in electronic form. Imprisonment up to five years or fine up to `10 lakh or both are prescribed in this section. It also incorporates situations when a person or group of person forces or influences another person to publish or transmit such content over the Internet. For second and subsequent convictions, the extent of fine remains the same; however, imprisonment up to seven years may be prescribed. Section 67B focusses on child pornography and it prescribes for imprisonment up to five years or fine up to `10 lakh or both on first conviction. Just like Section 67A, the extent of fine on second and subsequent convictions remain same, but imprisonment up to seven years may be prescribed. This section mentions various acts that can be considered as an offence under its ambit:
Publication or transmission of
material depicting children in sexually explicit conduct or act,
Section 67B focusses on child pornography and it prescribes for imprisonment up to five years or fine up to `10 lakh or both on first conviction
or forcing/influencing the same
Creating text or images show-
ing child pornography
Collecting, searching, brows-
ing, downloading, promoting, advertising, distributing, or exchanging any material showing child pornography in electronic form Facilitating abuse of children online Enticing or inducing children to an online relationship with other children for sexually explicit acts Recording sexually explicit act with children WHAT IF I SENT SOMEONE AN OBSCENE PICTURE? There is definitely a law against it. As for this post, we will keep it to pornography. If you send someone a picture that depicts some sort of sexual act, you are liable for punishment. For anything else obscene, I will write another post. ARE SEX STORIES LEGAL? If you go by the definition of law, unless a text is for the pub-
lic good of creating awareness, sex education etc., “sex stories” though textual will still fall under the ambit of being called pornography and will be tried the same way. So no, sex stories are also within the ambit of the law which will criminalize you for publishing or transmitting. Consumption, however, is legal. So if sex stories are legal in the US and you read them here, it is totally legal.
IS PORN HOSTED OUTSIDE INDIA LEGAL? Outside India is outside India’s jurisdiction in the practical sense. If pornography is legalized in the country where it is hosted, India cannot force upon the website to stop functioning. Alternatively, as we have seen, the Government or the Judiciary might ban it in India, if it is thought to be unacceptable. TO SUM UP ALL THE PORNOGRAPHY RULES IN INDIA
Watching porn at home is not
illegal.
Saving it on your personal
laptop, smartphone, storage media is also not illegal. Distribution/Sale/Showcasing/ Publishing/Sending on private messages etc. is illegal. Sending porn videos/images/ texts or anything depicting sexually explicit acts (unless educational) to someone is also illegal. Sex stories are also sexually explicit content. Whether ISPs are causing transmission of such porn into the country is a grey area but practically they will not be held responsible except for child pornography. Child Pornography, in any sense, watching, saving, sharing etc. is totally illegal.
Should we ban junk food in schools? O
besity rates are on the rise in Australia and across the world. For years, public health and medical groups have called for schools to ban sales of junk foods as one way to stem the tide. Selling fatty or sugary food and drinks has been banned in Western Australia’s public schools since 2007. A 2018 study found WA children were eating healthier as a result of the ban. But it also found some regional schools were struggling to comply with it. Some countries, including Canada and Chile, have banned junk food in schools. Should Australia do the same? We asked five experts. Four out of five experts said yes.
The more junk food available, the more kids eat it, so changing the foods available at schools supports kids to eat healthier. Kids spend a lot of time at school, so if providing them with attractive, affordable and nutritious options will give them one more rung on the ladder to health and well-being, why wouldn’t we do it? But food is also tied to other things in life including culture, politics and socialising. Bananas may be nutritionally “healthy” but many people who pick them are subject to poor working conditions. A slice of sugary cake may not meet nutrition guidelines, but when considered in the context of baking, sharing, celebrating and the pleasure of eating it, cake may enhance our
The more junk food available, the more kids eat it, so changing the foods available at schools supports kids to eat healthier
well-being. Banning junk food may demonise food in unhealthy ways. For instance, a child (and their parent) could be shamed by a teacher for bringing a cupcake to school. And it does nothing to disrupt the structural inequities that make it difficult for children to access the “right” food outside the
school gates. Children are bombarded with advertising including on television, gaming devices, public transport and billboards. The enormous range of food outlets and foods, along with the rise of delivery systems like Uber Eats, make unhealthy food seem appealing and easy to access. Children should be protected from this, at least in a school setting. Learning about good food choices in a controlled environment is one step towards reducing childhood obesity rates. In several countries, such as Canada and Chile, unhealthy foods cannot be sold at school or provided to children. In Australia, some states, such as New South Wales, have banned unhealthy foods from school canteens. Restrictions on unhealthy foods
are achievable, although evidence shows schools need support in the transition process. Unhealthy diets can compromise learning and behaviour, partly due to unstable blood sugar levels, with spiralling impacts on school performance. In the long-term, they have been linked to mental health problems such as an increased risk of anxiety and depression. On the upside, research shows creating a positive food environment (engaging kids with gardening, cooking and eating healthy food together) can sway their eating behaviours in a healthy direction. It’s high time schools jump aboard the healthy canteen wagon and its multiple rewards. FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM
TOP TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp Transforming lives of crores of annadatas,more than 22.84 cr Soil Health Cards have been distributed so far to support our farmers improve farm productivity. The #SoillHealthCardScheme has proved beneficial in maximising yields and ensuring welfare of farmers. #HarKaamDeshKeNaam
Vol 1 Issue No. 86 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad. Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, Resident Editor : Darshan Desai, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
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‘AYODHYA TEMPLE TO COME UP WITHOUT OBSTRUCTIONS’ UP Dy CM expressed confidence on temple’s construction to sail smoothly
New Delhi: Deputy CM of UP Dinesh Sharma on Wednesday exuded confidence that the Ram Temple will be constructed in Ayodhya soon since the Central government-mandated trust for the holy site will hold a meeting later today to decide the future course of action. “I would like to thank the SC and the Central government. Everyone wants the Ram temple to get constructed as soon as possible. The temple will now get constructed without any obstructions,” said the deputy chief minister. In Wednesday’s meeting, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was elected president and Champat Rai general secretary of the Temple trust. The meeting, held at the residence of senior lawyer K Parasaran, also elected PM Modi’s former principal secretary Nripendra Misra as the head of the temple construction committee of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust.
