First India-Ahmedabad Edition-11 September 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

26°C - 36°C

ALERT AHMEDABAD l FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

DEATHS

MAHARASHTRA 28,282 DEATHS 9,90,795 CASES

GUJARAT

76,277 45,52,021 3,167 1,09,627

CONFIRMED CASES

TAMIL NADU 8,157 DEATHS 4,86,052 CASES

RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 286

INDIA

9,10,950 2,81,94,321

www.firstindia.co.in www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/ thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia instagram.com/thefirstindia

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

KARNATAKA 6,937 DEATHS 4,30,947 CASES

DEATHS

DELHI 4,666 DEATHS 2,05,482 CASES

RAFALE’S ROAR RATTLES CHINA Defence Minister Rajnath Singh speaks during a joint press briefing, in Ambala on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

IAF pilots before flying the first batch of five Rafale aircraft during its induction ceremony, at the airbase in Ambala on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 1,192 DEATHS 97,376 CASES

Ambala: In a clear reference to China over the tense border row in eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the induction of five French-made multirole Rafale jets into the Indian Air Force is a “big and stern” message to those eyeing India’s sovereignty.

The first fleet of Rafale jets was formally inducted into the ‘Golden Arrows’ squadron of the IAF at the Ambala Air Force station in presence of a galaxy of dignitaries including French Defence Minister Florence Parly, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria.

“The induction of Rafale jets is a big and

stern message for the entire world, especially to those eyeing our sovereignty. This kind of induction is very important for the kind of atmosphere that has been created on our borders,” Singh said at the ceremony.

French Defence Minister Florence Parly on Thursday said India will have an edge over the entire region in defending its people with the induction of Rafale fighter jets, an event she described as a symbol of the relationship between the two countries. She said India and France are now writing a new chapter in their defence ties. She said the programme to deliver the 36 aircraft to India meant a lot.

Turn to P6

INDIA OCCUPIES MORE Plaint against Kangana for insulting Uddhav HEIGHTS AROUND LADAKH

Indian Army consolidates its position around Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh, which allows dominance in Moldo Garrison & Spangur Gap New Delhi: Indian Army has occupied heights overlooking the Chinese Army positions at Finger 4 along Pangong lake.

The operations to occupy the heights were carried out along with the pre-emptive actions to occupy heights near the Southern bank of Pangong Tso around August-end, sources said on Thursday. “Indian Army has occupied heights overlooking the Chinese Army positions at Finger 4 along the Pangong Tso. These operations were carried out along with the pre-emptive actions to occupy heights near the Southern bank of Pangong Tso around August-end,” a source told ANI. Sources said the Chinese Army had occupied the heights near the Finger 4 but the Indian Army Turn to P6

Mumbai: Two police complaints have been filed against Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut for allegedly insulting Maharahstra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and creating communal disharmony among the public at large.

One of the complaint, filed by Arun Shreekant Mishra at Dindoshi police station, accused Ranaut of defaming and creating communal disharmony among the

Kangana Ranaut reaches her Bandra office where demolition work was carried out by BMC, in Mumbai on Thursday. ANI Photo

public at large. Mishra, in his complaint, said that Ranaut made inflammatory and derogatory remarks aainst Uddhav Thackeray.

“Ranaut has compared the alleged incident happened against her with the Pundits of Kashmir and by doing this she has tried to create disharmony against a specific community which is also against the law,” the complaint said. Turn to P6

SC: EMI moratorium RIL offers Amazon $20 extended till Sept 28 bn stake in retail arm Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi, pose for a photo on the sidelines of a meeting of Foreign Ministers of SCO, in Moscow on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

INDIA-CHINA FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET IN MOSCOW New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is meeting his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in an attempt to defuse tension after a spike in hostilities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two nations.

The foreign ministers are in Moscow to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. They met at a Russia-India-China lunch earlier. The Jaishankar-Wang talks are taking place against the backdrop of a fresh standoff at the southern bank of Pangong Tso on Monday. In the confrontation, shots were fired for the first time along the LAC in 45 years.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered interim extension of loan moratorium till 28 September, directing banks not to tag any loans as nonperforming till further directions. The apex court adjourned the case for the last time, granting the Centre, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and banks two weeks to work together and file a concrete reply on their stand on waiving of interest charged during

the moratorium period.

The interim order was passed by the apex court bench headed by Justices Ashok Bhushan and comprising R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah Turn to P6

Mumbai: Reliance Industries is offering to sell a roughly $20 billion stake in its retail arm to Amazon.com Inc, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing one unnamed person with knowledge of the matter.

The oil-to-telecoms conglomerate led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, which has already raised $20 billion in this year from investors including Facebook and Google, Turn to P6

Bulls cheer as RIL powers big gains in Sensex Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices were on an upswing on Thursday following a spurt in Asian markets with Reliance Industries and banking stocks leading the rally.The BSE S&P Sensex closed 646 points or 1.69% higher at 38,840 while Nifty 50 gained by 171 points or 1.52 per cent at 11,449.

Turn to P6

NO DICE

A’BAD CIVIL HOSPITAL DENIES RTI REGARDING COVID-19 INFO A petition had been filed by Congress leader Johar Vora seeking death toll data Gargi Raval Ahmedabad: In a blatant denial of the Right to Information (RTI), an appeal by a local Congress leader asking about the number of COVID-19 deaths in the city has been rejected by Civil Hospital (Asarwa).

Ever since the pandemic first broke out in the state, concentrated efforts have been put in by various government authorities in the state to conceal information from the citizens. With the number of COVID-19 cases and the death toll reaching a seemingly stagnant fig-

—FILE PHOTO

ure, people have expressed concern about censoring of official data by the government.

An application by Congress leader Joher Vora before the Civil Hospital (Asarwa) regarding the actual number of COVID-19 deaths in the city was denied.

Notably, the Asarwa campus of the Civil Hospital was one of the most discussed hospitals during the months of April and May, for its

mismanagement of data and unreliable services to COVID-19 patients. Family members of several patients were not even informed about the death of their loved ones for days.

In the hospital’s defence, the denial of the RTI petition was purported by hospital authorities citing various reasons under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897- set of regulations regarding novel coronavirus- which

the state government described as the Gujarat Pandemic Diseases COVID-19 Regulations 2020.

“I was shocked that they refused to share COVID-19 information and instead issued a circular. It mentions a highlighted point, ‘To avoid the spread of any rumour or unauthorized information regarding COVID-19, no person/institution/organization will use any print Turn to P6

NEWS AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

FACING MONEY TROUBLES, SHELTERS RELEASE CATTLE OUT ONTO THE HIGHWAY IN PROTEST Haresh Jhala

WHO LET THE COWS OUT?

—FILE PHOTOS

Palanpur: The state highway was blocked in protest on Thursday, but there were no shouted slogans and no black armbands. Instead, there was some mooing.

There was also a lot of honking, as traffic piled up behind hundreds of heads of cattle that had been released onto the street by local panjarapoles (cattle shelters) desperately seeking funding from the government to meet fodder needs as private donations dry up. The police had to intervene before the panjarapole trustees had the cattle driven back to their sheds.

Trustees of 154 panjarapoles in Banaskantha district have been agitating for 15 days, demanding financial help from the state to feed the 70,000 heads of cattle—including a number of cows— under their care.

Jagdish Solanki, a trustee of the Kant Panjrapole, told the media, “Private donations to panjarapoles have shrunk since the COVID-19 pandemic have adversely affected trade and industry.

The state helped for the initial two months,

with the financial aid of Rs25 per head of cattle, but then it stopped releasing funds.”

Solanki said the issue has been taken up with all the MLAs, some MPs and even ministers but, except for one or two, no one has come forward to even offer to use their influence to ask the state to release more funds for the cattle.

Banaskantha MP Parbat Patel has written to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, requesting that he release funds for the cattle shelters.

Solanki adds that the situation has become dire. “There are 14 panjarapoles in Lakheni village.

Every day, 15-20 animals are dying because of starvation.

We expect similar stories to emerge from neighbouring villages—where shelters are run by trusts—soon.”

Defending the state government, Deesa MLA Shashikant Pandya said that the state government is always concerned about cows and the state is committed to not allowing any cows to die because of fodder shortage.

02

If shelters can’t afford fodder, many animals will have to live on the streets. Shelters say the state had given aid of Rs25 per animal in the first two months of the COVID-19 crisis, but then stopped.

State govt continues to prevaricate on Navratri decision City activist seeks First India Bureau

position party members as well,” he said but pointed out that the state intends to table about 22-24 bills to be enacted, and will hence require time to debate over these.

“If we keep question hour, we can hardly discuss 25-30 questions in five days, which is meaningless.

Instead, it is better to eliminate question hour, take up only urgent questions and give quality time for bills, since these are important for the public at large,” he said.

more time to discuss notices on city delimitation, civic polls

CM Rupani gives `400 crore in assistance to 23 lakh farmers

The state recently issued a notification on expanding city limits.

—FILE PHOTO

Gandhinagar: Almost two weeks after the issue was last addressed, the state government is still undecided on whether or not to allow Navratri festivities amid the ongoing health crisis.

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on Thursday repeated the message that, “The state government will take a decision on Navratri at the appropriate time after considering all aspects, including the number of

cases of COVID-19, guidelines from the Union Home Ministry and the health department.”

With this, he echoed the what Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja had said in Vadodara on August 29.

Patel said the state is monitoring the health situation on a daily basis. “The state is well aware that people are keen to celebrate the nine-night festival but the situation is different this year. In such a situation, whether to grant permission de-

—FILE PHOTO

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel

pends on the spread of the virus. We will also look at the precautions that need be taken, such

as how many persons can be allowed to participate so that social distancing is main-

tained before saying yes or no for Navratri. The state government will take appropriate decision at the right time,” he reiterated.

Patel also underplayed the Opposition’s demand for the question hour in the upcoming Assembly session, saying that the government had merely suggested its cancellation.

