First India-Jaipur Edition-14 May 2020

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

27°C - 38°C

ALERT JAIPUR l THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

INDIA

RAJASTHAN

2,95,694 43,94,217 2,551 78,042

GLOBAL STATE OF AFFAIRS COUNTRY TOTAL CASES

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

1,417,398 SPAIN 271,095 RUSSIA 242,271 UK 229,705 ITALY 222,104 BRAZIL 180,737 GERMANY 173,824 TURKEY 143,114 IRAN 112,725 CHINA 82,926

84,175 27,104 2,212 33,186 31,106 12,635 7,792 3,952 6,783 4,633

USA

RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 337

WORLD

DEATHS

+750 +184 +96 +494 +195 +231 +54 +58 +50 +2

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

SET TO RECLAIM SKIES

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121

CONFIRMED CASES

DEATHS

4,328

CONFIRMED CASES

Air India plans to operate special domestic flights from different cities between May 19 and June 2 to help stranded passengers reach home. The flights, will connect Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur etc. However, this is not the beginning of domestic operations as yet. These are as part of Air India’s evacuation operations that have been going on where domestic passengers can also be included. This will facilitate passengers who have been brought from abroad to reach their home states as many of them are at the destination airports.

WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO LAST UPDATED: MAY 13, 2020, 11:00 PM

IN RAJASTHAN DISTRICT

TOTAL CASES

AJMER 235 ALWAR 32 BANSWARA 68 BARAN 3 BARMER 8 BHARATPUR 121 BHILWARA 43 BIKANER 40 CHITTORGARH 142 CHURU 27 DAUSA 28 DHOLPUR 24 DUNGARPUR 13 HANUMANGARH 12 JAIPUR 1342 JAISALMER 41 JALORE 42 JHALAWAR 47 JHUNJHUNU 47 JODHPUR 919 KARAULI 7 KOTA 269 NAGAUR 139 PALI 95 PRATAPGARH 4 RAJSAMAND 26 SWAI MADHOPUR 16 SIKAR 12 SIROHI 14 TONK 144 UDAIPUR 257 OTHER DIST. 5 4222 TOTAL OTHER (Italy) 2 EVACUEES 61 BSF 43 GRAND TOTAL 4328 SAMPLE RECEIVED SAMPLE NEGATIVE

NEW TOTAL CASES DEATH

— +1 +2 — — +2 — — — +3 +1 +3 +2 — +61 +1 +28 — +1 +8 — +5 +2 +27 — +5 +6 +1 +3 +2 +33 +3 +201 — — +1 +202

5 2 1 — — 2 2 2 2 1 — — — — 62 — 1 — — 17 1 10 3 3 1 — 1 2 — 1 — 2(UP) 121 — — — 121

1,94,683 1,86,125

UNDER EXAMINATION

1,699

`3 LAKH CR

FILLIP TO SMALL BIZ Borrowers with up to Rs25 cr outstanding & Rs100 cr turnover eligible for this package; TDS, TCS rates cut puts cash in hand but your tax liability remains same New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced Rs3 lakh crore of collateral-free loans for small businesses, cut the tax rate for non-salary payments and provided liquidity to non-banking companies to help them tide over the disruptions caused by the lockdown.

Announcing the first set of components of the Rs20 lakh crore COVID-19 economic stimulus package announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said Rs 90,000 crore liquidity infusion will be made in electricity distribution companies to help them fight the current financial stress.

Also, dates for filing income tax returns and other assessments have been extended. She said the rate of tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS) for non-salaried payments up to March 31, 2021, will be cut by 25 per cent. The move will release Rs 50,000 crore in the system, she said.

Turn on P6

CEC sets up 3-member panel to study Guj HC order on Min Chudasama moves SC to challenge order New Delhi: In view of Gujarat HC invalidating election of Gujarat minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama from Dholka Assembly seat in 2017, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora has, after discussion with EC SecretaryGeneral Umesh Sinha on telephone, directed a

24 dead in attack on Kabul Hosp Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman briefs media on Economic package, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

KEY ANNOUNCEMENTS  Rs3 lakh crores collateral-free automatic loans for businesses, including MSMEs  Rs 20,000 crores

subordinate debt for stressed MSMEs

 Rs 30,000 crore special liquidity scheme for NBFCs/HFCs/MFIs  Rs 50,000 crores liquidity through TDS/TCS rate reduction  Rs 90000 cr liquidity

 Rs 50,000 cr equity infusion for MSMEs through fund of funds Rs2500 crore EPF support for Business and workers for 3 more months

injection for DISCOMs

 EPF contribution reduced for business and workers for 3 months

 Extension of registration and completion date of real estate projects under RERA

 Extension of up to 6 months (without costs to contractor) by all central agencies

CEC Sunil Arora

3-member committee of officers to study judgment and put up matter to EC at earliest.

In a setback to Gujarat

Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday invalidated the Dholka constituency election results on the ground of malpractice and manipulation.

Meanwhile, Chudasama moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday challenging the High Court’s decision.

Chudasama has sought setting aside of the Tuesday order of the High Court Turn on P6

ONLY MADE IN INDIA AT ARMY CANTEENS: SHAH

Kabul: Afghan officials on Wednesday raised the death from the militant attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul the previous day, saying that 24 people were killed, including two newborn babies, their mothers and an unspecified number of nurses.

Militants stormed the hospital in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shiite neighborhood the western part of Kabul, on Tuesday morning, setting off an hours-long shootout with the police.

As the battle raged, Afghan security forces struggled to evacuate the facility, Turn on P6

New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that only local or indigenous products will be sold at paramilitary canteens across India.

This will be effective from June 1. This move comes as PM Narendra Modi advocated local manufacturers and retailers during his address to the nation on Tuesday. Shah tweeted, “Yesterday PM Modi appealed to citizens to make India self-reliant and urged them to use local products. This move will ensure that India emerges as a global leader in coming days.”

ARMY’S PROPOSES TO ALLOW 3-YR TENURE FOR CIVILIANS New Delhi: The Indian Army is examining a proposal for allowing civilians to join the force for a three-year tenure, officials said. At present, the Army recruits young people under short service commission for an initial tenure of 10 years. “The Army is considering a proposal to allow civilians to join the force for a period of three years,” an Army spokesperson said.

Army has been making various efforts to attract talented young people to join it.

Liberal Gehlot gives business a boost, allows restaurants, shops to open  Corona should not enter our villages: Gehlot  Quarantine system should be strengthened up to Panchayat level: CM  Gehlot asks officials to rope in public representatives to ensure cooperation from migrants and for developing proper facilities

Kartikey Dev Singh Jaipur: Missing your favourite delicacy?

Want to buy a new phone? How about getting the faulty electronic device repaired?? For the past 50 days, you have not had a sample of your favorites in life, courtesy the lockdown. However, easing your ‘cravings’, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot gave a green signal to restaurants, eateries and sweet shops to open for take away and home delivery only.

CM Ashok Gehlot during a video conference on Wednesday, where DB Gupta, Rajeeva Swarup, Bhupendra Singh and Amit Dhaka were present.

Apart from this all Dhabas on highways too will open across the state.

In addition to the shops permitted to be opened as per all previous orders,

now hardware shops (for plumbing, carpentry, paint, etc.), building ma-

terial shops, AC, cooler, electronic, electric material shops, electronic repair shops and service, automobile sale outlets will open across the state.

All above shops shall necessarily maintain safety precaution norms prescribed for work place as per previous guidelines issued i.e. social distancing, wearing masks, not selling a customer who is not wearing a mask, frequent sanitization, etc.

Meanwhile, earlier on Wednesday, CM said that the quarantine system will have to be given special at-

tention to maintain the success that the government has so far achieved, in controlling the corona infection.

“Till now, cases of corona were coming up in the cities, and to ensure that the infection does not spread to villages, strengthening of the quarantine system is very important,” Gehlot said asserting that there should be no inconvenience to the migrants and at the same time there should be adequate arrangements for monitoring the people kept in quarantine.

Turn on P6

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JAIPUR | THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020

02

COVID CRISIS? STAND TALL LIKE ARJUNA

—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO

Rain clouds hovering over the statue of Arjuna at deserted SMS Stadium in Jaipur at 11.30 AM on Wednesday amid the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of deadly coronavirus.

Lockdown woes: 72,000 driving licenses pending with Jaipur RTO

Serving people on routine basis along with clearing pre lockdown pendency will be a tough task Shivendra Parmar Jaipur: It will be almost two months when some of the government offices hope to reopen for their routine public services. In most of the departments the pendency has piled up and the transport department is no exception. To serve the people on a routine basis along with clearing the pre lockdown pendency will be a tough task for the department.

The reopening still away already there are

72000 driving licenses pending with the Jaipur branch. Recently Transport Commissioner Ravi Jain held a meeting to take stock of the situation. He found that apart from issuing pending licenses, the renewal of expired licenses will also be a major task. Jain is trying to devise a work plan which can keep people away from queuing at the offices.

Jaipur region has 7 RTO offices where 1300 driving licenses were made before lockdown.

—FILE PHOTO

RTO building in Jaipur.

RTO Rajendra Varma says that the new applicants will have to wait until pendency is

cleared although the department is planning to increase the slots to clear pendency faster.

Out of daily load of 1300 licenses, 320 are learning, 445 permanent, and 495 are up for renewal. Similarly, the Jagatpura RTO office receives 200 new DL applications while 50 are for renewal & duplicates. Vidyadhar Nagar’s office receives 120 permanent, 50 duplicate, and 120 for renewal. Jhalana office has 100 new applications while 225 for renewal & duplicate.

There are 4 regional offices. Shahpura has 25 new, 20 permanent, and

25 for renewal. Kotputli has 25 learning, 30 permanent, and 30 renewals while Chomun has 20 learning, 25 permanent, and 25 renewals.

Dudu office has 30 learning, 20 permanent, and 20 duplicate & renewals of DL. Making driving licenses and delivering is a direct interaction job by the RTOs, with pendency piled up the department will have to strictly follow social distancing on reopening to keep infection spread away.

Swarms of locusts invade ‘Declare locust attack ‘`20L cr package will strengthen the economy’ Ajmer, cause crop damage a national calamity’ First India Bureau Jaipur: National vice president of BJP, Om Prakash Mathur said that Rs 20 lakh cr package announced by PM Modi would strengthen the economy.

He said that finance minister Sitaraman has given details of this package, which would act as a milestone in making the country self-reliant. “A few days ago we were not manufacturing PPE kit but soon we will begin to export it,” Mathur said.

Om Prakash Mathur

Also, he said that PM wanted that no one should sleep empty stomach. The MSME sector would get Rs 3L cr loan without bank guarantee & govt would pay EPF contribution for those receiving salary less than Rs 15,000 per month.

Ajmer: Adding to the woes of farmers who are already bearing the brunt of national lockdown which has adversely affected the agriculture, swarms of locusts invaded the district from Nagaur side on Tuesday.

VK Sharma, Deputy Director, Agriculture department said that there were reports of 3-5 per cent damage to standing crops due to the locust attack. “A swarm of locusts entered the district from Nagaur. As soon as the department received

the information, a survey team and a control team were set up,” said Sharma.

“This was the first time that a swarm attack took place. Before this, such an attack took place in 1993 in Ajmer.