Hours before trust meet, allegations of occupation New Delhi: Hours before the very first meeting of the Ram Janmabhoomi trust here in Delhi, a controversy has erupted. The Hindu Mahasabha has alleged that VHP, RSS and the BJP have “occupied” the trust through the present government. Calling the present formation of the trust as “unfair”, Hindu Mahasabha Chief Swami Chakrapani said he is “hurt”. “From 1949 we have been fighting for this cause. We were a party to the case. Other Hindu organisations too worked for it. But when the Supreme Court gave it’s verdict and tasked the government to form a trust, the VHP and Sangh occupied it. This is unfortunate,” he alleged. He added, “The govt didn’t feel the necessity to call all stakeholders and thank them for the role they played or ask for their
SWAMI GIRI PROPOSES TO LEAD TRUST
suggestions.” The Shri Ram Teerth Kshetra Trust has invited veteran and Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas head Mahant
Nritya Gopal Das for Wednesday’s meeting. VHP VP Champat Rai may also be made a part of the trust, sources said. —Agencies
Ram Lalla to be shifted before construction begins Ayodhya: The Ram Lalla statue at the makeshift Ram Janmabhoomi temple will be shifted to another site near Manas Bhawan, when the construction of the Ram temple begins. Acharya Satyendra Das said on Wednesday that the existing temple site will have to be vacated to facilitate construction of the new temple. “A makeshift temple will be built near Manas Bhawan where the deity will be placed until the grand temple is constructed. The site is about 150 metres away from the existing site,” he said. According to the priest, the sanctum sanctorum of the new temple will be built at the site where the deity is presently placed. After the deity is shifted to the new temple, all rituals of worship will continue uninterrupted. A group of engineers and architects had visited the site to assess the landfill required for construction to begin. —Agencies
07
Cabinet okays Bill to protect women’s reproductive rights New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the ‘Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill 2020’, intended to protect women’s reproductive rights. Calling it historic Bill, Women & Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said that the Bill aimed for welfare of women in country as it proposes law to establish a national registry. “A national board and the state board will be set up to help implement the legal framework. A central database of clinics and banks will also be established,” Irani said, adding those indulging in embryo sale and traf-
ficking can be fined and even put behind bars as per the provisions of the bill. The Bill is expected to be introduced
‘Laws passed by Parliament must be respected’
Sanjeev will be quizzed in Tihar: MHA tells HC
New Delhi: Responding to the opposition against CAA, NRC and NPR, LS Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday said everyone must respect laws passed in Parliament as they naturally have the consent of common people. “In India, everyone has right to speak but the law formed by the govt should be respected. The laws passed, naturally have the consent of public,” said Birla.
New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday informed the Delhi HC that the Delhi Police will question cricket bookie Sanjeev Chawla inside Tihar Jail. Addl Solicitor Gen Sanjay Jain appearing for the Ministry of Home Affairs said, “The centre piece of the assurance given to UK govt that he will be kept in Tihar will not be violated.” He will be confronted and investi-
UNION CABINET APPROVES CREATION OF 22ND LAW COMMISSION New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved constitution of the 22nd Law Commission which advises the govt on complex legal issues. The term of the previous law panel had ended on Aug 31 last year. With the cabinet approval, the law ministry will now notify the new panel, which will have a term of three years. The panel will have a full-time chairperson, four full-time members (including a member secretary), and law and legislative secretaries in the law ministry as ex-officio members. “It will also have not more than five part-time members,” an official statement said. in Parliament in next phase of Budget session which will commence on March 2 and continue till April 3. —Agencies
gated in Tihar, and if he is to be confronted with anyone outside Delhi we will use VC, Jain said. If at all he has to be taken anywhere, we will seek court’s permission, added Jain.
ITBP gears up for next batch of people arriving from China
BJP chief Nadda to meet ex-Punjab CM Badal today
Farmers’ issue unaddressed in UP budget, alleges Priyanka Gandhi
is likely to include two diplomats. The process of disinfecting and fumigation has already been started by ITBP doctors and team. AP Joshi, Chief Medical Officer, ITBP who is heading the team overseeing the medical team comprising 25 doctors, a psychologist and a psychiatrist said that the process of disinfecting and preparing the facility will continue for the next 24 hours. —ANI
Chandigarh: BJP national president JP Nadda on Thursday will meet Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal at his residence in Punjab’s Muktsar, days after the former chief minister said the minorities ‘should be taken along’ to run a government. At a rally in Amritsar on Feb 13, Badal had said that all religions should be respected. Nadda will be coming to Punjab for the first time after taking charge of the party, a party leader said on Wednesday. “The BJP president will meet Badal Sahib at his residence in Badal village of Muktsar on Thursday,” said the BJP leader, adding that it will be a courtesy call. Nadda will land at the Bathinda airport in morning from where he will go to Muktsar to meet Badal. —Agencies
New Delhi: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday targeted the Central Government over the budget and said that the issues pertaining to farmers have not been addressed in the state budget, which was presented yesterday by the Yogi Adityanath led government. Taking to Twitter, the Gandhi scion stated, “ The budget of UP has come. The problem of stray animals belonging to farmers has not been mentioned. The issue of payment of sugarcane to the farmers is missing from the budget. The issue of compensation for crop wastage of farmers is also missing. The problem of the price of the crop to farmers is also not mentioned in the budget.” The Cong leader also
New Delhi: Post dispatching all 406 people including seven Maldivians who were under quarantine for over a fortnight after being evacuated from the coronavirus hit Wuhan, the ITBP camp at Chhawla here is now gearing up for a fresh batch of people from China who are expected to reach India by Friday morning. According to sources in the ITBP, the next batch of over 120 people
AYODHYA ADMINISTRATION WITHDRAWS BAN ON MEAT SALE New Delhi: Ayodhya district administration on Wednesday withdrew city health officer’s order prohibiting the sale of meat products in the municipal area. The order was issued in wake of coronavirus on Feb 14. “Order issued on Feb 14 for prohibition on the sale of meat products in the wake of coronavirus,
has now been withdrawn by the district administration,” according to an official release. The city health officer had issued an order banning the sale of meat, stating that meat will not be sold in municipal area. The coronavirus outbreak has triggered global concerns over the hygiene standards maintained in meat markets.
KAMAL APPOINTED AS NDMA MEMBER FOR 5 YR FRESH TERM New Delhi: The central government on Wednesday approved the appointment of Kamal Kishore as a member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), for a fresh term of five years. The centre has also approved the appointment of three others as members of NDMA. Government approved the appointment of Krishna Vatsa (Policy Advisor, Disaster Recovery, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDP), Rajendra Singh (former DG, Coast Guard) and Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain as Members of NDMA.
CONG MULLING ON CHIEFS OF 3 STATE UNITS
shared a video in which farmers are narrating their ordeals. In the 1:55 minutes long clip, Priyanka also did a voice-over and claimed that farmers are in deep trouble. “They are not able to sleep at night as the
animals enter their farms during the night. The investigation must be carried out on the same.” On Tuesday, leader of Opposition in UP Assembly and Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind Chaudhary had also
PRADHAN URGES PATNAIK TO SEND PROPOSAL FOR MEDICAL COLLEGE Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has requested Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to send a proposal to the Centre for establishment of a medical college in Bhadrak district under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakaram (PMJVK). In a letter to CM, Pradhan requested to send a proposal to the
Union Ministry of Minority Affairs to set up a medical college in Bhadrak. “Bhadrak dist does not have any tertiary medical facility as of now. Having a medical college in the district would be extremely helpful in providing the required medical facilities for people in and around the district,” Min Pradhan wrote in the letter.
called the budget brought out by the state govt as anti-poor, antistudents and anti-farmers. The Yogi govt presented a budget of Rs 5,12,860.72 cr for the financial year 2020-21 on Tuesday. This year’s budget amount was Rs
33,159 cr more than previous financial year 201920, which in percentage terms is an increase of 6.5 per cent year on year. For the financial year 2020-21, the Yogi govt has included schemes of Rs 10,967.87 crore in the budget. —Agencies
AJAY BHALLA TO APPEAR BEFORE PARLIAMENTARY BOARD OF MHA New Delhi: Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla will be appearing before the Parliamentary Committee of Home Affairs on Wednesday on demands for grants (2020-2021) of Home Ministry pertaining to UTs. Acc to official communication, the Home Secretary will give a presentation on Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Home Affairs followed by a discussion. There will be another presentation by the Home Secretary on Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Home Affairs pertaining to Central Armed Police Forces and Delhi Police.