“Whether or not to keep it is the prerogative of the Assembly Speaker and the Business Advisory Committee, which includes op-

PROVIDING AID

l Nagarpalikas with damaged roads due to rainfall get `160 crore for resurfacing work First India Bureau Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Thursday distributed Rs400 crore to over 23 lakh farmers as benefits under the Saat Pagla Khedut Kalyan Yojana and the Mukhyamantri Pak Sangraha Structure Yojana programmes. Additionally, heavy rainfall across the state washed out internal roads in several towns. The govern-

ment released Rs160 crore in funds for road repair in 155 nagarpalikas.

Addressing the media, the chief minister asserted that the nagarpalikas must expedite resurfacing work of roads. Ahead of nagarpalika elections in the state, this statement from the state chief does not seem out of place.

Earlier in the day, Rupani unveiled the Saat Pagla Khedut Kalyan Yojana programme and distrib-

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani presents a cheque to a farmer on Thursday. The funds will facilitate construction of a godown. The former is flanked on the left by Minister of State for Agriculture and Panchayats, Jaydrathsinh Parmar.

uted financial assistance of Rs400 crore to 1.25 lakh farmers.

Under the Mukhyamantri Pak Sangraha Structure (Godown) Yojana, the storage capacity of the state’s godowns

will be increased by 23.32 lakh tonnes and crop wastage will be prevented over the next three months.

The Kisan Parivahan Yojana aims to enable farmers to easily deliver their produce to oth-

er markets and earn more income. The maximum amount of financial assistance for farmers looking to purchase small vehicles has been fixed at Rs75,000.

The CM also elaunched the Saat Pagla Khedut Kalyan Yojana at an event organized by the state government’s Department of Agriculture and farmers welfare and cooperative organizations at 80 places in 33 districts across the state from Gandhinagar.

Under this scheme, seven steps will be taken for the benefit of farmers including agriculture and economic upliftment, new crop pro-

duction, crop storage, distribution, cow-based farming, Kisan Parivahan Yojana and Mukhyamantri Pak Sangraha Structure Yojana.

Talking about the initiatives, CM Rupani said, “Gujarat has become a leading role model for balanced development with new technology and modern farming methods in agriculture, industry, and service sectors. Apart from that, under the Kisan Parivahan Yojana, farmers will be able to prosper economically by selling farm produce in markets by transporting the harvest in their own small vehicles.”

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: The State Election Commission recently issued notifications regarding new city limits along with the reserved category seats inducted into the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). The commission also granted 10 days’ time to citizens to come forward and put forth their grievances, regarding both notices, if any.

According to citybased activist Mujahid Nafees, the time given for a response is not adequate, espe-

cially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “The notification mentions 10 days’ time for suggestions and opinions of the people. Last time, when a similar move was pulled ahead of local body polls, the commission had granted 30 days’ time,” asserted Nafees.

“Under the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), people are not allowed to gather in one place in large numbers.

With the upcoming election of local bodies, the duration of 10 days is just isn’t enough time,” he said.

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

Audio book launched on Dr Kurien First India Bureau Ahmedabad: Nirmala Kurien unveiled an audio book titled “The Man Who Made the Elephant Dance” on Wednesday, during a webinar held to mark the eight death anniversary of her father, Dr Verghese Kurien.

The audio book, based on his biography, “I Too Had a Dream” was released on drkurien.com, a website dedicated to the Milkman of India.

The webinar was attended by eminent personalities of dairy industry and associates and around 1000 participants who have been directly or indirectly been associated with Dr. Kurien and his institutions.

During the event, Nirmala shared her childhood memories with her father of how he always believed in equal opportunity for all and excellence in any work that you do.

Who is underplaying nCov data to mislead Ahmedabad?

Ahmedabad: The official COVID-19 data released by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), which is believed to have been under-reported, has sent up several red flags about the intentions of the local administration. This has compelled many

IMA Rajkot issues red alert for doctors

1,332 fresh cases and 15 fatalities in 24 hours take tally to 1,09,627 cases, death toll to 3,167 First India Bureau Gandhinagar: The state health bulletin data released on Thursday does not reflect COVID-19 cases detected in Ahmedabad city, raising the question, “Who is underplaying data, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation or the state’s health department?” Sources say that 422 rapid antigen tests were positive in just two wards, but the state bulletin shows only 148 cases from Ahmedabad city.

According to sources in the AMC’s health team, who did not wish to be named for fear of professional blowback, Chandlodia ward alone witnessed 262 new cases from the 12,141 tests conducted by the Ognaj Urban Health Centre (UHC) team on Thursday. In the

A medic takes a break during a testing drive at the Ahmedabad station. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Bodakdev ward, 12,300 tests were conducted, confirming 160 infected cases. The northwest zone alone had 344 cases.

Senior officers of the AMC could not be reached for comment despite several attempts.

Considered a VIP ward, Bodakdev is home

to about 15 High Court judges and more than 100 IAS/IPS officers.

As many as 64 resident doctors at AMC-run hospitals have tested positive in the past two days—26 from SVP Hospital, 30 from LG Hospital, and eight from Shardaben Hospital.

Four have relapsed.

Similarly, the state health bulletin states there was one death in Rajkot on Thursday, but local media has reported 30 deaths—from the city, rural areas and neighbouring districts—in the past 24 hours.

In the past 24 hours,

the state has conducted 72,151 tests, confirming 1,332 positive cases. Fifteen patients died in 24 hours. The state now has 16,230 active cases, with 91 patients on ventilator support.

Surat remains at the top even after two months, with 278 new cases, of which 176 were recorded in the city and 102 from rural areas.

Cases also emerged in Rajkot (150), Vadodara (124), Jamnagar (105), Bhavnagar (64) Gandhinagar (38), Junagadh (37), Patan (31), Amreli, (30) Panchmahal (30), and Morbi (27).

The surge in cases in Rajkot has resulted in a shortage of beds, with just 20 beds now available in private hospitals.

Hence, the local administration has arranged for 40 more beds in Genesis Hospital and 60 beds in Doshi Hospital.

AMC has no record of graveyard burials: RTI Gargi Raval

03

people to file Right to Information (RTI) petitions to try and coax out the actual data. Unfortunately, even the data on record with the local civic body has remained incomplete, with the civic body denying having records of graveyard burials.

Congress leader Joher Vora had filed an RTI application before

AMC office.

—FILE PHOTO

AMC demanding to know the total number of cremations and burials conducted within the civic body’s limits.

In response, he was handed over data of AMC-run crematoriums, in which, the number of cremations in January (3,335), February (2,933), March (2,685), April (3,052), May (6,147) and June (4,968) were listed.

There was no data on graveyards in the city.

As per the data received from civic body officials, the year of 2019 saw less number of deaths than the month of May this year. In May 2019, the number of deaths reported in both graveyards and crematoriums stood at 3,066.

Vora asserted that the RTI stated that the civic

body doesn’t keep a record of people buried in graveyards. “It was a strange response. They do keep a record of the city and its citizens from cradle to grave.

They are the authority which issues death certificates, irrespective of the fact whether someone was cremated or buried in a graveyard,” he stated.

Rajkot Municipal Corporation.

First India Bureau Rajkot: The Indian Medical Association (IMA), Rajkot Chapter, has issued a red alert for doctors in the district.

Doctors practising medicine have been advised to take additional precautionary measures during interactions with patients as well as staff.

Dr Jay Dhirwani, IMA, Rajkot chapter president told First India, “The sudden spike in COVID-19 cases with more than 100 doctors getting infected with SarsCoV-2, compelled us to issue an advisory in the form of a red alert for doctors.”

He added, “The current situation in the district is akin to the worrying condition in Ahmedabad two months ago. The viral load may be low but transmission of infection is very high in Rajkot. Therefore, if a large number of doctors get infected, the situation may take a turn for the worse.

Currently, there are

—FILE PHOTO

1,800 doctors associated with IMA Rajkot, and this means that 5.55% have already been infected with nCov. It is imperative, now more than ever, that all doctors take additional precautions and stay safe.”

Dhirwani further stated that while diagnosing patients, doctors do take ample precautions such as donning a PPE kit, gloves, masks and other headgear. But, they do not keep their guard up while interacting with staffers.

Since, one cannot determine whether someone is a carrier of Sars-CoV-2, IMA advises doctors to be careful in their dealings with everyone.

“It seems that we have learnt from others’ experience and therefore I endorse the association’s advisory for doctors. Due to these new guidelines, now doctors will postpone surgical activities, which makes them susceptible to the virus,” said Dr Sureja Darshan, Honorary Secretary, IMA, Rajkot Chapter.

Surat’s Ratnakalakar Vikas Sangh prez commits suicide over ‘financial pressures’

ALL ABOARD!

First India Bureau

City buses left the main terminal in Ahmedabad’s Lal Darwaja for the first time in six months on Thursday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Surat: Jaysukh Gajera, president of the Ratnakalakar Vikas Sangh, who fought constantly for the rights of gem workers in Surat was found dead by drowning on Thursday morning.

His body was recovered from the Tapi river but police and fire services personnel. It is believed that he took his own life.

Kamrej police have begun an investigation.

While the police are yet to find a suicide note,

—FILE PHOTO

Jaysukh Gajera.

those close to him say he had been facing severe financial constraints for some time and was under a great deal of pressure.

Gajera had gone missing on Wednesday night.

His family and friends began to look for him when they could not reach him on his mobile phone. Family members later found his shoes and bike on the bridge in Kamrej. He is believed to

have jumped into the river from this bridge.

Locals found his body on Thursday morning and informed the police, who have now sent it for a post-mortem exam.

Gajera was a vocal proponent for their welfare. After lockdown ended, he had been trying to bring back migrant workers by providing them facilities like train tickets, accommodation and healthcare.

He was also working towards getting workers who had been let go due to the pandemic reinstated in their old jobs.