Large swarms of locusts are making rounds and may likely enter the Ajmer district.”

In order to mitigate the damage caused by the locusts, the Agriculture department took help from the fire department for spraying pesticides on crops. —ANI

First India Bureau Nagaur: MP Hanuman Beniwal visited the locust infested villages of his constituency. He assured the affected farmers of every possible help. He appealed the central govt to declare it as a national calamity as Nagaur was among the worst affected by the locusts flying in from Pakistan.

Beniwal called up central agriculture minster Narendra Tomar and state agriculture minister Lal-

OFF THE RECORD RING! RING!… NO ANSWERS MR. SECRETARY? Rajendra Chhabra

n the midst of the Corona crisis, when it is of Igovernment utmost importance that the state does not get ‘hit’ by

any bureaucratic issue, it appears that there is another ‘ crisis’ brewing in the state Secretariat. A senior bureaucrat has gone ‘missing’, quite literally. Well, officials and people alike have been trying to Bhaskar Sawant contact Principal Secretary Urban Development and Housing (UDH) Bhaskar Sawant but the man has chosen an opportune time to go into self-imposed ‘exile’. Neither is the man answering anyone’s calls for the past two days nor has he been seen in his chamber. Interestingly, he has handed his phone to his PA! But this has raised concerns amongst his well-wishers suspecting Sawant of going into self-quarantine.

Who can blame them... After all its Corona Time or it is an emergence of a new bureaucratic culture of NO RESPONSE in UDH under Dhariwal’s rule! One senior bureaucrat remarked that though Sawant is a fairly efficient officer but needs to learn the art of communication from his boss DB Gupta or his colleague Kuldeep Ranka, who always respond in spite of their 24/7 role.

Rathore thanks PM for `20L cr package First India Bureau

Hanuman Beniwal

chand Kataria on phone for help.

He also encouraged the govt officials to guarding the border of Mundwa tehsil for their effective contribution

Jaipur: Deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Rs 20 lakh crore packages, which is 10.5% of the GDP. He said that it would completely overhaul the economy and make it self-reliant.

Rathore welcomed Finance Min-

Rajendra Rathore

ister Nirmala Sitaraman’s announcement of Rs 3 lakh crore without guarantee loan to MSME along with moratorium for one year.

welcomes financial Lockdown: Bar owners pitch for home delivery of liquor Poonia package by Sitharaman Nirmal Tiwari Jaipur: Ongoing lockdown still has almost 30,000 bars across the country locked and with them is locked liquor worth Rs 3000 crore.

The 50-day lockdown has the bar license owners is disarray who are now demanding permission from both the central as well as state govt to permit liquor delivery through online companies such an Amazon, Swiggy, Flipkart and Grofers to clear their dead stock lying

locked & useless in the bars.

Rajasthan alone has almost Rs 100 crore worth liquor lying locked in hotel bars, club-bars, and restobars. Rajasthan had locked down on March 23 so neither the balance stock at the yearend could be verified nor did many came up for the license renewal leaving approx 999 bars across the state with unsold stock worth Rs 100 crore either on their counters or in their godowns.

—Pic for representational purpose only

The stock of about Rs 20 crore beer is about to expire. Amid demand for permission for online delivery Principal

Secretary (IT), Rajasthan Abhay Kumar has already held a meeting in this regard and has forwarded a propos-

al to the higher-ups.

Liquor manufacturing professionals say that through online sales the danger of infection spread is virtually zero.

All India Brewers Association has advised the excise department of the states to launch a dedicated portal for online sales. They say that companies like Amazon, Flipkart, etc under a special license can source their liquor from licensed dealers for online sales.

National Restaurant Association of India

president Anurag Katiyar says that such an arrangement will clear our dead stock and resolve our liquidity crunch. He also proposes a home delivery mode to clear the stock.

Rajasthan Liquor Welfare Society president Nilesh Mewara too supports online sales already prevalent abroad.

In fact, if the govt extends the online & home delivery facility for the retails shops as well that might be more prudent in corona times.

Aishwarya Pradhan Jaipur: State BJP President Dr Satish Poonia has welcomed financial package announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He said they would pave the way for India to become self-reliant.

Poonia said that announcement by the minister were aimed at providing liquidity in the market, which will infuse new life into the economy. Announcement for MSME were revolutionary that

Dr Satish Poonia

would change direction of this sector. The state BJP president said that this historical package for MSME would create new employment opportunities.

RAJASTHAN JAIPUR | THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020

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RAJ REPORTS 4 DEATHS, BREAKS RECORD WITH 202 NEW CASES 61 corona patients were found in Jaipur in 24 hours, followed by Udaipur with 33

CURFEW LIFTS AFTER 55 DAYS

First India Bureau Jaipur: 4 corona deaths were reported in last 24 hours taking the total to 121. Jaipur reported two while Alwar & pali reported one corona death each on Wednesday. A record 202 positive cases were reported in a single day on Wednesday.

61 new cases were reported from Jaipur followed by Udaipur with 33 positives, 28 from Jalore, 27 from Pali, 8 from Jodhpur, 6 from Sawai Madhopur, 5 each from Kota & Rajsamand, 3 each from Churu, Dholpur & Sirohi, 2 each from Tonk, Nagaur, Dungarpur, Bharatpur and Banswara and one each from Alwar, barmer, Dausa, Jaisalmer, Jhunjhunu & Sikar. 3 were reported from other state samples. The state total for corona positives stands at 4328.

First India Bureau

As migrant workers wait for their chance, to go back to their homes, at bus stops, social distancing is put on the backburner.

—PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

State has tested 194683 samples so far out of which 186125 have reported negative while reports for 4230 samples is awaited.

Jaipur leads the most positive cases tally with 1342 cases followed by Jodhpur 919, Kota 269, Udaipur 257, Ajmer 235, Tonk 144, Chittorgarh 142, Nagaur 139, Bharatpur 121, Pali 95, Ban-

swara 68, Jhalawar & Jhunjhunu 47 each, Bhilwara 43, Jalore 42, Jaisalmer 41, Bikaner 40, Alwar 32, Dausa 28, Churu 27, Rajsamand 26, Dholpur 24, Sawai Madhopur 16, Sirohi 14, Dungarpur 13, Hanumangarh & Sikar 12 each, Barmer 8, Karauli 7, Pratapgarh 4 and Baran 3. Apart from this 42 BSF jawans, 2

Italians, 5 from other states, 61 Indians evacuated from Iran. 31 districts are officially corona infected as of now.

Good news is that so far 2573 cases have turned negative from positive. 2344 have been discharged from the hospital while rest will also be discharged after their mandatory quarantine period.

Bhilwara: After 55 days, curfew was lifted in Bhilwara on Wednesday after collector Rajendra Bhatt received instructions from CM Gehlot. Collector convened a meeting with elected representatives, trading community and district officials to discuss the modalities before officially announcing the decision. Section 144 will be in place with permission for activities permitted by state govt. MLA Ram Lal Jat, Kailash Trivedi, ADM Rakesh Kumar, Ex UIT chairman Rampal Sharma along with representatives of industrial area and traders association were present.

03

Govt, companies bear travel fare of workers First India Bureau Jaipur: Twelve hundred labourers who were sent from Barmer to Bihar did not have to pay any train fare. The fare of 600 was borne by state while the fare of remaining was paid by various companies and contractors directly to railways.

Meena said 600 workers from Bihar were found to be stranded. Collector apprised that a proposal was submitted to the Transport Commissioner to send 1675 workers stranded in Barmer district to Bihar through train.

This was approved and 1200 passengers were sent from Barmer to Motihari through train on May 10. Administration paid Rs 4.05 lakh to the Railways as fare at the rate of Rs 675 per la-

WAITING LIST IS BACK Jaipur: Now, the provision of waiting lists will be implemented in special trains starting from May 22. However, the RAC quota will not be there. The bookings for these trains will start from May 15.

AC-1 20 waiting tickets AC-2 50 waiting tickets AC-3 and AC Chair Car 100 waiting tickets Sleeper Class 200 waiting tickets bourer of 600 workers.

Similarly, the fare of 316 workers of Barmer sub division and 284 laborers of Gud-

malani sub division was deposited directly into railway account by various companies and contractors.

PIL against closing of Dutiful commissioner continues corona fund account work, evades b’day celebration!

HC warns IO for not attending case hearing

Raje thanks PM, FM for financial package

First India Bureau

Satya Narayan Sharma

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

Ajmer: Devendra Singh Shekhawat, resident of Ajmer filed a PIL against Collector of Ajmer, who transferred 79 Lakhs to CM COVID-19 Fund and closed the Corona Relief Fund Ajmer account which was opened in HDFC Bank Ajmer on April 29.

This account was opened on March 30.

PIL question the closing of the account and contests on why the 79 L

Jaipur: Jaipur police commissioner Anand Srivastava was congratulated by his colleagues on his birthday on Tuesday. Additional police commissioner Ajaypal Lamba, Ashok Gupta, Rahul Prakash and other senior officers and policemen congratulated him. Senior officers from police headquarters also called him up to give birthday wishes.

Jaipur police has

Jaipur: On consecutive absence of Investigation officer (IO), HC warned that either IO or Commissioner be present in next hearing. Defence council Anil Upman told the court that the IO, Bajaj Nagar CI Manvendra Singh didn’t appear in court in hearings held on April 20 and 27 despite informing.

Case is of arrest of Gaurav Soni on Feb 21 with 140 gms of LSD.

Jaipur: Former CM Vasundhara Raje expressed gratitude to PM Narendra Modi for the financial packaged announce by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman. Raje said that the Finance Minister’s announcement to promote MSME is an important step towards making India a self-reliant country.

She said that Rs 3-lakh crore loan without col-

SK Singh

were not used for Ajmer to buy N-95 Masks, PPE as per the directions of HC. This petition was filed by Advocate SK Singh.

Anand Srivastava

done excellent work under Commissioner Anand Srivastava’s leadership. He has been putting up 15-17 hours daily during corona crisis and is also encouraging his

colleagues and subordinates. He said that responsibility of police has increased. Apart from ensuring lockdown, cops have been taking care of the poor and weak.

RERA, Dhariwal take action for BJP wanted credit for revival of real estate sector ration distribution: Joshi Abhishek Srivastav Jaipur: RERA chairman after consulting UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal announced ticket concession for revival of real estate sector in Rajasthan on Thursday, which were similar to what Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman had announced.

Dhariwal and Goyal took lead and announced same for 12 months, while centre was giving 9 months.

RERA Rajasthan has extended all projects

Shanti Dhariwal

which were incomplete till March 19, 2020 and duly registered with RERA for one year under sections 6 & 8 of RERA Act along with waiving off fees for extended period. Only the

standard fees notified under RERA order dated August 16, 2019 will be payable. Developer will have to apply online for certificate in form F to be issued by RERA by 30 June. They can upload tri monthly report

by March 2021, and will get no strict action for execution of refund orders till March 31, 2021.

Developers have been permitted to divide their projects in more than one phase by making changes in the building plan without harming consumer interests.

Jaipur: Government chief whip Dr Mahesh Joshi rebutted BJP’s allegations of discrimination in ration distribution. He said that BJP wanted to get credit for ration distribution.