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IN THE COURTYARD
SC KEEN TO KNOW GADKARI’S VIEWS ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES New Delhi: Chief Justice SA Bobde on Wednesday said that it would like to hear Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on the Centre’s policy of switching all public transport and government vehicles to electric vehicles over a period of time in order to curb air pollution. Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni, appearing for Centre, objected to the presence of Minister in the court, saying, him coming to the Supreme Court will be misused politically. The Chief Justice clarified that the invitation to the Union Minister is not a
CHINMAYANAND APPEARS BEFORE SPECIAL MP/MLA COURT IN LKO
Lucknow: Former Union minister Chinmayanand, who is out on bail in a case in which he is accused of sexually abusing a law student, appeared before a special MP/MLA court on Wednesday. Judge PK Rai fixed March 4 as the next date of hearing for the framing of charges. Chinmayanand, 72, was released from the Shahjahanpur district jail after the Allahabad High Court granted him bail.
summon and sought response from the Ministry on the plea. A Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, was hearing a plea of Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) seeking implementa-
tion of Centre’s policy to gradually convert all public transport and government vehicles to electric vehicles. The bench sought the government’s response on steps being taken to implement its 2012 electric vehicles policy.
The court, while expressing its keenness to interact with Gadkari on implementation of electric vehicles scheme, said, “He (the minister) has made many statements on the issue. We are not indicting or ordering him.
JNU SEDITION CASE
Hearing adjourned due to pendency of sanctions New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday adjourned till April 3, the hearing in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sedition case, in which Kanhaiya Kumar is an accused, as Delhi government is yet to grant the requisite sanctions in the matter. CMM Purshottam Pathak adjourned the matter after investigating officer informed the court that the file regarding the grant of sanctions is still pending with the Home Department of Delhi government and that there haven’t been any further updates. Patiala House Court also asked the government to file a status
report in the matter and asked Delhi Police to send another reminder to the Government of NCT as no sanction have been granted yet. Earlier, the matter was also adjourned after the public prosecutor had informed that sanction of chargesheet was still pending and home department had not given sanction. In the charge-sheet filed in a court in January, Delhi Police said that former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and others led a procession and raised antinational slogans in the university campus during an event on February 9, 2016.
INX MEDIA CASE COURT GRANTS REGULAR BAIL TO SIX BUREAUCRATS New Delhi: A special court granted regular bail to all the six bureaucrats in the INX media corruption case. These bureaucrats were chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and are currently on interim bail. Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar while confirming the interim bail into regular bail, also directed them not to leave the country without the permission of the court. The court granted regular bail to all six bureaucrats on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh each and told them not to tamper with the evidence.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday released the India 2020 yearbook that highlights the flagship programmes of the government and important events of the year. Javadekar also released the e-version of the publication. The book will be priced at Rs 300 and the e-book will be available at Rs 225. The book can be purchased online from February 20, 2020, from the website of the Publications Division.
Mumbai: No-frills carrier SpiceJetNSE 4.34% said it will launch 20 new flights on its domestic routes, including some services under govt’s regional connectivity scheme, Udan, from late next month. The new flights, starting from March 29, include services to Patna from Amritsar, Varanasi and Guwahati. Besides, it will also launch flights on Hyderabad-Mangaluru, Bengaluru-Jabalpur and Mumbai-Aurangabad routes.
SUNIL MITTAL, KUMAR MANGALAM BIRLA MEET FM
New Delhi: Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal and Vodafone Idea chief Kumar Mangalam Birla on Wednesday met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to apprise her the current stressed state of affairs in the telecom sector due to huge Adjusted Gross Revenue payment. “We are responding to the Supreme Court judgment on AGR dues. Have made our payments, working to calculate the remaining AGR liability. Telecom industry has seen a lot of stress for the past three years,” Mittal said. On Tuesday, Mittal met Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash.
New Delhi: Senior Counsel RS Cheema is set to continue as Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) till June 30 to conduct trials on behalf of ED in the money laundering case pertaining to the alleged irregularities in coal block allocations. “On our request RS Cheema, senior counsel/ SPP has agreed to continue as a Special Public Prosecutor to conduct prosecution of the money laundering cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 pertaining to the coal block allocation matters till June 30, 2020.” stated an order passed on Friday by a Division Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising of CJI SA Bobde and Justice Deepak Gupta.
CBI VS CBI
Why no lie detector test on Asthana, asks Court New Delhi: A Delhi court rapped CBI on Wednesday for not conducting psychological and lie detector tests on its former special director Rakesh Asthana in a bribery case in which he was recently given a clean chit. Special CBI Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal directed the initial investigating officer, Ajay Kumar Bassi, in the case to appear before it on February 28 to explain the case diary. The court asked the CBI whether there was any telephonic conversation recording of Asthana, which the agency
denied. “What about calls made to Asthana via WhatsApp? The complainant, Sana Satish Babu, has said this in his statement recorded under 164 CrPC (before a magistrate) ... Evidence cannot be disregarded at filing of charge sheet,” the court said. “Did you collect any electronic equipment, mobile phones from Asthana? Did you confront him with Manoj Prasad and Someshwar Prasad,” it asked. The CBI said, “No, we examined him but never confronted him with anyone.”
UP BJP MLA, 7 others booked in rape case
INDIA 2020 YEARBOOK
SPICEJET TO LAUNCH 20 NEW FLIGHTS
But want to hear him”. Passing the order, the bench said the issue of vehicles is related to a number of other pollution-related cases pending before the apex court and if the policy is implemented it can solve many pollution related problems. The court granted Transport Ministry four weeks to file response on the plea of CPIL. Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for CPIL contended that for electric vehicles there is a requirement of you charging infrastructure or charging ports to charge the battery. —ANI
RS Cheema to continue as SPP till June 30
Bhadohi: An FIR was lodged against BJP MLA Ravindra Nath Tripathi and six others on Wednesday for allegedly raping a woman in 2017, police said. The 40-year-old woman, who is a widow, had lodged a complaint on February 10, they said. The woman alleged that she was first raped by Tripathi’s nephew Sandeep in 2016. She said she did not lodge a complaint back then as Tiwari had promised to marry her, SP Ram Badan Singh said. She has alleged that in the run-up to the 2017 UP As-
CHHOTA SHAKEEL DENIES MARIA’S ALLEGATIONS Mumbai: Absconder mafiosi Chhota Shakeel rubbished contentions by Rakesh Maria that fugitive mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar had allegedly been given a contract to kill Ajmal Kasab. Chhota Shakeel said, “all these are absolute lies.” Maria has revealed that Dawood had been assigned the task of killing Kasab by LeT and ISI, ostensibly to erase the only living evidence of their heinous (terror) act.