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

School launches #ItisOKtoFail campaign to ease pressure on kids Week-long initiative by A’bad-based Udgam School for Children began on World Suicide Prevention Day l

First India Bureau Ahmedabad: To mark World Suicide Day on Thursday, city-based Udgam School for Children launched a week-long campaign called “#ItisOKtoFail”, with the aim of fighting the stigma surrounding mental health and encouraging counselling for stress and depression.

During the week, the

school’s teachers will convey message about the importance of life and moving forward towards one’s goals without worrying about failures. Students and parents will also participate in the campaign by sharing their own stories of success and failure, as well as by raising awareness on the importance of mental health with write-ups, drawings and paintings on various so-

cial media platforms with the hashtag, #ItisOKtoFail.

Speaking on the initiative, the school’s Executive Director Manan Choksi said, “According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, suicide claimed 10,159 students in 2018. This means that 28 students ended their lives every day in 2018. While it’s easy to applaud success and mock failure, the

Students of Udgam School for Children.

—FILE PHOTO

need of the hour is to create positivity, and build students up, rather than knock them down. With this initiative, we expect the management and teachers, as well as students and parents, to speak up on how they moved on from failure with a positive attitude.”

“The campaign will emphasize the message that, ‘It is OK to get fewer marks in exams. It is OK to fail the race just before the completion line. It is OK to have losses in business. It is OK to get fired from a job and it is OK to

fail in a relationship.

What is not OK is to end your life because of bad phase’,” he added.

As part of the campaign, teachers at Udgam School for Children will use online communication platforms to explain the importance of life and how urge students to seek help if they are depressed due to failure.

Students who are particularly afraid of failing in the exams will be counselled individually over the phone or via video call.

PERSPECTIVE AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

IS INDIA STARING DOWN THE BARREL OF STAGFLATION?

IN-DEPTH

SWAMY’S ‘COMPLIMENT’ FOR POKHRIYAL

T

he Joint Entrance Examination (Main) for engineering was held amid the pandemic as planned, despite protests from students over the risks they were required to face. But with the Supreme Court also weighing in against those opposing the holding of examination last week, students were left with the difficult choice of either writing the examination or dropping out. A controversy has broken out over how many of those who downloaded the application actually appeared with senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy suggesting that conducting the tests at this juncture was not a good idea.

After the Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal claimed that the number of JEE Main applicants stands at 8.58 lakh, Swamy said that out of 18 lakh students who were supposed to appear only 8 lakh turned up for the exam. This, the Rajya Sabha MP said, was a “disgrace for the nation which extols vidhya and gyan!!”

This led to a twitter exchange between the two BJP leaders. In a sarcasm-laden tweet Swamy said, “With my compliments, Minister! I will soon tweet what the Ministry of Education stated to the SC as candidates registered State wide and abroad at 953,473 at 660 centres. The Minister’s tweet for me to see his facts was 8.58 lakh. Now whose is official?”

When Pokhriyal insisted the figure was 8.58 lakh, Swamy responded with a document to support his claim. Pokhriyal must know that it is not easy to refute Swamy’s facts. The education minister will not admit to the poor turnout and instead blame it on students.

S

KANGANA STICKS TO SCRIPT, TAKES ON CM

I

t’s a full blown war between Kangana Ranaut and the Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra with the BJP fighting a proxy war. Direct support for the Bollywood actress has come from Union minister Ramdas Athawale who met her to extend his support. Workers of Athawale’s party the RPI (A) were at the airport to ensure she has a trouble-free exit from the airport. She has also got support from chief minister of Himachal Pradesh and former CM of Maharashtra.

The actress has it relatively easy because of the indirect political patronage she is currently enjoying. The BMC welcomed Kangana’s in Mumbai demolishing her office for illegal constructions. Although the demolition work was stopped after the high court’s intervention, the ongoing drama is far from over. At least for the Sena, as Sanjay Raut said, the Kangana “episode” is now over.

The language Kangana Ranaut is using against Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena smacks of her political tutoring as it is heavily loaded with political jargon. When she called Shiv Sena as Sonia Sena or spoke of her office as Ram mandir and referring to Babar she was clearly speaking the BJP’s language.

It was expected that the BMC will quarantine the actress but was spared because she is in Mumbai “only for a week”.

Stagflation stems from an oil crisis in the 1970s which was sparked due to an increase in prices of oil after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) issued an embargo against the Western Countries. The rise in the price significantly affected the productive capacity of the economies

tagflation is a macro-economic situation characterized by increasing inflation, high unemployment, and negative or stagnant economic growth.

Conventionally, high inflation is an indicator of a growing economy as the demand pushes the prices of products and services. To sustain flourishing demand, purchasing power is essential. Purchasing power is prevalent when the economy is performing on low unemployment. Moreover, low unemployment is a factor of growth in economic activity as the corporations seek to access the labor force to achieve potential expansion. Therefore, the three elements are interlinked and stimulate the economy by working harmoniously.

Stagflation stems from an oil crisis in the 1970s which was sparked due to an increase in prices of oil after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) issued an embargo against the Western Countries. The rise in the price significantly affected the productive capacity of the economies.

HOW IS STAGFLATION ADDRESSED? To alleviate a recessionary economy, a Government aims to increase the money supply in the economy to boost public spending. On the contrary, inflationary pressure on the economy is subdued by restricting money supply, which means pushing borrowing rates to the higher side making money expensive. Opposite responses to inflation and recession make dealing with stagflation a challenge.

As per the theory, if inflation were to keep on rising, unemployment will witness a surge again as corporations will carry lay-offs unable to sustain increasing labor costs. Therefore, inflation is the first element that needs caution. Rightly so, the Government has changed its accommodative stance in terms of further RBI

AS PER THE THEORY, IF INFLATION WERE TO KEEP ON RISING, UNEMPLOYMENT WILL WITNESS A SURGE AGAIN AS CORPORATIONS WILL CARRY LAY-OFFS UNABLE TO SUSTAIN INCREASING LABOR COSTS

rate cuts in the latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. A rate cut is not anticipated in the near future.

The next course of action is to provide supply support to the economy by incentivizing the business to produce more. Incentives can be in the form of corporate tax reductions, looser business regulations, etc.

HOW TO INVEST DURING STAGFLATION? The way to generate or preserve wealth during stagflation is by routing your investments through securities that focus on yielding profits. Assets providing an internal hedge to inflation serve as the best prospects.

Interest rates are unable to keep up with inflation during recessionary phases, suggesting that Government bonds or other money market instruments are rendered inefficient.

The purchasing power of investments in low yielding secu-

rities lags behind inflation.

Investing in stock markets is ideal given that the capital is deployed toward defensive sectors and the companies chosen have strong balance sheets offering growth potential. Gaining exposure by going long on sectors such as Energy, Consumer Defensive (food and utilities), Healthcare, and Utilities can prove beneficial to stock portfolios. These sectors over-perform during economic downturns as they pass on the rising costs to the consumers as reflected positively in sector turnovers.

An alternative to investing in the stock market is investing in commodities through direct purchase on the exchange or through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

WHAT IS THE CURRENT TREND OF INFLATION, UNEMPLOYMENT & GDP? Inflation, resulting from sup-

TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY HAS CHANGED POLITICAL SATIRE FOR EVERYONE

E

ven before Donald Trump was elected in 2016, he had been providing United State’s late-night TV show hosts with ample fodder for comedy.

These late-night TV shows are the spearhead of political satire for liberal America, and many take their orientation from The Daily Show, which began in 1996. With John Stewart as host after 1999, it developed a mixture of political and news satire that became a popular genre.

Following Trump’s election victory, humour was quickly seen by disoriented liberals as both a balm and a weapon. The veteran TV host David Letterman claimed that “comedy’s one

04

of the ways that we can protect ourselves” from Trump.

Late-night comedy became the bellwether of this trend and the intensified focus on political satire proved a ratings hit for many of the hosts.

The Daily Show, helmed

by Trevor Noah since 2016, and its offshoots – The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee – led the way. Meanwhile, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Myers also pushed into more political material and Saturday Night Live drew interest in its cold openings that regularly focused on Trump.

For liberals, satire fed into a desire for narratives

that would explain Trump’s election and continued authority, and also stoked fantasies about his inevitable fall. But there was no evidence that political satire attacking Trump had slowed Trump’s race to the presidency – or would lead to his defeat. Instead, it

functioned mainly as a form of wish-fulfilment and catharsis for those citizens traumatised by Trump’s 2016 victory.

SATIRICAL SHORTCOMINGS For all the satirical activity in the first year of Trump’s

presidency, questions about the quality and efficacy of these shows’ promotion of political satire soon began to emerge.

Some liberal and progressive commentators called them out as “lazy” and “ineffective”.

More and more voices

complained that Trump was resistant to satire, arguing that he embodies irony and hyperbole, that he was an “already a walking caricature of himself ”.

The writer and producer Armando Iannucci, who created the HBO satire Veep, underlined the problem for satirists.

“Just read him and you have found the joke about him,” he said. “It comes out in what he says, which leaves people like me slightly redundant other than just to point it out.”

As humourists have become more conscious of these shortcomings and challenges, they have pushed back against those with high expectations for political comedy.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

ply-chain disruptions during complete lockdowns is the latest of worries. RBI set an inflation target band of 4-6 percent.

As an outcome of this outbreak, the inflation rate has surpassed the tolerance level of the Central Bank. RBI has cut policy rates by 115 bps amid the pandemic to aid borrowing and survival. The inevitable expansionary stance has given way for inflation to surge.

Unemployment data for August goes to show that after witnessing a recovery in July numbers, the unemployment rate has shot up to 8.4% from 7.4%.

The rural economy has contributed primarily to this increase as the Kharif crop sowing season marked its end. Moreover, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREG) experienced a loss of work, unable to provide material jobs to the participating labor force.