Joshi alleged that the BJP was not bothered about ration distribution rather why it was not distributed by people in civil defense. Most post warden, sector warden and volunteers in the civil defense are BJP members, therefore, if

The preganant woman with her family gets ready to go home.

from Jasoda Devi Teacher Training University.

Residents of Raipur, near Hoshangabad district of Madhya

DEARLY DEPARTED

Dr Mahesh Joshi

they distribute ration, the BJP would get the credit for it.

He said that congress government has been fair in their job. The distribution is being done through JMC and BLOs.

Pregnant women take to road to reach home Jaipur: A couple, who stopped getting wages due to the extended lockdown inposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, decided to walk to their home 800 km from Jaipur, during the woman’s eighth month of pregnancy.

However, the district administration came to their rescue and they were sent to Chhabra in Madhya Pradesh via a bus carrying migrants

lateral to the MSME would directly benefit 45 lakh corona affected units. Apart from supporting MSME, it would also secure people’s job.

First India Bureau

LOCKDOWN WOES

First India Bureau

Vasundhara Raje

Pradesh, the couple had come to Jaipur a year ago, after a ban was imposed on gravel mining in their hometown.

They were employed in the construction works in Hathoj.

Meanwhile, a 9-month pregnant woman walked 196 kilometres on foot, from Ahmedabad with her husband, son (1) and daughter (2) for 6 days to reach her native place in MP’s Ratlam.

At Dungarpur check-

post, she was offered food and transportation.

Dungarpur SDM Rajeev Dwivedi said, “This woman, with her family, , reached Dungapur checkpost on Monday evening. The staff at the location was stunned to see her feeble condition as she looked quite tired and lacked energy. When asked if she had food, she simply refused. It also seemed as if she was in pain.”

On the 12 anniversary of Jaipur bomb blast, which took place on May 13, 2008, Police officials paid tribute to the martyrs at Kotwali police station at Choti Chaupar on Wednesday.

—PHOTO BY NAIM KHAN

Dholpur SP’s drive against dacoits successful, 4 arrested First India Bureau

Jaipur: Dholpur police have arrested four dacoits including Ramvilas Gurjar who is among the top 10 most wanted criminals in Rajasthan. He also had a reward of Rs 45,000 on his head.

Along with him, the police also nabbed his brother, Raghuraj who has Rs 35,000 bounty on his head and Bunty Gurjar who has Rs 5,000 reward on his name.

District SP Mridul

Kachchawa has been leading the campaign against dacoit gangs for last few days, which finally brought success as four, including three with reward on their head, were arrested.

Bharatpur range IG Lakshman Gaur reached Dholpur after receiving the information and congratulated the district police.

Kachchawa told media that They received information that Ramvilas and his associates were hiding in Ch-

chokhar valley following which DST and police teams from different police stations were dispatched.

The dacoits surrounded by the police started firing to which police responded and total 70 rounds were fired from both sides, after which four dacoits were arrested.

IG Gaur appreciated that, despite being busy in corona crisis, Dholpur police have launched campaign against dacoits.

PERSPECTIVE JAIPUR | THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020

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PROSPEROUS FARMER, PROSPEROUS INDIA

IN-DEPTH

SWADESHI AND MSME HOG THE LIMELIGHT

DR KRISHNA POONIA

T

wo important developments marked the day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on Tuesday. First, Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a decisive step towards realisation of the prime minister’s “swadeshi” dream and later Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a big boost to the medium, small and micro enterprises while offering them protection from foreign competition.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of Rs 20 lakh-crore package did not remove the ventilator from an economy lying in the special Covid-19 ward, but the finance minister’s measures to bail out MSMEs with the financial assistance outlined on Wednesday did put the sector on path to recovery. Will her wideranging pronouncements lead to an immediate economic revival or work like a placebo remains to be seen as the demand-supply chain lies broken and will take a while to get moving again.

A major announcement pertained to disallowing global tenders for government contracts. This is a big step towards selfreliance on which the prime minister laid stress in his speech. This is how Union Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed the move, “In these challenging times, to boost Make in India, help our MSMEs and other companies, from the, often unfair competition by foreign giants, Modi government has disallowed global tenders upto Rs 200 crore. A welcome step towards #AatmaNirbharBharatAbhiyan.

Through another tweet the home minister gave the slogan ‘Go Vocal for Local’ a leg up when he asked people to make maximum use of indigenous products and also ordered Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) canteens to sell only products made in the country. Amit Shah appealed on Twitter, “I also appeal to the people of the country to make maximum use of the products made in the country and encourage others to do the same. If every Indian pledges to use products made in India (Swadeshi), the democracy of the country can become self-sufficient in five years.”

With MSMEs holding immense potential to make India a global economic power, Wednesday’s liquidity infusion is what the sector wanted. A collateral free loan of Rs 3 lakh crore, changing the definition of MSME to allow them to remain in their respective categories despite investment and turnover beyond prescribed limits, a corpus to help them expand capacity and a Rs 30,000 crore special liquidity scheme for NBFCs funding the MSMEs would go a long way in encouraging the sector to go on stream again.

All these benefits will fructify only if the lockdown restrictions are eased further to allow movement of labour and supply chain. How will the demand revive? After prolonged lockdown and closure of markets, malls, restaurants, cinemas and tourism sector, the consumption level is at its lowest. Will this scenario change after May 17? If it does, near normal life can be expected to begin soon for the manufacturer, supplier and also consumer.

OLYMPIAN MLA

I

Lack of livelihood and facilities forced rural folks to migrate to cities, whose infrastructure began to crumble under the pressure of this migratory population. As more people moved to cities, the government also focused more on meeting their requirements; not to forget at the cost of the countryside

ndia lives in villages and agriculture is still the backbone of its economy. Hence, the economic progress of the country depends on the wellbeing of its farmers.

It was not for nothing that Mahatma Gandhi stressed on “Gram Swaraj” or village selfrule that was the centerpiece of his vision of economic development in India. The selfemployment and village industry was pivotal to this concept.

The first Prime Minister of the country Jawahar Lal Nehru had a similar vision.

He wanted to strengthen local self-government for which he launched the Panchayati Raj system from the soil of Rajasthan. The leaders and policymakers who followed him also had a similar vision of the country. They too envisaged a nation of happy farmers. That idea echoed in “Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan”.

Today, villages have changed.

But, the catalyst for this change was not villages but successive governments who kept cities in focus while framing development policies and welfare schemes. Most of the development took place in urban centers while rural India starved for basic amenities.

Lack of livelihood and facilities forced rural folks to migrate to cities, whose infrastructure began to crumble under the pressure of this migratory population. As more people moved to cities, the government also focused more on meeting their requirements; not to forget at the cost of the countryside.

Urban people were educated and aware; it had connections in power corridors, media, and businesses to get attention of the government.

However, as goes the saying “out of sight, out of mind”, the villages tucked far away from the seat of governance, were neglected. And, the worse thing was that they were not united.

Hence, it was difficult for them to let the government pay heed to them. Even, media was be-

yond their reach.

Unfortunately, this is what happening even during the corona outbreak. Farmers sow Rabi crop in OctoberNovember and went away to cities for work, leaving the responsibility of harvesting to their elderly parents.

As the luck would have it, suddenly, the lockdown was announced. Migrant workers lost their job. They struggled to survive on small saving but that too depleted fast in this crisis period.

Back in the village, the crop was ready to be harvested but there is no one to do the job.

They are stuck in a city hundreds of miles away from the home as everything has come to a standstill. There is no conveyance available - neither the bus nor the train.

The government has banned commutation inter or intrastate. The government is unfazed about the inconvenience caused to poor migrant workers by its orders that keep changing every day.

Meanwhile, the joy of looking at the photos of the crop shared on their WhatsApp is all but gone, as stray and wild animals have destroyed most of it. Whatever little the old parents managed to save meant little as much of its value got eroded.

The farmers who grew vegetables used to get up early in the morning to pluck them. However, there was no pickup van available to carry them to the mandi.

If the vehicle was available then fare was exorbitant leaving him with nothing for his hard work.

Now, they stopped plucking veg-

Corona is a global pandemic. It has shaken the world economy to the hilt. Still, only agriculture can lent support to the economy. India can fulfill the world’s need for food grains, pulses and oilseeds

etables but spent day and night thinking about whether they should even grow vegetables or not. And, if they don’t then how would they repay the debt.

Alas! This is not the story of on village, tehsil, district, or state. This is happening from lush green Arunachal Pradesh in the East to the desert district of Jaisalmer. One doesn’t need to look far away.

Take Sikar for example.

There was bumper crop of onions but corona crashed all hopes. Many farmers had taken loan from banks; they are now in big trouble.

The governments must spare thought for them. Their policies should be aimed at providing relief to the farmers. The governments should help farmers in the same way they readily come to the aid of big industries. Farmers must be compensated for the financial loss suffered for which the government should order a survey for assessment of loss.

Sexual & reproductive health during the pandemic

T

he COVID-19 crisis has disrupted almost every aspect of life, but not sex. Both wanted and unwanted intimacy occurs during a pandemic. With reduced mobility and less access to clinics and hospitals, ensuring quality and timely reproductive health care is more important than ever.

The virus has revealed stark inequities in medicine – and not only in emergency care. Even before COVID-19, adolescent girls, migrants, minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQI+ people faced discrimination in doctors’ waiting rooms. The crisis is an opportunity for policymakers to support initiatives that give women and girls more power over their immediate needs and improve access to critical ser

04

vices in the long term.

The first priority is to make oral contraceptives available over the counter.

This will increase safety, access, and use. In most places, a prescription is required, which prevents women from being fully in control of their bodies.

It also may interfere with a patient’s access to care free of abuse or privacy violations. This is especially true for teenagers, gender non-conforming people, domestic violence victims, and others who fear discrimination or disrespect in clinical settings.

The benefits of making contraceptives more widely available far outweigh the low risks. Evidence shows that women and gender non-conforming people can screen themselves for counter-indications using simple checklists that accom-

The crisis is an opportunity for policymakers to support initiatives that give women and girls more power over their immediate needs and improve access to critical services in the long term pany medication. Permitting people to get a year’s supply, so they can self-administer injectables like Depo-Provera would benefit those in violent situations and others who may struggle to access healthcare.

Eliminating third-party au-

thorization requirements and lowering costs for contraceptives would help, too.

Second, we must make abortion more accessible. Regressive policies and recent lockdowns have made in-clinic abortions less available, even

though it is an essential medical procedure. Policymakers can and should take simple steps to eliminate unnecessary obstacles to abortion with pills, which would expand women’s freedom and reduce clinic visits.

Medical abortions are safe and effective. Millions of women self-terminate pregnancies every year, whether using a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, or misoprostol alone. There is no need for

an office visit. People seeking abortions can assess whether they are eligible, follow instructions on correct dosages, and determine if the abortion is successful. All they need is accurate information, medication, and access to backup health care if necessary.

The best way to increase abortion access is to make mifepristone and misoprostol available over the counter. At a minimum, policymakers should make them easier to attain through telemedicine. This is viable and safe as long as consumers are educated about what to expect and can receive post-abortion care without judgment, stigma, or fear of prosecution. People who self-manage their abortions should not be harassed or penalized.

FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM

Agriculture loans should be waived. Farmers should be given interest-free new loans for sowing the next crop. School and college fees of their children should be exempted. Besides, educational loans should be simple and interest-free for them.