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POWER Gallery NAME OF KOTHARI CLEARED FOR CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER
Name of Sanjay Kothari, a 1978 batch retired IAS officer of Haryana cadre and presently Secretary to President, has reportedly been cleared for the post of Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). NAME OF JULKA CLEARED FOR CHIEF INFORMATION COMMISSIONER
Name of Information Commissioner Bimal Julka, a 1979 batch retired IAS officer of MP cadre, has reportedly been cleared for the post of Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). SURESH PATEL TO BE VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER
Former CMD of Andhra Bank Suresh Patel has reportedly been chosen as a Vigilance Commissioner by the panel headed by PM Narendra Modi. AMITA PANDOVE TO BE IC
Former member of Punjab Civil Services Commission, Amita Pandove has reportedly been chosen for the post of Information Commissioner (IC) Central Information Commissioner. 60 SHORT-LISTED FOR SPECIAL DIRECTOR IN ED
60 IPS and IRS officers have been short-listed for over half a dozen posts of Special Director in ED. THREE IRS-IT OFFICERS SHIFTED
Rajiv Kumar Singh has been appointed as CIT (OSD) in the office of Pr. CCIT, Bhopal MP & Chattisgarh Region, while Amitabh Kumar Sinha is CIT (OSD) Delhi Region and Deepak is CIT(A), Jamshedpur. RAGHVENDRA SINGH RELIEVED TO JOIN MP GOVT
The Government of Bihar has relieved Raghvendra Singh of cadre responsibility to join Madhya Pradesh Government cadre transfer. He is a 2013 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre. AFMC DEAN MRS KANITKAR ELEVATED TO LT. GEN RANK
Dean and Deputy Commandant of Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, Major General Mrs Madhuri Kanitkar had been elevated to the rank of Lt. General now . She was empanelled in October last year as Lt General. SERVICE TENURE OF M K BHATTACHARYA, ED, INDIAN BANK EXTENDED
Central Government has extended the term of office of M K Bhattacharya, Executive Director of Indian Bank for a period beyond February 17, 2020 till date of his superannuation, i.e. Nov 30, 2020. NAGESHWARA RAO Y GETS TENURE EXTENSION AS WHOLE-TIME DIR OF SYNDICATE BANK TILL MAR 30
The Central Government has extended the tenure of Nageshwara Rao Y. presently posted as Officer on Special Duty and Whole-time Director of Syndicate Bank till March 30, 2020. DR JUSTICE S MURLIDHAR’S TRANSFER TO P&H HC RECOMMENDED
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended transfer of Dr Justice S Murlidhar, Judge of Delhi High Court to Punjab & Haryana High Court. JUSTICE RANJIT V MORE’S TRANSFER TO MEGHALAYA HC RECOMMENDED
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended transfer of Justice Ranjit V More, Judge of Bombay High Court to Meghalaya High Court. Ravindra Nath Tripathi
sembly polls, she was kept at a hotel for a month by Tiwari. All the seven accused would visit the hotel and repeatedly rape her, the officer said. She also claimed that she got pregnant and was forced to undergo abortion, he added.
JUSTICE R V MALIMATH’S TRANSFER TO UTTARAKHAND HC RECOMMENDED
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended transfer of Justice Ravi Vijaykumar Malimath, Judge of Karnataka HC to Uttarakhand HC. AWANISH KUMAR AWASTHI NOMINATED AS MEMBERS, BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Awanish Kumar Awasthi, ACS, Home and Anuj Kumar Jha, Collector, Ayodhya have been nominated as ex-officio Members in Board of Trustees, in UP.
NOTHING CAN SAVE THOSE WITH DEATH WISH: UP CM
Lucknow: UP CM Yogi Adityanath defended police over the deaths of anti-CAA protesters, saying they were shot by other rioters and nothing can be done to save someone with a death wish. Wrapping up the discussion in the assembly on the Governor’s address, Adityanath said the role of the police in dealing with rioters during the anti-CAA protest should be appreciated. In hard-hitting remarks, he said his government supported democratic protests but will maintain law and order by dealing strictly with those indulging in violence.
‘GST BIGGEST MADNESS OF THE 21ST CENTURY’ Hyderabad: Describing India’s latest tax reform GST as “the biggest madness of the 21st century,” BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy said that the country needs to grow at 10% per annum to become a superpower by 2030. He also demanded that former Prime Minister, late P V Narasimha Rao, be given the highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, for the reforms he introduced during his tenure.
SPORTS AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
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in
BRIEF Kenin loses to Rybakina on WTA Dubai: Sofia Kenin lost her first WTA match since winning the Australian Open earlier this month as she went down 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-3 to Rybakina on Tuesday (Feb 18) at the Dubai Championships. World number 7 Kenin’s loss completed a hat-trick of seeded upsets on the 4th day of action in the United Arab Emirates. Title holder Belinda Bencic was overhauled 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova while third seed and two-time tournament winner Elina Svitolina was hammered 6-2, 6-1 by qualifier Brady. Kenin played a pair of non-Tour Fed Cup matches immediately after her Melbourne win over Garbine Muguruza, who cut short Kim Clijsters’ comeback on Monday.
Wrestling royalty to MMA, ‘World Test C’ship
RITU EYES HISTORY New Delhi: A wrestler whose family story was immortalised by Bollywood is hoping to create a blockbuster of her own by becoming her country’s first world champion in the high-octane sport of mixed martial arts. Ritu Phogat, who initially followed her father and two elder sisters into wrestling, is now charting a new path after making an explosive MMA debut in November. Ritu, 25, is forging a different career. After winning her first MMA fight in less than three minutes, she will face China’s Wu
Pujara to represent Gloucestershire Gloucester: India toporder Cheteshwar Pujara on Wednesday was signed by England county Gloucestershire for the upcoming County Championship. The batsman will be representing the County for the first six matches of the Championship. He is currently at the seventh spot in the ICC Test batting rankings. “I am really excited to get the opportunity to represent Gloucestershire this season. The club has a rich cricketing history, and this is a great opportunity to be a part of it and contribute to its success,” Pujara said.
Atletico hold Liverpool 1-0 Madrid: Atletico Madrid defied predictions by jumping out to an early lead and hanging on to stymie holders Liverpool 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League knockout stage tie. Though the real test will come in the March 11 second leg at Anfield, Atleti’’s supporters at the Wanda Metropolitano responded with enthusiasm on Tuesday seeing their heroes hold the reigning European champions without a single shot on target, reports news agencies.
Parupalli crashes out of Spain Masters Barcelona: Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap crashed out of the ongoing Spain Masters tournament on Wednesday after retiring midway during his first-round match. Kashyap had won 1st game, 21-19 against Ygor Coelho, but then he went on lose the second game, 18-21 and was also trailing in the final game. With scoreline at 14-12 in favour of Coelho in the final game, Kashyap had to retire hurt and as a result, he crashed out of the Spain Masters.