The negative 23.9 percent GDP growth of Q1 2020 is alarming in that the activity rate captured by the economic indicator is at its decadal low on the back of nation-wide lockdowns.

An uptick in economic activity prioritizing demand revival can give way to a solid rebound in the discussed parameters.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank @DrRPNishank #NEP2020 entails that wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be home language/mother-tongue/ local language. #ShikshakParv #NEPTransformingIndia Mallikarjun Kharge @kharge Both the organized & unorganized sector has been hit badly & the Ministry of Labour has been missing in action. The 20 lakh Cr package is a non starter & with rising unemployment & dwindling economy, the future is bleak.

India is victim of bad governance

by Modi. #SpeakUpForJobs

Spiritual SPEAK

How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

—Proverbs 16:16

Vol 1 Issue No. 286 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, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

To Receive Free Newspaper PDF Daily Whatsapp: http://bit.ly/whatsappahm

Telegram: https://t.me/firstindiaahmedabad Click the above link� & subscribe us on your preferred platform.

INDIA AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

05

Villages should become pillars of ‘FCRA registration to

‘ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT’ PM also launched e-Gopala App for farmers along with several other initiatives in the fisheries & animal husbandry sectors in Bihar

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that villages should become the pillars of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” which will enrich the villages further and strengthen them.

The comments of the Prime Minister came on the occasion of the digital launch of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).

“Today the schemes that have been initiated, the thought behind that is that our villages become pillars of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. The attempt is that now in this century - Blue Revolution means work related to fisheries, White Revolution means dairy work, Sweet Revolution means honey production. It will enrich our villages further, strengthen them,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister also launched the e-Gopala App for farmers along with several other initiatives in the fish-

‘e-Gopala will free farmers from middlemen’

PM Narendra Modi addresses after launching the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and e-Gopala App for farmers along with several other initiatives in the fisheries and animal husbandry sectors in Bihar, via video conference in New Delhi on Thursday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

eries and animal husbandry sectors in Bihar.

“Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana has been set with this goal in mind. Today the scheme is being launched in 21 states of the country. Over 20 thousand crore rupees will be spent on this in the next 4-5 years. Out of this, work worth Rs 1,700 crores is being started today,” he added.

The Prime Minister

further said that with the establishment of pisciculture facilities in various places in Bihar, fish producers will get new markets for their produce.

“In Patna, Purnia, Sitamarhi, Madhepura, Kishanganj and Samastipur many facilities have been inaugurated and the foundation stone laid. With this, fish producers will get new infrastructure,

India-Singapore trust strengthened amid Covid-19: Prez Kovind

modern equipment, new markets will also be available,” he said.

“Keeping in mind the trade of fish in every part of the country, in the sea and riverine areas, for the first time such a big plan has been made in the country. After independence, many times more investment is being made on the Prime Minister’s Matsya Sampada Yojana,” he added. —ANI

New Delhi: Noting mutual cooperation between India and Singapore during the coronavirus pandemic, President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday said the crisis has further strengthened the existing ties of friendship and trust between the two nations.

Kovind’s remarks

came after accepting a Letter of Credence from the Singapore High Commissioner, Simon Wong Wie Kuen in a virtual ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, the President conveyed his warm wishes to the High Commissioner on his appointment.

Also congratulating

UNION MIN MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI IN LEH FOR 2-DAY VISIT Leh: Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi reached Leh for a two day-visit to the Union Territory of Ladakh on Thursday. He was welcomed by Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, among others. On his first day of the visit, Naqvi chaired a departmental review meeting with administration of the

Union Territory. Namgyal tweeted, “Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi chairs departmental review meeting with administrators of Union Territory of Ladakh.” Naqvi is expected to be visiting various places in Ladakh.

He will also be interacting with BJP State Executive Members.

the Singapore government on conducting the general elections in July, the Kovind noted that bilateral relations between India and Singapore have deepened.

He also thanked Singapore for its strong support to India at multilateral forums, including the UN Security Council. —Agencies

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the the government’s decision to allow the Golden Temple in Amritsar to receive foreign funds is a pathbreaking move and it will once again showcase the outstanding spirit of service of the Sikh community.

On Wednesday, the Home Ministry approved registration of Sri Harmandir Sahib under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, allowing it to receive foreign funding.

Golden temple in Amritsar is also known as Sri Harmandir Sahib.

“The decision on FCRA at the Sri Harmandir Sahib is a pathbreaking one which will once again showcase the outstanding spirit of service of our Sikh sisters and brothers,” Shah tweeted.

He said PM Modi is blessed that ‘’Wahe Guru ji’’ has taken ‘’Seva’’ from him. The FCRA registration has been given in the name of the ‘’Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Saheb Sri Darbar Saheb Punjab Association’’, a body set up in 1925.

Union Food Process-

AMIT SHAH @AMITSHAH Sri Darbar Sahib’s divinity gives strength to us.

For decades, the Sangat worldwide was unable to serve there. Modi Government’s decision to allow FCRA to the Sri Harmandir Sahib deepens the connect of Seva between the Sangat globally and the Sri Darbar Sahib. A blessed moment!

ing Minister and Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal thanked Shah for granting the FCRA registration to the Golden temple.

“Happy to share that MHA has granted approval under FCRA to Sri Harmandir Sahib.

This will enable the shrine to receive ‘’sewa’’

IN THE COURTYARD PRASHANT BHUSHAN CONTEMPT CASE

SC SEEKS ATTORNEY GENERAL’S HELP ON WIDER ISSUES New Delhi: The SC sought the attorney general’s help to examine larger issues involved in contempt cases with respect to procedures and situations which led to judicial corruption allegations in a 2009 contempt case against Prashant Bhushan.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice AM Khawilkar, deferred

President Ram Nath Kovind received credentials from HE Simon Wong Wie Kuen, High Commissioner of the Republic of Singapore through video conference, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi, at launch of the e-Gopala app for livestock owners in Bihar, said that the app will give farmers the freedom from middlemen and provide all information related to productivity, health and diet for the cattle.

“Along with the good breed of animals, the correct scientific information about their care is equally important. For this, technology has been continuously used for the past years. In this direction, the ‘e-Gopala’ app has been started today,” he said. “The e-Gopala app will be a digital medium that helps livestock owners. It will be easy to choose advanced livestock. They will get freedom from middlemen. This app will give all information related to productivity, health and diet for the cattle.”

Golden temple path-breaking move’

the hearing and impleaded attorney general KK Venugopal in the 11-year old con-

tempt case.

The case will be next heard on October 12.

Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing Bhushan, apprised the bench that Venogopal had mentioned his will to assist the court, for this case, during the previous hearings.

The bench also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari

and Sanjiv Khanna passed directions for the case records to be sent to Venugopal. The court sought help of the attorney general as amicus curie for assistance in this case.

An amicus curie is one who is not a party to a case but assists a court by offering insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. —Agencies

2G case: HC issues notice to A Raja, others New Delhi: The Delhi HC on Thursday issued notice to all the respondents on the early hearing applications moved by Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the appeals challenging the acquittal of former Union telecom minister

JHA TO BE JT OPPN CANDIDATE FOR RS DY CHAIRMAN POLL New Delhi: Various opposition parties on Thursday decided to field RJD leader Manoj Jha as their joint candidate for Sep 14 election of the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman, sources said. He will file his nomination papers in presence of leaders of various oppn parties. Jha will contest against NDA’s nominee Harivansh of the JD-U. Harivansh was RS deputy chairman till his previous term was over. He has since been re-elected from Bihar. RJD and JDU are arch-rivals in Bihar where assembly elections will be held very soon.

A. Raja and others in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

The next date of hearing is on 21 September.

The court has directed

PURI TO REVIEW DARBHANGA, DEOGHAR AIRPORTS ON SEP 12 New Delhi: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will visit the states of Bihar and Jharkhand to review Darbhanga and Deoghar airports on September 12. “Airports Authority of India (AAI) is developing these airports. With the operationalization of these airports, air connectivity of the region will be

improved. Further, it will give an impetus to local tourism and will generate employment in the region.

These airports, through connectivity and increased economic activity, would contribute to the overall economic development of the people of these regions,”Aviation Ministry said in a statement.

all respondents to file replies, if any.

Justice Brijesh Sethi has also reserved his order on the application moved by a firm, which was acquitted in the 2G scam-related money laundering case, seeking to release its properties worth Rs 22 crore attached by ED. —ANI

from all over the world & go a long way in propagating Gurusahab’’s philosophy of ‘’sarbat da bhala’’. I’’m grateful to @ AmitShah Ji for making this possible,” she tweeted on Wednesday.

The FCRA registration will be valid for a period of five years, sources said. —PTI

LS MPs to mark attendance via mobile app New Delhi: In a first, Members of Parliament in Lok Sabha will have to register their attendance digitally using a mobile application - Attendance Register App amid coronavirus pandemic. According to sources, the app is designed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to curtail the risk of COVID-19 spread as they will not have to use or touch the attendance register.

MPs have to be present inside the Parliament to register themselves using the coordinates provided by the app.

“The app will work only in the Parliament premises. The MPs will have to take their face shot and upload it to identify themselves.

Then they have to register themselves and their attendance will be marked in the safest way possible in this pandemic,” added a senior official.

—ANI

HEAD CONSTABLE DIES OF ACCIDENTAL FIRING IN KURNOOL Kurnool: A head constable from the Andhra Pradesh Special Police 2nd batallion reportedly died due to accidental firing from his service pistol in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district on Thursday morning, informed police. The head constable identified as Soloman Raju was then taken to the Government General Hospital in Kurnool for treatment, but was declared dead by the doctors. The police officials have registeed a case under section 174 of the CrPC at the Kurnool 4 town police station. Probe is underway.