Corona is a global pandemic. It has shaken the world economy to the hilt.

Still, only agriculture can lent support to the economy.

India can fulfill the world’s need for food grains, pulses and oilseeds. It can export not just vegetables but also processed food like pickles.

Now, the food processing industry should be set up in villages. Rather than industries, farmers should be linked with them. The day farmers get financially strong, migration to cities will stop and cities will get rid of many problems though most of which were their own creation.

Last but not the least; one positive impact of the corona is the reduction in pollution. The air is clean thanks to no industrial or vehicular movement. It is high time dumping of industrial effluents into rivers must be stopped and all industries should be handed over to villagers to implement Gandhi Ji’s vision of “Gram Swaraj”.

At the moment, farmers are in dire straits. He is helplessly watching agriculture being ruined. The governments need to pay attention to it.

This is the need of the hour.

The country needs it.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp 2500 crore EPF support for business and workers for another 3 months will provide the necessary support to local businesses facing financial stress as they get back to work benefitting nearly 3.67 lakh establishments and 72.22 lakh employees. #AatmaNirbharBharatAbhiyan Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal Economic package announced by FM @NSitharaman ji & @iAnuragThakur ji in #AatmaNirbharBharatAbhiyan will benefit mega job-creating sectors like MSMEs, NBFCs, Power & Real Estate etc. These measures will propel India’s growth and position India as global leader in post COVID-19.

Spiritual SPEAK

God promises to make something good out of the storms that bring devastation to your life. —Romans 8:28

Vol 1 Issue No. 337 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur.

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‘Economic crisis has engulfed middle class’ Congress gen secy Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote to Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi suggesting various measures for the welfare of farmers Lucknow: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday wrote a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath suggesting various measures for the welfare of farmers and businesses in view of COVID-19 pandemic.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in her letter, also suggested removing interests on home loans and suspending all EMIs for the next six months.

“As you know, everyone has been affected by coronavirus pandemic.

The poor and the working class have reached a critical stage. The economic crisis has also engulfed the middle class. Small businesses are fighting for survival. It has become necessary to help these people,” Priyanka said in the letter. In her letter,

As you know, everyone has been affected by coronavirus pandemic. The poor and the working class have reached a critical stage. The economic crisis has also engulfed the middle class. Small businesses are fighting for survival. It has become necessary to help these people.

—Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary

she also expressed her condolences on the death of Yogi Adityanath’s father.

“The cost of education and home loan is a major part of the expenses of the middle class. In such a situation, waivering fee of private schools will be a big relief. Paying the EMIs of their home loan has be-

come a major challenge for the middle class. I suggest that the interest rate on home loan be reduced to zero and the obligation to deposit EMIs should be suspended for the next six months,” the letter said.

“Increased electricity rates remain a concern for farmers. I suggest that the electricity

IN THE COURTYARD

SC allows Karti to withdraw `10 cr for travelling abroad New Delhi: SC allowed Congress MP Karti Chidambaram to withdraw Rs 10 crore which was deposited with the apex court registry as a condition for allowing him to travel abroad.

The top court had on February 14 allowed Karti, who is facing criminal cases being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI, to travel to the UK and France for attending a tennis tournament subject to the Rs 10 crore deposit.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justice L Nageswara Rao took up his application through video conferencing and allowed him to withdraw the amount.

On February 14, the

top court while taking note of the previous orders allowing Karti to travel abroad, had allowed him to travel to the United Kingdom and France between February 14 and March 1, 2020.

It had said that Karti will have to appear before probe authorities in INX Media Case and Aircel-Maxis case on such dates as may be fixed by the ED excluding the travelling period, and will cooperate with the investigating agencies. —PTI

Do not wear SC DENIES INTERIM BAIL gown to avoid infection: CJI 1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOTS

TO SAJJAN KUMAR New Delhi: SC declined to grant interim bail to former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar who is currently serving life term in the 1984 Anti Sikh Riots Case.

Sajjan kumar has been convicted for life sentence by Delhi HC in the 1984 anti Sikh riots case. He has been convicted and sentenced for life imprisonment for killing five Sikhs in the Southwest area of Delhi on November 1, 1984 and burning down a Gurudwara.

During the hearing, Solicitor General

Tushar Mehta opposing the bail submitted that Kumar was involved in the genocide and was leading the mob in the 1984 riots and thus his plea for bail should be rejected.

CJ SA Bobde, Justice Indu Malhotra and Justice Hrishikesh Roy heard the matter. —ANI

K VINAYAK RAO TAKES OVER AS MEMBER (FINANCE) AT AAI New Delhi: K Vinayak Rao, a Indian Railways Accounts Service (IRAS) officer of the 1987 batch has taken over the charge of Member (Finance) from Wednesday on the board of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).Prior to his appointment on the AAI Board, Rao was serving as a Member (Finance) in Delhi Development

Authority (DDA).Following his appointment, Rao will be the overall in-charge of Finance, Accounts and Financial operation of the organisation. During his tenure in Indian Railways, he has worked as Executive Director (Finance Expenditure) in Railway Board (Ministry of Railways) from 2009 to 2014.

New Delhi: CJI SA Bobde, observed during a hearing that instructions may be issued soon for judges and lawyers not to wear gowns and jackets, as “it makes it easier to catch virus”.

Justice Bobde told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, while hearing a matter through vc that in his view judges and lawyers should not wear a jacket and gown for the time being, as it “makes easier to catch virus.”

The comment came from the bench, which also comprised Justices Indu Malhotra and Hrishikesh Roy. —ANI

bills for past four months of tubewells and household of farmers be waivered. Penalty and interest on their outstanding electricity bills should also be waivered,” it added.

Priyanka said that interest rate on farm loans for the past four months should also be waivered.

She also suggested that incentives should be give to frontline warriors including ASHA workers and aanganwadi workers.

“Necessary steps should also be taken for small and micro industries. These industries are no longer capable to function for a long period of time due to the impact of the lockdown.

Therefore, helping these small traders has become very necessary,” the letter said. —ANI

‘Package will help make India strong’ New Delhi: BJP president JP Nadda on Wednesday said the Rs 20 lakh crore special package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to boost the economy will make India “strong” and “self-reliant.”

“The historic economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is not only to fight against coronavirus but also to make the country strong and self-reliant,” he said while speaking to ANI in Delhi. —ANI

‘Repackaged version of Make in India’

PM gave headline, blank page, says PC

Actual financial aid is only ` 4Lcr: Sibal

New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took a jibe at the Rs 20 lakh Crore economic package and “Self-reliant India Mission” announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as being nothing new but a repackaged version of “Make in India” initiative.He tweeted a Hindi couplet to express his views on the subject.

The couplet roughly translates to: “He sold the old couplet/lion with a new name; He sold piles of dreams again.” The PM had announced a Rs 20 lakh cr special economic package for nation to become self-reliant & deal with Covid-19 crisis. —ANI

New Delhi: Former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram reacted to PM Narendra Modi’s announcement of releasing Rs 20 lakh crore as an economic stimulus package for the country amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Congress leader said that in yesterday’s announcement, the prime minister gave a “headline” and a “blank page”. Chidambaram said that he looks forward to learning the details of the stimulus package which will be made public by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“Yesterday, PM gave

New Delhi: A day after PM Modi announced Rs 20 lakh crore special economic package for the country to become ‘selfreliant’ and deal with COVID-19, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said that out of the total package the government cash outflow amounts “only Rs 4 lakh crores”.

“PM says: Financial Package: 20 2020 Of Rs20 lakhs cr. experts say: Govt. cash outflow only Rs4 lakh cr. Rest: RBI injected into system Rs8 lakh cr. Additional govt. borrowings over Rs 5lakh cr. Rs1 lakh cr. revolving guarantee Actual financial package: 4 2020,” tweeted Sibal. —ANI

Bhopal: In view of the increasing number of patients in Bhopal’s Jahangirabad, the danger of community spread has started looming large in the area. On Wednesday, 45 new corona cases were reported in Bhopal, of which, 22 are from Jahangirabad area. The total number of patients in this area has exceeded the mark of 230. Two corona patients have been found in the rural areas of Bhopal. The

DELHI COP SEIZE DOCUMENTS OF 700 FOREIGN TABLIGHIS New Delhi: The crime branch of Delhi Police has seized documents of around 700 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members.Sources informed that all these Tablighi Jamaat members had attended the event held at Nizamuddin Markaz in March earlier this year.The documents seized include passports of these persons. Earlier on May 5, Delhi Police Crime Branch had interrogated the son of Maulana Saad, the chief of Tablighi Jamaat, and sought details about 20 people who had attended the Markaz at Nizamuddin in the national capital.

PM made India aware of its power: Naqvi

IN REMEMBRANCE...

President Ram Nath Kovind pays floral tributes to late Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Ex-President of India on the occasion of his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan. —PHOTO BY ANI

Central Team visits Bhopal to review COVID-19 situation Anirudh Tiwari

us a headline and a blank page. Naturally, my reaction was a blank!” Chidambaram tweeted. “We will also examine who gets what?

And the first thing we will look for is what the poor & devastated migrants can expect after they have walked hundreds of kilometres to their home states,” he tweeted. —ANI

Jahangirabad area has been completely sealed. In order to save people from community speed, the administration shifted 500 people to another place, but the Central Investigation Team has expressed resentment on the same.

The central team comprising 2 doctors from Bhopal, AIIMS and two officers from Delhi are camping at Jehangirabad.

Meanwhile, 91 people have tested positive in Indore. The number of corona patients in

Bhopal has gone up to 907 of which 35 people have died so far. The central team has restricted the movement of people in Jahangirabad. The team along with Jahangirabad and Mangalwara Talaiya, also visited the colonies to screen people and send the actual report to the Centre.

State Home Minister, Dr Narottam Mishra held talks with various administrative officials of all these districts and asked for their suggestions over lockdown.

EAM S JAISHANKAR PARTICIPATES IN VIRTUAL SCO MEET IN DELHI New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar participated in the virtual meeting of Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries to discuss cooperation to fight the coronavirus pandemic.The foreign ministers and diplomats from eight different countries, discussed the global

challenges, preparedness, and response to the coronavirus pandemic.“The ministers discussed regional and global issues and particularly focus on developing cooperation within SCO in context of the spread of the Covid-19, the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Victory in WWII and the 75th anniv of the UN.

New Delhi: Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday hailed the economic package, announced

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi “PM Narendra Modi’s message was all about trust and focus on Swadeshi (locally made) goods and making a self-reliant India. The Prime Minister has made India aware of its power and potential. We have an inheritance of Swadeshi in the country, we need to be vocal about it and take it to the global scale,” Naqvi told ANI here. —ANI

Hotel premises sealed as AI staff found +ve

New Delhi: A part of a hotel premises, where COVID-19 tests of the Air India crew and pilots are being done as per the protocol, was sealed after a crew member is found to be positive for the virus. “A part of the premises which was used for conducting test has been demarcated for sanitiza-

tion adhering to safety protocols, and the crew test is shifted to a different medical office for the time being,” an Air India statement said.