After her explosive MMA debut in November, Ritu Phogat is going to face China’s Wu ChiaoChen at the ONE Championship fight night in Singapore
Ranji Trophy: Guj, K’taka favourite in quarters pool First India News Valsad: A riveting, twomonth long group phase of the Ranji Trophy has set the stage for the knockout rounds – eight teams remain in the fold as the 86th edition of India’s oldest cricket competition enters its quarter-finals. Four former champions – Gujarat, Bengal, Karnataka and Saurashtra – are joined by four competitors eyeing a maiden title in Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and Goa as the business end of the Ranji Trophy 2019/20 season commences from 20 February. The 38-team league stage, split in three divisions, provided for a
Gujrathi stays top in Prague chess tourney Prague: Indian Grand Master Vidit Gujrathi maintained a one-point lead after settling for a draw against Vitiugov of Russia in the sixth round of the Prague Chess Festival’s Mas-
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ters category here. He has 4.5 points and is ahead of Vitiugov and top seed Jan-Krzysztof Duda, both on 3.5 points. The 25-year old Indian no.2 opted for a London opening in his game against the Russian GM and had to sign the peace treaty in 39 moves late on Tuesday. Gujrathi’s compatriot P Harikrishna had to be content with his fifth draw in six games, against lower-rated Spanish GM David Anton Guijjaro. —Agencies
Chiao Chen at this month’s ONE Championship fight night in Singapore, which will be held behind closed doors because of the coronavirus. Phogat is trading an attempt at an Olympic medal to tackle MMA, but she said she was attracted by the lure of making history in her new sport. “I got a chance to train with best in Singapore and there was no looking back,” she said. “There was the 2020 Olympic Games but I thought that I would do well in mixed martial arts. I have come with an aim of becoming the first girl from India to become a world champion in mixed martial art,” she added. —Agencies
Surat. Five wins out of eight saw them emerge clear winners in the Elite division (three points ahead of Bengal), although they did concede the first innings lead in all three of their drawn rubbers, against Bengal, Rajasthan and Delhi.
Indian team are at the top of World Test Championship table with 360 points whereas NZ are at sixth spot with 60 points
Virat Kohli and NZ Captain Kane Williamson pose with the trophy after the practice session ahead of the test match series, at the Basin Reserve cricket ground in Wellington on Wednesday.
Wellington: India skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday put his weight behind the World Test Championship, terming it as the mother of all other ICC events. “I think World Test Championship as an ICC tournament should be right up there. All the other tournaments for me they start under that. This is probably the biggest of them all as every team wants to make it to the final at the Lord’s. We are no different. We are in that zone. We want to make sure that we qualify as soon as we can and be in that frame of mind to hopefully win that (championship),” said Kohli ahead of the In-
GNLU to organise annual sports fest on February 20 to 23 First India News
gripping couple of months. Gujarat carried out their unbeaten run while rubbing shoulders against the toughest competitors – their group campaign highlighted by a four-wicket victory over defending champions Vidarbha at
biggest of all events’
Gujarat: Olympic Bronze medallist Gagan Narang will be the Chief Guest at the Opening Ceremony at 5.00 PM on February 20. Sports Minister of Gujarat Ishvarsinh Patel has kindly consented to be the Chief Guest at the closing ceremony on February 23. After successfully hosting five editions of Justice League, the latest edition of this four-day sporting extravaganza promises to be an extremely engaging affair with over 800 participants from
different universities across the country heading to our grounds to compete in different sporting events to bring glory and pride to their institutions. Along with the formal sporting events such as Basketball, Throwball, Cricket, Volleyball, Football, Lawn Tennis, Athletic events, Table Tennis, Badminton, Carrom and Chess, GNLU will also be organising a whole array of informal events such as tug-ofwar, arm wrestling, etc which will add some fun and excitement in the fest.
dia’s first Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve from Friday. Kohli said the Test Championship has made the longest format of the game more exciting, adding that India might be sitting on top of the points chart but they need to perform away from home to maintain that. “It has made Test cricket more exciting and that’s something we have experienced as a side although we haven’t had too many games away from home. Couple of games in the Windies and we haven’t had a tour of Australia as a part of Test Championship,” said Kohli. —Agencies
‘Will play for at least 3 more years’ Wellington: India captain Virat Kohli is preparing himself for a “rigorous three years” of playing all three formats after which he might reassess his workload amid a “transition phase” setting in. The world’s premier batsman is looking at the “bigger picture” in Indian cricket with two T20 and one 50-over World Cup in the next three years after which he might decide on playing two of the three formats. —Agencies
Gandhinagar Warriors mark victory in SPCT cup
First India News Ahmedabad: In the SPCT Cup Under-18 Cricket Tournament played in Ahmedabad, Molyaraj Chavda’s century helped the Gandhinagar Warriors team become champions. In the 2-day final, match between Gandhinagar Warriors and New Horizon drew, but in first claim, Gandhinagar team was declared as winner on the basis of
lead. Molyaraj Chavda had scored 148 runs in 189 balls. Chavda was declared as the man of the match. Score: 4/454 (Molyaraj Chavda 148, Prince Barot 99, Aryaditsingh Rathod 72, Anuj Pandaya 65, Rehan Sheikh 2 wickets for 92 runs) Kunj Trivedi 44, Manthan Upadhyay took 4 wickets for 8 runs, Het Prajapati 2 for 12 runs. Rudrajeet Singh Gohilan slammed two wickets in 21 runs.
WOMEN’S WORLD T20
‘Teens have brought in a different energy in team’
The average age of Indian team, taking part in the Women’s World Cup, is just 23 and features four teenagers
Sydney: Star batswoman Smriti Mandhana believes the young players -- which are part of the India squad -- have brought in a whole, new energy within the group and that in turn will benefit the team in the T20 World Cup. The average age of Indian team, taking part in the World Cup, is just 23 and features four teenagers. “You can think of the vibe if you see the age of our team! With that kind
of age group, there has to be fun and if there’s no fun there’s something wrong with the girls” 23-year-old Mandhana was quoted as saying by the ICC. “It’s been like that for the last one or two years. I won’t say it wasn’t like that in the years before, but since the teenagers have come, there is a different energy. “Young players come into it with fresh thinking, they don’t have anything behind them. They
know nothing. They’re very different people to we were when we came into the side at 17. “They are very fearless, they don’t have a lot of pressure on them. They think like it’s any other match and coming into a World Cup, that’s the best thing about them.” Rodrigues, 19, composed a rap to mark Harmanpreet’s 100th T20I in September last year alongside Harleen Deol. —Agencies
If aggression is in your basic nature then use it to fight ‘for’ something rather than ‘with’ something.