INDIA AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

Union ministry stated that such symptomatic negative cases could remain RT-PCT untested

UTS TO TEST ALL SYMPTOMATIC -VE New Delhi: Union Health Ministry has noted that in some large States, symptomatic negative cases tested by Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) are not being followed up by RT-PCT testing. The Guidelines of ICMR as well as the Union Health Ministry clearly state that the following two specific categories of persons must necessarily be retested through RT-PCR tests: (1) All symptomatic (fever or cough or breathlessness) negative cases of Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT).

(2) Asymptomatic negative cases of RAT that develop symptoms within 2 to 3 days of being tested negative.

In this background, the Union Health Ministry and ICMR have jointly written to all the States/UTs and urged them to ensure that the all symptomatic negative cases of RAT are mandatorily retested using the RT-PCR test.

This is necessary to ensure that such sympto-

‘Test, treatment, containment’ government motto

A Healthcare worker collects swab sample from a woman for COVID-19 testing in New Delhi.

matic negative cases do not remain untested and do not spread the disease among their contacts. This will also ensure early detection and isolation/hospitalization of such false negatives. It has also been reiterated in the joint letter that while the RAT is being used to increase access and availability of testing in the field, RT-PCR remains the gold standard of COVID tests.

Serum halts India trials of Covid-19 vaccine New Delhi: Serum Institute of India on Thursday said it is putting on hold clinical trials of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine for which it has been enlisted to manufacture a billion doses. “We are reviewing the situation and pausing India trials,” SII, the world’s big-

gest vaccine manufacturer by volume, said in a brief statement. The pause by Serum Institute came after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) issued it a show-cause notice asking why trials should not be suspended in India until patient safety is established.

Mamata govt has ‘antiHindu’ mindset: Nadda

Senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Singh quits party

New Delhi: “Even Rabindranath Tagore’s legacy was sullied by TMC-backed land mafia at Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan,” BJP president JP Nadda said Launching an attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress in WB, BJP chief JP Nadda on Thursday accused the Mamata Banerjee government of having an “anti-Hindu mindset and spawning political violence in the state, which has claimed the lives of over 100 BJP workers”. The fact that West Bengal is going to elections next year was not lost on Nadda as he accused the TMC government of pursuing “minority appeasement” policies.

“When the entire country was watching the ‘bhoomi pujan’ (of Ram temple in Ayodhya), Mamata Banerjee imposed a lockdown in West Bengal on August 5 to prevent people from being part of the occasion at the local level,” Nadda said while digi-

JP Nadda addresses West Bengal BJP State Executive Meeting via video conferencing, in New Delhi.

LAYING THE ROADMAP

tally addressing the newly-formed state committee of the saffron party.

“In sharp contrast, lockdown was withdrawn due to Bakrid. This shows that the state government’s policies are driven by an anti-Hindu mindset and appeasement politics,” PTI quoted Nadda as saying. Laying the roadmap for next year’s assembly elections, Nadda said, “In

2011, we had a 2% vote share in Bengal with 4 seats. In 2014, we got 2 seats but vote share rose to 18%. In 2019, we got a vote share of 40%. We have to continue at the same speed and in the coming elections, we’ve to defeat TMC.” He also accused Banerjee of becoming “a barrier between the people of Bengal and good schemes that would benefit the needy”.

withstanding anything in the Official Secrets Act 1923 (19 of 1923) nor any of the exemptions permissible in accordance with subsection (1), a public authority may allow access to information, if the public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interest.”

Supporting the RTI petition, activist Mahesh Pandya said that for the sake of medical ethics, any patient’s name cannot be revealed, but they (hospital authorities) cannot deny issuing relevant data. “The government is answerable to the

public. The applicant must appeal to the highest authority and approach the commissioner to invoke Section 18 of the Act,” he said.

Even the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Hospital denied revealing the same information by invading any patient’s privacy.

Patna: Former Union minister Raghuvnash Prasad Singh, 74, on Thursday quit the RJD amid speculation that he could join the ruling Janata Dal ( United), or JD (U), ahead of the assembly polls in Bihar due next month. “ I hav e stood solidly behind you for 32 years after the death of [former Bihar chief minister] Jannayak Karpoori Thakur. But not anymore. I have received lots of affection from the party, supporters, and people.

Forgive me,” Singh wrote in the note.

New Delhi: Test, treatment and containment is the motto of the government of India for dealing with COVID-19 pandemic, said BJP leader Anil Jain on Thursday.

Replying to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations regarding Central government’s incapability in dealing with the prevention and management of COVID-19 pandemic, Jain said people around the world have recognised and praised the Indian government’s efforts.

“People know that the steps that were taken were necessary and if not taken on time, we would have been in a far worse

tions of “money trail” in connection with a money laundering case

WHO WILL BE THE FIRST CHAIRMAN, NRA ?

The million dollar question is - who will be the first Chairman of the newly constituted National Recruitment Agency (NRA) ? One thing is certain that any retired IAS officer is likely to be appointed the first Chairman. Names of some IAS officers, sources say, are already doing the round for the post.

WHO WILL BE NEW SECRETARY, DOPT ON OCT 1 ?

ARUN KUMAR MEHTA TO JOIN GOI AS SECRETARY situation,” said Jain.

He accepted that the spread of COVID-19 in the country is increasing, but added that the capability of the country to deal with the pandemic is also increasing. “The average recovery rate in the country is increasing. The mortality rate in the country is far lesser than most country around the world. If cases are increasing, our capability to deal with them is also increasing,” he said.

Arun Kumar Mehta is all set to join the Government of India as Secretary. He is 1988 batch IAS officer of J & K cadre.

IRS OFFICER DHEERAJ GARG TO JOIN GOVT OF HARYANA ON DEPUTATION

Dheeraj Garg will be joining the Government of Haryana in Excise & Taxation department on deputation basis. He is an IRS-IT officer.

MS. NILA MOHANAN APPOINTED AS DEPUTY SECRETARY, DOPT

Ms. Nila Mohanan has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the DoPT. She is a 2007 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre.

ABHIRAM SANKAR APPOINTED AS DEPUTY DIRECTOR, LBSNAA, MUSSOORIE

Abhiram G Sankar has been appointed as Deputy Director at Deputy Secretary level in theLBSNAA, Mussoorie. He is a 2011 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.

IRS OFFICER TO BE OSD TO MAHARASHTRA MINISTER

Sachin Balasaheb Sawant has been appointed OSD to Uday Samant, Minister of Higher and Technical Education, Maharashtra. He is a 2008 batch IRS(C&CE) officer.

TRANSFER ORDER OF IAS OFFICER CANCELLED

The MHA has cancelled the transfer order of Mukesh Prasad to A&N Islands. Now he will remain with the Delhi govt. He is a 2007 batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer. legend to shower his guidance to NSD for achieving new heights,” stated the NSD tweet.

Paresh Rawal will be taking over the position of chairman from prominent theatre artist Arjun Deo Charan who is chairing it at present. —ANI

Deepak Kochhar was arrested since he remained evasive: ED Mumbai: The ED which arrested Deepak Kochhar, husband of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, over allegations that he had received Rs 64 crore for his company from the Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL), said that he remained evasive on the ques-

POWER Gallery

All eyes are on the appointment of new Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), as the incumbent Dr. C Chandramouli is superannuating on September 30, 2020.

Paresh Rawal is new NSD chief New Delhi: The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday appointed veteran actor Paresh Rawal as the new chairman of the National School of Drama (NSD).

The school made the announcement about its new chairman through a tweet. “We are glad to inform ‘Hon’ble President of India @rashtrapatibhvn has appointed renowned actor & Padma Shri @sirpareshrawal as chairman of @nsd_india.’ NSD family welcome the

06

involving loan to the tune of Rs 1,730 crore to Videocon group and Venugopal Dhoot.

Deepak was arrested on Monday by the ED sleuths after several hours of questioning at its Mumbai office under the sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

AJAY KUMAR SINGH IS PRESS SECRETARY TO PRESIDENT

Ajay Kumar Singh has been appointed as Press Secretary to the President on contract basis.

DEPUTATION TENURE OF RAKESH AGGARWAL AS JOINT DIRECTOR, CBI EXTENDED

The deputation tenure of Rakesh Aggarwal working as Joint Director in CBI, has been extended for a period of two years till September 2, 2022. He is a 1994 batch IPS officer of HP cadre.

GANGADHARAN STANDS RELIEVED TO JOIN MINISTRY OF CULTURE

C Gangadharan stands relieved to join as Director, Ministry of Culture. He is a CSS officer.

P C KOUL PROMOTED AS ADDL SECRETARY, LOK SABHA

P C Koul, Joint Secretary, has been promoted as Additional Secretary in Lok Sabha.

MRS ABHA SINGH PROMOTED AS ADDL SECRETARY, LOK SABHA

Mrs Abha Singh Yaduvanshi, Joint Secretary, has been promoted as Additional Secretary in LS. By arrangement with: http:// whispersinthecorridors.com

FROM PAGE 1 A’bad Civil... or electronic media for information regarding COVID-19 without prior permission of the Health and Family Welfare department’” Vora told First India.

Meanwhile, RTI activist Harinesh Pandya termed the refusal a ‘mechanical’ denial.

“The hospital cannot deny information under RTI. It must share the information requested for in the larger interests of the public or else it will be deemed a grave violation of the RTI Act,” he said.

According to Section 8(2) of the RTI, “Not-

Rafale’s roar...

Meanwhile Singh said the government is determined to do “everything possible” to protect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Singh’s stern message to the neighbouring country came hours

ahead of an expected meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the margins of a SCO conclave in Moscow. —ANI

India occupies... has now occupied the heights which overlook the Chinese positions at heights including the Green top.

The Chinese have been sitting at Finger 4 from around April-May timeframe but have refused to disengage from there and other friction points in eastern Ladakh sector.

In another development, armies of India and China held interactions at Brigade Commander-level and Commanding Officer-level in eastern Ladakh on Thursday which are aimed at keeping the communication lines open between the two sides. —ANI

Plaint against...