The headquarters of Air India were sealed for two days on Tuesday, after an employee of the commercial department was found to be positive. —ANI

PUJA BEFORE BADRINATH TEMPLE’S OPENING Chamoli: Ahead of scheduled date for opening of the portals of the Badrinath temple, religious ceremonies were held at the Narsingh temple in Joshimath. The puja and other ceremonies of Gadu Ghada (Gadu oil pitcher) and the gaddi (seat) of Adi Shankaracharya were performed in Joshimath. Special ceremonies will also be held in the Yog Dhyana Badri temple in Pandukeshwar today, following which, the idols of Lord Badrinath, Uddhav and Kuber will leave for Badrinath temple which will open its portals on May 15.

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sees opportunity RAIL BHAVAN SHUT FOR 2 ‘inPMCorona like crises’ DAYS AS STAFF TESTS +VE The employee was in quarantine since May 6 New Delhi: Rail Bhavan, which is the HQ of the Indian Railways in Central Delhi, will be shut for the next two days after an RPF staffer tested positive for coronavirus. The employee, working as a clerk in RPF Director General Arun Kumar’s office on the fourth floor of Rail Bhavan, was in quarantine since May 6, they said.

According to an order issued, the building, which houses the Railway Board, will be shut on May 14 and 15 and intensive sanitisation of all the rooms and common areas will be done. —ANI

Medics from IDA conduct thermal screening of a cop in Mumbai.

THREE NEW CASES IN CRPF IN DELHI

FROM PG 1

Liberal Gehlot...

Gehlot was discussing the quarantine arrangements with the District Collector, District and Sub-Divisional level officials through video conference from the Chief Minister’s residence on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister said that all the officers and employees present from the district to the Panchayat level will have to make the quarantine system smooth at the village level. MPs, MLAs as well as all urban and panchayat representatives have a big role in this work. “People coming by train should be screened at the railway station itself and arrangements to take them to their destination by buses should be made. If possible, provide them tea and snacks at the railway station and keep food packets and water in buses, so that they can have ease in the journey ahead,” Gehlot directed officials. The Chief Minister said that districts like Jalore, Sirohi and Pali will have to pay special attention to the quarantine system since there are thousands of migrants coming from outside. Border districts like Dungarpur and Bharatpur will also have to keep proper arrangements for the migrants.

Gehlot directed that in view of the needs of testing, testing facilities should be further strengthened at the district level. All the districts, where migrants are coming in huge numbers, should be developed at the earliest.

“For the quarantine of migrants, seek the cooperation of local legislators and other public representatives, establish contact with them so that arrangements at village level can be ensured with better coordination. Cooperation of local public representatives should also be taken to identify places for quarantine and provision of food and water at institutional quarantine centers set up at village level,” he directed, adding further, “Our administration, police officers, government employees, social workers and Bhamashahs have all done great work to beat Corona. Rajasthan has acted pro-actively in facing this pandemic. The measures adopted here to prevent corona infection have been widely appreciated in the country and abroad.

We will have to continue the fight with the same spirit in the future by strengthening the framework of health services. We need to learn to live with Corona.”

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary DB Gupta said that under the revised guidelines issued by the state government, there is no need for a pass to travel anywhere in the state. “Movement only in areas with curfews is not permitted.

The number of visitors from outside has increased considerably after inter-state traffic became easier.

The officials should focus on the quarantine arrangement of the migrants. In the border districts, the registration and screening of migrants must be done with due attention.

The quarantined people should not be treated as untouchables but social distancing should be maintained,” Gupta said.

In view of the infection of Covid-19 epidemic, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved the proposal to recruit Assistant Radiographer on 1058 vacant posts. Gehlot has also approved the creation of 37 new posts in the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board. It consists of 10 posts of information assistant, 10 of clerical grade II, 4 posts of clerical grade first and 6 posts of class IV employees. Apart from this, 2 posts of Section Officer, Assistant Section Officer and Assistant Programmer and 1 post of Assistant Government Secretary have been created.

Pb MLAs-CS duel over liquor policy intensifies Chandigarh: The faceoff between the Punjab legislature and the administration over liquor policy intensified with a Minister here on Wednesday coming out in support of Congress legislators, demanding a probe into the Excise Department revenue losses in the past three years.

A day earlier, Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh was divested of the charge of Financial Commissioner (Taxation) as Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’’s colleagues, led by Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, announced to boycott a meeting attended by the bureaucrat. The charge against the CS is his son’’s stake in the liquor business.

PACKAGE SHOULDN’T BE A ‘JUMLA’

New Delhi: (BSP) national spokesperson Sudhindra Bhadoria said the party welcomed the economic package worth Rs 20 lakh crore announced by PM Modi, but “this should not be another jumla”. “The government has announced a huge package but this should not prove to be another jumla. In past, we have experienced many sequences of jumlas. This announcement is coming at a time when people across the country are experiencing misery, he added. —ANI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known for taking “big decisions” and he sees opportunity even during difficult situations like the COVID-19 crisis, said Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur on Wednesday. He said that the Prime Minister’s resolve of making India “self-reliant” has filled new energy in people.

Addressing a press conference here, Thakur said, “COVID-19 posed many challenges to the country and the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees opportunity even in these difficult situations. His resolve of making India selfreliant has filled new energy in the people.

Saad Case: Hearing adjourned till May 28 New Delhi: The hearing on the plea in Delhi High Court seeking transfer of Nizamuddin case involving Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad to National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a time-bound manner has been adjourned to May 28.

Delhi Police opposed the petition stating that investigation is going on fine. The petition was filed by Ghanshyam Upadhyay. It seeks to invoke the Act UAPA act against him.

The petition states that the case calls for “invocation of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and entrusting investigation to NIA in the crime of organizing huge congregation by Tablighi Jamaat with delegates from for-

eign countries and its members/participants then knowingly spreading coronavirus across the Country by visiting and staying at various places in the country.”

Petition insists that as the alleged crime spans across India, so it is important that a probe agency with the capability to probe even outside of the country needs to look into the case. —Agencies

India took good steps to combat COVID-19. Earlier, the Modi government gave a package of Rs 1.70 lakh crore for poor.” “Modi Ji is known for taking big decisions whether it is making Kutch stands on its feet again after an earthquake or whether it is manufacturing PPE and masks in India. This thinking is going to make India selfreliant,” he said. —ANI

V-P visits Parl on 68th years of first sitting New Delhi: Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla visited the historic Central Hall of Parliament and the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha chambers on Wednesday on the occasion of 68th year of the first sittings of Parliament.

The V-P & LS Speaker shared memories and experiences of the first sittings of the two Houses. They were accompanied by Union Minister Prahlad Joshi, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Arjun Ram Meghwal and Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan.

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan called upon Governor Lalji Tandon at Raj Bhawan on Wednesday. The meeting lasted for about two hours. Speculations are rife that the agenda of the meeting was to discuss the cabinet expansion of the Chief Minister, Chouhan, which currently has five members.

Before visiting the Raj Bhawan, Shivraj Singh went to the Union Headquarters to meet

the officials. It is believed that soon the Chief Minister can add more than one and a half dozen new members to his cabinet and for this, he has also taken the opinion of the union officials.

If

sources are to be believed, the cabinet expansion may take place after May 17, the day, when the lockdown is believed to get over.

According to official sources, the CM informed the Governor,

Lalji Tandon about the face masks being prepared by the women of the state. According to sources, as a new phase of the lockdown with new rules, will start from May 18, so the state government needs to restart the functioning of various departments, and thus, the extension cannot be avoided for a long time.

According to official sources, About 8 ministers will be included in the Cabinet. It is believed that they are supporters of Jyotiraj Scindia, who joined BJP.

tended by three months the government support to companies with less than 100 employees to meet retirement fund obligations. For all companies, the statutory obligation to pay 12 per cent of basic salary as employer’s share to employee provident fund (EPF) contribution has been reduced to 10 per cent to boost their liquidity.

To boost construction, all government agencies will give up to 6-months extension to all contractors to complete construction, and

goods and service contracts. “Essentially this is to spur growth and to build a very self-reliant India,” she said. “It addresses ease of doing business, compliance, and due diligence and the intention is also to build local brands.”

The Prime Minister had on Tuesday evening announced the raising of spending to Rs 20 lakh crore or about 10 per cent of India’s GDP, to help the economy get back on its feet after weeks of the lockdown.

Sitharaman said collateral-free loans will

benefit 45 lakh small businesses.

The loan will have 4-year tenure and will have a 12-month moratorium, she said, adding the loans will be guaranteed by the government. Also, Rs 20,000 crore subordinate debt will be provided for stressed or loan defaulting MSMEs, she said, adding this would benefit 2 lakh such businesses. A fund of funds for MSME is also being created, which will infuse Rs 50,000 crore equity in MSMEs with growth potential. Also, to help

THE NEW MEMBERS

POWER Gallery SANJEEVA KUMAR APPOINTED SECRETARY, BORDER MANAGEMENT

Sanjeeva Kumar, Special Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, MoHFW, has been appointed Secretary, Department of Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs. He is a 1986 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

VASUDHA MISHRA APPOINTED SECRETARY, UPSC

MP Cabinet expansion: Chouhan meets Guv Anirudh Tiwari

06

Vasudha Mishra, Special Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, has been appointed Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Department of Personnel & Training in the rank and pay of Secretary. She is a 1987 batch IAS officer of Telangana cadre.

RAKESH SARWAL APPOINTED AS ADDITIONAL SECRETARY, NITI AAYOG

Rakesh Sarwal, Additional Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, has been appointed as Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog. He is a 1988 batch IAS officer of Tripura cadre.

S KISHORE APPOINTED AS ADDITIONAL SECRETARY, COMMERCE

S Kishore, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He is a1989 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre.

ANURAG JAIN APPOINTED AS VICE CHAIRMAN, DDA

Anurag Jain, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Vice Chairman, Delhi Development Authority, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary to Government of India. He is a 1989 batch IAS officer of MP cadre.

DEVENDRA KUMAR SINGH APPOINTED ADDL SECY, MSME

Devendra Kumar Singh, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. He is a 1989 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

KATIKITHALA SRINIVAS APPOINTED AS ADDITIONAL SECRETARY, DOPT

Katikithala Srinivas, Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, has been appointed as Additional Secretary and Establishment Officer, Department of Personnel and Training. He is a 1989 IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.

SHIV DAS MEENA APPOINTED AS CHAIRMAN, CENTRAL POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

Shiv Das Meena, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has been appointed as Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary. He is a 1989 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

MANOJ AHUJA APPOINTED AS CHAIRMAN, CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

Manoj Ahuja, Special Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Department of Personnel and Training as Chairman, Central Board of Secondary Education in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary. He is a 1990 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.

ARTI AHUJA APPOINTED AS ADDITIONAL SECRETARY, HEALTH

Arti Ahuja, Special Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Department of Personnel and Training, has been appointed as Additional Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare. She is a 1990 batch IAS officer of Orissa cadre.

FROM PG 1 CEC sets... by terming it as erroneous and contended that it has failed to appreciate that his rival Congress candidate has not led positive, reliable and cogent evidence to prove any of the issues.

“That HC has failed to appreciate the proper facts of the case and has reached a completely erroneous conclusion in holding the successful election of the Petitioner as illegal and void,” his plea said. `3 lakh cr...

The minister also ex-

them get more business, global tenders for government procurement up to Rs 200 crore will be barred.