2ND FRONT
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
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NO GUJARAT FOR DIGNIFIED DALIT The state witnessed an increase of 26% in crime against Dalits from 2014 to 2018 and ranks 2nd as per the NCRB report First India News Ahmedabad: According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in crimes against Dalits, ranging from rape, murder, violence and land-related issues, Gujarat scored the second position whereas Uttar Pradesh remains among one of the top states. As per the data, Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a substantial increase of 47 per cent from 2014 to 2018 in the crimes committed against Dalits followed by 26 per cent in Gujarat, 15 per cent in Haryana, 14 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and 11 per cent in Maha-
rashtra. Ironically, these states were ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in these years. The figures clearly show an increase in public assault and violence against Dalits, raising serious questions regarding the role of state governments and the local administration in containing such incidents.
NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT What happened in Gujarat should not be treated as an isolated incident. There have been many such cases where a marriage has been disrupted because the groom was riding a
YOU READ IT FIRST IN FIRST INDIA FEBRUARY 17 & 19, 2020 horse, which is seen as a privilege owned by upper-caste men. In May 2019, a Dalit groom was beaten up by men from the Rajput community for riding a
Swarm of bees attack school, 21 students hospitalised First India News Veraval: Altogether 21 students of a school in Una town of Gir Somnath district were today admitted to hospital after a swarm of bees suddenly attacked and sting theme. Manager of pri-
vately run Gulishtan Secondary School in Anjar road of the taluka town, Umarbhai Kadru said that the incident took place this morning when the classes were on. The bees seemingly come from a honeycomb on a coconut
‘ESIC clinics to now serve all citizens’ First India News Gandhinagar: Common citizens will also be able to take benefit of services offered by ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation) run medical centres in Gujarat, said Dy CM Nitin Patel who is also Health minister . Patel said, there are more than 80 medical clinics of ESIC in addition to 7 hospitals across more than 40 cities of Gujarat that offer free of cost medical treatment to organized sector workers and their family members.
However common citizens are not able to take benefit of these services. The State government has decided that now onward, any citizen will be able to get treatment in ESIC run medical clinics. Needed medicines will be supplied to such centres for free of cost delivery to citizens.
horse in the Napasar area in Bikaner district of Rajasthan. “Rajputs were saying that there is no tradition of groom sitting on a horse in our village,” Napasar po-
lice station in-charge Suman Parihar had said. Again in May 2019, a call for boycott was given by Thakor community after a Dalit
family tried taking out a wedding procession with the groom riding the horse. The incident took place in Lhor village in Mehsana district of
COURTESY MEET Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora met Hamza Yahia-Cherif, Ambassador of Algeria to India met Sunil Arora on Wednesday in Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi on Wednesday.
tree in the open area behind the school. They entered the classroom and stung 21 students including girls also. They were from standard 9,10 and 11, he said. They have been admitted to the community health centre.
Than observes strike against law & order
Gujarat businessmen look forward to meeting Trump
First India News
First India News
US PREZ GETS MEDIATION REQUEST
Than: Than town in Surendranagar district known or its ceramic units observed strike on Tuesday against menace of anti-social elements. Locals who joined the strike said the town is in grip of fear of goons, extortionists and anti-social elements. Such elements have no fear of police. Many traders have been victim of extortionists. Many owners of factory units have shifted to nearby towns, as it’s no more safe to live in Than.
Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GICCI) Operating Officer Yogendra Kumar Trivedi on Wednesday expressed happiness over US President Donald Trump’s visit to India and indicated that the US President might meet Indian traders and businessmen. “We are happy that our Prime Minister wants businesses and traders to interact with Trump. They may meet if Trump’s security will
T
allow. Nothing is decided as per now,” he said while speaking to ANI in Ahmedabad. President Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump will be visiting India on February 24 and 25. On his first day,
Gujarat. A few days later, in the same month, a similar incident of attacking a Dalit groom occurred in Madhya Pradesh. In April 2018, a Dalit groom was attacked by upper caste men in Rajasthan for riding a horse in his wedding procession. This was followed by a similar incident in Ujjain of Madhya Pradesh. In April 2017, a Dalit groom was beaten up and pushed down from the horse in Haryana’s Dadri district as the groom p e r f o r m e d “ghurchaari” (horse riding) ceremony. In May 2015, Dalit groom had to wear a helmet to protect himself from uppercaste men who pelted stones during his marriage procession. Commenting on the rising trend of attacks on Dalits, Sushil Gau-
tam, a Dalit activist based in Uttar Pradesh, told NewsClick: “It is not surprising if one looks into the ideology of the people ruling India right now. It comes straight from RSS/BJP. Since 2014, we have been hearing about Hindu Rashtra. It is coming from there.” Citing the growing number of attacks in BJP-ruled UP, he said: “The atrocities against Dalits have been on the rise and more so, in Uttar Pradesh, after 2014. The government is silent and has given a free hand. Moreover, Dalits don’t have resources to fight the cases in the court of law and impunity has been given to the perpetrators who go around committing crimes. It’s high time, we need to understand and think exactly where we are heading.”
Centre elevates space agency BISAG as national institute New Delhi: The government on Wednesday elevated Gujaratbased space agency to a national institute under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to expand its scope of activities and research. “The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved Elevation of Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG), Gujarat as Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG(N)) under Ministry of Electronics &
Information Technology (MEITY),” an official statement said. The elevation of BISAG has been done to maintain efficiency and innovation of services, facilitate implementation of expanded scope of activities, efficient rollout of GIS projects and facilitate aid, research and development at the institute, according to the statement. This is not a new organisation but only an elevation of existing body which will be an autonomous scientific society under the Government of India instead of the state government, it added.
they will visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat and take part in a roadshow with Prime Minister Modi. Trump will also address the Indian crowd at an event at Motera Stadium.
Centre approves three new medical colleges in Gujarat First India News Gandhinagar: Centre has approved three medical colleges for the state, it will be coming up in Porbandar, Rajpipla and Navsari. The state government is hoping to start at least two medical colleges by next academic area. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel told media persons on Wednesday that the central government has approved three
medical colleges and to start these medical colleges, first and foremost thing the state government will do is to increase beds numbers in the civil hospitals of Rajpipla, Navsari and Porbandar, to meet the Medical Council of India’s 300 beds. Patel said for the upcoming medical colleges central government financial assistance would be to the tune of Rs 585 crore and the state will be investing
Rs 390 crore, in total 975 crore will be invested to set up these three medical colleges. Central government’s health ministry had called for medical colleges proposal for district without medical colleges. In this connection the state had submitted proposal for five medical colleges, of that three colleges are approved by the central government. With the approval of Rajpipla medical col-
lege, Tribal belt will have to colleges first was in Dahod. In the first year each college will start with 100 seats. There are 33 districts in there are 29 medical colleges, with increase in 300 seats, now the state 5800 medical seats. Last month the state government had submitted proposal for five medical colleges at Godhra, Veraval, Jam Khambhaliya, Botad, and Morbi. Minister
added at present Godhra, Khambhaliya, Botad, Morbi, and Veraval each civil hospital’s bed capacity will be increased to 300 bed. to meet the medical college criteria. These colleges will be set up at the investment of Rs. 2600 crore, under the central government scheme, wherein the central government will fund 60 percent of the actual cost of the colleges and 40 percent will be borne by the state government.