It said that Ranaut, on September 9, circulated a video on social media in which she used “inflammatory and derogatory words” against Uddhav Thackeray and by doing this she has “tried to diminish the charac-

ter and challenged the dignity” of the CM of Maharashtra.

Another complaint, filed by advocate Nitin Mane at Vikhroli police station, also accused Ranaut of insulting the CM. Meanwhile, in another development the BMC has issued a showcause notice to designer Manish Malhotra for ‘unauthorised construction’ in his residential premises.

SC: EMI... while hearing a batch of petitions seeking waiver of interest, or waiver of interest on interest on the suspend-

ed EMIs during the extended moratorium period amid the nationwide lockdown due to the covid-19 outbreak.

The apex court will continue hearing in the case on 28 September.

The three-judge bench took on record the submissions made by the solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre.

RIL offers... is willing to sell an up to 40 per cent stake in the retail business to Amazon, the agency reported. Neither Amazon nor Reliance Industries responded to requests for

comment. Reliance Retail, with close to 12,000 stores selling a wide range of products, acquired rival Future Group’s retail arm last month. —Agencies

Bulls cheer...

Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty PSU bank gaining by 2.46 per cent, private bank by 1 per cent and financial service by 0.7 per cent.

Among stocks, index heavyweight Reliance Industries hit a record high to Rs 2,314.65 per share, up 7.1 per cent on BSE —ANI

TALKING POINT AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

07

RATHER THAN COUNTING CALORIES, THERE IS A DIET THAT COUNTS MACRONUTRIENTS (FATS, CARBOHYDRATES, AND PROTEINS) FOUND IN THE FOODS AND DRINKS WE CONSUME

CALORIES OR

MACROS

W

hile reducing calorie intake is a proven way to reduce your weight, there’s no shortage of diets promising the same results but with more flexibility. One such popular diet is “If It Fits Your Macros” (IIFYM), which offers users less restriction in what they eat, while still guaranteeing results.

Rather than counting calories, IIFYM counts the daily macronutrients (fats, carbohydrates, and proteins) found in the foods and drinks we consume. Many people like the diet because it offers flexibility and allows them to consume any food as long as it fits into their daily macronutrient (“macro”) requirements.

However, there’s currently no scientific research that has specifically examined whether counting

macros is as effective as other methods in achieving different weight goals.

Past research has looked into the effects of reducing or manipulating individual macros for weight loss, such as comparing the effect of consuming a low-fat versus low-carbohydrate diet or comparing four diets containing different proportions of fat, carbohydrate and protein.

Ultimately, researchers found no significant, long-term difference between the diets on how much weight they helped people lose – and all are difficult to adhere to in the long term.

As such, this makes it difficult to know whether counting calories or macros is more useful when it comes to your different body weight goals.

MUSCLE GAIN

O

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI DESIGN: CP SHARMA

n the opposite end of the spectrum are people looking to gain weight to build muscle.

Someone looking to gain muscle would need to increase their basic daily protein intake to around 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight for muscles to repair any microdamage that occurs from resistance or strength training which is necessary for muscle growth.

As well as protein, energy and carbohydrate needs must also be met to ensure the body has enough fuel available to work out. This is where keeping track of macros, instead of counting calories, could be useful to ensure all protein and carbohydrate requirements are met. Timings of macros are also important for muscle growth. Research shows regular protein intake throughout the day and after exercise, rather than large single doses, is recommended for muscle growth and refuelling. Ultimately, which method you choose for altering body weight and composition depends on your goals and how motivated and tech savvy you are. If you are keen t o learn more about the nutrients in the food you are eating then counting macros may be for you. For those who find endless counting and monitoring tedious it may be easier to follow more general guidance for weight loss or maintenance or for bulking up.

WEIGHT LOSS

T

he basic principle to achieving weight loss is eat less energy than your body requires on a daily basis and you will lose weight. Any diet can lead to weight loss as long as this basic principle is applied.

The tricky part is establishing what our energy requirements really are. The most practical and accurate measure of this, indirect calorimetry (a measurement of the gases that we breathe from which energy expenditure can be estimated), is still not 100% accurate. And the prediction equations commonly used in dietary counselling and by online apps to set calorie intake goals for weight loss are even more inaccurate.

This is especially so in those who are overweight or obese due to the equations being based on body weight, and not taking account of fat mass.

But whether you’re counting calories or macros, you still need this starting point to work from to keep within your targets. While our actual energy

requirements are uncertain and can vary greatly depending on how active we are, our requirements for macronutrients are more certain, based on gov-

ernment guidelines.

An advantage of counting macros is that it ensures that some essential nutrients are incorporated into your diet,

instead of focusing solely on calories. Counting calories takes no account of nutrients.

And while it seems obvious that choosing wholesome nutritious sources of calories is better than processed, highsugar and saturated fat foods, you could hypothetically eat seven chocolate bars (each worth 228 calories, a total of 1,596 calories) and still lose weight if your total energy expenditure is around 2,000 calories a day.

Macro calculations are estimated based on body weight, height and activity levels and can be adjusted to your weight goal. While fewer restrictions on what to eat may be a bonus for some on IIFYM, for others keeping track of macro intake and hitting those targets can be difficult and time consuming.

Whatever you’re counting you’ll require an affinity for reading food labels and keeping a re-

cord of all foods and fluids consumed throughout the day. While there are numerous online nutritional databases and apps that help you track macros and calories, they may not always be accurate either. Plus there’s the added complication that we may not actually absorb all of the energy or nutrients that food labels list, making it even harder to meet specific targets.

Additionally, neither method will guarantee that you meet all of your other nutrient requirements. For example, as macros only focus on carbs, protein and fats, they may overlook the importance of other vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, which are essential for staying healthy and preventing deficiencies. Unless combined with dietary advice about making permanent changes to a healthy balanced diet, neither method is a long-term solution to weight loss or maintenance.

If you act and think as per what is right and wrong and the value system, not personal gain- then you are a man of integrity.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

Autorickshaw owners move Guj HC for govt aid First India Bureau

Haresh Jhala

Ahmedabad: Autorickshaw owners have approached the Gujarat High Court seeking a directive to the State Government to provide them financial assistance since their incomes took a big hit during the Covid-enforced lockdown period and beyond.

Jagrut Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union has filed a public interest litigation through advocate K R Koshti. Before the first lockdown was imposed on March 21, their average monthly income ranged from Rs 12,000 to 15,000 and this stopped completely for over 2 months, the Union submitted. The Union said several auto drivers and owners had committed suicide be-

Ahmedabad: Left with a Hobson’s choice over the issue of fees for lockdown period, private schools in the State have come up with a solution of sorts.

They submitted in the Gujarat High Court on Thursday that they were willing to work out a fee discount scheme but only for deserving students and not for all.

This was after the State Government pleaded before the High Court that it could not implement the direction issued by the court to issue a circular on fee exemption. The government had pointed out that after the court’s instructions it convened meetings with an open mind with the Self-Financed (private)

—FILE PHOTO

THEY SAY NOT ALL PARENTS’ INCOME HIT, SO DISCOUNT SHOULD BE ONLY FOR NEEDY

Schools Management Association twice, but to no avail.

They had turned down the State’s proposal to give 25 per cent discount in school fees to all stu-

dents. Following this, the high court had sought the schools’ reply in the ongoing hearings over the issue.

In its response to the court, the association

submitted that the school managements had agreed to the State Government’s suggestion against any fee hike for the current academic year. However, the discount formula

PRACTICAL SOLUTION?

suggested by the State was not viable.

The association stated that the management was ready to work out a discount from 10 per cent to 100 per cent but only on a case-to-case basis and not across the board.

Strongly defending the position taken by the Self-Financed School Management Association, its president Ajay Patel from Rajkot asserted that, “It is not that the income of the parents of all the students has been adversely af-

fected during the Covid-19 crisis.”

“Parents of a good number of students are working with the corporate sector and their incomes have not been affected. Why should the schools’ management give discounts to students from such financially sound background,” he went on.

Ajay Patel said the schools’ management were in fact willing “to give even 100 per cent fee exemptions to students whose family have lost their source of income.”

Shah kickstarts welfare schemes in Gandhinagar

WHITHER MODEL STATE?

First India Bureau New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated Rs 15.01 crore development schemes in Gandhinagar district and city, while also laying the foundation for projects worth Rs 119.63 crore.

The schemes, which he inaugurated and launched for his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency through video conferencing, include Smart City projects, upgradation of gardens, road widening and new classrooms in Girls School. Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel also attended the function from Rupaal village.

Speaking on the occasion, Shah said, “I am confident that under the leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, we all will endeavour to make Gandhinagar a model Lok Sabha constituency.”

Notwithstanding the tall claims of Gujarat being a model state of development, there are still villages which do not even have arterial roads. People in Ganava village in Sabarkantha district's Poshina taluka have to carry their sick people in a cloth bag of sorts to the nearest hospital.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday virtually inaugurated development works in his Gandhinagar constituency.

I am confident that under the leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, we all will endeavour to make Gandhinagar a model Lok Sabha constituency.

—Amit Shah, Union Home Minister and Gandhinagar MP

The union minister said the country was fighting the Covid-19 crisis under the leadership of Modi and in Gujarat under the stewardship of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

“As a result of these continuous efforts, there has been a decline

in the casualty rate while the recovery rate had improved,” Shah said.

However, the Union Home Minister stressed on public awareness and strict maintenance of social distancing norms by the people to tackle the pandemic.

ITIs TO REOPEN FROM SEPT 21 BUT IN PHASES First India Bureau

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat Government on Thursday announced that Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), which were shut because of the nationwide lockdown, would reopen on September 21.

The decision has been taken in view of an advisory by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to reopen ITIs.

Gujarat Secretariat.

Additional Chief Secretary (Labour and Employment) Vipul Mittra said to ensure social distancing and in view of capacity and space

—FILE PHOTO

constraints, the ITIs would have staggered batch timings.