The Finance Minister announced a Rs 30,000 crore special liquidity scheme for non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs), housing finance firms (HFCs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) with a view to provide credit support to them and create confidence in the market.

Further, a Rs 45,000 crore partial credit guarantee scheme 2.0

was also announced for NBFCs, HFCs, and MFIs with low credit rating to help them extend a loan to individuals and MSMEs.

24 dead... which is supported by the aid group Doctors Without Borders, carrying out babies and frantic young mothers.

The Interior Ministry spokesman, Tareq Arian, initially said 16 people were killed in the attack and over 100 women and babies were evacuated from the building under fire.

TALKING POINT JAIPUR | THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020

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07

INSOFAR AS THE WORLD ECONOMY WAS ALREADY ON A FRAGILE, UNSUSTAINABLE PATH, COVID-19 CLARIFIES THE CHALLENGES WE FACE AND THE DECISIONS WE MUST MAKE. THE FATE OF THE WORLD ECONOMY HINGES NOT ON WHAT THE VIRUS DOES, BUT ON HOW WE CHOOSE TO RESPOND

T

he global economy will be shaped in the years ahead by three trends. The relationship between markets and the state will be rebalanced, in favor of the latter.

This will be accompanied by a rebalancing between hyper-globalization and national autonomy, also in favor of the latter. And our ambitions for economic growth will need to be scaled down.

There is nothing like a pandemic to highlight markets’ inadequacy in the face of collective-action problems and the importance of state capacity to respond to crises and protect people. The COVID-19 crisis has raised the volume on calls for universal health insurance, stronger labormarket protections (including of gig workers), and protection of domestic supply chains for critical medical equipment. It has led countries to prioritize resilience and dependability in production over cost savings and efficiency through global outsourcing. And the economic costs of lockdowns will grow over time, as the massive supply shock caused by the disruption of domestic production and global value chains produces a downward shift in aggregate demand as well.

But while COVID-19 reinforces and entrenches these trends, it is not the primary force driving them. All three – greater government action, retreat from hyperglobalism, and lower growth rates – predate the pandemic. And while they could be viewed as posing significant dangers to human prosperity, it is also possible that they are harbingers of a more sustainable, more inclusive global economy.

MAKING THE BEST OF POST-PANDEMIC WORLD DESIGNING A LARGER ROLE FOR GOVERNMENT onsider the role of C the state. The neoliberal market fundamen-

talist consensus has been in retreat for some time now. Designing a larger role for government in responding to inequality and economic insecurity has now become a core priority for economists and policymakers alike. While the progressive wing of the Democratic Party in the United States fell short of clinching the party’s presidential nomination, it has largely dictated the terms of the debate.

Joe Biden may be a

T

he US and China are the countries that set the tone here. But Europe, perpetually on the verge of greater fiscal union, provides little counterweight. During this crisis, the European Union has once again backed away from cross-national solidarity and emphasized national sovereignty instead.

The retreat from hyper-globalization could lead the world down a path of escalating trade wars and rising ethnonationalism, which would damage everyone’s

centrist, but on every policy front – health, education, energy, the environment, trade, crime – his ideas are to the left of the party’s previous presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. As one journalist put it, “Biden’s current set of policy prescriptions would … be considered radical if they had been proposed in any previous Democratic presidential primary.” Biden may not win in November. And even if he wins, he may not be able or willing to implement a more pro-

economic prospects.

But that is not the only conceivable outcome.

It is possible to envisage a more sensible, less intrusive model of economic globalization that focuses on areas where international cooperation truly pays off, including global public health, international environmental agreements, global tax havens, and other areas susceptible to beggar-thy-neighbor policies. Otherwise, nation-states would be unencumbered in how they prioritize their

gressive policy agenda.

Nevertheless, it is clear that the direction in both the US and Europe is toward greater state intervention.

The only question is what form this more activist state will take. We cannot rule out a return to an old-style dirigisme that achieves few of its intended results.

On the other hand, the shift away from market fundamentalism could take a genuinely inclusive form focused on a green economy, good jobs, and rebuilding the middle class. Such a re-

orientation would need to be adapted to the economic and technological conditions of the present moment, and not simply mimic the policy instincts of the three golden decades after World War II. The return of the state goes hand in hand with the renewed primacy of nation-states.

The talk everywhere is about de-globalization, de-coupling, bringing supply chains home, reducing dependence on foreign supplies, and favoring domestic production and finance.

EXPORT-ORIENTED INDUSTRIALISATION

ut once again, Bcentuates COVID-19 only aca pre-existing

growth problem. Much of the growth in the developing world outside of East Asia was based on demand-side factors – public-investment and natural-resource booms in particular – that were unsustainable. Exportoriented industrialization, the most reliable

RETREAT FROM HYPER-GLOBALISATION

vehicle for long-term development, appears to have run its course.

Developing countries will now have to rely on new growth models.

The pandemic may be the wake-up call needed to re-calibrate growth prospects and stimulate the broader rethink that is needed.

Insofar as the world economy was already

economic and social problems.

Such a global order would not be inimical to the expansion of world trade and investment. It might even facilitate both insofar as it opens space for restoring domestic social bargains in the advanced economies and crafting appropriate growth strategies in the developing world.

Perhaps the most damaging prospect the world faces in the medium term is a significant reduction in economic growth, especially in the

on a fragile, unsustainable path, COVID-19 clarifies the challenges we face and the decisions we must make.

In each of these areas, policymakers have choices. Better and worse outcomes are possible. The fate of the world economy hinges not on what the virus does, but on how we choose to respond.

developing world. These countries have had a good quarter-century, with notable reductions in poverty and improvements in education, health, and other development indicators.

Aside from the massive public-health burden of the pandemic, they now face significant external shocks: a sudden stop in capital flows and steep declines in remittances, tourism, and export receipts.

SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATEW CONCEPT: DIVYA HEMNANI DESIGN: ABHISHEK GUPTA

One of the most important things one can be in these times is to ‘Be Compassionate’, just to listen and be supportive is a good deed when so much of the ‘normal’ is unseen.

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

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2ND FRONT JAIPUR | THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020

ENSURE PEOPLE DO NOT FACE TROUBLE OVER WATER: GEHLOT ASKS OFFICIALS Naresh Sharma

Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has instructed all the district collectors to complete the work of the contingency plan with top priority for better drinking water supply in summer. He said that the district collector should take suggestions from MPs-MLAs and other public representatives and prepare a plan according to local needs within three days.

Gehlot was holding a review of PHED’s preparedness with all the district collectors regarding supply of drinking water via a video conference at the Chief Minister’s residence on Wednesday. He said that the District Collector and Water Supply Department officials

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with CS DB Gupta during the review meet of PHED’s preparedness on Wednesday.

should ensure that there is no problem regarding drinking water in the state. “For this, RO, hand pump and tubewell maintenance, repair and expansion of pipelines, supply from tanker and other works should be expedited. Also, prepare an advance plan for the districts where

there is a need to transport drinking water.

Approvals pending for handpumps and tubewells should be released immediately,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that it is the effort of the State Government that for the permanent solution of drinking water problem, all the

pending projects across the state should be completed fast. He directed the officials “to set up a special team to speed up the pending projects, which should be monitored continuously and get these projects completed at the earliest.”

He said that due to the delay in important projects started in public interest, not only does their cost increases, but people also do not get their timely benefits. “A control room should be established promptly to solve problems related to drinking water at the district level. The grievances of the people should be resolved at the earliest.

District collectors must review drinking water supply at the review meeting held every week,” Gehlot directed.

Announce direct cash transfer to poor: Gehlot Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday demanded that the Centre announce direct cash transfer to the poor, daily wagers and small shopkeepers to increase their purchasing power, amid the novel coronavirus-induced lockdown. This, he said, will give a boost to industries and the economy.

“The central government has begun announcements regarding an economic package, we will have to wait for complete details and see how these measures are implemented. The need of the hour is to

transfer cash to the poor people, labourers, small shopkeepers, daily wagers and destitute,” Gehlot tweeted.

“The government must announce direct cash transfer to poor people and money should also be given to MNREGA labourers so that they have money in their pockets, which will generate demand, increase their purchasing power. This will give a boost to our industries and economy,” Gehlot said.

He said measures have been announced for the MSME sector but it will have to be seen that how these are implemented. —PTI

All returnees must be kept Army chief visits forward areas under quarantine: Raghu of Sapta Shakti Command Vikas Sharma Jaipur: Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma is rightly very cautious in predicting next couple of months for the state as he can see the loophole from where all the hard work done by the state machinery until now can go down the drain. Dr Sharma is closely monitoring every aspect of the ongoing COVID-19 fight and so he is aware of the danger around the corner.

He has his figures up to date when he says that so far a mammoth 19 lakh people have registered online either to come to the state or to move out of it. He said that so far 13 lakh persons have applied to come to Rajasthan where as about 6.5 lakh wish to go to their native states.

Movement of 19 lakh people in and out of state is no way a mean task in itself plus it also has the inherent danger of many infected entering the state if allowed to come in unchecked. So Dr Sharma is very focused on Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s words only a day ago that the state now faces the chal-

Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma

lenge to save its rural community from getting infected.

Dr Sharma says that every incoming person is most welcome in the state but everybody coming will have to behave responsibly and mandatorily quarantine for 14 days before he/she joins his/her family.

He appealed to all the elected representatives from across all the political parties to shoulder the responsibility.

He asked local representative to help the administration in developing the quarantine facilities first and then in ensuring that every one coming either opts for home or institutional quarantine without fail.

Dr Sharma said that the state was committed to the safety of the

people who have stayed indoors for 50 days and it can’t let incoming 13 lakh to jeopardize the health of 7 crore dutifully following the guidelines.

Dr Sharma said that until now, the state administration, health officials and the people have followed the vision of CM Gehlot and have been successful in keeping ahead of the virus by not only having best recovery rate of 60% in the country but also death rate lower than the national average.

All this hard work now had to go a notch higher by not only taking care of self but also of the people coming in from other states. He expected success even now with continued support from all quarters as has been until now.

Jaipur: Army chief General MM Naravane visited the forward areas of the Sapta Shakti Command in Rajasthan and Punjab on Tuesday and Wednesday, a defence spokesperson here said.

Naravane, accompanied by Sapta Shakti Army commander Lt Gen Alok Kler, visited formations in the field and reviewed their operational preparedness, he said. He interacted with troops, and laud-

General MM Naravane

ed them for their high morale and motivation. He also appreciated the operational preparedness of the command, the spokes-

person said. The Army chief commended the efforts of the formations in the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Addressing the officers of the command, Naravane said IBGs (Integrated Battle Groups) would be made operational soon and also stressed on optimisation of funds allotted under the defence budget in view of the economic constraints due to COVID-19. —PTI

08

ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN?

RHB defies perception, sells homes for `4cr Shivendra Parmar Jaipur: Belying all apprehensions, Rajasthan Housing Board (RHB) has beaten lockdown blues. Even during corona crisis, it has managed to auction 23 properties in Indira Gandhi Nagar to earn nearly Rs 4 crore in revenue.

Prior to lockdown, the RHB had been receiving tremendous response to its auction programmes.

This was despite economic slowdown and slump in real estate sector. The lockdown affected whatever little business was taking place. Real Estate experts had opined that lockdown would affect this sector the most.