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AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2020
There are going to be 8 sequences on each day, and the designers are going to showcase several varieties of styles on both the days. Another interesting thing that is going to take place in this season is that a model is going to donate 12 inches of her hair live, for the cancer patients. —GAURAV GAUR
COUTURE
—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO
CARES THE FIRST LOOK OF JAIPUR COUTURE SHOW SEASON 7 WAS REVEALED ON WEDNESDAY, WITH VARIOUS INSIDERS OF THE SHOW
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
G
lamour and beauty are never-ending in Rajasthan, with due respect to the culture and heritage of the state. To showcase glamour on-ramp once again, Jaipur Couture Show is coming up with its seventh season next month and as mentioned at the first look launch on Wednesday at Retro, Jaipur. This year the theme for the two-day fashion show taking place on March 3 and 4 at Jaipur Marriott Hotel, is ‘The Colours of Spring’. The main
attraction of the show is that they have an entire sequence dedicated to the acid attack survivours. Talking about the show, one of the Directors, Gaurav Gaur said, “There are going to be 8 sequences on each day, and the designers are going to showcase several varieties of styles on both the days. Another interesting thing that is going to take place in this season is that a model is going to donate 12 inches of her hair live, for the cancer patients.” The seventh season of Jaipur Couture Show will have film celebrities and television stars as special guests and a bevy of beautiful models. Couture Shows have been successfully executed in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota in the past, and another one is slated to take place in Udaipur, in a couple of months.
Models during the look launch on Wednesday
Gaurav Gaur, Yasheel Pandel, Pooja Chhablani, Varsha Jaswani, Mahesh Bang, Madhusadan Dadhich, Anil Bhattar, Ritakshi Soni, Pooja Chandak, Auyush Vijay, Manisha Pandel, Pitu Mehra, Mukhtiyaar Singh Siddu and JD Maheswari
HOLLYWOOD AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
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Enrique-Anna’s
SUNSHINE M
usician Enrique Iglesias and tennis star Anna Kournikova announced the birth of their bay girl on social media on Thursday. They welcomed their third child last month after keeping Kournikova’s pregnancy a secret. The 44-year-old singer shared the moment of happiness on Instagram and wrote, “My Sunshine 01.30.2020” In the lovely picture, Enrique is seen holding the newborn in the hospital. The 38-year-old Tennis star also shared adorable pictures on Instagram. The first frame captures Anna cuddling with the baby while the other one shows a memorable picture of the child with Enrique and Anna. Iglesias and Kournikova tied the knot in 2011. The couple is parents to 2-year-old twins Nicholas and Lucy who they welcomed in December 2017. Kournikova shared rare footage of the little ones run-
Enrique’s Instagram post
Anna’s Instagram posts
ning in an adorable Instagram video, last month. —ANI
The Perfect Clap-Back
The Incredible
Susan Lucci
W
e’ll have what Susan Lucci’s having! The ‘All My Children’ alum, looks stunning in a new photo she shared from her from her beach vacation on Tuesday afternoon. Susan showed off her amazing figure in a plunging white one-piece that featured a gold buckle. “GOOD morning, St Barth’s,” she captioned the photo, which shows her taking a sunny stroll in the sand. The actress let her brown hair with blonde highlights down as she shielded her eyes with a pair of tinted sunnies. Susan was all smiles while she kicked and frolicked through a shallow part of the ocean. And, we’re not the only ones who thought she looked incredible in the new snap. Andy Cohen commented, “Looking good.” He joined the thousands of fans who sang Susan’s praises in the comments. “Pretty lady with a heart of gold who looks easily 20 years younger than her age,” one extremely accurate fan wrote. Another added, “Always so elegant and beautiful.” —Agency ...her Instagram post
...her Instagram post
Ayesha Curry
T
he Internet proved itself to be both the worst and greatest thing on Monday. It all began when Ayesha Curry posted a picture of her and Steph Curry on a relaxing vacation in Cabo San Lucas. “All the things,” she captioned an Instagram gallery of her lounging in a blue bikini with her hubby by her side. Typically, this would be no big deal, save for all the FOMO inspired by their gorgeous pictures. However, one Instagram user got really rude in the comments section and wrote, “Steph married to an actual real life farm animal.” The user
soon realized they made a huge mistake. Chef Curry quickly cooked up a response. “Yes, a GOAT, I know [shrug emoji],” wrote Ayesha, delivering a thunderous clap-back. Considering the racist history of comparing black people, especially black women, to animals, it’s unreal that someone would find it acceptable to call a woman a ‘farm animal’. This user realized that he had stepped in it. The person tried to argue with other users in the comment section. At the time of this post’s publication, their Instagram profile has been set to private. It’s unknown if they usually had it set to that, or if it was a reaction to having Ayesha’s defenders drag him/her on their own profile. —Agency
Anna Kournikova
FA CE OF TH ED AY
Susan Lucci
YOUR DAY
Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva
IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY TODAY
AAKRITI RANA, Blogger
Keep doing good deeds and a lot of goodness will come back to you. You are regular with your fitness plans and you are desperate to have a good body. A huge monetary benefit will come to you.
ARIES
TAURUS
GEMINI
CANCER
You will make others happy. On professional front, your communication skills will play a key role in how much attention you get and if you get noticed by your seniors or not. Your physical strength is improving everyday as you are really working hard on it. Some of you will soon get married.
You are earning well as of now and you are satisfied with your work life. You must not stop yourself from doing that you really love to do as a part time hobby. You will achieve your academic goals. Have faith in yourself when it comes to dealing with love matters.
Practice strict control on your diet as it plays the most important role in your fitness journey. You will be comfortable whole day long no matter where you are. You will get recognition in your academic institution for doing something incredible. You will go on a short yet incredible trip with friends.
Your fitness level is improving day by day as you are really exerting. You will get unexpected support`from your sibling in completing your work. Your parents really go out of their way to do something for you and now its your time to make them feel special.
MAR 21 - APR 20
APR 21 - MAY 20
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
LEO
VIRGO
LIBRA
SCORPIO
You will indulge in some outdoor sports. Your lifestyle speaks about your financial status and its improving with time. Avoid any arguments with someone on road or in public. You will acquire a new property for the sole purpose of business. Choose the right person when it comes to marriage.
Your bargaining powers will really help you in buying stuff for your house as you plan to redecorate. You will do a lot of investment in property and trust your intuition in matters like these. A temporary separation from partner for work should not effect you if you keep your partner happy.
You have managed to make yourself momentarily secure and you are in good position to spend. Do your calculations well and in advance for the expenses in your new business. Your lover will do something really special for you that will make you very emotional.
Today is your day and its your month, profits start accusing in your new venture. On professional front, you will the promotion that you have been waiting for a long time. Someone close to you will get married soon. Someone close will boost your image on the social front.