“The classes for courses of 6 months, 1 year and the second

year of 2-year courses will commence from September 21, while classes for the first year of 2-year courses will start from October 1.

We have issued instructions to ensure that guidelines issued by the State Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare are adhered to,” Mittra said.

The examinations for various courses will be held in November.

—FILE PHOTO

Schools agree to fee discount, but ‘only for those hit more by Covid’

08

cause of financial crisis. Though they had represented their case before the government, there was no action and so they approached the high court. Citing instances of other states, the Union submitted that the government should compensate them too. Andhra Pradesh Government gave financial assistance of Rs 10,000 to 2.62 lakh auto and taxi drivers, while Karnataka Government provided relief of Rs 5,000, the Union stated.

Two more persons held with Meow Meow drug First India Bureau Surat: Days after the Special Operations Group (SOG) nabbed 2 persons with 100 gm of banned drugs called mephedrone, popularly known as Meow Meow, 2 more persons were arrested on Wednesday in the same trail with the same synthetic stimulant worth Rs 3.25 lakh from Dindoli area in Surat.

They bought the drug from Imtiaz Malek, who was caught with 100 gm of the same substance and currently under custody of Puna police station, a police official said.

The 2 were caught with 60.5 gm of mephedrone under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. They have been identified as Anil Prajapati and Debashish alias Sunny Chaudhary.

OUT-OF-THE-BOX IDEA

What’s cooking? All not lost for Covid-stung Rehmatben A cooperative of sorts initiated by NGO ‘Utthan’ is helping thousands of families in 4 Gujarat districts 

First India Bureau Bhavnagar: All her small world came apart for Rehmatben Sheikh, a resident of Konjdi village in Bhavnagar district, first after her two sons lost their jobs during the Covid-enforced lockdown in March.

And then, her work as an agricultural labourer stopped.

This jolt came during the Rabi harvest period, which would otherwise bring in a decent amount of money. Although her sons got some earnings through works under NREGA, the income was woefully inadequate to meet the expenses.

Just then came a blessing in disguise in the form of an initiative called ‘Gardens

of Hope - Emergency Kitchen Gardens’.

Started by Gujarat based NGO, Utthan, the programme is helping rural communities in four Gujarat districts of Bhavnagar, Dahod, Mahisagar and Panchmahal to grow their own chemical-free food at home so that their nutritional needs are met despite the financial crunch during the lock-

A cooperative kitchen garden started by NGO Utthan is helping thousands of villages tide over Covid-19 crisis.

down and the consequent livelihood crisis.

What makes this initiative stand out is that

each family growing vegetables will have to

share the produce with 3 other families who do not have land, water resources or currently not growing vegetables.

Rehmatben joined the training sessions on gardening conducted by Utthan in May-June. Since she did not have enough space in her backyard, she decided to begin farming on her rooftop.

“We received a gardening kit with seeds (150 grams per person) and organic fertiliser for free — and using that I set up my garden. I am

growing cluster beans, bitter gourd and okra, and share the produce with 3 other families.

This solution is helping all of us save money and get healthy food,” says Rehmatben.

Now that she has acquired the expertise, she is planning to increase her production post lockdown and earn a stable income from it.

Rehmatben’s family is one of the thousands of families who are reaping benefits under this sustainable programme.

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

09

AHMEDABAD, FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

City First digs into the fusion of science and fashion to make a wearable technology & how these innovations are transforming the fashion industry today!

KARISHMA GWALANI karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

S

cience plays a major role in the design development of fashion clothing and accessories, just a glimpse into the past will confirm enough to be true. It’s not a jumbled business of clothes and colours, loosely thrown together, rather, a well-organised industry driven by the sciences, from market research to weaving, printing, dyeing, pattern making, and incorporating scientific interventions that support artist’s continuum.

How about having a single garment that one can use both in the summer and winter one that would change texture, colour and even shape in response to external environments? How about wearing an electric lights garment with the sensor to turn on and off the lights, when required? All these are gradually transcending from being mere fantasies to reality.

Let’s look at how the future and already present technology can reshape the fashion landscape. Digital clothing that incorporates sensors in the very clothing that one wears and other fascinating possibilities lie in store-courtesy the largely interdisciplinary explorations into the field of fabric and fashion technology.

The performative nature of fashion makes it a perfect medium for exploring these new ideas. Especially in the context of dialogue between the body of the wearer and their environment, including interactions with other individuals.

At the periphery of a wider conversation about FashionTech, in both digital/webbased and wearable based technologies is the integration of multi-disciplinary sciences into product concepts. Incredible hybrid products are growing out of interdisciplinary collaborations, using the skills of scientists, computer engineers, manufacturers and fashion designers.

Collaborations are leading to exciting new products by utilising the skills of different industries to create something inventive and efficient. These infinite possibilities have more space to evolve yet, but with a continuous stream of the new and exciting pushes, the fashion industry is not far away from reaching the goal towards the future of fashion.

HOLLYWOOD www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

GURMAN SINGH cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

C

FA CE OF TH ED AY

hris Hemsworth is Hollywood’s leading man, literally. Maybe it’s his Australian-ness. Maybe it’s his hobbies (surfing, boxing). Maybe it’s that he plays a Norse god, complete with godlike biceps. He is the man who plays one of Marvel’s fittest, most muscular superheroes.

We all know the Flan-Haired One came to fame as a stoic alphagod in Thor. Even in his artistic breakout—in Rush—he was a hard-drinking, model-shagging Formula One racer. And with a packed slate of starring roles in 2015, from playing the world’s toughest hacker in Blackhat to reprising his role as the God of Hair and Hammer in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hemsworth isn’t letting off the gas.

Hemsworth the rare Hollywood leading man who is actually robust and manly in the characters he plays. He’s not a Method guy.

His philosophy, cribbed from Anthony Hopkins on the set of Thor is “Don’t bring it home.

Don’t even bring it to the makeup trailer.” That’s not to say he hasn’t endured some intense physical prep, most recently limiting himself to 500 calories a day on the set of Ron Howard’s upcoming whaling saga, In the Heart of the Sea, to achieve that emaciated castaway look. But the craziest thing Hemsworth’s done to get into character was sit in Michael Mann’s office and learn to type.

For ten weeks.

His most critically acclaimed films include the comedy horror The Cabin in the Woods (2012).

He also had filmed Men in Black: International, the reboot of the MiB franchise that Hemsworth co-helms with Tessa Thompson, and starred in the Netflix thriller Extraction, After being watched by 90 a million households in its initial month of release, the movie broke Netflix’s viewership record previously held by Bird Box. Hemsworth’s charisma holds together whenever it threatens to spin apart. He won the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Sci-Fi Movie Actor.

He has also been honored with British Academy Film Awards, People’s Choice Awards. MTV Movie Awards and Critics’ Choice Awards In 2019, Hemsworth launched a fitness app called Centr, focused on how to train, eat, and live better.

10

The Manliest Man in HOLLYWOOD

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

You are a person with good looks. Trust your instincts thats all. In business sometimes you loose and sometimes you gain but you have to keep moving forward. You are filling your karma bank balance with good deeds. Doubtful nature becomes very irritating for others to tolerate.

If you have unconsciously made some mistake then don’t get too hard on yourself. Do as you wish as long as you are prepared for the consequences. Be professional when it comes to dealing with official matters. Make peace with your past.

You are very curious by nature.

On home front, some thing are best left for no discussion. Health is fine as per your cards. Getting rewarded is sure shot thing but when is the question. Your spouse will give you the wings to fly high. Curious nature is a sign of active intelligent brains. Love yourself.

A business person needs an investor and for that you need to look for the right person. Any tempting deal which leads you to compromise on your ethics shall be avoided for sure. Finally you will get something that you have been waiting for. Life goes around in circles.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

Be soft with your tone when talking with your seniors.

Solve your problem before it gets out of your hands. In life things do not always happen according to our plans, its ok to change your plans and readjust overtime. You work hard and then play hard.

Every time whenever you achieve something always express your gratitude to people who contributed in your journey. Don’t be scared of what will happen in the future, you just need to relax and enjoy your present or least try to live and breathe free.

Your expressions make things clear.

Remember those whelped you in challenging times so that you can someday return their favour without asking. Seeking comfort in life isn’t a problem but only seeking comfort all-time with not willing to do anything is a big problem. Adjusting nature is what makes you special.

Curing the need to do something without really giving ay though is a mature thing to do. Making big decisions after carefully planning and evaluating all the options is a sure shot thing. Creating hope for the one who has lost is a great move.

Blessings from elders is certain.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Giving lectures to others is easy but practising what you preach isn’t. Scoring high percentage in not necessary but knowing everything that has been taught is very very important. Available information must be used to its full potential and it can change the course of your research.

Always taking side of someone irrespective of the fact if they are right or wrong needs to be stopped. You can confess to your parents if you think you have done something wrong as only they can protect you. Limits and few set rules are very important for everything.

Excellent cooking skills has helped you in winning your spouse’s heart. You are very conscious of how you look and you take your dressing and aesthetic very seriously. You have a hard shell wrapped around you but you are very soft from inside. Helping someone is a good thing to do.

You can very quickly fool people into believing what you are saying. Working without breaks isn’t good for your own health so don’t take it lightly. Pursue your career as per your liking and most likely it will be something either related to medicals or law. Self control is appreciative.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

DISHA MADAN, Content Creator

AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

ETC www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

11

...her post

Shibani Dandekar

SHIBANI SLAMS ANKITA

H

ours after Ankita Lokhande penned an elaborate letter explaining her stand on Sushant Singh Rajput’s death probe, Shibani Dandekar called out the actress. She said Ankita has played “a major role in this witch-hunt.”

“Such a grotesque letter by (Anki-

Ankita Lokhande

ta). This princess of patriarchy who has never dealt with her own relationship issues with Sushant, clearly she wants her two seconds of fame and has capitalised on Rhea being targeted. She has played a major role in this ‘witch-hunt’ and she needs to be called out! She also just needs to shut the hell up. Enough Ankita! No one has

more hate in their heart (?) than you,” Shibani wrote.