However, the RHB proved them wrong by selling 23 commercial properties in Indira Gandhi Nagar.

The properties were sold by auction with bids received in sealed envelope wherein the board received Rs 3.65 crore as revenue from sale of these properties. The successful auction is a thus a good indication for the future. It would also create much needed positive atmosphere in government agencies.

“The success of today’s auction will boost our morale. It has also established

Pawan Arora

that housing board is still the first choice of people interested in buying properties. Hopefully, in coming days too housing board’s auctions will receive similar response,” said RHB commissioner Pawan Arora.

There were 10 bidders in auction. The RHB, which has been following social distancing norms, ensured that during the auction, rules are followed. Temperature of all those who came to participate in the auction was checked following instructions from the RHB commissioner. They were allowed to enter after their temperature was found normal.

The bidders were provided free masks by the board. They appreciated arrangements and preparations by RHB. The RHB commissioner said that in future as well the board will ensure that all rules are strictly followed.

THAKUR SET FOR ‘BULLISH’ CAREER? Vaishali New Delhi: Those who closely observe the polity of nation, with a keen eye on the Central government, vouch that before any leader is propelled to the ‘big league’ of party stalwarts, there are always some telltale signs. The leader would be assigned important roles and tested by his/her mentors. In case of a minister of state, he would be provided given ‘opportunity’ only at limited times to strike a chord between the him/her and

Anurag Thakur

the citizens.

Wednesday’s press conference of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and MoS (Finance) Anurag Thakur was one such event which has

left the observers believing that there are greater things in store for Thakur, a personal choice of PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The four

time MP spoke in eloquent Hindi and gave detailed explanation on the government’s plan of jump starting the economy. The sheer manner in which Thakur handled a diverse and varied subject like economy and simplifying the details so as to make it understandable for the common man, has made political observers realise that the MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh does have what it takes to lead the party, when the right time comes. Holding an important portfolio at a

‘politically young’ age of 45 years, Thakur knows his words, sitting on such an important place for the nation, would have the effect of giving a jump to the market, that are going through a ‘bear’ phase and hoping for the ‘bullish’ ones. At this juncture, Thakur’s father former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal - must be a proud father, having seen his son taking on the mantle and carving a niche for himself in the political arena.

Meghwal suffers brain haemorrhage, rushed to SMS hospital First India Bureau Jaipur: Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment in Gehlot cabinet, Master Bhanwarlal Meghwal was brought to SMS Hospital on Wednesday.

Till Wednesday evening, the minister was feeling alright however, later in the evening he reportedly felt dizzy, and was first taken to Saket Hospital where he was given first aid and CT scan was conducted. Thereon, he was referred to SMS Hospital’s

Master Bhanwarlal Meghwal receiving treatment at SMS Hospital.

From left: Vishwendra Singh, Sachin Pilot, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma reached SMS Hospital to oversee the arrangements of Meghwal’s treatment.

Trauma Center. Physicians including SMS Hospital Superintendent Dr Rajesh Sharma is looking after the minister. Meghwal reportedly suffered from paralysis to his right side after brain haemorrhage. A concerned Chief Minister Gehlot was also in constant touch and taking regular feedback on Meghwal’s health from Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma. Notably, Meghwal, is known to be Pilot camp’s ‘senapati’. Meghwal’s first Coronavirus test report came out negative.

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09

JAIPUR, THURSDAY MAY 14, 2020

Selena Gomez

KILL ‘EM WITH

COOKING! KIRTI CHAUHAN

kirti.chauhan@firstindia.co.in

P

op star Selena Gomez is set to host a quarantine cooking show, where she will dish out a few treats.

The singer-actress will headline the cooking series, where she will be putting her culinary skills to test with the help of a different master chef in each episode. The singer will also serve as executive producer on the show for streaming platform HBO Max, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

The 10-episode series is inspired

by Gomez’s kitchen adventures during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve always been very vocal about my love of food. I think I’ve been asked hundreds of times in interviews if I had another career, what would I do and I’ve answered that it would be fun to be a chef,” said Gomez, adding: “I definitely don’t have the formal training though! Like many of us while being home I find myself cooking more and experimenting in the kitchen.”

In each episode, Gomez will be joined remotely by a different master chef. They will then take on all types of cuisine, share tips and tricks. The episodes will also highlight a food-related charity.

Gomez will executive produce via her July Moon Productions, along with Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman of Industrial Media’s The Intellectual Property Corporation.

HBO Max is set to launch May 27.

It will feature many originals, and come with a wide library including ‘Friends’, ‘The Big Bang Theory’, ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘The Sopranos’.

Also, amid the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, pop star Selena Gomez has set up a small studio at her home, and is working on new music.

The singer took to Instagram to share a picture of her home recording studio.

In the picture, the 27-year-old is seen sitting on the floor next to her furry slippers in front of a studio,

with a professional microphone, mic stand, and insulated walls.

She is wearing a grey tee with a pair of dark blue pants, she also has a book with a sketch on one side and another book with notes kept in front of her. “Makeshift studio so I can work from home” she captioned the image.

In 2017, Billboard reported that Gomez has sold over 7 million albums and 22 million singles worldwide. Gomez has received various accolades throughout her career, and was recognized as the Billboard Woman of the Year in 2017. She has a large following on social media, and was at one point the most-followed individual on Instagram, before being surpassed by soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. Gomez’s other ventures include a makeup line, a clothing line, a handbag line, a fragrance line, and a production company named July Moonhead Productions.

She has worked with various charitable organizations and became a UNICEF ambassador at age 17.

Sponsored by Shree Salasar Oversease Pvt. Ltd.

REVIEW

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JAIPUR | THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020

10

YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL O

ne of the destabilizing and pleasurable aspects of “Young and Beautiful,” a story about a 17-year-old girl named Isabelle (played, hauntingly and effectively, by newcomer Marine Vacth) who decides to go to work as a prostitute is that writer-director Francois Ozon does not trouble himself with trying to diagnose, explain, or provide a backstory. There is not an inciting event that one could point to and say, “This is why Isabelle does what she does.”

Isabelle’s actions are presented simply and nonjudgmentally, the camera following her up and down escalators, up and down hallways, and catching her mirrored reflection in various hotel rooms. “Young and Beautiful” has a very formal and elegant structure, broken up into four seasonal chapters, each one attached to a thematicallyappropriate Francoise Hardy pop song. The structure provides a huge echoing space, evocative of the blank dissociation accompanying much of the sex seen in the film.

The

bearable sadness and loneliness rises up into her beautiful face. She glances off to the side, and sees herself standing there, looking on. It is a curious and powerful moment suggesting the level of her dissociation.

Her sexuality, at that young age, is somewhat abstract.

The next time we see Isabelle, she is back in the city with her family, starting her senior year, and working as a prostitute after creating a profile on an adult site that sets girls up with clients.

She meets these men in various high-end hotel rooms, stealing a gray silk shirt

mood is one of yearning restless adolescence, sometimes melancholy and sometimes dangerous; familiar territory to Ozon.

“Young and Beautiful” opens in summer with a middle-class French family on holiday by the seaside. Isabelle is first seen sunning topless on the beach through the lenses of binoculars held by her younger brother Victor (Fantin Ravat). From the very first image, we see Isabelle through another’s eyes.

She loses her virginity to Felix on the beach one night.

We see her lying beneath him, and a look of u n -

from her mother to wear under her conservative blue suit. She doesn’t seem to get any pleasure out of the sex, and goes through the motions with a poker face.

Until she meets Georges (Johan Leysen), an elderly guy who becomes a regular.

Their scenes together are amazing. He is curious about her, and she is detached and cold. But there is a kind of tenderness that opens up between them, and she feels comfortable during her times with him.

When things with Georges go south, alarmingly, swiftly, she is shaken. Isabelle has devoted her life to sex that has no meaning, outside of the monetary reward. But something opens up in the air between her

and Georges, through the sex, that is perhaps more adult than she is ready to confront or even experience.

Her parents are caring individuals, and openminded, but they have no idea what is going on with their daughter. Isabelle’s mother (the wonderful Geraldine Pailhas) also has a secret, and it isn’t revealed until later in the film. Isabelle’s reaction to the reality of her mother’s sexuality, still in operation, still trying to get its needs met,

is one of hurt and loss.

When her mother discovers Isabelle’s secret, the comfortable family relationships break apart, and the unspoken understanding that families “know” one another is shattered. Pailhas loses it, in a confrontation scene both painful and violent.

The film, from its first shot of her through the binoculars, shows how very precarious and thrilling it can be, being a young and beautiful girl.

Source: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/young-and-beautiful-2014

FA CE OF TH ED AY

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Some can expect fortune in form of inherited property.

On academic front, you must play your cards to grab an important opportunity which may never come again but if you do what you need to then your life will change forever. You are financially really fine.

This is the time to bond with people with whom you haven’t been in touch for long time. Invest time in self introspecting and practice meditation therapy at home to get a clearer mind. Have faith in yourself and almighty, you will surely find ways to boost you bank balance.

You will increasingly become health conscious now and you will make healthier life choices. Your spouse will shower all the love on you and make sure to do the same in return. Good day to work towards enhancing your career prospects as things will be favourable for you.

You will handle ritualistic matters with competence.

Your desire to thrive on academic front with keep you in sync with achieving your goal on academic front. Every time your luck steers you to safety but you never learn so value yourself and your life and also your blessings.

MAR 21 - APR 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You will spend some exciting time with family today. You love to explore new things and you are someone who is never bored. Even in the difficult times you know how to keep yourself and those around you entertained. You are a perfect homemaker who cater to needs.

You may not be able to go an trip considering the current times but you will definitely have the same fun at home. You are someone who is never ready to settle for anything less than what you deserve and because of the same quality you will win even in such trials times.

You will keep your family entertainment whether by being with them or through technology. You love to take care of people and this quality get you many blessings. You will go out of your way today to help those in need. You are someone who always counts your blessings.

You are a self motivator and you are someone who never stops and always keep forging ahead. You have a good grasping power and this quality will be really helpful for you on academic front. You will resolve all your issue amicably. You are an example of success and intelligence.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You will get an opportunity to venture into new field of business during this time.

You may crave for your family if you are living in different city or country altogether. You will soon have a place which you can call home, earned by yourself and your dedication.

Your life will change.

You will make your work out stand by sincerely giving thousand percent to it. Take care of needy if you can at this time, because wealth is a blessing which can be used for self and others when we need it the most.

You will be able to easily resolve tensions arising at home.

Devoting time to spiritualism will prove to be beneficial for you. You will experience immense joy in the company of your family. Keep yourself and other entertained by playing indoor games and reliving your childhood. For students, study every day even if a little and make sure to work on your skills.

You will travel overseas but after some time. You are someone who like to dig deep in things and books can become your best friend right now. Don’t worry about property related matter as the things will work in your favour once everything will calm down.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

KIRAN YADAV, Model

APR 21 - MAY 20

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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JAIPUR | THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020

11

Bored in

the house! ... her Instagram post

L

ike many other Indians who are trying to kill boredom during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, actor Sonam Kapoor Ahuja too is ‘bored in the house.’ The ‘Delhi 6’ actor expressed that she is trying really hard to kill time by posting a stunning throwback picture from one of her photoshoots.