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
AUG 24 - SEP 23
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
SAGITTARIUS
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS
PISCES
You are blessed with good health and physique and you take good care of yourself. You must be really wise with words when you dealing in sensitive matters. You will get encouragement from your colleagues in office for your higher endeavours. You may travel a lot. Don’t make hasty decisions.
Things look bright for you on the professional front as you will be assigned the responsibility of some prestigious assignment. You will have lots of fun and will enjoy the company of your family and its extended members. You will spend a lot today on accessories and clothes.
You will feel extremely energetic today as you are sleeping on time and waking up on time. You will take the right decisions today as far as your finances are concerned. You will remain occupied in office whole day long to finish work on time. You will be in demand on social front.
Money will come to you from unexpected sources as you are attracting it with all the positivity. You must remain active in your office today as there may be an important sessions arranged everyone where you need to pay attention. A family reunion is on cards.
NOV 23 - DEC 22
DEC 23 - JAN 20
JAN 21 - FEB 19
FEB20 - MARCH 20
ETC AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
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B’TOWN QUICKIE!
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Beauties With Brains At Nykaa Femina Beauty Awards 2020, Bollywood celebs Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Ananya Panday and more dazzled
N Madhuri Dixit attended a wedding reception with her husband Sriram Madhav Nene in Mumbai on Monday. She wore a sequinned beige long choli paired with an embellished lehenga.
A brand new song titled ‘Ooh La La’ from Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar-starrer ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ was unveiled on Wednesday. In the visuals of the song, Ayushmann and Jitendra are boarding the Vivaah Special Express happily.
CLOCKWISE: Rhea Chakraborty, Anushka Sharma, Deepika Padukone and Ananya Panday
ykaa Femina Beauty Awards 2020, while concluding its 6th edition, celebrated the best in beauty. This year’s the event was bedazzled with a number of Btown A-listers donning all sorts of glamourous outfits. The award for Powerful Performer of the Year went to Deepika Padukone who stunned the crowd with an elegant black dress. Her off-shoulder outfit had a body-hugging fit with a plunging neck and a mermaid cut. Meanwhile, Kartik Aaryan bagged the Heartthrob of the Year award. Anushka Sharma took home the award for Beauty Icon of the Year. Katrina Kaif also joined the winners’ list by winning the Beauty Entrepreneur of the Year award. Ananya Panday bagged the Exciting Fresh Face Female award. Other celebrities in attendance included Jawaani Jaaneman actor Alaya F, Angrezi Medium actor Radhika Madan and Shruti Haasan to name a few. —Agency
Malaika Arora
Malaika recalls
her ‘auditions’
M
MANUSHI KI ADAYEIN
alaika Arora has now earned the label of a dancing diva, but there was a time when she had to struggle like any other newcomer and face rejections. “I remember going for many auditions and my mother used to accompany me. When I started off, I faced many rejections but that never let me down. I never gave up and kept trying. I was 17 years old when I started with my modelling career and from then one thing led to another and today, I am in the position to judge a show,” she said. “It was not easy. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I was 15-16 years old and today kids who come for auditions are so clear with what they want to do,” she added. —IANS
F Kiara Advani was snapped at the trailer launch of her Netflix film ‘Guilty’ on Tuesday. For the event, she wore a bodycon midi dress that gave a hint of her washboard abs.
A still from the song
BAAGHI 3 KA ‘BHANKAS’
T Deepika Padukone on Wednesday unveiled her look as Romi Dev, wife of cricket legend Kapil Dev, in the upcoming film ‘83. She says the film is an ode to every woman who puts her husband’s dream before her own.
iger Shroff on Wednesday dropped the peppy wedding song ‘Bhankas’ from his upcoming action-thriller flick ‘Baaghi 3’. The song is a recreated version of ‘Ek Aankh Maru’ from 1984 film ‘Tohfa’ that featured Sridevi and Jeetendra in lead roles. The 29-year-old actor shared the song on Twitter and wrote, “Jab Ronnie aur Siya ke moves par honge sab vaari, tab bajega dhol aur naachegi Duniya saari. #Bhankas Song Out Now!” In the two-minute-twenty-six-second song, Tiger and Shraddha Kapoor are seen dancing at Riteish Deshmukh and Ankita Lokhande’s wedding. The dancing number also shows the bride and groom Riteish and Ankita shaking a leg along with the ‘Tapori’ dancers. Shraddha is seen sporting an embellished pastel green suit while Tiger is seen clad in purple shirt and embroidered waistcoat with grey denim. —ANI
ormer Miss World Manushi Chillar, who will be seen next in the historical film ‘Prithviraj’ alongside Akshay Kumar wrapped up the shooting for the first song from the flick and shared her ecstatic experience of constantly learning on the set. The 27-year-old stunner is a trained Kuchipudi dancer and has trained under legendary dancing couple Raja and Radha Reddy and Kaushalya Reddy, and both were felicitated by the Government of India with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards. Manushi revealed that it is her early training in classical dancing that has helped her to confidently perform the song in Prithviraj. She said, “My training in classical dancing when I was a child has definitely helped me for Prithviraj.” She also stated, “These dance sequences have taken the life out of me but I think I have managed to deliver. I was happy that my director and choreographer were happy with my performance.” —ANI
Manushi Chillar
FILMFARE FIDA HUA- ON KHUDA JAANE SINGER VANSHIKHA GOUR
S
vanshikha.gour@firstindia.co.in
hilpa Rao, who won the award under the category- Best Playback Singer (Female) for the song ‘Ghungroo’ at the 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards which took place in Guwahati on February 15, shared a few glimpses of her life, upcoming projects and more, in an exclusive interview with City First.
‘Khuda Jaane’ from the film ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ seems to be her all time favourite as when she was asked which song she thinks gave her that gig that every artist dreams of, the 35-year-old singer said, “I feel that all my songs gave me that energy or that gig that every artist looks but my personal favorite is ‘Khuda Jaane’ any day because of the feel of that song and even Ranbir-Deepika did a great job. That song can be said as the ‘Love Anthem’ anytime. My fans and the close ones still request me
Shilpa Rao
to sing ‘Khuda Jaane’ which makes me really happy and content.” On being asked about how it was for her to be honoured at the 65th Filmfare Awards, Rao said, “I am grateful and humbled towards all my fans and ‘Ghungroo’ listeners who took this song to another level, it’s really great to receive such an honourable and prestigious award for the song that is really close to my heart. I would like to thank Vishal, Shekhar, Sidharth Anand and YRF for this super awesome opportunity.”
When asked about her personal opinion about the remakes of the old, legendary songs, the ‘Khuda Jaane’ singer shared, “I personally feel that old is gold and no one can make remake the gold again. I love original music as it has a new freshness, different taste, texture and feeling to it. I believe we should always create something new as an artist.” Shilpa recently gave her voice to the song ‘Haan Tum Ho’ from ‘Love Aaj Kal’ which is again a romantic number.
CITY BUZZ www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CONFLUENCE OF Classical dancers from around the country came together to perform at the inaugural event of the Conference of Parties to the Convention of Conservation of Migratory Species and Wildlife, which began on Monday
AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
—PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI
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