The backlash came after Ankita said, “When she very well knew about his mental state by publicly stating that he was in depression. Should she have allowed a depressed man to consume drugs? How is that going to help? His condition would deteriorate

The feminist theme in BW

Birthday wishes for Anurag Kashyap

A

s Indian film director Anurag Kashyap celebrated his 48th birthday on Thursday, stars in the Bollywood industry wished him on social media.

His daughter Aaliyah Kashyap was one of the first ones to wish the filmmaker on social media. While she took to social media to wish daddy on his birthday, Aaliyah posted two pictures on her Instagram stories to wish him and alongside the photos, she wrote, “Happy Birthday Papa. Love you and miss you so much.”

Later, Taapsee Pannu, who has worked with Anurag in Manmarziyaan, took to Instagram to pen a note for her ‘punching bag’.

Sharing a photo with the birthday boy, Taapsee’s note read, “Happy Birthday to my official punching bag!”

—Agency

to a level that would make a man take the action that SSR has allegedly taken. She was the closest person to him at that time. On one hand, she says she was coordinating with all the doctors for his betterment of health on request of SSR, and on the other hand, she was coordinating drug logistics for him.”

—Agency

W

hile Natasha Romanoff ’s fate in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ destroyed MCU (Marcel Cinematic Universe) fans, it was indeed a pleasant, welcome surprise that a Black Widow movie was in the works. Set at a time period between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, we get in touch with Nat’s previous comrades before becoming an Avenger. In a recent interview, Johansson spoke candidly about the feminist themes in Black Widow. “I think this film, in particular, is very much reflective of what’s going on in regards to the Time’s Up movement and the #MeToo movement,” Scarlett disclosed. The 35-year-old actress felt that it would be such a miss if they didn’t address that stuff and take that head-on. Moreover, the Oscar-nominated star shared with Empire that for Black Widow director Cate Shortland, it was so important to make a movie about “women who are helping other women, who lift other women up out of a very difficult situation.” —Agency

Kangana Ranaut

‘BMC NEVER SENT ANY NOTICE’

T

erming a document stating that BMC had sent a notice regarding unauthorised construction in her Mumbai in 2018, as “fake,” actor Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday said that BMC had never “sent any notice” to her until Tuesday.

The ‘Queen’ actor took to Twitter to share a copy of the said document and accused the Maharashtra government of “spreading fake” information. “Paid sources of Maha government are spreading fake info, BMC never sent

any notice to me until yesterday,” she tweeted. “In fact I got all the documents cleared myself from BMC for renovations. [?]@mybmc [?] at least have the courage to stand by your audacity. why lie now?,” she added.

The document dated October 20, 2018, had been doing rounds on Twitter since Wednesday morning.

On Thursday afternoon, Kangana reached her office in Mumbai after the act took place.

—ANI Scarlett Johansson

Anurag Kashyap

BIG B BACK TO WORK

M

Amitabh Bachchan

egastar Amitabh Bachchan, weeks after recovering from COVID-19, is back to shooting and is cautiously following all the necessary precautionary measures.

The legendary actor is currently shooting for his muchloved television quiz show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati,’ and has been sharing pictures

...his post

from the set on social media platforms. Bachchan who is shooting for the 12th season of the famous show took to Twitter dur-

ing the wee hours of Thursday and shared a collage of his pictures from the show’s set. The picture features crew members of

the show clad in PPE Kits, masks, gloves, and shields as they give some final touch-ups to the superstar.

Alongside the pictures, the ‘Sholay’ actor tweeted: “be safe .. be in precaution .. at work and in caution ..”

On August 24, announcing the beginning of the shooting for the new season of his show, Bachchan wrote: “It’s back to work .. in a sea of blue PPE .. KBC 12 .. started 2000 .. today year 2020 .. 20 years ! Amaze .. that’s a lifetime.” —ANI

Bear Grylls & Akshay Kumar

AK Drinks Cow Urine Everyday

D

uring an interesting live session on Instagram, Bear Grylls, Akshay Kumar and Huma Qureshi had quite a fun chat. Bear and Akshay spoke about their episode of ‘Into The Wild’ which both of them had shot together. Huma asked them about the ‘elephant poo tea’ that they were seen consuming during the show’s promo. Surprisingly, Akshay went on to say that it wasn’t anything new for him, as he drinks cow urine every day, keeping the Ayurvedic in mind. —Agency

CITY BUZZ www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

12

Miracles with Paws

DOCUMENTARY RELEASED!

RASHI CHAUDHARY cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

CM Ashok Gehlot with Jigyasa Gaur, Aarti Bhagotiya, Ramesh Sankhla along with other members of Rajasthan Accounts Service, on the occasion of the release of a documentary on Rajasthan Transparency in Public Procurement act-2012 which explains the provision and rules of the act in simple language, on Wednesday. CM Ashok Gehlot released the 7-hour long documentary, directed by Ramesh Sankha which will be used for training and awareness purposes.

KEEPING SAFE!

Jagdeesh Chandra takes a look at the Foot operated Wood sanitizer presented by Vinod Ajmera at the former’s residence on Thursday. The sanitizer stand has been indigenously designed and handmade by Shobha Kraft Global (SKG), a leading manufacturer and exporter of contemporary handicrafts from Jaipur. The flexible height adjustment function makes it convenient to support sanitizer bottles of different sizes. It is easy to maintain and safe as it ensures hands-free operation making it a mandatory and stylish addition to any home or workplace in these COVID-19 times.

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

T

he virus has seemingly taken a toll on everyone and while nobody can wait to begin the countdown leading to 2021 on New Year’s Eve, let’s look at one of the better things this year has brought us. Since the beginning of the lockdown, there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of pet adoptions all over the world. In order to beat loneliness and stress, people are looking to add a furry friend to their family.

There is a growing mentality of ‘Adopt, don’t shop,’ owing to which stray animals, and those belonging to NGO’s are being taken care of and are being welcomed into loving homes. Recently, in PM Modi’s Mann Ki Baat address, he encouraged people to adopt Indian dog breeds. He emphasized that such breeds are competent, cost-effective and accustomed to our climate.

Some examples of high pedigree dogs he gave are Mudhol Hound and Himachali Hound.

Adopting a pet is a win-win situation. Street animals are provided with food, shelter and love and humans too reap various benefits:

n Pets require daily walks which is good exercise for us too n They help fight loneliness and combat stress, anxiety and depression

n Since we’re all spending most of our time at home, they help take away our boredom

While there are immeasurable benefits to having

JLF LONDON

pets, it is important to note that pets are for life and not just for lockdown. They will require the equal amount of care and attention even when all of this is over. The transition from seeing people all day long to hardly ever can be tough for them so it’s essential that we realize that pets need to be cared for their entire lives. While it’s a big responsibility to care for a pet, there’s also quite no feeling in the world which rivals that of the excited face of your dog waiting for you after a long and weary day of work.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

STARTS TODAY CITY FIRST

RAJASTHAN: On the concluding day of online learning classes ‘Beejakshara’ on Thursday, viewers learned the unique ‘Art of Bookbinding’ on the Facebook page of Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK). The class was conducted by the bookbinder, Rajendra Kumar from Jaipur.

GUJARAT: Committee members of Educated Unemployed stood outside Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad on a protest for jobs on Thursday.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

RAJASTHAN: The Open Mic Poetry competition will be organised today at JKK, to commemorate the occasion of Satyagraha centered on the basic idea and philosophy of non-violence. The theme of the competition is ‘Satyamev Jayate. The winners will be announced on Monday, 14 September, on the occasion of Hindi Diwas.

T

eamwork Arts, the producer of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival, and the British Library are all set to host a virtual edition of the annual JLF London at British Library. The three-day-long Festival will run from 11 – 13 September and celebrate of books, creativity, dialogue, and diversity, bringing South Asia’s unique multilingual literary heritage to life.

Like every year, the Festival features an astonishing diversity in programming with over 50 speakers discussing subjects like fiction, science & technology, food, war, women issues and the ongoing pandemic to name a few. The inaugural session, titled ‘Brave New World’, will be addressed by the Indian High Commissioner to UK, Her Excellency Gaitri Issar Kumar; Festival Co-Directors & eminent authors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple; Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, the Festival producer, Sanjoy K. Roy and Roly Keating,

Chief Executive of the British Library.

The inaugural evening will also feature two marquee sessions. Man Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo will discuss the idea of womxnhood, culture, class, politics and race coursing through her iconic writings. She will speak of the binding power of collective experiences and will give us a peek into the world of her creative process in a conversation with writer Anjum Hasan. Following this, awardwinning author and screenwriter Nayanika Mahtani, National Award-winning actress Vidya Balan and actress & politician Vani Tripathi Tikoo will present a behind-the-scenes look at the recently-released biopic on the life of the mathematical genius, the Late Shakuntala Devi. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Haridev Khatri greets and offers a sweet to his wife Vimla on her 72nd birthday celebration at Bikaner on Thursday.

Haridev and Vimla with their daughter and son-in-law Rekha and Dinesh Mehndiratta and twin granddaughters Khushaali and Khushangi.

HAPPY B’DAY!

RAJASTHAN: Ahuja Production shot the third promo of Rajasthan Culture Heritage at Laxmi Palace in Banipark on Thursday. Show director Devesh Ahuja said that dresses of Rajasthan were displayed during the shoot.

Interaction with internationally acclaimed artist Roop Singh Shekhawat and Bhavai dance show will be held live at Net-theat on Saturday evening at 8.30 pm.

RAJASTHAN: Manipal University Jaipur (MUJ) is all set to organize an ‘Online Career Counselling’ session on 14 September for the students seeking admission in various programs.

IAS Anjali Rajoria and IPS Anil Paliwal celebrated their birthdays on 10 September, Thursday. We wish them all the best!