The picture features Sonam wearing a shimmery golden coloured gown with sequins on it. The 34-year-old actor quoted a trending song ‘bored in the house’ in the caption.

“Bored in the house in the house bored,” she captioned the picture. Earlier on Tuesday, Ahuja expressed her desire to fly out in the sky by posting a picture of herself.

—ANI

Bhumi Pednekar

Spills positivity!

K

Sonam K Ahuja

UPCOMING Happy Quarantine!

PROJECTS! M

H

ollywood star Cate Blanchett has joined the cast of James Grays upcoming movie ‘Armageddon Times’ and Adam McKays next directorial venture ‘Dont Look Up’.

The report comes after the news about Blanchett joining the adaptation of the popular video game ‘Borderlands’, through which she is also reteaming up with director Eli Roth. There’s no update about when ‘Armageddon Times’ and ‘Don’t Look Up’ will go into production given the lockdown orders amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

—IANS

Cate Blanchett

odel Hailey Bieber is glad that her husband and singer Justin Bieber, who postponed his tour due to the coronavirus pandemic, has more time to deal with health issues before he performs again. The 23-year-old model appeared alongside Justin in their new Facebook series, ‘The Biebers On Watch’, where they talked about their lives together. Justin was set to go on his ‘Changes’ tour starting May 14 before the coronavirus outbreak. Hailey expressed that the postponement isn’t the worst thing in the world. “You know what, I honestly feel like with that whole thing, everything happens for a reason, and I’m almost happy that I feel like you have even more time to just be strong and healthy and prepare,” Hailey told her husband. —IANS

FELT

WRONG! A

Hailey Bieber Ellie Kemper

HOLLY

ctress Ellie Kemper says kissing Daniel Radcliffe for a scene felt wrong. The two actors puckered up in the upcoming digital show, ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend’. During her appearance on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres’ show, the actress opened up about kissing her costar in the show. “Oh my gosh, I kissed him multiple times, Ellen,” Kemper told the host Ellen DeGeneres. “And I felt so bad for him. Because A, I’m three times as old he is. But B, I was pregnant at the time of us shooting. And I just -- felt so bad he had to kiss this old pregnant lady over and over again,” added the 40-yearold. The actress gave birth to her second child back in October last year. “And there was a moment when he, like, grazed my belly. And I was like first, it felt wrong, but I also... he’s a trooper. He’s very lovely. I’m sure you’ve met him. He’s a class act,” she said.

—IANS

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icking off morning blues with her million-dollar smile, actor Bhumi Pednekar on Wednesday posted a picture of herself.

The ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ actor took to Instagram to post the picture.

The monochrome picture features Pednekar sitting and laughing her heart out.

“Good Vibes ... her Instagram post Only #goodmorning #insta #fam #stayhomestaysafe #gratitude #love #blackandwhite #mood,” she captioned the picture.

Pednekar will be soon seen as a leading lady in the Akshay Kumar’s ‘Durgavati’ and award-winning director Alankrita Srivastava’s ‘Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare.’

—ANI

Hitched!

Rana Dagubatti with Miheeka Bajaj

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ctor Rana Dagubatti took to social media on Tuesday to announce his engagement to Miheeka Bajaj, founder of Dew Drop Design Studio in Hyderabad. The ‘Baahubali’ star shared a photo of himself and Miheeka on Instagram, and captioned it, “And she said Yes :) #MiheekaBajaj.”

According to reports, their wedding date is likely to be finalised after the coronavirus lockdown is lifted. Rana Daggubati will soon be seen in films such as Virata Parvam and Haathi Mere Saathi.

Miheeka is based in Mumbai and born and brought up in Hyderabad, according to reports.

Bollywood celebrities and his south Indian film industry colleagues immediately flooded the post with congratulatory messages. South megastar Chiranjeevi Konidela said that the mighty Bhallala Deva (Daggubati’s character from ‘Baahubali’) is finally getting hitched. “Lockdown leads to wedlock”, he wrote. Welcoming Rana to the family, actress Sonam K Ahuja said that the couple were going to be amazing together.

—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

When Ehsaan

HAPPY B’DAY! Rajasthan: Anand Srivastava, the dynamic Police Commissioner of Jaipur spent a ‘working’ birthday on 13 May, Wednesday.

He was deluged with calls and messages from his department and friends, on his 53rd birthday but barely had time to accept them as he attended the marathon VC and then late in the day started the planning with his officers for the point to point details to keep Jaipurites safe as lockdown is eased after 17 May. However, Smita Srivastava, his wife ensured that he made time to donate food items among the needy on this occasion.

JAIPUR | THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020

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comes calling..

CITY FIRST AHMEDABAD

Rajasthan: Revenue Minister Harish Chaudhary spent a quiet birthday on 13 May with his family due to the ongoing Corona crisis. CM, Deputy CM, Speaker, Vasundhara Raje, Satish Poonia and the complete cabinet wished him on his birthday.

WHAT’S HAPPENING! Rajasthan: JK Tyre and Industries Ltd. have taken yet another step towards its commitment to the nation by producing the hand sanitizers under the brand ‘Total Control Hand Sanitizers’. Dr Raghupati Singhania, Chairman and MD, JK Tyre and Industries Ltd. said, “The JK Tyre Total Control Hand Sanitizer is our latest contribution towards ongoing relief measures of the government in countering the pandemic. This Sanitizer has been developed and produced strictly in accordance with the standards. We will continue with our efforts to fight this pandemic.”

Rajasthan: National Secretary, AICC Vivek Bansal has been constantly working towards coronavirus prevention.

Bansal, along with his team members sanitized the areas near Barola Bypass on Tuesday and also distributed masks to the people in the locality.

During the process, thermal screening of the people seen on road was also done by him.

Later, he distributed food items to the needy people in Balmiki Basti situated at Nagla Mallah.

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n a freewheeling chat on social media platform Instagram Live, veteran musician Ehsaan Noorani (of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) spoke to city-based vocalist and musician Nicollete Gore, of Sunday Secret Sessions. Sharing a mutual love for music, the musicians spoke about the music scene in India and Gore’s latest musical compositions.

Talking about her Live session with Noorani, Gore said, “I was having my dinner when I suddenly got an invite from Ehsaan for an Instagram Live session. So, I gobbled up my food and sat down for a chat.

He asked me about the kind of music I play, the songs I have released. I told him about a suicide prevention song that I

For a Greater

CAUSE!

Ehsaan Noorani

had written ‘Not a Sad Song’, which he appreciated because of its message. He also requested me to sing one of my original compositions, so I sang ‘Nomad’ from one of my latest albums.”

When asked about her equation with Noorani, she said, “I met him for the first time when

I sang on the reality show ‘The Stage’. He is conducting these Live sessions with musicians every day and it is very motivating for musicians like me. It has given people the opportunity to perform without any qualms and has helped promote musical talent. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com

Nicollete Gore

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Rajasthan: The members of National Youth Volunteers and Youth Board Officers, who are associated with Nehru Yuva Kendra, have come forward in the battle against coronavirus. The young corona warriors have taken the initiative to sanitize different rural areas as well as public places in collaboration with District Administration and Gram Panchayat in Rajasthan. In this deed, volunteers Harimohan Rajoria and Kuldeep Verma, from Jaipur District, sanitized five villages, schools, hospitals, prayer places and police stations in nearby localities. To date, the members have sanitized more than 50 villages.

Rajasthan: Jaipur’s art and culture hub, Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) will begin its ‘Online Learning – Children’s Summer Festival’ with a Performing Arts session on ‘Story Making in Theatre’ from today. The session will be conducted by theatre artist, Vishal Bhatt, which will aim to teach the nuances of story-making in drama, its techniques, use of props, words and much more.

Rajasthan: Seva Bharti honoured the corona warriors, cleaning personnel and police officials, on Wednesday at Jaipur Railway Station, and also distributed homeopathy medicines to fight against the virus. On the occasion, Regional campaigner of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Nimbaram and Seva Bharati Chief Shiv Lahiri along with other members including Tulsiram, Dharmendra, Dinesh Sharma, Rakesh Sharma and Vishnu Sharma were also present.

Rajasthan: In order to get rid of COVID-19 and maintain world peace, Navakar Mantra will be recited by the saints and devotees from all across the world, connected through online portals, for 99 crores times, which will start at 8:41 am on 31 May. This was informed by the founder of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharati, Jain Acharya Dr Lokesh.

efore the beginning of the second phase of ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, the issues that OCI cardholders and the Indians in the US, either on the work visa or on Green Card having children who are American citizens by birth are facing, is taking a lot of attention on social media platforms. Jaipur Foot USA Chairman, Prem Bhandari appealed to the government for permitting travel of those passengers to and through Germany. The information pertaining to passengers who are permitted to enter Germany for family reasons are: 1. Accompanying the German spouse or the registered Life partner to live in or take up residence in Germany. 2. Reunification with a spouse or a registered resident in Germany Life partner (German or beneficiary) to the place of residence or to establish a common residence. Thirdcountry nationals can only enter the country if they already have the D visa available. 3. Accompanying German children by the legal guardian Germany to take up residence, even if the German spouse or Life partner abroad remains. 4. Visiting spouses (or registered partners) if one the partner is domiciled in Germany. 5.

Custody and handling matters for the care of underage children birth of the wife, registered partner or Partner. 6. Attending a funeral to second-degree relatives too of the spouse: children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, siblings. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Rajasthan: During the ongoing online musical series ‘Sumiran’, initiated

by Rajasthan Forum, in association with Shree Cement and Raghu Sinha Mala Mathur Charity Trust amid the nationwide lockdown, Jaipur-based Bhajan and folk music Singer Gopal Khinchi gave a mesmerising performance while interacting with the audience during the fifteenth session on Wednesday.

dren, men ,women and the elderly were living in a village area of Nagar and Hathijan without access to two square meals a day. So, we decided to help them and started a communal kitchen. Apart from cooked food, we also distributed grain kits to them.” cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com

CITY FIRST AHMEDABAD

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n a noble gesture, Vivekanand nagar police rushed to the aid of 100 homeless people in the city and distributed 1,000 grain kits to them. One of the officers at the police station, RB Rana, PSI, said, “Around 100 homeless people including chil-

Short Film for Big Cause CITY FIRST

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n 18 years old Eshan Harsh from Jaipur, has been awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award in Panjim International Film Festival 2020 for his short film ‘Jaipur Activists’ on Tuesday.

This film ‘Jaipur Activists’ is made under the guidance of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune. Prior to this, the film’s World Premiere was held in

Eshan Harsh and the poster of the film

January at the 6th Rajasthan International Film Festival.

Apart from this, the film was also selected in the LiftOff Global Network Sessions held in the UK and was the finalist in Climate Changemaker Teen Film Festival held in the USA. This film is designed to bring awareness that just by putting some posts and stories online and creating awareness online to clean the city is not enough.

Rajasthan: The results of the International News Media Association (INMA) were announced on Sunday, where Rajasthan-based newspaper ‘Rashtradoot’ was in the bonus category finalist ‘regional/ local brands’ group for ‘Best Initiative in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis’.

BUZZ! KALAM

A virtual session ‘Kalam’ is going to be organised

by Prabha Khaitan Foundation today at 5:30 pm, over the zoom app, where an Indian lyricist, playback singer, writer, and actor, Swanand Kirkire is going to talk about his award-winning journey.